| Back to actions |
| Action Id: 3880 | Crisis: | Participants: Monique, Delia, Sebastian, Ansel, Dante, Arianna(RIP), Evelynn, Ras, Swift(RIP) and Anisha | |
| Status: Resolved | Submitted: March 9, 2020, 12:36 a.m. | Public: True | GM: Apostate |
|
Silver: 300000 Economic Resources: 1000 Military Resources: 300 Social Resources: 3000 |
|||
Action by Monique
It's no surprise to any that the Lady Monique Greenmarch, who has long taken an avid interest in all things Eurus, should find herself seeking out a way to meet with the Eurusi contingent headed for Arvum's shores. "Purely out of a deep desire to learn more and to extend the diplomatic relations of the Telmarch," is the official reason given. She even has new assistants, Quintus (Sebastian) and Sextus, Septimus and Octavus (Ansel's guards), and Nonus (Swift) for such an important journey.
The unofficial reason, though, is far more exciting.
The Minx of the Marches has enlisted the help of her trusted, talented allies and friends to get her to Sungreet at Farmorn Point, to finesse the way for her to meet with Prince Damik'uhl'daja privately. With the assistance of Delia, and possibly a stolen ship from a charming fellow named Argus the Cruel, they'll try to meet with the Eurusi contingent before they ever make land fall. Her goal? To beguile the Eurusi Royal and make of him an ally in that foreign land, with the ultimate goal being to seduce his support of Dawn Baseborn and Leo Fidante, whom she has reason to believe are in Eurus, acting against the Emperor. The Minx will employ all of her tricks, up to and including offering Prince Damik an unknown assassin to help him eliminate his siblings, who clamor for the crown. If they are successful in cutting a deal, she'll give him a letter from one Dante DiFidante, an introduction to his cousin Leo, speaking well of Monique and her helpfulness, among other things.
Action by Sebastian
While Sebastian will be traveling with Monique to Sungreet, he by no means plans to travel as himself. Instead of being a representative of Pravus, he travels as one of Monique's assistants. His goal: to assist Monique with getting her private audience -- whether that means finding and bribing the right assistant to give her a small window of opportunity, distracting guards with a well-timed drinking contest, stealing a copy of Prince Damik'uhl'daja's itinerary to find the right moment to approach him, or all of the above.
Action by Ansel
Giving his blessing to this little attempt at 'diplomacy', Ansel isn't going to be attending in person. Instead, the Duke of Telmar is providing some resources that he sets at Monique's disposal. A sum of silver, a few guards masquarading as assistants and a few other things that he believes that she might find useful in her attempt to turn the Crown Prince.
Action by Arianna(RIP)
Seems like Arianna and Sebastian have spent a lot of time together lately, he is her cousin after all and she does love him so. It makes sense she'd tag along to keep this delegation on track. Not really. She tends to be trouble when she's left to her own devices. Thankfully Monique is one of the very few people who can keep her on a tight leash, which is how she prefers it sometimes not gonna lie. In any case she's here to do what Arianna does best -- be a persuasive little thing and assist in the diplomacy. Or seductions. Most people would call it seduction but really it's her one tried and true method of getting everyone to get along.
If things go awry.
Well...the First Knight of Setarco is no meager combatant and as one of the foremost experts on making murder look like art she will utilize those skills if need be on just about any and every obstacle between the delegation and safety. Hopefully it doesn't come to that but if it does we all know she's going to do her very best to keep Monique and her second favorite cousin alive. (Don't ask who the first one is, the mystery is just so much better.)
Action by Anisha
Anisha Whisper is an excellent courtier, and her coming along with the expedition fulfills a two-fold purpose. First of all, she's very good at what she does - making people feel welcome, safe, and willing to speak on any number of subjects.
Secondly, she actually speaks Eurusi. Which she intends to keep from the delegation, and use to suss out hidden information for Monique. After all, there's something to be said for what can be spoken of in front of strangers, and Anisha has a gift for truth. So, she seeks to learn information useful to Monique's mission - particularly as regards to the Prince and his rivals for the throne, siblings or not.
Action by Swift(RIP)
Swift will be going along, ostensibly as a servant and assistant to the nobility, using her skill with medicine and alchemy to ensure if anyone becomes sick or wounded that they can be tended immediately. She will be on hand to concoct any necessary poultices or potions as required and in general to just keep her ears open and her mouth shut. A former Thrall, she knows exactly how to go about being part of the scenery, working quietly at the tasks set to her without disrupting others.
Action by Dante
Ships. Dante won't be taking one of those anywhere, not anymore. Instead he does what he can from Arx. He's not the diplomatic type, and not being there negates his ability with a sword. So, in case things do go awry, he'll train the ship's crew in tactics that can be used on sea or land, should violence become necessary.
Action by Ras
As a skulky investigator from the Lowers of Arx, Ras has recently upped his charges when it comes to dangerous cases, and Monique was willing to pay his fee. He's been hired to find out some extra information about Damik'ul'daja before the attempt to sway the prince is made by the Minx and the others.
Since Monique briefed him on the target, he knows that Damik has siblings who clamor for the emperor's throne, and that he is the son of the Vizier, not the emperor. So what he's looking for is whether the prince is Abyssally tainted, what more he might want, if he's controlled already by strings that need to be cut, and those types of things.
The first stage of his investigation begins immediately (before Monique goes to Sungreet) in the Lowers, where he knows black market traders who deal with Eurusi smugglers, and contacts them to learn what they know. Further, he uses his awkward knowledge of the language to converse with refugees from Eurus (from action 3843). He speaks more directly with the few refugee families that he's befriended lately, too - all with the hope of finding out more regarding the prince.
The second stage of his investigation is in Sungreet. There, he uses street contacts - some of them smugglers, many of them fluent speakers of Eurusi, who can blend in well with any groups of rabble among camp followers, the city's slums, seedy taverns, and anywhere rumors might be spread. The information is directed towards Monique.
Action by Evelynn
With her decent acting chops, Alessia joins the endeavor, posing as one of Monique's assistants, Nonus. As violence isn't anticipated, she'll remain placid and charming for the most part, though will keep her eyes peeled for any threats to any member of her party, especially the Greenmarch herself. In true Lycene fashion, she's armed but not visibly so. With a hidden dagger and sharp hair ornaments on her person, she's well prepared to face any physical threat if things take a dark turn.
Action by Delia
Delia heads off to Sungreet ahead of the others, renting a berth on a merchant ship going that way. She's going to appear as if she's there for regular courtier-type stuff, and she probably will actually do some of that for appearances' sake. However, her real purpose is to get chatting to nobles of House Helianthus, especially those who appear to be familiar with sea routes or the Eurusi. Once she finds someone suitable, she means to charm and persuade that person into telling her all about it. That creates options. Perhaps the others will want to get ahead and go try to meet the foreign fleet before it gets to Sungreet. Otherwise, it just provides some more information about which way they might come from and where they might go. Once she's all done with this, she'll wait for Monique's ship and go along for the ride, to be persuasive elsewhere if she can, or find a way to safety if danger looms.
Result
Getting an audience isn't easy. They arrive at Farmorn Point well before the Eurusi, and find Sungreet bustling with activity. Many of the domains of the Compact have done similar to Monique's claim of being diplomatic envoys from the Telmarch, with voices of scores of domains present to speak to House Helianthus or in hopes of a conversation with the Eurusi and find out first if war is inevitable. With the bustling chaos, Sebastian is able to track down and talk to scores of different Helianthus officials and use Ras' contacts to finally track down exactly who to talk to, and from there Anisha and Delia as trained diplomats are able to find out exacting details on when and where the Eurusi are expected to arrive and just who is due to speak to them. A few bribes, cajoling and deft diplomatic maneuvers later, and Monique's Telmarch delegation is added as official envoys that have Helianthus permission to speak to the Eurusi.
Of course, House Helianthus almost certainly expected Monique's group to be one of dozens to eventually speak and would be far down the list, but the Minx of the Marches has recently acquired a very fine ship, and once there's even a threadbare official cover so the Eurusi are expecting her, there's really no need to wait. They sail ahead to jump the line and boldly see if the Crown Prince of Skal'daja will let them board and speak in person.
The Eurusi are more than a bit dubious at the entreaties to come aboard, but Monique, Alessia, Swift, Anisha, Sebastian and Delia are all extremely convincing. To be honest, most of them have been convincing people for a living for a very long time, and that's not about to stop now. So Monique, escorted by the disguised cohorts, comes aboard and has her private meeting with the Crown Prince of Skal'daja, Prince Damik'uhl'daja.
Monique and the prince meet in private for what seems like an awfully long time, and during the time of the meeting Anisha and Delia are able to find out that the crew is a mix of fanatically loyal slave soldiers, higher rank freemen from commoner families, and the officers are almost all Skal'dajan nobility. The fleet is huge and largely divided. A third is under Damik's personal command, while the other two thirds are split in command by two of his brothers, and Anisha is able to hear a fair bit of scuttlebutt about tensions between the three, as all vie for the approval of their father. The sailors gossip about the frictions and how Damik was given command because he's the least reckless and less violent compared to Ulrik'uhl'daja the Butcher of Skal'daja or Galik'uhl'daja the Whip of Skal'daja. THe sailors point that one tends to not get titles like that in Skal'daja by being pleasant. The gossip goes on, and many of the Eurusi are interested to meet the Arvani as curiosities, but at long last Lady Monique Greenmarch emerges and all of Arvum will get to find out just how convincing the Minx of the Marches could be.
The proposal of marriage from the Crown Prince of Skal'daja to Monique is still something of a surprise. Monique can be very, very, very convincing it seems.
To say it shocks the crew of Damik'uhl'daja's flagship is something of an understatement too, as this simply isn't done. Many are aghast when Damik goes on to explain that he intends to ally himself with the Arvani, and that a letter from Monique helped convince him that he's been fighting on the wrong side of the war in Eurus, and Skal'daja should turn against the Dune Emperor and break free from the fetters of the Emperor and Damik's father, the Grand Vizier. Damik, by his side, proceeds to give a stirring speech about how Skal'daja could rise to be a bright beacon in Eurus, and the continent could be liberated from the forces that have held it in sway for generations.
It really does not take long for assassins to attack after that.
Alessia notices them first. There's a hiss from a cat (wait, how is there a cat on board this ship?) and she sees Skal'dajan nobles associated with Damik's brother Ulrik edge closer in the crowd after he gives the speech. She sees the daggers surreptitiously being drawn, and she has time to draw her own weapon and shout a warning right as the assassins move to suddenly charge.
Fortunately for Damik'uhl'daja, Monique's guards Sextus, Septimus and Octavus were standing by the pair and react immediately to Alessia's shouted threat, getting swords out of their scabbards as they move forward to to place themselves in between the assassins and Lady Monique. Septimus manages to parry a dagger but a second assassin stabs him in the throat, who is then cut down in turn by Sextus. Octavus impales a third man before a crossbow bolt catches him in the chest. Sextus is stabbed from behind by a hulking Eurusi in plate mail, while Monique deftly sweeps the leg of one attacker to cut his throat as he falls then stabs the plate-clad Eurusi through the heart, her dagger punching through the metal like it was paper.
A cry goes up from the deck in Eurusi, "Damik has betrayed Skal'daja, death to him and his Arvani dogs! Rally to Ulrik!" An answering cry bellows up from most of the slaves and numerous soldiers, "Protect the Prince!" "For Damik!" "For a free Skal'daja!"
And then the battle is truly joined.
Prince Damik is shouting orders, as the ship begins to turn hard to port and a robed figure near the prow of the ship waves flagged signals. Catapults, archers and ballistae on the decks of hundreds of Eurusi ships begin to fire at one another, as the ships under Damik's command and the ships of his brothers start to clash.
On board his flagship, scores of Eurusi are trying to kill Damik, his supporters, and all of the Arvani guests. Alessia's glaive is out and the glaivedancer of House Mazetti demonstrates her unique style, dancing nimbly away from three attackers as she impales one and flings the body overboard. Sebastian has his Diamond Thorn free and is frantically trying to defend himself and Swift Grayhope. One attacker is attacking with far more strength than seems humanly possible for the thin Eurusi's frame, knocking Sebastian off his feet. Swift throws some powder into the Eurusi's face, making him scream in anguish, but the attacker grabs and brutally slams Swift to the deck of the ship with horrifying force, Swift's cry of shock cut terribly short as she impacts and lies broken and prone. Sebastian is able to recover and cut the man down, but at a glance it's unclear if Swift is still alive.
A bolt of fire lances through the air as Alessia manages to dance away at the last moment, some of her hair being singed by the blast. A robed mirrormask is chanting and pointing, as arcane symbols appear floating in the air then fly forward and burn three sailors fighting to Damik to ashes. More chanting is heard but it's suddenly cut short as the man is pulled backwards and his throat is cut by Monique, who is moving on to her next target before the body hits the floor.
Alessia and Sebastian find themselves fighting back to back, cutting down their own attackers and as their attackers fall they become aware of cheers from the deck. Scores of armed supporters are cheering around Damik, and the battle has died down as quickly as it started, as it seems the assassins could only inspire a thin minority to turn on the Crown Prince of Skal'daja. Able to catch their breath, they can look out from the ship and see what's become of the fleet.
There's smoke rising from Sungreet, and obvious battle in the distance on the ground. It's hard to make out, but throngs of thralls are fighting in what seems to be a revolt against House Helianthus, and ships from Galik'uhl'daja's fleet have made landfall with forces fighting against revolting slaves and supporting Helianthus... who seem to have other forces of Helianthus fighting them. On the sea, dozens of ships are sinking and fighting is happening across scores of decks, but it looks like roughly half of the Eurusi forces are withdrawing... though to the South and Southwest, not East towards Eurus.
Damik has his forces move to support the Arvani who are freeing the thralls, and Monique, Sebastian, and Alessia move to the ground with the forces landing, while Anisha and Delia look after the prone Swift. She's clearly in a coma and likely to perish, even with aid from Mercies on land.
As they land, it becomes obvious that House Helianthus is in a civil war, with forces of the Duke fighting alongside of Damik's brothers against a thrall slave revolt and the Faith of the Pantheon. Templars and Knights of Solace battle desperately against mages and adepts from Eurus who are wrecking horrifying damage, but Damik's forces joining on the side of the Faith decisively tips the balance and prevents a slaughter of thralls. As Monique, Sebastian, Alessia and hundreds of Damik's Eurusi take the loyalist forces of Skal'daja and Helianthus by the rear, it turns into a rout. Some of the forces loyal to the Duke escape by sea, but Sungreet falls to the free forces.
As night falls, the Compact finds itself at war. A war both with a foreign foe, as Damik's brothers lead a little under two thirds of the Eurusi fleet against the Compact, and also a civil war, as the Mourning Isles turns upon itself. But Monique's mission may have saved matters, and they have a new powerful ally.
Now she just has to decide what to do about a marriage proposal.