RP:Your New Home
Summary: Having impressed Queen Lunalesca, Quintessa's displaced "cousin" is escorted to the budding township meant to house the dark fae. Kanna follows closely behind, having not known where exactly they had been housed up until now, which is revealed to be concealed by way of magic. Rumiko begins what seems to be a peaceful stay in the Kingdom of Enchantment.
Quintessa had prepared the appropriate documentation to cover for Rumiko’s glamour, paperwork backdated three years when Quintessa had become warden of the Dark Forest. It was during that time that the changeling had attempted something of a census, documenting any denizens of the forest who came forth voluntarily. Among those volunteers were the dark fae of Vailkrin, the Unseelie as some had called them, a known pattern in the Countess’s paperwork which Quintessa now exploited to insert a forgery. Now in her hands she held the identification records for a “Lynessi Blackwell”, a distant kinsmen of the house founder Quintessa Blackwell. Copies were made, one for Rumiko to hold onto and one for Quintessa to provide to Enchantment for when she formally requested her cousin be granted asylum in the dark fae districts. The changeling makes the appropriate arrangements with the crown, noting that she will escort “Lynessi” to Enchantment herself, leaving out her wary and suspicious attitude when it comes to the location of the dark fae. Their plan was to split up once making contact with the proper people but was it safe to leave Rumiko in their clutches? This is the thought that Quintessa cannot get out of her mind as the two travel to Lunalesca’s Queendom. Where her people would lead them from there was still beyond her knowledge, but she was prepared for the worst.
It would be a lie to say the nymph wasn't nervous. However long she'd taken to prepare for the first stroll back into Enchantment paled in comparison to today, not that anyone but Quintessa would be able to compare the two. The enchanted earring that helped lock her colorful glamor in place were removed along with any other identifying jewelry, and Rumiko stood in her natural, mostly unknown form. Inky black hair fell in waves down her back and shoulders, left unruly and unbrushed to fall where it would. Her skin was a stark contrast, moonlight pale and almost translucent closer to thickly lashed, ruby colored eyes that looked out from under a dark curtain of hair. She'd opted for a change in fashion as well; ripped leather leggings and a simple bodice clothed her form in place of the beautiful gowns she was known to wear. Even her height was changed, though only because she had chosen to go barefoot, leaving her three inches shorter than she would normally stand. A glance up towards Quintessa was offered as she clutched her copy of the papers in her hands. It was highly plausible they had the same worries, though one thing the druid was good at was a poker face. The alias she was to become was repeated in her mind, the woman becoming familiar with the name and backstory crafted with care in an effort to not trip up and ruin their whole plan. Her gaze searched the trees as they walked, playing the curious role as if she'd never been within Enchantent's borders before. No turning back now.
Being temporarily employed as Queen Lunalesca’s scribe, Kanna was told that there would be nothing noteworthy to record on tonight’s outing. Still, after the revelation to Rumiko and Quintessa that the elderly queen may be in possession of a stolen guild item, the bardess cannot keep herself from following the procession at a safe distance. She needed to see for herself what she had missed, and it had not been easy since the trio had taken a shortcut that left Kanna scrambling to find where they would be. Now in the foggy moons’ light, the elderly Lunalesca flitters in front of both dark fae to lead the way. The forged paperwork had proven successful, with the gnome on intake barely giving it a second glance. “Here we are, dearies!” The tinny voice of Lunalesca pipes up as they reach what appears to be a dead end in the moors. Instead of a settlement, all that appears to be here is fungus and animal bones, and the nearly vertical cliff-face of the butte before them that radiates a strong arcane aura. Transforming into her humanoid height, Lunalesca seems pleased with herself. “Are you surprised?” With a wave of the hand, toadstools and lichen along the rock light up, revealing that they had been purposefully grown into the shapes of runes. The butte transforms before their eyes into a stone staircase leading further up into the fog of the moors. Kanna’s eyes widen as she peers out from her hiding place. Runes! No wonder she never found the Unseelie District!
Quintessa could feel the arcane aura before she pieced together what was causing it and when the Queen revealed the source and cast the illusion away the changeling’s fears finally abated, but not completely. “A hidden enclave. Clever, Your Grace,” A glance is given towards Kanna, internally kicking herself for never once attempting to teach the bard how to read various runes. It couldn’t be helped now, however, but the mystery of why Kanna could never find it on her own was solved at the very least. “Lynessi,” Quintessa turns to her supposed kinsmen, bending close to her in a more hushed tone, “Would you like me to stay with you a while longer as you look around the village? My other meeting can wait a little while longer.” The changeling was much more curious than she was concerned this was a trap now. She wanted to see the dark fae gathered here with her own two eyes.
Rumiko 's head fell to the side, sending a wave of black swinging behind her. Having a hidden entrance could absolutely account for their inability to find the district on their own; the question was, -why- hide it at all? It was no secret the Queen had lain claim to the dark fae, asking the area leaders to send all found in their lands back to Enchantment, so why the secrecy? Ruby eyes watched as the remnants of the illusion faded, and while Quintessa might feel a little better, the shorter fae did not. Lips inched as she nodded along with the changelings' words, "Such magic..." She almost sounded in awe. The call of her new name drew her gaze up to the much taller woman even as she bent closer to her level. While Rumiko knew Tessa would want to know the others were indeed safe, the whole purpose of this guise was to keep them from both being caught, if the district was indeed a trap. A shake of her head came then, and dainty fingers linked behind her back in an almost child-like motion, "I am to be safe here, no? I trust your..." She paused and offered a glance towards Lunalesca, "-Our- queen, to show me the way." Go. Get away, just in case. Paranoia was an old friend to the nymph.
Kanna can only offer an embarrassed pleading expression and a series of mouthed words that are too fast for anyone to reasonably understand. Queen Lunalesca smiles at Quintessa, her sky blue eyes sparkling with pride. “The ebon wolves of the area need to become acclimated to the new settlement; this is mainly to keep them out and the likes of those low-class scandal sheet writers looking to profit off of the suffering of our brothers and sisters.” Was that really all this was? Had Kanna’s imagination alone stirred up the unsettling images Quintessa and Rumiko had been expecting? Using her wings instead of her ailing legs, Queen Lunalesca ascends the stairs, which exit onto a jutting of the stone that resembles an outstretched hand. In this perpetually foggy expanse, the terrain changes further into the plateau into more and more mushrooms where trees should be, growing larger and larger in size until it becomes a forest. The caps of the mushrooms nearly block out the moons’ light here, replacing the void with bioluminescent fungi that dot the packed dirt floors. Brighter fungi in clusters mark the beginnings of a settlement, and the stalks of the mushroom forest give way to a clearing. Without a way to climb the steps without being seen, Kanna circles the bottom of the butte to see if she can see anything above.
Quintessa folds her hands behind her back as she thinks, straightening herself up as she meets Lunalesca’s sky blue gaze. “Yes, the propagandists that have been left to run wild should indeed never be allowed to discover this place.” This meant that Lefty’s hunt for the Pearl of Dissonance could not lead here by accident; She needed to help conceal this place from him. As the Queen ascends up the stairs Quintessa turns to Rumiko and reaches out to clasp her shoulders, bringing her into a soft embrace just as if they were family. “You’ll be safe,” She promises before releasing her and allowing her to go with Lunalesca alone, lingering at the foot of the stairs. “I’ll see you soon.” With her divination magic, of course. “If you need anything at all, you know how to reach me.” With the magic earring she had provided. They had all the bases covered and everything was going according to plan. Once their farewells were over Quintessa would hesitate for another moment, taking a look at the surroundings and wondering idly if this would not be a good place to set up a spider-spawning pit after all.
Rumiko had turned to watch the queen move up the stairs, shifting her attention back towards her 'cousin' at the promise to be seen soon. It earned the changeling a wide grin as she returned the embrace, and an over animated nod of her head came as she offered a soft, "Yes." The earring gifted to her was the only bit of jewelry she'd allowed herself to keep on. "Thank you." For what was left unspoken, and she turned and started up the climb. Fingers pushed dark hair from her face as she took care with each step, though it didn't stop the sporadic miss-steps, whether on purpose or not. At the top of the stair she paused, both for a moment to steady her beating heart and to take in the glowing fungi that made up a mystical forest. It was beautiful and haunting, a perfect place for her people to thrive. She hoped. "It is very nice of you to extend your aid to those of us that have lived so far away for so long."
The Dark Fae District, as it would come to be known in later months, does not appear to be any kind of concentration camp or prison. Redcaps, shadow gnomes that have abandoned Darkiln, and other persons of mixed heritage seem to be content here, making work of using the forest’s resources and the influx of supplies to build themselves settlements within the safety of the fungus trees. The very cargo shipment that Kanna had described to Rumiko and Quintessa is sitting at the center of the clearing, halfway cleared of its contents. Although there is detritus and litter around it, the area otherwise appears to be clean and healthy. “So she still hasn’t arrived.” The Queen whispers to herself, appearing a bit dejected as she scans the denizens. While it might not be considered unusual to some, there is a noted absence of a populus with wings, be it pixie or fae. Turning to ‘Lynessi’, the Queen bows her head and motions to a healer’s tent and a neighboring temporary lodging. There are guardsmen in this settlement as well, though they seem to be more inclined to help with development than sit idly by and monitor. “Cenril was not built in a day, of course, but I think these folk are doing rather well governing themselves and deciding how best to structure their new home’s infrastructure. I do hope that you feel at home with them soon.”