Scene #6364: Memento Mori 1: A Blade Purposed

Owner	Pose
Kalia	The Empire of Tyron is a small corner of the Tapestry, a typical case of a medieval world having been taken over by a tyrant. Where the story might differ is that when a Chosen Hero rose to fight the tyrant, he failed - and so went the story of Gared, a young man believing himself the rightful wielder of the Lakeblade, prophecized to resurface whenever an injust ruler sat on the throne. Slain within the boundaries of Swamp Carnivore, betrayed by his own birthplace when made to choose between opposing the emperor by association, or gaining his favor. When given the choice to head to the swamp to find out more about the circumstances of his death, or to head to the imperial palace to meet the emperor, a choice was made to start with the latter. But it wasn't just the Paladins who made the call - with Staren, Haguro and Avenger present, the Concord had a stake in the events as well. The imperial palace of Tyron is an imposing structure of black stone and gold, the size of a small city. A massive cube, essentially, ornate beyond any reasonable use, covered in pyramid-esque ramparts on which are located, here and there, ballistas large enough that their bolts might threaten ships, frankensteined together from salvaged Multiversal scraps of various technologies. There are countless gates leading in, but only one set that might be considered "the front gates", so-labeled because they're even more offensively garish and ornate than the rest, twice as big, and thrice as guarded. But working it out in advance got you a free pass in as diplomats - this emperor is evidently not above entertaining diplomatic requests, although the caveat seems to be an escort of just about fifty men, armed with various melee weapons cobbled together from various cultures' high-tech weaponry. Inside the palace, it truly is a city - holographic projectors keep the illusion of a sky on the ceiling of the palace, far above the houses. There's a marketplace, a residential area, even farmland, but the farmers, even the ones obviously chained to their posts, are so well dressed you'd think them the luckiest slaves. If you HAD to be a slave, this would probably be one of the better places to be one in. Hence the belief the villagers of Pelo held - that gaining the emperor's favor was worth a sacrifice. Along the way to the palace inside the palace, you find out the emperor's name is Abaris, and that he's been on the throne for just about sixty years now. Matters of his age are ducked with hesitation, and generally no one seems to have anything ill to say, but exhibit clear signs of sheltered life - the world "outside the palace" seems like a harsh and awful place to these people, and they believe without a doubt that their emperor is bringing order to it, and no price is too great for that. It's then no surprise most are wary you're here to Fuck Things Up. You have some time before you arrive at the palace, enough to ask your armed escort a few questions, or maybe stop along the way to shake a bystander - the closer one gets, the fancier the restaurants, houses and stores get, to the point it's probably impossible to afford anything near the palace for anyone but the richest amongst you. This might make it all the more baffling when you see a dirt farmer walk out of what's very clearly a blacksmith of renown, holding a brand new pitchfork inlaid with gems, silver and some pieces of stray, molten tech.
Haguro	As Haguro heads towards the palace with the group, the sight of those frankensteined ballista don't go unnoticed. Repurposing outside technology isn't anything new to the Cruiser, especially when dealing with more 'modern' people running amok. Finding the same in what should be a medieval world, though? There might be some promising minds worth keeping an eye out for. At least, there would be if the locals weren't so wary of their presence. Haguro, too, seems hesitant to approach any of them, instead settling with approaching the blacksmith after the farmer steps out. She snaps a quick picture of the farmer, then heads inside. "Excuse me. Um... H-how much would it be to get armor fitted for these? And.. Er. How much would that be compared to what farmers and the like earn out here?" She gestures at the twin heads at the end of her tail, each one turning to stare at the blacksmith as if on cue. She's prepared to spend some money on this trip, but the real goal isn't getting some swanky armor. No, it's finding out just how much this stuff is actually worth. She could probably stand to be a little more subtle about it.
Avenger	Avenger falls in step with Haguro, though not behind or something like that, but beside as space would allow. The man is in a simple dark overcoat that seems more in style in the early industrial age than modern, with a hat that covers it. The expression today is not one of joy or anger, but a neutral expression, as the intense gold eyes stare at the city around them. There is nothing more but a simple laugh on his part. "I think he is trying to show us the opulence of his people under his rule. Hm, will that be enough? Who can say, who can say..." He says, though his expression does not change. As Haguro walks into the armor shop, he simply looks towards the farmer and his jewel-encrusted pitchfork. "A fine tool, if you do not mind my saying so," Avenger says, before speaking directly to him. "You must have done some great service to get the money for such a prize. Through sweat, or by blood?" he asks, plainly. He is no less subtle than Haguro is. The guards do not get his attention, for now, he moves at pace when they want to continue. Right now he is content to let the stream take him as it would. It would eventually come to the end, and there the truth of the matter would be revealed. Though, would the stomach continue to be held, or would vengeance be escaped? Truly, life's greatest questions.
Roxas	Among the Paladin's party is a young man. Roxas is dressed in his usual black-and-black, and presently has his hood up, deeply obscuring his features. The reason for this is very simple -- he hasn't gotten around to acquiring a real wardrobe even though its importance has been impressed upon him, and special occasions among his fellow Nobodies have often warranted raised hoods. Another hooded figure of similar stature is with him, having been IMPULSIVELY ADDED TO HIS PARTY and, of course, NOT forced to wander around at a short distance behind or aside him by the rules and conventions of action RPG party members. Roxas hadn't explained where this person came from, but it can probably be intuited that they have some sort of relation, and their apparent cooperation doesn't otherwise stand out. He does glance uncertainly towards those who are chained, and then again to their manner of dress. These are altogether unfamiliar ideas to him at the moment, especially the dichotomy of it all. "Isn't it kind of strange, to keep the sky inside?" Roxas wonders aloud. It's not the first incredibly simple thought Roxas has had about this situation, but it's the first one he bothers voicing.
Maya	it was time to find out more about what happened with Gared and his world. There was a ruler to meet after all. She's cleaned up and actually does not look like she fell out of wastes of her home continent. She has an idea about the guards, there's a fair number of them whoever handles security is aware to go overkill rather than under. As she moves along she takes note of the Capitol as it were on the way to the Palace but as she passes by where some of the pretty obvious slaves are, a look of anger is plain as day on her face. She keeps moving for the moment but the presence of slaves is already a mark against the Emperor in her mind. She has regained her wits for the most part and she'll be aware she has some time to kill when the farmer leaves the smith with the clearly non-standard pitchfork that gets Maya's attention, as she too will ask. "Pardon me what is that smith's rates like?" She's clearly looking at the farmer's pitchfork with interest and then Roxas voices his own question. "A show of wealth or perhaps to keep the city operational for longer periods of time? That's my best guess." Turns her attention back to the farmer with interest but will back off if they get swarmed too much.
Lezard Valeth	You think things would be so simple. The resurrection of a dark hero? Perished under utmost tragedy? Bound to resurface in such a manner, with such a situation? No, word gets out about these kinds of things. Such it is that Lezard Valeth, Sorceror of Midgard, arrives on the scene. Not originally part of the Concord delegation, he observes the opulence of the scavenged mishmash of Multiversal technology (and, no doubt, magic) that has been used to coalesce this... city. It is not the smooth, sleek commercial grace of El Dorado's wealth, but an ostentatious display. The Sorceror does not intervene yet, listening intently to the farmer's answer to the others. A hand flips open the book with him, and he pages through it, perhaps referencing things as he studies the architecture intently. "It looks like as it would if the King of Heroes suddenly lost all sense of taste." He comments idly to the Concordians.
Staren	Staren shows up in armor as always. If the guards question it he says it's customary on his world. Apparently with fifty armed men escorting the group they aren't worried. Staren was expecting, you know, a palace. The presence of so much schizo tech isn't odd, it just shows that someone has good sense. But what seems inexcusable is that an empire with freaking /farming villages/ spent resources on a structure of this size... It maybe, MAYBE serves a purpose in controlling its inner weather and allowing the farms inside to produce more year-round, but that doesn't excuse the sheer ostentatiousness of it. It makes him think of what people build in VR when they want to feel rich. Or like the buildings in Yu Shan. Except, instead of costing nothing at all, or having all the resources to make a universe at your disposal and only then comitting the sin of not repurposing them after the universe was created, THIS has been built from start to finish at the cost of others for only the benefit of appearance. And yet real intelligence had to go into it as well. Staren wonders if the emperor had to learn anything about building structures of such size or just threw money at architects and engineers until they said it was possible. Farmers are chained to their posts. It doesn't matter how well-dressed they are -- it is clear who the benefit is for. It is not for the people's benefit. It's so Abaris can say 'Look, even my SLAVES are dressed in finery!'. A show of wealth, using people as mannequins. When people get cagey about the emperor's age, Staren waves dismissively. "Geeze, it's not like life extension's a big SECRET. It just means the emperor has some sense. Can you imagine how foolish he'd have to be to invest in all this" Staren waves at the holographic sky "and not even think to invest in his own future?" Some dirt farmer says the emperor is making the world safe? "Dude. You're in chains and you think the world out there is bad? Sure it has dangerous places, but there are also cities where people aren't chained up. If the emperor thinks he's gonna turn all of it into places like THIS though..." Staren shakes his head. "Not gonna happen. There's too many places where it's BETTER where they'll fight to stop him." Stuff gets fancier, a show of wealth, but... Staren would never want to live HERE, at any cost. Some people may want to live in cages to stay safe but obsessing over the gilding? Staren sees no point. Haguro and Maya want armor from here? Staren gives them a look. "Please. We have MUCH better armorsmiths than this, why support this society?" Apparently Haguro is not the least subtle person in the group! When Avenger comments on showing the outsiders the people's wealth, Staren makes his earlier observation aloud: "The people here are not opulent, they're chained in gilded cages. They're here to show us how rich the /emperor/ is, that he can afford such a menagerie. He's using the people as mannequins." Lezard's comment about it looking like things are run by an insane version of Gilgamesh gets a sharp laugh from Staren. Peak absurdity is reached with a jeweled pitchfork. "Excuse me," Staren calls to the dirt farmer. "Is that a /ceremonial/ pitchfork?" It's got to be. If it's not, maybe the answer will shine light on more insanities of this place he can exploit later.
Spider-Man	Spider-Man is here! And he's got a proper almost royal-visit outfit! This one's a little more adventury than the one he visited Lilian Rook with; he's got a sort of adventure-ready side-button crimson jacket with a spider marked on the front, one that's a mix of ready to visit royalty and ready to get in a fight. Alongside that, darker blue pants and some halfway-to-dressy shoes, plus crimson gloves. He's still rocking those goggles and the full-face mask, of course! Speaking of which, those goggles are looking quite wide. "Woah... This is so /expensive/, WOW! Where are they getting all this stuff? Is it like how diamonds are fake-rare?" He's looking closely, trying to examine with his CHEMICAL ENGINEERING SKILL how much of this excessive extravagance is legitimate and how much might be fool's gold. IS any of this fake?! All his reasoning seems pretty unrelated to profiting himself or partaking, and more in the potential chemistry involved... If this place isn't just sitting on top of the biggest gem and gold mine in the world, that is.
Xion	MUCH EARLIER xivon> roxas xivon> im bored xivon> nothing happened xivon> i didnt meet kings or rich people at all NOW The second black-on-black coated child follows closely at Roxas' heels, somehow matching his stride and pace in an odd children-of-the-corn lockstep that gives the sense that the child of slighter shoulders and otherwise similar build is some sort of twin. When Roxas slides around, the other retains the motion in Tight Jrpg Party Formation, and only breaks the lockstep as they pass the blacksmith with the jeweled pitchfork, the party member's head snaps onto the pitchfork and the lockstep is lost. Roxas asks Xion a question about the sky, while the other blackcoat child rams full on into Roxas' back, stumbling and falling over herself as she recovers. "Yeah yeah, the... sky. Lookit that foooooooooork!" Xion points a gloved finger at the dirt farmer's new prize and visibly-and-audibly drools.
Gilgamesh	The King of Heroes waves his hand over his shoulder. "Don't be ridiculous, Lezard Valeth. Even if I had lost all my senses, still I am Gilgamesh. Even in my worst moments I could not be so paltry and pointless. Only someone pretending to true power would feel the need for something like this." Gilgamesh runs his fingers along his chin thoughtfully as he examines the pitchfork. "An insecure mongrel trumped-up as a lord of men would give his peasants golden pitchforks. Someone like that could never compare to me." He brushes his fingers through his hair and starts walking forward. He's dressed in his usual black coat, black pants, and white sweater, which on him lends enormous effort to his statements; simple dark clothes are as regal as gold on the shoulders of the King of Uruk. "I want to find the man who thought this was a good use of gold and show him what real wealth looks like. Reed lion shadows always bother me." It's probably 'paper tigers' for Uruk.
Lilian Rook	'Why would anyone bother making a pitchfork from silver and gems? The gems are begging to come loose and get lost in the dirt, and the silver will just get filthy and tarnish right away.' is Lilian's least important thought of the day. Not to be caught dead on any kind of diplomatic venture without dress to match the occasion, Lilian has had an easy time of going along with the decor as well. People don't typically make cities out of giant mountains of black and gold ornamentation, but plenty of people make formal wear in black, and gold is certainly easy to come by in all kinds of jewelry and accessories. It was actually more difficult to coordinate 'not blending into the background', eventually settling on the dark formal jacket with gold button rows and ruffled skirt, on top of heeled zip-down boots that she figured are just enough to look too showy to do much more than jog in. Not too mundane, not too ballroom, not too cocktail party, not too difficult to break someone in half if need be. Good, since she'd put it together just for the occasion. For only just having the sword (carrying it by the scabbard in her off hand this time, no amount of fiddling got it to look good on her person), she is remarkably unconcerned with the armed escort. They're walking straight in to the emperor's inner sanctum as a bunch of random, unknown, armed strangers, with only said emperor's fondness for and fascination with the multiverse to get them here. It's understandable. They're also convenient, in a certain scenario. "I did tell you about wearing that depressing hoodie robe." she says to Roxas. "Are you starting to see what I mean?" Instead of going to explain how holoprojections work though, she smirks at some joke or another inside her head, and then says "Why not? Everyone likes a beautiful open sky. It's a shame you can't see it with a roof over your head." instead. Literal actual chains on farming serfs sure get her attention, but outside of long, analytical pauses of her roaming eyes, she keeps her thoughts to herself for now. Those particular thoughts, anyways. When Maya and Haguro stop to start inquiring as to smithy rates, she openly scoffs. "Really? Here? Have you seen what they've built so far? Are you looking to wear an ornamental plaque, or a guy who smiths horseshoes' first experiment with a plasma cutter? Really now. I know it's all very impressive, but this isn't an amusement park. You don't have to buy the trashy overpriced food and souvenirs." she says. "Anagathic treatment is always 'black magic' in places like these, figuratively or literally. The other alternative, about equally as likely, is that he's old and ailing and you aren't supposed to talk about it." she remarks to Staren without deigning to look at him. "The thing about the position of 'emperor' is that it only selects for competence when the empire is first expanding. Then it selects for connections." It happens vaguely in Gilgamesh's direction too, though obviously it has the opposite connotation, given Gilgamesh's placement in Babylon's history. "I keep saying that~! In many different forms. Is it really true that the only version of 'someone who really has something doesn't desperately try to convince everyone they do' left to the modern day's collective wisdom really just that thing about large cars and inadequate men? That's depressing."
Lilian Rook	"I doubt much of it is fake." she says to Spider-Man. "For one specific reason. If he's importing this much outside technology, he has money. Money to spare. It'd be unreasonable to assume this is all smoke and mirrors while he can fund massive bankrolls of random bulk import tech." She finally actually addresses the escort (slash acknowledges their existence). "Am I correct? This is all very lovely, but this is all territory we'd be free to look at on our own time, rather than needing fifty armed guards, yes? Let's make the best use of all of our time and wages and get to the party where you're needed to be here, and where we need you to proceed."
Kalia	Haguro's prodding reveals that these people use good old Multiversal credits, making it pretty easy to tell what things here are worth. "Huh, for these? That'd probably be a few hours of work, it'd come down to around..." He rattles off a number, that comes roughly in the realm of ten grand, as if it were nothing. "About a day's worth of salary, why?" She might notice his shop is full of equally expensive weapons and armor, all stupidly ornate but probably perfectly functional despite the fact. The farmer eyes Avenger, boggled. "Huh? Nah I just farm, mate. Ain't no blood spilled within city limits, that's the rule. No monsters here either. No need 'ta fight." A disgusting lifestyle, surely, for someone like Avenger. A guard looks down at Roxas, mirroring the curiosity. "Why wouldn't you? The sky outside can grey, it can get rainy, stormy, violent. You keep the sky inside, you can make sure it behaves. There's no rainy days here, no sudden tempests or floods. Just clear sunny skies and endless stars at night. She gets it," he indicates Lilian. Another guard responds to Maya, "You lot don't sound like you have it great where you're from if you think this is some kind of show. Emperor makes sure people aren't ever wanting for anything. This is pretty normal. Bit slow today, actually, outsiders tend to make people stay home." The guard makes a vague head-nudging motion towards Staren, as if that completed his statement. All the while Staren yells about how awful this place is, and accosts the farmer, who turns from Avenger to him. "Is this a what? Mate it's a Pitchforker 3000. That how you outsiders call your fancy tech, yeah?" He speaks slowly, as if treating Staren like a baby. "It pitchfork good." He demonstrates by pushing on a ruby, which doubles as a button. The pitchfork vibrates like a vibroweapon. That... might in fact be useful for pitchfork-related things? Probably? There are more gems, so presumably, more functions. Which, of course, Spider-Man can confirm are all real gems. Real silver, real gold. Purity varies, but it's not scrap. But where DO they get this stuff? The tech all looks cobbled together. It's salvage, it's obviously not made here. The same peasant looks at Gilgamesh, confused. "This here's gonna make me farm faster 'an better, what's wrong wit' it?" As for matters of importing... there's crates and shipments around the city, surely, of imported goods. Some exports, too. But even more piles of battle-scarred salvage awaiting triage. Some still bloody, not having been cleaned yet.
Roxas	Roxas staggers forward a little as Xion plows into the back of him unexpectedly. He catches himself without much difficulty, and is about to ask what's wrong when Xion explains the matter herself. He follows the direction of finger towards the tool that everybody is goggling at. "Yeah, but..." He turns out his pockets and counts the money that he has in them, "... I have five hundred munny, one hundred gil, three dollars and fifty cents from Arizona, and a popsicle stick. I don't think we can afford anything here." "Do you want something like that?" He wonders, rubbing awkwardly at the back of his head through his hood. In response to her suggestion, Maya gets a slightly strange look. Roxas glances towards the sky, and then back to Maya, "Um... well... I guess it /is/ pretty impressive to put the sky inside." Lilian gets a sharp 'um' when she comments on the coat, to which he replies, "But we haven't visited anyplace with decent clothes yet... and I don't know if I'd even know them from anything else." The explanation from the guard elicits a semi-understanding 'ohh' from him. But after a moment's thought he replies, "I think... that sometimes things are good because they're not always there. Not everything is like that, but some things are. I like rainy days, and sometimes a shady day is nice, too. But I guess I get why you'd like to be able to just have one whenever you like, too."
Staren	10,000 credits is a day's salary? Staren is honestly surprised. What is UP with this place? Also, when it turns out the gems DO stuff, Staren waves his hand. "Ah, sorry. I didn't realize the gems were functional. Carry on." He has to wonder if a vibro-pitchfork is really more useful than improving other aspects of farmwork first, but that feels like a discussion for another time. "So there's one thing I don't get. If this is all so great... why are some people chained up? Chains mean the chained wishes to leave, and the chainee doesn't wish them to. Why do people want to leave here? And what moved Gared to give his life fighting against the emperor?"
Lezard Valeth	"Of course, King of Heroes. My mistake." Lezard simply smiles a thin smile as he looks over this environment. Yes, it is glorious and ostentatious in his own way, but he gives a long, side look to Gilgamesh, as if considering something for several moments. The environmental situation and back and forth with the army of escorts more or less confirms his suspicions. The book snaps shut for the moment, and vanishes into a wavering pulse of space as he stows the Philosopher's Stone back into its spatial fold, then moves on forward. "So, does one consider this to be a statement of the nature of the Multiverse's availability of easily-acquired material if one is willing to prey outside of the sight and level of notice of the major factions? Or does one believe that the Emperor has happened upon some kind of massive wealth engine?" He asks no one in particular... And making no inherent value judgements. Food for thought. In the meantime, he proceeds along, waiting to make his own judgements until he sees the titular ruler of this place.
Gilgamesh	Gilgamesh gives the farmer a disgusted look. The farmer, of course, has no way of knowing that he's tripped a very specific irritant of the King of Heroes, and so is just getting a look of pure unpleasantness from the King's perfect face. A moment later, the King shrugs his shoulders and casts his irritation away. Golden voice comes out as the King waves his hand imperiously. "I want to meet your mongrel Emperor. Take us to him."
Kalia	"Criminals, mate," the farmer answers Staren. "'an people from conquered villages and stuff. Ain't no point wasting good pairs of arms, yeah?" One guard steps in. "Even the Chained," he says, this culture having invented a word to replace 'slave' evidently, "Have access to better food and care than people outside." As for Gared, nobody on the guard force looks to be old enough to know the name. But the palace isn't far now; there'll be time to ask then. The guard who was speaking to Roxas shrugs. "I've never heard anyone say they'd rather it be raining. Rather it be cold and damp out. That really a thing people want?" Sheltered life, and all that. He looks between Roxas and Xion, pulling some credits out of his pockets. It's... uh, well. It's a lot. "I got some change you can have, kids." 'Change'. It's somewhere in the realm of twenty grands. A guard's life must be absurdly good. The wares of the blacksmith are theirs to peruse, if Xion still lusts for them! There's another one of those pitchforks in a corner, a rake, entirely too many weapons, axes and spears piled up in a corner, weird horseshoes, a hammer with a thruster on it, a set of pots for the kitchen that look like they could survive reentry... and really, a fair few other pieces of frankensteined metalwork. Meanwhile the guards pointedly don't answer Lezard, as if trained to avoid the question of How.
Avenger	There is the look of irritation across Avenger's face...but not at the reason most would expect. His mind briefly remembers a time. A small man, with a messy crop of white hair, working hard aboard a ship. It was a simpler time, a time where he was innocent from the true dark nature of the world. Snapping back to reality, with a sideways look towards Gilgamesh, he shrugs his shoulders once towards the man. "Carry on then," Avenger says, moving past the man and continuing on. Though his eyes finally fall on one of the crates. Battle salvage, and still covered in the sent of blood. One of the guards catches his attention, "And what are we to make of that?" Avenger quips. "I see a people chained, I see a people blinded by their own greed and self-indulgence, thinking they are free but in chains of their own making. I see those outside of this cycle made to suffer for those who have the unfortunate mistake of not being born of this country, but nearby to it." He says, probably to nobody. "I wonder, how many scream for revenge or to be avenged?"
Maya	Staren has Known Maya longer than most elites in this sector have been here, why would she be expressing interest in the smith? If Staren thought for a moment he might come up with another answer. "I'd like to learn a bit more about this place before we meet with the Emperor Staren." She notes back to him the comment about the Emperor being Gilgamesh if he lost all sense and taste? "That's a very good way to puyt it." SHe pause for a moment and nods to Gil seemingly catching what he means. "I was trying to gauge a few things about the city and the practices here Lilian." She looks to the guard for a moment. "Most displays like this in my lifetime have been shows put on to impress. If this is truly how things are normally then this would be a rarity." There is no snark there is no anger she's just stating a fact. She turns to Lilian for a moment looking at her closely. "We should not delay, you are right this is not an amusement park. The more I think of it you remind me of someone I once worked with. " She then looks back to Roxas for a moment nodding once and will get on her way soon though she looks at Gilgamesh and what he says to the farmer for a moment. She doesn't seem to like where this is going. There's some more information on the slaves and she really does seem ready to move on and will do so as soon as she's able. Some of Avengers words also stick with her as that was much the entire situation of her own people with the 'Chosen' on her home world.
Haguro	Avenger's investigation of the farmer gets an approving nod from Haguro, although the cruiser focuses her own efforts on getting whatever information she can from the blacksmith. "Ten thousand.. Hm. I don't have that much money on me today, but I'll have to come back once I get paid." She bows formally to the blacksmith, then steps out! And with that matter settled, she turns to Staren and Lillian with a flustered, if somewhat annoyed frown. "I-I wasn't actually going to buy anything. I just needed to find out how much money is worth here. A farmer normally wouldn't buy something that fancy without good reason, and for something like that to be considered a day's salary of ten thousand credits..." Haguro furrows her brow as the questions start mounting. "How can a farmer make that much each day? Even the doctors and lawyers I've seen back home don't make that much." Lezard's mention of a wealth engine draws an interested glance from Haguro. "That might be the case, Mister Valeth. But... How would someone be able to make such a thing without anyone noticing?" Then again, perhaps that's why Gared got killed in the first place. Turning to Avenger, she steps towards him and mutters quietly so as to try not letting the guards hear. "Don't antagonize them too much. We still need to meet the emperor and find out what's going on. If it's worse than it looks, then we'll.. Sort all of them out later."
Staren	"If they have it so good here, they still shouldn't need to be chained up." Staren comments, but he doesn't really expect that discussion to go anywhere and would prefer to get on to meeting the emperor. It still doesn't add up. The people here are well-treated, and yet those outside speak of a tyrant -- even the village on his GOOD side gave the impression they were just too cowardly and comfortable to resist. It might be beginning to look like maybe the emperor is a benevolent dictator trying to make the world better against resistance... AND YET... Staren frowns at Haguro, well not at her but at the situation as he speaks to her, and nods. "The way wealth is concentrated here doesn't make sense, when so many more villages could be given comfortable lives. Paying for fertilizer, growth enchantments, and genetically engineered seeds would still be cheaper than building a giant city-sized skybox. Something else is going on here..." But what?
Lilian Rook	Lilian takes one look at the salvage, and then answers the chains question with "Prisoners of war, I'll hazard." even as the farmer gives his own interpretation. "Somewhere else in this world must have thought the same thing at some point. That's battle damage; they're not digging it up from stereotypical ancient ruins of some fallen utopia. They're at war, and they're winning." She gestures towards the bloodstains. "It's recent too, given this ridiculous hyperinflation." Lilian continues. Even if twenty grand is change to her, she knows that it's not supposed to be for hay raking plebs. "As far as I see, this emperor considers this specific city 'his empire', and everything beyond its walls as outland, either convenient, ignorable, or hostile. A pet project. An indoor utopia. Those outside are imperial in name only, until they pick up and move here. I doubt I'm far off the mark." Roxas' answer seems to amuse her even more than the question, though she speaks to the farmer rather than directly to him. "Nobody likes being outside in miserable rain, but people do enjoy variety." she says. "And people especially enjoy being inside and comfortable while other people are stuck outside in that rain." she finishes with, leaving that one to percolate while now boredly fiddling with her hair. "But you do see the difference." she says to Roxas instead. "We'll make a day of it, like I promised~" She barely glances at Avenger. "What an asinine question. Someone always wants revenge on someone. If you're looking for the wronged, they're probably whoever died when that last haul of war spoils was pried off of them." Speaking of which: -----[stop]----- Lilian divorces herself from her spot of impatient cosmopolitan boredom and goes off to the loading site itself, 'spending' some time both checking over the crates and pallets for stamps and signs of where it's coming from (professional, corporate, artisan, bulk, surplus, etc.) and the salvage itself for identifying characteristics that'd give some idea as to the prowess (mostly magical more than technological) of the people it's being scored from, how far the war is, and what the emperor is using against them, before coming back as if nothing had happened. -----[start]----- "Yes, hurry it up please. We're on business, remember? We can see the sights and stimulate the local economy once we're at leisure to spend the rest of our time in a local establishment, talking the day's events over."
Xion	Chained people? Well, Xion doesn't have a good frame of reference for people in general, but there is something she DOES have reference to - how dope that pitchfork is, BLINGEE. Xion advances on the vibrating farm implementing with both hands in a grabby-gimmy posture, fingers working rhythmically to clench and unclench. "Piiiiiitchfooooooorker...!" She drawls. It takes a blond prettyboy declaring things ('take me to your leader') with supernatural backing to snap Xion out of her meanacing, drooling advancement on the PITCHFORKER 3000 and looking around at the guards - especially the one explaiing the sky. "But if it never rains, then you can't walk around in it. That seems bad, don't you think? I've always wanted to walk in a warm rain. It hasn't been the right season for it." "Doesn't that sound fun? Anyway hey, let's go to the leader!" Xion announces, reachig out to grab Roxas' arm and with a nearly maniac energy dragging him... off. It's probably the wrong direction, unless there's a clearly big castle, then she just drags him along.
Roxas	"I like the sound of rain on a roof." Roxas explains, gesturing with one hand. He blinks with surprise at the 'change', hastily raising his other hand to receive it. He opens his mouth a little, closes it again. "T-thanks a lot!" He eventually manages, absolutely flabberghasted by this casual gesture of generosity. Of course, he wasn't paying attention to any of the bits that tell him how much money is worth around here, or that it's very little for a guard-- or anyone, really. It's still more money than he's ever had in his entire life. After a moment or two, Roxas elects to turn over however much of the money Xion wants to her, pocketing the rest. He pulls his hood down, and looks up towards Lilian. His expression flattens a little, a thoughtful hum betraying the obviously turning gears in his head. "Sometimes," he replies, "it's nice to be out in the rain. But sometimes it rains too hard for that." Yes, he is actually just that innocent. "H-hey--" Roxas stumbles lightly as Xion grabs his arm and starts trying to haul him off, once again catching himself before it becomes a fall, "-- I thought you wanted something from the shop..." This doesn't stop him from going along with this in the slightest.
Spider-Man	Peter is turning his brain over to find comparable socioeconomic configurations here, but he doesn't really have any experience there beyond the most economic. He's going to have to just kind of improvise, he thinks. Spider-Man presses on trying to focus on things. With most of this investigative matter currently being handled, Spider-Man needs to meet up properly with the emperor and figure out what's going on with their... frontier relations. However, one thing. One /key specific thing/. The jewels he sees, on tools or trade. Do they look similar to the jewel that was in the sword? Presumably in their chemical resemblance?
Xion	PREVIOUSLY, on XIONVISION: 'Hey, I've got some change you can have, kids.' Xion raises a hand. "I'm sorry, I was told not to take handouts from strangers." She replies automatically, the empty sort of childish virtue a cartoon would effect. She barely seems to notice the Money, but Roxas has a clear opportunity to REASONABLE-LAD INTERRUPT and scoop the dosh to float the popsicle addiction... uhm, for a long time.
Kalia	"A dog can be domesticated but still need a leash," a guard responds to Staren, matter-of-factly. The cargo, Lilian has ample time to figure out, is varied. The palace exports repaired tech, recycled goods, some food and such. They import scrap by the metric ton. Stuff from high-tech worlds that people think are past shelf life. Things they think nobody can repair. Weapons beyond use, or outdated. They buy low. They resell high. But the salvage? It's from a lot of different places. Places the empire is verifiably in conflict with indeed. And Gilgamesh, with his King's Eye, can tell as much; these people probably live off the salvage, constantly adding others' riches to their own piles, while expanding very little, and sharing very little of it outside the palace. This means they're sitting on endless piles of valuables - and everything keeps becoming more and more expensive to match up with everyone getting richer and richer. It'd be inflation, if this place's money wasn't Multiversal credits. As it is, it's just highly irresponsible. At Roxas' commentary, one guard pulls out his cobbled together smartphone. He plays soundofrainonrooftop.mp3 for him. "We got some pretty good samples of all that stuff, we just don't have to deal with the actual rain part." Checks out. Spider-Man finds out the jewelry on objects here is just standard jewelry. It's not generally magical. Some salvage might be, but never "legendary sword" magical or special. Eventually, Gilgamesh forces things to advance, and advance they do. The palace within the palace is a tall structure of white marble, in stark contrast to the exterior walls. They are led through ornate halls showing past kings, queens, emperors and even heroes, before finally reaching a throne room. It is heavily guarded by a variety of soldiers, and some even look fairly exceptional or keen, perhaps as much as you are. Or almost, at least. The emperor is old, a man in his 80s wearing black and gold armored robes. He looks frail, not ill, but clearly at the end of his rope, with the long white hair that's obligate for men of his rank. He is sided by blond twins in their 20s, a young man in power armor and a young woman with eight servo-arms sticking out of her back, each ending with some manner of painful-looking tool. Both draped in black and gold, like their father. "Welcome, outsiders, to my palace," the emperor says, sounding as old as he looks. "Let's cut to the chase. You didn't come here to exchange pleasantries. What can the Empire of Tyron do for you?"
Gilgamesh	The King of Heroes' glance reveals all. He walks through the streets, led by those he's usurped control of with a gesture, looking over it all. The people are scavengers, nothing more. A rotten boil piling gold upon itself in order to gain the appearance of wealth. If it burst, it would infect everything. As it is, the smallest prick could cause untold ripples. Inflation on an unheard-of scale. Irresponsible beyond his wildest dreams. The King shakes his head, showing his disgust only moment to moment, never all at once. Once inside the palace, he barely even glances at the opulence. It's opulent, yes, but it's shadows of opulence, dancing dreams chasing dragons' wealth. It's not real wealth. It's simply moving the line up. The young woman gets a glance from the handsome young King. Even here, he's Gilgamesh. His clothes are simple and yet impossibly beautiful. He radiates opulence and power from his core even with only gold earrings and a necklace to stand out. The Emperor makes an offer. The King places his hands in his pockets. "I am Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, King of Uruk and of Babylon and of Denmark, King of Holidays, King of All That Is, Was, and Ever Shall Be, who holds the name of the Wedge of Heaven." "I want to buy your empire. Name your price." The easiest way to correct it, after all.
Staren	"People are not dogs." Staren replies to the guard. And then: The Emperor! The ornate halls of the palace-within-a-palace get no further thought from him -- SOME show of wealth is par for the course for rulers in this sort of society, after all, this is to be expected. It's what's going on outside that's weird. He's not going to be the first to speak. The questions are obvious: Why do people outside see you as a tyrant they're ashamed to collaborate with? If you have so much wealth and good intentions, then why waste so much (at least some DOES seem to be going to actual good.)? Why was Gared so determined to stop you? Why have you let yourself get so old? But, y'know, he's not the best at words, so he'll give others a chance to ask the questions diplomatically first. Gilgamesh's proposal gets a wide-eyed stare from him, though.
Kalia	"The empire's constantly trying to expand itself. Bring this lifestyle to others. They don't all accept it. Some actually get pretty violent at the perceived threat. We fight back." It's... no, this isn't a statement of experience that Avenger gets from a guard. This guard has probably never left the palace. Never SEEN a battle. It sounds like he's repeating something he was told to say. Something he believes, mostly.
Avenger	Avenger gives Lilian a grin, "That much is true. Though for someone who claims to be well versed in matters of state, you are quite direct," He says but does not dwell on it. The guard gets a look and the smile from Avenger withers. Just the following order, just allowing the things to happen, even though men could be suffering. He can sense the sin, the sin of sloth, to avoid learning the truth and accepting what is told to him. "I have come to learn of another matter," Avenger says, towards the Emperor. "I have come to learn the truth of the matter of a man called Gared." Avenger watches, observing carefully what reaction the name brings if any.
Haguro	Upon entering the palace proper, things start clicking in place for Haguro as she listens to her allies and snaps pictures of odds and ends around the palace. With the amount of money the people here suggest can simply be thrown around from here, there's either a massive mismatch on what jobs are considered worth how much money, or there's something shadier going on. Haguro's betting on shady, and a wealth engine really doesn't seem out of the question (even if Haguro has no idea how such a thing would work). Between the guard's response to Avenger, the continued displays of wealth even from the Emperor and his progeny, and the sheer lack of real world... ANYTHING between the simulated rain and the skybox, Gared's role in all of this had nearly gone forgotten by the Cruiser. Nearly. At least, until Avenger brings it up next to Gilgamesh's offer to buy out the empire. Clearing her throat, the Abyssal offers the royals a formal (yet brief) salute. "Haguro, Partner of the Concord, fourth of the Myokou class Heavy Cruiesrs. It's a pleasure to meet you, Emperor Abaris." The hand goes back down, the tailheads are ushered behind Haguro, and then she straightens up. "I'd like to hear about the matter with Gared and the Lakeblade. I've heard mixed stories between several different parties, so I wanted to get your perspective on the matter."
Roxas	Roxas doesn't actually discourage Xion's statement, despite taking the money himself. It's because there are more circumstances he'd find this sketchy in than ordinary ones he /wouldn't/ be alarmed by. As-is, he'd prefer it if Xion /didn't/ accept handouts from random strangers, most of the time. He reacts to the guard with a smartphone with a thumbsup with his free hand. That's something he'll /definitely/ be checking out a little bit later down the road. Because he honestly has NO CLUE what the actual problem is, excepting that a few of the people here are /very/ preachy about it, Roxas actually doesn't butt in on talking with the Emperor. He's mostly just sort of... absorbing information, and trying to learn about it. He's MUSCLE, here. "So... do you /not/ want any of that, now?" He marvels at Xion, in a polite whisper. Gilgamesh offers to /buy/ the whole place, and Roxas can't do anything but just sort of gape at this. He looks 'round towards Lilian to see how she's taking that particular /twist/, because so far she's accumulated the most SURROGATE MENTOR points by offering fashion advice.
Spider-Man	Spider-Man looks aaaaaall around as they get shown through. He tries to take in history. Raw and unfiltered history, the kind you get only through paintings and medieval symbolism. It's not the diet he's used to, and it doesn't work. "Hi!" Spider-Man says, before he checks around to what others are doing. Do they, uh, bow? Or kneel? Or something? He goes with bowing. "Hi, Mister, uh... Your majesty." He's not sure if this is one of those situations where the emperor has the same last name as his empire, or if this is one of those times where they hyphenate the surname like a gentrifying white sixty-five-year-old couple buying property in Oregon. He tries to take a sort of at-attention stance. "This is Lilian Rook." He gestures to her, and intends to let her. "And she sure does know a lot that I don't about talking to you. But we're here about the Lakeblade and Pelo." Then he thinks of... Staren's matter. "Oh! And, if you can help us out with witnesses or testimony from your military police or something like that, because there's a lot of really old people under arrest for a murder and I think it'll help the court things go a lot easier if they can get some testimony help." He also regards Gilgamesh like the man is a very large, very complex crossword puzzle. His goggles squint /hard/, then widen a lot. The idea of someone having that much money on-hand is unthinkable to the point of it being hard for him to believe in the first place. He's not even comprehending that amount of money yet (shame for Spider-Man's part), but he has a hard time understanding why or /how/ Gil would lie. He's having, it seems, a lot of /trouble/ comprehending how much money the rich people around him have.
Lezard Valeth	Lezard doesn't answer Haguro's question. At least, not immediately, simply returning a smile. "We'll know it if we see it. More information would be required." He says. Lezard is quiet as they enter the palace, his arms crossed behind himself almost casually as he strides through the structure. Once they reach the throne room, Lezard sweeps his cape out and bows to the Emperor, "Lezard Valeth, Master Alchemist of Midgard." He announces himself. The sight of the aged Emperor brings a tiny smirk to his face as he looks down to the floor, but it is gone as he stands, bringing with it an expression of profound respect and humility. So humble, in fact, that he simply waits and looks quite surprised when Gilgamesh offers to outright purchase the empire in a hostile takeover bid. His own business can wait, of course.
Maya	So, at last, they meet the Emperor of this empire. It's not lost on Maya the people are scavengers, that's what Maya and her people are have been for a thousand years. However, the seemingly twisted wealth here is something she does get her attention doubly so with the inflation here too. Still, they are meeting the emperor now and she looks to the two people with him for a moment. "I am Maya the Junker of the city-state of Oasis. We have come to learn more of your empire." THen Gil makes his offer and she seems to not get a shocked look but a serious one from the look on her face it's clear she knows this isn't a joke, this isn't empty.
Staren	Oh, well, if Haguro and Lezard are introducing themselves he can't NOT. He glances at Gilgamesh, then back to the emperor. If Gil's not bowing he's not bowing. "Staren Wiremu, Hand of the Concord." He still waits for the others' comments to be adressed first, though.
Xion	Rainysoundonroof.mp3? SOUNDS FAKE! FAKE! As fake as the heart unmoved by the sound of this fakeness! "What? The store? Well, it was shiny, but isn't that guy shiny too?" Xion asks, pointing at... Well, actually, the broadness of her gesture could mean any collection of 'guys', but mostly seems to be either King Gilgamesh or the Emperor, after the pair file into the throne room because they Followed The Plot. With a sleeve she wipes the drool off her face, shrugging. "I sort of want a country right now, but that's weird, right?" With an empty conspiratorial glance, Xion cups a hand to the side of her mouth to stagewhisper at Roxas. "I think he's got it covered, though. Wanting things. Do you think the country for sale? Mog says everything's for sale, and I generally believe him."
Lilian Rook	That much confirmed, Lilian rejoins the fold without having ever left, and finally opines aloud, on the way to the palace. "A very poetic way to put it, O King. I think perhaps a little more grandiose than it deserves. Once human beings have too much, having things ceases to please them; only having more things than they had before does, and then only acquiring more things than they acquired before after that. The delta of happiness, for a man who's been doing this for a very long time. I can't even as strongly expect paranoia or inadequacy; I suspect our emperor here has already long forgot what purpose wealth actually serves." She finally glances sidelong at Avenger, and says "The first thing you learn in statesmanship is that being indirect is for the statesmen, not the help." Then she just shakes her head at Roxas and Xion. "You two are really just too cute for this." she sighs, quasi-reluctantly. When finally pushed into the throne room, Lilian does take the step of the formal bow/curtsey of appropriate nature, inhabiting the ground between 'two much of a murderhobo to properly show respect' and 'being used to respect being the thing one gets rather than gives'. "Dame Commander Liliana Isabelle Rook, of the Unseen Scarlet Cross. At your service~" she goes through with anyways. Even dispensing with pleasantries, a good introduction is still necessary. When Gilgamesh just offers to buy the place, only the very faintest of forced glassiness enters her professional courtroom-pokerface smile, as if she'd just suppressed the urge to wince at pulling something. "Officially, the Paladins are here to follow up on a Multiversal threat vector case taking place closely within your territory. You have heard of us, yes?" she asks, rhetorically, flashing the badge quickly. "I'm certain you're aware by now, but a dangerous grudge spirit of external origin had been engaged in laying waste to one of your holdings just outside the swamp --Pelo, I believe-- and the matter was intercepted by yours truly as a matter of course." "Ordinarily, this would go by paper, but the fact is that we have substantive reason to believe that this spirit, and a number of its aberrant allies, will be returning to your kingdom in future. The former, quite possibly their leader, tracks down the souls of the dead who have been embittered or angered by your rule, and have gone to their graves with hatred and regrets. We believe these entities possess the capacity to exponentially multiply the scale of their damaging influence if allowed to move freely, and so we have need of the ability to anticipate their movements. That is to say, we'd need to hear of, from your highness and his high cabinet, as many noteworthy individuals or communities that no longer exist, but may currently bear you and your empire a post-mortem grudge, and for what reasons. I'll understand if this is something that requires a written report, and cannot be covered in the space of one meeting, but I do expect you already understand the importance of not leaving this threat unchecked. The experts are already here, after all, and you are a very wealthy and very powerful man."
Lilian Rook	She, in fact, does not bring up the Lakeblade or Gared at all. She doesn't touch on the murder investigation. She doesn't question him on the prophecy. Lilian presents as a dutiful frontline first responder of the vaunted Multiversal Paladins, coming to this exciting place to tackle a problem in good faith for the emperor, who is requesting the information necessary to handle it. If it's an act, it is a flawless one --someone born for the stage and who'd fly under the polygraph. If it isn't, it still 'coincidentally' involves the emperor or his staff telling them all about what they've done to piss their people off, and specifically when and where. She's keeping her eye out though. She doesn't make direct eye contact with the emperor, keeping her gaze respectfully a little lower than his, but instead honing it on the two that she assumes to be heirs next to him, assessing them for any hint of supernatural power, followed by the soldiers behind them. "I would also ask you to kindly ignore any less than respectful behaviour from our unaffiliated company here. You know how difficult it is to get private audiences and all. They're not all the most well-bred type, but they're mostly harmless."
Kalia	"You wish to... buy my empire?" Abaris looks at the two by his side. They exchange whispers, surprised glances, and some choice cuss words from the part of the younger two. After a moment, they return to their position, and the emperor says: "We'll need some more time to discuss that matter." He didn't say no. They didn't treat it like a joke, either. Though from the sounds of it, it seemed like he was in favor, and the youths were not. Expectedly, they might be too young to realize the landmine that is the empire, and see it as their father selling their future. Gared, though. The emperor laughs, weakly. "Look at me, dark-clad stranger. I'm one walk away from accidently cracking my hips and dying. Do you think I have time to concern myself with legends and prophecies about a blade and a knight from five decades ago? Even if that sword was meant to kill me, I could just as easily succumb to a cold at this point." He IS pretty old. And he doesn't look like he benefits from fancy life-extending tech, either. That might be beyond this place's ability to fix and use. "What is there even to say? A village didn't want my ire and sold his location to me. He was killed, a traitor to the throne. My morning walks pose me greater threat than a dead knight, or whatever he was." Spider-Man's request makes him raise a brow. "I was young, back then." Well, thirty. 'Young'. "Willing to take the field myself. I led the hunt against him myself. He was mangled from an encounter with some swamp wildlife. I stabbed him. He died. What more is there to say?" Abaris laughs to himself. "Back when I could lift a sword." 'The good old days'. Murdering people. Conquering. Lilian, of course, gets him to put his serious face back on. He's old, not stupid. "So that's why you ask. Gared's spirit, and others, on some vengeful crusade. Of course we have tons of enemies. What expanding empire doesn't? But the undead, that's different." He drums his fingers on the arms of his throne. "And what, precisely, would you have me do about it? I'm well-guarded as-is. Surely you came here with a solution, not to waste my time with threats?"
Gilgamesh	Gilgamesh waves his hand, as if acknowledging that of course they'll need to discuss it, it's probably the most absurd thing anyone in the room has ever heard. He's been looking the Emperor in the eye the entire time. There's no bowing from Gilgamesh, no averting of eyes. He is the King of All and he holds himself like it. He is every bit as self-assured as a man who claims that title ought to be. And there's no false ego in those eyes, nor false modesty from that perfect face. "You intend to have me take over the throne before your children face the brunt of your vengeful shade, do you not?" Gilgamesh says plainly, without accusation or emotion, "That way, when I die, your children can regain control, having reaped the benefit of my good work and avoided the death prophesied upon them by the blade. You may not be concerned for yourself, but you are a father. You would not so readily sell their inheritance unless your line of thinking was thus." The King of All turns around and pats Lilian on the shoulder. "I leave the rest of the boring business to you. I am going to look around and see if I can find anything else about this Gareth," he murmurs.
Staren	Daaaaaamn. Lilian does an amazing job of asking for information without insinuating that the emperor's done anything wrong. That's why she's a diplomat and he's not! Staren frowns at the comment about poor breeding though. How can she show so much intelligence and yet also think noble blood matters? She seems smart enough to actually learn better though; there was a time he saw the world as black-and-white and in need of justice over all else, too. The emperor actually considers the deal. This feels... wronger. He must know there's a hell of a problem to unload on Gilgamesh... The emperor speaking is finally too much for Staren to hold his tongue. "Please. Noone in this place is at risk of dying from a broken hip. We all know that body's just for appearances -- maybe the populace isn't ready for an emperor that looks twenty-something yet -- and you've got a clone and a backup somewhere. Or you already youthened yourself and that's just an illusion." He sighs and crosses his arms. "It's not a threat. Our solution is to go fight the spirits before they can cause trouble, we're just asking you where your enemies are buried so they can't get here while we're out looking for them." Gilgamesh saying 'when I die' gets another sharp, short 'Ha!' out of him.
Roxas	"Uh, well... technically," Roxas raises a finger animatedly as he whispers back, "we're numbered, which means we /do/ sort of have a country already. It's just... you know, the World That Never Was." He doesn't elaborate on this bizarre statement, because Xion already knows enough to take it from there. "And I don't think so, but I don't know... maybe most things are, most of the time? I guess it depends..." He grins genially towards Lilian, "Thanks, I think-- we're not really the talkers for stuff like this. We don't know enough, I guess." Roxas lapses into temporary silence as the Emperor speaks-- and in turn, Gilgamesh. After a moment he finally decides to say something, raising a hand to gesture at Lilian, "I'm not the cleverest person, and I definitely don't know much about this place. But, um, she takes everything really seriously and is very honest. If she says that there's a problem, /I'd/ trust that there's a problem. That is, I don't think she'd just try to scare somebody." This may just be more evidence that he's not cut out for this sort of discussion.
Lilian Rook	Lilian inwardly suppresses the urge to physically try and put Avenger's foot in his literal mouth for that one, and slides past it without outward worry. She had been right. The emperor is definitely at the end of his rope, and he knows how old he is. "There's not much desire that a man of that age, with little time, few remaining enemies, and more wealth than he can use, has left for clinging to his things." she puts over the radio quietly. "Nothing left to prove, nobody left to spite, clearly accepting his soon-to-be death, and apparently not terribly close to his children." she adds. "It could work --given a little effort." "Of course, your highness." she actually says out loud to the throne room this time. "Having seen your citadel, we have no doubt that it is more than adequately defended, but no doubt the spirit realizes the exact same thing, and will continue to spread death and chaos outside its walls. It is our duty to have this threat dealt with, and we are more than prepared to do it ourselves. We need not ask for you to give up or give out anything; what we need is the most substantial roster of potential gravesites, battlefields, disaster areas, or the like, where you suspect that the dead would harbour higher than average hatred towards you and your dynasty specifically. We need this information to begin our search, as we have no considerable leads so far. Once we've located it again, in the process of gathering up new spirits, we will eliminate the threat entirely. Very simple, right~?" It's complete bullshit supposition that Kalia is going to keep coming back with a vendetta against the emperor, but it's theoretically plausible, which is a good enough grounds to push. "This is our job and our duty, after all. We're not looking to sell mercenary services. Simply put, we'd greatly appreciate it if you were to lend us that much assistance in this matter that has arrived on your doorstep, and all things given a bit of luck, it'll be taken care of before it runs too badly amok in your villages." Gilgamesh then just outright says what they're all (well, the political people) in the room are thinking, so there's no use in trying to dodge around it now. "The transactional business just described is, of course, separate and external to this case. King Gilgamesh has his own contracts and all. That said, please continue to understand the necessity of this matter; this entity has allies, many of which are substantially powerful, and more indiscriminately bloodthirsty, which have taken a particular liking to this territory. As a matter of Multiversal origin, it is a Mulitversal agency's concern, and I suspect a matter of concern to all of the holdings that make it worth the tremendous amount of money that it is."
Haguro	He's got a point there. The emperor's children are surprisingly young-looking relative to the emperor's age. Were they the more unscrupulous sorts, they could probably just knock him down the stairs or something. A vengeful ghost's blade would probably be less heartwrenching to die from. Alas, that's probably why he doesn't outright refuse the offer to buy his empire. Hell, he didn't even /pretend/ to refuse, scoff, laugh, or anything. Haguro doesn't let her suspicion show, however, as she nods towards the Emperor respectfully. She leaves the bulk of the talking to those substantially more versed in it, instead opting to listen and take notes. Mentally, of course, since she can't just pull out some paper and start writing everything down without looking unprofessional or cagey as hell. Also, she has no paper.
Kalia	Gilgamesh offers his version. The emperor laughs. Whether it's because it's on the nose, or absurd, isn't totally clear. The young woman by the emperor clicks her tongue at Staren's words, though. "Quiet! You'll respect the emperor while in his throne room, or I'll evict you myself, in multiple pieces!" Her servo-arms snap, crack, thunder and gesticulate wildly, the tool-ends sparking and clicking like angry snakes. "Don't, Vala," the emperor says, raising his hand. The young man is about to step forward in protest, but the emperor pre-empts him. "And don't, Ral. It's fine." Abaris looks at Staren, harshly. "I don't know how you live, outside my walls, but I'm sure even barbarians have a notion to respect the elderly. I've no interest in living longer. There's no plans, no backups. I lived. I conquered. I became wealthy. I made people wealthy. Killed. Murdered. Razed villages. Now I'm old, and accept the end comes. But don't mistake acceptance for giving up. There's a fight left in these bones, somewhere." Roxas pipes in, which directs the emperor to Lilian. He considers, and then waves a hand dismissively. "I don't have the information you want. I can tell you where Gared died, but you're asking me to divulge war intelligence about our targets and holdings on the pretense of vengeful spirits. I don't acknowledge your authority here, Paladin, least of all your requests to look into our dealings." He lowers his hand. "Will that be everything?"
Spider-Man	Spider-Man looks to the king, then over to Lilian, then sort of jitters which one he's actually looking at, as if one or the other might be a mistake to examine. "Wait," He asks. "Is that-- I mean, is that testimony? I think--" He taps at his goggles. "I guess a recording of that is fine...? Just to help add context to the court thingy." He blinks his goggle-lenses several times in a sort of vague confusion. "But, um, Lilian, just so you know, I'm not going to arrest this guy like the other old people. In think this guy might..." He regards him. Somehow, this king looks like he might snap in half, /and/ get Spider-Man snapped in half, simultaneously, if he tries to arrest him. So he just makes a crackly noise with his mouth and a sort of snapping gesture with both hands, to communicate both at once. She isn't interested in arresting him. Thank goodness! He listens attently. "Wow, more ghosts... would that be normal? Jeez, I hope not, that last place was a mess from the ghost problem." He scratches his head. "Oh, right, not just dead people with grudges... actually! There is one thing. Since the ghost... attacked Pelo instead of the palace first, there might be something weird going on. If you can't tell us gravesites or things like that, Mister Your Majesty Abaris, can you help let us know if big ghost massacres start happening in your territories? We're probably going to try to pick up on things ahead of time, but we really want to keep people from dying." He respects that this is probably a no-go on pulling out the details ahead of time, but surely at least /that/ would be within a realm of reason.
Staren	Staren just blinks as the kids react like that. And the emperor himself. It... does... he really not plan to keep living, even though he knows it's possible, and has shown more than enough audacity to seek to conquer death? It could all be a ploy, but... Staren grows more somber as the realization sets in. No, perhaps this man doesn't want to live. He seeks to leave a legacy. "...I apologize." He concedes somewhat lamely. The emperor will be unmoved by the risk of spirits wreaking havoc to the countryside. Offering a Concord business deal seems in poor taste -- no way will the Emperor risk his secret spilling, and it'll look bad to the Paladins and possibly mess up Gilgamesh's deal. "It seems our goals do not align after all." he could threaten the king's legacy. Will he be remembered as the one who caused a plague of spirits? But no, threats clearly won't move him. "Thanks for your time." He turns to leave.
Maya	Even with the friction with Lilian? This is pretty much her show she's been heading this operation and Maya is not going to get in the way of that. She gets a first-hand taste of just how skilled Lilian is as she speaks to the Emperor and she does clearly seem to be listening here and paying attention. Maya does have some political experience but she was not born into it. She is a Junker as she's said after all. She takes note of the Emperor not saying no to Gil's offer that gets her attention something clearly is up there. Maya may have the same mind of the King of Heroes she will wait for the meeting to end and then will go digging she watches Gil eave and gives the king a nod as he does so. She will hit up the town dig for information and the like and maybe she'll find something of use. She looks to Spider-man. "Sadly in some places the unquiet dead are quite normal." She'll make ready to go once she's certain they are done here.
Xion	"Oh! But I'm the lowest number, so I'm more a knight, not a king. Maybe even a squire. Don't you want to be a king, Roxas? I want to be a king. You've got all the kings to teach you how to king, too, luckyyyy." Xion presses her fists together, making a crown with her hands and hovers over Roxas's head. "Wearing a big shiny crown!" She laughs, despite the gravity of the situation, and the heavy politics going on. And drops her hands, to clap Lilian on the shoulder. "Thanks for being a friend. Being able to trust other people is important!" Xion offers, just before tensing at the two mecha-children ABOUT to go aggro... And then not. So, instead, Xion lets her arm dangle back down at her side, extracting it from Lilian's shoulder with a jerky 'oh, right, hand's still there' motion of remembrance, and watches Gilgamesh go off. Her eyes track him, catlike in the slow panning of her vision and then the slow turn of her head, muttering 'bbbbbbbbooks', under her breath. She rallies by clapping her hands on her cheeks. "Hey, so..." Xion looks to the Old King-Tyrant. "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?"
Lezard Valeth	Lezard listens carefully, and it turns out that the Emperor has no intention of living on, and has quite the interesting head on his shoulders. The situation of the Emperor, his city, his children, his legacy. All of it splays out before them all. Lezard shakes his head. "I will not trouble you any longer. I do offer, however, my services as alchemist. If you wish to improve your health until your time comes, perhaps I could assist in giving you some measure of the strength of your youth. Or if nothing else, mayhaps I can offer said services to your heirs."
Lilian Rook	Lilian, in endlessly patient (not really) displeasure, sighs out loud, hits a button, and opens up a holographic recording of Kalia dropping a giant black magic curse bomb on the village, with Gared's voice going on about killing people and getting revenge. It also displays Foreigner doing Foreigner things, and talking about taking the land. "A pretense, your highness, is by definition something that isn't true. You may not particularly mind this level of carnage in minor tribute villages like this, but the entire backbone of your empire is built on war, acquisition and trade. This will very much be directly your problem when it begins hitting war theatres, supply lines, trade routes, workshops, or god forbid when your outer world buyers start believing they're purchasing cursed items." "Furthermore, war intelligence would only matter if we were at war, or if the Paladins had any stake in any war you are currently waging. As an avowed and unbiased Multiversal peacekeeping and disaster intervention organization, the Paladins could neither afford to fight or steer a war against you, nor would it have anything to gain by doing so, while still having everything to lose. Please keep in mind that we are still within our rights to survey the territory ourselves for potential vectors for this disaster to rear up again. I understand that you wouldn't like to share right here and now, but I urge you at the very least to document a list of areas of concern and send them to our headquarters as soon as possible." -----[stop]----- "Because that ghost is the least of your worries you insipidly brainless shriveled piece of shit! Try doing one smart thing and making this easy, so that maybe I'll knock over your revoltingly gaudy little sand castle Animal Farm gently enough that the rubble doesn't crush you and your creepy little Stepford brats into the puddles of warm piss that you are! You don't get to talk that way to me and get away with it! You're fine with being dead right now, but oh you won't be if you keep fucking pushing me!" Lilian takes a deep, deep breath, holds, exhales, and then straightens out again. -----[start]----- "I hope that much is understood. We would greatly prefer for our business in this theatre to be wrapped up quickly and cleanly, and to be able to recount a positive experience with Tyron to the rest of the Multiverse."
Roxas	"If you really want to be a King," Roxas replies to Xion, "I guess all you have to do is last long enough. I don't... think I want to have that kind of role, though." He mimes taking the imaginary crown off and tossing it to Xion, "Maybe I'm just too dull for it, but... I guess I just don't want anything very complicated at all. It seems like everybody else has these great big ambitions, and I just want to hang out with you and Axel. So if you want to King, maybe I should be your knight." With that being said, he returns his attention to the Emperor and Lilian. There's some inflammatory stuff going on that he misses entirely because it is conducted in a timestop. Instead he just sort of smiles genially and waits for the diplomats to wrap up.