thebastion | Event: Day 336 [open]

[Colin is wide awake and at work in the workshop. Plenty of stuff that needs building these days, he's barely had the time to go out to the scrap yard these last few days.]

[If Rob and Ryu come to see him, he'll glance up once they cross the threshold of the workshop.]

Yeah, Paarthurnax should know too.

[Colin undoubtedly knows how Rob normally enters the workshop by now. That Rob simply strides in, already calling out loudly (for him) before he's finished stepping inside should probably say something.]

Colin? We've got a potential problem on our hands.

[He's practically shoving the letter at Colin.]

[Ryu nods and watches as Rob hands Colin the letter.]

I found it outside the Bastion, stuck to a tree with a knife.

[Colin turns his head to look at both of them, and he arches an eyebrow.]

Say what?

[He takes the letter and reads it... his expression darkens almost immediately.]

You did well to bring this to me.

They really think that this is going to end well for them. Idiots... May I see the knife?

[Ryu nods, and hands over the knife to Colin.]

Considering their last encounter with us? They didn't do as terribly as they could have. They probably think they can come up with some kind of strategy that'll fill in the holes their last one had. Like dragons.

They're planning things that they think will deal with us. And they're not doing anywhere near as badly as they could be.

[Already wearing gloves due to his work, Colin inspects the knife carefully, , scowling at the remnants of tree on it. HUMANS... He's just checking for fingerprints on the handle. As well as remnants of blood or any other sign that the knife has been used for anything besides letter-pinning. He wants to make sure he gets the right people when push comes to shove.]

Corsican policy is to never negotiate with people like this when they make demands. We need to get to the Ura and see if we can get them out of there... but I suspect that's something they expect us to do.

[The knife is not visibly bloody, but there are traces of animal blood and various other materials on it. IE it was used regularly for hunting/cooking/a lot of things before being used to stick a letter to a tree. In fact, the knife itself looks really cheaply made, and the handle has a 'made in China' stamp on it, so it was probably chosen for this task because it was proving to be not so useful for survival.

The letter itself definitely has fingerprints all over it. The topmost layer is very easy to grab a scan of, but there are at least a few other sets on the paper too. Likely this was from a communal stash of paper, and was handled a few times before being used for this letter.

The freshest set of fingerprints are small, though. Not child-small, but they definitely belong to someone with smaller-than-average hands.]

[Rob watches Colin examine the knife, an eyebrow going up slightly at the last part.]

"We do not negotiate with terrorists" is something that sounds reasonable, but fiction and reality tend to provide situations where negotiating could have prevented bloodshed and other negative effects. We're also not in Corsica anymore, Toto.

But moving the Ura... That's hardy something that can be done quickly and subtly, even assuming they're willing to move rather than stand their ground. We don't exactly have many mass transit options here.

[Ryu keeps quiet, trying to think things through. Most of the Ura... they've all had to survive, but they shouldn't be involved in this.]

[He can't let another village burn. He can't allow himself to let more people die.]

I'll go. I can defend them. I'll... I can be their guard while they decide what to do.

Reality also tends to offer hard lessons that indicate that if someone can get something through menace, they have no reason not to continue.

[He looks at Ryu... then he reaches up and, very lightly, bops Ryu on the forehead with his index finger.]

No. No solo defense. If we send someone, we're sending a group.

I'm just saying we shouldn't limit our options too much right off the bat. But if we're gonna be dealing with those guys again I'm gonna build up our stock of resistance potions in case they set more traps like the last one.

[He gestures at the knife.]

Any thoughts?

[His whole body tenses as Colin bops him. It's very difficult to keep his emotions under control. He's never been any good at it, and he's never seen much reason to keep anything other than anger under control.]

[But right now... he's trying to hold back from crying. He's shaking very slightly as the image of dead villagers flashes in front of his eyes. His voice is tight when he speaks again, too.]

Fine. Send a group. But I can't -

[He takes a breath, trying to calm himself down.]

I know it's not the same. But the Empire captured an entire village to get to me. They killed a lot of people, some in front of me, just to get me to go with them. Even if it's not just a 'me' but an 'us' that needs to act...

... I'm not letting another village burn. I don't... I'll do whatever I have to in order to save them.

Think, Ryu. You act on instinct, you're likely to walk right into a trap. I'm not saying don't do it... I'm saying do it, and beat the trap in the process. Look before you leap. That's all.

[He puts a hand on Ryu's shoulder then, a much more comforting gesture than the bop.]

We've got a week. If we can't come up with a plan to protect them in a week, we don't deserve the chance to act in the first place.

[He smiles then, and then he looks at Rob.]

I think they're desperate. This knife is cheap, well used. Kinda insulting that this is what they use, really, but they probably preferred to lose a piece of cheap steal than lose a quality blade.

I think whoever goes to this needs to invest in some armor. I also think we need to talk to the prisoners and get some answers, if not a discussion.

And I think if discussion fails... We crush them and everything they hold dear.

[Rob has no idea how to respond to Ryu's outburst, so he awkwardly tries to continue his thread of the conversation, which has started to take its own awkward turn.]

I, uh, I don't think we need to crush everything. At the very least they'll have supplies we can use, and some of their group might be kids or strong-armed into going along with whatever their plan is.

But information is good. Knowing why they set that trap would be helpful. Same as why they didn't just come talk to us first, though that question is probably safe to make assumptions about.

[Ryu just falls silent. He doesn't have anything to add, though he leans into Colin's touch. It's... reassuring to know what there's more people who can help. Still... the thought hurts. He needs to protect people, but he doesn't know how to plan things. So he'll let other people plan things... and then figure it out later.]

Less literal, Rob. Less literal.

What I mean is beat them so bad they can't threaten us again.

We should take this to someone a little more qualified than me, though. I can come up with defenses just fine, but you probably want someone who can talk to the Ura better than I can, and likewise, someone who can set a counter-trap better than I can.

[He can set traps just fine, it's organizing the response and getting everyone to act together that he has issues with.]

Paarthurnax or Zulf for the diplomacy, I think. Otoha or Ghaleon could probably set up a decent counter-attack if he knows what he's got to work with. And Zuko could probably organize a decent team.

I'll be available for technical expertise and analysis. We're going to need it given that our enemies seem to have a head for traps and tools.

[The person Rob knows the least out of that list is Zulf, but he does recall that Zulf is Ura so he's probably the best suited for talking to them. Then again he doesn't know exactly what everyone can do, so...]

We should probably talk to them all and see what they can come up with together.

[He looks over at Ryu.]

Paarthurnax'll prolly be easiest to find. Do you wanna talk to him first?

[He looks back to Colin as a thought occurs to him.]

Do you have any tests or anything you want to do on the letter? I can take a picture of it if you do.

I can go get him. Um... I can see if I can find Zulf if you don't want to talk to him, Colin...

[He knows the two of them aren't all that friendly...]

I've already checked it for Fingerprints, and DNA is useless without a reserve of samples to check from.

[He gives Rob a faint smirk.]

I think that the two of you can get more people than I can. Ghaleon and I have a decent working relationship, but everyone else...

Well, and Paar, but Paar likes everyone.

But yeah, Zulf definitely needs to hear about this quickly. He's the one who knows the Ura best while still having an outside view.

Edited 2015-08-07 16:50 (UTC)

[Rob looks over at Ryu.]

You wanna get Paarthurnax and Zulf while I get Ghaleon, Otoha, and Zuko? Or I guess whichever ones we each run into first. Tell them to meet up at the Monument?

I can do that. It shouldn't take all that long...

[He can run pretty fast when he has to, after all. But something's bugging him...]

What about checking the knife? Is there anything on it that might tell you something?

[Since all Colin said was that it was cheap... he isn't sure what Colin can find.]

I've checked it. There's not much here that's useful. It's basically all-purpose. I SUSPECT that it was probably near the end of its life cycle anyway.

[He shakes his head.]

I can meet you once you've gathered everyone together.

[Rob nods.]

Better find everyone before they head out to the Skyway or something. And hope that they're all morning people.

[He yawns and, if no one stops him, heads off to look for people.]

Event: Day 336 [open]

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Sorry, sorry, last night was awful on so many levels...

/pats

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