039. Shadows Over Camelot

The motley reconvenes to catch each other up on the momentous events of the past day.

## Shadows Over Camelot

### Play of the Game:

Kate as Patches, for promising PUNishment.ANDLiz as Sophia, for creating a prickly well of life.

***"It's tempting to push people towards the edge of the cliff so that they get to walk away… but the cliff never disappears."***

Patches, critically injured and supported by Kyoko, grits her teeth and hobbles into the downstairs lobby of The Spark through sheer force of will. As they carry an unconscious Duke Granville towards the elevator, she is very surprised to see Braum and Fala make their way inside. Kyoko veils them from notice as they try to figure out whether Braum is under the eshu's influence or otherwise threatened.

Braum and Fala emerge in the Exhaust, noting with confusion the spent shell casings, corpse of Count Rene, and general chaos. Sophia and Sir Xaeron immediately fly into sidhe rages, demanding Braum destroy the dangerous eshu. Braum, now an adventurous and confident wilder, refuses, knowing Fala to be trustworthy. Sophia levels him with a stare, ordering him to at least leave Fala below with Sir Xaeron while they "sort this out". He acquiesces, asking Fala to do as she is asked, and as she goes back down, Patches, Kyoko, and Duke Granville appear in the elevator, collapsed and nearing death.

Sophia calls for Doctor Sayley as she creates a well of life out of a potted cactus plant, urging everyone to gather around it. As Braum, Kyoko, the Duke, Patches, Sophia, and Claude all slowly begin to heal their wounds and relate the incredible events of the past 24 hours. Braum learns that Fala led an assault on the Spark which was successfully repulsed by Claude, Xaeron, and Sophia, but that the Duchess Eloyse's actions mark her as a possible enemy. Patches relates the incredible story of defeating a vampire and several thralls in order to rescue the Duke, noting that the Duchess may be in league with the monsters, and Braum announces that King Meilge is dead… by his hand. This helps to explain his trust of Fala, and he also states that he's taken her on as a squire, to which Patches and Sophia urge caution.

The motley moves out into the garden, where Sophia lets Peter free. He initially sasses the group, but Patches bluntly states that she'll "put the cap in redcap", and he quickly agrees to Sophia's request to report back to the Spark every week, as well as take news of her actions back to his group of redcaps as well. Knowing that her allegiance to the Seelie Court is going to make her a target, Incisor notes that "I can't hide who I am."

Sophia heads up to her penthouse to be alone, her bathwater running red with her own blood. Patches contacts Zistor about their re-taking of the Spark, noting that they'll have to "redecorate". Kyoko asks Braum with all sincerity "whether he's OK", noting that the change that has come over him is pretty drastic. "I feel like I could take on the world," is the troll's winning reply as he ventures down to the lobby. He greets Sir Xaeron, and his once-student tells him of his anger towards the Duchess Eloyse for shedding noble blood in the Exhaust, but that he's made a discovery: he would follow the Lady Sophia to hell and back. "She wants a better world," he tells Braum.

Reconvening in the Exhaust, Fala's first action as Braum's squire is to grovel before Sophia, begging her forgiveness for attacking them while oathbound to King Meilge. Sophia accepts her apology, noting that Fala should "do right by the Spark". She tells the motley that she was chosen by Meilge to carry out his bidding because, as an eshu, she has a way of always finding her way to the locations he needed undermined. A year ago, she had traveled to the Sapphire Eye for reasons unknown to her, and more recently had delivered a letter to the Bes Din in Halifax, the international organization of boggan craftsmen. Braum sends her off to reclaim the letter before it can do any damage while the rest of them figure out how to proceed with the new political situation.

Patches hears from the Duke that he was indeed on his way to Eloyse's court when they were attacked, and the nocker urges him to rest. Zistor makes his "grand re-entrance" to the Spark, declaring that "I don't do proclamations, but I'm happy that things are going back to normal". He also gifts Patches another computer chip for her lightning gun, and thanks Braum for telling him about having been tricked into giving up the rocket code.

Upstairs in her penthouse, Sophia gets a knock on the door: Incisor sincerely tells her that she's scared for her life, now that her Seelie nature is "out there". When Sophia tries to tell her that "there are people who will fight for you", the redcap steps right up to Sophia, who asks if she wants to spend the night….