The Cloaked Schemer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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spira_rp2015-01-21 01:44 am
theschemer) wrote in spira_rp2015-01-21 01:44 am
Entry tags:
It all seems to fall at your defense.
Ienzo ached all over.
He wasn't sure he could remember the last time that he felt so exhausted. He had slept well enough in the hotel bed, but a single night's sleep was nowhere near enough to soothe away the strain of travel. He had, thus far, been unsuccessful in his request for a second one.
Just under a week ago, he had been informed that one of the Ryoka had defected from the main group and relocated to Daguerreo, an ancient, vast and half-submerged library out in the wilds of Nabradia. The Ryoka in question, a man described as being tall and very similar in appearance to an Al Bhed, could only be Vexen. Or Even. Whatever he was going by now -- Ienzo didn't know.
Under ordinary circumstances, Ienzo would have pointed out that Vexen was a scientist and that a trip to a repository of information like Daguerreo would not be out of character for him, certainly not enough to count such a trip as being a defection. However, these weren't ordinary circumstances, not now. He remembered Ulquiorra's recording of the battle following the Fall of Midgar. More precisely, he remembered Axel's participation in said battle, and the fact that he was fighting alongside Saix. That, Ienzo was sure, would definitely be enough of a push to get Vexen to cut ties with the group once and for all.
After the revelation came to light (something that L was responsible for), a quiet meeting was held with some of the other members of Khamja. From there, it was decided that he should be ... collected. It wasn't that Ienzo was concerned about him returning to the Order that had made him agree to do it, it was more that he wouldn't put Vexen's elimination past certain members now that he had shown a desire to leave them behind. Clan Khamja was not exactly safe, but it was certainly safer than going it alone in a still unfamiliar world, with enemies behind you, even in a remote location such as he had chosen.
A brief discussion later and a small party was decided upon. It was a carefully picked group of powerful fighters, friends and, it had to be said, enemies.
The group that left the Desert Palace consisted of Lumi and Marluxia, a pair of full Khamja members with enough firepower between them to subdue an unwilling addition to their ranks; himself, due in part to his long association with Vexen, his similar circumstances and the knowledge that Vexen would not trust Marluxia or his partner in the slightest without someone to vouch for them; Ulquiorra, now known to be an associate of his and someone Aizen could trust not to let him escape; and Neliel, because she was strong, non-antagonistic and it was safer for two of Aizen's minions to go on a trip such as this than one, especially given the company.
So far, the journey had been arduous, at least as far as Ienzo was concerned. For a start, it had all been taken across ground, or under it, instead of by airship. They had travelled more of the Zertinan Caverns than Ienzo had known existed and, in spite of the fact that some of it had been undertaken on chocobo-back, there was rather more walking on his own two feet than he would have liked. The second leg had been across the desert, all mounted. The longest part thus far had been through a great tunnel called the Fossil Roo.
That had been the worst.
The Caverns were bad enough, but the tunnel was long to the point of being seemingly endless and, as if that wasn't bad enough, it was also full of air so stale that it had been recommended that masks were worn for that part of the trip.
The aspect of it that had unnerved Ienzo the most was the fact that the Roo stretched from one continent to the other. Underwater. The idea that there was no hope of escape in the event of a cave-in was not his idea of a good time. The huge Gargants that scurried along the long-dead root systems that sprawled across the ceiling was not much fun either and they had, at least to begin with, spooked the chocobos quite as much as they had spooked him.
Well, they were giant spiders.
It had not taken him long to work out that, when the tunnel was built by whichever ancient culture had carved it out, the path between Dalmasca and Nabradia had probably not been submerged at all. Indeed, the sea above them was very likely to be considerably shallower than the rest of it. It had, to his reckoning, been some sort of land bridge recently enough that an intelligent culture had made and, for the duration of their stay, maintained the path. It was a minor miracle that it had survived for so long without its integrity being compromised.
Alternating between riding and walking, they had made the trip from one end to the other in a few long and, after a while, rather painful days. The only positive aspect of the Roo was that it was, for the most part, free of monsters brave enough to bother a party of their calibre.
They had come up some distance inland on Nabradian soil. The nearest city and, as luck would have it, their destination, was Luxerion. It took the group more than a day to reach it, but it was visible long before that thanks to the sky-piercing spire of the city's Cathedral. Luxerion may have even lived up to its name if it wasn't permanently overcast and swirling with Mist of the sort of density that could probably be described as 'low-to-moderate-risk-to-foreigners'.
They arrived late and in darkness. Luxerion did not have much of a tourism industry, not since Nabradia's fall, so the party had no trouble getting a hotel room for the night.
With dawn having broken, the city was beginning to come to life again. Shops opened their doors as the cathedral's bell tolled and, an hour later, Ienzo found himself sat inside an open-fronted café in the railway station, nursing a cup of rapidly cooling tea.
He wasn't sure he could remember the last time that he felt so exhausted. He had slept well enough in the hotel bed, but a single night's sleep was nowhere near enough to soothe away the strain of travel. He had, thus far, been unsuccessful in his request for a second one.
Just under a week ago, he had been informed that one of the Ryoka had defected from the main group and relocated to Daguerreo, an ancient, vast and half-submerged library out in the wilds of Nabradia. The Ryoka in question, a man described as being tall and very similar in appearance to an Al Bhed, could only be Vexen. Or Even. Whatever he was going by now -- Ienzo didn't know.
Under ordinary circumstances, Ienzo would have pointed out that Vexen was a scientist and that a trip to a repository of information like Daguerreo would not be out of character for him, certainly not enough to count such a trip as being a defection. However, these weren't ordinary circumstances, not now. He remembered Ulquiorra's recording of the battle following the Fall of Midgar. More precisely, he remembered Axel's participation in said battle, and the fact that he was fighting alongside Saix. That, Ienzo was sure, would definitely be enough of a push to get Vexen to cut ties with the group once and for all.
After the revelation came to light (something that L was responsible for), a quiet meeting was held with some of the other members of Khamja. From there, it was decided that he should be ... collected. It wasn't that Ienzo was concerned about him returning to the Order that had made him agree to do it, it was more that he wouldn't put Vexen's elimination past certain members now that he had shown a desire to leave them behind. Clan Khamja was not exactly safe, but it was certainly safer than going it alone in a still unfamiliar world, with enemies behind you, even in a remote location such as he had chosen.
A brief discussion later and a small party was decided upon. It was a carefully picked group of powerful fighters, friends and, it had to be said, enemies.
The group that left the Desert Palace consisted of Lumi and Marluxia, a pair of full Khamja members with enough firepower between them to subdue an unwilling addition to their ranks; himself, due in part to his long association with Vexen, his similar circumstances and the knowledge that Vexen would not trust Marluxia or his partner in the slightest without someone to vouch for them; Ulquiorra, now known to be an associate of his and someone Aizen could trust not to let him escape; and Neliel, because she was strong, non-antagonistic and it was safer for two of Aizen's minions to go on a trip such as this than one, especially given the company.
So far, the journey had been arduous, at least as far as Ienzo was concerned. For a start, it had all been taken across ground, or under it, instead of by airship. They had travelled more of the Zertinan Caverns than Ienzo had known existed and, in spite of the fact that some of it had been undertaken on chocobo-back, there was rather more walking on his own two feet than he would have liked. The second leg had been across the desert, all mounted. The longest part thus far had been through a great tunnel called the Fossil Roo.
That had been the worst.
The Caverns were bad enough, but the tunnel was long to the point of being seemingly endless and, as if that wasn't bad enough, it was also full of air so stale that it had been recommended that masks were worn for that part of the trip.
The aspect of it that had unnerved Ienzo the most was the fact that the Roo stretched from one continent to the other. Underwater. The idea that there was no hope of escape in the event of a cave-in was not his idea of a good time. The huge Gargants that scurried along the long-dead root systems that sprawled across the ceiling was not much fun either and they had, at least to begin with, spooked the chocobos quite as much as they had spooked him.
Well, they were giant spiders.
It had not taken him long to work out that, when the tunnel was built by whichever ancient culture had carved it out, the path between Dalmasca and Nabradia had probably not been submerged at all. Indeed, the sea above them was very likely to be considerably shallower than the rest of it. It had, to his reckoning, been some sort of land bridge recently enough that an intelligent culture had made and, for the duration of their stay, maintained the path. It was a minor miracle that it had survived for so long without its integrity being compromised.
Alternating between riding and walking, they had made the trip from one end to the other in a few long and, after a while, rather painful days. The only positive aspect of the Roo was that it was, for the most part, free of monsters brave enough to bother a party of their calibre.
They had come up some distance inland on Nabradian soil. The nearest city and, as luck would have it, their destination, was Luxerion. It took the group more than a day to reach it, but it was visible long before that thanks to the sky-piercing spire of the city's Cathedral. Luxerion may have even lived up to its name if it wasn't permanently overcast and swirling with Mist of the sort of density that could probably be described as 'low-to-moderate-risk-to-foreigners'.
They arrived late and in darkness. Luxerion did not have much of a tourism industry, not since Nabradia's fall, so the party had no trouble getting a hotel room for the night.
With dawn having broken, the city was beginning to come to life again. Shops opened their doors as the cathedral's bell tolled and, an hour later, Ienzo found himself sat inside an open-fronted café in the railway station, nursing a cup of rapidly cooling tea.
no subject
No wonder Vexen had come here. It would be easy to get lost here, especially if you were trying to get lost here.
He cast a sideways look at Lumi, sharing an extremely brief glance that communicated both that this was where the work really began, and that he was a little impressed, and not surprised, with Vexen's choice of hiding place.
They might need the Arrancar to pry Zexion back out again afterwards, too.
no subject
Ienzo watched as Lumi returned a look from Marluxia. Nothing was said, but apparently nothing needed to be. He did notice that Lumi, very lightly, touched Marluxia's hand with a fingertip, communicated something with a look, inclined his head and strode forward towards the desk without a trace of apprehension on his face. Lumi, ordinarily quiet, asked where a certain book section was, quite politely and scarily casually, and went off in that direction with Marluxia once given the information.
Ienzo had a sneaking suspicion that he may have even given the clerk a smile, but if he did, he didn't see it.
Once it was their turn, Ienzo and the Arrancar went up to the desk. It was Nel who asked the clerk about him and Nel who got what little information the clerk was willing to give based on his description. It turned out that, despite the fact that he had checked in under a false name, using neither 'Even' nor 'Vexen' much to their frustration, not many around middle-aged men matching the description of an Al Bhed chose to visit Daguerreo, certainly not recently. She apologised about not being authorised to hand over a spare room key, but she did give them the room number in case their friend wanted to come out and see them as Nel claimed he would.
Vexen was staying in the area dedicated to visitors rather than residents, which made Ienzo rather sure that his time at the library was intended to be a temporary gathering of his thoughts rather than a decision to move into Daguerreo on a permanent basis. That was interesting.
Lumi and Marluxia met them on the appropriate floor. The group, using the Arrancar's unnatural ability to detect even suppressed Reiatsu with enough effort and Ienzo and Marluxia's familiar recognition of Vexen's, found that the door they had been given was, indeed correct.
Ienzo rapped on the wood and waited.
no subject
They met them again to find they'd been, very conveniently, given a room number, and once they were nearby, it was clear that they had even been given a correct room number.
It was Zexion who knocked. Marluxia doubted Vexen would answer. If they could tell he was inside, then he'd be able to tell they were outside, and he'd only let them in if he wanted to see them, which seemed unlikely.
He looked to Lumi when the door wasn't opened after a few seconds too long, and gave a single nod. "It seems he's struggling with the lock. Perhaps you can help?"
They had expected that this would be necessary, and Lumi had some useful skills when it came to gaining entry to places the owners would prefer you didn't.
no subject
He wasn't surprised that Vexen had decided not to open the door. He could feel Vexen inside. He was clearly powerful, appropriately suppressed and very obviously Ice Elemental, an Element that he himself was intimately familiar with. If he could feel Vexen, someone he didn't recognise, and know him for what he was, it made sense that Vexen would recognise the chakra of two ex-associates and that of two Arrancar. The Arrancar, in his own experience, were distinct from one another, but also shared something in common. Vexen had encountered Arrancar before, albeit different ones. If he was as intelligent as Zexion suggested, he would know what waited for him on the other side of the door.
Lumi pulled back his coat and reached into an inside pocket for a small thrice-folded wallet and opened it. It was a selection of lock picks of professional quality, suited to all kinds of locks with the exception of keycards. On Spira, that wasn't too much of a problem. Few places used them. This place was old and the locks were aged accordingly.
He crouched by the door, took a moment to select the tools for the job, and went to work.