Because Because Because Because Because...!!! (Mint & Winnow)

"Nice to meet you. My name is Mintabilia. You may call me Mint if you like. I would apologize for intruding, but I do have a key. Nice place you have here. Do you share it with anyone else?"

Mint's posture is relaxed and friendly. She is prepared to grab for Persephone if she feels the need, but she will not telegraph that in the slightest.

"Mint," says Persephone. "A pretty name."

"Everything you should leave alone," she continues, "is pretty much protected. But you're welcome to some shelter for a time. The winds and weather can be uncomfortable." She makes an ear twitch as if to emphasize this, the way a human might nod. "Oh, and don't take anything. Well, some of the food spells would be fine."

Now she hops across to the top of another chair, and is now a little closer to Mint. She sits upright. "I trust you will introduce me to your friends?"

"Why thank you." Mint replies at the compliment to her name.

"I shall most definitely introduce you to friends, good Persephone."

Mint makes her way first to the small room and runs a bit of water to rinse the lemonade off her hands. She also dampens a small bit off cloth and uses that to clean the bolt, crossbow, and sword that had contacted lemonade as well.

I'll need to give the sword a thorough oiling tonight. Rust ruins.

Once these tasks are finished, Mint will go upstairs as long as Persephone follows.

Mint will lead Persephone to Winnow, Punch, and Judy in whichever order she finds them. She will gather them all together for the introduction.

"Persephone is a resident here, as well as the embodiment of grace on four clay paws. Meet Winnow a warrior of some note, slayer of the Frumious Bandersnatch and the Sparrow of Unusual Size. Punch and Judy are steadfast mounts and good colleagues. Persephone has offered us shelter."

While the others talk, Mint will extract her Trump deck. She attempts first of all to contact Julian yet again. She reasons that conditions may differ here enough to make him reachable. If that proves fruitless she will next choose Karlsen's Trump. Given what I have to show him, he will forgive me if I wake him from slumber. In fact he might not forgive me if I did not make the attempt.

(Occ-David when would this occur in Karlsen's time line? At the same time as the meeting? Do I respond to it here? Or there? Or somewhere else? Sorry for the newbie questions. )

"Karlsen? Is that ...? This contact feels ... I have a ... of mysteries here ... the sort that ... like. I have ... lighthouse where the ... come from fish ... have a heavily ... doll house that ... way too familiar .. have golem animals ... of clay. I ... food that comes ... balls. Karlsen grab ... of your best ... and see if ... can come to ... now."

Winnow will join Mint, looking at the cat-thing with interest.

He will bow to it upon introduction. Courtesy costs nothing.

"Forgive my rough question, but are you a made thing, Persephone? And if so, who is your maker? Where did the maker go?"

Persephone tilts her head. "We are all made things, good sir Winnow. But am I an artificial creation? Yes. The enchanter who made me is a wise and good man, who uses this place as a retreat and place of relaxation. He comes by every few weeks or months or years. The lighthouse itself he has altered, so it need no human or sentient attendant. But I only wake when such step foot upon the island."

Casuistry. From a golem. How quaint. And named for a queen of the dead, in some myth.

"A Key was provided to lead us here. We only sought this place because we sought what the Key fit. Do you know why we would be led here? Is the lighthouse itself imbued with sufficient purpose to take such action? Or has there been another recent visitor that took a Key - that Key?"

He points at the Key Mint has.

"That is very like the key the Enchanter carries, but with a pretty black stone attached. As for visitors, the Enchanter brought someone here a few times. A pretty lady, but I think one who was also sad. She has hair the color of fine brass." Persephone steps a little closer to Winnow. "Your eyes are both the same color. Is that normal where you come from?"

"Yes. Where I come from most people's eyes are the same color, though not necessarily the same as each others'."

Do Presephone's eyes have color?

"Mint, is it possible this is another of your father's places, or that of a shadow of him? And could it be your mother Persephone is speaking of?"

"Persephone, does Mint here resemble either the Enchanter or the Lady?'

[OOC - Persepone is clay-colored)

"She has the same color hair as the lady. But the enchanter has dark hair."

Without looking up from her Trump contact, Mint says, "Possible? Yes, but not likely. As to mother I know not."

Through the Trump, Karlsen will hear, "Possible? Yes, but ... likely. As to ... I know not."

Mint's brow furrows with concentration. She steps a bit outside of and away from the lighthouse trying to improve the contact.

Karlsen responds, "In Amber... response....barely sense .....How far....just a...got help here."

"I'm in no ... Not far from ... Do you have ... transport if I ... you a link?"

With her other hand Mint pulls an envelope from her pack and scoops some flowers into it.

"Concentrate."

With an effort of will (Psyche 10 or better) Mint forces the contact to stabilize for the half second needed to pass the envelope to Karlsen.

"Not safe to ... you through this ..."

Aiden wrote:"Yeah. sure thing." Aiden reaches into his pants pocket and pulls out a small set of Trumps. Fanning quickly through it, he comes across Mint's, removes it from the deck, and begins to focus intently on her features. "Mint. Can you hear us?"

"Aiden... that... helps."

With an effort of will, Mint forces each word to breach the divide. This slows the conversation a bit, but allows for greater clarity.

"No... immediate... danger. With... Winnow. Lighthouse... many... artefacts. Karlsen... helpful. Have... alternate... transport? Don't... trust... connection."

Mint will also make sure that Karlsen has the envelope. She will repeat the transfer if needed.

To Persephone: "You are not able to distinguish the fine resemblances of us humanoids? Or do you mean Mint resembles neither of them except the hair color?"

A thought.

Winnow extends and displays his armor, bringing up the blue-and-white chequer. He concentrates and eventually makes a crude facsimile of Persephone, what appears to sit in his right hand, also covered with the same pattern, of course. "Does this artifact I bear resemble the things the Enchanter makes? To wit, do you think the Enchanter made this armor? And do the Enchanter and the Lady have names they use for themselves or each other?"

To Mint, when she is finished with the Trump contacts (assuming Persephone has not contradicted this speculation already): "Could this Enchanter be Prince Julian? He does craft artifacts, though his methods are less of the tinkerer's workshop and more of the forge and the infusion in shadow of the things' powers."

Mint allows the connection with Karlsen to lapse. Unless Aiden pushes to keep it open the Trump link to him fades as well.

"Damn and blast. We have gotten somewhere odd indeed for Trumps to work so poorly."

Returning her attention to Winnow and Persephone.

"If pictures will help tis easy enough to provide."

Mint will produce Trumps of Julian and Fiona, followed by sketches in coloured pencil of those Crimson Unicorn linked individuals who meet the criteria of dark haired male or red haired female. Do any produce a spark of recognition in Persephone?

To Punch and Judy, Mint asks, "Where would you like to take shelter?"

Persephone tells Winnow "I'm quite capable of distinguishing between human features, thank you. The lady seemed just a little surprised I could see in color, to be honest, so perhaps other creatures with my shape do not? I would say both the Enchanter and the Lady are slender like Mint rather than hefty like you, good Winnow. Both were pale, the Enchanter more-so. Neither one of you resembles them very much, but then I haven't seen that many humans so it is difficult to say. Certainly the Lady had gentle features, even delicate ones. But her mouth was smaller, her lips thicker than Mint's own. Her neck was longer, her hair brighter. And of course her eyes are different colors completely, as are those of the Enchanter. He has dark hair a little shorter than Mint's, and more pointed features, including thin lips and a more prominent nose."

"They never called each other by name, but certainly seemed to know each other very well. I remember how he insisted she sleep in the bed while he made a great pile of blankets for himself whenever she visited. Oh!" Persephone blinks. "She had a key as well! Like yours! Only instead of a pretty black stone hers had a piece of dark gold, only it wasn't gold because you could see through it a little bit. An insect seemed frozen inside. I just remembered!" She flicks her tail and lifts her ears, then blinks. It is almost as if she is grinning.

Persephone seems fascinated by the cards and examines them for a long, long time. "I've never seen so many human faces before! And all with same-colored eyes!" With her paw she points to the Trumps of Flora and Fiona. "These look a little bit like the Lady. A little bit." She sits in front of the one for Julian. "He looks lonely to me." She actually circles the one of Dworkin. "I don't know why he looks familiar but he does." That of Corwin gets her attention as well. After several moments, she says "This one might like it here for a time. I would like to meet him."

She stares at the Trump of Random from the top. "Him too. He looks like good company." She walks right past Dierdre with barely a glance. "Don't like her."

The sketch of a the young woman with red hair from the Kier's unusual Trumps gets a stronger reaction. "That is the lady." But she doesn't recognize anyone else.

Punch and Judy have found what looks like a small barn, behind the entrance to the tunnel. It seems well-made and designed.

If Persephone is willing, Mint will make a quick sketch of the enchanter based on her description and then correct the sketch based on input from Persphone.

"I will pass along your interest should I see Corwin or..." His Royal Majesty, King "...Random" the first of Amber.

"So everything leads back to this alternate family, or branch of the Family, possibly Fernand and Josette, or one of them...just different sources of what we already know."

"Persephone, does a crimson unicorn mean anything to you? Or what about this unicorn?" He shows the clay cat the back of his Trumps.

"Oh, and here are a few more people to look at." He spreads his out for her perusement. He remains ready for anything untoward with the golem, such as activating one of them or scampering off with one.

"The Enchanter and his guest sometimes mentioned a unicorn. As in Thank the Unicorn for this place or once Unicorn take the lot of them. I tried not to listen in but one does overhear things."

[OOC - what pictures in Winnow showing her?]

[All of his Trumps]

Does Persephone cooperate with Mint's sketch of the Enchanter?

"So sharp features? Like so? Not quite so sharp? Dark hair? More this shade, or that one?"