WillGM: Okay. Three things are on the plan for tonight, though of course we all know no gameplan survives contact with the PCs. We'll get some stuff set up with Nicole, and then there's two bits involving travel for the whole group, one before and one after UL joins. BA: yay WillGM: As we begin, it's late night at Golden Gate Park, six days before Christmas. You've just come to the conclusion that Maurice and Rhett look like they'd be assets to haul along, for the moment. Nicole and Ellis have been off to the side speaking with a man in a cravat. WillGM: Nicole, the man was the priest he looked to be. Contacts in the Church have noticed that Ellis, who is on certain lists, has been hanging around with people on other lists, and this has piqued the interest of his former superiors, and long story short, would you like to come work with us? Revoking the excommunication is frankly optional, but coming with wouldn't hurt. WillGM: Ellis has decided to take the job, and asks a moment to go back to the others with you and announce this. WillGM: ------------------- Game Start ------------------- WillGM: *looks over at the others* "Yes, of course." WillGM: Ellis rubs his hands, takes a deep breath, nods at Nicole, and comes back to the rest of you. WillGM: "Um. Hi everyone." Nicole follows Ellis back, obviously, with a serious expression on her face. Edward: "Ay, coach. You've the look of someone with Something to say." WillGM: "... Look. Some pretty intense things have been happening. And it's been making me face a part of my past I had begun to fear might never get better. But it looks like there's a chance it might." WillGM: "We're in on a really big thing here. Maybe bigger than me. And this may be running back somewhere safe, but... I've been offered a return to the Church. Maybe not in the same way as before, but the Church is *supposed* to feel safe. And I've decided to accept. Effective immediately." Edward blinks. "Congratulations, man." WillGM: "I feel a little like I'm abandoning something in the middle. But this is a chance I didn't think I could pass up. I hope you understand." Edward nods. "Chance to redeem yourself doesn't come along all that often. I understand." WillGM: Ellis nods. "I think I'd better keep this short. Good luck. All of you. Remember there's a higher Power involved in all of this, and He's not going to let you down." He pauses. "God be with you." He turns and walks, stiff-backed, back to the priest. The two of them leave. Nicole: "Godspeed, Ellis." Edward watches them go. "Et cum spiritum tuum." Nicole nods and looks up at Ed. Maurice just nods, not really knowing the circumstances or people well enough to feel comfortable with much more. WillGM: Hallaren comes over with a sheaf of printouts in his hand, blinks at Ellis walking away. "Son of a gun. I didn't know he was with the Church." Frizz lays a hand on Nicole's shoulder, and a sparrow comes to rest on the other. "So," Hallaren says, "One less?" WillGM: "...right. Anyway, have you guys decided how you're going to get the Skull through customs?" WillGM: "Or even the baggage check, for that matter." Edward: Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he mention earlier that they have experience at doing stuff like that? Maurice: "FedEx?" WillGM: He said they know a bunch of ways. Which are actually available to your group? :^) Edward: "I haven't all that much experience with smuggling, I'm afraid." Nicole looks up and agrees with Ed. WillGM: "It's not a weapon, so my Scabbard's out... it's not a summonable, so that's out..." WillGM: Frizz eyes the box. "Well, it's not a weapon at the moment, any way." Edward tilts his head. "It's not? I bet you could club someone pretty hard with it.." WillGM: Frizz twitches. WillGM: Then he pauses. "Actually, come to think of it... I've never tried this..." Fearless: "Actually, sending it UPS or FedEx might tip off the other side." Fearless: "Perhaps a private courier we can trust?" He looks at Maurice. "Perhaps someone with ties to a smuggler?" Maurice blinks, having thought he was joking. "So, infernal forces *are* behind package carriers?" he asks dryly. WillGM: He takes the box, and sings a sharp, staccato tune. The Symphonically Aware can hear a point of Essence being spent, and the edges of the box begin to reflect light in odd ways. Fearless: "Not necessarily behind, but I've picked up enough paranoia from BA to suspect they've got people working in them. Ever received a damaged package?" WillGM: He twirls it, and it promptly disappears. Edward: "Impressive." Fearless: "... what just happened? Besides the obvious?" Nicole: "Niiiiiice." WillGM: Hallaren chuckles and twists a pinky in his ear. "That's one Song we don't hear very often here." Maurice: "Truth to tell, I don't get much mail." He quirks an eyebrow at the box's trick. "It reminds me to ask what just happened, but maybe I'll just play along for now." WillGM: *to Fearless* "I made it a weapon. I can Scabbard weapons. By the way, the Song you just heard is classified." WillGM: "Well, you look ready to go. I heard about your cars, so we have a few at your disposal." He waves to the far end of the parking lot. "Stay safe, you guys. And keeping Mr. Ellis' parting words in mind might be a good idea." Fearless ponders. "I'll need a box." WillGM: "What for?" Nicole nods at Hallaren, not really feeling up to saying much. Fearless pulls his pistol out of hiding. "To check this for customs, unless you want to scabbard it as well." WillGM: "Sure." He takes it and slips it into an invisible sleeve. Edward looks at Frizz. "Handy party trick, that." Maurice: "Would my knives be too much trouble, also?" WillGM: Frizz chuckles. "Load me up." Nicole: "Gah, all you people and your weaponry..." WillGM: "I remember this one time I was smuggling weapons to the French Resistance. I was carrying enough to outfit a small town..." Maurice reaches around in the pocket cut into his backpack and detatches his Kabar, then pulls the stiletto out of the sleeve of his jacket and hands them over. "Gotten used to those..." WillGM: Frizz tucks them in to various nowheres. Fearless looks at Nicole. "I told you about getting shot at by the Joiseyites, right?" Nicole: "Yeah, I know why, but still..." WillGM: "...which, come to think of it, is exactly what I did." Maurice: "Thank you." Nicole grins at Frizz's story. Edward snrks. "Sounds like a story we'll have to hear sometime." Fearless: "BA would love you." WillGM: "I'll be happy to meet him. Well, if that's everything..." WillGM: "...then shall we?" Fearless: "Sure." WillGM: The lot of you head over to three cars with similar-looking men in similar-looking dark suits standing beside them. One is a van with a chair platform. Nicole laughs. "That makes it easier." Fearless: "God uses Men In Black?" ^_^ WillGM: The guy loading up Nicole looks at Fearless. "Lots and lots of them." He does a headcount. "We were told to expect one more." Bruce: Since came in late, can I assume I am in some manner able to acquire a firearm? Not being able to shoot back has worn thin. ;) WillGM: Bruce: a quick inquiry to Frizz reveals that he carries, as a standard measure, several spares, one of which these days is a copy of the Philly service revolver. Bruce: Excellent. Fearless: now *that* is likely a .38 snub-nose Maurice was also intending to acquire some additional pointy things of the 'throwing' variety given the propensity of people to shoot at him so far, but that can wait until we're over the pond. ;) Bruce lets him hang onto it until a more opportune time. Bruce: Bruce uses an *old* .38 Detective anyway. Maurice: Or until he thinks of it again IC. ;) WillGM: Frizz responds to the guy who asked about the headcount. "One's left us. It's okay." The guy resonates him for a moment, then nods. Edward notes that the world in general needs more Seraphim, obviously. Fearless: "Wait a moment." *turns to Rhett* "Are you packing?" WillGM: "No; Exavenos didn't trust us with weaponry, except for our few Songs and sorceries. ... I should also point out I'm not packed for a trip. I've got a couple of twenties in my wallet, but that's about it." Fearless: .oO(Good. I'm not sure I trust you with weaponry yet.) WillGM: "...oh, I see. Yeah." He gets in the car. [ snip msg'ing ] WillGM: Nicole and the sparrow are driven to her house in Sacramento. The rest of you head to SF's airport. Nicole did say her goodbyes to everybody and promised she'd be in touch. And reminded Ed about the code. Edward grins. "Don't say Adieu, say adios, goodbye." WillGM: Nicole: as you drive home, the sparrow whispers in your ear about the setup. "Since I'm going to be on Earth and the Marches at the same time, there's gonna be some lag. It's not easy to think on two different planes at once." Nicole nods. Nicole listens carefully, since she's not sure Frizz wants her to give the game away by talking. WillGM: "The other thing you'll need to worry about is the enviroment. With most of my attention on dreaming the Vale around us to correspond with my surroundings, you'll want to keep an eye on the borders. Walking around in the Marches thinking about something makes you travel to places like what you're thinking about, and on this job, we could be going strange places." Nicole nods again. WillGM: "The good news is that this could be an advantage; quests can find direction in the Marches they can't find on Earth. The bad news is that they usually find other creatures as well, and we won't be shut tight against intruders. So we'll have to handle whatever we encounter there." WillGM: "The last thing to remember is, just mention something, and I can convey it to the others. So it's almost like you'll be there, just with a time lag." Nicole nods again, thinking. WillGM: Game-effect upshot is, when Nicole is asleep and Frizz is maintaining the link, Frizz is going to be slow in reactions; but, Nicole can essentially interact with the group verbally -- assume Frizz says and emotes whatever she says right after she does. Other effects are TBA. :^) Nicole: *muttering* "Here we go; the long strange trip..." *smiles* Edward: "On a magical mystery tour?" Nicole: IIRC, you're not there. ;) Edward: oops. WillGM: Yeah, the others of you are headed to the Sacramento hotel where you had your stuff, then to the SF airport. Nicole gets home without incident; the rest of you show up at the SF airport. Frizz has been experimenting a little and is currently carrying the box physically; he'll do the trick again just before heading through Security. [ snip msg'ing ] WillGM: Come to think of it, Bruce, that's probably where your piece was stored. Bruce: Hokay. Maurice goes with someone at the hotel, keeping around even though he has all his stuff on his back already. WillGM: At the airport, check-in goes smoothly. Your seats are coach, with the requisite connection in La Guardia. The plane is a 747, with a first-class area upstairs; you won't even need to get off, as it will be the plane for both legs of the trip. [ snip msg'ing ] Maurice makes sure to stretch and stow his backpack in the overhead compartment before finding his seat. "Well, this is an interesting start to things." Edward grabs $computerglossy in the kiosk near the Gate. Must keep up with one's required reading, of course. Bruce stows his carry-on, muttering about non-smoking flights. WillGM: Getting past Security is tense, but the ploy works. A single note of Disturbance sounds, and those of you who have been involved with this for a while notice various types of people start paying attention to you, but that's all. Fearless graciously checks his cigarettes with the luggage. Edward: I keep forgetting to ask. The Gabrielites in Turkey have been alerted to the fact that we're on the way, right? WillGM: Yes, and someone should be meeting you there. WillGM: The first leg of the trip goes well. WillGM: Momentary scene change: the passenger waiting area for the red-eye in La Guardia. WillGM: BA is there, as are several others waiting to board the transatlantic connection. WillGM: BA, what are you doing? BA has one large carry-on and is reading a boxnerd mag while waiting for his flight to board WillGM: A tall man in a gray suit wearing round wire-rimmed specs comes up to you. "You fit the description I was given of Burgess Altmeir, sir." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 12. BA looks over the top of the magazine at the stranger. "The Moogles sent you?" WillGM: He blinks. "I don't speak that language." WillGM: "Do you speak English?" BA: "Yes, I'm Mr. Altmeir. Call me BA." [ snip msg'ing ] WillGM: "Excellent." He sits down. "Please, call me Walter. I am a friend of Mr. Wong's." Fearless: say it right. Muggles, not Moogles. ;) BA: Muggles were those annoying things in Harry Potter Fearless: yes, BA is a Muggle. BA: Bah Bruce: Muggles are Mundanes. Fearless: back to the game... BA: "Really? How's Ellis doing?" Fearless: Ed is Wong BA: I know that, but is this guy the real goods? ;) WillGM: "At the time I last heard, he was traveling with Mr. Wong in California, and is now headed back." BA: Paranoia, duh! BA: "Johnny send any word?" WillGM: "Mr. Ferrifous? Not to me. To forestall further questioning, I understand Miss Hollister is still irritated about what was done to her wheelchair, and I believe that's everyone in the core group." BA: "Right. You on this flight?" WillGM: "I am. My assistance has been requested. Now that *my* bona fides have been established... why are you coming?" BA: "Guess they finally realized they need someone who knows what he's doing. Dibs on the aisle seat." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 11. WillGM: He gives you a momentary look... WillGM: Now what does BA *really* think he has been invited along for? BA: That a Will roll to make BA spill his guts? Fearless: more like a teep scan, I think WillGM: No, it's much more subtle than that. Tell me oocly. Edward: No, a Perception roll to resonate as to the Truth of his comment. Edward: Seraph, remember? BA: 'k WillGM: Walt's a Seraph, and he has searched, successfully, for a connection the objective truth of the matter you referred to. BA: BA really thinks that Fearless thinks the group needs an extra gun and may want someone who's not likely to shoot him in the back WillGM: And does he really want the aisle seat? :^) Fearless: *snicker* BA: Nope. Just saying it to be a wise-ass :) WillGM: "Hmm." WillGM: "What have they told you about their doings?" BA: "Not much. Only that they needed me for a trip to Instanbul. Or was it Constantinople?" BA waves away that last part. "Doesn't matter. Nobody's business but the Turks'." WillGM: Is the first part anything other than persiflage? BA: Nope. Fearless did mention a trip to Instanbul Fearless: yes WillGM: Fearless, you told him about Xav, right? Fearless: yes WillGM: He continues looking at you thoughtfully for a bit. BA: "Oh, and I brought along some help." WillGM: "Your cars." BA: "Just RumbleStrip. PatchKit couldn't make it due to nerve damage and SpeedBump needs by-pass surgery." WillGM: "They may come in handy." He leans back in his chair. "Why did you do it? The camera, that is. After being asked not to." BA: "The whole rigged wheel-chair thing? Because it's stupid to send recording devices into a secured area and take the risk of their not getting back out to retrieve the info." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 17, a CRITICAL FAILURE!!! "God hates you, and so do I." WillGM: "...ow." BA: Honest answer, JSYK WillGM: but Walt doesn't, at the moment. ;^) BA: "You feeling alright? Look like you just swallowed French cooking." Fearless: French cooking is tolerable; French maids are easy on the eyes; French *waiters*, on the other hand, are deplorably rude. WillGM: *muttered* "It is not your fault that I am feeling this way, except in the sense that if we trusted each other more the opportunity would not have arisen." Fearless: and the British versions are the exact opposite. ;) BA shrugs WillGM: The boarding calls sound. Walt rubs his head. "Perhaps we shall have an opportunity to discuss matters further later." BA: "We might." *wheels his carry-on to the boarding ramp* WillGM: You arrive and settle yourselves. Which of the previous crew are awake at this point? Bruce snores like a chainsaw. Edward is dozing. It's been a long night. But he's wakable. Fearless is engrossed in a game of solitaire. Maurice is sitting back with his eyes closed, but not asleep. [ snip msg'ing ] Fearless: and typing in the recent events... Fearless: what time of day/night is it? BA starts a running monologue for Walt on the flight WillGM: Late enough to be early. You left around midnight and it's been three hours plus three time zones. The sun is peeping around the corners of the horizon. BA: "... so the guy just looks at me standing there with deer entrails gumming up my chainsaw, and I'm all like, 'DAMN! I don't even have a hunting lisences!' And he takes off running..." Maurice: ... I just came to the funny realization that I forgot to eat dinner. BBIAF? Bruce: FIOF WillGM: FIOF? BA: Food Is Our Friend WillGM: Ah. BA: "... and the one hunting trip I took with my cousin Jason turned out I hadn't shot a buck, but I'd bagged one of those mechanical deer lures. The rangers had a field day with that one." Fearless: I wonder how big a headache these tales are giving Walt Edward: His resonance is burned out for a couple hours. Gratefully. WillGM: He won't be able to Resonate things for hours. He's just storing it all in his Seraph of Lightning Attunement for later perusal. Fearless: *snrk* BA: "... sho we finally get up to where Jason thought the moose was and I look at the dunce and go all 'Moose don't say moo, idiot.'" Fearless: He better take it with a *large* dose of Tylenon-3 BA: This is all true, BTW. Except that it was a caribou, not a moose ;) Fearless: Bah WillGM: So anyway, Fearless, you're awake to see BA come on, and Walt. WillGM: Walt looks down at Ed and apparently decides not to disturb him. Fearless looks up at the voices. "BA, quit giving the guy a headache. Oh, I've got something for you; the recent events." edited out the causes, just the visual effects. BA: "Hey, Fearless." BA: "What've you got?" Edward gets woken up by the droning noise of BA's monologue anyway. "Hey, Walt. Glad you could make it." Fearless hands BA the laptop, Word document open Fearless: "Intel report so far." BA takes a read Maurice: Back! BA: "OK. SO now we're paranormal investigators? Is this going to involve crop circles and secret Vatican vaults?" WillGM: if so, Ellis is the one that gets the keys to Vatican vaults. ;^) BA: heh :) Edward: "Who knows? The day's young." WillGM: Walt turns to Ed. "A pleasure to be of service." Fearless: BA: it's everything that's happened so far since we started this trip that Fearless is aware of. When dealing with what happened in the Church with Xav and the shooting is simply what Fearless observed, not what he suspects the causes are. Maurice opens his right eye (the one facing the aisle) and faces Fearless. "You know this guy?" Edward: "Mmm. Any trouble getting here?" Fearless: "In a manner of speaking, yes." WillGM: "None that you would mean, and none that will not be repaired with a few hours' time." Edward thinks for a moment.. "Rez-burn? Or something else?" Fearless: *to Walt* "Judging by that reply, I take it you're Ed's friend Walt, from the electronics store." WillGM: Walt eyes you. "An astute and correct inference." BA: You forget, BA's read Fearless' editorials and seen the events that got edited out before ;) WillGM: Walt addresses Fearless. "You are also correct, sir. Mr. Ferrifous?" Fearless: "Call me either Fearless, or Johnny. Everyone else does." WillGM: "Fearless, then." Edward smirks and leafs through the glossy... "I have been known to make them from time to ti---oh, my SHINY....." he trails off as his eyes lock on to a photograph of what for all intents and purposes looks like a crystal ball with a holographic display in it. Bruce snorts awake and yawns like a lion. Edward: Ed has just seen a review of http://www.actuality-systems.com/ 's primary product. Fearless: cool BA: "Guess we'll have to talk about this in more detail later. Brought along RumbleStrip in case we need him." WillGM: Walt peers. "Ah, those. We were most pleased when they were invented. Our best investigators have reliably confirmed it was entirely their own, and no one... else's, if you take my meaning." Fearless: "I have a feeling we'll be needing your cannon more than your cars." BA zones in on what Ed's reading. "Hey, what? Cool!" Fearless: "As you've read, we ran into some... resistance." Edward makes an aquiescing noise, clearly concentrating on refraining from drooling or making puppy-like whimpering noises. BA: "Resistance, yeah. Large-bore, cars. Tech stuff. Busy." *tries to read the article Ed's looking at upsidedown. WillGM: "There are certain social and informatic effects that make 3D displays a net positive, but displays more along the line of mine -- the one you have seen before, if you recall, Edward -- require substantial groundwork that will delay their introduction for much time. This is a most creative solution employing modern-day technology." Maurice opens his other eye and looks over. Eyes Walt and BA, neither of whom he's been introduced to. WillGM: (Rhett is zonked.) Edward draws himself back from lovestruck bliss and into reality. "Mmm. I especially like the fact that they decided not to be stupid about the API. So many possibilities..." BA: *to Ed* "Can I borrow that mag when you're done?" Fearless: "Yeah, it could've been made with Windoze technology." *on cue, the laptop bluescreens* Edward very exaggeratedly slowly rotates his head to fix BA with a twisted expression. "No. It is.... My Prressciousss..." Edward then snaps back to reading the article as if nothing has happened. BA: "But, it's me birthday. And we wants it." Fearless snickers* WillGM: "It is not your birthday! And why are you speaking ungrammatically?" BA gives Ed a grin BA: "Of all the things to send to get me... Fearless, a thrice-damned grammar professor?" Edward: "Remind me to loan you my The Lord of the Rings books sometime, Walt." WillGM: "Ah. A literary reference." Fearless: "It was his idea." *thumbs at Ed* Fearless: "It's his friend." BA makes up his mind to throw every They Might Be Giants song he can remember at Walt BA: "Well, can't have good taste in everything. At least he's a tech-junkie." *smirk* WillGM: *very quietly* "I most certainly am not." Edward nods. "He's good people, BA. Try *not* to aggravate someone you have only barely met for a change, the practice might be good for you." WillGM: *more audible volume, though quiet enough for just BA to hear* "I am here to provide assistance identifying your contact." BA: *to Ed* "No since teaching old dogs to play the harmonica." *to Walt* "Guess I can work with that." Bruce rubs red-rimmed eyes. "Whozzis?" Maurice glances over at Bruce, shrugs. WillGM: Walt opens his mouth, eyes Maurice, eyes Bruce, eyes the sleeping Rhett, and closes it again. "A friend. Perhaps more detailed introductions should wait for a more private moment." Edward: "Where are my manners? Bruce, Maurice, meet Walt. He's a friend of mine - the one I talked to on the phone earlier. Walt, don't let the run-down looks fool you - they're okay folks." WillGM: "I shall take your character testimony most seriously, Edward." WillGM: He nods at Bruce and Maurice. BA waves Bruce stifles another yawn. "Oh. Hey." Maurice nods back, smiling slightly. "Maurice Dupre... well, I'm new to this." Edward: "The sleeping gent's of slightly lesser repute, but a relative of yours tells us he's sincere about looking for a lifestyle change." WillGM: Walt looks over Rhett. "Mm." Bruce holds out a hand lazily. "Bruce Whitechurch, Philly P.D." [ snip msg'ing ] WillGM: *shake* BA finds his seat and brings out his own laptop. Opens his SNES emulator and starts playing SuperMarioRPG Fearless: *to Walt* "So, have BA's ramblings given you a headache yet? I know Ed said he gave you one over the phone." WillGM: Walt just nods, then catches himself and shakes his head. "Yes and no. Trigger, not cause." Edward: "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to lose myself in dreams of avarice and geek toys beyond the dreams of mortals a bit more." BA: After he's stowed the carry-on bag hiding RumbleStrip in the overhead bin Fearless: "I see. I have been curious about a how truthful some of his stories are. They come across as 'okay, it could happen, but how much is exaggeration?' for me." WillGM: "For the moment, I am detecting a large amount of persiflage which is having its intended effect. That would be my best analysis." BA: Very few are exaggerated, actually. BA has the Truthfulness Disadvantage :) Edward: Not to mention the Talks Too Damn Much disad. BA: And he hates the French and Poodles :) Maurice: Oh good, we're going to get along great. WillGM: 4 3d6+8 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (4 3d6+8) and gets 17 17 19 17. Fearless nods. "One other thing you could prolly help me with. There's been a lot of wierd stuff going on, which creates what you guys call 'Disturbance', but I'm currently unable to detect it. But I'm unsure as to whether I'm willing to do what Nicole and Ed did. Any chance you have a 'Disturbance-meter' for us mundanes to use?" WillGM: ... Curious. Fearless: wierd-shit-ometer. ;) WillGM: Walt comes over to sit nearer to Fearless, and turns down the volume. Fearless makes sure to say that out of earshot of other muggles not in the know BA caps King Kupa in the knees, the save states his game BA: then WillGM: "There are various such devices, with different features. They're fairly low security, though we would need a check or two." WillGM: He discusses the options with you a bit. WillGM: 4d6+7 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (4d6+7) and gets 28. WillGM: 3 4d6+7 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3 4d6+7) and gets 23 25 24. WillGM: No, dangit. WillGM: 4 3d6+7 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (4 3d6+7) and gets 15 18 17 19. WillGM: Jeebus. I can roll dice, honest. BA: Use Real dice Bruce scratches a head full of hair that looks like it could have used a good wash a couple days ago, and slouches back down into his seat. Fearless: "In short, what I'm looking for is something concealable, maybe a sensor in a wristwatch or belt buckle with earbud speaker for intensity." Fearless: "Possibly some sort of analog display as well, like a 0-10 Oh Shit meter with a needle." BA opens his auto-cadd prog and considers more mods for the cars Maurice: "Or up to 11," Maurice comments, perfectly seriously. WillGM: Ed: you sense a single note of Disturbance. There's no way to tell direction, as it suddenly drops behind the plane. You manage to recognize it from training with Fulmeniel: something broke. Edward looks at Walt. "Did you hear...? WillGM: *to Fearless* "The traditional form is a compass, which gives direction." WillGM: *to Ed* "I beg your pardon?" Fearless: "Not sure I'm interested in direction as yet; just general intensity within a certain radius. Edward: "Disturbance. Small one. Couple seconds ago. Something was broken." Fearless: "Hear what?" WillGM: "Ah. I may have missed it, if it was very small. And if it was that small, it must have been on the plane." BA listens to what he can hear from near Ed. *muttered* "Great. Angel/demon crap again." Fearless: *to BA* "Explain how Xav can be back in the picture. We saw him get dusted." Fearless: "As in, there was a body." Edward: "BA, do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up for a moment." *to Walt* "Wonderful. And there's no shortage of small things yet crucial things that can be damaged on a plane... And at the speed we're going, I can't tell whether it was in ahead of here or behind." BA: *to Fearless* "Know how easy it is to fake a death?" WillGM: Frizz sits up and takes notice now. "Then there's a celestial somewhere on the plane. We should search, quietly." Fearless: "To see someone turn to dust in front of you. And I checked, there was no trap door there." Bruce cracks open an eye at BA. "I've seen shit you wouldn't believe, son." He sits up, and yawns a bit. "And it looks like I'm gonna see some more." Fearless: "Cripes... and I'll bet it's our friend we've been talking about, too." WillGM: *snaps finger* I forgot Frizz and Rhett's rolls. Maurice blinks a few times, coming the rest of the way from semi-napping. WillGM: 2 3d6+7 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (2 3d6+7) and gets 16 23. WillGM: Oh well. Frizz obviously didn't, and Rhett's still asleep. BA doesn't pursue the dicussion with Fearless and drops it for now. Pays attention to Ed and Walt. If something's wrong with the plane, he want's to know WillGM: "Too many of us would be too obvious on a plane. Probably one upstairs and one downstairs in each aisle. Volunteers?" Bruce: "I gotta use the can, anyway. I'll take down here." Edward: "Not all at once, either. I need to go to the bathroom anyway. A minute or so after I'm back, or in five minutes if I don't come back, someone else goes." Fearless: *to Walt* "I won't be able to tell, unless you have one of them on you right now." Fearless: "Unless you can give me a few pointers as to what to look or listen for. Don't mention smell, I can't smell a thing." BA: "RumbleStrip'd be too obvious on a plane. Besides, he can't get up stairs." WillGM: "Allright. Bruce, you first. Ed, can you take the upstairs?" Edward: "Yeah." Bruce: "Right." Bruce eases out of his seat, and makes his way down the aisle, looking casually at the faces of the other passengers as he goes. WillGM: 2 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (2 3d6) and gets 12 12. WillGM: Ed: The upstairs area is first class. A stewardess addresses you as you step off the stairwell. "Can I help you, sir?" Edward: "Nah. I was looking for the lavatory, and the ones downstairs were occupied." WillGM: Bruce: On your way back, you notice only one oddity: a slightly-past-middle-aged woman, with a baby on the seat next to her, looking around curiously and somewhat worriedly. She eyes you closely as you pass by. Bruce notices the look and nods politely to her, and continues on his way to the restroom closet. WillGM: Ed: "I'm sorry, the lavatory up here is for our first class passengers." Behind her, most of the passengers in the plush chairs are asleep. Stewardesses move to and fro, one cleaning up a small mess, another collecting pillows. Edward looks crestfallen, but nods. "Okay. Sorry to have bothered you." Edward walks back down. And goes to one of the lavatories downstairs, because he does need to go. [ snip msg'ing ] WillGM: Ed: up the other aisle passes a woman cuddling a baby, occasionally pausing to stretch her legs. WillGM: You come upon Bruce exiting the lavatory. Edward makes no comment, will wait with that until they're back in the seats. Bruce nods to Edward as he comes out, and nods in the vague direction of the woman with the baby, before heading back for his seat. WillGM: Bruce: you see the lady climb the stairs, cooing to her child. WillGM: After a few minutes, she comes back down and paces down the other aisle. [ snip msg'ing ] Bruce: Still with the child, I hope? ;) WillGM: Oh, yes. It seems to be sleeping peacefully. Edward gets back to his seat, and when the woman's out of earshot, murmurs "Couldn't see much upstairs. First-class only. I feel distinctly plebeian." Bruce waits until she's well past him before stealing a glance back at her and her seat number, before finding his own. WillGM: Bruce: 25A and B (the kid has his carrier in the other). WillGM: "Anything at all?" Edward: "Busy stewardesses cleaning up after messy businessmen." Edward: What kind of mess? Someone missed his airsick bag? Bruce: "I dunno. The woman with the kid. She looked at me kinda funny, but I don't have anything concrete." WillGM: Walt quirks an eyebrow and looks at Ed. WillGM: Ed: looked like a first-class meal. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 6. WillGM: And now that you think of it, you didn't see a plate. Bruce: "I'd be lying if I said I didn't get it a lot. Must be my rugged good looks." Edward: "A meal without a plate. Looked like it had been a good one, too - probably actually edible." WillGM: "If it had been dropped accidentally... they'd clean the plate up first, of course. And breaking a plate would just barely be enough, I think... Walt?" WillGM: Walt nods. "But there's also this woman, whose behavior should not be ignored." Bruce: "..she did go upstairs briefly." Edward: "Perhaps to check out the same thing we heard?" WillGM: "May be. Fits, at least." Maurice frowns slightly. Bruce gives a thoughtful glance back at her, trying not to look too obvious. [ snip msg'ing ] WillGM: Bruce: she's looking a little worried. She's put the baby back down, and headed for the rear. Bruce: "..wandering off without her kid..." WillGM: Bruce: She speaks to a stewardess, who nods and comes up to stand by the baby's seat. She herself enters the lavatory. Fearless: "Xav would travel first class, if he had to travel this way. Maybe the woman works for him?" BA leaves the angelplay to the others and goes back to playing games. However, he keeps the volume way down so he can still hear what's going on. Bruce hrmphs and turns back around. "Must not be a very important underling. Or he's just a cheap bastard." Maurice is torn between wanting to ask what the heck's going on and holding his tongue. Fearless: "I'm concerned... Xav could easily follow us, hopping from body to body. It's possible he could even bop into mine, BA's, Maurice's, or Rhett's body without too much trouble, if I'm gauging things right." WillGM: Rhett wakes up when he hears his name. Fearless: "He could be a stewardess one minute, a passenger the next, or possibly even the pilot and crash this bird." WillGM: "...the hell? Is something happening?" Fearless: *to Rhett* "Go back to sleep, it's a long flight." Bruce: "Or all of them at once." BA: . o O (Body-swapping... but I did see Xav do that back in... nah. Still...) Bruce: And if not, chalk it up to PC ignorance. ;) Maurice: "Question." WillGM: "Go ahead." WillGM: The woman comes back out of the lavatory. She thanks the stewardess, then begins walking the aisles again, with the baby. Maurice continues, quietly. "From listening, you're concerned with someone who may or may not be able to swap bodies with anyone or everyone on the plane?" Fearless: *to Bruce* "No, I don't think so. Not his type, I don't think." Edward: "I doubt he'd crash the plane - way too much risk of accidentally causing at least someone to go to Heaven. Besides, if he's out possessing people, he's not allowed to get them hurt." WillGM: Frizz scowls and nods at that last. Edward: "At least, if I understood the briefing details right." Fearless: *to Maurice* "Who is able to. We've got footage of it happening." Maurice: "Fair enough... I'm still in the dark about this. But if he can... why are we watching one person? He knows who you are right?" Fearless: "I'm concerned because we can't tell from one moment to the next who he's, for lack of a better term, possessing." Edward: "Doesn't possession cause disturbance? I forgot." Fearless: "I don't know, I can't hear it." WillGM: "No, it doesn't." BA does a quick check on his hard drive to see if he erased his home security footage from Xav's visit to his garage/workshop. WillGM: "Not to us, at any rate. The Watchers could hear it." Fearless: "Be right back." *stands and heads for bathroom casually, glancing at everyone. Fearless: brb... player needs to use it, too Edward: "... Watchers? I don't recall reading about them in the briefings... Wait, wasn't there a reference to them in _Dogma_?" Maurice: "I'm just saying, it seems premature to conclude that this lady is connected to... Xav. But, this is from someone uninformed, so." BA: http://earl.of.sandwich.net/Game_Logs/Game_Log_005_(Nov10_01).txt <---- the footage from that log WillGM: Fearless: You pass by the woman with the baby. As you squeeze past each other in the aisle, she smiles (and you realize she's fairly attractive). "Tell me," she whispers in a British accent, "did your lot have some bad shellfish? You and you friends are certainly heading for the loo a lot." Edward tries to remember... "Oh yeah. Bartleby was supposedly a 'grigori' or something..." WillGM: BA: yeah, it's erased from this. Your backups are still at the house. BA: 'k WillGM: Frizz winces. "Don't say that name. Watchers." Edward blinks. "I'm sensing a story. Am I cleared for the details?" Bruce: Fnord. BA wishes he had that footage with him so he could confirm all this. WillGM: Walt ponders a moment. "You are if it's relevant to the situation. I'm not sure if it is yet." Fearless: back Fearless: "It's been a long flight. We've been on since California without a break. Nature's catching up to us." WillGM: Fearless: "Ah, 'course." She moves on. Fearless goes in, uses it, flushes, and returns to his seat. WillGM: The woman passes by your bunch. Walt and Frizz shut up. WillGM: She moves on. BA shuts down his laptop and sit quietly brooding over events past and current WillGM: "What's there to be cleared about? Plenty of Sorcerers know about the Watchers. We all wish we could summon them -- a guaranteed Outcast would rock." Fearless sits down as Rhett says this. "Watchers? I missed something here." WillGM: Frizz frowns at Rhett. "Ed, watch the lady when I do this." WillGM: "Do what?" WillGM: Frizz slaps Rhett hard upside the back of the head, causing a nearby point of Disturbance ("human harmed by celestial"). Edward watches the lady Fearless turns to watch, idly enough, the staircase Maurice jolts a bit more awake at the slap. WillGM: Her head sharply swivels. She sees you watching -- your eyes lock -- and she blanches. BA: Grig on station :) WillGM: "Ow! Son of a..." Edward looks back. "She noticed. And she noticed me noticing. And it scared her shitless." Maurice: "So what does that mean?" WillGM: The lady turns to the nearest stewardess and points to Rhett, who is still rubbing his head. She speaks for a moment and the stewardess nods and comes over. Fearless: "Means she's ... hold up." Bruce: "It means... uhoh." WillGM: "Gentlemen, is there a problem?" Edward: "I guess this means that they *are* relevant to the situation now?" There is just the lightest edge in his voice - the tone of someone who's annoyed at people trying to dance around something important because it's dirty laundry, but shuts up as the stewardess approaches. WillGM: "Of course not. Just a friendly disagreement." WillGM: "Yeah. That's all." WillGM: "Make sure it stays that way, please. This is the second argument I've had to deal with on this flight. It's just a few more hours until we land." Bruce cocks an eyebrow. Fearless: "No, no problem at all, miss..." *gives her name off her name tag. "Just a friendly disagreement; he's used to it, gets slapped all the time for saying the worst thing at the worst time. He's never learned to keep his mouth shut." Fast talk? WillGM: Sure. Fearless: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for Fearless (3d6) and gets 12. Fearless: (normally, that's a pass; skill of 15, not sure what the penalties involved are) WillGM: She chuckles briefly. "Long as nothing physical happens again." Fearless: "I'll try and make sure it won't." WillGM: She bustles off. You can hear her mutter, "Leastways this one didn't involve food-throwing..." Fearless: "*Whew*. So, the lady's one or the other." Fearless: "Any way to tell what Side she's aligned with?" Edward: "If she's Outcast, technically neither. But let's hear the story, if it's no inconvenience?" WillGM: "Yes, Edward, it would appear to be relevant; unfortunately, it would seem to be a secondary problem. Gri -- Watchers were highly sensitive to Disturbance. They were also dissipant hedonists who were summarily Outcast millenia ago." He frowns severely. "They were capable of having children. But they were *not* supposed to." Fearless: "Interesting." WillGM: "They hated making Disturbances themselves, though. Like an off-key note in a symphony to them. So she may not have been our other friend." Fearless nods. "What other qualities do they have? Social, aloof, flighty, serious, et cetera?" Edward: "What's their dissonance? Let me guess, something involving disturbance?" WillGM: "Yes. Sensing and not investigating or responding." WillGM: *to Fearless* "Social's one way to put it. They were supposed to keep it in their pants unless given permission, and usually didn't." Fearless: "Ah yes. My cousin's the same way." Edward: "Sounds to me that she's at least trying to do her job, then. Which would indicate at least sort of a good guy. But why is she frightened out of her skull at being spotted?" Fearless: "Probably because of the Outcast status?" Fearless: "And... she does have a child with her." Bruce: "But what's the Watcher watching? Is it just coincidence?" WillGM: The lady walks up the stairs again. Fearless: "I'm guessing, because she investigated upstairs, that what you heard originated up there. There she goes again; either of you hear anything?" WillGM: "Probably *because* of the child, which is obviously new." Bruce: "Nope." WillGM: *to Bruce* "I don't know. They weren't given any standing orders after they were Outcast; only the general laws of Heaven on not aiding the other side." Fearless stands up. "Excuse me." He heads over to the stairs as well, listening. Edward: "If I go and talk to her, can you guys promise not to glare disapprovingly all too much?" WillGM: "Fearless seems to have taken the initiative." Fearless: I hear anything from upstairs? The woman talking to a stewardess or anything? Edward: "Good. He's probably better at talking to people than I am." WillGM: Fearless: she's chuckling with the stewardess upstairs about the baby's oddity in liking being taken up and down stairs, and how tiring it can be when she's fussy. Fearless grins slightly. .oO(She's a fast talker, alright.) WillGM: She sees you at the bottom of the stairs and says to the stewardess, "Well, back down..." and comes down. Fearless gives her a smile. WillGM: She looks you square in the eye, and says in a monotone, "What?" Maurice yawns, realizes he's been awake for quite some time. "I'm out of my depth right now... and very tired. So I'm going to sleep." Fearless: *softly* "I was just wondering if you'd saw or heard anything interesting up there." WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 9. WillGM: For a moment you'd swear she looked hopeful. WillGM: "Hard to say. They talk about air rage these days... if you're at all concerned with keeping the plane safe, you might take a good look at two men traveling together, one with a grease stain on his shirt." Fearless nods. "My friend said he heard something break earlier. One of them throw a plate at the other, I take it?" WillGM: "I don't know exactly what, but I heard something break, yes. Tell me. Are you... you know... concerned? Supposed to be officially, that is. If you take my meaning." Fearless: "Officially, no. I didn't actually hear it break myself, and I have good ears. But some of my friends are involved in that sort of thing. Would you join us for a few?" WillGM: She gasps. "No, no I couldn't do that." WillGM: Her voice drops even lower. "Are you a Soldier?" Fearless: *even softer* "Not yet, and I'm not sure I want to be. Two of my friends on board are, and two others are actual angels. One, the guy that got slapped, is a Sorcerer who decided to tag along." Fearless: both Seraphim? Fearless: or is Frizz a different Choir? WillGM: No, one's a kyrio and the other's a Seraph. Edward: One seraph, one kyrio. Does Fearless know what those are? Fearless: Seraph, yes. Kyrio, he's heard the term but hasn't made a connection yet. Fearless: He's been picking the brains at the Works since Xav came through the first time. Fearless: "We're concerned there could be someone from the other side on board, tailing us from California." WillGM: "I think you may be right. Please tell your friends I'm just a human who happens to be Aware, and not interested in risking my life dealing with this sort of thing. I heard this Disturbance upstairs and traced it to those two. One's a celestial of some sort, I think a demon because I think he resonated the other man. Um, he was acting funny. I can't put my finger on it." WillGM: "And then please, please leave me out of it. I don't want to get recruited. Okay?" Fearless: "I'm a reporter in my day job. I understand the need for anonymous contacts. May I join you for a few? I'd like to try and get a sketch of the two, if possible." WillGM: "...Sure. Come on back to my seat." Fearless follows, pulling out his pencil and notepad. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 11. WillGM: 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3d6) and gets 12. Fearless: (Artist 14, does vision modify that or no?) WillGM: That's what I was rolling, plus one for her description. Fearless: *nod* WillGM: She gives you a pretty thorough description. You don't recognize one of them, but the other one might well be the guy that Xav was possessing back in the church. Fearless listens to her descriptions, working with her to get faces and whatnot. WillGM: Your sketch is the one that I was referring to in the previous line. Fearless: "Well, thanks for the help." He hands her his business card. "If you're ever in Philly, call me." WillGM: She takes the card. "Thank you. A reporter... wonderful. I very well may." Fearless: "I never did get your name, though." WillGM: She smiles. "I told you I didn't want to be recruited as a Soldier. Does it matter?" [ snip msg'ing ] Fearless: "Well, I'd like to know what name to call you if you did show up." He smiles back. WillGM: She just shakes her head. "We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." Fearless: "Fair enough. Thanks again." WillGM: *nod* Fearless heads back to his regular seat. "Well, I don't know if she's celestial or just aware, but she doesn't want to be recruited. Just as well, I have a feeling our paths are going to cross again anyways." Fearless: "But, she did say that one of these two men upstairs is likely firmly entrenched on the other side." *shows the sketches* Edward: "... Eeeeeenteresting." WillGM: 3 3d6 Dicesuke throws the bones for WillGM (3 3d6) and gets 5 10 14. Fearless: "This one here looks like the guy Xav was possessing earlier." WillGM: Everyone of you agrees with that statement. Fearless: "So it's likely that it is him up there. Rhett, do you recognize the other guy?" WillGM: Rhett points to that figure. "Ro." He points to the other. "And looks like Wade." Maurice: Ow. Edward: "..." Edward: I'm going to have to hit you now, Will. WillGM: Why? :^) Fearless: "Roe vs. Wade" WillGM: ... I didn't even think of that. BA: I liked it Edward: "... Please tell me you're kidding, or that those are assumed names." WillGM: %^) There *is* a meaning to the three names, actually. But that's not it. Fearless: "More to the point, what can you tell us about them?" WillGM: "No, they're fake. I'm surprised, not a lot of people get the Latin on the first exposure." Edward: "Latin? I was thinking Roe vs. Wade, actually." WillGM: *to Fearless* "Those are the other two guys in my circle. They must have been following us, or at least overheard our conversation in the Park." His expression falls. "If Xav gets the chance to order me around, you guys are in serious trouble. As am I...." WillGM: And it's 2:30 here, so shall we pause for the night? WillGM: +p BA: Sure Edward: sure. Fearless: "I think Xav is possessing one of them." WillGM: ------------------- session end --------------------