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Alstin
Rumours reach you of this from WS.
A cupboard opens in The Ws Royal place. A slight blonde haired beauty.
Slides herself uncomfortably out of it.When she gets her footing again.
She smiles and promptly with speed assassinated the Empress of WS and Lady Eris. She then Faced down the Furies who confronted her, she says "My Name is Eurus..."
The Furies reaction is not recorded.
"Right away" Max said, taking the twenty. He began pouring the whiskey, but right before he was able to put the sugar into the glass, the man who had run into the child came to the bar. He was a meek and very obviously drunk man, and he kept looking back at the child with a strange look in his eye.
"'Scuse me bartend-*hic*-er. Do you *hic* know where I can find *hic* Dolos? Also, can I *hic* get a private room *hic* with that child o'er there?"
Max dropped the sugar cube in the drink and looked at the man with disgust. He stared at the man for a solid five seconds before responding.
"No, you cannot get a private room with that child. I don't know what type of establishment you think this is or how you even got in here in the first place, but if you ever exhibit behavior like this again, I'll make sure you never step foot in here again. The only reason I'm letting you stay right now is because you mentioned Dolos. Head downstairs and look for the man in the trench coat. Since you know the word 'Dolos', I'm hoping you know what to say to him. Otherwise, you may want to leave here while you still can..."
Max stood back and crossed his arms, looking at the drunkard with utter contempt. He wandered off, heading in the general direction of the stairs, though his path tended to wander as he stumbled across the floor. Max shook his head and looked back at Ryder.
"My apologies sir, we very rarely have such unsavory customers here. In exchange for that unpleasant experience, please take your money back sir. Your drink will be on the house." Max pulled the twenty back out and slid it to Ryder along with the now complete Old-fashioned.
July 28, 1930
Inside the Domus Regia. Alstin, URA...
Within the confines of the Azure Chamber, a meeting of the Cabinet was underway, with the President discussing with his ministers and advisors on various matters of state. As they discussed the potential for implementing a homesteading program in the overseas territories, 'King' entered the room with a sense of urgency. "Forgive me for my lateness, ladies and gentlemen, but there has been a recent development that demanded my immediate attention," 'King' said as he approached President Jones with a message in hand. "One that is still ongoing as we speak, and is about to go public."
The President took the message from 'King' and silently read through its contents before asking him: "How recently did this occur?"
"About an hour ago," 'King' replied. "The message itself just came in twenty minutes ago from our Embassy in White Science."
At this point, most of the other Cabinet members had grown anxious, and were curious as to the contents of the message. Finally, Foreign Minister Marshall, spurred on the mentioning of the UR Embassy in White Science, proceeded to directly ask Jones: "What does the message say, Mister President? What has happened in White Science?"
Calmly and casually sliding the message over to Marshall, Jones simply replied: "The Empress of White Science has been assassinated."
With the utterance of those words, the Cabinet erupted into a flurry of vigorous discussion and debate. Some argued for immediate military action, fearing the possibility of some radical element taking control over their stalwart ally north beyond the Novean Passage. Others argued for a more cautious diplomatic approach, advocating for non-intervention while trying to avoid yet another conflict on the fringes of Alstin's holdings overseas. This went on for a short while until Jones calmly raised his hand off the table as if to say 'Please be silent', prompting the discussion to die down, and allowing the President to speak.
"As the Director of the Agency mentioned earlier, this is still developing. And while we do not know how this will be resolved, what we do know is that we must approach this carefully," The President said to his Cabinet. "To that end, this shall be our plan: Mister Marshall, I want you to direct our ambassador to White Science to meet with representatives of WS government and reassure them of our commitment to maintaining relations between our respective nations. Mister Butler, I want you and General Barker to place our forces in Suerta, Rocotia and Südland-Zehnland on standby and the remainder on notice; Just in case the worst case scenario occurs. And Director, I want you to continue to monitor the situation in White Science and provide regular updates on it; If necessary, send your best men there. Understood?"
The Cabinet nodded in affirmation. Content, Jones then turned to the Energy Minister as he said: "Very well then. Since we are on the subject of recent developments on issues of national importance, I understand that there has been some substantial progress on the those 'potential' sources of energy. Right, Missus Copper?"
"That is correct, Mister President," She replied confidently. "While the findings have yet to be finalized, what I can say for certain is that once developed, any previous dependency on foreign energy imports, which I should mention is already fairly minuscule, will be largely diminished almost to the point of non-existence. In other words, we may very well soon be by-and-large immune to an energy crisis initiated by an outside actor."
"That is most excellent to hear," Jones said with slight smile on his face, knowing full well the ramifications this would have on the world stage.
Ryder casually overheard the conversation between the drunkard and the bartender as he waited for his drink to be made. This guy is utterly despicable. He sickens me, He thought to himself as the drunk made such abhorrent gestures and suggestions. Nevertheless, I must find out more about what 'Dolos' means. Shortly after the drunkard left the immediate premises, Ryder turned to face the bartender as both his drink and his money was placed on the counter in front of him.
"Thank you. That is most gracious of you," Ryder said as he grabbed his drink and money. "I understand that is there gambling in this establishment and I would like to blow off some steam. I don't suppose you could point me in the right direction?"
"I see," Jones said as he heard this response. "But surely you adapt modern methods of doing certain things, right? I don't ask this as an insult, its just that if we Alstinians remained static in our social and cultural progress throughout the long centuries of existence, our civilization would have collapsed long ago."
The interpreter whispered to Synthia, she then whispered back to him. The interpreter then said "We don't adapt culturally or traditionally. We advance technologically, yes. However, we remain frozen in our culture and our ways of life. We do not treat what you ask as an insult, merely a good question asked with a good intention, sir."
"Well that's reassuring," Jones jokingly said in response. "What about pastimes? What activities do the average citizen enjoy to engage in during their leisure?"
"It'd be my pleasure sir. If you turn to your right and head straight, you should come to a staircase. Just head on down and you can't miss it. Do be careful though, I believe Mr. James Bishop of Bishop Industries is playing tonight, and he usually goes home with everyone else's wallets. If you want to keep your money, I suggest you play at a different table." Max turned around and picked up a dirty glass and a rag as if to clean it. He paused though and turned back around.
"And sir? If you heard any of the previous conversation, I suggest you forget it. I know you rich folk are typically adventurous but if you value your life, forget that adventure. Stick to the gambling tables."
"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep that in mind if I do decide to play against him," Ryder replied after finishing his drink. He then proceeded to stand up from where he was sitting at the bar, and made his way over to the staircase Max had mentioned. As he made his way down the steps of the staircase to the gambling area, he could hear the sounds of a band playing and people chatting, as well as smell tobacco smoke emanating from there as well...
The interpreter whispered to Synthia, she then whispered back to him. "Surgery, modification, medicine, arts, writing... hmm... they also enjoy masquerade balls, education, literature and duelling, to say the first things that come to mind. There's quite a few other things, but they are very minor and whatnot." the interpreter said.
A contact from the Ws government meets your ambassador in a park by a duck pond.
"I am not officially sure what is going on with The Empress, But I know that she and a number of government people are dead. A few are in hiding in safe houses. The Furies are either dead or badly injured.
I know Moriarty is okay but no one is too sure where she is officially. Unofficially, she is in Alstin.
She has been out of the loop for a while now.
As the for the Assassin, Code name: Eurus is still at large. She was with M. She was locked up when you had your run in with him. She's even worse than him though by a country mile. We think someone did help her escape."
"Oh then they would find the United Republic rather palatable in the pursuance of most of those hobbies," Jones said as he sipped his coffee. "All except dueling, of course. That has been largely outlawed in here since 1842. Went against the principle of a fair trial and was not exactly a healthy method for resolving disputes."
"Codename: Eurus is very clever and quite mad. She is usually 3 steps ahead of everyone. Most of the time.The Empress had a sister who could keep up with her just about. The sister, The Duchess of Hudson later apparently died in an airship crash. But there was rumours of a falling out with the Empress.
I would advise you that tell Ryder and his cohorts to try and keep an eye out for her.She will try and liberate M and possibly try and hurt those who have been responsible for his imprisonment as well.
So please try and find Moriarty, we need her back. She apparently fell foul of The Empress as well.Not
Too sure why either."
"No matter how clever she claims to be, I sincerely doubt that she will be successful in any of her plots," the ambassador said as he turned to leave. "Farewell, and try not to stand out too much." The ambassador then promptly left the premises and returned to the U.R. Embassy.
At Agency Headquarters...
"Are you sure this information is accurate?" 'King' said to 'Bishop' and 'Knight' as he thoroughly read the contents of the message from White Science.
"Yes it is. I checked it myself," 'Bishop' replied. "'Eurus' was indeed behind the incident at the Imperial WS Palace, was previously an agent for WS Intelligence prior to her 'employment' by Moran, and she was incarcerated up until recently; The last bit the result of a reported jailbreak caused by a fire."
"Wonderful, yet another homicidal loony with delusions of grandeur and superiority." 'King' sarcastically said in response. "What about the information regarding the Empress's late sister and Moriarty?"
"We are still scouring for the transit records of the downed airship that the Duchess was on, trying to verify her death," 'Knight' replied. "As for Moriarty, we were able to confirm her entry into the country under the alias of 'Mary Martin', but her trail runs cold shortly after her arrival at the Port of Davis. Considering recent events and the available intel, it is likely she is either trying to find 'Joker', or get her hands on the Mad Doctor before 'Eurus' does."
"It won't matter who tries to get a hold of him. They would first have to find out where the mad man is being held, and that is something that even I do not know," 'King' commented as he shuffled through the papers on his desk.
"And I wouldn't worry too much about 'Joker's well-being. Knowing him, if he hasn't gotten the news by now, he will soon enough. Either way, preparations are already in place for him to utilize in these sort of situations."
"A sword as a state gift?" Jones said. "I would assume that such gifts are for a rather specific type of achievement and duty to the state. In Alstin, we used to do that sort of thing back when this country was a Kingdom rather than a Republic. Nowadays, we simply hand out medals and an award of gil, which is our currency, in recognition of exemplary actions and achievements."
The man in the black trenchcoat had one of the bouncers escort the drunk patron to the upper floor. Whoever he was, he obviously should not have known his codename and once the man sobered up, they'd find the source of the leak. Then both he and the leak would be dealt with.
Dolos took a long drag of his cigar, the situation was not necessarily ideal. Luckily, the Werner Club was a perfect place to destress. The band was playing uplifting music and the enthusiasm of the other patrons rubbed off on him. He knew most of the other patrons, from the incredibly rich Mr. Bishop to the barely middle class Ian Gander. There were three new faces at the club tonight, and as he watched, the third new face came walking down the stairs as the drunk patron went up them. Dolos watched Ryder intensely, studying his behavior out of habit, like he had done with every other person he came into contact with.
July 30, 1930
A fragment of the Official Royal Remembrance-Day Announcement from the Wolf Chronicle:
"20 Years Ago Today, His Royal Highness, King Albertius de Loup I of 
Ravenvein, passed away at the age of 78, having been crowned in 1857 and ruling for 53 years. The throne passed to his great nephew, Rolph IV, who has led our glorious kingdom to a newfound era of stability and prosperity. This occasion marks the 113th Anniversary of His Royal Highness, King Guiscard de Loup IV, restoring the Old Kingdom in 1797 after more than 260 years under rule of the tyrant Commonwealth of Ravenvein established in 1528. Even through 500 years of isolation from our neighbors, our kingdom has lasted through great turmoil and instability [during the days of the Commonwealth, the kingdom continued to exist in spirit], even as the Age of Steam and Iron raged in the surrounding lands, which toppled millenniums of lineages overnight and changed the face of the world forever..."
Meanwhile, in the Duchy of Montrault, the northernmost province of Ravenvein, Duke Gaspard of Périlon, great-grandson of Roland of Montrault, who had obtained the title of Duke of Montrault by very suspicious means, shook his head in disagreement while reading the specific part of the royal address. Duke Gaspard had a claim to the throne going back to his Great-Grandfather, who in September 1857 had objected to Albertius, at the time the Dauphin of Roannois, being crowned to replace the deceased Gaspard IV as soon as the dauphin questioned his ability to rule, believing himself to be a superior candidate for the throne because of his "desire" for it was greater. The present monarch, Rolph IV, comes directly from the line of Albert's brother, Prince Richard of Drafort, grandfather of the present king and the older son of Guillame, Dauphin of Roannois, who died at the age of 20 in 1832 and was outlived by King Guiscard (aforementioned); while it was believed that Guiscard was an excellent monarch, some noblemen disagree about the descendants directly related to Guillame of Roannois:
"You mean to tell me that this nephew of a weak and useless leader [Albertius I] has done anything for this kingdom? I have seen not a single advancement or innovation put forth by this cursed line for my entire life, let alone any time put in towards improving our defenses! I cannot accept that petty fool as a ruler; he is better fit for being exiled to a forest of dire wolves," were the words that the furious Duke spoke to himself.
The Duke had had it with the lack of technological progress in Ravenvein, which was hurting the nation economically, knowing that others were profiting from the age of iron and becoming rich overnight. To the Duke, action was finally needed to bring the Kingdom into the present in order to assure its preservation.
Ryder passed by the drunkard as he was being escorted upstairs. He briefly looked back at the man before continuing onward towards the gambling area in the basement. As he approached the poker tables, he casually examined his surroundings, taking note of the bouncers, some of the patrons, and the man in the trench coat. Upon reaching one of the less crowded poker tables, he asked the well-dressed men sitting there: "Excuse me gentlemen, but mind if I join you?"
The interpreter whispered to Synthia before she returned a whisper. He then looked at Jones and said "We give out a great many state gifts and items to our people, it is what we do as a way to show we still do our duties and such. We find medals to be good enough for small awards. Swords, firearms, surgical equipment and whatnot our what we always bestow."
"Hmm? Oh yes, of course. Feel free to sit and join the next hand." The man took a long puff of his fat cigar, before setting down the cards and turning to Ryder. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? The name's James Bishop, welcome to the table. Most choose to avoid our table because they'll empty their wallets in a few hands. So feel free to go to another table, we won't take offense. Otherwise we'll get you dealt in on the next hand."
As the hand came to the river, Mr. Bishop raised an eyebrow, took a long puff of his cigar and slid half of his chips towards the center. The amount was close to fifty thousand Nordax, a sizeable amount. The five community cards were the 5 of clubs, a 6 of clubs, an ace of spades, an 8 of clubs, and a king of hearts. In reality, Mr. Bishop only had an ace of hearts and a 5 of diamonds, (something Ryder could easily see) but the large pile and his small smirk were enough to make all six other people fold. He turned to Ryder and asked "I hope you have enough to buy in."
August 8th, 1930
Surprise Invasion
In a surprise attack today, Nordaxican troops based out of the nearby Alstinian colony of Suerta conducted a surprise invasion on the island of Paradis. The attack was conducted by paratroopers and light tanks, who were able to secure the south portion of the island. Transport planes ferried multiple medium tanks and regular infantry to the island who are currently in the process of securing the remaining portions of the island.
The Vertannian navy defending the island have been prevented from bombarding the island by Nordaxican pilots using anti-ship bombs. Any aerial resistance was swiftly dealt with by our brave pilots flying interception missions. Heavy bombers are reported prepped and ready at the Suerta base should the Vertannians respond with force to the invasion.
Nordaxican leadership cited human rights violations as reason for the invasion, claiming minority groups on the island have been killed and tortured. So far, no other countries or journalists have been able to confirm this claim. Minimal losses are reported on the Nordaxican side, and most defeated Vertannian soldiers were captured rather than killed. It is reported they were not prepared for an aerial invasion and instead had focused on the neighboring nation of Arsyra invading by sea.
It is unclear how the rest of the world will respond, but very few serious repercussions are expected. Nordaxican troops stationed at Alstinian colonies due to the alliance between the two nations are reportedly on high alert regardless. Nordaxican leadership made sure to express that the Alstinians had no part in the invasion and most likely did not know it was planned, stating: "while we didn't tell them what we were planning, there is no doubt in my mind that they will support the invasion. Alstinians have always supported human rights and I expect they will want to stand up for the rights of people on this island, and help defend the island from a counter attack that would risk the lives of civilians".
The Government of CTEC and it's people despise this act of aggression practiced by the Nordaxican Fascists. In these times we stand close to our Alstinian brothers and sisters. War is no answer to problems of any sort, CTEC condemns the Nordaxicans for such blatant and irrational actions.
Trading ties with Nordaxica between CTEC and LeVenen will cease. Nordaxicans residing in CTEC will be allowed to stay, but until the sanctions are lifted, Nordaxicans will be blacklisted and excluded from the CTECian commune. The Nordaxican ambassador was declared as Persona non Grata.
Eurus arrives in Alstin on a submarine with an small group of henchmen allocated to her by her employer.
In a warehouse in Everton.
She orders them to
"Get some lorries and fill them with fertilizer bombs and keep the Alstin security services on their toes. Go and blow up some government buildings and stake out Ryder's house for Moriarty, Go on !".
Eurus sneers at her agents and thought "If I had any sense, I would have stayed in my cell. Still the money makes it worth while."
Her henchmen, who were all well over 6ft tall looked at the Strange woman and then got on with their work. They were used to working for
Irrational women.Eurus though wasn't too bad by their standards.
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