Wyrd Sharmock 1.1

[Circe]

Circe looks up from her writing. "I can make it worse John. Ahem. Sera? Define A FEW chocolates," Circe smirks at Seraphina, "Because I still got a couple of the 5 pounder chocolate bars from Halloween." Coffee is of course sipped with the writing break.


When Seraphina objects to chipping the Wyrdstone to make the fake, Circe nods her head. Seraphina's tongue gesture gets a nod of Summe approval.


"Neat," was her response to the Lantern but John's insight shoots down her next thought, "Oh. Well thanks John. Ya know? We could try glamour ta start it with some goblin fruit fuel to keep it going longer? Hmm," one ear goes up and the other down. She is about to prove John right on his compliment. "Distilled goblin fruit? Glamour ta make the rock start burning the flammable booze as fuel? I can probably make one." After a moment she adds in, "Er, a still fer processing. Wait, Sera? Is yer lantern a token?" Because a sham rock token guarantees the deception, but those are not exactly cheap and disposable.


Circe points at John, "Right, decoy! We just need the glow and the juju fer delays." As for the question about glowing fruit retrieval. That gets Circe to hum in thought. "I recall a weed that grew near rivers' Hedge sides in San Fran. It glowed a lot, buuut Hedge Sacramento River has giant enemy crabs," as for the other fruits she recalls, "Think the others I saw?" She hums in thought, eyes narrowed. Then blinks, "Of course," she shakes her head, "The market. We'd hafta buy them." Circe smiles as she recalls something memetic, "On the other hand, I've found said crabs weak point ta deal 'em massive damage, oh ho ho ho! Bullets. Oh ho ho!"


She was liking that idea more. "Could make a trip out of it, need lots of butter fer the after party though, oh ho ho ho!"


And then looks at John as he goes a little downer. "Not telling folks there's a decoy is part of security dude. It ain't like we're going ta have 'em swear on the sham rock," Circe smirks, "We ain't Irish enough. It is probably something we'll only break out when we think there's a thief ta worry about."

[Rhodes]

An eyebrow arched in surprise, then Rhodes' brow furrowed in thought. "That's right, Circe. Pledges can be sworn on objects that represent societal ties. But... should we break it, even accidentally, the Wyrd would twist events that we would be ejected from that society - in this case, the Freehold. I wouldn't be prepared to risk such a thing, not when I have so much invested here."

The Dread Lord looks up, clucking his tongue as he ponders Sera's question. "I believe it may be possible - certain powerful hedgespun items might be able to do so... after all, spinning can capture emotion - it wouldn't be a theoretical stretch for something to store glamour as well. I just wonder if that is far too much work to pout into what is, in essence, a decoy we are ready to abandon at a moment's notice?" He shakes his head. "I think we may be stressing too much on the look of the thing. We aren't trying to fool people who have seen it. We're creating a decoy for a person that hears of a Wyrdstone by reputation, research or rumour - pictures rarely survive or do the real thing justice. If it looks magical enough, it doesn't matter how magical it actually is."

Emerald eyes turn back to his wife. "Complacent? Moi? Many would say I made my intent quite clear when I, as they say, put a ring on it?" Pale face smirking. It was all a game to the two of them. Though her point of the shard was noted, and he nods. "Of course. The connection swings both ways, the risk probably not worth the gain."

He shrugs a little. "Such is the nature of Oaths, John. Most members of the Freehold only see the Stone at coronations. It makes no difference to their lives the rest of the time. It is also why I am not suggesting a Pledge to silence. We four have built up trust over the last year - whatever else we may see in each other, we all have the Freehold's best interests close to us and the stone's guarantee against betrayal. I believe... that is enough." The words were slow, filled with weight. Trust was rare to changelings, but three had known each other for years now and John had fought side by side with them over the last eighteen months. Rhodes trusted them with that at least, in spite of himself.

The Dread Lord frowns thoughtfully. "If that manner of trip were on the cards, someone might be well-placed to see if we can get any advice on Ann from any of the surviving horses' mouths, as it were. Someone that might know names worth knowing from their time in the Bay, perhaps." He is now smiling at Circe, eyes sparkling.

[Seraphina]

Laughing, “Give me about a week, then stop by the coffee shop. Think I can get my hands on some amazing donuts.” She was quite sure her usual bakery could hook her up.

A thoughtful look to John, “Huh, never really thought about it, but maybe.” Could magic still live in the bones of a place?

Tapping her pen against the paper, she thought for a moment, “That’s an excellent point. And it gives me a few ideas to try.” Notes written down. Smiling, “Always a pleasure to work a market with you.” He saw things she didn’t.

But he made a good point on lying to his Court. Could she lie to her own? It was something she never really thought about. Lying to Sonnie just felt…wrong.

“Maybe we just let them know there are security measures in place if it ever comes up in conversation? I mean, lets face it, the stone isn’t discussed all that much, so I don’t foresee others asking about it.” She’d never really talked about with her Court, except explaining to new faces what it was. Well, what they knew it was.

A shake of her head, “That’s a lot of chocolate Circe. And makes me think we need a movie night to eat ourselves into a chocolate induced coma. But I was thinking more caramel filled donuts, maybe some with a light chocolate glaze, but not too much. A nice balance.” Oh yeah, she had ideas.

“Anyone have any of this goblin fruit on hand that I could use? I also don’t mind finding some in the Hedge as well. But I think we,” looking to Circe, “need to take the ideas and try them out. See which gives us the closet effect.” Would goblin fruit glow outside the Hedge? She wasn’t too knowledgeable about the stuff, just that some could heal. Maybe it was time to dig a bit deeper and get a better understanding. Nodding to Circe, “Yes. It’s a Token I came across a couple years ago.” And she just hadn’t had a need to use it yet.

Eyebrow raises, “Giant enemy crabs?” seriously? “Well, it would be nice to have both, the weed and the fruit. Then we could test each and see if either has the look we are going for.” And if the Summer said the crabs had a weakness for bullets, then, well, they had a way.

Thinking about what Rhodes said, “Even if the decoy buys us a couple minutes, it might make all the difference. I’m willing to invest what is needed if it helps keep the Freehold safe. And how can we be sure they haven’t seen it? The auction was pretty busy, and we were not the only ones after the stone.” Too cautious? Maybe.

Now this was a surprise. Rhodes agreeing to trust without a Pledge. Had he truly grown to trust the others that much? If so, it was good to hear.

[James Turner]

A chuckle and a shake of his head as they'd quickly spun up a plan, "Five pounds is way more Chocolate than I could possibly eat at once. Though a movie night is a good way to kill five pounds of Chocolate." Taking that moment of levity to refill his coffee and began gently blowing off the top. Then the occultist and two Spinners got more into the technical details. He listened and followed as best as he could. Of the four, when it came to those details, he was a bit lost in his depth of knowledge so he sipped his coffee quietly trying to learn and keep up at the same time.


Circe's idea for longevity had come quick, seeing the agility in their creative processes, "I could see about getting my hands on one or two fruits if we need. Is IS just a decoy, we need a good balance of investment to time bought. IF we invest too much and it gets us nothing..." He gave a soft shrug and another sip, "But you're right Sera, every second counts. I don't think anything will stand up to extended study, my thinking is we need to have it pass a cursory examination." He tapped his fingers against his cup and then looked to Circe with a furrowed brow. "Would a GPS tracker in it work?" Technical details he lacked.


"Surprised it's not grenade..." He said with a laugh to Circe's comments of the crabs weakness. "I don't think a trip that far afield would be necessary but..." He nodded to Rhodes', "if we were going on a fact finding mission anyways it wouldn't hurt to stop by. But do these crabs not need cooked alive like other shellfish?" He remembered something in a nature documentary about the meat but he hadn't put it into his files to recall.


He took a breath and gave a long look over to Circe as she spoke to him on security, "Yes. I'm aware. But I also know it's supremely shitty to ask people to trust you and then lie to their faces. As stated it's operational security, I know...I hope," he corrected quickly, "that the Winter Court will at least understand the need for discretion when it comes to security. If it comes up I'll explain security measures are in place but due to operational security the more people that have information regarding it the weaker that security gets." He shrugged, there were ways to be honest and discreet they were just difficult to manage sometime.


Sera wasn't the only ones surprised by the trust of the Freehold's pledge master, he just gave Rhodes' a deep nod of respect. Though the deeper he got into these relationships the more Titania's words about all the ties that bound him resurfaced.

[Circe]

Rhodes confirmation on object oaths gets a confused look from Circe, even her ears show it. "Uh, what? Dude, what do ya," realization dawns, "Oooh. Nonononono Rhodes," she shakes her head, "I meant the thieves using it fer an oath wouldn't know it wasn't working fer pledging at first." She points to nowhere with her pen, "Cazzo the thieves, not us."


White hair strands drop into her face as she hard nods in agreement with Rhodes, "Dannatamente dritto we trust each other," that these monarchs were ones she'd trust to watch over her whilst unconscious. Circe has no doubts on this any longer and is honestly not surprised Rhodes has such loyalty to the three of them. John had proved himself and she knew her own loyalty to the couple was absolute. Even whence Circe was being annoying. "There not one of ya here, I wouldn't kill ta protect. I'd even stop punishing the English language, fer a couple of hours, on request."


Circe laughs, "Friends, I had 4 times that much choco. But kids, oh ho ho ho!" She inhales happily, "I'll even fund that night. I made two grand off'a those kids." That'd been a good bet to make. And Seraphina was talking about food quite a bit. "Well, donut let me stop ya, glaze ahead with yer plans," wink.


She does give him a nod of approval on the idea of just make it look magical. That'd save her a lot of work. "Yup Rhodes, adequate will do." She cheerfully agrees. Then gets sad and shame faced when John asks about a GPS. "Uh, depends John. If they go inta the Hedge? Nope. More complex mundy tech is, the quicker the Wyrd wrecks it. Rifle fine, advanced circuitry bad, Ford tested, ha ha, and failed." That'd been a waste of a grand. Cuddles though.


At the confirmation of Token lantern, Circe's ears droop as she sighs. reconsiders the feasibility of tooling up a Hedgespun decoy to that level. Rhodes was right on passable forgery over quality. Tokens were OP and not worth if for a decoy. "Not on me either," she concedes, "Closest I got is a crab claw. But it shouldn't be hard ta check the Hedge river banks. Dangers known. If me and John," she looks to the Winter King, "Can't scrounge it up locally Sera? We can go ta the market," she holds up her coffee, "I'll restrict my sales ta semiauto, promise."


It was surprising to her that only Summer and Autumn were seeing the necessity of operational secrecy. "Exactly Sera, listen ta John. You and John are over thinking this," she reassures them, "Our courts aren't full of idjits that'll be angry that a security measure was effective due to being hidden. Like an emergency fund we break open wouldn't piss off the 'ling benefitting. If covert security is this concerning, we can implement some overt security measures everybody will know about fer safety," she assures Seraphina and John as her ears bounce as the first idea for overt security enters her mind. And then heads to her lips, "Like a bear trap dais." Okay, Circe tried to reassure them.


John throws all this technical and logistics stuff for a loop as she has to back track to Jersey memories at particular question. Fiddling with her memory for a moment, the elfin Larcenist nods, "That's when ya got blue crabs ya hafta boil alive. Probably safe ta cook 'em if they've been dead only a few hours." Circe empties her coffee and pauses. Safari victuals, just pops into her brain. "After inspecting the flesh ta make sure Hedge bullshit doesn't make it dangerous."


Circe nods firmly as the issue of her hated acquaintance is brought up. Not a nemesis, that'd be too respectful. More like a PITA. "Her favorite muscle is gone and most survivors should be eager ta point at her. Tell 'em that Summer has a hard-on fer that fetch maker's head. Should loosen some lips," both as threat and enticement. Send the angry lunatics after Ann instead of coming to you to "ask" where she went. Though there was another option, "The leftovers in the Bay. Pretty sure the Winters are still there, I can make literal calls and see if any of 'em know a thing or have another way ta juju find Ann," Circe smirks, "They ran her out of town. Crazy as she is spiteful, so she'll return to them ta seek revenge eventually. I could talk 'em inta outsourcing destroying," that is what one did to monsters, "Ann fer them. Also, my business is booming, so I could try bribing them with shit they used ta want," Circe looks to Rhodes, "Could ya figure out a Pledge between us ta help me buy a set of Tommy guns?"

5 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-12-23 16:18:38	Circe rolls 9 to Remember when (10 Again, WillPower)	5, 1, 10, 8, 1, 2, 8, 10, 1, 2, 9	5 successes

Circe stops to grab more coffee as she thinks about the Bay once more. Okay, she missed the Rogue cuddles. She refills and sips her coffee before sharing one more thing. "Lastly, my silenced, scoped rifle. Just need ta find Ann Ironside. Pop-pop, watch that problem drop."

[Rhodes]

The Autumn King lapses into silence, his Mantle still hissing whispers of cold breezes around him. Crabs, chocolate, donuts... he had little thought for these things.

"Put another way," he speaks softly, "How many in our courts have ever asked where the stone goes outside of the coronations? We aren't lying to anyone about it, for it is safe and secure. I cannot foresee a need for others to know. As the Monarchs we have more responsibility to both our charges and our Freehold. If the ethical quandrys are too much, perhaps we should abandon the course altogether." The words were gentle but held an inescapable truth. Either this was a good idea with an omission of necessity to the masses, or people did not have the stomach for it. He had no issue, but the misdirection was as natural to the Leaden Mirror as fear.

Rhodes nodded slowly at Circe's thoughts. "I doubt that Ann will appear far enough away for such a chance. We have to root her out of her lair. She is too cautious to appear so exposed alone."

[Seraphina]

Nodding to John, “Even if it buys us five minutes, it would be five more minutes to get everyone warned and to safety. And for that? I will invest as much as I can.” Those few minutes could mean life or death for someone in the Freehold. “A GPS tracker?” thinking a moment, “I know there are sticker trackers now, very small, might even see if it can be built into the replica.” Might work. They would have to play around with it.

Smirking, “I would think a grenade would render the crab inedible.” Cause an explosion tends to leave little left in its wake.

The Nix got what the Winter was saying. Lying to your Court, to those you are supposed to be able to trust sucked.

A warm smile to Circe, “I feel the same about you Circe. I’ll always have your back.” While she had learned her fighting skills sucked, she had other skills at her disposal. There was a small chuckle and shake of her head as Circe makes her puns. “Gonna make you a crown for that you know? Being the Queen of Puns.” Seriously, she would do it.

Nodding in realization, “Ah, that’s a good point, I didn’t consider that. But with all the magic at our disposal, and the various Markets, there has to be something we could craft that would work in the Hedge as some sort of tracking device.” Maybe they just needed to get creative.

Writing something else down, “Sure! Just let me know when and I’ll be there.” A Market trip was always fun.

Sighing, “I tend to overthink at times. Think it’s my minds way of making up for years spent not concerned with it.” Yeah, that sounded good.

[Circe]

Circe smiles cheerfully at Rhodes, "That's why it is Soviet ammo solution, snipe with the carbine or light 'er up with the AK, both work oh ho ho ho! I should make more bullets," she writes that down.


"But how will ya make a crown that is also a pun?" She asks in genuine curiosity to Seraphina.


As far as tracking goes, there are two things that she can think of that'd work in both sides. "Scent tracking by a unique smell and hounds or tracking device could be done. Or radiation, buuuut," Circe doesn't really feel the need to explain how badly THAT could go Ironside. "We can also check the market for options. Hedge and Ironside reflect, and the flesh trading fucktards have tracking tools," that last part is growled out. "We'll make a trip of it."


"So, for right now it sounds like we'll see if we can make something mundane that'll glow with Goblin Fruit ta fake it ta keep it disposable," she writes this down and has to refill her coffee. "Keep it cheap and such. Sera? How cheap are the sticker GPS? If cheaper then that truck, we could check it in the Hedge."

4 days to go. Good to wrap up folks?

[James Turner]

He nodded at Rhodes' words, "That's exactly what I'm counting on actually. Ask me no questions, right? I wouldn't go that far, just talking through a concern is all. I doubt it will come up until there's a theft and then an explanation won't really be necessary." He shook his head, hand up for a surrender before it returned to the warmth of the cup of coffee looking between Sera and Circe as tracking was discussed.


"I know the tracker won't work in the hedge but if they don't find it. Well, X marks the spot doesn't it? Right to the door where we pick up the chase. Scent works if we have anyone that can track by it, otherwise I think it's just up to our own eyes. I know there are a few decent trackers around at least. I think there's a curve of cheap to effective where we can meet in the middle somewhere at least."


John tilted his head towards Rhodes, his thoughts siding with the Dread Lords on that matter. Anne wasn't stupid, she wouldn't be caught blindly like that. A trap was likely your best bet. "Speaking of the Market, seems there was an incident involving an unscrupulous butcher. Roshon seemed to be inquiring about it, I was going to put feelers out there and see if anyone else wanted to join me for Reconnaissance, a market trip is a good reason. Figured we maybe gather up a few interested parties and plan?"


He gave a sympathetic frown to Sera and raised his cup in solidarity and then took a sip. "Don't I know it but that is, unfortunately, always the way I've been."

[Circe]

The monarchs continue their discussion on morals and practicality for quite some time it seems.

Time! End scene, thank you folks this was quite interesting and entertaining. I didn't expect the differing viewpoints of the courts to factor in or highlight the similarities between some of them. Quite neat, good on you folks!