#relni chapter 41

[soraavalon]

Mistletoe: Mistletoe's gonna sling his arm over Rymer's shoulder and is like, "You're here with friends."

Rymer: Mm.

Hunt: We didn't start out like that though. We made a horrible first impression.

Tark: Yeah.

Marigold: I didn't.

Rymer: No Marigold, you're a gem and we're happy to have you here.

Hunt: Marigold came to us much later. But with the rest of us and Rymer... Ugh, not good.

Rymer: I did try to rob you.

Hunt: That is true and we were tasked to stop you.

Tark: That was not all that went down.

Rymer: That was a wild overreaction to that.

Tark: Yeah.

Hunt: Yeah.

Tark: Yeah, our bad. Our bad, man.

Marigold: Robbing someone's not bad.

Rymer: Right, especially if they had something that you desperately need.

Marigold: Yeah.

Rymer: Because it's dangerous.

Mistletoe: What was it that you needed?

Rymer ...Anyways it's getting lighter which is good.

Mistletoe: Mistletoe's gonna look at Hunt. "So what was it he was trying to rob off of you?"

Tark: Tea.

Hunt: Hunt is legitimately--- Does Tark actually say that? 'Cause Hunt legitimately pauses trying to think back on what they were supposedly carrying and what he was going after.

Tark: Mm-hmm.

Hunt: Oh right! Right the bird tea.

Rymer: Right.

Mistletoe: Bird tea?

Hunt: Avemwyrt tea.

Tark: Bird tea.

Mistletoe: That must've been some really good tea. Made out of birds?

Hunt: No.

Rymer: No, it turns you into a bird if you drink it.

Tark: no no

Mistletoe: Why did you need to become a bird?

Rymer: I didn't need to, oh my god.

-laughter-

Rymer: I wasn't trying to turn into a bird, I was trying to stop other people from being turned into birds.

Mistletoe: Ohhh!

Rymer: Because I was robbed and the Avemwyrt that I was supplying got taken from me. So I was trying to get it back.

Mistletoe: Well you all should've let him rob you then.

Hunt: We didn't know.

Tark: We didn't know!

Rymer: They didn't have the tea.

Hunt: We didn't know. All we were told is that someone was doing highway robberies and we were tasked to stop that.

Mistletoe: Well it sounds to me like you all just need to talk to each other more.

Tark: Oh boy! Uncomfortable laugh.

Rymer: It's fine, I guess. I'm back in the Feywild at least, so at least something came out of it.

Marigold: Are you going to stay here?

Rymer: Haven't decided. I suppose it depends on what happens when we reach the Court. If we're done talking about my life story, we should pep in our step it looks like your dad's quite a ways ahead.

Mistletoe: Oh yeah, we should catch up.

DM: Very long strides.

[soraavalon]

DM: I hoped so. He (LoH) is terrifying like there is this 'I take care of my own'

Hunt (OOC): Mm-hmm.

DM: But if you're not his own, he's fucking terrifying and I wanted that to come across.

Hunt (OOC): Yep.

DM: Jeremiah had a reason to be scared.

Hunt (OOC): Oh yeah.

DM: It was not unfounded. His information might have been wrong, but his fear was very much correct and justified. And the Summer Court wanting him gone had to make sense, so he has to be terrifying.

Hunt (OOC): Yeah.

Tark (OOC): You know, fuck the Summer Court.

Hunt (OOC): Yeah!

DM: Mm-hmm.

Ethan: That's sounds like a pretty rash thing to say. Why would you say something like that?

DM: Because they're dicks.

Tark (OOC): Yeah, fuck the Summer Court!

Hunt (OOC): Because they're assholes!

DM: 'Cause they, it's very much as he was saying, they're very proud. The vibes between the Summer Court and the Winter Court, the Winter Court won't disguise when they're being fucked up. Where the Summer Court will try to justify it, 'Well it's because of this and, you know, blah blah blah'. 'Cause they're the 'nice' ones, they're the ones in Summer, it's beautiful.

Tark (OOC): 'It's for the greater good.'

DM: Right, we're having, we're lounging in the sun eating figs and having people fight to the death and it's all pleasure and joy and yadda yadda. Where in the Winter Court it's like, 'Nah, I'll fucking stab you in the eye if you come too close to me 'cause I need to protect what I have.' But they're also like, 'You're not a threat, I don't have the time and energy to spend on you.' which kind of allows for a little more freedom in Winter 'cause if you're not actually an active problem, 'I have to devote my time and energy into defending what I have because there's scarcity. So if you're just loud and not actually dangerous, I'm not going to worry about you.'

Hunt (OOC): *laughing* Which is what the Sugarplum Seditionists are.

DM: Yeah, exactly. Which is why they're being left alone, they're just so stupid. They're not actually a problem so we don't have to worry about them. It's good to keep an eye on them, but we don't have to actually do anything.

[soraavalon]

Tark (OOC): Tark's like, "mmm, mark me down as scared AND horny." and now he's just horny.

Hunt (OOC): And Hunt's even resorted to, "Tark please, please just look at the picture! I can't--"

DM: "Look at the picture of Carver."

Hunt (OOC): "I can't be forced to explain to my cousin why we lost you to the Feywild!"

Ethan: Yeah.

Tark (OOC): Yeah and as soon as you're like, "He tried to fuck the Lord of the Hunt." Carver would be like, 'Yeah. Yeah.'

DM: 'That's...' 'No, look at him.' 'Well...okay'

Tark (OOC): Like 9 feet guys, come on!

DM: Before the antlers.

Ethan: 'How does he walk around with... Oh.'

DM: Oh my god.

Tark (OOC): Before the antlers.

DM: Before the antlers.

Hunt (OOC): How tall is he without the antlers? Wait, wasn't it 7ft?

DM: No, without the antlers he's 9ft tall. With the antlers, probably like 12ft.

Tark (OOC): 12?

Hunt (OOC): Okay, 9 without, 12 with.

DM: Yeah.

Ethan: Fuck dude.

DM: He's like a moose. Fucking megafauna out here.

Ethan: And he's gonna get hunted down by a frog and an army.

DM: Good luck.

Hunt (OOC): Good luck.

Nathaniel (OOC): An army of what?

Tark (OOC): He's gonna get hunted down by *cuts out*

DM: By a gay fucking cleric.

Tark (OOC): By a horny elf is what's gonna happen. "So how you doin'?"

DM: He does not speak Common either so he's just gonna be like, 'What is happening?'

Tark (OOC): 'Is--' *cuts out* 'for, you know, dispel magicing your summoning circle? Is there a... Is there any..'

DM/Lord of the Hunt: 'What is he saying?!'

[soraavalon]

Ethan: So ya'll met the Lord of the Hunt and he's coming with you to the Twilight Court.

Hunt (OOC): Yep.

Nathaniel (OOC): Yes.

DM: They picked him up like, 'Come on.'

Marigold (OOC): Road trip! Road trip!

Ethan: Come on dad, we're going to court.

DM: I mean, he's worked with the Flickering Knave, so there's a little bit of--

Ethan: Who is very dead.

DM: Yeah well, they don't know that yet.

Ethan: I mean, they might find him, face down in a puddle somewhere.

Hunt (OOC): In Summer.

Ethan: Frogs poking at him.

Marigold (OOC): Aw.

[soraavalon]

-Ethan coming in right as the session ended-

Ethan: So what happened?

Hunt (OOC): There was a touching reunion.

Nathaniel (OOC): We met the Lord of the Hunt and he's really nice actually.

Hunt (OOC): Yeah.

Ethan: Doubt, but okay.

Hunt (OOC): No, he's really lovely.

Nathaniel (OOC): He doesn't catch and release beast-folk. That was an outright lie.

Hunt (OOC): Yeah.

Nathaniel (OOC): That we learned.

Marigold (OOC): Doesn't necessarily mean he doesn't hunt beast-folk.

DM: He definitely does hunt them down and kill them, but...

Marigold (OOC): Not in a catch and release way.

DM: Yeah 'cause that's boring.

Marigold (OOC): So if that makes you feel better or worse.

Ethan: No. Why would I feel better?

DM: Well he doesn't know, this might make you feel better, he doesn't know that the Flickering Knave is dead.

Tark (OOC): Yet.

DM: So...

Ethan: I mean, who would?

Nathaniel (OOC): He's coming with us on this walk.

Ethan: What?

Hunt (OOC): Yeah.

Ethan: I'm sorry?

Hunt (OOC): He's with us.

DM: Yeah, he's coming with the [something]

Nathaniel (OOC): He's traveling with us.

Hunt (OOC): Dad's on the road trip!

Nathaniel (OOC): We're going to the Twilight Court.

Ethan: Mm yeah, ya'll gonna die. He gonna kill you.

Hunt (OOC): No.

DM: It's totally fine.

Hunt (OOC): No because we're friends--

Mistletoe (OOC): He gave us presents.

DM: He gave them presents for bringing his son back.

Hunt (OOC): Yeah, we were rewarded with bringing him his son and we're Mary's friends.

DM: Yeah, Mary straight up was like, 'So these are my friends' saved so much trouble 'cause he would've fucking came and hunted Tark down.

-laughter-

DM: He was gonna be like, "You son of a bitch!" but instead it was, 'these are my friends and they brought me back.' that he's like, 'Alright, you know what, fine.'

Tark (OOC): Sorry.

DM: 'That was what I was trying to have happen, so...'

Ethan: 'Alright, I can see there was a misunderstanding.'

Hunt (OOC): Then Tark went from being scared and horny to now straight horny for the Lord of the Hunt.

Marigold (OOC): Gay horny.

Mistletoe (OOC): There's no 'straight' about that.

[soraavalon]

Mistletoe: Mistletoe is gonna grab Marigold's hand and just kind of pull him forward after the Lord of the Hunt.

Marigold: I'm fine with that.

DM: Rymer shrugs off his discomfort the best he can, now lost in thought about other times and places and people. You guys head, the light is breaking again the snow turning almost pink and purple underfoot as you enter closer into Dusk and head in the direction of both Autumn and Twilight.

[soraavalon]

Mistletoe: At some point during this travel, Mistletoe's gonna look at Rymer and be like, "So, what's your family like Your Prince-ness?"

DM: Oh boy.

Tark (OOC): Oh no.

Hunt (OOC): Oh boy.

Rymer: That is a very generalized question.

Mistletoe: Mistletoe just stares at him.

DM: He keeps walking.

Mistletoe: Like are they chill, are they uptight? Are they funny? What's the general vibe?

Rymer: They're chill, I guess? Yeah.

Mistletoe: Alright alright.

Rymer: It's Twilight. It's unbecoming and becoming. I don't know it's transient, it changes. That's the whole point of Twilight and liminality.

Mistletoe: I don't know what that means.

Rymer: Yeah well...

-laughter-

DM: He says it in Sylvan which has more of that emotional meaning and that you get the sense that liminality is the closest we have in English to what it is in Sylvan. 'Cause it is that active transforming, it's a verb in a way, it's not a still concept but it's the place between two concepts like it is the act of one thing becoming another.

Mistletoe (OOC): Fey linguistics is so cool.

DM: It's so weird. But he says that word to you which is his title, he is the lord of that.

Mistletoe: So, what's a Lord of Liminality doing hanging out with a bunch of pebbles anyway?

Rymer: That is a long story?

Mistletoe: Well we got time while we're traveling.

-laughter-

Hunt (OOC): How much of this is in Common?

Tark (OOC): Yeah, I was about to ask that.

DM: It is in Common for sure.

Mistletoe: This is in Common.

Tark: Oh god, so everybody's like; Tark's looking at the ground. Tark's like 'This is awkward.'

Mistletoe: I wanted to roll and see how actually aware Mistletoe is of Rymer's discomfort with all of this. I rolled a Nat20.

DM: Oh god.

Mistletoe: So yeah, I can tell he's uncomfortable.

DM: You can tell with a Nat20 that he's uncomfortable on a lot of levels. There's the short-term, 'cause you can see him debating 'I can tell you why I'm with these people which is also a fucking shitshow. Or I can go back to the beginning and tell you about how I ended up on the Material Plane and that a fucking shitshow.' And you can just, there are so many levels of 'I really don't want to talk about things that have happened to me. Hunt, please help.' As he's like looking at her.

Mistletoe: Mistletoe starts making wild guesses.

DM: Oh great.

Mistletoe: Did you step into an enchanted puddle? Did you stumble between an archway made of stone on one side and a cherry tree on the other?

Rymer: Not really.

Mistletoe: Did you cast a spell that went really really wrong.

Rymer: Kind of.

Mistletoe: That makes Mistletoe pause 'cause he was about to launch into another guess immediately. Something about sheep. "Kind of? Mm-hmm. And what spell were you trying to cast?"

Rymer: It wasn't a spell, but yes there were plenty of archways, plenty that went wrong and there were deals that were revoked, there was, there's a lot, there were several arrangements that were revoked and--

Mistletoe: Well that's shitty.

Rymer: Yeah fucking tell me about it and now I'm here with ice in my boots with the Lord of the Hunt.

[soraavalon]

DM: You guys make your way out of the fissure, the Lord of the Hunt leads the way confidently which allows most of the wind to break against him and keeps you guys from being caught in that wind tunnel.

Hunt (OOC): Yay.

Marigold (OOC): Yay.

DM: Kind of like you know when birds fly in a pattern and it's like, 'Okay great, whoever's at the front is doing the work.'

Tark: [in chat] Tark's looking to see if he got a fat ass

DM: Jesus Christ.

Hunt: Tark please, look at the picture! I don't think I can--

DM: Hunt be like, "I never wanted you to fuck my cousin more than I do in this moment 'cause at least it's not this man!"

Nathaniel (OOC): Just close your eyes and let Nathaniel drag you along.

DM: I'm not gonna answer that. I'll let that be theater of the mind.

Tark (OOC): No, but...

DM: You can make that decision within your own heart.

Nathaniel (OOC): You're welcome.

Marigold (OOC): Hmm?

Nathaniel (OOC): I have a thought, but I'm not saying it.

Tark (OOC): Say it. Say it.

Nathaniel (OOC): No.

Tark (OOC): Say it.

Nathaniel (OOC): I'm within striking distance.

DM: Fair.

Nathaniel (OOC): bivaxual can smother me with a pillow if they so choose.

DM: Then don't tell us.

Nathaniel (OOC): I'll wait till bivaxual is on the plane.