Mysteries of Daraku

"Fair enough," he laughed. He turned towards Kathrynne. "Now, what do you guys think we should do about her? If they're gonna be out of our way, we can't exactly just set her in a hotel and be on our way..." He exchanged a glance with Jane before finishing, "But at the same time, we can't just turn her over to the authorities for now."

Dixi sighed, "Honestly, if it were for me, I would throw them to rot in jail... but we gave them our word, I can seal that corrupting ability and let them go, once she tells us where to find the other Chairs of course."

"If Kathrynne had a position elsewhere where she would be content in, then neither of us will have to antagonize each other." Yumi points out.

"That's true, Yumi," he agreed. "So, Jane, how about it? Anything else she could be satisfied with outside of the group?"

"I wish I could be as forgiving as you..." Said Dixi in a really low voice, "Well?" She asked Jane, "Is that possible?"

"It isn't just forgiveness, it is also pragmatism. This may be sound odd but Jane and I are fairly similar in many way." She remarks briefly before giving a glance over to the woman she is talking about.

"Jane, there is one thing I must know, long time ago I was corrupted the same way Daraku uses... I heard a woman say 'the test is a success, this will allow us to control those who oppose us'... Was I a test subject for Daraku's plan? And who created that power?"

Jane silently considered their questions, and quirked an eyebrow at Yumi's comment about them being similar.
"Kathrynne can be pacified. If she were to lose her ability to corrupt, she would be unlikely to return to Daraku. At least, until she's able to regain her ability. I am able to keep her occupied for that time, and ensure she does not get into too much trouble. She may not be content, but she will be temporarily out of your way." Jane responded.

"As for your potential dealings with Daraku, I cannot say for sure. But I suspect that you will get answers, if you keep digging." Jane added. "Nor can I comment certainly on the source of that power, though I have my suspicions..."

"Alright, I think that settles our course of action. Thanks again, Jane," Ferro replied courteously. "Nice to know there are some sensible people in this group."

"Can you give us the location of the other Chairs?" She said while walking towards Kathrynne.

"You are in luck. Normally, I would answer that question with a resounding no. Each area of Daraku operates independently from the other, to avoid the organisation being compromised. However, in 4 days, Daraku's chairs shall be meeting at Spiretop Castle, just a couple of days North of here." Jane responded.

"Then that's is our chance to stop them once and for all..." She said looking at her companions.

"Except that if all 4 chairs are there, then it may also be a battle that is beyond our means though. Each individual one is potentially powerful. All 4 of them, is going to be very potent." She points out.

"What do you suggest then?“ She replied grabbing her hand.

"Great, the evil organization has a big castle to meet in," he quipped. "Do we need to rescue a princess too?"

Dixi couldn't avoid to let out a chuckle from Ferro's comment.

"Three out of the four seats." Jane corrected. "Though you should be warned that, as a general rule, the lower the number, the more powerful they are. And there is a possibility that they will not be alone, or at the very least, will not be unguarded." Jane commented. "The strategy you employed here will certainly not suffice to even get you an audience."

"What do you propose we do then? The sooner this group goes down the better."

"Not even if we fake joining them? Acting like if Kathrynne managed to brainwash us?"

"Do not mistake my cooperative nature for assistance. I am happy to point out the flaws in your plans, but I shall not be contributing." Jane clarified. Her tone was neutral, not offended that they had assumed she was helping, nor condescending.

"If you were to show up without Kathrynne, you would have no one to back up your claim. On top of that, the other seats will be aware of your deception by now. Finally, even if you were to disguise yourselves, the second seat is either an empath, or a full on telepathy. She will instantly see through any attempt at deception." Jane explained.

"Seems like the full frontal assault is our only choice..." She said while thinking other options.

"Seems like it," he said. "Ixana, you can't give yourself up at any point. Seeing how you were able to get rid of Yumi's corruption, you're too important to lose, so if things go south, use this." He handed her a polished lavender stone with golden runes etched into the top.

"And I am not sure if Kathrynne would readily agree with this especially since it puts her interest at risk. In the worst case scenario, we are lead into a trap. An alternative means of entrance may need to be more covert such as a sapper tunneling or making a small hole in the wall for a small strike force. Sadly that would be the easy part.

Each 3 individuals is going to be tricky to bring down, and that is not assuming each one of them have the same ability as Kathrynne, which is likely they will; that is what concerns me the most. If the situation fares poorly for us, we need to have the entrance not compromised, and to ensue we do not need it, we need to utilize every elements given to us.

There are two things that I do have within mind but both requires someone to infiltrate the castle and know what room they will meet before they arrive. One is to plant a bug to gather as much information through their meeting as possible. This carries the lowest risk but does not deal with any of the chairs. The second is create traps that will activate only on command to weaken them to a degree to tilt the battle towards our favor initially. The risk of what I've mention applies."

Dixi took the stone Ferro offered her, "What's this stone? I can feel really strong magic inside... it's stronger than Ix's runes." she said, "It really is powerful magic, whoever made this has a great magic talent." added Ix.

"The traps sounds like a fair plan... but of us three you are the only one, I suppose, don't this wrong Ferro, that can sneak on places like that but..." She replied to Yumi's idea with clear worries on her face.

"Use that to transport yourself instantly," he told her. "It'll take you someplace safe. The safest place I know." He wasn't going to say where aloud with Jane and Victus still present, but he felt what he's already said is sufficient for now.