Actual session date: 10/12/07

This is why I need to write these things up when I finish the session, otherwise pieces fall out of my brain. The fact that I can't find the notebook with my notes isn't helping either.

Walter had a bad dream. The normandy invasion was mixed with the flight from the boy, with his soldiers behind him. The fighting was constant, and every time he turned around, he had fewer men behind him, though he never saw them die. This proceeded until he was alone on the empty battlefield.

Tom got approached by a kid who offered him payment for helping out Matt. The kid seemed both knowledgeable about, but incorrect on a number of points regarding, changelings, and the wooden doll he gave Tom had some glamour to it.

Meanwhile, an older gentleman came poking around the clinic, bullying the staff and looking to find out about the accident from the other day. Nika showed him the door, but did get a copy of his card.

Anna was approached by Betty, one of those very friendly ex-hippes who you can always expect to be dressed colorfully and carry a big knitted bag. Betty seemed to know her, and Anna played along as it became clear that Betty was friends with Anna's fetch, and she had something for Anna. That thing she'd promised to deliver. It was a folder, full of her bother's Tim's medical information and a folded note.

These led to some discussion among the Motley, and some dots were connected. Anna was certain the kid Tom met was Tim, and the business card was for the business that Walter's Fetch ran. Tom also discussed the train, and Nika identified it as a ghost train, and pheneomena that showed up in places of great death, though its presence in the hedge was puzzling. An investigation of Anna's old house showed that Tim was not in, but showed all the earmarks of a teenager who had been living on his own for some time. Anna was appalled at the sheer prevalence of hot pockets.

Matters were interrupted by an intrusion in toyland, and when they crossed into the hedge, they took the little wooden train as far as they could, looking for the train tracks, carrying the wooden tracks with them as they wend beyond their bounds. What they did find was a too-safe clearing, and with a bit of wind, revealed the pit traps and also the mortal who seemed to have fallen into one. Rescuing him, they fled before the keeper of the traps returned. The escaped prisoner performed a minor magic, levitating the train a few inches so they could push it more quickly.

The prisoner introduced himself as professor David Strauss, from NYU, Doctor of medieval studies and intermittent paranormalist. He was a little weirded out, and suffering from some time dilation, but actually seemed ok with all this. He explained that signs were pointing to a culling about to happen here. The culling, as he described it, revolved around the collection of a great soul, and was always a time of great turmoil and destruction, though the cause an effect on that was a little muddled. The main thrust however was that numerous forces would have an interest in this soul, and it would be a valuable prize. The documentation of these events was remarkably sparse on the ground, and its significance was hotly debated, so he was very interested in seeing this firsthand. A little bit of googling seemed to confirm the guys identity, and friend of a friend calls confirmed that he was a bit of a nutjob, but a smart one.

Some discussion raised the possibility that Tim might be this great soul, so they set out on foot to check his place again (it's a small enough town that walking is a reasonable option). An accidental division occurred when Tom, Anna and Walter realized they were being followed, and feel back, leaving Nika and Strauss (neither of whom knew where they were going) walking on ahead. The guy following made no attempt to hide, and greeted them in their positions of Ambush, introducing himself as Jack White. He was all sharp suit and sharp smile and freely admitted that he was here for the culling as well. While the characters seemed disinclined to bargain (which he was clearly up for) he also offered no violence, and just seemed happy to introduce himself. While he did not appear to have a seeming, he was also knowledgeable about changeling matters, and they all parted, a little tensely.

Meanwhile, Nika and Strauss, lost in conversations of medieval Russian nerdery, got mugged. Neither wanted to argue with the pistol, and handed over wallets, but Nika subtly freaked the guy out, and he took off, right into the rest of the group. Walter and Tom were cautious, but Anna pretty much just plucked the gun out of his hand with her abruptly appearing monkey's tail. Wallets were recovered, the gun taken, and the mugger ran off, providing a decent harvest while he was at it.

They all turned around and headed back to Anna's old house, and as they arrived, they saw Tim get into a mercedes, and it pulled away. The last sight was the other passenger in the back seat. Walter's wife.