Re: Battle, Death and a Pine Cone IC Thread 18

[Warpmind]

"I guess we could search city records for his name and go from there, we have his first and last name so it should not be that hard to find out."
Rosario suggested.

Colin nodded, "Do you think you could... get on that, after? I'll have a ton of work waiting in Boston; getting someone local to look into things here would expedite matters substantially..."

"Thank you," he said, and then nodded as the area felt better.

He nodded, "The least I could do."

"True enough, and I have not voiced any complaint about your knowledge of the rote in question young man."
Crexia said as she regarded you carefully.

He nodded, "True, you haven't. But fear not; I don't intend to pry on fellow Magi to examine how your rotes work, except by invitation. That would be impolite in any case. Hum, come to think of it, that spell just might be very painful to the Labyrinth itself, if aimed at the fleshy parts... It certainly seemed to agonize vampires earlier... Not, mind you, by my hand."

"I have a feeling it is important also. How else might she know that he was here when she was killed somewhere else? There had to be something that drew her. Just be careful as such a thing works both ways," he said and offered him the keycharm.

He nodded, carefully putting the toy car in his pocket, "I think... I should repaint it; restore it to its original colour, though. But if I'm not too far off in my guesswork, this could help to get under her skin, as it were, and give her the push she needs to move on... or, as a last resort, serve as a trap. I'd rather the former, of course... she's been trapped long enough. As for what drew her, I think that was mainly the blood connection, but I'd rather not bring the body with me. Too many complications..."

"The question is if Cotta will leave the more ehm...fleshy parts of the Labyrinth to come to the defense of the very outskirt of the creature."
Udella said and raised an eyebrow.
"The idea is sound, if you think she will come to the entrance corridor, the question is if she will leave the areas she is stronger in to do so."
The Enforcer asked.
"As for the patrol, well the Keeper of the Labyrinth are a more important target, the question is if she will take the lesser Nephandi with her if you can get her to come to us to attack...which would complicate matters."

He frowned, a grim glint in his eyes, "Oh, I'll give her questions she'll want answered in private, I think... I was there when her lover died, and that gives me a taunt that will probably unhinge her greatly. It's not a guarantee of her coming alone, but I think the odds are good enough."

"It sounds like a heart," he said with a frown. "Though it might be the caul. Are we still not going to deal with..." he pointed at Matty's room and then put up a finger, for first. Then to answer his question, "It may take all we have to deal with her, if we get snuck up on or boxed in it could be trouble. You know, there are parts of the walls that...eat people, things. What if you fed it something it did not wish to digest? Perhaps not that tass directly as it might enjoy that," he mused.

He pondered for a moment, "Heart... or perhaps brain? Hm, I wonder how the Labyrinth would like a gravity increase? I received some less-lethal rounds intended for live captures; they should affect whatever they get, ah, lodged in and expose them to a greatly increased gravitational pull. The whole Labyrinth might be a bit too big a beast for a bullet, but it just might affect local parts of it..."

"Well if I where running this Labyrinth then I would make sure that woman where as protected as I could get her, so yes she will have protectors, let us assume Abigail is not stupid."
Crexia said and she ignored James muttering something about just how scary of an idea it was to have Crexia lead a Labyrinth.
"True she might be planning some ritual...I guess then Sodalis it all boil down to just how aggravating your Cabalmate can be? If he think he can manage to get Cotta to the hallway where we fought the werbears and by that disrupt her plans, I am willing to give that plan a god to divide the Nephandi and not walk right into where we might have to deal with both Cotta and Carlyle on their own terms."
The archmmage continued then she looked at Colin.

He nodded, then pondered, "Alright, two-step plan - first, I give us the benefit of my scrambling rote, which will make it far harder to pinpoint us magically. Next, we position ourselves to establish a kill zone, and then... I taunt the woman mercilessly."
He fished out his Chaos wand, "This'll take a few moments, but should serve well... It's going to temporarily hamper reception for our phones, though."
He quickly started the bobbing-and-weaving pattern with the wand, "Magia confundus..."

((OOC: Arete rolls for the scrambler, to cover the whole group: 5,5,0 - 3,3,4 - 1,9,0 - 3,5,7 - 2,4,6 - 5,5,7... I think it was Diff 5 for a second-dot rote? This should do the trick, then...))

((OOC: Oh, Colin can be dreadfully aggravating, alright. Just you wait and see. ))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin nodded, "Do you think you could... get on that, after? I'll have a ton of work waiting in Boston; getting someone local to look into things here would expedite matters substantially..."

"Yeah...off course it is the least I can do."
Rosario agreed and nodded sadly.

He nodded, "True, you haven't. But fear not; I don't intend to pry on fellow Magi to examine how your rotes work, except by invitation. That would be impolite in any case. Hum, come to think of it, that spell just might be very painful to the Labyrinth itself, if aimed at the fleshy parts... It certainly seemed to agonize vampires earlier... Not, mind you, by my hand."

"I would not think you would stoop to such measures for knowledge young man. Do not mind me, I feel our own rituals and spells should be closer guarded, but as long as what you have been taught is not a secret, there is no problem."
Crexia said then she smiled a bit.
"Hum...you are saying something there...the Wind of Mundane Silence do tend to cause considerable pain in supernatural creatures."
She agreed and Cara sigh and looked down.
"The Wind used on those vampires was mine Ma'am, I did not like to cause them pain but it was the easiest way to get them of our tail at the time. With all of us though we should be able to create a pretty strong Wind of Mundane silence, that should have a pretty bad effect on the Labyrinth, but it will also affect anything else supernatural in the area...which might be a good thing for us, but if there is an Umbrood here who are not directly hostile, then it will affect it as well."
The Criamon said sounding a bit concerned.

As for what drew her, I think that was mainly the blood connection, but I'd rather not bring the body with me. Too many complications..."

"If you want a strong connection then one of the bullets that killed the young man might be one of the strongest there are, but that will also be sure to enrage the spirit of his mother."
Crexia suggested with nothing but a bit of a frown, she might as well be discussing what to have for dinner.

He frowned, a grim glint in his eyes, "Oh, I'll give her questions she'll want answered in private, I think... I was there when her lover died, and that gives me a taunt that will probably unhinge her greatly. It's not a guarantee of her coming alone, but I think the odds are good enough."

Crexia looked at you and nodded.
"It is worth a try."
She agreed.
"Also I killed her apprentice, combined that should be enough for this Cotta to have enough of a bone to pick with us that she might forget reason and come for us anyway."
Udella said a bit sadly.

He pondered for a moment, "Heart... or perhaps brain?

"Yes...a brain is quite possible, some...semblance of it at least."
Rosario agreed with a grimace of disgust.

Hm, I wonder how the Labyrinth would like a gravity increase? I received some less-lethal rounds intended for live captures; they should affect whatever they get, ah, lodged in and expose them to a greatly increased gravitational pull. The whole Labyrinth might be a bit too big a beast for a bullet, but it just might affect local parts of it...

"Hum...well if the gravity increase is strong enough it should harm it at least."
Crexia said.
"I am not sure how it would work precisely though."

He nodded, then pondered, "Alright, two-step plan - first, I give us the benefit of my scrambling rote, which will make it far harder to pinpoint us magically. Next, we position ourselves to establish a kill zone, and then... I taunt the woman mercilessly."

"A rather crude plan, but it might work, very well young man cast your rote and let us move back to the entrance hallway and set up there, and let us hope this is effective for if not it will just cost us time."
Crexia said and nodded her agreement to the plan.
"Ok everyone, prepare to move back, quickly now once Mr W have cast his scrambler, we do not have all day and we have allot fo Labyrinth yet to deal with!"

He fished out his Chaos wand, "This'll take a few moments, but should serve well... It's going to temporarily hamper reception for our phones, though."
He quickly started the bobbing-and-weaving pattern with the wand, "Magia confundus..."

"The Adepts have set up a link to our phones so we can call them for extraction, other than that we are in the Umbra young man, there are no service out here unless you know the right spells to get the signal through anyway."
Crexia said and raised an eyebrow, she stood checking over her whip as you cast your rote, some of the others as well checked their weapons when they had a chance to make sure they where in working order. Leon paused with his hand on the door to Mel's room as you begun casting so he would be included in the effect.

(OOC: Well he is not as aggravating as Tane, Antonio are going to be so happy he decided to have a lengthy discussion about Gilgul and stolen Avatars with his teenage apprentice, Mentors love it when someone scares the shit out of their students. )

[Warpmind]

"I would not think you would stoop to such measures for knowledge young man. Do not mind me, I feel our own rituals and spells should be closer guarded, but as long as what you have been taught is not a secret, there is no problem."
Crexia said then she smiled a bit.
"Hum...you are saying something there...the Wind of Mundane Silence do tend to cause considerable pain in supernatural creatures."
She agreed and Cara sigh and looked down.
"The Wind used on those vampires was mine Ma'am, I did not like to cause them pain but it was the easiest way to get them of our tail at the time. With all of us though we should be able to create a pretty strong Wind of Mundane silence, that should have a pretty bad effect on the Labyrinth, but it will also affect anything else supernatural in the area...which might be a good thing for us, but if there is an Umbrood here who are not directly hostile, then it will affect it as well."
The Criamon said sounding a bit concerned.

Colin smiled, "Well, I can see the reasoning behind the reluctance to share... I don't necessarily agree, but that's an entirely different issue; I'll nonetheless respect your stance on the matter."
He frowned, "I'd rather not cause undue harm to my new friend who's writing on the wall there... Could we create a tightly focused whirlwind? A narrow space in which anything magical would be severely impaired; perhaps even one we could reposition?"

"If you want a strong connection then one of the bullets that killed the young man might be one of the strongest there are, but that will also be sure to enrage the spirit of his mother."
Crexia suggested with nothing but a bit of a frown, she might as well be discussing what to have for dinner.

He grimaced, "Well, yes, but I'd rather rely on a happy memory, than something so traumatic. This is my mind on the line, after all, and I've grown rather fond of the twisted, convoluted little thing."

Crexia looked at you and nodded.
"It is worth a try."
She agreed.
"Also I killed her apprentice, combined that should be enough for this Cotta to have enough of a bone to pick with us that she might forget reason and come for us anyway."
Udella said a bit sadly.

He sighed, "It's rather depressing, the cruelty war forces from our hands..."

"Yes...a brain is quite possible, some...semblance of it at least."
Rosario agreed with a grimace of disgust.

He pondered, "A stroke, a lobotomy... if it's the brain, we might be able to cripple the Labyrinth beyond repair in one fell swoop. Worth considering when we find it."

"Hum...well if the gravity increase is strong enough it should harm it at least."
Crexia said.
"I am not sure how it would work precisely though."

He nodded, "It might tear the flesh off the wall, at least... but no, you're right, the effect would be uncertain."

"A rather crude plan, but it might work, very well young man cast your rote and let us move back to the entrance hallway and set up there, and let us hope this is effective for if not it will just cost us time."
Crexia said and nodded her agreement to the plan.
"Ok everyone, prepare to move back, quickly now once Mr W have cast his scrambler, we do not have all day and we have allot fo Labyrinth yet to deal with!"

He nodded, "Worst case scenario, we at least made it a little harder for Cotta to track us."

"The Adepts have set up a link to our phones so we can call them for extraction, other than that we are in the Umbra young man, there are no service out here unless you know the right spells to get the signal through anyway."
Crexia said and raised an eyebrow, she stood checking over her whip as you cast your rote, some of the others as well checked their weapons when they had a chance to make sure they where in working order. Leon paused with his hand on the door to Mel's room as you begun casting so he would be included in the effect.

He smiled wryly, "All the same, I'm not sure if the link will be unaffected. However, spirits which don't rely on sight will find us harder to locate."
He felt the spell come along slowly, meticulously - was it the Labyrinth that was resisting his efforts of concealment? No matter; he soon enough felt he had it under wraps, blanketing everyone in little bubbles of magical static. He swiftly picked a spot as designated, and took aim on the fleshy bit of wall, working out the proper Latin phrase...

((OOC: I spent long enough casting the scrambler; I'm waiting for S7trif3 before I start the next spell.))

((OOC2: Yeah, if Colin hears about THAT, Anna's getting a supply of pepper spray in case of Dreamspeaker. ))

[Adley]

"If it was just up tome Sodalis I would kill this man as well...but the risk of dissent in the group at his murder is grater than the risk of him being a problem if he should wake up." The old Archmaga said and glanced at Rosario, the young Cultist needed to think she could save...someone, anyone... "But as for his seeing our faces, that I can do something about."
She said and knelt down by the pawn's side, not seeming to mind the blood that was pouring out of the wound in his back and she put a hand on his forehead and muttered a few words. "There he will not remember anything from the last hour, which is probably a mercy."

He sighed and gave her a nod. Well, technically it was up to her but she was right, it would cause more dissent and they didn't have time to argue amongst each other. Though he honestly was not sure it was mercy to leave the pawn possibly disabled, who knew what would happen to him in the end.

He nodded, carefully putting the toy car in his pocket, "I think... I should repaint it; restore it to its original colour, though. But if I'm not too far off in my guesswork, this could help to get under her skin, as it were, and give her the push she needs to move on... or, as a last resort, serve as a trap. I'd rather the former, of course... she's been trapped long enough. As for what drew her, I think that was mainly the blood connection, but I'd rather not bring the body with me. Too many complications..."

"True enough, it could have been blood. But I agree, we're not going to bring...anysuch."

we need to check that, familiars will be injured by their owner's death but they can still be powerful, magical creatures, we need to make sure they are not going to come at us...let us hope they are just pets." Udella said and frowned. "I will take care of it Quesitor." Leon said as he headed for Mel's room.

"Please be careful, there might be traps or the animal in there very hostile," he said. "There were werebears, who knew what they've been doing in here."

"I doubt it is the Caul, that would be in the center of the the structure...a heart or some other mass of the Labyrinth creature though, that might be up ahead."

He pondered for a moment, "Heart... or perhaps brain? Hm, I wonder how the Labyrinth would like a gravity increase? I received some less-lethal rounds intended for live captures; they should affect whatever they get, ah, lodged in and expose them to a greatly increased gravitational pull. The whole Labyrinth might be a bit too big a beast for a bullet, but it just might affect local parts of it..."

He made a slightly disgusted face at the notion of the structure of it, he knew it was alive but it was disturbing to think of them walking around a thing with a heart or brain.

"I know magick of that nature does work, at least in the last room we were in. I used that and a combination of spirit, as the area is a realm."

"Well I would rather fight with my back to the portal back to physical reality than to get locked in between Cotta, the patrols and Caryle's Avatar, if we can get her to the first chamber it would be a ideal place to fight her, away from the major mass of the flesh on the walls and in a place of our choosing, what I am having some doubts about however are if we are able to get here to leave the safety of the deeper parts to defend the outskirts of the Labyrinth creature."

"True, like you said she might send someone else. Or spirits," he frowned.

"How do we know what the walls do not like to eat Sir?" Rosario asked.

"Some parts of the walls have mouths. The rest...well the Nephandi here know not to touch some areas that are less obviously dangerous. That's why I said try not to touch them if you can help it."

"Well I suspect they would not be to fond of a bomb of Vim and Ignem." Udella chimed in.

"Likely give it indigestion," he agreed.

That would be impolite in any case. Hum, come to think of it, that spell just might be very painful to the Labyrinth itself, if aimed at the fleshy parts... It certainly seemed to agonize vampires earlier... Not, mind you, by my hand."

"I would not think you would stoop to such measures for knowledge young man. Do not mind me, I feel our own rituals and spells should be closer guarded, but as long as what you have been taught is not a secret, there is no problem."
Crexia said then she smiled a bit. "Hum...you are saying something there...the Wind of Mundane Silence do tend to cause considerable pain in supernatural creatures."

She agreed and Cara sigh and looked down. "The Wind used on those vampires was mine Ma'am, I did not like to cause them pain but it was the easiest way to get them of our tail at the time. With all of us though we should be able to create a pretty strong Wind of Mundane silence, that should have a pretty bad effect on the Labyrinth, but it will also affect anything else supernatural in the area...which might be a good thing for us, but if there is an Umbrood here who are not directly hostile, then it will affect it as well."

"We might be able to aim it again," he mused to Cara. "We might just have to see what Umbroods show up and who they are with, and if we get a chance to try to talk to them or not. I would rather not harm the enslaved ones if we can help it. But it might give us something against the Children though, if they turn up." Which would be very useful, those horrible children of Jodelle's were nothing to sneeze at. "I wonder if it would also work on...ahem..." he nodded towards Matty's room. They had banishings but it might be good to have a backup idea.

"True she might be planning some ritual...I guess then Sodalis it all boil down to just how aggravating your Cabalmate can be? If he think he can manage to get Cotta to the hallway where we fought the werbears and by that disrupt her plans, I am willing to give that plan a god to divide the Nephandi and not walk right into where we might have to deal with both Cotta and Carlyle on their own terms."

He gave a wry smile at Crexia's question about Colin and glanced at his cabalmate with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded, then pondered, "Alright, two-step plan - first, I give us the benefit of my scrambling rote, which will make it far harder to pinpoint us magically. Next, we position ourselves to establish a kill zone, and then... I taunt the woman mercilessly."

"I might be able to increase your Voice's range, make it louder, or have it sound as if it is coming from some other area, or echo. Though this place is...strange, acoustically. I'm not sure how much it might fool her, since she can literally pop in anywhere she wishes to be but it might confuse her temporarily, if combined with your other rote and I move from where I cast the spell."

He fished out his Chaos wand, "This'll take a few moments, but should serve well... It's going to temporarily hamper reception for our phones, though."

He nodded at Colin and glanced at Crexia, and then the others, mentally preparing to make a defensible position. Then looked at Leon and back to Crexia, "If we're going to clear that room, should we do that before this, or seal the door?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin smiled, "Well, I can see the reasoning behind the reluctance to share... I don't necessarily agree, but that's an entirely different issue; I'll nonetheless respect your stance on the matter."

Crexia nodded at that.
"Thank you young man, and I do not begrudge you your magick, I wish more things where kept in the secrets, but at the same time, trading rotes have been a main source of income for the Order for many years. It is what it is me liking it or not, but yes I do not require you to agree with me.

He frowned, "I'd rather not cause undue harm to my new friend who's writing on the wall there... Could we create a tightly focused whirlwind? A narrow space in which anything magical would be severely impaired; perhaps even one we could reposition?"

"Anything is possible but it is not easy to do what you ask."
Cara said then she looked down at the map on her phone.
"Well if we are in the entry corridor here, then the spirit writing on the walls would be on this wall here and we could aim for the main part of the Labyrinth here, then he would be behind us and out of harms way."
She said and showed you and pointed.
"So unless he have moved wall your new friend should be safe Sir, but the ocean Umbrood I have heard mentioned would not be, we would hit anything along this line here."
She said and drew a long, thin, marked finger over the screen to illustrate.
"Any supernatural prisoners as well would be impacted, like Nicolai's son, depending where in the Labyrinth he is held."

He grimaced, "Well, yes, but I'd rather rely on a happy memory, than something so traumatic. This is my mind on the line, after all, and I've grown rather fond of the twisted, convoluted little thing."

"Ah yes it's loss would be quite the shame."
Crexia agreed.
"The boy car is probably your best link the the spirit then, but remember it might indeed let her find you as well like your Cabalmate said."

He sighed, "It's rather depressing, the cruelty war forces from our hands..."

"Yes it is depressing indeed, but we have no choice we have to defend ourselves and reality."
Udella said softly and looked down.

He pondered, "A stroke, a lobotomy... if it's the brain, we might be able to cripple the Labyrinth beyond repair in one fell swoop. Worth considering when we find it."

"Agreed, though such a weak point would probably be well defended, it might also be the Labyrinth have more than one brain, but if so we can probably cause it some pain and make it less likely to work well for it's masters by taking one out."
Crexia said and Rosario nodded.

He nodded, "It might tear the flesh off the wall, at least... but no, you're right, the effect would be uncertain."

"It might indeed and our new friend Cotta might not like that, she might not like it at all."
Crexia said with a dark grin.
"Then again deeper inn the flesh might not be on the wall it might be the wall. But yes in an emergency use what you got, but I would think fire, ice and ripping it apart might be more effective."

He nodded, "Worst case scenario, we at least made it a little harder for Cotta to track us."

"Let us hope so, then again did we not want her to come to us once we have aid our trap young man?"
Crexia asked and raised an eyebrow.

He smiled wryly, "All the same, I'm not sure if the link will be unaffected. However, spirits which don't rely on sight will find us harder to locate."

"Very well I will keep that in mind if we should need to call for help from the Adepts."
The archmaga said and nodded.

He felt the spell come along slowly, meticulously - was it the Labyrinth that was resisting his efforts of concealment? No matter; he soon enough felt he had it under wraps, blanketing everyone in little bubbles of magical static. He swiftly picked a spot as designated, and took aim on the fleshy bit of wall, working out the proper Latin phrase...

Before the group left the hallway with the infirmary but after you had cast your spell Leon entered Mel's room, his brother whispering for him to be careful. Soon the Jerbiton came back out.
"Ehm there are a pair of budgies in a cage, you know mini parrots, they look very well cared for by how they start talking and quaking as soon as I entered the room, they do not look to be magical to me, so they are just this Nephandi woman's pets I would think...ehm...what should we do with them?"
He asked and scratched his head, from inside the room you hear a bird's thin voice informing you than.
"Tany is a pretty bird."

He swiftly picked a spot as designated, and took aim on the fleshy bit of wall, working out the proper Latin phrase...

Once you had gotten back into the hallways where your party fought the werbears and the group of Nephandi and pawns Rosario point at some flesh growing down the wall.
"There is more in the roof."
She commented.

He sighed and gave her a nod. Well, technically it was up to her but she was right, it would cause more dissent and they didn't have time to argue amongst each other. Though he honestly was not sure it was mercy to leave the pawn possibly disabled, who knew what would happen to him in the end.

Crexia gave you a look, she shared your views but she felt leaving the man alive was worth it to keep the group together, there where no more time to waste on your healer potentially freaking completely out.

"Please be careful, there might be traps or the animal in there very hostile," he said. "There were werebears, who knew what they've been doing in here."

"I will keep my eyes open Sodalis."
Leon agreed, you could see James though was very concerned about his brother going into Mel's room but he did not protest.

"I know magick of that nature does work, at least in the last room we were in. I used that and a combination of spirit, as the area is a realm."

"Affecting gravity is quite effective magick, how effective it will be against the Labyrinth's walls though that is another story, I suspect other strategies might work better."
Crexia said and nodded.

"True, like you said she might send someone else. Or spirits," he frowned.

"She might indeed, then again that would also benefit us if we can take them out Sodalis, then she will have less defenses when we reach them."
The archmage said.

"Some parts of the walls have mouths. The rest...well the Nephandi here know not to touch some areas that are less obviously dangerous. That's why I said try not to touch them if you can help it."

"Ehm...right...I will do my best not to touch the walls then Sir."
Rosario said she looked rather disgusted at the thought of those walls.

"Likely give it indigestion," he agreed.

"Well I would not mind inflicting such a malady on the Labyrinth walls."
Udella said with a bit of a grin.

"We might be able to aim it again," he mused to Cara. "We might just have to see what Umbroods show up and who they are with, and if we get a chance to try to talk to them or not. I would rather not harm the enslaved ones if we can help it. But it might give us something against the Children though, if they turn up."

Cara nodded in agreement.
"I would not want to use it on captives either, I hope we can get more friendly spirits to help us, I am not eager to harm those who are innocent."
The Criamong said then she nodded.
"It might work on the Children, unless they just eat the spell, they might end up just doing that though, which would be a problem, then again it is designed to blow away magick and they are well magickal so yeah it might be worth a shot."

Which would be very useful, those horrible children of Jodelle's were nothing to sneeze at. "I wonder if it would also work on...ahem..." he nodded towards Matty's room. They had banishings but it might be good to have a backup idea.

"It should cause that attack dog of hers considerable pain at least."
Crexia said and frowned.
"A mage caught in a Wind of Mundane Silence will feel their Gift waving in the wind it is...not plesant, in theory a strong enough Wind will destroy a Avatar, though there are no recorded cases of that, there are a few cases of magi having lost their Gift in one, though they have later been found reborn, so it is likely in that case the Avatar was merely severed from the host and not shattered, creating a Wind of Mundane Silence strong enough for that though will not be easy, but one strong enough to cause considerable pain to any Nephandi mage caught in it's path though...that we can do."
Udella said darkly. Loretta frowned.
"Well it seams there is a good reason to not get in front of Hermetics..."
She muttered wryly.

He nodded at Colin and glanced at Crexia, and then the others, mentally preparing to make a defensible position. Then looked at Leon and back to Crexia, "If we're going to clear that room, should we do that before this, or seal the door?"

"Sealing the door should be enough."
Crexia said and nodded, she lead the group into the room where you had fought the werbears.
"Ok, I want to try to limit the sides they can come at us, there are two door where we need to block of one of them."
She ordered.

(OOC: Well just let her call XCOM, after all Tane's Avatar look exactly like a gray alien just that it's body are black and the eyes are white, but the shape are exactly the same, I am sure XCOM would like a look at it. )

[Tane Karyak]

"I know one do not always need magick to fight Sir, even if it is a boon. Guns, weapons or just fists can do allot. But I have no training in that, I am to be a linguist and a librarian so if you need someone talked to death about old dead languages I am your man, but in a fight I fear I might not be that helpful, though of course I do my part, we all do."

JAJAJAJAJAJAJJAJA, oh man. I hope i can show you the stories of my people sometime. He said after laughing a good long laugh We entered a nest to fight nephandi and some kidnapped and used traditionalists. We killed half a dozen, had only minor wounds,
and rescued the poor people. A marauder girl, a master, and some others, but mostly the people we've been looking for.

I do hope she will be alright."

She will be, but her sanity could be impaired forever. Imagine the paranoia at seeing the same actions be done, like writing or so.I imagine this kid is really scared, but master Morgan is strong and ppowerful masters such as him and master Nassa can make the difference on the council's veredict. If you can keep me informed of his situation, please do so. I'll try to be there for him if he needs it.

"But if the Council is doing it, they must have a good reason right? I mean they are so old and they know so much, they have to know what they are doing?"

Powerful and knowledgeable and all, they are beset by content, frustration and old ages' grudges. I belive they have to understand and accept to try new ways.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

JAJAJAJAJAJAJJAJA, oh man. I hope i can show you the stories of my people sometime. He said after laughing a good long laugh We entered a nest to fight nephandi and some kidnapped and used traditionalists. We killed half a dozen, had only minor wounds,

"I would like to hear those stories Sir...and perhaps hear about your language structure..."
Andrew said eager to learn then he turned serious.
"I am glad our own did not get seriously hurt...I am always afraid of that, it is easy to forget at times that there is a war going on. I look at the faces of my friends at school, they do not have to worry about being shot by a member of another faction, or taken away by the Union or sometime, it is hard sometimes, I wish this war would end."
The kid muttered then he nodded and drew a deep breath.
"So the kidnapped Traditionalists are ok then Sir? I heard they where here at Steelhaven for now being treated for their injuries."

and rescued the poor people. A marauder girl, a master, and some others, but mostly the people we've been looking for.

"Yeah I have heard the Marauder girl, she have been placed with her friend in our one and only actual cell, you know the one we use when one of us go nuts and have to be restrained, anyway she speaks like she is narrating a storybook, it is good they where saved, being captured by the Nephandi, that must really suck."

She will be, but her sanity could be impaired forever.

"Yeah...I guess you are right, poor Bea, she have always been nice to me. I can not imagine what she is going through."
Andrew muttered sadly and looked down.

Imagine the paranoia at seeing the same actions be done, like writing or so.I imagine this kid is really scared, but master Morgan is strong and ppowerful masters such as him and master Nassa can make the difference on the council's veredict.

"He is really scared, but he do not want to admit it, he is trying to stay strong, but you can hear it in his voice that he is terrified. I do hope Master Morgan can save him though, that is why Miss Alexander was spared right, she have a powerful and respected teacher so they let her be? Then Raymond...well Kyle now should be fine to right?"
The boy said, clearly concerned about his new friend.

If you can keep me informed of his situation, please do so. I'll try to be there for him if he needs it.

"Yeah I can do that. For now he says he is fairly fine, he is not being mistreated so he is just scared. They have been giving him these shots to suppress his magick, which sounds rather disturbing really but he says the shorts hurt quite a bit and make him sick, but he do not want to show how uncomfortable they are since his new brother, Master Morgan's other apprentice are the one that brought him in and have been giving him those injections and he do not want him to feel bad about it. But yeah for now he is fine...but eventually there will be a trial."
The teenager said.
"I hope they let him out of the room he is locked in soon though, and let him use his magick. I mean we are mages we are supposed to do magick, it is like birds flying and such. I am sure he could need another friend though, I mean the more he is given something to do and someone to talk to, the less time he have to dwell on what...can happen you know."

Powerful and knowledgeable and all, they are beset by content, frustration and old ages' grudges. I belive they have to understand and accept to try new ways.

"Perhaps you are right Sir, I do not know. All I know is that my Mentor teach me to respect my elders and especially the Council of Nine, but perhaps they should get a bit more modern."
Andrew said hesitantly.

[Tane Karyak]

I look at the faces of my friends at school, they do not have to worry about being shot by a member of another faction, or taken away by the Union or sometime, it is hard sometimes, I wish this war would end."

you must be cautious. If anyone would like to hurt you but not face you, they could be targets. Such are the ways of war. Tane confirmed

Then Raymond...well Kyle now should be fine to right?

If they dictamine his mentor can outmatch him of he turned violent then yeah. Master morgan can do that.

i mean the more he is given something to do and someone to talk to, the less time he have to dwell on what...can happen you know."

I'll remember to visit him if i can, but if you can give him things to do, ask him "favors" by giving him tasks to do, etc that would help

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

you must be cautious. If anyone would like to hurt you but not face you, they could be targets. Such are the ways of war. Tane confirmed

"You are right Sir, I must be cautious always, and I hate it, but I guess it is what it is."
The boy said and sigh.

f they dictamine his mentor can outmatch him of he turned violent then yeah. Master morgan can do that.

"Oh yeah he can definitively do that. I think Master Morgan can outmatch pretty much any of us Sir. Well I do hope the trial will go well and they will let Kyle be and not hurt him."
Andrew said softly.

'll remember to visit him if i can, but if you can give him things to do, ask him "favors" by giving him tasks to do, etc that would help

"Thank you Sir I think he would like that."
Andrew said then he sigh.
"There is not that many things he can do in a tiny cell he have been given some books, and I and some of the others visit to play games with him I am not really sure what tasks he could do though."

[Warpmind]

He made a slightly disgusted face at the notion of the structure of it, he knew it was alive but it was disturbing to think of them walking around a thing with a heart or brain.

"I know magick of that nature does work, at least in the last room we were in. I used that and a combination of spirit, as the area is a realm."

Colin nodded, "The question is whether a temporary enchantment designed to hold a human relatively unharmed for some ten minutes will suffice to inconvenience such a larger creature..."

"Anything is possible but it is not easy to do what you ask."
Cara said then she looked down at the map on her phone.
"Well if we are in the entry corridor here, then the spirit writing on the walls would be on this wall here and we could aim for the main part of the Labyrinth here, then he would be behind us and out of harms way."
She said and showed you and pointed.
"So unless he have moved wall your new friend should be safe Sir, but the ocean Umbrood I have heard mentioned would not be, we would hit anything along this line here."
She said and drew a long, thin, marked finger over the screen to illustrate.
"Any supernatural prisoners as well would be impacted, like Nicolai's son, depending where in the Labyrinth he is held."

He frowned, "We'll have to be considerate with our aim, then. Still, magnitude and precision are manageable variables."

"Ah yes it's loss would be quite the shame."
Crexia agreed.
"The boy car is probably your best link the the spirit then, but remember it might indeed let her find you as well like your Cabalmate said."

He shrugged, "I doubt she'll have much trouble finding me, in any case... not with the blood on my hands. The car is in my estimates more likely to be an asset than a liability as such..."

"It might indeed and our new friend Cotta might not like that, she might not like it at all."
Crexia said with a dark grin.
"Then again deeper inn the flesh might not be on the wall it might be the wall. But yes in an emergency use what you got, but I would think fire, ice and ripping it apart might be more effective."

He nodded, "And I've got two more rounds of Primium; that should probably be able to impair the great beast..."

"Let us hope so, then again did we not want her to come to us once we have aid our trap young man?"
Crexia asked and raised an eyebrow.

He smiled, "Yes, precisely - we'll want her to have to come look for us, not simply target us from afar... If she's teleporting around, she might not need line of sight to attack us... unless we suddenly are harder to spot on a magical scan."

"I might be able to increase your Voice's range, make it louder, or have it sound as if it is coming from some other area, or echo. Though this place is...strange, acoustically. I'm not sure how much it might fool her, since she can literally pop in anywhere she wishes to be but it might confuse her temporarily, if combined with your other rote and I move from where I cast the spell."

He shook his head, "I'm not going to vocally taunt her. If she's as connected to the Labyrinth creature, she'll sense the writing on the wall..."

Before the group left the hallway with the infirmary but after you had cast your spell Leon entered Mel's room, his brother whispering for him to be careful. Soon the Jerbiton came back out.
"Ehm there are a pair of budgies in a cage, you know mini parrots, they look very well cared for by how they start talking and quaking as soon as I entered the room, they do not look to be magical to me, so they are just this Nephandi woman's pets I would think...ehm...what should we do with them?"
He asked and scratched his head, from inside the room you hear a bird's thin voice informing you than.
"Tany is a pretty bird."

He frowned and looked over at Crexia, "If they're normal birds, I think they ought to be adopted after the battle... But you're in charge."

Once you had gotten back into the hallways where your party fought the werbears and the group of Nephandi and pawns Rosario point at some flesh growing down the wall.
"There is more in the roof."
She commented.

He nodded, "But that'd be trickier to target... I think there's enough surface for me to work."

He sighed and started his working; concentrating on a single phrase to be burned into the flesh of the wall: 'Warden mortuus est quasi ferreo canis exprimamus!'
A little Quintessence from a tank for the power, a LOT of finesse to magically brand the letters into the flesh, and a lot of faith in the Scrabler's ability to conceal the group's locations, so Cotta would have to come looking... "Saeva verba in carne ex malomagia."

((OOC: While I'd consider this one decidedly of Entropic intent - to deliberately break Cotta's mind - it sure as Hell ain't Subtle, so no Resonance bonus for Colin. Essentially, using a prime bolt to write a nasty message on the wall for Cotta to perceive. It should sting, and when she sees what it says... best have our guns at the ready. So, Arete rolls - 4,5,6 - 5,5,7 - 3,4,0 - I think that should be enough to burn in a message? ))

((OOC2: So, attended Rain Games' launch party for World to the West yestereve. Bought it online once I got home, but it was too late to start playing. Today, though, I'll get to enjoy my newest acquisition. ))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin nodded, "The question is whether a temporary enchantment designed to hold a human relatively unharmed for some ten minutes will suffice to inconvenience such a larger creature..."

"I would have to examine the enchantment in question to determine that young man, but I would say it is not likely to do to much to something as large as the living parts of a Labyrinth."
Crexia said she sounded skeptical.
"If we are going to use gravity against the walls, it is better to just do it as a well and adjust the strength of the rote by what is needed."

He frowned, "We'll have to be considerate with our aim, then. Still, magnitude and precision are manageable variables."

"Well it is a wind Sir, yes a magickal one so it go through walls but it is still a wind, there is a limit to how much aim we can have, one point it in a given direction and it will affect anything it blows past, the strength of it can be adjusted yes but if it is strong enough to give us any advantage over the Nephandi it is also strong enough to hurt any Awakened prisoners it touches."
Cara explained.

He shrugged, "I doubt she'll have much trouble finding me, in any case... not with the blood on my hands. The car is in my estimates more likely to be an asset than a liability as such..."

"Hum...I have heard though that this woman's kind often attach themselves to places and objects, bringing such an object home could be dangerous but yes it might also be used to trigger in her positive feelings as well..."
Udella said but she gave you a concerned look.

He nodded, "And I've got two more rounds of Primium; that should probably be able to impair the great beast..."

Primium will impair most things young man."
Crexia said with a dark grin.

He smiled, "Yes, precisely - we'll want her to have to come look for us, not simply target us from afar... If she's teleporting around, she might not need line of sight to attack us... unless we suddenly are harder to spot on a magical scan."

The old archmaga nodded.
"Ah yes I see your point now, good thinking, we would want her to come to us and not target us from the safety of her lair."

He shook his head, "I'm not going to vocally taunt her. If she's as connected to the Labyrinth creature, she'll sense the writing on the wall..."

Crexia gave you a smile at this.
"Ah yes I see, you are quite aggravating when you want you indeed."
She said in a friendly tone of voice.

He frowned and looked over at Crexia, "If they're normal birds, I think they ought to be adopted after the battle... But you're in charge."

"By all means, if there is time after the battle we can bring them with us, they will have to be examined properly to be sure there is nothing magickal about them, but if it is not they can be handed of at a pet shop or adopted by someone at our Chantry, I have no desire to see an innocent animal suffer based on who their owner was."
Crexia said and nodded in agreement.

He nodded, "But that'd be trickier to target... I think there's enough surface for me to work."

Rosario nodded a bit nervously, the thought of you annoying a powerful old Nephandus to get her to charge at you was more than a bit scary.

He sighed and started his working; concentrating on a single phrase to be burned into the flesh of the wall: 'Warden mortuus est quasi ferreo canis exprimamus!'
A little Quintessence from a tank for the power, a LOT of finesse to magically brand the letters into the flesh, and a lot of faith in the Scrabler's ability to conceal the group's locations, so Cotta would have to come looking... "Saeva verba in carne ex malomagia."

You write your message into the purplish pink flesh creeping down the wall and the small corridor fills with a unpleasant stink. Suddenly the flesh start to quiver and shake and you hear strange, disgustingly organic sounds from the roof and deep within the Labyrinth there was a howl of inhuman anger and pain.
"I would say that got someone's attention."
Leon muttered.
"Ehm...the man in the infirmary said this woman was Gilgul-happy? Fuck...."
The Jerbiton continued.
"Well we better get ready."

(OOC: That sounds fun. I am going out to head to the local gaming store, Outland, for free comic book day today. )

[Tane Karyak]

We can only hope. Maybe give him books and something to research, make him look into our footage so that he can detect something unusual... anything, really. Tane said, shrugging. Ok then, I must go. I'll see Henrietta inside for a moment, though, if that's fine with you.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Yeah he said he likes to read, Mr Wainwright got him some books, he have been reading those."
Andrew said and nodded.
"I think Kyle would like some more books."
He added then he nodded.
"Sure Sir not a problem, Miss Day is inside with the vampires."
The boy said and gave you a polite bow and moved out of the way.

[Warpmind]

"I would have to examine the enchantment in question to determine that young man, but I would say it is not likely to do to much to something as large as the living parts of a Labyrinth."
Crexia said she sounded skeptical.
"If we are going to use gravity against the walls, it is better to just do it as a well and adjust the strength of the rote by what is needed."

Colin nodded, then pondered, "That might actually serve well as a means of damaging, er, larger clumps of the thing, come to think of it."

"Well it is a wind Sir, yes a magickal one so it go through walls but it is still a wind, there is a limit to how much aim we can have, one point it in a given direction and it will affect anything it blows past, the strength of it can be adjusted yes but if it is strong enough to give us any advantage over the Nephandi it is also strong enough to hurt any Awakened prisoners it touches."
Cara explained.

He frowned, "And that would also be strong enough to risk affecting the other teams, for that matter..."

"Hum...I have heard though that this woman's kind often attach themselves to places and objects, bringing such an object home could be dangerous but yes it might also be used to trigger in her positive feelings as well..."
Udella said but she gave you a concerned look.

He nodded, "Or if she cannot in any way be appeased... a prison until she can be..."

Primium will impair most things young man."
Crexia said with a dark grin.

He smiled wryly, "Quite so... Oddly cold to the touch; I expect most find it uncomfortable, but I rather find it... soothing, in a way."

Crexia gave you a smile at this.
"Ah yes I see, you are quite aggravating when you want you indeed."
She said in a friendly tone of voice.

He grinned wryly, "Oh, I know... and sometimes, when I don't want to... There's going to be an angry rock in my future; Paradox incident... Not the first, not the worst, but certainly one of the oddest..."

"By all means, if there is time after the battle we can bring them with us, they will have to be examined properly to be sure there is nothing magickal about them, but if it is not they can be handed of at a pet shop or adopted by someone at our Chantry, I have no desire to see an innocent animal suffer based on who their owner was."
Crexia said and nodded in agreement.

He frowned, "If they talk, a pet shop might not be a good idea..."

You write your message into the purplish pink flesh creeping down the wall and the small corridor fills with a unpleasant stink. Suddenly the flesh start to quiver and shake and you hear strange, disgustingly organic sounds from the roof and deep within the Labyrinth there was a howl of inhuman anger and pain.
"I would say that got someone's attention."
Leon muttered.
"Ehm...the man in the infirmary said this woman was Gilgul-happy? Fuck...."
The Jerbiton continued.
"Well we better get ready."

He grimaced and crouched lower, raising the pistol and trying to find some partial cover, at least, a bit further from the grafittied fleshy bits, "Yes... In hindsight, 'like a bitch' might have been slightly over the top..."

((OOC: Yeah, the launch party was fun, but I burnt off WAY more social energy than I'd though. Today was a "crash day", so the planned barbecue party was out of the question for me... :/ ))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin nodded, then pondered, "That might actually serve well as a means of damaging, er, larger clumps of the thing, come to think of it."

"It probably could, but as I said, so can fire and that might be more effective young man."
Crexia said, she still did not sound sold on the idea of using gravity against the Labyrinth creature.

He frowned, "And that would also be strong enough to risk affecting the other teams, for that matter..."

"Yes and while we are not likely to make a wind strong enough to harm them, it will hurt and it will literary blow away magickal protections and interfere with their spellwork."
Cara said and nodded with a concerned frown.

He nodded, "Or if she cannot in any way be appeased... a prison until she can be..."

"Possibly and I certainly can create such a prison young man but it might be kinder to destroy her than to bind her to some object and pace and leave her there."
Udella said and sigh.

He smiled wryly, "Quite so... Oddly cold to the touch; I expect most find it uncomfortable, but I rather find it... soothing, in a way."

"Those with magick can find it uncomfortable to touch Primium, others just see it as shiny and a bit cold yes, it is an interesting material, and yes it can be quite damaging when used as a weapon."
The Enforcer said and nodded.

He grinned wryly, "Oh, I know... and sometimes, when I don't want to... There's going to be an angry rock in my future; Paradox incident... Not the first, not the worst, but certainly one of the oddest..."

He grinned wryly, "Oh, I know... and sometimes, when I don't want to... There's going to be an angry rock in my future; Paradox incident... Not the first, not the worst, but certainly one of the oddest..."

"Ah yes, Paradox do at times have a sense of humor."
Crexia said with a smile then she turned serious.
"Well let us hope you are just the right kind of aggravating this time young man. I would like to know what you did to anger a rock though."

He frowned, "If they talk, a pet shop might not be a good idea..."

"You do have a good point and as one of them just proudly announced itself to be a pretty bird, I would say they talk and we would not want some poor five year old to have to listen to his new mini parrots squeak in the Dragon's Tongue or talk about what happens late at night in a Nephanda's bedchamber. Chantry it is then, I am sure someone will be able to take them in."
Crexia said and sigh.

He grimaced and crouched lower, raising the pistol and trying to find some partial cover, at least, a bit further from the grafittied fleshy bits, "Yes... In hindsight, 'like a bitch' might have been slightly over the top..."

"Well you did want to aggravate her, she is aggravated."
Leon muttered. Crexia directed the group to fall back and spread out so they would not get in the way for one anther's workings.
"Protect our guides and the healer...get your rotes ready, something is coming!"
She announced.

[Adley]

"The boy car is probably your best link the the spirit then, but remember it might indeed let her find you as well like your Cabalmate said."

He shrugged, "I doubt she'll have much trouble finding me, in any case... not with the blood on my hands. The car is in my estimates more likely to be an asset than a liability as such..."

He nodded at Colin's statement.

"She might indeed, then again that would also benefit us if we can take them out Sodalis, then she will have less defenses when we reach them."

"True."

"Well if we are in the entry corridor here, then the spirit writing on the walls would be on this wall here and we could aim for the main part of the Labyrinth here, then he would be behind us and out of harms way." She said and showed you and pointed. "So unless he have moved wall your new friend should be safe Sir, but the ocean Umbrood I have heard mentioned would not be, we would hit anything along this line here." She said and drew a long, thin, marked finger over the screen to illustrate. "Any supernatural prisoners as well would be impacted, like Nicolai's son, depending where in the Labyrinth he is held."

"Hmm....

"It might work on the Children, unless they just eat the spell, they might end up just doing that though, which would be a problem, then again it is designed to blow away magick and they are well magickal so yeah it might be worth a shot."

"It should cause that attack dog of hers considerable pain at least." Crexia said and frowned."A mage caught in a Wind of Mundane Silence will feel their Gift waving in the wind it is...not plesant, in theory a strong enough Wind will destroy a Avatar, though there are no recorded cases of that, there are a few cases of magi having lost their Gift in one, though they have later been found reborn, so it is likely in that case the Avatar was merely severed from the host and not shattered, creating a Wind of Mundane Silence strong enough for that though will not be easy, but one strong enough to cause considerable pain to any Nephandi mage caught in it's path though...that we can do." Udella said darkly.

"Well, it is an idea if we need to try something else," he said. "Oh the other hand, we should find a way to prepare ourselves against Cotta if she does arrive. We're going to need some spiritual defenses ourselves," he said, frowning.

"Ehm there are a pair of budgies in a cage, you know mini parrots, they look very well cared for by how they start talking and quaking as soon as I entered the room, they do not look to be magical to me, so they are just this Nephandi woman's pets I would think...ehm...what should we do with them?" He asked and scratched his head, from inside the room you hear a bird's thin voice informing you than. "Tany is a pretty bird."

"I wonder what else Tany has managed to copy. But at least they are not familiars."

"Sealing the door should be enough." Crexia said and nodded

"Can someone assist with that, unless you don't think it's necessary?"

   Colin nodded, "The question is whether a temporary enchantment designed to hold a human relatively unharmed for some ten minutes will suffice to inconvenience such a larger creature..."

"I would have to examine the enchantment in question to determine that young man, but I would say it is not likely to do to much to something as large as the living parts of a Labyrinth."
Crexia said she sounded skeptical.

"If we are going to use gravity against the walls, it is better to just do it as a well and adjust the strength of the rote by what is needed."

"Probably not too much, what is the goal you want to achieve with that sort of work?"

He shook his head, "I'm not going to vocally taunt her. If she's as connected to the Labyrinth creature, she'll sense the writing on the wall..."

"Ah, yes that's quite true. I thought you were going to add a vocal taunt."

Once you had gotten back into the hallways where your party fought the werbears and the group of Nephandi and pawns Rosario point at some flesh growing down the wall. "There is more in the roof."

"Ok, I want to try to limit the sides they can come at us, there are two door where we need to block of one of them."
She ordered.

Adley began to look around to see how they might best defend themselves, especially the members of their group that did not have their own defenses build yet. "Right, let's get ready. Let's pick a door and work on that, and get our defenses up," he agreed with a nod.

You write your message into the purplish pink flesh creeping down the wall and the small corridor fills with a unpleasant stink. Suddenly the flesh start to quiver and shake and you hear strange, disgustingly organic sounds from the roof and deep within the Labyrinth there was a howl of inhuman anger and pain.

"I would say that got someone's attention." Leon muttered."Ehm...the man in the infirmary said this woman was Gilgul-happy? Fuck...." The Jerbiton continued. "Well we better get ready."

He grimaced and crouched lower, raising the pistol and trying to find some partial cover, at least, a bit further from the grafittied fleshy bits, "Yes... In hindsight, 'like a bitch' might have been slightly over the top..."

"Well you did want to aggravate her, she is aggravated."
Leon muttered. Crexia directed the group to fall back and spread out so they would not get in the way for one anther's workings. "Protect our guides and the healer...get your rotes ready, something is coming!"

Adley looked at the words written on the wall and gave Colin a slightly exasperated look. Then as directed he put himself into position to keep the healers, Cara and Nancy as safe as he could and began building his rote. He hoped this worked to their advantage...

// sounds fun, guys : ) I hear you on crash days, that was me yesterday. I call them introvert hangovers.

ooc-Ok, so...timing wise, did they have enough time to block the door before Crexia told them something was on the way? Asking so I know if that's the first rote he's building or the second, for the incoming.

[Warpmind]

"It probably could, but as I said, so can fire and that might be more effective young man."
Crexia said, she still did not sound sold on the idea of using gravity against the Labyrinth creature.

Colin nodded, "True enough, but depending on whether it affects the whole creature rather than just the locally available tissue, increasing the effect of gravity on the Labyrinth just might make it tear itself loose from the stone... It's not a hypothesis I'd like to see tested while we're inside it, though."

"Probably not too much, what is the goal you want to achieve with that sort of work?"

He shrugged, "Mostly hypothetical. The owner of the tanks gave me a few custom rounds for live captures... I'll be saving them for higher profile targets..."

"Yes and while we are not likely to make a wind strong enough to harm them, it will hurt and it will literary blow away magickal protections and interfere with their spellwork."
Cara said and nodded with a concerned frown.

He nodded, "Definitely not something we'd want to just unleash without carefully considering what might be further ahead..."

"Possibly and I certainly can create such a prison young man but it might be kinder to destroy her than to bind her to some object and pace and leave her there."
Udella said and sigh.

He nodded, "Oh, I would not want to merely leave her incarcerated like that indefinitely... but it would be a pragmatic means of rendering her harmless while assembling the means to help her pass on. I'd not want to destroy her, after all..."

"Ah yes, Paradox do at times have a sense of humor."
Crexia said with a smile then she turned serious.
"Well let us hope you are just the right kind of aggravating this time young man. I would like to know what you did to anger a rock though."

He grinned wryly, "Yes, I'd like to know, too... I'll send you a letter when I find out."

"You do have a good point and as one of them just proudly announced itself to be a pretty bird, I would say they talk and we would not want some poor five year old to have to listen to his new mini parrots squeak in the Dragon's Tongue or talk about what happens late at night in a Nephanda's bedchamber. Chantry it is then, I am sure someone will be able to take them in."
Crexia said and sigh.

He nodded, "I'm less concerned with the Dragon's Tongue than with accidental revelations of... well, things Sleepers ought not be privy to..."

"Well you did want to aggravate her, she is aggravated."
Leon muttered. Crexia directed the group to fall back and spread out so they would not get in the way for one anther's workings.
"Protect our guides and the healer...get your rotes ready, something is coming!"
She announced.

He grimaced, "Yes, well, they say too much of a good thing is awesome for a very short time only..."
He sighed and quickly reloaded the gun with the gravity-enhancing ammunition, "I expect we'll want to keep this one alive just long enough..."

((OOC: I'd assume there was time to block the door; Colin spent a few moments positioning himself before he started working the grafitti, and that took a few moments, too...))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Well, it is an idea if we need to try something else," he said. "Oh the other hand, we should find a way to prepare ourselves against Cotta if she does arrive. We're going to need some spiritual defenses ourselves," he said, frowning.

"We are, I will set something up but all of you who can should work your own protection spells."
Crexia advices then she begun a fairly complicate spell involving Creo Vim. Cara to begun to cast a protective spell.
"Ehm I am not so good at spiritual magick but I can cast a curse that might make chance and fate rise up against our enemies, perhaps foil this Cotta's attempt to use magick against us, or in other words we might get lucky against her."
James offered.

"I wonder what else Tany has managed to copy. But at least they are not familiars."

"It makes me wonder what else we might learn from little Tany and her feathery friend just listening to her random speech, but that is a matter for later, let us leave the budgies for now."
Crexia said.

"Can someone assist with that, unless you don't think it's necessary?"

"I will take care of it."
Udella said and she begun chanting, her old hands moving through the modern gestures in quick succession, as she used Creo Auram to block the entrances to the corridor, air itself holding those doors shut.
"It is done."
The Enforcer said confidently.

Adley began to look around to see how they might best defend themselves, especially the members of their group that did not have their own defenses build yet. "Right, let's get ready. Let's pick a door and work on that, and get our defenses up," he agreed with a nod.

"I have the two door we do not want our enemy to come through blocked off, but having someone keep an eye on the doors just in case might be useful."
Udella replied.
"Though I do not think anyone will be able to open them, we are more likely to be hit by something spiritual or someone teleporting in then anyone getting though those doors physically but better safe than sorry."
The old maga said.
"I will take responsibility for watching the right door."
Leon offered.
"I will give a shout if anything happens with it."
He declared and Nancy just pointed at the canter door and nodded to say she would keep an eye on that one.

Adley looked at the words written on the wall and gave Colin a slightly exasperated look. Then as directed he put himself into position to keep the healers, Cara and Nancy as safe as he could and began building his rote. He hoped this worked to their advantage...

There was something in the air, a threat, a feeling of something coming. Cara continued her working but she seamed nervous. Nancy glanced at you and giggled.
"The numbers that eat numbers are angry."
She announced.

Colin nodded, "True enough, but depending on whether it affects the whole creature rather than just the locally available tissue, increasing the effect of gravity on the Labyrinth just might make it tear itself loose from the stone... It's not a hypothesis I'd like to see tested while we're inside it, though."

"Well like I said to know the effect of the enchantment you speak of on the Labyrinth creature I would need to examine both the creature and the enchantment, and I am not sure we have time for that, the bullets you where given might be better used on human targets though of course in an emergency use whatever you got."
Crexia said and nodded.

He shrugged, "Mostly hypothetical. The owner of the tanks gave me a few custom rounds for live captures... I'll be saving them for higher profile targets..."

"It is probably a better bet to use the rounds for exactly that and not against the Labyrinth creature."
The archmage commented.
"We have some targets we want to take alive after all."

He nodded, "Definitely not something we'd want to just unleash without carefully considering what might be further ahead..."

"No it definitively is not."
Cara said firmly.

He nodded, "Oh, I would not want to merely leave her incarcerated like that indefinitely... but it would be a pragmatic means of rendering her harmless while assembling the means to help her pass on. I'd not want to destroy her, after all..."

"It would not be a likely scenario that you could help her pass on if you locked her into such a prison, she would instead hate you more for her torment, it is hard to get a ghost to pass on unless said spirit wish to do so his or herself, unlike what popular ghost hunting shows will have one believe."
Udella said and sigh.
"It is not a solution to try lightly, to imprison her I mean, it would not be like locking a human being in a cell, you can make a cell comfortable, with a spirit we are talking locking her away, making her helpless and bound in some item until released, it is not the same thing, it is more like if you get trapped in a Gauntlet prison, you are not likely to be friendly to the one that left you in one."
She warned.

He grinned wryly, "Yes, I'd like to know, too... I'll send you a letter when I find out."

Crexia gave a bright grin at that.
"Ah thank you...I will look forward to it then."

He nodded, "I'm less concerned with the Dragon's Tongue than with accidental revelations of... well, things Sleepers ought not be privy to..."

"True enough, well in either case we take the birds with us to the Chantry if we can."
The archmaga agreed.

He grimaced, "Yes, well, they say too much of a good thing is awesome for a very short time only..."
He sighed and quickly reloaded the gun with the gravity-enhancing ammunition, "I expect we'll want to keep this one alive just long enough..."

"Yes...just long enough."
Crexia said darkly.
"Very well ladies and gentlemen keep your eyes open."

(OOC: Can you give me an initiative roll gentlemen to see if you can react before the trouble that are coming.)

(OOC 2: Ah yes introvert hangover if I go out and spend time with someone, even if it is allot of fun, I need time to myself afterwards to relax and even today when going to free comic book day with a store just full of people, I needed a nap coming home to get the bustle out of my head.

About issues, just a little heads up I will not be playing well for the next week or so, I am going to make mistakes and perhaps not get the flow right I am sorry about that but I guess you will prefer imperfect posts to no posts. The reason is that I have extreme phobia of needles, and by extreme I mean I have not had anything done since I was eight, we are not talking being apprehensive here, we are talking screaming, vomiting and passing out the last time I tried I was bedridden from the stress for two days afterwards and well now a situation have arisen where I need to have blood work done and it is scheduled for Friday, as a result I sleep about three hours at night and well I am kind of a mess, so well just a heads up that my posts might be less than stellar. )

(OOC 3: Udella takes care of the doors that needs blocking.)

[Adley]

// before I write my reply I have a ooc question re: initiative mechanics since it works a bit differently between editions. In previous editions, initiative roll was determined by a pool that was made up of your wits+dex (or brawn, melee, etc as per pg 249 in 2e) vs diff 4, which means you can botch your initiative. The number of sux also indicated the #dice players can use to roll on their first action, such as for dodge. In M20, initiative is determined by rolling one die and adding that result to your dex and wits scores. It indicates ranked order of who goes first highest going first score to lowest (I didn't see anything about how many action dice or difficulty threshold, so it's just about who goes when).

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

(OOC: I like the M20 version better there at least for this situation where we are looking to see if any of the characters can react before something happens and also then once a fight breaks out who go first though in a play by post that is less important, but more can they react before what is coming for them get to do it's thing.)

[Warpmind]

"It is probably a better bet to use the rounds for exactly that and not against the Labyrinth creature."
The archmage commented.
"We have some targets we want to take alive after all."

Colin nodded, "Cotta, Abigail, perhaps miss Carlyle..."

"It would not be a likely scenario that you could help her pass on if you locked her into such a prison, she would instead hate you more for her torment, it is hard to get a ghost to pass on unless said spirit wish to do so his or herself, unlike what popular ghost hunting shows will have one believe."
Udella said and sigh.
"It is not a solution to try lightly, to imprison her I mean, it would not be like locking a human being in a cell, you can make a cell comfortable, with a spirit we are talking locking her away, making her helpless and bound in some item until released, it is not the same thing, it is more like if you get trapped in a Gauntlet prison, you are not likely to be friendly to the one that left you in one."
She warned.

He nodded, "I... don't have the skills to imprison her in the first place. I will need help to deal with her, one way or the other... If push comes to shove, though, and she ends up trapped, I would have to petition someone else's aid for releasing her again, for precisely that reason... I'd rather spend two favours trying to convince her to move on, than one to destroy her outright..."

Crexia gave a bright grin at that.
"Ah thank you...I will look forward to it then."

He snorted lightly, "That makes one of us, I suppose..."

Adley looked at the words written on the wall and gave Colin a slightly exasperated look. Then as directed he put himself into position to keep the healers, Cara and Nancy as safe as he could and began building his rote. He hoped this worked to their advantage...

There was something in the air, a threat, a feeling of something coming. Cara continued her working but she seamed nervous. Nancy glanced at you and giggled.
"The numbers that eat numbers are angry."
She announced.

He grimaced, "Well, that was the idea... I just hope we're bigger numbers than the number-eaters can chew..."

"Yes...just long enough."
Crexia said darkly.
"Very well ladies and gentlemen keep your eyes open."

He steeled himself, trying to guess at where Cotta would appear, guessing at somewhere near the burnt-in taunt on the wall.

((OOC: So, 1d10+(Dex+Wits) for Initiative; sounds good to me. 6+3+3 - Initiative 12. Well, pretty decent; slightly above human average, at least. ))

((OOC2: Introvert Hangover... I'm adopting that term. As for the stabbyphobia (don't recall the actual technical term for it), I don't suppose you could get nitrous oxide to calm you for the bloodwork? It's one of those nice sedatives that's administered by mask, and it just might relax you enough to make the whole affair bearable.))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin nodded, "Cotta, Abigail, perhaps miss Carlyle..."

"Cotta and Abigail yes with Miss Carlyle her Avatar will probably not care much if it's host are incapacitated in such a way."
Crexia said.
"And it is the dangerous party here and not Miss Carlyle herself."

He nodded, "I... don't have the skills to imprison her in the first place. I will need help to deal with her, one way or the other... If push comes to shove, though, and she ends up trapped, I would have to petition someone else's aid for releasing her again, for precisely that reason... I'd rather spend two favours trying to convince her to move on, than one to destroy her outright..."

Udella sigh.
"Banishing her might work though she will come back again sooner or later, I guess we can discuss the matter and come up with a strategy for how to deal with Mrs Tilder eventually but it is a delicate matter if you want to contain her, you do not want to end up torturing her in the process, I might be able to contain her in a less...harmful way, send her to a pocket realm perhaps, that could work."
The Enforcer said.
"It is an unfortunate situation.

He snorted lightly, "That makes one of us, I suppose..."

Crexia gave a slight chuckle at that.

He grimaced, "Well, that was the idea... I just hope we're bigger numbers than the number-eaters can chew..."

"No...we are not..."
Nancy said and she lifted her hands to nervously tug at her black hair.
"We can be chewed by the number that eat...."
Leon raised an eyebrow.
"Well now, that was comforting."

(OOC: I will wait with having trouble show up until Strife have replied.)
(OOC 2: Introvert hangover is a perfect term. Stabbyphobia works it is Trypanophobia but there are several terms. I have not asked about nitrous oxide but generally my doctor have not been willing to work with me in any way when it comes to this phobia and I have asked about sedatives before but he have never been willing to do that. He have never taken the phobia seriously and I think he more see it as me being bothersome, which is an attitude I have met in so many health care providers. Basically he have gone so far as the order blood work done and not telling me so I am then put on the spot by nurses when I go to the lab section for another examination so yeah, and this is knowing that Trypanophobia actually kills since many never go and have needed medical care done and experts in it's treatment among other things do recommend sedatives but those that advocate for proper treatment of the condition are constantly fought by health care personnel who think it is just something to get over. Sorry for ranting, I get frustrated. )

[Adley]

He shrugged, "Mostly hypothetical. The owner of the tanks gave me a few custom rounds for live captures... I'll be saving them for higher profile targets..."

"I see."

He nodded, "I'm less concerned with the Dragon's Tongue than with accidental revelations of... well, things Sleepers ought not be privy to..."

"Agreed."

"We are, I will set something up but all of you who can should work your own protection spells." Crexia advices then she begun a fairly complicate spell involving Creo Vim. Cara to begun to cast a protective spell. "Ehm I am not so good at spiritual magick but I can cast a curse that might make chance and fate rise up against our enemies, perhaps foil this Cotta's attempt to use magick against us, or in other words we might get lucky against her."

"That sounds useful to me," he said with a nod to him. It was impossible to be ready for all the sorts of assaults that might be headed their way but give Cotta's preferences, he tried to strengthen his spirit shield again.

"I will take care of it." Udella said and she begun chanting, her old hands moving through the modern gestures in quick succession, as she used Creo Auram to block the entrances to the corridor, air itself holding those doors shut.
"It is done."The Enforcer said confidently.

"Thank you."

He did not like the feeling that was growing - something big was coming. He tried to expand his spirit shield around some of those closest to him that could not use spirit ars, including Colin if possible if he was near him, as he had done with his forces shield to protect Cara in the sewer.

// thanks for clearing that up. I also got a 12 for my initiative. I like the newer roll system as it is just about initiative ranking and no other part of the combat round, it's simpler. I guess we see now if we sense what's coming before it arrives, or it delivers us a smack down.

Arete roll 1: 7,9,6 - buff spirit shield
Arete roll 2: 7,8,1 - this one was to expand the shield, if possible. I don't know how well that worked but there was 1 sux so it did not botch at least.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"That sounds useful to me," he said with a nod to him. It was impossible to be ready for all the sorts of assaults that might be headed their way but give Cotta's preferences, he tried to strengthen his spirit shield again.

James nodded as he pulled his dice out of his pocket and started his rote, flipping them between his fingers as he worked the modern Hermetic hand gestures and then throwing them on the floor, the dice landing on all fives, nodding satisfied the Fortunae picked the dice up again.
"I have done what I can."
He muttered.

You started your working to strengthening your spirit shield, it seamed like your words and gestures worked though, and you got a feeling of calmness as the protections around your inner being intensified and swelled.

He did not like the feeling that was growing - something big was coming. He tried to expand his spirit shield around some of those closest to him that could not use spirit ars, including Colin if possible if he was near him, as he had done with his forces shield to protect Cara in the sewer.

Your rote seamed to work...sort of but it was a bit shaky as if the threads of rewoven reality was just barely holding together, it would offer some protection to those closest to you though perhaps not as much as you would have liked.

Suddenly you and Colin both saw a manifest in the corner by the marked bits of Labyrinth flesh, the figure where appearing fast but it had not attacked...not yet. Somewhere around the corridor something was howling, it sounded like wind blowing through a long, rusted tube, and it seamed to come from all directions at once,and worse it was getting closer...

[Adley]

// can we get a perception roll on what they're hearing a seeing? If it seems like the Wind of Mundane silence, or some other magick effect (rather than some spontaneous thing that happens when she's angry, literally howling mad, like Morgan boiling his coffee), if they can sense that they might be able to diffuse it somewhat via countermagick or something else

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