fadethecat is here.

The local characters are Neil and Draco.

Obvious exits:

Lobby

You say, "Heh.  I should definitely try to remember to put away the 
characters before we leave this time."

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.

William [to StevenE]: Hoi.

William [to StevenE]: Recall your major part of the upcoming plot: 

StevenE says, "We're doing it this week, not next?  I must have gotten my 
schedules mixed up.  Or are you just doing something with Fade?"

----------------------------------William--------------------------------
--

William says, "A few hours later, there is a small Disturbance, arising 
in the form of a physical letter CelMotion'ed to Ekur.  (This usually 
occurs when there is a larger amount of information to be transferred 
than can be conveniently packed into one or two CelTongues.)  There is a 
major local prison in Huntsville, and a small complement of Servitors of 
Judgment working in the area.  Those Judges have also been informed of 
following information, which be advised is otherwise classified to Angels 
of Dreams, your discretion if you wish to reveal it to other angels: 
possible nascent Tether to Blandine in Hunstville, sculpture entitled 
'The Dreamers.'  Information attached roughly along the lines of what you 
can find at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dreamers_%28sculpture%29 ."

William says, "There is also a list of names attached... several of which 
you have become familiar with over the course of the last few hours."

---------------------------------finished--------------------------------
--

Asher arrives.

fadethecat [to StevenE]: It got bumped by a week last week. So we're on 
today.

Asher has made Asher's local name Neil

William [to StevenE]: I know it's a week off, but we scrapped a normal 
game last week.  Are you up for it?

StevenE shrugs.  Sure.

StevenE has made StevenE's local name Ekur

William eyes that paste, adds the next line.  The attached names were of 
local humans who had modeled for the faces on the sculpture, several of 
whom had been manipulated into showing up in the Prison's Death Row.

Neil missed that paste.

You say, "Draco's resonance has been madly attempting to inform everyone 
that there's a time element involved with Mephibosheth's plan, to do with 
humans, so..."

You say, "Since the major local demonic interference in the Marches -- 
Vesta -- has just been run out of town, there remains the question of 
what to do about the Prison itself, and its inhabitants.  And whether or 
not Mephibosheth's plan has really been fully derailed.  This, then, 
would seem to be your focus in the immediate aftermath of your raid 
against the brothel last session."

You say, "The other time elements ticking in the background include an 
imminent visit by Dominic, and the weekly Sorcerous rounds by Dorotea 
which should be happening in the next day or two."

Asher [to William]: How much do I know about Judgment's op in Hunstville?


On 3d6, you rolled 14.

William [to Asher]: Nothing.  It wasn't part of any loop you seemed to 
need in on.

You say, "It's Ekur who now has the information that connects the Civis 
project to that area, via the Prison and Aaron (the teenager)."

Asher [to William]: Was my success against resonance against Vesta a DI 
or just CD6?

Ekur last saw "Draco's resonance has been madly attempting to inform 
everyone that there's a time element involved with Mephibosheth's plan, 
to do with humans, so..."

William [to Asher]: Normal critical.  I think you got everything 
typically given by that...

Asher [to William]: If it was a true DI, I was going to try to resonate 
Vesta's social network against the Word of Judgment and try to find 
matches. Not worth trying on just a CD6.

You say, "Nah, not that lucky."

You say, "The time is 'shortly after' the raid -- you can feel free to 
powwow in the smoking ashes, in a nearby restaurant, back at the Prison, 
wherever."

Ekur nods.

                ------------Session 49, Arc the Last: Ghost 
Tones-----------------

Draco stands about in the midst of smoking ashes. "Well, that could have 
gone better," he says.

Ekur looks at Draco.  "Oh?"

Neil nods, disgustedly. "Little things they don't mention in the Ethereal 
briefings."

Neil says, "Anyways. Good news, I finally broke whatever that awful 
interference was and got a clean resonance on her. I've got names, faces, 
jobs -- her whole network."

You say, "(There is a small puff of additional Disturbance from inside 
the block of blackness where Neil had dreamshaped Mephibosheth's 
inspection projection, indicating that the Song has been ended 
prematurely by the singer.)"

Asher [to William]: Can you recap the highlights -- where are her hooks 
deepest?

Draco says, "I would've preferred to catch the Lilim. Next time, fewer 
announcements of intent, more smiting."

Neil shrugs. "'Shoot first and ask questions later' isn't really the way 
any of us usually do things."

Draco says, "Truth."

William [to Asher]: Mostly on the nonviolent prisoners, who were able to 
regularly obtain day passes.  Those she had called them in on to make 
trouble typically no longer got the opportunity to leave and get further 
hooked.  She has several on the more troublemaking wing, but less 
opportunity to use them since those prisoners are locked down tighter.  
She has a close working relationship, involving mutual contract-Geas, 
with Mephibosheth, and a mistier collection of Geasa on humans and demons 
you don't know, as well as, naturally, several on her.

You say, "Resolving those would probably require coming in to contact 
with the identities of the other parties."

Neil says, "The Lilim was a Free, mutually contracted with Mephibosheth, 
with a baker's dozen of hooks; tightening the hooks usually meant they 
weren't of use to her anymore, so it's probably not our biggest concern. 
Don't know who else she had, but I'll know 'em when I see 'em."

Ekur shrugs slightly.  "Hard to catch a Celestial in the Marches; driving 
them out is often the best result available."

Neil says, "And I tihnk she'll stay out. We had her cold."

Ekur says, "What I'm worried about is that . . . "  He trails off, 
looking at the crowds here at the site.  "Well, I'd rather not discuss it 
here."

William <OOC> Brb.  Talk amongst yourselves.  I'll give you a topic.  
Never mind, you've got one.  :^)

Draco waves vaguely towards the outskirts. "So now that she's gone, 
what's our next priority? ...oh, right. Back to someplace more private."

Neil sticks out a thumb...

Asher [to William]: Dunno if the Judgmentmobile will answer or not, but 
hey.

Neil says, "Well, one way or another, we retire to somewhere private."

Ekur watches the Judgmentmobile roll up, and steps in.

Ekur says, "Nice trick with the thumb."

Draco thinks inside the Judgmentmobile is pretty private. Probably.

<OOC> Neil pushes his luck. "Thanks. Draco, I've got a crate of those 
celestial grenades in the backseat; pass them up here, please?"

William <OOC> In this Domain, it's pretty soundproof.

Neil says, "So, what's the news?"

Ekur says, "Okay, big thing here, at least to me, is that Nightmares is 
messing with a potential Tether to Dreams.  Messing that involves people 
who have been showing up on the Domain's Death Row."

Draco says, "That may be the time limit I've been picking up on, if 
there's a moment coming up when that Tether will either form or be lost."


Neil says, "I don't know much about Tether formation. Only a Superior can 
stabilize them, yes?"

Draco says, "Yes, once they're ready."

Ekur says, "And when forming, they react . . . unpredictably . . . to 
direct Celestial intervention."

fadethecat [to William]: It occurs to me, rather belatedly, that given 
Draco's past he /should/ have had a Tether-related knowledge skill. Oh 
well. Lost in redemption, possibly.

You say, "(Any angel would know the basics, of course.  Disturbance 
shakes them.  Get humans to do the work nearby, if possible.  Moods of 
nearby humans are important.  Etc.  Any OOC worries?)"

fadethecat [to William]: No OOC worries, was just hoping to be able to 
pull out helpful little details or conclusions, and realized I didn't 
have a skill to do so.

William [to fadethecat]: Hmm.  Perhaps as a celestial specialization of 
Psychology?

Ekur says, "So, on the one hand, I want to go down to Earth and start 
breaking Mephibosheth into little pieces.  On the other hand, I don't 
want to do mess up the Tether myself.  Maybe the best path would be 
trying to work with the prisoners in the Death Row, and get them to 
undermine Mephibosheth's plots.  I'm . . . unsure."

fadethecat [to William]: Something like that. I will worry about it 
later.

William [to Ekur]: Which is better for the Symphony over all, and less 
about your personal wishes?  :^)

Draco flips through his notes, looking for something helpful. "Physical 
fist-fights are unlikely to help the Tether, yes. Much as I'd like to 
shred Meph myself, I don't think that's the most helpful route. If there 
were a very quiet way to take him out, on Earth... But that might require 
more time than we have to plan. Do you have a firm deadline on the Tether 
thing, Ekur? An opening or completion date that we can work with?"

Asher [to William]: Do they know about the Tether?

You say, "They?"

Asher [to William]: Vespa and Mehibosheth. I don't know if Neil knows if 
they know that or not.

You say, "No, you have no direct confirmation on that.  That Mephibosheth 
and a nascent Tether are orbiting around the same human would be an 
extremely inconvenient coincidence as Symphonic confluences of events 
went, though."

You say, "(Vesta, btw.  Like the virgins.)"

Asher [to William]: The Tether's one person's Dream? I suppose it would 
be.

You say, "The radio turns to channel 111.3 FM and crackles to life.  
'Good morning, angels.'"

You say, "Well, who'd have thought Dominic had a sense of humor."

Neil says, "Good morning, Dominic."

Draco leans forward from the back seat to listen to the radio.

You say, "(It really is, too; still just after Ethereal midnight.)"

StevenE [to William]: Of course it really is.  Dominic's a Seraph.

You say, "The voice turns to more direct tones.  'How goes your 
excursion?'  The question, it seems, could be addressed to any of you."

You say, "Neil, of course, would have the most direct obligation to 
answer."

Neil says, "We've uncovered several plots, Lord. An agent of Nightmares 
is trying to pervert the Prison here; in the process he's intefering with 
a nascent Tether to Dreams."

Neil says, "Although his operative here escaped, I got a clean read on 
her corporeal network. We will soon be leaving for Huntsville to deal 
with Mephibosheth directly."

You say, "'That would be hasty,' he says.  There is a pause.  'You are 
now additionally in communication with the triad working in that 
locality,' comes the radio, followed by traditional Judgment greetings 
from three additional voices."

Ekur blinks at Neil.  Whether we should do that, or try to act through 
the dramers on Death Row, was what he was debating.

Asher [to StevenE]: Oh! I'm sorry. Little distracted.

Neil tries to resonate the local Triad.

[snip roll, Resonance_Live_Media ; announce succeeded]

Ekur . o O ( And I was just phrasing a request for help with a matter of 
judgment just as you said that, to get Dominic to tell us.  Well, he 
thinks it's hasty, which answers that. )

William [to Neil]: They're a triad, allright.  And in case you're 
wondering if they're the real thing, you and they share a distant but 
legitimate bond.

Asher [to William]: What? No. I was just looking for regular details -- 
get a feel for them.

Asher [to William]: I wouldn't assume Dominic was faking.

You say, "In that case, you get that the latest speakers are humble but 
considered competent by their associates."

fadethecat [to William]: Should I turn on my resonance? Ekur knows about 
the Tether-to-be and Neil knows about Judgment procedures, but it might 
pick up on small bits of truth that other people in the conversation 
might not know the relevance of.

fadethecat [to William]: Though Seraph resonance while talking to Dominic 
/does/ feel redundant, yes.

Ekur says, "Neil, could you give the Triad full details on Aaron's case?  
You're the one who got all that information from resonating him.  Draco, 
you know Mephibosheth best; tell them what to look out for."

William [to fadethecat]: Go for it.  Even Dominic has Servitors.

Draco rolled 8 versus 22 and succeeded by 14.

Neil explains the issue to the Triad.

Asher [to William]: Long form description?

You say, "A lighter male voice says, 'We should be able to verify that to 
the satisfaction of the human authorities by examining the chain of 
evidence.  If not, we'll let you know.'"

William [to Neil]: Nah.

Asher [to William]: Did I spy a Mercurian down there?

You say, "Resonance result was pretty thin.  Nothing that detailed."

You say, "You're working remote across two planes via the good graces of 
a Superior... definitely little by way of details."

You say, "You are aware, of course, that the examination process he's 
talking about will last some months at minimum."

Neil shakes his head. "I don't think you have time for that. Who's the 
third of your Triad?

Asher [to William]: If I recall, Triads always have a Seraph and a 
Cherub, yes?

William [to Neil]: Dominic becomes aware that you're seeking a Mercurian.  
What for?

You say, "And the Seraph is definite, the second and third vary by the 
duties of the particular triad."

You say, "But by ranking, yes, 'third' is the most likely place for the 
Mercurian."

Asher [to William]: If I can get a Mercurian in specific, I'm assuming 
there's Choir-specific technical jargon I can use to explain a CD6 
resonance that'll give the Mercurian a better chance to zero in on 
problems. If I *can't*, I can at least figure out a decent plan to 
short-cut usual proecdures and get them moving in hours instead of 
months.

You say, "Intriguing.  And for the coolness factor, this is done.  A 
female voice answers you, and as luck would have it she's a Mercurian."

Neil quickly rattles off the most salient details of Vesta of the Lilim, 
in English where possible and Angelic not.

You say, "She thanks you for the info.  'We'll move as quickly as we 
can,' she promises.  'A prison is no plac for an innoc... well, a boy.'"

You say, "She says, 'Wait.  Several of those...' there is the rustling of 
papers."

You say, "She quotes a couple of names.  Ekur, you recognize them -- 
humans, known to Aaron.  'Those are humans in the prison here.  And they 
*aren't* innocents.  Thoroughly part of the gang culture.  And you say 
she has Geasa on them?'"

Asher [to William]: Do I?

You say, "Those were her ties in that direction, yes."

Neil nods, and then speaks belatedly. "Yes. They -- oh boy. They owe her 
for something, do they."

Neil says, "And our boy's innocent of this specific crime."

Neil says, "I think I see where this is going."

Ekur says, "And /they/ know Aaron."

You say, "There is a brief, Symphonically vibrant hum.  'Plausible,' says 
the Most Just.  'Earth triad, you shall follow this chain of evidence.'  
They acknowledge."

Neil . o O ( I love how it's always *Dominic*'s "passive" Seraph 
resonance that always hits with enough power to backwash into the 
Symphony. )

You say, "The lady adds, 'As for the other names... there are a couple on 
Death Row, or Ellis Unit One as it's named here.  I might be worried 
about whether they could harm the human involved with the Tether, though 
physically the inmates are kept extremely isolated from each other every 
hour of the day.  Unless Mephibosheth has managed to pervert the system 
there.'"

You say, "'You shall see to this as well,' says Dominic.  'But human 
walls cannot secure human dreams.  Neil, Ekur, Draco, you must see to the 
boy's safety in the Marches.'"

Draco nods from the back seat. Nods don't usually carry across radios, 
but this is Dominic talking. He'll catch it.

Neil says, "Of course, Most Just. Mephibosheth's Death Row will not be 
long for this world."

Neil doesn't make a joke about killing it -- it's undecorous, and he 
knows Dominic's picked them all up via resonance anyways.

Ekur says, "It will be done."

<OOC> Asher says, "It's the Seraph Superiors it's hardest to keep a 
straight face with. You're already boned just for *thinking* the bad 
thoughts, right?"

You say, "'Deus lo volt,' says Dominic, and signs off.  The radio 
switches to a local zydeco station.  (Track 1!)"

Asher [to William]: God... will electrocute me?

William <OOC> "If God wills it."  Christian equivalent of Insha'allah.

Draco [to Neil]: /Different/ kind of volt.

William <OOC> Latin root of volition, voluntary, volunteer.

Neil says, "Well. There's our marching orders. Or, well, mine, but I 
think you're all in with me here?"

William [to Ekur]: The names she mentioned: all of them ring a bell, so 
at one point or another over the past couple of days they've probably all 
shown up, to your recollection.  Now, physically, it seems only the later 
two are on the human Death Row in Ellis, but the previous two could 
easily dream about it.

Ekur says, "Given that it involves protecting a dreamer, safeguarding a 
potential tether to Dreams, /and/ directly opposing Nightmares, I'd think 
pretty obligated to do it."

Draco says, "Of course I am. I will simply have to resign myself to not 
being able to go kick Meph in the face personally, this time around."

Ekur says, "Let's head back straight to the Ethereal death row, then, and 
see what we can do."

Neil roars down the road, siren enthusastically blaring.

You say, "This is quickly done.  Bob hands the Judgmentmobile a parking 
sticker, and you head on back.  It's late, so as such things go, Death 
Row is populated now.  (Why it should be that night *here* corresponds to 
night in Texas particularly, who can say, except that those are currently 
the dreams with the biggest effect on the locale.)"

Ekur heads on in with the key he was given earlier.

Asher [to William]: Pop wings if I don't have 'em already. Civis blues, 
rakish halo. We're done with the cover, I think.

On 1d4, you rolled 4.

You say, "Ooh."

Ekur walks the cells, resonating people.

You say, "It's crowded tonight.  Not only is Aaron in his cell, but in 
the cells -- and roaming the hallways outside... there are too many 
floors down which the same death chamber is visible -- are quite a number 
of dreamers, human and ethereal.  You might suspect that someone has 
decided to throw them all here."

Asher [to William]: If Yazz isn't here, I'm going to poke at reality with 
Lucid Dreaming until he is.

Asher [to William]: Or would a runner be faster?

Draco follows behind being bodyguard-ish still, until he has a better 
idea of how people are reacting to the angel thing.

William [to Neil]: Who knows?  It'll get his attention, but a runner 
would be more precise.  Perhaps you could ask Nephrite to go.  He's 
sitting at the guard station on the new second floor when you come in.

Ekur hmms, and looks for people who aren't associated with Aaron who 
would accept a simple governor's reprieve, to help clear the place out.

<OOC> Asher says, "Basic plan in my mind is to find the Aaron, guard 
Aaron, get Yazz to tear down Death Row, and take  any transplanar heat 
for him while he does it.

Neil waves. "Hey, Nephrite. We need Yazz in a hurry. Can you get him for 
me?"

Nephrite says calmly, "I've been asked to watch the place tonight."

William [to Draco]: True.  Asked forcefully.  By CelTongues-activated 
Geas.

Neil turns his head, eyes Nephrite. "Really. Watching for what?"

Draco jerks a thumb at Nephrite. "Geased into it," he notes, blandly.

Nephrite says, "It seems someone thinks you're making your move to clear 
out the demonic infestation tonight.  As the bodyguard notes, my 
benefactor -- who has revealed herself to be a third party entirely, Dr. 
Zebulon apparently not being the medico he thinks he is -- has asked me 
to assit in preventing that occurrence."

You say, "He folds up the newspaper he was reading and lays it on the 
desk."

Neil says, "Was a little curious about that, but didn't want to concern 
you -- who stabilized you? It wasn't Vesta, surely."

Nephrite says, "Personally?  I don't know.  But she revealed herself to 
be responsible for initiating the stabilization process, and I had to 
admit the existence of a debt.  You know how it goes after that."

Ekur resonates Nephrite.  (I can't think of an action to request a 
reaction to.)

William [to Ekur]: Not anywhere near as calm as he seems to be.  He's 
being pushed by the Geas, but he doesn't want to die fighting stupid 
odds.

William [to Ekur]: Oddly enough, betrayal *is* part of his personality.  
If he could just find a plausible excuse...

Asher [to William]: I know about the debt he owes me, I'm still thinking.


Ekur says, "So, how far does this geas go?"

Neil speaks for the Seraph's benefit. "I think you've been stabilized by 
Lilith."

Nephrite says, "Well, what she did saved my life.  I'd hate to make her 
go through all that work for nothing."  He eyes Neil.  "What, the 
Princess herself?"

Draco stands about resonating.

William [to Draco]: You get nothing off the Lilith statement.  Too much 
of a fishing expedition.  Nephrite's assessment of Vesta's involvement is 
accurate enough to support a Geas on him, at least.

Neil says, "But it doesn't matter. Because whatever you owe her for your 
life... I think you owe me, too. Don't you?"

Nephrite hesitates.

Nephrite pulls out the talisman Neil gave him, fingers it.  "What you did 
is currently helping, yes."

Ekur says, "Of course, Neil, maybe he wants to spend his new lease on 
life getting killed by an angel.  And this is a death row, we've got an 
execution chamber, and I don't think it's ever been used . . ."

Neil . o O ( And I'm hasty? )

StevenE [to Asher]: <OOC> Yeah, I'm already regretting saying that.

Asher [to William]: I'm not sure what the mechanics are here. I've got to 
make him want to fight the Geas and risk... what do they do, anyways? Do 
you have to beat them by Will or do they damage you if don't obey them?

William [to Neil]: You can lower the amount the Geas can demand by making 
it less important to him.  Which you did.  If it can't demand he risk his 
life, personality-wise, Ekur knows he won't.

Ekur says, "I mean, he seems smarter than that, but you never can tell.  
Some Ethereals actually embody a death-wish."

Nephrite shudders.  "I've already been killed once for the cameras, thank 
you."  He clears his head.  "I was asked to assist in stopping you from 
destroying the place.  The message gave me to understand that there might 
be backup..."

Neil pounces.

Neil says, "Wait. We're not supposed to destroy the place?"

Neil says, "What is it *exactly* you've been contracted to do?"

Nephrite says "Presumably she was involved with the creation of the 
place.  I don't know, my orders were to simply preserve it.  I would 
imagine they expected me to have some sort of assistance in taking on 
three angels."

Nephrite casts Ekur a cool look.  "I'm good... I'm not that good."  Grin.


Draco glances back over his shoulder. "Assistance... Maybe from that 
place that just went up in flames?"

Draco says, "Because I find it unlikely that it would be coming from 
there, at this point."

Nephrite says, "I would imagine more immediate."  He indicates the 
population unusually crowding the place.  "Although that would be quite a 
lot of Essence to activate by Celestial Tongues."

Ekur <OOC> feels like he must be missing something here.

Ekur <OOC> doesn't understand the remark directed at him.

Yazz shows up, muttering at the loose population.  "They're getting out 
into the yard," he says.  He looks over at Neil.  "You rang?"

Asher [to William]: I'm trying to get the terms of the Geas and Lawyer it 
around to refer to the Prison instead of Death Row. Should I spend 20 
minutes quibbling over wording, or would you like ot rule early that it 
won't work?

William [to Neil]: Unlikely to work.

"Ah," says an electronically amplified voice of extremely unpleasant 
familiarity, "it appears that our cast has entirely arrived."

Neil says, "We're about to start tearing down Death Row. We chased a 
braindead Lilim out of Selkirk."

You say, "A guitar starts up.  Hit Track 3 for the background to the 
following."

"Now," says the voice, "I imagine you're feeling pretty proud of 
yourselves.  Vesta's in pretty bad shape right now."  Chuckle.  "Not that 
I give a shit, except she's pretty useless at the moment."

[ snip 3 Perception rolls ; all announce succeeded ]

You say, "It's coming from outside, where it must be both pretty far away 
and loud."

Neil says, "Sounds like our cue. Nephrite, nice knowing you, I think it's 
time for you to bolt?"

Nephrite says, "That seems wise, thank you, have a good evening," and he 
does so.

"So," says Mephibosheth, "I'd say about half my crew is screwed for the 
night.  One of your two objectives is pretty safe.  Guess you'll have to 
decide which."

Ekur tries resonating based on the voice.

You say, "(Guitar shifts to Track 11, less the voice.  But there's a 
definite emotion being carried on it.)"

William [to Ekur]: Live media works!  He is indeed partially frustrated.  
A bit desperate.  This is it -- he's playing the trump card.

Asher [to William]: I'm not sure I understand what's going on yet. He's 
outside, away from Death Row, and... rocking out?

William [to Neil]: Yep.

Asher [to William]: I just don't know what he's doing in Huntsville -- 
our intelligence had placed him down in Georgia...

"See," the voice says, "conditional Geases, well, they're nice 'cause 
anybody that knows the condition can activate 'em.  Once they're paid 
for.  Problem is, they don't last.  So should I send the guys I've got 
left at the kid?  Or the lady that's about to show up for the parole 
hearing?"

Neil resonates Mephibosheth -- who?

"Which one will hurt you the most, you weakling son of a bitch?  For 
forgetting the reality you knew how to make?  For taking Her away from 
the world I made?  Who do you want to save the most?"  The voice is 
getting angry.  "You better run there now, because there's about to be a 
fight!"

Ekur walks over to the cell that has Aaron, and spends two Essence to 
summon his sword and shield.

William [to Neil]: Who who?

William [to Neil]: Georgia?  Since when?

Asher [to William]: I'm not sure who the "lady at the parole hearing" is.


You say, "Ah."

Asher [to William]: The place the Devil Went Down To.

Yazz catches your blank expression.  "Didn't you know?  Dorotea just 
showed up for the weekly round."

The guitar pauses.  "Well you can stop wondering how I'm gonna activate 
all those Geases.  Cause there's about to be a... (Track 8) 
"RIOOOOTTT!!!"

<OOC> Asher asks, "Ekur to Aaron, Neil to Dorotea, Draco to taunt 
Mephibosheth?"

You say, "The population within your sight goes apesh*t."

[snip 6 rolls; announce 4 successes, two failures]

Ekur yess, "You guys go protect Dorotea.  I can yank Aaron to Blandine's 
if I have to!"

You say, "Astonishingly, most of the recipients just seem in pain.  Two 
humans, however, gleefully get an expression of viciousness, and lunge 
for the guy with the weapon."

Neil says, "Yazz, where is she?"

Yazz says, "The panopticon!" and runs in that direction.

Neil runs faster.

You say, "The guitar goes into Tracks 5 through 8."

Draco zips off after Neil.

You say, "There are the sounds of affray coming from all wings.  The 
avian prison is a fluttering of blood and feathers."

The satisfied voice rises over it all.  o/) I'm the leading man -- and 
the lies I weave are so intricate... o/)

Ekur <OOC> looks for his copy of GIN.  Doesn't remember what all these 
songs on his charsheet do . . . 

Draco [to Neil]: By the way, I'm down to all of one Essence, so if you 
want to hand over any while we run, I may be able to actually use a Song.


You say, "Neil and Draco move faster than Yazz, and make it to the 
violent-offenders wing first.  The doors, somehow, have been unlocked.  
Aaron, the Cherub, guards a doorway behind which Dorotea stands with wand 
flaring sulphuric fire.  Rick and a body of guards hold back three 
offenders that have dreamshaped themselves into hairy, muscled brutes."

You say, "We've got two fight scenes.  Ekur's was first, so let's take 
him."

You say, "(Want me to summarize your Songs quickly?)"

StevenE [to William]: Yeah.

William <OOC> EthCharm: reduces IQ.  Dreams: useless unless you enter or 
want to enter a dreamscape.  EthEntropy: causes Fright Check.  
EthHarmony: people within area of effect become calm.  EthProjection: 
Visit somewhere in the Marches you have been.  Tongues: translate, or 
telepathy.

Ekur says, "Okay, they're humans, I don't want to permanently hurt them, 
but I do want to take 'em out.  EthCharm . ..  wait, does that last 
minutes or hours?"

You say, "You are presently faced with two human attackers, and between 
them a third human presently incapacitated apparently fighting off some 
head pain."

You say, "Minutes."

Draco [to Ekur]: EthHarmony could possibly calm everyone down 
immediately.

Ekur says, "Yeah.  I'm going to try Ethereal Harmony."

You say, "Charm is not resisted, Harmony is.  Charm lasts 1 minute, can 
be maintained.  Harmony is (deg of success) minutes, must be resung."

You say, "The humans close to within arm's reach, so you will need 2 
Essence unless you intend to reach further.  Be aware, the Song will 
affect you as well."

StevenE [to William]: Harmony'll hit everybody all at once; I'll try it.  
2 essence.

You say, "Sing!"

Ekur rolled 7 versus 18 and succeeded by 11.

You say, "One of the humans -- one of the older ones, you recall, one of 
the ones the Earth triad Mercurian said was on Death Row for real -- 
shouts "Quit yapping!" and attempts to close and sock you as you sing."

[snip roll, Brawling ; announce failed ]

You say, "He doesn't manage to connect."

You say, "The other one, a youth, just goes for an unscientific attempt 
to close in for a slam, arms flailing..."

[snip roll, DX-2 ; announce succeeded]

You say, "He looks like he'll connect, if you don't do anything."

You say, "Unless your passive defense works."

StevenE [to William]: Can I do a block without disrupting my singing?

You say, "Using an active defense will require a Will-3 roll to maintain 
concentration."

Ekur says, "Okay, I'll use active defense, Block."

You say, "Roll it, and Will (15)."

Ekur rolled 9 versus 15 and succeeded by 6.

Ekur rolled 12 versus 10 and failed by 2.

Neil jawdrops.

StevenE [to Asher]: Block was only 10, I rolled 12.

Asher [to StevenE]: Oh, good. I thought you blew your Will roll.

Asher [to StevenE]: Guy's only packing, what, d4+1 damage in the 
Ethereal?

You say, "Okay, your first Will roll succeeded but the block didn't.  
You're hit... the boy apparently knows the low tackle."

[snip roll ST ; announce succeeded ]

You say, "Roll ST (IQ here, 18) and Will 15 again."

Ekur rolled 10 versus 18 and succeeded by 8.

Ekur rolled 16 versus 15 and failed by 1.

Ekur says, "/Now/ I failed my Will roll."

You say, "You remain standing, but the Song is disrupted."

You say, "The boy spends the round scrambling back to his feet.  The man 
yells, "What are you humming about, fairy?" and hauls off with a 
haymaker."

[snip roll Brawling ; succeeded]

Ekur blocks again.

You say, "What are you doing this round?  You can see the punch coming."

Ekur rolled 12 versus 10 and failed by 2.

Aaron looks at all this from behind you.  "What the fuck.  What the 
*fuck.*"

StevenE [to William]: Oh, you mean I act before the punch?

William [to StevenE]: You get to choose your action first, yes.  Yours 
will resolve first, unless it takes the entire round.

You say, "(Backwards by least Move -- slower people telegraph.)"

Ekur stabs the human Ethereally.  We can get him psychological counseling 
later, after he's been stopped.

You say, "Roll attack."

Ekur rolled 13 versus 20 and succeeded by 7.

[snip roll, Dodge ; announce failed]

Ekur rolled 3d6 and got 15.

You say, "He's not an experienced swordsman... his streetfights seem to 
have involved knives at best.  Yours?  That's a big knife."

You say, "His punch connects at the same time your sword tip does.  Both 
of you went straight into the gut... in you case, however, it's literal."


On 1d6-2, you rolled 2.

You say, "Not too bright moving that fist, he does manage to hit harder 
than Wrinth."

Neil . o O ( I see d4+1 was generous. )

Neil . o O ( ... and impossible in GURPS, I suppose. )

You say, "After he connects, he looks down, gasps, and collapses around 
the gushing wound."

You say, "That opponent's out of the fight.  As a matter of dreamscaping, 
he leaves an inert body behind on the floor after he leaves the Marches."


Neil . o O ( Does GURPS have morale checks? There's Fright Checks, but I 
don't know if they're used the same way... )

Ekur mutters, "Aichmophobia, probably."

You say, "(I'm intrigued.  Aichmophobia = ?)"

StevenE [to William]: Fear of knives and other sharp objects.

William  *snicker*

The younger one looks down at him gapingly, and retreats.  You can tell 
he's not scared, though... he's angry.

William [to Ekur]: From your earlier interaction with him, this is a 
youth steeped in the gang culture.  He's proud of his prison time, 
willing to punish "snitches" and "traitors."

Ekur will . . . try EthHarmony, again.

You say, "At this point, for example, he shouts, 'That was my signup, you 
a**hole!' (His formal sponsor for membership.)  And manifests a 
submachine gun.  Dreamshaped, but still a ranged attack."

You say, "Okay, tactics.  Right now you'll need 3 Essence to catch him, 
due to range.  4 if you retreat to add 3 to Dodge, which is the only 
active defense for guns."

Neil . o O ( Alternately, you can APPROACH him and just take the hit if 
he doesn't miss. )

Ekur says, "Bah.  Okay, instead, I chase him, with intent to stab him."

You say, "Righty-o, Move and Attack.  He's within your Ethereal Move, 
even with the retreat, so you close to range by the end of the round.  He 
Dodges with Retreat, you can dodge en route.  Roll that and the attack."

[snip roll Dodge; announce succeeded]

Ekur rolled 11 versus 9 and failed by 2.

[snip roll Guns; announce critically succeeded]

Ekur rolled 9 versus 20 and succeeded by 11.

You say, "The first your Dodge, the second the attack?"

Ekur says, "Yeah."

Ekur . o O ( Tell me his crit success was a DI.  Tell me . . . )

You say, "Alas, a 4."

You say, "Okay.  His gunshot critically succeeded anyway, taking you 
through an ethereal lung.  Fortunately, not being a relic, it still can't 
hit any harder than he can, which is 5 Mind Hits."

Asher [to StevenE]: If you get curbstomped by two humans -- *ethereally* 
-- you need to know that this will start a chain of events that will end 
up with Ekur objectively holding Neil down a toilet and flushing it..

You say, "Yeah, the kid's gotten surprisingly lucky."

StevenE [to Asher]: Some dreams need to be fulfilled.  Who's dreaming of 
that happening to Neil?

You say, "Next round... and you're at a shock penalty of 5 for the 
moment, bear in mind, while he wasn't hit last round.  He keeps 
shooting."

You say, "You?"

Ekur says, "Stab again."

Ekur rolled 16 versus 15 and failed by 1.

Neil . o O ( Gutsy. )

You say, "Your wobbly, hurting attack misses.  He pulls the trigger, 
arrogantly..."

[snip roll Guns; announce critically failed]

You say, "Wow, is he ever streaky tonight.  17.  %^D"

Ekur . o O ( Tell me it /wasn't an II . . . whew. )

Neil says, "Oh, thank GOD..."

You say, "Now, how does this critical manifest...  *thinks*"

You say, "There is the report of gunfire.  But it's not from next to your 
ear.  It's from Aaron, and your attacker stares at him."

Aaron says, "You *know* that wasn't my gun, bitch.  This is."

Aaron says to Ekur, "You hurt?"

Ekur says, "Nothing serious; when I've got a few minutes, I can fix it.  
You okay?"

Aaron says, "You the one standing in front of me.  They ain't touched me 
yet."

Your attacker says, "Still taking the cops' side, I see."  "Go to hell," 
says Aaron.

The other human says, "You first," and points the gun at Aaron.

Ekur attacks the gunman.

You say, "Roll it."

Ekur rolled 11 versus 20 and succeeded by 9.

[snip roll, Dodge; announce failed]

Ekur rolled 3d6 and got 8.

You say, "This one connects..."

[snip roll, Will ; announce failed]

You say, "...and breaks his aim."

You say, "He's still conscious, if struggling..."

[snip roll, Guns ; announce succeeded]

On 1d6, you rolled 1.

You say, "Until Aaron puts his last light out."

You say, "They seem to leave bodies behind here.  Aaron spits on his."

You say, "The bars to his cell have disappeared.  He steps out and looks 
at you, approvingly."

Aaron says, "Nice blade.  You're pretty thug for a social worker."

You say, "(You *think* he intends that as a compliment...)"

Ekur chuckles a bit.  "Well, I had a rough youth.  I wasn't born a social 
worker --  quite."

Aaron says, "Guess no one is."  He listens to the outside.  "There's a 
riot on outside, huh?  Never saw one.  Well, not in the prison, anyway."

Ekur looks around, to try to evaluate whether it's safe to leave Aaron 
and try to fix things.  Probably not; Mephibosheth might see him and 
charge.  He mutters a quick Eth Healing to top off mind hits.

Ekur rolled 11 versus 17 and succeeded by 6.

You say, "All but 1, yes."

Ekur . o O ( And over on the other side of town . . . )

William [to Ekur]: So you'll stay there with Aaron for now?

Neil [to William]: Test...

William [to Neil]: Ack.

StevenE [to William]: Yep.

[ snip msg'ing ]

You say, "Will do.  *eyes clock*  Let's try to handle this one tonight, 
and gather the two groups together in a final (ethereal, at least) 
Mephibosheth's-head-kicking extravaganza next week, mm?"

Neil says, "Sounds good."

Draco says, "Sounds good."

You say, "We turn the scene back to the panopticon and its frozen moment 
of fury."

You say, "Neil and Draco burst into the room, where confusion reigns -- 
and yet, ironically, every individual is extremely clear on their current 
goals.  You are on the other side of the beast-like Ethereals attacking 
the guards."

You say, "The participants are concerned with their own affairs at the 
moment.  You are free to act."

Neil rips his halo from his head, loops it over the neck of one of the 
attackers, and begins choking him with it.

You say, "...heh."

Neil says, "Mechanically a Jung Fu hold; a Choke Hold would be the finest 
match, but we've never used it Ethereally and I have grave doubts it's 
really relative, so a simple hold to make the guard's life easier will 
suffice."

Draco ambles up beside Neil and begins popping people in the back of the 
head.

You say, "Personal dreamshaping at 18 to give yourself a physical halo, 
Judo at 15 for a grapple with leverage."

You say, "Jung Fu is if you want to do it at range."

fadethecat [to William]: Standard brawling for mine, I assume?

William [to fadethecat]: If you are sans weapon, yes.

Asher [to William]: Ah -- I specifically specifed a halo earlier, when I 
popped my wings. Still necessary?

Draco rolled 6 versus 23 and critically succeeded by 17.

You say, "Hmm... okay.  You've got the halo, assuming you had a physical 
halo in mind at the time."

Asher [to William]: I can't support that claim directly except that I 
always imagined it with a degree of reality.

Neil rolled 11 versus 15 and succeeded by 4.

William [to Draco]: 'tis a legitimate crit.  Straight to damage.

[snip roll, Grapple_Resist; announce failed]

fadethecat [to William]: Sorry, trying to figure out what damage I do, 
under the circumstance.

fadethecat [to William]: Would that be straight up Swing damage?

William [to fadethecat]: I assumed a standard punch.  Thus, thr for an 
ethereal ST that is equal to effective Will.

You say, "Thus, 2d+1.  Ow."

William [to Neil]: You have him pinned.  You simply continue the hold as 
the guard attacks?

Draco rolled 1d6+1 and got 4.

Draco whoops, adds.

Draco rolled 1d6 and got 4.

fadethecat [to William]: Total 8.

William [to fadethecat]: Draco hits like a ton of bricks.  The already 
slightly-wounded ethereal dissipates.

Asher [to William]: Hmm. If I don't take any other action, I... can't 
recall what advantages it gives towards maintaining the hold. But I'll 
take them.

Asher [to William]: Yes, just continue *strangling the ethereal with my 
halo*.

Asher is in a happy place.

You say, "...oh, this is a choke hold.  You're doing damage."

You say, "*looks that up*"

Asher [to William]: Well, *usually* Jung Fu lets me inflict plausible 
penalties, but the idea of inducing *unconciousness*, here, seemed 
far-fetched.

You say, "*mutter*  Frankly, that was really an attack with a garrote, 
now that I think of it."

Asher [to William]: So I dunno if a choke hold is *really* appropriate. 

Asher [to William]: And for that, I can't really justify trying to claim 
an Arm Bar either.

Asher [to William]: WE've got Dorotea, Aaron, Draco, and two guards on 
our side, and one free Ethereal and one pinned Ethereal on their side. 
We're good.

You say, "Yeah... and it's a bit later than usual.  Assume this cleans up 
easily for you guys, and go out for the guitar-playing Balseraph one week 
from today, then finish up with your social responsibilities and call it 
an arc?"

Neil says, "Sure."

You say, "Thanks.  I'm wobbling a little."

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

You say, "Next week makes it a round 50.  Not a bad campaign at all."