Editing Garrick family (section)

==History==
The Garricks were considered a large but minor family by [[Wonderkand]], and had been a practitioner family specializing in the Paths for at least several generations.<ref name="Wonderkand"/> The Garricks were involved in binding [[Queen Sootsleeves]] and her kingdom, and possibly also in the preceding Founding. Earlier generations of Garricks had a policy of binding every Lost they encountered to try to clear out the Paths and make them safer to traverse.<ref>“Bound Lost?”<br><br>“We have a fair few.  There was a time, my great grandfather and grandfather’s day, back when we called ourselves Dreamers or Dream-walkers, we thought if we bound enough we could depopulate the Paths, less dangerous Others to run into.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/08/31/summer-break-13-9/ Excerpt] from [[Summer Break 13.9]]</ref> They also discovered and kept mostly secret the Path [[Bound to the Party]]<ref name="BttP"/>, likely well prior to the start of the story, as its boons had been weakened with frequent running, despite the limited access.

When Avery first made contact with the Garrick family, they were involved in dealing with a god parasite and working on brute forcing [[Zoomtown]], likely among other projects, and dealt regularly with Alexander Belanger for augury advice on Paths and Lost items.<ref>“Unhatched egg screams randomly.  We don’t know what it does yet but Alexander Belanger said it was strong, so we keep troubleshooting it.  The bingo card makes noises and circles numbers when those numbers crop up randomly in real life and when you get a bingo it dumps you onto a random point on a Path you’ve been to before.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/03/27/one-after-another-10-1/ Excerpt] from [[One After Another 10.1]]</ref><ref name="9.3e1" /> Jude mentions to Avery that the Garricks were involved in evacuating [[Nicolette Belanger]] from the [[Forest Ribbon Trail]] after she stranded, and then switched places with, Avery,<ref>“Snowdrop got taken off the Path by a rival, leaving me there with… her.”<br><br>“He gives me the occasional bad dream and I spent a few minutes with him.  What do you even do?  Sneak around to the detour?”<br><br>“She got that too.  An acquaintance came and gave me some emotional support, my friends negotiated and got my attacker to step in and replace me, and her boss kind of arranged a way out for her after that.”<br><br>“Oh… I think I remember that.  I wasn’t part of it though.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/03/27/one-after-another-10-1/ Excerpt] from [[One After Another 10.1]]</ref> which Nicolette says was her first time interacting with the Garricks.<ref>“What do you think they’ll say?” Zed asked Nicolette.<br><br>“No idea.  I’ve barely dealt with them.  My first interaction with them was this spring.  Using the dollhouse to snatch up Snowdrop.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/08/31/summer-break-13-9/ Excerpt] from [[Summer Break 13.9]]</ref>

After Alexander's death, the Garricks' main project was solving the newly discovered Station Promenade. They gave Avery and allies access to the Promenade so she and Snowdrop could perform the [[Familiar]] ritual with witnesses, in exchange for contributing to a group run of the Path, which [[The Wolf]] ultimately crashed. The Garricks were likely also considering trying to marry Avery into the family at this point.<ref>“Heard.  I hope you and Jude work well together.  We have high hopes,” a man’s voice came through.<br><br>Jude put his hand to his face with an audible slap. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/03/27/one-after-another-10-1/ Excerpt] from [[One After Another 10.1]]</ref><ref>The older man who had been guiding people through turned, looking.  “She’s doing fine.  The table note is interesting.  That’s something to explore on a future expedition.”<br><br>“Will she be invited?” Verona called down.<br><br>“I suppose, if she wants.  We’d like to maintain some form of contact.  Pair her and Jude up more, teach her the family secrets as they go.”<br><br>Verona smirked, while Lucy nodded, maintaining a poker face.  Between them and John, Zed and Brie exchanged glances. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/03/30/one-after-another-10-a/ Excerpt] from [[One After Another 10.a]]</ref> Some of the Garricks were initially skeptical of Avery, but her handling of the situation impressed them enough to invite her to the next Promenade attempt and offer her input.<ref>The Garricks were organizing for another visit to the Promenade, and were sending out messages to ask for thoughts and if anyone had ideas that they hadn’t included in the debrief surveys and things.  Wonderfully dorky.  She bookmarked that. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/05/25/dash-to-pieces-11-8/ Excerpt] from [[Dash to Pieces 11.8]]</ref> The Garricks later negotiated with Avery for a key piece of information about the Station Promenade, in exchange for money, items, access to Garrick texts and practices, and freeing bound Lost. Despite her high asking price, and some initial suspicion and attempted manipulation on their part, they were impressed with her and pleased with the outcome of the deal, and eager to continue to work with her and have her marry into the family.<ref>The Aunt asked, “How would you like everything?  Full access to Garrick records, dip into funds as if you were a family member, free access to our knowledge about practices?”<br><br>Avery folded her arms.<br><br>“Uh, Avery?” Zed asked.<br><br>“This is a prelude to you guys proposing marriage?” Avery asked.<br><br>“Ah, you got there already,” Zed said.<br><br>Jude sagged, head hanging.<br><br>“It doesn’t have to happen now, it doesn’t have to happen soon, even.  We could set the date for when you’re twenty or twenty-five.  We’d need a promise, or a staggered series of commitments, do you understand what I’m saying by that?”<br><br>“I… hmm…” Avery paused.  “I find it odd you think I’m equipped to get this offer, but not smart enough to understand staggered commitments or whatever.”<br><br>“We’d want to talk to your guardians.  Or do Zed and Nicolette qualify?”<br><br>“Don’t steamroll her,” Nicolette said.  “She hasn’t expressed interest.”<br><br>“Of course,” the Aunt said.  “It wouldn’t have to be Jude.  We have a number of young bachelors of an appropriate age.  You’re thirteen?”<br>...<br>“Is there a chance something could happen in that direction later?” Walt asked.<br><br>''If you have a Finder cousin of Jude’s who’s a girl or woman?'' Avery thought.  “Slim, if I’m being honest.  Very slim.”<br><br>“Right,” Walt said.  His tone of voice had changed, and somehow not for the worse.<br>...<br>“Fuck me,” Walt said.  “A solve?”<br><br>“Near solve,” Clay said.  “Some finer details to be worked out.  Like the Wolf.”<br><br>“Fuck me,” Walt said.  He paced a little, nodding.  As he passed Clay he clapped a hand on Clay’s back.  “Good.”<br>...<br>“It’s good, Clay.  Okay.  You’ve been fair, Avery Kelly,” Walt said.  He seemed happy.  “We’ll get you set up.”<br><br>“She said she might have some tips on the Cakewalk.”<br><br>“I said I’d make it cheap,” Avery said.<br><br>“Fuck,” Walt said.  “What the fuck are we going to give you, kid?  We’ve gotta bring you into the family.  Polish up our eligibles.  Who or what are you looking for in a partner?”<br>...<br>“This is how Paths get discovered,” Walt said.  “Gotta find it, figure out a reliable means of getting in, fling yourself at it a few times, scared as hell, maybe you unravel it, usually you don’t.  Then you get the right information from the right Other, or a clue, put two pieces of information together, find the tool that gives you a clear idea of what’s up.  Then you got it.  Still got a lot to figure out, but this?  This is good.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2021/08/31/summer-break-13-9/ Excerpt] from [[Summer Break 13.9]]</ref> This deal, in which items belonging to the deceased Poppy were traded to Avery, played a large part in alienating Shane and Kimber Garrick. 

The Garricks advised Kennet about their planned Founding ritual, helping fix some flaws and gaps in [[Verona Hayward|Verona's]] original plan, though the Garricks remained pessimistic about the town's odds of success. When the ritual did succeed, and Kennet needed help transporting dozens of hostile practitioners safely out of their town, they hired the Garricks to take them on the Paths in order to avoid the hostile forces in the surrounding regions and realms.<ref>“I guess I wanted to call to sound you out.  Something like eighty practitioners crashed our town, to support a big Musser Lordship claim.”<br><br>“Holy shit,” Jude’s dad said.<br><br>“Sixty-something still around.  I don’t know if we’re in bad shape and I shouldn’t even be calling to ask for information and advice-”<br>...<br>“-I don’t know if I shouldn’t be calling, if I’m okay to call for the advice, if I’m taking these people onto a Path, which Path might be best and safest for one-time travelers, maybe.  Except I’d have to run it a bunch of times, to take different people to different destinations.  If I didn’t take them all to the Blue Heron.  Or…”<br><br>“Or?”<br><br>“Or if I’m okay to offer a business opportunity.”<br><br>“What opportunity?” Jude asked.<br><br>“Maybe you guys want to do it?  I owe you guys.  I owe you a lot-”<br><br>“Not to gainsay you, but I don’t see how you do,” Jude’s dad said.<br><br>“I do,” she said.  ''Jude said I had to repay some of what I got.''  “If there’s a cost involved, let me shoulder some of it, and then some.  If that means I’m in your debt, okay.  I’ll work on it over the next while.  But we’d be looking at getting sixty people in… I think we counted thirty cars.  Possibly thirty different destinations.  You’d come, pick them up, take them, and go.  And I’d cover some of the costs, taking it on as debt, plus some extra.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/04/16/wild-abandon-18-3/ Excerpt] from [[Wild Abandon 18.3]]</ref> Avery also used this opportunity to try and mend the rift forming from her favoring Jude's immediate family over the other Garricks, and to make up for her and [[Miss]]' complicity in the death of Max Garrick, though none of the Garricks besides Jude were aware of this. The [[Charles Abrams|Carmine Exile]] threatened the Garricks with gainsaying to prevent the evacuation,<ref>“Then shall we go first?” Jude’s Uncle Peter asked.  “Taking one small group?  And we can call the Kennet group and they can pass on the message?”<br><br>There were nods.<br><br>“Peter Rhys Garrick, I gainsay you, for fifty-three days, for fifty-three falsehoods made.”<br><br>The group parted.<br><br>He was at the back.  Charles. - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/04/16/wild-abandon-18-3/ Excerpt] from [[Wild Abandon 18.3]]</ref> but ultimately they were allowed to carry it out, with the understanding that the Garricks wouldn't do business in the region afterwards.<ref>“I’ve offered the girls a compromise that will let them get the Garricks out.  But the Garricks can’t be doing business here over the long term.  Not as couriers.” - [https://palewebserial.wordpress.com/2022/04/23/wild-abandon-18-5/ Excerpt] from [[Wild Abandon 18.5]]</ref>

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