Nazareth Awakened - Chapter 02: Wives of Solomon

TillForPie · May 21, 2014

Nazareth Awakened

"You shall have joy or you shall have power, said God. You shall not have both."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Table of Contents:
OOC Thread
Chapter 01: God'll Cut You Down
Chapter 02: Wives of Solomon

Notes on Posting:

When posting please make it obvious which of your text is describing your character's actions, dialog, or thoughts.
Though your character isn't going to think of his or her (non-rote) spells in terms of the names listed in the book, please always be clear when he or she is using magic, which spell is being used, on whom, and so forth. The more information, the better (example of a helpful spell description: "TillForPie will use Control Heat (pg 165) to attempt to lower the temperature of a 10-yard area centered on himself by up to 30 degrees. Gnosis 2 + Forces 3 = 5 dice."). How exactly you format this is left to you, so long as there's no confusion.
You're free to use a range of colors and fonts in your posts but please keep things as readable as possible or I might ask you to switch.
As much as possible, please keep OOC (Out Of Character) questions and chatter confined to the OOC Thread.

Good luck and have fun.

TillForPie · May 21, 2014

Chapter 01: God'll Cut You Down

"Men are punished not for their sins but by them."
Kin Hubbard

You can run on for a long time,
Run on - for a long time,
Run on - for a long time,
Sooner or later God'll cut you down,
Sooner or later God'll cut you down.

You may throw your rock, hide your hand,
Working in the dark against your fellow man,
But as sure as God made black and white,
What's done in the dark will be brought to the light.

Johnny Cash's voice fills the cab of the Tundra. Outside water is clapping the truck's roof and windows as it barrels through the rain. With nothing but miles of black desert in all directions it's as if the truck, the music, and the rain are all that exist.

You can run on for a long time,
Run on - for a lo-

Static cuts through the song.

The woman behind the wheel slams the palm of her hand on the console and the music squeals and hisses a response. She turns off the radio, leaving only the patter patter of the rain and the clunk-swoosh of the windshield wipers.

Her name's Faye Dunham and she's a 40-something-year old woman with short, graying hair and caramel skin. She's dressed in a soaked flannel sweater and jeans with the same bolo tie as always at her neck. She owns Nazareth Secondhand Books, the perpetually-empty shop above Penrose's hidden sanctum, and according to him she's a sleepwalker: She’s halfway between asleep and awakened. Apparently her presence doesn’t increase the chances of something called paradox. None of Penrose's students have seen paradox first-hand but the old man seems to have a healthy fear of it.

At around midnight Faye picked up Harper from her bookstore, where he's been staying the last few weeks. She was already soaked to the bone with her boots and knees muddied. Next they met Law outside his home a couple blocks south of Main Street, then Chance at her nearby apartment, and finally Agnasci at the Tuxedo Springs trailer park. Each had asked what they were doing out so late or where they were being taken but Faye would only tell them "Penrose wants you to look at something." This was what life had become for them since their awakenings, one clandestine field trip after another, often with no discernible purpose.

The clock on the console says it's 12:52 AM on Sunday, the 5th of January. According to the occasional sign they're 45 miles north of Tucson, the second largest city in Arizona, putting them about halfway between there and Nazareth. There's no telling where Faye's taking them or how long they'll be out.

Mosier · May 21, 2014

Agnasci is content to sit in the back seat of the vehicle, observing the others. The strangeness of Faye's behavior intrigues him, but he knows better than to ask her outright just what's going on. If Penrose had wanted them to know, she would have told them. Agnasci's curiosity easily overcomes his respect for Penrose, though.

In an attempt to understand more, Agnasci casts Aura Perception on Faye. (Dice Pool 3 = Gnosis 1 + Mind 2)

He's particularly interested to know whether she's afraid or nervous.

TillForPie · May 21, 2014

Agnasci need only glance toward Faye for a moment. He remembers what Penrose has taught of the imago, the intended effect that a spellcaster envisions in their mind's eye, and imagines the barest surface of Faye's mind opening to him. Instantly his imagination is made real for him.
[sblock=Faye's Aura]The sleepwalker's mind radiates pale blue light and Agnasci catches the scent of lavender. Faye is calm. There's something else, barely perceptible... The lightest taste of sweat and nearly invisible orange flecks. Not afraid, but perhaps slightly nervous or anxious. She guards her feelings well, but it's there.[/sblock]Each other mage in the vehicle experiences something they've grown accustomed to these last months. Perhaps the hairs on the back of the neck stand on end or a chill shoots down the spine, but they're all reasonably certain that someone in the truck has used magic of some kind. This isn't unusual: As they've continued to grow comfortable with their magic they've been using it more. This was the first spell of the night.

Rubberneck · May 21, 2014

Law remains quiet in the front seat, watching out the window looking for nothing in particular. He is deep in thought, curious as to what the crazy old man Penrose had in store for them this time around. When he senses the use of magic he still says nothing and keeps to himself.

GlassEye · May 21, 2014

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Harper, a young man in his mid-twenties with a younger looking face despite the blond beard he wore, sat in the middle of the backseat with his eyes closed, bobbing his head to the beat of the music and fingering the chord changes and picking out notes on an imaginary guitar. When the music cut out his eyes snapped open and he brushed his hoodie off his head.

"Hey..." Realizing there wasn't anything Faye could really do about the music his voice changed from one of objection to admiration. "Now that's power. Not any man can invoke emotion like Johnny, God rest his soul."

Harper slumped back in the seat tapping his foot and humming the melody that still ran through his head. 'Gotta add that to my repertoire,' he thought. When he felt the spell Harper briefly looked around curious who was using magic.

[/section]

TillForPie · May 21, 2014

Faye's brown eyes appear in the rear-view mirror as she glances at Harper. She's never been rude, but the two haven't talked much since meeting and Harper gets the feeling that she resents Penrose telling him to sleep in her store. "I saw him perform live," she says, eyes back on the road. "1995." It's difficult to imagine what Faye would have looked like in her 20s. She doesn't react to the spellcasting and the others can only conclude that she lacks their unseen sense.

Rubberneck · May 22, 2014

After a relatively long silence Law becomes flustered and a little uneasy. He glances to the back seat and asks Chance

"So what's your story? What brings you out to the middle of nowhere?"

GlassEye · May 22, 2014

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Harper seizes on the chance to make a connection with his reluctant host. "Really? That must have been something else. His recorded stuff is incredible but there's nothing like seeing a master in a live show. Wish I could have seen him." He trails off and as the silence grows longer Law jumps in to break the silence with a question to Chance. 'Must not be a music buff.'

Curious whether Chance will answer the question Harper looks to the side at the woman in the seat next to him.

[/section]