"Better off that way" Joseph mutters just loud enough to be heard by everyone with the shortest phrase he's used all night. He looks towards the mage of the Veil out of the corner of his eye, judging the reaction of the one who seems most prone to broaching that which the other obviously intends not to.
Once everyone was introduced, The Nemean turned the conversation to light small talk--weather, sports, automotive repair, and other uncontroversial topics.
OOC
Everyone gets a Presence+Socialize roll here to determine who is the most effective in conversation for the scene. If you want to spend willpower to boost it, I'll just roll those dice on top of this result and update this box.
Surprisingly, Jeremiah led the conversation, holding court with easy, casual joviality. The others at the table almost didn't notice that Jeremiah deftly avoided any train of discussion that would require him to reveal the barest scrap of information about himself.
The Nemean ate slowly, clearing off his plate last. Wiping his mouth with the napkin he had lain in his lap, The Nemean cleared his throat. "Now, let's talk about why I've asked you all here today. Part of being a responsible member of the Awakened community is working with other legitimate mages when the need arises. I need to know if you five can be counted on to play ball and get things done.
"So here's my offer: I want you to get something for me, and given your connections to Cambridge, you're all better suited to get it than anyone else I've got at the moment. I want you to show me you can work with other mages, so this is a group assignment. In return, I'm prepared to offer you a nice piece of property out near MIT, situated on a pretty decent Hallow.
"Before we discuss the details of that little plan, though, I want to see if your training's as good as your mentors say. There's a spirit in Cormant House that doesn't belong here. While I get these dishes cleaned up, I want you five to try to get the spirit to move along. You're welcome to use any spells you like," he chuckled, "Just so long as you don't break anything."
Last edited by Hella_Tellah; 23rd November 2008 at 08:18 PM..
Mitchell was excluded from much of the ebb and flow of casual conversation. But it was his own fault really for being anti-social. His obvious reluctance to join in and be chatty had hindered his participation. Instead, wily Jeremiah had claimed the spotlight and the majority of the table's attention. Never trust a Guardian, he sulked.
However, The Nemean's after-dinner offer to grant their group a Hallow immediately sobered him up. Whoa, that's major league action right there, he knew. But there was a catch. All of the mages invited tonight had to work together. Ugh, just great.
That meant Mitchell needed to start assessing the others. Rocking back in his chair, he watched to see who the Type A personalities turned out to be. He could already imagine Jeremiah's voice doling out orders. I wouldn't be surprised by that one bit, he scowled.
And to top everything off, the young Obrimos also wondered what ever happened to dessert.
__________________ ●
Last edited by Annalist; 23rd November 2008 at 11:37 AM..
Reason: Minor edit.
Thorn took the Nemean's words in and nodded. Seemed fairly straightforward to her. It was exactly the kind of thing Chango had been preparing her for, in theory at least.
"What kind of spirit is it?" she wants to know. With her left hand she makes a sort of 'winding' motion, asking for elaboration. "What kind of history does it have?"
"What kind of spirit is it?" she wants to know. With her left hand she makes a sort of 'winding' motion, asking for elaboration. "What kind of history does it have?"
The Nemean chuckled, "Oddly enough, it's a spirit of history. Bit of a weird history, though. Let's say it's a 'revisionist' spirit."
Last edited by Hella_Tellah; 24th November 2008 at 05:13 AM..
"I'm afraid I don't quite follow. Well, I suppose I'll find out with everyone else upon encountering this spirit. Do you perhaps know where it is, more specifically than in the Cormant House?"
At this point, Joseph will take a moment to study the resonace of the area around him, searching for both its nature and any characteristics (ie the things that the mind spell lets him search for). At the same time, he'll check out each of his companions as subtly as possible (not going for the Nemean).
Surprisingly, Thorn was the first to react. Mitchell hadn't really expected that, but perhaps she was familiar with dealing with spirits. He tried to remember everything that she had revealed about herself over the course of dinner, but could only recall her mentioning The Adamantine Arrow and little else. If she turned out to be conversant with the Spirit Arcanum, then that'd be a good fact to know.
Anyway, while Spirit wasn't one of Mitchell's natural inclinations as an Obrimos, it did happen to be an area of study that he was knowledgeable in. And The Nemean did say we could use whatever spells we wanted. So he focused inward, regulated his breathing, and began chanting a melodic string of arcane syllables. The potent words spilled forth from his mouth, adding their power to the rote that he started casting. If the spirit that the Hierarch wanted found was in the immediate vicinity, then this would hopefully allow the young mage to see, hear, and speak with it.
Quote:
OOC: Casting Spirit Tongue (as a Rote)
Dice Pool = High Speech (2) + Presence (3) + Socialize (1) + Spirit (2)
"Uh...okay," Thorn replies, giving Mitchell a glance as he babbles some spell or something. Didn't whatshisface at the door say this guy didn't like tricks? Oh well, not her problem.
"Anything..." useful "specific you can tell us? Or is figuring that out part of the test? Just so I don't waste any time chasing shadows."
At this point, Joseph will take a moment to study the resonace of the area around him, searching for both its nature and any characteristics (ie the things that the mind spell lets him search for). At the same time, he'll check out each of his companions as subtly as possible (not going for the Nemean).
So, Prime 1 Supernal Vision with a conjunctional Mind 1 to add Aura Perception?
Gnosis+Prime: 6 dice, 0 successes
Joseph scanned the room, but his supernal senses were muddled. He had never scanned a room full of mages before, and the sensation caught him off guard.
OOC
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annalist
So he focused inward, regulated his breathing, and began chanting a melodic string of arcane syllables. The potent words spilled forth from his mouth, adding their power to the rote that he started casting. If the spirit that the Hierarch wanted found was in the immediate vicinity, then this would hopefully allow the young mage to see, hear, and speak with it.
Presence+Socialize+Spirit: 7/2
Gabriel finished speaking, and looked up from the table. The invisible realm of Twilight soaked into his vision like dye bleeding into cloth, and he waited as his mind adjusted to present the information in a form he could comprehend. He heard shrieking cries in a bizarre mix of Arabic, Farsi, and Turkish directly behind him. Gabriel turned around and looked over the breakfast nook, into the kitchen. Tongues of flame jutted out from the oven, coalescing into the shape of a fanged man in chains. He was screaming at The Nemean, who seemed, blithely, not to hear or care. The spirit turned with a confused look in his eye to stare at Gabriel.
"You-- you can see me?" it said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayuri
"Anything..." useful "specific you can tell us? Or is figuring that out part of the test? Just so I don't waste any time chasing shadows."
"Good guess, again!" The Nemean replied, impressed. "Figuring that out is part of the test. You have to know where to look. I will save you some time, though: we have more than one spirit in this house. You need to pick the right one. And don't get rid of any of the other ones; I like those ones. Figure out the spirit that doesn't belong. You know: 'one of these things is not like the others...'"
He had a singing voice like Tom Waits gargling gravel.
Last edited by Hella_Tellah; 24th November 2008 at 07:36 AM..
Wonderful. Spirits. One of the myriad areas where I'm told I'm woefully deficient. "Well, I'm afraid I don't have a Compelling of Spirit to rub between my Knowing and my Unveiling, so I'm afraid I'll have to concede the initiative to those more qualified..."
OOC
The Shadow is probably one of the areas Jeremiah won't be pontificating on very much... I do have an improvised spell I could use to help locate spirits in twilight, a conjunctional Space2/Mind2 version of Sense Consciousness and Spatial Map to pinpoint what I detect, with a duration of Concentration and the advanced area factors.
Of course, unless someone tells poor, suspicious Jeremiah that Spirits intruders exist in twilight, he won't be using that particular spell.
__________________ I hate to interrupt, but I believe we're being followed. The Mimes on the street corner. No, don't look. ~ Mycroft, Broken Diamond
Proud supporter of Dreamscarred Press and Untapped Potential, New Horizons in Psionics. Get it now! It's the best 5 dollars you'll ever spend.
The spirit turned with a confused look in his eye to stare at Gabriel.
"You-- you can see me?" it said.
"Unfortunately," Mitchell mumbled under his breath. "Er, yeah I can see you and I can definitely hear you too. What's with all the screaming? It's rather excessive, dontcha think?" He had met some loud spirits before but this one took the cake. "Hey, you don't happen to be a spirit of history by any chance?" It was a shot in the dark but he figured that it couldn't hurt. "'Cause I'm looking for one that hangs out around here in this mansion. Maybe you've seen it?"
Mitchell caught a few of the other mages giving him funny looks. To them, he appeared to be talking to thin air. "There's a spirit here. It's a screamer," he explained. That only drew blank stares. "No, really."
Melchior was so right. Mediums really were a very misunderstood bunch.
Thorn brightens at Michael's revelation, and nods.
"You can see spirits too? Great! That makes this easier."
She looks around at the others.
"I figure what we should do is break into two teams...no wait! Three! Yeah. Gabriel can go with one, I'll go with another. We'll both sweep the house from top to bottom and find all the spirits. Then when we meet, we'll make a list of all the ones we found so that we can see which one doesn't fit in."
"And someone else can go around and read all the little...signs and things they have in these tourist houses. They talk about the history of everything, so there's probably something we can use on some of them. Then, once we know the history, and we know what spirit, we just go find it again and kick its ectoplasmic rear end outta here."
"Unfortunately," Mitchell mumbled under his breath. "Er, yeah I can see you and I can definitely hear you too. What's with all the screaming? It's rather excessive, dontcha think?" He had met some loud spirits before but this one took the cake. "Hey, you don't happen to be a spirit of history by any chance?" It was a shot in the dark but he figured that it couldn't hurt. "'Cause I'm looking for one that hangs out around here in this mansion. Maybe you've seen it?"
"Please," the spirit shrieked pitifully, "You've got to help me! The bearded one has been keeping me prisoner here for so long. Please, set me free! I'll tell you anything you want if you just set me free!"
Levanna had to consciously close her gaping jaw. "Gabriel... while your bluntness is a refreshing change from the usual politically correct nonsense all around us, don't you think that this task would require a bit more than asking them 'Hey! Are you the bad guy?'" she asked, a bit more rudely than she intended. Later, she would regret it. She thought the whole test was a bit silly, but she didn't have to take it out on a peer.
She drew her Athame, her ritual dagger, stood, and retreated to an open corner of the room. She chanted softly to herself and began to ceremoniously mark her circle of power with the point of the blade sweeping the air around her. She invoked the Wardens of the East, North, South, and West, and projected her conscious to the unseen. She opened her senses to the room again, searching for the spirits the others had mentioned.
ooc
For now, Levanna is going to use Spirit to open her senses to the spirits in the house.
A ha! Mitchell had guessed right about Thorn. She does know about spirits and stuff, he concluded. And she had even come up with a nice plan to scour the house for their target. Stepping in closer to the milling group, he turned to the young girl and nodded his approval, "Sounds good to me. Do you want me to start from the top or the bottom?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hella_Tellah
"Please," the spirit shrieked pitifully, "You've got to help me! The bearded one has been keeping me prisoner here for so long. Please, set me free! I'll tell you anything you want if you just set me free!"
Holding his index finger up to his lips, Mitchell growled, "Shhh. I'm trying to hear what Thorn is saying. Gimme a sec." Sheesh, he thought, this thing's a pain in the keister. Wonder why the Hierarch hasn't just banished it already. Oh well, he probably has his reasons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueLotus
"Gabriel... while your bluntness is a refreshing change from the usual politically correct nonsense all around us, don't you think that this task would require a bit more than asking them 'Hey! Are you the bad guy?'" she asked, a bit more rudely than she intended.
Levanna hadn't said much throughout the night, so it surprised him when she spoke. Mitchell shrugged and indicated The Nemean with a quick tilt of his head. "He wasn't at all what I was expecting. So who knows, maybe his task might not be either. Maybe it'll be as simple as asking a direct question. Or maybe it's as complicated as you seem to think."
"Regardless," he continued, "I'm starting to regret talking to this particular spirit." He shot it a simmering glare as it wailed away in the background. Man, this is worse than spending a whole day alone with Maggie, he realized.
__________________ ●
Last edited by Annalist; 25th November 2008 at 01:19 AM..
Reason: Minor edit.
Levanna's senses bloomed like a poppy flower opening in spring, and the Twilight blossomed into view. She heard, then saw, a fiery spirit haranguing Gabriel and The Nemean.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annalist
He shot it a simmering glare as it wailed away in the background.
The spirit caught Gabriel's glare. It paused, pouted like a five-year-old child, then continued wailing to be set free. All the while, the Nemean continued calmly washing the dishes, deaf to the spirit's cries.
"So, the consensus to scan the House with Spirit Unveilings, and catalog what types we have, while someone else will search the mundane surroundings for clues on what the spirit itself represents. It's supposed to be a spirit of revisionist history, an aberration between perceived history and actual history? Pinpointing what history it changes will help in pinpointing the spirit itself."
Jeremiah pulls out a thin notepad and takes a quick glance at his watch. "Why don't we split up, and we meet back here in... say, ten minutes? I can scour the House for clues on our spirit while the rest of you check out the spirits."
OOC
Assuming everyone goes through with Thorn's plan, Jeremiah will go off to find a nice, deserted corridor, double check for anyone else following him, then carefully drop his Mental Shield. He will then cast his shiny new Synchronicity spell (2 Dex + 2 Occult + 1 Fate + 2 High Speech = 7 die), and let Fate guide him to an auspicious exhibit.
After Synchronicity runs it's course, Jeremiah will cast Correspondence and continue examining the remaining exhibits, checking significant connections that trigger his Sybil's Sight. Ah, House of Ariadne, your divination methods the Guardians embrace so.
__________________ I hate to interrupt, but I believe we're being followed. The Mimes on the street corner. No, don't look. ~ Mycroft, Broken Diamond
Proud supporter of Dreamscarred Press and Untapped Potential, New Horizons in Psionics. Get it now! It's the best 5 dollars you'll ever spend.
"Better make it twenty," Thorn suggests. "It's a big house, and we want to check every room. Uh...Gabriel, you start at the basement and work up, I'll go to the attic and go down. When we meet on the ground we'll do left and right, I guess. Or..."
She glances at the Hierarch. "Don't suppose there's a map, is there? Even a cheesy tourist one would work."
"Splitting into groups seems sound, but can we without such sight do in such a group. Perhaps I could be more of use searching the house for odd resonance which could tell us about the character of the out of place spirit? Regardless, before you set out to scour we should really determine who goes in which group."
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