Safe at the Manor Friday (20 Sep 2001) Agatha, Alice and Tom retreat to the safety of Harcourt Manor.

A black-haired boy exits the tree line, heading toward the approaching horse and girls. His gait is a bit shaky, his hands clenched. As he gets closer, he looks a bit more pale than normal and his breathing is forcefully being controlled. "Let's get out of here," he says softly to the girls.

Kuon comes barking up toward Destre, who whinnies back, seeming worried at first, ears flicked back, then forward, and gradually relaxing. The greyhound trots back to Alice and barks about her feet.

"Tommy!" calls out Alice in startled and muffled surprise. She reaches up to cover her mouth as if believing she spoke too loud even then, but when the dog bounds up to her she smiles behind her hand and reaches down to pet him again.

Agatha takes a good look at Thomas, then nods. "Okay, back to the Manor."

Kuon wags happily.

Tom holds up his hand, still shaking slightly, "New lesson. It's not fun to stare a wolf down, from two feet away." He then nods, saying, "Back to the manor." The boy reaches down and ruffles Kuon's head fur slightly and says, "Thanks for backing me up back there. I owe you."

"Is Kuon from a House, too?" asks Alice, still petting the dog. She ruffles him up extra good when she hears he helped Thomas.

The greyhound lolls his tongue, looking up at Tom as if to suggest, "Of course, boss!" Or perhaps that's just the way a dog usually looks.

"Not that I know of," Agatha says. "Let's hurry though, the others might have noticed us gone by now."

Harcourt Manor, Kitchen
The kitchen is an oasis of light in the still largely dusty, spider-webbed house in which Richard Kuning lives, with sunlight pouring in through the high windows, each of which is decorated by wrought ironwork forming the shapes of fleur-de-lises at their peaks. A marble-topped counter runs across two walls and part of a third, and the large ovens and places for hanging pots and roasting meats suggests this manor once housed many people and a full-time cook. The pantry nearby is walk-in, a stairway leads down to a roots cellar, and a simple wooden table serves for dining until the more expansive dining room can be cleaned.

Agatha pokes her head into the kitchen to see if her brother or Genji are there, after unlocking the door.

The sounds of hammering from above suggests they're still at work -- probably on a window on the front of the house, given that they approached the house from the back side and didn't see Genji and Toby then.

"Coast is clear," Agatha announces, and opens the door the rest of the way for the others (except for Destre, of course). "C'mon in."

Kuon comes trotting in and then looks up at Agatha expectantly, perhaps hoping for another mini-sausage treat. Destre, for his part, has been stabled and is presumably boredly looking toward the fields.

Tom walks through the doorway and makes a beeline for the table. He pulls out a chair and sits down heavily. The boy then sets his elbows on the table and rests his face in his palms, feeling exhausted.

Alice scurries inside, taking a moment to look around the room for a moment before she steps more fully in to the kitchen. "No ghosts," she assures the others, though it sounds more likely to assure herself.

Agatha picks up the treats jar, and asks Tom, "How many treats did Kuon earn, and do you either of you want something to drink?"

"I wish I had a soda," Tom mutters softly, "Kuon earned plenty. I think the wolf would've jumped me if it hadn't been two of us there. That was so ... freaky."

The dog wags hopefully, looking up at Agatha and jumping about a bit.

Agatha opens the jar and gives Kuon twice as many treats as he got that morning. Have to remember to get him fresh water again in a minute. I have a few sodas stocked away, what about you Alice?"

It takes Alice a bit more peeking and peering around the house before she makes her way over to the sink. "You met the big bad wolf, Tommy?" she asks as she stands on her toes and tries to reach the faucet.

The greyhound crunches up a treat happily, and then another, leaving the rest on the floor until he's ready. His tail thumps joyously on the floor.

"I would like a soda please, thank you," answers Alice as she tries to get herself some water.

Tom nods softly, answering, "Met ... and talked to."

Agatha moves a chair over to the sink for Alice, and opens the cellar door, "Talked? Okay, don't start babbling until I get back!" She grabs the flashlight and disappears to get the bottles of soda.

"Yeah, talked," Tom replies, taking a moment to rest while Agatha fetches the soda.

After thanking Agatha for the chair, Alice climbs up on it and can now reach the faucet just fine. She turns on the water, adjusts the knobs a bit until the water flows warm, and reaches for the soap. "I burned a piece of paper, but it didn't say anything," she tells Thomas.

"With matches or magic?" Tom asks softly.

"Matches," admits Alice, sounding guilty. "Nothing happened, I don't think."

"You shouldn't play with matches," Tom scolds half-heartedly. Tom then asks, "How come Elinor wasn't with you?"

Agatha returns shortly with three bottles of soda. After closing up the cellar, she gets some glasses as well and sets them out on the table. A little searching in a drawer produces a church-key to open the bottles with.

"I wanted to go alone," answers Alice quietly. She turns the water on a bit more, and begins washing her hands, the thrum of the flow making her soft voice a bit harder to hear.

Agatha sets out some fresh water for Kuon, makes sure Alice has a towel handy, and finally sits down at the table. "So, did the wolf talk back?"

The greyhound laps up water, tail wagging regularly.

Tom nods and looks over to Agatha, then the sodas. "I've been kinda worried about her, is all." He nods to Agatha. "Well, he didn't speak, but I could understand him. It was really ... odd. I knew what he meant. I think I surprised him."

The water slows to a drip, and then nothing. The little girl begins to dry her hands off with the towel Agatha left for her while she watches her three friends.

"I guess you ran into the wolf close by, and not at another Siege?" Agatha asks, and pops the top of Tom's bottle for him.

"Thanks," Tom says as the bottle is handed to him. "Right," he replies, "I ran into him just inside the wood. Told him that we did not seek a fight, we merely wished to protect our homes. Also told him we wouldn't be anyone's pawns."

Tom thinks about pouring the soda into a glass, then decides against it. He's just into that sorta thing. He takes a deep swig from the bottle, then hiccups lightly.

Alice climbs down from the chair and begins to pull it back to the table. "You must have been very scared. I'd be very scared talking to a wolf," she offers to the hiccupping boy.

"Terrified," the boy replies. "He was huge."

"And what did he ... say ... back?" Agatha says, pouring some soda for Alice.

Having devoured the treats and drunken as much of the water as he needs, Kuon trots over to sit by Alice's chair, his breath definitely peppery with the smell of the sausage-treats.

Once Alice managed to drag the chair back, which takes a bit of work on her part, she walks around it and settles herself to sit down. "Thank you for the soda." She lifts the drink and sips, watching Thomas relate his story and reaching to pet the dog when she notices him nearby.

"He agreed that I wouldn't be a pawn. I think I surprised him by not showing fear. He then said he had a pack, but it was not there. I think he meant Kuon was part of my 'pack' or something and that numbers kept him from attacking," Tom says, "I told him he should leave us in peace, and that if he wanted to learn of us, just talk to us."

"And oh, he implied that Kuon and Destre were manipulating us," Tom adds.

"No surprise there," Agatha says with a grin. "Everyone we've met claims the other side is manipulating us, it seems."

Kuon wags, then gives Tom a look that seems to suggest, "You don't believe that, do you?" Or perhaps it's just Tom's imagination.

Alice turns to regard Kuon, her hand on his head and partially covering his eye. She peers at him, considering, but continues to pet him anyway.

The greyhound lolls his tongue and wags more, apparently not bothered.

"Right. My response to that was at least they've been more direct with us. It speaks well of them," he replies. "The wolf didn't refute that. Told him we were just trying to protect our home. His response, so was he -- that Mirari needed its King."

"Needed for what, he didn't say," Tom adds.

Tom grins a bit and says, "I tried to get him to allow us to visit and learn of Mirari and all its houses on our own. He didn't go for that. Ah well."

Agatha hmms. "Did you find out what House it belonged to, or what Siege they used?"

Tom takes another deep swig and hiccups again. "No, I didn't. Though from the way he reacted when I mentioned House December, I think that's it. As for the Siege, no idea. I was too busy making sure my throat stayed in my neck," he says.

"Poor Tommy," says Alice, heartfelt. She looks up and frowns at the boy. "You stay away from big bad wolves, and I'll stay away from matches, okay?"

"So ... December wants the King back, and April wants the King back," Agatha says, leaning back in her chair. "But October doesn't want the King back. I get the feeling that none of the Houses cooperate here. Meanwhile, the Siege of Oil and Vinegar or whatever is still out there, somewhere along that trail."

"Well, I did it to protect you two," Tom says slowly, "I don't think I gathered much useful information out of it all, just an understanding." He then nods. "Well, I remember where I last saw the wolf. I bet I could follow its trail to the Siege."

"I'm sorry but I didn't see any Sieges. I wasn't really looking for one, though," offers the little blonde girl.

"Maybe October rules Mirari while the King is gone and thus doesn't want him back," Tom offers.

"Um..." Alice looks between her two human friends. "Could you tell me about the different Houses? I really don't know which is which."

"There'll probably be a guardian at it by the time we find it," Agatha guesses. "April sort of suggested that too, Tom, but the Queen is from April."

"Or the converse, maybe they're trying to protect him," Tom adds,then looks over at Alice. "Elinor and Birds are House October, Wolf is House December, Cats and Tristan are House April."

Agatha shrugs to Alice. "Elinor would need to explain them. I just know they have something to do with the actual seasons. Like ... it's always Spring at House April or something, because Tristan commented that the winter had already started encroaching there."

"Question ... what happened to the Queen?" Tom asks.

The greyhound noses Alice's hand as if pointedly suggesting she pet him some more.

"She's still there, supposedly," Agatha says, "but I've only got Tristan's word on that. He said he was taking me to see her."

The little girl nods slightly, slowly, in a way that suggests she kind of understands but not totally. "I'll ask Elinor." She then glances down at the dog, smiles, and pets him more.

Oh bliss! Attention! Kuon closes his eyes and wags happily.

"What if she's dead? What if she wants the King dead? Remember, the King probably left because of betrayal," Tom says.

"We should all ask Elinor," Agatha suggests, and looks at Tom before saying, "Even if we can't be sure of her information. But she did mention the King's life was in danger if he stayed in Mirari."

Tom nods. "I agree we should ask her," he replies, "I'm willing to risk trusting her for now, just to get a bit further into this mystery. We'll need a House to get further, I think."

"This is a very gloomy fairy tale," mentions Alice glumly.

The greyhound looks abruptly seriously toward Tom, a deep pain of some kind in his eyes. But there seems to be no easy way to find out the source of that pain, since he is after all, a dog, and doesn't seem to have been gifted the same kind of speech that the wolf enjoyed with Tom -- assuming that he even understood what was being spoken about.

"We're making it gloomy in the absence of definite information," Agatha says. "Nothing bad has actually happened yet. No faeries have caused any damage here, or hurt anyone. And Elinor didn't do anything wrong, either."

"Except try to manipulate me," Tom adds.

"No, you're imagining that, Tom. You have no proof," Agatha says, and adds, "Besides, you wouldn't have believed the truth anyway until after you'd seen the Scare Crow."

"Manipulate us, Tommy. We're here too," says Alice. "We should try and make it a happy story with a good ending. Let's not think that anything bad happened to anyone unless we are really sure."

"She deliberately got me to re-focus my attentions in the game we were playing," Tom points out. "That's manipulating."

The greyhound rests his chin on Alice's lap and looks up at her.

"What did she do, exactly?" Agatha asks, sipping her soda.

Alice lowers her head to look back down at the dog in her lap. "You're a funny doggy!" she tells him, and then ruffles up his head fur with her hand.

Kuon whurfs and starts to wag again.

Tom crosses his arms, looking glum. "She found me alone one day and we chatted. Talked about her supposed home and how cool it would be to see. She even told me she hoped I'd get to see it some day. She then proceeded to say she wanted to play our game differently, even though she was just a newcomer -- that she liked it, but felt we shouldn't pursue the King anymore," he explains.

Tom lowers his head and mutters, "S'why I suggested we should hunt down the Jruuh. She liked that idea. S'why we went back to the cave looking for clues."

"The answer she gave us as Oracle pretty much said the King didn't want to be found," Agatha says. "And she didn't believe in the Jruuh, so figured that would probably be harmless. Maybe she was just trying to keep us out of trouble with Mirari politics? Just like you want to do, Tom."

Tom hmphs softly. "Then she should have said so," Tom argues.

Alice gives a quiet sigh, and doesn't say anything on the matter. She just watches the dog in her lap and pets his head dutifully.

"Women aren't known for being direct," Agatha says with a smirk. "If she'd told you she was really Rachel of the Golden Hawks from House October of Mirari then, what would you have done? Didn't you wonder why I never told you about my little trip?"

Kuon wags more!

"Made me feel like an idiot," Tom mutters.

"So she didn't want to make you feel like an idiot," Agatha says. "I didn't want to sound like a nut, since I was pretty sure you wouldn't believe me. And when you think about it, Elinor didn't have to blow her cover at the Scare Crow. She could have kept quiet or tried to keep us away by other means."

"And did you know it was Simon that convinced me to keep trusting you, Agatha?" Tom poses. "I almost walked out on it all."

"You think too much, Tom," Agatha suggests. "This isn't like the international communist conspiracy. The fey aren't out to get us. And I still think Elinor is innocent until proven guilty. I feel that I can trust her."

Alice pushes herself to stand up and walks around her chair to kneel by the dog, then reaches to ruffle him up, smiling. She leaves Lord Mel on the table, to free her hands, and probably to keep him safe from dog drool.

The greyhound squirms about a bit, whurfing at the ruffles, then slurps Alice up one cheek.

Agatha leans down to ask Kuon, "What do you think? Can we trust someone from House October?"

Kuon looks over at Agatha with what might be a "Why are you asking me?" look. If there's a light bulb in his brain, right now it's off.

Agatha hmms. "Well, we're on our own there. And I trust Destre and Kuon and Lord Mel, and they're pretty much on the same side I'm sure."

If the dog's brain is on or off, Alice seems quite content to amuse herself with the canine company and takes being slurped with a giggle. "Did you meet Lord Mel?" she asks while petting the hound.

Tom slams his fist down on the table. "This is not a game anymore, Agatha. This is real, this is dangerous. I don't think any of those Houses have any qualms about going through us if we happen to get in the way," Tom says angrily. "No side has been honest. No side has been direct. You want to get torn apart because you get in the way of a House, fine. Be my guest. I'm through." Tom pushes back from the table and stands, "I faced down that wolf for you. To protect all of you. Oh, forget it."

The greyhound looks at Tom with evident dismay and whines... then barks once at Alice. His gaze swivels between the three humans.

Alice quiets when Thomas slams his fist, and slows her petting to a stop when he stands. She turns and look up at him, bracing one hand against the floor to keep herself from falling.

Agatha sighs. "You also could have called for help, Tom. We aren't helpless because we're younger."

"And risk more lives? Loss of one beats the loss of three, any day. I needed you to get Alice to safety," Tom retorts.

"So who protects you then?" Agatha snaps back. "Friends protect each other."

Kuon barks, standing on all four, then walks around the table to nose at Tom's hand, sliding his head under it and then looking up at the boy. His tail whips slowly back and forth.

"Tommy ... didn't you say we should stay together? That it was dangerous for me to go off all alone?" asks Alice as she moves to sit on the floor, arms hugging her knees to her chest. "I'm not as strong as Agatha or as good at trails and things as you are, but I can help you too."

"No one! Alice can do magic, she's important. You, you can ride and use a sword. You're best for protecting her. Simon ... he can run faster than any kid I've seen and is actually quite the climber," Tom says. "What can I do? Tell the direction I'm facing? Bah, buy a compass. I ... can't ... even ... see ... the ... obvious! Not with all the clues did I once realize anything. Out of all of you, I'm expendable." Tom then blinks, taken aback by his own words, just realizing what he said.

"No, you're not," Agatha says. "You had a vision that afternoon too, remember? You're a part of it all."

Kuon barks, as if seconding that loudly.

"And," Agatha adds, "you can talk to wolves, Tarzan."

Alice frowns deeply, and then pushes herself up from the floor. She walks over to Thomas and stares at him for a moment, and her lip begins to quiver a little. "No you're not!" she yells at him. "You're my friend and you are not! Don't say that!" Before he can respond she turns around again and steps back over to Kuon.

"Any of you could've done that, I'm certain," Tom says weakly. "And you wanna know what I'm afraid of? If I screw up, if I miss another clue, one of you could get hurt. Any of you. All of you." Tom slumps back into the chair.

"We'll be fine and we'll save the year. We will. We will," Alice says, her voice dropping from a cry to a weak squeaky protest. Having no doll to hug, she reaches over and hugs the next available thing, that being Kuon.

"You worry too much," Agatha says, and pours the rest of her soda into her glass. "You're thinking up all these dangers that we haven't seen, and that's probably why you miss 'obvious' clues ... you're too busy thinking about what you aren't seeing."

"Stop thinking about what you can't do, Tommy, and focus on what you can do," Agatha suggests.

Kuon gives Tom a look, nuzzles his hand briefly, and then sits down again, in a place to be reached by both Tom and Alice easily for petting.

Tom reaches over and pets Kuon's head softly. "Yeah, well, easier said than done. Live with my dad sometime. Squad leader always takes responsibility for his group. First in a charge, last to retreat. Consider all possibilities to avoid being ambushed. Discover who your true friends are, and stand by them. Be wary, et cetera," Tom mutters softly.

Kuon starts wagging again, brightening right up.

"We aren't soldiers, Tom," Agatha points out. "And we aren't at war. You aren't expected to give us orders, and we don't have to follow you if we think you're wrong. So stop worrying about being wrong. We'll tell you if you are."

Alice reaches up and rubs her eyes, then wipes them clean with the back of her arm. She sits back down beside Kuon and begins rubbing his head again.

The greyhound seems to be much soothed by the general easing of tension. His tail flips side to side contentedly as his mouth opens again, tongue tip peeking out just pre-loll.

"Who's to say we're not at war, Agatha? I wouldn't call the Jruuh attacking us a friendly gesture," Tom points out. "And if I can let Elinor so easily distract me ... " He sighs and shakes his head.

Alice wrinkles her nose, and looks at the dog beside her. "I think Tommy wants to be distracted by Elinor, and that he's a big worry wart," she explains to the canine. "You want to go play fetch?"

"I say we're not at war," Agatha says, crossing her arms. "I think the Jruuh were on the island because we made them be there. Nothing has actually threatened us, has it?"

Kuon lolls his tongue. The idea seems to appeal.

"The leaf golems," Tom points out. "The Jruuh in the cave that attacked Simon and myself."

The girl nods a little then, and stands up using Thomas's chair for support. "I don't understand what politics are anyway," she continues, reaching over to pick Lord Mel up off her chair, "but I always wanted a dog! I understand dogs." She looks up past the chair and at Agatha. "I'm going outside to play with Kuon. And um, I think maybe the Jruuh exist because we made them maybe. And maybe the fairy people are afraid of them because we can change their game, and that means we can make Jruuh join their game too."

"The Jruuh was running away from us, as I remember it," Agatha says. "And the leaf golems were in Mirari, and, as Elinor pointed out, could have been going after Tristan instead of me. Nothing has come crawling out of the cave at night to get us while we sleep. Whatever else the Houses are up to, they all seem to need our cooperation - either to get their King back, or stop the Year's End."

Tom reaches over and pets Kuon briefly, expecting him to depart shortly.

Kuon licks Tom's hand, then trots after Alice enthusiastically.

"Then they need to state their side," Tom says bluntly, "Otherwise, the odds are not with us."

"Rats, I still need to finish cleaning out Destre's stall too," Agatha says, getting up. She walks over to put her hand on Tom's shoulder. "You're shaken up is all, Tom. You've just been near scared to death, and maybe you're overreacting a bit. Let's talk to Elinor and get the lowdown on where the Houses stand. They don't have any reason to trust us, remember."

Alice gives a little wave after gathering up her things, then turns to walk for the door and head outside. "I bet we can find a stick outside, and maybe we can go visit Destre with Agatha later, and ooooh, maybe you can come home with me. And then ... " Her voice trails off as she steps in to the light, Kuon following along beside her.

"Yeah, maybe," Tom mutters, getting up from his chair. "I've got to get home anyway, Supposed to meet my dad and work on some more stuff. As for Elinor ... we'll see." He shakes his head slightly and heads outside. A few moments later, he's headed towards home.

Agatha sighs and cleans up the kitchen before heading to shovel ... hay. "Boys. Why do they have to be so emotional about everything?"

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This site serves as a chronicle of sessions in an online roleplaying campaign moderated by Conrad "Lynx" Wong and May "Rowan" Wasserman. The contents of this site are (c) 2001, 2002 by Conrad Wong and May Wasserman except where stated otherwise. Despite the "children's fantasy" theme of this campaign, this site is not intended for young readership, due to mild language and violence.