Dawn of a New Day: Eve of Peace

"Excellent. And I, the Primarch, presume you will be accompanying this expedition as well, Miss Arlensul?"

He paused. "Also, Professor Inquitego: you still have not answered my question from before Miss Yla's arrival distracted you. Would you care to elaborate while we wait for the good Governor's arrival?"

"Hrm? Oh! Uh..."
He clears his throat.
"It was nothing. Really. Don't give it another thought!" he says, cheerily.

After a somewhat awkward pause, Yla speaks up.


"Okay, then, so now what? I don't think I have anything that could so much as annoy a Solar, so uh, hope it listens? We have a contingency plan, right?"

The professor gives the Primarch a "Holy cow that's a cool idea also what the hell did you need me here for anyway" look.

Then he nods his head. "Yep. Sounds solid. That being the case, I'll run interdiction, make sure it can't touch nobody no how, aaaand if, gods forbid, that doesn't work, I'll be able to pick up the pieces." he says with a confident, winning smile.

A sleek long lump of fur streaks across the neatly trimmed grass toward the meeting. By the oddly patched together and mismatched fur, the weasel is obviously Redfarn Betcher's familiar. It carries a note, which Arlensul plucks from its mouth with a white gloved hand.

After reading the note, she passes it to one of the Deathless.

"The council can not reach a consensus. I am told to wait until the Empire has made an attempt to peacefully remove the threat before I may act in my military capacity. Until such time has passed my role is passive observance."

Her gloved hands disappear into her long wide sleeves as she folds her arms. She briefly mutters into the wind, and apparently the wind replies. Nodding curtly, she seems satisfied with the answer.

"The governor is in legal deliberations with the representative of our Noble Patron." The capitalization is obvious in her diction. "It may be quite a while for him to arrive."

Kather enters the field finally, joining everyone. "I hope this is possible. Aowyn has said she will speak with the Solar, though she is unsure if it will listen to her through its rage."

Yla cocks her head at the group.

"Uh huh. Well... That's quite a plan you guys have together there. Hah. Probably don't even need me here, which is fine, it gives me another excuse to kick around Valdyr some. Well, hey, whatever. Looks like this is gonna be quite a thing to watch either way."

In the distance, a short figure can be seen running. As he gets closer, Prince Dun becomes more recognizable. He's got an unusually large pack and is wearing a woodsman's outfit. When he arrives he says in a shortness of breath: "Sorry...I'm...Late. Overslept. I'm ready to go when you are."

The Primarch smiled. "Excellent. It appears that every member of the negotiation team has arrived. Let us make haste."

Betcher's familiar scampers away. One of the Deathless looks extremely confused.

"Make haste to where?" The ancient elf's voice is hoarse but not unpleasant. "Are you absolutely certain that everyone you want to be here is present?"

The Primarch's jaw twisted downward. "Is Governor Betcher planning on attending the attempted negotiations? I, the Primarch, had predicted that we would deal with the negotiation with the Solar first, and then contact him if removal becomes necessary. If I am incorrect, please, inform me."

"I believe Empress Aowyn intended to be there. And really. Where are you intending to go? Do you know where it is?"

"Aowyn should be here shortly. I believe she was meditating on some issues before discussing this issue."
Aowyn enters the command tent at that point. "Indeed, what are the current plans for negotiating with the Angel? We'll need a persuasive argument to convince it to leave this plane."

Primarch's eyefires flickered. His jaw twisted into a grin. "As I had indicated, all members of the negotiation team were ready to move out. Good morning, your highness. I hope this day sees you well.

"As to the location of the entity: fortunately, thanks to the help of Lord Kalther, and the Solar's original summoner, I, the Primarch, was able to acquire enough data in order to accurately scry out the Solar. While I was not able to ascertain an exact location, as I, the Primarch, am not skilled at swamp navigation, I was able to determine that the entity remains in the swamp, and was when last checked standing in a river, assaulting any zombies it came across, and occasionally piling them up. While I cannot maintain the scry spell continually, and each such attempt requires at least one hour of casting time, I suspect that the Solar has not moved significantly. It did appear to be rather busy.

"As for the communication attempt itself: I, the Primarch, had originally intended to request that it evacuate from the Prime Material Plane on the grounds that its cause could be better served elsewhere, and the more mundane authorities could handle this particular situation without problem. Additionally, perhaps its cause would be best served if it returned to its home plane, and discussed with the appropriate divine contact about the current situation in this area. Surely, its divine superiors would prefer its return, so it could complete more important missions."

"Under normal circumstances, that may be the case," Aowyn replies smoothly, "however the fact is, the swamp has been infested with undead. Its priority at the moment is to clear this area of evil. However, its attempts to clear the area are disrupting our ability to cleanse the area, so what we need to convince it of, is that its actions are causing a chaotic disruption to the area, notably the undead pollution that will be affecting the Lantern state, and that if it were to leave this plane, we would be able to cleanse the area while preserving the natural order of the area."

Yla glances around the group, taking a good look at everyone there.
"'Course, it might not go like that. What if the Solar tries to say it doesn't have to listen to you because you've associated with the 'foul creatures?' You got an idea what to say to it then?"

"'Go home' comes to mind," the professor says, flexing his fingers.

Both elves suddenly turn and look to the far edge of the field, somewhat surprised.

Standing there dusting off her clothes is none other than Helspeth Blackboots, official UNENS foreign ambassador. Clearly dressed for travel, she none the less carries a satchel and briefcase along with a short recurve bow. Her clothing is a soft mossy shade of green, embroidered in the elven style with ivy at the hems. A bit of mud splatters her boots, but as she strides across the lawn to meet the other diplomats she retains her usual composure.

"My apologies." she says, taking her place between the undying guards. "I was out hunting when I got the summons. I've barely had time to collect my papers. Am I to understand that we will be speaking with an Angel this afternoon?"

The two archers are much less impassive than her usual deathless knights. They grin at each other over Arlensul's head while Arlensul relaxes minutely with the passing political pressure. Arlensul will not have to work outside her own job capabilities.

"That seems the idea, yes. Not sure how it'll pan out, but that's what I'm here for."
He makes a very pointed effort to look at her face, and only at her face. He extends his hand.
"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met... I'm Professor Inquitego, acting Extraplanar Entity Advisor for this expedition. And you are?"

"Helspeth Blackboots," She smiles and curtsies briefly. "I am a member of the NonEvil Necromantic Union, and ambassador of the affiliated colony."

Speaking Elvish she turns to the two archers.

Spoiler:

One of the elves looks somewhat surprised, and both seem mildly pleased. Neither speaks, while one simply nods understanding.

"Pleased to meet you.", he says, dropping his hand surreptitiously.
He nods to himself at her advice. "Good advice. Wish someone had told me that before I opened my big mouth..." he mumbled to himself.