Mage: The Ascension

[Hawker]

You arrive at the address enclosed in your letter, at the time and date provided, and knock on the shabby door. At first, there is no response, so you double-check the tarnished brass plaque. Yup, apartment 33B. You knock again. After a moment, the door opens, and a tall, Middle-Eastern man with slicked-back hair and a trim goatee opens the door. "Ah. You must be one of the guests. Please, follow me," he says, and you follow him down a long corridor into a large room...

...Wait a minute. Come to think of it, this apartment looks a lot nicer than the rest of the building. And it can't possibly be this large. Oh, right. Magic. You still forget sometimes...

..into a large room adorned with marble pedestals holding urns and artwork depicting classical scenes: Theseus--Or was it Perseus?-- slaying the Minotaur, Hades tempting a scantily-clad Persephone with a pomegranate, Pan putting a mortal you don't recognize to sleep. There is luxurious, comfortable furniture and a full lunch spread on a coffee table. "Take a seat," the man says. "Is there anything I can get you to make your visit more comfortable? Miss Lyons will arrive shortly."

[azalinthegreat]

Dan steps in, more than a little impressed with the surroundings. Dan is well dressed, and seems to put a premium on his appearence. His blonde hair is well combed and cut, and the scent of expensive aftershave seems to follow him as he walks. He seems to be constantly smiling. He takes a seat on the best seat he can find and says "Yeah, I'll take whatever booze you have."

[Last1]

Ester joined the oddly smiling man, looking over the displayed artwork. It was a nice enough place - all claims of hyper-effecincy aside, the conventions had there own flavor of ostentatious decorations - but it was about what she would have expected for a offical meeting place for the whatever kind of team the Traditions were building here.

"Do you have diet coke?" She asked, scaning for the perfect seat. She grabbed a few slices of baguette, and a few slices of ham, and sat down to eat... and wait for a meeting she was dreading. All her tough talk aside, she could have stay comferable cooped up a while longer.

[SGL2286]

Having left a brief message with his counterpart, explaining work had come up, Piers opted to drive to Boston. Easier than dealing with the hassle of security. Dressed in simple black slacks, slightly aged, and probably popular in the late 90s, with a plain white long sleeve under a coat (http://www.refinery29.com/img/menscoats_dunderdon_forever21.jpg) (Left). Wearing his hair short, and face clean today (http://transitradio.files.wordpress.com/2007/05/tl_pxl_01_jeanbaptiste_02.jpg), though his nose is crooked, standing at an unimpressive 5'8" and 124, Piers unzips the coat, but keeps it over his shirt.

"I am fine, thank you" he says, and vaguely wanders around the room, pretending to be interested in the artwork.

[ajivani]

Anna sat on the edge of the bed, slowly drawing the smoke she'd just exhaled back into her nose. Her mother called it double-pumping it, and Anna had learned to do it well mostly to irritate her. Now it didn't matter so much in the dim light of that gray Boston morning, and she flicked away the butt in disgust.

She listened to the distant thump in other hotel rooms. This place was one of those that catered to yuppies who hadn't graduated just yet to the first class experience, the clink of cut crystal in private dining rooms and the bland smiles of first class flight attendants. Leaving the Boroughs was a bitch enough to get down here, she thought, with the bus full of Puerto Ricans swaying uncertainly in the traffic on I-95 and the constantly howling 2 year old with post-nasal drip. I'm flying back, she thought dimly, shrugging on her jeans from yesterday. The shirt was Donna Karan, gray poplin and slightly wrinkled. She smiled slightly when she picked up her coat -- Piers's coat, actually, a navy blue peacoat she'd taken from him leaving Jennifer X's show two weeks ago, when the freak windstorm hit -- and shouldered it on. It still smelled a little bit like him, all bergamot and Brut, tinged with the ever present faint odor of her cigarettes. Anna dismissed most of the warnings on her Nexus phone (NASDAQ open 38.24; JEDM 0.06 +0.001; NEXM 0.4374 -0.0127; POSC.OB 0.124 +0.031...) and sighed. The autotrader was doing just fine, but she needed to edit out the constant SMS alerts. She didn't know what in the algorithm was throwing them, and there just wasn't time this morning to weasel it out.

And not enough coffee, she thought, hitting the front door of the hotel. It smelled like exhaust and crabs and mildew outside. Anna wrinkled her nose and picked a different cigarette out of her pack, this one's end carefully pinched shut. She lit and inhaled again, the universe of numbers swimming through her mind coalescing into a single series. Just on the edge of the hotel's territory she darted into a 7-11. Behind the counter a cheap radio blared senseless Europop in its tinny voice. 79c later, she exhaled the smoke into the coffee's surface, her mind already locked into Qoholet's eidolic pattern.


Looking to see where the warding for this place extends (correspondence.) Per + Correspondence (Mage, 172.) ... and apparently I cannot do it in the first post to a thread. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27768) So I will reply to myself. Sorry. Or I'm just retarded. That could be it, too.

[ajivani]

It's a scrying mirror, or something.
[roll0]

[Hawker]

The Middle-Eastern man goes behind the wet bar and begins fixing a diet coke for Ester. He addresses Dan, asking "Scotch okay?" and starts to pour that as well. He brings both drinks to the table, placing each on a coaster in front of the appropriate guest. "If you'll excuse me, I have a bit of work to do." The man begins to leave, but stops to say, "There's supposed to be one more... I suppose she is running late. Anything else you need, ring the bell on the table, there." With a brief nod of his head, the man spins on his heels and walks into another room.

---

Meanwhile, in the 7-11 across the street, Anna's mind is filled with a jumble of numbers. None of them make much sense, perhaps that last draw was just a little too strong to allow one to focus completely on magic. In any event, the images reflecting in her coffee cup are too cloudy to see anything clearly. Finally, her focus is cut by the voice of the man behind the counter. "...Miss? Miss! Miss, please do not smoke within the store! Take your cigarette outside, Miss."

[azalinthegreat]

Dan looks to the other two guests, and decides to be the first to speak up. He speaks very friendly, and takes informal sips from the scotch during the pauses in his sentences. "Well, hello there you two," he says. "My name's Dan, I'm a higher-up at a stock brokerage here in Boston. It's nice to meet you two."

[Last1]

Ester looked around at the other two. She was a pretty enough women, in a sort of middle of the road way - if a tad of the slight side. "I'm Ester, I've just moved here, so I'm in the market for work. Need a mathematician for anything - perhaps with a focus on the truely cutting edge of of disipline, but without a degree?"

She snorted bitterly, "Thought not. I'll probably be act the nearest 7-11 before the week is out."

[ajivani]

Meanwhile, in the 7-11 across the street, Anna's mind is filled with a jumble of numbers. None of them make much sense, perhaps that last draw was just a little too strong to allow one to focus completely on magic. In any event, the images reflecting in her coffee cup are too cloudy to see anything clearly. Finally, her focus is cut by the voice of the man behind the counter. "...Miss? Miss! Miss, please do not smoke within the store! Take your cigarette outside, Miss."

She chucks a buck on the counter and walks out with her cigarette and coffee. She does first finish her smoke, however, before wandering up the stairs to the door in question. Her hand hovers over the polished wood of the door. In for a penny, she thinks, and raps.

[Hawker]

Just after Anna's knock, the Middle-Eastern man can be heard, saying "Ah, the final guest. Coming!" He opens the door with a polite smile and leads Anna inside the magically enlarged apartment to the sitting room with the others. "Anything I can get you, don't be shy to ask," he tells her. "Miss Lyons will be in any minute now."

[SGL2286]

Piers was about to say something when he saw Anna come in.

"Well, that makes things a touch easier. And still wearing my jacket? Well, at least I wont be worried about you catching cold down here." Turning to the other two he says "Piers Cobham".

[azalinthegreat]

To Piers and Miss Lyons, "You two know each other?"

[ajivani]

Anna is 5'9" and about 130 pounds, with long glossy black hair and pale skin, and a long lean face. She's got glasses with thick black frames and a quick, cute smile (Cha and App both 3). She's wearing a slightly wrinkled charcoal gray shirt and worn jeans, with paint splatters on her black Doc Martens. She's wearing a man's black pea coat (http://cache.jezebel.com/assets/resources/2007/12/ryangoslingishot121207.jpg) that's too big for her and would most likely fit Piers admirably. A gold and silver Star of David with a peridot in the center glints on a silver chain at her throat. She's got a laptop bag slung over one shoulder. The laptop bag's cover is emblazoned with the legend "Zombie Survival Kit."

Her entire face turns into a question mark when she sees Piers. She turns on the other man and fumbles between her coffee and shaking his hand, clearly not awake enough for this. "Sorry," she says, her Brooklyn showing. "I'm Anna Austerlitz."

[SGL2286]

"We have worked together for about...I don't remember, six or seven years at this point."

[Last1]

"And I'm Ester," Ester said, trying to smile.

[ajivani]

"Yeah, Hadassah, right? That's groovy. So what in the hell we all doing here?"

[SGL2286]

"We all got voluntold is my guess."

[Last1]

Ester nodded, "I'm pretty heavly in debt to my orgazation, and while I bought that protection with information, well - I think the etherites would have found it more useful."

"They're going to make use of me now, is my guess. Figure out who's still has you not making good on your potental, and you'll know why you're here."

[ajivani]

"Ain't that a bitch." She smiles at Ester, then looks at their host. "I'm sorry, is there any more coffee?" She'll move to settle right in next to Piers.

[Hawker]

"Of course," your host replies, "Right over here." He brings a ceramic mug and a piping hot fresh brew to Anna, and supplies cream and sugar if needed.

The sound of a latch clacking and the door opening and then closing heralds the hurried arrival of a short, slim woman with blue eyes and long, blonde hair. She looks about 30, but could be younger, and is carrying a messenger style bag over her shoulder. "Shadi called me to say you're all here. Sorry I'm a little late, there was a problem while I was preparing."

She takes off the bag and rests it against the wall, then regards each of her guests individually, starting with Dan. "You must be Daniel Emerson. One of the fellows in your little initiative told me about you." She turns to Anna and offers a small grin before waving her hand, eliminating the smoky smell surrounding her. "And you're Anna Austerlitz. Sorry, I just can't bear the smell of smoke... Don't worry, we're all Awakened here." She nods in Piers' direction, "You are Mr. Cobham? Tell Khaine I say hello when you next see him, it's been too long." Finally, she looks over to Ester. "Ester Hocks, or Anna Anson? Which is preferred? I sincerly hope it's the former; otherwise we'd have to use last names, and that's too stiff-necked for my tastes."

[ajivani]

Ester nodded, "I'm pretty heavly in debt to my orgazation, and while I bought that protection with information, well - I think the etherites would have found it more useful."

"They're going to make use of me now, is my guess. Figure out who's still has you not making good on your potental, and you'll know why you're here."

Anna grins. "Wow, you're an experientialist, and this early in the morning, too? Not enough uppers to get me there before noon, I'm afraid. I did work in the mathematical behavior patterns of cognitive linguistic systems in open frameworks before all this; gave quite a look into Shah and Robertson at the time." She digs around in her coat pocket and pulls out some Wrigley's Doublemint. "Want some gum?"

[SGL2286]

"Rarely since he sent me out do I see Khaine. But he believed I would return, so I shall pass along your thoughts." Piers says with a slightly conspiratorial grin.

[ajivani]

Finally, she looks over to Ester. "Ester Hocks, or Anna Anson? Which is preferred? I sincerly hope it's the former; otherwise we'd have to use last names, and that's too stiff-necked for my tastes."

"My middle name is Shalva. I don't really care." She stirs some sugar into the coffee and smiles.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan looks around, not quite clear what's going on. "So Miss Lyons, what are we here for?"

[Last1]

"Ester, please. Even a supposedly dead name can give you away if you use it in the wrong place. Back during my internship they had us data mining for that very kind of thing. We use to joke about..." she shook her head.

"Anna's dead. Let's leave it that way and forget her. None of you will ever meet her anyways, outside the conventions obituaries. Old ones at this point."

She gave the women a look, "But I would appeaciate it if you cut to the chase. Why are we here?"

[SGL2286]

"I must be mishearing you. Are you saying that you belonged with the conventions as in the Technocracy?" the grin has left his face, his eyes narrowing slightly, his eyebrows beginning to draw together for a frown.

[ajivani]

Anna pauses midsip. Danger, Will Robinson, she thinks. She says something rapid in an uncommon language with the words "Jesus" and "Khaine" somewhere in there.

"Dear sweet bald headed Jesus," she interjects quickly in Hebrew. "I'm sure your old boss Khaine would be pretty pissed if you shot her now. Shoot her later, if you must."

[SGL2286]

Piers' face loosens a notch, but he is still looking straight at this "Ester", speaking in the same language back to Anna.


Later works, for it is never defined. Not here I don't think though.

[Last1]

Ester turned to look at Piers, and her eyes were dead, "Anna Anson was a member of the Technocratic Union, a Statisticians. She died three year ago after being cought in a rather dramatic accident. Complications do to injuries sustained in a paradox realm."

Her gaze swept out, not really seeing anything, "She was a good enough worker, if," Esters lips twisted up slightly, "a bit naive. But lets not disrespect the dead."

[SGL2286]

"You have evaded the question. Our host which is known to one I answer to, applies the name of a supposedly dead technomancer. Either our host does you a grave dishonor, or said technomancer's identity died for a given value of death. Which is it?"

[azalinthegreat]

Dan takes a seat. "Strange languages, dead technocrats...I think I prefer trading stocks. It's less confusing."

[Last1]

"A life it based on many layered sets of connections, dreams, aspiration, and whatever flavors of idealism you choose to cleve to." Her gaze was unwavering, "I have no friends in common with that women, all her dreams are dust, her prospects were lies to begain with, and I, unlike her, am not an idealist. For a given value of dead that... quite dead enough."

[Hawker]

Dan looks around, not quite clear what's going on. "So Miss Lyons, what are we here for?"
"That, Daniel, is a very deep question for a simple voodoo-stockbroker to be asking. Mankind has been debating it since we first walked this earth, you know, and the spirits have been asking that very question even longer." She grins, amused by her own joke.

---

She glances at Piers. "All questions will be answered in time, for each of you have been called here for a specific reason."

"But in all seriousness, we should get to the point. For the first half of this past year, I was in Quietus. It wasn't empty, or dark, or any sensation of nothingness that records of it usually describe... No, it was vivid, an extended dream, a vision. I wouldn't call myself a Dreamer in the sense of the gift that some of our kind possess, but this dream felt precognitive. I saw a vision of a door, in this city, deep, deep underground. Very old. I walked the Gauntlet once, and stepped through with a companion. This door had the same aura, that same prickly feeling on the back of your neck. I opened this door, but found that I could not cross the threshold. I could see within, however. Inside were five orbs, sitting on five pedestals. Now, if my post-comatose research has proven correct, these orbs are artifacts dating back to the ancient Mesopotamians, the Sumerians, and, if I am correct, from where the Hermetics trace their roots. What they are doing here, or how they got here, for that matter, is beyond me, but it would be in our best interests to gather them up and deliver them to the Council of the Nine. I have... sufficient reason to believe that I will be unable to seek these items personally, so I am afraid I would be unable to offer my help."

[ajivani]

She glances at the blond man. "Do you think Sirius is going to make the breakout it needs in order to remain listed on the Nasdaq?" she asks. "I don't know what either of these two are on about."

[ajivani]

"That, Daniel, is a very deep question for a simple voodoo-stockbroker to be asking. Mankind has been debating it since we first walked this earth, you know, and the spirits have been asking that very question even longer." She grins, amused by her own joke.

---

She glances at Piers. "All questions will be answered in time, for each of you have been called here for a specific reason."

"But in all seriousness, we should get to the point. For the first half of this past year, I was in Quietus. It wasn't empty, or dark, or any sensation of nothingness that records of it usually describe... No, it was vivid, an extended dream, a vision. I wouldn't call myself a Dreamer in the sense of the gift that some of our kind possess, but this dream felt precognitive. I saw a vision of a door, in this city, deep, deep underground. Very old. I walked the Gauntlet once, and stepped through with a companion. This door had the same aura, that same prickly feeling on the back of your neck. I opened this door, but found that I could not cross the threshold. I could see within, however. Inside were five orbs, sitting on five pedestals. Now, if my post-comatose research has proven correct, these orbs are artifacts dating back to the ancient Mesopotamians, the Sumerians, and, if I am correct, from where the Hermetics trace their roots. What they are doing here, or how they got here, for that matter, is beyond me, but it would be in our best interests to gather them up and deliver them to the Council of the Nine. I have... sufficient reason to believe that I will be unable to seek these items personally, so I am afraid I would be unable to offer my help."

"So... you want us to retrieve the Five Tchotkes of Hermes the Thrice Great?"

[SGL2286]

Piers says nothing further to Ester.

"And why do you think our skills are what you need to get them and deliver them to a governing body that does not govern? Or is this more from your prescience?"

[azalinthegreat]

Dan: "Ah, now this is something I can discuss! I have a friend who says that they're about to introduce a new product, should be introduced any day now. I heard it's good, stock price should go up 50% overnight."

Turns to Lyons: "Not to sound too forward here, but I'm not that involved in mage politics...like, at all. So you must have a way to motivate those of us who don't really care about them. Bribery, blackmail, threats...I'd just like it to be out in the open."

[Last1]

Ester frowned thoughtfully as the task was discribed. Finding an timeless hermaic artifact - at the very least it would be a symbolic victiory, something that would raise moral for a time, which was always useful. It was hard to see how truely meaningful such a find could be, though. Still, she wasn't in the kind of position to question current goals. Her part in this, however...

"I'm not much of an archaeologist - what part do you see me taking in this?"

[Hawker]

"So... you want us to retrieve the Five Tchotkes of Hermes the Thrice Great?"
"Essentially... Yes. But, these are likely no ordinary relics. If their properties can be divined, they could very well be potent weapons or resources against the Technocracy and other rival supernatural entities." She is silent for a moment, but then shakes her head, as if deciding not to say something.


"And why do you think our skills are what you need to get them and deliver them to a governing body that does not govern? Or is this more from your prescience?"
"There is more to my vision. I didn't want to mention this bit, but there were others trying to cross the threshold as well. There was a group of Nephandi, led by a Cambion, a half-demon. There was a small Technocrat craft--Void-something, it said-- trying to enter. And there was another group, Vampires, I believe. I would rather our not-so-governing body had these artifacts in their safekeeping than these others, particularly the Nephandi and Technocrats. I'm not sure if our magic is compatible with Vampire blood magic, but obviously they seek the power in these orbs, as well, which could be dangerous."

She turns to Dan. "And, Mr. Emerson, if that isn't reason enough, name a price. I've no shortage of funds, as you can no doubt tell from my *ahem* temporary residence."

Turning back to Ester: "I was hoping that you would have enough information to be able to understand and thwart the threat of the Technocrats' methods. I do not doubt your allegiance against them, especially not after your discourse with Piers. But you have access to knowledge rare to other Mages."

[ajivani]

"And just who are you? For all I know you're some nut who thinks you reincarnated from the Pleiades (http://www.wingmakers.co.nz/seven_spirits_of_pleiades.html)."

[Last1]

"It's true that much of my work with with the Void Engineers, but that was with Research & Execution. What you're talking about sound more like the Subterranean Exploration Corps or the Pan-Dimensional Corps - the actual explorers." Ester shook her head.

"I'm a reasearcher, first and formost," Ester stated, "I work with numbers and graphs building perdictions and simulations. I can do some pretty incredible things with them, but I tend to favor controled enviroments."

[Hawker]

"And just who are you? For all I know you're some nut who thinks you reincarnated from the Pleiades."

"Are you poking fun at my unique ancestry?" Lyons says, an innocent, serious expression on her face. She cracks a grin and says, "Of course. My name is Victoria Allegra Lyons, an Orphan with many inter-Tradition affiliations. You met my attendant, Shadi. He is a Djinn, a Paradox spirit with whom I have made a pact and a friendship. I seek these orbs because I value what happens to my Awakened brethren. I have seen the past 30 years of consensus shift firsthand, and if the trend continues, there will be none of us left. To me, they provide the hope of a fighting chance."

[ajivani]

She stares at the woman for a moment, then glances at Piers. With a perfectly straight face she says, "The last thing that I remember is that I was drunk, playing a game of Zelda (http://effinfunny.com/legend-of-neil)." She turns her attention towards Lyons. "I meant you. So you go into a Loud instead of a Quiet, have a wild-assed dream involving some Orbs of Leet Awesumness and for reasons that are incredibly wild and vague decide that we're supposed to retrieve them. Oh, and there's some demons and stuff involved. So... time to start talking."

[SGL2286]

"When he...whipped out his....yeah." he smirks at Anna. "If the past thirty years bothered you, then perhaps you should consider picking up a history book? I am sorry to say, but what you in your...unusual and altered state saw as a beacon of hope, and shiny that other people want, with no real explanation as to why they want it, nor what they do, I have to say, I can think of better uses for my efforts."

[Last1]

"Are you poking fun at my unique ancestry?" Lyons says, an innocent, serious expression on her face. She cracks a grin and says, "Of course. My name is Victoria Allegra Lyons, an Orphan with many inter-Tradition affiliations. You met my attendant, Shadi. He is a Djinn, a Paradox spirit with whom I have made a pact and a friendship. I seek these orbs because I value what happens to my Awakened brethren. I have seen the past 30 years of consensus shift firsthand, and if the trend continues, there will be none of us left. To me, they provide the hope of a fighting chance."

Ester made a mental note not you use anyone of her already limited skills around the Djinn. She knew first hand how touchy such beings could be, and how unforgiving they would be around anyone not specificly protected, after all.

[Hawker]

"I do not understand what you are asking of me, Anna. I have been completely straight with my reasons for contacting you. I thought you, out of all the others, would be most interested to hear that an ancient Hermetic artifact may be nearby." Lyons stands from her seat, and begins rifling through her bag.

[ajivani]

"I do not understand what you are asking of me, Anna. I have been completely straight with my reasons for contacting you. I thought you, out of all the others, would be most interested to hear that an ancient Hermetic artifact may be nearby." Lyons stands from her seat, and begins rifling through her bag.

"Ancient Hermetic artifacts in the hands of an Orphan," Anna says sourly, "if you've the mind to play politics. My questions -- our questions -- are quite reasonable."

[azalinthegreat]

Dan looks over to Shadi for a moment, something in his eye. Maybe wonder? Anyways, he tries to cover it up quickly. "Heh...my three favorite words: 'Name your price.' Alright. Three-hundred grand. Can you make that?"

[Hawker]

"So what you're telling me is that you'd rather see these artifacts in the hands of a Technocrat than in the hands of an Orphan? You'd rather see them in the hands of a Fallen One? You would rather the Kindred get their bloodless hands on them?" It is obvious that Lyons is more than a little insulted, but she is composed as she speaks.

She turns to Dan and sighs. "Yes, that is no trouble."

[azalinthegreat]

Dan looks shocked. "Seriously? I did not expect that to work...wow. Okay then. You got yourself a voodoo-man."

[ajivani]

"Can you establish anything resembling credibility?"

[Last1]

There was one thing providing this women with some level of crediblilty, but Ester decided against bring it up. Beyond the fact that she was annoyed with this whole situation, it would be interesting to see what proof of trustworthiness the lady would provide.

[Hawker]

Lyons pulls a cylindrical case out of her bag. "Isn't the whole point of what we do that we believe we do it?" She sighs as she opens up the case. "My research, done at the Salem Archives of Talismans, Hermetic Division. I was accompanied by a Pedagogue during the whole of my research. Can you read Latin?" She produces and unfurls a scroll, covered in arcane writings, emblems, and seals. Latin captions surround each design, and sketches of four different, intricately marked and labelled orbs are further down on the page. "Would you consider this credibility enough, or would you prefer I contact the man who escorted me?"

[ajivani]

Anna smirks. "And so you pull out your thaumaturgical license, good until next year. Okay, fine, I'll play. My cost is five thousand American a day, expenses paid, support fully provided, with the bonus at completion of one lien-clear and fully functional Prodigy trinary computer configured to my specifications."

[SGL2286]

Piers sighs, says "Same as her, minus the computer, but for a place like this you have access to a node almost certainly. Support comes as access to tass it produces as requested as well, and a list of all known magi in the city, their locations, and any information regarding others involved. If I find evidence that you withheld information my support is withdrawn, I will take whatever money is due, and leave this mess on your carpet."

[Last1]

"Pure sophistic nonsense - reality might be seemingly fluid, but there are good fundemental reasons to doubt that being the end of the story. Once you accept and internalize that the world is animistic - by the way, that the world is still animistic is a blow against true concentual reallity - you can start building stronger theories that explain the illusion of consentual reality."

"Yes reality seems to be fluid at first glace, but you can create a super-fine dust, and that seems fluid too. Neither is an accurate representaion of what's going on."

"And fur..." Ester flushed, seeming to realize where she was, and settled down in her chair. "Not the place," she muttered.

[Hawker]

"Piers, I'm afraid I can't accept your terms. As I do not live here, my node is halfway across the world, in Lebanon. I also am not willing to give the names of the few local Mages I know out like candy. I'll not jeopardize their lives or operations in that manner. What would happen if those Technocrats were to get a hold of the list? Or to your brain with the list inside? I know almost nothing about the Nephandi involved aside from the name of their leader, and I know even less about the Technocrats and Vampires." She sighs once more. "The material goods can be provided, just..." She trails off, as if unsure what, exactly, to say, and then blinks at Ester.

She turns back to Anna, shaking her head. "Please define 'full support.' And why would anyone need a trinary computer, ever?"

[ajivani]

She glances at Ester and shrugs. "Love me, love my methods, Lyons. If what you're saying even has a modicum of truth, then what I asked for is more than reasonable. And when on this beer and Skittles run I don't want to hear 'no' with regards to necessary resources, either."

[Hawker]

"I don't want you to ask mid-mission for something that I can't provide, and then blame me for your vague agreement. Please define what you mean by support." Lyons seems to be having a little trouble in staying calm at this point, her smile seems forced, and her fingers are wandering on the arm of the sofa.

[Last1]

"You know you can do everything a trinity computer can do on a more normal, current reality complitent system. You just need more bits to do it with - but making a more powerful system is easier then making a consenus breaking one."

[SGL2286]

"So let me sum up. You are rich, and insane, I'm sorry, the former makes the latter ecentric. So you find some notes scrawled about some nicknacks left behind by Hermetics, call up three people who are not hermetics, and one who is, offer nothing that can not be gained with money as a reason for doing this, and expect us to dance to that tune, possibly losing our lives for this venture with the number of players you say are involved. If these groups are smart, they know the locals. Throwing us out into a city most of us aren't familiar with, with a vague description of beneath the city, and past an umbral gateway, is suicide.

Tell me, cause maybe I missed it, but last I heard umbral gateways tend to need Spirit adepts to get others through. And I would make a guess that none of the four you picked for this is one, at best one of us might be able to step into it, but not take others. Which means we will need local talent since you think you won't be around. It is sounding like you just need to go knock on Master Drua'shi's door. This is the kind of crazy things he is said to go do.

Considering everything involved the least you can do if you want my help, is to give me names and contact information for local talent."

[ajivani]

"You know you can do everything a trinity computer can do on a more normal, current reality complitent system. You just need more bits to do it with - but making a more powerful system is easier then making a consenus breaking one."

ooc: Anything > than a rank 2 sphere effect requires a trinary system. FYI.

[ajivani]

"So let me sum up. You are rich, and insane, I'm sorry, the former makes the latter ecentric. So you find some notes scrawled about some nicknacks left behind by Hermetics, call up three people who are not hermetics, and one who is, offer nothing that can not be gained with money as a reason for doing this, and expect us to dance to that tune, possibly losing our lives for this venture with the number of players you say are involved. If these groups are smart, they know the locals. Throwing us out into a city most of us aren't familiar with, with a vague description of beneath the city, and past an umbral gateway, is suicide.

Tell me, cause maybe I missed it, but last I heard umbral gateways tend to need Spirit adepts to get others through. And I would make a guess that none of the four you picked for this is one, at best one of us might be able to step into it, but not take others. Which means we will need local talent since you think you won't be around. It is sounding like you just need to go knock on Master Drua'shi's door. This is the kind of crazy things he is said to go do.

Considering everything involved the least you can do if you want my help, is to give me names and contact information for local talent."

"And it's just for these reasons I can't really give you a shopping list," Anna says. "Demons? Umbral gateways? Massasa? On the word of someone just out of a Quiet?"

[azalinthegreat]

Dan speaks up in his slightly-southern-accented voice. "I'm sorta a specialist in spirits here. I could probably open up those gates and get us through, assuming they exist. If not, I could still go in alone."

[Last1]

"I hate to be heaping demands on your over extended pile, but if I'll need living expenses - unlike some of the others here, I dropped my job to come. I'll also need to units of tass a week - otherwise I'll have to pay a cirtain someone off my own pattern, and that's just dangerous when you might be going into a fight."



ooc: Anything > than a rank 2 sphere effect requires a trinary system. FYI.

OOC: Not according to the Guide to the Technocracy - in fact they spacificly call out that the Union doesn't use trinary computers. Doesn't help YOU of course, but to Ester a trinary system is over-developed nonsense. We should keep OOC talk to the out of character thread, though.

[Hawker]

"I didn't say I didn't have leads, I just said I can't give you a comprehensive list of all the local Mages. I know my motives and causes may seem a bit 'eccentric' to use your terms, but do you honestly not understand the severity of this situation?" Lyons bites her lip to calm herself, then continues. "In my bag, I have two other scrolls. One of them has a short list of where I believe you should look first, and the other contains some information about the Nephandi leader."

"As far as living expenses go, those hotel vouchers I gave the three of you who do not live here are signed indefinitely. Food shouldn't be a problem for you, I think. Although, for Adepts, you seem pretty incapable of taking care of yourselves... I have some minor talismans that hold a finite amount of Quintessence, you can use those in lieu of my non-existent node, as long as you return them when they run dry."

[ajivani]

"I'm sorry, the personnel office didn't send you an Adept of any variety," Anna says. "At least not myself. Okay, fine, I'll retain to right of salvage then, with the exception of your tchotkes."

[SGL2286]

Piers stops, and looks at Dan. "You have achieved Adept status and can open a gateway for others to pass through? Or is it just yourself that you can move across? An important distinction."

"I do not know where you get your information, but I am no Adept. And to my knowledge neither is my associate." he says, nodding at Anna. "Are you sure you came back to the right time period?

[azalinthegreat]

"I say we listen to the nice lady. Fate of the world depends on it, after all." Dan takes another sip of scotch. "And money. Money is always good."

"I can't open a gateway myself. If one exists I can open it up for us though. And I've got some friends on the other side I can talk to if that helps at all."

[Last1]

It was Ester's turn to look annoyed, "I'm a reaseacher. I've had basic self-defence training, but that's it. I've only seen a hitmark twice, and only once up close. Then, my Genius, my Avatar, my soul, whatever you want to call it got shreded something fierce, and I've spent the last three years recovering in an Ecstatic Monastery. I'm not a pertuclarly dangerous individual."

"I could get by on my own by picking up a job at safeway and keep It settled by skiming tass off my own pattern, but neither behavor would be pertuclar conductive to doing your search."

"I don't think I'm being unreasonable here."

[Hawker]

"Hm? You aren't... Oh. Pardon me, then. I had to do a bit of temporal manipulation in order to get some of this information. Must be the Paradox, affecting my memory," Lyons says, a tad embarrassed. "Apologies. You already think I'm crazy, and this certainly won't help my case."

"Ester, you are a Mage! You can command the laws of nature to do your bidding! Getting your hands on a cheeseburger should not be an ordeal for you. I will provide a living space, and pay, but I'll not feed you. I've already agreed to let you borrow some of my Quintessence-carrying talismans."

[sorry, there are several edits]

[ajivani]

"Well, no ****," Anna says. "I'm not about to let you get away -- you're more fabulous than walking in on Fu Manchu and the President of the United States having a shootout with the five original Marx Brothers. But in context, we're being quite reasonable."

[SGL2286]

If I am not mistaken, Ester has a pet spirit. One that needs food after its fashion. Look, your memory is offset by time. Are the other forces aware of it in this year, 2010, and actively pursuing it with means of getting it? You chose us as you had means of contact, and thought us adepts. Now you are aware we are not adepts. Do you still want us responsible for this cluster****ery you are dropping on our heads?

[Hawker]

"No... No, I am and was aware that you are not Adepts. And there is a reason why I chose you to do this for me..." She shakes her head, as if once more deciding not to speak.

"Ah, what the hell. You already think I'm clinically insane. I saw the four of you in my Quietus dream. Out of all those trying to get through the threshold of the door, you four were the only ones to successfully cross over. You crossed through, took the orbs, and disappeared out of view of the door. That was just as I woke from my coma."

[Last1]

OOC: Ignore this message. I had muliple versions of this character I built before deciding on this one, and I just reference the wrong version.

[azalinthegreat]

"Well, let's hope that that's a prediction then. I'm not really familiar with time magic, but I think that it's best not to mess with it." he looks at Lyons. "May I see that scroll that has the leads on it?"

[ajivani]

Anna bursts out laughing. She spills her coffee in her lap, laughs harder, and finally leans over and clutches her knees, tears spilling out of her eyes. She laughs at length and finally, wheezing and choking, sits up. "Oh, my God," she coughs. "That's too excellent. Oh, I gotta sign on for this. Come on, Piers. This is just too awesome. We can't let this crazy chick go. C'mon, lady - ten thousand a day for me and Piers and reasonable support to look into this silly **** for you, plus right of salvage with the exception of those orbs. I promise not to ask for a vorpal blade unless I actually think I'll run into a Jabberwock. Whaddya say?"

[SGL2286]

Piers looks down and was just about to say something, when Anna started losing it. Hearing her agree to the paranoid and insane mage, Piers sighs, and says "Hand me the names and contact information for all super naturals you are currently aware of in this town, money as she said, and you got yourself a janitor. Oh, and unless we go into a place eternally dark, I won't ask for a protection from Grue cloak."

[Hawker]

Lyons puts her head in her hands. "You have a lot to learn, kids. Some things about respect, some things about magic, and some things about the consequences of abusing both. At least you're willing to help, even if because you find me amusing. At this point, I'll take it." She breathes deeply and pulls two more scroll cases from the bag at her feet. She hands one of them to Dan and the other to Ester. "The prophets of old were ridiculed, too, you know."

[below: for Ester and Piers]
(Per+Awareness) You feel (but cannot see) a presence slowly come together in this room, as if layers of sickly sweet Tass are wrapping themselves around a human form. It is right behind Lyons, and appears to be reaching for her head.

[SGL2286]

Piers glaces about for a second, trying to sense what and where.
Perception + Awareness, 5 dice
5d10

[ajivani]

"Right. So this merry quest did start for you with a Quiet, and you somehow derived these are the what of Hermes? And why is suddenly everyone caring now? Did your Quiet start all this?"

[SGL2286]

{...lets try a new post and see if it likes that}

[roll0]

[azalinthegreat]

Dan just looks over the scroll.

[Last1]

Ester took the scroll and began glacing over it, then looked up at the 'Djinn.' "Could I have a pen, a ruler, and some graph paper, please?"

[Hawker]

"My Quiet was a lucky occurrence, Anna. It put me right in the middle of a conflict we did not know was happening, a conflict that will be disastrous to our kind if we do not react. I am glad I had my vision, even if you discredit it like a fool."


Piers and Ester:
The form, still materializing, begins to move its limbs in the manner that a human would. You still cannot see it, but you do know where it is, and that it is materializing rapidly. You can make one action before it materializes, if you'd like. It doesn't feel like the same presence as the Djinn.

[SGL2286]

"And you would be wise to move away from what is about to eat your head. Piers says, grabbing the top of the chair Anna had settled in, him standing over, and pulling it backwards, toppling her away from whatever it is, and giving poor, but some cover. Reaching into his coat, he pulls a handgun from the shoulder holster buried back in there.

[Last1]

Ester cocked her head as something grabbed her attention.

I missed the call to roll. Oh well. Perception 2 + Awarenesss 1 [roll0]

[azalinthegreat]

Dan looks at Piers and the gun he withdrew. "What do you think you're doing? Violance isn't about to solve anything, and even if it was, we're in an apartment building. If you start shooting, it's going to attract to some attention."

[ajivani]

"Starting shooting in an apartment complex is usually less negative attention than whatever it is we need to be shooting at, and I'm sure you've noticed we're already in some bull**** pocket dimension," Anna says acidly, crouching from her position where Piers unceremoniously dumped her on the floor. "And if you want help, crazy lady, lecturing me about foolishness with the story you just told me probably isn't the way to go. Tchotkes of Solomon indeed -- Piers, what are you shooting at?"

[SGL2286]

Piers is aiming over the top of Miss Lyons head

(GM said one turn worth, so his comment + dumping the chair + drawing a weapon sounds about a turn worth)

[azalinthegreat]

Alright, Dan'll bite. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out what looks like a dead, preserved newt. He mutters something under his breath, sounds like maybe he's speaking some French? Spirit senses, away!

[Last1]

Ester pulls out her pistol, but doesn't aim at anyone. She's chanting something under her breath. If anyone is paying enough attention to hear, she's slowly discribing the situation everyones in, attaching probability distributions to differnt events and outcomes, and listing off all the reason anything going wrong with her first shot would be unlikely.

Entroy ** luck effect. Arete 2 - using math a focus. [roll0]

[Hawker]

A human form that appears to be made out of light materializes behind Lyons, and its hand floats down onto her head. Lyons' eyes roll into the back of her head, and she does not move. The form withdraws its hand and speaks, its whole "body" resonating to create the sound. "Give me that list," it demands.

Everyone:
Order of actions for this combat will proceed as follows: Piers, Anna, Daniel, the figure, then Ester.

Also, Azalin, can I have a roll for that spirit-sense?

[azalinthegreat]

Comin' right up:
[roll0]

[Hawker]

Dan:
This guy just sidestepped in from the Umbra, but he's not a spirit himself.

[Last1]

"Damn," Ester swore, freezing as the light thing 'seized' their host, then forcing herself back into motion she took her shot.

I shoot for dex+firearms [roll0], and I do it at -2 difficulty for my entropy spell.

[SGL2286]

Piers drops his aim about 5 inches and takes aim at Miss Lyons. "Not happening" he states.

6 dice dex + firearms at Miss Lyons, heavy pistol, difficulty 8


[roll0]

[ajivani]

Anna heard the action cycle on Piers' Taurus. Lyons, really? she thought, but there was no time to debate it now. In her mind's eye, the opposing triangles of Qoholet -- air and earth in opposition, both seeking the null creative state inside of zero, habel -- crashed together in fiery synergism. To know, to dare, to keep silent: Lyons would have to keep Harpocrates's Law. She traced a rapid circle with one finger in Lyons' direction, visualizing it pouring forth raw essential energy in the patterns Hermes described. Lyons' name reduced to 4, lucky for her, possibly chosen for its luck just now. Anna invoked the Tetragrammaton.


Corr 2 Forces 2: no force corresponding to her voice may issue from her mouth. It's the shut your trap, wench -- Hermetic edition rote.

[roll0]

[azalinthegreat]

Dan rolls his eyes as Lyons gets shot at, pulls out some more fowl looking smell components and begins to speak in french some more.

[roll0]

[azalinthegreat]

Dan finishes his chant and a shapeless ball of white energy forms in his hands. He throws it outwards as a bolt towards the glowing man.
Throws the bolt outwards, 2 damage. That uses one point of Q and I'll take a paradox now

[Hawker]

Piers' shot lands in Lyons' torso, and blood quickly begins to stain her punctured shirt. Her instinctive yelp of pain (her eyes are still rolled back in her head; she appears to be seizing) is almost immediately silenced by Anna's spell.

Daniel's ball of light streaks toward the glowing man, burning a wound into the center of his mass. The man's body resonates, creating an inhuman ringing over his own howl of pain. "No more asking nicely," he says, and he traces a five-pointed star in the air. He extends a glowing fingertip toward Daniel and an arc of lightning crackles at him, giving a rather nasty shock.

Ester's bullet travels through the glowing man, creating a small flash of light followed by a brief screech, but no painful outcry.

Dan feels a wrenching pull at his stomach and coughs up a handful of foul-smelling (and tasting) yellow ichor.

[I rolled the damage dice for y'all: Piers inflicted 4 lethal on Lyons, Daniel inflicted 2 agg on light-man, and Ester inflicted 2 bashing, which he soaked. Daniel, take 3 lethal from the lightning and 1 bashing from Paradox-vomit.]

[SGL2286]

Piers holds his next shot until he knows what the figure will do.

[azalinthegreat]

Try to soak. [roll0]

[ajivani]

Anna goes on group defensive, preparing to use correspondence, forces, and entropy magicks to parry or redirect the glowing dude's offensive actions, or attempts to physically retreat.

/i haz sealz of solomon, i can haz parry?

[Last1]

Seeing her attack fail, Ester switched tactics, letting her focus withdraw to take in the scene as a whole. "You are not wholly here," she stated. "Are you spirit, are you man? Your state seems untenable, how does momentum transfer work in such a transcendent form? You seemed somewhat ghostlike when my bullet hit you – is that form gas permeable, and does such permeation cause damage when it does interact with you? Does…” Ester kept talking, as her Enlightened Will was brought to bare.

So I’m going to use a effect based on Rubbing the Bones to disrupt him, but I’ll make it more vicious by adding Entropy so the disruptions happen at the worst places in his body (like Dim Mak), and I’ll use time to, well time each ‘attack,’ to make the most vicious disrubtion by hitting him at the worst possible time. [roll0] + 1 willpower, and 1 Quintessence to lower the difficulty

[azalinthegreat]

On the floor, Dan begins praying over the floorboards in french again. He spreads some greenish oil over them and lays out his dead newt.

Awaken the Inanimate on the floor, asking it to break open beneath the light-man. Use a point of willpower for an automatic success, so one success+1d10 .

[azalinthegreat]

sorry, let me try that again [roll0]

[azalinthegreat]

[SPOILER]sorry, forgot a die.[roll0] [SPOILER]

[azalinthegreat]

Last one, I promise
[roll0]

[Hawker]

The floor awakens (at least, slightly) to Daniel's call. It creaks slightly, the nails in the floorboards settling and pulling themselves out around the light figure. The floor around him recedes, becoming weak, and thin, but he still stands there, apparently exerting no force on the floor.

The figure chuckles and begins to trace another shape into the air, this time a hexagon with some sort of marking in the center. He begins to launch a ball of fire in Ester's direction, but Anna, with her defensive casting, manages to divert most of the blast. Ester is left relatively unharmed, and manages to finish her spell.

Ester's effect succeeds; that screeching sound doubles on itself, clashing horribly with the man's own screams of pain. They seem to fluxuate: worse at one instant, then a little less horrid, and then twice as bad a moment later.

Daniel's newt looks up from where it's lying, dead on the floor, and bites him on the finger, causing some minor swelling, before collapsing once more. Meanwhile, Ester's fingernails and hair grow painfully and at an alarming rate, and then stop at a half-inch out.

[Piers still gets an action. 1 bashing to Daniel and to Ester from paradox (ok to soak)]

[azalinthegreat]

alright, try to soak [roll0]

[SGL2286]

Piers catches Anna influencing the mans spell, and brings one hand into a pocket in his jacket, flinches a moment as he jams his left thumb onto a knife in there. Pulling it out, a drop of blood pools on the wound. He brings it up to eye level, and blows over it. "Sicken"

Life 2, slay non-vertebra life forms. Bacteria have no spine. The target is the man's Gastro-intestinal tract, destroying all bacteria. After a round, this will cause explosive diarrhea.


[roll0]


Life is one of his two spheres not needing a foci, so performing magic with foci lowers difficulty by 1.

[Hawker]

Piers' effect has no effect, as the man has no gastro-intestinal tract in this body.

[Last1]

Ester winced as her criticism of his reality was criticized right back. Still, he was down now. “What would be needed to end a manifestation like this is a similar manifestation, and Ideal formed from the Primal Energies. The most straightforward manifestation such a tool could take would be a hyper sphere, 3cm in diameter, with…”

As Ester spoke, her fingers first traced the a two-dimensional shadow of such an ideal in the air, then the math for describing is volume, then to describe it’s buoyancy in air, and the sheering force it’s three-dimensional projection would experience while occupying normal space.

“… and as such it would be ideal for disrupting this form of manifestation.”

It hung there, pregnant with possibilities above her hand, a implausibly perfect sphere. Then she struck it once, and it flew at the downed ‘man.’

My soak, [roll0].

On the whole, magic got a lot less powerful in the revised. Paradox stuck harder – so forth. Compare Dim Mak (which helps on all attacks against a given foe for one encounter) to Locate Disorder and Weakness, which most certainly does not.

On the other hand, some sphere got new abilities – prime once could do almost nothing by itself. There were a few ‘pure’ prime effect, but they were rare. Revised added a number of them, like “Holy Stroke.”

[roll1] Costs me another point of Willpower, and requires me to spend a point of Quentessence, bring both totals down to 3.

[SGL2286]

Piers frowns at the lack of GI tract. He moves a hand into another pocket "Aum Namah Shivaya" and he gestures at the form.


Entropy 2's Beginner's luck inversion. Where it could be used to bless, and reduce difficulty, this increases the difficulty for the form.

[roll0]

[ajivani]

Anna's visualization continues as she recalls the characteristics of the Square of Mars.

/continue active countermagicks

[azalinthegreat]

Okay, Dan's about done here. Run out the door!

[Hawker]

Dan's exodus is interrupted by Shadi, the Djinn. He is standing in the hall, a wicked-looking dagger in hand. "What happened?" he asks. "I felt an opening to the Gauntlet, then heard a gunshot."

The figure grunts as he composes himself [Dan feels an expenditure of quintessence coming from the body of light], and the screeching stops. "Neat trick," he says with a wince apparent in his tone. He traces another circle in the air, and Ester feels a strong tug on the scroll case.

Ester's hypersphere strikes the form in the face, and there is another screech. The light emanating from him is much more dim now; he seems to be having trouble sustaining his existence.

Unfortunately for Ester, the laws of reality bite back at her once more. The unfathomable image of a hypersphere is emblazoned inside her head, causing an unfathomable, skull-splitting headache.

[Anna was unable to understand his spell effect (Telekinesis) until it was too late. Ester, roll strength to try and hold onto the case before taking 2 bashing from Paradox (soakable)]

[azalinthegreat]

"Something appeared in that room, it might be a body of light, but I'm really not sure. He's kinda hurt, but I'm out of useful magic. Regular attacks aren't hurting him, you need something a little more pure."

[Last1]

As the case begans slipping away, Ester holds on for all she's worth, while she aims and shoots her gun again with her other hand.

Strength 1[roll0], soak 3, [roll1], dex+firearms 3 [roll2]

[SGL2286]

Piers makes a decision very quickly. Since the scrolls are the figure's new target {and assuming they begin moving} Piers takes aim at the scroll to put a large hole through them. Who knows, the fact of the heated metal coming in contact with paper. It may very well burn.


Dex+firearms, heavy pistol, difficulty 8
[roll0]

[ajivani]

Apparently Ester's stronger than she looks, Anna thought. Or, failing that, maybe my Will is.


3d10

So I had made on action, changed my mind after talking with SGL, undid my post, and it's giving me post roll count errors. See arete roll in next post.

[ajivani]

The board's dice roller is a PITA.

[roll0]

Apparently my Will isn't much stronger. Oh well, lol.


She rattles something swiftly at Piers as she starts to dig in her pocket for her Hello Kitty Zippo.


In Hebrew:

"Why are we stopping this?" she asks, sounding irritated.

[SGL2286]

In Hebrew "Because you wanted to get on Wonka's boat." he says flatly

[ajivani]

Sorry about the twenty posts, but apparently GITP doesn't like multiple dice rolls per post.

Successfully digging out her Zippo, she flips it open and flicks out a flame (holy alliteration, Batman!). Anna scoops up the flame with her bare hand and hurls it at the crazy lady -- not the glowing man! -- with a snarl.


This has gone on well long enough, Anna has decided. She has learned from Piers that hostage negotiation is pointless because you will never really gain the upper hand. This crazy rich woman is there, perfumed and wearing only the best organic cottons and wool tweeds and silks, with hairspray in her perfect hair and such -- she'll go up like an oil soaked rag. Besides, the scrolls are ultimately what's irreplaceable, in their own sense. The chick is practically being used as a shield by glowy man, and she's out of her skull, so she won't dodge. This is perfect. Light her on fire, glowy dude will have to drop her. Transfer fire to glowy dude, now we have a clear shot. She will suffer burns, may die, but it resolves this without any more foolishness. She burns a willpower point for an extra success (and don't forget my handy dandy extra die on forces multiplier damage, whee!).

Arete
[roll0]

[Hawker]

Piers' bullet shatters the scroll case and a bowl on a shelf behind it. The scroll does not ignite, but it is certainly a lot less legible now that it has a bullet hole through it several times (it's rolled up, remember).

Anna's fireball scorches Lyons, lighting her on fire and quickly killing her due to her previous wound from the gunshot. It's true what they say, burning bodies give off a gruesome smell.
Anna does not feel a discharge of Paradox...

The glowing man catches the half-destroyed scroll and takes a deliberate step to the left. His body starts to dematerialize, the light unwrapping itself

Ester's shot once more passes straight through the glowing man. He doesn't even flinch, just continues to unwrap his form and disappear with the scroll.

[ajivani]

Anna coldly collects her Zippo. "Well, that's over with," she says sourly. "Coffee, Piers?"

[Last1]

Ester stared at the dead body while Anna made a quip. It wasn't the first dead body she had ever seen - that would have been her uncle in the hospital when she was five. It wasn't even the first person she saw die, that happened during the accident, but it was the first time she was in a real fight and someone died. Someone nominally on their side.

"You killed her," Ester stated dumbly.

[SGL2286]

Piers nods to Anna.

"She did. Do you often state the obvious? We were getting nowhere in that battle. Removing as much as possible for our attacker to gain their objective was the best solution. Anna is good at what she does, however, she couldn't catch everything he threw at us. Your bullets where wasted on it, and mine were bought in a normal shop. We had limited means of dealing with it, so causing it to withdraw was best. That is, unless you felt like throwing your life onto the pyre for someone you don't know?"

[ajivani]

Anna digs out her cigarettes and lights one. "I don't think she's gonna give a **** if I smoke now," she says, politely flicking ash away from the woman's smoldering corpse. "And surely you considered that if the glowing demon guy was supposed to be running off with Hermes's fine matched luggage that him psychically raping her for information was suboptimal at best. Clearly you are not familiar with the principles of Bayesian analysis. Besides, how long did you expect to make her suffer while we tapdanced to his tune? Do me a goddamn favor and shoot me, should I wind up in her position." She makes an offhand remark to Piers and shrugs.


"Traitor," she says calmly in Hebrew.

[SGL2286]

Piers collects his shell casings, and rights the chair he flipped backwards. He uses that language again to Anna.


Hebrew: "So what do you want to do now?"

[Last1]

The look in their eyes... It was no different then the look the New World Order agents had had at project Ambrosius. While when she left the Union she hadn't held any delusions of justice being principle, it was chilling to once again have to deal with such monsters.

"sociopath," she muttered under her breath, then louder, "We need to search the place to see if there's anything useful, and either take or destroy any information that remains here."

[Hawker]

Shadi puts a hand on Dan's shoulder to prevent him from leaving and says, "That feeling... there it is again. Either our visitor has left, or he's brought friends. Either way, we need you in there." He leads Dan back into the living room.

When he arrives, he surveys the scene, glancing at Miss Lyons' body for only an instant. "I take it the scrolls are both lost, then?" he asks, sighing. He slides his curved dagger up his sleeve. "Well, that's brilliant. Please put out that fire." He doesn't seem especially phased by Lyons' death, but then again, he's not exactly human.

[ajivani]

"Fire will go out momentarily," Anna says with a shrug, irritated by the Technocrat's response. "There's not enough to maintain ignition. And were you in charge of security? I must guess yes, as you know he's coming back. Nice work. I notice you didn't warn her the first time." She pulls her Nexus phone out of the pocket of Piers' pea coat and flips through several screens, finally setting on a jpeg of the Square of Mercury. Anna uses Lyons' date of death and that morning's particular astrological significance (Mars moving to trine with the Moon and Mercury in the 4th house) as a filter against a similar number set that represented other factors in the room. The app plotted it out against the Square of Mercury instantly, the line forming a brilliant lime green sigil on the screen.


Anna uses correspondence 2 and entropy 2 to "pick out" where the data she needs is located -- piles of scrolls, hard drives, and Lyons' other personal effects. I currently have sympathy to these items because I have sympathy to Lyons (positional, I have her possessions and body within reach, and I killed her), and I do not have sympathy to this space because Lyons herself did not -- she was borrowing it from someone. How you decide that effects this, up to you. :-P

3d10

[ajivani]

dice roller FAIL

[roll0]

Anna seeks further successes, so she continues her roll:

[ajivani]

Couple more successes?
[roll0]

There we go. What we got?

[azalinthegreat]

"Uh, he got a scroll," Dan says, holding up the scroll he was given. "So we don't have any contacts, but we have some places to start." He looks down at the body on the ground, like he has just noticed it there. "You killed her?" Before anyone can answer he sits down and starts messing with some spell components, drawing a circle in the ground with some kind of gooey ash. He chants in French.

I'm gonna try to call back her spirit. I figure she just died, so it's probably still around. [roll0]

[SGL2286]

"A sociopath implies a degree of mental instability. In addition, there are a number of problems they develop in how they interact with other humans. I will accept the labels of cold, evil, even a despicable human being, however sociopath I will not."

[azalinthegreat]

Dan mutters something in french, whatever it was it didn't sound pleasent. "You killed her because it was more convenient than to try to save her. I can understand if you didn't have another choice. But you didn't even try. You people are all insane..." He goes back to his ritual, but continues to mutter some words in french that you're pretty sure are swears.

[SGL2286]

"Insanity is repetition with the same set of criteria, and expectation of a different result. Your initial tactics seemed effective, but you decided to instead commune with the spirits of the floorboards. Tell me, didn't he step in from the spirit realm? Would he not then have angered some creatures in his passage? Would not it have been possible to direct them to this side? With such an effort, withdrawing would have been possible. I have the skills I have, just as you do. With no GI tract, disabling someone that doesn't eat lead like a human does becomes a bit of a problem for me." Piers says flatly as if he has had a conversation like this many times before.

"Here would be my plan. I see no point in leaving a nephandic nest in town. When it is found, it gets dealt with. In the mean time, I am going to draw up a little treasure map and send it off to someone who would find the whole thing rather amusing and a fun way to spend an afternoon. That should take care of the knickknacks."

[azalinthegreat]

"There are no spirits nearby...none besides her, now," he gestures to the corpse, "and I couldn't muster another attack like that one...in retrospect, it'd have been a better idea to enchant one of our weapons instead." Dan continues to work on the ritual, but he seems aprehensive around Piers, and even nudges away.

[Hawker]

"Good, good, one scroll remains. Take it someplace safe, then look it over," Shadi says. "I am not in charge of 'security,' as you say. And I do not know whether or not he is coming back, but if he is, I suggest you get that scroll far away." He regards Lyons' body once more. "Pity you killed her. She was always kind, even though I was bound by rite. Is there anything you'd need from me, before I do her body the service of a burial at her home?" Again, he does not sound bothered by her death, merely disappointed.

A green arrow pings onto the screen of Anna's phone. It points toward Lyons' bag and reads "DESTINATION: 7 FEET"

Dan's ritual ends, apparently to no effect.
Dan and Ester:
You feel a spiritual presence of some kind within Dan's circle.

Dan:
Perhaps if you were to turn your attention to the spirit world and away from the mundane world...

[azalinthegreat]

SPIRIT SIGHT, AWAY! [roll0]

[Hawker]

Dan:
A flaming wraith has appeared within your circle. It is screaming and babbling, and is currently floating towards Anna.

[Last1]

Ester looked around the room one more time. She didn't want to be here. She really didn't want to be here, where people thought flipent quotes from mid-twentith centery mystrery writers was a good comeback to acusations of anti-social distorder, and only her deep respect for Ellen was keeping her here. But there was a flip side to that.

Once she had dicided she was going to be staying here, staying involved, she had no excuse not to do her upmost. It didn't matter if her compaions were something out of a propaganda track about the Euthanatos. It didn't matter, because she was here, cought up in events, not out there where she could sit back in judgement from afar. Whatever, enough.

She spoke up without looking at anyone in perticular, "I'll need to barrow the scroll we kept. I can figure out which item on it is most important, and after that I'll do a simulation of future events to try and see where we're going."

[ajivani]

And it's time to go through those bags that I found. What we got?

[azalinthegreat]

"Anna, get back. Her wraith's trying to get you!"
Dan begins to speak to some unknown entity in the circle. "Hold on, you don't want to hurt her. The fate of the world depends on her, remember?"
If that doesn't work, I'm gonna try to suck the Q from this thing like juice from a lemon. [roll0]

[ajivani]

Anna returns as requested.

[Hawker]

Dan:
You draw essence from the spirit, making it a bit wispier. It turns toward you, then hisses. "Release me," it whispers, its flames starting to die down. Take 1 Q.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan lifts up his newt and starts talking to the circle. "I'll let you go when you answer a few questions. Where do we need to go to get those orbs?"

Dan turns to the other people present, but seems to look past them, like he's talking to a dark room where he knows someone is there, but not exactly sure where. "Does anyone else have any other questions?"

[Last1]

"No, not really. We don't really know enough, to know what questions we need to ask. I would wonder if she called us in good faith, but unless you have the power to compell truth she won't answer honestly now."

[Hawker]

Dan:
The wraith hisses once more, and then whispers, "I do not know where you must go... Everything I knew is on those scrolls." It looks as if trying to concentrate hard on something, as if details of it's previous life are already difficult to recall. "I have a backup, a handwritten copy of them. I do not recall where." It looks at you once more and whispers, "Release me."

[SGL2286]

Piers moves a step closer to anna, and looks to Dan questioningly.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan talks to the circle again. "Alright, get out of here. But don't attack anyone in the room."
Ready action. If she moves to attack Anna or anyone else, drain some more from her.

[Last1]

Ester watched Dan go about the work of banishing the dead women's spirit. She hoped the Procedure had given useful infomation. Hopefully, her own calculations would also be useful, just as soon as she had the scroll.

[Hawker]

Dan:
"Farewell," she spirit says, and it vanishes, departing to a deeper Umbra.

"Well, now that that's over with, what will you do now?" Shadi asks. "I do hope you will purse those orbs, if only to beat those Nephandi to it. They do have a resource of ours, now."

[azalinthegreat]

"I don't know about you guys, but I intend to find those orbs. I suggest that we work together, at least for now." Dan hands the scroll to Ester.

"If we are going to work together, I suggest that we learn a little more about each other. I'm Dan, and I deal with spirits."

[SGL2286]

"Piers Cobham. I am a Janitor. My intentions involve removing the Nephandic infestation here if at all possible, then see what is what and go from there."

[Last1]

"Thanks," Ester said, taking the parchment. She fished around in one pocket for a calculator, and pulled out several old and a pen from another as she sat down at a table.

"This may take awhile," she said, as she laid out the tattered peices of paper on one side like note cards, and the scroll on the other side. She glaced from one pile, the the other, then started scribbling on the backs of the scrap paper.

So I'm going to do an extended roll until I get five successes.

I'm using entropy one to find out what item is most significant - which has the greatest weight of destiny.

I'll make my first roll now, and you can tell me when enough game time has passed for me to make my next roll.

[roll0]

[Last1]

Wow, I just kind of dodged the bullet there. No successes, but that could have been a botch!

[SGL2286]

Piers watches Ester scribble, and just shakes his head. He turns to Anna, with a questioning look.

[Hawker]

The green arrow on Anna's iPhone is still flashing in the direction of Lyons' bag. The djinn begins gathering up Lyons' remains now that the flames have died away. He treats it like just one more job in her service, and carefully gathers her body in his arms.

[go ahead and make another roll for Ester]

[azalinthegreat]

Dan turns to the djinn. "So, what are your plans now?"

[Hawker]

"Like I said, I'm off to bury Miss Lyons, and then I suppose my service to her is finished." He slings the bulk of her body over his shoulder and begins to carry it into the other room. "Why do you ask?"

[Last1]

Arete 2[roll0]

[ajivani]

"The Nephandi are the obvious issue, and perhaps the masassa as well," Anna says distractedly, digging though the bag.

/owowowowow....

[azalinthegreat]

"Oh, I'm just curious. Wondering what you do after your contract is finished."

[Hawker]

Anna digs through the bag, checking each item to see if the arrow is pointing at it. Eventually she finds what she's looking for: a small lavender-colored journal with a backup of the scrolls' contents, with the exception of a few especially detailed diagrams. It will take more than a glance to decipher, however.

"Once my contract is complete, I will have to return to the Umbra," Shadi says, not entirely enthusiastically.

[Last1]

Ester only really cought the tone of voice, engressed as she was in her calculations, but she muttered out, "Then grab a new contractor. I'm already obliged, but there are several other mages here who probably aren't."

[SGL2286]

Piers looks to Anna and switches languages.


Hebrew: "So, since that one is trying to use arcane means of probability to figure out her next move, and hand over her center of control, where shall we setup our base?

[Hawker]

[Ester can make another roll.]

[Last1]

2 Successes so far, + Arete 2 [roll0]
Still 2 successes, holy c%@&, second time that happened.


Ester frowned in fustration as a perticularly hard calcuation stalled her.

[Hawker]

[Sorry Aji, missed that vital piece of your post]

Within Lyons' bag is a wallet containing $200 and ID, a few old books on unrelated topics, a cell phone, and, of course, that journal.

[Ester might as well just roll a few more times...]

[Last1]

[roll0] Arete 2, 2 successes so far.

[Last1]

Ester frowned, slowly making progress, but still chewing on a tough bit.

Arete 2, 3 successes so far. [roll0]

[Last1]

With a smile, Ester pointed at an item on the list. Her calculations were sure - this was the most important peice - not nessessarly the first piece, or the safest, or the surest, but this one was the one that was truely KEY.

"Here," she stated, "this one is where we sould start."

She looked at the item she calculated with interest.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan turns to Shadi. "What are the terms of your contract? Maybe I could arrange for you to stay here..."

[Hawker]

The sheet of paper Ester holds up shows that all of her calculations point to a particular address in the South End. The owner of the address is apparently an Acolyte by the name of Lex Robinson. Lyons lists him as a "valuable informant" with "insights into Boston Nephandic tradition." She also lists him as "not dangerous."

"Oh, no," Shadi says to Dan. "It's fine. You wouldn't be able to pay the price, or willing for that matter. Don't worry about it." He pauses for a moment, and then smiles and continues, "It's been many years since I've seen my wife, anyway."

[Last1]

Ester looked at what she found with a slightly pensive frown, and read over the dead women's thoughts. "Nonsense, knowledge always make one dangerous... But the thick of things is where we should start."

"I'm going to try and call in some backup, but we should head straight here wither or not IT will deem to help. An expert on the Nephandi - unpleasent thought that such a person would be the a nexus of possiblities."

She looked at Anna "Could you lend me that cellphone," she asked without irony, "I'm going to make a call."

[SGL2286]

"An expert on Nephandic lore? Rarely do such experts escape the corruption they have studied." Piers says as he puts two new rounds into his weapon before reholstering it. "I would hardly trust someone's judgment on dangerous or not when they were unable to connect to current time." Piers says as he looks over Ester's shoulder to spy the address.

[Last1]

Ester nodded, "I haven't had any experence in that area, but prety much everyone I've talked to says the same thing - that it's dangerous to even learn of the Nephandi. I don't trust that this one will be harmless for a moment - even if this Lex isn't corrupt himself, he will have to have dealt with the corrupt, or stolen the lore of the corrupt. Neither of which are pasttimes of the harmless."

[ajivani]

Oblivious, Anna pages through the journal to see what it says. After a moment she says to Dan, "I do computer mediated heuristics and chase after Piers, mostly. I'm with the Houses of Hermes, if that's what you're asking."

She looks up at Piers briefly as they speak in their language. In the flow of sharp glottals, the words "T-Mobile" and "HLR" are plainly heard.

In Hebrew:

"Not with these *******s. I don't think they understand why we did what we just did -- an immortal shame, I assure you, but better really. I want easy line of sight to hub cell tower. T-Mobile's got an HLR here -- easier for me to broadcast my signals in their network noise. Other than that, our roost is up to you."

[SGL2286]

Piers nods in response to Anna.

Hebrew: "When we leave here, we will head towards the tower, and go from there."

[azalinthegreat]

Dan nods "That was what I had in mind. I figure we should know a little more about each other if we'll be working together."

Dan groans a bit, like he finally realized the extent of his injuries. "If it's all the same to the rest of you, if none of you can heal, I'm going to get to a hospital." Dan drops a business card on whatever surface is handy. "Give that number a call if you figure anything out."

[Last1]

Ester nodded, "I'll make my way to the room the lady arranged and call you."

She nodded to the other two, and left.

[Hawker]

Shadi steps forward and addresses the two remaining mages. "I must be off. I've collected all of Lyons' necessary belongings and her body, and I am now off to bring her back home. Feel free to look around and take what you feel is appropriate. Anything you leave will be willed to her next of kin. Your mission is of the utmost importance, and since she can't exactly pay you anymore..." He nods and steps back once more. "Salaam. Perhaps our paths will cross again someday." He raises his free hand and vanishes with a loud crack and a bright flash.

Dan:You arrive at the Emergency Room with several burns on your body. After taking care of you for a while, they manage to bandage you up so that your condition will not worsen. They show you how to care for them, you don't exactly need to be condemned to a hospital bed just yet. If you're willing to spend some money (which you definitely have), you can hire a skilled physician to work on you. That has the possibility of reducing the healing time from 11 days to 2, if the procedure (skin graft?) is a success.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan'll pay the money for the personal physician, then head on home.

[SGL2286]

Piers looks to anna, and asks "Anything you want to take with us?"

[ajivani]

Anna picks up the card that Dan dropped on the table and makes it disappear into the depths of Piers' coat. "Not particularly," she says. "I have what looks like a fair amount of information, certainly enough to get started. Let me go collect my things. We'll need to move roosts, anyway."

[Hawker]

The only registered T-Mobile tower in Boston is situated between Revere and Winthrop, east of where you currently are in Cambridge. The tower is within sight of the coast, northeast of the airport you flew into, and northeast of the South End, where Lex lives. There is, however an AT&T tower near the South End area.

[Post actions for the remainder of the day, I'll assume that you reconvene the next day?]

[SGL2286]

Piers looks to both areas for places that accept cash for a room, and don't check ID for a little more. He won't pay for that, having a few alternative IDs, but the fact it is there is a comfort. Assuming one is found, He will spend time working on the door, considering the probability of it making a noise when it is opened, and inflating it.

[Last1]

Ester sighed as she looked around the hotel room that was aranged for her. She wondered how long the dead womens beneficence would last. Not something she should worry about right now, though. She had a more pressing somethings to worry on, or rather, someones.. It wasn't like she had never taken aid from THAT one, but she asked for it's help.

Nothing for it, though

With a drawn out sigh, she went digging through the lugguge she had taken from the monestery when she was sent to this unfriendly city, looking for the ratty old address book she kept numbers in. Then, before she could stop herself, she dialed a number IT had given her. A cellphone number, she understood - she hoped IT was still using that number.

It was almost a disapointment when the the call swiched over to voice mail.

"That meeting we talked about last time we were together," she began, mind racing - she was never sure how aware it was of her day to day activities, but she didn't want her message to be intercepted by a third party, so she would have to be nondiscriptive, "it went baddly."

"We're going to try following up some leads, but we think others might want to talk," kill, "to them first, and" we might need to use violence aganst, "the other interstd parties may even stop us from" bullying "convencing our possible source what is in his best interest."

"I know you aren't big on the flashy stuff - you're big on the whole enforcer of the status que, but even working in your comfort zone you can" terrify and desicrate and ruin and destroy " help trimendously. You can call me at..." Ester looked down, then raddled off the number of her hotel room, "Or you could just show up. You do always seem to know where I am, after all."

"Talk to you later." Unfortunately,"Bye."

As she set the phone down, she was stuck by a sudden feeling of guilt. What ever The Women in Shades did, it would be on Ester's head now. She had invited the devil, and now would have to pay the piper. And if IT came, IT's help wouldn't be free. IT had her best intersts at heart, but that didn't mean she would enjoy paying those prices, or that what IT felt was her best interst conensided with Esters views on the matter.

But enough. It was a long day, and she was tired.

[Hawker]

[Ajivani, still waiting on your actions for the remainder of the day... Then we can finally get back into some decent playing.]

[ajivani]

Anna spends the rest of the day hugging close to Piers but distant, apparently absorbed in her computer.


Looking for areas wired for particularly high speed networking that also have a high number of wired in backbone servers on telecom engineering network maps, courtesy of Verizon:

[roll0]

Analytic and Computer Hacking specialties both in play.

Against a satellite image of the greater Boston area, she will cross reference large data turnpikes against several internet listings for local businesses and corporate headquarters. She'll then also attempt a bird's eye correspondence point to see which of these places with massive data draws are also warded. It's a lengthy, time-consuming process, but Anna will keep at it until well past midnight.

Arete rolls next posts.

Anna tilts the screen back and blanks it, using the dark reflective surface as a scrying mirror. She intones the harmonic of the sixth kethyr and blanks her mind by force of will, as described in Properties Of Numbers According To The Bible, Talmuds, Pythagoreans, Romans, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Hindoos, Mediaeval Magicians, Hermetic Students And Rosicrucians, (Westcott, 1997, her mind supplies.)

[ajivani]

Arete roll for birds eye view

[roll0]

[ajivani]

borked rollv, returned roll0 instead of dice values

[ajivani]

Blow a willpower to keep from failure, chug five aspirin, ask Piers for coffee, and do it again:
Arete
[roll0]

Aspirin and coffee do wonders. Apparently using the correct harmonics helps, too. She will also look at places that have an unusually large network data usage that don't have some sort of public listing, if she can.



I've PM'd the GM. Awaiting...

[Hawker]

Aji:
You manage to somehow break through a ward marked by the distinct characteristics of a technocrat firewall and a few decently-sized blotches appear on the bird's eye map. There's one over each major science and technology school (MIT and the like) and the science museum, a few in the downtown area connected with some local corporations, and your search indicates a third but an error pops up, saying that it is unable to be located.

A pretty small blotch appears on a warehouse in Roxbury, a poorer section. It was not protected by a technocrat firewall so much as a custom OS with a security system incompatible with your software. A little reformatting and a little magic took care of it, though.

You do find a few VA-style wards, but they seem idle and inactive. You swear they still smell like Monster and Mountain Dew.

The following day, you all meet again in the lobby of the hotel Lyons booked for you. It doesn't seem like her booking has expired, nobody harasses you about checking out. Grabbing a cab or riding the T to pay Lex a visit should be no problem. If there's any last thing you need to do before setting off, now is the time to say so.

[Last1]

Ester nodded a greeting to the others as they gathered, but she lacked the energy to really speak to anyone. She just kept a lookout at the people around, as if both hoping and dreading something that might happen.

She cheeked Lex's address one last time as she wondered how they were all going to get over there.

[ajivani]

A gray morning to the sound of traffic and Piers moving around. It was barely six but Anna had already dragged herself out of bed. There was no point on wasting Piers' waking hours, although he was usually too polite to mention that he had other and better things to do than to watch her sleep. She'd only started data mining, and it would be a long, arduous, and trying process getting enough to make relevant and reasonable decisions. Not that relevant or reasonable had much to do with what had brought them here anyway. She'd slept with the smell of cooked human flesh in her nostrils and half-remembered flashes of incredulous horror on the faces of the other mages. It was a Piers answer to the problem, and the direct answer to the Gordian knot, but she didn't expect them to understand. Hell, I barely understand myself, she thought.

Shower. Fix hair. Throw on a pair of indigo cargo jeans and a button down black shirt. The concealed carry license went in her pocket, and the concealed .45 she secured in the Bianchi shoulder rig. It was a Piers Purchase, the matter of a small argument between them as he didn't wish to purchase anything made of cow leather because he was Hindu, and she didn't want to carry anything made of pig leather because pork wasn't kosher. In the end her half-lapsed Judaism lost the argument, and she compensated by having her brother, a rabbi, bless it. He had wondered why his sister needed a shoulder holster at all, but she mumbled something about riding the New York subway after midnight and he'd dropped it. Transit cops or not, there was something to be said about having 240 grains of hollow-point fail train between herself and the frotteur freaks and crazed meth heads who would ask you for a cigarette and then shank you for your wallet.

By the time she wandered out of the cramped bathroom, Piers had secured her a cup of coffee. He still couldn't roll a joint worth a damn, but it's not like she was going to marry him -- despite her mother's frequent exhortations that Anna should strongarm an engagement ring out of him already. It was much easier to let her think they were dating than to try to explain he was her solid partner against things that went bump in the night. She washed a stray hair down the sink drain, then filled the basin with cold water. Anna then retrieved her wand from the depths of Piers' coat.

Three deep breaths to clear her mind, a mental state triggered by years of neurolinguistic programming. In her minds' eye the earth and sky melded together and she grew outside of them, creating herself as the macrocosm into which the universe expanded. With her wand she traced a circle around the basin, intoning the names Uriel, Raphael, Djibriel, and Michael at the cardinal points. In the water itself she traced a unicursal hexagram (http://mocha-soul.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/unicursal_hexagram.png), then vibrated the true meaning of geburah to match the brilliant citrine light that was spreading behind her vision.


First a check in Enochian, then an arete roll for a combined Corr 2 and Ent 2 rote that effectively allows to her add to their arcanes -- funny how you just don't notice some people, huh? Dice rolls in followup posts.

[ajivani]

Int + Enochian
[roll0]

[ajivani]

That's diff 7 (OoH book pg 60) and that is 3 successes, dumping out the difficulty of her Arete roll to 3 (coincidental is highest sphere + 3, so a base difficulty of five, but she can't lower the diff lower than three, so...)

Then arete checks:

[roll0]

[ajivani]

Three successes. She keeps going:

[roll0]

[ajivani]

Fail. Three successes still, diff now 4:

[roll0]

[ajivani]

And one more, for duration:

[roll0]

With nine successes in play, Anna will artificially bump her arcane to 5 (three successes needed) and Piers' arcane to 5 (two successes needed.) The remaining four successes would indicate a duration of the rest of the story (per the duration chart page 171 mage main book) although if it's just for a few days for practical purposes I sure ain't gonna argue.


Anna speaks for twenty minutes over the water. Midway through she pauses, apparently lost in the incantation. She takes a sip of coffee and continues. Finally, she half-turns by the sink and gestures at Piers with her wand. The tip is dripping with water. Anna draws a complex sign in the air in his direction, then repeats the sign over herself. Finally she drains the basin and sighs.

[SGL2286]

Piers feels reality shift, and quickly feels for the origin. Finding it to have come from the background, and that the flavor is one he knows innately at this point, keeps him from getting up. His sleep had been restful enough. Morning prayers starting just after 5am came and went. Nothing went bump in the night. Knowing her habits, he had found her baggie, and made another attempt at rolling. His best guess as to why he couldn't was his think fingers. Rolling had to do with dexterity, where his hands were ones sculpted for hard work.

One of his pistols laid on the desk in front of him, one in its shoulder rig. If someone came through the door, the pot would probably be lost, but who cared about that, if someone came bursting through the door.

He had taken a look at a Rand McNally pamphlet style map of the town last night, trying to get a feel for how the streets were arranged. While having Anna around you could rely on her for playing navigator, having an idea of how things were laid out helped if she was otherwise busy. It is really a bad thing when you turn down a street with NWO agents on your ass, and its a dead end. He did that once, and trying to ramp your vehicle off alley debris, and eject yourself out the windshield is not something for the faint hearted, nor the unskilled. Best not to get into the situation in the first place.

Certainly not a local, but Piers could remember the layout of the city for the most part. Feeling the final flux of power hit himself, Piers has a moment of concern before he identifies what has been done, then just shakes his head with a small smile on his face. A thought comes to mind and the smiles expands. One might expect for him to be wielding the higher caliber. But he relied on the lighter, faster rounds, knowing he could get off multiple shots, where Anna would often go for the one shot drop. A little alteration helped her in that, but Piers didn't have those skills.

As she emerges from the bathroom, Piers sets down his creation. It is crooked, crimped in one spot, but it would light and draw. He puts the other gun back in its holster. He stands up and stretches. "Was it anything resembling hot water?"

[ajivani]

"Lukewarm, but lots of it," she answers. She picks up the joint and lights it, taking a long, pleasurable drag. As an afterthought, she shoves her smoking license in alongside the concealed carry one. "I have a list of questionable installations here in town. I went warding-hunting and found some places that we may wish to avoid." She flips open her laptop and turns it towards him. On the screen she's got a satellite map with several different overlays -- power stations, possible Technocratic installations, and so forth, all neatly color coded. "I've cross-indexed all this already, and I've made us a nice backdoor into the local Bell's system. I started looking for examples of gross antistasis in terms of the inverted sephiroth, but we're going to need to ground pound. There's just too much."

[SGL2286]

Piers nods as he moves into the bathroom. "How about that address for that so-called expert? Did they register?" he calls out as he starts the shower.

[ajivani]

GM:

Is the address of our so-called Nephandi expert the one that errored out?


She gives Piers a quick rundown so he also knows what you put in the spoiler post to me (post 199).

[Hawker]

Aji:
The address of the Nephandi expert didn't even show up.

[ajivani]

"That address didn't even register," Anna says. "Shall we, before our comrades in arms think that we're lining up sniper shots through the window at them?"

/is ready to proceed to wherever it is we're meeting

[SGL2286]

Piers finishes his shower, dresses in navy slacks, a white dress shirt, his shoulder rig, and his jacket. He nods to Anna, and they leave to the car. The drive to the hotel, but he does not bother to claim the hotel room previously arranged.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan shows up at the hotel, bandaged up. "Alright, we have a plan?"

[SGL2286]

"I plan to visit this so called expert. After that, continue to orient myself with this city, then go hunting. What will be accomplished today, relies on what gets thrown at us between now and the end of the day. I doubt the one who got the scroll will leave us alone, so it will be a question of how long before it's minions come after us, not if."

[ajivani]

Anna stands near Piers, still shrouded in his coat. "Hmm, plan? I thought chasing down this so-called expert was the idea. They didn't show up on the initial sweep, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything yet. Didn't pull the tax records from the county because the chance that they own the place didn't seem likely -- Hi, I'm Dale the Satanic Panic expert, with my information totally unguarded with my bizarrely high risk specialty. Yeah, right. Hence no social, no credit report, none of the usual business." She sips her coffee and eyes the bandage. "You okay, Dan?" she asks.

[azalinthegreat]

"Eh, not really used to being beaten up like this. Got a physical therapist, but it'll take a little while to fix me up. But I'm still good for magic at least. Speaking of which, if we run into that light-creature again, I can try to enchant one of our weapons to be able to affect him."

[ajivani]

"Enchant how? Ars Essentia? Oh yes, by the way." She digs in Piers' jacket and pulls out the business card he chucked down yesterday. "You may want to be careful distributing these, especially as we're going Satanic with our inquiry. Business cards make for great sympathy, and do you really want a Fallen with that advantage?" She hands the card back to him.

[azalinthegreat]

"Ah, much appreciated." Dan pockets the card. "And I can empower a weapon with quintessence. When I threw a pure bolt of the stuff at him the other day, it seemed to hurt him, but I can only do that once per a day, and there's no way it'll be enough to take him down. But if I put it into a gun or a knife or something, we can get off multiple attacks with it."

[ajivani]

"Guns? You'll want to talk to Piers about that. Let's get some coffee, huh? I don't see anyone else yet. I'll buy." She glances at Piers and says something in their language.


"Scouting through the restaurant, back lobby," she says.


She meanders towards the restaurant/back lobby area, humming a slightly toneless song.


A toneless ditty that represents a mathematical inequality that happens to correspond to a magick square, that is. Using Per+ Ent to watch the eddies of raw chance, specifically to wander towards the people from the lobby yesterday as she's got some small sympathy to them. She's also looking around for people out of place -- watchers, janitors that aren't working, etc, but looking for them is a secondary objective. They might flag as an anomaly on entropy (who's supposed to be there vs who isn't -- one of these things is not like the other), though, so I'm mentioning it here.

Per + Entropy (no adjustment for half-smoked joint per Destiny's Price pg 119.)

[roll0]

[SGL2286]

Piers nods when Anna says something, and he begins walking towards the restaurant area, where they seat you. He dims his innate Arcane, so that he won't be ignored, and tells the host(ess) 3 people.

[ajivani]

If a single success is enough to support the second roll, let me know if you want it.

[Hawker]

The host nods and seats the three of you, and hands each of you a menu listing shamelessly overpriced coffee and other desserts.

Aji:
One success was enough. This guy's blatant. There is a man, very out of place in the hotel. He is sitting down, but you feel that he'd stand at about six foot six were he on his feet. He has a shaved head and a gold ring through each earlobe. He's watching your group intently, as if he thinks he knows you but cannot place from where. He wears a biker's jacket, jeans, and heavy leather boots. When he notices you looking, he stands as if to approach.

[ajivani]

This sets off warning bells in her head. Her drift will take her a public position with two exit avenues, possibly in view of restaurant (and maybe Piers?) if it's available. She will start playing with her phone, waiting for him to approach.


And text Piers "weird man in lobby approaching me, by concierge desk (or whatever she's near)"

[SGL2286]

Piers' phone beeps, and he pulls it out, a blackberry, and he begins fiddling with it. "overcomplicated piece of...." he mutters.

aji

text back: k


At which point Piers turns to Dan and say "Get two black coffees. I will be right back"

Piers will get up, turn Arcane to full (-5 dice for anyone's perception pool to spot him other than some random white male per base arcane, and Anna's Augmentation), and he moves to a spot where he can see Anna and her approaching visitor.


Perception + Life, looking at his pattern, 5 dice

[roll0]

[Hawker]

sgl:
The man appears to be a normal, healthy human male. Well, aside from a few mundane impurities (tattoos, piercings, evidence of smoking).
A very tall, very muscled man with a shaved head, brown eyes, and gold hoops through his ears approaches Anna. "Is your name..." He pulls a crumpled slip of paper out from the pocket of his leather jacket and reads, "Anna Austerlitz?" He seems unsure, but his voice is unwavering.

[ajivani]

"Who's asking?"


She's watching the eddies of Entropy around him, especially since he's particularly apparent in them. Since lies and truth bend entropy. she's going to watch entropy quiver around him when he answers. If he thinks he's telling the truth, it should show entropically.

[ajivani]

I don't know why the dice roller hates me so much. I really don't.

Per + Ent;
[roll0]

[Hawker]

"The name's Mike Desotto. A friend of yours, Ester Hocks, requested help from a common ally. I decided I'd do her the favor of seeing what it was all about. May I sit with your group?" He draws a toothpick from his pocket and pops it between his teeth, fiddling with it.

Aji:
He has a constant flow of entropy around him, something you only really see happen with Resonance or loaded dice. It is constant, though, and in the ripples there don't seem to be any abnormalities in his statement.

[ajivani]

"My circle of friends expands and expands. I am such a lucky person. Look, sugar, I don't know who in the bowels of Christ you are, so you'll have to talk to this Ester chick to get it straightened out." She makes a reflexive hand motion like she's used to holding a cigarette, and seems fleetingly disappointed that she isn't. "And what faction do you represent?" She takes a step back from him.


Still watching for his answer in terms of entropy. He's seen through her rote (GM prerogative, I understand, but the character doesn't know that) and I've got zero reason to trust him, so...

[Hawker]

Desotto looks around to make sure nobody is listening in. He appears to overlook Piers without a second glance. "I represent a sect of the Verbana, the Lifeweavers," he says quietly. "And yourself?"

[SGL2286]

Seeing that Anna had taken a step back, Piers narrows his eyes a touch, but he remains where he is, and doesn't move otherwise.

[azalinthegreat]

Dan just stirs his overly-complicated coffee and watches, content to observe at this point. He drops a little sugar into the coffee, more to do something with his hands than for flavor, and keeps his eye on Anna, who seems to be the most aware of the situation right now.

[ajivani]

"Not a chance," Anna answers, "until you've been confirmed. Gimme a sec, sugar." Her fingers fly across the phone's surface, and she takes a half-turn to put her back towards Piers, and the man on her right.


Text to Piers - Belong to Ester, a bena. Believes himself. She needs to confirm. She there?

... cuz I know I have Dan's number because I had his business card, but I don't think she's got Ester's.

And Piers would recognize her position change for what it is, I think.


Dan:


2nd text: Have Ester come out here before something untoward occurs, please. Concierge desk.

[SGL2286]

Piers bristles at Anna's turn, and begins taking note of people around him. Security, someone who looks like they might be with this guy. His phone he had switched to vibrate, and he glances at it, typing a quick message back by feel rather than looking.


text: no

[azalinthegreat]

Dan checks his phone and stands up. "Excuse me, just got a text from the office." Dan then walks over to the concierge desk and looks for Ester.

[Hawker]

"I've got all the time in the world," Mike says. "But from what I understand about why I'm here, which is admittedly not much, you don't." He fiddles with his toothpick a bit more, then looks out the window to the street, then back at Anna.

The concierge looks at the computer screen in front of him, clicks his tongue, and says to Dan, "Miss Hocks was reported by the cleaning crew to have the 'do not disturb' sign up, so she is most likely still here. You are here with her, correct? Her room number is 413B, if you need to find her."

[azalinthegreat]

"If you could just give her a call please."

[ajivani]

"I've got all the time in the world," Mike says. "But from what I understand about why I'm here, which is admittedly not much, you don't." He fiddles with his toothpick a bit more, then looks out the window to the street, then back at Anna.

[/COLOR]"

"I really don't give a rat's ass about your opinion of my chances," Anna says, "and if you weren't lied to, you'd understand the need for caution." Anna sidles away, keeping him in her field of vision and intentionally moving towards a group of Sleepers to severely complicate any incoming shot -- seventh Protocol, and all that.


Text to Piers: Mild threat, window glance, painted? Moving.

[SGL2286]

Piers glances at his phone again, puts it away, and watches the windows, looking for the telltale distortion of the lasers, while reaching into his jacket, but not drawing.


Perception + Alertness to spot any targeting lasers that would be pointed to Anna, as the glass would distort and make it easier to see.

[roll0]

[Hawker]

"I meant that I was told that your job is time sensitive," Mike says, shaking his head. "If you don't want my help, then I can go, but hear me out, first." He follows Anna, and continues, wary of the Sleepers around them. "You know that friend that we all know, the kind that doesn't like to come out of the house much, and when she does, it sometimes makes us wonder why we're friends with her? Well, a friend of Ester's contacted me and said that she asked for help." He looks around, making sure none of the Sleepers are listening, and adds, "Look, I know it's weird for me to hear from her friend like this, but just ask Ester."

The concierge nods to Dan and picks up the phone. He dials the number, and it rings through. "Sorry," he says, "but she's not picking up. Is there anything else I can help you with?"

Sgl:
You see no lasers.

[ajivani]

"She can sort that out when she confirms that she asked for your being here," Anna says patiently. "Then we can have us a cup of coffee and figure what the hell we're all gonna do."


Ester, oh Ester, wherefore art thou, Ester?

[SGL2286]

Piers decides this has gone on long enough. Making sure his arcane is on full, he slips an arm from the sleeve, zips it, and extracts one of this guns from the holster. holding it against his body, it might look like its in a sling under the coat. He goes up to the man near anna, and as he approaches, says "Hey my man, do you know what time it is?"

The man should turn like most will when they think someone is talking to them, and piers will close the distance, and move his arm around, so the gun is pointed at the man, but still beneath the coat. Whispering "Lets do this the easy way, away from all others, where we can talk freely and wont be overheard like sensible creatures alright?"

A little louder "Grab Dan, and lets head to Esters' room. I think the walls should be nice and thick, don't you Anna?"

And with that, he will direct the man towards the elevators, and wait for anna to return with Dan's key and room number.

[ajivani]

Anna gapes at Piers for a second. Completely stunned, she obeys him by approaching Dan at the concierge desk.

[azalinthegreat]

"Ah, Anna. I Ester's not answering, I guess we should just go up and get her."

[Hawker]

"What the-- Who are you and..." Mike seems surprised, but after a moment he sees through the Arcane, as Piers has definitely drawn significant attention to himself. He looks at the slip of paper from before. "Piers Cobham, right? Nice to meet you, too," he says dryly. "Could you point that somewhere else?" he mutters.

[SGL2286]

"Im sorry, so far in the twenty four hours we have been here, we have been attacked in a space that should not have been easily breachable. If you are here to help, then I apologize for this treatment, however, in the event you are not, then this is me being kind, as you will find out."

Piers says as he begins directing the man to the elevator.

[ajivani]

"Ah, Anna. I Ester's not answering, I guess we should just go up and get her."

Shaking her head, she goes upstairs to Ester's room with Dan. On the way up, she'll glance at Dan. "So, Ester's not answering her hotel room phone, right? And some bizarre guy shows up claiming that he's with her. Ever see the movie the Shining? Remember the bathtub scene (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSSISh4cUNo&feature=related)?" She pulls out her Zippo, then looks at Dan very soberly. "I do hope she's all right."

Ding. The doors open on Ester's floor. Assuming there's no immediate reason to not approach Ester's room (guards, police, screaming naked men, something) Anna will approach Ester's room.

[Hawker]

Ester's door has the "Do Not Disturb" sign over the handle, otherwise it is a normal (locked) hotel door. After knocking a few times, it is apparent that she isn't answering for whatever reason.

[ajivani]

"See? What did I tell you?" Anna says phlegmatically. She thumbs the thumb break on her shoulder holster and half-crouches in front of the door. Out comes her phone again, and she won't hide from Dan the magick square she pulls up, the spaces full of odd qabalistic glyphs. She pulls out a cigarette, lights the end real quick, holds the phone near the bottom crack of the door, and blows a cloud of smoke over it and under the door. To someone's casual glance, she might have slid a fiber optic seeing eye under the door all spec ops style... or dropped something, maybe.


And we're using elemental air for clairvoyance today. Per+ Corr: What's going on in that room?

[roll0]