Oct 12 19:16:28 * Knight is engaged in practice, a relatively rare sight; she has taken to flipping copper coins into the air, before lashing out with long, heavy arcs from her sword. For five blows in a row, the coin is sliced neatly in half, but on the sixth, the edge is off, and the coin is simply thrown against the wall like a ball from a bat.
Oct 12 19:19:01 * Mari watches from her bed. The new one. "That's kind of a waste of money, you know. Use the furniture or something. We don't have to pay for that. I hope."
Oct 12 19:20:48 <Knight> "Copper is relatively trivial," replies Knight, starting to retrieve the scraps of coin. "A target that small and dense is a good challenge."
Oct 12 19:20:59 * Kamvakua is crouched over in a corner, meditating cross-legged. He'd been quiet of late. "It's not like you to miss so frequently. Is something bothering you? More than the web we are caught in?"
Oct 12 19:21:58 <Knight> "It is." Knight pauses for a moment. "There is something I do not understand."
Oct 12 19:23:07 <Kamvakua> "I find in asking others, I often learn more about what I do not understand."
Oct 12 19:23:27 <Mari> "Just one thing?"
Oct 12 19:25:10 <Knight> "Just one thing that bothers me so," replies Knight, turning towards Mari. "Why did you not bargain for Ami's freedom?"
Oct 12 19:25:34 <Kamvakua> "Ami's...freedom? Mari's sister?"
Oct 12 19:25:58 <Knight> "Just so."
Oct 12 19:27:35 <Mari> Mari stares at the ceiling. "That wasn't a bargain she offered. It was extortion."
Oct 12 19:28:44 <Knight> "Would you mind telling me the details?"
Oct 12 19:34:36 * Mari sits up, rubs her forehead. "So first she asked for me and Ami's eternal service. I said no, because I'm not going to commit her to another horrible master just to get her free from her current one. So then the Lady changed the deal to just me. I said no again because, honestly, I already hate that bitch."
Oct 12 19:37:17 <Knight> Knight blinks. "You do? I see... Then, do you wish me to take the position in your stead?"
Oct 12 19:37:23 <Kamvakua> "What say does the Lady even have in Ami's fate? Isn't your sister on Baator?"
Oct 12 19:38:42 <Mari> "What, Knight? No! Why would it be better if it was someone else? And why would you even want to do that?"
Oct 12 19:39:22 * AllYoYensYipYipYip has quit (Ping timeout)
Oct 12 19:40:16 <Knight> "Well, I can handle it," replies Knight, with a shrug. "Of course, I don't intend for the service to be eternal. Such an unbounded deal is rarely lowest to which one would agree. Also, she could be useful to me as well. If she were to master Gate, it would make my task much simpler." (More)
Oct 12 19:40:44 <Knight> "I consider your cause to be my own, as well. In this fashion, I believe everyone can be satisfied."
Oct 12 19:41:44 <Knight> (more!)
Oct 12 19:42:42 <Knight> "I have served under devils personally, so I am aware that the survival rate amongst mortals is rather low. And in the end, they all die eventually anyway. However, should someone gain freedom from that service before their death, there is still a chance they can find a more palatable future. Therefore, I believe acting sooner rather than later is to our advantage."
Oct 12 19:43:13 <Mari> "And Kam...yeah, she is. The Lady showed us images of her...Ami going to war, Ami burning in a lake of fire. I'm not sure how much of this I trust. What I can say for sure is it confirmed a lot of things Nik's said about her. Emotions, relationships, these are just levers she uses to move people as she wishes. (more)
Oct 12 19:46:41 <Mari> "I'm not sure it would help Ami any if I got her out just to bring her into this woman's house. The Lady swore she wouldn't offer Ami a deal, but you know what? She doesn't have to keep to that promise once I'm bound to her service. And even if she does, well, what happens between Ami and me? I don't want her hanging around a creature like this. I mean, after what she's been through? I don't know what kind of awful ideas the devi
Oct 12 19:46:46 <Mari> I don't know what kind of awful ideas the devils put in her head, but... (more)
Oct 12 19:47:54 <Mari> ...hanging around here could only reinforce all of them, right? I'd have to send her away some place and not see her any more anyway if I started working here."
Oct 12 19:52:31 <Knight> "It may be that she has fooled you with illusions in some fashion, and yet I believe that is irrelevant. We know Ami is in Baator; I can tell you first-hand that nothing that occurs here could be worse than what does there. Should I take on service with her, I believe your other dillema would be avoided. In any case, the Lady has treated us rather well since our arrival."
Oct 12 19:54:24 <Kamvakua> "Knight's plan would be pragmatic then, allowing you to take your sister away. It would also be the end of our companionship I think. Knight and Nikkolai would be trapped here. Mari would need to take care of her sister. Neither myself nor Adail would in keep near the lady for a long period of time. The lich may better suit your goal to gather your brothers and sisters, but the road would be lonely...and dangerous toward her goals
Oct 12 19:54:24 <Kamvakua> ."
Oct 12 19:59:57 <Knight> "Her goals are only relevant if they are inimical to us. The only true problem is assuring her end of the bargain is kept," replies Knight. "That is a question of strength and need. I believe we can work out something equitable. You must understand, Kamvakua, it is a disservice to my siblings for me to take anything but the best path open to them..."
Oct 12 20:00:15 <Mari> "I'm not leaving anybody with her, alright? I've seen people like this before. Always watching people for any sign of weakness, anything they can exploit. If she's been polite so far, it's because she's needed to be. Might seem she could be useful to you now, Knight, but in the long run it's about what use she has for you. That's all there is to it. Give her enough time and she'll find a way to bend you to her will. (more)
Oct 12 20:00:58 <Mari> "The bottom is that I. Don't. Trust. Her. I trust YOU guys. We'll find a way."
Oct 12 20:01:53 * Yuthirin (~Dis@c-71-194-208-215.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined #dunes
Oct 12 20:04:38 <Mari> *bottom line
Oct 12 20:04:46 * Kamvakua nods, his lips curling upward slightly. "I agree. Perhaps...perhaps we shouldn't listen to nikkolai's opinion as well. As to his location." Kamvakua sounded conflicted. "I would rather, once this business is done, that we all never cross her path again. Nikkolai included."
Oct 12 20:07:14 <Knight> "If you would not go even this far for your sister, I do not see how you will ever find a way," replies Knight, pressing her hands behind her back. "The reality is that an opportunity has been given to you. There is a price, as there always is, and a risk. I believe they are both managable."
Oct 12 20:12:32 <Mari> "'Not even go this far?' How--you--you think I don't care about her, is that what you think? If you were somebody who wore less armor I would hit you right now. Not go so far as to sell my friend into slavery, you mean? I don't understand how you can look at this like it's just some little thing, like, yeah, just take out the Lady's garbage once in a while, that's all."
Oct 12 20:12:50 <Kamvakua> "The world is not so simple that things come without a price. But some prices cannot be paid, no matter the desire."
Oct 12 20:14:21 <Kamvakua> "Knight, if you were offered one card, but in turn, you had to give up on another for a hundred years, would you do it?" Kamvakua wondered.
Oct 12 20:17:47 <Knight> "I would not," replies Knight, rolling her eyes. "That is irrelevant. As I said, nobody bargains expecting a truly impossible return, and I would count eternal servitude amongst them. As for the likely magnitude, well. Fighting and killing is what I do. It matters little who or why. But I do want to help you. That much, at least, I realised in this life."
Oct 12 20:21:50 <Mari> "Then help me find another way. I mean, look at Nik. Look at what being here does to him. This can't be our best option, can it? We'll go out, and we'll deal with this plague thing, because if all we've heard turns out to be true, that needs to be stopped anyway. And while we're at it we'll find our own way off of this plane."
Oct 12 20:24:20 <Knight> "That there is a plague is beyond a doubt," admits Knight. "We have few options. Either find another willing to cast Gate on our behalf, or infiltrate the armies of the Blood War and attempt to liberate Ami from within, a task of no small difficulty, likely great expense, and incredible risk. It would also be possible to raise an army of our own, crush her unit, and take her as a prisoner-"
Oct 12 20:24:29 <Knight> "-but that would carry a great chance of her own death on the field of combat."
Oct 12 20:25:43 <Knight> "Is it any wonder, then, that I see the way presented to us as the best? But, it would not be for me to say that you must achieve your dream in a way you dislike. I can only hope that it does not become unattainable, instead of simply unlikely."
Oct 12 20:25:51 <Kamvakua> "Why is it beyond a doubt? It would be a worthless lie, but the acceptance of what we cannot see or confirm is just the start of stepping into a trap we cannot handle. We shouldn't be so simply trusting."
Oct 12 20:26:15 <Knight> "Rogue has spoken to me of it," replies Knight. "There is a plague, and it is vicious enough to demand his personal attention."
Oct 12 20:26:35 <Knight> "I have few more details. When we leave here, we should seek to speak with him before taking further steps."
Oct 12 20:26:43 <Kamvakua> "...I see. I am glad to hear he is well at least." Kamvakua nodded.
Oct 12 20:32:41 <Mari> "Well...You said you worked with devils once, right Knight? If any of them you knew are still alive, maybe you could get some information out of them once we're on Baator. Probably they'd ask for something in return too--well, more than probably--but if we're just looking for information, it might be we could get away without too steep a price. It'd be a start, right?"
Oct 12 20:35:03 <Knight> "I see little functional difference between dealing with a devil and the Lady, save that the Lady is unlikely to betray us simply because it is a callous and cruel thing to do. However, it would be possible."
Oct 12 20:35:38 <Knight> "Information tends to carry the price of information. The simplest thing to trade would be strategic information on the higher planes."
Oct 12 20:36:35 <Knight> Her lips curls. "But that would likely not be a bargain we can accept. Well, we will have to see."
Oct 12 20:37:04 <Mari> "Or maybe the Abyss? Devils don't like demons any more than they like celestials, right? Did we turn up anything there they might want to know about? I can't say I mind much giving them intel there."
Oct 12 20:37:46 <Knight> "Information on the abyss is mostly worthless," confesses Knight. "We would have an easier time simply joining the Blood War ourselves and requesting the chance to fight as part of a diabolic unit."
Oct 12 20:38:21 <Mari> "How difficult would it be to get out of that, though? Assuming we survived."
Oct 12 20:39:40 <Knight> "Our best chance would be to desert after whatever unit we are attached to is defeated in detail. It holds the greatest chance of us being written off as dead."
Oct 12 20:43:26 <Mari> "That's not very encouraging. We'd have to just hope it's in the right time and the right place. Unless we sort of arrange our unit's downfall in advance...but I couldn't really do that unless *everyone* with us was downright horrible, and aren't plenty of those grunts just fools looking for money?"
Oct 12 20:43:49 * Kamvakua listened. He had heard of the blood war, who hadn't? But he'd never seen it. Nor had he read of it. It was a vague impossibly large conflict.
Oct 12 20:44:05 * Mari paces a bit, kicks the foot of a bed in frustration. "I hate this! I hate looking for just whatever option is least objwectionable. They're all awful."
Oct 12 20:47:51 <Knight> "No matter what we do, we would be forced to deal with devils and inevitable, a dangerous price would be asked. Dangerous for both your health, and likely your soul." Knight shrugs. "Perhaps you should consider exactly what you are willing and able to do on Ami's behalf."
Oct 12 20:48:36 <Knight> "I will do my best to assist and counsel you, but in the end it truly is a decision for you..." she muses, moving to lie down on a nearby bed.
Oct 12 20:50:18 <Kamvakua> "You're not alone Mari. But... I don't think that the Lady should be listened to. Regardless of how easy it seems."
Oct 12 20:52:11 * Mari nods, looking distant. "I just can't help but feel like any decision I make is going to be a bad one right now..."