Jesdyn materializes out of thin air.

Neil says, "Hey, I'm still local."

fadethecat swings into the room on a bit of rigging.

fadethecat has made fadethecat's local name Draco

Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local name Neil

StevenE materializes in a burst of blackness as he teleports in from 
elsewhere in the MOO.

StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur

fadethecat has made fadethecat's local description A silver-furred ferret 
in spectacles and a jaunty knit cap. Or possibly a mongoose.

Jesdyn has made Jesdyn's local description Angels come / and angels go / 
But not in Nottingham ...

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Hee.

William has actual *maps*.  Sketched, but actual *maps*.  And lists of 
encounters.

William also hears a buzzer.  Brb.

Neil says, "An encounter table for In Nomine? Betcha I know what you find 
at the ends."

Neil . o O ( 5: d6-3 Angelic Wordbound. 4: Angelic Superior. 3: God. )

Neil . o O ( "Oh, a 14? That's... Wrinth. Actually, 12-16 are /all/ 
Wrinth." )

Draco says, "Everyone loves having Wrinth around! He's so...cuddly."

Draco says, "Or, you know. Stabbable."

The GM says, "A'ighty!  You are in the chemistry lab in the castle, to 
which Pirrek directed you with his available codes, facing a Habbalite in 
a lab coat that Wrinth has just drawn a gun on.  You may wish to note 
that this is to the left of the main reception hall, inside a room 
debouching off a narrow hallway that had a T-intersection at the end last 
you saw.  The room is made of medieval-looking (and cold-looking) stone 
blocks, but has been retrofitted with modern... -ish... chemistry 
equipment, from beakers to distillers to something with a numerical 
readout.  The Habbalite *had* been working on a small block of dream-ice 
before the interruption."

[ snip rolling; announce Neil_Resonance succeeded ]

Neil . o O ( Some resonance. )

Arc 7: Snow Dancers

William [to Neil]: His name is Brust, and he's from Tartarus.  He... wait 
a minute... something's very wrong here.  That information seems to be no 
longer "operative."

The GM says, "The Habbalite's eyes defocus for a second, and snap back 
to."

Jesdyn [to William]: Am I still riding Wrinth?

The GM says, "Yep.  So is Draco, with Ekur behind."

Draco [to William]: That...that sounds so /wrong/.

Jesdyn [to William]: Does Neil have experience with Balseraph-induced 
confusion?

The GM says, "The Habbalite looks over at Wrinth, looks down at the gun, 
and says in a language Ekur recognizes as Greek: [What is this?  Villein, 
who dares attack the Ambassador of the Chaldeans?]"

William [to Neil]: Quite a bit, I should imagine.

Jesdyn [to William]: So this isn't a regular mind-job, this is something 
else.

The GM says, "The Habbalite's lab coat shimmers and alters to a 
multi-layered robe of embroidered finery."

Neil tightens his grip on Wrinth and hisses.

William [to Neil]: It is.

[ snip rolling; announce Ekur_Psychology succeeded ]

Ekur auto-rezzes the Habbalite, and steps forward.

William [to Ekur]: So remember Pirrek talking about the lab staff getting 
weird?  You've just sensed one set of emotions and motivations completely 
replaced by another.  In a human, MPD would just about nail the 
diagnosis.  Apparently, this Habbie's learned a trick to control it by 
self-resonating.

Wrinth says, <What the fuck?  Speak Helltongue, wacko.>

The GM says, "The Habbie cocks an eyebrow at the demand.  [I do not speak 
whatever uncouth tongue you address me in, fellow,] he continues in 
Greek."

Ekur says, "[Hello, your Excellency.  Please excuse the poor manners of 
these barbarians.]"

The Habbalite says, [Ah, a civilized visitor!  Is this one of your 
slaves, and if so, would you kindly tell him to release me at once?]

Wrinth looks over at Ekur.  "What is this nonsense?"

Neil hisses under his breath, "Wrinth, something's /wrong/ with him, I 
can't find his place in the Symphony."

Ekur says, "Wrinth?  He a lunatic who thinks he's an ambassador of the 
Chaldeans.  He's speaking Greek, and it would be a good idea if you let 
go of him."

Draco flips through his notebook rapidly, looking for his to-do list. He 
adds a note there about learning Ethereal Tongues, and then goes back to 
where he was recording events, trying to do a phonetic transcription for 
later translation. "Modern Greek or Attic Greek?" he asks Ekur. "Or is it 
Koine Greek? That /would/ be interesting."

Wrinth grrs, but does so.  "You can talk to him?  Fine, talk.  But if 
he's made himself useless we need to get moving."

Ekur says, "[Sorry, he's really quite a brute.]"

Ekur says, "Wrinth, what do you want to ask him?  He might still be able 
to answer."

The Ambassador says, [The barbarians can be.  Although...] he sniffs at 
your weaponry... [...well.  What is important enough to interrupt my 
work?  My astrological researches are urgently required by the Mistress.]


Ekur answers Draco with whatever the answer is, by the way.

Wrinth says, "We're hunting Mahuya's notes, right?  Well, we can't wander 
the entire castle all day.  We're not authorized to be in here, and we 
don't have codes to get us anywhere else.  Get us directions."

William [to Draco]: I assume you're still resonating as a matter of 
course?

Draco [to William]: Ayup. Let me know whenever I need to reroll.

[ snip rolling ; announce Draco_Resonance succeeded ]

Ekur answers the Habbalite, "[As strange as we may appear, we are a group 
of visitng scholars.  We need directions to the repository of texts in 
this building, so that these barbarians might be taught something of 
civilization.]"

[ snip rolling ; announce Ekur_Fast-Talk succeeded ]

The Habbalite gets an incredulous look.  [They are your *students*?  They 
have a great deal to learn.  At any rate, the library is on the other 
side of the main hall.  The inner corner across from the northeast tower.  
The general-use library, at any rate.]

[ snip rolling ; announce Security_Attention_Span failed ]

Ekur says, "[Insane, isn't it?  Next time I'll be more careful with my 
tongue, to avoid punishment assignments from my mentor.]"

The Habbalite says, [Whatever.]  He waves his hand.  [Begone with the lot 
of you, I have work to do.]  He turns back to the workbench.

William [to Draco]: Naturally, you can't understand what the Habbalite's 
saying, but he thinks he's speaking the truth.

The GM says, "Ekur, on the other hand, is lying through his teeth.  :^)"

Ekur says, "Okay, the general-use library in on the inner corner across 
from the northeast tower, on the other side of the main hall.  And we've 
been dismissed, so I suggest we head there."

The Habbalite calls out as you leave, [Have him report to Security to be 
flogged this evening.  I shall send them a note to expect him.]

Ekur says, "[All right, I will.]"

Ekur says, "He wants you flogged this evening, Wrinth, and will be giving 
security a note to that effect.  I suggest we move quickly, before he 
alerts anyone."

Draco . o O ( But isn't it rude not to keep one's appointments? )

Neil says, "There's something wrong here. He's... not right. And I don't 
mean 'rebelling against God' or 'brainwashed by a balseraph' either."


Wrinth dismisses the gun and heads out in the direction given.  "Cute.  A 
time limit."  You cross the main hall, come to a symmetric hallway on the 
other side, and turn left.  "Mind the security cameras, too.  I've never 
seen a Horror Balseraph himself before, but if it wears off in a few 
minutes he may start having second thoughts about waiting until the 
evening."

[ snip msg'ing ]

Ekur says, "I've heard of this sort of thing before, Neil.  When a Domain 
has a strong story, the Domain starts molding the residents to fit the 
story.  And it doesn't care if the inhabitants are Ethereals or not."

The GM says, "The library is exactly where it was said to be; Wrinth 
takes a deep breath, composes himself, and heads in.  Inside it is a 
single room apparently converted from some other use, but large enough to 
hold several aisles of bookshelves.  Few are talismans or otherwise 
secure; only the barest couple are relics.  There are three other demons 
absorbed in various studies, one on a computer displaying something in 
Helltongue and two browsing the shelves."

Neil . o O ( Hmm. Three demons. We could shout "The Tsayadim are coming! 
Get the notes to safety!" and see what they grab and where they take it. 
)

The GM says, "An Impudite selects out one of the relic books and sits at 
a table to read.  No one is paying much attention to you."

Draco stands on Wrinth's shoulder, taking a look at the book titles 
nearby.

William [to Draco]: Selection of technical journals from Tartarus, 
apparently hand-copied.  This section is on Ethereal Force physics.  Next 
one down is on Ethereal Songs.  Nothing appears so much as classified.

The GM says, "The fairy ankle-chained to the seated Impudite watches you 
browsing the shelves, apparently for lack of anything more interesting to 
do."

Neil . o O ( Anyone willing to read a technical journal hand-copied by a 
Vapulan is... probably Vapulan. )

Jesdyn [to William]: Gosh, I'm slow today, aren't I. Ping the fairy, and 
the other Vapulans just to see if I can get a real file on somebody.

William [to Neil]: About the only way to get the things into the Marches, 
since making relics is an expensive process to go through just to get a 
book here.

Jesdyn [to William]: How many rolls, four?

The GM says, "Yah."

Neil rolled 5 versus 18 and critically succeeded by 13.

Neil rolled 13 versus 18 and succeeded by 5.

Neil rolled 7 versus 18 and succeeded by 11.

Neil rolled 9 versus 18 and succeeded by 9.

The GM says, "Who's on first?"

Jesdyn [to William]: Hmm... tempted as I am, I /did/ call the fairy 
first, so let's go with her.

Ekur auto-zaps everyone in the room, by the way.

William [to Ekur]: The demons are largely studious, with varying 
undertones of irritation or paranoia that are common among their kind.  
All have second personalities apparently hovering below the surface.  The 
fairy *hurts* to read.  A roil of beatenness, depression and fear.

William [to Neil]: The fairy is Rink, and was born in a human dreamscape.  
The Impudite holding her strikes chords of authority, desire-to-please 
(resonance-induced), and fear-of-pain in her.  Her desire to escape is 
shot through with the ironic realization that she's rather important to 
him, in a way... she was created by the human whose soul-biography the 
Impudite is reading, and was hunted down just for that purpose.

The GM says, "s/purpose/origin/.  She's a study subject.  And while we're 
on it, SOUL BIOGRAPHIES AREN'T SUPPOSED TO EXIST OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY."

The GM says, "That's *Yves'* library."

Neil gulps, and with a throat like his that takes some doing.

[ snip rolling ; announce Security_Attention_Span succeeded ]

William [to Neil]: The Impudite's name, at the moment, is Judd, and he's 
a low-on-the-totem-pole worker here in the castle.  The other two, I 
think we can safely say, are a good deal less interesting.

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm trying to figure out what to do next. What is a 
soul biography, exactly?

Jesdyn [to William]: Pretty much what I think it is?

William [to Jesdyn]: Every human has a biography that is written in the 
Library during their lifetime.  It stops at death.  Occasionally, they 
disappear.

The GM says, "Every life has a story, and this is somebody's. . ."

Jesdyn [to William]: Are they close enough to overhear me? It seems quiet 
in here.

The GM says, "It's very quiet in here.  Wrinth is presently strolling 
past where the fairy and Impudite are sitting.  He's looking at shelves; 
she's looking at you four."

Draco gives the fairy a little cheery wave with his pen.

The GM says, "It is, in fact, quiet enough to hear the security, with a 
small whirr of gears, turn to focus on your group."

The GM says, "+camera"

Jesdyn [to William]: Can we duck into an alcove before it finishes 
clacking our way?

The GM says, "What you heard *was* it turning to face you."

Draco [to William]: The security...what? Camera? Killer robot?

Neil tugs Wrinth to the nearest quiet nook -- one out of sight of the 
camera, if possible.

William [to Draco]: Camera, yeah.  On a mount in the corner of the 
ceiling.

Draco [to William]: Sorry, caught your addition after I hit enter.

[ snip rolling ; announce Neil_Gesture succeeded ]

Wrinth looks over at you with a 'wha?' and steps between two bookshelves.


The GM says, "The fairy notices, puts two and two together and perks up."


Neil says, "I can't read any of the demons here, but the fairy was a 
different story. "

The GM says, "(You can read the demons here fine; they all have normal 
responses, I just didn't want to type up three of them in detail.  ^_^  
)"

Jesdyn [to William]: Oops. I assumed they were weird like Brust.

Neil says, "The book the Impudite was reading was a 'soul biography' -- 
they shouldn't be able to manifest outside of Yves' Library."

Draco blinks rapidly. "You're sure? That is interesting."

Wrinth says, "Really?" and, oh Ekur, has curiosity and avarice aroused.

Wrinth glances back at the reading Impudite consideringly.

William [to Ekur]: His emotional state is screaming "change of plans."

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm not sure where to go from this point. That's 
what I know, anyways. My instincts are telling me that the biggest threat 
to humanity right now is /Wrinth/ and I should try to tear some Forces 
off while he's plotting.

Jesdyn [to William]: Since I /will/ get back here with the Tsayadim and 
some extremely pissed-off librarians if I have to.

Ekur takes his sword, points it at Wrinth, and says, "Okay, demon-boy, I 
think the situation just changed."

Draco adjusts his glasses, and asks, rhetorically, "Why does no one tell 
me about changes in plans?"

Neil says, "Because they make you dissonant, Draco. "

Wrinth looks over at you three.  "I think you're right."

William [to Draco]: It's on.

Jesdyn [to William]: By "it's on", do you mean "the status of Draco's 
resonance" or "the biggest brawl we've had yet"?

The GM says, "I mean 'Draco's resonance picked up the subtext to that 
statement, which is, 'I am now prepared to do what you've been expecting 
all along.'"

fadethecat [to William]: Okay, quick refresher: the contract is fairly 
explicit in the "And once the inevitable betrayal happens, I get to smite 
you" part, right?

William [to Draco]: Actions against any clause of the contract nullify 
all obligations of all parties, yes.

Wrinth whistles and waves cheerfully at the demons in the room.  You have 
about a second to react...

Neil calls upon PokeThais.

Ekur stabs.

Draco . o O ( And doesn't Wrinth just regret not letting us send Thais 
back, now? )

William [to Ekur]: He's facing away from you, so roll thr damage.

Draco [to William]: Are the physics of this particular Domain such that 
cutting off someone's airflow would prevent them from speaking?

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Would that help? If he gets jumped by his "loyal 
ethereals" it's almost as bad.

William [to Draco]: Should, yes.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: ...wait, we're still in sight of everyone? I 
thought we'd ducked back /out/ of sight.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Hey, you're right.

fadethecat [to William]: Clarification: when Wrinth is 
whistling-and-waving; is that all of us standing in full view of the 
whole room, or the room hearing a whistle while we're all behind a 
bookcase? 'cause I thought it was the latter.

The GM says, "You're between two bookcases out of sight of the camera, 
not of everyone else."

fadethecat [to William]: ...I thought we were getting him out of sight of 
the other /demons/ to pass on the info. Oh. Okay. Hmm.

Ekur rolled 1d6+2 and got 5.

William [to Draco]: Had you been completely out of sight of the others at 
that time, he would have stepped out to do the wave, so, net effect same.


fadethecat [to William]: Ah, okay.

William [to Ekur]: Now, is that an attack against Mind Hits or Soul Hits 
(If the latter, you will promptly enter celestial form)?

Ekur says, "Mind hits.  I never did get that relicization to my sword."

The GM says, "righty-o."

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: I thought your sword did tons more than d6+2.

The GM says, "When swinging."

StevenE [to Jesdyn]: 3d6 swing; he called for thrust.

Wrinth arghs and stumbles forward.  "Little help here?"

fadethecat [to William]: If I go for a Brawling attack via teeth to the 
throat, what kind of damage is that? Straight Thrust?

Ekur yells, "Betrayer!  Servitor of the War!"

William [to Draco]: The image is cute, but as an unarmed attack in the 
Marches, it'll be equivalent to a punch at effective ST = IQ... which, 
for you, is 2d-2.

Jesdyn [to William]: 2d-2 damage is not "cute".

The GM says, "But it's a ferret, so cuteness is restored!"

Jesdyn [to William]: I'm just going to hit him with Laser-Eyes.

Neil could use a Jung Fu karate kick, but he doesn't need to know about 
that trick yet.

The GM says, "The demons in the room are all paying attention to the 
fight.  They are *not* jumping to help."

Draco makes a tiny little shrug. "My apologies," he says, and goes for 
Wrinth's throat.

Draco rolled 10 versus 23 and succeeded by 13.

The GM says, "Wrinth attempts to 'parry' Draco, inasmuch as 'grabbing him 
and throwing him off' could be technically called a parry..."

[ snip rolling ; announce Wrinth_Parry failed ]

William [to Draco]: Damage!

Draco rolled 2d6+2 and got 8.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: A SIX?

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Wait, you rolled 2d6+2.

William [to Neil]: What?  Average on 2d6 is 7.

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, I guess so.

William [to Neil]: Anyway, you're doing a straight attack, yes?

Draco oops.

Draco rolled 2d6-2 and got 7.

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, but I don't know thr/sw for IQ 18.

The GM says, "You'll be doing 1d with an unaided attack.  Just like what 
you do with the dreamshaped gun."

Neil rolled 8 versus 19 and succeeded by 11.

Neil rolled 1d6 and got 2.

The GM says, "Wrinth is being pretty badly battered.  Somehow, he seems 
rather amused by it all."

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, I would be too. 14 points of damage from three 
back-stabbing nine-force angels.

Wrinth says, "Heh...  *cough*  heh heh..."

The GM says, "He grabs the ferret attacking his throat, and squeezes.  
Celestially."

Draco [to William]: Can I dodge?

Jesdyn [to William]: Turn order question -- did he start combat with his 
greeting, or did we with our strike?

Jesdyn [to William]: That is, when do shock penalties for this attack 
kick in?

William [to Draco]: I'm thinking about that.  Frankly, you bit him in the 
throat.  You're kind of grappling.  Make it a Contest of "DX" (i.e. IQs).  
Roll vs. 21

Draco [to William]: Aw, IQ, not Perception? Okay.

Draco rolled 12 versus 21 and succeeded by 9.

skill 18 Wrinth_IQ

[ snip rolling ; announce Wrinth_IQ succeeded ]

The GM says, "You evade his rather wobbly attempt to grab you."

Ekur checks.  p.144 of G:IN says Per/2 for Dodge.

William [to Ekur]: Seriously, this amusement isn't fake.  He's feeling 
positively triumphant.

Ekur . o O ( Cel digde, but not grappling, so . . . )

Jesdyn [to William]: This is a puzzle. He wasn't lying about being 
Outcast, so him going to Limbo is awesome?

Jesdyn [to William]: I guess he could CelToungues Baal.

Jesdyn [to William]: I guess -- hmm.

Jesdyn [to William]: Well.

Jesdyn [to William]: If that's what it takes.

William [to Neil]: You don't go to Limbo if you're defeated in 
mind-combat.  If you lack a Heart, you jut show up at the appropriate 
Tower.

Jesdyn [to William]: Oh. Too bad I don't know what Wrinth is feeling, 
then.

Ekur announces, "He's . . . triumphant about this."

Jesdyn [to William]: And he can't ascend without a combat loss, can he.

Jesdyn [to William]: This is his only way to escape.

The GM says, "Well, maybe he appears in the Marches at large, I suppose.  
But one way or the other, it won't be here with you, and his memory will 
be intact."

Wrinth says, "Yeah... I got a message to deliver..."

The GM says, "Unsteadily, he draws the Dreaming talisman he bought 
earlier out of its pouch on his belt."

Jesdyn [to William]: Am I fast enough to act?

William [to Neil]: That was his turn.  It's yours again.

The GM says, "All of you have another action... he's not too quick on his 
feet at the moment."

Draco [to William]: Half a sec while I look up something in G:IN...

Draco detaches his teeth from Wrinth's throat, and promptly sings the 
Song of Charm, in his favorite flavor: Ethereal.

William [to Draco]: Skill roll.

Draco rolled 10 versus 20 and succeeded by 10.

Draco [to William]: And, targeting IQ. (Not that there was any doubt.)

Jesdyn [to William]: Jung Fu blow, /Sharper Than A Serpent's Boot/: 
strike the Talisman from his hand with karate. Target 18 before disarm 
penalty, spending up to three points of Essence to get it up to 14.

The GM says, "And unresisted, at that.  Wrinth suddenly appears almost 
skeletally unmuscled."

Ekur will . . . Song of Ethereal Entropy.

Ekur rolled 9 versus 16 and succeeded by 7.

Neil . o O ( NOW would be a good time, Thais. )

The GM says, "Okay, one sec, we got a dodge and resistance roll needed 
here.  In case he makes this dodge to keep hold of the talisman, bear in 
mind Songs take effect at the end of the turn..."

The GM says, "Oh!  Hmm.  Thais, yes."

The GM says, "I'll think about that for a second."

[ snip rolling ; announce Dodge failed ]

The GM says, "The talisman goes sailing."

[ snip rolling; announce Modified_Resistance failed ]

Neil . o O ( Neil does the apple-serpent dance. "Do you like apples? How 
do you like THEM apples!" )

Jesdyn [to William]: Uhm. Much as I approve of not spending Essence or 
making rolls, I didn't do either, there.

Draco [to William]: What's he resisting, anyway?

Draco [to William]: Oh, EthEntropy. Right.

Jesdyn [to William]: I don't know what penalty you would've assigned, so 
I didn't make the roll, and I don't know if or how much Essence I spent.

William [to Neil]: Oh, for some reason I thought you'd made the attack 
roll.  Well, that'll be his dodge, if you make it... do you wish to spend 
3 Essence to buy the target number up to 14 before rolling?

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah.

Neil rolled 15 versus 14 and failed by 1.

Neil says, 
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHH."

Neil says, "No! XP purchased reroll!"

The GM says, " <ooc> Hum, I don't know if I actually *do* that.  I mean, 
Wrinth could do it too..."

The GM says, "Dice happen, y'know?"

Jesdyn [to William]: Aww, now you tell me. That's the other reason I was 
leaving a pool of XP open. Okay, okay.

The GM says, "You're trying to flick a small object with an unfamiliar 
tail while wobbling on a mount that's being buffeted from all sides, 
anway."

Neil is down to three Essence, then.

William runs a Fright Check.  Rule of 14, -3 for Song...

[ snip rolling ; announce Fright_Check succeeded ]

The GM says, "Actually, no.  Due to damage, his IQ dropped as per G:IN.  
So he failed that, and..."

roll 3d6+2

On 3d6+2, you rolled 12.

The GM says, "Hmm.  Being a celestial, Wrinth has no lunch to lose.  
Rerolling."

roll 3d6+2

On 3d6+2, you rolled 12.

The GM says, "."

roll 3d6+2

On 3d6+2, you rolled 16.

roll 1d6

On 1d6, you rolled 6.

The GM says, "Wrinth is visibly out of it, staring at nothing.  The 
bottle of bubbling fluid hangs loose in his hand."

The GM says, "The fairy shouts in a high-pitched voice, 'Yeah!  Kick his 
ass!'"

Neil shouts "For Mahuya!" and delivers a celestial coup-de-grace.

Neil says, "Huh."

Neil says, "Can I get an IQ roll to take that back?"

William [to Neil]: Yes.

Neil rolled 7 versus 18 and succeeded by 11.

Jesdyn [to William]: Thank you kindly.

The GM says, "Yeah, bad idea to suddenly turn into a Mercurian there."

The GM says, "Security, consisting of three guys in shiny uniforms waving 
vacuum-tube-sporting raygun pistols, chooses this moment to bust through 
the door and shout, 'Everybody freeze!'"

The GM says, "The fairy says a naughty word."

The GM says, "Thais... hmm..."

Neil hurls Thais through and behind the guards.

Draco [to Neil]: ...the Malakite is not a pokemon!

The GM says, "Yes.  Thais is *not* intending to get captured by the 
Forces of Hell."

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: The Malakite has Free-Fall Tag and will distract 
at least one of them. Depending on their discipline, maybe all of them.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Yeees, but the Malakite does not have an easy way 
home if they manage to jump her and drag her off. Which for a Malakite, 
is Bad.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: She's enHearted, isn't she? Can't she ascend like 
we can and Wrinth can't?

The GM says, "At the moment, we will say that Thais has dreamshaped 
herself into a more humanoid form, summoned her broadsword, and engaged 
in inconclusive melee with Security.  You have a moment to think about 
what to do while Wrinth is gathering his wits."

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Can we jump to Hearts from the Marches? I thought 
that was just from the corporeal.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: And I don't plan to abandon her here, I'm putting 
a combatant behind the guards who we'll then try to kill.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Hrm. Well. We /do/ have 60 combat rounds to 
decide what to do with Wrinth and deal with other matters before the 
Charm wears off. I can work with that.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: Grab Wrinth, snag the fairy, run?

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: I'm all for it.

fadethecat [to StevenE]: You?

StevenE [to fadethecat]: Sounds like a plan.

Jesdyn [to William]: Neil has an Idea.

The GM says, "The plan cited a few lines earlier, or something else?"

Draco [to William]: A newer, shinier, improved plan!

The GM says, "Do tell."

Jesdyn [to William]: Go celestial, shout "Boo" in front of the Impudite, 
grab the book and the fairy -- backed by a reversed two-point resonance 
if the Impudite manages not to be surprised -- and scram. We can't take 
Mahuya, but if we have a Domain Master in our pocket, we can.

Neil says, "At least, evading patrols gets much easier."

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: Wait, we're going celestial first? I thought we 
were going to do the obstacles-and-run with the book and fairy, and 
/then/ go celestial for celestially-appropriate things. Like toasting 
Wrinth.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I don't think I can get the book /and/ the fairy 
fast enough otherwise.

The GM says, "Ah, confusion in the ranks!  Okay.  Round-by-round.  Draco 
first."

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I need a shock, and I need to get out of this 
form into something with hands, and security is still monitoring this.

The GM says, "What is Draco doing?"

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: This is the ethereal. You can have snakey hands 
if you want to. And we can split up the grabbing.

Draco is, now that Thais is holding off security, going to grab the fairy 
for a quick escape, on the assumption that with Wrinth/book/fairy to haul 
along, and three angels not involved in sword-fighting, he'll grab the 
one he's most concerned about.

Draco [to William]: And trying to swipe the fairy in as polite a way as 
he can manage, if such a thing is possible under the circumstances. If 
she freaks and wants to resist, he's not going to force the issue.

The GM says, "The fairy is not resisting at all, but the Impudite is.  As 
you're trying to dreamshape the shackle off her, he's attempting to keep 
it on.  Roll Dreaming."

Draco rolled 12 versus 26 and succeeded by 14.

<Impudite, in Helltongue> <Hey!  Get your own test subjects, you little 
rodent!>

[ snip rolling ; announce Dreaming succeeded ]

The GM says, "You win the Contest, and the fairy sails up out of the now 
much-larger ankle cuff.  She uppercuts the Impudite on the chin and zips 
out the door of the library."

The GM says, "Neil?"

Draco makes a rude gesture at the Impudite.

Jesdyn [to William]: Grab the book and follow the fairy.

William [to Neil]: "DX" roll.

Neil rolled 10 versus 18 and succeeded by 8.

Draco [to Ekur]: And I hope you can haul Wrinth along, given that I'm not 
sure he's self-ambulatory anymore...

The GM says, "You vault the table, grab the book -- <Impudite> <My book!  
What the hell use are you security guards?> -- and barrel past the melee 
at the front door."

The GM says, "Ekur?"

StevenE [to William]: What would be the penalty to dreamshape the 
building into non-existence?

Neil says, "Oh boy. Not the Civis Zoning Authority again?"

The GM says, "The *entire* building?  You'd be completely changing the 
environment, so -10 not counting any opposition you might encounter."

fadethecat [to StevenE]: ...well, that would make cover a bit harder to 
find, but it would certainly confuse people.

Neil . o O ( You realize "how difficult would it be to obliterate all 
things" is something we've /already calculated/ this game? )

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Just go for the books, they're not relics.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Well, those of them that aren't relics, anyways.

The GM says, "Nothing'd happen to the relics, anyway."

Ekur grabs Wrinth, picks him up, and yells at the guards, "After them, 
they're getting away!"

Jesdyn [to William]: Yeah, but he could still cause some damage.

Jesdyn [to StevenE]: Tricky.

William [to Ekur]: Does this act include running toward the front door?  
Wrinth is unresisting presently.

StevenE [to William]: No, it does not.

The GM says, "Okee."

The GM says, "One of the guards turns to you, says, "What?" and gets 
dissipated by a thrust from the back courtesy of Thais for his trouble."

William [to Ekur]: Thais spares a second to give you a look which clearly 
reads as 'what are you doing?'

<ooc> If the answer is 'splitting the party'...

StevenE [to William]: Yes, it is.  Ekur is having an attack of the 
Clevers.

The GM says, "Yokai."

fadethecat [to William]: One which I think I follow, if Thais wants to 
bend her enormous intelligence towards something other than smiting for 
once...

The GM says, "Actually, fill *me* in, 'cause the GM isn't getting it."

Jesdyn [to William]: I think I've got it...

[ snip msg'ing ]

The GM says, "Hmm.  Okay."

William [to Draco]: So Thais would run off after the other two now, yes?

Draco [to William]: Not yet. She's providing valuable delay-and-confusion 
services while some of us get the heck out of view.

Draco [to William]: Unless Ekur indicates that she should, anyway.

The GM says, "Okay.  In that case, let us turn the camera to follow..."

roll 1d3

On 1d3, you rolled 3.

The GM says, "Draco and Neil."

The GM says, "The fairy is rocketing down the hallway at head height."

Draco gestures forward Neil, following the fairy. "We have about 57 
seconds until Wrinth stops being useless. I know what /my/ plan was. 
What's your plan?"

Neil shouts ahead, "Rink, slow down a second!"

Rink looks back.  "Huh?  Oh... okay..."

Neil says, "We need to talk -- you know anywhere we can hide for a few 
minutes?"

Rink spends 3 Essence, and the sounds of battle behind you drop through 
the scale to subsonic tones.  The light dims as Rink slows down the 
second.

Rink says, "Hide?  In the castle?  There are security cameras everywhere, 
unless you guys are badass enough to take on the dozen or so goons and 
the drone-spheres they've tossed everywhere."

Neil says, "'Drone-spheres'?"

Jesdyn [to William]: Did I catch the name of the human on the spine of 
the book?

Rink says, "Guard relics.  If you're not authorized to be in the area, 
they rev up and slam into you until you're pushed out or dissipate."

Draco adjusts his hat. "All that... would, I think, require calling in 
backup. It would depend on whether or not we could take them 
individually. Probably best to avoid a complete pitched battle unless, 
well, unless we want to go with the pitched battle route. Which is 
certainly an option."

William [to Neil]: You can glance down and see that it's Antonio de la 
Robia.

Rink says, "Anyway, if you try to leave the Snow Dancers are going to 
have you frozen into blocks of ice before you can make it to the wall 
unless they think you can challenge Mahuya."

Neil says, "This is going to sound weird, but does this domain have a 
master? Mahuya's a demon, and last I checked that didn't work..."

[ snip msg'ing ]

Rink says, "Heh.  No, it doesn't.  That's why the demons are all going 
crazy.  Listen, this Domain should have died when the Ice Queen did.  
Mahuya's too big for the Marches to swallow, though, that's why we're 
stuck here on the threshold of the Beyond.  I never believed in Utgard, 
but now I've lived there..."

Neil says, "Can you take mastery? Even if it's just to level this place 
on the way out?"

Rink nods.  "I think I can sit the Frozen Throne.  The Snow Dancers will 
feel that, for sure.  But so will Mahuya, so if I do, you've got to 
promise to kill her, next thing on the list."

Neil grins. "We promise."

Draco says, "What sort of danger are we looking at, from Mahuya?"

Rink says, "She's embedded herself in the back wall of the castle 
courtyard, where the wind blows the snow-dreams.  It's been collecting 
for years... you'll have to dig through it like armor before you can even 
start working her.  And while you're doing that, she'll be summoning up 
all sorts of images from the dreams to go at you.  Once you've exposed 
her... well, she's about average as demons go, as far as I know.  She 
used to have some toys but she gave them up when she went wacky."

Neil says, "That's exactly why we need your help. You'll need to shut her 
dream-based attacks down."

Rink says, "I could be wrong about that, though.  She's been eating ice 
for years.  I don't know what that does to a demon."

Neil says, "As the Domain Master, you should be able to overrule her 
changes to your property. It's not fool-proof -- I've seen someone 
override a domain master -- but he had some help."

Draco considers his current duties and existing contracts. "So far as it 
doesn't come into conflict with promises I've already given, I'll attempt 
to remove Mahuya from this Domain, preferably through her death, as soon 
as you've become Master of this Domain."

Rink says, "I know what you mean.  I've never been Master of a Domain 
before, but I'll see what I can do to interfere with her dreaming."

Neil . o O ( Better if I not tell her I was the one who did it, God was 
the one providing the support, and that this would be the fourth domain 
I've conquered. )

Neil . o O ( ... ... ... oh sweet apocryphal Jesus do we have a problem. 
)

Rink says, "So are we set?"

Draco smiles brightly. "Ready when you are! If our friends can catch up, 
that's excellent, but I believe at this point speed matters more. Neil?"

Neil says, "Yes -- we're heading to the Frozen Throne, grabbing the 
domain, then trying to meet the rest of our team before we take out 
Mahuya. Oh! And this is for you."

Neil hands her the biography.

Neil says, "See if you can get this back to Heaven, please?"

The GM says, "It shrinks as you hand it to her, to fairy size."

Neil says, "Our office in Civis can probably take it off your hands, too. 
That'd be easier for you to get to, I think."

Rink says, "Um.  Okay."

Rink says, "This way."

Jesdyn [to William]: Huh, I misjudged her -- I thought she'd be HAPPY to 
know we're angels.

Jesdyn [to William]: I was trying to cheer her up and give her something 
to believe in.

fadethecat [to Jesdyn]: With Heaven's reputation in the Marches? I can 
see it being a bit iffy.

Jesdyn [to fadethecat]: I suppose so.

Rink says, "So this book comes from Heaven?  And what's Civis?"

The GM says, "Time slowly begins creeping forward again."

Draco waves adorable little ferret paws around. "Place we're from. 
Details later, let's get moving!"

Neil says, "Heaven's city in the Marches. The book was all the hopes and 
deeds of the man whose dreams you came from. It shouldn't exist here -- 
until I saw it, I'd've said it /can't/ exist here."

Neil says, "More running. Which way to the Throne?"

Rink regards the book again.  "Uh."  *shakes head*  "Yeah.  Details 
later.  This way."  She heads toward, then past, the hallway you came in, 
turns left at the front wall of the castle into a side corridor.  There 
is a stairwell at the end, down which she goes.

The GM says, "The stairwell goes down much further than a single story.  
It curves backward until it has gone as far as the front steps of the 
castle would be, then turns in toward the center of the castle once 
again."

Neil . o O ( We should be nearing the Tsayadim interface. Let's not 
mention that to Rink. )

The GM says, "A pale white glow illuminates from behind a pair of doors 
carved from translucent ice, the only light at the bottom of the tunnel.  
Rink lays her hands on the door.  'Master of this Domain,' she whispers, 
"' formally challenge thy power.  Present thyself for combat.  (Not like 
you will, bitch, but let's be proper about this...)'  She shoves open the 
doors."

The GM says, "She floats into a vast, hemispherical underground chamber 
carved from a single block of ice.  Most of the floor is a rippling floe 
of tiny icebergs, glowing white and reflecting off of the facets of the 
walls and roof.  Brittle pillars support the roof.  A solid path winds 
its way toward the center of the room, where on tall stairs sits a narrow 
glassy throne."

The GM says, "Rink flies much more slowly toward this throne.  You guys, 
who aren't used to being uncomfortably cold, are still being nipped by 
the intense frigidity in the room."

Draco dreamshapes himself a pair of wings to follow along in the air, 
rather than walking across icebergs.

The GM says, "Rink reaches the throne, wings already icing over.  She 
turns and sits down on the seat.  She spreads her arms, concentrates, and 
dreamshapes..."

[ snip rolling ; announce Dreaming succeeded ]

The GM says, "The throne shrinks until it is Rink's size.  When the 
process is complete, Rink has become completely coated with ice.  Her 
eyes open, and glazed facets stare at you.  Then they are gold again, 
then icy.  'Mahuya has picked up the gauntlet,' she says.  'Go!  Exit the 
front of the castle.  The Snow Dancers will guide you.  Hurry!'"

Neil waves, and departs at a run. Slither?

Draco waves to Rink, and wings off with Neil.

The GM says, "You pass a security Djinn on the stairs.  He is coated with 
ice.  A creature apparently made of blowing snow in the shape of an 
elegantly dressed woman turns from regarding him to see you, then 
whistles her own wind up the stairs."

The GM says, "The creature guides you out the front door.  There are more 
security guards wandering the halls and the yard, but you travel in the 
calm eye of a blinding blizzard being tossed around by hundreds more of 
the cretaure's kin."

The GM says, "The eye walks you back toward the back of the castle 
courtyard, and stops."

Neil says, "Great to have friends in high places."

Draco adjust his scarf a little nervously. "I only hope she stays 
friendly. There wasn't really time for a proper contract."

Neil still doesn't mention the Tsayadim camped out one dimension over.

"Yes, yes," says a disembodied voice.  "How charming, you come to 
challenge me.  But what is this?  Three, or one, is more traditional than 
two.  And we both know the little fey is no angel..."

The GM says, "The blizzard clears.  You stand before a high wall, coated 
with layer on layer of ice in which vague shapes move fitfully.  
Underneath nearly a foot of the stuff in front of you, a Balseraph is 
wound across the face of the wall, wings spread and eyes facing you."

Draco raises a finger. "Actually, two is fairly traditional in the whole 
buddy-cop genre, though those movies tend to have less fantastic 
surroundings."

Neil pops into celestial from and smacks a tonfa into his hands. 
"Renegade demon Mahuya! You're under arrest for violation of your parole 
in Hell. Surrender at once."

Neil pings her, belatedly.

Mahuya says, "I was never fond of cops.  But then, Patricia would know 
all about that."

Mahuya says, "Oh, I'm sorry, you're not going by that name these days, 
are you?  Or you either... what is it now, Draco, yes?"

William [to Neil]: Roll it.

Jesdyn [to William]: Two essence. I think she's going to have to back 
that up.

Neil rolled 10 versus 20 and succeeded by 10.

Draco adjusts his spectacles. "I suppose it's also traditional to 
chit-chat before the battle," he says. "Depending on the tradition. Did 
you want to drop more trivia, or shall we get on with this?"

Jesdyn [to William]: Success by ten is CD5, right?

Neil is down to one Essence. Woe.

William [to Neil]: Yah.

The GM says, "And let me run that res when we start next week -- after 
doing Ekur's scene, since it might affect the fight -- and close with 
this:"

Mahuya says, "Yes, I suppose we *should* get to the combat, shouldn't we.  
Since two of you come to face me, perhaps it is fitting that I summon two 
champions to face you."  Her eyes glow red, one by one until all six are 
illuminated.  Two humanoid figures coalesce from the ice and step out to 
face you.  "It was very thoughtful of you to release these two from their 
agony.  Pity they had to make one last pit stop before oblivion."  The 
Lord of Selkirk and the Lady of Roxburgh lunge at you.

-------------- Session End ------------------