Act II - Finals - Summit Subterfuge

[Andromeda]

State of Affairs – Current Events


The tensions with Jurion and Thiltis are increasing each day after the failed kidnapping of the Prince Tyrak Kose Til Thilterin with Thiltis making accusations against Jurion. Jurion is taking offense to the implications saying that they are just looking for an excuse to go to war. The Jurion-Thiltis Wall is increased in activity with the two kingdom mobilizing their forces along the border.

Ambassadors are currently working together to try to calm the situation that has been building for the last four weeks since the attempted kidnapping. Therus is holding the summit on neutral ground along the border of the three kingdoms. Jurion and Thiltis have been forced to keep their troops at a distance in spite of their insistence to protect the summit.

The incident in the Forest of Ynuron left many questions unanswered still. Further teams were not dispatched to investigate the forest as it was deemed too hazardous. There remains many rumors that the Doithmin Shard was involved in the revival of the dead Knights of the Crescent Moon. However, none of the rumors have been verified due to the impending war.

The town of Emerit was saved from the dragon menace as well as the countryside of Wuith. The soldiers from Wuith returned home proud of their accomplishment. Those from Therus returned to receive a cold welcome from the company’s director of research. The dragon was defeated, however they failed to secure the cave for research. The samples they gained were worthless without the possibility of becoming a resource. It was discovered later after tests that the material was powerful magical energy source, nothing compared to the Doithmin Shard, but still valuable.

Group
Aerif
Anomaly
Dragonheart
Musicmuse
Psiko

Summit Subterfuge


Summary: A few select guards from each kingdom are allowed to attend the summit as personal attendants for the ambassadors. Protect the ambassadors and make sure the summit continues without incident.
Jurion and Thiltis Briefing: The summit to discuss the recent incident with the attempted kidnapping of the Prince is being held with Therus hosting the summit. The summit itself is being held in the town of Thurtun the lies at the border of all three kingdoms. The talks are taking place in the main hall near the center of the town. Therus is supplying most of the protection, but both kingdoms are allowed personal attendants for the summit.
Make sure nothing happens to the ambassadors or the summit that would jeopardize the peace efforts. Meet with the Therus personal in charge of the security and work with them to make everything run smoothly. Be watchful of the others at the summit for any signs of deception or betrayal.
Therus Briefing: Therus is hosting the summit to aid in the peace efforts and strengthen the relationship with the two kingdoms. A positive outcome from this will reflect on future business with the kingdoms. Issac Direson has been placed in charge of managing the security for the summit with Sen Iota accompanying as his aide. Therus is providing most of the security from our own private forces to limit bias and enforce neutrality.
Both kingdoms have been granted personal attendants to stay with the ambassadors during the summit. These are the only other people allow access to the summit room aside from Therus personal. Keep the security tight and do not let any unauthorized person enter the summit. Failure will reflect on the company and damage our relationships with the kingdom, do not fail.
Starting Location: The town of Thurtun where the summit is being held. Each party has their own inn that they are staying in at separate locations in the town. The summit itself is in the center of the town a short distance from the inns.
Boss Fight:
Therus Weapons Company Personal: These are the security forces that were protecting the summit ambassadors. However, for unknown reasons they are attacking. They are standard soldiers equipped with the last technology from Therus far exceeding anything that the other kingdoms have seen before.
Abilities
Magic Seal – A Therus device created that seals magic away for a limited time. It emits an anti magic waveform canceling all magic.
Paralysis Bomb – A smoke bomb created by Therus that stuns and immobilizes any who breathe in the toxin. The effects are temporary, but powerful.
Colonel Brath Yuiver: Disguised as a simple soldier assigned to Issac Direson’s security force. He is an average looking man with no distinguishing characteristics that make him stand out. Even his military service with Therus is nothing unusual and very forgettable. He is skilled with a variety of combat weapons to adjust to the situation and his combat talents are in stark contrast to his service with the company.
Available Weapons:
Daggers – A pair of Yurenian Steel Daggers that are lightweight and carry a paralysis venom on the tips. They are manufactured at Therus.
Therus Sword – It is a standard Therus weapon given to all soldiers, made from refined steel that is stronger than the other kingdom military’s standard equipment.
Carnon Sword – A limited manufactured sword by Therus that is made of a special rare material called Red Hurnin. It is lightweight and strong as any standard sword. The sword itself has a short blade that can extend tripling its length. At such a length the lightweight material becomes important otherwise it would be too unwieldy for use.
Quarterstaff – A metal staff that extends to full length while wielding and compacts two a quarter of its size while not in use.
Abilities:
Brimstone – A fire spell that is focused through a weapon spreading outward from the focal point.
Fire Bolt – Fire and lightning blended together in a narrow striking bolt that pierces.
Flight – A spell that increases agility and reactions.
Manabreaker – A spell that dissipates a magic spell cast reducing its effect or completely disintegrates it.

April 26 - Three Week Notice
May 3 - Deadline

[DragonHeart]

Another summons, another conference. Adrastus wholeheartedly wished he’d just gone through with his intent and defected all those years ago. Jurion kicked him out of her schools and banned him from her military, but she still relied on him to clean up her messes. Babysitting an ambassador wasn’t his idea of a just reward for a job well done.

“Well, you were involved with Ynuron. They may ask for your testimony on the matter,” Phelan observed, trying to calm his nephew down. Unfortunately, it only provoked him even further.

“And just whose fault is that, I wonder? I didn’t ask for these damn missions; I’m not even qualified for them and you know it.”

“You say that, but you know you’re easily the most qualified of all of us. It may be a peace summit but every country is going to have the best of their best there for bragging rights. There’s not a Thiltian or a Theran alive who doesn’t know the Red Dragon.”

“I curse the day I was given that name!”

Phelan sighed. He could only watch as Adrastus stalked off, blasting his anger at anyone unlucky enough to get in the way. He heard the rampage as it progressed all the way through the castle and out into the stable yard before finally dispersing in the clatter of a horse’s hooves.

“He may curse his name, but he certainly acts like it.” Shion said dryly. The military officials filling the conference room agreed. They looked like they’d seen a real dragon, in fact.

“You have no idea,” Was all Phelan would say. He rubbed at his temples and sighed again.

“Can we really trust that kid with Ambassador Jordane’s safety?” One of the younger officers spoke up, his voice wavering slightly. Not that Phelan blamed him; Adrastus even scared him sometimes.

“His Majesty himself would trust Adrastus with his life. Remember that. He might not seem it, but he’s as reliable as anyone in this room. Dismissed.”

~~~

“Hey, Remi! Have you seen my dagger anywhere?” If there was one thing he hated more than conferences, it was packing to go to a long-distance one. Frustrated, he kicked over a stack of books piled haphazardly on the floor. His room was a veritable storm of debris; neatness was definitely not a specialty.

“You mean…this one?” Remiel grinned and held up his prize.

“Yes, that one. What other is there?” He snatched it from his brother’s hand and stuck the sheath through his belt. Remiel could only watch, shaking his head as Adrastus tore his room apart in search of some other vital piece of equipment.

“Why don’t you just have the maids pack, like Uncle Phelan suggested?”

“They never pack what I need.” He dug out his spellstone pouch from beneath a mountain of discarded clothes and stuck it in his travel bag‘s outer pocket.

“You never do, either. You’re supposed to be bringing clothes and stuff, not half of Jurion’s magic catalysts.”

“I’m the ambassador’s ‘personal attendant’, not some damn silkshirt*.” He surveyed the damage for a moment, then shouldered his bag and left. As usual, Remiel would be stuck putting everything back together in the morning.

*Silkshirt is an insulting reference to high nobility.

~~~

“Ah, the legendary Adrastus Melkaede, it is a pleasure.” Ambassador Roche Jordane, the newest member of the King’s Court, greeted him with a smile and a dramatic (and completely incorrect) military salute. With his stylishly long hair, velvet cloak, and of course, white silk shirt, he was hardly the type for a job of such sensitive nature.

“Sir.” Adrastus bowed, trying very hard not to sneer. What kind of a joke was this supposed to be? The king should have sent Master Shion or even Phelan, not some halfwit noble whose only connection to the military were fencing lessons and medal-awarding ceremonies.

“He’s all we had available, the king wants us at the wall to keep an eye on things,” Phelan murmured under his breath as he also bowed to the ambassador. “You’ll be fine. Just stay out of trouble, ok?”

“This shall be quite the experience, don’t you think, Addy? I certainly look forward to hearing Thiltus’ public apology.”

“…I‘m not the one you should be worried about.”

“Try to keep him in line, would you?” With a sympathetic glance for his nephew, Phelan took his leave.

It was going to be a long ride to Thurtun.

[Aerif]

‘Hosted by Therus Weapons Company’ : The short sentence which appeared on every object to do with the Subterfuge Summit. The slogan had been introduced by a top ranking Therus executive, Chihiro, and she had insisted that Sen wrote it or had it written on every single thing to do with the summit, purely to promote business as if the nations of Jurion and Thiltis had never even heard of the company’s existence.

It had been Chihiro who had suggested that Sen assist at the summit and she had had her assigned as the aide of the one in charge of security, a position that had been described as being unfilled. Sen had no idea of who was to be her superior though by the way Chihiro talked of the person (naturally with the belief that Sen was out of ear shot) she could tell that it wasn’t the normal type of work enthusiasts that where constantly seen throughout Therus.

“Iota? Are you even listening to me?”

“Oh… I’m sorry Ms. Chihiro, I was miles away...”

“Yes, well… You can’t afford to muck THIS one up! This is important for Jurion and Thiltis relations and more importantly the sales of weapons to the said nations. Now I know you may struggle after the failure at Emerit, but…”

“The failure at Emerit? Emerit was a success, we managed to stop the dragon and Wuith showed their appreciation by ordering 10 dozen Baroni Swords! I know the rest of the research team was disappointed about the loss of a possible resource but there was no way we could stop the dragon with the amount of fire power we had and…”

“Sen… I’m the one who is supposed to be talking at the moment, so I would advise you to shut up and listen… I need you to remember that the board room in which the summit is to take place is strictly limited to the ambassadors and their attendants aside from Therus security. It is important that you make sure to disallow anyone who does not fit into any of those catergories into the board room. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly…”

“That’s what I like to hear”

They where standing in a small office located near the room where the summit was to take place, from the window there was a marvellous view of Thurtun and the surrounding countryside, it had been that view that had distracted Sen within the conversation.

“Oh, and Sen?”

“Yes ma’am?”

“The company is providing security personal with ‘Magic Seal’ Devices. I trust you, as part of the research team, have managed to find magics which are set on a non-breakable frequency?”

“I haven’t, in fact, I don’t think that’s possible…”

“Well you better just hope that none of the Magic Seals are broken…”

On this less than positive note, Chihiro took her leave and left Sen waiting in the office for her currently unknown superior. She hoped that they would at the very least be kind…

[Musicmuse]

"It looks like we'll be heading out again," Cameron announced as he presented a letter to Geneva. The letter was rolled neatly and sealed with the royal emblem.

Geneva took the letter, knowing it was from Prince Tyrak. For the past four weeks Tyrak had been hidden away at an undisclosed location since the attempted kidnapping. This didn't stop him from trying to communicate in secret with her, however, and as Tyrak's best friend since childhood, Cameron felt compelled to help him deliver these secret messages to the prince's mistress Geneva.

"I wish he'd stop," Geneva murmured to herself as she ripped the seal open and scanned the note.

She already knew what it said. Tyrak would go on and on about how he longed to have her during these lonely nights and how his every thought was about her -- it was very romantic, but Geneva knew that since Tyrak was betrothed that these letters were a dangerous thing to be messing around with. If anyone in the kingdom found out... well, needless to say it would be quite a mar on Thiltis' long and prestigious history. It was already bad enough that she had intended to tell Tyrak that their affair had to end upon returning from the Ynuron Forest, but due to the attempted kidnapping she was forbidden to have any contact with the Prince. Unfortunately it meant that Tyrak still lulled himself into the false assumption that Geneva wished to remain his mistress in the shadows.

"So where are we going?" Geneva questioned Cameron, barely paying attention to what she was reading. Cameron told her about the conference and how the entire situation had begun to snowball into what was shaping up to be a political nightmare.

"I'd be surprised if this didn't end in war," Cameron commented in despair. "I think there are better ways to resolve this conflict. It just feels like we're not hearing the entire story."

"What's left to hear?" Geneva mused, looking up from the sappy letter. "Jurion tried to kidnap Tyrak and now they're denying any involvement. It's an obvious lie and an attempt to cover up the Doithmin Shard findings from Ynuron," she finished heatedly.

"I'm not so sure," Cameron reasoned scratching his scruffy face. "Something doesn't quite add up." He waited for a response from Geneva, but she was occupied with burning the note from Prince Tyrak. "Regardless," Cameron continued, his voice even and deliberate, "I have been asked by the King to go to this conference as an ambassador and hear out the Jurions case, and I'm taking you as my personal attendant."

Geneva caught his eye. "Why me?" she asked.

"I need someone who I can trust, but who also might be able to get some dirt from the other ambassadors or attendants..." His voice trailed off. "It seems this job could use a woman's touch."

"Say no more," Geneva responded, adjusting her corset and winking at Cameron playfully. If there was one thing Geneva was an expert at, it was conning men out of, well, anything. Obviously her skills as a sultry temptress were being called upon to serve the greater good of Thiltis -- and she could have revenge on the bastards that tried to kidnap her lover. She may not have a desire to perpetuate the affair, but she still cared deeply about Tyrak and his safety.

"We leave in the morning," Cameron told her with a smile. "Be ready and dress to impress." He slipped out of her room and headed down the long corridor to get some much needed rest.

[Anomaly]

So there had been a changing of the gaurd among the stuffed shirts. All of a sudden a simple mining operation was no longer 'part of the budget' for his research team and while his mission had been a 'technical success' he was being shunted to baby-sitting duty for a few high ranking deligates over what sounded like a lot of bad business that would result in even more hot air. Even so, Isaac Direson took it all in stride.

As soon as he had arrived in Thurtun he had used his Therus clout to secure a high ranking government officials office for his own private head quarters. Oh there had been the usual outrage and bluster that evaporated like so much fog beneath Diresons steely glare. He was in no mood to deal with any lip from anyone and his soldiers suffered for it. There was no light duty, no breaks, no loosening of rules this go around. Nerves stretched tight, the Therus unit serving as security forces for this summit were, if not the best, the most disciplined thanks to Isaac's unrelenting command.

The old Engeneer sits in his office even now, going over paper work detailing every movement in the town, from the governers visit to a friends on the outskirts of Thurtun while his offices were in use by Therus officials, to the migrations of local bands of feral dogs. Grey eyes moving over the papers, Isaac looks up for a moment, gazing out a large window that looked down on Thurtun spread out below. Benefiting from its position between the three kingdoms, Thurtun had become something of an entity in its own right. This was largely thanks to its massive market place that plied wares from each country that travelers from all over the kingdoms would treck to, especially around festival days. It was something of a vacation spot, a busy economic hub, and a political stage all rolled into one. It was said all you needed to know about the relations between the three major countries could be learned by simply observing the peasants in the streets.

Right now there weren't very many of those, thanks in large part to the Company's patrols. Seeing the streets almost empty brings a frown to Diresons middle-aged face. His troops shouldn't be having this much of an impact on the cities bustling life...the common people were going to ground. That was never a good sign to a soldier.

A furitive knocking on the overtly ornamental mahogony double doors interupts the captains dark thoughts. "Enter!" Direson's voice booms and echos off the beautiful hardwood walls. A rather soiled Therus private hurries into the office and quickly shuts and locks the doors behind him. He carries a large burlap sachel over one shoulder and looks both out of breath and scared as hell. The young man is immediately recognizable as young Private Baxter, somehing of a verbal whipping boy and gopher for Captain Direson. Though Baxters normal look is one of a slightly flustered and out of his depth private, he looks like hell warmed over right now, likely in no small part due to the look his captain is giving him right at this moment.

"Sir, I brought all the stuff just as you requested, sir!"

He salutes in a vain attempt to cover for his fright.

"You're late."

"Yes sir, but you see sir, it was very hard to..."

"I don't want to hear it. Better late than never. Leave the satchel on the floor, get cleaned up, and resume your regular duties. We'll talk about this later."

Baxter looks extremely relieved and, uncharacteristically for him, does as he is told without saying another word and quickly retreats from his captains presence. It doesn't pay to spend too long in the same room with the captain anymore.

Isaac goes over to the double doors and locks them after Baxter. Isaac had many, many friends in Therus, but a lot of them had retired, one by one. He couldn't be certain, but he was almost sure that most of his contacts on the board had either died, gone on vacation, or simply taken large sums of money to bugger off and make room for younger members of the Company to take their place on the board. To anyone else it would be nothing, but Isaac had spent too much time with the Company and on the battlefield not to pay attention to which way the wind was blowing. He'd need an ace in the hole if things started to go pear shaped. That and his fingers were itching. Just because the Company thought it was a dead end, didn't mean "Dust Devil" Direson had to.

For the first time in days, Isaac smiles as he opens the satchel and a soft blue-green light illuminates his features.

[Psiko]

"You are absolutely worthless, Jarek!" Master Shion shouts over the noise in the kitchen. The wooden spoon in Jarek's hand stops midway to his mouth, the soupy broth dripping back into his bowl. A slight scowl briefly flashes across his face, but it replaced by a forced smile before Shion notices.

"Master, even the lowliest of peasants must eat in order to keep their energy."

"Shut it, Jarek!" Shion snaps as he takes the bowl from in front of Jarek and downs it in a matter of seconds. "You are no longer worthy of the privleges of even the lowliest of kitchen scullions! You will eat only when ordered!"

"Yes master," Jarek responds with a sigh. His eyes are encircled by black rings from the lack of sleep he has gotten ever since the last mission. In Master Shion's eyes, Jarek failed the mission. This is the price he must pay.

"Now, back to the stables! I expect to find it clean enough to eat off the floor in there! I'll be back at sundown!"

Shion storms out of the kitchen. Jarek notices all the kitchen hands have stopped doing their jobs and are still staring at him. His face grows red with embarassment and he shouts at them to get back to work as he heads out to the stables once again.

--------------------

The days continue to pass in a similar manner following the mission. Jarek is reaching the brink of exhaustion, but dares not to let Master Shion even suspect how worn down he really is. He takes the berating words and harsh tasks without complaint. After all, Shion trained him personally. Jarek deserves this punishment after disappointing his Master. In Shion's eyes, no warrior should outshine Jarek in battle. On the mission, they all outshone him.

Sweat covers his face and exposed torso as he struggles to haul two massive buckets of water from the well to the kitchen. He wonders why anyone would place the well two miles away from the castle, but he has no time to place a lot of thought into the problem. It is taking all his mental force to keep from collapsing under the midday sun.

"You're late again," Shion snaps as Jarek sets the buckets down in the kitchen. Jarek braces himself for another verbal beating, but it never comes. Instead Shion tosses him a damp rag and orders him upstairs to clean up. Puzzled, Jarek eagerly obeys the order. Ten minutes later Jarek is clean and dressed, on his way to Shion's quarters for further explanation in this change in routine. Has Shion finally forgiven his failure?

Jarek knocks three times before opening to door to Shion's chamber. His master is huddled over a parchment of some sort in the corner, so Jarek shuts the door and patiently stands in the center of the room while waiting for his Master to address him.

"Jarek, I have a new mission for you," Shion says in a tranquil voice. For the first time in weeks, his voice lacks the edge of disappointment in it. "You are to attend the upcoming summit as the personal attendant to Lord Braen."

"Master, no disrespect, but don't we have other guards who are paid to do that job."

"Yes, Jarek, but until you prove otherwise you are just as worthless as them. No more questions, Jarek. Go make preparations. You leave in the morning."

"Yes Master."

As Jarek shuts the door to the room, a single tear escapes and rolls down his cheek. Nothing hurts more than knowing that he let his Master down. He will just have to prove his worth. Again.

[Anomaly]

"Baxter, long time no see!"

Private Baxter Stockton, blond haired and blue eyed with more than a little puppy fat still in his youthful features. He had been a part of what was quickly being called the 'dragon debacle', but worse than that, he hadn't even arrived on the scene of destruction until after the beast had been put down. What was worse was that Captain Direson didn't even reprimand him. Not until much later. It didn't help that he was young, that his family had no military experience prior to Baxters enlistment, or that his family were actually not that important as share holders went with the Therus Company. All this combined to make Baxter very easy to pick on.

"Oh...hey Evans...whats happening?"

The barracks were never the safest place to be, even when Baxter slept. There was that horrible episode with the glass of warm water. He much prefered to be on duty, much prefered to have an assignment to keep himself occupied. That, to redeem himself to his captain, and Evans, were the reason he jumped at the special mission he had just returned from for Captain Direson. If haste hadn't been stressed as important to Baxter, he would've drawn it out instead of coming back to the petty torments that Evans and most of the other Therus unit now represented to him.

"Oh, nothing much Bastard...I mean Baxter, sorry, slip of the tongue. We were just wondering where you've been all this time. Looks like you might've fallen asleep in the toilet again. Phew...smells like it too!"

Baxter doesn't bother making a reply. He long ago realized his best defense against this kind of verbal battering was silence. Don't give them anything to work with. Just do what you came for and leave. Going over to his bunk, Baxter pulls his change of uniform out of his trunk. As he lifts the cloths from the dark recesses, he notices a creeping sensation moving over his fingers. He looks down to see the trunk filled with rats scurring to be let out. A burst of laughter rocks the barracks as Baxter leaps back in shock.

"Do you like them Bax? We thought they might remind you of home!"

Baxter narrows his blue eyes, and calmly shakes out his cloths, making sure they're in good order. He takes them and turns away, leaving the rats to scamper about the barracks and heads for the bath house. Evans trots behind him and slams his hand on Baxters shoulder, spinning him around. With a shit eating grin, Evans smiles and asks, "Hey, no hard feelings, right Bax?"

The blow is a clean one, delivered with as much calmness as if Baxter were flicking a peice of dirt from his lapel. Only the slight reddening of the chubby face showed the anger boiling beneath his skin. As soon as Evans falls in a spray of his own blood Baxter knows he'll regret laying him out like that. Evans had a lot of friends in the unit...more than it seemed before. He wouldn't get away with this for long...but for now he savored the throbbing pain in his knuckles.

----------------------------

"Sir, Direson hasn't accepted any visitors all afternoon. Even when his doors were open, he barely let anyone come in, even on legitimate business. Do you think we should be monitoring him more closely?"

"Don't be a fool, that old hack may have once have posed a threat to this operation, but without his precious factory lab or the backing of Therus, he's nothing more than an old soldier who's brain has gone to pot. That is clearly underlined by that dragon fiasco. If he had all his mental faculties, he would've let the dragon kill ALL the Wuith soldiers and then slain the dragon while it wwas weak from exhaustion. Then we'd have access to those caverns without having to expend resources. No, there's no need ot keep any more of an eye on the old fool than we are already."

"Yes sir, but it still bothers me that some of the men are so loyal to him. I know we've stacked the odds in our favor, but victory is by no means assured."

"You let me worry about that. By the way...where is Evans?"

"Infirmary sir...apprently that little yellow streak Baxter got a lucky punch in. But don't worry Colonel though, we'll have him sorted out in time for the operation."

"See that you do. Oh, and Lewis?"

"Yes Colonel?"

"Address me by that rank again before we have executed our mission and I'll personally put you in the Infirmary for the rest of your life."

[Psiko]

Bloody hot armor! Jarek complains mentally as he rides in front of a covered wagon. Ambassador Luten gets to sit on his fat ass in the comfort of that wagon while I am forced to wear full ceremonial armor while riding in this hot sun. This sucks.

When Master Shion finally disclosed the details of this mission to Jarek, he thought it was all a joke. Clearly Jarek has shamed Shion so much that he is being unfairly punished. What sane person would want to spend a week in a stuffy building with all those pompous ambassadors?

Maybe there will be a fight that breaks out...

Jarek smiles as he imagines impaling all these fat, greedy men on his sword. That could be quite a fun time.

Jarek's thoughts are interrupted by an arrow bouncing off the visor of his helmet. Three dirty men are standing in the road in front of him, brandishing weapons. They start talking, but Jarek pays no attention to their words. After all, this is the fifth time on this trip that bandits have tried to hijack the wagon, assuming it is filled with gold. Jarek just sighs as he draws his sword, wondering when this trip will end.

[Anomaly]

Night envelopes Thurtun, dark and lightless. In the distance the market is a blaze of activity, even at this late hour. The glow of torches, however, rather than illuminate the night only serves to darken the shadows here at the embassy.

The dark is broken by a brief, blue green flash. The smoke drifts harmlessly, unseen and unsmelt through the moonless night. If any of the gaurds Direson had posted saw the flash they probably would've assumed it nothing more than summer lightning, or perhaps the will-o-the-wisp. Either way, there was a muffled cursing in the night followed by more busy silence.

The dawn approached all too quickly.

---------------------------

Sunlight bringing a misty blue to the horizon, Isaac Direson unlocks his doors and gives orders for Sen Iota to appear before him. It's too early, yet, for breakfast to have even been served, but it was not at all uncommon these days for Direson to not take the condition of his men to account. Everyone puts it down to high strung nerves, but those closer to him are beginning to worry.

As Sen enters his make shift office she might notice the tell-tale radiation of muffled magics. If she does, Isaac gives her no chance to make comment about it.

"Good morning, miss Iota, let me start by apologizing for not being able to meet with you before. I've been very busy the last few days, as you might expect. Today is going to be even busier with the ambassadors arriving. Because of this I need to stay here to issue orders, but I need someone I trust to great the ambassadors and their aids."

He shuffles a bit of paper work on his desk.

"I also need you to check our guests weapons at the door. They may keep their arms, but I want to know what everyones carrying at all times. With your abilities, I need you to check for any latent magics or enchanted artifacts, though hopefully the Magic Seals will keep anyone from using such abilities or tools at any rate."

The old captain turns his gray eyes to Sen then and frowns.

"There's going to be a lot happening today. I want you to be careful, but thorough. Remember that The Therus Weapons Company's reputation is on the line. We must conduct ourselves with the utmost grace. Now if there are no questions, you are dismissed."

As he has been talking the entire time, Direson has gotten up from his desk and slowly moved around its edge to where Sen Iota stands. Before he finishes his last sentence, he presses something small into her hand. It is long and smooth to the touch and it exudes a thrill of power from its surface. The captain looks meaning fully into her eyes and nods gently, before returning to his desk.

[Andromeda]

Just a reminder that there is a one week left and some of you have only posted once. You need to wrap things up even though all you have done is introduction and nothing else almost.

[Aerif]

With very traditional respect, Sen took the time to bow to Isaac before pocketing the magical device and exiting the room. She had no idea what it was that he had given her, however she knew through the deep look he had given her that it had to be something of upmost importance.

There had been a spark inside her when he had looked into her eyes, whether it was the power of the magical device or something much deeper was anybody's guess. However it had been there and Sen wasn't about to ignore it, and if there was feelings for him inside her she would do the very best to express them in a suttle way.

She made her way to the mess hall, and managed to have an early enough breakfast, then she occupied an office and made sure to fill out the corresponding paper work, whilst thinking of that little spark she had felt when Isaac had gave her the look.

The grandfather clock in the room announced that much more time had past than Sen had expected, she made her way to the main doors of the summit venue. She could see the first participants of the summit arrive. With this oppertunity, she would take back the respect that belonged to both Isaac and herself...

[Andromeda]

What started off promising has ended with it uncompleted at the deadline once again. Seeing as you have not even reached to point of conflict yet, I am not sure what I really want to do about this. I'm more in favor of seeing this finished rather cut off shortly, again. I extended out the deadline hoping that I might see a post.

Please respond in the General Discussion thread immediately if you wish to continue this quest to an end. I will either stop it here and have the judging be done. Or allow you to continue until the quest is finished. Under the constraint that you have a set number of posts to complete it in. This way it does not continue on for months uncompleted.

I need to hear from the five of you Anomaly, Aerif, Dragonheart, Psiko and Musicmuse immediately. Make your vote on if you want to be judged now and move into the final round or complete the quest and then be judged. If it is decided to continue under a post constraint, then when that limit is hit I will close it immediately and have the judging proceed. There would be no more extensions after that.