"Well, that would be a new one, a troll make over." she goes over and knee's beside Mouse, making dog biscuits for him. "So where would this Santa live?"

"That's another problem," Arna says.  "Since there's no real North Pole place we can use... well, that's why we thought we'd go with Yule Troll.  Everyone knows Trolls have caves.  And so does ours, back home in Norway.  Northern Norway.  Close enough to the North Pole for people to think, well, that makes sense."

Gremian pitched his nose between his eyes; he was starting to regret coming here. "It look like our group could help you better merge with Christmas without messing with human heads. But we need to see the Troll Prince for that. Can you bring us safely to him and back? And a thought about the north pole base, you could always said that Santa or you are vacationing or something like that and that why you are away."

"Well, I'm kind of new to this, so I don't know if I can, but I feel like I can, if he wants to. Like you said it grew on you like mistletoe, so maybe I just need to nudge things so it starts growing on him as well? It might not be as quick as huge spells to change people's memory but faster isn't always better. As for the cave, if we can make the troll more christmassy I don't see why we can't do the same for his cave and make it INTO a grotto... maybe put in a toy workshop and some reindeer stables and a place for the sleigh, whether they can really fly or not. But Gremain is right, first we'd need to go there, if you can take us with you? I can pick up a few metres of red velvet, some red and green satin, white fur for the trim..."

Violet pulled out a notepad and pencil, scribbling down design ideas and the things she'd need to take with her. As she muttered to herself the fairy lights on Mouse flickered, small glowing colours separating from the bulb that caused them to float away, fortunately the bulbs lit back up again as the lights that had come from them began to float around the group, drifting like fireflies. Though it might be hard to tell Violet was the cause as she was entirely unaware of the things, concentrating on her notepad.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:17, Wed 18 May 2016.

They have two of the three Nisse that were part of this team.  The leader of the team, Rolf, is nowhere to be seen after he hopped inside the sack he was carrying.

Curiously, that sack is now lying on the ground, not far from where it was when Rolf jumped in.

It looks quite flat.  Not one wrinkle or lump that would indicate a Nisse hiding inside.  But both Arna and Karl look at it.

"We shouldn't," Karl says.

"They're Librarians," Arna replies to her partner.  "Olvi told us, don't do anything rash in New York City, they have Librarians watching over the place.  Maybe it's time we come clean.  They could... bad things could happen to us.  Maybe this won't go entirely poof."

Arna points to the bag.  It's a big sack, made of thick red velour.  "That's the short way.  The long way... we don't fly.  Probably best to to take the subway.  Sugar Hill.  You know, it has nothing at all to do with sugar?  Humans are weird.  We moved in, thinking, sugar.  We'd find some, open up a little confectionery.   No sugar.  I miss those times, when we all thought we'd be quiet little Nisse, hard working and hidden.  Why did we have get all mixed up in American Christmas?"

"You remember, it was when that child said 'look, Christmas Elves' and left porridge out..." Karl explains.

"That was melted ice cream.  They don't have porridge in this country," Arna says.

"...and the television on," Karl continues, "and we sat there eating porridge and watching ourselves on the television.  That's powerful stuff, television."

"Ice cream is pretty powerful too,"** Arna says.

**It's well known that the smaller Fey have a strong liking of dairy products, especially rich dairy products.  That's why the traditional gift Humans give Brownies and their kin is a bowl of cream.  Yogurt... well, yogurt is fermented milk.  It's been known to effect Fey in much the same way as fermented fruit juice affects Humans.

When Amara comes to him and offers a cookie, Mouse's tail thumps once, happily, against the ground.  He nuzzled her hand gently as he looked at her with his startlingly green eyes.

He doesn't, however, take a cookie.

Karl looks at Mouse, with an Aha! expression.

"So that's how it's done," he says to himself.  And then to the dog:  "You know, we small folk can be pretty good bakers.  The best.  There's a whole marketing campaign by a major Human cookie baker, claiming Elves do their work.  It's mostly lies."

Then Karl turns to Violet and adds, "I'd... umm... avert my eyes from the television, when those ads come on.  These Human mythologies have a way of sticking to us.  Case in point, us. But we can bake gingerbread and shortbread like nobody's business, it's true."

Amara goes over and get the sack, holding it takes it over to Mouse so she can pet him "So, what if I let Mouse into this sack? I can shrink him and me enough to go in" she says with a grin

Julian gave out a sigh of relief at the conversation turned. He'd had no way of actually backing up a threat, and he certainly didn't want to hurt anyone. With the city in trouble though, he considered a "bad cop" attitude to be a sure way of getting info.

Now that things had turned civil however, and the Nisse were willing to cooperate, the young man had no reason to attempt such an aggressive ruse, "Thank heavens...You'll please forgive my earlier outbursts...I had no intention of harming anyone, and I'm sure my canine companion didn't either...it's just that with the threat of an earthquake and all, well, I just wanted to make sure we were taking this seriously."

Eyeing the aforementioned sack, the librarians brows raised, "Santa's sack? How interesting...who knew that tradition had such a strong effect on the fey. We can certainly take the subway. Perhaps we'll run into some of my friends down there." He smirked, musing a moment on the prospect of meeting more gremlins. Such curious little creatures.

Well, that certainly sounded interesting.  Mouse was capable of embiggening himself, but he'd never been ensmallened before.  He stands, his tail wagging enthusiastically as he sniffed at the bag.  He chuffs happily, looking from Amara to the Nisse with a doggy grin.

"So does the sack lead to Norway or to Sugar Hill? And which of those places is the troll in?" Violet asked, slightly confused by where they were supposed to be going. If the cave was in Norway but the Nisse lived in New York how did that work as their home for Santa?

When the Nisses and Julian spoke of the subway, Gremian shivered. It was underground, so maybe there was natural caves down there. He took his touristic map out and searched for "Sugar Hill" on it. "So, where is Sugar Hill? This good for nothing map is so inaccurate, I got lost more with it than without", he asked while showing his map towards Julian. "And can we take the bus instead, or the yellow taxi. The subway is probably close at this time, right?" He was cautious to follow them, as they didn't promise safe passage yet and they wanted to go in those damn tunnels.

As the more city experienced characters know, this is New York.  The subways are 24/7.

"Sugar Hill is... north, 155th street, by the river," Arna says.  "It's just a neighborhood.  And our home.  The sack can take us there, your size isn't a problem.  Inside the sack isn't as big as outside.  It's a.. well, it's in many places at once.  We'd have to guide you. I don't know how it works, it's a very old thing, but it works, as long as you're a Nisse.  Or someone guided by one."

"Yeah, we could take the bus, too,"  Karl says.  "Slower, though.  The Troll Prince is staying with us.  In the confectionery.  So we can go.  Whichever way you want to.  Up to you."

"Well, I can become Smokey, so I could float though it" she says with a smile. "But if we all want to stick together, I can also do the bus"

Julian blinked at Gremian's question, surprised he didn't want to take the subway, "We can grab a cab if you like...but your brethren are in the subway. I know them fairly well. You don't want to see them?" He tilted his head at the question, looking between the gremlin and his map.

Gremian mouth fell when he heard that gremlins lived in the subway. He never thought to see his kin in this city. "I thought I was the only Gremlin here. And if they live down there, it must be safe for me too. It's okay for taking the subway now and meeting them." he answered Julian questions. "You could have told me sooner that you already meet some Gremlins, plumber" he mumbled.

Julian smirked at Gremian, offering a chuckle, "Ah, but you didn't ask, my friend. I just assumed you already knew them. Buhzhuhz is their chief. There are other gremlins in the city, I'm sure, but I only have a good standing with our friends in the subway."

"OK, lets take the subway and get going" she takes the sack in case they need it. She hated being underground.

Mouse made his way over to stand by Amara.  He looks at her, then at the harness he is still wearing, then back to her.  He woofs quietly as he waits for her to grasp the leads on his service animal disguise.

Amara takes hold of the handle of Mouse's harness "OK, on to the subway.

An hour later, they were far, far uptown from Wall Street, in the Sugar Hill neighborhood.  It was a strange place, a neighborhood of once-was and could-have-been.  Once, this had been a place for those who were rich but not entirely accepted by "high society", such as wealthy minority members, and others who didn't fit in.  (Like, "circus people".  One of the most fabulous houses here was built for James Bailey, one of the two most famous circus managers of all time. Bailey was the man who bought "Jumbo the Elephant" from the London Zoo.  That elephant helped make "Barnum and Bailey" known to virtually every American for a century.  A few weeks ago, that circus, still in existence, retired the last of its performing elephants.)

Now it is a troubled neighborhood, not the worst by far, but underpaid, underserved, run down, and struggling with poverty and other urban problems.  Only the strange shapes of the buildings, some of them seeming like castles and palaces, marks it as something different.  In the darkness, the architecture is even more strange and imposing, Gothic fantasies lining the main street.  It is so late that the streets are deserted- almost- there are still people still here: shift workers going to and from their jobs.

Mouse intimidated before, but now, in a darkened street in a questionable neighborhood, the two Nisse keep close to the dog.  They lead the way to a long shuttered storefront.

"Once it was a candy store," Arna says.  "We were going to re-open it.  It would have been nice."

They open three locks, and lead the crew inside.

There is the third Nisse, the one they saw before.

"Hopping hollyberries, Arna, you led them here!" he howls.

Amara glares at the third Nisse "Try anything, and I will set off a whirlwind sandstorm in here. We just want to talk" she says as she lets go of Mouse's handle.

Gremian was a little disappointed that no Gremlins showed up on the subway ride. But he didn't say, nor show anything about it. At the candies store, he stayed alert, searching for signs of danger: hidden Nisses, weapons, magic runes.

Julian rose his hand in parley at the other Nisse's alarm, doing his best to appear non-threatening...or even less threatening than he already appeared anyway.

"...We've come to an agreement, it's quite alright. We're with the Library, you know. We only want to help make sure this whole situation is settled peacefully."

The researcher fixed his glasses once more upon his nose, trying to look the part of a capable field-agent and not so much the researcher he truly was. The others about him were Fey after all, he was still very much human and rather nervous about the fact faced with possible unknown magic.

Once Amara had dropped the leads, Mouse began thoroughly sniffing the place over.  Partly because the whole place smells delicious and partly to get a good sense of who or what might also be in the building.  His nose twitches as he sorts out smells too subtle his allies to even notice.