Of Rooftops and Alley Ways

[Malcolm Green]

The mountain moved.

Quite frequently. When he wasn't moving his meagre possessions from rented apartment to rented apartment, he was walking the streets of the city; sometimes his patrols took him around the borders of the Freehold; sometimes he wound his way through the claimed territory of the Seasonal Sovereigns; other times he ventured further afield. And sometimes, he would follow a hunch and hunt.

For some days now, he had been criss crossing an area close to down town. It was a spot filled with back alleys and little, hidden, streets. Out of sight, out of mind, rubbish and general refuse had accreted as surely as plaque. Old air conditioning units rattled perilously from blocked off windows, thick with grime. Weeds struggled through cracked concrete.

Once the tight confines of the alleys would have presented a problem to the giant; less so now. While not deft by any means, Malcolm Green could at least manage to step around or over most of the accumulated junk that barred his path. He was accustomed to walking slow, and so was willing to soak up even more time carefully placing his steps. His frequent pauses granted him the opportunity to look up, which was his real goal anyway. What Green sought resided in the high places. Gargoyles were like that.

Eventually, their paths would have to intersect.

Gregory Vassagon

[Gregory]

The spry middle-aged Changeling perches on the edge of a low wall atop a roof. He overlooks a darkened construction site roped off from the general public by orange plastic netting. The stone foundation and metal girders are guarded by silent machines left by the departed workers. His eyes watch with mild interest as he makes his way down the length of the wall, hunched over like a vulture.

The alley stretches down one side of the building, a long narrow road that contains various shapes that could be refuse, dumpsters, or perhaps a homeless squatter much like himself. But one shape appears most unusual in the darkened alley, a large lumbering figure that has a familiar look to it. At its approach, Gregory begins his descent by the construction scaffolding to the ground below. His movements are confident and nimble, finding no danger in the heights he is accustomed to. By the time he reaches the ground the figure is closer now and likely to have seen him.

"Malcolm Green, good evening. What brings you this way in your strolling?"

[Malcolm Green]

"You. Got a proposal for ya." The mountain replies simply. For once the hard lines of his face are softened by a small smile. "I wanted to talk earlier but things got in the way. Not like I want to advertise all over the 'hold, if you follow."

He drew closer, making an effort to relax his mighty frame.

[Gregory]

"For me?" questions Gregory with a tilt of his head, struggling to meet the gaze of the towering giant.

"I'm afraid I don't follow. But if you desire conversation I will provide its ministration. What things have you to say to me, this old and wretched Gregory?"

[Malcolm Green]

Green raised a hand and went to stroke his beard. He seemed stunned that it was not there and turned to scratch at his stubbly chin (stubble more like thick grass clinging to a rock face) while he gave the Gargoyle a considering look.

"I walk the streets a lot, see. I walk 'em so I can keep an eye on the horizon, yeah. See if I can spot any danger brewing on the 'hold's borders. And you... well... you're always in the high places. So you'd see far, right?" With a steady effort, the big elemental sank into a squat, a fist resting on the ground. "Would you be interested in teaming up? You know, keep an eye out for weird stuff on the borders, like?"

[Gregory]

Gregory blinks slowly, one eye before the other as he processes the proposition. He is still as stone but only for a moment longer.

"Indeed, my fashioned form does suit me best atop the highest building crest. I've sworn my service thus, to ward off trouble and...heh, weird stuff," he breathes a light chuckle revealing a grin that possessed something between mirth and malice. "But a partnership I've no cause to refuse. Upon our first meeting I did sense a kinship of purpose between us. 'Eyes to the horizon. Keep watch for what is coming,' correct?"

[Malcolm Green]

Green inclined his head.

"Thats about right. Its a lonely job, yeah. So it would be nice to be part of a team."

[Gregory]

Gregory nods at this. "I've known such comforts, albeit briefly. And since you've come to me, I might share some sights I've seen. Some time ago I had encountered a woman who's nature I suspected to be otherworldly. This in the wake of a strange Dream that had come to me of ticking clocks and broken glass. If I venture as to her nature, an Elemental would I say, a swirling form of sand within a tall hourglass."

Gregory stretches his body, his hand in the air to illustrate a height well beyond him. "She wanted something from Nathan Griffin, but he refused to tell or give and so she left empty-handed. I know of no one such as this in the Freehold. It be suspicious. But at other times I watch the skies for fear of Dragon's fire. Thankfully there be no sign of any."

[Malcolm Green]

Greens mouth stiffened into a firm line. He lifted his hand to his face as if in thought. Shifty small eyes glittered like gems.

"Um... You want to tell me of this Dream of yours? They can be kinda private but this sounds like something we need to follow up on, yeah? If your gut tells you something ain't right, lets check it out."

For many months, Green had walked the streets of the city, seeking signs and portents. Now Gregory revealed this little mystery. Coincidence or Providence?

"You seen this woman since? And, like, where did she meet up with our friend, Nathan?"

[Gregory]

"It be not mine alone, this Dream. Others shared in it and they came to its call. Maredrauga, Tessa, Nathan, and Catherine too. The Dream was this, an aged shop, nestled away and worn away under years of time, the storefront windows shattered, and a pounding ticking of a clock. When I awoke I followed the sound and found the shop, though it be not so aged. It be a store of miscellaneous wares, donated by charity. We searched it and found its keeper, a kind elderly woman who tended it. But the ticking remained hidden, and we searched. And what happened next I am hesitant to say, for it disturbed me greatly."

He pauses with a sigh, remembering the old woman in her final moments.

"But when we did leave, a woman appeared, a mature blonde driving a yellow sports vehicle. She claimed to be a collector and wished for something that Nathan possesses, a Token, I believe, a pocketwatch. It has power, Malcolm Green, but I dared not claim it for myself for what I've seen it do. I feel she may well return for it. I have given my warning to Nathan but he seems confident to keep hold of it.

Gregory looks quite serious if a little nervous for revealing so much, but it would not do well to deprive a Freehold guardian of the telling signs of danger.