Jesdyn materializes out of thin air. Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Neil fadethecat swings into the room on a bit of rigging. fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local description A slender Caucasian woman with dyed-black hair. fadethecat has made fadethecat's local description A shiny black raven. He'll say Nevermore! for you if you ask nicely. The GM says, "...the frequency of phone calls as we begin games suggests to me that my Dad (who is usually the caller) has picked 5pm as a good time... give me a minute, I'm going to try to get him to pick a different time." StevenE materializes in a burst of blackness as he teleports in from elsewhere in the MOO. StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur Jesdyn [to William]: Tell him you've got Applied Bible Study scheduled then. The GM says, "Matters presently stand thus: you have a name (Carlos Izquierda) and an address in Quito, Ecuador. You have various talismans and/or skills with Japanese language and culture, and have just returned the equipment you've borrowed from a local Sword Tether in Tokyo. You have 6 days remaining until the nova arrives to foil the Black Order with whatever plans you decide to lay down." William [to Jesdyn]: Considering that I'm an atheist just like he raised me, that'd *really* freak him out. fadethecat [to William]: A plus! ----------------------------------William-------------------------------- -- The brief briefing on 1987 Ecuador: Ecuador is in financial and political shape similar to that of many third-world countries in the 1980s: that is to say, most of the people are scraping by. It has the current good fortune to be sitting on oil reserves, which make it better off than many other small nations, but corruption and mismanagement is rife. As of game time, the country is recovering from several years of military government and is trying to get a handle on democratic forms. The notable Tethers in the country include a scattering of minor Animals and Flowers Tethers in the Eastern rainforest, as well as the only known joint Lightning/Animals Tether in existence, on the Galapagos islands west of the mainland. Neither is convenient to the population centers, especially the capital of Quito, where the strongest Tethers include a moderate Tether to Greed in the Oil Ministry and an intermittent Factions Tether that erupts during times of tribal warfare among the isolated Indians. A minor, but old and stable Nightmares Tether is at Nuestra Senora de los Dolores, a gloomy cathedral with vivid illustrations of the sufferings of those in Hell and Purgatory. Similarly, a minor Fire Tether is passable on Pichincha, an active volcano next to Quito. At present, the ground must be considered Hell-controlled. ---------------------------------finished-------------------------------- -- Jesdyn [to William]: Neil's smarter than I am, and I'm not the one who talked to Jean -- does he believe it's time to pop open Jean's memory pearl yet? I haven't seen any need-to-know from my end... fadethecat [to William]: If we're stopping in Civis first, I'd like to do enough dealing to swap the Japanese language talisman for a Spanish one. If profit can be made along the way, all the better, but I'm guessing the former isn't in sufficiently high demand to make that likely in the time frame. William [to Jesdyn]: The impression you've got is that it's entirely possible you'll be able to get through the mission without checking that thing. The GM says, "So far. :^)" Jesdyn [to William]: I went in to point-debt for the Japanese, but I'll pay for a 1/2-point Portugese token with a Favor as I swing through Heaven. SJ is here! Arrrr! Jesdyn [to William]: I do have a couple of errands that need running in Heaven. SJ vanishes into nothingness. William [to Jesdyn]: You picked up a Talisman or a skill? Jesdyn [to William]: Japanese, a skill. Jesdyn [to William]: Portugese I'll take as a talisman. William [to Jesdyn]: But Savoir-Faire (Japanese) was a talisman, right? Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah. Jesdyn [to William]: Huh, guess I could trade that if there's any demand for it. William [to Jesdyn]: And what are the errands you need to run in Heaven? The GM says, "(Also, if you're looking to gauge supply and demand, I'd say let the Trade angel be your point man at the swap meet...)" Jesdyn [to William]: I need to talk to Aquilas again -- he mentioned that there's a neutron detector that'll detect the nova before it's visible; I need a CelTongues /right then/ with the amount of time left on the clock. Jesdyn [to William]: It's not a big deal to me -- we're running on a schedule, and I can always sell the talisman later. If I have to tell Dominic I blew the mission 'cause I didn't want to spend a half-point he'll make sure I don't have to worry about having XP to spend for a while. The GM says, "Aquilas is blandly amenable to the request, since you have several days yet. He promises to have a message sent to his people at Kamiokande." Jesdyn [to William]: I also need to check with Fire again on the exact circumstances surrounding this kind of Tether formation -- do standard Disturbance rules apply? The GM says, "Let's actually run these scenes briefly..." Arc 6, Fire in the Sky: Part 7, The Final Chakra (or, Kundalini) The GM says, "You exit the Halls of Progress and weave past Draco's own home tent in Marc's Bazaar, heading to the Dictorium at the Volcano. Civis is actually visible below from the higher windows of the Cathedral of Fire now. A different guard-Cherub welcomes you, and Anna comes down to say hello." Neil says, "Hiya, Anna. Anything new?" "Have we ever! We've been busy recently. The Archangel has been showing up all over the Marches! We're investigating a rumor of personal combat between her and Beleth over some poor child's dreams, but it's looking unsubstantiated... have you a new sighting for us?" Neil says, "No, but we've got a good place to go looking -- we know where and when the Supernova Tether will open, and we think we've spiked the Black Order's wheels. Or Calabim, I suppose." Neil says, "We just had a few more questions about the Supernova Tether." "Of course, anything I can do to help. I've been tracking down some more of the historical references." Neil says, "Actually, I was hoping you could help answer some questions about how this Tether will form. Is it vulnerable to disruption from Disturbance? Is there anything we need to take note of?" Neil . o O ( Draco knows lots more about Tethers than I do, but "Don't Make Noise" has to be in the Earthside briefing. ) Draco already has his notebook flipped open, to do the note-taking as necessary. Anna purses her lips. "Disruption that keeps it from forming, no. It's bound to form; in a sense, it already has, and we're simply experiencing the wavefront as it temporally approaches. One of the more intriguing theories about the Supernova Tether is that they actually exist post-closure in a string-theoretic..." she shakes her head. "Disturbance is likely to shape it, though: bias the shape of the ideas that filter through, and probably interfere with some of the flow. High disturbance would probably make it less effective." She looks at you. "I suppose if you can't stop the Black Order, you could make their gain less by dropping a few Songs of Thunder. Maybe. Hard to predict." Anna says, "And if they're quick on the draw and have observers in the area, they could do the same to you." Neil says, "How strong is the link between the human who opens the Tether and the Tether itself? If we drop the /human/, will it make a difference?" Draco scribbles out notes, and blinks at this. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," he murmurs. Anna says, "The human is very important, of course. He or she will be the first filter. *Some* human will open it; the Black Order is just trying to grab the spot. Take them out of the equation, and it's up to the rest of the population in the area." She smiles. "At which point I guess you have to have faith in the average human." Jesdyn [to William]: Case law check -- is non-permanent injury a just punishment for unknowingly attemption to advance the cause of Hell in particular and the Black Order's conspiracy in particular? Jesdyn [to William]: In other words, can I hit bad people until only good people are conscious? Neil . o O ( "cause of Hell in /general/" ) Jesdyn [to William]: I'm thinking "no", but I'd love to be surprised. William [to Neil]: You mean does Dominic's Mercurian protection apply if you take out Carlos? Much depends on how much Carlos knows about the Black Order. Hellsown, yes. Dupe, no. In between, gray area. What is his motivation for helping out a cabal of black sorcerers? William [to Neil]: Hell, does he even expect that anyone would be *hurt* by what he's being asked to do? Ekur spends this time talking with someone about a list of potentially appropriate Tether-forming Soldiers of God in Ecuador. Jesdyn [to William]: Okay, gotcha. William [to Ekur]: You're in the right place -- the closest angelic Tether to the capital is the weak Fire Tether on Pichincha. The Seneschal has some human staff, the local equivalent of park rangers or environmental activists. The next-largest angelic presence in the country is, unfortunately, Animals, and they're notably low on Soldiers in the country. Draco [to William]: I guess it doesn't count if we get a capybara to do the witnessing, huh? William [to Draco]: Alas, not for this Tether. (Tethers were *around* before humans, but this one's very human-centered for some reason.) Anna says, "Any other questions?" Draco [to William]: Didn't figure. Neil shakes his head. "None I can think of. Do you by any chance know Celestial Tongues? We might need some urgent help in the field this week." Ekur nods, asks for the list of Soldiers to be prioritized first by known interest in astronomy and then by, oh, eyesight quality. Hopes Fire is organized enough to have those details on file. Anna says, "I don't, but I could always shanghai someone nearby who does if you want to send me any queries." Neil says, "I appreciate it." William [to Ekur]: The personnel angel you're talking to gives you a wry grin and says, "Try the Sword if you want that much paperwork... we sort of pick them up as they get inspired to help out. Best I can suggest to you for the details on that is to ask the Seneschal when you get in the area." William [to Ekur]: "I'm sure Pichincha herself will come to check out the locus when you descend." The GM says, "(If naught else at the Volcano, I believe a swap meet was next on the itinerary?)" Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, need to pick up an -- oops -- Spanish talisman. fadethecat [to William]: Swap meet! Woot! William [to Draco]: You'll probably want to take the lead on this part. The GM says, "Jinx!" Draco does the "I shuffle assets around and profit thereby" dance. It involves a lot of bouncing. The GM says, "You mentioned Civis... do you want to take the time to go there, or just hit Marc's Bazaar?" Jesdyn [to William]: The Bazaar will do. Can probably get better deals, and we're on a schedule. Draco nods. Draco says, "Probably easier to find someone who'll do a straight-swap among celestials, who don't have to pretend they're Not Going To Earth Honest when dealing with angels." The GM says, "The Bazaar it is. Draco, you of course know your way around like the back of your hand, and you quickly locate a Creationer with a stall full of vest-pocket 'phrasebook' language talismans. Ekur, you might even know this guy yourself, the community of suprapolylinguists being not that big even in Heaven." Ekur goes along. "Draco, if you could grab a nice telescope, preferably an Astronomy talisman, that would probably be useful. Not necessary. But could be useful. Just a loan for a week or so would be enough." Neil . o O ( /Everybody/ knows Ekur. ) Draco nods brightly, winding around the stall to take a look at the languages available. "I'll see what I can do. Oo! Is that a Klingon talisman? I've never actually seen one before." Neil thinks on that. "What happens if you're looking right at a supernova with a telescope when it goes off?" William [to Neil]: Astro roll, default Jesdyn [to William]: IQ minus? "Isn't it weird? A language that's a deliberate work of art itself, in service to another art." William [to Neil]: 6 Jesdyn [to William]: I don't know where Astronomy defaults to. Neil rolled 12 versus 12 and succeeded by 0. William [to Neil]: Supernovae are bright for a star, but not sun-bright. It won't cause damage. Draco nods brightly, wings spreading around him as he pokes at assorted talismans. "Now, what I really need right now is two for Spanish. Nothing too fancy, basic knowledge should be fine. I have a basic Japanese-language talisman available, and one for Japanese culture, which is admittedly slightly outside your stall's scope. Would you be willing to do a straight trade, or shall we discuss other arrangements?" The GM says, "Okay, Merchant rolls. One for each of you for the transactions you're seeking -- letting Draco negotiate for you if you wish." Draco is willing to do negotiation for anyone who'd like it. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: You've got it. Draco rolled 13 versus 20 and succeeded by 7. Draco rolled 14 versus 20 and succeeded by 6. Draco says, "For each of the language talismans..." fadethecat [to StevenE]: Did you want help with the telescope buying as well? Ekur nods. "If the new series upcoming this fall takes off, Klingon might well become important in the Marches, too. Haven't been all that many around since the first round of syndicated reruns." StevenE [to fadethecat]: yeah. Rental or borrowing more than buying. [ couple of rolls for the Creationer merchant ] Creationer [to Draco]: Ah, Japanese. One of the ones I don't know. Very handy to improve my selection, at least temporarily. I'll be happy to trade you straight for that one. Draco rolled 16 versus 20 and succeeded by 4. Creationer [to Draco]: Now, as for this Savoir-Faire talisman, you're right that that's not my usual niche. There's a certain synergy, I'll admit, but I'd rather let it go to someone who's more focused on that skillset. Tell you what I'll do though -- I'll make trade for the Spanish if your friend will toss in, hmm, 4 Essence. It would really help out with the workflow." Ekur says, "And of course, back then there wasn't a language for them, so they were all speaking English and running away from deformed gerbils." "Ah, the tribble episode... I loved that one!" Draco says, and winds back towards the merchant. "Four Essence is a bit steep. How about two, and on the return trip we'll offer a straight return trade? If you've found a buyer in the meantime, no problem, and otherwise, you have your stock back and still two Essence out of the deal." The Creationer scratches his chin. "So it's just a rental you're after, then? Seems reasonable, if we're talking about a short-term mission. Done." Neil hands over the Savoir-Faire Talisman and two Essence. William [to Neil]: He thanks you and hands over the Spanish talisman. Draco waves a wing at the Creationer. "Works nicely. Thank you very much." And winds over to see how Ekur's doing in the hunt for a telescope that can be used on the corporeal. William By the way, these are also both relic/0s of nothing in particular; necessary for them to be sold in Heaven. Neil . o O ( Relic-Os! The delicious pasta you can enjoy in all three planes of existence! ) The GM says, "Ekur has located the instrument he is looking for. There is a small telescope among a collection of talismans and relics of various nautical skills: Shiphandling, Astronomy, Navigation, Songs of Storms and Ice." The GM says, "The inhabitant of the tent is an uncharacteristically quiet Ofanite that appears to be an animate whirlpool." "...yes, they're available for rent. The price isn't in Essence, so their availability may depend on how strict your current mission is." "Would you have leeway before returning them to do some local exploration?" Ekur says, "I'm fairly certain we would be able to do some." "In that case, I'd like to ask you to spend some time in the older districts of the region. If there's any sort of human population, there should be a waterfront nearby; tools and ships in those regions often bear afterimages of the Songs of Water. A relic of any of the Songs would be ideal, but if you could simply spend some time searching for leads on the matter I'd appreciate your report. Nothing particularly structured about the request, I'm afraid." The Ofanite grows slightly more animated and says, "If you *do* find such a relic, the telescope's yours in exchange." Ekur nods. "Thank you." The Ofanite hands you the telescope. "And take care of any sailors you run across," he says. "Best of luck with your mission." William [to Ekur]: (It's a relic/0, Astronomy [1] talisman, ca. 1800 spyglass with x4 mag and a small stand to brace it. It'd look older if it wasn't a relic.) Ekur nods to the Ofanite, and runs a resonance roll The GM says, "Roll it." Ekur rolled 8 versus 18 and succeeded by 10. William [to Ekur]: Any action to consider? StevenE [to William]: Action is, what if I told him I'd lost a Superior to the other side, too? Ekur . o O ( My guess is I'm looking at an Oannes orphan . . . ) The GM says, "You guess quite correctly. His general emotional state is that he's taking a long time to mourn, as angels often do, but other than the protractedness of the process he's dealing with it fairly well. Another few decades and he might even craft again. The current mood is tinged with hope; he does this very set of rentals in an attempt to reconnect, and bring his old Word back to existence. He'd understand that you were trying to be empathetic, and would give polite thanks for the thought." Ekur . o O ( Or Vephar, perhaps when he was Angel of Sailors. ) The GM says, "(The former is the case.)" Neil . o O ( And Ekur knows a genuine, certified, grade-A detective. Two, if we feel Lamont's ready for a field-trip. ) Ekur places a hand on the whirlpool's shoulder-equivalent. "I lost my Superior to the other side, too. Not the same way, but. Well." He steps back, giving the angel a moment to respond if he likes, and says farewell. "Your thoughts are appreciated." He lets you go. The GM says, "Allright. Everybody set for a trip down the Pichincha Tether?" Ekur says, "I am!" Draco says, "Yup!" Neil can't think of a good question to ask his superiors, so he's ready. Although he's not looking forward to filling out the expense report. Neil . o O ( "Bottle of dye, paid for in yen; bottle of dye remover, paid for in pesos..." ) Draco [to Neil]: Ecuador, not Mexico. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I know, but I don't know the currency. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Sucres, in this case. Draco . o O ( Until about 1999, anyway. ) The GM says, "A Fire angel in the Volcano directs you to the lava tube that lets out on the slopes of Pichincha. As you exit, it is nighttime, and a shadow falls across the mouth of the cave." The GM says, "A flashlight is shined at you. In Spanish, a female voice asks, 'Who's in there? This isn't a safe formation for spelunking.'" Jesdyn [to William]: I use my resonance /on the darkness/. William [to Jesdyn]: *snrk* The GM says, "Roll it." Neil rolled 9 versus 18 and succeeded by 9. Ekur answers, in Spanish, "We were just leaving the cave to enter the world." William [to Neil]: The important part, unless you're interested in MDA, is that this is indeed the lady most of her professional acquaintances call 'Seneschal' or 'Pichincha.' Come to think of it, that's the nickname her human acquaintances usually give her too, though they're referring to her temper. Jesdyn [to William]: As long as the MDA isn't "subverted Heaven's goals at request of Black Order" I'm not worried about it. Jesdyn [to William]: Assuming it isn't, "Hiya, Seneschal. We're from Upstairs." The GM says, "She turns the flashlight off. 'Poetic,' she says to Ekur, and sticks her head in the cave to hear the echoing Disturbance (which is muted once you get outside the cave, handy that) to doublecheck. She nods at Neil. 'Welcome to Ecuador, angels.'" Pichincha eyes Draco. "Your Reliever friend best watch himself. Farmers on the slopes have shotguns for when the scarecrows don't work." Draco wings over to sit on Neil's shoulder, and resists the urge to croak "Nevermore!" Apparently people get tired of that joke, eventually. "Not a reliever," he says, "but thank you for the warning. I'll mind my manners and my distance around crops." Pichincha nods. "My apologies." She begins leading you down toward the lights of the city below. "So, you three here on routine matters, or is something going on I ought to know about?" Neil says, "There's a /real important/ Tether due to form here in... six days." Neil says, "Big enough to get Gabriel's personal attention." Ekur says, "We're here on a mission that quite directly involves action by Gabriel herself, an action which Hellsworn are trying to twist to their own ends." Ekur says, "So I am wondering. Do you have any astronomers, professional or amateur, among the local Soldiers?" Pichincha says, "How on Earth would you know a Tether's due to fo... oh, Mamma. The Supernova Tether? Here?" She whistles. Pichincha says to Ekur, "Hmm... well, fairly amateur, but Carlos is one of the park rangers. He knows a bit about astronomy. Helps out with the Boy Scouts when they camp up here." Draco adds, "We could probably take non-Soldiers of good character, too. It doesn't necessarily have to be someone who's Symphonically aware." Neil nods. "Yeah, and the Black Order wants a piece of it... Carlos, hmm? Got a last name for him?" Ekur says, "Well, the Hellsworn involved is here, and we've got to stop him. While we're here," he holds up the telescope, "we might as well make sure somebody on our side grabs it." Pichincha says, "Oh, he's Soldier material, but not awake yet. Carlos? Sure, de la Rosa." Pichincha says, "Spotting the Supernova Tether... that could definitely wake him up. Among other people on the planet." Neil sags a little. "Not Izquierda? That's good." Pichincha eyes Neil. "Already have a target in mind, eh? Yeah, Carloses are as common as Marias around here." Neil says, "Anyways, we've got the Black Order's ethereals tied up in knots and their sorcerers running in circles. If our fortune holds, we can disable their spotter in Quito and snag the Tether on the QT." Neil murmurs, "And then maybe Gabriel won't try to burn my jurisdiction down again." Ekur . o O ( Did Neil ever try rezzing Gabriel, and if so, did he get an MDA off her? ) Jesdyn [to StevenE]: He's injudicious, not deranged. Pichincha says, "I'm hesitant to try forcing the Tether for ourselves, but I'm all for getting the Black Order out of the way at least. I'm afraid we don't have much to offer in the way of resources for getting you settled in town; this is our strongest outpost for leagues, and you'll almost certainly run across demons in town." Neil says, "We're more used to running *over* demons... but we're more used to doing it in the Marches, too. And we're on Tether-formation doctrine -- no unnecessary Disturbance, and no necessary Disturbance either." Neil says, "If you can point us to a place to stay, we should be able to get on from there." Neil says, "We'd like to meet Carlos sometime soon, too." Pichincha nods. She adds, "The best advice I can give is to be careful with government workers, there are some good souls but a big contingent of not-so-good ones, thoroughly spiked with Greed demons." She looks down to where you can see chimneys flaring off oil byproducts in the distance. "Our blessings are in uncaring hands, most days." Pichincha says, "He'll be at work here tomorrow. Drop by the park admissions office. As for a place to stay in town, not much I can say. Hit a bank, deal in cash, keep your heads down. Plenty of places offer tourists bed and breakfast." Draco spreads his wings. "I take it that I'm probably going to be on recon duty, given my vessel. I can work with that. It's hard enough to find hotels that take pets when you're bringing a dog." The GM says, "You reach the park admissions office and the Seneschal grabs some tourism brochures recommending local hospices. She digs in to petty cash and says, 'This should cover a room for two guys who don't mind double-bunking,' handing you a bit. 'As for finding your target...' she thinks." Neil hmms. Cover story, cover story... husband and wife? Crazy American and bodyguard? William Oh yeh, you're a guy and a girl. Change 'two guys' to 'a steady couple,' then. Neil . o O ( Backpackers? Can Ekur pass for a college student? ) Pichincha says, "If he's Black Order, you might want to put in a few questions with Tia Dolores. She runs a tourist trap fortune-teller stand, but she's a real Santera who knows the local occult scene better than me." Ekur says, "I don't want to force the Tether, either. But to have Senor de la Rosa looking in the correct general direction around the right time, well, it's just a nudge of the odds. If he enjoys astronomy, then we can just by loan him the telescope on the night and suggest that something interesting will happen in the skies. And if he misses it, he misses it, and some random person sees it. As long as we've got the Black Order out of the way, I'm not too worried." Neil hmms. No easy way he can think of to get a gun. Maybe he'll find one along the way. Pichincha nods. "Good enough. Like I said, drop by tomorrow and he'll be here. Me, I'm always here, just hit the area around the cave and I'll show up in one form or another." Neil . o O ( Almost better off not having one, anyways. ) The GM says, "She waves goodbye and heads back to her Tether." The GM says, "Let's assume you find a bed for the night reasonably easily in a house catering to the tourist trade. Your next step?" Draco would want to check with the other two if there's any particular place he should be surveilling, since he's going to be up all night, or if he should just hang out around the Fire Tether and see if they need any help. Jesdyn [to William]: Dolores in the morning, run down her leads in the afternoon, and see Carlos in the evening. Ekur says, "Phonebook. See if Izquierda shows up in it." Jesdyn [to William]: We've got an address, so we should be able to track down Izquierda after we get the lay of the land. William [to fadethecat]: How likely is a random household to have a phone at this point, anyway? Ekur [to Neil]: Oh, we have the address, not just a number? fadethecat [to William]: Depends on economic class. Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Pretty sure I got the address from Shoko. Jesdyn [to StevenE]: I can go back and feel him up some more if I forgot. I'm sure he won't mind. The GM says, "(You did, and I'm glad I was reminded of the fact, although it would have been amusing to chase leads and only remember later. In an ironic sense.)" fadethecat [to William]: Middle class and up will have phones; lower-middle like police officers and teachers (respectable but low income) probably will as well. The people living in plywood shacks won't. William [to fadethecat]: Will do. Jesdyn [to William]: The kind of amusing that gets us all extra ethereal Forces from Jean. StevenE [to Jesdyn]: Would that do our characters any good? The GM says, "At any rate, having an address in hand, it's a matter of a few hours starting early the next morning (*tick* 4 days left) to buy a map of the city and locate the house involved. It's a one-room studio over a small grocery store, with no sign during the day of whether it is occupied." Jesdyn [to William]: Wait-wait-wait. The GM says, "Yes?" Draco will be doing arial surveillance. And possibly stopping by to let the other two know if there's a good kebab or empanada stand nearby. Jesdyn [to everybody but William]: Which are we doing? Izquierda or the local Heanly contacts today? fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Check up to make sure we can /find/ Izquierda before anything else, I think. Since getting him out of the way is more important than finding a replacement. Jesdyn [to StevenE]: One vote for Tia, one for Carlos -- tiebreaker, Vassal? Ekur says, "I'd hit Izquierda." Jesdyn [to William]: Alright, we're good. The GM says, "As before, then. The street is narrow, with sporadic traffic via foot, bike, and car as the sun climbs higher. A man walks down the street calling that he has brooms for sale; a well-appointed car drives slowly past obstacles to avoid scraping." William [to Draco]: What exactly do you intend to surveill? The apartment has windows, naturally, and you are in a densely-built neighborhood of mostly 2-4 story buildings. Draco [to William]: I'm just keeping in sight of the other two in case of emergencies, and close enough to fly in quickly if actual conversations start. Neil says, "I don't have a plan here -- we don't fit in and I don't know how to approach him." Neil says, "What're you two thinking we should do?" Draco says, "Could always do a repeat of the glom-and-interrogate, claiming to be the ethereal. If he knows less than we thought, well, good sign that we shouldn't be too rough when getting him out of the way." Ekur will head on in to the grocery store, and buy some food. Eggs, milk, that sort of stuff. Resonate whoever's minding the store for some conversation starters. The GM says, "The food's cheap. Roll rez." Ekur rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7. The GM says, "The shopkeeper's bored because he'd much rather be doing more important things, and a bit sluggish and tired from regularly staying up late." Ekur smiles at the shopkeeper as he buys his purchases. "Must be an interesting job, keeping this store. The whole neighborhood must walk though here, gossiping." The shopkeeper rolls his eyes and groans. "Wouldn't think it was so quaint and picturesque if you'd spent every day of the last five years doing it." He takes your money. "I'm selling this place and getting out of here as soon as I get an opportunity." Ekur looks at the 'keeper. About how old is he? The GM says, "You estimate 25, maybe. People are a lot taller and healthier than they used to be." Ekur says, "Five years, eh? How'd you get into the business, then? You weren't raised into it by your parents, I assume." William [to Ekur]: Roll acting. Ekur rolled 12 versus 18 and succeeded by 6. Neil . o O ( Huh. Wonder if we could just buy the place and put him on a flight to Ohio? ) He shrugs. "Parents don't care, and they got nothin' to give me anyway. I went into debt to buy this place when it went up for sale. Big man, own my own business, yeah." He pffts, and looks at you. "You want it?" Jesdyn [to William]: Hey, am I in this scene? Ekur went to go shop, and I didn't say I followed. William [to Jesdyn]: Figured you're bumming around outside. Gimme a Perception roll. Neil rolled 12 versus 18 and succeeded by 6. William [to Neil]: You can hear it. Draco, it'd be almost impossible for you to *fail* that roll, you can too. Jesdyn [to William]: Can I ping based on voice alone, or should I go ahead and go in? Draco [to William]: Turning on resonance, then. Ekur says, "Hmm, that's an idea. What about the apartment above the place? That come with it?" William [to Neil]: Voice is fine. Both of you can make rez rolls. Draco rolled 12 versus 22 and succeeded by 10. Neil rolled 6 versus 18 and critically succeeded by 12. William [to Ekur]: He stops and stares at you. "What, are you serious? You're just a tourist, aren't you?" The GM says, "(Typing rez results.)" William [to Draco]: All but 'actual truth' level... StevenE [to William]: What sort of accent does Ekur have? William [to StevenE]: That's a good question. While I'm typing Carlos' life story, you tell me -- where'd you learn your Spanish? Neil . o O ( Ekur speaks (and has always spoken) all languages with a Boston accent. This caused some concern in the thousands of years before Boston was founded; Yves was consulted, but -- and stop me if you've heard this one -- he just smiled. ) StevenE [to William]: I mean, he is skill 16, which IIRC allows him to adopt regional accents, unless we're using the CI rules for languages. William [to Neil]: This is Carlos Izquierda, who think he's got potential but is generally jut regarded as another dude in the neighborhood. His few acknowledged superiors think of him as nothing much to worry about, just a foot soldier. He's from around here and the closest things he's got to hobbies are football and the occult, which he thinks is wicked cool. His relationship with family is not particularly strong but isn't poisonous either; however, it's fading with comparison to the one he's developing with a new social group he respects a lot for their skills. This is the one whose approval he seeks. StevenE [to William]: Otherwise, his tutors were mostly speakers of Mexican spanish, with Castillians second, and he might well have an Ancient Sumerian accent on top of that. William [to Ekur]: Then I'd say you can probably mimic a regional accent with a skill roll. (I'm personally curious where you learned it, though. Maybe your accent's Hopi Mestizo. ;^) ) Jesdyn [to William]: MDA? StevenE [to William]: Learned it in Heaven, from blessed souls mostly. Ekur rolled 12 versus 16 and succeeded by 4. William [to Neil]: zOMG *black magic*. He sacrificed a chicken and everything, like Tia Dolores does when you ask her about the future. It was *so cool*. He's not sure anything happened, but you had to do it to get in, so he did it. William [to Ekur]: You want to sound like you're from around here, or somewhere nearby? StevenE [to William]: And I've been trying for an Ecuadoran accent mostly, which with my Middle-Eastern-swarthy appearance shouldn't make me too obviously a non-native, I assume. Neil . o O ( Damn Minor Princes -- what's Mammon's relationship with Kronos? ) Jesdyn [to William]: So just punishment for his crimes is... probably a swirly. Right. William [to Neil]: Mammon? Hostile to Kronos, who returns the favor. Mammon thinks Kronos is a bastard who degrades the value of his holdings. Ekur . o O ( I won't be acting quite right, but that means I'm probably from somewhere out in the boonies, or maybe a damned Peruvian or something. ) Draco . o O ( Damn Peruvians. ) Jesdyn [to William]: Excellent. Remind me to send a gift-basket to the Factions Tether. Draco . o O ( Always sneaking across the border to smuggle natural gas tanks. ) William [to Ekur]: At any rate, you've got a convincing accent, but you still look like you were born 12,000 miles away, so his question stands. ----------------------------------William-------------------------------- -- Ekur says, "Hmm, that's an idea. What about the apartment above the place? That come with it?" William [to Ekur]: He stops and stares at you. "What, are you serious? You're just a tourist, aren't you?" ---------------------------------finished-------------------------------- -- Ekur says, "No, immigrant. Not too hot on Christians where I come from. Didn't have enough money to bribe my way into America or Europe, but, Ecuador? And better than getting your head bashed in by siomebody yelling "Allahu ackbar!"" Neil . o O ( Or Steven could just flee the game and never retu--- there we go. ) "And you wanna buy my place." "... you got money?" Carlos says, "'cuz if you don't got enough to buy a visa, well, I don't know how much they cost, but I've got (figure translates at US$25,000) in loans on this place." Ekur says, "Not a lot. Maybe enough to convince a bank to loan me some to buy this place. And I had a store back in Baghdad." William [to Draco]: Truth! ;^) Jesdyn [to William]: Can Trade, Fire, Dreams, and/or Judgement swing that? Jesdyn [to William]: Because I was joking about my expense account /before/ this. Ekur . o O ( Well, it was a blacksmith shop, and it wasn't called Baghdad yet . . . ) Jesdyn [to William]: Ardon's going to throttle me and assign me a new vessel just so he can do it again. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Hey, Tethers are pricey. We're making sure Heaven gets a Tether in an otherwise Hell-dominated area. Surely we can afford a grocery store. William [to Neil]: You, personally, have an 'expense account limit' equal to your personal Wealth. Since mobody stuck Dead Broke on their character and nobody needed 'settled sundries,' you've each got US$15,000 to spend. Income is an entirely separate question. William [to Ekur]: Carlos says, "You wanna pay off my loans and make the profit worth my while, you can have the place. I've got other things I want to do with my life." Ekur nods. "It'll take me some time to arrange. I'll come back in a couple or three days." William [to Draco]: Like, you gather, achieving Kundalini and learning how to do powerful magic. Draco [to William]: Check. Neil . o O ( That's only half the problem -- now to get him OUT. ) Carlos says, "I ain't goin' nowhere." Ekur nods, and walks out with his groceries. When Ekur's safely past where he can be seen from the store/apartment, he stops, and waits for neil and Draco to join him. Draco flutters on down to sit on Ekur's shoulder. "Nevermore!" Coughs. "Sorry. I mean, yep, he's ready to run off and become a big bad sorcerer, given the chance. Or believes he is. Where do we want to go from here?" Neil says, "Get a secure line to Trade -- or Greed, though that would be harder to explain -- and try to get the cash, but how're we going to get rid of him?" Neil says, "We could find him occult training -- ooh, we could make Dorotea deal with him. They'd make a nice couple." Ekur says, "Knock him unconscious, kidnap him, and take him to the Fire Tether so he can't see anything when the Big Event happens?" Ekur says, "Waiting until The Day to do that, so Hell has very little time to find a substitute?" Neil says, "Hell doesn't know they need one, yet." Draco hmms. "How often is he checking in with Hell? I mean, depending on what time of day this arrives, will they even have a chance to /notice/ until after the fact?" Neil says, "He's not checking in with Hell -- he's checking in /with Shoko/." Neil says, "That was the point of the song and dance I spun in Tokyo. Shoko will refuse contact with the Black Order for the next week, if it goes well. If it doesn't, they'll realize Carlos has been burned and they'll pick someone else anyways." Ekur says, "If they don't have someone else watching Carlos, in town. Which is why I'd like to put off his removal until the day itself." Ekur says, "Other than that, anything else to do? I should take this 'scope down by whatever passes for a waterfront around here, then hand it off to de la Rosa on the day with the suggestion he look (waves arm vaguely) where it's showing up, and then we go into town and snatch the Hellsworn Carlos." Neil says, "We can go talk to Tia." StevenE [to Jesdyn]: Who's Tia, again? The GM says, "(Dolores. Tia means 'aunt.')" Jesdyn [to William]: My mistake. Jesdyn [to StevenE]: The local Santera. Ekur xxxs out the previous. Ekur says, "Okay, let's go see Dolores right now, then, okay?" Neil says, "Alright." The GM says, "(GM OOC: Why do you want to talk to Dolores? She was intended to provide you with a guide to the local occult scene when I was forgetting you had an address. What is it you wish to learn here?)" Ekur has no idea. Neil kept bringing her up, so assumed he had plans. Jesdyn [to William]: I need info on the local occult scene. Kidnap and tie up can go wrong, even for someone with ludicrous levels of the martial arts. If I'm going to fix what's broken, I need to get him on another path. The GM says, "(OOC: Okay. I'm hoping we can finish the arc tonight, though.)" Jesdyn [to William]: My perfect plan would be to get him to willingly board a plane to Somewhere Else and let them deal with him. I suspect that's going to prove impossible... Jesdyn [to William]: Tell you what -- if it's not necessary, just have her off on a spirit walk or mounted by Erzulie or something and we'll skip to The Day. Draco says, "If we can get him apprenticed to a local occult leader on /our/ side, we don't have to give him the Swirly of Judgment." fadethecat [to William]: But agreed on skipping if it's not likely to be important. Steven -- "My analysis was that all we need to do is stop him from seeing the supernova until somebody else does, and the whole arc is done." Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Sure, that's all we need to do -- but I had four days to work on a gentle correction. The GM says, "Then let's simply say that you stop by and Dolores recognizes that you're 'one of those bunches' looking for information. She's willing to deal for a spot of cash and spills the beans on Carlos and the bad crowd he seems to have gotten involved with, starting with some Japanese immigrants down in Lima. She says you ought to put the boy right. A good smacking ought to do it, in her opinion." Neil . o O ( Ah. An ungentle correction, then. ) StevenE [to Jesdyn]: I, on the other hand, am assuming we can handle details like that in the months *after* the tether is resolved. William [to Neil]: That's her opinion, needn't be yours. Jesdyn [to William]: Nah, we'd scheduled this arc to be done last session and we're already running late tonight. Jesdyn [to William]: A fake "trip to the bank" should get him in a rented car, and then it's subdue, tie up in Tether, and hope we get lucky. The GM says, "Then let's let a few days tick off the clock. While we're waiting for zero hour to approach, let's spend a day on the slopes of Pichincha, where the Seneschal has just introduced you to the other Carlos, wearing a smartly pressed park ranger uniform." The GM says, "He's very curious about Draco, never having seen an angel in an animal body before." Other-Carlos says, "Can you actually fly in that?" Draco waves cheerfully to the other Carlos with one wing. "I could do the whole Poe bit with 'Nevermore!' and so forth," he explains, "but it loses some of its flair in translation." And then launches himself off his current shoulder to circle around, then land again. "Usually! I find it very useful, for surveillance purposes. Less useful when I need to buy something, granted." Other-Carlos intones piously, "Money is the root of all evil." He winks. "Or so I keep telling myself when I must grit my teeth at the interest rate my bank is charging on the car loan. The mistress of Pichincha assures me that while there are many demons of Greed around here, none of them work at my bank." "And cars depreciate so fast," Draco agrees, sympathetically. "Really, I feel that the whole modern banking system could use an ideological overhaul, though it's not so far gone as the credit cards..." He pauses, and coughs. "Though perhaps now is not the time for me to get into this, when there are other matters of more immediate urgency to discuss." Ekur pulls out the telescope. We know from the Halls of Progress visit where in the sky the supernova will appear, right? William [to Ekur]: Yes -- that is, its point in the constellations. As long as he can find that, he's covered. Knowing when it will hit precisely will be a function of getting the CelTongues from Kamiokande. Ekur says, "I've heard you have an interest in astronomy, Carlos." Carlos says, "Eh? Ah, a little. I like helping out the Scouts when they camp up here." Ekur says, "Well, word is that there's going to be something interesting in the skies tomorrow night, over near the Large Magellanic Cloud. If you'd like to see it, I could loan you this telescope." Neil . o O ( Will the telescope work for him if he doesn't pay XP? ) Carlos says, "Sure, that'd be great. That's..." he thinks. "That's in Dorado, yeah, I know where that is. I'll keep an eye out." William [to Neil]: Yeah, just no perceptive link or owner features. The GM says, "(A language, I think would be a bit different, since you can't default it.)" Ekur nods. "Wonderful." Carlos looks over the telescope. "Wow... this looks antique." Ekur says, "Yes, it is. Quite valuable, too. I will need it back before I leave Ecuador; I'm just borrowing it myself." Carlos says, "Ah, I understand. I'll take good care of it." The GM says, "The easy part being done, let's turn now to how we intend to deal with the final obstacle." Jesdyn [to William]: If he sacrificed a chicken without knowing if something happened, I'm going to gamble he's not Symphonically aware. William [to Neil]: That would seem to be the most likely conclusion, yes. Jesdyn [to William]: Get him in a rental to go to the bank -- if he demurrs, EthCharm and try again -- drag him to the Tether, tie him up, leave someone to guard. Ekur likes "rent a car, show up to take Carlos I. to the bank, zap him with a Song or blackjack, drive him to the Tether of Fire . . . ." Jesdyn [to William]: Augh, phooey. I plum forgot to find a gun. Oh well. Draco says, "Do any of us /not/ have EthCharm? I'm just wondering." William [to Neil]: You, a gun, and a human of iffy corruptedness are not a contemplation I enjoy. ;^) Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I don't. Ekur . o O ( "I shoot him IN THE HEAD. Ooops." ) Jesdyn [to William]: Actually, I was going to shoot at the demons pursuing us. Jesdyn [to William]: We've already established that the Toilet Bowl of Reconsidering Your Life's Choices and possibly the Scrubby of Repentance was all I could give him. The GM says, "At any rate, a car is rented and a mixed-race foreign couple show up at Carlos' grocery store, one of them carrying a raven on his shoulder." Ekur hmms. If two angels EthCharm him, are the reductions cumulative? The GM says, "Yes!" fadethecat [to William]: Er, not on the shoulder. I'm doing surveillance from above, again. Less likely to be noticed. Neil says, "So's the dissonance, cowboy." Neil says, "Err, Disturbance." Draco says, "Charm disturbance isn't too bad. Only the CD, in standard IN." William [to Draco]: Yes; which in GURPS is degree of success. Which, for our intrepid PCs and their Earth-based skills, can get up to, oh, 10 or so. The GM says, "Also, re: position, check." Ekur steps inside, and smiles at Carlos I. "Hello! I have made the arrangements. Would you like to head over to the bank now?" fadethecat [to William]: Oo, point. Carlos looks at you tiredly and takes a moment to recognize you, then snaps to alertness. "Son of a bitch, you *are* serious?" Carlos pauses. "This seems... I mean, it's nice if it's true, but I think you can understand how if somebody offers out of the blue to buy my store, it's..." Ekur rezzes Carlos. Ekur rolled 9 versus 18 and succeeded by 9. Neil . o O ( That's SOMEBODY's cue. ) William [to Ekur]: He *really* wants you to be telling the truth. He's worried mainly that this is some sort of scam. Anything Symphonic or War-related isn't even crossing his mind. Neil will resonate Carlos, watching for relationship changes and looking for a warning if he's about to bolt. Neil rolled 10 versus 18 and succeeded by 8. Draco just has his resonance on as usual. Draco rolled 11 versus 22 and succeeded by 11. The GM says, "(With Draco in there I'm hearing an augmented fourth rather than a major third.)" William [to Neil]: No change from last time. William [to Draco]: He's trying to be upfront about his suspicions without insulting a possible buyer. Carlos says, "Why do you want the store? I mean, it's a good store, it makes money... well, a little... but enough!..." Ekur says, "It feels like amazing luck? Fate smiling upon you? Destiny coming along and plucking you into her grasp? I am sorry to say that I may not be able to pay quite as much as you might like, but we can work out the details at the bank. Worst case, you lose an afternoon of business. And like I told you, I think it would be a great job, being at the center of the gossip of a neighborhood." William [to Ekur]: Acting again [ rolled Detect Lies skill for Carlos, failed ] Ekur rolled 7 versus 18 and succeeded by 11. Carlos visibly decides not to look a gift horse in the mouth anymore. "Absolutely. You get real ties with the neighborhood in this job. Few weeks, you'll know everybody..." He heads outside to the car. "Now, you've gotta pay me enough to cover my loans and a bit of walking around money, otherwise I can't just up and leave...." William [to Draco]: Truth. Few weeks and he expects the weird foreigner to be sick of everybody for, oh, *blocks* around. Neil gets in the back with him. Ekur says, "Well, ceratinly it will be more than the loan. The exact amount, well, we'll have to negotiate that, right? Now, if you would get in the back with Patricia? I need the front to myself to concentrate on my driving, it is not so good. Not too bad, but, not excellent." Carlos eyes Patricia and sidles in beside her. Draco circles down nearer the car, keeping an eye on the human in the back seat. Carlos leans over toward Neil slightly. Draco [to William]: I'll be using Ethereal Charm once they've started moving. Carlos says quietly, "So you his girl?" StevenE [to William]: Hmm. Does the car have the child safety locks feature? If so, I hit that. If not, well, I do lock the doors to be safe anyway, and then start driving toward the Tether. William [to Ekur]: Nope, this is good old late-70's American big iron, power nothing. :^) Neil smiles. "Business partner." Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local description Patricia William [to Draco]: 2 Essence plus any for additional effect, skill 19. Carlos smiles broadly. "Really? You know, once this gets paid off I'll be going places..." Ekur checks. Driving skill is IQ-5 . . . [ Carlos attempts to roll Sex Appeal, fails ] Ekur rolled 12 versus 13 and succeeded by 1. fadethecat [to William]: I'll just work with Skill 19 and the basic Essence, I think. Jesdyn [to William]: Out of morbid curiosity, what would I be doing if he'd actually pulled it off? Draco rolled 9 versus 19 and succeeded by 10. William [to Ekur]: This car doesn't seem to have any of the fancy bits, so it's somewhat more comfortable, and you get it in gear. William [to Jesdyn]: You'd be a PC noticing that he actually seemed to have a bit of charm, rather than -- as is currently the case -- observing a young human clumsily attempting to seduce you. The GM says, "And then falling asleep." Neil sighs. "No stamina, these boys. And now I have to find a way to amuse myself... rifling his pockets should be a good start." The GM says, "12 points of Disturbance ring out from the raven above you. Carlos smiles woozily, becomes heavy-lidded, and slumps facefirst into your lap." Neil shucks her hose and ties his wrists together. Neil says, "Hey!" Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local description Patricia "You're doing it all wrong. Tie the wrists to the ankles if you're not gonna four-poster 'im... Neil says, "Oh." Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Patricia Patricia shucks her hose and ties his wrists together. Patricia says, "Better." Jesdyn [to William]: I don't want him to look suspicious to someone driving past. Patricia says, "Ekur, how long is he likely to be out? That was a powerful performance..." William [to Draco]: You've made a disturbance audible to most demons for at least a mile. Do you maintain the Song for longer than a minute? Ekur, at a stop, rolls down a window so Draco can get in the car. "Patricia, shold we switch? You probably are a better driver than me, and I can zap him with EthCharm after the Song wears out." fadethecat [to William]: ...wait, what? Maintain? It's a Song. You sing it, it has a finite duration. fadethecat [to William]: If G:IN changed Songs to require concentration to actively maintain, I'm gonna cry. Ekur says, "According to p.161 of G:IN, it goes one minute fro the first 2 essence, and is then 1 essence to maintain." Patricia says, "Good plan." William [to fadethecat]: GIN does cast/maintain costs. 2 Essence to sing, gets you the first minute, 1 each additional minute. It doesn't require additional Concentrate maneuvers; just like maintaining a spell. Draco says something very, very rude. "The IN version, which I was reading from, lasts for /hours/ after the initial use at no additional cost." Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Yeah, GIN makes them all combat-only songs. Draco says, "Am I going to be causing as much disturbance as the original amount for maintaining?" fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...grf. Draco takes a moment to be seriously pissed off. Took this Song on the assumption that it worked at least /roughly/ like canon. That completely changes its nature. Draco says, "Well. Screw me for not reading the G:IN version closely enough." Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Well, let's cheat. Jesdyn [to William]: If he's asleep until the song wears off, can we request he at least stay asleep until he's got reason to wake? Draco says, "Sorry, I was just working on the assumption that one use of the Song would give us pretty much until /through the event/ to take care of details, with this guy out of it the whole time. I can't /afford/ to maintain the Song that long." Jesdyn [to William]: Is he just going to snap back into conciousness when the song's over, or convert the unnatural torpor into a light doze? The GM says, "I think Jesdyn's suggestion -- that if he's Charmed enough to reach unconsciousness, he stays that way until he naturally recovers -- is quite reasonable." Draco says, "If I'd known it was a two-minute duration, I would have suggested not even grabbing him until we got the message." fadethecat [to William]: Oh. Whew. I can work with that. Draco makes a note for future reference. Argh. Hadn't realized the Song was changed that much. The GM says, "Mind you, Pichincha towers above the city itself, and wouldn't have been more than a few minutes' drive anyway." The GM says, "This done, Carlos still slumped in the back seat snoring and Patricia driving, you arrive at the visitors' parking center. Other-Carlos waves from a guard station and says, 'Sorry, we're closed to new visitors for the -- oh, it's you.' He sees the sleeping, tied-up man in the back seat. 'Oh. *This* kind of visit.'" Patricia says, "Behold the glorious work of Heaven! Now get his feet." "I would offer to help," Draco says brightly, hopping out of the car, "but, well, no hands." Carlos waves you in to the farthest parking spot in the back corner and comes over to help. "Hell of a price for a telescope," he says, opening the door and grabbing Izquierda's feet. The GM says, "This wakes the young man up, and he looks down at his tied wrists." "What the *hell*?" Izquierda looks over at Ekur. "Aw, /man/. I knew this was too good to be true." Patricia says, "Hiya, Carlos. Actually, this is the luckiest day of your life." Izquierda says, "You're gonna regret this. I know some bad motherf*ckin' dudes. They're gonna put a curse on you. A real one." Ekur says, "What I'd like is enough liquor to keep Senor Izquierda drunk for, oh, thirty six hours, and eventually thirty thousand dollars for his store and his time." Draco drops onto Neil's shoulder. "Nevermore!" he says, and grins down at Carlos-I, so far as a bird can do so. Patricia hustles him into the cave. The GM says, "This takes some doing, as it's quite a way upslope, but he's sufficiently put off by Ekur's declaration to be hustled. "Wait... you're really gonna buy the store?"" Patricia says, "Yup." Ekur says, "Might as well." He looks over to the raven-Draco. "If possible, I'd like to then flip it to your Boss, if he can use a store in Quito for somebody to take over as a Role."" Patricia says, "We're also gonna kill all those bad dudes you mentioned. We've already got their addresses -- in fact, we scared Shoko bad enough to get yours." "Oh, sure," Draco says to Ekur. "The amount of business going through here, and especially with all the Greed presence, we could probably use an outpost. At the worst, we turn it at a profit to someone local and respectable." He pokes some of his more ruffled feathers back into shape as he rides along on Neil's shoulder. "Maybe even modernize a little." Patricia says, "If we thought you weren't salvageable, we'd... be thirty thousand dollars richer right now, actually. Watch your step here."" Izquierda stares at the talking raven. Izquierda shakes his head. "I'm gonna stop trying to understand this now." Draco waves a wing at Izquierda. "That might be easier," he says. "Don't mind me." The GM says, "He heads into the cave and sits down quietly." Ekur says, "Don't worry, Carlos. You didn't actually hear that. This is all an alcohol-induced fantasy. Celebrating your sale, you know. You'll soon get a lot more alcohol, too. Probably a bad hangover tomorrow, but, hey, everything has a downside." The Seneschal, who has shown up, says, "I'll stay here for now. Carlos -- not you -- go get some food and liquor for our guest. The rest of you three, either beat it Upstairs or head back down to town before you bring any trackers on to me." Patricia leans down and whispers, "Maybe you'll see me in your dreams... but you'd better hope not," and leaves him to his sitting down quietly. He'll work through the tie soon enough. Ekur heads up the Tether, where he'll make financial arrangements. Draco hmms to Neil. "Back to town? More dangerous, but we can still be around if anything unexpected comes up." Patricia hmms. Two Marches ops do not a Tether-smashing squad make. Patricia says, "Might as well stay out here. We need to ditch the car, at a minimum." Jesdyn [to William]: Any reason I can't leave the car somewhere to be stolen? How the heck did I rent it, anyways? Throwaway fake ID? William [to Jesdyn]: Basic American driver's license and papers, yah. Not a Role, but standard issue. The GM says, "No, wait, you're Zeroed... hee. You bought it for $500 no questions asked from a guy on the side of the road. :^)" Draco snickers. Draco says, "Leaving it somewhere with a door unlocked should be sufficient to get it disappeared within an hour." Jesdyn [to William]: I can't think of anything useful to do, so I favor sitting quietly in a newly rented hotel room -- not the old one -- waiting for something to happen. The GM says, "These things are done, then." Jesdyn [to William]: I'll leave the car locked within walking distance. The GM says, "Ekur, Trade is amenable to your proposal and will see to the financial arrangements." The GM says, "Neil, the next day, gets a CelTongues from Japan. 'Kamiokande reporting. Showtime in 2 to 3 hours.'" The GM says, "(This being an hour or so after sunset.)" Ekur says, "Good. After that, I'll head back down and join Patricia and the raven wherever they are, assuming that I take care of that in time." Patricia stands up. "Kamiokande says we're two or three hours away, now." William [to Ekur]: You pass by a still tied up but not-terribly-uncomfortable Izquierda and rejoin the other two at your B&B. Draco has a beak stuck deep in a cup of coffee, and drips when he pulls it back out. "Two to three hours? That's a long stretch of stargazing with a hand-held scope. I hope Carlos is up for it." He hops over to a napkin to wipe himself dry. William [All]: So, only plan in the next couple of hours is reactionary, right? Draco says, "Think so." The GM says, "Then nothing drastic happens. There are some men in expensive suits walking around, looking out of place, and looking for anything else that looks out of place, apparently hunting the source of the Disturbance earlier but not finding anything noticeable." Draco will also be having a few cups of coffee, if he can talk someone else into ordering them for him. Mmm. Coffee. Ekur phones the park to tell the Seneschal that the event is 2/3 hours away and to prompt Carlos de la Rosa gently. Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah. I've got nothing worth doing. Ekur says, "Other than that? Nothing." The GM says, "Just after midnight, unusually melodic Disturbance rings out over the city and, you get the impression, the world. On the horizon above, you hear an echo from the mountain as the Pichincha Tether grows slightly. The background music of the local Symphony gets an electric edge added to the instrumentation. Across Quito, you suddenly see a most unusual sight... a brief glimpse of Civis, an illusionary hint of bubbles floating down the streets. They are gone before they register on any human's consciousness, though many a passerby gazing at the skyline of the city gets a thoughtful look, as if reconsidering the notion of what a city should look like." The GM says, "And for those who knew where to look, a new star quietly shines in the constellation of Dorado above." Arc 6, Fire in the Sky: Arc Close