Gearing up (Moore, Ithea)

[Nephrite]

"Agreed." Moore nods. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

[Anastasia]

"Morniel's busy, Tepen and Vul'lath are both busy, but perhaps we could pry them away." Crystal starts ticking off fingers, "Jaela's busy. Hanna, perhaps, she's been around a long time. Sylvie, though her personality can be difficult."

[Nephrite]

"I'm good with difficult personalities." Moore says, smiling. "What about Canderella or Tannin? They may at least be able to point us in the right direction, if nothing else."

[Anastasia]

"I think Tannin's busy," Crystal says.

At that moment Elena pops in, "Yes, he's not here right now. He's on a mission." She pops right back out.

"...ah." Crystal nods at where Elena was. "My implied question was answered. Very good. As for Canderella, that's a thought."

[Nephrite]

"I'm fine deferring to your expertise on the matter." Moore says.

"But before any of that, did you want to buy anything with the funds we've accumulated thus far? It might help." Moore says.

[Anastasia]

"Best not, we shouldn't spend money we have that may not be ours soon," Crystal frowns and sighs, closing her eyes, "Regardless, if we do keep it, that money will go towards paying off my debt, not personal expenditures."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "We can wait until we're back, then. All right, so it seems like it's between Miss Hanna and Miss Canderella. Preferences?"

[Anastasia]

"I hold Hanna in high regard," Crystal says, "She serves the Court I serve and embodies Lady Gwynharwyf's sacred principals of righteous anger at evil and restraint against others."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "Elena? Can you tell us where Miss Hanna is, please?" Moore calls out.

[Anastasia]

"She's taking a bath," Elena pops back in, "I can tell her you want to see her?"

"Please," Crystal says.

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "Yes, but please tell her not to hurry on our account!"

[Anastasia]

It takes about 30 minutes. By that time you and Crystal have a pixie sized meal for you - little chunks of apple, a bowl of honey to share, a few bits of fresh bread and sliced up grapes. The meal's paired with glasses of milk, Crystal eating a fair bit and drinking the same.

Hanna comes on in, her scythe carried in her free hand. She drags a bigger chair over - big enough to hold all of the tall planetar's muscled bulk. "You wanted to see me for something?"

[Nephrite]

Moore smiles and gives Hanna a half bow. "Hello! Yes, Crystal and I have been discussing going to Mineral on a diplomatic envoy since Sir Morniel is busy. We've been doing reading and I found the name of Crystalle, an archomental there who apparently enjoys diplomatic endeavors. But Crystal and I didn't want to just pop in and start poking around, so we were hoping that you might be able to guide us on how to approach this particular project. I understand the basics -- don't go there hoping to find treasure, but still offer them something of value, ah.. Crystal and I were considering offering our services to either recover something, protect something, or just investigate something they may need us to do, for example."

Moore takes a breath. "I know dealings with Mineral can be a bit... difficult, at least according to what I read, so I wanted to make sure we got off to the right start."

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d20+34 Hanna
<Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+34 Hanna --> [ 1d20=18 ]{52}

"Crystalle? I've heard of him." Hanna leans back, while reaching over to nab a bit of apple to munch on. "He's not bad as far as archomentals go. He's not a Prince of Elemental Good, but he's far from being a Prince of Elemental Evil. See, Mineral's largely untouched by good and evil. He'd probably be a Prince of Elemental Good if there was a counterpart in Mineral for him, but there isn't."

Hanna eats her apple and goes on, "I do know Mineral's wholly consumed with its own affairs, plus the other natives are much less welcoming than Crystalle. If you can reach the Diamond Palace, you're in good shape. But of course the entire palace and everywhere around it is cut off from the Astral. You have to find a cavern within traveling distance and make the journey the hard way."

[Nephrite]

"I think it'd be worth it, don't you?" Moore asks with a look over at Crystal. "I can't blame them for not being welcoming, when your entire plane is basically a treasure trove, you probably get tired of people coming in to steal things. Either way, I think it's worth trying. I mean... If we were able to somehow secure Crystalle's aid for Aurora, that would be a huge boon to both our sides. Crystalle would have allies in case demons or devils were to assail Mineral -- which we'd help out with regardless, I'm sure -- but even extending that branch at all I think is worth a shot."

Moore taps his chin a few times. "I suppose the only hard part will be getting to the cavern and through it without upsetting anyone. Also finding it."