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[Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The coldest winter I ever spent was summer in San Francisco
-Mark Twain, apocryphally
A Gathering of Mists
The OOC thread can be found here.
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The thorns press close. When the hobgoblin said that he knew a route out of the hedge, well, you weren't expecting a broad open road, but you had hoped there would actually be a path. Calling this narrow space between sharp, jagged pine branches a path would be an insult to paths the world over. And one can ill afford such an insult in the Hedge.
However, any doubts you may have had evaporated a few minutes ago when you saw a distant light and a faint glimpse of fog wafting over what looked like worked stone. It faded in and out after that, but you were never in doubt of its direction.
As you push a final branch aside and step forward, suddenly there are no branches. As far as the world is concerned, there never were any branches. Certainly not on a polished marble second floor balcony. Especially not one with such nice worked railings, an old-fashioned post lamp surrounded by trailing fog, and an arched marble doorway next to the finest Corinthian columns.
Beyond the street and a small garden you can't see where you are. The balcony is lit by only the single lamp, and at its other end, about 15 feet away, you see two men who appear to be chatting closely with each other, facing the street, their backs to you. They're both dressed in dark suits, but with the fog and only the single lamp, you can't see much else about them and they don't seem to have noticed you yet.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Something desperate this way comes; through the tight press of trees that rake and tear, Marchande makes her way, calling out to her friends to follow her, her claws pushing back the thorns that bite at her, her fine suit of a moonlit night whispering silky-soft against her fur. Home. People, streets, music, dinners- no, no, kindness, love, comfort at the end of the day- there, there, the path is there, follow, follow-!
And then she pushes back a branch, wincing as the thorns bite into her hand, and she steps out into the night. The light's almost blinding for a moment, forcing her to blink, and she breathes deeply. Exhaust, and cold night air, and fleeting quiet. The taste of the city on her tongue. She looks back, grinning, with all her white teeth on display. "Home," she says, quietly, hardly able to find the words.
A man shifts, a shoe scrapes on marble; Marchande looks up, her eyes wide, to see two men standing nearby, not having seen the vagrants stumbling onto their balcony. Panic! Runrunrunrun! No, that's the dog- but she is a dog, and the girl of shadows, and the suicidal archangel, and the yellowed doll, and they'll be chased and hunted down, they're not supposed to be home, how can they be home and still be monsters? She still has the tail, the muzzle, the ears, the fur hanging from her wrists and run. No, bad dog! Quiet, be quiet, act like a woman. A woman who just appeared out of nowhere, a woman who looks like a dog- but her companions, they won't see them, they'll blunder out and Stephanie will start talking, and oh no no no not good at all.
She glances back, to her companions coming out of the thorns, and whispers, "Quiet!"
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Aw man. Back in reality for all of three seconds and someone was already telling her to shut up.
She glanced over the side. Second floor? Why was Marchy worried about this? Clear lines of escape in all directions. No guards. This was easy - oh! Stephanie's eyes widened a little as she realised what March was trying to say. She wanted them to eavesdrop on their conversation!
"Don't worry, I got this!" Stephanie said with a bright smile and in a voice that, while quiet, didn't sound enough like a whisper to reassure anyone that she was taking this seriously. And, like oil across a mirror, she flowed through the shadows, over the edge of the balcony, and upside-down along the lower edge to just below where the men were talking.
[Contract: Spider Foot Style, Catch active (stone surface). No consequences for failure so no activation roll needed?
If you particularly need a Stealth roll, my pool is at 9 before situational bonuses and penalties]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte pushes her way out through the branches behind Stephanie, pulling her hair painfully out of the comb of needles. She absently tries to hold open the way for Kalina - for all the good that has done so far - but the scenery is overwhelming! Everything so bright, vivid, so real, she doesn't notice her arms fall slack at her sides.
The darkness hugging the fuzzy orange of a lamppost, the mists clinging to everything like a thin persian veil, the cool, clear air-
Charlotte coughs, muffling the sound in her elbow's crook. But it is cool at least.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Rearguard of the thorns. Last in line to shield the way. In front are desperate shapes and shadows. Behind are thorns and memories. They rip and tear and catch at cloth and wings, but never damage, never mar. Kalina, flower among the thorns. One, two, three. Kalina steps forward, catches. Stumbles back. Forward one more time.
Rose breathes the clear and open air.
"Quiet!"
"I got this!"
Perfect lips pull thin and grimace. She releases the softest of sighs. And Rose, Kalina, stands and watches the first men she's seen in a lifetime. Quietly.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The men seem caught up in their conversation and don't notice you suddenly appearing on the balcony, even with Charlotte's muffled cough. Luckily the fog serves as a damper for sound.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
Aw man. Back in reality for all of three seconds and someone was already telling her to shut up.
She glanced over the side. Second floor? Why was Marchy worried about this? Clear lines of escape in all directions. No guards. This was easy - oh! Stephanie's eyes widened a little as she realised what March was trying to say. She wanted them to eavesdrop on their conversation!
"Don't worry, I got this!" Stephanie said with a bright smile and in a voice that, while quiet, didn't sound enough like a whisper to reassure anyone that she was taking this seriously. And, like oil across a mirror, she flowed through the shadows, over the edge of the balcony, and upside-down along the lower edge to just below where the men were talking.
[Contract: Spider Foot Style, Catch active (stone surface). No consequences for failure so no activation roll needed?
If you particularly need a Stealth roll, my pool is at 9 before situational bonuses and penalties]
[That's close enough that you don't need a check to overhear the conversation. Stealth roll at your full dice pool with the sound dampening from the fog counteracting how close you're getting to the men. Don't open the spoiler unless you get a success on stealth.]
Spoiler
Show
At this distance, you can see that the man on the left (relative to the rest of the party, not to Stephanie's new position) is Asian and the man on the right is Caucasian. They're both wearing ties and shirts with French cuffs and fancy cufflinks. Starting with the Caucasion man
"Listen Phil, this debate is not going to end well. You know as well as I do that opposing prop 13 is political suicide. If it ever gets out that our girl wants higher taxes on those rich estates, well, I don't have to ****ing spell it out for you."
"Look, I get that. But it doesn't need to get out. Our line is that the city needs to be more fiscally responsible. That's what we're sticking to: fiscal responsibility. Just tell her to stay away from the tax issue, and if it comes up she should just stick with "everybody pays their fair share." We have to have this debate next week or she'll look like a coward. We both know it."
"Yeah, but goddammit, it's like we're just baring our goddamn throats for the other side. I just
*You hear the sound of several soft chimes going *ding ding dong dong in a descending scale.*
"Oh, the second act is going to start, let's go back back in."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
[One success. This is the WoD I know.]
Proposition thirteen... Suicide! Taxes on the rich! - Wait. Aw man, this was one of them boring conversations. She remembered these. They were common back here. Maybe they'd - aw no, now they were on about fiscal responsibility. Damn it. Too much to hope for.
The shadows back near the group took on a violet hue, wrapping themselves around the architecture and going taught as they were pulled on. The blonde infiltrator flipped back over the ledge.
"Nothing interesting. Unless any of you are secretly super rich, in which case they're planning to tax you. In the estates." She paused. "On the estates. For your estates. A tax for having an estate." That seemed close enough. "Oh, and we're outside a theatre or something."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte watches as Stephanie silently climbs - oozes, really - back over the landing.
Stephanie is still a cloud of shadows and sprightliness. Marchande (such a clever name!) is still the regal hound. Kalina is still beautiful and terrible. She herself must still be changed as well. On a landing? Outside a theatre?
"We need somewhere to hide..." She moves her hand slightly, indicating the group as a whole.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Hide from what?" Stephanie said. "Opera security? With an open balcony like this we could just leave. It's barely two, three meters down."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
From wealth to wealth. Their surroundings took on new meaning for Marchande, knowing they were at a noble opera house. Luxury, prestige, power- all things that were common back there. Was it any surprise that the path had led here?
A quick moment's deliberation, and she nodded at Stephanie. "We should get down. Find somewhere to hide. Rose, can you help Charlotte down?" Marchande had no idea how she'd get down, but the other three could get down easily. Maybe Rose could catch her if she came last.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
As Stepanie is slithering back, all of you hear the sound of several soft chimes going *ding ding dong dong* in a descending scale and the men begin to turn around.
[If you do wish to remain unseen, you have a turn to do something. Any rapid movement will need a stealth roll. Dice pool will depend where you're moving.]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
If this was a time for supposing, Kalina would suppose she was lucky. For the first time in memory, the air is cool and inviting and breathable. The sounds are all soft, business and pleasure and quiet concepts like politics and opera. Luxury and companionship. She is free. Completely and totally free.
And she has orders. Rose tilts her head to lock eyes with Marchande, then tilts her neck to let it crack. She turns to peer at the men again, in their suits with their well-combed hair, soft and happy and talking business. Safe. Her eyes wander to her and. She... would like to touch them. Talk to them. But she cannot. She has orders. Down it is.
Rose turns to Charlotte, stoops just a touch, and takes her into her arms like a newlywed bride. She hops atop the balcony railing, and pauses for one last look at the men. Huge, beautiful wings flare up from her back, kicking up a light breeze. And then, a quick step forward. She drops down.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Kalina had the right idea, Stephanie was pleased to note. Stephanie grabbed March - around the middle, she didn't exactly have the upper body strength to sweep her off her feet - and they fell backwards together over the edge of the balcony.
It never occurred to Stephanie that an unexpected upside-down jump off a second storey balcony might cause March to scream.
The violet shadows lashed out in every direction, spinning a web and catching them softly two feet off the ground. They flipped back to an upright position a second later, feet being placed safely on the ground.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
[Okay, that's going to be a stealth check from everyone. The men are at a -2 penalty on their wits+compsure due to the low light and fog. Marchande and Charlotte are making the check to avoid making a noise due to surprise and the fall and are at -1 on the check.
Just the stealth roll, but Kalina should also take -1 to it to represent the extra effort in landing quietly.]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
[Activating Night's Subtle Distractions; catch met, no cost, 4 dice - 2 successes.
Stealth: 9 dice, 9 again on stealth: 5 successes - exceptional success! Can I translate that into covering someone else's failed stealth roll as well?]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
[Activating Night's Subtle Distractions; catch met, no cost, 4 dice - 2 successes.
Stealth: 9 dice, 9 again on stealth: 5 successes - exceptional success! Can I translate that into covering someone else's failed stealth roll as well?]
[Yes you can! Would you prefer to help Kalina land and negate the need for that athletics roll, or use the shadows to muffle a potential shout from either Marchande or Charlotte?]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Anarion
[Yes you can! Would you prefer to help Kalina land and negate the need for that athletics roll, or use the shadows to muffle a potential shout from either Marchande or Charlotte?]
[- Team Obvious neither wants nor needs my assistance
- A chance to gag a fellow party member on the first page
Therefore I'll take the shout muffling]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Thanqol
[- Team Obvious neither wants nor needs my assistance
- A chance to gag a fellow party member on the first page
Therefore I'll take the shout muffling]
[Results will be described after others have checked.]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte has enough time to start forming the word 'what' before Kalina, unburdened by her weight, springs into the air. Eyes closed, biting her lip she falls, and then...
There is no 'then'. Opening her eyes slowly, heart in her throat, Charlotte realizes they aren't falling - it was only vertigo. She blushes slightly, ashamed that only paralysis kept her from screaming or burying her face in Kalina's hair.
Setting her feet slowly on the ground, she recovers her poise enough to shakily breathe "M... Merci."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
As Stephanie falls to the ground and the shadows lash out around her, Kalina, holding Charlotte cradled in her arms descends slowly to the ground, an angelic light glowing around her wings. However, as the two men head back towards the inner door and pass by the side of the balcony, the shadows lash out further from Stephanie, forming almost a solid barrier above Kalina's descent. Not even a single speck of light reaches the upper level.
In just under 5 seconds, the entire Motley has jumped off the side of the building with the silence of an owl swooping on its prey.
Looking around, you find yourselves on a lawn that forms a small decorative garden, only a few yards long extending from the building. Past the garden is what appears to be a service road leading out onto the street. The road is flanked by two large, ornate gates made of wrought iron bars, which are standing open. Behind you is the building. There is light coming out of a series of windows about 10 yards away from the road, which looks like a glass side entrance to the opera hall. There doesn't appear to be anyone else around.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Duck into the shadows, Marchande thinks, as Rose picks up Charlotte and bounds from the balcony like a startled bird. No, not a startled bird, like a superhero- stop thinking about birds!
She shifts her balance, ready to slip into the shadows under the lamp, when Stephanie grabs her around her waist and pulls her off her feet, straight off the balcony. Her stomach lurches, and it takes her a moment to stop being disoriented enough to even think about opening her mouth to scream. But she clamps her mouth shut and turns it into a whimper as they near the ground, and even that whimper is muffled by the thick, cloying darkness all about Stephanie.
A sudden lurch, reorientation, and she's on the ground, flustered and ruffled. For a moment she's uncertain what to do, whether she wants to cry or scream in relief or slap Stephanie. She then decides to act like she wants to act, and very carefully reaches up to adjust her suit and smooth it out, glaring at the grinning Stephanie as she does so. Dogs act on their emotions immediately, people make sure that everything is in order and make rational decisions.
Well. They're safe, for now, but they're still all freaks and monsters. They've escaped one danger, but, well, everywhere is danger now. Hidehidehide freak monster dig a hole and hide- rational. Rational consideration. Don't listen to the dog, listen to the suit.
"...we're not safe here," she says, after a moment. "We need to find shelter."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"But where will we go, so conspicuous?"
Charlotte looks around with barest turn of her head, letting the routine set in. No pain. No chill, moist air. No heart, fluttering in panic like a butterfly caught in a web in her chest. Just friends, with needs-
Charlotte blinks once, slowly, for all the world like a gecko. Friends? The butterfly in her breast stops its struggles. She has friends, and maybe, she has an idea.
"We need coverings. We need to find a place for Kalina to take off her armour. Are these sound, miss?" She looks to Marchande with a shadow of a smile beneath her stitching.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Stephanie took Marchande's failure to comment on the drop to be a sign of approval. Really professional. She'd freaked out way more the first time she'd jumped off a second storey balcony. Marchy was a class act.
"Oh, oh, oh," Stephanie said, "I've got a house! Well, an apartment-y thing, but it's mine, and we can stay there. It's just a little walk thatwayish," she gestured south and smiled brightly.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"You have a house."
Rose blinks. She looks down at her hands again, as well as the rest of her body.
"You. Have a house." She doesn't say the words so much as spit them in the kind of horror and disbelief that can only come from... from... however many years of homelessness. Which is every single one she's been alive for. No one said the world was fair...
Her hands clench into fists. She sighs and drinks in the scenery around her and feels a rush of memories assault her brain. Here, the opera house. Over there would be that one restaurant that used to serve those amazing breadsticks even if you didn't pay for an entree. There's a decent bench for napping there, she thinks, or at least there used to be back then. And wasn't there a park somewhere nearby? She shakes her head.
South. South was... oh. Oh.
"With the appropriate raiment, we could easily be street performers."
Just change the subject, Kalina. It's better this way.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Yeah, I have a house. I worked full time scrubbing dishes to pay for that house, so I feel like I earned it." Stephanie said, voice carrying a whisper of... grumpiness? Defensiveness? Hurt?
There was a touch of hesitation after the topic was changed before she brightened again. Not so much easily distracted, in that moment, as choosing to be easily distracted.
"Oh, if I can find some empty bottles or balls or something I could juggle! Do you guys know any tricks?"
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte coughs tinily into the gap between arguing and forgiveness. "I can... Do... Pictures?" her voice even more of a whisper. Hazily she recalls having to do things, needing to, for good and shelter... The thoughts are so alien. Something so normal being as unknowable as hirrglyphics?
Quietly, Charlotte begins hyperventilating, blinking the barest of tears from her eyes.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Marchande nodded at Charlotte, almost absently, lost in worry. There was no way any of them could walk the streets, no matter where they wanted to go. Rose was a giant, an angel of glittering light, who'd never walk anywhere without being plastered over the news. Stephanie might be able to move in the shadows, as long as no one got a look at her, but one bright light and one good look, and she'd be in Rose's boat. Charlotte was off, and Marchande herself... she was too human to be a dog and too dog to be a human. Her spine was straight, her hips human, she moved like a human and was proportioned like a human and that just made it all a little bit worse, still being the dog.
They could steal someone's clothing, maybe. Give Rose a massive trenchcoat, wrap up Charlotte in scarves, and... no, she wouldn't give up the suit, and there was nothing that could disguise her muzzle, hat or burqa or mask. If they stole a car, maybe, but who could drive? She certainly wouldn't trust Stephanie at the controls, and Rose didn't look like she'd fit very well into a car, anyway.
And then she heard 'tricks'.
"No tricks," she barked at Rose and Stephanie. The bark was embarrassing, louder than she meant, and she stopped herself from tearing into them further, but she couldn't stop her hands from trembling with anger. No tricks. No more tricks. She was not a pet that performed on command and did clever tricks anymore.
Deep breath. One, two. Breathe in, breathe out. "Is there anyone living at your house, Stephanie? Would it have been rented out in your... absence? It isn't a good idea to be seen right now, or to get arrested for breaking into someone else's house."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"...Aha."
Rose stiffens as she's rebuked on all sides, each in a different way. What she'd meant of course was... well, what did it matter what she'd meant? Her wings stretch and shimmer in the glow of the nearby lamp. She turns away from the others.
She takes several long strides away from the group, and halts. Steel plates clink and rattle against a hauberk, and she slowly closes and opens her hands around nothing. And where does she think she's going, exactly? Wandering the streets of the city, alone and directionless? No. No. And to think, this is what freedom looks like. Feels like. She slams a fist into the nearest solid object.
"We will be seen. What's going to happen when we are?"
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte sees the panic on Marchande's face, could feel the sudden absence behind her, still hear the hurt in Stephanie's reply, echoing in her head. And here she was, verging on panic because she will have to earn her living?
Oh, I'm such a loud-mouth... The thought is bitter, but calming. Doing something the wrong way means there is a right way, too. Her breathing slowing, the pale orange veil of panic falling away, Charlotte turns. "We have to do something. We should follow Stephanie, miss Rose. She will need our help, and maybe she can help us too." She steps towards Kalina, her footfall deliberate and audible. "And it is dark, and late. No one will believe they saw us if we are swift."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"My absence?" Stephanie looked confused for a second. "How long's it been? Anyway, uh, the guy promised that no one would notice that I was gone. I dunno."
Without thinking, Stephanie stepped out onto the street and asked a random passer by, "Hi! My name's Stephanie. Could you please tell me what month and year it is?"
She did this while everyone else was discussing what would happen if they were seen.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Stephanie has to move about half a block over to find a person. Given her speed and ease of movement in the evening, this does not take her long. The person she does find appears to be somewhat drunk and wearing a heavy overcoat against the cold. He's walking East towards City Hall.
"Eh, whazzat girl? The date. It's May 2012. Ain't you been watching the news? They're havin the Bridge 75th anniversary in two days. Been darn near everywhere, I even use the flyers for sleepin sometimes. Wha's a pretty blond like you doin out at this hour anyway?"
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
[double post because the forum is doing that thing where you can't see my other post.]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Oh gee," Stephanie said. Her brain started doing the arithmetic to see how long it had been since her rent expired.
Something occurred to her. "Wait, you can't see the -" she waved her hand rapidly in front of him, fingers discorporating into a hazy blur of mist. No shouting or flinching or accusations of being a witch?
... Cool!
"I mean to say, I'm out looking for a coat or something because my friend had a date, see, but he was a boffin-jerk, and he was rude to her all night. You know, the kind of guy who's always talking about himself and his work and says it in terms that mean like you should understand what he's saying and praise him for it but in reality he's totally up himself?"
Stephanie took a breath, clearly exasperated, "And then, would you believe it, he goes and spills wine on her nice new dress and doesn't even notice it so she storms out, and I go with her, but she can't exactly walk home like she is and she didn't think to grab her coat on the way out. And I don't exactly have any pockets in this thing -" she flicked her coat, and immediately found three or four pockets "- Oh wow, good to know! Anyway, I forgot my purse and don't have any money with me, so I'm basically looking for someone who'll loan me a coat or tell me where to find one or something."
Stephanie gave the bright smile of someone who's world was a place where this was possible.
"I couldn't really pay you, if you were to offer yours, with anything other than thanks, but I could promise that it'd be really good karma and I'd give money to the next person who asked for it."
[Offer for a simple Pledge;
Tasks:
- Endeavour (Lesser) -1: Gives me his coat
- Endeavour (Lesser) -1: Gives money to the next person who asks
Boon:
- Blessing (Lesser) +1: Mortal gets resources 2 or +1 resources
Duration:
- 1 Week +1
Manipulation+Persuasion roll to talk him into it? Bonuses or penalties?]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Marchande winces in shame as Rose takes out her frustration on the nearest tree. They'd just escaped, they're lost and scared, she shouldn't have barked, what was she thinking. She was thinking that they were doomed to be freaks and monsters forever, that was what she was thinking. But she had to convince them that they could do something, anything, rather than going back.
"We might not have to let them find us," she says to Rose, slowly, not quite believing herself. "Charlotte almost looks human, she could... find us accommodations. We could hide. Get a job working from home, maybe. I mean, if you wanted to stay with us. We could... it might be safer if we worked together. You're strong, capable of getting us places no one else could. Charlotte is, well, you saw what she did for Stephanie. I'd feel safer if we worked together. And Stephanie, well, she's..." Gone. No. Not again, Marchande, why weren't you looking after her. "Shoot shoot shoot."
Marchande rushed towards the street, for a moment forgetting her fear of being seen - and there she was! Running down the foggy street after a man on his walk! That girl of shadows and wisps and her cloak- aaaaaargh! What was she thinking? She was going to get them all...
He turns, she can see from her vantage point. He speaks to her, normally. She waves her hand in front of his face. They talk more. He doesn't run away. Marchande's jaw sags open, and she simply stares at the two figures, far off in the mist.
...he was obviously drunk. Or on some illegal substance. That must be it. Her tail twitches, agitatedly, and she looks back at Charlotte and Rose. "I think she's trying to get directions," she says, in a voice that says the joke isn't very funny, but if she doesn't say it like a joke she'll start screaming in sheer panic and stress and confusion.
She turned back, then, and whispered to the shadowy figure of Stephanie, half a street away. She said, under her breath, something she remembered from the crackle of the fireplace in the Master's house, and wrapped it into the words, "Good luck."
And something exploded behind her eyes, something unfamiliar and wonderful all at once. It tasted like the fire of the Market, and it made her grin, and she knew- knew- that Stephanie would get out of that conversation for the better.
Spoiler
Show
Activating Favored Fate, giving Stephanie a +4 bonus to her next roll. Marchande is now at 4/10 Glamour.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The man looks gruff and resistant.
Spoiler
Show
Manipulation+Persuasion will do. That's the only coat that guy owns and its cold out, plus your claim sounds like you're going to take his coat and never come back. So -3 penalty. You've got+4 from Marchande's favored fate. Net +1 overall. Roll is contested and the fellow got 1 success.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Anarion
The man looks gruff and resistant.
Spoiler
Show
Manipulation+Persuasion will do. That's the only coat that guy owns and its cold out, plus your claim sounds like you're going to take his coat and never come back. So -3 penalty. You've got+4 from Marchande's favored fate. Net +1 overall. Roll is contested and the fellow got 1 success.
[Manipulation+Persuasion = 6, Striking Looks and situational +2, 8:
1 - 1 - 10 - 1 - 8 - 6 - 1 - 10
2 - 7
= 3 successes]
Stephanie maintained a wide-eyed gaze.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Well, alright I'spose. Can't let a cutie like you freeze. Sure hope I don't freeze neither, and get some'othat Kaaarma" *slurring the word.*
He takes off his coat and hands it to Stephanie. He seems to stiffen for just an instant. Stephanie also feels stiff, as though small chains of gossamer have wrapped themselves around her soul. However, the feeling passes as soon as it appears, and you know the pledge has been sealed.
The man looks to Stephanie. "If'n there's nothin else cutie, I'll be goin."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Hey,"
Stephanie reached out to catch the man's hand. She looked him in the eye seriously.
"I was lying just now. It was worse than what I said. I wouldn't ask that of you if I didn't know someone who needed it even worse than you did. But I didn't know if I could trust you.
"Just... thanks. You did a really good thing. I mean it."
She kissed him on the cheek, a chill whisper, and was back, down, and away into the shadows - gone.
In a heartbeat, she was back with the others. Her expression was stilled, motions subdued. She gave the coat wordlessly to Rose.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The man walks away down the rest of the block. And if you didn't know better and it wasn't so dark, you'd swear he did a little skip at the end of the block.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Rose is silent while Charlotte and Marchande take turns trying to placate her and coax her into working with them. As if she could just walk away. Like the idea of being alone and free didn't send paralyzing waves of fear down her spine. Like it wouldn't unmake her on the spot to leave a trio of hopeless, helpless lost and broken children to the darkness and the streets.
She laughs bitterly; Stephanie is gone. With a shake of her head, she walks to the end of the street, to where Marchande is standing, and gently lays a hand on the other woman's shoulder. They watch, together. Marche nervously cracks a joke, Kalina is implacable. Impossible things are happening. Stephanie comes back and hands a coat over without a sound.
Rose stares at the garment, transfixed. She lifts it in one hand, and stares at Stephanie for what feels like an hour with an unreadable expression. Finally, slowly, gingerly, she takes the coat and slips it on, wrapping herself in her first garment in a lifetime. It's cramped and uncomfortable. She has to tuck her wings tightly against her back just to make it even sort of kind of fit. She makes a mental note to get a new blade for herself and make some alterations. But even despite all that, it's... beautiful.
Rose drops to one knee, lowering her head like a knight swearing fealty to her Lady.
"...Shall we go and check on the condition of," she chokes on these last words for a moment, "of your home?"
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte watches the slow unfolding scene and tries to put together the pieces. Sunny yellow Stephanie shines through but the amorphous shadow monster does not? Even drunk something should have been a clear alert to the man...
And then Rose and Marchande, watching after Stephanie like concerned parents. Charlotte wrinkles her brow, lines of creamy moonlight marring the pale gold-yellow as Marchande mastered her panic and fear, a cloud of white static visibly reducing around her.
And then the coat. Charlotte knew well the work of hands, and handing. Coins trading hands... More than recompense there was a magic there, a sign of deals made and sealed. Was this some token of fealty? surely, as Kalina kneels and a gilded purple flows around her... That was new. Devotion? Fealty? She wasn't sure if fealty was even an emotion. Charlotte sets her jaw witha sternness that resembles a slight pout more than anything. Her back itched, tingled.
"We should move swiftly, mademoiselles, so we can find this place and rest." Charlotte closes the distance between herself and the others, poised and dignified. And if there is a huskiness to her voice well, who could blame her? The night and the journey have been long and harrowing.
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Charlotte is keeping a lid on her developing irritation. I'm invoking Stillness, and her Stealth specialty for the initial expression change. She would have mastered herself to a degree before stepping forward, so any Empathic actions would at this point rely on contesting her Composure, non?
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SiuiS
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Charlotte is keeping a lid on her developing irritation. I'm invoking Stillness, and her Stealth specialty for the initial expression change. She would have mastered herself to a degree before stepping forward, so any Empathic actions would at this point rely on contesting her Composure, non?
The wind picks up a bit as you all shift outside the shelter of the opera house and it does indeed feel like its getting colder.
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Regarding your question SiuiS, empathic actions for others to read Charlotte would use her composure. If Charlotte tries to get a read on someone else, that might still use something like wits, and trying to alter someone else's emotional state would probably use manipulation.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Stephanie was hesitant when Rose kneeled for just a moment, then quickly contextualised it. She's a knight, that's something that knights do.
It was a paper thin justification that would fall apart if looked at for more than a second, but it let her continue acting like everything was normal for now.
"Yes. Uh, yeah - we should go. You're welcome," she said, and quickly started walking.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Charlotte steps forward into the gloom, first tugging lightly on Marchande's hand, then brushing Kalina's shoulder as she follows in Stephanie's wake.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The streets are relatively quiet. A few cars do pass by, their lights reflecting off the fog and seeming to almost rise off the ground.
After a few blocks, you reach Market street. This is much wider and somewhat better lit. It looks to be about 4 cars wide, plus a center divider. There te several people on the street, some homeless trying to sleep, others walking quickly to their destinations, and some taxi cabs drive by every couple moments.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Stephanie saw no reason to slow, stop or change bearing. She continued in a home-ish direction, trying not to think about the fact that her rent was five years overdue.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
As she had once before, Kalina took up the position of rearguard, keeping the others in front of her where she could see them all on their way to Stephanie's (more than likely former) home. Any port in a storm, as they say.
But while their fearless leader saw no reason to stop or slow, Rose saw plenty. Some were sleeping, others were just walking about. But most all of them made eye contact. She pauses and staggers every so often to gawk at the sheer normalcy of it all. What does it mean?
Her heartbeats quicken and she struggles to keep her breath. Why? Why why why why why why whywhywhywhy why?! No. Stop it. If she could survive There, she can do this. A brave warrior of justice does not have a panic attack in the streets of San Francisco. She simply doesn't. One breath. Two.
She has to run to catch up again.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
You walk a couple more blocks and find yourselves passing underneath a freeway. Those with a bit of local geography or politics would know that this is highway 101, which connects with Federal Interstate 80 just a few blocks away, essentially being a transportation artery that runs unbroken from Mexico to Alaska.
spoiler for Charlotte and Stephanie
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As you step beneath the overpass, you two notice a shape all in black separate itself from the wall. There is a glint of moonlight on what looks like a blade, and it begins moving towards you quickly.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Woah-woah-woah-woah," Stephanie said, raising her arms and walking back, blocking the others and herding them out of the shadow and into the light. She then stepped forwards and stood extremely still.
Her body began to discorporate into mist rapidly. Within seconds she was little more than a vague silhouette, surrounded by smoke and mist. "Good evening?" she said in a sing-song voice.
[Defensive stance, Stephanie's defence is now 8]
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The man comes towards you. On closer inspection, he appears to be a heavyset person of either Latino or Southeast Asian origin. It's hard to tell in the evening. He keeps advancing towards the four of you and demands "Shut up! Just shut up and give me all your money." He brandishes the knife he's holding, which does appear quite sharp.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
GRARGH PHONE Y U SO MEAN THAT POST WAS PERFECTLY WRITTEN RARGH!
Charlotte watches enrapt as a small moon begins to dance free of the mural, unshackled from its canvas. It is not until the moon shouts, the moon swears, that she sees the man behind the moon, sees the moon itself for what it is - a sharp, sharp knife.
Charlotte blinks.
This, this she understands! Trolls wait under bridges. Trolls demand payment for passage. Trolls are also sometimes clever, and greedy. A greedy one would certainly devour someone and then take the money, if it could. There needed to be agreement. Payment, not charity. Charity buys nothing...
She steps forward, projecting. "Money for safety." already whispery, her voice seems to come from out of the fog. "We pay for safe passage, or the moon will drink of you instead, non?"
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attempt at pledge.
Task forbiddance (-1; don't hurt us), boon blessing (+2; 2 dots wealth (prepaid card in wallet)), Sanction curse (-2; fumble badly), Duration day (-1)
Charlotte fully intends to pay using Discreet Conjuration which may be a violation of the pledge if the man doesn't use it immediately. C'est la vie.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
It takes almost all of Kalina's willpower not to pounce on the would-be assailant and snap his neck right then and there. It would be swift and simple. Brutal. A proper price for such a wicked, foolish plan. But... no. No. This is a man, not a fell drake or twisted golem or... well, best not to get caught up in memories. He is human, and he shouldn't --
What's this? What is Charlotte doing? Negotiation? Her muscles tense. It won't work. It can't work. There's no money to hand over, and the instant he figures that out, the lot of them are in danger. Her eyes narrow and lock onto the knife. Is this what passes for a blade now?
Quietly, Kalina shifts her gaze to the area around her, trying to find a stick, a leftover piece of rebar from a construction project, a piece of a bench... something to be her sword against his.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
It couldn't be right.
Marchande walks down the streets, never managing to catch up to Stephanie, never managing to match Rose's speed. Her hands are anxious, her gaze nervous, as she walks along a real San Francisco street for the first time in too long. She adjusts her collar- the collar of her suit- and shakes phantom wrinkles out of the sleeves, stiffening and getting ready to run whenever a homeless man, a woman striding confidently down the sidewalk, a taxi driver on his route, happen to glance at her and her motley band of sisters.
Why aren't they screaming? Why don't they run? There is a dog walking like them, a shining angel behind her, a girl of shadows before her. And what does she receive? Polite nods, incurious glances, a man in a thick jacket with a cardboard sign asking her if she'd take pity on a guy down on his luck. This isn't right. This can't be right. The thought nags at the back of her head - did they escape at all? Will they be dragged back off in the night, when they finally realize that no one is real, that this San Francisco is a trap for them? No, she rejects it, again and again - she has to be home. She has to be free. If it's a trap she'd rather die than go back.
And if it's real, if they can't see the monsters in front of them, what do they see? Does she look like she used to, to them? Or do their eyes slide over her? Can they really see her, or do they simply see the suit, and know that she had a normal human face because all people have normal human faces? Is there some kind of comic book convention in town, and everyone thinks they're in costume?
It troubles her, nags at her, makes it so that every step is simply because she is moving, because she has to keep walking, and so it is that she runs right into the back of Stephanie when she suddenly stops and backs up. Marchande is tall, Stephanie is not; she nearly goes right over Stephanie's shoulders and has to push herself back, confused and disoriented.
That's when she sees the knife, and she freezes up. A mugger was someone she had heard of, and been warned about, but never actually seen. What were you supposed to do... do what they say, don't fight back, contact the cops immediately afterwards? But they didn't have any money, and... would he try to take her suit? Would he hurt them if they were unable to produce money? Could they make a run for it?
Charlotte steps forward, promising money - what money, Marchande wants to scream at her. What money? They have none! There's none to be had! She takes a step back, growling under her breath - some part of her still sees an intruder, someone who is to be chased and bitten for the Master, but it's controlled by the human, who simply wants to get away. Run. Drag them along if she has to.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The man seems a bit confused at Charlotte's words. He's obviously not very smart and when she starts talking about the moon drinking, he blinks vacantly.
Kalina, for her part, notices that there are several wooden boards strewn around the area, preumably from furniture or materials that either fell or the road or were thrown away here.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Rose steps forward and to the side, calm-as-you-like, keeping one eye on the would-be mugger as she goes. She stops over top one of the boards she spotted, and turns her head to look at him fully.
"You chose your prey poorly; there is nothing for you here." She bends down and picks up a piece of wood, and hefts it over her shoulder. Her voice is powerful and icy.
"You have twenty seconds to remove yourself from my sight. After that, I'll start removing your teeth." She stretches her neck, letting it pop and crack.
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Does this call for an Intimidation roll? I feel like it might.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The man seems hesitant. He fingers his knife repeatedly, almost compulsively, and his eyes seem glazed and not entirely focused. He might be on some sort of narcotic.
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I'm sure Thanqol will have further commentary, but rather than do this with penalties, I'm going to say that you should make an intimidate roll with a dice pool of presence+intimidate+1 (for the board) contested by the mugger's resolve+composure+1 (for his knife). The mugger achieved two successes on his roll and we'll re-roll a tie.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
The mugger appears intimidated. He looks over Kalina's strong physique, at the board she's holding, back to his own knife, then takes a step back. And then another. He's still brandishing the blade, but looks quite shaky.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
Fear. Advantage. Kalina sees her assailant faltering and presses her advantage. She strides toward him with wide, even steps.
"Nineteen. Eighteen. Seventeen. Drop the knife."
She takes a second to adjust the board in her grip, swinging it through the air with a dull 'whoosh'.
"Sixteen. Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen." Another couple of steps forward. She'll be on top of him soon. "Knife on the ground. Twelve. Eleven. Ten."
She brandishes her board like a duelist's rapier, prodding him in the chest with it.
"Run, little rabbit. Run."
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
When Kalina actually touches the man, he loses it completely. He shrieks, spins around and begins sprinting away from the motley. Back under the freeway, through the darkness, briefly illuminated beneath a streetlight, and then gone around a corner and into the mist. You do note that he never did drop the knife though.
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Re: [Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC
"Well, that was easy," Stephanie said chirpily, emerging from the mist about four yards to the left of her silhouette. Her plan had been to dodge the knife until the man slipped up or got tired.
That would have been really boring. The knife wasn't even on fire or anything.
"Keep going?" She proffered brightly.