[OPEN] super secret meeting time!

[thatdamnknight]

Who: Sorey, Flynn and everyone!
Where: A (Secret!!) Palai Meeting House
When: Day 71
Open/Closed: COVEN MEMBERS ONLY!!1 No Qri Allowed (Open to All)

[Qri's call to collect as many Elto magic structures as possible did not go unnoticed--mostly because it was really, really hard to miss, with the aftereffects of the call leaving some quite shaken. A whisper of concern and suspicion has slowly been spreading since, with some coven members indifferent and others wary of complying with the request. The chatter has been quiet, but a decision should be made by the group as a whole. They're all in this together, after all.

So sometime after all the celebrations and good times, you were pulled aside and told about a meeting to figure out exactly what the coven wants to do, and given a super secret location. Or maybe you weren't told at all, but just so happened to follow the curious group of people trickling into a Palai meeting hall that the Palai had kindly allowed them the use to hold this little gathering.

The hall itself is pretty plain, and no particular person has the stage, so to speak. But Sorey and Flynn are standing in the center of the room gathering people in, and once there are enough people present then Flynn clears his throat and speaks.]

Thank you, everyone, for being able to come here today. My name is Flynn Scifo.

And I'm Sorey! Thanks for coming on such short notice.

Now, as you are all likely aware, this meeting lacked any formal announcement on the network and all of you present here today have heard of it through word of mouth. The reason for this is due to the nature of the topic we wish to discuss today: Qri. Sorey, myself and some other individuals all have our own concerns regarding her and the duty which she has given us. Today, we wish to hear your own opinions on the matter.

Maybe giving Qri the Elto bones isn't the wrong thing to do, but she hasn't given us enough information or even much of a reason to comply with her request. In my opinion it's up to the Palai people to decide what should be done with the magic structures, not us. But if we need them for a purpose and want to ask, I think they'd listen to us. So...the question is whether or not we want them for a reason, or if we should just give them back to the Palai. Or, if there's another option, we're open to hearing it.

Also, we'd like to hear your opinions on Qri herself. Do you find her trustworthy? Do you have reservations over swearing loyalty to her? The floor is open for discussion so please feel free to share any and all thoughts you have. Let us use this opportunity to ensure our next course of action ends up the correct one.

[that's all that they have to say. the floor is anyone's who wants it so come and speak your mind.]

(ooc: please feel free to tag around as you please for the discussion!)

Comments

[oneandmikleonly]

The bones are quite powerful; I'm loathe to hand them over to an entity we still know very little about after several weeks. We don't know how she'll use or misuse them; neither do any of us particularly owe her, since none of us asked to be brought here or made subject to changes in our powers.

Surely at least explaining herself so we could properly decide wouldn't be too much to ask. She clearly has some awareness of what's going on with us, at least enough to send that signal, that pulse -- she has a capacity to communicate, even if unpleasantly.

I'd prefer to use them on the barrier before going one way or the other, but could a group of us not -- I don't know, use the telepathic connection we've got to try and convey that we have reservations to her? Perhaps that opinion will carry more weight if it comes from several of us at once.

[rebells]

Dirk and I have tried to contact her by telepathy in the past. She hasn't responded. Whether that's because she can't or won't is up in the air.

I'm not saying we shouldn't try again, mind you.

[oneandmikleonly]

I don't think individuals or couples would work. If Brie and Genette are telling the truth about their own pasts, I'm sure they've tried that themselves.

But a large chunk of the group, perhaps...? She needs this many of us for something.

[splinten]

Genette told me she gets orders from Qri telepathically. We don't know if that feels the same for her as it does for us.

[There's a frown here because.]

I'd ask her, but there's only so much blind faith a dude can handle before he has to tap out.

[HE JUST. CAN'T DEAL WITH GENETTE Brie is so much easier.]

[oneandmikleonly]

Yes -- I'd like to not try to use them as middlemen if we attempt communication again.

[they just dk how trustworthy either of them are either in the end, man]

[rebells]

If we do, what should we say? Simply that we have reservations and we'd like to know more about why we were brought here?

[oneandmikleonly]

Before we provide her with what she's asking for, yes. That's blunt enough -- I don't want to be overtly hostile if there's a chance we can hear her out first. We can go from there.

[rebells]

Is there anything in particular you think we should ask her? Or-- [looking around to the rest of the room, raising his voice a little] that anyone else thinks we should ask her?

[oneandmikleonly]

What exactly does she mean to do with all this power, and any other power we hypothetically gather for her? How much of our lives will she claim for this journey, these missions on other worlds? Are they all going to be like this, where we meddle with the natives' situation and gather power in a way that frankly feels like robbing them? That sort of thing...

[also looks out at the rest of the group, though; FLOOR IS OPEN]

[rootandbranch]

[Geir pipes up agreeably enough, though something in the sardonic set of his grin does not inspire confidence in his good faith assessments of Qri.]

I want to know the nature of the power we're gathering. If it's actually all that important for the universes and not just for Qri, us knowing about it makes it more likely that we can find it or make it for her.

[rebells]

. . . she's brought some incredibly powerful people here. Surely there's more we can do to help than simply fetch things, if her story is true.

[In other words, he agrees.]

I'd like to know why she's bound us to her in the way she has, and whether time is passing on our home worlds while we do this for her. Although she may genuinely not know the answer to that.

[imsorey]

Using them on the barrier would be my preference if the Palai don't want them, especially since I think it would help to give the Palai answers just as much as us. As they are now it isn't exactly possible to identify a loved ones remains, but...if they'd like that option, I want to give it to them.

[since Jay and Dirk have the telepathic communication covered he doesn't comment on that, but he does listen in a bit]

[oneandmikleonly]

Even if they can't identify specific Palai from the bones, they should definitely have the chance to inter them, or use the magic to advance themselves further. Just hauling them with us without asking feels like -- well, grave-robbing.

[imsorey]

Stealing magical bones seems like the exact definition of grave-robbing. Even if the Palai don't mind us taking them, we can do them the courtesy of asking.

[oneandmikleonly]

I suppose that's a slightly separate issue from giving them to Qri, though. Related, but separate.

[imsorey]

If we're deciding not to give them to her, then the next step is seeing what we do want to do with them. I don't expect everyone to agree on whether or not to hand them over, but at least talking about it is a start.

[oneandmikleonly]

[rubs a knuckles against the bridge of his nose, briefly, then folds his arms]

At least it gives us an idea of where general opinions lie.

[imsorey]

It's more or less what I expected. I doubt we'll stop Qri from getting any of the bones, but if she doesn't get as many as she's hoping for then maybe we'll get some answers.

[oneandmikleonly]

I don't think we've got even half the coven here, so who knows...but let's see how it pans out.

[imsorey]

It felt like there were more.

[because Geir takes up a lot of space]

But we'll see--at least we know who we can talk to if we run into something similar later on.