(Those Cast Aside) Tenure and Extension

[Anatole]

le BUMP Rhodes Xadun

[Rhodes]

Either Oliver could not hide his motivations for shit or he was a master manipulator, and Rhodes would bet heavily on the former. "A good reason?" The Dread Lord slammed his hand on the table, mantle flaring sharply. "The Gentry do that, Oliver! NOT US. Not the Free. We do not imprison. We do not enslave. We, who know what that is like more than anyone in the world!"

No, just coerce them, entice them, allow them to build prisons of their own making.... so much more elegant.

The Flowering clenched his jaw, curling the slammed hand back into a fist and forcing himself to sit upright in the chair. "I realise that this is difficult to accept. I expect you have been faithful to Ann for some time, yes? But I have seen it. I can guarantee the truth of what I saw, in pledge, if you wish, and you can know of our honesty." It was a simple gambit, but one that offered much in return for little.

Looking towards 3-16, Rhodes listened carefully. So, theoretically 3-16 could be used to contact her sisters. Fascinating. But Ann was a Queen of Fear - would something so gauche as a brazen threat work? Not likely... but contact made magical threads that could be weaved by the wise. Using people as things, props in a gambit... there was a lot more of himself in Ann's actions than he realised. Taking on her... was like taking on himself, in so many ways. Take now, for instance. He didn't care about 3-16's identity of self. He wanted the information. It - she - could call itself the King of Siam if it meant he heard the message. So the next step was what would she Fear? Garnering loyal followers and unwilling thralls alike to her aims, the spreading of Fear... it was all about power. So the worst thing would be showing her she was loosing that power. And for that, he needed Oliver... and a little more time.

"Would you be so kind as to play us the message Ann had left? I would be fascinated to hear what she had to say to us," He said to 3-16, his charming smile sliding so easily back onto his face.

[Anatole]

Anatole exhaled slowly and found his eyes rolling up to the ceiling.

"So you are part of a set. I guess we have to rescue them as well now."

Let the others believe he was being nice here... 3-16 clearly disliked them - as she should! - and mounting a rescue was only adding to the Freehold's heavy load. But - it would deprive Anne of assets and infrastructure. How many more times could the errant Ashen Queen invest in buying new slaves from the Gentry? How many times could she replace an Orchard? Or find a suitable replacement for Iron Meg?

"You were punished for trying to escape, not for being used by me. 3-16."

Turning back to the phone woman, he leered. He couldn't help himself.

The burned dwarf was still fragile from his last foray into the Hedge, however. When Rhodes raised his voice, Anatole flinched and shrank into sulky silence.

The question he had posed squatted on the table before him like a bad smell.

[Gerrit]

Cassandra keeps working on Oliver and Gerrit could relate to the Ogre. Sometimes you had to hold on to your truth, lest you break down entirely. He tried to get Cassandra's attention and motioned her to come closer. Lowering his voice to a hoarse whisper he shared his insights with the Fairest. "He isn't really believing what he's saying - it's just that he wouldn't have anything else left if that belief was taken away from him. Maybe we can work that angle, show him an alternative?" Then again, he wasn't a psychologist so he was just poking in the dark.

So 3-16 rejected their attempts at connecting with her. There was a lot of unveiled anger inside of her, and more warped perception on how and why the things turned out the way they did. One thing became clearer to the Ogre: Ann kept her subjects on a tight leash, establishing a solid hold over them. Gerrit wondered if separating the two Lost would improve their chances at getting through to them, giving them less opportunity to reinforce and enable their coping strategies - but he kept that thought to himself for now.

Equipment: Wallet with some money.

[Saber Sloth]

Oliver starts, nearly jumping out of his skin, eyes watering as his fingers twist and twin together. His head shakes, floppy pink ears smack-smack-smacking his head. "No-no-no-no-no-no-!"He blubbers, tears falling. One of his hands move to an arm and begins to scratch. "I don't-I don't-I don't" sounding more like I can't-I cant-I can't.

"You might not. Get. Any.Thing out of him now. Best wait until. Tomorrow. When he. Wakes. Fresh and new." 3-16 says, looking at Oliver, shaking her head the plastic of her faded casing squeaking against itself, "What I want. To. Be. Called?" there is a lengthy pause, she might have started humming, but it sounded more like the inoffensive hold music found in office lines the world over, "Buttercup. I am. Angry and. Yellow. Even though. She. Was. green." she laughs at her own joke, before scowling again. "You could. Have. Hooked this thing. Up to. Anything. Else." comes the phone distant growl. But 3-16 - Buttercup -, reaches over to the innocuous answering machine, and presses play. And what comes out of her mouth isn't her own voice, but someone else's. Anne's. "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding~ Congratulations Freeholders! Feel free to plunder the library. Hahahaha~ But seriously. Thank the Thorns the Gate trick worked I've been trying to kill that hog for literal years. Do you know how hard it is to tame a Bloodsuckle? Hahaha~" a gusty sigh, "But seriously, take of the library what you wish, there's not much. But whatever you can find is your reward. Cheers~"

As Anne's voice echoing from Buttercup's mouth, Oliver, wails, "She can't have - I'm not - I don't - I - !" trembling, tears falling quick, as the Ogre continues to scritch-scritch-scratch his arm.

Oliver

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-05 12:12:31	Professor Pig rolls 2 to Persuaded? -1walls falling (10 Again)	7, 4	failure

[Titania]

A moving scene, if not for the implications underneath.
In a world of computers and cellphones - which she's still to adjust to - why would Anne need human phones? There's something, something important, telephone girl isn't telling.
The treatments she's forced on her subjects, some sort of experimental surgery, but what was exactly Anne's endgame?

[Cassandra Reeding]

Cassandra nods to Gerrit, agreeing with what he was saying. Oliver needs time, but she wanted to make sure she put adequate time into making sure he knows he can explore the truth here. He may not fully believe it yet, but she knows he'll be on his way. It takes time to unlearn.


The Wizened identifies herself eventually as Buttercup and her mind is immediately drawn to her favorite movie. She hopes that doesn't make her more sympathetic in the end, but it is what it is. "Nice to meet you, Buttercup." Simple as that.


Buttercup plays back the recording from Anne and she can feel her blood stirring in anger once more. It's an immediate reaction and it's hard to keep others from noticing. There is something absolutely irritating about Anne's voice that could just make her cry of frustration and anger. It's how she felt going through that library, desperate to find something of what was lost. The Freehold needs their library back and damn the world if she won't make sure they get it, and whatever else can be found, back.

I'm not angry (lies) - Failure

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-08 21:05:13	Cassandra Reeding rolls 4 to I'm not angry. Composure + Subterfuge (10 Again)	4, 6, 6, 6	failure

"Thank you," She says to Buttercup for playing it back and even the anger is obvious in her voice. Of course, the anger is clearly not directed at anyone there. No one there could have helped what happened, not even Oliver.


"It was the lost Autumn library, possibly other things. We may not find out until we find that-" bitch and end her. It is perhaps the first time Cassandra has ever sounded like this in the presence of others. She can usually keep these things to herself. She takes a deep breath, "I imagine anything lost during the battle with Fairweather could have been rounded up by Anne as resources. Because you just would." It was the smart thing to do. She'd have done it. But then, Anne is so far gone, who knows if it was even her idea. Or maybe she wasn't quite as gone then? Who knows?


So what is the next course of action? She looks to Rhodes, given he is the Monarch and it is his Season.

[Rhodes]

Rhodes glanced to Anatole for a moment. Freeing others? It had not been on his mind. The Dwarf was still right, after a fashion - it was what Sera would do, an assurance of compassion. A response required tact. "There is little we can do for them at this moment in time. We do now know where these siblings reside. Taking out Ann's resources may lead to them." He looks from Anatole to 3-16. The unspoken suggestion of help. A spark of hope offered to entice the giving of information he sought. All a game.

3-16 was right - Oliver seemed less than useless at his point. It happened - so invested in their keeper some Changelings could no longer come to terms with the idea that they did not care for them.

As Anne's words flow around them, even Rhodes' mantle falls still. This was her. Taunting, baiting. As the message goes on, it is the whispers that return first, half-heard words just beyond earshot. The Fairest realises his hands have curled back into fists. Not only did she expect them, she was ready for them. "My apologies.... Buttercup. I meant no insult." He pauses, slowing his breathing. "Can you still reach your siblings? Speak with them?"

Cassandra's voice has an edge he had never heard before. This was rattling her - of course he was not one to talk on such things, but it suggested his research companion could become a valuable ally in like mind. I wonder... just how hard is it to tame a bloodsuckle? He sees her glance, offering a hint of smile in return. "One would. You're sure it is the old library? If that is the case we should recover what we can. A task for another time." His attention shifts from Cassandra over Titania - notable by her unusual silence - back to the guests. "What was the last thing that happened before you were placed in the library? And how long did it feel as if you were stationed there? Days? Weeks?"

He wanted to talk about Anne too, but one step at a time.

For some reason I thought the answerphone message was recorded on 3-16. Oh well....

Equipment: Fine suit & shoes, Hedgespun coat (+1 def, +1 talking to crowds when active), hip flask (scotch, 2/4 full), Notebook & pen, Wallet containing a photo of Sera, ID and $83, Black Americano.

Health 7/7
WP 2/2

[Anatole]

Anatole's bushy brows rose and fell as he listened to C-16 Buttercup. He sighed again. Looking away:

"Do we need this library? Is it worth it? I'm in favour of simply burning the entire glade to the ground. No point in letting Anne think she has given us scraps from her table."

His eyes shifted under his heavy brows - first to Rhodes and then seeking out Cassandra Reeding directly.

[Gerrit]

Gerrit furrowed the scar tissue that would have been his eyebrows in a different life. The way Oliver was acting was almost pathetic, a waste of time and-
That's what he [/i]would have said. Didn't you want to be better than that?[/i]

He closed his eyes, breathed in, breathed out. He did want to be a better man. Then he opened them again, regarded the distressed Ogre with a pitiful look and took a step towards Oliver. "I know it's a lot: having everything you believe in negated and taken away from you. You don't have to take sides, but you should think about what's best for yourself. In the end, Ann didn't care for you. You deserve a life of your own, without chasing after the approval of someone you can't ever be enough for."

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-12 09:13:12	Gerrit rolls 7 to calm Oliver down (Man 2 + Empathy 2 + WP) (10 Again, WillPower)	1, 2, 1, 1, 5, 9, 5	1 success

It sounded.. off to Gerrit's ears. When had he become so calloused? He was almost certain that his words wouldn't reach Oliver, but he held eye contact anyway. He wanted to be there if the Professor decided to open up.

The conversation around.. 'Buttercup' seemed to revolve around the Hollow for now. Gerrit wasn't sure whether the Wizened actually wanted to be called that or was just mocking them. The anger and disdain emanating from her pointed to the latter, so he didn't want to address her by that name if it could be avoided. Contacting the other Extensions could be a promising lead though.

"I agree with Anatole. Cassandra and I didn't find anything of use, so she must have cleared the library in advance. If she did that, why not get out everything"

Equipment: Wallet with some money.