Arachne’s Thursday afternoon odd encounter(Amber)
Date: 2025-07-24 14:35
(Arachne’s Thursday afternoon odd encounter(Amber):Amber)
[Thu Jul 24 2025]
At Mayflower and Colonial
It is afternoon, about 83F(28C) degrees, and there are clear skies. The mist is heaviest At Mayflower and Oakwood/span>/spanscrolls through the data on her phone a bit, frowning to herself and nodding, “Alright, so… two key points here. We need to fix the main transformer, which should be just…” she points to the electrical housing on the side of the street, busted open, “There. Anyone good with tech any?” Then she glances sort of westwards, “And then we need a counterspell to get rid of the magical influence that seems to be keeping people complacent. Which I think most of us here can do just fine?”
Lillian gives a mild shake of her head in response to the question about the tech skills, but Amber likely knew that without the reply. “Should be fine with that one, though. Yeah.”
Meridith shakes her head. “I have many talents, most of them martial and wolf related.” She taps her chin. “Contacts. We have some pull in the city?” She peers among the assembled. “Anyone with political clout of contacts, we could get a repair contractor here for the transformer.”
Arachne drifts in toward Amber, lifting slightly to the toes of her heels to gain a better vantage point of the electrical housing across the street, busted open and clearly tampered with. “Is that your area of expertise?” she queries, eyes drifting to Meridith and Lillian aside. “The counterspell I’m sure we can collectively handle with ease. Do you have the particulars on how he formed the spell in the file?”
Amber gives a thumbs-up at that idea, “Okay. Yeah. Good idea.” She suggests to Meridith, “Wolf, right? There’s also three towers that need turned back on. You want to follow the power lines from this and scout it out? Probably faster on four legs, and easier to see the lines without a car?” Then between Arachne and Lillian, “Then I’m sure one of you knows a repair guy? I can put together a computer, but this is beyond me.”
Meridith wells, “I’m actually a god kid who can turn into a wolf,” she offers in terms of explanation. She shifts forward to assess the damage. “I think there’s a borough site where citizens can submit maintenance requests…?” She wonders. She steps light around the area assessing damage.
“I’ll see what I can do about the repairmen,” Arachne promises the trio, stepping aside to begin perusing her contacts to cash in her favors, particularly one to the Concordat, as she’s actively engaged in affairs with them. It’s one matter to place the request, it’s another how quickly her connections, fickle and powerful faeborn they are, will be moved to the Sovereign’s summons.
For the most part, Meridith finds the state of the transformer isn’t actually that bad. It’s mostly just been disconnected, though there is a pair of cut lines on one side.
Meanwhile, Arachne’s call goes through, and they promise a repair team… but not until tomorrow. Excuses, excuses about other prior obligations, but these things can always be fluid.
Lillian lets out a breath. “I’ve not yet established a relationship with any repair experts,” she admits. “So for this, I will step out of the way. If you think it would be helpful to have multiple people do the scouting, I don’t mind going for a walk. Or I can take on anything else. However you need me to help, love.”
Meridith scratches her chin. “This is a lot of electricity and I can still die by it. But it’s looking like a simple fix.” She hummms and fetches her phone for a moment.
Amber nibbles her lip, wincing some as Meridith is brave enough to go for repairs, as if bracing for a shock. One doesn’t come, though. It seems Meridith is skilled enough to reattach the disconnected lines, but also smart enough to realize any attempt at fixing the cut lines without proper tools would result in a zap. Amber lets out a sigh as no harm is done, and the transformer is in better shape than it was, before she nods to Lillian. “I think you’re the only one with a car, so I guess drive around or ask around?”
Meridith grumbles and rubs her face. “This is beyond me, at least to do properly…” she admits with a low growl. She pivots back. “I can keep the site secure regardless of the plan. Don’t seem much use otherwise…”
Arachne returns from making the arrangements with a repair team to officially be scheduled, only to see Meridith struggling with jury-rigging something together. “There’s no point in risking your health,” she offers in consolation, instead recommending, “We can focus our efforts on dismantling and countering Ashford’s spellwork,” she recommends, looking over a shoulder after Lillian. “Did Lillian go to canvas the area?”
Lillian twirls her car keys around a finger and gives Amber a nod. “Of course. I’ll take my time and drive slow around the place. I’ll let you know what I find.”
Amber waves as Lillian drives off, nodding to Arachne. “So it seemed really bitch-basic a spell. Can probably just counterspell it?” she suggests to Arachne, “Which is about the only thing I can help with in this whole mess.” Then to Meridith, “And secure is good. Keep pedestrians from getting too curious about public magic?”
Meridith nods. “I have a little bit of knowledge of magic, if you need me to participate, but I think the two of you have it. I’ll make sure no Hand security gets wise or makes any moves.” She insists. “Where are you setting up?” she wonders
“There’s an empty storefront just around the block. Dozens, since it’s harder to encourage prominent businesses to stay long due to the mists and the dangers of the creatures,” Arachne offers in aside to Amber, her gaze lifting from a listing of properties pulled up on her phone. An eye is kept on Lillian’s car as it pulls away. “Since it’s not a complicated spell weaving powering all this, it shouldn’t be hard to do.”
Amber taps her head before gesturing to Arachne in a sort of lazy salute or confirmation, “Good idea. Let’s all duck in while we wait on your people and Lil.” She bites her hand, getting some blood flowing as she sets off to head inside an empty storefront with the others.
Meanwhile, Lillian doesn’t have much trouble finding the towers. They’re towers. Even if there were any struggle, asking any local would do it.
Lillian comes back soon after because, as said before, finding towers isn’t hard. She parks and pops into that empty storefront to head back over to Amber. “They’re there and there and there,” she says, pointing outside and down the street in a different direction for each.
Meridith shivers again. She rubs the side of her arm and begins to move to scout the location out. She keeps her eyes, ears, and even nose keened to searching for potential trouble
Arachne fires off a text message to Lillian letting her know their coordinates before taking a right and leading Amber and Meridith down an alley way a few blocks down, idly scanning the alley with half-hearted interest for security surveillance before attempting to canvas the back doors leading into an unused commercial space.
Amber trails along after Arachne, waiting until things are clear before slipping inside. It’s an old clothing store, racks remaining but no clothes. “Holy shit, nice one,” Amber offers as she finds a clear spot and squats down to trace a circle in the blood, letting the other arcanists add whatever touch is required for their own traditions.
But Meridith hears a metal clothing rack topple over somewhere further back.
Meridith moves swift. Light steps through the store with a hand resting on her hilt. She moves quietly to spot who might be present.
Arachne closes the door behind Meridith and Amber once they’re inside, allowing the scrappier of the duo to deal with the source of the noise somewhere further along in the store. She stays in place, breath modulated to fainter breaths, hearing straining.
The mist isn’t all that many streets down from here, and it seems it left something lingering in the back. The storage room door is clawed open. Swift and silent, Meridith spots it before it spots her: a golden hound.
Amber seems inclined to trust the god-wolf to handle whatever is back there, and she continues doodling sigils and leaving space for the others.
Meridith snarls at the hound. Her brows furrow, her teeth bare and her blade draws. She dares it to make a move, readying herself to respond with lethal results.
Lillian managed to just make it in time with everyone else, getting comfortable and set up inside alongside the others. She keeps her distance from any sketchy sounds, and instead focuses her energy on assisting the ritual, pouring her concentration on that to distract her from the sounds of snarling.
Amber lets the far more experienced mancer take the lead, and almost immediately the background magic underlaying the atmosphere in the district starts to become unstable and fade.
As for Meridith, mist monsters gonna do their thing. It leaps for her, and there will be a little back and forth, but an experienced warrior like this god-wolf won’t be so easily defeated by a simple mist creature. It’s down before long.
Meridith drives her blade through its heart and twists it. Licking her lips and grinning as it perished. She feels a little dizzy, ambiance of the magic presence fussing in her mind. She rubs her head. “Eugh…stop…” she mumbles, and pulls the blade free, exhaling as she moves back to sentry
There is chanting. There are gestures. There are even visions, as fae-styled magic make it difficult to tell what is real and what is false. For a time, it’s like the ritualists aren’t even in the same room anymore. A certain courier might even be seen out the corner of one’s eye. But when Arachne finishes the chant, the magic is unraveled.
And a moment later, the lights power back on with a loud CLUNK. The repair crew must be making their repairs early. Fae luck, or political leverage? May well be both, but one can be sure they will do their jobs well as they fan out to power the towers back on and make sure they’re stable.
And as the twitching corpse slides off Meridith’s sword, there are no more monsters found in the back room. It seems the problem of the blackout sabotage has been handled.
Meridith exhales in relief, rubbing her face. “Ugh. Much better…” she mumbles.
pockets her phone, then she runs a hand through her tangled hair, “So… lights are on. We did it, team?”
Lillian looks around between the group and at her wider surroundings, nodding slowly to herself as her survey nears its end. “This is looking better. I think we did do it, yes.”
“We did it,” Arachne affirms to the trio.
Meridith humms a little fanfare.
Arachne says “Please congratulate Miss Amber Blake on successfully leading her first mission as a Chamberlain. She did well, getting courtiers together and doing something about Ashford’s wreaking havoc in Highgate.“
Meridith says “Wooo! “
gives a crooked grin and awkward double-thumbs-up, “Hard part is gonna be getting the intel, I think. But I can do this again.” But then she quiets for the anouncement, taking on the slightest bit of living color to her cheeks and a much more obvious bashful expression.
“The hard part is always the intelligence, but you have Lillian, Meridith, myself and other courtiers to assist you with preparation,” Arachne reassures Amber, already beginning to drift down the street. “I’ll see you soon, ladies. Take care getting back.”
Amber says, awkwardly, “Pft. Everyone else did all the hard work. I was just being bossy.“
Meridith says “Bye for now, ma’am.“
Lillian grins at first, then outright laughs and pulls Amber into a hug. “Look at you, so cute when you’re showered with praise. A rising star, indeed.”
flops into the hug, “Yeah, yeah. Drive us home quick so I can go to this raid and let bullets help me forget.”
Lillian laughs. “If you so insist.”