just prior to the upcoming jaunt mingle...

[bypartisan]

Ahem. It's been, oh, about a week or so since the start of the Jaunt and we haven't really had a large-scale conversation since my ignomious death, so I figure this is likely as good as any time to pool information on the goings-on and update one another to our activities, so that hopefully we won't be too very much blindsided in the future.

I'll start: Wash and I made it out of Nakamiyo in one piece, despite my spending a large portion of our little trip as an overly large mustelid--thank you ever so much Tiresias Syndrome--and an unfortunate cabbage incident. I left the man in Suzuki, where hopefully he will be able to reunite with Zoe, and I'm now heading toward the Sun Guard monastery, traveling under the name of my cousin Dono. I'm also attempting to replicate the rather dashing beard the Betans gave him on the event of his sex-change and while it's only a few days along I think it's coming in nicely. And I haven't been stabbed again.

... I really do hope that can be said of the rest of you as well.

Comments

[rustyhonesty]

I managed to sneak in to the summit with the help of Alcuin, here in Koroshima.

[Boy it was nerve wrecking and he doesn't want to do that again unless he has a good reason to do it.]

What I learned was that there will most likely be a war against the Empire. Apparently, if that's the case, there won't be enough food for all of the forces in the peninsula, so they were trying to find a solution for that. They were arguing about who'd be the most useful in war and ... it was actually pretty childish.

[bypartisan]

The Empire itself? Not just the 'foreign barbarians?'

[Byerly is just a bit startled by that one.]

Somehow I'm not surprised it was childish. Do you know the main players?

[rustyhonesty]

That's the feeling I got anyway. It was a decision made by the Shogun that they gathered to talk about.

There were representatives from the Akuryu family, the Suzuki rifles and Nakamiyo, at least, though in total there were five who were talking the most. I recognized one of the talkers as a traveler; Beatrice. She was strongly on the side of Koroshima being the best asset to the war.

Then there was also Maria. Once there was talk about settling matters with a duel she started looking... interested.

[bypartisan]

Maria? Who brings a child to a summit meeting?

Also, ah, Bai's memories would indicate that the Akuryu are less your standard family and more a clan of incredibly effective and somewhat terrifying assassins.

[rustyhonesty]

It's a good question. I couldn't catch where she belongs to.

... that's good to know. Well they did consider them rather powerful.

[bypartisan]

Oh, they are. Hideously so.

[rustyhonesty]

Sounds like we're mixed up in something very dangerous.

[bypartisan]

The entire peninsula is likely to erupt in a flurry of backstabbing within the week if this summit falls through.

Maybe even if it doesn't fall through.

[rustyhonesty]

If the tension gives any hints, then I'd say we can except a lot of bloodshed no matter what the result.

[bypartisan]

Lovely.