CH. 01 - Crane's Angels

[Matt4]

Poppy couldn't help but exhales a sigh of relief. - At least they're not cannibals or something. - she thought to herself.
To be honest, she had expected something a bit more... Deep. It seemed a bit extreme, to her, to drive a group of people away just for this small a difference in faith. - But that's the Church for you, I guess. - One more reason to try and avoid the rise of their influence above Salt Whale.

"I understand. Thank you, Olivia. Is there something else of note about them?" - she said, figuring out it wasn't worth the truble sharing her actual thoughts with her. If the woman doesn't have anything to add to the subject, Poppy says: - "I hope the fact we were on different sides of the discussion earlier will not hinder our relationship. I'm just scared at the idea of a full out war."

[Daos]

Olivia flips through a couple more pages.  "Not really.  They had some odd ideas about ownership and commerce.  And weren't big fans of nobility."  She closes the book and puts it back on the shelf.  "And don't worry about it.  We all know how the game is played, and we all have our own agendas.  That's the way of the council, and of politics in general."  She sits back down at her desk.  "None of us take such things personally."

[Matt4]

"It makes sense, after all everyone on the council has Salt Whale's wellbeing as their first goal, no?" - she says. - "And you make for a pretty diverse group. Take you and Pike for example, you don't seem like two people that would ever find themselves in the same room. How is it working along with him?" - Poppy asks, genuinely curious about the half-elf.

[Daos]

"Pike?  He's the new guy," Olivia answers.  "Only was elected and joined the council about a year ago.  Desperate to prove himself.  Nobody takes him too seriously, though.  He's all bark.  Despite his grandiose plans and schemes, he's a coward at heart and won't get his own hands dirty."  She makes a dismissive wave.

[Matt4]

Desperate to prove himself? That could be useful in the future. - Poppy thought to herself. - "I see. Well, I hope Crane knows what he is doing with him. Speaking of which, I have matters to discuss with the supervisor so I'd better be going! Thank you for everything, Olivia, have a nice evening."

[Daos]

"You, too!  Stop by anytime," Olivia offers with a wave.

Crane's office is far larger and more heavily guarded.  There are two guards flanking the entrance, and another two flanking his desk.  The furniture here is far more expensive and even ostentatious.  His desk alone appears to be carved from rainbow coral, meaning it's probably worth more than most people's homes.  Elaborate works of art hang on the walls, and there's a wine rack filled with bottles of all sorts of varieties.

Currently, Crane sits at his desk, looking rather tired.  The guards stop her from entering, but when he notices her he waves them off and they stand aside.  "Miss Poppy, isn't it?  How can I help you?"  He offers her the seat on the other side of his desk.

[Matt4]

Poppy takes a small bow, before accepting the seat: "Long day, huh? Do you ever get a bit of time to dedicate to yourself?" - she asks.

[Daos]

"Not recently," he admitted, folding his hands together.  "And I get the feeling that won't be changing any time soon.  Back in my youth, though, I could party, I tell you.  Those were the days."

[Matt4]

Poppy chuckles: "Really? I have a hard time picturing you drinking ale and getting lose on the dancefloor." - she says jokingly. She then clears her throat: "Although I have to admit, I came here to ask you for a favor. There is a woman, a water genasi named Mizzle, she actually helped us during the raid today and I think later helped out in putting out some of the fires the raiders lit up. She's currently homeless and residing in the art discrict, and I was wondering if she could be offered the same kind of shelter I'm receiving here."

Poppy weighed up if revealing Mizzle's background, after all it could easily be concealed with the right story. The problem is Mizzle didn't strike Poppy as the kind of person able to live under cover, and if the cover blew up she could have lost Crane's trust. Therefore, the girl decided to be honest: "I did my own investigation on her, and I think there is a huge chance she's part of the Kamyllist movement." - in case Crane doesn't know what that is, she refers to him what Olivia told her earlier. - "I think having druidic powers and other useful abilities would make her useful for our future missions, and far outweigh her religious preferences. Also her people live somewhere in the ocean, so if we'd be able to reconcile with them they could be of aid in understanding better what's happening with those weird ships."

[Daos]

Crane takes a moment to consider before finally answering.  "As I said before, you three are free to hire additional help, as long as you don't share state secrets with them.  However, inviting her into the palace might be...problematic.  The church would not look well upon me housing people who are openly heretics.  I'd rather not make any more enemies than I already have.  Especially if we are trying to get them on our side for this little holy war."

[Matt4]

"I understand..." - Poppy says, not really wanting to push too much on the subject. - "Although I think you should give her audience one of those days. She said she had a prophecy, or something. Maybe someone like Olivia could try to decipher it."

[Daos]

Crane chuckles for a moment, then stops.  "A prophecy!  Oh, you're...serious."  He clears his throat.  "Uh, well, perhaps.  When there is more time for such things.  Not sure how much weight Olivia would give any prophecy given by a heretic, though."

[Matt4]

"Heh, I'm not too much into prophecies myself." - she reassures Cranes. - "But.. I don't know, having lived with another kooky druid... Sometimes they get it right." - Poppy pauses, then readjust on her sit. - "There is one last thing I wanted to ask you about. I was curious about Pike, I got the impression that the other members of the council don't like him very much... Do you think I backed the wrong horse today?"

[Daos]

Crane again takes a moment to consider his words before speaking.  "I did not ask the three of you to sit in on the council to worry about politics.  The council does that quite well on its own.  They all want to do what they believe is best for the nation, sure, but they have their own personal agendas, as well.  You three were meant to be free of all of that--unburdened with concerns of elections, optics, or career.  Someone who could speak for the common folk but was not a politician, church official or noble.  So assuming what you said in the meeting was what you really meant, then I'd argue there was no wrong answer."

[Matt4]

Poppy reflects on that before answering: "It's hard because... I'm not even sure I am worthy of such responsability y'know but... Yeah. I do think Pike's idea is the best option... Do you trust him? You don't think he may have some sort of ulterior motives, right?"