The Laborers' Conclave is a collection of buildings and hovels arranged near the center region of Floor B25. It is the place where the workers of this floor receive their assignments, and where they congregate after their work shifts are over. Some live here, but not all of them; those who do not very likely have their own ways to reach the floor(s) above.

Sites of interest include the Information Center, the Mining Supply Store (new workers can get base equipment for free), the Food, Drug and Alcohol Distributor, the B25 Foreman's Office, the 'common rooms' for eating and imbibing (and, occasionally and amazingly, entertainment) and the main square where workers sit and congregate, warmed by bonfires.

The mining sectors between the Lost Corridors and the Conclave are patrolled, largely by automaton sentries: large, hulking armor-like shapes and smaller, more nimble spider-like ones. Human patrols are surprisingly rarer but not impossible to come across; the automatons are simply more efficient to use to sweep for undesirables or out-of-place citizens. It's uncertain whether the escaped Celestials are explicitly being searched for, but one would believe yes -- the fact it is done so subtly makes that fact all the more unnerving.

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OOC: If you're just starting in this thread, begin with a Dex+Stealth roll to move undetected from the PC's base to the Conclave, stunted if you wish! If you're in an animal shape you may not need to roll, or will get a bonus, depending on the shape.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:38, Wed 18 Feb 2009.

Dashu met up with his lunar friends just before they left.  He was already wearing the work clothes of a miner and carried a couple of tools for aesthetic purposes.  It was something he had seen several of the workers in the conclave do.  "You guys ready to head out?" he asked when the other two arrived.  "Remember, if either of you have small enough forms,  I might be able to fit you into my jacket and you can ride with me if you're not comfortable sneaking around by yourself."

[Private to GM: Activate Ebon Shadow Form (personal) and anima banner (peripheral but spending the extra mote to keep the anima down).

Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 2 successes using 12d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 1,3,4,5,2,5,3,5,6,1,2,10. Dex + Stealth Roll. (grrr...)

Today: Peleps Dashu failed (no successes) using 4d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,3,2,2. Int  + Larc (disuise). (sigh... I suck at being a Night Caste I think)
]
This message was last edited by the player at 05:50, Fri 13 Feb 2009.

Xurizu was wearing his disguise too, supplemented by a few of the papers Granite Creed had left behind in a small satchel.  Xurizu had been careful to ensure that none of them mentioned the name of the mine, just sheaves of figures.

"I think I will ride with you, yes," he nodded to Dashu.  "I'm not sure I can sneak past the sentinels you described," he says.

"No need, for me," says Nanaret when she appears, almost startling the others with how convincing her disguise at first glance. Though she does not necessarily have the thick muscles of a laborer, she certainly appears fit and limber -- the type of miner who would be charged with fitting into tight spaces, exploring deeper recesses of the mine, setting charges where their 'analyst' deems appropriate. But she is far from weak: she could definitely make use of the tools on her belt for labor or as weaponry, with no less power and much greater precision than most any mortal.

She nods confidently: "Should be fine sneaking about on my own. My spirit form is small though, if ever I need to use it..." The Changing Moon shows them by indicating with her hands. It is about 1 foot long. "Tail is longer, though..." Her lemur tail is unseen at the moment, as are her ears, but Dashu and Xurizu would easily recall its long, bushy appearance.

"I am sorry we do not know one another so well. We came from different levels. I hope we will make good companions, I wish us to... trust each other." She says this while cocking her head curiously to one side, as if making sense of the concept for the first time. "I follow your lead, Dashu."

Shadowing Dashu's footsteps, Nanaret moves dextrously, trusting in her skill to use the surroundings to her advantage. Now and then she ducks into narrow shortcuts, disappearing for short, disconcerting intervals before catching up with her group at the next opening. When sentries come close, she seeks notches in the earth to press her body into, remaining utterly still, or slips into the shadows cast by the bright work lights and hulking machinery of the mining sector.

[Private to GM: Dex+Stealth, using Impossible Joints for +2 stealth, +5 excellency and +1 success from WP. Rolled 6 sux, 7 total.

Also, though I'm using Perfection of the Mockingbird I also rolled for Disguise just in case. Spent another WP. Got 5+1=6 sux.]
This message was last edited by the player at 16:33, Sun 15 Feb 2009.

"Don't worry about not knowing us very well.  On the Forbidden level, they kept us pretty well isolated so even though Xurizu and I were neighbors, we didn't get to know each other until the jail break.  But if you guys are ready to head out, then I am as well."

With that he let Xurixu change into his king snake form and Dashu carefully picked him up.  and placed him inside his coat pocket.  Having already activated one charm to help with stealth, Dashu spends a moment concentrating and pushes his essence to help him blend in further, all the while thinking on his training.

"Be as quite as a mouse evading a hawk," he constantly told himself, "but be as quick as the hawk who strikes."  With this motivation, Dashu made his steps light and swift, his weight constantly being on the balls of his feet it increase mobility and reduce the amount of sound being produced from the steps.

As they enter the guarded areas, Dashu tries to recall places that made for good hiding the first time he came as well as places which he wished he had tried before.  He kept an eye open for the small nooks and crevices which would allow the mobile sentinels to hide.  And he moved as quietly as possible around those.  Furthermore, he always noted where the gaze of the stationary sentinels was facing and tried his hardest to find a jutting rock or a crevice in the wall in which to hide to avoid the gaze when it came his way.  When it wasn't looking, Dashu would quicken his steps to the next good hiding spot.

[Private to GM: Okay, stunting the stealth, and activating the Easily Overlooked Presence Method to see if that helps.  If nothing else it'll help when I get to town I'm sure.]

Dashu and Nanaret are, fortunately, both quite suited for the task of remaining out of notice. Both of them manage to dodge the sentries quite handily, though now and then Dashu encounters some close calls, managing only with his preternatural dexterity to duck, tumble and roll himself and Xurizu (in King Snake form) out of the proximity of the automatons' sensors.

Once they encounter a human patrol. Dashu had seen next to none of these on his last excursion. This time, he comes nearly close enough to stumble right into their path, but at the last moment follows Nanaret's instinct to pull back into the shadow of a heavy drilling implement. They watch the small force move by: a typical formation, a leader in dragon armor and a squad of five mortals in ashigaru armor, wielding purely magitech arms: shock pike, miniature essence cannon, a power mace at the belt of the leader.

Finally they come near the outskirts of the B25 Conclave. It appears no different than before, at least on the surface. But the perimeter appears to be more heavily watched, though not by men in armor: they appear to be civilian guard. [Private to Peleps Dashu: To your eye, these guards move and behave in entirely too disciplined a fashion to be normal civilians. You could roll Perc+Investigation to figure out more.] There are no walls to the conclave, however, so they cannot watch everywhere at once, instead setting up in checkpoints at each of the four cardinal directions.

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OOC: You could either try to sneak past the perimeter, see if you can get yourselves past the checkpoints with social skills, or anything else. If Xurizu wanted to take human form first he could step somewhere out of sight of the conclave and do so, they're still far enough.

Squatting at her hidden vantage point, Nanaret gets her first glimpse of the scattered buildings of the Conclave, relieved that they have made it safely. She had expected there to be more guards. "So this is the laborer town. I believe I can speak to the checkpoint guard; I can be... most persuasive. Maybe even speak for you as well, Dashu. But if you wish to take more furtive route, I would not be adverse to follow."

"Either way..." The monkey-lunar looks up to Dashu, continuing to speak quietly while keeping alert for any more patrols or sentries that may come close to their position. "We should get our story straight, yes? Does not need be complicated. Maybe can say we have come from another sector and have been reassigned. Or need a new assignment entirely. Maybe we got skipped over due to bad organization of previous bosses. Bureaucracy can be imperfect."

She wonders to herself whether Dashu would be able to keep a snake hidden on her person, though.

Dashu listened intently to Nanaret and then said "If you can talk our way in, that sounds fine.  Honestly, they might not notice me much anyway right now.  Last time I was here, I was told to look for Mnemon Ummir or Ironbeak as the foremen that new guys would go to so those names might help make your story more believable."  Dashu looks down into his coat pocket to see how his friend of a king snake was fairing with the trip.  He held the pocket open in case the lunar wanted out at this point but he was okay with carrying the highly venomous serpent.

That being said, he found the increased security around the compound more troubling.  He feared word of their escape had spread by this point.  "Lets observe the guards for moment.  The more we know about them, the better.  They weren't here last week. If nothing else maybe we can see where they're from and hopefully what they're looking for."  With that Dashu begins making observations.

[Private to GM:

Buying 2 sux with excellency

Today: Peleps Dashu rolled 3 successes using 9d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 3,8,2,3,4,2,10,5,5. Perc + Invest: examin guards.

5 sux total.
 ]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:38, Tue 17 Feb 2009.

Xurizu does indeed take the opportunity to exit his previous resting place, coiling briefly down the outside of a nearby pillar before he reaches the ground and soon restores himself to his normal size in an impossible blurring of form.  "Thank you for the ride this far," he says softly as he finishes his transformation.  "Putting new security in place so fast after your last visit is a little worrying, although perhaps it was always intended to be here and on your previous visit you beat it here.  I suppose we won't know unless we ask, or our observations tell us something, though."

With that, Xurizu too started to observe the conclave.  Unlike Dashu, he was in part looking for the things that could not be seen.  Thanks to his magic, being impossible to spot was worse than lighting up a beacon, a surefire way to be noticed.  It was with magic like this that he looked over the buildings and the people who walked between them.

Of course, he was looking for the things that could be seen, too.
[Private to GM: Using Eyes of The Cat.  Any stunt bonus, I'll spend on more Perception dice, too.  Base pool is 8.]

From watching the protocol the guards observe, Dashu finds similarities to officers who have undergone Peace Force training. These are likely members of Five Coils' police, but are specifically integrating themselves into the conclave as civilians. Most of them are simply well-trained mortals, but their COs are probably Dragon-Blooded.

Nanaret and Xurizu watch the guards as they deal with new arrivals. It doesn't appear to be a thorough check: most they wave in after a quick glance at their faces and ID tags. However, now and then the guards stop a laborer to ask them a few questions, showing him an artist's rendition of a man. Xurizu's sharp eyes can even see some details one of the pictures from a distance, an impossible feat for anyone but an Exalt. A man with brown hair, or is it red?

Looking within the compound itself, they see fewer people hanging around outside than Dashu originally described. That doesn't mean there are less people -- more that the common rooms are probably bursting with laborers now. One particular building appears to be drawing the most people: Nanaret and especially Xurizu believe it to be a place of worship, from the mon of Pasiap they can make out carved over the door lintel.

[Private to Ledaal Xurizu: You see a total of four lookouts on rooftops, perfectly still and invisible except by supernatural means.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:16, Wed 18 Feb 2009.

"They're looking for someone, definitely," Xurizu says softly after a few moments observation.  "They have sketches of a man, the one they're looking for.  It's hard to make out his hair colour or exact features though, from this far away," Xurizu continues, remarking on the small scrap of paper in the distance.  He glanced to his companion.  "It could be you, my friend.  The one they're looking for definitely has red or brown hair."

"And ...oh," he suddenly tenses a little.  "That isn't good at all.  His finger briefly points to four deserted rooftops.  There are people watching from there, utterly invisible, perfectly still.  Whoever they're looking for, definitely has them all riled up."

Nanaret narrows her eyes slightly as she takes in the sight of the guards and their periodic investigations. "If they saw you somehow, Dashu, that complicates... though you wear different clothes now. Different disguise."

"Still I think the best way to enter is to not appear suspicious at all." Without her expressive lemur ears, she scratches her head thoughtfully instead. "We approach the conclave as normal. Leave it to I and Xurizu to do talking. Probably least complicated way. Or if you think can evade notice easier, perhaps slip in while we talk to guards, or make distraction. Easier to move freely once past the perimeter."

"Better if we can come in as part of a group. Lose ourselves in numbers when work shift switches, might mean less likely we are questioned, yes?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:56, Wed 18 Feb 2009.

"Hmmm, yes well, I did have something of a disguise on then too so I should look sufficiently different now to where it shouldn't be too much of a problem.  However, I'll go with whatever plans you two think are best in this situation."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:13, Thu 19 Feb 2009.

"We are in agreement, then?" Nanaret looks to Xurizu, prompting a response. Now that she has some idea of what they are up against, she is rather restless to be on with the task. "We walk in together with next shift, cover for Dashu if need be?"

"Could be possible to sneak also, but if we be caught this early, harder to explain out of that than be questioned with nothing to be guilty about."

Before they go, Dashu takes time to deactivate his form charm, as obvious magic would only attract attention to the group if they intended to blend in with a group of workers.

Xurizu considers, giving the invisible watchers another suspicious glance, before he nods.  "Yes, that sounds like the best idea.  Sneaking might be possible, but you'd never know if the invisible watchers would be looking at you."

"I wonder if we should go in together, or perhaps if one of us should be separate.  That way, if we're spotted, the unspotted ones at least have a chance to notice and help from 'outside' as it were," he ventures.  "But either way, wait til the next shift goes in, yes."

"Mmmm... but I am concerned we may need speak on Dashu's behalf. As we cannot be sure how good an eye these guards really have." Nanaret considers the suggestion carefully, though, keeping an eye out for the next deluge of off-shift miners. "Well, maybe we two moonchosen go separate. And one of us bring Dashu as company. Xurizu, it is my first thought to leave it to you, you knew each other longer. But if you prefer I do, then I will."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:00, Sat 21 Feb 2009.

The Exalts have some time to put their thoughts together before they see the next group of workers filtering in from more distant areas of Floor B25. They don't come from a single direction, but in groups from all four quadrants, some deposited close by via the mining railways and others moving in on foot.

One such group looks as if it will pass close by where Dashu, Nanaret and Xurizu are currently hiding. They trudge along, some chatting amongst themselves, others mostly dour and keeping to themselves, but it looks a large enough group to potentially blend into. More than a few of them sound particularly disgruntled about the increased security as well as the workload leaving them less free time, at least from the snatches of conversation they can hear from their vantage point.

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OOC: there will be a roll involved depending on how you decide to step in. I'll let you know what the roll is next post (or you can tell me if you are trying for a particular Att+Abil combination). The diff. will be fairly easy, I'm mostly seeing just how well you do at this point as it may give you bonuses later, if you can seem natural among this crowd. :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:50, Sat 21 Feb 2009.