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The Wayward Child Case
May. 2nd, 2025 03:01 pmShe gets the call early. It works out, because she doesn't sleep much, but she still isn't used to her phone tootling out its cheerful melody and she startles from where she's looking at the colorful strands bisecting her living room wall. It's the Second City Case overlapping the Guided Prison Job, with different strands reaching different leads. She comes back to it now and then, adding pins and threads, but right now she's just been trying to find the pattern. It may not exist yet, but that doesn't mean she doesn't try.
Still, the phone.
She steps over to it and lifts it to her ear, thumbing the green button as she goes.
“Gallus,” she greets.
“Ms Gallus,” a voice on the other side says. “I apologize for the early hour, but you told me to call as soon as I could.”
“Not at all. Charlie, isn't it? What can I do for you, Charlie?”
She thinks she knows, but she asks anyway, and she keeps her voice neutral so she doesn't give away her hopefulness or her excitement. It can't be. She can't be that lucky. Darrow can't be that kind.
“You asked me to call if we got any packets for red-headed girls named Sophie,” he reminds, and there's a beat, during which Neve stops herself from pressing And? before Charlie says, “Well, we got one this morning.”
Neve feels her fingers tighten against the phone and she nods, then says, “Thanks, Charlie, I'll be right there.”
She doesn't know what Sophie looks like, not really. Red hair, pigtails, green eyes, small for her age. That's it. But that's a head start, and she knows who to ask for better.
She hangs up with Charlie and then thumbs through her contact list for Shion.
“It's Neve,” she says when he answers. “Meet me at Parliament Street, on the corner of Watling.”
She leaves it at that and grabs her keys and coat, tossing her hair up into its twist on her way out the door. Then she grabs a cab to the train station.
Perhaps it had been unkind to give the street corner instead of simply saying ‘the train station’, but there's a part of her that doesn't want to get his hopes up. Not yet. Not until they're sure.
She stands at the corner and clasps her hands together, trying not to wring them.
Still, the phone.
She steps over to it and lifts it to her ear, thumbing the green button as she goes.
“Gallus,” she greets.
“Ms Gallus,” a voice on the other side says. “I apologize for the early hour, but you told me to call as soon as I could.”
“Not at all. Charlie, isn't it? What can I do for you, Charlie?”
She thinks she knows, but she asks anyway, and she keeps her voice neutral so she doesn't give away her hopefulness or her excitement. It can't be. She can't be that lucky. Darrow can't be that kind.
“You asked me to call if we got any packets for red-headed girls named Sophie,” he reminds, and there's a beat, during which Neve stops herself from pressing And? before Charlie says, “Well, we got one this morning.”
Neve feels her fingers tighten against the phone and she nods, then says, “Thanks, Charlie, I'll be right there.”
She doesn't know what Sophie looks like, not really. Red hair, pigtails, green eyes, small for her age. That's it. But that's a head start, and she knows who to ask for better.
She hangs up with Charlie and then thumbs through her contact list for Shion.
“It's Neve,” she says when he answers. “Meet me at Parliament Street, on the corner of Watling.”
She leaves it at that and grabs her keys and coat, tossing her hair up into its twist on her way out the door. Then she grabs a cab to the train station.
Perhaps it had been unkind to give the street corner instead of simply saying ‘the train station’, but there's a part of her that doesn't want to get his hopes up. Not yet. Not until they're sure.
She stands at the corner and clasps her hands together, trying not to wring them.
(no subject)
Apr. 7th, 2025 11:16 amThe Second City of Darrow spits her back out as unceremoniously as it had accepted her, and Neve doesn't even take the time to wipe the ash off her clothes before she goes to Darrow's Precinct 2. She steps in and the same officer is behind the counter as the last time she'd been, and this time she throws him a bone.
“Neve Gallus for Daniel Sousa,” she says, and remembers not to sit in the uncomfortable chairs lining the wall. The officer looks at her wide-eyed before hesitantly asking, “Are you okay, Miss Gallus?”
“Never better, why?” she asks, canting a wry smile his way. He doesn't seem like he wants to point out the soiling of her clothes and hair.
“A-are you here to report a crime?” he presses. He looks her over again slowly, almost pointedly. Even her metal leg is diminished in shine by the ash settled into its carving.
“I've told you why I'm here,” she points out. He hesitates again, so she sighs softly. “Look, just call him, won't you? He's expecting me.”
Finally, the officer turns to his phone and lifts the receiver to his ear.
“Neve Gallus for Daniel Sousa,” she says, and remembers not to sit in the uncomfortable chairs lining the wall. The officer looks at her wide-eyed before hesitantly asking, “Are you okay, Miss Gallus?”
“Never better, why?” she asks, canting a wry smile his way. He doesn't seem like he wants to point out the soiling of her clothes and hair.
“A-are you here to report a crime?” he presses. He looks her over again slowly, almost pointedly. Even her metal leg is diminished in shine by the ash settled into its carving.
“I've told you why I'm here,” she points out. He hesitates again, so she sighs softly. “Look, just call him, won't you? He's expecting me.”
Finally, the officer turns to his phone and lifts the receiver to his ear.
The Case of the Second City
Apr. 7th, 2025 10:46 amIt’s unlike anything she’s ever seen before. She and Shion had talked about it, putting the pieces together, but to see it, to feel it, is another matter.
It isn’t the Fade, she knows that much. If it were, she would feel it, and she might even understand it. The Fade can show memories of an existing place, but this… This isn’t that, of that Neve is certain. This looks like another Darrow altogether, just like they’d been hearing. But if it’s meant to be a perfect copy, whoever made it got it all wrong. Buildings are crumbling. The ground is warm beneath her foot in some areas, like there’s a fire smouldering beneath the surface. And here and there, creatures skuttle. Her metal foot is dirtied with the remains of crawling bugs she’d stomped. In the distance, she’s seen lumbering, armless creatures who seem to retch and spasm before moving on. She’s kept that distance between them. There’s no reason to be reckless.
It’s been less than an hour since she stepped into the rift that had appeared in front of her. It had felt like tempting fate: She’d told Shion she needs more information, and she still believes that’s true, but… An eluvian that she can’t exactly see, taking her to a place she can’t exactly plan for but needs to investigate all the same.
She’d taken the chance. It might be a way out, or it might lead to one, and she wouldn’t be much of a detective if she didn’t pursue all leads. The Gilded Prison Job continues, and now she realizes she’s stepped into a new case altogether: The Case of the Second City.
Now she needs to find out how deep this goes, and who else is here besides her.
“Well… time to get to work,” she murmurs. Scepter in hand, Neve continues deeper into the crumbling, smouldering second city of Darrow.
It isn’t the Fade, she knows that much. If it were, she would feel it, and she might even understand it. The Fade can show memories of an existing place, but this… This isn’t that, of that Neve is certain. This looks like another Darrow altogether, just like they’d been hearing. But if it’s meant to be a perfect copy, whoever made it got it all wrong. Buildings are crumbling. The ground is warm beneath her foot in some areas, like there’s a fire smouldering beneath the surface. And here and there, creatures skuttle. Her metal foot is dirtied with the remains of crawling bugs she’d stomped. In the distance, she’s seen lumbering, armless creatures who seem to retch and spasm before moving on. She’s kept that distance between them. There’s no reason to be reckless.
It’s been less than an hour since she stepped into the rift that had appeared in front of her. It had felt like tempting fate: She’d told Shion she needs more information, and she still believes that’s true, but… An eluvian that she can’t exactly see, taking her to a place she can’t exactly plan for but needs to investigate all the same.
She’d taken the chance. It might be a way out, or it might lead to one, and she wouldn’t be much of a detective if she didn’t pursue all leads. The Gilded Prison Job continues, and now she realizes she’s stepped into a new case altogether: The Case of the Second City.
Now she needs to find out how deep this goes, and who else is here besides her.
“Well… time to get to work,” she murmurs. Scepter in hand, Neve continues deeper into the crumbling, smouldering second city of Darrow.
(no subject)
Feb. 18th, 2025 10:39 amShe strides into the precinct with a newspaper tucked under one arm and her snake-head parasol draped over that same wrist. The ash hasn't fallen since the day of the festival, but she isn't going to take any chances, if she's honest. She steps up to the front desk and says, "Detective Daniel Sousa please."
She takes in the surroundings as the young man behind the counter picks up a desk phone — something much thicker and clunkier than the one that was in her packet — and speaks into it. She's never been in a place quite like this, but if she's honest, it feels like a Templar's quarters even if it doesn't look like one. None of them are wearing armor, but there are plenty of uniformed officers as well as people dressed in finer, if equally monochrome, suits. Neve stands out even over here in her teal and gold and white ensemble. And like the Templars, they all seem to have jobs to do. It's curious, how something can be so similar to what she knows, and yet so different.
Like Daniel himself, actually. Speaking of...
"Go ahead and take a seat," the man behind the desk says to her. "He'll be out shortly."
"Sure," she says, and she turns to the row of chairs not too far away. She settles into one... and then stands again, opting instead to look around at the framed portraits. She's sat in less comfortable chairs, but barely.
She takes in the surroundings as the young man behind the counter picks up a desk phone — something much thicker and clunkier than the one that was in her packet — and speaks into it. She's never been in a place quite like this, but if she's honest, it feels like a Templar's quarters even if it doesn't look like one. None of them are wearing armor, but there are plenty of uniformed officers as well as people dressed in finer, if equally monochrome, suits. Neve stands out even over here in her teal and gold and white ensemble. And like the Templars, they all seem to have jobs to do. It's curious, how something can be so similar to what she knows, and yet so different.
Like Daniel himself, actually. Speaking of...
"Go ahead and take a seat," the man behind the desk says to her. "He'll be out shortly."
"Sure," she says, and she turns to the row of chairs not too far away. She settles into one... and then stands again, opting instead to look around at the framed portraits. She's sat in less comfortable chairs, but barely.
(no subject)
Dec. 2nd, 2024 11:04 am“Do you feel that, Neve Gallus? The old magic. Our legacy. It returns.”
Aelia’s voice is full of awe and delight as blood rushes from her captives to her staff, vines as red as her hair empowering her ritual with every beat of their hearts.
“You aren’t the future, Aelia!” Neve shouts up at her. “You’re a murderer!”
“I am Minrathous,” Aelia counters, stirring her staff through the air like a witch at a cauldron. “Its dark truth and bright power. The city won’t miss you! Dock Town won’t—”
“No!” Neve barely lifts her hands in time to block the spell Aelia flings at her, at them, Rook standing beside her ready to jump in the moment Neve asks. The pale white-blue of Neve’s ice magic sprinkles purple light around them as Aelia’s blood magic dances against it. Neve struggles with the force of Aelia’s attack, but she needs to hold it off. She needs to.
“Dock Town has you,” Rook says from behind her, voice nearly stern with the conviction in it. “And they see it!”
Rook’s right. Halos, Cida Ciconia, Elek… they all know she’s here for Dock Town. Others, too, the people she’s helped in the past. By themselves, discrete situations are easy enough to take at face value. But link them with a thread, and a bigger picture starts to form: Neve, assuring the people of Dock Town that they aren’t alone, that she’s here for them, with them, and she always will be.
“They just want hope,” Neve says, “a chance!”
“When this is over, I will bring it to them!”
From Aelia, it sounds more like a threat than a promise. It fills Neve with an anger and an indignation that strengthens not just her magic, but her resolve. Aelia doesn’t deserve Dock Town. Maybe Neve doesn’t either, but she’ll damn well try.
“You won’t!” Neve snaps, throwing her arms down hard enough to send her icy barricade towards Aelia, breaking the rope of magic between them. She stares up at Aelia, standing on the platform in her cultist robes, and adds, “But I’ll give it a shot!”
“No!”
The ensuing fight is hard: Aelia summons a blood magic shield that Neve thinks might actually be blood. Halos’s blood. Cida’s blood. Her cultists flock to her, protect her, but with her friends at her back… well, Neve has never been much more than a cynic, but for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, her friends bolster her, give her the same hope she wants to give Dock Town.
And when Aelia drops, Neve stands over her, a guardian against her lies.
“I would raise us all,” Aelia pants. “You—”
“I do what I can,” Neve says, firmer than she thinks she’s ever spoken. I do what I can. It’s the truest thing she could say about the city she loves. She turns to Rana, the one Templar she’s always felt she could count on. “Rana: Take Aelia. Make sure Dock Town sees it happen.”
Rana moves to obey, like Neve is her Knight-Captain and not some working class mage. Aelia draws a hidden blade — blood mages always have hidden blades — but Rana catches her wrist, yanks her arm down and twists until she drops the knife.
“You’ve tried to stop me before!” Aelia taunts, but this time, Neve isn’t phased.
“And if you escape, I’ll find you again,” Neve promises. “And every time I do, Minrathous will see someone standing against people like you.”
Maybe she shouldn’t be proud of herself, Neve thinks as she leads the others away from Aelia, back through Dock Town to the eluvian at the Shadow Dragons’ hideout. Maybe this is just setting herself up for more disappointment. Aelia’s right, after all: this isn’t the first time they’ve faced off. There’s a chance it won’t be the last. But in spite of that, and in spite of her own cynical nature, Neve can’t help but feel a little proud and a little relieved. Aelia’s off the streets, which means her captives are free. Hal can go back to his fish fry stand. Cida Ciconia can go back to singing at the Cobbled Swan. People can return to their families.
Neve did that. It’s a clean win, and she’d won it, for the people of Minrathous.
As she steps through the shimmering, liquid glass, she thinks I could get used to this.
So of course, when she steps out of the mirror on the other side, she isn’t in the Lighthouse. That would be too easy.
She steps onto a grey stone walk, like they’d gone back to Kal-Sharok — except this is no Deep Roads, and those are no Dwarves. She’s outside in a city, and she’s surrounded by humans. Just humans, at a glance, though by look alone they’re like nobody she’s ever seen. Their manner of dress isn’t Orlesian or Antivan or Rivaini. They aren’t Ferelden or Nevarran, and they certainly aren’t Tevinter. The buildings are too clean and tidy to be Dock Town, too crisply organized, but neither are they embellished enough to be anywhere else recognizable. Neve grabs her scepter, reassured by its weight and the chill from its focus.
Garish, gleaming carriages trundle by, coughing fumes in their wake. She doesn’t know what’s propelling them, but it fills the air with stink.
Where is she?
She turns suddenly, ready to lunge back through the eluvian, only…
“Venhedis,” Neve breathes.
The eluvian is gone. Rook is gone.
She’s alone.
Aelia’s voice is full of awe and delight as blood rushes from her captives to her staff, vines as red as her hair empowering her ritual with every beat of their hearts.
“You aren’t the future, Aelia!” Neve shouts up at her. “You’re a murderer!”
“I am Minrathous,” Aelia counters, stirring her staff through the air like a witch at a cauldron. “Its dark truth and bright power. The city won’t miss you! Dock Town won’t—”
“No!” Neve barely lifts her hands in time to block the spell Aelia flings at her, at them, Rook standing beside her ready to jump in the moment Neve asks. The pale white-blue of Neve’s ice magic sprinkles purple light around them as Aelia’s blood magic dances against it. Neve struggles with the force of Aelia’s attack, but she needs to hold it off. She needs to.
“Dock Town has you,” Rook says from behind her, voice nearly stern with the conviction in it. “And they see it!”
Rook’s right. Halos, Cida Ciconia, Elek… they all know she’s here for Dock Town. Others, too, the people she’s helped in the past. By themselves, discrete situations are easy enough to take at face value. But link them with a thread, and a bigger picture starts to form: Neve, assuring the people of Dock Town that they aren’t alone, that she’s here for them, with them, and she always will be.
“They just want hope,” Neve says, “a chance!”
“When this is over, I will bring it to them!”
From Aelia, it sounds more like a threat than a promise. It fills Neve with an anger and an indignation that strengthens not just her magic, but her resolve. Aelia doesn’t deserve Dock Town. Maybe Neve doesn’t either, but she’ll damn well try.
“You won’t!” Neve snaps, throwing her arms down hard enough to send her icy barricade towards Aelia, breaking the rope of magic between them. She stares up at Aelia, standing on the platform in her cultist robes, and adds, “But I’ll give it a shot!”
“No!”
The ensuing fight is hard: Aelia summons a blood magic shield that Neve thinks might actually be blood. Halos’s blood. Cida’s blood. Her cultists flock to her, protect her, but with her friends at her back… well, Neve has never been much more than a cynic, but for the first time in a long time, perhaps ever, her friends bolster her, give her the same hope she wants to give Dock Town.
And when Aelia drops, Neve stands over her, a guardian against her lies.
“I would raise us all,” Aelia pants. “You—”
“I do what I can,” Neve says, firmer than she thinks she’s ever spoken. I do what I can. It’s the truest thing she could say about the city she loves. She turns to Rana, the one Templar she’s always felt she could count on. “Rana: Take Aelia. Make sure Dock Town sees it happen.”
Rana moves to obey, like Neve is her Knight-Captain and not some working class mage. Aelia draws a hidden blade — blood mages always have hidden blades — but Rana catches her wrist, yanks her arm down and twists until she drops the knife.
“You’ve tried to stop me before!” Aelia taunts, but this time, Neve isn’t phased.
“And if you escape, I’ll find you again,” Neve promises. “And every time I do, Minrathous will see someone standing against people like you.”
Maybe she shouldn’t be proud of herself, Neve thinks as she leads the others away from Aelia, back through Dock Town to the eluvian at the Shadow Dragons’ hideout. Maybe this is just setting herself up for more disappointment. Aelia’s right, after all: this isn’t the first time they’ve faced off. There’s a chance it won’t be the last. But in spite of that, and in spite of her own cynical nature, Neve can’t help but feel a little proud and a little relieved. Aelia’s off the streets, which means her captives are free. Hal can go back to his fish fry stand. Cida Ciconia can go back to singing at the Cobbled Swan. People can return to their families.
Neve did that. It’s a clean win, and she’d won it, for the people of Minrathous.
As she steps through the shimmering, liquid glass, she thinks I could get used to this.
So of course, when she steps out of the mirror on the other side, she isn’t in the Lighthouse. That would be too easy.
She steps onto a grey stone walk, like they’d gone back to Kal-Sharok — except this is no Deep Roads, and those are no Dwarves. She’s outside in a city, and she’s surrounded by humans. Just humans, at a glance, though by look alone they’re like nobody she’s ever seen. Their manner of dress isn’t Orlesian or Antivan or Rivaini. They aren’t Ferelden or Nevarran, and they certainly aren’t Tevinter. The buildings are too clean and tidy to be Dock Town, too crisply organized, but neither are they embellished enough to be anywhere else recognizable. Neve grabs her scepter, reassured by its weight and the chill from its focus.
Garish, gleaming carriages trundle by, coughing fumes in their wake. She doesn’t know what’s propelling them, but it fills the air with stink.
Where is she?
She turns suddenly, ready to lunge back through the eluvian, only…
“Venhedis,” Neve breathes.
The eluvian is gone. Rook is gone.
She’s alone.
Neve's Case Notes: The Second City
Apr. 7th, 2021 06:45 pmI found the other city. Or rather, it found me. Darrow does that, doesn’t it. Bits of the city decide when and where people are allowed to know or do things. This was like that. Walking down the street and there it was, a strange bit of magic.
I almost didn’t go in. Isn’t that something? It wasn’t fear that kept me back, not exactly, but I was aware that I was making a choice that might not be unmade. I always know that’s true, that every decision can’t be un-decided. But knowing it’s true and feeling the awareness of it… I haven’t felt that in a very long time.
And when I stepped inside, there it was. A crumbling, worn down Darrow. Nearly identical to the one I’ve come to know, except for all the ways that it wasn’t. The ash. The fog.
The creatures.
I’ll be thinking about those things for awhile.
I almost didn’t go in. Isn’t that something? It wasn’t fear that kept me back, not exactly, but I was aware that I was making a choice that might not be unmade. I always know that’s true, that every decision can’t be un-decided. But knowing it’s true and feeling the awareness of it… I haven’t felt that in a very long time.
And when I stepped inside, there it was. A crumbling, worn down Darrow. Nearly identical to the one I’ve come to know, except for all the ways that it wasn’t. The ash. The fog.
The creatures.
I’ll be thinking about those things for awhile.
I checked with the train station. That's where I was sent for my so-called welcome packet, so that's where she'd be sent too, right? I figure if she hasn't gone yet, her packet will still be there. If she has, there'll be a record.
No Sophie. No Sophia, no Sofie — I even tried Safiya, in case I misunderstood Shion when he said her name.
Nobody.
The attendant was different from the last time I was by, but just as bored. At least he had one suggestion: the Children's Home. I'll check there.
Maybe it's foolish to try so hard when everything points to her not being here. But I'm a sucker for cases about children.They're too young…
Or maybe it's just that I'm a fool.
No Sophie. No Sophia, no Sofie — I even tried Safiya, in case I misunderstood Shion when he said her name.
Nobody.
The attendant was different from the last time I was by, but just as bored. At least he had one suggestion: the Children's Home. I'll check there.
Maybe it's foolish to try so hard when everything points to her not being here. But I'm a sucker for cases about children.
Or maybe it's just that I'm a fool.
There's a chance she's not here. I have to remember that, but I can't let it color my actions. If I assume she isn't, I could overlook something crucial. But I have to remember there’s still a chance she’s never stepped foot inside this city, too.
Shion… I've never seen him like that before. I don't know him well — I'll be the first to admit that — but he presents himself very specifically, and that mask was shed completely. He was vulnerable. He was candid.
He was afraid.
Sophie. He kept calling that name. A little redheaded girl, he says, young and prone to illness.
If she isn't found, she could die. But Darrow is mysterious and fickle — as fickle as a city can be, anyway. Who really knows what sort of power it holds, what sort of strings it can pull? Some of the stories I’ve heard, it’s as much like the Fade as a real city.
And children don’t belong in the Fade any more than they do on the streets.
I don’t know if I’ll find her. That’s a promise I won’t make. But I told him I'd do my best, so that's what I'll do.
Shion… I've never seen him like that before. I don't know him well — I'll be the first to admit that — but he presents himself very specifically, and that mask was shed completely. He was vulnerable. He was candid.
He was afraid.
Sophie. He kept calling that name. A little redheaded girl, he says, young and prone to illness.
If she isn't found, she could die. But Darrow is mysterious and fickle — as fickle as a city can be, anyway. Who really knows what sort of power it holds, what sort of strings it can pull? Some of the stories I’ve heard, it’s as much like the Fade as a real city.
And children don’t belong in the Fade any more than they do on the streets.
I don’t know if I’ll find her. That’s a promise I won’t make. But I told him I'd do my best, so that's what I'll do.
Neve's Case Notes: East Hallow
Jan. 14th, 2021 07:54 pmI found a town today. East Hallow, the sign says. It’s abandoned. At first I thought it was outside of the city’s sphere of influence, but sneaking out through the town was a non-starter. The mysterious border keeping us in Darrow reaches around East Hallow, too — and walking through it just spun me around to walk back into it again, just like everywhere else I’ve tried,
So I still haven’t found a way out. None of my spells work against the barrier. It doesn’t help that I can’t see it, but that doesn’t seem to matter anyway. They just sort of fizzle at its edge — or else fly right back at my head, like the city is reminding me who’s boss.
I hate feeling trapped.
I'll have to look more into East Hallow later. A wisp was following me and refused to enter town limits. Did something happen there? Or does the wisp know something I don't?
So I still haven’t found a way out. None of my spells work against the barrier. It doesn’t help that I can’t see it, but that doesn’t seem to matter anyway. They just sort of fizzle at its edge — or else fly right back at my head, like the city is reminding me who’s boss.
I'll have to look more into East Hallow later. A wisp was following me and refused to enter town limits. Did something happen there? Or does the wisp know something I don't?
Neve's Case Notes: Shion
Dec. 20th, 2020 06:25 pmThere’s a certain way that people behave when they’ve been hurt in their past. They close up on themselves and then one of two things happens: the thing that hurts them becomes a small matter, or it becomes the thing that rules their lives.
Shion chooses the first. What hurt him, I can’t say, but it’s clear that something has. He mentioned that orphanage too casually. Breezy. Could be it was a cover but if so his tells were mixed. Why lie about being an orphan? The simple answer is to hide abusive parents, but that’s not simple at all, is it? Are they what hurt him, then? Or is the orphanage story the truth?
And for some reason he wants me to think he’s not as smart as he actually is. He’s got a way with turning statements into questions that feels practiced. Could be his age. He’s young, so maybe his intelligence intimidated one too many people and he’s adapted. Or perhaps it’s weaponized. A way to keep expectations low. But where does that come from? ‘The orphanage’ seems the most likely answer. High expectations at an orphanage can mean a lot of things – not all of them good: extra responsibilities, more chores, or attention you don’t want.
Hm. ‘Attention you don’t want.’ Is he hiding from something? Or am I just being me again?
Shion chooses the first. What hurt him, I can’t say, but it’s clear that something has. He mentioned that orphanage too casually. Breezy. Could be it was a cover but if so his tells were mixed. Why lie about being an orphan? The simple answer is to hide abusive parents, but that’s not simple at all, is it? Are they what hurt him, then? Or is the orphanage story the truth?
And for some reason he wants me to think he’s not as smart as he actually is. He’s got a way with turning statements into questions that feels practiced. Could be his age. He’s young, so maybe his intelligence intimidated one too many people and he’s adapted. Or perhaps it’s weaponized. A way to keep expectations low. But where does that come from? ‘The orphanage’ seems the most likely answer. High expectations at an orphanage can mean a lot of things – not all of them good: extra responsibilities, more chores, or attention you don’t want.
Hm. ‘Attention you don’t want.’ Is he hiding from something? Or am I just being me again?
Neve's Case Notes: The Gilded Cage
Dec. 18th, 2020 05:36 pmIt’s the lack of choice.
In Minrathous, I wasn’t relegated to Dock Town alone. In the Fade, I wasn’t trapped in my study at the Lighthouse — I wasn’t even trapped in the Fade itself. Whether by foot or by boat or by eluvian, the choice to leave was there for me to make or not make. It was mine.
More fool me, taking that luxury for granted.
This place is unlike any I’ve seen before, it’s true. But a gilded cage is still a cage. Whatever power is behind this place, I haven’t found a way out yet.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. Norah says to trust her, and I think I mostly do. As much as I trust anyone, at least. But I can’t just accept that I’m expected here and that I can’t get out. There has to be a way out.
Doesn’t there?
In Minrathous, I wasn’t relegated to Dock Town alone. In the Fade, I wasn’t trapped in my study at the Lighthouse — I wasn’t even trapped in the Fade itself. Whether by foot or by boat or by eluvian, the choice to leave was there for me to make or not make. It was mine.
More fool me, taking that luxury for granted.
This place is unlike any I’ve seen before, it’s true. But a gilded cage is still a cage. Whatever power is behind this place, I haven’t found a way out yet.
But that doesn’t mean I’m going to give up. Norah says to trust her, and I think I mostly do. As much as I trust anyone, at least. But I can’t just accept that I’m expected here and that I can’t get out. There has to be a way out.
Neve's Case Notes: Cell Phones
Dec. 18th, 2020 05:29 pmIt's not magic. If it were, I could understand it. A spell or a ritual or an enchantment might be able to do the same thing, but I don't sense magic about this thing at all.
Touch the glass, and words appear. You can write without spending paper or ink, and research subjects without poring over books and tomes. It’s convenient, but it lacks substance. It feels false. Give me the scent of books and fresh ink any day.
And then there’s the talking. You can use the thing to talk to someone across town as though they’re right beside you. It’s like an eluvian, but for words.
That sounds stupid, but it sounds true, too.
Still, I don't think I should rely on it completely. Something this easy surely has hidden strings. And it’s far too easily left behind.
Touch the glass, and words appear. You can write without spending paper or ink, and research subjects without poring over books and tomes. It’s convenient, but it lacks substance. It feels false. Give me the scent of books and fresh ink any day.
And then there’s the talking. You can use the thing to talk to someone across town as though they’re right beside you. It’s like an eluvian, but for words.
That sounds stupid, but it sounds true, too.
Still, I don't think I should rely on it completely. Something this easy surely has hidden strings. And it’s far too easily left behind.
Neve's Case Notes: Welcome Packet
Dec. 18th, 2020 05:19 pmPre-arranged dossiers, assigned housing, a handful of the local currency. They expected me, whoever ‘they’ are. Nobody seems to know. Or maybe I'm not asking the right people.
First thing: a perfect copy of my image on this tiny stiffened paper — a business card, but harder and with much more information than I’d ever put on a business card. My name, height, eye color. They know me. How?
Second thing: housing. It's bigger than the last apartment I stayed in — nicer, too. Not free, but nothing ever is. But a key was included in the packet, and the landlord greeted me by name when I asked about it. “Gallus,” he said, “good to see you. Don’t forget rent’s due at the end of the month.” Didn’t get his name. I’ll find it out eventually.
Third thing: money. I still have the coin I carried, but this is altogether different. There's paper of different denominations with faces I don't recognize on them, but coins too. Trace the mint? Might lead me to at least one answer.
There's a map, too. That'll give me a head start, anyway.
First thing: a perfect copy of my image on this tiny stiffened paper — a business card, but harder and with much more information than I’d ever put on a business card. My name, height, eye color. They know me. How?
Second thing: housing. It's bigger than the last apartment I stayed in — nicer, too. Not free, but nothing ever is. But a key was included in the packet, and the landlord greeted me by name when I asked about it. “Gallus,” he said, “good to see you. Don’t forget rent’s due at the end of the month.” Didn’t get his name. I’ll find it out eventually.
Third thing: money. I still have the coin I carried, but this is altogether different. There's paper of different denominations with faces I don't recognize on them, but coins too. Trace the mint? Might lead me to at least one answer.
There's a map, too. That'll give me a head start, anyway.
Neve's Case Notes: Norah Tendulkar
Dec. 17th, 2020 06:37 pm“You’ve been displaced, but you aren’t the only one and you aren’t in any danger.”
She said it all to me straight, and I respect that. Clear, concise facts, or facts as she knows them. I still don’t believe I’m trapped here, but when a Spirit of Knowledge tells you that you’ve been brought to a city outside of the world as you know it, you tend to listen, don’t you? Even if you don’t want to hear it.
She calls herself Norah. Hard not to think of her as ‘Knowledge’ all the same but that’s a bridge I don’t need to burn. Besides that, she isn’t like the Spirits of the Fade. She doesn’t entirely look like them, and she doesn’t feel like them either. Makes it easy to believe her when she tells me we’re not from the same world. Does that mean other worlds have spirits and demons, too? Their own Fade? Their own Veil? That’s a theory for Emmrich. He’s the Fade expert.If I ever seen him again to ask…
I think Bel would like her. Maybe that’s bold to assume when I don’t know Norah very well, but I know Bel. There isn't much she doesn't like.
She said it all to me straight, and I respect that. Clear, concise facts, or facts as she knows them. I still don’t believe I’m trapped here, but when a Spirit of Knowledge tells you that you’ve been brought to a city outside of the world as you know it, you tend to listen, don’t you? Even if you don’t want to hear it.
She calls herself Norah. Hard not to think of her as ‘Knowledge’ all the same but that’s a bridge I don’t need to burn. Besides that, she isn’t like the Spirits of the Fade. She doesn’t entirely look like them, and she doesn’t feel like them either. Makes it easy to believe her when she tells me we’re not from the same world. Does that mean other worlds have spirits and demons, too? Their own Fade? Their own Veil? That’s a theory for Emmrich. He’s the Fade expert.
I think Bel would like her. Maybe that’s bold to assume when I don’t know Norah very well, but I know Bel. There isn't much she doesn't like.
Neve's Case Notes: Drembleydrop
May. 19th, 2020 06:18 pmIt’s called Drembleydrop, though what a drembley is, I couldn’t say, and ‘dropping’ it seems entirely beside the point. Shion tried to explain it to me, but I was never much into ballgames. It’s all contradictory and nonsensical.
The same as anything else in this city, at least.
What seems stranger to me is that everyone takes it in stride. Is it a side effect of the city? Or of the game?
Can a game have side effects?
It seems impossible, butif Rook’s taught me anything if this city’s taught me anything, it’s that the impossible is never impossible at all.
The same as anything else in this city, at least.
What seems stranger to me is that everyone takes it in stride. Is it a side effect of the city? Or of the game?
Can a game have side effects?
It seems impossible, but
They aren’t demons, but they’re enough like them that they may as well be. Armless, faceless monstrosities that spew from gash-like mouths in their chests; large, skittering insectlike creatures (those ones are easy to kill, at least); the flying ones that seem to pretend to be wyverns; or my personal favorite, the two pairs of legs sewn onto a torso at either end.
They all sound like something the Venatori would use for their own devices.
But here’s the trick: I’m not so certain these things can be used for anything. If they have minds, they can’t be reasoned with. Whether they can be controlled or not, it isn’t for me to try. Even if I wanted to — and I don’t — they seem to largely stay in Second Darrow and I’m in First Darrow.
And I’m of no mind to make my way back any time soon.
One of these has to be responsible for the deaths during that love holiday two months ago. The same rift that brought me over can probably bring them through as well. The trouble is finding a rift before it finds you.
Perhaps the wisps? They didn’t like me the entire first day I was back. Not until I washed my clothes, at least. They’re a good enough canary, anyway. Where the wisps don’t go, maybe that’s a good place to start looking.
They all sound like something the Venatori would use for their own devices.
But here’s the trick: I’m not so certain these things can be used for anything. If they have minds, they can’t be reasoned with. Whether they can be controlled or not, it isn’t for me to try. Even if I wanted to — and I don’t — they seem to largely stay in Second Darrow and I’m in First Darrow.
One of these has to be responsible for the deaths during that love holiday two months ago. The same rift that brought me over can probably bring them through as well. The trouble is finding a rift before it finds you.
Perhaps the wisps? They didn’t like me the entire first day I was back. Not until I washed my clothes, at least. They’re a good enough canary, anyway. Where the wisps don’t go, maybe that’s a good place to start looking.
Neve's Game State
Dec. 20th, 2019 07:28 amNeve's arrival is prior to the conclusion of the game, but immediately follows the conclusion of her personal questline, The Returned Cultist Case. Below are basic world states that helped shape who Neve is before she came to Darrow. More will be added upon request.
TOOK HARDING TO DISTRACT SOLAS | TOOK NEVE TO DISTRACT SOLAS
SAVED MINRATHOUS | SAVED TREVISO
ENCOURAGED NEVE TO INSPIRE DOCKTOWN | ENCOURAGED NEVE TO PROTECT DOCKTOWN
Neve is unromanced as of arriving in Darrow, and I intend to keep Rook's lineage, class, and faction vague unless asked to do otherwise (such as by a prospective canonmate). Any further questions that aren't answered here or on Neve's wiki may be directed below.
