I saw rise in the heat settle soft and as pure as snow

[reunionize]

[This, honestly, took a lot of work. More work than some of the battleplans, but admittedly the machinations of the Victorian nobles are predictable. The only thing Talulah knows about the northern territories is what she's gleaned from her father's journals.

Edward Artorius apparently had a decent enough relationship with the ruler when he'd been alive, and since the wendigo race of Sarkaz live for a very, very long time, perhaps any goodwill towards her parent might be extended to her.

She has also gleaned the northerners are not unreasonable; they've crossed paths during various skirmishes at the border, and they ignore all rebel forces once their own task is complete. Talulah has made it very clear no one from her side is to engage with any other party that isn't either obviously Victorian, or strikes first, and it seems the courtesy is returned.

That said, isolationist policy is hard to overcome, and what she's asking isn't a mere favor. To be embroiled in civil war in another country is an idea most people would scoff at, but...the north has undoubtedly seen the writing on the wall for what will transpire after the dust settles. Victoria's appetite is ever unsatiable.

The Gaulish castle she walks through is a testament to that. It's nothing but ruins now, good for little else besides neutral territory. She's brought two members of the rebels with her, two with a calm rationality suited to negotiations. She'd be fine going in alone, but, well...if Talulah saw another group's leader sitting all alone during a meeting that was meant to be a peaceful talk, she'd think there was an ambush waiting.

Still, no matter how rational one is, curiosity tends to win out, and she can hear her escort party gossiping even behind their masks. They're wondering if the northern princess is as beautiful and strong as the rumors say. If she's half as strong as that Cautus she'd seen once during a border skirmish, then her alliance would be more than a boon.

By her estimation, the meeting time is near, so she supposes she'll find out soon enough.]

Comments

[hypothermy]

[ Yelena's aware of the story Victoria's leaders used to justify their interference in Gaul since the war, both before and after the country's collapse, and what little truth lies beneath the fabrications.

... and just how far Talulah is stretching things to try and make her pitch, as far as she's concerned. Yelena doesn't openly scoff at Talulah's suggestion of a grand conspiracy, but it's a close thing. ]

You think the Gauls would've coming running when we needed them?

[ Yelena been told the draco heir had some military training, but clearly not much in history, seeing as she seriously thinks the losers of the last great war would willingly lend aid to the country instrumental in their downfall. ]

Who else was involved with this? Can you give me any names? Do you have agents close to them?

[reunionize]

Come running? No. But they might have understood the enemy of their enemy is a friend. Now even the possibility doesn't exist.

[If things had gone that way, the Gaulish emperor would have to weigh the risk of taking revenge on the north against Victoria turning on them in the aftermath. It's a position no one would envy...but maybe it would come down to whether or not Gaul knew about the snake coiling around them.

But now no one will ever know.

At the questions, Talulah pauses slightly.]

I can't give you all of our intelligence before an alliance is set. I can tell you the Duke of Cavendish is the one who worked with Kashchey the closest, and invited him into the nobles' circles first. It wasn't a popular decision, initially...but a lot of other nobles fell in line after a while, once they saw what they stood to gain.

[hypothermy]

[ Talulah will catch a flash of recognition in her eyes, but nothing more. the duke has been on their intelligence agents radar for years, ever since Kaschey's rise among the Victorian elite. it could be a sign that the rebel leader isn't entirely full of shit— but then again, it could just as easily be a a well-made ruse conjured up by someone with intimate knowledge of Victoria's politics. ]

Thanks for the clarification. We'll look into it.

[ she turns her head slightly to whisper something to the Yeti commanders standing to her right. it's not more than a few words, and her eyes never leave Talulah and her party. ]

If that's it, we'll be going. You'll know if we want to get in contact again, but if I were you, I wouldn't hold my breath.

[reunionize]

Ah, no, there's one more thing.

[Something she had meant to say much earlier in these negotiations, but Frostnova had been very sure about what information she'd wanted to hear, and nothing else.]

Because an alliance goes both ways, we'd be willing to help with your interests first, should the need arise. The offer remains open so long as you do to negotiations.

[hypothermy]

[ after Talulah says her piece, Yelena goes dead silent for a long, uncomfortable moment. her expression is as stony as ever, made even more unnerving by the way her entourage stays just as still and quiet beside her.

nigh imperceptibly, her cautus ears swivel forward, exhaling a sharp breath through her nose. ]

You're supposed to start with that.

[reunionize]

I thought you might have had questions you wanted answered before anything else.

[Even if northern leadership didn't believe a word of the propaganda swirling around, what actually happened with Kashchey and the rebel group's formation had likely been murky to anyone looking in from the outside.]

But I take it you have something in mind already?

[hypothermy]

[ unlike the leaders of Victoria's other neighboring countries, being the one to kill Kaschey could only bolster your reputation in the eyes of Ursus' elite. while that act alone is enough to please them, however, Talulah's motives and greater goals still needing scrutinizing.

That sort of thing wasn't sussed out just by asking the right questions. Yelena needs more to go off of than just words. ]

Your Victorian military recently got their hands on an artifact of the old empire. It needs to be returned to us or neutralized, along with any research they've done up until now.

[reunionize]

An artifact?

[From the old empire? That could be something from Sami, which doesn't bode well if Victoria has it in their possession.

The vague use of the word also probably means she won't be told what, exactly, it is, which is going to be troublesome.]

As an objective, returning that to you or destroying it won't be an issue. But I'll need a little more information to go off of. Its size and material, for instance. And if you know anything about which part of the Victorian army took it.

[hypothermy]

You're agreeing to it?

[ her men stay at attention behind her, displaying no obvious reaction to what Yelena is saying, just as they should. they weren't privy to the private conversation she'd had with her father about this negotiation— they have no way of knowing bringing Talulah on to assist in this situation never came up in discussion. ]

I want to be clear— we have its location narrowed down, and a rough idea of what it will take to secure it. This isn't an errand we're sending you on, you'd be working alongside our people.

[ she doesn't immediately elaborate beyond that, watching for a reaction from Talulah instead. if she's smart, she'll be able to read between the lines: that she's essentially being offered an audition for working alongside Ursus' military, and if they already have that much information on whatever they're after, asking for outside help means what they've learned of the situation is dire. ]

[reunionize]

That won’t be a problem either. Best to know if we can work together first, isn’t it?

[Talulah doesn’t react much, even though it does occur to her that this mission is a test run, and must be very important if Frostnova is willing to extend the trust for manpower.

It’s not exactly a disagreeable ask, and Talulah had briefed those on her side who needed to know that doing a favor for the Ursus leadership is on the table.

So yes, it’s an agreement. If you tell me more about the location and your plan, I could bring along those most suited for the operation.

[hypothermy]

[ having Talulah agree so readily, it's all too easy. Yelena knows better than to put her trust in someone scrounging for power, no matter how good of a performance they put on. if nothing else, this will give her a chance to find out what the downside to the Artorius' heir is, and gauge how much that flaw raises the price of taking her in.

Frostnova steps forward across the charred stones of the castle floor, reaching behind her, into the depths of the heavy coat she's wearing. she holds her hand out a moment later, revealing a small earpiece and a stick drive. ]

It's in Oxford, being held at the military base or the university. They're planning to move it to Londonium in the next few weeks.

[reunionize]

[Much like how Frostnova is accepting of their help out of desperation to complete this task, it's not as though rebel forces can really be picky in their situation either. Unless it's something incredibly unreasonable, Talulah is not inclined to turn it down. And so far, it doesn't sound like that at all. Difficult, maybe, but not a suicide mission on the surface.]

Is the plan to extract the artifact before it's en route, or to take it while it's being transported?

[She glances at what's in the other's hand--is it for communication between them? Regardless, she steps forward to meet Frostnova in the middle of the space and reaches her own hand out.]

[hypothermy]

While it's leaving, as soon as it clears the city limits.

[ as Talulah approaches, she'll notice a slight chill in the air. the wind sneaking through the broken structure, perhaps, the worst of it coming when Frostnova reaches to drop the items into Talulah's outstretched palm. ]

You can contact us through this. There's a layout of university and the city on the drive. If you have any contacts in the area, reach out to them as soon as we're done here.

[reunionize]

[That's the best moment to strike, but it can also lead to a lot of unexpected events. Flexible and swift fighters, then.]

All right.

[She feels the burst of cold, but she's seen the other's ice arts, so it's not entirely expected. And her own subdues the worst of the chill, anyway.]

I'll look this over and gather the right people. You said this would happen in the next few weeks...are the Victorians not on an exact schedule, or can you not get the right intel about it?

[hypothermy]

[ Yelena's frown deepens a smidge as she pulls her hand back, but she's been frowning this entire time to begin with, making it difficult to pin it as a reaction to any particular thing Talulah's said. ]

They know what they have, and if they found out that Ursus knows and is trying to take it back, things would get messy.

[ there's a slight pause before she continues, the displeasure hinted at a moment to go a now hard to miss in how brusque her words are. ]

The standards of our intelligence operation aren't what they used to be, can we can't risk someone being compromised. There's no one in as deep as they'd need to be to get us the exact dates.

[reunionize]

Then we can try to find that information out. Even if our agents are caught, the Victorians won't know what we were after, since there are so many options.

[They're much more likely to assume one of Talulah's agents had been after state secrets or military plans elsewhere than something involving an artifact. The former is much more useful to a rebel group, after all.

Talulah tucks the items safely away in her clothing.]

I'll contact you the moment we uncover anything useful.

[hypothermy]

Good.

[ despite the trade-off being complete, Yelena doesn't immediately move to return to her entourage. if they've gotten this far, she figures it doesn't hurt to get through relaying all the broad strokes of the task at hand. ]

The artifact— it's a sword. The hilt, scabbard, blade are all red. Long enough that a normal person would need two hands to use it.

[reunionize]

[Well, Talulah didn't need a reason for why the Victorian government snatched up that sword, but now it makes a lot more sense.]

Ah. Once they've finished their research on it, they might use it as a prop in place of another sword they can't find.

[Which means it's benefit for her that Ursus takes back what is rightfully theirs as well.]

Thanks for the description.

[hypothermy]

[ Yelena raises a brow at Talulah's comment, but says nothing more on it. using that blade as a political prop would be a heinously irresponsible act by the Victorian elite if they're fully aware of what it is, but depending on how they obtained it, they may not yet know what exactly it is they have on their hands.

while the items she needed to pass on have been successfully delivered, she doesn't move to back away quite yet. ]

That's all I have to say. We'll contact you over the next few days to coordinate our resources. Was there anything else you wanted go over?

[reunionize]

No. That's all on our end as well.

[This had mainly been an initial meeting to determine how open Urus had been to an alliance at all, so by that measure, it had been a success.]

That recon mission will happen sooner rather than later, so when you contact us, we might have a date for the Victorian's transport.

[hypothermy]

Sooner is better.

[ if Yelena was more partial to decorum, she might make a move to shake on it or something like that, but she's not. Talulah will deliver results or she won't, and only time will tell if extending a chance to the rebels will culminate into a greater alliance.

she turns her back on Talulah, the swift turn of her cloak sending out another unseasonable rush of cold air. ]

I'll be waiting, Artorius.

[reunionize]

Of course.

[Talulah doesn't mind much that there's no handshake to seal the deal, so to speak. If she doesn't trust the other to keep her word, then this tentative alliance is already off to a very poor start.

She turns to leave with her entourage, the same as Frostnova, but she does offer a small goodbye.]

Send my regards to your father.

[hypothermy]

[ Frostnova doesn't give Talulah's regards to her father as much as deliver a short, brusquely worded report on how the meeting went. if she really thought so little of Talulah, however, she wouldn't be mentioning her to Buldrokkas'tee in the first place.

it's not very long at all until Yelena's back in victory, dressed in disguise this time. their vehicle's been made up as a transport truck, the kind wealthier businessmen employ to ferry their goods about rather than use a cart and burdenbeast like the peasants. her mercenary costume isn't all that different from what she wears normally, anyone familiar with the princess can easily note— just a worn out cloak, torn to shredded ribbons at ends during a hunt some years ago, and less heat-conserving layers beneath it.

their last contact had been well over an hour ago, but it had sounded good, from what clipped sentences she'd made out. they'd secured the artifact, bulky transportation case and all, and were heading toward the rendezvous point. how they were getting there hadn't been gone over, meaning Yelena's ears have been jerking around all night in the direction of any significant noise she can catch near the wooded road they've pulled of of. ]

[reunionize]

[Finding the date of the transport hadn't been all that difficult. There had already been a few of her people close enough to Cambridge that doing a little recon hadn't been complicated.

The real test would be extracting the sword itself, but Frostnova's group is as competent and efficient as she suggests, which Talulah appreciates. It makes snatching the artifact in the confusion of the fight all the easier. Her arts aren't easily broken through, either, which makes a good cover to escape from. No need to turn this into full-scale conflict when their Ursus allies would rather not be implicated.

From there, it's just a matter of meeting at the rendezvous point. Talulah and her team are dressed as Messengers, and the proper wrapping around the sword's case means that from a distance, they look like any other courier transporting goods across the wastes. Her strength makes it seem that whatever they're carrying is much lighter than the reality.

Once she's in range of where Frostnova's team is set to be, she sends up the proper signal, and approaches only after a pause so there are no weapons pointed at them when they get in range.]

[hypothermy]

[ as soon as the signal goes up and is returned, Yelena hops down from her seat on the truck and heads to meet the arriving group, a few of her Yetis following behind her.

she's taken aback when they get into better view and realizes that Talulah is carrying the unwieldy protective case the sword's been sealed in on her own. there were plenty of tales about the unique traits of draco, but the vast majority are blatant propaganda, and Frostnova always wrote them off as such.

looking over the retrieval party, she can't help but notice something else, and this one she does choose to comment on. ]

You didn't lose anyone?