Check-In [Week 1]

[helborn]

All right, you know the deal. If you're yourself, psychically raise your hand.

Or, uh, if that doesn't make sense to you, just... let people know you're you. I'm myself, obviously, but I have no idea what the hell my archetype or role is. I was infiltrating last time as Ace -

- shit, I need to avoid him. Anyway! Yeah. Uh. ... Yeah...

[His psychic voice just trails off as the awkward overtakes him.]

Comments

[insidegalra]

Thace here.

I'm now the Oracle of Choice, rather than Adversary. It's different, but comfortable. The events happening out there now all seem to be revolving around the Adversary who called Travelers here, the leader of the group with the new roles and... something else. I can't identify it, but whatever or whoever it is is very important.

[Thace pauses.]

How the choice is made concerning the Adversary is more important than what that choice is at the moment. I'm going to look into that further if I can.

[youandyoualone]

My own Oracular knowledge had something to say on the subject of Gil's Infiltration as well. To whit: 'twould be a terrible mistake to force association with him and any oaths whatsoever at this juncture. I do not know what should happen if he is confined or imprisoned, but to Sanction him or parole him leads to unfortunate outcomes.

... also there is an undercurrent of Oath-related activity running through these events, but the details are obscured to me and at the moment, they are not central to the events at hand.

[insidegalra]

[The reply takes a few minutes and there's a sigh.]

Sanctions, in my experience, are poor choices in any situation, but that only confirms it.

That a parole is also a poor choice is interesting.

There are factions, and they all claim authority, while denying the jurisdiction of the others. It seems that they're all considering that authority to be a given, rather than a choice to be made. There may be options to negotiate if we can convince them of the latter.

[youandyoualone]

I think, mayhap, that is likely our first mission to pursue.

[insidegalra]

I believe the same. We'll have to get past their blockade. Getting them to willingly drop it would be ideal, but we may not have enough time.

[youandyoualone]

I will see if I might charm my way through, at least.

[insidegalra]

Considering what I've been hearing of the retellings of our last jaunt here, you should have no trouble with that.

[Thace is amused, but it's also very useful.]

[youandyoualone]

I do have Lady Deedee's permission to charm her specifically.

[Charm her into bed he means.]

[insidegalra]

[Thace actually chuckles.]

Good luck.

[An intentional pause.] Not with the charming; you won't need any for that part. Did you know that those who ran with Thae are called Oathsworn now?

[helborn]

And somehow I've picked up on the fact that he's trying to change the minds of everyone in Questing Country. For what? Fuck if I know. How did I learn that? Also fuck if I know.

[youandyoualone]

Welcome to being an oracle, my friend.

[helborn]

It's creepy. I don't really like the 'knowledge from nowhere' thing. First of all it feels like cheating, second of all it always feels like you should mistrust information that comes from nowhere.

[youandyoualone]

It isn't from nowhere, so much as I understand it. Your dreamcatcher fills up with the ambient magic of Questing Country as we spend time here. The power inside it, constrained by your archetype, is what fuels our knowledge. Or so I have come to understand it, though communing with Fidelite.

[That would be his (literally) silver fox Familiar.]

[helborn]

Yeah... but I didn't do anything to learn it, is what I mean.

[youandyoualone]

Ah. I see. Well, it is possibly to direct your oracular abilities... but that is likely not what you mean either.

[helborn]

I guess I'm just more used to working for it. Researching.

I mean I've dealt with a lot of magic stuff in the past five years, but that doesn't mean it's not weird.

[finalizes]

What do you mean by "how the choice is made"?

[insidegalra]

I have been trying to read that more deeply. What I've discovered is that there are groups who are trying to assert authority and jurisdiction over him, and that they are taking that as a given rather than a choice. They could choose not to use that authority, or to jointly use it, and negotiate rather than fighting.

[finalizes]

...so the dynamics of the group, or groups, are what we should target.

[insidegalra]

That is one approach, yes. I suspect that if the tension isn't lessoned that it could spark up into a war, and that would have negative effects on Questing Country itself.

[finalizes]

What other approach do you suggest?

...nobody wants that kind of infighting, nowhere. [Or at least nobody who actually cares about the people and a cause, and not just their own power.]

[insidegalra]

Groups can become self-reinforcing. These groups may not be, but the Conductors are especially in sync. Changing the dynamics of the entire group may backfire.

On the other hand, we might not have the time to enact change through individuals either.

[finalizes]

Each group has key individuals. If we can identify them, that might be the way to change the group dynamic through changing individuals.

[tookashirototheknee]

I'm an Oracle now too. Although my aspect changed.

Hm. Let me know if you need any help. My powers seem to all be centered around coding or decoding things.

[insidegalra]

In Questing Country, so many things have meaning coded into them, to quote a familiar metaphor. I'm not sure you could retrieve those meanings, but it wouldn't hurt to try?

The Bore, and the Bidents. Maybe sifting through what the Adversary has to say for truth.