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>>1744605
"You lost, old man," the Rook rasps. "You do not have the right to complain."

"I only speak to the organ grinder, Rook," the Woodwalker says patiently, as though speaking to a child. "And unless I miss my mark, that would be the Warlock Knight. If you had learned anything from losing an arm and an eye you wouldn't be shaming your enemies in their defeat."

"That's enough," you cut in. "Rook, can you see to Forum?"

The Rook looks over to your Winter comrade. The big Troll sits with his back to an upturned table, cradling his arms and biting back sobs of agony. There is a sigh from the small man, and then the Rook drifts over to tend to Forum.

"What was this all about?" the old Woodwalker asks. "How did you find us?"

You fold your arms. "Loose lips sink ships. Why do you think we were after you?"

The old man frowns in thought. His hands go down, slowly, to his knees as he settles in to a rest. He makes no move towards his sword. "The Bloody Wing has done nothing to your Freehold to merit censure or even detection," he murmurs. "Aside from Sam there, none of us are yet members, let alone criminals. A prophet, perhaps, but Spring does not dance to the tune of Oracles and their ilk. Unless...unless..." he looks up at you, the mossy veins in his eyes turning red and orange like Autumn leaves. "Unless you're looking for the peacock, and his Wonderlanders."

"Tell me what you know," you prompt, gently.

"Your Darkling is dying. My compatriot is already dead, and my commander dies on the floor beside me. I would rather cut a deal."

"I'm listening," you offer.

"Let me tend to her wounds and rouse her from her slumber. Then I will tell you everything I know about the peacock you seek and his ambitions and plans. After, you give us five minutes to strip this place of whatever of our possessions we see fit to save and permit us to leave your city with neither molestation or pursuit, never to return."

"You can promise that on her behalf?" you warn. "What about Sam? He needs to answer for his part in all of this."

"Sam is my oath-brother now. He comes with me," the Woodwalker insists.

> Accept the offer (form a pledge)
> Propose a counter-offer (what?) [Persuasion against difficulty 7, potential bonuses available depending on the quality of your counter-offer]

>>1744645
>> Propose a counter-offer
Sam is free to leave, AFTER he has made right what he has made wrong

>>1744715
I can support this. We should also ask;
> Did you know of the tainted pledges that bound other Lost as slaves to Virgo? Did you help provide her any new slaves to serve in her brothel?

If these guys profited at all from the Glamour-farm, even just paying some form of rent to the Fairest and turning a blind eye to what she was doing, then they need to offer recompense. Not to us, or even to the Freehold, but to the victim's of Virgo's abuse.

>>1744903

Seems like a good request to make. It may even help us break any animosity we got with our Rival in the last thread

>>1744903
If we can make sure they're telling the truth, sure. Noone would admit to that kind of thing.

>>1744645
>> Accept the offer (form a pledge)
Can't think of a better one, and saving our own + continuing our main mission > sitting on making sure justice happens for this group. As annoying as it is, we've got priorities and chasing this will make the other harder.

>>1744715
>>1744903
>>1744946
Can I presume that this is the only alteration you're looking to make to the Woodwalker's plan?

>>1745825
Implied or not, maybe make sure they won't hurt us or ours?

>>1745845
Of course. I'ma call here at approximately 1:15 AM EST to the best of my understanding, which is currently >>1745825

>>1744645
> Accept the offer (form a pledge)
Top priority is patching up Vickie and Forum and getting intel on the wonderlanders and their fairest leader.

Alright, called. By my count, this line of thought: >>1744903 >>1744715 is our winner. Roll me 1d10+4 (+1 bonus gained from your pitch).

Rolled 5 + 4 (1d10 + 4)

>>1745967

>>1745981
5+4 = 9; Success.

Writing.

>>1744605
I have to say this is much better than the official Changeling fiction.

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>>1744645
You let those words hang in the air for a moment, but you can't spend too much time thinking and neither can he. People are dying, sooner rather than later.

"Did you know about the tainted pledges that kept the workers here?" you ask, pointedly.

"...Not when we pacted with Virgo," the Woodwalker says. "The original plan was to infiltrate your Freehold as new arrivals and use the city's resources to help fund the activities of other Talons. Minimal engagement and investment for great return. Virgo promised a steady supply of Glamour in exchange for our support in her political endeavors. Only later was the source revealed."

You look over at Vickie and frown. "She needs something to staunch the bleeding."

"Granted."

"Sam stays," you tell the old man. "He had an oath to us before he did to you. He aided and abetted a betrayal of the Freehold's sacred trust and the enslavement of people he knew were most vulnerable. Whether or not you think he did all he could, he needs to answer to King Arthur."

"Your Courts do not have the legitimacy to -" he begins hotly, but the old man quiets himself. "We do not have time for ideology," he decides. "If he can save the rest of us by staying, then his oath to us, and my oath to the rest, are all fulfilled in the fullness of Wyrd. Here."

He tosses the fruit in his hand to Vickie, who catches it on the end of her knife and eats with desperate greed. The Deputy makes a strangled sound of pain and sinks to her knees, hissing something you suspect might be 'That's the stuff'.

"A gesture of good faith. Let us pact and be done with it, Dame Eriksdotter." The militia member offers his hand out. "In the name of our former masters, unspoken but held in dread and awe."

You let out a low whistle, but it makes sense. Oaths sworn in the name of one's Keeper are dreadful things, which tempt the wrath of your erstwhile master if broken and signal to them your presence and doings. The old man has no interest in seeing this oath broken, and neither do you.

"Let the pact be made in the name of our masters, unspoken and unsullied," you begin. "I and my compatriots will permit you to save the life of your companion, the Stonebones Ogre which lies upon the floor of this Hollow. Once her life and consciousness are secure, you will tell us all you know, to the best and fullest extent of your knowledge, of the peacock you have alluded to, his Wonderlanders, and their plans and goals. Once this information is transmitted, and no further, I and my compatriots will permit you five unmolested minutes in which to retrieve your possessions from this Hollow, upon which time you will leave New Avalon and the environs of its Hedge as swiftly as you are able, not to willingly return before the span of ten years and ten days, and doing no harm to the citizens of this city or this Freehold except in self-defense during that time. Is there peace between us?"

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>>1746359
"In the name of my dread master, unspoken and unsullied, there is peace between us," the old Woodwalker agrees. The two of you clasp hands and feel the rush of binding Wyrd as you swear the grim oath of peace and knowledge.

You have sworn the Broken Wing Oath.

The old man moves without delay, taking a second fruit from his pocket, a greasy pear the same sickly red color as the one he gave to Vickie. He crushes it gently in his hand, dripping the juices into the mouth of his commander. With great delicacy, he forces her to swallow small mouthfuls, until she coughs a dry, ragged cough.

"I have negotiated a peace," the old man murmurs. "Do not make me an oathbreaker."

"Ricky," the Stonebones rasps.

"He got the worst of the Darkling. He's passed on."

The Ogre is too weak for rage. She rests her head back against the ground and devours the meat of the fruit while the old man hobbles towards you. His eye slides to his fallen sword, but he will have plenty of time to pick that up here in a minute.

"Peacock is a derisive nickname," he explains, after a moment. "His proper name is Rainbow John. He hails from DC, and joined the Bloody Wing a little more than two years ago after he was persuaded of our cause. He is...arrogant, but powerful, with a bright and hot Wyrd that affords him mastery over the Hedge and supernal capabilities with his body."

"Don't suck his dick too hard," Vickie says from her place against the wall. She leans in a slump, focusing mostly on breathing.

The old man actually chuckles. "He was quite a find, to be honest. It is not often than we recruit entrenched members of the Courts, but when his mortal lover was stolen from him, he came to see as we do that the Courts are outmoded and impotent before the might of the Others. But I digress, and I apologize."

You incline your head in acceptance. "What caused the falling-out?"

"He had a great triumph, Warlock Knight. He cornered one of the Cousins and forced it to sue for peace. The demon promised anything in its power, swearing upon its true and secret name, so long as it could be spared destruction."

"There's accounts of this," the Rook comments, looking up from carefully extracting blood-red saplings from Forum's flesh. "It's rare, but...it happens. The results are the -" he stops and coughs well away from his patient, wiping his mouth on his sleeve before even stepping near Forum again, "-the stuff of legend."

"What did he ask for?" you say, a horrible certainty welling up in your chest.

>>1746422
What the hell did Rook do to that Ogre ?

>>1746432
If I were to guess, sucked the moisture right out of her.

>>1746432
From the description earlier, I think it was an advanced power of Fear, maybe something from the Autumn Court.

I can remember that, in the Arthur segment from months back, one of his motley used a similar power to invoke terror in a pirate, creating an illusory image of their former Keeper.

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>>1746422
"The use of the Fae's realm and expertise in creating Lost from mortal volunteers," the old Woodwalker tells you. His voice is distant, exhausted, and ashamed. "He provides the mortals, which are then turned into Changeling soldiers and delivered back to him. We," he indicates his compatriots, "were horrified. Disgusted. And we lost two of our own trying to take him down for it. We were gathering our strength to try again when you appeared. Now we must leave, not to return. But it is not too late to intercept the next shipment."

"The next - how many?" you demand.

"He delivered the first, six teens and adults, a moon ago," the old man admits. "That's how we learned of his plan. He presented his new soldiers to us. The second shipment was a fortnight ago, give or take a day either direction, and we were unable to stop it. Rainbow John will deliver the next at high noon on August fifth, and presumably receive his new soldiers to swell the ranks of his renegade Wing."

"Gods in Asgard," you breathe. "That gives us what, a day?"

"Yes," the old Woodwalker agrees. "The Other he spared will not show, so thank your gods for their small mercies, but the children he takes are desperate things, and so are the soldiers he receives. They will do anything for a taste of Glamour in their lives. Anything, Warlock Knight. What you come to take from them is all they have ever wanted."

"...What else can you tell us," you whisper.

"The tradeoff will happen in the City-Hedge which you can access most easily from the gates in the north side, where the glass grows like flowers. He has made that place a living hell for the native hobs, and they now avoid it. In his free time, he runs tours in disguise to drum up extra money and Glamour."

You search the old man's eyes, but the exhaustion and shame there have no room for deception. "Go on. Five minutes."

There is a blur of motion from the old Woodwalker. He throws papers into the fire, tucks others into his pockets, scoops up what are presumably Tokens and Trifles of various kinds, and finally hauls his commanding officer across the small of his back and sets out towards the greater Hedge. He stops to look back on his way out.

"The Bloody Wing will not forget that you treated your defeated foe with honor and respect, Warlock Knight," he says in a soft tone. "My youth is over and done, but it is nice to know that there are those who take up the torch I set aside, so long ago."

And then they are gone, and there is only the stunned silence of you and your compatriots, and the crackle of flame and candles. The Rook is helping Forum to bind his bleeding arms in bandages.

>>1746505
what about sam the sliced?

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>>1746505
"We have to kill the kid while he's down," Vickie says at last.

"We - what?" you demand, startling.

"You heard the old guy. They were going to abuse New Avalon's trust. Take advantage of our hospitality and siphon us for all we're worth. If Sam goes back to Arthur, it's all going to come out," Vickie explains. She has to stop to suck deep breaths in through gritted teeth. "We'll never be able to trust an exile again. I won't have it. I can't. I can't sit here and watch the one good part of this town turn rotten, Colors. If we cut his throat, he can't tell them, and neither will any of us."

"You want to lie to the monarchs?" the Rook says in disbelief.

"To keep this the kind of place that gave Colors or Erin Peters a second chance? Yeah. I'd lie and kill for that." Vickie staggers to her feet and flips her knife in her hand, point-out. "Give me the word, Fearless Leader," she murmurs. "You know I'm right. Back me up on this one."

> She...she's right
> No. If you start resorting to those tactics then you're just like the Bloody Wing
> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.
> Write-in?

>>1746519
Still out cold, but see >>1746519

>>1746432
>>1746481
Close but no cigar. >>1746473 actually has the right of it, though Colors herself isn't familiar with the Contract in question. It's a trick of Eternal Autumn, which withers its enemies with days of dehydration in an instant. It's not the most potent of Eternal Autumn's Clauses, but the Rook is a practiced and deadly sorcerer.

>>1746524
>> Write-in?
>Ask Forum for his vote if he is clear-headed

>>1746297
I'm flattered.

There's Changeling fiction though? Do you just mean the adventures and vignettes or did novels happen when I wasn't looking?

I gotta pass the fuck out folks. Votes remain open.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>1746524
>> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.

>>1746540
>>1746524

>> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.

We can always request a private audience and beg them to keep the whole thing quiet.

>>1746537
>or did novels happen when I wasn't looking?
Wiki says no...I think

>>1746524
> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.
> But please, you are all part of this team. I want to know what you think. Forum? Rook? What do you say?

>>1746524
> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.

>>1746524
>She... she's right

Ramona and Arthur are good people. But they can't control all of this. I think Ramona and Arthur would make the right decision.

I do not believe the Freehold would make the right decision, and Ramona and Arthur will not be rulers forever. Especially if we put them in a situation where they have to enforce something the Freehold will see as unreasonable.

>>1746531
>but the Rook is a practiced and deadly sorcerer.
And we don't want to lose his support. Besides, Sam still has his uses - we can force a pledge or oath out of him.

>>1746708
And maybe he can tell how they caught and control the shadow dogs. How I could forget that I don't know.

> Set alarm to be able to update in the morning
> End up taking three times longer to do everything than usual

Jesus fuck. Votes remain open.

As before, I'll be available via phone for Q&A and to field feedback. I'll be back sometime around 10:30 to 11 PM EST.

Thank you all for reading and participating, and for your patience.

>>1746925
If what the old man said was true, it was probably the Peacock that caught them. Might have lured them into a trap.

> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.
> But please, you are all part of this team. I want to know what you think. Forum? Rook? What do you say?

>>1746524
> Have some faith, Vickie. Arthur and Ramona will understand.
> But please, you are all part of this team. I want to know what you think. Forum? Rook? What do you say?

It's not a vote though.

> No. If you start resorting to those tactics then you're just like the Bloody Wing

If you haven't seen some of the Changeling Open Development, you should! They released a few big sections recently. For example, there is now a Contract that can literally change you into a dragon. That you can get at character generation.

http://theonyxpath.com/contracts-of-steed-changeling-the-lost/

There are more of those posts you can read, just use the Changeling: Lost tag and follow them backwards.

Called, writing.

Don't get too excited, but I'm going to attempt to hack together some alternate universe meme images for this quest, in part because I get too attached to bad ideas, but mostly because it might be fun. Unfortunately my access to image/video editing materials is more or less zero so this may be slow going as I work with others to try and make some.

Feel free to contribute any you might have. That shit would be hilarious.

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>>1749414
Does this count?

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>>1749414
Kinda hard to find memes for a universe that doesn't exist, but I'll try.

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>>1746524
You shake your head. "Not this time, Vickie," you tell her. "Have some faith. Arthur and Ramona will understand, and it's not like Zippo or Misery Monroe can just run roughshod all over them. But...Forum, Rook, do you agree with her reasoning?"

Forum makes an uncomfortable face but says nothing. The Rook surprises you by shaking his head. "I did not learn nothing by losing an arm and an eye," he rasps; he rumbles a cough to clear his throat. "We have to be able to trust each other, and it's only trust, only really trust, when someone could get hurt. That's what Ramona has with Natalia."

"Where do you of all people get off like you can mount a high horse?" Vickie asks in naked disbelief.

The Rook crosses the room to the bleeding Darkling girl. The flames in the Hollow gutter to embers as he passes, and their coals let out an eerie bluish light, like a computer's screen rather than flame. The shadow wolves, quiet until now, start to throw themselves against their cages, barking and snapping in the deepening darkness.

Their fury turns into terrified whines when the Rook passes. Vickie holds her knife up, warning the Wizened away from herself, but he stops well out of her reach.

"My job is to be the bastard," the Rook rasps, his voice as low and solemn as he can make it past the sawing of his ravaged throat. "Autumn's role is to consider the vile tactics that others will not, to counsel our fellows on if and when they can be turned to good, and to understand the cost of our own evil. And I am telling you that if you kill that boy now, it will cost you more than you will ever get back. You are letting your fear rule you, Deputy."

"That's enough," you tell them both. The bonfire flickers slowly back to life, though it moves in a jagging, pixelated motion entirely unrelated to real flame. The Rook nods once and begins systemically trashing the place. He doesn't turn up much, but Vickie takes the healing preserves he offers her and eats them like a starving thing, swiftly and in silence.

There is also an astonishing stockpile of ammunition, though if there are guns here, the Rook isn't turning them up.

"Grab Sam and let's move," you request. Forum gingerly picks the knocked-out Fairest up, and the Rook opens the door back out. All of you stop in a restroom long enough to scrub off the worst of the blood, ashes, and soot, and then move en masse towards the lobby.

There's a pair of VALKYRIE SUVs out front.

"You must be Ms. Eriksdotter," a professional voice says from the entrance to the bar. The Valk is a lean, middle-aged man in a sharp-cut suit, with a pair of glasses. He holds his badge out for you to see. "Agent Martin, Task Force: VALKYRIE. Can I ask you what you're doing here with an unconscious citizen, while the building is closed?"

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuckity fuck. Fucked like Loki in the stables.

>>1749650
> Tell it to him straight: you were after a terrorist cell hiding in a Hollow here. It'll piss the monarchs off but it explains everything. [Persuasion against difficulty 5]
> "We're hunting Hedge Beasts, Agent. It's clear for now, but I'd be happy to get King Arthur to contact your agency and loop you in?" [Persuasion against difficulty 6; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]
> "Knuckles knows why we're here. It's his business and, if we aren't being detained, none of yours." [Politics against difficulty 5; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]
> Pass the buck to Ramona or Natalia as hard as you can fucking throw it [???]

>>1749522
Yes, yes it does.

>>1749556
Less 'find' and more 'make', hence my difficulty in doing so without outside assistance.

But that pic is VALKYRIE as fuck.

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>>1749692
That makes more sense. It'll be kinda hard to makes memes out of this universe, as the primary point of divergence with the real world are people who can/will kill you if you make fun of them. That one poor dude almost got got when he was causing trouble for Forum, earlier.

How well verse is your average internet troll in Lost stuff?

>>1749774
For obvious reasons they kinda dominate the news cycle right now. Even if they didn't, the Lost tend to have distinctive appearances. The basic outline - you get stolen to a magical land, horrible shit happens, now you're magic too - is in the public discourse, as are dire warnings about the Hedge. Valkyrie becoming public knowledge is also a game-changer.

The other thing to remember is that many Lost were taken 20-30 years ago. Computer skills are a somewhat rare ability in the general population.

Also I'ma crawl into bed and die now. Votes remain open.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated!

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>1749675
> "We're hunting Hedge Beasts, Agent. It's clear for now, but I'd be happy to get King Arthur to contact your agency and loop you in?" [Persuasion against difficulty 6; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]
These Valkyrie guys don't enter the Hedge, right? Was just thinking that we could tell them there was a pack of Shadow Wolves that needed to be dealt with, among other things.

>>1749675
> "We're hunting Hedge Beasts, Agent. It's clear for now, but I'd be happy to get King Arthur to contact your agency and loop you in?" [Persuasion against difficulty 6; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]

Just tell him that we were investigating reports of a hedge gate in the building, because an unsecured gate in a hotel would be all kinds of bad. Turns out there was one, and there was unfriendly stuff on the other side, including some shadow wolves. That's all technically true, and if we offer up the fact that there's a hedge gate in the building, that might be enough to explain our presence without spilling the beans on the whole "changeling terrorist cell" thing.

>>1749675
>> "We're hunting Hedge Beasts, Agent. It's clear for now, but I'd be happy to get King Arthur to contact your agency and loop you in?" [Persuasion against difficulty 6; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]

>>1749650
>> "We're hunting Hedge Beasts, Agent. It's clear for now, but I'd be happy to get King Arthur to contact your agency and loop you in?" [Persuasion against difficulty 6; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]

Alright folks, roll me 1d10+3 one time.

Rolled 9 + 3 (1d10 + 3)

>>1750669
Pls.

>>1750670
Ahahahaha

AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA excellent.

9+3=12; Critical Success with Overkill.

Writing.

>>1750672
Well, all's well that ends well.

>>1750672
I know it's metagaming, but why didnt we go for the easier Politics angle ?

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>>1749650
You look over the Agent's badge before you commit to answering any questions, but as far as you can tell it checks out. Those long classes run by Winter in recognizing fake Valk badges are paying off, not that you or anyone else had a choice in attending them. But now you have to actually answer the guy.

Muttering a silent plea to Bragi and Loki, you decide to take refuge in audacity and offer your hand out. "Gladly, Agent," you say with a tired smile. He shakes your hand with an air of pleasant surprise. "I'm guessing Knuckles mentioned we were here?"

"Even so," Martin agrees. You note the lack of follow-up information and keep your smile on.

"We've been hunting Hedge Beasts, Agent," you explain. "There's a compromised Hollow on the second floor, and given the circumstances we were uncomfortable keeping normal business running while we took care of things. Once we catch Knuckles up, we're off to snag Arthur and his Summer Courtiers to secure the area and call the shot on the door."

Agent Martin frowns and flips out a small notebook, which he writes in. "What are we looking at here?"

"Not anything immediate," the Rook rasps, picking up on your story. "But an unsecured Hollow can let in something worse than a confused animal or a predator. It's Summer, so..."

"Mm, yes," Martin agrees. "That whole affair."

"It has been to our mutual advantage to let things stand more or less as they are," you point out, diplomatically. "We can ask His Majesty to loop you in if you want confirmation of the problem having been dealt with...?"

You can see the Valk work it over in his head before he nods. "That may be best. Can you explain the gunshots reported?"

Forum raises his hand with a wince. "Shotgun, while the door was still open. Picked it up in the Hollow, left it there 'cause it's not mine."

Agent Martin raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment. "Thank you, Ms. Eriksdotter. Knuckles is in the bar if you need him. Can he secure the door in the meanwhile?"

"Security is his job at this establishment," you say. That seems to satisfy Martin, who closes his notebook and tucks it back into his pocket. There is a relief that comes off of the man, a release of tension that you can taste on your tongue; it fizzes in your mind, and you snatch it for yourself.

You gain 2 Glamour.

The Valk takes out a small card containing his contact information, which you review before placing in one of your jacket's breast pockets. "Keep me looped in," he reminds you. "But you make a solid point. Our agents aren't suited for ultraterrestrial operations, and I don't want to be the guy who messes up a good working relationship here in New Avalon. We'll take our leave, and best of luck to you."

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>>1750694
"Be well, Agent." The two of you shake hands a second time. He heads out the door with his cell phone in hand, presumably summoning the other Valks present. The rest of you slip into the bar, where Knuckles and his boys and girls - some sixteen Lost in all - are waiting. The workers stick together nervously, flocking together at the tables and nursing drinks with various expressions of worry and relief. Knuckles himself is sipping from a tall glass in layers of colors that you're decently certain is a complicated method of suicide-by-alcohol. You pass a pair of Valks on their way out, who nod to you.

"What's the deal?" Knuckles asks quietly, once they're gone.

"Hole up. Keep the hotel closed, and post a guard at that gate," you request. "We'll send Summer in to secure the place, hopefully with some Winter to help clean up. Everyone here okay?"

"Not precisely," Knuckles admits. "They're shook up. Had to stop a couple from beatin' the hell outta their clients once they realized the pledge was gone. But they knows me. We'll abide."

"Alright. We're gonna get in touch with Arthur -"

"Done," Vickie interrupts. "Bossman is waiting for us in the Juniper Building. We'll come in the back door and meet him and agents of the other monarchs in the Aquarium. I let him know we're cut up."

The Rook stares at Vickie with undisguised envy. She clears her throat and puts her phone back in her pocket.

"We'll get moving now," you say at last.

"I'm phoning in a ride. Walk if you want to but Sam there can't just be paraded through the streets."

"I could walk," Vickie offers. She rubs her sleeve self-consciously, wincing when she touches her half-healed wounds. "If someone's coming with."

> Walk with Vickie
> We don't have time, Vick. We'll all just get in the car.

>>1750713
That feel when I forgot to clarify that it's the Rook phoning in the ride. My bad.

>>1750713
>Walk with Vickie
I do hope we won't miss what will happen to Sam, but Vickie seems to be in need to company.

>>1750713
> Walk with Vickie

We can talk about tact and trust.

Also we should later invite the Rook to hang out with us and Ramona. Partly because he craves the attention of kings and Queens, partly to show him how they're just peeps.

>>1750713
>> Walk with Vickie

Called, writing.

>>1750692
Little late but I guess to avoid making our royalty upset, that and hedge beasts are so far over their heads they may as well be floating in space.

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>>1750713
"I prefer walking," you admit. Vickie looks visibly relieved. "Rook, let Vickie and I handle the report on Virgo."

"As you wish. We can deliver the rest of our report while we wait."

"Let's just get going so we're not super fucking late," Vickie suggests. She winces again and stuffs her hands in her pockets so she'll stop touching her wounds. You nod to Knuckles and head outside with Vickie into the early afternoon. A quick check of your phone says it's about ten to three.

You get a solid four blocks of uncomfortable silence.

"Might as well come out and say it," Vickie says at last. "Go on."

"Say what, exactly?" you ask. You spare her a glance and see guilt written all over her expression.

"Don't even give me that, Colors."

"You wanted to walk," you point out.

"Yeah, because - urgh! Fuck you, okay? You were obviously with the Rook back there. I got dunked on by a guy who tried to murder both of his political rivals. So come on, let's hear it. Fuck me up."

> Aight, fine. Fuck her up.
> Vickie, why do I suspect that's not what this is actually about?
> If we're going to try to talk about things I'm mad at you about, we might start with the part where you lied to me about your family at least one time.
> Write-in?

>>1750802
>> If we're going to try to talk about things I'm mad at you about, we might start with the part where you lied to me about your family at least one time.

>>1750802
>> Write-in?
Murder isn't the solution for everything, and we can't keep everything a secret from the Royals.

Aight, I gotta bounce to work y'all. Votes remain open, as usual, and I'll be back sometime near 10:30 PM EST.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and participating!

>>1750824
Forum is a tragic character of course, but as of now he doesnt contribute much except being the token Winter character. I do feel pity for him, if that was your intention.

>>1750843
Indeed, but give him some time. He's the youngblood of the group and the lowest in comparative rank & personal prowess. Those things are not without reason or effect on his behavior.

> Vickie, why do I suspect that's not what this is actually about?

>>1750802
>>1750802
> Vickie, why do I suspect that's not what this is actually about?
Vickie's been getting... more and more unhinged. I'm honestly starting to get concerned, it's almost like there's something that's been gnashing around inside her..

Vickie, seriously, the fuck is going on in your head?

>>1750802
>Vickie, why do I suspect that's not what this is actually about?
What's going on in that head of yours?

>>1750802
>> Vickie, why do I suspect that's not what this is actually about?

We're her partner/supervisor on this particular op, so it behooves us to know what's going on with her.

Also, we're Spring, so knowing what she /really/ wants is kinda what we're supposed to do.

....We need to work on that part, don't we?

>>1750692
The politics angle wasn't easier. Colors has a better persuade skill than politics. Politics would have been rolling at a +0 against difficulty 5 instead of that +3 against difficulty 6 for persuade.

>>1751000
>>1750802

It's probably about her wanting to kill her mother specifically, and her thinking that killing can solve her problems generally. She's shown that she's very passionate about what she believes, her beliefs about New Avalon itself spring to mind, and up until now she's believed that getting revenge against her mother was the right thing to do and that killing her would resolve things. Now she's been smacked in the face with a quick series of events that challenge that.

First, killing Virgo didn't actually make her feel better, and we kind of rubbed that in with regards to her mother. Sure, killing Virgo was the right thing to do at the time, but it not because it would make Vickie happy, because it wouldn't. Similarly, killing her mother would probably not make Vickie happy, but she's been telling herself that it would and confronting that it won't is going to be hard for her. People like to believe that there is an easy solution to their problems, especially when there isn't. For Vickie, killing is physically very easy since she's fast as fuck and good with knives. She really wants to believe that she can solve her problems that way, even problems as complicated as her fucked up relationship with her mother, because it helps her feel in control and not totally adrift and powerless. Feeling like you're helpless and at the mercy of a world out of your control is already a serious problem for regular humans, Changelings who have actually been horribly abused by powers far beyond them are going to have that even worse.

Then, when she suggested killing Sam, because that's her go-to way of resolving things, the Rook of all people was able to take the moral high ground against her. When a ruthless bastard like the Rook has the moral high ground against you, it means you've seriously fucked up.

Incidentally:
> Aight, fine. Fuck her up.

>>1751234
It occurs to me that I basically just described the summer court.

Avoid feelings of powerlessness and victimization by getting really fucking mad and stabbing things.

>>1750802
> Aight, fine. Fuck her up.

We're going to have a nice walk and when she's ready she can start talking. But we aren't going to let her start a fight with us to get out of having to deal with whatever she's going through.

>>1751250
Anon continues to be better at this than my actual Changeling players.

>>1751234
Ayy yo
>support this

>>1751590
give us more information about your changeling game

>>1752091
It's been awhile since I ran one. My last one with any kind of real conclusion took place in Vegas. The PCs, all people decidedly not from Vegas, woke up there accused of being the Freehold's missing nobility. Gradually they learned that they'd been caught in a three-way gambit between their Keeper, a traitor to their old Motley, and the vengeance of an erstwhile ally against the tyrannical Autumn Queen.

Along the way they had to grapple with the revelation that they'd been madmen and monsters in their old lives, decide about the future of their Freehold, confront the demons of their past, and return the stolen memories they were using to their rightful owners.

Shit was a blast but man was there some serious expectation clashes when it came to the Courts.

>>1752258
i'm running a changeling game and could use some ideas for plots to throw at my motley

>>1752399
Well, tell me more about your Motley and I'll see what I can come up with. I'm on my way home now, oughta be back in action around 11 PM or so, EST.

>>1752430
I have an odd cast, like a very odd cast.
Lacey Ann- razor finger darkling of the summer court who lives and breaths punk rock as a way of rebellion against her keeper who was a pastiche of bloody mary and Elizabeth Bathory
Leo- a clockwork mainkin who glows, rom pre ww1 switzerland and currently a private detective wrapped in bandages
Gayle- fall court ogress who fights the constant urge to eat people
Edel Weiss- winter court chalataine whose bodily fluids are all mead
Nemo- kithless seemingless weirdo with amnesia, unknowing of his past as an archmage who almost made it to the arcadian watch tower before getting punted out through the hedge by the gentry.

>>1750802
> If we're going to try to talk about things I'm mad at you about, we might start with the part where you lied to me about your family at least one time.

>>1752464
All but the last one actually seem pretty good.

Personally, I had an idea for an event/cursed location in the Hedge called the Feast of Swine. From the outside, it appears to be a glorious hall filled by a magnificent feast laid out to be eaten. But, you may only take a mouthful. The morsel will be damn near the most heavenly, delectable thing the Changeling has ever tasted, and will restore a portion of their Glamour immediately. But, said Lost has to roll not to continue eating..and eating..and eating. Their friends can help them by dragging them away from the table kicking and screaming, but they too would have to resist the growing hunger.

As the Lost devours the meals in front of them, they gradually change into fat hogs. If the Changeling is still there when a clock on a nearby wall strikes noon, a pack of pig-like hobgoblins will swarm into the room and add them to the buffet.

Anyone who has a high enough Clarity or expends Glamour discovers that the feast is in fact a horrific display of cannibalism and debauchery, with human, Changeling and Hob being served side by side.

>>1752464
Man I'm gonna be honest I Was all aboard this train until that last guy.

What have they done thus far? Are your players comfortable in their characters and characterization?

Also called, tallying, writing.

>>1752659
So far the group has been involved in minor things to make their name. Escaped the clutches of a murderous stump chef hobgoblin that had them imprisoned as guests in a demented bistro in the forest, helped find a resting place for an ensorcelled mortal who'd been dear to the hearts of the local goblins, catered the Unbirthday- the day you escaped from arcadia/started your new life- for the summer king Tawny, who is a tiger and a businessman, were tasked with finding a mortal judge for the traditional hurling game that marks the transition between fall and summer, in the process rescuing him from a loyalist who had intended to sacrifice him to his keeper and dragging the loyalist to the freehold in chains, saved the life of a a homeless girl which has in turn led them to be involved with a gangs of mortal of privateers who stalk the underground in stolen subways based loosely on priates of old, attempted to stop the ensorcelled mortal they buried grand daughter from being attacked by a barghest but in the process accidentally violated a pledge the dead man had entered into and accidentally almost killed the entire family and have managed to slap a bandage on it by making a goblin vow to keep them in glass coffins indefinitely basically

>>1752595
>>1752659
also Nemo is actually a pretty good character, he basically has no knowledge of how the world should work outside of stories and interprets everything in archetypes and tropes

>>1752692
In retrospect i should have used more punctuation.

I've also got some sub plots running that aren't currently in the fore front

Conflict between Summer and Fall- the Autumn Queen Abyzouithis is currently held being held as a hostage over an unpaid debt. This the old fashioned kind of hostage, one who attends court and has a handmaid while not being allowed to leave. The current autumn king, Iron Henry, has taken a conciliatory approach but this has left a lot of his courtiers grumbling, and it's generally understood that if the successors weren't all jockeying for power he'd be out
A vigilante killer stalks the city, targeting dealers of vice specifically. His calling card is a death tarot card, leading him to be called the Reaper by the press. He's begun to target changeling drug dealers, specifically spring court, and seems to have some supernatural powers, but the witnesses describe him as being 'weird but not wyrd.' Currently the motley has discovered that the original murders that were attributed to him may have all been committed by different people.
The local goblins in the hedge are a lot more organized than normal, having assembled a functioning feudal society lead by two very powerful hobs, the goblin king and queen Dagda and Mab. Unfortunately they're having marital issues, which has lead to the denizens of the hedge taking up sides in what's shaping up to be a civil war
Edel Weiss' had a keeper that was themed after the story Tatterhood, a troll woman named Hilde Brande. this means she also has a beautiful sister named Andrea Brande. Hilde was murdered by another member of the gentry known for his Blue Beard, who framed Edel Weiss for it. Now both the sister and the black widower are after Edel Weiss. One of them, assumed by the changelings to be Andrea Brande, has been spotted hunting in the hedge a few counties over so they're currently panicking.

>>1752692
>>1752808
Also,

Leaving space between paragraphs helps with readability! It sounds like there's a lot happening, curious why you think there might be an issue with tossing hooks at the players. I mean, one of my favorite things about Vox's quests is the visceral feeling of exploring this freehold and its people.

I wouldn't be surprised if your players felt much the same. Honestly, I'd let them explore for awhile and see what they stumble into, since it seems you have a lot of the background going ons mapped out pretty well. Not total sandbox for too long, but let them find what catches their interest and give them incentives to pursue it without waving a "HEY LOOK THERE'S PLOT IN HERE HOLE, GO GET'EM!" sign, y'know?

And yeah, that last player feels.. extremely out of place. Maybe you can loop that into the story later to take it in a rather crazy direction if things get stale/to heighten the stakes/TWEEST/etc. Or never ever feed into the.. kinda baffling backstory if you can help it, either or.

>>1752944
Eh, I have a hard time getting my players to take an active interest in things. I'm throwing out hooks to see what snags

also, for nemo i have a plan. His personailty/powers as a mage were stripped away and formed five pseudo-fetches that will pop up.

The Sepia Knight, a forgetful old knight errant who needs to find arcadia but can't remember why. Think the white knight from alice through the looking glass

The Lantern Lord- a powerful vizier like figure in the court of Dagda and Mab who helps educates the goblins about useful things like crop rotation, blast furnaces, and gun powder without any particular care of what they might do with the knowledge. Attended by a small hobgoblin called Fizzbin who tries to emulate a sterotypical wizard after catching sight of Nemo in the hedge

A terrible hippogriff hedge monster with the face of an owl, wounded and rampaging because of it's pain. it's wounds leak a black ichor that saps the strength of whatever it touches.

the marred merchant- an information broker in the local goblin market who deals in secrets. He collects them like a raven collects shiny things, to qoute Terry Pratchett. Not particularly out of any love for them but an instinctual need.

And finally the fetch that's actually assumed his identity as the head of a mage cabal known as the Parliament of owls- mostly arcanthus interested in studying other supernaturals. Each of them is themed after a particular breed of Owl. His real name is Barnes

all of the pseudo fetches have an owl theme- the Sepia knight has an owl heraldic device on his shield, the Lantern Lord has wings like an owl, Fizzbin carries a wizard staff topped with an owl, the marred Merchant wears an owl mask.

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>>1750802
You sigh, which just seems to wind Vickie up more. The Darkling seems to be expecting some kind of attack. Or maybe wanting one?

But honestly, after today, you're not up to have a fight.

"What's this actually about, Vickie?" you ask, patiently.

"Where do you get off -" Vickie slows her roll, looking away at the cars passing on the street. "...I'm trying, okay? This isn't easy for me."

"What isn't?"

The Deputy's hand leaves her pocket, with some of her quarters between her knuckles. Her fingers ripple, walking the coins over and under, flipping past each other and scraping against one another with almost musical sounds. "You don't know what it's like," she says quietly. "You can't, really. Just like I can't know your shit, you know? What it's like over There, in the dark. In the places where hope goes to die and friendship is a distant memory fished out on hooks to draw in the stupid and the naive. You don't. You don't know. You stand there in the sunlight looking like a radiant fucking street goddess and you don't get how many people I'd kill in agony to be you for just a day, and I'm trying so hard not to be mad at you for that because it's not your fault. It's nobody's fault that they all have the thing I want."

"Vickie, it's - it's oh-"

"Don't you God damn dare tell me it's okay," she snaps; her Mantle flares, spraying a torrent of rain around her that falls in thick sideways sheets. "I know what I am, Colors! You think I joined fucking Summer because I'm okay with lying before I even think about telling the truth? You think I'm okay? I was there when Arthur claimed Excalibur and I'm still doing bitch work in the lower rungs of the Court because I am not okay. It hurts, all the time. You, you fucking, you sit there in the sunlight any time you like, and you tell the truth like it doesn't twist a shiv in your God-damned soul and you don't get to tell me it's okay, you got me? Not ever!"

Vickie fumbles her coins and they go spilling to the sidewalk. Her fury crumbles to fear in an instant, and she goes diving for them, scraping her cheek as she snags a quarter before it can slide into a storm drain. She pulls herself to her knees and counts them over, murmuring the name of the states they're minted for.

You crouch down next to her. The mortals are giving the two of you a wide berth, thank the gods. "Have I done something to you?" you ask, softly.

"No," Vickie says in a small voice. "...No. I just. I can't. Colors, I can't keep doing this. A year ago, two years ago, if you asked me if I wanted the Mask gone I'd've been all for it. Burn it to the ground and then maybe people will be safe, you know? But it's like the darkness, isn't it? It protected us, and now...now there's nowhere to hide. I can feel their eyes on me, all the time. It's getting harder and harder and harder to crawl out of my house every night and feel them staring at me."

"We can't go back now, Vickie," you murmur

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>>1753145
"I know," she says miserably. "I know. I just. I want to be more like Arthur, or, or you I guess. Honest. Forthright, you know? I wanna hear people say that Vickie Reeds is a name you can trust and I'm just so tired of being scared to tell the truth. So I overcompensate. I overshare. I throw myself at people hoping they'll want me around and then the job's done or I get scared and they leave or I make them leave or I just vanish and...fuck. What do you care, you've got Ramona and Fancy and all these friends who don't throw salt in their shadows when you leave. You don't have to be a hatchet, you just like it."

"That's not fair to either of us," you warn. Vickie makes a frustrated sound and clutches her quarters in a tight fist. "...Vickie, is the Wonderland thing getting to you?"

"...Yeah. Reminds me too much of me. I dunno if I can do this, Colors. I don't have it in me to hurt those kids, and...that's about my speed. They don't send me because they're interested in people coming the fuck back alive."

> Say something

>>1753064
I'ma take another look at this in the morning when I get up. For now, g'night, and votes remain open.

>>1753160
I know this is going to sound cliche but... we're not that different. Dropping the mask has made it impossible for any of us to ever really be normal again, and even for the more...conventionally handsome it's a mixed blessing at best. I mean, the fact that we're leaving a brothel geared for pixie chasers is proof enough of that.

We can't change the way the world is, but that doesn't mean we have to face it alone.

>Offer her your hand

Light and dark, monstrous and fair...they're just themes. They don't define who you are as a person even if they permeate your being.

We're two sides of the same coin in that respect. I'm made of glass but that doesn't mean I shatter easy. You've got poison running through you but you breathe life into those around you.

I like you Vickie, you're...good to be around. Talking to you makes me smile. Arthur believes in you. Whatever happens, you'll always have the freehold, and you'll have me too.

>>1753160
> I don't want to hurt the kids either, I want to help them. But that means we have to take down Rainbow John. He's preying on them, luring them in with a taste of magic and twisting them into his own private army. We can help the kids, but not while he's still manipulating them.
> And seriously Vickie, I do care. You're not just a hatchet, you're a good, caring person, you're wonderful company, and you still owe me a bottle of tequila.

>>1753220
>>1753303
Some mix of these sounds real good

>>1753220
>>1753303
Supporting.

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>>1752692
>>1752808
>>1753064
Hrm. See, generally what I end up doing is presenting an initial, essentially reactive plot so I can get a taste for what my PCs want and what my players are looking to explore, and then turn them loose into the Freehold afterwards with something to kick-start their ambitions as the reward for getting the job done.

If that sounds familiar, congratulations on your perceptiveness; I figured the technique was applicable to a quest format as well.

But this:

> Eh, I have a hard time getting my players to take an active interest in things. I'm throwing out hooks to see what snags

Suggests to me that we may have a problem. One wonders if the issue is that they're not interested in the specific bait you're throwing out, or if they're just hard to motivate in general. I might suggest first that you talk to your players out-of-character about what they'd like out of the campaign and if there's any themes you're not exploring that they'd like to play around with. Roleplaying games are a social affair and it can help to just do the adult thing and ask.

For in-character stuff, Changeling has a dizzying array of ways to either entice or threaten. If you can crack open a copy of Dancers in the Dusk, there is a museum in the Hedge Chapter whose displays are all about the past and present of its visitors, telling a frighteningly comprehensive story of their life - only to cap off with a fake future meant to send them running from or towards a lie. Could they be approached by a Spring Court artist looking to paint raw Desire and willing to tell them their hidden lusts in exchange for the privilege of depicting them?

(For that matter, the Spring Revel usually involves meeting at least one desire for each participant).

Do they have something someone else wants? Introducing a rival or a competitor can give them someone to work against. Have their deeds become the talk of the Freehold? The Sacred Band of the Golden Standard offers them an invitation, forcing them either to work with the Band or to face their wrath at the perceived slight of being refused.

Changeling, like Vampire or Fate, works best if you can find a way to offer your players opportunities. Ideally, they drive the plot either by the methodology they choose or the goals they pursue, and ideally both.

Hit me up later, lemme know if any of this helped or if I/we can help you refine a specific idea.

Also called, writing.

>>1753160
>Supporting a mix of: >>1753220 , >>1753303

I'm having trouble picking up the general mood so this was kind of out of the blue for me.

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>>1753160
"You don't have to be alone with all this, you know," you tell Vickie. She looks up, dark eyes wary, but doesn't interrupt. "None of us can hide any more. Foul or fair, none of us gets to pretend we're normal again. We did just leave a brothel for Pixie Chasers."

"Yeah..."

"This -" you run your fingers through the squirming shadows that infest Vickie's hair and pull a small mass of darkness free, which chitters and writhes as separation from its host exposes it to the hateful sunlight, "isn't you. You are you. What happened, it's...it's never going to un-happen, but it can't be everything you are or want to be. And, I know, Spring, but...you know, there's four Courts for a reason, Vick. You can make peace with this, and still be the person you want to be."

"...It's been a long time," Vickie murmurs.

You shrug. "Some people take a long time. Abraham Lincoln's life was an extended series of fuckups until he finally found his calling in politics, y'know."

Vickie snorts. "Middle school wants its reference back. Fucker." She flashes a wan grin. You stand and offer her your hand, which she takes after a moment. She's lighter than she looks. "I'm makin' a fuckin' scene. Let's, ah. Let's keep going?"

The quarters vanish back into Vickie's pockets. The two of you walk for a little while, not exactly done but cycling down and taking the chance to breathe and get your heads together.

"I do care," you tell her. "And calling yourself a hatchet ain't fair to you. Something Ramona passed along to me, when I was...still new around the place, was that caring about who you are and who you want to be is the first important step most people skip. That so many Lost and mortals never bother to think about that and they never really grow or change as a result. You care."

"Don't over-sell it," Vickie mutters, but her pale cheeks flush pink.

"We need you with us on Rainbow John. We can't help those kids as long as he's still manipulating them, and...hell, I don't wanna be the one to duel him one-on-one. Deliverance to Valhalla is one of those things I was planning on for later in life, you know? And when it's all said and done I'm gonna hold you to that bottle of tequila."

"One bottle, she says, proving that she is a lightweight."

You raise your eyebrows at Vickie. She raises hers back. You raise yours just a little more, at which point the Darkling takes out a sharpie and puts two more eyebrows on her forehead just beneath her hairline, without changing her facial expression whatsoever.

The two of you lose your shit laughing.

You slink in the back way to the Juniper Building and make your way up to the Aquarium. Rook and Forum are already there, as expected, along with King Arthur (and Inky Jennie), Zippo Morris (and King Raven's erstwhile partner, Reminisce), Natalia, and a Darkling of Winter you recognize as Moira, primarily because you associate her with Luscious Lou. Her superior is not in evidence.

>>1754011
Scenes like this make me warm inside.

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>>1754011
"Forum and the Rook have given their reports on the events in Carroll House," Arthur says by way of greeting. "Good call. The presence of the Bloody Wing is troubling, and I will be working closely with Winter," he nods at Moira, "during the remainder of my rule to see what else we can root out. We have been busy, these last few months, adjusting to the new state of affairs. Our enemies have taken advantage of the chaos."

"Have they updated you on the intelligence we've gathered?" you ask.

"The Rook intimated that you would have a more complete picture of it," Zoe speaks up. The Flamesiren drums her fingers on the table. "Which I think, in the circumstances, you should probably get to explaining."

You nod and take a seat. Vickie vaults her chair and sits on the back of it, with her feet on its arms. "We have a more complete picture of the situation as it stands."

You lay it all out. The fallout in the Bloody Wing, the presence of the teens hiding in the high school, the recruitment efforts by the Wonderlanders. You advance the suspicion, stressing that you have no hard evidence, that Venus Kennedy has been recruiting for Rainbow John, the Bloody Wing, or both.

"The old Woodwalker believes the next shipment will be at high noon on August fifth, in the part of the Hedge where the glass grows like flowers and the Thorns bend in imitation of mortal cities," you conclude. "We have no idea when he will receive the results of his second."

"Are you telling me that we may be stranding an unknown number of innocent people in the Fairest of Lands by taking this guy down?" Moira asks in a low voice.

"Doesn't matter," Natalia answers, shaking her head. "We can't just sit back and be the assholes who let this happen."

"Princess Greene is right," Arthur agrees. "We can call out Autumn's Hedge Rangers, and post a watch for new arrivals. I will warn VALKYRIE to expect an influx of fresh Lost, but we can't trade the certainty of abduction for the off chance of return. Which leaves the question of immediate action. Obviously the four of you need to rest -"

"No," the Rook rasps. "We are in this to the death. A day, perhaps, to see to our wounds, but you will not cut us out of the loop."

Arthur raises his eyebrows at the Rook; the Wizened meets his gaze.

"I'm with the Rook on this one," you speak up. "And there are practical considerations. We can't fling the entirety of your Court into the Hedge, and even if we could a smaller group has a better chance of evading the traps in the place. And we are not without...friendships...to call on for backup."

"If we can get the kids out of that school first, problem's solved," Zoe points out. "We can gut John at our leisure after that."

"Do you have an idea of how to accomplish that?" Arthur asks. Zoe grins wickedly.

"Get the Valks to do it for us. That frees up Colors and her team to hunt John while they handle things. It's their job to protect people from magic, right?"

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>>1754044
"None of them are exactly experts in the Hedge," Moira points out, without real malice. "We might be better off going after the kids ourselves, if we can keep it quiet."

"That's a big fucking if," Inky Jennie speaks up from behind Arthur.

"So is the goodwill of VALKYRIE," the Rook rasps. "I don't trust them. Meaning no offense, Lady Morris."

Zoe waves him off. "If I went after everyone who pointed out flaws in my plans I'd have to start killing pizza guys who fix my orders to make 'em cheaper. I'm not with you on this one, mind, but you're fine."

...You know an expert in the Hedge.

> Back Zoe's plan
> Push for the Freehold to handle the school internally

AND

> Propose bringing Erin Peters to go after John; this is literally her area of expertise
> Keep silent. You guys can handle this on your own

>>1754051
>> Back Zoe's plan
> Propose bringing Erin Peters to go after John; this is literally her area of expertise

You know what would be ironic, Valk operatives rescueing Colors after an extremely narrow win in an important fight.

>>1754051
>Back Zoe's plan
>BUT, these kids are in possession of baubles, trinkets and who knows what other magical items, VALK could use some form of assistance or at the very least, information.
>Propose bringing Erin Peters to go after John; this is literally her area of expertise

>>1754051
>> Back Zoe's plan

>> Keep silent. You guys can handle this on your own

>>1754069
>Supporting

>>1754069
>>1754051

Support

>>1754051
> Back Zoe's plan
> Keep silent. You guys can handle this on your own

>>1754069
> supporting this plan of action
Gotta loop everything back into the narrative, for muh Chekhov's gun and all.

>>1754069
This works for me

Aight, called, writing.

>>1753064
>Eh, I have a hard time getting my players to take an active interest in things.
Get better players ;) (No just kidding, but these are some fine barbed hooks)

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>>1754051
You clear your throat. "The high school is a public building. I don't think we can afford to be seen removing a bunch of struggling children from it. Now may be the time to put VALKYRIE in the loop and get them to do this without...unfortunate optics. But we should also provide them with information on common Tokens, Trifles, and their catches. The girl I chased used Tumbleglass. What else might they have?"

"You can bet they'll remember anything we tell them," Arthur warns.

"I'll handle it," Zoe says, with a shrug. "Honestly, they'll find out one way or the other anyway. They've got Lost working for them. May as well enhance a reputation for honesty." She pauses, tapping her chin in thought. "We should send someone to advise 'em too. I'm thinking...Angel? He's good with people."

"He is," Arthur agrees, with a nod. "He and his wife both, I think. The Valks can't argue that they won't work well together, and she'll catch what he might miss. You're certain that your team can handle Rainbow John, Dame Eriksdotter?"

You nod. "But we won't do it without backup. His first set of soldiers is still helping him, and who knows what they do or don't know about what they agreed to, or where the second set might be. Rook, can you provide backup?"

The Rook frowns thoughtfully. It seems like he wasn't expecting the question. Finally, he nods. "I have favors I can call in. But how are we going to intercept John?"

"Erin Peters will track him for us."

There is shocked sputtering from everyone in the room that isn't Arthur or Natalia. Natalia gives you a shit-eating grin; Arthur, for his part, nods, as though the rest of his colleagues aren't doing their best impression of a tea kettle that found its wife in bed with a slow cooker.

"Take the rest of the day to rest up and prepare. Ideally we can coordinate our strike so as not to disturb either target prematurely. Colors, you'll need to talk to Ms. Peters -"

"I can arrange that," Natalia volunteers.

Arthur nods. "And you'll otherwise need to prepare. We'll bring in Sally Sticks to see to your wounds. Zoe, if you could?"

"I'll go get her myself," the woman who will be Queen in Autumn says with a nod. She stands and slips out of the room. The last sight you catch of her is the Flamesiren taking out her cell phone.

"Erin'll probably want to talk at the Willow," Natalia warns you. "Obviously you'll want to get seen to first, but..."

> Go see Erin immediately after getting patched up
> Ask for a minute of Arthur's time. You have to explain about Virgo

>>1754827
> Go see Erin immediately after getting patched up

>>1754827
> Ask for a minute of Arthur's time. You have to explain about Virgo
Better he hear it from us. It happened on our watch and authority.

>>1754827
>Ask for a minute of Arthur's time. You have to explain about Virgo

Something we should get to sooner rather than later.

And now I hit work, but I've got a short shift - just 5 to 10 or so - so I oughta be updating near 11 EST or so. Votes remain open.

Questions, comments, discussion, feedback, and criticisms remain welcome and appreciated.

Thank you all for reading and participating!

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Bit late, but
> Colors makes best girl blush for a change
This pleases me.

>>1754860
are fetches recognized as people legally?

>>1754914
Officially, Fetches do not exist. In the United States, VALKYRIE refuses to openly deal with cases of alleged Fetchdom and if pressed by the Lost will tersely assert that Fetches are taxpayers and citizens.

Unofficially, this arrangement favors the Lost, for whom the situation has not changed whatsoever from their previous set of problems with regards to detecting and handling Fetches. Some jurisdictions of VALKYRIE are more, or less, lax about investigating dead Fetches as well, especially in cases where the Lost that it 'belongs' to has a strong resemblance still.

>>1754941
so were fetches not affected when the mask fell?

>>1754954
Fetches weren't people from the start. (as in, biologically born)

>>1754954
Correct. Neither were the Gentry.

>>1754827
> Ask for a minute of Arthur's time. You have to explain about Virgo.
> Take Vickie with you. She needs to be present for this.

>>1754827
>> Go see Erin immediately after getting patched up
Arthur'll understand why Virgo was executed after hearing what a hellhole she created with tricked pledges.

Folks may want to think on and discuss how you'd like to expend the favor offered you by Misery Monroe; it's a rare opportunity.

> Ask for a minute of Arthur's time. You have to explain about Virgo

We said that we're standing by Vicky all the way. Let's not go back on those words, even by mistake.

>>1755252

I'm not sure we really know enough yet—about Colors, the situation, or even New Avalon—to have a clear idea of what the best use is of a nearly-blank-check from one of the Freehold's rulers.

Could you remind us of the limitations it /does/ have, in service of making a better decision?

>>1754954
>so were fetches not affected when the mask fell?

>>1754986
>Fetches weren't people from the start. (as in, biologically born)

>>1755012
>Correct. Neither were the Gentry.

I suspect the first anon may have meant, "What happened to the Glamour that makes /them/ look like the Lost they replaced, rather than bits of garbage?"

Also, voting:

>>1754827
>> Ask for a minute of Arthur's time. You have to explain about Virgo

What >>1755269 said.

>>1755252
I have to go with >>1755366 on this one. While awesome, I don't really know what we could use this for.

Only two things stand out to me at the moment; restoring the Rook to full health and physical ability, and creating a Hollow for our motley. And both of those will probably be both difficult and expensive.

>>1755369
As I said, nothing. Fetches continue to appear human to everyone but their originals. As you might imagine, the Lost are extremely confused and angry about this. Scattered reports of the Gentry also suggest that the Lords of Arcadia still project a Mask when they choose to, though it also still remains imperfect and unable to fully contain their Wyrd.

>>1755366
Anything in Misery Monroe's power that will not endanger the Freehold. You can find the precise wording in the first thread; I'd link it but I'm a phone.

>>1755404
Cost is immaterial except if you somehow cost so much you hurt the Freehold greatly. He wrote you a blank check for anything in his grasp. Both of those are valid options entirely.

>>1755471
Ooooh, that's rather nice then. Rook may ask to get fixed up (or he might not, if he feels rising above a physical handicap can only prove his worth to the rest of the Freehold).

I wonder if we should or shouldn't try to talk with Rachel, Vickie's mom. Probably a 50/50 on whether either one of them snaps at us.

>>1755366
>>1755471
> "Then let it be known that I, Misery Monroe, promise any favor in my power that will not damage the well-being of the Freehold or of its Courts to each of you upon your success, and swear myself to this oath as its nemesis and enforcer, to turn upon the faithless and scourge them to death and madness."

I gotta eat dinner, then I'll call and write.

>>1755527
Vickie's mom is batshit, and not the kind that puts you in a nice padded cell. We should honestly avoid her if we can, unless forced otherwise. The less any of us deals with her, the better.

For Vickie, sometimes the best case for people is to keep their distance. I would suggest backing her up if she plans on visiting her mother, but I doubt such a thing in the immediate future.

>>1755558
What exactly is misery monroe capable of? Like how powerful is she?

>>1755652
Misery Monroe is KING of the Winter Court. He is (if I remember right) a Darkling, like Vickie, and a very, very scary man.

>>1755685
any chance we can ask him to give us like, a crack at winters armory?

Maybe some high powered tokens might be what we need

>>1755685
The exact Seeming of Misery Monroe is one of the Freehold's more persistent talking points. He presents both Darkling and Fairest. Some people argue that he must be a Shadowsoul, that he lacks the common tells of Darklings such as a strictly nocturnal schedule, or seeming weakness during the day. Others argue that with a Wyrd as potent as his, the average Lost's guttering power wouldn't be able to tell the difference between him invoking his power at noon or midnight, and that his obvious affinity for both shadows and stealth mark him as a Darkling. It's one of those things that gets talked out over beers and never goes anywhere.

>>1755652
>>1755689
As the master of the Winter Court in New Avalon, Misery Monroe has access to a staggering amount of raw information, access to the Court's funds and connections, command over its physical and mystical resources, and no small amount of personal prowess. In theory, he can also call in favors from other Winter Courts, or task his Courtiers with favors far afield.

A potent token would be worth the entire favor in and of itself, as the Wyrd trades these things. One could ask for other kinds of material goods or support as well. "Make me rich," is a perfectly valid favor.

Also called, tallying, writing.

>>1755710
> It's one of those things that gets talked out over beers and never goes anywhere.
Also probably one of those things that he gets a private chuckle from every now and then. As super-scary as he is to most folks, I can actually see him playing it up a bit, messing with folks, just so he can have a little fun.

So, besides material possessions, can we trade in the favor to learn a Contract from him? I imagine he must have quite the bit of knowledge and experience to draw on.

>>1755710
>The exact Seeming of Misery Monroe is one of the Freehold's more persistent talking points.

Sounds like someone bought the dual kith merit during character creation.

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>>1754827
You shake your head. "Give me some time?" you request. "Vickie and I need to talk some things over with Arthur."

Natalia looks at your Darkling friend (friend is feeling more and more like the right word here, despite your admittedly brief association) and then nods. "Alright. I'll go make the call to Sally and Erin."

Vickie makes eye contact with you when Natalia leaves. Arthur is on the phone, relaying instructions to be brought to Sally Sticks, mainly because as a mute phone conversations directly with her tend to be more than a little pointless. She flicks something gleaming to you; you catch it one-handed and look at the quarter in question.

It's a Maryland state quarter, from the year 2000. You look up back at Vickie, but she's already looking away, eyes on Arthur while she fidgets. So you pocket the quarter, where you know you won't lose it.

Arthur hangs up and gives you and Vickie his attention. "Yes?"

"There were some events at Carroll House that we need to report to you directly, Your Majesty," you suggest, diplomatically. "They were...outside the scope of our task."

Rook and Forum take the cue for what it is and duck out of the room. Moira follows suit, offering Arthur a nod on her way out.

"Jennie, if you would be so kind?" Arthur asks, politely.

"I am your vizier, my king. If this warlock -"

"If you would," Arthur repeats, this time in a low rumble like grinding boulders. Jennie sighs and nods, and then she leaves. The door shuts gently behind her, offering privacy at last.

"What did Vickie do?" Arthur asks, the gentle tone doing absolutely nothing to soften the blunt force of the question. Your Darkling friend winces.

"Nothing that I didn't listen to, approve, and then participate in," you cut in, before Vickie can open her mouth to say something stupid and self-incriminating. "Carroll House was a nexus of twisted pledges, used to enslave our new arrivals. Virgo was at the heart of it, controlling them and using their servitude to feed the Bloody Wing with Glamour. After we ascertained her guilt, Virgo was executed and hauled into the Hedge to rot."

There is a long and pregnant silence. And then:

"Vickie, it may be best if you step out of this room," Arthur suggests, quietly.

"You can say anything you're saying to me in front of her," you insist.

"Is that so, Hound?" Arthur asks, his tone obsidian-sharp. Your breath catches in your throat.

> "Vickie, please...please step out."
> I - yes. That's so, Arthur.

Wee deliberate lack of clarity after ominous foreshadowing wee

>>1755795
Essentially, Favors - like Endeavors (what you're on), Forbiddances, and Alliances - come in lesser, medial, and greater forms. You're on a Greater Endeavor; you have been tasked with doing something difficult and dangerous, expected to potentially die for it, and are doing so with restrictions. Likewise, Misery owes a Greater Favor. It can be something time-consuming that takes a lot of time and attention, such as building a house, teaching a Contract, running a homeless shelter, dismantling an enemy's criminal empire, etc, or it can be something difficult and dangerous which likewise he might be expected to die over. Asking him to hand-deliver a package to London and defend it with his life would qualify. Learning a Contract to his level of skill in it would qualify. A potent Token, a business built up for you to keep you in wealth, a Hollow - the possibilities within the confines of his restrictions are fairly fucking broad.

>>1755800
Yeah.

It was Vickie.

>>1755869
> I - yes. That's so, Arthur.

Took a bit to catch up, glad I did, seems a super interesting quest. Never really delved into Changling All the White Wolf games I've ever seen are always either Werewolf or Vampire

>>1755889
Welcome to the live thread, anon! Glad to have ya here. Lemme know if you've got thoughts or feelings to share, or questions in need of answers.

>>1755869
> I - yes. That's so, Arthur.
This isn't going to be pleasant, but we might as well stick to our guns.

>>1755889
I think you may have answered this before, but is it appropriate to refer to Arthur by name or title?

>>1755912
New Avalon's culture skews towards the formal in this arena, but Arthur himself has been okay with first-name basis, or 'my King'. Either way, though there is great respect of and deference to the nobles and leaders of the various Courts, technically no one is a King or Queen outside of their actual season. The obvious exception tends to be King Raven, as he's been here since the Freehold was founded and it tends to be considered, for better or worse, his property. His upcoming exodus has been seen as the end of an age.

>>1755869
This isn't really how I was hoping the others to learn what I assume is background shit, but then the bones. ...Runes, whatever.

> I - yes. That's so, Arthur.

Hound does not sound like a flattering title, and considering the hints we were given earlier...

>>1755869
> I - yes. That's so, Arthur.

Gotta show trust to the hilt here.

>>1755869
>I - yes. That's so, Arthur.
No whats ifs or but(t)s about it. We stick to our guns.

>>1755869
>> "Vickie,would you mind stepping out for a moment ?"
Trust Arthur.

>>1755869
> "Yes. That is so, Arthur."

>>1755869
> Wee deliberate lack of clarity after ominous foreshadowing wee
Speculation time! Never mind that my wild speculation turned out to be completely off-target last time, that's never stopped anyone before.

We might be about to get slammed with something from our past. Like why Colors has such a massive hateboner for the summer court that she literally gets nauseous at the thought of suggesting someone go to them. Something that might make Vickie think less of us, which might be why Arthur is suggesting that Vickie step out. He's a pretty cool dude, he might be trying to help us save face.

That, or he's going to beat our ass for murdering someone completely on our own authority.
Either way
> I - yes. That's so, Arthur.

>>1755992
Nah fuck 'em in this case. We're Spring now, not Summer, and this is the time to show it. Loyalty to our friends, not The Man.

>>1756453
Vickie's Court knew exactly who they sent as their rep. She literally said this.
They are the "bad guy", not Arthur.

>>1756460
>They don't send me because they're interested in people coming the fuck back alive."

Called, writing

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>>1755869
You glance at Vickie, but if she knows what Arthur's talking about she hides it well; the Darkling looks confused and worried, and her dark eyes look at you for answers.

She trusted you. It's time to return that favor.

"Yes. That's so, Arthur."

The King of Summer nods, just once, and reaches under his shirt. He pulls out a thin steel chain from around his neck and tosses it onto the table in front of you. On it are four iron tags (you can feel the metal's vicious fury from here) stamped with the image of a hunting hound.

"When I came into power, the Hound Tribunal approached me," Arthur says in low, solemn tones. "I spurned their aid. I demanded they leave my Freehold, never to return. The fight that ensued nearly killed me, and did kill Twitch, one of my earliest and staunchest supporters. I have kept their emblems as a reminder of what I paid to rule justly, to embrace the higher path even when it is harder. And you have pissed on that sacrifice."

"It was my idea -" Vickie begins.

"Which she agreed to," Arthur roars. The noonday light of his Mantle brightens; you feel the temperature in the room spike fifteen, twenty degrees in an instant. Vickie scrambles away off of the chair, a knife flashing out in defensive reflex. "I'm disappointed in you, Vickie, but I'm not surprised," the Ogre continues in a gentler tone. "Your heart, at least, was in the right place. Virgo's victims needed to be freed."

"Then why the fuck are you angry?" Vickie asks, her eyes wide.

"Because how we do things, and why, matters," Arthur answers. His gaze goes to you. "Would you like to tell her?"

You bow your head and sigh. "...The Hound Tribunal is a secret Noble Order in service to the Summer Court, Vickie," you begin. You can feel her slowly peeling herself away from the wall to approach the table again. "They are judges, and assessors. Through the year, they watch the other four Courts and the Courtless, looking for enemies of the Court of Wrath and then during the Dog Days, when the star Sirius is high in the sky, they attack. The lucky are forced into exile. Most are murdered, brutally, and left in unhallowed graves for the crime of daring to defy Summer. They answer to no one, draw no lines, have no pity. I served them, in Philadelphia."

There is a stunned silence.

"Those hatchet tactics are not how I conduct my rule," Arthur says, filling the quiet with his stony rumble. "And I am not angry with you because Virgo is dead. She was dead regardless. I am angry with you because justice was not done. Justice is never done if it is done in secret. If you have to hide something, bury it, lie about it, it was not the just and righteous path. You came to New Avalon looking to change and now I see you leaning on old habits in your first time of genuine crisis. What would Ramona say?"

You flinch at that one, cringing at the thought of it.

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>>1756650
"Now I am placed in a difficult position," Arthur continues. "If I condone this action, others naturally see me as the sort of king who employs assassins and secret police. If I punish and condemn you for it, I disservice the suffering of Virgo's victims and open the door for others like her to feel welcome in my Freehold. I could remain silent, but word will spread, from her victims or from Knuckles, and then I am a weak king, afraid of a warlock or of a challenger."

"That's not fair," Vickie protests. "You said she'd be dead anyway! That's - people can't just -"

"People can, and they will, Vickie," Arthur says with a shake of his head. "You should have brought her in to me, or even to Ramona or Zoe. And now, Colors, I am forced to ask if I can trust you not to do this again, or if this," he holds up the chain of dog tags, "is still who you are. I am not happy to be in this position."

"That is not me," you whisper, your voice tight. "Not again. Not ever again. I -"

"Don't be sorry. Be better," Arthur says, shaking his head. "...Now I have to solve this."

"I'll take the fall for it," Vickie volunteers, immediately. "I did it. I attacked before Colors could give the go or no go, which is technically true. Y'know, the best kind of true. I'm already a maverick. Strip me of my badge for it, bust me down to Mud Grunt, and then it's...it's all good, right? Everything is good again and you can focus on helping the people we saved."

Arthur folds his arms. "That would certainly be clean...but I'm not sure it would help you at all."

"Help - excuse me?"

"Vickie, how often are we going to have this conversation? You say you want to learn better and then you haul yourself before me like this, time after time. Leo was happy to use you as a weapon but I do not need weapons. I need people willing to help me establish and uphold justice, to defend the weak, to walk the high road. That has not been you. I still believe that it could be, but it has not been."

Vickie hangs her head in shame. "Yessir," she murmurs.

"Dame Eriksdotter, you are her commanding officer at the moment. I feel some time to dwell amongst and learn the ways of another Court would be helpful to Vickie," Arthur explains. "Give me your perspective. Who would be best?"

> Spring. Their emphasis on growth and on moving past your hurts means they'll tackle the issue of who Vickie wants to be, vs. who she is now, directly.
> Autumn. They know what she's grappling with intimately. In accepting it, embracing it, they understand it.
> Winter. Their stoicism and self-restraint is sorely missing from Vickie's life
> None (propose something else)

>>1756665
>> Spring. Their emphasis on growth and on moving past your hurts means they'll tackle the issue of who Vickie wants to be, vs. who she is now, directly.

Arthur seems like an awesome guy.

>>1756689
He has the potential to become one of Summer's greatest kings.

>>1756665
> Spring. Their emphasis on growth and on moving past your hurts means they'll tackle the issue of who Vickie wants to be, vs. who she is now, directly.

As for what to do, well.

Maybe we can serve the sentence that Virgo would have had. Or be responsible for restitution to those whose justice was taken away with her life, either by having them publicly forgive us or by us aiding them in rebuilding their life.

It'll give us something to do once all this is over.

>>1756665
>>1756715
Could we give up our name until they are all taken care of? Just become "Coloured" instead of Colours Eriksdotter?

Seems appropriate.

>>1756665
>Spring. Their emphasis on growth and on moving past your hurts means they'll tackle the issue of who Vickie wants to be, vs. who she is now, directly.
A Darkling seems to innately need a lot of self-restraint, which didn't prevent this from happening in the first place. Generally Spring seems like the better option, mostly because it is likely the best shot at getting Vickie to not go and kill herself against Rachael, and this little segment with Arthur must have driven home that actions have consequences which can extend to others.

>>1756665
>> Winter. Their stoicism and self-restraint is sorely missing from Vickie's life. And Moira took good care of that other Darkling (the Razorhand one).

And, no Darklings don't innately have that. Vickie flashes a knife at the slightest provocation and that's not good.

> Autumn. They know what she's grappling with intimately. In accepting it, embracing it, they understand it.
Vickie chooses to be angry about her situation, it's why she joined the summer court, so that she could stay angry and feel like she is doing something about what happened to her.

However it seems that her anger is more of an excuse than a solution at this point given her pattern of behavior. Vickie is paranoid, that's natural for a darkling, but more than that I think she is deeply afraid of what happened to her happening again.

Autumn deals with that best, and can teach her to harness her fear into something productive and creative, rather than a force for vengeance. I don't think she's at a place where she's ready to be the person that she wants to be, at least not yet.

>>1756784
I think that might be too much too soon.

>>1756665
I'll also switch to Autumn actually. I mostly picked Spring to have her with us but she does need more guidance than they can provide.

>>1756791
>I think that might be too much too soon.
I'll switch to Autumn too, then. They are ruthless bastards, but with the right attitude.

>>1756665
>Switching: >>1756737
>Autumn
Some good points have been made and I am grossly uninformed about Changeling.

It may be a bit until the next update, I've got some things that need doing.

>>1756665
> Autumn. They know what she's grappling with intimately. In accepting it, embracing it, they understand it.

>>1756665
> Spring. Their emphasis on growth and on moving past your hurts means they'll tackle the issue of who Vickie wants to be, vs. who she is now, directly.

>>1756665
> Autumn. They know what she's grappling with intimately. In accepting it, embracing it, they understand it.

Called, writing.

I'm honestly shocked.

>>1757295
Did you think Colors would have been spring all the way? I think Colors would be really tempted to say spring, to have Vickie come with her and be the best version of herself she can be.

Vickie even expressed an interest in trying to be like that, to be happy and open but ultimately she ended up overcompensating and oversharing to an unhealthy degree.

While spring might teach her to do that the "right" way, it's still covering up the same emotions. Vickie can choose to be angry all she wants, and she can choose to try and be happy, but the underlying truth is that she is twice traumatized, once from her time in Arcadia and again under the thumb of her mother, and by all rights she should probably be feeling pretty sad and afraid after all that. She was even more paranoid than Rook for goodness sake.

I think Colors also recognizes that keeping Vickie too close might be bad for herself as well. Colors did just slip into her old ways at the merest provocation from Vickie so Colors may think that keeping her too close might tempt her even further to go down those actions more and more.

I don't think Vickie should stay in Fall forever, and I don't think Colors would like her friend to forever be haunted by her fears, but I do think that coming to terms with what she is truly afraid of, and turning that into something new and productive (which is what Autumn does as the researchers and innovators of the courts) is what Vickie needs right now.

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>>1756665
You think on it for a moment, but it's hard to shake the image of the Rook in the hollow being used by the Bloody Wing. Whatever else he can be accused of, no one can say that the Rook doesn't understand the consequences of his actions, or that the Autumn Court being left behind by King Raven does not value wisdom and restraint.

"Autumn," you say, thoughtfully. You look over at Vickie. "You remember back there. The disciples of Raven learned his lessons well, and if...if this is a thing for you, maybe they can help teach you to make it not a thing."

"Yeah, and they tolerate Rachael and her fucking cult," Vickie growls. "They can't mount a high horse on me."

Arthur raps on the glass table, getting Vickie's attention. "They don't need to be your moral superior to help you," the Ogre rumbles. "And frankly, if that's how you're going to be about it I could step outside, throw a brick, and hit a suitable candidate. Do you actually want to make peace with yourself or not?"

"...I don't want to leave the Court," Vickie says in a small voice. "And this feels like that's where I'm going."

"...Vickie, I'm still the King of Wrath. If I started throwing people out for getting mad and killing other people I'd be out of soldiers in short order. But you will be spending more time with Autumn." Arthur leans back in his chair with a thoughtful air. "...I do believe I have an acceptable out. I won't get your hopes up, you will be stripped of your badge for this, but I have something else for you to be doing instead. Challenging work, I should think."

"...What kind of work?"

"That would be telling," Arthur gives his subordinate a grin. "Don't worry about it until everything is said and done with Rainbow John. Sally should be here any minute. I suggest the two of you go and wait for her. And, Colors?"

You pause, halfway up from your chair. "My King?"

"I could order you to talk to Ramona or Natalia about this, but I would like to think that you'll do that on your own," Arthur says. "Usually, I'm a good judge of people. Try not to be someone I'm wrong about."

"Yessir," you agree softly.

As it turns out, Sally Sticks is already here by the time you go to meet the rest of your temporary Motley. The stick-thin Chirurgeon is putting the finishing touches on Forum's wounds, working with needle and thread in patient silence. She looks at the two of you when you walk in and nods at Vickie, who shrugs out of her shirt and jacket to reveal half-healed gouges, some of which look like they went down to bone.

"How are you not screaming in agony?" you ask, in worried disbelief.

Vickie shrugs. "I'm tough? I dunno. Pain's. Weird. To me. So...yeah, there's that. I'll be okay."

"You will definitely not be okay," the Rook rasps. "Mmm. I'll be back. Don't go anywhere, Ms. Reeds." The one-armed Wizened slips out of the room.

>>1757654
I was worried that she wouldn't take the suggestion that she hang around the same court as her mother very well, but honestly she took that better than expected.

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>>1757654
No one really wants to talk much while Vickie gets worked on. You remove your armor and your jacket so you can get a good look at your own wounds. Your ribs helpfully stopped the worst of getting stabbed by that spear, though that sort of comes with the inherent problem of having been stabbed in the fucking ribs. You wince as you check the wound, knowing it's about to hurt a whole lot worse here in a -

Yep there we go that hurts like fucking shit.

Elemental Resilience has worn off

You get a quick patch-job from Sally, not a lot more than cleaning your wound (fuck), sewing it up, and making sure your jaw isn't broken. Her professionalism is fast without being curt, and at no point do you doubt she's been thorough in her assessment.

Sally squeezes your cracked fingers just one time, making you wince, and gives you a pointed look. In short order, she has your right hand's fingers individually wrapped with bandages and small touches of super glue. This is not your first rodeo with her.

"I guess I'd better go talk to Erin," you decide. "I'll text everyone later."

"Got it, boss lady," Forum agrees. Vickie gives you a wan grin and goes back to visibly restraining herself from picking at her stitches.

You hope Vickie is actually okay with the Autumn thing, because if she isn't she's probably mad as fuck at you about it.

The streets are busier now in the late afternoon, and so is the Willow. Whiskey Jack mans the bar with a decidedly annoyed expression, his guttering Summer Mantle blowing his hair around in a warm, limp breeze. He nods you up towards the stairs, and you meet Erin Peters in the same office as before. The pirate (ex-pirate...) and her handler wait impassively while you close the door.

"Natalia says you need some dirty work done," Erin says by way of greeting.

"Not dirty. We need to bring in a man who's been kidnapping children to turn into his own private army of the Lost," you tell her. You don't sit; this doesn't feel like the sort of conversation where you get to sit.

"I'm still a Satrap," Erin says after a long moment. "People buy the things they want from me. I'm obligated."

"That's - you cannot be serious," you protest. Erin gets an odd look across her face, a sort of half-frown, and then she shakes her head.

"Is it inconvenient for you, Warlock Knight?"

"Yes! What kind of question is that?"

"My cooperation is not the only thing for sale," Erin says lightly. She takes a small knife from her belt sash and looks away from you, at her nails, which she trims with exaggerated care. "To the Satrapy, all things are commodities. Love, lust, magic, happiness...loyalty..."

"What are you implying?" you ask. You take a step closer into the room, only for Shipmate Sally to hold a hand up, directing you not to get closer.

"If my identity as a Satrap inconveniences you, what would you pay for that inconvenience to go away?"

>>1757780
> Name a price for Erin's services; you don't need to get involved in the twisted politics of her past or offend the Satraps [Persuasion against ???; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]
> Buy Erin's exodus from the Satrapy of Pearls [Persuasion against ???; you may spend for Flickering Acumen]
> Blow this, you don't need her

AND

> Use Cupid's Eye to see what Erin wants (potentially gain a bonus on your Persuasion roll)
> Do Not

Cupid's Eye will only be used if you're bartering

>>1757623
I kinda expected Spring not because Colors herself sought that solution, but because it had early traction and the direct approach to this problem seemed appealing to anon until the unexpected shift in the vote.

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>>1757791
> Buy Erin's exodus from the Satrapy of Pearls [Persuasion against ???; you may spend for Flickering Acumen] Spend 1 glamour for Flickering Acumen

> Use Cupid's Eye to see what Erin wants (potentially gain a bonus on your Persuasion roll)

>>1757791
>> Name a price for Erin's services; you don't need to get involved in the twisted politics of her past or offend the Satraps

> Use Cupid's Eye to see what Erin wants (potentially gain a bonus on your Persuasion roll)

>>1757780
> Do . . . do you WANT that?

I mean. We're trying to not be the person we were who ran roughshod over others.

>>1757791
>> Buy Erin's exodus from the Satrapy of Pearls [Persuasion against ???; you may spend for Flickering Acumen] Spend 1 glamour for Flickering Acumen
>> Use Cupid's Eye to see what Erin wants (potentially gain a bonus on your Persuasion roll)

Fuck it. I'll just vote for this for simplicity.

>>1758099
is her leaving the satrapy a good thing though? I mean, what you want versus what you need

>>1758110
That's why I wanted to know if it was something she desired.

If so, then we could offer to do that in exchange for her services and get a freebie.

>> Buy Erin's exodus from the Satrapy of Pearls [Persuasion against ???; you may spend for Flickering Acumen] Spend 1 glamour for Flickering Acumen
>> Use Cupid's Eye to see what Erin wants (potentially gain a bonus on your Persuasion roll)

How do you even leave a Noble Order? I suppose if she does, then at least she'll get something she wants out of it.

Alright, called. First things first - roll me 1d10+4, twice, for Cupid's Eye.

>>1758648

Rolled 3 + 4 (1d10 + 4)

>>1758648
I don't know why the first post didn't work, but here's another try.

>>1758648

>>1758648
1d10+4

>>1758769
dice+1d10+4
Whoops, lets try that again.

Rolled 3 + 4 (1d10 + 4)

>>1758772
Alright, if this doesn't work I'm letting someone else do it.

>>1758692
>>1758776
Welp.

Rolled 1 + 4 (1d10 + 4)

>>1758648

>>1758692
>>1758776
dice bot why do you mock us so

3+4 = 7; Failure. You expend 1 Glamour.

And now for the Persuasion roll. 1d10+3, y'all.

Rolled 3 + 3 (1d10 + 3)

>>1758910
dice gods roll dem bones

Rolled 5 + 3 (1d10 + 3)

>>1758910
God none of you can be trusted

Rolled 6 + 3 (1d10 + 3)

>>1758910

>>1758917
I'm just saying, namefagging AND invoking the dice gods?

That makes them angry.

Rolled 68 (1d100)

>>1758935
but watch this, ye of small mind.

>>1758917
3+3 = 6

Success at consequence, amazingly enough.

Incidentally, you've lost both GLORY and GOBSMACKED.

Writin'.

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>>1758937
That's . . . not terribly impressive? Good try India.

>>1758940
FAILING FORWARD!!!

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>>1757780
The question is disarming, as is Erin's seemingly total disinterest in your decision. She pares her nails with quick, clean motions that trim and file them into smooth, round curves. You can just buy that? Could you buy faithlessness off of any Satrap?

Or maybe just the ones selling it?

"Why didn't they throw you out, when you were confirmed for a privateer?" you ask. Erin's knife flicks a sliver of nail past your head, to ping against the door with an oddly metallic sound.

"I'd bought membership. They saw no reason to confiscate what I'd purchased," the ex-pirate answers, indifferently.

"What's your game here, Peters?" you ask.

"Depends on what you'll pay me to find out."

"I hate you so much."

"Get in line," Erin snaps, looking up with her face twisted into a mask of fury. Her expression smooths over after a moment; she stabs her knife into the table with a sort of idle indifference before leaning back in her seat. "You're asking the wrong kinds of questions," she says more patiently. "A more interesting one might be, 'Erin, why are you still Spring and not Summer or Autumn?'. Professional tip, the answer isn't that those Courts wouldn't have me. If Spring couldn't throw me out, the others certainly can't stop me from making my pact."

"Desire's what got you in trouble last time," you muse.

"Please. Desire gets everyone in trouble. It's a terribly dramatic fucking emotion. Try again."

"...You want something. Something privateering was supposed to give you and didn't. So you're starting again, burying the past so you can have your spring." Erin doesn't react to your reasoning, but you can smell a mix of sex and gunpowder that rises from her Mantle, and feel the warm Spring breeze blow past her. "What is it you could want so badly that you'd cling to Spring after everything between us?"

"What happened to your Fetch, Colors?" Erin asks, mildly. Her affected indifference turns into confused concern when she sees the look on your face. "I'm not playing head games here, I was going somewhere with this," she clarifies.

"...I sunk her feet into a concrete block, lashed her to it with barbed wire, and dropped her, screaming, into the Schuylkill River," you answer.

"...Fucking Christ," Erin says after a long moment. Behind her, Shipmate Sally is looking green around the gills. "Like. God damn, that's about eighty times more savage than I was expecting. Fuck. Okay. Mine killed itself, alright? You know why I personally didn't? Because I got abducted. I'm literally only alive because this all happened to me, and that's. Not. Good enough. God, fuck. I think I might actually be sick."

"I get the point," you snap. "What is it you want from me, the pearls gouged out of your eyes - you do, don't you?"

"You offering?" Erin asks, unable to quite mask her pleasure in you finally getting it. "Sounds like it might be worth my troth."

"Why - no, I don't want to know why," you decide. "When?"

"Now. Do we have a deal?"

>>1758975
. . . . Wow. We're learning all sorts of things about Colours today.

> Deal. Right here and now? I promise to use a *sharp* spoon.

Let's make a pirate through up.

>>1758987
i don't know why anyone is surprised

This is a lady formerly so pissed and brutal she needed *time off* from *the Summer Court*

>>1758992

I thought it was more that she didn't want to be swallowed in rage. Like, she thought she was mad but then realized it was too brutal.

Not that she WAS too brutal.

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>>1758975
You search Erin's face for signs of treachery, but if the Pearl Satrap is bluffing she's hiding it well. "We have a deal."

"Excellent. Sally, hold me down. Colors, knife please."

You pull the knife out of the table so that Erin can lay down on it. Shipmate Sally, still silent, slips a wooden cylinder between the ex-pirate's teeth and then pins her wrists down.

"Wait. Can you still help us against Rainbow John after I do this?" you ask, suddenly unsure.

Erin rolls her pearlescent eyes and then nods.

This is not your first time doing this, and you have to suppress a shudder as images go flashing back through your mind, of people in Philly, and fractured memories of the Fairest of Lands. You consider offering Erin an anasthetic or even getting whiskey from downstairs, but if she wanted it she would have asked for it, so you set to your grim work as quickly as you are able. The tip of the knife is used to slash an 'x' across her eyelid.

You dig your fingers in and yank, pulling Erin's pearl eye from its socket along with a trailing root of nerves. She screams, the sound muffled by the bite cylinder in her mouth. You work on her other eye, cutting quickly and cleanly, and rip it, too, from its socket.

You set the pearls on the table and throw up into the trash can.

You gain HORROR (-2 on rolls made to defend against emotional or mental attacks)

Erin is saying something.

"...having been stripped of the emblems of my station and obstructed from my rightful prestige and...and...nnngggh -" Shipmate Sally supports the Fairest, helping Peters to sit up, "and deprived of my purchase and opportunity to buy, barter, and trade, do hereby reh, reh, fuck, renounce my membership in the Satrapy of Pearls, and with it my exalted status and the privileges due me."

There is a subtle change wrought over Erin. The halo of lights that clouds around her head does not quite dim so much as dirty, becoming more florescent than angelic; her eerily flawless skin and clothes fade to something more normal, showing the normal signs of wear and tear. She takes a shuddering breath and leans against her handler, visibly biting back the urge to cry.

"You should go," Sally speaks up at last, and you can see why she didn't before - her voice has the same hypnotic, compelling quality as Natalia's, arresting your attention immediately and making you look at her. "I will tell Arthur that Erin is aboard, and he will arrange for her to meet with you."

"Take my eyes," Erin whispers in a tight voice. "They're yours now. My treat."

> Take Erin's eyes
> No. Gods no. What the fuck. Why would anyone do that?

AND

> Drink this off immediately
> Go see Fancy; you told Vickie you'd see Fancy today
> Spend tonight with your newfound motley
> Spend tonight with just one member of your newfound motley (who?)
> Go see Trista. Cry a lot.
> Go home and dream something better than this
> Write-in?

>>1758993
The Summer Court of Philadelphia are not nice people. They are not even remotely nice people.

>>1758993
There are sane ways to transfer your pledge from one court to another.

It takes some serious shit to storm out on a court and become a warlock

>>1758994

> Take Erin's eyes

I can't resist the urge to loot.

> Contact Ramona

Arthur mentioned we should do this.

>>1758994
>Take Erin's eyes
Don't fuck with free trade in fairyland

>Go see Fancy
Also don't fuck with promises

>>1758994
> Take Erin's eyes

> Go see Fancy

>>1758994
>> Take Erin's eyes
You've done something vey intimate, refusing the gift would be wrong.
>>Go see Fancy and hope she has a drink.

>>1758994
>Take Erin's eyes

>Go see Fancy.
We promised and it would greatly decrease the chance of her doing something stupid, again.

>>1759159
Btw, did Arthur know that Vickie was electrocuted by the door lock ? No excuse for the murder but maybe a slightly extenuating circumstance, as she was stage 11 angry at that moment

>>1759166
Irrelevant. You don't make excuses like that to the boss when you fuck up.

Take responsibility and present your plan for preventing further fuck-ups on your part.

>>1758994
> Take Erin's eyes
> Go see Fancy; you told Vickie you'd see Fancy today

I feel like I'm missing some context on the last update. This quest is my only exposure to the Changling setting so I feel a little lost.

>>1759350
Same here, but when a girl offers you her severed eyes, you take them.

>>1759350
Well, from what I can tell the pearl eyes were something like a badge indicating membership in the organiztion of Satrapy of Pearls. As long as Erin's had her eyes she would be a member

>>1759374
I understood that much. More so I'm confused on the logic that leads from her Fetch being suicidal to her wanting out of the Satrapy of Pearls.

>>1759393
maybe she's suicidal?

>>1759394
So her desire is to die then? How does being released from the Satrapy help with that?

>>1759393
She's being at least a little deliberately opaque, so don't worry too hard about not getting it; Erin isn't trying to help you get it. If it helps though, the Satrapy, like most Noble Orders, is home to those who devote their entire lives to an ideal. For the Satraps, that ideal is commerce, taken to an extreme that puts anything, anything at all, on the auction block.

Had a thought, maybe Vickie could have a look at Spring after she's been on with Autumn?

>>1759425
I mean court good will exists for a reason, no reason why you can't

>>1759350

I mean, if you're talking about "why would we take her eyes," part of it's just that this is a quest, and why would you not take /any/ item that's offered to you? They're clearly special eyes, too, not just normal human or Lost eyes. They could very well be valuable, either as some kind of spell component or merely for their value as the eyes of a former Pearl Satrap.

But I'm also getting something along the lines of...the eyes were the symbol of her membership in the Satrapy, so /she/ sure as hell doesn't want to be hanging onto them, and, well...we're the one who pried them out. For good or ill (or both), we sorta deserve to hold onto them.

>>1759425
Why tho, too many different viewpoints may confuse her.

And called, writing. Gonna be my only update before work.

>>1759402
So how exactly did we leave our Noble order and what did we have to give up? Is there some scar Colors is hiding?

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>>1758994
You look in horror at the bloody pearls, but you take them anyway, scooping them into your hand. You wrap them in some tissues from the desk, putting many, many layers of paper between them and the outside world, before tucking the mass into your pocket.

"This isn't over, me and you," Erin manages. "For better or for worse. You might not have asked for it, or wanted it, but now you're stuck for it. You remember that, when this is said and done with that militia fuckface."

"Is - is that a threat?" you ask with way more confusion than fear or anger.

"Hell if I even know, Warlock Knight. Maybe it's just prophecy. Do yourself a favor and try to live it up tonight. Helps with the facing-death thing later."

There is absolutely nothing to say to that, so you quietly take your leave. On your way out you can hear Erin, in a pained voice lacking all of her usual bravado, ask Sally for whiskey, and thank her for her help.

You drop by home first, walking quickly through the streets to get there. Your check-through of your house is a rushed thing, because you can feel those eyes in your fucking pockets, but eventually you feel safe enough to take them out, wash them, and stick them in a jar which, after further thought, you put in your fridge.

Note to self: do not leave freakish trophy in the fridge.

You scrub your arms up to the elbows, take a shower, and change into an outfit you haven't been stabbed in. Your jacket and its pockets get a thorough disinfecting before you throw it in the washer, flip that shit to 'heavy duty', add the soap, and let it rip.

Note to self: wash that again when you get home.

You feel weird without your eight million pockets on your person, but you do actually own a purse, which you use mainly for formal occasions, costumes, and on one memorable night to transport a lost kitten. You drop a brick into the purse, then arrange your possessions into it. Your phone goes into your pants pocket before you buckle on Bifrost, slide your twilight mail on, and then leave the house.

You double back to lock the front door. Get it together, Colors.

You arrive at the Colonial Theatre late, but the girl in the ticket booth knows you and waves you past and hands you a towel. You wrap your mail with it, so you won't fuck with the lighting in the show, and slip in to a back row.

Fancy's right there on stage, instead of off with the Wonderlanders. Your heart breathes a sigh of relief. After a bit you even relax into the show, watching the dancing (among other things...) and reveling in the Glamour of lust, curiosity, envy, and even aspiration coming off of the crowd.

You harvest 2 Glamour. You gain a bonus Glamour from your Mantle.

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>>1759605
Fancy notices you in her third set and gives you a dazzling smile. Her eyes don't leave yours for the rest of the show, especially after you start to blush hotly from the attention. And sure enough, an usher finds you as the show draws to a close, to inform you that Miss Fancy is waiting for you backstage.

You are escorted into the back area, where the usher lets you into Fancy's dressing room, at which point your brain provides you with several helpful facts in order.

Point the first: dancing is a strenuous physical exercise.

Point the second: stage lights are hot and bright, exacerbating the sweat already produced by exercise.

Point the third: putting on layers of clothes immediately after hot, sweaty activities can cause complications including heat stroke.

Which is why, point the fourth, your Southern friend is sipping from a bottle of water in her underwear, sweat making her smooth skin glisten in the light, and it's not like undergarments for burlesque shows are meant to really hide all that much. Fancy catches your expression in her mirror and playfully adjusts her bra strap. She laughs, prettily, when she sees you force your jaw back shut.

"You know how to make a girl feel appreciated," Fancy teases. "...Glad to see you here, Colors. I'd thought...well, I'd worried you wouldn't be back."

"I. Um. I hadn't. I came back to. I didn't mean for you to think our friendship was over," you finally manage, after your mouth prematurely starts your thoughts repeatedly. "I was worried about you, Fancy, and...scared. I don't have a lot of friends to lose."

"...I'm real sorry," the dancer murmurs. "I really am. I canceled my next tour and got the other girls not to go too. That Kennedy girl was really selling them up - oh boy that was the wrong thing to say wasn't it?"

You slowly unclench your fist. "She'll get hers," you answer, carefully. "Which reminds me. Queen Ramona wanted me to ask you if you would be willing to submit to dream examination by a trained oneiromancer."

"Oneiromancer?" Fancy asks. She turns her chair around and crosses her ankles. Her eyes are definitely up there. All the way up there. Very much above her neck would be where you find her eyes.

"Um. Ah. The. Fuck."

Fancy laughs. "Take your time."

"An oneiromancer in our context is anyone who practices dream magic, but we usually use it to mean professionals," you explain. "It's Doc Ripples. You don't know him but he makes a career out of imprisoning nightmare creatures and getting rid of them. Like. Literal nightmare creatures, things that live in or cause nightmares."

"Wow. He's good at it?"

"One of the best," you promise. "But they're your dreams, and...I think we might have all the information we need?"

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>>1759636
The dancer frowns a little and plays with a strand of her blonde hair. "I dunno. The things in your head are supposed to be your things, you know? I dunno if I want some stranger knowing who I fantasize about on those nights I wake up and have to launder my sheets." She gives you a guilty grin when she hears the choked sound you make at the bottom of your throat. "You're so forthright," Fancy teases. "You know, I coulda got dressed. You can look. That's kinda my profession, y'know, the mission statement of the working dancer and serial tease."

Hereyesareupthereandnolower. "You're off the clock."

Fancy stands and struts the distance between the two of you before putting a finger in the middle of your chest, right against the twilight mail. "Colors Eriksdotter, what does a girl have to do to get you to look below her neckline?"

> Fancy, I'm sorry, but - too soon? Not with everything that just happened
> Ask her out on a date! An actual date - fuck you don't have any money. There's gotta be something. Ramona might help?
> Turn her down entirely. It's not that you don't care, and it's not that she isn't attractive, but how do you know this isn't just because you're magic, and she's not?
> Insist on an answer to the dream thing. You DO actually need a yes/no on that. Technically.
> Write-in?

>>1759654
>> Write-in?
"Say yes"

>>1759654
>> Ask her out on a date! An actual date - fuck you don't have any money. There's gotta be something. Ramona might help?

I hope this includes notifying her that there is a chance of at worst death in our near future?

Also if we survive without cripling injuries we should make an art piece that includes the eyes.

>>1759654
>Ask her out on a date! An actual date - fuck you don't have any money. There's gotta be something. Ramona might help?
>Write-in?
>Tell her there is a bit of a time restraint on the dream thing, It's fine to just leave it, we don't really like people tapping into ours either. Even if the risks are manageable they are still a thing.

>>1759672
>Also if we survive without cripling injuries we should make an art piece that includes the eyes.
That's beyond creepy but might get you points form Autumn.

>>1759602
There are a lot of ways to leave, depending on the Order in question. The simplest is to renounce your oath, with all that implies. Some have exit clauses; others might throw you out via the Order's by-laws.

What Erin did here was avoid breaking her oath by turning it against itself. She had someone buy her way out, and she made sure to seal her exit by stripping away the mark of privilege granted to her by her Order.

> Ask her out on a date! An actual date - fuck you don't have any money. There's gotta be something. Ramona might help?

>>1759654
>> Ask her out on a date! An actual date - fuck you don't have any money. There's gotta be something. Ramona might help?

I really hope these worries I have about Fancy being a pixie-chaser are false and I'm just being paranoid for no reason!

I guess we knew her quite a while before the mask fell?