062. Ladies and Gentlemen

The motley learns a bit more of the truth, and gain access to a miraculous treasure.

## Ladies and Gentlemen

### Play of the Game:

Kate as Patches, for treating Talus as he probably deserved.

***"Most great games create tension, but not all games can ratchet it up… Sometimes events start moving."***

Patches is watching Talus in his cell, who asks about Zistor; Patches is more than happy to tell the satyr that he's happy now. Talus, crushed, mutters about becoming what he is meant to be, and bemoans the fact that he almost succeeded… at returning to Arcadia! He tells Patches that he does want to end that part of him that is "broken", and offers to swear an oath with Braum. Before they leave him, he tells the troll to let Sophia know that if she won't sing for him, she is more than welcome in his dreams….

Having just left Kyoko's dream, the pooka now hopes Sophia understands why she couldn't tell any of them. She didn't want to "take away" from anyone, but can't get Talus, or her connection to him, out of her head. At this moment, Incisor enters, still armed with barbed wire wrapped around her fists, but now with chunks of flesh hanging off of them. She stalks off to her room, but Braum is unwilling to let her go and be alone: he stops her just long enough to tell her that he's there for her if she needs *anything*. This gives the redcap pause before she heads to bed.

Sophia, Patches, and Braum put their heads together in order to read and interpret Jack's research on Dauntain. They learn that the Dauntain, those Kithain who awaken "wrong", are all branded, knowing they are incomplete and living in agony. Some Dauntain seem to have been caused by illness, others abandoned in the Dreaming, more seeking destruction, and some seeking salvation; there are some, known as the "Lich", who seek only power, and the motley learn that Talus is one of these. All "Lich" Dauntain awakened with an object, a phylactory, that is the source of their power, and that controlling it is the key to controlling them!

Thinking on all of this, the motley are invited down to the workshop by Zistor, who has something important to show them. Pulling away a false wall, he reveals a second workshop "off the books", with only one thing inside: a large, white, ovoid capsule that is intended to go into the Dreaming! He tells them that the craft is theirs, provided they can give it a destination or "directions" (via a Dreamer), some fuel, and a name. "We deserve a home," Zistor tells them, explaining that no one has yet succeeded in returning to Arcadia, but that they have to try. Sophia proposes that they take Talus and a "Dreamer" in this craft… the Somnambulus!

Before leaving to ask Sir Xaeron about finding Kaylie, their potential Dreamer, Kyoko intercepts each member of the motley in turn. Sophia and Patches are both worried about her, as she seems to be anxious about her place at the Spark, although they each help her with her feelings of inadequacy in turn. When she finally confronts Braum in the garden, the troll too is on edge: why is she wearing her old Gwydion garb? Why is she concealing a sword? As Kyoko draws the sword, Braum calls up his Hurricane Speed to toss her up into the air and steal away her weapon. As she kneels in front of him, he realizes that she didn't mean to harm herself, but rather to be very sincere and straightforward with him. Kyoko tells Braum that she seeks affection from all the members of the motley because it masks her need for Talus, and asks him to help her. Together, they swear the Oath of True Hearts for a year and a day, and the love bird alights on them, sealing the oath.

Venturing to Heart's Light, the motley greets Sir Xaeron, who shows them in, where they find Kaylie. She agrees to travel with them to the Far Dreaming, or as she knows it, the Umbra.