Nazareth Awakened - Chapter 02: Wives of Solomon

[Mosier]

"I'll tell you the same thing I told the other one the last time I talked to him: I'm willing to pay what my idiot son owes. But that's it. I'm not afraid of you and your friends." Yes he is. "I won't be intimidated."

Agnasci has had some luck being honest with Weinberg so far. Might as well keep it up.

"I have no love for the Dogs of War," Agnasci says. "In fact, I'm in the same situation as you. Trapped. You can call the police and hope the Dogs don't kill you and Andrew both in retaliation." Agnasci keeps eye contact with Weinberg, letting the last sentence sink in.

"Or you can trust me. Cooperate. Give them what they want, and I'll use it to bury them. Your name will stay clean, and Andrew won't have to hide anymore."

Agnasci has the most important challenge of his life so far - convincing Weinberg to trust him against the man's better judgment. He uses a point of Willpower, and two Destiny dice for the persuasion roll.

 

[TillForPie]

Agnasci
Today's an important day for Agnasci: He's used two Willpower and four Destiny dice in a six hour period.
[sblock=Convincing Weinberg]Roll: Manipulation 4 + Persuasion 4 + Willpower 3 + Destiny 2 vs Composure + Resolve + Baseline Refusal 3 = Success with 7 successes
All 7 successes were on the initial roll, with no successes from 10-again rerolls! Still, it was a close one for Agnasci: Even with 7 successes the success was not an exceptional one[/sblock]Weinberg paces back and forth in his kitchen, beads of sweat forming on his cheeks and forehead. He stops by the coffee maker and considers it. "No." He shakes his head and repeats himself. "No. I can't." He rests both hands on the kitchen counter, facing away from Agnasci with his head hung.

"Hey dad, the internet went down," comes a voice from behind Agnasci and Weinberg. Both men turn to see a young man, either in his late teens or early 20s, gazing back at them. He has short, curly hair and he's wearing jeans and a purple Phoenix Suns hoodie.

"GO UPSTAIRS!" Weinberg snaps at his son, the stress clearly getting to him. He winces at his own reaction, anxiously crossing and uncrossing his arms over his chest. "Give us a minute, Andy. It's work stuff."

Andrew gives each of the men a surprised look before nodding and heading back out of the kitchen.

Dr Weinberg leans against the counter, regarding Agnasci for a long moment. Agnasci doesn't need to study Weinberg's aura to read him and he knows to keep quiet and wait. "I can get... maybe a couple bottles of betrahydrozoline. A couple a month." He sighs and rubs a hand over his face. "It's one of two active ingredients in a new drug that's just been approved. For treating Alzheimer's. We use just a tiny amount of it, almost nothing. But take a few drops of the stuff and it's a powerful psychedelic. Very powerful." Agnasci's never heard of it but he believes Weinberg. "But after a few months, maybe only a couple, they're gonna realize the stuff is going missing. We can only do this short term." Agnasci knows BR will agree to a "temporary" arrangement at first but will probably try to milk Weinberg and the facility dry for as long as he possibly can, likely only stopping once the game is up.

Agnasci has convinced Weinberg to steal thousands of dollars of pharmaceutical chemicals from his facility and is now culpable. If and when the theft occurs Agnasci will have to make relevant Wisdom checks for it and its immediate consequences.

 

[Rubberneck]

Law ignores the fact he's being scrutinized. He doesn't really care. He goes through the events from when he first laid eyes on Earnshaw. All the way up to Law trying to get info from the cab company. He also tells Penrose her cryptic, "He goes left." Message.

 

[TillForPie]

Law and Harper
Penrose runs the palm of a hand across his cheek, covered in a hint of gray stubble. "Earnshaw." He shakes his head, unable to place the name. "Earnshaw." He glances back at Faye, as if to ask if she knows it.

"The only Earnshaw I know is from Wuthering Heights." She says. Penrose keeps his gaze on her and she continues, "The book."

"Have either of you been using your shadow names with sleepers?" Penrose returns his attention to Law and Harper.

 

[Rubberneck]

Law thinks back,

"Negative. However I'm concerned because I'm a civil servant. She knows my shadow name. And now she knows my real name. That's trouble isn't it?"

 

[GlassEye]

Harper, Thyrsus mage

[section]

Like Law Harper doesn't comment of being examined magically. He shakes his head in response to Penrose's question. "I've told no one my shadow name."

​

[/section]

 

[TillForPie]

Law and Harper
"It can be," Penrose answers Law, making no attempt to blunt the truth. "Eventually you'll have to decide: Are you Officer Hawthorne, pretending to be Law? Or the other way around?" The particulars of that statement are specific to Law but the message seems intended for both his students. "Your old lives are liabilities and I suggest you cast them off."

"We don't know if this Earnshaw is a mage but her knowing your shadow names suggests she is. The message she gave you may have been intended for me." He crosses his thick arms over his broad chest - even pale and uncomfortable as he looks in the sunlight he maintains a powerful presence. "When you're done at the dormant hallows tonight take Chance to look back in time to your meeting with Earnshaw."

"I won't let this mystery woman bring my work to a stop. But stepping up your training might be in order..." He considers briefly. "Make sure everyone comes back here tonight to report on what you've found. Afterward we'll have our next lesson." Law doesn't work tomorrow and Harper is free as usual, though their sleep schedules have already been suffering and this won't help. Still, these occasional lessons with Penrose are always informative and it's likely he'd brook no argument anyway.

It seems Penrose is done with them. If there's anything Law or Harper want to say or ask their mentor before he disappears back into his sanctum this is their chance.

 

[Rubberneck]

Law nods in agreement. But before Penrose leaves Law asks him

"What kind of effect does a hallow have on sleepers? Since the one is in an occupied home, I'm trying to figure out the best way to proceed. Breaking into their house in the middle of the night is bound to end badly."

 

[TillForPie]

Law and Harper
"Hallows are places with a connection to the Supernal Realm, where magic can trickle through into our world, and even sleepers can feel their presence. But the ones I'm sending you to investigate are dormant. They'll probably be undetectable - even to you."

"As for the home, if it's occupied you'll have to get creative. You might not need to enter the house itself at all. You're just checking if there's anything unusual going on."

 

[Mosier]

Agnasci sees the torment he's putting Weinberg through. He doesn't particularly care about the man's emotional well-being, but he can see a practical reason for keeping the good doctor reassured.

"This will all be over soon, but you have to trust me. I won't let them hurt you, or Andrew. We won't meet face-to-face again, Doctor, but I'll call you. It's important you follow any instructions I give you, no matter how strange it seems. And, if I ever say the word 'sparkle,' it means the Dogs of War can hear us, and you need to be careful. If I say it twice in one conversation, stop whatever you're doing and run to the police."