Re: A Difficult Choice, Martha and Missing Widderslaintes IC Thread 9

by Warpmind Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:11 pm

Colin shook the change in his hand and looked around the apartment, pondering, "It would be somewhere not immediately visible, but easily accessible, though..."

((OOC: Perception+Alertness seems more appropriate - if Colin was looking for something less specifically identifiable, Investigation might've been more appropriate, though I think I'll be investing in that skill soon... But, 1, 5, 6, 9, 0. There... should be something of use.))

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:26 pm

You look around the apartment and there on top of a bookshelf you see a small glint of metal. A set of keys for handcuffs and a larger key for a padlock lay on top of a large, leader bound notebook which had obviously seen some use as the spine was starting to get worn, it was indeed a place that was easy to access but not immediately visible. The bookshelf itself was pretty well stocked, novels for the most part, horror and urban fantasy, though there where some notebooks here and there.

by Warpmind Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:36 pm

Colin skimmed the shelves, examining the books for magical residue, "Adley... we just might have hit the mother lode. Numerous notebooks, and if these are diaries... we could be looking at the whole bloody network. Right, I'll bring the keys to the bathroom first; see if you can find a carrying case or something while you're at it."
Then he stepped over to the bathroom and gently knocked on the door, "I believe I found the key. How is she?"

((OOC: Yay! :3 I took the liberty of spending XP on the first dot of Investigation, by the way. Wink

))

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Tue Mar 22, 2016 7:48 pm

Adjan went to the door he looked concerned.
"She is terrified out of her wits and hiding between a towel shelf and the wall, so we are looking at dragging her out of there by force but I would rather not do that. On the positive side I only see bruises and soreness around her wrists, some bruising one one of her arms from injections I think and pretty bad ligature marks around one of her ankles, other than that there do not appear to be any physical wounds, so health wise she seams mostly fine but again, terrified and refusing to come out, who knows what that blasted Nephandus have done to her."
The death magus said and shook his head.
"Did you find the keys to the chains you said?"

(OOC: That works.)

by Warpmind Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:16 pm

Colin nodded to Adjan, "I think she's been regularly dosed with the antimagic serum... I found the bottle; it looks very much like the stuff... and miss Jerkins has not observed proper equipment protocol - the syringe in the kitchen appears to have been used several times. I expect the injections were more painful each time as the needle wore down... But yes, I found what seems to be a handcuff key, and a key for what I would guess to be a padlock or similar. Would you like to release her, or should I?"

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:24 pm

"A way to intimidate the girl then...syringes are neither hard to find or expensive and Miss Jerkins from the little I have seen of her do not seam like a sloppy woman...the question remains though why she have taken this girl captive and apparently kept her for a while."
Adjan said then he sigh and moved out of the way.
"Well I have not gotten her to come out from behind that shelf, we might as well see if you can convince her we are not going to harm her Mr Wainwright."
He said and made a gesture towards the bathroom.

by Warpmind Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:31 pm

Colin nodded and stepped inside the bathroom, kneeling down with one key in each hand, "Hello, Molly... it is Molly, isn't it? We're here to get you out. Would you like to reach out so I can unlock those cuffs for you?"

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:58 pm

Molly sat squeezed up against the wall, she eyed Colin fearfully, not knowing if she could trust his words, you can see that her wrists are red and score and up one of her arms where where the deep bruising that can happen when an injection go wrong or are done to brutally, her ankle was the worst of what you could see though, around a thick chains placed around her wrist with a padlock there where hardly any skin, it was bloody, raw and inflamed. Finally after some time of just looking fearfully at the Orphan, her hands held against her chest as she curled up as much as she could Molly spoke.
"G...get me...out...so you are not with her? Not with the Nephandi?"
She asked nervously.
"For I am not joining the Nephandi, I am not, I do not care what you do to me!"
She cried, her voice sounding tired and hoarse, and she still made no motion of coming out from her make shift hiding place.

by Warpmind Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:10 pm

Colin gave her a serious, but warm look, "We are not with the Nephandi. We're with the Traditions, essentially the sworn enemies of the Fallen. And we came to free you; we've already taken the woman who lives here into custody; she... won't be coming back. Now, would you be so kind as to let me reach your handcuffs and shackles, so I can let you out? We have a doctor who can tend your injuries, as well."
He glanced over at Richard, "You have the first aid kit with you?"

by Adley Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:15 pm

As the others moved around the apartment, Adley wiped the doorhandle clean with his sleeve. Next he made sure there were no untoward spirits lingering in the area, or even within the girl herself or bound to her. As he didn't want to crowd the girl and make her more scared, he traded up searching with Colin, giving him a nod as he acknowledged what he'd said. First he checked out the notebooks, careful not to leave prints and then the backsides of the pictures that he saw and anything else that he felt might lend them clues to Abigail's whereabouts.

// Sorry I have been rather busy at work - and am not around my dice, but let me know if you need some rolls and I'll do the checks = )

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Tue Mar 22, 2016 9:39 pm

Colin:

Colin gave her a serious, but warm look, "We are not with the Nephandi. We're with the Traditions, essentially the sworn enemies of the Fallen. And we came to free you; we've already taken the woman who lives here into custody; she... won't be coming back.

"Are you sure...that you are with the Traditions?"
Molly muttered, scared and confused.
"I had given up hope that anyone would come for me...I am Molly Aydoğan bani Cult of Ecstasy of Chantry Umbra Gladii in Gary..."
She muttered then coughed her voice sounding rather raw.
"If you really are Traditionalists...thank you...thank you."
She wept from relief her large blue eyes filling with tears.

Now, would you be so kind as to let me reach your handcuffs and shackles, so I can let you out? We have a doctor who can tend your injuries, as well."

Molly held out her hands a bit hesitantly, she was clearly not completely sure that she could trust Colin though she seamed a bit more willing to cooperate, she was tense though and ready to craw back into that corner at any sign of danger.

Adley:

You see no spirits in the apartment, only the dormant spirits of objects and things and the building itself, what you would expect in a place like this.

The first few notebooks you check out did not give you much, they where simple magickal diaries, records of workings, mushing around magickal theory, if you wanted to understand Miss Jerkins Paradigm then those books would be a gold mine, as for finding something immediately useful though, not so much, one of the notebooks however was different, it was a large book, bound in leather and it appeared to be a log over experiments done on Jerkins' female prisoner, in the Nephandus' neat hand where notes about infusing the girl with corrupted tass and taking samples of her Avatar to see the result, more notes about attempts to convert her and personal notes about how frustrated the Nephandus was when it did not work. One of the notes read.

"Yesterday I funneled two drams of strongly Entropic Quintessence into the subject's soul, then observed her Avatar, it processed the energy as any Fallen soul would, efficiently and naturally, but the girl's personality did not change, a core sample of her Avatar like earlier revealed nothing, this girl is no different spiritually than any other widderslainte, and yet she have not given in to her urges, not become one of us. My mentor is loosing patience, after that Hermetic bitch managed to cleanse herself a few years back there have become a greater urgency in finding out why some of our reborn members do not react like most Fallen children, earlier we could just ignore these abnormalities most eventually lost to the urges and came back into the fold, the rest where a minor loss but now, even if Florentine was silenced there might eventually be others and we need to stop this. That idiot Larson want my prisoner for her rituals but so far I have convinced Abby that the girl will be more useful as research material, I guess I will take a few more samples and continue with the infusion of entropic Quintessence for a few weeks more and look for any change...dammit why do this little Cultist bastard resist me."

There where a few more notes liked it and otherwise detailed notes about experiments done on Molly's mind and Avatar, though reading all of it would off course take some time.

Two of the pictures on the walls had nothing on the backs, only the fade logos of the shop that developed them, while the picture of the young man had the description.
"Remember me mentor and thank you for letting me go, I will always hold you in my heart, love Oscar."
There where few clues to the whereabouts of Abigail hat you could see though.

(OOC: Well the above is what you find without a roll, you can try a roll diff 9 if you want to to see if you find anything else. Oh and do not worry about it just post when you have the time, the game is not running away.)

by Warpmind Tue Mar 22, 2016 10:33 pm

Colin nodded and gave Molly a wink, "The name is Wainwright; Colin Wainwright, I'm an Orphan with Steelhaven Hall in Boston... I'm fairly certain my Chantry is Traditionalist."
Gently, smoothly unlocking her handcuffs and easing them off to throw them aside, he reached down for the padlock, "If I may? That shackle looks uncomfortable. Now, once your injuries are tended, how does going somewhere to eat and talk sound?"

by Adley Tue Mar 22, 2016 11:57 pm

As he scanned the pages of the journal, he grew angry and concerned by measure, both for the woman that was in the next room as well as others. This was not good...not good at all. It had implications that he hadn't time to consider fully but oh, it was bad indeed. He carefully shut the book and confiscated it. He then searched the rest of the place as best he could, noting Oscar and wondering what he meant by 'being let go' before progressing to see how the others were doing. He could hear that Colin seemed to be making headway, the girl was not completely out of it thankfully. Then he came over to address Adjan, not wanting to scare Molly further.

"It seems that she was experimenting on her...to see if they could find out why she is not like other widderslainte," he frowned. "That woman knows she's here as well, wanted her for the ritual. But they know...and are trying to stop it. But for now, we need to get Molly somewhere safe...we need to figure out where she's going first though and if she needs any special care. Is she an Orphan?"

// per+aware: 3,2,3,5,5 - nada

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:14 am

Colin:

Colin nodded and gave Molly a wink, "The name is Wainwright; Colin Wainwright, I'm an Orphan with Steelhaven Hall in Boston... I'm fairly certain my Chantry is Traditionalist."

"I...am sorry my question was rude Mr Wainwright I just...thank you for coming for me."
The girl muttered, she was to scared and overwhelmed right now to wonder why on earth members from a Chantry in Boston where here in Chicago rescuing her.

Gently, smoothly unlocking her handcuffs and easing them off to throw them aside, he reached down for the padlock, "If I may? That shackle looks uncomfortable. Now, once your injuries are tended, how does going somewhere to eat and talk sound?"

Molly opened and closed her hands a few times to get circulation flowing in her hands, she touched her wrists and winced and decided that rubbing them was not a good idea, she glanced at Colin and nodded.
"It is...that...uncomfortable..."
She muttered and held her leg still, she smiled when Colin offered her a meal though.
"Oh yes...please, I have not had a sip of water since...she left she morning I...well yes thank you Mr Wainwright.

Adley:

"It seems that she was experimenting on her...to see if they could find out why she is not like other widderslainte," he frowned.

Adjan had been going through another shelf looking for anything of use and coming up with nothing, he looked at Adley as he spoke to him and then muttered.
"Fuck."
A widderslainte, now that would complicate things...and one not like others of her kind, that opened up some moral questions that would be hard to answer.

"That woman knows she's here as well, wanted her for the ritual. But they know...and are trying to stop it. But for now, we need to get Molly somewhere safe...we need to figure out where she's going first though and if she needs any special care. Is she an Orphan?"

"She is a Cultist of Ecstasy..."
Adjan said, he had been keeping an eye on the bathroom while going through the shelf and had overheard the conversation in there, he lowered his voice.
"Where she is going indeed...you know that since she have been the prisoner of the Nephandi, if we take her to Morningstar someone will examine her Avatar and then...unless she is known and have been through the court system of the Traditions...well you know what will happen to her."
Ge said and glanced towards the bathroom.

Adley you had seen the list, when you tried to save Beatrice, over what widderslaintes had been given mercy in the Traditions, a very, very short list and there where no Molly on it, in fact other that Bee and the young man you met on Horizon, there where none save Amanda that no one dared touch due to her mentor.

You find absolutely nothing more as you look around, there is nothing that would not be in a regular apartment.

by Adley Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:36 am

"Where she is going indeed...you know that since she have been the prisoner of the Nephandi, if we take her to Morningstar someone will examine her Avatar and then...unless she is known and have been through the court system of the Traditions...well you know what will happen to her."

He shook his head at Adjan, coming to a full stop. "She's not...on the list. Short list...shit. What the fuck are we going to do? What can we do...." Oh dammit...that fucking room, in Horizon...he looked pale. Someone was going there...

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Wed Mar 23, 2016 6:25 am

Adjan sigh he shook his head.
"Well first let us talk with her, then make a decision. The problem is that if we do not turn her in and it is discovered then we are in deep trouble. The way I see it we have three options, one is to take her to Morningstar, what she is will be discovered and...well let us hope she have a powerful mentor that can stand up for her in court. Our second option is to take her to her Chantry, without saying how she was found, I mean very few examine one another's Avatars for no reason there are a good chance she can just continue her life...however if that is discovered...if it is discovered that we knew, well then, I and Dr Lee might be fine, there will be consequences but survivable ones, but for an Orphan like Mr Wainwright, his future would not look to bright...and for you...well you would most likely be fine but it would reflect poorly on your mentor's ability to train a student, making it far less likely that Raymond...ehm I guess he have a new name now...well it is far less likely that the Council will be lenient with him."
The Euthanatos said in a serious tone of voice.
"It is not a big chance we get caught, but if we do we all suffer for it, including your new brother..."
He warned then he glanced at Adley.
"The third option is that I take her and run towards Cerberus, you and the rest do what you are supposed to do, you go to Morningstar and report this, chances are that with such a head start I will reach my destination before anyone can catch up, especially since I know how to get there safely, I have been there before."
The Euthanatos said.
"If the girl have not been corrupted by her Avatar the Old Man will take her in and just like with his own apprentice, no one take a person from Cerberus without Senex's say so...she would be safe. As for me, given that I know this I would be arrested then I returned, it is likely I would get death or Branding...ostracism is a possibility but are seldom used for Euthanatoi since we use one another as a safety vale if one of us should get to much Jhor...the Council know those of my Tradition consider death to be an inconvenience that few of us fear so Branding is the likely outcome..."
Adjan swallowed hard, he might now fear death, but having his Avatar marked, that he feared.
"I am however willing to accept that to save an Avatar, and beside at Cerberus the girl could learn to control what she is, and if she ever fall to her own dark nature then the Old Man will deal with her, she would be safe, and everyone else would be safe from her...the only problem is that...well I do not like to brag but I am a war mage, and I am a Adept if several Spheres...and if I go to Cerberus and then get arrested, I can not be there to fight when it count tomorrow."
He said and sigh, more concerned with Bonston's safety than his own.

by Warpmind Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:35 pm

Colin smiled and opened the padlock, briefly weighing it in his hand and casting it aside, "This thing might've been of some use, but it's got a history now; bad memories attached to it... Can you stand, miss Aydoǧan? Also, is that an Irish name, perhaps?"
He turned his head toward the door, "Does either of you gentlemen know where the Umbra Gladii Chantry in Gary is? Seems we ought to bring her there - or otherwise arrange transport for her there, rather than bring her back with us. And did you find anything of interest, Adley?"

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Wed Mar 23, 2016 12:57 pm

Colin smiled and opened the padlock, briefly weighing it in his hand and casting it aside, "This thing might've been of some use, but it's got a history now; bad memories attached to it... Can you stand, miss Aydoǧan? Also, is that an Irish name, perhaps?"

Molly winced sharply as you opened the padlock and begun to remove the restraints on her shackled ankle, the metal having become stuck in the blood and puss so removing it hurt.
"I...think I can stand Sir."
She muttered softly and tried, she did manage to get to her feet but she was rather wobbly and had to support herself on the wooden shelf she had been hiding behind.
"Molly is Irish...but Aydoǧan is Turkish, I am from a mixed family."
She muttered as she tested if she could put weight on her wounded ankle and wincing.

He turned his head toward the door, "Does either of you gentlemen know where the Umbra Gladii Chantry in Gary is? Seems we ought to bring her there - or otherwise arrange transport for her there, rather than bring her back with us. And did you find anything of interest, Adley?"

"I do not know exactly where this Chantry is located but Gary is about a hour or two's drive from Chicago."
Adjan said, his voice was worried.
"I think though we should take the lady to somewhere she can get a meal first for there are a few things we need to discuss..."
He continued hesitantly.
"How is Miss Molly by the way? Can she walk?"

by Warpmind Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:24 pm

Colin nodded, "Good... You can lean on my shoulder, if you wish. Hm, part Irish, part Turkish, my word, you're from all over the old Empire, aren't you?"
He gave her a wink and gestured to Richard, "I think the good doctor here should bandage those sores before we go, though."
He nodded to Adjan, "I think she can walk mostly independently, yes, but she's badly chafed, and seeping a little. We need to rinse and wrap the injuries first, so she doesn't bleed all over herself. I don't know how long until the serum wears off, though."

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Wed Mar 23, 2016 1:37 pm

Colin nodded, "Good... You can lean on my shoulder, if you wish. Hm, part Irish, part Turkish, my word, you're from all over the old Empire, aren't you?"

"Thank you Sir."
Molly said and let Colin help her to get to the bathtub so she could sit on the edge of it so Dr Lee could treat her scores.
"Yes my father is a Turkish salesman and my mother before she retired worked as a stewardess for a airline company, that is how they met, she is from Naas in Kildare Ireland so yes you could say I am from all over the place."
The Cultist said with a bit of a smile.

He gave her a wink and gestured to Richard, "I think the good doctor here should bandage those sores before we go, though."

Molly nodded her consent to that but she still looked quite nervous.

He nodded to Adjan, "I think she can walk mostly independently, yes, but she's badly chafed, and seeping a little. We need to rinse and wrap the injuries first, so she doesn't bleed all over herself. I don't know how long until the serum wears off, though."

"Very well but we should not stay to long, our most favorite person in all of Chicago know that the young lady is here."
Adjan said and gave Colin a glance that said that he really wanted to be out of this apartment before any of the Nephandi decided to come here and clean things up.
"If it is the same type of Serum that the Chief traded for with that alchemist over at Riverside it lasts about twenty for hours give or take."
The Euthanatos muttered and he seamed concerned about that, he did not say anything right now as to not spook the girl, but he would prefer for her magick to be under control until they decided what to do with her, a panicked mage where nothing he wanted to deal with.

by Warpmind Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:02 pm

Colin nodded, "I agree, but while we need to get miss Aydoǧan somewhere else, exposed sores will be a greater inconvenience than taking the few extra minutes to treat them before we move. As for the serum, I'm not sure whether it is identical, or just similar, but it would seem to be the same thing. Nasty stuff, but apparently effective."

((OOC: By the way, I'm going to treat things as though Colin didn't catch the widderslainte bit - Adley's loud, sure, but Colin was rather busy soothing the girl.))

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:12 pm

Colin nodded, "I agree, but while we need to get miss Aydoǧan somewhere else, exposed sores will be a greater inconvenience than taking the few extra minutes to treat them before we move.

"I will quote you on that Mr Wainwright if the Nephandi decides to come storming in here, however as thing have been quiet so far I agree, we need to take care of Miss Aydoǧan, was it? Health as well as getting away from here safely."
Adjan said and gave a bit of a nod in agreement.

As for the serum, I'm not sure whether it is identical, or just similar, but it would seem to be the same thing. Nasty stuff, but apparently effective."

"Did you expect something made based on a Technocracy invention to be pleasant Mr Wainwright?"
Adjan gave the Orphan a bit of a wry smile.
"But yes we do not know the potency of this mixture or how similar it is to the stuff Chief Morgan traded for, nor when Miss...Aydoǧan had her last injection so it might be minutes or it might be days."
He said and he did not sound to pleased about it.
"Well I should probably head over to the windows and keep watch if we are staying a few minutes."
He commented.
"You keep Miss Aydoǧan safe in the meantime."

(OOC: Yeah I think Adjan and Adley tried not to be heard into the bathroom as letting Molly know that they know what she is are a good way to have her panic, try to kill herself, try to do just about anything to get away or in other ways react like a make would if their Avatar is in danger.)

by Warpmind Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:27 pm

Colin nodded, "I'm fairly certain the risk of the Fallen coming in like the US Marshals is smaller than the certainty of leaving a blood-stained trail on the way out, thus giving everyone in Chicago something to go by... We should rinse out the bathtub as well, to get rid of any residue. But if you are watching the window... I expect you have your own weapon, but how good are you with wielding two guns at once?"
He sighed, and looked back at Molly, "My colleague raises a valid point... how often did the Fallen living here give you those awful injections, and when was the last one?"

by **Anja Rebekka Schultze** Wed Mar 23, 2016 3:40 pm

Colin nodded, "I'm fairly certain the risk of the Fallen coming in like the US Marshals is smaller than the certainty of leaving a blood-stained trail on the way out, thus giving everyone in Chicago something to go by...

"Good point Mr Wainwright."
Adjan said as he moved towards the window.
"I guess we are staying until Dr Lee have taken care of the young lady's wounds then."

We should rinse out the bathtub as well, to get rid of any residue.

"Agreed."

But if you are watching the window... I expect you have your own weapon, but how good are you with wielding two guns at once?"

"I am armed yes."
The death magus said then he gave a bit of a smile.
"I have never tried to wield two firearms, I have fought using two blades but not guns, why did you ask?"

He sighed, and looked back at Molly, "My colleague raises a valid point... how often did the Fallen living here give you those awful injections, and when was the last one?"

Molly rubbed her bruised arm for a moment and shuddered.
"Once a day, in the evenings...she would come in her, give me that injection and then do thing to me, some of them...hurt...I..."
She muttered and tears filled her eyes again.
"Yesterday evening...she gave me one of those shots yesterday evening..."
She muttered and looked down.
"They keep me from using my magick don't they?"
She asked.
"Makes me feel like I am boxed in, all I want to do it get out."

by Adley Wed Mar 23, 2016 4:04 pm

Adley listened as Adjan spoke with him, feeling a deep sense of regret and danger rise up in him. If this was the choice he was supposed to make, how could he possibly be expected to make a wise one, that would end with the 'right' person in that room? Adjan and this girl certainly did not belong there. Nor did his cabalmates, should they be implicated. "Right now, I don't think Colin or Richard know. The problem is my sister and brother," he agreed. "I don't want you hurt. And beyond that it's true, we need you for the fight. Shit."

He'd signed Kyle's apprenticeship and if his reputation became questionable it could negate it before anyone else could sign on and even then it would narrow his chances. And Beatrice was so fragile right now. But sending Adjan there...it was not something he would have been able to think of, to do without him but aside from the fact he loathed the idea of anyone marking his friend he was right. He was a skilled magus and Boston was going to need him. Fuck. Here he was talking about sneaking away widderslainte to the Euthanatos...he'd cautioned his pater against taking actions that were illegal, but what did you do when the entire system protected those that abused it? Without meaning to, he'd started pacing, feeling sadness and rage and the sudden urge to break something or set it on fire. Maybe that's what the Fallen feel like, all the time, he mused and stopped again, glancing around the room and the back at his friend who had just offered to sacrifice his own avatar and reputation to save an innocent stranger. He tried to see which path would bring the least harm, to find some wisdom, and walk out the implications. The overriding sense that it was all wrong remained. The only 'right' person to end up in that room was probably Jerkins, Solevig, Abigail, and Larsen. Not this girl or Adjan.

"And did you find anything of interest, Adley?"

"Journals," he answered shortly. He didn't want to lie to Colin...he wanted his input and ideas on that third option that he was missing but telling him could put in straight into more danger. He waited until the girl came out. If he was considering sending her to that awful place even for a second, he should look her in the eye and hear her words. He wondered if she even knew what she was, or why she was being tortured. Bad enough that he'd already sent Mr Dale...his brother would be going there, Beatrice had been there and she'd nearly been given the right anyway. He'd failed her too, by not getting back in time. She'd been hurt, so bad. Her screams...that whole room was like it, filled with years of screaming...

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