Morris pulls his beat up looking burner out of the thick brown jacket he wore just for this occasion and texts back.
Got out fine. No fighting. Got nothing. Going to Jack and radioguys to find out more. L8r. B at Rich Franklin w/ winters.
He thought deeply about the potential separatist elements in the Winter Court, he knew the two radio guys were probably a part of it but there was obviously more to it.
@ Morris
Winter has always traditionally been the most secretive court, and with that comes a great deal of cliques, inner circles and cults which Winter members can find themselves drawn into. Their seperatist elements are thus even more pronounced when they do appear. For them to call a meeting in this way suggests overconfidence or even arrogance. But not being a Winter Courtier, you couldn't guess at their comparative power.
@ Jusuf, Leon
Jusuf spends the time in the office refreshing himself, and Leon eventually saunters in, not that anybody seems to care. Greg's office is familiar to both of you, he keeps it more for show than anything else; Jusuf can name by memory now which of the degrees on the wall are fake. (It's most of them)
After about twenty minutes Greg the Ogre swings the door open and steps in. His mask is that of a tall and muscular Maori, and he easily holds the prize of biggest medical professional that you know. His Mien reveals his stonebone heritage; dark grey skin and features that could quite literally have been chiseled. His smile is friendly, but reminds you of a cemetery; but he's not smiling today. On the back of his hand is the 8; same as nearly everyone else.
"Thanks for coming in today." he rumbles, taking turns to crush the hands of Jusuf and Leon. " I won't beat around the bush today. We've got an unusual case. Patients here normally have trouble sleeping, but this one hasn't woken for two days straight. I had one of the interns take a peek inside but he hasn't started talking again.
Greg walks over to his desk and pushes his set of Newton's balls moving, the click-clacking echoing through the room. "I'd like the pair of you to take a look. My gut's telling me two is better than one with this weird s!%+."
He hands the folder to Jusuf, who he figures might actually read it. Jessica Deans, a mortal, 24 and uni student. Upstairs in a private room. An artist; but normally suffers from a lack of sleep, not too much of it. No supernatural links by the look of her.
@ The Winter crowd
The tomb of Richard Franklin lies in one of the city's many overgrown and ignored cemetaries. Whoever this man was has long since been lost, the only fact known is that he should have bought a better lock for his place of eternal rest.
To those in the Winter Court, this place bears all the markings of a winter hideout. Small daggers above the frame, a an angel raising a finger to her lips, and a few more subtle signs that indicate that perhaps this tomb was always meant to be empty.
Descending the dozen steps past the jimmied open door, suspicions are confirmed as this subterranean room turns out to be more akin to a bunker than a resting place. Thick concrete walls seep the warmth out of you; and littering the room are slab beds and wooden crates filled with who-knows what. Perfect for the Winter in hiding.
The main room is spacious, slightly bigger than a classroom and without the annoying kids. The middle of the room is empty; cleared away judging from the patches on the floor. What is there is two dozen milk crates, arranged in a tight circle. Most of these are occupied by other Winter Courtiers, with two or three other Changelings; even so Morris is clearly in the minority here. Their eyes all swivel to assess and judge the new-comers.
Someone is bringing in a few more crates in from one of the siderooms. One of these is stacked on top of the crate opposite the entrance. This must be the 'throne' for the most important.
Familiar to all is Frosty, from the radio; but his brother isn't about. He waves Jack and Morris over; grinning like an idiot. "Just waiting for the last few to arrive!
One of the other guests, a Wizened Chirurgeon with a worrying array of scalpels at his belt, comes up behind Terrence and leans in. "Nobody here seems to be giving me a straight answer. What are we doing here?" Obviously a new guy at the Winter Court thing.
Amy: Please rolls wits + Composure.
'Jack' accepts the file before sitting down to review it in greater detail.
Amy looks around the place, sizing up the individuals. "So many.."
Parker whispers back to the creeper, "You're asking the wrong guy: they didn't even tell me there was a meeting tonight. Just found out like 20 minutes ago, so yeah, you probably know more than I do. Did I miss anything?" Noticing the scalpels, Parker unobtrusively checks to make sure his knife's close at hand.
Leon climbs to his feet, bravely shaking Greg's hand with a smile. He really liked Greg, and owed him pretty much everything. Where he would have ended up if he hadn't run into the Ogre he didn't want to think about.
It's only as an afterthought that he notices the 8. He hadn't even considered Greg might have a number, so it's a big relief to see the solid fellow is just like the rest of us.
He peers over Jusuf's shoulder at the file, but beyond checking out the the identifying information and the picture he only gives it a glance, at least until he spots her occupation. "Artist..." he murmurs, closing his eyes and tilting his head back. Jessica Deans... did he know that name?
The Tomb
"Um. Don't think so, not yet, no. My friend brought me in here and most of the others were already here. Someone important is out the back though. And the guy from the Radio is over there."
As the medic whispers away Terrence scouts the room for names. He picks up that four of these members are quite high in the Winter Court; the rest of them filter down through the ranks; it seems an even mix of all the ranks. None of them are intimately familiar, but if you wanted some names another moment's reflection would give them to you.
Amy's attention is diverted to the man just stepping in behind her. He's wearing a vivid green cloak and black gloves; hedgespun, you'd guess from the way it moves and hides his features. The man radiates heat; summer court.
From under the hood he eyes off Amy, then bows. "A comrade of the Lost who I don't recognize. Might I have the honour of your name, Lady...?
His voice is firm and measured, the steel tempered by fire.
The Clinic
'Jack's glance over the file spots a slight dust allergy, a deap seated arachnophobia, and a terrible, terrible diet common to uni students. After a moment's thought he can't think up any occult connections other; she just seems like a very plain uni student.
Leon recalls a conversation with his contact a week ago, he mentioned Jessica's name in the context of aspiring artists joining the community. So she's not emerged until very recently.
Greg drops a keychain into Leon's hands. "Let me know if you need a hand, if you're not back in six hours I'll send someone else in. Password to the hollow is same as always.
Jack smiled and nodded at Frosty, unconsciously looking at Frosty's hand as he approached. He couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt, knowing that he would meet his fate a day early thanks to Jack.
"I assume you know more about what is going on than I do, right?" He said, allowing his eyes to wander across the faces in the crowd.
Amy steps to the side, thinking he is talking to another. When she realizes he is in fact talking to her, she blushes. "My name? Umm..." She pauses. "Remember what Jack said in his weird dream infultration...." She blinks, then smiles. The warmth radiating off of him was soothing, after feeling so cold all the time. "A. My name is A. And yours?" "He is probably just trying to get something out of me... Thats the only reason anyone so pleasant to be around would talk to me."
Frosty shakes his head slowly, and gestures his head towards the milk crate throne. "I know who'll be on that piece, but other than that I don't know much. If I knew what was going on I wouldn't be here." he explains, looking moderately uncomfortable at the question. Information brokers have to get their information somewhere, Jack guesses.
Looking about the room he too can have a pretty good guess at who'll sit on the throne. Slightly more than half of the Winter Courtiers are known associates or flunkeys of Lady Yuki. Which would explain why the other courts are represented.
The summer man bows and takes Amy's hand, kissing it with his warm lips. "If you are A then to you I shall be V. Tell me, what sweet sorrow troubles you so? I cannot see any reason one so beauteous as yourself should be shrouded by winter's gloom. You would look divine with Summer's radiance about you!
This earns 'V' several daggers worth of gazes; recruiting from Winter in the middle of a winter base is bad form.
Morris groans. He speculated about what was happening here as he surveyed these courtiers in the room. Court politics at its worst, but damned if he wasn't there to see the train wreck.
"Yep, no shortage of people who don't know anything. All's I know is it's stretched to the Brim"
The Brim. That reminded him of something. He decided to give his contacts there a call. Just like courtiers to think they're the only ones that can solve a problem.
"Excuse me for a sec."
He walks off to a secluded corner of the room to call one of his fellow members of the Margravate to see what was going on there with these numbers.
Amy, flustered begins to speak. "Uhh, well, umm, I..." "he is trying to get me to go summer! This must be one of the things theyre in town to do.. Perhaps they are trying to get the winters out of control here.. But why me? I cant fight like them! I would be nothing but... a casualty..."
Lost in thought, she has to shake her head minorly. "I dont know. I've never seen myself as a summer.. It just, wouldn't make much sense... But you are very much a Summer! Very warm... So different from what Im used to..." She pushes her glasses up, stumbing over words. Social events were never her strong suit.
"I like the cold though... I am not strong like you, I'm just learned. I know books, and the books help me get through the sorrow... I could never fight battles or talk to others... I'd be useless to the Summer Court." "Though I wouldnt mind its warmth once and a while."
Before he can walk away, she touches his arm. It almost burns her in comparison with her cold hands. "On second thought, can I get your number or anything? Just for the off chance I get tired of the cold. If you really blieve what you are saying..." She smiles, weakly. "Any information on this guy would be helpful... Plus, he is very warm..."
Parker takes a closer look at the familiar faces. where've I seen them before?
"Well, whatever's about to happen, it must be important. There's a lot of higher-ups here by the looks of it." He extends his hand and offers a handshake. "My name's Stephen, by the way. And you are...?"
Jack leaned in close and lowered his voice. "Am I seeing what it looks like here? I don't know a lot of names, but I recognize enough of these people. Is Yuki plotting some kind of takeover?"
"She's a bit older for a uni student... I think I heard her name start to show up fairly recently in art circles. Probably nothing I suppose, just took some time off before her degree." Leon murmurs, mostly just thinking aloud.
He looks up from the file as Greg hands the key over, giving his friend a nod, before looking to Jusuf. He certainly hoped the guy knew what he was doing, because Leon sure didn't.
He waits until Jusuf has finished reading the file before leading the way to the hollow door, managing to find it on only the second try. He opens it up with the key and a muttered "Buttercup" letting them inside. He then looks expectantly at Jusuf. "So... what've we gotta do? I don't really deal with this side of Greg's business usually."
Morris picks out and names several members of the crowd. Ivy Winterwillow, Yuki's handmaiden is waiting expectantly. Charles L'argent, a middle class autumn sorceror, and Sidonis the Saracen, a winter hedge warden, are deep in conversation. Off in the corner sits Giles, one of the few historians in the city.
His contact starts to talk about how a Margrave has seen numbers on the back of his hand, but trails off once he gets to the name. He seems to have referred Morris to himself. Outside the group meeting yesterday there doesn't seem to be any clues on the numbers. On the other hand, he does mention how the Margraves are going to take a look in at the murders.
Terrence is able to spot and name Sidonis and Ivy, fellow courtiers he recognizes from Winter meetings.
"My name is Zachary." says the medic, scratching the back of his head before taking the proffered hand. You see a '2' on the back of his hand. His mien is mostly human, but he had a bald head and off putting tint of skin that reminds you of sterile hospital floors. A red cross seems etched into his forehead, and though he doesn't lift it, his left hand is some sort of medical nightmare. His fingers are scalpals and syringes, dripping some clear liquid onto the ground. "I'd say Doctor Zachary, but I can't get a degree. I know what I'm doing though, most of the time. Um."
Frosty takes another look around the room. "I'm not a betting guy but that's what it looks like. She's called the other houses in to though, or at least reps from them. I don't think this is enough for an actual takeover. But there will be scheming." he whispers back to Jack. "But I reckon she wants Stern to find this one out. Too many unknowns involved. Like you. No offence."
V smiles, his teeth shining under the hood. "I don't normally do numbers on just a first letter basis, but for you my lady, I'll take it. Picking up a piece of paper from one of the crates he gives Amy his number, tucking it into his pocket. "I would not worry if you cannot fight. Summer is about resistance, yes, but not all physical. We need the intellectuals and debaters too. Knowledge is it's own power. I, my lady, am very fine at picking potentials,and you have a great deal of it.
V brushes Amy's hand once more, still warm even through his gloves. "Think it over though. Changing courts is tough. I used to be Winter too."
"Thank you V. Maybe one day we will learn each others real name. Perhaps over drinks?" She looks at his gloved hands. "Why are you wearing gloves? We are inside."
She smiles at him, not wanting to seem too suspicious, just making conversation. "Getting his number was lucky enough as it is. Got some data collecting to do when I get home."
"I'm wearing a hood as well, how much of my clothing did you want me to take off?" V jokes, peeling one of his gloves off. "Truth be told I just enjoy the feeling of the leather against my hands. But yes, I would greatly enjoy drinks someday soon."
He extends his hand once more. "Better?"
His skin is fair.
V has no number on his hand.
She looks at his hand a little too long, then looks down at her own, and sighs. She now begins to talk in hushed tones. "How long ago did you switch? What made it hard? You can tell me now, or we can meet after this for drinks." She tries hard not to sound too forward.
"Well, Zachary, it's nice to make your acquaintance. If it's a degree you're after, have you considered an online correspondence course of some sort? I hear some of them are quite good, and it's a decent way to get your foot in the door if you're looking for a practice of your own. Besides, there's a preponderance of people who don't care about certificates and whatnot as long as you know what you're doing. Any reason you're having difficulties - if that isn't too personal of a question?"
'Or haven't you ever to a beach before?'
It occurs to you he might not have ever been to one before either...
At Leon's words 'Jack' literally stares in a kind of befuddled disbelief. "This side of..." He licks his lips as he shakes his head, rubbing his temples as he considers this new permutation. "Well, the first thing you can do is grab two sets of bedding off the yellow-tagged shelf right by the door," pointing to the closet just before the Hollow Hedgegate, "the ground is soft enough that I can sleep on it but if it's your first time your are going to need to minimize your distractions."
done this before...
How long has this guy been back?!.
Leon watches Jusuf's reaction to his question with a faintly amused smile. When he finally gets around to providing some advice he gets to it, retrieving the bedding and laying it out next to each other, about a foot apart. "Would booze help? I know Greg keeps some in his office, and well... he's an ogre, so he buys strong stuff." he offers Jusuf a grin.
Jack couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't mind being an unknown. In fact. . .I prefer it," He said, with a pause that suggested he'd been about to say something else. He took another look around the crowd, finally noticing that Morris had found an ally or compatriot to talk to. "Wow, it looks like even Alceste has found someone to converse with."
Zachary laughs nervously at Terrance, scratching the back of his hand with his scalpels. "Ah, I should have said. I don't really need one, I just kinda need glamour to fix people and that's it. Most people take me for an actual doctor, but thank you for your kind suggestions. Maybe an actual certificate would help...
He stands there awkwardly for a few moments, not really sure what to say after that. Terrence is left wondering exactly how he got an invite. It seems a very good question at this stage.
Frosty looks to Jake, stroking his icy chin for a moment. Your mostly dead friend sounds like he needs a few people to talk to. Or possibly another burial, I can't decide. Still. You a betting one, scales? I wonder, without the intervention of myself or my brother, how long it takes for Stern to find out about this meeting. I'll put a fifty on inside two days. How's that sound to you?
V begins to tell Amy he'll swap that story over a drink later when from a room at the rear finally emerges the expected lady for the throne. The winter courtiers immediately recognize her, but Morris now gets his first glimpse of Lady Yuki, the second most powerful Winter courtier in the city.
Her time in Arcadia has 'gifted' her with particular Avian like features, melded with her human face to create a bird lady one would expect to see more at a parade than in this bunker. Her mouth actual extends into a cruel, thin beak, and along her arms sprout large black feathers (and on her hand, the number 8.)Around her dance tiny snowflakes, rising and falling in a whirling dervish of frost.
She surveys the room with narrowed eyes, and finally sits (the unkind among you would say she roosts) atop the milkcrate throne.
"Thank you for attending on short notice." she says, her voice cracking between a melodious birdsong and a raven's screech. "I must consult with my dear Winterwillow for a moment, amuse yourselves for a minute if you will."
Zachary's attention is fixated upon the lady's entrance, and he excuses himself from the master thief. (Carelessly at that too. Wallet's right there.) V kisses Amy's hand again and goes to sit closer to Yuki, promising to talk later.
"....B*tch" He mutters under his breath with his head hung low. He watches the bird lady carefully, seeing as she was the first suspected mystery boss he'd seen. Then it suddenly occurred to him that some of the Knights or one of their affiliates may be in this very room. He surveyed the crowd for the mouthless weirdos, before walking towards the exit. He didn't plan on staying long. As much as he hated Stern, he didn't want to be placed on his sh*t-list for just being there.
"Two days? That long? I bet there's at least three people in this room that fall over each other in their haste to tell Stern about this meeting as soon as it breaks." Jack looked over the crowd again, before casting a forlorn glance at Frosty's hand. He looked at the other man, his voice lowering as he said, "Listen, I may have cost you something. By telling you what I know, your numbers are one lower. Apparently that means-" He was interrupted by Yuki's entrance. He watched eagerly as she made her entrance, he was clearly expecting some sort of grand pronouncement. He sighed in disappointment when one was not forthcoming and turned back to Frosty. "Apparently, by acting on the information I gave you, you and your brother are scheduled to meet your fate one day before everyone else, just like me."
"Yes & No." 'Jack' replies. "It'll knock you out, but you're still drunk when you're asleep & you know what they say about 'driving drunk'?" Stepping up to the door, 'Jack' takes a deep breath before opening it. "Be I friend, not foe; bring me weal, not woe. I come not alone, do no wrong; we carry our sorrows with us as we go."
this guy doesn't make sense...what's really going on... Parker's figuring out how to respond when Lady Yuki enters the room. Seeing Zachary's left himself vulnerable, he goes for the wallet - hoping to figure out more of this guy's story.
She nods to V. When the lady comes in, she looks up at her, careful to take in every detail. "I fared better than her in Arcadia apparently; I just look like a paper doll... She is quite freakish.. But I've seen worse I guess..."
"Not ideal then." Leon observes, looking to Jusuf for direction as he murmurs outside the door.
"Well, I wouldn't do it, no." 'Jack' replies as he rattles the door assertively. "It always does this...
Greg set it up so you have to know all the wards to open the door."
"In other words, this isn't a bug, it's a feature." He smirks as he finally opens it with a flourish.
A flourish that hardly seems justified at first glance within. On the other side of the door there seems to be one of those odd exterior alcoves you sometimes find in old office buildings which have undergone significant renovations over time. Interestingly enough, the 'floor' seems to be a well raked & turned bed of earth, large enough for one of those 'pocket gardens' you sometimes hear about. Or, large enough for two people to lie down next to each other & still be comfortably certain they won't bump into one another unless one is a particularly energetic sleeper.
"C'mon, bring the bedding." 'Jack' calls as he crosses over. It's really weird...
Something imperceptible tells you he is now in the Hedge, effectively, but neither you nor any mortal witness would be able to tell just by looking at him, his Mask & Mein remain completely identical...
freak.
(Assuming you start dream riding, otherwise you'll appear in person.)
You find yourselves looking down on the form of Jessica Deans, which is unsurprising, as it is her dreams you are intruding on. But her artistic side has clearly influenced her here; everything you can see appears to have been painted, her hair a wavy mess of brown brushstrokes, her skin shifting and being repainted as she moves.
A violent red sun bathes everything in a shade of crimson; as she looks around your views are sketched before you. It is a house, but not a house. There is a table, and chairs, and walls, but there is no roof, and the floor is sand, stretching out endlessly with the walls to form the best upholstered desert you could imagine.
Jessica is out of breath, and her eyes flit about ceaselessly, on alert. From up the stairs which appear to lead nowhere comes a single howl, followed by another. The girl starts to run, but as she does the stairs move with her.
@Terrence
As you sneak in to grab it Zachary turns to Lady Yuki, putting his hands by his side and stopping you for now, though he hasn't noticed your attempt. You can try again, but it's harder from here. [-2, but +1 from the crowd as before)
V gestures Amy over to the seat next to him, apparently eager for her thoughts before the meeting proper begins.
Morris doesn't spot any mouthless changelings, but his attempted exit attracts the attention of the most prominent guest.
"Going so soon, Margrave?" she warbles, watching him head out. "Don't mistake this for a petty power play. This is about the well-being of the entire city. We're all represented here. Maybe you might be safe on the outer reaches of the city, but are you just going to turn a blind eye on the rest of it? Thought you helped other Lost."
Frosty peers at the back of his hand, frowning, but he still can't see his number. "One day less, huh... your weird number things have it going on. God that's depressing."
The rogue presenter is silent for a few moments, before he clicks his fingers and grins. "Hold the f$*#ing phone, though! We have one day less as a result of actions we undertake as a result, right?" Without waiting for a response he plows on. "So then if we track exactly who we have told and then don't spread that news on then you'll be one step closer to the source, right? If the only permutation is that we've told people... assuming you ain't told nobody we know... then we can go from there, right?"
His words are fast, driven by a very real fear. Nobody likes having less time to live. That aside, it's an interesting point. What really affects the number changes is still an unknown.
Jack watched Frosty for a moment, as though he were speaking Greek. As he began to follow along, jack found himself agreeing with the other Winter courtier's logic, until he didn't. "I don't know if it works quite like that. I took it more as, someone is going to come after you because of what you say. There was a friend of mine that I warned, though in less detail, that she should take cover for the next few days, and her number was unchanged. Some of the others told me that they saved a guy who was at zero from a group of thugs and his number reset to. . . eight? Anyway, what I'm getting at is it may not be that you tell someone who comes after you, it might be something that you do as a result of knowing. Kind of like those dumb movies about kids that die in ridiculously contrived ways because they didn't die in the plane crash or whatever like they were supposed to. Jack sighed, he didn't much like being the guy that crushed someone's spirit, especially if it was trying to keep positive about his imminent demise. "That is a good idea though, I don't have any idea about how this works, though. all I've got are guesses." He added, trying to restore at least some hope.
Morris stopped and turned around. He wasn't used to drawing attention much. Her confrontation was enough to nearly confirm his suspicions. Her words about protecting the others was right though. "Well damn, you're more well informed than I thought. You got me there, but lady, a power play was exactly what this little get together was marketed as, to be blunt. And at this point, that's just out of the question. But if it's not what it is, then what is it? You don't trust the current guy to confront these issues himself?" He said sounding somewhat irked. Though he was actually glad someone remembered his title for once.
Leon watches Jusuf's theatrics with some amusement, following him in when invited. He tosses one of the bundles to him and unrolls his own, pulling off his jacket before laying down to settle himself. Doing this first thing in the morning doesn't help matters but eventually sleep claims him.
He stares around in surprise at where he finds himself, examining the surroundings with interest. "Huh, awesome." he remarks, before the howl brings his attention back to the present, putting him on edge. He looks around for Jusuf, wondering what they should do.
'Well, crap!' 'Jack' expostulates as the howl begins. 'I was hoping not to have to make a rush job of this...'
Without further explanation he flings his hands out dramatically, only to purse his lips in annoyance when nothing happens.
'The good news is should be able to leave any time...'
"Uh huh. And the bad news?" he asks, eying the staircase warily.
Jessica slowly turns towards the stairs, trembling, quivering. Slinking down the stairs are strange shadowy beings, taking the form of dogs; no, much bigger. Wolves. Red eyes and pitch black fur, the stereotypical nightmare. But they don't appear in the brush-stroke style the rest of the dream is in, these are sleek and somehow more real. Jessica screams, and turns to run, dragging your view away from them until the pair of you can get in.
-----
Frosty tugs slightly on Jack's shirt, trying to shake it off as an idle movement but poorly. He's worried now. "Jesus Jack. What if I don't say anything. There has to be some way to get rid of this stupid number! That guy you saved, was he gonna get the chop?"
Frosty breathes in deeply, and takes his hands back to himself. "F*+~, man. Calm. Everyone's got these. We're just sooner. Don't spread that news too far. People do crazy things on a timer. Changelings are just gonna be worse."
-----
Lady Yuki stands, and takes a step towards Morris. This turns a few eyes. "Lord Stern is a fine leader of the Winter court, and I would not say a word against him in this regard. No Winter could hold the power he gave them against him. However... I think, Margrave, you are aware of some of the issues plaguing this city."
Yuki looks up, collecting her thoughts as she counts on talons. "The murders. This new group. The problem with dreamers. The issues with the Goblin Markets too.
A smirk. "The appearance of these numbers.
"Lord Stern is a fine winter leader. But what we need here is a united effort from all of the lost. Stern has made too many enemies; he could not do this. It might look a power play but I have no intention of challenging the order at all. This group is for the benefit of all the Changelings, courted or courtless. We need allies and information. We need each other."
Yuki's sycophants break out into eerily synchronized clapping, as whispers and debates break out.
Jack's shirt gets another tug. "She might claim this to be for the benefit of all, but I wonder how Stern will see it." Frosty whispers.
"Calm down man!" Jack said, a little louder than he'd meant to. He lowered his voice, watching the others, making sure no one was listening before he continued. "I have a number too, you know? That day you lost, all that means is that you get yours on the same day as me. That guy that was saved?" He added, not sure what was meant by 'get the chop'. "His number didn't go away, it reset to one higher than ours. Whatever's coming, it's coming for all of us." Jack was again interrupted by Yuki's words. He turned back to Frosty and added, in the same whispered tone. "I don't. Either this is going on with his knowledge and blessing, or he's going to see it as a coup. As if more strife and uncertainty is what we need."
"So what's the plan? I don't know about you but I'd rather not face those things. I can hold my own in a brawl but..." he trails off, looking to Jusuf for some kind of guidance, completely out of his depth.
Morris didn't like this. He was uncomfortable with the insane amount of attention suddenly drawn to him.
"Yes, the Margravate hasn't turned a blind eye to these murders. Nevertheless, I don't think most courtless feel comfortable getting involved with the courts, given the current, delicate situation in this freehold." He said softly. He tried to choose his words carefully, the high ups were watching him and if he didn't rep his people right, chances are someone would find out. "The investigation is the top priority, so I'm not about to do anything that'll hinder our efforts on it. But the second this becomes more than an exchange of information on the problems facing this city, I'm out. Just like that." He says glancing at the exit. "Detroit will always come first, but we can't get involved and we certainly aren't about to be lead by the Winters. It's simple as that." He said in a vague reference to his oath. He was terrible at public speaking. He paused, he sweated, he probably even stuttered, but he felt he got his point across.