049. Power Grid

The Regent's trial is hastily concluded amid a new crisis!

### Play of the Game:

Scott as Braum, for sacrificing the future of Concordia for a Clank and a Claude.

***"You'd have to try to solve the problems yourself."***

Faerilyth pushes ahead with the trial, demanding that the current witness, Kyoko the pooka, be put under the effects of Sovereign so that she be forced to tell the whole truth, kith be damned. While Sophia is set against the idea, she puts it to a vote amongst the jurors, and the majority rules in favour of it. Kyoko, for her part, seems prepared to face this so that she can clear Braum's name. She tells the court of her time, three years ago, in the Kingdom of Willows, where she took on an alias, Michelle, to blend in among the commoners. She got close to King Meilge, and managed to string him along for a time in order to get even closer. Her goal, she tells the court, was to steal away his mask, believing that his power was contained in it; she also informs the court that she kept this plan a secret from the other members of the Red Branch. She spent a total of three nights actually in Meilge's bedchamber, trying (and failing) to gain access to the mask, as he wore it at all times. Kyoko finally testifies that Meilge had been plotting against the High King David, as he believed he knew what was best for the Kingdom of Concordia… and that she still hates him for what he did.

During her testimony, Patches is contacted once again by Klank, the nocker representative of the Grand Bes Din in the Parliament of Dreams. She is still trying to get info out of Patches about the secretive situation in the antechamber, and learns of a trial taking place. Understanding immediately that there may not be a commoner representative at the very important and secretive meeting, she tells Patches to "hang tight".

Sophia calls one last witness to the stand in the trial of Braum and Meilge: Fala, the once-agent of the King of Willows, and now squire to Braum. Lord Skayne informs the court that she was unable to be found, and Braum speaks up, telling them that she may be somehow trapped at the Grand Bes Din, trying to undo some wrongs. Patches texts Klank, telling her that "we need Fala's testimony", but the only response from the nocker is that they "can't let Fala testify". Sophia uses her new authority as Regent to order Klank to arrive at the court with Fala.

The nocker appears with a comatose eshu in tow: she testifies that because Fala was "trying to sow discord and dissent, we had to execute her". She explains that Meilge had sent some of the leaders of the Grand Bes Din, the Dayan, encoded messages that other Dayan were in league with the Red Branch to undermine him! The motley are shocked by the news (and by Klank's smugness), especially given that Fala would have had her oath to King Meilge broken by that time… except, as Patches quickly realizes, if King Meilge was *not yet dead*, still to be destroyed at Homefires. The motley try to explain what happened to the jury, but Faerilyth will not be placated. Given the accusations presented against her father, she demands that Kyoko, despite having been forced to speak true with Sovereign, undergo a trial by combat. In this way, she reasons, the pooka can have the Dreaming prove her innocence. Braum is asked to fight her, but Klank quickly proposes she take his place against Kyoko, as Meilge's "substitute".

As Sophia prepares a Faerie ring for the onlookers to protect them from any accidents or hostile magic, Braum approaches Kyoko, wishing she didn't have to fight for something he knows is the truth. He asks if she needs anything from him: "I need you to watch," is her reply, fiery and resolute.

The pooka and the nocker take their places in the antechamber, back to back, counting out ten paces with their pistols. As Morwyn enacts the Contract that calls upon the Dreaming to strike down the one who speaks false, Klank raises her weapon and fires. She strikes Kyoko in the shoulder, and the pooka grits her teeth, aiming down the barrel of her pistol and she squeezes the trigger, firing into Klank's skull. The nocker crushes her basilisk stone to dust as she lets out a nocker curse, falling (chimerically) dead on the ground. As the curse reverberates in the room, everyone except Patches suffers a crushing blow, injuring everyone, and placing a curse on them all to swear like sailors.

Trying to come to grips with their new reality, the ante-chamber is suddenly filled with sidhe and trolls throwing obscenities at each other. From outside, the thunder of hundreds of feet interrupts their cursing, and Patches sees a mob of nockers, trolls, redcaps, and boggans outside, ramming down Tara-Nar's front gate! The mob proclaims that they are there to overthrow the false monarchy, backed by the power of Duchess Eloyse of House Beaumayn. The sidhe herself is there too, leading the charge of commoners.

Before they can leave the room, the jury must quickly come to a decision in the trial: based on the evidence provided, they declare Braum not guilty of the charge of treason, but Meilge guilty. The group rush up to the highest parapet of the tower, dragging the unconscious bodies of Fala, Klank, and Kyoko along with them.

Desperate for a way out, and out of options, Braum makes the rash decision of Unleashing Skycraft on the chimerical stormclouds above them, shouting at them to "get us back to The Spark, shithead"! A whirling maelstrom descends on the group and begins to lift them up into the air, but Braum loses control of his grasp of the Dreaming. Ever fickle, it demands a choice from each of the motley: Braum looses Whisper and Caliburn, the sword that High King David had used to unite Concordia, in order to hold onto Klank and Claude; Patches instinctively clutches on to Zistor's lightning rifle, dropping Kyoko into the wind; Sophia tries to maintain hold of her chimerical lizard and companion, Mab, but only comes away with Queen Mab, the Queen of Apples.

The "flight" back to the Spark lands them all on the roof, dropping Kyoko, the swords, Queen Mab, and the hundreds of commoner rebels on the street outside. As the motley blinks in the sunlight, injured, confused, and still swearing, Zistor Flexx smashes out of the door to the garden, manning a huge exo-skeleton. He lifts people out of trees and ponds as he tells Patches that it looks like "you brought the fun home". "We couldn't leave you out of it," the nocker smiles, as they all prepare for the fight of their lives….