Jesdyn materializes out of thin air. StevenE materializes in a burst of blackness as he teleports in from elsewhere in the MOO. fadethecat swings into the room on a bit of rigging. fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Thais Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Neil StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur The GM says, "I thought we might be a bit exploratory with the format today. It seems like a good stage of developments at which to turn to a sim level of play, doing 'retail' RP when particular incidents come up." Neil says, "?" Thais says, "?" Neil says, "Wow, that's what it must be to be an Elohite." The GM says, "If you're up for it, what I propose is running through the remaining campaign up to election day strategically: I provide http://earl.of.sandwich.net/In_Nomine/Civis_Game_Logs/RadzDay3.txt and you guys take your time to plan out a strategy." The GM says, "Update for Day 4, 5, 6, and Election Day on 7." Thais goes to look. The GM says, "If we keep going at the individual scene level there's likely to be a lot of repetition. On occasion, more interesting nuggets will pop up and we can switch to game time." Neil says, "That sounds workable." Thais says, "Works for me, I think." Ekur says, "Sure, let's try it." The GM says, "Okay." Arc 2: The Natives Are Restless (conclusion) Neil . o O ( We have the edge in committed voters, we have to get the fencesitters and not scare the Bigger Worries crowd. ) The GM says, "Traveling about the Domain, your three resonances and footwork provide the information at http://earl.of.sandwich.net/In_Nomine/Civis_Game_Logs/RadzDay3.txt . Plot out strategy and we'll see how the day goes." --------------- Day 3 ----------- Central Population: 50 (incl. natives of Easterly, temple complex) Split: 29 yes, 12 unsure, 9 no Major concerns of "Yes" voters: Teachers! / Trade! / Tell me more about this Subsumer thing... Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: How will Jack vote? / Priest? Major concerns of "No" voters: I saw the Crusades / Give me wilderness over cities any day Easterly Population: 5 (Priest and temple staff) Split: 3 unsure, 2 no Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: following Priest's example Major concerns of "No" voters: prefer to avoid monotheist influence in Domain SouthGate Population: 10 (some in Central) Split: 2 yes, 6 unsure, 2 no Major concerns of "Yes" voters: Domain defense (new arrivals tend to show up at Southgate) Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: rad cleanup / will I be able to interact with humans? Major concerns of "No" voters: too many strangers coming through Factory/Cluster Population: 55 (includes refugees from uncleansed Cluster West and South) Split: 10 yes, 10 unsure, 13 no, 19 "Ignore for bigger worries" Major concern of "yes" voters: hey, maybe we can sell Factory cars to other Domains! Major concern of "Bigger Worries" voters: Argh, all these people! It's so crowded! Quit shoving! Hey, my stuff! Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: What does Jack say? / Is my house gonna get the rad cleanup? / Do you care about my One Eye? Major concerns of "No" voters: I'm a follower of White Smoke; we'll get our own place / Crusade grudges / Beleth pays real Essence, maybe Attunements if you serve well (2 of those) ------------------------------ Neil . o O ( We won't guarantee rad cleanup, and we won't permit interaction with humans. That'll cost us Southgate. Jack is the key here, but we knew that already. We need to sway him. ) William settles back with a soda. Take your time, it's chess now not Quake. :^) Thais hmms. "Can we guarantee rad cleanup eventually, though? Because Heaven would want that anyway. That could give us some edge, and we should be able to do it /eventually/ if we pour enough Essence into the process." Neil . o O ( Only one new factor, and that's Thais' special friend. Will he interfere or merely monitor? ) Neil says, "We can promise unceasing effort, but I can't guarantee it in Angelic." Ekur says, "Well, rad cleanup is a prerequisite for Civis. If it doesn't get done, we're building somewhere else." Neil says, "True. I suppose if we can always split that issue off, though it complicates our message." Ekur says, "We could explain that rad cleanup is one of our priorities, and that if it fails, well, they'd be welcome to move to wherever Civis does get built." Neil says, "Hmm. I like that." Ekur says, "Who's One Eye?" Neil . o O ( My battleship! ) Neil says, "I think that's just a general concern about cosmetic discords." William [to Ekur]: The guy asking this is an Ethereal sporting a missing eye. You're quite familiar with the name and effect of Odin's Attunement of that name -- Odin is aware of what this Ethereal sees. Thais says, "That does complicate things a bit. What's our policy going to be on ethereals serving actual ethereal gods in this domain?" William [to fadethecat]: Free to come and go as they please with any other trade, probably. Ekur says, "Ah. Hmmm. I think we can be pretty sure there will be agents of the pantheons in Civis even if we try to stop them. And we have a major local who already serves ethereal gods -- Priest. Probably couldn't hurt to have Odin be able to see what's going on, it's not like it's a military base." Neil says, "So in general, neither the city nor its doings are classified." Neil says, "So we'd only care if Odin himself became a threat to... Heaven's doings in general, or Civis in particular?" The GM says, "Yep." Thais nods. "Which is something we'll want to make explicit, then. For those who are worried about it but didn't want to say so in case we would call it Bad." Shadur walks in from the Gaming Floor. Shadur waves William Guys, this is Rens, he's a friend of mine from IRC. He's here to spectate if y'all don't mind. fadethecat [to William]: Not at all. Ekur says, "So the general answer is, we don't care whether or not you follow an ethereal god, or have his attunements, or tell him what we're doing, because we're all above board --as long as the ethereal isn't actively hostile to Civis." Neil says, "Not at all." William [to Ekur]: Right. StevenE [to Shadur]: Welcome. Neil says, "Hey, look, it's the first guy in here we didn't resonate to within an inch of his life." Thais says, "White Smoke followers might be the easiest nay-votes to deal with; if most of the other /ethereals/ don't like them either, they might be persuadable to leave. Especially if we can convince them that even if the vote fails, the rest won't let them back in charge." ----------------------------------Jesdyn--------------------------------- -- Day 3 Yes Maybe No Ehh Population Central 29 12 9 50 Easterly 3 2 5 Southgate 2 6 2 10 Factory 10 10 13 19 52 ---------------------------------finished-------------------------------- -- Neil frowns. Neil says, "Well, it was better spaced in the spreadsheet." William is taking notes on what you guys are planning; let me know when you set out to act on it. Thais is going to stick close to one of the others whenever heading out is done, unless they both think it's a better idea to spread out. She's a touch worried about the guy she brought with her. And, er, the unfriendly looks the ethereals gave her, back when that weirdness happened with the disturbance. Ekur says, "So, assure people we don't have a problem with followers of the pantheons, mention we're concerned about the radiation/intrusive feature as well, and . . . hmm. Talk to Jack?" Neil says, "It's 41-26 right now, with 31 in the middle and 19 not caring. Jack is probably our only piece of unfinished business, aside from followups with Jane, maybe go say hello to... Jack's second who I can't recall." The GM says, "Yazz." The GM says, "Allright. Let's RP the discussion with Jack. Yazz is with him, actually." StevenE [to William]: Standard autorez, action is, how would he react if I asked him which way he'd vote, if the vote was held today? The GM says, "There's a line of folks to see Jack at his house perhaps 10 deep; Yazz is playing doorkeeper, arms folded in front of the inner room where interviewees are being taken." Neil [to William]: I'll ping him as well, looking for recent changes in his social alliances. William [to Neil]: Yazz remains much as he was when you first met him, though he's now serving the Master of the Domain and his social status is noticeably imrpoved. Neil says, "Looking good, Yazz." Ekur applies the same autorez, including action, to Yazz. William [to Ekur]: When you get in, Jack is still cheerful about his change of fortunes, settling into his job, and harbors nagging doubts about Civis. He'd *like* to get out of this with his position intact. He suspects he won't. At the moment, he would propose that he not vote. William [to Ekur]: Yazz was feeling self-important and content with his employment and current prospects. Neil . o O ( Which position? As city leader or Doman Master? ) William [to Neil]: Sort of both. An earthly metaphor might be that he's the head of state of a small country considering annexation to a larger one. Even if no physical boundary changes, the qualitative value of the position alters. Ekur says, to Jack, "You're worried about us, aren't you?" Jack settles back in the wood-and leather office chair behind his desk and invites you all to take seats, absent-mindedly dreaming up a third for you. "Worried? I suppose you could say that. Uncertain." Ekur says, "Entirely natural. Anything you'd like to ask, to reduce those uncertainties?" Thais sits down as prompted, and listens. Jack settles his hands on the knob of his cane and says, "Several of my people have spoken to me about your proposal, of course. Some of them seem to like some of the prospects, such as increased trade and an influx of teachers." Jack says, "The ones who worry usually either don't like Heaven in general, or are worried about various things -- Temple, Priest, Factory, their homes. The little things people care about. What I find connects their worries is the same as mine: what will be the character of this city?" Ekur nods, and makes a "thoughtful" face. Ekur says, "Well, it's quite hard to be certain, of course. It's inherently experimental, since it's never been done before." Neil says, "Emotional? Legal? Architectural? I can help with the second, and Matthias has distinct plans for the third. The first... that's harder. We don't know, either." Jack says, "Yes, it's emotions with which we would be experimenting. Mine, particularly. In a certain sense, the Master *is* the Domain. It is woven through me. I am not expert on such things but I understand something similar obtains for angels and their Words. Radz is a Domain of struggle and scraping by in a harsh, gritty land. That doesn't strike me as either Heavenly or Hellish, particularly. Will trade and academes leave us soft and change our hearts?" Jack says, "Will you take care to keep the spirit of this land alive?" Thais . o O ( He would ask all the hard questions. ) Neil knows the Song of Ethereal Healing, will that help? Neil says, "That spirit will grow as the city does. Trade and learning can only make a city /great/." Thais shifts in her seat, and says, "It would, but I understand his concern. While it would be great, would it still have the same character as before?" Ekur says, "The Superior of Matthias is David. I am certain that David believes in struggle, in effort, and avoiding softness, and he is the ultimate overseer of the project on the side of Heaven." William drops a hint -- remember who's running-- yes! Have an XP. Jack quirks an eyebrow and considers this. StevenE [to William]: Keeping up my emotion-detecting. William [to Ekur]: He is receiving the information positively. Neil . o O ( Wonder if we could get Jack David's autograph. Of course, I don't know if David even understands autographs, or whether we could transport a three-ton granite boulder etched with David's sigil here. ) fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Hee. Ekur says, "For that matter, I will be here, though not in a position of command. You may have heard I was an angel of Fear in the old days. I know the need for struggle myself, and the value of accomplishment achieved by effort." Jack says, "I see. That is... interesting to know. And it touches on another worry I have had, but David... he is known for his love of a good defense." Jack says, "Well. Did you come today for the purpose of relieving my worries, or was there more specific business?" Neil says, "Honestly? There's an uncomfortable number of swing votes resting on your opinion." Neil says, "You've got something pretty close to the final say in this matter." Jack says "Aaaaaah." Jack considers. Ekur, a shade of avarice enters his mood. Neil . o O ( There should be little harm in telling him what he already knows or could easily find out, and the sense of control has to be good for his stress. ) Neil . o O ( I'd really rather he not feel hemmed in or powerless. ) Ekur says, "So, you see, relieving your worries are our specific business. Is there anything else you'd like to discuss, in particular?" Jack says, "You'd like me to announce that I favor the project. Yes, I can see that that would sway votes. However, I simply don't think I ought to take a public position on the matter. It could be perceived as pressuring citizens to vote that way." Thais . o O ( Which would be entirely accurate, come to think of it. ) Jack says, a bit more confidently, "I'm sure you can understand that I wouldn't want to taint the process." Neil . o O ( Great. How do I politely say "so are you helping all these guys lined up outside your door with their /taxes/" without causing a scene? I'm a Mercurian, I should know these things. ) Ekur says, "Entirely understandable. If you were to mention that you quietly favored the project to a few of your lieutenants, however, that wouldn't cause such perceptions." fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Hey, taxes could be really complicated around here. Neil [to Thais]: You may be right. /Death/ is a divine non-Ethereal-spawning concept, but I don't think we've got Taxes. We may need to fix that. Jack says, "Yes, I think I could manage that." He seems to grow a shade disappointed but recovers. "I shall do so. It's the honorable thing to do after what you've done for me." Jack says, "Speaking of which..." he turns to Thais. "Mind control is against the law here. May I ask what is the meaning of the reports I have heard that you used a Song of Opening earlier today?" Thais blinks. "That's odd. I didn't. I don't even know that Song." fadethecat [to William]: ...do I even know what that Song /does/? Jack frowns. "The reports are multiple and apparently independent." William [to fadethecat]: Remember that II with the 'emotional effect' Song? fadethecat [to William]: Oh, quite. Neil says, "I'm glad someone knew what that was." William [to fadethecat]: As general knowledge, one version of the Song of Opening makes people receptive to the singer; another gives a second chance to make a first impression. Thais frowns. "I heard a Song, but I haven't used any at all since I got back. I'm not sure how people could have been confused about who used it, though. I wasn't even near the person who--" She stops, and shakes her head. "At least, I think I know who used it, but you say you have independent reports. That's very strange." Ekur says, "I know I noticed something, and it did seem to be centered on Thais to me. But I do not believe she was the performer." Neil says, "Did the reports mention who it was used /on/?" Jack says, "No, that information wasn't perceptible, and nobody reported being the target. But... are you saying everybody was *wrong*?" Neil hazards, "Err, yes?" Thais spreads her hands. "I agree, that seems very unlikely. But I know that I didn't use a Song, and that I don't even /know/ that Song. It's possible I'm mistaken, but I don't know how I could be mistaken about that." Neil . o O ( I'd lie about having head her file and swear she doesn't know it, but it gets /sticky/ when people know you know Angelic and demand you repeat yourself. Hmm. ) Jack gets very leery, with a touch of confused. Ekur . o O ( Well, if she denies using it, in Angelic . . . ) Neil . o O ( Of course, I wouldn't HAVE to lie if I'd pulled her dossier before I left Heaven, and I believe I've had mental rants on THIS topic before, thank-you-so-very-much-Ekur. ) Jack says, "Look... just make your case on the merits, okay? There's no need to force people to listen. We're rational beings." Ekur . o O ( What? It was before the Fall, and I stayed in Heaven . . . ) Thais sighs unhappily. "I don't know what's going on. I think it has something to do with the person who came back with me, and I do want to find him again and ask about this. But I don't intend to force anyone to listen to me here." Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Wait, /before/ the Fall? That's... weird. Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Wait, okay, I thought you'd fallen, but you /just/ worked for Beleth. Never mind. StevenE [to Jesdyn]: Ekur worked for Fear, not Nightmares. Jack says, "I shall take your word for it. And I promise I shall speak quietly to this and that person about the vote. There is, I suppose, a difference between endorsement and pressure." Ekur smiles at Jack. "Thank you." He stands. Jack stands as well, nods, and sees you out. The GM says, "Plan for the rest of the day?" Neil thanks Jack as well, and shakes Yazz's hand on the way out. Thais says quietly, as soon as they're out, "I think finding the one who came with me here might be...important." Ekur nods. "Seems that way to me." Neil says, "I agree, Thais, but finding him is going to involve a lot of possibly-pointed interrogation, and he could be /anywhere/. I don't want to throw any weight around until after the vote." Neil says, "Of course, if we happen to run into him..." Thais nods. "I'm willing to wait, if you think it would be detrimental to spend our time on him now. But we shouldn't forget." Neil says, "If he's a threat, he'll threaten us or our support soon. We can ferret him out once he tries something." Neil says, "If nothing else, waiting until he hits us first should impress Matthias." Neil smirks. Thais shrugs, not very happily. "As you say." Ekur says, "Do we want to try to talk to Priest again, or just work the crowds in general, answering questions? Or do you have any important people we should talk to picked up, Neil?" Neil says, "Four days until the vote, let's wait on Priest until the situation's clearer for him." Neil says, "Jane's favor-network should be finished reading the book, and they're probably the largest source of commercial power in Radz. We or I might want to pay her another visit. I don't have any other specific ideas." The GM says, "Okay, lemme work with this to produce Day 4. Take 5, should just be a few minutes." The GM says, "(Keep your Day 3 around for comparison purposes! You'll know whose concerns were addressed by what changed, and anything new that pops up.)" Jesdyn [to Shadur]: Having fun? The GM says, "I think he's asleep now, actually. (Dutch.)" Neil says, "If he's asleep, then... he should be here anyways." Neil pokes Shadur's dreamscape. Thais says, "Well, you know how dream bubbles are. Might be in the vegetable garden again." The GM says, "Uploaded. http://earl.of.sandwich.net/In_Nomine/Civis_Game_Logs/RadzDay4.txt ." ---------- Day 4 ------------ Central Population: 50 (incl. natives of Easterly, temple complex) Split: 35 yes, 6 unsure, 9 no Major concerns of "Yes" voters: Teachers! / Trade! / Tell me more about this Subsumer thing... / I heard Jack Mann was in favor Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: How will Priest vote? I heard he wouldn't. Major concerns of "No" voters: I saw the Crusades / Give me wilderness over cities any day Easterly Population: 5 (Priest and temple staff) Split: 3 unsure, 2 no Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: following Priest's example Major concerns of "No" voters: prefer to avoid monotheist influence in Domain SouthGate Population: 10 (some in Central) Split: 6 yes, 0 unsure, 4 no Major concerns of "Yes" voters: Domain defense (new arrivals tend to show up at Southgate) / Rad cleanup seems workable Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: N/A Major concerns of "No" voters: too many strangers coming through ; liked siphoning off the occasional human Factory/Cluster Population: 55 (includes refugees from uncleansed Cluster West and South) Split: 10 yes, 4 unsure, 24 no, 17 "Ignore for bigger worries" Major concern of "yes" voters: hey, maybe we can sell Factory cars to other Domains! / 'specially if they let One Eyers and other emissaries in / glad rad cleanup sounds workable / I heard Jack Mann was in favor Major concern of "Bigger Worries" voters: Argh, all these people! It's so crowded! Quit shoving! Hey, my stuff! Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: Is it gonna be this crowded? I heard cities are like this all over the place. Major concerns of "No" voters: I'm a follower of White Smoke; we'll get our own place / Crusade grudges / Beleth pays real Essence, maybe Attunements if you serve well (2 of those) / It's just a move in the War, demons will attack and we'll be stuck in the middle / Is this what a city's like? Man, they suck. Forget it. -------------------- Thais says, "Looks like we need to address the crowding/city issues over in Factory." Ekur says, "Mmm-hmm. But I think there's something more than just the crowding. I think somebody's been making trouble." Neil says, "Yeah." Neil says, "Funny how nobody had even /considered/ the War until today." Neil says, "Even the ones who liked Beleth just thought she was only good for a job." Thais says, "First guess: Thais's friend." Thais says, "Though it could be other disgruntled types. Like the Anger spirit." Ekur says, "And, of course, it's demons who would naturally think of the War. I think the logical place to start is to ask some of those who think it'll be an extension of the War who suggested the idea to them, see if we can trace it back to a troublemaker." Neil says, "However, it's not /all/ bad news. As it stands, assuming every fence sitter goes nay, we'll only lose by one vote. We're doing a good job of persuading /and converting/ in every city but Factory." Neil [to Ekur]: Indeed. Thais says, "But Factory is largest, so we probably want to take some care there." Shadur actually wasn't quite asleep yet, but was about to go. Yeah, it's fun. Thais says, "We don't want the downsides to spread to the rest of that population." The GM says, "So you're working the Factory area?" Neil [to William]: Yes. Ekur nods. "Factory is the logical place, assure people that we don't intend to turn Radz into a military outpost but we'll certainly defend Civis, and find the troublemaker. The GM says, "The crowding that has been mentioned is that Cluster West and South's population are crowding in to the narrow strip of outbuildings around Factory that had been cleared of radiation. Even adding stories to every building means some Ethereals are having to hang around outside, and while they technically don't need sleep it's annoying to be away from home and unable to disperse for a few hours safely. More than one fistfight has sent somebody back to their anchor involuntarily." Neil turns to Ekur. "Got a question for you." The GM says, "When you ask about who was talking about the war, answers converge on the Anger spirit who talked to you yesterday. With him was a shorter guy who looked, they say, like Bloom. That one was agreeing about the coming War but talking about the crucible of character and all that -- which didn't exactly reassure people. (Obviously, Bloom has been with you almost the entire time.)" The GM says, "And some people really are starting to think that if this is a city, cities can sod off." Neil [to Ekur]: "How much damage would someone /opposing/ the Domain cleanup effort cause?" StevenE [to William]: Hmm. Do I know that? Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Because, well, we certainly couldn't justify strong-arming people into finding our Special Friend. But /Yazz/ could certainly go bust some heads trying to find out about White Smoke's followers, the conspiracy to sabotage the shaping, and their infernal support. William [to Ekur]: The process is that Jack makes a Dreamshaping roll boosted with all the Essence he can hold, and hopes it echoes through the Domain since it's Young. There's nothing really ceremonial about it other than lending Essence. The only ways to interfere with it would be for someone to suck the Essence away from Jack, or to try making his own roll to poison the place and hope he got lucky. Neil . o O ( Both entities who could suck Essence from Jack and lucky rolls are two distinct problems we've been running into lately. ) Thais coughs. Well. Yes. William Bear in mind, of course, Jack is Symphonically Aware and would know damn well if somebody leeched all his Essence. Ekur says, "I don't think there's any reasonable chance of damage from opposition, unless there's somebody around to suck Essence from Jack when he's making his attempts, and that would be obvious. But, we might want to put a bee in Yazz's bonnet about people opposing the cleanup anyway. At the least, that might reduce the number of White Smoke followers who would vote against us." Neil says, "Good plan." The GM says, "Is that what you're doing? If so, what, exactly, are you asking Yazz to do?" Neil says, "We'll mention that we're still running into the occasional White Smoke sympathizer, and are unsure about what effect they might have on the rad cleanup process. We won't ask Yazz to do anything in particular, simply tell him they exist." Ekur says, "I would suggest that we merely mention to Yazz that there are still supporters of White Smoke around, and that they may attempt to sabotage cleanup efforts . . . yeah, what Neil said." Yazz rubs his head when you tell him this. "Hmm. Never did like that little bugger Ted. I suppose we could kick 'em out. You got names of the ones what still are willin' to follow him when he wakes up? If he does..." Jesdyn [to William]: Do we? William [to Neil]: You in particular, yep. Ekur . o O ( You're the Mercurian, you should have the names . . . ) Neil lists off the names for Yazz. Yazz grins. "Right on then. I'll have the six of 'em out by sundown." StevenE [to William]: Is the Anger spirit on that list? William [to Ekur]: Yes. This 'Ted' is not. The GM says, "Actually, that was hasty of me." William thinks. Neil says, "Hold on." William [to Neil]: ? Neil [to William]: We're talking about genuine supporters of a tyranical despot being exiled. This isn't either unjust punishment, right? William [to Neil]: In cultural context, exile for the losers of the latest war isn't particularly harsh. If you're worried about the legalities, I'd be more worried about the fact that you're basically ordering a purge of opposition supporters based on claims of future sabotage possibilities. Neil [to William]: That /was/ what I was worried about. Dissonance conditions say I can't punish out of proportion -- but I did not punishment, and quite specifically made no request. Problem is, I /also/ can't let the innocent be punished unfairly. Are they innocent? Am I unfair? The GM says, "Let me think carefully about how much guidance your Dissonance condition will be giving here." Neil gets annoyed at dissonance conditions that take real-life Seraphim Archangels to unravel. How many angels can dance on a split hair? William This is exactly what I did this game for, actually. Big! Ethical! Questions[tm]!. :^) Thais snerks. The GM says, "Okay. If the stated motive is 'they're likely to sabotage cleanup,' this charge has not been proved. Napoleonically, the charge has been made, and there's 'guilty until proven innocent'... but really, you have no evidence either way. Also, the crime has not yet been committed. Hmm..." Ekur . o O ( The manipulative androgyne sits back, conscience clean. Of course, if the others object, we'll just have to find another way to win, but this way would be convenient. Is more worried that if they find and fight a demon, they'll harden the beliefs of those worried Radz will become a battleground. ) Thais [to Ekur]: Thais would be more than happy to, you know, take care of a demon really /discreetly/. If by 'discreet' we mean 'quickly and messily with lots of stabbing'. The GM says, "I would not slap you with Dissonance for doing this. As it has been phrased so far. One wrong motivation in an uttered phrase, though, and I might. You could definitely instinctively feel that something's icky here." Ekur . o O ( And stopping a Malakite from attacking an unmasked demon . . . well. ) Jesdyn [to William]: So maybe I suggest Yazz talk to Jack before taking any action, and maybe content himself with keeping a close eye on them and asking pointed questions until they misstep. Cleaner? William [to Neil]: Are you still suggesting that the purge be carried out? Jesdyn [to William]: I haven't suggested such a thing /yet/, and I don't intend to. I've provided information and I'm making sure he talks to Jack first to ensure Jack doesn't yell at me later and to let Jack decide what's lawful in his domain. William [to Neil]: Okay. If you point out "There are White Smoke supporters still in the Domain," Yazz says they already knew that. People took sides in the war, that's the way things go. The losers don't seem to have been making too much trouble yet. Ekur nods. "This may be a problem, because it's likely followers of White Smoke wouldn't want White Smoke's actions to be undone. We don't know that they are doing it, but here are their names, you might want to keep an eye on them, but we're not doing anything more than handing over information and a few vague suspicions." The GM says, "Allright, they can put a guy to keeping an eye on them." The GM says, "Next?" Ekur . o O ( At worst, adds another eyeball that might notice a demon might be doing influence. ) Neil says, "Factory." Thais says, "Definitely Factory. We need to be Confidence-Inspiring over there, or some such." Neil . o O ( 1838 CDT. It'll be... yes, probably November before we get to election day. (: ) Ekur says, "Back to Factory, talking about the lack of crowding in the Heavenly city, a few less-than-crowded Earthly cities, and the wonders of city planning. Also about how we're not planning to make a military outpost, and if demons come calling, they'll run into Malakim." The GM says, "The streets continue to be as crowded as they were earlier. Foreman is laying out blueprints for dreamers to follow to reshape Factory from White Smoke's hangout back into operating condition. A shoving match breaks out down the street over a plum spot in an inside-angle corner of two walls that is created in one expansion." The GM says, "People quite like the idea of not being so stuffed together." Jesdyn [to William]: I'll ping, looking for new names, new faces, and old names with new faces. Ekur says, "And, by the way, that the malakim will be /protecting/ the ethereals of Civis." Thais is protective! William [to Thais]: How so? fadethecat [to William]: Er. I just meant that as a general comment on Malakim protecting. Not a specific plan, sorry. The GM says, "ah." Thais says, "Seriously, Thais is out of her element here. So she's mostly trailing around trying to look harmless and trustworthy, and watching for That Guy, assuming he hasn't changed his dream-image." roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 15. The GM says, "Doesn't seem to be around." The GM says, "The ones worried about the War being attracted to Civis are mildly-to-not reassured by the promise of protection." The GM says, "If this is your general plan for the day, let's take 5 and I'll come up with Day 5." Neil says, "Give me a second." The GM says, "Go for it." Neil says, "Has to be something, but I just don't see it. It just occurs to me that there's no city in the world untouched by war, not one. " Neil says, "Except, oddly enough, Shal-Mari." Neil says, "I can't see how to spin this, though, so I have to let it go. I'll pass, go on to day five." The GM says, "Oh, Radz has its own raids and tribal skirmishes. They're just native. Familiar. Angels and demons have *big* guns." Neil says, "We're really going to have to play up how much we'll be helping the rad cleanup." roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 10. Neil says, "Crowding and 'cities suck' is all we can attack. Complaints that the War has arrived are, apparently, completely true." The GM says, "I am torn, as I often am in the middle of games, over whether or not to make a suggestion..." fadethecat [to William]: If it's one that would be reasonably obvious to celestials with high IQs... The GM says, "Let me try to work it into the Day 5 before I go usurping anything." fadethecat [to William]: Poor Thais. Giant brain! No experience! Ekur . o O ( Wouldn't it be tempting, if we lose, for Beleth to create her own city on the bones of Radz? Certainly, she'd love to have the radiation effect continue, and overcrowd the streets, and otherwise make it a nightmare for the inhabitants . . . and if Heaven is building Civis elsewhere, there'll be no one here to stop her . . . . ) Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Fearmongering to fight Fear? The GM says, "Uploaded. http://earl.of.sandwich.net/In_Nomine/Civis_Game_Logs/RadzDay5.txt" ----------- Day 5 ---------------- Central Population: 50 (incl. natives of Easterly, temple complex) Split: 28 yes, 8 unsure, 14 no Major concerns of "Yes" voters: Teachers! / Trade! / Tell me more about this Subsumer thing... / I heard Jack Mann was in favor Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: How will Priest vote? I heard he wouldn't. Major concerns of "No" voters: I saw the Crusades / Give me wilderness over cities any day / I heard they're gonna purge anybody who votes no and declare victory anyway / The War is coming, those guys are mean Easterly Population: 5 (Priest and temple staff) Split: 3 unsure, 2 no Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: following Priest's example Major concerns of "No" voters: prefer to avoid monotheist influence in Domain SouthGate Population: 10 (some in Central) Split: 6 yes, 0 unsure, 4 no Major concerns of "Yes" voters: Domain defense (new arrivals tend to show up at Southgate) / Rad cleanup seems workable Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: N/A Major concerns of "No" voters: too many strangers coming through ; liked siphoning off the occasional human Factory/Cluster Population: 55 (includes refugees from uncleansed Cluster West and South) Split: 17 yes, 2 unsure, 26 no, 10 "Ignore for bigger worries" Major concern of "yes" voters: hey, maybe we can sell Factory cars to other Domains! / 'specially if they let One Eyers and other emissaries in / glad rad cleanup sounds workable / I heard Jack Mann was in favor Major concern of "Bigger Worries" voters: Argh, all these people! It's so crowded! Quit shoving! Hey, my stuff! Major concerns of "Unsure" voters: Is it gonna be this crowded? I heard cities are like this all over the place. It's so damn chaotic. Major concerns of "No" voters: I'm a follower of White Smoke; we'll get our own place / Crusade grudges / Heaven's not paying anything, Beleth pays real Essence, maybe Attunements if you serve well (3 of those) / It's just a move in the War, demons will attack and we'll be stuck in the middle / Is this what a city's like? Man, they suck. Forget it. I need space. ----------------------------------- Thais says, "Central is sliding. And with the same new concerns as before. How much you want to bet the meme's being spread there deliberately?" StevenE [to Jesdyn]: Old habits, and she's Nightmares nowadays, Fear was a heavenly word . . . Neil says, "Uh-huh. Beleth's name is cropping up more and more -- notice she's up to three mentions " Neil says, "Why are there /three/ more people voting?" William Oops. Did I add people? Thais says, "Vote fraud!" William I've still got even totals, 120. Neil says, "Ah, the problem's in Day 3." ----------------------------------Jesdyn--------------------------------- -- Population: 55 (includes refugees from uncleansed Cluster West and South) Split: 10 yes, 10 unsure, 13 no, 19 "Ignore for bigger worries" ---------------------------------finished-------------------------------- -- Neil says, "Day 3 added up to 117." The GM says, "Ah. Oops." Ekur says, "Split up? One group go to Central to say we're not going to force a victory, we only want Radz for Civis if Radz wants Civis. Another one to talk up trade and income in Factory, talk about how Beleth exploits the spirits she hires, and about city planning. Presumably Neil as lead in one and Ekur in another." Neil says, "Sounds good." The GM says, "Bloom goes with who?" Neil says, "I'm not sure why knowing about a purge of those who vote no is coming up as a /reason/ to vote no." Neil says, "Whichever group doesn't get Thais. Both of them may be able to recognize our Special Friend, and I don't want anyone going alone." William [to Neil]: Wouldn't *you* be pissed at people who did something like that? Ekur says, "Which do you want, Neil? And which do you want to go with, Thais? And you, Bloom?" Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, but I wouldn't solve the problem with voting. Thais hmms. Would like to stay near Bloom, but it would make no sense for her to lead either talk, or to do a three/one split, so. Will stick close to Neil. Neil says, "I can't badmouth Beleth like you can, so I'll take Central." The GM says, "Neil and Thais in Central, Ekur and Bloom in Factory. Check." William hmms. "There is an incident today, and it's on Neil and Thais' turf. The GM says, "There is an incident today, and it's on Neil and Thais' turf." roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 9. roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 11. The GM says, "Considering that Bloom is with Ekur, you really wouldn't have expected to see him around noon in Central coming back from Southgate, especially not in the company of the Anger spirit." Neil slips into cover and pings them both. Thais follows Neil, and pings as well. Thais rolled 17d6 and got 60. fadethecat [to William]: Oops. Wrong command. Thais rolled 7 versus 17 and succeeded by 10. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: A check digit of -- 53, well done. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Yeeah. roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 9. roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 14. William [to Neil]: The Anger spirit's name is Eucastor and he's got relationships, attenuated now, stretching across the Marches and back to Olympus. He was telling the truth about his history. The one who looks like Bloom, of course, isn't. His name is Wrinth, he's from Gehenna, and currently deeply underestimated by everyone who knows him. He's intensely loyal to (fuzzed authoritative entity), which I bet you can guess. Neil [to William]: Gehenna -- Baal, right? William [to Thais]: The Anger spirit has been cheerfully stirring up trouble, dutifully keeping Radz from going soft and getting stuck under Heaven's thumb. This demon has been lots of help. The other guy is the fellow you resonated back at Pfluviak's, with recent honorable acts updated to include his current mission keeping Heaven from expanding its military footprint in the Marches. William [to Neil]: Yep. The GM says, "So far, they haven't noticed either of you. They stand in the square and quietly discuss something." Thais takes a moment to count to ten silently. In Latin. And then says, very calmly, to Neil, "So, what's the best way to separate that demon so that we can kill him privately without upsetting the locals too much?" Jesdyn [to William]: That's his /mission/, not just his current act? William [to Jesdyn]: There's a larger mission, and he has a bit of latitude on specifics as an independent operator. Demons Baal trusts enough to operate alone are usually pretty good at their jobs. Neil whispers back, "Well, I've already humiliated it once. I suppose I could go provoke him into trying to pound on me." Thais nods slowly. "It would be best if we could do this somewhere privately, though. If we get into a fight in public, it could become messy if he's made friends with others. He's very...persuasive." Jesdyn [to William]: So "reducing Heaven's footprint in Radz" might not be his formal, dissonance-bound mission he can't retreat from? I'm trying to see if I've got wiggle room, or can see it from my resonance. roll 3d6 On 3d6, you rolled 13. William [to Jesdyn]: His orders don't seem to involve Radz specifically. He has general orders that this seems to fit with. Neil says, "Is there a private place nearby the four of us could visit, assuming he was convinced to go there willingly?" The GM says, "The between-settlement wilderness, maybe?" The GM says, "Easterly's deserted right now; the 5 listed there are all in Temple." Neil . o O ( What would an Anger spirit fear? Calmness? Tranquility? Being ignored? ) Thais froths quietly, and mostly patiently. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Pity neither of us works for War. It'd be easier to talk this demon into a duel... William [to Neil]: Being mocked, perhaps. A very *nice* Anger spirit might fear destroying an innocent target. Neil says, "Uh-oh. That would be it." Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Any good ideas? I've just got one bad one. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...um. Not sure. Thais is smarter than I am, and even she's a bit distracted by the SMITE urge running through her head right now. Neil says, "Then let's indulge her, and hang the consequences. Being a demon not in hell is illegal, anyways." Neil takes Thais' arm, and walks towards the pair, cheerfully hailing them as he approaches. Thais looks distinctly less cheerful, though she's trying for "neutral" in expression. Ekur . o O ( Sigh. Of course I wasn't with them. One Ancient Greek roll . . . ) Neil says, "Smiley, I see everything's working out for you. I didn't think you'd support Civis, but I see we turned you around nicely." William [to Ekur]: Perils of splitting up, I'm afraid. You're getting good footwork done, if that's any consolation. William [to Neil]: You're addressing Eucastor as Smiley, right? Jesdyn [to William]: Ah, darn it, I didn't know I knew his name. Can I redact that? The GM says, "Sure." Neil [to Eucastor]: I see you read the /Laws of Heaven/. We've never looked down on your kind of relationship, though it's not what I'd prefer. Eucastor looks at Neil. "I... uhh... what?" Thais firmly neutrals, because it is not yet time to SMITE. More's the pity. Neil [to Eucastor]: "Don't be coy. You and Wrinth look very happy together. Of course, he'll be away with his job quite often, but I'm sure he'll make time for you." Alex rolls his eyes. "You must be the Mercurian." He drops the Bloom disguise, taking on his tall, well-manicured native form. Eucastor says, "What's he sayin' about--" Alex interrupts. "He's calling you gay. I don't know why. I think he's trying to get you angry, which is ironically pointless if you think about it." Neil says, "Yes. I was counting on Eucastor exploding in rage before this, I admit. You're certainly keeping him calm." Neil says, "Well, we might as well move on to plan B -- we're not planning a military operation here. I'd really appreciate it if you'd go away." Thais . o O ( You know, if we just wanted someone to explode into rage, I could have started stabbing Alex. That would have worked well. I'm just saying. ) Eucastor yells, "You wanna rumble all you had to do was ask, bastard!" He pulls a pair of artifact brass knuckles out of his pockets and puts them on. Alex backs off and says loudly and calmly, "Hey everyone, the angels are getting into a fight." Thais sighs irritably. "You're really going to insist on this, aren't you?" The GM says, "Yeah, if you haven't reacted by now it's roll for initiative time." The GM says, "Basic Move + 1d6." fadethecat [to William]: How do I calculate basic move in 3e? I don't think I ever wrote that down. Neil says, "And is Basic Move in the Marches still Basic Move?" William [to fadethecat]: Basic Speed, rounded down. And, hmm. That's a good question. Dodge is based on Per, whereas it's normally based on Move. So I'd say Move is Per. Neil says, "Thais, you've got Wrinth?" The GM says, "Wait." The GM says, "That's way too high." Jesdyn [to William]: My sheet doesn't have Per on it. What's that again? fadethecat [to William]: ...I'm still confused, I'm afraid. What am I doing to which numbers? fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Equal to IQ unless you change it. The GM says, "IQ/2, actually." Neil says, "Goddamnit, this happened to me in Shadowrun too. Someone shot a guy with a knife and the world collapsed." The GM says, "Rounded down, so 9 for Neil and 8 for Thais." Jesdyn rolls 1d6+9, and gets a 2. Thais rolled 1d6+8 and got 9. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...okay, how does /that/ work? The GM says, "Um." The GM says, "Okay, Thais then Neil:" roll 1d6 On 1d6, you rolled 1. roll 1d6 On 1d6, you rolled 5. The GM says, "Now Wrinth and Eucastor:" roll 1d6 On 1d6, you rolled 6. roll 1d6 On 1d6, you rolled 4. The GM says, "Wrinth, Neil, Eucastor, Thais." The GM says, "Thais, what are you doing?" Thais [to William]: Defending, for the moment. And defending Neil as necessary. She's not interested in fighting the anger spirit, only the demon, and won't attack him in public unprovoked. For the moment, anyway. Neil . o O ( Darn it, go after the demon. I'm planning on pounding the Anger spirit or getting beat up trying. ) fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Methinks Thais and Neil need slightly better pre-fight discussions, in the future. She was under the impression you were going to help coax the two of them somewhere private for demon-smiting. Neil says, "Oops." Neil says, "Err. Sorry?" fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Ah well. --------------FIGHT NARRATIVE---------------- Eucastor goes after Neil with a boxing style. He launches a double combo, starting with a feint -- that doesn't fool Neil -- followed by a solid left. Neil does a graceful twirl, bringing up his arm to gently push Eucastor's arm out of the way. The move continues to flow into a longer arm which blurs momentarily to untrained watchers -- the trained fighters watching are mildly impressed -- and ends up with Neil on the other side of Eucastor's shoulder twisting his arm out stiffly. Neil whispers to Eucastor, 'Wrinth serves Baal. We will not twist you or break you. Will he?" Thais has been on the defensive, waiting for the demon to make the first move. He obliges with a bang, summoning an artifact rapier and approaching her. "Lovely little thing," he says. "Didn't you know? Chance tastes like rare spices." Wrinth seems to slow up momentarily. His eyes become very dark indeed. He expends two Essence, and dark shadows ripple about him. Wrinth *twists* and the dark energies focus on Thais. Rapier flashes, he twirls and a backhanded clenched fist sails toward her face; his neck snaps back for a vicious head-butt. Thais, having been in a defensive position already, tries to parry and dodge. She is partially successful, dodging the head-butt and parrying the punch with her blade. The rapier is too quick for her defenses and pierces its target. The blur of motion separates. Thais is bleeding heavily from a deep gash along her left ribs. Wrinth is in better shape, but his left hand is twitching and bleeding as well, and probably in no shape for use. Neil, holding a struggling Eucastor in position, aids Thais with a Song of Ethereal Healing, closing up her icon's wound somewhat. The Disturbance attracts the attention of Ekur and Bloom in Factory, but they are too far away to render assistance. Thais takes the offensive, urges to SMITE running through her Malakite mind. She's also annoyed that she still finds him Cute and Interesting, but no doubt that's part of him being Evil, so it's not going to distract her or anything. Her first swing connects, laying his guts open. The second backswing does not, as the force of the blow from her first swing literally knocks him back far enough that he manages the leverage to flick the blade away with his own. Panting from the shock, Wrinth tenses. He cries out some tongue-twisting cry of Helltongue, and shadows propel him forward. An Essence sings out, and he leaves the ground momentarily, heel flicking forward. His blade follows. Thais being distracted in trying to increase the number of pieces that Wrinth is in at the moment, she is unable to defend against his infernal speed. Both attacks connect. Thais fuzzes momentarily, sufficiently damaged to weaken her conscious connection to the Marches... but manages to hold on to existence. Neil throws Eucastor to the ground and slams out a six-point Song of Ethereal Healing. As Eucastor rolls away, the Domain seems to knit itself around Neil and Thais. When the glow clears, the new hole in Thais' torso is gone, and the scrape along her ribs is barely there. There is a moment's pause while Eucastor scrambles to his feet and everyone else regroups. Young, angry, wounded, the newly repaired Thais presses the attack. Wrinth, landing on his feet after his own vicious combo, backs off hastily, parrying like mad. Successfully holding her off, he steps back in to range with a single, quite competition-quality lunge. It connects, taking Thais in an ethereal kidney; she's down, but not quite out. Neil, out of Essence, idly wishes he were an Impudite. He grabs the gun his instincts keep handy and focuses his will on doing damage to Wrinth. His aim is true, and Wrinth is not quick enough to duck, taking an impact to the head. Eucastor takes advantage of Neil's distraction to whale on him as best he can... Neil doesn't see it coming in time enough to dodge. The good news is, for all his loudmouthing Eucastor hits like a baby. Thais keeps up the pounding, swinging at Wrinth and pouring Essence into her attack. With the power of Heaven behind her blade, Wrinth can't parry fast enough, and takes her broadsword in the chest. He manages to get out an 'Aw, *damn*', before he the Domain's winds blow and he is whisked somewhere nasty. --------------FIGHT NARRATIVE---------------- Thais smiles. And then winces. And turns to see how well Neil is dealing with the stroppy Anger spirit. Ekur . o O ( Woot! Got rid of him and gave him an ethereal Discord for his trouble. ) The GM says, "Technically the Rite is 'Vessel', but given that Ethereal death causes mental disadvantages, I'll allow it. Neil, you have 3 Essence for helping out there." Jesdyn [to William]: Three or four? It says "+3", is that three extra or three total? fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Three total. The GM says, "Three total." The GM says, "And Thais, you've got one too." Neil will disengage from Eucastor. Thais makes a note to speak with her Archangel about the Hunt attunement after this, if all goes well. The GM says, "Congratulations, you just slayed -- in a certain metaphorical sense -- your first evil!" fadethecat [to William]: And boy does it feel good! Except for that bit where my kidney used to be. Neil says, "We're done, Eucastor, if you'll let us be. I apologize for the lies I spoke about you." fadethecat [to William]: How many mental HP am I down, total? William [to Thais]: Yes, you're now noticing that this is hurting quite a bit in many places. You're down *to* 4 Mind Hits. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Watch out for staircases and uneven cobblestones until we get that taken care of. William [to Thais]: And your memories of the first part of the combat are distinctly fuzzy. The GM says, "Eucastor thinks about the odds here." Thais rubs the back of her head. "Okay, that was definitely different than it is in the practice fights." And takes a moment to Sing herself back to something like health. The GM says, "Eucastor takes off the brass knuckles and slowly backs away, hands up." fadethecat [to William]: Dropping my remaining Essence (4 total, I think) into Ethereal Healing. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Blowing Essence on songs is really, really, really inefficent. It's like an extra die you rolled a one on! fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...oh, crud, it doesn't work like In Nomine rules. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: :facepalms. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Do four seperate castings. fadethecat [to William]: Just one essence into it, then. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I wouldn't've done it if -- you know -- you weren't about to die. skill 15 Eth_Healing You rolled 6 and Eth_Healing - succeeded by 9. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Right right. skill 15 Eth_Healing You rolled 10 and Eth_Healing - succeeded by 5. fadethecat [to William]: Yeah, will just run through until I'm at health or run out of Essence. Whichever comes first... The GM says, "Your first two get you back up to full health." The GM says, "It's 11pm, but I want to finish this arc today. Let's take 5 to recover from combat and stretch our legs." Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Wait, what are IN rules? I thought each extra Essence was CD +1. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: I was thinking of the CorpHealing rules, actually, where you multiply the check digit by the Essence spent. fadethecat [to William]: Works for me. William returns. The GM says, "Stylistically, I've gotta say that was probably the best combat I've ever run. It's hard to imagine how much closer to the edge of defeat you could come before clawing your way back to victory." fadethecat [to William]: And I /did/ like the demon's line as he started. Very nice. And apropos for how the combat ran. Thais will have to hug Neil at some point, for the whole "keeping her from getting mind-killed" thing. Neil says, "Not so much fun from this end, thanks. d: " Thais should probably not All-Out Attack nearly so often, but... demon! Evil! With the whole not permitting to live and stuff! Neil [to Thais]: Forgive the whole change of plans and we'll call it even. You did more damage than I did. The GM says, "Ekur and Bloom show up in Central to hear the place buzzing about how the War has already arrived. Neil and Thais are fresh as spring chickens, if a little low on Essence." Thais [to Neil]: Well, you were wrestling a spirit at the time, so it's to be expected. Neil . o O ( I went through that whole combat without blowing a single roll. I've never done that before. ) Thais checks her sword for nicks and nasty-icky demon blood before sheathing it. Ekur . o O ( Well, _the_War_ was here, but he was driven away. ) Ekur talks with Thais and Neil to get the whole story. The GM says, "Jane is busy as a beaver witnessing gambling debts being registered." Thais [to William]: Darnit. Didn't have time to place a wager before it started. Neil . o O ( Thais: "AndthenIfoughtthedemonbecausehewasNotNiceAtAllandquiteevilandhehitmeandI almostlostaforcebutIwashealedandthenhehitmeandIalmostlostaforcebutIwashea ledandthenIhithimandhedied!" ) Thais is perhaps a touch too cheerful about describing a fight that came that close to mind-killing her. Thais [to Neil]: ...well, yes, actually... Neil says, "Told you we'd be good for business, Jane!" fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Though I'm fairly certain mind-death only boots you from the Marches and gives you Discord; no forces lost. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I know, I know. The GM says, "Without going through Day 6 formally, it becomes clear that Wrinth was indeed the one worrying people about the War. What's your last-day strategy for tackling the 'demons and angels are gonna be fighting it out in the streets' meme?" Thais says, "...that's a tricky one, given the, um, demon and angels fighting it out in the streets." Neil . o O ( "Demons and angels are gonna be fighting it out in the streets and it will be /badass/"? ) Bloom . o O (And the angels will be *winning*) Thais . o O ( With more angels, demons won't get as far as the streets before we fight them! ...okay, that could probably use some work as pep talks go. ) Neil . o O ( Solid evacuation plans? Free popcorn? Daily coverage? ) Ekur says, "Civis will be so heavily guarded by David that Hell won't try to attack it after it's established. Even in Armageddon, they'll be concentrating on storming Heaven and Blandine's Tower, not Civis." Neil says, "I don't think we have a plan. We may have to file that under Part of the Package and simply say that we'll plan for it." The GM says, "Allrighty." Neil says, "I like Ekur's idea better than mine." Thais is all for Ekur's idea. The GM says, "Day 7 rolls around. Tonight's the night. You're near the dais on Central when Neil feels a tug to wander off to the side of the town." Ekur says, "After all, it's a very important project. It may well be the single place in the Ethereal outside Blandine's realm safest from demons." Neil excuses himself and wanders sideways. The GM says, "Dominic is waiting, apparently unnoticed by all other eyes, under an arch in back of Jack's house." Neil bows. "Most Just." Dominic says, "Report, my servant. How goes your mission?" Neil says, "I think well, my Lord. The vote is not complete, but I think well. A demon of The War learned of our plans; we slew his seeming. We have the respect of the town; if they vote against us, I'm still satisfied with our effort." Neil says, "I've learned that perhaps there isn't much justice in politics. Upholding your will has been difficult, but I have not faltered." Dominic's cloak moves slightly, perhaps a nod. "I sensed your success with the demon. This was well done." Resonance sings, provides details to Dominic. "You served your fellow angel well in battle. Serve her in comradeship as well. She has taken the first steps in growing toward what she can become." Dominic says, "Politics is... a matter of much compromise." The latter word is loaded with distaste. "It is necessary to weigh much when dealing with such things, from both friend and foe." Dominic says, "Your Choir is suited for this interplay, as is that of your fellow of Dreams. Each of you has stayed true to your natures and this has brought you strength. Continue to walk in this path." Neil says, "I have one boon to ask, Lord. The domain is afflicted with a Discord. For Civis to proceed, it must be ameliorated, and we've tried to remove it once without success. Can you help us in our second attempt?" Dominic's cloak shifts slightly, the opening turning to face outward. He says, after a moment, "The energy required for this manifestation to so manipulate the Domain would be inefficiently spent. But tell the Master of the Domain he should begin his efforts in the Eastern Temple tonight." Dominic's manifestation fades. Neil . o O ( That counts as help to /me/. Thanks. ) Neil makes his way back to Thais and Ekur. Neil says, "Dominic's pleased, and I've got a message for Jack. Where is he?" Bloom's eyes widen. "He was *here*?" Thais says, "Oh, good." Neil says, "Yes. He visits his servitors once a week. " Ekur says, "Well, Neil's been here a week, and Dominic likes to keep in touch . . ." Bloom says excitedly, "I'd *really* like to meet him the next... if I could... I mean, I wouldn't say anything... unless he asked me to... would it be...? I mean, he's like *the* Seraph!" William . o O (Dominic fanboy) Neil [to Bloom]: "Hah, and not Michael? Tell you what, I'll tell him so, it'll make his day. If I recall, he mentioned you the last time we spoke." Bloom blushes. Jack comes out of a building across the way. Bloom looks over. "Oh, and, uh, you wanted Jack..." Neil catches his Jack's eye. "Jack! A moment!" Jack comes over. "Yes?" Neil says, "I had a chance to talk with an expert in Heaven. He says to tell you that the domain clearing attempt should start from the Eastern Temple tonight."" Jack blinks his third eye. "Really. Well, I dare say the Easterlies would have no objection. They're all worried about Priest." William Unless something else is planned, zoom forward to tonight? Neil says, "I'm okay." Ekur says, "Zoom-zoom-zoom." Jack collects the population of Radz. Only Priest and a few attendants are missing (along with a couple of folks in Trauma), and he announces that the Domain will head to Temple. The attempt at clearing will begin there, and a vote will be taken after the first attempt. Under crystal clear stars and a crescent moon, the population of the Domain walks to Easterly and into the grounds of the Temple. Priest comes out, greeting Jack warmly and standing by as Essence is funneled to the Master of the Domain. As Jack raises his hands and begins to Dream-shape away the subtle influence of background radiation... Ekur passes on six of his nine Essence. roll 3d6-10 On 3d6-10, you rolled 4. Neil tosses in his last three. Dawn's close enough. Thais is...out of Essence. Oh well. fadethecat [to William]: Oh, wait, I have two left, don't I? Will toss in those, then. roll 3d6-10 On 3d6-10, you rolled 0. ...a rumbling is heard from within the cave. The crowd gasps... the statue from behind the altar has come forward in the shape of a stone man. It extends its hands foward, and sweeps them wide. A smell of lead drifts over the landscape, and settles far downward. Its shielding effect carries with it the nagging hitch in the Symphony that Neil has been hearing all week. The crowd murmurs the name. "Vishvakarma. Vishvakarma." Priest bows low, as does Jack, followed by nearly everyone else. Neil . o O ( /Awkward!/ ) Ekur bows his head respectfully, but does not bow low. Neil follows Ekur's lead. Thais adopts a polite at-ease stance of respect. The statue turns its head to Priest. Words rumble forth that Ekur is able to translate: "I have been promised, my servant, that your Temple and its grounds shall remain sacrosanct, regardless of what may be built elsewhere in this Domain. Your faithfulness has been productive. Well done." With that, the statue returns to the altar and resumes its pose in frozen immobility. In this respect, it much resembles the crowd at the moment. Neil grimly resists the temptation to res a Hindu deity and find out just where Dominic shows up. And God to, come to think. William [to Neil]: Ekur could tell you that even his auto-rez fuzzes on Ethereals who achieve formal godhead, whatever that means for them. "...Well..." says Jack. "...Maybe it's time to vote now." Jesdyn [to William]: I know, I know. Still. The poll is taken one by one. Halfway through, it's obvious that you've won. If Heaven chooses Radz, it will have the agreement of the population behind it. END, Arc 2