Jesdyn materializes out of thin air. William (#2330) has changed the GM of this room to William (#2330). StevenE materializes in a burst of blackness as he teleports in from elsewhere in the MOO. Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Neil StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur Neil says, "Hey, I bought Disney's Robin Hood today. Heh heh." The GM says, "'twas an okay movie." Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local description A green garden snake with a vestcoat. fadethecat swings into the room on a bit of rigging. fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco The GM says, "I should have emailed this, but I'll paste it here: it's the summarized rundown of recent events that Pirrek gave you, after the entry codes for the castle and similar protocols." ----------------------------------William-------------------------------- -- "We'd identified the Ice Queen's Domain as a handy Far Marches experimentation site. The Domain had the ability to freeze dreams, both ethereals themselves and bits of human dreamscapes; the Ice Queen used them to gain power, we found them an excellent tool for study. At first, we synergized our efforts, helping the Queen draw kids here and splitting the resources, but she was kind of superfluous to the whole deal, so Mahuya offed her and we used the stuff ourself. Tastes kinda like peppermint. "After that, though, Mahuya started getting weird. Started calling *herself* the Ice Queen; she's a Balseraph, we figured she was just on another trip, but it didn't stop. Started affecting the rest of us -- for a while I was half sure I was the castle scribe, not a researcher. I decided to bug out before it got too bad; moved to the lab-support town outside the castle walls first, then further out when the townies started getting creepy. Didn't want to abandon my post entirely; I liked using the chem labs in the castle when I needed to. "Last I saw, bunch of the townies were getting Discordant. Looks like a Need of some kind. I figure they're getting whacked in mind-combat, but I dunno. They don't seem to be too eager to call home and get it fixed, either -- I haven't seen a delegation from Hell in years. All they talk about is rivalries and slights and plots, all internal stuff. Which is fine to an extent, but, you know, we got sent out here to do research, and I couldn't even say how much is getting done these days. It's all about who Mahuya's handing out the goodies to. Well, hell with 'er, I've got my own work to do. With all that Discord running around, I expected you guys would show up sooner or later. Just wondered what took you so long." ---------------------------------finished-------------------------------- -- Neil thinks. The GM says, "Feel free to consider any questions you'd have asked him during the interview, as well." fadethecat [to William]: Anything extra I'd get from resonating this, beyond what he's actually said? Jesdyn [to William]: Where are they anchored? Jesdyn [to William]: I mean -- that's the wrong question. Where are their Hearts? [ snip roll, Neil_Resonance; announce critical success ] Draco . o O ( Would've been nice if that had been the Seraphic resonance on what was said. ) William [to Neil]: Pirrek's Heart is still in Tartarus. Over the course of the interview, you tease out some subtle harmonics concerning the authority exercised over him: his most significant boss has paid only momentary, casual attention to this Heart in the last few years; his next most significant boss -- which you're fairly sure is Mahuya -- does not have goals that entirely mesh with the first boss's, and feels different in terms of geographic origin. Pirrek is slightly 'foreign' to most of his nearest professional colleagues now. Jesdyn [to William]: Hmm. What I was wondering, though, is -- if they (the townies with Needs) are being defeated in Ethereal Combat, are they steadily streaming back to this place? [ snip roll, Draco_Resonance; announce success ] William [to Draco]: You've been resonating all of this pretty steadily, getting an average check digit -- he's telling the truth, because he has to in Angelic, and he thinks he's facing a Game triad. Ekur autorezzes during the questioning, of course. William [to Neil]: Pirrek doesn't know and that's not a part of their relationships that concerns him. Jesdyn [to William]: Does he know if they go missing, or does he see them pass by on the way from Outside? Neil hmms. Did the research have an overall goal, or was it just a Vapulan because-we-can affair? Neil is considering the notion that Mahuya's goals are of "different geographical origin", but doesn't have much to go on yet. William [to Neil]: He thinks about that for a moment. To the first question, there's a small amount of traffic from outside, mostly involving the capture of ethereals for study or the much rarer arrival of strangers. He doesn't interact with them much -- his most regular contact is the border patrol checking up on him. To the second question, he refers you back to the matter of the frozen dream-stuff the Domain creates, ranting briefly on the lack of progress that seems to have been the hallmark of Mahuya's recent administration. William [to Ekur]: Other than the standard roil of Habbalite emotions below the surface, nothing inobvious. His motivations run from fear of immediate threat, to joy in betrayal, to self-interest in preserving his research, but he rationalizes them all toward the same act, which is what he's doing right now. William [to Ekur]: You are, of course, fully aware that the 'standard' Habbalite Discord is Angry, which isn't much in evidence in his emotional makeup at present. Wrinth mostly listens pensively, occasionally asking specifics about the layout of the grounds and various passkey protocols. Neil hmms. Draco occupies himself with taking notes. Jesdyn [to William]: I probably would've asked for a list of people who Pirrek recently resonated. Jesdyn [to William]: That probably won't reveal anything now, but later Neil might remember that Pirrek had done so. Pirrek says, "There is one thing about outside traffic, now that I think of it. We used to get a steady stream of humans around here. I'd let the witch mess with the kids who showed up at the hut. Kept her at least a bit happier. None of 'em had shown up for a long while, though." He thinks. "She was looking kinda hungry recently, too. Hmm." William [to Neil]: "Resonated? Me? Nobody in months except the witch, to shut her up usually. And that not often. Interfered with the test results, y'know." The GM says, "If there are no particular additional questions...?" Draco can't think of any. Ekur has none. Jesdyn [to William]: I'm dry. The GM says, "...we run through the previous scenes that get Pirrek off to Limbo, then, and you are alone with Wrinth in hut." Neil makes a motion that plainly conveys the desire to dust off his hands. "No fuss, no Disturbance, no muss." Wrinth sits down and absentmindedly manifests a small table with a coffee cup on it, which he begins stirring as he thinks. "Did you three pick up anything beyond his words?" Neil says, "Maybe. Mahuya's gone off-mission." Ekur says, "He wasn't angry. So maybe no Discord." Neil says, "And there's a sense of... displacement in his aura. His orders -- they're not just not coming from Tartarus anymore. They're coming from somewhere /else/." Draco checks his notes, and shrugs. "Mostly that he was telling the truth, so far as he knew it. Which, given the Angelic, is no surprise." Neil says, "I really, really need to resonate Mahuya, and maybe some of her friends." Wrinth nods, and speaks very carefully. "That might be wise. If Mahuya has gone Renegade, I think my mission objective would be served by returning him to the custody of Hell and -- yes." He looks up at you three. "We come to the point of decision, mm? What about your mission objectives?" Neil resonates Wrinth. Ekur hits Wrinth, too. Draco double-checks the contract. Wrinth says, "Would decapitating the research lab here suffice, or would you be looking at something more intricate?" The GM says, "Neil, Ekur, resonance rolls. Draco, contract's back a few logs..." The GM says, "Wait, no need for Ekur to roll.." Neil rolled 14 versus 18 and succeeded by 4. Ekur hugs his Choir Attunement. "And, oh, reaction to my saying we need to do something more intricate." William [to Ekur]: If he were a human in a body, his pulse would be quickening. He is beginning to see an opportunity for personal gain coalesce (achievement of his mission), and relishes an anticipation of combat (with, most likely, Mahuya). Draco [to William]: Mostly chiming in with something, since Draco generally has his resonance turned on. Neil says, "Funny as it might be to randomly pervert Vapula's research results, I don't think these guys are making reports anyways. Shutting this place down, burning the notes, and liberally knocking Ethereal forces off of Vapula's researchers should be adequate remonstrance. Have a counter-offer?" William [to Ekur]: He'd ask what, and try to take it into account in his own plans. The situation advances past this as Neil makes his comment. William [to Neil]: No significant new resonance info. Wrinth replies to Neil, "Since there are four of us and a lab full of them, then, I propose that we find Mahuya, decapitate the operation, allow the Game and/or Technology to fully debrief our wayward Serpent, and permit Hell to clean up its own mess. There seem to be a lot of Disfavored running around, but Heaven's policy on Tsayadim is hands-off, if I recall correctly." The GM says, "(Oh, and the discussions on the contract were mostly at the start of Log 32.)" Neil says, "Whatever was learned here needs to be forgotten. Heaven wants those notes lost -- well, actually, Heaven wants those notes. I'll accept their destruction as a compromise." Wrinth sits back. "You know as well as I do that the only way to make someone forget like that is Superior intervention or sustained celestial combat. It's not like us lesser celestials can pinpoint particular Forces." Wrinth says, "If you want the research notes destroyed, I can live with that. Presumably they're somewhere in the castle. To be honest, though, it doesn't sound like a lot of research has been getting done in the past few years." Ekur nods. Neil says, "Probably not, no, but I'd like to cover the bases -- burning the notes is fine." Ekur says, "My concern is that Hell, instead of cleaning up this place, will take it over and start making full use of it." Neil . o O ( My concern is that the /Tsayadim/ might. ) Wrinth gets a slightly sour mood that Ekur can almost verbally translate as "well, yeah, that was the idea." Neil says, "Well, you can at least prevent Heaven from getting its hands on the no-doubt vital research being conducted here. Surely that'll make Vapula happy. And when Vapula's happy... everybody's screwed, actually. That hardly helps." Ekur says, "Uh-huh. See, Wrinth, I'd rather leave this in the hands of renegades than see it get added to the strength of Hell." Neil hmms. Wrinth says, "So... we destroy the lab notes. Hell, we can probably destroy the lab, minus whatever relics are there. The ethereal part of it, at least. We find Mahuya and whale on her celestially, until she's either mindless or gone -- either state solves that problem. Then -- or before that -- you," he points to Draco," can probably tell who knows what about the research by talking to them about it. That will tell how much leakage we have to worry about." Draco scratches behind one ear. "As plans go, it's fairly straightforward. That's usually a virtue in situations with as many unknowns as this." Neil says, "And the state of who gets to keep the domain depends on who gets home first with the Glorious News and back with a bunch of hardasses in tow." Draco . o O ( This is possibly a bad time to bring up the point that the Tsayadim hardasses are, metaphorically speaking, right across the street from this place. ) Neil [OOC]: "Why yes, /yes they are/. Imagine that!" Wrinth says, "You're the one with an army camped out next door... if you want to go around asking Outcasts for favors." Wrinth says, "Shall we then?" Neil says, "I think we're on." William [to Ekur]: He's feeling satisfied. Things are clear. There is a plan. It is likely to involve hitting people. He is a happy demon. Neil can't remember if he's in costume or not -- he dons it again if he's not. Jesdyn [to William]: I'd rather not know how close Wrinth's signature is to Neil's right now. Ekur says, "Okay, let's do it." The GM says, "You set out for the castle." The GM says, "The snowstorm has let up very slightly, now mere fat snowflakes falling over the barren, trackless forest. The first sign of any motion or break in the monotony comes suddenly as you exit the woods and enter the town. A looming shadow in the distance is a turreted medieval castle, its profile sporting satellite dishes and blinking signal lights just visible past the snow; down here, rows of similar squat brick buildings sit in regular grid patter along cleared streets, lights in the windows." The GM says, "There are more demons here than Neil has probably ever seen in one place; Ekur has probably seen a few massed battles in his day, at least the Fall, and of course Wrinth and Draco both know the sight. A Lilim looks you all over and chuckles at the sunglasses. A Calabite sits quietly in the door of a shop, a sad pair of Tinkerbell knockoffs shivering sprinkles of fairy dust into collector pans below their cages. There are Habbalah with technological implants every other house, it seems, and Vapulan Essence-goggles in wide circulation." Neil frowns at the goggles and checks his current capacity. Jesdyn [to William]: I think I'm at 6. William [to Neil]: I was just looking that up. You paid 6 to abu-Bakr, didn't you? Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, but I thought Thais paid me off. Draco [to William]: But Thais--like he said. The GM says, "Ah, that's right. And Draco's spent 1 on Celestial Affinity, but I can't recall any other." Jesdyn [to William]: So, I look like I've got at least six Forces. Is that high, and how far away is dawn? Jesdyn [to William]: Anybody looking at me in dawn's early light is gonna realize there's a /problem/... The GM says, "6 is a big but not abnormal ethereal. 8 or 9, like Draco and Ekur? That's surprising." Jesdyn [to William]: Pretty sure everbody ponied up for a good luck charm, though, so 6 should be as high as we go. Jesdyn [to William]: Just out of curiosity, is there a way to silently /dump/ Essence? God, wouldn't /that/ just piss off our friendly Taker... fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Did Draco get one? I thought it was just Neil with a spare for Thais, and maybe Ekur. The GM says, "Yeah, just Neil." Neil says, "Oops." The GM says, "Bought two; abu-Bakr thanked you for your generosity with a good-luck affinity that's still hanging ready." Neil murmurs to Wrinth, asking him to duck out of sight for a second. [ snip rolling, Wrinth_Acting; announce succeeded ] Wrinth casually looks around, appears to find a turnoff he was looking for, and ducks down a shadowy alley for about a block. He pauses in a lane behind the backs of several bungalows and says, "Yeah?" Neil says, "You see those Essence goggles? They warned me about them before I went on Earth duty. " Neil says, "Celestials topped up on Essence are lit up like Christmas trees." Neil . o O ( If it helps with the visualization, you may imagine them to be /evil/ Christmas trees. ) Wrinth says, "Yeah, I know about 'em." He gets a wistful look. "Hardly an Impudite in Hell that doesn't want Vapula's battery pack..." He licks his lips, then looks over to Ekur and Draco. "And I see what you mean." He thinks. Neil says, "We gotta figure out how strong we want to appear -- and you need to make damn sure we're not around somebody with one when dawn breaks." Ekur re-rezzes Wrinth as he thinks. Wrinth says, "I saw some stuff for sale back there. I could buy it, spend off most of my Essence, and then we could hide out back here again and you two could pass me some of yours. With me topped off and you two looking smaller, we'd be less peculiar-looking." Draco frowns. "I'm not entirely fond of simply running off Essence as a solution to the problem, but I'll admit I don't immediately see a better one. Not unless anyone has a reliquary handy." Neil says, "Is Thais safe from those goggles, do you think? I don't know how those things work..." Neil [to Draco]: You can pump Essence /into/ a reliquary? I didn't know that. Neil boots Pyramid OOCly. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: You can pump Essence /into/ a reliquary? I didn't know that. Wrinth says, "I dunno. If no one's mentioning it, though, then maybe they can't see her or she just looks like a reliquary in your pocket." fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Oh, yeah. They show up in a few locations as ways of accepting Essence in payment. Otherwise you can't do more business in a day than you have room to hold the Essence for. Neil . o O ( Thais is at six, we can give her three. I'm at six, which is the upper limit of acceptable. That means we only need to dump three Essence... ) Wrinth says, "So unless anyone can think of a better plan, are we agreed to do this? I saw some alchemical gewgaws back there that looked like weapons. That should be useful enough." Neil says, "Sure, but we want first pick of the loot, if we have to buy it." Wrinth says, "You mean if it doesn't get used up in the fight?" Neil says, "Yes." Wrinth says, "Fine with me." Neil is aware this means random property damage, but he's not gonna quibble too much over 3 Essence. Wrinth heads back out and down the street. He ducks into a shop with glass bottles of bubbling stuff hanging on the walls, and looks at labels. They're in Helltongue, of course, labeled alchemical formulations of various Songs: Neil . o O ( We just need to get down to 2-5 Essence down, total -- 3 to Thais from Ekur, burn 2 from Draco, optionally burn 3 more from the three of us to get us down to 5. ) The GM says, "The Lilim behind the counter looks up from the maze of tubing she's using to distill stuff from what appears to be the drippings of a large block of ice, melting slowly in the warmth. She's wearing a pair of Essence-specs, silvered over as sunglasses, and regards your group curiously." Jesdyn [to William]: Far as I'm concerned, Wrinth has the lead here. Wrinth toys with the Celestial Light grenade, a vigorously bubbling vial that glows a bright yellow, but ultimately puts it back. He taps the Ethereal Projection ointment with a finger, hesitates, and picks up the Dreaming talisman, a pop-top soda can. Neil pings the Lilim. The GM says, "Roll it." Neil rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7. Ekur zaps the Lilim, too. William [to Ekur]: She's interested in the work she's doing now and regards customers as a neecessary annoyance. She's mildly intrigued by the size of the ethereals the Impudite has come in with. The GM says, "Oh! And she's in celestial form, of course, which means Discord is visible; in her case, a puckered-in stomach that appears to be some kind of gnawing hunger, i.e. a Need." fadethecat [to William]: Incidentally, I'm assuming Draco's running his resonance constantly. Let me know if you want me to roll for it at some point. William [to Neil]: Her name's Saat and she reads as having been born in -- and, indeed, for -- Tartarus (special-order Lilim, apparently). Her loyalties are in flux, shifting toward her social circle here. She has two opinions of herself, currently competing for her self-image; one is as a fully competent researcher, the other is as 'town apothecary below the castle," which is slowly imposing itself -- she's not used to any kind of self-effacement beyond the requisite groveling before superiors. William [to Draco]: Will do. William [to Draco]: Actually, gimme one for your current check digit. Wrinth plops the soda can on the counter and holds out a finger to pass over the Essence. Saat looks at him, and peers over the top of her spectacles at the spirit in full armor sporting a relic sword and shield behind Wrinth. [ snip roll, Saat_Armoury ; announce succeeded ] William [to Ekur]: Saat becomes much more intrigued. Draco rolled 9 versus 22 and succeeded by 13. Saat says to Wrinth, She looks at Wrinth directly. [ snip roll, Wrinth_Acting - announce succeeded ] Wrinth says calmly. He grins wolfishly. William [to Ekur]: Saat is somewhat mollified. Saat says, She reaches out and takes the 4 Essence that Wrinth passes over. Ekur . o O ( Hey, what good is a bodyguard if he's weaker than you? That just makes you the end-level boss, and that's setting yourself up for some hero to come along and defeat you. ) Wrinth says, and winks as he taps his temple. he says, and heads out, manifesting a belt canholder to hang it from. Wrinth heads out of the building and goes around the back. "Okay, 4 Essence," he says to Ekur. "And can you hide that sword and shield? The girl was able to notice where it came from, and she's not exactly the only one with an eye for equipment around here." Neil says, "We could wrap the shield." Neil says, "The sword is trickier, though." Jesdyn [to William]: Can we dream the sword into a different shape, or wrap it with an illusion? Jesdyn [to William]: If the illusion's too fragile to survive a blow in combat, that's fine. The GM says, "As long as it looks like a broadsword, I believe changing minor appearance details will not affect its functionality." Neil says, "Ekur, if I may?" and motions for his sword and shield. The GM says, "Wait. I'm the GM. Ekur, as long as it looks like a broadsword, you know changing minor appearance details will not affect its functionality. :^)" Ekur changes it himself. Neil snickers OOCly. Ekur rolled 11 versus 18 and succeeded by 7. StevenE [to William]: And I assume you mean "shortsword", since that's the relic on my character sheet. Neil . o O ( It's just as well. I was going to turn it into a lightsaber and force bracer. ) The GM says, "Yeah. Sorry." StevenE [to William]: NP. The GM says, "Ditto for shield?" Ekur rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5. skill 18 Blacksmith/TL1 You rolled 9 and Blacksmith/TL1 - succeeded by 9. Ekur goes with a nightmarish motif, with certain resemblances to gear he's seen Beleth's crew carry in the Marches. The GM says, "The new equipment is metaphysically functional and substantially different in appearance. All seems well." Wrinth nods. "A man of taste." The GM says, "He holds out his hand, palm up." Draco slaps paws with Wrinth, passing along two Essence. Ekur passes over . . . however many Essence drops him to 6, I've lost track how many I have. Neil snorts. "Just like a critic." Ekur dumps some to Thais if that would put Wrinth over his limit. The GM says, "(2 to Wrinth fills him up with Draco's contribution, and one to Thais brings you to 6 and her to 7.)" Neil dumps one more to Thais, dropping to 5 -- just to break up the pattern. Wrinth is full up again, and heads back toward the castle, taking quiet back streets this time. After a few minutes, you arrive at the castle gate -- layers of rime and snow have built on the looming wall, adding appreciably to its thickness and, possibly, strength. The nature of the rime becomes more obvious as you come closer; frozen within the ice are near-transparent images of dream scenes. Neil . o O ( Humanity's Funniest Home Videos? ) Wrinth exchanges the gate passwords you got from Pirrek with the guards and you are admitted into the castle grounds. Inside, the wind blows in a steady stream toward the back of the courtyard; the yard itself is frozen over, an ice slick covering ground, trees, bushes, railings, walls, and pathways. The sky above is gunmetal gray with glowering but silent clouds. In front of you, the once-medieval castle sports electric lights in its windows, receiver dishes pointing at who knows what, radio antennae sticking out in all directions, and mounted gun turrets of unknown utility. Neil keeps one eye on their back. William [to Neil]: The gate swings shut behind you. There is not an ominous clang, but there is a hole where one should be. Wrinth says quietly, "Mahuya first or notes first?" Neil replies, "Notes first. If we're discovered I'm sure we'll find Mahuya in very short order." Neil says, "And our discussion with Mahuya is going to be noisy." Wrinth says, "All right," and heads for the castle. William [to Draco]: There's a subtlety you notice just now as Wrinth replies so tersely. He has become less communicative: asking questions, making obvious comments and polite replies -- a classic defense against giving a Seraph too much to pick up on. He may have an angle. Ekur keeps a resonant eye on Wrinth. He's a demon, he's going to backstab us; it's a matter ofwhen. Draco frowns and jots down a few notes. But, mindful of earlier problems, simply gives Neil a standard "Watch for plot twists" glance. Neil notes Draco's keen interest in him and sighs. If he's /still/ fixating on Mercurians he may need to talk to his case worker. Draco . o O ( You'd /think/ the acting skill would be high enough... Maybe I need to invest in Gesture. Or is facial gesture a technique based on that? ) The GM says, "You climb up the main stairs and Wrinth keys in a code at the front portal; the glass door vanishes momentarily, to reappear when you are through. The inside of the castle is unusually brightly decorated for a demonic outpost, but in no way comfortable. The glass, chrome and marble give the medievally-shaped halls a modern gleam, but it is an ice-cold brightness austere and unwelcoming. The temperature differs not at all from the wintry blast outside; only the wind is cut off." Neil looks around. "No people anywhere? Not what I expected," he notes in a tone that barely carries. Wrinth says, "No visible people," and nods to a security camera held by a marble gargoyle at the base of a doorway arch. Ekur keeps glancing between Wrinth and the room. The GM says, "You stand in a main hall two stories high; it echoes emptily under harsh new-looking fluorescent lights in ancient-looking crystal chandeliers. Halls debouch to the left and right from the first floor and off the balcony above the grand staircase." Wrinth mutters, "I'm heading to the chem lab Pirrek told us about. We can't stand around looking dazed," and sets off. Jesdyn [to William]: I'm pretty much on autopilot until I find someone to res, someone new to hit, or have a reason to hit Wrinth. Draco is shoulder-riding, so him too, pretty much. Though he's keeping his eyes open. Ekur keeps keeing an eye on Wrinth, and follows. Wrinth gets to the chem lab, enters Pirrek's code, and steps in. A Habbalite in a lab coat looks up from a nearby workbench. "Who are you?" Neil hurriedly pings him. Neil rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5. Wrinth steps up to the demon and manifests a pistol to the small of his back. "Someone in need of directions, dear fellow." Neil considers. Maybe Wrinth does okay without the Mercurian resonance after all. Draco [to Neil]: Stay good, Neil! Stay good! --------------- SESSION END ----------------- The GM says, "Because I need to map out a dungeon crawl for the direction the plot's taken. We may be able to conclude this part of the arc next week; there is, however, still massive material to go through, which I think is sufficient to basically begin another arc from that point." Neil says, "Hey, did you consider that /all/ Mercurian Archangels -- okay, Marc -- have Dominic's choir attunment?" fadethecat [to William]: ...week after next, right? The GM says, "Yeah, the usual fortnight." fadethecat has deleted all of their local references. The GM says, "Next session." fadethecat says, "Ah, good." Neil says, "And we can end with a big, climactic fight -- maybe even one with /three/ seperate factions! That'll be two sessions right there. (:" fadethecat is in Seattle next week. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...hee. Ekur continues to keep an eye on Wrinth, even with the session ended. William [to Neil]: Hum... Beth suggests that Archangels can't actually get each other's Attunements, unless maybe they had them before being raised. Jesdyn [to William]: Oh. I thought it was canon that Archangels had all Choir attunements. Ehh. The GM says, "It would be a nice cooperative thing to do, but on the other hand, I can see about keeping the flavor separate." fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: They have all Choir resonances, and all their own Word's attunements. fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: But I'm pretty sure that, for example, Michael doesn't have Seraph of Flowers. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Yeah, that's what I thought. Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Wait, no, that's not what I thought. Ekur . o O ( Hmm. So how many of Uriel's attunements might Laurence and Khalid both still have? ) The GM says, "I mean, Laurence with Eli's Malakite attunement would see everything as a weapon, and thus be forced by his own Oaths to treat *everything in the Symphony* with respect as a tool to be employed against Hell. Even Hell." StevenE has deleted all of their local references. Jesdyn [to William]: Laurence is the Archangel of (Violent Tool). Doesn't he already? Neil says, "Wait, no, I see what you mean now." Neil says, "I didn't get it." The GM says, "I also see what you mean, but, it's iffy." Neil . o O ( When all you've got is a sword, everything looks like Kobal. ) The GM says, "Okay. So the plot plan at this point is, dungeon crawl followed by boss fight, spiced up with unreliable NPC tagging along. After that we can go to Arc 7-2, because there are way too many plot threads hanging around here to be tied up that way, and they're far too interesting to leave dangling." StevenE hmms. The question, of course, would be how much change he can make to a weapon while still respecting it. And it would be sorta neat to see Laurence using figuring out how to use, oh, Baal to defeat Lucifer. Jesdyn [to William]: Sounds good to me. Will we be able to spend XP at the end of 7-1? Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Archangel's /Interesting Times/ had Laurence do exactly that. StevenE . o O ( Maybe even, "My respect for this weapon required that I clean up its corrosion or destroy it trying to do so. It is unfortunate that Saminga did not survive the cleansing." ) William [to Jesdyn]: Yeah, that would definitely be an XP point.