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  1. - Top - End - #211
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    Anarion's Avatar

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Static looks at you, and it's not the expression you were expecting.

    "Breton is an idiot," she said, voice low and boiling with an anger that was concealed under stillness. "He is an emotional train wreck. He is narcissistic and incapable of seeing beyond his own problems. He believes the height of strategy is to get together and ride around on motorcycles. He is a garbageman by trade because he has no education to do anything greater. He is prolonging the season of Summer unnaturally because he fears the coming of Autumn, a secret that will make Autumn nightmarishly powerful when it is exposed. His only claim to rule is based on a single accomplishment in the past. He is a bad ruler. I would make a better ruler. I should rule."

    Blue flames lick at the corner of her eyes as she makes eye contact with you. It's the first time she's done this. Static has always been controlled, distant, avoiding direct challenge but now that seems merely a strategy to conceal the intensity of her passions. "I accept your promise of help," she says, and so, by the Wyrd, you are bound.

    Careful about what you promise.
    "I'm glad" Aelas smiles and lets the Wyrd settle upon her. Her hair shifts a distinctive red for a moment before settling back to its rest state of a glowing blond. A committed promise to help. Yes, that was good. She thought what Breton was doing was pretty stupid even before Static had brought up how it was empowering Autumn in a scary way. And she liked Static. "Thanks for showing me this..." she gestures at the flames, at Static as a whole. "I get where you're coming from, it's not, like, my thing exactly, but I get it and I'm glad you showed me that you're feeling something, y'know? That's what we came back for, I think. Even if for me, it's more about Joy and fun and stuff, I still get how that flows into summer."

    Aelas realizes she's sort of rambling and shuts up for a second, looking contemplative. "So, what now? You want me to talk to some of the others for you?"
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

  2. - Top - End - #212
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Pilgrim is, unfortunately, already moving at high speeds back towards Prosperpine. Chalk it down to the confluence of various factors, but he hasn't cottoned on to the fact that the hunt's been declared against Jack- he's already gone, gone, gone, baby.

    I leave it up to our spinner of the story as to where adventure finds him again; it could be out in the Hedge, true, but he's a slippery one and has legs that can tear up earth something fierce, so perhaps he'll end up among the Autumnal people, or stumble out of a door right in front of our lady Lily.
    freedom in the flame

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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  3. - Top - End - #213
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    When people run away in the Market, the goblins don't get out of their way. You've got three goblins running alongside you, each huffing and puffing red-faced and trying to sell you on hiding places, magical shoes that will let you jump over the moon, an Apple Watch that will tell you how many steps you need to run for before you get away, and any other way they can cram a bargain down the throat of a motivated seller. What are you offering?
    Jack stops as if struck by lightning.

    Jack Gladwin, you have been summoned back to your home and your master. Return. Return. Return or you shall be returned.

    Mercia's voice rumbles in his mind like the echo of thunder.

    Jack Gladwin, you have been summoned.

    Jack Gladwin.


    "My name," he says.
    Sebastian/S.T. Veje
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  4. - Top - End - #214
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Hectae has been waiting patiently - he's too good a bloke to leave a nice lady to walk through a literal mountain of garbage by herself. Good thing too, because as soon as you're out of the furnace room the cold autumn wind hits you like a truck. Brr.

    But as far as your schedule goes, despite everything happening with the King you've got a date with a Prince. Edmond's bar is due to open right now and you did pledge to go.
    Is that the time?!

    Thank goodness for him indeed. Lift by forklift gratefully accepted. Lily had a lot to think about. And a lot to feel about. She felt exhausted after her meeting with the King and most of all she just wanted to go back to the house and collapse on the little foldout bed with the squeaky springs and sleep. And hide.

    Isaac. Unbidden the image of the frightful monster ally summoned itself in her mind. It took her several moments to let it fade.

    She had promised so much, and she had no idea how she'd deliver even half of it. But she had no choice.

    She breathed a deep sigh and wiped her brow. It was actually a relief to come out to the cool air again, even if she felt somewhat self conscious and smelly now. She was in such a need of a shower. Surely being a little late was preferable to showing up like something the cat dragged in to his grand opening.

    As they got back to the forecourt she made sure to thank the forklift driver warmly, ask him politely for his number in case she needed him now that she was in the service of the king, before finding Aelas.

    "Aelas?" Lily called from a few steps away, far enough to be out of earshot of normal conversation. She could see she was talking to someone and it was rude to intrude so she made her approach known while they had time to conclude their discussion.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



  5. - Top - End - #215
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    Jack stops as if struck by lightning.

    Jack Gladwin, you have been summoned back to your home and your master. Return. Return. Return or you shall be returned.

    Mercia's voice rumbles in his mind like the echo of thunder.

    Jack Gladwin, you have been summoned.

    Jack Gladwin.


    "My name," he says.
    Oh Jack. The name your mother gave you?

    Firstly, take a point of Aggravated Clarity Damage automatically, no roll. This is something even the Gentry would consider to be a bit f*cked up. You're a real, permanent step closer to becoming another Goblin in the Market.

    Next, the consequences. You're losing your name. And it's not going to be as easy as picking up a nickname either; they'll just slide off. Just naturally they'll warp and evolve, and you'll never really be more than 'hey, you'. You're cut off from the bureaucratic mechanisms of society and everything that means.

    But hey, you've got a sense for how to bargain with goblins and despite your position as a motivated seller you can command a high price for something like this. The goblin lawyers who run the paperwork (had it ready, really) make sure that all the technicalities involved in something so legalistically tricky work out in your favour. You remain party to all of your fae Contracts, can still make oaths, and are still entitled to the protection of the Seasons. They also point out that this makes some things super tricky: A Huntsman who gives you warning in Autumn has only a very limited window to find you before your namelessness morphs a bit and they need to warn you again. In Winter, if you are killed, then the Huntsman would be unable to properly mourn you without your name, which will work out especially badly for them. In Spring you cannot be hunted - a Huntsman encountered by pure coincidence, who was sent to find you, would be able to attack you opportunistically but they could not run a premediated hunt. Summer offers no protection.

    They throw in the apple watch as a bonus, mark it as a Goblin Contract. Using it adds a point of Goblin Debt, but it then gives you a number of steps to run before you Get Away. You don't need to run in any particular direction and can even jog on the spot, as long as you hit whatever number it gives you it will make sure you Get Away no matter what is chasing you. So if you get cornered by a monster, you barricade yourself in a broom closet, and then you start jogging then you'll be able to get out.

    It costs 1 Glamour to activate, but the Loophole lets you use it for free if you let it post the location you escaped to on the internet.
    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    "I'm glad" Aelas smiles and lets the Wyrd settle upon her. Her hair shifts a distinctive red for a moment before settling back to its rest state of a glowing blond. A committed promise to help. Yes, that was good. She thought what Breton was doing was pretty stupid even before Static had brought up how it was empowering Autumn in a scary way. And she liked Static. "Thanks for showing me this..." she gestures at the flames, at Static as a whole. "I get where you're coming from, it's not, like, my thing exactly, but I get it and I'm glad you showed me that you're feeling something, y'know? That's what we came back for, I think. Even if for me, it's more about Joy and fun and stuff, I still get how that flows into summer."

    Aelas realizes she's sort of rambling and shuts up for a second, looking contemplative. "So, what now? You want me to talk to some of the others for you?"
    "Well -" said Static, but then:

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    The Pilgrim is, unfortunately, already moving at high speeds back towards Prosperpine. Chalk it down to the confluence of various factors, but he hasn't cottoned on to the fact that the hunt's been declared against Jack- he's already gone, gone, gone, baby.

    I leave it up to our spinner of the story as to where adventure finds him again; it could be out in the Hedge, true, but he's a slippery one and has legs that can tear up earth something fierce, so perhaps he'll end up among the Autumnal people, or stumble out of a door right in front of our lady Lily.

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    "Aelas?" Lily called from a few steps away, far enough to be out of earshot of normal conversation. She could see she was talking to someone and it was rude to intrude so she made her approach known while they had time to conclude their discussion.
    Lily steps out from behind a pile of trash bags, and then the spiciest man in flavourtown bursts out of nowhere, frosted tips gleaming in the sunlight.

    You're all together again, go ahead!

    *

    "Hey, what happened?" said Longarms, approaching the Flower Knight, hucking a squirming bag over his shoulder and eating a meringue with his other hand.

    "I declared my hunt," said Mercia.

    Longarms stared at her blankly. "In the market?"

    "Yes,"

    Longarms let out a long, slow sigh. "I thought you were the responsible one."

  6. - Top - End - #216
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    One of the advantages of our being an audience a step removed from the proceedings is getting to know what’s really going on, and in this instance, let me give it to you straight: the Pilgrim is embarrassed.

    It’s not the top layer of his psyche, certainly. That’s his regular relief to see that Aelas and Lily are doing all right, and there’s no calamity come out of the night against them. (They might be surprised to know there’s a movement like the delicate wings of white moths inside him when he sees then. Or they might not be. They all came out of Fairyland together, after all.) And roiling around that’s the Quest: the treasure’s been claimed, but if he lies down and rests he might have it stolen by a serpent while he sleeps, or consumed by fire racing across the sand. The subtle heave of his shoulders as he breathes; he’s been flying fast, and there’s an exertion even to the pace of smoke moving hard against the wind. The way his head moves, slow and wary, like an animal that has smelled blood across the expanse of the savannah, hearing the crunch and hiss and mechanical tolling of alarms crying out, pistons at work, pistons at work, watch your fingers my lad, for you’re on Summer’s turf now (and there’s not a corner of Prosperpine that’s not seen him lately, if only in passing).

    But also, it cannot be ignored that he is standing in front of Aelas and Lily, and his terrible grandeur has been quite undercut. It is one thing to be a monster; it is another thing entirely to look like one is attempting to be stylish despite one’s deformity, and doing quite badly at it. Also, there’s a goblin bat rubbing their tummy on the cold, wet expanse of his frosted tips and leering cheerfully at everyone involved.

    “Top of the afternoon, ladies,” Zotzie says, bright as a button. They start to form another word, and then double-take at their surroundings. “Hell-o! I didn’t realize that door was going to take us to the buffet! Should have known, it did look a particularly enticing bush. Hold up, hold up, big guy, pass me that bag- that one, yessssss. Prime Mickey Dee’s. Their cardboard is sodding divinity on properly aged fish.”

    Now there is a black trash bag of dripping McDonald’s trash draped over his black-and-orange-and-red-and-blue flame decal shirt. And Zotzie is rubbing their tiny thieving wings together with glee.

    If anyone here had anything like respect for the Pilgrim, now would be a good time to reevaluate.

    Almost defensively, the Pilgrim reaches in to his shirt with two crooked fingers and lets the contract peek out for a moment. “Huntsman at market,” he says. Then, almost as an afterthought, “Mercia. Knight of Flowers. Slave of Lover Awaiting.”

    “She straight-up tried to jank the contract in front of everyone,” Zotzie adds, chipper as they come. “Offered the big guy a favor for it. And he said no, of course, because the more enticing the offer the more he’s gonna guilt-trip himself over it.” The bat glances down and adds, in an almost nostalgic tone, “Ain’t that so, Mountie?”

    The Pilgrim relaxes noticeably. “As you say, Osprey,” he says, a call-and-response so old it’s second nature.
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  7. - Top - End - #217
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    Anarion's Avatar

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Well, Static was going to say something else, but now she's not, and Aelas wouldn't want to presume of course, and now some of her friends are back together, so that's a yay! regardless of what else is happening. "Pilgrim! Wow, um, what happened? Oh, and hi Lily, how did your meeting go with the king? I made up with Static and we're friends now, I know you both wanted me to do that, and I'm really sorry about not doing it earlier, but I really had to do something else, but then I did that and now I did this, and uh...did you say Huntsman? I think maybe they visited my...um...my old house earlier, especially that flower one, that's pretty specific there can't be that many people that look like that right?"
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

  8. - Top - End - #218
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    The first person through the door is an exhausted looking mother of three, kids in tow, saying "I heard this place has a daycare,"

    Maybe leaving the marketing campaign to Gustav wasn't your bestest move.
    Woah woah woah, hold on a second. You think Edmund's working the front door? If he'd wanted social contact, then he wouldn't have spent the last month ignoring everybody and opening a restaurant. Though to be fair, "what Edmund wants" was a highly classified subject, a word which here means, "stuffed in a nondescript envelope and jammed into the most poorly-labeled filing cabinet in his brain, to be discussed at a future date that would never come." What he did know was that he enjoyed cooking at all times, and small talk on his own terms. That meant he ran the show from the kitchen, and whoever he'd hired on as wait staff would handle the interpersonal things.

    For Edmund to be involved in this situation means one of two things; either his staff hasn't arrived yet, or they took one look at the situation and went for the proverbial panic button. Both are possible, so here he is. Exactly where he didn't want to be.

    “Ma’am, this is a restaurant," He said flatly, from behind the bar (because what manner of establishment would this be if there wasn't a bar?) "If you leave your kids here, I will get hauled away for child labor, and that's gonna be bad for business.”

    “...best I can do for you is a cup of coffee.” His gentler tone - and more importantly, the pot of coffee he'd started - showed it to be a serious offer.

    [If she's willing to stay for a cup of coffee, and willing to be a little less tired, then Edmund will loophole the heck out of Gift of Warm Breath.]
    I'm developing a game. Let's see what happens! Complex.

  9. - Top - End - #219
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    Woah woah woah, hold on a second. You think Edmund's working the front door? If he'd wanted social contact, then he wouldn't have spent the last month ignoring everybody and opening a restaurant. Though to be fair, "what Edmund wants" was a highly classified subject, a word which here means, "stuffed in a nondescript envelope and jammed into the most poorly-labeled filing cabinet in his brain, to be discussed at a future date that would never come." What he did know was that he enjoyed cooking at all times, and small talk on his own terms. That meant he ran the show from the kitchen, and whoever he'd hired on as wait staff would handle the interpersonal things.

    For Edmund to be involved in this situation means one of two things; either his staff hasn't arrived yet, or they took one look at the situation and went for the proverbial panic button. Both are possible, so here he is. Exactly where he didn't want to be.

    “Ma’am, this is a restaurant," He said flatly, from behind the bar (because what manner of establishment would this be if there wasn't a bar?) "If you leave your kids here, I will get hauled away for child labor, and that's gonna be bad for business.”

    “...best I can do for you is a cup of coffee.” His gentler tone - and more importantly, the pot of coffee he'd started - showed it to be a serious offer.

    [If she's willing to stay for a cup of coffee, and willing to be a little less tired, then Edmund will loophole the heck out of Gift of Warm Breath.]
    "But - I heard -" for a moment total frantic desperation shows in her eyes, before it all suddenly and abruptly collapses. "Yeah, in retrospect I was silly for thinking that a restaurant would have a daycare. I'll have that coffee. Thank you."

    The sudden, broken transition between fear and hope and sorrow is... a powerful thing. Winter stirs in its sleep and a fine glitter of frost rolls over the bar. This lady is sad and disappointed - but she'll deal with it. Glamour rises in the air, soft and light, like steam from a frozen tree in the dawn. (You can make a Harvest roll if you want).

    A few minutes later four big guys burst in through the front door. "Yo dude, I heard you had a spa and massage parlour! Where do we go for that?"

    "Excuse me," a timid voice comes a moment later. "Is this the new book club?"

    A dude in sunglasses with an oiled-back ponytail: "This is the new restaurant/eSports café, right?"

    People keep coming in through that door, each carrying with them all their hopes and dreams. Each of them desperately wants some certain thing to come to this tiny town. And you'll have to stomp on every singe one of them.

    How do you do it?

  10. - Top - End - #220
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    Elanorin's Avatar

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Lily was utterly stunned to see Isaac suddenly appear. While she was beginning to grasp that such strange things were perhaps not as impossible as she once thought she couldn't entirely shake a tiny feeling of thrill-lined guilt. She had just thought of him. Seen him, clear as day in her mind, and then he'd just appeared. Like she'd called him. Like he knew. Surely not.

    No matter what it was a relief. It was a relief seeing Aelas and it was a relief seeing Isaac. The walls paused their approach for a few moments and Lily smiled, albeit briefly. And, wait, what was he wearing?

    "You're safe," was Lily's reply to Aelas on how her meeting had gone. It was the part that mattered. "Pleased to meet you, Static," she said and reached out a hand to the gargoyle in greeting.

    Then a cloud came over her at the mention of huntsmen, and her face fell even more at the mention of Lover Awaiting. Her mouth felt dry and the walls resumed their steady pace inwards. "H-huntsman?" she managed, looking to Isaac, but mentally already packing her bags and trying to think where they might run to next. She glanced at the contract as he revealed it and frowned a little, "you have a plan?"
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2018-06-24 at 06:18 PM.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



  11. - Top - End - #221
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Oh Jack. The name your mother gave you?

    Firstly, take a point of Aggravated Clarity Damage automatically, no roll. This is something even the Gentry would consider to be a bit f*cked up. You're a real, permanent step closer to becoming another Goblin in the Market.

    Next, the consequences. You're losing your name. And it's not going to be as easy as picking up a nickname either; they'll just slide off. Just naturally they'll warp and evolve, and you'll never really be more than 'hey, you'. You're cut off from the bureaucratic mechanisms of society and everything that means.

    But hey, you've got a sense for how to bargain with goblins and despite your position as a motivated seller you can command a high price for something like this. The goblin lawyers who run the paperwork (had it ready, really) make sure that all the technicalities involved in something so legalistically tricky work out in your favour. You remain party to all of your fae Contracts, can still make oaths, and are still entitled to the protection of the Seasons. They also point out that this makes some things super tricky: A Huntsman who gives you warning in Autumn has only a very limited window to find you before your namelessness morphs a bit and they need to warn you again. In Winter, if you are killed, then the Huntsman would be unable to properly mourn you without your name, which will work out especially badly for them. In Spring you cannot be hunted - a Huntsman encountered by pure coincidence, who was sent to find you, would be able to attack you opportunistically but they could not run a premediated hunt. Summer offers no protection.

    They throw in the apple watch as a bonus, mark it as a Goblin Contract. Using it adds a point of Goblin Debt, but it then gives you a number of steps to run before you Get Away. You don't need to run in any particular direction and can even jog on the spot, as long as you hit whatever number it gives you it will make sure you Get Away no matter what is chasing you. So if you get cornered by a monster, you barricade yourself in a broom closet, and then you start jogging then you'll be able to get out.

    It costs 1 Glamour to activate, but the Loophole lets you use it for free if you let it post the location you escaped to on the internet.
    Jack suspects his mother didn't think very long or very hard about the name she gave him, evidenced by the slightly less generic names of his two adopted sisters, Emily and Faye. Had she cared, had she blessed him with a different name, perhaps he would have become a different man. But she didn't, and Jack became what he is, a thief ... and not the first thief to leave their name, their identity, their whole life behind ... faking your death is a time-honored tradition among crooks and con artists.

    Selling your name to a random goblin is not as big and dramatic as faking your own fiery death, so you can't even warm yourself on the fact that you got a show out of it. No one will write poetically about Jack's dramatic death, or if they do it won't really be about him, but his imposter self ... he briefly wonders how this deal will affect his Fetch, if at all.

    Then it's done, and the [Con] Artist Formerly Known as Jack feels the cold fingers of bereavement and the loss of something essential, a connection to his human life. For all that his mother never loved him as much as she loved his sisters, and for all that he's always been a thief, and for all that he's used to giving of himself ... he feels it. And he'll grieve and mourn ... but first he'll survive.

    First he'll find a place to hide.

    Question: If he lets the watch post where he disappeared to on the Internet, where anyone can see, how can he Get Away? If his new location is known to - potentially - all, surely he hasn't Gotten Away?

    *

    Health: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
    Clarity: [A][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
    Willpower: [x][x][x][x]
    Glamor: [x][x][x][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
    Goblin debt: 0
    Sebastian/S.T. Veje
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  12. - Top - End - #222
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    First he'll find a place to hide.

    Question: If he lets the watch post where he disappeared to on the Internet, where anyone can see, how can he Get Away? If his new location is known to - potentially - all, surely he hasn't Gotten Away?
    The Internet is a big place, Jack. Just because something goes up there doesn't mean that the whole world knows about it. It'd take someone with a pretty good grasp of Computers to be able to track you that way.

    (Also Getting Away doesn't mean Safe Forever. It means they completely lose track of you and need to start their hunt up again from scratch. Having the location you escaped to would give them a starting point, which is why it's a Loophole.)

    If you want to hide from Mercia the Market is a good place to do it. Make a wits+stealth roll, +2 from the market and another +5 for the difficulty recently losing your name will cause for the goblins trying to sell you out. However Mercia and Longarms are together now and the penalty for evading them is -8.
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2018-06-25 at 05:38 PM.

  13. - Top - End - #223
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Plan?

    Ah.

    That's right. Everyone's looking to you, Pilgrim; you're the guide through the wilderness now. And the guide never admits to being lost, or not having a plan, because then people worry. People panic. They make bad, bad decisions on the horns of terror and misguided self-determination. They stumble into the foliage and cut themselves on glass cliff-faces and fall victim to the sin of despair, for which you shall be scourged until you realize the necessity of your continued life in the sight of the Stars. You are not given permission to die; you have not fulfilled your sentence.

    (She will kill you, Pilgrim.)

    The plan is as follows: deliver the contract to the Freehold, thereby achieving trust and fulfilling the duty placed upon them to clear their names. Inform the Autumn folk of the identity of Mercia, Knight of Flowers, and thereby dig for knowledge, scraps and pieces of information that together make a match even, if admittedly not preferential to his side (as per usual, then). And then? The next step is to dig out the collaborator, the person or persons who flinched when offered a token from the Hunt. Not his specialty. Lily, more likely, with her quiet voice and her awake eyes. If there even was a collaborator. Maybe the Huntsmen are just circling, seeing who's weak, who's easy prey. None of the motley are allowed to be easy prey. Not Aelas. Not Jack. Not Lily. Edmund... Edmund can take care of himself, but he's got a mountain at his back anyhow.

    "Autumn," he says. He inclines his head. Did they come here in a car? He could carry them both, but it'd be trouble if he needed to become smoke (even with Zotzie clambering off him and burying themself in the McDonald's bag). Maybe they could walk. He could walk, certainly.
    freedom in the flame

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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  14. - Top - End - #224
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    The Internet is a big place, Jack. Just because something goes up there doesn't mean that the whole world knows about it. It'd take someone with a pretty good grasp of Computers to be able to track you that way.

    (Also Getting Away doesn't mean Safe Forever. It means they completely lose track of you and need to start their hunt up again from scratch. Having the location you escaped to would give them a starting point, which is why it's a Loophole.)

    If you want to hide from Mercia the Market is a good place to do it. Make a wits+stealth roll, +2 from the market and another +5 for the difficulty recently losing your name will cause for the goblins trying to sell you out. However Mercia and Longarms are together now and the penalty for evading them is -8.
    Right right, without a name he probably doesn't have a Facebook profile ... if he had one to begin with, anyway. And who's going to see a random post on a random forum in some dusty corner of the web. So at the very least it would take a while to pick up the trail, and by then he may be long gone. Got it.

    *

    That's a -1 total:

    Wits+Stealth-1 = 7: 7, 2, 7, 1, 5, 9, 9, two successes.
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    Right right, without a name he probably doesn't have a Facebook profile ... if he had one to begin with, anyway. And who's going to see a random post on a random forum in some dusty corner of the web. So at the very least it would take a while to pick up the trail, and by then he may be long gone. Got it.

    *

    That's a -1 total:

    Wits+Stealth-1 = 7: 7, 2, 7, 1, 5, 9, 9, two successes.
    For a moment, hidden in amidst the cardboard silhouettes of muscle men, and ensconced above the home of a dozen dainty mice princesses who respectfully keep their giggling and yoo-hoos to a minimum, you see the iron boots of the Huntsmen pass you by.

    "All right, all right," said Mercia. "I get your point. It was hasty."
    "The least you could have done was spook the Pilgrim a bit," said Longarms. "He might have revealed a trick or two."
    "Still," said Mercia. "I wasn't expecting him to sell his name. Who does that?"
    "Well, do we buy it, or what?"
    "Buy - his name?"
    "Yeah. I mean, it's on the Market."
    "What could we do with it? He's obviously not attached to it, and his Fetch is a monster."
    "Mercia," said Longarms throwing his arm around the Flower Knight's shoulders. "I would say that is the point."

    And then they move on ahead, and into the commotion of the market, and you pass from each others' trails. Where do you go now?

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    "Autumn," he says. He inclines his head. Did they come here in a car? He could carry them both, but it'd be trouble if he needed to become smoke (even with Zotzie clambering off him and burying themself in the McDonald's bag). Maybe they could walk. He could walk, certainly.
    "Can I come with you?" Lily asked, "Though, I believe Edmund's expecting us all, perhaps we should go there first?" As much as Lily did not feel in the mood for a big grand opening party she did not want to disappoint a friend. Autumn was the next on her list though, and she was glad of the prospect of Isaac's company to go see them. She'd faced the Summer King alone and she was still wobbly on her feet from the encounter.

    The back of her hand felt hot and tender where the iron had almost-touched, like a bad sunburn. She was keenly aware that her promise had included quick results. She probably didn't even have time for parties. Maybe she could just stay for a little bit.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Lily paid for the cab, as I recall? We can always do that. Butterfly is still taking a break though, and she doesn't really do groups anyway (Aelas should really buy an enchantment or something for her to seat more people). Meanwhile though, Aelas glances at Lily and Isaac, then back to Static, trying to get a read. Does Static want her to stay behind and plan now? That would be helping a friend, right? Or does she want Aelas to go with Lily and Isaac and convince them to support Static's cause? Any sign here?
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    "Can I come with you?" Lily asked, "Though, I believe Edmund's expecting us all, perhaps we should go there first?"
    The Pilgrim's terrible clawed feet flex like those of a bird that's about to launch itself at your face because you're too close into its comfort zone. Like a goose, but with talons that could hoe a cornfield. Not because Lily asked to come with him, no, that's good. If Lily's with him, nothing can happen to Lily. And he won't have to do the talking. Looking like... well, looking like an American.

    On the other hand. Edmund's expecting us. Let's go to a secondary location while you're still holding the piece of fairy paper that ensures the safety of everyone in Prosperpine and thus responsible for its safekeeping because nothing bad has ever happened to someone who goes out of their way to relax before they're done with their job. There's hair standing up on the back of his neck, and not just because of the hair gel.

    He nods, once, but also he did just flex his talons like he was about to do a cassowary kick through a windshield, so, uh, interpret that how you will, Lily.
    freedom in the flame

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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  19. - Top - End - #229
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    For a moment, hidden in amidst the cardboard silhouettes of muscle men, and ensconced above the home of a dozen dainty mice princesses who respectfully keep their giggling and yoo-hoos to a minimum, you see the iron boots of the Huntsmen pass you by.

    "All right, all right," said Mercia. "I get your point. It was hasty."
    "The least you could have done was spook the Pilgrim a bit," said Longarms. "He might have revealed a trick or two."
    "Still," said Mercia. "I wasn't expecting him to sell his name. Who does that?"
    "Well, do we buy it, or what?"
    "Buy - his name?"
    "Yeah. I mean, it's on the Market."
    "What could we do with it? He's obviously not attached to it, and his Fetch is a monster."
    "Mercia," said Longarms throwing his arm around the Flower Knight's shoulders. "I would say that is the point."

    And then they move on ahead, and into the commotion of the market, and you pass from each others' trails. Where do you go now?
    That was almost too easy ... of course it won't always be, but maybe he hadn't had to go and sell his name after all. Had he been too rash? Ah ... Hello regret, my old friend ...

    Jack slips away, quietly, head and spirits low. There's nothing left for him in the Market, and hanging around is just asking for trouble from the goblins. He came here with a job to do, but right now it is far from his mind.

    I think he'll just wander for the moment, following the strongest feeling of despair and sadness to its source.
    Sebastian/S.T. Veje
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Anarion View Post
    Lily paid for the cab, as I recall? We can always do that. Butterfly is still taking a break though, and she doesn't really do groups anyway (Aelas should really buy an enchantment or something for her to seat more people). Meanwhile though, Aelas glances at Lily and Isaac, then back to Static, trying to get a read. Does Static want her to stay behind and plan now? That would be helping a friend, right? Or does she want Aelas to go with Lily and Isaac and convince them to support Static's cause? Any sign here?
    Static looks uncertain, then makes the gesture of handshaking followed by a brief thumb across her throat. The implication is that unless you can really trust these people to keep a secret (which she takes to require a sealed pledge, minimum), if it gets back to the King everyone is super dead.

    She's happy to go with you. If nothing else, talking treason would be more pleasant in a place that isn't A) Next to a literal pile of burning garbage and B) almost within earshot of the King.

    Quote Originally Posted by stveje View Post
    That was almost too easy ... of course it won't always be, but maybe he hadn't had to go and sell his name after all. Had he been too rash? Ah ... Hello regret, my old friend ...

    Jack slips away, quietly, head and spirits low. There's nothing left for him in the Market, and hanging around is just asking for trouble from the goblins. He came here with a job to do, but right now it is far from his mind.

    I think he'll just wander for the moment, following the strongest feeling of despair and sadness to its source.
    Turns out despair has a new home in town. Your footfalls will carry you steadily to Edmund's bar, which is where everyone else seems to be gravitating.

  21. - Top - End - #231
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "But - I heard -" for a moment total frantic desperation shows in her eyes, before it all suddenly and abruptly collapses. "Yeah, in retrospect I was silly for thinking that a restaurant would have a daycare. I'll have that coffee. Thank you."

    The sudden, broken transition between fear and hope and sorrow is... a powerful thing. Winter stirs in its sleep and a fine glitter of frost rolls over the bar. This lady is sad and disappointed - but she'll deal with it. Glamour rises in the air, soft and light, like steam from a frozen tree in the dawn. (You can make a Harvest roll if you want).
    Edmund will try. He'd given her the chance to breath, to deal with a rough day, this too may help take the edge off.

    [Let's see...I'm not entirely sure the skill + Attribute to roll here. This feels like Empathy, for sure, but then maybe Presence? Being there for her, in this moment, and not allowing the world to get in and shatter it?]

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    A few minutes later four big guys burst in through the front door. "Yo dude, I heard you had a spa and massage parlour! Where do we go for that?"

    "Excuse me," a timid voice comes a moment later. "Is this the new book club?"

    A dude in sunglasses with an oiled-back ponytail: "This is the new restaurant/eSports café, right?"

    People keep coming in through that door, each carrying with them all their hopes and dreams. Each of them desperately wants some certain thing to come to this tiny town. And you'll have to stomp on every singe one of them.

    How do you do it?
    Different faces, but always the same tale as the first.

    They bring wants. He fills needs. He is clear - but not cruel - about the difference. Whether they accept, leave, or argue is their business; he stands ready to fulfill his.
    I'm developing a game. Let's see what happens! Complex.

  22. - Top - End - #232
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    The Pilgrim's terrible clawed feet flex like those of a bird that's about to launch itself at your face because you're too close into its comfort zone. Like a goose, but with talons that could hoe a cornfield. Not because Lily asked to come with him, no, that's good. If Lily's with him, nothing can happen to Lily. And he won't have to do the talking. Looking like... well, looking like an American.

    On the other hand. Edmund's expecting us. Let's go to a secondary location while you're still holding the piece of fairy paper that ensures the safety of everyone in Prosperpine and thus responsible for its safekeeping because nothing bad has ever happened to someone who goes out of their way to relax before they're done with their job. There's hair standing up on the back of his neck, and not just because of the hair gel.

    He nods, once, but also he did just flex his talons like he was about to do a cassowary kick through a windshield, so, uh, interpret that how you will, Lily.
    If there was one thing Lily had honed to a fine art it was reading subtle hints of displeasure in the body language of a beast. Her eyes shot to Isaac's talon's and stayed there, watching to see if the temptation to lash out would be given in to.

    When it seemed not, she let out the small breath that she'd come to hold and glanced in Aelas' direction.

    "Actually, Aelas, perhaps you and your friend could go ahead. We'll catch you up. Please offer our apologies for being late. We'll be as quick as we can." She imagined it was Aelas who would liven the party up anyway, dazzle in the spotlight and as long as she was there no one would notice a couple of missing guests.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Turns out despair has a new home in town. Your footfalls will carry you steadily to Edmund's bar, which is where everyone else seems to be gravitating.
    Jack the Former slips inside and finds a place to stand where he's not in the way. Seeing everyone there is a relief. "What's going on?" he asks.
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Pilgrim offers Lily a hand; it is unlikely that she will accept the implicit offer to clamber onto his back, to use him as a beast of burden, but it is offered anyway. (There’s always hesitation at first; he’s used to simply giving orders, or hauling new meat up on his shoulders so he can carry them up a knife-sharp crevasse. But this is not there and Lily was not cast down by alien stars to suffer, and he does not have the right to seize her up. Not unless he needs to.)

    If she accepts- well, we have seen this already, on screen. Swift, long-legged flight hurtling down the scrubland, all swirling smoke passing down the road against the wind, smelling like strange incense and charred flesh. They will be there soon.

    If Lily declines, or ignores the offer entirely, as that is easiest, that means there is no need to confront such a fraught relationship as exists between the two- well, the Pilgrim can slow down to accommodate her little legs. He will move like an elk, all long strides and sudden stillness, every movement deliberate, his senses pricked to listen for the Hunt. There will be little conversation; his thought is cast outwards, paying attention to the world around him (so drab, so soft in comparison to the fires of purgatory).
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  25. - Top - End - #235
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    The Pilgrim offers Lily a hand; it is unlikely that she will accept the implicit offer to clamber onto his back, to use him as a beast of burden, but it is offered anyway. (There’s always hesitation at first; he’s used to simply giving orders, or hauling new meat up on his shoulders so he can carry them up a knife-sharp crevasse. But this is not there and Lily was not cast down by alien stars to suffer, and he does not have the right to seize her up. Not unless he needs to.)

    If she accepts- well, we have seen this already, on screen. Swift, long-legged flight hurtling down the scrubland, all swirling smoke passing down the road against the wind, smelling like strange incense and charred flesh. They will be there soon.

    If Lily declines, or ignores the offer entirely, as that is easiest, that means there is no need to confront such a fraught relationship as exists between the two- well, the Pilgrim can slow down to accommodate her little legs. He will move like an elk, all long strides and sudden stillness, every movement deliberate, his senses pricked to listen for the Hunt. There will be little conversation; his thought is cast outwards, paying attention to the world around him (so drab, so soft in comparison to the fires of purgatory).
    Lily took his hand without hesitation, in fact she was almost moving to reach for it before it was offered. She held his hand with one hand and clasped his arm with her second. Her head bent, she let out a breath and her shoulders eased. She hadn't realised how much she'd needed someone to hold on to. Her heart had been beating so fast, and still did, ever since she left the King, that she felt she could be knocked over by a feather. Isaac... well, Isaac felt safe, for the moment, and so she borrowed of his strength without asking.

    It truth she hadn't noticed that the intention was for her to climb up on his back. The thought didn't even enter her mind, despite having seen him carry others that way. Instead she ended up walking out the garbage gate with him like they were a Victorian couple leaving the ball.

    But it didn't take long before she became keenly aware of their slow progress, and Isaac's ability to move so much faster than her. She was holding him back. So she asked him to pick her up so that he could set the pace. Disappearing in smoke, albeit one so very different from her own, was familiar and comfortable. To her mind this was her little realm of half-existence and her misty weight grew fractionally heavier at finally releasing the last of the stone-heavy courage she'd been carrying against her will. She smelled smoke and charred matter and its unpleasantness didn't even register. It was in these dark mists that she whispered her confession, as if saying it here, now, like this, was not quite releasing it fully in to the real world, not fully having to face it, just releasing it in to the space between being and not-being.

    She spoke of what she'd done, of the contract she had woven with the Mad King Summer, of Iron holding her to her promise, of the King's missing child and his raging paranoia, of how much the King terrified her and how she felt he was doomed to self destruction and set to take everyone down with him. She spoke of finding this traitor and how she only had three days and had no idea how to fulfil her promise or what would happen when she didn't. Like water, the words flowed easily once released. She hadn't thought as far as to what his reaction might be. Perhaps he would pretend not to have heard her. Perhaps he'd be angry, would she be able to weather that? Would he be dangerous? Could she trust him? Right now, in this comforting smoke of half-existence, she thought so.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



  26. - Top - End - #236
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Aelas nods to Lily and takes Static by the hand to lead her to the street corner while she calls a car with her phone. "Sure, sure, we'll head to the grand opening and catch up later."

    When they pull out of earshot, she says to Static, "I think it's just smarter to be like 'hey, can we all agree to be bound by a promise to talk about something special?' instead of like, tricking people into it, but I get that this is a big deal, so I'll talk to my friends later when we know it's safe."

    Then they get in the car and head to Edmund's new bar, assuming the traffic jam of people all trying to get there doesn't get them stuck and force them to get out and walk a few blocks early.
    School Fox by Atlur

    Quote Originally Posted by The Giant View Post
    Anarion's right on the money here.
    Quotes

    "Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.”
    Oscar Wilde Writer & Poet (1891)

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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    The Pilgrim listens. It is an easy thing to do, if you know the trick of it: to let your body melt away, a thing of smoke and cinders as it is already, to move without thought and to leave a still pool of reflection untouched at the center of the self. This pool, then, is able to accept the outpouring of words and let them sink, slowly, to the bottom of the soul.

    If he was half the linguist your humble storyteller is, he would think of Lily as an angel, in the oldest sense of the word: a messenger sent on burning feet to carry out the dictates of a wrathful god. He does not; this allusion is beyond his education.

    So. A promise. An oath. Little Lily would hold to such a thing, even if magic and Iron were not behind it. That is the sort of person she is; there is a certain pride in saying that you will do a thing, and then setting yourself by that star.

    When she is done, there is silence, save for the rush of wind, and the sea breaking against the shore, and the deep, steady breath of the Pilgrim as he goes, moving more by will than by the mettle of his form. Then, slow, halting, between exhalations: “Three days. To meeting. Not to victory. Traitor... perhaps. But you must serve. Not win.”

    Do you understand, Lily-of-the-Valley? Three days to ascend the peak- to make everything arranged just so- to give until you can give no more- that is how our Pilgrim thinks of it, roots it in his own experience. After that, you must keep serving as best you can: but the stars will align just so in three days’ time, and they do not care about anything save your presence in the appointed place, you and yours. You have sworn to aid in the capture of the traitor and to arrange the meeting: nothing more, nothing less, and if there is no traitor within, merely a privateer laughing gaily in the woods, then all that is required is your service as arranger-of-trifles.

    Perhaps serving the King in such a way will bind you to him in the eyes of the community; will tie you to his coming, inevitable fall. (All falls are inevitable, given enough time.) Perhaps not. There is a road in front of you, and it must be walked. This is the Pilgrim’s way.

    Silence, for a time. Then: “Harriette Kush.” The rush of wind. “Took- no. Lured. His son. One here is false, Fetch. If you need a name.”
    freedom in the flame

    Spoiler
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    Quote Originally Posted by PhoeKun View Post
    Raz, you scoundrel! You planned this!
    Quote Originally Posted by BladeofObliviom View Post
    Great, and now I'm imagining what Raz's profile on a dating site would look like. "Must be okay with veils."
    Quote Originally Posted by Kasanip View Post
    I don't think there is such a time to have veils that it is not the fault of Raz_Fox.
    Quote Originally Posted by Dervag View Post
    It's a freaking Romulan dump truck. The Romulans are no more likely to build an unarmed warp-capable ship than they are to become a hippy commune.

  28. - Top - End - #238
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    "I don't see the point of this," said Mercia.
    "It's simple!" said Longarms. "Step one, I get Jack's name," he held it up - it was in the form of a Hi! My name is JACK sticker. "Step two, I smear it all over the media. Step three, I use it to lure his Fetch out and start serial killer-ing. And that's how we catch him!"
    "I don't - what? How does that follow?" said Mercia.
    "Because guilt, dummy!" said Longarms. "It works every time. I make it look like he made a terrible, terrible mistake that he has to take responsibility for. Then he'll show up to do something about it because he won't be able to live with himself otherwise. Bing bong so simple."
    "Hmm," said Mercia. "What if he doesn't?"
    "Then everyone he knows will be like, hey man, why is your former name serial killer-ing everyone and they'll shame him into it," said Longarms. "Also bing bong so simple."
    "But what if -"
    "Bing bong! So simple!" said Longarms darkly.

    *

    Lily and the Pilgrim are headed to a nearby town called Ginderry. Autumn is meeting there today and when you arrive it's clear why.

    In the second world war Australia engaged in that rather unconscionable technique of rounding up Japanese citizens and sending them to internment camps for the duration of the conflict. Unfortunately this moment can't be called anything other than totally consistent with a lot of historical Australian policies.

    But there was something of a strange silver lining. These camps were built in remote country towns, and gardeners were amongst those sent there. So every so often in a rural Australian city you'll find a strange and beautiful traditional Japanese garden, an oasis of green amidst forests of blue. One of these is at Ginderry, planted by a community that had nothing else to do and maintained respectfully ever since because it gave the town something to it's name other than a mutant sheep skull and a meth lab.

    And while the eucalypts don't change in autumn, this Japanese garden is a poem in crimson and gold. Thick and crackling leaves drift down to find their place on sand raked white and swirling. In this transplant-garden, murmurs of music drifts out.

    The Autumn Court is all about and all alike, carrying whatever musical instruments they favour. The music plays in brief starts and then stops as layers of murmuring whispers overlay as they discuss choreography and showmanship. Pilgrim, you are reflexively brought into these whispers as you approach - essentially the nature of the discussion is that amongst the Court's talents they're heavy on brass, and they're trying to figure out how to make the tuba and trombone threatening.


    *

    At Edmond's bar, Static, former-Jack and Aelas are all present. Static looks pleased at Aelas' choice here. "I heard this place has a VR lounge," she says, actually seeming a little excited by the prospect.

  29. - Top - End - #239
    Ettin in the Playground
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    It takes the Pilgrim a little bit of quiet listening to come to his own conclusions vis-a-vis brass bands. Generally speaking, tubas were in short supply in the wilderness. Whining, droning flutes leading the unwary to destruction; lutes that joyously screamed out their pain; goblin vuvuzelas and rattle-boxes making an incoherent chaos of the stands; bombastic, howling horns sounded beneath the cold eyes of the stars to herald their descending judgment.

    “Power is fearful,” he says, finally. “Strength is slow. Deep. These horns are strong.”

    The irony of the Pilgrim suggesting subtle restraint and menace through music while dressed as loudly as a Backstreet Boys reunion concert is palpable.
    freedom in the flame

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  30. - Top - End - #240
    Ogre in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [Changeling IC] Time's Wings: Dark Omens

    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    Silence, for a time. Then: “Harriette Kush.” The rush of wind. “Took- no. Lured. His son. One here is false, Fetch. If you need a name.”
    This was precious information indeed. A name! And if Isaac spoke it with certainty then she already had, at the very least an accomplice by name. The relief struck like a rush to the head, for now she knew, no matter what happened, she would not have to meet The Summer King empty handed.

    "Thank you," she spoke, the words warm in her throat.

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    Lily and the Pilgrim are headed to a nearby town called Ginderry. Autumn is meeting there today and when you arrive it's clear why.

    In the second world war Australia engaged in that rather unconscionable technique of rounding up Japanese citizens and sending them to internment camps for the duration of the conflict. Unfortunately this moment can't be called anything other than totally consistent with a lot of historical Australian policies.

    But there was something of a strange silver lining. These camps were built in remote country towns, and gardeners were amongst those sent there. So every so often in a rural Australian city you'll find a strange and beautiful traditional Japanese garden, an oasis of green amidst forests of blue. One of these is at Ginderry, planted by a community that had nothing else to do and maintained respectfully ever since because it gave the town something to it's name other than a mutant sheep skull and a meth lab.

    And while the eucalypts don't change in autumn, this Japanese garden is a poem in crimson and gold. Thick and crackling leaves drift down to find their place on sand raked white and swirling. In this transplant-garden, murmurs of music drifts out.

    The Autumn Court is all about and all alike, carrying whatever musical instruments they favour. The music plays in brief starts and then stops as layers of murmuring whispers overlay as they discuss choreography and showmanship. Pilgrim, you are reflexively brought into these whispers as you approach - essentially the nature of the discussion is that amongst the Court's talents they're heavy on brass, and they're trying to figure out how to make the tuba and trombone threatening.
    Quote Originally Posted by Raz_Fox View Post
    It takes the Pilgrim a little bit of quiet listening to come to his own conclusions vis-a-vis brass bands. Generally speaking, tubas were in short supply in the wilderness. Whining, droning flutes leading the unwary to destruction; lutes that joyously screamed out their pain; goblin vuvuzelas and rattle-boxes making an incoherent chaos of the stands; bombastic, howling horns sounded beneath the cold eyes of the stars to herald their descending judgment.

    “Power is fearful,” he says, finally. “Strength is slow. Deep. These horns are strong.”

    The irony of the Pilgrim suggesting subtle restraint and menace through music while dressed as loudly as a Backstreet Boys reunion concert is palpable.
    Lily had decided to like Autumn even before they arrived. Simply because she felt it would just make life too hard if she didn't. Summer was completely terrifying, despite the odd pleasant court member. Spring was unsettling and infuriatingly underhand. As much as Winter was Home it was a court in pieces, completely derelict from neglect. Autumn just had to be the grain of sanity among it all. She had decided that it was going to be, regardless of what she found when she arrived, she was going to like them.

    First impressions seemed to promise her that her wish would be granted. This place felt pleasant and welcoming. It was entirely possible that the bar for qualifying for such opinions had been so drastically lowered by Spring and Summer that it was all but impossible for Autumn not to pass.

    Isaac seemed distracted by the people who were playing music. This was his court, after all, perhaps he saw something in what they were doing beyond just playing music in the warm sunshine.

    Lily walked a little, but did not stray far from Isaac, she was a guest here and did not want to accidentally offend so she listened to the music, enjoyed the garden and tried to not seem to be staring too much.

    Finally she stepped back to Isaac's side and took his arm like before and leaned a little closer, "Ms Waystone?" she asked him quietly, while it was true that she did not want to disturb anyone her main reason for discretion was a feeling she had picked up while at Mrs Height: the leader of this court did not like to stand out. She perhaps didn't want to be known at all. The display of anonymous unity that the Autumn court seemed to be practising with such devotion supported it.
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2018-07-05 at 04:07 PM.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



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