The Adorable Archfae - vol. 01

Magpie pumps her fists and does a little silent happy dance. "See, that decision is you proving you got smarts too. Way to go, champ. I won’t let you down." Brian returns a few minutes later and tries to nonchalantly tell you guys that it is cool if you crash here tonight.

"Oh, we’d love to, Bri-bri," Magpie says while making an exaggerated sad face. "Lex was just telling me about a friend that needs some help. Abusive boyfriend is going to be out tonight and we’re going to help get all her things moved while he’s gone. You can bet we’ll be back in the morning for flapjacks though!" Magpie tries to deflect any questions or offers for help from Brian and pushes you out the door. Apparently she has no problem with excluding Brian just like you wanted to exclude her.

"Alright, let’s get to work. Stay safe and I’ll meet you back here in a few hours."

---

You arrive outside the 7-11 and find who you presume is Dr. Moon leaning against the brick building while eating taquitos. He looks to be in his mid to late 20’s and is wearing loose jeans and a white tank top. His hair is shaved on the sides leaving a short mohawk on top with a long skinny braid coming down off the back. His arms and necks sport numerous tattoos

He spots you walking up to him and eyes you up and down. "You Lex? Wasn’t sure if you’d show." He wipes his hand off on his pants and reaches out for a shake. "Kyung-Sam Moon. You can call me Sam. Did Sean give you any idea of what we’re doing tonight?"

'You to. If you get into trouble I'll kill you.' The worry is clear in her voice as she passes over Michah's location.

____

'I am. Wasn't sure myself.' She also looks the contact up an down, clearly on her guard as she slowly takes his hand. 'I know its following up a lead on one of these fight clubs. Exactly how, I don't.

Sam shakes his head and quietly laughs. "Sean is something, isn’t he? Good guy. Helpful and a total badass that you want at your back when things get rough. Not big on details though." He tosses the cardboard container his food came in into the trash and motions for you to walk with him. He gets into the driver seat of a 10 year old Honda Civic and unlocks the passenger side door for you.

"We not only know the location of a fight happening tonight; we got ourselves a couple of invites. Well, work permits is probably closer to the truth. It's taking place at a mansion on the outskirts of town during some weird masquerade ball. We’re going to be part of the 'hired help'. Open the glove box." You do as asked and find a couple of mail envelopes. Taking one of them out you open it up and find dozens of tiny metal disks about the size of a sesame seed.

"Those are tracking devices. Emits a pulsing signal every 30 seconds which can be picked up by antennae I have set up all over Crowfall. Our job is to get up and close with as many of the rich weirdos who attend this thing and plant those devices on them. Drop it in a coat pocket, slip it into a drink, or even press it onto the skin in a spot you don’t think they will notice. The device will attach itself like a tick. We do a good job, get these things on a lot of folks, and in a few days when we collect the data we should be able to figure out who’s under those masquerade masks. Sound like something you can do, Lex?"

As Lex looks at the devices she makes a mental note not to eat or drink anything given by these guys for a while. 'They won't hurt if ingested' Not that she was bothered by some rich folk getting indigestion, but her paranoid mind was reminding her this could all still be a trick, and the devices could do something completely different from what she was being told.

'I'm used to take stuff out of pocks, putting stuff in shouldn't be too hard.' Plus she was sure this lot could afdord to be lightened of a few valuables at the same time.

'But if we're tracking.. what about the kids involved in these fights. We're just expected to leave them?'

Sam waves off your concerns about them causing harm. "Nothing toxic or anything. In fact, they are designed to be completely biodegradable. Inside someone’s GI tract, those little babies will get reduced to nothingness before they even have the chance to pass them... Sorry for that mental image."

He gets more serious when you bring up the fights and those taking part in them. He looks out the front windshield at the road as he speaks. "I’m afraid you are correct on that count... I don’t like it anymore then you do. Sean talks about omelets and breaking eggs. I don’t like it. What else are we supposed to do though? I’m good with tech. Like crazy good. But I’m not like James Bond or something. This shit gets real, I’m booking it."

He hangs his head low for a minute. "We may not like it, but tracking down who’s at the top of this thing is the only way to stop it. Cracking the skulls of a few fight promoters and VIP guests might feel good but more people will suffer in the long haul. We gotta do the dirty work so we can slay the dragon... Speaking of dirty work... if they ask you to clean a toilet, you cool with that?" He cracks a smile. "Shouldn’t come up. Just want you to be prepared if it does. All that weird ass food rich people eat sure does seem to do a number on their bowels."

'Even if we finish tracking, and then try and disrupt them?' In her head she was already planning to come back as Archfae when Sam left.Placing devices would be a good time to scope, and see what their security was. Hopefully there were no desklamps.

She pulls a face at the mention of a toilet. 'If I must.'

"Not my call. I’m no fighter. I want to help these people as much as you do and I’m doing it in the only way I know how. You think you can single handedly take our dozens of guards and rescue these poor souls, be my guest. Just do it after I’m out of harm’s way."

You drive a little ways out of the city and come to a gated community. The guard at the check in station briefly speaks with Sam, and then lets you on through. When you finally get the mansion, the trip up the driveway takes almost as long as the entire rest of the drive here did. It twists and turns through gardens and past marble sculptures. When the house finally comes into view you almost laugh out loud at the outlandishness of it. Only three stories tall, but wider than most high schools. You could house every homeless person in Crowfall in this building and they might go days without running into each other.

Sam drives around to the side where there is a ramp leading down into a basement level garage for the staff. A camera buzzes as it moves to get a good look at the occupants of the car before the garage door slides open, allowing you inside. "Intimidated yet? Don’t worry, Lex. Just be smart, do your job, keep your head down, and we'll be out of here in a few hours."

There are about a dozen other cars parked down here. Sam leads you to a door where a well dressed man waits. You assume he is a butler or servant. He closes the door behind you. "Ladies to the left, men to the right."

Sam gives you a nod of assurance. "See you on the other side." You are ushered into the lady’s changing room.

Inside you find a number of lockers with a series of benches between them. Higher quality then you might find at a gym, but the idea is the same. Near the door are piles of black slacks, white dress shirts, and bow ties (with laminated instructions on how to tie them attached to the wall). Everything is laid out by size.

A few women are gathered at the far end of the locker room. There is a wide range of ages among them, but you recognize the tired faces of people who work very hard for every dollar they earn on each and everyone one of their faces. They have already changed into their uniforms. Some give you a glance as you enter, but quickly go back to their small talk.

Lex took everything back. The cursing at being a hero, at the inability to tell who was right or wrong. Anything was better than trying to tie a damn tie. She ignores the other girls as she struggles with it, a stream of curses flowing out, until eventually she gets it just about right.

She's about ready to go out then she realises she is still wearing her hat, and the crown underneath it. Another string of curses occurs.

The rest of the women fan out of the locker room and you feel compelled to follow them. In the hall you are joined by a set of men from their own locker room. Sam is among them. His bow tie is a complete mess. He hasn’t even buttoned the top button of his shirt, which makes his tattoos easily visible.

The butler motions for everyone to walk down the hall. His eyebrows raise a little when he sees you; hat still covering up the circlet. You awkwardly look down at the floor which allows you to get a good look at your fellow employees' footwear. A lot of scuffed up sneakers, one unpolished set of dress shoes that are clearly borrowed and at least 2 sizes too small, one person is even wearing sandals.

Sam puts an arm around your shoulders and ushers you forward. "Try not to feel self conscious but don’t kid yourself about what we are to these people. This is a zoo. They don’t hire people like us because they want to do good and spread the wealth. They hire us so they can point and laugh at the poor uncivilized slobs that are so beneath them. Don’t go thinking that the rest of the ‘help’ is to be trusted just because they aren’t part of the corrupt elite. They’ll be watching you more closely than anyone. If they catch you slipping those things into a drink they'll sound the alarm faster than anyone, in hopes of getting a reward."

You walk out into the main room of the party. There are dozens of tables set up with food and drinks and four times as many party guests. They are all dressed to the nines in elegant gowns and tuxedos. You have no doubt that the jewelry any one of these people wears is expensive enough that pawning it could provide you with a 2 bedroom apartment for the next year.

In the center of the room is a raised platform; about 3 feet up off the ground. Rows of hand crafted chairs encircle what you imagine to be the stage where the fight will occur.

Your fellow servers get to work, grabbing trays and loading them up with drinks and/or appetizers. "Good luck." Same tells you before heading off to do the same.

---

Dice Pool Limit: 6

Lex --- 3 HP

Trackers Planted: 0

Threat Rating
(Three Round Time Limit) Suspicion Counters: 0

As you make your way through the crowd a few individuals catch your attention.

There is a rich woman who has to be in her 90's who has gathered a small group of young male servers around her. She is very hands on, and everyone is sure to give loud and long fake laughs to everything she says. She is one of the few guests sitting down and has placed her gigantic purse on the ground behind her.

There is a middle aged man in the corner of the room who does not appear to be one of the guests or hired help. He has a deep five o'clock shadow and wears a cheap looking suit. Looking closer it doesn’t look like the jacket quite matches the slacks. He leans against the wall chain smoking and people watching.

One of your fellow servers catches your eyes. A man in his 30’s who selected pants at least 4 sizes too big for him. He has his belt cinched tightly around his waist to prevent them from falling but gravity is fighting a tough battle. It is clear that his pockets are heavily weighted by multiple objects.

The butler that greet you stands by the hallway leading back to the locker rooms. For the most part he remains perfectly still. Almost statue-like Not even his eyes seem to move except for occasionally blinking. You hear a faint beep and the butler brings his arm up so he can look at his watch. He turns on his heel and walks down the hallway back toward the locker rooms.

---

Dice Pool Limit: 6

Lex --- 3 HP

Trackers Planted: 2

Threat Rating
(Two Round Time Limit) Suspicion Counters: 2

Have to admit, I did not even think of that possibility, but it makes sense and I love it. I am going to say the inventive strategy reduces all attempts (which includes stealing, placing trackers, and putting stolen items back) to only adding 1 suspicion counter instead of 2.

The purse looked like a good target. Anything with the chance of a wallet where she could pocket a couple of notes for herself without it being noticed. As she she tilts the plate, causing the last hors d’oeuvre to fall off. Almost a sham it wasn't champagne over everyone, but that could get her kicked out. So she had to settle for watching the lone morsel of food bounce on the floor before gasping and letting out a string of apologies as she leans down overt he act of trying to clean up. Sam had called them the entertainment, she doubt the was little more thought than a lowly working class not being capable of balancing. As she makes a show of cleaning up, her hand slips into the purse, looking for a wallet, or at least something to grab.

As she watches her fellow server she wonders what could be in his pockets. He could be a scape goat, but also she didn't know what situation he was in. Still he could help with the diversion of attentin of herself. He was bound to miss some of those things eventually.

The one with the cheap suit she wondered his purpose. Perhaps a tracker would be good on him, and also if no one else knew why he was there...

She walks up the server with a smile when he has an empty tray, and takes it to put on her own coveniently empty. 'I'll get us both fresh ones yeah?' She gives him a wink even as a hand goes to search his pocket and discover what he has, secreting what she can away.

A quick trip to the kitchen and delivering his tray later she approaches cheap suit. 'Champagne sir?' She asks even as she tries to deposit the servers items, into a pocket. Another pass with hors d’oeuvres and she tries to get in an individual track and another stolen item she hasn't been able to discretely return.. Now if the items being missing were noticed she was;t the one holding the evidence.

The server with the baggy pants reads way too much into your wink but this easily allows you to easily lift a few items from his pocket. Once you are back in the kitchen you look through what you got. He had an electronic garage door opener, several keys, and a plastic case containing molds of even more keys. It seems he might be intending to sneak back into this place later on.

You open the wallet stolen from the elderly woman. Oddly you find that there is no cash. However, you do find her bank card with an attached post-it note containing the pass code. Her poor memory could be your good fortune.

The man in the cheap suit is surprised when you approach him but relents to taking the glass. "Thanks," he mutters and downs it in one gulp. He seems pretty distracted, which easily allows you to do everything you need to do. "I don’t remember seeing you at one of these things before. First time?" He laughs. "Hope you got a strong stomach."

The butler returns with several people in tow. Behind him are two men in their early 20’s. They are shirtless and have handcuffs attached to their wrists. A chain goes up from the handcuffs to wrap around their necks and then flow behind them like a leash which is held by a very large man in a black suit and glasses. Each man in chains is covered in scars all over their bodies. They each exhibit the 1000 yard stare and walk toward the ring as if they don't even know where they are.

When Crowfall’s elite notice the men being led into the room everyone smiles. Some ting their champagne glasses while others give a polite golf clap. You get the impression that the applause is directed at the hosts for bringing this entertainment and not toward the actual men who are about to fight for their enjoyment.

---

Dice Pool Limit: 6

Lex --- 3 HP

Trackers Planted: 4

Threat Rating
(One Round Time Limit) Suspicion Counters: 4

Okay, this was not what she was suspecting. Was he an ally, or just a thief? Lex hesitates what to do for a while, before secreting the stuff in a hiding place she can find in the kitchen, and writing on a napkin, with a time after the end of this fancy shindig, and and street nearby. She would meet him as Archfae. If he was a friend, he could have his stuff back. If not... well it would come in useful.

The bank card was too tempting to ignore. After a quick 'bathroom' break it ends up in the universal card storage, close to her chest. Hopefully if people were searching for lost items they would search that close.

'Yeah, friend helped me land it. I, haven't been told all the details yet.' She tries to feign innocence as she continues on her rounds,.

As the men are brought in she fights to keep a blank face, remembering what Sam said. Now was not the time. She tries to pass close by the men on her rounds, attempting to slip a tracker on at least one set of manacles, before making herself busy, making sure she is seen everywhere, but near the set pieces she's set up.

Cheap Suit sticks close by as you continue making rounds of the party. "Nah. They wouldn’t want to let you know too much. Part of the fun is watching the faces of the newbies react to the show." He is much too close, and observant, for you to attempt to plant a tracker on the cuffs of the fighters.

The two men are led to the ring and positioned on opposite sides. They have the attention of everyone in the room. Servers included. "Excuse me for a moment," Cheap Suit says and makes his way to the stage.

He steps into the middle, slowly spins around while taking in the sights of the room. His gaze pauses on you for a little bit longer then it does on anyone else. "I would like to thank our hosts for putting this whole thing together. I’ll keep it short, because I know none of you want to hear me yap all night." He pauses and smiles as if he is expecting laughs. No one laughs. It doesn’t seem to bother Cheap Suit, though.

"Now for those of you that might be new," he glances your way for a brief moment, "let me tell you that this is but an appetizer of what I have to offer. If you enjoy the show, please do not hesitate to contact me." He takes a bow and walks off the stage in your direction.

Cheap Suit reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small electronic device. He presses a button and it emits the recorded sound of a bell ringing. The chains and cuffs on the men drop to the floor.

Their faces instantaneously morph into something animalistic. They snarl at one another and bear their clenched teeth while squatting down into a position that offers easy mobility in all directions.

Surprisingly, Cheap Suit does not stop by your side. He offers you a smile and goes back to the corner of the room he originally occupied. From across the room you notice that Sam is eyeing you. He has a look in his eyes that says ‘don’t do anything stupid.’

The men in the ring launch forward at one another. The blows are fast and furious. Neither seems to even register when they are hit. They don’t make any attempt to defend themselves. They are reckless, violent, and machinelike in the way they fight. Bruises are already forming and you think you might have saw a tooth fly three rows deep. If you want to act on this fight, you’d have to do it soon. Neither of these men are going to last much longer.

---

Lex: 3 HP

Trackers Planted: 4

Threat Rating
Suspicion Counters: 2 --- It is likely someone saw you do something and suspects foul play of some sort... but who?

So her scapegoat turned out to be the one running things. That was either good or bad. I mean if they all thought he was stealing their stuff, they may be les inclined to come along. At the same time he didn't have his own tracker. The original plan was to make a scene about something being lost but perhaps it was now best to wait as see how things went. Either things went with the original plan, or the one reasonable went back with a fuckton of trackers on him.

Her planning is cut short as the fight starts. She had been expecting forced boxing or something. The feral reactions, the no hesitation. Something had been done to them. Also the feral behaviour brought another thought to her head. Micah. Was it related? He hadn't been feral in Fido-mode, but was it related? If so was he a victim, or accidentally caught in an experiment? Or perhaps the story about his father was true and this was coincidence. A very big one.

As the fight continues she begins to realise that perhaps they weren't going to stopped before ones heart was no longer beating. She grits her teeth. That wasn't the case right? They wouldn't kill off assets.. except they seemed like they had several, and no one would morn the loss of one of them. Yet while not as Archfae she could do little more but chirp at birds. Plus cheap suit was watching her, perhaps. She couldn't just duck out to change.

So chirping at birds it may have to be. She start looking out the windows as she shifts, towards them, to nonchalantly leans, look like she didn't care about what was going on, even as she tries to spot anything she can use some semblance of her powers on.

The fight continues and escalates in savagery. Unlike a pro wrestling or boxing match, the spectators are silent. It makes every thud of a fist smashing into muscle or bone sound so much worse. Turning away to look out the window only seems to amp up the volume of these impacts.

Beyond the city limits you find there is a lot more wildlife. From your vantage point you see a flock of birds flying high in the sky, a few geese swimming in a pond, and a couple of squirrels running up a tree.

The sound of glass shattering on the floor brings your attention back to the party. The fight is over. One man lies on the ground in a bloody heap and you assume the brutal sight of the man caused someone to drop their champagne glass. The victor stands motionless over the battered human he has defeated. The elite offer a quiet golf clap and whisper to one another. Most of the wait staff either look horrified or are trying their best not to look at all.

A chill runs up your spine. Many others show visible signs of feeling it as well. Red light begins to swirl directly above the loser of the fight. The energy gathers in a ball which grows to the size of a softball. The winner tosses his head back and the red ball is drawn into his chest.

The room goes hush once more as the winner is rapidly healed of all wounds he suffered during the bout. The light fades and he breathes out a deep sigh of relief before immediately being strapped back into handcuffs and chains. The loser of the fight groans in agony as new wounds appear all over his body, matching the ones the winner was just healed of. Whispering among Crowfall’s elite grows once more. It is clear that they like what they have just witnessed.

Too far away. Lex grits her teeth even as she sees if she can beckon some near to act as a distracting.

But the fight was over. She couldn't stop it, couldn't help. She isn't able to hide her horror as the wounds are transferred. That was not good. Was it an ability of the kid in particular, or something that ha bee granted with the feral instincts. A chill runs down her spine as she begins to think of implications. What if they weren't just altering these kids for the fights, what if they were up to something more sinister, and this was only a way of showcasing what they could do?

The winner of the fight is led away in chains back the direction they entered from. The guests get up from their seats and continue to mingle. More than a few go to get a closer look at the loser of the fight as he writhes in agony. No one makes any attempt to aid him in any way.

A throat clears behind you. "Excuse me." You turn around to see the butler that originally greeted you and Sam when you arrived. He is flanked by two large goons in dark suits. "I would like to have a word with you in private. Can you please follow me?"

She should go to help. She would be watched, stand out. Besides what did she care? Even so Lex went to go to the loser, to see what she could do, before the throat clearing makes her turn.

'I;m guessing the only answer is yes? If this is about the dropped tray I tried to clean it up the best I could. Hurt my arm the other day, incident wit ha desk lamp. It won't happen again.' This wasn't good. But running would confirm her guilt. Her only hope was to blag her way out of whatever the butler was up to.