Event Horizon IC

[Irony]

The grey Alaskan sky has never looked so beautiful. As the rain beats down upon the windshield of The McCandless Bus, you look around out the window at the empty highway. The bus is stopped and the rain is heavy. Only 200 miles into the trip and already something has gone awry. Not from that package, as might be expected, that non-descript white Fed-Ex cardboard box looming in the passenger side wheel well. No, the bus hit something. Now its stopped. It couldn't have been that bad, whatever you hit wasn't that big... was it?

[MandibleBones]

Sparkles

The lump of black curled up against a hiker's backpack stirs at the bump, making sure her bottle of questionable alcohol - better than a teddy bear these days - isn't broken. The girl you know as Sparkles tucks away the bourbon into the sack and comes out with a less-than-legal 9mm.

"http://img.musal.us/deatharmor2.png," she mutters, and the world around her seems darker still. "What was that, then?" Sparkles asks. "You manage to blow out a tire already?"

[roll0] for Entropic Guard; Sparkles is putting on the armor almost as a reflex. Okay, 10-again got a seven, which isn't a success, but then again, I shouldn't be subtracting 1s if the WoD core isn't lying to me. So two successes, which is about what I expected anyway. Sorry, used to the MET version, so rolling is new for me again.

[Irony]

((10-again Mandible, this ain't OWoD))

[Quietus]

"Told you I should be driving..", Blackjack growls, checking to make sure his Beretta is clear in its holster. "But no, I'm too hard on the the bus, you say. You want to survive, not get into a wreck, you say. Won't even let me hang a rabbit's foot from the mirror.." As he complains, the corners of his mouth turn up in a smile, giving away his sarcasm. He's well aware that running into something in the middle of nowhere was unlikely to be a problem for a group of Mages, but still, old habits die hard. Better lucky than dead, he chants in his mind, and his body seems to relax somewhat as he gives himself over to the ebb and flow of fate.

As he opens the bus doors, he immediately feels the cool Alaskan night air wash over him, feeling it rustle in his short-cropped hair. Already, his clothes were starting to cling to his frame, as the rain pelted against him. Seeking to get this over with as quickly as possible, so he could get back into the warmth of the bus, he edges around the front of the bus, looking for whatever they'd managed to hit.

Casting Fortune's Protection : Since I forgot to buy rotes before this, it's cast as an improvised spell. If it's successful, it's 3 points of armor.

[roll0]

[Irony]

As you look behind the bus, you notice blood collecting under the rear wheel. Your eyes trace the blood down the road behind the bus. A bloated, rotting corpse lies in the middle of the road. The smell of rot overpowers even the cleansing rain.

[MandibleBones]

Sparkles peers out the side door, looking after Blackjack. "What's out there, Blackjack?" she asks, crossing her arms and hiding the 9mm in her bomber jacket in case any suspicious cops wander by.

As she follows him, the rain plasters her short brown hair to her forehead. She stops short at seeing the body. "Imminent Deity," she swears, rooted to the spot. She reaches a hand up to brush against Blackjack's back, muttering High Speech as if it were just another curse word and again drawing forth her will.

"http://img.musal.us/deatharmor2.png," she invokes, for the second time in moments, shrouding her cabal-mate with entropy working toward his favor.

[roll0] Entropic Guard again, this time on Blackjack. Here's three more for possible 10-agains; take them in order. [roll1] Edit: And that's 3 successes worth of armor for Blackjack.

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

The bus radio is blaring (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toP4UtQZiw8), and James is having a grand old time. Drumming his hands on the wheel, singing along, bobbing his head so that his shaggy blond hair shakes (it's still rough around the edges from where he cut it,) he isn't paying too much attention to the road. And that's why the accident happens, really.

One minute Eddie's slamming out the chords, and the next there's a thump and everything goes dead. The power cuts. The automatic steering switches off. It's all James can do to shift into neutral and muscle the McCandless Bus onto the poorly maintained shoulder.

For a moment the mage looks surprised, guilty, disappointed. Then he wraps his hands around the wheel and squeezes until the knuckles go white. "Ffffffffff--"

He doesn't quite finish the curse, deflating like a balloon instead. There's only one thing that could've shut off his familiar like that, and when he collects his tire iron off the floor and steps out onto the crumbling asphalt, he notices the blood smear as well. "Ambush," he breathes. "Whatever left that here, it was deliberate."

OOC: Casting spirit speech: [roll0], [roll1], [roll2], [roll3],

Popping second sight and omnivision as well. I'll even burn a point of mana to make omnivision last for the day, if that's doable.

Omnivision: [roll4], [roll5], [roll6], [roll7], [roll8], [roll9], [roll10], [roll11],

Spirit sight: [roll12], [roll13], [roll14], [roll15],

[Felyndiira]

"Did you manage to crash the bus again? Hope you didn't kill someone this time, Jamie." Lily's head stuck out from a nearby window. She didn't seem to notice the scene at first; her words were light and playful set against the ominous ambiance, the cool afternoon shower putting her in an unusually good mood. Still smiling, she emerged from the bus with a pencil; her eyes wandered aimlessly until it caught sight of her companions - and the cadaver that they had surrounded.

"Well, looks like you did," she added jokingly, though with a rather bitter laughter. Her smile did not disappear, although her nimbus flickered wildly; her hands rested on the revolver in her skirt pocket as she rapidly glanced around the Alaskan countryside, chanting a few high speech runes to protect herself.

Lily will manifest her Shape Liquid rote to attempt to subtly divert rain from herself as soon as she exits the bus. Five seconds later, she will use organic resilience on herself as improvised magic.

Shape Liquid: [roll0]
Organic Resiliance: [roll1]
10-again rolls (if any): [roll2]

[Irony]

The rain continues to pour. The body sits in the middle of the road, unmoving. Tall mountains pierce the heavens in the distance, like the spine of some massive dragon. No one around for miles at this time.

James
Your 360 degree vision is disorienting for a moment, then settles in. There's a man standing on the shoulder, roughly 3 feet behind you. He wears a black trench-coat and a fedora. Sunglasses cover his eyes. The man has a smile that would rival the Cheshire Cat. Instantaneously, he disappears.

[Jamini]

Sinoa

"Is anyone hurt?" the small dark-haired Korean woman who had been sitting in the very back of the bus so that she could watch the road as it extended out behind them ask nonchalantly. Acting as if crashing a bus was a daily occurrence for her. Her short black hair rustled about her shoulders, casting off static sparks where it just touched the top of her white lab coat. The very air around her seems charged with a touch of static as she turns around and leans forward in her seat.

Spontaneously casting Unseen Shield and then Reading Matrix's.

The first gives me three armor if it succeeds, the second gives me Mage Sight.

[roll0] [roll1]
In case of any tens, from left to right:

[roll2]

-Not spending any mana as both spells are part of my primary Arcanum

[Irony]

Sinoa
Auras flash and burn your retinas. When the haze of energy clears from your consciousness a brief flash of something darts through your vision, coming from behind James. Short as it was, the matrix is clear enough and yields softly to your mind. Space and Forces magic are at work here.

[Jamini]

Sinoa

As she finishes her second spell Sinoa's head snaps around, her eyes focusing directly behind James and narrowing suspiciously. At her side her left hand goes through the mandras of a particular rote she has a fondness for.


Provided nothing else happens, Sinoa will study the resonances left by the spell in an attempt to identify what spell it is, how strong the mage is who cast it, and his level of mastery in the Forces and Space arcanum. In that order. Since I can't know the modifiers to this roll (as per page 278) you should roll it. No need to make it public.

The mandras are just for flavor, but she's considering casting Shock Therapy.

[Quietus]

"Must have been dead a while. Smell that? Bodies don't rot THAT fast. Be careful. Either it was a body dump and we were unlucky enough to stumble across it-", Blackjack scoffs at that thought, "or it was put there on purpose. Or it's not entirely dead. Keep your eyes open."

Unholstering his Beretta, he releases the safety, and scans the area around them for movement, wiping the rain out of his eyes. Figures that something like this would happen on a rainy night. Glancing over at someone whose Mage Sight would let them see such things, he asks, "Is it the kind of dead that will stay there, or the kind that's going to try and eat us?"

OOC:
Still not sure who's got what spells right now, so I'm putting it out there in the open - Blackjack has Life 1, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't let him detect undead things. Also, does James have a Shadow Name, or do we know him by his real name?

Wits + composure for perception, looking for movement around them or in the corpse : [roll0]

Also, when given enough time, Sybil's Sight : Fate + gnosis, [roll1]

I haven't chosen rotes yet, I'm having a bit of trouble because all the Fate rotes require Occult, which Blackjack doesn't have. I'll make sure I have all that taken care of today, though.

[Irony]

The silence is deafening. Suddenly Blackjack falls to the ground, a massive cut in his calf, with blood pooling near his leg.

Sinoa
Dissecting the resonance left by the brief flash of magic, you determine a number of useful facts. First, though you are unable to tell what the Space spell was, you are familiar with the Forces spell that was cast; Invisibility. While you can't get a lock on the mage's power directly, you can tell that his/her skill in Forces is at the level of an Adept, though you are still unsure about their skill in the Space Arcanum.

Blackjack
The corpse is still, dead as dead can be. But you can make out a shape in the rain to your immediate left. Before you can react, you feel a knife slide into your leg. You take 3 lethal damage and fall to the ground. Until the wound is healed, either naturally or through magic, you will be unable to walk or stand.

[MandibleBones]

"It's not the dead thing!" Sparkles yells. "I would have heard it!" She kneels to a crouch, beginning to panic at seeing Blackjack's leg all cut, but manages to keep her composure and blast her mana into the workings of an improvised spell, not even bothering with the high speech in favor of time. If it's a blade he was cut with, she thinks, I can find it.

As a reminder, she's got permanent Grim Sight (Auditory) up, which I would guess doesn't apply here anyway, due to her attainment. Okay, improvised casting for Mage Sight (Matter) is Gnosis+Matter (5); I'll add a willpower for plus three to that roll, and will (regardless) need to spend a mana for improvised magic.

So: [roll0] and three more for possible 10-again re-rolls [roll1] Edit: Yes, four successes will do NICELY.

[Quietus]

Should've brought my shotgun..

"Ambush, watch your backs!", Blackjack shouts, using his arms and his good leg to push himself back away from his attacker. His lips are pulled tight as he struggles to ignore the pain, the warmth of the blood running from his leg a stark contrast to the cold rain. Once his back is against the bus, he steadies his gun in both hands, leveling it at the dark shape and squeezing off a round, the resulting explosion of sound breaking through the silence of the night.

Wow, three damage even after armor and possibly defense.. kinda scary. Let's see if I can return the favor; Spending a Willpower on this one, for 2 (dex)+ 3(firearms) +3 (gun) +3 (willpower) :

[roll0]

And in case of 10's :

[roll1]

[Kuma Da]

James (Blaze) Brand

James is just turning his head to snap at Lilly about how now is really not the time and how he has a shadow name and wishes she would use it, when blood sprays from the incision in Blackjack's leg, mixing with the rain.

He curses once, softly, then holds the tire iron out like a divining rod, spinning slowly in place.

OOC: Alright. I'd like to try some improvised casting here. Our assailant is masking himself with light and sound, but he's still very much a vital form. I'd like to brew together some space and life to try and get a fix on where his living body is. I'm still a little new to the system, and I'm not sure if this'd work in the first place, so I'll just give you my stats and leave the rolling to you. If this actually goes off, James'll point out fedora-dude to the rest of the group.

Life 3, Space 2, gnosis 1, burning a point of will.

[Jamini]

Sinoa

Sinoa smiles as invisible energy begins to run over her fingertips. Despite the severity of the situation she seems almost happy, excited. She shouts out as she begins forming Mandras she had learned durinig her trip up north.

"He's cast Invisibility, watch for when it attacks! He can't cast or strike without giving away his position, not with that spell! Be careful."

Casting "Unweaving the Flaw" and using a point of willpower to increase my dice pool by 3. This die roll is opposed to the potency of his invisibility spell.

[roll0]

Rolling for 10's
[roll1]

Eight Successes!

[Felyndiira]

"Please, stop this, whoever you are. There's nothing to be gained if you attack us." Lily, now fully aware of what had just transpired, froze; her mind running through scenarios as she mildly acknowledged the rain that was pelting her thin clothing. Normally, she would be rather frustrated that her control over water would fail so readily, but this was no time for such petty thoughts; the immediate question is this: why was the invisible creature targeting them? Does it have backup? Is it just that confident in its own skills?

She thought about a vision spell, although her companions were much quicker than she - throwing out their sights and unweaving before she could even react to what had happened. To her side, Blackjack was bleeding; the assailant - whoever he was - is confident enough to strike against a cabal of five; perhaps foolish, or perhaps it is simply a master of his art. Whatever the case...

Lily will attack following Blaze and Sinoa's actions. If either of them managed to sense and point out/dispel the opponent, she will use her "Refresh the Waters" attainment to transform the water on the ground into a layer of petroleum, creating a thin stream that widens into a pool of oil around the opponent in an attempt to cause him to slip (and affecting nowhere else). I know that we're under heavy rain, although given that it's petroleum, it should not dissipate before it had a chance to trip - or at least disorient - the assailant.

If and only if neither succeeded in pinning the opponent (hard to believe given eight successes =p), Lily will instead case Pulse of the Living World on herself. Rolls (I miscalculated the dice in my char sheet and fixed it - it should be 3 Life + 3 Occult + 2 Int dice):
[roll0] [10 agains: [roll1]]

I think I can keep the oil within a single gallon, so I won't have to roll for it (as per the description on Refresh the Waters). It's not very shaman-like of her to pollute nature, of course, but desperate times calls for desperate measures =p.

[Irony]

Blackjack's shot rings out, against all odds striking the invisible mage. A spurt of blood leaks out of the air briefly covering the figure in deep red before being washed away in the rain. Simultaneously, Blaze, Lily and Sinoa target the caster with their spells, causing him to become visible; he appears to be a man in his early twenties, wearing a long black trench coat and fedora. The petroleum on the ground causes him to lose his footing, slipping to the pavement. Bleeding profusely from his stomach, the wounded man raises his arm and lets loose a bloodcurdling scream. A bolt of lightning descends from the sky and in a flash, strikes Lily.

Lily
Lily takes seven points of bashing damage.

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

"****, man! What are you on?!" James grits his teeth and envisions the body of their attacker in his mind. He turns it over slowly, cataloging all the little nicks and fractures that have formed in it over the years. He studies the spot where the back of his head hit pavement, not a moment before, and decides that the fluid currently rushing there isn't enough. Isn't anywhere near enough.

Holding the tire iron out like a crucifix, like a cross-hair, Blaze wills unconsciousness upon the attacking mage.

OOC: Using some combination of life 3, space 2, gnosis 1, plus one point of willpower to try and cause swelling in the meninges around fedora-mage's brain, putting loads of pressure on the CSF and brain. This should hopefully cause a splitting migrane, followed by unconsciousness. Or possibly death, if it's cast hard enough, but that's not what Blaze is aiming for.

[Felyndiira]

"Argh!" Lily could feel all traces of feeling being drained from her body as the lightning bolt struck her. Her lags, seemingly drained of strength, gave in to the weight of her body, and she collapsed on the concrete floor in pain. Lightning and rain - it wasn't difficult to guess how dangerous this man was in this element. "And I thought the rain was my playground," she hissed silently, before fainting.

My apologies. 7 bashing should be enough to knock Lily out.

[Quietus]

Blackjack spares just a glance for Lily, determining whether or not she's bleeding; Regardless of that state, however, the focus of his attention is the newly-visible attacker. Letting the rain sweep the blood from his leg, he summons a flare of magical power and directs it at the other prone man. "You really think you can get away with that? Your luck just ran out, bud.", he intones, the spent mana and rote mandras lending a supernatural weight to his words. Once his spell takes hold - or doesn't, depending on Blackjack's own luck - asks, "Is she dead or just down?", his tone coldly businesslike as he falls into military habits.

Casting Evil Eye as a Rote : Manipulation + Persuasion + Fate, -composure. The opponent takes a -3 dice penalty per success gained.

Full dice pool, take penalties from the right side : [roll0]
For ten-agains : [roll1]

[Irony]

The combined efforts of Blackjack and Blaze cause the trench-coated man to faint. The man's sunglasses have fallen off. His ice-blue eyes remain open however, now exposed to the rain. A thin line of blood trickles from his ear. Suddenly, a piece of glass falls from his mouth. The man seizes, convulsing on the ground, whipping around in the rain. It is nearly a minute before the seizures stop. You cannot raise the strength to do anything but stare. The rain continues.

[Quietus]

((Do any of our Mage Sights pick up anything with regard to said glass? Blackjack has Sybil's Sight up, unless that was interrupted earlier))

[Jamini]

With an almost disappointed look on her face that the man had been taken out so soon, Sinoa quickly jolts to Lily's side to check to see if her cabal mate is still breathing. Her fingers slip around her lighthearted companion's head and swiftly touch her temples and the side of her neck to check her pulse. She tries to make note of any fractures or additional trauma as well. Her voice is level as she speaks over her shoulder.

"I've got her, make sure that bastard stays down and see if he's dead. I'd like to have some words with him later."



Int+Medicine [roll0] performing basic first aid on Lily. Mostly checking to see if she's stable, and stabilizing her if she is not.

[MandibleBones]

As Sinoa tends to Lily, Sparkles grabs a small flask of Everclear from her bag, as well as a clean t-shirt from the bus. After pouring the alcohol on Blackjack's leg wound, she ties the shirt tight around the leg to stop the bleeding.

"Sorry 'bout the sting," she murmurs, but knows he's not fated to die today. "You'll be alright. Sorry I don't have any life magic." She's shaken, that much is clear, but she's willing to put off her panic until she can get back to the bus and her bottle.

First Aid: Dex+Medicine [roll0], 10-agains [roll1]. According to WoD core, I can't actually heal anything but bashing, nor downgrade his lethal to bashing outside a hospital, but I'm pretty sure I can keep him from bleeding to death. Plus, since I actually HAVE dice to roll, I can't make it worse. So here goes. Edit: And... no successes. Oh well.

[Jamini]

[roll0] rerolling 10's

[Irony]

All
Anyone with mage sight realizes that the glass is non-magical.

Sinoa
Lily is stable, and breathing steadily. There's not much you can do for her right now, other than keep her comfortable, but expect her to make a full recovery given a couple hours of rest or the application of some life magic. You recognize the glass capsule that fell from the man's mouth; its a cyanide capsule, used for suicide in the case of capture. You are familiar with them from a WWII history class you took in college.

Sparkles
Maybe you should leave the first aid to Sinoa. You can't do much for Blackjack, but he is stable. The wound is deep, but missed any major arteries or veins. However, there looks to be some nerve damage. Life magic seems to be Blackjack's best bet to get back on his feet as soon as possible. The leg wound should heal up in a week or two otherwise, but it will be limited in mobility if healed naturally.

Lily
Lily is stable and in no harm of death or serious injury. However the attack has left you somewhat traumatized and you are still unconscious. You will regain consciousness in a couple hours.

Blackjack
Blackjack is stable and in no harm of death.

[Quietus]

As the alcohol passes over his wound, Blackjack's teeth lock together, and anyone watching him can tell that the even pace of his breathing is only through sheer force of will. "Yeah, I'll live. Stupid.. should've been paying better attention. I've got spells for that.", he chides himself, clearing and holstering his gun. As the sting of the alcohol fades, he looks back over toward their ambusher and shakes his head. "No sense slacking..." he murmurs, as he casts his mind out into the eddies of time. He'll share any results of his divination with the cabal.

Casting Augury, asking "Will we be attacked in the next hour?" - if 'we' is too general, he'll ask specifically for himself.

[roll0] - not too worried about 10's, since a single success is enough.

[Jamini]

Satisfied with her examination, Sinoa sets down Lilly's head and stands up. With a snap she grabs the edge of her coat and shakes out the creases that had formed when she bent over her cabal-mate before walking over to the glass bead and gingerly picking it up and pocketing it. She says nothing, sparing a quick glance at the dead man before walking over to Blackjack.

She bends down over him, quickly inspecting the leg with a disapproving look on her face while she pulls a small steel scalpel from the breast pocket of her coat. "You're next."



[roll0] Int + Medicine to determine the damage to his leg.

[roll1] 10-again

If you have no objections, I'm going to look at Sparkles spoiler since I rolled higher than her. After which I'm going to spontaneously cast a Life/Forces Spell to attempt to repair the nerves and some of the damage.

Creative Thaumaturgy Time!
Spell Effect: I want to repair the worst of the damage to Blackjack's leg, including some of the nerve damage.
Arcana: Life (Primary), Forces (Electrical Signals)
Dot Rating: ** (Ruling)

-(See Self-Healing) I'm trying to mitigate some of the damage done to his leg. Outright healing would require more dots than I have, however since I'm reasonably good with medicine I think I could probably convert one lethal to one bashing and possibly restore his motor skills with the leg.

Casting Action: Extended (One Hour)
-Again, I'm using this spell more like my character would give him stitches or perform surgery, with the sole exception of using her extensive knowledge of forces to also repair the normally inoperable nerve damage. There is no way this would be an instant spell.

Spell Aspect: Vulgar
-I'll risk the paradox.

Cost: 1 Mana
-Pretty much every single healing spell that heals Lethal damage also costs Mana to use. I'd like everyone to know that I don't intend to spend more mana than I need too. My pool is already small enough, thank you. Also, since Life is not my Ruling Arcanum I'll need to spend the point anyway.

Resistance: I'm not sure this is relevant. If Blackjack really wants to resist he can hobble to the car on his own. I'm not carrying him.

I will wait for Irony to OK this spell before I cast it, if nobody else minds. Also, do you mind if I use a Scalpel as my dedicated path/order tool? It fits both my path (a Steel Knife) and my order (Any Weapon).

Also, this spell will pretty much end my involvement in the scene.

[Irony]

Blackjack
Augury Result: No

Sinoa
Blackjack's leg looks worse than it is, as no major arteries or veins were heavily damaged. However, there is significant nerve damage, and the underlying musculature is also torn pretty badly.

Go ahead and cast the improvised spell. The scalpel works as a dedicated tool. If you accumulate at least 4 successes (equaling the remaining lethal damage to Blackjack's leg +1), it'll convert 2 points of lethal damage to bashing (half the number of successes needed), and restore mobility to his leg.

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

It's only after the mage's seizures stop that he realizes what he should have been doing.

**** it. Too slow again. You're always too slow.

There's still time to see to Lilly, though, and Blaze scrambles over to where she's fallen, practically elbowing Sinoa out of the way to kneel by the smoking body. Gingerly, he lays the tire iron over her heart and forms a model of her body in his mind. It's imperfect. They've only been a cabal for a short while, but he can still see deep to where the nerves and muscles are. Taking a breath, he begins reforming proteins and restarting processes that had stalled during the massive electrical surge.

OOC: Healing heart on lilly. Eight dice, from composure+medicine+life.

[Quietus]

"Should I be scared?", he asks, gesturing with a tilt of his head to Sinoa's scalpel. A smile crosses his lips as he makes the joke, but it's clearly forced - he's obviously trying not to let on just how bad off he is. With a grunt of effort, he plants himself against the side of the bus and pulls himself up to his one good leg, hobbling toward the door. "Let me get out of this rain first, alright? Bad enough that my ass is already soaking wet, no need to stay out here. We should get Lily in, too. And if we're talking surgery.. mind if I borrow some more of that everclear, Sparkles?", he asks, that same forced smile crossing his features.

[MandibleBones]

"Not if you're going to drink it," she snaps, mad at herself for not being able to help Blackjack. "But I've got the bottle of bourbon still," she adds, softer. "You can have some of that." She looks around.

"Are we safe here?" she queries. "I can't tell. Mattersight is clear, but..." she shrugs, then fetches the other alcohol from the van. She pulls out a set of earbuds and sits in the van's door, trying to keep out of the rain and still watch. The faint sounds of Iron Maiden can be heard leaking out of her earbuds, drowning out the sounds of the dead.

[Quietus]

"We're good for at least an hour.", Blackjack answers, checking his watch so he knows when to look ahead again. Giving a genuine smirk, he adds, "And thanks. I should be okay, but you know how Sinoa is - I might not want to be conscious once she gets started.", teasing their resident doctor.

[Irony]

A powerful surge of energy flows from Blaze into Lily. The superficial burns on her heal, as flesh returns to an unblemished, healed state. Her eyes open and she gasps for air. Alive. Awake. The rain continues to fall as you pick up the pieces.

Lily is healed of 5 damage starting from the rightmost health box with damage in it, returning her to consciousness.

[Jamini]

"Feh, I've seen worse." Sinoa replies to Blackjack, tapping lightly on his leg above the injury with her fingertips. The traces of a smile play along her face despite her serious expression as she reached behind Blackjack's shoulders to help him stand on his good leg

"Let's get him into the bus. Healing this properly..." she glances at Blaze with a mildly disapproving look as his magic clears Lily's injuries. "Will take a little while. You have some nerve damage."


Hey Kuma, maybe we could try to cast the improvised spell together? If I take the Forces half and you take the Life half we might get away with not needing mana to properly restore Blackjack's leg. What do you think?

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

"Hey. Hey, kid, you okay?" James snaps his fingers a few times in front of Lilly's eyes, checking her reaction. "We got the mage that nuked you. Everything looks clear for now." Standing up, he looks morosely towards the sky. "Pissing rain aside, that is."

As soon as he's confident that the healing took, and that no other damage is about to come to the surface, James collects his tire iron off the ground and hastens over to the McCandless bus, where Sinoa is preparing to operate on Blackjack. "Can I give you a hand with that? No offense, but without proper supplies, getting all that meat back together is going to be hard as hell."

Breifly, he leans out the bus window and calls out into the rain "can I get some coincidence over here?" Then, framing the image of Blackjack's leg in his mind, he begins to slowly goad the man's body into producing the painkillers it will need for the surgery.

Elsewhere, the storm washes a dead mage clean.

OOC: Sure, Jamini. I'm game. Worst case scenario, we've still got two dice pools involved, and I can passively accelerate the healing processes in blackjack's body while we work, giving us another edge. Let's do this.

Improvised life 3, gnosis 1, endorphin surge to counteract the pain.

Improvised life 3, gnosis 1, metabolic tweak to accelerate natural healing processes at the expense of being hungrier than normal for the duration of the spell.

Improvised combined life 3, gnosis 1, plus whatever sinoa's casting to try and re-knit the muscle and coax the nerve endings back together. If anyone else wants to help out with fate, they're more than welcome to jump in on this.

[MandibleBones]

Sparkles watches the patterns of the raindrops as she dances along with her ipod. "Wait to start... now," she says, bending fate to find an auspicious moment for the two healing mages. "You can do it!" she cheers quietly, and then looks embarrassed at actually acting like a teenager for a moment.

Improvised magic mimicking the Fate 2 rote Exceptional Luck, giving the will-workers the 9-again roll (2 success needed, as I'd need to give it to them both. Fate+Gnosis, adding a willpower. [roll0] and 10-against for me [roll1]. Yay! 9-agains for our Forces and Life mages while they try to heal Blackjack! I'm useful!

[Quietus]

At first, Blackjack attempts to shrug off Sinoa's assistance with moving, using the side of the bus as leverage and hopping along on his one good leg. After a near-fall, however, he scowls irritably, grudgingly accepting his cabal-mate's help. None of this was likely to surprise anyone, though; he'd always been something of a stubborn ass.

Once they get him inside the bus, he allows them to lead him to somewhere to sit, wincing in pain as his leg is propped up and readied for whatever they had in mind. Despite that, however, he puts on as brave a face as he can manage, saying, "Alright, do your worst. Let me know what you need from me. Lily's gonna be okay, right?", he asks, directing that last at Blaze.

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

"Lilly's fine. Don't worry about that. She's just getting herself collected." Blaze claps a hand against Blackjack's shoulder and squeezes. "I'm gonna try and dull some of the pain here, but it might be a lot. I want you to take a deep breath. Think of something steadying."

[Felyndiira]

That was definitively not a pleasant experience, laying face-first on the ground in the deep rain with a sizable electric burn at her back. Even with the healing, her senses returned to her only slowly; her vision shifting wildly as if everything around her has a simulacrum of its own. The rain was an assuaging experience now, like a cool tonic flowing through her back; even then, it took a while for that familiar cold jolt to return to her arms. Slowly, she raised her hand before her eyes and tried to wriggle her fingers, gradually focusing her vision around the sunlight that seeped between them.

She coughed.

"We got the mage that nuked you." Those were Jamie...er, Blaze's words, bringing a faint smile to the girl's face. For a moment there, she contemplated setting the petroleum on fire and incarcerating his remains, directing the rain away with her command of the rivers; an unbecoming thought, sure, but that lightning bolt hurts like nothing else in the world. And it ruined her favorite dress, too...

Her cabal was already carrying Blackie back to the McCandless. Oh right, she had almost forgotten about his injury! Lily coughed again, and slowly dragged herself inside the bus. The feelings in her legs will return in due time, although she felt somewhat useless now with the doctor and Blazie tending to the wound. Well, maybe...

...and with that thought, she blushed, quickly shoving a bottle of strong red liquid into Blackjack's arms. If nothing else, her arms seem to be working quite well despite the electrical discharge.

"Here. It might help dull the pain. Just promise me you won't drive."

Lily uses Refresh the Waters (I'm abusing the attainment now =p) to transmute a container of rainwater into bourbon, which she hands to Blackjack.

[Quietus]

"You guys do what you need to do. Try not to kill the scar if you don't have to, though. Chicks dig scars.", he jokes, taking the deep breath that was asked of him. For a moment, he considers making a crude joke, but that thought gets derailed by the sudden presence of booze. Taking a long swig, he nods, savoring the taste of it before finally swallowing. "Not bad. Eu de Lily, I take it? How're you feeling? And don't worry, you still get brownie points for offering.", Blackjack says, directing the last to Sparkles. He might tease her about it now and then, but he knows better than to touch her booze unless it's offered.

[MandibleBones]

She smiles. "More for me. I'm just glad the both of you are still conscious." She sniffs at Lily's conjuration. "Pretty good, Lily."

[Irony]

After an hour of surgery and magic, Blackjack's leg looks better than ever. Well, minus the nasty scar tissue left over. The rain continues to pour, and the bus is stalled on the shoulder. Two corpses in the road now. One rotting, one freshly made.

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

"Damn." Blaze takes a step back, admiring Sinoa's handiwork. "Damn," he says again, just in case the first one went unheard. "I wouldn't put any weight on it just yet, but that's gonna heal clean."

Blaze digs through a pile of gear in the back of the bus, finally coming up with a soggy box of granola bars. It was ripped off from a gas station, swiped into a bag while no one was looking, but he figures whatever, right? They factor that **** into the budget. Shrink, or some such. He was keeping their numbers honest.

Clambering back to Blackjack, over the pile of gear in the back, he passes him the box. "You're gonna get hungry, soon as my other spells kicks in. Make sure you down a couple of these, along with some water, every hour or so for the next few. Speaking of which," he pitches his voice over the drum of the rain, so that the rest of the cabal can hear him clearly, "the bus isn't gonna run for the next day or so. We should scry that mage, see if anything's coming our way, and get ready to move or hunker down depending on what we learn."

[Felyndiira]

With Blackjack's healing assured, Lily had turned her attention towards her own situation. A casual glance at her own clothing - her favorite garments, no less - revealed the damage that she had sustained from that skirmish. Her blouse had, in particular, been reduced to rags and tatters no thanks to the lightning bolt. Her dress, her stockings, and her gloves - with her body covered in scrapes and cuts from her rather sudden fall, her attires were similarly blemished with mud and unsightly holes.

With a stifled sigh, Lily slowly rose and balanced herself on the seats, slowly approaching her suitcase. The danger had passed, after all, and vanity had suddenly seemed a lot more appropriate.

"Give me a bit to change, first. No looking." Just to drive the point home, Lily playfully stuck her hand outside the windows and chanted a few runes, slowly directing the liquid into an opaque barrier.

Lily invokes Shape Liquid. Since it doesn't cost mana, she will keep on trying until it succeeds with 2 successes or more, and then form the water into a thin wall, transmute it into an opaque liquid (let's go with milk) with her attainment, and hide behind the wall while she dries herself and changes into new clothes.

Rolls for four actions. If any has 2+ successes, Lily stops and proceeds with changing. If not, she'll keep on trying until it does work (and she'll eventually roll two successes or tire herself):
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

10-agains:
[roll4]

[Quietus]

The feeling of having his flesh knit itself back together causes Blackjack to grit his teeth, not from the pain, but because that itches. Pain he could deal with, but it takes a great deal of effort not to start clawing at his leg two-handed in an effort to relieve that feeling. Still, he sits there for the full hour, making small talk with anyone willing and sipping on the bourbon Lily had provided for him. When Blaze and Sinoa are done their work, he flexes his leg a little, eyebrows rising as he sees how thorough a job they've done. "Damn is right. Nice work, guys... couldn't have left the scar though, huh?", he comments, mostly teasing. He had enough stories to tell; Losing that scar was a worthwhile price to pay for such a thorough healing.

Lily's little trick with the rainwater/milk actually gets a chuckle out of him, and he shakes his head. "Aw, Lily doesn't trust us not to peek. I'm hurt, guys, really.", he jokes, but knows full well her actions are fair. He wouldn't have trusted himself not to peek, either. Ignoring Blaze's warning, he stands, being just careful enough to ensure he won't injure himself from the action, and shrugs into his jacket once again. "Alright, well, if we're going to be here a while, we ought to do something about those bodies. Anyone got a way of questioning dead people, or are we going to have to get creative?" As he heads toward the bus door, he casts his thoughts into the eddies of fate, mentally grabbing hold of those waves and directing them just so, to try and turn things to their advantage, and keep them out of trouble.

Trying for something along the lines of The Perfect Moment, a Fate2 spell that nudges things in Blackjack's favor - or rather, nudges Blackjack toward things that will favor him. Hoping that with Fate3, he can pull off a similar thing, just trying to get the two dead bodies out of plain sight without being caught.

3 fate + 2 gnosis : [roll0]
In case of tens : [roll1]

::Edit:: Oh goody. Ah well - doesn't change Blackjack's actions anyway. Ride those waves of Fate!

[Jamini]

Sinoa

Sinoa curls her hand around Blackjack's shoulder as he tries to stand, her narrow fingers digging into his skin painfully as she yanks him back down into his seat. Her face is sten and impassive, something between angry, irritated, and bored. Her gloved fingertips smears blackjack's blood on top of his shoulder in a messy splotch as she mutters softly into his ear.

Blackjack (And Blaze, should he wish to listen in. Nobody else would be close enough to hear.)
"Sit down. Now."

"Stay still for at least ten more minutes while your body adjusts to the repairs. Once those ten minutes are up, gently stretch the muscles and move your leg back and force to make sure everything works properly. If I catch you putting weight on that leg for the rest of the day I will open it back up myself. Am I clear?"

As she finishes she releases her companion and smiles at blaze, the warmth of her expression not quite reaching her eyes.

"You did a good job as well. Maybe later we could trade techniques? Life magic is increadibly useful in conjunction with a little medical training, and it's nice not to always rely on limited resources in an emergancy." She pauses, as if suddenly remembering that she was in a bus with a number of other people. "We should get going as soon as we can. Are any of you a Necromacer?"

Not sure if Sinoa would know anyone elses' path, if she would then feel free to ignore the last sentance.

Quick referance
Path:Nickname
Arcanthus :Enchanter/Enchantress
Magistos:Warlock
Moros:Necromacer
Obrimos: Theurge
Thyresus: Shaman

[Quietus]

"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself.", Blackjack growls, his voice only slightly louder than Sinoa's. "And SOMEONE has to go get those bodies moved. I've tried to look, but I have no idea how long we have before some random person comes along, and notices that hey, there's a bus pulled over to the side of the road, with two dead bodies just chilling beside it. I'm sure that'll come off really well on us, won't it? Anyone else here have experience dragging corpses around? Those things are heavy, and even worse when they're waterlogged. Like it or not, we need someone with the strength to drag those two off the road and into someplace hidden." As he speaks, his voice grows louder, his frustration at not being able to catch even a glimpse of what he'd looked for, and at being told what to do, showing. And unless anyone else steps up to get the job done, he'll ignore Sinoa's warning, willing to take the risk of his leg opening back up just because of his wide stubborn streak.

OOC :
Just in the name of clarity, that's not any particular dislike showing through, that's just Blackjack's stubbornness and pride shining through. Also, he's an Enchanter, which could either be surmised from his regular casting of fate/time magic, or by having asked. Even if he isn't being particularly enchanting right now.. :smalltongue:

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

"Chill, man." Blaze steps back into the aisle, blocking Blackjack's way out of the bus. He moves surprisingly gracefully, for such a large guy. "I'll take care of it. If you pop your stitches, I'll have to heal you again, and I'm not sure how much longer I can keep convincing reality that what you got was a flesh wound."

Gathering up a tarp from the back of the bus, James sets out to drag the two corpses off into the scraggly weeds on the side of the road.

[Quietus]

Blackjack's eyes flick back and forth between Blaze and Lily, and slowly, the stubborn streak in them fades to mild annoyance. "Fine, but be careful. I can't guarantee how safe it is.", he finally says, forcing himself to relax by taking a long swig from the bourbon Lily gave him. Part of him considers whether that's where the problem with his fortune-telling was coming in; Had reality simply been pushed too far for it to let him see clearly? "Eh, whatever.", he thinks to himself, going back to sipping his drink. What would happen, would happen.

[Felyndiira]

"Are you sure no one's going to find the bodies, though?" Lily had slipped into a new dress a few moments ago, although she remained behind her opaque curtain when she spoke to the cabal. The consequences of committing murder, of all things, had just dawned upon her; behind the white veil, the girl was more afraid than the fleeting moments of consciousness after the lightning had struck her. "Not sleepers, I mean, but a Moros physician who would trace this back to us or something. Maybe we should try to completely hide or destroy the bodies rather than just dragging them off?"

"Besides, who came up with these nicknames, anyway?" she added, trying to lighten the mood - mostly for herself, "I'm quite surprised that any Moros magician would consent to be called a necromancer, of all things."

[Quietus]

"I'm not sure about much right now. Whatever they did to make me not feel the pain is getting in the way of my ability to glance into time. Destroying the bodies entirely would be a better idea, but first I want to know if we can get any information out of them. If you can speak with the dead, that is, Necromancer." That last is more of a tease than anything, and possibly entirely wrong. His only evidence is her apparent mastery of Matter, to erect a curtain of milk from rainwater. A smirk resting on his attractive features, he continues, "I bet it's just that most Moros don't care enough to correct anyone. Hell, anyone who hangs out with zombies isn't likely to worry much about what the living think, are they? Most of the nicknames are pretty decent, though - when's the last time you met an Acanthus who wasn't enchanting?"

[Felyndiira]

"Oh, eww, I'm too cute to be sleeping around with zombies like that." Quite a cruel joke, she realized, although she was quite sure that none of her companions was a Moros magician. At least, not from what she could tell. "Besides," she added, faking a laugh as she lowered the curtain and transformed the liquid into dozens of birds flying in profile through the open windows. "I think I'm supposed to be called a 'traveler' or something...not that it's any use as a nickname - I mean, we're all travelers in some sense of the word. I mean, Tamer of Rivers sounds much more graceful, don't you think?"

She was trying to talk herself into a false sense of calmness, perhaps - at least Lily had tried to convince herself that she was not afraid even as her mind raced through the various rotes she knew and the various spells that she could improvise to completely hide the bodies from notice. She fidgeted a bit when she saw Jamie...Blaze approach the two cadavers; from her position, she could see the afternoon sunlight - whatever little streams that would leak out from behind the clouds - rendering an incandescent glow to their still faces. The idea of death as art stunned her; first, with a sense of awe, although she shook her head and tried to expel such a wicked thought.

And in the process, an idea dawned upon her.

"Wait, Ja...Blaze!" She tried to call out after him; slicing out a tunnel to shield herself from the rain (and this time waiting until her spell succeeds before exiting the bus). He was a pronounced shaman, she had heard from Sinoa - maybe, just maybe, they could improvise a spell to desiccate the bodies and leave only an unidentifiable skeleton behind. "Do you think we could come up with something between us to dry out the bodies first? It might not be too difficult given that, you know, he is dead."

For random conversation reasons, I just want to mention that Lily has stunning looks 2.

Also, she's really not leaving the bus until her shape water succeeds. It may be vain of her, but Lily is not getting her clothes wet again =p:

[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

Lily's hoping to combine her matter 2 with James's Life 3 to create an improvised spell to desiccate the bodies. Theoretically, if they could drain it completely, the skin would just crumple away and leave only a bunch of bones, which would be more difficult to identify overall. If nothing else, it'll make the bodies easier to drag along.

Lily's a bit...not used to dead bodies, shall we say? So you can penalize that if necessary. She's probably pretty eager to do it anyways, though, because of irrational fear from completely random memories of watching CSI =p.

[Quietus]

"True enough. And you know, I didn't say anything about sleeping with zombies. Something you'd care to share with the cabal, Lily?", Blackjack teases, his smirk still in place. "Actually, I think the whole nicknames thing is just annoying. We already live with assumed names, do we really need to put nicknames on everything? But I guess, if you've got a Legacy, that's something entirely different. Not worth the trouble for me."

Once Lily's rushed off to figure out how to work with Blaze, Blackjack leans back in his seat, closing his eyes and casting Temporal Eddies, using his Mage Sight to keep perfect track of time. As soon as the ten minutes Sinoa demanded are up, he starts to stretch and test the muscles, as she told him he should do. Frustrated with how generally ineffective he's feeling after all of these failed Auguries, he lets his mind wander across the rippling waves of Time, a smile touching his lips when he brushes against the moment when he'd managed to make a good shot, in the rain, against an invisible attacker. Maybe he hadn't been totally useless..

You aren't the only one - Blackjack also has 2 dots in Striking Looks. Sadly, no knife-scar to tell stories about, though. :smalltongue:

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

He has his hands around the dead mage's ankle when Lilly comes running out, calling his name. Blaze straightens up and lets the leg drop. It readjusts to the pavement with a meaty slap. "Something wrong?" he asks, and then listens to her explain about how they might be able to mummify the body if they wanted to.

He combs a hand through his hair, sending streams of water racing down his brow. "Lilly, I dunno if that's a good idea just yet. I don't know who this man was. I don't think any of us do. If we're going to find out why he wanted to kill us, we should scry him, and that's going to be a lot harder if he's dust."

Blaze bends down and grips the corpse's leg. "It'll only take me a few minutes to get these over to the shoulder. We can figure out what's next after they're hidden."

[Jamini]

Sinoa watches Lilly irritably as she flaunts her spell. As the girl races out into the rain once again she lets a long breath whistled through her teeth. She leans over to the window and gazes out, watching as the two Shamans chatter over the corpses.

"Someday she is going to get spotted by a sleeper, doing things like that." She says to Blackjack without looking at him, her right hand waving into the rain.

Sinoa pauses a moment. Her heavy-lidded eyes flick up and down the highway furtively. Satisfied that no unaware witnesses were in eyesight, she quickly closed her eyes and whispered a few words to the air around her. The body that Blaze is dragging begins to twitch on its own as he is pulling it, his every action suddenly becoming more pronounced and stronger, almost as if a second person were right next to him helping him drag it.

As she finishes she opens her eyes and sighs contentedly, as if a great burden had been lifted off her shoulders. She turns back to Blackjack and gives him a conspiratorial half-smile and a very small wink.

"You didn't see that."

Actually, Irony mentioned that he did have a scar from the procedure, if I recall.

I'm going to apply a little forces magic to help Blaze move. It'll mimic Telekinesis, using Strength as the primary attribute for the spell. I'm using High Speech to enhance this spell, since we aren't on a any pressing timetables.

Gnosis + Forces + 2

[roll0] See OOC. 3 Successes, no Paradox. So Blaze has the same effect as a second person with Strength 3 helping him drag/lift/roll the corpse over to the shoulder.

Applies a force with Strength X Dex 1 to the bodies that Blaze is moving. X being the number of successes I attain. I'll use this to help him move the bodies off the road, trusting him to do any finer maneuvering.

You guys can keep your striking looks. I'm really not regretting the Merits I spent on Gnosis 3. It's really nice being able to reliably spontaneously cast most basic Forces/Life spells. So long as I watch the Paradoxes.

[MandibleBones]

Sparkles glances aside at Blackjack as he makes the comment about Moros not caring enough to correct anyone, and gives a very quiet nod. She wanders over to where the other two mages are discussing the bodies, and quietly puts her fingers at the temple of the one their van hit, closing her eyes and not paying much attention to exclamations of surprise.

Death+Gnosis to emulate the Death 1 rote Forensic Gaze; [roll0], 10-agains [roll1]. Meh. I'll take the one success - what can you tell Sparkles about how this poor soul died?

[Quietus]

One hand waves dismissively as Blackjack shrugs, opening his eyes. "They're dealing with dead bodies, a Sleeper noticing she isn't getting rained on is the least of her trouble. 'Course, if I'd gone out there instead, this wouldn't be an issue, but the doctor says I gotta take it easy, you know? So instead we get miss Crazywater and her magical raincoat."

As Sinoa gives Blaze a little help moving the corpses, he gives just one soft laugh, shaking his head. "So we gotta watch out for sleepers, but risking Paradox is no problem? Damn, if I'd known that I wouldn't have gone for the subtle powers when I chased down my watchtower. Ah well, you live and learn.", he says, digging into the soggy box Blaze had given him. "At least they're individually wrapped..", he thinks to himself, eating quickly as his stomach growls angrily. When Sparkles glances over at him, he salutes her with his bottle of bourbon, wishing her luck. Taking another sip, he asks Sinoa, "Blaze said to drink some water with the food. Think this'll do?"

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

Blaze startles back from the body he's dragging as soon as Sinoa's magic kicks in. He raises his fists protectively, waiting for it to lurch to life, but when all it does is continue to scrape its way across the pavement towards the roadside, he lets out a sigh, stands back, and watches it go.

[Jamini]

Sinoa smiles and laughs, possibly the first time either of them had ever seen her do so. Her voice was a little unsettling: just a little too loud and intense, almost hysterical.

"Probably not." Sinoa replies, not bothering to clarify which comment she was replying to. She ran right hand through her bangs, coiling the short lanky hair around her finger, her left hand snaking up underneath her chin and just barely tapping her lower lip.

"But who am I to stop you from drinking when you're already dead-set on getting yourself killed one way or another today?"

Abruptly the smile vanished. She brought her hands to the seat beside her and focused her eyes squarely at the floor between her feet. All trace of the earlier silliness wiped away as if it did not exist. Her voice was suddenly very quiet, almost inaudible under the rain.

"I am sorry. That was out of line. I wouldn't have let a paradox go wild, even here. I got... carried away."

[Quietus]

"What's life without a little risk? Not my fault I need to take bigger risks, it's just the way things work. But I'll be a good patient, once we get ourselves out of trouble, don't you worry. I'll even trade down to water, if that's what would be best for me. At least, for a little while."

His smile fades when Sinoa shifts gears, his brow furrowing. The appearance of him looking through her is a fair one, as he looks at her both in the real world, and in the ripples surrounding her in Time through his Mage Sight. If everything seems fine to his Mage Sight, he tilts his head slightly, waving one hand in front of her face. "Whoo, earth to Doc - I was just teasing you, relax. Paradox happens, we deal with it as it turns up. No need to get all mopey about it."

[Felyndiira]

"Well, now that that is happening, maybe we could find someone to scry him? So we can at least try to get them off our backs." Lily was a bit disappointed that they would need to keep the 'evidence' around - perhaps a bit scared, though she paid little attention to the sight of rain that was steadily bounding away from her own self. To her, the bodies was the greatest threat at the moment - she won't die from a teeny little paradox, but a bunch of bodies in the presence of cops is not nearly a pretty sight.

She acquiesced to Ja...Blaze's words, though; she didn't feel like arguing her point any further, and maybe one of their cabal would have the necessary spells to just get the scrying stuff done with. Maybe the doctor would know more about questioning dead people? Or maybe Sparkles ("she certainly dressed for the part," the girl thought with a chuckle). "So, does any of us really know how to, er, find out about them?" she screamed, hoping - perhaps not wisely - that they would all answer 'no.'

Maybe she would have to use her own neglected Spirit arcanum.

[Kuma Da]

James Brand

Blaze shrugs. "All of us together might be able to come up with something. My old cabal used to do this number with time and space, life and mind that back-traced the things a person had seen. Best way to spy without actually bugging a person. Maybe with spirit or death we could get it to work here." Rain washes over him. His brow creases with thought.