#rivervale_lodge

He sighs , and texts

TXT: Piper, could use your advice on an.. artistic matter, but it needs to be in person. Please drop by ASAP. Thanks. ⛰️

He sighs. The mountain Emoji looks too much like the turd icon for his liking

She responds back shortly, "Can I bring 👶 ? Or need me to find a sitter?"

TXT: They look trustworthy and won't talk about biz. Sure. Bring em 😉

Txt: Thanks! Rikki bailed on her normal saturday sitting time. Be there in two shakes of a lambs tail!

TXT: Thank you again

As promised, within 20 minutes he can hear the clippity clop of hooves coming up his drive, as Piper pushes a double-wide stroller.

Vali having had a kid himself, has already pulled out the spare crib here, just in case, and made sure there is baby formula and the like in the kitchen. "Hey, how are the two crew?" Vali asks with a smile

"Exhausting." She says, plopping onto a chair. Both are sleeping at the moment. "And it's so hot out, I worry about taking them out to play outside too much. But what can I do ya for? I admit it would be NICE to talk about something that doesn't involve bottles, boobs, diapers, or naps."

"Then you have come to the right place" He says "I want to consult you on Aprhodisia"

She BLINKS. "I swear, Vali, I haven't had time to even THINK about cantrips since the bubs were born, let alone go out playing funny on my trolls..."

He holds out his hand "Of course not. We both know the magic you use on Siv involves a wild midnight sail, and Jonas? Well, I don't know, he seems a tougher nut to crack, but you've got all natural options I am sure" He says "You are not accused of ANYTHING, and I would be the first to defend you. YOu paid your dues long ago.. so apologies for alarming you. No, this is about someone else using aphrodisa via treasure, or so I suspect."

"Oh. OH. Hmm!" She relaxes, satyr going easily from hot to cool. "I'm glad to help if I can."

She rubs her hands together, "I did make quite a practice of the art, back in the day. I was good at it, even if I might be a bit dusty now."

"Well, your knoweldge of it specifically is superior to mine, and I admit, the evidence I have to hand over to you is damaged so it's a challenge" He reaches to the broken amulet "Notice, the clasp is .. not openable. Kenn it if you like but as the treasure is broken, you may just pick up my recent omen and maybe some aphrodisia on it"

"Oooh! I think that's... let me see!" Eagerly reaching out to take the non-treasure.

She turns it over in nimble fingers, looking it over. "Don't know the maker's mark, but that's not surprising." She hums to herself as she looks at it and then gets the somewhat absent look on her face as she kens.

"it's Irish in nature" He admits

"Well, yes, it's a Heart's Desire. I never learned to make one, mind you. It takes certain mastery of the Art as well as of crafting jewelry, and I didn't want to take that time away from my music." She says, easily, letting the chain run through her fingers. "Pretty common, actually, in certain circles."

"mmm" he frowns "in some Seelie lands, this might be a crime" He doesn't say Dream Rape. He's not going to offend Piper by accident if he can help it and she's already been kind enough to come here, and she , more than most, knows how some Seelie lords get, "Tell me, does prolonged use have..negative effects on the target that linger?"

She blinks at him. "They're great! Well, I suppose they can be misused, like anything, but..." Her brow furrows a bit under petite horns as she considers. "A Heart's Desire is used to turn a desire from one thing to another, or one person to another. They can be used to help people with addictions - say, an alcoholic now has only cravings for ginger ale, a gambler now only has room in his mind for playing Frisbee Golf. I've even heard of them being used to rehabilitate stalkers and criminals, ones who have a legitimate obsession with something... unhealthy... and would otherwise spend a life locked away."

"Mmmm interesting" He admits, then "Could it be used to redirect someone else's affections to another person? Like someone you really love, you no longer love them, or so it feels, but the new target?" His mind thinking on the turning candles omen

"Oh, of course. It's not ALL philanthropic. But - and I think I am remembering right, mind you, this was like 10 years ago... You need the recipient to accept and wear it. Unless you pull some big dealy-whammy-o first. The treasure is more subtle, meant to be renewed and in general, taper off like, whatsit... suboxone, for opiod addiction."

She tsks at this. "Who broke this one?"

She pokes at the crack.

"I don't know who broke it, or wore it. I'm flying somewhat blind but I have my suspicions." He ponders what she says

"That said, once they're caught up in it, you basically have them twined around your fingers." She twines the chain demonstrably. "So, caveat emptor."

"In otherwords, this could be legit, but in the same way a bad investiment in a lemon of a house might be legit. "

He frowns "Never would fly around here under the chief though. That's something"

"Oh, of course." She looks a bit puzzled by the last. "What do you mean? Like, she's the boss, sure, but you don't get where you are by micromanaging every transaction, I'd think. Unless... noooo, did someone try this on HER?" She squeals, shocked. "It would NEVER work! She and Frank are like, WELDED together!"

Franki is startled awake and starts to babble.

"Or... Rikki wouldn't have... did she run off on a cruise to escape being caught for messing with someone? Damnit, Rikki!"

Piper is wildly speculating, and having a ball at it.

"C'mon, you gotta tell me. Dish~!"

"Her?" A pause "Oh, no no, definitely not Brekke OR Kerri... and Rikki is not banished this week. I keep a calander on her banishements"

"What about..." She names the two Satyr twins of infamous repetation. "I didn't know they did Aphro, but I could believe it. Or, hell, even Anne Marie might like a toy like that to help in her social work, though it'd be more of a thing for a doctor or psychologist, maybe..."

She picks up Franki and bounces her on one knee.

"Okay, you appear to have joined house eiluned with how curious you are" He smiles when he says it "Honestly, I don't know for sure who this involved. I have guess work. SOmeone came in, handed me that, and asked me to find out what I could on it. She wanted me to be discrete.. and the only reason I involved others is you are the expert in the art, or at least more learned than I am about its nature"

He does recall the twins in the Apartment complex. Yeah, they were often up to no good

The baby babbles and reaches for the shiny dangling toy! Piper holds it out of reach. "Nuh uh, not for wee ones. Shame this one is broken though. A jeweler might be able to repair it... not sure if it will hold a cantrip again though after a break like this."

"You don't need to be a nosy elf to want to know the latest gossip, and I've been trapped with babyzone for AGES it feels like."

But in this case, he doesn't think they did it.

"Who brought it?" She asks.

He looks sympathetic at that, Tiffany had to become a firefighter to find herself as a non mom again. Which he thought was extreme but...tiffany.

"Piper, if I go turning everyone who approaches me for help into part of the gossip chain, soon NO One will trust me. I'm a Mountain. Don't you think its best I be someone folks can trust to keep some confidences? I'll get you other gossip, how about that?"

"Well, if it WAS being used for rehabilitation, you should find out who it was on before they scamper away. There might be backlash to it being forcibly removed. Which might mean injury, or it might mean a relapse into whatever behavior was being redirected, and it could be severe. Then again, if someone just got mad at the thing and snapped it, it would just fizzzzzz. Not sure it would have cracked like that. Again, remember, I don't know the details of crafting the Art into a treasure. If I DID know that, I'd be working on musical instruments."

Then she looks thoughtful, perhaps...

"For busking purposes, just the lightest touch to loosen wallets... maybe..."

He actually writes some notes down.

She gives Vali a sudden guilty glance. "SPECULATIVE, of course."

"Wallets? SO... money is a ... " A thought "CHUNK CHING!" He blurts