The fairy flies into one of the colored puffs. When the smoke clears, there is no fairy. Just a fox in mid-leap, who lands her jump gracefully. From not far above the fox, a tiny doll-dress parachutes its way to the floor.
After thirty seconds, the smoke clears. As the Vixen never once enters the smoke, her comparatively-unspectacular reversion becomes part of the display. The mask in her hand melts into her flesh, which seem to be covered in skin-tight spider silk crawling with thousands-if-not-millions of vermilion red spiders. Whatever the specks are, they reform into grotesque fleshy tendrils until the redhead is unmasked, and clad in something a little less fancy.
—for a fashionista, anyway.
"It's me, Addison.
"I found Vikki, murder by her husband. She was in the company of six other brides, all murdered in the same way. I stuck around to make sure the man'd never take another life.
"I took his." Tears stream from her face. "I'm so sorry ye've lost yer memory o' that—sorry to tell ye, but... ye need the truth. Victoria Finn is dead. I loved her since I was nine and she was ten, and she's in me prayers every night, and ye were so good to us... ye treated me like family, took care o' me..."
The tear-choked words come off as a blathering of emotion. But Addison does have a point.
"...how can I take care o' you, Uncle?"
With or without mind-reading magic, it's clear that Addison wants to help Henry—the real Henry, whose personas seem far more different from her own Addy/Vixen selves.
Caledon undoes the collar of his PONCHO and tosses the garment onto his luggage. The OUTFIT underneath is expensive and designed to show it. Peacock feathers embroidered with real gold thread are dotted occasionally with small flakes of precious and semi-precious gemstones that create a color gradient reminiscent of the Sheyln songbird.
A black sash decorated in a golden honeycombs PATTERN shows that the wizard is currently aware of the latest FASHION trend sweeping rooftopolis' high society.
His left hand is armored in a delicate and highly unique gauntlet that does not extend up the wrist. As a fashion expert and talented armorer, Vixen recognizes it as aDESIGN used by Rooftopolis' Legion of Battle Mages to protect their hands without compromising somatic casting. However, instead of the crest of the Legion the back of the hand has an inlaid MOTHER-OF-PERAL pattern in the colors Sheyln. A keen eye might also catch the addition of tiny spikes on knuckles marked with the characteristic hue of cold-iron.
His right hand is unarmored and ungloved, but on it he wears an ornate goldSIGNET ring with an embossed ivory tree set on an onyx base.
From his luggage Caledon grabs a leather bag stamped with a stylized symbol of Sarenrea associated the Rootopolis healer’s guild and follows Vixen.
His head cocks to one side as she transforms, his brows knitting in curiosity but as she tells her tale to Henry his expression resumes its previous inscrutability.
He turns his head toward Henry but his eyes still linger on Vixen for a second. Then, turning his full attention to the elder hunter makes a move as if to feel the man’s forehead but stops with a near imperceptible recoil as he fully takes in what he’s seeing.
Having had a gun drawn on him twice did not phase Caledon. Being threatened by a powerful arcanist wielding an unknown artifact did not seem to concern him. Listening to Vixen explain that she’d murdered a serial killer in an act of vigilantly justice did not disrupt his perfect aplomb.
Henry's condition however, finally drew a look of concern from him.
“Madame Vixen, May I?" He says holding his ungloved hand out to her.
“Nowe’gum”
As your hand touches Caledon’s, you experience series of scenes and emotional sensations. Although the projection is over in an instant, you are left with a large amount of information to sift through.
The first scene in the series reminds you vaguely of one of those dreams where you are someone else. In this ‘dream,’ the you-not-you is sitting in an overstuffed leather chair facing a full-length mirror. In one hand you hold a glass of whiskey and at your feet rest two very large and well-muscled poodles. In the mirror you recognize the other you as Caledon Whitetree.
“Good evening Madame Vixen.” you say, holding your own gaze in the mirror.
“Apparently events have progressed such that I need to communicate with you surreptitiously. To this end I have cast a spell upon you that momentarily links our mind. This link allows for the unilateral transmission of a considerable, although finite, amount of knowledge. I beg your pardon for the intrusion.”
You take a sip of Whiskey before continuing.
“I’ve only recently acquired this spell and I’m still experimenting the best way to present information. What you are experiencing now is an actual memory of me alone in my workshop speaking to a mirror. It’s not as awkward as I would have expected.”
You take another, larger sip of Whiskey.
“I think I should begin by explaining who I am and what I hope to achieve. My name is Caledon Whitetree Esquire and I am the eldest son of Tedmand Whitetree Esquire who is the youngest brother of the Right and Honorable Ostok Whitetree -ninth Baron of Whitetree.”
You pause speaking briefly and the man in the mirror seems to be deciding what to say.
“I was apprenticed to the Arch-mage Aurddolen, but I left his service early. Six months ago, I received a letter from him urging me to return and complete my training. Master Aurddolen and I are… estranged and my arcane knowledge is expanding quite nicely without his help. There is nothing he could say or do to convince me to return to his tower. Well, almost nothing.
The scene shifts. You find yourself in what appears to be an inn, reading a letter:
-------------------------------------------
Caledon,
You must see reason. My previous offer still stands. If you return to the tower, a Barrister representing my estate will issue a letter to the Rooftopolis city...[THIS PART OF THE LETTER BLURS OUT - see Ref A]…If this gracious offer still does not entice you, then I will share some insight into what happened to Jenny Thatcher upon your return.
- A.
------------------------------------
The scene shifts back to Caledon’s workshop and you say, “Jenny Thatcher was another of My master’s apprentices. She disappeared and I presume her to be dead. Our time together was short, but I was fond of her.”
The scene shifts again. It’s night and you are climbing down the wall of a tower using an old ratty rope. A child climbs down rope above you and when you reach the bottom and help her down the last few feet. The wind blows her greasy red hair out of her face and you see that she is very plain, but her smile is full of warmth. It occurs to you that since she’s taller than you, you must also be a child.
The two of you sprint down a wooded path that eventually finds you on the outskirts of a small village. You sneak into the yard of one the cottages and start stealing apples from a stunted little tree. You realize you are as hungry as if you hadn’t eaten in days.
The scene fades and you are back in Caledon’s workshop. You take a sip of Whiskey and scratch one of the dogs behind the ear.
“I need to know what happened to her Madame Vixen, so I returned to my master’s tower.”
Once again then scene shifts, but this time the sun hangs high in the sky and you once again find yourself on a wooded path. You recognize a stone trail marker from the previous memory but the maple sapling that was behind it is now a mature tree. The trail has not been maintained and the forest seems to be reclaiming it. Before long you arrive at the old tower and push open the large wooden door. You ascend a few flights of stairs before stopping outside another door.
You say something, but you own words seem muffled and distorted even though you are certain you are all but bellowing. You shove open the door, you body tense as if expecting an attack.
Instead of an attacker, you find a dead man slumped over a desk. You stand for a long time just looking at the body before moving closer to investigate an envelope clutched in the corpses hand.
You open the envelope and remove a note. You sense that you are reading the note, but as you look at it all the letters blur, and you can’t make out what it says. That is until you reach the last line:
----
If you still care to know Jenny Thatcher's fate - learn Henry E.X Sploer's secrets
----
As you finish the letter a pungent smell hits your nose and you catch a glimpse of movement out of the corner of you eye before the scene shifts back to Caledon’s workshop.
You stand up from the chair and make your way over to a wall containing hundreds of news paper clippings featuring Henry and Wendy.
“Aurddolen is many things, but he is not a liar. I’ve spent a considerable amount of time researching Henry, Wendy and Patch work island.”
You sense embarrassment associated with these memories. You gather that Caledon censored certain memoires to save face.
Addison accepts Cal's spell. Her Vixen persona takes in Cal's thoughts, while on the outside, Addison appears oblivious to the conversation inside her head.
Addison hears Caledon's advice. But is it truly too dangerous to touch the man?
Regarding the message, she says to Cal via Message spell, Jenny Thatcher... this poor Penny Abble... they're innocents like me Vikki Finn—Henry's actual niece. He calls her Victoria.
In fact, he just called Addy 'Victoria,' which is what made it so impossible for her to maintain her Vixen persona—a persona she may soon depend on, given Cal's assessment of the other redhead in the room:
I don't know if Wendy could've cursed me uncle if she wanted to. She seems to hate magic. But then, I can't figure her out. Much as I hate to stoop to this level, me friendliness is as strategic as yer insults.
Me attempt to befriend her started genuine, but given her attitude toward slavery, I can't be a true friend to her. But I can fake it well.
The fox paces back and forth on her hind legs, acting more like a tiny fuzzy person than an animal. The creature critters quite a few words, the gist of which Addy relays to Caledon.
Oh, Miss Lane, this is terribly inconvenient! With my wings, I can venture out to where these workers are that Mr. Whitetree spoke of. Would he like to have one or both of his birds accompany me?
We will of course need to reactivate my magic, preferably away from the guests, seeing how the transformation is hardly inconspicuous.
Madam Zulu has a deep frown on her face and she reaches for the door handle and misses it at first, then she grabs it slowly backs out of the parlor.
Lance steps forwards a bit and then recoils, realizing that this may be more of a private affair. Hank, by his side, seems to be looking everywhere but at the old man.
@Cal
From what you can remember, Gjol is a small island nation from across the sea. It has a very strict border system and lets very few into the country, so info on its culture is non-exsistint. What you do know is that their main export is steel.
Addison replies, "Me too, Uncle."
She then says to the others, "Seems there's some kind o' magic on Uncle Henry. Whatever spell he's under's waning... and I don't know what'll happen if it fades completely."
As Addy speaks, her fox moves quickly to the dining area. Addy herself moves around to the back of the sofa, expecting that Henry will not rise up to watch.
Peering over at him, she says, "Rest yer eyes a bit, Uncle. I'll need to put me mask back on, for the sake o' me little friend."
She steps back into the dining room. There are pink flashes, gold lasers, red poofs of smoke, and two implossibly-white feminine silhouettes—one with muscular limbs; the other inches tall.
At the end of the thirty-second display, the Vixen emerges with a fairy on her shoulder.
Fashion Bug is constantly detecting good and evil. She had already sensed the good in Caledon, and in Henry as well. What of the fading spell? Can she feel a change in Uncle Henry? Does the spell make him evil?
She assures the guests, particularly Hank and Lance, "If any of you can help us understand what is happening to our dear host Mister Splorer, that would be most welcome. I can assure you, the angry man you saw moments ago was not the 'Uncle Henry' you see now.
"The true Mister Splorer is the kind man who rescued me—having, at the time, reason to believe I was an ordinary animal trapped in a cage. He would have been justified simply putting me out of my perceived misery with a painless death. I owe my freedom to him."
The fairy contemplates the relevance of her story—how it connects the connection to Henry Splorer's current situation. The very small person addresses the room with a rather bold demand from such a tiny pair of lips:
"The spell that appears to be changing Mister Splorer, and not for the better, is his 'cage.' Whatever evil he may be rendered capable of can be stopped in two ways. One is to—as hunters say—put him out of his misery, which would not take more than an instant in his vulnerable state. The other is to free him, which may seem nearly impossible should the magic overtake him, potentially granting him immense power while simultaneously pitting him against us.
"Even in the worst-case scenario, I assure you, I intend to repay my Life Debt to Mister Splorer. That is to say, even if he is actively attempting to murder me, I will do all in my power to free him from his cage."
The Vixen doesn't have much to add, other than, "Me fairy friend's far more powerful than she looks, but most of her strength is flows into me. One particular ability I have when I'm the Vixen—"
The Vixen says this knowing full well that her two personas are hardly different in appearance—as if Addison Lane and the Vermilion Vixen are identical twins. The Masked Twin's the confident one, sporting the limbs of a bodybuilder and the grace of a fashion model. The Modest Twin is gentler, socially graceful, with the delicate touch of an artist.
"—should I've the need to fight as the Vixen, my most powerful attacks're designed to subdue—not kill."
Caledon turns to address Fashion bug. "I admire your conviction. Do you have any thoughts on how we should proceed?"
The other guests listen silently.
Madam Zulu opens her mouth to speak, bit shuts it without a word.
DeVill and Minkins stand next to each other, whispering.
Lance and Hank are listening while propping open the parlor doors.
Martha, now in the hall, looks around, confused.
And Tawny merely stands there, looking at the floor.
Then, Henry moans...
That's when the guests and you notice a thick yellow gas beginning to seep up from the carpet.
Metal plates slam over front door and the windows.
And then the candles and gas lamps go out, leaving the room in utter darkness.
Martha shreiks.
Hank yells out for Lance.
Someone shuffles near by.
Something is knocked over.
The guest stumble around. Another scream. You can hear DeVill's cane clatter to the floor as people around you begin coughing and gaging!
If possible, Fashion Bug flies up to avoid the gas and keep the room illuminated (20ft radius from her luminous skin).
Else...
...her tiny lungs are overwhelmed by the yellow gas!
Fashionbug begins to fly up, but the gas fills her lungs! She coughs, and it begins to get hard to breath! Her eyelids droop, and she drops like a rock to the floor! As for the Vixen, she resisted it for now, but she can tell it will take her if she continues to breath it in.
The light of her skin does reveal some. Mr. DeVill is face down on the floor, and Mr. Minkins is slumped near a wall, covering his mouth with a handkerchief and coughing violently. Caledon is also in this circle of light, but no one else can be seen, but can be heard.
The other thing that can be heard is a loud female voice crackle above you. It sound robotic, or a pretty recorded message.
"Warning. Magic Dampener activated. Warning. Magic Dampener Charging Up. Warning..."
It seems as though the magic dampener will take affect soon...
The Vixen carries her little fairy friend in hand, holds her breath, and activates as many spells as she dares:
• Bull's Strength (+4 STR enhancement)
• Alter Self: Changeling (+2 STR effective size*)
• Enlarge (+2 STR/–2 DEX size)
Between castings, she also uses Martial Flexibility for:
• Powerful Maneuvers
• Greater Sunder
• Gate Breaker
She grows to a height over twelve feet, her monstrous form tearing through clothes, leaving her in rags (though her boots fit her enlarged feet perfectly). Her darkvision allows her to seek a breaking point.
Caledon removes a glass vial from his medical bag, then quickly unstoppers and drinks it.
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Info!
Martha Highcastle: At 28 years old, Martha Holmes Highgastle has already "won" at life. She managed to marry into one of the richest noble families, The Highcastles. Her beloved husband, Arthur Highcastle, has a pool of knowledge that reaches far beyond his doctorate in marine biology. Despite her flashy life, it seems as though the other Highcastle's aren't very fond of her, because she's not a "true" Highcastle, yet she receives so much attention, and she hasn't been able to bear a child.
Lance Iskor: Lasicor Iskor was the prince of a small elfish kingdom (city-state really) whos king despised modered tech and interacting with his son. Because of this, Lance was raised by an elderly nurse who would tell him all about the outside world. When Lance grew old enough to travel without an escort, he quickly traveled to the grand city of Rooftopolis. He was amazed by this new world that didn't compare to the stories his nurse told him. Of course, his father found out, and force Lance to tell him who filled his head with ideas with the outside world. Upon learning this, his father had the nurse banished from the kingdom.
Because of this, for the first time in his life, Lance openly defied his father and shouted at him. His father, furious, banished Lance form the kingdom and cursed him to "never be able to talk back again".
Hank Cain: Hank used to be a troubled dwarf. Constantly getting blackout drunk, getting into fights and waking up in jail. That was until one night an elf knocked at his door in the middle of winter. The elf seemed to be freezing to death and couldn't speak. for some reason, Hank felt the sudden urge to help the strange elf and spent the next few weeks nursing him back to health and learning how to understand elfish sigh language. Because he had a mute elf in his home, Hank didn't have time to get drunk or get into fights, and so began his transformation. Somewhere along the line the elf and he became friends and, well, the rest is history.
More soonish... hopefully tomorrow.
Still holding his medical bag, Caledon rushes over to Big Red and holds out a hand for Fashion Bug. Coughing through the Gas he says "let me help her."
The Vixen complies.
@Cal
You look around, but in the darkness and yellow haze, you can barely see anything. You take the small fey and attempt to wake her. but it seems though the gas is too strong. As for the gas itself, you have no idea what it is, but it obviously a knockout gas (not lethal) and the yellow color makes you think of sulfur, but it doesn't smell like it. It's actually odorless.
@Red
You know you're near the front door so you turn the direction you think it is and you kick to the left of the door. There is a loud crack but no light comes through, so in the dark, you can't see the damage but it sounded like a lot.
The Vixen prepares to hit again when she feels herself shrinking. A loud beep comes from overhead, and both of you can FEEL the magic rushing from your body. The glow from the fair dims to barely a flicker.
The Vixen does her best to work on that crack, though blind attacks may not always strike the sweet spot. (Miss chance.)
She snarls, "Is there any way to turn that damn dampener off?!"
As Caledon feels himself start to pass out, he tries to cradle Fashion Bug from the force of his fall.
Caledon falls back and Fashion bug lands on his chest, her light dimming. The Vixen swing wildly at the damaged wall, but her strikes fail to brake through! The noises around you begin to fade as the other guest succumb to the gas! This sickly yellow smog wraps around you in the dark!
*Thud!*
You wake up to rain falling on your face.
As your eyes flutter open you can see a full moon rising in the sky.
You have no idea how long you've been out, but despite you sleep, you feel hungry and tried.
@Cal
As soon as you awake you feel sick! You feel it rise up your throat as you stomach lurches, and you can't help but quickly roll over a puke over the cold cobblestone. You look around and notice that your on the front porch, at the top of the stairs. You also notice that you and the others are not wearing your clothes. Instead you are all wearing dark brown tunics and dark brown pants. Your also barefoot, as you learn from your cold feet.
@Vv
As you awake a sharp pain runs through you head. Your red hair sticks to your face and you immediately notice your in different cloths. A sobbing moan comes from the right, and you sit up and look, and see Martha, standing up, back turned. She holding herself and shaking, but you can't tell if she's crying or if the rain is causing her to shiver.
@Cash
You awake to find yourself sitting against the porch railing. Your body aches and you can feel something on your lap. Its hard at first, but you move your head to look down and you find that Madam Zulu's is laying across your legs, fast asleep. You find it hard to move or feel anything, except the surprising heavy old woman and the dull aching
The Vixen is aware that her magical bodysuit, which Dr. Amp knows about better than anyone, is gone! She doesn't concern herself with who dressed her—after having undressed her, for that matter—but rushes to Martha. "Hey, sweetie..." She wraps her arms around her, ever so gently. "Are ye hurt?"
Cashara put's her hand to her head, slowly.
"what the hell happened." she groans, trying to look around
Martha gives a small yelp and flinches away when you touch her. She steps back from you and stares through her golden hair.
"This can't be happening... This isn't supposed to be happening... " she says as continues to back up from you, violently clutching herself.
As Cashara looks around she spies Cal throwing up and Addison talking with Martha. She see Martha has back up but stops before she trips over the unconscious body of a face down Lance. Nearby, Hank is propped up against the railing across from you, but he seems to be coming to. Near the steps is Mr. DeVill and near the door is Mr. Minkins who is awake and rising to his feet. Strangely, Mr. Frogmouth is no where to be seen.
You are able to lift your arm with some difficulty and as you put it to your head, you find that your clutching a crumpled piece of paper...
Cashara looks at the paper, trying to read it as her head continues to hurt.
The Vixen says, "Don't be scared, Martha. Not o' me, honey..."
The Vixen reaches for her hand. "I think Uncle Henry's... he's gone, sweetie. But we're still kickin', and I'm gonna get ye back to yer husband."
Seeing Cashara has a note, the Vixen tries to use that to redirect Martha. "Let's listen to what Cashara found out."
she ended up slipping a real curs as she tried to read it
"The gas was clever. I expected it to be in the food."
The note is smudge and the ink has run abit but you can still read the once neat and fancy script,
Keep this hidden! Go to the garden, look under the dragon. Don't get caught!
Martha pulls her hand away, and continues to hold herself, but she nods silently.
Satisfied that Martha at least trusts her, VV responds to Cal.
"Clever. Yeah… but I'm still creeped out by the fact I was stripped down to me bare ass, then dressed up like a mannequin. I mean… the dress ain't half bad, but…"
Shaking off the disturbed feeling, she reaches out to her fairy friend.
Cashara ripped up the paper.
"V, could you help me up?" She asked "I need to speak with you alone."
The Vixen offers Cashara a hand. "Sure. What d'ye need?"
She rose on shakey legs.
"I need you to get to a a good place to hide in. She said in a low voice. "and leave FB there. I can't explain right now, but I just plant someone to watch my back. You go first and then come back, ok?"