#odyssey

He lets his hair fall to hide his face. “No-sir. Not involved.”

"Sluagh don't like much attention. Siv lost THAT fight, but she went back to fix things, so she was there for the whole story."

"Be nice to find at least one person who was. Much obliged" And he moves his hand up and away from his hip, and instead from a top pocket, "For your trouble and you geting me close to the story" And he flips a coin to her

She catches the coin. "Oh, cool. Hey."

The coin is a buffalo head pattern, an engraved image of a pair of dice on the other 6 and 1

He tips his hat, then looks at the Sluagh's direction "Sorry to spook you, young man. Just a wee bit on guard. ..don't trust happy endings until I know how they come about" YEE Ha!

and he rides off

"Dude. He's like a cowboy from a movie."

He exhales in relief. “He was kinda cool, but he was an Eshu on the trail of a story I was in. I don’t need to be in any more bas reliefs or anything. It ruins the VIBE I’m going for.”

"Well, I figured you didn't want that part pointed out. You bein' part of it."

“Next time I’ll stay in the background where I belong.”

“I mean, not that there will be a next time.” He belatedly corrects...

Shrug. "I'm glad you were able to help. And I'm glad you got that awful treasure."

“It’s gone now.” He says, firmly.

"Yeah. Good."

And finally, they see it... a fork in the trod... before it, a sign "Last chance... Firnost to the left.. do the RIGHT thing"

Eye-roll. "It's not THAT bad."

“I wonder where the other road goes?”

Curious, but... he heads down the left-way path. “Another adventure I guess.”

"Me too, but yeah. Next time."

And they find themselves in Firnost

the gardens in fact

“Is the next trod out here, or in the can?” He seems amused by the bathroom trods.

Figures!

"Nope... notes say we gotta go through town. Fairgrounds."

“Figures.” Symon apparently is having brain problems, or memory lapses from the trod. Surely that will clear up soon.

The garden is as lush and beautiful . Say what you will about Firnost, it's full of dreams. And not just the beauty as one kith sees it. There are creey shadows cast by the trees, the trees themselves call to troll ish preferences and pooka domiciles. The winter flowers bloom high enough for a satyr to tryst in half hidden

"I mean, it IS a pretty hold."

He admires the trailing creepers from the willow that fall into the pond... maybe someone drowned there once.

“Not bad.”

"Nah, not bad. And trods to almost everywhere. Except, it seems, Ardent Harbor."

A fish, eyeless, pale.. a mudsucker swims near the surface

“I wonder if there was one, but Jude closed it off. If he doesn’t like people going in his Funhouse...”

"Maybe. Think we should come out the other end sneaky like?"

He grins. “Sounds more fun then announcing ourselves at court.”

A figure peeks out curiously

from the door of the main hold

“Hsst.” He gestures to Dagmar, pointing out the lurking figure!

Possibly an assassin.

Or a half-nekkid Satyr. Either way, could smash.

Dag looks.

A sidhe girl, one neither recognizes, straightens herself as she is spotted. "Greetings" She says simply

"Hey."

"Are you not cold?" A slender brow

"No?"

He examines her, and shakes his head. “Nah. It’s not cold enough out there to freeze a match girl yet. Give it a few weeks.”

"Yes, sad chimera that" The sidhe says rather unmoved by the comment. Her colors are odd, black and green? Maybe she just likes them

"I don't think I'd like seeing that chimera."

"I don't like that story."

"Well, obviously you can linger if you like, but it is warmer inside, and there is food and drink and rooms to rest"