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Post by Wayland on Jun 7, 2021 20:22:53 GMT -8
This.
Sucks.
She'd been quiet. She'd been quick. She'd been more successful at evading attention than she had any right to be. Part of that was due to Gavin's clues, naturally, but she'd also done damn fine on her own while she followed his whispered directions and hidden signs. Until the last sign she received. Instructing her to stay put. In an alley.
That was a while ago now.
She has to stop herself from pacing. She has to focus to keep her breathing smooth and steady and quiet. Keep her heart from racing. Gavin wouldn't have parked her here without a reason. She doesn't want to risk compromising stealth by doubting him, or risk getting lost without him by moving on without his say-so. And she has the patience, the discipline, to wait.
But she doesn't like it. Not one bit.
She's as close to the edge of the alley as she thinks she can get and still be hidden in shadow. Her hands are empty for now, a lurking Ogre with an axe or a pistol at the ready could be taken badly if discovered and she's not here to piss off the Market's denizens. But the thoughts keep running through her head. Is there a problem? Is someone hurt? Does something need help? Is there something she should be doing?
Or is she just completely useless?
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Riley Sorsa
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Presence (3) Captivating | SL(1) Stylish Mantle (2)Spring | Status(1) Entertainment
Posts: 913
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Post by Riley Sorsa on Jun 10, 2021 6:58:57 GMT -8
It was beyond unnerving, almost sickening, to hear this Hob speak of such details of their life. How did it know?
The creeping dread ran up their spine, tingling at their nerves and penetrating the animal part of their brain. It was as if this thing had been stalking them...or perhaps it was magic. Which was worse.
They gritted their teeth and pushed the feeling away. Hopefully, Gavin and Wayland had found safety, the trade goods needed to be kept safe.
"I will decide for myself if I would suffer guilt, thank you." Riley wasn't signing up for anything under such vague and frankly shaded allusions.
"And what should I call you than? If we are to speak of possible exchanges"
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Post by Gavin Graves on Jun 10, 2021 19:44:43 GMT -8
Wayland felt Gavin's approach through the pledge, his pace was urgent. He stopped in front of her and there was a bit of a pause. He had been trying to speak, but Light Shy was protecting him from making sound.
After a moment's thought the contract ended and he stood before her more menacing than she had previously seen him. His claws were a foot long and glinting with an obsidian edge. Something had clearly happened.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. Archie was caught by a Huntsman. Not one for him though." Gavin wore a grim expression like he'd fully thought through an act of great violence and then didn't let it loose. It was bottled up and near the surface. "Riley revealed themselves to the Huntsman too," he added with a note of frustration. "It seems to know why we're here and learned more when Riley popped up--like intimate personal detailed things. I think we are still good. It's looking for something, obviously, focused on 'The Valley' where it couldn't go. So probably someone in the Freehold."
He was rattling off the update as quickly as he could. As Wayland looked like she was going to interject with a thought Gavin interrupted with an answer that would fulfill the obvious concern "It can't hurt them--Like literally can't. The Spring Bargain binds its hands from violence against any that aren't its primary targets, ANNNND before you suggest we just kill it. I already thought of that. If we do we'll mess up the local politics and the deal we're here to make will be extremely difficult." His voice was the only thing he could use to vent at the moment and he couldn't stop until he was finished. Gavin scanned a look off in their direction while continuing, "I'm pretty sure one of the Good Cousins is near enough by that there would be direct pressure on the Goblin King if we messed with this thing. Plus side, if the Goblin King fucks around, we have a leverage point over it. Archie and Riley need to figure out what it wants and placate it without selling out the Freehold or anyone in it. We can't help them."
He was finished and he took a few breaths looking to Wayland for suggestions now. It was clear Gavin felt there weren't many options and didn't want to suggest leaving them behind.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 10, 2021 21:35:34 GMT -8
There were cracks in the foundation. It wasn’t going away. Guilty by association.
He ignored Riley, the more they spoke the more they were implicated. That was dangerous for them.
“Fine, fine, fine, fine - you want to make bargains? You will take us to Goblin King in their truest form, no proxy or hiding. You will see that we make it there safe. And should any malicious fate befall our party you will be our instrument of revenge.”
Take them there and cut the tape. Make sure they don’t get jumped. And if any pulled something, deal with the Huntsman.
“I will then answer 3 questions about your query to the fullest extent of my current knowledge. No more, no less, no extra steps.”
Three was a magic fairy number, wasn’t it?
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Post by Wayland on Jun 12, 2021 13:44:18 GMT -8
Just because Gavin’s coming back doesn’t mean he’s alone, or at his liberty. Wayland is ready for trouble when she senses him entering the alley, staying in cover, prepared to pull a weapon if he must. But when he reveals himself and seems alone, she emerges to hear what he has to say.
The Huntsman is bad news, and the Ogre frowns. There’s an instinct; that she needs to be there. That she needs to stand between Riley and Archie, and what could hurt them. She ignores it. Big sister syndrome. Not always helpful. Takes a slow breath to refocus. Besides, as Gavin is explaining, it can’t physically hurt them just yet.
The thought occurs to her, as it must have to the Beast, that it might be for the best for he and she to simply move on; try to find the Goblin King and deliver their prize. It might be the best for the Freehold, anyway. Then again, the chances of actually finding the real Goblin King and making a successful delivery without complications will drop substantially without the Fairest and Darkling.
Besides which, she doesn’t want to leave them behind any more than he does.
“Right,” she responds simply to Gavin, keeping her cool despite some obvious agitation. “I’ll wait here as long as I can. But if I sense the three of you moving away, I’ll try to follow at a distance. You should get back to them, in case they need you.”
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Post by Krakenbox on Jun 14, 2021 20:14:03 GMT -8
Asking for something higher than the Huntsman would realistically agree to was a natural start point to a negotiation. Gedeihen casually prompts Archie off the 'three questions', explaining to the creature that it was ridiculous to expect a gentleman's agreement to have his client commit treason. The Huntsman leverages that it won't harass families, so as long as the Lost One in question honour the agreement and show diligence in their pursuit. It will not act under the banner of another, as it can only answer to its master, so seeking vengeance for the others were off the table, but it was fine to leverage its Title's favour to gain them a King's audience. The 'truest form' was deeper into the Market, however, on a level referred to as Pandemonium.
"I need you to find me a name," the Huntsman explained, steeping its fingers as it gestures towards him. "Peter Julian King hides under a new identity. A season of labour is agreeable, where we shall speak again come Autumn. Should my time be wasted, I would unfortunately need that time paid back by another, for a season. I will respect your Freehold's laws and not target those sworn to it."
Gedeihen shook his head, knowing Archie having his family targeted would be his undoing with the extension of blackmail, and what he really needed was for the Huntsman to swear off that all together. The Broker is straight in asking what could incentivize it to not interact with his client's family in any manner.
The Huntsman thought, head tilting before it finally produced a golden pomegranate. Knife-like digits pierce the flesh as it splits the fruit and offer's Archie one of the seeds, "Eat this and I will never harm or harass you, your motley, your family, and your motley members' family."
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2021 22:02:42 GMT -8
Well the summon was helping plenty already. Archie took heed and let the aide come, as it seemed he was simply bad at this. It didn’t bode well for his confidence moving forward. Though the nagging feeling in the back of his mind. The erosion of everything that was lingered, the threat to his family hung even lower. Frustration.There was no other option really. His steward had gotten them to the best possible location the deal could reach, beyond the points of his own failures. So here he was, left to consume the fruit. There really wasn’t another option. It was what it was. And now he straddled the line
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Post by Gavin Graves on Jun 15, 2021 22:29:54 GMT -8
"I'll see what I can do," he said without certainty there was much he could do without making things worse.
Gavin had waited the necessary time in the darkness to renew Light Shy. There was no way he was going to step foot in front of that thing unless the Beast was swinging to kill. Were that the case he would want surprise anyway.
When he was all set, he left Wayland to linger alone in the dark again and return to his other charges to see how they were doing as agreed.
Gavin strode up on the scene again after not too long. Their conversation was meandering in his direction anyway. Gavin was also extremely quick on his feet. The creature was still with them and a critical choice was about to be made. He observed in silence.
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Post by Krakenbox on Jun 19, 2021 16:16:38 GMT -8
The threats to Family and Memory make the choice easier than it needs to be. The Broker quietly prompted Riley to include protections for the rest and invoke the Wyrd — the Huntsman were not Changelings, and did not take a promise as an honourable act of mutual trust, and merely a contract to navigate its loopholes. Their mission wasn't viable if Wayland had to sit in the market with an invisible Gavin for the rest of the day. The Torchlight Rogue took the lead, its herald swooping ahead as Hobgoblins steered clear, nodding politely to the pair of Changelings as the dynamics changed. As promised, they didn't even seem to acknowledge the Ogre and Beast. The base of the fortress loomed on a great wheel, a still automaton blinking to life as they approached and already speaking to the swallow. The crowd of shouting hobs quickly parted, allowing them to cut the massive line. "A servant of the Last Unicorn seeks an audience with the King? Of course, friends! You're welcome here," she chirped, twirling amongst the group with a flourish as a script appeared in her hands. "The agreement is as follows: our guests are free to trade as they see fit, and may haggle with whatever means they feel is necessary. If the Lost feel the need to escalate negotiations towards violence or magic, understand that the King Machina enforces the law of retaliation!"An eye for an eye. As the paper is signed, the signatures were burned into the binary punch card as it was fed into the structure itself, before spitting out a new document. As passes are given, the automaton waves to Gavin, "Welcome back, child of Autumn," she hummed. The Beast wasn't really sure what that meant, but a pass was given to him before he had a chance to sign. Liquid light travels up the structure like a circuit board of lava, before a guttural grinding shook the group down to the teeth. The hole at the top slowly spun like a gear on a clock, dropping the entrance to ground level—large enough to fit giants.
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