Our cast:
- Marco McQueen: 12-year-old Wizened Oracle and former bully. Now he seeks to become a better person and protect his father from Ruzena, a Changeling resembling a Rusalka, or river fae. But first he has to deal with his fetch.
- Miroslav "Mir" Callaghan: 13-year-old Palewraith Darkling who has joined the Guild of Shadows to learn real magic. He is intrigued by certain artifacts and puzzled by strange gaps in the Guild's occult library.
- Nicole "Nikki" Callaghan: sticky fingered 10-year-old sister who traded her emotional attachments for the gift of artistry. She is a Flowering Fairest but also possesses something like the Artist Kith.
- Rocco McQueen: 10-year-old genius hacker and Levinquick Elemental who was crippled in childhood accident. Now able to walk again he is slowly taking control of his life. Now he has to save his father.
When last we left our protagonists, they had just learned that Marco's fetch, presumed to have died in the Witch-House, has escaped. Worse he has lured Miroslav to an empty lot to get some revenge. And he is not alone.
Broken Mirrors
Marco and his brother Rocco hurry downstairs to catch the Callaghans before Marco's fetch can get them. As Rocco struggles with his crutches, Marco knocks on the door. Miroslav and Nicole's mother, Vadoma, answers. She tells him that Mir just left, in fact to she thought he was going to see Marco. Nikki meanwhile is out having a study session with friends. Marco tells her that he came to warn Miroslav about a bully who might be setting him up. Vadoma seems very troubled by this and decides to help search the neighborhood with them.Marco and Rocco try to figure out where Marco's fetch (who was dubbed Polo by the players) might stage an ambush. I had them roll Wits + Investigation with a bonus based on their familiarity with its thinking (+1 for Rocco and +3 Marco). Rocco failed but Marco gets a success.
Marco thinks where he might ambush someone. Three locations leap to mind: an overgrown area near the school where he often bullied kids, an empty lot a few blocks to the west surrounded by a high vine encrusted fence, and the obscured backyard of a burned out building a couple blocks north.
He tells Vadoma that they should split up. He sends her to check out the house while they head for the lot. Marco runs as fast as they can. Once out of sight, Rocco ditches his crutches to keep up with his brother.
In the overgrown lot, Mir looks between Marco's fetch and his blond-haired ally Ryan. Ryan is between him and the only exit to the lot. Miroslav spots a large window on a nearby building and quickly makes a plan.
We enter a short combat. Miroslav wins initiative with a 14 beating Polo's 8 and Ryan's 6. Then he quickly makes a Manipulation + Subterfuge roll boosting his Manipulation by 1 with Glamour and adding 3 from Willpower to distract them. They resist with Composure + Subterfuge at a -1 due to Miroslav's dots in Fast Talk. Despite the large number of dice, Mir gets only 1 success. Luckily Ryan fails. Polo beats Miroslav's total...
Miroslav shouts and points at the window. While Ryan is distracted trying to see someone who isn't there, Miroslav goes to run past him. But the gap is narrow and he collides with the stout bully. The Darkling recalls something in the Book of Ages about this, that he should zig instead of zag. But it is too late and though he manages to spin past Ryan, Miroslav comes to a halt on the sidewalk just outside the lot.
Miroslav rolls Dexterity + Athletics + 3 for Willpower to escape the lot. He fails. He uses his reroll from his Token and fails again. So he gets out but is unable to get some distance.
Polo then makes a grab for him. He rolls Strength + Brawl +2 for all out attack minus Miroslav's Defense. He fails.
Marco's fetch makes a grab at him while Mir collects himself. The fetch's hands slip off of Miroslav's coat as he starts to run away. Miroslav sees people running down the block toward him. He heads that way hoping they are not reinforcements for the bullies.
The fetch sticks his head out and ducks back into the lot quickly. Marco and Rocco, however have spotted him, and continue down the street to the lot passing a confused Miroslav along the way. Realizing what he just saw, Mir skids to a halt in a cold sweat. Reluctantly he follows the McQueens.
With some discussion we decide this is a Breaking Point for Miroslav. He rolls Resolve + Composure +1 since relative to other encounters this is not that strange. He succeeds and takes the Shaken condition.
With Rocco limping behind him, Miroslav returns to the lot. He watches as the fetch jumps from the top of the far fence into a neighboring lot. Marco scrambles up the fence behind him while Ryan seems to be unable to find a way out. Miroslav ignores the other bully and tries to climb up after the Marcos. But the vines snap off in his hands.
We start a race using Stamina + Athletics. Polo and Ryan start with head start of 1 success. After round one, Marco and his double both get 2 successes keeping the gap between them constant. Miroslav gets 1 success and catches up to Ryan. The others fail.
Marco reaches the top and chases after the fetch, who seems to be making a beeline for the front door of a house across the street. As the tween charges forward, Ryan and the others struggle with the fence.
Second round. Marco gets 2 successes to Polo's 1 and catches up. Rocco finally reaches the others in the lot. Everyone else fails.
Eventually Ryan realizes he isn't getting anywhere. Outnumbered and frustrated, he huffs and leaves the lot. The tiny weakling Rocco threatens the bully but it takes Miroslav to send him running.
Rocco wants to be scary but Presence 1 and no Intimidation makes that pretty impossible.
The fetch makes it to the front steps before Marco plows into him. They crash onto the snow-covered stoop with Marco trying to pin him down. But with heroic effort, the fetch breaks free. It crawls to its feet and puts its hand on the doorknob. The knob turns and the door opens to reveal the Hedge.
Marco's tackle is a Strength + Brawl roll minus the fetch's Defense. He succeeds and they start the game's first grapple. They make opposed Strength + Brawl rolls. Polo spends his 1 Willpower hoping to escape. He gets 3 successes to Marco's 1. He gets to choose a move. He chooses to escape (which is a reflexive action) then moves to the door and spends a Glamour to open a door to the Hedge (which is his fetch power).
After a moment's hesitation, Marco goes in after it.
We start a second chase. Polo starts strong: 2 successes to Marco's 1. But Marco then begins to keep pace and gradually catch up. After about 10 seconds and 3 rounds of rolls he catches up to Polo.
As the two run through the Hedge, the trail narrows and darkens with large thorns leaning out from the sides of the path. Eventually Marco corners his double in a dead-end.
Outside his friends finally scale the fence. Their friend is nowhere to be seen. They wander across the street to the nearest house. Looking around they can make out signs of struggle: shifted piles of snow and damp footprints leading to the front door. Miroslav opens the door. The footprints end at the door. They went someplace else. The two friends look at each other and then open the door again, this time into the otherworldly Hedge.
The two Changelings roll Wits + Investigation to track Marco and Polo. Mir gets 2 successes, Rocco 1.
In the Hedge, Marco looks for a stick or a rock, any weapon against his fetch. He spots whip of thorns and snatches it up. While he is distracted, his fetch tries to pummel him out of the way.
A new combat. Marco wins the initiative. He rolls Wits to "spot" a weapon, shaping it out of the Hedge. The whip will deal 1 lethal damage.
After he picks it up, his fetch attacks. Polo has no WP left so in order to have a chance to hit he has to make an all out attack (gaining a +2 bonus to his roll). He fails anyway.
Marco knocks the double back and then brings the whip down across his chest, opening a bright red wound. The fetch howls in pain and tries to grapple Marco. The tween dodges the tackle and whips his foe again. The barbed weapon wraps around its leg and slices off a pant leg and the flesh below.
Marco makes an attack against the fetch (who has no defense due to it's all out attack). Marco gets 1 success for a total of 2 Lethal damage.
Polo tries to grapple and uses all out attack again. Again Polo fails.
When Marco attacks the second time he gets two successes and deals 3 Lethal. Things are looking dire for the fetch.
A horrible scream echoes through the Hedge. Miroslav and Rocco start running towards it. They round a corner to see a version of Marco stumbling painfully towards them, bleeding from multiple wounds.
Then a thorny vines wraps around his neck. The thorns dig deep into his flesh and shear the thing's head from its body. They look in horror as Marco collapses to the ground and dissolves into shards of mirror and the oozing bodies of slugs.
Polo is now at a -2 wound penalty to actions. The only real option that doesn't yield a Chance Die is to flee. He rolls Dexterity + Athletics - 2 and fails again.
Marco rolls to attack and fails as well. Rather than leave it at that, he uses his Steadfast Condition to get an automatic success. Polo takes 2 Lethal and dies. Marco earns two Beats (one for the Aspiration to deal with his fetch and one for the Condition).
Everyone present must roll for a Breaking Point. They make Resolve + Composure rolls at -2 (or -4 for Marco). Marco spends Willpower and succeeds as does Miroslav. Rocco fails, which allows him to resolve his Madness condition, earning him a Beat.
Conditions gained are Shaken for Miroslav and Guilt for Rocco and Marco.
Lastly for defeating his fetch I gave Marco a choice of a whip Token, a Glamour reserve harvested from his fetch or the Broken Mirror Milestone. He chose the last one.
Then the real Marco steps out looking darkly at the destruction. Miroslav tries not to think about what he saw, remarking to Marco that "it is okay, because it was not a real person."
The children walk slowly home, encountering Vadoma along the way. She is happy to find her son unharmed and invites them back to the Callaghan's apartment. There they finally find Nikki and quietly catch her up on the current events. The little girl is somewhat shocked and wonders aloud if the fetch will come back somehow. She and the others also learn that Marco's Uncle Angelo was working with the fetch. Rocco explains that Angelo is a member of the mob.
Miroslav makes plans to investigate more about fetches. Rocco gives him a picture of Mr. and Mrs. McQueen and asks him to talk to the Queen of Shadows for him about Ruzena. Mir is leery of using that photo since the Queen is the real Mrs. McQueen. Rocco gets him a picture of just his father.
I awarded a general roleplaying Beat here.
A few days later Miroslav pours over books in the Guild of Shadows library. Searching through Hedgepedia volume 6, he finds a reference to an Alice of the Ruby Throne. Frustratingly, like the entry on the Slender Man, this section is blank. As he looks around for the librarian, he sees Erin Cobbleflesh walking over to him.
The towering patchwork freak asks if he is friends with Rocco. She confides that she was investigating Ruzena for him. She found out that the river fae is working for the Queen as part of a Pledge. The Changeling is an oathbreaker and so has been tasked to watch some mortal for the Queen. Erin seems reluctant to prob further and asks Miroslav to handle the rest. In exchange she promises to track down what can be found about these missing entries with the librarian.
Miroslav find the Queen of Shadows elsewhere in the library looking over a black leather tome. The Darkling asks her about Ruzena. The Queen is surprisingly open about her deal. Ruzena is bound to watch over Mr. McQueen and his children for a year and a day. She is but one of several agents she has watching them. Miroslav points out that she has killed people before and that she might be a serial killer. The Queen seems unbothered but doesn't try to defend her. If they want to cause her to break the pledge then that is Ruzena's matter. The consequences for the river fae will be quite dire.
Miroslav turns the conversation to the subject of the missing entries he found in the Hedgepedia. Oddly the Queen seems unaware of the gap. In turn she asks if Miroslav has talked to the time traveler Hedge. Miroslav admits the mad oathbreaker is missing. That is why he is trying to find out about the Slender Man. He knows he is tied to Hedge. The Queen thanks him for his efforts and encourages him to look further into this.
Erin runs into him soon after, bringing the deathly thin librarian with her. The walrus moustached man reveals that he has personally tallied dozens of these missing entries. He is not sure why they are missing but points out the names used are very odd: Redtooth Redtooth, Nergal the Raging One, and Crumbcoat and Ganache. The librarian shares what he has found with Miroslav. The young Changeling files it away for now.
The group quips that these are stub entries in Hedgepedia.
Later in the week, the weather grows a bit warmer and the snow starts to melt. Nikki plays with Mr. Skittles outside, tossing a ball to the little dog. She can hear loud voices from the second floor of the old building. A few minutes later a Hispanic woman in a gray suit comes out. On a whim the woman stops and tries talking to Nikki. She introduces herself as Amelia, a social worker charged with keeping an eye on Yvett and her brother. She tries to find out how the Gambol children are doing but Nikki's answers seem to paint a picture that if not happy is relatively problem free.
After several scenes focused on the other characters, I wanted to get Nikki involved. Unfortunately Empathy would really help here. Nikki is terrible at Empathy thanks to her curse.
While Nikki plays Mrs. Gambol comes out and drives off. A sniffling Yvett comes out shortly after. Nikki decides to talk to the 7-year-old. She asks about Amelia and Yvett tells her a little. But not about why she is crying or why Amelia is worried about her and her brother.
Nikki needs to roll Manipulation + Empathy to get the girl to open up. Nikki has no Empathy so rolls her Manipulation -1. She fails.
Her brother comes outside to get some fresh air. He spots the girls talking and tries to join in. When he sees that Yvett is crying, he gently asks what is the matter.
Mir does have Empathy and gets 3 successes.
Yvett tells them that the social worker comes by to check up on them. Amelia is worried that their mother might not be treating them right. Yvett reluctantly tells them that her mom drinks a lot and sometimes hits them. She once locked up her brother for three days without food. Yvett misses her dad who lives in Chicago.
Miroslav is smart enough to recognize child abuse. He tries to convince Yvett to tell Amelia what she just said. But the girl defends her mother and then shuts up. Miroslav steers Nikki away and says they need to talk to the others.
Mir tries to use Manipulation + Persuasion to convince Yvett but fails.
Later that day, the Callaghans and McQueens discuss the situation. Rocco seems determined to do something about this, recalling his own rough childhood. He says they should invite the children to the empty apartment and convince them there.
Rocco calls the Gambols. Everett picks up. The child explains that they need to talk. Everett asks if it is about the doll. Rocco admits it is tied to that. He ask that he bring his sister. Everett reluctantly agrees.
They meet the Gambols there. Yvett is clutching her cat Mr. Soot. Everett is a little worried by the presence of Marco but Rocco assures him he is just watching the door. Marco stays by the entryway while the others go into the other room. Mir leans over the cat as they do, hoping to detect if the cat has been changed by the Hedge yet. Unfortunately he can't get a good read on it.
Miroslav tries Spellbound 1 on it but fails the roll.
Rocco talks quietly with the little girl. He argues that she can't make her mother a better person, she has to do that herself. If she doesn't tell the social worker about what is going on, it will only get worse. He also makes the point that by leaving their mom to live with their father, they might make their mother reevaluate herself and encourage her to be a better parent.
Yvett eventually nods and says she will talk to Amelia next time she visits.
Rocco tries to convince Yvett to reveal truth to Amelia. This is a Social Maneuvering roll. Rocco rolls Manipulation + Persuasion. His comments about fixing her family (or at least her mother) touches on one of Yvett's Aspirations: to get her family back together. That opens a Door for free. He succeeds on the roll opening the other Door necessary to convince her.
Weeks pass and Marco keeps an eye on Ruzena. She and his father continue to get closer. Frustratingly, he can't get a read on her true intentions.
Marco tries to use Fleeting Spring on her. Unfortunately, he gets 3 successes to her 4.
Meanwhile Charlie Cobwebs asks the motley to help her with one final improvement to her Hollow. She has obtained a door that will link her new home, a partially sunken bus in the Hedge, to the apartment building the children live in. The children think it is a great idea. Privately they consider asking her to join the motley. Miroslav and Nikki think Marco should ask her to join.
Since everyone but Marco realizes Charlie has a crush on him.
Marco goes along with it and asks. Charlie says yes and tells him that "you can come over anytime."
The job of moving the door is exhausting but goes smoothly. However as they install the door in the crooked bus, Mr. Skittles suddenly collapses and starts to have a seizure.
Installing the door was a cumulative Stamina + Crafts roll.
Nikki thrusts a stick in his mouth so he won't swallow his tongue. Suddenly a rainbow pattern washes over Mr. Skittle's fur turning the dark spots into rainbow patches. His breathing calms and the dog opens his eyes. They shine with rainbows.
Taste the rainbow. Be the rainbow.
"Are you okay?" Nikki asks.
"I'm fine," the little dog replies.
Miroslav recognizes Mr. Skittles has become a Hob. The little dog talks with an uncommon intelligence, remarking that it now somehow knows much about the Hedge. Nikki is a bit scared but also intrigued. The others are more concerned that others won't notice the change. He looks like a normal dog to mortal eyes, but the new Mr. Skittles doesn't have the most convincing bark.
Using Clarity allows Marco to see his Mask. It looks just like the old Mr. Skittles. Nikki meanwhile rolls Resolve + Composure for a Breaking Point. She succeeds and is Spooked.
Also around here I decided they deserved another roleplaying Beat.
A couple of days later, Miroslav corners Ruzena at the Guild of Shadows. He asks her what she knows about the Slender Man. Strangely her expression is one of fear followed quickly by confusion. She claims she doesn't know anything about him, something that Miroslav believes. But when he describes the tall tower and darkened garden, she again seems anxious for reasons even she doesn't know. He asks how she became a Changeling and she admits to not knowing. She assumes she traded the memories away.
Miroslav rolls Wits + Empathy + 3 for Willpower getting 2 successes to read her expression. I enjoyed my foreshadowing.
A week later, Nikki hears someone at the door while she draws in her bedroom. Her mother answers and she hears a familiar voice talking her in hushed but threatening tones. Sneaking into the living room, she sees Detective Brown brandishing photos of her mother slipping illegal drugs to customers at the drug store. Nikki goes back to her room and grabs Miroslav's walkie-talkie. Turning it on, she gets as close as she can.
Miroslav and Rocco hear the conversation upstairs over Rocco's walkie-talkie. Mrs. Callaghan refuses to give up her husband's location even under the threat of being arrested and losing her kids. While Rocco tries to dig up dirt on this detective, Miroslav heads downstairs to confront him.
Miroslav spots the detective outside their door as Vadoma slams it in his face. The darkness grows deeper, putting a hint of fear in the man's heart. Mir warns him off. Elias Brown doesn't back down but is slightly unsettled. He leaves for now.
Miroslav activates Darkness 1, imposing a -1 penalty on Brown's resistance to fear. Unfortunately he failed his Intimidation roll.
Meanwhile in the apartment, Nikki confronts her mother. She forces her say how she going to handle this. Vadoma explains she is headed to the shop immediately to head off any problems.
Nikki rolls Manipulate + Persuasion to learn that her mother is going to ditch the drugs now.
Rocco meanwhile pulls up a surprising amount of detail on Elias Brown. He is 34 years old and married to Alice Brown. He has two elderly parents, Jack and Veronica, who live in New York and a sister, Sarah, in Nebraska. A failed journalist, Elias became a private detective about 7 years ago. His company mainly pursues cheating husbands and fraud but 3 years ago he was hired to track down a conman.
Apparently a team of grifters managed by a man called Adam Murphy (also known as Aiden Murphy, “Lucky” O’Connor, or Adam Ruby) has fleeced a dozen individuals over the past 5 years. Trawling a police database, Rocco learns that Brown caught a big break in New York City last December. A police sting caught several grifters and Elias was able to convince two of them, Kelly Hooker and Kid Twist, to give him information on their associates.
Rocco rolls Intelligence + Investigation +2 for his computer to dig up the dirt on Elias. He gets an exceptional success. In addition to the information, he gains the Condition Backdoor Access which will give him a +2 bonus to a Computer roll.
Nikki and Mir soon join him and Marco in coming up with a plan. After several proposals, they decide to send Elias on a false trail to Mexico City. Rocco will plant fake electronic evidence while Nikki forges a letter from her father. Then she will call Elias using her mother's voice, saying she reconsidered. Then they will send him the letter and wait for his money to dry up.
Rocco gets to work on this. He rolls Intelligence + Computer +2 for resolving his Backdoor Access Condition to plant fake police evidence. He earns a Beat.
Nikki uses her Mirror Contract to mimic her mom's voice. Then she rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge to trick Elias. She succeeds. Finally she forges the letter using Intelligence + Crafts + her Copying specialty, getting 3 successes.
As for the choice of destination Rocco asked what was the worst place they knew. I answered Detroit. Then he asked the worst place they knew outside of the US to which we all replied Mexico. Apologies to any residents of those locations.
The plan works perfectly. Detective Elias runs off to Mexico and in the coming months his employers get frustrated with him. Soon he gives up and Mr. Callaghan is safe.
Also during that period Yvett tells social services about her mother's behavior. She loses custody and Yvett and Everett move to live with their father. Now they are safe from the Under-King.
Finally Rocco talks to Ruzena. She seems to love their father so he tells her not to hurt him or he will. The Russian woman seems unimpressed until Marco walks up behind his brother and echoes his words.
Rocco as stated above is not scary. Marco is very scary with a Presence + Intimidation of 6. He easily beats Ruzena's roll to resist (even with 8 gains). She backs off for now. But in a year and a day?
Experience time! I awarded Miroslav one Beat for the Aspiration "learn more about his father's fairy." since Alice Ruby is tied to that. Nikki helped create a door into the Hedge so her continuing Aspiration to find entry ways into the Hedge was satisfied. She earns a Beat. Marco used a Condition, defeated his fetch and learned what Ruzena was up to. He earns 3 Beats. Rocco used a Condition, resolved his madness, and is protecting his dad from Ruzena. He earns 3 Beats. 3+3+1+1 averages to 2 Beats plus 2 roleplaying Beats and 1 session Beat. They all earn an Experience.
And childhood ends. Next time we will deal with High School, aging to adulthood, and how they all come back to Detroit.
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