undergrounds | The Mother of Witches retires tonight

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Today is a big day for the witch community. On 4th December, Sylvia Redbright turns 60 and her reign as Mother of Witches officially comes to an end. To celebrate this momentous occasion, Sylvia is hosting a retirement party at the Redbright Institute. The school will be open to all friendly guests who wish to celebrate with Circle Daybreak or hear about Sylvia's many achievements as Mother of Witches. There will also be a more private gathering during the event for Sylvia's closest friends and allies.

The party takes place from 7pm-12 midnight Sunday 4th December.

Rules of entry
• No weapons. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol except that provided at the event. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence.

There is security within the school and present during the event. (In fact, if your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, you could have them acting as security if you want.) They will respond to and put a stop to any trouble.

Places to go
The main location open for the public is the large Assembly Hall where a live band plays folk music throughout the evening. There are waiters serving champagne and canapés or if you prefer you can go straight to the buffet table yourself. At 8pm, there will be a series of speeches by various high-ranking witches singing Sylvia's praises before Sylvia herself will step up to be presented with a large bouquet of flowers and gifts from the witch community. Her thanks will of course be gracious. After 9pm, there will be a show of magic from some of the most promising young witches in London. It's a music and dance performance that features a dazzling display of colour, light and fire plus other spectacular tricks including levitation, illusory rain and lightning and finally a giant ash tree that grows in the middle of the room to represent the Mother's protection. (None of it is real, of course. It's essentially magical special effects.) In the last two hours of the night, the witches will invite everyone to let loose and dance around the tree. It's probably a good idea to be quite drunk by this point.

If you'd prefer to go somewhere a little quieter, two of the lecture halls are open, each featuring a different video playing on a loop. The first video is a potted history of the tradition of the Mother, Maiden and Crone, describing how they are chosen and what purpose they each serve in the witch community, with a particular focus on Sylvia becoming the Mother. (It does not feature or mention Abigail Widdowson.) In the second lecture hall there is a video telling the story of Sylvia's many achievements as Mother of Witches over the past thirty years, including her efforts to bring peace in London, to unite the witch communities across the UK and to foster a culture of magic that helps rather than hurts people.

Elsewhere, the dining hall is closed to the public because from 9pm there is a private party hosted here consisting of a three-course meal followed by drinks. This is where Sylvia and her closest allies will be for most of the night. Entry is restricted to a select guest list.

Sylvia will reappear in the reception area from just after 11pm to say goodbye to the guests and give her final blessings as Mother of Witches. After today, there will be a transition period until the new Mother is selected, but this will be the last time she hosts any kind of official event in her capacity as Mother of Witches.

[OOC: If you are a high-ranking ally or potential ally of Sylvia's (level 4 or above), you may be invited to her private party! Please check with me if you're not sure. Otherwise, there are opportunities to catch Sylvia and other NPCs during the event. Or just enjoy the free champagne, it's up to you.]

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In the pantry were a large number of things. But it didn't take long for Nancy to locate what appeared to be some sort of cabinet for containers. With a gleeful expression, she grabbed a few handfuls, placing them into her purse.

Glancing back at the door, to make sure Sirius hadn't thrown up the sign, she took a few more moments to grab a few other items she was sure would be appreciated by teenage boys, and hardly missed by the Redbright Institute.

It was no more than three minutes before she was sliding back out the door again.

"Alright. Ready for phase two?"

"Just about," Sirius replies, out of the side of his mouth. He leans on the door as a couple staff members hurry by, flashing him confused looks. He gives a wave , and they hurry on.

"Alright, now we can go. It's getting a little busier in this hallway, just so you know."

"Got it." She slides out of the door next to Sirius.

"Just got to act like we belong, and they'll have no reason to think otherwise." She hoped so, at least.

"Well, I've gotten the occasional odd look, but no one's stopped to question me yet, so that's hopefully a good sign."

Ideally, everyone would be too busy to notice. Especially if they helped out here and there.

"Perfect." She switches her purse so that it's closer to Sirius.

"Alright, whenever you see something, just reach in there and pull out a baggie, yeah? Touch my wallet and I'll hex you to next week." All of it's said with a smile, though, so you can hardly tell it's a threat. It's just that reaching into her purse is easier than handing him things.

"Wouldn't dream of it. Be a lousy way to spend the holidays."

But still, he positions himself near to her, and more specifically to the purse. He takes a quick look, just to determine where the wallet might be in order to avoid it.

She gives him a nod of appreciation. She can get behind that line of thought.

It isn't long until they come to the kitchen, bustling with bodies, each focused on their own primary objective, but moving almost seamlessly together. It was pretty damn cool, truthfully. "We're in."

"The real question is where to start."

It's been a while since he's snuck into a bustling kitchen like this. He has to admit that it smells good in here, a pleasant mixing of the different foods being prepared. He surreptitiously grabs one of the bags and stuffs it into his own pocket.

Nancy's a little less worried about that. With her usual stealth, she's grabbing whatever she can- cracker packets, loaves of bread. Most of it, so far, doesn't even need bags or anything. It's surprisingly easy.

Sirius approaches another seafood plate, as if inspecting it. In actuality, the odd shrimp and piece of smoked salmon is disappearing into his pocket, where he's stowed the bag. It will make a nice snack for later.

It's a clever plan, and he's far more careful than she is. But Nancy has mouths to feed that aren't her own, and she's not going to show up with a few pieces of smoked salmon when she was just at a part at the Redbright Institute.

Together, the two of them make their way through the kitchen, purloining all sorts of delicious foods.

Eventually, Sirius approaches Nancy, his pockets looking considerably more full than when they had parted.

"How are you making out?"

"Brilliantly." She gestures at her bag, which hasn't grown in size.

"Yourself?"

"Fairly well. Enough to last a while at least."

He glances around the kitchen, sliding a hand into his pocket in an effort to try and keep its contents hidden. It's not the best job.

"I suppose this is the part where we make our daring escape?"

"You'd be right about that. Don't want to overstay our welcome." She glances around the kitchen.

"Best to come back out the way we came. We at least know where we are, then." Without any sort of map of the place, she didn't want to risk not knowing her way out.

"Makes sense to me. Don't suppose we should take something, you know, to help us blend in."

They were supposed to be posing as staff after all, and really they would just be giving someone a hand.

"Grab a tray," Nancy doesn't hesitate.

"And let's make ourselves useful."

"After you," Sirius says with a smile, grabbing the tray of smoked salmon he had been observing earlier. Thankfully, someone seems to have patched up the missing pieces, but he does notice a few cold looks as he picks up the tray.

The Mother of Witches retires tonight

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