Mage - The Spiral [IC]

[Fanog]

Taylor's townhouse
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

Taylor was getting tired reading the same rubbish. He had pretty much known as soon as he bought the book from Philip, but you could never know for sure.

All of them went about it the same way, the writer declaring in bold words that he had found the 'truth', or a 'new' thought pattern that would 'enlighten' those who followed his teachings. in the end, they all offered the same: absolutely nothing.

Still, he knew that there had to be something. Someone must have felt the same that he did, there must be texts concerning what he was looking for. Taylor was pulled from his thoughts by the sound of the doorbell. In the door opening stands a broad-shouldered man in a dark suit. Taylor could see a black car on the curb in front of his house.

"Good evening. Mister Taylor Willoughby? We have come to learn that you are in search of some - shall we say - unusual theories regarding the working of man, and nature. Would you be interested in speaking with someone who has this same interest, and who might be able to help you on your search?"

OoC: Taylor

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor blinks, then rubs his eyes. He pauses to regard the man for a moment.

Very strange, he thinks. It must be someone associated with the Pilgrims, I suppose. Or perhaps Phillip mentioned my name. Let's see if we can't find out something more...

"Well of course, I might be interested. But I'm afraid I'd need some more information before we leave... who is this person, and where do they wish to meet?"

Taylor smiles slightly, almost apologetically, as if he had to ask these questions in spite of himself.

 

[Mickerus]

"Yeah, I'll... uh... I'll be thinking about it."

Arctor stands up and heads out the door without a word to anybody else, a confused expression on his face keeping anybody from inquiring. The cool air is refreshing but chills him to the bone, forcing him to shiver as he zips up his coat. He lights another cigarette and smokes as he walks back to his motel, having almost forgotten the conversation he had just had.

Almost.

When he arrives at his room, Charles barely remembers to even close the door before setting down his guitar case and flopping down face-first on his bed, and he falls asleep with the lights still on.

 

[kuroshidaku]

Cavendish Laboratory, room 13.114
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

"Ready now?" Ty wondered, flicking the card over to see if there was another side. "Ready for what?". He managed to find a pocket in his jacket with enough room for the card and squeezed it in. He carried so much junk round with him these days. He slid the book into the small carry bag he always dragged with him, put away his glasses and headed out to search for his car.

He sat in the car for a few minutes, wondering about how the book had returned. Who had brought it? Why? How did they know him, and how did they know he was 'ready'? He needed some answers. Frustrated that he had not paused to look for the courier, he flicked the ignition on. "I'll ask Kalantar tomorrow. Hopefully i'll have some time before the next experiment. i should ask some of the other guys too. See if anyone saw him."

With that he pulled the car out and headed into the crowded streets on his way home.

 

[Keia]

On the Court, Pepsi Center
Denver, Colorado
October 2002

The athlete opened his eyes to find that he sat, cross-legged, on a snow-topped mountain. Behind him he heard a voice. The words sounded strange, but he found that he could understand them regardless.

"Yes, that is good. Now stand, and jump. Breathe, feel yourself become lighter until the point where you take off."

Okay, I'm sure there's a thousand explanations for what just happened - most of them not very logical - the question is, is this in my mind or did I really just go somewhere, Leo thought. And do I turn around to see who is talking, do as the voice suggests, or tell the voice to go spit.

I need to get back to where I was, whether back from my mental trip or . . . worse. So the easiest way hopefully would be to do as the voice said in the language I don't recognize but understand. Ah, heck, who ever thought I do things the easy way.

Leo started to do as instructed, standing from his semi-lotus position, then turned to face the voice and jumped. He breathed in the cold mountain air looking to become lighter, but Leo wanted to know who the voice was. . .

 

[Fanog]

Taylor's townhouse
London, England
October 2002, around 9 PM

The man before Taylor, blonde-haired and with a rather square jaw, looks at him and nods.

"Of course. The person I'm talking about is called Dr. Franks, he's active in the field of 'applied philosophy'." Taylor isn't really sure if he has ever heard that term before, but he can make quite some guesses as to what it might entail. In his field of interest, it isn't all that rare to see new terms coined at every possibility.

"You can meet him right now, he is waiting for you in the car," The man takes a step to the side, raising his arm to the vehicle in front of Taylor's house and making way for Taylor, "...if you are still interested."

OoC: Taylor
_______________________

Cavendish Laboratory, room 13.114
Cambridge, England
October 2002, late evening

Ty flipped over the card hoping for more explanations, but didn't find any other writing on it. He made his way through the near-empty building, needing his key card to exit the building.

As he was halfway on his trip home, Ty suddenly found that he couldn't quite remember how the drive had been so far. He knew that he had stepped into his car and had driven the few first streets on the way home, but it all just seemed a blur. It gave him the feeling like he had when he had drank too much, or when he was just realy engrossed in thinking of some theory or experiment during lunch; the feeling that his mind wasn't anywhere near the task he was currently doing.

It just then hit him that he was actually still thinking about the theories detailed in the book. He had taken his eyes of the pages, but his mind had never left the thought experiments and theorems that were written on them, as clear as if he were still reading.

The loud sound of a car horn shook Ty awake once again. A reflexive step on the brakes was all that seperated him from a run-in with a rather large pick-up truck coming from the left, his car halting with screeching tires.

OoC: Ty
_______________________

On the Court, Pepsi Center (?)
Denver, Colorado (?)
October 2002 (?)

Leo unfolded his legs and stood up, turning around. His actions felt weird, as if someone else were performing the movements at the same time that Leo thought about them.

Not surprisingly - or maybe most surprisingly - the man that had adressed Leo was none other than the off man that he had encountered in the catacombs. Only this time, the man was dressed in white flowing pants and bare-chested. The man had no hat of car, his grayish-white haur flowing freely in the chilling mountain wind.

Even while Leo pushed off of the ground for his jump, the man shook his head and spoke again in the same foreign, but understandable, words. "No, that is not good. Not yet... But you are close. Run up and down the mountain again, and then you will succeed..."

In his jump, Leo vision changed to white again. The whites made way for the sight of big lamp, and shadows coming from the side of his vision. "Hey, Leo. Leo! Wake up.... Come on guys, give him some room to breathe."

His vision cleared up, revealing several people hunched over him: the team medic, the referee and some of his team mates. All of them had quite worried looks on their faces.

OoC: Leo
_______________________

3 Bears Motel
Seattle, Washington
early saturday morning, October 2002

Dreams are plagueing Charles Arctor's sleep that night.

He found himself in the bar from that night, ready to leave. He stepped out the door, only to enter another bar, quite similar to the one he just left. He recognized it as being some bar that he had visited a few months earlier, somewhere down south. He kept leaving bars, only to enter another that he had visited at some time during his wanderings.

And every once in a while, he found himself back at Bad Albert's Tap and Grill... A six-foot tall, bipedal cat was standing behind the bar pourig beers for the customers, while a young woman with dark curls sat on the stage, singing forlorn songs...

OoC: Charles

 

[Mickerus]

Charles awakens with a start and slowly rises, wiping the bit of drool off his mouth as he blinks against the light he left on. Without bothering to check the time, he heads to the bathroom to relieve himself, then comes back out and sits down on the edge of his bed.

Thinking for a moment, he goes over the details in his dream, and decides that some of it would make for good parts to a song. He pulls out his old notepad and a pen and starts scribbling a note here and there, then lays back down, picks up the remote, and turns on the tv.

For the rest of the morning he does this, flipping channels, mostly watching cartoons, and definitely not sitting through anything involving characters named Sylvester or Tom.

 

[Keia]

On the Court, Pepsi Center (?)
Denver, Colorado (?)
October 2002 (?)

Leo squinted his eyes against the brightness of the lamp on him. That was the weirdest trip to Oz that I can remember, Leo thought.

"Man, I'm alright - I'm alright. What just happened? It's October, I'm playing basketball with the Nuggets, I'm in the Pepsi Center, I can feel my fingers and toes," Leo spouted, then he added - remembering the correct buzz words for the medic, "I'm coherent and mobile, so I can play."

Leo continued to blink and flexed his muscles, testing all of his motor skills to make sure he didn't embarass himself when he tried to get up. Leo looked to the Jumbotron (the big television above the court that shows replays) to see if they are replaying what happened to him.

 

[Byrons_Ghost]

Taylor's eyes glance over to the car, looking curiously for signs of a figure beyond the windows.

"I see," he says. Then his smile broadens somewhat, testing the waters. "Well, I'm always interested in conversing with like- minded individuals. Why don't you tell Dr. Franks to come in, and I'll see about getting some tea on?"

 

[Fanog]

3 Bears Motel
Seattle, Washington
early saturday morning, October 2002

As Charles makes the first few notes of what will probably become a song one day, he finds that the lyrics almost seems to write themselves. The more he puts down on paper, the better he can recall his dream. The vision seems to draw him in, ever deeper, leading to some inexirable ending.

The cat-like bartender behind the counter calls out to Charles and puts down a beer on the counter.

"Hi, there. It's nice to see you again. Tell me, how have you been lately?"

OoC: Charles