Re: A Timely Rescue, The Green Marble Altar and Battle Plans IC Thread 47

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

Serge's face lit up when he saw the plate of baked goods on the table. "Of course sir." he said returning the warm smile as he went to fetch the pitcher of lemonade and the Primus's glasses, putting the former on the table next to the cinnamon buns and handing the latter to the elderly Primus.

You think the old man meant the four neatly stacked drinking glasses that stood next to the pitcher of lemonade as he had his reading glasses, a very old, antique looking pair on his nose.
"Ah thank you child, and please do dig in."
The old Hermetic said as he sat down in his chair again with a sigh of relief, George still looked young but it was clear joints and old bones was starting to ache.

"Sending an actual Terminator would the Union's style. Sending someone back in time, terminator-style, is a rather common story beat that anyone can do. If that is what they're doing." Serge said as he leaned over the table to get a closer look at the newspaper article. "They were shot.....guess the Nephandi didn't feel the need to use magick. Or their simply mind-controlling people in the past to do what they want. The location is kinda strange to me though. Anderson's Watches and Gifts? In the basement?"

Serge scanned the newspaper closely, looking for the time of death of Adley and Nicole. He was curious of the year, and more importantly, the time of day of their deaths.

"I use a gun in battle Serge, yes I use magick to boost my skills with a weapon but a gun kill a mage efficiently and this young I am not even sure if Adley and Nick was mages yet."
Jon said. The newspaper article did not speak of time of death. The year though was 2003 and from the wording the two teenagers had been found in the morning as the owner of the store had gone to the basement of his store and found the bodies. Indicating that the murders had happened the night before.

He raised an eyebrow at the gruesome headline. "Hm...it is doubtful that we were killed there, more likely stowed away after they caught us off guard.

"Yeah that is more likely indeed, probably the gift shop's basement was just a practical place to hide the ehm...bodies."
Jon said with a frown.

The bodies may not have been found the same day..."

"That is true, it depend how much the basement is in use by the shopkeeper."
George commented he took a cinnamon bun and bit into it.

He also was looking at the article for any more information. "But at least we have the general area, probably. I never would have thought of using mind magick to control another in the past though. I hope that Nicole gets back soon, with the others. It seems purposeful to have us separated now, and then have this crop up..." He shook his head.

The article said that two teens had been found by the owner of the gift and watches store in the morning, both had been shot dead execution style. The first article just said it was two white teenagers of roughly fifteen or sixteen years of age, but another article had a picture of the two of you, Nicole as a young girl and a picture you remember taking once your family had been on a Sunday road trip. Later article said that the police stood without any clues as to who the murderer might be. There was not allot of information, it appeared someone had showed up and killed these two kids and then just vanished into thin air.

(OOC: What did we say was the exact date to use for this?)

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

You think the old man meant the four neatly stacked drinking glasses that stood next to the pitcher of lemonade as he had his reading glasses, a very old, antique looking pair on his nose.
"Ah thank you child, and please do dig in."
The old Hermetic said as he sat down in his chair again with a sigh of relief, George still looked young but it was clear joints and old bones was starting to ache.

Serge did in fact, take the cups back and when offered he took a cinnamon bun and munched on it happily like a child would a freshly baked cookie.

"Something like that?" he said. Then he said, "It appears it is possible to have one's mental state...ah, transferred? into the temporal state of our younger self, but we would still be a teenager, not able to use magick. And although we would have our knowledge, we would not have our current physical skills or practical abilities. It could also be possible to have a person or persons go to that time, physically. There is risk with both of these, and although we have a boon given to help us mend the problem, it's not a failsafe. Or some combination of those."

"I like sending someone back to the past more so than possessing your past selves. That could really freak out your past self when you just forget what you did for a whole day. Plus there's not much you guys could do if you don't have magick or physical abilities. If you fought a person that could really mess up your lives in the past if you were caught. You'd just end up having to run away from him." Serge mused. "Did Chantry Steelhaven still exist back then? Would it be possible to send a temporal message to past Master Steelhaven or past Master Morgan in the past about the time anomaly? That way they could mobilize the mages of Steelhaven in order to try and track down whoever was sent to kill you."

"I use a gun in battle Serge, yes I use magick to boost my skills with a weapon but a gun kill a mage efficiently and this young I am not even sure if Adley and Nick was mages yet."
Jon said. The newspaper article did not speak of time of death. The year though was 2003 and from the wording the two teenagers had been found in the morning as the owner of the store had gone to the basement of his store and found the bodies. Indicating that the murders had happened the night before.

"With the Nephandi involved, and the knowledge that they don't really care how this is done, I was just full on expecting a gas explosion." Serge admitted. "They were murdered the night before? So our murderer had to be pretty close to the store in order to transport the bodies right?"

He raised an eyebrow at the gruesome headline. "Hm...it is doubtful that we were killed there, more likely stowed away after they caught us off guard. The bodies may not have been found the same day..." He also was looking at the article for any more information. "But at least we have the general area, probably. I never would have thought of using mind magick to control another in the past though. I hope that Nicole gets back soon, with the others. It seems purposeful to have us separated now, and then have this crop up..." He shook his head.

"Yeah that is more likely indeed, probably the gift shop's basement was just a practical place to hide the ehm...bodies."
Jon said with a frown.

The article said that two teens had been found by the owner of the gift and watches store in the morning, both had been shot dead execution style. The first article just said it was two white teenagers of roughly fifteen or sixteen years of age, but another article had a picture of the two of you, Nicole as a young girl and a picture you remember taking once your family had been on a Sunday road trip. Later article said that the police stood without any clues as to who the murderer might be. There was not allot of information, it appeared someone had showed up and killed these two kids and then just vanished into thin air.

"Smart thinking. For some reason I was imagining he led you guys into the basement and offed you there." Serge said,"This person killed two people in the dead of night. Shot them in the back of the head without alerting anyone with gunshots. Managed to transport two bodies without leaving any sort of blood trail or leaving any trace of his passing. Broke into a watch store without triggering any security measure or leaving any signs of a break in. Dumped the bodies in the basement and then dipped."

Standing up straight after reading the last few lines of the article he said, "So this guy is almost certainly a mage right? To be able to do all these things. That give more credibility to the whole 'sending someone back in time' theory. Hell the chronomancer might've just sent himself to the past. Either that or the chronomancer is manipulating a lot more strings than just peoples minds. He'd have to also manipulate the fate around this whole scenario as well to make the murder so successful. "

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

Serge did in fact, take the cups back and when offered he took a cinnamon bun and munched on it happily like a child would a freshly baked cookie.

The pastries was indeed fresh basked and they where fluffy and sweet, the Primus was a good cook.
"I hope you like them young man."
George said kindly.
"Have some lemonade as well if you like, I was not sure what to serve you, I am fond of tea myself but I thought a nice lemonade might do."

"I like sending someone back to the past more so than possessing your past selves. That could really freak out your past self when you just forget what you did for a whole day. Plus there's not much you guys could do if you don't have magick or physical abilities. If you fought a person that could really mess up your lives in the past if you were caught. You'd just end up having to run away from him." Serge mused. "Did Chantry Steelhaven still exist back then? Would it be possible to send a temporal message to past Master Steelhaven or past Master Morgan in the past about the time anomaly? That way they could mobilize the mages of Steelhaven in order to try and track down whoever was sent to kill you."

"Hum...that is not a bad idea child. Steelhaven did exist, I fondled the Chantry in the 1930's. In 2003 Miss Mar would be an apprentice, being taught by Jeffry and his older student...it could work. Now as for sending someone back to their past selves it have it's limitations but it is also a milder manipulation of time than sending someone back physically."
The old Guernicus said.

"With the Nephandi involved, and the knowledge that they don't really care how this is done, I was just full on expecting a gas explosion." Serge admitted. "They were murdered the night before? So our murderer had to be pretty close to the store in order to transport the bodies right?"

"A gas explosion draw attention, something or assassin might not want, and there is no need to do more than what is needed, a gas explosion do not kill someone deader than a bullet to the back to the head."
Jon said simply then he grimaced to Adley.
"Ehm sorry...anyway, the bodies could have been taken through the Umbra or teleported so it is not sure ehm...our friends' younger selves was murdered near where they where found, but it is a place to start at least."

"Smart thinking. For some reason I was imagining he led you guys into the basement and offed you there." Serge said

"Yeah I don't think either Adley or Nicole would be dumb enough to follow a stranger down into a dark basement."
Jon said.
"That would be a bit out of character for them don't you think?"

"This person killed two people in the dead of night. Shot them in the back of the head without alerting anyone with gunshots. Managed to transport two bodies without leaving any sort of blood trail or leaving any trace of his passing. Broke into a watch store without triggering any security measure or leaving any signs of a break in. Dumped the bodies in the basement and then dipped."

"So it would seam Mr Yager, so it would seam indeed."
George said before he sipped his tea.

Standing up straight after reading the last few lines of the article he said, "So this guy is almost certainly a mage right? To be able to do all these things.

"That is likely yes, that the Nephandi sent one of their own Awakened back to do this job when their Chronomancer first take the enormous cost and risk of such a working I doubt they would just send a pawn."
The Primus agreed.

That give more credibility to the whole 'sending someone back in time' theory. Hell the chronomancer might've just sent himself to the past. Either that or the chronomancer is manipulating a lot more strings than just peoples minds. He'd have to also manipulate the fate around this whole scenario as well to make the murder so successful. "

"The Chronomancer could be going himself or send someone else back. He might not be manipulating fate though him or the assassin he send might just actually be competent."
Jon said then the Virtual Adept shrugged.
"Really it is not that hard to murder someone and not be seen...you would be amazed at what most people just will not notice."

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

The pastries was indeed fresh basked and they where fluffy and sweet, the Primus was a good cook.
"I hope you like them young man."
George said kindly.
"Have some lemonade as well if you like, I was not sure what to serve you, I am fond of tea myself but I thought a nice lemonade might do."

"They're delicious! And I love lemonade. Thanks Master Steelhaven." Serge said in between large bites. Serge ate with a speed and ferocity that made it clear that he had been incredibly hungry and thirsty.

"Hum...that is not a bad idea child. Steelhaven did exist, I fondled the Chantry in the 1930's. In 2003 Miss Mar would be an apprentice, being taught by Jeffry and his older student...it could work. Now as for sending someone back to their past selves it have it's limitations but it is also a milder manipulation of time than sending someone back physically."
The old Guernicus said.

"The time message would increase the number of allies in this mission by an incredible amount and the past version of our chantrymates already belong in that time period anyways." Serge said, speaking more benefits to his idea as the thoughts came to him. "I still don't think sending memories to your past versions is worth it. It may not cost as much magically, but it risks Adley and Nicole's timelines a great deal in case they have to fight or do anything shady. Adley getting a criminal record would change the entire course of his life. Sending someone back enables both their magick and more flexibility in how they approach their problems."

"A gas explosion draw attention, something or assassin might not want, and there is no need to do more than what is needed, a gas explosion do not kill someone deader than a bullet to the back to the head."
Jon said simply then he grimaced to Adley.
"Ehm sorry...anyway, the bodies could have been taken through the Umbra or teleported so it is not sure ehm...our friends' younger selves was murdered near where they where found, but it is a place to start at least."

"That's true. Still think the police should've found a pool of blood somewhere random. Would've made this a lot easier." Serge said thoughtfully.

"That is likely yes, that the Nephandi sent one of their own Awakened back to do this job when their Chronomancer first take the enormous cost and risk of such a working I doubt they would just send a pawn."
The Primus agreed.

"The Chronomancer could be going himself or send someone else back. He might not be manipulating fate though him or the assassin he send might just actually be competent."
Jon said then the Virtual Adept shrugged.
"Really it is not that hard to murder someone and not be seen...you would be amazed at what most people just will not notice."

"But to have no evidence whatsoever? There's a point where competence just becomes magickal." Serge said with a small grin that quickly faded. "Finding Adley or Nicole in the past shouldn't be too hard. There's so magickal ways to do it, especially their lame sleeper sselves. What to do about the mage hitman is another issue."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

"They're delicious! And I love lemonade. Thanks Master Steelhaven." Serge said in between large bites. Serge ate with a speed and ferocity that made it clear that he had been incredibly hungry and thirsty.

"Then have as many as you want Mr Yager, it is always good to see a young man with a healthy appetite."
George replied kindly.

"The time message would increase the number of allies in this mission by an incredible amount and the past version of our chantrymates already belong in that time period anyways." Serge said, speaking more benefits to his idea as the thoughts came to him. "I still don't think sending memories to your past versions is worth it. It may not cost as much magically, but it risks Adley and Nicole's timelines a great deal in case they have to fight or do anything shady. Adley getting a criminal record would change the entire course of his life. Sending someone back enables both their magick and more flexibility in how they approach their problems."

"Not memories child. I am talking about sending Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard's entire being back to their younger selves. This is likely to cause less disruption than sending someone who do not belong in this timeline. But yes we would have to be careful not to damage the timeline. However asking for help from Steelhaven in the past is a good idea...though we will have to be careful not to...change things even if we might want to."
The Primus said and he looked down. 2003 would be about the time when Adley and Helena's sister Jolene died, the very same woman the Primus had found an old photo of and asked Adley to give to Jeffry earlier in the day.

"That's true. Still think the police should've found a pool of blood somewhere random. Would've made this a lot easier." Serge said thoughtfully.

"I said the assassin was competent Serge if you are competent you do not leave a pool of blood behind, there are so many ways to avoid that, and there is always clean up."
Jon said.
"But yes we should read up about other odd finds in the area to try to see if the assassin left any clues the police did not find or at least that they did not tell the newspaper about."

"But to have no evidence whatsoever? There's a point where competence just becomes magickal."

"Nope...there are a staggering amount of unsolved murder cases where the murderer did not really leave much in the way of clues, this is not a murder mystery story where the murderer are dumb and leave traces everywhere."
Jon replied.
"Again this is where competent comes into the picture Serge, I am not saying this was not done by magick I am saying we should not jump to conclusions here."

Serge said with a small grin that quickly faded. "Finding Adley or Nicole in the past shouldn't be too hard. There's so magickal ways to do it, especially their lame sleeper sselves. What to do about the mage hitman is another issue."

"Indeed and that is what might prove a bit...tricky."
George said.
"And then stop this person without altering the timeline."

[Warpmind]

[Casa Wainwright]

"What tactical advantage could we possibly get from a Massassa that would negate how my Pater feel about them enough make him allow one to come with us, after all in a combat situation it is a good chance to get into contact with their blood. Remember this is the man who have kept a ally in protective custody staked in the basement as he did not think locking him in a room to be enough of a precaution."
Came the reply from Helena.

Colin typed back, 'Kiasyd can navigate any underground structure or complex, even if they've never been there before. We are not asking Mr. Ameli to stay at Steelhaven for any extended amount of time, but to help guide us through extremely hostile and alien terrain. If you will excuse me, I have ten minutes in which to inconvenience the Chronomancer who is trying to assassinate your brother in the past; I will try to be down after that to meet Mr. Ameli myself. And Mr. Ameli is invited by me, as my responsibility; I do not take such lightly.'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Casa Wainwright]

You got a reply back from Helena which said.
"Well that is a considerable advantage Mr Wainwright, and since you are determined to go through it this it will cause to much of a disturbance at a time critical moment to stop you, but this vampire is your responsibility and once all is said and done we will have words about this."
Clearly the ice maga was not best pleased with you.

[Warpmind]

[Casa Wainwright]

You got a reply back from Helena which said.
"Well that is a considerable advantage Mr Wainwright, and since you are determined to go through it this it will cause to much of a disturbance at a time critical moment to stop you, but this vampire is your responsibility and once all is said and done we will have words about this."
Clearly the ice maga was not best pleased with you.

He smiled wryly and replied, 'I accepted that before I called him.'

Then he pocketed the phone and sat down before the exposed timeline, giving it a closer look before starting his own working, his wand weaving and writing what might seem like little letters in the air, not directly interfering with with the Chronomancer like Anna did, but subtly and quietly slipping a little something extra into the timeline of whoever was going back...

((OOC: So, using Entropy 2 to just introduce as much bad luck and misfortune to whoever is going back, going to need five successes for target and a day's duration, and everything else is just adding to severity... Initial Diff 5, Colin gon' burn some Quintessence to get diff down to 3 (I think that should be 2 Quintessence for the whole working, but do let me know if that's wrong) and Willpower and for this... Arete rolls: 3,7,0+WP, 6,8,0+WP, 1,5,6+WP, 2,4,7+WP... I make that out to be 13 successes total, and one rather tired Colin later, so... 8 successes to just stacking bad luck for the unfortunate time traveler. ))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Casa Wainwright]

You did not get any more texts from Helena, she was not pleased but at least she did not want to keep arguing as there where more important things to do, or perhaps her phone was cold damaged by now an she could not reply, either or.

You did your working to give whoever the Fallen Chronomancer sent back a bad day. The working went well but it was heavy lifting and by the time you where done you felt rather tired. You heard someone in the kitchen and noticed that Crexia had moved out there while you where casting your spell. Soon she put a cup of tea down in front of you on the table and a plate of sliced up fruit.
"Here Mr Wainwright you look like you could need a pick me up."
The lich lady said then she smiled a little.
"Your apprentice is resting comfortably with...that aperathus that helps her breathe, I will go and check on her while you have your tea and fruit."

(OOC: That rote will ruin someone's day. The Nephandi do not like Colin.)

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Anja's Post:

'What's the situation?' Nicole replied tiredly, clearly limping slightly; though obviously still ready for action if needs be.

[Thurs, March 20th. Though the paper's date might be quite a bit after this. The cops wouldn't have barely raised a finger looking for teen-Nick; they'd just assume she'd skipped state.]

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Hospital]

'What's the situation?' Nicole replied tiredly, clearly limping slightly; though obviously still ready for action if needs be.

"The Chief is getting ready to move into what we think is the lab, we have found a room with injured prisoners and he have left a few of us to care for them, most of them are in terrible condition...but we have to do what we can."
Arn said.
"And like I said one of these prisoners is a woman, she recognized a few of us, I think she is one of those homeless kids you have a deal with at the junkyard Mr King likes to visit, she asked for you or Mr King, so since she is scared but at least conscious we are hoping she can give us some useful information but she have been to upset to make much sense for now."
The Solificato continued.

(OOC: Ok thank you.)

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Anja's Post:

'Okay... lead on.' Nicole replied after taking this in, mentally steeling herself for the scene to come.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Hospital]

You where led through several hallways, here and there you saw dead Nephandi on the floor or burned out rooms. Before one door Arn stopped for a moment.
"It is not pretty."
He warned before he opened the door. Inside where allot of people, a good number of the Chief's team was there trying to help a dozen or so men and women who lay on thin mats on the floor, all of them looked ill, some was groaning, others rocked back and forth while muttering to themselves, all of them showed signs of medical experiments, they lacked body parts, and had tubes inserted in their bodies ready to be hooked up again to infernal machines at their captor's whims. All of the prisoners had been shaved of all body hair and was kept completely naked, so all the horror that had been done to them was clear to see. Of the dozen men and women only one seamed to be conscious, some of them was moving or making sounds but behind their eyes there was nothing, they where simply to damaged.

Karin sat on a mat, tubes coming out of her spine and arms, she was rocking softly and crying but at least her eyes showed that someone was home.
"You are mages...do you know...Bruce King or N...Nicole...I...I don¨t know her last name...I...he will come back, that man will come back...I..."
Karin wept hysterically, at least the young Kinfolk might be saved of the others, well the healers was working on them but they where...damaged...badly....damaged.

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Anja's Post:

'Holy fuck...' Nicole muttered, looking to see if the woman in the video the were-spider had sent to her was here. 'Do what you can for them.' she'll say to Alicia.

Anja's Post:

'It's me.' Nicole will reply, giving a little grunt of pain as she crouched down beside Karin. 'The fuckers who did this to you are now dead.'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Hospital]

'Holy fuck...' Nicole muttered, looking to see if the woman in the video the were-spider had sent to her was here. 'Do what you can for them.' she'll say to Alicia.

"I will do so Ma'am though I think the Verbena might be able to help them better than I can."
Alicia said with a frown as she went over to one of the prisoners, a young man and begun to check his vitals. You did see the woman from the video, she lay on a cot, looking out into nothing with empty eyes, something had been done to her abdomen and she was lacking and eye, she to had tubes inserted in her arms and her spine she did not seam to react much to anything going on around her.

'It's me.' Nicole will reply, giving a little grunt of pain as she crouched down beside Karin. 'The fuckers who did this to you are now dead.'

Karin looked at you relief in her eyes.
"Are you sure? That they are dead...are you sure...the screams...they hurt us...hurt all of us...screams...and pain and...and...what about the ghost...the ghost is...he here...he will come back...he did this...the ghost..."
The Ratkin kinfolk cried as she slowly rocked back and forth.
"No...no...don't let him...get me...please don't let him get me!"
She begged hysterically.

[Adley]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

"I use a gun in battle Serge, yes I use magick to boost my skills with a weapon but a gun kill a mage efficiently and this young I am not even sure if Adley and Nick was mages yet."
Jon said.

"I don't know about Nicole, but I wasn't awakened yet when this is trying to happen. I awoke when I was in college, later." He stared at the picture of Nicole a moment, and then his own. They'd been going to Newport to see 'the big fancy houses' and then eat on Jamestown for dinner. He remembered that happening, remembered having the picture of them taken. But despite the horror of the situation, it was still like looking at another person's life. Distracted by the disconnect, he picked up a glass of lemonade and drank it down.

"I like sending someone back to the past more so than possessing your past selves. That could really freak out your past self when you just forget what you did for a whole day. Plus there's not much you guys could do if you don't have magick or physical abilities. If you fought a person that could really mess up your lives in the past if you were caught. You'd just end up having to run away from him." Serge mused. "Did Chantry Steelhaven still exist back then? Would it be possible to send a temporal message to past Master Steelhaven or past Master Morgan in the past about the time anomaly? That way they could mobilize the mages of Steelhaven in order to try and track down whoever was sent to kill you."

"That is a good idea. While I think we would be more resourceful with knowledge at hand, we'd still be teenagers. As for the mental disturbances, I was told those could be smoothed over. And you also may help us with some of that, perhaps...but I agree that it could still end in failure and we cannot afford to fail. We need to stack the deck enough to get things right."

Hum...that is not a bad idea child. Steelhaven did exist, I fondled the Chantry in the 1930's. In 2003 Miss Mar would be an apprentice, being taught by Jeffry and his older student...it could work. Now as for sending someone back to their past selves it have it's limitations but it is also a milder manipulation of time than sending someone back physically."
The old Guernicus said.

The Primus said and he looked down. 2003 would be about the time when Adley and Helena's sister Jolene died, the very same woman the Primus had found an old photo of and asked Adley to give to Jeffry earlier in the day.

He seemed to brighten at the idea of his sister, brother and pater being able to help, as well as the others at the chantry in the past. Then he sobered. "I think this is around when Jolene died...my aunt. Helena knew her better, I never got to meet her, obviously. Unfortunately I can say that about a lot of my magickal family."

"The time message would increase the number of allies in this mission by an incredible amount and the past version of our chantrymates already belong in that time period anyways." Serge said, speaking more benefits to his idea as the thoughts came to him. "I still don't think sending memories to your past versions is worth it. It may not cost as much magically, but it risks Adley and Nicole's timelines a great deal in case they have to fight or do anything shady. Adley getting a criminal record would change the entire course of his life. Sending someone back enables both their magick and more flexibility in how they approach their problems."

"Those...are very good points." He tried to imagine, himself and Nicole in jail would mean he never awakened, probably. Or at least not as a hermetic magus. "This is how the Nephandi operate, they want to win and set backfalls up, I think that you could well be right. It would interfere enough still to make it worthwhile for them."

"With the Nephandi involved, and the knowledge that they don't really care how this is done, I was just full on expecting a gas explosion." Serge admitted. "They were murdered the night before? So our murderer had to be pretty close to the store in order to transport the bodies right?"

"Probably the day before, I would say. As for the fact there are bodies and we did not simply disappear with magick or into the river, I would agree it would be in the vicinity, most likely. These are guesses though."

"Smart thinking. For some reason I was imagining he led you guys into the basement and offed you there." Serge said,"This person killed two people in the dead of night. Shot them in the back of the head without alerting anyone with gunshots. Managed to transport two bodies without leaving any sort of blood trail or leaving any trace of his passing. Broke into a watch store without triggering any security measure or leaving any signs of a break in. Dumped the bodies in the basement and then dipped."

"That may also be possible, but it probably happened the day before," he agreed. "Curious that they dumped us in a watch store, given their misuse of time...oh! Wait, question...I apologize if this is simple, but let's just say that there is a disturbance there at the shop at some point in time, then time ars can be used in combination with other ars to see, right? So you discussed dowsing as a possibility, would it be possible to trace some of the magickal resonances from here, through time? We can get a map of downtown, and perhaps we can find some other important spots..."

"A gas explosion draw attention, something or assassin might not want, and there is no need to do more than what is needed, a gas explosion do not kill someone deader than a bullet to the back to the head."
Jon said simply then he grimaced to Adley.
"Ehm sorry...anyway, the bodies could have been taken through the Umbra or teleported so it is not sure ehm...our friends' younger selves was murdered near where they where found, but it is a place to start at least."

Adley shrugged at Jon. "Being shot is something I confront often enough and it is not pleasant to consider but the fact I am looking at my younger self, killed in the past? Nicole as well? That's the part that unnerves me the most."

"So this guy is almost certainly a mage right? To be able to do all these things. That give more credibility to the whole 'sending someone back in time' theory. Hell the chronomancer might've just sent himself to the past. Either that or the chronomancer is manipulating a lot more strings than just peoples minds. He'd have to also manipulate the fate around this whole scenario as well to make the murder so successful. "

"It's definitely the Nephandi chronomancer making the time manipulation possible. As far as we know he's still physically in the labyrinth, but that brings up an interesting point - if he is possessing his own self, then we could make things harder for him in this time. But the main objective is for us two not to die when we're not supposed to...but what stops them from trying again until they get the result they wish? Aside from paradox, which could indeed happen to them, and it will not be pretty."

Yeah I don't think either Adley or Nicole would be dumb enough to follow a stranger down into a dark basement."
Jon said.
"That would be a bit out of character for them don't you think?"

"Unless someone used mind ars on us." He said it flatly. "If they plied us with an enchantment, it could happen." He frowned, looking at nothing for a while, not even the newspaper article, then shook his head. "There was a Nephandi woman that was very skilled in that art, and forced many to do her bidding against their wills."

"The Chronomancer could be going himself or send someone else back. He might not be manipulating fate though him or the assassin he send might just actually be competent."
Jon said then the Virtual Adept shrugged.
"Really it is not that hard to murder someone and not be seen...you would be amazed at what most people just will not notice."

He looked over at Jon. "Someone...with arcane. Would be perfect for this....someone with the sort of arcane that you have, really strong..."

"But to have no evidence whatsoever? There's a point where competence just becomes magickal." Serge said with a small grin that quickly faded. "Finding Adley or Nicole in the past shouldn't be too hard. There's so magickal ways to do it, especially their lame sleeper sselves. What to do about the mage hitman is another issue."

"No, it should not be too hard to find our past selves, but a hitman that is likely to be hiding..." He tipped his head at Jon. "Let's assume our magickal assassin has wrapped themselves in spells that mute their auras, or they have arcane abilities, or use spells similar to the ones that I have seen Euthanatos employ. How do you find someone like that?"

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Anja's Post:

Giving a shudder, Nicole pulled out her cell and texted the were-spider. 'Have found the woman in the video. She is not in a good way.'. After thinking for a moment, she then stepped back a little and took a couple of photos of the scene - zooming in enough to show details, but far out enough to capture the general disgusting-ness of the scene.

Anja's Post:

'Nobody will get you now. We will protect you.' Nicole replied, wondering about this 'ghost'. 'We will find the bodies made for them and burn them all up. Then the ghosts can go back to hell where they belong.'

[Bet the paper used Nick's police mugshot, making her look more the delinquent than she already was...]

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

"Then have as many as you want Mr Yager, it is always good to see a young man with a healthy appetite."
George replied kindly.

Serge happily did so, munching away at the baked and drinking the lemony beverage.

"Not memories child. I am talking about sending Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard's entire being back to their younger selves. This is likely to cause less disruption than sending someone who do not belong in this timeline. But yes we would have to be careful not to damage the timeline. However asking for help from Steelhaven in the past is a good idea...though we will have to be careful not to...change things even if we might want to."
The Primus said and he looked down. 2003 would be about the time when Adley and Helena's sister Jolene died, the very same woman the Primus had found an old photo of and asked Adley to give to Jeffry earlier in the day.

"That is a good idea. While I think we would be more resourceful with knowledge at hand, we'd still be teenagers. As for the mental disturbances, I was told those could be smoothed over. And you also may help us with some of that, perhaps...but I agree that it could still end in failure and we cannot afford to fail. We need to stack the deck enough to get things right."

"The one benefit I can see to the past possession idea is that it would stop past Adley and Nicole from panicking. They'd be able to keep a level head, as they'd be our Adley and Nicole, and follow whatever plan we come up with. We wouldn't need to manipulate their actions." Serge mused. "If I'm sent back I can definitely give us a Men in Black aura."

He seemed to brighten at the idea of his sister, brother and pater being able to help, as well as the others at the chantry in the past. Then he sobered. "I think this is around when Jolene died...my aunt. Helena knew her better, I never got to meet her, obviously. Unfortunately I can say that about a lot of my magickal family."

"Err...if you don't mind me asking. How did she die?" Serge asked. They were currently looking at a timeshifted newspaper, and Serge had seen enough shows to know that memories were always close by to get changed during temporal shenanigans.

"Those...are very good points." He tried to imagine, himself and Nicole in jail would mean he never awakened, probably. Or at least not as a hermetic magus. "This is how the Nephandi operate, they want to win and set backfalls up, I think that you could well be right. It would interfere enough still to make it worthwhile for them."

"So we'll need to account for anything and everything." Serge said with a sigh. "Including not messing up any significant portion of your guy's development."

"I said the assassin was competent Serge if you are competent you do not leave a pool of blood behind, there are so many ways to avoid that, and there is always clean up."
Jon said.
"But yes we should read up about other odd finds in the area to try to see if the assassin left any clues the police did not find or at least that they did not tell the newspaper about."

"Did you find anything else? Conspiracy theory videos or old police files and stuff like that?" Serge asked curiously.

"That may also be possible, but it probably happened the day before," he agreed. "Curious that they dumped us in a watch store, given their misuse of time...oh! Wait, question...I apologize if this is simple, but let's just say that there is a disturbance there at the shop at some point in time, then time ars can be used in combination with other ars to see, right? So you discussed dowsing as a possibility, would it be possible to trace some of the magickal resonances from here, through time? We can get a map of downtown, and perhaps we can find some other important spots..."

"All this temporal stuff should blare up like a siren on any sort of time sight. Especially the hit man. He doesn't belong in that timeline or time period after all. I wouldn't be surprised if just getting sent to the past alerted every capable time mage there to a disturbance in the flow of time." Serge said, glancing at the Primus who would be able to give a more definitive answer.

"It's definitely the Nephandi chronomancer making the time manipulation possible. As far as we know he's still physically in the labyrinth, but that brings up an interesting point - if he is possessing his own self, then we could make things harder for him in this time. But the main objective is for us two not to die when we're not supposed to...but what stops them from trying again until they get the result they wish? Aside from paradox, which could indeed happen to them, and it will not be pretty."

"Look at the time he chose to kill you two. Its when you and Nicole are in the same place at the same time." Serge noted, "If he was capable of doing this over and over again, it wouldn't be too hard for him to strike at people one at a time. The fact that he chose to go after two people at once makes it seem he has only one shot at this and chose a point in time where he would get the most bang for his buck. Also Old Man Wrinkle would suplex him into next tuesday if he were to ever try this again. How he didn't get doxxed into oblivion is beyond me."

"Unless someone used mind ars on us." He said it flatly. "If they plied us with an enchantment, it could happen." He frowned, looking at nothing for a while, not even the newspaper article, then shook his head. "There was a Nephandi woman that was very skilled in that art, and forced many to do her bidding against their wills."

"It wouldn't need to be that strong to convince you two to go into a basement." Serge noted. "I could probably manage it with the right words attached."

He looked over at Jon. "Someone...with arcane. Would be perfect for this....someone with the sort of arcane that you have, really strong..."

"No, it should not be too hard to find our past selves, but a hitman that is likely to be hiding..." He tipped his head at Jon. "Let's assume our magickal assassin has wrapped themselves in spells that mute their auras, or they have arcane abilities, or use spells similar to the ones that I have seen Euthanatos employ. How do you find someone like that?"

"Indirectly." Serge said flatly, "If we follow baby Adley and Nicole around, we'll eventually meet up with our hitmen regardless of how well he conceals himself. There's also the brute force method. And I'm wondering if time spirits would be able to pierce through things like that and sense him and his time violations."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

"I don't know about Nicole, but I wasn't awakened yet when this is trying to happen. I awoke when I was in college, later." He stared at the picture of Nicole a moment, and then his own. They'd been going to Newport to see 'the big fancy houses' and then eat on Jamestown for dinner. He remembered that happening, remembered having the picture of them taken. But despite the horror of the situation, it was still like looking at another person's life. Distracted by the disconnect, he picked up a glass of lemonade and drank it down.

"I do not know exactly when Miss Bouchard was Awakened so that is quite possible yes that she to was not Awakened in 2003."
George said with a nod.

"That is a good idea. While I think we would be more resourceful with knowledge at hand, we'd still be teenagers. As for the mental disturbances, I was told those could be smoothed over. And you also may help us with some of that, perhaps...but I agree that it could still end in failure and we cannot afford to fail. We need to stack the deck enough to get things right."

"Yes indeed we can not allow ourselves to fail, which is why we have to consider both the pros and cons of both options, both sending the minds of Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard back in time and sending someone physically back, and make sure we choose the option with the greatest chance of succeeding and I happen to thing sending someone back to their past bodies have a better chance than sending someone back physically as that stand a greater chance of creating issues with the timeline."
The Primus replied.

He seemed to brighten at the idea of his sister, brother and pater being able to help, as well as the others at the chantry in the past. Then he sobered. "I think this is around when Jolene died...my aunt. Helena knew her better, I never got to meet her, obviously. Unfortunately I can say that about a lot of my magickal family."

"Unfortunately Jeffry have lost...many of his apprentices, but your sister died with honor, as befitting of her House."
George said sadly.
"She was a fine magus and a valiant warrior."

"Those...are very good points." He tried to imagine, himself and Nicole in jail would mean he never awakened, probably. Or at least not as a hermetic magus. "This is how the Nephandi operate, they want to win and set backfalls up, I think that you could well be right. It would interfere enough still to make it worthwhile for them."

"Indeed that is why we have to find a way to outsmart them."
Jon said and George nodded.
"Indeed we can now allow your past selves to get killed Sodalis or for their lives to get to much out of track."

"Probably the day before, I would say. As for the fact there are bodies and we did not simply disappear with magick or into the river, I would agree it would be in the vicinity, most likely. These are guesses though."

"Why do you think it happened the day before?"
Jon asked.
"And not the night before?"
He added and George nodded.
"At the moment all we have is guesses gentlemen."

"That may also be possible, but it probably happened the day before," he agreed. "Curious that they dumped us in a watch store, given their misuse of time...oh! Wait, question...I apologize if this is simple, but let's just say that there is a disturbance there at the shop at some point in time, then time ars can be used in combination with other ars to see, right? So you discussed dowsing as a possibility, would it be possible to trace some of the magickal resonances from here, through time? We can get a map of downtown, and perhaps we can find some other important spots..."

"That you where dumped in a watch store is indeed ironic, and it might be related."
The old Guernicus said.
"Hum...Dowsing through time...yes it should be possible, it is harder when it is this long ago and the time line is in a state of flux...but yes it should be doable to get some traces of that."
He agreed.
"We can ask Mrs Von Hess' help with that."

Adley shrugged at Jon. "Being shot is something I confront often enough and it is not pleasant to consider but the fact I am looking at my younger self, killed in the past? Nicole as well? That's the part that unnerves me the most."

"Yeah I hear you on that."
Your Cabalmate said.
"It must be a shitty situation...are you okey?"

"It's definitely the Nephandi chronomancer making the time manipulation possible. As far as we know he's still physically in the labyrinth, but that brings up an interesting point - if he is possessing his own self, then we could make things harder for him in this time. But the main objective is for us two not to die when we're not supposed to...but what stops them from trying again until they get the result they wish? Aside from paradox, which could indeed happen to them, and it will not be pretty."

"Look at the time he chose to kill you two. Its when you and Nicole are in the same place at the same time." Serge noted, "If he was capable of doing this over and over again, it wouldn't be too hard for him to strike at people one at a time. The fact that he chose to go after two people at once makes it seem he has only one shot at this and chose a point in time where he would get the most bang for his buck. Also Old Man Wrinkle would suplex him into next tuesday if he were to ever try this again. How he didn't get doxxed into oblivion is beyond me."

"I agree with Mr Yager on this one Sodalis. Manipulating the past is hard and it is costly and for the Fallen the cost in Paradox is double, I doubt the Chronomancer have more than one attempt at this. However whatever or not the Fallen Chronomancer are going himself or sending someone back, that we can only speculate on for now."
George said with a frown before he sipped his tea again.

"Unless someone used mind ars on us." He said it flatly. "If they plied us with an enchantment, it could happen." He frowned, looking at nothing for a while, not even the newspaper article, then shook his head. "There was a Nephandi woman that was very skilled in that art, and forced many to do her bidding against their wills."

"Yes that is a disturbing possibility Sodalis."
The Primus agreed.
"We can not rule out anything at the moment, not before we know more."
He added and Jon gave a sigh and nodded at that.

He looked over at Jon. "Someone...with arcane. Would be perfect for this....someone with the sort of arcane that you have, really strong..."

"You are thinking that the one this Chronomancer sends back have the same...affliction as me?"
Jon asked with a frown.

"No, it should not be too hard to find our past selves, but a hitman that is likely to be hiding..." He tipped his head at Jon. "Let's assume our magickal assassin has wrapped themselves in spells that mute their auras, or they have arcane abilities, or use spells similar to the ones that I have seen Euthanatos employ. How do you find someone like that?"

"Hum...that is a difficult question to answer without knowing how such an assassin is hidden, generally though the way you find someone who hide themselves using magick is by employing stronger magick."
George said.
"And I might just be able to provide that."

Serge happily did so, munching away at the baked and drinking the lemony beverage.

George gave a kind smile and a chuckle at that.

"The one benefit I can see to the past possession idea is that it would stop past Adley and Nicole from panicking. They'd be able to keep a level head, as they'd be our Adley and Nicole, and follow whatever plan we come up with. We wouldn't need to manipulate their actions." Serge mused. "If I'm sent back I can definitely give us a Men in Black aura."

"If we do not send Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard back into their past selves but send someone physically they will have the added complication of avoiding being seen by the two, a complication we will not have by simply sending the two back to themselves in the past."
George replied.

"Err...if you don't mind me asking. How did she die?" Serge asked. They were currently looking at a timeshifted newspaper, and Serge had seen enough shows to know that memories were always close by to get changed during temporal shenanigans.

The Primus looked at you for a moment then he sigh.
"You can ask me child, just never ask my Cabalmate that question. Jolene died in battle against the Union, she died taking several Union agents with her granting the Traditions a victory, she died with honor but even so Jeffry have lost so many of his apprentices so...he would not want to be reminded of Jolene's death."
The old man gave you a sad look.
"She was a good woman child, that is all you need to know."

So we'll need to account for anything and everything." Serge said with a sigh. "Including not messing up any significant portion of your guy's development."

"Correct Mr Yager."
The old Guernicus said.

"Did you find anything else? Conspiracy theory videos or old police files and stuff like that?" Serge asked curiously.

"No not yet, but searching through everything takes time, I only looked for the most relevant for now."
Jon replied.

"All this temporal stuff should blare up like a siren on any sort of time sight. Especially the hit man. He doesn't belong in that timeline or time period after all. I wouldn't be surprised if just getting sent to the past alerted every capable time mage there to a disturbance in the flow of time." Serge said, glancing at the Primus who would be able to give a more definitive answer.

"That would all depend on the skill of the Chronomancer going back or sending someone back, unless the time line is disturbed it might be hard to detect anything happening before it is to late."
George replied.

"It wouldn't need to be that strong to convince you two to go into a basement." Serge noted. "I could probably manage it with the right words attached."

"If magick is used on a pair of sleepers then yes the assassin could get them to the basement."
Jon agreed.

"Indirectly." Serge said flatly, "If we follow baby Adley and Nicole around, we'll eventually meet up with our hitmen regardless of how well he conceals himself. There's also the brute force method. And I'm wondering if time spirits would be able to pierce through things like that and sense him and his time violations."

You suddenly felt a hand on your neck, and Jon was there you had not really noticed him moving and he had just faded out of your mind and now he was right beside you with one hand on your neck and the other holding your cinnomon bun that he had taken from your hand.
"No...if this assassin is like me Serge, just following young Adley and Nicole...will not do it...not even close."
The Technomancer said before he handed your snack back.
"I trust I made my point?"

(OOC: I am sorry I have to run dinner. I will reply for Nicole later, this post took allot of time.)

(OOC 2: Jolene is Adley and Helena's sister she is one of Jeffry's apprentices.)

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Giving a shudder, Nicole pulled out her cell and texted the were-spider. 'Have found the woman in the video. She is not in a good way.'. After thinking for a moment, she then stepped back a little and took a couple of photos of the scene - zooming in enough to show details, but far out enough to capture the general disgusting-ness of the scene.

You got a reply back from Alessa that said.
"The ones who did this will pay dearly and their blood will nourish our young, however can you bring the girl either to your nest...ehm Chantry or to Tane's home so I can see to her? And was anyone else of the spider kin found?"

'Nobody will get you now. We will protect you.' Nicole replied, wondering about this 'ghost'. 'We will find the bodies made for them and burn them all up. Then the ghosts can go back to hell where they belong.'

"The ghost he...he...did...did...things..."
The girl cried.
"He will come back...he will...are you sure you will get him?"
She asked then she looked at you with tears in her blue eyes.
"Nicole I want to go home...it hurts...it hurts so much...and I am so cold...why did they do this I never hurt them or anything I...just want to live and...it hurts...I am cold..."
The young Kinfolk was still crying desperately.

[Warpmind]

[Casa Wainwright]

You did your working to give whoever the Fallen Chronomancer sent back a bad day. The working went well but it was heavy lifting and by the time you where done you felt rather tired. You heard someone in the kitchen and noticed that Crexia had moved out there while you where casting your spell. Soon she put a cup of tea down in front of you on the table and a plate of sliced up fruit.
"Here Mr Wainwright you look like you could need a pick me up."
The lich lady said then she smiled a little.
"Your apprentice is resting comfortably with...that aperathus that helps her breathe, I will go and check on her while you have your tea and fruit."

Colin took a few deep breaths, slowly masking the fatigue, "Thank you, that would be good right now... I only have a couple of minutes, though, before I have to be downstairs to meet my guest, unless I've miscalculated."
He chewed down a couple of the slices, and washed it down with the tea, letting the caffeine spark a few leftover brain cells before he got up and bowed to Crexia, "If you would excuse me - and thank you for keeping an eye on Anna. I will be back shortly."

On his way down the stairs, Colin sent a message to Adley, 'Anna has slowed down the Chronomancer a bit, and I have made sure that whoever is sent back will be cursing their luck. That seems to be about the extent of what she and I can do in practical preparation, though.'

[Jeremy Silverstein]

[Master Steelhaven's rooms]

"Indeed that is why we have to find a way to outsmart them."
Jon said and George nodded.
"Indeed we can now allow your past selves to get killed Sodalis or for their lives to get to much out of track."

"I wonder if we could have him kill illusions?" Serge suggested, "Illusionary copies of Adley and Nicole. That way he would believe he'd accoplish his mission and then leave none the wiser."

"Yes indeed we can not allow ourselves to fail, which is why we have to consider both the pros and cons of both options, both sending the minds of Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard back in time and sending someone physically back, and make sure we choose the option with the greatest chance of succeeding and I happen to thing sending someone back to their past bodies have a better chance than sending someone back physically as that stand a greater chance of creating issues with the timeline."
The Primus replied.

"If we do not send Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard back into their past selves but send someone physically they will have the added complication of avoiding being seen by the two, a complication we will not have by simply sending the two back to themselves in the past."
George replied.

"Speaking of getting seen. Do we have to avoid the past mages of Steelhaven noticing Adley and Nicole or recognizing their significance? Or is that not really a problem?" he inquired. "Cause if it doesn't really matter perhaps we could have Adley and Nicole chill within the chantry wards?"

The Primus looked at you for a moment then he sigh.
"You can ask me child, just never ask my Cabalmate that question. Jolene died in battle against the Union, she died taking several Union agents with her granting the Traditions a victory, she died with honor but even so Jeffry have lost so many of his apprentices so...he would not want to be reminded of Jolene's death."
The old man gave you a sad look.
"She was a good woman child, that is all you need to know."

"I see....she sounds like an amazing person." Serge said quietly, somewhat regretting asking the question and not pursuing it any further.

"No not yet, but searching through everything takes time, I only looked for the most relevant for now."
Jon replied.

"Looking through old police files would probably be a good next step. The police don't release all of the information to the public, especially if the Union suppresses more 'deviant' findings." he suggested.

You suddenly felt a hand on your neck, and Jon was there you had not really noticed him moving and he had just faded out of your mind and now he was right beside you with one hand on your neck and the other holding your cinnomon bun that he had taken from your hand.
"No...if this assassin is like me Serge, just following young Adley and Nicole...will not do it...not even close."
The Technomancer said before he handed your snack back.
"I trust I made my point?"

Serge flinched when he noticed what had happened. He thought a little on Jon's questions and actions for a bit before saying, "Not yet....ask Adley what he noticed. Specifically about what he noticed from me. Did he notice me flinching? If he didn't notice or didn't care then I'll take your point to heart. Also give me my cinnamon bun back, I'm starving."

[Adley]

[Master Steelhaven's aparments]

"The one benefit I can see to the past possession idea is that it would stop past Adley and Nicole from panicking. They'd be able to keep a level head, as they'd be our Adley and Nicole, and follow whatever plan we come up with. We wouldn't need to manipulate their actions." Serge mused. "If I'm sent back I can definitely give us a Men in Black aura."

"You could probably use your ars to make someone seem trustworthy or believable, without having to cast anything on us, to a similar effect." Then he turned to him, "Did you want to do this? It is dangerous, though if you can connect to the magii at Steelhaven in advance that might mitigate some of it, for you would have backup hopefully."

"I wonder if we could have him kill illusions?" Serge suggested, "Illusionary copies of Adley and Nicole. That way he would believe he'd accoplish his mission and then leave none the wiser."

"Another interesting idea. We would need to keep the 'real us' away from the illusions or that might...well, I don't know what I would have thought."

"Speaking of getting seen. Do we have to avoid the past mages of Steelhaven noticing Adley and Nicole or recognizing their significance? Or is that not really a problem?" he inquired. "Cause if it doesn't really matter perhaps we could have Adley and Nicole chill within the chantry wards?"

"We have some leeway to smooth things over but we should try not to have too much interference build up, I think. But perhaps someone with time magick would be less problematic..."

"Err...if you don't mind me asking. How did she die?" Serge asked. They were currently looking at a timeshifted newspaper, and Serge had seen enough shows to know that memories were always close by to get changed during temporal shenanigans.

"Not aunt, rather...sora. Sister."

"All this temporal stuff should blare up like a siren on any sort of time sight. Especially the hit man. He doesn't belong in that timeline or time period after all. I wouldn't be surprised if just getting sent to the past alerted every capable time mage there to a disturbance in the flow of time." Serge said, glancing at the Primus who would be able to give a more definitive answer.

"That might be true," he said, glancing at Master Steelhaven. "I don't know much about the magi in Rhode Island actually, which is ironic I suppose."

"Look at the time he chose to kill you two. Its when you and Nicole are in the same place at the same time." Serge noted, "If he was capable of doing this over and over again, it wouldn't be too hard for him to strike at people one at a time. The fact that he chose to go after two people at once makes it seem he has only one shot at this and chose a point in time where he would get the most bang for his buck. Also Old Man Wrinkle would suplex him into next tuesday if he were to ever try this again. How he didn't get doxxed into oblivion is beyond me."

"Also good points. Thank you," he said, glad to have his insight and someone else to run ideas around out loud. "It seemed Wrinkle thought the line had not yet been fully crossed and we were to try to assist in uncrossing it, there are ways to put off paradox for a while after all."

"If we do not send Mr Roth Hicks and Miss Bouchard back into their past selves but send someone physically they will have the added complication of avoiding being seen by the two, a complication we will not have by simply sending the two back to themselves in the past."
George replied.

"That, or we make it seem like someone we won't meet...a disguise, or spells of evasion, which might be good anyway. I really don't know, when I was that age I could stand up against bullies but not a trained assassin, or even an untrained one."

Why do you think it happened the day before?"
Jon asked.
"And not the night before?"
He added and George nodded.
"At the moment all we have is guesses gentlemen."

"Well, if the paper is from Sunday, most of downtown shuts at five on Sunday, save for a few buses that might be eking through. I might be in that area at night if I were going home, I suppose. But even on Saturday most of the things that are open are not right there in the heart of downtown, unless it was a waterfire day...wait...hm, can you check and see if there was an event at the park that weekend? They had free concerts sometimes in the summer, but they had other stuff there too. That might provide good cover for them to work."

That you where dumped in a watch store is indeed ironic, and it might be related."
The old Guernicus said.
"Hum...Dowsing through time...yes it should be possible, it is harder when it is this long ago and the time line is in a state of flux...but yes it should be doable to get some traces of that."
He agreed.
"We can ask Mrs Von Hess' help with that."

"Good."

"Yeah I hear you on that."
Your Cabalmate said.
"It must be a shitty situation...are you okey?"

He shrugged. "I'm still here, so yes."

"It wouldn't need to be that strong to convince you two to go into a basement." Serge noted. "I could probably manage it with the right words attached."

"I see..." He glanced away in discomfort then said, "We won't be able to think of every potential thing this person could do as we know nothing about them, but it's good to be aware of avenues we might not have thought about..."

"You are thinking that the one this Chronomancer sends back have the same...affliction as me?"
Jon asked with a frown.

"Just a suggestion that someone with that ability, either naturally or with spells, would be perfect for such a job. Even if they made the papers, such as they did, no one would find them and it would eventually be tossed in with the rest of the unsolved murders.

"Indirectly." Serge said flatly, "If we follow baby Adley and Nicole around, we'll eventually meet up with our hitmen regardless of how well he conceals himself. There's also the brute force method. And I'm wondering if time spirits would be able to pierce through things like that and sense him and his time violations."

"We'll need to intercept them before they get the chance to kill us though." He glanced at them. "Perhaps a spirit might be able to help us, I don't know any personally but we can ask those that do. Also, many spirits don't have the best sense of time anyway, it is not really the way they think, more like an advanced time mage who sees it how it truly is, I suppose. We may be able to ask one of them to help send the message as well," he suggested. "Some of our spirit friends have been here longer than I have." He seemed to warm up to the idea, and seemed glad to be able to help find a useful thing to assist solve the problems.

You suddenly felt a hand on your neck, and Jon was there you had not really noticed him moving and he had just faded out of your mind and now he was right beside you with one hand on your neck and the other holding your cinnomon bun that he had taken from your hand.
"No...if this assassin is like me Serge, just following young Adley and Nicole...will not do it...not even close."
The Technomancer said before he handed your snack back.
"I trust I made my point?"

erge flinched when he noticed what had happened. He thought a little on Jon's questions and actions for a bit before saying, "Not yet....ask Adley what he noticed. Specifically about what he noticed from me. Did he notice me flinching? If he didn't notice or didn't care then I'll take your point to heart. Also give me my cinnamon bun back, I'm starving."

Indeed, Adley had been so wrapped up in the ideas that Jon had fallen right out of his mental space again and now was standing near Serge. He'd never considered his cablamate /dangerous/...even when he remembered to consider him at all, but though he had suggested the idea himself, he now felt a coldness settle and he stared at the pair. "Well...shit," he muttered. His eyes flicked to the Primus, "Pardon." His brows drew together. "Is...your...well, you call it affliction and I can definitely see that, but...is that something that a person with mental ars can borrow? I didn't notice, because I wasn't paying attention. And I wasn't paying attention because I forgot he was in the room, and was thinking about something else," he said, making an apologetic look at Jon. "I'm sorry, I really do try to keep you in mind and I am starting to succeed more than before, but even when I recall your name, my phone loses your number, I forgot you made us a program, I forgot when I last talked to you. It's like your affliction erases you from the Tellurian, footsteps in the sand on a windy day."

// whoops misread the connection

[Nicole Bouchard]

[Abandoned Hospital]

Anja's Post:

'Don't know how to ID different types of Kinfolk. Think we will be taking all back for treatment.' Nicole texted back. After taking a couple more photos of the situation, Nicole will then send them to Alessa's number, hoping she has a smartphone. After considering it for a moment, she'll then send the photos to Colin's number too, this time with the title 'If you tolerate this your kinfolk will be next.'

Anja's Post:

'We'll do our best... and make it as difficult as possible for them.'

Anja's Post:

Nicole hesitated for a moment, then decided that honesty was the only way to go. 'We are immune to disease.' she'll say quietly, looking around to see if there was some blankets or something to cover her with. 'They want that for the bodies they're making for the... ghosts.'

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

[Abandoned Hospital]

'Don't know how to ID different types of Kinfolk. Think we will be taking all back for treatment.' Nicole texted back. After taking a couple more photos of the situation, Nicole will then send them to Alessa's number, hoping she has a smartphone. After considering it for a moment, she'll then send the photos to Colin's number too, this time with the title 'If you tolerate this your kinfolk will be next.'

You got a reply back from Alessa.
"The man in the corner by the door and the woman with the brown hair three cots down from the north end of the room and two cots in, they could be the ones I am looking for but hard to say."

Colin you get a text from Nicole with some disturbing pictures in it of wounded, medically experimented on people.

'We'll do our best... and make it as difficult as possible for them.'

"He will come back...he will hurt me again...he will come back!"
Karin wept hysterically.

Nicole hesitated for a moment, then decided that honesty was the only way to go. 'We are immune to disease.' she'll say quietly, looking around to see if there was some blankets or something to cover her with. 'They want that for the bodies they're making for the... ghosts.'

"They had...no right to do this."
The young Ratkin kinfolk managed.
"They had no right!"
The young woman wept. You found no blankets though, there was nothing in the room toher that the cots they where on and the kidnapped people, no thought had been given to their comfort, they where there to be used up anyway. Alicia came over and knelt down beside you and Karin.
"How is she doing Ma'am?"
The young Etherite asked. Karin kept crying and at times being hysterical, saying she was cold and wanted to go home.

[Casa Wainwright]

Colin took a few deep breaths, slowly masking the fatigue, "Thank you, that would be good right now... I only have a couple of minutes, though, before I have to be downstairs to meet my guest, unless I've miscalculated."
He chewed down a couple of the slices, and washed it down with the tea, letting the caffeine spark a few leftover brain cells before he got up and bowed to Crexia, "If you would excuse me - and thank you for keeping an eye on Anna. I will be back shortly."

"I can stay here and keep an eye on your apprentice until you return Mr Wainwright."
Crexia offered.
"I can do that while co locating home to check on my own student."
You got a bit more energy from the fruit and the tea, enough to go and meet your guest at least, but this was being a draining day.

On his way down the stairs, Colin sent a message to Adley, 'Anna has slowed down the Chronomancer a bit, and I have made sure that whoever is sent back will be cursing their luck. That seems to be about the extent of what she and I can do in practical preparation, though.'

You got to the front door about the time there was a soft knock on it. Helena was in the hallway and she gave you a icy look.
"I assume that is your friend Mr Wainwright."
She commented dryly.

[Master Steelhaven's Rooms]

Adley you got a message from Colin.

"I wonder if we could have him kill illusions?" Serge suggested, "Illusionary copies of Adley and Nicole. That way he would believe he'd accoplish his mission and then leave none the wiser."

"Doubtfully any assassin of mages worth their salt would first of all have mental protections to keep them from being fooled by illusions, not to mention they would check that the targets really was why they thought they where."
Jon replied dismissively and George nodded.
"Yes illusions will not be useful for this I am afraid Mr Yager."

"Speaking of getting seen. Do we have to avoid the past mages of Steelhaven noticing Adley and Nicole or recognizing their significance? Or is that not really a problem?" he inquired. "Cause if it doesn't really matter perhaps we could have Adley and Nicole chill within the chantry wards?"

"No it should not matter that much if the magi of Steelhaven in the past notice the two, however the assassin will not just give up, just running away and hiding will not help all that much...but bringing them to the Chantry can buy time, if you can talk them into it."
George replied before he sipped his tea again.

"I see....she sounds like an amazing person." Serge said quietly, somewhat regretting asking the question and not pursuing it any further.

"She was an amazing person indeed."
The Primus replied with a sad smile.
"A credit to her House."

"Looking through old police files would probably be a good next step. The police don't release all of the information to the public, especially if the Union suppresses more 'deviant' findings." he suggested.

"Indeed that are usually where I would start an extended search but like I said such searches takes time."
Th Virtual Adept said and he gave you a bit of a look as you started something very obvious to someone who found information for a living.

Serge flinched when he noticed what had happened. He thought a little on Jon's questions and actions for a bit before saying, "Not yet....ask Adley what he noticed. Specifically about what he noticed from me. Did he notice me flinching? If he didn't notice or didn't care then I'll take your point to heart. Also give me my cinnamon bun back, I'm starving."

"What on earth do it matter if Adley noticed you flinching or not, the thing is I can sneak up on you kid and murder you before you even know I am there, and if this assassin is like me so can he."
Jon said before he handed the pastry back.
"And this is not something to eat while hungry you know it give no nourishment what so ever."

"Another interesting idea. We would need to keep the 'real us' away from the illusions or that might...well, I don't know what I would have thought."

"If I was going to kill someone who I suspect might be protected by mages I would check that they had minds, and souls and the right patterns."
Jon said.

"We have some leeway to smooth things over but we should try not to have too much interference build up, I think. But perhaps someone with time magick would be less problematic..."

"It would be best to avoid it off course at the same time this is a Chantry so someone who are here because they will become Chantry members in the future are hardly something to out of the ordinary."
George said.
"I do not think that would cause to much contamination."

"That might be true," he said, glancing at Master Steelhaven. "I don't know much about the magi in Rhode Island actually, which is ironic I suppose."

"I know a few people there I can give them a call and find out more about Mage society in the area in 2003."
The Primus offered.
"That might be useful indeed."

"Also good points. Thank you," he said, glad to have his insight and someone else to run ideas around out loud. "It seemed Wrinkle thought the line had not yet been fully crossed and we were to try to assist in uncrossing it, there are ways to put off paradox for a while after all."

"There is indeed ways to delay the effects of Paradox to pull of a rote like what the Chronomancer is attempting, but I agree with Mr Yager the payment can not be put off indefinably...so I do not think our enemies will get a second chance at their nefarious deed."
The old Guernicus said with a nod.

"That, or we make it seem like someone we won't meet...a disguise, or spells of evasion, which might be good anyway. I really don't know, when I was that age I could stand up against bullies but not a trained assassin, or even an untrained one."

"That is true enough child, we can make sure the ones sent back are under some disguise to avoid them disturbing the timeline if they are seen by your or Miss Bouchard's younger selves."
George agreed.

"Well, if the paper is from Sunday, most of downtown shuts at five on Sunday, save for a few buses that might be eking through. I might be in that area at night if I were going home, I suppose. But even on Saturday most of the things that are open are not right there in the heart of downtown, unless it was a waterfire day...wait...hm, can you check and see if there was an event at the park that weekend? They had free concerts sometimes in the summer, but they had other stuff there too. That might provide good cover for them to work."

Jon nodded and he papped at his tablet a few times and nodded.
"There was a concert on Saturday evening, a number of local idie bands it seams, and it drew quite a crowd as well, there where stands selling snacks and such...sounds like it would be fun...other than well the murder part."
He said before he handed you the tablet with information on the event.

"Good."

"I will call on the woman's services once we are done discussing here."
The Primus said with a nod.

He shrugged. "I'm still here, so yes."

"Well let us make sure that you stay around."
Jon said.
"And I am here if you need to talk Adley."

"I see..." He glanced away in discomfort then said, "We won't be able to think of every potential thing this person could do as we know nothing about them, but it's good to be aware of avenues we might not have thought about..."

"Agreed we should not rule anything out at the moment."
George replied.

"Just a suggestion that someone with that ability, either naturally or with spells, would be perfect for such a job. Even if they made the papers, such as they did, no one would find them and it would eventually be tossed in with the rest of the unsolved murders.

"I agree someone with my affliction would do well for any assassination work, we do not know that is what we will face but we should be aware of the possibility of it."
Jon said with a nod.

"We'll need to intercept them before they get the chance to kill us though." He glanced at them. "Perhaps a spirit might be able to help us, I don't know any personally but we can ask those that do. Also, many spirits don't have the best sense of time anyway, it is not really the way they think, more like an advanced time mage who sees it how it truly is, I suppose. We may be able to ask one of them to help send the message as well," he suggested. "Some of our spirit friends have been here longer than I have." He seemed to warm up to the idea, and seemed glad to be able to help find a useful thing to assist solve the problems.

"That is a great idea, we can both send a spirit to protect the two of you as they are not bound in time the way we incarnate beings are it should be a small matter for them to find you and Miss Bouchard in the past, and then we can ask for the aid of another Umbrood to help find the assassin...and the best part is that they will not be seen by your younger selves...hum...I might just know who to call on."
George said with a smile.

Indeed, Adley had been so wrapped up in the ideas that Jon had fallen right out of his mental space again and now was standing near Serge. He'd never considered his cablamate /dangerous/...even when he remembered to consider him at all, but though he had suggested the idea himself, he now felt a coldness settle and he stared at the pair. "Well...shit," he muttered. His eyes flicked to the Primus, "Pardon." His brows drew together. "Is...your...well, you call it affliction and I can definitely see that, but...is that something that a person with mental ars can borrow?

"Hum...I am not sure."
Jon said as he handed the pastry back to Serge.
"I think it is a mix of the mental and manipulation of chance. I mean it is not a skill I learned I got this way after a Paradox Backlash."

I didn't notice, because I wasn't paying attention. And I wasn't paying attention because I forgot he was in the room, and was thinking about something else," he said, making an apologetic look at Jon. "I'm sorry, I really do try to keep you in mind and I am starting to succeed more than before, but even when I recall your name, my phone loses your number, I forgot you made us a program, I forgot when I last talked to you. It's like your affliction erases you from the Tellurian, footsteps in the sand on a windy day."

"Thank you for trying Adley...I appreciate that, and yes that is sort of how it feels at times, I am not seen or noticed because I just fade into the background and records of my existence vanish. I have had people go into my apartment as they forgot someone live there, when you have your eyes on me and are talking with me then you can see I am there, and then I fade."
Jon said bitterly.
"I suspect that if I died...after a few weeks no one would remember I was even here and nothing would remain of my existence."
He added with a sigh.
"But yeah it have it's uses as well...though I would not have chosen to be this way..."

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