RP: Debrief In A Deserted Location

Part of the Welcome To The End of Eras Arc

Summary: A clandestine (and altogether overdue) meeting between Quintessa, Rumiko and Kasyr - following up on their initial plans regarding Enchantment. Valrae Guilt Bingo is achieved (Free space, right?)

Crater of Glass

What once held the relatively untouched sand dunes of the desert now reflects the aftermath of some type of enormous surge of energy. A large crater now resides between two steep sand dunes. The top of these dunes seem to be a resting place for a few charred tables and chairs, broken pieces of wood, busted beer mugs and bottles. Anyone familiar with Kelay Tavern would recognize these pieces immediately. For those who dare to slide down the dunes and into the crater, you will find sharp shards of glass looking to leave their mark on any unprotected skin. The outskirts of the crater have the most colorful blue and inviting pieces of glass. The closer you get to the center of the crater, however, the blue color begins to fade to crystal clear. The color change seems to suggest there was an immense amount of heat that radiated outwards. The question is: What could have caused such an explosion?

Kasyr shifts his footing, seemingly heedless of the crackle beneath his feet- as the mixture of glass and sand cedes beneath the weight of his coat, and the greatsword strapped to his back. For better or worse, the swordsman looked alert. Wary. To say that things had gone poorly in recent days was an understatement, and though this place provided little avenue for an ambush, especially on short notice - it didn't mean he wasn't braced for one. It did not help, either, that his every attempt at smoking was cut short by an inconvenient gust of gritty wind.

Quintessa absolutely hates the sun. She hates the heat and she hates the sand too. These are the main reasons she avoids this place, but she also knows that’s why nobody would ever look for her out here. Dressed in her old long-sleeved cat-suit to protect her pale skin, she resembles the way she looked when she was a teenager, her combat gear on display- an unconscious threat to use it that she never quite realized she was making back then. Now, with her tinted goggles on her face and an enchanted lace parasol held above her head, it was now done out of practicality rather than insecurity. With a click of her boots, the latent magical energy held within allows her to skip over the dunes of the desert quickly, avoiding the encumbrance of the difficult terrain. Soon she is at the specified meeting place, a nod of her head offered to the other two before she glances around with a curious smirk at the gleaming glass crater.

Rumiko didn't like sand. It also didn't help that, while the nymph owned several pair of boots, not a single pair were meant for trudging through the desert. Refusing to walk barefoot, the druid moved slowly behind Quintessa as they made their way to the meeting place, her heels sinking into the shifting ground and keeping her at the shorter stance she tried to hide from the world. She had never wandered this far out from civilization to need the same magical shoes her companion wore, thus she mumbled under her breath about needing to study up on more convenient enchantments. "Surely there were better places." To meet, she'd meant, even if the reasoning behind such an open area made the most sense. Rumi had opted to dress more appropriate for travel, leaving the gowns at home and choosing a simple pair of leggings and top. She wasn't as averse to the sun as the changeling, though she too carried an umbrella in case it became too much.

Kasyr might have cracked a grin then, "If you want truly neutral grounds? This es it. No factions, nor kingdoms. Just desolation as far as the eye can see." He pauses for a moment, his foot sliding forward to catch under a larger chunk of glass, so he can send it cascading down into the crater proper. "You just get to choose your flavour of 'barren'." And even then, how long would it be til the sands swallowed this back up, too? "I hope your endeavours have fared better than mine."

Quintessa looks around, beyond the glass crater and into the vast emptiness of the Nameless Desert. “No Kings. No masters. I must admit, there is a stark beauty to all this desolation.” The changeling turns to face them both again, giving a glance at Rumiko before she indulges in Kasyr’s hint at wanting to know how things were going for them. “Well, things have been interesting, to say the least. We met with Queen Lunalesca and managed to negotiate some token trade relations. Unfortunately, she is too wary of our assumed sympathies to Vailkrin and wouldn’t even let us begin to subtly advocate for a more reasonable approach to our situation. The most she could promise was that the dark fae would be accepted and placed in special districts within Enchantment but..” Quintessa looks over at Rumiko, as if prodding her to explain their concerns about the missing Unseelie. “That has proven to have its own complications.”

Rumiko was not at all amused by the explanations. She -wanted- for all of this to settle so they need not find neutral ground, though seeing all they had in the last few days, she was sure it would be a long while before that were the case. Picking up where Quintessa left off, she nodded. "We have also been offered a tour. A full tour to show me the overall improvements of Enchantment, and then to show both of us," the nymph motioned between herself and the other fae, "the newly appointed 'Unseelie District' that, according to a source inside the castle, is well hidden." Kanna's name was intentionally left out, and a glance towards Quintessa offered a silent promise to leave her friend out of the fray as much as could be helped. "The summit only added to the curiousness of it all. The queen basically claimed ownership of the dark fae pushed from the forest, advising the leaders in attendance to redirect any of them towards Enchantment." She frowned, "There is apparently some kind of blood testing happening to the ones moving through to the district."

Kasyr nods slightly towards the changelings' commentary, "People have fought to keep things like that here, too." Like the broken glass beneath their feet, the recollections are- lacking. There was something there, but it's gone now. Only the outline of messages long past. The shadow of an empress long buried by sands she'd ruled. "Even a token gesture es still more than I expected. Et could still serve as the foundation for things later. I'll ask you about the finer points later." Unfortunately, that fleeting bit of good news is immediately soured by the next development shared by the two, "Huh. So, are you saying . . . that you weren't able to get in contact with any of our citizens that have emigrated?" Deeply concerning, if that was the case. "Wait. Ownership?" Was that mispoken or, deliberate, "How -was- the summit? I figured I'd ask you both, rather than wait for the papers to put their own spins on it, et glorify the various attendants."

Quintessa smirks in spite of the grimness of the situation, nodding along with Rumiko’s assessment, her smile growing genuine for a moment when she keeps Kanna’s name unspoken before becoming sardonic once more. “‘Well hidden’ is one way to say it. Our source described the district as being nonexistent, only finding forest and marshland when they searched the area designated for it. Coupled with the reports of blood rituals and the fact that the Queen told the other world leaders to redirect the fae refugees back to their ‘original home’, it does not leave a pleasant taste in my mouth.” As the subject turns to the summit, her expression grows more forlorn, her smirk fading away. “It started out well enough, with reports coming in from the different regions, each getting a chance to discuss the status of their respective territories… But when the Larketian representative spoke up, one couldn’t help but discuss the elephant in the room.” Quintessa inhales only to let out a worried sigh. “Mayor Valrae did not show up… Two summits in a row. Something terrible has happened and the entire world wants to know where she is."

Rumiko shook her head. "No, not yet." Her gaze shifted then, glancing out towards the horizon of sand in an effort to look at neither of them. "Whether the district is real or not, it appears we will have to wait until this tour is scheduled to find out. Either way, Quintessa and I have agreed to make sure we are not together when lead to it." Arms crossed over her middle after stabbing the tip of the umbrella into the sand. "The queen knows Quintessa is dark fae, and we are unsure what she knows about me other than titles. The tour could very well be a trap." And they could not risk both being caught in that snare. Rumi didn't know Mayor Valrae, though she'd seen enough to know the woman was well-liked and clearly missed. "There were quite a few seats left empty. All claimed to have turned down the invitation. Including Vailkrin."

Kasyr patiently waits for both the reports to conclude, doing his best to appear as impassive as he can manage. Which is less than he'd like, when Valraes name comes up again. "I had thought her initial absence might have been a protest. She could not have missed the stone transports. Yet, there was no letter- et neither me nor Lan could find her." His expression is strained, distracted, "She had to be exhausted. Like the rest of us, fighting for years. Worse, the one that had to anchor all of us together." And perhaps, just a bit drained, "That was in the middle of Lan & Me, for all that time. How could I blame her, if she needed time to gather herself. To be somewhere neither of us could reach her." He'd left for years. -Needed- those years. But if she hadn't? "Wherever she es, it's not somewhere I can find her- but I can guarantee one thing. She's alive." But he was getting off track. And he wasn't allowed to, anymore. He draws in his lower lip, bites on it to drag himself back into the moment, and begins again, "Right. If you can't find any former denizens, or any current ones- then your idea of... exploring her hospitality separately es prudent. That said, it's plausible she might direct you to something carefully orchestrated." Lefty's words about appearances being carefully organized for the inquisitive came to mind, and even that eye couldn't be blind all the time. "Perhaps you find a volunteer to apply for sanctuary. Hex them in such a way you can keep tabs on them? You -are- fairly adept at invasions of privacy, Tessa." And even if that trail runs cold, it might provide a lead. It's at this point he offers a bemused smile to Rumiko, "Well, I mentioned mine being 'lost in the mail. Perhaps she had to be careful to choose an audience receptive to her message? She have any particular talking points that might stick out?"

Quintessa idly twirls her parasol, causing the delicate runes stitched on the inside to activate, creating a small gust of freezing air gently blowing down upon her. “Yes, if it is a trap it is best if one of us remains outside of it to call in as backup- actually, while I’m thinking about it…” Quintessa pauses to hold out her hand to Rumiko, a small puff of purple and black smoke manifesting in her hand as a single earring appears resting in the palm, the gem set in it made of lavender fluorite. “Take this. This is a one-way communication earring that will connect to mine. If you need to call for me this can reach anywhere on the material plane, and vice versa.” With the artifact handed over Quintessa’s eyes flicker back to Kasyr from behind her dark goggles, the tiniest of nods accompanying his hunch that Valrae was still alive. “I believe so too, but for how much longer I cannot be certain… Obviously, I can't let this go unanswered; I have to help find her.” It would distract the changeling from her current mission but she did not care, she owed Valrae her life. “As for Enchantment, Rumiko and I have our plans in the work but the situation is delicate. We cannot rush things there, but perhaps using one of my fae bannermen to infiltrate the Unseelie district is a fair idea. Using divination magic to spy is far more risky despite my talents for it. I have learned through my experimentation that people can feel when I am watching them and thus I cannot risk exposure.” Quintessa glances around, wondering if this meeting was being watched in a similar capacity. “These days I leave the spying to Karasu.”

Rumiko took the earring, the item offered a look over as its mechanics were explained before affixing it to an open space on her left ear. "This will be handy." She really should look more into enchantment spells. Her gaze rose to shift between the two as they spoke before shaking her head and adding, "I would rather not send any more into her hands blindly." Volunteer or no, it had the potential to be a death sentence for all they didn't know about the dark fae district. "Let me do it." The nymph's gaze shifted to Kasyr then, "If she has something set up as a scene, then going on the tour will do us no good and will only waste time." She had a very bad feeling about what was happening to the dark fae, but at least she knew there were dangers to watch out for. To Quintessa, she turned then, "You can scry, yes? Track me. Then you will know where the district is, and if need be, we can get the others out." If there were any left to save.

Kasyr glances between the pair, before he finally offers up a shrug, "Not my preferred avenue, either. That said, there is a possibility that wherever she sends you will simply be a distraction." His right hand slips into his jacket pocket, if only so he can retrieve a worry stone to fiddle with. "Remember your own words. You haven't been able to get ahold of any of our former citizens. Which es to say, she is already fielding questions from you et others about these numbers, in the midst of this disorder. if it -was- a trap, there'd be more to lose than gain, since it would only further compound the scutiny on the city." He shrugs broadly, an exasperrated sigh already escaping his lips, "Though, perhaps she lacks the foresight, or es driven by some desperation. Your words on how 'everyone declined' still strikes moi as odd. The sort of thing that could be verified. . ." But, who would? Complacency was a continental practice, at this point. "...Still, I think, perhaps, if you were going to do this, it might be prudent to say your interest on any such tour is perhaps less educational, and more- ...a clandestine attempt at extricating yourself from Vailkrin, as the situation worsens? That you're supposed to be on an errand somewhere else, but wished to find out more. Giving the impression it would be Vhy's problem would make you a more tempting target."

Quintessa thinks for a moment, considering everything laid before her. “I think I *will* scry on you, Rumiko, instead of sending a subordinate. If it is a trap I promise I will do what I can to save you, but I think Kasyr might be right, that it’s a distraction. Her only motivation to capture either of us would likely be to test our blood, right? But we are too high profile- our disappearance would lead people to Enchantment looking for us. Either way, we should play it coy, not overextend ourselves. If your tour doesn’t answer our questions then we can consider sending in someone unknown to figure out how the smallfolk are treated in comparison.” Quintessa twirls her parasol again to activate the runes once more, the tiny snow-flakes falling from inside of it melting before they even touch her skin. “As for us distancing ourselves from Vailkrin, I think that is what the public assumption is. Lunalesca wants all the fae back in Enchantment so she is willing to believe that’s what Rumiko and myself have been visiting her court to do. I’m not sure anyone suspects we are working at your behest.”

Rumiko offered a dip of her head, taking in points offered by both parties. "I do understand the risks, but all of that is working under the presumption that I will be recognized." The nymph was known and easily recognizable by the bright red hair and glowing green eyes, but it was a carefully crafted image she'd put together years ago when she was a teenager. Fingers rose to pull the simple hoop earrings from their place, and a small thrum of magic came to life, strengthening with each removal. "There is only one person in all of Lithrydel that knows this is a glamour." Hands indicated from her head downward, and with the motion she released her hold on the magic that altered her appearance. Crimson hair darkened to an inky black, her skin paled to a few shades lighter than Quintessa's and her eyes darkened then brightened once more, revealing the ruby red that Kasyr had seen her first night back in Vailkrin. Her umbrella was pulled free and popped open over her head now, if only to protect her eyes. "No one will know that I have an association with any lands. I'm simply a displaced fae, trying to pick up the pieces of my life, no?"

Kasyrs' head cocks off to one side, appraising the difference in the faes' appearance- and unable to quell the amused grin that's crept across his face. As severe as the situation may be, "I've always had a fondness for a deceptive truth." His time with Coreliant was well spent. Whatever the case, he takes a few more moments to scrutinize her true features, before his attention flicks back to the changeling, Have any records of refugees who could pass for kin? If we dredge a last name, we could pass our not-quite-new friend here as family looking for a reunion. As a gracious host, Luna would be hard-pressed to ignore a plea for succour, non?" Fingers crossed it's not the sort involving a pretty corpse et a shallow grave. That thought was sobering enough to wipe away his amusement. "If you need anything, let moi know. Beyond that- I simply wanted to say that the Rynvale situation es. Well, not resolved- but not on your itinerary, so when you do have the chance- stop by Vhys. Ideally- I'll have what's needed to get a small court proceeding underway." Gods know the city will need the distraction, if the papers have anything to say about the most recent development.

Quintessa also takes a moment to appreciate Rumiko’s glamour, a finger slowly moving up to lift the goggles from her mismatched eyes so the changeling could gaze upon her unabated. “I too enjoy deceptive truths…” Quintessa slowly begins to circle the nymph like a shark, appreciating the fellow fae’s craft. “I likely have documents and what I don’t have I can forge. Records on fae are scarce to begin with so it will not seem out of place for her to only be registered within the last three years.” Quintessa was planning on retroactively cooking her own books, is what she meant, tampering with the records she kept when she was Countess of the Dark Forest.”And yes, after our work in Enchantment is concluded our next stop is Rynvale Island. There are multiple threads to follow out there, not just in Vhys. Searching the Fog Forest for fae refugees for instance. We need to find out where all the other enclaves are forming.”

Rumiko waited until the others seemed satisfied with her idea before pulling her glamour back in place. Fingers worked on replacing the charms that dampened the buzz of her magic, "It might even work in our favour for -you- to deliver me to the queen." Eyes, once again green, were aimed at the changeling. "It is no secret that you are no longer in Vailkrin, so a solitary being- myself- having to track you down to plea for sanctuary would take time. Especially not knowing where to look. Under the guise of listening to her request to 'bring all fae home', it might strengthen her desire to build upon the already established trade offers, if she thinks you will willingly bring her what she is after." Rumi wasn't exactly sure what said thing was, but it was obvious from the summit that it had to do with their kind. Kasyr earned her attention then, and a slow nod came as she spoke, "If things go wrong, send who you can." That gave her another idea. "You need something of mine, to find me, yes?" She spoke to Tessa, though it could technically be the same for both. The satchel hanging from her shoulder was pulled around and two small vials were pulled free. Next came a small blade, and with some awkward maneuvering, she made a small cut and used the vials to collect the blood. "Should be enough." Palm up, she held both out before her.

Kasyrs' fingers continue to scrape against the stone in his grasp as he hears out the pair. Still, their path seemed set- and so, he extends his grasp towards the vial, catching it between a pair of fingers not focused on fiddling. It's this motley mix of items that he crams into his pocket, albeit with a moment taken to slide his thumb over the stopper. "Really, I probably could have gotten away with a significant item, but this will certainly work in a pinch, madamoiselle." Tessa's pragmatic response is nodded to, the swordsman looking wryer by the moment, "Well enough, then. I was simply meant you don't need to bend the captain's ear c'est tout." He pauses then, staring between the pair, before simply shaking his head, "Was there anything else you needed to report, or that you needed in turn?"

Quintessa was about to lower her goggles over her eyes again, satisfied with Rumiko’s glamour, but the suggestion of giving something personal to Quintessa causes her to hesitate, her expression drawing expectant as the nymph removes her satchel. When blood is offered to the changeling, she cannot hide the dangerous lustre in her eyes but she tries not to look too eager as she slowly reaches out to take one. “This is a powerful object in my hands… You are putting a great deal of trust in me, thank you.” Once in Quintessa’s possession, she would conjure a cloud of black mist in her hand that seemingly consumed the vial, storing it someplace safe until she needed it. At Kasyr’s assessment that he just needed a significant item, Quintessa stifles a giggle. “Yes, I was able to use Odhranos’ teapot to scry on him, but this will certainly do.” She makes a mental note not to try and negotiate with Leoxander, but she will probably speak to him anyway. She has other endeavours involving his crew that she wanted to pursue. “If that is all, then there is nothing more to report on my end.”

Rumiko offered a smile to the king, but the expression lacked any warmth or humour, "Funny that you would think I have anything more significant." The nymph didn't keep many trinkets; if it wasn't useful to her, she didn't keep it around. "And I have already placed my life in your hands." It was again the changeling that she looked towards, "I trust you well enough to pull me out, if I cannot do so on my own." There were several bonds that wound around the pair, some obvious and others not so. If they couldn't trust one another, what were they even doing? "I have nothing more." She idly twirled her umbrella in her hand, though it lacked the frigid air that Quintessa's had, "Suppose we have a backstory to prepare." They would get to the bottom of the dark fae mystery, one way or another.

Kasyr nods at the pair, "I bid you the best of luck in your endeavours, et if not safety, at least a speedy recovery from whatever ills await." That said, he moves to take a simple step back- a motion that's never really finished, given he vanishes with little indication that he was ever there, beyond a faintly bubbling pool of glass, in the shape of a footstep.