A series played using Secrets & Shadows. This post is published under the CC-BY-SA-4.0 licence.
I'd never actually met Everette Chapman before, a colleague of mine at the Local History Museum had arranged the blind date. We’d both been told to meet at a cafe about 10 minutes walk from the museum.
Was I late? Yes: [1] No: [1] [2] I was late.
Soft Dramatic Move: Reveal Off-Screen Badness.
A couple of blocks away is a parked car. Inside Jolene West and Leigh Hicks discuss their mission; they check their equipment one last time, and walk-through the plan with an emphasis on exit strategies. Jolene is nervous but takes comfort in the sharpened length of iron-braced hawthorn given to her by Leigh.
Was he late? Yes: [5] No: [6] He wasn’t late.
I stumbled through the door of the cafe, my glasses immediately fogging up as I tried to disentangle myself from my hat, scarf and coat. I caught sight of who I could only assume was Everette, a tall and lean man folded neatly into an armchair, watching me intently through his blue-black curls and over the top of a steaming mug of coffee. As the fog cleared sufficiently for me to chart a path I smiled shyly and approached with my hand outstretched to shake.
Smooth (awkward) moves: [4] [3] +Magnetic = [8] Mixed outcome.
Outcome: Bonus on next roll to charm him, and turn move back on character.
He gracefully unfurled himself from the seat, placing his large mug on an end table, and moved to meet me. His hands, still warm from the mug, closed around mine and his wide eyes met mine.
“Jon. So good to finally meet you. Why don’t we sit somewhere a bit more private.”
His entire face lit up when he smiled back at me and I felt myself blush. His soft laughter was like the rustling of Autumn leaves, and for a brief moment it was as if we were lit by the dabbled sunlight of a forest glade. Momentarily taken aback I allowed myself to be gently pulled towards a more secluded corner, back where he’d been sitting.
I sank slowly into the old armchair he carefully steered me towards. With a twinkle in his eye he gestured to the end table between the two chairs; his mug was now joined by a second, this one full of steaming hot chocolate. On a plate between the mugs was a thick slab of coffee and walnut cake, two forks lay side by side on the edge of the plate.
To distract myself from staring at him, and him from hearing my stomach growl, I took off my glasses to wipe on the long sleeve of my thick jumper.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting, I got caught up leaving work. We’ve had some new pieces arrive for a display and to be honest they reminded me of something our mutual friend had mentioned about you. You are from the coast, right?”
I asked distractedly, even though he wasn’t to know I could see him perfectly well I still found myself not wanting to stare. Nonetheless as I asked my question I made sure to meet his gaze and felt a thrill of electricity as I did so.
Ongoing charm: [1] [2] +Magnetic +Hollywood Ugly +1 forward = [6] Fail.
Hard Dramatic Move: Bring in someone sexy with an agenda.
To my dismay the moment was over as quickly as it began. His eyes darted from mine to the front of the cafe as the bell above the door rang twice in quick succession. I leaned round and saw a tall figure in a well-tailored dark green suit. Their shoulder-length white hair hung loose across their broad shoulders. From behind them emerged a short woman whose hair was piled atop her head in a mass of intricate plaits. While her companion waited in the doorway, scanning the crowd impatiently, she weaved among the tables and low couches of the cafe, her hands behind her back.
Does Everette get a chance to react? Yes [6] No [3] Everette can react.
Everette quickly leaned across and took both of my hands in his. I was too shocked to say anything, and merely sat there as he looked intensely into my eyes.
“We need to be discrete, Jon. It’s vital that we’re not seen. I know you don’t fully appreciate it but you can help me with what’s about to happen. Just think unassuming thoughts.”
He winked at me and I felt myself blush once more. Then he began to mutter under his breath, a soft lilting murmur, some kind of poetry maybe? I felt something inside me respond to his words, even though I could barely make out what he was saying. A warmth which started in my chest, expanded to run along my arms and into my hands.
Invisibility spell: [6] [1] +Witch +Magic +Faerie +Glamour = [10] Success.
Outcome: 3 points of Currency.
The warmth seemed to emanate from my hands into his, and as it did so the room suddenly grew darker, the voices of the other patrons around us grew duller. From the corner of my eye I could see that everything beyond our immediate reach was shrouded in a grey mist which lay around the patrons and furniture. Through the mist the figure in green and the short woman were visible as they continued to scour the cafe.
Do they see us sitting there? Yes: [X] No: [X] Spend 1 Currency for No.
As she drew near, however, she paused as if slightly confused and her eyes slid off of us. She carried on searching the room for her quarry. Her companion in the doorway continued to survey the crowd, their fidgeting increasing as they failed to find whoever it was they were looking for. As the woman passed us she turned away enough for me to see what she was holding behind her back; a bundle of sticks as long as her forearm bound by tight iron rings.
I was confused and Everette read this on my face easily. A flicker of concern crossed his face as he saw the woman’s sticks, then he smiled enigmatically and slowly rose from his seat. Since we were holding hands I had to rise to meet him, we stood barely a foot apart from each other and I realised that I barely knew this person and yet in this moment I trusted him implicitly. He led and we slowly began to move, hands clasped tightly, through the crowd, heading for the back of the cafe. Everette gently shushed me when I was about to ask him what was going on, if he knew who these people were.
Does Jocelyn’s wand detect us? Yes: [X] No: [X] Spend 1 Currency for No.
I noticed the woman’s hands twitch sharply, an action that apparently surprised her too, and she took a moment to turn fully while her hands gripped the sticks tighter. Everette held his breath and tensed, and I did so too despite not understanding what was going on. After a moment of the two of us stood intimately close among a crowd of oblivious cafe patrons the woman resumed her search. Everette let out a soft sigh and allowed himself to lean close enough that he could whisper directly into my ear.
“We need to sneak out via the back, there’s an alley we can use to reach the high street. My place isn’t far from there.”
Do I trust him *that* implicitly? [4] [2] -Clever -Plan ahead = [4]
Reveal a secret or shame or weakness.
I froze as he said the words, the exhilarating feeling of his breath on my skin ended abruptly and I felt my feet root to the floor. I wasn’t ready for that. This was far too soon, I barely knew him beyond his name, I didn’t even know where he lived, and now there were people looking for him, people he clearly didn’t want to find him. This was shades of my ex all over again and frankly I was tired, cold, and not in the mood.
Does Everette pick up on this? Yes: [6] No: [4] = He picks up on it.
His eyes flashed to meet mine with a look of concern and panic. I could read him like a book; he was torn between explaining that comment more fully and getting the hell out of the cafe. I wasn’t going to help him out with this, I wanted answers.
Does Everette stay or flee? Stay: [5] Flee: [2] = He stays.
His hands gripped mine tighter, but still gently, as if he was trying to fuse his hands fully into my own. He cautiously stepped forward closing the already narrow gap between us. His eyes remained locked on mine and he raised our hands so that they were pressed between our chests. I could feel his heart fluttering in his chest like a frightened bird in a cage, and I knew he could feel mine racing too.
“I don’t mean quite like that” he demurred. “These people mean to do me harm and I need to get away from them. If you can assist in that endeavour I would be very grateful, even if it’s just helping to maintain the veiling spell until we get outside.”
I still didn’t fully understand the situation, but his willingness to be open combined with being able to feel him tremble slightly against me made up my mind. I nodded to him and began to move slowly but determinedly towards the door to the kitchen. There must be a fire exit or a back door that we could use to escape, we just had to hope that whatever was keeping them from seeing us, this “veiling spell,” held long enough.
Can we make it to the kitchen before the spell expires? Yes: [X] No: [X] Spend 1 Currency for Yes.
We made it. As soon as the door shut behind us we were brought back to reality; in this case it meant the grey mist dropping from the air and dissipating as soon as it hit the tiled floor. We found ourselves confronted by a pair of confused-looking staff members interrupted mid-conversation by the sudden arrival of two men who they hadn’t noticed enter.
Do they cause a scene? Yes: [1] [1] No: [4] They don’t but also…
Soft Dramatic Move: Turn your move back on you.
There was a long moment during which all four of us stared at each other, everyone apparently being caught in the act of doing something wrong. Everette smoothly took charge by striding forward confidently and asking the nearest staff member if this was the right way for the back exit. The startled employee nodded cautiously, shooting a look to their colleague who just shrugged discretely. Doing our best to maintain our composure we walked swiftly out into the alleyway behind the cafe, at which point I realised with some amusement we’d still been holding hands the whole time. The amusement was short-lived however as from within the kitchen we heard raised voices.
“It’s them. We need to get out of here.” Everette fixed me with a piercing intensity. “If not my place then where would you feel comfortable fleeing to?”
Can I think of a suitable place quickly? [1] [1] +Clever +Tactics = [4] Fail, also…
Soft Dramatic Move: Offer a hard bargain or an ugly choice.
All I could think about was how much I really didn’t want to end up at this guy’s place; yes, he was attractive and there was a definitely a lot of chemistry, but I wanted to get to know a guy first for once. In that moment I knew where we had to go.
“Come with me” I said as I took his hand again. “We’re going to the museum.”