Re: New Enemies, Old Problems and a Trip to Horizon-IC thread 32

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Towards Umbrial Port]

Colin's Post:

'Perhaps, perhaps. Never overly cared about ranks and shit, myself.' Nicole replied, giving a little shrug.

Colin's Post:

'And you're missing the point that such a gun would be a complete bitch to design, cost a bomb to make, will need to be extensively tested before deployed and re-arming will be difficult as fuck.' the Etherite replied. 'While a already-made gun like my SKS already exists, cost less than an iPhone, is proven from over sixty years of war to be good, and almost any sporting goods store in the country can refill my webbing for the cost of DVD boxset?'

'No point re-making the wheel unless your wheel is much damn better than the old one.'

Anja's Post:

'And so am I. That if I wanted to increase my firepower, I'd look to shooting aids or special ammo rather than some bleeding-edge weapon which could fall apart on me at any point.'

Anja's Post:

'Of course, it's utterly classist.' she replied, a little sourly. 'Too many gazing at the pie in the sky, too hung up on crap like Mundie degrees and shit... I've seen enough Orphans who could have made damn fine colleagues if they hadn't got utterly blown off by some starched lab-coat type sneering at 'em over the bifocals and put them off the whole Society for life.'

Anja's Post:

'God, hope so too, me. Having to point the finger to our own side will be difficult as hell.' Nicole replied. 'Dunno why they want the hair, and won't ask. No point... won't understand the answer.' giving a little laugh. 'Best bet is to tell anyone you know who has implants to pretty much stay at home, and if they get pricked or stung by anything to immediately report to a doctor.'

Anja's Post:

Nicole gave a snort at this, then had to perform a sharp brake to avoid bashing into their fender. 'Why the hell are you stopping? What, dropped your teeth? Forgotten where you are? Or just fucking realised you're trying to drive stick in slippers?' having a moment of driving-inspired anger.

[Of why Nick hates driving in Boston. In true RI style, sees the numbers on the signs as 'recommended minimum speeds' rather than 'legal maximum'.]

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Towards Umbrial Port]

And so am I. That if I wanted to increase my firepower, I'd look to shooting aids or special ammo rather than some bleeding-edge weapon which could fall apart on me at any point.'

"Increasing firepower was hardly the issue here Miss Bouchard, being able to take someone out quietly where and there are few good alternatives for that when it comes to mundane firearms as the laws of physics sort of go against the notion. Now I have seen Etherites and some others with rather innovative weapons who hardly fall apart and who offer options mundane weapons do not, for example fire without making a sound."
Adjan said and he raised a eyebrow.

'Of course, it's utterly classist.' she replied, a little sourly. 'Too many gazing at the pie in the sky, too hung up on crap like Mundie degrees and shit... I've seen enough Orphans who could have made damn fine colleagues if they hadn't got utterly blown off by some starched lab-coat type sneering at 'em over the bifocals and put them off the whole Society for life.'

"That is true for all the Traditions I think, we have our ways of doing things and tend to look down our noses at those not trained in the same way or who do things differently, order have a tendency to turn to rigidity if one is not careful, and in such a system the benefits of a meritocracy like the Traditions get lost were it is no longer the ones with the merits being advanced but the ones with the right contacts, the right lineage or who have kissed the right asses."
The death magus agreed.

'God, hope so too, me. Having to point the finger to our own side will be difficult as hell.' Nicole replied. 'Dunno why they want the hair, and won't ask. No point... won't understand the answer.' giving a little laugh. 'Best bet is to tell anyone you know who has implants to pretty much stay at home, and if they get pricked or stung by anything to immediately report to a doctor.'

"I do believe several of the mystical Traditions have ways of reading residual Etheric imprints out of body parts or bodily fluids once belonging to a individual, much like a kirlian photography will show a complete leaf even if a piece have been thorn of."
Carlos commented.
"I agree I will tell all I know with implants to stay home and seek medical aid if stung my anything, though we do not know if piercing the skin are needed, if this is a toxin then it might be consumable as well."
He continued.
"I will let you know if I learn more Miss Bouchard."

Nicole gave a snort at this, then had to perform a sharp brake to avoid bashing into their fender. 'Why the hell are you stopping? What, dropped your teeth? Forgotten where you are? Or just fucking realised you're trying to drive stick in slippers?' having a moment of driving-inspired anger.

"It looks like he is texting at the same time as he is driving."
Adjan said and he leaned forward to look closer at the driver of the vehicle in front.
"Yeah...definitively texting."

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Phone Call]

Anja's Post:

'That's true. I'll keep you posted.' Nicole replied, hanging up if he had nothing to say. As soon as the line was clear, she'll then call Baynes back in Detroit...

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Serge's Room]

"The problem is how will the dragon know your name? If you are asked to state it then you can lie and also many magi will not be willing to state their names to an illusion on the roof."
Kyle said.
"Contacting it to grant passage when needed are probably simpler."

"We all have an identity that we go by. And it's not too hard to find out. It's always somewhere in our heads. The name we most associate with." Serge said with a shrug. "But of course that involves searching through a person head. Which many people aren't too fond of which is why I think I can't do it."

"Contacting it to tell it who I allow and don't allow is probably what I'll do. But I would like to eventually make it so that it can function on it's own without any input from me."

"I can almost guarantee you Serge no one will allow you to mark their mental patterns to be able to get in your room, hell I am your friend and I think you are a cool guy and all but even i would not allow that."
Serge said and shook his head.
"Could not your illusion sense when another of your creations, as in a drawing or as you said a sticker are close by?"
The young mage asked.

"I mean it could in theory. Sense when something has my will and imagination invested in it. But...ehhhh." Serge said making a strange groaning sound, "Markers can get irritating. Not only will I need to keep them on me but they can be stolen. I much prefer something intangible acting as permission. Like a memory or something. Plus I just think it's cooler. If I use markers they just end up being glorified keycards."

Serge thought for a moment before saying, "What about just sensing when someone has evil intentions while in my room. You always see that sorta stuff in shows. Although defining what evil intention is will be a bitch to do."

"Magick makes everything more fun!"
Kyle agreed, he seamed to be cheered up by the talk of magick.

"Yeah!" Serge said grabbing one of the pencils that was behind his ears and tossing it towards the glass cup on his counter top, "KOBE!!!"

As he tossed the pencil he invoked the magick behind the words he spoke. Words spoken by high-school children everywhere that were only ever uttered when someone made an toss of extreme precision.

(OOC: Entropy 2 effect to increase the probability of the pencil landing perfectly in the glass cup.

Arete Roll: 10, 2, 8, 3)

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Towards Umbral Port]

'That's true. I'll keep you posted.' Nicole replied, hanging up if he had nothing to say. As soon as the line was clear, she'll then call Baynes back in Detroit...

Carlos did not appear to have anything more to say. Baynes quickly replied to your call.
"Nicole, is there anything new?"
The older Etherite asked.

[Serge's Room]

"We all have an identity that we go by. And it's not too hard to find out. It's always somewhere in our heads. The name we most associate with." Serge said with a shrug. "But of course that involves searching through a person head. Which many people aren't too fond of which is why I think I can't do it."

"Yes I think that if your ward search though people's heads then you would have to put up a sign about that outside your door and very few if anyone would be willing to ever enter your room."
Kyle said.
"It would have to be something that did not involve the other person's mind at all."

"Contacting it to tell it who I allow and don't allow is probably what I'll do. But I would like to eventually make it so that it can function on it's own without any input from me."

"That is probably best, but then you either have to get powerful enough to give it a mind of it's own so that it can use it's own intelligence to separate friend from foe or you would have to find a non invasive way for it to know who had just entered your room."
The young Hermetic agreed.

"I mean it could in theory. Sense when something has my will and imagination invested in it. But...ehhhh." Serge said making a strange groaning sound, "Markers can get irritating. Not only will I need to keep them on me but they can be stolen. I much prefer something intangible acting as permission. Like a memory or something. Plus I just think it's cooler. If I use markers they just end up being glorified keycards."

"The problem is no one else is going to think it is cooler Serge."
Kyle said flatly.
"I am going to try to explain this to you so please don't get insulted. You are sort of like that nudist uncle who think parading around the house in nothing but his birthday suit is great and who are incapable of understanding why the nudity is a problem for anyone else. It is like this if you are at an airport and the security officers bend you over and have a good, long rummage through your bowels then probably you would feel rather violated, it is the same way for most mages when it comes to their minds but worse, to have a memory implanted, or have your illusion rummage though their heads or have a illusion forced on them against their will is like the fingers of that security officer forcing their way up your bumhole for a good long dig, and people just don't want that. Np one is going to agree to letting you implant a memory so some form of token is your only way to go, or some other way of interacting with your ward which do nto interact with their minds."
The young widderslainte's tone softened a little and he sigh.
"Our minds and our Avatars Serge that is who we are, and most mages know that better than anyone, everything else, that is life support, only our Avatars are more private than our minds, so we can not let strangers mess with it."

Serge thought for a moment before saying, "What about just sensing when someone has evil intentions while in my room. You always see that sorta stuff in shows. Although defining what evil intention is will be a bitch to do."

"Again that will read someone's mind which makes up back to putting a big warning sign on your door and no one ever coming in here but you, and as you say secondly what are good or evil, in shows it is always easily defined, but in reality this is just not the case. Friendly or unfriendly towards you would probably be easier but even that might be hard for someone could hate your guts and still work with you since you are a part of the same Chantry as them."
Kyle said and he shook his head.

"Yeah!" Serge said grabbing one of the pencils that was behind his ears and tossing it towards the glass cup on his counter top, "KOBE!!!"

As he tossed the pencil he invoked the magick behind the words he spoke. Words spoken by high-school children everywhere that were only ever uttered when someone made an toss of extreme precision.

You tossed the pencil and it perfectly landed in the glass cup. Kyle whistled and gave a grin.
"You just proved my point Serge, everything is better with Magick!"
He said happily and clearly impressed.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Phone Call]

Anja's Post:

'Yes. Check for poisoning as well as diseases. Plus, ask - if possible - if they've been in any situation where they could have been poisoned. This includes being jabbed for any reason, strange food and drinks, being "nicked" while in a queue, being "stung by an insect" and similar. Lastly, to tell anyone - even Mundies - with implants to go to ground for the duration. I think we're being attacked.'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Towards Umbral Port]

'Yes. Check for poisoning as well as diseases. Plus, ask - if possible - if they've been in any situation where they could have been poisoned. This includes being jabbed for any reason, strange food and drinks, being "nicked" while in a queue, being "stung by an insect" and similar. Lastly, to tell anyone - even Mundies - with implants to go to ground for the duration. I think we're being attacked.'

There was a pause for a while then Baynes swore softly.
"Shit, you think we are being attacked? By who?"
Then you heard pen on payer, the older Etherite was making a list, Baynes liked lists they calmed him when he was stressed.
"Check for poison, check if anyone afflicted have been in any situation where they could have been poisoned, tell anyone I know with implants to go the ground...yes...I can do this."
He said and you heard him drawing check boxes next to the items on his list.
"This make it even more important you keep your eyes open Nicole, I spend allot of time and effort on you if you die all that will be for nothing."

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Serge's Room]

"Yes I think that if your ward search though people's heads then you would have to put up a sign about that outside your door and very few if anyone would be willing to ever enter your room."
Kyle said.
"It would have to be something that did not involve the other person's mind at all."

"Yeah your probably right. Last thing I need is to get everyone pissed at me." Serge said reluctantly agreeing.

"That is probably best, but then you either have to get powerful enough to give it a mind of it's own so that it can use it's own intelligence to separate friend from foe or you would have to find a non invasive way for it to know who had just entered your room."
The young Hermetic agreed.

"Oh that's gonna be a fun day. When I learn to create a mind from nothing but sheer will and determination." Serge said longingly. Clearly that had been something he had imagined doing as well.

"That'll be a project for the future."

"The problem is no one else is going to think it is cooler Serge."
Kyle said flatly.
"I am going to try to explain this to you so please don't get insulted. You are sort of like that nudist uncle who think parading around the house in nothing but his birthday suit is great and who are incapable of understanding why the nudity is a problem for anyone else. It is like this if you are at an airport and the security officers bend you over and have a good, long rummage through your bowels then probably you would feel rather violated, it is the same way for most mages when it comes to their minds but worse, to have a memory implanted, or have your illusion rummage though their heads or have a illusion forced on them against their will is like the fingers of that security officer forcing their way up your bumhole for a good long dig, and people just don't want that. No one is going to agree to letting you implant a memory so some form of token is your only way to go, or some other way of interacting with your ward which do nto interact with their minds."
The young widderslainte's tone softened a little and he sigh.
"Our minds and our Avatars Serge that is who we are, and most mages know that better than anyone, everything else, that is life support, only our Avatars are more private than our minds, so we can not let strangers mess with it."

Serge listened to Kyle explanation and when he was done he said, "I get what your saying man don't worry. In fact you used much tamer examples than most. Like I said, I know the rules. My mentor would kill me before I attempted something like that. Remember Kyle, I just like to talk a lot. Imagine what could be rather than focus on what I'm restricted too. That way I can truly see all of my option, and maybe even discover something no ones thought of. I rarely ever do the things I say I will especially if they cross a boundary. I know the boundaries even if at times it doesn't seem like I do."

"Again that will read someone's mind which makes up back to putting a big warning sign on your door and no one ever coming in here but you, and as you say secondly what are good or evil, in shows it is always easily defined, but in reality this is just not the case. Friendly or unfriendly towards you would probably be easier but even that might be hard for someone could hate your guts and still work with you since you are a part of the same Chantry as them."
Kyle said and he shook his head.

"Alright that idea is gone." Serge said with a sigh.

"Guess markers and long distance contact will be the way to go. Unless I can think of something else. Man, I'm way too picky. Markers and contacting my ancient dragon friend are just as cool and any other method. Serge said returning back to his cheery self and reassuring himself. Then in a mystical voice he said, "Oh great shenron. I give Kyle the Magnificent permission to enter my room and bestowed upon him one of your scales. Please don't eat him. Sincerly, Sergius."

You tossed the pencil and it perfectly landed in the glass cup. Kyle whistled and gave a grin.
"You just proved my point Serge, everything is better with Magick!"
He said happily and clearly impressed.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that!" Serge said with a smile glad to see his spell working. "Well...do that in front of other people. I've done it plenty of times by myself."

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Phone Call]

Anja's Post:

'Not got that far, sir. But it seems three of the casualties had something which could have been an injection of sorts just before implant failure. It would explain shit, like why this "fever" catchy to vanilla folk and stuff. And... the fact these cases are in five different cities at the same time points towards a conspiracy of some kind. If my theory is right, that is.'

'I don't intend dying. At least this case actually has an enemy which can stopped... the way I stop things.' an underscore of grim delight in this.

[Warpmind]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

'Perhaps, perhaps. Never overly cared about ranks and shit, myself.' Nicole replied, giving a little shrug.

Colin grinned, "I know the feeling; took me over too decades before I could even be arsed to get my first formal rank assessment, for the purpose of the files. And then, a couple days later, I was suddenly an Adept of Time, at least on paper... Might not want to let it go as long before I get my next evaluation. Maybe just ten years, this time..."

"Yes that would be a good cause as well."
Adjan agreed simply.

He pondered, "You know, abolishing cruelty first might be a strategic move - it's a lot easier to argue that slavery is inherently cruel, and thus abolish it if there are already laws against cruelty in place..."

'And you're missing the point that such a gun would be a complete bitch to design, cost a bomb to make, will need to be extensively tested before deployed and re-arming will be difficult as fuck.' the Etherite replied. 'While a already-made gun like my SKS already exists, cost less than an iPhone, is proven from over sixty years of war to be good, and almost any sporting goods store in the country can refill my webbing for the cost of DVD boxset?'

'No point re-making the wheel unless your wheel is much damn better than the old one.'

"Increasing firepower was hardly the issue here Miss Bouchard, being able to take someone out quietly where and there are few good alternatives for that when it comes to mundane firearms as the laws of physics sort of go against the notion. Now I have seen Etherites and some others with rather innovative weapons who hardly fall apart and who offer options mundane weapons do not, for example fire without making a sound."
Adjan said and he raised a eyebrow.

He arched an eyebrow, unwittingly mirroring Adjan's expression, "Indeed, I was under the impression we were discussing low-noise options, not necessarily options with increased power?"

"I think Mr Wainwright is referring to Technomagick rathe than to mundane weapons technology here."
Adjan chimed in.
"And if I was able to work such weaponry it would be most useful."

'And so am I. That if I wanted to increase my firepower, I'd look to shooting aids or special ammo rather than some bleeding-edge weapon which could fall apart on me at any point.'

He nodded, "More powerful rounds for increased firepower is reasonable - I've found Primium to be quite efficient agaisnt, well, everything supernatural, and I have a few special anti-Fallen rounds. But if the idea is to not be heard when shooting, neither of those is particularly ideal..."

"I hear she is quite the formidable woman and a honorable warrior."
Adjan said and nodded.
"I have never met her though so I could not say for sure."

He smiled wryly, "I've spoken with her, twenty years in the future... She promised to give my love to my family if I didn't survive... just before I crashed a small dart fighter through the wall of a Nephandi Battlecruiser. A very corrupt one, far more disturbing than the one we dealt with here two months ago..."

"Yes that is likely...ah yes that remind me the Chief gave his permission for us to invite Dino over for dinner one of these days, it might be nice."
Freddy said.

He grinned, "Oh, good. I will let him know next time i speak with him."

"No they seam content today."
Adjan said as he watched something that looked like pink smoke flutter by as two air elementals swirled past the car, one of them on noticing she was being watched turned to wave, the spirit looked like a somewhat humanoid, yellow collection of pollen dust.

He leaned back for a bit, then smiled and waved back to the pollen girl, "So they do... and one of them is waving to us, too."

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Towards Umbrial Port]

Anja's Post:

Colin's Post:

'Cos I already said; air pistol, uprated compression, better rounds. Wouldn't be silent, but much quieter than a normal firearm - 'specially if you silence it. Plus, it doesn't sound like a gun, which means quite a few folk would ignore it.' Nicole replied, a shade irritably.

Anja's Post:

'Hmm... wonder if the Union's ended up like that too?'

Colin's Post:

'I've been wondering 'bout that. You think tracer rounds are enough to set vampires on fire?'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Serge's Room]

"Yeah your probably right. Last thing I need is to get everyone pissed at me." Serge said reluctantly agreeing.

"Yeah not getting everyone pissed is usually a good idea."
Kyle said wryly.

"Oh that's gonna be a fun day. When I learn to create a mind from nothing but sheer will and determination." Serge said longingly. Clearly that had been something he had imagined doing as well.

"That'll be a project for the future."

"I hear Masters of Mind have that ability, to create minds from nothing I hear, so they can make golems and like, with other Spheres and make it really have a mind and be a person."
The young Hermetic said, he clearly though this was really cool.

Serge listened to Kyle explanation and when he was done he said, "I get what your saying man don't worry. In fact you used much tamer examples than most. Like I said, I know the rules. My mentor would kill me before I attempted something like that. Remember Kyle, I just like to talk a lot. Imagine what could be rather than focus on what I'm restricted too. That way I can truly see all of my option, and maybe even discover something no ones thought of. I rarely ever do the things I say I will especially if they cross a boundary. I know the boundaries even if at times it doesn't seem like I do."

"It is good you know that most would not tolerate you affecting their minds Serge, what is confusing with you though is when you say things you do not intend to do, most will take things at face value, so that if someone say they will do something then they assume that they will, and if just possibilities and ideas are being discussed then they say they are discussing a hypothetical rather than talking about it as if they really intend to do something or people will misunderstand."
The young mage said and sigh.

"Alright that idea is gone." Serge said with a sigh.

"Guess markers and long distance contact will be the way to go. Unless I can think of something else. Man, I'm way too picky. Markers and contacting my ancient dragon friend are just as cool and any other method. Serge said returning back to his cheery self and reassuring himself. Then in a mystical voice he said, "Oh great shenron. I give Kyle the Magnificent permission to enter my room and bestowed upon him one of your scales. Please don't eat him. Sincerly, Sergius."

"Yeah old Hermetic Chantries used tokens to let people in to their Chantry past the wards so that works well."
Kyle said then he chuckle.
"Yeah don't eat me please I doubt I taste good."
He said then he grinned.
"So I see you have named your dragon."

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that!" Serge said with a smile glad to see his spell working. "Well...do that in front of other people. I've done it plenty of times by myself."

"Well that is pretty cool, and it is not so impossible it should give Paradox, someone seeing it will just think you got mad skills."
Kyle said sounding impressed.

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

'Not got that far, sir. But it seems three of the casualties had something which could have been an injection of sorts just before implant failure. It would explain shit, like why this "fever" catchy to vanilla folk and stuff. And... the fact these cases are in five different cities at the same time points towards a conspiracy of some kind. If my theory is right, that is.'

"I will ask that the ones we have lost be checked for any puncture marks, but yes I agree if someone is doing this, targeting those with implants that would explain allot."
Baynes said.
"Which is both less and more troubling than a spreading disease...gah I hate it when I don't know if I should be relieved or more worried!"
He grumbled.

I don't intend dying. At least this case actually has an enemy which can stopped... the way I stop things.' an underscore of grim delight in this.

"Well you are quite good at that."
The older Etherite said.
"Though if you find any of them know that with so many locations there are probably more than one, if possible get one of them alive so we can squeeze some information out of them."

He pondered, "You know, abolishing cruelty first might be a strategic move - it's a lot easier to argue that slavery is inherently cruel, and thus abolish it if there are already laws against cruelty in place..."

Adjan nodded at that.
"Indeed and while I am not for slavery, I am more against abuse, a law against cruelty would also protect those who are sentenced into slavery and Hermetic apprentices from cruel treatment."
The Euthanatos agreed.

He arched an eyebrow, unwittingly mirroring Adjan's expression, "Indeed, I was under the impression we were discussing low-noise options, not necessarily options with increased power?"

Cos I already said; air pistol, uprated compression, better rounds. Wouldn't be silent, but much quieter than a normal firearm - 'specially if you silence it. Plus, it doesn't sound like a gun, which means quite a few folk would ignore it.' Nicole replied, a shade irritably.

"If they are guards worth their salt even if a sound do not sound like a gun they will check it out."
Adjan said.
"Well there are time more power might be needed but I find I more often need stealth."

He nodded, "More powerful rounds for increased firepower is reasonable - I've found Primium to be quite efficient agaisnt, well, everything supernatural, and I have a few special anti-Fallen rounds. But if the idea is to not be heard when shooting, neither of those is particularly ideal..."

"If one is not afraid of magick being discovered then it is possible to make a sound dampening field around one's weapon to stop a good potion of the sound."
Adjan said.
"That can be quite effective."

He smiled wryly, "I've spoken with her, twenty years in the future... She promised to give my love to my family if I didn't survive... just before I crashed a small dart fighter through the wall of a Nephandi Battlecruiser. A very corrupt one, far more disturbing than the one we dealt with here two months ago..."

"What is it with you and Nephandi Battle Cruisers?"
The death magus asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Hum so you speak with the Admiral in the future, well I do hope that you get out of it alive Mr Wainwright in that future fight, or that if you do perish that you die well."

He grinned, "Oh, good. I will let him know next time i speak with him."

"He have been kind to Anna so inviting him to dinner is the least we can do in return. Besides Mr Karyak says that now that the woman he calls Grandmother Wolf have retired from active leadership Dino apparently lead his pack, he is a powerful ally."
Freddy replied.

He leaned back for a bit, then smiled and waved back to the pollen girl, "So they do... and one of them is waving to us, too."

"Yes I see her and air elemental, they seam quite friendly."
Adjan agreed with a smile. The air spirits where twirling around in the air clearly showing off now they saw they had an audience. They where easily matching the speed of the car. Adjan chuckle a bit at that.

'Hmm... wonder if the Union's ended up like that too?'

"I suspect that they did."
Adjan said and sigh.
"The way I understand it they started out with a good idea to protect humanity from supernatural threats and then they just got more and more crappy as time went by."

'I've been wondering 'bout that. You think tracer rounds are enough to set vampires on fire?'

"Well they are very flammable, unlike living humans where you need an accellerant to get fleshto burn a vampire will catch fire. I suspect there is at least a chance tracer rounds will do the job."
The Euthanathos commented.

[Warpmind]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

'Cos I already said; air pistol, uprated compression, better rounds. Wouldn't be silent, but much quieter than a normal firearm - 'specially if you silence it. Plus, it doesn't sound like a gun, which means quite a few folk would ignore it.' Nicole replied, a shade irritably.

"If they are guards worth their salt even if a sound do not sound like a gun they will check it out."
Adjan said.
"Well there are time more power might be needed but I find I more often need stealth."

Colin nodded, "Good guards will check out any sound out of the ordinary... even softguns tend to have quite the audible mechanical noise to them. But, good sound-absorbing materials can do a lot for that, at least."

'I've been wondering 'bout that. You think tracer rounds are enough to set vampires on fire?'

"Well they are very flammable, unlike living humans where you need an accellerant to get fleshto burn a vampire will catch fire. I suspect there is at least a chance tracer rounds will do the job."
The Euthanathos commented.

He frowned, "I... think that will depend a lot on the age of the vamprie in question, too - Livington lasted... a lot longer when exposed to the sun than did his childe. Tracers might be enough, but I would probably opt for proper incendiary rounds, if possible."

"What is it with you and Nephandi Battle Cruisers?"
The death magus asked and he raised an eyebrow.
"Hum so you speak with the Admiral in the future, well I do hope that you get out of it alive Mr Wainwright in that future fight, or that if you do perish that you die well."

He shrugged, "Perhaps the vision of the future was in part to warn me of the attack that comes then, and in part to let me know about the Handler, so I would know where the weakest spot in the polyp here was. The future attack will come, though - Old Man Wrinkle confirmed as much, and that I will face a somewhat harder challenge if Beatrice survives the new year. I can live with that, though."

'Hmm... wonder if the Union's ended up like that too?'

"I suspect that they did."
Adjan said and sigh.
"The way I understand it they started out with a good idea to protect humanity from supernatural threats and then they just got more and more crappy as time went by."

He nodded, "Probably more so. Where do you think the idea of unpaid internships came from? Someone is increasingly treating people as though they were infinitely replaceable machines, and it's not us - and there's no reason to think the Union treats Sleeper society any different from their own internal affairs in that regard."

"He have been kind to Anna so inviting him to dinner is the least we can do in return. Besides Mr Karyak says that now that the woman he calls Grandmother Wolf have retired from active leadership Dino apparently lead his pack, he is a powerful ally."
Freddy replied.

He nodded, "His power was irrelevant to me when I sought his acquaintance. And while I appreciate how powerful he is, it's not something I would lean on, at least not without very good cause."
He grinned wryly, "Yes, Grandmother Wolf... Might want to make sure Dino doesn't needlessly cross paths with the Mercere while visiting - might get the wrong idea."

"Yes I see her and air elemental, they seam quite friendly."
Adjan agreed with a smile. The air spirits where twirling around in the air clearly showing off now they saw they had an audience. They where easily matching the speed of the car. Adjan chuckle a bit at that.

He grinned, "So they are - I'm guessing the departing airplanes have kicked up a bit of turbulence. They're dancing much like otters in the water."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

Colin nodded, "Good guards will check out any sound out of the ordinary... even softguns tend to have quite the audible mechanical noise to them. But, good sound-absorbing materials can do a lot for that, at least."

"If the sound gets dampened by absorbent material that might help make the weapon silent enough."
Adjan agreed and nodded.
"But if it do make any loud sound it is likely guards will go to investigate it."

He frowned, "I... think that will depend a lot on the age of the vamprie in question, too - Livington lasted... a lot longer when exposed to the sun than did his childe. Tracers might be enough, but I would probably opt for proper incendiary rounds, if possible."

"This is true, racer rounds might be enough to scare a vampire though make him or her think twice about attacking."
The Euthanathos said.
"Incendiary rounds would be preferable though but they are allot harder to get."

He shrugged, "Perhaps the vision of the future was in part to warn me of the attack that comes then, and in part to let me know about the Handler, so I would know where the weakest spot in the polyp here was. The future attack will come, though - Old Man Wrinkle confirmed as much, and that I will face a somewhat harder challenge if Beatrice survives the new year. I can live with that, though."

"Yes I wish for Beatrice to live a long, happy life if the Cycle will allow it."
Adjan said and he sigh.
"Still if it is her life against thousands then that is a tough choice-"
He commented.

He nodded, "Probably more so. Where do you think the idea of unpaid internships came from? Someone is increasingly treating people as though they were infinitely replaceable machines, and it's not us - and there's no reason to think the Union treats Sleeper society any different from their own internal affairs in that regard."

"Yes you are probably right I have heard that the Union to have been plagued with decay and stagnation, they have gone from wanting to protect sleepers to wanting to lord over them, for their own protection off course."
Adjan scoffed.
"Now they just want to turn this world into glass and ice and productivity and steel with no room for people anymore."

He nodded, "His power was irrelevant to me when I sought his acquaintance. And while I appreciate how powerful he is, it's not something I would lean on, at least not without very good cause."
He grinned wryly, "Yes, Grandmother Wolf... Might want to make sure Dino doesn't needlessly cross paths with the Mercere while visiting - might get the wrong idea."

"I know you sought Dino out because Dr Boudavich recommended him, because he is an children's cardiologist and he have the patience to work with a child with special concerns, that he turns out to be a valuable ally however don't hurt."
Freddy said then she asked a bit confused.
"Why would it matter if the good doctor meet one of the Mercere? Would that be a problem?"

He grinned, "So they are - I'm guessing the departing airplanes have kicked up a bit of turbulence. They're dancing much like otters in the water."

"Yes I suspect that is what these spirits are, turbulence."
Adjan said as he observed the creatures.
"And they like to show of a bit."
He continued sounding amused as the spirits twirled around.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Towards Umbrial Port]

Anja's Post:

'I'd say relieved. Much easier to trace people than mysterious disease trails.' Nicole replied. 'Plus, if my theory is right it is an attack and we can ask for help from the other Traditions in this.'

'I'll keep you posted, sir. About to go and question Mirrorshades.'

Anja's Post:

Colin's Post:

'Any place which would have guards like that would also have them always in pairs, camera'd up to the hilt, organised comm network they have to check in with control frequently and p'haps even lifesign trackers.'

Having cleared the texting driver, Nicole headed towards the car rental building by the airport...

[Think we're done now, can move on to crossing over to the Umbra?]

[Warpmind]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

'Any place which would have guards like that would also have them always in pairs, camera'd up to the hilt, organised comm network they have to check in with control frequently and p'haps even lifesign trackers.'

Having cleared the texting driver, Nicole headed towards the car rental building by the airport...

He shrugged, "Well... that rather depends; even if the average guard in a building is a bit more lax, or perhaps casually hard of hearing, you always get that one hotshot who's ready to jerk into action at the slightest conspicuous sound. That said, all the more reason for something stealthy and quick, so you can take out two people before the second has the time to alert anyone."

"This is true, racer rounds might be enough to scare a vampire though make him or her think twice about attacking."
The Euthanathos said.
"Incendiary rounds would be preferable though but they are allot harder to get."

Colin shrugged, "Harder to purchase, perhaps, but manufacture... well, get the right equipment, and we could probably get that done in the garage workshop. Depending on the composition of the rounds, of course - phosphorous would probably not be a wise choice to work with in a residential building..."

"Yes I wish for Beatrice to live a long, happy life if the Cycle will allow it."
Adjan said and he sigh.
"Still if it is her life against thousands then that is a tough choice-"
He commented.

He frowned, "She knows what risk she'll run by fighting... and I expect she'll do everything she can to help protect the Chantry and its residents. All we can do is to provide cover for her as far as possible. I... don't remember picking up her bullet-riddled, lifeless body once. I don't want that memory to become the true timeline..."

"Yes you are probably right I have heard that the Union to have been plagued with decay and stagnation, they have gone from wanting to protect sleepers to wanting to lord over them, for their own protection off course."
Adjan scoffed.
"Now they just want to turn this world into glass and ice and productivity and steel with no room for people anymore."

He smiled wryly, "Perhaps we could convince them to make a trade, we get Earth and they get a different dimension of their own where they can science to their hearts' content without our interference?"

"I know you sought Dino out because Dr Boudavich recommended him, because he is an children's cardiologist and he have the patience to work with a child with special concerns, that he turns out to be a valuable ally however don't hurt."
Freddy said then she asked a bit confused.
"Why would it matter if the good doctor meet one of the Mercere? Would that be a problem?"

He smiled wryly, "Strictly speaking, the medical side of things was secondary to presenting a memorial plaque to his tribe, after we both suffered losses against the Fallen. His medical skills, now those were a welcome bonus."
He chuckled, "Oh, come now, Luv, how many stories do you know of involving a wolf, a grandmother, and red headwear?"

"Yes I suspect that is what these spirits are, turbulence."
Adjan said as he observed the creatures.
"And they like to show of a bit."
He continued sounding amused as the spirits twirled around.

He grinned, "I know the feeling - I often feel the same way when I get a few hundred feet of air beneath me. Funny enough, the great polyps, or at least the uncorrupted ones, feel exactly the same way, too - vastly simpler minds, but the same joy."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Towards the Umbra Port]

'I'd say relieved. Much easier to trace people than mysterious disease trails.' Nicole replied. 'Plus, if my theory is right it is an attack and we can ask for help from the other Traditions in this.'

'I'll keep you posted, sir. About to go and question Mirrorshades.'

"I hope you are right."
Baynes said.
"Yes keep me posted and be careful."
He said before he ended the call.

'Any place which would have guards like that would also have them always in pairs, camera'd up to the hilt, organised comm network they have to check in with control frequently and p'haps even lifesign trackers.'

"And if you are quick enough you can take out both, also there is not only guards but also other people in whatever place you are infiltrating coming to checking on a loud sound."
Adjan relied and sigh.

Having cleared the texting driver, Nicole headed towards the car rental building by the airport...

"When I give you a signal please dive though the window at the back of the building."
Adjan said and he started rolling his dice then he nodded.
"Now Miss Bouchard."
You have probably been taken to the Umbral port though this portal enough times now that it have become rather commonplace.

He shrugged, "Well... that rather depends; even if the average guard in a building is a bit more lax, or perhaps casually hard of hearing, you always get that one hotshot who's ready to jerk into action at the slightest conspicuous sound. That said, all the more reason for something stealthy and quick, so you can take out two people before the second has the time to alert anyone."

"Agreed Mr Wainwright."
The Euthanathos said and nodded.

Colin shrugged, "Harder to purchase, perhaps, but manufacture... well, get the right equipment, and we could probably get that done in the garage workshop. Depending on the composition of the rounds, of course - phosphorous would probably not be a wise choice to work with in a residential building..."

"It can be manufactured off course but it will be dangerous and difficult."
Adjan said.
"With the materials needed allot can go wrong."

He frowned, "She knows what risk she'll run by fighting... and I expect she'll do everything she can to help protect the Chantry and its residents. All we can do is to provide cover for her as far as possible. I... don't remember picking up her bullet-riddled, lifeless body once. I don't want that memory to become the true timeline..."

"She is a brave girl, I suspect she will fight and we will protect her and do what we can, the question is what will then become of Horizon in the future?"
The death magus said and frowned.

He smiled wryly, "Perhaps we could convince them to make a trade, we get Earth and they get a different dimension of their own where they can science to their hearts' content without our interference?"

"Somehow I doubt they would take that deal."
Adjan scoffed.
"If they where interested in another world they could have had that a long time ago they want earth I'am afraid."

He smiled wryly, "Strictly speaking, the medical side of things was secondary to presenting a memorial plaque to his tribe, after we both suffered losses against the Fallen. His medical skills, now those were a welcome bonus."

"That is true, the werewolves suffered heavy losses as well."
Freddy said and sigh.
"They are brave warriors, anyway the good Dr is a good man it is good we got into contact with him."

He chuckled, "Oh, come now, Luv, how many stories do you know of involving a wolf, a grandmother, and red headwear?"

Freddy chuckle at that.
"Yeah...well somehow I don't think that is going to be a problem."

He grinned, "I know the feeling - I often feel the same way when I get a few hundred feet of air beneath me. Funny enough, the great polyps, or at least the uncorrupted ones, feel exactly the same way, too - vastly simpler minds, but the same joy."

"That is...a nice notion."
Adjan said and he smiled as he looked at the spirits.
"It seams that is what these spirits are feeling, the same as you describe with the non corrupted Polyp."

[Warpmind]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

"It can be manufactured off course but it will be dangerous and difficult."
Adjan said.
"With the materials needed allot can go wrong."

Colin shrugged, "Plenty of materials that will remain stable until actively ignited by either explosion or electric spark - thermite would be an excellent load for incendiaries, provided you can get a good enough igniter. A magnesium fuse should probably do that trick. Neither would be liable to explode in the workshop."

"She is a brave girl, I suspect she will fight and we will protect her and do what we can, the question is what will then become of Horizon in the future?"
The death magus said and frowned.

He pondered, "Horizon... will probably not be greatly affected, but my personal difficulties in reaching and dealing with a different Handler will likely be... Then again, perhaps Fate will deliver me a different Fallen whose path has crossed mine before without a fatal outcome. Perhaps someone like June, Diego's apprentice, who held the nuke spell at the Umbral Port steady while the Chief and I defused it, or Tian, whose daughter daughter Egypt I rescued from Abigail's Labyrinth... They might feel they owe me at least the time of day to speak, if not as... internally conflicted as Alice was in that future timeline... But, I know a weak spot in the polyps, and I will share that with Admiral Hastings, so she can fine-tune the targeting systems and tactical doctrine accordingly. The polyps might get close to Horizon, but she'll make the fleet strong, and with greatly extended range from today's state, so... I believe Concordia will be safe, even if I might not be."

"Somehow I doubt they would take that deal."
Adjan scoffed.
"If they where interested in another world they could have had that a long time ago they want earth I'am afraid."

He sighed, "I know... a man can dream, though."

"That is...a nice notion."
Adjan said and he smiled as he looked at the spirits.
"It seams that is what these spirits are feeling, the same as you describe with the non corrupted Polyp."

He grinned, "I clocked a few flight hours earlier this month. I think the yellow one is the same one as danced around the landing pad then. She seemed to enjoy tumbling around the rotors."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

Colin shrugged, "Plenty of materials that will remain stable until actively ignited by either explosion or electric spark - thermite would be an excellent load for incendiaries, provided you can get a good enough igniter. A magnesium fuse should probably do that trick. Neither would be liable to explode in the workshop."

"Interesting, I must admit to not being very well versed in the manufacturing of weapons Mr Wainwright, but if such rounds would be easy to manufacture and store perhaps a few should, just in case."
Adjan replied.

He pondered, "Horizon... will probably not be greatly affected, but my personal difficulties in reaching and dealing with a different Handler will likely be... Then again, perhaps Fate will deliver me a different Fallen whose path has crossed mine before without a fatal outcome. Perhaps someone like June, Diego's apprentice, who held the nuke spell at the Umbral Port steady while the Chief and I defused it, or Tian, whose daughter daughter Egypt I rescued from Abigail's Labyrinth... They might feel they owe me at least the time of day to speak, if not as... internally conflicted as Alice was in that future timeline... But, I know a weak spot in the polyps, and I will share that with Admiral Hastings, so she can fine-tune the targeting systems and tactical doctrine accordingly. The polyps might get close to Horizon, but she'll make the fleet strong, and with greatly extended range from today's state, so... I believe Concordia will be safe, even if I might not be."

The Euthanathos nodded at that.
"Well if the security of Horizon can be maintained without sacrificing Beatrice that would be best would I would not like to see you killed either, then again twenty years is a long time Mr Wainwright allot can happen before then."
He said and frowned.
"For good or for bad."

He sighed, "I know... a man can dream, though."

Adjan nodded at that.
"Dreaming is fine, unfortunately there is not much hope of this dream coming true though."

He grinned, "I clocked a few flight hours earlier this month. I think the yellow one is the same one as danced around the landing pad then. She seemed to enjoy tumbling around the rotors."

"Perhaps she recognize you?"
Adjan said as the spirit waved again and swirled around the car in motion, er friends following her movements.

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Serge's Room]

"I hear Masters of Mind have that ability, to create minds from nothing I hear, so they can make golems and like, with other Spheres and make it really have a mind and be a person."
The young Hermetic said, he clearly though this was really cool.

"I asked Ange if she could do it. She didn't give me a straight response but I'm pretty sure she can." Serge said with a smile. "Golems are probably too much for me. But that's a pretty standard wizard defense. Have you ever seen a golem?"

"It is good you know that most would not tolerate you affecting their minds Serge, what is confusing with you though is when you say things you do not intend to do, most will take things at face value, so that if someone say they will do something then they assume that they will, and if just possibilities and ideas are being discussed then they say they are discussing a hypothetical rather than talking about it as if they really intend to do something or people will misunderstand."
The young mage said and sigh.

"Sorry about that. I'm weird like that but thats how I've always worked. I don't bother with saying things are hypothetical. Because everything is in someways real...even if it's only real in our heads. I'll try to make my intentions more clear next time." Serge said with a shrug.

"Yeah old Hermetic Chantries used tokens to let people in to their Chantry past the wards so that works well."
Kyle said then he chuckle.
"Yeah don't eat me please I doubt I taste good."
He said then he grinned.
"So I see you have named your dragon."

"I have not. Shenron is the name of the dragon from Dragon Ball Z that I based the picture off of." Serge said with a chuckle.

"Want a more original name. Like 'black flame destroyer of the seven paths and king of seven realms!' or something epic and long like that."

"Well that is pretty cool, and it is not so impossible it should give Paradox, someone seeing it will just think you got mad skills."
Kyle said sounding impressed.

"If you believe in yourself....and use magick to mutate reality to follow the stereotypes of a high school drama, anything is possible." Serge said with a grin. "I've been practicing that kinda luck manipulation for a bit now. I think I've gotten the hang of it."

[Adley]

[Serge's Room]

"Oooh. That's an idea." Serge said sounding interested. "Contacting my imaginary dragon friend to deny or allow passage. That idea's definitely going on the list. I'm also toying with a list of names idea. Give a list of people who are allowed passage into my room and the dragon could look to see if your name matches that list. Although that idea's probably not going to happen for reasons."

"The problem is how will the dragon know your name? If you are asked to state it then you can lie and also many magi will not be willing to state their names to an illusion on the roof."
Kyle said.
"Contacting it to grant passage when needed are probably simpler."

"We all have an identity that we go by. And it's not too hard to find out. It's always somewhere in our heads. The name we most associate with." Serge said with a shrug. "But of course that involves searching through a person head. Which many people aren't too fond of which is why I think I can't do it."

"You might wish to research how gate guardians and the like are often given parameters, as a starting point. Knowing someone's true identity is not something all will share, and using a nickname or common name would work for some better than others."

"I mean it could in theory. Sense when something has my will and imagination invested in it. But...ehhhh." Serge said making a strange groaning sound, "Markers can get irritating. Not only will I need to keep them on me but they can be stolen. I much prefer something intangible acting as permission. Like a memory or something. Plus I just think it's cooler. If I use markers they just end up being glorified keycards." Serge thought for a moment before saying, "What about just sensing when someone has evil intentions while in my room. You always see that sorta stuff in shows. Although defining what evil intention is will be a bitch to do."

"That is probably best, but then you either have to get powerful enough to give it a mind of it's own so that it can use it's own intelligence to separate friend from foe or you would have to find a non invasive way for it to know who had just entered your room."
The young Hermetic agreed.

"Oh that's gonna be a fun day. When I learn to create a mind from nothing but sheer will and determination." Serge said longingly. Clearly that had been something he had imagined doing as well.

"That'll be a project for the future."

"Hrm, it is a difficult thing to do and not done lightly, but in the Order and even amongst the Sleeper occult crowd what you describe is called a Servitor, an Intelligence made for specific purpose. Just be careful, or you'll end up with problems worse than the Sorceror's Apprentice."

"I hear Masters of Mind have that ability, to create minds from nothing I hear, so they can make golems and like, with other Spheres and make it really have a mind and be a person."
The young Hermetic said, he clearly though this was really cool.

"I asked Ange if she could do it. She didn't give me a straight response but I'm pretty sure she can." Serge said with a smile. "Golems are probably too much for me. But that's a pretty standard wizard defense. Have you ever seen a golem?"

'Indeed so, a golem has a physical form also, a most difficult task. Not one you see done much anymore, outside of a Horizon realm. I don't think I've ever seen one."

"The problem is no one else is going to think it is cooler Serge."
Kyle said flatly.
"I am going to try to explain this to you so please don't get insulted. You are sort of like that nudist uncle who think parading around the house in nothing but his birthday suit is great and who are incapable of understanding why the nudity is a problem for anyone else. It is like this if you are at an airport and the security officers bend you over and have a good, long rummage through your bowels then probably you would feel rather violated, it is the same way for most mages when it comes to their minds but worse, to have a memory implanted, or have your illusion rummage though their heads or have a illusion forced on them against their will is like the fingers of that security officer forcing their way up your bumhole for a good long dig, and people just don't want that. Np one is going to agree to letting you implant a memory so some form of token is your only way to go, or some other way of interacting with your ward which do nto interact with their minds."
The young widderslainte's tone softened a little and he sigh.
"Our minds and our Avatars Serge that is who we are, and most mages know that better than anyone, everything else, that is life support, only our Avatars are more private than our minds, so we can not let strangers mess with it."

"There is also the risk that any magus of mind will have a countermagick set that will take effect when someone tries to pry at their mind, also. Speaking of mental ars, I was going to ask if you can help us out," he said to Serge. "It might be good for us to have mind shields and you are the only one of us in the cabal that can make them for others."

"Yeah!" Serge said grabbing one of the pencils that was behind his ears and tossing it towards the glass cup on his counter top, "KOBE!!!"

As he tossed the pencil he invoked the magick behind the words he spoke. Words spoken by high-school children everywhere that were only ever uttered when someone made an toss of extreme precision.

You tossed the pencil and it perfectly landed in the glass cup. Kyle whistled and gave a grin.
"You just proved my point Serge, everything is better with Magick!"
He said happily and clearly impressed.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that!" Serge said with a smile glad to see his spell working. "Well...do that in front of other people. I've done it plenty of times by myself."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I can almost guarantee you Serge no one will allow you to mark their mental patterns to be able to get in your room, hell I am your friend and I think you are a cool guy and all but even i would not allow that."
Serge said and shook his head.
"Could not your illusion sense when another of your creations, as in a drawing or as you said a sticker are close by?"

"I would not either, and if I had to get into your room that badly, I would make a new door." He pointed at the wall.

"Want a more original name. Like 'black flame destroyer of the seven paths and king of seven realms!' or something epic and long like that."

"Are you sure that's what you are going for?" he asked. "Because I might enjoy the chantry staying in one piece.."

"I could try to explain in more detail Mr Roth Hicks but without an understanding of Corpus I am not sure how understood I will be."
The old Vebena replied with a half smile.

"I'm pretty sure that's why I don't understand," he agreed with a tip of his head. "I just know the very basics and most of what I use it for is to fight better. But you are the Master, after all."

"I am not used to be asked for permission, usually it is either you do it willingly or we hold you down and do it anyway."
Kyle muttered and looked down.
"But it is ok, I do want my hands to hurt less and I do trust you Adley I am just a bit nervous, I do not like anyone getting to close to my hands, but you have my permission."

"I understand," he said simply.

"Yeah and those hot but not hot enough to harm balls that our Mentor have us practice with." "They are a little flashy to." Kyle commented with a smile, he enjoyed the sparring matches.

"They hurt less than paintballs do," he said with a nod. "It's good practice for me to get faster at countermagick, not that I'd try to counterspell real fireballs in a fight...that's one you just need to get the hell out of firing range for," he said. "Trying to change your spelllight into something else is even harder, just changing the color of it..."

"No doubtfully though I could not say for sure without studying the serum. I have attended to magi who have been on the serum and it have not affected how magick cast on them have worked."

"Mr Wainwright and Richard have some information there that might be relevant," he said to him. "Well, I do not think a cooling spell on my end should do anything untoward, at least. I will tell our mentor your intention and will discuss with him some particularities, and then we can meet back here when you are ready?" he suggested. "Or shall you two be over at Mr Wainwright's?"

After they answered, he glanced at his brother. "Here we go." He made a combination of the old hand gestures, one with one hand and the other his left, the way that Erjne had done it, but not next to Kyle yet. He then placed his hands somewhat apart and concentrated - simple spell it might be to make 'frozen peas', but there was a finesse to making the spell in a small area and he didn't want the area between his hands to be too cold, and waited until he was satisfied at the condition of the area he was working on was what he wanted before moving an inch.

// what sucks about driving around Boston is the ever present construction, and in RI the people that use their blinkers but then get into the opposite lane...or don't use them at all lol

Arete roll for "Frozen Peas": 6, 4, 7

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Serge's Room]

"I asked Ange if she could do it. She didn't give me a straight response but I'm pretty sure she can." Serge said with a smile. "Golems are probably too much for me. But that's a pretty standard wizard defense. Have you ever seen a golem?"

"I have never seen one, but Miss Adlebloom said her party met one in Chicago.I your Mentor is Master of Mind there is a chance she can do it but not all Masters can do the same thing.
Kyle commented.

"Sorry about that. I'm weird like that but thats how I've always worked. I don't bother with saying things are hypothetical. Because everything is in someways real...even if it's only real in our heads. I'll try to make my intentions more clear next time." Serge said with a shrug.

"I can buy the idea that somewhere everything is real, the problem is that most separate between a hypothetical and a actually acted out in this reality act, and I am worried that with some of the things you say and present as reality someone will actually take offense or worse see you as a threat and hurt you badly Serge."
The young mage commented looking concerned.

"I have not. Shenron is the name of the dragon from Dragon Ball Z that I based the picture off of." Serge said with a chuckle.

"Want a more original name. Like 'black flame destroyer of the seven paths and king of seven realms!' or something epic and long like that."

"Hum...now that you mention it I remember that now."
Kyle said and nodded.
"The name from Dagonball...well I am sure you will come up with a name for your dragon eventually."

"If you believe in yourself....and use magick to mutate reality to follow the stereotypes of a high school drama, anything is possible." Serge said with a grin. "I've been practicing that kinda luck manipulation for a bit now. I think I've gotten the hang of it."

"It is a practical bit of magick, I think perhaps I would prefer another Paradigm for it but it is still very practical, and pretty cool."
Kyle agreed with a grin.
"I like luck manipulation."

"Hrm, it is a difficult thing to do and not done lightly, but in the Order and even amongst the Sleeper occult crowd what you describe is called a Servitor, an Intelligence made for specific purpose. Just be careful, or you'll end up with problems worse than the Sorceror's Apprentice."

"My dad have mentioned servitors, he have at least two og them working for him, but you have to feed them and he said they can become a problem if you are not careful when creating them."
Kyle said sounding interested.
"Have you ever made one of those Adley?"

Indeed so, a golem has a physical form also, a most difficult task. Not one you see done much anymore, outside of a Horizon realm. I don't think I've ever seen one."

"Miss Adlebloom said the group who went to Chicago have met one, a girl that looked like everyone else but wo had hematite eyes."
Kyle said.
"Did you see her Adley?"

"I would not either, and if I had to get into your room that badly, I would make a new door." He pointed at the wall.

"That reminds me of a Buffy episode that you have probably not seen since you don't watch TV Adley but you have several of the group of main characters captured by a fear demon in a house and then the occultist sort of mentor for the group is going to get in together with their pet demon now human sort of ally. The problem is the house is protected by a ward so they can not get in through the doors or windows, anyway the demon asks what they are going to do so the occultist replies he will make a door. The demon looks really impressed and asks, and you can do that? To which the occultist answers yes and then he proceeds to starting up a chain saw."
Kyle said and he chuckle.

"I'm pretty sure that's why I don't understand," he agreed with a tip of his head. "I just know the very basics and most of what I use it for is to fight better. But you are the Master, after all."

"Let me make it simple then, I can promise you that there will be no damage to your brother or to his past life memories."
Amadeus replied.
"Though off course if you prefer I can keep to treating this exhaustion and current symptoms."

"I understand," he said simply.

Kyle looked at you a bit nervously but he remained perfectly still.

"They hurt less than paintballs do," he said with a nod. "It's good practice for me to get faster at countermagick, not that I'd try to counterspell real fireballs in a fight...that's one you just need to get the hell out of firing range for," he said. "Trying to change your spelllight into something else is even harder, just changing the color of it..."

"Yeah but what if you can't dodge it for the fireball is to big, or you can't get all your allies out of the way?"
Kyle asked.
"You are thinking about trying to change something about another mage's spell while they are casting it?"
He asked and pondered.
"That sound like a hard thing to do, it would be rather neat to be able to do it though, have you ever done that? Changed the color of those spell lights I mean?"

"Mr Wainwright and Richard have some information there that might be relevant," he said to him. "Well, I do not think a cooling spell on my end should do anything untoward, at least. I will tell our mentor your intention and will discuss with him some particularities, and then we can meet back here when you are ready?" he suggested. "Or shall you two be over at Mr Wainwright's?"

"Very well that works for me Mr Roth Hicks."
Master Nassa said. Kyle nodded.
"I was thinking we might head over to Mr Wainwright's place to play board games if Serge is ok with that."
He said and he glanced over at Serge.

After they answered, he glanced at his brother. "Here we go." He made a combination of the old hand gestures, one with one hand and the other his left, the way that Erjne had done it, but not next to Kyle yet. He then placed his hands somewhat apart and concentrated - simple spell it might be to make 'frozen peas', but there was a finesse to making the spell in a small area and he didn't want the area between his hands to be too cold, and waited until he was satisfied at the condition of the area he was working on was what he wanted before moving an inch.

You managed to cast the spell fairly easy, though getting the right temperature was complicated and you might need to adjust it a bit, there was a reason why one often would wrap a bag of frozen peas in a towel before applying it to a bruise, at first your little ball of cold got to cold, but with some patience you manage to get the temperature just right. You do understand why Jeffry was more proud of his finesse work than his massive, destructive spells though, this degree of control was not easy to do, and Ernje had a much easier time of it than you, he had been a master of finesse, and had taught that to his students, who had taught it to their students again, and one of those students had one day in the past taught such an appreciation for detail magick to a young Jeffry Morgan, or whatever his apprentice name had been, not even you knew that. Eventually though it seamed that your spell where stable enough to be used on Kyle, it would not harm him.

(OOC: MtG today, we played with 5 players around the table and I managed a multi kill taking all my oponents out in one turn the last turn we had time to play before the meeting ended. )

[Adley]

[Serge's Room]

"Miss Adlebloom said the group who went to Chicago have met one, a girl that looked like everyone else but wo had hematite eyes."
Kyle said.
"Did you see her Adley?"

He narrowed his eyes in thought. "I don't recall now...it's possible at the time I thought they were a spirit."

"My dad have mentioned servitors, he have at least two og them working for him, but you have to feed them and he said they can become a problem if you are not careful when creating them."
Kyle said sounding interested.
"Have you ever made one of those Adley?"

"No, I have not that skill."

"That reminds me of a Buffy episode that you have probably not seen since you don't watch TV Adley but you have several of the group of main characters captured by a fear demon in a house and then the occultist sort of mentor for the group is going to get in together with their pet demon now human sort of ally. The problem is the house is protected by a ward so they can not get in through the doors or windows, anyway the demon asks what they are going to do so the occultist replies he will make a door. The demon looks really impressed and asks, and you can do that? To which the occultist answers yes and then he proceeds to starting up a chain saw."
Kyle said and he chuckle.

He grinned. "Sounds about right. No pet demons, though."

"Let me make it simple then, I can promise you that there will be no damage to your brother or to his past life memories."
Amadeus replied.
"Though off course if you prefer I can keep to treating this exhaustion and current symptoms."

"If it's damaging him, we can't have that sir, I will let my pater know about the salves, ok?"

"Yeah but what if you can't dodge it for the fireball is to big, or you can't get all your allies out of the way?"
Kyle asked.

"Then I better have a good sheild or parma magicka or throw something to absorb heat, or someone use ars temporalis...and they better run, just in case."

"You are thinking about trying to change something about another mage's spell while they are casting it?"
He asked and pondered.
"That sound like a hard thing to do, it would be rather neat to be able to do it though, have you ever done that? Changed the color of those spell lights I mean?"

"Only my own; it's more about practicing how to get things done efficiently if I need to do them quickly during a fight...I won't always be able to counterspell something, or dodge it, or change it, but if I try different tactics then I can learn more about when I can use them in the field and under what circumstances."

"Very well that works for me Mr Roth Hicks."
Master Nassa said. Kyle nodded.
"I was thinking we might head over to Mr Wainwright's place to play board games if Serge is ok with that."
He said and he glanced over at Serge.

He nodded and glanced at Serge.

"Alright, I am going to put my hands on the outside of your hand..." he said to Kyle, once he had gotten the right temperature. "Let me know if this improves things or not, okay?"

[Warpmind]

[Onwards to the Umbra Port]

"Interesting, I must admit to not being very well versed in the manufacturing of weapons Mr Wainwright, but if such rounds would be easy to manufacture and store perhaps a few should, just in case."
Adjan replied.

Colin nodded, "Well, the Chantry does have a few rounds of special ammunition in stock as it is - some Primium rounds, I made a few silver plated rounds in case of more trouble involving Changing Folk, like those corrupted werebears we ran into in Chicago... Ah, you might want to see me about those, Nicole, if you'd want to take over the cartridge loading duties; I've got the 9mm Parabellum powder load worked out to a microgram's precision, using Accurate 11FS, but you may have other preferences, and I know I ought to make a few other calibers, too - Freddy loves her dainty little .44 Magnum, for example."

The Euthanathos nodded at that.
"Well if the security of Horizon can be maintained without sacrificing Beatrice that would be best would I would not like to see you killed either, then again twenty years is a long time Mr Wainwright allot can happen before then."
He said and frowned.
"For good or for bad."

He nodded, "I'd prefer to survive, too - but I have nearly two full decades to make contingency plans; backups with backups with backups. I'm not planning on getting myself killed in a long time... though my fate might turn out a little stranger than that."

"Perhaps she recognize you?"
Adjan said as the spirit waved again and swirled around the car in motion, er friends following her movements.

He shrugged and smiled, "Hard to say. I've exchanged a few words with a couple of air spirits around the airport and Umbral Port, and most seem to recognize Mages as Mages, and having little focus beyond that. Seems a number of air spirits are as focused as a squirrel with Attention Deficit Disorder. And then, some seem as sharp as a Verbena knife. Not really easy to tell until you try to engage them in conversation - and that's not necessarily advisable."

((OOC: Sweet. How'd you pull that off?))

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Serge's Room]

"You might wish to research how gate guardians and the like are often given parameters, as a starting point. Knowing someone's true identity is not something all will share, and using a nickname or common name would work for some better than others."

"I'll look into but I have a feeling stuff like that is a bit complex. Wouldn't hurt to check it out though."

"Hrm, it is a difficult thing to do and not done lightly, but in the Order and even amongst the Sleeper occult crowd what you describe is called a Servitor, an Intelligence made for specific purpose. Just be careful, or you'll end up with problems worse than the Sorceror's Apprentice."

"Noted. I've watched enough 'turn against the master' plots that I think I could prepare for that sudden but expected betrayal." Serge said with a chuckle.

"There is also the risk that any magus of mind will have a countermagick set that will take effect when someone tries to pry at their mind, also. Speaking of mental ars, I was going to ask if you can help us out," he said to Serge. "It might be good for us to have mind shields and you are the only one of us in the cabal that can make them for others."

"I'm the only one? I swear Dr. Lee could do it as well..." Serge said looking a tad surprised. "Anyway, sure thing. I've gotten a few more ideas on how to do it. Is it for the horizon trip specifically or just in general?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh come on. Don't give me that look. You know that was awesome!"

"I would not either, and if I had to get into your room that badly, I would make a new door." He pointed at the wall.

"The dragon would still attack you but I get your point. By the way I really wanna see you do that." Serge said looking amused at the thought of Adley fire-blasting his way into his room.

"Are you sure that's what you are going for?" he asked. "Because I might enjoy the chantry staying in one piece.."

"I doubt I'll ever get the power to destroy the chantry so I'm not too worried. Plus there's a certain mystique to overly long and borderline ridiculous names."

"I can buy the idea that somewhere everything is real, the problem is that most separate between a hypothetical and a actually acted out in this reality act, and I am worried that with some of the things you say and present as reality someone will actually take offense or worse see you as a threat and hurt you badly Serge."
The young mage commented looking concerned.

"Don't worry, no one will ever see me as a threat Kyle." Serge said with a chuckle. " I'm probably the least threatening looking person in the world. The care bears look more threatening than I do. More importantly I behave myself in front of strangers. It's only cause I've known you for so long that I feel comfortable enough talking like that around you."

"Hum...now that you mention it I remember that now."
Kyle said and nodded.
"The name from Dagonball...well I am sure you will come up with a name for your dragon eventually."

"I've been thinking of a couple. How about 'The Jade Serpent Guardian, defender of the Dreamer King and all of his infinite lands!' "

"It is a practical bit of magick, I think perhaps I would prefer another Paradigm for it but it is still very practical, and pretty cool."
Kyle agreed with a grin.
"I like luck manipulation."

"How dare you. The paradigm is perfect. Keep talking like that and you'll miss the school dance." Serge said with a smile obviously joking. "I like it too. Need to practice using it for other stuff though. Basic luck manipulation is getting old. I need figure out something new."

"That reminds me of a Buffy episode that you have probably not seen since you don't watch TV Adley but you have several of the group of main characters captured by a fear demon in a house and then the occultist sort of mentor for the group is going to get in together with their pet demon now human sort of ally. The problem is the house is protected by a ward so they can not get in through the doors or windows, anyway the demon asks what they are going to do so the occultist replies he will make a door. The demon looks really impressed and asks, and you can do that? To which the occultist answers yes and then he proceeds to starting up a chain saw."
Kyle said and he chuckle.

Serge chuckled as well, clearly remembering the scene as well.

"Very well that works for me Mr Roth Hicks."
Master Nassa said. Kyle nodded.
"I was thinking we might head over to Mr Wainwright's place to play board games if Serge is ok with that."
He said and he glanced over at Serge.

He nodded and glanced at Serge.

"I'm cool with that. I think I've worked enough on old long lizard up there. Heading over to play some board games sounds like a fun time." Serge said looking upwards at his creation.

You managed to cast the spell fairly easy, though getting the right temperature was complicated and you might need to adjust it a bit, there was a reason why one often would wrap a bag of frozen peas in a towel before applying it to a bruise, at first your little ball of cold got to cold, but with some patience you manage to get the temperature just right. You do understand why Jeffry was more proud of his finesse work than his massive, destructive spells though, this degree of control was not easy to do, and Ernje had a much easier time of it than you, he had been a master of finesse, and had taught that to his students, who had taught it to their students again, and one of those students had one day in the past taught such an appreciation for detail magick to a young Jeffry Morgan, or whatever his apprentice name had been, not even you knew that. Eventually though it seamed that your spell where stable enough to be used on Kyle, it would not harm him.

"Alright, I am going to put my hands on the outside of your hand..." he said to Kyle, once he had gotten the right temperature. "Let me know if this improves things or not, okay?"

Serge watched intensely as his cabalmate performed his magick. "This...this right here is my favorite elemental magick. Cryomancy. THe best kind of  -mancy."

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