Re: The Lord of the Labyrinth, Sunday ritual and stopping a Gilgul IC thread 4

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Ah Mr Roth Hicks."
Hannah said and sounded somewhat relieved though she was still skeptical.
"Yes sure I can do that, I do know Greek I do not speak the other two languages though."
The young woman said.
"When do you need this work done? I am at work until we close at half past seven and I am not planning to...be home this weekend but I could pick the samples up after work if you wish."
Hannah offered.

[Adley]

"They are dialects of Greek, before there was a common form...it should not be too difficult to pick up," he explained. "See what you can make of them. Yes, it might be good to pick up the samples then, since I'd rather have them done as soon as possible...seven thirty you said?" He looked over at Colin. "Do you have a number I can call you back on, so I can arrange a pick up later? I might be out."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Hum...interesting, like the various languages that went into modern Gaelic?"
Hannah asked as you had clearly piqued her interest.
"Well I will be...ehm...going out of town for the weekend but I can work on the samples when I am away...yeah I have a number."
The young woman told you her phone number then she added.
"My work here is rather flexible so if it is a problem I am sure I can arrange to leave work a little early and catch up the lost time later."
She said then she added.
"Just do not...ehm drop them off at my place, I mean if you get my address from the collage I mean, it might not be safe there as I have had some problems with...well just some undesirables. I will come to you to pick up the samples."
Hannah warned.

[Adley]

"During the classical period, those dialects were fairly dominant in literary Greek," he said, noting her apparent interest and putting out a little more to capture it. "I see," he said, frowning a bit as she talked about staying away from her home. "I will get them together and give you a call back at work to arrange a place, say around seven if you can manage it?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Hum...interesting I will have to get some books on that."
Hannah said then she added.
"Around seven sure I can make that, just call me when you know where we should meet up."
The young woman said.
"Well then I should probably go and do the work I am paid for, thank you for giving me a call Mr Roth Hicks I will get the samples done as soon as possible."

[Adley]

"That might be arranged," he said, regarding the books. "Very well, I'll talk to you later. Enjoy your afternoon," he said with his usual politeness and hung up, snapping he phone shut. He looked at Colin and said, "Well...either she has no idea that I'm awakened, is doing a decent job pretending...or she knows but is warning me anyway for some reason. We'll have to find a good place to do the exchange...she was extremely wary of having me anywhere near her apartment. In fact, she went so far as to warn me against going there, due to 'undesirables' hanging around the place." He gave him a sudden grin. "I hope she wasn't talking about you," he teased. Then he added in a more serious tone, "She did mention she was 'going out of town' for the weekend..."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"I would like that...about the books I mean."
Hannah said.
"You to, have a nice afternoon Mr Roth Hicks."
The young woman said before you hung up, she sounded polite but weary in a way that someone get if they have had to look over their shoulder for to long and it had become a habit.

[Tane Karyak]

Then you'll have a "son" and we are trying to abort it to use it to heal Beatrice? I can't allow it. It's not fair for you, Gandjya, and it's not fair for that unborn sappling.
We are strong and we can take the wound of being the donor, for the one that needs us is weak now and in a greater pain than we will never know.
Even though, if you think it's destiny that the sappling will grow off of you, then allow it to spawn, for destiny shouldn't be challenged just for our comfort. What do you think?

Tane waited for Gandjya and looked up to Amadeus. You tried it, then? he asked to Amadeus The Lady in black... you tried to save another? or is that your true self? Now i understand...

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"In a manner of speaking yes."
The Avatar said.
"At least if we put it in human terms. It might not be fair but neither is weeks and months of you suffering either Tane."
Gandjya said in a concerned tone of voice.
"Especially now when danger is coming and you will be helpless. Yes the corrupted one suffers more, but with your mind addled with pain you will not be able to fight when the darkness comes."
The God continued.
"I will not make a sapling unless it is for a specific reason but if it happens naturally I will allow it to grow and one day it will take a host and perhaps Ascend."

Amadeus raised an eyebrow.
"I am not sure I understand what you mean Mr Karyak."
The Verbena said for while you might have spoken out loud, Gandjya's words had been heard by you alone meaning Amadeus did not have the context for the conversation."
"However if the lady in black you are talking about is the dark skinned woman you saw walking beside my Avatar then she have been with me for many lifetimes I do not know when she first attached herself to my great river, or why but from what I have read of the phenomena usually it happens spontaneously and a lesser Avatar becomes the companion of a greater one, though I have also heard of Avatars at times generating such companions of their own, what is it that you are wondering if I have tried? I have not tried to get rid of it if that is what you are asking, though remembering my old lives perfectly are getting...troubling. I assume that if it is my path to protect this shard until it takes a host then I will do so. The life and wishes of one mage matters little compared the the needs of an Avatar."
The old mage said and sigh.
"Though it is not always an easy path to walk."

[Warpmind]

Colin nodded, "That... would make sense; she was not particularly interested in becoming demon fodder or the equivalent thereof when I visited, and she did mention how her mother's grunts would show up to collect her essentially by force. Which is part of why I left her my card; to indicate we have no interest in hostilities with her. I'm pleased to hear she made plans to avoid the ritual, though I must confess to skepticism regarding her chances to escape; we already know her mother has some substantial tracking ability on her side."
He patted the steering wheel lightly, "Well, you said around seven? That gives us a little time to gather materials and reconnoiter a little. Hmmm, I wonder if there's a map here?"
He reached over and opened the glove box.

((OOC: Anja asked me to inform her access might be a bit troubled for a little bit - her computer apparently decided to pull an American Congress and forcibly split between the Left and Right side and stop working. As for me, this weekend is Regncon, so my time to visit the forum will be sporadic at best from Friday to Sunday.))

[Tane Karyak]

I understand the pain it will cause... and if you say there's danger... Tane doubted. He hardly wanted to help but he'd be unable to protect many more if he was not ready.
Gandjya, my avatar, says it cn spawn a sappling, a Shard to give it to Beatrice so we can heal her with it. It also says darkness comes and we need to be able to fight back, so i can't allow to be the donor until it passes, if it does. But also, if the process fails i'll have my mind for many cicles like you. Tane explained, now looking for help and insight from the other mage.
I can't see beatrice suffer in this way, but also, i don't want to be unable to fight back if the need arises. Lastly, aborting the shard is not an option, for it's not fair for any of us... Because it will not be able to grow as normally if we use it to help Beatrice, right?

[Adley]

"Yes, she seemed a bit leery overall," he said and then sighed. "I really don't want to have to do this by 'essentially force' either, I hope that she will come with us so that she will be safe. I doubt my pater will want to leave her to her own devices at any rate." He paused and then said, "Raymond had a fairly extensive series of workings on a bracelet, though I do hope that the the one that I could not identify was linked to the ritual and that Hannah won't have the same. Perhaps though being -her- daughter it isn't necessary, which presents the issue of how to get her back without being followed."

He nodded when Colin asked the time; "She said she could leave her shift a bit early, which I thought was good in case the the 'grunts' came to check on her whereabouts." He moved back to let Colin rummage.

// Ah, that's no good I hope that can be fixed. Thanks for letting me know! (also lol at the joke). And I hope you have fun at your con, Warp!

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin and Adley:

He patted the steering wheel lightly, "Well, you said around seven? That gives us a little time to gather materials and reconnoiter a little. Hmmm, I wonder if there's a map here?"
He reached over and opened the glove box.

In the glove box you do find a map over Boston, it is one of those little red booklets that are sold to tourists but there are a decent map there. In addition there are a pair of sunglasses, paperwork for the car and a wax inscribed disc which might be a protective charm for the vehicle, and an old, half empty box of mints.

He nodded when Colin asked the time; "She said she could leave her shift a bit early, which I thought was good in case the the 'grunts' came to check on her whereabouts." He moved back to let Colin rummage.

As Colin rummage in the glove compartment you see Narim's snappy silver hybrid roll into the garage and park, Ingmar Rush's small green Citroen followed the larger car, the group that had been at the hospital had wasted no time and was back. Narim, Antonio and Hildegaard stepped out of the hybrid, it was clear the two Adepts had been sent to make sure the technomancer stayed safe, with them they had a slightly plump man that could be Raymond's father, the man was tall with board shoulders and short black hair and a well trimmed black beard. Harold Danbrock, if it was indeed him was blindfolded and he was leaning again Antonio to weak to fully stand by himself, but Rush had done a good job in patching him up. Ingmar and Henrietta stepped out of the other car, all five mages seamed fine though Ingmar was rather pale and did not look well he did not look wounded though and it was a good chance that what was wrong was not any result of a fight but simply Paradox from the healing work he had been doing. The group started moving towards the door that lead into the main Chantry, Hildegaard giving Rush a concerned look, strengthening the suspicion that he had taken a not so healthy dose of Dox.

Tane:

I understand the pain it will cause... and if you say there's danger... Tane doubted. He hardly wanted to help but he'd be unable to protect many more if he was not ready.

"There is a darkness coming, I can feel it but I am unable to know all the details, your mage friends will call me unusually active, I can see, hear and understand what happens around you, I do not have to have everything interpreted by your senses, but there is a limit to my independence and there is a limit to what I can sense and do outside of your abilities, but I can tell you danger is coming and if you are bedridden with pain you can protect no one."
Your Avatar said in a serious tone of voice, worry in his big, black eyes.

Gandjya, my avatar, says it cn spawn a sappling, a Shard to give it to Beatrice so we can heal her with it. It also says darkness comes and we need to be able to fight back, so i can't allow to be the donor until it passes, if it does. But also, if the process fails i'll have my mind for many cicles like you. Tane explained, now looking for help and insight from the other mage.

"I have read about the phenomena and some theorize that Avatars can split of a part of themselves and this can eventually grow into a new being like themselves, no one know the truth though as we just do not know enough about them."
Amadeus said and nodded.
"However having what is called an Avatar Companion, what I have, is the most common form of dual Avatars, it is generally associated with very strong past life memories and a good chance of having a complete reincarnation, not all who have complete reincarnations have such a companion but it do increase the chance."
The old Verbena explained.
"Beatrice would not want you to suffer for her, now I...thank you for considering it, but she do not wish pain on anyone and it is true that we are in danger, the Nephandi are plotting something, we just do not know what yet, and we need as many as we can fit and able to fight them, as for a sapling...I am not the one to talk to about that Mr Karyak, I would do anything for my apprentice but it is a big responsibility to decide to kill something that might one day become a Avatar to heal her, I can not advice you in the matter as I am to biased."

I can't see beatrice suffer in this way, but also, i don't want to be unable to fight back if the need arises. Lastly, aborting the shard is not an option, for it's not fair for any of us... Because it will not be able to grow as normally if we use it to help Beatrice, right?

"Well there is always the option of capturing a Nephandus."
Amadeus said and Cita raised an eyebrow.
"Yes Master Nassa there is always that but I can not say that I like the idea of torturing a prisoner."
The Spirit Healer said then she sigh.
"Well for now let us go and see the girl, see if some company can cheer her up and she will recover without further aid, but it will take a long time and much suffering so yeah we are in a bit of a dilemma."
Cita said then she added.
"However I agree that with out Nephandi situation we can not afford one more mage of this Tribunal to be down for the count, a battle is coming and it will be one hell of a fight I fear."

(OOC: Well then I am back I have gotten a new computer but we have been all over town to get one that have a DVD player. In either case it was pretty bizarre my old computer split and spilled all it's little compute guts that was not screwed down, all over my lap yesterday. Well we put it all back together and taped it up and then it worked for five minutes then something caught fire inside of it...and the computer was less than a year old. It was apparently quite interesting for my husband to tell that story to the shop we bought it from when we went to claim the warranty on it. Anyway sorry for the delay.)

[Adley]

Adley watched the group come in and then took a longer moment looking over each person, frowning at Mr Rush. "Looks like we might be down another healer...shit. We're going to need backup from somewhere, we can't afford to take that hit," he said in a grim tone. "At least it seems like Mr Danbrock is ambulatory," he said but it was clear that he didn't like what he saw though he knew it could have been worse, everyone was there, and didn't seem as if they'd been attacked. Still, Beatrice, Ignmar, Amadeus...it was not good. "I hope Mr Ackerman will consider staying..."

//That is a really strange thing to happen to a computer O.o What kind of 'dox did you earn? ; ) But seriously, glad that you got a new one and I hope you were able to recover your files and stuff! Welcome back and no need to apologise.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

You see the group leaving the basement and going into the Chantry, it was never easy to tell with Paradox, it could make Rush ill for weeks, or send him into a Quiet or hold of and not manifest for months or there might be strange manifestations and flaws, there was always hoping that he would remain on his feet but for now he did not look good.

Shortly after you had seen the group of five chantry members with their guest enter the Chantry you got a text message from your mentor it read.
"Adley,
Mr Terach sent me a message to tell me you could be reached on this number. Hopefully this message will get to the right place, The group sent to the hospital is safely back home. I assumed you wanted to know.
Be Well
Jeffry Morgan."
The message said nothing more than that, it would not be wise to say anything more in a text message.

(OOC: Hehe that is what I am wondering as well, the plastic must have been extremely poor quality, I knew it would fail soon as it was starting to have issues so I had money saved up and set aside for a new one but I did not expect it to fail in such a spectacular way.)

[Tane Karyak]

(You got the warranty back? Because that sounded as if they left the Litium Ion battery with a problem, spilled and break everything. TO me, at least XD
Whatever, glad to know you have already settled in with that and, hopefully, nothing else that bad will happen again.)
((and only so you remember, Gandjya is like an alien with white eyes and turns it's color with his mood))



In the case we use the shard... could you use it to fix beatrice and maintain it's life? I mean... make it her companion afterwards? If she'll heal alone, maybe we can use it to help her for now until she heals and then let the shard keep it's cicle.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"No the shard would die in the process, what I would be doing is take material from it and use that to repair places in Beatrice's Avatar that have shattered."
Cita explained, then she shook her head.
"Just having the shard around will not help, how shall I explain this."
The Virtual Adept muttered to herself then she continued.
"Let us say you have a cake and you have no idea how to bake another one, however there are pieces missing from this cake, you do however have a nearly identical cake so you cut that up and use it to fill the missing pieces and then cover the whole thing with frosting, viola whole cake, though the cake you took the pieces from are now rather cut up."
The Spirit Master said and Amadeus raised an eyebrow.
"Did you just compare my apprentice's soul to cake?"
Cita nodded.
"Yes I did, my point however is that from a fully incarnated Avatar what I would take would heal back, such a small shard that you are talking about however I would probably use all of it. Also remember Avatars are not shoes they can not be changed between hosts at will, if they could then an old mage who have lived an full life might give his to a younger one who have had something terrible happen to theirs, but it do not work like that. Yes sometimes an Avatar will incarnate into an already born individual it is called a walk in, and usually it create problems, but they themselves choose who to incarnate in, and there is no way that I know of to force them."
The Spirit Master said.
"If your Avatar generated such a shard and it was taken from you, most likely it would just vanish into the Umbra. However like I said it is a moot point as the presence of another Avatar will not help Beatrice."
The Master of the Art said then she added.
"There is one thing though, and I discussed this just yesterday in connection with one of my other patients who are in a terrible condition, a boy in the final stages of vampire blood poisoning, there are shards of Avatars floating around the Umbra and if I could find them I could bring some back to use to heal my patients but like with a shard your Gandjya was it, would make it would mean killing those shards, forever destroying the hope of what they might one day become, and finding them would also be extremely dangerous."

(OOC: I do not know yet the store have taken the PC in and will examine it and I will be told if the warranty applies but I do hope it dos.)

(OOC 2: Oops I forgot that his eyes changed color and that he had white eyes sorry.)

[Warpmind]

Colin pulled out the map and started unfolding it to the relevant part of the city, looking up at Adley's comment on the fresh arrivals. "Danbrock? Ackerman? Presumably, one of those is young Raymond's father, but who is the other one? Oh, and for a suitable meeting place, let's see... Ah, I believe there's a cafe about two streets down from the pet shop; perhaps that could serve as a meeting place? At the very least, it should be neutral ground."

[Adley]

"Ah, sorry forgive me. Yes, that person there is likely Raymond's father. Mr Ackerman is a visiting Verbena who came in with Mr Terach and I earlier, he is part of Beatrice's coven. He is a skilled healer, good with animals and also a shape changer. It is a bit of a story how he came to be here, but he assisted me to complete my end of a bargain with a fire elemental that, in turn, had information on one of the Master mages taken earlier as she was the one that summoned it in the first place. The elemental wanted me to help her friend...a wraith named Danielle who has a mortal body connected to an ailing elder cat. As it turned out, she knew one other mage, one in trouble named Raymond...that is how I came to find out about his connection to Sunday. At any rate, we may need further assistance on hand if he is willing and able to stay, if our own healers are currently taxed."

"Oh, and for a suitable meeting place, let's see... Ah, I believe there's a cafe about two streets down from the pet shop; perhaps that could serve as a meeting place? At the very least, it should be neutral ground."

"A coffee shop does sound like a natural meeting place. Of course, it will make it trickier to speak about arrangements for the weekend."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

There are several cafes in the areas, this being a shopping district that catered to the university students it was dotted with coffee shops, book stores and places where one could eat for cheap. The cafe Colin have found on the map is a small internet cafe.

Also only a few blocks from the pet shop there is the house where the unaffiliated hedge wizards that Jeffry said had agreed to aid Steelhaven against the Nephandi. Colin are not likely to know about them but Adley have been sent to talk with them a few times. Most Tradition mages ignore the group and sure as hell would not dignify them enough to call them a Chantry, though their arrangement where rather similar to just that, a Chantry, a group of magic users from various paths and orders who had banded together for mutual protection. If things went wrong there was a chance that you would be able to flee to this group who had been allies of Steelhaven for some time, though then again if things went wrong chances where you would not have time to flee anywhere for it would mean the Nephandi had decided to make a move on Hannah.

Colin you see five other cafes in the general area, there is also one a bit of the beaten path, it would still be a public and natural meeting place but might have fewer patrons due to it's location.

[Warpmind]

Colin frowned, "A shape changer? Do you mean like Coawa, or more like the Animagi of the Harry Potter books?"
He traced a finger over the map, "In any case, let's see, there's the, ah, that's an internet cafe... five regular ones here, I see, and... this one is a bit hidden away. Hmmm... I would be wary of that one, actually. Cafes hidden like that often either have a secondary function, or the cafe part itself is the secondary function. It might be a place where ordinary people sit down and play board games, or it could be a place for Technocrats to go to eat lunch in privacy, or some other potentially hazardous group. I'd recommend one of the more public places for such a meeting, but it might be worth looking into the hideaway place later."

[Adley]

Adley looked at Colin and shook his head. "No, I didn't mean to imply he was a werecreature, he is a magus. More like the latter then," he said, then looked over the map. "You suspect it to be a front," he put plainly and nodded. "Always possible. This house here belongs to some hedge wizards that are friendly to us," he said, gesturing to the vicinity. Adley heard the phone message alert go off and picked the phone back up.

"Adley,
Mr Terach sent me a message to tell me you could be reached on this number. Hopefully this message will get to the right place, The group sent to the hospital is safely back home. I assumed you wanted to know. Be Well Jeffry Morgan."

"My pater...telling us about those that came in, saying they are safe," he told Colin and then looked back at the map. "I should collect the items for Hannah...perhaps I should leave you to determine which of these are the best candidates, if your ars can direct, while I do that. We still would have some time to scope out the area...I can't help but feel the shop will also be under watch, if not Ms Larson herself. I want to get Hannah out of there now..." he said, shaking his head. "I could offer to pick her up but then you would have to hide yourself somehow in the back seat."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

The station wagon was a big car but even so it would be hard for a large man like Colin to hide himself in the bock seat without filling the back with boxes or some other such thing he could hide under, and quite a few of them which might be suspicious in itself. It was possible though that Colin might be able to hide in the trunk but inside of the car would be difficult, sure he could crouch down under a blanket but that would be fairly noticeable if Hannah decided to glance back towards the back seat. Magick might be able to conceal Colin there though but there was always the chance when using magick that it would be felt or detected by another mage.

[Warpmind]

Colin nodded, "I think the chance it is more than just a cafe is high enough we should not use it for this meeting. It's perfectly plausible - most likely, even - that it is simply a cafe basing itself on word of mouth and a clientele which simply comes for a cup of coffee where there's less traffic and a bit of quiet, but I don't think we can take the risk today. The house belonging to the Hedge Wizards... I suppose they might be potentially able to provide some assistance should the Fallen rear their ugly heads; especially if they've got competent Abjurers among them... Er, skilled in countering magic, I mean."
He looked up as Adley read the text message, "Oh, good, and Mr. Danbrock is not going to fight us for his son any time soon, I hope? But that's a concern for another time, hmmm... We could use a simple... not quite deception for Miss Larson. I'll sit at a table with an angle to intercept the door - but not immediately adjacent, nor perhaps immediately in line of sight - with a cup of tea and a book or something, while you'll be waiting just a little deeper inside the cafe with your books? She'll indubitably recognize my face on sight, but she might not be paranoid enough so as to actively look for Magi wherever she goes. After you have introduced yourself and the actual purpose for meeting, I can join you - I doubt she'll take any further offense at our minor underhandedness at that point, and she might, at least, trust me enough... well, at least not distrust me enough that she'll not go ballistic in public, or immediately scarper."
He pondered, digging through his pocket for one of his dice, "I might be able to do... something to indicate which place might be preferable."

((OOC: By the way, Regncon survived, got home just before my previous post, and just enjoyed a few hours of much-needed naptime. Fun was had, games were played, and as I got verified once more over a late-night game of Cards Against Humanity, everyone is a horrible person. ))

[Adley]

Colin nodded, "I think the chance it is more than just a cafe is high enough we should not use it for this meeting. It's perfectly plausible - most likely, even - that it is simply a cafe basing itself on word of mouth and a clientele which simply comes for a cup of coffee where there's less traffic and a bit of quiet, but I don't think we can take the risk today. The house belonging to the Hedge Wizards... I suppose they might be potentially able to provide some assistance should the Fallen rear their ugly heads; especially if they've got competent Abjurers among them... Er, skilled in countering magic, I mean."

"I would not like to bring them to their doorstep but that they are there is something to consider. Abjurer? Mmm, apparently Raymond's father would count among those, having kept him in check for his whole life," he mused.

He looked up as Adley read the text message, "Oh, good, and Mr. Danbrock is not going to fight us for his son any time soon, I hope? But that's a concern for another time...

"I hope not either. He didn't seem perfectly fit though so perhaps not."

We could use a simple... not quite deception for Miss Larson. I'll sit at a table with an angle to intercept the door - but not immediately adjacent, nor perhaps immediately in line of sight - with a cup of tea and a book or something, while you'll be waiting just a little deeper inside the cafe with your books? She'll indubitably recognize my face on sight, but she might not be paranoid enough so as to actively look for Magi wherever she goes. After you have introduced yourself and the actual purpose for meeting, I can join you - I doubt she'll take any further offense at our minor underhandedness at that point, and she might, at least, trust me enough... well, at least not distrust me enough that she'll not go ballistic in public, or immediately scarper."

Adley considered it and then nodded. "It's got the benefit of being simple. Hopefully the public venue would keep the Nephandi away but I don't really count on it. As for Hannah herself...that will be seen. I suppose some of that will depend on whether or not she's stringing me along or knows that I'm a mage."

He pondered, digging through his pocket for one of his dice, "I might be able to do... something to indicate which place might be preferable."

"Thank you, Colin. I think the time of it is also critical, given how things have been going but at least we will have a good shot at the place...I'll go ahead and grab a copy of those materials, then."

// That sounds like a load of fun! Glad you had a good time. Cards Against Humanity is a great game, too haha, but not one for restoring faith in humanity lol ; )

[Sponsored content]