Field Mission 5: Il Prigioniero, Part 1

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There was a theme park in Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop #7: The Carnival Caper. Sirs, I gotta say, I liked that one a whole lot better. NAVIGATION Click here for the RNG thread! 1. IL PRIGIONIERO: WELCOME TO CORMANTHOR A. A CRASH BETWEEN TWO FERNS Lucretia has given the orders and locale for the next Grand Relic to be reclaimed and destroyed, a task that will present itself with many new and weird dangers that the Reclaimers haven't come across before. For anyone looking to brush up on their history of Myth Drannor, the Netheril, and the forest of Cormanthor, some of you have already learned a great deal of what occurred here, in bits and pieces. Leon, the Artificer of the Bureau of Balance, had described the tale of a very unfortunate city facing a major energy crisis that was bleeding out the land. You've already met the culprit behind one of the worst decisions humanity has ever made (Spoiler: it's Karsus, a god-tier shit wizard who sacrificed himself to get some of you out of dodge back in Lyrabar), and seen the destruction, first hand, of what happened to the Netheril via the events of Vista Virs. Phew, that's a lot of lore to take in all at once. But as history would have it, there are always a few sides to every story, and the fall of the Netheril wasn't the only mass of land that had been affected deeply by its twisted magical decay. The forested region of Cormanthor, not far from the source of corruption, did as well. Cormanthor was once home to capital of High Elves. They had resided in a city deep within, warded carefully from the outside world, known as Myth Drannor. Today, it lay in shambles, lost forever and protected by the sickened forest that surrounds it. You see, over 200 years ago, a floating city of Netherese fashion had appeared over the vicinity of Vista Virs. A battle raged on between heroic paladins and the cult that had raised it into this plane of existence. The result of that war sent the planar magics that bound the raised city into turmoil. Its target? Myth Drannor. And what didn't destroy the city from impact damage left a far deeper, darker problem among the elves that lived there. A twisted sickness, a dark corruption, it seeped deeply into the hearts of all that dwelt there. Legend has it that the Tree of Life itself, Yggdrasil, is at the heart of Myth Drannor. But that's all ancient history at this point. No one's been able to make it deep enough into the woods to find out what really happened. Most often, they find the city of Shadowdale instead, and with that... Wonderland. Speaking of which, you'll be blasted down to the outskirts of the forest. The entire balance of magic in this area is highly off kilter, which isn't entirely new to some of you veteran Reclaimers. When a Grand Relic is used, it often leaves behind a very distinct path of destruction that makes even the most learned scholars scratch their head. Magical interference runs nigh high throughout all of Cormanthor, which makes this mission particularly dangerous. Bubbles are not able to penetrate the canopy of Cormanthor or land directly at Wonderland. As Lucretia had said a few months ago, these missions are going to get harder and come with higher consequences. She has faith in all of you to make better decisions. You're the most amazing and stalwart people she's ever met, after all. Blasted down to Cormanthor in parties no more than 4, you land somewhere near the outskirts of the forest. Look behind you, and you can see the yellow-hued mountains of the Netheril behind you, boasting a land of pure desert and its own uniquely cursed roster of flora and fauna. Pitter patter, Reclaimers. Watching a coast as it slips by the ship is like thinking about an enigma. There it is before you, smiling, frowning, inviting, grand, mean, insipid, or savage, and always mute with an air of whispering, "Come and find out." Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness Back to top 2. THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS B. EMPTY WOODS The woods of Cormanthor were stunningly beautiful once. Before most people who walk among these trees were born, sure — but once upon a time, this was a beautiful place. A living, thriving forest, like any other great wood. When the Reclaimers enter, however, the first thing they'll notice is the silence. Unnatural, ubiquitous, and oppressive, silence is the single unifying factor throughout these woods. The trees themselves shift, first sparse pines, then white ash and beech, and finally towering oaks, maples, and hickory. The silence doesn't change. There is no noise but the wind rustling the leaves on the trees — and as you get further in, even that begins to fall away. It will become quickly apparent that there's no animal life here. This is a forest in stasis, certainly, but it's utterly devoid of birds flying overhead, four-legged creatures scurrying through the leaf debris. No deer, no wolves, no bears. No monsters. No insects, even, if you're paying attention. Those with the ability to speak with animals will notice very quickly that life simply doesn't seem to exist here. Those with the ability to speak to plants may be even more alarmed, because while the trees and other plants do respond, their replies are sluggish and distant, somewhat reminiscent of speaking to someone suffering with a severe fever, drifting in and out of consciousness. Travel through Cormanthor's forest takes a few days' time, and so much time spent in silence begins to take a toll. Never mind the fact that no matter your Boy Scout badges, you can't forage for anything useful out here: nothing from the forest that is eaten provides any sustenance. Eat a bucket full of berries, and you'll still be as hungry as if you hadn't eaten a thing. The trees press in on all sides, and you know each one is different from the last, but after a while they all start to look the same. Some will be more affected than others. Those with a madness effect (RNG'd or chosen from the list on this mission's dossier) will begin to feel it by the end of the second day. There are infinite options of how to play with this in the frozen forest, but here are a few possibilities: ○ If you have forgotten something important to you (1), it can happen quickly or slowly. Perhaps you're camping with your bubblemates, talking about someone from home. That Greg Grimaldis, was he really that bad? the Reclaimer to your right asks. Who, you ask, perplexed, brow furrowing, is Greg Grimaldis? ○ If reality is beginning to distort (2) for you, you might become abruptly certain that you're going the wrong way. Wonderland is back the way you came. Anyone trying to convince you otherwise is absolutely up to something — trying to make you look bad? Trying to hurt you? Who knows, but they're definitely up to something. ○ If you've lost valuable skills (3), they might drop out from under you at the worst possible moment. Even a forest in stasis has its hazards: pitfalls, roots that disguise holes and twist ankles, flimsy bridges that collapse and leave you hanging perilously over ravines, et cetera. Design peril to fit the skills you've lost. When you reach for your tried-and-tested knowledge, what do you know? It isn't there. You have to figure out another way out of this. ○ If you're feeling unlucky (4), guess what? The one person/thing in this whole realm that was keeping you safe isn't here right now. Everything around you is a portent of awful luck. Is that tree telling you to go die? It probably is! Paranoia creeps up on you from everywhere. Even your teammates. There's something about them that makes you certain everything's going to go to hell any minute now. C. EMPTY CITY Before you enter, you can see a town and only a town. Step across the border and you'll feel a barrier, something invisible and not quite permeable. After a pause, it seems to accept you, and your foot touches down in Shadowdale. Then you look up. You can't help but look up. Stretching so high you've got to crane your neck to see to the top is a great gold tree sprung from the center of town. You couldn't see any of it from outside of Shadowdale's borders, but the town, it seems, wants you here. It wants you to see Wonderland. This could be paradise for a while, a place to stay safe from prying eyes and protected by the vastness of the forest as the Reclaimers track down this latest relic. Except, not to put too fine a point on it, it's kind of creepy here. The whole place is empty — not everyone-got-up-and-left-in-a-rush empty, but ghost-town empty. Nobody wants to stay here, it seems. Maybe there's somewhere else they'd rather be. Regardless, it leaves you with plenty of lodgings to choose from. If you don't mind making your own fun, there's plenty to do, too: bookshops to visit, bakeries to use, butcher shops to — okay, maybe not that one. There's a courthouse, though. Who wants to play Judge Judy? Consider any shop or government building one might find in a small town to be fair game. After a few hours, though, it becomes clear that this place isn't quite empty after all. You aren't the only ones investigating. D. A FAMILIAR FACE (OR TWO) ○ The first face you see is a friendly one. Upon seeing the bracer on your wrist, Matthew Hollyweather walks right up to you, all the more readily if he remembers your face from New New Aspen. Despite the setting, he's clearly and genuinely pleased to see Reclaimers here. To those he's met before, he's eager to share all the positive change going on in New New Aspen: the newfound peace, the booming economy, pictures of one bajillion bouncing new spider-nieces-and-nephews. To those new to him, he introduces himself as Mayor Hollyweather of New New Aspen with just enough good-natured self-derision in his tone that he comes off as authoritative but kind of embarrassed about it. It becomes obvious pretty quickly that he's been here a while — a few weeks, perhaps, more than long enough to get kind of lonely. Matthew's only company so far has been that kid, who's nice enough, but only showed up a couple days ago. And why is Matthew here? Well, that's where he stops being quite so much of an open book. He's looking for something, that's what he tells you. Something he's missing . . . and that's all. If you want to know more, you're going to roll for it. Everyone can get information from Matthew, but if you were present for the New Aspen mission, you'll get +2 on any DC on top of your existing class or skill bonuses. ○ The kid Matthew is talking about makes himself known soon enough. Perhaps you catch him perusing the bookstore in his fancy-boy suit and spiffy fancy cap, nose deep in a tome his thin arms tremble to hold, clearly paying no attention to you. Or maybe he's chowing down on some truly unusual-looking fried concoction (where did he get that?) in the town square by the fountain, clearly paying no attention to you. Wherever you first see him, he is clearly paying no attention to you. Once addressed, he will brightly greet you and introduce himself as "Angus McDonald! I'm a little boy, I'm ten years old! Who are you? How did you get here? It's a really nice day, isn't it? It's nice to meet you!" Angus says a lot, actually. But other than giving off a strong vibe of needing to be noogied, nurtured, or both, he doesn't actually tell you much. Asking him anything is a good way to get the question turned right back on you. But then, nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? If you can stand listening to him extoll the virtues of Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop for a few minutes, you might level up enough to actually learn something. Of course, you can't stay in Shadowdale forever. Literally: you can't. Every Reclaimer's feet are inexorably pulled to the entrance to Wonderland after not very long at all. The golden tree at the center of town is impossible to ignore. Step into the elevator at its base, and you might very well find yourself elbow-to-elbow with Matthew or Angus, staring as the numbers tick up . . . up . . . Carrying you to Wonderland. Back to top 3. WELCOME TO WONDERLAND E. A BEARY GOOD TIME You arrive in Terminal Square, where you can sign up for a membership with Roland and find out more about this larger-than-life amusement park. The entire theme park city seems to run on a currency known as Wunderbux- directly inscribed via magic into a stone you're handed after filling out a small precursory screening by the giant anthropomorphic bear. Gifted with some starting credits and maybe a really gaudy Roland-eared hat, depending on how much of a good Wonderperson you've been so far, he explains that certain actions in the park will add credits or remove them. He advises against owing Wonderbux to Wonderland, if you can help it. "Wouldn't it be unbearable not to be able to ride the rides!?" Yeah. You know what this guy is all about. Chutes and ladders will take you all over the various places of the park, all branching out from Terminal Square. The entirety of the complex is, at scale, ridiculously large. All throughout Wonderland, you'll be treated like a king if you let yourself be pampered. The sheer amount of gilded perfection that went into crafting this place is at a scale even larger than the Moon Base. Gorgeous fountains spouting golden water are not infrequent, stands selling food of every type imaginable pepper anywhere there's space, and often as you pass by, you can hear people having the time of their lives here. F. PLAY WITH ME IN THE SPACE! There's so much to do in Wonderland. So much. Honestly, you wouldn't be the first to say it's overwhelming. That's part of the fun! Wonderland sweeps you away with all of the fun it brings. We could fill pages with the wonders in Wonderland, but why don't we stick with a few highlights and let you fill in the rest? ○ Wonder Square: When you first enter the confines of Wonder Square, you'll notice it looks and feels sort of like a casino... minus the strong and pungent smells that usually accompany those types of areas, typically. The wide birth of the room overlooks a beautiful vantage point of the top of Cormanthor's forest; pale greens look out into a sea of leaves for miles on end, as if the rest of the world doesn't exist outside of Wonderland itself. And why would you think it does, when you're here? Tables are set up for games, games, and- you guessed it- more games. Arm wrestle against a machine to test your strength. Shoot hoops into a basketball for 60 seconds. Engage in a few games of chance: Queen's Call is particularly abundant in this area. You'll notice this is where Maria can most likely be found, surveying the area like a snake mother, carefully winding herself around the pit and ensuring that no one is up to anything less than pure, unadulterated fun around these parts. You can do you best to scam a few extra Wonderbux here, either through legitimate play at any number of the machines present, or otherwise through less than scrupulous means. Don't get caught, though... it never ends up quite well. Dodging in and out of the crowds of Wonder Square, often charging forward and giving his best at a VR simulation of as snowboarding game, you might find Niel here as well. He's awfully energetic, a typical cornerstone of youth in the midst of a truly killer arcade. One thing you might notice, or might... not notice? Every now and then you might look at someone one moment, enjoying themselves thoroughly or getting a little deep into the game they play. You blink, and suddenly they're gone. And so is the recollection of events that've happened the entire last hour of your life. Something tells you not to question it, deep down. If you could only remember what they looked like... or the fact that they were even here to begin with. Oh well, there are games to be had. Might want to head on over somewhere else. We hear Event Square has a ton of live entertainment for you to check out. Some people are even saying that there's a cactus like creature performing Jazz tonight! Now that's something you've never seen before! ○ Round Square: How did you end up in this luxurious tram? It's truly fantastic. Wheeling around the entirety of Wonderland as night falls, you're swept away with the romance of it all. Look at those stars! Look at that moon! You gaze fondly at the person sharing this ride with you, and— Wait, who's that? How did they get in here? For that matter, how did you get in here? You don't remember getting on this ride. But here you are, with a fellow Reclaimer and, if you're particularly (un)lucky, a native elf, too. In the latter case, it might be a good time to ask them some questions. In the former case . . . snuggle? We're not your boss or mom. ○ Speed Square: Upon entering the speed square for the first time, another Roland will ask if you got your Roland Racing Registration! Then you'll have a stamp card shoved in your hands. Going on each roller coaster gives you one stamp on your card, which you can then hand in to a friendly Roland for a beary special reward. ○ Ghost Square: While the Ghost Square has many options to take some years off your life — from haunted houses to fortune tellers to wandering workers done up in bedsheets — the main attraction here is the Hall of Mirrors. It boasts of the "longest mirror maze in Faerun!*". Inside, all the mirrors are kept polished to perfection via magic, varying between normal reflections and wavy funhouse style, but some of the mirrors might reflect something... weird. Either a friend from your home world, or a version of you from your past, or even a reflection of the person's soul. It's a fun ghost story everyone shares. *: The poster has the tiniest print of 'that we know of'. Whoever runs Wonderland has a good lawyer. ○ Reeducation Ride™: Not everyone's the funloving sort we want here in Wonderland, but there are ways to deal with that. For anyone who cheats, is rude to carnival workers, or is a persistent curmudgeon, party pooper, or fun sponge, it's time for the Reeducation Ride™. On this disciplinary ride, you are strapped into a cart that wheels in a wide circle for three hours, during which you are hugged and complimented by a slew of Roland Replicas™. Begone, sour face! Elevate, low self-esteem! Be snuggled! Be huggled! Be happy. Everyone gets in on the fun here in Wonderland. No matter how reticent one might normally be to do so, something about this place just puts pep in everyone's step. Nine times out of ten you might be the kind of person who finds rides, games, and having fun to be childish or beneath you, but guess what? Here in Wonderland, you're at least a little into it. So are the few non-natives you see. Angus is here, trying to figure out the rules of all these arcade games. Matthew is here, getting lost in Ghost Square and wandering the food court. A couple of other faces, too. Anything in the dossier is fair game for your use. But keep in mind, Reclaimers: those madness effects? They're still very much in effect. You're still in Cormanthor forest, after all. The longer you stay, the more you play, the worse it gets. Little by little, hour by hour, day by day. Have fun, kids. Be yourselves. Don't do anything Lucretia wouldn't do. Back to top 4. OOC In order to keep to our goal of providing the most personalized Wonderland experience for all of you, we're setting a limit of 3 RNG attempts per character this log. Additionally, please be aware that while more mundane rolls will have standard-level DCs (for this log, anyway), any RNG with the potential to uncover plot information is high-risk high-reward and will have a very high DC along with steep penalties for failure. As always, we will let you know of this before we roll, and you have the option to decline any roll at any time. Other than that, this is your story to write and your setting to play with! Anything on the OOC post is fair game, and if there's something you'd like to try, please don't hesitate to let us know on the RNG thread. Back to top blurb code by photosynthesis

Comments

WHAT ANGUS MCDONALD KNOWS

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If you'd like to try your hand at weaseling information out of this fancy lad, tell us about your approach!

[seasaltkeys]

Whether intentionally or not, Roxas's interest in those Caleb Cleveland books might have been piqued. Where would Angus recommend starting?

With rapport established, Roxas would also probably want to know what Angus is doing here? If he came with anyone? If yes, where are they? Questions like that.

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Oh, boy. Roxas, I hope you're ready for a long, long conversation about Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop. Angus brightens immediately, eager to let loose all of his Caleb Cleveland hot takes. Which are mostly pretty tame, actually. Read the books in order, even though some of the early ones are kind of weak. Angus is particularly fond of the prose and use of metaphor in books 9-14, which are his favorite arc of the series so far.

If they ever meet again once they get out of this place, assuming they get out of this place, he'll lend Roxas the first book! But only the first one. The rest, Roxas has to get himself. Support the author.

Personal questions about himself are met with much less involved answers. No, he didn't come with anyone. What is he doing here? He likes theme parks. He's a little boy! Little boys love theme parks.

It's not a terribly believable answer, given that he's demonstrated a complete aversion to all of the rides, but it sure is the answer he gives. You're gonna have to try harder than that, sir.

[aceso]

Christine will go through the whole spiel: Are you lost? Where are your parents? Do you need any help?

And then after that, she'll just sit with him awhile and talk about Caleb Cleveland. She'll ask if that's what he's reading here, and say since he's already ruined his appetite with fried food, he may as well have some of the brownies or cookies she made (she'll be taking over a bakery and making some goodies while here).

At night, she'll want to make sure he's staying someplace safe where he has enough blankets.

When up in Wonderland, in those moments when she can think straight, she'll try to talk to Angus if she sees him. Depending on what he tells her down below in town, she'll ask for an update on what he's finding out.

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Angus McDonald answers all of Christine's questions politely at first. No, ma'am, he isn't lost. His parents are dead, but his grandpa's back at home doing just fine. No, ma'am, he doesn't need any help. He's used to working solo.

Some of the Professional Lad Behavior loosens up a little after he's encountered her a few times. The brownies help, although he does watch her make them before he'll eat them, in a way that reads more as interest in the process than anything else. Angus McDonald loves brownies. He'll tell her this, but also let her know that Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop, does not love brownies, and in this one matter they disagree. He opens up a little, in other words. Not much, but a little. Once she reminds him, he always remembers to bring along an extra blanket.

In Wonderland, he checks on her. There's a frown line between his tiny serious eyebrows when he asks her if she's all right, ma'am, and how many fingers is he holding up. He won't have told her down in town what he's actually doing here, but up in Wonderland he'll tell her this much:

He's here to solve a mystery.

"What are you finding out, ma'am?"

[jailed]

Akira appreciates Angus' chaotic extra energy, and will strike up a conversation about the book series he's reading. He'll even share that he knows a few real-life kid cops (who suck, but Akira will keep that to himself), and ask his very valid opinions on vigilante justice and other such superhero related things.

Weaving his way through the conversation, though, Akira will ask a few other questions. What is he doing here? Does he have any friends or family around? How did he wind up in such a weird place? And, most importantly, where's the exit? He knows how he got here, but how Angus got here is a mystery.

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Man, everybody knows Angus's weak point, huh. The Kid Cop Confidant is unlocked, but be warned, it's hard to make progress up this social link. Something about Akira and the questions he's asking puts the brakes on the conversation for just a minute or two. Closing his book and folding the heavy tome over his lap, Angus looks at Akira thoughtfully and turns the question back on him before answering anything at all.

"What do you think about vigilante justice, sir?"

Well, Joker?

[ribticklers]

Expect Sans to make sure Angus is eating. That's what you do with kids, right? You feed them?

Sans approaches Angus in a similar way to approaching the other kids, which is to say with jokes and teasing and cookies.

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Feeding kids is usually a good idea, yes! And Angus is eating. Plenty of brownies, and also nourishing healthy fried fair food, and also an absolutely bottomless supply of oranges in his Bag of Holding, because he is that kind of kid. Nobody wants to get scurvy, sir.

All that said, he takes the cookies with a polite thank-you and wraps them in a napkin because he's full just now, but he will definitely eat them later. He's perplexingly bad at knock-knock jokes for such a smart kid. Sans will have to explain the concept to him, and he will listen. And take notes.

[dialetheism]

So, given that every mission's been awful for the locals, Lion's gonna start off pretty concerned for Angus's safety! (This is in no way helped by the fact that they rolled a 4 for the forest curse.) Any time they spot him, they'd like to check that he's doing okay, ask if he needs help with anything, making sure that he's safe, etc. Y'know, general fussy rich kid behaviour.

That said - after spotting him/talking to him a few times, once they realise he's actually been here for a while (and once they've been into Wonderland and felt the fine/not fine weirdness for themself), they'd like to approach him and offer a question swap! Namely, they'll ask if he's noticed anything particularly strange about the rides in Wonder Square.

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Hm.

Well, Angus likes Lion okay. He's asked them for help once already, in fact, because he needed at a book on a high shelf in Shadowdale and he is just so damn short, Lion, he is a shrimp. A small favor asked by a small boy.

He's also tempted by the question swap. It seems pretty fair. First, though, he wants to know. How many questions do they get each?

For you, we'd like to know how you feel about a DC of 15.

[feytality]

Maya will try to befriend Angus through flattery (completely genuine), enthusiasm, sharing of snacks, and asking him about the Caleb Cleveland books!! She'll start by asking him if he's alright on his own and if he wants to go on any rides or explore with her

After pestering him + snack sharing a few times she'll ask him if he's investigating the park and if so ask to team up because she thinks it's fishy too

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Why does everyone keep giving him snacks? Is he really that scrawny-looking? (Yes, Angus, you absolutely are.)

While he seems kind of intimidated by Maya’s exuberance at first, he ends up kind of getting it after a while. She even manages to get a couple smiles out of him! She gains his trust enough that, when she asks if he’s investigating Wonderland, he feels comfortable admitting it. He does ask her why she thinks it’s fishy, though. He’s interested in her perspective.

holy tl;dr batman

[janthony]

Crowley approaches Ango with a "what's that, kid?" and listen to whatever summary he wants to give about the Tome he's absorbed in. And follow it up with "what else do you like to read?" and hopefully that'll give him a jump start to earning his baby trusts.

He introduces himself as Anthony (pron. Antony) Crowley, which is an honest answer. He answers any questions about why he's wearing sunglasses inside with a "medical condition" which is a very well-practiced fib in case you're bothering with things like opposed deception vs perception tests.

He does try to outright lie about why he's there if Angus asks. He starts with trying to say that he's there on vacation, and then if Angus calls him on it his fallback is closer to the truth - he's on a work trip. When that's followed up with "who do you work for" or something like, he leans hard into dramatics. He checks to make sure they're alone, then leans in close and makes Angus swear on his boy detective novels that he won't tell a soul, and then tells him that he's an agent on a top secret mission to investigate what's going on, so if Angus sees anything out of the ordinary Crowley could use the help of his keen mind to make sure he doesn't miss anything.

And I mean, it's not technically a lie, just a truth that hopefully sounds exciting and secretive enough to not get him to probe with questions that'll result in [Kkkkgghshgkkkhh].

The second time he meets Angus he has a snack for him and asks what he's been up to. This time he's going to try and wiggle out a little more information - did you have to travel far to get here, did you come here by yourself, etc. He is soft on kids* and after Lucretia talked about how dangerous this mission was going to be, he wants to make sure this kid isn't completely alone in the world.

*He is not above using a couple of his daily miracles on little things to make Angus' life more convenient/to make him happy.

By the time he gets drawn to Wonderland proper, the environment and its bullshit are starting to wear him down and he seems like he has an even shoddier grasp on the passage of time than normal. He's not getting any madness effects for now (chalk it up to a natural resistance due to the HR nightmare he comes from), so he still recognizes him and everything, he just. Thinks he just saw him yesterday, or last week, when it was the opposite. Things like that.

...I'm so sorry for the tl;dr, mods

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Angus’s reaction to Crowley is . . . mixed. There’s a lot to like, and Angus is pretty transparently desperate for approval in his quiet and determined way. Where it falls apart a little is the theatrics of Crowley’s secret agent story. It may not be a lie, and Angus certainly doesn’t detect one, but the level of smoke and mirrors makes him feel that something’s not quite right. Particularly given that Secret McAgent is wearing the same insignia on his wrist as like 40 other people. He gives Crowley a dubious look and does not, in that moment, share anything further with him.

All the same, he doesn’t go completely cold. He keeps talking with Crowley and is honest with him: he did have to travel far, but it was a pretty nice journey until that super cursed forest back there. He did travel alone; he always does. Don’t worry about him, though, sir! He’s used to it.

And here we find ourselves in Wonderland, Crowley obviously disoriented and worse for wear, Angus getting more and more worried with every passing hour. He looks from Crowley to his bracer and frowns, frustrated and disapproving like a tiny judgmental grandpa.

“You know, whoever sent all of you people here — they really didn’t do their research at all, sir! I’d register a complaint later if I were you!”

[epistemologies]

Battler is absolutely 100% going to engage Angus in a conversation about Caleb Cleveland. In fact, if Angus has some on hand, he'll be happy to read them. In exchange, he'll also share some of his favorites (mysteries, obviously) and merrily discuss everything from plot to character development. They're gonna have a wholeass book club on their hands okok.

At some point in these convos he'll "casually" (read: it won't actually be casual, at all) bring up the subject of Shadowdale/Wonderland and try to pry into what the kid's doing all the way out here. If at any point Angus self-describes as a detective, Battler will probably get a bit cranky and try to grill him about what kind of crime he's expecting to investigate because certain blue-haired girls have made him Suspicious.

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Don’t worry, Battler: Angus isn’t giving away that card just yet. Definitely not to Battler, who seems like a nice dude but kind of a dumbass. Battler will get the same answer that Roxas got, but delivered in a slightly more sarcastic tone: he’s going to Wonderland because all little boys want to play at theme parks. Somebody who likes detective novels as much as you should know a fact as simple as that, sir!

Feel free to call him on it, though. His willingness to sass Battler is a sign of growing rapport due to book club.

[doubledsofjustice]

MIa'll want to talk to Angus too, and will definitely start with some questions- it's a contractual obligation, okay- but those questions are going to be about Kid Cop, at first. Who is he? What does Kid Cop do? Does he help attorneys? He reminds her of a certain pair of people in her life though a bit of a quicker detective than them somehow so all of her compliments on Angus's manner of speech & clear intelligence will be genuine- and so is her interest in Kid Cop, juuuust in the same way she made sure to know the names of all the Steel Samurai characters for her sister rather than wanting to keep up with Kid Cop's adventures for her own sake. Good big sisters care about what their little siblings like- and Good Big Sis is definitely the approach Mia's taking.

When she catches him again in Wonderland, she'll ask if he has any favorite rides, and maybe even where he thinks Caleb Cleveland would go first in a place like this.

[balancemod]

Angus is excited to talk about Caleb, because of course he is. We’ve established that. What he finds in Mia that is new is a genuine appreciation of his talent. This genuinely and obviously startles him when he first recognizes that she means what he says; even after he’s heard it a few times, he still gets visibly overwhelmed by praise.

Congratulations, Mia. You have added +1 to all of Angus McDonald’s self-esteem rolls for the future.

As to the answers to her questions: Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop, does not help attorneys. To be honest, a regulated court system is pretty hit-or-miss in Faerun, so attorneys aren’t as stable a profession as one might hope. Caleb Cleveland does help apprehend criminals, though. It’s very important to him. The way Angus says it, it’s pretty obvious that’s true of him, too.

His favorite rides? None of them. What would Caleb do here?

. . .

“He wouldn’t place any bets. I’ll tell you that for free.”

[slieght]

Kids are more up Kokichi's alley then probably stuffy old men, and as it so happens detectives and cops are too. He'll gladly listen to Angus talk about Caleb Cleveland, swapping stories with him about his favorite series Detective Conan! And he might ask where he could find some of the Kid Cop books.

After a long chat about that, he brings up that he knows a real life detective. A high schooler, like him! "He's a pretty good guy! Even though he's taken on murder cases, he still makes time to help people find their missing pets and everything. I'm his apprentice though, so I guueeeesss I'm a little biased."

He'll explain that he's there to do some investigating even, and will ask Angus for tips about the area, since this is his first visit.

[balancemod]

Ooh, Angus is really interested in Detective Conan. That sounds neat. He asks a lot of questions. Actually, every question Kokichi asks about Caleb Cleveland is pretty much mirrored by a similar question about Detective Conan. He’s really excited!

So much so that when Kokichi mentions being a detective’s apprentice, Angus’s curiosity outpaces his wariness. He asks who Kokichi’s friend is, the detective friend. As for tips— “Look into the Rolands. I don’t know what they have to do with this place yet, but they’re important. And don’t owe Wonderland anything!”

[hxppythxughts]

Obviously Sayori is going to genki at Angus and excitedly engage him about Caleb Cleveland!! With genuine interest and enthusiasm!!! Her contribution to this topic is that she is also a writer and lover of stories! She'd be willing to show him her poems and magic rhyming notebook from Lyrabar if he showed any interest in her writing. She would also love to read some Caleb Cleveland with him--she can talk writing style! Plot development! Characterization! In simple terms but she does have an understanding of these things even if she does not have a very academic vocabulary.

Oh and u know Ango is gonna get a magically warm chocochip cookie. This is the established Sayori Gesture of Friendship.

[balancemod]

Magically warm cookie . . . Angus’s eyes become enormous and delighted. This is magic at its finest! He has been missing out eating regular cookies like some kind of idiot! Wow!

Honestly, what ends up happening here is that they just hang out on bean bag chairs and read together. Angus is very interested in Sayori’s poetry because he doesn’t really know much about poetry; he tends to read nonfiction with one very obvious exception. He is very quiet and focused when he reads it and then asks her a lot of questions about it — how do you get good at writing poetry? What kind is her favorite to write? Is it hard?

Probably he falls asleep on her shoulder at one point, after lots of cookies and book talk. How precious.

[alethiological]

Angus is mystery book nerd, Will is a nerdy mystery book, they're gonna get on like a house on fire. He doesn't know the series but he does know writing tropes. He'll also give fun (for Angus) stories, or more like anecdotes, of Actual Professional Detective cases he's worked on. Mostly from the fun comparison of how sometimes real culprits are even dumer than book ones. He had one guy try to stave off suspicion by playing horror movie scream reels. So stupid.

At some random point after Angus is used to getting in book conversations with some tall dude with a metal arm, friendship let's drop the tact. Kid's been here long enough to do a detective flex and start being cagey at literally everyone, right?

Wanna good cop bad cop some of the workers, kid?

[shootstyles]

Deku is gonna go full steam ahead in asking about Caleb Cleveland, Kid Cop! And in like... a genuine way. Deku can recognize a fellow nerdy dweeb and probably sees a lot of himself there. He probably shares about how he liked to read stories about the young heroes who are just starting out on their hero careers in the series Serialized Sidekick Stories. They were so inspiring and made him run around the city pretending to be a hero. Not that he could be one, since, well there's rules about that. Lucky for Angus there's no rules about the age you can be a detective!