Men (and Women) of Harlech [IC]

[Inedible]

In the late spring of Wales, the Amaranth fruit bloom on Llyn Trawsfynydd.

The lake is man-made, a resivoire created near the center of Gwynedd county, created in the 1920s to cool the nuclear power plant that now sits decommissioned on its shore, a blocky husk that marks the northern shore. The nearby village of around a thousand inhabitants, Trawsfynydd, takes the name of the lake and rests nearby it. Aside from the old power station there's little of note about the town for both mortals and Lost, save several old churches and monuments.

There is, however, one thing of note about the Lake. In the Hedge, on small island by the northern bank and around it, there are an abundance of trees that sprout and abundance Amaranth fruit. Every spring several lost of the Freehold, some who voulinteer and some who are rotated into the duty, meet at Trawsfynydd and journey to collect as many of the fruit as they can for the coming year. Usually at least half-a-dozen arrive to do the work, both due to the general danger of the Hedge and the more specific danger of the monster unlovingly dubbed the Anfac, a huge crocodile-like beast that roams the lake.

The gathering happens under the supervision of Alun Walker of the Spring court, the only Lost resident of Trawsfynydd and a prominent Hedge trailblazer. Walker typically hosts a small gathering at his home a day before the actual plucking, partly to prepare and share news, and partly for joy of company.

The Motley of Harlech will be helping gather this year. Several other assorted Changelings will arrive as well, but they seem to have arrived first, be it by the hilly road (only an hour or two to drive) or the narrow pathways through the Hedge to the outskirts of town. There are a few people on the narrow streets in the late afternoon, visible as passes through the painfully narrow rows of houses than make up the central street. There's a church along the way, a small bed and breakfast, and not much else.

Walker’s house happens to be near that main stretch, next to a small bed and breakfast named the White Lion. His building is just another in a line of slate-gray, stone two-story house, a TV antenna bolted to the front of the upper floor.

There also appears to be nobody home, as will be found by knocking and checking the door. A small sign has been hung on the handle proclaiming: ‘Gone fishing’, carved in the shape of a blue fish. Usually he’s here to greet visitors when they arrive, so it’s a small oddity.

A little ways down the street, near what appears to be a small store, a police car has parked. A uniformed county policeman seems to be speaking with a woman in front of the building, jotting things down on a small pad in front of him.


What do you do? Also, if you like you can write about whatever your typical day was like before your trip.

Visual aids:
Trawsfynnyd from afar (http://www.walesdirectory.co.uk/images-towns/Llyn_Trawsfynydd_Walk_Village.jpg)
A Trawsfynydd Street (http://i.imgur.com/eKLaTP3.jpg?1?7292)

[Mono Vertigo]

The policeman catches Crash' attention.
Something he does not want reciprocated.
"Let's not stick around", he not so much suggests but states factually, walking away already.

His day had started better than that. It was cold this morning, but he's not spending any money for heating the three decrepit rooms he calls home, not any more. The Summer provides him warmth in all seasons, as long as he bothers to light up a small fire in its homage. After his morning coffee, he spent two good hours in the Hedge, driving a chariot that looks more auspicious than his mundane home, though the horses always look like as if they would bite one's hand off if one stared at them too long. Sometimes, Crash affords himself a nap in it, but not today. After which, he spends time in a town, or even a city, a different one every day, and gets himself some Glamour in petty ways. Cross the street at the wrong instant when a car is arriving, push a passerby with his broad shoulders, buy himself a sandwich and a coffee and "forget" to pay. Every time somebody turns and complains or shouts at him is a small victory, providing him the warm spice of Wrath (though it is often tinged with a tart and cold taste, the one of Fear; sometimes the vendors don't even bother stopping him, rightfully afraid he might be more angered by the conflict than them about the prospect of losing money). Whenever he has the occasion, he also mugs a scrawny nobody. Cash doesn't grow on trees. Then he spends a couple more hours traveling the Hedge to his place, stopping whenever he finds something of notice. Crash hasn't been involved in any kind of organized crime for a couple weeks, or even any repair (which he does sometimes, when the times are so tough that no one can even afford to have anybody beaten up). Things are slow; hopefully he'll get some business soon.

He takes a distracted look at the back of Walker's house. If it weren't for the cop, he would have already broken a window and gone inside to make sure nothing bad happened inside, then repaired the damage afterward, but he's not in the mood for that sort of trouble. "Didn't even know he fished. Where does he do that usually?"

[Nerd-o-rama]

Georgina follows Crash almost automatically, with the practiced nonchalance of someone who's not very good at looking nonchalant. Her slight build contrasts the bigger fae's, but their instinctive movement away from the policeman is similar.

"Don't think there are fish in this lake," she comments in a low voice. "Might be code for somethin'."

The metallic young woman was in a slightly worse mood than usual, though it was hard to tell from her tone of voice. She hadn't gotten a chance to pick up a great deal of glamour today, and her trip here through the Hedge had been fraught with annoying wandering goblin merchants and thicker thorns than usual. Thankfully, she'd thought to bring her machete for exactly that reason (the second one - even outside a Market, you don't just assault goblin salespeople), and seeing the cop now also made her glad she hadn't lost her jacket to the damned soul-plant-things.

Georgina fiddles with the small iron pendant she wore on a chain around her neck. Walker not being here broke routine, and breaks in routine make her nervous.

[OracleofSilence]

"Not a problem with me. I don't really want to explain why I'm carrying this around again." Eli rubs some of the sleep out of his eyes and follows. "I guess we could check down around the lake. No need to risk the Hedge yet." Eli slings the bag containing his bow and a few supplies over his shoulder and follows after Crash.

Eli had woken up late. The previous day, well suffice to say it had gone a little better then planned. Eli had gone through his normal routine. Made some spending money off a few tourists, spent some time in the Court, played a few songs at his friends bar, and gotten a bit of glamour. Today however, had been something else entirely.First he woke up late, so the hedge was his only real way of getting here on time, then he ran into some mortal acquaintances that just didn't seem to understand that really, Eli needed to be somewhere else right now, and then finally, the hedge itself had been almost uncooperative. No true hazards had been encountered, but enough inconveniences had arisen to insure that Eli had arrived at the meet slightly later then was convenient.

[Mehket]

Detectives, spies, private investigators...they seem so glamorous on TV. They often leave out the vast amount of time these professionals sit. Waiting. Watching. Often for hours on end. The endless questioning of people who provide no new information. The time spent pouring through peoples spending history and social media to find that one thing which could provide an interesting lead.

Andrew had spent the last couple weeks stalking an adolescent male who made a habit of disappearing for the night. Roughly once or twice a week. A superior in the Winter Court thought it was suspicious. Where is he going? Who is he talking to? All this effort turned out to be worthless. The young man simply had a boyfriend he didn't want his parents finding out about. This left Andrew exhausted and hungry for a little adventure.

Andrew was intrigued by the cop and the "gone fishing" sign. He didn't want to jump to conclusions yet he certainly didn't want to walk away from this scene. He debated with himself about simply picking the lock to Walkers door and investigating inside. He knew this was too risky without someone to look out and potentially run interference with the cop.

He saw his crew starting to walk away. Not a good situation, Andrew has a tendency to be indecisive and is still taking everything in. He quickly judges that breaking in to a fellow changelings house is a pretty severe invasion of privacy and could land him in an awkward situation. Plus, he knew Walker was the only Changeling in this town, a dangerous situation for anyone...his house probably had some pretty deadly and arcane traps.

Andrew didn't know what to do. He wanted to hang back, eavesdrop on the cop and than watch Walkers house while waiting for his return. On the other hand, he didn't want to get separated from his crew so early into this mission. Ultimately, he decided to follow the rest of his group as they walked away. Andrew planned to voice his concerns once they were out of anyone else's earshot. He knew he could always double back with Tess who could deal with the cop while he surveyed the area. But for now, Andrew quietly followed the rest of the group down to the lake.

[Inedible]

The only place one could conceivably go fishing would be the lake next to the town. Its mirror image in the Hedge is also a possibility, though only the southern shore is mostly free of Hedge creatures. Brambles surround and occupy a large portion of the water, most places besides the northern shore and the island nearby it. Walker’s never mentioned being much of a fisherman, it’s a bit more sedentary of an activity than he’d probably prefer.

There are also at least two bed and breakfasts in the village, as well as a small tavern. In theory more members of the Freehold should be arriving later in the day, or at least tomorrow. The actual expedition is to happen then, should nothing go wrong.

Hopefully nothing went wrong.

The walk to the Lake only takes a few minutes; it’s a small path that leads to the southern shore. The sky is cloudy and the water is rippling lightly in a soft breeze. No signs of life down at the shore.

[Mono Vertigo]

Definitely not gone fishing, nope.
But maybe it's a secret code kind of thing, meant to direct them at the lake? (Damn, I'm good, already thinks Crash even before finding out whether his deduction was right.)
"I'll check out the lake. Anybody wants to talk with the cop, go ahead, but without me."

[OracleofSilence]

"I can talk to the cop if you want, but to be honest, I'd rather not do it alone. I haven't been to this town before, and haven't really had the best experiences with country police lately." Eli stretches and ****s his duffel bag to the other shoulder. It probably was some ridiculous code or other, but whats the point really? Walker must have known they were coming, why the extra wall?

[Mehket]

"I'll go with you Eli, I think we're more likely to find some leads back there. If there's nothing fishy going on here it's best to just wait for Walker at his house. In addition, if it turns out there's something suspicious going on...I can apply my talents to investigate inside his house while you can keep watch outside. I'm not a fan of the police either but he's our best bet to get some information."

[OracleofSilence]

"That sounds fine to me. Lets go then." Eli double checks his wallet to make sure he remembered his documentation, then heads down the street at a leisurely pace towards the policeman. "Excuse me! Officer, do you have a moment? My friend and I were expecting to meet someone here and we were hoping to ask for directions!"

[Inedible]

The lake is, as noted, tranquil. It’s a clear evening, and the surrounding green hills can be seen as lumps on the opposite shore. The blocky shape of the old power station is visible too, over on the northern side. There are two shapes that appear as Crash is walking down the path, children, running along the side of the lake shore.

The house is still as it was, no sign of life. There are small windows on its front on both stories, though not the sides, jammed together into the narrow row of other houses as they are. The curtains are closed, offering no view inside of the structure. The policeman on the corner of the street is also still there, still speaking to the woman, taking down notes. A few people are moving down the street, stopping to look before continuing on their way.

[Mono Vertigo]

Crash walks on to the kids. "Hey there, kids. Say, I'm looking for my buddy."
He gives a short description of Walker (evidently omitting the features that only exist in his Mien). "You haven't seen him around here, have you?"
The Ogre remembers something about truth coming out the mouth of kids... but he also remembers children can be brats, and he's not above playing up to his Seeming's reputation in front of such an audience.