IC Seattle by Night: Hedges of the Pacific Northwest

[Bennosuke]

Act 1 Scene i

With your long blond hair and your eyes of blue
The only thing I ever got from you was Sorrow
-The McCoys

Once upon a time...

A heavy fog settled over Seattle, long before the clock had struck midnight. This was not unusual; a heavy fog settled over port cities like Seattle and San Francisco on a near daily basis. The night was cold, but the fog made the night damp. The moisture in the air stuck to all warm surfaces chilling windows and walls, trees and the grass, the frogs, the crickets and the sky. Icy due dripped from the tree tops and made mud out of dirt. On a night like tonight, any wise person would be at home, under a blanket or near a fire, and almost certainly with friends or family. But for The Lost of Seattle, tonight was a very very important night, as midnight would bring in the beginning of Winter.

And so at the invitation of the former Winter King, a grim but handsome "man" by the name of Nathaniel Ewe, all the city's Changelings had gathered at Lake View Cemetery to bury Autumn. Dressed in somber attire, as one should for a funeral, The Lost gathered around a casket made of corn husks and fallen leaves and mossy bark and payed their respects to Mr. Jack o' Lantern. The Autumn King, whose funeral marked his retiring from official office as King, lay peacefully in the casket with his eyes closed, and his arms folded over his chest, as one should do at their own funeral. This was not hard for the Autumn King to do, as he had no face; it had been stolen by The Others long long ago. Instead, Jack o' Lantern wore a peaceful mask of porcelain neutrality, and allowed his fellows to pay their respects. After the ceremony, he would rise and join the rest.

After the funeral service, the Changelings of Seattle sat or stood around gravestones and war monuments and enjoyed the comfort of their communal safety. Attendance to Fall's Funeral was by invite only, and after all, the cemetery was protected by many many Contracts and a murder of crows and ravens who stood guard. The cemetery was lit be a series of old fashioned gas lampposts, installed by Nathaniel Ewe's courtiers. The orange glow of the gas lamps cut through the fog, creating pools of comfort in the cold night.

The Lost of Winter, (some giants, some small, and some barely not human at all) made merry and awaited the dawn, when the new Winter King would be chosen. There was much gossip this year, as Nathaniel's right to the throne was challenged this year by a relatively new Winter Courtier. Somehow, this "fresh from the Hedge" girl, Illyzabeth might just steal the crown. All eyes seemed to be on Illy and Nathaniel, and whispers popped up behind Illy's back like weeds wherever she turned. Though Illy had tried to avoid the stares, and the drama, it was all for naught, because Nathaniel Ewe, began walking her way. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit with creamy white bow tie, and a dark red lapel rose. The former King's salt and pepper curls were gelled in an all-too fashionable side part, and though he grinned at Illy, his eyes were cold and calculating. "Illyzabeth", he said through the nearly frozen smile, "I was hoping to have a word with you if now is a good time." There was no anxiety in Nathaniel's voice, nor was there any malice. He spoke like he was reading a scientific journal.

The Spring Courtiers spread through the party like the vines that climbed the cemetery's iron fences. Those of the Emerald Court were just as anxious to know who would take the Onyx Throne, as they would be next in line. They were like flowers on the gravestones, a reminder of the beauty in life and living, even in the coldness of winter, and the silence of death. Michael however, was speaking with another Spring Courtier, one of the few other people at the party who he knew. Diedre was a tall and well built woman with long blonde hair that was nearly the color of straw, that parted at her forehead for two black rams horns, which curled around the sides of her face. Diedre was explaining the policies and personalities of the Winter Court to Michael, but it appeared something was bothering her. Finally, the woman broke down and admitted, "Michael, I have to be honest with you. I had an idea for you, but I wasn't sure how you would take it. You see, usually, The Winter Court puts on a Solstice party in the middle of the season. During the celebration, each Court is allowed to select courtier to perform a poem or a song in a competition. I know it may be a touchy subject... but I thought you would be perfect for the position." Diedre looked away uncomfortably, before returning eye contact to Michael. The proposition clearly made the woman uncomfortable.

Morgan on the other hand, spent the first part of the celebration simply watching others, and trying to avoid the gaze of a hulk of a Summer courtier. The man was easily over six and a half feet tall, and two hundred pounds of muscle. He was also clearly three sheets to the wind, and though he never said anything directly to Morgan, he stumbled after her like a puppy after its mother. He kept a safe distance, till he finally managed to corner Morgan near a table of drinks. "Heyyyye", he said with glassy eyes, "how are you doing tonight?" There was nothing sinister about how he spoke to Morgan, but it was just a little too close such that Morgan could smell the onion on his breath.

I want to start by giving you each the opportunity to post and develop your character a little. This is likely the biggest and most important Changeling gathering any of your characters has attended. How would Illy, Michael, and Morgan behave at such a big festival? Please feel free to take liberty with assumptions. Create an NPC to talk to, or a gravestone to hide behind. How would your character dress for a Changeling funeral? No wrong answers here; use this as a chance to introduce your character.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth was standing over the casket with fascination. She had so many questions. Mr. O'Lantern - or was it Jack O. Lantern? - did the O stand for Orange? - were they really going to bury him? Or was it King Lantern? Why wasn't his head a pumpkin? Were they going to carve a face onto his smooth mask and fill it with candles? She didn't see any knives around. Was he bored lying down there like that? It looked pretty boring, being the guest of honour at a wake. Was he asleep? Would it be a breach of protocol if she breathed on his face? Or would he just lie there and take it like a Buckingham Palace guard? He was the Autumn King, right? And that meant fear? This didn't look very scary. Maybe it was psychological?

She glanced around furtively. Everyone was talking and drinking and totally overlooking all these evident Wrongnesses in the world. As soon as she was sure no one was looking at her she used her shoulder to adjust her old-fashioned glasses - they were fakes, but the Contract worked better if she wore them and no one would tell her why - and feigned a huge sneeze. As she bent down she concealed the sudden burst of orange paint and then hurriedly stepped away from the coffin.

[Tatterdemalion’s Workshop: Instant action to perform an elaborate arts project: Create an elaborate and terrifying pumpkin mask around Jack o' Lantern's head that'll scare the wits out of the next person who comes to the coffin to pay their respects.

Loophole of old fashioned glasses and I think Illy's skeletal tools count as 'archaic' by default, so contract is free.

Intelligence+Crafts+Painting Speciality: 9 dice
9,7,4,5,3,3,10,4,10 - nothing on the 10 agains.
Artist Kith gives me an Exceptional Success on 3 successes!]


The Lost of Winter, (some giants, some small, and some barely not human at all) made merry and awaited the dawn, when the new Winter King would be chosen. There was much gossip this year, as Nathaniel's right to the throne was challenged this year by a relatively new Winter Courtier. Somehow, this "fresh from the Hedge" girl, Illyzabeth might just steal the crown. All eyes seemed to be on Illy and Nathaniel, and whispers popped up behind Illy's back like weeds wherever she turned. Though Illy had tried to avoid the stares, and the drama, it was all for naught, because Nathaniel Ewe, began walking her way. He was dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit with creamy white bow tie, and a dark red lapel rose. The former King's salt and pepper curls were gelled in an all-too fashionable side part, and though he grinned at Illy, his eyes were cold and calculating. "Illyzabeth", he said through the nearly frozen smile, "I was hoping to have a word with you if now is a good time." There was no anxiety in Nathaniel's voice, nor was there any malice. He spoke like he was reading a scientific journal.

Illy jumped a little, spinning around and standing straight with a posture and expression of over-exaggerated innocence. "I didn't fix anything that wasn't broken," she said, "I mean, yes, Mr. Ewe, sir, your royal highness, King Ewe, sir. What can I do for you, your majesty?"

Despite her posture her eyes were vortexes of colour deep enough to drown in. Only a true king would dare those eyes.

[Is Mr. Ewe brave enough to meet Illy's gaze? If he makes eye contact with her for long enough to meet the Contract's Loophole then she'll activate The Dragon Knows, Wits+Empathy+Mantle: 14
3,7,2,1,8,10,1,10,9,2,5,7,4,6 - one success on the 10 agains: 5 successes, exceptional. Contested by Composure+Wyrd. If he doesn't beat my five I learn his greatest sorrow, I can mess around with it if I feel like, and I get +2 to brutally crushing his hopes and dreams. He might have the same contract and use it on me in return!

Or he could back down. She won't press the issue.]

[Eldest]

Morgan grits her teeth in a smile. Great, she had to deal with them at bars, and now she has to deal with them at changeling parties too? "I am... fine. I suppose. Mostly people watching. Trying not to cause a ruckus." Avoiding you, she silently adds. "How are you this fine, fine night?" She says, casting her eyes around for somebody, anybody, to get her out of this.

[Bennosuke]

Now that the Ogre was a little closer, Morgan could see that his skin was tinged a sky blue under the right light, and that he had dark brown hairs that rippled across what flesh was not packed into his tight suit. He grinned a little sheepishly at a perceived receptiveness from Morgan. “Oh, I’m good”, the man said blushing. He reached out to lean on a tombstone, only to miss it and stumble slightly.

Morgan scanned the cemetery for some form of help, but at best she got some rueful grins or chuckles from onlookers.

Righting himself the Ogre, still blushing, offered out his hand, “Mename’s Richard.”

[Bennosuke]

Slipping off a closed toe shoe, Illy reached her foot up and removed a paint dipped brush, made of a finger bone, from a decorative belt still carrying blots of color, and various trinkets. The movement shot a twinge of pain through her hip; while she had developed a unique dexterity and flexibility in her hips, they sometimes protested such limber movements. In ways she was so much more than human, but sometimes, she was reminded that she was still just flesh and bone. The jolt of pain washed away, Illy got to work painting a pumpkin mask for the reposing and retiring king. She left a ghoulish grin on the jack o' lantern, which suddenly winked at her, then stuck out a fleshy human tongue, before becoming placid again. Jack had just winked her approval. Quickly, Illy replaced her brush, relieved that her hip did not protest this time. She fit her foot back into its slip, and moved down the queue.

The man behind her, a Darkling with lightning streaks in his long black hair, leaned over the casket to drop a wilting pansy, when a terrible shriek came from the deep within the coffin. Jack O' Lantern's hands reached up for the Darkling, who jumped back a good half meter while crying and throwing the flower up into the air. Jack snarled, showing off the pumpkin visage while waving his hands above his head in parody of of some Hollywood Monster. There was a moment of silence before the crowd of Changelings all chuckled and began clapping for the mischievous King of Autumn. Illy heard several whispers of approval, how "Jack was always playing such pranks". The retiring King winked again at Illy, before returning to his position of repose within the coffin.

************************************************** ***********************************

Later on Illy was staring down Nathaniel Ewe.


Illy jumped a little, spinning around and standing straight with a posture and expression of over-exaggerated innocence. "I didn't fix anything that wasn't broken," she said, "I mean, yes, Mr. Ewe, sir, your royal highness, King Ewe, sir. What can I do for you, your majesty?"

Despite her posture her eyes were vortexes of colour deep enough to drown in. Only a true king would dare those eyes.

Ewe's face was pale and gaunt. Illy could see the muscles of his jaws swelling as he grimaced and met her gaze. "My dear Illyzabeth," he began, "I am sure you are aware of the rumors going around; how you and I are the two up for the Onyx crown this year." With this he smirked a little, as if entertained by some fleeting thought. Continuing, he said, "Anyways, I just wanted to say that there would be no hard feelings on my end either way."

He reached out a hand for Illy to shake, paused a moment as if to remind Illy she could not, his smirk transforming into a rueful grin, before he let the hand fall. "Anyways, that was quiet the prank you played. Perhaps you would be better off in the Autumn Court if you like scaring others so much."

[Eldest]

This nonsense was scary. This was why she carried a taser, for Christ's sake. Alas, she had left it back at "home", since she'd figured it would be rude to bring a weapon to a party. And she didn't quite feel the need to force him to Desire something else, just yet. Best to stay out of people's heads as much as you can, when they'd know you were in them. But... it'd probably be for the best to at least confirm he's just after her body.

She shakes his hand, tracing her thumb across the back of his hand. "Morgan."

[Cupid's Arrow, 4 hits]

[Bennosuke]

Morgan's touch brings a flush to the big man's face.

Morgan activates Cupid's Arrow, spending one Glamour. On that note, in your next post, would you please include the Character Box. See the OOC thread post 4. Including the character box will make keeping track of things easier for both me and for you, since neither of us will have a notepad with us at all times that we post.


Using Cupid's Arrow to confirm that Richard just wants her, and nothing else. (Paranoid changelings yay!)

And yes, I was hoping to play on that paranoia and sense of uncertainty about who can be trusted... but this cuts that down quickly :smalltongue:

The stroking of Morgan's thumb acts like a bow on a string, pulling thoughts and images from the inebriated Ogre like notes from a violin. The information comes in almost as colors and smells, though Morgan knows exactly what they mean. The thoughts flow into each other, slurring with the intoxicating effects of the man's blood alcohol content; Love, companionship, no loneliness.

No tilts or conditions associated currently. Morgan may replace this desire if she so chooses.

Richard grips Morgan's hand firmly, allowing her caress. When she looks into his eyes, she can see the gnawing isolation that lies behind them.

[Thanqol]

The retiring King winked again at Illy, before returning to his position of repose within the coffin.

Mr. King O' Lantern was all right, Illy decided. She hoped they weren't going to bury him for real. They said they weren't going to but that didn't necessarily mean anything. It's not liked they'd signed a contract.

And even if they had it's not like there weren't going to be loopholes.


Ewe's face was pale and gaunt. Illy could see the muscles of his jaws swelling as he grimaced and met her gaze. "My dear Illyzabeth," he began, "I am sure you are aware of the rumors going around; how you and I are the two up for the Onyx crown this year." With this he smirked a little, as if entertained by some fleeting thought. Continuing, he said, "Anyways, I just wanted to say that there would be no hard feelings on my end either way."

He reached out a hand for Illy to shake, paused a moment as if to remind Illy she could not, his smirk transforming into a rueful grin, before he let the hand fall. "Anyways, that was quite the prank you played. Perhaps you would be better off in the Autumn Court if you like scaring others so much."

"Unfortunately, I can't really say the same, your majesty," said Illy. "See, I've always wanted to be a Princess and I'll never forgive you if you take that opportunity away from me. I'm sorry, but that's just how it is," she said. "Oh, damn - does that mean I have to join Spring now, instead of Autumn? I mean, because I want something so bad? This is so confusing it's making me angry."

She was being flippant, of course - but this was the question, wasn't it? Maybe it was just Hollywood to blame but she didn't really trust rich old white dudes in tuxes and bow ties telling her that they didn't want supreme power. That seemed cross type.

[I'd like to get a read on Ewe, if I can, with just a general Wits+Empathy roll. Since he's also Winter, Mantle dots apply to this too (they apply to all social rolls vs. same court I believe). Specifically, how badly does he want to be King and what'd his real reaction be to Illy winning the crown?

[roll0]
]

[Eldest]

Morgan sighs and lets go, not forcing him to want something he shouldn't. She smiles kindly, if a bit exhausted. "Richard. I'm not going home with you. To make something complex really, really simple... not really into guys. But... I was alone before this for a long, long time." She peers at him, swallows, and breaks eye contact, gazing out over the party. "If you want to talk? I can talk."

Health: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Clarity: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Touchstone on the third box: Lost Love, Jessica Xui
Willpower: O O O O O
Glamour: 10/11
Beats/Exp: 0
Tilts/Conditions: none
Aspirations
Get in touch with Jessica again
Find a safe place to live
Realize she's in the wrong court (long term)

[Bennosuke]

Exceptional success. If I understood your question correctly, I'm okay having you roll and knowing if you hit a failure or dramatic failure. You are capable of making the change between the two anyways. I suspect you all will act appropriately IC if your character is misinformed. That said, every once and a while I may make a roll for a player for something like Perception without saying why (since WP can't be spent on this anyways), partly to conceal the meaning of the roll, and partly to keep things moving.

Ewe rolls his eyes at Illy almost reflexively, and with a chuckle said, "Now you sound like you belong in the Summer Court!" Illy watches Nathaniel carefully, trying to get a read on his character. The man exudes confidence to the point of being cocky. She was certain this was not an eminence front, Ewe seemed downright certain of his lordship over Illy. In fact, Illy's gut was telling her that Ewe knew something she didn't or had some sort of an edge over the fresh faced Changeling. The man brushes his well groomed hair back from his forehead and smugly says, "Well the position is selected on an annual basis, so... assuming you live long enough, there will be plenty of opportunity"

************************************************** ***********

The look of hurt only lasted for a split second on Richard's face; it was gone even before Morgan had gotten to her sexual preference. He smiled warmly at Morgan, still swaying like he were on a rocking boat. "I think I'd like t'talk," he said sheepishly, "if that is okay withhhhyou. I don't think I've ever seen you around before Morgan, are you knew to Seattle... or maybe just fresh from the Hedge?"

[Thanqol]

Exceptional success. If I understood your question correctly, I'm okay having you roll and knowing if you hit a failure or dramatic failure. You are capable of making the change between the two anyways. I suspect you all will act appropriately IC if your character is misinformed. That said, every once and a while I may make a roll for a player for something like Perception without saying why (since WP can't be spent on this anyways), partly to conceal the meaning of the roll, and partly to keep things moving.

Ewe rolls his eyes at Illy almost reflexively, and with a chuckle said, "Now you sound like you belong in the Summer Court!" Illy watches Nathaniel carefully, trying to get a read on his character. The man exudes confidence to the point of being cocky. She was certain this was not an eminence front, Ewe seemed downright certain of his lordship over Illy. In fact, Illy's gut was telling her that Ewe knew something she didn't or had some sort of an edge over the fresh faced Changeling. The man brushes his well groomed hair back from his forehead and smugly says, "Well the position is selected on an annual basis, so... assuming you live long enough, there will be plenty of opportunity"

Did he not get it? Illy stared at him, half knowing the answer and half sure that she knew wrong. Her stare twisted inward and her mouth turned into a frown. Did she not get it? That seemed much more likely. She didn't really fully get the reason why everyone seemed convinced that she was going to, like, pull the sword from the stone and knock up her sister or however this worked. Her frown deepened. Then why, if this guy was so confident and she had no expectations whatsoever, would he even bother to come and mug at her?

Well. The only clue she really had was that he'd just casually implied that she might be murdered. That would certainly take her out of the running. And - he was wearing a bow tie. That was a very murderer-y article of clothing.

"Why wouldn't I live long enough? This is reality, right? Isn't my worst danger right now the American health care system?" she was careful to keep her tone kind of vapid, "or is this like a Highlander thing?"

[I'd like to lean on that Exceptional Success to see if the guy lets out any tells when idea of 'murdering rival throne claimants' comes up.]

[OracleofSilence]

"Kinda short notice, isn't it? Did someone cancel?" Michel wasn't unwilling. Nervous, yes, it was his first seasonal funeral after all, and he didn't really know what was supposed to happen. After a slightly awkward moment of silence, a thought occurs. "Is this some mystic thing? Or just normal."

[Eldest]

The look of hurt only lasted for a split second on Richard's face; it was gone even before Morgan had gotten to her sexual preference. He smiled warmly at Morgan, still swaying like he were on a rocking boat. "I think I'd like t'talk," he said sheepishly, "if that is okay withhhhyou. I don't think I've ever seen you around before Morgan, are you new to Seattle... or maybe just fresh from the Hedge?"

She looks distant for a moment, and she shivers despite the warm overcoat she wears. "I've been free 2 months, next week. Yes. I am new." She says crisply. "And... I have no ****ing clue what's going on, frankly. I mean, I know the basics... but now what, I have to put my life back together? Live with a legal double of me in existence, "oh hey I don't remember anything from the last half a year or so" to everyone I know? Sneak in meetings with court?" Okay, maybe she shouldn't be talking to somebody she'd just met but... everyone so far had been gentle with her about it. But there was a royal court system right out of a bad fantasy story, somebody was living her life and doing it badly. Maybe she needed to talk more than she had thought.

Health: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Clarity: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Touchstone on the third box: Lost Love, Jessica Xui
Willpower: O O O O O
Glamour: 10/11
Beats/Exp: 0
Tilts/Conditions: none
Aspirations
Get in touch with Jessica again
Find a safe place to live
Realize she's in the wrong court (long term)

[Bennosuke]

Nathaniel sighs, a mask of pity on his face. He gives no sign of malice. "No, that was not what I meant", he says, "but well... it can be hard to adjust to this world. It is well known that a Changeling is most likely to die, be murdered, or commit suicide within their first year free." He speaks as if he were explaining the ways of the world to a toddler, and Illy can tell he is enjoying the opportunity.

No sign of planned murder. Similar to what Eldest is doing, please include the Character box intermittently in your posts. It serves as a good tool for keeping track of Glamour, Health, Clarity, beats ect. Doesn't have to be included every post, but it is very useful since I won't always be posting from my desk where I keep my notes, or a specific computer where I keep electronic notes.

************************************************** *************************

Diedre smiles at Michael. A little insistently, she says, "You would have about two months to prepare, but again, you don't have to perform if you don't want to. It's not magical, in fact, you are prohibited from using any Contracts or magical abilities. It's just... well I guess it's like an open mic competition for Changelings. I just... well I think you would be great." There is an moment of awkwardness before Diedre blurts out, "I saw you perform a few weeks ago at a cafe, and I thought you were really good."

************************************************** *************************

In a voice just a little too loud, and a little too enthusiastic, Richard exclaims, "I know! It's sooooo ****ed up!" He places a large hand on Morgan's shoulder again, perhaps meant to be comforting, or perhaps to steady himself. "I mean, I won't pretend to know what you went through over there, but I sometimes wonder if it's worse out here", he says leaning in now in a voice a little more furtive. Richard's eyes are misted over, and again, Morgan can smell the onion on his breath. "I mean, at least back in Faerie I knew my role and everything was decided for me... ya know?"

[Eldest]

Morgan stiffens and flinches away from him. "Are you joking? Look. Enjoying being controlled, having everything boil down to "do what one person says", that's okay. People are like that, they're into that, hell I'm into that. Hit up a munch, go to the CSPC or the Baltic Room on Sundays, find somebody else who's into it. But!" Here, the finger pointed straight up, as if to halt the entire room. "Safe, sane, consensual. There was no safe word in Faerie." She hisses, jabbing that finger into Richard's chest. "There was no agreement, there was no limits discussed, there. Was. Nothing." She hopes she isn't drawing too much attention, her voice isn't that loud, but she's probably giving off enough of a mix of emotions to draw eyes. "Going back isn't sane, it isn't safe, and it sure as hell isn't consensual." She draws in a deep breath, and lets it out, letting herself calm down with the familiar gesture, and silently waves at him, as if to say "Your turn. Fix it."

[Bennosuke]

Morgan’s speech leaves Richard fumbling for words. His jaw opens and closes, but he offers nothing more than a soft high pitched whine coming from the back of his throat.

Finally finding his conversational footing, Richard offers, “Oh, well I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m a... I’m maybe a little too drunk.” The words stumble out of his mouth, in a pathetic attempt at an apology.

[OracleofSilence]

"Wait, I would have had two months? For real, who cancelled?" Michel barely chokes back a laugh. "Okay, no need for the flattery. I'm down. But like I asked, will I at least have time to go grab some gear first? I don't normally do A capella."

[Thanqol]

Nathaniel sighs, a mask of pity on his face. He gives no sign of malice. "No, that was not what I meant", he says, "but well... it can be hard to adjust to this world. It is well known that a Changeling is most likely to die, be murdered, or commit suicide within their first year free." He speaks as if he were explaining the ways of the world to a toddler, and Illy can tell he is enjoying the opportunity.

No sign of planned murder. Similar to what Eldest is doing, please include the Character box intermittently in your posts. It serves as a good tool for keeping track of Glamour, Health, Clarity, beats ect. Doesn't have to be included every post, but it is very useful since I won't always be posting from my desk where I keep my notes, or a specific computer where I keep electronic notes.

"Grim," said Illy. His condescension was palpable but, like, whatever - he was basically right to think he was better than her. She hadn't been to school, what the hell did she know? "So how did you survive?" She was curious - not about the actual story, but how he thought about it now.

[Health 6/6
Glamour 10/10
Willpower 3/3
Clarity 6/6
Beats 0]

[Bennosuke]

Sheepishly, Diedre says, “Well the stage is usually set up with a mic and a few amps. I mean, do vocalists need effects pedals or something? I won’t claim to know about that stuff, but I’m sure you could use something like that... as long as it’s not magiced in some way.”

She leans closer to Michael, cautiously resting a hand on his upper arm, and says, “But this means your in. We’d really appreciate it.”

************************************

Nathaniel Ewe smiled, the muscles of his mouth and temple relaxing. “I won’t lie. I fumbled a lot in my first year. I thought I had nothing when I came back through The Hedge, but I lost EVERYTHING.” His voice is stern, but there is a note of pride behind Ewe’s words. “But I realized to make it, I would need powerful allies, and so I spent all my time making myself useful to those who had all the power. Now, I have all the power.”

Ewe’s grin is positively glowing (relatively for his Court anyways). “If you want some help,” he says, “I’m sure I could find a way to help.”

[Thanqol]

Nathaniel Ewe smiled, the muscles of his mouth and temple relaxing. “I won’t lie. I fumbled a lot in my first year. I thought I had nothing when I came back through The Hedge, but I lost EVERYTHING.” His voice is stern, but there is a note of pride behind Ewe’s words. “But I realized to make it, I would need powerful allies, and so I spent all my time making myself useful to those who had all the power. Now, I have all the power.”

Ewe’s grin is positively glowing (relatively for his Court anyways). “If you want some help,” he says, “I’m sure I could find a way to help.”

"Of course I want help," said Illy. "I mean, I barely know how to read, man. I have no money and no friends. And while I've been out my other side has become a literal space astronaut so it's not even like I can go home. Like, hell yeah, powerful allies leading into infinite power, let's do it."

[Eldest]

Morgan’s speech leaves Richard fumbling for words. His jaw opens and closes, but he offers nothing more than a soft high pitched whine coming from the back of his throat.

Finally finding his conversational footing, Richard offers, “Oh, well I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m a... I’m maybe a little too drunk.” The words stumble out of his mouth, in a pathetic attempt at an apology.

She coolly stares him down, waiting for more. When nothing else comes, she snaps out "evidently" and takes a sip of her drink, not quite willing to straight up walk away but clearly not happy with him still.

[Bennosuke]

Nathaniel Ewe’s smile finally appears genuine. He claps Illy on the back and says, “That is not unwise. I’m sure we can accomplish much for our community working together.” He pauses for a moment, mulling a thought over, or at least pretending to, before asking, “I suppose it would be too much to ask you to yield any right to the Onyx crown to me tonight then?” Nathaniel Ewe raises an eyebrow at Illy, grinning mischeviously.

**********************************

Richard straightens up a little bit at this, Morgan’s demeanor seeming to help sober him. The color gone from his face, he shrugs and stammers, “Well then... I’m sorry if I offended. Anyways, it was nice to meet you Morgan.” He extends a hand to shake, clearly looking for some forgiveness, and hoping to make a quick escape.

[Thanqol]

Nathaniel Ewe’s smile finally appears genuine. He claps Illy on the back and says, “That is not unwise. I’m sure we can accomplish much for our community working together.” He pauses for a moment, mulling a thought over, or at least pretending to, before asking, “I suppose it would be too much to ask you to yield any right to the Onyx crown to me tonight then?” Nathaniel Ewe raises an eyebrow at Illy, grinning mischeviously.

"You told me that you got to where you are today by being useful to powerful people," said Illy sardonically. "Why would you want to change your strategy now?"

[Bennosuke]

Ewe shrugs, and without skipping a beat replies, "Well it is also a skill to know when someone will be useful to me as well." Ewe takes a hearty sip from a flask he removes from his jacket pocket. "Ms. Illyzabeth", he says offering a hand to shake, "I hope you have a good rest of your night. I will see you later".

[Eldest]

Richard straightens up a little bit at this, Morgan’s demeanor seeming to help sober him. The color gone from his face, he shrugs and stammers, “Well then... I’m sorry if I offended. Anyways, it was nice to meet you Morgan.” He extends a hand to shake, clearly looking for some forgiveness, and hoping to make a quick escape.

She eyes the hand, but shakes it, and nods. "A pleasure." She then lets him walk away without incident, and she relaxes, unaware till now of how much she'd been wound up. She smothers the familiar itch for a cigarette, taking a deep breath, and smiling quietly to everyone nearby. See? She was fine. Promise. No hard feelings here.

[Thanqol]

Ewe shrugs, and without skipping a beat replies, "Well it is also a skill to know when someone will be useful to me as well." Ewe takes a hearty sip from a flask he removes from his jacket pocket. "Ms. Illyzabeth", he says offering a hand to shake, "I hope you have a good rest of your night. I will see you later".

Illy looks at the hand, then looks at Ewe like he's an idiot.

[Bennosuke]

Richard's grip is firm, and surprisingly warm given the cool weather. He lets go, and stumbles off. Morgan watches him depart, stifling the urge to reach into her pocket for a cigarette. She smiles, more for any onlookers and catches the following scene....


************************************************** ***********************************

Illy looks down at Nathaniel Ewe's outstretched hand, offered to shake a limb that Illy does not have. Rather than look embarrassed or apologize, the he just smirks and gives out a shrill whistle. As if that were a sufficient way to end a conversation, the snide ****er turns around and simply walks away. As he leaves, Illy can hear him humming a barely familiar tune.

Illy also becomes aware of the gaze of another Changeling; a female with long dirty blond hair roped with long willow vines.

I'll let you guys decide whether or not you want to interact or ignore each other, but please describe how your character looks to the other. I tried not to describe for you guys how the other looks or acts.

[Eldest]

Morgan is wearing her best. Morgan's best... isn't the greatest right now. She's got a nice blouse on, and black pants that are only slightly out of fashion, but the coat obviously doesn't match, though it doesn't necessarily look bad. Where her skin shows, her lower arms and her face mostly, is peppered with willow-bark, and her hair under the Mask clearly fades between human hair and the loose branches of the willow tree. She smiles again, rueful but genuine, and comes over to the other woman. "I see your conversation went about as well as mine did? I'm Morgan." She does a little curtsy in place of a handshake.

[Thanqol]

Illy looks down at Nathaniel Ewe's outstretched hand, offered to shake a limb that Illy does not have. Rather than look embarrassed or apologize, the he just smirks and gives out a shrill whistle. As if that were a sufficient way to end a conversation, the snide ****er turns around and simply walks away. As he leaves, Illy can hear him humming a barely familiar tune.

Illy also becomes aware of the gaze of another Changeling; a female with long dirty blond hair roped with long willow vines.

Illy felt the weightless sensation of emptiness roll back in like the waves. As usual it had been her who hadn't understood, her who had momentarily lost track of how pointless it all could be. And now she was out of sync with the music, the babble, the world around her. It all seemed so exhausting.


Morgan is wearing her best. Morgan's best... isn't the greatest right now. She's got a nice blouse on, and black pants that are only slightly out of fashion, but the coat obviously doesn't match, though it doesn't necessarily look bad. Where her skin shows, her lower arms and her face mostly, is peppered with willow-bark, and her hair under the Mask clearly fades between human hair and the loose branches of the willow tree. She smiles again, rueful but genuine, and comes over to the other woman. "I see your conversation went about as well as mine did? I'm Morgan." She does a little curtsy in place of a handshake.

Illyzabeth is as she mostly is; white shirt with sleeves tied into knots, belt of gruesome tools, eyes that throw all else into strange shadows - and a look that transitions from complete blankness to focused curiosity as she looks at Morgan. "Illyzabeth Costello," she says, and with a patient dreaminess: "Do you want a new dress?"

[Eldest]

Morgan blinks slowly. Oh God. Another one. "I... yes? Haven't had anything new since I got back, actually. But I don't have much of any money. So, probably can't afford it?" She shrugs, focusing on the positive. "But hey, I'm here. Good enough for me. I'll try and hit you up when I have money, though, dresses are wonderful."

[Thanqol]

Morgan blinks slowly. Oh God. Another one. "I... yes? Haven't had anything new since I got back, actually. But I don't have much of any money. So, probably can't afford it?" She shrugs, focusing on the positive. "But hey, I'm here. Good enough for me. I'll try and hit you up when I have money, though, dresses are wonderful."

"Well, it's really just a modification to your existing dress, so don't worry about it," said Illy vaguely. "It's just that with a few small changes it'd fit your theme much better..."

There was a murmur and rustle of fabric and the skeletal tools at her belt in a moment came alive. For a second, just a second, there was a rush and rustle of fabric, a flurry of needles, and a gleaming motion of paints. Then it was over and Illy was finishing her thought.

"... I think that a red and orange palette suits you."

It was like a Fairy Godmother had waved her wand and transformed Morgan into a princess. Golden filigree in oak-leaf patterns, twisting crimson folds with ribbons of yellow and orange, a black corset with ribs of gold. The material of the cloth had transformed into finest silk, it felt cool and weightless, like wearing a cloud. She'd even done Morgan's hair somehow; smoothing it out into a crystalline pattern of leaves and vines. Straight up Disney magic; a power that could light up the room and totally transform the fashion dynamics of the evening and leave everyone swooning.

Illy's expression hadn't really changed from her curious look of contemplation. "I'm not sure about the belt," she said. The belt was an interlocked weaving of orange and black, tied together in an elaborate flower-shaped knot. "What do you think?"


[3 Intelligence+5 Crafts+1 Fashion Speciality+5 Wizened Blessing to transform materials
Tatterdemalion’s Workshop to make it happen in a single turn, Loophole for no glamour.
Artist Kith: Exceptional success on 3 hits rather than 5.
[roll0]
Exceptional success achieved]

[OracleofSilence]

"Nothing that fancy. I self accompany sometimes. You know. Guitar, or synth or whatever." Michel shrugs slightly. Things would work out. "Whatever. How long till i need to get set up? You got a sound guy I need to talk too?" It was a job. Maybe even a job that would lead to something, rather then the endless series of one off gigs with no call backs he was dealing with right now...

[Eldest]

Morgan looks down at the dress, and her jaw just drops. "I... what the hell. Okay. I. Thank you? Thank you, thank you, thank you, something that actually works here, and I love it, the belt included..." She throws her arms around Illy in an embrace, breathing a happy sigh before blinking. "Um. Is the dress going to have any implications here? I'm Spring Court."

[Thanqol]

Morgan looks down at the dress, and her jaw just drops. "I... what the hell. Okay. I. Thank you? Thank you, thank you, thank you, something that actually works here, and I love it, the belt included..." She throws her arms around Illy in an embrace, breathing a happy sigh before blinking. "Um. Is the dress going to have any implications here? I'm Spring Court."

Illy starts a little when embraced - not fearfully, just surprised at being taken out of her creative reverie.

People appreciating things is still new to her. She's not certain what to do with it.

"Oh! Um, I have no idea," said Illy. "I guess since it's an Autumn Court event it should be fine? You're welcome." She blinked a little, adjusting to the moment. There was a momentary edge of warmth at the side of her mouth where her smile used to be. "What's spring like?" she asked.

[Eldest]

She frowns in thought, considering what she has to say. "I think it's interesting. It's... not letting your past define you. Moving onward. Three body problem optional." She smiles at the in joke, then freezes, before rushing onward. "It's really nice! I thought it was the best fit, because, well. I understand desire pretty well, I'm angry but I'm not, like, Summer Court angry over the whole thing. I don't want to let fear define me, and I'm... not particularly sad?" Even to herself, that sounded weak. She should probably spend some time learning more about the court structure at some point. "I'm going to hazard a wild guess and say you're probably Winter, which would imply you're the talk of the party."

[Thanqol]

She frowns in thought, considering what she has to say. "I think it's interesting. It's... not letting your past define you. Moving onward. Three body problem optional." She smiles at the in joke, then freezes, before rushing onward. "It's really nice! I thought it was the best fit, because, well. I understand desire pretty well, I'm angry but I'm not, like, Summer Court angry over the whole thing. I don't want to let fear define me, and I'm... not particularly sad?" Even to herself, that sounded weak. She should probably spend some time learning more about the court structure at some point. "I'm going to hazard a wild guess and say you're probably Winter, which would imply you're the talk of the party."

"Huh," said Illy. Again she felt like she didn't get it. Morgan made it sound like you chose to be in a Court, like you were picking which library to hang out at. Was that right? Was that how it worked for normal people?

It was like she was trying to pick her dominant emotion. Like she had a choice in that. Did she? If she did, should Illy envy her for it?

"Oh yes. Right. Apparently I'm destined to pull the sword from the stone and rule Oregon as the once and future king," said Illy. "If elected by the unfathomable will of Winter, I pledge only that my reign will be bloody and eternal."

[Bennosuke]

Diedre shrugs, "I think you will have some time before you need to get set up. I mean, if there is a song you want to play, I suppose you should practice it or something... but I think the first step will be just submitting you as a representative of our Court." She smiles warmly at Michael. "Thank you. I'm sure your assistance will be appreciated", she blushes just slightly, "and I'm sure you will put on a great performance." But wherever this conversation was going, it was suddenly cut short...

************************************************** **

This next part is for all players/characters

Perhaps you noticed the the crowd's silence first, or perhaps you heard the high pitched long howling rising above the din of conversations. The noise was far off at first, but it was greeted by a second, then a third, till there was a chorus of yowls coming from all around the cemetery. The din grew and grew, till the world was filled with the overwhelming pressure of the howls. Changelings stood around the graveyard. Most were frozen in terror and confusion, but a few were wily enough to turn their head back and forth, searching for the source of the howls.

Clear panic had not struck the crowd yet, though Changelings were a cautious bunch more used to danger than most. It was as if everyone was waiting for the first brave soul to make a run for it, before everyone descended into chaos.

Could I please get everyone to roll for perception please Wits + Composure, and I will allow WP use for this. And please state if there is anything in particular you want your character to try to do.

[Eldest]

"Huh," said Illy. Again she felt like she didn't get it. Morgan made it sound like you chose to be in a Court, like you were picking which library to hang out at. Was that right? Was that how it worked for normal people?

It was like she was trying to pick her dominant emotion. Like she had a choice in that. Did she? If she did, should Illy envy her for it?

"Oh yes. Right. Apparently I'm destined to pull the sword from the stone and rule Oregon as the once and future king," said Illy. "If elected by the unfathomable will of Winter, I pledge only that my reign will be bloody and eternal."

Morgan blinks, trying to get a read on her tone. "Well, your highness, I sincerely hope that you will spare this humble reporter. I'll give you a favorable writeup too, and-" the howls cut her off, and she looks around nervously. "The shield's down. Who's out there, do you know?"

[Thanqol]

"Don't worry about it," said Illy. "Autumn's whole deal is, like, the fairies have to give advance notice that that they're coming, right? And, given that I am currently not a pretty pretty princess, it's not technically winter. So whoever's out there is probably friendly!"

A bit of a stretch, but she had ways out still so there wasn't much point in going down any of the fearful paths.

"Let's go see what's out there!" she said, walking towards the edge of the gathering.

[Bennosuke]

All it takes is one individual to start moving; an olive skinned woman with fire for hair who wordlessly puts her head down and just starts running, before the entire party of Changelings descend into a frenzied panic. The Lost of Seattle begin running to and fro, no organization to their movements, no direction to their panic.

Illy and Morgan begin to move towards the perimeter, the two moving without any sign of hysteria. The two move away from the crowd, who instead seem to be congregating towards the center.

The chorus of howls become louder near the fences. Perhaps it was the distance from the frenzied Changelings, but as Illy and Morgan near the high spires of the rought iron fences, the two can seen pairs of hungry eyes in the distance. Almond shaped pairs of glowing red orbs, too high up, too close together to be a true canine’s stare in at the cemetery.

The. howls ARE getting louder now near the fences, and the wolves... or whatever gigantic wolf like beasts ARE approaching. Soon they will be upon the cemetery and the party of Seattle’s Lost!

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth wasn't much one for running away. In a foot chase against wolves she didn't fancy her odds. Besides! They might still be friendly. And anyway, it's not like they were cornered or anything. And they had a fence! An iron fence.

It was that fence she walked over to, hopping on one foot as she moved a brush up to her mouth. Her skeletal hands flexed and animated and paint began to flow.

Any fence this size had some holes and problems that wolves could get through. Illy just had to patch those up and block the main gates. And really, it's not like this was a big job. She knew big jobs, she'd spent years painting the walls of a labyrinthine castle the size of a city. One dinky little wall wasn't really much of a challenge at all. She began to jog along the cemetery fence, lashing tendrils of paint slashing along the patchy wall alongside her, illustrating dark and ominous crossbars and support struts into being.

[Craft Action: Fortifying the cemetery fence. I want to seal all the entrances, make the fence taller and spikier, and patch all the holes.
Tatterdemalion’s Workshop: Perform a crafts project of any Size in a single turn, bypassing the need for proper components or tools. Man that's a great Contract
Wizened Blessing: Turn overgrown grass, vines, etc into iron. I think I'll need to spend the glamour point for the jury-rigging effect here.
I'm going to figure that something this physical and blunt force is strength+crafts
Spending willpower because why not
[roll0]


[Health 6/6
Glamour 9/10
Willpower 2/3
Clarity 6/6
Beats 0]

[Eldest]

Morgan does not want to be there. Morgan really doesn't want to be there, in fact. She shivers in fear as she goes forward, following the armless king-to-be. She scans the ground as she does so, before grunting and flipping over a small flower arrangement to reveal a small knife, roughly crafted but looking very sharp. She shakes her head in bemusement. "Who the hell leaves a knife in a cemetery?"


Using Hidden Reality to make the knife. Using the catch by making a show of looking, and then being "surprised" when you find it.

Health: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Clarity: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Touchstone on the third box: Lost Love, Jessica Xui
Willpower: O O O O O
Glamour: 10/11
Beats/Exp: 0
Tilts/Conditions: none
Aspirations
Get in touch with Jessica again
Find a safe place to live
Realize she's in the wrong court (long term)

[OracleofSilence]

"Huh. Guess that means the show's off." He wanted to run. Very old and hard to ignore parts of his brain were screaming at him to run. But what was the point? It was probably a trap. Wolves were smart like that. Now, to find a door. And some sand. Sand was important. Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm. No point in running, it'll just excite them... Who the hell are they? Someone was painting the cemetery fence. Huh.

Michel walks over to the duo, scrapping up some sand from under the gravel of the cemeteries paths as he does so. "Uh. Hope you don't mind an intrusion, but you two look like you have some ideas, so..."

Rolling Perception to spot any nearby doors/gates/etc, and grabbing then pocketing two handfuls of sand, assuming the justification above is sufficient for our beneficent ST.

[Bennosuke]

As if she had trained for this moment her whole life, Illy begins hopping down the perimeter of the cemetery, a gnarled brush in her raised foot. Furiously, she sets to work painting on cross bars to the wrought iron fence, with Morgan following closely. Even at the end of her Durance, Illy had never painted a wall so efficiently, the dark blots of paint quickly coaxed into dark iron and steel bars, complete with rivets and welding.

Many Changelings stop to wonder at Illy's work; a few even beginning to cheer for the girl despite their panic. Illy gets nearly a quarter of the perimeter fortified this way before she stops to appraise her work. It is at this moment that Morgan stoops down, and in feigned surprise picks up a camper's folding pocket knife. The grip is made of a hard plastic, and when Morgan pulls open the blade, she can see that it is leaf shaped, with serrations near the handle.

The two are now standing closer to where Michael had been in conversation with the now fled Diedre. The young man quickly walks over to the two Changelings, trying not to look too concerned. He scans the area as he approaches but finds no useful doors, gates or other entryways. He speaks up,


"Uh. Hope you don't mind an intrusion, but you two look like you have some ideas, so..."

... but is cut off when a long fury snout pokes through one of the top sections of the fence over Illy's head. The thin muzzle is covered in soft fur that is a sesame mix of brown, red, and cream hairs. Its onyx pebbled nose sniffs thirstily at the air and it tries to open it's mouth, showing long yellow fangs, but the cross bars of Illy's fence act as a sort of mechanical muzzle. It growls angrily at the three Changelings, before gigantic clawed humanoid hands grip the bars and begin shaking the fence.

The three Changelings can see that more of the giant wolf monsters are approaching the fence, some on all fours, while others walk more like lumbering bipedal apes.

[Thanqol]

Michel walks over to the duo, scrapping up some sand from under the gravel of the cemeteries paths as he does so. "Uh. Hope you don't mind an intrusion, but you two look like you have some ideas, so..."

"Oh hi," said Illy vaguely, pausing for a moment to contemplate her work. "Do you -"


... but is cut off when a long fury snout pokes through one of the top sections of the fence over Illy's head. The thin muzzle is covered in soft fur that is a sesame mix of brown, red, and cream hairs. Its onyx pebbled nose sniffs thirstily at the air and it tries to open it's mouth, showing long yellow fangs, but the cross bars of Illy's fence act as a sort of mechanical muzzle. It growls angrily at the three Changelings, before gigantic clawed humanoid hands grip the bars and begin shaking the fence.

The three Changelings can see that more of the giant wolf monsters are approaching the fence, some on all fours, while others walk more like lumbering bipedal apes.

Illy frowns. That fence is Iron. Capital I-Iron, the kind that should be setting fairy wolves on fire right now. She frowns, feeling almost betrayed - she'd kick the fence but that'd burn her for sure.

Illyzabeth wasn't exactly a scholar of the occult, but nearly 100% of the books she's ever read (or been read) are fantasy books, and those are useful in containing clues into supernatural gribblyies - and it wouldn't exactly be much effort to transform the fence into silver.

]

The other side to this was that she was afraid. Like, completely reasonably afraid - wolves were [I]scary. She'd never seen a real one before. She spotted a puddle of dirty water - cold and chill in the autumn evening - and stepped in it to calm her nerves. It would take a little while for the cold to soak into her heart but she had the feeling that would be really useful when it kicked in.

"Um, hello? You shaln't get in, not by the hairs of my chinny-chin-chin?" she called over to the wolf shaking the bars of her cage.

[Starting to activate Heart of Ice but I'll need 15-20 seconds (five rounds) standing in cold water for it to kick in.]

[OracleofSilence]

"Not dying sounds good. Still working on it." Okay. So the obvious answer was werewolves, which barely even sounded ridiculous anymore. Only one option really. Assuming it even works on wolves. He must have heard someone mention something useful at court, at least once...

Int+Occult roll: [roll0] 9 again from professional training

[roll1] for rerolls

Edit: 3 successes

[Eldest]

Morgan gulps and starts to back away from the fence unconsciously. "What the hell? What do you want?"

[Bennosuke]

The party is now in a wild frenzy, with Changelings moaning and screaming from farther inside the cemetery. The wind is whipping the trees now, creating high pitched whistles which blend in with the ever growing howls.

The wolf at the fence has begun gnawing at the fence, specifically the cross bars created by Illy. It’s eyes are filled with savage fury, though it appraises the three Lost at on the other side, clearly aware of their presence.


What the Hell? What do you want?

The wolf stops its gnawing for a moment, staring at Morgan and sniffing at the air in loud huffs. It withdraw’s its jaws from the fence and in a voice clearly not designed for human speech croaks, “WEEEEE HUNNNNNNNNT!”, before it begins shaking the bars with its hands like a caged ape.

Then the cries from within the cemetery rise, and someone shouts, “They’re coming through! Someone opened the gates!”

Though Michael, Morgan and Illy are on the far side of the Lake View Cemetery, they can see a rush of Changelings pushing into the graveyard; harried by the charge of several giant bipedal wolf monsters.

The characters can tell that they probalby have about a half a minute or so before the wolves will be upon them.

With the iron gate finally opened, the Lost trapped within are no longer bound by the metal’s powers, and almost in groups, large numbers of Changelings begin Portaling, fading out of reality in a puff of sulfur and cinder.

[Thanqol]

As the cold from the water seeps into Illy's heart she feels more irritated than anything. This is someone's dumb plan using dumb wolves and there's some dumb gate-opener and everyone's being herded into the hedge like dumb idiots and they're probably going to appear right in the middle of some dumb huntsman's gigantic net.

She looked at the other two and spoke quietly so the wolves couldn't hear: "I'm hiding. Don't follow me."

She picked a paintbrush out of her belt and started walking into the graveyard, drawing little pictures across the gravestones she passed. Snakes, pits, cartoon dynamite - silly-looking but real enough to hurt, and using her footsteps and her scent as ingredients - and she made sure to sign it with a cartoon version of herself wearing a crown made out of ice. She found a patch of bushes around the base of a mausoleum and wove them around her, snuggling up into the cold rose-leaves as she sat down cross-legged.

And then she watched and listened. If this was someone's dumb plan then they were probably enough to talk about it afterwards.

[Heart of Ice - immune to all emotional Conditions, extreme cold, etc. Loophole for 0G.
Nevertread - it is impossible to track Illy without supernatural means, attempting to do so provokes a clash of wills, and anyone who tries gets smacked for 8B. Loophole for 0G.
Ermine's Winter Coat - +3 to stealth related rolls, -3 to being attacked, +3 to seem mortal when strengthening the mask. Loophole for 0G, making a little rosebush burrow.
Strengthening the Mask just in case: 1G

Dexterity+Stealth+EWC: 10 dice - BUT enemies take a penalty equal to Illy's Mantle (5) when trying to notice her spying. Specifically what I want out of this is to overhear any conversations between wolves or wolf-bros.
[roll0]
10-agains:
[roll1]


[Health 6/6
Glamour 8/10
Willpower 2/3
Clarity 6/6
Beats 0]

[Bennosuke]

The moments the wolves had broken in, Illy was suddenly off, parting from the two other Changelings. With brush in foot, the Wizened graffitied her way through the cemetery, before diving behind a nest of bushes on the far side of a mausoleum.

Then Morgan was off after her, only diving through the mausoleum door.

Could I possibly have a Dex + Subterfuge roll for Morgan’s performance of portaling, and a Wits + Stealth roll for her hiding (assuming she plans on hiding in the mausoleum)

[OracleofSilence]

Michel followed after the other changeling dashing towards the door and sheltering inside the mausoleum. He barely had time to hide, simply positioning himself behind a convenient pillar, mostly trying to stay within easy reach of the door.

Rolling stealth and sticking with Morgan.

Stealth: [roll0]

rerolls if necessary: [roll1]

Edit: 2 succ.

[Bennosuke]

Within less than ten seconds the wolves have fallen upon The Lost. Michael follows Morgan into the mausoleum, but by the time he enters, she is already vanished.

From inside the mausoleum, the two can hear shrieks and moans and snarls.

Illy is at the far side of the cemetery, entrenched behind an outcropping of bushes. From her hideout, she watches as the behemoths of fur and fang tear into a crowd of Fire Elementals foolish enough to stand their ground. Despite a few superficial burns that fill the air with the stench of scorched fur, the Lost are left in a pile of meat, cinder and ashes.

The wolves tear through the cemetery, jumping tombstones and cornering fleeing Changelings. Once a few clear portals are identified, fae begin racing in mobs to flee.

A handful of Changelings charge towards Morgan and Michael’s mausoleum, the last a hunched and hobbled crone who is pulled down by two wolves who give chase. The larger of the two wolves, a sleek white furred monstrosity with one eye takes the woman by neck and wrestles her to the ground, while the second grabs an arm and separates it at the shoulder with a series of loud pops like a smushed piece of bubble wrap. Michael and Morgan can only watch as the woman is eviscerated, still screaming till her own blood chokes and drowns her.

The wolves make quick work of the few remaining Changelings. They become more focused on dragging off the Lost carcasses, than stalking the last remaining prey.

The large white wolf stands up over its meal and lets out a long howl, which becomes echoed by the pack of what can be counted as nine giant wolf people. As the chorus dies down, a smaller wolf on all fours with dark charcoal fur strides up to one eye. In a similar parody of human speech, the pup says, “The information was good. The hunt was successful.”

One eye responds, her voice practically a snarl, “This was hardly a hunt. It was a pathetic slaughter. Such pathetic creatures... and to betray their own kind so easily.”

The pup whimpers in response, before the three drag the Changeling carcass off by the legs. After what seems like an eternity, the wolf pack exits the cemetery, fleeing through the iron gate that now hung open at the front entrance.

Morgan, Michael and Illy were alone.

[Eldest]

Morgan... well, freaks out is a good term for it. She's huddled in a corner, silently crying, terrified that those things will come back. Absent intervention, it takes a good 20 minutes for the shuddering and silent sobbing to calm down.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth Costello watches all of this in a calm, detached manner. The cold has soaked through her and no tears or emotions give away her position. She just calmly notes and memorizes the details of the scene, the number and manner of the wolves, all the small details that could be useful later. This is a threat to her continued well-being and she calculates the best way to deal with it with a heart of ice.

Well, she supposes, I guess it's these peoples' fault for having a party in a cemetery. Call it superstitious but I don't think the Wyrd really appreciates disrespect for the dead.

She stands up carefully and shakes herself off. A few small scratches from the thorns but overall she thinks she's pretty okay. She wanders over to the bodies checking for survivors - a pretty hopeless cause but maybe someone has magic that'd let them survive that, she doesn't know - and eventually her search brings her across Morgan. The dress is lovely, she thinks, but not exactly a camouflage pattern.

Her ice cold mind runs the angles. This was clearly a pretty terrible psychological scar for the journalist - and an opportunity for her to make a friend. After all, the only thing that would make this evening a total waste would be for the one positive human contact she's built up this far to wind up a basket case. Plus she sure as heck doesn't want to have to investigate this by herself.

She kneels down next to Morgan and starts talking. Not really about anything - about brushes and paints, about cool looking clouds she remembers or the funny old man who ran the tourist trap from her summer vacation when she was little. Words flitting and flowing like dreams, making the real unreal. For a moment there's the shining winter crackle of a despair without beginning or end, so deep that it grabs the emotion of terror and drowns it in the bathtub - and then it passes, but it leaves a total disconnect for what happened earlier. When Illyzabeth finishes talking about her poorly remembered memories of The Hobbit and 'that scene with the pinecones' it's left Morgan in a state where nothing she's just seen seems as important. Not that it didn't happen, or that it wasn't terrible... but the jagged edges are filed off. The positive side is clearly visible. Morgan will be able to approach this as a journalist rather than a victim.

[Slipknot Dreams:
Loophole met: Morgan accepted Illy's gift earlier this scene.
Manipulation+Empathy+Mantle: 13 . You can contest it with Composure+Wyrd if you'd like.
[roll0]
[roll1] - 10 Agains.

I'm not going for the memory rewrite but you do take the Swooned condition with regards to Illy. The changeling soothes her target's regrets, though not the memory of their source. The target still knows his marriage failed, but now believes it was for the better.

There's also a scene worth of just general therapy talks - Empathy 5 makes Illy a really good shrink. I don't think I need to roll for that though?]

[Eldest]

Morgan calms slowly, but steadily, like the tide going out. By the end, she's normal, even cheerful. "You still need to watch the movies then. They're good, not fantastic, but good. And the pinecones are in there. It's pretty dramatic, actually." Wiping away tears, she stands up, giving the shorter girl a quick squeeze of a hug, before looking out over the scene of devastation. "How many of us got out, do you think? And... I don't know if you heard the wolves, but somebody let them in. I think we need to find out who. And I think we might need to do that quietly."

[Bennosuke]

(OOC: Moving things along)

It is not till after Illy is done working her magic on Morgan that Michael comes over. He appears to be on slightly shaky legs, and his face appears more gaunt and pale than it had earlier. He waves to Morgan and Illy, and as he comes closer he says, “Hey guys. I, ah...” his voice trails off, apparently at a loss for words.

With the magic street lamps gone, the cemetery is now much darker, making it harder to look out over the field. From what the three can see, all that is left in the cemetery is tattered clothing, blood splatter, and the smell of fear.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth gives Michael a brief look with a very 'who are you?' vibe to it. It's a deeply cold glance, which she quickly and deliberately softens.

"You're right," she says to Morgan. "If we don't find who did this then it'll happen again. You're a journalist, right? You know your way around a crime scene? I don't imagine you packed a forensic kit into your handbag but show me what you've got and I'll be able to make a field lab out of it."

[OracleofSilence]

"I can help." The words are clipped and tense. "It won't be much, but things should go smoother." He rubs his arm absentmindedly, seeming slightly distant. "At least, assuming you'll accept assistance from a stranger." If he notices the implied question's in Illy''s glance, he doesn'the say anything to answer them.

[Eldest]

Morgan ponders for a moment, then rattles off a list of containers, cameras, tape, and other requirements to start looking about. She nods at Micheal, glad to see another survivor. "I'd be happy to have more help, yes."

Guess who passed out asleep with the reply window up!

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth let her gaze roll off Michael. She didn't think he was hiding anything - at least, not about this. She opted to extend him basic trust. Paranoia would be wearying to maintain on that scale.

She begins finding bits and pieces of leftover party stuff - knocked over lights, abandoned glasses and tables, even picking through the pockets of the dead with dainty feet. She had no squeamishness right now and was free to be eminently practical - though she did take the time to make sure she wasn't leaving bloody toeprints everywhere.

[Intelligence+Crafts to jury rig up some investigation gear for Morgan
Tatterdemalion's workshop as usual
[roll0]]

[Bennosuke]

OOC: 4 successes.

Using just her feet, Illy is able to conjure up a number of items. A digital camera, Illy fashioned from the cracked lense of an eyeglass, a roll of tape found in someone’s pocket, and the SIM card from a tossed cellphone.

From some sand and a lock of ripped scalp, Illy creates a fingerprinting kit. The dusting brush still has the woman’s red bow tied into the hairs.

With a roll of cellophane wrap that was left by the overturned buffet table, Illy fashions a series of sample bags.

The entire process takes just under thirty minutes, with Illy painting and working at a furious pace. When all is said and done, she hands (pun intended) Morgan a fully functional CSI kit (rules can be found on page 271 of the Chronicles of Darkness core rulebook. It may be in the CtL 2E papers, but I don’t have all my resources with me atm.)

[Eldest]

Morgan starts to slowly, methodically, catalog the scene, checking for anything she can that might give a clue as to what it was that attacked.

Health: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Clarity: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Touchstone on the third box: Lost Love, Jessica Xui
Willpower: O O O O O
Glamour: 10/11
Beats/Exp: 0
Tilts/Conditions: Swooning for Illy
Aspirations
Get in touch with Jessica again
Find a safe place to live
Realize she's in the wrong court (long term)

[OracleofSilence]

Michel moves to assist, taking care to watch Morgan's methods while attempting to add a new angle to them, rather then simply repeating her efforts.

Rolls in the OOC thread. Quick post is quick. I just want to get myself going again.

[Bennosuke]

Morgan and Michael set off through the cemetery, scouring the field for clues under the clouded night sky. The duo is able to collect fur, saliva, and a long black nail that was embedded int he neck of an unfortunate plant Elemental. There were plenty of track marks, both apparently bipedal and quadrupedal tracks. Interestingly, different tracks were of various sizes, some appropriate for a dog or wolf, and some matching the behemoth sized monsters that had lumbered through the cemetery on too legs. While Morgan would have to run more complicated testing later, it was pretty clear that the collected fur appeared to be a mix of animal fur and human hair, just looking at the roots, even though all strands appeared to be of the same color and from the same creature. Further investigation showed that some wounds were made by blades, not claws. Whole limbs seemed to be severed clean by some sort of hacking weapon. Finally, there was nothing fantastic, or Wyrd about any of the tissue collected; no trace of Glamour or the Hedge.

Michael deferred to Morgan on this, but it was clear to the two that the creatures that had attacked the Solstice party were more akin to a Werewolf, than to a Hedge denizen such as the Briarwolf.

As per the OOC thread, Morgan gets 5 successes for an Exceptional success. She gains the Informed Condition-Werewolves (found on page 68 of part 4).

I will let the characters discuss this briefly before moving things on. Thank you everyone for the patience!!!!
@Thanqol: If there is something you want Illy to have done during Morgan and Michael's investigation, please let me know.

[Thanqol]

"That's very interesting in a very academic way," said Illy upon hearing all that, "but the only thing I'm actually interested in is finding out who opened that gate."

[Eldest]

"No" Morgan counters. "This tells us several things. One, the person who did this is connected in some way with non-fey creatures. Two, the werewolves wanted something, even if it was as simple as "fresh meat." She feels for some reason that she should shudder here, but it's all numb and icy. Shock, she supposes. "Which means, three, the changeling got something out of the deal as well. It's possible their objective was to drive as many of us into the hedge as possible, for recapture." Again, that phantom shudder. "Or perhaps they were simply interested in our deaths, and the escapes were unfortunate to them. But, we have a starting point. Which means more research, but directed research."

[Thanqol]

"No" Morgan counters. "This tells us several things. One, the person who did this is connected in some way with non-fey creatures. Two, the werewolves wanted something, even if it was as simple as "fresh meat." She feels for some reason that she should shudder here, but it's all numb and icy. Shock, she supposes. "Which means, three, the changeling got something out of the deal as well. It's possible their objective was to drive as many of us into the hedge as possible, for recapture." Again, that phantom shudder. "Or perhaps they were simply interested in our deaths, and the escapes were unfortunate to them. But, we have a starting point. Which means more research, but directed research."

All assuming there's not a 100% casualty rate over in the Hedge and we're the only survivors of the whole court thing, thought Illyzabeth.

"Okay," she said. "Research. Let's go and do that." She admitted to herself she had no idea how investigations worked, but going along with Morgan's expertise seemed probably better than never speaking to another person ever again.

[OracleofSilence]

"There is another angle you know." Michel gestures around at the graveyard. "Who decided the ceremony would be here? In a place we couldn't escape? There must have been an organizer, but the locale is a little strange."

[Thanqol]

"There is another angle you know." Michel gestures around at the graveyard. "Who decided the ceremony would be here? In a place we couldn't escape? There must have been an organizer, but the locale is a little strange."

"I think someone mentioned it was here every year," said Illy. "Also: Hi, I'm Illyzabeth, who are you?"

[Eldest]

"Yeah, uh, that's actually a good question. Who the hell are you?" As the shock wears off, Morgan looks at the man who helped her investigate with fresh eyes. "We never got your name."

Health: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Clarity: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Touchstone on the third box: Lost Love, Jessica Xui
Willpower: O O O O O
Glamour: 10/11
Beats/Exp: 0
Tilts/Conditions: Swooning for Illy
Aspirations
Get in touch with Jessica again
Find a safe place to live
Realize she's in the wrong court (long term)

[OracleofSilence]

"Michel. I lost track of the person who uh. convinced me to come. And then you seemed to have a plan so..." He trail's off gesturing around a bit hopelessly. "Sorry. Not really much more to say."

[Eldest]

"Oh... kay..." Well, at least he can't be the one that opened the gate, right? After all, whoever it was would have a way better alibi than that. "So I'm thinking first thing we need to do is hit up anybody you know that knows, well. Anything about werewolves. There's somebody in the Autumn Court I could talk to, if he wasn't here tonight that is. I could try breaking into my old house and going through my notes, but, well. Fetch. So, either of you two got ideas on where to go further with the werewolves?"

[Thanqol]

"Hi Michael," said Illyzabeth. After a moment's hesitation, she added, "sorry if I am being cold right now. I switched off my emotions because otherwise I would be losing my mind. I'm glad you want to help."


"Oh... kay..." Well, at least he can't be the one that opened the gate, right? After all, whoever it was would have a way better alibi than that. "So I'm thinking first thing we need to do is hit up anybody you know that knows, well. Anything about werewolves. There's somebody in the Autumn Court I could talk to, if he wasn't here tonight that is. I could try breaking into my old house and going through my notes, but, well. Fetch. So, either of you two got ideas on where to go further with the werewolves?"

"Sure," said Illyzabeth. "But I think it's important to keep in the front of our minds that the werewolves were the murder weapon, not the criminal. I don't think we can stop them no matter how much we find out about them," she rolled her jaw as she thought. "But so much of this all depends on how many people escaped successfully. If it's just us three as sole survivors that necessitates a very different approach. I think we should go to your Autumn guy first, he might know if anyone else got out, and give us an angle on the politics of this."

[Eldest]

"Okay, so that requires it's own question. I've got the lady I'm saying with right now that I could talk to: she's a relative nobody in the court, but she might have more knowledge than we do about popular figures in the... I guess magical underworld? We probably need to figure out a good term for it. Her name is September Remembers. Or, we could go to Many-Faced Jack: he said he's been around a while, last I asked, so he might know more about both the politics that might lead to everyone being killed and who our most likely suspects are."

[Bennosuke]

Almost on cue, there is a hissing noise, like oil sizzling in a pan, coming from a nearby mausoleum door. The stench of sulfurous rotten eggs follows the noise as reality bends for just a moment, and the three Changelings are blasted with the salty smell of ocean brine, blowing away the smell of sulfur.

Pouring through the door comes none other than Jack O’Lantern, followed by three other familiar looking Changelings. The group looks like they have been dragged through the Hedge by the hair; torn and bruised and scratched and bloody.

At the front of the group, Jack’s face turned into a Demon’s mask of rage, the Autumn King looks out over the cemetery and the scene of carnage. “Is this, is this all that’s left?”, he moans, falling to one knee as his face morphs into that of a grief stricken father. The other three Changelings cry out as well, one burying her face into the breast of her neighbor.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth sat down next to the fallen King. "Summer has died at last. The sun has been murdered and the fire snuffed out," she said softly, "autumn's beauty is now empty desolation. You are no longer king and these are no longer your lands and this is no longer your time. It is a time of desolation and solitude and mourning. You knew this was coming. Your fears are all realized. The darkened season has come as you knew it one day would."

She let the desolation spread; empty-hearted she watched their tears shine. She felt the grief slough off them in waves.

"It is my season now," she said. "You few survivors. You chosen, unhappy few. My new subjects. Weep because the day is dead and things are at their worst and all light and life is ended. Weep until you cannot feel any more. And then straighten up and blow your goddamn noses and do something goddamn useful. Think. Decide. We are not safe, and we will not be for a long time yet. Only our enemies will have time for tears."

[Slipknot Dreams to soothe-consume their grief:
[roll0]
10s:
[roll1]

No loophole, 1G. Success soothes their regrets and gives them the Swooned condition regarding Illy. I'm not looking to rewrite their memories of the scene; Illy was already proactive enough in reality.


[Health 6/6
Glamour 7/10
Willpower 2/3
Clarity 6/6
Beats 0]

[OracleofSilence]

"Yikes." Michel has to stifle a laugh, more a mix between a wretch at the smell of blood and a quiet animal-sound from a very old part of the mind. "Well this is ****ed." He can actually feel parts of his brain trying to shut down the more and more adrenaline an immediate purpose fades. Ignore the king for now. Talk to Morgan. Talk to Illy. Keep focused. "Are we going to try and get this started tonight? I know I won;t be able to sleep anyway, so..."

[Bennosuke]

The Changelings that had just returned from the Hedge look at Illy with deep interest. Jack's face returns to a neutral porcelain theater mask. The woman who had been crying sniffles slightly, and overall the group appears to be placated. Jack rises and takes several steps towards the three new Lost, before giving a deep "bent at the waist" bow. "Thank you for that Illyzabeth. Are you three okay? How did you escape?", he asks. His words come from the black void behind the mask, steady and controlled.

[Thanqol]

The Changelings that had just returned from the Hedge look at Illy with deep interest. Jack's face returns to a neutral porcelain theater mask. The woman who had been crying sniffles slightly, and overall the group appears to be placated. Jack rises and takes several steps towards the three new Lost, before giving a deep "bent at the waist" bow. "Thank you for that Illyzabeth. Are you three okay? How did you escape?", he asks. His words come from the black void behind the mask, steady and controlled.

"Didn't," said Illyzabeth shortly. "Hid. There was obviously a trap waiting for us in the Hedge. What was it? Huntsmen?"

[Eldest]

"Yeah, I opened a portal and then hid in the mausoleum behind it. When I came out..." She waves at the devastation around them, lacking the words to describe it. "Werewolves. It was, well. Werewolves, not fey creatures, that flushed us from the party. What was waiting in the Hedge?"

[Bennosuke]

The Autumn King sighs, "Nothing was waiting," he pauses for a moment before adding, "other than the usual. I don't know if it was a trap like that."

The woman who had been crying, a waif of an Elemental, whose golden hair buzzed with electricity gasps, "Werewolves? But why?"

"Are you sure about this?" Jack asks, his mask turning into sneer. "Werewolves?" He repeats the question as if in disgust.

[OracleofSilence]

"They looked like it at least." Maybe not the time to mention they comments he had over heard."Iron didn't bother them either, so they weren't Arcadian."

[Thanqol]

"Um, excuse me, but this is rapidly going over my head," said Illyzabeth. "I mean, I don't know where you're from, but I'm from a magical fantasy land where spiders talk and castles rebuild themselves instantly, so I'm not really following why everyone is getting all squinty-eyed about werewolves and how they're 'not Arcadian'."

[Eldest]

"There was no Glamour. No taste of lilacs and cotton candy. At least that's how I think of it?" Morgan shakes her head. "But yes, I'm fairly sure it was werewolves." She quickly gives a rundown of the evidence she'd seen, keeping as clinical as she can about the massacre.

[Bennosuke]

Jack O’Lantern sighs deeply, combing dark brown hair back from his mask. “They exist,” he says in a voice so weary, “and they aren’t Arcadian. The werewolves are from somewhere else, and they do exist. But there would be no reason for them to bother us; they never had before.” He says no more, a humanoid face disappearing quickly to porcelain mask of muted concern.

[Thanqol]

No one was really answering her question. Was it that dumb a question? Illy frowned. 'Someplace else'? So there were... parallel dimensions that weren't faerieland? Why? How did they work? What was the difference between those two otherworlds? Were the werewolves like them, taken and changed? A land cursed by silver instead of iron? How many more places were there?

She looked around. Was this something that people just knew? Something they learned in school? She'd never been - was she coming across as a total rube by not following their casual and confident discussion of monsters empowered by the wrong magical otherworld?

She bit her lip and wallflowered, watching the others talk, hoping she could pick something up by watching.

[OracleofSilence]

"Ummm. Alright." Great. You read a few books lying around in the freehold, and talk to a few Autumn types and everyone starts pretending this stuff just makes sense to you. "Sir? Jack? Mr. O'Lantern? Is there something we're expected to do in this sort of situation?" That was certainly better then yelling or flipping his ****. "And if it's not to much trouble, that didn't really mean to much to me. 'From somewhere else?' I'm guessing you don't mean Tacoma..."

[Bennosuke]

The now retired Autumn King shakes his head and says, "I don't really know where they are from, but they are not from Arcadia. I know little about them. There was a Summer Courtier once who spent some time with them, but she's long gone. She used to call them Uratha, and said they had the ability to commune with Spirits, but that's really all I know."

[Thanqol]

The now retired Autumn King shakes his head and says, "I don't really know where they are from, but they are not from Arcadia. I know little about them. There was a Summer Courtier once who spent some time with them, but she's long gone. She used to call them Uratha, and said they had the ability to commune with Spirits, but that's really all I know."

Illyzabeth swallowed her uncertainty; this seemed really important.

"What's a spirit?" she asked.

[Bennosuke]

Jack shrugs, raising his hands up in a full gesture of ignorance and says, “I honestly don’t know. It’s just what she said. But I don’t know.”

[Thanqol]

Jack shrugs, raising his hands up in a full gesture of ignorance and says, “I honestly don’t know. It’s just what she said. But I don’t know.”

"Isn't Autumn the court of occult knowledge?" said Illyzabeth. "Why don't you go... find out? I'm putting you in charge of this. Figure it out."

[Bennosuke]

“Putting me in charge?” Jack O’Lantern laughs ruefully, his mask turning to that of a cackling lizard monster, “last I checked, it’s not even midnight, and you won’t necessarily be crowned.” He turns and addresses the other Changelings. “I think the more pressing issue is how they found out about this meeting, and how the Hell they broke in. It stands to reason that one of our own betrayed us, and I am far more worried about who that was, and why!” Jacks’ words turn to growls as he finishes.

[Bennosuke]

The Autumn King stands upright, his porcelain mask morphing into the human face of regal man with golden crown holding auburn curls over piercing blue eyes. "I assume the three of you are aware of the gravity of our situation now. Our Freehold has been cracked by a traitor within our own ranks." The King's voice booms with a depth that seems to reverberate from the trees and gravestones. "We must find this rat, gather our ranks and protect against any possible eminent threat from the Gentry; Lord knows they will look to take advantage of this, if they are not involved in some way."

He spreads both hands out two the three newly returned Changelings, "I would request your help in this matter. Swear an Oath with me, that you three shall work together to identify the person, Changeling or otherwise, who betrayed our Freehold's location and allowed for the attack on our people that occurred tonight. If you do so, I will put all of my Court's power at your disposal, and will find a way to reward you three for your actions."

Rather hamfisted, I know. If the three agree, by repeating the terms that Jack spoke. If they do so, they will gain the benefit of the Societal Oath, see page 196 of Book 2, for the remainder of the game when they work towards solving the above mystery.

[Thanqol]

The Autumn King stands upright, his porcelain mask morphing into the human face of regal man with golden crown holding auburn curls over piercing blue eyes. "I assume the three of you are aware of the gravity of our situation now. Our Freehold has been cracked by a traitor within our own ranks." The King's voice booms with a depth that seems to reverberate from the trees and gravestones. "We must find this rat, gather our ranks and protect against any possible eminent threat from the Gentry; Lord knows they will look to take advantage of this, if they are not involved in some way."

He spreads both hands out two the three newly returned Changelings, "I would request your help in this matter. Swear an Oath with me, that you three shall work together to identify the person, Changeling or otherwise, who betrayed our Freehold's location and allowed for the attack on our people that occurred tonight. If you do so, I will put all of my Court's power at your disposal, and will find a way to reward you three for your actions."

Rather hamfisted, I know. If the three agree, by repeating the terms that Jack spoke. If they do so, they will gain the benefit of the Societal Oath, see page 196 of Book 2, for the remainder of the game when they work towards solving the above mystery.

"I'll happily swear to something I was intending to do anyway," said Illyzabeth.

[Bennosuke]

The three Changelings take the Autumn King’s oath, embuing their words with the power of the Wyrd. The air becomes charged with a hair raising static and the smell of ozone as they speak. Jack O’Lanter keeps his arms raised over the three, as they speak. Once they are finished, he pats each individually on the shoulders, one than the other, as if knighting each one. The three injured Changelings who had traveled with Many Faces, watch on solemnly, respectful of the ritual.

“Very good,” Jack says when the Oath is complete, “I am much appreciative of your help. I suppose now all you three need is a lead.”

I have a specific lead to start you guys off, or a few leads to be honest. But again I don’t want to railroad the story, so I want to give you all a chance to make up your own mind if there is a path you want to take in your investigation.

[OracleofSilence]

"And I suppose this is where..." Michel stops halfway through a stress driven quip and turns to the injured changelings. "Umm. If you want, I can help. With your injuries i mean." Not the rest probably, but it was something.

[Bennosuke]

The skinny Changeling with lightning charged hair limps towards Michael. She winces as her face flushes and says, “Would you take a look at my ankle?” She stumbles, practically falling into Michael’s arms, her skin prickling his, raising all his small hairs into goose flesh. Staring up at Michael are two swirling purple eyes, weak with exhaustion.

[Thanqol]

"Well, a lead, or Inquisitorial torture dungeons," said Illy. "Did you have something up your sleeve or will I have to start excavating?"

[OracleofSilence]

Umm. "Just sit down. If it's not to serious I shouldn't need to examine anything." He suits action to words, attempting to lower her into a sitting position. "Not really a doctor, but..." He humms softly and exhales forcing a bit Spring out agains the encroaching chill of an early winter night.

No roll. Spending 1 glamour. Instantly heals all fatigue, bashing wounds, and Tilts or conditions related to illness or fatigue.

Using Gift of Warm Breath, just to clarify.

"Anything more then that, I can't really help. Hope it's something."

Oh god, was that a request for dungeons? "No torture please Miss maybe-going-to-be-queen-soon."

[Bennosuke]

The lightning Elemental thanks Michael, blushing a little, forcing a shock of electricity through her blonde hair. She pulls on Michael’s arm to stand up, and says, “Well, if you need a place to start, I suppose you could always ask the wolves who attacked us.” She allows the shocked pause to follow, her face turning even more crimson, till a bolt of lightning licks out from her hair and stings Michael on the nose. “I mean, not ask, but steal the information from them; like from their dreams... I just assume they would be easier to track down.” She points to the ground where the soft soil is littered with giant paw prints.

[Thanqol]

Oh god, was that a request for dungeons? "No torture please Miss maybe-going-to-be-queen-soon."

Illy didn't smile in a very amused way. "What's a little torture between friends?" she asked. "Although I must confine myself primarily to the psychological formats these days,"


“I mean, not ask, but steal the information from them; like from their dreams... I just assume they would be easier to track down.”

"I've heard we can do that, but I haven't really, well... done that before," Illyzabeth said. "What do I need to know about it? If you die in dreams do you die in real life?"

[Bennosuke]

The Elemental turns to Illy and smiles shyly.
“The feat is called Oneiromancy or Dreamweaving, we can all do it, just like entering the Hedge. No, you don’t die, though injuries in a Dream can leave you feeling pretty burnt out, and I’ve even seen Changelings lose their sanity because of it”. She speaks confidently about the subject. She looks to Jack in deference and says, “If you want, my Leige, I can lead them through the Dream Roads and assuming we can find one of the Wolve’s Bastions, help them gather the information we need”.

She looks at the three fresh Lost, looking to see if they were interested in her help. “I happen to be well trained in Dreamweaving”, she says.

[Eldest]

"Then I think you've been deputized, assuming nobody objects."

[Thanqol]

"Better than doing it myself and running into that scissors nightmare again," said Illy. "Welcome aboard, Ms ...?"

[Bennosuke]

The blond fae smiles, her cheeks warming and her hair seeming to rise with the buzz of static charge. “My name is Robin”, she says, giving a puckish curtsy.

The King of Fall speaks up on her behalf, stating, “Robin is relatively fresh from the Hedge, but she is one of my Court’s best Oneiopomps.”

Robin’s cheeks turn an even darker scarlet, and she curtsies now to her King, “Thank you my Lord.” She turns back to the others, and addressing Illy, says, “The act is like lucid dreaming. We all dream, the trick is fully recognizing that what you are watching is a dream. From there, we will have to travel and find the dream we are looking for. If you allow me to,” and with this she bats her eyes for a moment at Michael, “I can help guide you into the dream, but it works best if we fall asleep touching. Once we are all successfully on the Dream Road, and find the Bastion... I mean dream, that we are looking for we break in. I’ll take care of that. Once inside the Wolves dream is where the danger really begins. We will have to pretend to be part fo the dream, but as characters of the dream, we should be able to manipulate whatever information we need from the dreamer. It’s not easy, but it’s not as complicated as it seems.”

[Bennosuke]

The group agrees, at Robin’s instructions, to meet at her apartment that night. It was decided that the group would try to infiltrate the pack Alpha’s dreams, the big white wolf they had all seen earlier. Robin explains that they will all need to sleep while touching her, so that she can bring them through her dream into the Dream Roads, whatever that means.

Just before the group leaves, The Autumn King speaks up one last time, his mask transforming into a boyish face with rosy cheeks and blue eyes full of concern. “Illy,” he says while stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. His hand is gloved in black leather, which is cold and firm against her skin. The boy’s face frowns, and he says, “I’m sorry you weren’t crowned”. Before Illy can ask for an explanation, he says, “It’s after midnight, if it was going to be you, we would know by now.”

[Thanqol]

The group agrees, at Robin’s instructions, to meet at her apartment that night. It was decided that the group would try to infiltrate the pack Alpha’s dreams, the big white wolf they had all seen earlier. Robin explains that they will all need to sleep while touching her, so that she can bring them through her dream into the Dream Roads, whatever that means.

Just before the group leaves, The Autumn King speaks up one last time, his mask transforming into a boyish face with rosy cheeks and blue eyes full of concern. “Illy,” he says while stepping forward and placing a hand on her shoulder. His hand is gloved in black leather, which is cold and firm against her skin. The boy’s face frowns, and he says, “I’m sorry you weren’t crowned”. Before Illy can ask for an explanation, he says, “It’s after midnight, if it was going to be you, we would know by now.”

Illy didn't smile, but not for lack of trying. "Oh thank goodness," she said. "Could you imagine what a disaster that would have been?"

She couldn't. She didn't even have the context to know what would have been required.

[Bennosuke]

The Autumn King nods his head and smiles, but says nothing more. Robin orders an Uber and leads Illy, Morgan and Michael back to her apartment.

Robin's studio is cramped and fairly unlived in. A double sized mattress lays on the floor, covered in a dirty fitted sheet and a single cotton blanket. Though the mattress is in one corner, it takes up the majority of the space. A handful of rummaged through boxes fill up nearly all of the rest of the ground space. There is a small nook where a single stove and a tiny refrigerator hide around a sink overflowing with dirty dishes. There is no trashcan, but two nearly stuffed garbage bags near the entrance.

Robin looks apologetically at the others as they enter. "I'm sorry this is not much, but it's all I have right now. I guess I'm kinda between places, and haven't gotten around to really unpacking".

Once everyone is inside, Robin removes a handful of half empty pill bottles, and throws a couple of each into a mortar and pestal and begins grinding away at them till she has created a dark blue powder. While she works, she says, "This is to help everyone sleep. We all have to pretty much fall asleep at the same time. I will try to drag each of you into my dream. Once we are all in my dream, we can escape and try to find the wolf's Bastion... or dream space. It would be really helpful if we had any information about the baddy we are going after. You guys said you had done some investigation around the cemetery?"

[Thanqol]

The Autumn King nods his head and smiles, but says nothing more. Robin orders an Uber and leads Illy, Morgan and Michael back to her apartment.

Robin's studio is cramped and fairly unlived in. A double sized mattress lays on the floor, covered in a dirty fitted sheet and a single cotton blanket. Though the mattress is in one corner, it takes up the majority of the space. A handful of rummaged through boxes fill up nearly all of the rest of the ground space. There is a small nook where a single stove and a tiny refrigerator hide around a sink overflowing with dirty dishes. There is no trashcan, but two nearly stuffed garbage bags near the entrance.

Robin looks apologetically at the others as they enter. "I'm sorry this is not much, but it's all I have right now. I guess I'm kinda between places, and haven't gotten around to really unpacking".

Illyzabeth is categorically incapable of letting this go. Muttering under her breath she starts aggressively picking up discarded clothes, hopping up onto the counter so she can wash dishes with her feet, starting the washing machine, and hinting with increasing volume that "This will go much faster if you all get out of my way. Go take a walk."

And it will go faster if they get the hell outside! In fact, in the time it takes people to walk around the block, Illy can somehow get this place looking like something out of an Ikea catalogue. It's unlikely she can be budged before she finishes but you're welcome to try.

[The Brownie's Boon merit makes Illy a superhero at doing mundane chores, but only if no one's watching]


Once everyone is inside, Robin removes a handful of half empty pill bottles, and throws a couple of each into a mortar and pestal and begins grinding away at them till she has created a dark blue powder. While she works, she says, "This is to help everyone sleep. We all have to pretty much fall asleep at the same time. I will try to drag each of you into my dream. Once we are all in my dream, we can escape and try to find the wolf's Bastion... or dream space. It would be really helpful if we had any information about the baddy we are going after. You guys said you had done some investigation around the cemetery?"

Illy hadn't, really, so she'd look to the other two at this point.

[OracleofSilence]

"A walk might not be a bad idea." Michel doesn't leave yet, but he does shift slightly towards the door. "Besides, I hardly know either of you, and since it looks like we'll be working together..."

[Eldest]

Morgan nods. "How about a walk where we, well, get to know each other somewhat? Let her work in peace." Morgan makes a couple of quick eye-points towards the door, not-so-subtly dragging Robin outside when she can. "So... what sort of place do you want to have? I mean, I doubt that's it, it's a bit small..." Chattering away, she goes around the block twice, determined to both let Illy clear her nerves by cleaning and killing her own by doing the most mundane thing she can think of. About halfway through the second round, she goes over what she found out from the werewolves in very clinical detatched terms. "Hacking weapons, that were very sharp, almost surgically so. And they appear to be a mix of animal and human."

Going back to that original post, I think I'm going to save the Informed condition for the dreamscape. So going off the information from the first go around, they're werewolves. No personal details were given, sadly.

[Bennosuke]

Robin resists Michael and Morgan initially, seeming to be uncomfortable leaving Illy alone in her apartment, but is clearly outnumbered. Following the rules of social contracts, she follows the two out to the streetlamp lit night below.


"So... what sort of place do you want to have? I mean, I doubt that's it, it's a bit small..."

Robin shrugs and apologies again. "As I said before," her voice perhaps a little distant in thought, "I'm kinda between places. Just left my last apartment with my Ex... things weren't so great with him, if you know what I mean." There is a moment where it appears Robin may be fighting off tears, but she seems to recover gracefully enough.

Later on, in discussion of the werewolves, Robin asks, "Do you think we have the information, maybe hair or saliva, for just one wolf monster who we can try to track down. Things will be a lot easier on the other side if we have a clear target in mind."

************************************************** *********

Inside, Illy is plugging away with the cleaning. The focused activity allows her to distract herself from all that occurred earlier in the night. While throwing away dirty paper plates and Illy stumbles across an article of clothing that does not seem to fit; a man's cut tank top. The shirt is white, except for some darkening and smelly stains over the chest and armpit area. It is, what would commonly be referred to as a "wife beater". The shirt smells like stale spilled beer, and man-sweat.

[Thanqol]

************************************************** *********

Inside, Illy is plugging away with the cleaning. The focused activity allows her to distract herself from all that occurred earlier in the night. While throwing away dirty paper plates and Illy stumbles across an article of clothing that does not seem to fit; a man's cut tank top. The shirt is white, except for some darkening and smelly stains over the chest and armpit area. It is, what would commonly be referred to as a "wife beater". The shirt smells like stale spilled beer, and man-sweat.

Illyzabeth only dimly gets the associations and meanings of this, and also doesn't care because it's not her business. It goes into the wash with everything else.

[Eldest]

Morgan puts her arm around the other woman's shoulder and sucks in a hissing breath as she brings up her ex. "I'm sorry. Sometimes it's better to move on when a relationship sours, but it takes guts, determination, and courage. I'm glad to see you managed it."

Trying to roll empathy to make her feel better about her choice. [roll0]

And for ten agains. [roll1]

Failed this roll, but did it again in the other thread, so 2 successes.

[Bennosuke]

Robin allows herself to be embraced by Morgan. A sudden electric tingle runs through Morgan's arm as she makes contact with the Elemental, causing the little hairs of her skin to rise. "Thank you", Robin says into Morgan's shoulder, "I appreciate your kindness. It's never easy, you know?"

The trio make another lap around the block before returning to the apartment, which has been transformed as if out of a fairy tale. The wooden floors are not only free of garbage and clothing, but now practically sparkle and shine. Once inside, Robin says to Illy, "Um, thank you for that. That was very sweet of you". She smiles at Illy, though there is still a shine of sadness in her eyes. Robin moves to the small stone bowl filled with ground pills, and says, "So, shall we begin?" The contents of the bowl is a dark blue powder that smells slightly sour to anyone close enough to get a whiff.

[Eldest]

Morgan takes a pinch of the powder and holds it in her hand as she waits for the others to get ready.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth had never really had the 'don't do drugs' talk; she had the Faerie parallel of 'anything you eat, drink or smoke has a pretty decent chance on sending you on a magical nightmare adventure, so be careful'. Pity that no one had a charm for putting people to sleep, but what could you do?

She couldn't exactly pick up any powder, though, and it was probably a bit extreme to just shove her face in there, so she looked at Robin and waited to be served.

[Bennosuke]

Robin picks up some of the power and sprinkles it into a small porcelain dish, offering to tip it into Illy’s mouth.

“This will dissolve under your tongue”, Robin says to the group.

Everyone helps themselves to the blue powder. The drugs are bitter, and sour, and smell like chalk soaked in sulfur. It is hard not to gag, or cough up the ground medication. Within less than a minute, the characters can feel themselves becoming heavy, and slowly sinking out of this reality. The last thing each character sees is Robin staring down at them with observant and questioning eyes.

Waking up, you find yourselves in an apartment. But this apartment is much bigger, and better furnished. The three are laying on a big bed, framed in brass bars. The sheets are... soaking, and they are soaking into your clothes.

There is the sound of dripping water somewhere, water dripping into water, like a puddle. As you sit up, you can see that the apartment is flooding. There is about a foot of water at the foot of the bed... but the water is dripping up, and up, and up, and splashing into puddles on the ceiling.

By the bed is a nightstand, with a large framed photo. In the photo, Robin stands with her arms around a tall figure, but the man’s image is completely blurred out by water spots.

And now, sitting with her knees hugged to her chest is Robin, sitting in a deep puddle in the dark grey bedsheets.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth didn't have time for more sadness. If she was bloody well standing up and being a functional member of society, Robin was going to be too.

"I just cleaned this place!" Illyzabeth said aloud. She immediately began stomping around, taping mop heads to her feet, and cattily ranting all the while. The talking was important; her words were the rhythm and the rhythm was the cure. She grumbled at the cold, the wet, complained loudly about the disobedient gravity, and just generally whined. Her coldness and frustration radiated from her, freezing the water into patterns of ice, which Illyzabeth then carved into elaborate glittering murals.

By the time she was done the room would be a glittering ice cathedral.

[Slipknot Dreams: [roll0]
10s: [roll1]

Loophole met because Robyn accepted Illyzabeth's gift of a clean apartment. As usual, Swooned condition on success unless she can somehow contest it.

Health 6/6
Glamour 7/10
Willpower 2/3
Clarity 6/6
Beats 0]

[OracleofSilence]

Michel stands, shaking his head somewhat to clear his thoughts. He hadn't ever spent too much time inside his own dreams, and the feeling was still somewhat unfamiliar. The setting was a bit disquieting, not helped much by Illy's muttering, but he focuses, taking in details as he does so. "I assume you want to move on quickly?" This didn't seem like a place that Robin would want strangers to stay in for too long. He certainly wouldn't.

The the small utterance was only a front though. A slight distracting from the smooth practices folding motions his hands were making. This dream didn't look terribly healthy, and more importantly, it looked unhealthy in ways that could be somewhat dangerous later on.

Rolling for Tumult, directed at Robin

Presence+Empathy+Wyrd-Resolve: [roll0] subtract off the back for Robins resolve I guess.

rerolls if necessary [roll1]

Power: 4
Finesse: 3
Resistance: 1
Glamour: 8/10
Willpower: 3/3
Health: 7/7
Clarity: 4/4

[Eldest]

Morgan, on the other hand, focuses in on comforting her directly, sitting with Robin and wrapping an arm around her back, softly stroking.

[Bennosuke]

Illy begins her attempt at cleaning up the Dreamscape (OOC: Please note as per the last IC post, this is a very different looking apartment), but the attempt turns out to be a literal Sisyphean feat. For every puddle Illy begins to mop, another one appears. For every pile of garbage she picks up, another one seems to appear the moment she turns around.

Michael instead activates his contract of Dream, Tumult, hoping to glean information from Robin. Pulling a leaf from behind his back (had it always been there?), and writing in his own blood (why is his finger suddenly bleeding?), he inscribes Robin's name and begins folding the leaf into the shape of a bird. The moment he is finished, the little green origami opens its mouth and whispers, "She is guilty" in words that only he can hear. (OOC: This seems more like an attack on Robin. With one success, Michael can induce a condition on Robin from the following: Disoriented, Guilty, Lost, Paranoid, Obsession, Spooked, Stoic, or Withdrawn).

Morgan instead helps Robin to her feet, and begins comforting her.

Shaking out of her fugue, Robin looks around the room and takes a deep breath in and out. Her face steels into a mask of determination, and she says, "I'm sorry you guys had to see this." Robin turns specifically to Robin and says, "Really, you don't have to do that. It's not worth the energy here." Robin looks to the door, the exit to the apartment, a door that has somehow shrunk till it is only about knee high and says, "First we have to find a way out of here, then we navigate the Dreamscape till we find our target."

[OracleofSilence]

"No. I'm sorry you had to expose yourself like this to strangers." His voice is barely even a whisper, audible only to Robin by the strange logic of Contracts and Glamour. Many things are left unspoken. That it was brave. That she hadn't needed too, but did anyway.

He nods in response to her own statement, raising his voice back to a normal volume. "Lets move on for now. However that will work." He lets the small leaf-bird drop to the floor, watching out of the corner of his eye where the unnatural currents of the flood take it. Perhaps that would lead them to a way out...

Michel actually has more extended options since he gets access to the Fairest additional effects. He will specifically apply Inspired from that list. (When Robin takes an action pertaining to that inspiration, she may resolve this Condition. An exceptional success on that roll requires only three successes instead of five, and she gains a point of Willpower. Probably can only be spent on rolls that help resolve her Guilty condition)

[Bennosuke]

A certain twinkle returns to Robin's eyes at Michael's kind words. Again, the Elemental blushes till it looks like her head may pop, and her long blonde locks begin to rise with static charge. "Thanks," she says sheepishly, "so now we have to figure out how to get through that door." She sloshes over to the the small exit, made of a dark chestnut wood that appears to have been well polished.

Michael watches with curiosity as the little leaf bird flutters to the floor, its tiny pointed wings flapping till it lands sideways in a puddle. At first the origami animal just bobs up and down in the ankle high water, but then a current seems to pull it across the room, and to a wall, where it begins to be pulled up the wall and to the ceiling. Michael can hear the alarmed chirps from the leaf bird as it begins floating upside above his head.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth, of all people, knows Sisyphean tasks. The majority of her life has been spent trying to solve the unsolveable, bringing her mind and will and body to bear against tasks that are literally impossible, against castle walls that twist and alter to betray and undermine her work even as she does it.

And she has won against just such a task. It took her years of relentless effort, but she had won.

And now she had another impossible task. Her mind didn't register it as impossible. It was just hard. And if she worked hard with just the right magic...

[I believe this situation bears a close enough resemblance to Illy's time in Arcadia to force a Clarity roll, if you'd like to assess the dice pool]

[OracleofSilence]

"Robin, have you had this dream before? If so, how does it normally go?" Probably would be pointless, but any type of lead would be something

[Bennosuke]

Robin shrugs in the universal sign of uncertainty. “I haven’t exactly had this dream,” she says looking down at the water up to her ankles, “but I think I know where we are.” She looks down at the door, and turns the bronze handle, but is unsuccessful in passing the lock. “This is my boyfriend’s apartment, and is it just me or is the water rising?”, she asks. Sure enough, it does seem like the various puddles and lakes have now joined to create a swampy layer of water that spreads across the entire apartment floor.

[OracleofSilence]

"I assume just forcing the door is out of the question?" Michel shrugged a bit hopelessly. "I dunno. Nothing really screams 'this way out', aside from the door. And I assume we need to make that bigger somehow." His own experiences weren't that helpful. Whenever he had dreams like this, there was no way out. That was the point.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth didn't bother to answer; she was lost in the cycle of work. As she began to refine and perfect the cleaning cycle her mind was pondering strategies; cunning plans to transmute the workload. Unfortunately it all rendered her fairly unhelpful when it came to solving other peoples' problems.

[OracleofSilence]

Hmm. Michel moves over to the nightstand, picking up the photo and examining it closely. Probably a cliche, but maybe important. Or just visual scenery. Hard to tell. iF it was important though...

Rolling Finesse+Investigate (dream stats? right?) to invoke a subtle shift to determine the importance of an eidolon.

Finesse+Investigate: [roll0] 9 again from Professional Training

so i take a penalty equal to Robins Composure I believe. subtract it off the back I guess.

[Bennosuke]

As Michael stares at the photograph, he catches a hint of cinnamon, and cardamom. The smudged area of the photo seems to glimmer with an enchanted light, the same light that seems to glow around the unmasked Robin.

From a simple standpoint, Michael gets one success, and learns that Robin’s Ex-Boyfriend is/was a Changeling. A few quick notes, the photo is a “prop”, not an Eidilon. An Eidilon is essentially an NPC created by the Dream. I used the only roll you made for this.

Robin turns to Michael and answers his question, “I’ve haven’t exactly had this dream before, but that door has to be the way out. I suppose we could try to bust it open by force, but if we can avoid it we should.”

[Eldest]

Morgan starts to search through the room. She goes over the walls in detail, tapping on the floor, the wallpapered walls. Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-thunk. She blinks in surprise and puts one hand to her mouth before tapping near that spot experimentally, finding where the hollow behind the wall is, before seizing on a hidden latch. "There's more than one door, it appears."


Hidden Reality, using the catch to satisfy it. Found a hidden door out.

[Bennosuke]

The door seems to open with a burst of thunder, blowing hot air that lashes across Morgan’s face and blows her hair back. In an instant the apartment begins to heat, like the thermostat just kicked into overdrive, and the puddles of water on the floor and ceiling being to steam.

Robin looks around anxiously and says, “We should get out of here, like now!” She ushers the group through the door, which appears to be nothing more than a maw of blackness.

The group steps out into what can only be lamely described as “another dimension”. Much like portaling, or stepping into a Hallow, the effect of stepping from one reality to the next is rather jarring, and jaw dropping.

The door has opened onto a stone walkway, made of a polished stone somewhat similar to marble, but hued in dark blues and purples. Yellow and and white veins course and pulse through these massive stone tablets, boarded on either side by an ebbing and flowing sea of stars. The watery sky-substance, crashes and then pulls away from the stone walkway, like waves on a beach, spraying scents of peppermint and cinnamon. These blend with the spicy smell of Glamour that floats heavily in this space.

The sky above mirrors the night-ocean, an ebbing and shifting starscape with moons of various phases jetting slowly, like commercial airliners.

As the group begins their journey down the Dreaming Road, a family of small red birds flits by, chirping. Their tails are long and forked, and they hum the most beautiful music, that is forgotten as soon as they are gone. If one looks closely at the night-ocean, small orange carp with long whiskers and eight eyes flit and splash at the water’s surface. Their big red mouths flap open and closed, before they splash back down under the water. It is hard to tell how deep the waters are, though it seems possible that one could likely wade through these waters, and in the distance, other Dreaming Roads can be seen.

“This is where things get tricky”, Robin says, “We will need to navigate our way to to the Werewolve’s Bastion”.

But before she can continue, Robin is interrupted by the sound of clacking metal, like someone dragging a string of tin cans down the road. Something wicked and childlike cackles, and coming over the horizon, appears a toad like Goblin with a yellow cap, and a mortal’s camping pack that has been stuffed full of various bobbles and trinkets. He catches sight of the group of Changelings, yellow eyes bugging out wide, and a flashes a grin filled with rotting needle like teeth. “Weeeell heeeeellooow there”, he calls, his voice contorting around the English words in a most unnatural way. He continues to grin, but one hand reaches back into his pack and removes what appears to be a child’s plastic wiffle-ball bat.

[Thanqol]

Illyzabeth's mind feels like an open wound - she's been dragged from a task incomplete and all her instincts rebel at it. Her emotions pulse and settle into a long slow despair that crystalizes into a familiar focus. Larger task. Immediate problems. Mourning is death and luxury in one.

Her mind snapped onto the goblin and the coldness she felt shifted. She liked goblins. They were so wonderfully uncomplicated - perfect in their own ways. She stepped forwards and crouched down to the goblin's level. "Hello yourself," she said. "Are you here to rob us?"

[Reminder that Hob Kin means I get on very well with goblins]

[Bennosuke]

The creature grins, feathery lips spreading up into a crescent moon that dribbles clear saliva. His bat-like ears twitch gleefully, and it lets out a hearty chortle. "I'mmm jussst ssssearchin' for meeeee treasssuresssss." His hand eases away from the handle of the bat, "I don't want noooooo troublesssss." He chortles again, and takes another waddling step forward, creating a cacophony of cans and pots as he does so. "Say," he says turning his head to the side, one eye cocked like a lizard, "you haven't sssseeeeen any treasssuressss around theeeessseee here roadssss, have you?" The goblin grins again, rubbing his hands together greedily.

[Thanqol]

The creature grins, feathery lips spreading up into a crescent moon that dribbles clear saliva. His bat-like ears twitch gleefully, and it lets out a hearty chortle. "I'mmm jussst ssssearchin' for meeeee treasssuresssss." His hand eases away from the handle of the bat, "I don't want noooooo troublesssss." He chortles again, and takes another waddling step forward, creating a cacophony of cans and pots as he does so. "Say," he says turning his head to the side, one eye cocked like a lizard, "you haven't sssseeeeen any treasssuressss around theeeessseee here roadssss, have you?" The goblin grins again, rubbing his hands together greedily.

"I haven't seen any treasures," said Illyzabeth, "but I am a painter - so if it's treasures you're after I could surely make you something. Wouldn't cost you anything more than a little guiding either."

[OracleofSilence]

Michel fingers the handful of sand still in his pocket. The goblin was making him a bit nervous, even if it didn't really seem hostile right now. Would any payment in dreams even be 'real'? Probably real enough to matter.

"Not sure making a deal with a goblins is really a step up from just trying to find the way ourselves."

[Thanqol]

Michel fingers the handful of sand still in his pocket. The goblin was making him a bit nervous, even if it didn't really seem hostile right now. Would any payment in dreams even be 'real'? Probably real enough to matter.

"Not sure making a deal with a goblins is really a step up from just trying to find the way ourselves."

"Are you saying you don't trust him?" said Illy, "How can you not trust him! Look at his adorable face!"

[Bennosuke]

The Hobgoblin chuckles at Illy’s comments; a throaty laugh like a drain clogged with hair. “Thatssss very sssssweet of youuuu missss,” he says, “I’m not surrrreee youuu need to. Paint meee anything. I’m loooking for dreeeeeeeaaam treassssures. You knowwwwww, anythiiing that faaaaalllls out of dreaaams.”

Robin grins and says to the Hobgoblin, “Thank you...”

“Snailsknot”, the Hobgoblin replies proudly.

“Mr. Snailsknot,” responds Robin, “we haven’t seen any treasures. But if we find anything, we will let you know”.

“Thank youuuuu”, the Hobgoblin replies. He looks back to Illy greedily and says, “Soooooo, you werrrrree going to paint me sssssomething?”

[Thanqol]

The Hobgoblin chuckles at Illy’s comments; a throaty laugh like a drain clogged with hair. “Thatssss very sssssweet of youuuu missss,” he says, “I’m not surrrreee youuu need to. Paint meee anything. I’m loooking for dreeeeeeeaaam treassssures. You knowwwwww, anythiiing that faaaaalllls out of dreaaams.”

Robin grins and says to the Hobgoblin, “Thank you...”

“Snailsknot”, the Hobgoblin replies proudly.

“Mr. Snailsknot,” responds Robin, “we haven’t seen any treasures. But if we find anything, we will let you know”.

“Thank youuuuu”, the Hobgoblin replies. He looks back to Illy greedily and says, “Soooooo, you werrrrree going to paint me sssssomething?”

"I'll make you a sketch now, and I'll colour it in after you show us to the dreams of the werewolves," said Illyzabeth. "Sound fair? What do you want painted?"

[Bennosuke]

The toad thing raises a slimy green hand to his chin, stroking a beard that is not there. "Hmmmmm", he says, concentrating terribly hard on his decision, "make meeee a finnnnnnneeee mirrorrrrrrr of sssssilver". He grins at Illy, again showing saliva that dribbles between teeth so rotten that tufts of green mold are literally growing on them.