Session 5: Patchwork

 June 17th, 2013 

The motley gathered again in Hathi's Garden—including Eric, despite his better judgment—and renewed their motley Pledge but not their dreaming Pledge. They agreed to check out the Goblin Market where Hannah was supposedly being kept, and revealed that they'd done some investigation beforehand. Eric had scoped out the location in person and found nondescript—but intimidating, nonetheless—Hedge there. Tia went to speak with Mortimer Montbanque and received advice not to go there, but if she must, then to have an escape plan ready and take everything anyone says with several grains of salt. Chiara spoke with Goatskin and received advice to be careful, as always, but also was told how to get in and what the place's name was: the White Spire Goblin Market. Francois got a Summer Court member drunk and asked him and was told similar things (also have a guide).

The White Spire Goblin Market is open the first and third Wednesdays of each month, as well as special fae holidays such as Midsummer, the Winter Solstice, and Hall Hallow's Eve. The entry location given to Chiara and Francois was near Quonset State Airport, south of Providence on the west side of the bay. The doorway was a crumbling stone arch in the nearby woods, and could be activated normally or by passing through the arch in the same direction three times, as it was a keyed gate.

Once inside, the motley found themselves on a twisting, narrow street in a very cluttered, almost claustrophobic market town. The buildings—all storefronts of varying sorts—leaned against each other and loomed over the tight street, at least three stories tall in most places. Most of the town's denizens were clearly not Changelings, but rather the hodgepodge collection of creatures known collectively as hobgoblins. Visible above the rooftops no matter what street the motley moved to was a glittering ivory spire, the White Spire for which the Goblin Market was named.

The first order of business was finding a guide for the Market. Eric botched his attempt and found a gaggle of sprights, tiny hyperactive attention-deficit fairies who were flitting around a lamp, who were all to eager to lead the group. Fortunately for the motley, Eric “tested” them by distracting them with something shiny, and Chiara had been told how to find hob-children to guide them instead. They negotiated for a bit and finally settled on a payment of Glamour—Eric promptly got labeled a “cheapskate” for it—and a Pledge for the kid to guide them for the night. The kid led them to the shop of Min the Face-Seller, where he claimed to have seen the “patchwork doll named Hannah” that the group was looking for.

Hannah was there, just as the dream-vessel promised, chained by the ankle and forced to work in the shop. Whispering, she begged the motley to get her out of there. Unfortunately, her shackle led to Min herself, who did indeed sell faces, but had none of her own. Min did not want to part with her servant at all. Eric kept pushing the issue and eventually talked Min into a Pledge-based agreement that she'd let them browse the market for half an hour, and then she'd give them the girl in trade for Francois' face (or Eric's himself if he didn't produce Francois' face). Eric promptly used the time to draw Francois' face (doing a pretty fair hand of it too), and tried to use that to pay Min, citing the loophole that she didn't specify what form the face would be in. Min was not happy.

Before she could even respond, though, Eric tried to swing a better deal. Min asked for four items of value to her. Eric tried to talk her down, pointing out that they were going to get Hannah anyway. Min pulled out a scalpel and pointed out in return that Eric hadn't specified the girl's condition in the initial Pledge. They renegotiated, and settled on a Pledge to give the motley one month to provide three of the four items. Min immediately chose three before Eric realized he'd let her have the choice by accident. Min swore on her oath to the Market, and had Eric swear on his Keeper's name, a Very Serious Pledge Indeed.

 Min's Tasks 

The motley visited the glassblower's district to get glass spheres made out of children's laughter and screams, cutting a deal with the glassblower that they'd pitch his shop to their friends and only have to give him the color from one eye, rather than the two he initially asked. Francois donated the color from his right eye, leaving him colorblind in that eye and now with a grey iris to match. The glassblower promised to have the vessels ready by their next visit.

 June 18th-20th, 2013 

Lacking a current plan to get an old camera from the Winter Court's vaults for Min, the group headed out to figure out what a Harvestman was, as well as plan how to collect its tears once they did. They made a cup out of the paper Min provided, and Chiara did some research and discovered that Harvestmen leave trails of shiny things in the Hedge to lure their prey in. There wasn't much else to go on. Apparently the Harvestmen are good enough at hunting that no one who gets a good look at them makes it back to share the information. The group armed themselves with a cast iron skillet and iron fireplace poker, road flares, and onions, and set out into the Hedge.

They found a trail of shiny things in the Hedge—coins, gems, a gauntlet—but Chiara managed to fall into the Harvestman's tunnel and promptly succumbed to the sleep-inducing drug in the spiderweb below. Francois whipped up a rope out of local vines and used it to lower Hypatia down the hole, and Hypatia managed some skillful acrobatics to get the vine rope around Chiara without falling asleep herself. Francois pulled them both out of the hole in a feat of strength. It was not a moment too soon as the Harvestman—a massive long-legged spider—came scrabbling out of the hole seconds later and immediately attacked. Unfortunately for the Harvestman, Eric had braced himself for the assault and blinded it with light. He and Francois proceeded to entangle it in rope and divest it of its legs, then put it out of its misery as it screamed inhumanly.

Simon drained its “squishy eye juices” since spiders don't actually cry. Eric decided to milk its spinnerets for good measure, and they also collected its mandibles on the assumption that a merchant in the Market would appreciate those. They then headed back to their Hollow to rest and recuperate and give Chiara time to wake up from the narcotic spiderweb.

NPCs Met
The Brat

Faceless Min

Patchwork Hannah

The Glassblower

Enemies
Faceless Min - a mu-onna who sells faces in the White Spire Goblin Market

Harvestman - a massive long-legged spider of malevolent intelligence that lurks in the Hedge.

Other Stuff
Eric's version

Session 4: The Fifth

Session 6: The Camera