Rebellion Meeting

"Rebellion Meeting" is an early Season 3 thread which occurs shortly after Haddock's funeral. The people of the Grounded Dungeon Rebellion debate who will be in charge now that Gareth the Second is dead.
Note that there is a split in this thread. After Seasick's speech, one thread follows up where Stonegit asks Kiri to prepare for battle against the witches; the other thread has Stonegit interact with Seasick.
== Summary ==
== Full Text ==
Grey Bergman: The camp has been eerily quiet since the King’s funeral. Everyone was just going about their daily business, but there wasn’t much life to say the least. Everyone was still shocked and/or mourning over the King’s death. That was to be expected since the funeral was only yesterday. It was going to take some time to heal now that the rebellion didn’t have their King anymore. 
As soon as that thought left Grey’s mind, she realized something. If King Haddock was no longer around to be in power, then…who was?
"Hey, Warren," she said to her friend as she looked up from feeding her dragon. "I got a question to ask."
Warren: Warren jumped a little, snapping out of her thoughts. “Oh? Y-yeah. Go ahead.”
Grey Bergman: Grey felt bad for starling the Pooka/human hybrid. “I was just wondering…did King Haddock ever say who his successor was going to be if anything…you know…?”
Warren: "Oh…." Warren sifted through her past interactions with the king. "I don’t think so…? But I was hardly privvy to that information." She sort of mumbles the last bit, distracted. "I’m sorry."
Treepelt Halfpaw: Treepelt, who had been walking back from the hall after her meal, overheard this bit of conversation from between the two soldiers, walked past a few feet and then stopped and turned around, furrowing her brow. “We should discuss that,” she said, surprising the two. “Would you…would you round everyone up so we can discuss this?”
Mera Violet Haddock: Mera paused her needlework a moment to pull back a strand of hair getting in her eyes. Then, as she resumed her work on her latest sewing project - a new shirt for the baby, who was outgrowing her clothing yet again - Mera stared around at everyone present at the meeting. Just a moment back she had overheard some of the rebels speaking about congregating together to discuss the successor to Haddock’s reign. Though probably neither of the conversationalists knew who Mera was, she had stepped right up and asked where the meeting would be held. And thus she was seated here alongside the other allegedly prominent members of the Wilderwest camp.
A bunch of ragtag young folks, she mused to herself as she added a few more stitches onto the shirt. But then, I suppose Garthy’ feisty ideals are rather appealing to that age demographic. The overwhelming youthfulness of everyone present certainly will make for a bit of a problem… Mera knew technically who was next in line for the throne - Haddock’s elder cousin, Elin - but since Mera neither cared for politics nor her late husband’s relative, she simply sat and observed as the meeting commenced. Maybe there’s someone here a bit more… likeable… than Elin.
Grey Bergman: Grey looked around at the crowd of people. This was very strange. A part of her was expecting King Haddock himself to walk in and start the meeting, but no… It looked like she had to do it. She took a deep breath. 
"Okay, everyone," she suddenly called out getting people’s attention. "So, I know you’re all probably wondering why we’re here, and well…you see…" She took another deep breath, "now that…King Haddock is…no longer with us, we need to figure out who is going to be his successor. We still need a leader, who can continue his legacy and lead this rebellion. So…any ideas?" She closed her eyes as her cheeks flushed. Thor Almighty…she was bad at this…
Mera Violet Haddock: "Someone with military and leadership experience, someone with charisma and virtue, and most importantly someone who isn’t a complete cotton-headed idiot," Mera suggested, then kept sewing.
Warren: Impressive checklist…. Warren thought. One that she most certainly didn’t satisfy. Although, it is a good place to start. Tentatively, she raised her voice, hoping she sounded more comfortable than she was.
"Anyone who fulfills these… requirements, and is willing to take on the responsibility of succeeding King Haddock of the Wilderwest and Grounded Dungeon  Rebellion, please step forward."
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit walked into the room, carefully closing the door behind him. He had not heard the call to the meeting, as he had been out at the time. Upon hearing the murmurs and debates inside he stepped into investigate. He turned his head oddly to get a look at the crowd, his eyes wide. “What is this?” he asked. 
Treepelt Halfpaw: Tree, standing quietly in the corner, glanced up at Stonegit’s entry. “We’re deciding on the king’s successor,” she said in a deadpan voice, dropping her eyes back to the ground. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: The dead silence that followed that blunt statement practically dropped the temperature in the room. “What?” Stonegit said quietly, walking further into the room. “A successor? One of us?!” he said, a scoff in his voice. “This is no debate…” Stonegit thrust out a hand, pointing at Mera. “Our successor is here with Haddock’s heir.”
The man glanced over the crowd. “I certainly hope none of you were planning to sit upon his throne in the future….were you?” 
Mera Violet Haddock: Mera raised her eyebrows. “Me?” she asked. “I ran my husband’s life and at one point also ran a country inn for a few days while me pa was away. Granted, running either of those was a lot more work than running a rebellion of hot-headed teenagers…” she paused, considering the potential future. She cocked her head to one side and let the curls fall down onto her shoulder. “But I don’t want to do it if it’ll make me too grouchy. Will it make me too grouchy? If everyone’s as moody as you are, then it’ll make me too grouchy. You know what you’re saying boy? Do any of you, to be frank, know what in the Nine Worlds you are doing? At all?” 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit did not think ‘moody’ was the right word for it. “No,” he said. “We are criminals, wanderers, and lost folk. We do not know how to rule, and we are lost. You…do. You are the only one worthy to sit by the King’s throne.” 
He turned in a slow circle. “However…this is one matter that should be addressed. It is clear that our guards are untrained, and are given expectations they cannot achieve. They have been that way since General Jokul betrayed our cause.” he paused, his voice grave. “we have witches at our boarders, and their demon cats infiltrating our home. We have enemies, those against the Haddock family.” Stonegit chewed his words, speaking quietly. “I…know how to effectively, and systematically counter these attacks. I have been to Hel and back, slaughtered assassins, killed a Valkyrie. I can train and make these guards worthy to serve this rebellion. I will…I promise I will make it so our fortress will never again fear an enemy attack. If…you will all be willing to accept my campaigns, the orders within them, and report to me.”
He turned, glancing at Mera, and the woman could see a passion in his eyes, a strong desire, almost a manic glint for something he desperately wanted to attain. “Only within military jurisdiction of course.” he added, ducking his head slightly.    
Grey Bergman: Grey thought about Stonegit’s words for a moment. He was right! She didn’t realize that this was Haddock’s wife, but if she is, she would be perfect to carry on the leadership of the rebellion. She stood up.  
"I agree with Stonegit," she suddenly said with confidence. "This is King Haddock’s wife! The only person who would know better than any one of us how to rule. She’s the perfect person for the job!" 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit turned his head so his lazy eye was lined up with Mera. “Do you accept then?” he asked.  
Mera Violet Haddock: "There’s really no one else?" she asked skeptically. She appeared more interested in her needlework than the rebellion. But maybe a hint of smugness or satisfaction trickled into her words as well. 
Vox Arnason: "…what about Stonegit?" 
Vox had appeared in the meeting place seemingly out of nowhere, startling a few of it’s participants. He made no effort to move from the door, instead electing to speak from a distance.
"You were his closest ally. As his bodyguard, no doubt you picked up on his ideals and leadership. And I mean no disrespect to Mera…" He gave the widow a sympathetic glance. He couldn’t imagine what the loss was doing to her. Facing back to the bodyguard, he addressed Stonegit personally.
"…but you, you’ve seen it all. You went to Hel and back to save people you’d never even talked to. To serve your King to the highest reaches of honor. You know the evils we face."
"I believe that Stonegit should be the successor as King of the Wilderwest." 
Mera Violet Haddock: Mera pursed her lips, saying nothing. She waited for others’ responses. 
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit faced Vox, his eyes wide. “You forgot yourself Vox.” he said approaching him. “You were his friend before I even met him, but what’s the difference here?” he rolled his blind eye. “Oh yes,” Stonegit set his gaze gravely. “You didn’t kill him…” 
He paused, letting the words sink in, then clicked his tongue, facing the audience again. “Haddock never appointed an heir. The second in command was a combination of Jokul and Akkey. For obvious reasons we can’t turn to them. Therefor nobody here outside of the King’s family can ‘rule.’” Stonegit thought for a second. “If Mera does not take the throne, then I assume you all will choose who you want to follow, and pick somebody as a leader…but not King,” he shook his head. “Never that.”   
Mera Violet Haddock: "I wouldn’t say I wouldn’t do it," Mera said from the sideline, shrugging. "Just make up your minds, people, and do it intelligently."
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "In that case I recognize you as our Queen," Stonegit said. "And I accept Vox’s nomination. If there must be a title for it then it may as well be ‘battle-master,’ as I am not comfortable with the term ‘leader.’" He rubbed his wrist absentmindedly. "I suppose now further votes or nominations may commence…"  
Mera Violet Haddock: "Alright, tally up the votes, tell me when you’re done." Mera stood. "In the meantime, I’ll be in my rooms. I’ll bet you anything Signy’s awake from her nap and wants some dinner. So knock gently when you decide to tell me I’m officially Queen - don’t want to startle the baby."
Toshioka Kiri: Kiri walks in, crossing her arms.  She is now aware of the situation and glances about carefully at everyone.
"If we’re to elect a new leader for the Rebellion itself," she begins cautiously, "Stonegit is my first choice, as one who knows all the defenses, the workings of the movement, and was a personal guard to our king.  Therefore, I vote for Stonegit as the Battlemaster.  However…"
She looks up to where the queen had been.
"For the sake of the Wilder West, and the kingdom as a whole," she says softly, "Queen Mera should rule in her late husband’s stead until she believes that her children are mature and ready to take the throne.  That is my decision on it."
I’m surprised that the foreign girl on her Walkabout would be allowed say in this, she ponders with an odd warm feeling in her chest.  What a Rebellion this is.
Clover Rose: Clover remains silent as Kiri speaks, taking in what she has to say. “I agree with Kiri. It seems to be the best idea that has been presented thus far.” She falls silent again, unsure if they expect her to say anything else or if that was enough.
Bree Ostberg: Bree lifts her gaze to that of the audience present. Everyone else had said what they needed to, and now it was Bree’s turn. She took a breath.
"I believe, for the sake of the Haddock family and younger generations, that the Queen should be the one in charge." she paused, thinking of how to word her next thought. "But she needs a second-in-command to aid her in decision making and battle plans, if need be. That person should be Stonegit. I care not what anyone else says about it, but we could all tell how close he was to the King, and Mera is new to this battle, so she needs someone to guide her."
Although the same opinion had just been stated a few times, Bree decided to make it clear that she would back it up, adding her own suggestions to the mix.
Grey Bergman: Grey nodded as Bree finished giving her statement. It seemed like everyone was on the same side, which was good. She smiled and stood up. “I’m agreeing with everyone else and sticking with what I said earlier,” she said. “She knows more about ruling a group of people more than any one of us here, but Bree is right when she said that a second-in-command is needed. Someone will need to help her with the rebellion. And that’s Stonegit.”
Asha: Asha stumbles into the room, confused and a little out of breath. She’s finally caught up to the rest of the rebels after getting lost.
"Excuse me, but, what on earth is going on? I’ve heard rumors that the king has passed away. Is that true?"
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "So we are all in accord? …Good." he folded his hands in front him, his good hand tenderly resting on the other, less well off, hand. He nodded to a guard. "Inform Queen Mera ( battleofthegroundeddungeon ) of what transpired in her absence.”
The boy rubbed the back of his neck. “So then…Who wants to drive back some witches?” he asked, looking pointedly at kirithevikingninja.  
Toshioka Kiri: Kiri blinks in surprise at being addressed.  
Then her face hardens and she gazes forward.
"Let’s do this then," she states.  "We’ll need mages and dragons, possibly a combination with regular soldiers.  A mage must be with any group that goes after a witch.  How many can you spare?”  
Seasick: Seasick could no longer stay quiet. She jumped to her feet.  
"Sir, if I may interrupt."
She took a deep breath, looked around at everyone and then directly at Stonegit.
"I….I agree with Mera being Queen, but I do not agree to you, Stonegit, being leader of the army. Ever since the rebellion, and these last few weeks in particular, there has been nothing but chaos around here. Notable members here have been victim of possession and manipulation, and the whole reason we are even having this meeting, was due to you getting possessed and killing the King. I know, it wasn’t your fault, but how can you be sure that you or anyone else won’t being possessed by some other demon or Valkyrie?"
She paused to gather her thoughts. With another deep breath, she continued.
"How can we trust you or anyone else who has been possessed, to protect us? How can we trust that you won’t get possessed again and kill Mera or her children?? I know that you and everyone else here are worthy leaders, but we can’t have someone who is…damaged lead us. We need someone who can protect us, someone who can avoid getting possessed… someone who can think clearly and won’t do something stupid and get themselves or other killed."
"I don’t know who else could lead us, but I believe that this needs to be addressed. Stonegit, I know you are a good man, and I know that you and the King were close, but I do not believe that you are fit to lead us"
And with that, Seasick sat down.  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit watched her sit down, seemingly unaffected by the harsh words. He faced the rest of the audience. “I’m not taking anybody into battle who doesn’t want to go. But if we are to act we must act now. So I have a few starting…suggestions.”  
Stonegit inhaled. “The more white cats that are killed the better, hunt them like vermin. As for the witches, I assume they are vulnerable to dragon fire, so Kiri, if you would be so kind as to take a air strike team over their labyrinth or whatever settlement they may have and reduce it to a pile of embers. Finally…” he met Seasick’s eyes. “Since some of us are concerned with the loyalty of our possessed allies, I need some willing volunteers to go and retrieve Tezz the nomad. But do so in extreme caution.”
He walked towards the door. “And I’ll have a work with our friend Skye.”   
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit listened to her words, craning his head up so is lazy pupil was on her. Flashbacks of Orskaf’s, Tal’s, Landrester, and the deity’s words came back to him, and he ran a hand over his caved head. “Damaged?” he asked simply.  
His shoulders relaxed, and he carefully stretched out a hand palm up, and then slowly curled his fingers in, his index folding last. “Come here,” he said carefully, his voice gentle, but expecting.    
Seasick: Odin help me. Seasick froze.   
I just had to open my mouth didn’t I? 
Great. This is how I’ll die. Painfully.
Slowly, Seasick got up and walked over to Stonegit. Everything around her felt like it was going in slow motion.
This is how it ends. See you soon Haddock.
Standing right in front of Stonegit, Seasick stared intensely into his eyes.
"Yes?"  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: Stonegit met her eyes evenly, rubbing his chin. There was but a few moments of tense silence, and then the boy spoke. “In the library there are many books on possession and mind control. Surely within one of them is the means to make anti possession seals. Finding such a thing will give everybody in the camp the means to protect themselves.” he raised an eyebrow. “Perhaps that answers your question, that I am aware of the fact that I killed the man that gave me a reason to live? And that I fully intend to prevent such a thing from ever happening again? Maybe?”  
He tilted his head. “Next…Seasick, we are facing a time of pain, and loss, and the white cats will be doing everything in their power to take advantage of us.” Stonegit leaned forward. “Do you know how many approached me? …within twenty four hours?”    
Seasick: Breathe… just breathe.
  Seasick listened closely to what Stoengit was saying. 
Oh sure, go to the library. Read a few books. That won’t bring back the King.
She swallowed hard, and then spoke in a low voice.
"Probably a lot" Seasick responded.
No time for sarcasm, idiot. Don’t get him angry.
"But how can you be sure these books will help? What if they don’t work? What if our enemies have stronger powers than those dusty old things? How will you protect everyone?"
She tried to not sound angry, but she couldn’t help it. 
"How do we know for sure… that there aren’t any enemies hiding within our camp? How do we trust anyone after these incidents?"  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: "We don’t," Stonegit said firmly. "We check now. We push back the witches, kill the white cats, and make sure that /everybody/ has their own mind!"  
He took a step back, inhaling deeply. “Your concerns are legitimate, and you are right. I am damaged, I have been told, and I’ve known it all my life. So now give me a chance to show you just how much a broken person can do.”      
Seasick: Give you a chance. Ha. You’ve already had your chance.
  Seasick stared intensely at him.
"Fine. I suppose I and the rest of the camp will foolishly give you another chance. But know this, the moment something goes wrong, there won’t be any more chances for you.”  
Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss: The scared man closed his eyes, rage coming to his face but fading quickly. He huffed a quiet, humorless laugh, and then stepped forward, cupping the side of her face with his marred and hand leaning in, whispering so that no one else would hear. “Seasick…I would not suggest calling your fellow  men fools. Do not forget that I hold no ill will toward any of you even though you all bought into Hemlock’s lie, a lie that lead Haddock to his death.” he took a breath, his voice raspy as his throat tightened. “And consider that maybe its because of people like you that Tree feels like she’s still a criminal.”  
Stonegit straightened, letting go. “You don’t have to take my orders. Go on… and see how you do without me.”    
Seasick: Seasick flinched at the sudden touch.   
People like me. Oh. 
She stared at him for a moment. It felt like an eternity. No one else in the room moved.
"Trust me, Stonegit, I have survived many years on my own. I’ll do just fine without you and your ‘protection’," she said in a low voice.
Stepping back, she continued.
"Well then. I have voiced my concerns. Everyone has a right to express their feelings."
She paused, slowly walking away from Stonegit.
"Maybe.. I will stay to watch how you… lead all these lost people."
And to watch you fail miserably. Get even more innocent people killed.Category:Season 3Category:Events
Category:Grey Bergman
Category:Warren
Category:Mera Violet Haddock
Category:Stonegit Brotchurn Elmiss
Category:Vox Arnason
Category:Toshioka Kiri
Category:Clover Rose
Category:Bree
Category:Seasick
Category:Treepelt Halfpaw
Category:Asha Stenberg
Category:BOTGD