[CtL]In a Handful of Dust

[Mechanix]

Chapter 1 - Harsh Awakening


Scarecrow Jack
“Waky waky, little sleepy-head!”
Your ears are ringing and there's a drummer going crazy inside your head, but nonetheless the blissfull veil of sleep is slowly lifted off your eyes, leaving you shivering and way too much awake for your taste. You'd rather just go back to unconsciousness, but your companion does not seem inclined to let you; her long slithery fingers are holding your head, and you feel their tips pushing against your temples, as if they were trying to pierce the pumpkin. The deranged smile of the woman is a sobering sight in itself, and enough to make you forget your pain for a moment. When she sees that she has your full attention, she thankfuly let go off your head, and stands up in front of you. Still only half-awake, you realize in trying to move that your hands don't obey you... In fact, as you soon become aware, you are tied up to a chair.
“I knew you were trouble the day you arrived, but nooo, they wouldn't listen!” the woman says with wild eyes. Her hair is white and she seems old, but you remember seeing her somewhere...
“So I took it upon myself to observe you! I saw how you looked at people in the bar... And when I pulled a little Vainglory to make sure it was me you'd be watching most, I saw that glimmer in your eyes! I knew you were going to try and hurt me... And I was right!” she adds triumphantly. “You followed me in the streets, stalked me like a common thug! I know what you were trying to do, you privateer bastard! But I'm not going to let you do it... No no no... You will never harm anyone ever again!”

Oh. So that is it. It's the woman you chose to stalk earlier that... Night? Is it still night? You have no idea; the room has no window. She seemed perfectly human (and younger) at the time, so you thought you would follow her to scare her a little, get a Glamour fix. Nothing harmful, just what you do these days – play with fear and feed on it.
Apparently your intentions were misinterpreted, which led to a sharp pain in the neck and swift oblivion. It's coming back to you know...
The ropes that are tying you up are hard, though the chair you're sitting on isn't of the best quality. The room around you is all made of wood, and in fact does not seem much like an ordinary room – its walls have curves and no apparent plank. For a moment, you get the crazy thought that maybe you are inside a tree.
In front of you, the woman is still rambling.
What will you do?



Sue and Mr Teddybear
The Man of Smoke is leading you up the wooden path. This is a queer place you are in; it seems like you're walking in the woods, but all the trees are sharp and naked, their limbs without a single leaf but full of thorns and spikes. The ground creaks under your light feet, the earth dry and frozen. Some of the tortured shapes of the surrounding vegetation seem to watch you, to mock you, like weird dancers contorting their limbs in inhuman postures. There is not a single cloud in the air, yet the sky is perfectly white, the grey-white of winter clouds bringing snow, only there's no snow and no cloud. The sun is nowhere to be seen, yet there's as much light as in any afternoon.
The Man of Smoke is one of the Lost who took you from Arcadia, and the one who welcomed you in his house afterwards. You've been living with him for the past few weeks, but he seems distant, cold, as if he was wary of you. You don't think he loves you, but he takes care of you. And who cares about love anyway? The love you've learned is a strange and twisted thing, full of pain and terror. You like it that way, but most people don't, so you don't receive love as you would like.
You see a crow flapping his wings as he sits carefully on a thorned tree, and you smile to him. The Man of Smoke tells you to keep moving. You don't know why you are here, but you think it's just because he didn't want to leave you alone – though not necessarily for the reason most people think of.
To your right, someone else is walking. She's all shadow and nightmares, and reminds you of your Keeper. For many, that would be a bad thing. Not for you.

Ankou without a Karriguel
The man keeps walking, silent and sullen. You've quickly learned that it was pointless to ask him questions, as he only answers elusively or simply not at all. You still have no idea how you got here; the strange man came at your door this morning, wisps of smoke surrounding his coat and masking his features, and told you that the Autumn Court needed you. You nominally belong to the Court – at least that's what the weird man who called himself a Lost told you a few weeks back. He was clearly not a normal person, though not as weird as you, and you took a few drinks with him. He explained much and yet so little, filling your head with strange words – Darkling and Arcadia and Hedge and Changeling. The Hedge is where you are now, of that you are sure. The smokey man is calling himself a friend of Bobcat Willis, the one who taught you these words. He told you he needed a new member of the Court, brand new. So new even that you are still waiting to take those Pledges Willis spoke of, and to meet that King of his.
Right now that doesn't matter much. You accepted, for whatever reason, and now you are walking in the cold and the shadows and praying the smokey man will stop soon. You've thought about striking up a conversation with that strange girl who's following you both, hugging her used teddy bear, but you've put it off until now. She's really kinda weird. Who the hell brings a child into this crazy place anyway?
And then, finally, he stops. You're at a crossroad; the path continues forward, then bends, but through the trees you can find a strange monument farther up; it looks like a large, very large tree, with enough place to carve a house into.
Which probably explains why you can see windows on its side.

Chester the Cat
“Come now,” she told you. “I won't bite.” You're still wondering if it's true, but even then you wouldn't want to approach her; Ange is wrapped in blue-white flames that flicker around her cloak. These flames look cold, but chill or warm you wouldn't try putting your hand in them all the same. She's moving swiftly through the trees, and you have to regularly quicken the pace to pick up. Winters suits her, and she seems to take pleasure in the cold and desolate surroundings; in a sense, you too feel somewhat at home in this season – perhaps the effects of your Mantle make it easier to bear. The full implications of being a Winter Courtier still have to be fully explained to you, but Ange promised to tell you all you needed as soon as this was over. She called it an “introduction,” though you still wonder how wandering the woods with a girl wrapped in flames will help “introduce” you to the Court. Still, you followed her, because she promised you forgetfulness and safety once this was done.

Harley the living bike
The woman in white and the weird cat-thing are disturbing to watch, but you followed them nonetheless. After all, you aren't exactly normal either – you might even be weirder than them; you don't have much place finding them strange. Besides, the woman promised to cure you of that strange affliction you've been having recently – part thirst, part hunger, and part fatigue and cramps. You feel like a used and rusted machine, gears grinding to a halt for lack of lubrication. She told you that if you only followed her, she'd cure you, provide you with this oil you've been lacking since you escaped the crazy biker who made you you this way. She spoke to you of the wonders of the Hedge and the Goblin Fruits that grew there, and said she has seen the likes of you before – warped by Faerie in such unholy ways as to never be able to live fully as a mortal, craving sustainance for their fae side as much as for their human side. From the way she told it, it is not a fortunate fate; but it is your. And so you followed.

A few minutes more pass, until the woman stops; you have come to a crossroad of frozen earth, a path leaiding to the north and a strange tree. From the south, you hear muffled voices and creaking steps, and soon you stumble upon another group a three strange people.


The Man of Smoke and Ange greet each other and shake hands, before turning toward you all.
“So. I guess you have questions,” the man says. As he stands near the fiery blonde, you can see a strange phenomenon – the light of her flames grow dim and amber as it reaches him, flames as lazy as a comfortable winter fire in a chimney; while his wisps of smoke become white and cold as they twirl around her, leaving faint traces of frost upon her skin. “We were short on time, and didn't explain much. Now would be a good time to catch up.”

What will you do?

[DualShadow]

She sure had questions to ask but eyeing the other three that seemed to have gotten dragged along like her, Harley didn't knew where to begin. She took a look around to better look at the others, the cat creature, the dark lady with red eyes and a little girl. Then in front there was the weird duo that lead them all here, Ange, the one that lead her here, answered a few things briefly causing more confusion but right now one thing was on her mind "Who are you people? What do you want from me? From us?" she adds taking another glance at the group who she guessed had little more understanding than she did right now. "You mentionned a cure but surely it doesn't come free right?" Her voice had a little hint of anger but sounded more like someone scared and uncertain.

[ValhallaStreet]

Jack shakes his head, though it's not obvious whether he's denying the woman's words or simply trying to clear his head. Realising his dire situation, he fights the urge to struggle. There will be time for that later.

Jack snorts in derision at the woman's accusation of privateer. "Right. You tricked me into thinking you were normal, and that must prove that I was trying to take you back again. What the hell are you smoking, woman?"

Realising that trying to enrage the woman might not be the best initial tack, Jack backs off a little. "Look. You're confused. I don't care about whoever the hell you are. If I'd known what you were, I would have gone after one of the normal folk there and left you alone. I'm not working for anybody, I just wanted to feed a little. Hell, I don't even hurt them, just give them a little scare. It's funny, you know?"

Knowing that there would probably be no way of convincing her, Jack starts to tense his arms and legs, trying to find a weak point in the chair or his bonds, without alerting the crazed Changeling.

[Mechanix]

Exposition time!'It is free, in a sense,' Ange answers. 'But not free of danger. You suffer from Goblin sickness -''Yeah, like that's a real name,' the other chuckles.
'Shut up, Harry. In any case, it can't be cured, as far as I know. But I can show you how to alleviate the symptoms and prevent any lasting damage to your body. All I ask in return is that you help us today.'
'Listen up!' the Man of Smoke says louder. 'In the past few days, you've all escaped from a place of pain and terror, from the creatures who changed you, made you forever different from everyone you knew. They stole your lives. Some of you may want nothing but to forget, to go back to a normal life like nothing ever happened.'
'And that's okay,' Ange adds. I'm here to help you achieve that. Others may have more... Ambbitious, dangerous goals. We'll get to that later. What matters right now is that you are not alone. We are many to have escaped Arcadia, and all of us are in danger. Our Keepers have not forgotten us. For this reason, we must help each other. Keep each other's back. I am sorry we did not leave you much choice. But we are in a... Tight situation, politically speaking.'
'Yeah, there's politics too,' Harry says mockingly.
'Anyway, one just like you - freshly escaped, still lost, is in danger right now. Harry and I have been tasked with saving him, but were not given much help to do that. So we've made a decision. As newfound Lost - that's how we call each other, by the way - you have been kept purposefully in the dark until now, while we figured out wether or not to trust you.'
'Thankl the Winter Court and their paranoia for that. You are currently in a difficult situation; the Powers that Be are afraid of you - never before have so many come out of the Hedge in so little time. They think it might be some fae plot. So they are preparing to test you in ways tat might prove quite unpleasant. Which is why we're here. Help us save this Lost, and you'll both do the right thing and give us something that might convince the Court that you can be trusted.'
'Trust me, this is a better deal than you'll get most of the time.'
'What do you say?' the man asks, visibly slightly anxious.

Jack
'And you expect me to believe that?' the hag asks angrily, spidery hands waving around to accentuate her words. 'You come fresh out of the Hedge, walk around with your Mien for all to see, Mantle of Fear flaring like you've been in the Antler Crown for year, stalking people - you think I've never seen a fae trap before? You've been sent by the Gentry to catch new mortals and attract other Lost so you can send them back to their Keepers! Ooooh, but I'm smarter than that, yes I am.'
She starts pacing around the room, every gesture dramatic and overdone, like a hammy actor in a cheesy movie; eyes look around wildly, never leaving you for more than a few seonds.
'I told them the Autumn Court had always been the closest to the Gentry! All of them a bunch of privateers and loyalists in becoming, but they wouldn't believe me! But now I have proof.
The ropes on your wrists aren't the strongest and the knot isn't the best. You might be able to force or wriggle you way out of them, but not with her watching you; she'd see you before you got free.

Roll Composure + Wits. You don't need to wait for the results to tell me your next action.

[Mono Vertigo]

The mention of Keepers still remembering them makes Ankou shiver painfully and visibly. It's all still hazy – her life before the kidnapping, the Durance during which she'd been striped off her 3rd dimension, the escape – but her very soul fears to undergo that again.
Her eyes drift toward the little girl. “There are many more people like us? Oh god.” If she was a Lost indeed, it means that the Others would also kidnap children. Though she's jealous the Fairest looked so normal compared to her, and could probably go back to her family looking just like this, she also feels a lot commiseration for her, because she was just a child.
Ankou tries to focus on the rest of the discussion. Though the suspicion against her hurt – she's a victim, dammit! - it also was understandable. In their place, she would have done the same. Especially if they had had no shadow. (Fortunately, everyone present seems to have a shadow. Everyone therefore got a good point for that.)
“You want us to rescue someone?” she asks, wanting to know the details before accepting, quickly spitting out her questions, “From who, or what? Where is he? Who is he?” No more lousy deal, the Darkling wants to hear all the conditions beforehand from now on.

[Mechanix]

'Who is he? One scary mother****er, that I can tell you,' Harry says. With eacjh of his words, a puff of smoke flies away in the cold air, shrouding his face for a moment.
'What Harry means,' Ange says in annoyed tone, 'is that the Lost we want to rescue shows a particular attunement to the Mantle of Autumn. 'Think of it as a sort of magical connection to a specific emotion or season - in that case, Fear. That does not make him a bad guy. Some of you show a similar bond to this emotion, which is part of why you scare the Winter Court.'
'What it did in his case was worse. It attracted the attention of the Toymaker's Girl. She's the one holding him prisonner, and I wouldn't want to be in his place.'
'The Toymaker's Girl was once a respected member of our community,' Ange begins, but she's immediately interrupted:
'What she means is that she was crazy but useful, and had the decency to keep her insanity to herself.'
'That isn't true.'
'Is too.'
'Anyway,' Ange continues with an angry look at her partner, 'something went wrong with her in recent years. She grew paranoid and recluse. Started seeing loyalists and... Well, bad guys everywhere. She thinks that guy is an agent of the Gentry, and god knows what she'll do to him. So we're going to rescue him.'
'The hag lives in that house over there,' the Man of Smoke says pointing at the huge tree to the north. What we're going to do is send you to the front of her house to attract her attention. Nothing violent, we just want to keep her busy while I go to the back and set her prisonner free. Then, we all run like hell. No need for a fight.'
'But it still might happen,' the woman adds. 'Which is why we need numbers. As long as we come in in full force and keep close to each other, there's no actual danger, even if you don't know how to fight.'
'In which case you'll have to learn soon anyway,' Harry says with snark. 'So it's win-win, right?'
'Any question? Anyone who really doesn't want to do this?'

[Drakhesh]

Chester kept himsef silent during all the conversation. All those things were new for him. That's why he decide to focus on listening and remembering.
He looked at other persons who came here. A child. Metal girl. Red-eyed shadow women. They smell... intriguingly.
Once again he focused his sight on Ange. She promised him forgetfulness. Ad for this, he can do a lot.
- So - he said, and his voice sounded more like a purr than anything else - all we have to do, is make a distrrraction forrr you, yes? - cat continued, twitching his ear.
Chester narrowed his eyes, like a cat not trusting a hand outstretched toward him.
- I dont know how this will get me, what i want, but verry well. I'll do this - he said with with a wide grin, showing a set of fangs.
If obeying orders of those two means he will finally forget, what they did to him, and what he did, so be it.

[DualShadow]

"It's not exactly like I currantly have any choice about that right now..." letting the rest of her thought trail off into silence. Listening to the explanation as it goes on and the mention of the Keepers stealing their life was like a pick-up truck hitting her head on.

Harley took a few steps back to end behind the crowd with her two hands hiding her face mumbling in sorrow to herself. "I ... I ... it's my own fault ...." Remembering how eager she was to leave with the one that would rob her of her humanity, all that so she could anger her father, all that for her own pride.

It takes only a few moment for her to regain control of her emotions and to compose herself back rubbing off a blue tear similar to windshield washer fluid that escaped her soft blue glowing eyes. Refocusing her sight on the duo in front and hearing the end of the explanation about The Toymaker's girl.

"Alright count me in, I want to help but first may I know more about these loyalist? I don't want to fight the lady so I want something I can tell her to keep her focus on us."

[Mionelle]

'I'm a bit scared, Mr Fuzzy' Sue whispers to her teddy bear, hugging him tightly. 'All those creatures are looking at me in suspicious way... Isn't that kinda exciting?'

Suddenly girl starts giggling. After a while she tries to focus on the conversation, but she's too impatient to listen carefully.

'Hey, hey, wait!' she said with a little hint of irritation in her voice. 'Is it a part of a game or something? I dare say my mommy will be angry if I disappear from home for such a long time. I don't feel like livin' in a cage for a week or two... Believe me, she's very moody.'

[Mono Vertigo]

Ah, yes, fear. Still present in her mind. Considering what happened to her, it might never go away. Ankou would feel a lot better, surrounded by people even more afraid than she was.
“Very well, we'll distract her, but...”
Again, she looked at the child, but did not speak directly to her.
“There better be no fight involved at all.”
Then, she addressed Sue. "It's not a game, so be careful and stay behind us. It's not gonna take long!" The Darkling wasn't sure how to feel about the "living in a cage" bit, but there was no time to question the little girl about her family.

[Mionelle]

'Don't underestimate me, I can defend myself' she answers confidently. 'I have a knife and I know how to use it. Perhaps Mr Bristly looks innocuous, but he's a great warrior, I swear!'

[ValhallaStreet]

Jack gives the woman what he hopes is an unnerving grin, and the flames behind his eyes flare up.

"Do you like making deals? Of course you do, we all do. So here's my deal. You let me go. I walk out of here. Then I forget who you are, and you don't bother me again. Or, I get up from this chair. I put my hands around your neck. Then I squeeze until your face turns black, your eyes pop out of your head, and every blood vessel in your head bursts, and you never have to worry about the Others ever again."

Wits+Composure: [roll0]
Potential 10-agains: [roll1]

Verbal threat:
Intimidation+Manipulation: [roll2]
Potential 10-agains: [roll3]

[Mechanix]

Harry looks at Sue, slightly dubious.
"I didn't really intend to make you part of this, Sue. But for better or for worse, you... Actually scares Winter a bit more than the other newbies here. And I can't leave you alone. Anyway. No, Sue, there'll be no problem with your mother. Trust me on this," he says with that reassuring smile that made you trust him when he told you that you couldn't go back to your "mother" just yet. "It's almost like a game, and it won't take long." He opens his mouth as if to add something - probably to answer Harley's question about loyalists - when suddenly, a high-pitched shriek interupts him.
"We don't have time," Ange says nervously.
"Right. Okay people, questions later. We got an awesome rescue to make." He takes a long breath, closes his eyes, and then,
he's gone.
No one remains where the Man of Smoke once stood, save for a few grey wisps fading away.
"Don't worry. That's his favorite trick," Ange says with a smile. Then, a determined look on her face: "Follow me. I'm with you for now."

Jack
The woman screams, and stumbles backwards, falling on her behind. There's fear in her eyes, fear and - is that pleasure? No... More like gratification. She starts smiling, and you understand: you scared her, but you also proved her right.
Above you, you notice strange things hanging in the darkness of the room's ceiling; complicated metallic shapes hanging from steel cables, bizarres arrays of what looks like blades and spikes, immobile.

"I knew it! You're a monster, a killer! I knew it from the beginning! You abomination! You are an agent of the Gentry, come to take us away! Take us back! But I won't go back, no, not now, not ever! I am the Toymaker's Girl, you worthless spook! And I! Wear!Winter!"
As she says these words, the temperature of the room seems to go down a good fifteen degrees; frost starts to creep over the walls and floors, and the woman's breath becomes a white cloud that twists and agitates as if it had a life of its own.

Above the ceiling, the metallic arrays start shivering and trembling, and their articulated parts start deploying like the legs of some great spider.

The woman is now laughing maniacally.

Your Intimidation rolls suffered a -2 penalty because you were tied up inside the Changeling's own home, but that still netted you two successes. Nonetheless, that's... Not really enough to convince her to let you go.
You can break out of your bonds, as I told you, but that's not going to be an Instant action; you can't just snap your arms and be done with it. I would strongly advise finding a way to stall her until you're free, if that's what you're going for.

[Mono Vertigo]

Kids with knives?
Where's the world going to?
Wait, that is a stupid question to ponder when you're in a parallel dimension covered in thorns, hiding from a psychotic monster, along with people who are all half-something.
Hopefully, the little girl would never try to stab her.
Ankou follows Ange, asking in a whisper: “What do we do if that Toymaker's Daughter catches up with us? We just... knock her out, right?” She had no intention to kill anyone, but she also wondered how wise it would be to freely let go a woman who was so dangerous a small group was necessary to stop her. She did not need one extra nemesis.

[DualShadow]

Harley doesn't wait for more, she follows Ange without questions. Trailing a bit behind still working her mind at how this is gonna end up, she cannot help but take a quick glance at the child with the knife and shivers at the thought of going side by side with the classic creepy psychotic kid from horror movies.

[Mionelle]

'Hm... Like it,' Sue says, wondering if one day she could learn such tricks. In response to Ange's command she sighs, shrugs her shoulders and then she follows the woman.
As she is walking, the girl keeps on whispering to her teddy bear: 'You see? They don't understand me, Mr Fuzzy. They don't understand my power, my talents... I'm a princess! If we were in the kingdom of my mother, they would regret their ignorance!' At the moment the other Lost hear just a silent laughter.

[Mechanix]

"Knock her out, immobilize her, talk to her, whatever does the trick. I'm not asking you to kill anybody. She's a poor woman who went mad, as it sometimes happen to us. She does not deserve that. All we have to do is keep her occupied while Harry liberates the prisonner."

Sue's laughter resonates as she finishes talking, taking away any reassuring effect it could have; the wind suddenly seems colder, the trees a bit more menacing. You follow Ange up the path, and within a few minutes you find yourselves in front of the house - a dozen yards away from a wooden door carved inside the tree; the path widens before you and becomes a clearing in the middle of the skeletal trees.

"Okay, we're there. Now, all we have to-"

That's when you all hear the grinding gears. Steel and rust resonate in the clearing - and two loud thumps on the ground in front and behind your little group.
Two mechanic constructs of ochre metal, looking like spiders with very long limbs, rise from the ground in front of you after leaping from the trees. They have no head or face, just round bodies of springs and coils.
"Oh, dammit," Ange has the time to says, and then they jump at you.

Fortunately, Ange is quick on the draw, and immediately leaps at one of the clockwork-thingies, grabbing its two foremost legs in her hands.

Initiative roll!
Clockwork Spider I 9
Clockwork Spider II 8
Ange 12
Chester 11
Sue 11
Ankou 8
Harley 7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3712244/)
...sorry for all those lame rolls on your behalf.

Ange performs a grapple on one of the things. (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3712246/)

The Spiders obviously don't want you any good, and are in fact attacking you right now! They have a Defense of 1 and 2 points of Armor, the latter of which may not apply against certain forms of attacks. Chester, it's your move.

[ValhallaStreet]

Bunching his muscles, or branches as the case may be, Jack begins trying to work his way out of the bonds as quietly yet quickly as possible. Meanwhile, he tries his best to distract the woman.

Looking up at the ceiling in fear, he eyes the strange contraptions. "Wh-what are those? Is that some kind of torture device? What have you been doing here? Have you been torturing Lost?"

Jack narrows his eyes at the woman, giving her a look of hatred. "I know what's going on here. You're the privateer, aren't you? I'm not going to give you anything, do you hear me? I won't betray our people!"

As he speaks, his voice gets louder and louder, until he's shouting towards the end. Meanwhile, he tries his best to keep her eyes away from his body any way he can, first by drawing her attention to the ceiling, and finally to his face while he shouts his accusations.

[Mionelle]

Sue sighs and draws her knife. She seems more irritated rather than scared. With evil grin on her face the girl gazes at construct's bottom in search of weak points.
She starts humming: 'Itsy-bitsy spider jumped off a thorny plant...'
As Mechanix wrote in the OOC thread - an Aim action.

[Mechanix]

Studying the struggling form of the spider, Sue can see something interesting - their core is a sphere composed of various metal plates bolted together to cover its insides, but it is clearly not the first time these constructs got into a fight; as a result, several of these plates are disjointed and slightly open, allowing for a deft hand to slip a blade between them and crack them open.

((By taking a -2 malus to your attack roll, you can both ignore the Armor of the spider and "destroy" one point of armor that this spider has))

Whatever Ange's plans are in seizing the spider, the thing obviously disagree; however, rather than trying to escape her grasp, it agitates those legs that are still free, and start desperately lashing at Ange's torso, drawing droplets of blood.
((Spider I inflicts 1L (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723900/) on Ange))

On the other side of the group, the other spider leaps at Ankou, both forelegs rising high and slashing down on her shoulders; however, its mechanical movements are predictable, and the swift young woman is able to dodge just in time, leaving the spider to stumble on the ground, its legs moving frantically to rise back up.
((Spider II misses (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723903/)))

Jack
"What? That is mad! I cannot be a privateer! I captured you because you were the privateer! Clearly if I capture a privateer it means I am not a privateer, and if I am not a privateer then the people I capture can only be bad persons and so themselves privateers! Don't you see that it's only logical?! I am not, therefore you are! You cannot deceive me, scarecrow! Just because I have grown old does not mean I have lost my wits or lucidity! No, clearly you are mistaken, and..."

The Daughter is clearly not as sane as she thinks she is, however, as it has proven quite easy for you to distract her and throw her into another insane rambling while you work on your ropes. She is pacing around the room, punctuating every gesture with a move of her hands, while the strange shadows on the ceiling start opening like flowers and moving along the planks, seemingly of their own.
All the while you wriggle and pull and push, and finally, manage to break free - which is not quite the discreet moment you hoped; the old rope snaps loudly and both your arms open, finally free.

And now, she's looking at you, flabbergasted. You only have a split second to decide what to do.

[Mono Vertigo]

In normal circumstances, Ankou would have taken the hint and run away, far away.
But she did promise to help a fellow Lost. She doesn't know why promises seem like such a big deal, now. All she knows is that she has to at least try even if she's scared.
After dodging the spider's legs, she tries, quite clumsily, to grab the machine's legs, but they slip smoothly through her arms.
[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3724894/]Grapple roll against the spider that tried to attack Ankou. Chance die. Failure with a 5.

[DualShadow]

Looking at the two mechanical beasts, Harley studies them, looking at their moving parts and how best to hinder them. "Where is a gun when you need it ...."

Spending a turn to spend one glamour toward activating Touch of the worksman's wrath which cost two glamour.

[Mechanix]

Ange holds fast even as the spider strikes her repeatedly; but rather than to take advantage of her position to immobilize the creature, she seems to stay more or less immobile, her eyes squinted in concentration... Then suddenly, the flames that always surround her burst spectacularly, and she becomes wreathed in burning white flames; the metal of the spider's legs starts creaking, and frosts slowly spreads over its metallic body, its movements slowing down. The air around the Elemental grows colder with each passing second...
((Ange activates Armor of the Element's Fury, inflicting damage as her opponent is in direct contact with her))

Sue, you're up.

[Mionelle]

'Then came the Little Sue...' she continues humming. Then the girl jumps and tries to slip the blade between metal plates of spider's armour. Unfortunatelly, she misses.

2(Strength)+2(Weaponry)+1(specialty)+1(knife)+1(ai ming)-1(defense)-2(armour)= 4d10.hitsopen(8,10)=0 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3726351/)

[Mechanix]

The first spider starts twitching madly as Ange's flames freeze its surface; rather than attacking further, it desperately struggles to get out. Unfortunately, its spastic move make it more difficult for Sue to get a clean shot, and her blade tingles against the metal legs without harming the construct. It proves swift, and manages to escape Ange's grasp, and starts scrambling away desperately.
((Spider 1 manages to get out of her grapple with one (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3729473/) success.))

The second spider isn't quite as swift as the first, and is confused by Ankou's moves; nonetheless, she proves agile enough to escape her clumsy grapple, and pounces forward once again - this time, her foreleg manages to rip the Lost's leg, drawing blood.
((The spider inflicts 1 Bashing damage (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3729478/) on Ankou.))

[Mono Vertigo]

"Eek!"
The cut doesn't hurt that much, but it awakes deeply-ingrained instincts. Stick on the wall, avoid the light, the burning light, avoid the hits, away from the action, stick on the wall--
Ankou takes one step back toward the tree-house, or rather, the subconscious safety of its walls. She does not attempt to climb up (yet); instead, she focuses intensely on the spiders. This one seems to be really keen on wounding her. If she can just avoid the legs long enough for the other Changelings to take care of it, it's just as good.

[Dodge action this turn.]

[DualShadow]

Seeing Ankou's leg getting opened Harley takes in a few steps to use her contract's clause against the mechcanical monster. With a small leap she touches the spider with her charged hand hoping the result will be the one she hopes for.


Spending a second point of glamour to activate Wrath of the worksman's touch.
Wyrd + Larceny = 1 success (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3732623/)

Touching the spider because I am guessing it wouldn't let itself be touched.
Dex + Brawl - Defense = 1 sucess (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3732639/)

[Mechanix]

With a spark of electricity, Harley's Glamour flows from her extended fingers to the automaton's coppery body; the creature seems to shiver, then suddenly all its limbs seem agitated by uncontrollable movements, and a terrible noise of grinding gears is heard; there are a few sparks, and the thing falls on the floor, its legs skittering madly without enough accord to lift it up, or move in any form. Though getting too close to it might not be wise, the spider is now harmless.

At the same time, Ange leaps after the spider that just escaped her, and catches on of its frost-covered legs; her flame rage anew and the the spider's movements grow slower, as if its internal workings were now frozen.

((Ange grapples again, (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3733686/)inflicting another damage from her Armor, and the spider is now denied its defense against incoming attacks.
They're weak to cold, dontchaknow.))

[Mionelle]

Second by second Sue gets more angry. The princess is simply to proud to accept a defeat! Everyone has to surrender and obey.
'Itsy-bitsy spider jumped off a thorny plant... Then came the Little Sue...' she hums once again with a hint of fury in her voice. The girl focuses all her dreadful thoughts on the construct and strikes again, screaming: '...and knocked the spider OUT!!'

2(Strength)+2(Weaponry)+1(specialty)+1(knife)-2(armour)= 4d10.hitsopen(8,10)=7 (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3736274/)
Ha! ^^

[Mechanix]

Sue's knife finds its target; more than that, it strikes with a fury and dexterity that do not belong to any girl of this world. The blade slips beneath the skittering legs of the spiders even as it tries to escape Ange's grasp; it strikes where Sue had aimed at first, inside the fault beneath two copper plates, and plants itself inside the opening; with a flick of her wrist, Sue turns the knife, and the plates bolts out - no, it's not just the plate; she moves, and the entire core of the spider flies into pieces, disintegrated. Gears and springs jump everywhere, and the feeble legs fall to the ground, entirely disconnected from her body.

A killing stroke. Blood has stained her cheeks and covers her blade... no, not blood. Just oil, of course. Because they are machine.

It sure did look like blood though.

Mr Fuzzy's fluffy face seems to smile wickedly, but that must be a trick of the light; he's just a plush toy.

Ange sighs with relief and let go of the forelegs she held, and gives a strange look to Sue. She opens her mouth as if to say something, then shake her head and turns toward the rest of the group, glancing at the broken spider a few yards away.

"Well, I'm glad that's over. But it always does us some good to do some exercise, right? This is your life now. Expect more of that, no matter what life you chose. Some manage to hide for long, but at some point we all have to fight again. Some just have to do it less than the others.
Is everyone ready to keep going?"

((Combat is over.))

[DualShadow]

Having somehow made the mechcanical monster break, Harley turned her gaze to the next spider but only in time to see Little Sue with her haunting rhyme stab the spider into pieces and not to mention that the little girl was now covered in a blood-like substance.. Her eyes went wide open and glowed brighter than usual, she was stunned to say the least.

It took Ange to starts speaking to wake Harley from her daze but even then she misses the first few words. "Well if this is gonna be my life ..." she starts slow but as her gaze goes to the veteran changeling she regain some of her composure "I will need a gun, my kung-fu is a little weak." She tries to smile if only to attempt to lighten her own mood.

"Let's go before something more bad happens." Despite her own words Harley doesn't move until the group starts walking first so she won't have the little scary girl in her back.

[Mono Vertigo]

Ankou kneels down and clutches her leg; the rush of adrenaline fading down, she's starting to feel the slight pain.
For an instant, she thought she saw blood, not just down her calf, but also on the spiders, on the little girl, on her bear, on everyone else, like a scarlet Pollock painting.
Then, it was gone.
"One doesn't need to fight if one can't be noticed", she says, feeling like she could blend in the shadows and let the others fight each other, away from her, until peace comes back again. "... I mean, I'm ready", she adds, standing up.

[Mionelle]

Sue smiles, full of satisfaction. 'Nice stroke. Don't you agree Mr Fuzzy?' she says, wiping the oil from her face. She also wipes off her blade carefully. 'Ok, I'm done,' she reports. 'Hey, why were you guys looking at me in such strange way? Let me know if I did something wrong. If it's a game and we just won a battle, everything should be ok I suppose. Eh, whatever. Where are we going now?'

[Mechanix]

As if in answer to Sue's question, a horrible scream resonates through the winter air. It is a scream of pain and horror, a scream that chills you all to the bones... And then it is gone. But the look of fear on Ange's face remains.
"That... That was Harry's voice."
The tree-house in front of you suddenly starts shaking, its limbs bending in strange ways; the main door, which you can see from your position, changes subtly, its wooden texture shining with the tint of brass, while shadows in the trees indicate that automatons similar to the one you just fought are moving about, seemingly ignoring you.
"She's escaping! Dammit - I'll handle her! Go see Harry, now!"
Without waiting for an answer, the Changeling takes off, running towards the house, white fire gathering in her hands - leaving you alone.

The scream came from behind the tree house; by going around it, you could find its source and, presumably, the Man of Smoke. But... Do you really want to?

[DualShadow]

When the scream reaches her own ears, Harley takes a step toward the source. It was after her reflexive step that doubt plagued her mind, what if there was more of those nasty spiders behind or worse!

But the surrounding wasn't really more safe and Ange's order made the living meachnical girl moving again inwardly cursing herself "This is your damn own fault for being here in the first place Harley. Now do something for someone else for once in your life!

[Mionelle]

'Uhm, understood...' said Sue, answering the horrible scream. Her face shows no emotion, she's totally calm and focused on the "play".
The girl just runs directly to the voice's source, holding Mr Fuzzy tightly.

[Mechanix]

As you run toward the sound, the hear the sound of battles behind you, and the steely gears of the spiders creaking. But this is Ange's problem now. You have one of your own; as you turn around the tree-house, you discover the source of this scream as well as the reason it stopped:

On the cold frozen ground, Harry the "Man of Smoke" lies dead, his face twisted in an awful grimace.

He is standing just in front of a stairwell descending between the roots of the tree; and coming up these stairs, likely just as stunned as you, is someone you haven't seen yet. A young Changeling, like you, is climbing up, only to find the man who allowed him to escape lying on the ground.

On the other side of the trees, the sounds of fighting grow more intense.

Ocel, you can post now. Everyone else can too, no particular order.

Ocel: you were set free by Harry from a damp cage under the tree. He rushed outside before you could ask him much, and then there was the scream, and now there you are.

[DualShadow]

Harley seems horrified at the sight of Harry but before she could get to his side she sees the Changeling climbing the stairs. The fearful side of her takes over as she drops into a hand to hand stance "You there! Don't move! You did this?"

[Mono Vertigo]

Ankou, after a couple seconds of surprise, wants once again to run - away. But again, she uses that instinct in a more constructive way, and forces herself to run toward Harry and vainly check if he's still alive.
She was no doctor, but the Man of Smoke did not appear to have a pulse, or move anymore. Was he supposed to still have a pulse after being taken by the Others? How about herself? The Darkling also checked if she had a pulse, just in case, and to her relief, she did. She was still living, at any rate.


[I don't believe a Medicine roll is needed to figure out Harry is out of service, is it?]

[Mionelle]

Seeing Harry lying dead, Sue scowls - maybe because of anger, maybe because of sorrow. Who knows what's on this weird girl's mind? 'Too bad...' she says 'He seemed kinda nice guy.' Mr Fuzzy nods and sighs. You all weren't sure if it was just an illusion.
Then Sue notices the young changeling on the stairs and starts glaring at him with hand on her knife.

[ocel]

"No," answers the stranger from a stranger land than your own. Such curtness implies a degree of impatience in his tone of voice. A undesired habit learned from whatever durance he endured. Or so one would assume, if he weren't caught not too long ago. Ah, but lo and behold how swift are the wheels of fortune to turn in one's favor. For liberation from captivity came none too soon afterwards. Sadly there'll be no opportunity to repay such kindness now

[DualShadow]

She knew she had to move and do something, believe the Changeling or not. Staying here was out of the question for more than a few moments more.

"If you didn't, who did? And while we are at it, who are you?" the living motor asks as she looks around to see if any of these spider creatures came around.

[ocel]

Fearful of whomever's listening in to their conversation, he whispers the following to Harley. "First, dunno'n'don't care! Second, This is neither the time nor place to share formalities! Because whomever called our mutual friend off the stage, might return to give an encore before our li'l Q&A session's over!" Once done, he looks over his shoulder for pursuers.

[Mionelle]

'True.' Sue agrees with the stranger. Then she speaks to Harley 'Hey, weren't we supposed to help someone somewhere over here? If so, I guess we don't have much time. Come on...'
Little Sue hates wasting things which may be useful. Time is useful. And precious. You can't just buy time, so Sue hates wasting time. That is also the reason why the girl starts going upstairs, looking around carefully.

[Mono Vertigo]

There is nothing more she can do here. She follows Little Sue at reasonable distance. Most people would feel ashamed to let a girl go first in a dangerous situation, but most people haven't met this particular one.
Following her just seems to be the normal thing to do, if not the best, but Ankou couldn't say why.

[DualShadow]

Harley looks at the little girl with a confused and fearful gaze until the little one starts going up the stairs followed by the other one.

Kneeling beside the man of smoke's corpse, the living motor gather the body in her arms and as best she can starts going after the other two. "I don't know if I trust you but ... come with us, you will be safer ... I think." she tells the unknown Changeling as she proceeds.

[ocel]

Actions speak louder than words do. A truism that's about to be put into practice once more. A moment of silence to mourn passes without incident before he follows his new found comrades. As he walks towards their destination he remembers to perform Smoke's last rites properly. Without warning, he places two pennies on top of the deceased's eyelids. Perhaps they were of little value in life, but not in death, where the ferryman's toll must be paid for. Once done, he picks up the pace, lest he get's left behind.

[Mechanix]

As you climb the stairs ascending into the treehouse, you feel the ground and walls shaking. There is a sound of thunder outside, and the distant humming of a buzzsaw. Whatever is happening around this place, it is clearly not safe. The treehouse isn't tall, but Harley is carrying the dead man and so it takes you a few moment to climb the wooden step.

You arrive in a single large, round room. There is a half-empty bookshelf on one wall, several scattered implements of metal and wood, which could easily come across as instruments of torture but that Harley and Ankou, having some crafting skills, recognize as mechanic's tools. In the middle of the room lies a single broken chair, turned to the side and with a bit of rope on the ground close to it. Other than that, nothing of interest.

The buzzsaw sound gets nearer, and the northern wall shakes violently. There are two other ways out of this room: a door and another stairway, which according to the general mapping of the place should lead to the "front door" towards which Ange went after you split up.

What will you do?

[ocel]

What will you do?

The same thing anyone else would do in their situation: run towards the nearest exit! Any obstacles found along the way are tossed aside, avoided outright, or ran over. Had he not paid attention earlier, he would've tripped upon the wire he saw earlier. His own strength wouldn't be enough to open the door on his first try through...

[DualShadow]

She was turned into some living piece of mechanic, walked in some strange otherworld with some other strange beings, fought some mechcanical spider monsters and now inside some treehouse with a dead man in her arms AND some buzzing noise is now getting louder AND add to all that some violent shaking ....

Harley does the only thing a sane, if she can still be called that, would do ... run to safety, which right now means toward Ange. As if somehow agreeing with her train of thoughts the new guy runs toward the very same door and that urges the living mechanical girl to follow as she can with a body in her arms.

"Hey! Don't leave us alone!" she half shout in anger and half beg in desperation.

[Mono Vertigo]

After a double-take, Ankou recognizes the tools' intended function. That would have been comforting, if it weren't for the buzzsaw and the wall shaking menacingly.
The Darkling rushes to where Ange should be. She would rather not be alone. As for the little girl, well, if she values her life, she should follow very soon as well; she doesn't need her help.

[ocel]

"Just throw'im down here!" Too Panicked to say more, their newest recruit attempts to break down the door when his earlier attempts to open it has failed.

[Mionelle]

Sue doesn't seem to be strongly impressed by strange sounds or shaking walls. She's just focused, looking around, observing... The girl walks quite slowly towards the door. She knows she has a chance to easily pass through this door. A piece of luck is all she needs. But why the princess has to do anything when the others could just "open" the door?