Dance of the Seasons IIIb: Rescue and Run (Storms of Winter)
Game: Changeling: The Dreaming: Dance of the Seasons
GM: Aaron (2_ragged_claws)
Setting: Duchy of Knollbrook, near Albany, NY
Players/Characters:
Monday, June 17, 2002
Gwen and Riyos proceeded into the forest and soon encountered a column of riders who they quickly identified as Morwen, Lenore, and their entourage - several Red Branch knights, a Nunnehi shaman, and the shaman's chimerical antelope companion. The group rode through a narrow valley, surrounded on all sides by dense foliage. As Gwen and Riyos drew close to them, a sniper from the other side of the valley fired upon the group. One of the Red Branch knights must have seen something, for he shouted a warning and hurled himself protectively in front of the Nunnehi man, taking the bullet that was meant for him. Fearing that the attack had just begun, Gwen rushed out of the undergrowth towards the column, swearing by the Dreaming that she was here to offer aid to the High King's sister and the others. Riyos followed, at a more moderated pace.
Morwen and the others were understandably somewhat suspicious, but Gwen explained that she had been sent by her house, and then further elaborated with the dreams that she had had, which seemed to predict this meeting. Princess Lenore and Speaks Calmly, the Nunnehi shaman, were quite interested by this, as it seems that the Norns had also sent them similar dreams. Gwen mentioned that, in her dream, she had seen three paths - two led to ruin, and she had followed an antelope down the third. Speaks Calmly suggested that perhaps this meant that the next step was for Gwen and the motley to come with him to Arizona, where his people dwelled. He had had further visions that they were in danger, and was worried that something might happen to his village. He had come, he explained, because he had witnessed events that linked Queen Faerilyth to High King David's disappearance. Morwen added that she also had an incriminating letter - they were headed to Tara Nar to provide this evidence to the Parliament of Dreams.
Gwen wasn't sure what the next step ought to be, especially since the caravan now longer seemed to out of danger for the moment, so she called her mentor to see if House Scathach had any opinions. He answered, and told her that he was at Tara Nar, and the unthinkable had happened. The entirety of the Parliament had been killed by unknown assailants. As Gwen was on the phone with him, Morwen discovered that the document she carried had turned to ash. It quickly came to light that Faerilyth had orchestrated the destruction of all evidence linking her to her husband's fate, and that furthermore she was attempting to pin the blame for the atrocity just committed at Tara Nar on Morwen's faction. It was decided that Princess Lenore should go with Speaks Calmly to Burning Sun, where it was safe; Gwen said that she would accompany them and that perhaps the rest of her motley would come as well. Riyos agreed.
Jacob, meanwhile, was at a very awkward state dinner, where everyone was very pointedly not discussing Gwen and Riyos' absence. Eventually becoming bored with the proceedings, Jacob snuck off to the more private reaches of the freehold, and lied his way into an audience with the Duke. The Duke was somewhat distracted with the mysterious puzzle box that he had been gifted, and Jacob convinced him that he (Jacob) should take a look at it, but the thing was as inscrutable as the rumors suggested. The old duke and the young pooka got to talking, about a number of things, and eventually the Duke presented Jacob with the medals that had been intended for presentation at the feast. Jacob promised to deliver them to Riyos and Gwen, and returned to the Great Hall, where he remained until the feast was over.
Gwen called Jacob as she, Riyos, Lenore, and Speaks Calmly reached the car; she proposed that everyone should rendezvous at the Three Horns and sort out everything that had happened. Jacob agreed to this. However, as er approached, we found that the Duchy was in turmoil. News of what had happened at Tara Nar had reached the commoners, and there was widespread rioting throughout the area. The Three Horns was a mess. Riyos said that he would stay at the Horns and rendezvous with Jacob, while Gwen got Lenore and Speaks Calmly to a safer location. Vassar College was agreed upon as a meeting place. Gwen drove off and Riyos went inside, where he found Bill, the proprietor of the tavern, disconsolate and drunk, as he had had a fight with his wife Liz, who then went off to try to stop the rioting. Riyos promised that he would try to find her. He went outside again and Jacob arrived, but then so too did Kasim and his gang of Unseelie. In order to protect Jacob, Riyos gave himself up to Kasim's gang, who drove off to the north with him. Jacob, meanwhile, made tracks to Vassar.
Gwen, for her part, called up Duncan to see if he knew any trods that led to Burning Sun; he told her he would send a member of House Scathach out to meet with her and tell her where she could find a few. Upon arriving at the agreed upon place - a park near Vassar - Gwen discovered that Duncan himself had come. She filled him in on everything that had happened, and introduced him to Lenore and Speaks Calmly.
Meanwhile, Riyos was working out an escape plan. Kasim was hoping to use him to lure Gwen into the open, so that he could indulge his murderous hatred of all sidhe. Riyos promised him that Gwen would come for him, and further convinced his rival that, in order to make it look as though everything was normal (before the ambush was sprung, of course), Riyos should wait alone in the open. He would need his staff, as well, since Gwen would certainly be suspicious if he was seen without it. Kasim reluctantly returned the staff and had his goons all hide themselves nearby. Riyos waited for a few minutes, then Hopscotched himself pell-mell down the street, and started running. Behind him, Kasim and his cronies cursed, and gave chase. Riyos broke into a car and desperately tried to hotwire it, but it resisted his efforts, and Kasim & co. closed around him, weapons drawn. Kasim, with an ugly smile, said goodbye...
...and Riyos found himself in a drawing room with Baroness Alessandra and her confidante. The Baroness had Flicker-flashed him out of danger, because, it seems, she had once been a part of the Shadow Court's machinations but had decided to turn on them. She told Riyos that the three medals that Jacob had were being used by the Court to track and observe all of us, and further told him that he needed to take Lenore and get her out of the Duchy as fast as possible. Riyos swiftly headed out again, calling all of us, telling us to destroy the serpentine medals (which we did), and setting a new rendezvous point in another part of town. We finally all met up and convinced Jacob to come with us; Jacob called his parents and told them that he urgently needed to take care of a suicidal online friend and didn't know when he'd be back. We then all followed Duncan to a remote corner of the Duchy, where there was a trod that led, over a somewhat precarious route through Willows and Grass, to Burning Sun. Riyos opened it, and we all stepped through, leaving the burning Duchy behind us.
GM: Aaron (2_ragged_claws)
Setting: Duchy of Knollbrook, near Albany, NY
Players/Characters:
- Sarah (kalliplokime)/Gwendolyn ni Scathach (Gwen Douglas): An older warrior/songstress.
- Peter (zero_the_fool)/Jacob: A skunk pooka /b/tard.
- Matt (ra1330)/Riyos (Christopher McCoy): An itinerant Eshu with memory of all his lives.
Monday, June 17, 2002
Gwen and Riyos proceeded into the forest and soon encountered a column of riders who they quickly identified as Morwen, Lenore, and their entourage - several Red Branch knights, a Nunnehi shaman, and the shaman's chimerical antelope companion. The group rode through a narrow valley, surrounded on all sides by dense foliage. As Gwen and Riyos drew close to them, a sniper from the other side of the valley fired upon the group. One of the Red Branch knights must have seen something, for he shouted a warning and hurled himself protectively in front of the Nunnehi man, taking the bullet that was meant for him. Fearing that the attack had just begun, Gwen rushed out of the undergrowth towards the column, swearing by the Dreaming that she was here to offer aid to the High King's sister and the others. Riyos followed, at a more moderated pace.
Morwen and the others were understandably somewhat suspicious, but Gwen explained that she had been sent by her house, and then further elaborated with the dreams that she had had, which seemed to predict this meeting. Princess Lenore and Speaks Calmly, the Nunnehi shaman, were quite interested by this, as it seems that the Norns had also sent them similar dreams. Gwen mentioned that, in her dream, she had seen three paths - two led to ruin, and she had followed an antelope down the third. Speaks Calmly suggested that perhaps this meant that the next step was for Gwen and the motley to come with him to Arizona, where his people dwelled. He had had further visions that they were in danger, and was worried that something might happen to his village. He had come, he explained, because he had witnessed events that linked Queen Faerilyth to High King David's disappearance. Morwen added that she also had an incriminating letter - they were headed to Tara Nar to provide this evidence to the Parliament of Dreams.
Gwen wasn't sure what the next step ought to be, especially since the caravan now longer seemed to out of danger for the moment, so she called her mentor to see if House Scathach had any opinions. He answered, and told her that he was at Tara Nar, and the unthinkable had happened. The entirety of the Parliament had been killed by unknown assailants. As Gwen was on the phone with him, Morwen discovered that the document she carried had turned to ash. It quickly came to light that Faerilyth had orchestrated the destruction of all evidence linking her to her husband's fate, and that furthermore she was attempting to pin the blame for the atrocity just committed at Tara Nar on Morwen's faction. It was decided that Princess Lenore should go with Speaks Calmly to Burning Sun, where it was safe; Gwen said that she would accompany them and that perhaps the rest of her motley would come as well. Riyos agreed.
Jacob, meanwhile, was at a very awkward state dinner, where everyone was very pointedly not discussing Gwen and Riyos' absence. Eventually becoming bored with the proceedings, Jacob snuck off to the more private reaches of the freehold, and lied his way into an audience with the Duke. The Duke was somewhat distracted with the mysterious puzzle box that he had been gifted, and Jacob convinced him that he (Jacob) should take a look at it, but the thing was as inscrutable as the rumors suggested. The old duke and the young pooka got to talking, about a number of things, and eventually the Duke presented Jacob with the medals that had been intended for presentation at the feast. Jacob promised to deliver them to Riyos and Gwen, and returned to the Great Hall, where he remained until the feast was over.
Gwen called Jacob as she, Riyos, Lenore, and Speaks Calmly reached the car; she proposed that everyone should rendezvous at the Three Horns and sort out everything that had happened. Jacob agreed to this. However, as er approached, we found that the Duchy was in turmoil. News of what had happened at Tara Nar had reached the commoners, and there was widespread rioting throughout the area. The Three Horns was a mess. Riyos said that he would stay at the Horns and rendezvous with Jacob, while Gwen got Lenore and Speaks Calmly to a safer location. Vassar College was agreed upon as a meeting place. Gwen drove off and Riyos went inside, where he found Bill, the proprietor of the tavern, disconsolate and drunk, as he had had a fight with his wife Liz, who then went off to try to stop the rioting. Riyos promised that he would try to find her. He went outside again and Jacob arrived, but then so too did Kasim and his gang of Unseelie. In order to protect Jacob, Riyos gave himself up to Kasim's gang, who drove off to the north with him. Jacob, meanwhile, made tracks to Vassar.
Gwen, for her part, called up Duncan to see if he knew any trods that led to Burning Sun; he told her he would send a member of House Scathach out to meet with her and tell her where she could find a few. Upon arriving at the agreed upon place - a park near Vassar - Gwen discovered that Duncan himself had come. She filled him in on everything that had happened, and introduced him to Lenore and Speaks Calmly.
Meanwhile, Riyos was working out an escape plan. Kasim was hoping to use him to lure Gwen into the open, so that he could indulge his murderous hatred of all sidhe. Riyos promised him that Gwen would come for him, and further convinced his rival that, in order to make it look as though everything was normal (before the ambush was sprung, of course), Riyos should wait alone in the open. He would need his staff, as well, since Gwen would certainly be suspicious if he was seen without it. Kasim reluctantly returned the staff and had his goons all hide themselves nearby. Riyos waited for a few minutes, then Hopscotched himself pell-mell down the street, and started running. Behind him, Kasim and his cronies cursed, and gave chase. Riyos broke into a car and desperately tried to hotwire it, but it resisted his efforts, and Kasim & co. closed around him, weapons drawn. Kasim, with an ugly smile, said goodbye...
...and Riyos found himself in a drawing room with Baroness Alessandra and her confidante. The Baroness had Flicker-flashed him out of danger, because, it seems, she had once been a part of the Shadow Court's machinations but had decided to turn on them. She told Riyos that the three medals that Jacob had were being used by the Court to track and observe all of us, and further told him that he needed to take Lenore and get her out of the Duchy as fast as possible. Riyos swiftly headed out again, calling all of us, telling us to destroy the serpentine medals (which we did), and setting a new rendezvous point in another part of town. We finally all met up and convinced Jacob to come with us; Jacob called his parents and told them that he urgently needed to take care of a suicidal online friend and didn't know when he'd be back. We then all followed Duncan to a remote corner of the Duchy, where there was a trod that led, over a somewhat precarious route through Willows and Grass, to Burning Sun. Riyos opened it, and we all stepped through, leaving the burning Duchy behind us.