⇨ NPC MEET & GREET

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 76 - Day 78
Where: The Carnival
What: A gaggle of NPCs have arrived at the carnival to help with the acquisition of the Silver Mirror. There is an investigation thread for casual NPC interactions, and the rest will be handled in expositional megathreads.
Warnings: Nothing in particular!

HERE BEHIND YOU↴ As promised by the Ringmaster, near the end of the week there will be a number of guests arriving. All of them have encountered the carnival before in a variety of ways - you may have met them, or they may have been before your time. Either way, there are here to help. They owe the carnival a favour, after all. They are around for specific reasons, which will be carried out in the form of a couple conversational megathreads, but beyond that you are free to ask them questions in the investigation thread. ► THE DWARF FAMILY: This trio of dwarves (pictures here) are the heart and soul of the Worldwalker Caravan, aka the merchants that came to entertain the carnival during their solstic vacation on the moon. Brunis is a master tinkerer, Brauni is a master blacksmith, and Bal is a master chef. All of them are capable of creating amazing things, and if necessary they may be willing to do a few commissions for the carnival. ► SHIMMER & SCALD: A pair of escaped Winter Court changelings who used to belong to a fae called the Mother of Invention, and are now part of the Worldwalker Caravan. Shimmer is the more vocal of the two, and was apparently one of the Mother's top scientists before she fled. For obvious reasons, neither of them want the Winter Court to win the day. ► RAPH THE NEPHILIM: Mostly known for the fact that she was the brewer of the healing draughts that the carnival bought on mass from the Caravan during solstice. She uses her angelic powers to create and restore angelic artifacts, and knows a bit about angelic history. She's also had more direct experience with the Nephilim lifestyle than most. ► MOSS THE CHANGELING: Another changeling seeking refuge within the Caravan, she mostly gave the impression of being from the Summer Court. Unfortunately, whatever she went through seems to have traumatized her, leaving her so socially anxious that she struggles to carry on normal conversations. For those that met her, seeing her come out to the carnival in such a small group may come as a surprise. ► ALYSS & REYNA: A rabbit girl and a fox girl who were first encountered as starcrossed lovers under the tyrannical rule of the Prince. The efforts of the carnival helped to free them and the rest of the Manor servants, and instead of seeking refuge in the Summerlands, they chose to travel with the Caravan. They are mostly here on a social call, eager to say hello and lend what aid they can to the people who saved their lives. ► PRUDENCE & DAMIEN: The odd ducks out, these two are actually not from the Caravan at all! Instead, they are from Portland, in the version of earth that the carnival was trapped in for a month almost half a year ago. They were allies with the carnival during their efforts to break the barrier trapping them, and now, somehow, they've arrived at the carnival. Prudence is notably another nephilim, and the holder of a powerful angelic artifact called the Hand of God. Damien is her partner in crime and a warlock, or something.

Comments

[fortuneglass]

If she hadn't already been berating herself after saying those words- not quite flinching but certainly going quieter and quieter, what with the words coming Exactly as she put it together- Moss' tears certainly do that forward, striking her like a knife. She barely hears Strange- let alone Shimmer, but by the time her light has dulled entirely she has certainly caught the sharp glare.

Her eyes are welling with tears, but she is silent, shrinking in place almost literally with how much presence is lost as the light dulls and pulls in with her mood.

She feels she wants to leave. She can't though, how much worse would that be, imagine, not that she's of any help here anyway given she's made it worse and...

Carly swallows, muting her own sobs, ducking her head to keep from drawing any attention from what's important. Maybe if she's lucky, her food can hide her.

[bananaspeedrider]

By the time it's mentioned that there's no discrimination on what can become prey in the Wyld Hunt and the... obvious implications, dinner is now over as far as Yugo's own appetite is concerned. He nudges away his plate entirely to the side, because why would anyone want more food after this bombshell?

Also he doesn't want to remember all too clearly his own experience with the Prince either.

"Plus there's not a lot of places they can't go already, right?"

[spaghettimonster]

After the Prince's Hunt, and everyone finding out that the Beasts there were transformed people... the inklings of what had happened underneath... Well, it was probably best not to think too hard about the food they'd all eaten as guests. Papyrus has made a point of trying very hard not to.

At least you're pretty sure potatoes were never people. Human or otherwise.

But there's something to the question of getting away, and he shoots a hand up in the air before talking.

"And, if the Hunt does show up... Well, Lilith's super strong, right? And she doesn't like outsiders coming in and... doing things. I know we're hiding, but... Things go better for us," not best by any means, but better, "when bad guys are fighting each other. Could we get them mad at each other, and sneak out in the confusion?"

[whattaprick]

Cannibalism in the cookhouse seems a bit too on point,. Not that Lambert’s stomach is easily turned, but he’s not so sure about anyone else, and even he isn’t that excited about dealing with vomit on top of all the crying ...

“Better not count on it. Lilith probably wouldn’t appreciate someone coming in to hunt her people,” he says, propping an elbow on the table edge. “She could just decide to wipe us out instead of picking a fight. But that’s probably something we’ll need to work out ourselves.”

Like, Moss doesn’t look like she’s about to be up to engage in any strategy pow-wows. He’d like to hear her answer Yuya’s question about staying hidden, before he fires off any more questions of his own

[npcarnival]

Shimmer had really been hoping to avoid the specifics of Moss's situation, or else she probably would have advised against sharing this information during supper. Oh well, too late now. Moss won't be answering these questions herself.

"There's no reason that he'd be able to track you to Eden... our point is that he's trying. The Huntsman was always an ally of the Courts, until the Ringmaster destabilized his reign. With the Winter Court apparently trying to sabotage her, and the Summer Court reacting to the capture of or murder of one of their own... it's no wonder that they've chosen now to rekindle their partnership with the Huntsman."

"At some point in the future, it won't be unexpected for him to catch up. But there's no way to determine when without more information. However, I don't think it should be shocking that the Courts are mustering their resources to strike back. The key will be to acquire the Mirror before they can."