Hi there to everyone that reads this, which is probably about three people. I know Lana talked about performance anxiety in her blog and I REALLY don't want to up it. However, what an incredible gaming session. I also have to give huge kudos to the guys. They really shined in this episode. So much so that, even though it was Shade's trouble and temptation, they were the true stars. They have made some great characters. Jason is really coming out of his shell playing the douche bag with the secret heart of gold. He frequently has all of us rolling over what he says and does. Jay's playing is awesome. A new player can turn out to be a mistake (*cough*... Everlasting and Marc...*cough*) but that is not the case here. Neil is the perfect character for this game and I, for one, cannot wait to see what Jay will have him do next.
I will admit to feeling a bit useless last night but that is just Shade and her indecision toward power. Will she take it? Will she pass it up? I am sure Lana already knows the answer. To see how she gets to that moment of choice, let's begin.
With a Ghoul in the trunk and a dead girl in the backseat, Neil's options were rather limited. He placed a call to Legends and told the person who answered that Philip needed to be there in ten minutes with armed guards and that he had Anna. He and Wyatt drove off. After a bit, they both heard a VERY loud thump coming from the back. Neil looked and saw a hand sticking out of the trunk. Spinning the car around, Neil backed into a telephone pole...hard. Poor Wyatt had no clue what was going on. With nothing more being seen or heard from the back, Neil took off again for Legends. Once they were there, Neil had Wyatt leave. After a bit of knocking, the door was answered and Neil went it. A woman named Helena asked what happened. Neil told her to get Philip and he would explain. He also let her know about the Ghoul in the truck. She sent a couple of men out there to get it. After a few minutes, Philip came in, looking impossibly handsome and impeccably dressed. He and Neil talked for awhile. Neil told him what happened, leaving Wyatt's presence out of the tale. Philip asked about any items she might have had on her. Neil said there hadn't been any that he saw. Helena searched the body and confirmed nothing was there. Philip then offered payment. Neil refused, though he did bring out a business card and gave it to Philip, letting him know that he was available for jobs. He also asked that the Ghoul be taken care of. Philip assured him the Ghoul would be treated properly. How humane his ending would be based on just how free the Ghoul was with information. Satisfied, Neil left.
In the Liberace Museum, Shade found an unused conference room and set to work. She tattooed herself with three spells (rituals are great, if you have time to do them). The first was a ward around herself. The second was a transformation spell to alter her looks. The third was a simple offensive fire spell. When she was finished, she gathered everything up and left. Yes, the Museum is neutral territory but, if they wanted the apple bad enough, Shade figured they would just deal with the fallout of an attack. Robert Mason had been really nice to let her stay there and she didn't want anything bad to happen to him or his home.
Outside the Museum, Brandon was still watching the Gruff and the other guy, who turned out to be a Ghoul. Wanting to get closer, Brandon pretended to be drunk and staggered closer to them. He sized them up but figured that a physical confrontation would be kind of tough. Continuing the drunk act, he "collapsed" against a nearby wall. He couldn't hear anything but the Gruff seemed unhappy about something and the two started arguing. Just then, the three of them saw a woman leave the Museum. The Gruff and Ghoul continued arguing. Brandon decided to drunkenly walk up to them and ask if they wanted to go into the Museum for a drink. They ignored him. Dropping the pretense, Brandon told them he thought it would be wise for them to go. The Gruff tried to intimidate Brandon but it didn't work. Brandon easily took him out socially. The Ghoul was another matter. The two of them traded veiled and not so veiled threats. It was fast coming close to turning into physical combat when a shroud of darkness fell over the three of them. When it lifted, Brandon saw Mason behind the Gruff and the Ghoul. Announcing to all a good night, Brandon quickly left. Mason gently informed the other two they should go as well.
Having made her escape, Shade went to one of the many seedy, rent by the hour motels off the Strip and settled in for awhile. She opened the Sight on the apple again. This time, she was looking for something specific- how to invoke it's power. There were runes on the sickle which she couldn't fully decipher. However, she figured that saying them would do the trick. Satisfied, she left for another motel.
After leaving Philip, Neil placed a call to Mr.White's private number. He answered and agreed to meet Neil at his office. Getting there, the two of them went up to Uri's office and sat down. Neil told him what happened at the lot and to Anna. Uri quirked an eyebrow when he learned that Neil subdued a Ghoul. That was not what usually happened when a human went against one. Uri was fairly stoic until he heard that Anna was dead. After hearing that, he told Neil that Shade's life was in danger and asked if he knew where she was. Neil said no. Telling Neil they needed a wizard, Uri called Brandon. Brandon, who had just got home, answered the phone. He wasn't too pleased but he agreed to come over. About an hour and a half later, he got to Uri's office. Sitting down, he was told that he needed to do a locating spell for Shade. Brandon asked him if he had something from her and Uri pulled out a couple of strands of hair. The first spell wasn't strong enough to penetrate the ward Shade had made around herself. Exasperated, Uri offered his blood to help. That was a huge sacrifice. Having the blood of a person or being was basically a way to have power over them. With that addition, Brandon was able to get the second spell to work. They had a general idea of where she was.
Feeling her spell being tested the first time, Shade once again packed up and left for another motel. There she cast a stronger ward and fell to sleep. When Brandon cast his second spell, it woke her up. Even though she recognized Brandon's magic, she wasn't taking any chances. She knew that location spells weren't that specific. So, she headed out for a motel on the other side of the strip.
Needing to get to her quickly, Uri simply opened a rift into the Nevernever. Brandon was suitably impressed and followed Uri in with little hesitation. Neil didn't hesitate either. He simply picked up his drink and entered behind the other two. The view on the other side of the rift was not pleasant. It was hot and full of fire. The landscape was bare with the occasional burned, dead tree. After a short time, Uri stopped and opened away back into the normal world. The three of them entered into a dark and, more importantly, cool alley. They decided the best thing would be to split up and search. After a half an hour so, they met back up with nothing learned. Being unable to find her, Uri stated he was going back to his office and getting some sleep. A cranky half demon, woozy from blood loss, was not the best company. Neil elected to get a cab back to his car. Brandon went back through the rift with Uri.
Very early the next morning, Shade left the motel and called Mr. White. Without preamble, she asked if he had been able to set up the meeting. He asked where she was; she answered she was safe. He told her that she was not safe and she needed to come to his office. Shade reluctantly agreed. After hanging up, Uri made two phone calls. They were to Brandon and Neil, telling them they didn't need to keep looking for Shade. Getting to his office, Shade was ushered in by a disheveled looking Uri. That alone told her how serious the matter was. Never had she seen him less then impeccable. When seated, Uri started speaking. The Fey of Vegas were neither Summer nor Winter. They were Autumn and Spring. A long time ago, Summer and Winter had decided to wipe the other two out and they almost succeeded. Locke had negotiated with the remnants of the Autumn and Spring Courts to come to Vegas. Now, it seemed that someone had invited representatives of the Summer and Winter Courts to come to Vegas and finish what they had started. Philip was the King in Waiting of the Autumn Court and that was who they were to meet. Shade took it all in. She then asked about Anna. Uri bluntly told her Anna was dead. As far as he was concerned, Shade was going to either stay there (where he could sit on her, figuratively speaking) or the Museum. He ruled out the Luxor and getting Locke involved. Shade agreed with him on that point. Locke had kicked her out once; she wasn't going back for round two. She also vetoed the Museum. They both settled down for some much needed sleep. Uri took the couch; Shade the floor.
Brandon and Neil both slept late. When Neil got up, he started to do some research on Ghouls. He found out that holy items were the best defense against them. It was shopping time. He first bought a squirt gun and then hit up a church to fill it with holy water. Then it was off to the car dealership. His car was a write off from the Ghoul and he thought he would look good in a new Mercedes. He made sure to get a voucher for Mr. White. Brandon was a bit more leisurely. He treated it as a vacation day.
Upon awakening, Shade made coffee while Uri made some calls. They were to Neil and Brandon, respectively. He wanted to hire their services as bodyguards for the upcoming meeting. Hearing that, Shade vehemently denied that she needed bodyguards. Uri told her that yes, she did. Still arguing with him, Uri told her to be quiet and finished talking to the two men. After the calls, they both took showers and waited for the boys to arrive. Brandon got there first and then Neil, who thankfully brought food. After filling them in on the Fey matter and taking care of the money part, Brandon and Neil went shopping. First stop was a military store where Neil bought gloves and had them fitted with screws on the outside of the leather. Next stop was a Renaissance shop, where both got fitted with chain mail. Last stop was back to a church, so Neil could get his gloves blessed. Shade used the time to cast a few spells she thought she might need, one of which was a fire spell.
With everyone gathered together again, Uri announced it was time for the meeting. He opened a rift, which caused nary a raised eyebrow. The walk was a bit longer then the previous one. Eventually, the air became cooler and they walked into the beginnings of a forest. Even though the forest was beautiful, they each could see small areas of rot and decay. Uri said to be on guard. If an attack was going to happen it would be between there and the manor.
The only warning was a cold wind. Rhyme came at the group from the surrounding forest. He attacked Brandon but it was stopped by the chain mail. Shade pulled her dagger and managed to stab Rhyme with it. Uri turned in time to see Frost appear. He cast Hellfire at her, which she did NOT like one bit. Rhyme launched another attack against Brandon, which Neil blocked. Both Ghouls had been hanging back. One attacked Uri and managed to lock onto his arm. Uri used Hellfire again but the Ghoul managed to dodge the flame. Frost attacked Uri, who was able to move out of the way. Neil ran over to the Ghoul locked on Uri's arm and kidney punched it in the back. The blessing worked, thank God. The Ghoul dropped, dead. Brandon, Shade, and Rhyme exchanged blows again, none managed to land though. Once again, Uri used Hellfire against Frost. Moving out of the way, she started to cast a spell. Brandon, recognizing what she was doing, counter spelled. The blizzard attempting to form, dissolved.The other Ghoul ran at and tried to attack Neil. Neil stepped aside and used the Ghouls momentum to face plant it on the ground. Rhyme then tried his hand at spell casting. He lost control of it and the fallout turned the ground underfoot to ice. Shade stabbed Rhyme again and nailed him in the kidney. Brandon then moved in and skewered Rhyme through the heart. Frost, seeing that Rhyme had been killed, fled. Not giving it the chance to get up, Shade used the fire spell to kill the last Ghoul.
With the fight over, the group caught their breath. Hearing that Rhyme had been the one to kill Anna, Uri said the body would be a fine present for Philip. He slung the corpse over his shoulder and they started walking again. Eventually they made it to what looked like a massive country manor, a slightly rundown manor. They were admitted into a courtyard which looked in better condition but still showed signs of being neglected. At their knock, the door opened and the went into the foyer proper. The room was both rich and creepy looking. Neil, pulling his phone out, tried to get pictures of everything. Luckily, his phone wasn't hexed. However, the pictures were all blank. A young man walked over and introduced himself as Flash. Right on cue, Brandon sang ah-ahhhh. Giving him a dirty look, Flash said it was because he was fast and not because of the Flash Gordon movie. He told them his actual name was Wally. He led the group into a big room, where three men and three women were waiting. The one sitting had red hair and was dressed in the colors of Autumn. That was Philip. Introductions were made. Then Uri presented the body of Rhyme to the King in Waiting. He asked who had dealt the killing blow. Brandon said it had been him. Philip thanked him graciously for the gift. He then asked about the item. Shade said she had it but would like to talk to him in private first. He agreed and led her off to another room.
Uri, Brandon, and Neil were left with the others. Asked if they were hungry or thirsty, they were led into a large dining room. There was a feast waiting for them, as well as strong drink. Neil talked with a couple of the Fey. One of the Fey females, named Laurel, cornered Brandon and offered to show him all the other sights of the manor. Catching her intent, Brandon replied that he would love to see anything she wanted to show him. Smiling, she led Brandon off to a bedroom and personally rewarded him (many times over and quite acrobatically) for killing Rhyme.
Alone in the bedroom, Philip asked if Shade had the apple/sickle (here, its' shape was the sickle). She said she did and pulled it out. She asked him if he could tell her more about it and would he answer some questions. He said he would. Her first question was just what was it. He told her it was an item of power given to a mortal woman. Like the Winter and Summer Court had their Knights, the Autumn and Spring Court had their Ladies. The Autumn Lady stood at his right hand and was tasked with protecting the Autumn Fey from harm. The Lady would also speak for him at the Council when he could not be there. For whatever reason (try being the closest supernatural female), Shade had been chosen to take up those duties now that Anna was dead. All she had to do was invoke it. Faced with such temptation, Shade hesitated. She declined, for the moment, but wanted more time to think. Philip told her, that until another was chosen, she could take it up. Shade said she would let him know. However, even though she didn't say it, she knew her final answer.
She would tell Philip yes.
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