Today I went to meet with the fortune teller. She is one of the oldest members of Felix Fauoni (assuming that their appearances can be trusted) and unlike the rest of them she rarely goes out into the public. Instead she meets her clients in her trailer, which is currently parked on the outskirts of the city. When I met her I saw that it was cluttered with in equal parts with supernatural and mundane paraphernalia. Bags of chips, tourist photos, and magazines sat next to jars of incense, totems, books of arcane lore, and amulets the likes of which most museum curators would kill for. Feeling that hiding my purpose would futile, I told the woman (as it turns out, her name is Jocelyn) that I was a supernatural consultant whose current job involved investigating them. She agreed to speak with me and to permit the conversation to be recorded. The following is my transcript.
Jocelyn: You have told me something of your ways, so let me tell you something of mine. My people believe in fair trade; we do not take without giving something in return. Therefore, I propose an exhange of knowledge. One question paid for with another. As my guest, you may go first. Is this agreeable to you?
Me: Sure. Kids have been known vanish while you're around. Did you or any of your companions kill them?
Jocelyn: *smirk* No. You bear the faint mark of a Lord of the Wilds. What is his name?
Me: I hate you.
Jocelyn: Are you going to play or not?
Me: Fine. *no, I'm not going to write it down* What exactly is Felix Fauoni?
Jocelyn: That's a broad question. But I demanded a heavy price last round so I'll try to answer it fairly. We are artists, just as we seem. We each have at least two talents, one mundane and one arcane, and in our arts they are united. We wander from place to place taking what each city has to give and in return we give it our art. We are interlopers meddling with the established patterns by introducing wisdom, power, and wonder. For what purpose have you been hired? Is it to do my family harm?
Me: Technically that's two questions, but I'll let it slide. I was hired to recover a stolen artifact from you, but beyond that I have no reason to hurt you or yours. Did you cause, intentionally or otherwise, the children to go missing?
Jocelyn: Yes. When talented children cry out for help, we hear them, and, when necessary, we take them. Sometimes the parents are a danger to them and sometimes their power is too great for them to be safe apart from us, but whatever the case we do what we must to protect the children. Most of us were those children, once upon a time. Where does the turquoise dandy reside?
Me: The third house on Chestnut Avenue. Hey. Hold on. What did that mean and why did I answer like that? Wait a second, that's not my question. Pretend I didn't ask that. Okay, real question now. I'm kind of obsessed with Cynthia. Is that really just a crush or is she part succubus or siren or something?
Jocelyn: Cynthia is just as human as the rest of us. What you're experiencing is part of our talent, part of how we interrupt the established patterns. I suppose if you must think of her in terms of some creature, you must imagine that she is a muse. Your infatuation may grow to be dangerous, but it is intended to inspire or to drive our fouler things rather than to ensnare you as prey. Unless you like being prey. How did you become bound to the Lord of the Wilds?
Me: I tried to save a kid from a werewolf curse, and after finding several things that didn't work I tried to bind my spirit to his to drive the wolf our directly. Apparently the ritual also served as a sort of open invitation for anything to help and it took me up on the request. I think we're done for now. You've given me enough, and I'd rather not spill any more secrets.
Jocelyn: Of course, but first let me read your fortune. I think we would both find the experience enlightening.
The recording breaks down into static there. All I can remember between then and the moment I left is...well, nothing. I'm pretty sure all the memories are there, but they're out of my reach like a word on the tip of the tongue. A few times between then and now I saw something that reminded me of the lost time, but each time the flash of recollection vanished a second later. In any case, everything Jocelyn told me seems to fit with the data I've collected. There's even something I'd overlooked before in the agency's files about the leadership of the Felix Fauoni that fits just perfectly with my experience of her and the rest of them. According to it the caravans (or whatever you want to call them) are always led by a Mother, a Father, and an Aunt or Uncle. If that's true, I believe Jocelyn is the Mother, the man who only wanders the city is the Father, and the man who plays games is the Uncle. It's all becoming clearer, and it's all making me more uneasy. I think I'll call up another friend. My second client, Josh Devereaux, is a history major and I'd like him to take a look at something.
Oh, and I found my notes on the Man of the Crowd. There's not much, but there is a theory from an agency analyst from way back when. He believed that the man (I really need to find a proper name for it) is a sort of manifestation of or perhaps a parasite that feeds on spiritual pollution. Humans think and behave differently when crammed together as we are in large cities. According to the analyst, the particular forms of crime, social ambition, exploitation, and other vices and negative emotions that exist in cities create a mystical imprint or smog, and this thing thrives on it. There's no mention of how to kill it.
If the Felix Fauoni is here to protect a child, then I want to know who that child is. Even if I take it for granted that Jocelyn told me the truth and that she knows when it's necessary to take a child away, there is still the Man of the Crowd. I don't think it's a coincidence that I found such a rare creature here. Assuming that's what I found. I haven't exactly done a thorough examination, but the photograph lines up with the lore. In any event, it stands to reason that if the Felix Fauoni come to cities in because they hear children calling to them, there might be other things that can hear those calls.
Jocelyn: That's a broad question. But I demanded a heavy price last round so I'll try to answer it fairly. We are artists, just as we seem. We each have at least two talents, one mundane and one arcane, and in our arts they are united. We wander from place to place taking what each city has to give and in return we give it our art. We are interlopers meddling with the established patterns by introducing wisdom, power, and wonder. For what purpose have you been hired? Is it to do my family harm?
Me: Technically that's two questions, but I'll let it slide. I was hired to recover a stolen artifact from you, but beyond that I have no reason to hurt you or yours. Did you cause, intentionally or otherwise, the children to go missing?
Jocelyn: Yes. When talented children cry out for help, we hear them, and, when necessary, we take them. Sometimes the parents are a danger to them and sometimes their power is too great for them to be safe apart from us, but whatever the case we do what we must to protect the children. Most of us were those children, once upon a time. Where does the turquoise dandy reside?
Me: The third house on Chestnut Avenue. Hey. Hold on. What did that mean and why did I answer like that? Wait a second, that's not my question. Pretend I didn't ask that. Okay, real question now. I'm kind of obsessed with Cynthia. Is that really just a crush or is she part succubus or siren or something?
Jocelyn: Cynthia is just as human as the rest of us. What you're experiencing is part of our talent, part of how we interrupt the established patterns. I suppose if you must think of her in terms of some creature, you must imagine that she is a muse. Your infatuation may grow to be dangerous, but it is intended to inspire or to drive our fouler things rather than to ensnare you as prey. Unless you like being prey. How did you become bound to the Lord of the Wilds?
Me: I tried to save a kid from a werewolf curse, and after finding several things that didn't work I tried to bind my spirit to his to drive the wolf our directly. Apparently the ritual also served as a sort of open invitation for anything to help and it took me up on the request. I think we're done for now. You've given me enough, and I'd rather not spill any more secrets.
Jocelyn: Of course, but first let me read your fortune. I think we would both find the experience enlightening.
The recording breaks down into static there. All I can remember between then and the moment I left is...well, nothing. I'm pretty sure all the memories are there, but they're out of my reach like a word on the tip of the tongue. A few times between then and now I saw something that reminded me of the lost time, but each time the flash of recollection vanished a second later. In any case, everything Jocelyn told me seems to fit with the data I've collected. There's even something I'd overlooked before in the agency's files about the leadership of the Felix Fauoni that fits just perfectly with my experience of her and the rest of them. According to it the caravans (or whatever you want to call them) are always led by a Mother, a Father, and an Aunt or Uncle. If that's true, I believe Jocelyn is the Mother, the man who only wanders the city is the Father, and the man who plays games is the Uncle. It's all becoming clearer, and it's all making me more uneasy. I think I'll call up another friend. My second client, Josh Devereaux, is a history major and I'd like him to take a look at something.
Oh, and I found my notes on the Man of the Crowd. There's not much, but there is a theory from an agency analyst from way back when. He believed that the man (I really need to find a proper name for it) is a sort of manifestation of or perhaps a parasite that feeds on spiritual pollution. Humans think and behave differently when crammed together as we are in large cities. According to the analyst, the particular forms of crime, social ambition, exploitation, and other vices and negative emotions that exist in cities create a mystical imprint or smog, and this thing thrives on it. There's no mention of how to kill it.
If the Felix Fauoni is here to protect a child, then I want to know who that child is. Even if I take it for granted that Jocelyn told me the truth and that she knows when it's necessary to take a child away, there is still the Man of the Crowd. I don't think it's a coincidence that I found such a rare creature here. Assuming that's what I found. I haven't exactly done a thorough examination, but the photograph lines up with the lore. In any event, it stands to reason that if the Felix Fauoni come to cities in because they hear children calling to them, there might be other things that can hear those calls.
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