Trog's Tavern CLIII

[Rebonack]

"Probably was the whole time. Might have been retconjuration involved getting cosmologies to line up. Settings really get refined quite a bit over the course of ten years, you know?" Maphtey replies with a sagely nod. "I've always been the random encounter guy, though, and that hasn't changed. Apparently Zee thinks the tavern patrons don't appreciate the refined entertainment I provide to this establishment."

He gives a little derisive sniff, suddenly putting on an air of having been deeply offended.

"SPIDERS!? I'm aghast that you would even suggest such a thing!" Maphtey gasps, pushing a giftwrapped box full of spiders (with a little tag attached which reads: For Raril) further out of view with his tail. "As if I would ever engage in such a puerile and juvenile and mean spirited prank toward one of my old friends!"

You ought to be ashamed, Raril.

Maphtey would never do something like that.

"Besides, she knocked herself out. I just shifted the context a little," Maphtey says with a Cheshire grin. "Is it honestly so hard to imagine that I'm just here to be friendly?"

He gives a long, exagerated sigh.

"Ooooh everyone used to like me, too. Everyone trusted me. They thought I was precious and adorable and great. Getting sidelined isn't befitting for someone like me."

[Artemis97]

Raril furrows his brow. "I used to hear rumors that you tried to destroy the Nexus, back when it was Town, maybe even before. Before my time anyway. And then there was that world, with all the people and no free will? You thought that was good, if I recall correctly. You run a good game with the Random Encounters. Heck I've always enjoyed them, but forgive me if I don't exactly trust you, Maphtey"

[bc56]

Ezra studies the card, nodding approvingly. "NERD, eh? Tell me about y'all." He inquires, very much interested. While he's not fixing to join any groups at the moment, it might be worth looking into this group for possible future work opportunities.

"We do superheroics throughout Inside, mainly. I work with our technology and equipment, when I'm not out in the field. It was all started by a mutant lady named Crystal who modeled it on superhero teams from her home universe." Jason seems pretty happy with NERD, although they haven't done anything in quite some time.

[Rebonack]

"Those rumors were ABSOLUTELY false!" Maphtey objects vociferously. "I succeeded in imposing Operation Carebear. But the Nexus just split itself in two and erased everything I did. Basically everyone forgot my great Singing In the Rain musical number! I'm pretty sure Magtok took a bunch of cues from my theatrical villainy, now that I think about it. He was really lame when I first met him. It was all for a good cause, though! It wasn't a no-free-will thing. People just couldn't use their own free will to violently trample the free will of others! I want people to be able to live their dreams to the fullest! I want everyone to survive when the Waking World sinks into the Dreamlands! I'm a villain, sure, but I'm a villain with a good cause and a heart of gold! I'm just misunderstood, honest!"

Maphtey gives Raril the biggest, saddest, cutest puppy-dog eyes look he can manage.

Honestly he's pretty great at it.

"Eh. After I found out how the Nexus reacts to that sort of thing I tossed that plan. I don't do repeat performances. So I just focused on, y'know, helping where I could. I really HATE seeing people suffer, honest. But I'm not a nihilist like some villains who have wandered through the Nexus causing grief. I'm an optimist, Raril! I'm a dreamer. And honestly, Zee and I are on the same side. We both want the Eternal Game to stay in a stalemate for as long as it can. It's bad news for you guys if one side or the other wins the session."

The pooka gives an exaggerated shrug and a flick of his tail.

"She doesn't like me much, though. Doesn't trust me. And I know that she's going to cause way more damage than what she would like just by existing. Hehe... the Librarian gave you some pretty great advice about Zee, but you jettisoned it as soon as she made a pretty face at you," Maphtey says, flashing that Cheshire grin of his. Though... it quickly wanes. "Can't blame you, though. You're chasing your dream. You do you. Don't let any stuffy Watchers that run libraries full of forbidden knowledge tell you how to live your life!"

[Artemis97]

Raril scowls at Maphtey. Cute doesn't really work on him too well, despite his current headwear. And that Cheshire grin was just... unsettling and annoying.

"She's powerful now. Possibly more so than she's ever been before. There was something about her feeding? It's slowly changing things. Tilting the game in the Empyrean's direction, isn't it? You want it to tilt the other way, to keep a balance. I'm not willing to hurt her, Maphtey, not unless she proves actually malicious. Gods, believe me it's crossed my mind that I may have to permanently banish my own wife. Not long ago I was mourning her. So soon after her return? It's cruel and unfair, but that's life isn't it? I shouldn't have expected my own happiness to last, but damn it I'm going to try. It's Thanksmas for gods' sakes. It's a time for family, and happiness, and miracles. Maybe there's some way to keep her from needing to feed. Or can you undo the damage she's done? Or is this world doomed to be half Empyrean half Dreamland because of this stalemate we hope to reach? The Librarian said you're all here because the Nexus is sick. We can cure it. I believe that. We just need to buy some time. What are you offering? Or should I go treat with the King in Rags?"

[Rebonack]

Maphtey makes a sputtering noise with his lips at Raril's reply.

"Tilt it the other way? Is that how you were told it works? Hehe. No, the Eternal Game isn't zero-sum. There's no balance or counter balance. It isn't a game of tug-o-war. It's a race to the finish. Once a certain tipping point is reached it's all over. It is inevitable. That's why we do what we can to delay it and help as many people as possible. Zee's got her way, I've got mine," Maphtey says. "I'll admit, her being here probably slows things down in the long run. Something like her actively thwartin' plans is a big deal. Critters of her caliber are usually asleep or sealed away somewhere. Usually the Watchers band together to put something like her down FAST. But she's free to roam around and stomp all over fae AND empyrean plots. So long as she doesn't unbind herself in the middle of the City for giggles, I doubt the Librarian and his buddies will move against her."

The pooka gives a little shrug. "I mostly just foul faerie slavers who abduct kiddos. That's something I really can't abide. They've been picking up their slaving pretty notably lately. Bad stuff, let me tell you. Ruining raids is a great way to get on the Goblin King's bad side, but he hasn't got any good sides so who cares?"

Then he shoves his gift off the rafter, letting it plop down onto a table near Raril with a soft thud. There's still a little tag bearing his name on it.

It also is rather distinctly NOT making and skittering sounds.

"The Librarian is guessing just like everyone else. I'm here because I like it here. Same as Zee. Everyone else is here because there's something valuable here. The Nexus itself kicked off a treasure hunt and all the little pirates are digging holes everywhere looking for it. Might be because the Nexus is sick. I dunno. You would need to find someone who can heal its heart to do something about that."

And then there's that creepy grin again.

"C'mon, Raril. Open the box! I promise it isn't full of spiders. Maybe gift something to me, too? I keep trying to do gift exchanges but no one is biting."

[Artemis97]

I wonder why, Raril thinks to himself.

The drow picks up the package and gives it a little shake. He really hoped it wasn't more spiders. But Maphtey had never been quite that cruel to him in the past.

"Thanksmas gift exchange, sure." Raril agrees. He digs in his bag and then tosses up a squashy package in green and red paper to the Prince of Pookas. "Merry Thanksmas, Maphtey." Inside he'll find a red scarf decorated with green felt fir trees at the ends.

Raril carefully opens his package. Please don't be spiders.

[Rebonack]

"Hehehe!" cackles Maphtey as he fades from view with his scarf in tow.

Inside Raril's box?

Well.

The good news?

It isn't full of spiders.

The even gooder news?

There's a book inside. Judging from the check-out card on the inside cover it was almost without question stolen from the Philip Memorial Library's rare book room. It's titled 'Thaumaturgy, Sorcery, and other Dark Arts'. It appears to be a tome detailing the corruptive powers of the Dreamheart and the Empyrean. Not how to use those powers for one's self (though that might be possible to infer) but rather various means to combat them. There appear to be sections on binding otherworldly beings. And binding them ostensibly includes keeping them alive (eg, keeping them fed). So... Maphtey actually supplied something that could be useful in Raril's quest to help his wife, maybe? Could it be that there's something in here that would allow her to remain in her human guise without needing to bop off and devour the landscape every now and again?

Also?

There's bad news.

When Raril opens the book a single jumping spider leaps out from between the pages right at his face.

And on an unrelated note?

Zee gives a slightly pained groan and shifts in her sleep. A dark crimson spot begins spreading from her right thigh.

[Artemis97]

Raril reads the cover and, seeing that the pooka was gone, simply says "Thank you." to the empty air. He starts flipping through pages when a spider jumps on his face.


"Argh! oh Gods! Damn that little scoundrel!" He shouts,knowing absolutely this was no coincidence. He brushes the spider off and shudders. Then he notices Zee isbleeding.

"Oh damn... Maphtey if you did this, I'm gonna really ruin your day." the drow promises. He sets the book aside quickly and digs through his bag for bandages to bind her wound. He'd heal it with a spell, but Zee said that wouldn't be too effective on her, so he'll have to rely on old fashioned methods.

"Sorry Zee..." He whispers, pulling out a knife to cut away her pants and find the source of the wound, before bandaging it as best he can. He also casts Remove Poison, in a hope to wake her up. Without the effects of alcohol, surely the pain would wake her up?

[Rebonack]

Maphtey doesn't respond to Raril's curses, so he neither confirms nor denies that Zee's injury was his doing.

The timing IS really suspicious though, isn't it?

Cutting away the pant leg is easy enough. Raril will find a wound in Zee's thigh, maybe half an inch deep. Relatively superficial, all things considered. Your average adventurer takes WAY worse than this over the course of an average day of skeleton and ooze slaying. There isn't any obvious cause, but Raril will likely be reminded of a bullet wound. Not a straight shot, though. That would have penetrated MUCH deeper. Maybe a ricochet? No one is shooting anything in the tavern, however. Binding the wound really doesn't prove to be terribly difficult.

Remove Poison totally works, though.

Zee awakens with a gasps and JUST barely manages to avoid headbutting Raril by accident.

"Sorry, sorry!" she blurts out. "I keep trying to get groceries and I keep getting distracted! Everything is fine though, just robots trying to take over Riftline. Nothing to worry about."

Move along!

Nothing to see here!

[Artemis97]

"Uh, what?" Raril blinks, having nearly been hit in the face. "You're hurt. Did the robots do this?" Maybe best not to mention Maphtey right now, as helpful as he'd been. "Do I need to come rescue you, somewhere?"

[Rebonack]

"Neh, robot sniper," Zee replies, still sounding a bit woozy. "Shot me through the wing, bullet hit me in the leg."

Ouch.

"Hate snipers. Robot snipers. Skinwalker snipers. Any sort of sniper. They're the worst."

Zee thinks quite a few things are the worst, it would seem.

Then she gives her head a little shake.

"No... this won't happen for... a month? Won't happen for a month. Still a long way off. Don't want to break continuity or I'll be fighting off the Hounds of Tindalos, too."

Those sound like...

Umm.

Something?

[Artemis97]

"Snipers are nasty." Raril agrees. He adjusts the strap on his heavy crossbow. It was built for sniping, though he rarely got a chance to use it. Most things in the Nexus didn't give you a chance to prepare like that.

"I've heard of those." Raril says, "They're a bit like the Barghests?" He wonders.

"Do you need something for the pain?" How much painkiller do you give to an angelic dragon?

[Rebonack]

"No I just need to..." Zee replies, sucking another breath through her teeth, then her muscles relax. "Gotta turn off the pain receptors in that part of my leg. Easy. Well, not off. Just down. I don't want to hurt it MORE."

That's the problem with totally deadening pain.

You get hurt and since your body isn't telling you 'hey stop that, it hurts' then it gets much easier to hurt yourself further.

"The Hounds are... no. They're..." Zee replies a bit vaguely. She gives her head a shake like she's trying to make her thoughts line up. "They're something else. It's weird. I know they exist. I know they're something bad. I know messing with continuity too much gets their attention. But I don't... Have I ever seen one before? I think I have. But... it's like the idea of them is slippery. Every time I try to grab a hold of it then it just slides out of my grasp."

Huh.

That's weird.

Didn't she talk about something else like this before?

About there being some kind of blind spot that the Fae and Empyreans couldn't figure out? Some kind of third side to the game?

She frowns down at her leg.

"What were we talking about again? Robots. The robots are going to try to take over Riftline."

[Artemis97]

"That's what you said." Raril confirms. He files away that information about the Hounds of Tindalos. If there was a third side to this thing... maybe there was more to it than Zee or Maphtey knew. He wonders if his new book had any information on the subject. But messing with continuity brings them about? He wondered if they might haunt Continuity's Grave, if that even still existed. Might be something to ask that Librarian about too.

"Is there anything I can do? I doubt it if this is happening in the future? somehow?" The drow sighs. Sometimes he felt very small. At least he could fix some small things. A few muttered spells cleaned up the blood and repaired Zee's pants. They'd have to change the bandage later, but things were looking alright now.

"I got a present, of sorts?" He tells her, after stuffing away the rest of his healing kit and returning to his chair. Raril pours another measure of brandy into his glass and picks up the book. He offers it to Zee. "I think it could be useful. For us."

[Rebonack]

"A hug would be nice?" Zee replies with a small smile.

There's nothing wrong with being small. There's nothing wrong with being relatively normal. Maybe that's what attracted Zee to Raril in the first place? Having someone to ground her.

Searching around for answers might not be a terrible plan. If there are other forces at work... if there are other things at play, then maybe there's something that could help? The Watchers certainly seem to know more than they let on. But they seem to be a pretty secretive bunch by necessity.

"A gift would be nice, too," Zee reasons. "Do you want to unveil it now, or wait until the Thanksmas party?"

Ah now that's a pretty important question isn't it?

Technically gifts don't all have to be exchanged in the Thanksmas thread.

But!

Doing so is fun.

[Artemis97]

Raril leans over to hug Zee. At the mention of a present he gives a wry smile.

"Ah, no, that'll have to wait until Thanksmas!" He did technically still have to go purchase it, after all.

"I do have this?" He holds out the book of dark magic to her. "I think I'll eventually have to return it to the library, but it may prove useful." Or it'll drive you insane. Maybe both.

[Rebonack]

Less a book about dark magic and more a book about dark things.

Zee gives the book a cursory glance, slowly shaking off the residual effects of too many drinks at once.

"It looks like Watcher stuff?" she ventures. "I know they don't approve of people like me. Anything in there would be biased pretty negatively. But there still might be some useful information."

She gives a rather sheepish smile.

"I, hehe... I honestly have no idea how most Empyrean stuff works. I was so busy putting myself back together and trying to get strong enough to return to the Nexus that I kinda missed out on most of the details."

Zee didn't read the new player's guide.

Which means that book probably contains information about things like Zee that Zee doesn't know.

She had priorities!

Like being unable to info-dump all the mysteries away! Those are for player investigation to uncover.

[Artemis97]

"Oh." Raril frowns a little and takes the book back. "I don't suppose there's anyone you could ask?" He wonders.

The drow takes another sip of his brandy and starts flipping through the book for anything interesting.

[Rebonack]

"The Empyreum is really... a guess competitive is a good word?" Zee replies after a moment or two of thought. "It has ranking ladders and stuff. When I got booted from the Game by that facestealer mage last year? Apparently I had ranked up from Copper to Bronze while I was here last. First thing someone said to me on the other side was something along the lines of 'You hit Bronze, congrats. I kind of hate you.' There are a LOT of people who aren't happy about how quickly I rose through the ranks. Especially because I used to be human. Or... lots of humans, I guess."

She shrugs.

"Either way, I don't really have a lot of peers who would be willing to help me. Most of the other Bronze Host empyreans have been vying with each other for centuries. If not longer. They have these crazy-complicated webs of alliance and rivalries and frenemies and outright hostilities that I haven't been able to get my head around yet. I'm this spunky, scrappy new kid who came out of nowhere and upset the apple cart. So mostly I've been having to bumble through things on my own."

Huh.

That actually sounds an awful lot like drow politics, doesn't it?

The book is certainly fascinating. The table of contents covers the various dread applications of thaumaturgy (the magic of the Empyrean) and sorcery (the magic of the Dreamheart). There are chapters on identifying what you're dealing with, how to combat magics (both via mundane means and the mysteries of Koth), the best means for dealing with cultists, how to ward against various otherworldly beings, how to bind various otherworldly beings, how best to fight otherworldly beings... It's really quite extensive. The introduction appears to be a primer on the nature of the conflict between the Empyrean and the Dreamheart.

[Artemis97]

"Sounds like home, to be honest." Raril says. "I grew up in it and I can't say I understand it fully. And after being gone for so long? No chance. I'll protect what's mine and do what I can to stay out of the politics."

Raril will begin by reading the primer, maybe there's something he's missed in there.

[Rebonack]

The introduction begins with...

An oath?

Sort of?

The Light of Truth is a dangerous thing, Watcher. It sears the ignorant with its brightness. As you have no doubt learned, Watcher, there are some things best left unknown. So stand tall as a bulwark against that Light, Watcher! Cast your shadow long and dark upon the teeming masses, so that they may live their lives in the peace of ignorance. To be unknown denies our enemies their power. Koom lo Rlyeh, Watcher! May the sunken city never rise!

It goes on to describe the basics of the conflict.

The Dreamheart is raw, formless potential. It is mercurial, ever changing, and the fountain from which every soul springs.

The Empyrean is form in its most ideal state, the burning light of truth castings it shadows into the material world. It gives definition and rigidity.

The World could not exist without both. And yet both seek to devour the World. To subsume it into formlessness or to sear away every spark of life. This can NOT be allowed. So the Watchers play both sides. They make sure the balances never tip. They ensure that the Game remains in a stalemate. And there is no better way to do that than by preventing the masses from realizing that the Game exists at all.

Which is interesting.

Both Zee and Maph seem to think that the Game is more of a race than a tug-of-war. But the Watchers apparently disagree. Someone must be missing something.

...or maybe they ALL are?

And Zee?

She's scooted over behind the counter to begin on a new batch of brownies.

[Artemis97]

"Interesting..." Raril mutters to himself. He looks up and gives a smile to his wife, seeing her back at work. Then he sinks a little deeper into his chair by the fire and continues to read. He'll skip to the bit about binding beings, though, even if he may risk not knowing some things.

[Rebonack]

Quite unhelpfully the chapter on bindings makes extensive references not only to earlier parts of the book (apparently the theory builds on itself) but also to other books written by the same author.

Great.

Raril would need a copy of Otherworldly Beasts and Where to Fight Them and The Edge of Ineffability: The Mysteries of Koth to really make any use of the rituals contained herein. All were written by someone named... Grigori Iryin? Weird sounding name. Apparently he was some kind of scholar among the Watchers?

Because of COURSE Maph wouldn't just hand Raril all the answers.

He would give him something that requires more work put into it.

Possibly even quests!

The only way the Librarian ever allows access to his rare book room is if someone can bring him a new book to add to it.

Otherwise you're out of luck.

Raril will be able to glean a few things, though. Fae really dislike iron (that's pretty well known). Less well known is that they can be repelled by mundane, down to earth things. Doing simple chores. Freshly baked bread. Regular calls to religious services, whether that be chanting or bells or trumpets depending on one's spiritual disposition. Empyrean weaknesses, however, are a bit more individualized. One needs to figure out which four spheres they're connected to (another thing that was no doubt explained earlier, what are spheres?) and then from that determine what they represent. Once you know that you can find something either sympathetic to them or opposed to them, depending on the sort of binding you're attempting.

[Artemis97]

"Hmph." Raril frowns, frustrated. "Right." He flips back to the front of the book, to the part about identifying what you're fighting. Maybe that'll mention the Spheres. It'd be useful information in any case.

[Rebonack]

The third chapter details a bit more specific information on the Empyrean.

They are apparently all emanations from something (or things) known as the Ideal Forms.

Hyle, composing the spheres of matter, shape, energy, and chaos. Empyreans linked most strongly to Hyle are known as seraphim, draconic entities of burning light.
Kosmos, composing the spheres of time, space, motion, and entropy. Empyreans linked most strongly to Kosmos are known as ophanim, wheel-headed creatures of the depths.
Logos, composing the spheres of data, information, quality, and growth. Empyreans linked most strongly to Logos are known as cherubim, chimeric beasts of the earth.
Pneuma, composing the spheres of will, perception, id, and unconsciousness. Empyreans linked most strongly to Pneuma are known as malakim, the most human-like of the angels with great bird-like wings.

Every empyrean has a connection to four spheres, though usually they're spheres from different Ideal Forms. The book goes into further detail on the various spheres, particularly the types of magic a hostile witch might utilize them to employ.

A pretty big chunk of the book appears to be about contending with witches and warlocks.

They seem to be a MUCH more common threat than actual empyreans.

The book appears to imply that one is more likely to find empyreans asleep in the material world, passively corrupting everything around them and drawing cults to themselves. To find an empyrean above even the level of the lowly putti awake and active is a dreadful portent. Should a Copper Host empyrean be found awake many Watchers should be called upon to put it down. And Koth have mercy if a Bronze Host empyrean were to awaken and begin its reign of terror. Such an entity would be nearly unstoppable. Their malice and malevolence is practically boundless, they are without mercy and compassion. Such a being could be an existential threat to the whole world.

Zee, meanwhile, is mixing brownie batter.

[Artemis97]

Wasn't Zee a Bronze host? And which of these Ideal Forms did she fit into? Raril thought she was a bit like a cherubim, a chimera of the earth, but she also had dragon like qualities, and bird wings? Ah, wait, they didn't fit neatly into each Form. That made more sense.

The drow glances over at his wife, mixing brownie batter, no doubt humming to herself as she moved about the kitchen. Reign of Terror indeed.

Raril turns back to his book and tries to see what it says about the other half of this fight, the Fae.

[Rebonack]

Zee had said something about ranking up to Bronze Host not too long ago.

She doesn't appear to be busy going on some kind of giant monster rampage, though.

Instead, she's pouring brownie batter into a tray and setting the oven.

Though it might not be a great idea to take her as any sort of standard. She has ALWAYS played to her own tune in whatever she's doing. Why would being a giant awful monster be any different?

There's a good chance she would answer any question to the best of her ability. She has GOT to know what here spheres are, right? It would be a like a bard who doesn't know the names of the instruments he plays.

Possible but pretty unlikely.

As for the fae, they're a much more mercurial subject than the empyreans. While empyreans are very carefully defined the fae really... aren't. All fae are born of the Dreamheart, a realm of absolute primordial creative potential roiling below reality like a violent sea beneath a ship. Fae draw on mortal dreams to take on form and identity, but all those things are simply masks they wear to give temporary shape to what is formless and faceless. Mortals that have been ensorceled by the fae are known as faeries, unfortunate souls that have become partly unreal. Often times they completely lose themselves to the new role that has been foisted on them. The most powerful fae are the lords and ladies of the Sidhe courts. Fae can roughly be divided into a number of groups.

Sprites are natural spirits. Trees, streams, natural land marks, and tiny creatures like insects. They are often benign and playful, but they can be offended easily.

Pookas are trickster spirits. Natural shape-shifters with a wily streak and a penchant for pranks. They can be recognized by their black fur and golden eyes. Some are quite harmless while others are deeply malevolent. There's a picture in the book depicting a creature that looks suspiciously like Maphtey with the caption, 'The Hedley Kow, King of Pookas'. When Raril isn't looking directly at the picture he might get the distinct impression that it winked at him out of the corner of his eye.

Wildings are dangerous, predatory hunters. Most default to a humanoid form, though they always have some kind of deformity that they try to hide. The deformity might be animal-like body parts or some other monstrous aspect. Wildlings tend to be seducers, luring the unwary and then devouring them.

Goblins are hideous, ill tempered monstrosities. They can range from tiny to huge, but every single size and form they take is awful. They are in essence all the nasty, brutish parts of sapient beings condensed into a package of pure spite.

Elfs are beautiful beyond reckoning and judging from the picture QUITE unlike what Raril would normally think of. They are as supernaturally elegant and lovely as they are cruel and cold. They are in many ways the opposite of goblins, all the worst aspects of society given form.

Finally, boogies are creatures born of fear. They can take a myriad of different forms, which is unsurprising since fears are just as varied. Each boogie is born of a different type of fear, a different sort of nightmare. There's a picture near the entry of a barghest. The image doesn't do justice to just how horrifying the hounds Raril met were.

Then there's another section of the chapter. The section goes on to note that while the Dreamheart has no 'true' form, there is a particular manifestation that perhaps comes close. When it manifests in the Dreamlands it absolutely annihilates any dreamlanders it can find, though it is apparently harmless to mortal travelers and lucid dreamers. The dreamlanders known such entities as 'jabberwock' and fear them greatly. Outside the Dreamlands, this entity manifests as a devouring darkness that consumes lost, forgotten places, leaving Nothing in its wake.

What follows is a sketch of what appears to have once been a castle, now ravaged by the void.

Raril will likely find the picture distressingly familiar to the state he once saw the Bestiary in.

[Artemis97]

The drow blinks a bit as he thinks the picture winks at him when he takes a moment to watch Zee put the batter in the tray. It would be like Maphtey to keep an eye on him like that, he suspected, just to mess with his head. Of course, when he looks down, the page is normal.

He turns the pages, past the illustration of the elf, similar, but distinct from his own people. More aloof, more haughty, more beautiful. Sidhe, not a mortal elf like him. Perhaps his people had been like that once, but no more.

His eyes fall on the battered castle floating in space. His chest tightens and ice goes through his veins. He takes a gulp of brandy to calm his nerves as he reads. "Jabberwock." Raril frowns. "So that's what it is." Harmless, though? He seriously doubted that. But it had a name, and something named could usually be fought. This wasn't Carrol's Jabberwock, though. No Vorpal blade would save him from this thing. Maybe he should pick one up just in case?

Now how do you fight these things? He'll start with the chapter on magic, before flipping towards the back of the book and reading up on how to combat the Fae and Empyreans themselves.

[Rebonack]

Fae magic, or 'seemings' as the book calls them, apparently fall into three categories.

Gossamer is the art of weaving dream-stuff into an approximation of something real. Faeries and fae are both made of gossamer, though the former typically have more material stuff in them than the latter. Killing a fae will dispel the gossamer that holds their body together, leaving you with a heap of rubbish. Bones, sticks, hair, dirt. Gossamer can be used to create things that are 'real enough'. Fire woven from gossamer can burn just like the real thing. When a fae alters their shape, they are typically rearranging the gossamer that composes them. One of the surest ways to disrupt gossamer is to toss iron filings at the creation. Powdered iron completely fouls the magic.

Glamour is the art of creating false sensory input. A sound, a smell, a feeling, a sight, and other such things. Unlike gossamer, these are purely phantom sensations. There's no 'realness' to them. They are, however, far more flexible and resilient to being disrupted than gossamer is. Glamour is subtle and elegant, so the best way to defeat it is to be boisterous and crass. If you're certain that you face a glamour, loudly proclaim that it is a lie. Speak ill of the weaver, how stupid they are for thinking you could be fooled by such a thing. The more a glamour is questioned, the weaker it becomes.

Enchantment is the art of sowing false thoughts and beliefs. Enchantment is transforming love into hate, confidence into doubt, love into apathy. False fear, false rage, false sadness. Enchantment manipulates and warps the mind rather than attacking the body or the senses. It is perhaps the most insidious of seemings, but it can also be defeated easily if someone knows how. Pricking one's self with an iron needle will cause all the false thoughts to drain from the body and leave the mind clear.

All the sort of magic that one would expect fae to employ, right?

Mostly trickery.

Zee, meanwhile, works on another batch of batter while she waits for the brownies to cook. Her Thanksmas brownies are a pretty big hit among the tavern patrons. The secret is a little bit of crushed peppermint.