Blackwood Grove, Fandom to Baltimore's Anchor Market, Monday Afternoon

[witchoftheflesh]

Okay, so...Adrian's Market jaunt had been pushed back a few days. Mostly because Pam, Rey, and Lydia had all told him that they were coming along with him. Adrian had tried - briefly, and not well - to point out why that was a terrible and dangerous idea, but all of his arguments against had been taken as arguments for and eventually Adrian had bowed to the inevitable and given in.

But they couldn't just go in. They needed a plan and, even more importantly, they needed disguises.

So first, a meeting here to figure out their story and get them all into the proper disguises, and then it was off to the Market.

If he were going anywhere that wasn't crawling with warlocks, Gilgamesh's enforcers, and had a slave pit to boot, Adrian would almost be excited. Sadly, that was exactly what each Market was like and so he was filled with dread instead.

"Do you think that they'll be more willing to listen to reason and stay here today?" he asked Boston.

The cat didn't even deign to reply, just opened one baleful eye long enough to look at him and then closed it again to nap.

"Yeah," he sighed. "Me neither."

[For the aforementioned ladies please!]

Comments

[thatwaslucky]

Rey had never been here before. And Rey's first question when she got there was, "Is this a situation where blasters and lightsabers should be hidden or visible?"

In case that answered the question of whether she was staying here or not.

[mustbeawitch]

"Neither are particularly common on Earth," Lydia pointed out, "so I should think they would raise more questions than anything if they were visible."

Honestly, this was a shopping trip, people. Had none of you gone shopping before? If you acted suspicious, everyone was going to think you were suspicious!

[thatwaslucky]

"It's so far sounded like it could go either way," Rey said, and she was trying so hard not to be too obvious in noting her admittedly lovely dress.

[mustbeawitch]

"It's a shopping trip."

Into enemy territory, yes, yes, but still.

"You save threatening the shopkeepers for after they try to cheat you."

[thatwaslucky]

"I do t think it's the shopkeepers we're worrying about?"

Maybe she was wrong!

[mustbeawitch]

"Yes, but we shouldn't act as if we're worried about anything but shopkeepers." This was why you people needed Lydia.

[thatwaslucky]

"I kind of have to, in a way," Rey said. "It's how a lot of the helpful Force stuff works."

[mustbeawitch]

"Acting suspicious?" Lydia asked, confused. That sounded like the Force wanted to get you into trouble, Rey.

[thatwaslucky]

"Not suspicious." How dare you. "Guarded, maybe."

[joan_of_bark]

"I think they might call a lot of attention to us in this environment," Pam noted. "Honestly, I'm not sure if guns are a thing here."

[thatwaslucky]

"That's sort of what I figured," Rey replied. "The way he talks about it, though, I'd rather be maybe overprepared."

[joan_of_bark]

"Maybe wrap them up in cloth," Pam said. "They won't look conspicuous and unless things get really bad, you can use them as a bludgeon."

[thatwaslucky]

"Hopefully I don't have to even get to bludgeoning," Rey said. "I had to do a lot of things like this through a war, it had to end in shooting more than I'd like."

[joan_of_bark]

"Don't I know it."

Admittedly Pam generally felt a lot less regret than she suspected Rey did, but...

"Let's just keep our fingers crossed we're either being too paranoid or Adrian is about to be too charming for this to turn into a problem."

[thatwaslucky]

"Either of those things is entirely possible," Rey said.

[witchoftheflesh]

"Hidden. Definitely hidden. If it's come to violence, we're in a very bad way. The Market is full of guards to preserve the Eternal-King's peace and they won't hesitate if they think someone's about to make trouble."

[thatwaslucky]

Rey nodded her understanding. "Would I look out of place with a cloak?"

Since apparently they didn't do that on the mainland here, but they also didn't seem to do witches hats, so...

[witchoftheflesh]

"Yes," Adrian said. "Umm, I think we're probably all going to need to change, actually. The customers at Market are usually the richest, most powerful, and most glamorous. So...that's what we're going to need to be. Or, well, at least look like."

[thatwaslucky]

"Change into what?" she asked cautiously. "I definitely don't have anything like that."

[witchoftheflesh]

"I was pretty sure that would be true," Adrian said. "I don't either, really. But what I do have is magic, so, that's what we're going to be relying on. A Mimic potion, specifically."

[thatwaslucky]

"Is this like Lydia's magic, where you have to pay something in return first?"

She wasn't entirely comfortable with how she'd seen Lydia's glamours, at least as it might pertain to her, so she needed to see how uncomfortable she might be here.

[witchoftheflesh]

Adrian shook his head. "At least, not the way that she does," he explained. "And this is a potion anyway; magic, yes, but not exactly a spell."

[thatwaslucky]

There was maybe instant relief happening on Rey's face.

"How does that work?" she asked, curious this time. "Do you need anything from us?"

[witchoftheflesh]

"It's a potion that builds up an illusion based on whatever appearance you're concentrating on at the time," Adrian said. "It's helpful to have something tangible to focus on, so you can build your illusion around it, but if your imagination is strong enough to build in details, that's fine, too. So all I need from you is a good imagination, strong focus, and, ah, a willingness to look and probably behave like a spoiled rich princess."

He was betting it would be the last one that Rey was going to have a problem with.

[thatwaslucky]

Yep. Yep, by the look on her face she knew that last part was going to be a problem. She'd do it. But it was going to be work.

"I'm doing this because I don't want anything bad to happen to you," she told him.

She'd even known a princess and she was maybe the least spoiled ever so she couldn't even base it on that.