Of Swords, Schemes, and Spies (ATTN: Pyro and Pressy)

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

"Ha! You're truly a kind one, Miss Sunrise." Sigrun chuckled warmly through her mate's hoofkerchief, "But there's no need to worry, I'm not about to let some shrubs be the end of me." The cow continued along on the walk with her mate and their new companion, only stopping twice to sooth an itchy snout and the sighing in relief once the walk was past the devious greenery. 

 

Halvard's worries did not fall on deaf ears, It didn't take much time for her to ealilze he was correct. While the 'debate' itself had ended in what she'd hoped she had to agree that the long silence in the middle was worrying. She could see she'd struck a nerve somewhere, but determining what was still problematic. Honestly her own clan had a colorful history with the neighponese back when the collective forest clans united. A lengthy cyclical war having been started by a weakened but emboldened neighponese empire after they had made their place on their current lands brought the fight to the forest dwellers and some areas of the south as well. All of it was before Sigrun's lifetime but this was something her clan was still trying to get past. 

"I'm unsure if they ever will... The Shogun seems the type to keep certain things to himself and his advisers. " She looked back to Sunrise, "Maybe we should simply stick to Caribou and Equestrian styles." Her voice sounded slightly less cheery. She brightened up again as they rounded the third corner and found themselves before the sails of the magnificent Skeid: one of the largest types of Caribou Longboat. This one in particular was one built by the shipwrights of Askr as a show of good faith for their new allies in Clan Breen. The vessel had been made of the very anti magic wood that the caribou used so often, producing a sort of invisible field around the vessel that disabled magic for those who stepped on board.

 

Ascending the gangplank with Sunrise and Halvard, Sigrun offered the unicorn a hoof to help her on board if need be: the steps on the boarding stairs were made with large creatures in mind after all. Once the fashion loving friend was on board though, the chieftain swore she caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye. "Excuse me a moment... " She hopped off the boat and looked to the skies, oblivious to the puck like golem moving toward her and the vessel. "Is someone out here?" She asked in a slightly commanding tone, "If you've any honor I'd ask you show yourself."

 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

"I have to agree. It seems that avoiding Neighponese influence in these outfits might be for the best." Sunrise said, giving a sigh. She was looking forward to trying out their styles, but she supposed there was always other opportunities for that. 

 

"The ships certainly are impressive. They are not the first caribou ships I have seen however." She said, frowning a bit at the memories that resurfaced. "Unfortunately, the first were from that horrible attack on the Crystal Empire." 

 

She paused briefly before getting on the boat, her new friends getting her past her hesitation quickly. She boarded the ship with Sigrun's help, smiling thankfully at her. She was confused a bit as Sigrun disembarked again, calling out like someone was following them. 

 

--------

 

Sandā had eventually flown her way to a cloud as they boarded one of their boats, not wanting to get too close. Besides, she could move a cloud, she couldn't move a roof. Unfortunately, her movement seemed to draw attention, as Sigrun assumably called out to her. With a quiet growl, she emerged from the cloud, landing in front of Sigrun heavily. She was currently wearing nothing, so there was no way they could recognize her based on physical characteristics. In either case, she said nothing yet, keeping her gaze firmly and determinedly locked with Sigrun's own. 

[Blueblood]

Right up to the point where Sigrun was leading Sunrise and Halvard into the longboat, it was all going well for Shiroi.  Though the golem-spy wasn't the most stealthy of designs, she had successfully steered it without discovery from the subjects of her observation.  Even when their hackles finally peaked, provoking them to confront their watchers, Sanda was there to distract Sigrun from Shiroi's shenanigans.

 

Unfortunately, that was the last bit of luck that the ginjutsu-sha was going to get today.  She wasn't aware of the special magic-canceling properties of askrwood, assuming the airships to have some crystal-based method of power and levitation instead.   She was schooled in her errors when the first thing to give out was her control over the little bot, having it go from cautious creep to roller-derby ready in two seconds flat!  It burst out of a pile of dockside debris, little engine humming as it gunned for the entrance ramp, rather undercutting the intimidation factor of Sanda's appearance.

 

*WWWWHHHRRRRRR-**BUMP*GZZSZZZZZST!*

 

It cleared the ramp, colliding with Sigrun's leg in a shower of sparks.  A hologram briefly appeared above it, projecting an image of Shiroi Boshi, swearing the virtual air blue in Neighponese, before a loud *pop* brought an end to the show.  A cloud of smoke began to emit from the now-ruined spy-bot, filling the real air with the smell of burning rubber.

 

"What... is that?"  Halvard voiced the questions of all concerned.

[Pretzelparty]

 

Sigrun held that look, she'd seen this kind of look of hardened anger before. The pony before her had several noticeable scars that stood out from her yellow coat. From just the landing the mare made, Sigrun knew: She was a warrior. Even with the noticeable thump, Sigrun held her gaze all the way down and kept it locked. "You... seem familiar although I cannot place you." Her hoof came up to scritch her chin in thought, "If you wished to get a closer look at us you merely needed to ask. Sneaking is a smart tactic but the sky provides little to hide your moveme- meh?"

 

Another ghastly noise had blared seemingly out of nowhere, wait. No, Not nowhere this time. This time it was in plain sight. A... was that a horseshoe crab? Judging fromt he loud whirring noise and the breakneck speed it was moving at: Definitely not a crab. It sounded almost like some bizarre contraption. Once the little golem collided with her hoof, there was no doubt in the chieftain's mind that this was no natural creature. She lifted up her leg, in the hopes of keeping her fetlocks from catching fire from the eruption of sparks. Then came the image. A weighty pause fell over her, the silence of the scene only broken as a murder of crows flew off overhead from the direction of the debate building, as if something startled them into a flight.

 

"That Hat...The mane... That was that Ginjutsu-sha..." Sigrun grimaced at the stench coming from the shorted device, "If anything the mane is a dead giveaway." Sigrun picked up the puck-like golem with her hoof. She held the oddity up and narrowed it at the small golemic construct. The machination was held up for a few moments and then put in a pocket on the inside of her cloak, "I have an idea of what this is... " Halvard was the more cunning thinker in their relationship, at least politically and in regards to trade. "Halvard, I have reason to suspect that this may be a neighponese golem. Could you deliberate with me a moment? As I can assume many things about what has just occurred... I'd rather not act hastily with only misinformation and assumptions behind me."

 

 

"Because now I have suspicions towards out newest equine addition." gray eyes rested solidly upon Sanda, "Do you know anything about this?"

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

Sandā really wasn't interested in a lecture on stealth from a caribou, especially one like her. The mare simply held her glare until a noise broke the silence. Seeing the golem as the source, and watching it deliver itself and then show Shiroi made her sigh heavily and rub her temples some. 

 

"That belongs to friend. Do you mind?" She said, resuming her glaring and sticking a hoof out. It was quite clear Equestrian was not her first language, and judging by her accent it would be Neighpon that she called home. 

 

Sunrise was very confused at this point. Why would that neighponese unicorn be spying on them? Did they do something wrong? And who was this Pegasus? She looked over at Halvard briefly, as if he would know what was happening any more than she did. 

[Blueblood]

Halvard was pretty quick to recognize the ginjutsu-sha himself, and the same ideas that were in Sigrun's head were beginning to brew in his.  For the bull, it was a tension between being offended at the action of a potential spy, and fascination at a new piece of technology.  "This would be the first of their golems I'd ever seen for myself..."  He mused, walking up beside her to get a closer look.  He prodded at the inert shell with his hoof, and a little piece of burned plastic fell out onto the deck.  "Not a very sophisticated model, I take it?"

 

He was not in any hurry to return the machine to Sanda; after all, he knew perfectly well that they had done nothing wrong, and that it was now the Nieghponese who would have to account for their actions.  He did shoot an apologetic look back at Sunrise, at being caught up in all of this.  He really didn't have a better explanation than that for now; they'd have to wait for firmer answers.

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

"I do mind in fact." She stared at the mare a moment before looking looked back to Halvard, "Because Unless you can clarify why your 'friend' chose sent a golem to follow my companions and I, I might have to assume the worst." The possibility that this golem had been sent to spy on Halvard and herself was already anger inducing. An offer made in good faith to a longtime enemy had now been tainted by mistrust on the very side she had wished to make peace with. To say if this was the case she would feel insulted would be an understatement. However, the idea of a breech of privacy by the shogunate wasn't the only thing she had speculated.  With Halvard at her side the cow whispered something to him...

 

Spoiler

"For all we know this might have been some failed assassination attempt. My great grandfather fought towards the end of the War on the Tides. He came back with stories of Early golems who joined the fray only to explode with magical force a few moments after they'd been defeated. They were considerably larger than this though."

 

Sigrun took a deep breath to center herself and looked back to Sanda, "Would you care to tell us your name? I'm sure that if you or your friend were doing anything that might be considered dishonorable than you would have nothing to hide... ne?" Her tone at that last syllable was somewhat confrontational. Neighponese was not a language that Sigrun had studied or become fluent in, but with the few natives of that island that had been stopping by the keep she'd picked up at least a few words: 'Ne' in some Neighponese dialects could be roughly translated to 'is that right?' 

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

"We would hide much in dishonor." The pegasus replied simply, still glaring at the caribou as she put her hoof back down. "Sandā Kumo. I sworn to protect Shogun, I must investigate possible threat." She explained, standing her ground. "Shogun has no part in this. Leave him be."

[Blueblood]

Further prodding on Halvard's part failed to extract anything from the device, save for a few more plumes of smoke, and bits of burned plastic.  He seemed more sanguine than his mate, even-hoofedly whispering back:

"Well, it's evidently defused, whatever it is.  And I'm inclined to take Sanda's word; we know enough warrior types to tell when one of the like is lying."

 

For his part, the bull was satisfied that this was a monitoring job, rather than an assassination attempt.  And, being from a clan known more for their shrewd negotiation, steady pursuit of goals, and eccentricity to the rest of Whitescar, the breach of honor involved stung him less.  Honestly, if he had the capability to send spy-bots out after concluding delicate negotiations to ensure that they were being followed up... well, they who live in glass huts, and all that.

 

"Well, I for one believe you, madam.  And, of course, there is no need for the Shogun to hear about this.  So, if you will be content to let us have... whatever is left of this device, we shall not mention any breaches of faith to him on the part of his subordinates.  It would be a shame if his reputation as an honest negotiator in good faith were to be tarnished by this incident."  Halvard was not about to let this opportunity go.  Sure, it was unlikely that they'd actually be able to reverse-engineer this tech at home, but at least they'd have something to study.

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

 

Halvards word's calmed her ire for the most part, Sanda had given her name and position honestly at least. She could have just played it off like she was a tourist but didn't. Her mate's decision to to ask to keep the creation was... a smart move. Maybe wishful thinking but perhaps the caribou would have their own golems one day. 

 

Sigrun heaved a sigh and brought a foot to her head, "Investigating the possible threat of the foreigners who came to try and reach an agreement about something that meant a lot to both our sides." A snort escaped the cow's nostrils as she looked down on Sanda and golem in question while her mate prodded it. "You know. I would have though Neighpon was better than this nowadays... It's a shame to see myself so wrong. No harm is or was ever to come for your shogun. If it does than it will not be from one of my clan so long as I have a say in it." Sigrun made her way back up the ramp, "The reforging will still happen but let your friend know that I will not forget this insult. You're right... one can hide much in dishonor. it was interesting to see such a stellar example of that from the shogun's own cabinet." 

 

Once she was back on board the vessel, Sigrun massaged her temples with her hooves: trying to relieve some of the stress. Her gaze fell upon Sunrise again, the cow stepping forward to their new companion and bowing deeply. "You have my apologies, Miss Sunrise. " Her horns raised back up along with her head, "I'd no idea that this would would be poisoned by all this political nonsense."

 

[PyroBlaze]

Sandā let out a snort of her own as Sigrun spoke of labeling all of Neighpon with the mistakes of two individuals. Wasn't that part of the reason she was doing all this at all? To show not all caribou are merciless raiders?

 

"Leave Neighpon out of it. Blame me, blame Shiroi, do not blame innocents." She said, narrowing her eyes a bit. "Shogun is best friend, your words angered us. Judgement compromised. Not excuses, facts." 

 

With that, she began walking away, calling over her shoulder. "Keep golem then. Practice what you preach." Once far enough away from the boat, she took to the air and flew off towards where Ryu was. 

 

--------

 

Sunrise remained silent through the whole exchange, blinking a bit as they eventually went their separate ways. The unicorn watched as Sigrun bowed to her, frowning a bit as her new friend spoke. 

 

"I know what they did was wrong, but is it really fair to put the blame on all of Neighpon? I believe her when she said the two were working alone. Please don't let this sour relations, I want peace as much as you do here." She said, sighing as she finished. "I suppose that might be a topic for another time though. Sorry for bringing it up."

[Blueblood]

"Oh, I don't blame you in the least."  Halvard's tone was surprisingly calm, even cheerful, as he replied to the soon-to-depart Sanda.  "It's how the game is played.  We just won this round, is all.  Convey to Shiroi my wishes for better luck next time."  His magnanimity was born of victory, it had to be said.  Being allowed to keep the golem was a win in his book, and there was no reason to let himself to be insulted any further on that account.  After all, as far as Clan Breen was concerned, the Shogun's deal left the trade routes on the table to open for business.  No need to let pesky grudges get in the way of profitable commerce.

 

He would say as much to both Sigrun and Sunrise after Sanda departed.  "No need to apologize; we knew it wasn't going to be easy, and that we wouldn't get everything we wanted.  Neither would they; that's the game of compromise.  In any case, I think we rather came out ahead today.  Now, about those dresses..."

 

~***~

 

Halvard's assessment of the situation was ultimately shared by Shiroi, though she was much less happy with the results.  "Damn their eyes!"  She ranted to the Shogun's guard as she returned, evidently worked back into the tizzy she'd just holographically displayed.  "It is not fair!  We work perfectly for the first 95% of the mission, and then something stupid in their boats messes the whole thing up!"

 

She paused, panting, as her more professional self took back over.  "That anti-magic field... what would happen if they drove one of those boats into our magitek power grid?  We're more vulnerable than I thought.  We must invest in alternative modes of defense in case of catastrophic failure.  The Yamabushi... I wish he would come back.  There is much I think that could come from fruitful collaboration..."   She trailed off, thinking.  At least, if the thoughts were new and fruitful, then the time was not wasted in this mission.  She did wish that she didn't have to give up the golem, though.

[Pretzelparty]

 

 

 

 

Sigrun raised back up after Sunrise's response, "The two responsible may not embody Neighpon as a whole, but they are the best of their land and government officials. In whitescar, those with the power and the faith of their clan behind them are to act with honor to one who shows such courtesy first... I have no intention of abandoning the search for peace, but I cannot forget that the Shogun's own bodyguard and their foremost expert on their sorcery sought to spy on us when we came in good faith." Sigrun looked to Halvard and then to their guest before massaging her forehead with her hoof, "I apologize... this all has been  a stressful debacle. My sister normally would handle such things but with all the things back home... she has been busy." 

 

Being raised in the battle ridden land of whitescar, Sigrun was a cow who knew mostly military matters. She was a warrior, hardly someone worthy of being called for diplomatic things. Holding her own in a flyting match or a contest of strength or skill back home was no issue, and caribou tended to solve their problems or disagreements in simple ways... ways that while Sigrun loved: she knew very well she couldn't suggest to another nation, especially not Neighpon. If it was at all possible she would have asked Halvard to do this, but the chieftain was expected to embody her herd's interests in any setting. 

 

As usual Halvard's voice brought a slight smile to a worried cow's face, "As you say, My love... Today was a victory. Maybe a rocky one, but a victory nonetheless." SIgrun kissed the Bull's cheek and turned back to Sunrise. "But yes... About the dresses. Something fun we can actually enjoy."

 

 

[PyroBlaze]

"Ah yes, the dresses. I am eager to see them, I must say." Sunrise replied, somewhat glad for the change in conversation. Still, Sigrun's handling left something to be desired... could she really have expected complete trust after only one such event, however successful? It took time to build trust, especially between countries that have fought in the past. 

 

The unicorn pushed that out of her mind for now though, excited to see what sort of fashion she would be working with for this new dress. "By all means, lead the way." She said, smiling at the two caribou. 

[Blueblood]

Halvard carefully stowed the remains of his golem in one of his haversacks before following Sigrun down below.  He'd take a look at it later, out of sight of the neighponese delegation.  Hm, though perhaps he ought to see if any library books were available on how magitek golems worked.  If any were in a language he could read, that is.  What was it about Neighpon that they needed to use three writing systems at once?  Perhaps it was just a way of keeping foreigners from reading their stuff.

 

Well, never mind; the dressmaker was going to prepare some of her handiwork for them!  It would be nice to have some southlander-style formal wear, for sure.