In a Town

[Brian]

"I'm fine," Bridgett says quietly, before pulling up a seat at the table and peering at the arcane workings of Lazarus's tea-set curiously.

The man with white hair clicks his tongue and takes the kettle off of the stove, using some of the water to make Bridgette a mug of instant cider.  That's quite true.  What comes next is obvious: We take action.  Which one is left to be decided, Lazarus sends.

[Bjorn]

Somwhat painfully, Bjorn tries to sign out, Did you make the sign outside?

To Lazarus:  We have a few options.  Which one is best depends on what the Oracle can tell us.  He sips from his tea absently.  Right now the other players all have more in the way of resources than we do.  We need to close that gap, either by taking way theirs or adding to ours.  Ideally both, really.

[Brian]

"Yes," Bridgett says in the same very quiet voice, before sipping from her mug.  "I sometimes make glass for Bart to...."  She trails off and makes a face, then signing something that appears to be ... 'administer transfer'.

If we can find a way of doing both of those things at the same time, Lazarus muses.  I think you'd want to discuss it with Relm, and if my idea is sound, I expect she already had it.  But if your new friends -- this 'Bigfire', are trustworthy, I think they would work well in the capacity Relm would need to do what you wish.

It seems, from their stories, and what Bart knows of them, they're exceptionally good at being a thorn in someone's side.  They could even draw attention from you while you head wherever Relm will send you next.

[Bjorn]

"Administer transfer?" Bjorn queries, parroting the sign language back to Bridgett with some confusion.  Out loud, he admits with some embarassment, "I'm still not very good with the signs."

Within the Dream, he replies, The best thing to do with Bigfire is just let them go about their usual business, I agree.  They've managed to harass the Cabal and Pax pretty effectively so far, and if we start feeding them information they'll do even better.  They don't seem to be very skilled at "low-profile," though, so I don't think we want to be too closely affiliated with them.  Keeping New Delphi secret and safe is too important.

The mists beging to swirl, and a thoughtful atmosphere fills the Dream.  Taking allies from Pax and Cabal and turning them into our own allies is an idea I've been playing with.  The Cabal should be vulnerable to this, if I'm reading things right.  They play the Contest defensively.  A sort of cospiracy cell structure, with front groups being run by front groups, only a select few knowing the real mission, etc.  But with that sort of set-up, it should be possible to cut the puppets free from the Cabal by targetting the links up the chain.  And if we can do that, then maybe we can subvert the puppet groups at the same time.

That's ignoring the independents that are held in line by fear or lack of option.  Relm seemed to suggest that many governments, especially in Europe, fall into that.  If we can provide an alternative....

We have a fine line to walk.  Right now, our main defense is our weakness.  Both Pax and Cabal could crush us easily at the moment, but they can't be bothered to yet.  They're focussed on each other, saving their strength, and we're too small for them to start worrying.  So while we get stronger, we need to make sure they don't get worried and wipe us out.

Bjorn takes another sip of his tea, his eyes distant and considering.

[Brian]

Lazarus raises an eyebrow.  Being on the run for years at a time can put someone in a rough state of mind.  It may be wise to distance them from us, as they've gone through so much they may have very-well snapped under the pressures by now.

Bridgett makes another face, and then types out something Bjorn isn't quite able to see.

Lazarus nods, and adds, She means that to say 'sells'.  Bart sells some of her works at the market when we go out for supplies.  While sipping from his cup, Lazarus continues, From what I've seen, 'Bigfire' hasn't gotten much of a reason to trust anyone.  If what Bart saw is true, then Bigfire is responsible for bringing Kyle and Phae to us.

I'm not convinced that Bigfire needs to be sent away as much as they might simply benefit from training and instruction.  Relm told you they were allies, after all.

[Bjorn]

"Sells," Bjorn mumbles to himself, making a mental note of that.  "What sort of things do you make?"

I'm not suggesting cutting ties with them, he replies to Lazarus, and there's a hint of self-recrimination.  I'm sorry, I don't seem to be explaining myself very well lately.

Bigfire has shown themselves to be very good at disrupting the operations of Pax and the Cabal in spectacular, attention-getting ways.  From our perspective, that serves the dual purpose of messing them up, and keeping their attention focused elsewhere.  What I meant is that we don't want to be seen to be affiliated with them, while providing all the help and assistance we can.

As for training... It is hard to explain how mist can snort, but nonetheless, it seems to do so.  They've been on the lam and fighting back for how many years?  I'm inclined to ask them for training.

[Brian]

"Glass," Bridgett says, smiling slightly.  "Horses.  Pictures of flowers.  Flowers.  Sometimes Bart brings pictures of people and I...."  She frowns, making a hand gesture that looks like 'convert' or maybe 'translate'.

Touché, Lazarus sends back with a mental chuckle and a physical grin.  I might not be the best communicator, either.  When two people who have their own way of communicating mentally speak to one-another, occasionally there can be slightly mis-meshings in the way minds work.

By training, I really meant a chance to live where things are calm and they can learn to trust again.  Outwardly, they seem far too unconcerned with their situation, given what they've gone through.  I strongly suspect that they'll need a bit of time before they completely trust us.

And of course ... if we can learn things from them, too, that should only help solidify the bond.  It shouldn't be problematic to explain that we want to conceal our affiliation -- they seem reasonable enough.  But at the same time, I'd wait until they were more comfortable and relaxed before saying something that might put them on edge.

[Bjorn]

"I don't know what the right word for that is," Bjorn muses.  "Paint is wrong, sculpt maybe?" He smiles at Bridgett.  "I guess you get to choose a word."

Agreed.  Relm mentioned in passing that the key members of the other groups are shielded against scrying.  If we can provide that for Bigfire, I think it will be a big step, both in terms of letting them bring some control back to their own life, and in setting a basis of trust.

[Brian]

Hm.  I don't know much about that.  I expect it's more something we would go to Relm for.  Which may be our next step, I suppose.  Lazarus taps his fingertip on the tabletop a few times, suddenly nodding.  Ah, yes.  Tomorrow we need to go to the markets.  Is there anything you need?  I know there's no food in your building yet.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn makes a wry face.  Clothes, I imagine.  I believe I'm down to this set, and while I've gotten used to not bathing over the past few weeks -- relatively speaking, anways -- I imagine you'd all appreciate it if I could get cleaner.

Beyond that... do we have any newspapers?  Catching up on the state of the world might be wise.

[Brian]

Newspapers?  Yes, of course.  There's some older editions in building one, and Victor has access to the internet in his lair.  Is there any particular one you prefer?

[Bjorn]

New York Times, perhaps? He makes a face.  I've never lost six months before.  Is there anything big that I missed?

[Brian]

Not much.  It appears that without people to lead them, the Forge and Home Guard don't do much, so those two groups of terrorists seem to have slowly faded away.  I doubt they've stopped, but they've been without direction for some time.

Other than that...  Lazarus brightens, remembering something.  The weather seems to have started acting noticably odd.  Temperatures have been dropping consistantly across the world ... except in Europe, specifically centered around Gibraltar, apparently.

I wouldn't entirely be surprised to see that the temperature rose at least slightly with your return, however.

[Bjorn]

Perhaps.  The weather won't stabilize until the Contest is won, though.

Bjorn thoughtfully fingers his cup.  Forge and the Home Guard.  Hm.  I'm torn as to whether we can make use of that... or more correctly, whether we should.

[Brian]

Lazarus shrugs at that.  I'm not sure what the best course of action is in that regard, Lazarus apologizes.  Ah, it's time to start overseeing the work on building number ten.  Lazarus rises, and nods his head to Bjorn.  I can still keep in contact with you this way, but I should attend my own duties, as well.

Bridgett nods silently at Lazarus and he nods back before heading out the door, the link still open.