Re: Mission to Chicago, An old friend and Abigail IC Thread 8

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Of course I will tell her. She may very well say no but she may agree, though she may ask for something else in return given the risk. I'm not sure what the entirety of the scope of her abilities are, but perhaps she might bring one of us across the umbra to wait with her and then she would also not be alone. That might be a little less dangerous or off-putting than asking her to play sentinel by herself for us."

"Well if all we need is someone to bring people out into the Umbra I can do that."
Adjan suggested.
"I can walk the spirit world and bring others with me, I can not set things on fire though something I suspect your elemental friend can."
He added.

"Well, yes true. Chlorine and bleach together..." he nodded. "And probably something at hand under the sink."

"I have both here in the apartment, chlorine for cleaning and bleach because well...I dye my hair."
The cyborg said and looked a little embarrassed, vanity was not a prized quality among the operatives of Iteration X.
"Anyway yeah I have both chemicals available."

"Yes, the Umbra would be a problem. That is why it would be good if we could temporarily make it difficult to escape that way, for them. Changing the permeability of the Gautlet could do that to a degree but it would also do the same for us and the spirit as well.

"Well both you and I might be able to work with the Gauntlet and make it harder and less flexible to cross, I do not know if our Paradigms are similar enough to work together efficiently though."
Adjan said to his Hermetic friend.
"It would be a way to cut out one way of escape for them or at least make it allot harder to flee that way, we might even set up a trap that will capture them in a Gauntlet prison if they try to escape into the Umbra."
The Euthanatos mushed.
"It could be worth it but then again there is always the chance that they will detect it."

And levitation would be vulgar but it's a possibility. So, we have front door, windows, umbra, through the building's walls, floor or ceiling, teleport or magical apportation, and other. Something we've not thought of...it would be helpful if, given our current plan, we could see which of these is likely for them to use to bring Liv out.

"I can try to do a divination on the probability of each route of escape it will not be one hunted percent but it can give us a good indication."
Francesca offered.
"I am not sure we have enough people to cover all those escape routes though."

Also, to cover these areas...our friend might cover the door, assuming my spirit s agreeable, she and perhaps myself or him," he gestured to Adjan, who could cross over, "the umbra, ceilings would be whomever is doing the demo and dump, you can watch for a port out at least," he said to Freddy. "That leaves windows and floors, walls."

"I can cover the door, and I might be able to help out with the walls and other physical escape routes I can deploy a few small drones that will be sharing my mind, I can not fight much in them, I can let them activate a few of my procedures but for the most part all they can do is observe, but at least then we will know if the Fallen flee any given way through the floor, roof or walls."
The cyborg said, Adjan nodded.
"Well if Miss Adlebloom watch for any teleportation attempts like you say Adley and either I and your spirit friend or both of us keep an eye on the Umbra, possibly after putting some traps out into the Gauntlet or strengthening it, and the others stand ready for whatever route of escape our quarry takes then we might stand a chance of ensnaring them."

"Plus we're not sure what the boundary of the Aegis is, so we don't want to trip it by accident."

"Very true..."
Freddy muttered.
"Very true, drill and mundane ways to get the chemicals in it is."
She said then she added.
"On the other hand they might discover the drilling and pouring of chemicals as well, especially if we end up drilling into a room where one of them are located, so that might be a problem."

Don't want to invite bad luck says. RICHARD

"Superstitious nonsense."
Says your new cyborg friend.
"Oh I do not know, I bet I could make you believe in bad luck if I really tried."
Francesca said and the cyborg have her a bit of a glare.

[Ashan101]

It's just an expression. Although I usually make my own luck says Richard

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Francesca grins.
"Making luck is my specialty."
The Euthanatos said your new cyborg ally just grumbled at it.

[Warpmind]

Colin nodded, "It sounds to me as though we have pretty much all the bases covered, then."
He looked up at the cyborg, "Dye your hair... clever; the subtlest changes from the photo the Union likely has on file can be vastly effective, especially if unexpected."

Colin sighed, "All right, I believe we are as prepared as we can be before reaching the apartment's perimeter... I need to be by the door for setting off the vampires' trap, Mr. Kimble here to kick down the door and, well, survive the first jolt, and my apologies in advance for the discomfort that will bring... Doctor, you accompany us in the hallway in case of injuries. Now, who takes drill and gas duty, who secures the Umbra exit, and who covers the floor below?"

He listened intently as he mentally noted the refinements necessary to drain the quintessence into a more practical form than a shard - whether a shield or a punching dagger would be more viable...

((OOC: Actually, WOULD a shield-shaped Prime Blade be useful for defense? I'd assume it would burn away anything both solid and esoteric that tried to punch through...))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Colin nodded, "It sounds to me as though we have pretty much all the bases covered, then."

"We have the basics, we just need the details like how do we get the chemicals into Nicolai's apartment and who will stand guard where."
Freddy said.
"One concern though is that if we split up the group to place one person at all the possible escape routes there is a very real danger that person will just be overwhelmed and taken down once our friends in the apartment flee."
Francesca said sounding concerned.

He looked up at the cyborg, "Dye your hair... clever; the subtlest changes from the photo the Union likely has on file can be vastly effective, especially if unexpected."

"Yes it is for tactical reaons I dye my hair...tactical reasons yes...to not be found..."
The cyborg quickly said, though he probably did it more because he preferred the very light brown hair tone he had now to whatever shade his hair naturally grew out of his scalp as.

Colin sighed, "All right, I believe we are as prepared as we can be before reaching the apartment's perimeter... I need to be by the door for setting off the vampires' trap, Mr. Kimble here to kick down the door and, well, survive the first jolt, and my apologies in advance for the discomfort that will bring... Doctor, you accompany us in the hallway in case of injuries. Now, who takes drill and gas duty, who secures the Umbra exit, and who covers the floor below?"

"If I feel anything at all, discomfort or anything else from that ward it means it will have broken through my resistance and I will be dead."
Mr Kimble said with a grunt.
"So let us just hope that do not happen."
He continued.
"Now as for the floor below my drones might be a good option to send there."

Freddy glanced at Colin and gave him a little smile.
"I can take care of the chemicals and the drilling."
She said.
"And I can set up a rote to notice if they try to teleport out, a detection spell that will go off the moment they leave the protection of the Aegis."

Adjan folded his arms across his chest.
"When it comes to the Umbra we must decide if we are going to put up guards there or try to strengthen the Gauntlet or put up traps, we do not know what part of the Umbra they will try to step into, but regardless of what layer they are aiming for they need to go through the Gauntlet so to me affecting that directly and either make it harder for them to get through or set up a trap, as then we are sure to affect them but just waiting at one layer of the Umbra they might just shift into another one and we will never encounter them."
He said.

(OOC: Yes I would say that a shield shaped Prime blade would be able to deflect rotes that are tossed towards you, but probably not the ones that affect you more directly, and it would definitively work against physical attacks.)

[Adley]

"Well if all we need is someone to bring people out into the Umbra I can do that." Adjan suggested. "I can walk the spirit world and bring others with me, I can not set things on fire though something I suspect your elemental friend can." He added

"That is a fairly safe bet, yes."

"I have both here in the apartment, chlorine for cleaning and bleach because well...I dye my hair." The cyborg said and looked a little embarrassed, vanity was not a prized quality among the operatives of Iteration X. "Anyway yeah I have both chemicals available."

"Good," he said. He didn't care why he had them, just that he did and they could use it.

Well both you and I might be able to work with the Gauntlet and make it harder and less flexible to cross, I do not know if our Paradigms are similar enough to work together efficiently though." Adjan said to his Hermetic friend. "It would be a way to cut out one way of escape for them or at least make it allot harder to flee that way, we might even set up a trap that will capture them in a Gauntlet prison if they try to escape into the Umbra." The Euthanatos mushed. "It could be worth it but then again there is always the chance that they will detect it.

"There will be a chance that they can detect a few areas of our plan, yes. Though we may still have to go with that, if it seems the best options. Why don't you tell me how you would do it in short form and I will see if I can think of how we might work together?"

"I can try to do a divination on the probability of each route of escape it will not be one hunted percent but it can give us a good indication." Francesca offered. "I am not sure we have enough people to cover all those escape routes though.

"Thank you, that will help us hedge our bets. We can't cover every circumstance that might occur in all permutations, but can at least leverage."

One concern though is that if we split up the group to place one person at all the possible escape routes there is a very real danger that person will just be overwhelmed and taken down once our friends in the apartment flee."
Francesca said sounding concerned.

"Again, here I think is why a divination will help us mitigate. You are correct, if it looks like one way is rather more likely than another, we might decide to put efforts there first, for instance."

She said then she added. "On the other hand they might discover the drilling and pouring of chemicals as well, especially if we end up drilling into a room where one of them are located, so that might be a problem.

"If you have the schematics for where the pluming areas are or where they built the electricals, might you be able to use that somehow to mask the work?"

Don't want to invite bad luck says. RICHARD

"No, we don't need any bad luck," he agreed.

olin sighed, "All right, I believe we are as prepared as we can be before reaching the apartment's perimeter... I need to be by the door for setting off the vampires' trap, Mr. Kimble here to kick down the door and, well, survive the first jolt, and my apologies in advance for the discomfort that will bring... Doctor, you accompany us in the hallway in case of injuries. Now, who takes drill and gas duty, who secures the Umbra exit, and who covers the floor below?

"I thought we were making them come out to us? Though, I suppose if they don't...kicking in the door might be required."

Adjan folded his arms across his chest."When it comes to the Umbra we must decide if we are going to put up guards there or try to strengthen the Gauntlet or put up traps, we do not know what part of the Umbra they will try to step into, but regardless of what layer they are aiming for they need to go through the Gauntlet so to me affecting that directly and either make it harder for them to get through or set up a trap, as then we are sure to affect them but just waiting at one layer of the Umbra they might just shift into another one and we will never encounter them."

"Good points. Traps might hurt the girl, depending on the type...strengthening the Gauntlet might be easiest in that  proximity to the Technocrats may have already influenced the permeability of it. And we can do that ourselves. Also, it would take time to negotiate with my friend and influence the Gauntlet and or set traps, so timing might make us choose one and as said, simplest is often the best."

[Warpmind]

Colin nodded, "We will be trying to bring them to us... That's part of why the door needs to be kicked down - that sort of presence will likely reduce their available options, in that it's not going to be safe for them to try opening a gate to somewhere else when the Terminator is bearing down on them. Essentially, between gas and a kicked down door, they're likely to go for the guy in the doorway. Plus, we need to trigger the trap to drain it - we can't afford risking it to first trigger on Liv. I expect she has not been given one of those tokens, after all..."
He sighed, "Now, we need to make sure there are no construction workers on the upper floor... Freddy, dear, could you do a quick check on that before we move?"

[Adley]

Colin nodded, "We will be trying to bring them to us... That's part of why the door needs to be kicked down - that sort of presence will likely reduce their available options, in that it's not going to be safe for them to try opening a gate to somewhere else when the Terminator is bearing down on them. Essentially, between gas and a kicked down door, they're likely to go for the guy in the doorway. Plus, we need to trigger the trap to drain it - we can't afford risking it to first trigger on Liv. I expect she has not been given one of those tokens, after all..."

"Some of them might, yes...and no we don't want Liv to walk into the trap."

He sighed, "Now, we need to make sure there are no construction workers on the upper floor... Freddy, dear, could you do a quick check on that before we move?"

He looked over at her with a bright look. "Air conditioning ducts...is it possible to use those without flooding the whole building? Perhaps if we had a hose or something to aid it along...or simply using them to mask your drill hole?"

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"That is a fairly safe bet, yes."

Adjan gave a little smile at that.

"Good," he said. He didn't care why he had them, just that he did and they could use it.

"They are in the kitchen and bathroom, I will go and get the bottles."
The cyborg said and walked towards what my be the door to the apartment's kitchen.

"There will be a chance that they can detect a few areas of our plan, yes. Though we may still have to go with that, if it seems the best options. Why don't you tell me how you would do it in short form and I will see if I can think of how we might work together?"

"While there as specific areas of the Umbra which are the realm of death, namely the Underworld, I do see the physical world as the world of the living and the spiritual world as the realms beyond that. I would call on the death Gods of the ancient worlds, not quite literary we are not summoning Celestines here, but more there concepts or archetypes to strengthen the veil between this world and and subtler plains. The same I would do to make a trap in the Gauntlet but then in addition to strengthening the veil I would call on Gods of chance and mischief to shape the veil into a spider's web to trap our enemies."
Adjan said.
"If I where to explain it simply at least that is what I would do. I generally use dice as foci to remind me of the slow progression from life to death and it's link to chance and fate and by that I get into contact with the archetypes of the energies believed to govern those processes and realms, though I generally work with microcosmic archetypes rather than the entities themselves."
He explained.

"Thank you, that will help us hedge our bets. We can't cover every circumstance that might occur in all permutations, but can at least leverage."

"One moment then."
Francesca said and sat down on the floor, she dug around in her teddy bear purse again and pulled out a purple velvet bag, from it she poured out what looked like human finger and hand bones and tossed the bones on the floor. For a while the young Euthanatos was quiet as she studied the pattern of the bones.
"I see two grounds in disagreement on where to go...and then chance leaning towards either rushing out the door guns blazing or escaping out into the Umbra, my guess if I where to put some reason and not just magick into this is that the vampire slaves and the Nephandi mages have a disagreement, where the Nephandi want to go for the Umbra and their allies the door. I would say the more irritating and corrosive we make the gas, the less the chance our enemies go for the more complex and involved option of the Umbra and the better the chance they will try to just brute force their way out the door, but like I said this divination is based on chance and probability and is not an absolute."
The death maga said as she begun picking up her little bones again, thanking the man they had been a part of as she did so.

"Again, here I think is why a divination will help us mitigate. You are correct, if it looks like one way is rather more likely than another, we might decide to put efforts there first, for instance."

Adjan just nodded at that.

"If you have the schematics for where the pluming areas are or where they built the electricals, might you be able to use that somehow to mask the work?"

Freddy nodded she tapped at her tablet a few times.
"Here we go, plumbing, electrical and air duct schematics...hum...if we block of a pipe here and here than we can pump gas into Nicolai's apartment from here without the need of drilling into the roof..."
The Virtual Adept said and pointed.

"No, we don't need any bad luck," he agreed.

"Oh no definitively not!"
Freddy commented and shook her head.

"Good points. Traps might hurt the girl, depending on the type...strengthening the Gauntlet might be easiest in that proximity to the Technocrats may have already influenced the permeability of it. And we can do that ourselves. Also, it would take time to negotiate with my friend and influence the Gauntlet and or set traps, so timing might make us choose one and as said, simplest is often the best."

"The trap I had in mind would not harm the girl, or anyone really, it is more making the Gauntlet like...flypaper, now if someone is left in a Gauntlet prison over some time they might go mad over being immobilized between two world, trapped in a limbo like that and some say that you will begin to loose your memory, there are stories of mages found trapped in Gauntlet prisons after failed rotes, mages that have been there for years, who do not even remember their own names, however a few minutes while we catch up will cause no harm, but scary yes, but cause no harm."
Adjan said.
"However yes strengthening the Gauntlet, something the Union men nearby might have already begun to do by their very presence as you say should probably be enough, with corrosive gasses flooding in our enemies will want a quick way out and if the Nephandi try to open a gateway into the spirit world and they meet resistance chances are they will abandon the attempt and use more mundane ways to flee instead."
The death magus reckoned.

Colin nodded, "We will be trying to bring them to us... That's part of why the door needs to be kicked down - that sort of presence will likely reduce their available options, in that it's not going to be safe for them to try opening a gate to somewhere else when the Terminator is bearing down on them. Essentially, between gas and a kicked down door, they're likely to go for the guy in the doorway.

"Actually if I where in a room with poisonous gas and a bloody Hit-Mark...or as good as one came rushing at me from the door, that door would be the last place I would run love, I would go out the window, through the wall, teleport away, anywhere that where not towards the terminator, especially if I was slightly panicked and not thinking to clearly."
Freddy said and shrugged.
"We might not want to scare them away from the door we want them to go out of, that is a bit like trying to scare Raggot out of your lover's ass by lighting a match at the opening you want him to run out of...and we know that did not end well."

Plus, we need to trigger the trap to drain it - we can't afford risking it to first trigger on Liv. I expect she has not been given one of those tokens, after all..."

"Well they do want her alive and it would be a stupid way to keep a hostage alive if she could accidentally trigger a ward and get herself...whatever horrible thing the vampire's rote...spell whatever they call it...do to people. That would be failing evil henchman 101."
Francesca said.

He sighed, "Now, we need to make sure there are no construction workers on the upper floor... Freddy, dear, could you do a quick check on that before we move?"

Freddy nodded she checked the watch on her phone and tapped at her tablet.
"Yeah the construction workers should be on their way home now, they get of their shift at four."
She said as she studied her screen.

He looked over at her with a bright look. "Air conditioning ducts...is it possible to use those without flooding the whole building? Perhaps if we had a hose or something to aid it along...or simply using them to mask your drill hole?"

"Yes there are air ducts we can use, I think it would be even more discrete to block off part of the plumbing and pump the gas in through there though, it should be the most quiet option as well."
Freddy said and brought up the schematics again and pointed to them before she handed Adley the tablet.
"I am less concerned with them seeing a drill hole than them hearing it being made."
She added.

[Adley]

"If I where to explain it simply at least that is what I would do. I generally use dice as foci to remind me of the slow progression from life to death and it's link to chance and fate and by that I get into contact with the archetypes of the energies believed to govern those processes and realms, though I generally work with microcosmic archetypes rather than the entities themselves." He explained.

"Hm...I can also work with microcosmic archetypes and conceptual intelligences, via kabalah for example. There are rituals that can involve using these as paths," he said thoughtfully. "Though I would not invoke death, it would be sealing the gates of reality using words, gestures, or a seal."

"I see two grounds in disagreement on where to go...and then chance leaning towards either rushing out the door guns blazing or escaping out into the Umbra, my guess if I where to put some reason and not just magick into this is that the vampire slaves and the Nephandi mages have a disagreement, where the Nephandi want to go for the Umbra and their allies the door. I would say the more irritating and corrosive we make the gas, the less the chance our enemies go for the more complex and involved option of the Umbra and the better the chance they will try to just brute force their way out the door, but like I said this divination is based on chance and probability and is not an absolute.

Adley nodded at that. "That seems like it makes sense, that the vampires would think to run out the door and the mages out the Umbra."

"The trap I had in mind would not harm the girl, or anyone really, it is more making the Gauntlet like...flypaper, now if someone is left in a Gauntlet prison over some time they might go mad over being immobilized between two world, trapped in a limbo like that and some say that you will begin to loose your memory, there are stories of mages found trapped in Gauntlet prisons after failed rotes, mages that have been there for years, who do not even remember their own names, however a few minutes while we catch up will cause no harm, but scary yes, but cause no harm." Adjan said.

"I see. Or rather, I hope that I never experience that," he said, scratching a hand down the side of his face.

"However yes strengthening the Gauntlet, something the Union men nearby might have already begun to do by their very presence as you say should probably be enough, with corrosive gasses flooding in our enemies will want a quick way out and if the Nephandi try to open a gateway into the spirit world and they meet resistance chances are they will abandon the attempt and use more mundane ways to flee instead."

"Yes, and like you said, depending where they are able to step out, they might miss the trap anyway."

[quote]"Actually if I where in a room with poisonous gas and a bloody Hit-Mark...or as good as one came rushing at me from the door, that door would be the last place I would run love, I would go out the window, through the wall, teleport away, anywhere that where not towards the terminator, especially if I was slightly panicked and not thinking to clearly."[quote]

"I can't argue with that logic. It's true if I saw a Hit-Mark standing at my door I might tell you all to run out the window."

Freddy said and shrugged. "We might not want to scare them away from the door we want them to go out of, that is a bit like trying to scare Raggot out of your lover's ass by lighting a match at the opening you want him to run out of...and we know that did not end well."

He just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Well they do want her alive and it would be a stupid way to keep a hostage alive if she could accidentally trigger a ward and get herself...whatever horrible thing the vampire's rote...spell whatever they call it...do to people. That would be failing evil henchman 101."
Francesca said.

"Henchman 101..." He started to laugh, trying to stifle it but wasn't able to right away. "But that's a point, plus they were leaving at 8 they said so unless they were going to be let out of here, they'll need to get her out."

Yes there are air ducts we can use, I think it would be even more discrete to block off part of the plumbing and pump the gas in through there though, it should be the most quiet option as well." Freddy said and brought up the schematics again and pointed to them before she handed Adley the tablet."I am less concerned with them seeing a drill hole than them hearing it being made."

"Whatever you think will work better," he nodded in agreement. "As for quiet...well, do you figure that using magick on yourself would trip the Aegis? I've used forces ars to deaden sound in the immediate vicinity of me. Correspondence ars could funnel the sound elsewhere. More easily said than done but it seems possible, if your paradigm allows for such."

[Tane Karyak]

Friday:

Kids in the war is a terrible thing... but then, war is the most terrible of all things. He said sadly.

They are both true, we are mages, we make our truth.

I say that a pattern is a song, and when you make the song resonate with different things, you can affect it. A wave, that's it. Kinda like that

Saturday:

Thanks for the kind words, Cita. Tane hold her hand on her soulder and lowered his head. I'll take care of her.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"Hm...I can also work with microcosmic archetypes and conceptual intelligences, via kabalah for example. There are rituals that can involve using these as paths," he said thoughtfully. "Though I would not invoke death, it would be sealing the gates of reality using words, gestures, or a seal."

"I do not work with the Cabala but more the Gods of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquity seen as archetypes, I have never tried to work with words and gestures but using dice as a reminder of their power inside of me and their nature is not that far from using a seal so I might be able to work with that."
Adjan suggested.

Adley nodded at that. "That seems like it makes sense, that the vampires would think to run out the door and the mages out the Umbra."

"Well then at least there is a strong indication that if we make fleeing through the Umbra harder and more time consuming that might tip the scale towards the door."
Francesca said as she put the last of the finger bones into their velvet bag and put them back into her teddy bear.

"I see. Or rather, I hope that I never experience that," he said, scratching a hand down the side of his face.

"It is one of the many things it is good to avoid when working with magick."
Adjan said with a bit of a smile.

"Yes, and like you said, depending where they are able to step out, they might miss the trap anyway."

"Not so much for we will be trapping the Gauntlet itself and they have to pass through that, however I think there is enough indicating that it would be a waste of efforts that just making it harder to get out into the Umbra might be all we need, after all we are on the clock and keeping it simple might be better, like rats in a maze when trying to get out into the spirit world fails without allot of effort then chances are they will try a mundane solution instead."

"I can't argue with that logic. It's true if I saw a Hit-Mark standing at my door I might tell you all to run out the window."

"You would not have to tell me."
Freddy grunted then she gave a bit of a smile.

He just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What you don't read urban legends? You see there was this couple who thought their sex life was getting a bit dull and they happened to have this gerbil named Raggot so they decided to..."
Freddy begun when Francesca interrupted her.
"Aaaaaanyway Freddy, I think you have made your point, big bad Iteration X cyborg kicking down the door is not likely to make someone to want to run out that door but rather head in the opposite direction."
The Euthanatos said and blushed.

"Henchman 101..." He started to laugh, trying to stifle it but wasn't able to right away. "But that's a point, plus they were leaving at 8 they said so unless they were going to be let out of here, they'll need to get her out."

"Plus she is a kid and kids are unpredictable if you get kidnapped and your kidnapper tells you do not go near the door or your brain will shoot out of your nose so hard it will bounce of the walls, chances are you will not go near the door but instead find some other means of escape, but a kid might panic and do it anyway, or in other ways just head out that door and then what are you going to tell your boss, and besides it is probably easier to run after her and catch her again than it is to wake her from the dead if she triggers that ward on herself."
Freddy said and nodded, she gave Adley a bit of a smile.

"Whatever you think will work better," he nodded in agreement. "As for quiet...well, do you figure that using magick on yourself would trip the Aegis? I've used forces ars to deaden sound in the immediate vicinity of me. Correspondence ars could funnel the sound elsewhere. More easily said than done but it seems possible, if your paradigm allows for such."

"My Paradigm should allow it yeah....hum sure I should be able to send just that aspect of it over the phone to someone else or make a MP4 out of it and attach that to a text message and send someone, yeah sure I can do that...and well I am magick as well so if it triggers on magick just being near it then it will trigger by my presence anyway so it would be worth trying if we are going for the drilling a hole idea, if not we need to find a way to block some pipes."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Friday:

Kids in the war is a terrible thing... but then, war is the most terrible of all things. He said sadly.

"I guess so yes...do you think this war that mages have going on will ever end?"
Lily asked.

They are both true, we are mages, we make our truth.

I say that a pattern is a song, and when you make the song resonate with different things, you can affect it. A wave, that's it. Kinda like that

That is pretty cool.
The young woman said as you reached the library. Walking inside you notice that Hildegaard is not there this day, but a handsome, dark haired man dressed somewhere between a Goth and a hippie, in a tie dye shirt, black leather jacket and silver rings on several fingers, one of them the lotus flower that the Cult of Ecstasy used as a symbol was there together with a beautiful young woman perhaps a year older than Lily, she was rather plump with long, dark brown hair and wearing a lose fitting pink and yellow tshirt with a peace sign on it and blue jeans, you recognize Ryan and his apprentice Rosa, the two of them where discussing what book to get for her education within the Sphere of Time. The man turned when you came in.
"Ah Tane...you brought a friend, is she a wereshark also?"
He asked and Lily gave you a questioning look at that. Rosa though seamed quite interested in the girl her age she put the book she was holding under her arm so she could offer Lily a handshake.
"Hi...I am Rosa Olsen."
She said, Lily smiled.
"I am Lily Gray, nice to meet you."
She replied.

Saturday:

Thanks for the kind words, Cita. Tane hold her hand on her soulder and lowered his head. I'll take care of her.

Cita gave a warm smile.
"Thank you Tane oh and one more thing be mindful of the Mercere when working in there, the girl seam to still be fascinated by magick, seeing it used seam to be the only thing that get anything but a black stare from her, but for Mr Gregario it is a painful reminder of what he have lost...there are no ways around it magick need to be done to care for Beatrice but just be aware of it."
The Virtual Adept said then she nodded.
"Well then I should go and tend to my patient."

[Adley]

"I do not work with the Cabala but more the Gods of Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquity seen as archetypes, I have never tried to work with words and gestures but using dice as a reminder of their power inside of me and their nature is not that far from using a seal so I might be able to work with that."

"I can work in Greek, Roman and Egyptian archetypes certainly...maybe something..." He frowned thoughtfully to himself..."What if I drew out a type of sigil, say within a crossed circle with the formula I.A.O. Isis, Apophis, Osiris, or a Name of God, associated with other godforms as well but for this purpose those seem appropriate. The whole sigil representing the intersections and boundaries of the material and spiritual worlds with the purpose of closing of the Veil...then if you lay out your dice, the representation can become dynamic, the action fulfilling its purpose. It would be as if I started the thing but you ended it," he suggested. He flipped to a new page and drew out a Greek cross and circle, leaving the double ring and appointing them but not activating it with the forumalae.

"Not so much for we will be trapping the Gauntlet itself and they have to pass through that, however I think there is enough indicating that it would be a waste of efforts that just making it harder to get out into the Umbra might be all we need, after all we are on the clock and keeping it simple might be better, like rats in a maze when trying to get out into the spirit world fails without allot of effort then chances are they will try a mundane solution instead."

"Ah...well yes we are on the clock, indeed." He pulled a frown at that. They'd already had to scrap their first plan, though he couldn't be upset at it, by the way it sounded it would have ultimately failed.

"What you don't read urban legends? You see there was this couple who thought their sex life was getting a bit dull and they happened to have this gerbil named Raggot so they decided to..." Freddy begun when Francesca interrupted her.

"Aaaaaanyway Freddy, I think you have made your point, big bad Iteration X cyborg kicking down the door is not likely to make someone to want to run out that door but rather head in the opposite direction." The Euthanatos said and blushed

Adley's face began to turn pink as Freddy spoke. He coughed a little and muttered thank you to Francesca. "Then we should leave them the gap instead so they run towards it, I believe is the point here. I agree with that, if you're waiting to ambush them that would make sense."

"My Paradigm should allow it yeah....hum sure I should be able to send just that aspect of it over the phone to someone else or make a MP4 out of it and attach that to a text message and send someone, yeah sure I can do that...and well I am magick as well so if it triggers on magick just being near it then it will trigger by my presence anyway so it would be worth trying if we are going for the drilling a hole idea, if not we need to find a way to block some pipes."

He glanced at Colin for a moment, and then nodded to Freddy. "Send the sound elsewhere, and then to block the pipes....how big are we talking about here?...if we're at a construction site there are probably some leftovers around. Caulk, gels, glue, quick-mix cement. It would not even need to set."

[Warpmind]

Colin nodded, "I think we've got as much of a plan as is safe, to allow for the inevitable first encounter with the enemy, where all planning goes out the proverbial - or in this case the literal window. Shall we gather the supplies and check out the relevant floors in person, then?"

((OOC: Sorry, I'm a bit out of it. Bad head cold - I was supposed to be at work, and then attend the wedding of two ladies today, but instead, I have a mostly clogged set of sinuses and a blacksmith's vise squeezing my skull just behind the temples. ))

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"I can work in Greek, Roman and Egyptian archetypes certainly...maybe something..." He frowned thoughtfully to himself..."What if I drew out a type of sigil, say within a crossed circle with the formula I.A.O. Isis, Apophis, Osiris, or a Name of God, associated with other godforms as well but for this purpose those seem appropriate. The whole sigil representing the intersections and boundaries of the material and spiritual worlds with the purpose of closing of the Veil...then if you lay out your dice, the representation can become dynamic, the action fulfilling its purpose. It would be as if I started the thing but you ended it," he suggested. He flipped to a new page and drew out a Greek cross and circle, leaving the double ring and appointing them but not activating it with the forumalae.

"Hum...Osiris I work with...the others less so but yes the method should work, yes I can make that work for me, you lead and start the ritual and I will finish it, it will not be a perfect fit but good enough."
The Euthanatos said and played with his bone dice between his fingers.
"Then we have a plan for dealing with the Gauntlet."

"Ah...well yes we are on the clock, indeed." He pulled a frown at that. They'd already had to scrap their first plan, though he couldn't be upset at it, by the way it sounded it would have ultimately failed.

"Then we go for strengthening the Gauntlet and just that, should we focus on that apartment or this whole building when we work on it?"
Adjan suggested.

Adley's face began to turn pink as Freddy spoke. He coughed a little and muttered thank you to Francesca. "Then we should leave them the gap instead so they run towards it, I believe is the point here. I agree with that, if you're waiting to ambush them that would make sense."

Francesca gave you a look that said that she had to stop Freddy's comments at times before as well, the two of them was after all in the same Cabal and knew one another well.
"Yes that was my point yes."
Freddy said and gave her Euthanatos friend a bit of a gripe.
"So just to sum it up, you guys mess with the Gauntlet, I plug the pipes and pour in the chemicals and the rest wait in the hallway to jump the Nephandi when they come running out of the apartment, it seams like we got a plan."

He glanced at Colin for a moment, and then nodded to Freddy. "Send the sound elsewhere, and then to block the pipes....how big are we talking about here?...if we're at a construction site there are probably some leftovers around. Caulk, gels, glue, quick-mix cement. It would not even need to set."

"Regular wall pipe size so not the biggest, it should not be that hard to find something to block them."
Freddy said and nodded.
"And yes I will send the sound elsewhere."

Colin nodded, "I think we've got as much of a plan as is safe, to allow for the inevitable first encounter with the enemy, where all planning goes out the proverbial - or in this case the literal window. Shall we gather the supplies and check out the relevant floors in person, then?"

"Yes I would like to have a look up there but not all of us should go, we do not want to spook the ones in the apartment, what if Miss Adlebloom and one or two more go to check out the relevant floors, and I and Adley begin to work on the Gauntlet."
Adjan said.
"Let us get this thing done."

(OOC: I hope you feel better soon Warp and no worry the game is not running away. I have been working on a RPG session for the Sword of Truth world anyway.)

[Adley]

"Hum...Osiris I work with...the others less so but yes the method should work, yes I can make that work for me, you lead and start the ritual and I will finish it, it will not be a perfect fit but good enough." The Euthanatos said and played with his bone dice between his fingers. "Then we have a plan for dealing with the Gauntlet."

He nodded. "Very well, if there is anything that you think would facilitate this let me know, certain symbols for example that we have in common. As long as our efforts are hopefully stronger jointly than if we worked separately, then it will be worthwhile. I believe it can be."

"Then we go for strengthening the Gauntlet and just that, should we focus on that apartment or this whole building when we work on it?"Adjan suggested.

He looked thoughtful. "It would have to be enough area that they will feel the need to run out the door instead of go through the umbra." He talked it out to himself. "The gas goes in, they think to run out the umbra...it doesn't work the first time, for some reason. Some stubborn magi might try again, apport somewhere and go out somewhere close by like the roof. What do you think?"

"So just to sum it up, you guys mess with the Gauntlet, I plug the pipes and pour in the chemicals and the rest wait in the hallway to jump the Nephandi when they come running out of the apartment, it seams like we got a plan."

He nodded. "It is a plan. And we have our friend here's help to ambush them and the drones to cover some of the areas we might not see, just in case. If Adjan is working with me, and the two likely areas for them to go out are the door and the umbra, then it might be good for you to be around the door," he said to Francesca. "If Colin stays at the door, I'd like my keys back since you'll already have a set between you."

"Yes I would like to have a look up there but not all of us should go, we do not want to spook the ones in the apartment, what if Miss Adlebloom and one or two more go to check out the relevant floors, and I and Adley begin to work on the Gauntlet." Adjan said. "Let us get this thing done.

He nodded. "It will take us a little while to scope out these areas and set up the thickening of the veil. Also, I still have the tass. Who thinks they could use some, to get what they're doing done a little easier or to have something on hand to get Liv out?"

// Ugh, I hate colds and flu. Feel better soon Warp! And this should be something of a busy weekend for me too, got some chores/home repairs, so don't worry at all.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

He nodded. "Very well, if there is anything that you think would facilitate this let me know, certain symbols for example that we have in common. As long as our efforts are hopefully stronger jointly than if we worked separately, then it will be worthwhile. I believe it can be."

"For me I need to contact the archetypes of the Godheads I am working with to call forth those energies within myself, I do this by reminders that I can feel, see and touch like my dice. I do not think there are any other symbols that would be beneficial for me, you will have to lead the ritual though Adley, my magick is simple, I very seldom do ritual work, lead and I should be able to follow your cue."
The death magus said, he was a more powerful and experienced mage, but he was not a ritual magician so he choose to take a step back and lend his power to such an endeavor instead.

He looked thoughtful. "It would have to be enough area that they will feel the need to run out the door instead of go through the umbra." He talked it out to himself. "The gas goes in, they think to run out the umbra...it doesn't work the first time, for some reason. Some stubborn magi might try again, apport somewhere and go out somewhere close by like the roof. What do you think?"

"If they have anyone skilled enough with correspondence to teleport out with someone in tow then we are out of luck, we can not protect against that while they are inside the Aegis, however yes if it was me in there and I wanted to flee out into the Umbra and it did not work I would try to get out of the apartment to see if whatever my enemies had done, for I would assume they had done something, might not reach that far, so we need to cover an area big enough for it not to be practical for them to get out into the spirit world from somewhere else nearby either. Now the apartment only have one door true but they might go out onto the fire escape or find some other way to get out and try crossing the Gauntlet from there."
Adjan said he played with his dice absentmindedly as he spoke.

He nodded. "It is a plan. And we have our friend here's help to ambush them and the drones to cover some of the areas we might not see, just in case. If Adjan is working with me, and the two likely areas for them to go out are the door and the umbra, then it might be good for you to be around the door," he said to Francesca. "If Colin stays at the door, I'd like my keys back since you'll already have a set between you."

Francesca nodded and handed you the keys to the kia back.
"Ok so the group of us other than you and Adjan and Freddy wait in the hallway to the apartment, perhaps just inside the door to a nearby apartment, they are all empty after all, so we do not spook our targets before they are out, Mr ehm...Kimble sends his drones to have a look in the areas we are not covering and when the Nephandi and vampire slaves comes out we just do our best to take them out. I use my rote to be as unnoticeable as possible and try to wisk Liv Bergen away to safety, the Doc holds back so he stays safe in case his services is required and when we have the girl we get the hell out of here...that is the plan we are all clear on right?"
Francesca said.

He nodded. "It will take us a little while to scope out these areas and set up the thickening of the veil. Also, I still have the tass. Who thinks they could use some, to get what they're doing done a little easier or to have something on hand to get Liv out?"

"I have one dram of tass on me so I should be fine."
Francesca said. Freddy nodded.
"The magickal part of my job is not difficult, sending the sound of messing with the plumbing somewhere else should not be a problem, do not you and Adjan need that juice to get the Gauntlet fixed up?"
The Virtual Adept asked as she looked up from her phone.

[Tane Karyak]

Friday:

Sadly, where there are two people with different points of view, there will be conflict. But this war... it's already over. We have already lost. he said in a sad tone of voice. We are but the remainings of magick, for it is being forgotten. Technology is taking over, and for every little advance, we are thrown back in other 5 places. It is over, now, we're being purged by nature.

Tane smiled at the thought Would you like me to bring a couple more? he asked in an amused tone of voice. I know only a few of the locals, unfortunatelly. No, Lily here is a mage like us. She awakened on her own and i'm trying to introduce the traditions to her. Would you mind to tal to her about the Cult of Ecstasy? Or have you seen Miss Hildegaard?

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

Sadly, where there are two people with different points of view, there will be conflict. But this war... it's already over. We have already lost. he said in a sad tone of voice. We are but the remainings of magick, for it is being forgotten. Technology is taking over, and for every little advance, we are thrown back in other 5 places. It is over, now, we're being purged by nature.

"That is sad."
Lily said and sigh.
"Is there nothing that can be done to make people remember magick again? I mean why should there be conflict, Technology is great but so do it seam that magick is, why should we only have one or the other?"
The young woman asked.

Tane smiled at the thought Would you like me to bring a couple more? he asked in an amused tone of voice. I know only a few of the locals, unfortunatelly. No, Lily here is a mage like us. She awakened on her own and i'm trying to introduce the traditions to her.

Ryan gave a grin at that.
"I think perhaps Master Morgan would have a fit if you filled the Chantry with weresharks."
He said then he held out his hand in greeting to Lily.
"I am Ryan Darehill welcome to our world."
He said and the young woman shook his hand.
"Lily Gray, thank you Mr Darehill, it can be rather overwhelming though."
Ryan nods in agreement.
"Yeah I suppose it can."
Rosa just grins.
"Talk about overwhelming."
She said and shrugged.
"I awakened just a month ago and my head is still spinning, I can not believe I am living at a place full of mages, that there are other worlds, spirits and yes weresharks it makes my head hurt."
The young Cultist sigh and Lily nodded at that.
"Yeah me to."
She muttered.

Would you mind to tal to her about the Cult of Ecstasy? Or have you seen Miss Hildegaard?

"Oh are you sure you would want young, innocent girls know about the Cult of Extasy?"
Ryan said with a big sarcastic grin over the stereotypes of his Tradition then he nodded.
"Yeah sure I can have a talk with her, at least about the basics. As for Hildegaard she is at the airport picking up her old mentor who are coming with a menagerie of Node cleansers to see if they can whip our secondary Node that a Nephandus pissed in back into shape, she should be back soon though."
The Coltist said and took a look at his watch.

[Adley]

...you will have to lead the ritual though Adley, my magick is simple, I very seldom do ritual work, lead and I should be able to follow your cue."The death magus said

"I see, well, if you think that this makes sense to you. Also, we will need to determine where we will be when we start. I cannot be too close to the apartment itself, my voice will carry and that would rather defeat the purpose."

"If they have anyone skilled enough with correspondence to teleport out with someone in tow then we are out of luck, we can not protect against that while they are inside the Aegis, however yes if it was me in there and I wanted to flee out into the Umbra and it did not work I would try to get out of the apartment to see if whatever my enemies had done, for I would assume they had done something, might not reach that far, so we need to cover an area big enough for it not to be practical for them to get out into the spirit world from somewhere else nearby either. Now the apartment only have one door true but they might go out onto the fire escape or find some other way to get out and try crossing the Gauntlet from there."

"I suppose that is true. Well, let's hope we have a little luck with that and work with what we can do. So maybe the area should encompass the floors above and below and wide enough to reach the windows and fire escapes at least. I would say a bit more as well in the event someone is willing to take a few steps towards paradox and so that the stairs are covered and they cannot escape if they manage to get around the ambush. It would be hard to do the whole building, though and would take a while to cover it sufficiently but too close and we ding the Aegis anyway," he said.

"I have one dram of tass on me so I should be fine." Francesca said.
Freddy nodded. "The magickal part of my job is not difficult, sending the sound of messing with the plumbing somewhere else should not be a problem, do not you and Adjan need that juice to get the Gauntlet fixed up?"

He nodded. "Yes, but I was making sure in the event someone else thought they needed it," he said, taking the bag and offering one of the drams to Adjan.

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"I see, well, if you think that this makes sense to you. Also, we will need to determine where we will be when we start. I cannot be too close to the apartment itself, my voice will carry and that would rather defeat the purpose."

"I can help with that, I can send the sound of your voice somewhere else as well...well maybe I can...I do not mean to get to personal but do you have Echoes or a Paradox flaw? I mean I have never seen you do anything in a whisper."
Freddy said and scratched her heard.
"If so we would need to do a test to see if my rotes would still work but if it will then I can send the sound of your voice somewhere else, back here to this apartment for example."
The Virtual Adept said and Adjan nodded.
"Perhaps but I do not think we need to do the ritual itself very close to Nicolai's apartment, we can do most of it, enchant this sigial and then just place that up there, or we just sneak into one of the empty apartments on the same floor and do it there."
He suggested.

"I suppose that is true. Well, let's hope we have a little luck with that and work with what we can do. So maybe the area should encompass the floors above and below and wide enough to reach the windows and fire escapes at least. I would say a bit more as well in the event someone is willing to take a few steps towards paradox and so that the stairs are covered and they cannot escape if they manage to get around the ambush. It would be hard to do the whole building, though and would take a while to cover it sufficiently but too close and we ding the Aegis anyway," he said.

"Agreed, the floor above and below the relevant floor and wide enough to cover the stairs and the fire escape then we should be good and avoid directly affecting their wards."
The Euthanatos said and nodded.
"Considering our discussion of where to do it, if we do it in the floor above that should be empty and the building is large enough that we should not be heard."
He commented.
"It might be the safest place."

He nodded. "Yes, but I was making sure in the event someone else thought they needed it," he said, taking the bag and offering one of the drams to Adjan.

The death magus took one of the drams, they had the shape of stones, or rather they looked like some strange resin really, they where clear with a green hue to them and felt warm to the touch, they where from the villa Node, before it had become corrupted.
"You shall have it back if I do not need it."
He said and pocked the lump of magickal energy.

[Adley]

"I can help with that, I can send the sound of your voice somewhere else as well...well maybe I can...I do not mean to get to personal but do you have Echoes or a Paradox flaw? I mean I have never seen you do anything in a whisper." Freddy said and scratched her heard. "If so we would need to do a test to see if my rotes would still work but if it will then I can send the sound of your voice somewhere else, back here to this apartment for example."
"Perhaps but I do not think we need to do the ritual itself very close to Nicolai's apartment, we can do most of it, enchant this sigial and then just place that up there, or we just sneak into one of the empty apartments on the same floor and do it there."
He suggested.

"It's not too personal if it pertains to the mission at hand," he assured her though he wasn't exactly happy to have to explain. "But yes, ever since I awakened I have not been able to use any magick without a certain amount of sonic effect. Echoes, literally. I tried to use a silence rote on myself and I found at least at that time, I could still speak, though around me was silenced and I could not hear my movements. So I am not sure if your rote would help, but thank you. But I think Adjan is right, I was thinking more that we could be at a border, much like yourself, and that should work. However, we don't know if the Aegis ends at the apartment or not, so perhaps casting it somewhere not too close is the best thing to do anyway."

"Considering our discussion of where to do it, if we do it in the floor above that should be empty and the building is large enough that we should not be heard." He commented. "It might be the safest place."

"I agree. Once they are flushed out, we should be able to maneuver ourselves to assist with the rest of the mission unless something else crops up. But best to see what happens at that point."

"You shall have it back if I do not need it." He said and pocked the lump of magickal energy.

"It is for the mission, so if we need to use it to accomplish our task here, then use it. I trust your judgement."

[Anja Rebekka Schultze]

"It's not too personal if it pertains to the mission at hand," he assured her though he wasn't exactly happy to have to explain. "But yes, ever since I awakened I have not been able to use any magick without a certain amount of sonic effect. Echoes, literally.

"Well it is not the worst Echos one can have."
Freddy said.
"I mean I grew up with old horror movies and some of the weaknesses of mages in those are pretty bad, and then I meet people like Ra...well you know who I am talking about."
She said suddenly deciding that the names she had already spoken in front of the cyborg might be something that could be used against their allies.
"Anyway and she have those weaknesses so you got of easy."

I tried to use a silence rote on myself and I found at least at that time, I could still speak, though around me was silenced and I could not hear my movements. So I am not sure if your rote would help, but thank you.

"Yeah it becomes a part of your magickal nature and so are so much harder to affect, it is the same I guess that if you get attached in a way to an injury...then the scars remain with you even if someone try to heal you, they become a part of you, or that it is much harder to teleport someone's heart out of their chest than steal the lamp of their nightstand."
She said and absentmindedly scrached at the scars that her mass of cyber dreads hid.

But I think Adjan is right, I was thinking more that we could be at a border, much like yourself, and that should work. However, we don't know if the Aegis ends at the apartment or not, so perhaps casting it somewhere not too close is the best thing to do anyway."

"I doubt the Aegis expands beyond the apartment simply because there are so many lesser supernaturals out there that really know nothing about our society or anything else and an Aegis will push back anything with a hint of magick, so all you would need is for one of the construction workers to have a hint of psychic ability, be Wiccan or an lesser hedge wizard of some sort or for a curious tenant that likes to lay Tarot cards to get a bit to close and you would be in trouble."
Freddy said.
"That is the down side of an Aegis, at the Chantry I was trained in we once had it go of when we had Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on our door, turns out one of them had psychic flashes in her dreams and that was enough, it created quite a mess."

"Well if we are worried about sound carrying to the vampire's apartment going up to the third floor but staying some distance from it should get us close enough to work our rote and at the same time being far enough away to not be affected by their wards, we have to keep in mind Nicolai's own ward as well after all."
Adjan said.
"No need to take chances when we do not have to."

"I agree. Once they are flushed out, we should be able to maneuver ourselves to assist with the rest of the mission unless something else crops up. But best to see what happens at that point."

Adjan nodded.
"Agreed."
He simply said.
"We should probably go and get going with the working though and let Miss Adlebloom work on the pipes."
He said.
"So when we are done we move down the floors and try to assist the others in taking down the Nephandi and their allies?"

"It is for the mission, so if we need to use it to accomplish our task here, then use it. I trust your judgement."

Adjan nodded.
"Thank you."
He said for your vote of confidence.
"Anything else we should discuss before we get going, we are all clear on our individual tasks?"

[Ashan101]

"Clear" Richard acknowledges

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