(no subject)

I have not watched yesterday's episode yet so... you should write astrid just after graduation trying to overcome the weakness of caring about it



Out of all the exercises Master Ikithon had taught them, Astrid tended to fall back on the breathing one the most. When her thoughts were spinning and her head was pounding and her heart was racing, she could close her eyes and focus only on her her in her chest. Breath in - one, two, three, four. Breathe out - one, two, three, four. So simple and yet it steadied her. There were mantras, for when it wasn't enough. My duty is to the empire and I serve so they can live in peace. My service is to the people. Weakness can never stop me from my work. For every death there is a life.

How her mother had looked, spittle bubbling from her lips. Her eyes had turned red and tears had started to stream down her face. For every death there is a life.

How her father had looked. His hands had started to shake from the poison - rattling their cutlery first, knocking over his cup, the washcloth, the plate, and then himself, rattling to the floor. For every death there is a life.

She needed to fill her thoughts with the master's soft, spidery voice. When he touched her shoulder it was easy to remember her purpose, her destiny. That she was chosen. He had left her alone now becuase she needed to learn to be strong on her own. Eadwulf did. Bren --

Weakness can never stop me from doing my work. Weakness can never stop me from doing my work.

They were in the master's estate. The room was dark and quiet, with only the soft whisper of the air over the window. Where Bren (weakness can never stop me from doing my work) had burned had been dressed and barely hurt at all, though she was sure the herbs would wear off soon.

My duty is to the empire and I serve so they can live in peace. My service is to the people. Weakness can never stop me from my work. For every death there is a life.

(no subject)

caltracat : Astrid researching Beauregard and somehow overhearing the convo with yudala. having doubts.

(sorry this is not what you asked for. but there’s a kicker. i promise.)

Probably the secret Astrid was most fond of - and gods, were there a lot of secrets, and gods, how most of them were loathesome, but there were a few charms - was the the Cobalt Reserve was a building with more entry and exitways than, she wagered, any building in Rexxentrumm. A little spider-climb from her and invisibility from Eadwulf, resting in one of the many Assembly-aligned taverns outside the Reserve for them to communicate, and she could slip into one of the windows or misalisgned spaces. Maybe, Eadwulf had said, grinning, they wanted it to be porous so seekers of knowledge could get what they want.

They had hurried as fast as possible once the scry of the waste wanderer had revealed the Mighty Nein to be in in the Reserve. Maybe an opportunity to put them in the King's eye for this meddling with the beacon - maybe an opportunity to use them to get rid of Ikithon - maybe an opportunity to blame them for Vess' death. A mistake from any angle, she thought, but here they were.

She hurried among the rafters watching them move on one of the walkways. Yudala Fon appeared to talk to them. First the king, then Ludinus, now Yudala...

The guards stopped all but the monk. That was interesting, indeed, enough for her to crawl over. A beat of fear as the half-orc's sword glowed - he gave him the power to see her - but he didn't look up. She waited for him to turn, talking to the firblog, and then she crawled down the wall and into the room, sticking to the ceiling.

The Soul was angry about the investigation into the beacon? Good.

And --- ah. How interesting. So the monk had been sold off to the Soul. By the Lionett winemaker, to this Zeenoth. That was an interesting thread maybe to pursue after this beacon investigation was done. They would have to deal with Theylss first. The monk always seemed so tough and obnoxious. It was an interesting, sort of satisfying thought to imagine her being dragged off. Silly girl - she should have gone thoughtfully and sensibly into the arms of her betters. Look at her and Eadwulf and Bren, after all. They'd gone willingly and become so powerful.

(no subject)

just bc of my own interests: the nein actually leading the volstruckers to essek

Eadwulf had to admit - it was a very fascinating and intensely well-camouflaged outpost. They would have never seen it without it revealing themselves to Bren and his friends, and certainly had they seen it it would have been quite a challenge to let someone else know that they had seen it. But robed in their invisibility and garbed in their warm cloaks, it appeared quite magnificently against the ruins and among the cold, still ice.

"I didn't think they'd be capable," came Astrid's whisper from his shoulder, "I think it may be mobile - see the supports along the sides?"

He focused there and saw how they they seemed to attach the spikes of their living quarters. There were visible seams; maybe they could be dis attached. A mobile outpost in Eiselcross would have been pretty useful.

He reached out to touch exactly where he knew her shoulder would be and was, to signal he had acknowledged.

"I'll see if those guards can see us," she said, and touched his shoulder. No footprints, not with the boots they had been assigned. He knew to wait. They had done a lot of missions without being able to see each other.

The top guards didn't moved for a solid five, ten minutes after that. Eadwulf checked his watch and re-cast his invisibility.

"We're clear," Astrid said, next to him again. So they moved closer, listening to the muttering of the guards. Bren came closer and -- there.

Eadwulf recognized him from when he had studied the beacon. He was wearing a white furred coat and, yes, still hovered slightly above the snow. He seemed happy to see Bren and the rest of the Mighty Nein.

"There," he whispered, and Astrid touched him again in acknowledgement.

"Report or move forward?" she whispered.

"Report," he replied. Too many guards, and they didn't want Bren to be there, when they had to eliminate the target. The Mighty Nein were too capable, and plus he would have really much preferred not to have to kill Bren.

Astrid touched his back, this time, and they turned and slunk away. What a successful mission, he thought, with delight. It was pretty fantastic, when your suspicions all turned out correct and, even if you had to trek through a horrible frozen wasteland, you saw your target with hardly any protection at all. Maybe if they were lucky Bren would get distracted by his strange quests again and not notice for another two months.