November In-Service

[thewatchers]

November In-Service
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This month’s meeting is the apparent result of a clash between staff who couldn’t decide whether they wanted it to still be Halloween or already be Christmas. The food and drink is a mixture of traditional Yuletide treats and spooky-themed tidbits, and occasionally, when people have butted heads, an odd mix of the two... resulting in some truly haunting concoctions.

Christmas Cheer?
Daybreak’s resident not-so-infantile former Herald has finally expressed a strong desire of their own; a wish to prepare a surprise for everyone who has been so kind to them up until now. While the caretakers in charge have expressed that they think Iri has gotten enough of a grasp on what would be appropriate to be allowed the opportunity, they have decided to put it forward to staff and any students listening in, to ask what they think of the idea.

Securing Orichalcum
Emille’s recent awakening and her dire tidings, plus the incident on campus, have not gone unnoticed by the headmistress and higher-ranking staff. As part of the in-service, they are inviting any advice on forging weaponry strong and resilient enough to kill a powerful entity such as Fomalhaut - or, failing that, asking for advice on dragon-slaying in general, so that a plan can be concocted to minimise the fallout of this difficult situation.

Hunting Heralds
Utultar’s constant movements and mutterings haven’t gone unnoticed, but while Seers may not be able to track the Herald down themselves, Utultar has a certain component that his fellow Heralds did not - namely, an ego. The time has come for those who can contribute to plan battle tactics that can potentially maximise their advantages against Utultar - in the fight against a Herald, no idea is too ludicrous.

Comments

[spelleton]

[ Normally Ekkehardt might be more insightful or thoughtful, but it's already been a long few weeks and the looming promise of yet more long weeks to come hasn't put him in a particularly pleasant mood.

He puts his cup of tea down with more force than is strictly necessary, stares at his meeting notes, and says, without looking up: ]

How large a dose of poison would you need to kill a Herald, do you think? Or failing that, whatever kind of beast this Fomalhaut is. I'm open to suggestions.

[nor_iron_bars]

[Jailbreak, being Jailbreak, sees nothing unreasonable or unusual about this particular line of questioning.]

Ain't exactly a biology expert, but don't you need like... shit that's meant to work on daemons, or whatever? I know some species are definitely immune to stuff that kills humans.

[imyoubut]

[It's a legitimate question!]

I'm sure with a bit of help I could conjure a particularly deadly brew.

[improbablenotimpossible]

We may need to consider combining different compounds - for example in my personal experience Datura and Hemlock tend to be far more effective in suppressing lung function and muscular control than either one alone.

So we should just - to put it bluntly, go with as many types in as large a dosage as practical of what does effect Daemons and others with non-human biology.

[imyoubut]

Enhancing them with magic may also prove to make their effects more potent. Or, at the very least, effective. My concern lies primarily in usage of the poison against our target. It's doubtful we'd be able to poison his conveniently placed glass of wine. We would need to think outside of the box. Perhaps a weapon that functions like a syringe?

[nor_iron_bars]

I mean, not all poisons need to be ingested, right? You got plenty that can work through skin contact or inhalation.

[Says, of course, the woman still wearing a magitech gas mask despite actually having functioning lungs, now.]

[A meditative pause, then she adds thoughtfully:] The line between poisoning and chemical warfare is a real thin one, ain't it. Like, conceptually speaking.

[improbablenotimpossible]

...It is. It really is.

[He leans back quietly at that, hands steeple together]

[nor_iron_bars]

[Just reaching out and saying "sorry for reminding you World War One happened" by way of silently giving him a firm, companionable shoulder pat.]

[I mean, how else do you deal with your vampire friend's historical trauma?]

[imyoubut]

It's really about the scale more than anything else...

[Said as casually as one can.]

But regardless, Jail does bring up an excellent point. Although do we have any information on Utultar's biology? If we craft a poison that has limited effectiveness if used in any way other than the way it is intended to be used, and he is immune to such attempts, we would be in a very compromising situation.

[improbablenotimpossible]

[He gives a slight nod to Jail]

Yes. This is a line we have to balance between making sure a threat is handled and putting a new one in the world.

The genie can't be put back in the bottle.

[improbablenotimpossible]

Or it could be a Baldr sort of scenario, where only something unlikely and specific works on him.

[imyoubut]

It's possible, but we can't know for sure without more information. It isn't as though Utultar simply appeared from the ether. He must have some sort of past we can research.

[improbablenotimpossible]

Does anyone have any visual documentation on him? We might be able to gather some information by his choice of dress.

[arcadianvampire]

[Valvatorez, sitting nearby, turns to look at Ekkehardt, even if he's still looking at his notes.]

He is, in technical terms, "a final-boss level" daemon, my friend. Odds are, he's immune to poison. ...And paralysis, and weaken, and amnesia, and basically everything else.

That's how it almost always works. They usually have ways to prevent easy wins.

[spelleton]

He has a circulatory system and biological needs of some sort, doesn't he? That means poison isn't out of the question. [ He's aware that it would require more components than that, probably a multi-pronged approach, but it's better than most other things he has to think about right now. ]

At the very least it might inconvenience him long enough for us to kill him outright.

[arcadianvampire]

I like the way you're thinking, and it's worth a try. But speaking from experience, a lot of daemons tried poison on me when I was a Tyrant. My constitution allowed me to shrug off a great deal of the attempts.

[Of course, a "great deal" did not mean "all." Which meant there was a story to be told here. But the look in his eye said he was about to tell it, as he took a sip of his coffee.]

The exception was when a particularly spineless and cowardly daemon overlord by the name of Minotrose attempted to kill an old comrade of mine. I took a bullet that was of a purified, sanctified silver, laced with some sort of powerful toxin. It was strong enough to have an effect on top of the silvered round, whatever it was.

To this day I have no idea where Minotrose got either the bullet or the poison. He didn't survive what my comrade and I did to him.

[spelleton]

Since this Minotrose was a daemon, it's likely that his choice of toxin was from the Outlands...not that it narrows it down much. [ The Outlands is very, very large. ] Surely there's some daemons known for their command over poisons, however, or their knowledge of it...it could be worth cashing in some favours for.

[nor_iron_bars]

...I mean, you're a necromancer, right? I feel like the ways you killed people back in the old days were definitely the kinda thing that makes angry ghosts. [She nods at Valvatorez in acknowledgement.]

I know you don't wanna visit- [She makes a gesture as if to indicate "all the encompassing philosophical concept of death as made manifest in House Gehring's particular patron goddess" and also "your mom".] -too often, not the kinda thing where you wanna push your luck. But it couldn't hurt to do a summoning with this dude's name on it and see who shows, right?

[Unless the ghost in question is really angry...]

[spelleton]

[ He makes a little hand-waggle, non-committal noise at being called a necromancer. Technically, necromancy is what he's supposed to be stopping, most of the time.

Not that people know this. ]

A summoning of a daemon's ghost might produce some interesting results, so I would suggest we do it off-campus. And preferably somewhere isolated. Just in case.

[imyoubut]

I can provide us a location; one far away from the campus...and my home. I'd rather not risk yet another ghastly invasion at House Cromwell if at all possible.

[arcadianvampire]

Doubtlessly, if we can find the right place. I've heard rumors of a daemon overlord by name of Hedler, who rules over an Outland with oceans of poison. He's supposedly an alchemist of some repute. But any searching or research I've taken into the subject turns up dead ends.

[Valvatorez pushed himself against his seat back, resting the chair on its rear legs.]

I have no doubt the place exists, but more that Hedler is notoriously skittish and distrusting of outsiders. And being that I've been away for four hundred years, having leverage to get past that would be... difficult.

[imyoubut]

[A toxin powerful enough to weaken Tyrant Valvatorez in his prime. Granted she has no idea just how strong he was, but even she's heard the stories. Something like that could be there best bet in taking down Utultar.]

Well, I believe the saying "no man is an island" also applies to daemons. If this Minotrose could craft such a potent toxin, then there must be a way to replicate it, if not craft an even stronger version. Perhaps someone taught them how to do so? It may have been several hundreds of years ago, but daemons live much longer than that normally.

Or we could simply speak with the daemon himself. We certainly have the methods.

[arcadianvampire]

I suppose so. I have no desire to speak to the snake ever again, save but to laugh in his face. But you'd do well not to trust a word he says. He's one of those gutless sorts that will lie through his teeth about anything.

But you do raise a point. Minotrose had to get it from somewhere, and unless he killed whoever made it for him, someone else has to know.

[imyoubut]

It sounds as though he would have gotten along famously with some of the mages I've dealt with in my time. I'm sure we could get him to speak more honestly if we had some kind of leverage, but it may be for the best if we use it as a plan B. What of his contacts, Valvatorez? A daemon like this must have had some kind of inner circle.

[arcadianvampire]

About that... Minotrose was not the sort to trust just about anyone. Everything was transactional or in pursuit of his own empowerment. Again, not unlike some mages.

...The other problem is my comrade and myself were quite thorough in scrubbing the Outlands of his presence. Once we killed him and blew up all of his stuff, I washed my hands of the guy entirely. If he had any additional contacts, I am not aware of them at this time. I would have to reach out to someone to investigate.

[He shifted in his seat as that comment attracted a few looks from other professors in the room.]

It was back in my days as a Tyrant, that's just how things were done back then.

[imyoubut]

[Although Valvatorez's blunt words might have earned him more than a few looks from some of his peers, Urtz did not react much. What right did she have to do so?]

You don't need to explain yourself. [She looks around toward the room at large, narrowing her eyes.] There aren't many of us here with hands free of blood. Especially with Nightfall drawing near.

[She closes her eyes for a moment and leans back in her chair. After letting out a deep breath, Urtz turns to face Valvatorez once more.]

At any rate... You said something about sending someone to investigate. Do you know someone who could find us the information we need?

[arcadianvampire]

As a matter of fact, I do. My steward, as it happens. He is still back in the Outlands for now. Normally not much for the Human World like I am.

[To say the least...]

He has quite a nose for sniffing out things. In fact, he's that very same comrade who helped me deal with Minotrose. He may have helped me scrub the Outlands of the guy, but if there's anyone who can still find something, it'd be him.

He's incredibly good at what he does.

[evangelclairvoyance]

If you'll excuse my intrusion, I believe I might have a quicker way. If your steward is able to find something with a trace of this Minotrose's magical signature, I should be able to pinpoint his exact location with my clairvoyance.

[arcadianvampire]

Your clairvoyance can go that far? Tracing the spirit of a long dead daemon on a minuscule portion of his magic? ...I will reach out to my steward as soon as possible.

But if you don't mind my rather boorish assessment, I believe you could put the best bloodhounds to shame with that sort of tracking. Most impressive.

[evangelclairvoyance]

Hmhm... It takes a considerable amount of concentration to reach that far, but I've spent some time honing the art.

A spirit might be a little more difficult, but I'm willing to give it a try.

[arcadianvampire]

Very well! Once I obtain any sort of information or lead, I will hand it over to you posthaste!

...Thank you both. While I am concerned that this might not work, it is still a good potential lead.

[lifeforced]

[Rebecca is sitting in on this particular meeting, seated not particularly far from Ekkehardt, in part because there is currently a need to keep an eye on her just in case things start to get worse, but also because she is Involved in one of the subjects being discussed today.

Shortly after he asks his question, she speaks up with a question of her own.]

What do we know about either of them so far? [Emille had mentioned Orichalcum before, but using what info they have to work out some kind of backup plan would probably not be a terrible idea.]

[spelleton]

Fomalhaut has two weaknesses that we know of - Radiance, and orichalcum. [ He raises a finger for each weakness he recounts. ] If we can find a way to combine both, then I imagine that is better still for dealing with him.

For Utultar, he seems to deal exclusively in contracts. Finding a way to break those bonds seems the most direct way of weakening him, but he doesn't appear to be anything more than a normal daemon otherwise. Daemons being what they are, however, this is no guarantee he doesn't have fortifications.

[lifeforced]

We've got lots of the former all over the place here, but you don't need me telling you that. [The academy does have plenty of Candles, Becky herself included, but with the nonzero chance of her being a liability with how she's evidently been marked for some purpose, whether she'd be permitted to actually assist with whatever plans are ultimately devised is currently up in the air.

There's still the matter of acquiring however much orichalcum would be needed.]

Do we have any ways to enchant stuff with Radiance? [Maybe? Probably not? She's not really sure. She's never really thought about it too much; most of her thinking doesn't involve finding ways to cause harm to things.] It's probably harder than it sounds, but orichalcum weapons enchanted with it at least sounds like it could be a possible way to go.