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

[beatupgrass]

[Y'all better be damn grateful

he does not

have a gun.]

[andresian]

[ dana and company appear as well, and the dark haired young man looks between them all before his head snaps in the direction of the Shadow village. ] What's going on up here?

... Was that a gunshot?

[bigbad]

[Yeah, yeah, Spike's done caring about you though because listen 33. He looks up, then drops his cigarette, starting across the bridge. Rocket can come or not come, he gives so few fucks.]

Yeah, and I'm guessing I know who it came from.

[beatupgrass]

[Well, Rocket didn't hear shit, because he's too busy trying to find his calming center, but it doesn't take two guesses to figure out what's happening. He backs up towards the Andresians, suddenly less interested in making sure failboat doesn't die. He can steal a plane easier than this.]

Yeah, run towards the bullets, assholes. Try not to get shot or anything, 'cause that would just be tragic.

[He punctuates this by spitting on the bridge and crossing his little arms over his chest. While the rich bitches stand behind him.

Classy.]

[loyaliste]

Be careful. If there's been a prison break, Dimitris' bound to be sending out search parties through the Shadow village. It's the first place they'll look for him. [ he nods at the raccoon ]

[slay]

All the more reason for you guys to get him straight to the airfield. We can hope the jailbreak distracts them from, well, us.

[ She nods to them, then looks to Spike and the others as if they're going to telepathically understand that there was a gunshot and it was proBABLY RAFAEL SO SHE'S JUST GOING TO START MOVING AGAIN running. But also keeping an eye out for fucking police apparently (spot 21). She'll start sneaking when they run into that shit. ]

[beatupgrass]

[He hates everyone in this forest except the Andresians.]

Can I at least get a gun?

[HE WON'T SHOOT YOU.

HE PROMISES.

maybe.]

[witchwoman]

[Myri takes off after Buffy tbh. Sorry, Mr Raccoon.]

[graveflowers]

[ vi pulls archer's backup underwear gun from where it was shoved into her dress. ...somewhere. she has her bow, she doesn't need a weak sauce gun. so she shoves it into rocket's hands with a bright smile. ] Enjoy. Ask Michael to teach you what a fist bump is. [ hey michael, hey. and taking off now. ] And maybe manners!

[beatupgrass]

[WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF GUN IS THIS???

There's really nothing funnier than the image of a raccoon checking the cylinder of a gun. It's even funnier because he looks like it's personally affronted him.]

It only has one bullet!

[Okay, yep. They're gone. They don't care. Goddammit.]

[loyaliste]

Considering they're going to be out in force looking for you, I think you'd better stay away from any place where you need to use even one. [ michael looks to lara ] Go get him something to disguise him. We'll keep him safe under the bridge for now. We shouldn't stay out on the road, especially now.

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket is having the worst night of his life and apparently the thing that's gonna break him is this fucking derringer, because he is still staring at it like his entire life is a lie.]

Who the hell makes a gun that only holds one bullet?!

[andresian]

Probably someone who doesn't tend to miss. [ just sayin' ]

[beatupgrass]

[SIIIIGH]

I'll sacrifice accuracy for a freakin' machine gun. That hail of bullets is so soothing.

[And on that note, he and the derringer and going back under the bridge. You two can contemplate that for a second.]

[loyaliste]

[ michael and lara exchange a Look, and then he squeezes her shoulder and turns with dana to follow the raccoon under the bridge again. ]

[beatupgrass]

[Don't lie. Even you are entranced by the magic that is a raccoon with a machine gun too. As all people are.

And thus did Rocket find himself a dark secluded corner under the bridge to hide in. He blends into the shadows. He is the night. Except for you know, the fucking half-shredded orange jumpsuit he's wearing. Shush. He cants his head. (Listen 33- I guess he can hear the sounds of GUNFIRE), since the DC was 20 on top of the bridge.]

It's like they actually wanna get themselves killed.

[andresian]

Who's supposed to save Andres if we all throw ourselves in the line of fire and get mowed down for it?

[beatupgrass]

Someone with half a brain and a decent plan?

[He's not volunteering, but, you know, plans. They help.] I busted out of a prison that almost nobody's gotten out of and assumin' I don't get caught before this night's over, that proves beatin' Sarandis at his own game ain't impossible.

[He looks like he's having a crisis of conscience. Or a hairball. Or both. Pragmatic little shithead though he is, the only reason anyone is out there right now is because of him. It does not do wonders for his newly formed sense of guilt.

Then again, they were jackasses to him. So it's a toss-up on whether he's that sympathetic. It's less about failboat and more about the general facts. This is happening because of him. People are getting hurt and it's his fault. And he is just not 100% of a dick enough to not feel bad about it, but he has enough self-preservation to not fight a losing battle. It's not the time or the place for that.]

Not gettin' a lot of other people killed in the crossfire's the hard part.

[loyaliste]

That's what we're trying to do. If it were easier, we'd have made a move ages ago. But our friend tried that, and was murdered for it. Sarandis is smart - we have to be five steps ahead of him if we intend to get anywhere.

[beatupgrass]

It's never taken me two months to bust out of a prison before. Even I'll give the bastard some props for that. He's got flaws though. I bet he don't get them lily-white hands of his dirty for nothin' if he thinks it might tarnish his pristine rep.

[Raccoons shouldn't smirk. Raccoon faces are not physically built for smirking. But Rocket looks damned proud of himself.] You just gotta catch 'em doin' somethin' he can't bullshit his way out of.

[He glances up at the bridge.] If hangin' around me don't get you killed too.

[loyaliste]

It's a risk we're willing to take.

The problem is that most of those who have any authority on this island were in Dimitris' pocket before he took over. He made all the right promises, lined all the right coffers, so that his 'Parliament' was full of yes-men who will look the other way in regards to a lot of dirty business.

[beatupgrass]

[He snorts derisively. Yeah, yeah. He doesn't wanna be responsible for other people's deaths, okay. RIP Saal. And Groot. Even though he got better.]

I don't know how they do things in a fancy place like this, but where I'm from if you want somethin' done to spite the other guy, you make better promises and send more cash under the table.

[He even does the universal sign for ALL THE MONEY.] Stop thinkin' like a fancy rich boy and think more like a criminal.

[andresian]

It's not as if we have much experience with the latter.

[beatupgrass]

[He looks them over and... okay yeah. You are definitely sad rich boys who have no game whatsoever. Siigh. Okay. He stands up. Let him coonsplain you a thing.]

Sarandis has got this whole island wrapped around his little princess pinkie 'cause he's got all the power, right? Everybody either likes him or they're afraid of him- people like that like havin' control over everything. As soon as he ain't got control, people start doubtin'. When people start doubtin', you can get 'em to do anything you want 'cause everyone wants to bet on the guy who looks like he's got all his shit together.

Start small- little things. Steal a few measly trinkets from Sarandis's buddies and I dunno. Fence 'em. Or toss 'em in the ocean. It's your revolution. [He waves a paw dismissively. He's pretty sure there's no way to fence anything on Andres, but he would get fucking creative if it were him.] Screw with 'em. Make 'em feel unsafe. And make damn sure they got no idea where the hell it's all comin' from. They'll get ticked at 'em eventually. After that, you can just keep buildin' on crackin' his little operation bit by bit until it crumbles around him.

[loyaliste]

That could take years. And in the meantime we let people like you keep suffering? We can't do that anymore. We've done it long enough. [ he shoots dana an almost accusatory look ]