Zmija looks lost in thought for a moment..."Perhaps not a suicide mission. Some of our group possess strong magic and or physical skills. Even a lone assassin sent through at the right time could possibly pull this off and escape back through the mirror before detected given luck was with them."

"Okay, I suggest we meet back here after sundown. I can try again then, if that is agreeable with the rest of you?"

Loukas rubs his chin as he considers, "I will admit to having concerns about killing this bastard... Please do not misunderstand me. I want John dead. That fuck killed my Uncle among others.

"That said, with his death will our lives be easier? Will the pressure on the Knyaz and the Rus be reduced? For that matter, are we prepared to take advantage of whatever results from the death of the Emperor of the Romans? If not, then perhaps we should not rush into this."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:21, Mon 03 Dec 2012.

"True words my friend. We may wind up with someone far worse if you can even imagine such a thing. Still a single poisoned arrow fired through the mirror or even a fireball...imagine the power this mirror gives to us. What else might we do?"

A'kos frowns thoughtfully, but says nothing.

Uncharacteristically quiet for a time, Thorn has mused over the possibilities granted by the mirror, and now speaks forth.

"Could we not all pass through the mirror? It seems to me that between us we might achieve more than one poor solitary soul...and we might have a greater chance of returning intact, also."

Loukas rubs his chin and sits forward, "Dyanna or Balthazar will correct me if I am wrong, but the Mirror may be used as a 'doorway' between the point it views. Thorn. This is how we killed the Khan... Of course, this means it works both ways, so if the person being viewed is aware of it he may use it as well and come after us."

Taking a sip from his cup he looks around the room, "Zmija is right, I think. We have enormous power with the Mirror. My concern is that the more often we use it the better our enemies will be able to prepare themselves for its use. I suppose my point is that rather than kill John, we ought to use the Mirror to monitor and defeat his schemes against us.

"Doing so would make him seem impotent, which I think would be a far greater vengeance... If nothing else it would make his followers doubt him and might ultimately inspire his own to turn upon him. He might fall as he rose.

"I realize that what I suggest is not quite 'adventurous', but it seems to me that with careful use we might not only defeat our enemies, but strengthen our allies."

"Understand who his closest confidantes are," A'kos suggests, speaking at last.  "Scry them enough to understand who they are talking to, identify their couriers, and set up ambushes so that important communiques get lost en route.  By attacking his lines of communication you take away his ability to know...and leaves him flooded with doubt as to whom he can trust..."

Loukas smiles and nods his head to A'kos's idea, "Aye, yes. Scry the Bureaucrats and Generals when they are not at Court and away from the Court Mages. In the process of doing this we will learn who those couriers are. We need to be careful as we do not want to reveal exactly how much we know as that might reveal how we are doing what we are doing, but yes, Falcon, you get what I am saying!

"These actions would not only make him distrust his Court, but waste resources. As his trust of his followers decreases so will their confidence in him."

Zmija smiles..."I like the way this line of  thought is going. I do not have the same stake in vengeance against the Emperor as some of you do but I would see him fall for his many other crimes that have affected both my family and I. We should run this idea past Miroslav and see what he says. I would suggest that Loukas and A'Kos approach the Regent with this idea sine you two are his longest companions, along with Balthazar who must be satisfying his hedonistic needs right now."

Loukas rolls his eyes at the mention of Balthazar's 'needs' and smirks, "Power and Impracticality -- I am thinking this is the very nature of our friends Philosophy."

He takes a last sip from his cup and sets it down as he stands, "Shall, we A'kos? What say you, Dyanna? Will you join us? Our 'Captain' may not have known you for as long as he has known us, but the wisdom you have shown since joining our fellowship and your knowledge of how the Mirror works will help us present a better scheme."

Dyanna smiles at Loukas, "Yes, I will join the two of you. Let us bring Thorn along as well. He has much to learn about the strange way that we work. He is used to the way Dobrynya works, we tend to do things our own way."

She holds out her hand and says,
"Thorn?"

A'kos stands, adjusts his baldric.  He says nothing, though a frown adorns his face, pensive and uncompromising.  He looks about at those who stay behind, then follows, his hand resting upon the pommel stone of his sword.

ooc: edited for sloppy writing, word usage and a host of other issues I've yet to discover.  Sigh...
This message was last edited by the player at 19:42, Mon 10 Dec 2012.

"Far be it from me to refuse the invitation of a lady."

With an easy smile Thorn rose to his feet, taking Dyanna's hand as he did so, and carrying his mandolin in the other.
"These are underhand, unchivalrous, dubious tactics...it appears I have met kindred spirits indeed! More seriously, you are quite correct, these are excellent notions and should trouble the Emperor no end."

"Wonder how Sir Jean would've received them," A'kos speculates briefly before lapsing back into silence.

"He probably would have charged on horseback through the Mirror and into the Emperor's Court and would not have been around to hear the conversation we had after the Wizard shut it down.

"He looks at Thorn, what does 'unchivalrous' mean, Thorn. Chivalry is something you Franks go on and on about, but I have not really heard anyone define what is meant by it."

Balthazar saunters in, "Sorry I'm late, did I miss anything?"  Upon being told about the events, he laughs and says, "Actually, scrying the Emperor is really not what I had in mind.  We need to discover information about who is at court.  For instance, we should know who takes over in the event he is killed.  The successor could be worse.  What we embark on takes much planning.  I recommend we question Nicephorus further."

"Good question," replied Thorn to Loukas' enquiry. "I am not too certain myself - I have had various 'civilised' people over the years tell me that my behaviour was unchivalrous, and in various situations too. In battle, in duels, with their daughters and sisters and wi-

Actually, forget that last one. That was an error of judgement on my part, alas. To be honest, I've never hung around to find out the actual meaning. Sword-points and lynch mobs keep getting in the way."

"Very well then, I will snatch up Nicephorus and we can meet with Miroslav. Just give me a hour or so to arrange this." Zmija exits quickly.

Roughly an hour later Miroslav, Zmija and Nicephorus all sit in the Regents administration room. Nicephorus looks to have been treated well. He is bound in chains but looks comfortable enough. A moment later, Cuivi enters the room, clearly he has been summoned for his ability to detect falsehoods.

Before Nicephorus arrives Loukas says to the Fellowship gathered, "My friends, let us be careful not to mention the Mirror until after we have finished our conversation with Nicephorus. He is our prisoner, but we have no reason to believe that the Emperor's magi are less clever or powerful than our own. They might use him, if they know he is alive, to learn not only what he knows of our situation, but what he overhears of our own plans.

"So, let us hold the conversation with Miroslav about how we might use the Mirror until after they have returned him to his cell."

When they bring the Greek in Loukas stays seated; however, when Cuivi enters he stands, "It is good to see you, my friend, I hope you had a comfortable night."

Turning to Nicephorus he says, "The bread you eat here is not without cost and there is always rent, is there not, so you are here today to earn your keep."

He glances at Balthazar and continues, "To begin with it has been a long time since your murderous plot ensured that those of us here who are from Byzantium will never go back. Regardless of our desires in this matter, it seems that your Master will not leave us alone. Accordingly, we expect that you will assist us, if  you wish to live out the remainder of your life with any comfort at all.

"I have two big questions for you, my friends may have others...

"The first: Tell us of the Emperor's Court today. We want to know who are not only the major functionaries, but who the chief clerics as magic users are serving him.

"The second: If he were to drink too much wine, fall off of his horse and break his neck, who would step up to replace him on the Throne?"

Finishing he stands arms crossed with his right hand stroking the light beard that covers his lower jaw with an attentive and expectant smile.

ooc: just an aside, i would think Dobrynya and Miroslav would've had a pretty good idea of major functionaries, and lines of succession.  I suspect you're leading in this direction, but the names we want get are those who work outside the established chains of command.  Chief among spies and assassins - those whose networks carry information back to the Emperor.

Nicephorus looks at his feet for a moment and says..."At this time, their is no successor to the Emperor named. There is talk that young Basil is being groomed for the post but he is only fourteen years old, far to young to be emperor."

"As for your first question...the Emperors mages and clerics are far too numerous to name. You can rest easy or uneasy as it may be, knowing that the Emperor John is the Emperor of Rome itself. You will find no more powerful mages or clerics on earth than those who serve him."

Miroslav frowns as he listens to the Greek speak of mages and clerics..."As we expected of course. I do think that Basil would make a fine replacement for John if it comes down to it. He is young, yes but from what I have heard of him, he is a different sort of man, less ambitious and perhaps less militant."

He looks over at A'Kos and gives the Magyar a nod of the head before turning back to Nicephorus..."Now we would know of the intelligence community of Emperor John...what can you tell us?"

Nicephorus again looks down at his feet...only this time he does not look up. He remains quiet.