Bishop's Stone (IC)

[Azlan]

Lorelei sputters on Earl Gray, "a werewolf, oh heavens no, not I.  Though I suppose they would have to be real too what with all this faerie and all."  

A very soothing sip of tea later, as well as some watercress sandwiches, Lorelei took a deep breath before continuing quietly to her new guest, "Marianne I am just a human, aware yes, but just a normal sort.  I was just made aware of all you lot just last night."

Taking another sip of her tea, Lorelei began to ease back into her high society demeanor, "I consulted with Jeremy over matters of an unofficial duel and expected to contend with issues of the heart.  However, the oldest adages still hold strong.  Honesty is still the best policy and if you truly desire a relationship with the lad, then you will need to tell him what you are, make sure he remembers and that he understands."

[SilverDemonWolf]

((Sorry for short post, muses have been evil lately.  Also, imminent Damien mauling.))

"I..." This was bad.  For a brief moment Damien contemplated lying, but... No.  He didn't want to start this off with lying just to save his own hide.  And if this all did blow up in his face and he ended up getting his memory wiped, or worse...

He'd take the consequences.

"I'm from here, actually.  The city, anyways.  And I only found out about Avalon last night.  I'm human." Damien raised his hands in a placating gesture, palms out.  He would really prefer to avoid being mauled over this.  "First, yes I know that everyone from Avalon apparently doesn't like humans knowing, and I know you don't know me from Adam, but I DO swear that I have the sense to not discuss it with anyone that doesn't already know, and that I intend no harm whatsoever to anyone there, or the Avalon itself.  I honestly think it's the coolest place I've ever seen or heard of.  If you want to be mad at me for that, then go ahead." Belatedly realizing he hadn't answered the werewolf's question, he added "Also, as I haven't had the chance to talk to anyone but you, and I'm currently learning the trumpet, I'm really the only one that fits the parameters of what you need, although I'll fully understand if you don't want me to."

[Inumo]

((Plot post! The last section is in addition to any of the personal sections!))

The Wheel of Fortune

The percussionist contemplates Damien for a moment. "You better learn to lie fast," he finally says, "or find a werewolf or vampire that's willing to bring you in. Things are going to get messy in Avalon with the death of the king, and you don't want to get caught in the crossfire without someone or something to protect you." With that, he heads towards the music store door. "I'll find someone else to help with my predicament. You're going to have enough on your plate as is."

The Heirophant

There's a short pause from Silver as he thinks. "The shortest way home?" Silver gives Daniel a quick look over, then says, "You look like you're from the public university. Head down this street, make a left at the wall, and go until you hit the painting of two trees. Touch the right one thrice, then the left one thrice as well, it'll dump you out into the student center's plaza. Do the same thing if you want to get back in that way, only to the actual trees. As for your second question..." He trails off as he sits forward, resting his elbows on his knees. Looking at Daniel, he begins, "You know, I--" Suddenly, something catches his eye behind Daniel. "Looks like your answer will have to wait for another day," he says calmly. "They're doing a sweep for Sanctuary spies, and they'll be more thorough than a quick glance. You might get found out if you hang around. Act casual and start heading off, you can make it to your Gate if you go now." He gets up and starts heading towards a group of faeries in blue uniforms.

The Fool

"No, David, it's more than that..." Luke follows along as David scans the aisles, apparently preparing himself for something. "Simply put, I'm starting to feel... uncomfortable... training to be a priest. As you know, I can't really voice my concerns with mom or dad, but I don't think God's plan was for me to be a priest. Since you're the only other family member I could talk to, I was hoping you might be able to help." Looking around, he suddenly says, "Here, you're looking for a rosary, right? What about this one?" In his hands is a five decade rosary made with jade beads. An ostentatiously large cross hangs from it, which, as Luke studies it, causes him to say, "Never mind, this seems too Christian for your tastes." As he sets it down on a nearby shelf, it suddenly disappears as he turns away. David can see where it now rests, on the end of an aisle three aisles away. Magic. "Sorry," Luke murmurs, "I thought I might help. Funny, how even as I ask for your help, I offer mine." As the brothers continue on, David spots Kevin looking at Luke from the window, apparently part way through talking about the pawn shop to the brothers' parents. In a few moments he wanders off, and the brothers are free to leave.

The Moon

Heading into one of Avalon's markets, Lemick is bombarded with all manner of sights, sounds, smells, and even the occasional ghostly taste. Numerous men and women jostle him back and forth, causing him to stumble and struggle as it pushes him in all manner of directions. In short order, Lemick is completely and hopelessly lost. Faces blur past, the smell of some kind of stir fry is followed by the scent of brownies, and it all seems to be too much. A hand suddenly catches his arm, a black blob beneath a nose moves, spindly pinkish lines pass over Lemick's face from a similarly colored circle, and suddenly he's in a bed. His bed. He's home.

Queen of Pentacles

Marianne looks at Lorelei in shock for a moment, but quickly recovers. "I see. This... is not something you want widely know, I hope you realize. Many would quickly report you to the Fair Folk for this. The war with Sanctuary has everyone jumpy and quick to pull the trigger." She pauses, then withdraws a business card from somewhere in her dress. On it, Marianne's full name, Marianne Cristiana Chrysopeleia Tarmin, was written out above a mobile number. A picture of a tree was placed in the lower right corner. "If you would, please, ask your contacts to get in touch with me. Their assistance would be wonderful. In the mean time, I will show myself out." As she starts towards the door, she suddenly stops and turns about. "And don't worry, your secret is safe with me." With that, she leaves.
As soon as the door shuts behind Marianne, Beatrice looks up from her reading. Glancing after the departing dryad, she says, "Honestly, I don't see what's wrong with leaving your favorite park behind. It's not like there aren't other nature activists to keep it in shape, and I'm sure they do just as good a job as she does." Glancing at her watch, she suddenly gives a start. "Oh, dear, I'm late for class! Feel free to keep reading, I'll show myself out." Gathering up her things, she quickly takes her leave. "Call me if you have any questions!" She says just before the door slams behind her.

The Lovers

"I see," Nathan says to Nanabi. "I'll initiate a stock buyback to ensure that we have a majority holding. Thank you, Ms. Tybalt." He heads back in the way he came before being intercepted by a young woman of his age. The distance is too far for Nanabi to hear what exactly is going on, but it is clear that they are intimately close as they share a quick kiss and walk off with their arms around each other. As she continues to the housing project, it becomes an even less pleasant day. Standing around the Gate are two menacing-looking faeries, appearing to look over some blueprints while giving off a suspicious and watchful aura. It's clear that they don't want anyone going through this Gate, forcing Nanabi to return home.

Queen of Pentacles

"Don't worry about it," the man says, waving Robert off between winces. "Unless you can somehow stop PCJA from creating waste that they can't recycle or dispose of safely, you won't do me much good. I've got a friend coming anyways." Looking up, he suddenly says, "Ah, here she is now. Hey there, Grace."
"You really should start researching their dumping schedules, Nick," Grace says as she bends down to help the man up. A woman satyr, she wears a rough-spun tunic belted at the waist with a breaded leather belt. "You know how you earth spirits are when the forest is cleared." As Nick slowly gets up, leaning heavily on her shoulder, she turns to Robert. "I got it from here, stranger. You, though, might want to get going. You don't look like you're from around here, and with the king's funeral only yesterday, people are going to think you're from Sanctuary. Wait a week or two for suspicions to die down. Now come on, Nick, let's get you home." They both turn and slowly make their way down the street, leaving Robert to follow the satyr's advice.

Time passes. For some it's only a couple days, for others it's a couple weeks, but though everyone sees evidence of Avalon frequently, nothing significant happens in the interim. Eventually, another note appears in everyone's mailbox.

Stone Gate inside Avalon.
6 PM
We'll pass by your Gates in case you don't remember the way.

When at last everyone has gathered, Silver and Vitia bring them into a corner cafe. "Our apologies for taking so long in meeting with you again," Silver begins. "We felt it was unsafe to hold an obvious meeting too soon after the king's funeral. While the ongoing power struggle certainly isn't much better an atmosphere, we all should be safe for now. If you don't mind, we'll get our piece out of the way real quick, then answer any questions you have." With a nod, he passes it off to Vitia.
"Right now," she begins, "there are a few groups trying to gain control of Avalon after the war with Sanctuary took our king. Between us and our friends, we've been able to figure out their opinions on you folk. Duke Orphenthal is in the lead, but he's also rabidly anti-human. He's been drumming up support outside of his extensive connections by saying he'd essentially turn you all into mindless wage-slaves and make Joneswark practically an extension of Avalon to eliminate 'the threat of human violence.' Duke Niffleheim is a close second and is in favor of the status quo. It's what's been keeping him in the running for so long, as many are put off by Orphenthal's policies. There's a dark horse floating around, though, who calls himself Puck. He's in favor of revealing Avalon to Joneswark and doing away with the secrecy, trusting that both of our societies, yours and me and Silver's, have grown enough that they can get along. Maybe he's right, maybe he's wrong, but we've found a way to at least remove some of Orphenthal's support. The Summer Festival is coming up, and people love to share their stories of drunken revelry in Joneswark with their friends. If you guys can give as many people as possible a good story to tell their friends at home, one that casts you guys in a good light, then some of Orphenthal's campaigning seems less well-founded and it might knock him out of the lead. Keep it in mind as the summer solstice approaches." Taking a quick breath, she then asks, "So, how are you all holding up with your new eyes on the world?"

[justacritic]

Lemick was shocked, he had no memory of getting home and panic set in as he checked his house to see if anything was missing. Nothing seemed to have vanished.

Several days later he found a letter under the mail slot of his door. Silver and Vitia were going to meet with the group again. He set off early and found Silver, and Lemick asked him if he knew any well-dressed red skinned men in Avalon. That man might know something about his weird return home. The human also mentioned this event to Silver and waited if he would answer.

Later when everybody was in the cafe, Lemick listened what Silver and Vitia had to say. It appeared that the king of the region was dead and some sort of war was responsible. The candidates for the next king were listed but when the last one was mentioned Lemick couldn't help asking "Puck? As in that Puck, Oberon's emissary?"

 

[JamesCray]

"That merry wanderer of the night..." Robert quotes to himself, listening to Silver speak. When the question of how things have gone comes up, he shrugs.

"I must admit, it's not gone as I expected it to. My expectations were shaped by the books I read, and although those were admittedly fiction, I'm still surprised by how uneventful things have been. The only things of real consequence to happen to me have been meeting an earth spirit in the process of being injured by landfill dumping and finding out that not everything strange you see on LSD is a hallucination. Somehow I expected something a little less Hayao Miyazaki and a little more Dresden Files. Regarding the solstice, what kind of stories do you think would paint us in the best light? This Duke Orphenthal sounds like a proper berk."

[SilverDemonWolf]

Damien waited until the werewolf had left before slumping back with a gasp of relief.  He still had all his limbs.  This was a good thing.

***

Damien was one of the first to arrive at the meeting, and was rather glad to see that everyone seemed to have gotten through okay.  Even if he didn't know the others, he didn't wish ill upon them.

Still, he found himself taking a hesitant step back.  Revolution?  Politics?  He was a simple college student and aspiring music teacher, not someone who had any interest in those things.  He never even paid attention to elections in his own world.  Now to influence one here in a world he was just starting to learn about?

Not for the first time, he wondered if he was in over his head.

At the question, he replied "Well, I've managed to avoid being mailed so far.  I do have one question, though." It has occurred to him as he listened to their description of the situation.  "Do you guys work for Puck?"

[AmberCross]

Back at the store

"You didn't want to talk to our parents because they have strong views on religion, so you came to talk to me instead? Luke, you are one messed up child." David chuckled a little. Still at least he was willing to consider the other side of the issue which did put him a step up from the alternate and his little brother probably didn't have that many options. It was at that point when Luke managed to pick a rosary up from the other side of the store. Had he been drinking coffee (or any other beverage), David would likely have spewed it into a nearby silly looking coat rack in comical fashion. As he had no beverage however, he had to settle for a sudden coughing fit to which Luke prompted, "Brother, are you alright? You seem... surprised by something."

David shook his head replying in a somewhat dazed manner, "No, I mean... yes, I'm fine.... it's just... I mean... you can do magic?!?"

Luke affected a surprised reaction of his own. "What? No. I mean, how could I?"

David's brain began to catch up with the situation. First, his little brother could do magic. He knew better than to question his perceptions. Second, his little brother did not KNOW he could do magic. Either that or he was pretending not to. David couldn't recall Luke ever lie-ing but that might just mean he was really good at it. So confronting him about it would either be useless or he'd sound crazy with talk of magic. Which brought him to what he should do.

"Hmmm... nevermind that for now. You know my opinion about religion and things god means for people to do, but putting that aside for now... if you don't feel like this is what you want to do with your life, than you probably shouldn't be doing it. But... hold on... Miss, do you have a piece of paper I can have? Thank you. Anyway, as I was saying, you probably should not cut your ties without a safety net to catch you. So see what you can find before doing anything too rash. It worked out for me but I got lucky. Anyway here, take this and read it if you start noticing anything... weird. You can read it sooner if you want though it might not make sense, just please hold on to that if only to humor me."

While he'd been talking he had gotten a piece of paper from the shopkeeper and with a pen from his pocket started writing down information Luke would probably need. A brief rundown on fae and magic being real, the fact that religious paraphernalia could sometimes be an effective defense, and most importantly that this hidden world was somewhat paranoid about humans and the mages especially had a habit of killing competition (stuff he had learned from talking to Bartholomew) and that if Luke had magic his life was probably in danger but being in the priesthood might protect him for a while. Furthermore he'd managed to come up with a good normal reason for Luke not to leave the priesthood just yet. David estimated this had the best chance of convincing Luke in a reasonable manner though until he came around David would probably be nerve-wracked around the clock. In the meanwhile he just had to hope that no one saw anything and be really really glad of the enchantment that stopped random passerbys (and snoops like his roommate Kevin apparently) from noticing anything weird. He didn't know how far the enchantment extended however making him extra glad sound didn't travel through walls or else Kevin might have heard a very strange conversation.

Time passes and eventually David's family goes back home and life moves on. David was finally able to track down a decent looking rosary which he started to chain from a beltloop to a pocket in a vaguely 'rebellious' way and eventually another trip to Avalon gets scheduled. David had been to Avalon once or twice during the intermittent time period, but had mostly been trying to keep his collegiate career above water. In the meanwhile he had learned a bit more about the political situation, gotten a feel for the geography, and overall gotten a bit more firm footing about the whole thing. However, after the meeting (and a bit later to hear what other people had to ask), he pretty much headed straight home figuring he'd work on a way to be a good ambassador later. Right now he was just about ready to crash.

[Inumo]

The Fool

Silver turns to answer Damien's question. "No, we're just... concerned citizens, I suppose, is the best way to put it. While we like Puck's ideas, there are plenty of paranoid trigger-happy crazies in the world that there might be some in Avalon, and we certainly don't want them running around killing random people. Besides that, Puck is elusive, and most certainly an alias, so we don't really know who or what he is." He pauses a moment, then continues, "If you'd like, you could go looking around for him on your own."

King of Pentacles

The next day, David wakes to find a text message from Luke on his phone. Weird people hanging around the church. One looks a lot like Kevin, only older. Read your sheet. Really worried they might be mages. Help?

Eight of Cups

Silver politely delays answering Lemick's questions until after announcements are made, and Vitia deftly answers when they've finished. "That is certainly who he or she is alluding to by taking his name, but the name Puck fell out of fashion a century or so ago. Nobody registers themselves under the name anymore, so it's undoubtedly just an alias. I believe I also overheard you asking about a red-skinned man? That was likely one of the Christian devils. Also, from the sounds of it, I think you went into the Porphyry Mall. It's such a hotspot of people it's not uncommon for people to get disoriented. It's considered polite for those with magic to send the disoriented home when they come up. Anything else?"

Five of Cups

"Well..." Silver sits back, thinking about Robert's question. "Orphenthal loves to spread his story about how his son, a faerie, had gone on a road trip with his wife, a human, and was murdered by said wife when the city's enchantment wore off. However, you can't really counter that without a few years' work, and by then this struggle will probably be over thanks to Puck's influence. However, since he's been casting it as 'human's are violent, bloodthirsty creatures who want nothing but fighting and destruction', try just being polite towards everyone for the night. If you see a fight, break it up, and if they're too drunk and broke to make it back to Avalon, just give them a place to sleep for the night. Ultimately, it's about minimizing conflict. Anything else?"

[Azlan]

Lorelei was rather relieved that Marianne was amiable about the whole human in the know situation and she was rather pleased with herself for having taken her first steps to having a friend among the Fae.  As far as she was concerned the ship was still out on Silver and Vitia. Despite what they had both said and reassured all of them of, Lorelei still felt the two of them viewed them as tools of convenience.

Taking her time with her tea and sandwiches, Lore relaxed and read, she still had a few hours until class. When it was time, she made herself ready for class and drove herself in the Aston. The days passed rather normally for a bit seemingly with little change, until she received the letter.

"A letter, that is very much old world. Why not an email, text, tweet, or post it on my wall. Maybe this whole perception obfuscation does not function over electronic media?" She mused to herself as she readied for another visit with the strange duo.


Later


Lore was a little surprised at the political state of Avalon and was a bit concerned to say the least. She quietly listened to the questions and comments of the others before adding inquiries of her own.

"That is rather disturbing to hear regarding the politics and all. Does this mean your king died without Issue? IN the peerage, of say Great Britian of which I am very familiar, such a death would be very tragic, but succession is rather well documented and very well tiered."

Clearing her throat, she prepared for a long speech, "take myself for example, I am the Countess of Darlington, which usually means little more then people use 'My Lady' or 'Countess' in front of my name and I have a rather nice house in the City of Darlington, but in the case of succession it means I am sixty-third in line behind my mother and ahead of my younger siblings as well as my father, the Duke of Cleveland (ooc: the Cleveland in North Eastern England). Though I use only my father's family name, Evans, for personal reasons, I am still a Lorraine. One of the only branches left of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine which is nominally related to the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. King George the Fifth, Queen Elizabeth the Second's grandfather, changed it to Windsor.  So if by some significant tragedy all members from Prince Charles to my mother Rebecca were to suddenly die, I would be the Queen of England."

Taking another breath and wishing for some water, Lorelei continued, "so there should be some documented line to fall onto, for good or ill.  Oh and one other thing, it sounds very much like you wish us to be chaperons to the whole of irresponsible faeries during the Summer Festival.  It sounds rather boring to have to be the sober friend with the nice flat to crash at. I'm sorry to sound a bit entitled, but this whole enlightenment process seems to only spell danger, responsibility, and work for us.  It seems like you merely need humans in the know to be around to clean up irresponsible fairfolk messes. What exactly are we to be receiving for all of this except the benefit of working to not be killed by this Duke Orphenthal chap?"  

[SquirrelWizard]

Daniel stood up and stretched as Silver left him. He scribbled down the directions he had been given on the back of his pad. He kept his head down and meandered through the streets till he found himself in front of the mural that Silver had told him about. He tapped the tree in the prescribed order and the paints before him seemed to meld and swirl together. With a final deep breath, he stepped through it.

The trip through the portal was like being stretched and squished together at the same time. Daniel stumbled and caught himself on one of the trees back in the "real" world. Glancing around he saw that it was still nighttime (as to which night he wasn't sure) but at least he was in familiar surroundings. When the squirmy feeling had dissipated, he started heading off towards his appartments; the thirty minute walk would give him some time to mull over what he had just been through.

[AmberCross]

David read his phone with a sense of dread. He briefly wondered how the past week had gone by so very quickly without him being prepared for this yet. Sure he had learned a few new things about the fae world, but none of it about mages or how to counter them. Well that's not true, he had learned (or rather suspected) one thing, and that was that his roommate Kevin was probably a mage himself and the reason they were in this mess to begin with, but that was hardly conductive to a solution and didn't count as a plan. He had some ideas, but nothing truly solid so he had turned to the best (and really only) resource he had once he was certain Kevin was away for a bit (though at the time he just hadn't wanted to sound crazy for talking to a bird). The answer he received had hardly been convenient, but hopefully would work, so he now sent his brother an email with a spell and texted Luke to check it.

Okay. I'm not sure why this works, but from what I've found... if you mix nightshade, lavender, and rosemary with some strands of your hair in a cauldron (or a pot, something iron) and water and a piece of sponge (sea sponge, not manufactured) and you boil it until it looks kind of goopy, you get a potion that will somehow make you not visible to other mages. You don't drink it. Seriously, don't... I'm pretty sure nightshade is poisonous and I'm not sure what ratios you need, but try a fistful of each maybe? You might actually know that part better than I would. Anyway, there will probably be enough nightshade to be bad if you drink it. Instead you say (chant?) "hide and seek" and that should work... somehow. I don't know how close you have to be to the potion, but to be safe you should either hold the pot or stand next to it. Apparently if you make it in a cast iron cauldron (small) it works for a month, regular household pot works for three weeks. Not sure if it's the volume or the shape or the materials or what. I know you can find rosemary easily and lavender isn't much harder but I've been a bit stumped for nightshade. I'm going to try to find some in the meanwhile in case you can't find any on your own, but see how far you can get and in the meanwhile try to stay closer with the church which I really hope will protect you for a bit longer. Once you manage to hide your aura, they might know something is up and try to move in before you slip the net so you may want to be ready to move quickly. I don't have anything planned for that and you might have to run away, but not to here because this would be the first place they look, plus I'm not sure I trust my roommate. Do you remember the hide-aways I used to go to? I never told anyone about them so you might be able to use one still if its not run down.

David pushed away from the computer and grabbed his rosary from its hook. It was time to go shopping in Avalon for nightshade...


Edit note: this post edited based on additive information from GM

[Inumo]

((Daniel is on hold for recognition of plot))

The Emperor

David easily finds the apothecaries in Avalon. Nightshade is a frequent reagent, it seems, and is loosely controlled. However, forms must be filled out, giving contact information so poisonings can be investigated easily. As David finishes filling out the paperwork, the shop door opens behind him with the tinkle of a bell. "Ah, Lord Orphenthal! How are you today?" the store clerk asks, turning away from David.
"Oh, just fine. This 'power struggle' will be over quite shortly, I think, and then the humans will finally be safely contained. We won't have to worry about them finding Avalon by accident and leading a crusade against all things beyond their ken. It is only a matter of days."

Seven of Cups

Vitia's shoulders slowly tense as Lorelei's speech runs on and on. "That's very interesting," she says as she rolls her shoulders back in an attempt to loosen them. "However, can you name a time where power has been peacefully transferred? When there's been no objection from anyone? What if all those people had weapons and people to support them in challenging the new power? Now, add to the mix the son, the only clear lineage, missing out on the field of battle. Tell me, do you know the tale of Odysseus? If Penelope wasn't there to save a place for Odysseus, what do you think would have happened? Do you really think--"
"Calm, Vitia," Silver says, finally stirring himself. "If she doesn't know after that, she won't ever." Sighing, he leaned forward and continued, "As to being a chaperone, no. It's outright rude to ask you for that. Just... make a good impression, is all. I'm sure your life is at least worth that much. Of course, if you don't want to be a part of this world, and live life more fully, I'm sure the cops will be happy to give you a mindwipe. There's a station right around the corner for you."

[justacritic]

"One of the Christian Devils?" Lemick said "But I don't think I've done anything to warrant attention, I mean I have done things I'm not proud of, but nothing that would attract interest and that Devil gave the impression that he knew me personally." The man was nervous. "What could he possibly want?" He asked Silver.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Moving on after the meeting, Lemick wondered what he could do to improve the general thought about humans to the residents of Avalon. After discarding hare-brained ideas as he seen from experience that they never worked except for those with exceptional luck and he wasn't one of them. He came to the conclusion to just be his normal polite self. Lemick was rather drab and was not fantastical in any way or form. If he gave the impression that there are humans who just minded their business and weren't normally people who would do something crazy such as war on things they didn't understand or hate things for no reason maybe Avalon's mood would be better disposed towards humans. Now there were people who were exactly the sort of human that possibly many fey held the idea of but he could change their minds even a little, that would open doors between the two. In stories, prejudging a person until you know them rarely works out well so Lemick made his decision, to let fey know more about humans then they did before.

[JamesCray]

"Does anyone remember when we were explorers?" Robert intoned, having listened to Lorelei's little speech. If it were anything to judge by, he didn't think he was going to like the toff.

"Most of that's standard operating procedure for me anyway. Breaking up fights is usually for people less a coward than me, but it seems this thing's gotten bigger than any of us now," Robert said. "I do have two more questions. First, are there any particular establishments you would recommend going to increase likelihood of us being useful? I'm not exactly one for partying, and my local, you're more likely to go there for a curry and a pint than a booze-up and a punch-up. Secondly, this Orphenthal  fellow, is he simply using his son's death to lend his position legitimacy, leveraging people's innate fear of the other, or is this something he really believes in? The former is a regrettably common and effective political tactic, but the latter... Well, if he believes in it, he's a lot more dangerous."

[Azlan]

"I would expect one to learn from the past instead of making a real hash of it again and again.  However, you are right, historically power transfers poorly and it is only fairly recently that there are examples of peaceful successes."  She raises an eyebrow to Silver, "so, put a sock in it and do what you are told or sod off?  Thanks for that."

Lorelei sighed, "right, I've gone at this blinkered or I'm nattering too much for someone to quote Star Trek.  On an addendum to his questions, are there places or folk we should avoid?"

[AmberCross]

Well now, this was certainly interesting. The very lord that apparently wanted to enslave humanity, if only on a local scale and maybe not so dramatic. Still, David's curiosity was burning and this seemed important so he decided to pursue the issue a bit.

"Lord Orphenthal? Didn't expect to meet someone so important in this part of town! Sorry if I'm a bit behind on the times, but... what happens in a few days?"

[Inumo]

Three of Cups

Duke Orphenthal turns to David, beaming. "Oh, you'll just have to wait and see," he says. His eyes dance over David's clothes, taking in the style and noting the rosary. "Trust me, the day after the Summer Festival won't be one to forget. Any pups you have will be safe here evermore." He turns back to the store clerk and says, "Some rosemary and lavender, and... what they hey, toss in some orchids with it. It's a time for celebration!" The clerk disappears into the back room to fill out the order, returning after a few minutes. With a wave, Duke Orphenthal leaves as the clerk takes David's now-complete nightshade forms in exchange for a small package of the deadly plant.

Queen of Wands

"Lemick, I'm trying to answer your questions if you didn't notice," Vitia says as Silver turns to answer Robert's question. Her smile seems genuine, at least, as she continues, "It wasn't uncommon for people to make deals with devils prior to the Enlightenment. Okay, well, it was uncommon, but it still happened. Likely one of your ancestors made a deal with that devil, and he knows you as a former client's kid, in a sense. I wouldn't worry too much about it. I doubt you have any import on whatever deal there was way back when."

Three of Cups

"No, just--" Silver sighs, clearly re-centering himself before responding to Lorelei. "I'm not trying to tell you 'shut up or screw off.' Everyone's just a bit stressed without a King, though, and the fact that we haven't learned from our past is certainly part of it. Just... bear with us, alright?" He pauses to answer Robert's questions before turning back to Lorelei. "As to avoiding places, just use your common sense and you should be fine. After all, our society isn't much different from yours, so just do as much as you're comfortable with and go on from there."

Two of Pentacles

Silver turns to Robert and says, "Near as we can figure, Orphenthal does believe in the danger of humanity, but I doubt he cannot be swayed. It seems he's just running with his first experience and skewed research. And, you asked about where to go to see more of our kind? I know the Sparrow and Quail is a popular haunt for werewolves. It's an old-school tavern over in Roanoke where they play all sorts of drinking games, run by a rather jovial werewolf. Satyrs tend to Italian and Greek restaurants, though Olive Garden is a definite no-go for them. You wouldn't believe just how many jokes we have about the place. Thrimwalde Park is popular with the elves, dryads, and nature spirits, and they love to dance with anyone who comes by. Don't feel like you have to though, they'll feel awful if they accidentally dance you to injury or worse. I'm afraid I don't know about the other peoples, though."

[AmberCross]

David looked after the departing faerie lord. That was certainly ominous, not to mention uninformative. Still, rosemary and lavender... maybe they were a clue? Still, David really didn't care at this point whether or not the fae enslaved the local human population or not as long as it didn't affect him personally, which by all accounts wouldn't. The enchantment had already been broken for him and while not actually a werewolf, his disguise of one was fairly effective. No, what was far more important was the issue with his brother, so David took the nightshade and headed home where he could hopefully hand off the supply to his brother soon enough. Though since he did have the time he decided to see if he could figure out magical properties of rosemary, lavender, and maybe orchids.

[Azlan]

Lorelei sighed and all but face palmed as she replies, "no, no, it is just," she pauses with another sigh, "I am sorry, but somehow I had thought, hoped, that the fairfolk would be more enlightened, would have a solved these petty problems we mortals seem to struggle with."

She closes her eyes and with a sigh lifts her gaze skyward, "stupid, I really am that naive."  After a moment Lorelei returned her gaze to Silver, "enough of that.  Do you expect any hostilities or faction conflicts that we should be aware of?  I am trained in all first aid and paramedic procedures so I can be on-call, so-to-speak, if needed."

[Inumo]

((I was hoping for more people to write for, but... apparently I delayed a bit too long.))

King of Swords

It's about mid-day when David returns to the apartment, Kevin lounging in the living room. "Hey David," he says, flopping his head in the general direction of the door. Research into the herbage Duke Orphenthal ordered brings some odd results: rosemary's for protection, lavender's for lovers, and orchid is for love invocations. An amusing video of bees getting drunk on a particular orchid's nectar also springs up during the search. As David works at the computer, he can hear Kevin stand up and head to the kitchen. Amidst the clatter of dishes, Kevin calls, "So, uh, David... when did you turn? Into a werewolf, I mean. I've got some friends, they might be able to find out who did it to you, if you'd like..."

Two of Swords

"Fortunately for you," Vitia says to Lorelei, "there won't be any particularly magical fighting. People are... well, I wouldn't exactly say passive, but they're at least smart enough even with alcohol to not start a fight that could get their powers excised for wanton magic use. Beside that, I doubt there will be any group fighting between factions since they're so widespread, they're kind of in a universal stalemate. Besides, it's something of a tradition to set aside hostilities for a night when the Summer Festival comes around."

[JamesCray]

"Olive Garden? My uncle Tony's from Italy, you wouldn't believe just how many jokes I'd believe you have about the place." Robert replied with a brief grin. "Actually, this whole thing is a bit fortuitous really, Zach's been on me about using some of my vacation days, and I suppose you know you need to loosen up when your boss is pushing you to take some time off. They all sound interesting, I suppose I'll just have to see where the day takes me."

[Meany]

House Work

Nanabi did not enjoy being alone, yet surrounded by people.  To the servants who kept her home tidy, Nanabi was just a moving piece of furniture, that could potentially ruin their lives if she started to move in their direction.

Thus, the ancient woman was left to read books she had all read before, listen to the radio, or to sit and contemplate.  She would endeavor to find a way into the strange new world on the morrow but today...

Today, Nanabi turned on her trusty old computer, and began to look up information about various types of these fey creatures, while also investigating youkai.  The ancient businesswoman would take careful time to research Inari Okami, for her grandfather had tended an shrine to the fox-kami.  Perhaps she could make an offering to the kami, and receive some protection from creatures like...like that demon.

Time would tell.

~*-*~

A story?  To put her and hers in a good light?  Nanabi frantically twisted her hands.  Hers was not a good story, and the stories she knew were at best grey.  She would think, and look for something to tell come the solstice.

When her turn came, Nanabi spake.  "I greatly enjoy visiting...but I feel so removed from this world, that I do not find it easy to interact with the people here."

[justacritic]

Lemick apologized to Vita and tried to let what was told to him sink in. So it was likely that devil knew him only by an ancestral encounter if for any reason. Hopefully Lemick didn't have to worry unnecessarily. "So Vita, about what will happen a few days from now, I was just thinking that I should just be myself. But do you have sort of general warnings? It'll be nice to avoid any blatant rudeness that humans don't know about."   

[AmberCross]

David sighed. He had been hoping this could be put off, but he supposed it was inevitable. So he put a note on the bag of nightshade asking Bartholomew to deliver it to his little brother if he wasn't able to and left it outside on the window sill while he went to the other room where Kevin was. It occurred to him as he walked that as a mage (almost certainly), Kevin could probably notice if David were to lie, so he decided to change the subject instead of directly answering. So when he got to the living room, instead of entering he leaned against the doorsill, crossed his arms and asked, "How long have YOU been a mage?"

There, that should hopefully throw Kevin a little off the scent while not actually saying he was or was not a werewolf. He also had to force himself to keep his tone from being hostile (although it still ended up sounding accusatory) because all he could think of was how Kevin was probably trying to kill his little brother while at the same time being 'casual' and trying to act 'friendly' with this approaching the subject 'gently' and offering to 'help'. Kevin would probably notice he was angry anyway, which would actually help distract from the whole werewolf issue, but as long as David kept himself under control he might be able to walk out of this still able to get the nightshade to Luke before it was too late instead of making his roommate try to stop him. Maybe it would have been wiser to play his hand closer to the chest, try to be 'friendly' back and see if he could garner what the mages were planning, but David just didn't have it in him to do so. Maybe it was because he felt extra betrayed since it was his roommate whom he had been on good terms with, maybe he was just tired of tiptoeing around hiding what he knew, maybe it was something else entirely... but David decided he was going to toss the dice and see how they fell.

[Azlan]

Lorelei nodded to Vitia, "that is one thing then.  However, I have been mistaken for a recently created werewolf by a rather nice dryad with a romantic issue she needed help with.  Many may see us as such.  That can impact how these stories are received."

Taking a short pause of silence, she continued, "are we revealing ourselves as humans in the know publicly at this point?  Well, at least in the scope of this operation?  If so, that will increase the size and scope of the reticule upon us.  How swift will retribution be and what might it entail?  If we are not, then do not worry about this question."

[Inumo]

Four of Swords

As a pot of water starts to boil on the stove, Kevin turns to David, leaning on the counter. "Since birth, though I'm assuming by your angry tone you're asking instead about how long I've known." With remarkable calm, he shrugs and continues, "Unlike your brother, I'm from the Travonis family of mages. I've known since I was, I dunno, six or so? Sorry to hear that you're brother's a mage, by the way. I never was part of the watch crew, so I only really found out when he did his manifestations at the pawn shop. 'Least I wasn't expected to kill the guy. I mean, family is family, but when it involves killing the brother of a good friend? Too much bad blood comes from that, especially if they're aware like you. By the way, sorry to see you got turned. At least someone was kind enough to let you know about the necessary security measures. It gets sketchy whenever someone gets turned; they aren't always the safest people to be around the first few months." The rolling boil of the pot catches his attention, and he hurriedly pours in some pasta. The water froths as the noodles enter the water, but it hits an invisible wall along the top of the open pot. "One of the benefits of magic. Who knows, maybe your brother will someday learn to do this. He goes fast enough and has a kid, the mages will just have a new family to accept. Happened before, with the Silouac family maybe a century ago." Turning back to David, Kevin lifts his hands apologetically. "Sorry, I tend to ramble a bit. Go do whatever you were doing, I wish your brother the best of luck. Might whip up a charm to pass some of mine his way."

Two of Swords

Vitia takes a moment to think before answering Lemick. "Best bet, don't let emotions get the better of you. A story about some pissed off human starting a fight won't help your case in the slightest. Just keep calm, and..." Vitia looks over Lemick's head for a moment before turning to Silver and whispering something. Scooting her chair out from the table, she finishes as she stands, "Sorry, but we've got to get going so we make room for more cafe guests. The proprietor's getting a bit pushy. If you need anything, just leave a note in Evergreen Park under the big boulder in the middle and I'll find it, alright?"

The Fool

Vitia is halfway through standing up as she answers Lorelei. "Thank whatever you pray to, then, that your dryad friend tends to Puck instead of Orphenthal. If you let it be known that you're human that's disenchanted, you're doomed and we can't help you, so don't. Not without knowing they won't kill you or report you for it. Now, I'm sorry, but we need to leave. The proprietor's starting to get pushy so the other cafe guests can use our table. If you have any more questions, write them on a note and leave it under the boulder in the middle of Evergreen Park, I'll pick it up there." She waves farewell as she walks out of the cafe.

Nine of Pentacles

Silver turns to Nanabi as she makes her comment. "Look, I've heard of you from your glory days at the head of the business world. I don't doubt you had to deal with vastly different cultures than your own, with numerous barriers and discomforts. So, think of our culture in the same way. We're still people, after all; just people that are a bit different from yours. We're not going to make everything fall down around your ears now that you've found us. Simply treat us like we're a new culture you're immersing yourself in." Silver leans in as Vitia whispers something in his ear. "Alright, I'm afraid it's time for us to leave. Vitia can handle any emergency contacts you need; there's a boulder in the middle of Evergreen Park she hangs out at, so just leave a note under that and you'll get to us eventually."

The High Priestess

"Sounds like a plan," Silver says to Robert, standing from the table. "It's been nice talking with you, Robert. If you need to ask me or Vitia anything, leave a note under the boulder in the middle of Evergreen Park and we'll get it. In the meantime, it's time for us to leave. Have a nice day, I trust you can find your way out."

[AmberCross]

David found himself a little dumbfounded. Of all the possible ways for this to turn out, he had not expected this one. "So... wait. You aren't trying to kill my brother? I thought..." he paused as the full implication of what Kevin told him set in. "Wait, there's a way out? He doesn't have to be on the run forever?"

[Inumo]

Five of Wands

Kevin focuses again on his dinner. "Yes," he begins, "he can get out, though I think it's kind of silly. While I disagree with the idea of killing mages just because they aren't part of the main families, I also disagree with the inconsistency of the rules. I mean, really, some guy has a kid and suddenly he's accepted like he's a family with serious history? But y'know what, if it keeps them from killing the lucky few, hey, all the better. Means we can get some fresh blood into the genetic pool without having to go through some serious hoops to get the right people in on the story." He pauses to scoop out a single noodle, rinsing it under cold water before taking a bite. "Hm, not quite done yet. Anyways, all he needs to do is start a family legitimately, though that might be hard with mages attacking him 24/7. Then again, he looks pretty handsome; almost as handsome as you. Might not be hard to find someone to start a family with if he can accept the idea."

[Azlan]

Lorelei was more than happy to be leaving, horrible cafe did not serve a proper tea nor could she get cream for it.  She settled what she needed to and exited after Vitia.

Lore figured she would go visit Thrimwalde Park when it was time for the Summer Festival, for now she decided to seek out an acceptable evening tea.

[AmberCross]

"Huh..." David muttered, completely missing Kevin's subtle hitting on him. "I... need to go..." he continued, not even bothering coming up with an excuse like laundry or something similarly innocuous. That ship had definitely sailed. Instead he went back into his room to text his brother:

Hey, I just learned that they will stop going after you if you marry someone and get a kid. Not sure how you'll do that, and sorry to join our parents on trying to get you married, but good luck. I also have that last herb if you still need it, but I'm not sure how I should get it to you. Do you want to meet up somewhere or should I leave it someplace for you to find?

He briefly worried about the possibility of being followed before he remembered that any mages looking for Luke would be able to just sense him anyway. Until this potion was done that is... and for David, that could not come soon enough.