Changeling Session Report 2 - Hearthhome

Had another very good session, and met a LOT of NPCs, because I love to populate the world and let a more "sandbox" approach happen in games like this.

The group, in Boston Whipperwheel's Frog Taxi Van, discussed among themselves everything, trying to wrap their minds around it all.  It was chaotic, and difficult, with very little real answers.  Boston told them that all of this was above his pay-grade, but that he was taking them to Hearthhome where they could have a good night's rest and stay safe.  Two characters, "Maddy" and JJ, had heard of Hearthhome in the past, though neither knew about the Supernatural aspects.

In Arcadia, Eric leapt down and began to exit.  He entered the Hedge on a very small path, and found himself trapped between baying hounds to his back and an army coming for him at his front.  A quick look around (and a very good roll) had him spot something red in the thorns.  A successful wriggling through the thorns and Eric finds an exit sign and a doorknob in the ground.  Opening it, he finds the mortal world, perpendicular to him, and Boston's Frog Taxi Van waiting for him.

At this point, the characters all meet (for just a little bit) and we realize that Eric Vale is from 1989, being the most time displaced of the Lost (other than "Maddy" who asks if Ke$ha is Janis Joplin ... ).  Boston hands Yo-yo his cellphone, and he calls his home ... and finds himself on the other line.  The other him tells Yo-yo that he and his family is sitting down for dinner, but gives him a cell-phone number he can call tomorrow.  This leads to everyone talking about fetches.

Boston drops them off outside of Hearthome, but Eric isn't going to stay at a homeless shelter, so he asks to be taken to the Hyatt.  So they head off, leaving the others outside in the rain.  No one is really sure if they can trust this place or anything, really.  A homeless guy comes across the street and very pleasantly meets them.  His name, they jokingly say, is Capp, since he is a mushroom looking changeling ... but it is!  And he's super happy that they guessed his name.  He knocks on the storm door, and a little girl changeling of roses and flowers and sweetness let's them in, and he and she go off, leaving our characters wet and standing in the foyer-hall, waiting.

Eventually, a bald Bill Cosby with his head on fire comes to them and introduces himself as John Hearth, the Spring King and owner of Hearthhome.  He promises to explain anything they may want to know if they just head to the dining area.  They pass through a rec room with a handful of people in it, a few changelings, but also a few mortals.  Turnip Husk starts bothering a mortal, causing John Hearth to harshly drag him into the dining room with the others.  While there, they see a few other changelings walk by: a muscles on muscles huge long-haired latino-maybe guy, a slenderman with butcher knife fingers, and a very nice Condor man named Chuck, who brings them a bowl of Goblin Fruit, giving them each their first taste of glamour.  "Madagascar" immediately spends some to activate her Contract of Fang and Talon and talk to Hobcat again, who is clearly not very happy being in the mortal realm and knows very little about it.

Meanwhile, Boston drops Eric off at the Hyatt.  Eric pays him well (Resources ***) and heads in.  The guy at the desk is curious at Eric's name and asks for ID ... and sees one that expired 19 years ago.  Some quick fast talking and a greased palm and it isn't a problem, though.  Then a "back to the future" moment happens, and the guy says there was an envelope left for Eric in 1989.  He headed to his room, room 619, and tried to contact his former gambling group, but got no answer.  He called for room service, then heard a knock on the door.  He answered, and it was himself, well, his fetch (rolled very well on Clarity loss for a Fairest, I was POSITIVE he was going to lose it, but nope).

John Hearth answers the questions that the lost had about what had happened as best he could, and lays out that today is a free day for them.  They get a bed, food, somewhere safe to be.  But it'll only be for the evening.  Then they are on their own unless they join the Freehold.  The freehold charter is masked above the hearth in the rec room.  He also explains that he shouldn't be the one answering for them, but there is no Summer King, so he is the acting one.

The court system and general ... confusing nature of their new world made things difficult to swallow, and everyone reacted a little differently.  Yo-yo and JJ both very pragmatically looked through the contract and tried to talk with anyone that would give them information, starting with a cockroach in a jumpsuit named Roach (who sounds like Andy Richter) and then a troll playing a mandolin, though he only spoke Norwegian.  Turnip Husk tried to fast track his way into the Freehold once he learned that there was someone with weapons by breaking the glass the framed the Freehold Contract and signing it, but that clearly wasn't going to work.  He was not making good impressions.  Elizabeth decided to try and find Hank, a changeling who could speak with the Norwegian Troll.  Crump sat down and tried to sleep.

Elizabeth (sorry, "Maddy"), outside and alone, with a quick streetwise roll (my guys are very good at succeeding, good for them) she headed towards a late night spot where she could likely find live music, which is where she would find Hank, a busker on guitar.  She hears a trashcan get knocked over and turns to see two changelings, one a fat leech in a tank top, sandals, and atheletic shorts, and the other a ridiculously stereotypical bat-person.  They lay it on pretty thick what they are about to do to her, and she runs.  Well, she tries to, but the leech is surprisingly fast and sinks his tentacle arm into her left bicep, clearly draining her blood.  "Maddy" tries to attack the Leechfinger ... and gets a dramatic failure ... and gets tangled up and grappled tightly.  The bat opens his mouth and his jaw distends and he rips a huge chunk out of her right bicep.  In a round, she was down 4 lethal.  The players were crazy worried that this was a dead character, session 2.

The bat spat out the chunk of flesh from her arm, saying "Damn, I thought she was a slut.  Let's go."  And the two of them sink into the shadows ... literally.  Her screams caught the attention of those at the night spot, and an amazing beautiful changeling (Presence ****, Striking Looks ****), Hank, came to help, another changeling, Sophia, came as well.  They brought her back to Hearthhome.  Everyone reacted as you would expect having just missed a very brutal attack that could have been much worse.  John Hearth activated his Contract of Eternal Spring, Warmth of the Blood to downgrade most of the wounds.  He sighed, and explained that while the Hearthhome freehold may be the only one close to Washington DC, there are many changelings who choose to not join up and instead do their own thing.  It is a dangerous world when everyone is in it only for themselves.

While all that was happening, Eric and his fetch were finishing a sushi dinner.  His fetch, who says he is going by V now, explains why he is here: he wants to make a deal.  As soon as Eric came out of the hedge, V became aware of his otherness, and with Eric already well versed in occult knowledge, V figured out what would happen to him.  So he came and proposed a deal: as long as Eric does not enter NYC at all, and does not kill V, Eric will get more fae power to find Jacob Odds, the man who took him, and have access to all the wealth that V made in the 24 years Eric was away.  Eric renegotiated to just a small section of NYC, and V agreed, under the terms that if the oath is violated, everything that Eric was given would be taken back, with interest.  They shook on it, and immediately Eric's Wyrd flashed to 3 and his Resources became a magical ****** dots.

Next session, we pick up the next morning as we see about people joining the freehold, looking up their fetches, meeting more of the freehold as they gather together, and learning the mysteries of the lost Summer King and the lost Summer Contracts.