Spring and Fall

[Thomas Land]

Thomas sips his wine politely to cover his own nervous excitement. What a wonderful thing this is: all of them coming together for the purpose of finding out more about themselves, their abilities, potentials, histories... And the sense of belonging the Mole-Man feels. It's almost too much.

On the topic of contracts, he adds: "Like Mhairi, I've also tried to...expand my pool of contracts. To some success. But, hm, what I need to do is focus my efforts, yes. Push myself, and my research, to truly deepen my ties to the Wyrd and strengthen what bonds I've already made."

Sera's nervous tone is recognized and the little Beast understands, offering a kind smile. How often has he felt out of his depth? Well, he would strive to make her comfortable, welcome here. There are things all of them must learn. "The lore, materials, and, hm, histories that might prove valuable to us can be found, yes certainly, both here and there. Often in very, well, unexpected locales. Acquiring it might necessitate...negotiation with, um, various entities. Hobs, other Lost, stranger things..." His beady eyes twinkle. "Indeed, I think you might have much to offer in that area, Sera..." They all have talents to bring to the table.

"Just as Ingrid's...detective skills will serve us, hm, well, I believe," he adds, turning to the Darkling. "All of us, yes, all of us, have much to lend to our mission. Much to gain and much to give."

Turning back to Mhairi now, "Hm-hmmmm," he hums his agreement. "I think a pledge is just the thing. Let the Wyrd bind us tight, I say." Another sip of wine, the purple liquid staining his strange mole's lips.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

"Some could be found hung on a butcher's rack in a Market somewhere. Might be known all around where it's from, but not to those who pass through there. Or it could be in the deepest darkest parts of the hedge, or maybe it could be found yesterday or next year, or in the backpocket of a brutish hob, or any manner of places, yes," nodding to Thomas, "Both here and there....the Hedge is tricky....we all know that. It does what it will and sometimes...sometimes it just doesn't want us to know." Mhairi offers the Nix a shrug, it wasn't an easy answer, but it was the truth. There was a reason there was no Great Library of the Hedge Secrets, or Lore of the Lost or even greater mysteries...

...like a big fat book of ways to hack, cut and kill Them. Mhairi was sure it was out there. Somewhere. It probably was a book. But it was out there.

It had to be out there.

To Sera again her smile kind, "If we each weave our wyrd into it...then it's last as long as we do, but...." anything longer and Mhairi hadn't a clue.

Mhairi nods, huming in agreement. "Yes, all of us do."

A grin, a beaming on. "A Pledge. Good! Uh....would a traditional Motley Pledge be good, or should we re-work the wording, and....are we just going to keep calling ourselves a study group, maybe a more...uh. Intimidating name. Or a name that's more impressive, we're looking to negotiate with hobs and more...having something...more, might work in our favor."

[Ingrid]

"Hum. Well. I'm more for a Motley Pledge. Keep things... straightforward, you know. I guess if you feel there is a need to look at the language and tinker with the clauses, we could do that."

The Darkling blinked.

"Name? Well. Yeah. I guess we should have a name. Because... um... When something has a name it has a value. Like an identity. Something like that. Without a name were just a study group. With a name, we're like an secret order or a crew. Or something. Like we'd be an item..."

She struggle to contain her grin.

"No! Not like that! It'd mean we are official. Capital O official. It'd mean our little outfit would have weight, right? We'd be a Thing in the Freehold. And not some shadowy boss clique who doesn't play with others."

The grin was proving hard to contain.

I'm all for the full motley pledge from the Core book. Question though: Do we need to alter it because its a Year long Pledge and many of our characters only appeared this year? I can't remember the recent Pledge discussions from a few month's back off the top of my head.

[Seraphina]

Seemed like Contracts and expanding their current knowledge was a common theme here. Not a bad thing.

Found both there and here? “Here? As in the mundane side of the Hedge? Have to say, wasn’t expecting that. But then again, I haven’t really ever spent much time learning about Lore.” She’d be honest about that. Sure, she had been curious about things, but hadn’t really known where to look.

Negotiation with various entities? And she could be of use with that? Perhaps he was referring to her voice and the things she could do with it. It wouldn’t be the first time she would have used her voice to get something. But if he said she’d be useful, then she’d take that, clearly he knew and saw more than she did.

Smiling, “Well, it’s good to know I have something to offer in that regard.” It made her feel a little more confident in jumping into this. She didn’t want to go in with nothing to offer, cause that just wastes everyones time.

She then nods at Mhairi in understanding. The Hedge did do what it wanted, she was all too aware of that whenever she ventured into it. “I’m certainly very intrigued and very, very curious now. And look forward to going on adventures to retrieve lore.” How exciting would it be to go into the Hedge as a Motley, working as one and finding ancient lore?

A slight frown, “I was hoping there would be something that would make the lore more permanent. But who knows? We could stumble across something that tells us the secret for that.” A smile and shrug. Anything was possible to the Treasured.

Taking a sip of her water, “I’m ok with a traditional one, unless there was something about the traditional one someone doesn’t like or wants to change.” Traditional was good to her, it was known. “As for a name? Uh, well, I’ll be honest, I suck at coming up with names.” There was a musical laugh, “I always seem to draw a blank when trying to come up with one. I personally think that name that is both, intimidating and impressive. Sometimes intimidating works against you when negotiating.” But that was just her opinion.

Grinning to Ingrid, “Yes, you are so right! A name has value and would give us an identity!” she eagerly nods.

[Thomas Land]

"Oh, hm, most certainly: a Motley pledge is just the thing, just the very thing." He says, excited.

"I am ready, tonight, to enter into that pact. That is, if you, all of you, are as well." Beady eyes dart about their company, looking for assent. "Though it may serve us well to consider decreasing the length of the, hm, bond...At least at first, to allow us time to...reevaluate things if any of us prove unhappy with the arrangement." Thomas has no interest in dealing with a broken pledge because of disagreements among them. And he's not convinced these women will persist in their desire to be in his company for an extended period of time... "So, perhaps, we should try it first for the turn of a season, rather than, say, a year?" Again, those small, shining eyes examine the faces of his companions, looking for their thoughts.

"As for a name..." He trails off, musing on the topic. "I have, well, always thought of our...situation as mirroring that of Dante, in his Divine Comedy." Suddenly, he breaks into verse:

"Midway upon the journey of our life
I found myself within a forest dark,
For the straightforward pathway had been lost."

His voice is shaky, nervous as he pronounces the words, though he clearly knows them well. There's a small, sad smile on his Mole's lips. "That 'dark forest', in Italian, is the 'Selva Oscura,' a wild and mysterious place. I've often thought about how we, the Lost, exist in just such a Selva Oscura." He trails off again, lost in thought, before coming back to his proposition: "I guess what I'm saying is, perhaps, well, this would be an appropriate name? It has a certain mystery to it, and it describes both our condition and, uh, the places we will search for knowledge about that condition..."

He takes another sip of his wine, looking embarrassed. Anxiously awaiting their response to his suggestion.

Crow is correct! The guidelines state that, until our characters have been around a year, we have to stick to lesser or medial durations, which is why Thomas suggested a season re: length. Though he might've done so anyway, he's a cautious and prudent little Mole-Man!

[Mhairi Ankaa]

"A Season...yeah that would be best. We don't know reach other, not really. That will give us time to get to know each other....and tm to make sure we won't have a broken Pledge." Mhairi's smile turns sad. "Sacramento's List cone and go. It's nothing against any if you....I've been year two years December and after Sasha I'm the one with the highest seniority...then it's you, Sera." Which really said something about about the state of things.

Mhairi smiles as Thomas speaks, truly this was something great seeing how sure and (relatively) confidant he was being.

"That's lovely." Mhairi says softly, smiling at the Page. "Selva Oscura." Mhairi tastes on her tongue. It fit.

Mhairi nods "I like it." another nod, "Now we have are name, that us if its alright with you two?" Mhairi waits for the others to respond, "And a Seasonal Duration, we just need the other terms of the Pledge." Mhairi's fell flames flicker between everyone else, "We need something balanced that wont tempt the wyrd to bite us in the butt. But would you want to increase are aptitudes? Or ask if the wyrd to gather us mortal contacts? or something else entirely?"

Asking about Boon and our Curse/Bane. I'm assuming something in Investigation or Academics, or a Contact/Status/Ally in an appropriate Sphere, if that's allowed. I'd normal offer the Pledge mechanics right now but the tablet is fiddly and slow and its annoying me :P

[Ingrid]

"Selva Obscura. Selva Obscura. Selva Obscura.". Ingrid tested the words, rolling them around her mouth.

"Yeah. I like it. Like, really like it." She nodded in agreement, turning her attention to Seraphina with a questioning eye.

"I'd only look at making... ah... friends once we've proven we can hold down a Pledge for a significant amount of time. I'd rather not have an ally briefly, only to have it sour and turn into a long term enemy, you know. For now lets stick to aptitudes. I could always use some fine tuning, academically."

I've only got back from the relatives. I'll look at putting some mechanics together in the coming days if no one else does

[Seraphina]

“I’m ready.” She says with a brief nod. “And agree. Though in all honesty I don’t see there being any problems, but you never know.” She really didn’t. Everyone here seemed stable, well, for being a Changeling anyway, and each seemed to have a drive to make this work. What more could the ask? “A Season seems fair to me.” Kinda short, but it worked.

And the words he then speaks resonate with her.

Blinking a few times, “That is amazing, those words, they’re perfect.” At least to her they were.
“And the name, I love it. So very fitting.” Nod, “It does have a certain mystery to it, especially when you say it, Selva Oscura. Sounds both mythical and dangerous to me at the same time, a healthy mix of both.” In her mind.

More blinking, “Wow, really? That’s kind of scary when you think of it.” Had she been here that long? Well, longer than Thomas and Ingrid sure. But the third longest resident? That was terrifying.

“Like I said earlier, it has my vote.” Yup, she liked it.

And then Ingrid was in agreement. They had a name.

Now came the serious part. The Pledge. One that carried consequences if broken.

Looking back to Ingrid, “That’s a great point. I would also not want to reach out to form alliances and then have it break or fall through. It’ll reflect poorly upon us and any future attempts we have at gaining and earning trust.” And as Lost, trust meant everything.

“I hear you there on academics.” School and learning had never been her strong suit.

[Thomas Land]

Thomas smiles, proud that his suggestion has taken with his soon-to-be motley-mates. "Hm-hmmmm," he hums happily. "Good, very good."

He gives Mhairi a nod, her caution is appreciated. There are things that one should not mess with. The Wyrd is one of them.

"Well then, I think we have it settled then. We ask the Wyrd for, hm, help with our knowledge...And in return, we offer our allegiance to one another. Yes, certainly."

The Mole-Man looks around to see if everyone is on board, seeming excited and anxious in equal measure.

So it seems to me that what we have thus far is: Duration +2 (Season), Alliance -2 (?). And we're talking an adroitness Boon (to academics), which is a +1. So then Ban at +1? Can we mix from lesser and medial aspects during pledge crafting? This is one area where the mechanics are unfamiliar to me.

[Mhairi Ankaa]

Mhairi nods, "I wouldn't want to make lifelong enemies if the pledge...sours." their life was a delicate balance, a tightrope to walk and it was exhilarating to do so. There was a rush, that plus pounding terror that made Mhairi feel alive every time she had to walk it.

The wisp blinks coming out of her ruminations "A Vow then? For the same reasons. I'm sure none of us wants to risk our own mortal contacts or our connection to Spring and Autumn."

so we're looking at
Type: Vow
Task: Alliance, medial -2
Duration: Season, +2
Boon: Adroitness, lesser +1 Academics (or would Occult be better?)
Sanction: Poisoning of Boons, lesser -1
Dose that look right?