⇨ The Tourist Trap: WEEK 3

[ringleaders]

Who: Anyone, anywhere in Portland.
When: October 15st - 22th, 2017
Where: Still in Portland
What: As all sides of the struggle gradually become informed, and the awareness of outsiders begins to spread, Portland faces a critical question - what should be done with them? And who gets to decide?
Warnings: Individually marked!

THE WOLVES AMONG US↴ ► WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS: It's fairly common knowledge that October is a special month - Halloween has always been an excitable time in the supernatural community, because its during this month that the magical energies of Earth seem to disproportionately swell in power. This peeks on the 31st, and has every year for as long as anyone can remember. The holiday of Halloween is a byproduct of this, because the magical phenomenon has gone on for ages past. It's also a pretty common time for wizards to attempt bullshit shenanigans, and also when the Severing first came into effect. ► TOUCHED BY AN ANGEL: Towards the end of the week, Prudence Jaeger will be asking her angelic contacts for a pretty huge favour - she wants them to help her and some of her associates break into the Circle stronghold that the visiting Council members are staying at. It seems that they have some kind of macguffin item that will be needed to crack the barrier cutting off the Earth from the cosmos - and, to that end, allow the angels and mysterious outsiders to return to wherever they call home. ► THE PATH TO HELL: Perhaps unsurprisingly, Team Heaven isn't the only group to clue into the fact that the Circle has what they need. On the same night that the angels go in, so will Anath's army, as the arch demon finally arrives in the city just in time to join the party. Whether the angels and demons fight each other all the way or cooperate to achieve a mutual goal is up to them. ► WITH GOOD INTENTIONS: The Circle and Torchlight aren't all bad, okay? It's entirely possible that they are just acting in the best interest of humanity - unfortunately, that has resulted in them being pretty massive pricks recently, and now the payback for that is arriving on their doorstep. If you're a member of the Circle, you may or may not realize that anything is coming in time for you to prepare. (That will depend on your threads up to the end of the week.) However, once the fight starts, you'll be charge with defending the Councillors whether you like it or not, and Torchlight is getting pulled in as an unexpected ally to ensure their safety as well. Are you going to heed their call? Or is it time to split from the pack? ► BLOOD OF ICE AND FIRE: It's been made no secret that the Rose Queen isn't the only fae trying to pull back her lost changelings - now the Winter Court appears to be doing it, as well. More than a handful of changelings have gone missing over the last couple weeks, lost to both the thorns and agents of the Count. Whatever they're doing, it's also in competition with each other - Winter and Summer will be biting at each other's heels far more than normal, to the degree that it becomes clear they must have some competing objective in mind. Unfortunately for everyone else, that objective happens to conflict with the desires of just about everyone else. Fae are, by nature, opportunists. - ✪ - These are the major conflicts that will be coming to a head towards the end of Week 3. In the meantime, your actions will decide how certain elements are set up, and what the likelihood of success is for each group. Dice rolling handily won the opinion poll where we asked for the preferred method of conflict resolution, so that will be coming into effect a bit later on to determine who actually wins and loses, with advantages based on the choices made.

Comments

[whattaprick]

"Hey." Lambert glances up as Sora enters, nodding in acknowledgment. He looks tired, compared to the last time Sora saw him -- even more so -- but at the same time, he seems oddly focused. This isn't any sort of social call, not with everything else going on, and his expression probably reflects that.

"Come in, and close the door." Lambert twines his fingers together, resting his hands on the edge of the desk. Once he's done that, Lambert launches into why he set up this meeting without preamble:

"I think I know who the changeling in your vision was."

[destiny_key]

Sora shuts the door as he's asked, just a tad nervous, and then he's barely sat down when Lambert springs that on him.

"What, really?" Sora says, eyes widening. "Who? Are they okay?"

[atouts]

"Yes, Lambert, who?"

Because Lambert mentioned a boy who had visions, but he failed to mention visions about any changelings in particular. Also, hello Sora. Childermass has decided to be extra dramatic with his entrance today, having moved in a flicker of shadows from the one spot he'd been eavesdropping to sitting in the open chair right next to him, feathers and all. Thankfully far less bloody and much more active than anything Sora would have seen in his vision, too.

He'll give Sora a look-over in a moment, but for now, it's Lambert who's getting all of his suddenly very suspicious attention.

Is that why he asked him to be here? Just what changeling are they talking about?

[whattaprick]

Lambert has no idea if Sora's abilities extend to seeing past glamor, but in any case, whether or not he can see the feathers, hopefully he can recognize whether or not it's him. As such, he's not going to do more than wave a hand vaguely at the man now sitting next to Sora.

"You." He's not watching Childermass, though. Sora doesn't seem like a very deceptive kid, so he assumes it'll be easy to tell if he recognizes Childermass or not.

"This is Sora. Sora, this is..." He'll trail off there, to let Childermass make his own introductions. God knows which fake name he's going to pull out today.

[destiny_key]

"Oh!" Sora manages to say in surprise, because whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't the feathered guy from his vision to drop from the ceiling next to him. He's a lot more imposing now that he's not covered in blood and tied to a block of ice.

"You're that guy!" he says, pointing. "The one I saw."

Yeah, Sora's not even going to pretend to hide that he's seen Childermass.

[atouts]

"John," is the only name he'll offer. There's no need to make up a new one or even provide his usual fake surname in this case. "Which is preferable to 'that guy', but if you must..."

He waves a hand vaguely like he doesn't actually care all that much, although he can't help but sound a little annoyed at the other two going on about him being in a vision but not actually telling him what vision. He stops eyeing Lambert and shifts that same wary look over to Sora now.

"So I'm the one you saw. The one you saw where, exactly?"

[whattaprick]

"A vision," Lambert fills in, and in case Childermass is under any illusion he's any more in the dark than he is, he'll add, testily: "Your description wasn't all that specific."

Specific enough to make him worry, but... He rests a hand on the table, staring Sora down. "Care to fill in the blanks? Tell us what you saw in your vision, from the beginning."

[destiny_key]

"Well, um..." Sora starts, but then trails off. The vision has faded since he originally had it, and the details are fuzzier now. And he's not used to talking about his visions like this, out in the open to other people. He's not good at this. But John deserves to know, if nothing else, and Sora can't let him go without at least warning him.

"I saw you," he gestures to Childermass, "And you were... chained up. To like, a big ice pillar. And you looked like you were hurt, and you had blood on you. And there were people holding bowls of blood around you, and I think the bowls were ice too. I... I don't remember much else. It was dark, and I only saw a little bit..."

He sighs. "I'm sorry."

[atouts]

As soon as Sora mentions ice, Childermass is sitting up straighter in his seat, suddenly tense. Sora may not know what that means, but he clearly does. He hears out the rest of what he has to say, then purses his lips into a thin line, brow furrowing.

"The Winter Court," he says grimly, letting them both know exactly what the place must have been. "And some kind of ritual... I know you said you do not remember the rest, but please try. Were there birds anywhere? Anyone with feathers, besides myself?"

[whattaprick]

Lambert's blood just about freezes in his veins at Sora's reply, but on the end of Childermass's statement he'll simply be quiet, waiting for Sora's response to that as well. Though he'll take a moment to prompt him--

"Was this a vision of the future? Not the past?"

[destiny_key]

"I, um, I don't know," Sora replies to Childermass. "I only saw it for, like, ten seconds. I was a little more worried about the half-dead guy in the middle of the courtyard."

Sora turns to Lambert next and adds, "It was definitely the future. The past ones are always from like, my point of view. Like a memory. The future ones are just kind from wherever."

[atouts]

Well, no confirmation is really needed, in any case. Tied to ice in a dark place points to the Count of Crows no matter what, as far as Childermass is concerned. He breathes out a sigh and leans back in his chair, the wood creaking as old library chairs often do.

"But near future or far? Do these visions always come to pass?"

[whattaprick]

No comment from Lambert as Childermass speaks -- he's been more or less wondering the same thing. It's always been possible to avert his own visions, but it's not like he's an expert. He'll turn his attention to his notes instead, shuffling the relatively innocuous ones on Latin aside to get to the ones marked heavily with post-its and his own notes. He needs to ask Sora if he's seen any other visions that might relate to anything in Strange's notes.

[destiny_key]

"Usually, yeah. Sometimes Jo- I mean, sometimes I can avert them, but not always," Sora says thoughtfully. They come to pass about 90% of the time, actually, but it also happens that many of Sora's visions are inane things that don't need to be averted at all.

"As for when... I dunno. It could be in an hour, or it could be next week. I don't think I've ever seen anything further ahead than a week, though."

[atouts]

Usually. Grand. Obviously, Childermass doesn't look very happy about it, but he won't direct that at Sora. What he grumbles next isn't really pointed at anyone, just him sounding tired.

"I suppose that's why the Queen has been telling me to stay put in the gardens," he says, although that may make no sense to their young friend sitting next to him. The chance to explain further might never come, too, since the room they're in has been growing steadily colder, colder than even the air conditioning being on could count for.

But it's October, isn't it? Why would the air conditioning be on at all?

[whattaprick]

"Thanks for the heads up," he says. Terrific, just the sort of news Lambert wanted to hear. In the meantime, Lambert's found what he's looking for -- a small piece of paper not unlike Sora's list of people to look for, which he'll slide across the table so both of them can see. It's written in Lambert's sharp, decisive penmanship, though none of the terms make very much sense put together:

Arcadia
multiverse
carnival
Nightrider
Severing

"If you get any more visions like that, or hear about anything involving the things on this list, I'd like you to let me know. It might be--" He trails off, rubbing at his arms and frowning. He's always been sensitive to the cold; when did this room lose its heat?

[destiny_key]

Sora peers down at the list, looking it over carefully. 'Arcadia' and 'Nightrider' don't mean anything, and 'Severing' he's pretty sure is that thing Joker talks about sometimes. But 'multiverse'... Rin had mentioned something about that, once, right when this whole mess began. And hadn't he seen a carnival just yesterday in his last vision-memory?

He's about to answer when the room temperature begins to lose heat, and suddenly it feels freezing in here. Sora's wearing a warm hoodie, but still he starts to rub at his own arms, and is that his breath fogging out in front of him? He should have known it was a bad idea to come here by himself.

"Is it... really cold, suddenly?" he manages to ask.

[atouts]

Childermass isn't much for noticing how cold something gets up until he, too, can see his breath in the air. That has him jerking his attention away from Sora to the doors, the glass windows, then up to the ceiling and the vents. He can see bits of snow beginning to spit and sputter out of the latter.

"Lambert," he starts, voice suddenly very quiet, like he's trying not to wake someone. He sets his hands down on top of the table and slowly rises to stand. "They're here."

[whattaprick]

For his part, Lambert nods quickly, jerkily. His notes are everywhere, but in a practiced sweep of his hand, he gathers them all together, clutching them in his hand and thrusting it into his bag.

"Sora," he starts to say, turning to the boy. Apparently, his visions hadn't warned him of this, but what can you do? "You should--"

Get out of here isn't something he gets a chance to say, because at that point the grill on the vent above them explodes outwards in a flurry of snow and ice that rains into the room.

"--go!" Lambert finishes, quickly, jerking to his feet as the temperature starts dropping in earnest. Ice hits the opposite wall of the room and begins to creep across at unnatural speed, crackling with magic.

[destiny_key]

Sora yelps at the explosion, nearly falling out of his chair in surprise. The air in the room has suddenly become so cold that it feels like the dead of winter, and the sudden change makes him feel like he's just been dumped into a bucket of ice water.

At Lambert's yell, his sudden paralyzing shock is broken, and he quickly scrambles out of his chair and away from the creeping blizzard that seems to be taking over the other side of the room. However, he makes no move to leave.

"But, what about you guys?" Sora asks shakily. He's scared, yes, but he can't just leave these two to the mercy of whatever it is that's attacking them.

[atouts]

Sora may make no move to leave, but with the ice advancing to quickly, he'll soon find Childermass moving to help him along regardless. It may involve seizing him by the shirt and dragging him along as he makes a run for the door, assuming he manages to at all.

"We'll figure it out as we go. Everyone out! Before it freezes the door solid!"

[whattaprick]

While Childermass goes for Sora, Lambert bolts for the door, tugging and holding it open for both of them to dart through -- though yeah, hopefully they move fast. Because not only is the ice heading for the door, but it's also underfoot, seeking to make the two stumble with jagged protrusions that blossom from the carpet.

The ice on the wall begins to ripple, bulging like something's about to burst through.

[destiny_key]

Sora makes a strangled noise as he's suddenly hauled bodily from the room, but it doesn't take much to get him to follow behind as they flee the room.

It's much warmer in the main part of the library, but the temperature seems to be dropping out here as well, and it's probably best that they get out as fast as they can.

Even after Childermass lets go of his shirt, he keeps tugging the others forward, because while he may have a faint idea of what's going on, it's still not anything he wants to be near.

[atouts]

They make it out of the room with Childermass whirling around to rip it from Lambert's grip and slam it shut just as the bulging ice explodes into shards, releasing the growing shadows that had been collecting just below the surface before. Birds, so many birds. Crows and ravens and jackdaws and magpies, they all come shrieking into the study room and slamming mindlessly into the glass, more than a few hitting hard enough to crack it, then fall, necks broken, to the floor within.

Obviously, the three outside the room aren't going to stick around to see just how thick library glass is, so... Running, time to keep running! With Sora tugging at them to keep going, Childermass is more than happy to turn and follow as quick as he can. That glass won't hold for long. Hopefully, no librarians will get caught up in it, but—

Well, not his problem. Sorry, librarians.

"We should split up," he says as they make their break for it. "They'll only be after me! I can lead them out!"

[whattaprick]

"Fuck that!" Lambert exclaims, loudly -- much to the scandal of the librarians who recognize him as one of their own, but he ignores them all for now and sprints ahead of Childermass and Sora (not that it's difficult to do). Behind them, the birds keep smacking into the glass, and Lambert's not sure how long that's going to hold.

"Over here!" As he runs for one of the library's side exits, shoving it open, his mind's racing, trying to think -- what's the best way to deal with a bunch of murderous ice birds?

As he bursts through the door, his eyes land on a construction area -- some part of the pavement where people have been breaking up the concrete to lay down some new pavement. Given that the workers are still on their break, the tools they were using are currently unattended... the sound of cracking glass behind them probably suggests they should make a decision quickly about whether they keep running or make a stand.