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Post by Kai Rose on May 12, 2021 19:32:34 GMT -8
Kai considers the political calculus briefly, her understanding of the Freehold's goings-on and the Spring Court that she enjoyed some degree of friendship with being run through as best as she could to do the math that Gavin couldn't.
To Eis's conclusion, she replied, "I'm not sure we have to do that right now, honestly. Human trafficking is disgusting and puts them on our list, but I don't take them for our murderer. They were hunting her and wanted her back, but I don't think they actually found her. I'm more with Gavin on this one. Someone dragging her out of the shit into something really comparatively pleasant and then..."
Spring Nonsense.
"A waiter at the Black Fish, eh, Oren?" Blink. "All right. It seems like that place might be relevant. Something to mark. What I want to know is what Tanner knows about the Bodhisattvas, and we can go from there. Fall checking in on the fruit production would be helpful. Who do you think made it, Gavin? Got anyone in mind?"
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on May 13, 2021 5:08:14 GMT -8
Lucas informed the party that he had been in contact with Roger and that the plate belongs to the rental. He also passes along Roger's advice to Gavin about staying cool because the Black Dragons were likely flexing on him.
Oren's updates gave Lucas even more political fodder to consider as he continues to shift pieces around in his head, trying to string together common threads. He knew they existed, it was a matter of figuring out the pattern of behavior involved so he could get a better sense for their motives. Once they were able to pinpoint the true motives, the rest of the pieces would come together. He tapped his pen against the note pad, switching his attention over to Gavin.
"I know you said that this ritual wasn't tied into the wards. However, there was the whole human sacrifice bit at Ostara, which included a field with corpses all over it, and then Yasmin was mixed in with the plant matter. Both the rite at Ostara and the magic used on Yasmin involved ephemeral energy as well. Do you think they could share the same loophole? Such as a human sacrifice covering the cost so they don't need to spend anything on their behalf? Queen Philicia put an end to human sacrifices at Ostara. It wouldn't surprise me if the Black Dragons or some other organization had been rounding up humans to offer them up to Spring and whoever else tapped into this particular brand of magic. Then when Queen Philicia said this was no longer acceptable, it was time to start dumping the bodies they had.
Take the Leviathan motley for example. Alexandrite produced evidence that they had created a ritual of their own using the Old Laws. There was also rumor that humans were somehow involved with maintaining the wards. The contracts being used in all of these instances could both fall under the same contract umbrella."
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Eis
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Post by Eis on May 17, 2021 2:12:56 GMT -8
Eis is relieved that Gavin makes is back intact. She eyes his disheveled appearance, but says nothing on the matter. What he has to share is more important. At least, as she'd hoped, he could indeed handle himself.
"An interesting thesis, Gavin. Symbolism tends to play a heavy role in things paranormal. Perhaps one of these Bodhisattvas could provide an answer as to the 'why' of the dedication. I doubt they would offer the information willingly, but I have a feeling that putting our finger on the pulse of their activity will lead us to something solid."
Political indeed. Spring and Autumn seem intertwined in this mess. Though her own Court seems to be on the side of right. After all, from what Kai had revealed, Tanner chose to intervene between the Bodhisattvas and the dearly departed Yasmin. And he paid for it. Despite not being able to draw that conclusion from the phone, she takes comfort in the blame shifting away from her comrades.
Lucas seems to have his own theories - specifically on the nature of the contracts enacted. If, indeed, it is something as simple as a contract. "This would be your area of expertise. The rest of us, sadly, lack the means of divining meaning from the energies of the dead." Or, at least, seeing it firsthand.
"They may not need to be removed from the equation. By us. Presently. But they present a complication. They're not likely to leave Gavin alone." she responds to Kai. The latter part of what Kai suggested, though...
"I could make it much easier to track down the source of the fruit." she says, since Kai has reinforced Gavin's idea. "At personal cost. But I can virtually assure success." What she has in mind would greatly inconvenience her, though. She'd rather conduct her ritual in private. But, perhaps, doing so in front of the other seasons' courtiers would foster trust. That would certainly keep Autumn 'out of the crosshairs'.
"We’ll need to make use of one of the classrooms. To keep prying eyes away. I’ve a contract that will be useful for our search. It requires I divulge something personal. I ask that we maintain professionalism on the matter.”
And never, ever speak of it again.
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Post by Tanner on May 17, 2021 16:52:58 GMT -8
The Twilit Page emerged, opening to the door to the classroom and squinting under harsh light of the LEDs. His eyes looked raw and there was bruising forming around orbitals and nasal cavity, and a general dampness that indicated he maybe ran from a quick shower?
Weird Autumn Rituals.
He wiped an errant trail of blackened blood from his nose with the back of his sleeve, producing the hastily typed note.
"So, I'm sure everyone here's aware of the political tensions between the courts?" Blink.
"I dug around and from my understanding, this is a spiritual organization that is bestowed some heavy gifts from Spring. Whether the Monarch welcomes it doesn't take away from the favour and opportunities. Um. I shall require an Onyx Oath-" he shook his head blinking as his accent shifted rapidly,
"Just a Pledge of Silence that keeps this information within the investigation. I don't want you guys taking heat digging into the Verdant Crown's secrets, even if it's Summer."
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on May 17, 2021 21:07:28 GMT -8
Lucas agrees to the pledge. He looks to see if everyone else agrees after reading the letter.
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Eis
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Post by Eis on May 18, 2021 2:57:23 GMT -8
Eis also agrees, and waits her turn to see the letter.
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 18, 2021 13:08:48 GMT -8
"Looking a little rough there my man. Who tuned you up?" he acknowledged the Twilit Page's condition, but in a tone that said he didn't have to answer, but interest was there. He was also curious as to why, but kept it to himself for the moment.
Gavin, ever eager to add to his learning, agrees to the pledge and takes his turn with the letter.
When Lucas raised the question, "Yeah, could be, but it could also be that the Verdant Queen chose to use the ending of Ostara to make that end to human sacrifices as a point and the rituals themselves were separate. I didn't see any hint of sacrifice being a thing on the surface of what we were seeing until the end, but even there it seemed disconnected and more of a backdrop. That's from a ritual perspective, and mostly from educated intuition. I have no idea about the politics in there though. If we had to make a snap decision, with current information, I'd lean away from a direct connection between the Ostara ritual, and whatever ritual this is--it'd be going with my gut though. Do any of you remember seeing anything fresh in that field? Seemed like planting over the old way to me, symbolically anyway. If we don't need to focus up and aren't in a rush, we could look into the connection, right."
He doesn't seem overly invested in either direction. He put his intuition out there knowing it wasn't entirely based on deductive reasoning that he could fully pin down to known facts. The attentive and knowledgeable would discern him to be comparing the known facts to a symbolic meta pattern--A heuristic shortcut--in his head. Possibly a biased one dreamt up by a scholar rather than an investigator. Who really expects a beast to rise entirely above its instincts anyway?
"If they were going to continue with it despite the Queen, I'd wonder if they needed to use that same spot we witnessed, or whether it could be anywhere else? The answer to that would require greater knowledge of the ritual."
Turning to Tanner, "Do you have any more of these Onyx oaths that might prevent you from helping us with your full knowledge, or perhaps one that might obligate you to warn others about what we know were we to tell you things?" He pointedly turns his head and looks at the various injuries to punctuate his meaning. Depending on his answer he looks to Kai for a read on whether or not to bring Tanner up to speed.
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Post by Kai Rose on May 18, 2021 13:43:15 GMT -8
Kai agreed to the Oath, indicating that her role in the investigation included her Knight before doing so to make sure the kid and the Wyrd weren't surprised. She wasn't here to be tricky. He knew who she worked for.
What she learned was remarkable and concerning. She stared into the void for a long moment, the tumblers beginning to turn and things beginning to click as she put two and two and two together to make six. "Tanner, you've been very helpful. Thank you very much. Just one question: did anybody bail on the group before Coronation?" It seemed like a very specific list. Given what the group might be doing, it seemed to Kai like staying with them would potentially be seen as problematic. Queen Philicia had been clear.
With respect to Tanner being read in, Kai shook her head. Reading in a witness was not good procedure and there were still signs of Autumn involvement. Tanner was a good kid, but he had objectives and bosses, too. "It's an active investigation, Gavin, and he's a witness. We can let him go on his way and theorize later. Unless there's any other questions any of you have for him... Tanner, thank you for your help. Are you okay?"
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Post by Tanner on May 18, 2021 17:39:21 GMT -8
"It's just the cost. I didn't get attacked or anything like that," he assured Gavin, embarrassed with the attention. His mood flowed like water, shrinking in his chair with a sudden bout of childish annoyance, like he was being accused of something, "Full knowledge of the Bodhisattvas...? Why would I know more?"
He shook it off, shoulders squaring as he sat properly. Black veins crackled across his vision as he levelled look to the Summer courtier, "Too wide of a net. I had to narrow it down to the finer points finding the needle was not lost- I can ask again if you need me to pop out again."
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Post by Lucas Chevalier on May 19, 2021 3:26:49 GMT -8
Lucas considered Gavin's words. He did not want to pigeon hole himself into one idea of what was going on, but his insight into the Twilight was still nudging him towards a connection.
"In Ostara, I activated my ability to see into Twilight. After the ritual went off, I was blinded by the immensity of the ephemeral energy that took place there. The plant matter that Yasmin was mixed was also giving off ephemeral energy. Unfortunately, I went blind before I was able to examine the plants. I don't think they need to be at the same location of wherever the rite went off, but they could be tapping into the same source from different locations."
He looked back at the paper Tanner handed them.
"The Broken Cage can apparently create glamour pools in both the Hedge and out here. Said glamour pools are making their magic and healing more potent. That sounds like a connection to me. They likely use these glamour charged wells for everything from the Rites in Ostara to the Wards that are used to protect us to maybe the more powerful contracts those who are more connected with the Wyrd use."
The more he reflected on it, the more it made sense in his head anyway. He shifted his attention over to Eis, having an idea of what contract it was that she wanted to use.
"If it's what I'm thinking you're wanting to invoke, we could use that contract in a lot of different ways. We could throw together everything we've learned so far to help you make a plan, then you focus on researching the fruit and the nature of these glamour wells as well."
His natural inclination was to be encouraging but his own magics presented that. The information they had collected so far plus Eis offer to use her contract meant they were no longer in a powerless situation. The Fairest knew himself well enough to know that a sense of powerlessness could mess with his mood. However, having something to hold onto that created a sense of purpose and productivity would help keep his mood on track.
He finally ended his contract, flushing all of the ice and chill out of his heart.
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Post by Eis on May 21, 2021 14:04:14 GMT -8
The subject of the Verdant Court's intentions and connections seems a volatile one. She could draw her own conclusions, as Gavin and Lucas have, but to what end? That isn't really what she cares about. Treading the waters around it seems unavoidable, with the involvement of the Bodhisattvas and the new information presented by Tanner; this much is true. And the oath they'd agreed to would hopefully buffer some of the potential political fallout. But. She isn't ready to make connections until she can prove them. Even if the majority of the Spring Courtiers and even Tanner are innocent of any wrongdoings, she doesn't see the gain in dragging anyone's shameful secrets into the open. Better to have all the pieces of the puzzle first. And she knows how to make that happen. That's it, then. She seems content with her decision and nods to herself, sealing the deal.
"A moment." she says, rather forcefully. She doesn't want to step an any toes or interrupt trains of thought - despite how jarring her seeming interruption may seem - but she needs to collect herself. The easy path would be to simply use the backdrop of their conversations to drown out what she has to say. But she feels that would only sully it. No, this has to be pure. A reminder that they're all working towards the same goal, regardless of what Season they've pledged themselves to. She knows full well that her words won't absolve Tanner or her own Court of suspicions, but they may just make the rest of them trust her a bit more.
Collected, prepared, and positively terrified of what comes next, she clasps her hands behind her back and begins. As she speaks, her words become solid, tangible things scrawled on paper. "I've lost so much. So very much. She must have, too. Yasmin. It's not so hard for me to imagine what it's like to fall into the circles she had before her end. She'd hit rock bottom. Nowhere to go but 'up'. Then she's promised a way to rise above it. And she accepted. Stupid girl." Her pitch and tempo rise as she continues. Her eyes turn almost wild as she dives deeper. "She trusted the wrong people! Honeyed words and promises of everything she so desperately hoped for. She left. Herself. Vulnerable. She didn't get thee chance to live long enough to learn the lesson I have... the Fear that keeps me intact. If she knew this Fear, as I do, she'd still be alive. And I Fear to let anyone close, lest I crawl back up from the very bottom and gain something else to lose." Her last comes out akin to a hiss under her breath. She breathes, but doesn't let her cadence be interrupted. "Yet what I Fear is also what I desire most. To feel good again. To feel safe with someone else, and do more than just... survive. I want to feel like I did when Abby was still alive." Now she does falter. Only for a moment. But it's clear that this was the hardest thing for her to reveal. She swallows hard, digging deep for the strength to continue. "And now we see, tragically, that Yasmin came close to having something to live for, again, and came to a horrific end. We must determine the parties involved in Yasmin's death, before they can do this to someone else. The Bodhisattvas are involved. This is clear. We must capture one of them and pull answers from them. They’ll answer for the mutilation of Yasmin’s body."
For a few, terrible seconds, she says nothing. She can't look at any of them. Instead, she takes up the parchment formed by her words.
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Post by Kai Rose on May 22, 2021 16:25:49 GMT -8
Kai glanced to Oren as Eis let out her deep prophecy and pulled forth power from the Wyrd. Dang, dude. It wasn't often people suggested capturing folks, but pulling information out of people sounded super helpful.
"...all right. Let's start smaller than a Knight and a Bishop. Oren, let's start with Komizucha. He's their occultist. Let's start with him. Track him, please, and we'll see what we can see. If y'all have stealth abilities, it'd be good to use them when we're nearby."
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Post by Krakenbox on May 24, 2021 11:21:39 GMT -8
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Post by Kai Rose on May 24, 2021 16:34:53 GMT -8
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