Mission 2: Big Trouble in Little Nexus

Exalted: Grass Spiders
Grass Spiders On You Organizational Info Charms
Chapter 2
10: A Proper Sendoff 11: The Rat that Caught the Canary 12: A Proper Introduction 13: A Pearl Necklace 14: The Spider and the Slug
The Circle With No Name
Ash - CS Fay - CS Mesa - CS Opal Zealot - CS

The Job

Client: Takeshi Irugawa
Target: The Most Parsimonious Shogun
Type: Kidnapping, bodyguard (Team A), Assassination (Team B)
Target background: The Most Parsimonious Shogun is a spirit of the salt drying pools at Port Calin. He is one of the three spirits whose salt tithes are averaged to set the interest rate in the Nexus securities market, and is, by proxy, one of the most influential individuals in Scavenger Lands society. Every spring, he travels to Nexus to meet with the Council of Entities and Guild Hierarchs and discuss the upcoming harvest season's rates. This season, it is anticipated that a great deal of money will change hands in anticipation of civil war in the Realm - many houses are liquidating their Scavenger Lands assets. The other two salt spirits upon whom Nexus relies are predicting high rates for the Harvest season, favoring the Realm's oncoming storm of sales. The Most Parsimonious Shogun, on the other hand, is planning to lower his salt tithe considerably. This lowers the average interest rate in the Nexus market, and would result in considerable profit loss for the Realm. Both the Realm and the Guild are less than pleased about this - the lower rate also means that less silver will end up back in the hands of the Guild when the Realm makes its sales. Like the salt spirits themselves, one Councilor has a differing opinion - the resident astrologer, Takeshi Irugawa - Naru's uncle - foresees dark economic times if harm is to befall the Most Parsimonious Shogun. Contacting the organization through his niece, Takeshi has contracted the Grass Spiders to kidnap the Shogun for his own good, leaving behind a decoy to be the target for the Realm's or Guild's assassins. Takeshi has also foreseen the the Shogun's guardian spirits in Calin have been compromised, and asked that they meet an unfortunate accident on the job. Team B is handling the work in Calin - Opal is dispatching the guardian spirits while Mesa deals with corrupt members of the noble family who are entrusted with the salt pool's safe keeping. Cello is helping with spirit interactions and summoning replacements for the guardian spirits. Team A will handle the kidnapping and safe return of the Shogun.
Critical Notes:

• You are in flagrant violation of the Second Dogma. Be aware of this fact at all times.
• Expect trouble - the All-Seeing Eye almost certainly wants or already has a hand in this. Numerous other independent assassins are likely on the trail of the Most Parsimonious Shogun as well.
• The Shogun himself is extremely vain (as is his nature as a salt spirit) and is unlikely to respond to rational pleas to seek shelter - getting him out of harm's way will likely need to be done by force.
• The other assassins don't necessarily have to be convinced they've killed the Shogun, but the task has to be resolved somehow. The Grass Spiders don't get paid until the Most Parsimonious Shogun can safely meet with the Council and return to Calin unharmed.
• The Council can't find out the Grass Spiders are on the job - most of the council wants the spirit dead (although none of them would dare to admit this in any public capacity, and as such, won't endanger the Shogun if they actually meet up with him), and Takeshi will likely suffer the same fate if it's found out he's contracted the Order.
• Even though Naru insisted on coming because she "Trusts her uncle even less than the All-Seeing Eye", Opal will still probably be pissed if she gets hurt. Just something to keep in mind.

Team A (Nexus): Lord of the Ashen Cloud, Zealot of Iconoclastic Virtue, Fay Morgana, Naru Irugawa
Team B (Calin): Mesa, Opal, Cello
Expected Threats:

• The Hooded Executioners (Threat level: Minor, probability of encounter: High)
• The Emissary (Threat level: Do not engage, probability of encounter: Low)
• The All-Seeing Eye (Threat level: High, probability of encounter: High)
• Guild mercenaries (Threat level: Minor, probability of encounter: Medium)
• Ruol was spotted in Calin by Cello's scouts just days before the trip, and is likely to have followed Shogun to Nexus. It isn't known at this time where his allegiance falls.

Mission Status

Job: Complete
Dates: Ascending Water 14 - Resplendent Water 1, R.Y. 769
Kidnapping: Ash smuggled Fay and Zealot into the Most Parsimonious Shogun's bedchambers inside of a slug that the spirit intended to copulate with. They burst out of the slug just as tensions began to pick up and knocked the Shogun out, whisking him off to the safety of the Geronimo until his meeting.
Quote of the night: "I had a thought... It was... fairly rash." (Ash)
Exp. Awarded: 6

The Aftermath

"... Wow. I thought something smelled kinda off. And that worked?" Opal did little to hide her disbelief after Ash had matter-of-factly explained that they were not to be deterred by the Most Parsimonious Shogun's preference for bestial lovers. He'd brought Team B largely up to speed on the bizzare affair, strange even for a job carried out by the Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders.

As per the norm, the circle and their sorcerous assistance, Cello, had gathered on the Geronimo as they flew back to the range homes after their mission had been completed. The weather was not particularly pleasant, so Ravenous Moon, Waning Heart and Ash were taking shifts piloting the ship, while the group had gathered in a small recreational space below deck. Although somewhat spartan, it was comfortable enough - they'd managed to fit a table, a slew of chairs, and a small couch in the room. Mesa, Ash, Fay, and Zealot sat at the table. Cello leaned back in a chair in the corner of the room, wrapping a roll of gauze around her forearm, pipe hanging loosely from her lips. Opal and Naru occupied the couch and huddled beneath a wool blanket, the latter nestled into the left side of the former. Fenrir had laid down across their laps, basking in Opal's affection, who scratched idly behind his ears. The crew had tapped a keg they'd hauled into the room, and most of the group had a pewter mug sitting around the room someplace.

Zealot, hurrying through a gulp of beer to interject, spoke up, "We've since bathed, thank you."

Opal replied through an exaggerated grimace, "That's even worse! Okay, seriously, though, you guys burst out of a dead slug the Shogun was about to have his way with, knocked him the hell out, and then what?"

Ash elaborated, "Getting out of the palace didn't go quite as smoothly as we'd hoped - we set the place on high-alert and ended up offing a guard, but overall, the damage was pretty minimal. We had a hell of an exit, shot out a window and flew out into the noontime sun in the ship. After that, we pretty much hung out in Geronimo for a few days and took turns hitting Shogun with a bat to keep him out. Drank a lot."

The need to keep Shogun unconscious as a result of his refusal to accept the fact that he was in danger had already been well explained, but it was clear that hadn't gotten the full story when when a sigh escaped Naru at Ash's mention of the batting circle. Ash smirked, folding his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, the bat thing kinda started out as a joke at first, but we kept putting off coming up with a more elegant way to knock him out and frankly, weren't confident any of the drugs we had on hand would keep a spirit out, so the bat became our bread and butter. We had a few trips to the city to take care of some loose ends and I think Naru ended up going to that dinner party with her uncle... "

Naru shrugged, reaching out from under the blanket and joined Opal in her pampering, stroking the length of Fenrir's back. The canine certainly did not object. "I did, just to keep an eye out for who showed up. Some guys who I'm pretty sure were from the Eye were there, and I'm sure there were a few I missed. My uncle seemed a little off too, but then again, he always does... " Naru's voice trailed off momentarily, but she picked up the story where Ash left off after a brief moment of silence.

"Anyway, there was some excitement over the Shogun's disappearance - we're not exactly sure what was said behind closed doors, but public opinion held that he'd been killed by assassins, just like everyone was expecting, which was exactly what we were hoping for. I don't know if it was great that so many people know the assassins flew Geronimo, but on the whole, it essentially went as well as it could have gone."

Ash chimed in again, "It was all a moot point when the Shogun made it to the meeting - that left everybody baffled. But before that happened, we had to had him off to Ruol. That was a little tense. We ended up meeting him at that tea salon at Yinhang Square Zealot tracked him to, the one I told you guys about earlier. We're pretty sure we saw the same Dynast guy there, too, although he wasn't obviously with Ruol, he was just off in a corner, minding his own business. We left after that - it was agreed that we'd escort the Shogun to his meeting with the Guild, so we picked him up the next day."

Ash was about to continue, but Moon entered the room, rubbing her hair dry with a towel. It appeared the rain hadn't let up. She gave Ash a teasing, sarcastic smile.

"Your turn, cap! Don't worry, weather's beautiful."

Ash smirked and sighed, letting the front two legs of his chair fall back to the ground. He stood and stretched, cracking his neck before he went above deck to take the ship's wheel. Moon replaced Ash in the chair, helping herself to a small mug of beer. Zealot picked up the story where Ash had left off.

"We don't know what Ruol and the Shogun talked about, but they must have been persuasive - the Shogun upped his rate like they hoped he would. This created a pretty awkward situation, because the people who wanted him dead actually ended up getting the higher rate they wanted. Takeshi only specified that Shogun shouldn't be killed, so I'm guessing he doesn't care one way or the other. Anyway, after escorting the Shogun to the Guild offices - it was a short walk across Yinhang square, since we picked the Shogun up at that tea salon - we arranged for him to return to Calin with a protected Guild caravan, which we followed here. Upon his safe return, our contract had been fulfilled, and that's about where we're at now. What'd we miss in Calin?"

Opal shrugged, taking a gulp of beer before setting the glass on the small table next to the couch. She began relating their work in Calin.

"We had kind of a shit show on our hands in Calin - we explicitly had to dispatch of those guardian spirits and we had to clean house in the noble family's court, too. Cello and I dealt with the spirits initially - they were a bit better armed than we'd anticipated..."

Opal kicked her head in the direction of Cello, who had just finished bandaging her wounded arm. She spoke up.

"I wouldn't have suspected Earth elementals to be brandishing supernatural martial arts. At first, we thought we'd bitten off more than we could chew, but I decided to summon the replacement spirits early, and they gave us a hand. We had to fight them out in the middle of a field of salt dry pools - you can imagine I was less than thrilled about that. It's about the driest thing in Creation on the landed spots, and somehow, the pools themselves aren't much better."

People who didn't know Cello tended to be taken aback by her proper Realm accent - she dressed like a pirate, but certainly didn't talk like one. Her younger days in the Realm's best academies had impressed upon her the flawless accent of a Dynast. She could turn it off easily when she needed to, and not being particularly talkative to begin with, rarely bothered. Opal, who had rotated in her spot to listen to Cello, smirked and re-oriented herself to face the rest of the crowd again. She continued.

"So while we were up to our necks in grimy salt water trying to fight Earth elementals, Mesa was wining and dining with Calin's nobles." She looked over to Mesa, expecting him to pick up the story at that point, but instead found him distracted, staring lopsidedly at Ravenous Heart, Waning Moon. He did speak up after a moment of silence, but his question was unrelated to the mission.

"Hey Moon... how do you sleep?"

For as much grief as he gave Opal and Fay, Mesa was quite a bit nicer to Moon - he knew she was shy, and for his part, often made a point to include her in conversations - sometimes this worked, and other times... it was a bit awkward.

Moon, who had been listening intently, looked over to Mesa, a bit startled, "Huh, what do you mean?"

Mesa replied, "You know, do the wings get in the way, or what? Like, if I had those, I don't think I could just comfortably plop down on my back."

The Grass Spiders ranged from polite to curious to rude (Mesa, depending on the time of day and level of intoxication, often spanned the range of all three), and although Moon was sensitive about her wings, she was gradually getting used to questions. Apparently, she'd also begun to develop a sense of humor about it.

"Oh, I sleep hanging upside down. Like a bat." She did a reasonably good job of sounding serious. Mesa leaned forward a little, at first genuinely believing her.

"Whoa... really?"

"Oh yeah." Moon raised her mug to her lips with both hands, concealing a small grin. Fay and Zealot tried to suppress their snickers as well - Opal was not so discrete. She chuckled, shaking her head.

"Why would Moon sleep like a bat, Mesa? Does she do anything else like a bat?"

Mesa, still not fully convinced Moon was kidding, was nevertheless beginning to come around. He looked to Opal and said, "She flies." He turned back to Moon, repeating himself and starting to sound a bit defensive, if playfully so. "You fly!"

Although Moon didn't reply, she tried her best not to laugh, though her defenses were gradually giving way. Opal chimed in again, "Does she fly like a bat does?"

Mesa thought about it for a moment while looking at her feathered wings, and decided she probably didn't. He took a different route, then, trying to make sense of the analogy, although at this point he was aware of the parody.

"Do you navigate by sound? Because that would be awesome."

Moon finally laughed, setting her mug on the table. "No, Mesa, I navigate by seeing where things are at. Like you do. I probably sleep like you do, too, although I'm typically sober when I go to bed."

Zealot, Opal, and Fay laughed outright. Fay looked to Mesa with a smirk. "Ooo... Does that burn, Mesa?"

Mesa leaned back in his chair, having accepted the joke. He grinned, almost proud of the reputation, before shooting back at Fay, "Like you're any better. Seriously, though, one of the Grass-Spiders has to have figured out echolocation."

Opal thought about it for a moment and shrugged, conceding that point, "Yeah, you're probably right." She looked over to Naru, who'd drifted off, head on Opal's shoulder. She'd been jarred awake by laughter. Seeing her awake, Opal spoke up.

"Like half a beer, Naru. You're such a lightweight."

Naru looked around the room groggily, "Eh, shut up, I'm tired... What are we talking about?"

Moon seized the opportunity to divert attention away from herself, although that was already beginning to happen. She looked to Naru and said, "Mesa was just telling us about Calin."

Mesa, obliging his duty, cracked his neck and leaned forward on the table.

"Well, it was kind of a bitch - Calin's high society is about the most incestuous thing I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with. Everybody knows everybody, which made social events damn hard to sneak into. I thought I had a lucky break when one of the noble houses had some big party to celebrate the coming harvest, but they already had a musician booked for the night. That was pretty unfortunate, but I did manage to get hired as a helping hand on the waitstaff for the party. From there, I made sure I got assigned to take the musician - a pianist - his dinner on the night before the party. I slipped some non-lethal poison into the food - "

For some reason, Zealot and Fay found this amusing, both of them smirking notably. Mesa reciprocated the smirk and shrugged slightly, then continued.

" - and of course, when the musician fell ill at the last minute, I spoke up and said I was a capable player, so I got the job of filling in. This put me front and center on the night of the party - I played some killer songs on my sanxian, cracked a few jokes, and it wasn't long until everyone was drunkenly spilling their guts to me while I was mingling in the crowd between songs. I found out most of the corruption we were hearing about - where the noble family keeping the shrine wanted the Shogun dead - was stemming from one guy, the household's patriarch. I decided I'd poison him overnight and make it look like a drug overdose when they found him dead in his room the next morning. Well, unfortunately, I made a little too much sneaking in, and the guy wakes up - SOMEHOW - he was fucking plastered, so I really think this guy had some kind of supernatural hearing or something."

Opal interrupted cynically, "You didn't mention to them that you were also fucking plastered." Naru, still half-asleep, had heard enough to laugh a little at that one. Fenrir had also passed out, sprawled across their laps, and snorted a bit when Naru shifted. She shushed the canine, letting Mesa continue.

"That's besides the point. Like I said, supernatural hearing. So anyway, this bastard, still drunk, gets scared and jumps out his window. Obviously I realize it's going pretty poorly at this point, so I followed him out - nailed the landing, by the way - and whistled for Fenrir. Well, this guy was a little faster than I anticipated - I found out later that he was a colonel in Calin's defense militia, and possibly a God-Blood, so I don't feel too bad about this - and I realized it might be awhile before I caught him. Fenrir was a bit faster, and it occurred to me that Opal and Cello were out at the drying pools, so I told Fenrir to chase him in that direction. Well, eventually the guy's stamina began to give way, and I could see he was getting a little sloppy, so I picked up the pace a bit. We were almost there, and I was hoping to corner him between me, Fenrir, and then the girls. Turns out it was a non-issue - as soon as we came out of the woods and into the clearing where the drying pools were, the guy turns around to see how much ground Fenrir had gained on him, and he trips and falls into one of the pools. He's so exhausted and that water is so caustic that he just drowns and dies, right there - completely on accident."

Mesa leaned back on his chair, folding his hands behind his head with a proud smirk.

"Fucking beautiful, huh?"

Opal rolled her eyes, bring them to a halt in the perfect position to glare at Mesa.

"You're unbelievable."

The smirk scarcely vanished for the rest of the trip home.