[DFRPG] The Rainy City: Music Doesn't Lie, pt 2

[Steel Mirror]

A continuation of The Rainy City: Music doesn't lie.

Original IC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=260021)
Character and City Creation thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259173)
Original OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259666)
Seattle wiki (http://rainycity.wikidot.com/)

Current OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=15150410#post15150410)

Sorry for the wall of text; you only need to skim it if you need to catch up on what happened in the previous thread.



The Road so Far. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X_2IdybTV0)

It began with a night on the town, and a request from a friend to investigate disappearances among Seattle’s local music crowd. Connor, champion of the Tuatha de Dannan and detective in-the-know, isn’t one to take requests from his best friend Kim lightly. If someone was disappearing people in his town, they were going to pay for it . . . and the Fomor have been awfully bold lately.

Before he could even get started, though, some punk kids drove a stolen car up to the O’Reilly pub and emptied a trio of illegal guns into the evening crowd. By the time the broken glass settled, two thugs were unconscious and one was just a thin coating of goo on the car’s upholstery. One of the thugs was a skinwalker. Another was a known troublemaker from the Duwamish tribe, Seattle’s largest indigenous group. They were carrying literature from the racist group “the Knights of Laconia”, and a message and a wad of $10,000 from whoever had hired them to carry out the attack.

Unfortunately for them, they had attacked the wrong place: Connor’s place. Even more unfortunately, they had attacked while Zhao Yin (protector of Chinatown and city college student) and Andrew Compton (Squire of the Winter Court) were there.

Connor and Andrew went to check out the missing persons, and found evidence of a supernatural struggle. Following further magical clues, they ended up on a houseboat filled with lutins, diminutive fae with a penchant for smashing ipods and sprouting herbal footprints. After a brief struggle, Connor subdued one and convinced it to swear fealty to him.

It couldn't tell them much, but Chene revealed that the missing musicians had forged a contract with a powerful sidhe Prince, and the lutins had been abducting those people to force them to honor their debts. The mortals are safe, he claimed. Neither the lutins or their Prince had anything to do with the shooting at the pub. Not sure where to go next, Andrew and Connor split up: Connor to drop by the bar, Andrew to check with the Duwamish to investigate the kids who attacked the bar.

Meanwhile, Yin was pursuing the “Knights of Laconia” angle. After sneaking into their HQ and beating some clues out of one of their members, she learned of some kind of kidnapping: the KoL were extorting a property owner in Chinatown into selling his land. The clues led her to a storage container on Harbor Island, and a bunch of rednecks with guns. Sneaking and punching her way through them, she discovered that the hostage was an urn of ancestral ashes, and that the KoL knew nothing about the drive-by shooting. Recovering the urn and making a (hopefully clean) getaway, she returned home.

Back at the bar (and the next morning), Connor got pissed and yelled at reporters on live TV, then defused a potential situation with his dad and dropped Chene off. Detective Chris Young, the cop in charge of the investigation, owes Connor for favors past and is intimately acquainted with Connor’s partner. He brought Connor up to speed. The police suspect the KoL, and there was a suspicious withdrawal of funds right before the attack that backs this suspicion up. They also supplied a picture of someone snooping around the HQ: Yin, even if the cops didn’t have enough for an ID. Connor decided to give her a call.

Yin had an eventful morning too, and not in a good way. Exhausted and unprepared for her Shakespeare test, her mom also told her to return the urn to its rightful owner, a Dr Kanashima. Yin didn’t see Kara at school though, and after hearing that she'd left campus with a strange man, Yin went looking for her friend, afraid that one of her enemies was responsible. At Starbucks she slammed a suspicious-looking guy into the ground to find out where Kara is - only to find herself beating up Andro, a nice guy who had been interested in her at the bar the night before.

She retreated in shame to a favorite thinking spot of hers: the top of the football stadium. Her solitude was interrupted by a hoodied figure with bad taste in superheros who turned out to be some kind of psychic predator feeding on her pain and uncertainty. Yin has no idea where he came from, he claimed that he was called to her despair. He disappeared as randomly as he appeared, and all Yin can do is carry on with her day.

She returned the urn to its owner, a doctor who helps abandoned and troubled kids in Chinatown. She also met one of those troubled kids there, and retreated before she accidentally beat the crap out of him, as she has been doing to people who are kind to her lately.

Andrew got an unfriendly greeting at the Native American cultural center, and had to bluster past a pack of werewolves and their shaman-in-training leader. He spoke to the spiritual leader of the tribe, his old master. Apparently there are signs that something big has moved into the park near the zoo recently, which may be connected to the attack on the pub, the disappearances, the early Spring, or the skinwalkers. As if to confirm that he is on the right track, Andrew was attacked by skinwalkers on the way out and only escaped by enlisting the help of a local erdgeist. Now he has to help the erdgeist expand its territory or deliver a baby mortal to it within three months (oops).

Stopping by his posh hotel digs, Andrew gets a little enigmatic advice and a relaxing massage from an unexpected guest, and apparently his new personal assistant. She's clearly not quite human, but he has bigger fish to fry right now, and heads out to meet up with the other two.

Connor and Yin met up and headed to Undertown to chase a hunch. After trading away 3 months of life each, they found goblin arms dealers Monty and Bargher and determined that the guns were bought from the goblins by an asian boy, with (probably) the rest of the KoL’s missing 15 grand. Connor granted the goblin businessthings use of his bar for the occasional deal with mortal customers to pay for the info. Getting out of Undertown proved more difficult than getting in, and after a close encounter with some creepy child ghosts, they escaped with a brand new ghost doggie.

Connor went to Kim’s artist group meeting to question the friends of the missing people, and then decided, after he heard the leader of the help group reciting some sort of incantation, that they were all in danger. He sent Mara (the leader of the group) home and took everyone else over to Yin’s family’s restaurant, the Dancing Dragon, for safe keeping.

At the restaurant, things got heated quickly. The lutins showed up chasing an injured Andro (Yin’s battered gentlemen caller), and Yin may have punched the lutin’s Marshall (some sort of sidhe bigwig) in the face. And then she ran over one of the lutins with a Volvo. Twice. After she put a fender-shaped dent in one of their motorcycle horses. For his part, Connor tried to play the diplomat but was forced to challenge the Marshall to a duel three hours hence.

There was as much trouble inside as out. They barely stopped a lutin infiltrator, but not before it cast a spell on the drinks in the restaurant, leaving everyone who drank them (fortunately not Connor or Yin) acting like fools. Whitaker the ghost dog got into mischief in the kitchen, but pulled through in the end by stopping the lutin’s escape. He might be a spirit known as a church grim, according to Kara, but they’ll need to do some more research. Kara and Yin had a sensitive moment when Kara became affected by the lutin’s spell, but Yin snapped her out of it with the power of Tao, pop culture wisdom, and love. Local business jerk Chad Evanstoon Thurgood (Esq.) seems to know a lot about Yin’s father and Connor’s personal life, and offered to “help”. They declined. Connor and Kim learn a few new things about each other, and resolve not to let anything happen to their friends this time. Connor manages to organize a few last minute measures to slow down any lutins that attack, but he knows it won’t be enough. If he wants these people to be safe, he needs to win. Drama flairs all about as tensions rise, and the upcoming duel approaches.


And now, the conclusion . . .

[Steel Mirror]

The rest of the preparation happens in a blur. The makeshift suit of armor is completed, and hastily fitted to Connor. He is pretty sure that it will help stop those nasty little arrows the lutins have been firing, and there are some iron fittings from the kitchen woven into the mix as well. Bae has also found a wrought iron bar, twisted from one of the spare security fittings for the restaurant's windows, for him to use as a club in a pinch. It's not exactly a flaming sword, but every little bit helps.

The sober members of the party outfit themselves with iron pots and what is left of the salt, except for Andro who has appropriated a wooden chair leg and is standing under his own power next to Rolf. Both of their disguises are back up, though they look a bit exhausted. Bae herself is clad in her practice robe, a loose-looking garment that allows for maximum freedom of movement. At her side is a traditional Chinese longblade, straight and sharp and clad in a jade sheathe.

Furniture is stacked in the various entrances, and everyone forts up in the shrine room that Bae had mentioned before. With only minutes to go, Connor and Yin find themselves alone in the front of the dining room, facing the empty-looking parking lot where they had fought side by side scant hours ago. Neither one breaks the tense silence.

The rain is coming down pretty hard, and is blowing through the shattered glass left over from the arrow attack on Connor before. On one of the walls of the restaurant, above a spread of colorful paper lanterns and pictures of famous Chinatown landmarks through the ages, the clock begins to chime. The time is here.

------

Outside, Andrew is huddled miserably against the wind and the rain. He and Chene have discussed their options in hushed voices, with nothing to show for it. He knows he wants to get inside, but not how to do so, or what degree of force he is justified in using against these fae. Sidhe politics is a deadly game, and a seemingly innocuous move here could have repercussions for his sponsors that he cannot foresee. So if he's going to kick over the hornet's nest, he needs a good excuse to do so.

It's been slow going. Even the little pixie he summoned has fallen asleep in his chest coat pocket, waiting for instructions.

Suddenly, the knot of lutins in the middle of the street begin to move. Somehow coaxing their bikes into motion without making a sound, most of them peel off from the main group and creep into the trees behind the restaurant, accompanied by several tall, indistinct figures which may be the woodwoses Chene was talking about. Meanwhile, a figure is revealed in the middle of the group. Taller than any of the others, and sporting long yellow hair that isn't blocked by the helmet that everyone else sports, he is holding a massive two-handed sword that looks like it came off the set of Braveheart. He walks proudly through the rain, sword clasped upright in front of him, towards the restaurant.

"The fat man who makes good food brought me here in that car," Chene remarks casually, gesturing at the station wagon in the middle of the street. Now only two figures are standing nearby it; everyone else has moved toward the restaurant. "He is the master's father."

------

The Marshall Mondfae emerges from the mist and rain of the Seattle night, cloak billowing dramatically in the wind behind him.

Which shouldn't be possible, actually. Or at least is really unlikely. Wet cloth doesn't billow like that, and the rain is coming down hard. Then again, despite their supposed alien natures and incomprehension at the very foundations of mortal psychology, the fae have always been good at making an entrance.

"Stand before me, Connor O'Reilly. Stand with me before the old gods and the spirits of earth and sky and meet me in honorable combat. Let our arms decide our quarrel, and let no member of either of our parties raise arms in the name of that quarrel until out duel is complete."

------

Yin watched the one known as Mondfae approach the restaurant, arms crossed in an attempt to look unimpressed, though she had to admit he had style. Also, she was calling dibs on that sword if Connor actually managed to win this thing. Which reminded her... glancing to her friend, she sighed, "Hey, look.. try not to get killed, okay? I'd rather our last conversation not be one where we yelled at each other. Also, kick him in the balls."

------

As the clock chimes the hour and Mondfae appears Connor takes a step forward. Any other man would have been scared out of his mind, Connor was clearly outmatched and would likely die. But Connor wasn't any other man, he was himself. Perhaps if there wasn't so much riding on this, if his victory wasn't absolutely necessary, he might have allowed himself the luxury of fear. Then again, maybe not. Connor had never had a problem standing up to bullies, and that's exactly what Mondfae was.

Connor smiles, turning to Yin and says. "That's the plan." Then he turns back and walked out the front door.

Marching out into the rain Connor felt it as the water slid along his face. His entrance wasn't quite as dramatic as Mondfae's, though his position as Hand granted him many powers the ability to ignore reality for the sake of drama wasn't among them. Or at least not reliably so. As Connor walked through the rain it plastered his hair wetly to his head and soaked him down to the bone. But despite that his eyes were filled with a steely certainty. He would win this duel, he wouldn't allow any other outcome. "I stand before you Mondfae. Before the eyes of gods and spirits I swear that none of my party shall interfere in our duel. Let us begin."

[Steel Mirror]

The moment Connor's last word is out, Mondfae springs forward, bringing his sword hands down to his waist and holding the blade perpendicular to his body in preparation for a massive strike. He is clearly hoping to catch the mortal facing him off guard with a sudden strike, and he is very, very fast.

Not as fast as Connor, though. Connor has been ready for the worst since the moment those thugs opened fire on his bar. It will take more than a strutting prettyboy to catch him by surprise. With the ease of a practiced warrior, he prepares to meet the charging fae with a little surprise of his own.

[Sanguine]

And a nasty little surprise it was. As Mondfae leaps forward he finds himself rushing face first into Connor's outstretched and the water balloon in it. Unable to reverse his momentum the Lutin smashed his face into the balloon causing it's salty contents to explode into his face. Connor almost felt sorry for Mondfae, even for a mortal saltwater in the eyes was unpleasant, it must be pure torture for a Lutin. Not letting his momentary sympathy slow him down Connor entered the firing stance he had learned years ago at the academy, and had used countless times since, opening fire with his pistol sending three bullets straight for Mondfae's chest.

Invoking both Mondfaes Weakness to Salt aspect and my Champion of Gods and Justice aspect on a Guns attack
[roll0]+6=Reroll see OOC

FP:3 2

[Steel Mirror]

sending three bullets straight for Mondfae's chest.



Dodge
[roll0]+4=2

Attack
[roll1]+5=7


The bullets strike home in a steady rhythm, sparking in bright green as they do. Mondfae grunts deeply, but continues his swing seemingly unfazed.

The bronze sword arcs widely as he swings, throwing out a thin spray of water from the flat of the blade.


The bullets are partially stopped by the armor that Mondfae is wearing.
Mondfae
[ ] [x]

[Sanguine]

Effortlessly dancing around Mondfae's sword strike Connor looks at the lutin with mock concern. "Are you okay Mondfae? I mean I kept hearing about how big and scary you were, and quite frankly a child could have dodged that. If you're not feeling a hundred percent we can always take a rain check. You could have a nice nap, maybe a nice refreshing drink, and come back once your arthritis medication has kicked in. I wouldn't want you to feel as if I didn't deserve my victory after all."

This is an Intimidate Maneuver to place upon him the Aspect "Pissed Off"

[roll0]+1=4

[Steel Mirror]

Zhao Yin watches the two men square off in the restaurant's garden, then lunge at each other. Their speed is incredible. She has been training her whole life in the art of personal combat, and she can still barely follow them. Their movements throw of droplets of rain as the crash together and break apart, only to crash together once more. The sheer power involved reminds her of a video she saw on some nature program of polar bears fighting: all elemental fury and raw strength which no outside force could hope to stop.

She manages to stop herself from flinching when Connor's gunshots ring out, but can't help but wince when the massive sword whooshes by mere inches above the detective's head. At least the rest of the fae in the parking lot seem content to watch the contest, for now. They sit aside their "motorcycles", silently. With the rain coming down as hard as it is their veils are starting to fail, slowly revealing the wooden features and shuffling horses beneath the fairy magic.

"Do you think he has a chance of winning?" Yin's mother is standing at her side, in control but clearly tense.

Then she looks suddenly to the back of the restaurant. "Did you hear that?"

Roll alertness for Yin!

[Steel Mirror]

"I wouldn't want you to feel as if I didn't deserve my victory after all."


social defense
[roll0]+3=4

That is a success, but just barely. You'll need to tag it this turn or the next or it goes away.


The enemy soldier keeps the distance between the two and runs a hand across his face where the balloon hit him. There is no mark to mar his features, no lapse in the veil as has happened with the other lutins when they were exposed to salt.

"I had entertained the notion of honoring your skill by not killing you when I defeat you. You move well for a mortal. But your manners are no better than any of your fellow scum."

He licks his lips, tasting the saltwater. "And you seem to be under some misapprehension. I lead the lutins, but I am not one of them." He smiles, and launches another strike.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin shuddered, a slow fear creeping across her at the sight of the duel. She wasn't entirely sure that she could handle Mondfae if Connor couldn't. After all, he actually had superpowers. She was pulled from her worrying thoughts by her mother's voice, looking to her, "Honestly, I'm not sure. All we can do is hope."

At her mother's next question, she went quiet and began to listen.

[roll0] + 2 = 0 >_< Screw it, spending a fate point to re-roll. Check OOC.

[Steel Mirror]

"And you seem to be under some misapprehension. I lead the lutins, but I am not one of them." He smiles, and launches another strike.


Attack
[roll0]+5=5

[Steel Mirror]

"All we can do is hope."

Yin hears a metallic scraping noise coming from the kitchen area, followed by a sound like someone jiggling a door handle. She knows that all of the musicians are supposed to be holed up in the shrine room. What could be making that noise?

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin hears a metallic scraping noise coming from the kitchen area, followed by a sound like someone jiggling a door handle. She knows that all of the musicians are supposed to be holed up in the shrine room. What could be making that noise?

"Stay here. I'll be right back." With that, Yin headed towards the kitchen, walking at a brisk pace rather than running to avoid causing a panic. Beginning to move into the room, she got her fists up, ready to strike if necessary.

"Yup. Don't mind me. Just a helpless teen co-ed wandering into this dark room. I certainly hope no evil monsters try to kill me."

[Steel Mirror]

"Yup. Don't mind me. Just a helpless teen co-ed wandering into this dark room. I certainly hope no evil monsters try to kill me."

The Dancing Dragon is unusual for a place of business in that it actually has a substantial threshold. That is why Zhao Bae insists on having a person, preferably herself, individually greet and welcome each and every customer. If people were constantly walking in and out uninvited, the threshold would break down.

It provides a great deal of protection from the things that go bump, but it unfortunately does diddly against your more mundane brand of unwanted intruder. That's what Yin seems to up against here: standard human burglars. They are each wearing a black ski mask that covers their features, and black sweaters and pants that look like they were picked straight out of the reject bin at the Salvation Army. One of them is holding up a massive pair of cargo pants with a tied on piece of rope.

Not suspicious timing, at all.

They've pried open the back door, and whirl to face Yin with a crowbar and an aluminum baseball bat in hand.

Yin wins initiative.

[Steel Mirror]

Mondfae's doesn't bother with the cinematic flourishes and dramatic poses this time; if nothing else, he appears to be taking Connor seriously at least.

Unfortunately, that means his strike connects. Connor can't hope to get out of the way in time, and braces himself for a nasty hit . . . but instead of bisecting him, the sword slams into his gun hand with irresistable power, sending the handgun spinning into the darkness and injuring the finger which was wrapped around the trigger.

He is strong, terrifyingly so. If that blow had connected, it might be Connor's head bouncing across the cobblestones. Connor tries to keep his cool and get a read on the fae Marshall, but all he can tell is that he is supremely confident, and ready to kick Connor's butt.

social defense against Connor's assessment:
[roll0]+3=3
defense against any future attack:
[roll1]+5=4

[Sanguine]

Shaking his injured hand Connor does his best to ignore the stinging pain. I couldn't have been holding the gun in my metallic hand. Oh well.

As the pain receded Connor watched Mondfae closely. If the Fae Marshall wanted to attack him again he would need to change his footing, and that would be Connor's chance. As Connor waited he felt himself filling with anger, partially his, but mostly that of his patrons. This man had dared to defy the Tuatha, Connor had asked for parley in the name of the High Queen and Mondfae had spat on the offer. He would pay, dearly.

And there it was, Connor's moment, Mondfae was moving, getting ready to strike. But for just a brief second his movement he would be unsteady on his feet. The moment was far too short for any normal person to capitalize on, luckily Connor had superspeed. Moving with every ounce of speed he could muster, and the divine ire of an entire pantheon Connor rammed his iron-studded shoulder square into Mondfae's chest, almost exactly where the bullets had impacted. The Marshall toppled and Connor followed him down ramming fists and knees and iron studs into Mondfae every inch of the way.

[Steel Mirror]

The Marshall toppled and Connor followed him down ramming fists and knees and iron studs into Mondfae every inch of the way.


That's an impressive 7 stress, which also bypasses the (fae made) armor! I'm also compelling Mondfae's high concept to give him the aspect "A Real Scrap" to represent the two of them struggling in close quarters. Finally, Connor has uncovered one of Mondfae's aspects.

Mondfae
[ ] [x] [ ] [ ] [x]
A Real Scrap
(-2) Iron Singed

Overconfident

1 FP

All of the aspects are available for tagging!


There is a hissing noise like a drop of water on a hot skillet, and the smell of burnt meat fills the air. The two warriors go down in a crash of faerie bronze and jangling cutlery, shattering a clay pagoda on the way. Looking into his eyes, Connor can see the rage as what Mondfae was expecting to be an easy victory draws blood.

With an inarticulate roar, the fae takes one huge hand and clamps it on Connor, trying to wrench him away with a burst of superhuman strength.

His strength is irresistible, and Connor feels as helpless as a twig swept up in a flash flood. Before he can really respond, he is flying through the air and into a branch of one of the miniature, sculpted trees growing in the garden. That doesn't stop his movement, of course. It just breaks the branch off the tree. Connor keeps flying until he lands in a stream flowing between the two coy ponds, where he rolls until he fetches up painfully against the little wooden bridge.

Ouch.

There isn't much physical damage, but that fae's sculpted biceps are definitely not just for show.

Might to throw Connor off of him
[roll0]+5=7

An added 3 stress to Connor (before any armor), and the garden takes about a thousand bucks of damage from that little exchange. :smallbiggrin:

[Sanguine]

Pushing himself up on to his feet Connor sets out at a dead run back to Mondfae. This wasn't over, not by a long shot, even if Mondfae in his infinite confidence thought it was. Completely assured of his victory Mondfae had turned his back upon Connor, a foolish move. As Connor nears his foe the sound of his footsteps alert the Marshall; who turns around just in time to get a silver fist in his iron singed face.

Okay I move between zones as a free action and make a Fist Attack on Mondfae tagging all three aspects.

[roll0]+7=6

[Steel Mirror]

As Connor nears his foe the sound of his footsteps alert the Marshall; who turns around just in time to get a silver fist in his iron singed face.

Defense
[roll0]+5=3
Attack
[roll1]+5=3

Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [ ] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Overconfident*

1 FP

Mondfae reels back from the hit, still smiling despite the fact that Connor had put his full weight behind the last hit. "So you still have some fight in you after all! How amusing."

He lashes out with the blade, using the flat instead of going for the killing blow. "No mortal has been this good as sport since I hunted in Somalia."

[Sanguine]

Conner moves just a fraction of inch to his left allowing the sword to swing just past him. "Somalia you say? Maybe you should try fighting people who aren't suffering from scurvy. I mean even an Englishman could have dodged that." As Mondfae continues to lash out with his sword Connor narrowly dodges each strike, exerting as little energy as possible, but always staying within his reach and provoking another attack.

This is an Athletics maneuver to apply the "Tired Out" Aspect.

Maneuver:[roll0]+3=3
Empathy: [roll1]+3=0

[Steel Mirror]

"Somalia you say? Maybe you should try fighting people who aren't suffering from scurvy. I mean even an Englishman could have dodged that."

Social defense
[roll0]+3=3
Athletics defense
[roll1]+4=5
Attack maneuver to apply "flat on his ass" to Connor
[roll2]+5=5

Mondfae laughs and feints, then reverses his swing suddenly and slams Connor into the ground. Connor gasps for breath as water runs down his face, staring up at the gloating fae.

"Spirited indeed. What are the Tuatha compensating you with to secure such ferocity?" He doesn't look like he's getting tired, and he definitely doesn't look like he's getting worried.

Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [ ] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Overconfident*

1 FP

[Sanguine]

From Connor's perspective lying on the floor gasping for breath Mondfae looked like a giant. A massive colossus looking down upon him arrogantly sure of it's own invincibility. That pissed Connor off immensely. "My ferocity doesn't come from being loyal to the Tuatha, though I am. No, I am so ferocious because you and your boss are bullies, picking on the weak and defenseless. I hate bullies." As he finishes Connor lashes out hooking his arm behind Mondfae's legs faster than the eye can see and yanks with all of his might trying to bring the fae down to his level.

This is a fists maneuver to apply "flat on his ass" to Mondfae.

Fists:[roll0]+1=0

Alertness:[roll1]+2=3

Edit: Sorry this took me so long, I kept getting distracted.

[Steel Mirror]

"My ferocity doesn't come from being loyal to the Tuatha, though I am. No, I am so ferocious because you and your boss are bullies, picking on the weak and defenseless. I hate bullies."

Defense
[roll0]+3=5
Attack (Fists)
[roll1]+3=3(+2, tag "flat on his ass")=5


The armored figure lets Connor grab onto his leg, then stomps toward his arm with an armored boot. "Bully. This must be a word mortals have for beings that are too strong for them to challenge. If you wanted to stop me from hurting your pathetic wards, you should have been stronger. Or you should have known your place and never challenged one of your betters in the first place."


Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [ ] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Overconfident*

1 FP

[Steel Mirror]

The jackboot grinds into Connors arm, painfully. The sidhe noble, because that is the only thing he could be, smiles. "I would have offered you a way out, had you been but a little more humble. I never could stand mortals that thought themselves better than they were, though."

Conor looks around wildly, trying to find something to help him out of this situation. The rain is still falling hard, and the wind is bending trees to the ground with its ferocity. It's blowing so hard that one of the little pagoda statues nearby has toppled over. In addition to the one that the two have destroyed, that is. Further on, Connor can see a few more of the pagodas erected around the area.

There are 5 of them, in fact. Arranged equidistantly around the garden in a pentagram. He looks again, and sees that the center of the pattern is filled with some sort of gazebo, he can't make out any details from here. He is no wizard, but some memory stirs from his time among the immortals. Something about pentagrams and magical protection against the spirits . . .

Mondfae raises his sword in both hands, held in a reverse grip, and prepares to stab it down into Connor like driving a stake into the ground.

Defense against Connor's challege
[roll0]+3=4

[Sanguine]

Mondfae's stomp, while painful, inflicted only minor damage. So it was with a contemptuous ease that Connor wrenched his arm free from the armored boot. Standing up, easily avoiding Mondfae's blade, Connor looks the Marshal in the eyes and says. "No, a bully is someone who thinks just because they are stronger that makes them better. But I've got news for you Mondfae, you aren't stronger than me. You keep calling me mortal, but I'm not. I haven't been mortal for a long time. I am the Hand of the Tuatha de Dannan. Flowing through me is the divine power of an entire pantheon of gods, any of which could swat your little Prince like the insect he is. You should have accepted my offer of parley little faerie, it would have gone easier on you."

I'm not quite sure what I'm trying to accomplish here. Maybe some kind of Maneuver? Anyway, I'm activating Guide My Hand, even though if it is a maneuver it is an incredibly inefficient use of my last fate point. I'm also assuming Marked by Power applies.

[roll0]+5=6

[Steel Mirror]

"You should have accepted my offer of parley little faerie, it would have gone easier on you."



I'm going to treat that as an Intimidate check to lay the aspect "Facing a Worthy Foe" on Mondfae. It's taggable for any defensive roll or maneuver, since he is on his guard once more

If that seems an underwhelming result for the expenditure of a fate point, consider this: If Connor wins, Mondfae will have been both beaten and shown the error of his contempt for non-fae. In concrete terms, that means he will answer all of Connor's questions truthfully, instead of the 3 fae normally bargain for. So win this fight, and reap the reward!

Mondfae is still grinning, but he doesn't seem to be gloating as much. "You have earned the right to at least die on your feet, then." He launches another round of wide, sweeping blows at Connor, putting him back on the defensive but fighting conservatively.

Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [ ] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Facing a Worthy Foe

1 FP

[Sanguine]

The barrage of attacks leaves Connor covered in a series of tiny cuts, none of them serious, though they might have been for a normal man. However the offensive combined with Mondfae's new found respect presented an opportunity. If he wanted to keep up his assault Mondfae couldn't let Connor out of his reach; and he now knew that it would be foolhardy to let Connor escape and get a second wind. Thus as Connor slowly made his towards the gazebo, dodging around sword strike, Mondfae had to follow.

A Maneuver to put the Aspect "Inside the Gazebo" on Mondfae, and possibly Connor. I have no idea what to roll for this.

Empathy Assessment:[roll0]+3=3

[Steel Mirror]

Resisting the maneuver
[roll0]+3=2
Defending against any attack
[roll1]+5=3
Attacking Connor with a sword
[roll2]+5=5


Connor begins backing towards the gazebo, trying to lure his opponent in after him. Just a little further . . .

“You speak of your gods, but they don’t answer you. Do you want to know why?” Mondfae launches a high swipe, forcing Connor to duck and take a step back. “They can’t hear you. Not here.” He punctuates each point with an attack, swinging broadly in what should be easy-to-dodge motions, but somehow aren’t. It’s like watching a rocket during lift-off: it looks like it’s barely moving because it is so huge, when really it’s accelerating so fast it makes fighter pilots black out from the G-forces.

“They should never have sent one of their puppets so far from their little bower of an island. They have no power in this place. You are the only piece of them here.” He suddenly leans in close and plants an elbow in Connor’s gut, straightening to his full impressive height as Connor stumbles back another half step. Connor throws a looping punch in, but Mondfae bats it aside contemptuously. He tosses his still-permed set of golden locks despite the driving rain. “Nobody sings their songs, or tells their stories. Nobody gives them offerings. The mortals here have no gods but their own shallow appetites.”

“Your prattling about gods and bullies is the past. My Prince gives these mortal sheep what they want, and they fall all over themselves begging him for more. He is their future.” Mondfae arcs the weapon brutally into Connor’s side, finally scoring a glancing gash. “But now it is time for them to pay up, and time for you and your tired old masters to get out of our way.”

As he is talking, he follows Connor up the steps into the small gazebo at the center of the circle. Now Connor has to hope he’s right about what it is. No line of fire springs up to trap the sidhe in the structure, or banish him back to the Nevernever.

How do you get one of these damn things to work, anyway?

Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [ ] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Facing a Worthy Foe*
In a Gazebo

1 FP

[Sanguine]

Mondfae spoke as though the Tuatha were gone from this world, and to an extent he was right. The Tuatha were greatly diminished, not even in Ireland could they act directly in the world. But they weren't gone. Every Irishman who remembered tales their grandmother had told them of ancient kings, every good catholic who gave their praise to Saint Brigid, every time someone sang an old folk tale or fought for Irish independence. All of these things gave them power. Mere trickles really, but when gathered together and channeled through their Hand it allowed them to act. Or at least that was what Connor believed. And what is magic if not belief?

So it was that Connor drew upon this power and willed the pentagram to activate.

I'm not sure what I'm doing here but I ended up writing and this happened and it seemed appropriate. It also serves the nifty secondary function of foreshadowing for Connor potentially getting Sponsored Magic in the future.

I'm not sure what if anything I should roll.

[Steel Mirror]

Reaching deep inside for some sign that the gods are with him, Connor finds himself thinking of his father. He should have been here when he called; he hopes the old man is ok. And the bar. The crazy, noisy, never-a-dull-moment where everyone-is-family bar. With the bric-a-brac of the Old Country on the walls. A restaurant reviewer had written once that O’Reilly’s was a true Old World pub because of the food that it served and the things it hung up for decorations.

Connor couldn’t disagree more. O’Reilly’s was a true Old World pub because it treated the people who came as honored family, not customers to be served and then cycled through. It was an Old World place because it honored the Old Ways, and because it welcomed Seattle’s freaks and the rootless and gave them a place to belong. O’Reilly’s did that because the duties of the host are sacred, and the memories of the Old gods haven’t faded away. They live in O’Reilly’s, and they live in Connor, and that means that they live in Seattle.

Connor opens his eyes and stares straight into Mondfae’s. This time, he is the one who he is grinning. He can feel the gods responding.

He raises his silver fist, which is dripping with almost physical motes of silver-blue power. “You think Ireland doesn’t live in this city? You’ve clearly never been to O’Reilly’s.” There is a flash of blinding light, and Connor can see Mondfae closing his eyes involuntarity at the intensity even as he tries to steel himself for the blow. Then neither of them can see anything but brightness as the power of the Tuatha de Dannan, and the pure conviction of their chosen champion, blasts out into the night.

Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [x] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Commander-in-sidhe of the Prince's private army
Fighting a Worthy Foe*
In a Gazebo*

1 FP (used up this turn)

When the light clears, Connor is feeling a bit light-headed, but he looks hopefully toward Mondfae’s last position.

Mondfae is still standing. The tip of his sword is glowing with heat, and he is still standing in a position of braced readiness. There is still some light in the gazebo; Connor looks down to see his hand still sparkling with the remnants of the power he had summoned. But it hadn’t been enough.

Mondfae coughs twice and spits out a few words. “So they are listening after all. Too bad they didn’t have enough power to save you.” At least the searing light left some visible sign that it affected the pompous sidhe; his eyebrows are singed and blasted backward and his hair is sticking up like a mad scientist struck by lightning. Connor takes a tiny bit of vindictive satisfaction that he accomplished that much, at least. He hopes that Mondfae’s fairy hairstylist charges a fortune.

Then the Marshall sweeps his sword at Connor’s feet, and reality comes rushing back to meet him.

Attack
[roll0]+5=3+2(FP)=5

[Steel Mirror]

The blow catches Connor behind the legs, and he’s too off-balance to stop himself from falling to his knees. The blade probably also does something bad to his legs on the way down that he’s too exhausted to feel.

He notices three things from his new position, lit up by the light from his glowing arm. First, he is bleeding. None of the wounds he has sustained has been life-threatening alone, but he’s collected a few of them. He is kneeling in a pool of his own blood, a pool which is rapidly turning into a lake. After his time in the driving rain and his trip through the Zhao’s little coy river his clothes are soaked through and through, so hopefully some of that lake is water, but still. He’ll probably start feeling woozy soon from that amount of blood loss.

The second thing he notices is that his chest is hurting quite a bit. Glancing down, he sees that his makeshift set of armor has turned out to be a double-edged-outfit. One of the Marshall’s hammer-like blows must have caught him wrong, and driven what looks like a steel barbecue fork almost an inch into his muscular chest. It isn’t deadly (at least not compared to the massive sword-wielding sidhe lord above him), but it sure is more evidence that the universe has a nasty sense of humor.

The last thing he notices is a small object resting in the darkest corner of the gazebo, behind Mandfae. Mondfae apparently hasn’t noticed it yet. It’s a familiar shape, though Connor has no idea how it got here. It’s his handgun, the one that got knocked out of his hands at the beginning of the fight. How it got here is anyone’s guess- the floor is raised and it is almost 30 feet away from where he was when he lost the thing in the first place.

He’s not willing to look a gift-gun in the mouth just now, though. He just needs to buy a few seconds to grab it . . .

[Sanguine]

Seeing the gun Connor decides to use his natural surprise to his advantage. Turning in an entirely different direction he allows his shock to completely overwhelm him: Wide eyes, gaping mouth, the whole shebang. Then with an awed tone of voice he says. "I knew it would work!"

Maneuver to place the aspect "Turned Around" on Mondfae. So basically a slightly more refined version of: "Hey! Look behind you." I'll roll Empathy as it seems vaguely appropriate. Also I'm going to scurry and get my gun as a supplemental action, and I have taken into account the penalty.

[roll0]+2=-1

[Steel Mirror]

"I knew it would work!"


[roll0]+3=

Mondfae laughs, the sound a little more uninhibited and manic than his previous confidence-fueled belly laughs. "If you stay still, I can give you a clean death!" He stabs down with the sword held in a reverse grip once again, trying to pin Connor to the floor with the huge blade. He still doesn't seem to notice what Connor is reaching for.

[Sanguine]

Rolling away from the sword sas it cuts into his side a sudden explosion of water reminds Connor that he still has his water balloons. Finding one that has managed to somehow survive all of this abuse Connor takes it in his hand and chucks it at Mondfae's face. After all he may not be a Lutin but saltwater in his eyes should still make it hard for him to see anything.

Maneuver to place the aspect "Salt In My Eyes" on Mondfae, rolling athletics, and once again I scurry for my gun.

[roll0]+2=1
Awareness Assessment: [roll1]+2=1

[Steel Mirror]

Rolling away from the sword strike a sudden explosion of water reminds Connor that he still has his water balloons. Finding one that has managed to somehow survive all of this abuse Connor takes it in his hand and chucks it at Mondfae's face. After all he may not be a Lutin but saltwater in his eyes should still make it hard for him to see anything.


Dodge
[roll0]+4=4

Mondfae ducks quickly as the unexpected projectile flies wide, then frowns as he readjusts his footing. "You really should give in; the pain can go away!"

Connor desperately tries to take stock of his situation. No more water balloons, the sale in his pocket is useless (and, by now, probably dissolved), and he has no weapons. That barbecue fork in his chest is really getting annoying.

That steel barbecue fork. With the wicked tines.

Connor has to dodge once more as Mondfae continues his stabbing assault.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin sighs, rubbing her forehead briefly before she bears down on the two thugs, "Seriously?! You pick now to try and rob us?! I am not in the mood for this crap!"

Advancing on them, the young Zhao warrior lets loose a flurry of blows, punches flying this way and that at both of them. A storm of fists, if you will.

Using Yin's Storm of Fists Stunt to make a spray attack on both of the thugs and will split my Fists skill evenly between the two of them.

Attack One: [roll0] + 2 = 1
Attack Two: [roll1] + 2 = 2

[Steel Mirror]

Advancing on them, the young Zhao warrior lets loose a flurry of blows, punches flying this way and that at both of them. A storm of fists, if you will.

defense rolls (in order)
[roll0]+2=1
[roll1]+2=3

She is among them before they can react, and lands a glancing strike on the one with the crowbar before the other one manages to get out of the way. Then the two of them swing their makeshift weapons wildly, displaying far more enthusiasm for inflicting pain than competence.

Attack rolls in OOC because I am airheaded.

[Sanguine]

With the recollection of the water balloons came the memory of something else he had forgotten in the heat of the moment: his iron knuckles! Conner searched desperately through his pockets for a few moments before coming up blank and remembering exactly what had happened to them. Damn, I gave them to Yin. I'll have to make do without. Grabbing hold unto the fork Connor tore it out of his flesh with a muffled cry. Then Conner channeled all of his pain and rage into a prayer of sorts shouting "Morrigan take you, you son of a bitch!" as he stood up and brought the fork down towards Mondfae's face.

Activating guide my hand, and tagging "The Gods Are With Me" and Mondfae's High Concept.

[roll0]+8=8

Empathy Assessment:[roll1]+3=4

[Steel Mirror]

Morrigan take you, ya son of a bitch!"

Defense against stabbing
[roll0]+5=3
Social defense
[roll1]+3=3

Mondfae's slightly unhinged chuckle changes instantly to a thready, high scream as the metal tines of the barbecue fork sink deep into his jaw. Connor can actually see black corruption spread out from the wound, following the veins under the sidhe lord's skin and burning away his good looks as it goes.

In a flash of insight, Connor realizes why the sidhe didn't see this coming. He is an impressive combatant, but one who enjoys gloating and posturing as he fights. His moves have been showy and flamboyent when more restrained and precise attacks could have been more deadly. And all of the fae who talked about him had called him a champion, a duelist to be feared and avoided.

Because that is what he is: a duelist. Used to fighting against other duelists, where the form and the show is as important as the outcome of the fight. Faerie champions need to look good for their benefactors and strike awe into the hearts of their enemies. Two sidhe in a duel like that wouldn't wear srmor made of utensils, or stab their foe in the face with a cooking implement.

For example.

He's just not used to fighting dirty, and now it's going to cost him.

Mondfae
[x] [x] [x] [x] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*
(-4) Not so pretty anymore

Commander-in-sidhe of the Prince's private army*
Fighting a Worthy Foe*
Dueling Paragon
In a Gazebo*

[Steel Mirror]

In a blind panic, the Marshall lashes out with his sword, all finesse forgotten. Now he is just trying to cut Connor in half, driven to new heights by his pain-fueled rage.


Attack
[roll0]+5=5

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin moves with confidence, up until she nearly slips on a small patch of spilt soup. She manages to roll with it, taking a glancing blow across her shoulder from the baseball bat while avoiding the much more dangerous crowbar. Whirling around, eyes blazing with fury, she focuses all her attention on the thug with the bat, throwing a machine gun barrage of punches at him to try and put him on the ground.

Rolling Fists to avoid the attacks first.

Fists 1: [roll0] + 4 = 0
Fists 2: [roll1] + 4 = 5

And then attacking. But not doing a spread this time. Going for the one with the baseball bat first.

Fists: [roll2] + 4 = 4

[Steel Mirror]

Whirling around, eyes blazing with fury, she focuses all her attention on the thug with the bat, throwing a machine gun barrage of punches at him to try and put him on the ground.

defense
[roll0]+2=5
attack (crowbar)
[roll1]+2=2
attack(bat)
[roll2]+2=1

In a surprising display of competence, the thug manages to get the bat between himself and the pissed-off young woman. Yin pulls the punch before she really hurts herself on the metal, but that was stinging to her pride.

Fortunately their tactics don't improve, and they continue flailing wildly in her general direction without saying a word.

crowbar
[ ] [ ]
caught off balance

bat
[ ] [ ]

[AvianMalkavian]

Barely ducking out of the way of the crowbar again, Yin lets out a frustrated breath. Bat guy (not Bat man, for obvious reasons) was managing to stay conscious against her wishes, but Crowbar guy was definitely a greater danger. She turned her attention towards him, taking another weak strike from the bat as she used the crowbar-wielding thug's balancing against him to try and kick his feet out from under him.

Fists (Dodge, Crowbar): [roll0] + 4 = 3
Fists (Dodge, Bat): [roll1] + 4 = 1

Attacking the guy with the crowbar and tagging his 'Caught Off Balance' Aspect for a +2
Fists (Attack, Crowbar): [roll2] + 6 = 5

[Sanguine]

Jumping away from the strike Connor feels an intense flash of pain as the blade slices into his left arm. Next thing he knows he's standing next to his gun and his left are is completely numb and won't move. Deciding to worry about that later Connor grabs the gun in his metallic right hand and sweeps out with it sending it's steel butt heading straight for his opponent's face. The look on Mondfae's face was priceless, even after getting stabbed with a fork he still hadn't fully understood the idea of fighting dirty, and the idea that a gun would be used as a club rather than a gun was completely alien to him. Not to mention it was headed straight for his now ruined face.

Attack! The bonus for the Guns supplement is negated leaving me with +0 Thankfully I have two aspects to tag.

[roll0]+4=4

Awareness Assessment: [roll1]+2=2

[Steel Mirror]

she used the crowbar-wielding thug's balancing against him to try and kick his feet out from under him.


Whoops, rolled a little silly . . . moving on
defense
[roll0]-8=-1
attack (crowbar)
[roll1]-8=3
maneuver (bat)
[roll2]-8=2

Her blow catches the goon right across the jaw, but somehow he is unaffected and doesn't even grunt.

Wait, no. He keels over like a falling tree, apparently knocked out so suddenly that he didn't have time to call out in pain. Behind her, the bat guy swings his weapon in a threatening manner, not trying to hit her but apparently trying to force her away from him and into the corner of the kitchen near the broken-into door.

[Steel Mirror]

The look on Mondfae's face was priceless, even after getting stabbed with a fork he still hadn't fully understood the idea of fighting dirty, and the idea that a gun would be used as a club rather than a gun was completely alien to him.

defense
[roll0]+5=6
social defense
[roll1]+3=2

In a panic, Mondfae pedals back quickly, leaving the gazebo and dodging past Connor's blow. He's had his fun mocking the gods that Connor serves; Connor wonders how he would handle the same treatment now that things aren't going so well for him.

With another cry of pain he pries the steal cooking implement out of his face, which has begun to smoke and smell like burnt bacon. He snarls as he drops the fork into the shallow stream that Connor had only recently crawled out of. "I will kill the stupid singing girl for this offence, you monkey."

Mondfae
[x] [x] [ ] [x] [x]
(-2) Iron Singed*

Commander-in-sidhe of the Prince's private army
Fighting a Worthy Foe*
Dueling Paragon*
A Forgotten Power Resurgent

1FP

[AvianMalkavian]

One down. Relief floods Yin as she begins to show signs of competency at that thing she's spent years of her life training in. Turning around, she can now happily focus all of her attention upon the lone thug. She smiles, shaking her head at him, "Should've run when you had the chance. I'm going to have fun putting you in traction for a few months."

Rather than avoiding the wild swings, she rushes straight into them and unleashes another explosion of fists at the armed mook, going for any and every opening he's given her.

Fists (Dodge, Bat Guy): [roll0] + 4 = 6

Invoking Defender Of Chinatown for a +2 on the attack.
Fists (Attack, Bat Guy): [roll1] + 6 = 6

[Steel Mirror]

Rather than avoiding the wild swings, she rushes straight into them and unleashes another explosion of fists at the armed mook, going for any and every opening he's given her.

defense
[roll0]+2=2
attack (bat)
[roll1]+2=2
stealth (?)
[roll2]+3=4
attack (?)
[roll3]+2=3

The other bad guy goes down just as easily, sprawling helplessly against a pile of fresh produce. Crime: stopped.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin throws the thug to the ground next to his buddy, wincing a little at the minor bruises as they add themselves to the collective layer of pain that's been building up steadily over the course of the day, "I need to find a different hobby."

Alertness Roll: [roll0] + 2 = 6! Wow. Where were you when I was trying not to get hit, Dice Roller? :smallconfused:

[Steel Mirror]

"I need to find a different hobby."[/SPOILER]

Suddenly, yet another adrenaline spike hits Yin hard. The telltale crunch of footsteps in salt crystals tells Yin that someone is trying to sneak up behind her- but with her finely honed reflexes, she should be able to get the drop on them.

[AvianMalkavian]

Having learned from her previous encounters today, Yin takes the decidedly uncharacteristic choice to not immediately roundhouse kick the mystery person behind her. Instead, she rolls away out of their immediate grasp and darts behind one of the work tables, going silent as she attempts to use the shadows to her advantage.

Stealth Roll (I'm merely adopting the dark!): [roll0] + 3 = 2

[Sanguine]

Connor feels his rage boiling up as Mondfae threatens Kim, but he controls it. If he let's himself lash out in a fit of anger now he might lose the duel and then he really would kill her. It will be better for everyone involved if he plays this smart, well except Mondfae. Examining the faerie Marshall Connor can't help but realize how emotionally unstable he is at the moment, one little push might be all it takes to give him the advantage. "You know Mondfae, you've been talking a lot about the weakness of the Tuatha, almost too much, as if you were overcompensating for something. And you know what, of the two of us only my patrons have actually helped in this duel. So that tells me one of two things. Either, A, your Prince is a sniveling little weakling unable to intercede on his champions behalf where even the all-but forgotten Tuatha could. Or B, he just doesn't like you very much. Either way I pity you." That was the straw that broke the camels back, Connor can see it in his eyes. Connor a mortal, pitying him! It was unthinkable, and now Mondfae wasn't thinking, perfect time to send some hot lead his way.

Guns attacking tagging that aspect.

[roll0]+4=5

and an Awareness Assessment cause why not.

[roll1]+2=2

[Steel Mirror]

Stealth Roll (I'm merely adopting the dark!): [roll0] + 3 = 2
Whoever it is clearly didn't expect to be heard. Yin vanishes behind one of the rows of industrial ovens and cupboards without a sound and before they can react. After Yin relocates to a different enough position that she is confident of her hiding spot, she pauses.

Somebody says something in a language that Yin doesn't recognize, much less understand. She hears more footfalls enter the kitchen, then begin looking around through the aisles of stainless steel cooking appliances. She takes a deep breath. She's going to need a strategy for this one, and calling out would just give away her location. She is far enough from the door to the dining room that sprinting would be risky; she doesn't know for sure that none of them has a gun.

[Steel Mirror]

"Either way I pity you." That was the straw that broke the camels back, Connor can see it in his eyes. Connor a mortal, pitying him! It was unthinkable, and now Mondfae wasn't thinking, perfect time to send some hot lead his way.

"You pathetic simpleton mortal nothing!" Connor squeezes off the first shot. "My family was ancient when your ancestors were starving in the dirt! Your pathetic gods," Connor doesn't stop firing. "Are - you can't -"

With his strength finally expended, the proud sidhe finally collapses into the stream, the water and the rain gently washing the blood and sweat and dirt from his twisted features as the night goes silent, once more.


defense
[roll0]+4=5
intimidation
[roll1]+4=7+2 for FP, plus the tag on Connor's "Useless Left Arm" to finish talking before he gets taken out.

[AvianMalkavian]

She curses silently as she hears more footsteps enter the kitchen. Uncertain of what to do, Yin immediately starts looking over her surroundings. Maybe there was something in the kitchen that she could use to her advantage. Like a magic sword or an M-16.

Not entirely sure what to roll here. Probably Investigation?

Investigation Roll: [roll0] + 1 = -1. Boo.

[Sanguine]

Looking down upon his defeated opponent Connor finds himself filled with a sense of deep satisfaction. Yes, it was true he did pity Mondfae, but that pity was buried under tons of fury and righteous indignation. Mondfae and his Prince had taken advantage of people who didn't know any better, they had been bullies throwing their strength around like it made them better than others, and they had threatened Kim. And where did Mondfae end up? Collapsed in a stream defeated by a man he had arragontly thought beneath him. Oh yes, Connor was satisfied. But he wasn't finished. Nudging Mondfae with his steel-toed boot Connor said. "You can't die yet. You've still got a bargain to keep."

[Steel Mirror]

Maybe there was something in the kitchen that she could use to her advantage. Like a magic sword or an M-16.

Unsurprisingly, there are no automatic weapons or Excalibur-in-a-stones. There are, also unsurprisingly, a number of chef knives strewn about. And a whole, uncooked chicken. Maybe she could give them salmonella?

The pans on the other side of the stove from her crash suddenly. Someone must have knocked them over. Yin tries to listen with all her might to track where these people are going in the darkness.

stealth
[roll0]+3=5
baddie alertness
[roll1]+1=2
[roll2]+1=-1
[roll3]+1=1

[Steel Mirror]

"You can't die yet. You've still got a bargain to keep."
"If you have any honor, you will let me die."

From beyond the confines of the garden, the lutins on horseback finally respond. They erupt into a chorus of chittering jeers, but they don't appear to be making any aggressive moves. Maybe they are just upset. Or hell, they're fey. Maybe they though it was a great show.

[Sanguine]

"You made me a deal, if you have any honor you will hold up your end of it. Once you have I'll let you die in peace, hell I might even give you a funeral service of your choice. But until you do you are bound by your word and your very nature. So start talking."

[Steel Mirror]

"So start talking."
"What do you want to know?"

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin moves from her cover, staying low as she attempts to find a place a bit more friendly to sneaking about. What she wouldn't give for a cardboard box right about now. Of course, keeping quiet herself, she tries to focus on pinpointing the bad guys, as well.

Stealth Roll: [roll0] + 3 = 5
Alertness Roll: [roll1] + 2 = 3

[Steel Mirror]

Of course, keeping quiet herself, she tries to focus on pinpointing the bad guys, as well.

There seem to be 3 of them moving around in a search pattern. The one across the stove from her sounds like he's getting close to the end of the aisle; if he turns left, he'll be looking right at Yin. The other two are further away: one is behind her and down, the other is in front of her, an aisle further away from where the closest guy is.

[Sanguine]

"Well let's see. Who is this Prince fellow you all keep going on about? How can I find him? Where are the musicians being held? Why does he want them? Are there any loopholes in their contracts that I can exploit to wrest them from your Prince's grasp? How many more of you are there serving him? Are you connected in anyway with the attack on O'Reilly's the other day? If so how are you connected? And please answer all of these questions as precisely and specifically as you can."

[Steel Mirror]

" And please answer all of these questions as precisely and specifically as you can."

"He is called many things, but Auberon would be the name most know him by. He has established his demesne in the animal menagerie that the human authorities keep in this settlement. The musicians are with him, awaiting their fate as gifts to the noblility that he is entertaining during his Attainment Feast. I know of no loopholes; I am a warrior, not a scribe. As to servants, several score at least. My men here are the bulk of the fighting force, but his familiars are formidable and leave his presence only to carry out specific and important missions."

Speaking is clearly difficult for him. Connor thinks that he cans see his very skin slowly melting in the gentle current of the stream.

"Neither I nor any of my cohort were involved in the attack on your stronghold. It threatened many of our most valuable prospects, and we would kill those responsible if we knew who they were."

[Sanguine]

"Your obligation to me is fulfilled, may you rest in peace Mondfae, Marshall to Auberon." With that Connor turns away from Mondfae and heads back towards the restaurant.

[AvianMalkavian]

It was a stupid idea. A very, very, stupid idea. However, Yin was out of options and she wasn't exactly spoiling for another fight tonight. Moving with all the cautiousness of a paranoid cat, she slinks over to the stoves. Quickly and quietly, she sabotages the stoves before turning them on, the light hiss of gas being released hopefully too low to break the heavy silence in the kitchen. When she's turned them on, she begins looking around for where they keep the matches.

[Steel Mirror]

"Your obligation to me is fulfilled, may you rest in peace Mondfae, Marshall to Auberon."
With his dismissal, Mondfae breathes a deep sigh of relief that seems to reverberate in the very wind and sky. His form seems to deflate, then it becomes clear that something else entirely is happening.

Like makeup washing off in the rain, his skin melts slowly and peacefully into the gentle current. What is left behind is a twisted log in the shape of a tall man, crude features barely visible as though carved by an idle child. His armor hangs loosely from the wood.

Whatever he was, he must have been more closely related to the lutins than he claimed. Perhaps he was granted some great title in his past that made him more like a man in appearance and substance than a mere veil could attain.

Connor will probably never know. The lutins ceases their chittering the instant their champion breathes his last, and slowly begin massing at the entrance of the parking lot. They spare not a single glance back at the shattered garden.

At the restaurant's doors, Zhao Bae is waiting for Connor with a towel and a first aid kit. "It seems you are more formidable in fact than in appearance, detective."

[Steel Mirror]

When she's turned them on, she begins looking around for where they keep the matches.

Stealth
[roll0]+3=4
Alertness
[roll1]+1=2
[roll2]+1=1
[roll3]+1=1

She moves towards the back of the kitchen, where she knows they keep a few ultra big boxes of any-surface matches. She still has to try her best to avoid the intruders, though, and she's starting to get an itching feeling on the back of her neck. Like she's being watched . . .

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin can't stop now. There's far too much at stake and Connor could be dead or dying while she's screwing around in the kitchen. She attempts to stalk closer to the box, ignoring that feeling of being watched as she fumbles as quickly and quietly as she can around for one of the matches.

Invoking Modern Girl. Ancient Legacy. Doubtful that her ancestors ever thought about blowing up a kitchen to deal with some bad guys.
Stealth Roll: [roll0] + 5 = 7

[Sanguine]

Connor gladly takes the towel from Zhao Bae and begins drying himself off, which is surprisingly difficult when you only have one good arm. "I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. I'm going to go with compliment, cause quite frankly I'm too exhausted to get angry."

[Steel Mirror]

she fumbles as quickly and quietly as she can around for one of the matches.

She can see the box. It's about 5 feet away, tantalizingly beyond reach. And she can hear one of the intruders breathing nearby, maybe 3 feet to her right around the corner. If she goes for the matches, he'll see her. If she doesn't move and he decides to walk her way, he'll see her.

If he decides to walk the other direction, she should be able to get the matches without being seen.

She wouldn't put much money on the third option happening.

[AvianMalkavian]

There was no way that this was going to turn out well, so Yin decided to throw caution to the wind. It wasn't doing her much good, anyway. Rushing forward, she ripped a hole in the box, grabbed a handful of matches, and started racing towards the door.

[Steel Mirror]

"I'm not sure whether to take that as a compliment or an insult. I'm going to go with compliment, cause quite frankly I'm too exhausted to get angry."

"Indeed it is a compliment. You look quite formidable." She begins removing the tattered remains of the cutlery-mail and examining his arm.

She sighs. "You know my husband designed this garden. I hope our insurance covers dueling damage."

[Steel Mirror]

Rushing forward, she ripped a hole in the box, grabbed a handful of matches, and started racing towards the door.

The goon behind her immediately calls out in a masculine voice and gives chase. Pans and utensils crash all over the kitchen as the others leap to pursue, as well.

It's Athletics to see if she makes it away, though everyone but the guy nearby gets a penalty.

[roll0]+2=3
[roll1]+0=-1
[roll2]+0=-2

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin didn't bother to look behind her. She knew they were coming after her. All she could do was hope to get out of their reach and, hopefully, not destroy the kitchen too much with her stupid stunt.

As she hit the exit, she struck the matches across the door frame, spun and threw them back into the room as she yelled, "KITCHEN'S CLOSED!"

Athletics Roll: [roll0] + 3 = 4

[Steel Mirror]

"KITCHEN'S CLOSED!"

The thug just behind her is holding a tire iron, and brings his hands up reflexively as a few of the matches fly towards his face.

Yeah, that's going to help.


dodging the blast
[roll0]+2=1
[roll1]+2=1
[roll2]+2=3
[roll3]+3=5

The blows Yin back, but the pressure wave dissipates quickly in the night air. Those inside aren't so lucky.

The guy in front of Yin is caught by the blast from behind, and blown off his feet toward the door. Not through the door though, just towards it. Into the frame. He bounces off hard, and doesn't get up.

Inside, the smoke and whirling bits of burning paper make it hard for Yin to see anything. The sprinklers come on quickly, followed by the loud whine of the legally-required smoke alarms alerting customers to vacate the building.

[Sanguine]

"Well that's good." Connor steeled himself as Zhao Bae begins to examine, but to his suprise found that not only did it not hurt, he couldn't feel it at all. That however is not. Somewhat sheepishly he adds. "Sorry about the garden."

[Steel Mirror]

That however is not. Somewhat sheepishly he adds. "Sorry about the garden."
She snorts. "Surely you must be joking. You just saved our lives. I may not agree with your decision to come here and put us in danger, but you certainly don't walk away from your battles. My husband is doubtlessly proud that his creation could help shield us, in any small way, from harm."

There is a deep "Whuump" noise from inside the restaurant, and the tinny sound of a fire alarm blares out. Zhao Bae looks up, then into Connor's eyes.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin had the breath knocked out of her when she was thrown to the ground by the blast. Sucking in a few lungfuls of sweet, sweet, air as she rolled over and pushed herself to her feet, laughing like a madwoman, "Kitchen's Closed! Classic! I really wish someone else had been here to see that, besides you jerks, that is."

Waving the smoke away and covering her mouth, she tromps into the kitchen and hopes that most of the damage is superficial. Mostly because she didn't want her mother killing her, but also because the place had a certain sentimental value to her, as well. "Anything else you guys wanna throw at me while you're at it? I've had just about enough of this whole 'kill Yin and her family' crap for one day and I'm starting to feel very un-Batman like."

[Sanguine]

"Was that an explosion?" Before she can answer his stupid question Connor is off, running with every ounce of speed he has heading for the source of the noise, his left arm flailing lamely behind him.

[Steel Mirror]

"Anything else you guys wanna throw at me while you're at it? I've had just about enough of this whole 'kill Yin and her family' crap for one day and I'm starting to feel very un-Batman like."
As if responding to her cry, one of the figures jumps out from its hiding spot behind a cart of dishes, sending it flying and crashing away. It too is clad in black with a ski mask, and Yin can see its eyes burning with manic hatred. In one hand it swings a boxy little device towards Yin's body- a taser.

Yin can defend as normal; she wasn't caught completely off guard.
Attack
[roll0]+3=-1 HAHAHAHA that was sad :smallfrown:

Angry Burglar
[ ] [ ]
ringing ears

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin just stands there as the thug is completely off his mark. She shakes her head and then slides across a table, taking advantage of his momentary confusion and disorientation to kick him in the back.

Tagging his 'Ringing Ears' Aspect.
Fists (Attack, Taser Guy): [roll0] + 6 = 7

[Steel Mirror]

She shakes her head and then slides across a table, taking advantage of his momentary confusion and disorientation to kick him in the back.

defense
[roll0]+3=5
attack
[roll1]+3=1

The kick lands, sending the burglar stumbling away. He's ready for more, though, and whirls around, brandishing the taser with all his might.

Angry Burglar
[ ] [x]

[AvianMalkavian]

Sliding off of the table, she attempted to dart out of the way of the taser again. The thug's choice of weapon was very uncool. Come on, who uses a taser? Still, there was the matter of beating him into a coma to see to, and so she moved quickly, using her knowledge of the kitchen's layout to her advantage to try and keep him at bay until she could land another kick to his face.

Fists (Dodge): [roll0] + 4 = 5
Fists (Attack): [roll1] + 4 = 6

[Steel Mirror]

Still, there was the matter of beating him into a coma to see to, and so she moved quickly, using her knowledge of the kitchen's layout to her advantage to try and keep him at bay until she could land another kick to his face.

dodge
[roll0]+3=3
attack
[roll1]+3=2

It's like Jackie Chan in a fight with drunken koala bear. She barely moves aside to dodge, and delivers another smart blow to her enemy's face with the flat of her foot.

Across the kitchen, one of the others has recovered from the blast. And he's heading straight for the door at his woozy top speed, clearly not excited to be here anymore.

Angry Burglar
[ ] [x] [x]

[AvianMalkavian]

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!" Yin shouts as she hops over the latest thug to enjoy unconsciousness, chasing after the one feebly attempting to escape to pummel him as well.

Athletics (To Catch Up): [roll0] + 3 = 1
Fists: [roll1] + 4 = 2

[Steel Mirror]

"WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"

[roll0]+2=3

She catches up easily, but fails to get a blow in on the fugitive. He continues his sprint, clearing the door but losing momentum as he stumbles into the open air.


Connor tears through the dining room, ignoring the downpour from the cieling sprinklers that can't possibly make him more soaked than he already is. He comes to the kitchen doors in a flash, forcing them open to be greeted by a wall of smoke and ash. He can see two figures sprinting for the door on the other side of the kitchen, but can't make out any details in the swirling chaos and heat.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin curses again as she misses, but she doesn't give up so easily. Nor does she have any plans of letting one of the bad guys get away. Keeping up, she attempts to slam her foot across the side of his head with a powerful kick, "Get back here!"

Fists: [roll0] + 4 = 4

[Steel Mirror]

[roll0]+2=basically who cares.

With a last judo chop, Yin fells the fleeing villain and enjoys the feel of the rain on her skin after the smoky kitchen.

"What happened?" cries her mother from inside'

[Sanguine]

Two suspicious figure running away from the scene of an explosion? Connor's cop instincts take over and he finds himself in hot pursuit. He doesn't know who he's chasing or why they are running, but it doesn't matter. He's a cop, they're fleeing a potential crime scene, so he pursues them.

Just trying to catch up not take any aggressive action.

Athletics: [roll0]+4=3

[Steel Mirror]

He's a cop, they're fleeing a potential crime scene, so he pursues them.

He finds Yin crowing her victory into the empty night, the rain leaving trails of soot on her face and an unconscious, masked person at her feet.

Zhao Bae sounds upset.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin stands over the thug, just enjoying the feel of the rain as it washes away the soot. Finally, some peace and quiet, She thought. At least, that was until she heard her mother. The Defender of Chinatown flinched, turning towards the doorway and offering a half-hearted wave to Connor.

"Uh.. I might have blown the kitchen up. Just a little."

[Sanguine]

Taking in the desolation of the kitchen Connor smiles at Yin and says. "I suddenly find myself feeling a lot less guilty about ruining the garden."

[Steel Mirror]

"Uh.. I might have blown the kitchen up. Just a little."


"I suddenly find myself feeling a lot less guilty about ruining the garden."

Zhao Bae mutters something in Chinese under her breath as she surveys the kitchen, and the unconscious figures strewn about it. She takes a few breaths to try to calm herself, then gives up and lapses into another impressive string of angry-sounding words.

"Check to see if your brother and Kara and the guests are all right, Yin," she finally manages to say.

[AvianMalkavian]

"Yes, Mother." Yin says meekly. The normally brash Taoist Demon Hunter cowed immediately into submission by her mother's less than silent fury. She scurries off back into the building, while giving Bae a wide berth, as she goes to find Kara, Li, and the musicians.

[Steel Mirror]

"Thank the gods you're OK!"

Kara, Li, and the rest of the Dancing Dragon's last line of defense are rattled but unharmed. The rest of the people who had been affected by the lutin infiltrator's enchantment appear to have fallen into a deep drowze. "You can wake them up, so I don't think it's magical," Kara explains. "I don't know why you would, though. They're all useless. I guess that elf whammie gives you a serious hangover."

Nearby Andro is leaning against the wall with a chair leg in his hands, and Li is trying to look cool and collected but is clearly glad to see his big sis in one piece.

[Sanguine]

Taking a deep breath Connor reminded himself that while things had calmed down and the immediate danger had passed thing were still a long way from settled. Mondfae was dead and the musicians were safe for now, but Auberon still held their contracts and it wouldn't be long before he came to collect. But first things first he needs to make sure everyone made it through all right. With this decision made Connor heads down the way Yin had a few minutes beforehand.

[AvianMalkavian]

"Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be?" Says the bruised, bandaged, and now half covered with soot, girl as she rejoins her friends, family, and complete strangers who put everyone's lives in danger.

As per usual, she musses up Li's hair before giving Kara a hug, "Luckily, I think it's over. At least for now, anyway. Which is good, because I could really use a nap."

[Steel Mirror]

Connor walks in while Yin is mentioning the nap, his injured arm still dripping blood. "Wow, you look like . . . a very interesting person," Kara says, moving up to take a look. "Ok I have a CPR card, but I'm pretty sure something like this is when you go to a hospital."

[Sanguine]

"A hospital might not be a bad idea. But if I go to a hospital they are going to ask awkward questions about how I was injured and why my other arm is made out of silver. It's just too much of a hassle, especially when I have a fresh lead. Besides it should heal on it's own, I'm pretty sure low-grade super-healing is somewhere on my list of superpowers." As Conner downplays the severity of his injury his eyes gaze across the room, looking to see if anyone was injured, especially Kim.

[Steel Mirror]

As Conner downplays the severity of his injury his eyes gaze across the room, looking to see if anyone was injured, especially Kim.

"Wow, that's a pretty sweet perk. But I hope TuathaCare kicks in soon; you're losing a lot of blood, and it's really hard to scrub out of the carpets."

Connor spots Kim near the shrine at the center of the room, a handful of incense almost burnt down completely just by her head. She is asleep in almost a kneeling position at the base of the shrine, but her steady breathing tells Connor that she is probably all right.

[Sanguine]

Breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of Kim perfectly healthy Connor almost misses what Kara said. "Wait I am?" Looking down Connor's eyes widen visibly as he finally gets a good look at his gruesomely injured arm. "I don't suppose you have any bandages?"

[Steel Mirror]

"I don't suppose you have any bandages?"
"Bandages we've got, detective." She wanders off for a moment to a big, toolkit-sized first aid box and brings it over. She smiles at him. "Now sit down in that chair over there and take off your shirt."

Andro and Rolf approach the detective as Kara waits for him to disrobe. "You really defeated their Marshall? In single combat?" Rolf sounds incredulous.

[Sanguine]

Following Kara's instruction without a hint of bashfullness Connor makes for the chair. Though removing his shirt proves to be an unusually difficult process. Not only was Connor missing the use of an arm, but there were several spots where caked on blood, both his and Mondfae's, was acting as an adhesive bonding the shirt to his skin. "Unless he was lying about who he was, but last time I checked faeries couldn't lie."

[Steel Mirror]

Andro shakes his head in awe. "Glaciers above, that's incredible. So is it over then?" He looks hopefully from Connor to Yin.

Kara goes to work with a handful of wipes that look like jumbo moist towelettes, and sting wherever they touch a scratch. Once she has cleaned the worst of the mess off of Connors arm, she begins applying gauze patches to the wound in an attempt to staunch the slow but steady bleeding.

[Sanguine]

Conner shakes his head as Kara treats his wound. "I'm afraid not. My victory should buy you all some temporary safety, but as you said Mondfae was just the Marshall, now I have to deal with the Prince."

[Steel Mirror]

"Mondfae was just the Marshall, now I have to deal with the Prince."
Rolf gulps noticeably, and Andro gives him a sidelong glance before turning back to Connor. "I see. And do you know what this "Prince" wants?"

[Sanguine]

"I know a little of his plans, but as for motive all I've got is conjecture. He plans to give you all and the musicians he's already captured to various sidhe nobles, presumably to gain their support in some sort of power play."

Empathy roll cause Connor's suspicious.

[roll0]+3=4

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin cleared her throat audibly as she stepped next to Connor, "You mean we have to deal with the Prince. I'm sure killing his toady probably caught his attention, and we don't need some some moldy old faerie coming up and tearing up our restaurant. Besides, I'm pretty sure Mom's going to kill me if I don't do something to make up for the kitchen."

There was a pause before it hit her, "Hey. Where's Whittaker?"

[Steel Mirror]

Empathy roll cause Connor's suspicious.

[roll0]+3=4


defense Andro
[roll0]+2=4
defense Rolf
[roll1]+4=5

Connor watches the two young men carefully as he talks. He knows that they are svartalfar, whatever that means, and is willing to believe their story about being opposed to the lutins on general principle. He knows how petty the fair folk can be, and how short-sighted.

But something about Andro still isn't stacking up. He seemed a little too eager to believe that Connor had vanquished the Marshall and solved everyone's problems, as though he is worried about something more than the musicians' disappearances. It's just a hunch . . .

"I think Whitaker was relaxing behind the shrine, last I saw him," Kara says. She is now wrapping the mess of gauze to Connor's arm. "Is that too tight?"

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin breaks away from the gathering for a short while, glancing over at the unconscious Kim briefly before she moved behind the shrine, "Hey, Whittaker. You here, boy?"

[Steel Mirror]

"Hey, Whittaker. You here, boy?"
She finds him nestled in a ratty looking bed that she quickly realizes is made up of the jacket and fabric scraps that she used to shelter him from the sun earlier that day. Dozens of tea candles are lit on and around the shrine, giving his translucent green "flesh" an orange tint.

He looks like he is asleep, too. His eyes are closed and his head resting on and slightly through few of the tea candles. His legs jerk once or twice as Yin looks, and he makes a few breathless noises. Looks like he is having a dream, and maybe not a good one.

[Sanguine]

Connor smiles at Kara and says. "It's perfect"

[Steel Mirror]

"Don't shoot, don't shoot!" An unexpected voice cuts through the still air as Andrew rounds the corner and enters the room. He's limping pretty severely and he's as wet and dirty as Connor or Yin. "Sorry I missed the show, the owner said that you guys won some kind of duel. I brought you something you misplaced, though."

Behind him, the Elder O'Reilly lumbers into the room, a double barreled hunting shotgun in his hands. "Sorry I'm late, son. We had to take care of a few wood-whatsits on the way in." Behind him is a golden-haired boy that Connor recognizes as Chene.

"Woodwoses," Andrew corrects with a smile.

"'Swhat I said," grumbles Patrick in reply.

[Sanguine]

As Connor sees his father and his friends his face is split in two by a massive grin. Connor hadn't let himself dwell upon it, but deep down he had been worried about his father and Chene. This was a dangerous thing he had gotten them involved in and Auberon would no doubt be quite angry with Chene for switching sides. But they were safe and they were here, and Andrew too, and it made Connor incredibly happy. Wrapping his father up in a gigantic bear hug, or the closest approximation one can get with only one good arm, he said. "You had me worried old man."

[Steel Mirror]

"You had me worried old man."
"Oh, I had you worried did I? And what about you? Leaving me a message with no explanation, and when I show up there's brigands all about and some sort of hairy ape-men trying to tear me door off it's hinges! I'd have shot my way through them straight away to see what you got yourself into this time, if I hadn't this little one to take care of."

He gestures to Chene, who is picking his nose and coming up with what looks like a gob of sap. Despite his rant, Patrick embraces his son heartily, then steps back to get a good look at him. "Well I see you got your shirt off in front of these fine young ladies. I thought we'd raised you better than that!"

[Sanguine]

Connor smiles at his old man's scolding, it was nice to have something so familiar after all the craziness. "Yeah, sorry about that there was a lot going on at the time. As for my shirt, it was wet, bloody, and filled with holes. I'm more presentable half-naked."

[AvianMalkavian]

A frown marrs the Chinatown warrior's features as she watches Whittaker sleep. She had heard that dogs, and other animals, could sense things. Could tell when a dangerous storm was coming or even detect 'wrongness' around things. How much more sensitive was a ghost dog? Her first instinct was to pet him, to try and soothe him, but she knew her hand would go straight through him. Yin wished that there was something that she could do to comfort her spectral friend.

However, there was nothing she could do right now. They just had to try and survive, then maybe she could see about getting one of Kara's hoodoo friends to bind him here permanently. "Stay safe, Whittaker. I've still got some stuff to do."

Stepping out from behind the shrine, she grins at the sight of Connor's dad, "Hail, hail, the gang's all here."

[Steel Mirror]

"Well we're here now, what do you need from us?" Patrick quirks an eye at the room full of passed-out musicians and a ghost dog, but doesn't say anything else.

Chene sticks his finger in his mouth and smiles up at Connor. "Good job killing Mondfae, master! I would have bet real money that he'd slice you into little bits."

[Steel Mirror]

"Hail, hail, the gang's all here."

He smiles at the sight of the young demon fighter. "By Manannan's salty beard, the two of you get into the most trouble. By the way, I never thanked you for what you did last night at the pub." His smile is still present, but his voice is pitched more seriously than Yin is accustomed to hearing from the jolly bartender. "I can never repay ye."

[AvianMalkavian]

"I can never repay ye."

"You could, but sadly a lifetime supply of Irish Nachos would go against my," A mournful sigh, "Rather strict diet.. Still, if I stick with it I'll probably live for over two hundred years. If you could call it living."

[Sanguine]

Looking down at Chene Connor rolls his eyes and says. "Nice to know you have faith in me. Anyway, now that the gang is all here it's time to head to the zoo for a special showing of A Midsummer's Night Dream." This inevitably draws a few quizzical looks to which Connor replies. "I'll explain on the way."

[Steel Mirror]

"You could, but sadly a lifetime supply of Irish Nachos would go against my," A mournful sigh, "Rather strict diet.. Still, if I stick with it I'll probably live for over two hundred years. If you could call it living."
"Two hundred years on a diet sounds like reason enough to kill yourself slowly with a pint and a steak. The Missus had me on a diet- nothing but cabbage and stone cold potatos." He pats his belly. "Turns out the life of a mountain monk isn't the one for me."

Then he looks up into Yin's eyes and speaks quickly. "Meaning no offense, of course."

Then he hears Connor's instructions. "The zoo? About time you realized where you belong. You're driving though, it's past this old man's bed time."

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin groans as she looks at Connor, "We're leaving now? This Prince guy can't wait one more night? Fine, let's go and just get this over with."

She stretches a bit first, trying to get some of the kinks out, and then finally cracking her knuckles before she heads out into the rain.

[Steel Mirror]

The dark scenery and empty late-night roads leave plenty of time to discuss their next move.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Andrew asks. "Stuart said that the area around the zoo was host to some major new bad guy on the block. Nothing but birds even goes there willingly anymore. I fought some of those skinwalkers earlier and," he gestures to his leg. "It didn't go very well."

[Sanguine]

"That's exactly why we're going there Andrew. Chene's old boss Auberon, or as some of you might know him better 'the Prince', has set up his court in the zoo. So now that we know where he is it's time for a confrontation."

[AvianMalkavian]

"So... Oberon. The Oberon? The King of all Faeries? And we're just going to strut into his home and tell him to get lost? Yeah, I can see this ending really well."

[Sanguine]

"I'm not sure if it's the same Oberon, but it seems likely. However I get the feeling he's fallen on rough times since Shakespeare's day, which fits as when I first became Hand the Tuatha gave me the basic run down on Faerie politics and never mentioned the guy. Still we're not telling him to get lost. We're negotiating the payment of reparations for his act of war upon the Tuatha."

[AvianMalkavian]

"Let me guess. You're going to request that he 'pay' by tearing up all those contracts he made with the musicians? The ones that he wants to sell off to gain favor with the other Fae and make himself popular again? Doesn't seem like he'll be too eager to do that."

[Sanguine]

"Not quite, I'm going to demand that he transfer all his contracts in Seattle to my ownership. And that he cede a portion of his demesne in Faerie to the Tuatha. He probably won't accept that initial offer, but that's okay I'm willing to be bartered down. All I want is the musicians, but I can't let him know that, it weakens my position that this is ostensibly not about the musicians."

[Steel Mirror]

Connor eventually takes the off-ramp and drives a few blocks to the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo.

Zoos are one of those things that you are aware of if you live in a city, and like the idea of, but rarely actually go and visit. It’s always going to be there, after all. Why not take care of the pressing business first, and go visit the zoo when you have more time? As a result, now that they think of it, the stalwart defenders of Seattle haven’t been up to see the animals in some time.

The last time Yin was here was a high school field trip. She remembers that it’s supposed to be a pretty good zoo, actually. Apparently somebody had gotten the crazy idea back in the seventies that people might appreciate the animals more if they could see them in their natural habitats (or the closest thing to it that you could get in the middle of a city) rather than iron cages, and so pioneered the strategy of making immersive habitat-exhibits that emulated the wilderness.

As a result, the zoo had won all kinds of awards, and set the standards for humane care of animals for the whole country. It has all the normal exhibits - gorillas, lions, and bears, oh my. Except the lion exhibit was closed when she visited, now that she thinks of it. She was looking forward to seeing Mufasa, too. Kara had thought the hippo babies were cute, at least.

None of that will probably help in the upcoming negotiations with an unruly faerie prince, but it helps to have a sense of location when you’re walking into the enemy’s stronghold.

Connor pulls up into the South parking lot, which is well lit but entirely empty. The clock on the dash reads 1:19. He knows there will be a guard or two patrolling the area, but he hasn’t seen a sign of them yet.

“This is very dangerous, master,” Chene mumbles. He is hugging his knees to his chest. “Prince Auberon will not be delighted to see poor Chene.”

[Sanguine]

Placing his silver hand upon Chene's shoulder reassuringly Connor looks the lutin in the eyes and says. "I won't let him hurt you. I am your liege and am thus bound by my word and honor to protect you. So long as I draw breath I will uphold my oath and safeguard you from harm."

[Steel Mirror]

"And what do you want me to do? I've got old faithful here," Patrick gestures to the shotgun, "but I don't know how useful it will be against a faerie prince, even with an all-iron load."

[Sanguine]

"Your part is twofold. First, it makes me look more impressive when I have a couple of retainers backing me up. Hopefully this is all that you will need to do. But if things go to hell and combat breaks loose we're gonna need old faithful. Oberon will doubtless have some courtiers with him, if this turns into a fight it your job to keep them off of us while me, Yin, and Andrew take on Oberon."

[Steel Mirror]

"if this turns into a fight it your job to keep them off of us while me, Yin, and Andrew take on Oberon."
"Hoo boy. I'm too young to die," he says, but he nods and picks up the gun.

The night is quiet. Time to make a move.

[Sanguine]

Exiting the car Connor made his way towards the front gates, making no attempts at stealth. Connor was a royal and divine emissary he was was to be seen and heard, and above all listened to. Anything else would be folly.

[Steel Mirror]

The entrance is gated off, but it's only about 5 feet tall. Behind it is a broad area of grass, then the ticket offices and a higher fence. Those look like they'll be a little harder to get through.

[Sanguine]

Seeing the barred gates Connor turns to Chene and asks. "Do you know any tricks to getting inside, or am I gonna just have to ring the doorbell?"

[Steel Mirror]

"Do you know any tricks to getting inside, or am I gonna just have to ring the doorbell?"

"We always used to ride the horses through Faerie to get here. I don't know anything about these fortifications."

[Sanguine]

"Wonderful. Even if the gate is only five feet high I doubt I can climb it with only one good arm." Connor sighs and sets about finding someway to either get in or alert the faeries inside of his presence.

Investigation

[roll0]+4=2:smallfrown:

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin looks around for a moment before deciding on her own course of action, "Papa O'Reilly, you seem like you'd be.. strong. Maybe the both of us can give him a boost?"

[Steel Mirror]

It's times like these when, much as Connor hates to admit it, a little skill in the art of burglary would be handy. Then again, breaking and entering is pretty much the antithesis of the laws of hospitality, and against the law of course.

Yin ad Chene could certainly get over the fence easily. There are trees all over the parking lot, and jumping over should be a breeze. Well Yin could jump over. It's an iron chain link fence. Chene might be a little worried about getting near it.

Connor looks a the lock. Well, he could probably break it with the butt of the shotgun if he needed. He'll need another way to get past the ticket office, though, and it's likely to make a lot of noise.

Then again, he is a cop. Not on duty, but whatever guards work here don't need to know that.

[Steel Mirror]

"Papa O'Reilly, you seem like you'd be.. strong. Maybe the both of us can give him a boost?"
"Heh. Boost him? A slip of a girl like you? I don't want you to strain yourself boosting my ogre of a son over a wee little fence." He winks to let her know he's just giving her a hard time.

[Sanguine]

Connor looks at the two and says. "I'd rather not break in, for a number of reasons." Well he was going to have to make an official report about this at some point once he rescued the musician. Slamming his silver arm against the gates Connor creates a loud metallic thump, which he repeats a few times before shouting. "Police! Open Up!"

[Steel Mirror]

"Police! Open Up!"
Fortunately, someone seems to have patrolling nearby. "Hey, you. Stop all that racket." The guard is an older guy, maybe in his late 40s with graying hair and dark skin. He has a flashlight in one hand. "Let me see some ID."

[Sanguine]

Pulling out his badge Connor smiles at the security guard as he presents it for examination. "I am currently investigating a string of disappearances which appear to be connected with this zoo, so I would greatly appreciate it if you would open the gates."

[Steel Mirror]

The guard gives the badge a good look before looking back up at the rest of Connor's motley crew. "And who is this, your band?"

[Sanguine]

Connor does not even hesitate for a second before replying. "They are freelance consultants aiding me in my investigation pro bono."

[Steel Mirror]

"They are freelance consultants aiding me in my investigation pro bono."

The guard looks down at blonde-haired, boyish Chene. "Yeah, sure." He fishes in his pockets for his keys, though. "You said missing persons? I haven't seen anyone come through all night."

[Sanguine]

"If witness statements are to be believed the perpetrators have a secret way in and out of the zoo."

[Steel Mirror]

The guard opens the gate and steps aside, allowing Connor and his consultants through. Patrick does what he can to hide the 2 and a half foot long shotgun from view as he walks by.

The guard motions for them to follow, and begins a very slow walk towards the ticket booth area. Large banners advertising zoo events (apparently including some sort of dinosaur exhibit) are draped over the top of the building, still wet from the night's rain.

"So how can I help you, officer?"

[Sanguine]

Following the security guard Connor takes in his surroundings looking for any clues that he might otherwise miss. "Well first off have you noticed anything out of the ordinary? Anything no matter how small could be helpful.

Investigation:[roll0]+4=3
Empathy: [roll1]+3=1

[Steel Mirror]

"Well first off have you noticed anything out of the ordinary? Anything no matter how small could be helpful.

Investigation:[roll0]+4=3
Empathy: [roll1]+3=1


social defense
[roll0]+1=2

"Well we've tightened up security at night ever since that dumbass kid was mauled by a tiger at San Francisco. There are 4 other security guards on duty tonight, but nobody's reported anything unusual. Plus a handful of night staff feeding the animals and such. I could take you to the security kiosk, if you want to look at the cameras or something."

He continues his leisurely stroll toward the gate, sweeping the grounds slowly with his flashlight. "Times has been tough with the recession on, but we've been able to keep up security thanks to a big endowment we just got, so I doubt anyone got in here unnoticed. We take the safety of our animals very seriously, officer."

The guy seems bored, but professional, and he does seem to be taking his job seriously. Beyond that, Connor can't get much of a read on him, but follows behind as they pass yet another massive banner advertising a charity gala later that weekend.

[Sanguine]

"I'm sure you do. You mentioned an endowment. What can you tell me of it?"

[Steel Mirror]

"I'm sure you do. You mentioned an endowment. What can you tell me of it?"
"What about it? Some bigwig European tycoon dropped about 70 million bucks to build a brand new raptor exhibit and aviary. They're having an architectural firm draw up some plans right now. In fact," he stops walking and flicks the light over to the poster advertising the gala. "They're unveiling the plans at a big fundraiser this Sunday. Saved the zoo, really. Attendance numbers have been down since the economy tanked, and all those wolves getting sick didn't help our publicity either."

[Sanguine]

That's interesting, a influx of money from the Old World and sick wolves, no saying whether either of them were connected to Auberon, but they were certainly suspicious. "I'd like to take a look around the grounds. But before I do you wouldn't happen to know what architectural firm was hired would you?"

[Steel Mirror]

"I'd like to take a look around the grounds. But before I do you wouldn't happen to know what architectural firm was hired would you?"
"What? No, not really." He narrows his eyes a bit. "I could look it up, or you could. It's not private information, it's probably on the internet. But really, what is this about? I've been trying to be cooperative, but I'm not stupid. You really think I believe these kids are Private Investigators? And what does any of this have to do with missing persons?"

[Sanguine]

The congenial smile Connor had been wearing for the entirety of the conversation is gone, replaced by a grim scowl. Staring the security guard in the face Connor says in a quiet, but quite angry, voice. Yin is a legal adult and Chene is at least as old as you are. I'm sure the anti-defamation league would love to hear about how the Seattle Zoo obstructed a police investigation because of their discrimination against little people. As for what this is about your zoo is connected with over a dozen missing people, and that makes large influxes of money suspicious."

[Steel Mirror]

Intimidate defense
[roll0]+1=-1

"Ok, ok," he puts his hands up. "I get it, need-to-know information and I don't need to know. I can take you to the security office, or you can tell me what part of the zoo you need to see." He finishes his roundabout walk to a side entrance of the ticket office, which apparently also leads to a gift shop and visitor's information center.

"Here, take one of these." He pulls a map of the zoo (http://www.zoo.org/document.doc?id=812) off of a stack next to one of the ticket windows as they walk by, and hands it to Connor.

[Sanguine]

Connor gratefully accepts the map and gives it a quick once over, smiling once more. "Where do you think we should start Chene?"

I think Chene should know where Auberon's court is, hopefully.

[Steel Mirror]

"Where do you think we should start Chene?"
He wrinkles his nose. "What is this? Some kind of mortal bibliomancy? The Prince's demesne isn't inside this piece of parchment." The guard gives Chene an odd look, but keeps unlocking the door.

Fae can be a little literal when it comes to interpreting the world around them, and it's entirely possible that Chene can't read and has never seen a map. Letters are for mortals, and only the powerful fae have more than a vague idea of what writing even is.

[Sanguine]

Shaking his head Connor grabs Chene by the shoulder and walks him a away from the guard. Once they are out of ear shot he whispers."Okay, let me phrase that differently. Which animals are near the Prince's demesne?"

[Steel Mirror]

"Okay, let me phrase that differently. Which animals are near the Prince's demesne?"
Chene lowers his voice to a conspiratorial whisper and leans in. He manages to look even more suspicious than he did before, and before he was a magical elf impersonating a child impersonating a little person private investigator. "He likes birds. His audience chamber is always filled with them. He says he loves to hear them sing."

[Sanguine]

"Okay then." Turning back towards the security guard Connor says loudly enough to be heard. "I think I'd like to see the aviary."

[Steel Mirror]

"I think I'd like to see the aviary."
"Sure thing, boss. You want Temperate Forest, Tropical Rainforest, Australasian, Birds of Prey, Snowy Owl, Sea Eagle, or the Savannah Aviary?" He shrugs when he sees the group's nonplussed reaction to the list. "Hey, we've got a lot of birds."

[Sanguine]

That's a lot of birds. Chene mentioned singing, owls, eagles, and other birds of prey aren't really known for their singing, that still leaves quite a few options though... After mulling things over for a few minutes Connor says. "Let's start with the Tropical Rainforest."

[Steel Mirror]

"All right then, Tropical it is." He leads the group through the ticket office, where apparently motion sensing lights come on automatically as they walk. More ads for zoo exhibits and events are posted on the walls and stacked on desks all around, with many of them advertising the gala on Sunday. The guard unlocks the door into the zoo and they step in.

As they do, Connor feels a light tingle in his arm and along the back of his neck, almost like he is crossing a threshold. It's subtly different, though. It feels like the area belongs to something, but not the feeling that he is walking into someone else's home.

More like he's walking into something else's hunting ground.

Yin feels it, too, and recognizes the feeling. It's like how she feels whenever she patrols too closely to the stronghold of the Tongs in Chinatown. It feels like she is being watched, and evaluated, and sized up for roasting.

"Woah, I felt that," says Andrew as he walks through the door. "Looks like we're in the right place."

Chene just shivers and draws closer to Connor.

Creepy feelings aside, the zoo is completely empty. They pass by the information booths and tourist maps. The wide open entry area makes them feel distinctly exposed, though at least the lights from the buildings behind them keep the darkness from swallowing them completely. Shadows dance at the edges of the concrete, and the half-visible shapes of the nearest animal fences can be made out under the nearby trees.

As they leave the light of the entrance behind, something powerful and feline-sounding lets out a reverberating roar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xneiSfKk0Lo) from further in the zoo. It goes on for almost a minute. It's too easy to imagine that whatever made that sound is in the shadows right now, watching them and waiting to strike. They unconsciously bunch up as they move through the night, and stride a little faster so that they are closer to the guard.

"Did you know that Seattle's environs are actually technically rainforest? Yeah, not tropical of course, but they don't call it the rainy city for nothing." He leads the way with his flashlight piercing the darkness in front of them. He turns onto a road marked "Rainforest Loop", with signs pointing towards the Bug House, Temperate Forest, and African Savannah at the same intersection.

"This place was started as a private conservatory and menagerie, actually. By an old lumber baron, ironically. Now it's the leading force for conservation of Washington's unique forest habitat."

They find themselves approaching a large, colorful building surrounded by ferns and greenery titled "Tropical Rainforest Building". A few lights are on, but not enough to illuminate the area. Instead they emphasize the darkness by throwing out shapeless shadows, and exposing anyone who stands in the light to whatever might be lurking.

[Sanguine]

Connor wasn't a man that frightened easily, he had seen far too much horror and danger in his life to be one. He had not been scared when he faced Mondfae, a foe everyone was sure he could not defeat. But here and now he felt within himself a tiny sliver of fear. But he did not let it stop him from entering the aviary proudly and without hesitation.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin shivers as she steps through the 'threshold', feeling a bit uncertain now. Her shoulder still hurt whenever she moved it, and there were a myriad of other bruises on her from all the fun events of the evening. Even she had to admit it now: they all looked like crap and all they had to show for it was one of the Big Bad's flunkies taken down. If the Mondfae was Oberon's Number 1, then what did that make Oberon? She shuttered at the thought and attempted to push it deep down where she wouldn't have to focus on it. The only thing worth focusing on was how to stay alive when things went wrong.

[Steel Mirror]

There are a few more lights coming from inside the Tropical Rainforest building, but they look more like the kind of lights left on for safety than the kind used for human habitation.

"That's odd," the guard mutters. "The door's unlocked." He opens it, then looks around inside without stepping through.

Andrew shivers suddenly, then mutters to himself. "Spring rolls again."

[Sanguine]

Connor suppresses a shiver as he walks through the doorway. His instincts were right this was the spot, Andrews senses confirmed it. Turning back to the security guard Connor forces a smile and says. "Thank you for your assistance, but I think we should proceed on our own from here. If there is a crime scene here I wouldn't want any untrained people contaminating it."

[Steel Mirror]

"If there is a crime scene here I wouldn't want any untrained people contaminating it."

"A crime scene?" He takes a step back and puts his hand on his . . . radio. "Shouldn't you be calling for backup then?"


roll Alertness

[Steel Mirror]

Yin moves into the Building, leaving Connor to explain or bully or whatever with the security guard. She isn't really used to working with someone on this sort of thing; her investigations usually involve a lot more running and parkour and a lot less bluffing and badge-flashing.

The room seems to be empty. Huge windows line both sides of the room, looking onto little enclosures filled with tree branches and leafy undergrowth. She doesn't see any of the animals just yet, but it is pretty dark.

At the edges of her perception, she notices something off. A sound, echoing faintly down the corridor. She thinks its coming from further in, past where the entry lights provide even vague illumination. The hallway looms darkly in her vision.

Is that sound . . . music?

[Sanguine]

Connor shakes his head. "Not quite. It's only a potential crime scene, we have no solid evidence that any crime took place in this aviary." It was true, there were definitely Fae here but that wasn't proof of a crime. "So for the moment it exists in a sort of half-state. Suspicious enough that I don't want untrained feet trampling about, but not yet something that would make me call for a forensic team. If this does prove to be a crime scene, then yes protocol would dictate that I then report it."

[Steel Mirror]

"So for the moment it exists in a sort of half-state. Suspicious enough that I don't want untrained feet trampling about, but not yet something that would make me call for a forensic team."
"Right. What do you want me to do?"

[Sanguine]

"Just wait out here and if any of the other security guards come by let them know that we're in here and that they shouldn't come in. Then once were done looking around you can escort us out of the zoo."

[Steel Mirror]

"Then once were done looking around you can escort us out of the zoo."

The security guard finally agrees, and waits outside while talking into his radio. The rest of the group join Yin inside, where she seems to be straining to hear something.

[AvianMalkavian]

"I.. I think I hear music."

She glanced at the rest of the group, her curiosity clearly piqued. Straining to better hear the music, she began moving toward it. Still, she wasn't stupid, and so Yin kept an eye out, prepared for some horrible monster to jump out and try to bite their heads off.

[Sanguine]

"Well that sounds promising." Connor says as he follows Yin. As the group approaches the darker parts of the aviary Connor pulls out both his gun and his flashlight. Better safe than sorry.

[Steel Mirror]

They make their way down the darkened hallway. Soon, everyone can hear the echoing music. It sounds like a violin, playing a mournful solo. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJNwdGqjQuw)

They work their way past monkeys and poison arrow frogs and an aviary full of chittering, colorful shapes swooping in the darkness. They finally pass a locked door from which the music seems to be emanating.

EMPLOYEES ONLY

[Steel Mirror]

As Connor and Yin and Andrew stare at the locked door, Patrick laughs and leans his gun against the wall. "Look the other way officer . . . I think it's just stuck." He pulls out a couple of fine instruments and sets to work.

About a minute later, the tumblers click into position and the door pops open.

Patrick grunts in satisfaction. "Wages of a misspent youth. I used to be a lot faster, though."

The music is definitely easily audible now, coming from upstairs. They climb one, two flights of steps to the top floor. The door is blank with a temporary label reading "Alderic Rabenou" pasted to it.

They open the door carefully, mindful of what might be on the other side.

The room beyond is exquisitely furnished, with a massive slab of marble that looks like it was just ripped from a cliffside serving as a table. Two organic looking couches are positioned next to it. There is a piano and musical stands set up on the far side of the room, but right now only one person is playing. It's a stunning looking woman with darkish skin and long black feathery hair. Not just feathery, in fact. Actual feathers. She is making the haunting violin sounds that have been echoing so mournfully through the building. She looks vaguely familiar to Yin for some reason.

Sitting in the couch is an unexpected face: Victor Price, were-elk attorney at law and emissary to the Lady of the Rains. He is drinking something out of silver cup, and apparently enjoying the performance. Standing next to him is a man who looks like a matched set with the woman; he is statuesque, beautiful, and has dark feathers-for hair that reach to his shoulder.

Nobody speaks when the group opens the door, and the woman continues playing as though they aren't there.

[AvianMalkavian]

The music was hauntingly beautiful, and for a moment Yin very nearly lost herself in it. More intriguing, though, was the woman playing the music. There was something about her, something that she couldn't quite place. If only she could put her finger on it. However, nothing springs to mind, and so she looks to her compatriots. Offering a nod to them, she steps into the room to make her presence known, though not speaking so as to avoid interrupting the music.

[Sanguine]

Connor is more than a little surprised when his father picks open the lock on the door. That was a skill he had not known the old man possessed. He was far from thrilled that his father had done so, but he didn't have a better option so he had kept quiet, and wondered about his father's past while the old man went about his illicit activity.

As the door clicked open Connor composed himself and strode the doorway with all of the proud regalness he could muster. He walked as if the world was his and he expected it to obey. The sight of Victor almost shocked him out of his regal composure, he had not given much thought to the lawyer since they had parted last but this was definitely not where Connor was expecting to see him.

"I am Connor mac Patrick of Clan O'Reilly, Hand of the Tuatha De Danann. I have come to speak with Prince Auberon about the grave insult he has given to the Tuatha."

[AvianMalkavian]

At Connor's proud strut and big, fancy, title, Yin is forced to also attempt to look cool. She strikes a pose, "I am Zhao Yin, President-elect of the High Council of Time Lords. Keeper of the Legacy of Rassilon, Defender of the Laws of Time, Protector of Gallifrey."

[Steel Mirror]

"I am Connor mac Patrick of Clan O'Reilly, Hand of the Tuatha De Danann. I have come to speak with Prince Auberon about the grave insult he has given to the Tuatha."


"I am Zhao Yin, President-elect of the High Council of Time Lords. Keeper of the Legacy of Rassilon, Defender of the Laws of Time, Protector of Gallifrey."
The music ends on a harsh, dissonant note as the violinist stops playing. The feathered man sighs deeply when the music is gone, and even Victor seems a bit disappointed now that it's over. That doesn't stop him from snorting whatever liquid he's drinking when Yin speaks, though, sending him into an undignified fit of coughing.

"And I've got a gun and it's way past my bedtime," says Patrick, crossing his arms and sucking in his gut as much as he can.

"Mssr. Rabenou is currently in an important business meeting. Would you kindly wait while he concludes his affairs? Though I don't recall seeing your name in the ledger for tonight's business, honored Hand. Or. . . the name of your esteemed companion." The man speaks in a cultured French accent, his back ramrod straight and his expression held in a trained expression that is completely polite while still managing to be utterly dismissive.

[Sanguine]

Connor's face takes on a grim scowl as he is casually dismissed, though his bearing remains just as regal. "That is a shame, I was sure I filed an appointment right before my duel with Mondfae. Still if there is no appointment I suppose there is nothing we can do; and I had such high hopes for a diplomatic solution. Should I just leave the declaration of war with you or is there someone else I should see about that?"

[Steel Mirror]

"Should I just leave the declaration of war with you or is there someone else I should see about that?"

There is utter silence, punctuated only by the coughs of the well dressed attorney as he wipes coffee off of his lapels.

"If sir will permit me a moment to inform Mssr Rabenou of your arrival?" This time there is a definite tone of disdain and sarcasm in his voice. No one can do it like the French.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin smirks at Victor nearly choking on his coffee at her title. A shame she didn't have a sonic screwdriver with her. For right now, though, she would let Connor do the talking. But, if someone needed to be punched, the demon hunter was ready to step up to the challenge.

[Sanguine]

Connor steps forward until he is standing right before the feathered man and then he brings up his gun so that the steel of the barrel is just barely touching the underside of the faerie's chin. "One of two things is going to happen here. Either A, I see Auberon right this minute. Or B I do to you and the nice musician there what I did to Mondfae. Now I'd rather not start this diplomatic mission by killing a bunch of sycophants but I suppose it's up to you."

[AvianMalkavian]

Spending a few moments watching the feathery haired woman, it is almost as if a lightbulb turns on above her head as she points and exclaims, "You were at O'Reilly's the night it got shot up! You hit on me! I knew I knew you from somewhere."

[Steel Mirror]

"Now I'd rather not start this diplomatic mission by killing a bunch of sycophants but I suppose it's up to you."
The stand-off lasts a few moments, with the butler returning Connor's glare with a haughty gaze of his own. The musician puts down her violin bow and begins flexing her fingers. Yin notices her features darkening and elongating, giving her the appearance of a bird of prey.

"You are even feistier than I heard. Did I say that right? Feisty?" From the door into the next room, a man wearing a white suit and peach shirt is addressing Connor directly. The door behind him is still closed; none of the group heard or saw it open. "That's a good word. Feisty. I should write that down." His accent is even thicker than the others' though still easily understandable.

He has short-cropped brown hair and a matching beard, and is wearing green-tinted spectacles that increase the appeal of his narrow, chiseled face. Age-wise he could be thirty five or fourty five; he's achieved that magical middle-aged handsome look that movie stars usually get declared "The TIME most handsome man in the World" for when they achieve it.

He beckons to Connor. "Come on in, then. No point loitering around out here when you made such a big scene to see me." He opens the door and motions for the Hand of the Tuatha de Dannan to step in first.

[Steel Mirror]

"You were at O'Reilly's the night it got shot up! You hit on me! I knew I knew you from somewhere."

The woman finally reacts to someone in the room, refocusing on Yin and pulling back from her hawkish transformation. She doesn't respond, but she quirks her head to the side, seemingly in recognition of Yin.

[Sanguine]

Connor lowers his gun as Oberon appears, his emotions conflicting over the sudden appearance. On the one hand Oberon was damn near as condescending as the butler, on the other Connor got what he wanted. Shrugging the matter off Connor heads towards the door beckoning for Chene to follow. He had sworn to protect the little guy and he wouldn't be living up to that oath if he left the little guy in enemy territory.

[AvianMalkavian]

"Uh.. I guess we're supposed to wait out here?" Yin shrugs, looking at Patrick and Andrew, very confused by what is going on. It looked like they were getting ready to throw down and now there was going to be talking? Boring.

Sighing, she just shrugged and suddenly felt rather self-conscious for showing off and not hitting anybody afterwards. Looking at the bird woman again, Yin offers a little smile, "So.. um, what have you been up to since the shooting?"

[Steel Mirror]

Shrugging the matter off Connor heads towards the door beckoning for Chene to follow. He had sworn to protect the little guy and he wouldn't be living up to that oath if he left the little guy in enemy territory.

Chene moves to follow and Oberon shakes his head. "Ah ta ta ta, no no. You may come in in your capacity as Hand to the honorable Tuatha de Dannan. Your retainers must wait out here while we confer, as will mine. If you are worried about them," he flicks his wrist and produces a brightly colored foil bag which is labeled "zoo crackers". It looks like it came from one of the snack machines spread around the zoo grounds.

"Have a bite, please. Your friends can have coffee and biscuits. I give you my word they are not poisoned or altered; it is authentic French roast. By the laws of our people, they will then be my guests and I will be bound to let them leave peacefully. And they will be bound not to attack my staff." His eyes glitter a bit at the last line as he looks straight into Connor's eyes.

[Steel Mirror]

"So.. um, what have you been up to since the shooting?"

The violinist is still apparently waiting for a signal from her Prince, and is poised on the edge of her seat, ready to jump to his command. Her eyes glitter at Yin's inquiry, though, and she gives the young woman an appraising glance.

[Sanguine]

Connor frowns at the bag of crackers. It would guarantee everyone's safety but it would also tie Connor's hands if he couldn't negotiate for the musicians. While it was a hard decision, ultimately there was only one choice. These were Connor's friends and Chene was his vassal, he had to protect them with every means at his disposal. Besides he could always come back another day to rescue the musicians if diplomacy truly did break down. Grabbing the bag of crackers Connor says. "Enjoy the food everyone."

[Steel Mirror]

Connor eats a single cracker, then steps through the door ahead of Rabenou. The "European philanthropist" blows a kiss to the people left in the waiting room, then follows.

The office is even more absurdly overdecorated than the waiting room. On the far end of the long space is a massive TV screen that takes up the entire 10 foot by 30 foot wall in glorious HD. Right now it is showing some kind of video of tropically colored birds zooming around a vibrant jungle, the birds blown up to massive proportions thanks to the size of the display. Sitting in front of the desk and facing Rabenou's chair would be disorienting, to say the least.

The right wall faces west, and is entirely taken up by cieling-to-floor windows that look out on the zoo. It's dark now of course, but Connor can see the lights of the city twinkling in the distance.

The left wall is the most unusual. It is covered by a long, narrow wicker cage that looks vaguely Asian in manufacture. It's the biggest bird cage Connor has ever seen, and it has a number of twigs and flowers artfully arranged to provide perches for its occupants: more than a dozen tiny, colorful song birds. No two are colored exactly the same, and they are currently chirping and flitting around the cage, disturbed by the activity.

There is one more thing of note in the room: a man. He's a huge man who looks like he might have escaped from the gorilla pen nearby, even though he should look tiny standing beside the massive TV screen. He is wearing cargo pants and a thick black turtleneck, and he watches Connor and Rabenou walk into the room with beady eyes without saying a word.

Out of sight of the rest, Rabenou's accent changes noticeably, becoming far easier to understand. "Cute. I know what you did to Mondfae, and I'd like to know why the hell the Tuatha are moving in on my territory."

-------

Yin and the others are left in the waiting room as the door closes. After a few moments, the tension in the room noticeably drops, and the man shakes his head and refills Victor's coffee before going to a cupboard to retrieve more cups.

"Yes, I remember you," says the woman. "I was hoping to get the chance to hear you perform, but we were rudely interrupted. My name is Jeanne."

[Sanguine]

Chene wasn't kidding about the birds. Conner took in the room as he walked with Rabenou. The birds everywhere were no surprise, but the other man and the television were. True he knew there was someone else in the room, Faeries couldn't lie after all, but just how large of a someone was shocking. The television on the other hand was a complete surprise, so far the organization had seemed very Old World. When Rabenou speaks Connor can't help but get angry. "What! You're men attacked me!"

[AvianMalkavian]

"Perform?" Rather surprised, Yin blushes and lets out a little laugh, "Oh, um, I don't actually sing. Or play an instrument. I was just there with my friend."

[Steel Mirror]

"What! You're men attacked me!"

"There may have been a misunderstanding." He waves a hand dismissively. "You were found on a hunting field and took actions that could have interfered with a contract. I understand that lutin outside was captured and turned to your side during the incident; I hope we can agree to call it even in light of extenuating circumstances, on both sides."


Social maneuver to place "Reasonable Grievance" on himself
[roll0]+5=6

"Rabenou"
[ ] [ ] [ ]

[Steel Mirror]

"Oh, um, I don't actually sing. Or play an instrument. I was just there with my friend."

"A pity. Everyone should learn to play something. Would you like to try?" She gestures to the piano. "I have been told I am an excellent teacher."

The serving man pours four cups of coffee, and places a silver platter with tea cookies on the marble table. Victor invites Andrew, Patrick, and Chene to sit with him and starts on one of the cookies.

[Sanguine]

"No we can not call it even." Waving his silver arm in front of Rabenou's face Connor says. "My badge of office was clearly visible, and I was performing my duties as an officer of mortal law which was also obvious. If I was infringing upon your hunting grounds the proper response is to inform me of this, not to attack me. As the Tuatha's emissary upon the mortal plane an attack upon my person is legally equivalent to an attack on the High Queen. And one lutin is not fair compensation for an attempt on the High Queen's life."

Rapport Maneuver to place the aspect "Legal High Ground" upon Connor.

[roll0]+2=0:smallfrown:

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin shrugged, making her way toward the piano, "I suppose I could give it a shot. Who knows how long its going to take them in there, after all."

Sitting down at the piano, she took a moment to look it over, "You know, I don't think I ever got your name that night. I'm Yin, by the way."

[Steel Mirror]

"And one lutin is not fair compensation for an attempt on the High Queen's life."

He moves around his desk and sits back in his chair. "Suppose I say you are right. We are new around these parts, and it doesn't hurt to try to be good neighbors. What is fair compensation for an unfortunate misunderstanding like this?"

"Rabenou"
[ ] [ ] [ ]
Reasonable Grievance*

roll this turn to try and force Connor to make the first offer (won't inflict stress)
[roll0]+5=6

[Steel Mirror]

"You know, I don't think I ever got your name that night. I'm Yin, by the way."

"Pleased to meet you, Yin. Jeanne de Georgette, at your service." She curtseys, then pulls out the bench at the piano for Yin. Once the younger woman sits, Jeanne sits next to her and takes Yin's hands in hers. She smells like freshly cut grass and a warm ocean breeze.

"Just place your hands like so, and follow along." She slowly plays a sequence of 5 keys and then gestures Yin to follow.

[Sanguine]

"I think we should look to historical precedent. When the Tuatha first arrived upon the Emerald Isle they offered the native Fir Bolg a deal. Half of their lands in exchange for peace. The Fir Bolg however did not attack Nuada without cause, so the price in this case must therefore be steeper. I propose that you cede half of your demesne in Faerie to the Tuatha and transfer ownership of any contracts you have made with the inhabitants of this city to me. It is hardly an outrageous request. If we can not reach a peaceful solution the Tuatha will annex the entirety of your demesne anyway. Which only leaves the contracts, and as you yourself said you are new in these parts, surely you are not invested too heavily in the mortal population."

[Steel Mirror]

"It is hardly an outrageous request."

He looks outraged for a moment, then cracks a bit of a grudging smile, seemingly despite himself. "Well you have a pair of big brass ones, don't you?"

He leans back, still upset. "Maybe you got the wrong idea from dealing with my lutins, but I'm not some hollow bush fairy that you can bluster up to and scare into handing over my fealty. And you are hardly in any position to threaten me with war. So you call up the Tuatha. Maybe they even answer. Maybe old Dagda dusts himself off, and Lugh canters over from his beloved little spit of rock to come take your vengeance."

"We'll all be weakened by that, and none of us have what you'd call a solid foothold here. And you and I have both heard about what's been creeping into the city from the waters of the Old World. They won't care which one of us is in the right; they'll just take advantage and steal away everything from both of us."

He leans forward. "So I ask you, how does that benefit your sponsors?"

[AvianMalkavian]

"Um.. likewise." The woman's scent was relaxing, and she took in a deep breath before letting out a contented sigh. Yin briefly wondered what perfume Jeanne was wearing before she realized that, as one of the Fae, it was entirely likely that that was just what she smelled like.

Watching her play, she attempted to do the same herself, though clearly not quite as gracefully, "Like this?"

Performance Roll: [roll0] + 0 = 1

[Sanguine]

Connor sighs. "You are right, with the threat of the Fomor peace is in both of our best interests. But I can't walk away from this table having gained nothing. What about just the contracts? It is the bare minimum that the honor of the Tuatha demands."

[Steel Mirror]

"Like this?"

"Very good." She smiles and leans over, playing about a dozen notes this time, and faster. "Now try this"

Yin doesn't think she can remember that many at once, but she tries anyway. To her surprise, she remembers easily. By mimicking the way Jeanne holds her hands, she can even make it sound pretty good.

Once she has played through the notes twice, Jeanne waits a moment in silence before placing her hands on the piano in front of her.

"Now play that with me."

She begins playing slowly, a different set of notes but music that Yin can tell is somehow related. In fact, if she closes her eyes and listens, she can feel when she is supposed to join in . . .

She plays the notes that Jeanne taught her, and they mix together in perfect counterpoint.

Yin finishes what she was taught, sad that the moment is gone. Jeanne echoes back the last few notes that Yin played.

But she doesn't stop there. She plays a few more slow notes, and without thinking Yin complements her move on her side of the piano. It's like sparring, really. You watch your opponent, and move yourself in rhythm and reaction to their moves. If you are in synch with them, it can seem like both of you are moving at the same time, in a choreographed dance.

Then Jeanne gives up all pretense of going slowly. She launches into a new movement, not really complicated, but fast and different enough that Yin's dozen notes aren't going to let her keep up.

Yet somehow she does. Almost without thinking now, she plays her own music on her side of the piano, mixing and interleaving in a way that she can't possibly plan but somehow understands so deeply that her mind doesn't even have to tell her fingers what to do. Her soul floats like that for an excruciatingly beautiful moment, lost in the music without thought.

Then it ends, and she sits up suddenly. What the hell was that? She doesn't know how to play piano, and that sounded, well, good. Maybe even really good. It's a feeling that she's not used to: that she was just the author of something beautiful and ephemeral.

Victor claps a few times, and Patrick is smiling.

"I told you that you would play beautifully," says the feathered woman sitting next to her.


This is what the music sounds like, if you want to listen (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0EK8kkA7mU) (you know you want to!). Yin's part is the blue notes.

[Steel Mirror]

"What about just the contracts? It is the bare minimum that the honor of the Tuatha demands."

"Ah, I see what this is about." The traces of anger are gone now. "You have a little friend in that help group, right? The Korean singer, if I recall. Yes, I've been doing some research on you, detective. Mortals get awful attached to pretty young things of the fairer gender, don't they? I can't say I don't see the attraction myself."

He flips open a file, and Connor can see a picture of Kim paperclipped to a contract inside. "Yes, she's very pretty. Tell you what. I'll hand this over to you if you give up your grievance. We both part in peace, we both win. What do you say?"


Double compel here; you get a FP either way.

You can choose to take the deal, greatly decreasing your chance to intercede on everyone else's behalf, but saving Kim for sure. (compel: Overworked, Underpaid, and Underappreciated)

Or you could refuse, increasing the risk to Kim but keeping Connor in the game of opposing Rabenou with everything he can muster. (compel: Strength in Solidarity)

[AvianMalkavian]

The Defender of Chinatown is awestruck for several long moments, the normally very vocal girl speechless. What could she even hope to say to that? It wasn't like anything she had ever experienced before and, in a way, it was beautiful in its contrast. More often than not, Yin destroyed rather than created. This was an entirely new sensation, one that she enjoyed!

Looking around, she realized that she had had an audience the entire time, a faint blush reaching her cheeks before she looked away. Turning back to Jeanne, Yin sat back down, "That was amazing. But.. it couldn't have been me. I've never even been this close to a piano before in my entire life. Still, I appreciate it. Who knows, if I ever manage to find some free time with all my demon hunting, I could actually take lessons."

[Steel Mirror]

"That was amazing. But.. it couldn't have been me. I've never even been this close to a piano before in my entire life. Still, I appreciate it. Who knows, if I ever manage to find some free time with all my demon hunting, I could actually take lessons."

"You're wrong about that. The skills were mine; the music was yours." She smiles and plays a few notes, which accent her words. "And skills can be learned or forgotten, but music is forever."

"Believe me on this," she says. "It's magic."

[AvianMalkavian]

All the talk of music and souls and magic only aids in making Yin that much more embarrassed. She runs her fingers through her hair, shrugging again and feeling rather self-conscious about the whole thing now that the 'high' has worn off, "Yeah, well.. thanks. It was fun. We'll have to do it again sometime."

[Sanguine]

Kim. I could save Kim. I could just abandon the people who need me and ensure Kim's safety. Connor was tempted, there was likely nothing else in the world that could tempt him more. But the musicians needed Connor, they trusted him to protect them, and he wouldn't betray them. It just wasn't in him. He couldn't accept Chad's deal and he certainly couldn't accept this one. Connor's heart broke a little inside as he said. "No deal. I am getting sick and tired of people who think they know me offering me deals that I'd never actually accept." Sticking his metallic finger in Auberon's chest Connor proclaims. "Here's the deal. I get all of the contracts. You get three favors from me, to be used at your leisure. Two for those people you have already taken and one for the people under my protection. I get your aid in hunting down the bastard who attacked my home. And if you ever find yourself under threat from the Fomor I shall aid in your defense, free of charge. Now you can either accept that deal or I can crush you, see you driven before me, and hear the lamentations of your women. Guest Rights buy you the night, but that's it."

This seems like it could be a compel on my Righteous Fury or Spitting in the Eyes of Giants aspects. Heck, maybe both.

[Steel Mirror]

His lips curl into a sneer and he slams the folder shut. Well, flops really.

"It's been ages since I led a proper hunt. Very well. A fight it is. And when I'm done cleaning your blood off my spear, I'll collect on the contract with your girlfriend personally."


I'll give you compels on "Spitting in the Eyes of Giants" for throwing down the gauntlet like this. You just got another compel for choosing to tell him to shove it, though, so I'll hold off on the double compel for now.

Assuming you are on your way out, Alertness check as you leave . . . for no real reason, honest.

[Sanguine]

"So be it." Turning his back on the Sidhe Prince Connor marches out of the office clearly fuming.

Alertness:[roll0]+2=3

[Steel Mirror]

"So be it." Turning his back on the Sidhe Prince Connor marches out of the office clearly fuming.

As he turns away, he quickly scans the silent giant who has been standing in the corner this whole time. On general principle, Connor gives him his best glare while he's at it.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees something moving under the guy's turtleneck. Like something is alive and attached to his neck. He doesn't get a good look and is already moving away when he realizes it, but it almost looked like there were slits in his skin. Slits that were opening and closing, almost breathing.

Like gills.

[Sanguine]

Connor was disgusted as he saw the Fomorian for what it was. The idea that Auberon was affiliated with them, it only magnified his contempt and hatred for him. Though if there was ever any doubt that Connor's crusade was justified, this knowledge erased it. Marching through the doorway Connor addresses those who came with him, his barely contained fury seeping through into his voice. "We're leaving." Turning to Victor he says. "I consider you a friend so I'm giving you this one chance. Leave this place tonight and stay as far away from Oberon as you possibly can. If you are with him in the morning I will kill you."

[Steel Mirror]

"If you are with him in the morning I will kill you."

Victor stands as the furious detective is leaving. "Hey, O'Reilly." He hands him a piece of folded paper. "My bill. I was at your bar when it was attacked, and I put my own life at risk to fight off those shooters. Not something I'm in the habit of doing, and unfortunately I've already taken on my limit of pro bono work for the month."

Connor grabs the piece of paper more forecefully than is necessary, and crinkles it in his hands as he walks out the door. He had known Victor was a lawyer, and therefore not completely trustworthy, but he had though he was an ok guy. On the way down the steps he spares a glance at it. A bill. Really?

It's a standard invoice form, but all of the billable entries are blank. In large, plain handwriting across the columns is a short message.

You guys, the UW arboretum, 12:30 pm

The handwriting is hurried, like we wrote it quickly just before Connor left the office. But why the stupid subterfuge?

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin watches Connor storm out of Oberon's office, looking over at Jeanne and sighing, "Well, looks like we've gotta go. See you around."

Getting up, she followed after the bionic irishman, "So.. I'm guessing it didn't go well, huh? I didn't think it would, but then I'm a glass half-empty person. So, where do we go from here?"

[Sanguine]

As the group make their way out of sight Connor hands Yin the bill and says. "We prepare for war and we deal with this."

[Steel Mirror]

"We prepare for war and we deal with this."

The group walks down the stairs, their footfalls even and purposeful instead of tentative and stealthy, as they had been while entering the building. The sound of their passage rouses the birds and monkeys in their exhibits as they pass, driving them to break the silence of the darkened building with a cacophony of wild hoots and squawks.

They leave through the same door they entered, and the security guard is waiting, joined by two fellows on an electric cart. He walks up as soon as the gang exits the building.

"What happened? Is this really a crime scene? What do you need us to do?"

[Sanguine]

Connor had forgotten about the security guard. He was absolutely furious and had much more pressing issues on his mind. Still he should have remembered. Letting his frustration, though not his anger, show Connor addresses the security guards. "Unfortunately this trip seems to have been a waste of time. If you could please escort us out."

[Steel Mirror]

"Unfortunately this trip seems to have been a waste of time. If you could please escort us out."

"Uh huh." The guard that escorted them in leads them away from the building and the electric cart, back to the South entrance. The group remains alert for any possible pursuit; Rabenou is bound not to send his people after them until the end of the night, but there's no point in being stupid. Besides, he isn't the only force in the city that has reason to do them harm.

They make it to the entrance without incident, though, and find themselves in the parking lot. The late night (really, really early morning) is wicked cold, and an ocean wind blowing across from the Sound bites into any bit of skin exposed to the air.

Yin sighs when she sees how worked up Connor still is. She's barely gotten any sleep since this thing started, and her shoulder is aching fiercely in the frigid night. Then again, at least spending time on the road is keeping her from having to deal with the reckoning once her mother finally gets her hands on her. The sight of that burglar knocked off his feet face-first into that doorframe was worth it, though.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin shivers and her teeth start to chatter as the freezing wind cuts into her. Maybe she should've worn more than a t-shirt and jeans? It was too late to rectify that mistake, however, and so she turned to Connor, "H-hey. We'll get this all figured out and we'll s-stop Oberon. B-but maybe we should get some sleep first? Preferably somewhere warm?"

[Sanguine]

Sleep, it was a good idea. But if Connor was going to stand any chance against Oberon he would need to prepare. He'd need the proper ammunition for fighting Fae, he'd need armor, and he'd need to move the musicians someplace safe. There probably wasn't anywhere safer than the Dancing Dragon but Connor had imposed upon the Zhao's more than enough. He wouldn't put them in further danger. And then there was the matter of thing nagging at the back of his mind. Who attacked O'Reilly's? And what about Dana, he had separated her off from the rest of the group because he was suspicious of her, but if she was innocent that would have put her in more danger. He'd have to check up. There was no way Connor was getting any sleep any time soon. "I'll drop you off somewhere so you can get some rest. We're all going to need to be in our best condition come morning. But my own sleep will have to wait, I've got preparations to make."

[AvianMalkavian]

She sighs, looking at Connor again. Clearly inducing guilt was some sort of Tuatha power. Rubbing her eyes, she did her best to ignore her aching shoulder, "No, I'll survive. We're in this together, after all. Sleep can wait. Let's just do what needs to be done."

[Sanguine]

Shrugging Connor got into the drivers seat of the car. "Suit yourself." As everyone makes their way into the car Connor starts the ignition and says. "First stop is the Dancing Dragon. We've got to move the musicians. I've put your family in enough danger already Yin."

[AvianMalkavian]

"Where are you going to take them? Fort Knox? The Dancing Dragon is about the safest place in Seattle for them right now. Mom can deal with having some hippies in her restaurant for another night or two. We need to go on the offensive, figure out how we're going to fight Oberon. I'm in favor of cheating."

[Steel Mirror]

On the way back, Patrick sits in the front with his son. He flicks on the radio for the short trip, finding a somber, baritone voice in the middle of a sentence.

"-ing you all, strange Seattle just keeps getting stranger. Twelve more suicides in the past month. That's double the national average, and it's not because of the cloudy weather, ladies and gentleman."

"I've got another case here. Terra Wallace, devoted mother of three and a rector at her church. She was well liked, popular at her workplace. Her parishioners said she baked the best brownies in Washington. Two days ago, she bought a ticket on the Bainbridge ferry and jumped over the side, drowning before anyone could rescue her."

"Why did she jump? Her family says she was happier than ever, the church even got funding for an expansion. And what was she doing on that ferry? Her coworkers say that she should have been at work that day."

"But here's the strangest thing, the thing you won't believe. A couple who were riding the ferry for their vacation were filming the trip on their iphone. They caught the whole thing on video. Terra's jump, everyone rushing to look. Take a look, it's on our website."

"You see that shadow? Go ahead and watch. I'll wait." There's a pause of about 10 seconds. "Now did you see it? Our technical staff, thank you Bryan, took a few stills out of the video. You can see them below on the webpage."

"That's a face, ladies and gentleman. An impossible face. What is it? A ghost? An alien? A will-o-the-wisp?"

"Hell if I know, Seattle. I'm just a radio psychiatrist. But that's hard evidence."

"Now we'll take some callers who have a theory about this ferry phantasm after the break. I'm Maximillian Ravenmoore, and you're in the Witching Hour. Stay tuned."

Some stock music starts playing to cover the transitio-

"Aaaaaaaagh! Nooooooooo! Make it stop! MAKE IT STOOOOOOOP!" Chene is writhing in the back seat, hands on his ears and voice keening loudly.

[Sanguine]

Connor immediately shuts off the radio as Chene starts screaming. "Okay, no radio." Addressing Yin Connor says. "Okay if your sure it's all right I suppose we can leave the musicians there for now. That means we should move on to cheating. I say we visit our old friends Monty and Bargher and pick up some heavy ordinance, it should just about be normal business hours for them. Lots of steel bullets, a few mines perhaps a sniper rifle, maybe even that sword they mentioned. After that we can hit up the police station for some riot armor."

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin looks at Chene with concern before turning her attention back to Connor, "Do we need any more weapons? Looks like the radio works just fine. Besides, I don't trust those goblins and I hate to think about what they'd want in exchange for the arsenal that you're after."

[Sanguine]

"We're going to be fighting a Sidhe Prince, I want the steel bullets at the very least."

[Steel Mirror]

Connor pulls up to the curb outside the Dancing Dragon, preoccupied with trying to think of what he can offer those unscrupulous goblins for payment. He needs those rounds, and something a little heavier and more reassuringly action-hero movie caliber would be welcome. Against Oberon, King of Faeries, he wouldn't mind a couple of tanks.

Patrick gets out of the car and walks towards his, ready to call it a night. Connor can't really ask the old man to join them in the Undercity and whatever other dark corners they are headed to next. His father has already done too much, and he knows his mother is probably sick with worry about now.

Yin walks a towards the restaurant, thinking to pick up some warmer clothers before they head back under the city. She notices three squad cars and a fire engine pulled up in the parking lot, their lights off but with a few uniformed officers inspecting the garden.

Andrew alone is unaffected by the chill night air. He breathes in deeply, feeling it revitalize him. The chill wind hums with malevolent purpose, seeking to strip the life and warmth from anything it touches. It's still a little creepy that he can sense those sorts of things, but right now that whisper of Winter's power is more comforting than unnerving.

Mab knows that the enemy he is facing is formidable enough. He'll take any help he can get . . . and he knows how dangerous a position that is to be in. Through personal experience.

[Bunny of Faith]

Remaining sat in the car as the others head off, Andrew gives Connor a sheepish grin. "I can probably call a taxi, but if you don't mind and you're not stopping here for long then I could do with a lift. If we're going off to war with Oberon then I should definitely be checking in with my folk, though it's a toss up whether they'll help us or just prevent me from getting involved."

[Sanguine]

Nodding his head Connor says. "Aye, I can drop you off. I've just got to check up on the musicians real quick, and maybe get a phone number if Kim has woken up. Shouldn't take me more than a few minutes." Having said that Connor gets out of the car and heads for the restaurant.

[Steel Mirror]

Connor catches up to Yin as she is walking through the shattered glass of the Dancing Dragon's dining room. The police try to stop the two of them, but back off when Yin tells them who she is and Connor flashes his badge.

"Oh, Yin. Good to see you and the detective made it back ok. I was just telling the police," and Yin's mother gestures to a uniformed officer standing next to her with a pen and paper, apparently taking a statement, "about the hooligans who broke in, trashed the building, and set fire to the kitchens." She says the last words with a meaningful glare at her daughter. "They've been taken into custody. Your friends are in the back sleeping, but the paramedics said they should be ok. They are just exhausted, and will probably want plenty of fluids when they wake up."

A couple of firemen are leaving through the scorched doors of the kitchen. The smoke and dust has settled, at least. "Kara and your brother and your . . . dog are asleep upstairs."

------

Outside, Andrew takes a moment to massage his lacerated leg. Whatever Taylor did, it took the worst of the pain away, but walking around on it hasn't made it any better. He hopes it doesn't get infected; maybe he should take a moment later on to grab some antibiotics. Maybe Taylor knows where to get some.

"You did good, kid." Andrew looks up at the sound of Patrick's gruff voice. "You're a little fae, but your a hell of a hand in a pinch. You better come by the bar later on so I can buy ya a drink." He reaches out to shake Andrew's hand, then makes his way back to his car and into the night. Heading home, no doubt.

Home isn't really an option for Andrew; his hotel room might be nice, but it isn't what you'd call cozy. Especially with an ice-cold seductress waiting in it. Even if she has seemed useful so far. In fact, she might be able to get him in touch with the rest of Winter quickly.

Would she answer the room phone if Andrew called? He supposes that it's worth a shot.

[Bunny of Faith]

Patrick's words take a moment to sink in. A little fae? That was to be expected, given the time he'd spent with them... Better a little than a lot, he thinks to himself. He shrugs, waiting for the man to be an acceptable distance away before he takes out his phone and begins to dial the number for his room at the Four Seasons. He lifts it to his ear, not really expecting anything besides for the phone to ring out - she might not even be in the room, and if she is he doubted that she would answer the phone.

[Steel Mirror]

"Yes, my Squire?" Well damn. It worked.

[AvianMalkavian]

Yin dreads seeing her mother again, but is happy that she can't be scolded into the next century while the police are there. She meekly makes her way past, sneaking into her room so that she can get a different change of clothes (preferably something warmer), splash some water in her face, and chug a can of Mountain Dew to try and stave off the steadily creeping fatigue.

Because just for funsies:

Stealth Roll: [roll0] + 3 = 6! I AM THE NIGHT!

[Steel Mirror]

Like a ninja, Yin makes it into her room, gets herself sorted, and downs a fresh blast of caffeine in about two pulls.

It's a good thing that Mountain Dew wasn't invented back in Ancient China, she reflects. The Taoist monks would have tried to ban it for the order, and then where would they be? The defender of Chinatown would be out for the count, and the forces of darkness free to run amok, kidnap, and finance new additions to public institutions at will.

Or something. Man, hopefully that caffeine kicks in soon.

[Sanguine]

Connor makes his way into the restaurant nodding at the policemen as he passes. He recognizes one or two of them, he doesn't know there names or what sort of people they are, but he had seen them around the station. It was comforting in a way to see those face. They made him think of any number of boring days filling out paperwork in the station. Much nicer than going to war with a useless arm and not enough sleep. Still what choice did he have, these people needed him and Oberon was dealing with Fomorians.

Connor marched to the people who needed him. To remind himself why he had done what he did. And to make sure they were safe.

[Bunny of Faith]

Andrew silently composes himself, a little dumbfounded. He says quietly into the phone, "... I am going to remember this and we're going to talk about it later. On a more pressing note, the Hand of the Tuatha has declared war on Oberon, who is the 'spirit' that has recently set himself up here." He pauses for a moment to let it sink in, before asking, "How would I go about contacting the Court? I need guidance, and ideally some assistance."

[Steel Mirror]

Connor marched to the people who needed him. To remind himself why he had done what he did. And to make sure they were safe.
Someone has been through cleaning up since Connor was last here. People are a little more composed, their bodies covered in blankets and their heads resting on pillows and stacks of folded towels. The candles and incense at the shrine have long since died down, and everyone looks peacefully at rest.

Kim is asleep next to the shrine, but murmur and stirs when Connor gets a little closer. He's not sure he wants to wake her, but she's not the type who usually wants to sleep when there is action afoot. Assuming the effects of the enchantment have had time to wear off, she's going to want to be up and updated on what has transpired.

It's tempting to let her rest, though. She looks so peaceful. He can see her bag sitting next to her reclining form, doubtlessly containing her phone. He know she wouldn't mind if he looked through it.


"... I am going to remember this and we're going to talk about it later. On a more pressing note, the Hand of the Tuatha has declared war on Oberon, who is the 'spirit' that has recently set himself up here." He pauses for a moment to let it sink in, before asking, "How would I go about contacting the Court? I need guidance, and ideally some assistance."

He hears her let out a patient sigh. "Relax, squire. I recognized your number on the caller ID. I am here to serve, remember."

Once he has finished his explanation, she continues. "Oberon was once of the highest order of the sidhe, but has fallen out of favor with Titania. I know not the details. I can investigate this matter further, if you will it."

"As to contacting the Court, I will make arrangements. You should continue our own investigations as you see fit; the emissary from the Court will find you."

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

[Sanguine]

Connor looked a Kim lying their asleep. It was a peaceful thing, something that almost felt wrong to disturb. But he knew that she would want to be woken, and besides, if he let her sleep he would never hear the end of it. Kneeling down Connor shook her gently and said. "Wake up sleepy head."

[Steel Mirror]

"Wake up sleepy head."

She stirs pleasantly, then frowns. Her eyes are still closed when she speaks. "How the hell did you get me to drink enough to get a hangover? You haven't been able to outdrink me for . . ." she winces. "For a time that is a long amount of time. Ouch. Thinking hurts."

[Bunny of Faith]

"If it wouldn't take too long, then I wouldn't mind knowing the details behind his fall. Other than that..." He hesitates, "Working under the assumption that I will end up fighting in this conflict, do you know of anything that would even the odds a little more? I don't imagine the Court will send any real backup, so being up against something several magnitudes more powerful than myself seems a little futile."

[Sanguine]

Connor smiles at Kim. "Good to see you're sober again. How much do you remember?"

[Steel Mirror]

"If it wouldn't take too long, then I wouldn't mind knowing the details behind his fall. Other than that..." He hesitates, "Working under the assumption that I will end up fighting in this conflict, do you know of anything that would even the odds a little more?"
"I think the answer to both of those queries may turn out to be one and the same. I shall seek out what I might learn about Oberon, and hope that the knowledge avails you should you end up in a confrontation with him."


Connor smiles at Kim. "Good to see you're sober again. How much do you remember?"
"How much do I remember? We went to dinner at the Chinese place, right? And . . ." She groans. "Now my head hurts even more. There was some kind of magic, right? And I threatened the Zhaos. Oh jen-jang, I'm so stupid."