080. Star Fox

The motley return home and face their fates.

***"Some games you learn strictly through osmosis."***

The motley set off towards The Spark with Ramzia and Lal in tow. The eshu is able to see herself in a mirror for the first time, and is confused as to why she "took this form"; Ramzia, however, is not. The eshu is indeed confused with regards to time, having spent what seems to be eons in the Dreaming, off the Silver Path; by all rights, she should be far into Bedlam by now! Lal refers to the motley by the names of their "previous selves", confusing matters further, but Ramzia is driven only to return her to the "real world".

While Lal wants to just take any old trod out of the Dreaming, the motley returns to the knot in the tree marking the trod back into the Spark. In it, though, a small mouse has taken up residence, carving a tiny flute out of wood. He refuses to grant us passage out of the Dreaming until Patches proposes a trade: getting to play beautiful music alongside a "musician of much renown". The nocker is able to use a cantrip to trick the mouse into thinking his flute now sounds like a harp, and he plays alongside Sophia. Walking through the portal to the Spark, the magic wears off on the mouse's flute: "Treasure this memory," Patches smirks as they disappear.

Back in the workshop, the group start to move towards the elevator, but Keypad is acting up, referring to Patches once again as "Packers", and locking Ramzia and Lal on opposite sides of the door. The eshu flies into a berserker rage, trying to break down the door and get back to her love; Patches gets it back open without much trouble.

Sophia is reunited with Zistor, who is incredibly angry about the destruction of his ship, but much more relieved by their safe return. Venturing back down to the workshop, he starts to cuss out Patches for her carelessness, but it's all for show. He and the other nocker take a look at Keypad: something must have changed recently for the machine to start acting like this….

Upstairs in the Exhaust, Braum reunites with Kyoko and Claude, who suggest they leave Ramzia and Lal alone for a few minutes. Sophia is off to speak to Incisor; Patches, with Talus. In the redcap's room, the sidhe starts to lay out her whole history with Marley the crone, and how she believes that the freehold and her family may be in danger. Incisor is quick to jump into action: she's going to go get her father and bring him back somewhere safe, and then they will find a way to handle Marley. Sophia also approaches Braum and Kyoko to stay by her side, explaining the situation to them. Braum wants to know what orders he is being given: are they to subdue the enemy, or eliminate her? "She cannot get the coat of wishes back. She just… can't," is Sophia's reply.

Patches goes to Talus' office, finding the satyr hard at work. She asks whether or not anyone has been messing around with Keypad, and Talus reasons that the only thing that's changed is the arrival of Lal… Using a bowl as a scry, he is able to determine that Daan does indeed "have it in" for Ramzia and Lal. As the pooka herself told them, all Sidhan take on a mantle, and even if death can't stop them, fate sure can try to keep them apart. Talus asks Patches in earnest whether she ever believed he was beyond hope: she tells him that yes, she did believe it, but that Sophia offered them a way forward. Talus uses the knowledge to push Daan away from the lovers, for a week. Just enough time to try to find a way out of this mess….