⇨ THE SUMMERLANDS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 119 - Day 126
Where: The Summerlands
What: Ignatius and Gild portal everyone to the Summerlands, with hopes of appealing to the Summer Maiden for help. Meanwhile, the carnival gets the chance to relax in luxury as only tentatively welcome guests. Here is the location write up from the last time the carnival visited. Since then, of course, some things have changed.
Warnings: Nothing in particular.

THE SUN RISES↴ After taking the time to rest, Ignatius and Gild will be able to pool together their energy to portal the carnival (and the airship) to the Summerlands. Those still in Polaris will be left to their own devices for the moment as Gild intends to ask for the Summerlands aid in relocating them, hopefully as soon as possible. With the effort the carnival put into sorting things out in there, however, they should be fine on their own for a little while, at least. They will arrive in the flowery fields at the base of the mountains, and soon the Summer Fae will notice their presence. Since the last time they visited, however, the atmosphere has changed. ► YOUR ARRIVAL: As the Summer Fae discover the group's arrival, it will quickly become apparent that there is a tension present that wasn't there any of the other times the carnival has visited. The Summer Maiden comes to greet the group personally, with an entourage of armed Summer Fae. They are not at all aggressive unless provoked, but there is clearly a wariness that is new. They seem uncertain about Ignatius being here, and while Gild will be able to do a lot of the talking and smooth things over, the Summer Maiden will deflect having a serious conversation about affairs until the carnival has taken time to 'rest.' It's more likely that the Maiden needs a moment to think over this new information before dealing with it. ► SUMMER CITY: After the Summer Fae become aware of everyone's presence, and the initial uncertainties are accommodated, they will invite you into their city. There are stairs that lead up the sides of the mountains, but thankfully there are also magical means of getting up there as well. The Summer Fae will be willing to help workers with the injured as needed, offering herbal remedies and healing magic to those that want it. You'll also be invited to join them for dinner, but it feels like more of a formality, and no one is obligated to take them up on it. ► SUMMER PEOPLE: The fae here will do their best to entertain these new visitors - but it doesn't seem that much happens here besides day after day of peaceful meditation and relaxation. It is not uncommon to see Summer Fae spent days doing exactly the same thing, whether that be enjoying the weather, listening to music, or dancing - the day and night periods may be similar to earth, but when you don't need rest it can all blur together just the same. Some of the fae work on feats of agriculture or craftsmanship, and while there is no particularly need to work in this place, they take pride in the fact that they do. ► FAMILIAR FACES: One very different thing about the Summerlands this go around is that there appears to be a small settlement built at the base of the mountains, filled entirely with the former residents of the Manor. Alyss and Reyna will explain that they set up a place to live down there with the Summer Fae's help, and that the fae seems to be trying to remain hands off except when they are needed. The Manor folk overall seem to be doing well, though there is some tension regarding their place in the Summerlands - they are clearly seen as refugees, and while the Summer Fae do their best to help them, the arrival of the carnival and the request for even more help with refugee aid seems to be making things awkward. ► OF THINGS TO COME: The Summer Maiden will remain distant for the first few days, but according to Gild and based on personal observation, it will seem that the news that the Ringmaster has been taken and the idea that even more desperate mortals are requesting to come here are putting her at significant ill ease. She's not rude or dismissive, but she seems reluctant to address the situation head on, though she has said that she will hold a meeting with the carnival later in the week to discuss everything in more detail. None of them seem particularly angry or resentful, but they seem to regard the carnival as an ill portent of things to come.

Comments

[kingsroads]

Strange obviously doesn't want to stop this right now. He felt something. He could feel some sort of magic wrapped around Childermass and he was so close to grabbing it and holding onto that spell himself...but something went wrong. Somehow, he just came up short. And obviously the sensible thing to do is acknowledge his limitations and accept that this is a spell that he can't break.

But Strange is piss poor at accepting his limitations.

"I felt something," Strange admits, as he goes back to staring at Childermass, flames of his third eye still lit up, as if this will somehow answer all his questions. "I almost had it. If I just had a few more minutes with you and the spell..." But as he trails off, Strange knows he's not going to get those few more minutes.

[atouts]

Oh, he's dead on about that.

Thinking that Strange's spell did actually find something is frightening, which means Childermass rejects the idea and pulls his hand away from the other magician even as he tries harder to see it, whatever it might be. It really could just be another bout of madness, the inexplicable pressure in his head a coincidence or simply stress

"That's enough," he says, though softer this time, like he's trying to let a bruised ego down easily in hope that he'll give up. "Nothing happened, Mr. Strange. You must be mistaken."

[kingsroads]

"Why don't you believe me? When have I ever lied to you?" he asks, still staring in Childermass's general direction, still trying to focus and piece out whatever the hell this spell is. Because Childermass needs to know, he's got to remember, it would be cruel just to leave him like this...but then Strange remembers his last conversation with Lambert, how the other man pretty much accused him of doing what he thought best, not taking other people's concerns into account.

But how the hell can you take someone with memory loss's concerns into account? They don't remember what they forgot! The flames of Strange's eye still burn as he looks over at Childermass himself, slightly confused and hesitant expression on Strange's face.

"Do you even want to remember what you've forgotten?"

[atouts]

Because he doesn't want to believe that the Raven King would do that to him, not after how much he's done. It just isn't something he's going to admit, though, and so he just sighs.

"You don't lie to me," Childermass agrees, "But you're also a madman, by your own admission and hand. You may think you see something there when there isn't anything at all. If something like that appeared in the Athenaeum, why would you wait until now to tell me?"

If he would want to remember, however? That's a good question. He waffles on that a moment, brow furrowed, expression clearly uncomfortable rather than stoic for once.

"But... I would. If there really was something I've forgotten. I did not enjoy my most recent bout of that whatsoever."

Of course, he's still of the mind that there isn't anything for Strange to disenchant, now that the first attempt has failed.

[kingsroads]

"You forget," Strange continues, as that hesitant expression shifts to a guilty smile. "I was indisposed for a period after the Athenaeum. And considering that we had our fight directly after that..." Strange trails off, with a little shrug. Why would he wait until now to tell Childermass? Because he was dead, then there was that business with Ignatius, then he got stuck in a Mirror, and so on and so forth.

He's not even going to argue the madman bit because yeah, fair point. But back to the matter at hand. Childermass saying he wants to remember is a little weight off of Strange's shoulders. If he wants this, then Strange can help him obtain it.

"If you want to remember, then may I try again? Not now, of course, but after I've examined the spell a bit more and have a firmer grasp on the magic used. If I am mad and this doesn't exist, the worst that can happen is you lose five or so minutes of your time and I waste my time on nothing."

[atouts]

A fight that could have easily included 'by the way, you forgot this thing, you stupid man' but he supposes that's neither here nor there anymore. The request to try again, later, is tempting to turn down just to avoid a few minutes of inconvenience later on but if it will appease Strange...

"Fine," Childermass agrees to it. "Another time, when you've gotten a better look at it."

It being something he still very much doubts exists. Strange isn't wrong about it only being a small annoyance to deal with later on, seeing how the first attempt took barely a minute.

[kingsroads]

"Thank you," Strange responds, with a little nod. He's pretty sure Childermass still thinks he's crazy. There's no way he'll be able to convince Childermass until he actually breaks the spell and restores his memory himself. But he can at least vocalize some worries and frets that don't have anything to do with Childermass's faulty memory.

"Even if I fail in breaking the spell, I still wish you would come back to England. I know this is selfish, but..." how to explain this. "...it's hard when you're the only one who's experienced something and you've no one to talk with. Of course, I can talk to Arabella, but she never experienced all this," said with a vague gesture to the Summerlands. "It would be different than talking to you or Lambert."

[atouts]

"I..." Childermass wavers. Uncertainty isn't common in him, though lately he's been dogged by second-guessing himself, over and over again. In the end, he just grimaces and turns away, going back to retake his seat on the bench again. "I don't know. I do want to see England again, someday, but at the same time... I just don't know if I should, even for what you want."

And he understands it. He would want the same, someone to confide in, but he gets Lambert no matter where he goes. Strange, no one.

"It isn't just the curse, Strange. What if the Void is too strong in me? That's why they keep staring this time. They can all see it and I can feel it, again, after what the Mother did. If not that, then how long before they notice I've stopped aging? How long can I remain before I have to pretend to go traveling like any other magician in the stories, just so they don't look too closely? There are too many 'what ifs' and no answers."

[kingsroads]

"I don't think there will ever be answers," Strange quietly admits. All of the things that have happened to them seem completely out of everyone's experience. He's asked around, none of these fae knew about the Miracles, it only makes sense that they might not know about the Void. There's certainly no answers for 'I've now become a faeblood, what do I do about that.'

"You say you want to see England. So do so. If there's too many 'what ifs' and barely any answers then say to hell with it entirely and do what makes you happiest."

It's something that Strange has done before. But then again, he knows that he is a radically different man than Childermass. Childermass wouldn't do something for purely selfish reasons, not like Strange does.

[atouts]

"A hard thing to do," Childermass says with a quiet, miserable laugh. He slouches back against the bench and looks up at the sky this time instead of down at the dirt and grass. "I've never done anything for my own happiness, apart from choosing to be with Lambert."

Which won't pan out too well in England, even when the witcher does come along and... they've been over that point before, more than once, he's sure. He doesn't bother bringing it up again.

[kingsroads]

"Then why not start now?" Strange responds, with a small, awkward little smile. "You deserve to be happy and you deserve to do something for yourself. If you're damned no matter what and will face trouble no matter your choice, why not choose the thing that gives you the most happiness?"

Because no matter where Childermass goes, he will have to content with the Void, with the Count, with the Rose Queen, and so on and so forth (though wait, what was that bit about not aging?) Of course, the problem here is that Strange doesn't really know what would give Childermass the most happiness in the first place. He's assuming England...but Lambert coming along is a whole new set of problems.

[atouts]

"What would give me the most happiness, Mr. Strange, is to retire to Alola someday," Childermass says as seriously as ever, though when he looks at Strange again, there's finally a hint of a smirk at the corners of his lips. "But that shouldn't be for some time yet, considering I'm not too sure how immortals figure when to retire."

[kingsroads]

"There you go again with that not aging thing!" Strange sighs. He's honestly confused here: when did this development happen? "Is this something the Mother of Invention did? Because this conversation is the first time I'm hearing of it."

[atouts]

Childermass waves his hand vaguely, like that isn't as important as it should be.

"I did look through her research on faebloods but no, it isn't from her. It's from the Count. It seems old age isn't something that should worry me, though there's plenty of other things out there to kill me in time's stead."

[kingsroads]

"Normally I wouldn't say this, but considering recent events, apparently it must be said: there's no way in hell I'm going to be the one to kill you."

What do you mean he's using joking as a coping mechanism to distract from the fact that the idea of not dying kind of sickens Strange to his stomach, he's not using joking as a coping mechanism! Nope, not him!

[atouts]

Childermass just gives a faint snort at that because really? The very idea?

"I'm not sure you'd be able to even if you did try," is what he has to say to that, joke or not. "Although I have no plans on asking that of you, just in case you're wondering."

[kingsroads]

"You underestimate me," Strange idly responds. Still, of course Childermass would underestimate him. He has a feeling that most people do.

"But thank you," Strange responds, with a little nod. "The king's roads are open now. If you want to slip away from everyone back in England, you have the means to do so with them."

[atouts]

"I believe you may have that the wrong way around," Childermass muses aloud, though he isn't terribly offended by it. Strange doesn't actually have equals, as far as he can tell, no matter what the man may claim. Another magician being able to escape him would, perhaps, be a laughable idea.

"Because I have my shadows for that. I can sleep away whenever I want and not worry about running into someone on a road."

[kingsroads]

"But you can't explore your shadows the way you can explore the roads." Wait a moment. Strange frowns a little before asking, "Can you?"

Because if Childermass could explore his shadows...then that's something entirely new, different, and interesting.

[atouts]

"I haven't tried," Childermass admits with a shrug. "There isn't much to explore, is there? Darkness, more darkness. They're shadows, not roads, but they serve their purpose."

[kingsroads]

"Well why not explore them?" Strange asks, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. Of course, this is just a difference between him and Childermass: Strange is a big fan of exploring things for the sake of exploring.

"You never know, there might be something of interest."

[atouts]

"If there are, I've yet to run into any and I'm not sure I want to. I do know there are Shadow Elementals, though I've seen none..." And they may not even live between literal shadows, for all he knows. "Ms. Nagisa has an entire spellbook written in their language, you know."

One he certainly can't read and, well, Strange probably does know. Where there's magic, there's probably Strange.

[kingsroads]

Strange does indeed know. He nods as Childermass mentions Carly's spellbook. "Miss Nagisa and I attempted to cast one of the spells from that book once—against my better judgement, mind you. I'm not foolish enough to try stolen spells that I've no idea what they do."

This is a goddamn lie and they both know it. He's not foolish enough to try stolen spells unless he thinks they're interesting.

"Anyway, the spell succeeded in removing her shadow from her body, rendering it temporarily sentient. The Ringmaster had to patch it up later."

[atouts]

"So it was you who helped with that," Childermass says, not without some amusement. "She mentioned that part. Apparently, the worst thing about it was that the Ringmaster laughed at her. She came to ask if I could do anything with it, but... I would rather not handle that book, truth be told."

[kingsroads]

"Perfectly understandable," Strange says, with a little nod. After all, considering Childermass's faebloodness, who knows what might happen if he meddles with the book. He was always the better safe than sorry sort, Strange understands Childermass's worry.

"After all, one spell might be harmless, but I've no idea about the others."