All Roads/Session 11

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ST: Following their fairly unhelpful efforts in investigating the phenomenon plaguing Isis, the cabals are left to clean up their ritual preparations and decide on a more direct course of actions. It is around mid-afternoon, and the sun is fairly low in the sky.

Isis: Isis has returned to the library to clean up, to avoid Nebuchadnezzar and Kenan while they're arguing.

Kenan: "any ideas what to do next, Neb?"

Nebuchadnezzar: Calming down some, the effort of being angry not really worth it...

Nebuchadnezzar: "I guess I try to book time at the Demense." He says sadly. "This..." He gestures down at the ground in the direction of the library which lays beneath them, "was not much use."

Nebuchadnezzar: "Any idea what pretext I can use?" He says taking another deep breath.

Isis: There's chalk dust in several colors on the black clothes she donned for the ritual by the time she's done. But the time or effort are not wasted entirely. Unsurprisingly Nebuchadnezzar has greater mastery of Death than her and examining his works can serve as instruction. And as distraction from the frightening phenomena she is suffering under.

Kenan: "say you're looking into inter-primal, trans-temporal transmogrification patterns within post-mortem adaptative magics focusing primarily on sub-sensitive, cthonic hallows"

Kenan: "add a few difficult words and you're done, hallows seem to be the big thing now"

Kenan: "if you're lucky, you might even get a grant for it"

Isis: Once candles and chicken bones are sorted away as well and her clothes are once more (mostly) free of chalk dust Isis returns to the garden to see if Neb and Kenan are still there.

Nebuchadnezzar: "The thing is..." He says with another dry cough. "They know that isn't what I'm researching. My work is on awakenings at least somewhat."

Kenan: "then swap cthonic hallows for awakenings, awakenings are a good subject to write on as well"

Nebuchadnezzar: "I guess I could pitch it as an examination of the Awakened conciousness on the masses, Oneiros generated awakened imagery and the effects the masses have on awakenings." He says after some thought."

Nebuchadnezzar: "After all if I just do what you do and string large words together they'll know I'm full of shit." He says with a dry laugh...

Kenan: "you'd be surprised how many people you could fool with that gibberish" Kenan laughs "sure, they might think you're making it up, but they'd rather let you get away with it than admit possibility of being ignorant"

Isis: Seeing that they aren't arguing anymore when she arrives Isis smiles. Looking for some place to put the glasses and the flask of orange juice she brought with her she finally settles on just offering the glasses to Kenan and Neb. After the heavy work of the ritual and poisoning himself in Neb's case this might help a little.

Kenan: "thank you" - Kenan takes a glass "so, let's see if Neb manages to gain access to the Demesne."

Nebuchadnezzar: He stands taking a deep breath. "I think I'll go try to organise it now."

Isis: Isis pours some juice for anyone who wants and then for herself. "It would probably be difficult reaching a Silver Ladder leader, too."

Isis: "Before you leave, can I try something, Nebuchadnezzar?"

Nebuchadnezzar: He turns, having already begun to stride a way. "Certainly."

Isis: Isis lifts the small bone flute hanging from a piece of string that is her tool for workings of Death and speaks a few words in High Speech, then makes a gesture with her other hand as if holding up a set of scales before her.

Isis: "I remembered that you attacked that Abyssal creature with Mind, just like I did," she explains a little absently while looking at Neb. "Did you use its eyes as effect vector as well?"

Isis: After a minute she shakes her head. "I don't see anything strange. That's good."

Nebuchadnezzar: "No I just lashed out. Seeking to end it."

Isis: "Maybe that was my mistake. Or the theory, elegant though it would be, is just wrong."

Nebuchadnezzar: He shakes his head, bemused at the idea or at least what he thinks she is getting at. "I'll organise the Demesne. You just make sure your ready for school."

Nebuchadnezzar: He wanders inside

Isis: "I will take care of things," Isis nods. Tomorrow she'll bring a note and a spell and no teacher will doubt that she was sick today.

Kenan: "there was that spell I had an idea for, it lets you split into two time streams, where one 'you' goes and does things in one timeline, the other 'you' in the other, and then they merge again. The problem is, only one of these timelines would then reassert itself as reality, and you have no idea which it's going to be beforehand, and you have no way of knowing what 'you' were doing in the other. And there's a non-zero chance of

Kenan: of both 'you's blowing up everything in a couple dozen miles' radius on merging back together." Kenan scratches his head "this spell needs more work"

Kenan: "and that's before you factor in just how incredibly Vulgar the whole affair is"

Isis: Isis tilts her head slightly. "What would you use such a spell for?"

Kenan: "well, ideally, you wouldn't split into two timestreams, but effectively duplicate yourself, and be able to do twice as many things in a day as normal"

Isis: "And it would require Mastery of Time, wouldn't it?"

Kenan: "at least" Kenan admits glumly

Isis: "It's possible to use Space and Mind together to be in more than one place at once, I think," Isis muses.

Isis: "But even then you're limited in what you can do. You are only one soul even if you're in several places, so it would never be possible to cast two separate spells at the same time."

Kenan: "see, the idea is that each version of 'you' would fully and truly be you. Because you're not making a copy of yourself, but you simply ARE twice, at the same time"

Isis: "Like stealing a future or past self and bringing it into the present? Because otherwise how can all of you be there twice?"

Kenan: "no no no, it's not like that. If you accept the 'trousers of time' theory, in every moment everyone's actions create separate timelines, all similar, but marginally different, that further split up in time into more and more timelines, all resulting from different decisions people make, or even pure chance"

Isis: Thankful for the distraction Isis throws herself into the thought experiment. "So you're bringing another 'you' here from a diverging timeline?"

Kenan: "not exactly. the idea is that you make yourself enter the same 'trouser leg', only twice instead of once, as would be the natural course of things"

Kenan: "you create a tiny stutter, a glitch in time"

Isis: "But doesn't that mean that one diverging world is left without a 'you'?"

Isis: "Otherwise where does the second 'you' come from?"

Isis: "Or when?"

Isis: Though her foundation of magical theory is almost uncannily strong Isis has no particular experience with the Time Arcanum beyond what Kenan has displayed.

Kenan: "an interesting question" Kenan hesitates "I believe it would be possible for this to happen without affecting other worlds. It hinges on whether the world could be fooled into thinking it should have you somewhere (and sometime), when you're already there"

ST: Neb has already left by the time the two of you hear the front door open and close again, further in the house.

Kenan: "I'm not entirely sure if I'd ever dare to cast this spell, consequences of it, whether working or failing, could be dire indeed" Kenan looks in the direction of the door "who could that be?"

Isis: "It does sound dangerous," Isis nods. "Even without considering the attention a spell that might affect the whole world would draw."

Isis: To Kenan's question Isis simply turns, tilts her head slightly and casts some sort of spell.

ST: After a little while of shuffling Syntagma enters, looking absolutely haggard.

ST: Dark rings circle his eyes and it appears as though he struggles to maintain some semblance of conciousness.

ST: "Hey." He nods as he enters, before his brow furrows a bit. "Not in school?" He looks at Isis.

Isis: "It's Syntagma," she reports just a little bit before he actually arrives.

Kenan: "Syn! You look terrible" Kenan manages to say as he sees his cabal mate

Isis: "Hello Syntagma. You look like Nebuchadnezzar when he's been awake for three days."

ST: "Thanks." He shrugs dryly, "I feel it."

ST: "Just came back for a bite to eat. You guys ok?"

Kenan: "well, yes, but you should get some proper sleep. Regardless of what you're doing, there's only so much you can do before you collapse" Kenan looks genuinely worried

Isis: "There's something attacking my mind. Or perhaps possessing me," Isis says, "but it's alright, we are taking measures to get to the bottom of it."

ST: He pauses, leaning on the door frame, "Attacking your mind?"

Kenan: Kenan coughs "well, and there's that. We're trying to figure out what to do with it, though"

Isis: nods. "Yes, you should." Something occurs to her. "I should, too. School would be almost over by now anyway."

ST: Syn doesn't say anything for a moment, just looks slightly perplexed. He shakes his head though, finally. "Well, if you need my help with anything let me know?"

ST: He then sighs, "Wish I could get a couple hours, but I'm back on the street soon. Arclight's got us scouring the place."

Kenan: "oh? which place?"

Kenan: "the Guardians' demesne?"

Isis: Isis smiles. "Thank you, Syntagma, I will."

ST: "The whole place." A deep frown settles in, "The streets. Sera and I are patrolling King's to Alfred road, looking for 'anything out of place'."

Kenan: "awfully specific, that" Kenan scowls

ST: He's clearly not pleased with the situation, speaking with distaste "The Guardian demense is out of our hands now."

Kenan: "how so?"

Isis: "Lost? Or guarded by the .... Guardians?"

ST: "Guardians snatched the investigation. Seems they OK'd it higher up the chain." He shakes his head, "Something's going on that we don't know about, I'm sure."

Kenan: "any suspicions on who was messing around with the soulstone?"

ST: Syn throws up his hands before turning and heading into the kitchen, "Who knows." He calls back.

Isis: "They probably don't want people to think too badly of them and keep their secrets, too."

ST: You hear him mutter something as he rifles around in the fridge.

ST: "It's not right." He emerges a moment later, jar of mayonnaise in hand, "They hiding something. If they weren't they'd drop it all on us."

Isis: "Do you think they know who planned all of that? Or how to find them?"

Kenan: "perhaps they're just not sure who they can trust"

ST: (Wits and composure)

ST: He shakes his head, "I don't know." Again he disappears inside, "Since when have the Guardians NOT been hiding something."

Isis: "I think they have always been hiding things," Isis says, taking Syn's rhethorical question serious. "It's their reason to exist after all, to protect the Mysteries from the eyes of Sleepers."

ST: "And some from the awakened?"

Kenan: "For our own good, no doubt"

Isis: "I think every order does that."

Isis: "Except maybe the Nameless, I mean the Free Council," Isis quickly corrects herself.

Kenan: "possibly" Kenan doesn't look convinced

ST: Syn doesnt reply, but comes out not long after chewing on a sandwich.

ST: "Neb out working?"

Kenan: "something like that. He's trying to get access to the Demesne at the library to help Isis"

ST: Before Syn can ask anything further there's a knock at the door. "That'll be Sera," He says, resigned, "I'll be back later tonight. Like I said, if there's anything you need with this. Whatever it is." He gestures to Isis, looking serious, "Call me."

Isis: nods.

ST: He turns to leave, wolfing large bites of his sandwich as he goes. "Later." He calls, mouth full.

Kenan: "Later!" Kenan shouts with resignation, clearly not happy about Syntagma leaving again so soon

Isis: "Good hunting, Syntagma!"

Isis: Isis sounds a little doubtful. It would be better if Syn got some sleep. What if he finds something important now but is too tired to recognize or deal with it?

Nebuchadnezzar: A few hours pass before Nebuchadnezzar returns, the bells on the front door ringing as she enters with his keys.

Kenan: Kenan is waiting in the lounge with a light supper for Neb which he just finished making "how did it go?"

Nebuchadnezzar: "I had to trade some favours but we have access for a few hours on Saturday. Half Six through to Ten." He says sitting down in the kitchen.

Isis: Isis has been doing some more background research into supernal callings and with the assistance of magic get a little bit of sleep. A few minutes after the bell rings she comes downstairs to see if Neb has returned.

Isis: "Saturday? That's quick." Though of course Isis would prefer 'tomorrow', but the Mysterium is notoriously slow about some things.

Kenan: "hopefully, it will be worth it. Isis must be feeling terrible right now, something like that would be enough to drive even an adult mage insane" Kenan manages to say before Isis comes down

Nebuchadnezzar: "It required an amount of bullying and bribing. Not at all unexpected." He begins to eat mechanically.

Nebuchadnezzar: "If we sort out the issue in your Oneiros will it have visible effects do you think?" He manages between bits. "We will be observed within the Locus, though not within the Astral."

Isis: Isis looks thoughtful. "It shouldn't. But if it is in fact some sort of possession-like condition then it's hard to say."

Isis: "Normally no Astral entity can by itself manifest into the outer world unless specifically called there with magic."

Isis: "And I will allow no Astral observation - my Oneiric Seal will remain in place to any outsiders."

Kenan: "wouldn't that be suspicious in itself?"

Nebuchadnezzar: "Not really. There are some strange things in all our subconcious."

Nebuchadnezzar: "Things I doubt we want people actually seeing."

Isis: "No more than will my Mind Shield. It's a sensible precaution, one I regret not taking before."

Nebuchadnezzar: "I will be pursuing research in the Temenos, as it looks less suspicious. If you require my aid I can come to help however."

Kenan: Kenan ponders on it for a moment, then slowly replies "yees, I can see how that wouldn't be unusual"

Isis: "I would welcome it," Isis nods slowly. "Whatever it is, I don't want to take the chance that I may be unable to face it alone."

Isis: She's not entirely comfortable with it, but she can't see any other way. To her resolve-augmented mind the choice is clear.