2.5 [Sundown] The Secret Garden Gate

Inspired largely by Agrippa's description of the space as crawling in ghosts, Linden brought the vigilance of Summer up about them. Despite not knowing the true specifics, they had a general certainty that gates existed to be passed through, and they weren't about to be taken by surprise. Standing a little ways behind Kai, they scanned the area and squinted at the disturbed bark on the tree.

"Holyfuckingshit," Kai whispered as the boy was dragged through the unseen gate. They'd seen something like this before, and Golden Boy was deeply involved in some fucked up necromantic shit. Her mind raced with what to do, torn between talking to the kid, talking to Fawkes and talking to Solomon about this. The right answer was probably somewhere in the middle.

"Is this why Golden got dragged at Yule? Is he cursed because he went through this gate?"

Kai had no clue. Normally, in situations like this, you followed protocol and called a Gravewright. Thankfully, they had, but she wasn't going to ask Noir about this. Paid help didn't get free intel. Summer had their own nerds, and one of their nerds was connected closely to Golden.

"Might wanna keep what we just saw mum for now, Linden. Noir's charging a rate, and who knows what he'd do with this information. What he can tell us about the gate is enough for now. We can ask Cinder about it after. I bet she'd care about what's happening to Golden." The Sun's Tongue knew a lot, and she was a known member of the Dawncatcher motley with Golden. With her in, they might be able to get a better perspective of what these two were up to.

"Were there any other points in time you wanted to see?"

"I mean, if something happened on this side of the ghost realm, it might show something," she replied. She really didn't know if that was a thing in this circumstance. "I'm getting light on Glamour at this point, so... maybe let's hang tight on that. Going back in time a long way comes at a great cost, either in emotion or blood." It was the kind of power that could be fueled by her own life force, which really ought to say how important it was to begin with.

"Still. We've just seen something big. Either Golden and Fawkes opened it, or it was there before and they were fucking with it. Maybe it's related to what's going on with Martinez, maybe not, but Noir should be able to give us the gist."

As the two Changelings discuss their theories, the smell of clover wafts through the garden as a tall, lanky man strolls into the clearing. Humming to himself with clear, pleasant tones, he spun a deep maroon trilby on a finger as his attention flicked around the space.

A low, impressed whistle cuts the tune short as he looked up and down; invisible to their eyes, but likely the Gate as the gold sigil in the center of his brow appeared to blink on its own.

"Well isn't that something," he said to himself, replacing the hat. The ears of a jackal twitched as he listened for a moment, before turning turning to the Ogre and Wizened. "Good afternoon! I believe someone named Ivory requested my services in this investigation. Quite the haunting our Joyeux finds himself in." He didn't seem too concerned with the matter, following the frustrating pattern set by Chasseur himself. 

"It'll take a few days, but I am sure I can work something out with him. But your theory was that a ghost was learning the layout of the estate and torturing the shooter to madness, yes? I spoke with the man. Doesn't seem to be the case. Oh, but where I my manners... Noir, Archivist of the Verdant Crown," he gave a theatrical bow, more for humour than self-aggrandizing. The tension was thick, and he had the instinct to abate it.


"I showed myself around a bit and followed the Summer influence along with the big, spooky entrance to the Twilight. May I ask what you know about the shooter's motivations, other than the fact that he is quite discombobulated and apologetic? Oh, and blaming a ghost." He gave an apologetic look, attempting some level of sympathy. There wasn't much to be shared when he was being investigated for attempted murder.

"I'll be straight forward and admit that think he's crazy, actually. I don't think the spirits here are going to accomplish much more than some intense nightmares and poltergeist harassment."

He seemed quite pleased with himself — one and done. Easiest stack of favours he had pulled in a while. Why Ivory had expressed frustration in politics and a price was beyond him.

Noir seemed calm on the outside, but there were little movements here and there that indicated an undercurrent of caution and anxiety.

His comments on the haunting were earnest — the Spring occultist was confident that a wraith wasn't attached to Martinez to perpetually torture him into action, nor had any taint to indicate the involvement of Twilight. By his expertise, he is claiming the haunting is a separate issue from the assassination attempt.

Noir seems nervous about the wider implications of what political mess he might be stepping into. His oversharing was to have a public record of his contributions, where his motives are strictly on the books and a potential enemy couldn't wave his actions as anything but "neutrally banking social favours."

It seemed callous on the outside, but Noir knows his politics and chooses not to participate by having a very specific brand. Maybe forcing every interaction as a clean transaction was how the Beast protected himself from the unknown.

He doesn't want to invite trouble, and he's scared of who might be pulling the strings with this royal conflict.

"Maybe he just thinks it was a ghost," Noir offered, gesturing the to mansion, "Given the precedent of his work environment? The mundane often don't know what they're truly dealing with."

Linden was putting up a good front, face serious and largely neutral; unfortunately for them, their unease came out in little nervous gestures and the conspicuous stillness they held themself with. They were out of their depth, and trying to process quickly on limited information.

After introducing themself they listened to the exchange between Kai and Noir in silence, eyes flicking back and forth between the speakers and arms coming to rest across their chest. Swiftly information they thought had belonged in one place shuffled into another, and the picture was starting to look a little different.

"About the haunting: have you had a chance to speak with Agrippa yet? They'd want to pick your brain, and discuss what they saw." They gestured loosely back the way they'd come, where they believed the others to be. "Bit of a smooth move, making it look like ghosts are to blame. I'd imagine there aren't a lot of folks who could pull that off."