![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
This is a summary of part 5 of the Miracle Season game from Gencon this year. A summary of part 4 (from last year) is here.
Miracle Season is an ongoing game run at Gencon and possibly other cons (I don't know). If you hope/plan to play in it and are at all worried about spoilers, don't read this because it is quite detailed. A lot of it does not constitute spoilers. The joy of Miracle Season lies in the story, and that depends on both characters and the luck of the draw. But certain elements are consistent, else it wouldn't be an ongoing game where you could 'weave in' PCs who were in different sessions for earlier parts. And those elements will be spoilered if you read this.
Most of the fun isn't in "getting it right" though - it's in the tale of how you got there, how your stories wove into it, how you came to get it right (or wrong, for that matter). In that sense I'm not sure this game can be spoilered - that is, knowing the stuff still leaves you poised for fun. But yes, there's an "oo what's THAT?" factor that can be lost if you read past this sentence.
Cast:
First, we had to establish what happened to the folks from the previous session. Juan (the bear shaman) stayed behind to investigate the bear bones he'd found in the Sea of Bones. The world-hopper (WH) stayed behind with his 'Grandfather' (the spirit in the mound) to speak longer. And the other two (the shyster and the shaman) were right behind us as we walked along the path opened through the sea of bones...and then they weren't. We just looked behind and they were gone.
They walked, and walked...they were six or seven hours out, and the land ahead seemed just as far as when they had begun. The sun was baking the boans, which were moaning and screaming and rolling as always; and none of the group had had food or water in rather too long, nor had they any now. They finally gave up when the sun hit the horizon (which it did very literally: it had been high overhead, unmoving, for hours, and then suddenly was on the horizon). They stopped to sleep in the middle of the opened pathway, praying it would not fall in on them. They set a watch; the watch promptly fell asleep, less than an hour in. Cecilia was the first to wake, but they were all safe in spite of this.
They continued on, and for some while it seemed as if the land was still as far ahead as ever (though where they'd come from was now terribly distant also). Ahead of us, we saw sharp rocks, fully blocking the path...big rocks, rising, with sharp you-don't-want-to-climb-this edges. This is a Bad Thing when your options are to climb it, or to try to climb the bones in the Sea of Bones (uh, no thanks!). Someone suggested Ceci draw a way out, and she suggested instead that Jake try to carve a bridge. Of course, carving requires something to carve, so she gave him one of her pencils. Carving something that slender is not easy, and he drew badly. The pencil shattered, slicing his hand some. Inadvertently, this got us across: he bled, and some of the drops fell on the rock, which exploded into dust. They coughed a bit and ran forward, with Jake in the lead; he was bleeding and flinging the blood at the rocks, and soon the dust was so thick they couldn't breathe at all.
So they drew clothing, arms, whatever they could across their mouths and continued to run. One of the rocks was a very large/tall plinth, though, and when hit with blood, it didn't explode. Terrance looked in and saw the souls of the dead in the Sea of Bones fighting in it - and he also saw the two missing party members who had followed them in, then vanished. Whether or not that's true is an interesting question, because when Cecilia glanced in, she saw her family. If that's true, she's going to be VERY upset - she was upset enough, really, but if it turns out to be true, she has a lot of backtracking and some work to do, for she won't leave them there forever if that's where they are - at least not without trying to fight. She might have in this case, but they were still in somewhat of danger, and she was urged to get them past the plinth.
To draw. But she's out of paper. So she asked for paper, and Terrance gave her his checkbook. She drew a bridge in the space where you usually write the amounts and who to pay it to. Fortunately for Terrance, she didn't leave the price-sketches out (or the blank check symbology might have been a touch TOO close) - she drew the cat (that she would find him), Kalcy (same thing - to find her), and bowls/coins (charity/giving - a pledge to donate time and money when she got home). Then I drew badly for her and she failed. The cat animated and ate the rest of the drawing, leaving the check unchanged. Oops.
I forget exactly how but at this point something happened and the plinth fell, away from them and onto the remainder of the rocks. Still, everyone got well back until the dust had settled, then clambered over it. Of course, during the chaos, Cece was still holding Terrance's checkbook - and put it in her purse, along with her pen. He didn't notice or realize it.
They found themselves on an island, green, with trees and other such. Someone (I think Terrance) asked if Jake could find us a path, so he found some downed wood and set above carving a compass. He pulled a little bunny out of his pocket and held it on his hand, either while he was working or after (I forget). It was alive, though very still and tame.
The compass came alive, began to spin, and pulled him through the woods, leading the group to a pebbled path. Just about then we hear a sound as of something coming and hide - Jake hides in the underbrush, Terrance and Cecilia simply step behind trees. Along comes a carriage, drawn by a giant moth. It's a shiny black carrige with silver trim; there's no sign of anyone guiding the moth. Then the compass pulls at Jake, and he makes some noise while trying not to move. The carriage stops.
A veiled female figure (rich purple and blue gauze layers) peers out; she's wearing a circlet with fifteen different moonstones, which holds her veils in place. She asks who is there and after a moment, they all step out. She asks where they're going, and they say they don't know, just where the compass points. She asks where they are from and they reply with San Keros and sort of go over the basics of how they got there, but not the details and goals. The music at the party, the crossing of the Altwald, and the God's-eye tree are all mentioned directly.
She offers them a ride into town; they thank her and accept. In the carriage, in addition to her, there is an older woman with her hair in a bun under a cloth. She's knitting, and has a crystal container (too opaque to see the contents) between her legs; above their heads an Igloo cooler hangs, seeming rather out of place here. Terrance asks where they are, and the reply is, "You are in my cousin's kingdom." Jake asks who her cousin is, and is told, "The ruler of this place." She (the first woman, not the older) gives her name as Helena and asks for their names. Cecilia gives her first name, Terrance his full name, and Jake says his name is Albert. The cooler is noted, and styrofoam vs. plastic discussed. (I forget who, but either Terrance or Jake claims that plastic is what our/their world is known for.)
She invites them to stay the night under her hospitality, but asks they not go out at night as there have been some unfortunate circumstnaces. But fewer than ten casualties, so "it's not bad yet." Then they are on a cobblestone street in a quaint Victorian-esque village, stone and wood, with the largest buildings three stories high (counting the attics), with rough-shingled roofs. The largest building is a Cathedral-like place, with a properly shingled roof like back home; no stained glass; and an air conditioner or two whirring away in the windows. The front door is a double-door arch (coming to a point in the middle) eight feet high.
The old woman leads the way to the door, telling Helena to stay in the carriage. She also bids Terrance and Jake to carry the cooler; Cecilia trails, less from curiosity than from fear of being separated from the few people who still know what she speaks of when she mentions home. Behind them, the doors on the carriage can be heard opening and closing, and footsteps run the other way while the carriage remains.
There are two knockers on the door - one is the head of a teddy bear with a ring inscribed with differential equations (a fact that only Terrance recognizes), while the other is formed of two interlocking gears. The woman knocks, and a five-and-a-half-foot teddy bear (wearing spectacles and a white lab coat) answers the door, saying as he does so, "I really need to get a servant for the door." The cooler is passed to him and he yanks it open right there, revealing...tubs of chocolate chip cookies and three gallons of milk. He grabs one of each and begins devouring cookies quite messily. The old lady turns and leaves, either right away or during the first part of the conversation.
Someone (I think Terrance, perhaps Jake) asks about his work and he says that's very suspicious that they just happen to chance in there and ask about it, they must be spies. There was some back and forth about this, but of course, luck and so on was also suspicious. However, at that point Jake's rabbit made some noises and the teddy bear proceeded to reach for it, hold it on his palm, and talk to it. He ends up learning about Jake's skills due to the compass (and, I think, the rabbit); and then Terrance says he's good with numbers and Cecilia shrugs and says she draws. He offers them work and tells them to come back tomorrow; he also advises them not to tell others (I'm unclear if he directed that at Cecilia or the whole group - she spoke last, so it could be either).
They return outside, and the carraige and older woman are gone, leaving them a bit stranded - but then they see Helena, two blocks away and behind a lamp post, so they go to her. I've lost part of this exchange but I believe she indicated they might be safer not being with her; instead, Terrance offers to help her. Jake agrees; Cecilia is silent, but she doesn't argue. Helena questions if they're sure. Once they confirm, she leads them another way (with her head held high and no look back, very sure of herself). Eventually they get to a dark alley; partway down it is a door, at which she knocks in a 3/2/1/5 pattern. She then opens it without waiting for any response from inside.
As soon as they are inside the house, she takes off her veils; she has too-pale blue eyes, and mahogany hair; her face is pale and slightly pointed. She heads for the basement at once, torches lighting as she passes them. When they get there, they find 15 people in medieval-style noble dress. They are all within Helena's age bracket - probably no more than 4-5 years older at the most, and maybe 1-2 years younger. Most are men. A long tbale holds wooden and stone bowls, with food, and there's a pile of coins like the coin that was used on Kevin's DJ stand (to cause him to turn into a werewolf, back in Miracle Season 1). She gives one of the men a packet, and he sprinkles it over the food; then he gives her fifteen of the coins, which she quickly stashes in her shirt.
Meanwhile, many of those present are staring (openly or sidelong) at the three strangers, but they aren't saying anything aloud - it's just the looks that say "what are they doing here?" And then a 14-year-old (or so) boy runs in, and says, "They're coming - hide everything!" A bureau (?) is pushed aside and the bowls are moved into the hidey-hole behind it. Some people also go in there while others vanish. Finally, only the three, Helena, and a strange man are left in the room. Jake and Terrance push the bureau back across the hole and then when footsteps are heard, Helena kisses Terram, dipping him over the table.
Four men come in first, wearing kilts, their overall outfit blue and purple; they wear a silver oak-leaf pin. Their hair is braided/dreadlocked. Then come three more people - a man with a blue leather trenchcoat, then another man in what looks like an earth-style designer suit, and then a woman in what would be 'everyday clothes' back home, with her hair up tall in a Japanese-esque style with sticks through it; her face is heavily made up, but not white (as geisha might be) but rather more 'western' style makeup.
They ask what's going on (and I believe Helena was pulled away from Terrance), and Helena doesn't answer, so Terrance and Jake and Cecilia begin talking. This just digs the hole deeper, really - the cookies are mentioned which cause an outraged reaction (never did learn why--). Then we're asked to spy on someone - to try to see something - and the someone is the teddy bear from earlier (Thaddeus, I believe?) and then tell someone else (who, we aren't told) what we see. We're told we'll learn who after we've gone. We're sent to an inn in an okay-but-not-great part of town and told to stay there until the meeting the next day.
Helena is led off. The curly-haired guy (the conspirator who remained in the room when the others left, and pled that no one can control Helena and someone had to stay with her) remains after the seven leave. He tells them that it shouldn't be a big deal, unless of course the person to be told turns out to be Helena's mother. They ask him for her mother's name so they'll know, but he can't speak it - literally stutters to a halt on it each time he tries, and after a couple attempts, simply turns and leaves.
They go to the inn. Jake settles in the common room while Terrance and Cecilia go up to the one room they were given. Shortly something begins to strike the window; Cecilia goes to look and sees the 14-year-old boy from earlier. They hestiate to go outside since they'd been told not to, but eventually head downstairs, Terrance going into the outhouse as an excuse (Jake accompanies them out). Cecilia wanders up to the corner and back as if pacing, allowing the boy to see her, and shortly he joins them and asks if they really want to stay in the inn. Helena still extends guests rights to them, and after considering it, they agree and he leads them toward the palace, and into a fancy house right up against the palace's outer wall.
There, they are offered fried chicken legs, and cheese cubes, and drinks. Cecilia has water, Terrance has wine ("a red wine that would go well with the chicken"), and Jake has ale. Helena comes, and they speak for a while. Cecilia stays in the room while Jake wanders off to the library; but Cecilia is largely quiet. Terrance asks to see the palace gardens, and Helena calls in maids and butlers, telling them she's sure she has something to do at the palace; they take the (unsubtle) hint and head off to arrange it. Terrance asks Cecilia to tell the legend of the Captain (the Lord in the mound) to Helena, which she does as best she can remember it. Helena finds it interesting and wants to write down her own copy of it, but she hasn't heard it before and doesn't know what it might mean.
At one point, Terrance confides a horrid idea to Cecilia - that perhaps the 'tree' they must take a 'cutting' from is a family tree - that they need some member of the family or somesuch. They don't dare discuss it long in this company, though, so it's just mentioned and then (for the time being) let lie.
Then the seamstresses and tailors are summoned and they are dressed to go to the palace. The men do okay (well, if they don't mind being scrubbed with horsehair brushes and shaved brusquely), but Cecilia is invited to choose from Helena's dresses and quickly confesses she doesn't know what's appropriate. The seamstresses sweep in and pick for her. And the draw is a disaster, so she is dressed in a pale orange dress and her makeup done wrong so that she looks very pale and not good (a combination that she'll refer to as an orange-and-vanilla ice cream or parfait at various points, once she's feeling at least a little okay with making fun of herself).
They spend about a half hour in the downstairs library (they were told not to go into the upstairs one, and they never did) while Helena is being made ready to go to the palace. There's a map of the dominion in the library so they look at it, seeing that there are pockets of civilzation - perhaps five large ones? - widely separated by wilderness; the dominion as a whole is apparently quite large, based on the map. Cecilia browses some children's picture books, then some other books, and then Helena is ready.
As they near the door, a voice says, "Where are you going?" It's the old woman from the carriage, approaching from behind them. Helena responds, "To meet with the prince; I don't think either you or mother can object, since you want me to marry the bastard."
They go out and get into the carraige with the mother, and go to the palace. Helena enters on Terrance's arm. As they enter, they are announced, and...well, there's a general wince from those who see Cecilia, at least those she can tell. For everyone else in the room is wearing masks. Helena pauses there and says, "Oops." And then says she hopes they won't stop on account of her or something of that sort, and things...more or less resume.
Among the others present, Thaddeus (the teddy bear) and the three non-guard folks from the basement (trenchcoat, suit, and the lady) are there. Thaddeus is easy to recognize by his nature, and the other three are wearing eye-only masks. Helena, meanwhile, leads her companions to a table, ordering lots of champagne to it, and settles in there.
A bit later, "Elizahn the Metomorphos" (etc. etc. but I've lost the rest of her titles - sorry!) enters, and the crowd stills. This time they stay still until she reachse her table and for a bit after (unlike with Helena where it resumed much sooner), then finally slowly resumes again. She simply sits there and watches, hardly moving, not eating or drinking.
Helena's crowd - the conspirators from the basement - are present. They move through the crowd, sometimes appearing surprised to meet each other even though they are all sitting at one table (and indeed, a good half of them sat down there together, earlier). Someone announced as "Darian" - a very pretty boy - comes over to Helena's table and asks who the "kids" are (although even Cecilia's older than or the same age as this Darian - she's much too busy admiring him to comment, though). He then asks if we want masks, and goes to get them - for Terrance and Cece; Jake was up and milling through the crowd by then.
The guy in the trenchcoat gestures to Cecilia to step off to the side. She tries to get Terrance to come along with her, but Helena doesn't want to be left alone and tells Cecilia that she should be quite safe from them here in public anyway, and that Darian will soon be back with the masks. So Cecilia goes off on her own, uneasily.
Terrance, meanwhile, is trying to describe to Helena what being an 'insurance salesman' means - she'd asked him about himself and that was his answer - and then he tries to describe computer games since he enjoys them so much. Of course, at some point (I forget how) he manages to mention the weird vine (crystalvine...) they've seen growing a couple places, which causes her to react sharply, of course. Since a spark from a cell phone started one, he ends up trying to explain cell phones (for talking over long distances) to her, and she asks why he wouldn't just speak in her mind instead. The ensuing exchange is fun, and probably fairly enlightening to Terrance.
In Jake's wake, as he wanders through the crowd, perhaps ten people clutch at the backs of chairs, suddenly very tired and disoriented; they sit down, get drinks and sip from them, and so on, trying to recover. He continues mingling, seemingly unaware of this.
The man in the trenchcoat talks to Cecilia for a bit, and she's nervous, making excuses - well, she sent for us, we couldn't refuse - but he waves off these and says that no, they're doing just fine. This is almost like a punch to the gut for Cece, who thought she understood the positions here and now is somewhat certain she doesn't - and that this man is using them somehow. About then, Darian shows up with a simple mask for her, and then she wanders back to the table as the food service is about to start.
Thaddeus runs into Jake in the crowd and says he (Jake) can get him more cookies, surely, that he must talk to Helena and make sure he gets more cookies - the bear is fairly desperate and during the course of the exchange it becomes clear that he is addicted, a cookie junkie. Jake disengages from that conversation and returns to Helena's table also.
Bowls of soup are served, and Helena looks triumphant; but she doesn't eat, just stirs her soup and watches. Terrance, Jake, and Cecilia, observing her, don't eat their soup either, nor does the stiffly-watching Elizahn. The others in the room take a bite or two and then fall asleep in their bowls....
[And part 5 of Miracle Season ends. I'll have to post part 6 later.]
Miracle Season is an ongoing game run at Gencon and possibly other cons (I don't know). If you hope/plan to play in it and are at all worried about spoilers, don't read this because it is quite detailed. A lot of it does not constitute spoilers. The joy of Miracle Season lies in the story, and that depends on both characters and the luck of the draw. But certain elements are consistent, else it wouldn't be an ongoing game where you could 'weave in' PCs who were in different sessions for earlier parts. And those elements will be spoilered if you read this.
Most of the fun isn't in "getting it right" though - it's in the tale of how you got there, how your stories wove into it, how you came to get it right (or wrong, for that matter). In that sense I'm not sure this game can be spoilered - that is, knowing the stuff still leaves you poised for fun. But yes, there's an "oo what's THAT?" factor that can be lost if you read past this sentence.
Cast:
- Cecilia Durham (my character, an artist with faerie wishcraft all tied up with her drawing/painting, and an impulsive streak in that regard that dominates her personality)
- Terrance Smith (an actuary who also happens to journey to the faerie realms via his online games)
- Jake Miller (looked like a down-on-his-luck trucker, but his wood carvings would sometimes come to life and do more, sorta like Cece's art only not)
First, we had to establish what happened to the folks from the previous session. Juan (the bear shaman) stayed behind to investigate the bear bones he'd found in the Sea of Bones. The world-hopper (WH) stayed behind with his 'Grandfather' (the spirit in the mound) to speak longer. And the other two (the shyster and the shaman) were right behind us as we walked along the path opened through the sea of bones...and then they weren't. We just looked behind and they were gone.
They walked, and walked...they were six or seven hours out, and the land ahead seemed just as far as when they had begun. The sun was baking the boans, which were moaning and screaming and rolling as always; and none of the group had had food or water in rather too long, nor had they any now. They finally gave up when the sun hit the horizon (which it did very literally: it had been high overhead, unmoving, for hours, and then suddenly was on the horizon). They stopped to sleep in the middle of the opened pathway, praying it would not fall in on them. They set a watch; the watch promptly fell asleep, less than an hour in. Cecilia was the first to wake, but they were all safe in spite of this.
They continued on, and for some while it seemed as if the land was still as far ahead as ever (though where they'd come from was now terribly distant also). Ahead of us, we saw sharp rocks, fully blocking the path...big rocks, rising, with sharp you-don't-want-to-climb-this edges. This is a Bad Thing when your options are to climb it, or to try to climb the bones in the Sea of Bones (uh, no thanks!). Someone suggested Ceci draw a way out, and she suggested instead that Jake try to carve a bridge. Of course, carving requires something to carve, so she gave him one of her pencils. Carving something that slender is not easy, and he drew badly. The pencil shattered, slicing his hand some. Inadvertently, this got us across: he bled, and some of the drops fell on the rock, which exploded into dust. They coughed a bit and ran forward, with Jake in the lead; he was bleeding and flinging the blood at the rocks, and soon the dust was so thick they couldn't breathe at all.
So they drew clothing, arms, whatever they could across their mouths and continued to run. One of the rocks was a very large/tall plinth, though, and when hit with blood, it didn't explode. Terrance looked in and saw the souls of the dead in the Sea of Bones fighting in it - and he also saw the two missing party members who had followed them in, then vanished. Whether or not that's true is an interesting question, because when Cecilia glanced in, she saw her family. If that's true, she's going to be VERY upset - she was upset enough, really, but if it turns out to be true, she has a lot of backtracking and some work to do, for she won't leave them there forever if that's where they are - at least not without trying to fight. She might have in this case, but they were still in somewhat of danger, and she was urged to get them past the plinth.
To draw. But she's out of paper. So she asked for paper, and Terrance gave her his checkbook. She drew a bridge in the space where you usually write the amounts and who to pay it to. Fortunately for Terrance, she didn't leave the price-sketches out (or the blank check symbology might have been a touch TOO close) - she drew the cat (that she would find him), Kalcy (same thing - to find her), and bowls/coins (charity/giving - a pledge to donate time and money when she got home). Then I drew badly for her and she failed. The cat animated and ate the rest of the drawing, leaving the check unchanged. Oops.
I forget exactly how but at this point something happened and the plinth fell, away from them and onto the remainder of the rocks. Still, everyone got well back until the dust had settled, then clambered over it. Of course, during the chaos, Cece was still holding Terrance's checkbook - and put it in her purse, along with her pen. He didn't notice or realize it.
They found themselves on an island, green, with trees and other such. Someone (I think Terrance) asked if Jake could find us a path, so he found some downed wood and set above carving a compass. He pulled a little bunny out of his pocket and held it on his hand, either while he was working or after (I forget). It was alive, though very still and tame.
The compass came alive, began to spin, and pulled him through the woods, leading the group to a pebbled path. Just about then we hear a sound as of something coming and hide - Jake hides in the underbrush, Terrance and Cecilia simply step behind trees. Along comes a carriage, drawn by a giant moth. It's a shiny black carrige with silver trim; there's no sign of anyone guiding the moth. Then the compass pulls at Jake, and he makes some noise while trying not to move. The carriage stops.
A veiled female figure (rich purple and blue gauze layers) peers out; she's wearing a circlet with fifteen different moonstones, which holds her veils in place. She asks who is there and after a moment, they all step out. She asks where they're going, and they say they don't know, just where the compass points. She asks where they are from and they reply with San Keros and sort of go over the basics of how they got there, but not the details and goals. The music at the party, the crossing of the Altwald, and the God's-eye tree are all mentioned directly.
She offers them a ride into town; they thank her and accept. In the carriage, in addition to her, there is an older woman with her hair in a bun under a cloth. She's knitting, and has a crystal container (too opaque to see the contents) between her legs; above their heads an Igloo cooler hangs, seeming rather out of place here. Terrance asks where they are, and the reply is, "You are in my cousin's kingdom." Jake asks who her cousin is, and is told, "The ruler of this place." She (the first woman, not the older) gives her name as Helena and asks for their names. Cecilia gives her first name, Terrance his full name, and Jake says his name is Albert. The cooler is noted, and styrofoam vs. plastic discussed. (I forget who, but either Terrance or Jake claims that plastic is what our/their world is known for.)
She invites them to stay the night under her hospitality, but asks they not go out at night as there have been some unfortunate circumstnaces. But fewer than ten casualties, so "it's not bad yet." Then they are on a cobblestone street in a quaint Victorian-esque village, stone and wood, with the largest buildings three stories high (counting the attics), with rough-shingled roofs. The largest building is a Cathedral-like place, with a properly shingled roof like back home; no stained glass; and an air conditioner or two whirring away in the windows. The front door is a double-door arch (coming to a point in the middle) eight feet high.
The old woman leads the way to the door, telling Helena to stay in the carriage. She also bids Terrance and Jake to carry the cooler; Cecilia trails, less from curiosity than from fear of being separated from the few people who still know what she speaks of when she mentions home. Behind them, the doors on the carriage can be heard opening and closing, and footsteps run the other way while the carriage remains.
There are two knockers on the door - one is the head of a teddy bear with a ring inscribed with differential equations (a fact that only Terrance recognizes), while the other is formed of two interlocking gears. The woman knocks, and a five-and-a-half-foot teddy bear (wearing spectacles and a white lab coat) answers the door, saying as he does so, "I really need to get a servant for the door." The cooler is passed to him and he yanks it open right there, revealing...tubs of chocolate chip cookies and three gallons of milk. He grabs one of each and begins devouring cookies quite messily. The old lady turns and leaves, either right away or during the first part of the conversation.
Someone (I think Terrance, perhaps Jake) asks about his work and he says that's very suspicious that they just happen to chance in there and ask about it, they must be spies. There was some back and forth about this, but of course, luck and so on was also suspicious. However, at that point Jake's rabbit made some noises and the teddy bear proceeded to reach for it, hold it on his palm, and talk to it. He ends up learning about Jake's skills due to the compass (and, I think, the rabbit); and then Terrance says he's good with numbers and Cecilia shrugs and says she draws. He offers them work and tells them to come back tomorrow; he also advises them not to tell others (I'm unclear if he directed that at Cecilia or the whole group - she spoke last, so it could be either).
They return outside, and the carraige and older woman are gone, leaving them a bit stranded - but then they see Helena, two blocks away and behind a lamp post, so they go to her. I've lost part of this exchange but I believe she indicated they might be safer not being with her; instead, Terrance offers to help her. Jake agrees; Cecilia is silent, but she doesn't argue. Helena questions if they're sure. Once they confirm, she leads them another way (with her head held high and no look back, very sure of herself). Eventually they get to a dark alley; partway down it is a door, at which she knocks in a 3/2/1/5 pattern. She then opens it without waiting for any response from inside.
As soon as they are inside the house, she takes off her veils; she has too-pale blue eyes, and mahogany hair; her face is pale and slightly pointed. She heads for the basement at once, torches lighting as she passes them. When they get there, they find 15 people in medieval-style noble dress. They are all within Helena's age bracket - probably no more than 4-5 years older at the most, and maybe 1-2 years younger. Most are men. A long tbale holds wooden and stone bowls, with food, and there's a pile of coins like the coin that was used on Kevin's DJ stand (to cause him to turn into a werewolf, back in Miracle Season 1). She gives one of the men a packet, and he sprinkles it over the food; then he gives her fifteen of the coins, which she quickly stashes in her shirt.
Meanwhile, many of those present are staring (openly or sidelong) at the three strangers, but they aren't saying anything aloud - it's just the looks that say "what are they doing here?" And then a 14-year-old (or so) boy runs in, and says, "They're coming - hide everything!" A bureau (?) is pushed aside and the bowls are moved into the hidey-hole behind it. Some people also go in there while others vanish. Finally, only the three, Helena, and a strange man are left in the room. Jake and Terrance push the bureau back across the hole and then when footsteps are heard, Helena kisses Terram, dipping him over the table.
Four men come in first, wearing kilts, their overall outfit blue and purple; they wear a silver oak-leaf pin. Their hair is braided/dreadlocked. Then come three more people - a man with a blue leather trenchcoat, then another man in what looks like an earth-style designer suit, and then a woman in what would be 'everyday clothes' back home, with her hair up tall in a Japanese-esque style with sticks through it; her face is heavily made up, but not white (as geisha might be) but rather more 'western' style makeup.
They ask what's going on (and I believe Helena was pulled away from Terrance), and Helena doesn't answer, so Terrance and Jake and Cecilia begin talking. This just digs the hole deeper, really - the cookies are mentioned which cause an outraged reaction (never did learn why--). Then we're asked to spy on someone - to try to see something - and the someone is the teddy bear from earlier (Thaddeus, I believe?) and then tell someone else (who, we aren't told) what we see. We're told we'll learn who after we've gone. We're sent to an inn in an okay-but-not-great part of town and told to stay there until the meeting the next day.
Helena is led off. The curly-haired guy (the conspirator who remained in the room when the others left, and pled that no one can control Helena and someone had to stay with her) remains after the seven leave. He tells them that it shouldn't be a big deal, unless of course the person to be told turns out to be Helena's mother. They ask him for her mother's name so they'll know, but he can't speak it - literally stutters to a halt on it each time he tries, and after a couple attempts, simply turns and leaves.
They go to the inn. Jake settles in the common room while Terrance and Cecilia go up to the one room they were given. Shortly something begins to strike the window; Cecilia goes to look and sees the 14-year-old boy from earlier. They hestiate to go outside since they'd been told not to, but eventually head downstairs, Terrance going into the outhouse as an excuse (Jake accompanies them out). Cecilia wanders up to the corner and back as if pacing, allowing the boy to see her, and shortly he joins them and asks if they really want to stay in the inn. Helena still extends guests rights to them, and after considering it, they agree and he leads them toward the palace, and into a fancy house right up against the palace's outer wall.
There, they are offered fried chicken legs, and cheese cubes, and drinks. Cecilia has water, Terrance has wine ("a red wine that would go well with the chicken"), and Jake has ale. Helena comes, and they speak for a while. Cecilia stays in the room while Jake wanders off to the library; but Cecilia is largely quiet. Terrance asks to see the palace gardens, and Helena calls in maids and butlers, telling them she's sure she has something to do at the palace; they take the (unsubtle) hint and head off to arrange it. Terrance asks Cecilia to tell the legend of the Captain (the Lord in the mound) to Helena, which she does as best she can remember it. Helena finds it interesting and wants to write down her own copy of it, but she hasn't heard it before and doesn't know what it might mean.
At one point, Terrance confides a horrid idea to Cecilia - that perhaps the 'tree' they must take a 'cutting' from is a family tree - that they need some member of the family or somesuch. They don't dare discuss it long in this company, though, so it's just mentioned and then (for the time being) let lie.
Then the seamstresses and tailors are summoned and they are dressed to go to the palace. The men do okay (well, if they don't mind being scrubbed with horsehair brushes and shaved brusquely), but Cecilia is invited to choose from Helena's dresses and quickly confesses she doesn't know what's appropriate. The seamstresses sweep in and pick for her. And the draw is a disaster, so she is dressed in a pale orange dress and her makeup done wrong so that she looks very pale and not good (a combination that she'll refer to as an orange-and-vanilla ice cream or parfait at various points, once she's feeling at least a little okay with making fun of herself).
They spend about a half hour in the downstairs library (they were told not to go into the upstairs one, and they never did) while Helena is being made ready to go to the palace. There's a map of the dominion in the library so they look at it, seeing that there are pockets of civilzation - perhaps five large ones? - widely separated by wilderness; the dominion as a whole is apparently quite large, based on the map. Cecilia browses some children's picture books, then some other books, and then Helena is ready.
As they near the door, a voice says, "Where are you going?" It's the old woman from the carriage, approaching from behind them. Helena responds, "To meet with the prince; I don't think either you or mother can object, since you want me to marry the bastard."
They go out and get into the carraige with the mother, and go to the palace. Helena enters on Terrance's arm. As they enter, they are announced, and...well, there's a general wince from those who see Cecilia, at least those she can tell. For everyone else in the room is wearing masks. Helena pauses there and says, "Oops." And then says she hopes they won't stop on account of her or something of that sort, and things...more or less resume.
Among the others present, Thaddeus (the teddy bear) and the three non-guard folks from the basement (trenchcoat, suit, and the lady) are there. Thaddeus is easy to recognize by his nature, and the other three are wearing eye-only masks. Helena, meanwhile, leads her companions to a table, ordering lots of champagne to it, and settles in there.
A bit later, "Elizahn the Metomorphos" (etc. etc. but I've lost the rest of her titles - sorry!) enters, and the crowd stills. This time they stay still until she reachse her table and for a bit after (unlike with Helena where it resumed much sooner), then finally slowly resumes again. She simply sits there and watches, hardly moving, not eating or drinking.
Helena's crowd - the conspirators from the basement - are present. They move through the crowd, sometimes appearing surprised to meet each other even though they are all sitting at one table (and indeed, a good half of them sat down there together, earlier). Someone announced as "Darian" - a very pretty boy - comes over to Helena's table and asks who the "kids" are (although even Cecilia's older than or the same age as this Darian - she's much too busy admiring him to comment, though). He then asks if we want masks, and goes to get them - for Terrance and Cece; Jake was up and milling through the crowd by then.
The guy in the trenchcoat gestures to Cecilia to step off to the side. She tries to get Terrance to come along with her, but Helena doesn't want to be left alone and tells Cecilia that she should be quite safe from them here in public anyway, and that Darian will soon be back with the masks. So Cecilia goes off on her own, uneasily.
Terrance, meanwhile, is trying to describe to Helena what being an 'insurance salesman' means - she'd asked him about himself and that was his answer - and then he tries to describe computer games since he enjoys them so much. Of course, at some point (I forget how) he manages to mention the weird vine (crystalvine...) they've seen growing a couple places, which causes her to react sharply, of course. Since a spark from a cell phone started one, he ends up trying to explain cell phones (for talking over long distances) to her, and she asks why he wouldn't just speak in her mind instead. The ensuing exchange is fun, and probably fairly enlightening to Terrance.
In Jake's wake, as he wanders through the crowd, perhaps ten people clutch at the backs of chairs, suddenly very tired and disoriented; they sit down, get drinks and sip from them, and so on, trying to recover. He continues mingling, seemingly unaware of this.
The man in the trenchcoat talks to Cecilia for a bit, and she's nervous, making excuses - well, she sent for us, we couldn't refuse - but he waves off these and says that no, they're doing just fine. This is almost like a punch to the gut for Cece, who thought she understood the positions here and now is somewhat certain she doesn't - and that this man is using them somehow. About then, Darian shows up with a simple mask for her, and then she wanders back to the table as the food service is about to start.
Thaddeus runs into Jake in the crowd and says he (Jake) can get him more cookies, surely, that he must talk to Helena and make sure he gets more cookies - the bear is fairly desperate and during the course of the exchange it becomes clear that he is addicted, a cookie junkie. Jake disengages from that conversation and returns to Helena's table also.
Bowls of soup are served, and Helena looks triumphant; but she doesn't eat, just stirs her soup and watches. Terrance, Jake, and Cecilia, observing her, don't eat their soup either, nor does the stiffly-watching Elizahn. The others in the room take a bite or two and then fall asleep in their bowls....
[And part 5 of Miracle Season ends. I'll have to post part 6 later.]
Tags: