IC Inbox

[skeletonenigma]

[This is the IC inbox for Skulduggery Pleasant at tushanshu.]

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[ironwood]

Following the path of orange soil toward the sunlit clouds, come to the red embers lighting the sapphire tides. The violet ore feeds the roots of the viridian trees. Breathe deep to find the pause within your core, and meditate upon your needs in the appointed time and place so they may be real to you.

July 3rd, or thereabouts; Audio;

[edgeoftheknife]

[There's a pause at the start of the recording]

Skulduggery? I may have... done something.

[skeletonenigma]

[Ravel.

Skulduggery's actually a little surprised. Not by the contact, but by the content of the message. He doesn't trust Ravel half as far as he can throw him, but what on Earth could the sorcerer have gotten up to while under Anton's watchful eye at the Hotel?

Unless he's about to confess to being Anton's poisoner.]

Such as?

[edgeoftheknife]

Well... I don't know if you saw on the network. Anton's taken a turn for the worse.

[skeletonenigma]

[There's a brief pause before the response as Skulduggery scrolls through the network, scanning recent posts.]

I didn't. How bad is it?

[edgeoftheknife]

Pretty bad. He collapsed, nearly passed out. He's weak. Dizzy. According to Raine it's something to do with a condition he's had for years and neglected to tell us about.

Or neglected to tell me about, anyway.

[skeletonenigma]

[A condition. That could mean any number of things. In this context, Skulduggery suspects it's referring to a non-magical condition, one that even Raine can't fully heal.

Maybe that's why whoever took Jintou used a non-lethal poison. This could be exactly what they wanted to happen, allowing them plausible deniability as well as an incapacitated Foreigner. If that's the case, though, they're both practically omniscient and severely underestimating Anton's habit of surviving.]

Why are you claiming responsibility for it?

[edgeoftheknife]

Claiming-

[Really, Skulduggery.]

I haven't even told you why I'm calling yet.

[skeletonenigma]

Yes you did. You said 'I may have done something.' It's annoyingly vague, but I'm assuming its the reason you're calling.

[edgeoftheknife]

Well I'm not claiming responsibility for Anton's condition, I'm setting things up. It's background information. I thought you might appreciate it.

[skeletonenigma]

I'd appreciate it if it was a tad more specific, Erskine.

[edgeoftheknife]

Alright then, how's this: the bloody idiot's still fixed on the idea of cleaning up the mess the gist left in the city. So I... told him we'd do it.

[skeletonenigma]

[There is a long, long pause.]

You told him we'd do it.

[Recognise and be wary of that dangerous tone of voice.]

[edgeoftheknife]

[Definitely sounding defensive now:]

I practically had to carry him back to bed and he was still convinced he could do it. What was I supposed to do?

[skeletonenigma]

We were a hair's breadth from killing each other the last time we tried to fix damage to the city. What makes you think this time will be any different?

[edgeoftheknife]

We're not chained together, and we can use magic.

[skeletonenigma]

And you think that's going to help?

[But then he sighs.]

OK. I'll be right there.

vague September date | Audio;

[edgeoftheknife]

So what's the plan?

[skeletonenigma]

Which plan?

[edgeoftheknife]

The one where there's some foreign country's forces on our turtle, mucking things up. That plan.

[skeletonenigma]

Oh. That plan.

[Aaaand silence.]

[edgeoftheknife]

[Looong pause.]

...right. Just thought I'd check. Good to know I haven't missed much.

[skeletonenigma]

I'm not a big fan of plans. They get in the way.

[Except when they don't. Really, whether or not Skulduggery likes plans depends strongly on what kind of a day he's having - which should tell you what sort of a mood he's in right now.]

Klaus talked the Justicar into handing over the bodies, which will hopefully stop anyone on either side from doing anything stupid. Yunxu actually seems interested in avoiding bloodshed. Everyone's ready for war, but no one's taking that first step. It's basically a giant game of Chicken. The plan, such as it is, is to help any of the refugees who ask for help, and hope very hard that the Justicar gives up and goes away.

[edgeoftheknife]

[So the plan is... sit around and hope for the best. Not what Erskine had been expecting. Then again, it really isn't their turtle, is it?]

And what are the chances of that, do you suppose?

[skeletonenigma]

Surprisingly, not bad. The kedan don't want to start another war, and they certainly don't want to take action before either Yunxu or Heojin do. Yunxu and Heojin are holding steady. The only point of contention would be if the Justicar finds out we're helping refugees, and if she decides to start a war over that, then she'll be sending her very few followers to their deaths.

[A pause.]

To be honest, I'm more interested in why her arrival seems to have stopped all activity of the soul gem mugger.