Finding Calley

[Anastasia]

"Be well," Anna says, "Thank you for being Sylvie's friend."

[Nephrite]

Moore smiles. "I'll reprimand her for both of you, don't worry. Then make her come back here for a while."

Another bow before he's off!

Greater Plane Shifting back home for right now.

[Anastasia]

Okay.

Once you're back on the beaches of Lunia, your fortress not too far away, "That child gave me the shivers. That was barely a child at all." Kaja says, "What strange story results in that?"

[Nephrite]

"I'll explain when we're back." Moore promises. "It's a long one. Regardless... we have a lead, though I have no idea where it's going to take us. You really couldn't just make this easy, could you, Sylvie...?"

[Anastasia]

"I'm holding you to that," Kaja says, striding back with you.

Next move, Moore?

[Nephrite]

Go back, call everyone together. See if we've got any leads on new recruits.

Then it's storytime.

[Anastasia]

Cool, go ahead and set up a meeting with everyone and I'll roll from that.

[Nephrite]

Moore makes sure everyone is settled in -- Jetina, Cresiel, Xandra and Kaja with Grias and likely Wood there as well.

The others don't need to be bogged down with all of this right now.

Moore clears his throat as he takes out a piece of parchment.

"I need to explain something to all of you about why I'm doing what I'm doing." He begins.

"When I was with Aurora, I worked with a woman named Sylvie, who had the... mixed blessing of coming into contact with something known as 21. For those of you who do not know, 21 is a tool that was created by the Incarnations to understand good and evil. It is a tool that is so far beyond the understanding of mortals, it could likely warp Creation itself."

A breath at that. "The price of using 21 came... all the time. Sylvie could never do anything except speak the full truth of anything she was asked. As time went on, she and 21 became more and more... one thing. I think it's fair to say Sylvie became an extension of 21's will, rather than the other way around.  Near the end of the time she was with Aurora, she had affected an ability to see into the future in some ways."

He takes in a breath again. "She disappeared after Aurora's battle on Lifasa and hasn't been seen since. Calley..." He looks over at Kaja. "Calley is her son. I guess... she didn't really want a child originally, so... she probably didn't treat him well. It seems like she gifted him all the knowledge she had... and maybe continues to do so even now -- Sylvie didn't know I was a Duke when she left, so... there's some wiggle room there."

He shakes his head. "Anyway, our goal right now is to find her, and find 21. I think the both of them are together. I don't intend to let her live the rest of her existence out as a tool for something she doesn't want to be part of... and if that means I have to find a way to go beyond Creation itself to rescue her, then I will."

He unfolds the parchment and puts it on the table for everyone to see. "This is some sort of ritual that Calley was writing. I think it has the potential to lead us to the solution to find her. I am going to need a lot of help to solve this... and it's probably going to be something I need to spend some time on. I don't want to let our mission falter in the meantime, so that's why I wanted you all to be aware of my short-term plans. We're still waiting on someone to join us as an information broker, so once we have that I think we can really begin in earnest." Moore explains to everyone.


Actually, there's one person who isn't here who could probably help decipher it, but... is it worth it to go back there to ask? ... Would he even be willing to help? Maybe if he begged... ...Maybe.

[Anastasia]

Xandra pours over the parchment, studying it without a word.

Cresiel sits back, "I second this. No one should be abandoned, and whatever role 21 plays in this cannot be ignored."

Jetina hmms, "Alright, I follow that and I'm fine with it - as long as it's a good cause."

Kaja merely shakes his head, "Odds are we'll face Hell from it? I hope so, they have good treasure."

[Nephrite]

"I think, ultimately, 21 is going to lead us to Io." Moore adds. "That's a boon we can't ignore either."

A breath in and a smile to everyone assembled. "All right. I appreciate everyone's support. I think the best place for me to try and sort this out is Xiranthador, unless any of you have a suggestion that comes to you from on high?"

[Anastasia]

"Yes, I do," Cresiel says, "I want to make sure the underling logic is sound before we assume. Because assumptions...well, you know the saying?"

Kaja smiles a bit, "I like my ass being neither you or me, Cresiel. Go on." He kicks back as Xandra peers at the parchment intently, studying Calley's messages.

[Nephrite]

"All right. I'll explain my thinking thus far." Moore says.

"I received a... message. That we needed to find Sylvie, find 21, and find Io. In more or less that order." Moore says. "In addition, I spoke to Sun's Rise who recently had a dream, or a vision, of Sylvie -- that she was resigned to her fate and was more or less just... waiting, just... given up on all hope somewhere."

A gesture around. "A trip to Bahamut and Oghma later and I found myself with Sylvie's son. He has inherited all of Sylvie's knowledge, and knowledge even beyond that, probably somehow through 21 and Io's appearance in the world. He had apparently been writing down something in his spare time, which is what this ritual is. I find it all a little hard to imagine doesn't end up connecting in the end."

[Anastasia]

"Alright, but it's not ironclad," Cresiel says, "It can be read that way, but I caution you - towers of iron fall if the foundation is mislaid." He sits back as Jetina leans in, reading over Xandra's shoulder. As those two read up on it all? "We need to find them regardless, so it's the right path, even if one does not lead to another."

[Nephrite]

"Ultimately, I don't care if we never find Io or 21." Moore admits. "As long as I can find Sylvie, I'll be happy."

[Anastasia]

Kaja leans back at this, hands resting on his chest, folded together. "Is she your paramour? You sound devoted to her."

Jetina giggles a bit, "No, that's Queen Ilsenine."

"Moore...!" Grias flutters around you at that, Jetina laughing out right now.

"Peace, Grias. Do not read perverse motive into compassion, dedication and intimacy. One may have some or all of those without romantic feelings." Cresiel shakes his head, "Great is the man who has compassion and intimacy with others, for they buttress others as a fortress buttresses the defense."