The Fete at the Observatory

[desertbloomed]

Characters: All (hopefully) uncaptured Heroes of Light
Where/When: At the Heroes' Observatory, the evening of February 10th
Summary: Ashelia has called a meeting - under the guise of a party - to discuss the next steps forward for the Heroes following the revelations revealed in the shared dream.
Warnings: N/A
Note: Each part of Ashelia's speech is centred around a different topic. Feel free to indicate what in particular your character is responding to in the headline for your top level! Alternately, if your character is bringing up something on their own, or not in direct reply to something Ashelia has mentioned, feel free to out the subject in the Subject line! There's a lot going on and a lot of ground to cover, so let's keep it organized so things are easy to find later!

"I would like your attention, please." With her experience as an accomplished politician, Ashelia's voice cut through the din of the gathered Heroes. The high ceiling of the meeting room lent itself well to the sorts of echoes that could easily cause headaches, unfortunately. The Queen planned to bring in some fabrics to soften the effects, but there had been little time for decorating, and it seemed there wouldn't be anytime soon.

The Lady Ashelia stood at the head of the incredibly large wooden table that dominated a good chunk of the room. Wooden chairs lined the edges of the tables, straight-backed and unfortunately not cushioned. It was clear that the Queen of Dalmasca didn't want anyone getting too comfortable in this particular room. There were papers in front of her, books and file folders and ledgers, all organized into neat piles. She picked up one of the papers, clearing her throat quietly before continuing. "If as many of you as possible could take a seat, I can call this meeting to order - and yes, I would like to apologize.

"As you may have guessed, this is not a fete. It is important for everyone to know..." Ashelia paused, waiting for the last straggling voices to quiet down before continuing, "that Mognet has been compromised. There is no longer such a thing as private correspondence, if ever there was. Keep this in mind in the coming months. The war has begun."

Ashelia paused for questions and comments before continuing.

"As many of us have realized, and Markus observed earlier over Mognet, the usual appearance of new Heroes of Light at the Crystal of Fire around the fifth of each month did not occur. This disturbance of the established cycle may seem abrupt, but upon further examination, 'tis not so." The Queen took a sip of water. "The cycle has been disturbed previously, though not in such a drastic manner. Last month, crystal statues appeared and disappeared within the hour. Heroes awakened from the crystal stasis were unceremoniously dropped from the sky. So you see, this disturbance has simply progressed. I welcome your thoughts on this."

Ashelia paused for questions and comments before continuing.

"Next on my agenda is the true motivation behind my calling this gathering. The night of February 5th, I had a dream." She stopped, shaking her head. "No, a vision. It did not take me long to realize I was not the only one to experience this. I've written the contents here." Ashelia held up a file folder. "However, if I am correct, many of you need only read it to refresh your memory." She stopped for a moment, putting the folder back on the table. "The ramifications of this new information are clear. The Empire holds four of our number captive, as well as countless other displaced Heroes in crystal stasis. It is my belief we must act on this information. We must save them."

Ashelia paused for questions and comments before continuing.

"The last subject I would like to cover is this." She held up a small, worn notebook. "This is the diary of the Lady Kalki, one of the Empire's Triumvirate. This woman, more than any other, has made clear her intentions are in opposition to us as a group. I encourage everyone to read through this document." Ashelia put the notebook down on the table and held up another file folder. "I have written a transcription myself, as the original is quite delicate." She put the file folder down. "This document provides invaluable insight into whom we can only assume is our enemy. It , unfortunately, poses more questions than it answers, but it does make clear that it is she who holds the answers that we need."

Ashelia took another sip of water, looking around at the gathered Heroes. "I once again open the floor to questions and comments. I believe it will take all of us to rescue our comrades; however, I also believe that if we do work together as one, we shall not fail."

Comments

INFILTRATION: disguises, get yer disguises here!

[fusedshadows]

Midna didn't really announce her arrival, in fact, she didn't say anything at all. From the main entrance, a great deal of noise could be heard. Bang! Clang! and the sound of various items scraping across the ground. If the crowd parted, or if those present turned their heads to see what the source was, they would see the imp tossing items into the main room where the heroes gathered, helmets clanging along the floor, a large box with many items (staves, cloaks -- many class-suited weapons and armour) was being dragged down the hallway with a quiet "hn! ...hn!" with each tug the imp used to cover ground.

After most of these things were inside the meeting room, the imp exited one last time, and delivered a swift kick to a stray shield, as it skidded to a halt near the rest. Dusting her hands off, Midna sauntered back, having heard most of the discussions while she took her time. She rose to a decent height, levitating in the air and crossed her arms. If her whole production didn't catch your attention, she would finally wait patiently until the floor was quiet. "These are items that were left behind in the battle. While I'm sure that a great deal of you would prefer the headstrong method of running right in... I was also right in assuming that there had to be some of you that would appreciate a stealthier approach."

Waving her hand out over the pile, she continued. "You should be able to find something suited to your job among these things... but they will need to be polished and in some cases, repaired." She looked out over the crowd, not having anticipated a turn out like this -- "And there won't be enough for everyone."

[red_planet_blues]

This definitely had Sparks's attention, and he walked over to check them out. He still wasn't against the idea of running in guns blazing if he had to, but sneaking into the Empire would be his preferred option.

He picked up a Warrior's plate helmet, sizing it up. "Wait, did you get all these from the battle in Esdham?" In the heat of the battle, the thought never even crossed his mind. He nods, impressed. "Nice idea. Save me a set of plate armor."

[fusedshadows]

There was a curt nod in the marshal's direction. "Help yourself," Midna retracted her arm again, bringing it in to cross over her chest as she remained afloat.

"I'll be leaving these items here in the observatory for anyone that will make good use of them. My only advice is to make sure that they're up to snuff before you go about trying to pass any inspections. I'm sure there's someone to help you work out dents... or clean off any remains." she a didn't run a cleaning service, or an armoury, that was for sure. "I'm sure that the on duty guards would spot something like that if they have even half brain capacity."

[umslay]

There was a certain kinship feeling stirring in Ales as he spotted another non-human Hero about his size. She probably got a lot of questions from others asking what she was.

Excited to see all those metal items, he ran over to the pile and began inspecting the weapons and armor.

"I could do some work on these and make them more powerful. These are just as strong as what the enemy has and you'll need every advantage you can get."

[fusedshadows]

That fellow caught Midna's attention. Her thoughts mirrored his -- it was the first non humanoid hero she had seen. In a way, she was intrigued, but she kept her curiosity in check, sticking to the matter at hand. "Oh? Well isn't that interesting... In that case, I'll be taking a mage robe for myself, perhaps you'll be able to enhance it in a way that will suit my tastes?"

She nodded to herself, tapping at her chin with a finger. "I'm sure that anyone else partaking in any of these items would benefit from your skills as well." She looked out at any of the surrounding crowd members that might have been contemplating use of the things that she'd brought, and nodded curtly, encouraging them to approach Ales if they wanted such a thing. He was right -- with this ragtag group of misfits... they would need all the help they could get.

[umslay]

He shook his head. "Can't do, friend. I work with armor and weapons, not fashion design." He picked up a stray robe and picked it up, running a hand through the fabric. "I could always try, though, as long as you give me materials to infuse."

The robe was back on the floor, only more neatly this time. "If anyone needs me, you'll have to ask around for Ales..

Waiting for response from the others, he turned to Midna. "Never got your name. How long have you been here?"

[fusedshadows]

Friend? Ugh. Well, still this man could still be of use, she thought, and opted to play it friendly for the time being. Counting off with her small fingers, she lifted one, then two, then a third... before finally shrugging. "Longer than I care for, you can be sure of that."

Her arms crossed again as she leaned back in the air, "You may call me Midna. I'll see what I can do about the materials but in the meantime -- I'm sure that your skills can be put to good use at least for some of our... heroes. "

[umslay]

"Fantastic! I'll stay here and have the others pick out their weapons!" He gave Midna another smile before dashing off to push a chair closer to the pile. He'll need to be seen if he were to give out an announcement, after all.