CLOSET LAAAAAAAAND! ( We Have Our Quarry)3/4-3/10

    The trail leads you further into the building. More and more signs of activity are visible as you go on; markings on the walls, scuffed tiles from footprints, and the like. You start to hear sounds of running machinery through the walls, mostly in the form of steam valves opening and closing.
    "No, I haven't found a weak spot either." Helena is still talking to her son. "It doesn't feel like any gauntlet or veil I've ever seen... well, I mean we can try that - wait." She stops in the middle of a hallway, next to a side door. This door does not lead to Cassidy's quarry, but upon closer inspection he finds an engraving of a cracked mirror on the doorknob. "I think I've got something... well, Solomon's trying to create a temporary Demesne... you think? Well, as long as you walk me through it... okay. Okay, I'll call you back." She turns to the party. "I'm going to find Solomon. We think he can help us get a portal open so everyone can evacuate." Hand on the doorknob, she pauses a moment just in case anyone has anything for her.

"He drew broken mirrors on all his territories and clear paths to be found safely," Crux remarked, about Solomon.

The splitting up made her a little uneasy. But, she looked to Johannes. And figured it was a fair-ish trade.
"How are you doing? Powers all up, or used? Do you have any heal-y powers in case?" She took a scrap of clothing from her hidden person and cleaned off her unicorn's nose. "Good girl, Sadie. Goood. Good."

Jude fashioned the scarf into a way to carry all of the medical supplies and secured it around her hips.

She glared at the doors in front of them. "Didn't find a lighter, sorry can't help." She said to Johannes.

The life mage looked around the doors and all. "Is this the way we need to go? And how should we get through? I could probably break it down, but if someone has something else to suggest, I would say it."

"Use your cigarette to light your cigarette. Karen says she used to smoke. It is good," she responded, and then looked around.

Keeping her nose down, she sucked her lip as she followed the others on unicornback.

        "Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage." You hear Johann laughing. "No, seriously, I was in a cage. It's, ah... heh.  It's a hell of a party. They're actually arranging transport right now, I think, so don't go anywhere. Your ride should arrive soon."

---

        Last set of the night, last costume change. Halloween, man; the night it is socially acceptable to ogle slutty versions of fictional characters - and oh boy does it rake in the money. Your headliner tonight is Kagome. Dyeing your hair was mildly annoying, but schoolgirl outfits are always a hit.
    The PA crackles to life; you've been announced. You strut onto the stage like you always do. The music rises, the lights center on you, and off you go. Something stands out as different, though you don't notice it at first. It isn't until a few minutes in that you notice a man in the crowd; slight of build, sandy blonde, and somewhat familiar.

He's not leering at you with a lecherous gaze like the rest of them, no. His is a searching look, like he's trying to decide something... and there's something else. He shimmers. Why does he shimmer? It's about the time that you're hanging upside down by your thighs that it comes to you - that's an illusion, not quite Glamour but close. He starts to approach the stage. You right yourself and glance around for the bouncers, but they're all lined up on the aisle like this is part of the routine. You hear a voice in your head: I need to get to your Malkavian exit buddy. You need to come with me. You can trust me. Just go with this. The same voice sounds in the club, "Kagomeee!" Well, you can guess what his illusion looks like to the crowd.
    You don't know why, but you really do trust him. The sense of urgency is rather unsettling, but this guy... you know you can trust this guy to get you there. So you play along. You twirl off the pole onto your feet and yell, "Inuyashaaa!" He leaps onto the stage, you into his arms, and a huge cloud of smoke envelops you - real 'grand finale' material. He drops the illusion, but you can feel the tingling of another spell making your hair stand on end. "This is gonna be really weird," he warns...
    And then you get the sensation that you're flying through a wall of paper, except you're standing still and the paper is the skin of the universe, while simultaneously being sucked through a straw, except it's more like falling and that straw is an infinite void.
        ...well, he said it would be weird.

---

        It is fortunate that the machinery beyond this door is so loud; if it wasn't for that, Cassidy is quite certain the grinding of steel on steel from his Caul activation would resonate through the whole damn building. The door resisted you, of that you're certain - whether the building is being controlled by this Porcelain Lady or has some malign intelligence of its own, you can't be sure. Regardless, the way is open, allowing you to step out onto a catwalk...
    ...above the factory floor.

    You're getting closer to the heart of this dark place. The machines operate continuously, without tending, meticulously crafting twisted mockeries of children's toys. Where does it send them all? ... you probably don't want to know.
    The trail to your quarry leads straight across to a landing on the far side of the factory; you can clearly see signs of struggle all across the catwalk. In one part you have to proceed single file pressed up against the railing because a portion of the walkway has been destroyed. The door on the far end opens into a storage space. Parts, both doll and machine, are stacked in crates around the room. A rickety birdcage elevator occupies one corner, its doors open. In the other corner, an actual birdcage - occupied by Grandfather. He's unconscious, beaten into submission and almost certainly concussed, but his injuries really don't seem that severe. A lot of bruising but very little blood, and his heart rate and pulse are regular.

        Before you can really act you hear a very peculiar noise; it's as if someone is tearing a very long rip into a very large piece of fabric. You can see the tear, in fact. It's on the wall opposite the factory door. A hand reaches through, pulls aside part of the wall, and a man steps through bringing a scantily-costumed Cinnamon with him. He looks quite familiar to everyone - so familiar, in fact, he could be someone's kid...
    He looks around, grins at everyone - still costumed, as you all are - and says, "Some night, eh?" He holds up Cinnamon's hand and looks at Crux. "Found your exit buddy!"

Jude itched with anticipation as she waited for the door to be opened. She hated this so much. She looked around as they filed through, resisting the urge to just run in. That would have been...not smart. No use getting herself killed in the process of getting to Grandfather.

The life mage saw the cages and rushed over. She opened the one with Grandfather, if it was anything like the one Johann was in, and carefully pulled the elder mage out. She examined him carefully, not wanting to make things potentially worse.

Jude flinched at the sound and stared as Cinnamon and a stranger stepped through. She squinted. He looked familiar, then it dawned on her. She gave him a side eye once more before turning back to Grandfather. She healed what she could, and then wrapped the wounds that were more stubborn in gauze and antiseptic.

Jude's anger did not subside. She wanted to find whoever did this and make them suffer. Grandfather was not one to be put down easily, and the fact he had not so serious injuries made Jude feel like he had been here a while and had started healing.


(26 on healing, specialty in emergency care)