Rumour Mills

[Rhodes]

The Dread Lord was surprised that Gerrit had found something so soon, but pleasantly so.

Even a rumour of Ann and her minions was worth following up, though. Ann was the last threat to his sovereignty - a rebel Autumn Queen, powerful in magic, poking in Sacramento's Freehold... and he wanted to end her interference once and for all.

And so, on one of the cooler late summer evenings he made his way to the source of the rumour, teh owner of Rosie's Roses. The last visit had been most instructive, both in understanding Gerrit and in cultivating just a little more of the sinister Autumn image. He looked up at the sign, musing. Who was Rosie? It was definately an icebreaker - Gerrit was not comfortable around Rhodes, that much was clear, and there was a small part of the Autumn king that liked having a good few people around that shared that thought.

To a Fairest, Image was everything.

Rhodes checked his reflection in the shop front, straightening his tie and tugging on the cuffs of his suite before ringing the bell to the shop.

Aeolus Gerrit

[Gerrit]

It has been a comparatively slow day at Rosie's, so Gerrit was already done with everything when Rhodes arrived. The last time they'd met they'd agreed on getting together again once more information about Ann got out. Maybe Anatole already reported to his king, but Gerrit was a mon of his word and it never hurt to hear different sides to a story.

Especially considering that the Dwarf had almost killed Oliver. The Ogre still wasn't completely sure how he felt about that.

He opened the door, gave Rhodes a respectful nod and led the Fairest to the seating arrangement before locking the door again. Memories of the Dread Lords display of otherworldly and terrible beauty flashed back into Gerrit's mind, making it hard to look at his guest for longer than a moment at first. Get over yourself. He should stop being so weak, what was the worst that could happen? And Rhodes was on their side - the possible future of his deeper connection to the Wyrd was just that: a possibility in the future.

He sat down across from Rhodes, poured them two glasses of water and then balled his hands into loose fists to stop them from picking at his scabs before he started talking. "Thank you for answering my letter and coming here." He considered adding some chit-chat - How are you? How is Sera? - but he came to the realization that he didn't really care. Rhodes would either lie in true small-talk fashion or the Fairests' life had truly been a magical joyous event every day. Because some people just have it all.
Gerrit cleared his throat and continued. "I'll get straight to the point. We've arranged a patrol through the Hedge recently and stumbled upon a Hollow that belongs - uh, maybe belonged - to Queen Ann. She expected us and tried to spring a trap on us but we escaped." Gerrit didn't tell him about Oliver and the Phone-Lady yet - he figured that this first overview was enough to grab the Flowering's interest.

[Rhodes]

There was a moment at the door as Rhodes' eyes roamed around the store. Surrounded by plants was not his favourite situation. It put him on edge, but he had long ago learned to embrace the sensation. The nod was returned before he crossed over the threshold. "Gerrit."

The opening statement was accepted with a nod of the head. "This is important," he replied simply. It was. Their first clue against Ann in some time? How could he ignore it? Or, worse, hat would people think if they found out he had let it slide? Heavy is the head, et cetera, et cetera.

"Hmm." The funny thing about simple sounds. They made one appear thoughtful, bought the time to get one's thought in order, measure a response. Several people, himself included, had been keen to explore the Hedge. The who was important for his own thoughts, but less so than the results. "You sound less than certain about the Hollow, but sure of the trap. What made you think it was hers?" The response was measured rather than accusatory, inviting further explanation. "Wait. On second thought, let us start at the beginning. A very good place to start." He paused, taking the water and sipping. "How recent was this, and where were you entering the Hedge? Has it been tied to any trods we knew of already?"

His thoughts dredged up Ram's rather detail-lacking report. Comparing the two might help flesh out the details, corroborating one with the other. Who was it he said? Ram, Gerrit, Anatole, Cassandra. Interesting the dwarf had not yet relayed the information of crucial note to his king, or Cassandra contact him for more corroboration following thir interest in research. Empty words perhaps? Secrets upon secrets? Internal sighing, almost amused at the dance unfolding. Something about it felt very natural. Perhaps, even worse, apathy or negligence. Time would tell.

Since the Eternal season is sticky, Rhodes has a little information, but I'll not drag it up IC as continuity can get awkward.

[Gerrit]

Gerrit missed Rhodes' discomfort either completely or he didn't care. He had his own baggage either way.
He took a sip of water and was preparing his own response to the first question - this seemed to be a shared trait among the two Lost, favouring well-thought out answers to mindless talking - when Rhodes corrected himself. "All right, the beginning." The scars where his brows would be furrowed in thought for a moment as he tried to recall that time in the Hedge while ignoring all the emotions that were connected to those memories.

"It was only a few weeks ago. Anatole, Cassandra, Ram and I ventured into the Hedge, using the entrance below Funderland. Ram wanted to look into an empty Hollow he's heard about. We walked for a fair bit when we noticed something following us - a Bloodsuckle, as Anatole called it." The Hedgebeast's name came out a bit hesitant. Gerrit had little experience with everything that went bump in the Hedge, so he hoped he didn't misremember what he had heard in case that was important.
"We managed to avoid confrontation and outran it and found ourselves in a cul-de-sac of a few abandoned Hollow-houses. Abandoned except for one." The Ogre fell silent and deliberated. Should he talk about the Hedge Gate now or get to it at the end? There was a lot of information to convey and he wanted to make it the least convoluted possible. "In the middle of the place was a fountain with a Hedge Gate - and a rune carved into it that matched the rune at our entrance in Funderland to the t. It later turned out that we were supposed to directly end up there after entering the Hedge." At least that's how he understood it. Anatole or Cassandra were probably better suited explaining those details.

Gerrit took another sip of water and continued. "We checked the one house that had lights on and met another Lost - uh, his name is Oliver and he apparently is a loyal supporter of Queen Ann. He lived there for a long time apparently and he claimed that we walked all the way to a part of the Hedge in San Francisco's area. He- when he heard about the civil war and what Anatole had to say about his Queen he wanted to throw us out." The Stonebones cleared his throat - it sounded like something thick and wet was stuck in his throat and got loose. He wasn't used to talking this much at once. "Ram and Anatole confronted Oliver while Cassandra and I sneaked deeper into the Hollow. We found a library of Queen Ann and another Lost. She looked like a telephone and was left there tied to a chair, hooked onto an IV and connected to an answering machine. Ann left us a message saying she had cleared the library of anything important and left us the scraps to take. She knew we were coming and taunted us." There was a hint of Ogrish irritation in Gerrit's voice as he got to that part. How Ann treated the Wizened and the Ogre was horrible and the mockery was the cherry on top.

"Meanwhile the confrontation of Ram and Anatole escalated." Should he tell Rhodes what had happened? Would the Dread Lord see this as him badmouthing an Ashen Courtier? Then again, could he blame Gerrit for telling him the whole story? "They got into a fight and Anatole nearly killed Oliver with his axe. We managed to get out and bring both - Oliver and the Phone-lady - with us. I.. I don't know what has happened to them exactly, but I think they were healed and cared for." Was it sloppy and selfish of him that he hadn't kept tabs on the two injured Lost? Maybe, but if it wasn't for Ram and him they probably were left to die in the Hedge.

He took a deep breath and went through the story once more in his head, hoping he didn't miss any important details. Well, there was the thing about their search for a mirror, but this was an information among Onyx Courtiers for now. Bloodshot eyes looked at Rhodes. "That is all, I guess. That Bloodsuckle is still around that area and we could use the Hedge Gate there to directly get home."

Don't worry - I'm partly to blame for starting this when Ram has already expressed his willingness to talk to you about this. We'll make do.

[Rhodes]

Rhodes frowned. "The runes - as far as I was aware - were put in place by the former Director and Spring Queen, Ingrid. If the symbology matched, I can no longer be certain. They could just be copied to toy with us..." Rhodes laspes inot thoughtful silence as Gerrit continued.

"A safe-house, then.... or outpost. A hollow far from San Fransisco. Perhaps the Hollow bled through into Funderland.... seems more likely than the other way around. Or could be copied to throw us on the wrond scent." Eyes widen keenly as the mention of the library, but turn resigned at the mention of the trap and scraps. "Hmmm. Well... still worth going through those scraps. tiht the Freehold establishing it was only a matter of time before we found nearby hollows. She had no way of knowing when we would find it."

He remains silent as the Ogre works through the rest of his tale. If he was concerned about Anatole's actions, he did not show it. "It sounds like the best you could do at the time. Did you recover anything else from the Hollow?"

[Gerrit]

"Could be. Frankly, I'm not very versed in the Occult. Maybe that's something I need to work on." Half an apology, half an implied question. He knew that it was best to let John and Rhodes know about what they've found, the Monarchs would be able to take the important things and set a course of action.
"We found a few usable books - they're currently stored away in Winter's Hollow. Frankly, there was little else of worth as far as I could tell. Magazines, catalogues.. nothing implying anything of worth. I guess- uhm, waiting for the two Lost we brought with us to recover and talking to them might be the best thing we can do for the moment."

[Rhodes]

The Dread Lord frowns, thinking. "Could you... replicate the image? Something that would help me know what I'm looking for? Any differences between that rune and the one on Fundesrland... anything."

There is a small nod. "If it is in the Winter Archive, I assume Cassandra is looking into the things you found?" Perhaps it was time for her to make good on their cooperative research. "I'm sure she had an eye on anything useful as well." He rubbed his chin. "Yesss..... talking with them is a sensible step, even if loyal to Ann. Who would know where they are? Would sucyh a thing be in hand?" The voice kept level.

Rhodes sips the water. "I appreciate you keeping me informed, Gerrit. If you wanted to learn a little more about occult works, my door remains open." He pauses, thinking. "Anything else? Anything they might have said that suggests a lead on Ann's schemes?"

[Gerrit]

Recalling 2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-11 08:10:39	Gerrit rolls 6 to remember the rune (Int 3 + Comp 3) (10 Again)	10, 1, 2, 2, 5, 8, 4	2 successes

Sketching 4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-11 08:11:09	Gerrit rolls 5 to sketch the rune (Dex 2 + Craft 3) (10 Again)	7, 9, 3, 9, 10, 10, 1	4 successes

Rhodes' made it very clear that the exact look of the rune could be important. Gerrit looked at him and nodded slowly, recalling the dayeveningweek? of their last patrol. It helped that he managed to keep a cool head during all of this, despite everything that had happened and pulled at his composure. After a minute he got up and got a piece of wrapping paper, an eraser and a pencil to sketch the rune he remembered.

He had always been kind of good with his hands, but after a lot of drawing, erasing and redrawing he was actually a bit surprised about how good this sketch looked. He double checked the image with the one in his head but this was as close as he could get. He slid the piece of paper over to Rhodes. "That's it, I'm pretty sure about it." As far as he could tell, it was basically identical to the rune in Funderland, but the Dread Lord should come to his own conclusions.

There was a sting of irritation when Rhodes just assumed that Cassandra was the only one capable of or interested in researching their finds. Look who fell prey to the very prejudices we've talked about the last time we met. But that was not a very reasonable thought, was it? Gerrit just hadn't voiced his interest in those matters yet, could Rhodes be blamed for that? He was about to open his mouth, but then thought better of it. Let them underestimate the awkward, stupid and gullible Ogre.
Instead he answered the Dread Lord's other question. "I assume they're either in Titania's or Seraphina's care." Although the latter was less likely, given that Rhodes didn't know about it. Gerrit wondered if handing them over to Titania was the right move, but that was in the past by now. "I will get in touch with the others and check in on them soon. And thank you for your offer - I will get back to you. There are many things I do not know and I guess an.. uhm, passing degree of familiarity with the more exotic things could be helpful."

Gerrit thought about if there was anything else he had missed in his report, then shook his head. "I'm afraid not - I guess this was an ambush to deal a blow to this Freehold's population, but it didn't seem to be part of a greater plan." And the Ogre couldn't help himself: he looked down and slightly shrugged. "Sorry."

[Rhodes]

Rhodes gently takes drawn rune. Eyebrows rise slightly. "An excellent rendering. I recognise this, but I will need to check my archive for other interpretations." He folds the paper and slips it inside his jacket.

Ttiania's care? While known for her skill at healing, the Spring could be influencing them in any kind of way. "Hmm. Thank you - keeping an eye on them is a fine idea." He inclines his head slightly.

He dismisses the apology with a wave of his hand. "Nothing to apologise for, Gerrit. Anything you have found is more than we had a week ago. Knowing Ann will discard people confirms her cruelty, the fact she was sure we would find the Hollow means she knows we are moving deeper into the Hedge and more openly against her. Things we suspected before now have proof, and we know how she has reacted." He rubs his chin. The more he thought, the more there were people that could have fed Ann the information. The original changeling that fed them the clue that lead to the motel. The Wizened that manned the shop he, Sera and Circe had emerged from. Anyone form Anatole's solo trip oin the Hedge. They were an open net. "Were there any clues as to how long this Oliver had been there? How long this trap ahd been set... or more accurately, abandoned for?"

[Gerrit]

Gerrit pressed his lips together at the Dread Lord's praise. There has always been a part of him that had a hard time accepting compliments, and that part had only grown more cynical as time went by. But that moment passed and the conversation moved on.

Rhodes said that they knew more things than before and that was probably true, but there was also a new question on Gerrit's mind since their last patrol. "I'm just wondering how she could have known that we were about to get to that Hollow. I mean, she thanked us on her left message for killing Oliver, so she must have had a way to survey the Hollow but, uhm, neither Cassandra nor I noticed anything of the sort."

Knowing how long Oliver had guarded this Hollow might be another piece for the puzzle, but Gerrit couldn't really remember hearing anything of that sort. "I.. don't know. I think he said something about being there for a few months, but given how time works in the Hedge.." He shrugged. It wasn't really useful in the end. "Maybe one of the others has a different angle - Ram and Anatole spent more time with Oliver after all." Even if some of that time was dedicated to almost killing the Ogre. Gerrit sipped at his water, mostly to take some time to find the right words - it was one thing to trade information with the Dread Lord but something else to order him around. "Maybe you could try talking to Anatole next."