abraxaslogs | {Catch the freedom of falling

It's not what Kaz was expecting... and yet it's exactly what he was thinking would happen. War would come. You didn't prepare without that knowledge. Often because you started it, which he also knew well.

"I wasn't even going to think about saying those words," he notes, turning towards the window and away from what he's been making notes of. "You didn't have to like it, none of us did, but we knew it was coming. As that gentleman said," he points out, his gaze coming to focus on her. "Someone has been orchestrating this for a very long time. The important question is which party - if not all of them - and why now."

And he hates that he hasn't been here long enough to have a clue. It's why he hadn't responded to that particular conversation - besides unwilling to use a system that he isn't skilled enough on in his book not to risk saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. He's waiting and watching because, in the end, it's not their war and he isn't ready to dive in for the good of God and Country. People, his people's people, are another thing.

Jesper has been saying since he got here that war was inevitable, so this is not a surprise, if anything he is furious that they didn't think to steal all the Thorne Summoned while they were in Nocwich. A mistake. He thought they had more time. Stupid. He and Mat have already been talking and it's emotional for him, so when he comes into the room, he is in a high state of emotion. He's angry. He's buzzing with energy. Jesper looks like he's ready go to murder people, not his typical 'a job is a job' way, as in vengeance anger.

"We need to go to Thorne," he says as a greeting. Heated, gray eyes practically glowing. "I've been saying this for months, we need to get our people out of that castle, they're being held there." Okay, obviously none of them have tried to escape, but also because they didn't know how to leave. Mat didn't know how to leave, neither did Rhy. Maybe they accepted their situation, but not now.

"The obvious next step for Free Cities is to destroy the castle. The queen likely won't even be there, she'll get away, and the rest of them will die."

She hums a quietly noncommittal response at that, unsure whether she believes it or not. “His name is Dean,” she corrects him, because gentleman feels entirely wrong as a descriptor for him, regardless of whether or not it’s technically correct.

“I’m not much a gambler, but I’d place my bets with Tho—” she blinks, interrupted as Jesper whirls into the room, livid twelve ways from Sunday, looking ready to commit regicide.

“If we do that, we need to be sure we could them out safely. You can’t slapdash a mass breakout and hope for the best,” she understands his anger, but she does not share it with him. She’s angry, yes, but it would do her no good to hold close to that which could blind her to reason. “And you can’t assume that all of them would even want out.” Ridiculous as it sounds, there’s a lot to be said for people with peacekeeping personalities and the chance that some of the Summoned have sworn some sort of allegiance to the crown in Thorne.

“And where would we take them if we did manage to escape? Surely not here,” they need someplace neutral to all of the fighting.

"His name is important right now?" He's frazzled and something in him doesn't like that in the least, that she's insistent on his name in that moment, but he's shaking his head and dismissing it even as the door opens.

"The time for walking in and dragging out your people like it's nothing are gone, Jesper," he points out, knowing that talking sense is likely only to rile him up but he won't have him rushing off to his death either.

"Not discounting the likelihood of an account on the castle, we need several things to even consider it." He's already been thinking about this from things Jesper has said and having just met Wanda as well at the party. None of it made it easy though. "One is getting word to those in the castle who want to be rescued and having them disappear. Get out of the castle, away from the grounds and find a place to hole up. Close to the border hopefully. And we'll need someone that knows those lands. Got a random Matthias like friend to draw us a detailed map of Thorne? Not the official one but one that might give us details they're withholding?"

Of course he's thinking about it, even if he knows the likelihood of success are low. They were low to begin with.

"And we'll need to scout the area between here and the border. Maybe there's abandoned areas we could move them to. If we can get them past the border. Do we know what the guards on the border are like?"

Already the wheels are turning, but he's trying to make Jesper also realize how much work there is to be done.

"It was not easy before whatever happened tonight. You're not rushing in there blind. Someone needs to make a case to the the leaders here not to retaliate blindly either. They could be giving into those behind this and giving them just what they wanted. War only benefits leaders and someone is looking to capitalize on tonight."

"I know not all of them want out, and they can die in the castle for all I care, but the others will go if they can." There is desperation behind his anger, fear because he let them walk away from him in Nocwich, he thought things were bad but they'd probably be safe, and Mat's frantic message to him stirred him up. He paces in the small room, taking up more space than he probably needs to, spinning his guns in his hands anxiously.

"Mat can do that. Draw a map, make sure he knows who would leave, I already told him I'm coming for him, he also told me we need a plan first." Which only annoys him, but it's also why he came here. Kaz is the man with the plan and Inej can always keep a cooler head than him. But Mat has a cool head too, obviously, to caution Jesper not to recklessly run at Thorne.

"Goro is probably already with those damned leaders telling them to destroy Thorne. I should have put a bullet in him long ago." By now Kaz probably has heard about Goro, if not just by Inej and Jesper, who distrust him hugely, but the city at large knows that he's a war mongerer.

She levels Kaz with a Look at that question, but doesn’t deign it with a response. Like it or not, Dean is one of her people in this place.

She breathes a slow, relaxed breath in and then out as Kaz takes the reins and puts logic on the table ahead of all of Jesper’s flurried emotions. It’s the way of them, head vs heart, eternally playing a game of wits, and Inej is somehow in the middle of both sides.

“I like the idea of taking up in some abandoned, off-map place. Make our own nation, strictly for The Summoned.” She likes it a lot, actually. More than she might have expected to, in a shocking sort of way. It’s one part familiarity and home, another part safety, even if there are a thousand ways it could go terribly wrong for them to break away from the factions they’ve found themselves in. But she’s going to keep this idea in her pocket and save it for later.

“I’m glad Mat has a level head on his shoulders, then,” if he isn’t willing to work blind, it could only help curb some of Jesper’s recklessness, she hopes.

The mention of Goro earns a scrunched look on her face. She really, really doesn’t like that guy. But she doesn’t add to that point, there isn’t much else to say.

“We can work on a plan to help Mat and the others that want out escape… but let’s focus on Libertas for now… plan the rest between relief efforts, we have to be smart about it, Jesper.”

"We're not leaving them, Jesper. Know that," he says, wanting the other man to know that Kaz has no plan to leave them to whatever this place has set in motion. In that it doesn't matter entirely who is behind things because as they're going, it's only going to get worse until it won't matter who started things because they'll all be a part of it and endangering them all.

"We will work on it. It's not either or. It's help those here, and get our people out of the other land. Lands if need be." He hasn't heard about so many in the other city split between them but he's sure there's some there as well.

"We need intel. Guard information. The numbers looking to get out. The land here and there. What funds and valuables they can manage because we'll need the capital to build here. And yes, while we're helping because won't do us to bring them here to a land still torn apart by war and attacks."

Otherwise their new little land would just be a new target.

We're not leaving them, Jesper. Know that. It's just like Kaz to know the exact right thing to calm him down. If Kaz is on the plan, if he wants to help them, it will get done. He always comes through. The wind goes out of Jesper's sails and the look he shoots Kaz is naked relief.

"Saints, I missed you, Kaz." It's almost a laugh, more like a rush of held air released. A confession right from his hastily beating heart, fervent in its honesty. Jesper knew it was wrong to wish Kaz and Wylan here, he missed them, but he can't deny that it's better now with the head to guide them. Jesper and Inej did their best, but there is no denying the dynamic shifting from two to three has made it only stronger in this room.

He knows their leader doesn't love his sentimentality so he isn't going to linger on it.

"They're under close guard and they have some Summoned there that will help trap them. It'll be complicated, but we can figure it out." Of that he has no doubt and his desperation has gone down a few notches, thankfully. "I think we have to start thinking about whether an independent piece of land is looking better to our group than being sucked into their damned wars."

He knows Inej agrees with him.

She sees that tension lighten, the line is jaw is the tiniest bit looser, shoulders the barest hint more relaxed— calmer, if not fully, properly calm. It lets Inej release a breath of her own to see it. She understands. Kaz can disarm her much the same way.

“You already know I agree,” she says immediately on the heels of Jesper’s comment. “We can take it slow— we need to scout areas, research whatever we can. But I think it needs to stay between us three for now. Too many heads and too many voices this earth would wreck the idea before it even began.” She doesn’t doubt Kaz’s own agreement to that, either. He deals in secrets as much as anything else.

"We're going to need a reason to be beyond city limits. A reason to explore closer to the borders without anyone questioning why we're there. It also means, like Inej says, not talking to others about how we need to get others out of there," he says. "But we should become sympathetic to those who might be looking to escape this city as well. With what's happened tonight, who knows how long until they're not asking about joining the army but insisting."

And then he has to wonder what they'll do with those incapable of serving in the ways they need. At least on the surface, even if Kaz would push himself beyond his own limits.

"We also need to start working on supplies. For those we bring here and possibly for ourselves if we end up there with them as well."

They could be abandoning their life here already, for the sake of saving and protecting others trapped in worse ways than they were.

"We might be able to go beyond city limits as bandit hunters. Not monster hunters, but the next thing." Jesper has already been essentially sworn off monsters by the many friends of his that tell him not to bother. Bandits however are fair game. "Many of them hide in the Badlands, between us and Thorne." Smartly! They stay off the radar themselves and only swoop in when they can take something. Maybe all of then should be paying more attention to that way of thinking.

Jesper is the loud mouth of the three of them, so if anyone is going to be terrible at keeping it quiet, it's him, but he nods firmly in agreement with the other two. Sometimes things only need to be within Crows. He might mention it to Mat in terms of thoughts, but not in terms of actual plans, until they need to get down to it.

"We can't guarantee that Solvunn will stay neutral, so we either get our own piece of the Badlands, or go elsewhere." He's thinking the fae territory, if he's being honest, although he's heard no one survives it.

She nods. “Something to consider. Let’s look more into it, see what we need to know. I’m sure Geralt could help us,” this is mostly said to Jesper, who is more familiar with the other man in question.

“I’ll start looking into maps and territories,” there are no Sikurzoi mountain caves to shelter her in this place, she’ll have to start learning more about the broader parts of this world they’ve found themselves in.

Kaz had been more than willing to work on forming this place into his own but he has to admit, the idea sounds interesting as well. Making their own place, with their people. Enough time and the right resources and they could be a kingdom in this place to reckon with.

And Jesper and Inej would be thankful for those they considered friends to be in safer places, especially now that the war they'd planning for seemed about to start and not just some far mental image.

"We'll do what we need to while we're planning. Helping with this place and seeing what we can do about supplies and money for when the time comes. Being in service means we can keep our ears open and see what details we can find as well as those sympathetic if we need it.

"These bandits may have places they've started of their own, and it could be interesting to find out why and how they started." For all they knew, they were people like them or the friends Jesper and Inej wanted to rescue.

"Geralt probably won't want us to go out there. We'll talk around it." This also to Inej, again since they both know the witcher. He is protective of people under his wing, so to speak, but wouldn't stop them either. They'll just have to be smart about it. It's no matter.

"So maybe go in not shooting right away, figure out if they're worth talking to?" The bandits, he means. If they want to figure out how and why they started.

She nods her agreement with Jesper's comment. Geralt isn't likely to outright deny them anything, but there would be copious warnings, and instances about the way they do things.

"Then we have a place to start," she nods, looking between them. It wasn't much, but it was something, and they've faced worse odds.

{Catch the freedom of falling

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