Scene Listing || Scene Schedule || Scene Schedule RSS
Owner Pose
Yuri Stinson     Curiously about this mission, the person who posted it has still yet to make their identity known. Rather, almost all communication in relation to this has been done through encrypted messages and untraceable drops.

    One such dead drop is at the meeting place for the 'start' of the mission. This envelope contains forged documentation for the Kingdom of Silver. Travel Visas and trader's permits, mercenary licenses, and medical credentials. Easy enough to get them past the gate for their mission, but not extensive enough to get them to the Queen herself.

    The Kingdom of Silver is, as a whole, slightly modern-ish in layout, but has medieval overtones. There are essence-fueled motorcycles and vehicles that drive around the city, though these are more the realm of nobles due to the technology involved. The buildings have a decidedly urban design, but there are still street-side trader stalls for food and equipment like armor and weapons.

    The city is run pretty tight and efficient. There's not a lot of 'poor' or 'homeless' around, but nor is there a lot of frivolty and mirth. It's very industrial and focused.

    Currently, it would seem everyone is in a central hub for the city, with a lot to explore. The capital has experienced a construction and expansion boom in recent months and weeks due to the territory of the Kingdom as a whole increasing. There's a lot of city to explore, and while there's the obvious gem of 'The Palace', standing at the center of it all shining a green-gold to the entire city as a spire, there's also trade districts, work districts, barracks for soldiers, residential areas, docks for ships (Both land and air), and other such places.
Finna Finna was an early arriver. The Union picked up on a rather odd request and it's exactly the sort that Finna enjoys. Plenty of weird intrigue, possibly an opportunity to stick an asshole noble where it hurts, and a chance to get dirt on... whoever else shows up for this odd operation.

    So she's not just punctual, she arrived HOURS early... as a crow, waiting on a roof, occasionally hopping about to strut around and nose at things as crows tend to do. Nothing odd about this bird, nope.

    She's quite keen on showing just WHO ELSE might be coming to this operation...
Setsuko Kaminagi     It seldom pays for Setsuko to do much in the way of 'sneaking around'. Even if she were perfectly quiet - and with her physical abilities, she could be - her natural presence would draw eyes, send shivers down sides, and generally just pull attention to her even if she were completely concealed. So she generally doesn't bother. But she can still take at least some modicum of covert action, including using fake credentials to get in as a mercenary. If anything, she'll stand out less here than she would in other worlds due to the presence of Exalted of a sort.

    More pressingly, she's not typically the type to take combat jobs for mercenary pay. But this was a contract from a world that Yuri Stinson calls home, and more importantly, something in her sense for War is tugging her here. She doesn't know what or why, but she feels she ought to be here. And so she is.

    For the most part, she's just taking a look around - specifically at the trade and work districts, curious to see what conditions are like where the blue-collar types work. This was supposed to be an 'improve local human rights' job, after all.
Kyra Hyral The Acolyte of the Dark Hero She Who Works The Billows of the Flames of Rebellion stalks the streets of the Kingdom of Silver. Given the background of her own world, she does seem to fit in a little bit better than most offworlders. On the other hand, she does seem a little bit touristy, gaping a little at the very nice-looking essence-fueled motorcycles. "I need to get one of those." she remarks to her companion, the indominatble Nero. "I wonder what their firearms look like here. I will need to check that out sometime."

    It has not gone unnoticed that there does not seem to be any slums or poor people, which is pretty unusual to Kyra because /all/ cities seem to have a more run-down area amongst them unless there is some serious social engineering going on behind the scenes. Of course, given the Syndicate notice that brought her here, she suspects that this is just the case. The very subdued atmosphere is also very suspect-a little like Ramuh but without any of the fun.

    "C'mon Nero, let's see what their living spaces look like. I'm curious to see if this place has anyone below a middle class." she makes a motion with her head before heading in the direction of the residential districts.
Nero Kyra's Servant followed along after her Master...in spirit form, of course. One less body to have to pass throouggh security would make things much less of a hassle. She did not speak unless referred to, and she kept all eyes and ears open for anything that could potentially cause undue harm to Kyra while she was about.

     "Very well, my Praetor." Nero's voiced vaguely echoed out around her general area in a soft tone. Though the Healer would not see anything indicating she was ebing followed, there was no doubt that the Roman Emperor was indeed hot on her trail.
Kutsuuko Shiratori     She has to admit, being paid in a single gold bar is a little bit weird, especially for deposing what amounts to an empress, even calling herself queen, but 40k in the bank is secondary to the main reason Kutsuuko is here. It's not all that easy to pass for a mercenary without revealing her excessively exotic weaponry, which would probably only make getting around harder, but she can pull it off better than a trader or medical practitioner by carrying a sidearm and her usual field gear around her waist; having intended to use it anyways. It's actually weird having to flash papers at all. Usually the giant red bracelet implant around her right wrist does that. Otherwise, she's stuffed Scarlet Symphony as far as it will fold in the kind of backpack one usually takes hiking up a mountain.

    On one hand, she's not sure she likes the look of this city. Sure, her preconceptions had been coloured more than a little by that notice, and she is judging based on a country that should be riding on spoils on spoils of war right now, but the feeling about the place is still off. She's already used to strict military control of civilization, but even in the ghettos surrounding the Far East Branch, people were able, and found time, to enjoy and express themselves. Maybe it's the clothing, the architecture, the dourness of the ambient noise; who knows, but it stands at stark odds with the opulent Palace alright.

    A job is a job though. The barracks are practically her first destination, trying to see how far she can get into an army run zone before being shooed off. Aside from the fact that she wants to get a good idea of what she and her fellow contractees will inevitably be fighting, seeing the soldiers themselves at rest should give her a better idea of how they keep this city in order, in one way or another.
Raylene Dunwich     Given the odd mingling of mideival and modern, there's an actual chance that Raylene's normal clothing of 'victorian dresses' is not all that out of tplace. Of course, she's still a young girl, and as that sort of age, she's going to need to hook up with someone to follow around as if she belongs here. That person will be... Kyra Hyral. So it is that the little redheaded teenager follows Kyra dutifully, acting the part that she has chosen.

    "Come on sis, are we there yet? I'm bored. My feet hurt. What's that?"

    Nero is kept company by Raylene's own 'Servant' of course, also invisible and immaterial. The Horror is not a very good conversationalist though, it just sort of looms around near the Emperor, saying nothing and also mostly 'appearing' like a formless mass of claws, teeth, and hate. At least it's behaving and not normally visible.
Yuri Stinson     ---Trade District---

    Setsuko's diverting into the trade district is an interesting one. As she goes through, the place seems pretty active at least. There are high-end shops, mid-ranged grocers, and street-side stands, all peddling wares. Anything with an attached workhouse has a good number of manual laborors in them, toiling away at forges, looms, or carrying crates to and fro. The only people that seem to not be working are business owners, who are usually watching their employees do the work for them.

    If anyone is discontent, no one is showing it or expressing it outwardly. The only thing out of the ordinary is a smiling shop owner leading a man out of his shop, "I'm sorry, but sales this Season are making me let someone go. You're the most recent hire, so it has to be you."

    The man seems to frown, "Ah. But how will I feed my family?" He looks about mid-20s, but that's the nature of this society.

    The merchant shakes his head again and pats him on the shoulder, "Don't worry. Remember, if you don't have a job in a week, you can go to the Palace processing center and the Princess will take care of you. She takes care of all her citizens, yeah?"

    The man smiles, "Right! I forgot."

---Residential Area---

    Moving along the residential area will lead Raylene, Kyra and Nero into the nearest group of domiciles. They're modestly size, usually apartments or Condo-alikes with one bedroom for singles or couples, and usually 2 bedrooms for families. They're not lavish or fancy, but they're functional.

    Children are actually playing around the streets with their childish games. Wielding sticks as swords, "Huzzah! When I grow up, I'm going to be one of the Princess' Personal Guards!" One declares, swinging downward.

    "Psh. You'll never be as good as Flick." Says another.

    "Both of you hush!" Shouts a mother from a window, "You should aspire to be more than just guards." She scowls at the kids as they pout and kick the ground.

---Barracks---

    Heading towards the barracks, Kutsuuko finds that the area is pretty big. There's a very large standing army for the city, which is well-guarded by men with swords and rifles, wielding what looks like the middle ground between platemail and SWAT armor. They're milling around the outside of the large building. Deeper inside, it looks more casual.

    The occasional glance through a window that is open shows two types of people inside. Generic guards and cops, who look to be spending their downtime mostly in casual attire like tanktops and t-shirts with relaxed pants. The other type are far more official individuals, who while out of their armor as till official and stern looking, wearing uniforms and carrying rapiers.

---Generally---

    No one takes much notice of the crow, at first, though if she lingers too long in a single area, some of the more serious looking guards that are patrolling around seem to take notice of her. The longer she stays in one spot, the more attention she seems to get.
Finna When a few people start nosing her way, Finna flutters off! She's a bit creeped out by the unusual amount of attention a few guards were paying to an animal. It's not as though everyone's starving for crow or something around here! Everyone looks fairly well-fed, right?!

    ... Right?

    Well, having seen a few people she's familiar with come through, the crow ends up tailing Kyra, but makes sure to dive into an alley - presumably to scavenge for food. A brush of intent, a soft inhale, and Finna allows the fluidity of Lunar Essence to flow subtly from her spirit, blending her in with the surroundings.

    With luck, fewer and fewer people will pay any attention to this totally inconspicuous animal.

    This insonspicuous creature that's currently atop a rooftop, looking down at Kyra.
Kyra Hyral "C'mon, sis, you need to keep up." Kyra scolds, "If you whined as much as you walked, we'd already be there!!" There is a dramatic HUFF from Kyra at Raylene, urging her to hurry up and happily playing along with the ruse. She's pretty experienced with annoying little sisters, in fact, even if she hasn't spoken to her real one for over a year.

    "...hm. Interesting, they all seem to be the same." Kyra squints a little, looking from condo to condo without actually going inside any of them. Given the apparent prosperity of the city, she was expecting maybe bigger houses-but those might be elsewhere. THIS may be the middle class, she reasons, as she observes the area.

    She hears from both her 'little sis' and her Servant of their incoming plans, where Raylene is going to go 'play' with the brats and Nero is going to do some tactical snooping. For now, Kyra stands back and plays the 'exasperated older sister' card and rolls her eyes at Raylene's impending antics. She does not notice the crow.
Raylene Dunwich     Oh, children at play! That's some way to get information and such! Flashing a smile that is entirely insincere to Kyra and Nero, she picks up her skirts and flounces on over to the other children, calling out a little hello.

    "Hi! I'm new in town. I can't help but notice you are releasing your natural destructive tendencies in mock murder," she says. Raylene is... not good with kids. Not good at all. "Who is this Frisk person? A soldier? A hero? An unstoppable juggernaut of whirling blades and death?"
Nero Nero remains incorporeal as she flits off to do exactly as described. While Raylene and Kyra play up being 'sisters', and the former demonstrates her terrible skill with kids, the Servant simply drifts into the nearest residential unit, ignoring the door entirely as she proceeded to scope out hallways, apartments, the people within them. Anything that looks strange really, she was keeping an eye on. Or any juicy conversation. That worked too.
Kutsuuko Shiratori     A large standing army was likely to be expected for the capital city of a country at war, though it's a little more telling that the local police are using the same facilities, chilling out shoulder to shoulder with the actual military likely responsible for defending the place's streets against foreign militants. They don't appear to be under-equipped either. Kutsuuko doesn't have much measuring stick for weapons and armour here, but she can clearly tell they aren't exactly hard up for funding, especially with so many officers prowling about.

    Sneaking around inside looks to be a bad idea, and she's not that great at it anyways, so the God Eater decides to milk the part of mercenary a little bit, since she has the officious papers and all. She pushes her way past whatever looks to be 'a couple of guys standing around to dissuade and question civilians' in terms of entry barriers, until she gets to the point where someone important looking moves to deal with her, at which point her immediate reaction will be flashing her documents and setting up for the leading questions; things like 'who's handling contracts', 'where do I go to look for jobs', 'how many slots are there', 'how much pay am I looking at' and the like. All very basic and common recruitment questions for anyone trying to work freelance, but she has to start somewhere.

    In the case that she just gets straight up bouncers, well, that's a different story.
Setsuko Kaminagi     Setsuko listens to the odd exchange; she doesn't even have to strain her hearing to do it. It's curious enough that she quietly relays the information to her allies, but it's not something she can safely investigate herself. She'll have to entrust it to others present. Instead, she decides to approach the merchant, putting on a look of curiosity. "Excuse me. Could you tell me how this processing center works? Do I need to be a citizen here?" She's hoping an impression of 'mercenary looking for more honest work' will carry her through here. Her hopes aren't high, but she can try.
Yuri Stinson ---Finna---

    For the most part, as Finna flies off, the guards let her be. And as she spends Essence to hide her form, they take even less notice of her. Particularly when she dives into an alley to scavenge. Still, once she's out and perched on a rooftop again,

    But if she stays there too long, she's going to start gathering attention again. For now, she's unnoticed.

---Residential---

    Kyra is correct in that it seems that the buildings are very much alike and uniform. And as Nero drifts inside of one, it's pretty humble. It looks like a very modest one-bedroom apartment with a mini-kitchen, a common area, and a bedroom. The wife is currently cooking steamed rice and vegetables with some grilled fish for herself and (when he gets home) her husband.

    The kids tilt their heads at Rayline, "Golden Flicker. The King's old guard before the Princess took over when he died. He's an amazing duelist. They say, if he keeps practicing, he could be one of the best in all Creation! Now he's the Princess's personal General!"

---Barracks---

    It's past about the front door and in the common area of the barracks that one of the more snappy-dressed guards stops Kutsuuko, holding up a hand and then answering her questions rapidly, "Missions are given here, first and foremost. Eventually, mercenaries who prove themselves may report to the General's Office in the Palace for special operations. We pay..." He looks at her a bit, "You look to be a Multiversal." He says it a bit disdainfully, as if having her around is cause to believe she may cause trouble.

    "Ah well, the Princess said to welcome you lot if you showed up," He adjusts a glove on his hand, "For your kind, our missions start at five thousand credits for dealing with pockets of resistance in the outlying territories. Eventually, more intensive missions can pay you as much as twenty thousand each."

    "Those are, as mentioned, handled through the office of the General."

---Market/Labor District---

    "Ah, are you a visitor?" THe merchant says, clapping his hands together and smiling at her cheerily, "Please. Here, have one of my shops signature chocolates on the house as a welcome," He hands her a wrapped foil bar from a basket he was carrying. And then he answers her question.

    "The Princess believes no Citizen should go without and that everyone should contribute to society," He explains simply, "Those who can't find work as citizens of the Silver Kingdom can go to the processing center and they'll be given a physical evaluation, mental assessment, and then most are given a position in the city militia that reflects their skills. It helps us expand and helps them keep their families fed."
Setsuko Kaminagi     "Yes," Setsuko replies to the initial question; when handed a wrapped chocolate bar as a welcoming gift, she accepts it with a grateful bow of the head. "Thank you. You do me honor with your hospitality." After that, she listens with interest, only to frown just faintly at the words 'militia job'. "Are there other jobs on offer? I know I have the look of a career soldier, but... well, eventually one tires. I'd like to hand this blade down, some day."
Raylene Dunwich     Hm. "Duelist, you say? I don't know anything about that. I'm rubbish with a sword." Technically true, she is rubbish with a sword. Just don't give her a knife. "Is Golden Flasher popular then? Must be an inspiration, if you want to be like him."

    Raylene's eyes look over to the mother, then back to the children. "It doesn't sound like your mother approves. Have you considered careers in medicine? Not as glorious, but saving lives is a better calling for those such as yourself."
Finna Finna has seen enough, she decides. So the crow eventually lands in an alley. When nobody's looking... she shapeshifts to human. But not her usual form. No, she's a young woman with the faintest touch of asian features mixed with something pretty close to the locale's nationality, with a crop of short black, rather shiny hair. Green eyes, a slim frame, and dressed in local attire - pretty plain and unassuming.

    With extra effort, she strengthens the illusions guarding her Tell. Can't be too careful in this weird place!

    And then she does her best to mosey around out of the alley with her eyes scanning... the ground? Yeah, anyone looking at her will probably get the impression she's just looking for something! Which is a good reason to temporarily duck into an alley.

    But she's moseying towards Raylene now looks up at the mention of a 'Golden Flicker.'

    "Ooooh. Golden Flicker! How many big wins does he have under his belt now? Hi!"
Kyra Hyral Mentally, Kyra makes a note of the name from afar, listening in on both Raylene and Nero's observation of the domiciles. "Alma!" Kyra suddenly calls out to her 'little sister', "Stop bugging those kids. We need to get going! Come onnnnn." she drags out her words, sounding all the like an impatient sibling that's Sick Of This Dawdling. As if to emphasize this, Kyra turns around and starts walking, heading towards the Palace itself. "Let's go!"
Nero After observing the dwelling and finding that it all looks...quite normal in here, combined with the fact that the rest of the units looked to be much the same... Well, Nero drifted back outside, and proceeded to follow after Kyra, as invisible as ever. No need to waste anymore time dawdling around these parts then.

     "I am quite intrigued by this 'Processing Center'. Perhaps they turn their lowest rung subjects into foodstuffs to feed the rest of the populace! Quite a chilling twist, no?" And there she went, speaking of this as if it were a dramatic play again. Once a Nero, always a Nero.
Yuri Stinson ---Market/Labor---

    "Ah, for that you would have to ask around. I believe the docks may have need of a strong back, and an arm accustomed to a sword is just as good at lashing a rope or hammering a nail, no?" He smiles warmly, seeming quite genuine and kind. Her sense doesn't seem to pick up any hostility from him at at all, nor any conflict. He is a genuinely kind person.

---Residential---

    "They say he's never lost! They say some day he might be like the Silver Princess or the Phoenix!" The kid bounces up and down, "I hope he eventually kills that Stinson guy. The Dark Monster." Of course, most people know the big three Exalts of Creation, but like any team with a hometown underdog, the local Exalt is definitely a favorite for these people. The kid looks to Finna, "A bunch! Every once in a while, someone shows up to challenge him and I think he's undefeated!"

    One of the guards seems to... pause in the street briefly as Nero exits a building. But then he keeps walking and goes about his patrol, eventually wandering off and heading towards the Market district. For Kyra and Nero (And Raylene if she comes), the path to the palace is pretty clear. And it's not hard to figure out where it is, since it stands so high above the city. It'll be a bit of a walk, but eventually they'll wind up at the high-walls that surround the tower, allowing only four double-doors which are lined with guards to permit entrance to the tower grounds itself. Foot traffic is a bit slower here, as people trying to visit are checked for weapons and permits.
Nero Well.

     Look at these great walls protecting this magnificent palace!

     It would certainly be a shame if...

    ...A SERVANT JUST DRIFTED ON BY.

     Nero then moves forward in spirit form still, aiming to do just that. She passed right by all the traffic and aimed to just drift right into palace grounds.

     Did these guards have spirit sensors!?
Finna Finna's actually speaking Riverspeak instead of Low Realm, but it comes across polite enough that, coupled with the translation effect, people are unlikely to take any serious notice of this. Her Lunar spirit is one with this nation, her scent of its kin. What reason do people have to question one of their own?

    The effort required to sustain this flow of locality's hardly insubstantial though. She's already running a bit low on personal Essence just from all the scouting. Darned guards making her move around a lot!

    Finna ends up grinning impishly down at the kid, infected by his enthusiasm! "I'd love to see one of these duels! Havent' had a chance. Just keep hearing..." She sighs frustratedly-- then spots Kyra heading off.

    "H-hey, wait!" ZOOOM!

    Off to follow Kyra.
Kyra Hyral Kyra pauses just for a moment, "Dark Hero." she corrects the little kid with a gentle petulance, "He's known as the Dark Hero for the most part." She knows Yuri would disagree...hadn't Beast of Rebellion come up at some point? And he's willingly called himself a monster? Despite that, Kyra does still have some rose-colored glasses about him. She nods numbly before she walks off now, heading for the Palace.

    Based on the foot traffic, she can tell that there's probably a guarded checkpoint coming up. Despite that, Kyra is not deterred. She /is/ carrying weapons on her to include her fancy-looking pistol at her hip. Given that they were selling weapons in the streets, she doesn't think this as unusual nor does she realize that permits are involved. "No time to wait! We need a tour of the processing center, obviously. I don't know if they even allow that but what's the harm in asking?" Plus such a stupid question could distract the guards from Nero's sneaking.

    Kyra, like a boss, just tries to stroll into the place until she's stopped by guards.
Raylene Dunwich     Sigh. "Play safe," Raylene says. "Got to go, bye!" Faking enthusiasm, she hurries after Kyra and Nero, trotting up along behind her to head for the palace with the others. Of course, this is going to be difficult, given that she's not really the age to be taking a job. This being Creation, she isn't THAT far off from the working age, though! Also... she is trying to think on her feet, so she's going to lend support to Kyra's cause!

    "Can we can we can we can we can we can we yaay!" Raylene tries to take Kyra's hand, obvious SUPER curious about where they're going, which might be unusual or might not. She doesn't know! But it will no doubt be MORE distracting this way!
Setsuko Kaminagi     "Very true," Setsuko replies. "Thank you for your time, sir. Being made to feel welcome is... very appreciated." She gives him a formal bow, and then turns to continue on, slowly starting to unwrap the chocolate as she does so. She'll sniff at it; a superhuman nose helps to pick up any peculiarities or nasty surprises, or the lack thereof. Only if it passes the smell test does she bite in, walking as she goes. She's headed in the general direction of the palace, but not intending to enter so much as simply seeing how the quality of life and behavior of the people changes. And, of course, listening and watching for anything interesting.
Yuri Stinson ---Interior Palace---

    The guards make no reaction to Nero as she passes through the exterior wall in spirit form. This may be because they don't notice her. It may also be because, frankly, as soon as she passes through the wall into the palace grounds, there is someone there to meet her.

    She's a sinister, raven haired woman dressed rather uniquely and carrying a glowing lantern of blue flame which floats at her side. Despite her black sclera and red irises, she greets Nero with a happy and friendly smile, "Ah. I wish you had announced your intent of arrival, Nero, Future Empress of the Multiverse." She's staring right at the spirit form of the Servant. It seems that Nero's reputation precedes her.

---Exterior Palace---

    Kyra and Raylene are stopped by guards pretty fast, though not for the reasons she might expect. As she arrives at the front gate, they hand her what appear to be a small packet of coupons and vouchers, mostly for food around the palace. Then the guards step aside and let both of them in past them.

    "Oh," A slightly more Official and Uptight looking guard says, as if in passing thought, "Please do not scare the guests with your friend. The Princess wants people to feel safe in the palace," He notes this rather firmly, "And keep your weapons holstered as well. You can visit anywhere except the Processing Center and we would like you to exit the palace grounds by sundown."

---Route to Palace---

    The chocolate bar is just that. There's no nasty surprises, it's a very high end chocolate that is rich and decadant. The kind of thing you'd expect to be the purview of a water-specialized Dragonblooded Merchant. Incredibly flawless and impeccable in its make, and likely a closely guarded family recipe.

    As Setsuko makes her way towards the Palace, she does notice something. Most of the patrol guards, while clearly very skilled from their posture and stances, have no blood or combat on them whatsoever. However, the closer she gets to the palace itself, as one would expect, the more and more veteran the guards are. Which means that the 'battle aura' or rough level of war experience coming from the palace itself is dense. There's a lot of veterans there.

---Also Finna---

    "I'm not sure when the next person is going to challenge him!" says the child, scuffing his foot on the ground and grumbling a bit, "It's been a while since the last guy. The best fight was when Radiant Nova fought him five or six years ago." A LONG pause, "Or so my dad says."

    The guards let Finna go in after Kyra and Nero, though seem slightly more wary of her. Not much, though. One of them helpfully reminds her, "Be on your best behavior on palace grounds, please."

    At the same time, a squire leaves the guard post to head towards the palace. He's relaying a message from the guard post towards the interior, though it doesn't seem like anyone is on alert. It might have something to do with Nero.
Nero Well. This is unexpected.

     Unexpected, and yet Nero cannot help but smirk despite it. After getting permission from Kyra, the Servant materialized in a shower of white magic particles. As usual, she wore her typical red, imperial dress with questionable cutouts, but let's not worry about those.

     "Well now, it would appear that my reputation precedes me!" She stated, pressing a hand to her chest, the other resting upon her hip. "Though that is not truly a surprise in the least." Not drawing any weapons or taking any guarded stances, Nero stepped forward a few, looking confident and in control despite being the one who was caught.

     "Indeed, it is I, Nero! Soon to be Emperor of the Multiverse!" And dramatically, she gestured to the woman before her, with her odd eyes and manner of dress. "And you must be the princess of this grand castle, no?"
Kutsuuko Shiratori     That's surprisingly further than Kutsuuko was expecting to get. Then again, this city is presumably under the Queen's absolute control, and if the somewhat fanciful report is to be believed, these people have no reason to fear random wanderers; until they're within earshot, at least. "Oh, so I'm in the right place." She immediately responds, hardly skipping a beat at the first sign of military officiousness. The 'hardly' comes from the fact that he immediately acknowledges the multiverse and indicates that his Queen plans to take advantage of what it has to offer. It's more forward thinking than she'd anticipated for some kind of fantasy despot. "What? 'Pockets of resistance' aren't what I'm here to deal with! Maybe if you line them all up in a row so I can take them all out at once, that'd be decent money, and maybe even a challenge. How much of this do I have to put up with before a special operative gets to do special operations huh?"

    Alright so it doesn't take much acting to put that old attitude hat back on. Regardless, it's a lot less deliberately mouthy than it could be, more likely to be pandering to the officer's pre-existing impression of multiversals being improper but potentially useful idiots. "For starters, aren't there like a million of you? I heard the Queen was supposed to be crushing everyone left and right, so she'd only want to pay for the /tough/ jobs. I heard she had the best army in the world too. Obviously you've got lots of money, but what's the point of all these guys sitting around here playing cards? All your enemies just that boring? You don't want to bother getting rid of the small fry yourselves?"

    She finally shrugs. "Nice gear I guess, but I don't see anything /that/ special. You realize I could go back across the border and I'd get paid triple for the same job against your country, right? I can tell by that look you don't think much of us, but if she expected all of us to be useless, she'd have told you to kick us out instead of evaluating us, right? Gimme something to work with here. This war will be over by the time you root out every little gaggle of nobodies stealing bullets off the back of trucks. I don't like busywork." This kind of thing worked in Hamlet right? Sort of. Look she's not a spy, but she knows how snippy officials with stars and dress swords like to talk down.
Kyra Hyral Kyra's, inwardly, a little surprised by this treatment. This was the most hospitable 'infiltration' she's ever done! "So...thank you very much. Come on, little sis, let's not hang around and annoy these guys too much." She moves past them, pausing as one of them mentions the 'friend', which she knows isn't Nero since she went in a different way, and assumes must refer to Raylene's familiar. "Oh, he shouldn't be a bother." Kyra says pleasantly, "Isn't that right sis? Don't worry, we'll be good."

    Cue inward snickering on Kyra's part where she plans to do every single thing opposite of what the guards said. It's not just because she's a rebel either but it does make her feel great on the inside to plot DEFYING AUTHORITY to achieve their goals. The first thing to do to achieve that though was to get out of eyesight of any guards, which Kyra is currently on the lookout for right now.
Finna "Of course." The Lunar-in-disguise answers the guard, but once she's through she frowns a bit. Why is everyone edgy around her? There's something odd about this place. Is she being tailed? Perhaps spirits are to blame? Bound demons in spirit form spying everywhere?

    A strange sorcery laid across the entire city that tracks anyone new, one stronger than her Exaltation's might? A chilling thought.

    And yet... they let her through. If they DO know what she is and why she's here... that's even more worrying.

    Finna's normally pretty brave, but for the first time in a while is feeling a bit outfoxed by this eerie city. Though she soon grits her teeth. And turns it into a smile.

    Well, she can at least put on a show if so.

    And on the off-chance that anyone or anything out there IS spying on her, that little grin sends a chill down their spine. SHE KNOWS. She knows she's being watched and... where you are. Is definitely comfortable with it, too. It's enough to unsettle ANY would-be nosey spirits or would-be spies into getting clumsy panicking, making mistakes.

    Yeah, she's totally happy to be walking along with Kyra right now. "Onwards and inwards!"
Raylene Dunwich     Wait, what? Her friend? Raylene blinks in confusion at first... then she smiles. "Oh, you can see him? I'd say he's happy about that, but he doesn't think of so much. Don't worry, he's perfectly well-behaved unless there are violent and sudden deaths erupting all over the place. That sounds like the sort of thing that doesn't happen here, what with you guards about!"

    Cheerily, the girl accepts the coupons just to read them over. Can she read these? Probably not. She knows a few languages, but probably not this equivalent one. "Hmmm."
Setsuko Kaminagi     Setsuko's curiosity about the soldiers doesn't extend far enough that she's willing to set foot in the palace just yet. Others have that quite covered, and the only things she could notice that they wouldn't, most of them she can pick up out here. They don't need to know things like 'guard patrol routes' and 'where the training grounds are' just yet. So instead, she slows down as she nears the palace, looking in that direction with curiosity but never quite stopping her walking pace.

    Instead, she decides to try a brief experiment.

    For a moment, the swordswoman indulges her nature. She sinks into it. The domain of War; memories of battle and bloodshed, the adrenaline and pumping blood of a life-or-death struggle. Desperation, fear, fury. She lets herself dip into it for just a heartbeat. And as a result, that 'aura' of hers, that indefinable presence, pulses. It grows stronger, just briefly. She makes of herself a magical beacon, a supernatural 'flare' that can probably be noticed from a very, very long way indeed.

    It's a very deliberate, 'hello, I am here'. She's watching the street to see how many people react - guard or otherwise. Watching the palace to see what kind of response it provokes, if any. She doubts the Princess will do more than take it as someone declaring their presence, but those beneath her... it's their reactions Setsuko is curious about.
Yuri Stinson ---Palace Interior---

    The Princess smiles wider at Nero and waves her hand, "Indeed. I am the ruler of this Kingdom. Princess Vitri, as those around me like to call me. A pleasure to make your acquaintance," She hooks her arm under herself and bows a bit formally.

    "This is my castle, but more than that is the castle of every resident of my Kingdom. It is why I allow them, during the day, to partake of its food and wander its grounds," She confidently states, watching the Servant calmly, "May I ask what business brings you to my palace?"

    Any conversation, however, is about to be interrupted by something else.

---Barracks---

    The man gets an annoyed look on his face as Kutsuuko adopts a new attitude and stance towards him. It's that polite frustration that one gets as a customer service or relations specialist dealing with someone who asks to see your manager, when your manager said they were busy, "There are many of us, yes. And perhaps your skillset is special. But the Princess has some very specific edicts she wishes for people to abide."

    He says this as if he's practiced this speech towards every Heroic Mortal coming through the doors, "In this Kingdom, you must show you are willing to help at the lowest levels, before you can earn your way to the highest levels. The cream rises, the rest settles. One's place in this kingdom is established in that way. We do not allow shortcuts, for to do so violates the wishes of the Princess."

    "These men are allowed to relax because when the next invasion occurs, they will be expected to act as soldiers. If someone were to attack our Kingdom, they would be expected to do the same." His tone is crisp, professional, and detached.

    "However, since you believe yourself so special a case, you may take the Trial." He waves his hand vaguely, "You may fight the Princess's General in combat and accept HIS assessment of your place in society. Surely one who thinks so highly of her skill will find it easy to receive only those special operations you wish to receive once you have proven yourself." This last part has a dull voice tone, as if he recognizes her attempt to manipulate him and is patronizing her in return.

    However, as this is said, something happens elsewhere that changes the way things play out in the barracks.

---Other Palace Interior---

    Meanwhile, Kyra and Raylene find it... SURPRISINGLY hard to find a place that does not have guards watching in some capacity. They're set up in a very meticulous net that is designed to eliminate 'blind spots' or 'areas not being watched in some capacity'. It's pretty impressive and well coordinated, all told.

    Not impossible, however, if they're willing to really try. But they'll have to get their privacy in bits and pieces, small 30 second windows to plan their next move before a guard wanders back in to cover a blind spot, but create another one briefly elsewhere.

    Unfortunately, inside the palace grounds, the mood immediately and drastically changes.
Yuri Stinson ---Route to Palace---

    The response to Setsuko flaring her aura is immediate and definitive. The guards in that section of the city immediately identify and flock right to her location. Some are wielding swords and spears, others are wielding firearms that look like assault rifles and shotguns. All of them immediately converge upon her spot like one would expect a group of highly trained police officers to do if someone shot a gun straight up into the air.

    There are two different 'types' of soldiers. There's the militiamen and then also the more snappily dressed and better armed soldiers. Both groups seem to work well in Unison, but the soldiers are clear professionals and a bit better trained and organized.

    One of them, something close to looking like a leader, steps forward, "Maam. I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. We'll welcome you back another day, if you promise not to do that again, but that was a clear public disturbance and right now we're asking you to step outside city limits and respect our laws."

---Princess, Interior Palace (2)---

    The Princess abruptly turns her head to look out at the city. At the same time, a man in a golden breastplate drops down next to her, appearing from a window closer to the top of the tower and plummeting to land squarely next to her, "I apologize for this interruption, but Princess we need you to come inside right now. There's a disturbance in the city and until we can assess and stabilize, your life is in danger."

    She frowns, "Of course, Flicker. Of course. Unfortunate." She looks towards Nero, sadly, "You should go. The guards will be asking people to leave the palace and return home for their safety. If someone attacked the palace or city, we couldn't have the citizens hurt. There are a lot of people who may wish to hurt me."

    "Please come visit again."

---Barracks (2)---

    Every guard in the barracks abruptly sit up all at once, turning to look towards the city. Like a police team mobilizing to a high alert, they begin heading to lockers and putting on armor, grabbing weapons, and preparing to head out into the city. The casual air around the building vanished in almost an instant as the militia and soldiers began to prepare for whatever presence just announced itself in the city.

    The man who was speaking to Kutsuuko looks stern and slightly worried, "Mm. It would seem that will have to wait for another day. Pardon our rudeness, but would you mind exiting the city until we can assess the situation and mitigate the threat to our people? You will be welcome back, as you were here with me at the disturbance, but we need to address this immediately."

---Interior Palace, Kyra and Raylene (2)---

    Abruptly, the guards begin scrambling and mobilizing on high alert. Every guard in the area starts ushering out the citizens off the palace grounds and back into their homes outside the gate. It's an incredibly efficient and well-planned maneuver, executed almost immediately. At the same time, the walls around the palace begin to line with men in armor wielding rifles, expecting as if some kind of challenge will be sieging the tower at any moment.

    Of course, this also means that a guard in full armor and wielding a large greatsword approaches the two girls, "Ladies, I'm afraid the palace is no longer safe. For your protection, the citizens security, and the safety of our Princess, we will have to ask you to leave the premises."

    "You will be welcomed back later, once the situation has been assessed and the population has calmed down. We have a lot of threats to our Kingdom, so we ask that you respect this request and return at a later date."
Yuri Stinson ---Finna Specifically---

    Much like most other people, Finna is gonna find a hard chance to get some privacy with the well-maintained net of guards around the palace. She can, however, likely decipher the book of coupons for Raylene and Kyra. It's like a pack of carnival reward tickets, and each one has about 6 languages explaining what it does. Things like 'A free ride in the royal carriage'. 'One meal by the palace chef'. 'One Dozen Roses from the Royal Garden'.

    Clearly the booklet is meant to occupy an entire day of recreation within the walls of the palace and satisfy a generally good time for people.

    Unfortunately, much like Raylene and Kyra, Finna has a guard approaching her, "Miss. You have to leave as well. The safety of the palace and its people are at risk. You can return later, when we've managed to re-secure the premises. We do not know what assassins he could be dispatching, so we ask that you respect this for the safety of the Kingdom's people and soldiers."
Setsuko Kaminagi     Every single guard can probably see the same thing in the woman they converge on; here walks someone of unparalleled skill and experience, someone who ticks pretty much every box on the 'dangerous' list... and yet, there is no hostility in her posture, whatsoever. She intends to cause no trouble and make no resistance. Her tone is calm, measured and even; one soldier speaking to another. "My apologies. I was not aware so many in the city were... sensitive. I simply thought to extend greetings to the Princess. One of my kind to another. If you insist that I leave, I will do so peacefully."

    To her credit, she does go peacefully. It involves floating up into the air, and making a straight line to exit the city, but she doesn't initiate any sort of hostility on the way out.
Kyra Hyral Kyra slips her mPhone out and sneaks a quick picture of the greatsword-wielding guy. "Are you Golden Flicker? It's nice to meet you. I'm sad we can't stick around to chat more." Kyra says to the the guard. "Well then, come on, little sis, we'll have to do this another day." As calm as she sounds here, the words she speaks on the radio asking for an explanation are a little panicky. Did something they do trigger this? "I don't suppose you have any estimates on when we would be able to return?"

    Even then, they've learned a a good lesson here, reinforcing the information in the Syndicate posting. The Princess was extremely well guarded and most of those guards seemed competent.
Raylene Dunwich     Hmm. The alert has been thrown? Raylene's 'cover' is still somewhat intact... she's a stranger, but they don't know if she's dangerous or not. Then again, with her Blood she might show up as a beacon of Essence. Who knows! She's probably considered a God-blooded or something, here.

    For now, she actually does something more useful as she smiles at Flicker in the 'adoring interest' manner... and she opens herself to the Sight, taking a few moments to just watch and absorb the interesting patterns of magic, if any, here in the palace.

    Also, it couldn't hurt for the Horror to take a nibble. It doesn't hurt the magic and can't help identify it, but it'll keep it tide over.
Kutsuuko Shiratori     "Tch. Maybe I will." Kutsuuko says, at first poutily as is her role, but then suddenly halfway through, her inflection wildly veers into 'maybe actually being serious'. Tight lipped sunnova bitch seems to know what she's doing anyways. It's surprising, to say the least. She hasn't yet identified any of the usual military stereotypes or shortcomings in the hiring process. Either the Queen has an incredible eye for well rounded and exemplary individuals and has sent all the thugs and spoilt collars elsewhere, or there's just something weird about how all of these people are so by the book without being stupid. No matter what kind of training someone can cook up, you can't make every person perfect. That's just a rule.

    So when he asks her to leave, she all but drops the attitude right then and there. "Alright, I've taken enough of your time anyways. I wont stick around if It'll get in the way of you doing your jobs. I'll come back when the threat is neutr- when the problem is taken care of." It seems like all she'll get out of there at least. She hasn't /seen/ much, but Kutsuuko already has a somewhat unnerving idea of what they could potentially be up against.

    And a crazy plan.
Nero      "Princess Vitri, hm...?" Nero repeated the name, crossing her arms as she looked the woman up and down. "I am not here for any real reason. Merely curiosity, one could say." She was about to say more, but then Setsuko did the thing.

     Nero immediately felt that spike of energy. And the feeling in the air immediately changed. Especially as a golden man dropped down by the Princess' side right then. Oho. Was this man the famed Golden Flocker? Or was it Flicker? Frisker? Fracker? Hmm... Whatever!

     With the entire city and palace seemingly on high alert, Nero decided to cut her losses there. "Very well, Princess. I will take my leave of this place. And perhaps, we will meet again." With that, the Servant turned away, proceeding to head off and leave properly, rather than using ghostly tricks.
Finna Finna's feathers are ruffled TOO by the *PING* Setsuko gives off, just a bit before the guard approaches her. "Ooooh. Assassins? He? Which he? Yeah, something bad's around. I'm heading home!" She makes little fuss about turning around, but she does look over her shoulder for maybe an answer to who this 'he' is.
Yuri Stinson ---Route to Palace (Setsuko)---

    The guards seem to relax a bit as Setsuko acquiesces to their request, "Thank you. Your apology is accepted. We're on high alert because, as I'm sure you can imagine, the Princess expanding our borders has made her a great number of enemies. She's done nothing but good here, but still..." He frowns a bit and then looks to Setsuko, "You may return any time after about a week. We'll let you off lightly for this faux pas, as a first timer."

---Palace Interior (Kyra, Finna, Raylene)---

    "Haha, no. I wish," Says the huge man to Kyra. He smiles at her widely, "I'm called Miaodao Ju-Long." Multiversal translation pings that to roughly 'Big Sword As Powerful As a Dragon', "Golden Flicker is likely guarding the Princess." Still, obligingly, he flexes a muscular arm and poses for Kyra so she can take a picture.

    Raylene can see some things. The palace definitely as a 'magical aura'. It seems to be somewhat warded against spirits sneaking in through walls. Weak ones would bounce off, powerful ones would breach but set off alarms. It's actually pretty logical for a Queen to have such a setup, if you really think about it.

    "Get going," The man says to Finna blandly, watching her as he shoos her away. He's not going to answer the follow-up question she had for him, instead waving her off and going back to looking around once he's sure she's on her way.

---Barracks---

    The man nods his head and then says, "Thank you for your understanding. I DO apologize for any inconvenience this causes you, as the Princess wants everyone to enjoy her city." He says in a practiced tone, sighing a bit as he turns away from Kutsuuko and speaking into a radio. Most of what he says are coordinations, telling guards in various areas to sweep for intruders trying to use the commotion to act unnoticed. He seems tired, as if this has been an ongoing problem.

    "Soon, were having a festival," He says with some finality to Kutsuuko, "The General will be allowing all challengers."

---Interior, Princess---

    "Yes," She smiles again, clasping her hands and bowing even as Golden Flicker pulls her away. She calls to Nero as she's tugged, "I hope we do! We're having a festival soon! If you call ahead, I will have them prepare some food especially for you from the kitchen! I wish to try Multiversal Cuisine at some point!"

    Chipper and friendly and a bit hyper, even as the golden-armored man pulls her away and into the palace under his guard. Still, Nero is invited back for certain.

---Outside the City---

    As people begin exiting the city, the coordination channel gets a pinged set of coordinates set to it. If the members of the mission arrive there, those who do will find a metal briefcase standing upright atop the hill.

    Opening it reveals 6 gold bars laid neatly inside. Atop the bars is a note.

    'La plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu'il n'existe pas.'
    - Charles Baudelaire

    'There will be more missions to come. Expect to hear from me again.