[Changeling] A Gathering of Mists IC

[PhoeKun]

Well, that was easy. Kalina glances down at the print out, her eyes flashing with triumph even as her mouth contorts into a frown.

"Hey, do we have anything on this driver? His name matches a tip."

[Anarion]

Well, that was easy. Kalina glances down at the print out, her eyes flashing with triumph even as her mouth contorts into a frown.

"Hey, do we have anything on this driver? His name matches a tip."

"No ma'am. Not even an unpaid parking ticket."

[PhoeKun]

"No ma'am. Not even an unpaid parking ticket."

Kalina shrugs. "Hm. Wasn't expecting much anyway. Appreciate the help, you have a good night."

She raises her hand in a slight wave as she turns around and exits the station again. Outside, she finds Stephanie and exhales deeply.

"Less of a dead end than I thought. Rodriguez drives the truck. Truck belongs to Royal Crane, address is a match. Our leads are converging."

[Thanqol]

"Great," said Stephanie, bouncing up to her heels. "Next step, I guess, is to try his house and see if there's anything there that'll lead us to where he's taking those kids,"

As she started walking, she had an idea. "Oh - trucks these days have GPS trackers, little chips that tell the company where the truck is at all times. Helps companies run schedules and keep track of delays. Depending on what we find at the house we might be able to place a phone call and report the truck as missing and get the location that way."

She wondered how she'd had that idea - something to do with the Oath she'd sworn, she guessed.

[PhoeKun]

"I'm wondering if the truck or the man is the more important find right now. Suppose they're both together, most of the time. I'll trust your call. Let's go see what we can find, then."

Kalina glances down at her printout again, checks the nearest street corner, and starts walking. She doesn't slow down, but she does spare a look at Stephanie as she goes.

"...You know, without your help I don't think I would have closed the trail this far in one evening. But it isn't going to be an easy thing. Rodriguez hasn't even seen Paladin in person - the very best we can hope for is a clue to point us further down the trail. If you keep this up, there's a good chance you're going to miss your meeting with McCurtis. It could cost you your shot at that job. If that happens, I..." she falters.

"I'll find some way to make it up to you."

[Thanqol]

"If I was the kind to be fussed about missing a meeting to become a cop on account of being too busy saving the lives of a truckload of children, I'd be an awful cop," said Stephanie.

"We're stopping this guy. That takes priority. But tell you what. If I miss that meeting, next time I go on a quest to save a bunch of people from a homicidal maniac, you have my back. All right?"

[PhoeKun]

It seems to take Kalina a second to process those words. But then she smiles. Genuinely. Sweetly (god damn ribbon).

"You have a deal."

[Raz_Fox]

Marchande stands stock-still for a moment, her pupils dilated, and then whispers to the Hedge, "I can see everything." Alas to her, that seeing everything is the same as seeing nothing at once!

[Thanqol]

Stephanie smiled back. She kept the pace up as they continued to head towards the house.

[SiuiS]

Breathe.

The air tastes like a strange mint (that would be the juniper). There is the rustle and thrush of leaves on the wind – Charlotte is unclear on the existence of any wind, but the leaves move regardless – and somewhere, she knows. Stephanie is confusing her Action Adventure morality for how real adults operate. Life is good, with purpose.

Safety is no longer a primary concern. They are on a clock, after all, and while quiescent now when the alarm goes off it would be fit to shake them from its surface into space and amidst the clamor of the hammer as it beats between the bells, and no one wants that. Taking Marchande by the hand (paw?) Charlotte keeps an eye out for anything that could be immediately used as a tool, since no paintbrush has been acquired, or even canvas or easel, and sets off, stage left.

[Anarion]

Stephanie smiled back. She kept the pace up as they continued to head towards the house.

[Could you clarify house? The address that you got for Royal Crown is a business address downtown. I may not have been clear on that. But it's getting late at night, so I'm not sure whether you mean to go to the business now, or if you meant some other house.]

Safety is no longer a primary concern. They are on a clock, after all, and while quiescent now when the alarm goes off it would be fit to shake them from its surface into space and amidst the clamor of the hammer as it beats between the bells, and no one wants that. Taking Marchande by the hand (paw?) Charlotte keeps an eye out for anything that could be immediately used as a tool, since no paintbrush has been acquired, or even canvas or easel, and sets off, stage left.

The juniper leaves part, though they draw a little blood as both Charlotte and Marchande wade through them. But after a few steps, the path broadens out. The exit can still be seen faintly through the junipers, Marchande at least is careful to keep a close eye on it, though if Charlotte looks away, she may lose track.

Once out of the Juniper, there is a clear forest trail. The growth on both sides is wild. Thick dark bushes with sharp leaves line the trail, rising into the air nearly 20 feet. There is sunshine above, though, and hints of a formless blue sky. The path itself is a dirt trail, looking rather like one cut by frequent deer usage: narrow and winding, but visible in a generally straight direction for a couple hundred feet both ways.

Charlotte smells the faint scent of smoke in the direction that she's heading.

[Raz_Fox]

Marchande is dragged along by Charlotte, still on the buzz of Hedgeknowledge, keeping an unconscious eye on the exit. "Watch it," she mutters, "It moves when you're not looking, laughs and watches you from between the leaves, so pin it down with eyes, eyes, sharp upon it!" For once, she might be talking Charlotte's language.

[Thanqol]

[Could you clarify house? The address that you got for Royal Crown is a business address downtown. I may not have been clear on that. But it's getting late at night, so I'm not sure whether you mean to go to the business now, or if you meant some other house.]

[I thought I meant Roudrigez' house]

[Anarion]

[I thought I meant Roudrigez' house]

[You don't have that information. The matching address from the computer and the phone book is a business address for Royal Crane. The registered driver is just a name under the truck's listing, its address is still the Royal Crane business address.]

[Thanqol]

[You don't have that information. The matching address from the computer and the phone book is a business address for Royal Crane. The registered driver is just a name under the truck's listing, its address is still the Royal Crane business address.]

[Ah OK, Royal Crane it is then I guess]

[Anarion]

[I'm expecting a further response from Charlotte for the Hedge scene, or at least telling me whether you go towards or away from the smell of fire.]
---------------------

By the time Rose and Stephanie arrive at the Royal Crane office it has gone from evening to night. It's about 9:00 p.m., the streetlights are on, and some bars are hopping just a couple blocks away. The office itself is an unremarkable brick building taking up about 1/4 of the block. It has the words "Royal Crane Shipping Co." written on the front door in golden letters and next to that on the window is a silhouette of what is presumably a crane taking wing with a smaller bird in a bundle in its mouth.

[Basically this picture, but with birds instead of cats.]

Spoiler

Show

[Thanqol]

Stephanie started off by checking around to see if any lights were on, and if there were stickers that indicated what kind of security system they used, if any. Standard casing, going around to see what she could see.

[Anarion]

Stephanie started off by checking around to see if any lights were on, and if there were stickers that indicated what kind of security system they used, if any. Standard casing, going around to see what she could see.

The sticker on the window reads:
"This premises protected by Securenet® security. And you thought Fort Knox was good"

The building itself is dark and there is only the one window up front. The front door is metal and sealed up tightly.

[Thanqol]

Stephanie finished casing the place and walked back to Rose. "Securenet system, looks like a 2009 model. I don't know it personally but Securenet are guilty of focusing more on looking secure than being secure; Black Labyrinth and Golden Key are the real players, at least when I was last around. Old models have a two minute time delay between trigger and outgoing call, don't know about this one but I'll assume ninety. I'll crack the door and go for the box, hang outside here until I'm done. When you come in, cover your face, cameras will keep running even once the sensors are off."

[SiuiS]

Marchande is dragged along by Charlotte, still on the buzz of Hedgeknowledge, keeping an unconscious eye on the exit. "Watch it," she mutters, "It moves when you're not looking, laughs and watches you from between the leaves, so pin it down with eyes, eyes, sharp upon it!" For once, she might be talking Charlotte's language.

Terrifyingly comforting. Marchande is usually not this lucid...

"Would we be able to pick it up, take it with us, Madame? Or use breadcrumbs? Or perhaps... How hard is it to find another door?"

She waits for a response, caught between heartbeats. Fire is the theme of the night, however, and now that they were in the hedge Charlotte can feel hers beginning to blaze from it's smolder. She sought a thing of searing light, burning just and true... But also she sought canvas and brush, mortar, pestle, pigmenttation. The fire calls, but...

"Marchande?"

[PhoeKun]

Stephanie finished casing the place and walked back to Rose. "Securenet system, looks like a 2009 model. I don't know it personally but Securenet are guilty of focusing more on looking secure than being secure; Black Labyrinth and Golden Key are the real players, at least when I was last around. Old models have a two minute time delay between trigger and outgoing call, don't know about this one but I'll assume ninety. I'll crack the door and go for the box, hang outside here until I'm done. When you come in, cover your face, cameras will keep running even once the sensors are off."

It was moments like this one that made Rose wonder if people dumped this sort of information on her because they were trying to be helpful, or if they simply knew she couldn't possibly keep up and they wanted to sound smarter. It was difficult to tell sometimes, particularly where it involved Stephanie. She folds her arms as she waits for the explanation to finish.

"You do know what you're doing. I'll be out waiting if you require assistance."

[Thanqol]

"Okie!" said Stephanie, giving very much the impression that it had been Option Number One. She pulled up her hood and walked over to the door.

"Oh, darn it," she muttered, realising she'd left her lockpicks... somewhere. All she had were some paperclips she kept for emergencies like this. She twisted them straight and started work at the door, making sure to keep her face angled away from the camera.

[Raz_Fox]

Terrifyingly comforting. Marchande is usually not this lucid...

"Would we be able to pick it up, take it with us, Madame? Or use breadcrumbs? Or perhaps... How hard is it to find another door?"

She waits for a response, caught between heartbeats. Fire is the theme of the night, however, and now that they were in the hedge Charlotte can feel hers beginning to blaze from it's smolder. She sought a thing of searing light, burning just and true... But also she sought canvas and brush, mortar, pestle, pigmenttation. The fire calls, but...

"Marchande?"

Marchande waves her hand flamboyantly, filled with the pride of the true purveyor of wisdom and magic. "Why, I can find it, can I not? Follow me onwards - the market awaits!" She takes the lead, now, tugging Charlotte behind her with her long stride; she looks away from the door, moving towards the light. Surely, surely, it is the light of lanterns and stalls.

[Anarion]

"Okie!" said Stephanie, giving very much the impression that it had been Option Number One. She pulled up her hood and walked over to the door.

"Oh, darn it," she muttered, realising she'd left her lockpicks... somewhere. All she had were some paperclips she kept for emergencies like this. She twisted them straight and started work at the door, making sure to keep her face angled away from the camera.

[No time pressure, lock is opened after about 30 seconds of work on Stephanie's part, should that affect your RP]

The door swings open quietly. The room is pitch black inside. For Stephanie, that's practically like being given a welcoming red carpet for her to enter.

Marchande waves her hand flamboyantly, filled with the pride of the true purveyor of wisdom and magic. "Why, I can find it, can I not? Follow me onwards - the market awaits!" She takes the lead, now, tugging Charlotte behind her with her long stride; she looks away from the door, moving towards the light. Surely, surely, it is the light of lanterns and stalls.

As they travel through the Hedge, the scent of smoke grows stronger. It's a rich, heady smell, the smell of coals and wood piled high outdoors on a summer's night. Charlotte and Marchande weave and wend their way through the deer trail, perhaps 200 feet when the light ahead becomes more clear and the bushes part wider. With the winding path, the two of them have an opportunity to look ahead without being obviously visible.

Through the part in the bushes is a clearing in the Hedge. It's a glade perhaps 50 feet in diameter. Somehow it seems to have become night overhead, there are stars shining and the sky has a reflection that seems like a glimmer of a crescent moon. In the center of the glade is a roaring fire in a ring of stones that must be nearly 15 feet wide. The flame is unnaturally high, the wood itself stacked nearly 8 feet high in humongous logs and the flames shooting up above the top of the bushes all around the glade. The fire seems to shift and dance on its own, red to orange to yellow and a core of glowing white. Charlotte blinks: is that a woman's form dancing in the center? No, no it couldn't be. Just a trick of the light, a warp of the sinuous flames.

All around the fire, little gremlins of some sort dance and sing. Their song is a wordless tune, a high-pitched roaring nearly indistinguishable from the flames themselves. Standing and watching the circle shift makes it hard to count, but there seem to be 6 of the little beasts, each one perhaps 4 feet tall and dressed in a tiny linen shirt of brown or green, rough breeches, and a tall conical cap. They don't seem to have noticed you yet.

[Thanqol]

[No time pressure, lock is opened after about 30 seconds of work on Stephanie's part, should that affect your RP]

The door swings open quietly. The room is pitch black inside. For Stephanie, that's practically like being given a welcoming red carpet for her to enter.

Before she stepped in, Stephanie remembered to pull on a pair of woollen gloves to avoid fingerprints. Then she was searching, looking for the box, moving fast room by room and marking camera positions as she went.

[Raz_Fox]

Spoiler

Show

As they travel through the Hedge, the scent of smoke grows stronger. It's a rich, heady smell, the smell of coals and wood piled high outdoors on a summer's night. Charlotte and Marchande weave and wend their way through the deer trail, perhaps 200 feet when the light ahead becomes more clear and the bushes part wider. With the winding path, the two of them have an opportunity to look ahead without being obviously visible.

Through the part in the bushes is a clearing in the Hedge. It's a glade perhaps 50 feet in diameter. Somehow it seems to have become night overhead, there are stars shining and the sky has a reflection that seems like a glimmer of a crescent moon. In the center of the glade is a roaring fire in a ring of stones that must be nearly 15 feet wide. The flame is unnaturally high, the wood itself stacked nearly 8 feet high in humongous logs and the flames shooting up above the top of the bushes all around the glade. The fire seems to shift and dance on its own, red to orange to yellow and a core of glowing white. Charlotte blinks: is that a woman's form dancing in the center? No, no it couldn't be. Just a trick of the light, a warp of the sinuous flames.

All around the fire, little gremlins of some sort dance and sing. Their song is a wordless tune, a high-pitched roaring nearly indistinguishable from the flames themselves. Standing and watching the circle shift makes it hard to count, but there seem to be 6 of the little beasts, each one perhaps 4 feet tall and dressed in a tiny linen shirt of brown or green, rough breeches, and a tall conical cap. They don't seem to have noticed you yet.

Marchande hesitates for a moment, glaring at the fire, which seems oddly washed out and pale to her eyes. She can see color just fine, dammit, just like regular people. And it's in that hesitation that cold hard reason starts seeping back into her bones. Oh, crap, she actually thought she could walk away from the door? Haha, that was golden, she should slap herself for it. Never taste the merchandise, wine vendor!

"This was not what I had planned," she mutters to Charlotte, peering at the gnomes all bouncing about the fire. "Odds of them being not very likely to sell us weapons as opposed to throwing us into the fire? Pretty high. Thoughts on what to do next?"

Hesitancy, regret, a frantic attempt to understand the variables. Marchande is right back into her stride here.

[Anarion]

Before she stepped in, Stephanie remembered to pull on a pair of woollen gloves to avoid fingerprints. Then she was searching, looking for the box, moving fast room by room and marking camera positions as she went.

[Did you ever activate your "I can see everything in darkness" contract? Or should I just assume that's always on in dark places?]

[Thanqol]

[Did you ever activate your "I can see everything in darkness" contract? Or should I just assume that's always on in dark places?]

[I'm always meeting the Catch with my cape so there's no reason to ever turn it off]

[SiuiS]

"This was not what I had planned," she mutters to Charlotte, peering at the gnomes all bouncing about the fire. "Odds of them being not very likely to sell us weapons as opposed to throwing us into the fire? Pretty high. Thoughts on what to do next?"

"Well, I would like to see how the flames found worship with little wee men, of nothing else. And I could use some charcoal if they'd give it freely... Or if taken by force." Charlotte sticks her arm out, elbow pointed slightly toward her companion an palm to the floor. It's Marchande's own fault for wearing te pats, really. "Shall we?"

[Raz_Fox]

"Well, I would like to see how the flames found worship with little wee men, of nothing else. And I could use some charcoal if they'd give it freely... Or if taken by force." Charlotte sticks her arm out, elbow pointed slightly toward her companion an palm to the floor. It's Marchande's own fault for wearing te pats, really. "Shall we?"

Marchande raises an eyebrow, trying to understand her small companion again. Why link arms? It'd make them slower to flee if the gnomes were to attack - but, then again, staying together in this place was the most important thing imaginable. If they stayed together, nothing could go wrong.

So she takes the arm, and walks out into the clearing, waving her free hand. "Ho," she says, defaulting once again to archaic courtesy, tinged ever-so-slightly with England. "I trust you will not mind our approach, gentlemen."