Winter is Coming
When we last left our heroes, Erendil, Edward, Pensius, Chamone, Toby, Jenny, Lorien
and Lady Tourmaline were examining Mel's workroom for clues to his disappearance.
They heard a faint scratching at the door. They opened the door and Socrates staggered
in. The trembling rat weakly croaked out "Winter is Coming", and then fell
over and started to fade away. Lady Tourmaline quickly asked for Lorien's knife,
and cut her hand open with it. As her blood dropped onto Socrates, his shimmering
form began to tkae on more substance. Chamone dropped her magical pearl necklace
over the rat, which also seemed to shore up the fading rodent.
While Socrates recovered, our heroes discussed Edward's attempt to track Mel. Edward’s
use of a dose of magical faerie dust allowed him to follow the trail for some time,
but the trail ended up petering out in Ramona. Jenny found a Thomas Bros. map, and
quickly located the area where Mel’s trail ended. Jenny then went to Mel's room and
found a few scraps of clothing Mel evidently missed when he was by earlier to remove
his belongings. She also found a mutilated ninja action figure and brought both items
down, thinking to use them as a pendulum for divining Mel’s wherabouts. Tourmaline,
who practices the art of Soothsay, used a cantrip to power the pendulum, which gradually
pointed out Mel's location. Socrates, who was now on his way to recovery, told them
that he found Mel with a group of other childlings and a few sidhe in a large house
in Ramona. Socrates had trouble remembering very much, but said that the members
of the group were all dressed in identical white garments. He recalled that the place
felt horrible and alien to him, as if it were steeped in the forces of banality.
Lorien said that this could be consistant with the aura of a stronghold of Dauntain,
twisted fae who serve the forces of banality. The knight advised the group to send
out a scouting party to assess their foes strength and position. Lorien volunteered
to go, as Dauntain hunting is his sworn duty. He took Edward along, since, as everyone
knows, coyote pookas are very good at sneaking. Franklin eagerly volunteered to go,
but Lorien suggested he stay behind as he seemed a bit too eager for combat to be
a good scout. Erendil decided to run an errand of his own, and he and Giselle departed
shortly.
Edward and Lorien drove to the Mel’s last known location, bringing a revived Socrates
with them. It was in a rural area past Ramona, at the end of a dirt road off of the
main two lane highway. Edward parked the truck in a grove of nearby trees and asked
Socrates to stay there, as he was still too weak to do anything strenuous. Lorien
used a Fuddle cantrip ("Truck? What truck?") to hide the vehicle from prying
eyes.
After they got out of the now invisible truck, Lorien's chimerical owl swooped down
and landed on his shoulder. Lorien listened to the bird and told Edward that the
owl had spotted a large, ranch-style house down at the end of the dirt road, past
a large hillock. There was a nearby barn and several horse corrals, though no horses
or other animals were there. Edward and Lorien used FlickerFlash cantrips to move
quickly and to quietly take up positions near the house. As they began to watch the
house, Edward thought he heard a noise about 20 feet behind him and slinked away
to investigate As he came closer to the source of the noise, he heard it again, this
time farther off. He continued to this mysterious sound until he figured out that
he was being led in a wild goose chase. He raced back to their scouting location,
only to see Lorien being lead, apparently willingly, into the house by tall, white-haired
sidhe clad in a white robe and cape. Lorien's owl watched nervously from the trees,
hopping back and forth with uncertainty. Edward charged towards Lorien and grabbed
ahold of his jacket just before he reached the door of the house. The tall, white
haired sidhe turned to Edward and said, "You really don't want to do that, do
you? I can find much better things for you to do inside , where you can meet your
new friends".
As the man talked, Edward started to feel his will growing weaker and weaker. A feeling
of listlisness came over him. He dropped Lorien's sleeve and looked up at the knight’s
face. Lorien looked blank and purposeless. Edward felt himself slipping into a numb
state of despair. He shuffled into the house, dully noticing the people around him.
Most appeared to be childlings, but they did not play and laugh as childlings should.
Instead, they seemed absorbed in boring, repetative tasks such as washing the same
dishes over and over, or stacking coins into stacks until they filled up an entire
table. Edward, seized by an impulse to begin some aimless activity, took out some
tobacco and cigarette paper and began to roll a cigarette. A long while later, Edward
realized that he hadn't moved for quite some time. And he continued to roll cigarettes,
one after the other. He felt a vague sense of disquiet about his situation, but found
it hard to muster up the initiative to do anyhting abou it. His initiative grew,
however, as his nicotine urge struck. He focused on the cigarette in his hand, concentrating
on his need for nicotine. He began to feel less listless, and decided to see what
else was in the house. After a bit of aimless wandering around, he came upon a locked
room. He felt that something very interesting was behind the door, but couldn't muster
enough enthusiasm to do more than try the knob. The door was locked. Edward, again
overcome with depression, decided to sit there and roll cigarettes until something
happened.
Meanwhile, back at the temple, Franklin, Chamone, and Jenny discussed the situation
while Pensius took a walk with Tourmaline in the temple gardens. Toby devoured a
microwaved haunch of beef, the most normal of his meals in a very long time. When
Pensius and Tourmaline returned to the main house, Tourmaline answered the other's
questions about dauntain.
“Dauntain” said Tourmaline, “are one of the greatest foes we face here on Earth.
They are so powerful because they are, literally, fae themselves. Sometimes, something
goes wrong when a faerie soul emerges in a mortal body, during the Chrysalis time.
If the newly-born changeling is in the custody of those who live by banality’s code,
such as child psychologists, law enforcement personnel, or especially bad parents,
the changeling may not fully realize what he or she is. Cut off from his people and
surrounded by darkness and despair, the childling sometimes turns on his inner nature,
his faerie soul, and tries to purge himself of everything that makes him special.
Such a one, really but a victim as a child, sometimes grows into a hunter as an adult.
Twisted by years of denying his very nature, the changeling metamorphosizes into
a dauntain. These dauntain often seek out other fae, to either drive them out of
their mortal bodies and create more soulless creatures like himself, or to destroy
them in a hateful rage, as they are something he cannot be rid of in himself.Rarely
can these lost sould be returned to the Dreaming; more often they must be fought
and overcome by our people. Sir Lorien, as you know, is a knight of the Unbroken
Circle, one of a few puissant warriors charged to hunt down and destroy Dauntain.
Dauntain are usually too powerful for the average band to changelings to take on
themselves.
“There are other sorts of Dauntain as well. Some are those who have chosen a dark
path freely, bleeding away their connection to Glamour and the Dreaming by using
banality as if it were an Art. These Black Magicians are greatly to be feared. Others
choose another dark path to walk, that of a kinslayer. Any fae who feels a rage against
another so strong that he swears the Oath of Undoing and pledges to destroy the faerie
soul of another changeling, takes an irrevokable step down the path of the Dauntain.
If that Oath is fulfilled, the fae who does so becomes Dauntain himself. I have heard
it told that, if the oathtaker does not take the final step of killing his enemy,
he may be able to arrest his descent into destruction. I know of no one who has actually
avoided this fate.”
As Lady Tourmaline grew silent, the group realized that it had grown rather late.
Lorien and Edward had been gone for quite some time. Alarmed, Tourmaline called Duke
Valerian and let him know about Edward and Lorien's failure to return and the group's
suspicions that dauntain are involved. Valerian told them to be careful, and if possible
not to confront the dauntain directly until more help could arrive. He promised to
send people over, but it would be awhile before anyone would be able to get there.
Unfortunately, the nearest force of Duchy knights were Tormentil's people. As Tormentil
and Lorien are bitter enemies, they decided it might be best not to call the Count.
Tourmaline tried to make contact with a few of Tormentil's people she believed they
could trust, but couldn't arrange to get anyone out that way until later that night.
Chamone’s sensitive ears heard a tapping at the window. She went to open it, and
let in an owl. Chamone used a Primal cantrip to speak with it. It told her that it
is Lorien's friend, and that Lorien and Edward were in trouble. It said it could
lead them to the house in Ramona if necessary. The group decided to split up and
have Pensius and Tourmaline attempt to bullshit their way in (or at least cause a
distraction) while the rest went round the back and try to break in. Toby put on
his Sargent Slaughter™ combat suit. They all got into Pensius's car and drove to
the Dauntain's nest.
When they arrived at the dirt road, they saw no sign of Edward and Lorien. Tourmaline
spotted the truck, even though it was hidden by Lorien's cantrip, and revealed it.
They found no one inside, not even a rat. They finalized their plan. Pensius told
Chamone to go with Jenny and Franklin, and to stay out of any fights. Pensius and
Tourmaline cast rather intricate cantrips to disguide themselves as Child Protective
Services agents. As Pensius and Tourmaline made their way to the front door of the
house, the rest of the group used FlickerFlash cantrips to take up their positions
at the back of the house. As far as they could tell, no one had spotted them.
Pensius and Tourmaline made it to the front door unchallenged, and promptly knocked
on it. They introduced themselves as "Mulder and Scully, Federal Child Protective
Services" and asked about all the children that are reported to live there but
never went to school. The dull-eyed child who answered the door tried to tell them
to go away, but they loudly pushed their way in. As they struggled to get past the
people who suddenly appeared in the entryway to block them, they heard a powerful
voice ask "Why do you struggle, my children? All are welcome here. Please, come
in and stay to hear what we have to say." With those words both Tormaline and
Pensius felt a dull calm settling over them. Both fought against the growing feeling
of unconcern and listlessness, but lost the battle. They willingly went with the
house’s inhabitants to what appeared to be the living room. There a white-haired,
white-garbed sidhe awaited their coming. He greeted them as newcomers and asked them,
in that same, powerful voice, to sit down. They did so, not noticing in their stupor
that Mel was sitting on the floor close to the man in white. They also didn’t seem
to notice Edward, sitting in a corner rolling and re-rolling a cigarette.
In the meantime, Franklin, Jenny, and Toby, hearing shouts from the front of the
house, charged the rear of the house. They engaged three white-clad guards in combat.
The fourth guard looked too listless to care about what was happening, so they ignored
him for the present. Jenny went to the back wall and prepared to cast a Portal Passage
cantrip, which would take her some time to finish. Franklin smashed one of the guards
with the flat of his blade, dropping him like a stone with one mighty blow. Toby
attempted to jump up on another guard and get a good biting grip on his face. He
failed once but bit off a good chunk of the guy's face on the second try. As Franklin
prepared to take on the remaining guard, Chamone, disobeying orders (what a surprise!),
jumped in the fray and prepared to kick the guard Franklin was about to engage. After
Franklin shouted "Get back, Chamone!" in the most authoritative voice he
can muster, he struck the guard. He and the guard exchanged blows while Chamone went
over to Jenny, who was in the final stages of preparing her cantrip. Toby joined
the fight against the guard engaged by Franklin, and tried to bite off his weapon
hand. Franklin and Toby took the man down a few seconds later, after they had dealt
him sufficient damage. Toby did not, however, succeed in biting his hand off, much
to his chagrin.
Franklin and Toby double-teamed the remaining guard (who still wasn't very awake),
only to notice Jenny and Chamone disappearing through the portal in the wall, which
closed behind them. Franklin uttered a curse as he realized that he and Toby must
now find their own way in.
Back in the living room, Father Winter (as he introduces himself) continued his sermon.
Tourmaline and Pensius watched as Father Winter called a sad-eyed sidhe to the front
of the room. Father Winter asked him if he was ready to take the final step to salvation
and join his friends in Arcadia. He muttered yes, and Father Winter took a beautiful
Fender Stratocaster and held it out the the sidhe. He took it and smashed it against
the brick fireplace, shattering it into a thousand pieces of wood and string. A palpable
shock rippled though the room as the watchers felt the sudden death of a faerie soul.
What little light was in the sidhe's eyes went out, and he dropped uncaring to the
floor.
The party attempting to get in the back way also felt the death of the sidhe’s soul,
as they sensed that somehow one more piece of magic had been lost forever. Jenny
and Chamone, having closed the portal behind them, found themselves in what appeared
to be a sleeping room with a few cots on the floor. They exited that room and worked
their way down the hall. Jenny noticed something strange about one of the doors in
the hallway. She opened the door and found herself in the midst of a treasure trove
of personal possessions and magical items, both chimeric and real. As she heard the
words of Father Winter's sermon down the hall, she decided to try to ask for divine
help to find something in the room that will help her. She turned around three times
and chanted, reaching out for whatever comes to hand.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Father Winter told them all to be glad, as “Aeric
has now joined his loved ones in Arcadia. What is left behind here is only an empty
shell, filled with banality as is proper in this banal world. Who else would like
to take a step back to Arcadia? The road is long and difficult, but the end is worth
any price.” With that two adults came into the room half-carrying, and half leading,
a dazed and confused Lorien, dressed in white like the others. Tourmaline and Pensius
noticed that he appeared to be fighting the feeling of lassitude that threatened
to overwhelm him, but that he wasn't winning. Father Winter helped his assistants
bring Lorien to the front of the room and propped him up between the two guards.
"We are fortunate today that a sidhe knight has come to us and seen the wisdom
of our ways. He is ready to take the first step on the road to Arcadia.. But he comes
to us with little of his own to sacrifice. Who will help him?"
A little sidhe childling said " I have a book, it is full of pretty pressed
flowers" she held it out to him. "Will it help him get back home?"
"Why yes, dear, it certainly will" said Father Winter, as he put the book
in Lorien's unresisting hand. He took a pair of scissors from the mantle and pressed
them into Lorien's other hand, urging him "take the blade, my son, and cut the
pages up. You will free their glamour to return to our homeland, and start your way
to your own path of redemption. Do it! Set your feet on the path of your journey
home!"
As the two guards held Lorien between them, his arm began to bring the book closer
and closer to the blades of the scissors. He appeared to be resisting as best he
could, but he seemed destined to lose. Just before the scissors touched the paper,
Tourmaline said, in bold mockery of Father Winter, "I can't believe you people
are falling for this! Look around you!" Her words, wrapped in an unknown cantrip,
shook the entire audience. Lorien's hands dropped the scissors as his head came up.
He looked at Tourmaline and said "Thanks. That's just what I needed" as
his arms came up to push his two guards away from him. Pensius and Edward also felt
the chains of banality drop off them as they became free to act.
Continued next time...
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