Nightrunner Channel [Day 170]

[whattaprick]

All right, nightrunners. I’ll keep this short. I want a map of this place and I want to know what might piss the Prince off that they aren’t warning us about. The fae have rules, doesn’t mean they’re not out to trick us into breaking them.

[ It’s not like that’s how the Ringmaster gets a fair amount of her labor or anything. Last thing they need is someone turning into a vase. ]

You see anyone starting shit, figure out how to shut it down without getting attention. The Prince is going to have people working for him too -- don’t get too cozy, they’re not here to do us any favors. Learn anything worth knowing, tell the rest of us.

Any questions?

Comments

[chronosynthesis]

I--[There's a pause as he considers that. It's possible for illusions to make sound--his already do, even if it's just the sound of magic crashing and sounds of combat getting echoed within them. But speech?] Can certainly try. At the very least, I may be able to create a cacophony enough to make it difficult to understand us.

[The biggest hurdle is probably going to be creating the illusion without needing a visual component to it, because his magic tends to be very visual. He may have to see what a boost of raw power from that pseudo-bloodstone can grant him.]

I will do some testing before we leave and let you know the results.

[whattaprick]

Thanks. If we're lucky, we're not going to need any of this.

[ But how lucky are they, really? ]

[chronosynthesis]

What would you say your luck usually is?

[Because Syrlya's luck is shit. He knows this, he tries not to rely on it.]

[whattaprick]

A bitch.

But I'm still alive and in one piece, so that's got to count for something.

[chronosynthesis]

Hm, that makes two of us. Perhaps we shouldn't rely too much on luck.

[There's a pause, and then it's the question Lambert probably didn't want to hear.] Now, I heard something along the lines of 'fae' and 'kidnapping'--?

[whattaprick]

Never do.

What about it? [ He's simmered down since that conversation, and it's an honest question, much like the one asking clarification on phrasing. ]

[chronosynthesis]

Are the Prince's servants likely enslaved? [He doesn't know these people well, but if most of them are prone to kidnapping and slavery...]

[whattaprick]

You don't have any fairy tales in your world about this kind of thing?

[chronosynthesis]

No. Or if there are they are likely the tales of humans or norn. I had never even heard of Fae before stepping foot in the carnival. [That's because he's basically the world-equivalent of a fairy.]

I know we will not know with certainty until we actually arrive, but I am concerned if it is true that they are there against their will and endangered.

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert has already guessed that much... ]

The short answer is maybe. [ And he knows that's unsatisfactory, so he'll continue. ]

Thinking the servants can't help themselves assumes the servants aren't fae themselves, which we don't know for a fact. My guess is that it's probably something like what the Ringmaster's got here. Some people signed up willingly, some people got tricked into it, they're tied to the Prince with magic one way or another.

Which means I don't trust them.

[chronosynthesis]

[So its half hysteria and half legit. Everything thay absolutely doesn't make it a simple situation at all.]

This is an ally of the Ringmaster's, so I hope that is in their favor and we won't be faced with innocent people in danger.

I trust you know her better than I. We should be cautious, but will we do anything if they're endangered?

[whattaprick]

She isn't mortal.

[ No judgement there, it's just a statement of fact. ]

It's like the sun trying to understand people. [ A beat. ]

Lemme ask you something: what does danger look like to you?

[chronosynthesis]

Aside from obvious physical danger? Being trapped against one's free will or having one's free will... stripped or distorted. That is cruelty, to make someone more helpless than they already are.

[whattaprick]

Do you have a way to reliably tell that's happening? And any idea what we can do if they are?

We're gonna be in his realm. Where he makes most of the rules. And fae take their rules pretty seriously. We try to take one of his servants, try to stop one from getting punished, that's going to mean he can do the same thing to us.

[chronosynthesis]

[There's a half-silenced sound of frustration.] I know, we are disadvantaged and he is not meant to be our enemy.

[Realistically there's little they probably can do, at least right now, and that doesn't sit well with Syrlya. He always likes to believe there's a way--but he's also agreed to chain himself down to the carnival and he can't act on his own accord.]

I will be following your orders. I only wished to ask about it.

[whattaprick]

[ That's more than he expected, which is sad, but ... ]

It's fine. It's not like I'm happy about it, either. If the Prince is trying to imitate human nobles, I already know I'm going to want to punch him in the face. [ He exhales sharply. ]

If there are people in there against their will, the plan stays the same. We find out everything we can, we don't give the Prince a reason to look at us or his servants twice. You wanna save anyone, you're not going to get far unless you can open doors to other worlds.

[chronosynthesis]

Or know someone who can. [They both know someone who can. It's just all a question of willingness, but... he's not holding out high hope.]

All right. Until then I will see what I can do about illusions that will keep any of our discussions private.

[whattaprick]

Right. Let me know how that turns out.

Sometime, you should ask Sans about the last time the Carnival stuck its neck out for anyone.

[chronosynthesis]

Why? Is it an interesting story, or are you hoping to dissuade my desire to help in the future?

[whattaprick]

The first one. And it'd give you a pretty good idea of what you'd be up against.

[chronosynthesis]

I will see if I get the chance to speak to him before we leave. Anything else?

[whattaprick]

That's all for now.

Find me once we've got a better idea of what's going on, and we'll figure out any changes if we have to.