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]

Did you find any information about where they sent it?

[ it's unlikely that they'd learn too much from seizing the transport of the sword since the research was likely moved another way to ensure security, but it doesn't hurt to ask. ]

The other commanders will want a direct report either way. Finish up what you need to here so we can head north.

[reunionize]

Not directly. It will be to whoever is funding them, which is information we can get in other ways.

[Talulah honestly thinks that will be the end of it, or she'll make some kind of formal report later, once Frostnova and the rest of the Ursus forces have taken the sword where they need to. So she's visibly surprised at what the other says next.]

You mean you want me to come with you to Ursus? Right now?

[hypothermy]

The Victorian military just had a transport raided, we need to cross the border before they have time to tighten security.

[ they're not in an overly dangerous position, given how large Ursus is and how many entry points it has, but Yelena isn't keen on getting into another skirmish that might risk damaging the artifact.

though, looking at Talulah's reaction, she seems more surprised at being told to come with them than anything else. maybe she should've mentioned that earlier. ]

I told you this was dry run, and you passed. Time isn't an easy resource to replenish, and the old timers who you're trying to get on your side hate wasting it. We can make a stop at one of your bases, if you need it, but it would have to be somewhere on the way.

[reunionize]

No...if you say time is of the essence, then there's no choice. I'll just need a little time to pass on some orders.

[She has contingencies in the case of her capture or death, but not in the event she simply has to leave for whatever reason. And she didn't think things would move so quickly as far as the alliance is concerned.

Hopefully, the comms hold out for long enough for her to explain the situation, and impart the importance of laying low and holding established lines for a little while. The last thing she needs is to return to some spark lit with the Victorians in her absence.

Once she finishes, there's a brief discussion with the team she has with her, before a few members break off and head in the opposite direction, leaving Talulah with a similar entourage size to the one she had when she first met Frostnova.]

That should be enough for now. Lead the way.

[hypothermy]

[ as much as she'd like to get out of the open, Yelena isn't rude enough to try and rush Talulah as she issues orders for how the resistance is to operate while she's gone. ]

I'll make sure you get whatever you need to maintain contact with them. Follow me.

[ the artifact's long been packed away by the time they return to the truck, hidden somewhere amongst the crates stacked stacked in the back. Frostnova doesn't hesitate to jump up to the cargo bed herself, carefully maneuvering around the boxes to a relatively clear spot in the back where she and two of her yetis spent the trip.

there's room enough to sit down, though Yelena doesn't move back to where she'd rode down immediately, taking a moment to kick a few things over to ensure there's space for Talulah as the truck engine audibly roars to life again. ]

[reunionize]

Thank you.

[Talulah follows the other's lead and climbs into the bed of the truck, picking her way between the crates until she reaches the spot that's been cleared for her. The two members of her team that remain find space to sit only when she does, and finally pulls down the hood of the Messenger-styled cloak she wears the rest of the way.

She's still not really sure what to make of things moving in this direction. The sword is either very, very important, or Talulah's side did a better job in Frostnova's eyes than she estimated.]

[hypothermy]

[ Yelena wraps her cloak around herself more tightly once everyone's settled, doing her best to make sure as little of her skin is exposed as possible. the weather's fair enough outside that the side-effect of her innate magic shouldn't be that noticeable, but force of habit prompts her to take precautions anyway. ]

If you've got any questions about what to expect, you can ask. The meetings will be straightforward— Ursus doesn't have much patience for the theatrics Victoria and Leithanien likes to put on for negotiations.

[reunionize]

I never thought they did.

[If it's anything like how the first negotiation had gone, Talulah has a good idea about it. And finds it preferable to Victoria and Leithanien's constant competition to see who could be the most underhanded.

Talulah's arts keep the area around her faintly warm, even in the general chill of the air, which means she's the one who's fine sitting closest to Frostnova.]

You might not know the answer to this but...to be honest, I was a little surprised I received a reply when I asked to negotiate. If your father gave me the courtesy because of my own parent, I'd like to know going in.

[hypothermy]

[ it had been more difficult to pick up on in the ruins, but in their current cramped quarters, Yelena can recognize that Talulah's arts have opposite effect of her own on the immediate environment. she wonders, briefly, if it's due to her specific magic, or something more related to her bloodline.

she shifts back in her seat, recalling the conversation she'd had with Buldrokkas'tee before his secretaries arranged the first meeting proper. ]

That one I can't say for sure. He didn't say anything like that directly, but he mentioned him when he read your letter, told me he was an honorable man.

[ Yelena knows well that her father, despite everything, is not immune to sentimentality. the unimpeachable wendigo king is still just an old man, after all. ]

But he also said he was a fool, and didn't elaborate on either point— that's how he is.

[reunionize]

Hm. He was, for thinking Wei Yenwu would care any for anything besides Lungmen. Even if my father helped hand the city to him.

[That might not be what Buldrokkas’tee had meant, but it is a mistake that has caused a lot of the problems they’re currently wrestling with.]

That gives me a better idea of where I might stand, at least.

[hypothermy]

It could be that.

[ her father, rather infamously, does not get on with ruler of Lungmen. there were plenty of rumors speculating on the reason, but anyone close to the situation could tell you the great bulk of the friction is simply because the two are utterly incompatible in their values. ]

You can stand on your performance here. There's nothing unclear about this operations success.

[reunionize]

Good to hear. These kinds of operations can go sideways quickly...I'm glad it worked out.

[Even the best-laid plans can go awry, if caravans are late or early or the Victorians decided to have more of a security detail. Luckily, most everything had been exactly like recon and the intercepted communications suggested it would be.]

Speaking of...I don't think you mentioned how the Victorians got their hands on that sword in the first place. Did they steal it from you directly, or did it happen to show up in something like an underground auction?

[hypothermy]

Stolen.

[ Frostnova's terseness returns in full when Talulah brings up the sword. it was unspeakably risky to involve unproven rebels in an operation that involved such a heavy state secret, and that was without the fact that her father hadn't fully signed off on the mission.

he would've preferred to just let the Victorian's have it, and "correct their mistakes. myself" if it came to that.

Yelena would rather entreat a passing band of mercenaries for help than let her father take to the battlefield again for something like this. ]

When the last emperor died, nobles fled Ursus like rats from a sinking ship. They knew my father's regime wouldn't bend over to placate them like the last one had. They smuggled anything they could get their hands on, even military equipment, if it had value.

[ calling the piece currently nestled between tens of decoy containers simple "equipment" is laughable, but Talulah doesn't need to know the full story behind it until she's gained the approval of Ursus' other generals. ]

[reunionize]

I see. I asked because Victoria has gotten bold recently. If they hit somewhere inside of your border, or had a spy steal the artifact, it would have added information to our own intelligence.

[Talulah wants to rule out them gearing up for something specific, instead of just testing the waters for how far they can push Ursus and other countries.

But what Frostnova's said makes sense. There are plenty of former Ursus nobles who are hiding out in foreign courts, having bought their relative safety with some bauble or information. Perhaps the lucky rat who stole the sword didn't know the true value of what they held. Not that Talulah expects to know it, either, until after the alliance is solidified.]

[hypothermy]

They've been venturing past our borders, but not far enough to reach a major military outpost or city.

[ ... yet. with every passing day she gets new reports of Victorian soldiers spotted further and further inland. the military brass ignore or outright deny any claims of trespassing brought to them, and Yelena's found the only thing that really works to discourage it is removing the units by force. ]

Once we're back in Ursus, the sword will be moved to a safe location. Then our intelligence just has to worry about whatever research they were able to complete.

[reunionize]

They're worryingly unconcerned about retaliation.

[Which isn't a good sign. For a while, Talulah's wondered if they have something in their back pocket they've just been dying for an excuse to test or use.]

I can provide a list of nobles who likely funded the research. They would have been given reports of the findings.

[hypothermy]

We already have a list of suspected contributors, but taking a look at a second source could help.

[ Yelena reaches into one of the pockets of her coat, feeling for something as she continues their conversation, her focus still respectfully directed to Talulah. ]

I was surprised you didn't know anything when I brought it up in Gaul. Your guardian was one of the main backers, before you killed him.

[reunionize]

I don't think any records I found digging around in his things mentioned exactly what the research was—just the name of the institution.

[And, at the time, it hadn't really been what Talulah was looking for when she had been going through Kashchey's records and correspondences.]

I'd been focused on finding more detail on his plans in Victoria as a whole.

[hypothermy]

[ she meant it more in the sense of how Talulah might've been involved in Kaschey's plans while he was still alive. the duke had presented her as his heir, at least in public, and many had assumed she was included in his governing and machinations as such.

it's a good and bad thing, if that's not the case. good in the sense that Talulah hasn't been stained by the snake's poisoned intent so deeply, and bad in the sense that there are likely many secrets pertinent to Ursus' that she has no knowledge of. ]

I don't think he had a lot of direct involvement in it. He might've not had much to find in his personal records.

[reunionize]

[She had been, unwittingly and without another recourse. He often shared lofty ideals when she'd been younger, but she had to uncover the truth and depth of things as she'd grown.

Whether he had sensed her resistance or he had some kind of hidden plan to reveal everything later is unclear to her even now. All she does know is he fed her half-facts and wrapped his actions as mere politics until confronted.]

No...money to fund things that would help reach his ends if they came to fruition sounds like the extent of it. He liked working behind the scenes whenever he could and manipulated a lot via proxy. I was one such piece on the board.

[hypothermy]

[ that aligns with what Yelena's heard of Kaschey from those who had direct interaction with him. Talulah gets a small hum of acknowledgment, but other than that, it seems like Frostnova's reached the end of her current questioning.

she draws something out in her pocket— either a candy or lozenge of some sort, twist up in a shiny wrapper than she begins to peel away. ]

If there anything else you want to know about what you should expect in Ursus, just ask. I'll be awake until we cross the border, if you want to get some rest.

[reunionize]

[Talulah glances at the candy, mostly because the foil-lined wrapper catches the light, and wonders if Frostnova has a sweet tooth.]

You imply things will be rather straightforward, but if there's a protocol or tradition that's observed, I'd like to know about it. Or anything else that will help me from stepping on anyone's toes unintentionally.

[She can get single-minded, so keeping pitfalls in mind ahead of time would probably be better than her attempting to nagivate it in the middle of negotiations.]

[hypothermy]

[ Yelena stills her hands, holding off on popping the candy into her mouth while Talulah still has questions. ]

You'll have to field questions from our generals during the negotiations. The least experienced ones speak first, then the veterans last. If my father has anything to say, he'll only speak after everyone else has said their piece.

[ he won't, in all likelihood, unless Talulah gives an especially impactful showing.

giving too much away will negate Talulah's responsibility to forge her desired alliance on her own merits, and Yelena almost leaves it at that. after a pause, however, she adds one more thing. ]

No matter how things turn out, we'll have a dinner for you before you leave, to honor you as a guest. You need drink, but don't get drunk. Have you had vodka before?

[reunionize]

I see.

[The hospitality is in stark contrast to most people's image of Ursus. The lines of questioning from the generals are not.

She smiles a little, wryly, at the other's question.]

Yes. I've also had experience drinking while avoiding getting drunk. Not that I expect this from you, but a lesson I learned quickly from whatever parties Kaschey expected me to attend was that nobles love to ply those they see as easy targets with expensive and exotic alcohol.

[hypothermy]

Good, then you're familiar. It will be the Ursus version of that.

[ if anyone of high rank were around to hear the empire's princess compare their time honored traditions of sussing out the constitution of prospective allies to the spineless games the Victorians inflicted on their peers, they'd surely have a conniption.

Yelena's yetis just have to stifle their laughter as they pretend to not be eavesdropping on her conversation with the draco rebel. ]

The veterans put a lot of stock into how well you hold your drink. You'll be offered more than you can handle, and once you hit your limit, you'll need to be smart about how you turn them down.