The Deranged Solicitor came first to the call. They may have come before the call. Either way, they are with Derek now. Their latest work, on the Iron Republic, is with them. It was well-known, so they decided to bring it along. It isn’t yet released.
Well, they are there, one of the greatest minds of the law, ready to help on this matter. A rarity, yes. The first time they have witnessed the sigil outside the Republic, where it meant something different.
“Well, what is our plan? Take him to the Republic and clean him up? I know where a good date for that would be.”
Eglantine should be sleeping. They are not. They are rereading their notes on the Correspondence. What can they do?
(The selfish voice within asks if they have not already done enough. But it is not enough, not really, when faced with the memory of the burned and suffering man.)
They are tired, and drained, and mournful. Planning the escape was easy enough. Planning what to do next seems to evade them.
A candle burns down slowly.
Eglantine will wait for news, and then do whatever needs doing. If there is help to give, they will give it.
The message that comes is a relief, in a way. There is yet something to do.
When they go, they bring Siobhan. Eglantine is a sentimentalist. Some things are necessary.
edited by Eglantine-Fox on 7/14/2016
Barselaar examines the note he found in a Wolfstack alley, secured to a wall with a knife, as he climbs the Spire that the paper mentioned. He did not know these people, although he had heard the rumours about the Fist of the Bazaar’s recent abominations.
Regardless, the note speaks of the Correspondence, and, more importantly, of burning, and branding, and misused Law. That is something that Barselaar know about.
He contemplates the whorls and solidified drips of damaged tissue that scar his forearms. No one should have to endure such pain.
edited by Barselaar on 7/14/2016
Cliclicklick
The quiet motion of the wheels reach everyone before he does. Eventually, he rolls through the door frame and considers the three carefully. Thick glasses with a mirror tint are perched on his nose.
“Do I not get a say in this?”
"One might consider me an entrepreneur in these fields. They aren’t wrong." This was their second venture to the republic, and the first had occurred only a short time ago. "I have ventured beyond mirrors, once. Well, I was brought there by force." They cackle, a distressing sound. "I would even happen to know a place there. The Chromium Throne. A place of things that would no longer be. That place would help us well." They fall back into their chair. "As for the Iron Republic, I am sure you’ve heard of my prowess." Surprisingly, most of the people present have.
[quote=The Absurd Rogue]Cliclicklick
The quiet motion of the wheels reach everyone before he does. Eventually, he rolls through the door frame and considers the three carefully. Thick glasses with a mirror tint are perched on his nose.
"Do I not get a say in this?"[/quote]
"You? You do not, Clay. You are doomed to repeat this experience without end, Clay." There is a dreadful ruthlessness to their voice, as if this life meant nothing. "This is to rescue an individual. You are not that individual. Not in full."
“I’m in. There isn’t anywhere I’m afraid to sail, now. The Reckoning Postponed is at your service, should you need it.” Something in his tone, however, betrays unease, and he keeps shooting sideways looks at the man that so resembles the Flowerdene Saint.
“This clay is going to strangle the life from you if you call me that again.” Eli lifts up his shirt and the bandages underneath, the patch that held the brand has been sliced off one and whole, leaving a horrible patch of scarred tissue behind, even with the Physician’s assistance.
“I don’t know if this will be enough to lose the mark if it is truly a mark of The Judgements, but I feel like we only need to apply Occam’s razor to see the deductive leaps you’re making.”
Eli throws the blanket off and straightens his legs just long enough to throw a vicious right hook at Drake.
“I don’t care what you did or what you learned, I’m not leaving London until Passionario is out of the picture, do you understand me?”
“Back up.” Eli growls. “Do the people in this room honestly believe this mad man without a seconds thought? Really? Seems a bit far-fetched that I’m a time-moving body-double, don’t you think?”
Barselaar looks down at his hands, clenches and unclenches, as if contemplating their function. “Stranger things have happened. I believe it’s possible.”
“The very fact that we are supporting Drake in this proves that is what you are, mountaineer.” They say, coldly. “If we do decide that you, indeed, are the one we need to save, what then? I doubt a simple exposure to irrigo could help in this. And, Passionario. What is with your obsession over that man? The deed is done, and no amount of dead officials will change that.”
“Have you spent so much time with your head up your ass that you’ve forgotten what it’s like to be human?” Eli sneers at the Game-Carver. “Consider where I was less than a day ago and you’ll know why I need to play this all the way through, without your fairy tales. Suka.”
“You mean something that you’re supposed to drink doesn’t work when you pour it on instead? Amazing!” Eglantine’s voice is rich with sarcasm.
Siobhan is looking at Eli, troubled. “…I didn’t know this was their idea when I came here. Just that there was something that could be done to help.”
"Agreed. That’s a mistake I’d be ashamed to make." They sigh. That trait of theirs is a constant for them. "But, yes. No point in wasting time on this. We have a yacht waiting for us. Eastern docks, yes? We have an expedition to mount."
edited by Vavakx Nonexus on 7/14/2016
“…Hasn’t Eli been dragged off to enough places he doesn’t want to be, lately?” Eglantine asks. “I’m not convinced of this theory, and madcap expeditions because someone thinks someone isn’t real aren’t on my to-do list.” They point at Drake. “How do we know you are yourself? You could be something else, acting in malice against a person.”
Eli recoils from the splash. “Touch me again without my permission and I’ll end you, I swear to Christ.” Eli is fuming. “Siobhan, please wheel me out of here. I need to address the others, the ones that haven’t gone completely insane.”
(OOC: I don’t think de facto time travel exists in Fallen London’s canon. You have July’s story, but you’re not actually in the future so much as experiencing the future. Categorically, everything you do in "the future" doesn’t actually happen, and you don’t physically get to take anything with you to or from "the future." It’s more like playing through events so that you’ll know what to do when they happen in the land of things that really exist.
I also think rescuing Elias before he got branded would invalidate the entire roleplay we just had, as well as the intentions of Passionario’s and Eli’s players, and they’re the ones who planned it.)
(OOC: As cool as the whole concept is, you may well be right.)
[OOC: Also, don’t forget old!Elias’s reaction to current!Elias. Also, why are we bringing current!Elias along? He doesn’t seem to remember anything, and he isn’t needed for pretty much anything.]
[ I don’t want to be a buzzkill but I never consented to this story and it basically disproves my characters existence and ropes him into something he would have never agreed to ]