[2015-11-25 23:01:05] <Talonair> Cait, you feel a familiar presense against your mind
[2015-11-25 23:07:04] <Talonair> It's the Bleeding King once again
[2015-11-25 23:09:08] <Nemi> Cait's resting where she is, in her big comfy chair and blankets and pillows, in her lab. She hasn't felt like getting up all day. So when the King knocks, she answers.
[2015-11-25 23:09:38] <Talonair> The King's Library forms once again, the King standing before her. "Hello Cait."
[2015-11-25 23:10:20] <Nemi> "Hello, your majesty." At least here, in the Library, Cait isn't so wasted. Broken.
[2015-11-25 23:10:56] <Talonair> "I will be blunt. Your condition is accelerating at a greater rate than I anticipated."
[2015-11-25 23:12:19] <Nemi> "I-" She's shocked, almost, at the bluntness. ".. I, yes. Yes it is.."
[2015-11-25 23:13:43] <Talonair> He actually sounds concerned for her. "When last we spoke, I told you not to be concerned about it. That is because I have a number of plans that can be enacted."
[2015-11-25 23:15:04] <Nemi> "What're those?" Cait wonders. "I mean.. ANy of them.
[2015-11-25 23:16:49] <Talonair> "The first and most obvious, one plan I imagine you would have also thought about, would be assension to a Naphil. However, there are a number of problems with that, both practical and political."
[2015-11-25 23:17:27] <Nemi> Cait nods. ".. it'd.. be difficult in general, for .. um, having them trust me, here. And then I'd um, probably lack my major blood supply too."
[2015-11-25 23:18:42] <Talonair> "Yes, it is not feasible given the current situation with the Foundation. Worry not about the source of your power, however, you would not lose any potency."
[2015-11-25 23:19:07] <Nemi> Cait slowly nods. ".. and 'm not sure what I'd say to my parents either."
[2015-11-25 23:21:44] <Talonair> "As displayed during the diplomatic meeting, Naphil are capable of taking on a human guise, but yes it would be a radical physical change. The political matter is as thus; Becoming a Naphil is a great honour, one granted based on an individuals /deeds/, rather than their power. As you can imagine, your deeds thus far are not enough for me to convince the
[2015-11-25 23:21:44] <Talonair> Court."
[2015-11-25 23:22:46] <Nemi> Cait nods. "Right.. So that's out." She supposes slaughtering vampires, fending off Laughing Court strike forces, and brokering alliances is just one step among many.
[2015-11-25 23:26:15] <Talonair> Given that war is brewing on the horizon, small scale combat actions against the Laughing Court are unlikely to suffice for now. "The second would be curing you of the effects ravaging your body. There is little I can do for the neurological damage sustained short of transformation into a Naphil, and your haemophilia is beyond my powers without stemming your
[2015-11-25 23:26:15] <Talonair> power as well. However, I can reign in the damage done to your body to a much more manageable point."
[2015-11-25 23:26:56] <Nemi> Cait tilts her head. "How could that work?"
[2015-11-25 23:28:04] <Talonair> "Did I mention I was a univeristy tutor? My field of study and teaching was the art of fleshcraft."
[2015-11-25 23:31:03] <Nemi> Cait nods, slowly. "So.. What would it all entail, I mean?"
[2015-11-25 23:33:26] <Talonair> "Oh. I would need to physically cast the spell on you. it would be a reasonably lengthy channeling, but no more than, say, an hour. I would repair what damage I could, and strengthen the affected flesh against further ravaging due to your magic."
[2015-11-25 23:34:51] <Nemi> "That sounds, um, easy enough. The hardest part I think would be getting to you. Physically, I mean."
[2015-11-25 23:35:12] <Talonair> "We have an alliance, do we not?"
[2015-11-25 23:35:43] <Nemi> "We do.."
[2015-11-25 23:37:09] <Talonair> "And do I not have more information than the Foundation on a certain Court we are allied against? Simply tell them that you intend to search the Royal Library in my world for more intelligence."
[2015-11-25 23:37:59] <Nemi> Cait nods. "I'll, um. Make the request. Sorry— I'm a little cynical with the whole, um, mole hunt happening here."
[2015-11-25 23:38:40] <Talonair> "Quite alright, I understand the delicacy of the situation. If you so desire, you may bring another agent you trust with you."
[2015-11-25 23:39:07] <Nemi> Cait pauses a while, then nods. "I'll, um. Let you know if I have any."
[2015-11-25 23:39:48] <Talonair> "Thank you. The Rosebud will be on hand to transport you and any others you bring. Hmm… Aha, I have it."
[2015-11-25 23:41:40] <Nemi> Cait tilts her head the other way.
[2015-11-25 23:42:13] <Talonair> "A training exercise. One is required regardless to properly demonstrate the capabilities of my Court
[2015-11-25 23:42:38] <Talonair> Court's arms, armour and soldiers, and it would be the perfect opportunity to perform the spell."
[2015-11-25 23:43:12] <Nemi> Cait nods! "I like that! And .. No real rush, I'm sure I can stand a few more months if I need to. "
[2015-11-25 23:44:20] <Talonair> "War is brewing, Cait. With the attempted assassination of your diplomatic party by the Shining Court, a move I have no doubt was given the blessing of the Laughing King, violence is all but sure to break out."
[2015-11-25 23:44:49] <Talonair> "I'm afraid out of sheer necessity, the Foundation must be trained in the use of our tools."
[2015-11-25 23:46:47] <Nemi> Cait fidgets a little but nods again.
[2015-11-25 23:47:13] <Talonair> "However, it does mean you will not have to suffer so greatly for long."
[2015-11-25 23:47:26] <Nemi> "So.. Doubly useful. Good!"
[2015-11-25 23:48:07] <Talonair> He nods. "Oh, another thing. Is your body guard performing adequately?"
[2015-11-25 23:49:06] <Nemi> "Very much so! I had a minor emergency and he demonstrated amazing levels of initiative and decisive action. I actually think he's /learning/, too. It's really something to see. I also took the, um, opportunity to improve his armour and make a couple visual modifications to indicate his, um, alignment."
[2015-11-25 23:50:17] <Talonair> "Ashim are capable of learning, yes. Think of them as a highly advanced form of golem. Improved its armour? How so?"
[2015-11-25 23:52:26] <Nemi> "Another agent had a set of.. plate armour made of unusual materials, which fit the Ashim very well. It's demonstrated incredible ballistics and impact resistance already!"
[2015-11-25 23:53:02] <Talonair> "Metal armour? Hmm…"
[2015-11-25 23:57:40] <Talonair> "I hadn't considered, but that /would/ overcome a number of weaknesses in the Ashim and Naphil, a layer of metal armour over the ceramic body."
[2015-11-25 23:58:11] <Nemi> Cait nods! "I noticed that there's not a lot of metal at all, is it something to do with the working process or weight ot..?"
[2015-11-25 23:59:26] <Talonair> "I suspect magical origins. Regardless, even thinner metal armour would solve some of the brittleness issues."
[2015-11-26 00:01:58] <Nemi> Cait nods! "I'm, um, happy to ahve provided the idea!"
[2015-11-26 00:03:12] <Talonair> "/Un/fortunately, the greatest benefit, I imagine, would be against explosives, and as my Court is the only one thus far that uses explosives in a military capacity…"
[2015-11-26 00:04:38] <Nemi> Cait nods. "Iiiii, actually, speaking of anti-militant concepts.. Metal armour /could/ be woven into a weave to act as a, well, faraday cage to absorb and redirect lightning strikes.."
[2015-11-26 00:04:53] <Nemi> ".. and if mirror-polished, also deter light attacks.."
[2015-11-26 00:05:38] <Talonair> "Interesting ideas, Cait. I can see I was correct in my choice of student."
[2015-11-26 00:06:30] <Nemi> Cait beams.
[2015-11-26 00:07:03] <Talonair> "I will take your ideas to the war council, I'm sure we can find use for them."
[2015-11-26 00:08:02] <Nemi> "Of course!"
[2015-11-26 00:09:30] <Talonair> "As for full metal armour, I fear equipping our troops as such would give the other Courts ideas, and the result would hamper us more than them due to our use of explosive artillery support."
[2015-11-26 00:11:16] <Nemi> "Sure, but then it's a weight thing. While composite armour would be resistant to blast, combining ceramic armour with metal plating would be extremely heavy- I can only reasonably see Grieving Court forces making use of it without significant hampering of their own abilities. Additionally, I have some plans of my own on how to get past that.."
[2015-11-26 00:11:53] <Talonair> "Oh? Please, by all means, explain."
[2015-11-26 00:13:58] <Nemi> "Part of the reason that the armour on my Ashim is so effective is because of its origin. It's extremely thick and heavy but has.. Some kind of effect that makes it much lighter in effect. Thinner armour- which, based on my examination of Laughing Court janissaries and Ashim would be all they'd be able to use- will diffuse force, sure, but the brittleness of the ceramic would be a significant
[2015-11-26 00:13:58] <Nemi> weakness. It'd even resonate in the ceramic, cracking it, shattering it even, at which point.. Well, if you're a human infantryman, now you've got chunks of broken ceramic jammed into your chest cavity. You get me?"
[2015-11-26 00:14:45] <Talonair> He nods. "I understand, however I was refering to your plans."
[2015-11-26 00:15:25] <Nemi> "Oh! Yes. Concussion weapons would go /right/ past armour. For much the same effect- shatter ceramic, cause resonance with the metal.."
[2015-11-26 00:16:42] <Talonair> "Concussion. Explain?"
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[2015-11-26 00:18:29] <Nemi> "Well," Cait sits up. "Most explosives deal damage not just by the explosion and shrapnel, but by concussion waves- the blast wave, basically- which is devastating in its own right. So my thought would be to not really bother with, say, fragmentation rounds and instead focus on as powerful blasts as possible to maximize the blast wave!"
[2015-11-26 00:19:44] <Talonair> He nods slowly. "Interesting… I will admit, explosives are not my strong suit. Do you have any explosives experts on your team who may be able to advise?"
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[2015-11-26 00:24:04] <Nemi> Cait perks up. "We do! Um, we have several combat engineers, like Gwen Bowman and Maxwell Sterling.. And my predecessor has a lot of books on it. He was German, so!"
[2015-11-26 00:24:29] <Talonair> He nods once again. "Consult with them, your world'
[2015-11-26 00:24:45] <Nemi> "Will do!"
[2015-11-26 00:24:53] <Talonair> world's explosives are more advanced than my world's,"
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[2015-11-26 00:29:54] <Nemi> Cait grins. "We'll see if we can't.. heh heh heh.. do something about that."
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[2015-11-26 00:30:55] <Talonair> He chuckles as well. "I feel our worlds have much to gain from one another."
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[2015-11-26 00:33:30] <Nemi> "Yes! It'll be /interesting/ if nothing else! And— thank you, your majesty. For helping me find a way to, um, solve this issue of mine."
[2015-11-26 00:34:04] <Talonair> "You are most welcome, Cait. I take care of my students."
[2015-11-26 00:35:14] <Nemi> Cait puts on a small smile.
[2015-11-26 00:36:16] <Talonair> "Was there anything you wanted to ask me?"
[2015-11-26 00:36:38] <Nemi> "Um.. Nothing offhand, but it's been hard to think lately. I'll probably have something when I'm better off!"
[2015-11-26 00:37:17] <Talonair> He nods. "Then go in peace, my student. Your ills shall not ail you so for much longer."
[2015-11-26 00:39:21] <Nemi> "Thank you, your majesty."
[2015-11-26 00:40:01] <Talonair> He nods, and the library fades
Reassurance