All Roads/Session 16

A few days ago during 'downtime'

Isis: Isis' favoured scrying tool is a small stone bowl she fills with fresh water. The imago itself doesn't necessarily require it, but as a ritual it helps focus the spirit in the right way.

ST: The image revealed to you in the still water is much unlike the scene you saw previously.

ST: The apartment is recognisable by its layout, but the place is utterly fire-gutted. Thick char coats the ground and the walls. The sparse, charcoal remains of whatever furniature was once here lie in collapsed piles here and there.

ST: Pale light streams in from the window, filtered through smoke-blackened glass.

ST: It's probably too much of a coincidence to consider what must have happened here an accident.

ST: Of course there's no sign of the corpses you saw fall there, burnt husks or not.

ST: The resonance is very negative, a mix of abandonment and hopelessness.

ST: There is a slight, but noticable violence in it too.

ST: You manage to get enough information to pinpoint the area.

ST: Which happens to be an apartment building in Lyon, France.

Isis: Having learned all she cares to via scrying Isis does a few calculations - school mathematics are actually good for something! - and arrives at gps coordinates which Google Earth resolves for her.

Now

Isis: "Well, Gwendolyn did say that it hadn't been figured out before, so /of course/ it's difficult." Isis smiles at the thought of a juicy mystery waiting for them to unravel it.

Nebuchadnezzar: wanders away from Isis' room towards the stairs

Kenan: "uhuh" Kenan replies, doubtfully

Isis: Isis makes a grasping gesture in the direction of the thing, taking the time to pronounce one of the lesser keys of control.

Isis: And frustrated by failure repeats both a few more times

Isis: until finally she is satisfied with her imago. She hasn't had much opportunity to practice mental domination on anything other than insects and it shows.

ST: The grotesque thing tentatively skitters its forelegs out of cover, pauses, then at once scuttles over to the middle of the carpet and begins to thump around on the spot.

ST: It looks quite comical, unless of course anyone might have been arachnophobic.

Isis: With a beckoning gesture Isis draws out the creature from its hiding place behind the drawer. "You were right, Kenan," she beams. "Remote control is the key. I'm sure there are many things you could do with servant able to fit through the tiniest holes and get into locked rooms ..."

Kenan: looks at the dancing creature for a while, then replies to Isis "I'd rather keep it locked up tight until we figure out what makes it ticl"

Nebuchadnezzar: returns from downstairs the tap having been running

Isis: Isis tries to make the creature pick up a piece of clothing from the floor and drop it somewhere else. "Mmh," she agrees a little absently. "Being careful with unknown magic is wise. I meant for why someone would create something like this."

Isis: She grins. "What would I do with a thieving golem anyway?"

ST: The thing isn't terrible equipped for carrying things, but manages to get a grasp with its mandibles.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Make it jump would you Isis?" Neb says sipping from the glass

ST: terribly*

Isis: Or a tool of assassination, she considers for herself. That stain of death ...

Isis: Nodding Isis mentally pushes the thing to jump.

Nebuchadnezzar: As it does Neb throws the water over it, his hands out shaping the liquid into a simple sphere around it

Nebuchadnezzar: Before it hits the floor, the water becomes solid. A harded bullet proof Glass, which bounces like a hamster wheel when it strikes the ground

Isis: directs the thing to wriggle its limbs as hard as it can.

Nebuchadnezzar: "No point in having something capable of squirming through holes and wandering around our sanctum left uncaged."

ST: It does so, slipping on the smooth glass and thrashing about inside its new prison.

Kenan: "how long will this jar last?"

Isis: "I don't think it can get out, even with a stronger will driving it," Isis confirms.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Still a golem is worth examination. So we keep it somewhere we can do so." He wanders over and picks up the ball of glass. "It being inanimate, the glass will last until something shatters it."

Nebuchadnezzar: He says in response to Kenan. "The benefits of being an Adept of Matter."

Kenan: "good, good. I'm off to sleep, then, we can look at it more closely in the morning" - with that, Kenan begins to head off to his room

Isis: nods. "I suppose that means you'll be responsible for this one. Since the rest of us can't open its new 'cage'."

Nebuchadnezzar: "Place that on a pedastal or something it can't easily roll off from Isis." Neb says. "I will examine it properly in the morning." He waves and wanders back to his study.

Isis: "Good night, Kenan. Again. Sorry about waking you."

Isis: "Alright, I'll do that."

Kenan: "no worries, and good night"

ST: With the crisis averted you all return back to your beds (Neb excluded) and the rest of the night passes without note.

Nebuchadnezzar: What time of year is it by the way?

Nebuchadnezzar: What is the date in game?

Isis: After putting on something warmer - parts of the Athenaeum down below the cellar can be rather cool this time of the year - Isis goes down the stairs and through the various protections to safely store the golem again.

ST: (If anyone can tell me the date in game I'll give you 1 XP.)

ST: (Or at least the approximate. It's not because I've forgotten. Honest.)

ST: Saturday morning rises, chilly and overcast.

Nebuchadnezzar: Nope no date in the first session

ST: Syntagma stumbles out of his room around 10. Despite having gone to bed early the night before he looks pale and dark-eyed. He stumbles into the bathroom for a while before heading into the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Kenan: Kenan, unusually, is up by 9, and by the time Syntagma woke up, he's out in the streets, wandering seemingly aimlessly

Isis: Isis is up early, determined to make the most of the weekend. Despite that it's a bit after 10 that she comes downstairs accompanied by the scent of incense and carrying a small stoppered glass bottle full of water. "Good morning, Syntagma," she greets the fourth member of the cabal brightly.

Isis: "Let me help with breakfast ..." she puts the bottle down on the table carefully, then joins Syntagma in preparing breakfast.

Isis: "Have you seen Neb? Down in the library perhaps? Or is he working today?"

ST: Syn raises his head. He's been busy scrambling a couple of eggs and offers her a slightly worn smile. "I haven't seen him. He's probably still in his study."

ST: "You can make some toast if you like. Want some eggs?"

Nebuchadnezzar: comes downstairs slightly after everyone else. Sitting down at the table with a frown.

ST: "Speak of the devil. You in for some eggs, Neb?"

Nebuchadnezzar: "I just had a call from Albedo, Latimir wants to meet with us." He says before looking around at who is in the room.

Isis: "Ok!" Isis gets to making toast. "I'm being a vegetarian today, so no eggs," she goes on to explain. "But thanks."

Nebuchadnezzar: "And yes, Eggs and black coffee." He says with a sigh. Picking up the paper.

Isis: "Good morning, Neb!" She turns to him while the toaster is busy. "Would you donate a tiny little thought for research? Just for a minute?"

Isis: "After breakfast, I mean," she amends after a moment.

Isis: "The Adamantine Arrow Councilor ... do you know why he wants to talk to us?"

Nebuchadnezzar: "What sort of thought?" he says not looking up from the paper.

Isis: "It can be anything. One of ten-thousand flitting back and forth in every moment. I just need one that's not from me to test something ..."

Isis: "It's for an idea I had, see, a bottle that can ... ah!" The toaster ejects its payload and Isis is distracted putting it along with the rest on the table.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Fine. Just try not to take anything important." He says changing page on the paper.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Has anyone checked on last nights visitor yet this morning?"

ST: Syn cracks a couple more eggs and beats them with some salt and pepper. "Latimer? Something to do with the election, then. When did he want to meet?"

Isis: That done she sits down as well. "Thanks," she beams. "That's why I asked you, because you know enough Mind to chose one for me to use yourself."

Isis: "I haven't checked on it yet ..."

Nebuchadnezzar: "7 O'Clock in Charing Cross." Neb puts the paper down and finishes his coffee.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Is there any thought that is more appealing." He says rising. "How long till the eggs are ready Syn?"

ST: As Neb asks Syntagma plates up a portion with a few pieces of toast. "Done." He puts it on the corner of the table closest to him, stopping short of serving it right in front of Neb.

Isis: "A simple one to begin with, I think." Isis looks thoughtful as she spreads honey on her toast. "But it should be helpful either way. There's much work I still have to do until it can be called 'working'."

Isis: "You think he wants to talk about the elections, Syn? The Silver Ladder don't have much more time until they have to cast their vote, do they?"

ST: "Water's boiled. If you want coffee you'll have to make it yourself, I've got to run in a bit." He glances at his watch then makes his own plate and sits at the table. "Probably. He's a politician, after all."

ST: "About a week or two, I think. I don't keep up with it much to be honest."

ST: Syn is an apostate, after all.

Isis: nods and eats her toast. "Is Kenan still sleeping," she asks just before the last bite.

Nebuchadnezzar: "I assume so." Neb makes coffee and then sits and eats his eggs

ST: "He's not usually up this time in the week, forget a Saturday." Syn grins.

ST: He quickly finishes, then stands up and dusts some crumbs off his lap. "Right, duty calls. I might be back for tonight, I might not. I'll let you know."

Isis: Isis smiles. "I'll put a note on his door then."

Isis: "Ah. Have a good day, Syntagma!"

Nebuchadnezzar: Neb nods in agreement with Isis as Syn leaves

ST: "You too." He grabs his backpack from the counter as he leaves and you hear the door slam behind him.

Isis: "If we end up going to France, do you want to come as well, Neb?"

Nebuchadnezzar: blinks. "For what a day trip? Or longer?"

Isis: "Oh, not for long," Isis says lightly. "Just an hour or three. Although perhaps not today, since the Councilor wanted to speak to us in the evening."

Isis: "I had an idea how to catch that ... that Scelestus who is behind all these incidents," she explains, hesitating with slightly fearful expression as she searches for the right term to name him.

Isis: "So we can make sure he doesn't hurt any more people," she adds in a smaller voice.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Brave of you." Neb says between mouthfuls.

Nebuchadnezzar: He however does not interrupt

Nebuchadnezzar: Using the silence to coax the rest of the plan out.

Isis: "It's not dangerous, really," Isis continues. "We just go to the place where his Awakening happened, the apartment we saw in the memory the abyssal shard carried with it. I've scryed it and it really does exist."

Isis: "There Kenan can use postcognition to see if the rest of the scene happened like we saw it. To find out what that Guardian and the other mage wanted. And ... since he was a Sleeper who had no reason to hide it before that event, Kenan's postcognition will probably be able to find out his real name."

Isis: "Once the Sentinels and the Arrow know that, he will have a hard time moving around without being found out. Though I don't yet know how we would explain it to them even if we succeed."

Nebuchadnezzar: "This is a Guardian mess. Alasdair was one of the ritualists and the one responsable for this Scelestus." Neb says. "Still having the real name... and finding a way to discreetly provide it to the authrorities is sensible."

Isis: "He probably hasn't told them because he's embarrassed about it," Isis nods. "The Guardians are really strict about paradox, like it's a character flaw."

Kenan: Kenan enters the sanctum "good morning to you, how is our unexpected night visitor doing?"

Isis: "Oh, good morning Kenan. So you weren't sleeping!"

Kenan: "I decided to go for a walk, have some fresh air"

Isis: "How is the weather? Good for walking?"

Isis: "Oh, do you want to go to France with me? Sometime when you have a few hours to spare - maybe tomorrow?

Isis: Isis explains the thought she had to Kenan as well.

Kenan: "not terribly, but good enough. Tomorrow? Well, why not, i've not plans for tomorrow"

Isis: "It's a plan! I'll prepare a portal for after breakfast."

Nebuchadnezzar: "You could just take the train, it would only take a few hours." Neb suggests. "And save people asking unnecessary questions."

Nebuchadnezzar: He flips a page on the paper.

Isis: "That fast?" Isis looks surprised.

Nebuchadnezzar: "As for our visitor, he is still in the Library, I have not examined him this morning." Neb lets out a yawn.

Nebuchadnezzar: "Two hours to Paris I think... it has been a while since I took the Eurostar."

Isis: "That might even be faster than I can manage a portal. But it's probably expensive, isn't it?"

Isis: "It's in a city called Lyons. I have a map upstairs ..."

Kenan: "Lyons? that's 6 hours at least, unless we fly, either way it would be well over a hundred pounds each"

Kenan: "what's happening there, anyway?

Isis: "The apartment of the Scelestus who is doing all these terrible things, the one we saw in my Oneiros, at the time when he was a Sleeper. With your postcognition we can investigate what really happened back then, and also find out his real name if we're lucky."

Isis: "That way maybe we can prevent him hurting more people."

Kenan: "good plan. if the building is still standing, of course. I imagine he'd take some precautions against just such a thing"

Isis: "It's still standing, though I think someone set it on fire some time ago. I looked at it just yesterday."

Isis: "But that should be enough, shouldn't it? You can't retroactively conceal your life as a Sleeper in time, can you?"

Kenan: "I don't know, I never tried. now that's a scary thought, what's stopping anyone with knowledge of Time from doing that, finding out everyone's true names?"

Isis: Isis nods seriously. "Someone who is really, really powerful could do it. But there's spatial sympathy to consider, and I think you also need a sympathetic anchor for scrying through time? So it would be very difficult."

Nebuchadnezzar: "You'd also need to know when and where someone awoke."

Nebuchadnezzar: "Or them well enough to trace their timeline back through their entire life. Never an easy undertaking."

ST: The rest of the day passes without note and by the time the clock nears time to leave it's already dark outside.

ST: Syn sends you a text saying he can't make it, surprise surprise.

Isis: "That's why shadow names are used, to distance the Sleeper life from the Awakened life. It's a special sort of opportunity to locate a part of another mage's life as a Sleeper.

ST: It's a short tube ride to the city centre and from there not far to the bar itself.

ST: The Bear and Staff is fairly upmarket, a trendy amalgamation of cocktail bar and restaurant.

ST: It's dimly lit, clean and modern in decor. It isn't hard to spot Latimer and his entourage once you enter. He sits with two others, one of whom you all recognise as Ledger and another who Neb knows as Albedo.

Nebuchadnezzar: "This way." Neb ignores any staff and makes his way to the table.

ST: Latimer's a youthful, middle-aged man with a head of short black hair and a trimmed beard. He wears a casual suit and sips on a pint, talking to the others. Albedo isn't quite so smartly dressed, a young blonde woman in her late twenties with her hair pulled back into a functional ponytail.

Nebuchadnezzar: Expecting the others to follow him. "Mind if we join you?" He addresses to Latimar and his cabelmates

ST: They look up as you approach. Latimer breaks into a broad smile, "The City and the Tower. By all means, take a seat." The others nod in greeting.

Isis: Isis is dressed quite conservatively for her standards in black jeans and a dark blue jacket against which her hair contrasts sharply.

Isis: Trailing behind the others she returns the nods and smiles at the greeting.

Kenan: Kenan waves and smiles in greeting

Nebuchadnezzar: has on a dark shirt and black trousers, his leather jacket replacing a normal suit jacket.

ST: "Can I get you anything to drink?" He offers graciously.

Kenan: "a glass of Domaine Comte Georges de Vogue Musigny Cuvee Vieilles Vignes Grand Cru, 1983, would do just fine. If they don't have it, I'll have a pint of stout"

Nebuchadnezzar: turns and gives Kenan a scathing look before returning his attention to Latimer. "Coffee, black."

Isis: "Only if it isn't too much trouble," Isis answers. "Water is fine."

ST: Latimer's smile turns into a smirk and he nods to Albedo, who gets up wordlessly to head to the bar.

ST: "I'm glad you decided to meet me. Considering the current.. atmosphere I feared you might refuse." He confesses, taking another sip of his drink.

Isis: The thought clearly hadn't even occured to Isis.

Nebuchadnezzar: shrugs, "I find it unwise to upset a Councillor unnecessarily." He twitches a little his left hand restless

Isis: She can't just hide from the world for fear of being attacked, and Latimer to her mind is something of hero, so ...

ST: "Ah. Well, I hope I didn't make you feel obliged." He doesn't sound too remorseful. He pauses before he continues, "The reason I asked you here tonight is because you're a well-established cabal that provides the city with a valuable service."

ST: "You also saved a lot of people at that Guardian debacle, if I hear correctly." He looks at Neb when he says that, "I respect that. I want to hear what your feelings are on current events."

Nebuchadnezzar: stares at Latimer blankly, though he does rub his scarred hand at mention of the issue in the brewers hall. "I don't really follow current events, has something else happened then? Since the Brewer's hall?"

Isis: "Many are afraid, and some let their fear affect their decisions more than would be wise. I think that's exactly what the Scelestus wants. We shouldn't let him do that."