Dashu feels that he's starting to see the way this deal was shaping, but he was still uncertain on exactly what Mockingbird was wanting to arrange.  "The next one?  Sir, the whole point of our little excursion is to make sure we're not around.  Like I said before, I came here before but in a disguise so I doubt you're thinking we'll wander into one of your contacts in another conclave using the same names and such.  That means that either you've got a favor you want done before we leave or you want us to do something after you get us out.  In the case of the later, I'm sure you'll be interested in knowing if it's us who's paying off our debts.  After all, you wouldn't want to do future business with someone who broke your trust.  What is it that you want us to do, and how will we be able to prove that our... account... is paid in full.  I guess what I'm saying is this, what's your price and if we find it acceptable, how do we let you know we've paid-in-full."

"Hmm." The Mockingbird stops and thinks for a moment, gazing downwards as he leans back in his chair once more. He lifts his gaze again, eyes narrowed slightly as he smiles. "Well, I suppose I should try to explain my position first, before I go on about what I'm looking for."

"Things... are orderly around here, but barely. They're holding on to a thin shred of a thread, as it stands. That means that, for those who are smart enough to see it coming, there's actually a possibility of chaos - and change - hanging just at the horizon. Of course, that means good things for me. Some other sleazy 'businessmen' might think that their business will go bad if the oppression is lessened, but I'm not like that. As I said earlier, I'm not in it for the money. I have other reasons for being in business."

"In any case... Because of this wind of uncertainty ahead, the people in power are keeping a tight leash on everything. I've got my ways to find out about things and contact other floors, for example, but that's becoming increasingly difficult now."

"To add to the headaches, there's the matter of the Water District. I've been cut off from them, and I can't actually reach the district at all anymore. The authorities claim it has to do with some sort of epidemic, but my information and observations tell me it's bull. But even knowing that is of no use to me, as no one is talking as to what has been going on down there."

"What I'm getting at, gentlemen, is that these are troubled times... And in such times, the most valuable of currencies is information. Of course, not all information is worth the same price... But I'm wondering if gents like you, coming from outside of this Conclave, might have heard a thing here and there. Who knows? Maybe there's something in there that might be valuable... Something that might be traded for, say, a service offered by a third party."

He wants to trade for one of the few things we are rich in, Xurizu thought, though those thoughts he kept schooled well away from his face.

"I think, then, that we might be able to come to some kind of understanding," he said with a smile.  "And though I don't want to get us ahead of ourselves, perhaps this relationship we are forming might have a future beyond our most immediate want.  I am sure you know things that are of interest to us, even as we know things of interest to you."

"But perhaps if we first return to our original purpose in this visit, that of the person we wish for help in extracating from the Conclave.  I think you might find her an interesting test of your abilities, if not something you can brag about any time soon ... but then I'm sure a man like you knows the value of caution?  Also, I should say that we are only asking for your aid in getting her across the boarder, getting her out of her situation is something we will manage ourselves."

"But what do you know about the Temple, here in the Conclave?" He smiles a little, as he asks the question.  He was fairly certain that was answer enough for the 'who'?

"Perhaps that's something we could think about, yes." Mockingbird agrees, nodding his head slightly to Xurizu. "You see, I'm always up to maintain fruitful business-like relationship with people who are worth it. In the kind of work I'm in, good partnerships are even more valuable than cash and riches. It basically implies that I get to make a 'trade route', if you will - something that us underground businessmen can't usually make. So if all goes well, I'm first to say I wouldn't be against the idea of actually building a mutually beneficial agreement."

The mans smiles at Xurizu's words, tapping some of the ashes form his cigar into a nearby ornate ashtray. "I might be familiar with it, yeah, and the kind of... cargo they hold there." He pauses, regarding the two men with a renewed interest, an appraising glace in his eyes. "Which also somewhat confirms a hunch I've been having about this whole ordeal. You said you were responsible for the little intruder mishap. That's made me wonder, when it happened, and even more so when you said it. It's also made one of my men intrigued, and he actually looked more deeply into the matter for me. So far he's only come up with hunches and hypotheses, but your words seem to confirm a hunch he's had."

He pauses, deeply in reflection. He exchanges a smile with the woman sitting on his desk, although there is no malice in it. For the first time since they first saw him, it seems like the Mockingbird is enjoying himself, as if he had suddenly found some sort of treasure trove.

"Gentlemen... regarding your little problem, I think I can find a way to help. If you can extract your... cargo from where she is held, I'll handle the rest, and can have her shipped to a destination of your choosing within the Earth district within a day, two at most if things get dicey with the guards for unforeseen circumstances. The trustworthy man I've spoken of earlier can see to the arrangement of this affair, passing it as a mining supply shipment and making it official in the Coils' paperwork. He is really good at that, actually. Perhaps you're familiar with him? In the Conclave, he goes by the name Evorn Cairen." The man smiles, a bit more widely.

"In any case... Now that you've confirmed my little hunch, I'd like to settle on the matter of price, Gentlemen. You see, I've been concerned about some things that have been going on recently, and I can't trust the information disseminated by the Dragonbloods. But if you are who you claim you are, and if you are looking for what I think you're looking for, then you can help me. And if you can help me, perhaps I can help you more in the future, because if I'm right, then we might have more goals in common that you might think." He nods, then leans back in his chair.

"Here's what I want, gentlemen. I want the full truth as to what has occurred in the Water District."

Dashu thinks for just a moment, and then puts on his most charming act.  Delving into his knowledge of illict deals, he feels he's able to speak with some certainty here, "If what you're saying about the value of information and trust is true, then I think ALL that we know might be a slight overpayment for just our escape.  If you recall, we did also mention we had a few questions concerning matters of our own personal interest at the beginning of our meeting.  Perhaps those can be included in our deal depending on how valuable you believe the information we impart to be."

[Private to GM: I assume I haven't heard a lie yet.  I did activate my judge's ear.]

[Private to Peleps Dashu: Yeah, I've been keeping track. Mockingbird's been honest the whole way through from your charm useage. Seems like he is being honest about the whole deal.]

The man pauses, taking another draw from his cigar while remaining contemplative for a time. He remains this way for a moment, before nodding and speaking again. "Fair enough, I've got no objections for that. You give me the full disclosure of what occurred down in Water District, and I'll throw in answers to a few of your questions on top of taking your dangerous cargo out of here. How would that sound?"

"I think I might trust a man like that with the arrangements, yes," Xurizu said with a little grin.  I knew something wasn't quite level with him.  Didn't know he was quite that far off of it.

He glanced sidelong at Dashu, as if asking So where do you want to start?Their story, after all, began on the Forbidden level.  And there was only one sort of being found there.  Then again, almost any tale, except the most heavily edited, would reveal things of that nature.

Dashu looks back at Xurizu and nods.  The unspoken words being simply "Start from the beginning and tell him what happened."  Then a small smirk appeared on Dashu's face that could only be interpreted on way, "Light 'em up!"  With that a hollow golden circl appeared on Dashu's head marking him for what he was, a Chosen of the Unconquered Sun, A Night Caste, and one of the Wretched.

Xurizu's eyes widened a little as he saw the pale ring on Dashu's forehead, but then he grinned too, and willed a mote of essence into his own caste mark, a pale silver ring appearing on his brow, revealing him to be a No Moon, one of the Ogres.

He turned back to face Mockingbird, looking carefully at his reaction. "For myself and ... Freidr, our stories began below the Water levels.  On floor B31.  The Forbidden Level.  Around two weeks ago, I suppose.  The collars around our necks, which controlled our essence simply ... stopped working.  That's when it all began, as we stepped out through doors unlocked, into the maze."

"It was a few minutes after that that the countdown to the purge began.  Out of fear of the scant few of us who escaped the Forbidden levels.  So that was when we started to run."

---

OOC:  I'm going away for a few days, starting tomorrow, so you'll have to take over now Dashu.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Sun 05 Apr 2009.

Dashu picked up the story where Xurizu left off.  He handled it like a detective relating the facts and nothing but the facts.  "After the purge began, we immediately started to make our way to the top level of the Water District.  We met heavy resistance but received help from a man named Pale Gaze.  Ring any bells?"  Dashu asked before continuing.  As we progressed up the levels we found others like us.  Exalted who had been collared but who's collars had been deactivated.  We had several battles, one of which involved two warstriders.  You can imagine the collateral damage was extensive.  However, the actual fighting was nothing compared to the riots that were happening.  The Immaculates tried to suppress the people while they initiated their purge.  They expected everyone to sit still and die.  We managed to make our way up the Gatekeeper where we met still others like us.  They had recruited several mortals to their cause.  Long story short, we managed to restore the programing of the Gatekeeper to its original programing before the Dragons managed to scramble its thoughts.  I'm not the best with tech and I'm still not exactly sure how they managed.  We also discovered that whatever it was which deactivated our collars pinpointed our specific collars.  It wasn't a system wide shutdown.  That indicates someone wanted us free.  I'm not complaining.  Anyway, they sent Equalizers to stop us.  However, when the Equalizers had us corned, they didn't stop the purge.  They said that it was because they didn't know if any other 'Anathama' had been released.  They don't have to wipe out an entire district to deal with stay Anathama though.  They're usually quite good at capturing us.  Regardless, the Gatekeeper interfered and now we're here.  Nothing remotely contagious, except maybe rebellion.  Personally I'm of the opinion that they were looking for an excuse to reduce the population of the Coils but I don't have enough information to confirm that yet.  Those are all the details that come time mind, but if you have specific questions, feel free to ask."  Dashu stopped his story here.  Mockingbird had wanted what they knew of the Water District.  He didn't feel that included knowledge of where the rest of the Exalts and human escapees were hiding.

Mockingbird listens intently to Dashu and Xurizu's tale, his chin raising and his smile widening at the view of the bright Caste marks appearing on their foreheads. He says nothing when this occurs, perhaps out of politeness or respect, but it is clear the man is neither afraid nor disdainful at the display. In fact, it seems to make him even more inclined to listen to what the men have to say.

He does not interrupt at any moment during the tale. His expression darkens at certain passages, and he nods grimly as the Exalts recall the happenings of their escape and the dangers the people of the Water District have faced. As he listens, he gently taps the end of his cigar, causing some ashes to fall in the ashtray, and leans back in his chair with an expression midway between gratefulness and worry.

"Thanks." He finally says, nodding at Dashu's ending of the tale. "Might not seem much to you, but it does to me. Without going into details... I was born in the Water District. I ended up slipping through the cracks here and there, but you never forget where you're from. I still need to find a way to get back in contact with the District, but at least now I know it's fallen off the register for a good reason, and not because the Terrestrials blew it off the Coils. Good to know."

He nods, then looks at the other two men in turn. "I won't ask for more than I've bargained for. Just confirm for me that the District and its people survived, and my end is taken care of." He nods then smiles a bit.

"Which leaves your end of the bargain. You've had some things to ask, I thought."

Dashu looks at the man before him.  He obviously still felt connected to his roots, or at least wanted them to think he felt connected.  Dashu decided to dwell on this later, as they had pressing business to attend to. Once again Dashu cuts straight to the point but tries to limit the information he reveals about themselves.  Afterall, even if information is currency, having too much at one time can be as much a liability as carrying too much cash on you.  Someone's just as likely to come along and take it.  "I cannot offer you anymore assurance than this, when we left, the Gatekeeper had stopped the Purge.  I don't know what has happened in the interum.  But as for our questions, on our arrival we ran accross some information about a conclave not so unlike this one in the tunnels.  It was one run by a man named Creed.  He was married to a woman named Patience.  The town, by all accounts, was unpopulated.  The events that happened there, are one of personal curriosity to my friend here and myself.  Namely, we know that Creed is departed and his wife was seeking Free.  She apparently came to this conclave but has left.  That doesn't explain where the inhabitants of the conclave went.  Will you please tell us what you can of these events?  What happened to the settlement and Patience?  And lastly, we're interested in Free.  It would appear that if we don't share common goals, we at least share a common enemy.  How could we get ahold of him?"

The man smiles and nods, before raising a hand at Dashu's semi-apology. "That's quite allright. You assured me that some people survived. You also assured me that the purge was stopped. If there's people alive down there, I'll find a way to reach that. That's pretty much what I do." He smiles again, a bemused expression on his features once Dashu asks his questions.

"Funny you'd ask those two questions. They're not as unrelated as you might think." He nods, then takes a drag from his cigar before continuing. "First and foremost, to make sure we start on the same time here - Creed's not just departed. He's been killed. Even I don't know what happened to the Conclave he was in charge of after that. It's like a blanket just... Fell over it." The man pauses, obviously worried for a moment. For a man like Mockingbird, lack of information is like a defensive weakness for a gladiator: a glaring opening that might be exploited and thus must be protected at all times.

"Patience... She was here, for a time. But she didn't stay all that long. Woman was terrified, as you can imagine. Whoever offed her husband might come after her, she thought. And that's not an improbable thought if you ask me. In any case... She wanted out. Wanted out of her life, wanted out of here. So she came to me, and I arranged for her to get out of here. Last I head, she took on a new name and a new life. Even I don't know the details, so we didn't leave any loose ends. But I can give you a lead. She went over to B22, and that's where she lives now. And the people who are protecting her now, the people who've taken her there... Were actually Free's people."

He smiles a bit, letting the implications sink in. "So you see, your two questions become irrevocably intertwined now. Because if you're to approach Patience at all, I'd strongly suggest you get in contact with Free first. If you don't go through the channels his people have set up... You might very much look like you're out to off Patience, and then you might get yourselves in trouble."

"Meeting with Free is always a complicated affair, as is meeting with me. Well, usually anyways." He smirks, then tilts his head to one side. "Tell you what, though. I'll help you get in touch with him, if you give me a little bit of time to get this together. It's a bit of work, but I'd be willing to do that for a consideration of future trade, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah I catch your drift.  Which brings me back to what I said earlier.  We don't know how to contact you when we leave this place.  Plus, we're leaving these names behind when we get out of here."  Dashu smiles a bit at this thought "You obviously understand the value in the peace force not knowing your real name, so we'll follow your lead in this.  If you give us protocol to contact you in different areas of the Coils, we'll leave you some calling cards to identify us by.  I think I'll use 'Talon' and unless my friend here wishes something else, he could go by the name 'Hood'."  Dashu didn't particularly feel like explaining to the man that these were actually body parts of animals that appeared in their anima banners.  "We'll try and make sure that anyone else you meet comes through us first so you know you can trust them.  I think I can safely call our group, 'Sky', though."

"Right." We'll establish a protocol so we can communicate with one another if you find yourself out of this Conclave." He pauses, and looks towards Dashu with an appraising look. "Talon, Hood and Sky it is. Now, we've got to establish a way for you people to pass messages to me and vice-versa. See, because of the nature of the Coils, I've got some people working for me that have never even seen me before - we all work through codes and visual passwords and that kind of affair... Usually. There is, however, more direct channels, in case we need to take care the sort of business you people require."

The man pulls a drawer of his desk, pulling out an obsidian scroll from it and laying it on the wooden surface. "You folks are going to be on the move, and so protocols can't be established easily - at least, not easily in a way that will keep security at a maximum. Fortunately, that's what these things are for." He taps a finger on the scroll, tilting his head before speaking again. "They call these a Prayer Transceiver. They're a valuable thing, even in here. I'm not sure exactly how that works out, but here's the basic gist: the scroll has a prayer on it that lets you send messages. Don't worry about not being a priest or a prayer type - the scroll actually helps out with performing the thing right. Once you send your message, it's sent through a God that reroutes the message to the recipients directly. So basically, without wrapping your head around the more esoteric details, it actually is untraceable by other people who might want to listen in. You'll have to put a little bit of your power into it to make it work, but I know it's no problem for people of your kind."

He pushes the scroll across the desk, and nods. "Think of it as a gift to cement our business partnership." He nods, and smiles as he leans back. "That fine with you? If so, we'll discuss the details of where to take your cargo once you spring her out of her holding cell."

[Private to Gatekeeper; Ledaal Xurizu; Peleps Dashu: Okay, here's the mechanical side of this 'gift' - the Prayer Transceiver is basically a scroll that will allow you to communicate with Mockingbird by sending a prayer that is rerouted through Heaven, and thus is impossible to intercept by outsiders. In order to send a message, you have to make a Prayer Roll - although the scroll itself confers 7 Extra Successes for that particular task. The bearer of the scroll needs to commit 2 motes of Essence to keep the scroll's magic fed and communication up.]

Dashu takes the scroll and says a simple "Thank you.  This will be most helpful to both of us, I'm sure.  I will insist on you giving us a password if you try and contact us to let us know your end of the communications hasn't been compromised.  You may choose it.  And I'll defer to your judgement on what needs to be done with contact.  We came to you for your expertise after all." Dashu then listnes eagerly for the details.

Yes, that would be especially unfortunate if Free's people know more about me than I do.  Which doesn't, admittedly, seem to be too much of a challenge right now.  I'm sure I've met one or maybe two of them.  It might even be best if I wasn't involved in meeting her at all.  However much I feel strangely compelled to ... such are Xurizu's thoughts as he contemplates what the Mockingbird has mentioned.  The appearance of the scroll and the apparent end of the conversation snaps him out of it, however. "Yes, thank you for the scroll." He too, listens for the details.

"Well, here goes. You'll already have your hands full calculating the logistics of getting the woman out of the temple, so that's what you should be focusing on. My side will handle all the intricacies of actually getting you out of the Conclave." He nods, grabbing a piece of paper and a stylus, and drawing a crude map while talking.

"This here's the temple. What you want is to take your cargo northwest from there, up to this area." He circles a rectangle he has traced on the paper, possibly illustrating a particular building. "There's a warehouse here, right on that street corner. The warehouse number is 3876. That's where you should be headed." He pauses, then slides the paper across the table to let the two men have it. "It's a mining supply depot, basically. Almost every day, mining teams go through there and secure cargo to get out to other conclaves, or mining ventures outside of the conclave, that sort of stuff. Cairen is in charge of organizing the mining expeditions, so he's the perfect man to arrange the number of crates we're sending and making everything balance out paperwork-wise - and since most of the Terrestrials won't dirty their hands with the menial work the miners do, reality is in the paperwork."

"I'll notify my smuggling agent over there, and he'll have you prepared. Unfortunately, don't expect a comfortable ride - I'll have to ship you out in mining equipment crates, so the ride will be short, but unpleasant." He nods, then takes another draw from his cigar before extinguishing it in the ashtray.

"Once you're past the checkpoint, you'll be on your own. The convoy will stop at a clear distance from the checkpoint and some of the workers will help you out of your hiding spot, but after that, it's up to you. You have your own reasons not to want to divulge where you're heading, and I respect that. Just be aware that this also limits the kind of support I can give once past the checkpoint gates. What I can do though, is to arrange a transport accident a bit further down - in that case, that means that the nearby patrols have to go secure the area and provide assistance. This should help widen the holes in the net for you."

"That's what I can provide you with, gentlemen."

Dashu seemed entirely satisfied with the plan.  The distance to the warehouse didn't seem overly far and with a suffient amount of stealth, they should be able to make the distance without a hitch.

[Private to GM: 07:36, Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 3 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,5,3,7,9,5,1,7. Perc + Awareness.]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:53, Tue 14 Apr 2009.

Dashu's observations seem to corroborate his initial appraisal - the route described is not improbable nor is it unreasonable. There is a distance of about two blocks at most between the temple and the warehouse indicated by Mockingbird, meaning that the only variable would be the amount of traffic in this area at that given time.

Since the streets are secondary ones, they will likely not have to worry about heavy traffic or numerous witnesses - the main difficulty might be to anticipate the coming of a patrol, but it is nothing, in Dashu's mind, that a group of Five Exalts cannot deal with.

"Just make certain you don't bring a trail or a pursuing unit with you to the warehouse. The last thing either of us want is for the Dragonblooded to start snooping into the shipping lines I use - Cairen worked long and hard to get to where he is, and suspicion might jeopardize the whole thing. But I know what you people are capable of, and so you should be able to take care of this in a manner satisfactory to the both of us."

"Now. That seems pretty satisfactory on my side. Is there anything else I can do for you gentlemen?"

As soon as it seems like the conversation will conclude, Shadowed Blossom stands up alertly from her perch and smiles to Dashu and Xurizu, bowing fluidly. Though she has not spoken a word, they have a distinct feeling the dangerously beautiful woman has paid attention to every last word of the conversation.

Blossom saunters over to stand near Mockingbird's chair, posed there with one hip jutting out and her silk-clad arm draped languidly across its back. Her dark eyes regard both Celestials, meeting their gazes solidly, but without hostility. Again both of them get the feeling that she is not quite human...

[Private to Peleps Dashu; Ledaal Xurizu: I'll give you a chance to figure out what Blossom is before you go, it's a Perception+Occult roll if you want to. Don't necessarily have to make another post just for that, you can PM it to me :)]

"This seems to be a solid plan.  Thank you again sir."  With that, Dashu clearly indicates he's ready to leave the meeting.  He does take a brief moment to note Blossom and her movements.

"Nothing immediately occurs," he agrees with Dashu.  "And the plan certainly seems workable, yes," he says before his eyes are once more drawn to the beauty of Shadowed Blossom and her graceful movements ... and her hair.  Now what's she doing, all the way down here? he thought, with a sudden small rush of associated memories.  He didn't know much in the way of details regarding how they came into being, but her kind were normally found on the levels above here.

"A pleasure doing business with you," he nods to the Mockingbird.

"You'll only have to say one thing when you arrive to the warehouse. The loading foreman will not acknowledge you when you step in. All he'll do is say, to himself, 'Man, I wish I could just push a pencil rather than break my back everyday.' To which you'll respond, 'Careful what you wish for, you could break more than your back sitting at the top.' And that's it. He'll know it's you, he knows what he's doing, so he'll take it from there."

"And with that, we're all set." Mockingbird nods, another smile on his lips as he pushes the tinted spectacles up the bridge of his nose. "You seem to have what it takes, but just as a precaution - keep your head down, stay away from the spotlight... And keep your wits about trusting anybody. Keep the scroll close, 'cause it's the method I'll use to keep in contact with you. If anybody approaches you and asks questions... They're not my people. My guys are given their own instructions. They don't ask questions. If someone does ask you anything, either get out of there fast or be prepared to fight, 'cause it's probably a trap."

He nods, folding his hands together on top of his desk as his smile weakens somewhat. "Be careful, gentleman. And until we can do business again. I trust you can find your way out by now. There should be no more need for blindfolds and subterfuge."

OOC: I think general consensus is that this scene has ended, but to make things official and put a conclusive mark, I'll declare end here, for archiving purposes.

Thanks to Dashu and Xurizu for participating, and in the hopes that the whole affair wasn't too tedious for you to play in. ^^
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:34, Mon 20 Apr 2009.