[Exalted] Taskforce: Dragon IC

[Maugan Ra]

It begins, as it often does, with a phone call.

You were warned, when they first assigned you to the Taskforce, that Meruvia might require your services at any time, and that you could not rely on that call coming at a convenient moment. Over the past few months and years, the warning has been proven true time and again - sometimes you were in the bath, or visiting family, or partway into a very enjoyable dream. Control never seemed to care then, and by all appearences it does not care now.

As always, the person on the other end of the line speaks only a single phrase, and then hangs up.

"The Taskforce has been activated. Code Black."

No elaborate codes, no fancy back-and-forth process of identification. Just the simple phrase, and a summons to be at OMI headquarters inside of 24 hours. Whether it is entirely practical for you to reach Crane Bay inside that time limit is, as with so many other things, irrelevant.

Duty calls.

And here we go. Kicking things off with a classic scene from all great spy/action movies - namely, The Call. You know, that rapid series of scenes where a number of otherwise innocuous individuals receive mysterious phone calls and immediately head off to some assigned location.

So, feel free to describe what your characters were doing before being so rudely interrupted, and we can begin our little adventure...

OoC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=268564)

[horus42]

Nate rubs his eyes and sits up in bed as he answers the phone. He sighs after hearing the phrase, and pinches the bridge of his nose. A simple "...goddammit." is all that he says, before waking Samantha, and telling her he has to go.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone. But I'll be back as soon as I can." He kisses her before he dresses. "I love you."

He heads out the door, and into the driver's seat of his Stalking Tiger Comet. He starts the silent engine, and drives towards Crane Bay.

[Ifni]

"So it is just the exclusion principle in a different form. Damn it." The white-haired woman in the blue silk ao dai - currently marred by a number of white chalk-marks - glares at the blackboard, and sighs. "Oh well, at least now we know why it's not working."

"Hey, it's an interesting result." The other woman's hair is dark, no traces of gray, but her face has the beginning of wrinkles and laugh-lines that the white-haired woman lacks. She's taller and more heavyset than her colleague, and dressed in a sharply tailored business suit. "Do you want to write it up?"

The shorter woman flips her hand dismissively. "Sure, I can dash something off. Someone should, anyway."

"You're disappointed?"

"Eh. I thought this was a promising direction. Finding a general proof that it's always going to be epsilon away from breaking even, at least unless you can find another reality to tap into, is a bit of a kick in the teeth." She sighs, a little ruefully. "I know I know. Negative results are important too. I guess I'm just... a little more interested in applicability, these days."

"Heh. We'll coax you down from your ivory tower yet."

"What, to work in industry? Perish the thought." But she's smiling, as she puts down the chalk, and goes to pour a cup of tea. "So on a happier note, how are the kids doing? Your actual kids, I mean, not the students."

"Oh, fine, fine. Jennet's starting school this year..."

A cellphone rings. Or rather, plays the first three bars of Elorin's Seventh Symphony. The Air Aspect briefly juggles teabags, milk jug, cup of boiling water and cellphone, before finally ending up with a cup of steaming tea in one hand and her open phone in the other.

"Hel-" A pause. "Oh." She flips the phone closed. "Well, maybe it's better that was a negative result. I have to go, Sam."

"... family emergency? Or work commitments of the kind you can't talk to me about?"

"Well, I can't talk to you about it, can I? Sorry." Her voice is light and she's smiling, but her gaze is distant. "You should write up the proof, get one of the kids to go through all the special cases carefully - they'll get a nice well-cited paper out of it." She pours the tea out into the sink, rinses the cup and sets it to the side. The buttons on her cellphone are already lighting up, tapping out a number apparently on their own.

The white-haired woman switches languages, from Old Realm back to Skytongue, as she raises the phone, "I need a taxi to Gethamane International Airport, to pick me up at the front gate of Magadon Corporation in three minutes. Yes please. Name of Morgan Uqalik."

Twenty minutes to the airport, counting the brief stop at her hotel, if the taxi driver knows what he's doing. As Morgan hugs her oldest friend briefly and then hurries downstairs, the flight schedule displays itself on her phone; fortunately there are frequent direct flights between Gethamane and Crane Bay, and they usually have seats up to the last minute, if you don't mind being crammed into the middle-of-the-middle in economy. It'll be nice to get together with the rest of the Task Force if only for the legroom on Amelia's plane.

Code Black.

In the taxi, the Air Aspect's hand absently strokes the long leather case she brought down from her hotel room.

(And then not-so-absently pats at her jacket pocket, making sure her special passport is where it should be. Getting her swords through security without that ID could be a little tedious.)

Briefly introducing Sam, Morgan's best friend from high school and current research collaborator, who is now a Kimberian Defiler due to her work at Magadon on modifying the Dragon-Blooded Exaltation process with demonic essence. Her kids are adorable.

[Edge]

In his dreams, Carl Rudd's brothers are still alive. In his dreams, he disobeys orders to save them. In his dreams, it costs them the battle. In his dreams, there are only screams, battlecries, and the roars of assault rifles.

And, at the end of it all, in his dreams, his brothers still die, and the ground beneath his feet shakes itself apart, as someone shakes him awake.

"... Carl? Come on, Carl, there's a call for you. Don't make me call you Sarge."

"'m awake, alright? I'm awake."

The Dragon-Blooded sat up on his bed, shaking his head as he did so. His helmet shook around his head. He'd fallen asleep in full gear again. That... wasn't exactly great. Shaking his head again, he looked up at who'd woken him. Private Alizebeth Vallera. Figured it'd be her.

"Thanks, Lize. Any idea who it is?"

"No idea. Just know it comes from on high."

Carl picked himself up and wandered over to the phone at the end of the barracks, glancing at Private Shandra Burns and Corporal Damien Brand as they waged yet another war of words with one another. The Earth Aspect shook his head. He'd deal with them later, he thought as he picked up the phone.

"Sergeant Rudd here," he says blearily, moving his free hand to massage his eyes, before remembering he's still got his helmet on. The voice at the other end of the phone speaks quickly and clearly. "I see. I understand, sir. I'll get them moving right away."

He slammed the phone down. Epsilon Squad had only come back from their last tour of duty three days ago. They wouldn't like this.

"Alright, Epsilon, grab your gear and get ready to mount up! We've got new orders."

"Orders?" asked Damien. "We just got back from that tour against those Raksha bastards four days ago!"

"Three, Brand," smiled Shandra.

"Oh, 'cause the fact that that's one day less somehow improves this bull****. How's General Hoffman think he can get away with skipping over protocol like this?"

"Because it isn't Hoffman ordering us out. The order came in over his head. We're off to meet the rest of Task Force: Dragon, Epsilon. So like I said, grab your gear and get ready to mount up. And be ready to be on your best behaviour. First impressions and all that. Which means, Brand, you keep the snarking for later, and Shandra, you don't let him bait you."

The corporal and the private glanced at each other and nodded. In the background, Alizebeth sighed.

"Ugh. Just get a room and get it over with already, you two. Promise me and the Sarge won't tell anyone."

Damien and Shandra immediately began yelling the barracks down, even as they packed their gear up. Carl shook his head. Why had he thought this a good idea, again?

Say hello to Epsilon Squad, everyone.

[Lix Lorn]

"The wood was a smoky brown, stained with flame and hardened with long nights in the cold." dictated Brooks, lying comfortably on the bed, as her brush wrote her words down neatly on the page. "It snapped with all the toughness of a twig when the dragon roared."

The phone rang.

"He-oh, for goodness' sake. Stop writing."
She rolled away, landing on all fours, and rising up to go to the telephone. She said nothing as the voice spoke, but the creative spark in her eyes faded, and her smirk changed, not a thing of joy, but a predator's grin.

She picked up the brush, shrugging on her coat, and left the room. It wasn't five minutes before the Cloudrider took flight from her home, roaring into the sky.

[Maugan Ra]

The Office of Meruvian Intelligence, OMI for short, is headquartered in a complex just outside the city limits of Crane Bay. At least, that's the official story, and to be fair most of it's facilities are located there. But the All Seeing Eye is far from blind when it comes to the potential dangers of keeping all it's most valued agents and facilities in one place, and so it maintains a number of other bases in and around the area. It is one of these that you have been summoned to, contained in an otherwise unremarkable looking office building near the centre of the capital.

Security, for all the innocent face the facility shows to the world, is blisteringly tight. Stoic guards in pale grey uniforms search each of you in turn with meticulous care, confiscating anything that might potentially function as recording equipment or weaponry, before triple-checking your identification and allowing you inside. You are directed to a particular briefing room, which is in truth little more than an empty chamber with an old fashioned projector in the middle of it. At least the chairs are comfortable.

Waiting for you inside is a man. And really, that's virtually all you can tell about him - he seems almost entirely uninteresting, except perhaps for the dark green eyes. Unremarkable to an almost unnatural degree... and, indeed, thanks to your own (however limited) experience with the task force so far, you know that is exactly the case. No one from OMI has ever proven willing to explain how they train their agents to fall so far below anyone's notice, or even to admit that those agents exist, but his presence here is as clear a sign as anything that this assignment is quite serious.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming" the agent says softly as the last of you enter and take a seat. "You have been called here because we have reason to believe that someone is intending to commit a large-scale terrorist attack on Crane Bay inside of the next few days. The projected death toll, should you not manage to stop it, is in the region of three million people."

[Edge]

As the army-issue truck they'd ridden to the OMI building slowed to a stop, Epsilon clambered out, vaulting over the sides and onto asphalt.

"Thanks, Mick. Don't wait around for us."

"Aww, an' here I was hopin' I mightn't have to see Hoffman for another few days. Well, you boys an' gals take care yerselves now. Eyes open, an' all that."

"At this place? Always."

Epsilon watched for a moment as the driver and the truck sped off into the distance before the sergeant motioned for them to move inside.

The security was expected, but nevertheless irritating. Surrendering their weapons was even more so. The security desk soon found itself piled under a mountain of customised assault rifles, combat knives, shotguns, and even an old specialised Anvil 1st rocket launcher.

"I'd suggest you don't lose any of those," Carl said to the somewhat dismayed security officer as his squad filed away.

"Who gives a gun a chainsaw bayonet?" the man asked incredulously once the soldiers were out of earshot.

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

As Epsilon filed into the briefing room, Carl removed his helmet. The head underneath was pale-skinned, his scalp close-shaven, but his face less so. Stark, grey eyes with heavy bags beneath them darted around the room, taking in every detail.

"Sir. Epsilon Squad reporting for duty," said Carl quietly, as he and the others sat down awkwardly in chairs far more comfortable than they were used to, and listened to the briefing.

When the estimated death toll is announced, the squad shares a collective moment of shocked silence.

"... Do we know what we're dealing with here, sir? A suitcase nuke? Biological attack?"

[Lix Lorn]

In honesty, Brooks thinks the security is unnecessary. After all, the entire group can project energy from their fingertips if they need to, which rather eliminates the need for weaponry. She does, however, have to remove her gauntlet, which leaves her feeling quite uncomfortable.

"Do we know anything, sir? Location, culprit, purpose, or is it just 'there's a bad guy, find out who and kill them?'"

[Maugan Ra]

The agent shakes his head, and for the briefest moment, you get the impression that he might almost prefer a nuclear weapon.

"Not quite, sergeant." he says, and produces a small CD. "This message was left for us at the Port Authority building, presumably by our intended terrorist. I can only assume he wished us to take the threat seriously, since it was specifically found lying at the feet of six crucified dock workers."

Without another word, the agent places the CD into the projector and steps aside, allowing the old machine to display the recording onto the far wall. The resolution is rather poor, as is perhaps to be expected, but the content is clear enough despite it.

The displayed image is of a man, approximately middle aged and dressed in an upscale business suit. His skin is corpse-pale, and his eyes are solid orbs of pitch black. When he speaks, his voice is cold and utterly without inflection or emphasis.

"Good evening, gentlemen. I am Fury of the Forsaken, and seventy two hours after you have activated this recording, I will be arriving in Crane Bay. You may wish to prepare a welcoming party."

"Your fine country is, as I am sure you know, a very proud one. Indeed, it is almost sickeningly smug in its self-congratulation. Among the many achievments that you parade around to justify this pride is the fact that you have, by your standards, never lost a war. Indeed, some of your more... verbose representatives have been known to boast that you never will. I would like to test this claim."

The man pauses for a moment, as though to allow you to digest that statement, before continuing. "But of course, as I said, the critical element of that claim is 'by your standards'. Certainly you would never deny that you have been the victim of terrorism in the past, or the occassional covert operation, many of which were never adequately resolved. If those, then, do not count as a war, what does? Perhaps it is the secrecy in which those were done - one strives to give no forewarning, the other does it's best never to leave any evidence who was responsible. Hence this little message of mine."

He leans forwards, fixing you with an unchanging glare, and even through the recording you can almost feel the sheer hatred contained there. "In seventy two hours, I will arrive in Crane Bay. I will do so through the port. And once I am there, I will kill every last man, woman and child within the boundries of your capital. Once I am done with that, I will reanimate the corpses, and march them on the next city."

The man sits back again, a faintly ghoulish smile just about visible on his face. "Of course, if there is any truth behind your claims, I won't get that far. I suppose we will just have to see, hmm?"

The recording pauses automatically, leaving that image frozen on the screen. The agent coughs slightly.

"Of course, we are not ignoring the possibility of a feint, but our intelligence so far indicates the threat is quite genuine."

[The_Snark]

Officially, Leah Khoury was off duty when the call came. Unofficially...

"... not allowed to question Maderin right now. He tried to claim mental illness before changing his mind and turning state's evidence, and the lawyers are still sorting that out. Nobody's supposed to talk to him until our attorney is sure it won't sink the prosecution. So that leaves me with a few eyewitness reports, some ammo casings that probably can't be traced, plus fingerprints and skin flakes. I - " Pause. "Thank you, Lenard, I know. I just want a DNA analysis so I can check it against prison records, see if there's a match. Can you... I know that's not proof of guilt, I'm just looking for possible suspects. If you can give me that... Of course. But please get it to me as soon as you can." She hangs up.

The office is small and spartan, a few family photos the only hint of a personal life. The desk is cluttered in an organized way, neatly labeled files and just one or two sheets of loose paper. The chair is an old black swiveling chair. The woman currently leaning back in it is short, with the slim muscular build of a gymnast or an acrobat. Her skin is a sort of milky brown, her hair tied back in a short braid. She could be pretty if she smiled. She doesn't look like she smiles much.

The desk phone rings. She picks it up. "Detective Khoury, homicide." A brief pause. "I'll be there."

She stares out at the closed blinds over her window for a moment longer, then rises briskly. The corridors are quiet but not completely empty; the lights at Tuchara 1st are always on. She stops at a door labeled DUTY CAPTAIN and knocks. "Sir."

"Khoury."

"I'm being called away. No word on how long it'll be yet."

Grunt. Translation: we'll handle it.

"I'll call when I know more. Until then, if you could ask Officer Marin to keep on Forensic's case about the Maderin shootings...? And make sure somebody gets one of the witnesses to a sketch artist, we could use..."


~*~

Some time later, Leah sits in a room with four other Terrestrials, doing her best to look impassive. Hard in the face of a threat like that; the sheer scale of it... She studies the projection's face, memorizing it, searching for nuance, nationality, motive. Motive is obvious—if he's telling the truth. Everything else... The man is very controlled. Monotone voice. Eyes and face all but unreadable. Word choice and faint changes in expression are the only clues. Either the threat is genuine, or it's a very well-executed ploy. Either way, they can't afford to ignore it.

"Has this guy ever cropped up on our radar before?" she asks crisply. "Do we know anything more, or is this all we have to work with? What steps are you taking already?"

[Maugan Ra]

"On our radar specifically, no. He has, as far as we know, never even set foot in Meruvia before, though it is naturally difficult to be absolutely sure of that." The agent says, evidently having been prepared for such questions.

"The name he gives, however, we do know, at least by reputation. He's a Deathknight, a powerful one. Obviously, our intelligence sources in the underworld... the literal underworld, anyway... are somewhat limited. However, everything we do know about him suggests that he has the ability to make good on his threat." The spook looks grim.

"Right now, we're trying to determine what else we can learn about him and his precise capabilities. If we know how he will attack, we can act to be ready for it. We're also mobilizing the army and finding ways to empty the regions around the port... but it's slow going, since we don't want a panic."

[horus42]

Nate pulls up to the building, and goes through the security as he always does, impassively, knowing that these men are just doing their jobs. He eventually finds himself sitting in the conference room, amidst the other members of the Taskforce.

"Lucien help us..." he mutters under his breath. He takes a moment to regain his composure before continuing. "72 hours. Well, at least that gives us some time to prepare. I can call up some of my erm..." He clears his throat. "Less than legal contacts, see what they know about this Deathknight. And if they don't know anything, then I can try my hand at some infiltration, be back here before his army arrives."

He grins, and says in his best Forest Tongue "I think I can pose as a UES double agent, wanting to help in his conquest of Meruvia." "That's at least the first thing that comes to mind."

[Maugan Ra]

"Infiltration may be somewhat difficult, seeing as to the best of our knowledge he's still in the Underworld at the moment. That's one of our main problems when it comes to investigating such people."

The agent rubs his temple for a moment. "Still, if you want to try something like that, your best be would be to talk to Winter's Mask Cast Aside. She's the only Deathknight that we have an actual dialogue with already, and she's actually in Crane Bay - though she's set to leave before Forsaken's deadline. She claims to be a representative of the nations of the underworld who wish peaceful coexistence with the living, but no one has ever been able to work out if that's true or not. If it is, she could be an ally, or a potential source of valuable information. If not, then getting her involved could well be a major mistake."

He shrugs. "Your call, really."

[horus42]

Nate thinks on that for a moment. Hm... Our best bet is probably to try to talk to her first. I'll find out if she knows anything about Forsaken, and if she can give any leads about his organization. He looks at the other four members of the Taskforce. "And of course, if any of you want to come along, feel free. I could use the help."

[Ifni]

Morgan inclines her head respectfully to the agent as she enters and takes a seat. The gesture is a little deeper than one might expect, almost a bow - it wasn't until she joined the Task Force that she met one of OMI's special agents in this capacity, and realized what the so-forgettable faces of her mysterious teachers had (probably) meant.

The flight from Gethamane had been exactly as uncomfortable as she'd expected, but at least she'd had a chance to shower and change clothes before this meeting. Could've been a lot worse. She'd gotten the usual looks from the guards, as they'd noted the characteristic calluses on her hands and the flowing grace of her movements - and ignored them, also as usual, as she'd handed over her swords with instructions for their safe storage.

She nods to the other members of the Task Force as they file in, and then listens quietly to the briefing, absorbing the information.

"Arriving through the port - are you diverting incoming vessels already? I assume you'll have people checking for bombs, looking into any recent construction around the docks, and so on? Also... do you have a map of nearby shadowlands, if you believe Forsaken is still in the Underworld? I know you're seeking more information on his capabilities, but do you have anything preliminary?"

The white-haired Air Aspect touches her lips thoughtfully. "I could try to eavesdrop; he might be overconfident enough not to ward against it. Or want us to know. Perhaps..." She shakes her head slightly. "I'd like to take a walk around the port, too; I can identify soulsteel or similar metals at a considerable range, if he's planted something nasty. If we don't have other leads, then talking to Winter's Mask Cast Aside sounds like it might be necessary." She glances at Nate. "I could come with you so we can confer in private, but let's see what needs to be done and then divide up tasks."

Morgan pauses. "Actually, sir... could I take a look at that CD? I can scan it for any Essence signatures." Or traps, or bugs...

[Maugan Ra]

"We're doing what we can to divert vessels away, yes. That said, there aren't a huge number of nearby ports with sufficient capacity to handle the overflow, and we don't want to cause mass confusion and panic in case it's what he wants."

"As for what we know... Forsaken's reputation in the underworld has him as a kind of religious zealot. For all we know, this might be some kind of crusade for him, but if he has a more flexible motive, anything you can think that would help use that to turn him aside would be very useful."

"As for the Shadowlands, official policy has always been to seal them up as soon as we possibly can, and at the very least keep them contained. That said, there are one or two in the city, though none large enough to get more than a small team through. If you want to make a trip into the Underworld... well, those would be your best options."

With a quick, efficient motion the agent ejects the CD from the projector and hands it to Morgan. "We kept it deliberately away from anything networked just in case, but if you think you can find a useful essence signature, anything could help at this stage."

[Ifni]

Morgan nods, and takes the CD, closing her eyes as she lets the Essence of Air infuse her fingertips. She traces the smooth surface lightly, gentle as a breeze, searching for the telltale tingle against her skin that will reveal hidden power.

Activating Essence-Unveiling Touch, which functions as All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, except that it requires touch. Have to go, or this would be longer... ah well more later.

[Maugan Ra]

Almost instantly, Morgan can feel that she was wise to be cautious. The familiar tingling sensation across her fingertips confirms the presence of essence around the CD - perhaps a residual effect from the man who handled it, perhaps the tell-tale sign of a lasting enchantment. Either way, it was probably a good thing that this device was never connected to anything with network access.

And yet... something is wrong. The essence feels strange, otherworldly, like small shards of ice tickling at her exposed nerve endings. And despite the fact that she has her eyes closed, the Air Aspect can see something anyway... a pale face, with pitiless black eyes that are staring at her soul

The void will have it's due. Embrace it, or be consumed.

And, oh gods, but she wants to, the cold tendrils of existential fear wrapping themselves around her frantically beating heart as the Deathknight's silent words burn themselves into her mind like fire...

Yeah. Morgan is being struck with unnatural mental influence, seeking to impose a new Intimacy:
+ Oblivion (Fearful reverence)

Net three successes over her MDV for the purposes of avoiding the social attack, mostly due to charms. If she wishes to resist otherwise, she needs to pay three lethal health levels - the damage will manifest visibly as crying tears of blood.

[Ifni]

Cold. So cold, those depthless eyes. So chill the fire, wrapping around her heart. Essence surging against her palms like an icy gale scything down from the northern fastnesses of the spirit courts, cold, death, winter without end...

Stop.

Listen.

Count the heartbeats, the frantic hammering slowing as she focuses her mind. The Air Aspect slowly breathes in: the air of the briefing room is cool and still and faintly stale, not the windstorm that would make the power in her blood leap in answer, but the meditation still brings calm.

I live.

I see you.

I've faced the storm before, and survived.

And set against what she cares for and what this man and his ilk threaten, the reasons for so many long nights in the lab these past five years - the void shrinks beside it. Becoming merely... nothingness.

A smile briefly flickers on the Air Aspect's lips, a sharp predatory curve of mingled scorn and fascination, as she opens her eyes and looks down at the CD in her hands. She raises her gaze to the agent, and nods once, raising a hand in a gesture of warning.

Then she places her fingers again on the CD, all external distractions falling away in her concentration, as she traces the nodes and networks of tingling Essence. She calls on the patterns of power that Igier describes as an immune response, feeling the lightning race along her nerves and speed her reflexes. She hadn't been sure the mere influence of a deathknight would work to activate this defense, but it seems to be functioning normally.

Ice, deathknight? I know ice. I came from the ice. What have you got for me here...?

Attempting a stunt defense. Also requesting the +2 MDV bonus because this social attack goes against her Compassion 5 (if not applicable, she also has a negative Intimacy to Abyssals which could give a +1).

If these do not suffice I'll fire the Integrity Excellency.

After the social attack is resolved, firing Defense-From-Anathema Method (which I think will work due to the Sidereal's presence, although of course Morgan attributes it to something else), and rolling Intelligence+Occult to analyze the CD (all Charms are Obvious, diff 5 to analyze exact effect of an unknown Charm or spell, diff 2 to gauge Essence ratings / demesnes / manses / artifacts).

[roll0]
Possible stunt: [roll1]
EDIT: 6 sux before stunt.

[Maugan Ra]

Compassion-boost denied there, because it's not asking you to harm anyone or abstain from helping them. The negative Deathknight intimacy applies though, and I'll call that a two-dice stunt, so you're in the clear.

The Taskforce has a well deserved reputation for including only the best in it's ranks, and professional pride aside, no one would deny that Morgan is amongst the greatest experts in the world when it comes to Motonic theory. With her defenses raised, she can determine the following with the evidence at hand:

- Firstly, the Deathknight known as Fury of the Forsaken is clearly at the upper known limit for raw essence-based power. Actually, he might be somewhat beyond that limit, though you don't have a large enough body of evidence to determine whether that is a general state of affairs, or whether he's just exceptionally practiced at certain types of effects.

- Secondly, that effect came from a number of discrete effects woven into a coherent whole, and that it appears to be highly persistent. There's no trail of incoming essence to indicate that Forsaken is maintaining the power himself, which would mean that it will remain dangerous for months at least.

- Thirdly, the primary effect there seemed to be designed to impose an outside belief on whoever reads a piece of work. In this case, given the unusual format, it was quite clearly designed as a trap for whoever might make use of essence perception in studying it. More than that, there's an unusual twist to the essence, an unusual emphasis on sheer negativity compared to the natural essence of the human body. If Morgan had to make an educated opinion, she would hypothesize that attempting to resist the influence without specialise training and experience like she has had would lead to severe and widespread cellular damage

- In conclusion, evidence suggests that the Fury of the Forsaken possesses the ability to quite literally kill people with the power of his voice alone. The implications, considering his stated goals of mass slaughter and the rapid-communication available in a First World city, are rather horrifying.

[horus42]

Nate watches the scene with interest, though he doesn't really know what's going on. He thinks he has a vague idea, that she's found something laid within the CD, but he doesn't know for sure. In the end, all he asks is, "Are you alright?"

He also turns to the unremarkable agent, a quizzical look in his eye. "Alright, so what are our cover IDs? Or are we going in as ourselves to deal with Miss Winter's Mask Cast Aside?"

[Maugan Ra]

The agent spreads his hands for a moment. "Up to you, quite frankly. We don't really have the time to construct a full set of perfect credentials, let alone set up a meeting before she leaves, so anything you try will be somewhat hasty at best."

"If I had to give you any advice, I'd say go as yourselves. The identities of the Taskforce were made reasonably public for precisely this sort of situation, so that you could get important people to take you seriously. It'll also negate a great deal of suspicion about why you're asking her specific details about another Deathknight."

[The_Snark]

While Dr. Ubilak studies the disk, Leah leans back, going over the details in her mind. Known deathknight—assume threat is real for now. Wants to cause widespread death and destruction, ulterior motives possible but unknown. May be in Crane Bay already. If not, assume accomplices in the city. Could arrive via shadowlands, or by airplane, or by ship—even overland. Stopping his entry is unfeasible. Spotting him or setting a trap isn't. If they can hazard a guess as to his methodology, that might provide a clue...

She half-closes her eyes as the others discuss methods, letting her conscious mind sink beneath the flow of words and facts. There is a crime here. It hasn't happened yet, there's no evidence to put her hands on; but it is present nonetheless, a feeling of something imminent. A shift in the currents upstream; a chill in the water, a brief passing shadow; the faint ripple of something moving unseen through the depths. It is all of these things and more, and none. There are no words to encompass what she feels, for here language and logic give way to primal intuition. She stills her thoughts, and opens herself, and feels.

Using Dredged Murmurs Hunch (from Dreams of the First Age) to ponder the question "what is Fury of the Forsaken planning?" and spending 5 motes on the 1st Investigation Excellency to enhance the roll.
[roll0]

[Ifni]

"... got it." Morgan looks up from the CD, a hint of steely satisfaction in her clear brown eyes. It fades in a moment as she considers the implications, taking a slow breath before continuing. She nods to Nathaniel, with a faint smile, "Fine, Nate, but thanks for asking."

The Air Aspect looks to the OMI agent, her face again very grave. "Sir, this should be kept somewhere secure. No one should be allowed to work with it unless they have the same kind of defensive training that I do. It's a trap, designed to ensnare the mind of any who study the Essence-patterns, impose a specific belief on them, and kill or severely injure those who try to resist by force of will. To embrace the void, or be consumed."

She holds the CD out to him. "It's not being externally maintained, and I don't think it's delivering information back to him - which is good. And also means you might be able to get some more information out of it about the deathknights' abilities."

Morgan shivers slightly, a small involuntary motion, and then gives their handler a faint apologetic grimace as she leans back in her seat. "His Essence felt chilly and unnatural, but I don't think that's news to any of us. What may be more important... from this work, I would gauge his ability at somewhere beyond what we usually consider the upper limit to refinement of Essence, which several of us have attained. This may be a specialty of his, or... the limit may not apply equally to his kind." Her voice is level and steady, despite her words.

She looks around the circle of chairs, gathering the rest of the Task Force's attention. "If this isn't a deliberate red herring, it suggests a plausible plan of attack: I think the degree of cellular damage caused by attempting to resist the mind-control would kill most citizens, and if they don't resist... well, frankly then we may have an equally serious problem." Her eyes darken. "Zombies don't have to be dead first, I suppose."

"I think this combination of powers would function to equal effect if transmitted vocally or by writing. We may want to look at a communications lockdown."

[Maugan Ra]

Dread murmurs hunch is an odd charm indeed. Still, it could probably work...

The primal truths of the matter flow through Khoury's mind like water, dredging clues out of the dimmest recesses of her intuition and bringing them to the forefront of the mind. Crusade... Void... War.... Declaration

It will be public, whatever he does. Given this trap, and the fact that he has deliberately given forewarning, it seems likely that Fury of the Forsaken wants you to oppose him, and he wants any clash to happen in the public eye. That suggests conspirators in the media, willing or not, and perhaps allies in the religious organisations popular here, assuming it holds true.

It also strikes her that, given the unnatural taint of the void-touched essence, the chances are good that Forsaken can't rejuvenate himself easily in the living world. Shadowlands, then - he'll have some sort of prepared fallback point, again maybe staffed by loyal followers.

In the mean time, the agent looks at Morgan and frowns. "That is troubling. A communications lockdown might be hard to enforce, however, especially around the national capital."

[The_Snark]

"It might be a good idea anyway," Leah says, opening her eyes and surfacing in time to catch the last couple of exchanges. "He wants this to be public, I think. Maybe he's out to spread panic, or maybe he's telling the truth when he says he wants to humble us. Either way, he wants as many eyes on him as possible when he makes his move."

"I could be wrong, but I'd bet that everything he said in that message was true. He's not interested in misdirection or tactics; he's out to make a point. I think..." A brief hesitation. "Shadowlands. He could come in by air, or sea, but my guess would be the Underworld."

[Edge]

Car and the rest of Epsilon remain quiet as the others discuss the Essence pattern encoded the disk. Damien was the squad's tech guy, and even he was looking lost. However, once Morgan explained the contents of the disk, the Earth Caste spoke up.

"So, he can subvert or even kill people just by talking to them?" Carl says, pausing briefly for an answer. "What if he's speaking, but no one can hear him? Can we drown him out? With say, a sufficient quantity of gunfire?"

[Lix Lorn]

"I might be able to talk to some media contacts." Brooks frowns. "I'm not sure how easy they'd be to convince, especially if we don't want to tell them the real reason. Which, I'm assuming, we don't want to tell the country that an abyssal is planning the zombie apocalypse?"

[Maugan Ra]

"I could be wrong, but I'd bet that everything he said in that message was true. He's not interested in misdirection or tactics; he's out to make a point. I think..." A brief hesitation. "Shadowlands. He could come in by air, or sea, but my guess would be the Underworld."

"Worth paying attention to them, then. I'll speak to some of our agents, and we'll make a sweep for newly-formed shadowlands just in case, and post observers on the ones we know about."

"Of course, this is a Deathknight we're dealing with. If anyone knows how to cross the borders between worlds without needing a pre-existing connection, it would be them."



"So, he can subvert or even kill people just by talking to them?" Carl says, pausing briefly for an answer. "What if he's speaking, but no one can hear him? Can we drown him out? With say, a sufficient quantity of gunfire?"

For a brief moment, the agent looks amused. "No matter how subtle the wizard, a knife between the shoulder blades will seriously cramp his style. Which is to say that yes, shooting him first would work. Provide a distraction at the very least, stop him concentrating on what he's doing."


"I might be able to talk to some media contacts." Brooks frowns. "I'm not sure how easy they'd be to convince, especially if we don't want to tell them the real reason. Which, I'm assuming, we don't want to tell the country that an abyssal is planning the zombie apocalypse?"

"That would probably be a bad thing, yes." The agent says in an extremely dry voice. He raises a hand to his ear for a moment, then nods and looks back at you.

"We've got a meeting set up with Winter's Mask. Apparently, she's agreed to speak with you essentially immediately... didn't even hesitate before saying yes, which is a little concerning."

[horus42]

"Or we could do things the crude, blunt way. Shut down the grid. Cut off the city's power, and jam phone signals. That way, there's no chance of Forsaken broadcasting anything into Crane Bay. It's not the best option, but it's something we could consider if there's no choice left." He shrugs as he looks at the OMI agent. "I mean, I'd rather have citizens complaining that the power's out than widespread panic over an impending apocalypse."

He blinks in surprise when told about the meeting. "That's... not suspicious at all. Guess we'll have to go in cautiously." He instinctively grips the handle of his Innocuous Assassin's Luggage.

[Maugan Ra]

"Hmm. You may have a point there. I'll see what we can do. In the mean time, if you're going to this meeting, best get moving. There's a car outside to take you there. "

He hands you all a series of small earpiece radios, though where exactly he was keeping them before handing them over you have no idea. "We can use these to keep in contact, since I've been assigned as your mission coordinator for this deployment. Call me... Fisher." He says with a faint smile, and perhaps the merest shadow of a wink towards Morgan.

[horus42]

Nate nods, and puts the earpiece in. "Alright. Let's do this, then." He keeps his briefcase close as he heads downstairs. Once he gets all of his equipment back, he makes a breif stop, in order to put his Laminate Dragonscale Vest on, beneath his crisp, black suit. As he steps out the door, he puts on a pair of expensive-looking sunglasses, and gets into the car.

[Ifni]

Morgan's hand stops halfway to her ear, for just a moment. And then she puts the earpiece in, and gives the agent a polite professional smile - concealing behind it a burst of joy.

(He'll see it. He's seen her at her worst and her best, and he could always read her like a book.)

"It'll be a privilege to work with you, Fisher." Again.

She suddenly feels considerably better about their task. They may be the primary line of defense between the people of Crane Bay and a malevolent power of hideous strength, with only three days to stop him...

But Fisher is alive. He's safe. Maybe he'll even be able to tell her more, now - and whether he can or not, they'll have a more-than-competent coordinator for this mission.

Her steps are light as she heads downstairs and retrieves her swords and equipment. On the curb, she pauses for a moment to hum a soft phrase of music, listening to the air swirling about her. May as well start keeping an eye out for augmented bombs or surveillance devices now...

The Air Aspect loads her swords into the trunk and slips into the back of the car.

Putting up Fivefold Resonance Sense from Peripheral, because it's cheap, and keeping a sixth sense out for magical materials in the area. I know the Task Force is going to give me a bunch of noise :smallwink: My Perception+Occult pool is 9, difficulty is 3 to discern any material except blue jade, which is automatic (feel free to make any required rolls for me, Maugan). At my Essence/Occult rating, I can pick up attuned artifacts, and the Charm is not automatically trumped by Celestial/Solar magic, it just uses standard roll-off rules. The range is 1000 yards for jade and 250 yards for any other material.

I'm mostly just doing this for paranoia reasons, e.g. spotting soulsteel-alloyed bugs or assassination devices - yes, Forsaken wants us to oppose him, but that doesn't mean he can't mess with us beforehand :smallwink: (and it's only 2m)

[Maugan Ra]

If anyone isn't going to this meeting, you should naturally feel free to mention what you're doing instead in your next post.

After a relatively short journey, you reach your destination. It appears that Winter's Mask agreed to meet you in the middle of her lunch break, since the designated meeting place is just outside of a rather fashionable restaurant in one of Crane Bay's nicer districts. A selection of chairs and tables sit out in the open, just underneath an overhanging pavilion roof, but for whatever reason no one but your contact has elected to use them rather than eat inside.

The Deathknight is a rather beautiful northern woman with long black hair, dressed in an immaculately tailored business suit that bears a disturbing resemblance to what you saw Forsaken wearing in his message. Presently, she is reading a newspaper while sipping a cup of what appears to be strong coffee, and has yet to notice you.

Morgan:
She's also carrying several items made out of Soulsteel - the sharp wrongness of that material has never been easily mistakable.

[horus42]

Nate sits down at the table, across from her, smiling widely. "Winter's Mask Cast Aside? A pleasure to meet you. My name's Nathaniel Taylor, of Taskforce: Dragon." He extends a hand for her to shake, trying to remain as pleasant as possible.

A spark of Hesiesh's Essence flows through him as he speaks and extends his hand. A most Auspicious First Meeting indeed. He knows that this might be his best shot to make a good impression on the Deathknight, which can mean life or death to millions of people. The only way to get her to cooperate, is to be friendly and polite. As a Secret Agent, that's something he's used to doing, even with the most unsavory of people.

Using Auspicious First Meeting Attitude, in addition to trying a stunt, to make a good first impression.

This gives me Charisma+Socialize+2, so 11 dice.

[roll0]

8 sux before stunt, 2 m spent.

[Maugan Ra]

With a smile, Mask puts down her paper and shakes the proferred hand, smiling pleasantly at the actor turned secret agent. "Likewise, Mister Taylor." she says, her voice tinged with an odd accent that you cannot quite place. It sounds vaguely Eastern, but that's about the best you can do right now. "So. What can I help you with today, that you requested this meeting?"

[horus42]

"Ma'am, what can you tell me about the Deathknight known as "Fury of the Forsaken? The OMI has received a threat from him. We need to know just has real of a threat he is, and if there is any way to stop him." Nate keeps his tone polite and conversational, trying not to betray the fact that he's a little bit scared.

"Anything you can tell us would undoubtedly save millions of lives. And that's exactly what you're working for, is it not? To build peace between the living and the dead? Forsaken threatens that peace, as you no doubt know..."

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks gives a dazzling smile, sitting down next to Nate, and giving a wave, with the hand that isn't clad in black and red and warm to the touch.

[Maugan Ra]

"And what do you propose to offer me in exchange for this information, Mister Taylor?" She asks, still smiling. "This information that you are after could potentially be rather valuable, after all."

[Ifni]

In the car, Morgan had leaned back against the seat, sinking into a light meditative state and letting any conversation flow around her. Dealing with the disk hadn't exactly shaken her - she'd dealt with plenty of artifacts out of the Underworld since the shadowlands opened five years ago - but the unsubtle evil of the thing, and the power behind it, were depressing and not a little frightening. What makes someone want to do such a thing? Crusade, Leah and Fisher had both said...

At the restaurant, Morgan takes a seat a little to the side, leaving the initial introductions to Amelia and Nate. They're better at interpersonal interactions than she is, especially with the familiar mocking wrongness of soulsteel grating on her nerves and reminding her what she's dealing with.

"Not willing to lend a hand for harmonious coexistence and the gratitude of Meruvia? Dear me, and here I thought that was your stated raison d'etre." The Air Aspect's voice is light and sarcastic. She leans forward slightly, resting her elbows on the table. "But there are many possibilities. As one example..." She studies the deathknight. "We might be able to arrange the supply of some materiel. I understand soulsteel isn't always easy to obtain." She's dealt with the vile metal in her own lab, taken from battlefields after sorties out of the Underworld were smashed by Meruvian troops. It was interesting for research purposes, but as far as she knows they haven't found any extraordinarily good uses for it. And Mask's claims to speak for nations in the Underworld who want peace with Creation hasn't been disproved yet, and there's clearly internal conflict over that; arming proxies... can backfire, certainly, but there's a reason Meruvia keeps doing it.

If any of this doesn't make sense, let me know and I'll edit. Morgan has a slight ulterior motive here, she kinda wants to offload some of the soulsteel artifacts she's been working with before some bright spark does find a good use for it and thus incentivizes making it. She hates the stuff, but Mask is clearly okay with it.

Bribing with artifacts works on PCs, anyway :smalltongue:

[horus42]

Nate's eyes widen as Morgan speaks. "Ah. Well, my cohort's certain indiscretion aside, it seems we might be able to provide you with something after all. Is the Soulsteel worth the price of the information that could help further your cause?"

[Maugan Ra]

"That is a tempting offer." The northern woman says thoughtfully, lounging back in her chair and tilting her head back to look at the sky. The pose does interesting things to her body, and you are all of you suddenly and uncomfortably aware of the fact that regardless of whatever else she might be, Winter's Mask Cast Aside is an exceptionally attractive woman.

"That you know enough to offer potential leverage like that speaks quite highly of your skills. It's a shame that your current employers treat you so frivolously, with talent like that."

She's right, you realise. OMI, and Meruvia by extension, really doesn't treat you very well. Calling you up out of nowhere, dragging you halfway across the country on a whim, placing such an unwanted burden on your backs... why, maybe they aren't as worthy of your devotion as you might have previously believed...

Social attack. Firstly, unnatural mental influence designed to erode any positive Intimacies you presently hold towards Meruvia. Two willpower points must be paid to resist having said intimacy vanish - it in itself does not modify your DV at all on account of being directly targeted like this.

[roll0]

This is also supplemented by an upgraded form of Irresistible Succubus Style. If the above check beats your MDV, you also immediately gain an intimacy of Lust towards Winter's Mask Cast Aside, regardless of your actual orientation. This requires another two willpower to resist.

Note that a single perfect social parry, like Inviolate Dragon Spirit, would negate all of this, but only if you happen to be Essence 5. Modifiers include:
- If your Temperance is not rated at 5, then it counts as one for this, and you therefore suffer a -2 modifier to the DV.
- Mask has an effective Appearance of 6 due to Exquisite Etiquette Style, so modify your DVs appropriately.
- If your Temperance happens to actually already be rated at 1, then it becomes zero against this attack, and you cannot actually resist the Lust intimacy. Brooks, this applies to you, and that intimacy towards attractive individuals is not helping your case.

[Lix Lorn]

"Oh, our employers treat us very well." Brooks replies brightly, although her eyes are having trouble staying on Winter's, rather than slipping downwards. "The whole country views us as some kind of superheroes. It's the single greatest honour I could ever have imagined. Having to get up at an awkward hour now and then is just to be expected. Besides, I wasn't actually asleep." she finishes, with an impudent grin.

[Ifni]

Morgan smiles a little dryly at the deathknight's first words: not subtle, this one. Pretty, though. Her affinity to death hasn't harmed her beauty at all, albeit it's a colorless chiaroscuro loveliness. Black and white, like the night sky above the brilliant starlit expanse of the glaciers. And her current pose makes certain features draw the eye even more than they would normally...

Which I am particularly noticing... why?

The Air Aspect's eyes narrow as she analyzes her own emotions, and comes to a swift conclusion.

Oh, you bitch.

Even so, it takes an effort of will to wrench herself free of the glamor. The spine-tingling hum of the soulsteel in the back of her mind helps, a jagged knife against which to saw the net of silken bonds. Remember what she is.

"As Amelia says, I think we're content with the conditions of our employment. But that you try to subvert our loyalties with almost your first words doesn't speak well for your good faith," Morgan says flatly, meeting the deathknight's eyes. "And using mind-control magic to make us want to bed you? If you limited it to the people who are usually attracted to women, it might be a bit less obvious, but subtlety is clearly not your strong point."

The contempt in her voice and piercing brown eyes is veiled, but perhaps not well enough. "Let me be clear on this, Winter's Mask Cast Aside. You're not the first deathknight who's tried to screw with my mind; you're not even the first today. I dislike it. From your actions so far, I can only infer that you're more interested in trying to sabotage us than in any potential deal. Do you want to give me a reason not to walk away now?"

The Air Aspect pushes her chair back out a little, as if about to stand. Her eyes remain fixed on the deathknight's. "Or more succinctly - are you going to cut the crap?"

Spending 2WP to resist the Lust Intimacy and gaining 1 Limit.

I think I'm being the bad cop here. Morgan really doesn't like deathknights, especially when they try to screw with her mind.

I am going to ask about a stunt defense, even though it won't be enough and she has to spend the WP anyway, because stunt rewards are no longer contingent on success and motes or WP would be handy.

I may be about to put up Defense-From-Anathema Method again, but ow, WP costs...

EDIT: As a side note, Morgan has some issues with seduction UMI that go beyond the basic "messing with my mind".
When she was young and innocent, she fell fairly hard for the Fire Aspect who persuaded her to drop grad school to join the Dragon-Blooded program (Dan Sokano); they dated for a while, and then he broke up with her after she completed her basic training. To this day she still doesn't know if he used Charms on her or not - and whether he actually cared about her, or it was just part of the recruitment package. She has her suspicions, but no evidence. It was one of her original reasons for being fairly hardcore about Integrity.

[horus42]

Though her methods are slightly different, Nate recognizes the technique. His goodwill instantly turns to distrust, and his eyes narrow harshly. Attempted seduction as a distraction was a tactic he was all too familiar with, and he was lucky that he was able to resist.

Though, of course, it did beg the question, what is she trying to hide? She strays from her stated goals, then attempts misdirection? Is she working with Fury of the Forsaken? He tries to clear his head, not wanting to jump to conclusions. Facts are what we need right now, not suspicions and accusations. In the spy trade, the most important currency is Truth, and he was determined to find out just what it was.

He sets his jaw, and takes off his sunglasses, so Winter's Mask can see he's looking at her eyes, and nowhere else. "You're right, Morgan. Not only is it not subtle, but it's pretty much the oldest trick in the book." He grips the handle of his Innocuous Assassin's Luggage, ready to open the Artifact Briefcase and draw his Shellcaster at a moment's notice. "Now, Miss Winter's Mask, why don't you tell us what's really going on here?"

[Maugan Ra]

The Deathknight waves a hand in a dismissive fashion, straightening back up again. "Oh, don't be so melodramatic. I'll help." she says, still smiling slightly, as though there wasn't the slightest thing wrong with what she just attempted.

"So, you said you've received a threat from the Fury of the Forsaken, huh? I'm guessing it involves large scale death and destruction in some way? That would make sense, and it fits his... what is the phrase... modus operandi?"

"Anyway, his motives are inherent in the name - every Deathknight's title is self chosen, and they can usually tell you a fair bit about the individual. In Fury's case... how much do you know about ghosts? Or rather, what causes a person to linger as a ghost, rather than passing on?"

[Ifni]

Morgan nods and slides her chair back in, although she still regards the deathknight warily. "Why don't you give us a summary of the essentials? I'm broadly conversant with Meruvian research on ghosts, at least, but I suspect my companions are not."

Fury of the Forsaken. Ah. Spirits wronged in life and demanding vengeance in death, perhaps?

And every deathknight's title is self-chosen... she hadn't known that, either. So what is Winter's Mask, and who or what cast her aside? Or did she cast a mask aside? Or is it just a plausible lie?

Waiting to hear back re stunt-defenses on the UMI before I decide whether to fire up Defense-From-Anathema Method. (If I got a 2-die stunt, I'll do it.)

[Maugan Ra]

"I don't know a vast about about the scientific particulars, and I doubt it would make much sense to anyone who isn't an expert anyway. What I do know is the overall result."

"Put simply, it requires significant strength of will to prevent a spirit from passing on after death. Exactly what this means varies in different cases - some hold on because they've left things undone, because they don't want to abandon family, or simply out of raw stubbornness. The precise cause is irrelevant, what matters is that no one remains a ghost for very long without a strong will and a cause to believe in, something to keep them in place - we call them our 'Fetters'."

The Deathknight looks at you all speculatively, then nods at Nate. "Say, for example, someone wounded you mortally and then tortured your son to death in front of your eyes before finishing you off. Odds are you'd become a ghost, and your murderer your fetter - you wouldn't pass on to the next life until you took revenge, forgave him, or were forcibly banished."

"To attract an Abyssal Exaltation, then, to become a Deathknight like Fury or myself, requires singular strength of purpose above and beyond even that original cause. In the case of Fury of the Forsaken, well... he's on a crusade of vengeance against some very specific foes. I suspect your handlers are listening in on this conversation? You can tell them that Fury was, originally, murdered by a man named Gorol, and he's coming for revenge."

Over your ear-pieces, you all hear a slight choking sound, swiftly followed by cursing in an unknown language. It would appear that Fisher, at least, recognizes what that means.

[horus42]

Nate's eyes don't betray the surprise he felt. No doubt she was right, but how had she even known about Finn in the first place? That was something that bore looking into, but now wasn't the time.

For now, there was something that simply didn't add up. He decided to address the question, ignoring Fisher's reaction, for the time being. "Well, what I don't understand is why he's coming after the entire country, if he's only looking to kill this one man, whoever he is. There has to be some deeper meaning, something else we're not seeing, or that you aren't telling us." He kept his voice from being accusatory, simply letting it fall, implying that she just hadn't told us... yet.

[Ifni]

A language she doesn't recognize. That's... unusual. She speaks all the major languages of Creation, and dialects are usually close enough to their roots that she can at least identify their provenance. Has to be a secret language, and if anyone's controlled enough to swear in secure code, it would be Fisher...

Gorol. She's never heard the name. Another one of the secrets above even her impressive security clearance, like Fisher's true nature? An elite agent?

The Air Aspect doesn't speak; her face remains still and impassive, hard to read. Nate is asking good leading questions. Let's see where she takes this.

[Maugan Ra]

Mask holds up two fingers. "There are a couple of reasons. First off, it's likely he doesn't know where Gorol is, precisely. What he does know is that Gorol is quite fond of Meruvia - put a lot of work into it, at least - so there's a decent chance that if he kills everyone in the country, he'll draw the man out. Failing that, Fury is probably quite prepared to just keep destroying everything until he finds something that Gorol cares about."

She sits back, and looks somewhat pensive for a moment. "The second reason, of course, is that he's insane. Or at least, very dedicated. I told you it takes a singular strength of purpose to become an Abyssal. You have to earn it, deliberately seek it out and prove yourself worthy of it. There are... such trials, along the way, that only the most fanatical succeed, and make it to the Mouth of the Void."

She looks hesitant for a moment. "I don't think I can explain what that place is. Not really. Not in a way that the living could understand. Suffice to say that it is the Death of All Things, and that to the Forsaken, it is God. To him, genocide is a sacred duty, one he performs with relish."

[Ifni]

"Genocidal religious fanatic bearing an all-encompassing grudge. Great," Morgan mutters, mostly to herself.

She takes a breath and sits up straighter, her gaze on the deathknight no longer contemptuous, perhaps even holding a hint of grudging respect. "That is instructive. Thank you. Can you tell us anything about his powers, or any previous activities in the living world? Even something as simple as knowing the forehead-marking he bears might be helpful."

[Maugan Ra]

"You know about the Caste Marks? Hmm. Unexpected."

One of Mask's fingers taps on the metal table between you for a moment, and then she traces a pattern. Where her touch passes, the table corrodes, turning black and fading away until a mark is carved into the surface - a hollow sunburst pattern.

"Fury is a member of the Dusk caste, the most militant of our kind. He's a brilliant general, a fearsome warrior, and a highly capable Necromancer." she shakes her head. "Do not send mortal troops against him. They will only die, and then raised to serve him in death."

[Ifni]

"I don't think we were planning to, but thanks for the advice," Morgan says dryly. "So he's not one for mind-affecting magic, then? He prefers a more direct approach? That's something, at least."

"Oh, and could you give us a physical description? Disguises aside, it might be useful."

Morgan is, of course, not telling all she knows here; she's trying to catch Mask in a straight-out lie. If Mask is suspicious and chooses to roll to figure that out as a miscellaneous action (or has magic to do so reflexively), I imagine it'd be similar rules to discern motivation / pick up a lie - so perception + investigation/socialize with a difficulty of Morgan's (Manipulation+Socialize)/2, i.e. 2.

[horus42]

Nate ponders this for a moment, catching on to what Morgan's up to. She's right to be suspicious, and he watches with interest at the Deathknight's response.

In the meantime, he thinks on what Mask had just said. Psychopaths he could handle. Religious Zealots, been there, done that. Both at the same time? A little more difficult, but still able to be tackled. Even still, the thought of mortals nearby only servicing to add to his growing army was an incredibly disconcerting thought. He made a mental note to possibly recommend evacuation to Fisher, though he doubted any of the Higher Ups would agree with his assessment.

[Maugan Ra]

"Don't underestimate him just because he prefers direct action to more subtle tricks." Mask says in a warning tone. "He's perfectly capable of destroying Crane Bay. "

Over the radios, Fisher interjects tersely. "I've been keeping track. None of you mentioned the actual target of the threat."

[horus42]

"Ah, so he doesn't have, say... the ability to kill people with only the sound of his voice recorded on a CD and sent as a warning?" For the first time, Nate does sound accusatory. It's clear that she's holding something back now, there's no doubt about it.

"And it's interesting that you mention him destroying Crane Bay. None of us did."

[Maugan Ra]

Mask grins, revealing pearly white teeth. "Are you accusing me of something, Mister Taylor? Do try to remember that I'm not a citizen of your country, and a lady must preserve some secrets."

[horus42]

"I'm not accusing you of anything. I'm just implying that you aren't telling us the truth. Or at the very least, you aren't telling us the whole truth." He grins back, just as fiercely. "I'm a spy, I pick up on these things."

[Maugan Ra]

"And what do you intend to do about it, hmm? Arrest me?" The Deathknight spreads her hands, as though inviting you to try.

[horus42]

With that, he actually let out a laugh. Of course he wasn't, he didn't have the sort of authority necessary to detain a foreign dignitary. Not without proper clearance, at any rate. No, the best thing to do was remain calm, keep her talking, and see if the truth ever actually manages to escape those lips of hers.

"No, no, of course not. We are, after all, on the same side, aren't we? I'm still going to be civil, if you return the courtesy. I'll keep acting in good faith, again, if you do the same. So no more lies, no more half-truths. Let's be honest with one another." His smile seems genuine, though it is in no way real. He now distrusts the Deathknight with ever fiber of his being, but he can't let it show. Millions of people depend on him.

Alright, making a Social Attack here, still boosted by Auspicious First Meeting Attitude from before, while now also pumped up a bit by First Socialize Excellency.

Charisma+Socialize+2+6, 17 dice, 3 motes spent.

[roll0]

[Maugan Ra]

"Ah, but it's not your good faith that I'm getting out of this deal. Or anything else, really. No, I think I've told you enough, and I have things to be doing elsewhere."

She rises from her seat, nods to you, and begins walking away. "Best of luck with the whole Forsaken thing." she says, looking back. For a brief moment, she catches Brooks' gaze, and smiles. "Be seeing you around."

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks can't help but return the smile. After all, Mask is only trying to protect her own secrets. It's understandable, really. Any of us would do the same.
"I hope so. Good luck with your work too, and a shame we couldn't be more help to each other." she says.

[Ifni]

Morgan frowns slightly. A pity. She'd hoped to get a little more out of this conversation. But ah well. She doesn't raise her voice, but she does project it, cutting through the still air. Her hands are folded, her voice calm and perfectly level. "Winter's Mask? If you want to discuss payment, drop me a line. I do keep my bargains. Thank you for your time." Perhaps a trace of irony sneaks in at the end.

[Maugan Ra]

"The pleasure, Ms Morgan, was entirely mine." Mask says, even as she walks away.

Everything goes silent. The sky in front of her seems to tear and open, pulling back like a curtain to reveal a silent, lifeless void, and the smell of grave dirt fills the air. The Deathknight doesn't even hesitate, walking through the newly created gap in reality a moment before it closes again.

Noise returns to the world, and Winter's Mask is gone.

[Lix Lorn]

"...okay, that was kind of awesome." admits Brooks.

[Ifni]

"... it's not good, if they can step in and out of the Underworld whenever they wish. That's going to make it very hard to pin down Forsaken."

Morgan gets to her feet, reaching out for a moment to brush her fingers against the dark sunburst corroded into the table, sensing the flows of Essence. No chance to gather knowledge on them should be wasted. (Although part of her asks nervously Haven't you learned your lesson yet?)

As she pushes her chair back into place, she murmurs quietly under cover of the scraping, "I'd like to go back and talk to Fisher, show him the... caste mark... and discuss what we learned, not out in the open like this. Fisher, will you be around? Nate, Amelia, do you want to come, or do you have other things to do in town? I don't have much in the way of contacts around Crane Bay, unfortunately."

The Air Aspect glances at the spot where the gap in reality appeared, and steps over to run her hands slowly through the air, starting at the ground and rising to the extent of her tiptoes-boosted reach, feeling the subtle shifting currents. Her Essence-sensitized palms may be able to pick up some trace of Underworld essence, some hint of the function of the Charm or spell. It's a long shot, after the fact, but worth the attempt.

Essence-Unveiling Touch again, checking out the sunburst and the spot where the gateway was, analyzing any residual Essence signatures.

Int+Occult sunburst:
[roll0]
Possible stunt: [roll1]
EDIT: 5 sux + dear gods look at that stunt.

Int+Occult empty air:
[roll2]
Possible stunt: [roll3]
EDIT: 7 sux base before stunt.

No idea if this is even possible, but worth a try!

[Maugan Ra]

The mark made on the table has absolutely no essence signature remaining, save perhaps for the lingering aura the Deathknight seems to carry around with her wherever she goes.

That section of the air, however, is definitely marked. The essence there feels... almost like a barely-healed wound might, as close as Morgan can describe the sensation. More importantly, however, the residual energy traces suggest that Mask did not actually open a portal to the underworld, but rather to... nowhere at all.

She'd have to do some more tests, ideally with that trick being repeated in a controlled environment, but if she's right, then the Deathknight basically just murdered part of the universe and walked outside of it. Beyond time and space, and into... well, whatever it was that lay beyond. Presumably she possessed a similar way to get back again, but even so, the implications are astounding.

Also known as a pretty sweet Abyssal Athletics charm entitled 'Stepping Outside Existence'.

[Ifni]

"... damn. Not the Underworld after all." Morgan takes a deep breath, because the implications are... well, astounding doesn't begin to cover it. A new manifold, through which people or at least deathknights can actually travel?

When she speaks again it's to both her companions and Fisher; her voice is very soft. "For the record, she used a Charm to step outside... the universe, I think. I can't tell where. Stabbed space-time and stepped through the wound. Presumably she has a way back, and depending on how the metric works... wherever she's gone... she could end up anywhere. If this isn't a known deathknight power, I'll write up my findings; if it is a known power, Fisher, do we have any information on its limitations?" She's shivering a little, but mostly what she feels is yearning: oh, I want to understand this...

And then the sharp stab of guilt. Ah. Yes. Mission. Millions of lives at stake. Genocidal madman. Who may be able to teleport. "... controlling entrance points really isn't going to be a plausible strategy, I think. Fisher, if OMI has any known counters for this, to prevent it from being used as an emergency exit, that might be good to know. But I'll come back to headquarters, and we can talk in more security." She glances at the others, looking faintly abashed.

"Might want to look into Mask's recent activities and contacts in the communications industry, too. She seemed to be providing disinformation - and she clearly already knew about the attack."

[Maugan Ra]

"We've never seen that before, no." Fisher says in your earpiece, sounding rather unnerved. Well, as close to it as he ever gets, anyway. "We'll be needing that report, I think. And I'll get someone looking at her past movements."

[Ifni]

"... right then. I'll take one more look here, and come right back."

The Air Aspect pulls over a chair and reaches higher into the air, trying to find the edges of the effect. An indistinct boundary, like a wound indeed... hmm. And it doesn't seem to pass below the surface of the earth: she closes her eyes, focusing on her sense of touch. Irregular, and it really does feel more like a gash than a portal. A place where the world was stressed until it tore and one being passed through, not a gate to admit armies. She slips a tablet out of her jacket, and quickly makes a series of notes, describing everything she can think of about the effect's activation and its aftermath. Just in case something unexpected happens.

If she presses her hands against the spot where the wound is deepest, where she imagines that perhaps the darkness still seems to seep through... can she feel anything in the shivering vibrations of Creation's Essence, of what lies beyond, and wounds the world by its presence?

If she can get a sense of... viscosity, or resistance, or curvature, if such concepts even make sense there, if she can feel the attenuation of the trail, perhaps she can get some estimate of how far it might reach (if that concept makes any sense there). There are theorems that relate conditions on the boundary to solutions in space as a whole, so it's not impossible...

She's just trying to get the full details of the Charm, which I leave up to you, Maugan - if she'd had All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight and seen it, it would've been within her capabilities, but you're being nice letting her read Essence residues at all :smallwink: Similarly, I would not find it unreasonable at all if attempting to prod the Neverborn's nightmares did something unpleasant to her. Not trying to figure out what's going on with the Whole! New! Reality! would be rather starkly against her Motivation, though.

[horus42]

...dammit. God knows how much of what she said was true. At this point, Nate was willing to bet that at least some of it was, though it was clear that she was providing misinformation as well. All he had now were accusations and suspicions, nothing that would hold up to his superiors.

After Morgan asks him if he'll be coming, he says, "I'll come. I'm not from around here either." He pauses, them turns to Amelia. "Mask seems to have taken a liking to you, Brooks. We can use that to our advantage. If you do end up seeing her again, see if you can't get her talking. The whole truth, this time."

[Lix Lorn]

"...this doesn't feel quite right. If we've never seen this before, and she did it right before our eyes, she wanted us to know. She could easily have walked out of sight first. I think she did this so we knew to expect it, but for some reason couldn't just tell us directly."

Of course, she could be doing it just to get them worried over a trick Fury couldn't pull off, but such a beautiful woman wouldn't do such a thing.

...and then she blushes a little.
"A liking? Do you really think so?"

[Ifni]

Without opening her eyes or turning, Morgan says, "Yeah, I'm checking both of you for mind-control effects before this Charm runs out. I know a supernatural attempt to instil panting lust when I see one." She smirks faintly, and her tone turns a little lighter, "Although I realize it makes less difference for some of us than others."

Her face grows still again and utterly focused, lost in a trance of concepts and sensations so abstract as to be almost incomprehensible. She herself couldn't explain some of them in words: no human language was made for this.

[Lix Lorn]

"Mind control? I think you're being ridiculous." scoffs Brooks. "There's a difference between magical enhancements and mind control, and I swear, anything she did was the former."

[horus42]

Nate rolls his eyes. "Just... try to keep it in your pants, Brooks. For all our sakes." He gestures around at the city. "And for all their sakes..."

He then turns back to Morgan. "I don't blame you for checking, go right ahead."

The fact that he was no longer thinking about Mask's appearance, but rather what she might have indirectly told them, he was fairly certain that he had successfully resisted this mental influence. Still, it didn't hurt to check. It's better to spend a bit of time to make sure an agent hasn't been compromised, rather than unknowingly serving as a sleeper cell.

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks scoffed. "You're just jealous she was looking at me and not you."

[horus42]

At that, he actually bursts out laughing. "Right, because if anyone is jealous, it would be the only one of us who's happily married."

[Lix Lorn]

...she'd forgotten that.
"...yeah, well... that just makes it worse. You're lucky I don't tell her." she says, but obviously has no intention to.

[Maugan Ra]

"Ah, guys? You're still broadcasting." Fisher says dryly.

Morgan thinks she can feel something in the unusual essence signature, a sort of... rhythm, or a pattern, an encoded meaning. It's just there, ready for her to stretch out her hand and take it. Perhaps, in violating the essence boundaries with her little trick, Mask momentarily exposed the fundamental concepts on which it all worked. Of course, it might just be meaningless background radiation, she can't tell without deliberately studying it, and Morgan has enough experience with such things to know that focusing on something so deeply could have very... permanent consequences.

Still, she has to make a decision soon - she can feel the universe reasserting itself around the wound, hiding that other manifold away from view. This chance might never come again. Does she dare attempt to grasp those hidden meanings?

No social attack or anything, just a straight up choice - Morgan thinks she can probably understand what's going on here if she willingly studies the unusual pattern she can feel in the essence, but it might have unfortunate side effects.

So, what do you do?

[Ifni]

There. A pattern, encoded in the boundary. But not for much longer. Certainly not long enough to call in support from the Heptagram, or even HQ. And repeating this experiment may be quite a challenge.

You have a responsibility to your mission. To Crane Bay. It's quite likely it's a trap left by Mask.

But if it's not...

In the end, it comes down to her judgement. The risk to herself, weighed against the potential for discovery here, is an easy choice; made in a heartbeat, and with no second thoughts. All her affairs are in order - have to be, given the risk level in her research - including messages to be sent to her parents and closest friends in the event that something goes really wrong. The risk to the mission is a harder call, but there are others who could replace her on the Task Force. No one else can stand in her place now.

Morgan hops down from the chair and walks briskly over to Brooks, handing her the tablet. "Hold this for me, will you? It's got all my notes. Fisher, I think I'm onto something here, there seems to be something encoded in the world-wound." She touches Brooks' and Nate's hands gently for a moment, checking the two Fire Aspects for traces of Mask's Essence, as she continues, "I'm going to reach in for a closer look - it's fading fast, we may not get another chance. But if it goes wrong, you have my notes at least."

"Nate, on the mind-control question, you're clear. Amelia..." She sighs. "You look fine too. Although I still feel you may want to see someone about that infatuation."

The Air Aspect turns, and walks back to the spot in the air that only she can sense. "Wish me luck, my teacher," she whispers into the radio. And then closes her eyes and reaches again, past the threads of Creation's tapestry as it stitches itself together, fingertips and Air Essence probing the infinitesimal flows of power that vibrate with the secrets of another space and time.

I think Morgan may be about to poke a Neverborn, but she doesn't know that. Compassion 5 is neutral-ish here, and her Motivation is to understand the nature of Essence in all its forms. So poking away!

Also, Int+Occult if possible to analyze the ongoing effects of Mask's social-fu on Brooks, because she's trying to wrap up the obvious things before possibly breaking her brain:
[roll0]

(I will edit it in if I get anything unexpected, but she's trying to be quick, because she's worried about the information becoming inaccessible. Alternatively, if the effect isn't visible to Essence-Unveiling Touch, lemme know and I can edit it out - I tried to keep it pretty vague.)

[Maugan Ra]

To start with, the analysis of the social-fu reveals nothing in particular - the charm creates an intimacy of Lust, but it doesn't magically reinforce it or anything past that.

The air in front of Morgan's fingers ripples like water, and the temperature drops as ice seems to form on everything within a yard or so. There is a pause, a noise that sounds horribly like something swallowing, and then the Air Aspect is gone.

Morgan
You are everywhere, and nowhere, a paradox in human shape spread throughout every layer of reality. All of creation, every second of time and inch of space lies stretched out before you, a multi-dimensional game board that stretches to infinity in all directions. Everything that is, or was, or could be passes through your consciousness in that split second, and it is all that you can do to avoid your mind being washed away by the sheer force of the torrent.

And you are not alone here - there are other minds, other beings present, surrounding you. They are massive beyond comprehension, and fractal in their complexity, as far above you as your own mind is above that of an ant. The relentless barrage of sensory input is overwhelming, and desperately your mind searches for context, for a way to describe what it perceives without snapping like a twig.

An endless city of obsidian and brass, arranged in looping patterns and lit by a burning emerald sun... an infinite expanse of silver sand, desolate and providing... a storm of multi-coloured rain... a shadow in the shape of a great beast... a singularity that walks... a laughing wind... a mountain.... words...

And then an hand closes around your outstretched arm and pulls

Everyone

You cannot say where Fisher came from. One moment the seafront was empty, just you and the frost and the aching emptiness where your comrade once stood. The next, and the OMI agent was there, rising from the nearest chair without any consideration for when exactly he sat down in it to start with.

He reaches out into the same section of space that Morgan was just studying, makes a grasping motion, and hauls backwards. There is an explosion of light, pale green in hue, and then he is holding Morgan upright in that iron-hard grasp.

"You complete idiot" he snarls, but there is no anger in his voice, only fear, and he sets her down on the ground with gentle care.

[Ifni]

"... not going to argue." Morgan's voice is weak and somewhat slurred. She lets go of Fisher's arm, stumbles, and grabs for him again. The world still seems to be spinning around her, a tumbling kaleidoscope of colors. And yet so flat, so merely three-dimensional; the pain of loss, of restriction to a mere six senses, is like a knife to the heart.

What did you see?
Everything.
What did you understand?
Not enough...

"Brass and obsidian. Emerald fire. Silver desert. Rainbow rain... where's my tablet?" She looks around, swaying a little, for Brooks. "Need to make notes while I remember..."

Her swinging gaze focuses, finally, on the OMI agent. "... Fisher? You..."

The hand around her arm had been solidity and warmth in a place without either, drawing her back from the glory and the terror. Part of her wants to scream at him, but as her equilibrium returns and the world settles into place around her, her training reasserts itself, and she finds herself shaking at the knowledge of how close she came to disaster. But she's safe, thanks to him...

How did he do that?

"Thank you," she whispers, voice still cracking a little.

[Maugan Ra]

"No problem." the agent says, pulling a chair away from the nearby table and virtually collapsing into it. He's breathing heavily, something you don't think you've ever seen before - not even in the midst of their training in the wastelands had the operative ever shown so much as a quiver of fatigue. He smiles faintly.

"You never could learn when to leave something alone, now could you, Morgan?" he says with a degree of fondness in his tone. "And now you've really gone and done it. We're going to have to kick your security clearance up a couple of notches, I think."

[Ifni]

Sitting down sounds like a really good idea about now. Morgan takes the chair beside the OMI agent; not quite a collapse, but not especially graceful either. "Is that going to mean another background check? I think last time they wanted my report card from preschool..."

But as her heart's hammering gradually slows, and the dizziness fades, she rests her chin in her hands and gives the OMI agent a more searching look. (Although it's entirely free of suspicion or unease. He's hiding things from her, but she's always known that, and he's Fisher.) "So the place I saw... it's known, then? The new thing is just that the deathknights have access to it?" She pauses. "Would you like me to set up a secure mental communication link, or is talking fine?"

[horus42]

"G-green eyed Lucien and Cecelia! What in the hell just happened?"

He stands there in shock for a moment, not knowing what to think. He'd been trained to expect the unexpected, but something like this? There was no way to prepare for that.

[Maugan Ra]

"Simplest explanation? For a moment there, Morgan was basically a Raksha." Fisher says after a moment's thought. "She stepped outside the universe, and consequently outside the rules that defined what she is. Presumably it felt somewhat like you were losing your sense of self-identity in amongst all the endless stimuli?"

He sighs. "Given what you were just muttering about, I can take a decent guess at the sort of things you saw. And yes, it's not an entirely unknown region... but it is immensely classified, and difficult to explain. Focus on the Deathknight for now, and I'll explain everything to you afterwards."

[horus42]

Nate exhales slowly. "Whoa. That's... unexpected, to say the least. But there's no use wasting time here. I say we head back and tell the others what happened here, then see what our next step is."

He then looks over to Brooks and grins, "And we'll finish our talk later."

[Lix Lorn]

"Of course I'm fine. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, and sometimes the enemy agent is just really hot, it doesn't have to be HOLY MOTHER OF!"

Brooks' muttering is cutt off by Morgan's sudden disappearence, and she remains all but rooted to the ground as the events unfold. But as soon as Fisher pulls her back, she runs over. "What the hell, Morgan?"

[Ifni]

Morgan nods to Fisher, and looks down at the table for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "Yes. Right. The symbol she showed us is still burned into the table there. She was carrying several soulsteel items, but I didn't get a look at them. You heard everything else she said - she was using magic, to try to attract us, but there's no lingering effect that I can sense, on any of us."

The Air Aspect smiles a little weakly at Brooks. "Hey, I warned you it might go wrong. Risks inherent in bleeding-edge research: sometimes you temporarily turn into a raksha." The corner of her mouth quirks a little, but her eyes are serious as she turns over the concept in her mind, and suppresses a shiver. Maybe defenses against the Wyld would help? "And yes, Fisher, I am... very glad, you pulled me out when you did. Not just a loss of identity, although there was that, but even a sense of locality, of being here as opposed to there, something as opposed to everything or nothing - " She stops. "But as you say, we can talk about it later."

"The deathknight..." She closes her eyes, massaging her forehead as she tries to think back to that stunning moment of revelation. Everything that was and is and could be, a hurricane of knowledge - was there any trace of Mask's presence, there, a little darkness among the great ones? Or Crane Bay, a shadow cast back in time by the chance of a future disaster, a hint of that icy Essence she'd touched... was it really less than an hour ago?

Um... would the 'roll Perception+Whispers for clues' function of Whispers be appropriate here? Or something else?

Also, is Fisher still glowing? I'm currently assuming Morgan did not see the Secrets-y green light, because she was (a) in another universe and (b) distracted :smalltongue:

[The_Snark]

Somewhere else...

As the others depart in Taylor's sleek car, Leah speaks briefly with Fisher and is directed two floors upstairs, home to one of OMI's less-classified databases. After proceeding through yet another security checkpoint she settles into a terminal, a bland-faced assistant hovering at one shoulder to assist (and perhaps oversee). Conspiracy theorists would be terribly disappointed; aside from the heavy security and armed guards at the elevator, this floor could easily pass for a regular office building. Even the legendary All-Seeing Eye must employ people to process data and keep records in order.

After obtaining a cup of coffee (essential for research), Leah sets down to work, starting with the simplest questions: how many shadowlands lie within or near Crane Bay's city limits? How were they created? Why were they left intact rather than being destroyed? Are they presently inhabited or used? What surveillance measures are they kept under? As her inquiries begin to bear fruit she moves on to more abstract questions: how does a shadowland form? Is it possible to create one by design, and if so how? What does OMI use to detect them? How reliable is it? Can the city be monitored continuously? What are the recorded effects of a shadowland?

The first rule of warfare is know the terrain, or so Leah is told. She fully intends to.

Perception + Investigation +2, with 5 dice added via the First Excellency:
[roll0]

[Maugan Ra]

Fisher isn't glowing, no. And sure, make a Perception+Whispers roll if you want. Might find something interesting there...

With some in-depth research, and a lifetime's skill in condensing useful information out of an endless stream of trivia, Leah manages to discover the following.

- There are presently four Shadowlands inside of the Crane Bay city limits. Two of them formed at the site of particularly vicious murders, one occupies a graveyard in the city outskirts, and one has absorbed the ruins of an old burned-out hospital.

- These have not yet been closed off because the thaumaturgical procedures necessary to close a Shadowland are both expensive and, importantly, time-consuming. Current reports suggest that the ones at the old murder sites will be closed within a week, but the graveyard will take significantly longer. Oddly, the Shadowland surrounding the old hospital seems to be actively resisting the treatment efforts, so they have no predicted end date for that one.

- All known shadowlands have been declared strictly off-limits to civilians and boarded up, with cameras and regular patrol visits put in place to ensure the regulations are kept to.

- Shadowlands seem to form naturally whenever a particular area becomes strongly associated with death. Sites of particularly vicious murders or extreme suffering, graveyards and mortuaries, all can potentially become shadowlands. Creating one deliberately is believed to be possible, though the exact specifics are not very well understood, as the requirements for massive amounts of death and pain are not easy to replicate.

- The recorded effects are much better known, however. Firstly, virtually all essence in a Shadowland is of the deathly variety, so the living have considerable difficulty making use of their abilities there. Secondly, shadowlands serve as an easy crossing point between the worlds - ghosts have been known to just spontaneously wander across from time to time.

- Monitoring for the creation of a Shadowland and such like is evidently possible, but all of OMIs files on it are marked 'CLASSIFIED'. That said, you do locate a few references to 'searching the loom' - a specialist surveillance network, perhaps.

[Edge]

As Fisher hands over the earpiece radios to the Taskforce, Carl comes to a decision.

"I think Epsilon and I'll leave the making nice with a Deathknight to those not weighed down by firepower. I'm thinking it wouldn't hurt to check out if the local military has anything they can offer - manpower, ordnance, intel, anythin'. And, hell, I'll see if can't avoid us getting in each others' way."

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

The briefing had been far quicker than Carl had expected, and he quickly radioed Mick Wallins. The army driver hadn't left the city yet, and Carl called him back in.

"Y'know Hoffman'll have our hangers for this, Sarge."

"When the stakes are as high as they are, Mick, Hoffman can go gargle a 'nade. We need to talk with local military. What's the closest MA base, Mick?"

"Hmm... that'd be ol' Fort Ibis, out by the waterfront, Sarge."

"Then Fort Ibis it is."

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

The army truck pulled up just short of the checkpoint at Fort Ibis' gate. The fort had been an old colonial military base, and it was still ringed by a thick wall of local granite blocks, though the old keep had been demolished and replaced with contemporary pre-fab barracks and other buildings.

"Alright, Epsilon, keep it cool. We're among friendlies and trying to make nice, so keep it all holstered. That includes your sharp tongue, Brand."

The corporal gave a look of mock outrage as the squad vaulted out of the truck for the second time that day. Once they were all out, Carl finally began approaching the confused looking soldiers at the checkpoint.

"Sergeant Carl Rudd of Epsilon Squad. Here on behalf of Taskforce: Dragon and OMI. Got some urgent spook business to discuss with your commanding officer."

[The_Snark]

Dead end. Leah double-checks, methodically going through the relevant files again to make sure she isn't missing a reference or non-classified explanation. No luck. Either an active spy ring, or a device based on technology that's still top-secret. Naturally it's above her clearance. And naturally she isn't going to let that stop her.

Proper channels later. She activates her earpiece radio. "Fisher. Everything I can find on OMI's shadowlands-monitoring system is classified. I need to know details."

[Maugan Ra]

"There's a good reason it's classified, Khoury." Fisher says, as the team that went to the meeting returns to the car. "What is it you need to know, precisely?"

Morgan:
You think you can recall... something. A vague hint of ice and death, surrounding... a place of health? A jarring contradiction, that's all you remember, your senses too overwhelmed by that brief stint in... wherever it was you were.

Army Base Ibis

The soldiers place a call through to their base commander, and soon enough permission for a meeting is granted. Ibis turns out to be under the authority of Colonel Maxwell, an older man whose entire body seems to give the impression of weather-blasted granite.

"What can I do for you, Sergeant? Spook business, you said?" He asks, a hint of distaste in his tone.

[Ifni]

Morgan had remained seated at the table while the others walked toward the car, struggling with the memories. Come on... But so much of it slips through her fingers, like trying to catch a waterfall in her hands. Or a whirlwind.

But is that... something? Imagined contradiction, or real?

She gets to her feet, pausing to take her jade sword and try to scratch out the symbol burned into the table, obscuring it. It won't dull the edge; she's never found anything that can.

That done, she lopes toward the car, and touches Fisher on the arm to get his attention as she says, softly but with enough volume for Nate and Brooks to hear, "I think I might have something. Ice and death, but surrounding a place of health; I remember the juxtaposition. Maybe a hospital or a clinic...?"

"Ah, but I'll let you talk to Leah. When you're done though - I have a couple of other questions."

Gorol. If it's indeed a personal grudge, it might give them some extra points for a triangulation.

[The_Snark]

"I don't need to know how it works. Just how well it works. Speed and reliability; if a new shadowland forms, how much warning will we have? Is it possible there are any that have slipped under the radar?"

Leah's fingers dance over the keyboard as she talks, searching for more information on the known shadowland sites—not classified security files this time, but simply old news articles and online data: famous people buried at the graveyard, news reports on the fire that destroyed the hospital, the histories of the two murders and any ensuing trials or open cases. She mentally flags the graveyard as least likely to be Fury's beachhead (too far from central Crane Bay) and the hospital as most likely (unusual resistance to cleansing merits a red flag), but none of them are off the table until she knows more.

More Investigation, if needed (adding 4 dice with the First Excellency): [roll0]

[Maugan Ra]

"It works pretty damn well, and very fast. That said, it only detects Shadowlands and the like while they are in the process of forming - if the system were to be overloaded or distracted during a key juncture, then it's feasible that the formation of a new one may be missed. There would still be records, but they'd be swiftly buried amongst all the other data."

Fisher glances at Morgan for a moment. "The doctor thinks she has something on that front, connecting Fury to a... place of health, was it? That match anything on your end?"

Leah's Findings

The graveyard is a relatively recent construction, as such things go, only opened fifty or so years ago. As a result, it hasn't gotten any significant types of dead folks or famous individuals associated with it, just the average mix of relatively average people.

The murders were both the work of a particular serial killer, the 'Crane Bay Killer'. Leah remembers hearing about the case a while back - your depressingly standard routine of a deeply messed up individual going after targets based on an eccentric prioritization system and murdering them in a variety of horrible ways. The case is closed, though, since police cornered him at the site of his latest crime and shot him to death when he resisted.

The hospital burned down four months ago, in what was confirmed to be a case of arson, killing some thirty or forty doctors and patients. The Shadowland formed the same night, which hampered the investigation somewhat, and the case is still open.

[The_Snark]

"It does," Leah confirms, feeling the quiet spike of satisfaction she gets when the disparate pieces of a a case start coming together. "One of the Crane Bay shadowlands used to be a hospital. Burned down four months ago, killed around three dozen people and broke through to the Underworld; police suspect arson, but no leads. It's scheduled for thaumaturgic cleansing, but apparently it's been resisting the treatment more than usual. I think we've found Fury's beachhead."

[Ifni]

Morgan adjusts her earpiece radio in time to hear most of Leah's words. "Ah, good - and given the avenue of my confirmation, it's probably not a decoy. Do we want to check it out immediately?"

"Leah - and Carl, if you're listening - Mask didn't give us much in the way of clues and some of what she said about Fury was almost certainly disinformation. For example, she said that he's a general and necromancer, which might be true, and implied that he wasn't very good at mind-affecting magic, which is manifestly false. Unless someone helped him with the disk, I suppose."

"But she also said that this was a personal matter for him, vengeance against the ones who killed him, and in particular a man named Gorol. And by the reaction of our mission coordinator -" she gives Fisher a slight wry smile, "I'm going to guess the identity associated with that name is above my security clearance."

"This is what I wanted to ask about, Fisher. How much can you tell us? If it's a personal crusade then if there are places or people associated with Gorol or his accomplishments, they might be particular targets, especially if Fury's trying to make a statement."

[Maugan Ra]

"I'm not meant to tell you specifics, but I think a bit of leniency in the strict rulings is permissible here." Fisher says after a moment's thought. "The man Fury evidently knows as Gorol is better known as the Head of Special Operations for the Office of Meruvian Intelligence."

[Edge]

Army Base Ibis

The soldiers place a call through to their base commander, and soon enough permission for a meeting is granted. Ibis turns out to be under the authority of Colonel Maxwell, an older man whose entire body seems to give the impression of weather-blasted granite.

"What can I do for you, Sergeant? Spook business, you said?" He asks, a hint of distaste in his tone.

As they are shown into the colonel's room, Epsilon saluted as one.

"Yes, sir. And I'm sorry to bring spook business to you, but I felt the army needed to at least be aware of this. Fortunately, the handlers at OMI didn't disagree."

Rudd takes his helmet off and holds it under his arm.

"I just want to make it clear before we begin, sir, that this intel is classified enough that it does not leave this room without OMI approval."

The Earth Aspect sighs.

"OMI's received a terrorist threat from a deathknight calling himself Fury of the Forsaken. The threat involves him killing the entire population of Crane Bay, reanimating them as... well, as shock troops for an attack on whatever city he chooses to target next."

[Maugan Ra]

To the colonel's credit, he doesn't waste time with blustering disbelief of expressions of shock. His eyes widen momentarily, and then narrow once more.

"I...see. Well, that's obviously not something we can allow. I take it you want to borrow some of my men to help put a stop to this man?"

[Ifni]

"I'm not meant to tell you specifics, but I think a bit of leniency in the strict rulings is permissible here." Fisher says after a moment's thought. "The man Fury evidently knows as Gorol is better known as the Head of Special Operations for the Office of Meruvian Intelligence."

"... ah." Silence, for a long moment. "Well. Does it tell you anything useful that Fury knows him by that name?"

"You said you'd considered it might be a feint - might be a trap, as well, for OMI specifically. Although I know Leah said she thought it was all true, and not misdirection, and I trust her judgement." She waves a hand in frustration. "Eh, sorry. I know I'm stating the obvious here. Back to headquarters, or straight to this hospital?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Yeah, it might. I'll... have to check some things when we get back, but this has a considerable implication for our future operations."

Fisher sighs, and then continues. "In any case, if we go to the hospital... do you feel confident you could take this guy, if he turns out to be there?"

[Ifni]

"I'd certainly rather have the whole team there, and thirty-forty minutes to meditate wouldn't go astray - I spent a bit of power there. Of course we don't really know his capabilities, so it's always going to be hard to say. It might be nice to have some more backup, but if Mask was telling the truth, taking ordinary soldiers against him could be a bad idea."

""In any case, we'll likely going to have to fight him at some point, and I'd rather do it on terms of our choosing rather than his. If he's there, and doesn't know we're coming..." She glances at Nate and Brooks. "What do the rest of you think?"

"I could try eavesdropping in advance, too - how far away is the hospital, Leah?"

[Edge]

To the colonel's credit, he doesn't waste time with blustering disbelief of expressions of shock. His eyes widen momentarily, and then narrow once more.

"I...see. Well, that's obviously not something we can allow. I take it you want to borrow some of my men to help put a stop to this man?"

"Ideally yes, but I understand if that's not an option. Really, I'm here to see that the MA and OMI don't end up working at cross-purposes once the bastard shows up. Any help you can offer is a bonus."

The Dragon-Blooded scratches the back of his neck.

"If the manpower's a no-go, materiel'd be appreciated. Especially if you've got anything loud. We believe Fury of the Forsaken is capable of weaponising his voice."

[Maugan Ra]

Maxwell grins. "Oh, I can't just hand over command of my troops to an outside agent. But I can certainly order them to 'coordinate with another force as best they can in pursuit of mutual objectives'." He says, then snorts. "Had to learn that one to deal with the press."

"Still, equipment, I can do. Especially loud stuff. Collateral damage might be an issue, but if we have time to prepare and avoid that, I have more than enough material to hand to help you folks out. What are we talking about, specifically?"

[The_Snark]

"I don't know where you are right now, but I can give you the address. Northeast quarter, 3144 Lamonte Drive, around seven blocks north of the eastern Five Talon branch highway..." Leah rattles off a quick set of directions accessible to anyone vaguely familiar with the city layout.

"We should wait for Sergeant Rudd to finish his meeting before we go in. After that... I don't think we have much choice. Could be a trap, but we already decided we have to act as if the threat is real. Can't afford to pass it up. My main concern is that if we have the right spot but he's not there yet, we might tip him off. I don't think he'd back down but he might switch to another avenue of assault."

[Edge]

Maxwell grins. "Oh, I can't just hand over command of my troops to an outside agent. But I can certainly order them to 'coordinate with another force as best they can in pursuit of mutual objectives'." He says, then snorts. "Had to learn that one to deal with the press."

"Still, equipment, I can do. Especially loud stuff. Collateral damage might be an issue, but if we have time to prepare and avoid that, I have more than enough material to hand to help you folks out. What are we talking about, specifically?"

Rudd cracks a brief smile.

"The deathknight's threat gave us seventy-two hours, but hell if I'm taking that at face value. If we do have three days, I think we need to get as much suppressive firepower to whatever locations intel points out as being key. Let's see him talk his way out of the crossfire from a pack of machine gun teams."

The Earth Aspect's face falls back into his usual haunted expression.

"Short term, I think the Taskforce could use whatever firepower you can muster at short notice. More ammo's always handy, sir, and there's always room for more 'nades. And I never say no to RPGs."

The sergeant's eyes then dart over to his squad.

"And if you happen to have two spare sniper rifles laying around anywhere, sir, I'd appreciate the ability to keep the rest of Epsilon out of this bastard's line of sight when it all goes down."

"The hell, Rudd?" interjects Damien. "You want to keep us out of the fight? Then why even bother asking the high-ups to reform Epsilon as part of the Taskforce?"

"Permission to speak revoked for now, Brand. We'll talk about it later," Carl replies, before turning his attention back to the colonel. "Sorry, sir. I usually like to run my squad fairly casual. We've been through a lot together, and it normally works out. I like to think I put my foot down when it counts."

In the background, Damien rolls his eyes.

[Lix Lorn]

"You know me." Brooks replies, with a dazzling grin. "I'm pretty sure I can take anyone. How about you guys just go home and let me kill the bad guy?"

[horus42]

Nate chuckles briefly. "I'll hold you to that, Brooks." Laughter was always a good thing at a time like this. Fear is the true enemy of any operation, when people are afraid, that's when things start going wrong. At least that was one thing that Nate could always count on Brooks for, besides all the times she'd pulled his ass out of situations he couldn't escape on his own.

[Maugan Ra]

Rudd cracks a brief smile.

"The deathknight's threat gave us seventy-two hours, but hell if I'm taking that at face value. If we do have three days, I think we need to get as much suppressive firepower to whatever locations intel points out as being key. Let's see him talk his way out of the crossfire from a pack of machine gun teams."

The Earth Aspect's face falls back into his usual haunted expression.

"Short term, I think the Taskforce could use whatever firepower you can muster at short notice. More ammo's always handy, sir, and there's always room for more 'nades. And I never say no to RPGs."

The sergeant's eyes then dart over to his squad.

"And if you happen to have two spare sniper rifles laying around anywhere, sir, I'd appreciate the ability to keep the rest of Epsilon out of this bastard's line of sight when it all goes down."

"The hell, Rudd?" interjects Damien. "You want to keep us out of the fight? Then why even bother asking the high-ups to reform Epsilon as part of the Taskforce?"

"Permission to speak revoked for now, Brand. We'll talk about it later," Carl replies, before turning his attention back to the colonel. "Sorry, sir. I usually like to run my squad fairly casual. We've been through a lot together, and it normally works out. I like to think I put my foot down when it counts."

In the background, Damien rolls his eyes.

Maxwell waves one hand in a dismissive gesture. "Small arms, you can basically take what you need from the armories. Just make sure to sign for it so the supply sergeant doesn't have a fit. Beyond that..."

He grins. "Think bigger. I'll have your comm links patched in to my network. If you can get him in an area you'd feel comfortable hosing with suppressive fire from a machine gun, I'll send a damned gunship."

[Edge]

Maxwell waves one hand in a dismissive gesture. "Small arms, you can basically take what you need from the armories. Just make sure to sign for it so the supply sergeant doesn't have a fit. Beyond that..."

He grins. "Think bigger. I'll have your comm links patched in to my network. If you can get him in an area you'd feel comfortable hosing with suppressive fire from a machine gun, I'll send a damned gunship."

Another rare smile passes across Rudd's face.

"Sir, I think this is the start of a beautiful working relationship."

He pauses briefly to rub his chin, a glint in his eye.

"Whilst we're on the subject of thinking bigger, you wouldn't happen to have anything that R&D just left lying around that we could borrow, do you?"

[Ifni]

Fire Aspects. Something about those particular treatments seems to affect their personalities. (Or maybe they were like this to begin with. Terrifying thought.) The Air Aspect gives Brooks and Nate a look equal parts affection and wry amusement, and then replies over the radio, "Thanks, Leah. I can try auditory remote-monitoring right before we go in, see if I can pick anything up. It might be warded, but no harm in trying."

"And yes, I agree with you on the risks. But if he's been setting up for four months, he might have invested considerable resources in this place - on one hand, that might mean we'll be sticking our hands in a hornet's nest, but on the other, if we force him to switch to a different avenue of approach that might be a significant advantage in itself."

"Hmm. If it's been resisting thaumaturgical treatment - does that mean there are some techs who've been in there recently? What else is in that neighborhood?" Please say it's not residential.

[Maugan Ra]

Leah

The area to the North and West of the hospital is largely industrial, giving way to dockyards and a major river/seafront. The regions to the South and East are low-quality, high-density residential areas, large blocks of flats being predominant.

Rudd

"Hah. No, I'm afraid I can't much help there. The shinies are reserved for you Dragon-Blooded and various other elite units. This is very much a mundane base." Maxwell says, shaking his head. "Not that I envy you for it. Fancy toys tend to come with price tags. For example, having to find a way to save Crane Bay from a psychotic zombie-god."

[Edge]

"Hah. No, I'm afraid I can't much help there. The shinies are reserved for you Dragon-Blooded and various other elite units. This is very much a mundane base." Maxwell says, shaking his head. "Not that I envy you for it. Fancy toys tend to come with price tags. For example, having to find a way to save Crane Bay from a psychotic zombie-god."

"True enough, sir. Me and Epsilon are patched into channel sigma-phi-sigma. If we need that gunship, we'll give you a call. But now, I think we'll go pay your quartermaster a visit."

Rudd salutes the colonel, and Epsilon follows suit. As Alizebeth, Damien and Shnadra file out of the room, Carl offers Maxwell his hand.

"Thanks, colonel. Assuming this doesn't go FUBAR, I'll see if I can't put a good word in for you somewhere, sir."

[Maugan Ra]

"Results first, son. Then political bull****." Maxwell says, shaking your hand.

[Edge]

"Results first, son. Then political bull****." Maxwell says, shaking your hand.

"Agreed," says Rudd. "I'll postpone patting you on the back until I've seen how the bastard fares with hot lead coming at him eight hundred times a minute."

He shakes Maxwell's hand firmly, and strides out of the room, letting Damien guide the squad over to the quartermaster.

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

"Alright, two top of the line snipers, sixteen frag grenades, several hundred rounds of 5.56mm ammunition. Pity you don't have the ammo for the old Anvil 'Boomshot'..."

The Earth Aspect glances up from his list to look at the exasperated. quartermaster as Epsilon load the gear up into the back of Mick Wallins' truck.

"Say, don't have any specialised rounds for those snipers, do you?"

[The_Snark]

"Residential and industrial districts. Low-rent housing and apartment complexes on one side, warehouses and processing plants on the other. It's close to the waterfront, but not one of the tourist areas. Not as high-profile as I would have guessed, but a lot of targets."

"I'm not sure about techs; I don't know how thaumaturgic cleansing works." That's your department, she doesn't say. "If you want, I can look into it."

[Ifni]

"I'm not up-to-date with the latest methods of shadowland remediation, it's not really my specialty." Morgan sounds slightly apologetic. She's visited shadowlands a few times, studying the corrupted Essence flows there, but that had been before anyone had tried to cleanse them. "It would be great if you can check and see if there are any reports on the failed attempts, or listings of who was involved."

She sighs at hearing Leah's description of the surrounding area. "I was afraid of that. And if we evacuate, we really will tip him off. How far from the hospital to the closest apartment blocks? Maybe we could use the industrial area as a staging point..."

[The_Snark]

"They're right across the street. But the shadowland doesn't take up all of the hospital complex, just the main building. There should be a couple hundred feet of parking lots and adjunct buildings between it and the residential streets, plus a barricade. Hang on a minute..." She brings up one of the files she'd skimmed earlier. "There is a technical report here, but it's not written for laymen. Maybe you could make more sense of it. I get the feeling they're not sure what the root cause is, but I could be wrong."

"There are names attached, if you want to try getting ahold of any of the techs."

[Maugan Ra]

"Right. I'll take us there." Fisher says, turning the car off the street he was presently heading down as he keys the radios to communicate with all the members of the Taskforce. "Sergeant Rudd, this one's for you as well. We've identified a potential staging area for Fury's assault - it might not be connected to him at all, but it's worth checking out. You should probably have your squad rendezvous with us at the following address..." he rattles off a quick set of numbers and street names, "For a recon operation. Bring guns, in case we're right and he's in the area."

[Edge]

"Right. I'll take us there." Fisher says, turning the car off the street he was presently heading down as he keys the radios to communicate with all the members of the Taskforce. "Sergeant Rudd, this one's for you as well. We've identified a potential staging area for Fury's assault - it might not be connected to him at all, but it's worth checking out. You should probably have your squad rendezvous with us at the following address..." he rattles off a quick set of numbers and street names, "For a recon operation. Bring guns, in case we're right and he's in the area."

Rudd smiles as he answers the OMI agent.

"I wouldn't worry, Fisher. I think we've got enough firepower if he decides to raise his head early. We'll be en route in just a sec."

He cuts the radio link and begins helping Epsilon finish loading the gear up.

"Alright, Epsilon, we've got a possible location for the bastard. Let's load up and get this show on the road. Mick, I want us at this address ASAP."

Carl gives the driver the address just as Shandra loads up the last box of ammunition and clambers in with Alizebeth and Damien.

"Awright, boys an' girls, buckle up. I might end up losin' my good driver discount fer this."

[Maugan Ra]

For the record, if you have spent any essence so far, treat it as having regenerated before this scene. Willpower stays gone, though. Likewise, if you have artifacts or weapons that you didn't take with you to the meeting etc, you may have collected them before this - even the gunship, if you really want.

Oh, and any lack of detail I provide on the environment should be taken as an opportunity. Remember, stunts can dramatically edit the surroundings, so generally assuming that the area is exactly what you want it to look like is entirely reasonable.

The rendezvous point that Fisher has taken you to is a car park down the street from the hospital grounds, just inside the industrial area. It's nicely inconspicuous, even with all of you congregating there, shielded from outside view while still giving you a decent angle of vision on the hospital itself.

It is, to be blunt, a wreck. The various small outer buildings and asthetically pleasing gardens simply look a little overgrown and suffering somewhat from abandonment, but the six-story form of the main hospital itself is a burned-out wreck. Black burns cover the walls, at least half of the glass windows have shattered from the intense heat, and the entire place just gives the appearance of looking completely forlorn.

The signs of the Shadowland are also unmistakable, even though the sun is still fairly high in the sky. There's no wildlife - no rats scurrying along abandoned passageways, or birds nesting on the roofs. Faint tendrils of pale mist coil through the empty rooms, and the entire site looks almost washed of colour.

"So. Charming place." Fisher says dryly, observing it. "Now, I'm not actually meant to be here at all, never mind accompanying you on the operations, so I'll wait here and help coordinate. If you absolutely, positively cannot survive without my radiant presence, give a call on the radios and I'll come charging to the rescue. Otherwise, it's your show."

[horus42]

Nate grins while looking at Brooks. "Ladies first..." He gestured toward the ruins of the hospital while also examining it as best he can, with an analytical eye.

Going to do Perception+investigation. Blah, it's not really a good roll, but I'll give it a shot.

[roll0]

[Ifni]

"Thanks, Leah; can you send that report to my tablet, if it's not too highly classified?" On the drive to the hospital, Morgan settles down to read; not quite as relaxing as meditation, but it'll do. She skims the report, looking in particular for any comments on worse-affected areas, or areas the cleansing team had trouble accessing. Probably nothing to see - a shadowland is a shadowland - but worth checking.

As the car slows, she pages back to the cover, checking the names of the authors. It's not her specialty, but she tries to keep in touch with the broader research community, and law enforcement might have called in someone she knows as a technical expert.

The Air Aspect smiles faintly at her teacher's words, as she climbs out of the car and goes to retrieve her swords from the trunk. "That's very reassuring, Fisher." The words are light, easily read as sarcastic, but there's warmth in her eyes as she smiles at the OMI agent. "Question - I'm going to set up a telepathic link. You want in? Being able to monitor each others' surface thoughts is faster and quieter than radio, and has some other benefits if you do end up having to pull us out of trouble. The link can accommodate five people, plus me, so there's room." She shrugs. "I know there might be a security issue, though - the link isn't one-way, although it is only surface thoughts, nothing deeper. Up to you."

"Anyway, I want a minute regardless, let's see if we can learn anything from over here..."

First, she again attunes herself to the patterns of the motonic materials. The strength of jade, patterns rippling or sparking or crystalline or burning or organic. The fluid confusion of moonsilver and the glowing warmth of orichalcum, from Brooks. The quiet glittering of the starmetal in her bracers. The icy grating of soulsteel...?

And that done, she closes her eyes, and listens to the wind.

Fury of the Forsaken.

Power swirls out into the air, singing like the music of a flute, tuning the breezes around her to resonate with a specific set of vibrations. The voice from the disk, threatening and arrogant and mellifluous even so.

It might fail because he's silent. It might fail because he's warded. It might fail because he's not there. But she deems the chance that it might work worth the Essence.

Fivefold Resonance Sense, and Voices on the Wind (looking for Fury of the Forsaken) at the minimum mote cost. If we are not yet within 500 feet of the hospital, I'll wait on the second one.

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks snorts, and starts walking in.
"Don't worry. I promise not to tell anyone how scared you are." she says, casually.

[Maugan Ra]

"I'll pass. My surface thoughts are... not a fun place, sometimes."

Morgan cannot hear anything spoken by Fury of the Forsaken within the effect's radius, though that does not by itself mean a great deal. What might mean considerably more is that she can definitely detect Soulsteel within the hospital grounds, something that by all rights should not be there.

Also, two-dice stunt in total, for regen purposes.

Brooks

The hospital building looms menacingly over you as you approach, and faint clouds of ash and dust are kicked up by your every footstep. It is very quiet here, unnaturally so.

You can see three potential ways in - the main reception entrance, the emergency entrance where ambulances dropped off their patients, and possibly one of the windows.

[Ifni]

"Amelia, wait up!" Morgan's voice isn't raised, but manages to convey exasperation nonetheless. She hurries to catch up with the Fire Aspect, slipping the adamant lens down over her left eye as she does so. "Right, everyone... there's definitely soulsteel in there. I'll let you know if I get more of a fix. Time to stop thinking about anything you don't want the rest of us to know, and Amelia, that includes Winter's Mask, even if she is hot."

She glances at each of the Task Force in turn. Allies, colleagues, friends. She tucks away her own fears and trepidation, and the memories that spring to mind when she looks at Fisher, and everything except the mission - and then lets her Essence flow outward, like a breeze circling the group.

"Right. Communications check. Everybody here?"

She looks up at the building as she walks, examining it from different vantage points through the lens. Let's see what it looks like inside... a moment of focus, of blurring images, and then she's peering into the hospital from the center of the main reception. Just a quick glance around, and then she looks up to the next floor, and the next.

Her attention focused on the hospital, she's barely aware of her surroundings, but that's what her allies are for.

With One Mind, assuming Leah and Carl have made it to the rendezvous point. Not paying for trait dots, just the basic cost, so 4m for four people.

Claiming WP for my 2-die stunt.

Taking a look at the interior with my Dragonfly's Ranging Eye, once we get close enough - I can pick a point within 100 yards and see from that perspective, even if the point is outside my line of sight (e.g. through a wall). To look at the higher floors, she's just picking windows (even if they're broken or boarded over, at least they open onto rooms or corridors), just trying to get an overview and see if any floors look different. I realize most hospitals are a bit of a maze and she won't be able to see too much from any one vantage point.

[Maugan Ra]

Your viewpoint, now potentially shared by the rest of the team, shifts through the various parts of the hospital in rapid succession. For the most part, there's nothing to see - a procession of burned out and abandoned rooms, each filled with the semi-visible tendrils of pale mist that signify a Shadowland. However, on the third floor, you find what you're looking for.

Fury of the Forsaken stands in one of the wards, looking through a mostly-intact window towards the distinctive skyline of central Crane Bay, hands folded behind his back. He appears to be alone, and from the angle of the room he's standing in there should be no way he can see you or the rest of your team... but as your viewpoint crystallizes, he turns and stares directly into your eyes.

The lens does not convey sound, but as the Deathknight smiles and mouths something, there's really no doubt as to what it is he's saying.

"Why... hello there."

[horus42]

"Well... at least we found him. Let's see if we can't stop him before it's too late..." Nate wastes no time in drawing his Jade Shellcaster from his Innocuous Assassin's Luggage, and leaving his artifact briefcase in the car.

His hand shakes almost imperceptibly. How did Fury know they were here? How had he seen through Morgan's eyes? Really, none of that mattered. He took a deep breath and stopped his hand from shaking. It was no good to show any sign of fear. He bottled his emotions deep inside him, putting on an imperceptible, blank mask of a face, devoid of any kind of feeling.

[Ifni]

Damn it.

"Third floor, and he knows we're watching," Morgan says curtly into her radio. The rest of the Task Force won't need the verbal warning, of course - they would have sensed the flash of alarm in her thoughts and the relayed image of the deathknight - but she wants to keep Fisher informed.

"Tactics, people? He knows we're watching, but may not know where we are, yet."

She focuses her will, and with a flare of Essence reasserts her defenses. She doesn't withdraw her gaze from the deathknight; risky it may be, given what he can do, but not keeping an eye on him seems riskier.

Defense-From-Anathema Method, and waiting to hear if anyone else has a good way to get up there fast.

Also waiting to let Carl/Leah actually post :smallwink:

[Edge]

Epsilon arrives at the site quickly, the soldiers listening listening as the others joke and prepare.

"I'm in on the telepathic link. And unless any of Epsilon object, I'd like them in as well, unless it'd strain you, Morgan."

He turns to face his squad.

"Alright ladies, Brand. I want you in sniper positions around the perimeter. If the bastard tries to run out, I want him taken out. Kill shots preferable, but I'm sure OMI won't turn down the chance to interrogate him. Get to it, people!"

Alizebeth, Damien and Shandra do set off, albeit reluctantly, co-ordinating their positions over the radio. Carl jogs to catch up with the other Dragon-Bloods.

"Might I suggest you let the guy with the high-powered grenade launcher and a spitting-edge assault rifle with a chainsaw bayonet go in first? He knows we're here, no sense being subtle about it."

Activating Defence-From-Anathema-Method for 5m, 1wp.

Active Charms:
Defence-From-Anathema-Method (add permanent Essence to DVs) and MDVs

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 12/17
Peripheral: 20/37
Committed: 22

[Ifni]

A moment earlier:

"I can include one more person, that's the limit. Pick one and let me know." Morgan nods briefly to Epsilon Squad in acknowledgement.

And now:

A slight smile. "Yeah, Carl, we all know you want to play with your toys. For my part, feel free to go first, although I'll be right behind you - still need to get up there first, though."

"Can any of you see dematerialized spirits? I didn't see any backup but that may not mean much, yet."

I will be indicating deliberately shared thoughts with italics (but still colored and in quotation marks), as I've done in the last two posts.

[Maugan Ra]

Through the link, and Morgan's remote viewing, you see Fury crack his neck, smile, and walk out the room. He heads towards the central stairwell and begins descending to meet you.

[Edge]

A moment earlier:
"If that's the case, then include Vallera. Lize's got the sharpest eyes of the three, and if anything's going on outside, we want to know."

Now:
"Testing, testing. Huh. Well, this feels... weird. Damn handy, though."

With a quick motion, Carl draws his grand shellcaster from the attachment point on the back of his armour's chestpiece.

"And yeah, yeah, I'm soldier with his toys, laugh all you want. Just be glad I brought enough for everyone. Colonel Maxwell over at Fort Ibis was kind enough to give us pretty free access to his quartermaster. Including a nice clutch of sixteen frag grenades."

The grin is evident in Carl's mental voice.

"I gave the rest of Epsilon two each, so I've still got ten, if any of you want some."

Active Charms:
Defence-From-Anathema-Method (add permanent Essence to DVs) and MDVs

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 12/17
Peripheral: 20/37
Committed: 22

[Lix Lorn]

This place is creepy. I wonder if anyone'd mind it being on fire? Wow, that was quick... He's kinda hot. He'll be hotter when he's on fire. Hehehehe... I wonder what's for dinner.
Brooks' thoughts are quiet and relentless, akin to, fittingly, a softly bubbling brook. When she actually speaks, the river surges from the quiet, ignored depths and is heard.

Which way do we want to go in?

[horus42]

"Tactics aren't really my thing. What do you think, Carl?"

Nate also rolls his eyes at Brook's thoughts. Of course she thought like that, what else would he expect?

At the same time, in preparation for the inevitable fight, he sent a spark of his Essence flow into his gun, causing the Jade weapon to glow with a fiery aura.

I'm using Drawing the Dragon's Fury, spending 3 motes and 1 wp.

[Maugan Ra]

"While I am aware that no one asked me..." Fury of the Forsaken says as he walks out of the hospital doors in front of you, "I think you're being rather too cavalier about this whole thing."

When did he... how did he...

"Still. A pleasure to meet you, ladies and gentlemen. I expect you're here to kill me?" the Deathknight continues in a voice devoid of any real concern.

[Lix Lorn]

"Yeah, pretty much." shrugs Brooks. "Unless you wanna go away."

Do we just wanna kill the guy, or can we risk letting him talk?

[horus42]

"Odd, I was about to say the same thing to you. Trying to destroy an entire city, at the very least, in order to kill one man."

Nate tries to offer a smile, he'd rather seem overconfident than afraid at this point. Hopefully this could avoid bloodshed altogether.

"We've been told, at least part of what happened between you and Gorol. We know you want to kill him. But there's no need to destroy the city, to kill all of those innocents."

Trying Auspicious First Meeting Attitude again, hoping that it'll keep him from immediately trying to murder us. 2 motes spent.
Rolling Charisma+Socialize+2

[roll0]

[The_Snark]

Earlier

Leah stands outside the OMI building, the familiar weight of her service pistol once again hanging at her hip, and considers her day so far. Not bad work; before a third of their deadline has run out they've isolated the most likely point of attack. If they're wrong, they have other leads and two-and-a-half days to look into them. She can't exactly say it's been a good day, though; any day in which you receive a plausible death threat against three million people is at least a little ruined. Besides, Fury of the Forsaken wants to be found. He intends to face and crush whatever OMI and the army can throw at him. For all his talk of Meruvian arrogance, that message surely matches it... and yet it doesn't mean he's wrong. He might still carry through with his plan.

"You don't get to just walk away from this," she says to nobody in particular. Even if he's stopped before anyone dies. Even if her instincts turn out to be wrong, and this is all a cover for something less destructive. Even if it turns out to be a goddamn prank. You can't make threats like that lightly. There are laws in place to make sure of it.

A promise. You don't get to walk away.

Now

"Why are we talking to him at all? He can kill or hypnotize with his voice. We should have brought earplugs." As always, Leah's thoughts are smooth and quietly forceful, measured even in the heat of combat. There's an edge of irritation for Brooks, but that's fairly normal.

Less normal is the spike of annoyance at Nate. "Taylor, what the hell are you playing at?" She bites down and holds her peace for now, her shellcaster not-quite-pointed at the deathknight. Her eyes scan every inch of him, memorizing his face and mannerisms (or lack thereof). To her Essence-fueled instincts he registers as nothing; not a conspicuous absence or a dead patch on the surface of the living world, merely a blind spot.

Activating Unflagging Vengeance Meditation before leaving the OMI base, and Terrestrial Hero Form and All-Encompassing Earth Sense prior to walking in. Leah will also use Revelation of Associates Hunch on Fury when she sees him, but this fails automatically (unless he's not actually a deathknight, or something odd like that).

[Ifni]

"Gorol:"

A flash of sounds and images, knowledge transmitted instantly through the link. (Morgan's had somewhat more practice with this Charm than the rest of the Task Force, and it shows.)

The brief image of a beautiful Northern woman - Winter's Mask Cast Aside, the thought identifying her. You can tell them that Fury was, originally, murdered by a man named Gorol, and he's coming for revenge. Fisher's voice, The man Fury evidently knows as Gorol is better known as the Head of Special Operations for the Office of Meruvian Intelligence. All overlaid with chill emotion: warning, secret, not to be passed on.

"And I concur with Leah." The Air Aspect's mental 'voice' is precise and controlled, only lightly brushing the surface of the others' minds. "Let's not forget why we're here."

Shadows curl about Morgan, moving unnaturally against the wan sunlight, as she crosses her swords before her, green jade against black iron. Spring and winter, life and death - and the wings of a crane, spread in protection. She spins the elegant curved blades in her hands and they seem to catch up the winds with them, breezes gusting sharply around the Air Aspect and ruffling her silvery hair as she moves with seamless grace through the birdlike motions of the kata. For a moment, she is surrounded by a blaze of light, spelling out ancient words that remain a mystery to her.

All the while, she watches Fury in silence.

Activating Crane Form from Peripheral, because why not! Everyone should have burned nearly 20m on committed Charms at the start of a potential fight with an Anathema! :smalltongue:

Anyway, let's see if I manage to botch my Form activation roll. The chance is about 1/200 before the specialty or any stunt, but I've seen worse...

Dex+Martial Arts [roll0]
+[roll1] if specialty applies
+[roll2] possible stunt.
EDIT: Nope, Morgan avoids falling flat on her face in front of her sifu :smallwink:

[Maugan Ra]

Fury tilts his head in curiousity as he stares at Nate. "Oh?" he says softly. "Do you know a better way to draw him out to face me? I sincerely doubt it. "

With slow, careful movements he removes the business jacket he has on, folding it neatly and laying it on a relatively clean patch of nearby ground. "Still. I do recognise you - the famous Task Force Dragon. Yes, I suppose you would be who they sent to confront me."

He flexes his arms for a moment, working out any kinks in the muscles, before settling into a relaxed fighting stance. "Well, I suppose I can start with you. Maybe hanging your corpses from the palace spires will get my message across."

There is a flicker, and darkness seems to explode out from his body, racing out to smother the entire area in the space of an eye blink. Light seems to die all around you, until you find yourselves standing in the middle of an endless, achingly cold void. And Fury of the Forsaken, Deathknight and madman, is no longer visible.

Roll Join Battle, folks.
Fury: [roll0]

Visibility has been reduced to 'No moon, grass or leafless forest'.

[Edge]

Carl grits his teeth and readies himself.

Join Battle: [roll0]

Active Charms:
Defence-From-Anathema-Method (add permanent Essence to DVs) and MDVs.

Dodge DV: 11 (7+4)
Parry DV: 9 (5+4)

Dodge MDV: 13(9+4)
Parry 7 (3+4)

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 12/17
Peripheral: 20/37
Committed: 22

[The_Snark]

"Should have just shot him." Leah's irritation is not directed solely towards Nate; had she spoken she would have given him the chance to surrender and come quietly, despite the staggering unlikelihood of the deathknight deciding to give up without a fight. There are forms to be followed. She's a detective, not a soldier. Still. Annoying when it's used against you.

She settles into a loose crouch, muscles poised halfway between tense and loose. Physically she is more than ready for action; only the sudden darkness slows her.

Join Battle: [roll0]
Stunt: [roll1]

Relevant combat stuff:Attacks
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 22, Damage 18L/2 or 18B/2, Parry -, Rate 3, Tags: C, M, O, P
Punch: Speed 4, Accuracy 19, Damage 19L/2 or 19B/2, Parry 11, Rate 5, Tags: M, O
Shellcaster: Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 14L/2, Rate 3, Ammo 15, Range 50, Tags: O

Dodge DV 7

Soak: 35B/29L/4A (4 from armor; +5B/5L/5A against bullets)
Hardness: 2B/2L

Health
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
-X [ ]

Willpower: 8/10

Essence
Personal: 10/18 (7 committed)
Peripheral: 11/48 (37 committed)
Overdrive: 0/10

Active Charms
Unflagging Vengeance Meditation (add Integrity to natural soak, Essence to MDVs, negate unnatural mental influence)
Terrestrial Hero Form (+4 to clinch attempts, +12B/6L soak)
All-Encompassing Earth Sense (negate surprise)

[horus42]

Goddammit! Nate thinks. He should have seen that the Deathknight was making this too easy, and just gone with his first instinct: Shooting him in the face. He gripped his Shellcaster tightly, aiming it in the vague direction where the Deathknight had originally been. It still glowed softly with Essence, providing a little much needed light.

Join battle roll:
[roll0]

Combat stuff
Jade Shellcaster
Speed 4, Accuracy +1, Damage +9L, Range 50, Rate 3 Attune Cost: 5m

Laminate Dragonscale Vest
Soak 5L/5B, Hardness 3L/3B, Mobility 0, Fatigue 0, Attune Cost: 4m

Natural Soak: 3B/1L
Dodge DV: 5

Willpower 5/10

Permanent Essence 4
Personal Pool 8/17(9 attuned)
Peripheral Pool 34/39

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
-X [ ]

Active Charms
Drawing the Dragon's Fury (Allows use of (Element) Dragon Bullet for free)

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks curses shoulda shot the *******!
With a burst of essence, she ignites, bright flames rising from every part of her body, lighting the area with a shimmering light, flickering brightly, raising shadows that may prove more of a problem than a benefit.

Join battle!
[roll0]

I'm gonna spend 5m to ignite my anima. Burning bonfire should make this a bit better, although it maaay make me a target... oh well. I have some tricks. (grin)

[Ifni]

Morgan's thoughts, even now, are calm as the eye of a storm. It helps that she can see her immediate vicinity, thanks to her own darkness adaptations. And she can still sense the icy bite of the soulsteel against her senses.

Her dark blade moves in her hand like a living thing, scenting the promise of violence, and she settles into a relaxed defensive stance as she awaits her time to strike.

Join Battle: [roll0]
+possible stunt [roll1]

Active Charms and Effects:
Gemstone of Shadows - currently producing shadows localized around Morgan, increasing the difficulty to spot or recognize her inside by 2, higher if the surroundings are also relatively dark.
+1 to Dodge and Parry DVs vs ranged attacks.
She can see perfectly well in the zone of darkness, though the hearthstone grants no benefit in seeing through darkness beyond that area.
Defense-From-Anathema Method - +5 to DVs and MDVs.
Crane Form - lots of benefits, most relevant ones are probably +1 to Parry DV and she exerts no effective weight on any surface and automatically succeeds on Athletics checks to keep her balance.
With One Mind - share surface thoughts, difficulty to coordinate attacks is 1, parry on each others behalf as if we had set it up with Defend Other.
Fivefold Resonance Sense - sense the presence of magical materials.

Current DVs/soak:
DVs:
Dodge: 10/12, 11/13 vs ranged
Parry (Winter's Breath): 18/19, 19/20 vs ranged
(see spoiler below for why there are / marks, there's a rules question I'm not certain of)
Breakdown of Parry DV:
(5 Dex + 5 Martial Arts + 3 Specialty + 8 Defense (with Perfected Kata Bracers))/2 = 11 + 2 parry DV in shadows benefit from Shadow ability + 1 parry DV Crane Form + 5 DV Defense-From-Anathema Method = 19

But I believe there's a hard cap on the DV bonus from Charms at (Attribute+Ability)/2. If this is correct, Defense-From-Anathema-Method already caps it out, and the bonus from Crane Form does not apply, so PDV would be 18.

In this case I think Dodge DV is also 2 points lower, and I don't get the full benefit from Defense-From-Anathema Method?

Soak:
Bashing: 9B
Lethal: 7L
Aggravated: 5A
(Discreet Essence Armor not yet activated)

Mental Defenses:
Dodge MDV: 15
Best Parry MDV: 10 (Performance+Manipulation)

[Maugan Ra]

Initiative Track
0: Fury of the Forsaken
1:
2: Carl, Nate, Brooks,
3:
4: Morgan, Leah

[Maugan Ra]

"I said earlier that you were treating this whole thing a bit too casually." Fury's voice comes floating out of the cloying darkness all around you, echoing slightly as though you stand in a vast cave. "That's a very unwise thing to do. For example... you know what one of the biggest signs is that you aren't taking this seriously?"

The mental link between the five of you is very useful. Being able to sense one another's surface thoughts and feelings is a prize almost beyond measure. It also means that you pick up on Lize's thoughts as well...

Carl? Carl, I can't see **** in here... but I think I can hear OH GODS..

"Bringing mortals onto an exalted battlefield."

And then there is only pain, and inarticulate screaming in your minds.


0: Fury of the Forsaken
1:
2: Carl, Nate, Brooks
3:
4: Morgan, Leah, Fury

[Edge]

Carl hears, feels, Vallera's suffering over the mental link. A veteran who'd seen quite possibly the worst war in Meruvia's history... reduced to this.

The blood in Carl's veins quickened and boiled.

"That's it? That's it, Mr. F***ing Scary Deathknight?! Five Dragon-Bloods show up to face you, and you pick on little human soldier? Well f**k you and whatever torture s**t you've pulled on Vallera! She's a veteran of North-4, an Anvil-born Hammer through and through. Yeah, she looks bad now, but Hammers shrug off whatever the world throws at us. That's what we f**king do!"

Carl pauses to adopt a cocky pose, nestling the barrel of his gun in the crook of his arm.

"So give us your worst, you worthless, motherf***ing coward! We'll just keep getting back up until you decide to stay dead! Why? Screw you, motherf***er, that's why!"

Using Unbearable Taunt Technique on Fury for 3 motes. Spending 1 mote on the First Presence Excellency to enhance the roll, and channelling Conviction on the roll, too. If it succeeds, Fury takes a -1 DV penalty against everyone but me.

Manipulation 2 + Presence 2 + Excellency 2 + 3 Virtue: [roll0]
And for any stunt dice you think are due: [roll1]

Active Charms:
Defence-From-Anathema-Method (add permanent Essence to DVs) and MDVs.

Dodge DV: 11 (7+4)
Parry DV: 9 (5+4)

Dodge MDV: 13 (9+4)
Parry 7 (3+4)

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 12/17
Peripheral: 16/37
Committed: 22[/QUOTE]

[Maugan Ra]

"Does it offend your sense of honour, sergeant? Were you expecting me to face you down in a formal duel?" Fury's voice echoes from the darkness, sounding faintly amused.

"Still, I've seen the record of that war... spoken to some of the casualties, even. Believe me when I say I do not underestimate just how... tenacious your veterans can be. But I think even one of the mighty 'Hammers' can be incapacitated by a sufficiently serious wound."

Something comes flying out of the gloom and lands at Rudd's feet with a wet squelch. It takes him a moment to properly comprehend what exactly it is - an eye, the exact same colour as Vallera's. it stares up at you blindly.

"Wouldn't you agree?"

[Lix Lorn]

"We don't expect anything resembling honour from a monster like you, dear Hissy-Fit-Of-The-Forsaken." retorts Brooks. "We're not gonna be distracted by you doing something horrible. We'll kill you, and deal with it later."

Okay, so it may be a mouthful, but she's under a lot of pressure, trying to think, keep calm, and align her essence at the same time, taking a wide stance and breathing deeply, her motes darting like flames, dancing around her as she enters the Sigh of the Dragons form.

...Sigh of the Dragons form! 5m, and it's a speed 6 action.

[Ifni]

"Why not face us, Fury? It's what you want of Gorol, isn't it?" The Air Aspect's voice is cool and measured, as she notes the trajectory of the... eye, oh no, oh Lize... and glides toward the direction it came from, mentally comparing to the soldier's last known position.

Oh, the pain flooding through the link. But it hasn't winked out, just yet. Hold on, Lize...

"Our informant almost made you sound noble. Avenging your death, and all that. A crusader with a cause, and the threats of mass murder only to draw out your adversary."

"But from all I've seen of you so far, hurting and killing seem like end as much as means. Unsurprising, I suppose, given what you are."

"I'm still not quite sure why you wanted us to come here, though. Just preliminary testing?"

No action, just reflexive movement. She'll be trying to stay within Defend Other range of the rest of the group, though.

[Maugan Ra]

"Whoever said I wanted you to come here?" the sound of footsteps in the darkness, from virtually all directions. "Still, relax. I haven't killed your little pet. A bit of reconstructive surgery and she'll be good as new... probably."

The radios in your ears crackle softly, and Fisher's voice comes through. "I think I can get rid of the darkness. Keep him busy for maybe twenty seconds, and be ready."

[The_Snark]

"Copy that."

Disgust and mounting irritation flow through the link from Leah. Darkness, picking off the weakest first, taunting them. He's playing mind games with you. You know that. Of course they do. One of the disadvantages of being linked so closely is that sometimes you share things you wouldn't normally say: too obvious, too tactless, too irrelevant, or just plain embarrassing.

Stay together; we don't want him picking us off one by one. I can pinpoint him for a moment, but it'll take a bit of concentration. Can you all be ready to fire when I do? She obeys her own directions, following Morgan at a cautious half-run.

Basic reflexive move (not actually my action yet). Mechanically, she's suggesting that someone (probably Carl) coordinate an attack to go off when she uses Feeling the Dragon's Bones.

[horus42]

Nate gripped the Shellcaster tightly, casting its light in front of him as best he could, though it offered practically no benefit. Fisher's words echo through his ear. Keep him busy? That, we can do. Twenty more seconds shouldn't be much, though the sound of the Deathknight's approaching footsteps was more than a bit unnerving.

He laughs as he calls out to the Deathknight. "Brooks has a point, you know. Going after the mortals, and leaving us blind. Trying to scare us with darkness and gore? Pathetic. You're a coward, Fury. If you had any balls, you'd end this petty little vendetta with Gorol man to man, rather than acting all passive-aggressive like a f**king preteen girl."

Well, that ought to get his attention. And possibly save Vallera's life.

At the same time, Nate channels his Essence into his skin, drawing strength and resistance from the Earth itself. His skin hardens like stone, becoming nearly impenetrable.

Spending 3 motes on Impervious Skin of Stone Meditation, increasing my natural soak to 7B/5L.

[Maugan Ra]

"Oh, little Dragon-Bloods. You just do not understand. Fair fights, honest fights... those are for opponents I respect. Sadly, none of you qualify."

"Still. Even the buzzing of insects can grow annoying, if left untouched for too long. Perhaps I should show you... just how outmatched you really are."

There is a flicker, and then he is standing in the middle of your group, smiling slightly despite being surrounded by five terrestrials. In his blood-stained hands, he holds a massive broadsword made of Soulsteel, the twisted metal moaning slightly as he bring it up into a horizontal guard. You can see blood on his hands.

"The iron lotus... unfurls." he says in a whisper, and then the blade is everywhere.


First off, the current tick order.
0: Fury
1:
2: Carl, Nate, Brooks
3:
4: Morgan, Leah, Fury
5: Nate
6:
7:
8: Brooks
9: Fury

Note that since Carl was assumed to be guarding, he can also take his actions on tick 4 at the same moment as Fury's attack, if he wants to. And that everyone does get to take a shot at the Deathknight before he can retreat. Congratulations, you successfully baited him into giving you a potential opportunity. Don't waste it.

But first, Unfurling Iron Lotus, enhanced with Time Scything Technique. Fury gets to make a flurry of eight attacks with his Soulsteel Grand Daiklaive. He'll throw one at Nate, one at Brooks and two each at everyone else. I'll wait to see how you potentially avoid the attacks before I make any damage calculations.

Against Nate: [roll0] (14 successes)

Against Brooks: [roll1] (6 successes)

Leah 1: [roll2] (8 successes)
Leah2: [roll3] (10 successes)

Morgan 1: [roll4] (7 successes)
Morgan 2: [roll5] (11 successes)

Carl 1: [roll6] (6 successes)
Carl 2: [roll7] (11 successes)

[Edge]

Carl doesn't respond to the eye. Once you've seen an enemy beat a man to death with his own dismembered arm, it takes a a hell of a lot to disquiet you.

Instead, he focus his attention on the sudden appearance of Fury in their midst, and his whirling daiklave.

The sergeant's reaction is instinctive and instantaneous - single, simple combat roll, executed with breathtaking precision, underneath the Abyssal's swinging blade. As he returns to his feet, he feels a brief quickening of his Essence as he takes action alongside others Dragon-Blooded. Underneath his helmet, he smiles grimly.

Alright people, he's slipped up. Let's not give the bastard a chance to regret it. Hold your attacks for a sec. I'll tag him with a Charm to help open him up, and then I and anyone else with a gun will give him hell so our CQC specialists can close and engage whilst his attention is divided. Wait for my opening salvo to leave him open, and then make him pay for underestimating the Taskforce.

Hoping that description of Carl's dodge is enough to get me a 1-die stunt and keep me safe from Fury's attack, and attempting to Coordinate an Attack. This is Speed 5, so Carl will act again on tick 9, which is when he is coordinating the attack for. There's 5 of us, so the difficulty is 2.

Coordinating Attack (Charisma + War): [roll0]

Also, since Carl has acted now, he gets 5 Overdrive motes thanks to Ten Thousand Claw Empowerment (http://forums.white-wolf.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=1316931).

Active Charms:
Defence-From-Anathema-Method (add permanent Essence to DVs) and MDVs.

Dodge DV: 11 (7+4)
Parry DV: 9 (5+4)

Dodge MDV: 13 (9+4)
Parry 7 (3+4)

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 12/17
Peripheral: 16/37
Overdrive: 5/10
Committed: 22

[Ifni]

"I'll handle this one." There is no fear in the Air Aspect's thought, only confidence and a chilly satisfaction. "Oh my enemy, thank you for your errors. Although, as always, I won't turn down backup... and yeah, Carl, I'll try to slow him down for you, but he's giving me an opening and I'm not going to let it go by."

But as Morgan moves to meet the deathknight's assault, a flash of memory does slip inadvertently through her control. No words, only a moment of visceral sensation.

The frozen tundra crunching beneath your feet. The sky a white dome above. Tears frozen on your cheeks. Pain, exhaustion, hunger, fear; muscles screaming as you force them to the ever-faster exchange of strike and counterstrike...

The memory cuts off sharply, before her opponent can register as more than the briefest sense of recognition. And the others can feel the focus of her thoughts sharpen to something nearly inhuman, against the honing edge of Lize's pain.

Then the blade is everywhere - but so is she. As the air is everywhere, unnoticed until it's stirred to a wind and then a tempest.

As time is shattered and remade by the deathknight's will, the Dragon-Blood steps between the broken seconds with the speed of her allies' shared reflexes, faster even than conscious thought. As the blows fall like the promise of doom, gauged with superhuman perfection to scythe past any possible defenses - wherever Fury turns, still Morgan is there. The daiklave in her hand is a twisting arc of deeper darkness amidst the shadows that cloak her, and sparks of black fire fountain around the combatants as soulsteel meets elusive ebon blade.

"I got your little message with the disk, Fury." Her voice is calm and lecturing, as if she stood before a hall of students. "You can see how well that worked out. And all this is supposed to teach us our inferiority?"

The broadsword hammers at Brooks and Nate and Leah, but Morgan meets it in an exchange almost too fast to see, the petals of the iron lotus caught up and scattered in the shifting gusts of the hurricane. There's little force behind the Air Aspect's parries. They don't need it.

Who can strike the wind? Who can cut shadow?

And then Fury turns his blade on Morgan herself - is that frustration growing in his eyes? - and her thoughts sing like the winds out of the north,
"And that was his second mistake. DO NOT DEFEND ME."

Beneath the swinging veil of her silver hair, the egg-shaped matrix set in the back of Morgan's neck glows with a strange luminosity, like phosphorescence on ocean waves. And she smiles.

"Everything you can see, we can see," she says, still in that eerily calm tone.

For a moment her eyes distort and blur, matching Fury's precisely in shape and color. (And through her relayed senses, her allies see the world for a moment as the deathknight does.) From the air around her spring a hundred shadow-blurred silhouettes, tracing the Abyssal's movements, matching his speed. For a stretched-out moment, it seems that Fury spars with himself. And then the shadows coalesce, failures ribboning away from the whole, becoming a vision of the perfect warrior - and armor Morgan for a moment, before they fade away.

"Anywhere you can go, we can go."

She steps into a new stance, shadow-blade raised high, ready to thrust, even as the soulsteel sweeps forward in a brutal sideways cut meant to slice her open.

Her hand barely moves, but it's enough; the needle-sharp curve of shadow darts downward at Fury's hand. A quick flip of his wrist, and Winter's Breath skitters harmlessly against the soulsteel - and then flexes, in a way no sword should ever bend, and leaps upward for the deathknight's unprotected throat like a predator alive and snarling.

"And whatever you do... we can oppose."

The Air Aspect flows forward like a breeze, into the circle of her opponent's reach. Her Essence is a storm of ice and lightning in her blood, raging in response to the deathknight's presence.

Again Fury strikes, and this time her blade twists, wrapping like a python around the terrible broadsword. She can feel the vibration of the soulsteel next to her skin like a furious discordant clamor, but it's only for a moment.

In that moment, she pulls herself close to her foe, close enough to whisper in his ear. Her foot lashes in to hook around his. Her other arm, weighted with the green jade sword, descends to trap his arms.

"Even for fury," she murmurs to the Abyssal, with an odd gentleness in her voice, "there's always an ending."

So! Parryparryparry. When Fury actually attacks Morgan, this sequence happens:

(1) Spend 1 WP to activate my Against-The-Flame Pearl (and yeah, I'm sure having a 4-dot Kimberian hearthstone plugged into her spinal cord will never be a bad idea). I now "match his ability to move, perceive and survive in the current environment". This should, at the least, allow me (and all my telepathy buddies!) to see in his darkness. It lasts the scene.

(2) Reflexively activate Beak Spears Frog (scenelong counterattack charm, I can't do ordinary attacks while it's up, cost is 2m 1wp thanks to Precision of Form Gem).

(3) Fire Empowering Justice Redirection on his first attack and immediately apply it on my first counterattack, which is a normal strike with Winter's Breath, cost is 2m thanks to Precision of Form Gem.

(4) Fire Empowering Justice Redirection on his second attack and immediately apply it on the resulting counterattack, which is a clinch. Attack bonus is 5 MA + 5 Dex + 5 Perfected Kata Bracers = 15 dice + 11 successes.

The number of stunt dice is doubled thanks to Crane Form.
So!
Counterattack with daiklave: [roll0] + 7 sux EJR, and he takes -2 to his Parry DV (but not Dodge DV) against it. Base damage is 10B, of Crane-Special-Bashing-Damage-That-Does-Not-Wrap-To-Lethal.
= 18 sux total before stunt, -2 to his parry DV.
Counterattack clinch: [roll1] + 11 sux EJR. Base damage is 6B, piercing, of Crane-Special-Bashing-Damage-That-Does-Not-Wrap-To-Lethal; I'll be crushing if I hit him.
= 15 sux total before stunt.
Possible stunt dice:
[roll2]
EDIT: +3/5/5 sux for a 1/2/3-die stunt.

And yeah, having seen his attack rolls, I know I didn't actually need to defend most/all of the group. But (a) I believe I'm actually supposed to make the decision on Defend Other around Step 2 of attack resolution, before I see any of the rolls, and (b) it's advantageous for me to do so, because I have such a high PDV at the moment, and counterattack charms - thanks to With One Mind it doesn't really cost me anything.

The final attacks on Carl might be an exception just due to the onslaught penalty piling up (it might make more sense for Morgan to defer to someone else to lead at that point, if she no longer has the highest PDV in the guard), and I haven't included them in this stunt just because if I did manage to clinch him obviously it would change things.

EDIT: Oh, and I am spending those motes out of Peripheral, which puts my anima to the 12m level.

[Maugan Ra]

"Impressive." Fury says in a low voice, one clearly still audible to everyone in the Taskforce, as the lock goes into place and he finds himself rendered suddenly immobile. "I had not imagined that such skill and power could be found amongst the living."

Idly, he attempts to pull free, but abandons the attempt once he realises just how unyielding Morgan's grip is. His voice is now tinged with a distinct sense of amusement, and unexpected respect. "Very well. I surrender."

The unnatural darkness veiling the area vanishes in an instant, and there is a faint chime as Fury releases his grip on the Daiklaive, letting it fall to the ground. The Deathknight seems... intrigued, as he studies you all, visibly curious as to what you will do now.

[The_Snark]

There is a moment of surprised silence. Leah is the first to recover.

"Fury of the Forsaken, you are under arrest." Already moving to encircle him and hit him from behind, she removes a set of handcuffs from her belt and steps within striking distance. Carefully. Just because he's momentarily quiescent doesn't mean he's safe. Also not an opportunity to be wasted. With deft, efficient motions she twists his arms behind his back and fastens the restraints around his wrists with a secure click.

She does not let go. Her grip feels stronger than the steel cuffs.

"Target has surrendered," she addresses Fisher. "Do we have a holding procedure?"

Technically Leah's action should have resolved at the same time, but that's what I get for being slow. Let me know if he's resisting; I figure the handcuffs won't go on if he does, but she can still join in the clinch.

[horus42]

Nate grins slightly at Morgan's impressive display, but it fades with the ease that Fury surrenders. This isn't right. He thinks to the others, since the link is still active. This was too easy. We've seen what he's capable of, it has to be some kind of trick.

Even still, he stays there, his gun still trained over Fury's heart, in case he tries something. "Well, let's hope that they're more hospitable to you in some random Third-World hellhole of a cell while you rot in OMI custody than you were to your victims." He grins again.

[Lix Lorn]

This is not right. Can we just kill him? Please?

Brooks jokes a lot, but she's intensely serious... and perhaps a tiny bit scared, although she'll deny it to the ends of Creation.

[Ifni]

"I want to render him unconscious. Remember Mask's teleportation trick. And it's not possible for me to injure him worse by accident, with the Charms I have active. Any objections?"

The Air Aspect nods gratitude to Leah as she comes over to cuff Fury and restrain him, but doesn't loosen her own grip, although she does adjust her hold so she's not getting in the Water Aspect's way. Leah's stronger than she is, and more skilled with unarmed combat; she's always preferred her swords. The icy winds of her anima sigh around her, but they won't harm the Exalted, not yet.

Lucky we're not fighting on the third floor of the hospital, though.

"Don't say another word, deathknight," Morgan says curtly.

I'm... actually not sure how Beak Spears Frog interacts with maintaining a clinch. I can't make physical attacks while it's active (only counterattacks). Possibly holding is fine but not the other options? If I need to deactivate the Charm to keep holding Fury after his first action, I'll do so.

Unless Fisher gives us an alternative, Morgan wants to knock him out; with Crane Form active her damage can't wrap around to lethal, so she's not worried about accidentally killing him.

Also, did he perfect-soak my special bashing damage, or let it through? It might make a difference if other people hit him.

And I'm fine with letting Leah take control of the clinch, if I can, and just helping her; she's significantly better at it than Morgan.

[Edge]

Carl watches Morgan's rapid array of parries with mixed degrees of awe and professional jealousy.

Damn, Morgan, you'll have to teach me that trick sometime.

As the Air Aspect wrestles Fury into submission, Carl moves forward, his grand shellcaster aimed at the deathknight's head.

I don't like the idea of leaving this bastard alive to cause havoc another day...

He switches back to his voice an radios Fisher.

"Fisher, target has surrendered. Do we want him alive, or do we have permission to terminate?"

Carl doesn't even attempt to keep his intense desire to execute Fury here and now from bleeding over the mental link.

[Maugan Ra]

"Permission denied." Fisher says in a cold voice as he walks across the pavement to join you. "We need him intact, for dissection if nothing else."

Fury laughs darkly. "My, my. You remind me of some of my comrades, Sidereal. Are you sure you're on the right side?"

[Ifni]

"I told you not to talk," Morgan says, as she moves her hand to cover Fury's mouth. She looks up at Fisher. "Sir, do you have a means to contain him, or should we knock him out?"

Sidereal?

[Maugan Ra]

"Knock him out. Then strap his arms and legs together. " he pauses. "And gag him. We'll take him to our incarceration facility."

[horus42]

"You can still dissect him with a bullet in his head, right Fisher?"

The effects of Drawing the Dragon's Fury were still active, causing the Red Jade Shellcaster to glow with soft, fiery light. Nate didn't want to take any chances with the Deathknight, and the best way to stop him was to kill him. Then again, he most likely had a contingency plan in the event of his death, and the only way to prevent that was to keep him alive. Why can't anything ever be easy...

[Ifni]

"He's surrendered, Nate," Morgan says. "I'd prefer that people have some incentive not to fight us to the death." She glances briefly at Fisher, a question in her eyes (and a hint of uncertainty, although she's trying to hide it).

"It's just a threat, right? Or anger at what he did to Lize. I'm not handing over a prisoner only to be tortured and then -"

The surface thoughts through the link cut off abruptly as Morgan realizes that she's transmitting them.

"You got him, Leah?" She waits for the Water Aspect's nod, or mental affirmation, before letting go of her grip on the deathknight and resettling her swords in her hands. "Fury - I'll try to make this hurt as little as possible. It'll be... in your favor, if you don't fight us now."

Compassion 5 academic does not particularly like these threats of killing/dissecting someone who surrendered to her, even knowing what he is.

Morgan would almost certainly have to suppress Compassion (and probably gain Limit) to kill a prisoner, fwiw, and I think holding him for other people to kill also counts. (That said, if Fisher had given permission, she'd pay the Willpower and Limit. She understands Fury might need to die for other people's safety. She just wouldn't be very happy about it.)

Are we still in combat, Maugan? If we're not tracking actions, I'll deactivate Beak Spears Frog and just try to knock him down to Incapacitated with repeated Crush actions with my Crane-bashing-damage-that-can't-wrap-around.

If Leah wants to handle this instead, Morgan will let her, and just help; she doesn't have the same non-wrapping damage rules but if he has any soak that's probably not super dangerous, and she's better at clinching.

EDIT: Actually, if Leah wants to hold the clinch it's probably better if Morgan drops it and then just does a ridiculous-rate flurry with her daiklaves; I think she can make ten attacks or so if she's fighting someone with DV 0 and doesn't care about her own DV (her dicepool will be awful, but DV 0), and all of that damage will be bashing-that-doesn't-wrap. But I won't bother rolling if Fury's not resisting.

EDIT: Edited my post. Given Morgan is dropping out of Beak Spears Frog either way, I think it makes more tactical sense to have her doing guaranteed-not-to-wrap-around damage via flurries-of-swords than adding one die to Leah's superior clinch pool.

But I'm not sure if we're still in combat ticks, so happy to edit if so.

[The_Snark]

"Dying didn't stop him the first time," Leah says aloud, and through the link adds: what did you think they'd do with him, Morgan? He'll never get a public trial. I don't like it any more than you, but he's too dangerous. They won't want to publish any of this. They'll just make him vanish. Probably never tell us where.

There is a strong undercurrent of anger and frustration in those thoughts; the law is not receiving its due in Leah's eyes, and she can't see a way around it just now.

Hold on that, she tells Morgan as the Air Aspect readies her swords, and shifts one of her arms to lock around Fury's throat, cutting off his airflow. No breathing. No speaking, either. (A spark of petty satisfaction flickers through the link; she's wanted to shut him up ever since he strolled out to greet them.)

Leah is going to activate Drowning Embrace for 5 motes, which deals 1 level of unsoakable bashing damage per action (unless he has whatever Abyssal Charm removes your need to breathe). A little slower than beating him into unconsciousness, but also a little more acceptable to police sensibilities.

[Edge]

Carl throws his hands up in the air and grunts with disgust.

"Okay, fine. We'll leave the threat to live another day. I'm gonna go find Vallera and see what the bastard actually did to her."

The Earth Aspect begins trudging over to where Vallera had taken up position before Fury pulled the darkness trick out of his hat.

"Brand, Burns, form up on me," he radios as he walks. "And Fisher, if we could have an ambulance for Lize, that'd be great."

[Maugan Ra]

The deathknight seems amused, his eyes glittering with the barely-supressed emotion, right up until the moment the chokehold takes effect and he passes out. As he sags in your arms, it becomes apparent just how heavy he really is - evidently, being dead hasn't impeded his physical development much.

"Throw him in the back of the van. I'll give the driver directions on how to get to the OMI incarceration facility." Fisher says, looking down at him. "One of you should probably ride with him, just in case. Everyone else... once the ambulance arrives, I believe I owe you some answers."

Carl finds Vallera easily enough - she's actually rather out of position, as though the deathknight deliberately dragged her away from her original sniper spot. The veteran soldier has been blinded, her eyes little more than a red ruin of violated flesh. Worse, there is a shadowy duplicate of Fury's daiklaive rammed through her stomach, pinning her to the ground underneath. She whimpers and twitches as you approach.

[horus42]

Well Leah, here's your chance. If you want to see proper justice done, you should go with him. Nate, of course, had no problems with OMI making Fury disappear. It was standard operating procedure for him. As long as he couldn't hurt anyone else, it didn't really matter what happened to him.

He didn't say anything, but simply waited for the ambulance, and Fisher's promised answers. The word "Sidereal" had meant nothing to him, but it looked as though he was going to find out what it meant. And hopefully all of this would make sense in the end.

[Edge]

Upon seeing Vallera, Carl hurries over to crouch down next to her.

Ah, ****. **** **** ****. I'm here Vallera. It's okay. We got the bastard. He ain't touching you again."

As he inspects her injuries more closely, he radios back to Fisher again.

"I found her. We could really use that ambulance ASAP, Fisher."

Attempting to "diagnose" Lize's injuries, mainly attempting to see if it's safe to move her.

Perception + Medicine: [roll0]
And another die in case my Field Medicine speciality applies: [rollv]1d10[rollv]

[Ifni]

"I know, Leah. It was a slip. I'm tired - tapped some reserves there." The last is certainly true; a sense of deep weariness flickers at the edges of the link. Even accounting for that, Morgan's thought doesn't sound very happy, and the dominant emotion accompanying it is resignation. Leah's correct about the dangers of a trial - the right to defend oneself in court becomes a little more tricky when every word is potentially a lethal weapon. And even if his plans for Crane Bay were just a hoax - what he did to Lize wasn't. But it helps to know that Leah feels the same way.

The Air Aspect runs her hands along her swords, checking the edges for any nicks - a pointless reflex, with these blades, but one long ingrained - and then sheathes them. She follows Carl over to look at Lize, staying back far enough that her anima won't harm the soldier.

"Do you want to go with him, Leah? You'll be better at keeping him under control, if he wakes up, and also with any bureaucracy that comes into the picture." Morgan hasn't had to deal with prisoners very often; the spirits in the north usually fought to the death, preferring reformation in their sanctums to capture. "I have more experience with deathknights, or at least their toys, but -"

"Ah. We should probably search him before we stick him in that van with only one person on watch, in case he has any little surprises up his sleeve."

She directs her thoughts at the mortal woman, trying to get a message through that crushing pain. "Lize, we got him, we won. Ambulance is coming. Hold on, okay?"

[Maugan Ra]

Fisher moves over to join Rudd, and winces at the sight of Lize's injuries. He grits his teeth for a moment, then reaches out and touches the soldier lightly on the forehead. There is an odd sort of shimmer to the air, and for a moment the agent's hand seems to glow silver and purple. Then he stands back up, and all of Lize's injuries are gone, and she is sleeping peacefully on the ground.

"I haven't healed her wounds. She still needs medical treatment. I just... deferred them for a little while, and put her to sleep." he explains in a tired voice, before turning and heading for the car.

"Come on. Back to headquarters. There's a medical facility there, one that won't ask awkward questions."

[Edge]

"What the hell?" Carl states with some confusion, the suspicion of his glance at Fisher hidden by his helmet. The Earth Aspect then shakes his head and picks up Vallera's unconscious body, carrying her over towards the car. Damien and Shandra follow close behind, worry etched across both their faces.

[Maugan Ra]

"Long, long story short? The program that made you people - the Terrestrial exaltation program - is not the first of it's kind. I, and those like me... we're the recipients of an older, fundamentally different process. And before you start suspecting some kind of elaborate black operation thing carried out by the government, we were made by certain very powerful spirits."

He climbs into the car and gestures for most of you to get in, save any who are escorting the prisoner.

[Lix Lorn]

"Well, that would have been nice to know some time ago." says Brooks, feeling distinctly uncomfortable about the entire situation. While she doesn't trust the deathknight, she won't insist on going too.

[Ifni]

"Spirits? But -" Morgan closes her mouth, and shutters her mind. One thought whispers past her control: "Be nice, people. Please. Fisher and I... go back a long way. He's a good man, whatever else he is."

She goes over to Fury and searches him quickly and efficiently, looking in particular for anything that resonates to her senses with the icy bite of soulsteel. That done, she puts her own sheathed swords back in the trunk of the car, and with some difficulty attempts to heft the soulsteel daiklave.

"You think there's nothing to find in the hospital, Fisher?" She glances at Lize. "Either way, though, I guess we can come back after getting medical treatment for Lize. Thanks for what you did - both for her and for us. Telepathic links are not so much fun in those circumstances."

[horus42]

"So let me get this straight, Fisher. You people, you... Sidereals, was that the word? You're Exalted, like us and the Deathknights, and those "Lunars" that the conspiracy theorists talk about? So, who exactly gave you this power?"

He heard Morgan's plea, but still gripped his Shellcaster tightly. Chosen and empowered by powerful spirits? The very same beings that have assaulted Creation for so long, the enemies of the Immaculate God? None of this boded well for Nate.

[Maugan Ra]

"And I would have loved to be able to tell you. But it isn't that easy." he sighs and rubs his temple as he waits for people to get in the car. "Have you noticed how utterly forgettable I am? How I just seem to fade into the background? How, even though I trained Morgan personally in mastering that fighting style she displayed back there - which was very nice, by the way - she didn't recognize me until I told you all my name. Yeah. None of that is voluntary."

"No one, not friends or family or passers by, remembers us."

[Lix Lorn]

"...well that must suck." Brooks says, after what is surely an uncomfortable pause.

[Ifni]

"Nate." Morgan's voice is flat and dangerous. "Fisher saved my life today, and he's done nothing except help us. Tone it down."

She draws in a breath at the OMI agent's next words. Consequently, Amelia gets her two cents in first. "... yeah. Think Amelia nailed it."

The Air Aspect takes a step closer to her teacher. "Even if I didn't recognize you, Fisher - I do remember, you know. What you taught me, even if not what you looked like then. And thanks for the compliment, but I wouldn't call myself a master - not yet. I remember how much I didn't learn, too." She smiles faintly, and pauses. "Is there a way to stop it? Or will we just... forget, again?"

Not that I think it will be necessary (for at least three different reasons), but Morgan is declaring a Defend Other action on Fisher, just on principle.

[Maugan Ra]

"We've found some ways to counteract it, but nothing that outright fixes it. Basically, we act. We establish elaborate fake personas and pretend to be them, and those, people can remember. It also helps that people who have the ability to manipulate essence - like you folks, for example - are more resistant to the amnesia."

He starts the car and begins driving off, before grinning. "That said, it's not all bad. I can punch a man so hard, he turns into a duck."

[Lix Lorn]

Snort. "That I want to see. And learn, ideally."

[Ifni]

"Right. Then hopefully one of us can manage to fight off the amnesia, at least, and remind the others."

Morgan raises an amused eyebrow at Amelia, as she leans back in her seat. St Cecilia but I feel drained, even though it was only a few seconds... "Be careful what you ask for. Fisher's training methods are... rigorous. Although they did not involve duck punching, unless my memory has a significant hole in it."

Is it safe to assume that I searched Fury, found nothing, and loaded his daiklave into the car if it would fit and the van if it wouldn't?

[horus42]

Visibly, Nate relaxes. "You're right, Morgan. I'm sorry, Fisher." Yet he takes in every ounce of what Fisher says about the nature of being a Sidereal. Basically, they do the exact same thing Nate does. Act under cover IDs. A useful tool, but it implies that they're some sort of Spiritual Spies, which does nothing but ramp up his paranoia.

[Edge]

Carl loads Vallera into the car carefully, making sure she isn't in a position to be harmed if her injuries suddenly reappear. The sergeant's attention shifts between his injured squadmate and Fisher's explanation.

"Can't be remembered... punching people into ducks. This world gets weirder by the day."

[Ifni]

"To ask Nate's question again in a slightly more tactful way - can you tell us about these spirits? I understand Meruvia doesn't generally get along very well with spirits, but there are clearly a few people like you working for OMI. Are the ones who empowered you... exceptions?"

She pauses, and then asks rather cautiously, "Does this have anything to do with the... place I visited?"

[Maugan Ra]

"People like me don't exclusively work for OMI. You can probably find Sidereals working for the majority of the more powerful governments in the world - we don't forget each other, so I can state with some authority that there are about a hundred of us, all told. Only twenty work for Meruvia."

He drives the car steadily through the evening streets, heading back for OMI headquarters. "And no, the ones who empowered me are not exceptions. Actually, they're among the leaders of the spirit hosts. In my particular case... Jupiter. Maiden of Secrets. Who, by the virtue of her position and power, essentially knows just about everything that anyone would like to keep hidden." he sighs. "Fortunately, there's nothing in the nature of our power that compels us to work for them, though I'm fairly sure at least a few do. We're free agents, mostly."

The Transport Truck

With a gentle whine, the tenuous mental link in the back of Leah's head fades away and vanishes as the distance between her and the rest of the team becomes too significant.

"So. I'm to be dissected."

At Leah's feet, Fury of the Forsaken opens his eyes and smiles up at her in a slightly ghoulish fashion. He doesn't make any other moves, though. "Seems a little unfair. Actually, seems like it would give me little reason to surrender in the first place. Wouldn't you agree?"

[Ifni]

"... all right. Thank you for telling us."

"So what's the plan here? Drop Lize at the treatment facility and then go meet up with Leah? Go back and check over the hospital, see if we can find out if Fury did anything to it to keep the shadowland active?"

"... hmm. Leah just dropped off the mindlink. Probably just distance, but..."

The Air Aspect thumbs a switch on her radio. "Leah, I just lost you from the link, so checking in. Can you give us a verbal status confirmation every five minutes or so?"

[The_Snark]

"Will do."

For a moment it's a relief when the link vanishes. The mind-sharing technique is undeniably useful in a fight, but Leah won't ever be comfortable with the degree of intimacy it brings. There's no such thing as solitude when five other people are privy to your idle thoughts, and she prefers some distance between herself and the world.

Only a moment, though, because with timing any horror-movie villain would admire, Fury of the Forsaken is awake.

"You should have thought of that before you surrendered." Her skin darkens briefly, a bruise-like flush running along the back of her hands as essence flows through her bones. She leans forward, outwardly casual but poised for sudden movement, and places a boot on his chest for security. Terrible leverage, but he's handcuffed and in no shape to take advantage... she hopes. "You threatened three million people. You don't get to complain about fairness."

Activating Terrestrial Hero Form, just in case. Let me know if a Join Battle roll is needed.

[horus42]

For the first time since Fisher told them what he was, Nate actually relaxes. He puts his Shellcaster back into his Innocuous Assassin's Luggage, the fiery aura of essence having dissipated as the effects of the Charm upon it ended. Though he had no real proof, he couldn't help but think that Fisher was telling the truth. These Spirits might not be exceptions to the rule, but if Fisher wasn't working for them, there was no reason not to trust him.

"Well, that's something of a relief, I think. And Morgan's right, it's probably best to go back to the hospital after we drop Lize off. Just in case Fury left something nasty behind, or has a second-in-command who takes over upon his capture or death."

[Maugan Ra]

"Maybe. Still, my thanks...it was enlightening, watching how you reacted. I always like seeing which way people jump. And in that spirit, here's another little test."

The inside of the truck is suddenly full of the scent of spilt blood and grave earth. "In ten seconds, anyone within fifty yards is going to be in the underworld. I wonder... how committed are you to stopping my escape?"

[The_Snark]

****.

Her first impulse is to lunge down and throttle him. No escape. Not for him. Her second impulse is to shout a warning to the driver and clear out. The Underworld is unknown territory, possibly an unfriendly foreign nation. Jurisdiction nightmare. Only - ten seconds, he said, that's six by now - fifty yards with a closed car door? No chance.

She snaps her radio on. "He's awake! Escaping - headed into the Underworld somehow - we'll make for the hospital." Her voice is quick and strained, tightly controlled panic audible beneath the skein of professionalism. Which is exactly what he wants, damn him, but there's no time to spare for controlling her emotions. And then—having done the responsible thing—Leah returns to her first instinct, dropping out of her seat and slamming a palm into the deathknight's solar plexus with bone-shattering force.

Punch!
[roll0]
Stunt: [roll1]

Raw damage 19L. I'm not sure if combat ticks are relevant right now, but it's speed 4.

[Ifni]

"****!"

Morgan glances down at the unconscious soldier. "Fisher, do you know a way to get into the Underworld? Maybe through the shadowland? We could drop Lize here with Damien and Shandra and call for transport from headquarters for them -"

"... talking is too slow."

The Air Aspect reaches out again with her mind and Essence, spinning coils of wind and lightning around the other Exalts in the car. Fisher as well: they don't have time for squeamishness when Leah needs them, and Fury might be about to escape.

She's studied the weapons and other tech brought back from clashes with forces out of the Underworld. She's read reports on the nature of the shadowlands and what lies beyond them, although reading between the lines it was clear that much of the content of those reports was speculation. "Here's what I know..."

Information flashes through the re-established link with dizzying speed.

Actually, if this is a new scene, I think the mind-link fades for all of us, not just Leah - With One Mind is a scenelong, not Indefinite, unless I'm missing something in the errata.

So, assuming that is the case, re-firing it, on Nate+Carl+Brooks+Fisher.

Int+Occult if relevant to figure out how much Morgan knows about the Underworld:
[roll0]
Possible stunt: [roll1]
EDIT: 6 sux.

Also, repeating Leah's question, how much time has passed for the purposes of mote regeneration since the end of combat?

[Maugan Ra]

Call it a half hour, on balance. And with that roll, Morgan knows a considerable amount about the Underworld. Most fundamentally relevant here is that getting there is easy - walk into a Shadowland at night, then turn and try to leave.

The Underworld? This isn't a matter of courage, Morgan - it's foolishness. He'll be stronger there, with allies.

The Truck

The blow smashes straight through Fury's torso, and keeps going with enough force to seriously dent the floor beneath. The deathknight, however, seems unfazed by the grevious injury, snapping the bindings around his limbs and surging upwards.

Join Battle:
[roll0]

[Ifni]

"So we just let him get away? Dammit, I should've warned Leah not to let him wake up... or maybe you were right, Nate, and we should've shot him while we had him unconscious." A thread of anguish leaks through the link, before she forces it back. If Crane Bay dies because of her scruples...

But they don't have time for recriminations. "Maybe no choice anyway, Fisher, I only know how to access the Underworld at night. But what would you suggest, then? They must be at least a mile away, don't know if we can get there in time to make a difference..."

[Maugan Ra]

Combat tracker:
0: Leah
1:
2:
3:
4: Fury of the Forsaken

I don't... maybe...

Accompanying Fisher's thoughts is a quick glimpse of a man with violet eyes, arms outstretched and black lightning playing between his fingertips as a shadowy ghost rises out of the floor at his feet. As always, the image is accompanied by a quick burst of possibly-connected contextual information - Harbinger, Shadow, Rival, Necromancy.

I may know someone who can get us into the underworld. But it will be a one way trip, since I doubt he'll come with us.

[horus42]

Nate rolled his eyes slightly. Oh, a one way trip to the Underworld? Well, all in a day's work for Taskforce: Dragon. He wasn't so much worried about going there, as he was about never getting out.

Do what you need to do, Fisher, and let's hope to God that it works...

[The_Snark]

The deathknight shreds his restraints like so much tissue paper, and Leah spares a split second to regret not taking stronger measures. Never trust standard cuffs to hold spirits and Exalts. But she doesn't have time or breath to waste on cursing. As Fury rebounds from the blow she rocks back on her heels, giving herself a little room, then strikes again just as he's rising. Another solid blow to his ruined chest checks his momentum; she immediately follows up with a scything sideways kick to the knee, threatening to cut his footing out from under him.

Dark eyes glitter in concentration, fear forgotten in the heat of the moment. Maybe deathknights don't die or feel pain, but she'll see how well this one can fight with half his bones broken...

Flurry of punches! Two attacks, each enhanced with 2 successes from the Second Excellency (1m each). I'm not sure if Fury is prone right now, but if not the second attack will also carry Currents Sweep to Sea, forcing him to check for knockdown at a -5 internal penalty.

Attack 1: [roll0] +2 successes
Attack 2: [roll1] +2 successes
Stunt: [roll2]

Base damage is 19L for both attacks. Speed 4.

Relevant combat stuff:Attacks
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 22, Damage 18L/2 or 18B/2, Parry -, Rate 3, Tags: C, M, O, P
Punch: Speed 4, Accuracy 19, Damage 19L/2 or 19B/2, Parry 11, Rate 5, Tags: M, O
Shellcaster: Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 14L/2, Rate 3, Ammo 15, Range 50, Tags: O

Dodge DV 7

Soak: 35B/29L/4A (4 from armor; +5B/5L/5A against bullets)
Hardness: 2B/2L

Health
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
-X [ ]

Willpower: 8/10

Essence
Personal: 9 or 11/18 (5 committed)
Peripheral: 11/48 (37 committed)
Overdrive: 0/10

Active Charms
Unflagging Vengeance Meditation (add Integrity to natural soak, Essence to MDVs, negate unnatural mental influence)
Terrestrial Hero Form (+4 to clinch attempts, +12B/6L soak)

[Maugan Ra]

The Deathknight meets Leah's first strike with one of his own, fist meeting fist in a head-on collision that echoes around the confined space, the air itself seeming to ripple away from the source of the impact. For a moment, he looks surprised.

"Well, well. Even for a Dragon-Blood, you're rather more than human, aren't you? I wonder... was it voluntary?" he says softly, casually taking half a step back so that the vicious leg sweep misses him by a hair.

"In any case, it would appear that the time for underestimating you is over."

Time seems to slow down as Fury of the Forsaken reaches inside his suit jacket, visibly going for a weapon. The fact that you frisked him thoroughly before loading him onto the truck seems somewhat irrelevant as he produces what appears to be a combat shotgun from inside a pocket that is far too small to contain such a thing. The gleaming metal barrels twist and flex slightly as he brings it up and levels it at Leah, screaming faces just about visible under the surface.

"Goodbye, detective."

And then there is only the sound of thunder as the Deathknight empties the magazine of armour-piercing ammunition point-blank into his enemy's torso.


So. Firearms attack, obviously, though due to the speed of your first action Leah does get to act here as well. Fury is using a flurry-granting charm, and supplementing it with Devouring Time Technique, so any DV you apply against this is halved. Damage will be calculated after the results of the attacks are worked out, though the shots are Piercing.

Attack 1: [roll0]
Attack 2: [roll1]
Attack 3: [roll2]
Attack 4: [roll3]
Attack 5: [roll4]
Attack 6: [roll5]

[The_Snark]

No room to dodge in the confined space of the van. Leah doesn't even try. Instead she lunges for the deathknight, swatting a bullet out of the air as she reaches for him; dozens more pelt her like angry steel hornets, stinging even through jade-laminate armor. She's been shot before. She'll live—or not—and there's nothing she can do about it right now.

What she can do is take down the madman in front of her before he reloads. First blow: face. That's a stupid move for most fighters, but she has jade bones, and anyway she wants to wipe that oh-so-calm expression off his face. Second blow: gut, a solid punch that that would be easy to defend against if Fury's hands weren't occupied with a shotgun. Third blow: ribs, meant to distract more than anything but still carrying enough force to crack concrete.

Oof indeed. Leah can parry that third attack without a problem (DV 11 / 2 = 6, - 2 onslaught = 4, against a total of 4 successes), but everything else hits regardless of Charms. The good news: she has 34L soak against bullets, which I'm pretty sure is enough to soak all of those down to minimum damage even after accounting for threshold successes. (If not, I call dibs on that gun he's using.)

Anyway, she's flurrying three attacks this time, spending 1m each for 2 successes and channeling Conviction.

Attack 1: [roll0] +2 successes
Attack 2: [roll1] +2 successes
Attack 3: [roll2] +2 successes
Stunt: [roll3]

Speed 4, base damage 19L, DV penalty -3. But unless he's reducing speed, I think she gets to act again before he does...

Relevant combat stuff (not quite up-to-date):Attacks
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 22, Damage 18L/2 or 18B/2, Parry -, Rate 3, Tags: C, M, O, P
Punch: Speed 4, Accuracy 19, Damage 19L/2 or 19B/2, Parry 11, Rate 5, Tags: M, O
Shellcaster: Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 14L/2, Rate 3, Ammo 15, Range 50, Tags: O

Dodge DV 7 -3 (4)
Parry DV 11 -3 (8)

Soak: 35B/29L/4A (4 from armor; +5B/5L/5A against bullets)
Hardness: 2B/2L

Health
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
-X [ ]

Willpower: 7/10

Essence
Personal: 6-8?/18 (5 committed)
Peripheral: 11/48 (37 committed)
Overdrive: 0/10

Active Charms
Unflagging Vengeance Meditation (add Integrity to natural soak, Essence to MDVs, negate unnatural mental influence)
Terrestrial Hero Form (+4 to clinch attempts, +12B/6L soak)

[Maugan Ra]

The rounds emerging from the gun seem to fade from existence a moment before hitting their target... and as a result, they don't strike Leah's body, but her very soul. Long streams of elemental essence spray from the impact wounds, and she can feel her strength draining away as unexpected pain floods her mind.

Leah is hereby reduced to Essence 3. The damage can certainly be healed, but only with a couple of days of rest. Until then, recalculate your mote pools, and you lose the effects of Unflagging Vengeance Meditation.

"I expect that hurt. Rest assured..."

The Deathknight doesn't get the chance to say much else. Leah's blow slams into his face with bone-crunching force, throwing him violently back through the air. He hits the side of the truck and keeps going, the sheer velocity imparted enough to send him straight through the hard metal and into the street beyond.

He hits the ground approximately ten yards away, bounces once and then smacks into the brick wall of the nearest building hard enough to crack the facade. Spitting blood, his fine suit ruined by the impact, the Deathknight looks up at his opponent, a hollow starburst-shaped wound appearing on his forehead as an aura of deathly essence gathers around him.

"You'll pay for that." he says, in a voice completely devoid of it's previously casual manner.

Leah does, however, still get to act first.

[The_Snark]

"Oh, now I'll pay? Now you're serious?" Leah spits, shaking. Pain she can deal with. She's been shot plenty of times, both before and after her Terrestrial training regimen, but never... This is different. It's like part of her is missing, and the rest is starting to pour out through the hole where it used to be.

"You and your goddamn mind games," she continues, dropping out of the truck and advancing. Even out in the open, the smell of damp earth and blood remains strong. "You're a sick bastard, you know that? Sick. What do you people get out of this, anyway?" She steps in close, reaching down to grab him and lift him up by his now-frayed collar.

So it turns out Leah derives a lot of statistics from her Essence. Not only does she lose Unflagging Vengeance Meditation, all her unarmed bonuses from Terrestrial Hero Form and the Perfected Kata Bracers go down a bit too; she's lost about 10-15 soak in total and is uncomfortably low on Essence. She's a bit shaken up!

On the plus side, she's more talkative when not harboring an Intimacy of unshakable vengeance?

Anyway. Making a basic clinch attack and buying 2 successes with the Second Excellency (1m):
Attack: [rollv]20d10[/rollv +2 successes
Stunt: [rollv]3d10[/rollv
Oops. Rolled OOC, got a total of 13 successes; see here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=14703002#post14703002).

Speed 6, base damage 16L piercing.

Relevant combat stuff: Attacks
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 20, Damage 16L/2 or 18B/2, Parry -, Rate 3, Tags: C, M, O, P
Punch: Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 17L/2 or 19B/2, Parry 10, Rate 5, Tags: M, O
Shellcaster: Speed 4, Accuracy 17, Damage 14L/2, Rate 3, Ammo 15, Range 50, Tags: O

Dodge DV 6 -1 = 5
Parry DV 10 -1 = 9

Soak: 22B/18L/4A (4 from armor; +5B/5L/5A against bullets)
Hardness: 2B/2L

Health
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
-X [ ]

Willpower: 7/10

Essence
Personal: 9/16 (5 committed)
Peripheral: 3/40 (37 committed)
Overdrive: 0/10

Active Charms
Terrestrial Hero Form (+4 to clinch attempts, +8B/4L soak)

[Maugan Ra]

"Searching for a motive, detective?" Fury says, grabbing your hand at the wrist even as it closes around his collar. "Sorry, but it's not quite that easy."

His other hand - where did the gun go? - seizes Leah by the side of her body armour. And, with a single fluid movement, he turns and flings her back across the street in a textbook martial arts throw. Granted, most martial artists can't throw their opponent so hard that she sails twenty foot and then smashes into, and through, the opposite building. Or the one after that.

Leah eventually comes to rest some forty or more yards away, covered in pulverized concrete dust and aching down to her very bones. Looking up and back down the crude tunnel that has been smashed through the buildings by her airborne body, Leah can just about make out the form of Fury of the Forsaken giving her a sardonic bow.

Then the stench of grave dirt intensifies, and with a horrible tearing noise, he is gone.

The Car

Fisher shakes his head. "No. I'm not getting him involved unless absolutely necessary. Instead... it's a long shot, but Morgan might be able to pull something similar at the transition point to what she did earlier. If it works, we can catch him before he's had a chance to properly recover and gather his forces."

Even as he thinks the words, the Sidereal is turning the car and barreling off down the road in the direction of Leah's last known location. The fact that you can see faint clouds of dust rising into the air from that region is not especially reassuring.

[Ifni]

"... right. If you think that might work, Fisher (and you'd know better than I would), of course I'll try."

Aloud, the Air Aspect says, "I presume it's still complete idiocy, but it might just work?" The corner of her mouth turns very slightly upward. She glances at Damien and Shandra. "Plan's for us to try to follow Fury into the Underworld; in that case I guess it'll be best for you two to take Lize for treatment? Someone should report back on where we've gone, in any event."

Morgan leans back against her seat, closing her eyes and trying to snatch a moment of meditation in the brief time they have, even as the car screams around a corner. From the bastion of her thoughts, flashes of fear escape like sputtering sparks of lightning - but also flickers of a sharp, probing curiosity. And underlying it all there is a nearly imperceptible sense of confidence and trust: it could have gone entirely unnoticed, except for the way it intensified whenever she looked at Fisher.

I do not have any prep to do at this point, so happy to move forward to the scene of the fight. Morgan is distressingly low on motes, but she's confident Fisher is a better fighter than she is if it comes to combat with Fury, and she is inclined to follow his lead.

[The_Snark]

Only reflex keeps Leah moving, rolling to her feet with gun in hand. Staggering to her feet, rather. She's not at her best right now. Should't've kept on him. Small consolation that he ran away instead of dragging her into the Underworld along with him. Not when he got away successfully. But... she'd never admit it aloud, but part of her is relieved to have escaped with her life. Relief and shame mingle with chagrin, seasoned with a spinning of dizziness.

After a moment to make sure she's not going to fall over, she starts making her way back towards the spot where Fury vanished, wondering if the truck is still there. Was he telling the truth about sinking everything nearby into the Underworld...?

Well-trained instincts nudge her. Radio. Others. Right. She flips her earpiece back on. "Khoury reporting in. He's gone."

[Edge]

Carl glances over at Damien and Shandra as Morgan speaks.

"Brand, Burns, consider Morgan's suggestion an order. Fighting a deathknight on our home soil is one thing. Fighting him on his is another entirely. Plus, Lize needs medical attention ASAP. Once we bail out, that's your job, people. There's a time and a place for heroics, but this ain't it. Understood."

Shandra acknowledges the order with a look of distate, but Brand simply nods.

"We'll get her home safe, Rudd."

Good, 'cause apparently I can't.

He grits his teeth under his helmet, a cold anger seeping through him. Fury had hurt Lize, hurt her bad. The Taskforce evidently couldn't hold him. He had to die. And if no one else was willing to, Carl would do it himself.

In response to his determination, his Essence flows into his flesh and bones, hardening it into something like granite.

Since this is a new scene, I'll need to reactivate Defence-From-Anathema-Method at some point. If you could tell me roughly when we're in range, Maugan, I'll pop it then. For now, though, Carl's just going to activate Impervious Skin of Stone Meditation for 2m.

Active Charms:
Impervious Skin of Stone Meditation (+2B/+2L soak per 1m spent)

Dodge DV: 7
Parry DV: 5

Dodge MDV: (9
Parry MDV 3

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 15/17
Peripheral: 16/37
Overdrive: 0/10
Committed: 19

[Maugan Ra]

The car pulls up at the scene a few minutes later, finding no trace of either Fury, or the truck that he had been carried in. Fisher pulls over and climbs out, looking between Leah (covered in scrapes and concrete dust), the crude tunnel that appears to have been forcibly created through a nearby wall, and the several splatters of blood covering the ground.

"What..."

[Ifni]

Morgan leaps out of the car and moves quickly to Leah. A flicker of relief shines through the link at seeing the Water Aspect on her feet and apparently uninjured. "Leah. Can you tell us what happened? If he crossed to the Underworld, if you show me where he vanished, then Fisher thinks I might be able to take us through after him."

[Lix Lorn]

"Holy *@#&." is Brooks first reaction, more impressed than worried at the destruction. "...is it in bad taste if I point out that I voted for killing him?" she asks, conversationally.

"You okay?" she asks Leah, tilting her head.

[The_Snark]

"I'm fine. He hit me with something, but it didn't... I can fight." Leah straightens. Time to report. "The prisoner woke up just after you checked in, said something about dragging everything nearby into the Underworld. I tried to subdue him. He managed to break his restraints and toss me out of the way just before vanishing. The truck vanished with him."

She points to the spot where she last saw Fury of the Forsaken. "Happened right about there. Take a look."

[Maugan Ra]

"Hmm." Fisher says, his momentary loss of composure reversed once again. He squints at Leah and then tilts his head as though listening to something. "Are you quite sure? Your essence seems... well, wounded. Not sure how. If you're sure you can still fight, then by all means, but please don't try that macho nonsense about hiding your injuries."

[horus42]

Nate surveys the damage, taking in what Fury was able to do. He rolls his eyes when Brooks speaks, despite the fact that he was thinking the exact same thing. But now wasn't the time for "I told you so".

"What's done is done, we can't change that now. But next time we find him... he's dead."

[Edge]

"Agreed," Carl says in response to Nate, nodding his head to him and Brooks in turn. "Fisher, it's pretty clear that restraining him him ain't gonna work. We need to end the threat permanently."

As he speaks, the Earth Aspect runs his hands expertly over his shellcaster, checking everything is in working order.

[Maugan Ra]

Fisher shrugs. "I'm your agency handler here, not your outright commander. Thin line, but still. It's your judgement call."

He looks around the street again. "That said, some caution is probably advisable. You may be able to follow him into the Underworld from here, but we know nothing about what it's like down there beyond the broadest generalizations. Your call, but please, be careful if you do."

[Ifni]

Morgan glances at the Sidereal, brow crinkling slightly. "Would you be coming with us, Fisher? Or do you need to stay back here?" There's no judgement in her tone, or her thoughts; she's just asking.

"For the record, I'm pretty low on Essence. If the rest of you are still in good shape then I think we should pursue if we can, but I won't be able to fight like I did last time, running defensive and combat-augmentation charms in addition to communication and Essence-touch takes too much power."

"Anyway, let's take a look."

The Air Aspect walks over to the spot Leah indicated, closes her eyes, and extends her hands, first trying to see if she can perceive anything with mundane senses. A chill in the air, the smell of the grave...?

Once she's learned all she can that way, she concentrates, pulling power into her hands in the spiraling patterns that will sensitize her to the hidden flows of Essence. What would the Underworld feel like? The pallor and silence of the shadowland, only more so? The chill of soulsteel, grating and dangerous?

A breeze gusts briefly around her, lifting her white hair.

Essence-Unveiling Touch again. She is NOT yet trying to push or prod on things like she did earlier, she's trying to be careful.

If I should roll Int+Occult:
[roll0]
Possible stunt: [roll1]

[Maugan Ra]

"Oh, I'd come with you. The brass tends not to be too impressed with agents who lose an entire Taskforce and can't say precisely how."

Morgan can certainly feel... something on the air. It's an unusual sensation, both cloying and yet almost electrified, and quite unlike anything else. Still, if nothing else, she's fairly certain that wherever Fury went precisely, she could likely follow. And to be more specific, she could bring the others along with her.

[Ifni]

A flash of relief. "Thank you, Fisher. That's good to know."

"I can take us through, I think," Morgan says aloud. She's still not quite sure how. A reach along no physical direction, that involves her hands only as channels for Essence and will - she needs a blackboard, a few quiet hours, and a properly equipped lab, to try to figure out what's going on. Or alternatively a chat with Fisher...

Disjointed fragments of those thoughts leak through the link, before she opens her eyes and looks back to the rest of the group. "Any preparations you want to make first? If we're doing this, we should do it quickly."

[The_Snark]

"Wounded essence sounds about right," Leah replies to Fisher, a little stiff at the implication that she's trying to hide something. "I'm not at my best, but I'm not dying either. If you're going into the Underworld you'll want to bring everyone."

Her voice is outwardly dispassionate, but there's a hint of a plea in it. She probably would stay behind, if ordered; she's running close to empty too, and they could use someone to keep an eye on things in Crane Bay, make sure someone can report in if the rest of the team vanishes in the Underworld. She'd just rather it not be her.

[Ifni]

"We'll be going in largely blind, if we go. No idea what kind of support and backup he has there; we could be jumping into a hostile city. Or an armed camp. The chance of eliminating Fury could be worth the risk - but it is a risk, a huge one, and either way we might be giving up Crane Bay's best chance." If we're dead or captured... I suppose Meruvia will find someone else. But there's a reason they picked us first. "Fisher, if we go through with this, is there someone in particular Damien and Shandra should report to at headquarters?"

Morgan glances at the others. "On the upside I don't think he has any reason to think we'd be able to follow so quickly, so we might well be able to get the jump on him, and take him down properly this time. But as Fisher said earlier this isn't just a matter of courage; we won't do Crane Bay any good if we're trapped in the Underworld. So it's a question of how confident the rest of you feel, keeping in mind that every second could count."

She's still feeling the air as she speaks, gauging the strange sensation. "I think we should be able to get out via the shadowland, so if we're going to go, everyone should make a note of our current position relative to the hospital. We can rendezvous there if we get split up."

"Fisher, do you have weapons with you? You would be welcome to take one of my swords, if you wish."

What would happen if I spent a mote to use With One Mind with Leah? Could I add her to the existing link or would we just have a Morgan+everyone-else link and a separate Morgan+Leah link?

I kinda don't want to dismiss and recommit those 4m...

Anyway, Morgan is not going to activate Charms before going through, but I'm waiting to hear what everyone else thinks/does before trying to teleport us :smallwink:

(With the thought to Fisher I'm also making an assumption that if the owner of an artifact actually transfers that ownership, you don't need to go through the usual procedure of persuading the item that you own it, so you can attune it. Morgan treasures her swords and would not usually make this offer, but Fisher is her sifu.)

[Lix Lorn]

"We should do it, I wanna set that ******* on fire." scowls Brooks.

[Maugan Ra]

I'd have no objections to you spending another mote and linking Leah into the same network. And freely giving an artifact transfers metaphysical ownership, yes.

Fisher shakes his head. "Keep your swords. I... well, I have my own weapons."

He glances over at a large piece of stone rubble, roughly the size of a small car, and makes a curious sort of gesture at it with one hand. There's a pause, and the faintest impression of glowing lines in the air, and then the solid rock falls apart into over a dozen smaller chunks, sliced apart by diamond-hard invisible blades.

"Yeah. That'll do me fine." Fisher says, and over the mind link you think you can hear a sort of background chatter coming from his mind. It's... a nursery rhyme, perhaps?

[horus42]

Nate is once again gripping his Shellcaster tightly, and standing amongst the others of the Taskforce. As much as going into the Underworld was pants-****ingly terrifying, he knew it was the only way. And the best way to get through an unpleasant experience was just like removing a Band-Aid. Do it quickly.

"I think we're all ready. Let's just get this over with."

He braced himself for what was to come.

[Edge]

"Can't be any worse than the last time I went underground," Carl says, his helmet hiding his grim smile from view. His hands dart over each of his weapons in turn, checking ammo counts and safeties. "Let's get this show on the road, people. Hate to keep the smug bastard waiting."

Reactivating Defence-From-Anathema-Method. Fisher's presence should ensure the bonuses kick in immediately.

Active Charms:
Defence-From-Anathema-Method
Impervious Skin of Stone Meditation (+2B/+2L soak per 1m spent)

Dodge DV: 13 (7+4)
Parry DV: 9 (5+4)

Dodge MDV: 13 (9+4)
Parry MDV 7 (3+4)

Health:
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-2 [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]
-4 [ ]
X [ ]

Willpower: ●●●●●●●●●●
[X][X][X][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

Essence:
Permanent: ●●●●
Personal: 10/17
Peripheral: 16/37
Overdrive: 0/10
Committed: 24

[Ifni]

"... nice trick, Fisher. You'll have to show me how it works sometime."

"Right. Leah, I'll re-link you with the rest of us, unless you have objections?" Morgan gives the Water Aspect a moment to respond, before drawing another spark of Essence from her anima and reaching out to make contact with Leah's familiar thoughts.

"Then... all of you come over here. I've never done this before; I think I can bring you with me, but I'm running on intuition here, and physical contact can't hurt." She draws her shadow daiklave with one hand, and reaches out with the other to take the hand of the closest member of the Task Force.

Once everyone is ready, she closes her eyes and reaches again, sword and callused fingers probing for the flaw in the world, the cloying touch of alien Essence hinting at what lies beyond.

Fury of the Forsaken.

... was that what I think it was, Fisher?

If it was Mind-Hand Manipulation, then I realize Morgan's innocent comment has some Unfortunate Implications.

If everyone's ready and has their prep Charms active, I'll try to take us through, first spending another mote to link Leah into With One Mind.

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks immediately takes Morgan's hand.
"Cmon." she smirks.

"Let's go kill things."

Because we needed a line for the Action Movie trailer.

[Maugan Ra]

Under Morgan's careful touch, the fabric of existence rolls back like a curtain, exposing only an empty void of nothingness. With a deep breath, you step through, and find yourselves... elsewhere.

The first thing you notice is that you appear to be rather higher up than you expected, standing atop what appears to be some kind of stepped pyramid of black marble. Behind you, in the centre of the pyramid's summit, a large stone basin full of brilliant green flames provides enough illumination to see by, for there is no sun - the sky holds nothing but an endless, rolling expanse of lightning-streaked storm clouds.

This is not the only structure, either - you can see dozens of them stretching out in all directions, set in a haphazard fashion on a plain of soft grey ash. Each is built in a different fashion, and of a different material, with seemingly no thought as to anything resembling architectural unity or even practicality. Here, a spire made of tarnished bronze, there an arch formed from what appear to be oversized rib-bones lashed together with dried sinews. It is a city of the mad, and it is not uninhabited.

There are ghosts here, hundreds or even thousands of them, walking along the random pathways that lie between the buildings in eerie silence. None of them pause, or look around, or even raise their heads, and they are all heading in the same direction.... straight towards the blazing anima totem you can see a few 'blocks' away. It takes the form of ten thousand translucent skulls, swirling around each other like some macabre whirlwind, and it can be seen for miles.

"Well." Fisher says, drawing a cigarette from inside his jacket and lightning it. "Looks like we know where to go, at least."

[Ifni]

"... looks like it. Let's stick to nonverbal communication from here on in."

Morgan can't help wondering, in a deeply buried part of her mind held carefully apart from the surface thoughts she shares with the Task Force, the circumstances of Fury's death. Ten thousand skulls. Threat, or memory...? There have been horrifying incidents, especially out in the Threshold safely far from investigative reporters and Meruvian public opinion.

It doesn't matter now, though. Crane Bay matters.

(Nor do other things matter, like the way the world unfolded before her hands. Could she do this elsewhere, on her own, not following a deathknight's path? Could others be trained to do it? Can she step back? She has an uncomfortable feeling she's going to hear a lot of those questions, when they return. If they return.)

"If we can get closer, with cover - Fury knew when I was watching through my lens before, I don't know if that was something he'd set up in the hospital or a general ability. But it'd be good if we could open with a surprise strike from range." She glances at the others, guns ready. "Maybe if we try to go up around the side of that one..." The Air Aspect nods slightly toward one of the... constructions... a little closer to the flaring anima; a spiraling curve of a glassy, dark red material, like frozen blood. It seems more solid near the bottom, growing impossibly attenuated as it rises into the storm-wracked sky. Plenty of perches to fire from, by the look of it, if they can get up there.

She considers for a moment, focusing on her internal sense of her - woefully drained - Essence pools. But it looks very likely a fight is imminent at this point, and she's a vastly more effective warrior when she's following the patterns Fisher drilled into her, those years ago.

She takes a deep breath, but the air here is dusty and dead, not even the faintest thrill of Essence echoing the ebbing power in her veins. That doesn't matter, either. She nods to Fisher and draws her swords; they slice the air around her with a soft whisper, as she moves again through the familiar steps of the kata, graceful as the dance of the crane. Lightning hisses and sparks about her, echoing the angry sky above.

Dexterity+Martial Arts to assume Crane Form. Which puts my mote pool in an even less-happy place, but Morgan gets so much from Crane Form, I think it's still the right thing to do. I'll rely on party members to protect me while I stunt some motes back :smallwink:

[roll0] Dex+MA
[roll1] possible specialty
[roll2] possible stunt

[Maugan Ra]

You feel a vague sense of approval from Fisher over the link.

Good to see you still remember what I taught you. As for getting to a firing perch... and since we presumably don't want to wade through the river of ghosts down there...

The Sidereal makes another flicking motion, and this time you can all see the dozens of faintly illuminated threads that leap out from his hands and fly across the gap between the different constructions. Guided by his will, and thrown with impeccable aim, they latch onto a protruding spire near your destination and then rapidly begin winding back around each other in a series of long spirals.

Roughly ten seconds later, and Fisher is holding what appears to be one end of a long bridge woven of glittering strands that stretches all the way across the divide. He glances back at you.

Think like spiders, and don't look down.

[horus42]

Nate looked at the delicate bridge of thread Fisher was holding out to them. Oh, you've got to be ****ing kidding me... Nevertheless, he took the first step forward, and began to cross the bridge, knowing that it might be the only chance to get close enough to Fury while remaining unseen.

[Ifni]

Morgan grins at Fisher, a hint of affectionate amusement echoing back across the link as she picks up his delight at being out in the field again. She follows Nate, unconcerned by the long fall, her balance perfect and unerring. The threads don't even vibrate beneath her tread.

"I can lend a hand to balance, if anyone needs it."

She pauses for a moment, standing high above the torrent of ghosts, and sheathes her green jade sword. A broken-winged crane might be unlucky, but the blade's power to draw Essence from the living won't accomplish much here, and having a hand free seems likely to be more important. Her shadows flow and coil about her, mirroring her movements, as she continues on across the gap.

Crane Form has, as a side benefit, that you automatically succeed on all checks to maintain your balance and exert no effective weight.

[Lix Lorn]

Brooks snorts, and walks across it without even seeming to care. The sky holds no fear for her.

[Maugan Ra]

Fisher waits for you all to cross, and then reels himself in as though on a fishing line, until he stands next to you all once more on the next structure. From here, you can all clearly see the source of the anima banner, and thus the location of your target.

There is a large pit up ahead, roughly half a mile across and of indeterminate depth. Above this pit is a small platform, held in place by nothing more than a slender bridge that is surely far too fragile to be serving as a support strut. Seated on this position, in a traditional lotus posture, is Fury of the Forsaken. His eyes are closed, and he has removed his jacket and shirt to expose his pale and heavily scarred torso. He appears to be meditating.

All around the perimeter of the pit, the endless streams of ghosts have gathered. In total silence, they wait in ordered ranks, heads bowed in reverence to the motionless form of the Deathknight. There are hundreds of them here already, and given the way new members are constantly filing in from the surrounding streets, soon it will be thousands.

The maniac... I know intel said he was a religious nut, but even so... that's insane! Look at the pit!

With Fisher's stunned thought in your heads, you realise that the pit that Fury is meditating above is more than a simple excavation. The closest you can come to describing it is a hole in the world - a gaping wound, through which nothing but the cold depths of an infinite void can be seen. Except, that's not quite right. Though it hurts your eyes to even look upon it, you are quite sure that you can see the faintest impression of movement, as though Oblivion itself is somehow responding to the Deathknight's attentions.

Whatever he's doing here - and you're reasonably sure that understanding it would involve giving up what remains of your sanity - there will clearly be dire consequences if he is allowed to complete it.

Fortunately, the Deathknight does not appear to have spotted you yet.

[Edge]

Carl raises an eyebrow at Fisher's bridge, stepping onto it with some trepidation, but moving confidently once he's sure it will support his weight.

As the group convenes on the blood-red tower and views the scene below them, Carl's mind begins looking for strategic opportunities.

Looks like the bastard might be drawing strength from the ghosts down there. Any of you technical guys want to try and confirm it? Because if he is, they might just be the weak point we need. A weak point more vulnerable to high explosives.

[horus42]

Nate grins at Carl's suggestion. I like the way you think!

In the meantime, he once more focuses his Essence into his gun, causing the shellcaster to emit a faint glow of fire. It would only be a matter of time before he'd have to use it.

I'm activating Drawing the Dragon's Fury again, so I can use (Fire) Dragon Bullet for free for the rest of the scene.

[Ifni]

Morgan hesitates, then shakes her head with a small sharp motion. "I don't have a reliable way to confirm that, Carl. My Essence-sensing abilities require me to touch the entity or effect involved."

Still, she peers down at the ghosts, wondering if she can discern anything with mundane senses alone. She rests her free hand on their perch as she concentrates; perhaps she can sense some pull or current in the Essence of this place...?

Int+Occult?
[roll0]
Stunt?
[roll1]

Remove dice as necessary if the appropriate roll is something else.

EDIT: Uh, wow. Yeah, Morgan is pretty clueless.

I think I'm glad that happened now and not in combat.

[Maugan Ra]

It's... possible, I guess. Certainly, deliberate worship of a being capable of manipulating essence can empower them. That's why spirits can be so much trouble if not checked.

Fisher glances at Carl, and the 'tone' of his mental voice is curious, assessing. But even so, dead or not, those ghosts down there are still sentient beings. Civilians by the looks of them, potentially even enslaved by the death knight. Are you honestly willing to murder them wholesale to achieve a tactical advantage?

[Edge]

Take it you didn't do enough homework on North-4, Fisher, Carl thinks, an almost callous disregard bleeding over the link. Right now, all I care about is making sure Fury goes down for the count permanently, and Meruvia doesn't have to worry about the bastard again. If cutting off his source of power is necessary to do that, then that's what I'll do.

The Earth Aspect shrugs nonchalantly.

'Course, if anyone has any better ideas, I'm all ears.

[Ifni]

"Given that we don't actually have any idea whether they're giving him power, and that attacking them will certainly alert him to our presence, I'd prefer we refrain." Morgan's thought has a cutting edge to it, despite the surface calm.

"Running out across that bridge is going to expose whoever does it, and it looks like falling from it would be a really bad idea. If any of us can hit him from here, and he can't easily fire back, sniping might be our best option - break his concentration, try to force him to close. Doubt he'll just run, given the setup here. At the hospital he only had that sword, in the way of weapons, and he'd clearly trained with it, which might indicate he's focused more on close combat than long range."

"Alternatively, if we do want to engage him in melee - he didn't seem to be very good at wrestling, earlier -"

She glances at the Sidereal. "How far do those threads extend, Fisher? Or more generally, do you have any secret Sidereal methods to get us out there quickly?" She smiles, although she's still tense, as she glances down toward the pit.

Should I assume the platform is in the center of the pit, i.e. about a 1/4-mile away? Or is it closer to this edge?

[Maugan Ra]

The platform isn't quite in the centre of the pit. The bridge extends for maybe eighty metres from the edge, so that Fury is positioned more in an overlooking position than being directly above it.


Fisher frowns as he studies the scene. Short of throwing one of you at him... and don't worry, I know ways to make sure I hit... can't say that I do.

He scratches his chin. Assuming you're not fond of that idea, I could maybe go make a distraction elsewhere. Maybe draw off those ghosts. Give you a chance to run for him.

[Lix Lorn]

"I can probably hit him from here." says Brooks, looking. "It won't be nice to my motonics or whatever, but I can probably do it once or twice."

[The_Snark]

Don't assume he's helpless at range. A memory flows from Leah's end of the link, crisp and clear as a photograph: Fury of the Forsaken pulling a gun from inside a jacket too small to contain it and opening fire, time slowing to a crawl as he fills the air with bullets. He's not unskilled at unarmed combat, either. Now a brief image of a bloodied Fury catching her wrist and sending her flying in a classic martial arts throw. (It cuts off before impact; no need to inflict that on the others.)

What we saw earlier is not necessarily a good reference for his preferred tactics and abilities; I don't think he took us seriously until Morgan hit him. I don't know why he surrendered, but I doubt he was as helpless as he pretended. Maybe curiosity. He likes seeing which way people jump.

I think we're better off closing to middling range, if we can do that without being seen. Maybe find a structure that gives a bit of cover. There's a pause as she surveys the mad cityscape, searching for promising-looking buildings.

[horus42]

Leah's probably right. We need to get closer, but not into melee range. Nate looks up and around, to see if there's another structure that the Taskforce could use as cover for a closer strike.

Perception+Investigation
[roll0]