The assault on Salty Pier

[Nephrite]

"It reminds me of the paragon we had to fight in Benfal." Moore says. "Regardless, you all did well to keep him from just plane shifting out of here."

[Anastasia]

"A close run thing," Romiel agrees, "We killed him near the edge of what we were able to set up. Any father and we probably lose him."

Cresiel says, "Regardless....have the diviners found anything?"

"Not yet. Give it time, but it may well be obscured to them. We may need more exhaustive measures." Leaning back in his chair, "Have patience."

[Nephrite]

"I can ask Lord Erathaol if we have need of it." Moore says. "Xandra might be able to help, too."

[Anastasia]

"Do so," Romiel says, "But for now...the original purpose of this meeting, yes?" Romiel says.

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "Yes. As you may have heard, we recently had a sojourn to Salty Pier. We were moderately successful there, enough to hopefully send a message." He smiles at Cresiel and Kaja. "With that in mind, it sounds to me like the deity Seira is taking the matter of slavery in a more personal fashion to deal with? Can you tell me more about that?"

[Anastasia]

"Yes. I have an avatar of Seira who wishes to discuss it. She will be here shortly," Romiel smiles a bit, "Seira has always been fairly hands on."

Go ahead Cor.

I'm not having the best day, so delegating this to two PCs chatting instead.

[Corwin]

A swish of her cloak greets Romiel first, black dragon scales on the outside and red one facing towards her. Seira is dressed in her usual adventuring outfit, its gems glittering with stored arcane might, yet what draws the eye is the vibrant orange shade her hair has taken on.

"A lot of commotion outside," she notes, waving at Romiel in proper greeting. "Did something happen?"

[Anastasia]

"An assassination by a gloom. He failed," Romiel says, "Hardly the first and hardly the last time someone will try. Seira, this is Duke Moore, my son Cresiel and finally Kaja. Everyone, this is Seira Aryn of the Cauldron."

[Nephrite]

Moore offers a bow. "Lady Seira, let me thank you again for the aid you offered to Aurora during our campaign on Lifasa."

[Corwin]

Seira gives Romiel a worried look, though ends up accepting his reassurance after a bit of scrutiny. Her eyes don't spot any foreign magic upon him, after all.

She perks right back up at Moore's words, grinning at him. "Punching Bel in the face was its own reward, almost as good as seeing Lifasa restored through your actions. Nice to meet you in person, and hey, I remember the name. Cresiel? Kascha's mentioned you." Looking over to the draconic member, she muses, "Kaja? Also from the Crusade?"

[Anastasia]

"No, from a Prime," Kaja mentions, "I was recovering from a cursed wound during the entire Crusade."

Cresiel nods and rises, a bow to Seira before he returns to sitting.

[Nephrite]

"If you'll allow me, I will explain." Moore says. "After Aurora, I was called here and recently given a task of growing a group, not unlike Aurora itself, to battle Shar as well as other evils across the planes. I have a base of operations on Lunia -- you or any of the Cauldron are welcome to visit to discuss business." Moore explains. "Kaja is part of the force that I have collected for that matter. That's also how we became embroiled at Salty Pier -- it was an exercise to test our muscle out on a target for a good reason."

A clear of his throat. "Also, just as a point of consideration, since we've been doing that, we've been seeing some sort of... spark? It's a difficult thing to explain, the way I see it is a tangible form of bonds between people. There also seems to be something that is accelerating the growth and experience of people. Ah... please forgive me if you're already aware of these things, Lady Seira." He offers an apologetic smile afterwards.

[Corwin]

"Nasty business, that," Seira commiserates. With the introductions over with, she nods to herself. "Well, shall we begin? In short, I will soon take Akil bin Faheem off the board. It would eliminate a close tie between the efreet and the devils, while serving as a show of force to suggest a change in the other efreet. This alone will not free the slaves on Fire, but financial pressure will be brought on against slave traders and slavers from as many merchant concerns as I can reach, including, of course, Celestia's own venture. And finally, I want to advance abolitionism on Fire, through any means necessary. Some like-minded denizens exist, and will receive covert support, while safe houses and routes will be established for runaway slaves. Someone will need to run that part of the operation, and I naturally thought of Celestia first."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods along with Seira's proposal. "I think that's an easy enough thing to establish for us. We're happy to help support such in whatever capacity we can manage."

[Corwin]

Seira nods. "I originally thought it would be good to have my friends from Celestia free the slaves directly, but on reflection it would have the best impact were natives like Zaaman Rul directly involved in such a change. And with that taken off the table, it occurred to me that we share a penchant for undercover work. I will draw all the hate and animosity of the scum native to Fire, while you will work behind the scenes to establish a network that capitalizes on the way Fire will be destabilized. Then, once things come to a head, there will be glory enough for all, and an end to slavery across Fire. As leader of your outfit, do you find this a viable plan, Moore? Is it within your capabilities? It hasn't advanced so much that we couldn't put changes into it."