Written Wonderland

Waiting was definitely not Evan's favorite thing in the world, but luckily he was stubborn enough to stick with it once he'd decided on something. His mind played over the million things that had happened lately, trying to pick out every detail he could about the conversations he'd had with the thing possessing he men. The thing really driving him crazy was that he couldn't find much pointing towards what it wanted, past the old woman's word for it. If these possessions were its end goal and there wasn't actually anything it wanted beyond that, they were fucked.

Evan was well lost in thought by the time Seth came to, but hearing the soldier's voice got the captain to straighten his posture and pull his attention back. He met eyes with Seth, and just a little blush started to color his cheeks again, but he kept it mostly at bay as he raised his hands on either side of him like he'd started to do before. His expression was certainly awkward, but also hinting at relief to see Seth awake, and all in all trying its very best to be as neutral as possible. But.. probably being a bit less successful at that than usual.

"You're all right, soldier. How you feeling?"

Seth rubbed at his eyes with his hands again before one hand fell to the charm around his neck. He panicked a little as he realized it was no longer touching his skin but was on the outside of his shirt. He tried to take stock of how he felt and sort out how much of what he remembered was a dream versus how much of it could have been real, and the fact that Evan was in his tent right now was not a good sign. Not at all. He swung his legs over the cot in an effort to sit up, and that's when he smelled it. He groaned loudly. He had really hoped that part at least hadn't been... 

"Compromised," Seth finally said. "I feel compromised. What the fuck happened?" 

Heh. Compromised was probably a good word for it, yeah.

"You were attacked last night," Evan said calmly, "We think your charm successfully protected you."

For a moment it sounded like he was just going to leave it there, but then his eyes fell a little awkwardly to the side. "... For the most part. You were definitely possessed for a time, but you came out of it."

... niiiiice choice of words there, Evan. Good job.

The captain rubbed a bit at his hair, just barely managing to not roll his eyes at himself. He thought about going ahead and telling the soldier that he'd briefly grappled with him while he was possessed, to try to cut off any misunderstandings there, but he worried it'd sound a little too eager to deny something, especially since he wasn't even sure what all the soldier was really aware of.

Evan tentatively raised his eyes back to Seth.

"What do you remember?"

((OOC: hahahahahahaha))

"I remember laying down to sleep, following Xavier's instructions. I dreamt there was a woman of some kind and..." the soldier paused for a moment, unsure of how much to say, "goddamn, she was beautiful. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get the image of her out of my head. I suspect she...uh... Well, she wanted... Gods, I'm so stupid. I didn't think it was real." The man put his head in his hands again, horrified that he had somehow engaged Evan on accident.

Actually, something that Seth had said rather dissipated a lot of the awkwardness Evan was letting show through, and the captain's expression grew more focused and intent.

"What did she want?"

Half a second after he asked the question, the thought crossed his mind that the answer could very well be underwhelming, but it was still worth asking to make sure, at least.

Seth stared pointedly at Evan, half wishing he could just tell him to fuck off, half knowing that whatever he could offer as information would probably help the situation. After a lengthy sigh, he dropped his hands to his lap and answered.

"Look, she's persuasive, okay? Like, gets-under-your-skin persuasive. Apparently I mean that literally. She seduced me, and fuck, I thought it was a dream. Why wouldn't I let her? And then it was all wrong; she was inside me and... She started replaying memories I had like she was looking for something. And then, you were... You were..." The man couldn't bring himself to say anything more and began shaking his head as if that would clear all the confusion.

Damn, not quite what Evan was hoping for, though he didn't feel particularly surprised about that, just disappointed. The bit about replaying memories was interesting, though. And, slightly terrifying, if Evan was being totally honest. But, he was rather curious: just what was it she was looking for?

Ahh, and then the awkwardness was back. Evan sighed softly, turning his eyes away and rubbing at his hair yet again.

"You didn't do anything untoward." He said just above a mumble, well aware that they were both intensely uncomfortable about this. Hopefully he could put the soldier at ease about it a bit, at least.

"I tried to restrain you while you were possessed, but she got advantage over me, for a moment. Then you came-to before falling unconscious, and that was the end of it."

Letting out one more sigh, Evan moved to push himself to his feet. At this point he'd probably bothered the soldier enough. He was satisfied that Seth was himself, and that he'd shared what he could for the time being. Besides, Evan had caught the particular look in Seth's eye after his last inquiry, and it was certainly something Evan was sympathetic to. Hell, Evan might not've been so cooperative had their positions been reversed here.

"I'll leave you be."

With that, the captain calmly walked over to pick up his sword, and was just about to push the tent flap open before he paused, and pivoted to turn his gaze back to Seth one more time.

"Don't hesitate to tell me anything else you might think of later, no matter how strange or crazy it might sound. I'm doing my best to connect all the dots."

That said, Evan gave his solder one last nod, and then went ahead and left.

Mizu and her entourage reached the Shel'ti capital with few delays after the initial devastation of hearing the screams, but that was certainly enough to cast a dour mood over the whole endeavor. However, when they arrived at the gates, the orange clay the city had used for its walls nearly glowed in the late-fall sun, which warmed Mizu in a way she did not quite understand. It reminded her that she had an important task at hand, that she would need to wait to think more on the problems in her own camp. 

The gates of the capital opened with great ceremony, the ruler of the city having told his people of their coming. As the gates opened, Mizu bowed deeply in the way customary for diplomats to the city and motioned for her escort to do the same. The gatekeepers nodded slightly to indicate their party would be accepted in, and Mizu crossed the threshold first, taking care to step over the line dividing inside from outside as was customary. She resisted the urge to check to see how well her followers were following the directions she had given them this morning on their trek and trusted that they would conduct themselves well. Even despite the long journey through the forest, they still appeared stately. 

Mizu held her head high as the commonfolk looked on, making sure not to meet any of their eyes. From her peripheral vision, she could make out the excitement in the small crowd that had gathered near the gate. None of the commonfolk approached the group, however, as it would not have been appropriate to interrupt the party on the way to the collection of short towers, still taller than any other building in the city, where the ruler, his counselors, and his family lived. 

The towers were in the heart of the city, and it took a good 15 minutes to arrive there, especially since Mizu set a leisurely pace to prime the tone for the meeting. Not too fast to indicate need and not too slow to indicate pomp. Phantom had trained her well, and she could feel the culture thrumming in her bones. This, for some reason, felt familiar to her. 

The same gate ceremony occurred at the doors to the towers, and before long the party was in front of Shalbuleth, the leader of the Shel'ti people. Mizu held her head up, not bowing to the leader first but standing her ground to demonstrate that she  also deserved respect. After a tense moment, Shalbuleth, his three counselors, and his servants stood from their seats and stared directly at Mizu's group. Then both sides slowly bowed together to indicate that the meeting would occur on equal footing in terms of power. The respect allotted to her deeply moved Mizu, and she bore it with humility and gratitude. 

Finally, it was time to speak. 

"Shalbuleth, he who rules this city with a just hand, we have come seeking your assistance. We have split from King Uranel's command, and the country is in civil war. We have many fewer men than the king, and though we are fierce, we know we must seek reinforcements to succeed. Having seen the way the king has unjustly treated you over the years, we want to offer you the chance to claim the justice you are due by pledging to aid our cause," Mizu announced. 

"We well know of the civil war across the forest and have watched with great interest. We have thought long and hard about your request since you sent scouts our direction," Shalbuleth answered. "Tell me, other than the chance to seek the justice due to my people, what do you plan to offer us in exchange?" 

"We know that you do not ask for assistance from another land easily. I understand it was a deep blow to your pride when King Uranel refused to send help for the crisis your state once faced. If you offer us assistance now, I can personally promise that any and all aid you need in the future is yours. We may move forward as allies. Additionally, we would like to offer the easternmost portion of our lands up to the border of River Shoju as a show of our deepest gratitude."

Shalbuleth looked for a half a minute at each of his three counselors, reading their facial expressions in silent communication. They were subtle enough that even Mizu had a difficult time picking up on them, but she sensed a tension building that she did not appreciate. 

After the long pause, Shalbuleth replied. "Your offer is generous, and perhaps if times were better we would accept it readily. But such are not the times we find ourselves in. Several of our greatest men fall victim to dreams weekly and do not wake from their tormented slumbers for many months. When they do wake, they refuse to speak of what has befallen them. They leave their jobs and families. They move to distant cities. We are losing our people one man at a time. Infirmaries all over the city are filled with such men." 

Mizu easily contained her surprise but was deeply unsettled by both the similarity of the city's affliction to her camp's own problems and the fact that Shalbuleth was unwilling to help. She also found herself crestfallen at realizing the Shel'ti were no better in dealing with the dreams than she was. In spite of herself, she thought of the crone and how she had previously approached the Shel'ti and how they had rejected her. Though the superstitious nature of the situation made her uncomfortable, Mizu was partially disgusted that the ruler would have a potential--albeit ridiculous--solution to his problem and would not even consider the possibility. She briefly thought of the way Evan had knelt and told her about speaking with the man in the tent and wondered if she, too, was afflicted by the same hubris. This thought made her far more rash than she would otherwise be.

"We encountered an old priestess near our camp who told us we need to appeal to a goddess. Have you attempted this practice?" 

Shalbuleth's face reddened angrily before he spoke, "That woman, the one of whom you speak, wants us to consort with demons. We will not be like your king, will not tolerate working with devils. They can only make this worse. Be my guest if you want to follow the words of an old, grief-crazed woman of the woods, but do not suggest I go through with it myself."

Mizu had half a mind to argue but pushed that feeling away promptly. She was already outside her comfort zone in even bringing up the possibility. Then again, the Shel'ti had already refused to help, so did she have much to lose? An idea started to form in her mind, a terrible idea, probably. It wasn't something she was even convinced she could remotely accomplish, but... she was not so deluded to think her army could win the war as it was, and she was prepared to do anything to make sure the king was not allowed to subject them all to his tyranny any longer. 

"If I find a way to stop the dream attacks," Mizu said with a calculated slowness, "will you grant me the troops I am asking for to stand against the king?" 

Shalbuleth looked as though he wanted to laugh, but decorum held him back. 

"You think you can solve this problem? You think you are better than our healers who have tried? Perhaps I was wrong to show you the respect of standing as my equal." Mizu was hurt by the sentiment, especially since he was absolutely correct to question her in this thought, but she did not show it. Instead, she stared at Shalbuleth until he spoke again. 

"If you stop these attacks, I will grant you the troops you desire, but you are on a fool's errand. What will you do if you do not succeed in this?" 

"Then we part as diplomats who could not help each other. We will part ways without any resentment on either side. Not friends, not enemies."

Shalbuleth mulled this over and said, "Let it be done, then. It cannot get worse if you are willing to take on the burden for us. We will wait until we see results."

Mizu hesitated but then said, "We will do this thing instead of giving you the land." She waited for Shalbuleth to laugh or argue with her, but he only nodded slightly several times. 

"I admire your resolve to do good for your land. May it serve you so you do not end up in a battlefield grave." 

Mizu nodded herself, acknowledging the deal they had struck in the formal way. Then, she motioned for her escort to get onto their knees for full floor bows while she remained standing. The counselors offered standing bows, and the servants fully bowed, which Mizu understood as a sign that they had slightly less respect now as they were leaving. She was convinced that solving the Shel'ti's problem would fix that, although she hadn't the faintest idea where to start, and she was certain she felt the confusion and doubt in her entourage's faces from behind her back. 

"May the sun grace your lands and the rain offer life to your people," Mizu said in the manner of the Shel'ti's formal goodbyes.

"And may the winds of fate carry you where you need to go," Shalbuleth finished, which Mizu took as a good sign despite the strangeness and the far-fetched deal they had struck. She walked out of the room, slightly stunned at her own daring but ready to defend her decision when the time for discussion arrived. 

--

A stone's throw away from Seth's tent, Elaine had several hundred soldiers doing training drills. Nothing with weapons, but there were some hand-to-hand combat and strength exercises to keep the troops fresh and ready for whatever might come. She glanced in Evan's direction as though she had been waiting to see him emerge before nodding and returning her attention to the drills. 

From the infirmary tent, it sounded as though the muttering men, four of them now, had gotten significantly louder than they had been, which cleared a number of soldiers from the area. The men and women who walked near the tent gritted their teeth as they did so, the sound eerily disquieting and now unignorable. 

Off in the distance, Xavier was tying a few extra charms for the men left who didn't think they needed one, a look of determination on his face. He sewed the charms with a gruffness that seemed out of character given his typical cheeriness, but he good-naturedly handed the charms off anyway, even if the men hadn't taken him seriously at first. 

On the edge of the forest, the crone stepped slowly into the light wearing a thicker patchwork coat than was really necessary for the coolness of the day. She stared hard at the troops in their strength exercises and then fixated on Evan, stopping her stride to stare poignantly at him, even across the field as she was.

Blake gave her commander no surprises during their quest; she was silent and stone-faced for most of it, holding her head up high when appropriate and bowing humbly when appropriate as well. Really, so long as she didn't have to do any talking, she functioned quite well in such high-protocol situations.

The only hiccup was when the Shel'ti leader suggested Mizu hadn't deserved the respect she was shown, at which point Blake's otherwise unreadable expression flashed with anger, but she successfully held her tongue and kept her body language in check.

She was certainly disappointed that the Shel'ti could offer neither troops nor counsel on the dream situation, and also... uneasy, to say the least, at the arrangement of having to figure it out themselves, in no small part because she worried about the means they would turn to. She couldn't say that Shalbuleth's sentiments regarding consorting with demons didn't resonate with her own intuition about the old woman's proposal. Perhaps Mizu had another idea; Blake subdued her worry with that hope, for now.

The captain bowed again as directed, with all of the expected humility displayed, even if she still felt a little burned by Shalbuleth's comment earlier. She knew it was the sort of thing that need just be dropped, and she'd get past it herself soon enough.

She remained silent as they made their exit, not about to be the first to speak, though she would offer her thoughts when invited to.

---

Evan returned Elaine’s nod, hoping that what came through was just confidence that Seth was doing all right and not any of the awkwardness that still admittedly hung about him. Lest the other captain get too good a read, Evan turned and started walking away quickly enough. He did a decent job looking like he was heading somewhere with a purpose, but mostly his purpose was just getting out of Elaine’s line of sight, if he was being completely honest.

He paused not long after, partly just because said purpose was fulfilled and partly because he could swear he felt eyes on him from somewhere else. He cast his glance around briefly before landing on someone over by the woods-- the woman from yesterday. The captain tilted his head slightly, unsure whether he was grumpy and embarrassed and didn’t want to deal with her, or whether he in fact would love to ask her why the fuck attacks doubled last night, among other things. There certainly was some appeal to having a chat with her without the constraints of Mizu or Blake or anyone else breathing down their necks.

Yeah, Evan wasn’t really grumpy or embarrassed in the old woman’s direction, and seeing what else she could share candidly with him did sound pretty fucking great, actually. Evan rolled his shoulders a bit to try to shake off the lingering awkwardness about Seth, and then started walking to meet crone.

The crone raised her head slightly when Evan began to walk toward her, recognizing his intent immediately. She did not walk forward to meet him because she wanted to stay at the edge of the forest. She did not particularly want to enter the camp again; it had taken a lot for her to walk there in the first place. She did not enjoy all those eyes on her. 

But something needed to be done. Would still need to be done.

It did not take Evan long to reach her, but she fought the desire to be back inside the cover of the trees the entire time. Not quite yet. When he had fully arrived in front of her, she spoke to him. 

"You have questions," she said without changing her facial expression.