"Hang on Thorn, I think I found another. It may simply be fear like the first, but I will need a moment to examine its resonance trail. In either case, it seems worth getting close, as sight will tell us more about it than any amount of the examination of nearby patterns."
He'll motion Thorn toward the origin of this new resonance, while analyzing it further for its most prominent quality.
He'll motion Thorn toward the origin of this new resonance, while analyzing it further for its most prominent quality.
Scrutinize Resonance
6 dice, 3 successes
Prometheus focused intently upon the child's bed, from which a strong, tainted resonance pulsated. Flecks of shimmering gold clung to the pillow, and an overwhelming hunger emanated out from the center of the bed. Prometheus recognized the sensation; it felt much like resonance from the operating table his mentor, Charles, kept in his study. Charles had used that table for just one purpose: ripping the souls out of his sacrifices.
Thorn sighed and leaned against the doorframe, but waved a hand acquiescently at Prometheus. As he stared intently at the bed, her mind wandered and she looked over at the pullrope to the attic, then at the clawed brass foot of the bathtub.
Wonder if there's a spell to make that thing walk around on those. Hm.
As Thorn catches Prometheus' eyes, his entire face hardens noticeably as the foul resonance of Charles' kind floods his arcane senses. He begins in a somewhat light tone, but his expression remains hard throughout his words. Some feelings are to vivid to squash completely.
"It seems the resonance I picked up was just that of another mage who passed here earlier, although I would recommend against touching the bed. It seems some rather seedy activities have taken place there somewhat recently. That child is most definitely a ghost."
He'll take a bit more time to fully analyze the resonance, and to memorise the signature of the lich for future reference, even if it means momentarily abandoning his spirit seer. However, once he finishes, he'll quickly catch up with her if he's left behind.
rolls
I hope you don't mind too much, but I rolled myself for the subterfuge check here (no successes). I figured it wasn't like it would make all that much of a difference, and it helps me with roleplaying. If its ok, let me know.
He'll take a bit more time to fully analyze the resonance, and to memorise the signature of the lich for future reference, even if it means momentarily abandoning his spirit seer.
Although he didn't recognize the Lich who had performed the foul rite by resonance, Prometheus was certain he'd never forget this particular mixture of soulless evil and passionate hunger.
rolls
Quote:
Originally Posted by magic_gathering2001
I hope you don't mind too much, but I rolled myself for the subterfuge check here (no successes). I figured it wasn't like it would make all that much of a difference, and it helps me with roleplaying. If its ok, let me know.
No problem. I've been rolling stuff for people because A) I can demonstrate a readable format for writing out rolls and B) putting out the math in full lets us correct errors from playres and ST alike. I'm not worried about cheating on rolls, I just want uniformity for reading back later.
"Hold up Mitchell. There's one... um.. I think inside this piano," Levanna said hesitantly.
Mitchell sighed. Apparently, no one had heard his shout. Glancing back at the foreboding sheet music, he wondered what to do about it. Instinct cautioned him to keep his distance. "I think we better get the others and start comparing notes before we go any further," he suggested to Levanna. The hesitancy in his voice was unmistakable. The young Obrimos was wary of messing with things beyond his ability to properly handle.
Making his way over to the foot of the staircase, he yelled up to Thorn and Prometheus, "You guys find anything yet?! Got some weird stuff down here!"
Jeremiah shook the cylinder, moaning arcane formulae in the ancient tongue. A strip of bamboo fell out of the slit in the bottom of the cylinder, into his palm. Carved in a florid, gold-inlayed strip, it read: "When people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had and never will have." -Edgar Watson Howe
Jeremiah meandered nonchalantly into the antechamber, and cleared his throat to get Gabriel's attention.
"My investigation so far points to music as an important element in finding the spirit. May have something to do with homesickness, as well. I heard Levanna say something about a piano--do you think these clues might be related?"
Prometheus calls back down the stairs, "We have found naught but a fearful ghost so far, but it seems as though we must find all of these spirits to determine of which the Nemean desires to rid himself. But what of this weird stuff you have found? Have you found a spirit, which resembles the spirit of revisionist history we seek?"
"Oh my god," Thorn mutters. "Do you always talk like that?"
She shakes her head and strolls across the hall to poke her head into the bathroom and take a peek. From there, assuming she doesn't see anything interesting, she tries each door in the hallway as she goes down it towards the end with the pull rope.
She shakes her head and strolls across the hall to poke her head into the bathroom and take a peek. From there, assuming she doesn't see anything interesting, she tries each door in the hallway as she goes down it towards the end with the pull rope.
The bathroom and two other, smaller bedrooms were still, clean, and a bit dusty. Nothing lurked in the insubstantial Twilight of those rooms; as far as Thorn could see, they hadn't been used, or visited, in some time. The master bedroom had a strange, lingering odor to it--musky, with a cloying after effect of lavender-scented candles. In the material realm, everything seemed very still. Perring into the Twilight, though, Thorn saw a tomboyish young woman in heavy eye makeup lazily stretch and sit up on the bed.
"Mmmmm. Hi there," she growled in a sultry, yet girlish soprano. "Have you come to keep me company?"
"I, uh...what?" Thorn asks, taken completely off guard for a second. Then she catches up with events and chuckles, shaking her head.
"Sorry, lady. You're a bit dead for my tastes. So..." she looks around the room briefly. "Seems like a nice place. How come you're hanging around? Who are you?"
"I, uh...what?" Thorn asks, taken completely off guard for a second. Then she catches up with events and chuckles, shaking her head.
"Sorry, lady. You're a bit dead for my tastes. So..." she looks around the room briefly. "Seems like a nice place. How come you're hanging around? Who are you?"
The woman on the bed gasped. "I am not dead!" she cried. "I'm very much alive, thank you. I've been good, so daddy is letting me stay on this side of the Gauntlet."
She appeared to think of something she thought was rather clever. "I'm cold, though. If you'll come over here and warm me up, I'll make myself a solid body you can play with. I can even make it a boy body, if you like boy bodies. Some of the people I play with like boy bodies."
rolls
Seeing what Thorn knows about this creature: Intelligence (2) + Occult (3) + Spirit (2) = 7 dice, 2 successes
From the way the woman spoke, Thorn could tell this was a spirit of some kind. Ghosts usually didn't realize that they were trapped in the Twilight--they usually just tried to go about finishing their business on earth. This creature knew what it was, and it wanted something. And from what Papa Chango had taught her, spirits usually only want one thing: essence to feed on.
Thorn's cheeks color slightly even under her tan coloration and she smirks. One of those spirits. She felt fairly safe in assuming this one probably wasn't the one The Nemean wanted disposed of.
"I'll let your 'daddy' know you're cold," she tells the spirit. Then she pauses. "Hey, do you know anything about the little kid in the closet a couple of bedrooms over?"
Thorn's cheeks color slightly even under her tan coloration and she smirks. One of those spirits. She felt fairly safe in assuming this one probably wasn't the one The Nemean wanted disposed of.
"I'll let your 'daddy' know you're cold," she tells the spirit. Then she pauses. "Hey, do you know anything about the little kid in the closet a couple of bedrooms over?"
The spirit sighed in resignation, then laid down flat on her back. "Nope. I've never been anywhere on this side of the Gauntlet, 'cept for this room. But whatever it is, it's either trapped, or not a spirit. Daddy says I'm the only spirit in the whole house that gets to go to the Other Side whenever I want. All the other ones are stuck."
The spirit sat up, and tried her best to readopt the coy pout she had put on before.
"I'll be here for a while, if you decide you want to cuddle," she solicited, with a puckish bite of her lip. "Or if you know anyone else who wants to cuddle."
"My investigation so far points to music as an important element in finding the spirit. May have something to do with homesickness, as well. I heard Levanna say something about a piano--do you think these clues might be related?"
Mitchell shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," he replied. "But yeah, there's a piano in the next room if you want to check it out."
"Be careful of its sheet music though. It has some kind of compulsion," he warned.
Quote:
Originally Posted by magic_gathering2001
"But what of this weird stuff you have found? Have you found a spirit, which resembles the spirit of revisionist history we seek?"
"Uhh, yeah we found it!" Mitchell shouted back, feeling a bit guilty for the semi-lie. He wasn't actually sure what he and Levanna had found, but he knew that he'd feel more comfortable if the mages investigated it together. Pooling all of their resources seemed like the safest bet in this particular instance.
"Jeremiah and Levanna are looking things over as we speak, if you want to join us."
"Actually, it looks as though my partner has found something else of interest. Perhaps when we finish up here, we will come down to assist, but for now it seems as though there are other spirits about, and your promising lead may end in futility."
Prometheus will head off in the direction Thorn went, trying to find her.
So much for solidarity, Mitchell mused. Well, whatever. These were the kind of people he was going to be stuck in a cabal with. Possibly. Great, just great. He spun on his heel and steered himself back towards the gallery, rejoining Levanna.
"Find anything else out?" he asked. "Jeremiah thinks we might be on the right track. The spirit we're looking for is tied to music and maybe homesickness." I wouldn't mind going home myself, he thought. I did promise Lin I wouldn't be out all night, especially with her stuck taking care of Mags.
Turning to Jeremiah, he hesitantly probed, "Hey, aren't you versed in the Mind Arcanum? Maybe you can scrutinize the sheet music and tell me if I was right about its weird urging. Or if I was just imagining things."
He knew that he wasn't imagining things. But having some kind of confirmation would be nice. Though having to ask Jeremiah for his help stung a little. Wounded pride. Get over yourself, Mitch, he grimaced. Let's just find the damn thing and get out of here.
Prometheus will head off in the direction Thorn went, trying to find her.
Prometheus joined Thorn in the master bedroom's doorway. He didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary--burnt-down candles, a bed with a crimson comforter and black satin pillows, and a lingering smell of incense.
The spirit looked up at him with an excited grin. "Oooooh!" she exclaimed with a shivering shimmy. "He must be your cuddle-buddy!"
She licked her lips and made a "come hither" motion with her finger toward Prometheus. Prometheus felt a small tingling in his loins, but it dissipated as rapidly as it came.
"Oh, poo!" the spirit pouted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annalist
Turning to Jeremiah, he hesitantly probed, "Hey, aren't you versed in the Mind Arcanum? Maybe you can scrutinize the sheet music and tell me if I was right about its weird urging. Or if I was just imagining things."
"Cautious minds think alike," Jeremiah replied. He walked into the sitting room and muttered a few words of pseudo-latin formulae while closing his eyes. He re-opened them, and scanned the sheet music for evidence of mental compulsions.
rolls
Mind Mage Sight: Gnosis (1) + Mind (2) + High Speech (2) = 5 dice, 3 successes.
Scrutinize Resonance: Intelligence (3) + Occult (2) + Density (1) = 6 dice, 2 rolls, 5 successes.
With the combined power of his Mind and Fate sights active, Jeremiah examined the sheet music. He saw no evidence that the music had been affected by any spell of the Mind arcanum, nor any spell, for that matter. It was subject to supernatural forces, of that he was certain, but he couldn't say just what it was. Its resonance had an odd quality; it felt as though this music did not belong in this world, that it was out of place. With Sybil's Sight, he noted that this music had a powerful destiny as part of something grand and world-altering.
He looked back at Gabriel, removing his round eyeglasses significantly. "It's no mental compulsion, of that I'm certain. In fact, I doubt it's a spell at all--although I'm ashamed to admit I'm not sure what else it could be. We can be certain of one thing, though: it's supernatural, and it's part of something very, very important."
Thorn snickered, though privately she was rather impressed that Prometheus had resisted the spirit's power.
"This isn't the spirit we're looking for," she tells Prometheus. "I think that's it for this floor. Attic's next. What were the others yelling about anyway? I couldn't make it out from here."
"Hm... It appears as though I can see this one. Thorn, what--" Prometheus begins as he enters the room, but stops once he hears the spirit speak. He manages to keep the slight confusion off of his face, along with the other much less welcome urges, which he mistakenly associates with the statement itself, instead of any form of compulsion, "Actually, we are nothing of the sort. So, what manner of spirit is this?"
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayuri
"This isn't the spirit we're looking for," she tells Prometheus. "I think that's it for this floor. Attic's next. What were the others yelling about anyway? I couldn't make it out from here."
"Oh, yes. The others believe they have found the spirit, and called for our assistance on the main floor. I think that if we have no further business here, we should return to them."
__________________
Picture for Prometheus
Last edited by magic_gathering2001; 7th December 2008 at 02:05 AM..
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