The GM says, "We broke off last time with the human skedaddling and Ekur 
riding herd on his dreamscape.  Neil and Draco, in the meanwhile, had 
just fired off a few resonances before he got out of the apartment in 
Civis.  We'll pick up in media res with Ekur and the human zipping toward 
the Vale."

Arc 6, Fire in the Sky; Part 5: Fire Two

William [to Ekur]: The human is not presently lucid.  The dream you 
jumped into was not a pleasant one, either, a roiling mass of unpleasant 
emotions; your power has subdued these somewhat, but you can tell you're 
headed for a part of Blandine's realm very close to the border with 
Beleth.

The GM says, "Visually, it now appears to be an extensive house, which 
would be in the Japanese style if the Japanese made the walls and 
ceilings out of tatami mats as well as the floor.  The human is sitting 
crosslegged in an empty room, picking one of the walls apart."

The GM says, "Make a Psych roll regarding the impending results of the 
auto-rez; after that, it's your move."

Ekur rolled 9 versus 17 and succeeded by 8.

The GM says, "The human's motivations are conflicting and not entirely 
conscious.  He has serious inferiority problems masked with deliberate 
shows of overconfidence, and delusions of mysticism far beyond his actual 
experience of the mystic.  His emotions are unstable and predictions of 
his responses to your actions could change within seconds.  This human 
could clinically be called insane."

The GM says, "(The insane interact unstably with angelic resonances of 
many types.  Hell finds them most useful, when they can be pointed in a 
particular direction.)"

Jesdyn [to William]: Wait, what? I can ping a stalker and get "Cindy 
Crawford is my secret lover" from the Symphony?

Ekur starts with a CelTongues up the local Dreams hierarchy -- "Black 
Circle sorcerer, insane, non-lucid, was in Civis, now our Vale."  Just so 
the local angels are informed.

Ekur rolled 9 versus 14 and succeeded by 5.

William [to StevenE]: Done.

Ekur dreamshapes himself to look Japanese, wearing a kimono.

William [to Neil]: For Mercurians, the information on low check digits 
can be unstable as their opinion of themself changes; as can, depending 
on the illness, the nature of their relationships with others, the name 
they call themselves...

William [to Ekur]: Easily done, and you materialize behind him.

StevenE [to William]: How does CorpTongues work?  I can't remember or 
find my book.

William [to Draco]: For Seraphim, delusions are a *real* headache -- when 
they think they're lying and when they don't, and when they're not even 
conscious of it.  Unless you get a hold of Symphonic Truth, it can be a 
pain to sort out.

William [to StevenE]: 1 Essence, lasts hours.

The GM says, "You will be heard by the human as if speaking his native 
tongue, obviously Japanese, and will understand him."

Ekur nods.  Okay, time to CorpTongues.

fadethecat [to William]: Fuuuun.

Ekur rolled 3 versus 15 and critically succeeded by 12.

The GM says, "!"

The GM says, ":^)  Let me think of something suitable..."

Ekur tries to figure out what a DI on CorpTongues could do . . . 

The GM says, "Your attempt at communication strikes an interesting chord 
in the Symphony that flees your attempt to fully understand it; instead 
of you speaking Japanese, the dreamscape's nature shifts subtly.  It 
gains the Universal Translator feature; furthermore, no one in this 
dreamscape is able to lie for tonight, as if the words were Angelic."

skill 13 Perception_Disturbance

You rolled 11 and Perception_Disturbance - succeeded by 2.

StevenE [to William]: Ah.  Well, there goes my plan to pretend I was a 
student of his and ask him when and where we should next meet for 
lessons.

William [to StevenE]: He giveth and He taketh away, and He frowns on 
lying.  Perhaps there's some profitable use that can be made of the gift, 
though.  :^)

The GM says, "The human notices the Disturbance.  He looks up, looks 
around, and sees you.  'Who are you?' he says."

Ekur says, "I am usually known as Ekur.  Whom do I have the honor of 
addressing?"

The GM says, "He stands up... and your auto-rez informs you that several 
of his delusions are fighting a waning battle against the patterns his 
thoughts are being required to travel, at least temporarily."

The GM says, "He stands up straight.  'I am Shoko Asahara,' he says, 
'disciple and teacher of Aum Supreme Truth.  Welcome to my...' he pauses, 
and looks around.  '...no, this isn't my home.  I am... dreaming... yes.'  
He eyes you.  'Are you one of the messengers from the Order?'"

Ekur says, "No.  I am a messenger [OOC: That's what "angel" means, 
right?] but not of the Order of which you speak."

William [to Ekur]: Yes, from the Greek.

Shoko says, "Ah.  Then deliver your message, for I have business to be 
about."

Ekur says, "I need to know where my people can contact you in the world, 
and who your contacts are in the Order."

Shoko looks around.  He murmurs, "In fact, why aren't I there right 
now...."  His brow furrows, then clears.  "That's right.  The city's 
guardians found me.  May have to switch out jobs..."

[  IQ roll, Shoko -- success announced ]

William [to Ekur]: We'll make that a contest; roll your Acting skill.

Ekur rolled 12 versus 18 and succeeded by 6.

Shoko eyes you sharply for a moment.  "I trust you will understand," he 
says, "if I am reluctant to hand out the names of my contacts in the 
Order.  I myself am recently returned to Tokyo and am publically listed 
there.  Why don't you deliver your message now?"

[ skill roll, Shoko: Suggest, success announced ]

[ resistance roll, Ekur -- success ]

The GM says, "You watch his hand make a beckoning gesture and hear a 
point of Essence spent, but whatever he tried washes off you with barely 
a shimmer of compulsion."

Ekur tilts his head.  "Don't you have a message for me to deliver?"

Shoko shakes his head.  "No," he says, "I have none and did not summon a 
messenger."  He pauses.  "Ahah.  You are one of the city's guardians.  I 
was informed what to do in this situation...."

Shoko says, "...but I find myself willing to risk further interaction for 
the sake of learning what you might be able to tell me.  For example, why 
I am so talkative presently.  What did you do to me?"

Ekur says, "I did not make you so talkative, the One for whom I am but a 
messenger did so, overriding my small spell to allow me to speak your 
language."

Shoko says, "Ah, the Supreme Being assists his servants.  I have felt 
this touch before."  He pauses thoughtfully.  "I thought I had...."  He 
shakes his head.  "I feel decidedly odd, and yet quite clear-headed."

Ekur says, "You are ill, Shoko-san.  My Master would see you healed.  But 
you would have to choose to repent from your current course, which can 
only result in your destruction.  The demons plot the subjugation off all 
mankind, your subjugation no less than that of any other."

Ekur says, "I confess, I was going to lie to you, to pose as your student 
enter your confidence, and take what information i could from you.  But 
my Master rendered that impossible.  He is demanding I speak only the 
truth to you.  Do you get only the truth from the demons, from the 
Order?"

Shoko grimaces and takes a deep breath.  "Allright.  Yes.  I am being 
manipulated, by my masters and by their masters.  I know it, if I had not 
admitted it even to myself.  Demons are willful and lie, angels have no 
will and know only truth.  I know these things.  But I am human, and I 
know I will be at the fulcrum when Kundalini breaks upon the world.  My 
masters seek to use me to profit, but I will be in the place to take 
advantage of the coming enlightenment.  I knew exactly what I was doing 
when I opened the Black Book and signed my name to gain awakening, and I 
know they seek to drag me to Hell when my body's time is through."  He 
glares at you.  "But I will show them all.  I will serve no god and be no 
demon's puppet.  Your city will burn with the fire of the coming 
enlightenment, and I will transcend existence itself!"

The GM says, "With that speech, Shoko makes an effort of will and 
awakens."

William [to Ekur]: You're presently in Blandine's part of the Marches, 
but only on a technicality; Beleth's Tower is making every effort to loom 
ominously off to your left.

Ekur will go deeper into Blandine's Marches, find some other Angels of 
Dreams, tell them that there's a Black Order operative in Tokyo with the 
name Shoko Asahara, apparently listed in the phonebook, and go to rejoin 
the other characters in Civis.

The GM says, "Gotcha.  And with that, let's turn the clock back to 
earlier that night, as Shoko exits the apartment.  Draco has a resonance 
going strong, and Neil, resonating the Sorcerer, has simply learned that 
he has an overweening opinion of himself combined with a deep-seated 
inferiority complex, and he associates with a fairly large number of 
people who agree with one or the other opinion variously."

The GM says, "(fade, Jesdyn, you in?)"

Neil watches Shoko bob out of the apartment, trusting Ekur will Vassal 
him a good one.

Neil resonates Eri next.

Neil rolled 9 versus 18 and succeeded by 9.

Eri looks over at Seami and Cromwell.  "Sensei will not be staying 
tonight.  Go announce this to the students above, and be sure to tell 
them that it is because angels have decided to interfere."

fadethecat [to William]: Yeah, here.

Neil says, "Nobody's going anywhere."

Draco lets Neil do the police work, still sitting on the Mercurian's 
shoulder. He doesn't really have the image to forbid people to do things 
right now. Or, come to think of it, the authority.

William [to Neil]: Eri is her actual name; she is an escaped dream 
figment with Lust and Family strands, who has served the kami loyally for 
some time.  She prefers Andrealphan assignments to Nightmares work, but 
she does as she's told.  She'll sleep with anybody, by the way.

The GM says, "Cromwell sets out for the first floor.  Seami hesitates and 
eyes Neil."

Neil Jung Fu collar-grabs Cromwell and slams him into a wall.

William [to Neil]: He's unaware of a coming attack; roll for the hold.

Neil rolled 12 versus 21 and succeeded by 9.

The GM says, "He's slammed against the wall and grunts.  Eri steps 
between you two and attempts to do something..."

[ skill roll, Eri_Dreaming: success announced ]

Draco digs claws into Neil's shoulder to hold on as the Mercurian starts 
moving...abruptly. "Sorry," he says, and scampers down to the floor. 
Perhaps it's best to get a little distance. "Let me know if I can help?" 
he adds, backing up.

The GM says, "A curtain of white light springs up, blocking your line of 
sight and thus eliminating the Jung Fu grip."

Neil snaps out, "Draco, the building -- erase it. NOW."

The GM says, "Seami hears that and decides to light out at top speed."

Draco does his best to comply with Neil's request.

fadethecat [to William]: What's the penalty on that?

William [to Draco]: What are you trying to do exactly?  Remove the entire 
building, leaving a pit in the ground and various people and stuff in 
midair?

Draco [to Neil]: How should I interpret that? Presumably between 
resonance and Angelic, Draco knows what you /mean/. Do you want the 
physical obstacles removed, or the vision obstacles, or both? (i.e., 
would turning it transparent or illusionary suffice?)

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Remove all obstacles or things that could be 
dreamed /in/ to obstacles between Neil and Eri, hopefully in a scary 
enough fashion to make Eri blink.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I don't want to knock forces off of Eri if I 
don't have to, and she'll stand down if she's overmatched.

fadethecat [to William]: ...ayup. Removing the building, then. If it can 
be done while leaving people suspended, that's nice, but so long as it's 
not going to hurt people /seriously/ to have the floor disappear from 
under them, Draco's not going to quibble.

William thinks.  Radz has gravity -- and bedrock -- and you know there 
are people upstairs.  Removing the apartment building and simultaneously 
replacing it with a massless buoyant force keeping people above from 
harm... I'm going to go with -15 (-10, plus another effect out of keeping 
with the Domain's laws) to be nice to people, -10 to just remove it.  You 
can spend Essence to boost that.  Your pick.

fadethecat [to William]: Hmm. Guess I'll toss 5 Essence into that, then, 
and take the -15. Draco /does/ work for a Mercurian. He gets twitchy 
about hurting people.

Draco rolled 14 versus 16 and succeeded by 2.

The GM says, "Good thing you did."

The GM says, "Essence resounds, and Draco's well-honed mind skims 
serpentlike throughout the structure you stand in.  Where once was brick 
and steel now airy nothings waft through space, letting in the bright 
sunlight and leaving a few very suprised squatters looking down from 
above."

The GM says, "Pow is still wearing Neil's halo.  He appears unmoved by 
the change."

William [to Neil]: you can now see Seami and Cromwell running down where 
there was a hall.

The GM says, "The crowd by the front door makes noises of surprise at the 
bizarre event."

Jesdyn [to William]: Alright, tactical options. If they're close 
together, can I nail 'em with /something/?

Jesdyn [to William]: And is Eri yet visible?

William [to Neil]: Eri is standing right behind the curtain she had just 
made, out of your sight.  If you want to do something to the environment 
near Seami and Cromwell large enough to affect them both, they'll 
interact with that as they will with anything.  Cromwell's currently 
tentatively trying to see if invisible stairs are there.

Draco manages to look rather startled at the disappearance of the 
building, despite having just done it himself. He waves to Pow, up above. 
"My apologies for the lack of notice!" he calls upward. "I intend to put 
the building back shortly!"

Neil calls out, "If you don't run, I won't have to kill you. If you do -- 
them's the breaks. Best I can do, Seami."

Neil dismisses Eri's light show.

Jesdyn [to William]: Penalty?

William [to Neil]: 2, you're contesting her Shaping to restore normalcy.

Neil rolled 10 versus 18 and succeeded by 8.

Seami looks back at you.  "Why are you doing this to me?  I didn't hurt 
anybody.  I hired on as a bodyguard for a preacher!"

Draco looks somewhat alarmed, but does not ask the Mercurian nicely to 
refrain from the killing if at all possible. Yet.

William [to Neil]: It's gone.

Eri yells, "Welcome to Heaven's police state, kid," and turns to the 
crowd above.

Neil replies in Angelic, not taking his eyes off Eri, "We haven't /done/ 
anything to you, either. We're going to question you. That's all. 
Complying with Judgment is different from /fleeing from Judgement."

Eri calls to the crowd, "The angels want to break apart our group -- they 
know we are the ones who will challenge their monopoly on the supreme 
truth of reality!  Scatter into the population; Sensei will come to you 
when the time is right!"

The GM says, "(That's a fairly long speech, so if you hustle you can try 
to interrupt it after the first phrases.)"

Jesdyn [to William]: I intended to.

Neil butts in with a regular old grapple-to-pain-hold as soon as he can 
see Eri.

The GM says, "Roll for the attack."

Neil rolled 12 versus 19 and succeeded by 7.

The GM says, "She knows you're there and attempts to dodge..."

[ Dodge roll Eri -- failure announced ]

The GM says, "...but gets caught."

The GM says, "You nail her after the phrase 'supreme truth.'"

At this point, Jack Mann's translucent visage appears above the street 
outside.  "Wot -- in -- Sam -- Hell -- are you people doing to my 
Domain?"

Draco straightens up, and adjusts his glasses indignantly. "Truth is 
/Truth/," he says, shaking a claw at Eri. "It is what it is, and one does 
not hold /monopolies/ on it, nor do any of us fallible sorts have it in 
full. Certainly /you/ don't."

Neil sticks to Angelic. "Bully for you. You're under arrest for the 
following offenses revealed by Angelic resonance: Conspiracy with the 
Demon Princes of Nightmares and Lust, consorting with human sorcerers in 
defiance of the ban on such activities...

Draco looks up at Jack, and waves. "It was briefly necessary to remove 
the building! I intend to put it back as soon as Neil has these people 
moved out and gives the go-ahead."

Jack eyes where the apartment building was.  "You have an interesting 
interpretation of an order to evict squatters," he says, and disappears.

Eri struggles against the hold briefly and submits.  "Fine, I surrender.  
I demand that a messenger be sent to my employers to inform them that I 
require legal counsel of my choice."

Eri looks up at Neil, and smiles.  "You're strong," she says.  "I like 
that."

Draco . o O ( Yes, but I'm cuter! )

Jesdyn [to William]: Alright, case law check -- I think she's screwed on 
the "legal council of my choice", she doesn't even HAVE a corpus to 
habeas.

William [to Neil]: Yeah, that's an American thing.  She *gets* defense 
counsel, but Heaven's law regards angelic defense counsel as perfectly 
legitimate.  Demons would want diabolic lawyers, after all!

Neil drags her to City Hall where they've hopefull invested in some Will 
Shackles by now. "You're getting an angelic defender and a cold shower."

Draco [to William]: What's the penalty for putting the building back like 
it was, once appropriate suspects in need of questioning are removed?

William [to Draco]: The best way to do it would be to rebuild it piece by 
piece, with small penalties at a time.  Done carefully, this would take a 
few days.  There are probably blueprints on file -- the building owner 
might normally do it but presumably has lit out of town presently.

One note as you drag Eri off in chains (mmm... chains...): as you pass 
the crowd outside the building, she addresses them quickly with, "Scatter 
into the population.  The Sensei will find you when the time is right."

fadethecat [to William]: ...see, I thought that the making it go away 
would include enough of a grasp of what it was to be able to put it back 
the way it was by just sort of undoing the previous action. Er. Guess 
not. Time to go dig up blueprints, then?

Neil snaps out a reply in Angelic, as he'll be doing all the way to the 
station.

William [to Draco]: Alas, 'tis easier to destroy than to create.

fadethecat [to William]: Alas.

William [to Neil]: What do you actually reply?  Several of the devotees 
scatter immediately, others hang around confused momentarily.

Neil says, "I've already resonated her. I can FIND you through her. Don't 
waste your time.""

The GM says, "Upon hearing this, several *more* devotees scatter."

Neil continues, "Honestly, with the Suggestion sorcery we found down 
there, figuring out how many of you have been brainwashed is going to be 
the biggest hassle we end up with."

Draco peers up at the floating residents above him. "If any of you could 
help me locate the blueprints for this building, I'll be better able to 
put it back together quickly. Again, my apologies for the inconvenience."


Neil says, "That's right, I forget to mention? The Master's a Sorcerer 
from Earth."

Neil sticks with Angelic. "If anyone is having some problems with hazy 
memories, stop by City Hall and we'll find you a doctor. An /ethereal/ 
one, if you prefer."

Cromwell says, "It's obvious that you *believe* that, because we know how 
Angelic works, but it's also very convenient that you've dreamshaped all 
the evidence away."

The GM says, "A few of the group seem troubled by what Neil says, and the 
remaining few begin discussing the matter or thinking it over.  Unless 
there is anything else, the trip to City Hall is uneventful."

Jesdyn [to William]: Nah, if I trade parting shots I'll be there all day 
and Eri might start /liking/ the hold.

Draco [to William]: If no one volunteers blueprinty things or other such 
help in reconstruction, Draco will head off to find the blueprints 
himself. He does intend to take the time to put it all back as it was, 
and replace any dreamshaped possessions accidentally taken out in the 
process.

Neil . o O ( "Aag! Getheroff! Getheroff! Jung Fu wasn't meant for --- 
aaaag! Dominic! Help! Dominic!" )

Draco [to William]: (He's also willing to make any small modifications 
requested along the way, as it's the same amount of effort and might go a 
ways to showing the sincerity of the apology.)

William [to Draco]: A few of the upper-floors residents reshape their own 
apartments, but largely it's considered your duty.  The task takes you a 
day or so and is strightforward; no owner comes forth in the meantime to 
complain about the affair.

Draco might also make a few small modifications along the way to fix what 
/he/ considers minor flaws in the building design.

The GM says, "Also in the meantime, Ekur returns, and interrogations of 
Eri are begun.  Draco, of course you don't have to be rebuilding 24 hours 
a day; feel free to join in with the investigations."

fadethecat [to William]: Gotcha.

Jesdyn [to William]: Alright, a moment -- how hard are Dreads to scope 
out?

The GM says, "This is also the point at which Mercurians from the city 
forces begin their sweeps of the Ethereals' Quarter asking pilgrims to 
move into a temporary relocation center in the Wilderness Sector.  
(Which, at present, is a tent city, since no alternatives were mentioned 
in earlier planning.)"

William [to Neil]: If you're looking specifically for that, an Ofanite of 
Judgment can be sent from Heaven; Dreads are a kind of Discord.

Jesdyn [to William]: Nah, not worth--- WAIT A DAMN MINUTE.

Jesdyn [to William]: I can /learn Dreads/ if I take OoJ?

The GM says, "I would consider that a reasonable interpretation of 
canon."

Jesdyn [to William]: Jeez. I had /no idea/ that was lurking there. Looks 
like I know where my points are going.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: /Sweet/.

William [to Ekur]: As both an Elohite and a Servitor of Dreams, Ekur 
might have conflicting notions on taking advantage of Ethereals' Dreads 
for your purposes.  ;^)

fadethecat [to William]: Still, knowing what they /are/ is potentially 
useful even if one scrupulously avoids invoking 'em.

William nods.  Oh, quite.

William scribbles a little note for an extra field on the NPC sheets to 
add for Neil's resonance...  ...  again...   ;^)

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, I figured that /unmaking spirits/ would be a 
bad idea, but the insights into a spirit's Image would be /priceless/.

Jesdyn [to William]: And -- lust and /family/? Are you watching too much 
Full Metal Alchemist?

Ekur is of several minds as to what to do next.  One wants to go to Tokyo 
and hunt down the waking sensei.  Another wants to interrogate Eri, find 
all the cult members here, and work it that way.  A third just wants to 
launch Armageddon before SN1987a appears, so nobody has to worry about 
demons ever again.  The third is under firm self-control.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: See, Lust + Family makes me think of Nanny Ogg.

William [to Jesdyn]: Was not a FMA ref, actually.  Mmm, mythology, incest 
and the human scubconscious...

Jesdyn [to William]: I was /afraid/ you were going there.

The GM says, "At any rate, Ekur has floated several notions on what you 
can do as January rolls past."

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: We can delegate Eri's interrogation -- malicious 
exposure to /Leave it to Beaver/ should do nicely.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Armageddon we'll leave at Plan B, but we don't know 
enough yet to make opening Jean's note a good idea.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Sentencing Eri may be annoying -- might need to talk 
to Dorotea, although the sorcery seems bog-standard Eastern-influenced 
work -- but I think a road trip is in order.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: It's a darn shame I'm learning Portugese instead of 
Japanese.

Jesdyn [to William]: Can we requsition some language talismans?

"For Japanese?  Sure.

The GM says, "For Japanese?  Sure."

StevenE [to fadethecat]: What do you think?  Civis or Japan?

fadethecat [to StevenE]: Draco will find it easier to work in Civis; 
personally, I'd lean towards Japan. I think I'll leave it up to you two.

The GM says, "The Mercurians doing the sweeps encounter some resistance, 
although many of the pilgrims oblige well enough, especially when Bloom 
makes a public announcement about moving his ministry there.  More 
sorcerers are found; the Mercurians not being Vassals of Dreams, the 
humans escape and several are later found *again*."

Jesdyn [to William]: Hmm. Shoko's a lot less valuable if there's more 
damn sorcerers.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: This is a good point. If there are multiple 
sorcerers to jump, we can start looking for ones who are more sane, 
talkative, or willing to negotiate.

Neil says, "And there may not be much we can do with him anyways."

Draco says, "Also worth looking into: whether there are any sorcerers 
among these who can be /bought/ outright."

Neil snickers. "Any /more/ sorcerers who can be bought."

Draco hehs. "Well, any currently affiliated with Hell..."

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: How long has it been since the end of the Riddle 
Game arc?

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: I don't know?

Draco looks to the GM for a precise timeline on that.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Grf, wrong person.

The GM says, "Oh, Shoko is among them.  Although the pace of finders 
slows when the Mercurians track down the cargo carriers they're using to 
sneak in."

William thinks.  Less than the year.

Jesdyn [to William]: Huh. Hey, what was Eri's sentence?

William [to Neil]: At present, she's being held as a material witness to 
be interrogated, and has not been tried or sentenced.

The GM says, "Also, IQ-6 rolls from everybody, these being default 
Intelligence Analysis rolls."

Ekur rolled 3 versus 12 and critically succeeded by 9.

Neil rolled 5 versus 12 and succeeded by 7.

Ekur says, "Second DI!"

William [to Ekur]: "!  Again!

Draco rolled 6 versus 15 and succeeded by 9.

Draco [to Ekur]: ...my. God /likes/ you today.

William thinks about this one.

William [to Ekur]: Looking over the collection of Mercurian feedback, it 
suddenly bursts on you like SN 1987a itself.  The pattern is *so clear*: 
the Black Order hasn't the foggiest idea when the Supernova Tether is 
coming.  Sorcerers are coming in in shifts every few hours, trying to 
cover the entire day.  A quick look at the data you have tells you Shoko 
is the one scheduled to be in during the critical period.  The relations 
they've been cultivating -- some as preachers, some pretending to be 
pilgrims or residents -- have been collecting ties to the more unstable 
pilgrim fanatics and local malcontents, who have been noted recently as 
acting more aggressive; likely Suggest rather than ethereal Command.

The GM says, "Each of the sorcerers is coordinated with someone on the 
other side of the planet; the dreamer is intended to be in Civis at the 
critical time while the Order's man on the ground claims the Tether."

The GM says, "The Shedite attacks are just little sparks being fanned in 
by the Order."

The GM says, "And at this point in the investigation, let's say you have 
two weeks to act on this revelation."

Ekur passes on this information to Neil and Draco.  "I think what we need 
is a merc-resonance on Shoko to come up with his Earth partner, and then 
knock out the earth-partner at the appropriate time and subsitute a 
soldier of God or somesuch.  You guys?"

Neil says, "We can't tip our hand."

Neil says, "We don't want to take them out until it's either too late or 
we can mask why we're doing it."

Ekur says, "It's going have to be a last-minute thing, so they can't make 
a substitution.  But "too late"?"

Neil says, "'Too late for them to do anything about it', rather."

Draco hmms. "It sounds like a simple plan, which is usually the best way 
to go. Complex plans have more points of potential failure."

Neil says, "We also need some suitable candidates -- Fire tethers on the 
ground probably have some people who need to do some inspiring."

Ekur says, "Yes, but what we need right now is to learn who we have to 
deal with.  Then we'll have some idea where we need to make the 
substitution, which will tell us what area of Earth to recruit in."

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Don't we already know what area? We know everything 
about the Supernova, /they're/ the ones in the dark.

StevenE [to Jesdyn]: We don't know who Shoko's Earth contact is at the 
moment.  We need you to Mercurianize him for that.  And we need to know 
where is Earth contact is to take him out.

-Neil You could find that out on a critical success, which requires an 
unmodified 6 or less, so it'll just take a few rolls over the course of 
interacting with him for a bit.

William [to Neil]: You could find that out on a critical success, which 
requires an unmodified 6 or less, so it'll just take a few rolls over the 
course of interacting with him for a bit.

Jesdyn [to William]: Would a few hours of active rezzing through 
binoculars work? Or better yet, a sniper scope?

"That'd get you the first one, but really, the relationship needs to 
develop at least a little before you can re-rez just to get a better 
degree of success.  You've got Acting...  :^)

The GM says, "That'd get you the first one, but really, the relationship 
needs to develop at least a little before you can re-rez just to get a 
better degree of success.  You've got Acting...  :^)"

page fadethecat How are you on time today?  Coffee shop, or home?

fadethecat leaps upon your note and bats it about for a moment, then 
settles down to read it.

Ekur says, "it then makes sense for us to set up our own sorcerer -- say, 
Dorotea -- in civis and a Soldier of God on Earth to turn the supernova 
our way.  But we need to take out the demonic team to really ensure they 
don't manage to pull it off."

(From Blue GURPS Room) fadethecat says, "At home, so no time limit."

Neil /thinks/.

William lets this occur, goes to fetch tea.

Jesdyn [to William]: Hey. I've got some burning procedural questions 
about Sorcery.

William [to Jesdyn]: Fire away.

fadethecat [to William]: I have a question, at that. What's the actual 
reason for having these people working in pairs, with half of each pair 
in Civis? I understand the reason for having someone observing on Earth, 
but not the other part.

Jesdyn [to William]: What happens when a sorcerer commands an angel? Does 
he feel the command fail, or is there no particular feedback?

William [to Neil]: Err... good question.  I would say he feels it fail, 
rather like you would know you had just tried to grab something that 
wasn't there when your hand closed.

Jesdyn [to William]: Snap. Are you willing to amend that rule for comedic 
effect?

William [to Draco]: The sorcerers' purpose in Civis is (a) to make the 
place increasingly crappy and Hell-inclined with ongoing attacks, and (b) 
to have a man on the scene for some reason when the event happens to try 
and seize control.  You're quite right that the theory behind the latter 
part is murkier.  The Black Order are big believers in the power of the 
will, on the one hand... on the other, it may simply be bait for the 
flunkies they've got spending time there if they think they'll get a cut 
of the power.

William [to Neil]: Oh, you mean with Suggest rather than attempting a 
Will-War!  Hmm... I would rather play with feedback happening, simpyl 
because if I were GMing a Sorcerer I'd like to be able to say lines like 
'you feel the tendrils of your power subtly shift the target's thought 
processes.'  However, Sorcery's a subtle thing, and Sorcerers aren't 
known for questioning results... if you act as if you've been Suggested, 
Shoko will probably accept this.

fadethecat [to William]: Okay. So, as far as /we/ can tell, there's not a 
particularly compelling reason for us to try to get a sorcerer of 
Heavenly affiliation in Civis when this happens; we already control 
Civis, more or less, and we're working on the Earthly part separately.

William [to Draco]: Right.

William [to Neil]: It's a very subtle feedback, if any, in other words.

The GM says, "In further words, I encourage the plan I sense a-borning!  
:)"

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah.

Jesdyn [to William]: Alright. We need to interact with Shoko. I've got a 
temptress chained up at City Hall to interrogate, a female vessel, 
Acting, and an excuse to raid Judgement's contraband locker in Hong Kong.


fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Oo, oo, Draco is willing to play Sorcerer's 
Familiar if need be. He has a raven vessel, Acting, and practice in 
looking mysterious and/or making cryptic statements as needed to avoid 
awkward questions.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I was going to go /as Eri/.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...ah/hah/. Well. That works even better.

The GM says, "So... detail me on this plan here."

Jesdyn [to William]: Interrogate Eri for all relevant information about 
her relationship with Shoko, spending up to four days (of our remaining 
fourteen) if I need to. High-tail it to Shoko's hometown, dye my hair, 
grab some on-duty pumps, bust through his door like Laurence is on my 
tail, plop myself down on his lap and call him Daddy.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Draco would desperately like to get this on 
video, but will understand if that's not possible.

The GM says, "Okay.  I can see the shape of where this is going, then."

Jesdyn [to William]: Hijinks ensue until I get what I need out of him; if 
something goes wrong, we get him into secure holding so nobody can find 
out the jig is up. (If he died OR got a dream off, bad things will 
happen.)

The GM says, "I've got two Earth locations I'm going to need to write up 
for next session, which should conclude the arc."

Jesdyn [to William]: Co-ordinate this with multiple strikes in other 
places in the globe, culled from Mercurian resonances already on file.

Jesdyn [to William]: We get in and get out with a mimum of fuss, give 
Neil time for a shower, and it's off to Brazil for the showdown.

----------- Arc 6, Part 5, Session End -----------------

The GM says, "Well done, and, may I say, holy cow with the DIs."

fadethecat has deleted all of their local references.

fadethecat says, "God likes Ekur, apparently."

Neil says, "Ekur gets DIs. I get a fuku."

Neil says, "And I can't even threaten to confiscate the video tape, 
because it'll end up with my professional peers if I do."

Neil says, "Just call me Sailor Supernova!"

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Just be glad I'm not playing a Seraph of 
Lightning, eh?

Neil says, "Now that -- ahem -- Sailor Pluto's suddenly out of work..."

All local names and descriptions have been cleared.