Lighting the Jack O' Lanterns Report

General Summary

October 27th is a cold day, but the changelings are safe and sound inside Mr. Schultz's home economics class. It's pumpkin carving day, and they all busily begin to sketch out their designs in the gourds before bringing them to fruition with the sharp knives and large spoons provided to scoop out the gunk inside of them. It becomes obvious very quickly that Frank is not very good at carving pumpkins, and he soon puts his knife down in frustration. Hilda, however, is far more successful in her task, creating a passable design in the face of her pumpkin. George's is by far the best, much to Hilda's annoyance. As she stares at George with envy, Frank sidles up next to Hilda - the Glamour in the room is high, with so many little minds hard at work - and he's aiming to get a bit. Hilda scoffs when he mentions musing to get the Glamour from their classmates. Ravaging, she explains, is so much easier and cleaner to get. To prove her point, Hilda strides up behind her friend Samantha and pretends to trip, shoving the 13-year-old so violently that Samantha drops her finished pumpkin on the ground, shattering it everywhere. Samantha is outraged, but Hilda apologizes sweetly and shoves her pumpkin towards her friend as the sidhe drinks in the Glamour from Samantha's despair, taking three points worth as Frank watches on with a frown. He doesn't seem impressed - in fact, he thinks that Hilda was incredibly cruel to do that to a friend. Hilda doesn't care. Samantha will get over it, and she won't miss the Glamour anyway. George, for his part, has decided to follow Hilda's example, taking a huge scoop of pumpkin guts and dumping it all down Derek Buford, the class bully's, shirt. Hilda helps out, casting Creeping Shadows to keep Derek unaware until it's too late, which works out brilliantly. Derek yells in shock as the goopy, cold mess runs down his back. George manages to score one Glamour from Derek before the large kid turns around, stalking towards George as Mr. Schultz intervenes. George feigns innocence ("I didn't see him there!") and while Mr. Schultz is convinced, he still has to take George to the principal's office because of the altercation.... where he and Derek are picked up by their parents. Hilda and Frank watch as George is hauled off by his rather no-nonsense mother, and decide to go back to Hilda's house while they wait for George to be let off the hook or grounded - in which case they would sneak him out. Hilda shyly offers for Frank to meet her mother, which Frank is stoked to do. Mrs. Sigurdsson is equal parts inattentive and bland, however. She offers them sweets and idly asks about school, but doesn't seem to really care much about it one way or the other. After some awkward small talk, the two changelings set off for George's house, while he has managed to get out from underneath his mother's oppressive lecture and is heading towards them, too. The two halves of the motley are nearing each other in Downtown when Skulde is stopped by Sebastian Vasquez, who asks for a moment of her time. She tells Frank to go on without her while she talks to the disgraced noble. He explains that he knows her true identity, and would like to help her prove to fae society that, despite her childish stature, she is still a force to be reckoned with. Skulde considers it, but asks for some time to think about the proposition. He acquiesces, fading back into the shadows as Hilda turns to catch up with Frank. Meanwhile, the autumn sidhe is just passing by a stalled motorbike, as a skinny and disheveled looking man curses at it, slapping the engine in anger. Frank pauses, his good nature winning out over common sense. He asks the stranger if he needs help, which the man gladly accepts. As Frank leans down to take a look at the engine, however, is when the stranger's true motives are revealed. The momentary distraction is all the stranger needs to try and whip a cloth bag over Frank's head, blinding and trapping him - though Frank is too quick and backs up out of the way before he can be snatched. Across the street, a previously unmentioned changeling child watches. The troll Charles Wagner is spurred to action by the distress of his fellow kith, and runs across the street to engage the stranger. Unfortunately, both of the children are overpowered with magic, as the stranger twists his hand and they both shrink into the form of beagle puppies. Frank is undeterred, using his new form to try and bite the stranger in the balls, though is unsuccessful in his attempt. Charles is not so lucky. The stranger catches him up by the scruff of his puppy neck and dumps him into the burlap sack, then kicks off on his obviously-not-broken motorcycle as Frank watches helplessly. It's only as Skulde runs up to him that Frank pops back into human form. Skulde recognizes Frank's haphazard description of the kidnapper as a spriggan - a thallain with a penchant for kidnapping children. She grabs her friend's hand, and they run for Ashby Manor, where they breathlessly explain to Baron Vasquez what occurred. The baron leaps into action, recognizing the seriousness of this invasion. The adults begin to stream out of the manor, all looking for the missing child. Charles, for his part, pops back to his kith form in what seems like an abandoned warehouse. The spriggan, a greasy meth-addict looking thug, flicks out a pocket knife in an attempt to scare the young troll, but Charles is not so easily frightened. He lashes out with a quick kick that catches the spriggan in the groin, and when the spriggan buckles over in pain, Charles stumbles to his feet and makes a run for it. He tumbles out of the warehouse - an old water mill he can now tell - and as the rain begins to beat against his back, cold and wet, he runs, not caring where he goes except that it is away from his captor.