World Tree MUSH

    So hah hah hahhhh how about a trip to the castle?
    After visiting the site of the fallen star that seems to be the last lead the party currently has. So everyone piles into the Morrigan Mobile and the Warlock drives through the country to the capital city of Veldora... Creatively named Veldora.
    With the invitation to the castle in hand everyone has day to prepare to pick out some nice clothes and or ready themselves for cavorting with nobility and the like before meeting Morrigan at the castle gates. The invitation is displayed... And... The party is in.
    The castle is a surprisingly grand one for a country that up until recently was poor no name state in the middle of nowhere, and the nobles are out in force.
    "Let's try to stay together, guys?" Morrigan says as she adjusts her fancy new robes. They're black, trimmed in gold, and she looks so out of place even with a nice new outfit.

When last Neviah went to Veldora, she touched a space poop and got a visit from what was probably not Hermaeus Mora. It was not her favourite thing in the world.

Dressing formally isn't outside her paradigm; she's a Cambridge professor who travels. When she does arrive, she does so in a chic men's suit straight out of the late Victorian era, complete with a calf-length overcoat and an impressively tall stovepipe hat, which she's kind enough to remove on her way in. She adjusts the gold-rimmed glasses she brought with her before nodding to Morrigan gently.

"Yes... we should try not to cause a scene this time," she advises. "Things were... a challenge, when we were attempting to sneak."

Magilou is apparently here this time. Neviah can't even imagine Magilou sneaking.

    Of course, Shuzenji-no-Matsu has little trouble getting ready for such an event. Her attendants came quite prepared for such things, thank you very much. Admittedly, her outfit for the event is similar to her usual clothes, just perhaps slightly fancier. She'd come in full twelve-layer kimono if she had no expectation of potential trouble, but... well, they are where they are.

    "Agreed," the tiny priestess replies, keeping her eyes straight ahead, bearing dignified.

    Everyone has had a day to pick out some nice clothing, so naturally Magilou has shown back up in the same incredibly brilliant, tacky, and also somewhat dirty hoodie and skirt combo the homeless witch has been rocking for the entire investigation. 

    She also had been there for the sneaky attempt! She just had evidently been sneaky enough for Neviah not to notice. Mostly because she largely didn't actually help.

    "There's going to at least be refreshments at this party, right?" She'll ask Morrigan as she rocks up zero effort to dress appropriately later after that day.

    Dante is wearing nice new shoes. They're glossy black leather! That's really all he bothers to class himself up with. The weapons are stuffed in a guitar case, and when asked by a guard, Dante smiles and says "I'm a bard." in response.

    "I told you if we used disguises it'd be cool." He says in a whisper.

    Infiltration... of a sort. Not something the scientist really does. Her Dolls are built for hazardous atmospheres and rough terrain, not hazardous social environments.

    Still, she deploys the least offensive looking doll model she has. It's about 5' tall, and pretty rounded in body-shape. No sharp angles, no obvious weapon emplacements or, even any visible optics.

    She gets a funny look from the guards; but sapience is confirmed and she has an invitation so they allow the 'Golem Person' through with a few grumbles about it being unorthodox.

    "Getting in was the easy part. Finding out the informantion we require will be leagues more difficult." comes her half-elf's voice from somewhere on the Doll frame.

    Morrigan looks at her party. Neviah is dressed to the nines. This is good. Matsu is peak prepared. This is good. Dante is... A bard. Morrigan makes a face. And Magilou...
    "I'm going to kill you, Magilou, I swear..." The Warlock says as she buries her face in her palm. And then there's Justina, in a pleasant looking non-threatening seeming doll. Even Mary Contrary is dressed up in a little frilly black dress, where she perches on Morrigan's shoulder. This is good at least as the team is led inside by a bewildered looking guard into what seems to be a small but bustling royal party. They had to come today of all days, huh.
    "Ah crap, it's actually a shindig." Morrigan says. "Okay no one panic. Justina, doubly don't panic, I'm sure we can get through this without having to hobnob... Too much... Hopefully."
    Regardless, the group is getting eyed by nobles from all over the country and other countries and other worlds.
    "... Hopefully."
    "Okay guys. Try to survive as long as you can while finding out what you can.

    The elder of Matsu's two attendants gives Morrigan a playful smile. "We shall endeavor not to survive, but to thrive, Lady Morrigan." And then they are off among the wolves, so to speak.

    While Matsu is more a case of 'learning to pass through a social event without any mistakes', her two attendants are positively at home in such an event, and if she can leave most things to them, all the better. She'll keep an eye on the others in case any of them make any major slip-ups and need a social 'rescue', but for the most part, it's her two attendants' time to shine, social butterflies seeking for any info of particular interest to the investigation.

Neviah almost forgot Magilou was there because Magilou is way too sneaky for Neviah.

She tilts her head and flashes said colourful Magilou a mellow smile. "I do not know what they serve here. But I would expect something basic...."

Oh. Oh, it's a party. Neviah blinks and adjusts her glasses, eyebrows coming up.

Instantly she folds her hands at waist level, her hat set aside for the moment - presumably to the doorman. A couple decades of ingrained decorum quickly take over, and she bows shallowly when a couple of nobles do look her way, maneuvering to offer up polite greetings where they're offered. For all that she's dressed as a man, Neviah's mannerisms are otherwise performatively demure, subdued and femme, the professor slipping into a role she's deeply unfond of: Victorian female.

    Don't panic, she says. The socially inept half-elf scientist-soul inhabiting a robot body somehow manages to follow this advice... somehow.

    If one could see her face, or the Doll was equipped for it, anyone would be able to see her staring at the crowd like a deer in a particularly bright and fast approaching set of headlights. To those who know her that's still obvious in the slightly stiffer than normal motions and the lack of saying anything.

    The Doll moves to park itself out of the way, some slightly less inhabited corner so she can run her sensors and focus on audio input... room-wide eavesdropping through directional microphones.

>> SUMMARY[Justina Thyme] >> Justina's internal dialogue: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

    Magilou will tilt her head at that declaration, putting a finger to her temple. "Kill? Me? Whyever for? I'm the only one who thought to dress appropriately for this investigation, aren't I?"

    She is, of course, completely ready to take part in a royal party, and definitely doesn't panic about having to hobnob.

    No, she's going to whirl her hands, conjuring a number of doves and glitter that will rain down onto the royal party, at least stepping away from the others before doing that. "Ladies and gentlemen of the court! Proudly presenting proper japes and jests, jokes and jolly good times, Miss Magilou's Menagerie is putting on a one time show, a gift from the Royal Kingdom of Lun to the fine royal ruler of this kingdom!"

Dante gives Morrigan a huge beaming smile and wink as they're admitted without a bit of problem. "I can be subtle. See?" He says smugly as he's continued through. The party is pretty fancy schancy, like these nobles don't have a worry in the world considering what's giving them their good fortune. Like any hard living man who hunts demons as a vocation, Dante goes for the bar. "Whiskey on the rocks, with a shot of gin." He orders.

    Okay. Okay the party can do this. It's just a gathering of nobles what could go wrong?
    Neviah is a natural. Matsu's attendants are golden. Justina hides, Dante goes for the bar and... Morrigan stares at Magilou for a moment like a doe caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck.
    Morrigan QUICKLY distances herself from Magilou before she dies of 'being associated with her'.
    Dante gets his drink, and Matsu's attendants thrive among the flock of nobles with their social-fu. But... It's Magilou's display that seems to divert the most attention, actually earning some oohs and aahs.
    It's while Magilou is distracting everyone that a young noble-dressed lady in her late teens furtively approaches Justina's doll curiously...

    "Sure is a lotta high and mighty types around here, huh?" Dante asks the bartender, scanning the crowd in those cool blue eyes of his. "Must be partying nonstop with all the good luck this place has had."

Neviah is a natural solely because she had to learn the skills to be taken seriously. In her heart, she's dying inside as she fences her way through various interactions with men of noble station, pretending to be charmed by their honeyed words.

    /I hate this. I hate it. I hate being this submissive./

"I have to say, it's remarkable, the progress the kingdom has made lately," she remarks in her most vainly curious voice to this or that pompous local nobleman. "Isn't it, though?"

    It's not hard for Matsu's attendants to get the nobles talking. They thrive indeed, several delegates from another country animatedly talking about how quickly Veldora has risen to prosperity. Also that the queen is not currently present for this affair but that her daughter and son are around somewhere-- a daughter who is described as a perfect jewel and a son who is a rambunctious young thing.
    The description matches the girl subtly trying to make her way to Justina.

    Justina has a clear view of most of the room. So she sees the teenager coming her way. It's the fact that this person is distinctly coming for her that cracks the shell on her defenses. That 'Deer-in-headlights' feel becomes even more pronounced as the eyeless head locks directly onto the noble girl.

    There's a palpable sense of dread surrounding the Doll now. If it could be quaking in fear it'd sound like someone shaking a giant container of metal scraps. As it is the onboard assistant system keeps the rig stable though Justina herself feels like collapsing in a heap... or bugging out and leaving the Doll as a particularly anachronistic statue.

>> SUMMARY[Justina Thyme] >> *Internal Screaming Intensifies*

    The two attendants are happy to keep gathering information - but as Matsu's crimson eyes dart about the room, she spots someone who sounds a lot like a description they just heard. "...Mei. Sakura." The two attendants turn, a touch surprised to hear her speaking up. But then they follow her line of sight, just about the moment she adds, "As foreign dignitaries, it is only polite that we greet the princess." The elder smiles softly, and replies, "Of course, Lady Shuzenji." Polite farewells are spoken, and the trio swiftly move to Justina's rescue, aiming to reach the Doll at about the same moment the approaching princess does.

>> SUMMARY[Matsu Shuzenji] >> I'll save you meguca

    Magilou, who has been an entertainer since she was a tiny child who was kept in a cage for a freak show, definitely has no real problems with this audience. She think she's working just as a distraction and that's why noone wants to be around her, though. "You see, we mean to honor your wisdom, the exact measure of which is known in every port and castle from where the sun rises to where the moon sets!"

    She flips backwards, balancing on her hands as she continues. "Your majestic magics makes for a naughty neighbor, however! So hopefully my show shall sooth any smiting desires you have, mighty Queen." And she'll finish flipping back to her feet, doves flying out again from her sleeves, transforming into balls and dropping into her hands so she can juggle.

    Poor Neviah... She may hate being from her own era, but the nobles are just loving her.
    "Why yes, to think Veldora was just a ramshackle little piece of nowhere until recently, it really is quite refreshing. The Fallen Star really has blessed this nation. ... Have you experienced it for yourself yet? The glory of the star?"
    They have no clue, really.
    It's while Magilou holds more of the crowd's attention that the girl stops right in front of Justina.
    "I know you're from offworld, I know you've come with friends I... I need your he--"
    Just as Matsu and her attendants arrive to rescue Justina. This seems to put the girl on guard for a beat before she realizes the phoenix girl and her attendants are not normal partygoers either.
    "... Can I trust you?"

    The bar man pours Dante his drink of choice. Though he is an upper class style bartender he... Is still a bartender.
    "This is the castle. All the elite come here." He points out. "But there has been an increase in the... Amount of festivities since the whole country became so prosperous almost overnight."

    "I'll bet. No end to the wine and song, eh?" Dante says, knocking back his beverage. Once he gulps it down, Dante nudges his glass forward. "Another. You notice anything off about it, 'sides the nonstop parting?"

Neviah dies ever more inside.

"Why no," Neviah lies when asked about the glory of the star, a corner of her mind recoiling from even the memory of the gaze of blasphemy that ripped open her mind and saw entirely too much. She's felt malice before, but not something that /alien./ "But I have heard it's remarkable! What was it like?" she asks the noble, batting her lashes and tilting her head with just the right amount of bright-eyed curiosity to make a nobleman think he may have a chance with her if he tells her everything.

Neviah absolutely hates this. She will never live it down.

    As the princess speaks, it takes a moment, and Matsu's arrival to get anything out of the Doll. It's a shakey tone, not the normally assured one Matsu might be used to... more like a child out of their depth than a scientist. "Y-you can trust us. W-we're here to help." she's clearly rattled, but having more socially adept people nearby seems to give her some stability, at least for now.

    The two attendants at Matsu's side look vaguely surprised; it's not the kind of introduction they'd expect in a setting like this. Fortunately, Matsu is a little more on-the-ball... and she can hear something in the girl's words besides. Before either Mei or Sakura can speak up, Matsu holds up a hand to silence them, opting instead to let Justina do the speaking. Sometimes just being able to get a few words out can give you the confidence to keep going. She'd know.

    The little Phoenix Maiden does, however, punctuate it with a nod, and then adds in a soft voice, "And untainted."

    Magilou, who has never been one to learn the meaning of the word restraint, will toss all four of her juggling balls into the air at the same time, snapping her fingers. They'll burst into flames in midair, landing at such a time that she's able to continue juggling them, her hands seeming unbothered by this.

    "Worry not! If I accidentally drop one, all there is that will burn down is this castle, with you and everyone you love trapped inside! Truly, it's no laughing matter, but I haven't done that recently!"

    As she says this, one of the flaming balls will get loose, going straight for one of the ladies in the fanciest, most flamable dress...

    ...And 90% of the way there, it will go off of being on fire and turn back into a dove, landing on the lady, then soiling her hat.

    "Nope. No end to it." The barman replies to the son of Sparda. But then he glances left. Then right. "Sometimes, at night, the Queen heads into the castle basement. No one's been down there in ages, but now she's taking people down there on the regular."
    It is NOW that Morrigan swings over the RESCUE NEVIAH, hooking her arm into the professor's elbow as the man begins to expound on how marvelous and incredible the powers the star grants can be.
    "Neviah darling, come come, we have an audience with the ~princess~." And drags her on over to the rest of the party.
    The princess, a young lady in her late teens, with dark hair and vivid green eyes, frowns.
    "My mother is not the woman she used to be." The princess says, hushed, glancing from face to face while the crowd is distracted by Magilou's antics.
    That lady is NOT pleased however, throwing her hat down in a fit of pique.
    "The star is... It's doing something, slowly but surely to its worshippers in this nation, and I fear my mother to be chief affected among them, replaced with something more foul and sinister... Please, I do not like asking for help like this but I'm afraid for her and for the people of Veldora. ... I pray you return to the palace at night in a week from now... She mentioned something of a ritual beneath the palace, and I fear it must be stopped."

    "They ever come out?" Dante asks, that gets his attention alright, as he chugs his drink again. "The guests I mean. The queen not coming out would be stupid." He clarifies hastily before he hears DISCUSSION going on. "Thanks for the drinks, pal." He tosses a wink before he deftly moves through the crowd.

    "Somethin' about a basement. Might be spooky." He says to Morrigan and Neviah. "Who's our new friend?" His eyes judge the princess, making sure she's cool before he discusses further.

    The princesses's coolness is confirmed as she talks, and Dante nods. "Why a week and not just do it right now? The ritual on a strict timeframe?"

    Magilou, sensing that the time has maybe come for her to go, will swap away from the magic she's done so far, entirely illusions and practical tricks. No, now she's going to reach down, now that she has everyone's attention and has tricked them into thinking she's just a trickster with no real magic, arcane circles alighting under her feet.

    "Oh, dear, oh dear. Dropped them all." The illusions of firey balls land on the ground around her, starting to spread out. "Guess I should do something about that, huh?"

    Energy flows from the circles to her hands, Magilou murmuring an incantation under her breath, and then... A blast of a wall of water, in all directions. Very REAL water, soaking everyone around her in all directions, though not with the usual damaging force of the spell. "Thank you for your kind attention!" She'll call out, hopefully while everyone's still too shocked at the soaking, taking a bow and then sprinting for the exit.

The look Neviah shoots Morrigan is one of profound gratitude.

She's ushered over with little difficulty or resistance, letting her smile grow to something a little more relaxed and professional. Talking to women feels easier. She doesn't have to mind her Ps and Qs or lapse into performative femininity when the other person is also a woman with a certain authority.

She's also a woman with a certain... problem. Neviah presses her lips together as the princess explains.

"...There is something odd about it, isn't there," she says in a much softer voice. "I touched a fragment of the star, once. What I experienced was... fairly disturbing, truthfully." She glances at Morrigan, shoulders rising a little, then falling as she breathes out.

She seems about to say something else until a spray of water hits her in the back and wrenches a shocked gasp from her. Her coat, fortunately, is fairly heavy, so it's mostly her hair that gets soaked. She holds her hands out at her sides, staring down at her dripping frame.

"MAGILOU, I SWEAR TO GOD," she shouts.

    Talk of rituals, and the earnestness of the princess seem to override some of that social awkwardness. The scientist does answer Dante though. "Rituals often require specific conditions to be met. Full moon or specific alignment of planetary bodies. Magical power flows can wax and wane. Too little and there's not enough power, too much and the spellwork can overload and explode at best, cause untold backlash at worst." the doll seems a bit more animated... and then gets hit by the waterspray. It doesn't seem to affect the robotic body; it's likely one meant for work in aquatic or semi-aquatic environments from the very rounded nature. "Rituals also often have a 'window' where they can be safely dispelled before completion. Doing so before this window can lead to aforementioned backlash events." she adds, before looking at the princess.

    "...you chose the right people to speak to," Matsu replies, her face hardening just a little. "We're very well-equipped for stopping rituals as a group." It's as she's turning away that a wall of water absolutely drenches her, and her attendants besides. Even the elder looks a tad offended... but it's Matsu that shows it most.

    She wears the look of a cat that has just been absolutely drenched, and has nothing but simmering feline fury left inside.

    The princess is cool. Totally cool. And the basement? Totally spooky. The girl bites her lip as she nods to Justina. "Next week would be the time to disrupt her... I will let you into the palace when you arrive, just... Please do not hurt her."
    And then. Magilou.
    God dammit, Magilou.
    The princess flinches, but is spared a drenching by the fact that she's in the middle of the party, who eats most of the water for her.
    "I'm going to Plane Shift that brat somewhere very unpleasant." A dripping Morrigan says with a exasperated sigh.

    Dante nods curtly. "Right." Break the ritual, don't hurt the queen. Gotcha. "Mom mentioned that kinda stuff, but I never really paid attention. Probably something I shouldn't have done at the time..." He mutters as Justina clarifies, and suddenly-

    Dante is splashed, soaked to the bone. The normally dashing Son of Sparda looks like a wet cat as he remains in place, dripping wet as his hair is in a mess, his coat is soaked through, and his boots squeak with every motion. "Great. That's another coat I gotta get replaced."