[Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

[Raz_Fox]

The Pilgrim follows, Zotzie settling on his shoulder after a moment’s fluttering. Any bat grown into its second fur knows shortcuts, after all. He looms behind Aelas, letting the flow of this nightmarish day bouy him along. It’s easier not to think. Just follow what’s marked.

Still, disquieting thoughts nag at him. So the king of summer is a fellow pilgrim. This... this he can understand. But the King will not kindly look upon them bringing doom to his doorstep. And Autumn... not even he can call up Autumn at a whim. Aelas’s plan is foolhardy... but it is the only one they have. Worth following.

[Elanorin]

"Probably safer that way," he agrees, only a little disappointment, but it's overshadowed by the far more rational part of him.

Formerly-Jack certainly won't ask Lily for payment, what kind of loyal friend does that? But doesn't a good dog deserve a treat? Look how eager he is to help holding things, bringing the right stuff, saying words of encouragement ... who wouldn't reward such helpfulness? Who could look into those big puppy-dog eyes and not reach into their pocket for something?

Lily got to it right away when her friend joined in to help. They made a good team and his encouragements felt both genuine and warm. The work was easy with help (but would have been even easier with more help) and she was quite pleased with the result. As suggested they made plenty use of the bones on the beach. She took some time to find the most intact skull to bring with her. She set it by the rudder wheel and secured it in place so it would not fall overboard when they were rocked by the waves.

"All aboard?" she asked, turning to.... not-Jack. "Thank you for you help," she offered and even added a warm smile and a hand that briefly covered his, but that was the extent of her reward. After all, there was no doubt in her mind that it was both of their duty to be here.

She straightened the crown on her head, hoping it would catch the light again and show her the way.

[Craft Roll: 5, 9, 2, 9, 9, 8, 1, 10, (ten again: 9)]

[TheAmishPirate]

Aelas does wait for Edmund and Isaac to get there. She wants to explain her plan before she starts a panic. Also, muscle kind of helps. "Okay, so, like, the Judge is here (bee tee dubs, he says that he knows the king of summer and calls him to judgment too) and we're stuck even when I raced all across town with this star thing. So, what I'm thinking is that, like, this isn't supposed to be possible, but it's happening cuz the seasons are all messed up and so we're not safe like we should be, so I want to get summer and fall together and have them do the season handoff and then that might let us, like, push the Judge away and get out of the ritual. And I came here first cuz I don't remember where fall hangs out sooooo...yeah, that's the plan."

Edmund nodded once towards Aelas, then extended his hand. "Here; give me the star."

[Anarion]

Edmund nodded once towards Aelas, then extended his hand. "Here; give me the star."

Aelas tentatively hands it over to Edmund, its colors part from her own as it leaves her hand. "Ready to go in?"

[Thanqol]

Lily got to it right away when her friend joined in to help. They made a good team and his encouragements felt both genuine and warm. The work was easy with help (but would have been even easier with more help) and she was quite pleased with the result. As suggested they made plenty use of the bones on the beach. She took some time to find the most intact skull to bring with her. She set it by the rudder wheel and secured it in place so it would not fall overboard when they were rocked by the waves.

"All aboard?" she asked, turning to.... not-Jack. "Thank you for you help," she offered and even added a warm smile and a hand that briefly covered his, but that was the extent of her reward. After all, there was no doubt in her mind that it was both of their duty to be here.

She straightened the crown on her head, hoping it would catch the light again and show her the way.

[Craft Roll: 5, 9, 2, 9, 9, 8, 1, 10, (ten again: 9)]

A great and ghostly galleon has arisen before you, bound together by dusty bones crosshatched together like the nest of a mortuary magpie. The construction is resilient beyond the waves, and no wind nor crash of surf can sway your vessel from its swift course.

The ocean deepens as you sail. The coast is inviting, vibrant - the aquatic teal of golden sand shimmering through the reflection of the sky. The deeper waters are malevolent, mysterious, as grim and distant a barrier as the eucalypt mountains in the other horizon. You sail beyond the boundaries of home, safety, you sail across a sea that has never been crossed.

And there is something dark and terrible in that deep. This is the place the waves come from, the deep, pounding rhythm of the surf originating from the deep, pounding rhythm of what lies below. The chattering of the bones falls away to a nervous silence as the boat begins to align over the place where the ocean begins.

[Elanorin]

A great and ghostly galleon has arisen before you, bound together by dusty bones crosshatched together like the nest of a mortuary magpie. The construction is resilient beyond the waves, and no wind nor crash of surf can sway your vessel from its swift course.

The ocean deepens as you sail. The coast is inviting, vibrant - the aquatic teal of golden sand shimmering through the reflection of the sky. The deeper waters are malevolent, mysterious, as grim and distant a barrier as the eucalypt mountains in the other horizon. You sail beyond the boundaries of home, safety, you sail across a sea that has never been crossed.

And there is something dark and terrible in that deep. This is the place the waves come from, the deep, pounding rhythm of the surf originating from the deep, pounding rhythm of what lies below. The chattering of the bones falls away to a nervous silence as the boat begins to align over the place where the ocean begins.

This was much better. This was good. Standing on the skeletal galleon as it negotiated waves and wind felt exhilarating, all the more so for the incredible fear of what lay in the deep below. Their work held strong and it carried them well, but it was still the only thing between them and what felt like a fate worse than doom from the sheer depth, malevolence and darkness that came from below.

Here at the beginning of the ocean, at the eye of the storm, they were truly past the point of no return.

Lily took a deep breath and reached in to her little bag, inside the wallet within at took the largest of the coins. She held it tightly in her fist and whispered to it.

"Hear me. Come to me. Find me and stand at my side, my King." Her cold lips pressed a kiss against the metal and then she reached her hand out over the railing... and dropped it in to the deep.

[TheAmishPirate]

Aelas tentatively hands it over to Edmund, its colors part from her own as it leaves her hand. "Ready to go in?"

Edmund's only answer is to draw the sword from his back.

The star in his hand is a smoldering ember of the real thing. Nearly all its light has been blasted away, leaving behind only a smoothed memory of glory and some token embers. The greatsword - and it has always been on his back, did you not notice? - shines with True Starlight. No one knows how long they heated the metal in the unquenchable fire of the stars. In the realms beyond night and day, how does one measure time? The beating of a heart? The beating of a hammer? Away with these paltry figures! The ore was dropped in Sleeping, heated until it was Ready, and struck with the Final blow. Thus the Prince's sword drew its first breath, and forevermore would it remember its birthplace. It remembers, and it burns.

The light is pure. His arm is strong. The star is old.

He only hopes it is enough.

[I would like to make a Weapons roll to shatter the star into a thousand pieces. At base, we're working with 4 Strength + 5 Weapons + 1 for specialty = 10 dice before penalties

Also, spending 1 Glamour to summon the sword.]

[stveje]

Lily got to it right away when her friend joined in to help. They made a good team and his encouragements felt both genuine and warm. The work was easy with help (but would have been even easier with more help) and she was quite pleased with the result. As suggested they made plenty use of the bones on the beach. She took some time to find the most intact skull to bring with her. She set it by the rudder wheel and secured it in place so it would not fall overboard when they were rocked by the waves.

"All aboard?" she asked, turning to.... not-Jack. "Thank you for you help," she offered and even added a warm smile and a hand that briefly covered his, but that was the extent of her reward. After all, there was no doubt in her mind that it was both of their duty to be here.

She straightened the crown on her head, hoping it would catch the light again and show her the way.

[Craft Roll: 5, 9, 2, 9, 9, 8, 1, 10, (ten again: 9)]

Not-Jack was well pleased, not just with the smile and the thank you - at which he beamed - but with the boat Lily had crafted with his help. It was truly a grand and worthy ship!

And yet so drained, he felt, as he boarded that vessel ...

A great and ghostly galleon has arisen before you, bound together by dusty bones crosshatched together like the nest of a mortuary magpie. The construction is resilient beyond the waves, and no wind nor crash of surf can sway your vessel from its swift course.

The ocean deepens as you sail. The coast is inviting, vibrant - the aquatic teal of golden sand shimmering through the reflection of the sky. The deeper waters are malevolent, mysterious, as grim and distant a barrier as the eucalypt mountains in the other horizon. You sail beyond the boundaries of home, safety, you sail across a sea that has never been crossed.

And there is something dark and terrible in that deep. This is the place the waves come from, the deep, pounding rhythm of the surf originating from the deep, pounding rhythm of what lies below. The chattering of the bones falls away to a nervous silence as the boat begins to align over the place where the ocean begins.

Not-Jack sat all through the journey, arms crossed on the edge of the ship like a pillow for his head as he stared despondently into the deep. If the sea were made of tears, he'd like to drink deep of its sadness. He'd find the deepest place and drink, maybe drown, in profoundest melancholy. These were his thoughts as his gaze was dragged through the water like a man keelhauled beside the ship.

[Thanqol]

Edmund's only answer is to draw the sword from his back.

The star in his hand is a smoldering ember of the real thing. Nearly all its light has been blasted away, leaving behind only a smoothed memory of glory and some token embers. The greatsword - and it has always been on his back, did you not notice? - shines with True Starlight. No one knows how long they heated the metal in the unquenchable fire of the stars. In the realms beyond night and day, how does one measure time? The beating of a heart? The beating of a hammer? Away with these paltry figures! The ore was dropped in Sleeping, heated until it was Ready, and struck with the Final blow. Thus the Prince's sword drew its first breath, and forevermore would it remember its birthplace. It remembers, and it burns.

The light is pure. His arm is strong. The star is old.

He only hopes it is enough.

[I would like to make a Weapons roll to shatter the star into a thousand pieces. At base, we're working with 4 Strength + 5 Weapons + 1 for specialty = 10 dice before penalties

Also, spending 1 Glamour to summon the sword.]

The star breaks. It splits neatly in half, blue fire spilling out onto the soil.

The Judge, above, sighs in exasperation. There is an air of legitimate grievance, but true irritation cannot be expressed until the Ritual is complete and the time for judgement has finally begun.

"Of course," he grumbles. "The Prince can't be wrong. If he could be wrong, what would be the point of having a Prince? But the Ritual is not so flimsy a thing to be stricken along with a single star, so this must just be the first part of his plan. Herald! Inform Edmund that the ritual will continue until it is complete, and congratulate him on the strategy that to break the star in half,"

There is the roaring of an engine nearby.

A school bus, driven by a goggle-eyed goblin shouting instructions to his friend who is operating the pedals, ridden by a troll wielding a stop-sign, is hurtling down the road towards you.

Not-Jack sat all through the journey, arms crossed on the edge of the ship like a pillow for his head as he stared despondently into the deep. If the sea were made of tears, he'd like to drink deep of its sadness. He'd find the deepest place and drink, maybe drown, in profoundest melancholy. These were his thoughts as his gaze was dragged through the water like a man keelhauled beside the ship.

Jack spends most of the trip kicking your shoes. Not painfully, just annoyingly.

In between doing that he paces rapidly up and down the ship, muttering rapidly to himself. He goes below deck, returns with a shot glass of water, and splashes it on you. He goes down again, returns with a pillowcase, and puts it over your head before muttering in extreme agitation and removing it again. He then starts collecting skulls and bones and attaching them to his body, swelling in size to a rapid bone-monster, but nothing seems to cure the distress he seems to be experiencing.

And then Lily calls to the King.

This was much better. This was good. Standing on the skeletal galleon as it negotiated waves and wind felt exhilarating, all the more so for the incredible fear of what lay in the deep below. Their work held strong and it carried them well, but it was still the only thing between them and what felt like a fate worse than doom from the sheer depth, malevolence and darkness that came from below.

Here at the beginning of the ocean, at the eye of the storm, they were truly past the point of no return.

Lily took a deep breath and reached in to her little bag, inside the wallet within at took the largest of the coins. She held it tightly in her fist and whispered to it.

"Hear me. Come to me. Find me and stand at my side, my King." Her cold lips pressed a kiss against the metal and then she reached her hand out over the railing... and dropped it in to the deep.

The deep answers.

There is a groaning, a shaking from deep underwater. The ocean shifts arrhythmically, pounding like drumbeats shaking through a glass of milk. The boat shakes and lilts, but does not fall. Something in the deep is stirring, driven by your call. Jack, you feel it too, just as thick, just as powerful.

The water goes from blue to black to violet to wine to sunset to poetry. You hear the slam of doors and the weight of expectation and the thrill of games and the sting of failure. Doors in the head and hollows in the chest and sick emotions that cannot be enough - cannot do enough. He is here. She is here. Whip-hand rising and incomplete. Sick and bleeding.

You know exactly what lies beneath that water.

The Lover Awaiting. Awaiting you. Awaiting your call. To release it from this drowning sadness. Awaiting your bound and broken servitude, as you were prepared to provide. The hooks are here, rising up from the deep towards you. The chains are here, bursting through the waters to claim you. You are above when you should be below and the world will turn itself upside down if that is what is needed to move things to the way they should be

sanity teeters on the brink

And the skulls scream.

And the bones thrash.

Not in pain. In defiance.

And you both start awake as King Kent thrashes in his half-sleep, kicking and punching you in his torment.

[Luckily, the layers of dream and emotion have protected you from the worst of the Clarity effects of direct contact with a True Fae. You still each need to make a Clarity check at only two die]

[Elanorin]

The deep answers.

There is a groaning, a shaking from deep underwater. The ocean shifts arrhythmically, pounding like drumbeats shaking through a glass of milk. The boat shakes and lilts, but does not fall. Something in the deep is stirring, driven by your call. Jack, you feel it too, just as thick, just as powerful.

The water goes from blue to black to violet to wine to sunset to poetry. You hear the slam of doors and the weight of expectation and the thrill of games and the sting of failure. Doors in the head and hollows in the chest and sick emotions that cannot be enough - cannot do enough. He is here. She is here. Whip-hand rising and incomplete. Sick and bleeding.

You know exactly what lies beneath that water.

The Lover Awaiting. Awaiting you. Awaiting your call. To release it from this drowning sadness. Awaiting your bound and broken servitude, as you were prepared to provide. The hooks are here, rising up from the deep towards you. The chains are here, bursting through the waters to claim you. You are above when you should be below and the world will turn itself upside down if that is what is needed to move things to the way they should be

sanity teeters on the brink

And the skulls scream.

And the bones thrash.

Not in pain. In defiance.

And you both start awake as King Kent thrashes in his half-sleep, kicking and punching you in his torment.

[Luckily, the layers of dream and emotion have protected you from the worst of the Clarity effects of direct contact with a True Fae. You still each need to make a Clarity check at only two die]

The realisation of what was happening hit her at the exact moment that she awoke and the two combined threw her disoriented in to reality. She emerged with a shocked gasp, rearing back along the floor from the King who had been bundled like a giant baby in her arms as they slept.

"What..." she breathed, lungs gasping deep and fast breaths, as if she had run all the way from that beach back to here. "What..."

"What did you do?" she demanded from the King, even though she already knew. Pieces were falling in to place and so much Strange was beginning to make sense in the way that ripped and frayed at the edges of what seemed real and mundane. She was reeling, hovering in disbelief, yet to decide if she was going to land in disapproval or outright awe.

[Clarity Roll: 8, 6, taking one Clarity damage]

Health: 7/7
Glamor 4/10
Willpower: 3/5
Clarity: 6/7

[Raz_Fox]

We could suffer, here. We could mark the moment the steel cleaves through the fallen star and time it to the reaving of the Pilgrim’s charred, poetry-seared heart. But we’ve had enough of that, haven’t we? This whole process is a carnival looking-glass, and absurdity has the reins now, and nothing makes sense so why even worry about it?

So let’s watch, instead, the Pilgrim charging a bus. He leaps up, and the poetry of it is watching the moment when he combusts, when he no longer exists in the twisted flesh but as a pillar of pyre-smoke, and then he is within, his tendrils finding every gap and rushing in through the rattling rusted air conditioner, and then he is again, dragging his nails against the floorboard as he arrests his momentum and makes to cause a crash.

As long as it’s not going to hit his Motley, any old where is fine, he thinks as he wrestles with the steering wheel and Zotzie war-whoops on a goblin’s face.

[Anarion]

“Uh, good plan, Edmund?” Aelas sounds skeptical, but still more or less repeats the words, though she kinda hasn’t been paying that much attention. Whatever, it was close enough and stuff was happening. That was good because it would bring out the changelings. Back onto Butterfly, she had some real heralding to do.

“Hey! Yo summer, where are your cars? There’s a troll driving a school bus up in your lot here! Summer! Where are you?! Summer, are you gonna let this troll trespass on your land?! SUMMER!”

[Thanqol]

The realisation of what was happening hit her at the exact moment that she awoke and the two combined threw her disoriented in to reality. She emerged with a shocked gasp, rearing back along the floor from the King who had been bundled like a giant baby in her arms as they slept.

"What..." she breathed, lungs gasping deep and fast breaths, as if she had run all the way from that beach back to here. "What..."

"What did you do?" she demanded from the King, even though she already knew. Pieces were falling in to place and so much Strange was beginning to make sense in the way that ripped and frayed at the edges of what seemed real and mundane. She was reeling, hovering in disbelief, yet to decide if she was going to land in disapproval or outright awe.

[Clarity Roll: 8, 6, taking one Clarity damage]

"What did you do!?" snapped King Kent in the first coherent sentence you've ever heard from him. "You go into a dream, immediately identify the presence of an unspeakable horror, and you sail out and dredge it up?"

He was sitting up, awake, rubbing his temples. Despite being red-eyed, dishevelled and very unshaven he had an air of real charisma to him. "God, I'd be much more mad if it wasn't exactly what I'd do."

We could suffer, here. We could mark the moment the steel cleaves through the fallen star and time it to the reaving of the Pilgrim’s charred, poetry-seared heart. But we’ve had enough of that, haven’t we? This whole process is a carnival looking-glass, and absurdity has the reins now, and nothing makes sense so why even worry about it?

So let’s watch, instead, the Pilgrim charging a bus. He leaps up, and the poetry of it is watching the moment when he combusts, when he no longer exists in the twisted flesh but as a pillar of pyre-smoke, and then he is within, his tendrils finding every gap and rushing in through the rattling rusted air conditioner, and then he is again, dragging his nails against the floorboard as he arrests his momentum and makes to cause a crash.

As long as it’s not going to hit his Motley, any old where is fine, he thinks as he wrestles with the steering wheel and Zotzie war-whoops on a goblin’s face.

So the challenge here isn't in grabbing the wheel - a spindle-limbed goblin poses no threat to your immense bulk. The challenge here is not crashing a speeding and out-of-control van into a building. Dexterity+drive at -2 if you would, sir.

“Uh, good plan, Edmund?” Aelas sounds skeptical, but still more or less repeats the words, though she kinda hasn’t been paying that much attention. Whatever, it was close enough and stuff was happening. That was good because it would bring out the changelings. Back onto Butterfly, she had some real heralding to do.

“Hey! Yo summer, where are your cars? There’s a troll driving a school bus up in your lot here! Summer! Where are you?! Summer, are you gonna let this troll trespass on your land?! SUMMER!”

"No," declared the Judge Transcendent. "Interference with the Ritual will not be tolerated. Warn the escapees that any attempt to do so will be dealt with."

As you shout, a pair of sullen plant-men of Summer stagger out of gussied up muscle cars and stagger towards you, rubbing sleepy eyes. "What? Oh, hey, are you, like, that rainbow chick that who we're supposed to take prisoner for, like, kidnapping the king's son or what?"

[TheAmishPirate]

The star breaks. It splits neatly in half, blue fire spilling out onto the soil.

Two isn't enough.

The sword flashes again, and again, and again, until it is shattered in a thousand pieces.

The Judge, above, sighs in exasperation. There is an air of legitimate grievance, but true irritation cannot be expressed until the Ritual is complete and the time for judgement has finally begun.

"Of course," he grumbles. "The Prince can't be wrong. If he could be wrong, what would be the point of having a Prince? But the Ritual is not so flimsy a thing to be stricken along with a single star, so this must just be the first part of his plan. Herald! Inform Edmund that the ritual will continue until it is complete, and congratulate him on the strategy that to break the star in half,"

There is the roaring of an engine nearby.

A school bus, driven by a goggle-eyed goblin shouting instructions to his friend who is operating the pedals, ridden by a troll wielding a stop-sign, is hurtling down the road towards you.

"I'm so glad we agree." Edmund doesn't give the dignity of looking up from his work as he speaks. "The ritual continues. For all of us. And it continues under my rules."

Which means?

So the challenge here isn't in grabbing the wheel - a spindle-limbed goblin poses no threat to your immense bulk. The challenge here is not crashing a speeding and out-of-control van into a building. Dexterity+drive at -2 if you would, sir.

He doesn't have to care about the bus. Neither should the Pilgrim. The goblins will bring it to a halt long before there is any risk of a crash. After all; they cannot hurt each other any more than they can hurt any of them.

"No," declared the Judge Transcendent. "Interference with the Ritual will not be tolerated. Warn the escapees that any attempt to do so will be dealt with."

And - my word! Such threats! There is no space for such language here. Pleasantries only.

The Prince has decreed it so.

As you shout, a pair of sullen plant-men of Summer stagger out of gussied up muscle cars and stagger towards you, rubbing sleepy eyes. "What? Oh, hey, are you, like, that rainbow chick that who we're supposed to take prisoner for, like, kidnapping the king's son or what?"

"I am afraid," Edmund's voice dripped with mocking regret. "That my rules only apply to those individuals involved in the ritual at the ritual's opening, and have no bearing on any outside parties."

"Of course, if you had thought to bring any agents to enforce your rules, then they too would have to politely tell us that we did a bad thing just now. And surely a Judge would not dare call forth additional parties to interfere with a trial before its completion." He idly flicked through the shards of star with his swordtip, scattering them into the piles of rubbish. "Looks like it'll be a while before this one wraps up. And there you'll sit, presiding over a trial that will never end. Never able to leave, never able to change the outcome, never able to get anybody to just do. What. You. Want."

He tossed the sword of starlight in with the trash.

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

[Thanqol]

"I am afraid," Edmund's voice dripped with mocking regret. "That my rules only apply to those individuals involved in the ritual at the ritual's opening, and have no bearing on any outside parties."

"Of course, if you had thought to bring any agents to enforce your rules, then they too would have to politely tell us that we did a bad thing just now. And surely a Judge would not dare call forth additional parties to interfere with a trial before its completion." He idly flicked through the shards of star with his swordtip, scattering them into the piles of rubbish. "Looks like it'll be a while before this one wraps up. And there you'll sit, presiding over a trial that will never end. Never able to leave, never able to change the outcome, never able to get anybody to just do. What. You. Want."

He tossed the sword of starlight in with the trash.

"Sucks, doesn't it?"

"Ah," sneered the Judge. "The Prince seeks to test the bounds of legalism? Of contract law? With me? Very well. Herald! Inform the Prince that the Ritual of the Stars takes place under the light of the aligned stars. When the stars drift from their alignment that is when the ritual will naturally come to its conclusion. And if my memory does not desert me, the Prince's team is currently down in points."

A loophole the Judge Transcendent has never had to use before now. But it's there. It is true to himself, it is true to the laws he has set out in the ritual, and it places the matter of judgement in the hands of impartial and uncaring stars. That's a loophole one of the Kindly Folk could drive a freight train through.

"Herald, announce that I do, of course, wish the Prince luck in his quest to re-forge a shattered star. I have no doubt that will be a journey worthy of a true hero."

[stveje]

And you both start awake as King Kent thrashes in his half-sleep, kicking and punching you in his torment.

[Luckily, the layers of dream and emotion have protected you from the worst of the Clarity effects of direct contact with a True Fae. You still each need to make a Clarity check at only two die]

Clarity: 4, 4

Not-Jack awoke, and like a startled dog immediately scrambled into whatever shadowy corner he could find ... under the bed, perhaps. He soon began to feel just a bit embarrassed as he lay there.

[Elanorin]

"What did you do!?" snapped King Kent in the first coherent sentence you've ever heard from him. "You go into a dream, immediately identify the presence of an unspeakable horror, and you sail out and dredge it up?"

He was sitting up, awake, rubbing his temples. Despite being red-eyed, dishevelled and very unshaven he had an air of real charisma to him. "God, I'd be much more mad if it wasn't exactly what I'd do."

Lily's mouth opened wide and gaped silently a couple of times, making her look a little bit like a fish. Her instant reactions were conflicting and warring between amazement at him talking and wanting to defend her actions in the dream.

The former finally won out, mostly on account of her unhealthy respect for authority.

"You're talking!"

"I- I mean- Welcome back, y-your Grace."

Lily was staring, proper wide-eyed staring, she knew she really shouldn't be but not only was the Winter King back but he had stolen the heart of Lover Awaiting and hidden it inside his own dream. The King was transforming before her eyes from this helpless victim to a bona fide hero.

"Do you... remember anything? Do you know who I am?" she asked a little more calmly. She had no idea what hiding a Fey heart was like or what it did to you, only that he had to be some kind of superhero to manage it and get away with it.

[Anarion]

Aelas had too many things to herald. Here's what she ended up with "Uh, I'm that rainbow chick, but...I didn't kidnap the king's kid and the prince needs to reforge a star, which will be totally heroic as long as the stars don't go out of alignment and aaaaargh, get the King and tell him we have to go find Autumn I have a plan, bad things are happening, THE JUDGE IS HERE"

[Thanqol]

Clarity: 4, 4

Not-Jack awoke, and like a startled dog immediately scrambled into whatever shadowy corner he could find ... under the bed, perhaps. He soon began to feel just a bit embarrassed as he lay there.

You head under the bed... and find it already occupied by your doppleganger.

"Does mirrorface wish to steal my cave?" grumbled Jack sleepily. "Perhaps as escape vector from party promises? Dire considerations abound."

Lily's mouth opened wide and gaped silently a couple of times, making her look a little bit like a fish. Her instant reactions were conflicting and warring between amazement at him talking and wanting to defend her actions in the dream.

The former finally won out, mostly on account of her unhealthy respect for authority.

"You're talking!"

"I- I mean- Welcome back, y-your Grace."

Lily was staring, proper wide-eyed staring, she knew she really shouldn't be but not only was the Winter King back but he had stolen the heart of Lover Awaiting and hidden it inside his own dream. The King was transforming before her eyes from this helpless victim to a bona fide hero.

"Do you... remember anything? Do you know who I am?" she asked a little more calmly. She had no idea what hiding a Fey heart was like or what it did to you, only that he had to be some kind of superhero to manage it and get away with it.

"Oh, yeah, you're the... strange lady who moved in," said King Kent. He was already on his feet - and then he sniffed under his armpit. "Jesus, when was the last time I showered? First things first, huh! Look, we don't have long before the curse kicks back in so we'll have to talk while I'm in the shower, yeah?"

He was already taking his shirt off as he stepped into the bathroom.

There was a good long moment for the Wrong Idea to set in before his shouting voice came conversationally through the door over the sound of running water. "Hey, so, yea, try not to let the secret out because then we'll literally have all the legions of hell kicking down our doors. Teal-deer, I stole the heart, it's cursed, but like hell am I giving it back to that needy bitch. Hey, can you get me a towel?"

We could suffer, here. We could mark the moment the steel cleaves through the fallen star and time it to the reaving of the Pilgrim’s charred, poetry-seared heart. But we’ve had enough of that, haven’t we? This whole process is a carnival looking-glass, and absurdity has the reins now, and nothing makes sense so why even worry about it?

So let’s watch, instead, the Pilgrim charging a bus. He leaps up, and the poetry of it is watching the moment when he combusts, when he no longer exists in the twisted flesh but as a pillar of pyre-smoke, and then he is within, his tendrils finding every gap and rushing in through the rattling rusted air conditioner, and then he is again, dragging his nails against the floorboard as he arrests his momentum and makes to cause a crash.

As long as it’s not going to hit his Motley, any old where is fine, he thinks as he wrestles with the steering wheel and Zotzie war-whoops on a goblin’s face.

The goblins can't attack you, but they can certainly wrestle for the wheel and oh whoops you've just driven through the front of the tip's office building and all these lovely people are running away and oh whoops I guess the front office is indistinguishable from the rest of the tip and oh whoops is that the King of Summer coming towards you with a spear of golden sunlight in his hand? Also: a face full of airbags.

(All the goblins are pointing at you like 'he did it'.)

Aelas had too many things to herald. Here's what she ended up with "Uh, I'm that rainbow chick, but...I didn't kidnap the king's kid and the prince needs to reforge a star, which will be totally heroic as long as the stars don't go out of alignment and aaaaargh, get the King and tell him we have to go find Autumn I have a plan, bad things are happening, THE JUDGE IS HERE"

The two plantgoons are trying to process this when the bus screeches by them and into the front office. They look at each other for a moment.

"You're under arrest," says one as the front of the building collapses behind him.

(You can try and talk your way out of this with some sort of Persuade roll but you're at -3 because of all this Heralding you're having to be doing).

[Elanorin]

"Oh, yeah, you're the... strange lady who moved in," said King Kent. He was already on his feet - and then he sniffed under his armpit. "Jesus, when was the last time I showered?"

Strange?

"I- I- I don't... uh... kno-..." Lily scrambled to her feet.

"First things first, huh! Look, we don't have long before the curse kicks back in so we'll have to talk while I'm in the shower, yeah?"

He was already taking his shirt off as he stepped into the bathroom.

There was a good long moment for the Wrong Idea to set in before his shouting voice came conversationally through the door over the sound of running water. "Hey, so, yea, try not to let the secret out because then we'll literally have all the legions of hell kicking down our doors. Teal-deer, I stole the heart, it's cursed, but like hell am I giving it back to that needy bitch. Hey, can you get me a towel?"

Mouth wide open once more, in a vague sort of O-shape, Lily stood and stared after him as the skeleton King disappeared in to the bathroom. She realised she was holding a rank shirt in her hands, bundling it slowly to a wrinkly ball.

Bad-strange or good-strange? Is there a good-strange?

Had- had he quite shut the door fully?

Uhm...

Her gaze hit the floor. Hard.

Towel.

She quickly turned to his wardrobe, which she had long since gone through and organised and grabbed one of the biggest towels from the top shelf. She hung it on the inside door handle of the bathroom and pushed the door to and waited outside, looking at the floor, wondering what a teal deer was.

"Your secret is safe with me but... the curse... it's crippling you," she finally managed, "and the Winter Court needs its King."

[Anarion]

"You're under arrest" said Aelas back to them, a combination of her current condition and the enjoyment of spiting the very obviously not police summers leading her to be spunky. "Anyway, listen, my friend is on that bus, and like, I don't have time to be arrested because we need to do a proper season handoff before the Judge captures a bunch of us..." Aelas looks up at the judge and sticks her tongue out at him at this point then looks back down at the two guys. "Look, just like tell the King he's being a dumby-head okay? And also tell Static I said hi and like about the judge and stuff, okay? Can you do that?"

[I uh...have no idea if that was actually persuasive, but on the assumption that it's at least something, my presence+persuasion roll at -3 is 6, 9, 1, 10, 8. So 3 successes]

[Raz_Fox]

Debris, rubbish and chair fluff runs off the Pilgrim's broad shoulders like rivulets of stone shrugged off the mountain's side. He rises, horns scraping the dented, caved-in roof of the bus, and for a moment he is... almost elated. We did it, everyone. We saved the day, stopped the bus, and didn't die in the process. (Of course he didn't die, the traitorous thought emerges: the Flower Knight is not here to kill him.)

And if that is the case, then not even the King of Summer can kill him, not yet. But sunlight's spear is still a weapon of great power and might, to be honored and respected, and so he yields the ground, becoming smoke once more billowing from the wreck and ruin, the cinders that are his eyes burning brightly as he rushes, faster than the wind, to Aelas's side.

[stveje]

You head under the bed... and find it already occupied by your doppleganger.

"Does mirrorface wish to steal my cave?" grumbled Jack sleepily. "Perhaps as escape vector from party promises? Dire considerations abound."

"How would a dog escape a crocodile by hiding in the crocodile's cave?" not-Jack says, and crawls back out, sitting on the ground next to the bed as Lily and King Kent talk through the door to the bathroom.

And then he started to wonder - to calculate - quietly in his own mind, just how much the Lover would pay reward him with to have her heart back.

[Thanqol]

She quickly turned to his wardrobe, which she had long since gone through and organised and grabbed one of the biggest towels from the top shelf. She hung it on the inside door handle of the bathroom and pushed the door to and waited outside, looking at the floor, wondering what a teal deer was.

"Your secret is safe with me but... the curse... it's crippling you," she finally managed, "and the Winter Court needs its King."

"It's summer," said King Kent from the shower. "And just set up, like, a parliament or something. You're all mature adults, you don't need to pretend that you need a king to boss you around."

"How would a dog escape a crocodile by hiding in the crocodile's cave?" not-Jack says, and crawls back out, sitting on the ground next to the bed as Lily and King Kent talk through the door to the bathroom.

And then he started to wonder - to calculate - quietly in his own mind, just how much the Lover would pay reward him with to have her heart back.

Oh, for a faerie's heart? The traditional payment is three wishes.

Jack's skeletal muzzle emerged from under the bed - but no more.

"You never know with dogs," said Jack. "They are so friendly and happy and trusting you almost forget that they are made out of meat."

"You're under arrest" said Aelas back to them, a combination of her current condition and the enjoyment of spiting the very obviously not police summers leading her to be spunky. "Anyway, listen, my friend is on that bus, and like, I don't have time to be arrested because we need to do a proper season handoff before the Judge captures a bunch of us..." Aelas looks up at the judge and sticks her tongue out at him at this point then looks back down at the two guys. "Look, just like tell the King he's being a dumby-head okay? And also tell Static I said hi and like about the judge and stuff, okay? Can you do that?"

[I uh...have no idea if that was actually persuasive, but on the assumption that it's at least something, my presence+persuasion roll at -3 is 6, 9, 1, 10, 8. So 3 successes]

Debris, rubbish and chair fluff runs off the Pilgrim's broad shoulders like rivulets of stone shrugged off the mountain's side. He rises, horns scraping the dented, caved-in roof of the bus, and for a moment he is... almost elated. We did it, everyone. We saved the day, stopped the bus, and didn't die in the process. (Of course he didn't die, the traitorous thought emerges: the Flower Knight is not here to kill him.)

And if that is the case, then not even the King of Summer can kill him, not yet. But sunlight's spear is still a weapon of great power and might, to be honored and respected, and so he yields the ground, becoming smoke once more billowing from the wreck and ruin, the cinders that are his eyes burning brightly as he rushes, faster than the wind, to Aelas's side.

"Oh, sh*t, we're under arrest?"
"Can she do that?"
"I mean, she works for the Spring Court. So... maybe?"
"But it's summer."
"Is it tho?"
"But, like, there's two of us and only one of her."
"Yeah, but, like, Mrs. Height is really scary. Also now she has that big guy who just ran up."
"Oh yeah that's true."
"So do we, like, turn ourselves in?"
"I think we need to tell Mr. Breton he's being a dumby-head first."
"Oh, good point. We should be on our way, then."
"Thank you for your time, Ms. Rainbow Dash," said the goon, tipping his hat. "We'll deliver our messages and then go to jail like you said. Drive safe."

[Elanorin]

"It's summer," said King Kent from the shower. "And just set up, like, a parliament or something. You're all mature adults, you don't need to pretend that you need a king to boss you around."

Lily stared at the bathroom door incredulously in exactly the way she wished she could to his face.

"A parliam- Your Grace, with all due respect, have you met the Winter Court? It took me an entire evening to engineer them to just stand in vaguely the same place and exchange pleasantries and comments on the weather to each other. To get them together to an organised, loyal, and unified force is... I..."

Oh My God... It would mean having to talk to Bigby again.

Cold terrified shivers went down her spine and she closed her eyes as she shook the uncomfortable feeling off.

"I'm not a leader. They look to you. If you'd just call on them, bring the Court together, appear before them like this, even if it has to be brief. It would make a big difference. I could- I mean, we," sheepish glance in not-Jack's direction, "we could try to proxy in your absence, but please don't abandon the Court entirely, Your Grace."

Not for Him.

"How long have you been under this curse?"

[TheAmishPirate]

"Ah," sneered the Judge. "The Prince seeks to test the bounds of legalism? Of contract law? With me? Very well. Herald! Inform the Prince that the Ritual of the Stars takes place under the light of the aligned stars. When the stars drift from their alignment that is when the ritual will naturally come to its conclusion. And if my memory does not desert me, the Prince's team is currently down in points."

A loophole the Judge Transcendent has never had to use before now. But it's there. It is true to himself, it is true to the laws he has set out in the ritual, and it places the matter of judgement in the hands of impartial and uncaring stars. That's a loophole one of the Kindly Folk could drive a freight train through.

"Herald, announce that I do, of course, wish the Prince luck in his quest to re-forge a shattered star. I have no doubt that will be a journey worthy of a true hero."

It was never going to work anyway. As the Judge, it was his right to declare Mistrial, pack up, and go home. The wheels of justice ever turn, and there would always be time to try again later. Here, the perfect trap did not, could not, exist. No matter what he wished, he couldn't bind the Judge to himself, exclusively, forever.

Anyway. Not without binding Aelas and the Pilgrim too.

"Yeah, yeah, off to save the wizard or whatever. Enjoy the view; you'll be there a while." Edmund waved him off, and turned about to leave. "Tell your boss I said 'Hi'."

He cast a dark, sidelong glance to the stars.

"Good to see him finally make an appearance. Such as it is."

Joining his companions...

"Oh, sh*t, we're under arrest?"
"Can she do that?"
"I mean, she works for the Spring Court. So... maybe?"
"But it's summer."
"Is it tho?"
"But, like, there's two of us and only one of her."
"Yeah, but, like, Mrs. Height is really scary. Also now she has that big guy who just ran up."
"Oh yeah that's true."
"So do we, like, turn ourselves in?"
"I think we need to tell Mr. Breton he's being a dumby-head first."
"Oh, good point. We should be on our way, then."
"Thank you for your time, Ms. Rainbow Dash," said the goon, tipping his hat. "We'll deliver our messages and then go to jail like you said. Drive safe."

Edmund wanted very badly to find the person responsible for how in the world she managed to pull that one off. He wasn't sure what he'd do once he found them. Gonna play that part by ear.

"Here;" Edmund held out his hand, and passed Aelas a handful of sparkling dust; some of the remnants of the star, once he'd finished with it. "Go to the beach and spread some stardust. Take the big guy with you, make a field trip of it."

[Anarion]

Edmund wanted very badly to find the person responsible for how in the world she managed to pull that one off. He wasn't sure what he'd do once he found them. Gonna play that part by ear.

"Here;" Edmund held out his hand, and passed Aelas a handful of sparkling dust; some of the remnants of the star, once he'd finished with it. "Go to the beach and spread some stardust. Take the big guy with you, make a field trip of it."

Aelas takes the sand. "Okay, drive safe, go to the beach!" she said. Then took Isaac's hand and gave it a tug to bring him along. "Oh, doesn't Autumn hang out at the beach a lot anyway? We need to get them next, Isaac. You take the lead, you know where they hang out, right?"

[Thanqol]

Lily stared at the bathroom door incredulously in exactly the way she wished she could to his face.

"A parliam- Your Grace, with all due respect, have you met the Winter Court? It took me an entire evening to engineer them to just stand in vaguely the same place and exchange pleasantries and comments on the weather to each other. To get them together to an organised, loyal, and unified force is... I..."

Oh My God... It would mean having to talk to Bigby again.

Cold terrified shivers went down her spine and she closed her eyes as she shook the uncomfortable feeling off.

"I'm not a leader. They look to you. If you'd just call on them, bring the Court together, appear before them like this, even if it has to be brief. It would make a big difference. I could- I mean, we," sheepish glance in not-Jack's direction, "we could try to proxy in your absence, but please don't abandon the Court entirely, Your Grace."

Not for Him.

"How long have you been under this curse?"

"They look to a guy who's been spending the past, what is this? Autumn? They look to a guy who's spent the past six-to-nine-plus months bawling his eyes out for leadership?" A hand grabbed at the towel and it vanished into the bathroom. "Look, lady, I am just some guy. I didn't sign up to be the king of a bunch of antisocial losers or turn my life into an ongoing renaissance faire production. If these people don't like each other so much why force them to?"

[Raz_Fox]

A phone is acquired. It’s probably Edmund’s big bulky monster, which is good, because the Pilgrim’s long dark nails would play merry hob with a touchscreen.

A number, dredged up from his memory, is punched in. The brick is held up to his mouth.

“At the beach. One hour. Prepare.”

Click.

So Autumn will now probably be at the beach in an hour! Yay!

[TheAmishPirate]

Aelas takes the sand. "Okay, drive safe, go to the beach!" she said. Then took Isaac's hand and gave it a tug to bring him along. "Oh, doesn't Autumn hang out at the beach a lot anyway? We need to get them next, Isaac. You take the lead, you know where they hang out, right?"

A phone is acquired. It’s probably Edmund’s big bulky monster, which is good, because the Pilgrim’s long dark nails would play merry hob with a touchscreen.

A number, dredged up from his memory, is punched in. The brick is held up to his mouth.

“At the beach. One hour. Prepare.”

Click.

So Autumn will now probably be at the beach in an hour! Yay!

Edmund stuffed his phone back in the depths of his rainment. "Go on you two. Have fun, or whatever."

I'll clean up here.