andres ♔ but what he told me last night lays on me like lead

[affianced]

♬ dear ophelia - abney park

WHO || Buffy, Myri, Finnick, Spike, Kat, Gar, Archer, Des, Rafael, Fred Jr., Vi, Rocket, Lara, Dimitris  [Closed]
WHAT || A diplomatic mission to Andres Isle goes about as successfully as one would guess
WHERE || Andres Isle
WHEN || August 15th  [backdated]
HOW || Actionspam. Single thread.

Even the briefing for this mission went well, with Wynn walking in on Dragon's Claw Jack Chessing macking on Sir Gar, in direct violation of his vows of, er, abstinence, both romantically and physically.   Following the briefing, and the team's attempts to make Wynn see reason in the face of Jack's resignation, they gathered up a large amount of weapons of all kinds into their private plane and took off for Andres Isle.  

Upon arrival, they found the island did not match up to their expectations.  Instead of fields of torture, they found themselves in a very upscale part of the city, full of affluent manor houses close to the palace.   They spun a cover story upon learning about a party there, using Finnick's celebrity on Andres to get access to the festivities.  

Inside, they met Dimitris Sarandis, Prime Minister of Andres Isle, who invited them to stay for the party, which was being thrown in honor of Countess Lara Tamon, who had helped Jack, Spike and Myri escape from their torment on the Isle.  They took the opportunity to chat up the local aristocracy, picking up the vibe that most of them had either benefited from Dimitris' rise to power, or were too afraid to stand up to him.  Spike talked to the Marquesse de Lyons, and learned that her son, Percy, had been a friend of the late Prince's, and had died shortly after voicing his belief that Sarandis had framed the Andres family in order to seize power.   Archer was shocked to find his manservant Woodhouse employed at the palace, and extra annoyed to learn that he didn't remember him.  For once, Archer found a reason to care about liberating the Andresians... if not purely for selfish reasons.

The party itself was to announce the breaking of the betrothal that had long stood between Lara and the late Prince, even after his death, a blemish on the reputation of the Tamon family that Sarandis sought to rectify by arranging a new betrothal: between Lara and her childhood friend, Lord Michael de Collines (aka Michael Collins).  Neither of them seemed particularly thrilled about the arrangement.  Lara managed to sneak a message to Myri to meet her that night under the bridge.

Following the announcement, the gang went to speak to Sarandis in private and find out his demands for the safe return of Sir Thomas Bancroft.  He wasted no time in making clear his position - he painted the Knight's vigilante attitude towards policing the world as the ultimate evil, and warned that no more Knights would set foot on Andres, lest they be killed.  He also demanded that Wynn himself bring the artifact Excalibur to the island to give to him - so that Dimitris could behead Wynn in exchange for Thomas' life.  The demands were met with outrage by the Knights, and in the face of their fear that Thomas was not even still alive, Sarandis agreed to let one of them stay the night to speak with the Dragon's Claw.   He specified that Kat be the one to stay, and despite protests, she agreed, and convinced Gar to let her stay.  

The other Knights headed back into town, where Gar, Fred Jr., and Vi headed to the nearby hotel to wait to hear from Kat, and be ready in case they should need to reach the palace quickly.  The others headed to the bridge across the river, where they met with Lara and her friend Lord Dana Green, another of her childhood friends.  They explained the situation on the Isle, and how many of the younger generation wished to see things returned to the way they'd been before, but the challenges they faced in doing so seemed almost insurmountable to them.  Lara expressed her fears that toppling Sarandis' rule would only wind up putting Andres in an even worse position.  They also related how Dimitris had created programs and taxes that had basically banished Shadowkind to the other side of the river and left them all but destitute, all while pumping more and more money into the coffers of the rich, particularly those serving on his Parliament.   She secured the Knights' promise to help in every way they could, and Myri asked her to show the way back into the woods where she'd found them before.

Finnick, Archer, and Rafael crossed the bridge into the Shadow village to do some recon, and spoke with a local tavern owner/dwarf who related that people down here were turning up missing more and more often - likely to feed Dimitris' experiments in the woods.  They seemed largely disheartened, but could potentially be talked into fighting if giving the means to do so.

In the woods, the others ran across a strange talking raccoon named Rocket, who was running for his life from a beholder, which the party managed to take down.  They discovered that Rocket had escaped from captivity in Dimitris' labs, and he was none too happy at the prospect of going back, even to show them where it was.  They argued briefly over the best course of action - whether the break out would be the best or worse time to try to make their way into the lab, particularly given that Dimitris had Kat as well now. 

Comments

hotel ♔ (fred jr., gar, vi.)

[nepotism]

[ ♬ kill - jimmy eat world

not far from dimitris' palace, a few of the Knights remain at the hotel in case something happens that would require them to reach it quickly. kat has also promised to contact them tonight after speaking with thomas, so they wait anxiously for word from their friend.

gar holes herself up in the hotel room, but fred sits down at the empty hotel bar, hands clasped, staring off into space next to his nearly untouched beer. ]

[graveflowers]

She'll be fine. [ she is aiming for reassuring as her nails drum against the glass of her shirley temple anxiously, but she misses the mark by a mile. kat has a hair trigger temper and she's being held by an actual torturous psychopath. there is a reason vi wanted to stay close by. ] Sarandis will be charbroiled and ash before he can think about hurting her.

[nepotism]

I know she can handle herself. But I don't like that scumbag targeting her, out of everybody, to stay. Why her?

[graveflowers]

I dunno. She and Mark and Gar are sort of besties. He knows all about us. [ her nose wrinkles because she has noticed some holes in that threat, mostly hayley. who was squired in after kyp was found so stfu evil soul patch dude. ] If Sandaris wants us to know that he's noticed the absence... Or maybe he has a thing for blondes in leather jackets. Maybe she was talking to the wrong person at the party. What did you lot find out?

[nepotism]

Just what I told you guys at the party. [ which was... some part of the information y'all got. #amazingmemory #transcriptionfailure ] He didn't even look at me twice the whole time. I'm not sure he noticed at all that Mark was gone - or Elena, although for all we know, he already knows about her breaking Kyp out.

He strikes me as the kind of guy who's too full of himself to pay that much attention to the lesser people.

shadow village ♔ (rafael, finnick, archer.)

[romanticidal]

[ ♬ everybody knows - rufus wainwright

having gathered some intel from the local barkeep, archer, finnick, and raf head out of the tavern into the night, on the less fortunate side of the andresian tracks. spot and listen checks please. ]

Sarandis knows what he is doing, that much is for certain. First, he makes these people all but invisible to the others on the island by displacing them here - and then no one will listen when they start to disappear.

[65]

[spot 20 total; listen 15] Reminds me of home. Not ... my home, but. There were places like this where I came from.

[isisagent]

[Spot 8, Listen 4... Yeah........]

My name's Finnick, and I have memories! Look at me!

[65]

[the most withering stare. :| ] Really?

the woods ♔ (buffy, myri, des, spike, rocket, lara.)

[affianced]

[ the beholder lies in a defeated gelatinous pile on the ground. characters can make a spot check 20+ to notice something strange flashing amid the goo.

lara slowly emerges from behind a tree, staring in horror at the scene as buffy and rocket argue. ] What... what was that horrible thing?

1/2

[nothingsodivine]

[Des doesn't see shit PER USUAL, but he was also recently unconscious. He pauses to pat Myri's shoulder as he heads over to Buffy.]

Thanks, Little Bit.

[Annd he leans over Buffy to whisper in her ear.]

So we did just pick up a raccoon gangster?

2/2

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket sees fucking everything because he has crazy animal vision (spot 27)

He also stole Spike's flask while no one was looking (sleight of hand 30), which he is now taking a swig of. Fuck you and fuck that thing right there.] I dunno, but should it be doin' that?

[bigbad]

[Spike did not crit fail his spot check so he sees it (spot 25). He also sees Rocket drinking from his flask.]

...we save your furry arse and you steal my stuff? Hell of a way to say thanks.

[A scowl, but he's got bigger things to worry about. He moves towards the flashing thing, grimacing as he steps through gooey beholder remains.]

under the bridge ♔ lara, rocket

[affianced]

[ lara brings rocket down below the bridge ... where dana and michael are sitting looking through a small box. their heads snap up when she comes down, and they stand when they see the small figure with her. she holds up her hands. ] It's alright. He's with me. An escaped prisoner.

[beatupgrass]

Yeah, and if I ever see that son of a bitch Sarandis again, I'm gonna rip that mustache off his face and make 'em eat it.

[It's been a very hard couple of months, les amis. He glances back at where failboat ran off.] No offense but if those idiots are y'all's last best chance at gettin' rid of him, you're screwed.

[Okay, so maybe the Guardians were underdogs too, once, but, um... They're not the Guardians. Therefore they suck. #loyalty]

[loyaliste]

[ give michael a second to stare. just a second. he'll control himself from saying IS THAT A RACCOON?? ] "Those idiots"? [ he glances at lara ] Your new friends, I take it?

[beatupgrass]

[Keeeep staring, buddy. The raccoon is just staring right back. With his arms crossed. Scowling. Raccoon scowls are actually kinda terrifying.

Don't you even say it.

Okay, we're good.]

"Let's storm a prison after a jailbreak." [He flails a wrist.] "Let's get everyone dead for the sake of a couple of people." [He runs his paws down his face.] I've never wanted off a rock more than I've wanted off this one and I've been on some crappy rocks.

palace ♔ (fred jr., gar, myri, finnick, des, vi.)

[rationalizes]

[ the team pulls up to the high, black front gate of dimitris' palace, and gar stares out at the castle beyond with trepidation. ]

It's inevitable that Dimitris will have heard about his missing men by now, and I doubt he'll attribute all of it to one escapee.

We have to be prepared for him to accuse us. How far he's willing to take that, I-- I couldn't say. But we have to do our best to leave on a... a diplomatic note, if we want to ensure Thomas stays alive until ... well, until Wynn has us do what I'm certain he'll intend we do next. [ which she... also doesn't sound happy about ]

[nothingsodivine]

[Des shoves his hands in his pockets, expression stoic.] Play dumb. Don't get defensive, but don't act nonchalant about it. He might not even bring it up- chances are, he'll wait until we slip before he makes an accusation, because if he's wrong, then he looks like a bad host. And he'd sooner eat his own mustache than pull that one. He'll probably ask leading questions to make us look suspicious, so the less you say about anything that's not related to how nice his little town is and how friendly the people are, the better off we'll be.

[He nods firmly.] Let's do it.

[nepotism]

Let's just get this over with, you mean. [ fred looks tense, to say the least, climbing out of the car to march towards the gate, which... doesn't open. last night, everything was unlocked, the gates wide and inviting. this morning, the place looks shut up like fort knox, only more serene. fred glares at the gates as if he's considering ripping them down with his dragon strength, before he glances over and sees the intercom on their side. he nods at it to indicate its presence to the others, but he looks too irked to be the one to try to play nice. ]

[65]

[omg fine. finnick will do the thing. he will touch the butt push the button.] Hello?

airfield ♔ (rafael, buffy, spike, archer, rocket)

[romanticidal]

[ back to the airfield they go, and as they approach, the guards step out in front of the gate, frowning at them. they shift their weapons in hand a bit, exchanging a look.

"Stop right there, please." ]

[slay]

[ the combative, demon-y part of buffy really wants to sass back. like, REALLY wants to. they all knew it was coming—the attempt to hold them there, keep them on the isle. that doesn't make her bristle less now that it's here, though, and she wants to get straight to the point if that's where it's going.

but they're not starting a war today. hopefully. so she smiles (diplomacy 26). ]

Can we help you with something?

[romanticidal]

[ the guard addressing them doesn't look any friendlier as he looks over the group and asks: "Where are the rest of your number?" ]

[beatupgrass]

[Meanwhile, Rocket has confirmed Air Idiot is not a legitimate airline service, so he's... pretty much back to square one on the plane hunting front.]