105. Forbidden Sky

Patches tries to free herself from captivity while her motley mates search.

### Play of the Game:

Kate as Patches, for chiselling in on her captors' plans and making them fall down go Boom Boom!

***"I'm competitive without being a dick… I'll do my best to give a genuine performance."***

Sophia, Braum, and Xaeron all open the letter destined for Lady Helena in the Kingdom of Apples. Before burning up in their hands, they are able to read the note destined to the knight: "It's done." The sinister note is simply signed "H". Discovering that the last letter has had cantrips put on it, they decide to leave it alone as they prepare to depart. Hopefully The Spark's defence system will allow them in….

Flashing back to the day before, Patches is back at Claude's home getting pulled through a wall and into a tunnel by a set of very strong hands. Because of her military background, she knows when she's outgunned, and plays along with her captor's requests (while still giving that little bit of Patches flare by flipping her the bird). She is told in no uncertain terms that their mission is more important that their captive, and she tries to get a sense, blindfolded, of where she is being driven. After some time, Patches has her blindfold and cold iron shackles removed, and finds herself sitting a wooden bench in a dungeon. Is this possibly a freehold? She willingly gives up her weapons and multi-tool, acknowledging that she is cooperating with their demands as best she can. The troll captor crouches down in front of her, and asks Patches to "tell her about Lenore", and the two debate the future of the monarchy, with Patches explaining that while she may not agree with it, the structure of the monarchy binds them to the Dreaming. A nocker, BoomBoom, rushes into the cell, telling the troll about the attack on Xaeron and Kenwyn. Patches laughs in their faces, explaining that if they hoped to get Sophia on side, attacking Xaeron will only drive her away.

It is at this moment that the troll, Halleah, brings two more captives down the hall: a young enchanted man, Kyle, who is placed in a separate cell, and a familiar mortal face is tossed unceremoniously into hers. As the troll and nocker leave Patches to see to Kyle, she begins to bunk, removing and replacing the man's wedding ring. In the next cell over, Helleah provides a Glamour-filled Kyle with the tools to carve a small marble statue, and watches as he works feverishly. The man is Patches' cell wakes up: the mortal Claude tries to get Kyle's attention, until he sees Helleah. Claude is overjoyed to see his wife, who tells him that "this will be more difficult now," and Patches, mercifully, uses Veiled Mind to make him forget about his marriage.

Patches tries to get more information from Helleah, asking her why she chose violence over dialogue: "Why did you have to take?" The troll seems a bit distant as she explains that, many years ago, Broken Flight used Soothsay to see the Long Winter approaching, and that Caliburn would be instrumental in bringing it about. Patches makes a heartfelt plea to Halleah, warning her that Soothsay and dreams are always open to interpretation, but the troll can't hear her. She moves over to Kyle's cell, observing his incredible work, before destroying the statue for its Glamour and killing Kyle! "You see what I had to do," she mouths sadly to Patches. Halleah gets word from BoomBoom that Cog is dead, and that they "wanted Cog over any of the others"! Patches, almost overcome by the news about Cog, yells at Halleah that their plan is doomed to fail, but she is already moving away down the hall.

As BoomBoom brings another young woman into the cell next door, telling her that it is an escape room, Patches decides that action is necessary before that Rhapsodize her too. She asks the young woman to pass her the masonry tools, palming the chisel as BoomBoom returns to take Claude away. As the nocker walks down the hall, Patches knocks on the bars as a bunk to cast Gimmix, flinging the chisel through the air and through BoomBoom's neck! As Claude comes back from her, she re-enchants him. Together, they free the young mortal and begin to escape together.

The three come across ten Kithain eating in a dining hall, and stop to plan their next move. Unfortunately, their young companion lets out a sneeze, and Patches is forced to Unleash Wayfare to "get them outta here"! A gale-force wind begins to whip through the hall, pushing the three of them out the door, revealing that Halleah's hideout is a floating castle in the Dreaming, as they continue to be pushed along through a trod (bowling over a Sphinx in the process), and tumbling out in a basement.

Back at Heart's Light, Braum, Sophia, and Xaeron are all relieved to learn that Cog is alright. Sophia wants nothing more than to hunt down those who hurt the ones she loves, but she vows instead to right the wrong; why does Broken Flight believe that the Long Winter is upon them now? They receive word that Zistor is not at The Spark, but the defence matrix has since come down. They rush back to assess the damage, with Sophia in Aubrey's not-too-flattering clothes.

Patches, Claude, and their mortal friend all find themselves in the Montreal Planetarium, which they quickly sneak out of. The two Kithain find their way back to the Spark but, seeing the defence matrix up, hide out at a nearby hotel until it comes down, then rush back. Meeting Incisor in the Exhaust, they are glad to hear that the matrix served its purpose in defending the freehold. Patches fills her motley in on Broken Flight's motives and methods, and seems hell-bent on destroying them. When Claude asks how he can help, Patches reluctantly tells him that he can't come along, and lets the Veiled Mind cantrip fall. The boggan readjusts to his remembered Oaths, and sadly reaches for a blunderbuss, informing Patches that he "has to stop us"….