The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[GamesMaster]

Tsuki scoffs. "Only that they're in the top ten percent in the city who could take a hit from a creature that large."

[Jassinth]

"Oh. Oh! An actual Kraken, not a group named... I see." Jass frowns, gauging that, then shakes his head. "Not all of them, clearly, given your own easy success against your guards. But still, even a handful of of combatants on that level... Hmm. I am... perhaps there myself, though I am not a 'take the hit' sort. And my skill at summoning, even with plentiful resources and some assistants, is not such that I could gain the assistance of a beast on that level; I could, with several rituals, bargain with perhaps a dozen dire animals on the level of a wolf or eagle base. Perhaps a single large water elemental as well."

[Shiori]

"Water elementals are very common, they'll be prepared for that, but dire animals are very much not. That might be our best chance."

[GamesMaster]

"....what's a dire animal?" whispers Tsuki. 

[Jassinth]

Jass gives Tsuki a faintly horrified look but quickly brushes it off. "Dire animals are... For a very simple explanation, picture the difference between a common steel longsword and a mithril longsword with a basic enchant. A wolf can-- if pressed-- kill a healthy adult with only minor to moderate wounds. A dire wolf can kill your typical guard patrol."

[GamesMaster]

"What is needed to perform these rituals?" asks Koji

[Jassinth]

"Ah, the elemental summoning-- which I can do earth or air as well, I should mention. I said water assuming it would be best, culturally, but if that's too predictable..." He shrugs. "Right. I'll need magically potent herbs and gemstones primarily. Some kind of focus, depending on the element. Earth does well with raw ores or unopened geodes. Air, lightning struck tree wood, eggshells of an avian magical beast or cloud dew from a mountaintop. Dire animals are somewhat easier, I think; your typical herbs and gemstones, of course, but the focuses are just blood and bone from the mundane version of the animal. But I'll also need to be the woods or lake, somewhere natural for the target." He pauses, then snaps his fingers. "Right, and if I'm doing this in any kind of numbers, I'll need assistants. Magical, obviously, nature-focused if possible."

[GamesMaster]

"...it must be bone? Not fur?" asks Koji. 

[Jassinth]

Jass shakes a hand back and forth. "Strictly speaking, it must be a fluid and a solid, both integral to life. So venom or spit does not work, but the fluid found inside the skull or in the spine does. Fur... is an edge case, provided it's still attached to skin. Shaved fur will not."

[GamesMaster]

"Understood. Prepare for your rituals. I will have the materials delivered to Kuronue's home in an hour." He barks instructions in Tengu at the empty air; briefly, a servant manifests, bows and then withdraws to follow them. 

[Jassinth]

"Social animals work best," he adds quickly. "Not for the ritual itself, but for the bargaining and alliance. Ah, so food for the chosen animals as well. Dire beasts aren't fussy eaters as a rule but quantities should be double or even triple the norm." He glances down at the table, and murmurs, "lucky we only had tea." I can do a quick cleansing in place of a natural fasting. Stomach cramps suck but time is important.

[GamesMaster]

"Understood. Anything else required?"

[Jassinth]

"...do you have anyone trained in animal craft? Rearing and training, preferred, but hunting or farming works in a pinch."

[GamesMaster]

"Yes. We have a menagerie with trained experts on animal care. I shall have them brought to you."

[Jassinth]

"Then I think we have a plan," Jass says with the beginnings of enthusiasm in his voice. "Will you be able to come with Shiori and I for this?" he asks Tsuki.