Just as Law is tucking his cell phone back into his pocket Faye reappears between Agnasci and the painting. She's in her socks, boots removed. "He's busy so he'll see you in his workshop." Penrose is a private man and has, until now, never admitted anyone into his sanctum. Faye waves everyone along and the group troops through the door and down the long hallway beyond.
"Don't touch anything," Faye says as she walks with the group toward a solitary metal door at the end of the hall, "And no magic without Penrose's say-so." The door has a keyhole but no knob and has been left a few inches ajar. Faye's boots are on the floor here. "Shoes off." Everyone complies before following Faye through the door.
As soon as each mage crosses the threshold into the next room they're hit with a strange sensation. The feeling is that of calm, quiet obsession, and they can sense it flowing through them like energy. In the same way that a patriot might feel an overwhelming sense of pride at a national monument, or in the way that a pilgrim might be overcome with religious awe at a holy site, the group is momentarily touched by the feel of this place. Within a few seconds the sensation has mostly faded and there's no mistaking it for a genuine, naturally-felt emotion, but it's there, buzzing in the background like static. It's the resonance of this place, and those who find it to be contrary to their natures are likely to be uncomfortable.
The room beyond the hall is a combination living and dining room, with a couch, television, and bookshelf on one side and a dining table, refrigerator, and countertop on the other. There's a water cooler by the fridge, and on it a stack of large plastic cups. Each of the group has occasionally been offered water with those cups, Penrose explaining that he's feeding them tass, or mana in its physical form.
"Watch out, that might still be wet." Faye circumnavigates a pair of glyphs painted on the tile floor at the edge of the room.
When each member of the group spots the glyphs for the first time what they see is garbled and personal for each of them (one might see the glyphs as graffiti, another as a puddle of water, and so on), only revealed for what they are after a shake of the head or a blink of the eyes: They're Atlantean runes. Penrose has been having everyone read packets over the last few months - packets full of senseless questions and messy diagrams. Supposedly these packets are beginner instruction in the use of these runes but it's only now that the mages are seeing actual runes for the first time. They just know what the runes are. The precise meaning or purpose of the glyphs remains beyond everyone in the group, but it's after spotting the fresh runes that something else is noticed: The room is well-lit but the ceiling light and table lamp are both off. The light here has no identifiable source.
There are several doors leading off from this room in various directions and Faye approaches the closest, knocking.
"Come in."
Faye opens the door and steps inside, the others following. There is another rune painted on the floor in the doorway but by the looks of it it's been here a while.
Everything in the next room (including Faye and each of the others once they've crossed the threshold) has a faint blue glow to it and Chance receives a small static shock from nothing at all when she steps inside. The walls of this chamber are lined with bookshelves, all packed tight with musty tomes and containers of various shapes and sizes. The room is dominated by a massive table with a large street map of Nazareth stretched across it. Two corners of the map are held down by stacks of books, another by a plate with an untouched steak dinner, and the last by a gleaming sword. A white crystal hangs by a cord from the ceiling over the table and it's swinging with a life of its own. The terminus of each swing leaves the crystal directed at a point on the map marked with a red pushpin. There are about half a dozen such pins on the map, scattered throughout the town.
Penrose, outlined in blue like everything else, is sitting at the table. His is the only chair in the room. He's a tall, thickly-built man in his 50s or 60s with overly pale skin and short brown hair. He'd be more attractive if he got some sun, but as it is he looks somewhat sickly. His chino pants and pullover sweater are the epitome of WASP fashion, and unlike everyone else he's in footwear: A pair of brown loafers.
Everyone gathers around the table and waits.
After a long silence Penrose finally looks up from the map, eyes on Faye. She looks back expectantly. "That'll be all," he says. Faye nods and exits, looking somewhat dejected. Penrose doesn't seem to notice and he turns his gaze on his students. "So." His chair creaks as he leans into it. "Tell me."
