App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

I mean, there’s always just hiring a private jet. But that’s hell on the environment, which in general strikes me as pretty wyrmy. But if it’s all we got…


“The shop?” I ask, curiosity piqued. A freehold? My first freehold!

I think.

…don’t get ahead of yourself, Eve.

App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

“Oh, well that makes it easy, then,” I say with a smile. “I just need a bowl of water.”

I look to L, clasp my hands and bat my eyelashes.

“Pretty please?”

…once that’s settled, I clear my throat.

“There once was a man named Aubrey,” I start, striking a pose while I hold the bowl in one hand. The water almost spills, but I manage to keep it together.

”Who’s things had never been tawdry,” I continue. Another, different pose. Another near spill.

”But once he had this ring,
Who like a canary could sing
But to say about what would be bawdry.”

Pose, pose, pose. Almost, almost, almost.

Poof! I lower the bowl down where everyone can see the reflection.

Arete: 8, 5, 4

Charisma 4 (Gentle GIant) | Huge Size

---

There’s a vision of an absolutely massive man, ripped like a bodybuilder and wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. He’s currently sprawled out on a mattress on the floor, half-filled bottle of something in his hand, beer bottles scattered around him.

Eventually, another man walks in, wearing a black T-shirt with white text that reads “My other shirt is clean, I swear” and a pair of tattered jeans with matching tattered sneakers.

The second man looks in on the giant, and sighs. “Again, bro?” he asks, the response to which is the giant snoring loudly enough to rattle the surface of the liquid in his bottle.

The second man snickers and tucks the giant in, draping a blanket over his mostly undressed form.

App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

I shrug. “Never known an Aubrey.”

~Aubrey Steele,~ Nameright’s soothing, masculine voice echoes in the back of everyone’s minds, now that he’s been directly asked.

He can’t actually talk. But he can telepathically communicate. Technically, everyone would hear him in their native tongue and dialect.

So for me, that’s English. But if anyone here spoke, for instance, Gaelic as a child, they’d hear that instead.

~Now that’s a name I haven’t heard for a long, long time.~

“Thank you, Obi Wan,” I say, looking down at him for being so **** helpful.

~I admit, I’ve lost track of him over the millenia. Probably still kicking around with that fox of his, though. Thick as thieves they were.~

App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

I go to open my mouth to answer Aine-rhya’s question, but decide against saying whatever was on my lips at the time. Instead, I raise a finger as if to declare a different answer, but that one falls short too.

“You know, other than having a repository of ancient knowledge beyond compare, I’m not really sure.”

I look down at my ring bearing hand for a moment, and smirk wickedly.

“Oh he’s special alright,” I snicker.

He flips me off. I laugh.

“Oh, everyone’s been curious about that, trust me. It was a big political upset in the Family when Nameright chose me. But he’s tight-lipped about it.”

Pause.

“So ultimately I just have to settle for because I’m **** fab.”

App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

“The Vault, yeah,” I say as she asks about it. “It was where Nameright stayed until he named me Ringmother and decided it was time to go out and about,” I explain. “That was a few years back.”

I grin. “You should have seen the look on daddy’s face when Nameright decided he wanted out of the Vault. Coulda built an entire house with all the bricks getting shat.”

I shake my head when she asks if there’s anything else my family guards.

“Not that I know of. I mean it’s not impossible, but I think I’d know about it by now.”

App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

“Oh!” I get put back down, and immediately turn around, motioning to each of them.

“This is Cathrine. She rescued me from being kidnapped,” I say like it was a regular tuesday event.

“And Laine! She fixed th bridge to get here,” I say, pointing at the bridge.

“And Phebus, faerie nobility,” I say. “He helped interrogate one of the invaders to find out where you were.”

Then I motion to Janessa. “And that’s Janessa. She’s going to help me study the Shadows and learn what I can about what happened here.”

Daddy nods to each, bowing gently for Phebus.

NPC | Shadowlord Kinfolk | Psychic | PB3

---

Eve’s calls echo through the cave, and moments later the pitter patter of running feet echoes back. Eve narrows her eyes and readies her sword, but it’s meaningless: Two identical twin girls come hurtling out of the blackness and tackle Eve to the ground, sobbing.

“You found us!” says one.

“We were waiting!” says the other.

A veritable crowd of redheads emerges behind the twins, looking battered and worn. It’s obvious they had engaged in fighting, and some of them look downright exhausted even if unwounded.

App 5 (Arresting) | Faerie Affinity | Animal Magnetism | Charisma 4 (Captivating) | Legend (Red Riding Hood)

---

“Oh, I know where that is. Easy peasy.”

I wave the group onward and lead them through the tunnels. It’s a bit of a schlep, but without the shadows blocking our path it’s a fairly uneventful journey. I navigate us through the infinitely complex, interwoven, winding paths that criss-cross and backtrack and twist and turn.

Eventually, though, we come to our final obstacle:

A giant crevasse in the ground. A rope bridge is supposed to be suspended across it, but it looks like it was cut -- from this side. Opposite the 30 foot wide pit that extends seemingly endlessly in either direction, the rope bridge hangs limply against the far wall.

“Well. This is a pain in the ass,” I mutter, turning back to the group.

“Any ideas?”