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Post by Philicia on Apr 30, 2022 22:27:01 GMT -8
Major games of the evening wrapped and their social calls having come to conclusion, the Outback motley was lead by one of the hob dwarf rabbits to the Queen's corner where many drunken revelers had taken to dancing underneath the floral canopy. Ivory was sharing a drink with Queen Uriel of all people, as the latter snorted into her glass with the Knight of Scales being gang pressed into trying to keep up with Queen Philicia, while Lancelot and Kai traded off. The Chatelaine wasn't shy about quietly offering Solomon tips, and everyone seemed quite hammered at this point of the evening. Noticing that the trio had arrived, Phil finished up and dragged Ivory over to replace her. Uriel kept the privilege of Judge for best performance, waving off any potential public embarrassment with the flare of her potent Mantle. "Hallo! Thanks again for hosting, mister Henley," she chirped, waving them over to an open table with bottle service already prepared and a lack of immediate listeners. "Mister Gavin, mister Hua, glad I can finally meet you two properly. It's been a few exciting months, and you've done so much for this Freehold that I'm sure you've hit the other side of social awkwardness where people don't approach you as much." It was a subtle shift, between barely being noticed to Freeholders being self conscious of approaching the group when they were likely busy or had more important people to speak with. The hobgoblin fussed with fixing the train of her gown while another in a tuxedo started pouring the iridescent champagne. Gavin and Yuan's hair stood up on end as their keen senses caught the sonic undercurrent of a colossal feline growl behind them, pacing unseen. Apparently she was not unguarded as she seemed. Her doll-like doe eyes were animated as she spoke, having fun with the brief encounter and allowing some dialogue to run between them before she broached more serious topics. "So, I suppose the question has come up in your line of work on how we are to deal with the Devil in the Market," she said. The drop of a remaining Keeper was slid into the conversation without a shift in tone, the God Machine Oracle's casual grin never dropping.
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 1, 2022 20:55:46 GMT -8
"Majesty. That is quite the detailed raiment you are wearing. Nuanced even. Like you are wearing a number of stories at once."
"Seems like you made some Onyx friends and short-circuited a long prophesized fate by ... fulfilling it in an unexpected manner? Which came first, the wedding or the funeral?" He raised an eyebrow with a quizzical smirk. A fate that said a wedding would occur meant one could predict where two entities would be standing at a given moment. An appointment with a ring could also be an appointment with a knife. Much can happen with that constellation of elements.
When the Queen raised the issue of the Market Gavin had done a lot of thinking on the matter ahead of this unexpected meeting. "The configuration" a hesitant pause hung in the air as he pointedly looked at the familiar Oracular markings wore among her regalia and the potent Mantle worked the detail free, "... Andromeda left Sunset Canyon in, will be coming to an end soon, if it hasn't already." Gavin repeated the historical veiled warning the Goblin King offered, sustaining eye-contact after dropping her name.
"Machina intends to return to the role of steward somehow." Gavin wasn't sure if it would be to the Queen's other moniker, Andromeda or from where the machine beings both likely broke away from. Given the creature's threatening tone, it was likely the latter. He wanted Philicia to fill in some blanks though. "It's trying to break free from its duty to Pandemonium's throne and it will sell us out to that 'Devil' if left alone too long, yeah." The parallels between Machina, Philicia, Mitch, and The Archon of Blades were sliding into place for the Beast. Having read several Kabalistic texts in support of breaking The Elysian Fields' curse, the biblical themes and machine shapes aligned too well to ignore anymore. "The Keeper is likely pawing its way through a number of potential heirs vaguely searching for a puppet to place on the seat, or to easily subsume to turn the market into an operating base to gather resources and launch forays back into the Other Place. I figure it will slow cook that effort and simply make changes and use Sunset Canyon to its purposes regardless of fulfilling Machina's desires."
The Razorhand studied the expressions of the Monarch as he spoke and when she responded. There were additional devils within the details to be identified. He wanted to know them.
He had suggestions about the matter, but wasn't about to spill everything at once given his uncertainty about the Queen's background. She may have ensnared Machina to break herself free. A statue of her in the Market and an ill will toward her painted a general shape. Without details, someone like that was not to be blindly trusted.
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Post by Henley on May 2, 2022 20:13:58 GMT -8
Henley bowed to the Queen in a particularly extravagant fashion when she complimented his hosting, a hand trailing behind him like a gentleman of yore. It was a playful gesture, not too solemn, but not disrespectful, either -- ultimately, his Season was about to be ascendant and she was its Avatar. He accepted a drink and raised to the group as they walked away.
"Of course, your Majesty. I think people needed a reminder of what they're fighting for."
Whether it was freedom, or love, or want, or community or any number of other things, a party like this was a great place to let loose and remind oneself of it.
The discussion moved to a variety of topics. After the small talk, the Queen got to the point: the Market. He flashed a grin. "I suppose so. Call me motivated to finish the job. How does one replace a King, at any rate?"
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Post by Philicia on May 7, 2022 20:03:09 GMT -8
"Oh, is that all?" the Queen asked as Gavin went over what he knew, "That's simple. Sounds like we would have to outbid the Keeper, then."
Philicia seems confident in the information or plan she appears to be buttering them up for, however what interests Gavin is the slight spike of instinctual fear. It reminded him of the same expression he sometimes saw on Henley and Yuan when they were blazing the Hedge, where death had been accepted as a potential outcome but was promptly being brushed off in favour of the experience.
She spoke of Kai as a positive influence on the stuffy Summer Knight, having inserted Buck into working with his office and by extension, Lancelot. It had eased some of the burnout on Lucky Jack and the heavier ranking forced some perspective that wasn't just years of jaded Vegas problems. He was also apparently a talented equestrian and his Squire had ran with that in dragging more courtiers into his workspace under the guise of business calls. Kai's bubble had also expanded where the pressure of the Freehold's social deviance was being balanced my Ivory and Buck's Spring influence.
There was rumours of flooding from the mire where the Title had rampaged, and the Hags were quite frustrated about the whole business to complain to Philicia in person. Sink holes and unstable marshlands made the shipping routes with Sunset Canyon unreliable, which Gavin had likely just started running into. There was also some rumblings from the Goblins that She-Who-Conquers had descended from Its spire after the land around It was torn asunder, which means that King Machina would likely start calling in ancient pacts and favours from Indra's conquest before he lost some holdings to the blight. The rise of Goblin warlords would certainly make other Freeholds nervous, but Vegas had some old understandings established. What made her more concerned was Debt inevitably being used as a draft.
To the question of Andromeda, she cheekily answered that she was a Greek princess who got chained to a rock by Poseidon after her mother bragged that she was hotter than the naiads, and now a galaxy was named after her.
"One replaces a King by killing it for a new one to manifest among its subjects, or giving it a child. To be honest I think they just steal a child anyway, rather than people hoping the Goblins quietly elect or fight over a new leader."
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 9, 2022 22:26:50 GMT -8
"I think Andromeda was from Ethiopia and she was later taken to Greece after being rescued from the rock by Perseus. We've got a Sea Nymph of Greek legend right here. I wonder how Andromeda would stack up being compared to this handsome devil. Would her mother be so bold as to make that claim having seen him first?" Two could play at being cheeky. He gestured toward Henley before coyly smiling back at Philicia.
"Yeah, very simple. Just a small matter of outbidding a Fae when Machina merely demands a child with enough mental substance that it won't be entirely dissolved by the deleterious effects of the Hedge." Gavin put into unequivocal words the nature of the deed required. "Unless you were thinking someone assassinate the creature that lives inside an enormous metal safe and surrounds itself with several remote controlled sword legged centipede automata. That's just assuming the dozens of other layered defenses were avoided. I would assume you have a better plan brewing." The goal after all was to oust the Title from the market, not necessarily to cycle the Goblin Monarch so there was plenty more possible approaches to the problem.
Gavin had his own idea for how to handle this situation, but he wanted to hear hers first. The Razorhand's idea was fraught with raw temerity and a layer of repugnance. He worried what others would think of him to even suggest it. Well, maybe not Henley, but most others. Who would easily approve of feeding a child to the Hedge's alien societal structures? What if it were one that was once a Huntsman? Huntsman for the Title to be exiled from the Market.
The Emerald Queen might not object too loudly either. Were that the case, would it be for the right reasons though?
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Hua Yuan
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Presence 2 - Nostalgic; SL 1 - Flawless
Posts: 304
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Post by Hua Yuan on May 10, 2022 18:21:10 GMT -8
Whatever else was happening around him, Yuan kept smiling. He smiled when the Queen addressed him. He smiled when Henley asked for gossip. He even smiled through the mention of mire and spire.
"Um. I've never been to the Market, and I'm honestly having a hard time keeping up with the conversation," he confessed bashfully.
Still, he wasn't completely without knowledge. "I've also followed on some other rumours, your Majesty. About middle nobility forcing less influential Courtiers into indentured service. Reuben was the name I dug up." The Playmate shot a look to Heney, who had shared a poker table with the Magpie. The Beast was driven by a want to be helpful.
"But it's strange, because from what the Wyrd has shown me, he's actually been cooking books to keep Changelings out of the Market's hands. He's trying to preserve his assets and doesn't want to get involved in the current power struggle, but at the same time, he doesn't want to lose more Spring to Goblin Debt."
"Sorry. I don't mean to change topics. It's just- you had mentioned a draft."
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Post by Henley on May 11, 2022 22:54:59 GMT -8
The information that Philicia provided in their chit-chat was interesting. The fact that Rose had actually gotten Solomon to stop being fucking awful all the time was nice to hear. Frankly, it was weird to him that Spring had blessed the prickly Fairest, but the fact that he was getting tied in with Buck made sense. The shipping routes, on the other hand, were bad news. So was the descent of the True Fae. It just meant the Hedge was going to be a shitshow for a while. Especially with Lost being dragged in by their Debt. He nodded and looked thankful when Yuan dropped his information about Rueben.
At the notion of giving a child to the Market, however, Henley's face went neutral before he lowered his tone and hissed, "I know a little bitch I would feel nothing about chaining to that Throne to end the Lantern once and for all."
The hiss became a wicked, Ogrish sneer.
"She'll be back. Soon. The Chevaliers can't kill her forever."
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Post by Krakenbox on May 14, 2022 19:33:42 GMT -8
Philica snorted at Gavin's joke, sobering up as Yuan expressed the potential localized slaving, looking up as she mused on what 'cooking the books' meant and how someone would go about pulling that off with Goblins.
"Changing topics? Don't worry about it, we can circle back..."
Her larger than life eyes reflected a night sky blocked with light pollution. "All I can think of in that regard is that our Magpie is having other Emeralds perform tasks and gathering artifacts that would appease dangerous Debt demands...like outsourcing. Maybe he is breaking up the load or playing shells with who owes and knows, so Debt isn't accumulating when we reject what a Goblin demands of us. Which would, unfortunately, force some screws to be put to courtiers who don't want to. Which also isn't exactly Best Practice for our people. Would you be interested in figuring out his situation? My direct interference will likely cause him to squirrel the operation and collapse the lead you have."
Rueben was very good at that sort of thing.
The doll blinked at Henley's comment, "Well that sounds beneficial. Would that be your Huntsman?"
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 20, 2022 21:30:23 GMT -8
It seemed Henley and Gavin were both under the same shadow with respect to the child Huntsman. For Henley it was obviously from his personal stakes in the matter. Revenge would merely be the bacon crumble on the twice baked potatoes. Gavin had a profoundly occult reason for the girl being the subject for the attempt as well as a moral one. It would be easy to roll with vengeance as a sufficient cause to select her, but in order for the endeavor to work and obligate Machina into displacing the Title from the Market before passing the crown, the replacement needed to survive the deleterious effects of the Hedge. Very few young minds would have the resilience to withstand the warp and weave casually tearing into the soul and maintain sentience. An extended period spent as a Huntsman, it was his estimation, qualified her as most likely a viable candidate. The moral reason he clung to for picking the Huntsman was to avoid the thinking about what it would mean to consider any other option.
The Beast raised an eyebrow and Henley's suggestion. He was slightly disappointed that he didn't get to hear the Queen's suggestion before his own plan had made it into the conversation.
He quietly observed the back and forth about the Spring interests, and perked up at the mention of the odd shuffling of debt and Goblin trades. Gavin was a regular face around Aftermath, putting in his time as a bouncer for visitors from the other side. A shell game of the magnitude implied would require Hobs with rather fluid means of appeasement, or perhaps a wide network of mixing an matching demands and playing broker in the middle to manage it all.
Of course, The Broker. That damned cat, Gavin thought to himself. The creature was frequently seen in the Magpie's presence at the club. Though The Broker only dealt in one commodity, it was an easily traded one. Easy as money. If there was a scheme that profited the wily Magpie, it might involve an exchange of something one Lost had in plenty to answer the debt of another's with the premium paid in information which the Magpie could then trade with the Broker for yet more information and rumours. The man would naturally become a hub tapping and fueling the information trade. Freeholders would feel less concerned about speaking with one of their own than the Cat and think little of it as a premium toward easing the grip of the Hedge's hungry talons, but rarely freeing them.
"It might be a debtors' swap racket with information paid to the Magpie for the service, which he then filters through The Broker for whatever he's after." The Freeholders' unwise choices were his source of currency if that was the case.
When the subject turned back toward the Goblin Market and its Monarch, "That's going to be a extremely tall order," the expert occultist offered with authority.
"She's a proven mind to weather the Hedge, for sure, but she's bound to task by an affiliated Title. To possibly meet the requirements of the Sunset Canyon throne, she would have to be freed." It was unlikely either of his Motley mates knew what that would mean. Perhaps the Queen was aware. The Beast scanned her features for a hint of knowing, or contrarily surprise at the suggestion.
"We have to find her heart that has been displaced by the presence of The Title which has been hidden in the Bastion of another mortal. For that we need rarified knowledge about the moment of her binding. That's just that start of it. It gets progressively more esoteric and dangerous from there. May as well be battling one of Them. Again, really." Any attempt of the kind risked unwilling Loyalism several times over.
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Post by Philicia on May 23, 2022 19:06:56 GMT -8
Philicia blinked, not showing signs of what Gavin was coding in his emphasis. "Or, you free the Devil, which will annihilate the Title. Maybe that would resolve Its influence."
She sniffed, "The other way sounds like a lot of busywork when I just want to resolve the Title and subdue Machina's designs. If the Goblin Queen that comes of it is under the purview of a Title, I suppose she will have an army hunting her target. But we can split the bill if that should come to pass. The Market can be worked. A proxy is better than any Keeper in our immediate realm and I think we need to be a little practical about this."
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Post by Henley on May 26, 2022 21:37:26 GMT -8
It all sounded pretty fucked up, to be honest. Which version of awful would they be committing?
"I mean, fuck. We could just as easily help a terminally ill kid at the hospital into eternal life. Save a life, while we're at it. It's going to be a fucking nightmare to free the Child-Knight, and grabbing any other kid who would otherwise die would require Gavin to dodge precisely zero flying giant swords to pull off."
The Ogre shrugged.
"And before we go there, it's a pat answer to say, well, her life is fucked anyway. Sure it is, but I don't see how the Huntsman's life is worth any less than any other kid's when the Title is removed, even if I fucking hate that bitch. So. Which version of awful do we want to pick? I can't claim to have the moral high ground on any of this, frankly. The price I was willing to pay for my Title was a lot higher than one child."
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 27, 2022 19:59:18 GMT -8
Annihilation of a Title? Gavin could get behind that. "'Freeing the Devil,' you say. Are you referring to a specific Bane we might use to accomplish another Title's dissolution?" He knew that the involved quest to 'free' a Huntsman didn't actually free it fully, merely made the Title less ascendant in its mind. Usually only the completion of its tasks could truly free it, but perhaps the destruction of the Title would accomplish the same result. It would make sense, but the Wyrd could be complicated with respect to interpretation of Oaths. The base person behind a Huntsman was hardly a willing participant though and the Wyrd tends to require agreement for it to bind, but they were creatures of exception in their formation. "Or are you suggesting we seek out the possibly truly freed Huntman that may have formerly drawn its power from the now destroyed Elysian Fields?"
His specialized occult knowledge had gave him an edge in understanding the patterns behind the Verderers' creation and how they might be undone, but did not help him to identify the particular Title empowering any such creature without an extended investigative effort. The collection of Titles flying in loose formation that comprised any given True Faerie did not exactly announce the quantity the Freehold would have to contend with. The destruction of The Elysian Fields Title could have removed one of its Huntsmen's powers and ended its tasks; if so, 'which one' was rarified intelligence of some worth with the freed person possibly having valuable information to use against the remnants of the now lesser constellation of Titles he or she formerly was bound to serve. If it was the Child Knight, she may already be dead due to the bounty and Summer's will to act.
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Post by Krakenbox on May 28, 2022 20:32:36 GMT -8
"The Devil is the King, for he resides in Pandemonium to reign over the treacherous spirits of the Hedge. You saw her, yes, the Packmaster? She heralds the Bhargests that have wandered from their master's Wild Hunt." Philicia tilted her head, "Your Huntsman could be Queen if freed of her task. She must return you to the Keeper, and yet we've witnessed an event that spun ourselves from nothing. Lots of loopholes, I think, if you're ambitious enough." The smell of sap and bloom flowed from her words as she mused aloud.
"She is still a child. A hollow heart is already a Hob, as far as the denizens would be concerned, but for the Title taking up space."
The Queen chose not to push the potential social suicide of agreeing with an emotional Ogre that babe stealing is acceptable in polite society, but she didn't admonish his Desire.
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Post by Henley on May 30, 2022 13:13:40 GMT -8
Henley rubbed at his cheek, clear concern writ on his face. Even destroying elements of the Fae couldn't end the chase. It was absolutely mind-boggling how difficult it was. If they freed the child-Knight, would that end it? Or would there just be some new victim, some new pursuer?
"The kid will be back. If it's information we need to get her out from under this, I can summon the Broker. His client is usually the Hedge, but..." He snapped his fingers twice. "His loyalties can be bought, at least temporarily. Nothing's cheap with that little shit, but there is more than enough drama about to pay his bill. Someone will pay the price in scandal."
He glanced to Gavin and the Queen.
"How do you want to play it? I'm not desperate to put myself near the Knight. Going to have to stay behind the Wards for this one."
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Post by Gavin Graves on May 30, 2022 20:08:46 GMT -8
Henley really was not going to like his idea then.
"Yeah, no. The loopholes we need to scamper through for this. Woof. I have an idea ... " He stared apprehensively at the Ogre for several seconds.
He crinkled his face up with a nervous grimace, one eye essentially shut "Right, so my quick math here says we need to have the Child Knight, The Last Unicorn, and Machina in the same room, oh and the part you don't want to hear, you too. The Child Knight would have then fulfilled its task to bring you in thus truly freeing her. She while free, could then be a valid Monarch for the Pandemonium throne. Sating Machina's demand for a valid heir, it could then be obligated to expel The Last Unicorn and any of its remaining agents from Sunset Canyon, probably into the waiting maw of whatever aspect of War Machine is desolating the area nearby."
He looked away toward the Queen for respite from the daggers he was expecting from his friend before looking back. The idea of playing fifth dimensional chess against a True Fae with his friend at the center of the play was starting to do a number on his stomach.
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