But then the emissary might escape and we don't get stab her!
And if we start with the stabbing now and let slip that we're a combat-capable DB on a vengeance kick, Silk-and-Eye might escape. Who do you care more about killing; the asshole who has our student or some random no-name gofer?
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]
 
[X] High Stakes Wager: Attend the feast and challenge Silk-and-Eye to high-stakes gambling, to win back your companions and maybe gain even more than you started with. [Finding the Water's Depths][Verdant Revelry Inspiration]
A flashy plan that plays to Rena's strengths, more fae torture can come after the victory has been assured.
Also
You dropped this X. (without it your vote will not be counted) 😅
 
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[X] High Stakes Wager: Attend the feast and challenge Silk-and-Eye to high-stakes gambling, to win back your companions and maybe gain even more than you started with. [Finding the Water's Depths][Verdant Revelry Inspiration]
 
[X] High Stakes Wager: Attend the feast and challenge Silk-and-Eye to high-stakes gambling, to win back your companions and maybe gain even more than you started with. [Finding the Water's Depths][Verdant Revelry Inspiration]

High-stakes gambling is cool. Knowing the participants, they'll be cheating to Hell and back, too.
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]

I dunno... it feels the most Rena to me...
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]

Nice, a betrayal or genre shift when Silk-and-Eye least expects it. Also the bit with Sei and his shadow was appropriately creepy and Inaan continues to be a good investment.
 
[X] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]
 
kinda torn between all the options...

[X] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]
 
[X] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]

Voting for this one on, well, basically Aleph's reasoning.
 
My one concern with Thorns of the Rose is that it involves us taking his soul - when we attend the 'dinner party' where our fellow guests may be able to see us. If that's just "Rena did some sorcery and he collapsed", or we can do it somewhere out of sight, then that's fine. But if it's going to be obvious to anyone with Occult, then we risk blowing our cover.

Now that I think of it, the options in order are basically a sliding scale of "Use and potentially show our villain skills" versus "Use our socially acceptable, but weaker, 'Perfectly normal Dragonblooded' skills"
  • Thorns of the Rose could have people see we're a sorceress who knows how to steal souls and use fey for power
  • High-Stakes Wager says we know more about the fey then a reputable woman should, but doesn't reveal that we use the naughty spells.
  • Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade is 100% Dynast-OK - no one ever complained about a Dragonblooded murdering their way through a den of man-eating get. Well, I mean, Rena complains about that all the time, but you know what I mean.
I also like Coiling Viper because, with the events of the party, it makes this the second time we've gone out to have a good time and ended up honestly feeling so attacked right now killing some idiot in a duel for hurting someone we kinda liked. And that's just a funny pattern.
 
My one concern with Thorns of the Rose is that it involves us taking his soul - when we attend the 'dinner party' where our fellow guests may be able to see us. If that's just "Rena did some sorcery and he collapsed", or we can do it somewhere out of sight, then that's fine. But if it's going to be obvious to anyone with Occult, then we risk blowing our cover.

That's actually a holdover of an old draft that I missed.

The expanded text is the more accurate version of it, namely:

Foxes are lazy, vice-filled creatures, which is why you get along with them so well. Silk-and-Eye will try to seduce you, try to tempt you, try to win you over as a dashing, handsome rogue (which he is). But you will have to resist temptation and alay his suspicions long enough to get in close enough to deliver your bite and carve out his heart. After all, he doesn't know anything is a weapon in your hands - and the garment he gave you is one you can practise Peacock Style in.

That is to say, while it is possible it may end in soul-theft, it's not an automatic thing. It's more this is the option (as per the linked charms) about getting in close enough to use anything as a weapon and stab repeatedly.
 
Dreams of wine and the company of handsome men are what they'll take, but there is nothing of the piquency of real feelings for them to feed on. They can't find the real you.
I, on the other hand, feel as if I have feasted.

Zia enters, and if he was glamorous this morning it's actually sort of ridiculous now. Sloppy. Very sloppy. If he suspects that you're not playing along, why would Silk-and-Eye go and make Zia into this walking figure composed of bits taken from all the fantasies you fed him last night? Oh, if you were as shallow as the version of yourself you showed him it would probably have worked, but he is assuming that everything will work in his favour and you will perfectly play along with the directions to his stage play.

Strong, but not used to shaped beings who can oppose him. A dangerous combination, especially if he can learn.

But those thoughts are just running over in the back of your head, because for all your pretences, the fact is that Zia has been enchanted with layer upon layer of glamour spun from your dreams and fantasies. And if you didn't have extensive experience with boyfriends who did the same thing as a fun past-time, you'd be struggling to keep a clear head.

"Meira," he says at the door. "Sorry for the intrusion, but—"

Rising, you smile at him. "It's quite alright." He's taller than you even when you stand up, but slender with those deep blue eyes even bigger and more soulful. "It's awfully hot out there."

"It is." He coughs. "I… I wanted to talk."

"Yes?"

"I… do you remember the party? The one at the Kinzara house? Before you were involved with Hilmi?"

"Yes?"

"I wished I had the courage to say it then, but," he steps in, "you're a beautiful woman, Meira. Very beautiful. I wanted you then, but I was too ashamed. Afraid you'd reject me. But I'm not afraid anymore. As the poet Raitha wrote to her lover, 'and your enticing laughter— that indeed has stirred up the heart in my breast. For whenever I look at you even briefly I can no longer say a single thing'." He smiles at you. "She was my great-great aunt. She didn't marry, for… ahem, obvious reasons. But I remember reading her poetry and feeling the depths of her adoration all the way through time - and Meira, I adore you!"

It's nice to have someone who quotes poetry at you. What a shame he's being used as a feeding maw by a malevolent prince of chaos who wants to reduce you down to chow. You don't even know these feelings and words are real, as opposed to a false memory that Silk-and-Eye embedded in him. After all, Zia does not like the way he looks. How easy would it be for a fey enchanter to turn him less into the man he is and more into who you want him to be?

It still isn't going to be easy to do what you're going to do.

"You want me? I… I didn't think…"

"I do, Meira, I do!"

You bring him into your embrace, leaning your head against his chest and feeling the wyldflowers trying to entrap you too. "I love you," you lie.

"I… I love you!"

Hmm. Interesting. That doesn't feel like it is in character for Zia. In fact, it feels more like the memories of Hilmi you fed the fae in your dreams. He quoted poetry at you too. It's too simple, without the adorable shyness; it is the mode of address of a playboy who's found that many women are weak to unconditional, unprompted declarations of adoration. It helps take you out of it, because it reminds you that while you are attracted to Zia, that is exactly it. You are attracted to quiet, bookish, intense-when-talking-about-history Zia. And this is not Zia.

You cup your hands around his head, kissing him, and you feel the phantasmal growths on his head. And then trace your hands down his back, to his bottom. Another growth.

Ears. A tail. This is not Zia. This is a fox, who has stolen his shape. Zia will be in his room, asleep yet seeing what happens here and now in an uncannily vivid dream, his will and thoughts slowly being drained by the leech of his soul. The one wearing his visage is a servant of Silk-and-Eye.

That makes things easier.

"You love me?" you ask once you come up for air.

"Yes! And I want you!"

"Trust me, darling," you purr, "you've never had anyone like me before. I'll show you things you never expected."

"Oh?" He smiles sweetly at you. "Tell me more."

"Let me put it this way?" You lean in to kiss him on the cheek, and then whisper in his ear, "I'll make you scream. When I'm through with you, you'll be moaning and gasping. You'll be on the floor, feeling like your legs don't work."

You place your finger on his lip to shush him, and then undo the belt of your robe. With a coquettish smile, you let your robe fall.

Then you jab forwards, your fingers aimed for the site of his liver. Foxes place great spiritual importance in their livers. For a tricker fox like this, it is considerably more painful than a mere knee to the crotch.

He sinks down, making a faint noise that would be a scream if he had the breath for it. The green stain of your venom oozes out, staining the cloth. You catch his hand.

Then you break one of his fingers.

You really take no pleasure from it. But Sei, whose chuckles echo in your ears, does.
This whole passage in particular, where the masks are at their most obvious (or absent entirely) and Rena is at her most calculating, was a real treat.

I'm strongly tempted by each of these options, to be honest. Viper suggests fun possibilities moving forward - that Rena has already grown attached to Inaan, enough that she dispenses with her usual methods and becomes seriously violent, even when she doesn't have to. That is juicy, narratively speaking - the notion of cultivating Inaan as an evil apprentice as the story advances has many possibilities... But it also leaves the door open for Silk-and-Eye to escape, and maybe be a recurring villain. I could do without that. Regretfully, I turn to the other two.

So, there's two narrative payoffs here for me. On the one hand, there's the climactic reversal against Silk, as he finds that the mark he thought he had under control has turned things on him suddenly and violently, and on the other hand there's the truths we'd find out about Rena as she bargains her history. And on balance, I honestly feel like the wagering is stronger, narratively - like, fundamentally Silk-and-Eye doesn't matter much. This arc is a pitstop in Rena's journey, a fun diversion on her way to her next big venture, and Silk has very little heat built up for him - we've never met him before this arc, and we're probably never going to see him again, so while the dramatic reversal on him is a good beat for its own sake, Silk can't really hype it up much.

But... But on the other hand, I have a hard time feeling like being so brazen and, well, straightforward as to bargain openly with the Fae is a terribly Rena move, at this juncture. It abandons too much camouflage for uncertain gain, even if mechanically it does play to our strongest skills. In the end, it's a torturous choice, but I think I have to vote,

[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]
 
[X] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]

It was a tough choice between this and Thorns for me, but I'm leaning towards this because while there may be a chance for Silk-and-Eye to escape, they were noted to be the option weaker in combat and this way we won't have to beat them in a trickery contest to kill them, something that's they're going to be good at.

Also Sei has allowed us to use his power freely for this, so I want to see what we can end up doing with that.
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]

Think I'm convinced; being able to suddenly shank S&E while going "It's been a pleasure Gentlemen, but as the fox said to the chickens at the henhouse, this is a coup."
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]
 
[X] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]
 
[X] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]
 
[x] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]
 
[x] Thorns of the Rose: Play along for long enough to get into his heart. And into stabbing range. And go for his soul. [Hidden Talons Methodology] [Disturbed Snake Stance]
 
[X] Coiling Viper, Peacock's Blade: Reject the invitation. Stab the emissary to death. Derail their story into a story of revenge. [Nerve-Crippling Strike][Fleeting Breeze Style]

There is something to be said for cutting down Silk-and-Eye when he is convinced of his triumph, but it would be more humiliating to let him struggle and find that it avails him not. To turn the narrative he wove into a net to catch a foolish faesh in.
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by EarthScorpion on Aug 31, 2022 at 1:44 PM, finished with 51 posts and 44 votes.
 
LXX. Phantasms and Fantasies
LXX. Phantasms and Fantasies

Your shoes echo on the white stone floor that writhes with phantasmal wyldflowers. The fox-maiden who leads you does not make a sound.

The glamorous garment clings to you. It is the kind of clothing that an artist might draw without regard for how it would hang on a real woman when made of real cloth. But the fae made it for you and so it is a dream of fashion made manifest.

Down the stairs you go, through a doorway that had not been here earlier today. For a moment, you manage to glimpse through the lies that wrap the landscape. The stone here has melted and softened as chaos licks at its strength like a child with a sweet treat, but you can see the remnants of good craftsmanship. Time-twisted words on the wall in archaic High Realm tell you that you are headed down to the atrium. This fae bathhouse is built atop the broken stump of some grand building of antiquity, just as birds might sip from the water that pools in the hollow of a broken, rotten tree trunk.

And then the glamour thickens like walking through cobwebs, and it snarls you up so tightly that you cannot see the truth that lies beneath any more.
 
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