[STAR]To Investigate a Problem(STAR Agents/invite)

[Blueblood]

The Palace complex was stationed at the center of Kyoma, as it was the seed around which the pearl of the Neighponese capital, and in a way the entire Neighponese civilization, had grown.  It was separated from the rest of the city by a high wall with a Torii-styled gate, which honestly seemed more appropriate for a temple than a fortress, though this was but the outer rim.  Seen rising behind this barrier were the higher walls and pagoda-like tiers of the Castle that made the more defensible heart of the Shogunate.

 

As the party entered through the first gate, they would see a path leading through an impressively ordered garden.  Through carefully arranged rockery flowed an artificial brook, in which golden koi swam from pond to pond.  By the banks, dwarfish trees drooped willow-like to shade the cool waters, while singing birds nestled in the twigs.  Elegant patches of floral blooms were scattered throughout, perfuming the air with sweetness.  The whole was the very picture of serenity from nature, though the whole took no small amount of artifice to construct.

 

Indeed, the magically-sensitive members of the party would be able to tell just how much artifice was embedded into the scene.  The walls had a sound-dampening field built into them, cutting off the visitors from the noise of the city outside.  The plants, of course, had their positions chosen as carefully as every rock in the spiral patters in the rockery.  Even the animals were not wholly natural in themselves, for a good portion of them were not birds or fish at all.  Some were cybernetic magitek devices of peculiar beauty, others holograms that blended perfectly with the real animals that populated the branches and brooks.

 

Past this scene of quiet wonder, the great castle loomed, though the tall, imposing doors were open, though guarded.  The visitors were expected.

Within, the entrance hall had the same grandeur that was expected for all such Royal Palaces, high walls and ceilings, decorated with art of impressive size and beauty.  All spoke of an ancient culture, totally secure in itself.  Again, however, the magically sensitive could detect behind the great rice-paper paintings of yokai, dragons, and samurai, something altogether more modern humming in the background.

 

Standing there to greet them was... not the Shogun, but a couple members of his cabinet.  The heads of intelligence and magitek security were determined to be the most relevant officials to speak with the STAR representatives, given the meeting.  And of the two, it was the Director of Magitek Security that would immediately catch the eye, because the mare, quite frankly, looked more appropriate to the pages of a manga than a high governmental office.  Her mane was spiked in ways that were in no way natural, her dress was non-traditional in the extreme, mostly utilitarian housing for various magitek devices attached to her back, hooves, and head.  In front of her eye was a tiny screen, which was providing a constant feed of coded intel.  A cutie mark, left visible in contravention to convention, revealed a white chapeau worn upon a gear.  

 

This was Shiroi Boshi, the Gijitsu-Sha of Neighpon, prodigy of magitek.  Were she not so good at what she did, her eccentricities would not be so tolerated.  Said eccentricities, however, did not preclude basic courtesy, as she bowed at their entrance.  "Konichiwa, honored guests.  I have been informed of your identity and purpose in your visit."

 

Spoiler

 

[PyroBlaze]

Ishi was, on top of being the head of the investigative department, the younger brother of the Shogun, so he was currently next in line. In any case, the stallion was dressed in a somewhat fancy outfit, one fit for meeting with foreign dignitaries. Or retired ones, in Luna’s case. With his pet golem by his side, he also bowed at the entrance of their guests, waiting for Shiroi to finish speaking before talking. 
 

“Konichiwa. I am Ishi Masayoshi, the Shogun’s brother and the Ōmetsuke. This is Shiroi, the Gijitsu-sha. It is a pleasure to meet you all.” Ishi said, giving a friendly smile as the anubian jackal golem, Shibo, sat and watched the group. 
 

Feather was remaining silent, standing near Myth as she watched things progress and let Ice and possibly Luna do most of the talking. She was especially watching Shibo, wondering if she could get a flying pet golem. 

[Alivda]

Raven marveled at the gardens as they were guided through. It was even more impressive than the ones at Canterlot castle, though maybe that was just because she'd been in the Canterlot one a few times with her family. As they started to head deeper, her step faltered, the magic in the air pressing against her and causing her a slight headache, but she quickly shook it off, and stepped back up beside Icy. When they met the royals, she waited for Icy's introduction, and bowed when she was indicated. It was basic courtesy when meeting royals, so she figured it would be of little harm.

[IceStorm]

~~~Niradaña~~~

 

 

Nira wasn't surprised at all to see Shirio present for a meeting like this. Anything deadline with magic or security was usually her field of expertise here, and in this particular instance, it was both. Of course to her, the palace wasn't anything special but she could feel the wonder from their guests as they transitioned into it. Nira herself bowed back in greeting as was the customs of Neighpon. She addressed that she had known who these ponies were and why they were here. 

 

It was at this point that Ishi showed up. She smiled warmly before repeating her gesture. Despite all the red tape that had been blocking her from doing what she truly wanted to do, Ishi continued to be the rock that kept her from completely losing herself. He's also what kept her from saying buck everything and just leaving one night. Not to mention, she didn't want to bring that dishonor on her family. One tradition in Neighpon that she felt needed to be abolished, but that was another time. Nira for now, too her place as a guard next to Ishi and remained silent. 

 

 

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

The transition into the palace gardens was definitely a sight that was worth any sort of chance to see. They were very close to the Canterlot gardens around the castle. Everything here was so beautifully and expertly placed to maximize the beauty of the area. The koi swimming in the interlocking ponds were large and calm and watching them swim was soothing. She could also feel a large amount of magic emanating from the area, probable meant to enhance the relaxing effects of the garden. 

 

Once inside though, Ice wouldn't have to wait long before she would be greeted by the ponies that were in charge of the different areas that her investigation would be going through. The first being a pink unicorn with a spiky mane and a short tail. She looked like if Aloe had started getting into punk rock. Now she pictured the spa pony with spikes and she had to use all of her restraint to keep a professional face. She watched Nira return the greeting that they had been presented with. Presuming that was customary here, Ice Storm replied in kind with a bow of her own head. "Konichiwa. It is an honor to meet you miss Shirio," she started before the shogun's brother greeted them as well before repeating the greeting to him as well. "It is an honor to meet you as well your highness. I wish it were under better circumstances. Is there a place where we can discuss matters in a more private location?" Ice Storm asked. 

[KaityKat]

Myth shielded her eyes with her hoof as they entered the garden. It sure was bright in here. She felt the magic washing over her, causing her to slow her pace momentarily as she adjusted. She noticed that Raven was also affected by the sheer amount of magic being used in the garden. She knew that Raven's damaged horn did make her more sensitive to magic than most, but she didn't realise she could be affected like this. Although, it made sense. She put her hoof down and looked around at the garden's beatiful auras. The animals in the area were all beautiful in Myth's eyes. Tho, some of them were not real. She knew illusions when she saw them, and there were even one or two that were made of metals and crystal. Imbued with magic that was mostly foreign to her, but she was sure she noticed some surveillance magic in there as well. She realised she'd stopped to stare at the fake bird for a couple seconds, and quickly caught herself up, trying to play it off as just more of her eccentricity. She thought about whispering what she saw to Icy, but thought better of it, opting instead just to bank that information for later use.

 

Myth looked around the place, not able to hide her excitement at all the new sights she was seeing. The magic in this place was just all over. Some of it familiar, some foreign. And some was taking strange shapes that made her very curious. The magic behind the walls was particularly intriguing. She could see some kind of magic-fuelled machinery, but couldn't quite tell what its propose could be.

 

All of this, however, paled when she saw the golem. It was alive, but not alive. It had some kind of strange magic in it that resembled life magic but it was different. It was obviously bound in some way to the stallion who stood next to it. The stallion who, Myth saw, was also not a pony. His magic seemed closer to their guide's magic than any pony. He was something related to her species. The unicorn next to him, however was almost definitely a pony. She had something strange on her back. It looked like it had something magical about it, but until she activated whatever magic it held, she couldn't be 100% sure of much more than that. Myth's face was dominated by her uncontrollable smile of wonder that she had since lost the will to hide. She looked at the unicorn's.... thingy on her back, but mostly, she marveled at the golem, taking all her self control to not burst with questions about it, or to get close. She was so excited she almost completely missed her cue to bow. She bowed a little too quickly a couple seconds later than the others.

[Blueblood]

Behind her mirrored lenses, Shiroi's eyes took in each member of the party in turn, searching for any tells or clues to ill-intention.  The security-minded mare could tend to the paranoid on occasion, especially where foreigners were concerned.  It had, in fact, taken the combined testimonials of Ishi and Nira to convince her that Neighpon stood to benefit more by open collaboration with STAR than keeping their cards close their chest, as it were.

 

The range of attitudes was quite wide, from what she could see, from Raven and Feather's quiet to Mist's barely disguised excitement and glee.  The latter might spell trouble, as far as the Gijutsu-sha was concerned, but until some outburst occurred, it would be rude to address it.  Only Icy had spoken, and thus to her she would answer.  "Indeed.  The occasion is most inauspicious.  In any case, I have prepared a secured chamber for the purposes of our discussion.  If you will follow me?"

 

She turned to lead them deeper into the palace, off to a side corridor where the ancient aesthetics of the place began to give way to more utilitarian furnishings.  "You will forgive the plain aspect we present here.  I find I work best with little in the way of distractions."  Said distractions apparently did not include the aura of background magic, which was if anything stronger.  Even in the plain-walled chamber in which they were led into, the background thaumaturgical noise was only cut by 2/3, not eliminated.  No longer painful to the sensitive, but impossible to ignore.  At least, for them.  Shiroi seemed used to it.

 

"This place is enchanted against prying eyes.  There are many ways to place eyes and ears where they are not desired, and it is no simple matter to extirpate them.  Nonetheless, you as assured of privacy here as anyplace in Neighpon can possibly be."  The background noise was dampened enough for those unicorns present to tell that Shiroi was actually using a translation spell built into the device on her back, rather that talking Equestrian naturally.  Ishi had better gifts than her in that department.

[PyroBlaze]

“Indeed, these circumstances are quite unfortunate.” Ishi said, walking with Shiroi as the group made their way into the more secure room. He definitely noticed that one mare taking an interest in Shibo, perhaps they could have a chance to meet later about that. Once in the room, he turned back towards the visitors and nodded to Ice Storm. 
 

“Here we are then. I hear that you are here because of an evil sorceress? I shall do everything I can to assist, within reason of course. Where should we begin?” He asked, taking on a more serious expression. 

[Alivda]

Raven followed them in, her steps slowing somewhat as it felt like she encountered a wall of pure magic... at least, the pressure on her skull suggested that. She'd have to find out what Myth saw later, and do her best to grit her teeth and pull through right now, though, despite her head feeling like it was in a vice. She followed them through to the room where apparently there were to discuss their mission, and the pressure seemed to lessen enough to where she could really pay attention. As she looked over the delegation, again, a thought came to mind. If they can make 'living things' using magic... they might be able to help with the prosthetic project. I should bring it up with Icy when we get out of here.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

Ice Storm followed the two longma and the other unicorn into a room that they had specially built for occasions such as these. The interior was rather plain compared to the rest of the palace and was heavily enchanted against scrying and eavesdropping magic. Ishi and then both commented as well that they wished the circumstances could be better. She could hear the magic a bit running in the background and realized this room could be a bit of a problem for Myth. 

 

When Ishi then spoke, addressing the primary intentions of the visit regarding and evil sorceress, Ice Storm nodded. "Indeed. A sorceress by the name of Hou Shuren had been engaged by the two sisters and another one of my operatives after breaking into the Royal Canterlot Magical archives and stealing several artifacts. One of which being the most troubling is the Rememberance Stone," she said distributing the file that she had both for Hou and for the stone. Unfortunately both of them had very little information, but the information that she had on the stone was that it was exceptionally powerful.

 

"We have reason to believe that she's planning an attack of sorts on Equestrian soil, and in combination with this and other artifacts that she'd recovered, she could pose a threat to lands beyond. If she figures out how to use the Rememberance Stone to it's full effect, she could turn the entire world into her mindless followers. I had some reports on her that said that she was of Neighponese origin, but Princess Twilight recently informed me that might not be the case. But there was a few mentions of some islands around Neighpon that she might have frequented. Any information on which islands those might have been or any unnatural or unusual activity on them could be worth investigating. I am here to seek permission to investigate these islands and pursue Hou Shuren to the fullest extent of Equestrian law. However, I fear that task alone won't be easy. She was after all able to take on both princesses and one of my most powerful operatives and walk away with the artifacts. She is considered armed and very dangerous," she told them awaiting the next responses. 

[KaityKat]

myth walked behind Icy, smiling around at all the interesting magic when suddenly, she felt a compressing pressure in her head. She stopped walking and put a hoof to her head, wavering visibly. She breathed sharply as she focused on trying to fight the feeling and walk in the room.

 

Her magic sight was sure useful most times, but it came at a cost. Her sight came from a high sensitivity to magic that manifested in her vision. In instances like this, it meant the sheer amount and strength of all the enchantments was taking a bit of a toll on her.

 

Not only that, but as she got closer her vision began to dull. It seemed one of the anti-scrying enchantments was affecting her vision. Myth began to panic slightly as her vision was fading, combined with the headache the magical pressure was causing her. She took another deep breath as her head throbbed.

 

She bowed as low as she could just inside the door and spoke in a tone of respect, tinged with the minor pain she was enduring "My apologies, Ōmetsuke Ishi. Gijitsu-Sha Shiroi. I... can't enter the room. I'm more sensitive to the magic in there. Is it alright if I wait out here?" She winced and turned her head a bit.

[Blueblood]

Myth's evident distress seemed to catch Shiroi slightly off-guard, as if the mare had never considered that anypony might have a reaction to such a high-level of background magic.  It was probably a good thing that she wasn't visiting a more explicitly magitek-heavy city like Polohama, where any structural enchantment might run up against her sensitivity.  "Oh, of course.  There are meditation spots in the garden that are perhaps more free of enchantment than anywhere else in the palace, should you require relief."

 

Once myth was out of the room, the serious-faced technomancer took her place at the table, steepling her hooves under her chin.  The pose was almost calculated, in that the lighting in the room made the lenses of her spectacles gleam, rendering the eyes behind invisible.  The mare seemed to naturally inhabit a world whose visual language was manga.  Not that the situation itself would have been at all inappropriate to the medium.  Super-powerful villain, check.  Rag-tag team of heroes, check.  All it wanted was an absurd escalation of power in the fights and long, exchanged monologues between hero and villain.

 

"Hou Shouren..."  The gijustu-sha rolled the name over on her tongue.  "That is a Long Guo name, not a Neighponese.  I wonder if a request made to the Imperial Archives in that land would not render you better results.  But if you suspect that she operates out of an island, we are the right ones to ask.  I wish I had been briefed about that aspect beforehoof; we could have the Admiralty here to consult."  She took some of the files, looking over them briefly.  One phrase seemed to jump out at her.  "Suspected extended lifespan?  Are we dealing with something like an alicorn?"

[PyroBlaze]

“By all means, my apologies that it is too much for you.” Ishi replied, nodding to Myth. “If you require to go to the meditation spots, Shibo here can guide you. Shibo, keep watch, and take them to the gardens if they require.” With that, he left Myth and Feather together with Shibo and went to continue the discussion in the room. 
 

“Hou Shuren, hmm? That does sound like it is a Long Guo name, so that is likely a better source of information as to her origins.” He said, agreeing with Shiroi’s assessment as he read the file. “We will likely have to go over the reports again with this new possible cause in mind to see if there’s a pattern to investigate, but thank you for the information. As for which islands these reports came from, we shall provide you with a list and reports of what happened where possible.” 
 

Ishi hummed slightly as he went over the report again, glancing at Nira briefly as he thought through the problem. “Nira? Would you mind accompanying them on this mission? They sound like they could use some help, and having a native to guide them could prove very helpful.”

[Alivda]

Raven blinked at Myth's request, before she realized that as bad as it was for her, between being around Ponies like Icy, and the fact that she didn't rely on magic to replace one of her basic senses, the thaumic pressure must be much worse for Myth. "My apologies, but I should probably also keep an eye on Myth. Plus, thanks to a foalhood accident, my own sensitivity is also quite high. I probably wouldn't be able to give this meeting as much attention as it deserves. That being said, I do have a separate, much less important matter that I would like to discuss at a later date, barring the commander's permission." She said, bowing to them one more time, before stepping out to be with Myth.

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

"I do not believe that she is an Alicorn. My operatives all have informed me that I was dealing with a unicorn. However if she is as powerful as I am lead to believe, I won't say that it's impossible. She could be an alicorn that's mastered the illusion of hiding her wings. Although I'm not entirely sure why she would want to. I do suspect that she is enlongating her life in some way but I am unable to pinpoint how. It is possible that has something to do with the artifacts that she has stolen as well, but I am unable to provide any evidence to support that claim," she replied as Myth and a few of the others stayed outside. She wasn't surprised. If she could lightly feel the magic in the air, then she knew Raven and Myth could, and Myth was getting the worse of it.

 

It was at this point that she heard Shirio and Ishi tell her that the name of the being was a Long name, not Neighponese. However with the islands between the two and what she had, a few good locations to start with. Ice nodded to Raven when she said there was a matter that she needed to discuss at some point as well, but it wasn't as pressing as thing one was as she went to stay with Myth. "After comparing names from the regions I came to that conclusion as well, which was why I was confused as to why every file I had said her being from around the islands of Neighpon. I came here to Neighpon first because I wanted to investigate these islands and also because you were the first ones to reply to my letters seeking audience. I would like do do things as legal and proper as possible rather than trying to use covert operations just to do recon," she said.

 

What happened next surprised her, and apparently the Longma, who's name she'd finally learned. Nira... I like that name, she said to herself. What surprised her though, was the fact that Ishi had assigned the Longma to her group and told them that having a guide with her abilities would prove useful. She remembered her saying on the way here that she was a powerful healer. Such a thing would be highly sight after in Equestria. As the longma accepted, Ice Storm nodded. "Thank you, Your Highness. I will make sure that we keep her will protected."

 

~~~Niradaña~~~

 

 

Nira stood in the back of the room and listened as the others spoke. She quickly noticed the others that didn't enter the room and she watched them keenly. They didn't seem like a threat, but once couldn't be sure. The blind one was especially susceptible to the magic here. That could prove to be difficult on some of the islands that they were looking to go to. The magical nature of them would give them a constant hum, especially if there were some sort of evil ponies using them for ill. That was all they needed now was one of these crazed magic ponies trying to cause problems. It seems that they've already done a good number of it outside of Neighpon and left Ishi to try to clean up whatever mess that they made.

 

Once she determined that the ones that did not enter were not a threat, she turned her attention back to the conversation. She didn't have any additional knowledge on the situation at hoof, so she remained silent for the most part. She didn't want to say anything that could hinder what needed to be done by saying anything that could be considered hearsay or the like. She did look quite surprised though when she heard Ishi tell her to accompany these Equestrians on their search. Well, he didn't order her to, but it was very clear that he wanted her to. She nodded to him. "I will keep them safe and guide them through the lands. So as long as they listen, we shall remain mostly unharmed," she said as the commander said that they would do what they can to protect her as well. She wanted to say something, but such an outburst here would be most dishonorable. Instead she would let it go and address it later. She was going to get to have a lot of time with these ponies after all, so it wasn't like she wouldn't have a chance to speak her opinions.

[KaityKat]

Myth raised her head again and smiled. Her friends cared, maybe a little too much. She was just taking a little break from the thick magic of the room. She nodded when Ishi offered his golem as an escort. While she would've preferred to go alone, she understood him not wanting to let foreigners lose in the palace unsupervised. She moved aside to let the golem pass by her and lead her back to the gardens. As soon as she left the palace proper, and entered the gardens, she breathed an audible sigh of relief "Now, that was something else." she laughed, speaking to her two friends who joined her "It seems the magic in Neighpon is pretty different from Equestrian magic. If I had more time to get used to it, I know I could've gone into that room. It's so..... I don't know how to describe it. It's like... thick and Syrupy.... but then also hard. It's strange. I kind of want to come back here, someday, just to study it." she frowned, remembering how her vision had begun to dim. She looked at Raven with a hint of the same fear she had when she'd been blinded at STAR HQ before. "And... there was something else..." she said tentatively. She looked at one of the perfectly disguised metal animated birds and frowned. She wasn't sure if she wanted to discuss her weaknesses where other ponies were listening in. She sighed "Some of the spells in that room...." she hoped Raven would get what she was getting at. She decided to let her decide if it was safe to talk openly. She didn't know anything about these foreign ponies and creatures. and wanted to see what Raven thought before she made any assumptions.

[Blueblood]

Myth and Raven may or may not have had sufficient familiarity with Neighponese magitek to know that they were being monitored, even in the meditation garden, but she was.  Both the artificial fish and birds were keeping track of them, sending a feed of information back to Shiroi, projected on the inside of her spectacle lenses.  Off to the side, where it wouldn't distract too much.  The good intentions and good manners of these visitors from Equestria had earned a hearing from the gijutsu-sha, but not a suspension of her baseline caution and suspicion.  Slightly paranoid, but she didn't earn her Cabinet position through a trusting nature.

 

"I ask about the life elongation because that's potentially another possible line of investigation."  Shiroi said, as Ice Storm explained more of their suspicions.  "Our population has the longest life-span on average, and we are at the forefront of life-extension medicine research.  By understanding the principles behind her longevity, we may be able to... undo her enchantments."  The effect of that was likely to be drastic, if they could pull it off.  A big 'if', to be sure, but Shiroi was willing to bet on the side of modern understanding and magi-science as against inefficient, ancient rituals.  "Not to mention, that possibility means that we would be well-advised to look into the archives as far back as we can.  Our naval records stretch back to the beginning of the Shogunate, at the very least."  As far as she was aware, in fact, a cross-centuries comparison report had never actually been done before, allowing gradual changes to go unremarked upon.  Now would be as good a time as any to rectify that knowledge gap.

 

Scanning the room, she lit upon Nira, and raised an eyebrow.  "Did you have something you wish to bring up?  You have been cleared for Imperial Service in this mission.  We would not do so if we did not trust your abilities and discretion."

[PyroBlaze]

“Well, we appreciate your desire to do this with us instead of trying to go behind our backs. It is better to work together on this than chasing each other down.” Ishi nodded, smiling as Nira accepted the task of helping Ice and her group. He did notice that Nira seemed to be holding something back, and he waited for Shiroi to finish before asking her. 
 

“Please, Nira, you may speak your mind.” He said, urging her on. 
 

————————

 

Feather wasn’t entirely sure what Myth was talking about with Raven, but she wrapped a wing around Myth anyways in a friendly hug for a moment. 
 

“I’ll help you any time, Vis, just let me know what you need.” She said, smiling at the two mares. “You too, Raven. I’m happy to help out.”

[Alivda]

Raven nodded. "Yeah, sometimes anti-scrying spells can be a bit oppressive... I'm actually surprised you haven't ran into any back at base... Then again, the way they use magic here... it's very different... I'm actually thinking about seeing if they could help with the project, or at least let me access some of their research... with Icy's permission." She said. She knew they would still be watched here, heck, it was probably why they'd had the escort, so she didn't want to mention too many details. She wasn't sure how close to the vest Icy really wanted the prosthetic project to be, especially considering she was using STAR's funds now, instead of her own...

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

"I see," Ice Storm started when she heard Shiroi talk about longevity and threat they actively used magic to enhance it. They were definitely much further along technology wise than Equestria was. "If she is using some sort magic to enhance her life span and we figure out how to undo them, would the effects be instant or gradual? That is if that's even possible. Where ever you believe would be a good place to start I would be for. The naval records with for me. Perhaps we can pinpoint which islands would better house more information on her if we can align then with naval spottings of the sorceress," she replied. 

 

She then turned to the longma that the others said was holding something back. She wasn't entirely sure what she would be, but she awaited her response and it did look like she had something on the tip of her tongue. When she spoke Ice nodded in apology. "Of course, I meant no offense. I meant meant that we'd make sure that you'd come home."

 

~~~Niradaña~~~

 

 

Nira nodded in agreement with Shiroi. She was after all one of those beings with advanced life-preserving magics. Especially her more dangerous ability. She knew that she couldn't use that if she was the only healer on the field. She wondered if she could teach on of the other unicorns some basic healing magic during this adventure so that if the situation arise that she had to save a life, she could.

 

When she was told that she could openly speak her mind here, she shook her head. "It was nothing that would as to the situation, but I would like to not be looked at as a mare that needs protection. I may be primarily a healer, but I am still a Colonel in the imperial legion. I am very much combat hardened and know how to participate in a fight should one arise," she said as the unicorn apologized. She supposed she couldn't hold it against her to much. She was Equestrian. From what little she knew from their culture, their field medics weren't battle trained, it at least not to and major extent. So it did make sense a bit. She nodded as she accepted the apology. "That said, being a Colonel, I might be able to get some Intel from the legion as well. I don't know how much of that is above my pay grade though."

[KaityKat]

Myth looked at the mechanical bird again and thought for a moment, staring, before she sighed. Then she smiled and spoke in a lightly excited voice "Neighponese magic is definitely different than equestrian magic. It's been all I can do to keep a lid on it since we got here. It's like some kind of thick syrup or something, also It looks like they've found ways of manipulating magic that we Equestrians have only just scratched the surface of." she smirked in the direction of the false bird "What would you say if I told you that... I'm guessing it's a bird, why else is it in a tree" she chuckled "If I told you it's metal. It has animation magic and some kind of surveillance magic. I couldn't be sure before, but now that I'm looking at it again I think it's somehow connected to that Shiroi pony's thing on her face." she smiled "If I had to guess, I'd say she's watching us. Not that I blame them being suspicious of outsiders in their palace." she waved at the mechanical bird

 

While she was waving, myth discreetly cast an illusion that covered the three like a soft mist, to any outside observer, it would merely look as tho she waved and then put her hoof down to just relax in the garden. All sight and sound was interrupted before leaving their vicinity, altered to only convey what Myth wanted. It took more than a little concentration, but it wasn't too much. "Just.... trying something out..." she said toward her friends.

[Blueblood]

"It depends."  Shiroi answered, in response to Icy's question.  "Merely ceasing the magic would, in theory, re-introduce the normal aging process.  Unless it was a matter of her so totally transforming her body so that it did not age naturally.  In which case, the disruption would, by necessity, have to be catastrophic to be effective."  She seemed distracted as she spoke, like a mare having one eye on the clock or half-a-head elsewhere.  That her Equestrian was so good under the circumstances might well also hint at the use of a real-time translation spell, the signature of which was hidden in the general magical noise of the palace, and the specific noise surrounding her.

 

What was distracting her was the feed coming to her spectacles from the spy-bird outside.  Though she was willing to give foreigners an audience, granting them privacy in the heart of the Shogunate was a step too far, if you asked her.  Which few did, lest they be subject to a semi-paranoid rant.  In any case, as far as she was concerned, the very fact that Myth was using an illusion spell to hide herself was suspicious, and not to be tolerated.  She doubted that the pony knew that the birds around could detect magic, though obviously Myth was aware that she was being watched.  Well, time for a surprise then...

Tapping her hoof in the conference room, Shiroi sent a signal to the birds in the Zen garden, who all started singing.  The song wasn't a normal song, it had an undercurrent of counter-magical resonance keyed to disrupt spells.  Once the illusion was shaken down and dissolved, one of the mechanical birds took off, landing on Myth's back.  It perched, regarding the two ponies with its artificial eyes.  The point, she trusted, had been made.

[PyroBlaze]

Ishi nodded at Ice’s words, pressing a button on the table that called a guard in. He wrote down some instructions as one came in, giving the paper to the guard with another nod as they bowed and left again. 
 

“We shall provide you with the information, one of our copies, once we are certain it no longer holds sensitive information. On the off-chance you lose the report, we don’t want our enemies to learn our secrets.” Ishi said, looking over at Nira as she said her piece. 
 

“Yes, having had the pleasure of working with Nira over the years, I can say she is quite capable in both combat and healing.” He said, smiling a bit at Nira as he finished. 
 

——————

 

Feather wasn’t entirely sure what Myth was trying to do with that spell, perhaps just added privacy, but the fact it was countered by birdsong was interesting. At least she assumed that was the cause, since one of the fake birds landed on Myth afterwards and seemed to glare at them. 
 

The pegasus mare zipped around the fake bird a bit, looking it over and wishing she could get her own somehow. It’d really help on missions, and it’d just be cool to have around. 
 

“Wow, these golem things are really cool! Now I want one for myself. I wonder where I could go to get that done.” She hummed, finally setting down next to Myth again. 

[Alivda]

Raven winced a little as the magical counterspell form the birds washed over them, but nodded. "Yep, that's part of why I want to talk to them about our project. It's an avenue of research that, to be frank, I wasn't that aware even existed. If I could get even just a few scraps of knowledge, it'd really help us out. Not to mention how much it would help other aspects of STAR out. But that's something that can be discussed when we get done with our mission here." She said, looking at the bird curiously, but not moving closer. She wasn't sure what whoever was in charge of security... probably Shiori, judging by her appearance thought of Myth's testing of the waters...

[IceStorm]

~~~Ice Storm~~~

 

 

 

One the issue with the longma had been addressed, Ice Storm made sure to mine her tongue a bit more carefully. The last thing she wanted to do was accidentally offend somepony again because of her own ignorance. Customs and the like we're important to her and she was fairly certain that everypony in this room was a combatant of some kind so she wanted to stay in their good graces. Shiroi then mentioned what effect dispelling the magic would have would depend on how the magic was used.

 

"Well, if all it did was reintroduce normal aging, I don't think that would help us. It would give her time to just reapply the spells and start anew, unless these Sierra are harder that I give them credit for. And she's smart so that's probably what she'd use. Having all of her age reduction in one basket would seem like a very big weakness," she commented as Nira talked about some records from the legion and Ishi forget added that they would be more than happy to release the records to them once they made sure there wasn't and sensitive information in them. 

 

"That is a reasonable accommodation. I have no desire to learn and secrets or naval tactics of the like, but I wouldn't mind looking for set up a naval alliance at some point. That's a conversation for another time. I will like to request though that if some of that sensative information might relate to Hou, that we might be able to discern what we can from it under the surveillance of Ms. Shiroi here. That was the information logs that contain this information never leave a secured location. I have similar protocols at my base of operations back home. How far back do your naval records actually go?"

 

 

~~~Niradaña~~~

 

 

 

Nira watched the body language on the ponies that were in the room. She was still in guard mode so watching everything in front of hey was still her job. Maybe it was just because she knew her so we'll at this point, but she could tell that Shiroi's focus was not currently on the room. This many that she was likely actively watching the others which meant they had done something to get her attention. The ones that broke off were apparently much more sensative to magic than the ones that were present it was possible one of them had a small discharge or was trying to find always means of dealing with the overstimulation. 

 

As she spoke about the magic Nira nodded a bit. "That's actually part of the reason that I'm one of the royal healers and there's more than one here. Should something happen, that would create a normal fatal injury, I can use my life force to meld with theirs, and prevent them from dying while other healers heal the body to at least a non-life threatening state. However, during this process I and completely unconscious and is one other only moments that I absolutely need protecting. I also cannot heal anything while I'm doing this, so vI can only even attempt it if there is another healer present. I also suffer from an affliction afterwards called scourge. It's basically a stage three aether burn that can't be healed by magic. The longer I have to keep a pony alive, the more damage my own body takes in the progress. It's really only a last ditch power, but that's the life-preserving magic that I possess. I pray that I never actually need to use it again," she explained. 

 

"As far as the records go, I support Ishi's decision. Many of the older logs that might contain what we're looking for would be old enough that whatever might have been sensitive in them wouldn't be such now i do think we should skim some of the newer logs ourselves to know what places to avoid. It is my understanding that we are not wanting to directly face the sorceress at the moment. Any recent sightings could be cater for alarm and point to places we went want to go."

[KaityKat]

Myth put her hoof up to her head when the birds began to sing. The birds weren't casting any spells or emitting any magic, but rather simply emitting a sound. Yet that sound seemed to be carefully keyed to disrupt minor spells. Myth's eyes widened, as did her smile. She knew these po— creatures were good with magic, but she didn't realise just how good. It would certainly be a bad move to get on their bad side. Which of course was never really her intention to begin with. She watched her spell as it wavered in the sound and began to dissipate, but as soon as she could see what the birdsong was doing, she voluntarily dropped her illusion.

 

She nodded at the bird on her back "Point taken. Can't blame a mare for trying." she shrugged, then added in a slightly less joking manner with a slight bow "My apologies. It won't happen again." While she was really impressed that not only could they see her spell, but were able to remotely disable it with naught but birdsong, she was still just a little peeved that she couldn't talk in private. She frowned "guess I'll leave that subject for later." she turned to Raven and smiled "Now that was interesting. Full of information. Honestly, I didn't expect they'd be able to counter it, remotely. I thought maybe they'd be able to tell I cast something, and if they didn't we could speak privately, but.... I can certainly understand they wouldn't want us to. I have never seen magic countered solely by sound, before. That was very interesting. It even affected my vision a little. I have got to pick that Shiroi's brain." she all but forgot the way the magic in that conference room had affected her vision, and how it had frightened her. This new information she was learning distracting her from the real reason she had tried giving them privacy. The excitement and wonder coming back to her as she stopped thinking about it.