It takes a few minutes for Hex, Kip and Foxglove to reach the police station. Each cell has two entrances; a barred window high up on one wall, and a wall of bars along on the inside. Given the size of the heroes, they can fit through either entrance equally well, though only Foxglove can reach the window particularly easily.

Kip looks around for things he can climb, so that he can leap up to the window. Or at least to the roof and then climb down.

"The upper window looks best. Less likely to get noticed."

Hex will follow Kip's lead to get to the window and get inside. (Anything to get back inside where it's safe. :))

"Window's good." agrees Foxglove. "Either of you got a piece of string?"

--------------

String of sufficient length is found, and Foxglove flies up to the window and ties one end to the bars, allowing Hex easier access to the window. (Kip has, by then, climbed the ivy; squirrels are far better climbers than kangaroo rats)

Winifred is inside the cell, scrubbing the floor and muttering under her breath. While Hex and Kip stand on the windowsill, Foxglove swoops into the cell. "Hey!" she says.

Winifred looks up. "Foxglove! Excellent. Quickly, I need you to get me the key for this cell."

Hex will wait to see what Foxglove does, but if she moves towards the keys he will interrupt.

Kip is also watching. He is especially interested to see if she controls Foxglove at all.

"How exactly did you end up in here?" asks Foxglove.

"Some blithering idiot messed with my cauldron, that's how." snaps Winifred. "You know, that cauldron that you were supposed to be guarding?"

"I was on a date." replies Foxglove, her voice suddenly very quiet.

"Hah! Yes! And while you're off enjoying yourself, I get locked in here and who knows what's happened to Bud and Lou! Now go get that key like a good bat, and we'll see if I can fix this mess that you caused."

Hex: Mysteries: +3 Roll: -2 Total: +1
Kip: Mysteries: +0 Roll: -2 Total: -2

Hex can feel no trace of magical control. Kip has no idea what magical control would even look like. It looks like nothing more than old-fashioned emotional manipulation; but at this point, unless interrupted, Foxglove will go looking for the keys.

"Weren't you breaking into a museum to steal something?"

Kip speaks up quickly.

"You!" snarls Winifred, whipping the scrubbing brush wand from her belt and pointing it at Kip.

A couple of sparks fizzle ineffectually at the end, all at least half a metre from Kip.

"Frumious featherdusters! My cauldron! Do you see what you caused with your slacking off, you lazy bat!"

"I - I mean - he's got a point." adds Foxglove, warily.

"What, some stupid moon rock that no-one's going to ever do anything but look at?"

Kip's hand drops to Trouble, but he releases the whip when the scrubbing brush does nothing.

"A moon rock that kids can come in and see. They can point at it and say 'We went to the moon. We can do anything, we can be anything.' A moon rock that people worked hard for. Why can you just take it? And what about the lightning bugs you killed?"

Social combat, with Foxglove's future at stake...

Kip: Rapport: +1 Roll: +2 Total: +3
Winifred: Resolve: +0 Roll: -1 Total: -1
Winifred: OOOXO

Winifred glares at Kip. "It was just sitting there! Unused! Useless! I would have put it to use! Do you have the faintest idea how much I could accomplish with a piece of genuine moon rock? How many empty mouths I could feed? I wouldn't be locked in here, that's for sure!"

Winifred: Deceit: +2 Roll: +2 Total: +4
Kip: Resolve: +3 Roll: -1 Total: +2
Winifred: OOOXO
Kip: OXOOO

"You are stealing. You are trying to justify theft with vague promises that are unfounded. You murdered innocents. You lied repeatedly to Foxglove. These are not the actions of someone who is trying to help others. These are the actions of a selfish criminal."

Stunt: Iron Determination.

Kip delivers each line as if it were a crack of Trouble.

OOG: Attempting to use deceit to get Winifred to expose herself.

"Of course," Hex agrees. "People just don't understand. What matter a few bugs, or if some brat misses a chance to see a rock he probably wouldn't even look at anyway. Magic, real magic, can make all that trivial stuff just fade away."

The sheer strength of Kip's determination rocks Winifred back on her heels slightly.

Iron Determination: +1 to Intimidation, Resolve, social defense. Cannot use the Rapport skill.

Kip tries, quite bluntly, to force down Winifred with sheer determination;

Kip: Resolve: +3 Iron Determination: +1 Roll: +1 Total: +5
Winifred: Resolve: +0 Roll: -1 Total: -1
Winifred takes a Minor Consequence: Rattled

Hex also adds his voice to the argument; a gentler voice, without the iron behind Kip's:

Hex: Deceit: +4 Roll: -2 Total: +2
Winifred: Resolve: +0 Roll: -2 Total: -2
Winifred: OOOXX Rattled

Winifred staggers back a half a step under this dual assault. It seems clear to her that she's not going to win this argument, at least not on a fair footing, and so, taking a sudden step forward, she sweeps her scrubbing brush around in an arc intended to sweep both Kip and Hex from the windowsill...

...however, in her anger, she forgets that both rodents are standing outside the bars. There's a *twing**twong**twang* as the scrubbing brush hits three bars in a row, robbing it of the power it would need to be a serious threat to either rodent.

"Alright!" she yells. "So I was going to take over the world! I was going to rule it all! I was going to get my revenge on the people who'd patronised me! 'Oh, she's just the cleaning lady', they said! 'We can push her aside'! 'We can kick her, step on her toes, cut her salary, fire her! We can spill wine on a carpet and make her clean it up'! I'd have made them PAY, all of them, for every snide comment, every side glance! AND I'd have got myself a bat who was a PROPER witches' familiar, too!"

Foxglove zips out the window and lands next to Kip. "I think... I think you were right." she says, tears forming in her eyes. "But... but they were... they were the only friends I had!"

"Were, my dear," Hex says. "You've got us now. Especially, this guy." Hex pats Kip on the back with a chuckle.