Nerd Dice: Chapter 1: Rhapsody in Blue

Our group, a motley of Changelings, were sitting together at Stuart's coffee house when a raven flew in through the door and landed on the table. Beebee, the ubiquitous childing Boggan, sat near them, soaking up the conversation. The raven delivered a message from Count Loren, reporting a bounty on the one who had committed the Rhapsody of Jillian McGee. Any interested party was to assemble at the bridge in Whatcom Falls Park at sunset.

The group go to the park early and wait for nightfall. They notice other kithain beginning to mill around inconspicuously as it grows dark. When the Count arrives with his entourage, they follow him into a cave beneath the falls. There the Count announces the crime of Rhapsody and declares a large ransom for the Changeling who can bring in the criminal. He lists the names of some of Jillian's friends and provides a riddle written by his court seer that is a result of the seer's attempts at soothsaying.

Most of the assembled kithain seem not quite up to such a difficult task, but there are three groups that seem like they could provide some competition in the manhunt. A pair of wily-looking Eshu look like the know what they're doing, and a couple of hardy Sidhe knights have arrived from Seattle. A pack of extremely surly-looking Redcaps seem like they could accomplish anything just with orneriness.

After the assembly is dismissed by the Count, the Motley wanders out into the park. Baron Vortex is addressed by a small chimera that resembles a beat-up teddy bear. It is the mouthpiece for a sluagh girl so shy that she won't even whisper. However, it's not very smart and has a difficult time relaying many of her messages. It does manage to tell them that the sluagh has something important to tell them. The Baron is to meet her at the edge of the Ash Tarn the next day.

In the meantime, the Motley decide to go check Jillian McGee's house for clues. Glayven, Abdul, and Glorin visit Jillian's neighbor, Mrs Merickle. They pretend to be friends of Jillian's, and that they are looking for Jillian. They ask a few questions about the night of the Rhapsody, but Mrs Merrickle doesn't know much. She only heard a strange noise and found that Jillian collapsed, of what she assumes was a nervous breakdown.

The trio keep Mrs Merrickle distracted while the Baron, Seealla, and young Timor break into Jillian's empty house. They don't find many obvious clues lying around, so the Baron casts Willow Whisper on a snow globe sitting on a high shelf in her bedroom. The snow globe witnessed the events of the Rhapsody, and reports that a tall dark lady came into the room, where Jillian wrote down some music and then picked up her viola and fell to the floor, breaking the instrument. The lady took the music and the viola after Mrs Merrickle came by to see what had happened, when she was calling the paramedics. They also find a diary which mentioned that Jillian was meeting with "S."

As the two sluagh and the troll leave Jillian's house, they spot two Eshu across the stree that have obviously been staking out the house. As they are spotted, the Eshu curse and leave.

The Motley next visit The Crossed Horns Pub. They walk in to find the usual crowd of regulars. They go up to the bar to talk to the owner, Cleo, a well known and well liked satyr. She was also in Jillian's circle of friends. She doesn't have much new information, but as they talk to her, Sealla notices a sidhe sitting in the corner, listening to their conversation a little too carefully. Gorin goes over and talks to the sidhe, Lorcán Baine, to foil his attempts at listening in.

After their visit to the pub, the Motley decide to call it a day, and each go home until the next day. The Baron, Seealla, and Timor go to the Ash Tarn to speak with Dark Dahlia, the sluagh whose demented teddy bear chimera spoke with them yesterday. Her message to them is to "Ring the Bell," which stretches the limit of Teddie's communication abilities. In return, the Baron gives Dahlia a jar of eyeballs and sews a button on Teddie so that he has a new (third) eye.

Baron Vortex finds Beebee, to whom he promised a report of the meeting at Whatcom Falls. He also asks Beebee if she's seen anyone who looks like the Baroness. The childling mentions she's seen a lady who looks like Lady Eleonor walking into a shop downtown.

Seealla and Gorin both examine the Riddle of Ouranos, the clue given by the Count's seer. Seealla looks at the riddle and determines it definitely has something to do with the Trod at Orcas Island, during the next full moon. When Gorin has a look, the most he can add to the solution is the conclusion that it concerns a route back to Arcadia. Beyond confirming these two pieces of the puzzle, they can determine no more.

When they determine the connection to Orcas Island, Abdul uses his local contacts to find out more about the Merrow. Abdul learns of these reclusive seagoing kith that they are currently involved in a war with some of the aquatic-based families of Nunnehi from Lummi Island. Their preoccupation with undersea battles in Puget Sound prevented them from guarding the Trod for one full moon, and left it open for exploitation by some other agency.

After that, the Baron leaves to meet with a more secret contact, and the rest of the Motley head toward the Baroness' freehold, The Chateau Chinoise, to speak with Johann the Boggan and Lady Eleonor herself. Both were close friends of Jillian. Johann speaks with them briefly, without much useful to tell them, and then leads them into a room to speak with the Baroness. They question her almost perfunctorily, trying to find out what they can of both her, and her double, but at this point are growing frustrated with the pointless lines of questioning. They thank Lady Eleonor and prepare to continue with their investigation elsewhere.