[EVENT] Courtyard of Public Opinion, May Forum

[ironwood]

Characters: Come one, come all!
Date: The 24th of May
Location: The Courtyard of Public Opinion, in Central Sector
Situation: This is the second public forum to be called since the Foreigners' return. It's led by the three family heads, but specifically designed to allow anyone the chance to speak. This particular one was called because of the Foreigner muggings, the Chihulean threat, and the rumours of remaining cultists; however, a variety of other things might get brought up as well.
Warnings/Rating: Added as they become applicable.

The Courtyard of Public Opinion isn't any bigger than some of the open fountain areas in the Water Sector, and it isn't set up the way some of the Foreigners might imagine a political debate area to be set up. There's no podium, no chairs apart from the stone benches too heavy to be moved, and no grand banners or archways. This is done deliberately; everyone is meant to have an equal voice in the Courtyard, so everyone is on level ground. Apart from the greenery, the stone paths, and the low stone walls surrounding the Courtyard, one could almost imagine it's just another Market Day in an open square.

Since the Foreigners are also residents of Keeliai, the Courtyard Forum will be a public opportunity for Foreigners to ask questions and air concerns of their own. This can range from something specific to individuals or making requests of all the major NPCs.

---

LINKS
Soul Gem Muggings | Cultists | Chihuelans | Turtle Sinking | Sky Sector | Individual NPC Interactions | OOC Questions

OOC
There are starters for various parts of the discussion, covering all the major topics regarding the happenings of Keeliai lately. NPCs will be available for all of the conversations below. The first five topics are general city occurrences which everyone in the Courtyard will be able to hear; use these threads as discussion between PCs as well as NPCs. NPCs will contribute to discussions as necessary, but won't be engaging in every line of conversation occurring in the general topic starters.

The NPC comments are for directly speaking with that NPC or those in that group; if your character has a specific issue to bring up with an NPC, this is where it should be done. The rest of the post is for Foreigners talking and organizing amongst themselves.

Comments

[ironrule]

Meisheng didn't bother to hide her surprise. That was one of the longest and biggest guns she'd ever seen. Were the Foreigners' home worlds so destructive that all of their advances had been in explosive weaponry?

... No, she decided. That was unfair. Given half a chance, that was precisely where Yunxu would lead Keeliai.

"Tempting," she murmurs, her gaze still on the gun. "And generous. We're not popular with the Foreigners, Shudder. Why would you offer us something so dangerous, even for such a limited time?"

[gistful]

"Guns are made to kill people," Anton said. "They're like swords. Most of the time they have no purpose other than to harm." He laid a hand on Daisy, rubbing the engraved brass of her chassis. "Sometimes they can be pieces of art, valued because of how they look instead of what they do. Daisy is the only weapon I have kept for more than a few decades. I don't need to use her. The look of her is, most often, enough."

He looked at Meisheng. "Yunxu is interested in guns as weapons. It's a trade he would accept. But if I lend you Daisy, she will have saved two lives without having killed anyone at all, and that is true to the purpose I would prefer for her."

[ironrule]

That was noble. Surprisingly so. Meisheng wasn't used to noble. Even Heojin, for all his self-sacrificial tendencies, was forced to play the game of politics, and it made him slow to trust and difficult to read.

But Heojin, Meisheng knew, would have agreed with Shudder in this instance.

She sighed. She didn't mean to. It was one of those minor tells she usually shapeshifted away, but which, on her normal face, became all too obvious. "You're right," she agreed. "He would. He will also, I'm afraid, abuse it. If you're willing to take that risk, I will accept the deal."

[gistful]

"I intend to place some conditions on her loan," said Anton, and if it had been anyone else it would have been dry. "For one thing, she is to return to me undamaged. For another, I will request she not be used except for testing on non-living targets." He smiled slightly. "Thirdly, I am not responsible for any broken limbs or dislocated shoulders sustained on the part of the user in the process of testing."

Firing such a weapon from the hip was more difficult than from the shoulder, but there was a reason Anton did it like that. Daisy had a damaging recoil. Even Ghastly, that paragon of muscle, took the risk of hurting himself when he used her. "Have we an agreement for both prisoners?"

She hadn't asked to look at Daisy, yet. His precautions may not have been necessary after all.

[ironrule]

In the middle of a public forum, not even Yunxu would have asked to see the weapon. Some risk was always necessary in deals like this, and if Meisheng was being brutally honest with herself, she didn't much care if Shudder ended up double-crossing them. The Snakes didn't need a new weapon, however impressive, in order to remain respected in Keeliai.

"Not both," she said softly with a shake of her head. "One of them caught the illness going around, and wasn't strong enough to fight it. This deal is for Malcil only."

[gistful]

'The illness'. A cover, or the truth? For the purposes of this conversation, it didn't particularly matter. Either way, Anton could say for sure that one of the Chihuelans had died.

"One week, then," said Anton. "I can come to collect her or you can send her by courier, I've no preference which. Have we an accord?" He held out his hand, keeping her gaze. He had no doubt that Yunxu would try to abuse the technology, if he could. But he'd find it hard to do so. Half an hour after she left Anton's hands, Daisy was bespelled to lock up.

It was a similar sort of ward as used on the Elder Journals to prevent anyone other than the Council of Elders from reading them--turned the object immovable and nearly impenetrable. And since Meisheng hadn't asked after details, Anton didn't have to lie about giving her over just as she was.

[ironrule]

"I believe we do," said Meisheng with a half-smile, a shadow of her usual sharp grace. She shook Shudder's hand, then nudged the bag containing the gun over to her side of the bench with her foot. "Follow me once this forum ends," she added. "I'll hand Malcil over to you personally."