Liivi nods as Janus replies to her quotation, explaining how the prendant given to Maya functions. She then listens with interest to the long history that is recounted.  Some of it is a bit confusing.'What is Toril and Golarion?'

The proposal is intriguing. 'But are we meant to know how to find these items? To deliver a sun bomb? And do we really want to give him sun-bombs? '   Alex seems to Echo the same thoughts.  But with the promise of immediately taking them to the artefact, the offer ought to be considered at least. 

She's a little surprised after Janus' long speech that Mira asks her about the headless statue. "I do recall the headless statue," she answers, not sure why the rabbit-girl was faltering so much talking to her.  "It is a shame." She chooses not to elaborate any more than that at the moment until she gets a better idea of what Mira is getting at.

Listening to the discussion, Liivi tells the others, "We should get a lot more information about this. And then discuss it amongst ourselves." She then looks to Janus. "How long will you give us to decide?"

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

 

After a moment of silence Alex looks to the rest of the group as if searching for answers. "I... think this is definitely worth considering..." He looks back to Janus, "I'm not against doing this. We need to make preparations to deal with the oncoming threat. So if you tell us where to start I'm more than willing to work with you.  But... If it's not too much trouble, would it be possible for you to arrange a meeting for us with Paulis? I know I at least have some questions that... well, I'd like some answers too."

“Me and Paulis… broke up.” His tail stiffens as he glares to the side. “We used to be good friends, but we realised our ideologies weren’t compatible with each other. After some heated argument and a big fight, both physically and verbally, we decided to go our separate ways. You’ll have to meet Paulis on your own, because if he sees me, there will definitely be a fight… and trust me, you don’t want to be in the middle of our fight.”

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

 

He scratches his head, he felt like he needed to answer the demon's question, but he really wants to get to the main reason he'd come here"Uh, this is a little off topic but....eheh, you know we spoke with our mutual feline friend over at the general store? She said you have, experience with caring for dragons...." He pulls down the sides of his pack to show the egg.

"I'll get to that in a moment, I promise. Let's focus on our objective first before we go off-topic." Janus raises a finger.

Quote from PyromaniIsDeadThankGod >>

Mira

Taking a seat besides Shugo, Mira does her bet to listen in on what Janus has to say... Except she thought she could. Her head swirls mid-speech after being filled with too much information, much less about stuff she knows herself. "Wow... that was a lot of info I couldn't absorb. I hope everyone else at least got something noteworthy...!" Mira says dazed, only thinking about three things at this point in time: The sheer inconvenience of acquiring those materials, the USL vs Rebellion drama and... Janus being able to travel through worlds?! How?! "Wait... you travelled to Toril and Golarion?! I thought that was impossible! What did you see over there minus the scenery?!" She exclaims, before noticing all eyes on her and shudders. "Uh... s... sorry... I shouldn't have been to rash..." She sheepishly apologizes. 

"It was impossible now, but not back before the Sphere was created," Janus explains, looking to the sky. "Golarion was very diverse in terms of technology. You have a country that uses steam and gunpowder right next to a country full of illiterate cavemen. People hated each other so much they didn't want to share their technology with each other, so..." He shrugs.

"Toril, on the other hand, is more in line with our world." He circles the Sword Coast part of Faerun. "This is the more civilised area of the region I visited. From what I've heard, they were the first region to abolish slavery, so we'll leave them alone... for now." He circles the Calim region in the south and Thay in the east. "These two are the region I visited, and it's also the region we want to deal with first, they supply most of their planet's slaves, and they also hunt beastfolks for their fur like some kind of animal."

He answers Alex's first question. "Near the end of the war, the rebels can't agree on how the governments should function. One side wants democracy, every nation will elect a leader every 4-8 years. The other wants autocracy, every nation will not have an election and whoever is the leader gets to rule for the rest of their lives. Of course, the autocrats won, that's why most of us are monarchy today." 

“Alright, here’s the plan, listen closely, this will be very important.” Janus walks over to the other side of the room, he pulls down a blackboard from the wall. On it is a diagram of a sun-bomb and some calculations.

“Even until today, we aren’t sure how sun-bomb exactly works, but if you smash a uranium bullet into a uranium cylinder really hard, it triggers an explosion as bright and hot as the surface of Muphrid itself. It’s incomprehensibly powerful, enough to erase a city off the map and poison the blast area for decades.” He picks up a chalk and twirls it. “The USL had used most of the sun-bombs, but not all of them, there are still a few uranium parts left scattered across Perkwunos—eight of them, to be exact, each containing one uranium cylinder and one uranium sphere each.”

"Torilians and Golarians haven't seen something at this magnitude of power before. It could erase anything out of existence if it's within its blast zone, even creatures who are immune to fire can't handle this much heat. We will send them a warning first by dropping the first sun bomb near the population centre, close enough for everyone to see the light show in its glory, but not close enough to actually kill someone." 

He places his paws on the war table, "They will surrender, and should there be a war, we will win. There are 7 billion of us, or 12 billion if we count semi-civilised races and beasts of war. Only one region in Toril—Faerun—will fight us, and they only have 20 million in population. It will take quite a while to get our economy and infrastructure ready, our"

"Golarion is a tougher nut to crack, they have slightly more population and they already have some sort of firearms." He points to the map of Golarion, "50 million in the two regions that will fight us first, 300 million in total." 

He shifts the topic back to the sun bombs “The first set of uranium parts are located inside a vault in the Varti Castle, that’s where King Vladimirs XII resides. This vault has existed ever since Kerwos was founded aeons ago, and only those with the blood of the king or the queen could unlock it… However, His Majesty is very sick right now and he barely has any strength to stay conscious. He will die soon, which means you have to wait for someone else to become the king or queen and ask them to open the vault for you. Thankfully, we already have some candidates.” Janus paces around. Kerwos is also an electoral monarchy, which means the ruler doesn’t have to be related to the previous one, they just have to win the closed election.

“There is a little conflict in Rauna, some people got tired of how Duke Elmars is running this duchy, and they wanted to overthrow him and take over the country. They’re called People’s Army, and I’m sure some of you have already bumped into them.” Indeed you did, you just met Leevi a few hours ago. “You can choose to support them, overthrow Elmars, keep the other dukes and duchess quiet and win the Royal Election, or you can choose to support Elmars and do the same thing but in reverse.”

“However… there is a third option too.” He points at Mira, “Option three: you can support her to be the queen, but that means you’ll have to fight everyone else in this country, including the People’s Army.”

He crosses his arms, "The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision. Regardless of who you want to side with or if you want to join Paulis instead, you must choose. I will give you six hours to sort this out, discuss this among yourself." He walks to the corner of the room, giving you enough distance to whisper to each other without him knowing.

It's time.

As much as Alex doesn't like all of the implications here, they don't have many options to choose from. Before Janus walks off to let them discuss his offer in private, Alex asks, "You say we could join Paulis instead... what is his stance on this? Does it have something to do with... uh... why you aren't on good terms anymore?" He hesitates, hoping that wasn't a rude question but feeling like they need the answer. "I... just want to know what you're saying his side is, since I'm not sure we'll be able to get past his doorkeeper and have a full conversation with him in six hours." Sure, six hours should be enough time, considering they are right next door to Paulis. But who knows how long it will take to negotiate entrance... especially if Paulis knows they came from Janus's house. So, he would rather be safe than sorry. 

Once he gets his answer, he'll turn to the rest of the group and say, "So... what do you all think? It sounds risky I know but... if it could stop an all out war then it might be worth it. I'm not sure if Paulis has any better ideas... I mean, we could try to go see him first if you all want. I just don't really think we are going to get any 'better' options. Different maybe, but I'm not sure about better. Janus seems to have a solid plan of how to subdue this enemy before they cause any real damage. My biggest concern is how long it will take to assemble the sun bombs and... well, what will happen to them if they are stolen or simply aren't used." Even with the no-killing laws in Lancea, he's starting to wonder how many people like Cezars are out there... just the thought of Cezars having access to a Sun Bomb is enough to make him shiver. "It... seems kind of well... stupid of these other planets to be thinking about invading us when the odds are stacked so high against them. Unless they think we'll all just roll over because of our beliefs." He realizes he said that out loud, and then raises his hands and gives an embarrassed smile, "Maybe that's not the best thing to be thinking about right now. S...sorry. Anyways, what are your opinions on this?" 

He looks first to Renar and Shugo, hoping that they have some input about the sun bombs, but after a moment his gaze shifts to Mira. What is she thinking about? Janus just said they could try to make her queen. Is she... on board with that idea? Honestly, Alex is leaning in that direction. He doesn't think that the people's army are bad individuals. They are just fighting for their cause the only way they can right now--or at least the only way the know how to. But still, Alex can't condone their methods. if there is a more honest way to go about this he'll take it. He's not a fan of Elmars either, especially knowing that Cezars is under his watch, and he's been letting the genasi roam rampant without consequence. He doesn't know what else the bird has gotten up to, but that alone is enough to make Alex second guess his right to authority. So, even though putting Mira on the thrown might be the hardest and most risky option, he can't help but lean towards it. Sometimes the easier routs are not the right ones. In fact often times the right path is the most difficult. 

"Mira..." he says slowly. "What are you're thoughts on becoming queen?"

Liivi listens intently to Janus and his presentation, though she admittedly gets a bit lost in all the information he is dumping on them. The numbers he casually throws out are staggering - 20 million? 12 billion?  'Just how many is that really?' she wonders.  And then sun-bombs. 'The description sounds hideous!'  But there's one part of this plan that she can't quite comprehend. Before Janus steps away she asks, "Your plan is to get these other... worlds to accept the pacifist ways of our world. You hope that just the threat of violence will cow them. Are you really prepared to go to war - to actually kill massive numbers of people - to achieve this goal of opposing murder?"  

Quite frankly, Liivi is confused how this would work. And how would he even mobilize the people to engage in this war. 

"And I have another question," the tabaxi says. "Or maybe two.  First, why does this sound so urgent to you? I'm just curious. But the second, the reason we came here, is about the artefact.  Can you tell us more about it?"  

Once she hears Janus' answers, or realizes that he won't answer them, she joins the others to discuss the situation.  

"With just six hours, we ought to try and find a way to speak with Paulis right away. It seems he may have a different perspective on this," she suggests to the group.  "With more information, perhaps we can make a better-informed decision. Perhaps. But do we really want to give this person we've only just met such powerful weapons?  I am not sure I completely understand the necessity of what Janus wants to do."  

When Alex turns his attention to Mira, Liivi can't help but follow his gaze over to the rabbit-woman.  She nods along with his question, 'Would Mira want to be queen? Could she win the election?'  She has no idea herself on what such a thing would take.  But to Alex's question she adds her own comment. "That is of course if we wish to pursue Janus' plan in the first place." 

Shugo stares blankly when Janus walks away. More politics...yay. And this guy seems way to ambitious. The elf isn't sure how to feel about all that. To him, it seems a bit wrong to try to force the entire multiverse to follow the same ideals. Sure it sounds great up front, if everyone had the same beliefs then there would be no fighting right? But what would it take to accomplish that? What would be destroyed in order to accomplish that? Given what he's seen of how Lancea became what it is now, killing kitsune, outlawing other languages, labeling someone as a murderer just because they were defending themself or a loved one, defacing statues....none of that sounds good. And he certainly doesn't wish it on everyone. Some people on some planets out there may be drawn to this planet's culture, and if they accept it and join it then that's fine, but there's no way everyone under every sun will willingly drop their cultures and religions just because Lancea asks them to.

He finds himself squinting at the egg in his lap. Shaking himself, he focuses on what Alex and Liivi have to say. He nods along with their thoughts. The potential invasion is a real threat, and one he figures is unavoidable. Though like Liivi, he's not sure how just threatening them would make them stand down, and he doubts taking prisoners would last for long... Prisoners have to be fed and monitored after all, and without killing (not that he want's to kill anyone, he's just thinking of the problems that come with not killing in war) eventually there will be far to many prisoners to handle, or financially support. Lancea is at a severe disadvantage against foes that aren't afraid to get blood on their hands. He spaces out for a moment, thinking about all of this is making him feel a bit sick.

Shaking himself again, he tries to focus on the main point. Janus wants them to pick sides....ugh. Well, based on previous interactions, he already likes the people's army far more than he likes Elmars. Sure he doesn't approve of everything they've done, but they seem to have good intentions whereas Elmars clearly just wants power. Not to mention he's content to let Cezars run rampant even though he seems to be fully aware of the genasi's issues. However, making Mira queen? That seems to have come out of the blue. He looks at the rabbit girl next to him, waiting for her to reply to Alex. Though he does glance at Liivi, "I agree...we should talk to Paulis before agreeing to anything here. We should have plenty of time to do that." All in all, he's glad he's not the only one who's not fully on board with this sun bomb idea.

Mira

Already overwhelmed by the mountain of info that Janus had to relay, the soon-to-be duchess in line continues to fade in and out of existence as Janus continues his extremely overbearing monologue. Seriously... how in the world can one simple being listen to, yet alone absorb all of this information in one sitting?! Is this what  mother has to go through every time she meets up with other nobles? Mira thinks exasperatedly as she shakes her head in disbelief. However, when Janus suggests that Mira, yes she heard it loud and clear, must become the queen, her arms became limp, her eyes dilate by a factor of ten before she doubles back into her seat. And then up again as the shock surges through her tiny body. "EH?!" Was all the noble rabbit could let out as her face reddens drastically. "Wait... h-h-h-hold on a second! I... I didn't ask for-! I-I-Can't-!" She tried to call out whilst she reaches a tiny arm out in vain before Janus walks off, leaving the rest alone in an uncomfortably long duration of silence. After 30 seconds of everyone saying nothing however, she turns to them, her ears noticeably furrowing as her face twists into a load of uncertainty, panic and fright. Obviously even as everyone asks her in their calmest tones possible, it wasn't enough to unsoothe her spiked up nerves as she quivers...

"W-w-what?! What are you looking at, huh?" She panics whilst she flails her arms. "D-d-d... I... I may be from a royal family but what gives you the idea that I can easily rule a nation like this one?! I-I-I-I've got zero experience-" She barely even had time to finish her screeching backlash when she notices that she's the only one causing a ruckus and withdraws immediately. Ashe she does so whilst eyeing back unnerved, thoughts of being crowned as the future queen so soon began to flood her overcrowded nerves even more. Well, to be fair she once did boast about being the Queen of Platone as a little child herself, but that dream has long since faded ever since her older siblings left her behind. To think that Janus would've unexpectedly revived it, albeit at the worst possible moment now is... well, she doesn't know how to process that at the moment. Come to think about it... maybe these guys are just like her and Shugo too; A group of actual nobles in disguise including Liivi and the oddballs... but that's another topic altogether...

She hears Renar agreeing with her asking Janus to find an alternate route to Paulis should the group decide to head there first before the finalization, but also picks up on him saying he’s going through a system reset... Well she would've done so but she chose not to call him out this time; Maybe he might be forming a scheme that could benefit the entire group of nobles (Plus the tabaxi girl of course). In the meantime, Mira does have her own speculations about what she could do as a queen. Sure, she could pretty much work to better improve relations in Platone and other parts of Perkunwos... she could even revive the rebellion too, just like what she and her mother dreams should the time calls for it. But with everyone turning against her, this may pose to be a tougher hurdle for it to ignite again when the time comes. Then again, she’s neither aligned with the People’s whatever or Elmars. To her, both of their ideologies suck. She’d rather remain neutral even if she was to rule herself. But right now, she isn’t sure if being a ruler with no governing experience is worth all the trouble fighting everyone else, even if these guys are here to guard every corner of her backside...

Seeing the stress levels rise up by a factor of ten and the fact that they would need to make good use of these 6 hours, Mira stands up, brushes off her dress and then turns back to the apprehensive group. “Well, seeing that you guys are pressuring me to say something... Let me divert the topic a little if you don't mind, um... I uh... I won’t reveal it to Paulis for you all, but you guys also forgot to ask Janus if there’s a safer route to Paulis other than those hideous mines. And Liivi,” Mira says with a rather dead serious tone as she clears her throat, seeing that now is a good time to address what she wanted to say to her and having finally mustered the courage to ask the seemingly terrifying tabaxi woman about it. “I’m sorry if I didn’t give you any ideas beforehand but, about that statue issue earlier...if you have anything to say about your ideas with the rebellion, please unveil it, otherwise you might have to kiss me and my mother’s reignition ideas goodbye.” She then turns towards a very distracted Maya, who appears to be fidgeting with the new translator amulet. "And, hoodie guy, I know you're listening in, ok? If your weird speaking lady besides you have anything to say in your language, would you mind telling her to pass that amulet to us? I wanna see if that translates your language into our own."

"Like I said...” She continues with a defeated but calmer sigh. “I... I may be the adopted daughter of the Platone Duchess. I may have been by her side when she goes on diplomatic trips and when she presents herself as the ruler of that region... Say what you want about me being the queen. But..." Pausing for moment, she looks at a special rebellion pendant that her mother gave her when she first entered the family. "I don't have the tremendous wisdom like her to properly govern a nation; I know nothing of the business of ruling." 

Renar

Whilst I didn't mind Janus going all hypothetical about whatever he needed to say, I did feel uncertain about how he wants us to approach this scenario as a team, especially when my world appears to be a source of trouble for them. In fact, when he starts pointing and circling places, I constantly had to eye his hand movements. Because this multiverse theory that Rixi and Ethan were so caught in their head has now been proven real, I initially thought that Janus was spouting nonsense about a parallel Toril that’s as similar to ours. It didn’t take me long enough to deduce, as he notes that Toril has abolished slavery, that he’s talking about my world. The world where I ended up uniting the Sword Coast together with the Wildland Shifters. I felt my heart beating faster when he actually points that small detail out. How does he know that it's that particular Toril and not another in the multiverse?! And now we need to choose a side; People's Idiots or Stupid birdbrain... both suck. But... the third one, making the bunny girl a queen... I had to raise an eyebrow. So we can maintain a neutral stance if she's crowned? But that means we'd have to fight everyone else... no that is also messed up. This world has already given me a bad first impression; Killing of my kind, forbidden use of other languages such as Japanese, and now we'll be forced to engage in fight that we never wanted to start?! 

I place a clawed hand over my exasperated face as a breathe a huge sigh, only muffled under the facets of my paw. Six hours to discuss this matter... That’s plenty of time, but what is everyone else thinking about? Right now, my stance is neutral; I don’t even care about the two sides; I want this conflict to stop. And besides, I’m no stranger to having everyone against me... But... I also realise we didn't ask Janus if there was a safer way to get to Paulis other than traversing through the mines... I mean unless if I can somehow make them explode from a distance without getting anyone else injured... crap. "She's right. We're not gonna get to Paulis through that minefield. Anyone thought about asking Janus if there's an alternate route we can take?" I turn towards the bunny girl, who I now know as Mira after hearing Okaa-san cooing her name, and raise an eyebrow over to the rest. And... she's asking me to let Okaa-san hand over the amulet to the others to see if it translates Japanese... I squint, but also begrudgingly asks her to maybe let them test it out, seeing that it's not doing anything harmful to her. Back to the rest... Alex is eyeing me strangely... I don’t respond. Shugo's mind is somewhere else... He and the new leopard girl have turned to Mira asking her what her stance on being the queen is... and I’ll admit I wasn’t surprised that she said she’s not ready for this big responsibility. If I was in her shoes, which I technically am, I'd also be terrified with my life too, even though I have Okaa-san and Rixi to better educate me about this leadership role.

Suddenly, my eyes dilute in fear and the stone in my stomach suddenly mutates into pain; There was something I wanted to relay to the entire group that got lost in my sea of doubts and possibilities. I couldn't retrace my memory at all. I felt overwhelmed... overwhelmed by the possibility of Toril, my own Toril, being destroyed by this entire 'pacifist' country. But... why? What just because they have weapons that can wipe out entire civilisations?! No of course not... That can't be why I'm scared. Rather... it's more the fact that I might lose the friends I have worked so hard t o gain... The friends that I consider invaluable, ever since my rescue...

When I turn back to face the group albeit with my eyes still widened, I had to remind myself that I now know that we're a group or rebellious royals fighting for some bigger secret; Everyone here has a royal title I assume... Prince Alex (maybe, he'd be fit to be one), Prince Shugo, Prince Me, Queen Okaa-san... Maybe that leopard girl is also a royal in a way... and now her? Queen Mira? But... if that’s the case, if Mira becomes the queen, I’d probably have no choice but to fight those two side then; Déjà vu. Kitsunes vs mankind... I wished conflict cannot be so easily brought up when in fact us kitsunes are trying to stay passive... Eveyone's kinda eerie quiet though, which is actually making me feel more pressured to do something... some kind of excuse maybe...

I felt the need to regain my bearings, seeing that I've suddenly entered a state of panic so as such, I hold my hands up as I sigh before addressing everyone first... "Sorry, uh... I... I-I'm going through a mental reset... You guys talk amongst yourselves. I... Let me know when you're ready to ask Janus... or go to Paulis... sorry..." I softly reply with an obvious strain in my voice. Turning away from the rest on my seat and towards the front door, I glance down at my empty paws, wondering what my next move should be, to protect my friends, to protect the Sword Coast... maybe Japan too should they find out, if I can even gather my thoughts at all...

So this Lancea, this world... it wants to destroy the whole of Toril and Golarion... it wants the two to conform to them, their way of society... even if it mean wiping out the entire population... I mean I'm thankful Japan hasn't been mentioned but still... what the hell am I even witnessing with my own ears and eyes...?!

Filled with dread from the translations, Maya, without even changing her clueless expression, steadily moves one of her slender clawed hands to the centre of the amulet that hangs around her large chest, feeling the soft thump of her extreme-aged heart as she unwillingly absorbs the bad news for herself. On the outside, it almost appears that she hasn't produce a reaction at all considering her stoic emotionless face. On the inside though, she wanted to scream. Scream with fear, with panic, with sorrow, and vent about her absolute concern for her son, his friends, the Neverwinter Jungle Village... everyone that provided a safe haven for kitsunes like her... She wants to lash out so bad for her people.

And scream she did... inside her head of course, as her pants sound a little shaky whilst she fidgets with the new trinket. Watashi o... karakatteru no?! (私をからかってるの, Are you kidding me?!) She rages internally as she envisions future disasters because of this worst possible scenario... Toril going up in flames because of these people, the death of the shifters, the death of her son... just her daughter beforehand... no... she's not having any of this... she doesn't want it to be real... even as she grips even tighter on her pendant. Goodness what is she even witnessing?! Especially as one of the monarchs of Toril?! Karera wa kōfuku suru no ka? Uran tte ittai nanina no?! N-Naze watashi no kazoku o odosou to suru nodesu ka?! (彼らは降伏するのか？ウランって一体何なの?! なぜ私の家族を脅そうとするのですか?!, They will surrender?! What on earth is Uranium?! Why are you threatening my family?!) No... screw the artefact. She needs more answers to this idiocy. It turns out she, Renar, Rixi and the rest of the shifters must have fallen into a trap. At least, until she hears something surprising...

"Eh?" Maya gasps when all eyes turn on Mira... "Mira… Mira mo joōna no?! (ミラ…ミラも女王な, Mira... Mira is a queen too?!)" She exclaims again at the surprise revelation. Though she sort of withdraws when the bunny girl goes into a full blown panic over this though. Uh... Sore wa watashi ga.. kitai shite ita monode wa arimasendeshita... (あ...それは私が期待していたものではありませんでした..., That... wasn't what I expected) She winces slightly as Mira screams in panic. Even so, she's not the only queen here then! She has someone else too, other than her and her disguised son who is of royal birth. Well, she does turn to Shugo. Maybe him too. Alex and that new woman though... she doesn't know for sure. Even as she senses her son becoming rather unstable again, she doesn't take notice of him for long as much as the thought of Mira being a queen shifts her mood around for the time being. 

Then again, now that she has the pendant on, it seems she can understand everyone and not that weird Janus guy. And... Mira's asking her to... hand the pendant to her? For what? She glances down at it again... oh. Yeah that's right. She wants to see if it translates Japanese into Lancean, huh? Unwillingly, she does hand it over to Mira out of curiosity, but hopes that once she and the rest are done with it, she could have it back in an instant so that things don't escalate in case. Besides, she wants to move on and go see Paulis as she eyes the door tenaciously, seeing that there isn't much she can do.

But first, before she walks off, she gets up, pats her unnerved son on the back for reassurance and turns back to the rest, or whoever wants to try out her new pendant...

"Um... Kōka arimasu ka? (効果ありますか? Does it work?)" She asks with gently clasped hand as if she's praying, especially if someone is willing to wear it just this once. In fact, if someone does agree to take the pendant from Maya just this once, the three noble boys did hear her a couple of time, but this will be the first time that the other ladies, Mira and Liivi, hear her speak.

When Maya looks up, she finds herself almost bumping into Janus. The jackal stares her down, his face a few centimetres away from Maya, she can feel his wet nose almost touching hers.

"No." He whispers, loud enough for everyone else to hear. He takes the amulet back from whoever has it and puts it back to Maya. The amulet gets slightly warm whenever Maya speaks Japanese, then it quickly cools down once she stops

"I gave you the very thing that will allow you to be a functioning member of the society, and yet you tried to get rid of it. From now on, you must speak Lancean and only Lancean, or I will report you to the authorities." Even though it's hard to read his expression, you can tell that he's angry.

With his arms crossed behind his back, he walks back to a more appropriate distance. "A little bit of advice from me: whatever society tells you is right is always right, whatever society tells you wrong is always wrong. In this case, society says that there are only five languages in this world, and to become part of civilisation, you must speak Lancean."

He pauses to stare at Maya again. "I will not answer your questions until she promises to stop speaking her language. What do you say, do you want to continue being stubborn and ruining everyone's chance at their mission, or do you want to start acting like a normal person?"

"AH?!" Maya yells out in shock and pain when the amulet suddenly burns her paws upon being received the bad news. When Janus suddenly appears in front of her, she leaps back and almost collapses on her clumsy feet with a frightened yelp before barely clinging onto the sofa's edge to avoid any kind of embarrassment. Even then though, what Janus said, only broke her pessimistic spirit even more as she eyes him with an infuriated glare (even though again, her eyes remain shut). She needs to speak their language. Big deal, they say. But... looking back on her misadventure, she had zero opportunities, minus that sole one down at the cave, to even try to study and learn the Lancean language with the only boy she trusts at the moment; For the past 8 hours or so her journey with the group had been filled with conflict, interruptions and zero downtime. And even at that cave where they slept, it was crowded to learn anything else without having to be eyed by a bunch of Lancean strangers. There was no way she would be able to continue learning a new language if everyone minus her son was to be in her sights pressuring her all the time. Eyeing the rest minus her traumatised son, her anger doesn't even dissipate for even a microsecond.

The thought of getting berated by someone who doesn't understand how difficult it is for her to find a quiet moment to hone this skill is enough to anger the feral spirit that has laid dormant for centuries. It angered her a lot; If they had at least 2-3 more reasonable times for her to isolate herself rather than to engage in time wasting battles and investigations, maybe, just maybe, she would've learnt enough with her son to at least speak a few basic sentences in Lancean properly so she doesn't stick out like a sore thumb. But that's the thing: They didn't. And it infuriates her all the same. Having had enough, Maya does in fact, clench her fists rather than let her claws sharpen as she grits her teeth. In doing so she also steps forward with heavy growls as she aims to grab ahold of Janus and give him a piece of her almost broken mind, complete with a whitish aura surrounding her black hooded cloak. Even if she has to do it for her son, and if Janus cannot even understand her one bit, she thinks now is probably the best time to unleash her bottled-up rage and anger onto a target like that fiend... At least, until she feels a massive pull on her arm followed by a sharp "Yamete" and a series of pants coming directly from behind her. She stops with her imposing walks and looks behind her...

It's Renar... her son. Her furious expression suddenly morphs back into her normal, anxious one as she notices... his face becoming the same as hers currently, but also twisted with anger and... dread. She then glances around the room, all eyes on her unusually menacing posture. In a way, her son did save her from causing a permanent disaster right in front of her faces. As she waits for yet another one of his strict-as reprimands she suddenly goes through a wave of confusion... Musuko wa... Sū-bu mae ni toransu jōtai ni natta n janakatta? Nani ga kare o soko kara tachinaora se, kanojo ga yanusu o kizutsukeru no o tome saseta nodeshou ka?! (でも...息子は...数分前にトランス状態になったんじゃなかった？何が彼をそこから立ち直らせ、彼女がヤヌスを傷つけるのを止めさせたのでしょうか, Huh... my son... wasn't he in one of his trances a few minutes ago? What made him snap out of it and stop her from mauling Janus?) She thinks puzzled.

Wait... it wasn't because she started behaving ferally was it? Maybe she was about to do something dreadful that could cost her and her team everything... she hadn't actually thought this through. How did she not notice?! Was that why he snapped out of it so fast? Could he also have felt her dreadful aura even though he wasn't paying attention...?!

Renar

Hanging back near the front door, I began to go through a lapse of what might happen to Toril. As in, the Toril that I worked so hard to achieve peace and equality for myself, wiped out by sun bombs? What if Japan is next? My head, now with extra hands on either side of it, spun around in an orbit as I fail to comprehend the notes that I need to work into for the entire group of royals. First the genocide of kitsunes and other monsters, then the sun bombs, the restriction of culture and language and now this? For crying out loud this world is entirely messed up. What did me and Okaa-san get ourselves into as usual... And... is my trip all for nothing? Have we really been this deceived by the prospect of...? 

Suddenly, I felt myself warping back to the present moment as I sense... a frightening aura disturbing my senses nearby. And I hear... a growl. That didn't sound good... And there's only one person in this room that I know who's making this... because other than us two, no one can produce a vicious sound like that. I turned back towards the rest... and panic when I noticed a white-aura enveloping Okaa-san as I see her stomping towards Janus with her arm raised. My eyes widen in shock as, without hesitation, I ran back towards the rest and lunge forward to attempt to prevent her from attacking him; What on Japan is she doing?! "Maya-san no! YAMETE! (やめて)" I yell out as I immediately grab onto her arm and stop her from dooming us all. Yikes. This aura I sensed... that definitely wasn't Okaa-san. That was an aura I had never felt ever since we reunited. What happened to her?! Did... did Janus provoke her or something? And... he came back... I didn't hear the entire thing, but this was the first time I've heard that monstrous growl coming from her soft demeanour. Whatever this is, I need to get them out of this hell hole before it worsens. She's still fidgeting with her amulet, so, just from glancing at that alone, I took a deep breath, thinking about what she might be angry at him for, and speak...

"In her defense... if she could say it, she can speak. Albeit not very well." I started speaking to Janus with in a low, no-nonsense tone, almost as if I'm the one threatening again; A bad flashback for me. "Ever since we banded together, teaching her Lancean was our first priority, except that we had zero opportunities to help her better reform her Lancean knowledge." I pause for a moment to consider the choice of my words; I deliberately put 'we' instead of myself only to make it sound like we're all in this together and not just me hogging the assistance. "She isn't stubborn, Janus. She can speak it if she had been able to learn. Except... every precious hour she had that could be used was instead wasted on getting lost in a cave, saving that bunny queen from a horde of idiots, fighting Adelaide's... stupid relative before he causes a crisis... yes he did summon a fiend from who-knows-where. By the time we even took shelter it was already too late to learn anything. Not even that nearby town had anywhere quiet to sit and help her sharpen this." Second pause before I breathe again. My chest suddenly vibrates as I resume. "In short, cut her some slack. If we had time to do anything else but what I just pointed out, she would've at least spoken her first basic sentence to you right now. That's why she's angry. It's not that she doesn't want to learn, but there wasn't any time to do so. Enough said. I hope we can at least leave it there and move on... rather than add fuel to the fire. We're in no position to fight anyone at the moment, especially considering that we have a trial put against us for no reason other than to capture a troublemaker." 

Hoping that I've clarified the right issue about her, I then turns towards the second problem lady, who appears to be distressed about another matter. So I was right in a way; Ever since we rescued her from captivity I had a gut feeling she was captured because of a royal status. Guess that's another minor question answered. Sort of... Now we just need to steer her back into the right direction, away from her own denial... "Mira." I address her with a noticeable scowl in my tone to convey my seriousness. She knows nothing of the business of ruling. So what? Neither do I, yet here I was in Toril with Okaa-san, making long term plans with the commoners and the shifters, helping Rixi govern in his steed when he's away, attending the needs of the former even if I lacked direct empathy for others, you name it. "Quit moping and just go for it. You do have the wisdom to rule if not underdeveloped, but only if you put your effort into it. Either way I'd rather you'd screw up in the early periods rather than during a crisis I'm foreseeing in the future. I don't care what you say about being queen. You better take this window of opportunity now before the it closes forever." I then shift my glance away from her and the rest towards the front door, awaiting what Janus has to say about the alternate route to Paulis. "Question me all you want, but I'm maintaining a neutral stance; I don't care if we have to cut our way through a thousand bodies if we're forced to, but I am not siding with either one of those stupid armies even if they persuade me otherwise."

Alex watches as the situation unfolds. He'd been curious about the amulet's abilities as well, since... well something that could translate other languages for them would be useful if they ever came into contact with one of these 'savages'. He jumps a little when Janus comes back with an angered reaction. 

"They just wanted to know if it would work both ways, she wasn't literally giving it to Mira..." He glances between Mira and Maya, hoping he didn't misinterpret. Though, regardless, he's not really sure how to take Janus's reaction to this. Really, the fact that he's so controlling irks him a little bit. 

To Renar he says, "I... I think that Janus realizes she hasn't had time to learn an entire language yet. That's why he gave her the amulet to compensate for that." He wants to get this straightened out as fast as possible, even if he doesn't necessarily agree with everything that Janus just spouted off. The guy flat out threatened to turn Maya in if she doesn't do as she says. That's blackmail! He takes a step towards Renar and Maya, eyeing Janus for a moment before turning a concerned expression to the two of them. He doesn't want to say anything out loud for fear of adding insult to injury to Janus, but at the same time he's starting to like this situation less and less. Still, they can't just walk away. Yes, they'll go talk to Paulis first, now he's even more adamant on that point, but still, it would be best if Maya at least complied for now. 

Putting a gentle hand on Maya's arm--whichever hand she's holding the amulet in, and says, "I... don't know if that thing works when you aren't wearing it, but... I think it's safe to use. It should help you with the language until you have time to learn it for yourself." 

Then he turns a more serious expression towards Janus, "You asked us if we trusted you as soon as we came in here. We said we would so long as you didn't give us a reason not to. You asked us that question because you were worried we'd treat you differently because of your race. It's not your fault you're a fiend, just like it's not Maya's fault she is used to speaking a foreign language..." Not that he understands how that happened... though he has a better idea now, which he'll have to bring up to Maya at some point. "You've had centuries to change your ways, yet you are asking her to just drop her native tongue on the spot. Even if she agrees to use your amulet, it really won't surprise me if she slips into her old language out of habit from time to time. Are you going to turn her in for that? If so, then you're really not acting any better than someone who's attack you just for your race." Hopefully he isn't going too far with this, but he feels it needs to be said. He also want's Maya to know that no one in this group is going to pressure her into something she doesn't want to do. It should be up to her to put the amulet to use. Sure, if Alex had been in her shoes, he'd just use the amulet without thought. As far as they can tell Janus hasn't rigged it with anything bad, but still. It would make Maya's life easier, so she wouldn't have to struggle with not understanding them, and she wouldn't have to just rely on Renar as a translator. What would happen if they got separated? 

He looks to Maya again, withdrawing his hand and hoping that she'll at least take the hint for now... she should go ahead and use the amulet and speak in Lancean at least as long as they are here with Janus. Hopefully the amulet isn't rigged with something that will let Janus know if she does slip into her old language. But, well, Alex really doesn't think that deeply into things most of the time. 

When the conversation moves back to Mira, Alex says, "Hey, don't freak out! No one here is pressuring you. We just wanted to know your thoughts." He pauses, looking to Renar and nodding when the 'changeling' says that he wants to stay neutral, "Me too. That's been my stance since meeting the People's Army. Still, I don't want to push Mira into something she doesn't want to do." He looks back to Mira, "If you are willing, we'll all stand with you and help you face whatever challenges come your way. Even if you don't feel prepared to lead a country... well, honestly I don't blame you. I don't think anyone is really prepared for that." He gives an awkward chuckle, "But, I'm sure you are way more prepared than you think. I know you're more prepared than I am. Still, the choice is yours. If you really don't want to go for it, then we'll figure something else out..." He almost doesn't add his last thought, but then decides to anyways, "But, this is all speculation. Are we even sure about this plan? I still think we should go talk to Paulis if we have time. If Janus is willing to tell us another way into Paulis's house, that would be great. I'd like to hear his view on Paulis's opinion before we leave though. If we get to see Paulis, I'll ask his view on Janus's opinion as well. I just want to know what it is that caused them to disagree."

Before he has any time to react, chaos seems to erupt around him. Mira seems to be having a panic attack since everyone asked her about how she feels about being queen. Heh, he can't really blame her for her reaction. Her opinion on ruling seems to align with his own....then the next thing he knows, Maya innocently hands Mira the communication amulet and Janus barges back into the room. What the heck?! Had he been standing just outside spying on them? He had to have been! Though the guy clearly has blown the entire thing out of proportion. The more the group deals with this jackal, the more Shugo finds himself disliking the guy. The deal he'd proposed, while sketchy, was just a deal. A simple, 'you get this for me and I do this for you, take it or leave it.' Shugo could respect that. However, it's now moved to 'you gotta decide who rules this country, even though half your party aren't even native here!' Like seriously, Shugo couldn't care less who rules this country, he doesn't live here and he plans on leaving as soon as he finds what he needs. And now, the guy is full on trying to blackmail Maya into using his weird devise. 

Before he knows it, the elf has slung his pack with the dragon egg back over his shoulder and he's taken on a defensive position next to Maya, Alex and Renar. Renar seems a bit flustered, spouting off basically every event they've come across within the last few weeks...but Alex speaks sense. He nods along with the young aasimar. "I agree with Alex here, how can you not see what Maya is going through? And it's not like she was giving that thingy away or something! They were just testing it out! Heck you'd think you'd want to know if that thing can translate both ways! What if we needed to communicate with oh...i dunno...the space people who supposedly are coming to invade us!!! When you mentioned spreading the Lancean way across the multiverse, a few things ran through my head...and honestly based on what you just said right now. I'm not sure your the best person to be taking on that job.I mean really, you offer Maya a way to communicate, then she makes one mistake in your eyes and you immediately threaten her?! How are you going to react if you reach out to another planet, with different cultures and languages, and they decline said offer? What would you do? Cause threatening them isn't the answer!" At his moment he realizes his voice has risen. He takes a breath, feeling himself deflate a little. He's not sure why he got so worked up about that, maybe it's just because he hasn't said much in a while...or perhaps it's his overprotective sibling side coming out for the first time in what feels like forever. He does not like it when people threaten those he cares about.

Releasing his breath, his voice calms down, though his expression doesn't return to it's usual smile. He turns to Mira after the other's have spoken to her, "While I don't feel like I should have any right to say who rules this country, I agree with Alex. Sometimes, those who don't feel prepared to rule are the best at doing so, and more often than not those who don't ask, or want to rule are the best rulers. Like Alex said, none of us are going to force you to rule, but if you choose to take that responsibility we will support you."

After saying his piece to Mira, he turns his gaze back to Janus. The hard expression looking foreign on his usually carefree face. This guy seems to think he has some kind of hold over them just because he knows about the artifact. Well if that's the case then he is very very wrong. At least he's wrong when it comes to Shugo. The elf has to really fight the urge to just walk out the door right then. As the others have probably figured out by now. He really hates conflict.

Liivi also is taken aback by Janus' sudden overbearing attitude towards Maya. It only compounds her wariness about his plans. He'd offered them space to speak but immediately jumps in when he doesn't like what one of them is doing.  She speaks to the fiend in a calm but steady voice. "You had said you would give us time to discuss amongst ourselves. But now you interrupt us with your personal demands?"  Her eyes dart towards Maya. "When you gave her the amulet you specific said she can speak her own language. You suggested she not do that. We now see that your suggestions are actually threats. If we refuse your offer or even just go to speak with Paulis, will you even allow us?"  She watches a moment to see what reaction he might have.  She is not entirely sure she or the group could stand up to whatever abilities this Janus has.  Probably not. She steels herself for some sort of retribution or reaction, although she suspects he is far too clever to resort to such an action. 

She eventually turns her attention to Renar, her voice still deep and calm. "As for your outburst. It seems you spend most of your time more wrapped in your own thoughts than in what seems to be important discussions happening right here in front of you.  Had you been paying attention you would have known what Alex explained to you. Nobody expected Maya to have learned Lancean."  Clearly, she must now know it. 'What was that language she was speaking?' Liivi glances towards her as well.  She would have addressed her as well, though she realizes as she has still not put on the amulet she would not understand. "I'd given her the benefit of the doubt, since she seemed to not understand and could not speak to us.  Yet, when given the amulet, she still chose to not engage with us. Perhaps the amulet didn't work, but I suspect that's not the case. She chose to keep speaking her own language and not engage with us.  She, like you Renar, seems far too wrapped up in her own thoughts and not fully aware of what is actually happening!" 

Liivi takes a breath. "I hate to stand up for Janus in this case, but why not encourage Maya to put on the amulet, so she can at least understand us? And perhaps then join us in our discussion. She clearly had some reaction to Mira. It would be nice to know her thoughts."  

She then glances to Mira. "And I do agree with the others. You may actually have a lot of skills that would make you a good candidate to be queen. I certainly would not force you into it if you didn't wish to. But do not sell yourself short.  I don't know you well, but from what you described of yourself, you could very well have the ability." 

The tabaxi then stands from where she was sitting, stretching her arms for a moment. "I think the ball is in Maya's court now, so to speak. Whatever she decides, we should wrap up our discussion here and move on to see Paulis. If indeed we're allowed. And of course, unless Janus will now answer some of the questions we'd asked him.  In any case, I'm certain there will be much more discussion to come." 

Janus doesn't react at all when Maya lunges at him. After she's done, he turns his back to the group.

"I'll repeat this again: you can speak Lancean through the amulet, but because this is a prototype, you might slip up into your native tongue, which isn't supposed to happen. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear earlier." He says, glancing back at the group. "She does make a good point, to think too much is a disease." He gestures to Liivi.

"That language she speaks went extinct two million years ago, around the same time humans disappeared from Lancea. There are probably less than ten people—not counting creatures who magically know languages from other realms—who know what it is, one of them is Paulis, and the rest are with the Provisional Government of Lancea." He draws 和 on the blackboard. It's 'Wa,' an old name of Japan

"The reason why so few people know what this language is because its writing system is outlandishly complicated, every word corresponds to a unique character, and there are millions of them. That's all I'll tell you, I cannot reveal too much." The jackal turns around to face all of you again. "The chances of her bumping into someone who knows her language are almost zero, but she can't afford to get caught. People will treat her like a newly discovered species, all wanting to test or interrogate her on why she knows that ancient language."

Quote from Culuril>>

Liivi listens intently to Janus and his presentation, though she admittedly gets a bit lost in all the information he is dumping on them. The numbers he casually throws out are staggering - 20 million? 12 billion?  'Just how many is that really?' she wonders.  And then sun-bombs. 'The description sounds hideous!'  But there's one part of this plan that she can't quite comprehend. Before Janus steps away she asks, "Your plan is to get these other... worlds to accept the pacifist ways of our world. You hope that just the threat of violence will cow them. Are you really prepared to go to war - to actually kill massive numbers of people - to achieve this goal of opposing murder?"  

"We need to redo every infrastructure from the ground up, it will take at least 4 years until we can properly go to war. That's also roughly the time we should have all eight sun bombs at the bay." He fidgets his chalk, one year in Lancea has 480 days, and one month has 40 days each, so 4 years in Lancea is equal to 5 years and 3 months on Earth, Toril, and Golarion, which all have 365 days in a year. 

"I have a feeling that this war will be different." Janus looks into space, "This will be the war to end all wars. If our invaders learn our way of life, there will be no more fighting between us or between themselves. That is the reason why I emphasise so much on converting them to our cause because if they don't, they will not survive. However, it means we might have to start killing again, and I will take responsibility for that."

He snaps his finger and a dusty paper appears from thin air, the text on it glows with a red aura. He places it on the war table and gestures for you to take a look.

"As an Arcanaloth, I can make anyone sign a contract and they will exchange their soul for whatever power they wish... but the Demon Lord never said you can be on both ends of the contract." He says, "Under this contract, I must hand myself to the authorities after the war is over to face punishment. Otherwise, my soul will be destroyed and I will die permanently. I must uphold the law at all costs, even if it means I have to die for it."

He grabs a chair and sits down. Then you realise that it's the only chair in this room, looks like you'll have to be standing up for the rest of this conversation. "That leads back to Paulis... you see, he also has a plan on how to deal with the invaders—he wants us to go on an exodus, he will cast a large portal spell which will transport some of us to the new world. Which world? I don't know, but I do know that only 20% of the population will get to the portal in time. Those 20% will get to live a comfortable life in a new world without Toril and Golarion, the rest of the 80% will be left at the mercy of the invaders." He crosses his legs, "He wants to avoid war by any means necessary, even if it means sacrificing some people for it."

He presses his paws together, "As far as I know, there isn't a route that isn't covered in a minefield, but Paulis made sure to set most of them to the lowest power, so it won't hurt that much if you step on one. You can try summoning a creature and have them walk to test it out first, then you're good to go." Unfortunately, that isn't an option, and none of you have a familiar either, seems like you'll have to do this the hard way.

It seems that society will be divided between those who want to run and those who want to fight too. Lanceans love their planet more than anything else, but they also hate murder. All of them will have to make this decision too, sooner or later. Will you sacrifice your morales to save all of Lancea, or uphold your commitment to pacifism and avoid war?

Quote from ACNSuphalak >>

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

 

He scratches his head, he felt like he needed to answer the demon's question, but he really wants to get to the main reason he'd come here"Uh, this is a little off topic but....eheh, you know we spoke with our mutual feline friend over at the general store? She said you have, experience with caring for dragons...." He pulls down the sides of his pack to show the egg.

 

Janus wags his fingers, signalling Shugo to hand him his egg. He takes a good look at it for a while, then he throws the egg back to Shugo.

"Expect her to hatch around late May or early June, for the first six months, feed her easy-to-chew food, then move on to solids after that." He raises his finger, "Dragon eggs and hatchlings are worth a fortune in the black market, make sure to never leave her unsupervised. Once she is four years old, she'll be big enough for you to ride and fly."

Mira

Briefly averting her royal crisis, Maya didn't even hesitate to respond with the same manner as pretty much everyone. Her eyes widen when Janus suddenly spawns in front of Maya; Even moreso, she wanted to scream when the woman in the black hood let off an aura scarier than Liivi's if it wasn't for Renar holding her arm last minute to avoid dealing permanent damage to Janus' face. Everything had just unfold so fast. And so dramatic... not even a desired poet like her could comprehend it this easily into her own words. "Excuse me?! What was this blackmail out of nowhere as Shugo said?!" The pressured future queen of Platone fumes as she stomps her feet rapidly on the ground. "First you tell us that we should trust you and second, you gave her a harmless translator amulet... and thirdly, you're threatening to send her off just because I wanted to borrow her thing for this one moment only? Are you nuts?! That clearly goes against your rule of trust! And how is that different to pressuring me to become a ruler?! Do you have any ideas how she and I feel?!" Her breaths become incredibly shaky; As everyone else speaks their minds, Mira becomes lost for words until they've all finished...

"You know blackmailing is a serious offense in Platone, right?!" Mira proceeds to berate as she sharply points her finger at Janus. "If you did that in my territory, yes you heard me: That Platone in which my mother has absolute control over, I would technically have the authority to put you on trial for this and have you suffer for it. You want me to act like a queen? Well imagine the things I can do as one, should I even go for that position. Renar, Alex, Shugo and even Liivi... I've got no authority to question them at the moment but... at leasdt their words make logical sense." Eyeing everyone else as they all give her support to be the next ruler of Platone, she stiffens her posture. "And in response to all of you pleas... well, I'll behave like a ruler should if I want to. But not right now. I still have doubts that I need to consider, especially with my two siblings, who are supposed to be next in line instead of me; Now's too early to make a final decision..." She pauses before she huffs. "Please... think carefully about what you say. Especially you, Janus."

Pacing towards the group, she folds her arms as a sign of her dead seriousness about this issue.  "And no, before you try and counter me with whatever you have to say, I was the one who asked that woman for that amulet. I can tell she likes it and doesn't want to let go; I just wanted to test if that amulet would translate whatever her language is into Lancean just for a few seconds and nothing more. Because... who knows? What if... those Golarions and Toril invaders, or any other outsiders one day... what if they speak a language similar to hers? Or something else we're not familiar with? Then how are we supposed to understand, huh?! If you want us to trust you, start off by at least acknowledging her as a proper person rather than an expendable monster who cannot speak our language; If she were to become a monster... we'd all be dead by now." 

She take a moment to eye Renar though, who's currently clinging onto the woman's arm with a panicked face. Though she is confused about the 'future crisis' that the hoodie boy scowled over. There's no doubt... judging by how concerned he is for this lady, there has to be a relationship between these two. It seems like they depend on each other more than I thought... Could they be... a mother and son or brother and sister duo? Maybe not but... I've never seen hoodie boy go into a state of panic up until now; He always so cool and stubborn. But... it seems that this strange speaking woman means a lot to him. Though... he said I'd rather not make mistakes during a future crisis. What future crisis? Does he and that woman have psychic powers?! She speculates with curiosity. She won't question them, seeing how unstable the situation is, but when she has time, she might want to bring this up again to the others.

"Pfft. Seriously." She then scoffs as she turns to Liivi. "And Liivi. Don't criticise them please. You don't know what they have gone through as much as us. They may be in their heads, but I think I know why: Correct me if I'm wrong but they haven't warmed up to us yet. They're those withdrawn people; Maybe they need time and space to open up rather than go through this stressful environment like right now, because not every person can just straight up get comfy with talking to people they don't know. In a way, I think we need to respect them, as much as we want them to respect us. And it seems I haven't being doing that either... I'm sorry if I was overbearing to you two. Same goes for nobility and commoner issues in the world right now." But then she eyes Maya with a rather fearful quiver, like how she'd eye the menacing tabaxi everytime she tries to talk to her. Just when she thought Liivi's intimidating demeanour alone (speaking of which, Liivi didn't actually ignore Mira's rebellion remark did she?) was enough to scare the bejeebers out of her, that growl... that aura... her lunging posture that she sensed from Maya, well... that woman is lot scarier on the inside. There's always a bigger fish... She shivers before she opens her mouth again; She wants to behave like Alex and comfort her, but fears that the strange lady might turn her into dust considering her current mood. "Um... I mean... That aside, Lady Maya, I know you couldn't bear to hear the good news. I understand your pain, lady. But even so, I don't want you suffer any longer, please. Not especially since you told us about your lost child. Since you can understand us... well... I hope you can at least be aware of the fact that right now, everyone here has got your back. We're not your enemies for the moment. And please. Don't go on a rampage. We'll be here for you, until we can no longer help. Understood? Though, if that's the case, especially during your trial, you'll need to stay incredibly quiet. Unless if there's something that you need me and hoodie boy to say for you.

However, now that it seems like the crisis has been barely averted, Mira then turns to the group... and cringes when she hears that there are no other routes to Paulis. "Great. Just great." She mutters when she hears a contract. But... she then hears the end of the world drama again; Contemplating life choices, she remains silent even as Janus explains his reasoning, before she turns to the rest.

"So... what's your opinions on this? Are we taking it and not turn back? Or you gonna base your decision on whether I should be an inexperienced queen or not?" Mira asks them with a low tone.

*Didn't realise that the dm would post early whilst I was writing on Mira's reaction; Oh well. I'll get the rest of hers plus Renar's up tomorrow*

As Renar jumps into her defense the moment he tightens his grip on her arm, Maya was almost getting ready to turn on him instead if he hadn't clarified what she wanted to say; Everything that he pointed out... it was exactly what she hoped to convey in her own words rather than to stay silent and be misunderstood. Even so though, this wasn't enough to deter the kitsune from the fact that, she got threatened just for speaking a forbidden language. For something unreasonably forbidden. What kind of a world forbids this?! She is currently infuriated, her teeth sharpened underneath her closed lips. At least, all of a sudden, through the translator amulet, she hears the normally shaken Mira plus Shugo and Alex standing up to defend her and gasps in shock... not only because of their positions on this matter, but also... because... they're taking her side?! Is she hearing correctly? Other than her son... everyone is... standing up for her?

Quote from Aroc_of_Eaf >>

"They just wanted to know if it would work both ways, she wasn't literally giving it to Mira..." He glances between Mira and Maya, hoping he didn't misinterpret. Though, regardless, he's not really sure how to take Janus's reaction to this. Really, the fact that he's so controlling irks him a little bit. 

Putting a gentle hand on Maya's arm--whichever hand she's holding the amulet in, and says, "I... don't know if that thing works when you aren't wearing it, but... I think it's safe to use. It should help you with the language until you have time to learn it for yourself." 

Quote from Rynn_Elocin >>

Before he knows it, the elf has slung his pack with the dragon egg back over his shoulder and he's taken on a defensive position next to Maya, Alex and Renar. Renar seems a bit flustered, spouting off basically every event they've come across within the last few weeks...but Alex speaks sense. He nods along with the young aasimar. "I agree with Alex here, how can you not see what Maya is going through? And it's not like she was giving that thingy away or something! They were just testing it out! Heck you'd think you'd want to know if that thing can translate both ways! What if we needed to communicate with oh...i dunno...the space people who supposedly are coming to invade us!!! When you mentioned spreading the Lancean way across the multiverse, a few things ran through my head...and honestly based on what you just said right now. I'm not sure your the best person to be taking on that job.I mean really, you offer Maya a way to communicate, then she makes one mistake in your eyes and you immediately threaten her?! How are you going to react if you reach out to another planet, with different cultures and languages, and they decline said offer? What would you do? Cause threatening them isn't the answer!"

Quote from Culuril >>

Liivi also is taken aback by Janus' sudden overbearing attitude towards Maya. It only compounds her wariness about his plans. He'd offered them space to speak but immediately jumps in when he doesn't like what one of them is doing.  She speaks to the fiend in a calm but steady voice. "You had said you would give us time to discuss amongst ourselves. But now you interrupt us with your personal demands?"  Her eyes dart towards Maya. "When you gave her the amulet you specific said she can speak her own language. You suggested she not do that. We now see that your suggestions are actually threats. If we refuse your offer or even just go to speak with Paulis, will you even allow us?"

Now that she's able to understand everyone besides Renar (since she already understands him and vice versa), she exits her feral mood after processing the translations in her head especially when Alex gently strokes her other arm, almost as if he was like either of her children, both her son and her daughter, comforting her during her times of loneliness. That what she was reminded of. And in doing so, she suddenly reverts to her panic state again whilst she struggles to thank Alex. "A... a... Ari... arigato...!" She trembles upon receiving the young paladin's words of assurance plus that gentle stroke of her other arm; Whilst she doesn't mention it to the rest, what she said was also directed to Shugo and also the other ladies too. Upon glancing into her beautiful face, small tears can be seen trickling down her closed eyelids. Sure standing up for someone may seem like a small deal to most people... but for someone as sensitive as Maya, it means to her a lot more than anyone can imagine. Up until now, no one ever stood up for her outside of her two children and the shifters. No one ever dared to stand for a mystical race like her in the past. Until now.

After holding in her sorrow, the disguised kitsune relaxes the arm that her son is holding, breaks free from his grasp and withdraws with her released hand in her face. Her chest rising up and down abruptly, a sign of her subtle crying despite doing her best to hide it. Even when Mira offers her extra reassurance, all it did was made the extremely sensitive kitsune sniffle even further as she turns away for a few minutes. The four Lanceans might not understand why she's struggling to hold it in, but she hopes they can also at least respect the fact that they saved her from recklessly mauling Janus without thinking it through. Before that though, she nods at Future Queen Mira saying that she should proceed with the deal, no matter what the personal cost; Since she's forbidden from testing the amulet's ability to translate other languages, it seems that she'll have to remain silent until the trial... though, when the future queen does ask her if she has anything to say, she does. Albeit not right now when there people clearly against her speaking a forbidden language.

Renar

Okaa-san has calmed down. And as we both pry away from each other, I felt a wave of relief wash over my fur. Whilst I wished she hadn't gone into a meltdown right in front of us, I'd honestly prefer that over her unleashing a side of her that I've never seen before. Eyeing the rest with a somewhat glaring look, though I mean no ill intent, I give each of them a nod in thanks for stepping up for her despite her obvious lack of Lancean knowledge. And then Maya speak Japanese again before she cries. "Um... She says... Arigato... meaning 'Thank you', to all of you." I slowly translate for her. Though, Okaa-san did react profusely to even just one simple line of assurance from Alex, even as he goes over to comfort her. That sensitive huh?I guess she must've been through a lost when we were separated... I couldn't help but feel guilty about what she went through whilst I was rampaging in the Neverwinter Jungle. 

When Janus resumes without even showing a simple sign of remorse though, I couldn't help but grit my teeth in fury, seeing that he's already mirroring my behaviour ironically enough. The more he insists on behaving the way he is, the more I'm getting second thoughts about trusting him. She can't speak Lancean. So what? And he threaten her just because she wanted to test it on those guys? Seriously... Even glancing at her posture tells me that she has no intent of getting rid of it. It's just an experiment for goodness sake. As Shugo and Alex breathed with their own lungs, you can't just go full on discrimination over someone just because of a stupid language barrier! Tch. And the way he tossed that dragon egg to Shugo in stead of just handing it back to him? Really? What if Shugo drops it and it breaks? Then what are we gonna do next if it causes a mess on the floor?

That aside,  I couldn't help but recite in my head (Loveless Act IV): 'my friends, do you all fly away now? To a world that abhors you and I?' Because now that the situation has apparently resolved, we've now moved onto a... contract? I widen my eyes at the sound of a 180 degree turn. First he talks to us about Lancean, Toril and Golarion, and now he wants us to what? The war to end all wars... To me that translates to "The war to end all wars by obliterating Toril and Golarion" for some reason. Also, 4 years to prepare for war... That's too much time. By then if us kitsunes don't return to Toril, the war we're currently fighting would be lost. Also, that symbol he wrote. I recognise it. That's Japanese... 'Wa' It reads. Why did he write that though? And... Paulis is what? Exodus? To another planet? Via the same method I used to get here? What is he talking about now? Is Paulis someone that can mimic us kitsunes travelling via the creation of portals. And we don't have any alternate routes to Paulis. For crying out loud. Okaa-san's gonna trigger every mine she'll try to avoid no matter how much all of us. I can't really fathom to try and get this in my head in a single week at most for sure...

Even after absorbing all of this extra info again though, my brain is for once telling me it's had enough; It wants to move on. I couldn't help but scoff and fold my arms in response. Though, if I'd be honest, this seems like a double-edged sword. My respect for this world has hit an all time low, so I honestly don't care if this world blows over, as long as Japan and Toril remain unscathed. "I don't have anything else to add. My decision however, depends on everyone else's." I let out, figuring that would be the most appropriate thing to tell Janus without angering him or anyone else any further.

Mira

Breathing a sigh of relief as Maya seems to have reverted to her more timid but weepy state, 

Hearing Alex ask her about something though, she turns to face him a little confused. "Huh? What do you mean- Oh. Um... I meant the contract he's I think... 'Persuading' us to take." Goodness what has she gotten herself into? And speaking of which, it seems that the issue regarding Maya probably needs to be shoved aside, so she tries to say some parting words about her language issue.

"I mean, whilst I do agree that Maya shouldn't speak whatever that language is, I'm just thinking it'd be very hard for her to stand up for herself even with our help. I think it's still a good idea if she speaks up for herself everyone once in a while because who knows. She's obviously proved no malicious intent; If this was your trial I'd hold no case against her for now, especially considering that she was the first to free me. Maybe she might have useful ideas of her own that neither of us might have thought of." She pipes up, hoping. That aside, this lady did also spark something inside the future rabbit queen; if she can coerce either one of those two oddballs to open up, maybe she might be able to learn her weird language too; In all seriousness learning a new language other than Lancean has been one of her biggest secret desires since her mother got her interested in poetry. That aside, it seems that everyone voting her to be the future queen. Well, despite her mass protesting to avoid such a huge weight, it seems like she can't hide from it any longer. "Fine." She concedes with a hand to her face. "Since you five are so interested in me being a rather inexperienced ruler, I'll keep that in mind. Just that..." She pauses, thinking about her mother's secret desire to revive the rebellion again. "...If you guys intend on helping me succeed, first, we need to do this in order: One: speak to Paulis first about... everything you all manage to coop up. Two: Return to Janus about our decision and Three..." Cue the longest pause; About a minute or so as she takes a moment to finalize. "...I'll need to speak to mother first. Even if I have to drag all of you along with me to see her, once we're done here."

Alex gives Maya a smile before turning back to Janus. His expression darkens as the conversation continues. Perhaps everyone had overreacted about the amulet business, but that doesn't mean he is willing to let it slide. He won't bring it up again, but his opinion of Janus has taken a downward turn for now. Still, he has to agree that it would be best for Maya to go ahead and use the amulet. He's not really sure what she and Renar have against it right now. All it is for is to protect Maya from the stupid language law. Does that mean Janus should be able to threaten her about not using it? No. But he can't argue that it wouldn't be better for Maya and Renar both if the kitsune woman was at least comfortable using the amulet in social situations. 

Then he hears Paulis's plan, and his mouth falls open for a moment... the tortle wants to leave 80% of the population to die? How is that any different than murdering all of them? Its so so stupid to just sit back and say "well, I won't kill the person trying to kill me, but I'll let them kill everyone else or me if the only option is self defense". It just doesn't make logical sense. It's just asking for the worst to happen. Still... "Okay, that's a stupid plan," Alex says. "Just up and leave 80% of the population behind? That's... that's no better than throwing them into a volcano." He pauses, unsure why that was the first analogy that popped into his head. Shaking his head he goes on, "But, why not use both plans? Get those who can't fight in the war. Those who would be in the most danger when war breaks out, and send them through the portals? That way.... well, that way if things go south at least some of Lancea survives." He doesn't like the idea of Janus signing his contract either. If he's going to fight and be willing to break the no-killing law to save the rest of the world, then he shouldn't have to die for it. If he feels the need to atone, that's fine... if that's really something that can be atoned for. But really, killing in wartime is not murder. It's self defense. It's not done out of pleasure, or greed (most of the time), or even hatred. It's done to defend the things you love. Does that mean Alex is willing to take a life? No. He just can't help but question the logic here. 

"Taking what?" Alex asks Mira, a little confused. "It's up to you if you are comfortable or not with the idea of being Queen. I'll tell you now, I'm pretty sure all of us would rather see you on the throne than either Elmars or the lady the people's army are supporting. At least we know where you stand on issues, and that you'll be taking the title through honest means." He gives her a pat on the shoulder, "I think this decision has to be yours. Otherwise we are going to have to make a choice between Elmars and the people's army. Or... well, I'm not sure if another route exists but we can try to think about it. For now, we need to decide what to do with our six hours." He pauses, waiting to see if anyone else has anything to add. Renar and Maya don't seem to be much help right now, deciding to go with the group. Shugo doesn't seem to have much of an opinion either, which is understandable since this isn't his country. Liivi... he can't place her yet, but from what he can tell she isn't from this country either so she's likely got the same opinion as Shugo on the matter. So, that really leaves the decision making up to him and Mira. 

"Let's go talk to Paulis," he says finally. "We can deal with the mines.... somehow. IF they really are set that low, I'm pretty sure I can take a few hits if no one wants to take point. "I don't like his plan. I don't like it at all. But we have to explore all options, and maybe he'll be willing to listen if we come up with something else." He shakes his head, "War is ugly, but that doesn't mean avoiding it is worth letting so many people die."

He is curious when Janus gives Shugo instructions on caring for the baby dragon, "How do you know it's a female?" He asks, genuinely curious, "And... shouldn't we try to return it to its mother? It's not like we wanted to take it. We just didn't have any other option. She's probably missing her baby." The thought just draws his anger back to Cezars... hopefully the genasi is still locked up tight. 

The elf is still clearly unimpressed by Janus's talking. Especially considering that he bluntly ignored everything he and Alex...and Renar for that matter...had just said. Sure Paulis's plan sounds even worse than Janus's, but still.... His thought is broken when Alex voices the exact thought that was running through his head. (Other than the leaving 80% to die is no different than murder) Why can't we do both? A portal for those who can't fight, and preparation to defend the planet. Those two things shouldn't interfere with each other. Though the main thing he worries about with a portal would be where that portal is leading. How do they know that another planet would just welcome a bunch of random plane hoppers into their world? Not to mention, with the way Lancean's work he wouldn't blame the other world if they sent them right back. After all, immigrants shouldn't just barge into another territory and expect those they invaded to cater to them....and unfortunately that's how he sees Lancean refugees acting.

Other than this, he doesn't like Janus's proposal of taking the blame for everything. While it comes across as selfless, it also sounds very self righteous. If the war results in Lancean's killing their enemies...even if Janus directs them to that road...it's the individual's choice whether or not they commit the deed. Janus isn't a god, he can't take on the sins of the world like that.

With all this running through his head, he almost doesn't hand the egg over to Janus. He lets out a sharp yelp when Janus throws it back to him, then he glares at the demon. SERIOUSLY?! WHY WOULD YOU THROW A CHILD! He tucks the egg safely back in his pack after recovering from the shock of this guy throwing it to him. At least he gave it back. If he wasn't sure he didn't want to leave it with this guy to begin with, he's absolutely sure now. TCH...throwing a child...and apparently he's raised dragons before...

He huffs, not bothering to ask Janus anything else. Literally everything the guy told him was just common sense. Don't need to be a genius to figure that out. Then he turns to Mira, his face half returning to it's usual expression.

"I've already said my piece. I'm not from here, so choosing isn't really my business. But in my humble opinion, right now, you look like the best option. Elmars is a stuck up jerk, and we don't even know the other candidate. Heh, for all we know you could have more experience than that other lady. Plus, the fact that you aren't afraid to admit you are an inexperienced leader is good. That means you won't be afraid to ask for advice. These other people might have plenty of experience leading duchies and rebellions, but no being king or queen. You won't be afraid to ask for help, but they will likely go into it thinking they already know it all." He shrugs. "If you'd prefer, we could go talk to Paulis before making the final decision. After all, I'm pretty sure that white dragonborn is the people's army's candidate."

He glances at Alex, "Before you go waltzing through landmines, let me try to get her attention. If we can talk to her first, perhaps she's let us through."

Liivi listens to Janus' comments about changing infrastructure and the 'war to end all wars'.  She does still have one question. "How do you know these other people - Toril and Golarion - are going to invade us? I have a hard time understanding why they even would do it?"  Left unsaid is that she still struggles to see why they want to invade those places. 

To Mira's comment she notes, "I'm not sure how quickly you can talk to your mother. But Janus only gave us 6 hours. Can you talk to her that quickly?" She then quickly adds, "It's not that I'm objecting. Just, pointing out the practical considerations." After another pause she also adds, "Whether you try to become queen or not is up to you. As Janus said, there are other candidates and perhaps even an easier path in supporting them. We just need to be on the winning side to get to the... ur... uranium? But I just want you to know I support whatever decision you make in the end."  She hadn't meant to put so much pressure on the rabbit-girl and can't help but feel bad if she had felt unduly pressured. 

When Alex speaks of Paulis' plan being 'stupid', Liivi reacts, responding her usual even tone. "Are you sure you want to take Janus' word about Paulis' plan?" She nods to Shugo. "We should go see Paulis. If you have a plan to help avoid the landmines, then let's hope it works! But I think it's time to get moving. Unless anyone has more questions for Janus."