☆ Event: Mirror Mix-Up

[moustre]

Event Log: November, Mirror Mix-Up

The 20th of Noveuer starts out innocuous. The Looking Glass House is quiet and still at this late hour, largely empty but for the apprentice Witch dusting the many mirrors on the walls in the middle of the night. When the bells chime for 3 am, though, a night of tidying turns into something... a little more hectic. He panics, initially, as things push through various mirrors to scatter across the floor, and then animals, scurrying about, unhappy with their current change in locations. He clings to his duster and waits apprehensively for more Mirrorbound to slip through, prepared to run and get Miss Nessie, but the minutes tick by, and none come. Eventually, he can't ignore the mess any longer, and flees to fetch someone higher up to deal with this nonsense.

I. Early Morning Message The initial hours after 3 am are a bit of a nightmare. Miss Nessie is unavailable, stuck in a long Parliament meeting with Mhairi that has continued into the early morning, and her assistant, given new duties lately due to her packed schedule, is sent to speak with her. It's a bit of a cluster, everything - they've never had something like this happen before! Then again, they'd never had people come through either, until the first group of Mirrorbound several months ago. She gets away long enough around 6 am to make a magical announcement to Mirrorbound only, her voice, at a casual speaking tone, carrying across the city enough to be heard anywhere. "Good morning, Mirrorbound! So sorry for disturbing you at this time of morning, dears, I am. It's just that we've had a bit of an incident in the Looking-Glass House last night! How strange, what I'm hearing, how bizarre. If you would all please report to the Looking-Glass House at your earliest convenience, we believe we may have some things of yours, we do. The sooner the better, as- well, some of the things come through the mirrors last night must be pets! They're terrorizing my poor staff. Now, I won't be the one to greet you, I'm afraid, I'm still quite wrapped up with Parliament, but I hope you'll all be kind to my Assistant Theodore and his Bonded, Sowilo. They'll be making sure everyone gets their things back. Theodore might be a bit buttoned-up, but he's a good lad! Bye for now, dears, I must away back to my meeting, but rest assured, we will be looking into today's unexpected surprise!" After it's been heard, the message cuts off - it's impossible to miss unless one is trying very hard to miss it. Miss Nessie's duties will keep her away during this event, but limited NPC interactions, IC or handwaved OOC, are available with her newly-minted assistant Theodore Rosethorne, and his Bonded Fae, Sowilo. In the future, anything requiring Nessie may also be brought to Theodore! The NPC Contact page will be updated in the next few days to reflect this change. There may be a slight delay on Theodore's responses, but all NPC interaction requests will be answered as soon as possible.

II. A Bit of a Mix-Up It's a red-headed Fae in shoe-lifts who arrives first, glamoured to look perfectly put together despite his long hair being up in a haphazard bun, having been dragged out of his bed to deal with a crisis this early in the morning. He immediately starts directing efforts, red dragonfly wings occasionally flicking with irritation as he reads things off a clipboard and directs this to be piled there and that pet to be corralled before it crashes into something or sets something on fire. The other Witches are a little apprehensive about his presence, but when one protests, he just says with a scowl, "Excuse you. I am Bonded to Miss Nessie's right hand man." The efforts to reunite incoming Mirrorbound with their possessions and pets are... well, an effort is made. Sowilo may just shove something into your arms and announce in an authoritative voice, "You look like you could use one of these." He hears no arguments that it doesn't belong to that person, brushing them off with a haughty, "Well, find the owner, then, make yourself useful, hm?" Before he flits on to the next Mirrorbound, the next item or creature, eager to get rid of everything cluttering up the Looking-Glass House. Fae. Sometimes they're just like that. While the Witches are bustling around trying to get everything sorted out (it's impossible to match things to mirrors, but an attempt is made anyway), it's easy enough to breeze past them and survey the goods on your own, but no one will be allowed to leave with more than one item or creature in their hands or pockets; Sowilo has a sharp eye, and attempted theft will result in an illusion being placed on the thief of being trapped in a maze with their worst nightmare. It lasts until the extra item is returned or will otherwise dissipate after three days. Those that can see through illusions naturally or through practice get a stickier punishment - literally, one of the Witches present will, when prompted by Sowilo, charm the thief with a glue-trap spell, which will cause them to stick to everything except what they're trying to steal - again, until the extra item is returned, or until three days have passed. There isn't much warning about the punishment for attempted theft. The rumors have it that Sowilo's family are descended from Unseelie, and he's... a pain in the behind, to put it lightly. As a reminder, all mixed-up items should eventually find their way back to their original owners unless explicitly plotted out otherwise!

III. Late Morning After a couple of hours of Sowilo's "management", Theodore Rosethorne finally arrives. One quick glance and the poor Witch already looks like he's going to faint. Miss Nessie's assistant is a young Witch who seems to hold himself as prim and proper as possible. Clothes neat and straight. The only thing that seems to be impossible to tame is the mess of curls on his head. He takes the clipboard from his Bonded, but seems at a bit of a loss. Mirrorbound arriving later in the morning are much more likely to get an item that actually belongs to them, though mix-ups may still happen. He gives the best smile he can offer before adjusting his glasses. Exasperated. "I'm quite sorry. Terribly so. If it isn't too much trouble, it would help us greatly if you could find the original owner. I only just escaped digging up documents from Miss Bell's desk..." Needless to say, the poor guy seems to have been thrown into the thick of it and already overwhelmed. Oh, and about Sowilo? "I apologize. He's...Well, he can be a lot when you first meet him." Or a lot in general. Sowilo is quite the character! For those having trouble finding the original owners of whatever they've been given through more conventional means such as word-of-mouth or the Watches, a quick spell is taught and passed out in slips of paper meant to be stuck to the item in question - it acts as a divining rod, pointing the item toward the owner and pulling the person holding it along for the ride. Careful! The charm has no mind for things like walls and doors and people in the way, and will always try to pull the holder in the shortest possible line to its owner. This isn't much help for pets, though, who have minds of their own, and, in some cases, just don't want to be corralled by strange and somewhat-frantic Witches or Monsters.

Welcome to November's event log! Regains arrive through the mirrors ICly on the morning of the 20th. Questions can be found HERE, and if you wish to interact with Theodore and Sowilo, our newest NPCs, comment HERE. You have the option of handwaving the IC interaction to OOCly ask what questions your character might have for them, for us to summarize an answer for, or you can request an IC thread. Simply specify in your comment's subject and we'll respond accordingly. As always, feel free to use this log or make your own!

Comments

[battlebound]

[ So it was the horns, and Steak's nostrils flare at the implication, if there really was any on the red-headed Fae's part, of giving it to him.

That little bastard! ]

I was told to "find its owner". [ So helpful an instruction. ] How in the hell am I going to do that?!

[ Hello, has anyone lost their low budget spinach? ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

[Steak... you could use your brain. That's a thing.

You know, nevermind. Everett's here for that. He'll just chuckle gently. Always willing to be helpful!]

A puzzle, indeed! Perhaps there are some clues here. Aren't there stables nearby the mirror house? This could be fodder for a beast that arrived through there. If something there would like to eat these strange plants, it could be what you are tasked to find the owner of.

[battlebound]

[ But if he did that, Everett might have been deprived of his wonderful presence in the future shop. And that would be a travesty. ]

It could also entice all of them.

[ He's just saying! He could be mauled by all sorts of animals for this tasty tasty greenery. ]

What a ridiculous quest.

[ Says the guy who was hired to impersonate a dying girl's dead boyfriend. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

Hahaaha- Well! I suppose it could. I didn't find it all too appetizing. Let's see what the more animal animals think.

[Everett's fine to leap himself over the porch railing and onto the street. It's a fine diversion, he's in no rush with the shop and have plenty of time to ready everything for the opening. Helping out his frustrated employee is only kind of him]

Still, it is your quest. No honor in abandoning it, best to see it through if you can.

[battlebound]

[ Better Everett trying to help him than his even more testy than usual fellow knight. At least Everett is pleasant. ]

Of course I'll complete it!

[ There is no doubt of that. He'll find a way to complete any task given to him, but this... This is a whole other bag of greens. ]

Did you get anything?

[ But, while they go hunting, there's silence to be filled, and Steak wonders if there truly was something meant for him which came through. What could such a thing even be? Hundreds of years travelling light didn't give him much in the way of personal effects. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

Ahh, supposedly so! I was told a book with a metal cover came through my mirror. However, it was given to someone else so I'm not aware to what it was or where it has ended up. I'm daftly curious, but I was assured it would make it's way back to me in good time.

[He's not too fussed, but he doesn't really know what the book could be. It's not... something he'd yet to own, before arriving here. All very mysterious.]

And you received these greens? On behalf of another?

[battlebound]

[ A book? That has to be easier to figure out than random vegetation, at least. He wasn't given the courtesy of knowing what might have come through his own mirror, maybe he shouldn't have gone so early. ]

That guy didn't even look at what he gave people.

[ Just because it was chaotic was no excuse! They could have taken some more time. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

That does seem to be the case. Which makes me wonder what could have caused such an event to occur, with our mirrors. A surge of magical power? The items don't appear corrupted in any manner.

[funny or foolish that Everett would consider that a possibility and yet still eat some of that plant..?]

Something for you may yet reveal itself. The Fae did seem very confident that everything would find it's way to where it belonged. Such curious creatures...

[battlebound]

[ Would it be surprising to know that Steak thinks the cause is more nonsense, or something designed to unsettle the population of Mirrorbound here in one way or another?

Probably not, given that he's been nothing but sceptical of everything Aefenglom has shown him since he arrived. ]

Did they exist where you came from?

[ Some parts of what Aefenglom produces seem to echo things they know of in Tierra, such as Vampires and the odd similarities between his current shape and the Fallen Angel, Uke Mochi, but much of it differs in one way or the other. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

The Fae? Yes, yes. There manner is a bit similar to the ones here, but their appearances are greatly different. The Fae as I have known are more like the Naga of here. They are often serpentine in their low half and have a great many traits like reptiles have. [Everett does so love explaining his own world, but he spent his life exploring and seeking to understand it. He misses it, a bit, but the new discoveries to be had in Aefenglom are much too enticing for him to really wish to go back... at least, not so soon!]

And their magic. It's some of the most impressive in all Myddvai. So powerful, even, that the Dragons themselves bar Fae from having children of their own breed. There is a very limited number of them, only lessening with time as their immortality is only from age, not injury nor illness. A fascinating people!

[stop him, Steak, he will talk your ear off the whole way to the stables...]

[battlebound]

[ He did ask.

Besides, maybe hearing about other worlds will help Steak to grow more open-minded with regards to where he now is. ]

Bar? [ That's an interesting choice of phrase. Certainly not one he'd use about any of the races in Tierra — war seemed the preferred language of the people versus threats. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

Yes, they're a curious case, punished by the Land Dragon. No more can their kind be born, not until they prove they are more good to the world than bad.

[he pauses, considering the Fae he knew well and the quest they had been on, trying to collect the knowledge of the Fae, should they all disappear. Everett puffs through his nose]

They're trying to get there. [not exactly succeeding]

[battlebound]

[ ... Huh. That's a new one. ]

Tch. If such a thing could be done with Fallen Angels, Tierra would be much different.

[ Of course, Fallen Angels can come into existence in many varied ways, not simply by birth. And, of course, Steak would be out of a purpose. ]

[rollfordiplomacy]

Fallen Angels? Is that what gives you trouble in your land, my lad? What are they like?

[Everett's always curious, so hit him with that lore!! So many other worlds have so much conflict, it's intriguing for a man whose world was mostly quite peaceful and harmonious, save some petty conflicts that never got so far out of hand...]

[battlebound]

Among other things.

[ Like cults. And murderers. And Food Souls who have gone crazy but are not somehow Fallen. And bloodlust disease...

A lot of shit happens on Tierra, Everett. Do you want some of it?

He exhales and pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to decide how he would describe it. ]

They are monsters created by sin and chaos, and threaten the balance of Tierra. Their sickness can infect both humans and Food Souls.

[ One of the greatest fears of most Food Souls, though Steak has never been one to worry about such needless hypotheticals. ]