Colonel Tanya Garin, late of the Night Watch, Amber - but not this one - is standing by the glyph-scribbled fountain, smoking a cigar of the size usually reserved for oil magnates with something to prove. She blows smoke rings thoughtfully as she looks at her own work.

Dirk walks into the area missing a hand that has a hook on it. He heads for the fountain.

As Dirk comes closer, Tanya glances that way, and then steps back a little so she can see the lights she herself set up begin to glow There is irritated concentration her features as she glares at it.

Danielle comes round the fountain with her own notebook, observing for recent changes. She gives Garin a nod in her direction but otherwise doesn't interrupt. She wVES TO DIRK

Tanya - Garin - holds up a hand to Danielle. "Hail. In need of nicotine?" She is wearing no glove on her shattered left hand, in which she holds the cigar a bit like an eagle's claw clutching onto a very slim brown rabbit.

Danielle hms "No, don't smoke but thanks. Developments?"

Dirk takes a necklace off his neck and dunks it into the water.

The short, stocky sorceror looks at the fountain. "Well, I haven't killed anyone ye-" and she stops as the lights dim, as Dirk dunks the necklace. "Oh. Oy, sweet-butt, do that again!"

Dirk says "Yes Ma'am." The necklace gets dunked again and stays in the water a moment longer

Danielle rolls with advantage 1 at difficulty 25, using occult, magic sense.
The result is a failure.

The lights rise back up when Dirk pulls the necklace out, fall when he dips it into the water. "Mm." Garin's eyes go briefly blue, and then green again - just a trick of the light. Her pupils get huge, though, and stay that way. She is not looking in the mundane world any more.

Dirk says "I wish I had my cat form back and my little girl."

"If wishes were wands then children would be mages," Tanya replies, with scant sympathy. "Alright. Get in the fountain yourself. Never say I don't get you wet."

Dirk laughs and puts the necklace back on. He grins and gets in the fountain.

"Good boy." Tanya looks to Danielle, though, as she says, "Get the necklace in first. Then the rest of you - I want to see if it's you, you and that bug, or just the bug. Danielle, we're looking for even tiny fluctuations."

Dirk says "Yes na'am." and does exactly what he's told.

Danielle tilts her head sidewise regarding garin, thoughtfully "Don't think it's that kind of fountain Dirk, but who knows" She peers as Dirk gets in the fountain but doesn't seem to have any real compunctions about the situation

The water is cold, of course - but Dirk is Dirk. He's had worse. Outside, the red-drawn glyphs on the fountain and the little rotunda around it dim as the necklace is hidden in the water, dim more as Dirk is. The main effect is the necklace, however. Tanya grunts. "Ech... That means we probably should as well. I guess we get him out of there. And maybe build a fire first."

Danielle hms "Those are probly good steps. I don't think any data will be gained by anyone shivering to death but i haven't completely given up the notin we're being watched by someone whose amused by all this

Dirk say

Garin steps over to the fountain to gesture to Dirk to get up, rather than letting him drown, say.

Dirk stays in the water for a moment then gets up. He moves a little then shakes off.

"Can you go organise a fire for us?" Garin looks up at Dirk with more challenge than hope. "Keep yourself warm doing it. Because either or both of us might well be changed differently by the water than you are." She does not look happy about that idea.

Dirk nods"I sure can."H

Danielle hm "So the necklace got a stronger reaction than Dirk. it may belong to someone important" She muses as she proceeds to the fountain and slowly climbs in once legs are in she splases water on her arms

"No change," Tanya says. "Dirk got right under. I'd say I'm sorry but I'm about to as well, so... include your hair, but make that last. I've got a hunch."

Dirk nods"I sure can." He gets busy building a fire in a barrel . "Remember the signet ring and Trump cards?"

COLD. This is cold water. It does not like Danielle. It wants to make friends with all the warm bits of her, though.

"Yes?" Tanya says tersely. She is watching the lights now.

Dirk says 'I was wearing it when they took my hand. it came back to me as a scarab ring. I wear it as this necklace ."

Danielle sighs and sets her teeth firm as she submerges herself in the water

"Aahuhhhh," Tanya replies to Dirk, and then, "Mhm," to Danielle and the lights. "Yes. Hunch was off, though. But the water's cutting her off too." She goes over to signal Danielle to rise.

Dirk says "Prick my finger, I want to try something after Danie gets out."

Tanya says, "I'm not getting into Dirk-blood soup. You get your jollies after I've got out."

Danielle rise out of the water with swiftness as she is bid. it's cold after all "Enlightening she asks and then considers dirk, apparently unaware until this point that dirk's ring has changed form "perhaps it's been touched by the local magic in ways we have not

"What I saw, before you decide. I was thinking your hair might carry whatever it was by the wand effect - nope. So whatever it is, it's *not* an active form of magic as I know it. It could be as you know it - we seem to come at it differently." Tanya goes about getting wet and cold differently - she starts stripping off her clothes. And, as she does so, the lights react to her more.

Dirk says, "The lights react to You!"

This will be no surprise to Dirk, but Tanya is scarred in many places. She has the body of an athlete who has argued with flechettes, guns, at least one garotte, and a tattoo artist who specialises in left arms. The only place she has ink is from elbow to wrist, pointing down to where she no longer has a ring finger, in a triplicate pattern of black, red, and moonlight pale inks. She manages to keep her cigar ash intact while disrobing down to a serviceable black shift and her court shoes and stockings. Dirk gets a sigh, and Tanya's shoulders slump slightly. "Last time I really swore I got an official reprimand and a medal," she mutters.

Dirk says "I am not my Uncle Benedict. "

"Yeah. If the Captain was around, you'd not have me in underwear." Tanya does not elucidate, but looks to Danielle instead. "My clothes are not enchanted, but they're made to go with the flow of magic. Which blows a hole in 'not magic that we know of' or else my clothes are smarter than I am."

Danielle hms and frowns, "Clothes might impede the reaction. I certainly don't think magic works here the way it works for me either. It still only comes in fits and starts and if it reacts to you it doesn't have to do with oberon's blood unless you have some of which you are unaware colonel. you'll forgive us of course for assuming life itself revolves around my great grandfathers bloodline. we've heard such from infancy

"I really am not, and it was reacting to me before, but not this much." Garin goes to look at the lights, which follow her to some degree. "It looks like... hmmm.." She goes to wrap her left arm in her clothes, but that does not change things very much. "I... really want a decent library right now."

Dirk looks at Dani. "You're one generation after

Dirk looks at Dani. "You're one generation after me?"

Danielle nods "My mother caroline was brand's daughter, yes' As if in homage to her lineage she remarks "If i were a decent library where would I hide"

Dirk says "In one of the Great Houses of Amber?"

Tanya shrugs. "Well, I got you to do this. Dirk, watch the lights, not the bit of muscle in the water." She eyes the fountain with distrust, and then takes a dip. The lights dim as if she is almost not present. Her right hand comes up in an eloquent gesture of her not enjoying herself, and then a moment later she gasps her way back onto dry land.

Danielle hms "so being submerged in the water obscures whatever it is it's reacting to. That much I would say is a definitive finding

"In other news, Colonel Tanya hates today, and prefers warm baths." Tanya pulls on her stockings while trying to stand in her shoes to stay off the cold ground.

Danielle smiles "well hopefully the three of us have done aour due diligence when it comes to getting soaked, though we do have a few others to dunk. other that what now

Dirk says "I know how to bring someone from the ghost realm here."

Dirk says "Do you need some help ma'am?"

"All good," Tanya tells Dirk, as she shrugs her robe on. "What were you saying about Great Houses?"

Danielle hms but stays silent letting dirk explain

Dirk says "Chantris used to be a great house. that had the biggest library outside the CASTLE. "

"I knew a guy called Chantris once. Decent warrior, but not big. Not house-sized..." Tanya shrugs. "I just know that there's no Ducal Palace. Haven't yet seen the Palace Archives are missing and I'm not sure I want to find that out." She gets closer to the fire that Dirk has made, and holds out her over-robe for Danielle.

Dirk says "I need someone to pick my finger."

Tanya, naturally, has a lancet for that.

Danielle hms as she takes the offerred roble "It might be something we should look into nonetheless, the palace archives I mean.

It's almost like the burly red-head *likes* cutting Dirk.

Dirk gets his finger pricked and puts a few drops of his blood in the water... As far as Tayna's cutting fetish goes Dirk has no official comment. He also puts a drop of blood on the scarab ring.

The blood on the scarab ring just stays there, with no effect. Nice try - no cigar.

Tanya takes up her cigar once more, and falls silent as she thinks.

Equally, blood in the water seems to do nothing - not sudden surge of red explosions, no freezing over - it just falls and dissipates.


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Rich people get all the enjoyment. That dagger guy was sporting himself in the fountain, him and two red-heads. They kept their clothes on, though. Didn't see much of interest. The short one's got a lot of scars... She took most of her robes off. But then they had a fire and a roast lamb between them, and set off to go do magic.
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