The Barker Street Irregulars case 2 A vision in pink

[Stella Gaslight]

"Quite a few things have gone wrong recently but I am guessing this is tied to the Morgan's bonds.  I don't think she can truly leave the city until we cut her free. Hop on Bill lets give this a try."  Celia took the saucer in her hand and and carried it like it was the most precious thing in the world in the other she held the pitcher of milk left over from lunch.  She stepped out in to the garden and was surrounded by thick hot air scented with roses. The little fairies that were filling the sky stopped and she could feel their eyes on her.  Celia set the milk on the bench and whistled.  It was a clear bright trilling sound that started a fluttering of paper wings that sounded like a wave crashing in to shore.  They came out of the sky like snow blotting out the colors of the plants as they landed leaving Celia in a world of black and white that smelled of ink. 

One flue forward out of all of them it was the only one with any sort of color and even though it was the soft pallet of a hand coloured photo it looked garish among the others. 'Welcome to my home. Why have you come?"  It fluttered around her silently.  "Is is trying to tell me something Bill?"

[MWBailey]

koinda 'ard to tell-!" he cocked his head to one side, then said, ah, awrigh', iss comin in a bit clearernowe, iss lloik they don' know 'ow ter speak roight..." he listened, then croaked a replay, then shrugged and shifted one wing in a certain way. The little fairy sat on a rose blosson that came up almost to celia's chest, and it could be seen to make gestures and movements of its mouth. The voice was tiny, almost a whisper, and sounded remarkably akin to the rustling of a foolscap page.

"Yep. It's as I thunk it was," Bill said. They're not actually faeries, or they are, bowt 's not teh same; seems they're all pictures from books and sommat."  as he listened, he became visibly awed. "Better pay proper respect, curtsey or sommat, tha's Titania, Queen o' teh faeries, or  rather the picture of 'er from the 'luminated Shakespeare in th' V n' A. Tha's why she's all colored out unlike th' others."

"Seems theyre all been breathed life into 'em by some kinda spell... Seems 'er Majesty here thinks there moight a' been sommat coulda been done to  pervent it, and wants to know what can be dione to counter it..." He listened intently, obviously trying to put the concepts together, "...Or if it can be done a' 'tall..."

Bill actually coughed, then said sudden;ly "by yore leave, Gentles." he waved a wing, and spat a word out. there was pinkish flash, and suddenly hundreds or thousands of tiny, papery voices could be heard and understood. "Ye should be able to at least get th' gist o' what she's sayin', nowe," Bill said somewhat smugly.

[Stella Gaslight]

If there was one thing Celia had trained hard in it was politeness magic came easy but diplomacy was harder.  "Your majesty please partake of these libations."  She set the saucer on the bench by the milk and bowed.  "I know you have come here for answers but I have none to give yet.  I am doing all I can to find who is responsible for this."  She held her arms out to show the burns. "You see I am effected as well."

[walking stick]

Beety folded A throne for the queen and benches for the rest of the fairies out of blotting paper (just in case they were still paper and leaked) They seemed to find them comfortable but Beety could see they were all very agitated.

[Ranger Reid]

Reid carefully shifted his weaponry away from the paper fey in case they had the same aversion to iron as the real beings.  (he wasn't sure how much iron was in the blades, but wanted it to also be a gesture of respect.)

[MWBailey]

Titters and whispers traveled up and down through the ranks and rows of paper fairies as tehy realized that Bill was actually speaking with what sounded like a human (if dead common) voice. One in particular, possibly a rendition of a certain Goodfellow character, seemed to be preoccupied with the young raven. "Forsooth," he muttered even as Celia and the Faerie Queen conversed. "what manner of interpreter is this fellow?" he spoke, obviously not yet aware that he could be understood by everyone. "Verily, he runs on like a brook with no stones, then waves a wing and flashes a pretty light?" He spread a set of what looked like dragonfly's wings - albeit rendered on paper - and buzzed over beside Bill. "Mayhap ye should quiet thy mimicry and be ye still, and let the queens palaver one with the other, sir fledgling-!" he looked Bill in the eye, suddenly seeing somethingb there that surprised him. "Forsooth! What manne rof creature be ye, man or bird?"

Bill, for his own part, for once held his tongue, but leaned his head significantly toward the two ladies of power and silently gestured further with his beak, as if to suggest that the Puck follow his own acerbic suggestion.

"I see thy wounds, lady ... Celia ...Your title; 'Ballast,' is it? Time was, I believe, we would have called thee 'Brigantia?' or do I miss my guess-!" She turned at the Puck's outburst and in a different, gentle-yet-reproving voice, said "Sir Robin! I thank thee for thy pains, yet yon Raven hath caused no offense; indeed, he is as you say, more than mere bird or man, and has done us a great service. What he is, is not for such as I - or thee -  to say. Now, pray, let we nobles, as thou saith, palaver one with another."

"Lady Celia, we have heard that thou hast the power and allegiance of the city, that is to say the land, of Londinium, which thou callest London?"

[walking stick]

The Fairies from The Illustrated Shakespeare were at least willing to talk but the others moved in uneasy patterns like a child's attempt at paper snowflakes.  
Beety allowed Bill onto her shoulder, "Sommat bad happening wiv them" he whispered Beety grakked a short phrase in raven, Bill was impressed, he hadn't known she could swear like that.  She was right too, from a very great height if he was any judge.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Yes my lady.  My family has been tied to the city since it was founded."  Celia gestured for Tatiana to have a seat as she herself sat on the bench.  "If you don't mind me asking do you remember leaving your book?"

[MWBailey]

"I do." Titania rubbed ther arms with eithe rhand as if cold or remembering an unpleasant experience. "I have only snatches of memory from teh time before, in teh book," she said. "I have some of the memories, oddly enough, of the real Titania. I know that there must be one such, for I had to pry myself from betrween the pages of that massive tome," she elaborated, "and teh memories of hers that i have indicate that she was not imurred in a book, pressed between dry, dusty pages like some flower rolled in a scroll."

[Stella Gaslight]

Celia had to force herself not to pace around.  "Thank you.  I am hoping if I can find more out about the nature of the spell that animated you then I could find who is doing this. Are there any other beings like yourself you have run across?"  If she could collect enough symptoms  then perhaps she could find a cure. 

[MWBailey]

"I...Titania was beside herself. Was the woman blind? No, surekly she meant another book personage such as ourself... " I know not of other Titanias than I myself, or she who is the original. I suppose such would be possible, even probable, but I have as yet encountered none."

A chorus of voices suddenly arose, and it suddenly seemed that there were not just one, but several, both seeklie and unseelie, courts in the garden...

Sunbuddy better do sommat," Bill sotto voce'd to Beety, "afore th' faeries all git ta quarrellin' with each other...er, more than usual..."

[Stella Gaslight]

"Sorry to bring up bothersome things but I know there has to be some reason why this is happening now."  Her mind was racing what did they have to gain by doing this?  How would making paper copies of things help them? Celia suddenly realised who most likely had nearly as many copies running about as the fairies.  "Oh that isn't good at all." She muttered to herself.  "Did anyone try and hinder you on your journey here your majesty?"  She was fairly sure someone had to be otherwise the streets would be full of paper queen Victoria's.

[MWBailey]

"there was a priestly -looking knave," Titania said, her mouth turning down at the word 'priestly,' "who was at some pains getting us all to line up and stand ready for the arrival of some person or other." the faerie queen's face took on a speculative look (it appeared to crease at the edges, as thoiugh the facial expression stressed teh paper flesh of teh tiny monarch). "I remamber a cage off on a corner; it seemed to be filled with more papery folk, and a collection of regal looking older ladies in a crystal box next to a wagon of some kind. They all seemed agitated and in High Dudgeon..."

[Stella Gaslight]

Celia looked around at the others. It looked like they were in the thick of it again.  "Your majesty please take sanctuary here.  I will do all I can to keep you safe while we work out who is doing this."  She was thinking about how much trouble someone could get up to with a wagon full of paper Victorias. "We are going to have to pay a call on the V and A.  And it is going to have to be a bit sneaky. If they can get carts in they must have someone from the museum helping them."

[Steampunk Away]

"Sven mentioned someone moving in on his territory. Maybe this new underground dealer is our man. I can ask Sven for the keys so we can make our way in at night."

This was the most talkative Abraham had been recently, but no one seemed suprised with the Nord.

[CPT_J_Percell]

Tobias watched the events unfolding around him and felt confused, was this normal, he thought to himself.
"Um, is there anyway that I may be able to help"

[Steampunk Away]

"Not yet. There is no way of knowing whether any of these magic users are tracking your magical signature. It hasn't completely worn off from your reconstitution as a pure person, uncorrupted."

[MWBailey]

I thank thee for thy pains, and thy hospitality. It is unfortunate that I am not her true majesty; I would make thee a dame of my court." Paper Titania said.

A tiny yellow-and-red winged paper fiogure that seemed to glow like a paper lantern came suddenly and lit upon a rose near to the faerie queen's. she whispered loudly enough for the words "White Tower," "Another Raven that talks," and "a...steed he would make" to be heard as they conversed.

"Thou, Sir Raven,"

Bill perked up. "Yes, Yer Majesty?"

"Mustardseed doth tell me that there is also a talking Raven at the White Tower here in this Londinium. Is he thy kinsman?"

"Not by blood, Majesty, but ye could say 'at we're such in spirit. He's my anchor in this place n' time, an' 'e needs lookin' after from toim ter toim, so ye could say 'e be me li'l bruvver..."

[Stella Gaslight]

Celia brightened and smiled wickedly.  "Maybe that is exactly what we need Abraham. Think about it, a group of us go in in broad daylight hiding who we are badly.  All eyes would be on us and not on the other group I think a little bird can let in the back door if I give him a bit of help.  With a bit of luck we could be in and out before anyone noticed a thing."

[Steampunk Away]

"I could set motion based runes on the entrances or at the paintings, whichever you decide."

Abraham put a cold rag to his blackened neck.

[MWBailey]

The bit of burglar/scavenger hardwired into all ravens awoke in Bill, and he added, "l 'aven't picked lock through a locked door in years, 'at sounds loik fun!"

[CPT_J_Percell]

Tobias started turning away, froze then turned back to Bill, "Were you once human?"

[MWBailey]

Bill cocked his head to look up at Tobias. Y'know, ye koinda look loik Puck in 'iss loight," he said. Then his eye sorg of gkinted a bit softer than its usual obsidian glassiness, and he answered more to the point of the question, "dunno. Can't always er-member, y'know? Been a long time, couple or thee 'u ndred year l fink, since I last put fingers to 'claurseach...carsick...carsock... boxy thing wid strings an' that..."

"Anyhoo, I think so, but Im also a raven, see? Both, ye moight say... Why do yer ask?"

[CPT_J_Percell]

"I don't know enough to be sure, but if I was given a new form then maybe that process or something close could give you a human form as well as the form of the Ravern." he said watching as bills head rolled from side to side and his eye blinked while it watched him.

[MWBailey]

"Sounds in-tree-ging," Bill answered. "Lemme cogdictate* onnit a bit, yeah? Dunno, Marley... but then 'is boss changed 'im an sent im ta th tower, 'special duty,'he corled it. Meself I... kinda leeery, or wossidsname, seems a lot could go wrong. Lemme thunk a bit onnit, hey?"




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*cogdictate: Bill's limited, as ravens are, bejng avian mimics and all, to using words as they understood the sounds when they learned them. Thus, he heard "cogitate" garbled as "cogdictate" and uses the malaprop in place of tbe proper word.