WillGM: ------------------------ Game Start ----------------------- WillGM: Nicole, it's the day after your experience in BA's dreamscape. When were you thinking about contacting Zeke? Nicole: well, the original plan was to talk about what she might be walking into on halloween. Nicole: as for time of day, prolly after classes, which she's not doing well at staying awake in, for obvious reasons. WillGM: *nod* I imagine lost Mind Hits would present themselves as mild confusion and anxiety, besides any effects of lost sleep. Nicole: yeah. Just not a very awake day. WillGM: Okay, so it's about 4pm. The city bus drops you off near the StoneWorks, and you roll on in. At 4, there is still an hour to go before the end of the usual workday, and men are walking around the yard carrying tiles or driving forklifts of stone. Marmarath is in the front, examining a large pile of slabs of marble minutely, next to which a man in a business suit is standing. Nicole: remind me who he is? WillGM: Marmarath? The Cherub Vassal, nicknamed "Rath." Brick of a guy, attuned to Pete, informally runs the little group here. Edward: The cabbage guy. ;) Nicole: Thanks. I needed Rath. That's how I remember him. Nicole stifles a yawn, wanders in Rath's direction, to see if he knows where Zeke is. WillGM: Rath flicks an eye toward you, stands up and pats the marble. "It looks like good quality. We'll take it. If you'll head into my office, we can conclude the deal in there." The man grins and heads inside. Rath turns to you. "Good afternoon, Nicole." Nicole: "Hey, Rath. Y'know where..." *yawn* "...Zeke is?" WillGM: "In the fine work room, helping Les." He points to a secluded room on the first floor in the back corner. "Grab a hat from the visitors' stand before you enter the work floor." Nicole nods. "Thanks." Nicole rolls in the general direction of where the hard hats are stored. WillGM: Several are hanging on the side of the main entrance. The whine of a stone chipper starts up, reminding one of why they are necessary. Nicole tries a couple on before finding one that seems to fit well, winces at the whining noise involutarily, and tries to find Zeke. WillGM: The room Rath pointed out to you is easy to see, set off from the rest of the floor. It's easy to navigate, since the floor is meant to allow forklifts to pass. Nicole nods, and yawns again as she's negotiating it. WillGM: There's a door, but it's unlocked. Nicole knocks on the door first, and if nobody comes to it quickly, will attempt to push it slowly open. WillGM: It opens easily. Nicole comes in, then. "Zeke?" WillGM: Inside, there are a table and a couple of chairs. Zeke looks up, a bit surprised to see you, but nods and beckons you in. He passes a pair of tweezers to Les, who at first glance appears to be attaching leaves to a bonsai tree -- then you realize that the "tree" is smoky quartz with many facets, and the "leaves" are jade cut to fit in slots in the "trunk." WillGM: "Hey, Nicole." Nicole: "...oh, wow." Nicole stifles another yawn. WillGM: "Yeah, Les is our resident artist. The rest of us appreciate a grand structure, but he can do stuff jewelers would envy. What's up?" Nicole: "You have some time to talk?" WillGM: "Sure, Les is the one doing the heavy lifting." Les gives him back the tweezers and motions for Zeke to put his thumb on one spot, which he proceeds to pick at delicately. "You look tired." Nicole: "Bad dreams. At least, I *hope* they were bad dreams." WillGM: Les pauses, and the two of them look at each other. Les nods and puts down his tools. Both give you their attention. WillGM: "That what you came here to talk about?" Nicole: "No, it wasn't. I was gonna talk to you about what to watch out for Halloween, although I'm starting to wonder if going at that alone is such a great idea." Nicole explains about the odd dream, and then getting recruited into helping with BA's crazy dream. Nicole: "..and then, once we got those poodles out of there, Ed, or at least a figment that looked like Ed...well, offered to escort me out, only it wasn't Ed..." Nicole gets an odd look on her face. Nicole: "I...this is where it got bad..." Nicole: "I was...it wasn't Ed, and I trust Ed, and...I think I goofed." WillGM: "I don't know too much about the physics of the Marches, but if something followed you out of that dream it couldn't have been native, I don't think. What happened?" WillGM: Zeke motions for him to be easy, to listen. Nicole takes a deep breath. "Ed...he turned into a green woman with horns or something, I don't totally recall, and she said that I could either be questioned by her or by somebody else who would be worse, and I gave in and let her..." Nicole: "and she asked me who I was with, and I said, and she asked me something about being a Soldier, and I didn't have a clue...and got hit for my ignorance, which made me mad, and I somehow got out..." WillGM: Zeke's eyes grow hard, and he nods. "You have met the enemy unmasked by flesh. What you saw was a Lilim. You were in more danger than most living humans will ever be, and though you may still be I am glad that you are alive still. It shows great personal strength." Nicole: "...chained like a dog, too, but I somehow got out of that, I don't know how and...then woke up at 3 and was scared to go back to sleep, and it's..." Nicole starts crying into her hands. Nicole: "I think i goofed." WillGM: Zeke reaches across the table and grips you by a shoulder. "For a first encounter with a demon of Nightmares, you did well to escape with your psyche intact." Nicole looks up at Zeke, with a tearstained face. "That's what that was?" WillGM: "Almost certainly. Beleth would not take kindly to other demons wandering her realm." WillGM: "From your description of her actions, I would like to check for something, though... would you permit me to look deeply into you?" Nicole nods and tries to regain some composure. WillGM: "Les, could you lend me your Essence?" Les nods, and reaches over to him. They grip hands for a moment. "Please go tell the others not to worry about the Disturbance." Les nods again, and heads out of the room. Zeke walks around the table and gets down on one knee in front of you, laying his hand on yours and looking into your eyes. Nicole: "Uh...okay. I...trust you, Zeke." WillGM: He concentrates for a moment, and for a split second it seems that the room hums as if someone had plucked a harpstring. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 8. WillGM: He breathes deeply, and nods. "I've never quite tried doing it like that before, but it worked. Even a Geas is a relationship, of sorts..." He breathes deeply again, and stands up only to sit back down on the edge of the table. Nicole: "A ...what?" WillGM: "A Geas, a somewhat substantial one. It's what the Lilim do -- the original deals with the devil. She saw that you did not want to meet a worse captor, and acquiesced, using her power to... well, now she thinks that you owe her a favor." Nicole looks at Zeke in concern. "You okay?" WillGM: He chuckles at your question. "I'm fine, just a litle drained." Nicole: "I..." Nicole looked in stunned silence. "I didn't mean..." WillGM: "Most likely, she doesn't know much about you personally. She seems to have thought you were a Soldier, and took the opportunity to lay a hook in you." Nicole: "What *is* a Soldier? Since not knowing caused me so much grief last night..." WillGM: Les comes back, in time to hear your last question. He shuts the door and smiles a small smile. It might even be triumph. WillGM: "A human who has chosen to gain a higher awareness. They can serve an Archangel, and there are those who choose to serve Hell. They fight with us in the War." Nicole: "oh." [ snip msg¹ing ] WillGM: Zeke hesitates. "I cannot deny that you are still in danger from this. Somewhat. It is possible to resist the power, and you are a woman of strong will. But there are ways... that is..." He looks you straight in the eye. "If you actually were a Soldier, you would have more resources at your disposal to resist her." Nicole takes a deep breath. Nicole: "And if she comes wandering up to me to get the return, I can't just say no, right?" WillGM: "As a theoretical matter, you can and should. She won't make it easy, though." WillGM: "It is possible for her to bend your will to hers, though." He grumbles something under his breath about that. Nicole nods. Nicole: "I don't know. I'm ... this is whacked." UpLink: Word! WillGM: "I should also say that, while Stone always will welcome a brother, it seems to me that it would be most prudent for you to align with the Archangel who fights Nightmares. The Lady of Dreams, Blandine. But a hasty decision would serve no one in this, I think. Action is good, but under control of reason." Fearless: you screwered Nicole nods at Les. "And I'd want to think about it a bit more." WillGM: Les nods once. "Wise." Nicole: "I'm leaning your way, though, so if you do need something, I'll do it." *yawn* "Bleh, tired. And I still wanted to talk to you about Halloween." WillGM: "Yeah. Um... what about that, actually?" Nicole: "I was going to ask you what to look for, but ... I'm starting to reconsider whether it's a smart idea to go at it myself." WillGM: Zeke blinks at you. "I may have missed... oh! Rath said something about you going to an event. Investigating?" Nicole: "Yeah. Ed's list." WillGM: "Ah. Okay. Having second thoughts about accepting the invitation, you mean?" Nicole: "Well, I inisted to Rath that I wanted to go investigating on my own. And it might still be worth showing up...but with recent events..." WillGM: "No need to stick to that decision, I say. If you're nervous, it's always good to have a friend at your back. That's not weakness, I'd call it common sense." Les nods. Nicole: "Yeah. I think I will." Nicole: "Ask Greg if he wants to come along or something." WillGM: "I think he'd be a good choice. Nothing like a prof to keep some frat boys polite. As for what to look for... well, what did Ed's list say your host might be?" WillGM: Unbeknownst to Nicole, at about this time Terrence, another KBL lad, is showing up at the TCS. :^) Nicole: Argh, can't remember Bill's last name. WillGM: Neither can Nicole. It happens. :^) Nicole: "Bill something or other...he's in my linalg class." Fearless: Handel WillGM: Says the man with the Eidetic Memory. ;^) Nicole giggles. WillGM: Zeke raises an eyebrow. "I mean what he is suspected of." Nicole: "Well...he said they found a book in a used bookstore and wants to use it to do 'real *BLACK* magic', or so their flyer said." WillGM: Les growls. WillGM: "Sorcery, unless he's playing a different game." BA: The Necronomicon, paperback edition :) Nicole: "Who knows. But I got myself invited, somehow." Nicole: "And was going to check it out." WillGM: "Sorcerors are human, so the rules of engagement are different for us angels. If he's planning something that night...." Zeke ponders. WillGM: "I can't think of anything a party would be useful for except fodder for something that wanted to play." Nicole nods. "And since I've gone and made a nice vulnerable spot, it's prolly best I not try this on my own now." *yawn* WillGM: "If he has invited you personally, either you are more likely to be safe -- he likes you and would either shelter you or perhaps thinks you would like to be in on it -- or less likely, in that perhaps he thinks you more vulnerable to whatever he plans. I can't say for certain. I can say that you're in a unique position to find out." WillGM: "I don't know many of the particulars, so I'm sorry I can't be of more help. I do think a friend would be a good idea, though." Nicole: "Yeah. And I had to agree to BA installing a panic button to even be allowed, but I'll see if Greg wants to come along. Since it might be smart." Ellis: I could go as Gandalf. It'd give me an excuse to wear a sword. ;) Nicole: "But I think I'm going to try to get some sleep first." *yawn* WillGM: "If it turns out to be something big, we can be on call. Halloween and Walpurgisnacht are the big nights that young idiot Sorcerors with too much time on their hands and not enough discipline tend to try big stupid stuff." Nicole nods. Fearless: Ellis: *snicker* Edward: Demons actually hate those two dates even more than angels do, because *all* the idiots call them, and they *all* call at once, and... Nicole: *laugh!* Fearless: *hee* Nicole: "Sounds like a plan, then." Edward: And of course they all have a few dribbling candles and a bucket or two of goat's blood splashed around their rooms... WillGM: Zeke chuckles. "Rath bloody well hates both holidays. His name's in the Testament of Solomon, you see, so there's always someone trying to summon an angel. You can't though, so he just sits there and suffers through until they shut up. But oh, the time or two we were actually in the same city..." He grins, as does Les. Then he looks quickly at you, coughs, and wipes it off his face. "We corrected their error of judgment." Nicole laughs! BA: *demon appears* "Make this quick! I have a Summons on hold for !" :) Edward: Lemme dig through Moe Lane's stuff, he's written something up.. Fearless: *snicker* Edward: http://www.stormloader.com/users/moelane/innomine/seeds/Walspurgisnacht.h tm WillGM: Search for Walpurgisnacht, and for Beliar. Edward: oh yes. Beliar. *snicker* Nicole has a big smile on her face, for the first time all afternoon. WillGM: "That looks much better on you. And yes, I think a few nights' actual sleep will do you three worlds of good." He claps you on the shoulder. Edward: Hmm, that raises the question: Does David feel that an attempted sorcerous summoning counts as a 'first hit' ? Fearless: *ugh* Nicole: "Thanks, Zeke. I think I owe you one..." She considers for a second. "...but not like I owe others." WillGM: No. But getting three angry angels, none of whom are the one you attempted to summon, tends to put the stablest Sorceror off his lunch. WillGM: He chuckles. Edward: Point. Then again, if the would-be sorcerer is actually stupid enough to try a contest of wills.... Nicole takes one last look at what Les was working on, and then prepares to go. :) WillGM: Angels can't enter a contest of wills, according to the CPG. However, they *can* grab you by the scruff of the neck, drag you to eye level, and say: "Stop. Doing that." BA: :) WillGM: "See you, Nicole. Consider what we spoke of, and remember that while we'll be there for you, it's your native strength that will serve you best." Edward: I meant the attempt (which *is* for all intents and purposes a direct attempt to enslave someone) would count as a first hit... Nicole nods. "What is it you guys say? Stay strong?" WillGM: "Stay strong." Nicole smiles, waves, and exunts. WillGM: Les follows you out as Zeke tidies up the room you were in. Our Ofanite mentions that he's switching off with Wes, who is still watching Carver's dorm room (he seems not to have left all day today). WillGM: He offers to drive you instead of needing to take the bus. Edward: Would this be a good moment for the phone to ring? WillGM: You, calling the 'Works about Laura? Nicole nods to Les. "That would be good, so I don't fall asleep and miss my stop." Edward: *nod* WillGM: Ed: Let's do that in a minute. I also want to do Fulmeniel showing back up. Edward: 'k. WillGM: Les drives you home, by a very quick route. You find out two things: 1) Philadelphia has a number of back streets that are little-traveled but make a remarkably straight connection between your house and the 'Works. 2) Les apparently thinks that speed limits are vaguely irrational. Possibly irrational numbers. Edward: and 3) When accepting a ride from an Ofanite, KEEP YOUR EYES SHUT. :) Nicole keeps her teeth clenched and eyes open, but actually manages to enjoy the ride. Nicole: (And it keeps me awake...) WillGM: And on that, let's take five and then switch to Ed. :^) Fearless: *snicker* Every 4-lane highway in Pennsylvania eventually turns into a one-lane dirt road Nicole: when you get a Wheel behind the wheel... WillGM: Ooh, that should be a song lyric. Edward: IN filksongs! BA: o/~ Wheel in the sky keeps on turning o/~ Fearless oocly kills BA for killing it with that bad Journey reference. WillGM puts on some Leslie Fish ("Devil's Hornpipe", why not) and pulls out papers for Ed's stuff. Fearless oocly pulls up Zen Driving. WillGM: o/~ Is this our loving Father's work / or just a tyrant's game? // If all the world is ruled by God then he's the one to blame! o/~ <<-- Meant to be atheist, but man oh man in IN is it ever BalProp. %^) BA: heh Fearless: I'm the Collision Ninja, Fearless: the Samurai of Smash, Fearless: Zen Driving, Fearless: Close your eyes and go. WillGM: Set, Ed? Edward: Sure thing. WillGM: Go for it. BA hangs out in his workshop, paying the bills Edward gets off duty for the day (early morning shifts, this week) and decides to drive by the 'works on the way home. WillGM: You arrive a couple of hours before Nicole will, and see operation in full swing. Several men are taking a batch of clay tiles out of an industrial-size kiln in the back. Rath is visible, examining one. WillGM: (Tile, that is, not man.) Edward unmounts and dehelmets. WillGM: Might as well not have dehelmeted -- as you enter the work floor, Rath points to the stand of hard hats. Edward affably puts one on. WillGM: Rath walks over carrying the hot tile in a gloved hand. "Greetings, Mr. Wong." Edward nods. "Greetings. How fares?" WillGM: "Business is going well." He shows you the tile. "Clay shingles. Wonderful for heat insulation, but we don't sell many up north. In other news..." he shrugs. "Business is going reasonably well. In Philly, at least. With yourself?" Edward shrugs. "Pretty well. Probably made another enemy for life, but such is existence..." WillGM: "Oh?" Edward: "The snake-ette got her pretty little ass booted out for not having any kind of record. She seems to be blaming me personally for it, judging by the look she gave me on the way to her car." WillGM: Rath blinks mildly. "Well, when one defeats an enemy one rarely expects them to take it with aplomb." WillGM: "Good work, though." Edward shrugs. "It's a job. Although there's a couple things I'm wondering about and I was hoping someone with more experience dealing with demons might be able to shed some light on it..." WillGM: "I shall endeavor to enlighten." Edward: "Well, as I understand it, a Role is supposed to be used to set you up as a mortal, or at least fool as many entities as possible into believing you as such, right?" WillGM: "One good enough can fool reality itself. Most of it, at least." Edward nods. "Okay, so why did she do something as profoundly stupid as skipping out on the payments? I somehow can't seem to accept the concept of Hell being so strapped for cash that they'd have to default on a lousy couple of thou, and it left a *glaring* hole in her documentation. As was demonstrated." Edward: "I mean, yes, she could -- and did -- flamboozle the bursar on a regular basis with her Bal Mind Trick, but it left an empty space where a paper trail should have been a mile wide..." WillGM: Rath smiles slightly. "Let's see. She might have been lazy, seeking personal entertainments. That's common with first-timers. She might have not been worth sufficient funds, and been ordered to make do -- that's a low-ranking or ill-favored one. She might have been overconfident -- that's all of them. Or it might have been a rush job, or one that had to be officially on the sly." WillGM: He shrugs. "Lots of possibilities. You'll rarely catch one of Heaven's operatives doing such shoddy work." Edward nods. "Okay, that makes some sense... And the other, which I'll probably discuss with Fulmeniel when he gets back as well, is a bit more immediate -- What would a demon do with a Role as a biotech researcher? Especially one working with retrovirii..." WillGM: Rath blinks a bit and thinks. "Retrovirii. I know this one." WillGM: "AIDS, right?" Edward nods. "According to the Prof she was working with." Edward relates the events and what the prof had to say. WillGM: "Presumably if it was real research under a professor who thought she was a student, it was on the up-and-up. Therefore, it would be directed at treatment. Hmm..." He scratches his chin. "Princes aren't typically known for wanting to cure diseases." He winces something and mutters some obscenity about Makatiel. "Got me, sorry." Edward: I don't think the lightning doc Ed got had historical info on dead Princes, right? WillGM: Nah. Rath's being one version of a grizzled old War veteran. :^) Edward raises Ye People's Eyebrow in an almost-elohithic manner. "Mac Who?" WillGM: "Demon Prince. Dead now, and thus even more irrelevant than the others." Edward: "Ah. One interested in diseases?" WillGM: Rath nods. "'Twas his Word." Edward nods again. Fearless: Big power during the Black Plague? :) WillGM steps out for a minute to SHOW YOU SOMETHING. Edward: Killed shortly after because he'd gone insane and wanted to exterminate mankind, and had almost perfected a version that could infect vessels. Fearless: *ew* WillGM: This is real science: WillGM: Yersinia pestis, the Black Death. Scientists identified WillGM: suites of genes meant to transform the bacterium from a harmless stomach WillGM: bug in rats to one with the added capabilities of aerial transmission, WillGM: human infection, exceeding virulence(over 20 suites alone for rapid WillGM: deployment in the body), and suppression of genes for its earlier role. WillGM: Furthermore, scientists were able to conclude that the genes were added in WillGM: rapid succession sometime between 1,500 and 20,000 years ago. Edward: Yow. WillGM: Ladies and gentlemen, direct scientific evidence of tampering by Makatiel to produce the Black Plague. %^) Nicole: ick. Edward: Killed --rumored -- by Judgement and The Game working together, although the former weren't informed about the vessel-disease. BA: Or it was just those darn Grays trying to find out how resistant we are to disease :) Edward: Or it was genetics rolling an infernal intervention. BA: Or that :) WillGM: Allright, I'm done with that. :^) Edward puts his Ed mask back on. WillGM: Rath smiles affably. "Anything else?" Edward: "Yeah, she seemed to be working with another guy that was on the list... a "Bill Handel" -- and he went 'Aw, crap' in a the-jig-is-up manner when we came in to show her the door." Edward: "He's in some of 'cole's classes. I think she was going to discreetly check on him." WillGM: "Evidence to his name, then. Perhaps a dupe as well, though -- he bears further study." Edward: "Any news on Carver, by the way?" WillGM: "Wes and Les are watching him in shifts. He seems not to have left his apartment since the events of yesterday." He furrows his brows. "Assuming he has classes, he would have missed them today. I am not sure what to make of it." WillGM: "I suspect that he suspects he has been found out, though." Edward: "He might have figured out that he hit a Celestial when hitting Wes failed to cause Disturbance." WillGM: "Possibly." WillGM: "If he makes a break for it we will hopefully be able to catch him." Edward: "Mmm." WillGM: An employee comes up to ask Rath a question. He responds, and adds his approval of the tile batch, giving orders to begin a new one. WillGM: He then turns back to you. Edward: "I think that's about all I had in terms of updates..." WillGM: "In that case, I have news, if you have not already heard. I am told the Lightning angel going by Walter is back in town. He and Spitz have resumed their normal duties, which I think means you will not be seeing so much of Miss Redfeather for a while." Edward nods. "Ah, good. I'll give Fulmeniel a call in a bit, then. Stay strong." WillGM: "Stay strong." Edward waves, turns, swaps his hardhat for his helmet and walks off. WillGM: Heading home, or to Walter's shop? Edward: Walt, might as well. WillGM: You come upon him in the very act of turning the sign in his door from "Closed" to "Open." Edward: "Salutations." WillGM: He opens the door for you. "Welcome, Mr. Wong. I presume you got my email, then?" Edward: Will: Did I? WillGM: No, it seems to have come between your leaving for the 'Works and coming here. Edward tilts his head. "If you sent it earlier than 30 minutes ago, it must've gotten lost in the queue somewhere. Otherwise, I just haven't read it yet." WillGM: "Just a few minutes ago, yes. I thought you had come directly from the University. Apparently I presumed incorrectly; my apologies." Edward: "None are needed. I detoured past the 'works to update them with the situation." WillGM: "Ah, and the standard information flowed to him. I understand. Hopefully. Well, you will read it later, but as for one part I can ask now -- how has the investigation been proceeding?" Edward: "Pretty well. So far we've managed to tag two of the possibles for certain, and got one of them booted. We're looking into a couple others." WillGM: "I feel obliged to assist in any way I can, since I caused part of this. I also admit to some gratification at the effectiveness of the program -- although it was nearly ideal conditions: a very large group of people, with extensive centralized files, including detailed financial and personal information..." he falls into thought. Edward: "Even given that, the false positive it generated was amusingly embarassing..." Edward grins. WillGM: He smiles ruefully. "Yes, well. Sensitivity trades for accuracy." He grows more serious. "By the way, the Erath Stone and Tile Works isn't a Tether. Too much celestial interference in its development over the last half-century or so, probably. It's just a convenient staging point in that part of the city." Edward nods. WillGM: "Which two did you tag?" Edward: Lieder when she used her resonance on me -- successfully, I'll admit, but that was resolved --, and Carver with some assistance from the 'works. He's a celestial and Discordant, and that combined with his attitude led them to conclude 'demon' since Discord tends to be rarer among Angels." Edward: "... At least, that's how I understood it. And the reasoning makes sense from what I've read." WillGM: "Carver was the possible Calabite, and all -- excuse me, most -- Calabim are Discordant. It is a reasonable conclusion." WillGM: "That is three of seven, then. There was one possible human criminal, and then the remaining three, I noticed, were all members of the same fraternity." WillGM: s/four/seven/ Edward: "Fearless did some snooping around with that 'true connectedness' society. It sounds like Ye Average Gaggle Of Idiots, but... *relate*" WillGM OOCly decides, if it's okay with you, that we simply say "After a few more minutes of catching up, Fulmeniel knows everything Ed does about the situation." Edward: *nod* WillGM: Done, then. Fearless: right into the viper's den, too, basically Edward: "... And that's pretty much it so far." WillGM: "So Laura is stifled, Carver is contained and your lead with KBL is Nicole. Very well, the only two bases left to cover are this Swami and the remaining target." Edward nods. "'cole is getting a panic button wired into her chair just in case the 'real black magic ritual' goes you-know-where in a handbasket fast." Edward: who would be the remaining target again? I've lost count... :) WillGM: Walter nods. "Wise." Fearless: Greg, methinks. :) Edward: Greg was the false positive I already mentioned. WillGM: Suspect 6, Sean Edwards. He hasn't been mentioned much since the last big meeting. Jack suggested that he could be a new drug dealer. Fearless: the criminal Edward: "And I'm not entirely sure about the containment bit. He *could* have been on the phone with his base of operations and informing them someone's on to him..." WillGM: Fulmeniel cocks an eyebrow. "The natural alternative would be elimination..." WillGM: "...seeing as how, from his personality description, Redemption is negligibly probable." Edward gets that "I just thought of something and I'm an idiot because I should have thought of it ages ago" look on his face "... Just like Laura is most likely doing. Damn. If I had *half* the sense I like to think I have I'd arranged to have her tail tailed." Edward nods. "yeah, but I think I'll leave the decision when and how to do that to the people that have experience eliminating demons." WillGM: "Probably. However, demons are never enthusiastic about delivering bad news to their superiors. Well, no one is, but demons remarkably less. While she probably has, or will, report such a thing..." He shrugs. "The outcome is difficult to predict without knowing her fundamental mission." Fearless: "Yeah, what was she driving? And did you get a plate number? What state was the plate? Thanks, I'll get right on it." Edward: "All we'll know of her mission unless we haul her in and interrogate her in front of a Seraph or two is that it involves a Role, which if I'm theorizing correctly means long-term and at least surface-level legit, and retrovirus research." WillGM: "Actually, I must contradict you. I suspect a Role was not essential to her work, considering that she put in so little work building or maintaining one. Which would mean that whatever she was doing there was incidental, and her real work was elsewhere." WillGM: "The retroviral connection is... intriguing... though, because it means she *must* have had the appropriate knowledge. No one does graduate-level work in a lab for months while faking it, even a Balseraph." Edward nods. "I'm not as familiar with demonic organizations, but from what I've read that would suggest your, ah, 'opposite number'..." WillGM: "Technology? Possibly. They do the most in biological research." Edward nods. "Then again, like Rath already mentioned, if she was trying to do legit work with a professor, it'd have to involve a treatment rather than an enhancement. Which doesn't sound characteristic of demons at all..." WillGM: He cocks an eyebrow. "Well... how was her personal appearance?" Edward: "Short skirt, long legs, fabulous looks." WillGM: "Mmm. Unfortunately not diagnostic, though symptomatic." Edward raises YPE again. WillGM: He shrugs. "Speculation, based on sparse intelligence. Rumor has it that Andrealphus, Prince of Lust, may sponsor research into treatments for sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS in particular, as they are perceived as impediments to his Word. This would put him at odds with some of the other Princes if it were true, though." WillGM: "Still, I maintain that this is possibly not her central duty on Earth. Bill Handel may be deeper into this than first suspected, rather than simply being a connection." Edward ponders this, nods as it makes sense. WillGM: Fulmeniel closes his eyes and thinks. "At the moment, I consider this your assignment, Edward, and I assisting. Have you thoughts as to a preferred direction to proceed?" Edward: "I'd manufacture an excuse to be in the vicinity during that Frat party, but given that Handel probably remembers me and may -- correctly -- conclude that I'm Up To Something that could work out very VERY badly. Much as I hate sitting still about this it's probably best to let 'cole handle this and keep the 'troops' on standby in case the button gets pressed." [ snip msg¹ing ] WillGM: "A reasonable solution. What of the other leads?" Edward: "Right now, we're still in the intel stage. We know they're here, and they may not *quite* yet know we know. Carver might, but Laura *probably* thinks she just got unlucky because some yokel got too zealous about reporting anomalies. My instincts are to try and maintain this situation while gathering as much info as to what they're doing and what they're up to before striking..." Edward: "... If they're working on Roles they'll be trying to remain relatively unobtrusive until they're ready to do whatever they're planning, so we may have some time yet. We'll have to be ready to pre-empt them if it looks like they're making a move though." WillGM: "Very well. If I might propose, then: perhaps we should touch base with this last target. Then we would have at least some information on each of them." Edward nods. "Except the data I have on him, while suggestive, isn't *quite* something I can use to justify looking into him or even making a 'routine check' as part of my official duties." Edward: "Again, much as I hate to delegate the scut work, Fearless has more experience in this kind of investigative manner." WillGM: "Delegation is good administrative practice." He smiles. "But I shall be more direct. How do you think I might best serve?" Edward hmms, tries to think. Edward: a thought would be generating a pretext getting him on the phone with Sean in a way where he'd have a reason to talk about stuff, and resonating for the Truth of it... Edward: "Hmm... As a Seraph, you can hear whether someone's lying, and to what degree, right? WillGM: "When I wish to, yes." Edward nods. "I'm trying to think of a pretext where you could hear him while he's talking about who he is... Of course, we'd also need a way to get him to talk about himself without raising suspicion..." [ snip msg¹ing ] WillGM: "Social situations provide such opportunities, if we could find one. We *could* come right out and ask him direct questions -- one has a surprisingly good chance of getting lucky, in my experience. But I expect we can come up with better ideas if we give it a while to think on it." Edward: "Yeah, but that would definitely get him suspicious." WillGM: "Hence my suggestion to break for a time and try to come up with something more workable. I need to tend to the shop, anyway...." Edward nods. "I'll think on it some more. Good luck, and take care." WillGM: "You as well. Contact me if anything is needful regarding our association." Edward: "Will do." WillGM: Okay. It's 2am, we can call it here and start with Ellis' scene next game. Ellis: Okee. WillGM: ------------------------- Session End ----------------------------