Warnings on Deaf Ears

It has been quite a while since the shadowy figure of Rune has darkened the doors of Fidget's shop. Nearly the same amount of time since she has last been in the TarRaCe at all. For friends, the half-sil had left notice that she would be out of town, running an errand for her father. However, she has returned these most recent weeks, even if her time has been more than a little occupied.

So, that is how Rune finds herself knocking on the door, carrying a wrapped package underneath her arm, waiting for Fidget to respond before she enters. "Knock, knock." She calls out, "I've got coin and a gift for a certain clever Goblin." She calls out.

It's late, later than the shop is usually 'officially' open, and that's why the door is closed when Rune arrives. At first, when the knock occurs, there's no reply. But when Rune's voice carries into the room, Fidget's ears perk up from her work on the orb. "Oh, that's me, I'm a clever goblin, and I like gifts!" the gobbo says, hurrying over to the door to open it up and let the lights inside spill out. "Evening, Rune!" she greets cheerfully, and now the door is open she scurries back to her desk and her orb, which faintly thrums with power.

"So, what did you get me?" She asks, curiously, slipping the goblin-hand sized orb into a silken bag, putting it into a drawer, and then clearing rest of the center of the table with a sweep of her arms - to make room for whatever Rune intends to present.

When the door opens, Rune steps in and blinks at the transition into the light from the shop. She reaches up, rubbing at one eye before stepping in, taking the time to close the door behind her since it seems as if Fidget was not expecting guests, even the gift-bearing kind. "Evening Fidget. Sorry for being gone so long." The rogue shifts a bit, "Family stuff." She'd explained some of the complications there, but doesn't elaborate, at least not at first.

"What I have for you..." Rune moves forward and lays out the package on the table, "Is a few things I thought you might find useful." She removes the packaging to reveal a small box, with an array of trinkets of various sorts. Among them is a small leather-bound notebook with blank pages, a series of colorful semi-precious stones of various hues, some scrap material for jewelry, and a pouch of spell components. "My father decided, yet again, not to pay me for a favor he asked of me. So... I found a few things he probably won't miss. At least not for a while, anyways."

"I might not have noticed, I've been busy trying to find a solution to my Fae problem. I have a few theories, but nothing certain yet." Fidget explains, leaning back in her chair and adjusting her hat back to a jaunty angle. "Ooh, stolen gifts." One would think that would be a concern, but Fidget grins and adds, "Even better! They say it's the thought that counts and mischievous thoughts are much more fun."

Then after a slight pause, she asks, "What did he want anyways? Why do favours for him if he keeps not keeping his end of the bargain?"

As the Goblin mentions her particular Fae problem, Rune reaches a hand up and lightly runs it over her arm beneath the cloak. Fae problems weren't uncommon among her circle of friends, and some might not quite understand her recent decision. "That reminds me. I did find out a little bit of information, though I don't think it will be particularly helpful."

She lets Fidget look through the pilfered items before explaining: "Apparently the year-and-a-day thing is something specific to certain Fae. It's divisible by three, and three is some sort of special number. So far as Blue tells it, it's related to the gods. The great three: The Highest One, The Blessed Lady, and The Forbidden One, and then their children: The Sky-singer, The Singer and The White Stag." Rune uses the Sildanyari titles.

Then, with the shift of her train of thought to answer the question, about the task from her father, "Breaking into the home of a Sildanyari noble who had a book my father considered 'dangerous'. Apparently, he failed to get it by diplomatic means, so he needed me to 'acquire' it by alternative methods." Which, of course, meant stealing. Rune doesn't seem particularly happy about having done so. "As for why..." She shrugs, "He's family."

"Oh, that sort of makes sense. I've heard that three is one of the magickal numbers, just not specifically to Fae. I just thought they wanted to do a year, but in a weird, bullshit way." Fidget supposes, having concluded that the Fae way of doing just about anything is 'weird and bullshit' "So are those gods special to the Fae, or..." Fidget realizes she should actually know this, probably, "...no, those are the Sil gods. Well, the Sil names for the gods. Sil aren't related to the Fae are they?" She should probably know that too, but she might have skimmed over the biology parts of the books, only briefly pausing at the 'reactions to being lit on fire' sub-section.

"Family is important, but so is keeping your side of a deal. But I guess so long as he has valuables that are unsufficiently protected, he'll keep his side either way."

"There's so much that I don't know about the Fae, to be honest." Rune answers, giving a shake of her head in turn. "Some of them do seem to have connections to certain gods, or at least act in the same realms, others seem to simply be agents of chaos. I imagine that they are as varied as people are, good and evil, aligned to the gods, or acting on their own..." Rune trails off at that.

"Some old stories link the Sildanyari to the gods, but I'm not sure the truth of it. You'd want a cleric for that. I know mostly fairy tales, ballads, and epics. Not so much actual histories." Rune grabs for a stool and sits herself down, "What I meant was, the big three gods. Daeus, Althea, and Maugrim. And then their children: Eluna, Tarien, and Gilead." Her hand comes up to her necklace at that, touching the silver metal. In the process, flashing a vision of her tattooed arm. One that looks a bit different to those with magical sight.

"My father never /offers/ me anything in return for the favors he asks." Which makes the relationship very one-sided, it seems. "Still, he sired me, and he kept a roof over my head and food in my belly after my mom passed. So I owe him at least something for that." Even if it isn't the love one might normally expect between father and daughter.

"Still sounds like he's missing several things to be a good father. There's more to it than stopping you from starving or freezing." Fidget frowns at that, "My family never really understood me, but they did most of the other stuff right."

On the topic of the Fae, Fidget does seem more excited, though, "Well, I'll probably know a lot more about them soon. I've been doing research, but it's not really panned out anywhere - but I have a ~plan~", and she draws out the last word to highlight how great a plan it must be.

"Never said he was a good father." Rune replies in turn. "Just that there's a minimum I feel I owe him for what he was..." The chances of mending that chasm between them seems impossible at this point, but she doesn't quite burn all of the frayed ropes that still span the length.

"Most Fey are pretty secretive." Rune confirms in response to Fidget's research. "Their names, their true intentions, their purposes for getting involved with mortals..." Trailing off, the rogue leans forward a little, leaning her arm on the Goblin's workbench where there is space. "Humor me... what kind of 'plan' do you have in mind?"

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"Of course they're secretive, that's what makes it more fun to unravel their secrets. Plus... I don't really have any other angles to pursue at the moment, and I don't know how long it'll be before the Fae pulls the rug out anyway." Fidget admits, Fidgeting with something absently, anxiously. "I figure that I can Scry on him, see what he's up to, see where he is - that'll maybe show me something I can use against him, and after that - I'll find some people who also want to murder an evil Fae, and we go deal with him. You're invited, of course." the goblin grins at Rune, and remarks idly, "New tattoo?"

"You have a strange definition of fun, my friend." Rune replies, the corner of her lip quirking up slightly. "With a few rare exceptions, I find dealing with most Fey to be the opposite of fun."

The prospect of just what might happen when the Fey decides to act does give her pause. "I... don't know if that's a good idea, Fidget. Fey can be incredibly powerful, especially when it comes to spells and magic-work." Her brows furrow slightly. "You need to be careful. I've never known someone who had their name stolen, or what a Fey can do once they have it."

Normally, she would jump at the invitation to deal with dark forces threatening Alexandria, but this time there is hesitation. Hesitation that leads to that question from Fidget. "You... should probably know that I am oathbound to a Fey. Not the one you're dealing with, but... I can understand if that changes your feelings about me being involved." Her hand moves over the tattoo, which Fidget would likely be able to identify once she looks at it. A marking that shows Rune's blood-pact with a Fey being in the swirling lines.

"Oathbound - like me? Did they trick you into a deal, too?" Fidget asks, curious, and scampers around the desk to stand right by Rune and get a closer look at the tattoo, then touches a ring around her finger which glows a faint blue light, and she runs the hand and the glow over the tattoos, Identifying them in detail.

"Interesting... a trade of some kind? I see the binding flowing both ways. Whether that was a good idea will depend a lot on what you got, what you had to give up, and whether they tricked you into a worse deal than it seemed."

"Not like you. I chose this." Rune slides her fingers up along her forearm and then away again, "My tattoo used to be just body art. A copy of the ones my mother wore in honor of her pact with the Golden Fate. Now, these are mine." The differences might be subtle, but the magic that runs through the lines are as clear as day, where before it was only artwork.

She doesn't hide her arm from Fidget's examination, allowing the spell to have an effect. "No tricks. Not every Fey is like the one you encountered." Rune confirms, "My oath is to serve the handmaiden of Lady Tanith and bring her stories and tales of mortal creation, in exchange for power and protection." There is a raise of the brow, perhaps not knowing how much Fidget knows of Tanith.

"And Lady Tanith is the Fae you've made a deal with?" Fidget supposes, not knowing anything about this person, though the name seems vaguely familiar. "What kind of power did you get? Seems like a nicer deal than the 'do what I tell you or I'll kill you' deal my Fae offered. But I still don't know I'd trust it. Unless you can get out of it if it doesn't work out."

Then Fidget examines the tattoo some more, nudging up the sleeve further to see more of the artwork, "I hadn't seen this up close before, it looks neat. And you say your mum had the same thing? Same pattern?"

"Lady Tanith is... a small dragon with a large need for fish." That description is likely not the most flattering, but it is the way most people know of her. "She's also an Avatar of Eluna, the Sky-singer. My Patron is her handmaiden, and serves her." So, by proxy, does Rune, it seems.

"It's entirely different than what happened to you, I assure you. It's more... of a symbiotic relationship. We both benefit." Canting her head slightly, Rune answers, "You don't have to worry about trusting it, so long as you trust me." Was there a way out of such a bond? Perhaps, but it isn't something that Rune is at all worried about.

"The original was a copy of my mothers'. She served a different Fey entity known as the Golden Fate." The rogue explains, "This one has some subtle differences." Rune doesn't point them out, though. "I can promise my Patron won't interfere with what's going on. Though she may want me to bring her back the story of just what a Goblin with a stolen name does about it. Seems like just the kind of tale she would want to add to her repertoire."

"Yeah, sounds vaguely familiar, maybe someone mentioned her. I see." Fidget tugs the sleeve back down where it was before, "I certainly trust you, But we'll have to see if it was a wise choice. I trust myself, and I make unwise choices all the time." Fidget grins at Rune mischievously, self-aware enough to know that sometimes the interesting, fun thing isn't always the right thing to do. "That's why I paid into the Arcanists Raise Dead insurance thing, after all."

"Speaking of possibly unwise choices, perhaps I can ask around the Arcanists for some less risky options. I'll see what I find out." Fidget says, collecting the items that Rune laid out on the desk, and finding a place for each that makes sense to Fidget, and probably noone else. "The gifts are appreciated, but the coin - I bet you have something you're needing for that?"

Rune doesn't press the matter, knowing full well that trust in her choice may take time for some of her friends. Not all of them have seen that Fey, like most of the other sentient races, have both good and evil among them. Instead, she just nods her head, "So long as you're okay with me involved, I'll do my best to help where I can." Though, she does wince slightly at the death insurance. It's not an idea she enjoys.

"I think that may be a better start. Whatever you end up doing, just... be careful. I don't know that we understand just what sort of horrors the Fey can do when he has this kind of power over you." Rune warns.

Then, at the mention of coin, the rogue reaches to her belt and unstraps a pouch. "I did actually have something in mind for that. I need a pair of enchanted gloves... the kind that make my fingers more dexterous for disarming traps. I talked to my friend Alaryn about them ages ago, she called them 'Trapspringer's Gloves'? Is that something you think you could do for me?"

"Yeah..." Fidget says in response to Rune's uncertainty about what the Fae's power can do, though Fidget has been told from a couple of sources exactly what it can do. She doesn't share that detail. But then Rune talks about something more fun.

"Oh yeah, I've heard of those, and I think I know the right combination of enchantments." Fidget whips a small square of paper out from under a pile on the desk somewhere, and scribbles a receipt onto it in purple crayon. "At the usual rate, it should be about...this much, and a few days." she calculates and thrusts the paper towards Rune with a beam, she's always happy to have magical things to work on.

Taking a moment, Rune reviews the notes and the receipt before digging out coins and sliding them over towards Fidget. "That should cover it. Take your time, though. I'm not in any rush. I imagine with some of the things going on, we'll be in town a while."

Then, after putting her money pouch back onto her belt, Rune hesitates. "Fey can be dangerous. Unknown ones even more-so. I know you tend to jump in head-first, but this may be the one time that taking things slowly is the better plan." At the same time, the rogue has a feeling that she may be speaking to deaf ears.

"We'll talk again later this week. Take care of yourself, Fidget." She offers the Goblin a smile, and then raises her hood before stepping out.