The time had come and the hour of retribution was at hand. But first, she needed to make a few preparations. Shiloh had the names of the fey involved in the most recent 'child-swapping' incident and was mulling over how to reel them in. The fair folk were only fair in appearance, but they liked to pretend they were more than that. They loved their mind games, tricks, and wordplay while acting like they were better than other people. From her brief experiences with the fey, she knew that one of the best ways to trap them was to beat them at their own game. She wouldn't have to go that far this time thankfully, however she had a good reason for setting up a tea party thinly veiled as a summons. When confronted they would most definitely pretend to play innocent, so she'd play along–up until their little charade was ripped out from under them. Just killing them wouldn't make a difference since their courts would replace them with somebody else. No, she wanted them to seriously think about what they did and face the consequences for their 'pranks'. 

As much as she hated visitors and dealing with nobility, she would have to put up with them for at least a few hours. Just long enough to set the scene for the grand finale. But now Shiloh was facing a new problem: writing the invitations. The issue was getting the wording right–it had to be polite enough to not offend their delicate sensibilities while clearly written to get the message across. They were being summoned to the Machinarium whether they liked it or not. She had already created a new wing designed after the Arriese rose gardens for this special event. Piles of crumpled drafts were strewn all over the floor of Serenitas as she was pacing the room. When she still couldn't clear her thoughts, she started pacing up and down the Marble Corridor. It was like writing a contract except for the fey, which was already a hundred times more difficult. Politely phrased threats were still threats after all. She sensed someone had entered Antikythera and immediately went to look. If it was a visitor, she'd have to see them out and have them come back another day.

She had been hanging around Antikythera for a couple of weeks now, getting to know the place and the people that were there. She had to admit, it was far more than she had been hoping for. The vast amount of knowledge that Keilmere would be able to learn and the research possibilities were nearly infinite. Keilmere certainly stood out among the many people in Antikythera, seeing as she was the only draenei among them. She had slowly started to pick up her own research as she was allowed more and more freedom of the place to get what she needed.

However, at this moment, she was looking for Shiloh as she had a question for the Goddess. While Keilmere didn’t know exactly where Shiloh was at the moment, so Keilmere had to wonder around for a while until she found Shiloh. Since she had looked almost everywhere else, and knowing that at least Shiloh was here in Antikythera, there was only one last place to look. Keilmere made her way down to Serenitas, but she didn’t have to go that far as Shiloh seemed to be pacing the Marble Corridor and there were crumpled bits of papers strewn about. With each step Keilmere’s hooves clicked against the floor so there was no chance at a quiet approach to the Goddess, who seemed perturbed at the moment. ”Shiloh?” Keilmere spoke up in case the Goddess had noticed her arrival but was too lost in her thoughts to acknowledge her. ”I had a question on some research but…” She trailed off as her solid teal eyes scanned the papers that were tossed around. ”perhaps that can wait. Is there something I could help you with instead?” Keilmere asked, she was always happy to help when she could.

"Yes, actually there is. Have you ever written an invitation to a tea party before? One that's supposed to be polite and threatening at the same time while being as airtight as a barrister-fabricated alibi?" A  very specific description, but it summed up the gist of what she was trying to do. "Writing these dumb things is harder than constructing a scale replica of Adeluna out of mud." Kicking one of the crumpled pieces of paper up so it landed into her hand, she straightened it out before ripping it up into little bits. She hadn't slept for at least a month as far as her memory could recall, certainly not in the last day. "I already asked somebody else for a favor and I don't like asking more than once." Fumbling around she picked some more failed attempts from the floor and checked them until she found a few she thought were close to being decent. "I can't think of anything more right now. If you have any suggestions, go ahead and say them. Bloody fairies…" If only these weren't being sent to the fey, then she'd be done with them by now. 

"Once these are delivered the real challenge starts… Tolerating a group of stuffy nobles long enough to make them pay their dues." Debt collection was easier than this, and she hated the short stint she had as a private lender. Sitting in the same space with fey lords and ladies and holding a civil conversation with them was absolutely awful. But she had made a decision and she was sticking with it, so there was no point in changing that now. It had to be done. Anyone who knew what Antikythera was like would notice how odd this was starting to sound. Holding a tea party with people you didn't like when you weren't obligated to would set of some alarm bells for people who knew how the goddess did things. She was muttering to herself as she was ripping up more practice invitations, complaining about tea varieties and whether or not she should make the flatware out of iron out of spite.

Keilmere blinked at Shiloh’s request. ”No, uh, I can’t say that I have written such a letter before.” Keilmere didn’t say anything else as Shiloh continued on, speaking on what was happening while she ripped up the paper. It looked like she hadn’t slept in some time either, but, how much sleep did a Goddess need anyway? Keilmere had no idea, but it was hard to tell sometimes when Shiloh was acting… weird.

The draenei woman thought for a few moments as she leaned back against the wall, her tail gently swishing back and forth as she thought. ”Fairies, tricky bunch they are.” She commented, though it was more to herself than Shiloh. What was Shiloh getting herself into inviting fairies for a tea party? She bit one of her nails for a moment before she started to speak, saying what ideas she did have, for what they might worth. ”What about something along the lines of; it has come to my attention that we have a mutual interest in… whatever it is you have business with with the fairies, and I believe that a, um, dialogue between our two parties would be most beneficial for all involved. I have many designs in mind for what we can accomplish together, and a negation of negotiation may result for a possible loss of potential revenues for all involved.” Keilmere finished and then shrugged, she didn’t know if that was helpful or not.

Keilmere did not know what Shiloh was planning aside from the tea party, and the whole new part of the temple that had been created. Whatever was going on was obviously very important to Shiloh and Keilmere was more than happy to help in any way that she could.

As Keilmere gave her two cents on the situation, Shiloh was twisting a strip of paper at both ends while listening. Her fidgeting was obvious when she had a lot on her mind and a good amount of nervous energy without an outlet. As she twisted the strip into a knot, the dark-haired woman stared at the wall opposite of her. "Yeah…that'll do nicely. Give it a few tweaks here and there then throw in a few pompous-sounding words–bingo. Good enough." Taking a broom out of thin air, she began to sweep the mess back into Serenitas where she'd clean it up later. With a great sigh of relief, she dropped the broom on the other side of the dimensional door and closed it. "Thanks, you have no idea how much of a headache you've saved me." Galatea's voice boomed in the Marble Corridor as she notified that a guest was in the Entrance Hall. "Now is not the time… I'm going to see them out or have them reschedule if it's urgent. Nobody comes here–unless it's Angela." She ran off, and moments later the sound of hurried footsteps returned as she had sent whoever it was away. It was clear that it had not been Angela, as she wouldn't dare to just show the elder goddess the door. 

"Passing pilgrim, nothing major. Accidentally activated the transport obelisks without realizing. Right, invitations…" It was like she was mentally in ten places at once, barely keeping up. Noticing Keilmere was still here, she felt a bit guilty for running around without asking how she was doing. "Sorry about that, I didn't mean to skip over your question. Today's a little hectic since I've been rushing to get this done. We'll be expecting at least a dozen members of the fey courts in the new wing once the ferrets reach their destination. It's not really a meeting for business–it's a briefing before punishment is dealt. Someone thought it was funny to swap two human infants from different families instead of a baby with a changeling." Shiloh's eyes hardened into a glare directed at nobody in particular as she explained the reason for the formalities. "I think it's fair to let them know what they're being called in for before making them face the consequences."

A small swarm of ferrets wearing courier bags rushed by as she leaned against the stark white walls to catch her breath. "As much as I'd like to, I can't just kill the offending individuals. Fairies don't abide by the same laws or morality as other people, and I don't want to give the fey courts a reason to hold a grudge against me. So I have to kiss up to them just enough to make them willingly come, while strong-arming them with precise wording so they can't refuse. One of their quirks is that they are compelled to keep their word, so they'll do anything to weasel their way out of it." Shiloh quickly checked some sort of prototype timepiece before preparing to head down towards the newly constructed tea garden. Turning to Keilmere, she asked: "It's not going to be very interesting, but you can come watch. The guests will arrive in fifty minutes before they run the risk of being 'late'." 

Keilmere had not been here for long, but she had been here long enough to expect the unexpected, especially when it came to Shiloh herself. The broom out of nowhere in the past would have surprised Keilmere, but now it did not phase her at all as she watched Shiloh sweep up the mess. ”You’re welcome.” Keilmere replied with a smile as it was announced that there was a visitor to Antikythera and Shiloh went to see about that. Keilmere blinked and looked around for a moment while she waited.

Shiloh came back and it seemed like she was in multiple places at the same time. When Shiloh apologized Keilmere waved her hand to indicate that it was alright. Members of the fey courts?! Switching babies? Punishment? If this was anyone else Keilmere would think they were crazy to do… whatever Shiloh was planning, but, since it was Shiloh, this seemed far more normal. The swarm of ferrets also did not phase Keilmere anymore as she stood there and watched them go past, making sure not to step on one with her sharp hooves. They were cute at least so that helped.

When invited to join and watch Keilmere nodded. ”I would be happy to. I haven’t delt with the fey before so it would be interesting to see how they work. Please, if there’s anything else I can do to help before they arrive let me know.” This would be very interesting!

"They're a sly and conniving bunch who've been around long enough to learn how to manipulate people to get what they want. They also tend to be very pretty, which often works in their favor. Imagine if you took the mind of a child and put it inside a body with incredible power along the ability to ignore most consequences. Not every fey is like that, but most of them fit the bill in some way or another." Her husband was an exception, and she remembered he told her how his family ridiculed him for being too 'human' for having empathy. Fortunately nobody related to Cymbel's side of the family would be involved in the tea party today. "The most common reactions to the fey are falling head over heels with infatuation–or wanting to deck them in the face." No points for guessing which side of the spectrum Shiloh was on. She led Keilmere to the new wing and opened the doors to reveal an elegant indoor garden. There was Adelunian inspiration in its design as chairs and tables covered in pristine white cloth were arranged around raised beds of roses and meadow flowers. Glimmering lights in the shape of lantern cherries dangled from above like stars against the white ceiling. There were faux windows between decorated pillars emulating the soft mid-morning light of a sunny Terra day with simulated clear skies with white clouds. It'd be a relaxing atmosphere if you didn't know what it had been built for.

The sounds of songbirds and the woodland forest echoed in the wing even though Keilmere and Shiloh were the only living beings here. Hidden as innocuous decorative stones, devices that played recorded sounds created the ambiance of the outdoors to emulate an open-air garden. There were even a few fountains with romantic figures positioned above the cascading water. Serving trays and dollies were on standby and each table was set. Name cards in cursive for the guests showed where they would be seated, like what you'd see in a fancy restaurant for reservations. One might ask whether all of this was necessary, and from a practical point of view–the answer was 'no'. She could just summon them all here, give them their judgment, then send them packing. But there was a reason behind the luxurious scenery, the formalities, and stroking their egos. Shiloh wanted to give the fey a taste of their own medicine. She wanted to let them know what it was like on the other side of a fey bargain.

Checking the timepiece again, Shiloh muttered: "Fifteen minutes before the show starts. The ferrets should be back by now. Today you'll be observing fey nobility in their natural habitat." The last sentence was dripping with sarcasm, as it had two of her least favorite things put together. Looking to Keilmere, she said: "I'm going to change my clothes. Even though I don't care what they think about me, I'll at least play the part until the end." After a portal to Serenitas and back, the deity was wearing a stylish set of menswear in white and dark blue. Her unkempt hair was presentable and pulled back into a low ponytail while a pin with the symbol of Antikythera was fasten to her left lapel. Her hands were covered with white gloves, completing the image of a butler. Making a few last-minute alterations to the tea garden, Shiloh materialized a set of double doors in the wing that connected directly to the front door of the Machinarium. 

"They're here." She said to Keilmere. Taking a deep breath, her face contorted into a naturally affable smile as she uttered between gritted teeth. "It's showtime." The doors opened as a procession of fey lords and ladies entered, each bearing an invitation. They looked no different from normal humans except for the wings, unusually colored hair, and other small details. One thing the guests all had in common was they were dressed to the nines, explaining Shiloh's wardrobe change. "Welcome, welcome–sirs, madames, ladies. It pleases me to see that all of you could come today." Beneath the polite facade was an air of uneasiness, as everybody knew the attendance was mandatory. The guests were led to their seats by the deity and they acted as if nothing was wrong. It was taking all of her willpower just to suppress her bloodlust so the mood wouldn't be ruined. She then signaled for the automaton attendants to come in with refreshments and they made their rounds before Shiloh began the event. It was the calm before the storm. Now that she had her captive audience, she could take her sweet time in building up to what she had planned for them.