eastbound | un : dappled pearls of the parted seas (voice)

[Maybe Five thought Moran was joking when he said he would make an announcement. Turns out, he was not.]

Greetings, fellow travelers.

Now that we are once more on solid ground, I have no doubt our days will be very busy, but as it is, we still have matters to discuss pertaining to our previous trip.

The artefact that was used to call out the giant sea monster, a human tongue which has been ascertained to still be 'alive' in spite of being separated from the rest of its body, is presently under the guard of Master Five.

[See how he didn't say you stole it and tried to hide it, Five? That's his one concession to your pride.]

It is the second such artefact we are now carrying, following the heart that is in Master Kaneki's possession as well. And so far we cannot ascertain their origin, or if they might belong to the same individual or not. And given their power, the question comes to us of what to do with them.

There have been some in favor of destroying them, others wanting to study them. both are, at present, warded, but there is no telling that we might be able to keep containing them for any length of time, and we have all seen what happens when they are not contained.

Their relation to the mirrors, and the undead, is also still nebulous. I think we found out there was at least one mirror on one of the ships, but has someone found out if it was used and what for?

Lady Emilia also judiciously mentioned that they seem to have the ability to excite beasts, which was also a power the Beastmaster possessed, and the Beastmaster was the first we learned of the original and most powerful undead possible being made with mirrors.

I do not believe the fate of those objects should be decided by one alone, given that they can affect us all, and those around us. So what do you think we should do with them?

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( Wrath was not necessarily going to reply to this post, but mortals are so... messy, and he does not want Five to be threatened with blackmail when there is no need for it. He did the right thing with the artefact this time even if some within the group would want him to be more forthcoming with all of them. He can understand why he wasn't. )

The box is secure and hidden. I have the experience required to keep it so for the time being. Five made no effort to hide it from me. I knew almost immediately.

Those in Minaras: I would hope you are not listening to any of this with a droid near you.

I am glad to know it is secure, but you were one of the lucky few in terms of information, and that is not how this should go given our circumstances.

I do trust Master Five enough to know he won't let the box be taken from him at unawares.

[aka, he knows how paranoid Five is and that he will guard this box with his life.]

How should things go then? If there is a certain way to deal with magical artifacts within the group, this should be decided ahead of time and universally applied. Kaneki kept his own magical artefact secret for many, many months before he decided to inform the rest of us. Not to mention the cursed or haunted doll he keeps at his side. ( Wrath is not specifically condemning this, merely pointing out the double standard. ) No one put it to a vote when he announced it, and he has already said he refuses to listen to any vote made and will keep his objects regardless of the group's decision. ( which generally could be a sign a cursed item has sunk its claws in, but Wrath doesn't think that's the case here )

Do all magical artefacts qualify including ones from individual universes, or only recently acquired ones? I understand the desire to know what potentially dangerous magical items we travel with, but what about people with magical abilities? Where does it end?

Keeping the amount of people who know about an object to a limited amount and ensuring it is properly warded by a magic user with appropriate experience does keep the group safe especially when it is currently being hunted down. Five acted correctly by bringing it to me.

I disagree that keeping the information to a small group of people concerning these artefacts - both of them - is safer, Master Wrath. And I'm not happy the heart was kept secret too for so long, but at least, Master Kaneki has agreed that we should inquire more to the Merchant about it and find out more and to share the information.

I understand your concern. I am well aware I forced Master Five's hand with this, and if in the end it turns out I'm wrong, I'll readily apologize to him. Right now, nothing he has said or done is making me believe I was wrong.

I specifically refer to the period of time when we were escaping on ships to being in a city where we are being watched at all times. This is not information we want to get to outside parties as it will paint a target on the group, and it was difficult to keep information secure then. As nice as it may have been for him to agreeably offer up information, I doubt the Merchant will provide more useful information about the heart he wants especially if it is dangerous.

[private]

I believe the last two posts concerning this matter have convinced him that his lack of trust in the group itself is justified. I doubt you will see this change you wish to squeeze out from him via public shaming.

Do you intend to use your blackmail? I'm aware of the incident you refer to.

Master Five has never trusted anybody us and seems to see us as, I quote, 'morons' who are incapable of making any rational decisions for ourselves, somehow leading him to the belief he is entitled to make those decisions by himself. Any mistrust he is gaining now is reaping what he himself sowed and it is concerning too that he seems incapable of seeing that.

I want cooperation. He was never going to offer it of his own volition so I used what I had at my disposal to force it.

I see you are well aware that information kept secret can be used as a weapon. I take no particular pleasure in wielding it this way, but I will if I have to.

[Because Five's words, actions and track record with holding dangerous magical artefacts are pretty abysmal from where he's standing.]

You were never going to gain cooperation through this method.

I am well aware of it. It is common place within Hell to use information in that way though demons rarely make their blackmail so obvious. ( And rarely allow anyone to have blackmail on them to begin with especially a Prince of Hell. They are more polite about it and also, more devious, refusing to hint at the information they have so the blade is as sharp as possible when it is to be used. ) My point in bringing it up is merely to say, actions are more valuable to me than words. When the previous incident occurred, I spoke with him at that time about the proper way to handle a magical artefact. ( And yes, Wrath was angry. )

He did follow that advice. In that sense, he has learned from that particular mistake. I understand you feel differently. ( That is his right, but in this case at least, Wrath disagrees. )

I have no proof of this supposed learning. Quite the contrary, everything I see only makes me more concerned. If actions speak louder than words, his latest actions do not encourage me at all.

It is of no consequence to me if we disagree about this, or if you disapprove of the way I went about it. You are not the only one. In any case, it is done, and I do not regret it. Let the pieces fall where they will.

[Also, yes, he's still pissed about being called a 'moron' to his face, and he knows Five thought he didn't have the guts to do this.]

( Wrath can sense there's anger. It would be impossible for him not to with how familiar he is with the emotion. Wrath is perfectly calm. )

He secured, protected, and then took a magic artefact to someone with knowledge of them. If that doesn't seem better than recklessly throwing and breaking one, I don't know what to tell you.

Hopefully the Merchant has some useful information. Otherwise I am not certain what was gained here.

Edited 2022-08-20 02:11 (UTC)

un : dappled pearls of the parted seas (voice)

audio. un: a_civil_serpent

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