WillGM: You've been back at Golden Gate for a short while, and there are the matters of Maurice and Rhett to sort out. Hallaren says the Skull of St. John needs to be back in Turkey, and is making travel arrangements. WillGM: Someone in a suit and a cravat was waiting when you arrived. He has asked to speak to Ellis privately. Nicole has gone with Greg, for morale support. WillGM: Recall that Liriel is in a local hospital; the NPCs currently with you are Frizz and Rhett. WillGM: Recent convo: WillGM: WillGM: "Stay here. I'll let you know in a bit." He WillGM: wanders off. WillGM: Fearless nods. WillGM: WillGM: "So." WillGM: Bruce: "Yep. What about you, eh?" WillGM: WillGM: "Yep." WillGM: Fearless sits back. "And what about him?" *thumbs towards WillGM: Maurice* WillGM: Bruce: I forget, how much have we questioned him about? %P WillGM: WillGM: Maurice, or Rhett? WillGM: Bruce: Rhett. WillGM: WillGM: Virtually nothing. He was in your car when the chase WillGM: started. WillGM: Bruce: Mm. WillGM: Bruce looks at Maurice. "Him? Beats me." He looks back at WillGM: Rhett. "But you, I'm inclined to cut you lose, but we should chat first." WillGM: --------------------- Game Start ---------------------- Edward: Will: Ed will suggest it'd be useful if at least one celestial comes along for the trip; preferably either a seraph (to verify that the person they're meeting on the other side is who he says he is) or one of the Fire-angels from Turkey that hops over Tetherwise to arrange the contact. Remember, the Thieves know we have it, they know who we are, they know what city we're in, and they know where we're almost inevitably going to be going with it. Intercepting us with a Bal at the airport would be a fairly simple yet effective trick. WillGM: You suggest this to Hallaren? Edward: yeah Fearless turns to Maurice. "Just how much do you know about what's going on, anyways?" Maurice frowns slightly. "Know... aside from what I have seen today after you all... met me?" He seems to place some amount of humor on the last two words. Fearless: "Well, yes. And also what do you think or believe is going on?" WillGM: Bruce settles back and watches the goings-on quietly for the moment. Maurice: "Well, obviously something interesting. Things vanishing from plain sight... not altogether the strangest day I've had, but it ranks up there. One of the same people too..." Fearless: "Go on." WillGM: Ed: Hallaren quirks an eyebrow. "I'll see what I can do." Maurice: "Black Guard. Last I saw him I was in Bosnia... well, it wasn't a friendly meeting. And it was interesting seeing a devout Muslim slipping into a church..." Fearless: "And what happened in that prior meeting, in Bosnia?" Maurice winces slightly. "He was a friend of the Black Guard, rather... memory's going." He pauses. "He was another Legionaire, but went AWOL not too long after we were deployed..." Fearless nods, silently indicated for Maurice to continue. Maurice: "Which, isn't strange, even these days. But events remind me of today. Things were stolen that couldn't have been... people outright disappeared. And glimpses of... just things. I'm not sure what even now." He looks more than a bit agitated on recalling. Maurice lets out a nervous chuckle. "Like a bad horror movie, non?" Fearless: "Quite." Maurice: "Today... I got curious. People shooting made a nice, normal change. People shooting I am used to." Fearless: "It's everything else that happened today that's not supposed to happen, right?" Maurice nods. "I served for 15 years in 2e Régiment Étranger de Parachutistes... and these two things stand alone." Fearless: "Well, what do you *think* is going on?" Maurice shrugs, letting out a sigh. "I'm not a scientist, and I'm not especially religious, but it seems like the answer is in one of those. Aliens or demons... heh, again, bad movies." WillGM: "This... Blackguard. A curious nickname -- in older days, it could have variously meant a scoundrel or a menial servant. I assume he got it, from your unit, *after* he switched sides?" Fearless: *to Maurice* "Well, either one is appropriate." *to Frizz* "He used two words, not one, so it's likely he was refering to one of the people we met at the church by skin color, not action." Maurice: "No... but switching sides would have done it; most deserters simply run. He had always been called that though... noone knew why. If you say it could mean a scoundrel, maybe that's fitting; many in the Legion were running away from things. He wasn't especially black... middle-eastern." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 9. WillGM: Fearless: the nickname rings a bell... Fearless: back Fearless: "Although... the name does seem to be familiar. Middle-Eastern, you said?" Maurice nods. Fearless thinks back to where he'd heard it before... WillGM: Fearless: "guardian of darkness"? :^) Fearless: message me the details, my brain isn't as good as Fearless's. WillGM: "The guardian of darkness awakens in sunlight" is the phrase you got translated for you from Helltongue. Fearless: "Wait... blackguard is also refered to as being a guardian of darkness, right Frizz?" WillGM: "Referred to? That's not a definition of the word or anything... just a similarity of names. In English, at any rate. I don't know if garde noire has the same meanings in French. Why, what's a guardian of darkness?" Fearless utters the phrase in Helltongue, then in English. "We heard that are part of one of the prophecies given tonight. It's also been stuck in my head for several months; Xav's handwriting in his native tongue triggered a trap as I read it, and that and three other phrases ended up in my head." Fearless: "What would 'awaken' mean in this case?" Fearless prolly hurt's Frizz's ears upon uttering it, too... Maurice grunts slightly, listening carefully and recalling his two guesses... and the fact it seems the demons guess seems likelier. WillGM: "I haven't the foggiest idea. Prophecies are obscure like that. Sorry." WillGM: "As I was saying it, the vision I had was of someone standing between me and a great darkness. A bright light hit him, and he suddenly became aware of something. I don't know why I said it in Helltongue; I don't speak the language." Fearless: "Hmm... Did you catch a face?" WillGM: "Nope. Just an object that I knew was an intelligent being. In the dream way." WillGM: "How about you, Mr. Dupre? How well did you know this Black Guard?" Fearless: "Hmm.. and Nicole's our dream expert..." WillGM: "Not an actual dream. I meant that I knew this the way one knows things in a dream." He looks over at Nicole with Ellis and the new fellow. "She walks dreams?" Fearless: "I didn't say that." WillGM: Rhett eyes Fearless. "Okay." WillGM: Look. Fellows. This whole bit is not really meant to be major plot... it's more by way of saying, "Hey, KJ's character could have some useful info, we should bring him along," so... shall we? Fearless: kinda what I was getting to. Maurice: Or at least has had interesting parallel experiences and is likely to come along out of curiousity unless out and out shooed off. ;) WillGM: "How about you, Mr. Dupre? How well did you know this Black Guard?" Edward sits back and listens to the convo Maurice: "Quite well... despite his religious beliefs. We'd served together for a few years." Fearless: "What was he like, back then?" WillGM: "More to the point, if we encounter him in the future, would you be able to help us deal with him?" Maurice: "Muslim. He kept to himself, but not too much so... and yes. I am not overly fond of people who I marched with turning to the other side. Deserting perhaps, but to go against one's comrades..." WillGM: Frizz lifts an eyebrow. "'Deserting perhaps'?" Fearless: "Meaning that he's not averse to comrades deserting the unit, as it happened on a semi-regular basis." WillGM: Frizz is turning a little purple. Fearless: "Careful there, Frizz, you look like you'll explode." Maurice chuckles slightly. "Well, the Foreign Legion is known for being a refuge of people with nowhere else to turn... but many do not realize what they are in for. It is not unheard of for people to flee when given the chance... but that usually works itself out fairly early in one's career." WillGM: "... I have to take a walk." And without further ado he turns on his heel and strides off. Fearless chuckles softly. WillGM: "You have to understand. For him, there's only one other Side, and desertion means... about the worst thing you can do." Fearless: "So... Maurice, right? You sound like you could help us out, in case we encounter this guy him. Will you?" Edward: "That, and the particular archangel he works for has Views about duty, and what not to do." Maurice: "I'm not adverse to people who have no place in the Legion weeding themselves out." he corrects Fearless with a hint of anger. Fearless: "Point taken." Maurice: "But yes, I will help," he adds, the brief flash of anger calmed under his normal demeanor. "Also, I'm curious and... well, after 15 years, I find myself wandering and not much else going on." He winks at the last. WillGM: "Okay. Looks like you're with us for now. Liriel probably has a veto on that when he wakes up, though. That's one of the two of the new guys." WillGM: He turns to Rhett. WillGM: Rhett is sitting on the curb with his elbows on his knees and his hands interlocked in front of his face. He spreads them wide in a gesture of openness. "I already said you guys are the best friends I have right now. I suppose I'll need to convince you that I'm worth... whatever." Fearless puts on his best poker face. "Well, he is more use to us alive than he is dead." Fearless: "Barely." WillGM: Rhett snorts. "Hello, Bad Cop," he mutters. Fearless: "Actually, I'm the Good Cop." WillGM: "Right. Look, I'll lay my cards on the table. Your Seraph friend can verify it all when he wakes up. I want out from under the thumb of the demon you named," he says, pointing at you. "You've already helped me a bit, and I'm grateful for that. I'd like him off my back more permanently, and I'm willing to earn my keep for that. How can I help?" Fearless: "Well, Maurice, is he Foreign Legion material?" WillGM: Rhett furrows his brows. "...huh?" Maurice snorts. "Few are, but that's as it should be, perhaps." Maurice: *headscratches* Eh? Fearless: "Just a thought. Forget it." Maurice: Oh yeah, brain slowly chunders. Fearless: "Well, let's assume for a moment that we can take you with us. What're you good at?" WillGM: "I am a Sorceror in the tradition of the Brotherhood. I know the walking of dreams and the ways of the creatures therein. I know secrets of wind and fire. Is this useful to you?" Maurice quirks an eyebrow, pointedly doesn't shoot a questioning look at anyone around and instead pulls a stiletto out of the left sleeve of his jacket, cleaning his nails with it. Fearless: "Depends. I'm rather iffy on the Sorcery aspect right now." WillGM: "We could take things to a bit more mundane level. You've obviously dealt with this demon before. We could trade information -- you tell me where you know him from and what he did in the past, and I'll tell you what he's been up to more recently." Edward: "Sounds like a good deal. Guys?" Fearless turns on his laptop. "Lemme pull it up." WillGM: "I didn't know him before, so I'll learn things both ways. I'm okay with it." Maurice: "I won't presume to know if it's a good deal or not, yet." WillGM: "No vetoes, then? Excellent. You fellows are with angels, so I presume you can be kept to your word. I'll go first." Fearless pulls up his article on Xavier Montblanc/Exavenos, and another instance of M$Word for taking additional notes WillGM: "I was bumming around the New Age bookstores in Tucson when I heard some Disturbance and found one of the other fellows you met tonight. He knew another guy, and though we were all from different traditions we liked to keep in touch, occasionally share insights and BS about vibrations and such. Couple months ago, he started getting *real* intense." WillGM: "He pulled a few tricks for us... looked like he'd hooked on to some real juice. He wanted to let us in on it, but he said there was a ritual contest first. A Will-War." WillGM: "Well, you can guess what had happened. It wasn't him, it was the demon, and he kicked our asses. Basically, I can't not do what he says. Believe me, I'd desert in an instant if I could." Edward: "Ouch." Fearless: "What's the name he's going by nowadays?" Maurice inwardly finds it amusing that desertion is being talked about so much today, as he listens. WillGM: "Heh. Therein lies a tale. I started researching like mad on my own, and I found out some interesting things. If I ever found out his name, I could pull a re-do on the Will-War. With extra mystical oomph on my side. I couldn't, though -- it had never seemed to be recorded anywhere. But you, sir, dropped it for me just tonight." WillGM: "It's not a guaranteed victory, though, and I could also use some power. This should be where you guys start getting interested." Fearless: "I meant, what name was he using when he contacted you?" Fearless: "He's been known to use various aliases in the past..." WillGM: Rhett shakes his head. "He hasn't used any alias. We were to call him Master, he called us whatever the hell he wanted. If he talks to someone outside the group, he uses our names." WillGM: "Whoever's body he happens to be wearing." Fearless: "So he hasn't earned a body of his own yet. That's good news." Fearless jots those notes down, and minimizes that window. He turns the laptop around. "Here's what happened before. We... umm... encountered his boss." WillGM: "Fuck! A Demon Prince?" He shuts up and starts scanning the story. Edward: "A charming individual by the name of Kronos. And we're very much not interested in a repeat event." WillGM: Rhett tenses and looks up over the top of the laptop. "... I'm not so sure you guys are safe to be around anymore." WillGM: Rhett keeps reading. "Wait... you say this guy owns an RC track?" Edward: "From what we managed to figure out, he was trying to recruit us - most of us didn't know each other before he brought us together. But then a couple of guys from the other team ran interference and Xav screwed the pooch trying to convince us to ignore them. We did some checking." WillGM: "The first thing he had us do was buy a big backyard RC setup and practice. We were going to get close to somebody that did it professionally. Then one day he went to check up on the target. He came back in a really good mood, laughed, told us to sell the stuff and start a new plan. That's when we started looking for the Judas Grail." Fearless: "Seems B.A. was number one on Xav's recruitment list... he prolly still is. Lucky for us--and himself--B.A.'s quite stubborn, and although the 'angels' didn't exactly make the best impression with him, he's too stubborn to let the 'demons' make their pitch either." WillGM: "If B.A. is your RC-running friend, Exavenos apparently thinks his work is done there. That's... not a positive assessment coming from a demon." Edward: "... Well, the jury's still out on the 'Friend' part at the moment, but that's bad news." Maurice: "RC?" Fearless: "Hmm.... Lemme check something here. We've been out of touch for a bit." Fearless rings B.A. WillGM: Rhett looks over at Edward. "I don't know what your history is with the guy, but have you considered that his not being a friend might be the demons' fault?" UpLink picks up the phone "Uttenutten." *** UpLink is now known as BA WillGM: YES! Character onscreen! Fearless: "What's new, BA?" Edward: "The stunt he pulled that called the jury on his ass was entirely his own doing." BA: "Working on a new project. Can't talk about it over th phone since the military might not like civillians tinkering with this stuff." Edward: "But that's not relevant right now. Friend or no, anything Xav feels cheerful about automatically needs torpedoing." Fearless: "We have some news for you. Jericho lives." BA: "The pro wrestler? I'd hardly say that. Sure he won his match in WrestleMania, but... oh... the other Jericho?" WillGM: *sigh* "See, this is why I try not to mess with celestials one way or the other. The lore of the Brotherhood is quite clear that angels can't be messed with via Sorcery, and no one in his right might would want to mess with demons." Fearless: "Yes. The *other* Jericho. And word is, he's scoping you out somehow." WillGM: "Judas Grail's a perfect example of this, actually. It messes with angels and demons somehow. Makes them want it like a glutton wants sugar. Some of them may be immune; Xav says he is; not like I trust anything he says. But humans can't have their heads screwed with like that. We don't get whatever this soul-disease is called." Edward nods. "From what I've heard -- and this is from one rather smug angel whose name wound up in a lorebook or two -- you can try to summon one, and they'll hear the call, but the fact that their Hearts are in Heaven means they have a Get-Out-Of-Summoning-Free Card. Although he likes occasionally taking a group of his pals and drop by a particularly obnoxious gang of would-be Faustuses..." BA: "I'll have to hit the shop tonight and make some more hollowtips." Fearless: "Anything... strange... going on out there lately?" WillGM: "...Heart?" Fearless: "Problem there, BA. He's never the same person twice." BA: "As if that matters? When have you ever seen a hollowtip NOT put somehing down?" Edward: "That's the name they use for it. Mind, I'm probably not Cleared for all the metaphysical info, but from what I understand it's something every celestial has.. Something like a representation of themselves and their link to the universe." BA: "And no, nothing unusual's been happening." Fearless: "He'll be back in another body later. He doesn't have one to call his own yet." Fearless: *whispered to Ed* "We should prolly get him out here so they can make sure he's not tainted." Edward mouths back. "Good plan, but how?" WillGM: "...fascinating." BA: "What? Don't tell me you've started believing that angel/demon/care bear crap." Fearless: that was whispered to that BA couldn't hear... hand covering the cell, etc. BA: Was reffing the other body comment Fearless: *to BA* "Well, maybe he's just a naturally intangible alien that needs to conserve its energy to actually make a physical body, while the possession is easier to pull off. As it is, we're out in the People's Republic of California right now, and in a bit of a bind. We could prolly use that barely legal sidearm of yours, as the excement is about to his the rotorblades soon." WillGM: "You might inform the man that a demon appears to think he's on the right track, which can't be good news." Maurice hears 'sidearm' and makes mental notes. BA: "Right. Leave the Trekno-babble to the pros Fearless. The rest of the folks finally decided I was right to rig that transmitter, then?" Fearless: *whispered* "Not yet." Fearless: "You'll have to talk to them about it." BA: "So this is more you wanting a spare gun than them asking for back up. Guess I could overlook the hostility. I can leave the RC track running with Willie for a few days and shut down the boxen shop. How soon do you need me there?" Fearless: "They're looking for backup, too. And is yesterday too soon?" Fearless: "Oh, and be sure to *check the thing as luggage* at the ticket counter. I don't want to hear about you getting arrested at the security gate." BA: "I can be on a plane in... eight hours. Just hope the airlines don't lose Rumblestrip somewhere in Outer Mongolia." WillGM: Hmm. Now's a convenient time... WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 9. WillGM: Carry on. [snip msg'ing] BA: "As if I'd be that stupid. They may ban nail clippers and pocket knives, but I have yet to see them ban ballpoint pens." BA: "I'll see you when I get there." WillGM: Hallaren returns and turns to Ed. "Who's Fearless talking to? I only bought tickets for the seven of you." Fearless: "See you then, BA. Look for us near golden gate park." Fearless: *klick* Edward: "BA. The one Rhett was talking about." BA: "Gotcabaguse!" *hangs up* Maurice: "Never been to Istanbul..." WillGM: "Err... are you bringing someone here? Your tickets are for a flight out tonight -- business class sleepers. Istanbul, one stop in La Guardia." Edward winces. "Ah, planning." Fearless: "Okay, can you add another from LaGuardia out?" Fearless: "And will someone who can 'scan' BA be on hand, just in case?" Edward hmms. "Hold that thought." WillGM: Hallaren sighs. "Probably. Ed has been requesting a Seraph, too; I need to make those arrangements yet..." WillGM: "'Scan'?" Edward: "Actually, lemme call someone..." *pulls out cellphone* Fearless: "Make sure he hasn't been tainted, or whatever you guys call it when a mortal swings towards the other side." Fearless: "As in, gets recruited by the other side." Edward pulls out his cellphone and calls Fulmeniel's number. WillGM: Hallaren frowns. "Fated. And if we could tell that, our jobs would be much easier. I'm sorry." Edward: "You'd need a Superior for that kind of scan." WillGM: Ed: *several rings* *click* "Hello. Walter Munroe." Edward: "Hey, Walt, it's Ed. I hope I'm not Disturbing." [snip msg'ing] Fearless: "Hmm... In other words, no dice. Well, observation can be a big factor, I've found. Any particular signs I could keep an eye out for?" WillGM: "Selfish behavior. Thinking of oneself before others. Radical changes of behavior of any kind. Sorry to be so general. As Pascal says, it hays infinite forms." WillGM: "Not at all; I was just thinking of you. How may I be of assistance?" Fearless: "Well, the first two BA's had in spades for a while. But the latter's not hard to determine." BA: BA's not selfish. He just knows what he believes and acts accordingly :) WillGM: "Alas, it can also be *subtle* changes in behavior. And... that description doesn't sound promising." Fearless: "He was on top of Exavenos's recruitment list when Xav was active in Philly." Edward: "Well, it's kind of a long story..." WillGM: "... do you... um. Do you consider this man a friend?" Fearless: "I do. I'm not sure about the others." WillGM: "Because he is most likely in peril of his immortal soul." Fearless nods. "Which is one reason I want him where I can keep an eye on him. If Xav's giggly about how BA's turning out, it ain't good." WillGM: "I must also address the other side of the issue. If he is coming with you on your mission... we must consider the possibility that he poses the threat of a mole." Edward: "I told you about Larry, right?" Fearless nods. "It's a possibility I've considered." WillGM: Ed: who's that addressed to? Fearless: prolly Walt Edward: Walt, yeah. WillGM: ... WillGM: Oh! s/Larry/Walt/ WillGM: Wait, nevermind. I got it. WillGM: ... did you? I cna't recall you doing so. Edward: I think I did.. At least when I explained why my chess move was going to be late this week... WillGM: Mm. Okay. WillGM: "Yes, I recall." Fearless: "One problem I see, though, is that BA actively doesn't believe. I've got my own doubts as to your true nature, but the terms 'angel' and 'demon' are close enough to what I've observed that they make sense on some level. BA doesn't believe in the whole shebang. At all." WillGM: "Atheist, or just what he's been seeing?" Fearless: "The thing that let him turn down Xav's offer is the same thing that keeps him apart from the rest of us. Lack of a belief in what he's seen." Maurice: "Hmm." Fearless: "Yes. He's stubborn, to a fault. Sometimes, like when listening to Xav, that's an edge. Most of the time, it ain't." Edward: "Anyways, we'd run into a couple friends around here, and they'd found a wallet one of his friends abroad had lost a while ago. He was going to take it to them but he caught a bug and he's going to be out for a while..." .oO(c'mon, Seraph, resonate...) Maurice: "A laudable trait," Maurice mutters with a hint of sarcasm. Fearless: "When Xav was gloating about Lucifer being the prince of hell, BA's reply was, and I quote, 'you mean his ass is burning hotter than yours'." Fearless: "If he's been recruited, I doubt it was overt." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 7. WillGM: Ed: You hear a slight groan from the other end of the phone, and a pause. Fearless: (what, no divine or infernal intervention?) WillGM: All he needed was success by 7. [snip msg'ing] WillGM: "I believe I understand. Are you going to be in town any time soon?" Edward: How many did he make it by? WillGM: Oh, easy 7. The next level would be a crit, which is probable. Edward: "Not for a while. We sort of promised him to take the wallet home to his friends. Hey, that reminds me.. Don't you have relatives in Turkey?" WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 14. WillGM: "...in a manner of speaking..." WillGM: "Do you have access to a computer terminal that can install a small chat program?" Fearless: Oh gods, is Ed a terrible liar. ;) WillGM: No, Fulmeniel is a Seraph and not accustomed to truth and falsehood being put in a blender like this. Fearless: Fearless has YIM on his laptop; is there a wireless connection in the park? WillGM: Almost certainly not yet in 2001. Fearless: 'k... Edward: "Good idea. One sec, I'll ask. *to Hal* Do you guys have net access here?" BA: BA has YIM and pIRCh on his Fearless: I know some places were wired pretty well back in 2K... Edward: .oO(Note to self. buy that Palm) WillGM: "Yes, there are kiosks. I have administrator privileges. Why?" Fearless: "You have a spare network cable on it, by any chance?" WillGM: "Should." Edward: "I need to fill Walt - who happens to be a Seraph of Lightning I know - in on what's gone down, and I think his resonance is going to give him a headache if I keep obfuscating like this." WillGM: "Aaah. Okay. In that case, we can use the ones in here." He gestures to the security station. Edward: "*back to the phone* Yeah, we do. shouldn't be a problem. Which software, and what server do we connect to?" Fearless: "I have the Yahoo Messenger available." WillGM: He quotes you a server name and tells you to recall your clearance code and password. WillGM: Hallaren addresses everyone else: "We'll be right back." Edward: "Gotcha. Be there soon.", then hangs up and follows Hal. Fearless follows as well... Maurice: "Heh. Computers..." WillGM: He leads Ed in to the building and addresses a young lady at the reception desk. "Sarah, dear, this fellow needs to use Lightning's little encrypted chat program." She nods and provides you a terminal; login is smooth and you're quickly connected to Fulmeniel. Hallaren heads back outside. Fearless shrugs, and goes with Hall. "So, any chance we could make the arrangements for BA to hook up with us at LaGuardia?" Edward thanks the young lady, then turns his attention to the chat and goes into detail on what's been happening. Fearless: "Otherwise, he'll show up here and we'll already be there." *** Signoff: Maurice (Client closed connection) WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] Things are much clearer now." WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] I should also request a copy of the cell encryption software for us if we are to be doing this often." Fearless: (not subtle, is Walt?) BA: Can you scry me now? ;) Fearless: *whap* WillGM: Fearless: Seraphim aren't known for it, no. ;^) Edward: [edw] Yeah. Sorry if that gave you a headache, but... WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] I understand the necessity. How may I be of service?" Fearless: destiny, destiny, no escaping destiny... BA: Unless you meet your fate WillGM: I was gonna say, yeah. ;^) Fearless: even then, you can still meet your destiny... it *is* possible to acheive both. Edward: [edw] Well, like I said, we're going to be taking the Skull back to where it belongs post haste -- the cherub attuned to it is probably close to frantic already -- but that's part of the problem. The Thieves know we have it, they know where we are right now, and they know where we're almost guaranteed to go. So if they want to get it back from us, they know exactly where to go and can probably make a good guess when to be there. WillGM: "LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword emotes a nod." Edward: [edw] And Liriel's going to be out of commission for Quite Some Time, and I'd really prefer to have at least one person with us who is unlikely to fall for the stratagem of a leathersnake walking up to us and saying "Hi, I'm the one sent to meet you. Please come this way." WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] With this I can indeed assist. Can you arrange your travel with a layover in the region?" Edward: Where is La Guardia? Edward <-- US geography ignoramus WillGM: NY, NY. Two hours from Philly in bad traffic. Edward: [edw] La Guardia sufficiently regional? Fearless: in good traffic, actually... 4 hours in bad traffic. WillGM: It's a major hub for the region and for trans-Atlantic flights. Fearless: trust me on this, the bridges and the tunnel are hell during rush hour Fearless: it's two hours from where I am into Manhattan headed out I-78 around Newark, and two hours down into Philly via the turnpike and blue route. I figure it'd be 3 hours up I-95 from Philly to New York City WillGM: As long as he can get there by the time a flight comes from california, it's all good. WillGM: Oh, wait. That was in-character. :^) WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] Quite. Inform me of your departure flight from La Guardia and I will join you." Fearless rings BA again. Edward: [edw] Hal was kind enough to schedule us for a couple sleeper tickets. <$schedule> WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] Very well. Assuming I can navigate suuccessfully, I will join you." BA: "You have reached the right number. Please hang up and don't do it again." WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] In other subjects, how did your meeting with Orc go today?" Fearless: "Very funny, BA. Change of travel plans. Can you meet us at LaGuardia?" *to Hallaren* "Which flight?" BA: "Sure. Haven't called the ticket desks yet." Fearless: "I believe transportation is being arranged. You have your passport handy?" Edward: [edw] Pretty well. Had my head examined by a lightning bolt and he gave me a Rite. WillGM: Hallaren tells Fearless the flight numbers. Fearless: "It'll be flight number <$flight>, we'll be there on layover." WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] Allow me to formally welcome you to His service. I am deeply pleased that you are not dead and have received enhanced functionality." BA: "I'll get the flight and meet you there. Think I'll need SpeedBump, too?" Edward: [edw] Thanks. I'm particularly happy about the not dead part as well. Fearless: "No, I don't think we'll need either. This ain't surveillance, BA. Oh, and a word of advice. When in Turkey, do as the Turks do." BA: "Right. So is this Instanbul or Constantinople?" Fearless: "Yes." BA: "Then I'll see you in LaGuardia." WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] I should begin preparations for departure. Is there aught else to discuss?" Fearless: and... I'm falling off here... Edward: [edw] Nothing I can think of at the mo... Oh, wait. Fearless called BA earlier; he's supposedly coming along as well, and according to Rhett, Xav was pretty happy with how BA was coming along. Make of that what you will, but it worries the heck out of most of us. Keep an eye or three open when you get there. WillGM: "[LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword] Indeed worrisome. Thank you; I shall remain vigilant." WillGM: "LightningOfHisTerribleSwiftSword has quit SecureChat (No quit message content is required here.)" Edward: * edw has quit SecureChat (This space for rent.) WillGM: Ars makes a good point. Let's pick up with travel next session, shall we? BA: Sure *** BA is now known as UpLink WillGM: --------------------------- Session End ------------------------------- *** Fearless is now known as Arsenal WillGM: BA: Welcome back to the land of the living. :^)