Log:Macabre Messenger for Grimm and Associates

The Madness of David Flyte 2020/02/17 	 Dialydd Grimm Radical

27

This shop is lit with soft, indirect lighting save of 'pillars' of light that shine down on various small tables. On nearly all the tables are small to medium sized clockwork creations varying from the practical to the whimsical: clocks, watches, animals of a decided alien cast, even a clockwork back scratcher (you think). Interspersed among the clockwork are very well crafted embroidery images, scarves and handkerchiefs. And on a rack, near one side wall, is well made handcrafted clothing. Much of which has intricate geometric embroidery along the edges of the sleeves, necks, or hems.

A long counter runs along the back of the shop. The wood and glass display cases hold smaller clockwork items as well as very intriacte emroidery on gloves, handkerchiefs, and other small pieces. A lifting panel allows access behind the counter and to the Dutch door in the wall that leads somewhere else deeper in the building.

Dialydd sits on a tall stool behind the counter. In truth, he more leans his butt on the edge of the stool, letting the furniture take most of the weight off his feet and legs. He looks down at a pair of gloves pinned to a hexagonal embroidery frame. A myriad of silken threads lead to the gloves as he deftly embroiders a brilliant design vaguely resembling a double winged phoenix onto them.

Dialydd thinks as he works <> The only outward sign of his thoughts is a soft sigh that escapes his lips from time to time.

The scent of baking bread comes through the edges and gaps of the Dutch doors as well as a hgh pitched, but pleasant, humming sound like someone wordlessly singing.

Speak of the devil. The shop's front door opens and in walks Gabrielle Grimm. She took some time to put herself together after her talk with Frank. Cleaned up, changed out of her bloodied clothes, and ready to kick some Elder God ass. Even though she can't see or sense the thing that has its tendrils around her. "Hello?" she asks calmly to announce herself. Her hands slip into the pockets of her leather jacket. She's got an old band t-shirt on, and jeans. All black, of course, though the jeans do fade into a charcoal ombre.

The crystal chimes hanging over the doorway mix in with your voice in a not unpleasant way. In any case, Dialydd's attention turns to you from his embroidery frame. He smiles gently at you as he murmurs in that rich deep voice of his, "Welcome, sera Grimm."

He does not put down the 'hoop' but does nods politely to you as he adds, "Please, come and take a seat." His eyes track to a stool sitting on your side of the counter not far from where he sits.

There is slightly darkening of the skin around his temples as he then adds, "If you desire to, that is, sera Grimm. I should not, cha, assume."

"Thank you," Grimm smiles as she strides over to the stool across from him and takes a seat. "I do desire," she adds warmly as he worries about her will on such things. She looks around idly at the items on display. Dialydd keeps appearing in her dreams. Maybe because he's hot and her subconscious is running wild with it. He's been front and center at times, or just on the edges. In the crowds. "I thought things were getting better. The nightmares were starting to get under control. I was even having some of them turn into good dreams," she comments as she looks over a scarf. "Now? I'm having waking nightmares." She looks back to Dialydd. "I...hurt someone I care about. Gravely. Unintentionally. I ran away. And someone found me and suggested I come back to you," she says, turning her gaze to Dialydd.

"Radical had a theory. Keep me in a good mood, and we could close the rifts. It almost worked, but N'zrathol's holding them open. We couldn't scare him completely away to get him to let go so Radical could seal the last of the rifts. There's something missing..."

"Waking nightmares?" murmurs Dialydd with a concerned tone. "Have these waking nightmares continued?"

He looks down at his embroidery as if choosing a color as he adds, "And I am glad your dreams were becoming better. Destroying that pillar seemd to help."

"They started when a friend tried to use a spell to help me and messed it up. The nightmares became real. Nightmarish doubles of my friends. They looked real. Felt real. Even the pain," Gabrielle explains uneasily. "I thought that it was over. The other night, that same friend spent the night to comfort me. And when I woke up, the nightmare version of him was there. I felt this awful sense of panic and being trapped, and I lost control of my powers." She sniffs, but manages to keep her emotions in check. "It...was just all in my head. I almost killed him because I was terrified and lost control."

It's then that Dialydd's words register. "Wait...how did you know about the pillar?"

The alien Adonis looks up for a moment then back down at his embroidery when you ask the question. The darkening at his temples, which had faded, returns and spreads down his to his neck. "Cha, Dream and Reality are, cha, much the same to me, sera. I mean no harm, but you were not getting rest in Dream, so I..." He makes a clicking sound. "My apologies for not getting your permission before entering." His tone is soft as he speaks.

"Holy crap. That was actually you? I thought I was just dreaming about you," Gabrielle laughs with some relief. "Umm. I hope you didn't see the risque stuff," she blushes and grins. "If you did, I apologize."

A gentle smile flits over Dialydd's lips. "Thank you for being so understanding, sera Grimm. Many are not so, cha, pleasant about such revelations. My sisters and mothers never approved, I fear...well, most of them. It is never all on any, cha, on most issues."

He adds as he looks up at you. "And all that I experience in Dream, cha, I do not share, sera. I try to intrude as little as possible."

"Well, some people may not appreciate it. But I know you were helping," Grimm says. She uses her shadow sight to scan the exterior of the store, in case Charity is lurking about again. "And I appreciate the secrecy," she smiles.

Dialydd nods to you. "My pleasure, sera. I can continue to monitor your dreams should you wish." He sighs softly. "It is merely a stopgap measure but one I hope provides you with some rest."

Grimm sits on a stool across the counter form Dialydd. She sent a text before arriving to see if Radical could join her to try and see if there was progress made on Dialydd's research. "Sure, you can continue monitoring my dreams. I appreciate it. Just no peaking at the naughty ones," she winks.

Radical appears, seemingly from nowhere, on the street outside the shop. He doesn't want to teleport directly into the shop, as that might cause a defensive reaction. Instead, he walks in through the door and looks around.

The darkening of his temples and neck, which once again had begun to fade, reutns with a gusto at Grimm's words and wink. His entire face darkens slightly as well as his neck down into this shirt. The youth's gaze drops back to his embroidery as he chokes out a laugh.

He looks over at the doorway to the shop then back down to his embroidery, anywhere but at Grimm, as he murmurs, "Cha, yes, waking nightmares, yes. They are continuing? I am not as skilled at countering such, daydreams being harder to, cha, shape for me."

Dialydd glances over as the crystal chimes announce another visitor. He then smiles, perhaps gratefully, as Radical steps fully into the shop. "Welcome, ser Radical, welcome." He gesures to Grimm. "We were not just taling about you...cha, no, yes, we were just talking about you."

"Oh, my friend just arrived," Grimm comments as she feels Radical's sudden appearance out front. She spins in her stool and gives Radical a wave. She looks a little worn down, but motivated and determined. "Yes, the waking nightmares happened again," she says to Dialydd, then looks to Radical. "Those evil things we saw with Porter messed up the spell? I saw it again. Well, just one. Just that twisted version of Porter. Only..." she curls her fingers into fists on her lap. "Only it wasn't another creature. It was just a distortion of him. I...I really hurt him."

Radical gives a wave to the two of them. He then walks over closer. "What triggered it this time? Did Porter try a spell again?"

Dialydd listens quitely as Grimm then Radical speaks. He sets aside the emboidery 'hexagon' that holds the glvoes he's embroidering with a double winged phoenix like creature.

Grimm shakes her head. "He spent the night at my place to help me sleep when I didn't head over to Randal's. I woke up and saw the monster version of him." Grimm looks embarrassed and shamed. "I panicked and felt trapped. I...I shut down, and lost control of my powers. My shadows lashed out at the monster, but once they ended the threat and I calmed down, I saw it was Porter all along." She swallows thickly. "I can't risk that happening again. Porter got lucky and I got him to the hospital in time. But what if it had been you? Or Randal?" she says to Radical nervously.

Radical shakes his head as he thinks about it. After a moment, he says, "There's no reason to suspect that you'd sense either Randal or myself in the same way. I'm going to suggest that you not fret over that, Gabrielle. We made some real progress with your situation. We just need to get this...Elder God...distracted again."

Gabrielle takes a deep breath and nods. "I know. I ran away from my problem, thinking isolating myself would be the answer. But I know I have to fight this thing." She looks between Dialydd and Radical. "While I was hiding out, I got visited by this talking fox. It knew about N'zrathol. He said he had bets on a really good hunter to deal with N'zrathol, but the hunter died. So now it falls on us to deal with. And it suggested I seek Dialydd out again." She looks to Dialydd.

"Cha, I would call N'zrathol a high order Qlipophtic entity. Perhaps on a human scale of 1 to 10, where an average human meta is a, cha, 3, and, cha, the most powerful of the Destroyers a 10, it is a 5 or 6?" murmurs Dialydd softly. "This is not a linear scale, closer to, cha, magnitudes of 10?"

Gabrielle stares at Dialydd, wide-eyed. "THIS is a 5? I was told I was keeping back something worse than this. And this is just a 5 or 6??"

The alien youth then seems to note what Grimm said then is distracted by Grimm's question. "Cha, yes?"

Gabrielle takes another breath and just nods, trying to control her emotions. "Okay, then." She looks to Radical to gauge his reaction.

Radical seems pretty calm about it. He has spent his entire life dealing with powers-that-be that were beyond him. He finds himself wondering where the Lords of Order and Chaos fall on that scale, but...well, they're far more powerful than he is. That's the only thing that matters, honestly. "I wonder...it's a rift. We can send soemthing through. We used positive emotions to push back, but that's the 'stick' approach. What if we used the 'carrot'? We send something through the rift that's akin to a flare. Chaff. Something expendable? Something to draw N'zrathol off to allow teh rift to close."

The alien Adonis says softly, in his deep rich voice, "Cha, N'zrathol, as all such entities, feeds on life energies, souls, spirits. And it, like all of the Destroyers, is always hungry. A never satisfied hunger." He sighs softly. "So, that could be used to distract it. At the cost of lives."

"What? No. There's got to be another way," Grimm outright denies that option. She doesn't want lives on the line.

Radical nods in agreement with Grimm, "I had hoped it could be something like...a magical construct. Perhaps with some life energy in it. Just enough to act like a...laser pointer for a cat."

"Cha, I suppose that /might/ work, seran. But, such a construct would be beyond my ability. Well, I could build a clockwork body, but putting life essence in it. Not on this side of Dream."

He seems to be about to say more when there is thudding series of knocks on the door to the shop. It's not hard to determine that whoever's knocking must be rather short.

Grimm straightens up at the knocking, casting out her shadow sight to get an idea of what's on the other side.

To Grimm's shadow sight, she feels a short man or, no, a chimpanzee garbed in what feels like a short coat with a round hat strapped onto its head. OUt of back, in place of the traditional wings sprout a cluster of tentacles that are knocking on the door. In one hand, it grips what feels like an envelop.

Mystically, this thing stinks of the darkest necromancies and other, less human, magicks.

Radical turns to look at the door. He's the one closest to it. He then cautiously heads over to it to open the door slowly...assuming no one stops him.

Grimm gulps and spins around on her stool, then steps off of it. "Radical, Dialydd, we got some nasty company," she warns. "Nasty and weird." She doesn't stop Radical. just warns him.

Dialydd stands up from his stool and reachs under the counter to pull out a long iron bar. It's about twice the length and width of a crowbar but he handles the weight easily it seems.

Radical goes ahead and opens the door, but he's prepared for a fight if necessary. He also activates his dimensional and magic sight before doing so.

Upon opening the door, you can all see a rather dessicated looking chimpanzee dressed like a bellboy from a 1930s movie. The red outfit and cap look like it was last worn by someone who got cut open in the 1930s and then buried in given the dirt and dark stains on it. The eyes are the most disturbing part of this creature as they are human and alive looking and filled with horror. The greenish grey tentacls that sprout from it back furl back as Radical opens the door and one paw thrust forward holding an envelope.

"For Ms Grimm and companions" rumbles the chimapnzee in a Igor-like voice right out a Hammer horror film.

Mystically speaking, darkest necromancies, some type of unknown magicks for the 'wings' and perverted Druidice ritual animate this monstrosity.

Grimm cringes and covers her mouth at the necromantic thing. "Ughh, that is horrifying," she grumbles. She walks over to take up position alongside Radical. She wrinkles her nose, then takes the envelope from the horrid creature. "And I thought MY nightmares were bad..."

Radical was about to take the envelope, but lets Grimm do so. "Thank you for the message." He finds himself falling into being formal again. A natural reaction for him.

"Who sent you?" Grimm asks the chimp as she looks over the envelope to read what's written on it, then starts to open it once it seems clear of magic.

"My Master made me from the clay. Am I not better than Adam and my Master greater?" intones the chimpanzombie in response to Grimm.

Radical blinks at that. "That...doesn't really answer the question, though. Who is your master?"

Inside is a note written in the style of a telegram, a reference which may elude some in the room.

It reads: From - Master Jean-Michel Lereau, Th.D, PhD, MDA; To: Ms Gabrielle Grimm...and lesser associates. RE: Proposition

Need to consult on future plans STOP Imperative N'zrathol not enter world STOP Suggest pool resources STOP Stop thinking I'm a madman STOP Send reply with monkey STOP Sincerely, your devoted servant, JL

"M...MY devoted servant?" Grimm stammers at the end. Totally a madman. He turns the letter to Radical to share with him.

"My Master is the One Who Waits, the Master of Clay, the Acolyte of..." The chimpanazombie trails off for some reason.

Dialydd stays well back from the creature then says in quiet voice. "It is partially of the Qlipophtic. The tentacles are merely the outward sign."

"An acolyte of...?" Gabrielle prompts the necromantic ape, then looks to Dialydd. "Wonderful."

Radical takes a look at the letter and taps the paper a couple of times before he looks back to the others. "The name rings a bell or two. There was a former DEMON Morbane by that last name or Lereau, back in 1940s and 50s. There's also a 'Master Jean-Michel' whom I've heard of barred from the Inn Between Worlds. Only consults with peopel from sahdows in neutral locations. A dimensional traveler sort. Might be the same person. Or a descendant?"

Radical shakes his head slowly, "I generally would be opposed to talking to a former Morbane. But...it might be worth hearing him out? At least we can hear what he has to say."

"He got barred from the Inn Between Worlds?" Grimm asks in shock. "Even my evil alters haven't dared break the Sisters' rules," she comments. "Have you ever been there?" she asks Radical, then thinks for a bit. "Maybe I've run into this guy in my dimensional travels? I think I'd remember."

"You see far too well, alien," croaks the chimpanzombie as it turns its living eyes on Dialydd. It then takes a step back. "Impossible!" it states in French.

Radical nods to Grimm, "I've been there a couple of times. Never got barred from the place, personally."

Gabrielle grins slyly at Radical. "I bet you're an upstairs kind of guy," she comments, then looks to the chimp. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?" she asks her compatriots. Then looks surprised at the Chimpanzombie's reaction to Dialydd.

The reactoin from the chimpanzombie might be because Dialydd's surrounded by a golden-silver 'haze' now. It softens his appearsace as if seeing him through a slighlty unfocussed lense shot. "Get out of my home, !" states the youth in a hard voice as he glares at the creature.

Radical nods to Grimm, "Mostly upstairs. Yeah." He then watches the interaction between the...chimp(?) and Dialydd. "Hmm."

Grimm smiles playfully. "Mostly, huh?" She takes that to imply he's been downstairs once or twice. She gets distracted from ribbing Radical when Dialydd curses at the creature. She looks back to the note. "If we can meet on neutral ground, perhaps we can consult with Lereau," she tells the ape.

Grimm winces a little and takes a step away from Dialydd as well. She looks back at him to study his strange aura.

The Igor-like voice returns, "Yes, neutral ground. Place du Concorde. Geneva. Two days at sunset?" The chimpanzombie's eyes track both Grimm and Dialydd as it speaks.

"I'm, uhh, not familiar with that area. Is there an address or...something?" Grimm asks cluelessly.

Radical raises a brow. "Geneva, Switzerland?"

"Yes," states the chimpanzombie. "Agreed?"

Gabrielle looks to Radical and shrugs. "That's pretty neutral," she smirks.

Radical chuckles. "It is. Generally." He looks to Grimm, "I'm willing if you are."

Grimm smiles at Radical's willingness to see her through this. She looks to the ape and nods. "Agreed. I could use a vacation right about now."

The alien Adonis murmurs, "I fear I must decline, seran. I cannot, at this time, leave the continent of North America. I would need permission of StarGuard." His eyes haven't left the chimpanzombie. "My apologies."

The chimpanzombie clicks its heel bones together with a slight clack. "Then, in two days at sunset, my Master will grace you with his Wisdom!" it croaks. It then back's out of the threshold.

Radical sighs. After the door closes, he says quietly, "'Grace us with his wisdom', huh? Reminds me of my graduate advisor."

Grimm chuckles faintly at Radical's response. She's just glad to be out of that frankenape's presence. "Hey, at least there's a vacation out of it." She tries to look at the bright side. "May be worth scouting ahead before the meeting to make sure it's not a trap, if this is somehow related to that Morbane from over a hundred years ago."

Radical nods slowly, "Even if it is him...he might be worth talking to. The guy has a list of honorifics which were...interesting. Doctor of Theology. Doctor of Philosophy. And Master of the Dark Arts."

"If he made that chimp, I definitely believe the last one." Grimm looks over the note again. "'Your devoted servant'. No Morbane would call themselves that to me." She frowns as she rereads the lesser associates comment. "Stop thinking I'm a madman? I don't even know him, so how could I start? If he knows N'zrathol, maybe he was associated with the hunter that was supposed to stop this in the first place?"

Radical chuckles. "I guess you have a worshipper? Don't let it go to your head, though."

Gabrielle smirks and attempts to give Radical a playful bump with her elbow. "This isn't my first worshipper, you know," she retorts teasingly.

Radical chuckles again, but after a moment, he gets more serious. "I think the 'devoted servant' thing is just...a way to sign off, to indicate that he's willing to help you. He likely has further designs for your life. You were viewed as a way that soemthign bigger shows up here on this plane, right? If N'zrathol gets to it first, this guy's plans fall through."

Grimm sighs softly as she gets serious, too. "Right. So...at least we know he's motivated to help at the moment. Probably to pave the way for something worse. Doesn't he know my dance card is already full?" she gripes.

Radical nods. "He does. He's trying to free that card up."

Grimm cringes a bit, realizing Radical's right. "So. He's just trying to find a chance to cut in."

Radical nods. "Well, he has time. He can be patient. But to get to his goal, he has to stop the current situation from coming to pass."

"Right. Which means we can have a temporary alliance to stop N'zrathol. And now that I know he exists, I can try to learn what I can about him so I know what I'll have to deal with in the future," Grimm reasons.

Radical touches the side of his nose. "Exactly. Just just don't trust any 'gifts' from the guy. They'll come back to bite you later. Almost guaranteed."

Grimm nods slowly. "Right. Totally. And I already expect his help to come with some sort of price. I'm just afraid to find out what."

Radical nods. "I feel like we made some real progress already. We may not NEED his help. So remember that when we go to talk to him."

Gabrielle nods. It does look like some good progress was made in her aura at least. It's better than it was when Radical first noticed the cracks. Though a few more have appeared again after the trauma of the waking nightmare. "You're right. Totally. If we don't need his help, we shouldn't take it." She slides her hands in her pockets and frowns a bit. She looks over to where Dialydd disappeared in the back. "Dialydd said it'd take lives to lure N'zrathol away. I'm hoping we can fin something else. Though I'm guessing after seeing that chimp, that's what Lereau plans to offer."

Radical nods. "It would take lives to act as a beacon to lure him away. But..." He puts a hand on Grimm's shoulder, "Goodness and light also pushed him away. Both methods can work. If the lure does not...due to the cost, then we push him away. Either can do the job."

Gabrielle smiles gently at Radical's reassurance. "Maybe Dialydd can help with that. Something about that aura that was surrounding him made me feel weird. Uncomfortable. It's hard to describe. It's like there was some sort of push and pull sensation."

Radical nods. "Like you would get with a magnet? Somehow that doesn't surprise me much."

"Yeah...that's a good description of it. Kind of ...vibrational? I'm not sure how else to describe it," Grimm tries to explain.

Radical nods, "A resonance, then. Definitely a connection of some kind. So...I think that just supports our theory about his goals."

Grimm nods slightly and rolls her shoulders. "Yeah. I wonder what Dialydd called that chimp. It seemed to react a bit similarly to how I did to Dialydd's aura. Well, more intensely I think?"

Radical nods. "You have a connection to the same power source than the chimp did. That's the reaction. But you're also human, so that reaction would be muted."

"Okay, yeah. That makes total sense. One thing is certain: based on that chimp, we can be sure Lereau really is a madman," Gabrielle smirks.

Radical takes a deep breath. "Or he is at least in that category of mages that you were cautious of."

"Oh, he's definitely that," Gabrielle says without a doubt.

Next: Log:Detective and Porter (chewed)