Once upon a time there was a communist who had information. And being a good communist, he decided to share that information. It's very easy for Alonso to host an event right now, because Gisa's at synagogue helping get everything set up for Erev Rosh Hashanah tomorrow. Of course, that means that the back room of the bookstore has apple slices and honey because that's kind of a Rosh Hashanah thing.
The reason Iris isn't with Gisa is probably the fact that while she means well, she doesn't always tend to be the most helpful of people when it comes to things like setting up for events. Not unless being distracting is helpful, which it usually isn't in those cases. She's at the bookstore instead, draped casually across a chair (definitely not sitting the way the thing was intended to be used) and hanging out while she waits for more of the people to show up to talk about things.
Alonso's added more than apples and honey to the nosh. There's some bagels. (Lox or shmear, your choice!) Coffee, tea, iced water. Nothing major, food wise. He's not exactly rolling in the dough. He's lounging in a chair as though spines were something other people had, chewing at one of the aforementioned bagels as he waits for the crowd to filter in. He looks, if one had to pick a word? Exhausted. But that's basically how he always looks, more or less.
Ashe arrives with Uvall stuck to the back of her neck like a face hugger. The Shadowsoul did not leave home without her bat. There's a nod to Alonso and others as she comes in and finds a seat. She didn't have information, but she could find out what was going on, so that's a good thing.
Perhaps luckily for Ziv, she's curious. Perhaps also unluckily for Ziv, she's curious. Either way the batling has decided to show up, after some trouble in finding and getting to the place - that neighbor's usually irritated with her anyway, though. She's dressed a little more warmly than usual, going for a lightweight sweater dress with a wrap, something flowy and comfortable. On spotting Ashe, though, she does settle just slightly - familiar faces, and other Custodians, are always good.
"Hello," calls a lightly accented voice from the main room; a few heavy footfalls follow and then a slightly timid OGRE named ALLEN opens the door to the back and pokes his head in. He scans the room for familiar faces and sees a few, but seems to be more interested in the bagels and schmear. He circles the room along the walls to the table and begins setting up a repast of the aforementioned. Heavy on the schmear. He takes a bite and seems to be more at home with all of those other people around.
Pilar bustles around making sure that everything is in order, even though everything is definitely in order, until the first people that aren't in her motley start to arrive. When that starts happening she turns to face them, clockwork gears inside of her whirring as she moves, and the wood-and-brass mask of her face eases into a bare hint of a smile. "Welcome," she says in a voice that carries a spanish speaker's accent. "I don't think I've met either of you," she says this to Ashe and Ziv. "I'm Pilar Ferrero y Yarleque de Paz, though Pilar is just fine. We have refreshments for anyone who wants them." When Allen arrives her smile gets just a little bit wider. "Hello Allen," she tells the ogre.
"Hey!" Iris says, waving without getting up from her seat. "It's people! You showed up before I ate all of the lox." It's pretty much the only food that's been listed she's willing to eat, being a carnivore. "So, I guess we have--" she trails off instead of charging headlong into things and looks at Alonso. "We have Alonso here to get things rolling. I'm just muscle, Alonso is brains."
Ashe gives a smile to everyone and she gives a nod to Pilar, “Nice to meet you, Pilar. I’m Ashe Whelan.” she offers to her. Then she settles back to listen to things. “I sadly have no information of my own to share, but I heard some rumors and wanted to see if I could help in any way.” she offers.
Alonso rises up to his feet, brushing some crumbs from his dusty buff coat in a manner that does nothing to improve its overall appearance. His own accent is similar enough to Pilar's to an anglophile's ear. "Ashe, Ziv. Pilar is a comrade of mine, and a member of my motley. She and Iris share history going some time back." He nods to Pilar, having offered his vouch should such things be necessasry. "I will not offer much preamble, as I imagine we will have a lot of ground to cover. Are we all aware of the overall situation currentlty with the biomechanical hob army parked nearby our part of the hedge? If not, that is fine. I just don't want to cover ground you all are already well aware of."
"Hewwo, Piwar," mumbles Allen to the clockwork manikin around a mouthful of bagel and schmear. A few more chews are followed by a swallow and then focuses on the other speaker, because he's muscle, too.
One of Ziv's ears twitches towards Alonso as he rises and starts to speak, her tongue meeting the inside of her cheek and then her sharp little teeth her lip. A bob of her head is given to Pilar and she says, "Um, nice to meet you... Pilar. Ziv Allendale." It's spoken a little hesitantly, but then she gives a hint of a smile after - and since Iris is likely to get into the lox, she takes a little bit and a bagel. Because fish is good.
"That's alright," Pilar says to Ashe. "I have no trouble equipping people with knowledge who haven't been previously involved, just in case. Anyone who wants to listen should be filled in about dangers, don't you think?" She stops hovering and takes a seat, movements accompanied by clicks and whirs as the clockwork communist deposits herself in a chair. "I'm aware, Alonso," she says just in case it's not obvious.
Ashe gives a nod to that when Alonso speaks, "I read the Grandmaster's missive about it from the Greenies." she tells him. Then she gives a smile and a dip of her head to Pilar and goes back to listening to the Spaniard.
That said, Ziv does look somewhat discomfitted - but she doesn't add anything, if she has anything of value to add.
Iris doesn't seem inclined to get up to fight over the lox, since she has a comfy seat. "Wait," she says to Alonso. "There's a biomechanical hob army? That explains so much!" She's not being serious. It's very obvious. "Joking aside, I've had a few run ins with them. They have tanks with flamethrowers, which would be pretty cool if they were on our side."
The Stonebones, knowing he doesn't have much to add, takes a few slices of apples and pops one in his mouth, dipping one of the others in the offered honey. Despite sating his appetite, he remains attentive, leaving unspoken his active participation in at least one run in the with biomechanical army.
"It began with a dream, for me. I haven't spoken of it much, but with Ashe among us I thought it might be worth a mention. It wasn't but a night or two later that I first encountered their attacks. They are organized along familiar european military conventions. Recognizable rank ensigns. Generals. Colonels. Majors. So forth. They are quite adept with contracts of Darkness. They're able to put people to sleep, in fact. Tanks, as Iris mentioned. So combined arms attacks are their general mode of attack. They move quick, hit hard, typically scouring the hedge for hobs and materiel to feed their war machine. They literally creating more of themselves through some... machine process. Which is clearly failing them, as they're deteriorating and rotting even as they continue their rampage through the hedge. They speak often of a mother who, if my dreams bear out and my ... foretellings would indicate? Is deceased. Gone. No longer in the picture. Likely this was a Gentry or something very much like it, leading the army and maintaining whatever process kept the army alive. Now, like a chicken without a head-- a giant, rotting, ravenous, angry headless chicken --they're essentially making it impossible for me to get sleep and tell Gisa about my day." Deep breath. "Does anyone have any additional insights that I'm leaving out?"
-> >> Ziv to Here << <-===============================================
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====================-> >> Wits + Occult.Gentry + 1 + 1 9-Again << <-
"You and Iris went with some others into the deep areas of the Hedge, right?" Pilar reminds, since that might be important. "And found their headquarters?" She looks between her motleymates. "I've only encountered them once, near one of the markets. We made pretty short order of them. I didn't really have to do much at all. I wouldn't count on that if we ran into a larger force, though." Not much for her apparently includes destroying a tank. Nobody saw her do it, which is just how she likes things.
Ashe's silver striations in her eyes tick up at the mention of things and she closes her eyes for a moment, tilting her head to the side just a bit, as if she's listening to something far off. "We do have a local Gentry by the name of the Mother That Feeds. She's active." the Black Apple states with a frown. "I'm not sure why she'd have a army out though and it doesn't seem like her thing." she adds. "August and I could maybe ask around, see if one of us can find out. Or see if we can find out if we've got a new Gentry trying to make a name for themselves." she offers to them.
"Um," Ziv says, after licking some schmear and lox off of her lips, looking between the others. She swivels one ear towards Ashe, giving a little nod, and then looks back at her bagel while saying, "Could... also be one of the ones that was taken... if there were someone that was, um, well a crafter but became closer and closer to being Gentry."
"Yeah, that happened," agrees Iris, grinning with big dragon teeth at Pilar. "It was probably not the smartest trip to take, but it was pretty useful. We could probably recreate it again, especially if we had some kind of advantage to gain from making the trip." Her unblinky lizard eyes stare at Pilar. Hint hint. "Oh," she adds. "Other point of fact: when you kill these guys they explode, but not big firey explosions. Disgusting, pussy, oily, stinky explosions."
Allen doesn't do much more than lick his lips and eat one or two more apple slices. He remains attentive, though, nodding as Iris mentioned a few things that he remembers from his brief encounters with the things.
Alonso points towards Ziv and taps the side of his nose, "That's my thought. Or something very similar. These might be the proverbial mifit toys before a Gentry actually passed into Arcadia and assumed its title. Cast off and left to let their batteries run out. That side of the research isn't really my forte, however. But if Ashe and August want to try and get us some answers along that avenue, it might be useful." Alonso then gestures towards Allen, "Or taciturn comrade, here, helped us design and produce a serum that provides some resistance to their sleep magics. And I've cooked up a design for mortars. My thought, barring a better plan, was to strike their base in the hedge a second time. Have one team draw their pickets off with an attack on their flank, then get in close enough to drop enough ordnance on to their machine tower to knock it out of the picture. Once it's down, the army should collapse in short order. Keep in mind this will effectively be a genocide of these hobs. They're dying now, but such a strike would be to foreswear any rescue of them whatsoever. It's drastic, but barring other alternatives? I don't feel we have a choice. I'm comfortable making that call for the greater good, but I need to make that disclaimer up front for any who think of joining me."
"What Iris is so tactfully alluding to," Pilar says, mostly to Alonso but for the benefit of everyone, "is that I know how to open a portal to any place in the Hedge that I've been before. If we feel it would be safer to take a small team to our destination and then return, and later invade in larger numbers via Contracts of the Forge, I can help to make that happen." The diminutive clockwork girl nods and says, "if we had some plan for how to fix them, or some other option than genocide, I would be all for it. Without that I think it's the best, and only, option that's viable."
Ashe goes still for a moment as she remembers something, "Maybe they haven't found their last title." she states as she looks to her phone. Then she looks to the others and there's a nod, "August has been buried in his studies, but I will speak with him to see if he knows anything and I as a Legate as well am at your disposal." she tells them. "As for hob genocide, if they've been following someone collecting titles, we don't have much left to work with. Especially if some of them are egineered." she frowns.
"You could um... always try to... get one and interrogate, maybe?" suggests Ziv, looking a little uncomfortable - at least - with where the direction of the conversation is heading. She doesn't seem entirely thrilled with her suggestion either, though, as her dark eyes flit from Alonso, to Pilar, and then over to Iris and finally to Ashe. She gives a small shrug that sends tremors through her wings, tucking them back with one still curled around the remains of the lox and schmear bagel. "Or... have you yet? I'm sorry, I'm not really... following completely," she admits, tilting her head to the side. "Also, I think more um... scouting might maybe be in order?"
Did Alonso just call out Allen specifically?
Darn it.
The Shyest Ogre in Vermont continues to munch away on apples but accepts the acknowledgements with a nod, half-smile and downcast eyes. As for tactics? That's something that the Hammerman understands, but generally more along the lines of "point Ogre at thing that needs smashing and tell him to go smash it with the hammer."
"Hey, if someone has a better idea I'm all for that too." Iris says with a shrug. "But I'm okay with killing them if that's what we have to do to protect all the other hobs they're murdering or throwing into their wood chipper." It's not a wood chipper, but still. The idea is good enough. "What else do we need to scout, though? We've been to see their headquarters, but it's dangerous to spend much time there. There are a lot of them. Other than that, they just roam around."
"We had one prisoner. A general, in fact. He was pretty far gone, and didn't provide too awful much to put things in context. What he shared was simply their motivations, their purpose. Their brass are holding things together best they can, and one way they're doing that is with these raids. But as more and more of their officers die off, things are getting more and more out of hand. We can certainly try to get more prisoners, Ziv, with the hope of learning more. It would mean anticipating another raid of theirs and planning accordingly, but it's actually something of my specialty. Taking the enemy alive. I'm not overly fond of killing, as a rule. So. Good thinking, and actually it wouldn't be awfully difficult. A better interrogator than myself and Rorschach might learn more. I'd be curious to know what someone with Spellbound Autumn might uncover, for example." Alonso folds up his arms before himself and plants his feet, screwing up his mouth a bit as though putting the matter to a brief period of consideration. "It will take me some time to finish the mortars. If we use that time to get Pilar out to their base and ambush one of their raids, we get one more shot at a peaceful resolution. If we find a better solution while putting the final touches on the lethal solution, we simply put that solution into effect at that time. Scrap the raid on their machine tower. And if not, I will lead that mission personally."
"I don't think anyone is fond of killing, but when it needs to be done, we do it." Ashe states. Given she's her Courts executioner...yeah. "I can see if I can read anything with Spellbound Autumn. Byron also has the ability. He looked at something for Rorschach months ago." she states. Then there's a look to Iris, "Mmmm. Corpsemulch." she grins at that.
Ziv just kind of nods as she listens to the various accounts and thoughts of what's going on, without really looking at anyone in particular. She gives a flex of her claws, looking down towards them thoughtfully before back up, ears twitching. "I'm... well, the only thing I can offer, here, I think is maybe going in to get a closer look. I'm... a bit less obvious than some. But I'm no uh... mirrorskin or anything... and I don't always..." She just kind of trails off, with another shrug.
"It probably makes good fertilizer," Pilar adds after Ashe's remark. "I'm willing to help by making the trip to their base, and I can probably assist with the construction of mortars as well. Anything that involves putting together equipment is more my specialty than the killing of our enemies is." She shrugs her shoulders with a whirring of machinery inside of her. "I'm willing to help with almost any task, though. As long as it helps to resolve this situation."
"I can make things, too."
ALLEN SPEAKS.
And the world keeps turning.
"But, yeah," he continues with the last apple slice in his hand, "if you need help with that sort of thing, I can do that." He leaves the hammer out of this for now, since, you know, probably obvious.
"I will help with what I can." Ashe states to them. "Byron is a Hedge Warden so I will let him know about this as well, something that he probably would like to look into." she admits. Then there's a nod to Pilar, "Probably would." she agrees with that.
"Yeah, just point me at whatever needs doing," Iris says with a shrug. "Unless it requires being smart, or figuring out things. If it's charging in and taking action, then it'll be all good." She slides out of her seat, and honestly how does a person even move like that? Does she have bones? On her feet, bare since her sandals are kicked randomly around the room, she heads over to raid the lox.
"Then we are agreed, at least, on having Hope," one can hear the proper noun when Alonso, perhaps the world's most unlikely Dawn, speaks the word. "Pilar, Ziv, we can make another trek out to their base of operations. Just a simple scouting mission, nothing more. It ought to be fairly simple. Allen, can you continue to produce the counter serum? Or do we have enough now that you can help us complete the mortars? Is the meantime, Ashe and August will work on research. Iris, you and I can gather some more toughs for a prisoner strike on one of their raids. Hopefully we find a way out of having to kill them all, but if not? Well. You'll be along for that ride, too. Do any of you have any additional questions you'd like to ask /me/ before I acquaint myself with a bottle of wine?"
Looking back up from whatever she's been focusing on, Ziv tilts her head as she regards Alonso. A small nod is said soon after then, and she lifts up the remains of her bagel. "I'll... prepare in the meanwhile. Well, as much as I can."
"If you and Pilar are going into the Deep Hedge, I'm going with you," Iris says with no room for debate. "Hopefully we won't be running into any trouble, but I just couldn't in good conscience let my motley mates wander out there without me." She softens it with a grin. "But the plan sounds good to me." She turns that grin on Ziv. "Are you ready for some adventure, Ziv? It'll be AWESOME!"
Ashe has a concerned look on her face, not over killing, but something else. She does give a shake of her head though, "No, I think I will need to think over this and if I have questions I'll reach out, Alonso." she tells him. Then she rises and gives a nod to them all, "I have to be going for the moment. Thank you for the hospitality and the information." she tells them.
"Better to have more serum than less," answers Allen. "When we have enough, maybe I can help with the mortars?" The last seems like a question, but maybe it's just a confirmation.
"That sounds like a good plan of action." Pilar lifts a hand to wave goodbye to Ashe. "It was nice to meet you," she says. "Do you want help with making the serums, Allen? I've helped before, so I know what the process is unless you've changed the recipe."
Ziv is quiet for a moment, but then shakes her head at Iris. "No, but it'll be good to actually -do- something."
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