[Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

[stveje]

"Wouldn't they just, like, enter the Hedge and come back out somewhere else, but like, with cement on their clothes and really mad at us?"

"Right. Fair point."

not-Jack slumps down a bit again. He wasn't made for leading, and the one who was just left the room. "I still say we should focus on the girl and my fetch for now and worry about the Huntsmen later, as far as that's possible ... maybe we can send them on a wild goose chase for a while, keep them out of our hair for a few days maybe.

"But if we do go after their hearts at some point, I want to be there."

[Elanorin]

"I mean, hmm, I think probably. I've only heard rumors though. If I just go diving, I dunno if I'll find it right away. I can do that, I mean, it's way better than nothing, y'know? But like, it would be better if we had something to go off of, like some person they were connected to, or who was dreaming about Huntsman things? I mean, maybe? Actually, I don't even know if it works that way, but like, having a crazy faerie heart in your dreams probably affects your dreams, right, like it's gotta because all the fae stuff does that and nobody just sits around with a faerie heart in their noggin and is like 'yeah, totally normal, my life is completely normal, normal person whistle' so, I'm figuring that we can look for..."

"Hey, Lily, are you listening?"

"Hm?" Lily quickly looked up, and a rark pink rose quickly to her cheeks. "Yes," she cleared her throat and frowned a I'm-focused frown with a nod, "hearts, mhm."

"I-I..."

His hand slipped free, and if it'd been anybody but her, he wouldn't have had to leave a piece of his heart behind.

"I'll be outside." Edmund declared, and strode purposefully out of their midst. But not far; the restaurant was not nearly big enough for theatrics of that scale. No, he merely turned down the hallway, and exited to the private - if slightly odorous - rear of the building. There he sat with his back against the wall, closed his eyes, and breathed the free air again.

Having just been called out on not paying attention, Lily felt unable to address Edmund's sudden exit from the discussion, not to mention the room. She glanced uncomfortably over her shoulder in the direction he'd gone, both a little concerned but more than anything annoyed at having her worries being proven right, yet again. She tried to keep up with the conversation. She had things to say, points to make but how was any of this going to go anywhere if they weren't all present to make an agreement?

How could he just walk out?! Sitting sulking in a corner contributing nothing other than snarky comments and ill humour was bad enough but to just walk out all together?! On your friends?

not-Jack watched the Prince walk out and felt a little nag of concern. "Is he alright? Should we ..."

"I've got it," Lily said a little too quickly. Not-Jack's words were close enough to an actual request to go after Edmund for her not to jump at the chance, and so she quickly stormed after Edmund the way he'd gone.

The door to the back alley behind the not-aquarium fell shut behind her by its own weight and she stood a single step away from it, having stopped the moment she found him and merely stood and stared at him, the odd snowflake swirling around her in the disturbed air. Her nose wrinkled a little involuntarily at the smell back here. It only fuelled the offensiveness of the whole situation. He sat amongst garbage.

The scene was so wrong it was hard to know where to begin so Lily just stood and stared down with silent icy accusation at the heap of Prince sat on the ground, leaned against the wall, in the thick smell of slowly decomposing rubbish.

[TheAmishPirate]

"I've got it," Lily said a little too quickly. Not-Jack's words were close enough to an actual request to go after Edmund for her not to jump at the chance, and so she quickly stormed after Edmund the way he'd gone.

The door to the back alley behind the not-aquarium fell shut behind her by its own weight and she stood a single step away from it, having stopped the moment she found him and merely stood and stared at him, the odd snowflake swirling around her in the disturbed air. Her nose wrinkled a little involuntarily at the smell back here. It only fuelled the offensiveness of the whole situation. He sat amongst garbage.

The scene was so wrong it was hard to know where to begin so Lily just stood and stared down with silent icy accusation at the heap of Prince sat on the ground, leaned against the wall, in the thick smell of slowly decomposing rubbish.

Edmund sat amongst his own kind, breathing deeply. In. And out. In. And out. In. And out. An individual less experienced with wrangling wayward princes might think him asleep, but Lily would know. Oh, she would know.

He cracked open one eye to look up at her. "By all means; no need to stand on my account."

And he even made resignation sound gracious and lordly. The unimaginable gall of him.

[Elanorin]

Edmund sat amongst his own kind, breathing deeply. In. And out. In. And out. In. And out. An individual less experienced with wrangling wayward princes might think him asleep, but Lily would know. Oh, she would know.

He cracked open one eye to look up at her. "By all means; no need to stand on my account."

And he even made resignation sound gracious and lordly. The unimaginable gall of him.

"Get."

"Up."

[TheAmishPirate]

"Get."

"Up."

Yeah. Yeah that was about what he expected.

"In a minute."

He made no motion to rise.

[Elanorin]

Yeah. Yeah that was about what he expected.

"In a minute."

He made no motion to rise.

"Get. Up. Right now, or so help me..." Lily said taking a step towards him, burying her fingernails hard in to her palms, her arms hanging at her side dead straight and stiff. One by one her every muscle was tensing up.

[TheAmishPirate]

"Get. Up. Right now, or so help me..." Lily said taking a step towards him, burying her fingernails hard in to her palms, her arms hanging at her side dead straight and stiff. One by one her every muscle was tensing up.

Edmund watched her through one eye, without lifting his head.

"I need some time. I'll get up in a minute."

He made no motion to rise.

[Elanorin]

Edmund watched her through one eye, without lifting his head.

"I need some time. I'll get up in a minute."

He made no motion to rise.

Lily breathed several forced breaths to simmer herself down a little before she went and raised her voice or something.

"Exactly what part of discussing a plan to evade, or outright remove the huntsmen as a threat, strikes you as irrelevant enough to render your presence superfluous? Even if your self respect has sunken so low that you cannot be bothered to save yourself, those are your friends in there!" Lily pointed back at the closed door. "Your only friends. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. For us."

"Huntsmen are on us. They are gunning straight for both Isaac and- ...two of us have them breathing down their necks. Those two huntsmen could show up at any moment. That needs dealing with. Immediately. They're scared- I'm scared. And this whole town is so messed up- even the Courts are so twisted up in their own intrigue that they can't be relied on, hell even trusted. All we have is each other. This is it. Our last and only defence against another eternity back in-..." Lily cut herself off as her voice threatened to break even at the thought of going back.

"So, get up. Go back in there and at least listen to the conversation. Show your friends that they matter enough to you for you to at least try to help them. If loyalty and respect is too much to ask of Your Majesty, then for goodness sakes, Edmund, at least have enough common courtesy to fake it."

[TheAmishPirate]

Lily breathed several forced breaths to simmer herself down a little before she went and raised her voice or something.

"Exactly what part of discussing a plan to evade, or outright remove the huntsmen as a threat, strikes you as irrelevant enough to render your presence superfluous? Even if your self respect has sunken so low that you cannot be bothered to save yourself, those are your friends in there!" Lily pointed back at the closed door. "Your only friends. You wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them. For us."

"Huntsmen are on us. They are gunning straight for both Isaac and- ...two of us have them breathing down their necks. Those two huntsmen could show up at any moment. That needs dealing with. Immediately. They're scared- I'm scared. And this whole town is so messed up- even the Courts are so twisted up in their own intrigue that they can't be relied on, hell even trusted. All we have is each other. This is it. Our last and only defence against another eternity back in-..." Lily cut herself off as her voice threatened to break even at the thought of going back.

"So, get up. Go back in there and at least listen to the conversation. Show your friends that they matter enough to you for you to at least try to help them. If loyalty and respect is too much to ask of Your Majesty, then for goodness sakes, Edmund, at least have enough common courtesy to fake it."

He made no motion to rise. For a time, he said nothing at all.

“...you thought I wasn’t coming back.”

Hard to believe. Harder to deny. Here he was, and there you were. There’s blood staining his clenched hands. The glass cut him when it shattered. You noticed, didn’t you? You must have gotten some on your hand when you held his. Hard to deny.

“You thought I wasn’t coming back, and you came to force me back.”

Do you deny it?

[Elanorin]

Do you deny it?

Not even a little.

He made no motion to rise. For a time, he said nothing at all.

“...you thought I wasn’t coming back.”

Hard to believe. Harder to deny. Here he was, and there you were. There’s blood staining his clenched hands. The glass cut him when it shattered. You noticed, didn’t you? You must have gotten some on your hand when you held his. Hard to deny.

“You thought I wasn’t coming back, and you came to force me back.”

Lilly stepped away from the door. Her feet crunched against the street as she slowly stepped towards him where he sat, refusing to move. She missed her old dress, suddenly. These modern clothes made her feel exposed in a way they never had before.

"I'm not deluded enough to think that anything I say, or do, ...or endure, have the power to force you to do anything," she breathed, her breath a frosty white mist of a breath let out in to the air of an icy winter morning.

"But I will try. I will always try. To hold you accountable. Honest. Loyal. They deserve no less."

You deserve no less.

[TheAmishPirate]

Lilly stepped away from the door. Her feet crunched against the street as she slowly stepped towards him where he sat, refusing to move. She missed her old dress, suddenly. These modern clothes made her feel exposed in a way they never had before.

"I'm not deluded enough to think that anything I say, or do, ...or endure, have the power to force you to do anything," she breathed, her breath a frosty white mist of a breath let out in to the air of an icy winter morning.

"But I will try. I will always try. To hold you accountable. Honest. Loyal. They deserve no less."

You deserve no less.

His piercing eye never left her. Not for a moment. Watching, from the errant wisps of her feathers to the sharp tread of her feet. Consuming, from the mist flowing past her lips to the curl of her smallest finger.

Judging, all.

"So what about me? I don't deserve a minute?"

[Thanqol]

Team Unresolved Tension:

You'll have to continue this intense staring on the road. Lily swore on a piece of iron and iron actively hates all of you enough already. You can feel its uncomfortable warmth still sizzling by your hand and looming increasingly closer

It sounds like you're looking into Spring. You can either hit up Mrs. Height's house, or if she's too scary to face directly, they supposedly cluster around the car shop when they're not otherwise occupied. Where do you go and what's your approach?


Team Spiderwolves:

You have two things on your to-do list: Rescue an innocent person from the Goblin King and steal a name from a shambling monster.

After going through the angles there's a lot to recommend this plan. Without the name the Huntsmen have no leverage over you, and you're all fairly good at ghosting away from confrontations. Getting the name is surprisingly not even that difficult - it'll be in the form of a physical thing that the Fetch will be wearing. Intangibles sold by the Market all come with a physical component because Goblins hate thinking conceptually.

Finding the roundabout location of where the Huntsmen have stashed the victim likewise isn't difficult. That's bait, so they want you to find the clues - it's clear that Mercia is doing a patrol around a locked up power substation that is just coincidentally in the background of every shot that they put on TV. We're talking a barbed wire fence, a locked up utility shack, big transmitters, relatively open and clear lines of sight immediately around it, beyond that trees and a dirt road.

So there are three things you need to do:
- Get your message out to bait the Fetch into coming for you
- Choose the location you want to bait it into and prepare the ground accordingly
- Plan a diversion for the Huntsmen

For the purposes of simplicity, pick one job each and tell us how you do it. I'll ask for rolls if relevant.

[Elanorin]

His piercing eye never left her. Not for a moment. Watching, from the errant wisps of her feathers to the sharp tread of her feet. Consuming, from the mist flowing past her lips to the curl of her smallest finger.

Judging, all.

"So what about me? I don't deserve a minute?"

Lily tried to stand firm, but despite herself she felt her resolve to be hard crumbling. She couldn't help but see and feel how vulnerable he was in this moment and she was not so cruel as to forbid him the right to be human. It's what they all came back here to be, after all, despite how it turned out, despite being trapped in some fantastical no-man's-land, neither lost nor found. It's not as if she'd ever want him to lose that.

Lily bent down, crouched, before him and she looked at him with a softer gaze and eyes that were nearly remorseful. She opened her mouth and drew a breath, but paused as she had second thoughts regarding the words she'd chosen to say. She let the breath out, white and cold, before finally settling on,

"...of course you do," she breathed, softly, "...but not thisone. This minute is not yours to take. Thisone is theirs, and your place- our place- is with them. Hearing them. Helping them. For we need you and we have earned the right to need you just as much as you have earned the right to need us."

She stood back up.

"Take a minute. Take several. But not thisone. Not here. And not..." she glanced at the garbage, "like this."

Team Unresolved Tension:

You'll have to continue this intense staring on the road. Lily swore on a piece of iron and iron actively hates all of you enough already. You can feel its uncomfortable warmth still sizzling by your hand and looming increasingly closer

It sounds like you're looking into Spring. You can either hit up Mrs. Height's house, or if she's too scary to face directly, they supposedly cluster around the car shop when they're not otherwise occupied. Where do you go and what's your approach?

Straight to Mrs Height. Edmund is set to distract while Lily will look around her house for any evidence/clues regarding her dealings with the Gentry.

[stveje]

Having disguised Aelas as the missing girl and put her in front of a camera to deliver their message (riddled with subtle clues that only his fetch ought to pick up on), and left the Pilgrim to keep the huntsmen distracted, not-Jack has set out for a different place to face his fetch and, hopefully, maybe steal back his name. He has a feeling that Jack is better at the murdering business than he is, so he's looking for a place with lots of hiding places, nooks, crannies, people ... his fetch may feel just as much at home in such a place as he does, but at least he won't be at a disadvantage, and he wants to avoid a straight up, face-to-face confrontation as much as possible.

So he's going to spend some time blending in and getting to know the lay of the land, then lay low and wait for his fetch to follow the metaphorical trail of bread crumbs.

[Anarion]

Aelas was a little disappointed not to get to just run off and do her thing, but was appeased at the idea of getting to dress up. She's also never been bait before and is really excited to be bait. She'll try and contain that though, and she did whatever not-Jack told her to do in order to get the right message across. She wasn't sure what to do after that, but looked to Isaac to provide some guidance.

[Raz_Fox]

Our most laconic friend, the Pilgrim, has a door. It is not a particularly good door; it has been salvaged from a dump, and is splintered and worn and stained in a most repellent manner. But it remains a door, hanging under one arm, offering him a way to coax the Huntsmen into his terrain. The Hedge, in all its glory, is much akin to the wilderness he suffered through for many long years, and he will lead the Huntsmen on a merry chase through it, all the way back if necessary.

Let us hope that it will not be necessary. He would do it. That's the sort of thing that a lifetime of being told you deserve to suffer will do.

So, here is the plan, in all its horrible glory: approach the fortress in the form of a wraith, hit the Goblin King over the head repeatedly, provoke them awfully, and then dash through the door and conveniently leave it open.

Before he leaves to go carry out aforementioned terrible plan, he is sure to tell Aelas to be ready to run when the Fetch comes. If the Huntsmen send the real police, which is unlikely but the sort of curveball that Longarms might think is clever, don't let them catch you. If the real Huntsmen show up, don't let them see your face. You are brave but you also must run when the time comes.

[Anarion]

Our most laconic friend, the Pilgrim, has a door. It is not a particularly good door; it has been salvaged from a dump, and is splintered and worn and stained in a most repellent manner. But it remains a door, hanging under one arm, offering him a way to coax the Huntsmen into his terrain. The Hedge, in all its glory, is much akin to the wilderness he suffered through for many long years, and he will lead the Huntsmen on a merry chase through it, all the way back if necessary.

Let us hope that it will not be necessary. He would do it. That's the sort of thing that a lifetime of being told you deserve to suffer will do.

So, here is the plan, in all its horrible glory: approach the fortress in the form of a wraith, hit the Goblin King over the head repeatedly, provoke them awfully, and then dash through the door and conveniently leave it open.

Before he leaves to go carry out aforementioned terrible plan, he is sure to tell Aelas to be ready to run when the Fetch comes. If the Huntsmen send the real police, which is unlikely but the sort of curveball that Longarms might think is clever, don't let them catch you. If the real Huntsmen show up, don't let them see your face. You are brave but you also must run when the time comes.

But where to run to, Isaac? Truth be told, I think Aelas will run and then turn right back around. She has such a swift horse in the hedge, after all. If you are leading a merry chase, perhaps the goblin king will run far enough to start feeling his heart once more. And if he feels his heart, perhaps there will be more to do, maybe a dreaming road nearby or a bargain to be struck.

[TheAmishPirate]

Lily tried to stand firm, but despite herself she felt her resolve to be hard crumbling. She couldn't help but see and feel how vulnerable he was in this moment and she was not so cruel as to forbid him the right to be human. It's what they all came back here to be, after all, despite how it turned out, despite being trapped in some fantastical no-man's-land, neither lost nor found. It's not as if she'd ever want him to lose that.

Lily bent down, crouched, before him and she looked at him with a softer gaze and eyes that were nearly remorseful. She opened her mouth and drew a breath, but paused as she had second thoughts regarding the words she'd chosen to say. She let the breath out, white and cold, before finally settling on,

"...of course you do," she breathed, softly, "...but not thisone. This minute is not yours to take. Thisone is theirs, and your place- our place- is with them. Hearing them. Helping them. For we need you and we have earned the right to need you just as much as you have earned the right to need us."

She stood back up.

"Take a minute. Take several. But not thisone. Not here. And not..." she glanced at the garbage, "like this."

Nothing.

No shudder, no sudden illness, no brand of punishment, nothing.

Was this not enough for the Wyrd; to deny an injured friend a moment to collect themselves? Was she under thrall, that the Wyrd would not consider this decision her own? Or could the Story operate within the boundaries of the Wyrd?

Edmund prayed for the first, for what little his preference mattered.

Then, he rose. You'll get your Prince. Miserable and brooding as he is.

Straight to Mrs Height. Edmund is set to distract while Lily will look around her house for any evidence/clues regarding her dealings with the Gentry.

I think it important to speak on the nature of Mrs. Height's efforts for Edmund thus far. At least, as far as Edmund understands it:

Put simply, Spring wants him on their team. He's powerful, commanding, wants little to do with Arcadia and its magics, and he's almost normal-looking to boot. Not to mention it's an open secret how shallow his loyalties are to Winter. If she could sway this wayward Prince, he could be a mighty force for Spring.

The problem is that she and Edmund are playing two entirely different games. And while she's got him pegged as a valuable piece in her stratagems, she hasn't the slightest clue what Edmund is playing at. Heck, Edmund has barely a clue what Edmund is playing at. If he's making this up as he goes, how can she possibly guess at his plans? He has all the social might and finesse of a runaway truck, but no obvious steering wheel, and yet the prize is so great that Spring probably can't afford to ignore him.

Worst of all? He's looking to blow off some steam today.

Heaven help us all.

[Thanqol]

Having disguised Aelas as the missing girl and put her in front of a camera to deliver their message (riddled with subtle clues that only his fetch ought to pick up on), and left the Pilgrim to keep the huntsmen distracted, not-Jack has set out for a different place to face his fetch and, hopefully, maybe steal back his name. He has a feeling that Jack is better at the murdering business than he is, so he's looking for a place with lots of hiding places, nooks, crannies, people ... his fetch may feel just as much at home in such a place as he does, but at least he won't be at a disadvantage, and he wants to avoid a straight up, face-to-face confrontation as much as possible.

So he's going to spend some time blending in and getting to know the lay of the land, then lay low and wait for his fetch to follow the metaphorical trail of bread crumbs.

Somewhere with lots of hiding places and lots of people? That's pretty much the shopping mall. The décor is tacky; plastic plants and a big digital banner displaying the news. It's a busy afternoon, people are crowded around the Hoyts cinema to see the latest superhero movie as the last part of their summer vacation.

Problem, though, is the black suited Westpac security guy who's eyeballing you from across the food court. He's unarmed but he's got the look of someone who's a martial arts enthusiast in his spare time. Maybe he's made you from TV? He seems to come to a decision and starts walking across the room towards you. What do you do?

Our most laconic friend, the Pilgrim, has a door. It is not a particularly good door; it has been salvaged from a dump, and is splintered and worn and stained in a most repellent manner. But it remains a door, hanging under one arm, offering him a way to coax the Huntsmen into his terrain. The Hedge, in all its glory, is much akin to the wilderness he suffered through for many long years, and he will lead the Huntsmen on a merry chase through it, all the way back if necessary.

Let us hope that it will not be necessary. He would do it. That's the sort of thing that a lifetime of being told you deserve to suffer will do.

So, here is the plan, in all its horrible glory: approach the fortress in the form of a wraith, hit the Goblin King over the head repeatedly, provoke them awfully, and then dash through the door and conveniently leave it open.

Before he leaves to go carry out aforementioned terrible plan, he is sure to tell Aelas to be ready to run when the Fetch comes. If the Huntsmen send the real police, which is unlikely but the sort of curveball that Longarms might think is clever, don't let them catch you. If the real Huntsmen show up, don't let them see your face. You are brave but you also must run when the time comes.

You make the stealthy approach - the two Huntsmen are following the Fetch as it stalks towards where the person formerly known as Jack waits. You swing the club around, clunking Longarms across the head. He turns to you and his eyes are full of deathly focus and you can see him ready himself to run and begin the chase.

But there's one problem with your plan.

Mercia turns her head, glances at you, and she does not care. She sees you and almost as quickly as she's seen you she dismisses you. You've got one of the Huntsmen on the hook but not the other - and if you don't do anything about it in the ten seconds before Longarms finds what he's looking for in his sack and comes after you she's going to follow the Fetch towards not-Jack. Two against one is an ugly scenario to leave any friend in.

So you've got ten seconds with which to bait Mercia. If you went back and stole Autumn's contract - well, that would certainly be bait, but it would be a very direct act of treachery towards the Court. If you didn't - what else have you got?

But where to run to, Isaac? Truth be told, I think Aelas will run and then turn right back around. She has such a swift horse in the hedge, after all. If you are leading a merry chase, perhaps the goblin king will run far enough to start feeling his heart once more. And if he feels his heart, perhaps there will be more to do, maybe a dreaming road nearby or a bargain to be struck.

So Aelas is on the other side of the Hedge, galloping through the twists and tangles of the thorns to meet up with Isaac. But the Hedge has a way of throwing up walls for those who move quickly and you find your way blocked by a steep ravine and a troll with skin the black of fire's shadow and swirling dustpaint circles for eyes.

"Fee fie foe fum," he rumbled. "I smell the blood of an Australian. To cross my bridge there is a toll - paid in riddles, blood or gold."

Straight to Mrs Height. Edmund is set to distract while Lily will look around her house for any evidence/clues regarding her dealings with the Gentry.

I think it important to speak on the nature of Mrs. Height's efforts for Edmund thus far. At least, as far as Edmund understands it:

Mrs. Height does her best to come across as aggressively mundane. So it's always a bit naff when you arrive and are greeted by a full three-course afternoon tea, complete with roast chicken, coleslaw, and homemade hommus all ready and laid out on two table spaces laid out just for you. Mrs. Height and three of her minions are already sitting making small talk and when you arrive they treat you like expected guests, hustling you into your chairs and pouring you drinks. It's no mystery who this is all for - Mrs. Height rolls out the red napkins every time Edmund shows up for any occasion.

"So Edmund," says Mrs. Height with the winning smile of a proud hostess. "How is business at your marvellous new multifaith church and restaurant?"

[Anarion]

Aelas pulls Butterfly to a stop worriedly biting her lip. For an instant, she'd thought about just leaping right over the troll, but there were a bunch of weird magic powers that could make that into an terrible idea, and she figured if the guy was doing the entire crazy bridge troll act, it was a good guess that he had something to back it up.

So she stopped instead. "Oh my god, that is, like, so cliche. I mean, really, rhyming couplets? I bet that was in, like, iambic pentameter or something too, right? I love your eyes though, is that a makeup thing, or like, are they like that always? I mean, sorry if that's offensive, you don't have to answer that if it's not something you want to talk about, I just think they're nice, y'know? Um, anyway, yeah, can I get some detail or something? I'm in kind of a hurry, so I'd do the blood or gold thing if it's not that much, but if you're gonna, like, knock me out then I'd rather try and guess the riddle game, y'know?"

[Elanorin]

Lily holds back for a few minutes as Edmund goes inside Mrs Height's house. Then she walks round the back, conceals herself by whatever trees, shrubs or cars that happen to be near before stepping in to Nothing and casting her form to the air.

She walks through the back garden fence, across what is undoubtedly a flawlessly kept garden, and after a few careful glances through windows she chooses to walk through a wall to a room that appears empty and quiet.

[Activating Whispers of Morning for free due to no weapons or armour]

[stveje]

Somewhere with lots of hiding places and lots of people? That's pretty much the shopping mall. The décor is tacky; plastic plants and a big digital banner displaying the news. It's a busy afternoon, people are crowded around the Hoyts cinema to see the latest superhero movie as the last part of their summer vacation.

Problem, though, is the black suited Westpac security guy who's eyeballing you from across the food court. He's unarmed but he's got the look of someone who's a martial arts enthusiast in his spare time. Maybe he's made you from TV? He seems to come to a decision and starts walking across the room towards you. What do you do?

First rule of the master criminal: don't look guilty. Doesn't matter if you are or aren't guilty, always make sure you don't look or act like it.

Only guilty people are very conscious of security guards all the time, so not-Jack makes sure not to pay the guard any undue attention. He's just a normal shopper, whose gaze and attention is stolen by clever store displays hoping to trick him into buying a little more than he came here for. Clearly a security guard isn't interested in him, so the guard walking towards him must be wanting someone else.

But only guilty people pointedly don't look at security guards, so of course his glance passes over the man once or twice, but only on its way to some other attention-grabbing display.

The most important thing is to look relaxed, but not too relaxed.

Secretly, not-Jack is already riffling furiously through the dusty archives of his memory for any notes on this man ... knowing full well that most people, even - or especially - security guards, have skeletons in their closets. Know your enemy, and you become his master.

I'd like to roll Streetwise (with a specialty in "skeletons in closets") to see if I can dredge up anything juicy, or maybe just interesting, on this guy/his relations. Especially interested in any secret loves. Is that Wits or Int?

Also a good point to remind that enemies take -3 (Mantle) to notice me when I'm deliberately spying.

[TheAmishPirate]

Mrs. Height does her best to come across as aggressively mundane. So it's always a bit naff when you arrive and are greeted by a full three-course afternoon tea, complete with roast chicken, coleslaw, and homemade hommus all ready and laid out on two table spaces laid out just for you. Mrs. Height and three of her minions are already sitting making small talk and when you arrive they treat you like expected guests, hustling you into your chairs and pouring you drinks. It's no mystery who this is all for - Mrs. Height rolls out the red napkins every time Edmund shows up for any occasion.

"So Edmund," says Mrs. Height with the winning smile of a proud hostess. "How is business at your marvellous new multifaith church and restaurant?"

The sword for war, the gavel for judgement, and the easy target for catharsis.

"It's just a restaurant." Edmund said flatly. He raised his cup of tea for a long, sloooooooooooooooooooow sip.

All the while making unblinking eye contact with his hostess.

[You know what? You know what?! If we're gonna be a belligerent grump of a prince, we're gonna do it proper. I'd like to open the scene with an Intimidation roll. I want to let Mrs. Height know that Edmund is displeased with her, that the encounter's barely started and she's already in the red. He's not aiming to get her to do anything, he's just throwing his conversational weight around. Keeping her on the back foot. Base is Presence 4 + Intimidation 3 + Specialty (Stare down) 1 = 8 dice. 10 if Striking Looks applies here.]

[Raz_Fox]

This is a terrible idea. A terrible, terrible idea. The worst idea. But this is our friend's desperate plan.

He has a door, yes? A door that he can tap with Glamour and open a way into the depths of the Hedge.

He can get in front of this Mercia with a leap and a bound and- maybe- just possibly-

Force her through.

If he breaks the door frame on the other side, well, the Goblin King is furious and will go find a door to scramble through after. But Mercia will be stranded there. With him.

His death.

Let's do this, ne?

[Thanqol]

The sword for war, the gavel for judgement, and the easy target for catharsis.

"It's just a restaurant." Edmund said flatly. He raised his cup of tea for a long, sloooooooooooooooooooow sip.

All the while making unblinking eye contact with his hostess.

[You know what? You know what?! If we're gonna be a belligerent grump of a prince, we're gonna do it proper. I'd like to open the scene with an Intimidation roll. I want to let Mrs. Height know that Edmund is displeased with her, that the encounter's barely started and she's already in the red. He's not aiming to get her to do anything, he's just throwing his conversational weight around. Keeping her on the back foot. Base is Presence 4 + Intimidation 3 + Specialty (Stare down) 1 = 8 dice. 10 if Striking Looks applies here.]

Striking looks always applies.

Mrs. Height has nerves of steel, though - and more than that, she's got all of her heaviest hitters hosed down and crammed into suits and dresses. You're at a -7 on this one.

Lily holds back for a few minutes as Edmund goes inside Mrs Height's house. Then she walks round the back, conceals herself by whatever trees, shrubs or cars that happen to be near before stepping in to Nothing and casting her form to the air.

She walks through the back garden fence, across what is undoubtedly a flawlessly kept garden, and after a few careful glances through windows she chooses to walk through a wall to a room that appears empty and quiet.

[Activating Whispers of Morning for free due to no weapons or armour]

You know, Mrs. Height has absolutely no plan for someone breaking into her house during a tea party? Mostly because she believes that no one would be so foolish. Turns out that was the most foolish thing of all.

If you want to do a rummage it's wits+investigation, no penalty. If you want to put things back where you found them so she doesn't notice you've been here that's wits+stealth as well.

Aelas pulls Butterfly to a stop worriedly biting her lip. For an instant, she'd thought about just leaping right over the troll, but there were a bunch of weird magic powers that could make that into an terrible idea, and she figured if the guy was doing the entire crazy bridge troll act, it was a good guess that he had something to back it up.

So she stopped instead. "Oh my god, that is, like, so cliche. I mean, really, rhyming couplets? I bet that was in, like, iambic pentameter or something too, right? I love your eyes though, is that a makeup thing, or like, are they like that always? I mean, sorry if that's offensive, you don't have to answer that if it's not something you want to talk about, I just think they're nice, y'know? Um, anyway, yeah, can I get some detail or something? I'm in kind of a hurry, so I'd do the blood or gold thing if it's not that much, but if you're gonna, like, knock me out then I'd rather try and guess the riddle game, y'know?"

The troll ponderously stares as it tries to catch up with the rapid fire questions.

Then it starts speaking.

"Rhyming couplets are an ancient troll tradition, and the stories were carried here by English on a mission. The first rhyming troll was Garvelrock who first started rhyming at Sussex Brook..."

He's going to go through every single one of your questions in a slow, boring, monotonous voice, complete with the unabridged history of troll rhyming, how he got his eyes, and it's going to take Literally Forever. If you don't want to spend the next few hours listening to a troll's life story you're going to need to snap him out of it somehow. What do you do?

First rule of the master criminal: don't look guilty. Doesn't matter if you are or aren't guilty, always make sure you don't look or act like it.

Only guilty people are very conscious of security guards all the time, so not-Jack makes sure not to pay the guard any undue attention. He's just a normal shopper, whose gaze and attention is stolen by clever store displays hoping to trick him into buying a little more than he came here for. Clearly a security guard isn't interested in him, so the guard walking towards him must be wanting someone else.

But only guilty people pointedly don't look at security guards, so of course his glance passes over the man once or twice, but only on its way to some other attention-grabbing display.

The most important thing is to look relaxed, but not too relaxed.

Secretly, not-Jack is already riffling furiously through the dusty archives of his memory for any notes on this man ... knowing full well that most people, even - or especially - security guards, have skeletons in their closets. Know your enemy, and you become his master.

I'd like to roll Streetwise (with a specialty in "skeletons in closets") to see if I can dredge up anything juicy, or maybe just interesting, on this guy/his relations. Especially interested in any secret loves. Is that Wits or Int?

Also a good point to remind that enemies take -3 (Mantle) to notice me when I'm deliberately spying.

Sure, Streetwise sounds perfect. +2 because this guy has an underworld rep and this is a small town.

This is a terrible idea. A terrible, terrible idea. The worst idea. But this is our friend's desperate plan.

He has a door, yes? A door that he can tap with Glamour and open a way into the depths of the Hedge.

He can get in front of this Mercia with a leap and a bound and- maybe- just possibly-

Force her through.

If he breaks the door frame on the other side, well, the Goblin King is furious and will go find a door to scramble through after. But Mercia will be stranded there. With him.

His death.

Let's do this, ne?

Points for boldness. You're going to need them.

The roll here is dexterity+stealth. You'll get through with Mercia either way - that part of the plan is so bad you can have it for free - the only question is if you get the drop on Longarms doing it. If he sees you coming too early - well, he could do almost anything. -6 because he is a Huntsman, but +3 because this is literally the last thing he expects from today.

[Raz_Fox]

[Right, calling in a free WP from my Needle of Protector here, because this is a terrible risk done because Isaac's not letting Mercia tangle with that other one. Dex+Will+Surprise is 8, -6 becomes 2.

That's a 3 and a 6, so Fail. Yay! And -1 Glamour for opening the doorway.]

Health 9/9
Glamour 4/10
Willpower 5/6

[Elanorin]

You know, Mrs. Height has absolutely no plan for someone breaking into her house during a tea party? Mostly because she believes that no one would be so foolish. Turns out that was the most foolish thing of all.

If you want to do a rummage it's wits+investigation, no penalty. If you want to put things back where you found them so she doesn't notice you've been here that's wits+stealth as well.

Lily is absolutely wanting to have as thorough a look as the situation allows and begins snooping around in bedroom drawers and home office cupboards. She's plenty intimidated by Mrs Height though so does her best to try to leave her intrusion as subtle as possible. Not least to keep any danger from blame and retribution away from Edmund, she imagine he'd be an easy target to blame.

[Rolling Wits+Investigation: 10, 4, 7, 8 (Ten again: 1)
Rolling Wits+stealth: 4, 1, 9, 4, 7, 6, 8]

[TheAmishPirate]

Striking looks always applies.

Mrs. Height has nerves of steel, though - and more than that, she's got all of her heaviest hitters hosed down and crammed into suits and dresses. You're at a -7 on this one.

They can't bear to see themselves without magic and makeup. What makes them think they can bear a Prince (unintentionally) unveiled?

[10 dice - 7 penalty = 3 dice. 8, 5, 8 for two successes.]

[stveje]

Sure, Streetwise sounds perfect. +2 because this guy has an underworld rep and this is a small town.

Still not sure if it's Intelligence or Wits. If it's Intelligence, then it's 4 successes. If it's Wits, however, it's an exceptional success!

Int (Wits) + Streetwise + Specialty + Bonus = 7 (9): 8, 8, 9, 1, 7, 9, 4, (5, 9)

[Thanqol]

[Right, calling in a free WP from my Needle of Protector here, because this is a terrible risk done because Isaac's not letting Mercia tangle with that other one. Dex+Will+Surprise is 8, -6 becomes 2.

That's a 3 and a 6, so Fail. Yay! And -1 Glamour for opening the doorway.]

Even though Mercia has tuned you out, Longarms sure hasn't. he fumbles around in his bag as you race forwards and just as you throw the door over Mercia he produces something and slams you with it. Great news: It's a taser!

And then you're falling through the door into Elsewhere with ten billion volts of lightning coursing through your veins; you've got the pedal to the metal and its flavour is pain.

But still, you're a big guy, and you know your way around pain. Make a stamina+resolve roll at -4, on a hit you'll be shocked and weak and shaky but you won't be on the ground thrashing.

Lily is absolutely wanting to have as thorough a look as the situation allows and begins snooping around in bedroom drawers and home office cupboards. She's plenty intimidated by Mrs Height though so does her best to try to leave her intrusion as subtle as possible. Not least to keep any danger from blame and retribution away from Edmund, she imagine he'd be an easy target to blame.

[Rolling Wits+Investigation: 10, 4, 7, 8 (Ten again: 1)
Rolling Wits+stealth: 4, 1, 9, 4, 7, 6, 8]

Deliberately concealed between the pages of a notebook in a desk drawer is a key. The tag indicates that it's to a safety deposit box in the town's local bank, number 490. It doesn't have any context to go with it but it's the only thing in the room that you've found that shows a deliberate effort to hide.

They can't bear to see themselves without magic and makeup. What makes them think they can bear a Prince (unintentionally) unveiled?

[10 dice - 7 penalty = 3 dice. 8, 5, 8 for two successes.]

Mrs. Height blinks first. This is the second time in recent days she has been stared down and she does not look happy about it.

"I apologise for my mistake," she said way too smoothly. "What did you come here to discuss?"

Still not sure if it's Intelligence or Wits. If it's Intelligence, then it's 4 successes. If it's Wits, however, it's an exceptional success!

Int (Wits) + Streetwise + Specialty + Bonus = 7 (9): 8, 8, 9, 1, 7, 9, 4, (5, 9)

Wits seems right, so exceptional it is. I mean, you went to high school with this guy - Bernie Tallside. He scrutinizes your face for a few seconds and then bursts into a big grin. "Hey! ... you!" he said, thinking he's forgotten your name. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you in ages! What's the haps, man?"

Bern is bit of an overgrown puppy - scary looking from a distance but pretty simple and credulous. Last you heard he was dating Rochelle, who was an ice queen. He was a good friend to you back in the day and time or corner-of-the-eye news broadcasts have done nothing to change that.