#sparklelore

She didn’t really want to push the issue with Grenfell. Gods knew the man would not so much lie as bluster and tell you everything but precisely what had been asked, but he was actually touchy with his child in a way she hadn’t seen before. It was though...well it was though Piet was one of the few things Gren genuinely loved, without reservation.

But really just looking at Pietro one couldn’t help but ask if maybe something sinister wasn’t goin’ on there.

“Back at my school,” Mochi said, voice calm and even and slightly soothing as always, not stopping the work. “We were told that if you trained in fleshweaving for an extended period of time, you may not wish to have children. This is because you significantly change your own body structure,” he looked up at this and a small smile appeared, not so much half heartedly as Mochi did not really do gestures of any kind that was not placid evenness. “I must tell you I thought it was just a rumor but obviously my opinions have...changed.”

“‘For an extended period of time’.” Adeline looked toward the tent flap, though she heard no one. It was more her own nervous energy. She didn’t like sitting still for long and always kept an eye on the doors. “Well Gren did that, didn’t he? So Piet’s just really kinda like that?”

“That he is,” Mochi replied. “And that we all are.” She quieted and watched for a moment, wondering at how steady his hands were, how he could trace those interlacing scripts and designs with such precision each time, not even needing to move or adjust the chunky henna slurry before it began to dry.

Mochi was always so precise and exacting- and he’d help with the smallest thing like a sewing error or a knitting project. Always unflappable, never angry, always doing the job ahead of him with the utmost of him no matter large or small.

It was perhaps Grenfell’s fault that she remembered that he too was a fleshweaver, and one with his nature...well if he wanted to do something…to a person...

She cleared her throat in an attempt to clear her thoughts. “So what made you want to start up Fleshweaving?” she asked. 

“I enjoy helping,” he said, and that his ear did not even flick towards her told her that he had perhaps caught onto her line of thinking. “If I can help in a way few can then so much the better. I like little things, Adeline- the sound of windchimes, the boiling of soup, the way the sun hits the clouds on particular mornings. I find joy in these, and good work. I don’t need anything grand if I can help a person stay warm, or gain feeling back in a hand.” He looks up again at this. “I’m sure you can understand that.”

“Yeah,” she replied. “Yeah I can.”

----

Adeline walked out from the tent with a gentle reminder from Mochi to watch her hands and to let it settle in fully, perhaps in the sun. He said that every time, but she looked out through the odd hole in the city wall- The Breach.

She heard the windchimes that had been hung, looked out over the fields of swaying wheat and grass and far beyond it towards the woods and stream. It was a good view, she thought. Peaceful and very Mochi. He’d chosen a good spot.

But her eyes went up to the stone work and noticed the hole did not look like it had been broken in by a siege weapon. Not so much broken as melted- a giant fissure in the near impenetrable wall of the Stone City. 

Something that could melt stone. Maybe a lot of fire could perhaps do it but...no. She turned back to the tent and opened it, Mochi barely glancing back up at her. “Hey, uh, weird question because I know the whole Weaver non-interference and non-violence thing but uh...would you ever participate in like...a battle of any kind?”

Mochi’s eyes lit up for just the barest of a second. “That is, perhaps, the great irony of my order,” he said, putting a small garden shovel carefully and exactly into its proper spot in a drawer. “We may be called upon to take down any member who, let’s say, gets out of hand. The only battle we fight would be against our siblings.” He turns his head and again there’s that small smile. He of course has followed her line of thinking as though he’s been waiting for her to ask. “Not that I’ve ever been called. It’s rare enough, though I do think on it more since moving here.”

-----

Adeline is still looking at The Breach when she feels a familiar form approach, and she doesn’t move as it carefully crawls up her back. It’s both warm and soft, like the feeling of a hairless cat, but this particular individual is much more hearty than he feels.

“Auntie?” he asks, several multi-colored eyes looking at her as two long tails wrap around her waist. His voice is odd for those who haven’t heard it before- precise and clipped when you expected something more growling and guttural. Her hand reaches up to scratch through his stolen mess of a mane and she knows he’s hoping that she wants to hunt something.

Pietro did so like a hunt. Always had since he could move his legs quick enough.

“You know that saying that you should beware the anger of a patient man?” Ade said and Pietro nodded. “I’m thinkin’ your dad pissed off a whole bunch of patient people a long time ago.”

Pietro’s voice was nothing like you’d expect, and so rare that few had heard it, but his laugh- his laugh was deep and wet and meaty, the smile of it going far past where his jaws should be and showing every inch of his many teeth. It was something very slightly unhinged, monstrous, and joyful.

“So…” Katsu asked. She could feel nervous energy radiating from him, though he didn’t outwardly show it. Katsu didn’t like new things, surprises or uncertainty, and usually she was the one reassuring him. That she was wary was doing him no favors. “Which way?”

“Just up the-” Adeline started when she looked around the space they’d just walked into, a smaller though still wide indoor courtyard area. There were supposed to be stairs spiraling up to the next floor at the back on either side of the room, but there was just one set of slick black ones.

Ah yeah. This place still hadn't settled yet. Great. “Guess we try there,” she said with a sigh, trotting over to the stairs and then pausing and waiting for Katsu, Hawk following behind them with a sort of bemused grin his face. He liked the little things around here, like the fact that he knew Ade could fly up those stairs with those wildclaw legs, but instead she'd shoulder against Katsu to compensate for his limp (he’d get grumpy if she helped any more than that). Everyone kind of unconsciously did things for each other. It was adorable.

“So, what do you think?” Adeline asked Katsu as they made their way down a hall, her glancing up and around at the space. Katsu knew she was mostly asking to take his mind off things, though she would listen to what he said.

“Absolutely stupid, like most things that bright idiot made,” Katsu replied. “No defensive points at all- everything’s wide open. It’d put you on even ground with anyone sieging. I’m betting there’s also entrances to the tunnels.” He stopped and looked to Ade, who nodded. “So that means you have escape routes and obvious points of entry.”

“He don’t seem the type to worry about things like that,” Hawk said.

“Not at all. Suppose that’s my job,” Katsu said with a hint of amusement. “Though confusion would be a definite advantage here…..along with said bright idiot.”

They turned a corner and Adeline paused when she saw Nimue standing in the hall waiting for them. She didn’t have on her full set of armor but there were still golden bracers at her wrists and armored boots, the rest of the outfit pale gold silk. She always looked like she was backlit, and as she turned and smiled gently at them Adeline began to feel self conscious. “Hawk,” she whispered as the man stopped at her left side. “Do not.”

He grinned and touched his broad-brimmed hat before nodding at Nimue. “Ma’am.” Honestly what did Ade think he would...okay yes he definitely would be hitting on that woman if he hadn’t just been forbidden. She was a tall thing, broad, and had two guardian horns decorated with gold cresting from pale pink dreadlocks. Bit heavy on the Light symbolism there, but he wasn’t one to fuss.

“Thank you for coming, Adeline,” Nimue said, gesturing to a doorway as Hawk tried his best not to snort at how dang tiny Ade looked next to her. “If you two wouldn’t mind waiting outside?”

“We’ll entertain ourselves,” Hawk said as Katsu did something like an irritated grunt, putting his back to the stone wall.

The door shut behind the women and Katsu muttered: “If she’s not out in five minutes we leave.”

“Bit paranoid, aintcha?” Hawk asked, mimicking his posture and taking a bent hand rolled cigarette from his jacket.  “Think we can smoke in here?”

“I am,” Katsu said, taking out a pack and pulling one out with his mouth. “Besides, I’m not the only one that’s paranoid.” He pointed to something as the hand went back to fetch a lighter, and Hawk squinted, trying to see what he was on about.

Ah, there it was. Black smoke in the corner, difficult to spot in the dark hallway. “How the hell does he do that, anyway?” Hawk asked, watching it curl around the ceiling though the man himself had not shown up.

“No idea, but he can piss off because we were invited,” Katsu said, eye narrowed at the smoke as though it would answer. It didn’t move away from its position. “I’d also bet you lunch that Crow is hanging out somewhere around here, not that I mind.”

“Noooooo…” came a small voice a few feet away. It was hard to tell where he was hidden because it seemed this place was nothing but shadows aside from the tiny sconces that did little to keep the dark at bay. “Maaayyybbbeeee….”

“Huh,” Hawk said to no one in particular. Katsu had gone quiet, staring at the ground and Hawk could tell that he’d done some mental calculations of what would happen if things went poorly, and even with Crow as added back up he wasn’t liking the numbers. Hawk didn’t much fuss on it, nor did he say that if Ade had really expected something she wouldn’t have brought him. She wouldn’t risk Katsu. Himself? Sure, probably as payback for the scrapes that he’d dragged her into over the years, which was fair enough.

Hawk looked back to Katsu, who was still silently staring and smoking. Probably wouldn’t like being asked about the arm. Ice Pop knew Hawk was tired about people asking about the left side of his face, and he’d usually answer ‘I was being a stubborn cuss.’  Wasn’t like it was a lie. “So uhhhh…” he started, grasping for something to talk about that wouldn’t irritate the man next to him, and quickly realizing most of his opening talking points were stories and questions meant to put people off balance.

“Why do you call everyone ‘Shorty’?” Katsu asked, turning Hawk into the one put off balance. Katsu didn’t generally initiate the conversation. “You’re taller than most everyone else. What’s the point?”

“It’s funny, is all. Ade’s the Shortest Stack just ‘cause,” Hawk said, nodding his head in acknowledgement of a point made. “And don’t ask if I have Gaoler blood, because I’ll answer you the same as everyone else.”

“Which is?”

“One- I’d like have some Gaoler in me, if you know what I mean, and two- never compare me to a cop ever again.”

Katsu snorted a short laugh and Hawk grinned. Hey, a little headway was better than nothing. “You like being aggressively dumb, don’t you?”

“Do indeed,” he said, then paused and looked up at the noise of the door opening. Adeline walked out, hands in the pockets of her coat and seeming slightly dazed. “What? What’s wrong?”

“Well...” she started, then breathed out and looked to the ceiling. “First, guess I gotta find a place for Nim, Jamison, and two kids and second…”

“Yes?” Katsu asked.

---

A first nest! Of course Mendoza had the good sense to wait until they were fully settled, the prospects of money in place and some saved despite Regent’s (and such an odd name, perhaps his parents had always intended for him to be a placeholder? No matter) insistence on spending it on luxury items. Always need to keep up appearances with him.  

Due to my condition I stayed far away from the eggs, and will do so when they hatch. Young children are so susceptible to even the slightest change in magic, and should anyone find out about my ailment, should anything happen to the children, I know who will be blamed. The Lord and Lady might understand, being more educated, but the rumors always do start flying and it doesn’t take long for backwards notions to become ‘truth’.

‘Vampire’. Please. As though I’m some sort of blood drinking monster.

----

Sad news- it seems none of the children made it. There is a thought among the staff that being so close to Plague while not being of that flight themselves may have led to some problems, but no one knows for certain.

Mendoza of course is trying to keep a cheerful face and things running, though I can see the worry. I did do a little digging and searching- no foul play at least. Perhaps just poor luck. They’re both young and in good health, they can try again.

---

More sad news- only one child in the nest, and they did not even fully hatch. Next time I will be less cautious and try and find out more directly what is going on. It seems I can hardly make things worse.

---

The problem was more fully and quickly discovered than I expected, though again through sad means. The issue is not with disease, perhaps closer to a genetic fault, though not one of the usual ones: the children have a great overabundance of magic, simply too much to allow their mortal bodies to keep up.

The poor thing was oozing pink and red, pure concentrated energy right through her mouth and nose. She and her brother perished within two days.

At least...well at least I can be of service. Hopefully Mendoza will not take my suggestion poorly- offering to leech energy from children can come off as quite sinister.

---

Another singular child, one I kept close to and was there for his birth, the Lord and Lady eyeing me not with suspicion but a sort of worried hope. The birth seemed blessed from the start- a boy with strange Plague eyes and the spiral form of a distant relation. Incredibly lucky.

But of course I was considered lucky- the wildclaw boy from a wildclaw mother and a skydancer father. Strange dark eyes instead of whites. Lucky. Blessed. And cursed.

As I held the boy in my hands and a nurse wiped off the remains of the egg I realized- he was like me. There was no magic whatsoever. He would live but…

Did I somehow do this?

----

The boy is growing, and the parents do not seem to blame me in the slightest. In fact they seem well relieved, even if he’ll never be able to cast anything, even if he’ll have to leech energy from others to stay alive, even if it means he can never really be alone for long.

He is alive, they have a son and heir who is growing into a healthy young man. That’s all that matters to them, and they thank me for helping solve their ‘deficiencies’ (a thing said in private, a confession- poor things overly blame themselves).

They want another child, and they want me to keep close by again. I don’t have the heart to tell them no, nor to tell them what rumors will surely circulate in the future.

An essence ‘vampire’ noble. Well. At least he will be difficult to ignore.

---

Another singular egg, this time a girl, and this time with the ‘fault’ of the other children. She began coughing and shaking not long after being born, but with me around to leech some of it off she seems to have quieted into a more healthy baby. At least I can buy her time.

Her brother loves her already- they are hardly apart. Hopefully he will not lose her, and perhaps they can balance one another out.

Far too much and far too little. Perhaps there is such a thing as destiny.

---

They are both growing nicely, and one would hardly suspect that either of them have an ailment. The boy has taken to nobility quickly, though I must admit his attitude leaves something to be desired at times. He doesn’t have the patience or forgiveness of his parents, seems to have forgotten the hard work they put in to make sure he grew up wealthy and with a name.

Perhaps it is the children of other houses that he hangs around with at times influencing him. I must admit I also worry that he’s taken to his condition a little too well- yes, it can be used offensively, but he seems to consider himself better for having it. I worry that with no one (especially myself) around to watch him, he bullies others. Why ask for what you can take?

His sister on the other hand has thankfully gone in the other direction. She’s willful but kind, almost always outdoors with the animals, her nose in a book. You’d think she was a stable girl looking to up her station through education. They still balance one another out well, and hopefully will continue to do so.

---

The boy and girl had an awful falling out. It seems he thinks her wanting to seek education elsewhere, to teach somewhere, is a personal slight against him. I know she has been teaching others in private- she is a powerful creature when she chooses to be, a mix of Plague and Arcane- but actually leaving was a bridge too far for him.

I do not think this is pure selfishness on his part, whatever else I think of the boy. I believe he genuinely loves his sister and thought they would always be together. He is afraid to be alone.

---

There is something wrong, but I do not know what.

It started with the girl’s sigils- easily spotted glowing a reddish pink, popping up all over the manor. When asked, she responded that they were nothing and not to worry about it, but something in her voice and face were off. I wanted to trust her, and for her to trust me as she always had, so I left the matter alone, insisting that she could talk to me about anything.

But the situation has only gotten worse, they are near everywhere now, growing in size, scaring you half to death when you round a corner at night and see glowing runes nearly in your face. She looks worn as though from worry, lack of sleep, or both. She has taken to carrying a clock around with her, glancing at it at all hours of the day.

I have heard no rumors, no stirrings from nearby houses, no nosy cooks or housekeepers with an inkling of what is causing her to do this, as though she’s preparing for something. There are always casual threats of course, especially further to the south, but even with a smaller force such as we have it would be foolish for some band of raiders to attempt something.

Her brother has confronted her as well, so at least I can be assured that the blame for this does not lie with him.

---

I still do not know exactly what happened or why it occurred, but I will be writing in as much detail as I can lest I forget anything later.

She was tired, exhausted, sitting on a bench and drinking a near full glass of brandy and smoking a cigar. I knew that she had picked up the drinking habit heavily the prior week, but again did not know the reason why. She looked like she had been fighting something by herself- worry aging her to the point that she looked older than her brother.

I sat by her, determined again to at least attempt to get something out of her, but she surprised me by talking first. “I tried, Harper,” she said, staring ahead at nothing. “I’ve tried everything in all kinds of ways, but there’s no point. It ends the same way, so I’m going to at least save you and Ambros.”

“My love, what are you-” I started, completely unsure of what she was talking about, but knowing that she was no liar. Whatever this was, it was important, and true at least to her.

“Harper in two minutes you’re going to get Ambros and go out through the south door,” she said, reciting with a dead voice. “Two men are going to try and stop you from going forward. I need you to kill them and keep going, and you don’t stop, okay? You don’t stop for anything and you get my brother out of here.”

“And what about-”

“One minute fourty-five.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to go north, and you’re not going to try and find me, not for a long time,” at this she looked at me, those eyes that could be mistaken for plague or arcane pink depending on the light devoid of their usual warmth.

“Love, what has caused this?”

“One minute,” she said, glancing down to the ever present clock. “I know you can do this, Harper, I’ve seen what you can do when you decide to stop putting a clamp on that ‘condition’ of yours. You’re the best to take care of Ambros. You can teach him.”

“When did you see me-”

“Again and again,” she said, standing and looking back to me. “You’re a good man, you know. Sorry I didn’t appreciate you more.”

“And you a good child,” I replied, not knowing what else to say.

There was an explosion, screaming, but she just looked down to that clock and then back to me.

I did as she asked.

---

The boy blames his sister now, for everything. I do not know what else to tell him aside from that I feel it is untrue. I do not know how to comfort him at the death of his parents, his house, his future. It's all ash, aside from me, and I hardly feel a worthy substitute but at least I can teach him how to survive.

I hope his sister is well. I hope I will see her again.

Somewhere in the southern Icefield…

...a man enters what used to be a barn, converted now into a small living space. He clicks on the light and a woman looks up from a glass covered desk, bleary eyed, hands around a clock. “Cake,” Ruthers says,  somewhere between a snap and a growl. “You were supposed to pick up that feed shipment hours ago.”

She stares at him, eyes half hidden by unkempt hair, her long since past caring at the state of it. “Whoops,” she replies, trying not to roll her eyes. “I’ll get it in a minute.”

“Once real winter starts-”

“Yes nerdlord, do it,” Sparks said, reaching into the hole in the wall as West sighed and removed his heavily tinted sunglasses. “Now look at him. Watch.” Adeline looked to West as the lights above them shut off.

She could still see his glowing yellow eyes like two small lamplights, Chirok’s a dull blue behind him. The hallway was dark enough to obscure anything else.

“Pfftttt,” Sparks said, bursting into a laugh and flicking the lights on and off above them. “It’s so good! Like where’s West?” The lights turned off. “There he is!”

“At least I can see in the dark,” West said, the eyes narrowing and Adeline covered her mouth trying not to laugh at him. He looked like an irritated cat. “For example can you tell what finger I’m currently holding up? Because I can.”

“If you weren’t such a baby about the tunnels we would have found this out years ago,” Sparks said

“Oh no,” West said as the lights turned back on, his voice unmoved from placid evenness while he replaced his sunglasses. “How have we survived?”

“You show her the boss room yet?” Sparks asked him, tilting her head to indicate Adeline.

“We're headed there right now.”

---

It was a huge room, almost like a hallway the size of a whole building floor entirely made of either polished obsidian or black marble, flanked on either side by windows encased in decorative black wrought iron. Looking up there were giant chandeliers, again black wrought iron and dangling with crystals that reflected light onto the ceiling. It mimicked the night sky, and she could make out vague shapes of the few things in the room, rather like a foggy mirror. At the center near the back there was a large obsidian seat.

Adeline tossed a rock along the floor, sending it skidding and bouncing over the tiles. “Who wants to bet one of those tiles has a trap if you step on it?” she asked as the rock slid to a halt.

“Oh yeah, one definitely does,” Sparks nodded. “You can totally picture Gren sitting in that chair, waiting for someone like a creeper.” She paused and spread her arms wide, flicking her hands outward and mimicking him. “‘ Hello and welcome to my castle. You made it this far good for you.’’’

“He would.”

“He super would. That's why I'm callin’ it the boss fight room.”

Adeline noticed West pinching the bridge of his nose. He occasionally got headaches from bright light, but the castle seemed perfectly suited for him to be comfortable in that respect. “You two adorable hicks that I love very much,” he said, taking his hand away from his face. “That's not a chair, it's a throne. It's a huge and empty throne room.”

“Oh,” Sparks said, looking back into the space. “Well, I mean still works that-” she started, then stopped and inhaled a breath, reaching over to slap Adeline gently on the shoulder with both hands repeatedly. “We have a castle and a throne! Let's make you queen!”

“No,” Adeline replied, glancing from Sparks to West, who had a barely noticeable smile on his face and his eyes slightly narrowed. “You are not plotting right now. No. I will leave you all to fend for yourselves. I will screw right back off into the wastes.”

“My,” West said, the smile spreading just slightly. “Not listening to the will of the populace? That sounds very queenly of you.”

“Nope nope nope,” Adeline said, turning around and moving quickly past Chirok, who scooted politely aside, or as much as his massive frame could manage in the hall.  

“I'm going to put together a vote!” he called after her as she walked in a direct line away from them.

“Yeah, fine!” she called back. “Go for it! Look forward to reading the write ins!”

Sparks waited until she was far enough away, which was quite a distance considering how sound bounced around the cold stone hallways of this place and how good Adeline’s hearing was. “We doin’ this, right?” she asked West.

“That we are.”

“We gotta talk your boyyyfraaand into it,” she said, leaning on his shoulder and grinning up at him.

“He's not my boyfriend,” West said, walking away and down the hall, her trotting after, Chirok taking a moment to examine the throne room before following.

“But you like him.”

“I do. That's why he's not my boyfriend.”

“Yeah, you are garbage at that stuff. Getting better, though! Proud of you!”

---

“So,” Viltri started as West walked up to him, Viltri sitting on a couch in the office with his usual companion, Iosefka. “What exactly are you planning?” He’d gotten to know West about as well as Adeline over the course of their...well friendship right now. It was tough to tell with the black skydancer exactly where you lay with him at any given moment, even with Viltri’s empathy gifts. That mostly just gave him more of a hint, but he knew that West and Sparks had been gathering signatures to start a vote. They could be rather organized for such a disorganized bunch, though perhaps that’s why they had so many clear and detailed little laws. It left very little room for ambiguity, and if it did they would surely argue it to death.

“I’d like your help with this,” West replied, pulling a small sheet of paper from his coat and handing it to Viltri. “You are much better at precision in language than I am.”

Before Viltri could look over the words Iosefka snorted and put a hand to her face, giggling into it. “Oh man, we have to do that.” That her other hand was around Viltri’s shoulders he didn’t even notice anymore, but he glanced to her before reading. So it was likely some sort of prank, as she enjoyed those. “She’s gonna be so mad,” Iosefka said in a small voice, still giggling though trying not to.

Viltri looked over the proposal and glanced back up to West, eyes narrowed. “A bit of revision could help, but do you really want to…?” he trailed off.

“Adeline thinks we’re too chaotic as a group to get anything done, but she forgets something,” West said, the small twitch of a smile on his face. “We’re good at organizing for three things: Parties, helping other people, and very especially for embarrassing her.”

“And that’s the entire reason?”

“Is there any better reason?”

“First of all I’d like to remind everyone what happened with the last two votes,” Adeline started. “‘What Should Our Emblem Be’ had the top three picks of, and I quote: ‘One) A Bagel. Two) A Butt, and Three) A Nice Butt.’” There were scattered giggles across those gathered, maybe from what she said and maybe because they knew she was mad at them and thought it was hilarious. Probably that one. “Our last attempt to name the overall city ended up with five people voting, and the top result was ‘Robot Moron Empire’.”

She paused to lean on the podium and look out over the gathered crowd, most looking back up at her with a smile, waiting. Might as well get this over with. “So how in the hell,” she paused again when she heard an ‘oooo’ from someone at the swear. “With sixty-seven percent participation-”

“Missed it by two!” Sparks called out.

“Did this get voted in?” Adeline continued. She glanced to West who was casually leaning back with his arm slung over the back of the chair, flanked by Sparks, Viltri and Sefka. “Granted there were two votes for ‘No’,” she said in a lower voice, knowing those two came from Katsu and Walter respectively. “And three for ‘water slide’ but…”

“That was us,” August said, leaning over to talk to Jesse in a lower voice. She nodded and patted his shoulder. “Woulda been neat, is all I’m saying.”

“Stop stalling and read it!” West said in a rare moment of him raising his voice.

“Fine, fine,” Adeline muttered, staring down at the paragraph in front of her. “‘In regards to what should be done about The Castle, it shall be put in place that from the moment of this being voted in and read, that it will serve as Adeline’s new office space. Adeline will live in The Castle and will henceforth be granted the title of….Queen,” she faltered at the word and looked up with a sigh, everyone attempting to sit still and waiting for her to finish. “Failure to do so on the part of Adeline will result in new titles and honorifics being added on a once per week basis until this law is complied with. Examples include ‘Empress’, ‘Pope’ and ‘Blessed Holy Wanderer.’ More elaborate items of clothing and headwear will also be purchased in accordance said timeline, the money coming from the account listed in...you know what I’m skipping that part.”

“Time starts now by the way!”

“‘The Castle will be used as Adeline sees fit, including continuing the allowance of those already in said castle and office to reside there or move. PS- We voted this in so you either have to do it or you can ignore us and admit laws are bullshit. Ha ha got you now, sucker’,” she finished, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a finger. “Who the hell wrote this?”

West raised a hand. “Viltri helped,” he said when Ade’s eyes landed on him.

“I- I just added a few things,” Viltri replied, trying not to stammer at being singled out. “To make it more clear, you understand.”

“Yep...yep I do,” Adeline said, nodding. “Well, I’m going to take a few minutes to think about this. Thank you all for coming and participating, I hate all of you except apparently like twelve of you. You’re welcome to stay and chat or drink.”

“Oh man, we get to do a castlewarming and coronation party!” Sparks said, raising both her hands as Adeline walked away and into the winding streets of the city, intent on finding Walter. She didn’t notice that one figure raised from his seat and followed.

----

“Addeeeee,” Grenfell said, watching her eye a building that she was about to climb up. She paused and turned around.

“Yeah, Gren?” she said, sighing and reaching out for Pietro, who climbed from his father’s shoulders and into her arms. It was kind of weird holding him, as he felt somewhat...soft, like a hairless animal covered in strange adornments, but he liked being petted. “He’s still kinda skinny. Has he been eating?” Adeline asked, looking down and scratching gently on his neck.

“Yes, he eats quite a bit,” Grenfell said. “Remember I had to apologise for it.”

“He ate someone’s pet,” Adeline replied, continuing to scratch as Pietro’s odd sickly purr started up. He was directly in between ‘kind of sweet’ and ‘something that might burrow directly into your midsection’, but thus far giving him affection when he wanted had worked. “He might have a blockage. That happens with animals sometimes.”

“Look he’s fine, and that person should maybe have thought about teaching their stupid fangar to run faster,” Grenfell said, snarling and showing those long fangs he had. “You’re distracting me. Shut up a second and let me think of what I was going to say.” She waited, knowing him snapping was irritation at having lost his train of thought, not any actual anger directed at her. “Ah! Yes! I wanted to tell you that I’d be very happy to formally give ownership of the city over to you, since I technically built it. That combined with Nimue releasing the castle will make everything official. A short line but a long history here, one might say.”

“That’s...” she said, crossing her arms under Pietro and holding him like a baby. He noticed that she seemed drained and tired as she looked up and closed her eyes. “My problem isn’t the legality or lineage or whatever.”

“Then,” he said, tilting his head, not understanding. “What is? Most people would be very happy to be royalty, and it could be fun.”

“Gren,” she said, taking out a hand and clutching her fingers slightly in irritation as her voice changed to a sort of raised whisper, the tone people used when they wanted to yell but didn’t want anyone else to actually hear them. “I have no idea how to run a damn kingdom! None! I have no training! I don’t know how any of that works! And neither does anyone else aside from West, who won’t tell me because he thinks it’s funny! Everyone’s lucky I know how to goddamn read considering my background, and now I’ve just gotta stumble through figuring out how to be royalty? It's not some joke- everyone expects things from a Queen and I’m not it.” Grenfell pulled his head back slightly, assessing what she said for a moment as Adeline touched the hand to her forehead. “Look, you didn’t-” she started when he began laughing.

The laughter continued for longer than probably necessary, him bending over and putting a hand on a knee. “That’s it? That’s the problem?” he said in between gasps as though he had to get his breath back. Pietro’s stolen dog ears perked as he watched this play out.

“Yeah, I mean,” she said, tucking the hand back under Piet. “There’s a huge difference between being some resort town and being a kingdom. It's a whole different game and ...I don’t know if I can play it. I don’t want to put everyone in danger.”

“My, I forget how limited people’s thinking is,” Gren said, straightening himself. “Don’t you get it, Adeline? It's all made up! Rules, laws, formality, it's all a game like you said. Do you think the gods descended and declared what the proper fork to use is?”

“I...” Adeline paused, bouncing Pietro nervously. “I guess not?”

“Everyone’s stuck in a little box, hoping that the other person won’t figure out that they’re not holding all the right cards. They say things like ‘When I rule’, never thinking that they should destroy the rules, keeping that power structure that they hate intact and thinking themselves better than the last fool in the slot. Even I gained the title of King, through no effort and with no one to rule, because people want to quantify things. It's all fake, Adeline,” he reached out and touched her on the shoulder. “Do you know why I am so very proud of my son? He was born knowing this. There are no rules to being a person, or a people, and there are no rules that will save you in the end. You make up your own game and then everyone else has to play it if you tell them to. The more you put them off balance the more you reveal their flaws instead of your own.”

“That’s...weirdly inspiring. Thanks,” Adeline said, looking down to Pietro. Yeah, she could definitely see what he was talking about. “I guess I just don’t want to disappoint people, or offend someone.”

“Please,” he said, waving a hand. “There are tyrants of all stripes all across the globe, and they don’t often stay up at night worrying about such things. I think your particular brand of leadership would be refreshing rather than irritating. No matter how hard you push your morality would stop you far before someone else would.”

“Even if Etzel sometimes gets mad that I eat with my hands when I’m not supposed to?”

“See? That’s fun. I want to see what game you come up with.”

---

She walked back to the office, intent on taking at least the night to mull things over.

She hated that stupid castle. It was a huge nightmare of a building, one Grenfell couldn’t keep and one that each time she looked up at it reminded her of what would happen if she failed. She’d probably end up like Nimue had- angry, holing herself up and blaming herself for what had happened to her friends and charges. There was nothing good about the place, really, and now she was expected to live in it? Maybe she could talk them out of that after a week or so.

Adeline paused in her thoughts when she saw March walking up to her. Alone, which was unusual, aside from the times when he’d get bored and want to spar for fun. It had never been particularly fun on her end, but he was definitely teaching her how to take a punch, and maybe one day she’d actually win.

Well. Probably not, but it was good practice. He wasn’t doing his normal fast paced walk towards her if that’s what he wanted. “Yeah bud, what’s up?” she asked him. March stopped about a foot away from her, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

Usually that meant he wanted to know something. He raised a hand and slowly signed out: “Queen now?”

She let out another irritated and defeated sigh. It seemed that’s all she was doing tonight. “I...I don’t know. I guess?” He was just standing there, head tilted at the slightest angle. “Look if I do become a Queen, I promise that if I ever get out of hand I fully expect you to break my arms. In fact I’d want you to.”

Still standing there, arms crossed. “Arms and legs?” she tried. Nope, no change. “Okay...everything except my skull and neck?”

He nodded, raising a hand again to sign out: “Enforcer?” before pointing to himself.

“I….if you want to?” she said as a squeak. He probably did know how ranks and titles worked more than she did. “What does an enforcer do, exactly?”

“Hit people for you,” he signed. “I will do that until I do not like who you ask me to hit.”

Purple portions are kind of free for all, with the darker purple being the northern portion where most of the ghosts hang out. Definitely not the place you want to pop into the tunnels. If you ever get lost most people know to look for the ‘wheel spokes’, aka the larger interior walls or roads.

The building by the north gate is Ade’s office/the crash pad for a good portion of people. The eastern purple section is mostly taken over by Bardsey and Demo’s orchards and plant growing. There’s also Mochi’s tent, the Breech, Morley’s cart and the giant bone unicorn statues.

Blue south corner is The Quarter (see it’s a quarter of the city hurf hurf), complete with the main casinos, housing for workers/hotels, large kitchen buildings for food prep, and open areas for parties/festivals/travelling traders. The green portion is the Bone Garden and the Stone City’s interior lake known as The Strix.

Red is where Can Town is slowly being absorbed into the Stone City, and though the place is getting smaller most people are loathe to fully abandon it. The red portion definitely has some holdovers, and you’ll see more metal siding patching or keeping up crumbling stonework. This area houses Prizma’s, The Workshop, and Lady’s main clinic.

The main front gate, again not to scale but I tried. The skulls are Ink’s houndskulls keeping watch, and the glass is a Dan invention meant to warn of anything too magical being brought through or nearing the gate.

They accidently work as flashbangs, though. Please do not touch.

The exterior wall isn’t laid out quite right for anyone that knows city/defensive planning. There are no watch towers or real places to be behind cover on top of it- it’s just giant slabs of stone.

The messiest sketch by far but this is the Breech- an odd hole in the wall where the people who tend to the fields/animal herds come in. Mochi’s tent and garden are directly by it, and there’s a large pile of stone slabs partially hidden by the tent. They’re there in case The Breech should need to suddenly be closed and yeah, Mochi can handle that.

Trading carts: there’s only a few of them because they’re slightly expensive and Jack gets real defensive about ‘other people doing his work’. Pulled by a team of anywhere from 4-8 iron golems (seen here in slightly passive mode). Thanks to the weight each of the golems can pull these things can carry quite a lot and could probably substitute for a tank in a pinch. 

The golems don’t appear to have bridals or any way to steer them until the driver gets in the seat with a special enchanted device (usually a ring), causing reins to suddenly appear. This is mostly an anti-theft feature, but golems that have been used for a while can tell their owner and will simply refuse to move for anyone else.

You can always tell Jack’s personal cart by the tent on the top where Peoria keeps lookout, and by the fact that it is probably full of hidden compartments and ‘upgrades’ from West.