It had been late by the time the royals made it to Mittens' palace, so they all agreed to spend the night. But the Firestar has risen, reminding the people of the Fire Nation of its immense and terrible power. In other words, morning has come and the sun has risen.

Mittens' advisers had plenty of time to scheme up a trap for their new queen and had told the media to spread the news that the Kingdom of Nature was going to make an attempt for the Heart of the Universe in order to conquer the Fire Nation. Once Mittens is awake and eating breakfast, a messenger quickly hurries to her to turn on a portable TV and show her the news about the Kingdom of Nature... who's queen happens to be in Mittens' palace with Raichel and Timothius as guests.

An executive decision has already been made by a number of Mittens' top ranking officials to have a meeting at the neutral zone of the Fire Nation. The previous Fire King had an edict that when such things came about, there is to be a restraining order: Nobody is to leave the Fire Nation without the permission of the ruler... in this case, Mittens.

Meanwhile, such news is, of course, entirely accessible to the non-royal types, such as Darkthorne, Paula, Cham, Emerald, J'Renn, Prism, and so on...

In other words, nobody is allowed to leave and all our characters know it by now. Unbeknownst to our characters, or anyone for that matter, there is a secret group of people rising up against this old edict...

(OOC side: place your characters. Make sure your characters have someone to interact with. I will post once everyone else has.)

Mittens raises an eyebrow, and puts on an amused face while still chewing her breakfast.

"Speaking of the Nature Kingdom, where's Alexis?  Wasn't she invited to join me for breakfast?  Well... someone invite my guests!  I want them to see this!"

She turns to the head backup adviser.  (The head adviser being either en rout or at the neutral zone already presumably.)  "Tell me more about this edict.  What was the reason for the original?  And what exactly will these top dogs be doing in ye olde neutral zone without me?  Plotting how to overthrow me?  Plotting how to burninate the Nature guys without getting our asses handed to us by them and their allies?  I wonder how popular of an idea that would be with the people given the kickass show they saw yesterday where Alexis was right there watching with me."

This said between bites of breakfast, and in a cheerful tone.

The adviser replies, "Nobody expects Raichel to be the genuine article just yet, so a lot of people are saying Alexis doesn't really have much in the way of allies. And considering how hard the Fire King came down on the Nature Kingdom, many are downright... terrified of you, your highness."

Alexis enters the room, having freshened up and goes to sit in the nearest seat she can find to Mittens. "I heard my name...?"

Prism had a rough night.  Endless debates over how they should react to being invited to the bloodthirsty queen's palace.  Most of them decided to accept, but a fist size group decided to break off from the main colony and remain outside.  Inside the main colony, the debates raged on over how they should politely exit stage left before things got too nasty among the royals.  And then of course they pick up the broadcasts that war is already being discussed.  Reluctantly, they accept the invitation for breakfast with the Fire Queen.

---

Meanwhile, Prism Jr. spent the night exploring the capital city.  They found that one of the best places to listen for gossip was in Ye Olde Seedy Tavern (actual name).  There they've heard rumors that not everyone in the fire kingdom likes the idea of war with the Nature Kingdom, and fewer still like the "you're not allowed to leave the planet" edict.  Much conjecture is made over whether the new Fire Queen even knows of the edict, and if she does, what she'll do about it.

  One might think that someplace like 'Ye Olde Seedy Tavern', or any tavern would not be someplace a guy who doesn't need to eat would head for.  However, the Kasketons are quite familiar with certain recurring aspects of reality, and this includes the primary function of various such establishments going beyond just the consumption of food.

  For example, there is padding your initial funding before people realize you are immune to the effects of alcohol when the dwarves are being sent to the hospital for liver failure, and you've had no trouble with the dart board after.

  That however, was a different Tavern on the other end of Fire city.  Currently Darkthorne was located in Ye Olde Seedy Tavern because of another common aspect of such locations.  Surprisingly relevant to the fate of the land rumors and news.  Also, onion blossom.  Darkthorne is starting to likes those things.

  And all this narrative ends with a completely reasonable comment directed at the shiny objects seated next to them.  "You looked taller on the Giagantotron."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:27, Thu 11 Feb 2010.

J'Renn parted ways with Alexis, citing a need to not get too involved with local politics.  Much like Joe she also has a need for the local currency.  She returns to her ship, having her matter replicator whip up a few pounds of platinum ingots, a base metal that seems to have some value to the local populace.  Not only has she learned that, she learned a nod means 'yes', and shaking one's head is 'no', also, if you point at an object, odds are, someone is going to hand it to you.  She decided the only way she'll be able to understand the locals is to dig in deeper into thier minds and read what they are thinking.

Leaving her ship she heads into town, perusing the local vendors.  Unfortunately life isn't like an RPG, a fruit vendor dosen't have the capitol to buy a bag full of platinum, nor do they purchase bags filled with monster eyeballs.  While she shops to sell, she feels the unease of the locals because of the planetary blockade.  She ponders briefly of using her vessel to force her way past it, she dosen't doubt her chances of sucess, just that she'd make an enemy of the local athorities, an unneeded distraction.

This brings her to 'Ye olde seedy tavern'.  She enters making her way over to the barkeep without a word, and sets down the bag of ingots before the bartender, looking at him expectantly...
This message was last edited by the player at 22:39, Thu 11 Feb 2010.

Paula left the arena with Miranda and has done her best to stay in close contact with her new friend and learn more about her. Also, she's found it to be extremely helpful to have a companion in a land that she honestly does not know much about.

Rather than heading for any tavern, she walks with Miranda through a local shopping district, window shopping, talking, and trying to learn more about what's going on. She hasn't sensed the presence of Death ever since seeing that odd man in the arena, and without a beacon like that, she appears to be rather lost.

One might even wonder if she's following Miranda more than walking with her.

After walking for a short while and hearing the news, Paula asks aloud, "How could someone use the Heart of the Universe to take over a Nation? Isn't the the Heart supposed to be a source of all knowledge and all things? It almost doesn't seem like something that could BE used..."

Defying all logic and decorum, Cham managed to sleep after the business in the arena was done... and after stowing away in the Fire Queen's transportation.

On this new day, the talk of war has his ears on fire, causing Cham to forgo his usual random ambling, and listen in on the talk going on around Mittens for as long as possible before getting found and thrown out.

With such an impossible mission, it's no surprise that the blue raccoon had to be fully incognito. For that reason, he's dressed himself up to look like one of Mittens' advisers, shadowing the others and repeating their movements and mannerisms.

Unfortunately, this is far too boring an act for Cham, so he sprouts pitch-black sunglasses and a radio headpiece that he occasionally presses to mutter "Copy that..." and "Ten-four, good buddy." and, every once in awhile, "This is Agent Superball. The situation appears clear..."

Perhaps the only saving grace Cham has in not being discovered is that he's changed his fur color to that of a brown raccoon, making him stand out considerably less.

Miranda hears Paula and says, "Knowledge is power, Paula. All anyone would have to do is ask the question: What would it take to conquer the fire nation? And the answer would equip them with the know-how. If you could get to the Heart, what would you ask it?"

She pauses at a jewelry stand and smiles, picking up a headdress and examining it. It's pretty! Miranda considers taking her helmet off to try it on, but waits for Paula's answer.

Raichel enters the room shortly after Alexis and has a calm look to her. She gives a polite nod to the people present, sits and begins eating and listening.