Hedge Patrol II

[Ram]

"San Francisco?" Alright, not as bad as LA but still very off track from where they were trying to go. He looked to Cassandra, hoping she had an idea on how it happened. Or what it meant for the two Freeholds to share such a symbol. One thing for sure, they were going to need a taxi.

[Gerrit]

Lot's of interesting things to unpack here. Those deadly tusks belonged to Oliver once - they were even bigger - but he didn't need them anymore? Gerrit had heard about some features growing more prominent as ones connection to the Wyrd became stronger, but to lose things like that? He gave Anatole an inquiring look, then looked at the tusks again. He wondered how easily they could be taken off and used as a weapon.. Good thing we struck a Pledge.

Why was he being so paranoid?

The other point of interest was that they apparently made it all the way to San Francisco. Since the host seemed to be just as confused as the patrol, Gerrit decided to speak up and come clean. "We came from the Freehold of Sacramento. I guess the symbol on the Hedge gate looks somewhat similar to one at home, which is where some of our confusion stems from."
He couldn't shake an uneasy feeling though: had they been running that long? Well, since distance and time worked differently in the Hedge this point was probably moot, but Cassandra was an excellent navigator. Could they really have missed their goal like that? Shouldn't an established path to San Francisco be more well known?
Was Oliver leading them on?

Equipment: Backpack - 1 bottle of water, First Aid Kit, Rope (from climbing gear).

[Anatole]

"Well that is interesting..."

Anatole drank from his teacup while Ram and Gerrit expressed their surprise.

"Yes. We hail from the Sacramento Freehold. Set out on a patrol of our backyard and found ourselves chased by an unseen... assailant... out on the path. We had to make a run for it, as you we have said. No offence, but we honestly thought we were still in our local Hedge. That Gate marker look a lot like one we... use as location marker... So we don't get lost, that sort of thing."

He gently laid his cup down in his lap.

"I had gained the impression that there had been a big shake up in the Hedge around our Freehold. I had never reckoned the disruption had been quite so... dramatic. This must be quite a shock to you as well. Eh... How are things in the San Francisco Freehold these days? Have your troubles quietened down?"

Behind his blank face, the burned dwarf's mind races - just how much influence has Queen Anne had on the Hedge? Has her malign actions drawn their Freehold's closer together? Have they simply lost track of time on their flight from ... the unknown menace ... and they've strayed too close to the Bay's patch?

Anatole's last question about the San Francisco Freehold is added on tactlessly and comes off a little blunt. The dwarf doesn't have an empathetic bone in his body...

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-03 02:03:53	Anatole knows... Things! rolls 6 to Intelligence + Occult (10 Again)	7, 7, 3, 7, 5, 9	1 success

[Cassandra Reeding]

Things just keep getting more and more interesting. Oliver is clearly anxious about something, but it isn't necessarily their presence. So, what is it? He comes from a different Freehold and the symbol upon the Hedge gate is comparable to their own. So, what does that mean?

Relationship between hedgate symbols and their connection to the Freehold 2 Successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-04 10:59:50	Cassandra Reeding rolls 5 to Relationship between hedgate symbols and their connection to the Freehold (int + occult) (10 Again)	9, 8, 2, 4, 2	2 successes

She also begins to wonder if the flooding with questions is going to make Oliver's demeanor begin to wane. Then again, Summer and Autumn don't tend to be very indirect with their questionings. The problem with some of Anatole's questions is that they might come off as prodding, as if we are looking for direct Intel.


"Yes, I hadn't realized our journey had taken us so close to San Francisco."


A curiosity strikes her then. This is another lost a part of a freehold, so are they part of a seasonal court? She takes a moment to stretch out her senses, see if she can feel his amongst their own set of mantles. Perhaps a courtly connection could help. Though, if she had to guess, Oliver could easily be an autumn.

Does Oliver have a mantle? 2 successes

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-04 11:13:19	Cassandra Reeding rolls 3 to Perception (resolve 2 + composure 2 -1 clarity (10 Again)	8, 3, 10, 8	3 successes

[Saber Sloth]

Oliver seems oh so very confused, and mildly perturbed. "Sa-Sacromento? Are you sure? Did you pass through a trod?" he takes his glasses off and quickly cleans them before placing them back over his snout "Oh no, if you did you wouldn't have been surprised by the distance." his shiny piggy eyes, look over to one of the shelves, but he doesn't get up. "What do you mean, troubles? I haven't heard news in...well. It's been some time...." he takes another nervous sip of his tea.

Anatole and Casandra put their might brains to work and find out that, they, indeed, know things.

They know that the Symbol that had magically appeared on the Keystone of the Funderland Hedge Gate is the same as the one on the Keystone of this Hedge Gate, leaving an obvious connection the Gates to the Freehold of San Francisco.

What they realize is that someone or something had the skill and power to make sure their Gate open up this close to the cul-de-sac, and the roaming Bloodsuckle, although something must have gone wrong since they should have exited through the water feature Hedge Gate, instead of being chassed down by the blood thirsty plant.

Someone (or thing) very powerful wanted the Patrollers here, in the cul-de-sac, a trap unspring. The location and timing off.

With the Winter looking for it, she finally notices it. So small and slight in the face of the press party's mixed Mantles, and the cluttered surroundings, Autumn, as she suspected, Oliver's mantle is the scent of wet ink and old pages.

[Ram]

Ram was falling further behind on what was actually happening. However, he did pick up the important bits Anatole was laying down. There’d been some sort of disruption in the Hedge. A big one. And there had been some sort of trouble in San Francisco that he wasn’t willing to say out loud. Or like he was testing to see if Oliver truly was from there. A test which Oliver had just failed by not giving specifics as a passphrase. All of which spoke to potential enemy action.

And they were in his god damned house.

But Ram remained silent. They needed to extract themselves. Raging right now wouldn’t help. So while the conversation went on, Ram started to think.

They needed to get out of the Hedge. They’d been drawn here before, who was to say it wouldn’t happen again if they tried to escape on a path. Not to mention the plant. Which meant either using the outside archway or trying and hoping to find a door in the house that led to the mortal world. If the archway was what was connecting all this, he'd rather not go through it. But searching the house would take time and possibly require busting down doors, breaking the pledge, and no guarantee they'd find something.

"We should get going," he whispered to Cassandra, softly but firmly, standing after he spoke to show he meant now.

[Gerrit]

Gerrit once again studied the other Ogre, following his eyes to the shelf. Oliver hasn't heard any news, yet seemed to be aware enough to know about the Hedgegates and surrounding city on the other side of this gate. One would assume that impending threat of the Huntsman at least would travel this far, no? Even the other disturbances would at least impact the nearby Freehold, yet their host was either unaware or lying.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-05 14:34:54	Gerrit rolls 5 to read Oliver (Wits 3 + Empath 2) (10 Again)	8, 7, 10, 3, 7, 1	2 successes

Ram getting op snapped Gerrit's focus back to the situation at hand. He tried to remain calm, to observe the situation and react to anything that would threaten Cassandra or the others.
All the while hoping that it wasn't so.

Equipment: Backpack - 1 bottle of water, First Aid Kit, Rope (from climbing gear).

[Anatole]

"Truly? How long have you been residing here?"

Anatole leaned forward, both tactless and earnest.

"You poor fellow. No. No! Wise. Wise, I say! Safe. I'm given to understand that the Bay suffered the burden of a civil war. The Ashen Queen made one play for power too many and... well... It would seem the other Courts grew wise. Or so I've heard. A right mess and you were wise to stand clear of it, my friend."

He leaned back in his seat, nodding with certainty and taking up his cup once more.

By then, Ram's obvious movement was too much to ignore.

"What? We going already?"

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra watches Oliver intently and takes in a slow breath before letting out a frosty breath. Something wanted us here and I’m not so sure it is Oliver... Oliver is a pawn here. Whether willing or not. And he’s one of the Ashen Court. So, Anne or, as someone who seems to be more of a recluse, the Huntsman? Either way, we don’t have the fire power to take on something harsher.

And you have someone to return home to now... That stray thought makes her breath hitch.

Cassandra looks at Ram as he whispers to her and as he stands. She wonders if he has sensed it too. Her gaze follows to Anatole who seems to be trying to gently pull intel. She doubts he is truly surprised, however, at Ram wanting to get up and go. Anatole is intelligent. Still. What to do?

Finally, her gaze shifts to Gerrit. He is likely on edge too. She would expect nothing less of a Winter. Looks like the decision is about to be up to the Fairest of the group. Of course it is.

So, do we confront or do we simply flee? Basic hospitality won’t save them in the event something else comes for them. And this Ogre is an Autumn. No Autumn she has ever known has been this consumed by their fears. He knows about it. He knows about the trap and he knows it didn’t work. But was he the one who laid it? Absolutely not. His mantle is hardly but a wet ink and old pages.

“We aren’t supposed to be here, are we, Oliver? This wasn’t what you were told to expect.” She gives him a look like a mother who has caught their child lying about a broken toy, “Oliver, we know. So, why don’t we make this easy?” The Polychromatic gazes at the Ogre again, a sweet look this time. “We don’t have to be enemies, even though we come from different courts and Freeholds. The Courts of Sorrow and Fear aren’t so different, after all. And the Leaden Mirror is present with us as well.” A slight look to Anatole. Her voice is soothing, persuasive. Something about her Fairest nature and the swirling rays of Winter sunlight that seems to radiate from her gives the impression that she is being genuine.

“They have a strong pull, don’t they? They terrify you. You fear their ire. If I am missing pieces of this puzzle, why don’t you fill it in for us. We made an oath not to harm and I don’t go back on my pledges. Help us help you so that we all may part in peace. I said it before: I wish for no harm to come upon you. We can be allies.”

Persuasion 2 Successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-06 07:29:56	Cassandra Reeding rolls 10 to Persuasion (Presence + Persuasion + SL + Songs + 1G for Fairest Blessing) (10 Again)	6, 2, 6, 1, 6, 7, 10, 3, 4, 3, 10, 3	2 successes

[Saber Sloth]

Gerrit can read the piggy Professor like a book. Anxiety bubbling up and flowing over, uncertainty straining the lines of his eyes, fear making his hands shake. The scent of his Mantle might have swelled, wafting up and up - but even resting there are stronger Mantle's then his in the room.

"Oh, not long, not long at all. Of course not. You can't live in the Hedge after all." a nervous laugh. "Just since January, a couple months before the cooperative Motley's dissolved....what? No!" the Ogre shakes his head, ears flopping with the motion, "No, no. Please. You must be lying Sir Smith, please, tell me the truth!" He stands, then jolts, and sits, vigor escaping him as Ram takes his own stand and urges them to leave.

"What I expected?! I expected relief from my duty, and tending to this library instead...instead - !" his hands flutter about rather uselessly. "If you are to bring me lies about my Queen, then I shall ask you all to leave." he stands again, trembling, and adds, "Please."

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-09 12:37:27	Professor Pig rolls 4 to Is book? (10 Again)	6, 5, 7, 6	failure

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-05-09 13:50:23	Professor Pig rolls 3 to Persuaded? (10 Again)	10, 5, 8, 9	3 successes