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

[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.]

[slay]

At Sarandis' palace, getting back the one we gave him on loan. [ her voice readily picks up the pitchy, defensive quality of confrontation. ] Is that a problem for you?

[behindcloseddoors]

[ "I'm afraid we had a convict escape prison on the Isle here last night. We're going to have to escort you to your plane, which will be searched before you're allowed to take off." ]

[bigbad]

A convict? What's he look like? Maybe we've seen him. [Mostly, Spike wants to hear them describe the raccoon. So he can laugh at them.]

[behindcloseddoors]

Some kind of Shadowkind moreau. You might have mistaken it for an animal. Looks just like a raccoon, except it can walk and talk almost like it's a real person.

[bigbad]

Do you think his accomplices Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck helped him escape?

[behindcloseddoors]

We didn't ask you to get smart about it. Have you seen the prisoner?

[beatupgrass]

[Well, said prisoner might have been able to assist if he knew what was going on, but sadly he bombed his listen check. That's probably for the best.

This is your update on the raccoon situation. He's playing which of these planes is not like the others right now. AND HIS WISDOM CHECK ROLL SUCKED AGAIN. OMG GET IT TOGETHER ROCKET.

Also his hide is a nat 20 just in case anyone moves this way while I'm at work. That is THE WORST FUCKING NAT 20 I'VE EVER GOTTEN. HE HAS A MILLION HIDE RANKS. WHY DICE WHY.]

[slay]

[ bluff 20 total oh no ....... ]

Have we seen a raccoon? No, we skipped the wildlife expedition part of our tour. You're kidding me, right?

[ She tries to move to step around the guards now. ]

Unlike your missing rodent, we? Aren't prisoners. You aren't holding us here. We came, we heard your boss-man out, and now we're leaving.

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the man holds up one hand, gesturing with his gun over his shoulder with the other ] And you brought a ton of weapons illegally to our island.

We searched the plane. Everything has been confiscated and the Prime Minister's been made aware of the... situation.

[bigbad]

Oh, come on, it's not like we used 'em. [This is what a diplomacy of 7 looks like.]

[romanticidal]

The weapons were left on the plane. I think it is clear we did not intend to bring them with us. [ still, rafael has had it up to here with this night/morning, i guess. he also got a good wisdom check, and puts a hand on spike's shoulder ] Yet, it is your island. We were simply unaware of the laws. I take it we have not been grounded here as a result?

[ the guards exchange a look, but he shakes his head. "You're free to go once we get word from the palace." ]

[slay]

If you already searched our plane, why bother asking about any of this?

[ These guards are deficient, it is known. ]

The sooner you let us get ready for take-off, the sooner you can send your men scouring the island for one stupid raccoon.

[bigbad]

This is bloody stupid. [Spike shrugs off Rafael's hand and moves to stalk past the guards.] Do you need to fumigate the plane as well, or can we at least go to it?

[Since he imagines there would have been a bigger problem if they'd found Rocket on it too. Hopefully, the raccoon found a way to stay hidden while the plane was being searched.

Or maybe he's running around lost like a dumbass. One or the other.]

[beatupgrass]

[WELL HE HEARD THAT APPARENTLY. (Listen 35). But since they're on their way, he's just gonna stay hidden until they... lead him to their plane. yay.]

[behindcloseddoors]

All we have is your word that you didn't take anything off the plane.

Before you leave, you need to submit to a search.

[slay]

I'm not submitting to anything.

[ and that's not only because she has a gun in her purse still. ]

We came here invited for a diplomatic meeting. We aren't your prisoners.

[bigbad]

We're leaving. And besides. [Spike shifts, letting his fangs come out.] Here's all the weapons I need, and your boss already tried and failed to take 'em away. Run along, children. This is well above your pay grade.

[Intimidate 40. Suck it.]

[behindcloseddoors]

[ one of the guards backs up a few paces, but the other pulls his gun up. it's clear that they're afraid, but their reaction to being afraid is... to try to protect themselves. ] It's a monster!

[slay]

Is there a word stronger than duh? [ so unimpressed rn, but she isn't going to start fighting them yet bc she wants it on the record that they shot first when it comes down to it. ] Where have you been? Let us through, or you'll see just how monstrous we can be.

[bigbad]

Funny, your boss keeping that from you. Makes you wonder what else they're not telling you, doesn't it?

[behindcloseddoors]

[ the man turns his gun on her, but then back on spike. b/c vampire. ] Put your hands up, and behind your heads. You're under arrest. [ rafael glances over at buffy with a long-suffering expression as if they were just assigned to study for a math test and it's mildly annoying. are we gonna have to murder some bitches AGAIN? GOD. ]

[slay]

[ Yep definitely glancing over at Rafael with the same sighing expression before turning to look at the guard like really?? ]

We've been over this. Remember? There was the whole thing with prisoners, and how we're definitely not yours? [ She will attempt to go around/through the guards rather than fight. ]