"I twist the truth, I rule the world, my crown is called deceit I am the emperor of lies, you grovel at my feet I rob you and I slaughter you, your downfall is my gain And still you play the sycophant and revel in your pain And all my promises are lies, all my love is hate I am the Triumvirate and I decide your fate..." Standing outside the Mountain Grill in Edda, Hsien Yue Fei could hear raspy, shouted lyrics over the distorted, rhythmic notes of a bass harpset. Something sounded off. The harpset player exhibited undeniable skill, but the song called for additional instruments. While he didn't consider himself an expert, he guessed that without a lead harpset and some drums, it lacked at least two-thirds of its intended ensemble. As Yue Fei strode through the doors of the restaurant, the music stopped abruptly. A last whine of feedback from the harpset was muted by the musician's palm. The sparse audience consisted solely of a trio of aging Tohaa, huddled around a table positioned as far away from the stage as they could manage. Their expressions bore a palpable sense of relief at the music's sudden halt, though once they registered the hulking frame of a Yu Jing Imperial Agent in the room they made a flustered show of finishing their food and hurrying for the door. "Yue Fei," growled the musician, as he stepped down off the small stage. "I'm glad you could find me. I have something you need to know." "Le Muet, why do you play in a place like this?" asked the Hsien. It didn't seem to have brought in any customers, though at least that meant there were no witnesses to their meeting. "The owner, Lou, is down on his luck. He hopes I'll keep this place safe for him if he feeds me. He's been trying to stop me getting on stage, but I worry I'll forget my music. I get edgy if I don't play. Sometimes people get hurt." Even now, the holsters of two large breaker pistols were conspicuous under Le Muet's bulky, black jacket. "Whatever the cost, Lou figures it's worth it. The Tohaa community is scared. There aren't many of us left." "Your services were invaluable to us in the New Hypatia docks. I'll listen to what you have to say. My presence isn't going to boost business around here though, you should know my Durian Inspectors have been sent to hunt down the Spiral Corps." "Hhrm. Those bastards. That's why we need to talk," Le Muet scowled. "And why should I trust what you have to say about them? You've worked for Spiral in the past. You could be trying to save their necks." "Money is money, I work for everyone. But you don't know what they did to me, do you? They did all this," said Armand, waving at the scarred crown of his head. "They said I gave them permission, but the bastards lied to me. This isn't a haircut or missing leaves on a damned vegetable, this is life to a Tohaa. I can't even talk to my people without using your stumbling human language. I'm a cripple that nobody can bear to be around. I have no family, I have no lovers. Then they messed with my identity and named me LeMuet... the Corahtaa mute. That's their joke. But my music helped me unpick the mess they've made of my mind. ���� Spiral Corps and ���� the Triumvirate [1]." "Tell me, what is the Triumvirate?" In truth, Yue Fei had been investigating them for some time. But why let Armand know what cards he held? Better to hear everything. "That's what you need to know. The Tohaa didn't want to destroy this world. Most Tohaa came here to fight the Combined Army, or to escape from it. But before you humans even built the first circular, the secret, bastard Triumvirate has skulked in the shadows and has been playing us, and you humans, for fools. They brought down the Daedalus Gate and they caused this Concilium Debacle. And right now, for whatever secret reason they have, they've sent the Spiral Corps to build a mercenary coalition and attack the Master Clock in Huaqiao. I know because they're trying to pay me to go there." [1] ���� indicates an untranslatable word. Context indicates it may be Vaarso Battlespeak for some kind of curse, probably sexual in nature. [ LeMuet has generously gifted Hsien Yue Fei a container of unsold "band" merchandise, principally a large number of LeMüeterhead embroidered patches, which will be made available to generals of the State Empire and allies as part of a community patch competition. Competition rules will be shared soon. ]
Dear Durian Inspector Unit Chief YueFei, Can you provide to the Oberhaus the localization of said restaurant please? The sanitary conditions in it seems horrible and Bureau Lakshmi would like to conduct an inspection on-site to assure themselves that no Human citizens of the Sphere would suffer from poisoning or else while having a blast there. Thank you for your cooperation. Lady Numiria High Commissionner Behalf the Edda Defense Front Commission
Unfortunately, LeMuet has asked us to withhold the location of the restaurant on the grounds that "he still has some stuff there that he doesn't want the ������ ���s finding". To maintain good relations with our contractor, we must protect this information for now. I trust you have other, more pressing, matters to attend to other than organizing a blast at a Tohaa restaurant.
