Log:What Lies Beneath

What Lies Beneath 2022/03/22 Carpenter Grimm 1

You both blink your eyes as the walrus mustached older man says, "You all may wonder why I've called you here today...So do I. Was on calendar but took a bit of shrapnel in the head during the War. Must've been important given your on the schedule," says the Chief Inspector. "I mean, you're in disgrace still, Mr. Woodworker, but I'm still in your corner, lad. We'll get you back on the force as soon as the last shadows lighten up." He then says in deferential tone to Grimm., "And I know you must know, my Lady Darkness, given this is your realm."

You are in a once grand Victorian office, now given over to disorganization and chaos. You both sit in plush chairs that are a bit worn. Grimm's chair has a nice footstool to rest her feet on as well.

And you both realize you are dreaming. The last thing the two of remember is fallins asleep after some, let's call it exercise before bed, and now you are here.

Grimm recognizes the signs that that is probably Shadow Faire given the crest behind the Chief Inspecter.

Carpenter blinks slowly and looks around, assessing the room. And his clothing. "Hmm."

Grimm has her feet up on the footrest, lounging decadently with her elbow on an armrest and her chin resting on the back of her hand as she listens. She starts to realize this is a dream, and blinks a few times. "Hmm? Oh. Yes," she says, distracted, and looks around, becoming a lucid dreamer. She's still not 100% herself in dreamscapes. She smiles and looks Carpenter up and down. "Well, well. Mr. Woodworker. I have a few ideas on how you can get me in your corner," she purrs.

The Chief Inspector glances down at his desk then snaps his fingers. "Of course, it's probably in my day book! Just a moment, my lady, Mr Woodworker." Hge begings to dig trough the piles of paperwork on his desk. Bits of dust arise as he moves deeper.

Grimm studies the Chief. "So exactly what sort of...'disgraceful' stuff has Mr. Woodworker done to get himself in this position?"

Carpenter takes a deep breath, and mutters, "Something about not following orders to the letter, and 'going rogue'."

The Chief Inspector rumbles slightly as he dithers in answering. "Well, as you know, my lady, he was the detectice in charge of the Silverside Strangler case. And, hmm, well, as you know, Detective Woodworker has some definite theories as to the idtentity fo the Strangler but, well, the Lord Mayor closed the case and, well..."

Grimm starts to recognize this place more fully at the mention of the Lord Mayor. She frowns slightly and looks to Detective Woodworker, not able to determine him from a dream version of himself. "So...what were your theories, my dear rogue Detective Woodworker?"

Carpenter smirks, "It's 'Carpenter'. The Chief Inspector is getting my name wrong. I know a Faerie of some sort was the murderer. But the Lord Mayor closed the case and had the courts hang a thief for the crime. While the thief wasn't innocent in the general sense, he was for this specifically."

Carpenter shrugs, "The evidence suggested looking into local Fae enclaves."

Grimm sits up slowly as Carpenter smirks and corrects his name. Her brow furrows faintly as she wonders. "Did it happen again..? No, it can't be." She's distracted a moment before she thinks on the case details. "Any idea why the Lord Mayor chose to close the case and set someone up?" she asks the pair of them. Her eyes keep drifting back to Carpenter, though.

"The denizens of the Faerie Enclaves are all Gentleman and Ladies, of course," says the Chief Inspector in a resigned tone, "so the Lord Mayor, well, defers to them. Those of the Gentry are not likely to commit certain crimes after all, wot?" He then pulls out a dusty book. "Found it!" he exlamins as he beings to flip through the pages.

Carpenter nods. "'Not likely' does not mean 'Never'. The Lord Mayor is covering for someone. I'm not sure for whom, though. But...it seems like a good reason to get sidelined, doesn't it?" He looks to Grimm, "You mentioned something happening again. What are you referring to? Do you know of another murder?"

"I...no. Sorry. Side thought," Gabrielle starts second guessing, since this Carpenter has such knowledge of the world. "The Lord Mayor would only protect the Gentry if...I ordered him to. Or...the killer was me," she hazards.

Carpenter's eyes narrow as he tries to read Grimm. She's seen that look before from him.

The Chief Inspector mutters to himself as he flips through the pages. "...hmm...forgot that...re-schedule that...I missed that..." He glances up as Grimm accuses herself. "Oh no, my lady, he would never have to protect you. You are the Law after all," he says in a reverential tone.

Grimm smiles a seductive predatory smile at Carpenter. "Are you afraid I'm going to silence you, Detective...Carpenter, is it?"

The Chief Inspector turns his attention back to his day book. "....hmmm....no....Why write /that/ down?...Ah, this is right week..." He slowly begins to run a finger down the book as he reads.

Carpenter blinks slowly, reading her expression. "I think that's already been done, hasn't it? I'm off the case. Sidelined from the force. Presumably on your orders? And I'm sure you know my name, Gabrielle."

Grimm gasps softly and smiles. "Either my subconscious has a very good representation of you, you got swept up in my dream, or." She thinks a moment and her expression becomes playfully accusatory. "Lord Mayor, you wouldn't be wearing his form to try and seduce me again, would you?" she scolds.

Carpenter laughs. "I'm not the 'Lord Mayor', thank you very much." He shakes his head, "I have dreams like this once in a while. Victorian-ish. They mirror my real life. Then again, I get dreams about being in the Nighthawks painting. Or...being in a black and white movie, once in a while."

Grimm's smile returns and she rises up from her seat. Like the fantasy of the dream, she's one again wearing gothic victorian dress. She walks over before him and says, "Well, well. If that's the case, I'm not sure that I exactly was tone one who would sideline you, Detective. Only one way to be sure if you are who you really say you are." Maybe that's a little lie, but she still leans down to try and give him a kiss. It works in fairytales, right?

Instead of robins and cardinals flying around as Grimm invokes the power of fairytales, there comes a tapping, comes a knocking, upon the Chief Inspector's door. It opens after a moment, and a raven headed humanoid pokes its head in, "Pardon, your ladyship," he croaks. "But Chief Inspector, you're needed in a meeting."

"Yes, yes, Nevermore, I know. I have my day book!" the Chief Inspectro says as he stands and grabs his cold iron headed cane. "Pardon me, my lady, the Duty calls. My office is yours, of course, Please carry on!" he says without any awareness apparently of the kissing.

Sergeant Nevermore, on the other hand, winks as he closes the door after the older man.

Carpenter is a little hesitant, but he does go ahead and kiss Grimm. He relaxes after just a second or so.

Grimm smiles and straigthens up, relaxed as well. "It -is- you, Handsome. It's really hard to tell in dreams."

A wax cylinder player starts a late 10th centuiry version 'An Old Fashioned Love Song' as the kiss ends.

If one looks for it, its on a filing cabinet behind the desk.

Carpenter smiles slightly. "Yeah, it's me. Who would I be?" He chuckles quietly. "So, why did you sideline me?"

Grimm chuckles. "A dream version of you? Y'know. The man of my dreams and all," she winks. She glances over toward the source of the music and smirks before looking back to Jack. "I didn't. Not to my knowledge, anyway. I'm not always lucid when dreaming. But this place seems to be part of the Shadow Faire, which is a place where other versions of me come to dream at times. It's likely one of those versions sidelined you. Or ordered the Lord Mayor to handle the issue and he did it by sidelining you."

Carpenter nods, "Perhaps. It still means there's a murderer out there. I wonder if I was being followed by one of the Shadows while I was investigating."

Grimm looks curious. "One of the Shadows? Tell me about it."

Carpenter furrows his brow. "You don't know about your own Shadow Guard? there are three branches. The Watch, which I'm part of, deals with policing and civilian crime. The Guard is military, dealing with outside threats. And the Shadows are the secret police and spies, who report to the Lord Mayor."

Grimm chuckles softly. "I don't, actually. I've only been here once before that I can actually remember, and even then, the Lord Mayor who runs this place when one of me is absent tried to poison me." She takes a moment to think on the new details. "So. One of the secret police may have been following you, and reported you to the Lord Mayor. And he didn't have you killed to make sure the case was closed." The last bit is a sigh of relief. "Maybe...one of the versions of me at least ordered you wouldn't be harmed. I wonder if it was me...? Well...I better make sure to update the Lord Mayor's orders as soon as possible. This city seems to bend its laws to the whim of whichever version of me was last here."

Carpenter nods. "I guess...technically all of the branches answer to the Mayor. But the Shadows report directly. The others don't."

Grimm nods slowly. "Well...I guess if I speak to the mayor, I can get you...un-disgraced? That can't be the right term," she chuckles.

There comes knocking, a gentle tapping, upon the Chief Inspector's door.

After a moment, you hear a rough cough, then hear Sergeant Nevermore say through the door, "Message for her Ladyship. Shall I slide it under the door!"

You then hear a young boy's voice say, "Oi! Yuir not pushing me underr that!"

Grimm looks to the door with a furrowed brow. "You can just open the door and send him in."

Carpenter shrugs, "I'll always be on the outs, it seems." He motions to the door. "Better get that."

The door opens and you see a young ragamuffin, cheeky grin and all, soot on his face, being held at arm's length by the sergeant. "He says he has a message for you, your Ladyship." The sergeant then adds with a shudder, "Hopefully verbal. Who know where he's hands have been."

"Oi, I warshed just last month, you..." His eyes then widen as he spots Grimm. "Cor!"

Grimm shoots a soft smile at Carpenter. "At least you won't be with me," she says affectionately. She looks to the street urchin with a more serious expression. "Why so surprised? You said you had a message for me."

Carpenter stands and looks at the kid doing his typical thing: Assessing pretty much everyone he talks to.

"I..I..I...was tole to bring da message to a lady I'd find here...Your Magnificentness," stutters the ragamuffin. He reaches up and snatches the hat off his messy hair.

Grimm nods regally as she falls into her role here. "Very well. What's the message, and who is it from?"

"It were from a flash cove, your Magnificentness! He weren't hard on the eyes atall! Better looking than any doxy I seen, even a courteous!" says the urchin. "And the message is: Come find me at the Dream Peddlers. That's it, your Magnificentness! Cor, you ain't half more purty than your statues!"

Sergeant Nevermore rolls his black eyes and gently cuffs the urchin about one ear. "Manners, me lad!"

Grimm holds up a hand after the Sergeant cuffs the kid. "It's fine. Thank you for the message. We'll have to go find the Dream Peddlers." She looks to Jack. "Do you know where that is? Your memories of this place seem more lived in," she smiles softly, then looks to the street urchin. "Did you receive compensation for delivering this message?"

Carpenter nods slowly. "I think so, yes." He looks to the kid, "Who gave you the message?"

"He paid me a whole thruppence for it, milady! Like I said, a flash cove. Sorprised he dinnae have any servents to run aboot for 'em!" says the urchin. "Course, tips is always nice..."

The Sergeant nods to Grimm at her words and doesn't cuff the kid again.

The urchin looks at Carpenter and his face pales slightly. "I don know what ya mean, governor."

Grimm glances to the purse at her side and pulls out a few coins that seems significantly better than a thruppence, though she has no clue. "Did this person have a name?" she translates and holds the coins as hostage until he answers.

Carpenter points to the coins that Grimm is holding. "You know what I mean, kid."

The kid looks at the coins then to Carpenter then to the coins then to Grimm then seems to deflate. "I can't grass on 'im, your Magnificentness, Detective. He's my guvnor, ain't he?"

Grimm frowns and seems to have her guess. "So you are saying...he is placed -above- me?" she raises her voice threatening, leaning into an evil queen vibe.

"Permission to shake him, your Majesty?" inquires Sergeant Nevermore as he grabs ahold oif the urchin's collar.

The Sergeant holds off as the urchin looks down at the floor. "No, your Magnificentness, he ain't...but he's the one who feeds me and gives me a place to sleep," says the kid softly.

Grimm sighs softly. "No shaking. Set him down." She holds out the coins and they float over to the Urchin for the taking.

His hands are quick to reach out and grab the coind when they get close. He shuffles his feet as he says, "He's a good 'un, your Magnificentness. So, uh, well....

Grimm nods and looks to Carpenter. "I think I know who sent the message. Walk with me?" she asks sweetly and extends her arm to him.

Carpenter takes Grimm's arm, "I'm curious to hear your theory on the matter."

The Sergeant steps back out into the hallway gently dragging the urchin with him. The urchin, for his part, seems both fascinated and terrified by Grimm, his eyes following her every move.

Grimm walks along with Carpenter. "I think maybe the Dreamer is here again. To know I'm here and where, it would be either him or the Lord Mayor." She smiles softly at him. "This is rather fun. You're the expert on this world, not me. I only know that this place seems to be a...nexus dreamscape, I suppose, connected to my dimensional variants and myself. We're meant to be absolute rulers, and each one can rewrite the laws to their liking. I think the world reflects the last version of me that was here, so...let's see what lies outside, shall we?" She's keen to share this adventure with Jack, where he isn't feeling out of his field of expertise.

Carpenter thinks about it. "I'm not sure. But the Dream Peddles is...the name of a guy who runs a brothel. He's part of the demimonde. Supposedly he can get you anyone you want. It hasn't been proven that he's a trafficker, but we've suspected it for a while. His business is called 'The House of Dreams'."

Grimm nods, a charmed smile on her lips at Jack's depth of knowledge. "Sounds like it could be the Dreamer. I'd recommend giving him a pass if it is. He's generally there to help."

Carpenter nods. "Maybe? The guy's real name is Adrian DeLisle. He's the last of his family. They all died in their sleep."

Grimm blinks. "Okay, not the Dreamer. I don't think I've met this person. Now I'm suspicious," she comments as Jack escorts her through the city. She studies the surroundings, but her eyes do keep getting drawn to Jack and his outfit.

You step out into the wide circular 'square' that is the center of Shadow Faire. It is crowded, as always, with many sellers of many items of which the buyers vary by race but are all humanoid...if only barely as that one centaur over there who's selling fresh meat shows.

Jack knows that the House of Dreams is beyond the Lord Mayor's Palace up on the noon, or midnight depednig on your proint of view, side of the 'square. The house is an old family mansion right on the edge of the Silverside, or rich persons, District.

You make your way across the central 'square' past the ever changing, but always essentially the same, statue of Gimmm up on a plinth in the center. You attract some attention, but no one approaches Grimm to ask for anything.

You pass by the Lord Mayor's palace which today has a brace of Garuds at attentoin in front of it. They all salute Grimm as she passes by in best falux Victorian manner.

And you pass on into the fairer, or at least, less crowded streets of the Silverside District. The houses are large here, even if most are still wall to wall with their neighbors. You come to a house eventually set apart from the others, surrounded by a high stone wall festooned with gargoyles. Beyond the open wrought iron gate, stands a ponderous Tudor looking house set in, for a city, palatial grounds. As you approach the front door, Carpenter spots a familiar urchin daring around the edge of the house, undoubtedly headed for the servant's entrance. The door has a large knocker on it and no sign of a bellpull.

Along the way, Gabrielle asks Jack idly, "Do you remember having ever met or having an altercation with me here...?" The reason for it is a little veiled.