Legacy of the Stone Assembly, Chapter I: The Cabal, The Quill, and the Concord

Hella_Tellah · 17th November 2008, 11:36 PM

Legacy of the Stone Assembly
Chapter I: The Cabal, The Quill, and the Concord

That which kept us Asleep was no great power, no deeply hidden secret. It was the voice in the back of your mind that said, "Other people are taking care of me. God will see to my needs. The state will provide for me." It is the child's acceptance of a mother's care. Somehow, we all believed then that the power to take matters into one's own hands came with the knowledge to use it wisely. We were children, playing at being God.

-Henry David Caranton

8:00pm, 13 November, 2008

Cormant House, a Victorian mansion in the "Painted Lady" style, lay a couple of miles outside Salem in a 2-acre woodlot. From the road, a rather dull wooden sign directed tourists to the site with a line art drawing of the house and the name in florid typeface.

The visitors were greeted at the door as they came in by a man in a wool jacket, about 5'8", with spiked hair and an eyebrow piercing, who introduced himself as "Arathnos" before directing them to wait in the antechamber.

Spoiler:

The antechamber had a front desk, uncomfortable benches, and framed pictures of historical buildings around Salem. Altogether, it had the air of a tourist trap for historians, the very elderly, and absolute completists.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

You are now in the antechamber of Cormant House. First to post means first to arrive; feel free to socialize, investigate the room, or speak with Arathnos as you like--he won't speak unless spoken to.

Shayuri · 18th November 2008, 02:33 AM

Image

8:00pm, 13 November, 2008
Cormant House
Salem, Massachusetts

A dirty grey Camaro that had probably been a beaut about twenty years ago prowled up the road and into the small rustic parking lot of the Cormant House. Its front tires pressed against one of the logs that marked the end of the spot, then backed off. The car thrummed with drumbeats conducted through its frame, and the sound of heavy electric guitar playing could be heard muted from within. The sound of the engine was an afterthought, though it sounded meaty too. All of these things cut off sharply, and the headlights died out. A moment later the driver's side door opened and she emerged.

7:00pm, 13 November, 2008
15362 Coolidge Ave
Cambridge Massachusetts

Hector Reyes was eating breakfast when Juno slipped out of her room and made her way towards the front door...somehow managing to be both stealthy and nonchalant. He didn't even turn around.

"You done with your homework, mija?"

Juno froze in mid-step, then sighed. "It's not homework, dad. It's an application. I have like, another month to get it in." Besides, she added mentally, it's not like they teach what I'm into at State.

"You need to take this seriously," her father said firmly. "Or you can work with me all your life if you want. Wake up as the sun goes down and have dinner at dawn? Like a vampire."

That gave Juno a moment of curious pause. She'd never asked 'Papa Chango' about vampires. Huh. A moment later she gave voice to the first thing to come into her head, which was, "I dunno, you get to carry a gun around."

"Just makes me a bigger target," was his tired reply. But he quickly shot his daughter a sly look. "Besides, they play country music on the speakers sometimes."

Juno scowled. "I'll do the application, I promise. I'm just going out for a bit."

Now it was Hector's turn to scowl. The expression was very similar between them. "A guy?" There was a warning in his voice.

"Friends," Juno clarified. "A bunch of us. We'll be doing some heroin and some Russian Roulette but don't worry, no guys."

Hector nodded. "Okay then. But you know I'm working tonight, so you can't use..."

"...it's cool, Uncle Hugo's letting me use his," she quickly replied.

"Back by midnight," Juno's father said stubbornly.

"Always," Juno lied.

8:00pm, 13 November, 2008
Cormant House
Salem, Massachusetts

The radio had started playing 'Enter Sandman' as she'd driven up to the place. Seemed oddly appropriate to her. Oh, it was possible that some wizard had magicked her (oops, make that Uncle Hugo's) car stereo, but really...why? That'd been one thing her uncle had warned her about.

Once you knew, there was no going back. You couldn't unsee it, you couldn't forget that anything you might once have shrugged at and filed away under 'stuff happens,' now had to be scrutinized a bit harder. Even silly, stupid, or innocent coincidences might have a double meaning, or a purpose working behind them.

Or it might just be a cool song by Metallica that a DJ wanted to hear.

Juno grinned at herself and shook her head. Wasn't she a deep vat of wisdom tonight? Well. A deep vat of something. She concentrated for a moment and checked her spells...obsessing over them momentarily like a performer might over her makeup before going on stage.

This was, after all, the first time someone other than Chango would be seeing them.

Okay. Eyes up. Head straight. Shoulders square. Lets do this.

As Juno came to the front door, it opened to reveal a young-looking man within, who spoke his name to her. She blinked at 'Arathnos,' momentarily taken aback by how not-what-she'd-been-expecting he was.

"I'm Ju...Thorn. Just Thorn," she said when he introduced himself...nearly flubbing her Shadow Name. Oh, that was smooth. Making a great impression so far 'Thorn.'

Another surprise; no one else was here.

She wandered around the little vestibule then asked Arathnos, "There's more coming, right?"

(OOC - Forgot to list spells active: Second Sight (Spirit 1, Mage Sight plus Gauntlet strength), Ephemeral Armor (Spirit 2, 2 Armor, works against spirit or physical attacks), Sense Life (Life 1, can detect living things in area, establishes 'safe zone' where nothing living can approach without alerting mage).)

Hella_Tellah · 18th November 2008, 04:09 AM

"At least two more, that I know of," Arathnos responded. Then, with a pompous, sly sort of grin, he asked, "Nervous?"

Juno was keenly aware that her surroundings teemed with life, but sensed no unseen, human presence in her vicinity. The antechamber resonated with a feeling of purposeful detachment mixed with the ordered, comforting ritualism of an octogenarian, church-going widow. She felt the spirit world close to her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

Gauntlet strength: 3

Shayuri · 18th November 2008, 04:30 AM

Juno smiled back at him.

"Impatient," she corrected.

So Arathnos may not know everyone who's coming. I wonder if he knew I was coming.

She eyed a bench, but it looked like the multiperson equivalent of a school desk seat. Hard and somehow crafted to precisely hit the thin line between 'comfortable enough to tolerate' and 'too painful to sit in,' leaving students hovering in a limbo of aching backs and stiff joints without ever quite giving them legitimate excuse enough to stand.

Instead she leaned against a wall where she could see the door and Arathnos, and studied him to see if she could sense any magic on or around him.

"So what's your story?" she asked, feeling a little emboldened by his apparent youth and informality. "You work for this...consilium?"

Annalist · 18th November 2008, 06:50 AM

Quote:

OOC: Sorry, had a hectic day today. So I only have the first part of my post done. But I'll have the second part up later tonight hopefully.

Part I - The Day Before
12 November, 2008

Mitchell needed wheels. Cormant House was outside of Boston proper so local public transportation was out of the question. And that meant only one thing: Maggie. Scooping his cellphone up off of the coffee table, he speed-dialed his younger sister. When he had first moved to Cambridge from Carlisle, he had left his Jeep with her for safekeeping. A decision, he suspected, he might come to later regret.

She picked up on the second ring. "Ohmigod, Mitch is that you?!" she squealed.

"Heya squirt, how are you?" She was as easily excitable as he remembered. Which reminded him of exactly why he didn't call her as often as he could have. Because what came next was as inexorable as the Great Flood of Egypt.

Maggie's avalanche of words thundered down like a ton of bricks. "Ihavesomuchtotellyou! There'sthisguythatIthinklikesme. ButIdon'tknowifIlikehimback. AndIthinkhemightaskmetoRingDance. Ohmigod,ohmigod,ohmigod! WhatshouldIdo? 'CauseIkindoflikethisOTHERguy. ButIthinkhe'saskingLisatothedance. Andgawd,she'sSOgross. Ihatehersomuch. Soyeah,whatdoyouthinkIshoulddo?"

Mitchell desperately reached out a hand to steady himself against the wall of his brownstone apartment. "Whoa, slow down sis. First of all, take a breath. And second, I have no clue what you should do. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come down here tomorrow after school and stay over 'til Sunday. 'Cause I kind of need my Jeep. And anyway, Mom already said it'd be okay if you skipped classes on Friday. So, how about it? Hooky and some shopping with Linnie? And the two of you can talk about your boy problems."

Maggie shrieked in reply, loud enough that her brother was forced to yank his cellphone away from his ear.

He tentatively pulled the phone back and asked, "So uhh, is that a yes?"

"Yesyesyes! I'llbethere," she promised.

"Okay, good. I'll see you tomorrow then. Drive safe, 'kay?"

"Iwill. Bye,Mitch. Loveyou. Seeyoutomorrow!"

With the dial tone still buzzing in his ear, Mitchell started massaging the temples of his forehead with his free hand. He had survived yet another call with his teenage sister. And God forbid if she ever Awakened, because he knew for a fact that the Consilium would get rocked to its core.

Jeep

Annalist · 18th November 2008, 10:09 AM

Quote:

OOC: The only active spell that Mitch has up is Ephemeral Shield. He is, understandably, a bit frazzled over his ride. So it hasn't occured to him to be casting anything else at the moment.

Part II - Pimp My Ride
13 November, 2008

Mitchell gasped in horror at the sight of his Jeep. "What have you done?!" he cried.

Maggie gave him a demure little smile. "A little bit of customizing. I made her so pretty. Don't you just love it?"

"There are Hello Kitty stickers all over my rollbars," he fumed.

"I know! Sooo cuuute!"

"...and Powerpuff Girl bobbleheads affixed to my dashboard! And a pink bowtie with ribbons tied to my radio antenna!"

Maggie clapped her hands together in self-congratulations as she declared, "I'm a car-fashion genius!" She quickly directed her brother's attention to the kaleidoscopic pinwheels attached to the front grill, and the blinking purple lights on each of his tire rims that formed the outline of a heart. "Don't forget these," she crowed.

Linda stood by on the sidewalk, doubled over in uncontrollable laughter, with tears streaming down her cheeks.

Mitchell ground his teeth together and glared at his girlfriend. "Not funny," he grumbled. Which only made her laugh even harder.

"So anyway, you can thank me later by taking me shopping and buying me something," Maggie informed him in all seriousness.

Between his sister's insanity and his girlfriend's hysteria, Mitchell found himself fighting the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of his situation. He was going to have to drive to one of the most important meetings of his life in this.

---

Later that evening...

Despite tempting thoughts of parking somewhere deep in the woods and walking the rest of the way to the Cormant House, Mitchell decided to just suck it up and pull right into the gravel-strewn driveway. He rolled to an eventual stop right next to an evergreen which he devoutly prayed would obscure his vehicle from casual sight. Killing the lights and the engine, he got out and made his way towards the mansion's main entrance.

Arathnos greeted him at the door, standing laconically with a quizzical look on his face, and one brow arched. "Hey Gabriel, nice..."

Mitchell's crazed glare cut him short, the dangerous glint in his eyes daring him to complete his sentence. "Don't even say it," he warned.

"...stickers."

Solarious · 18th November 2008, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

Jeremiah, after much debate, decides to go with instant casts of Sybil's Sight and Mental Shield, leaving a 'flex' spot in his spell tolerance for something else: he'll put up a Incognito Presence up for now. Everything is to be cast with High Speech.

Jeremiah slips off his gloves, then puts them back on again with a nervous twitch of the hands. Sitting there for a moment, he slips them off again, steels himself, and gets out of the car. He glances at the mages milling about the entrance of the mansion, who don't appear to have seen him sitting in his car for the past 5 minutes, taking his his gloves on and off.

Not terribly surprising, considering he had made sure the casual onlooker wouldn't see it; the ability to emanate subtle waves of bland disinterest, an ability he was intimately familiar with. With his limited ability with the Matter arcanum, Jeremiah had expanded the quality to cover objects.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

Basically, an Incognito Presence with a conjunctional Matter 1 component for material objects.

Armed with a similar shield of anonymity, he strides into the mansion right past the Herald and into the antechamber. Not seeing anyone else inside, Jeremiah double checks the area before bringing out a small crystal from his pocket, a small worrystone he had picked up from some curio store, and focusing intently on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

If no one else shows up after he comes in, Jeremiah will begin scrutinizing the resonances of the Cormant House with the crystal for a +1 bonus on the scrutiny checks.

On second thought, Jeremiah will check twice: once with Sybil's Sight and once with Third Eye. He'll swap them out as necessary with High Speech castings, but he'll keep Sybil's Sight up for regular interaction.

Hella_Tellah · 18th November 2008, 07:51 PM

"Gabriel, this is Thorn, who I understand is to be our new sister in the Consilium," said Arathnos. "Thorn, this is Gabriel, one of the others I was telling you about."

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solarious

Not seeing anyone else inside...

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

Jeremiah probably sees Thorn inside, speaking to Arathnos, who stands in the doorway. Does he still want to scrutinize the resonance with the worrystone? Although Jeremiah now appears to be just a tourist coming to learn about Salem's architectural history, fretting over the worrystone will attract Arathnos' attention, and probably that of Gabriel and Thorn. The initial result of a cursory glance with Sybil's Sight follows.

Jeremiah, unnoticed by the three younger people standing in the doorway, felt a number of threads of fate entangling in the antechamber, but only a few intersected with his own. The weightiest of these threads pulsed and thickened as Arathnos introduced Gabriel and Thorn.

Annalist · 18th November 2008, 09:16 PM

Running a hand through his mussed hair, Mitchell inhaled a deep breath to center himself. Today had been quite an ordeal for him so far, and it wasn't over yet. Thoughts of meeting the Hierarch still gave him butterflies since Melchior's earlier advice had given him little comfort.

"The little one is the salad fork..." he muttered aloud to no one in particular.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hella_Tellah

"Gabriel, this is Thorn, who I understand is to be our new sister in the Consilium," said Arathnos.

Mitchell shook himself out of his reverie at hearing the sound of his Shadow Name. Huh, what? He glanced up, sparing a quick glare for Arathnos, and focused on the sight of a young Latina also standing around, waiting. "Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm Gabriel," he confirmed, a bit lamely. "Are you here for the dinner meeting too?"

He wasn't sure if he should shake her hand or just nod his head and act cool, so he just folded his arms across his chest and tried to look sagely, figuring that's how a mage should appear. Not exactly a look that he was any good at pulling off.

Shayuri · 18th November 2008, 09:43 PM

Thorn nodded in greeting and gave Gabriel a little wave.

"Hey. Yeah."

For a second she felt herself stalling out. The guy was -old-. Like college old. What was she going to talk to him about? The answer came when she thought of his shadow name. Her father was, or had been, pretty Catholic, and had a certain fascination with angels.

"So...Gabriel as in the angel, or did you just like the name?"

Solarious · 18th November 2008, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

I've always had the impression that unless I was doing something rather obvious (at least, more so than fiddling with the worrystone), Incognito Presence would make people gloss over it.

However, I seem to have misjudged the situation. In which case...

Jeremiah notes the threads of Fate as they wove in and out of the Tapestry, vibrating in sympathy as the names Thorn and Gabriel were introduced. Making a quick deduction, the older man moves in closer, almost uncomfortably so, behind the two being introduced before making himself known.

"Jeremiah," he inturrupts, dropping the Incognito Presence as he does so. He smiles, but it's awkward, almost forced, as if he didn't have much reason to smile... or hasn't had much practice.

Solarious · 18th November 2008, 10:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

Double Post!

Post 666 too... Now that's ominous.

There is nothing to add here.

Annalist · 18th November 2008, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shayuri

"So...Gabriel as in the angel, or did you just like the name?"

"Archangel, actually," he corrected her. Great, sound pretentious much, he berated himself. This was like trying to have a conversation with his kid sister. But surprisingly, Mitchell found that he sort of missed her right now. At least with Maggie, he'd know what to say. Which consisted mostly of: Will you please shut up? and No, I will not take you shopping right now.

However, Thorn didn't strike him as the Hello Kitty type. "So..." he began.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solarious

"Jeremiah," he interrupts, dropping the Incognito Presence as he does so.

Mitchell blinked. Huh? The guy who he had pegged as a meandering tourist had just mistakenly called him Jeremiah. Or maybe he was talking to Thorn, but that didn't make any sense. Or was he trying to introduce himself? He shot Arathnos a questioning look for confirmation.

"Uhh, sorry. I'm Gabriel. Are you here for the dinner meeting too?" That seemed to be his patented question for the night. And where the heck is the Hierarch anyway? he wondered.

BlueLotus · 18th November 2008, 11:24 PM

Image

"Right here is good. I'll walk the rest of the way," Levanna said to her co-worker. She knew that asking for rides was not a favor you could keep abusing, at least not with friends and co-workers. She didn't have a car of her own. But she liked walking. It gave her time to think, time for herself. But there was a more pressing reason why she wanted to be dropped off short of her destination.

"You sure? We're not there yet."

"I can use the exercise," Levanna lied. She knew Vanessa didn't believe Sandra, the name she knew Levanna by. Vanessa was a few years younger than her and probably still clung to high school and college assumptions that the only reason you went to see people was related to "The Game." The overly dramatic obsession with destructive and nonsensical relationships.

Vanessa had a look on her face that betrayed her thoughts. Levanna knew she was going to be the subject of heavy gossip back at the restaraunt. It might even make it to the managers. She had to admit that Sandra, going to a mansion after work with no explanations and clever deflections, dressed better than her typical eclectic pseudo goth dresses and accessories did not look good to their limited perspective.

She could have told them she was going somewhere nearby. Why didn't I? she thought.

After a brief exchange of parting pleasantries, Levanna started for the house. In the end it didn't matter. She would let them think whatever they wanted. She had more to worry about than their Sleeper assumptions, even if they did damage her reputation.

It was a mile walk to the house. Levanna walked right up to the door with no magical protections cast.

Shayuri · 18th November 2008, 11:48 PM

"Hell!"

Gabriel was spared Juno's judgement of his correction by Jeremiah's timely appearance. So engrossed had she been in the two 'important' people in the room that she hadn't even registered his approach with her magically enhanced senses.

She stepped quickly away and turned to give him a flat glare.

"This is a private..."

Then the truth dawned on her and she scowled as one who'd just figured out she'd been had.

Being a mage, it seemed, didn't mean you couldn't also be an ass. She'd have to remember that.

And watch her back better next time.

"So all right, that's three. Me, Gabriel, and the American Ninja here. Is that everyone or is anyone else coming?" Thorn asked Arathnos testily.

Hella_Tellah · 19th November 2008, 12:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shayuri

"So all right, that's three. Me, Gabriel, and the American Ninja here. Is that everyone or is anyone else coming?" Thorn asked Arathnos testily.

"Well, I invited Gabriel," replied Arathnos, "But one of the Sentinels was supposed to invite an apostate, too. He's a grad student; that's all they told me."

Just as Sandra was approaching the front door, a bell chimed from the back of the mansion. Arathnos stopped short of introducing himself and merely waved her in.

"It sounds like the Heirarch is ready for you. Go on back to the dining room, around the staircase over there and to the left. A word of caution: he's in a good mood right now, but he really hates it when people try to use little parlor tricks around him. FYI."

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

The mansion is large enough that it probably takes you half a minute or so to get there. Time enough to chat a little, if you like.

Solarious · 19th November 2008, 12:56 AM

Acutely aware, at least more than usual, of his shortcomings, Jeremiah decides to do something about it. "Right then. Parlor tricks now." Before following the path to the dinning room, he chants softly in High Speech again and concentrates on bringing the Imago into sharp focus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOC

Spend 1 mana and cast Gain Skill with High Speech and Willpower. I think that's throwing 8 dice. Going for dots in a skill appropriate to the upcoming social encounter... probably Socialize, I think.

Shayuri · 19th November 2008, 01:30 AM

"Sounds like the old man and me have something in common," Juno grumbles as they walk away from the front door.

She glances at Sandra and says, "Hey, I'm..." she stumbles a little but quickly recovers, "Thorn. This is Gabriel and Ninjaboy. Don't let him get behind you."

magic_gathering2001 · 19th November 2008, 05:19 AM

OOC

Running late after the hurried ritual, Joseph barely remembers to put himself in order for a place that can afford raised print on its business cards. Donning a hopefully inconspicuous black suit, he heads off quickly.

Arriving only a few minutes late, he spots the group quickly departing the atrium. Taking a second to smooth himself, he steps out of the car and walks over, speeding up when they begin to file out of the atrium.

Spoiler:

"Excuse me, but would this happen to be a tour of some sort? I've heard of the beauty of the Cormant House, but this will be my first visit. I must say, I'm surprised by both the tour and its attendence however. Most do not take such an interest in such things, and for those who do, the pleasure is more personal in general. However, I would not say no to an instruction of the finer points of this house. The name is Prometheus; my mother was a classics scholar with an odd sense of humor. And you are?"
He tips his hat to the most imposing one(Arathnos), assuming him to be in charge of the procession.
OOC:I think some sort of check might be needed to fool Arathnos, or to convey the fact that he is actually a mage in the last section.

Annalist · 19th November 2008, 09:56 AM

The Cormant House's antechamber began to fill rather quickly. Just as Mitchell was getting accustomed to Thorn's presence, Jeremiah had interjected himself into their little circle. And now another girl had arrived at the mansion. Quite the party, he mused. The number of guests was growing higher than he'd expected, considering that they were all supposed to be mages ending their grace periods. Or so he'd surmised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hella_Tellah

"It sounds like the Hierarch is ready for you. Go on back to the dining room, around the staircase over there and to the left."

Slightly startled by the sonorous bell chime, Mitchell turned to follow the Consilium Herald's directions. His nervousness surged as he began walking. Casting a sidelong glance at Thorn who matched his stride, he idly wondered what she was thinking. She didn't look perturbed at all, which he envied.

With a resigned shrug, he murmured to the empty air, "Here we go. Moment of truth."

Quote:

OOC: I don't really have anything else to post, except for more fluff. So I'm good for now 'til the scene advances to the dining room.