Esstrey already tell this is one big farce cleverly disguised as something special.

  When she accepted the invitation, she was not long after picked up by a spatial mage. The young master Jake was very excited about the idea that one of his direct staff members was involved in the PMC meeting, but his enthusiasm abated when being remihat Esstrey was that specific staff member. Esstrey made sure to check with the duchess oher her people had a cept of OPSEC, but she crified that the invitation was most likely addressed to 'the witch of the s'. A position that Esstrey absorbed rather effectively.

  Arriving at the... meetirey found it was just another pce of dece hiddeh the veneer of magic. It was effectively a noble ga, but all the partits were women that wouldn't be found out of p fairytales. Goat-like mages, oriental kitsune, giantesses that looked about as unfortable in massive frilly dresses as Esstrey feels about this entire affair. At least Esstrey wasn't alone ihoughts, as it was rather easy to identify outcasts that were here mainly here for purely selfish reasons. Reasorey get behind, and the kind she expected from a society boasting powerful figures. e on, defenders of peace? Ridiculous, such anizations always corrupt with time, and this one was no different. However, instead of corrupting towards the path of the paranormal division, the PMC seems to have bee... tea-sipping nobles.

  Esstrey looks around, trying to find somewhere a belligerent militant like her could at least somewhat blend in, and she finds it in the form of a small circle of attehat look bored out of their minds as a woman that has some pnts for clothes is holding up an anic shingle. A [Dryad] if that old book the sergeant told her about was correct. The people she's ranting to appear to be a [Naga], a [Sheep-kin] with robes who is thhly engrossed in her book, and one of those oriental [Kitsuhe naga is very red, with a temper to match it, the sheep-kin looks like a bored wizard with paler skin than a vampire, and the kitsune looks she wants to be anywhere but there.

  "Hey girls, don't mind me, I'm just here to hide." Esstrey squeezes into a natural positioween them, with the naga here she should be retively unnoticed due to similiar size and build.

  "Same" The kitsune replies, while slumping against a pilr, she looks like shit.

  "Well howdy stranger! Do you wanna hear about the fasating world of magical engineering?" The overenthusiastic dryad instantly tches on to a new versation partner, eager to pitch her ideas to anyone she get her vines on.

  "Uh... sure?" Esstrey answers hesitantly, as it immediately as the others all gesture bad forth across their necks with their hands.

  "Great! Did you know that them shrooms handle unications with trees? Well I here found a way to-" Esstrey tunes out the babbling bio-tei rather quickly, as something within the dryad gets noticed by Esstrey. While the massive mermaid has no trouble dising blood of creatures around her, like those ninja-guards hiding in the rafters above, the dryad's blood signature is... weaker? Esstrey begins grabbing and iing the dryad, who doesn't seem to mind as she keeps on yapping about fungal teleunication and sor power.

  "You seem like a creature that uands the importance of unication in war, do ya think deployin ma' fancy shrooms in war would be good?" The dryad looks at Esstrey's ons as she mentions it, her at and demeanor remindirey of that ameri state of glorified on dealers in the south.

  "Radio is a powerful on, but if you have a tral hub for unication it will bee a major target for the enemy, failing to protect it properly would do more harm than good." Esstrey looks closer at the dryad's arm, and finds that her blood is... thicker and slower, is it treesap? If the dryad is fueled by treesap that makes an odd sort of sense... but why Esstrey se even if only slightly?

  "I said that it's not appropriate to brandish ons at su esteemed event, not to mention discussing such vile topics like tools of war!" Esstrey's thoughts are interrupted by the voice of someone behind her, she turns around and sees someone dressed like a noblewoman with ae to match, the people around her have gone silent, even the dryad stopped talking for a momerey gives the woman one proper once over; human, no signifit deviations, no ented gear, no martial training, a squad of rafter-ninja's shadowing her movements above. Not a threat.

  As Esstrey turns back to ihe dryad, she clearly let her body nguage show a bit too much, as she sehe nobleut a hand in front of her mouth as if greatly offended by Esstrey wordlessly dismissing her relevance. Whispers are already spreading nearby, and if Esstrey has learned anything about court politics, it's that there's about to be a problem.

  "Do you not know who I am cur? I am emissary of the kingdom of Ri, Marquess Slygia Farmeen! I could make life rather difficult for a barbarian like you." The noblewoman is clearly enjoyiing a powerpy against the mermaid, who has gone from looking ung to scowling in disgust.

  Esstrey grabs the noblewoman by the face, and lifts her up as she lets out a yelp. The people walking by her side back up in fear, while dozens of needles are already embedding themselves irey's joints and tail. The shady guards of the woman try desperately to save their charge from her predit, but Esstrey pletely ighem.

  "I thought this pce was one where actually powerful people met, yet the one everybody fears here is some bitch hiding behind the authority of a nation? It's rather sad, I hope not all coalitions are doomed to rot like this." Esstrey looks around the crowd to see if anyone relevant is preparing to stop her, but she had already ascertaihat the ons of the guards were too shallow to pierce her skull. No others move to actually stop Esstrey, it seemed that the little power-drunk tyrant wasn't exceptionally loved.

  "Y-you should be paralyzed!" One of the attendants mao speak up agairey despite all the odds.

  "Oh? These needles are poisoned? I'm sorry, I didn't know." Of course, you would have more luck asking o poison a blood mage.

  Thhly disappointed with the PMC, Esstrey flings the arrogant noblewoman away, she gets saved from a bad nding by some guards, who have ceased attag Esstrey while she moves to leave.

  Esstrey moves toward one of the spatial mages, who gets the point and opens a path baalencia for Esstrey. She may not be great at making friends with everyone, but Esstrey doesn't need friends in the PMot when she could have enemies like these.

  Prickly