2020-03-10 Urban Exploration

## Summary

Shiloh Young and Nathan Triggs were investigating an old house in downtown Manhattan, rumored to be the home of an old alchemist. Shiloh was eager to explore the place, but Nathan was noticeably reluctant about the whole idea. They checked the exterior for security systems, finding only one old camera, easily avoided. The doors were locked, but Shiloh gained access through an unlocked window. Letting Nathan in through the front door, they explored the house, finding a locked door down to the basement. Sensing something behind the door, Shiloh searched for a different way in, finding a secret door behind a cabinet in the kitchen. Down in the basement, they found a table full of alchemical equipment inscribed with strange markings, some of which Shiloh could identify. Both of them were drawn by the symbols on the pieces, and while contemplating the mystic sigils on one of the jars, Shiloh had an experience that led to her Awakening, an event which was visible to everyone with mystical senses within several city blocks.

Two magi were witnesses to the supernatural disturbance. Tati King was riding on a subway car heading south from Manhattan when she sensed the anomaly, and turned around immediately, recognizing its import. K. Malcolm Lawson was working late at his internship downtown, and on leaving, he also felt the wave of energy released, casting a spell to examine the surge of magical energy, enabling him to follow the trail.

Nathan crushed the glassware in his hands so tight it shattered, cutting him, and he screamed. Shiloh went to tend him, and he fled the scene. Shiloh chased after him, both of them running out of the house, where Malcolm observed them and followed them down into the subway. Nathan ran into Tati King as she was exiting the metro car coming back up, literally bowling her over in his haste to escape. Shiloh tripped over Tati trying to pursue, and both ended up on the deck of the subway station. Nathan did not stop or wait for anything, riding away on the subway train. From her position on the floor, Tati cast a spell to enable her to keep an eye on the fleeing young man. Malcolm offered to assist the women in standing, but was declined; a brief, guarded conversation followed, and Shiloh fled the scene. Tati cast a second spell of scrying, this time observed by Malcolm, still sustaining a spell enabling him to witness the flow of magical essence. Tati and Malcolm conversed further; Malcolm intended to investigate the scene where the events took place. Tati agreed to join the investigation Malcolm proposed, and seemed especially excited by the fact that its legality was questionable.

Malcolm and Tati explored the house, finding the same alchemical setup that the other two found, and Malcolm took the bloodstained bits of glass Nathan cut himself on and disposed of them, not wanting to leave forensic evidence where it could
be found. They also closed up the house as they left, before parting ways.

## Log

> **Janothar**Nathan is frowning "Are you sure you want to do this Shiloh? Just because some random old alchemist might have lived here, you want to start urban spelunking? Do you even know what you're doing?" They're standing in front of an old building, currently unoccupied and being considered as a historical landmark for frustratingly vague reasons. It's quite foreboding and in disrepair, and oddity for this part of town.**Shiloh Young**Shiloh playfully elbows him. "C'mon, it beats that dumb event they were trying to rope us into on campus. What happened to your sense of adventure?" </nowiki\>
> She creeps her way up towards the entrance, glancing this way and that, and, assuming the coast was clear, she'd throw a thumbs up back at Nathan. "I promise I have an idea."**Janothar**"That's what I'm afraid of." he grumbles as he follows her. He always does end up tagging along on things like this, despite protesting the whole way.**Shiloh Young**She stifles a laugh, flashing him a grin. "Just keep a lookout while I find a way in, yeah?"
>
> Creeping up by the door, she accesses her options, glancing around for any cameras or the like. (need a roll or anything?)**Janothar**Yeah, toss out a Per + Alert, diff 6**Shiloh Young**/r 5d10\>\&61;6f1**SidekickBOT**@Shiloh Young: 5d10\>\&61;6f1 \&61; (5 7 8 4 8, 3 successes) \&61; 3**Janothar**She doesn't spot much in the way of cameras, just one that looks like it might even be broken.**Shiloh Young**She chews her lip, pausing to mull over the risks. This place had to be a low priority with how obscure it was, right? With a shrug, she presses onwards, trying out the front door.**Janothar**Locked!
>
> Nathan sighs in relief "Look, the place is locked, let's just go. You think that this guy would have just left his books lying around or something?"**Shiloh Young**Shiloh audibly groans. "Dude, how did you even get into Columbia if you give up this easily? C'mon! I'm gonna try the window - boost me up?" She sidles on over to the closest window, judging how difficult it'd be to reach, before throwing a look back at Nathan, brows knit. "To be real for a second, if you really want to go, don't let me stop you, dude. But I gotta see this place for myself."**Janothar**He sighs yet again "I can't let you get yourself killed." and he goes along, offering her a boost.**Shiloh Young**She offers up a huff of protest. "You're being sooo dramatic. Relax! We've got this. Any sign of danger, I promise, we bail. Trust me?" And eagerly hauls herself up on his shoulders, reaching out for the window.**Janothar**He boosts her up, and she can get ahold of the ledge. The window is, fortunately for her, unlocked!**Shiloh Young**"Yes," it's hissed happily, and after some grunting she struggles her way through, aiming to drop quietly into whatever room she had slipped into, head cocked, listening for anything off.
>
> If the coast was again clear, she'd wave down at Nathan. "I'll go open the front door for you, yeah?" She didn't wait for his response, ducking deeper into the place.**Janothar**"Meet you around front." he calls, and heads back over there, hoping it doesn't take her long.
>
> Inside, the place is dark, and there's not much furniture, so at least not too much to trip over.**Shiloh Young**Unfortunately for Nathan, Shiloh snaps into detective mode, picking through this drawer and that - anything she could possibly snoop through as she worked her way through the house, down to the front door which she'd promptly (try) to unlock if nothing interesting was found.**Janothar**It's a simple tumbler lock, so she turns it and bam! the door is open. Nathan enters once the door unlocks, but still has a bit of a look of dismay on his face "You got distracted again, didn't you?"**Shiloh Young**Try as she might to put on a serious face, Shiloh's expression cracked, another guilty grin flying free. "Just means less work for you. Nothing but dust and some old furniture so far." She offers him her arm. "Not so dangerous, see? Let's go! The reports I read said he supposedly set up his lab in the basement. Spooky."**Janothar**Nathan is pulled along by her sheer momentum "You didn't say anything about the basement!" This definitely seems unsafe to him, and he is NOT a fan.
>
> Shiloh doesn't have too much trouble finding a door to the basement, but that door is locked solid, and deadbolted. Significantly more secure than the front door. The place is also dark, and she can almost feel a pressure from the other side of the door, both pushing her away but also beckoning for her to get through, whatever she needs to do to manage it**Shiloh Young**She couldn't resist it this time - Nathan's reaction drew out a laugh, filling her with a childish excitement that was only cut short by their discovery, that feeling.
>
> "Whoa." Her brows knit tight, and she untangles her arm from Nathan's, pressing a palm flat against the door. "...you feel that?" (need a roll?)**Janothar**(nope, no need to roll anything here, we're in an Awakening, strong narrative and weirdness that's appropriate just happen)
>
> "Feel what?" clearly Nathan isn't feeling it, whatever it is. But it's drawing her in...she has to get through that door!**Shiloh Young**She begins to trace a finger along its surface, movements becoming frantic as she sought out some way to bypass the lock - but how would you get a deadbolt open from the other side. The lip chewing resumed, and she turned turned her attention out into the darkness. "Dude... you see anything thin? Maybe we can shove a wire through the crack, lift the deadbolt - or, like, how strong are you, Nathan? Maybe we could, I don't know, kick it open."
>
> A part of her did not like the thought of that, did not think they were even tough enough to damage some historical place for her own selfish desires - but another, stronger part of her didn't give a damn. She was getting through one way or another. She began to pick her way through the darkness. "...Maybe's there's another way in."**Janothar**"You want...you seriously want...to kick in a door in a historic building? Can't you see that you're crossing lines here?" he's giving her a look, he's almost hit his limit on all this.
>
> As she searches around, she finds an old kitchen. One of the cabinets in that kitchen feels...she can feel that same pressure that she felt at the door.**Shiloh Young**She waves her hand dismissively. "I don't want to." That was a lie. "Just as a... last ditch effort kind of thing," her voice trails as she zeroes in on that feeling again, reaching out for the cabinet. "There's gotta be another way, some way he or they or whoever uses it to open it from the outside." Barring the idea that it could only be opened from with, that someone was in there and they were not alone in this house. That thought sent goosebumps up her arm as she pulled at the cabinet. "How are you not feeling this?"**Janothar**"Feeling what? Are you sure you're ok? Maybe we should go if you're sick..."
>
> AHA! The cabinet has a false back, and if she squeezes through, there's a staircase down through it. Gotta love old houses and secret passageways.**Shiloh Young**Her eyes light up, and she gestures widely at the find, dismissing his concerns. "See? I told you it would be worth it. An honest-to-god secret passageway." Without waiting for a reply, Shiloh practically dives in, pressing her way through with a grunt and hurrying down the staircase on tip toes, an awkward balance of speed and stealth.**Janothar**"Shiloh, are you crazy!?" he's alarmed, but follows after her, a lot more carefully, losing ground to her as they go
>
> Shiloh gets to the bottom and finds a lab table covered in a cloth, the telltale signs of glassware underneath and a thick coating of dust.**Shiloh Young**Whatever cries of protest he might call out were left unanswered as Shiloh, transfixed, approached the the lab, her breath caught tight in her chest. A thousand things raced through her mind, warnings and worries that were just as quickly dismissed as Nathan had been.
>
> For the third time this night, she reaches out tentatively, pulling away at the cloth.**Janothar**She gets a face full of dust! But in addition to that, the glassware is impeccable...and old, it's got to be 19th century. And it's got some strange symbols on it. Could it be alchemical code? That would be quite a find!**Shiloh Young**She coughs and sputters, blinking through bleary eyes at her discovery. "Damn. Straight. I knew it," she reached for the glassware, but, thinking better of it, leaned in instead, trying to decode the symbol, tossing a look behind and about her every so often.**Janothar**Nathan comes up behind her, he's panting, this whole thing is a bit much for him. He does prefer things safe and secure. He looks around, surprised "There's...actually something here."
>
> The symbol on the glassware is the alchemical symbol for Essence, it must have been used for purifying things
>
> (sorry, lost a bookmark and had to hunt it down)**Shiloh Young**She twitches at his approach, stepping almost possessively in front of her find, brows in a knot - but that feeling flickers out, and Shiloh purses her lips. What the hell is wrong with me? Jesus, get a grip on yourself. "I told you. Look, this is some authentic stuff. See this symbol? Purifi-" her explanation suddenly cuts as she spun on her heels to face him, knocking into the table precariously. Her arms shot out towards the glassware in a panic.**Janothar**The glassware comes tumbling down, she manages to catch the one that she'd been looking at, and Nathan catches a different one, diving for it. She spots the marking for "to mix" on it**Shiloh Young**"Nice save," she looses a sigh, shakily setting the glass down. She offers Nathan an awkward smile, before eying up what he carried, gears turning in her head. "I can't believe they - he?- just left all this stuff here. I mean, I know everyone think alchemy's all junk science now, but still!" She holds out her hands for what he carried. "Look. That symbol - mixing - maybe he left some ingredients around, too. Maybe we can brew something," she tries to pass that off in her playful tone from earlier, but it's clear she's serious.
>
> Her eyes dart around for things to use.**Janothar**That presence that had been pushing before, as she holds the piece of glassware with the Essence sigil on it, she can feel it closing in on her, and...it's almost like it's actually coming out of her. She can't help but stare at the symbol of her glassware, feeling like it means something more than just "essence" in the alchemical sense.**Shiloh Young**"Go... look around, won't you?" She squints down at it, tracing the symbol over with her hand, murmuring every thought and possible solution that she imagined beneath her breath.
>
> Without really knowing why, Shiloh attempts to 'reach' out to the symbol with that feeling, that presence building in her mind. To Nathan, it might appear as her simply bringing the glass closer, staring intently at it.**Janothar**He's actually just staring at the glassware in his hand, transfixed by the symbol on it, oddly similarly to how she is.
>
> The presence of that primordial nothingness...not a negation of everything, but the absence of things before the moment of creation floods through her, and she feels like if she reaches out for it, the power of creation will be hers.**Shiloh Young**Shiloh grows very, very still, a flood of fear and excitement and a need to know more all clashing in her head. Her chest started to hurt from the breath she held, and her hands threatened to shatter the glass she held so tightly.
>
> Squeezing her eyes shut, she reaches out for that primordial something - diving into the depths might be a more apt comparison.**Janothar**It's completely overwhelming for her, the entire world feels like it's turned inside out in that moment, and she feels like she's seeing the world for the first time, and everything can change...the world is a chaos that can be manipulated, but there's a higher world, one with mechanistic laws that overrule the "laws" of physics that she knows, just like the alchemists she's read so much about said...
>
> At this point, @everyone who might be in Downtown Manhattan gets a big flashy Awareness ping coming from a weird abandoned historical building.
>
> Nathan screams a bit, having clutched the glassware in his hands way too tight, it has broken, cutting open his fingers.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(I can show up because it's a different time than the other scene, right? I want to make sure I understood).**Shiloh Young**The scream snaps Shiloh from her reverie, and the glass slips from her hands, shattering against the floor. "Nathan!" she stumbles (still shaken from the massive change she just experienced) towards him, trying to take her friend in her arms, examine the wound.**Janothar**(yes, the other scene is during the day, this is nighttime)**K. Malcolm Lawson**It was very late on Tuesday Night and Malcolm was working late at his internship in Downtown Manhattan. He was just looking up and leaving the building when he became aware of a strange feeling, the sort he gets when magick is afoot.
>
> Closing his eyes for a moment, he invoked the All Seeing Third Eye, looking to get a better sense of what is going on.**Janothar**Nathan pulls back from her "What...what the fuck Shiloh? I TOLD YOU this was a bad idea..." as he backs away, he starts up the stairs.
>
> @K. Malcolm Lawson roll it, diff 4**K. Malcolm Lawson**/r 5d10\>\&61;4f1**SidekickBOT**@K. Malcolm Lawson: 5d10\>\&61;4f1 \&61; (5 5 7 7 1, 3 successes) \&61; 3**Janothar**@K. Malcolm Lawson senses a chaotic burst of magick, nothing distinctive, just...random magickal energy. Sadly, he doesn't manage to get a whiff of the resonance, he's just not close enough. But he can follow the trail of magick to the source**Shiloh Young**She winces at that, her step faltering momentarily. "Nathan, you're bleeding! Please!" She scrambles after him, side stepping broken glass, struggling to take her hoodie off so as to staunch the flow.**K. Malcolm Lawson**"This merits investigation" Malcolm said to himself, and sustained the spell to follow the trail.**Janothar**Nathan pulls away from Shiloh, and then suddenly turns around and runs, opening the first door they tried now that they're on the inside as he flees.**Shiloh Young**Shiloh hauls after him, intent on chasing the man down, swinging hard around corners and ducking through doors as she tried to catch up. "Stop, please! I'm sorry!"**Janothar**"STAY AWAY" he yells back as he runs out the door, only looking over his shoulder to see that he's getting away from her**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati was taking the train back down to the island, even though she knew it was too late to get home the plebian way, but when that feeling tickled across her senses, she immediately got off, jumped platforms, and took it back the other way.**Shiloh Young**"You're gonna bleed out, damnit, please, stop!" she hated how high pitched her voice became, the whine of desperation it held. She raced out after him, letting the door just swing open behind her. (foot chase?)**Janothar**(everyone else can arrive as they like, and see the scene as it plays out)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(Is this just...on the street?)**Shiloh Young**(I'm assuming they hit the streets now?)**Janothar**Nathan is ignoring her and ducks into a subway station...she'd be losing him quickly if it were during the day on a normal week, but it's late and Coronavirus has thinned the crowds substantially
>
> (Yes, he's run out into the street and to a nearby subway station, Shiloh is not too far behind him)**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm's firm was just a few blocks away, and the streets were largely empty this late in the evening, when he comes upon an old house, door ajar, and two people come running out of it.
>
> (Does my magick ping the place or the people, or Both?)**Janothar**(it points you at Shiloh)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(Then that's where I'm going)
>
> Concentrating for a moment and letting his Etheric senses catch up, Malcolm can see the surge of energy coming off the young woman chasing the young man down the subway. Not wanting to lose sight of them before he found out what was going on, he picked up the pace and followed them down into the Subway.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(I'm coming out of a subway station, can I just run into him or something? :D)**Shiloh Young**Shiloh weaves in and out of the thinned crowd, oblivious to what was really going on. All she cared about was catching up to her friend, and so she rushed, racing (or attempting to) onto any train he tried to escape on.**Janothar**(yes!)**K. Malcolm Lawson**Taking the mostly empty stairs two and three at a time with his long and lanky legs, Malcolm hurried after the young woman, absentmindedly swiping his card through the turnstyle with practiced ease of a longtime resident. Keeping the vibrant young woman in his sight, Malcolm followed her and her quarry onto the platform.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati is not in a hurry, because who knows what that special feeling might be. It could be the mass Awakening of an entire Coven of Widderslainte--no reason to run. She's dressed up tonight, her leather jacket shining and her lips black and glistening, black hot pants and fishnet stockings with shit kicking combat boots--she's a walking stereotype--and she walks directly into Nathan, "Oh, hey. Slow down there, little fella."**Shiloh Young**Shiloh simply scales over the turnstyles, giving absolutely zero fucks about the law at the moment. There's nothing special about her attire - just blue jeans, a hoodie and tennis shoes sounding off against the floor as she made for Nathan.**Janothar**Nathan attempts to just shove Tati out of his way and glances over his shoulder. Basic manners seem to have abandoned him in his flight.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**/r 2d10\>\&61;6f1**SidekickBOT**@Uyôtowá (Tati King): 2d10\>\&61;6f1 \&61; (3 1, -1 success) \&61; -1**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati, who is slight and doesn't exactly visit the gym very often/at all, is easily shoved to the side. In fact, she is like shoving through a curtain of paper, and she goes toppling to the ground in a pile of legs and boots. "Aah!" she shrieks.**Shiloh Young**Her closing in proves to be her literal downfall, as Shiloh's foot trips over one of Tati's boots and sends her faceplanting into the platform, a pained cry as her lip busts open.
>
> Defeated, she pulls herself up onto her knees, blinking after Nathan's retreating form.**Janothar**And with that, Nathan hops on a train, glancing out the window at Shiloh with fear in his eyes, something she's never seen on his face, at least, not directed at her, before**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm would find it difficult to run in his three piece suit, but has sustained a brisk pace in pursuit of the young lady, and witnesses the whole scene at the platform. Quickly catching up to the ladies, he extends a hand to each to help them up.
>
> "Are you two alright?"**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Despite falling on her ass, and then having someone else fall on her, Tati does not at all seem to be focused on that particular tumble of chaos right now. Instead, she reaches into the non-pocket of her shorts and pulls out a thick green drafting pencil, sharpened down to the nub, and draws a series of circles overlapping half-circles, while keeping her eyes on the man that knocked her down--she might not know what's up, but she can tell that he's at the center of the hub-bub that set her Crowley-meter off.
>
> (I'd like to try to "scry" on him. He's right there at the moment, but he's about to not be, so my purpose is basically to forge a connection so I can see where he goes.)
>
> (I"m guessing it's 5, but I'll wait for confirmation)**Shiloh Young**That look sparks a shudder from Shiloh, and she hides her face with one hand as she chokes back a sob, her emotions a mess of embarrassment, confusion, shame. It takes a long moment for her to even register Malcom's hand, which she rapidly waves off and sputters apologies both to him and the woman who was now... what? Drawing beside her? Shiloh pulls in closer on herself. This was all so fucking weird.
>
> She pulls out her cell and fires off a series of texts to Nathan.**Janothar**(sorry, as mentioned, slow, was AFK. Yes, it will be difficulty 5)
>
> Nathan does not respond to any of Shiloh's texts, no matter what she says**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**/r 3d10\>\&61;5f1**SidekickBOT**@Uyôtowá (Tati King): 3d10\>\&61;5f1 \&61; (10 1 9, 1 success) \&61; 1**K. Malcolm Lawson**/r 5d10\>\&61;3f1**SidekickBOT**@K. Malcolm Lawson: 5d10\>\&61;3f1 \&61; (1 6 1 5 4, 1 success) \&61; 1**Shiloh Young**Shiloh slumps, and pockets her cell, wiping off her bloodied lip with her sleeve.**Janothar**(so, anyone who wants to can roll Per + Aware for Tati's effect, base difficulty 6, to sense that she's doing something weird)
>
> Tati senses as Nathan heads uptown, towards Harlem, though the connection isn't strong, it doesn't take too much to figure out the general trajectory**K. Malcolm Lawson**(That was my last roll, difficulty modified down for an active spell, just For Everyone's Information. Damn 1's!)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati holds onto her connection to Nathan, keeping a peripheral eye on him. She rubs out the drawings on the floor of the terminal with her jacket sleeve and looks across at the other woman on the ground. "Hey, woah. Hey. I see your friend. Saw him. Well." She bites her lips and starts over, reaching over to put a hand--cautiously--on her shoulder in an attempt at reassurance. "Let's find him together. I'm Tati."**Janothar**Malcolm can sense Tati did...something. But despite all his practice, he's not yet managed to glean more information than that**Shiloh Young**/r 6d10\>\&61;6f1**SidekickBOT**@Shiloh Young: 6d10\>\&61;6f1 \&61; (8 1 1 4 5 8, 0 successes) \&61; 0**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(If you need me to roll to be reassuring, I will. But she's putting effort in!)**Janothar**(If Shiloh is ok with just roleplaying it, I'm on board with that)**K. Malcolm Lawson**With his Essence Sight fixed mostly on Shiloh, Malcolm only saw the briefest flash of Tati's effect, but just barely.
>
> Curious Malcolm thought, filing the information away for future use.
>
> "Everyone alright?" Malcolm said in a pleasant tone. "You both took a pretty hard fall. What's going on?"**Shiloh Young**Shiloh twitches back at the touch, but she soon relaxes, offering the stranger an awkward half smile. "No, no, it's okay - I, uh, I don't think he wants to be found. I guess he wants space." She tries to pull herself up to her feet. "I'm so, so sorry. He, uh, he didn't hurt you, did he?" Malcolm's question is answered with a confused gesture. "I don't know. Something happened - I, uhm, I'm sorry. I should go." (no worries on the rolls, we can just role play it)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati doesn't push, and she's careful to maintain some space--as much as one can when they're on the ground--but when Shiloh pulls herself up, Tati does too. "I'm a little busted, but I'm just not made for tumbling around. All skin and bones, my grandma complains at me. What's your name again?" she asks. She briefly glances sidelong at Malcolm, making a quick assessment, before looking back to Shiloh. "What was the something? Don't spare the details. Did you break his heart? They're always such manbabies about that stuff. Grow up, right?" She scoffs, but offers Shiloh a smile that makes it pretty clear she's trying to settle her nerves and knows it wasn't a breakup.**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm flashed her a warm but knowing smile. "This wouldn't have anything to do with that old brownstone you were running out of? Did something happen to you in there? Are you sure you're alright?"**Shiloh Young**"Shiloh," she answers softly. The thought of dating him sparks a little laugh, and she shakes her head. "No, no, it's nothing like that. It's just," she purses her lips, glancing between the pair. What an odd mix they all made.
>
> The mention of the house makes her shift in place, uncomfortable. "We were just checking out that old abandoned house. We found some stuff. He freaked and ran. Really, it's nothing..." she began to back off, suddenly self conscious.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati briefly gives Malcolm a look widening her eyes and giving a suble shake of her head, but her attention is mostly on Shiloh--except where she's still watching Nathan on his train ride, just in the corner of her eye. "Well, Shiloh It's Nothing--I'm Tati It Was Definitely Something That Irrevocably Changed My Entire Existence. It's nice to meet you. If you want to handle this on your own, that's a legit course, and I wouldn't dream of pushing you to do otherwise. But," she pauses, lowering her voice and leaning a little closer to Shiloh to whisper--though certainly not in a way where Malcolm could not easily overhear it, "that is a really hard path. But some of us relish in it."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Shiloh and Tati? I'm Malcolm." The young man flashed her another warm smile, trying to reassure her with his voice and tone. It probably didn't hurt that the young suit was very easy on the eyes.
>
> "Indeed, it must have really been something, to set off a footrace around Manhattan at 3 in the morning. The other young man looked like he had seen a ghost. Whatever you found must have been quite something." Malcolm's slight emphasis on the last word indicated he might know something about this nothing.
>
> "And it being 3 AM in downtown Manhattan, it probably isn't the safest time to be alone either. No one should have to be alone, especially not on such a momentous occasion. Would it be overly forward of me to offer you company for the ride home, Shiloh? You do look pretty shaken up, and no one should have to deal with such things by themselves." Again letting the slight change in emphases in his voice indicate that he knew more than he was letting on.**Shiloh Young**Her face blanks. "What?" and the hair on the nape her neck stood on edge, those old goosebumps running down her arms again. Shiloh's laugh turns nervous. She didn't like this at all, the way they talked, the repeated emphasis. She folds her arms across her chest defensively.
>
> "Thank you, but I, uh, don't know what you're talking about. I'm fine. Really." She was not. Shiloh started to walk off towards one of the trains.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Again, Tati gives Malcolm a wide-eyed stare, but now that Shiloh's back is to both of them, she mouths, 'What Is Wrong With You?' to him with very big clear emotes of her lips. She doesn't chase after Shiloh though--she doesn't need to. Instead she begins drafting another series of triangles with her ugly little pencil--this time on one of the pillars that line the platform. She can follow two people at once--it might be dizzying, but she can do it.
>
> (Multiples is still 2? I remember it takes 3 in Awakening and I want to make sure I have it right.)**Janothar**(you can maintain two separate effects, each is Corr 2...IIRC, you're capped at Arete number of effects, but I would have to look it up. 2 should be manageable no problem, though)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**/r 3d10\>\&61;5!f**SidekickBOT**@Uyôtowá (Tati King): Lumos!**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**/r 3d10\>\&61;5f1**SidekickBOT**@Uyôtowá (Tati King): 3d10\>\&61;5f1 \&61; (5 9 9, 3 successes) \&61; 3**K. Malcolm Lawson**Rebuffed again, Malcolm watched her go, before seeing Tati's reaction to his attempt to subtly communicate. A flash of irritation showed for about half a second before the mask clamped back down on it. Malcolm knew subtlety was not his strong suit.
>
> As he turned to go, he saw Tati scrawling on the Subway columns . . .
>
> /r 5d10\>\&61;3f1**SidekickBOT**@K. Malcolm Lawson: 5d10\>\&61;3f1 \&61; (9 9 7 6 8, 5 successes) \&61; 5**Shiloh Young**Unless she was otherwise stopped, Shiloh would hurry off to her dorm to work out what the hell just happened, regularly checking her phone for anything from Nathan.**Janothar**Malcolm is definitely certain that Tati just did magick of some sort, and manages to pick out her Resonance..(which I apparently failed to spot wasn't on the character sheet in my possession)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(Do you have any divine mathematics/sacred geometry in your paradigm, Malc? Or dumb high Enigmas?)
>
> (Oh, that was not intentional, but if you're cool with it, I can do with Dynamic: Teeming because it would make a lot of sense for it to be that)**Janothar**(yep, that makes sense) So Malcolm gets a Teeming resonance from her.**K. Malcolm Lawson**(Oh yes, part of his Paradigm is Hermetic High Ritual Magick. Not one of my instruments personally, but he should recognize it.)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(Also, Shiloh--the spell I cast basically let's me spy on you no matter how far you are from me [more or less] so I'm following you home through magick, not physically.)**Janothar**(I'm going to require a diff 7 Int+Enigma rolls from Malc to recognize it, because it's not an active Instrument of his and he's not quite fully trained)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(Does his Brilliant specialty apply, and if so, how do I notate that?)**Janothar**(I'll say yes, and...I don't have any dice syntax for it, so we'll just count 10's twice manually)**K. Malcolm Lawson**/r 6d10\>\&61;7f1**SidekickBOT**@K. Malcolm Lawson: 6d10\>\&61;7f1 \&61; (6 7 1 5 3 10, 1 success) \&61; 1**Shiloh Young**(no worries, I'm assuming Shiloh is oblivious to all of this)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(You can technically roll Awareness to sense me doing it)
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> (With Perception)**Janothar**(with two successes, he can recognize the Instrument)
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> (and Shiloh can roll, but if Player of Shiloh needs to sleep, we can assume she failed due to exhaustion and panic)**Shiloh Young**/r 6d10\>\&61;6f1**SidekickBOT**@Shiloh Young: 6d10\>\&61;6f1 \&61; (3 5 2 2 3 6, 1 success) \&61; 1**Shiloh Young**(just to practice :P )**Janothar**Shiloh gets a bit of a tingle, a weird sensation in the back of her head, not one she's used to, though. And she can't place exactly what it is or where it's coming from**K. Malcolm Lawson**(Now, can he hazard a guess at the purpose behind that particular application, and if so, how would I roll to piece that together?)**Shiloh Young**If anyone should tail Shiloh physically, they'd notice her shivering every so often and scratching the back of her neck, glancing nervously all about.**Janothar**(Between your Awareness and that, you can figure out that it's the Ars Conjunctionis)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(Not a far logical leap to know she's Scrying, then. Am I aware of the Hermetic's Rules against such, and given her use of Hermetic Tools, get an incorrect impression that she might be a Hermetic?)**Janothar**(I'll leave that up to you)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(I would argue it would be easy to confuse her instrument use with Hermeticism because, well.)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(It is one, and clearly one she learned from her brief stint with House Shaea. I'm just weighing that information and my reaction.)
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> Walking by Tati on his way out, he slows his pace seeing her working, and quickly deducing its purpose, files that information away for future reference. Not wanting any more of a confrontation, Malcolm walks back out of the Subway the way they came, back towards the strange old house the two of them ran out of - perhaps something there would give a clue.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati raises her brow as Malcolm begins to leave without so much as a word. Worrisome. But also, Tati is a little dizzy at the moment. Her vision is spread across many places, and that can be difficult to manage for some of the best willworkers. Nevertheless, she turns to follow after him, walking as if she were a little drunk. "Hey, you! Rude man!"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm turns, fixing his eyes on her again "I hardly think it rude to try and offer my hand and my help to two people who crashed into each other on the Subway." Walking back up close to her, he whispered softly so no sleepers within earshot could hear "Besides, you're keeping an eye on her, and I needn't tell you how many rules have been written against that. If you've a mind to break some more rules, though . . ." He trailed off and jerked his head in the direction from whence they came. Continuing to whisper conspiratorially, Malcolm said "I saw where they came from, and it might bear investigating to see what set all this off. But it might involve a Class 4 misdemeanor if caught while snooping. Is that something you would be willing to risk for some answers as to what just happened here?"**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati takes a step back when Malcolm comes close enough to whisper, but not so far that she doesn't hear him. One of her eyebrows cocks up slowly and the corner of her mouth quirks upward. "Oh, yeah. I love breaking the rules. I'm just waiting for the black hats to show up and spank me--but that's not you, right? You haven't whipped out your paddle yet, so I think it's not." She shrugs then and looks up the subway steps, where Malcolm was indicating. "Yeah, let's go make a fucking mess--and you can tell me about all the rules I'm breaking on the way."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"No, my work usually involves getting people out of breaking laws, not punishing them for doing so. But I'm not a mandatory reporter for criminal behavior just yet, and at this hour of the morning, I highly doubt anyone is paying any mind. Follow me, but I would advise against making a big mess, or, indeed touching anything at all when we get there. The forensics department keeps getting better every year."**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**"I'll just float over the mess with my featherfall charm, oh Dungeon Master mine," Tati responds. "That way I won't leave a single iota of myself behind--hey, you got a cigarette?" She follows him as requested, on wobbly legs--but that it, again, due to looking at three locations at the same time.**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Nope, I don't smoke, and I wouldn't recommend casually tossing any cigarette butts around there either. Again, Forensics. And Featherfall isn't the right spell for that, Levitation or Fly would work better, and since you can Scry, which is a higher level spell than both of them, surely you can manage a little levitation at the same time so as not to leave any material evidence linking us to the location." Walking up out of the Subway, Malcolm slowed to accommodate her awkward pace. "It's a block or so down this way."**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**"Okay, you're definitely not a black hat and you're definitely part of the house of a thousand houses, so I'm not gonna tell you my super cool super secret Hogwarts name." She stuffs her pencil back in the pocket of her short shorts and fishes out--well, it's not a cigarette exactly--a roach which she pops between her lips. Mumbling around it she says, "Well, since you're all living lighters, help me out." She continues to follow him, but doesn't seem to be looking for where they might be going.**K. Malcolm Lawson**"It never ceases to amaze me how many smokers carry cigarettes without a lighter." He smirked, retracing the path of the footchase, keeping his Etheric senses peeled for a trace of magick along the way. "House of a thousand Houses, eh? Never heard anyone put it that way, and certainly not someone within the organization. Though you clearly learned from one yourself, but something tells me you don't count yourself among that company anymore. Didn't they teach you that trick before you left?"
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> Walking the last few steps up the block, the old house stood before them. "We're here."**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**"I flunked Potions because Snape got pissed that I couldn't get the Bunsen going," Tati says, sighing dramatically. She fishes a lighter out of her other pocket when he doesn't help her out and lights the roach herself, taking a quick series of puffs on it. As the stop before the house, she looks up at it, briefly focusing her vision away from manyspace to onespace to get a better look at it. She offers Malcolm the roach. "Home sweet home."**Janothar**The old building has seen better days. It's marked for restoration and preservation as a historical building, though the reasons aren't clear on the notice. It's three stories tall, and half the windows are boarded up quite thoroughly. The door is just open, as it was left a short while ago.**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(Also, I'm checking to make sure that both Shiloh and Nathan make it home safe. I'm watching for markers that tell me /where/ their homes are, like ideally addresses, but if I miss them then just landmarks is fine)**Janothar**(it's not too long before Tati sees each of them settle somewhere in the vicinity of Columbia University. Nathan is in on-campus housing, Shiloh is wherever @Shiloh Young prefers)**Shiloh Young**(Dorm on campus as well)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(I'm also going to take some time to memorize what Shiloh's dorm looks like, burn it in there real good)**K. Malcolm Lawson**He holds up a hand to wave it away. "Thanks, but no thanks. I don't smoke either."
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> "They didn't close the door after themselves, and it doesn't look like anyone's noticed it's been left ajar. If we're going to get to the bottom of what's going on here, it's going to be inside there. Normally I wouldn't go for trespassing, but whatever happened to Shiloh and that other person she was following, it must be something significant." Checking around to be sure they were unobserved, Malcolm pulls a pair of worn leather gloves from the inside of his suit coat. "I don't have a second pair, and I doubt they will fit you, or I would offer them to you."
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> (Perception + Alertness for anyone around at this hour, @Janothar? Difficulty?)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati takes the roach back and puffs on it a couple more times before launching it into the gutter with a flick of her fingers. "Oh, leather gloves? Why didn't you say so?" She stuffs her hands in her pockets and comes back with a pair that have brass studs sewn along the back--however, they are fingerless. She pulls them on. "Which of the thousand houses is House Columbo?"**Janothar**(I'll just give it to you, no one's really around at this hour, this neighborhood, and with people generally staying off the streets more)**K. Malcolm Lawson**Maintaining his voice at a light whisper, Malcolm replied. "The same one that would take a dim view of your Scrying magic and have me dig up a case five hundred years old to cite as precedent when prosecuting you over it." Satisfied they were unobserved, Malcolm motioned to the building. "I don't see anyone, let's go." Though Malcolm did a quick look around for any security systems on the way in.
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> (Checking for security would be what, Perception + Alertness, or is there none to speak of at this run down old dump?)**Janothar**(also, seeing as I need to get to bed soon, here's a quick summary of what there is to find, continue without me: the entire non-basement part of the house is fairly empty, just some old furniture, but nothing really interesting. The basement has the two entrances that Shiloh found, and both are open. The cabinetry one is only obvious from the inside. At the bottom there's smashed glassware, several alchemical symbols recognizable as the spheres, and an idle but unidentifiable resonance on all of it, indicating that there was something there but that it's been destroyed. If you use Prime 1 to examine it, the glassware was an integrate part of some complex Wonder that has been destroyed, and you can't get more than that from the remnants.)
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> (there's one broken video camera at the entrance, easily avoided)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(I really need to sleep too, can we take that summary and run with it, and call fair escape?)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**(SAME! Even though I'm having fun RPing with you)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(I am definitely enjoying the odd pairing.)
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> (Experience, @Janothar?)**Janothar**(I think how I'm going to do things is that beyond the up to 2 that are automatic, I'll do a weekly post rather than a per-scene assignment)**K. Malcolm Lawson**On their way out of the decrepit wreck of an old house, Malcolm quipped "Well, whoever owned this old house didn't leave us much to go on. I couldn't even fathom what they were doing with that contraption down there. Do you think finding it is whatever set off what happened to Shiloh and her friend?"
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> (Works for me, a touch more Light RP on the way out?)**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**"Oh. That one. Right. House Auror. Also, fuck your rules, you don't know me," Tati says, following him inside. Tati stops to look at the broken Wonder, crouching down to pick up a piece of it with her fingerless gloves, because, well--and turning it over in her hands. "Maybe she broke it."
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> (K)**K. Malcolm Lawson**"I didn't say I'd actually do it, mind you. You apparently left, forfeiting the benefits of membership, and releasing yourself from its obligations. I have no interest in imposing rules on you. While some laws are universal, not all are binding."
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> Malcolm nodded "It's possible. There's a bit of blood on one of the glass shards. I don't know to whom it belongs, but it shouldn't be left here to be found."
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> Picking it up carefully with his gloves, he carried it with him out of the building and pitched it down the same gutter that the roach ended up in. "Because sometimes, the guilty get away for the greater good. Mercy is an integral part of justice, after all."
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> Back out on the street, he looked back towards the subway. "That's where I'm headed, and I would walk with you if you like, or not if you don't. I really am not into imposing rules on others. I'm not that kind of Dungeon Master."**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**"It's too late for me to take the train home. I guess I'll have to break some more rules to do it," Tati says, following him back out and glancing down at the gutter. She stares at it thoughtfully. "So, see you around, I guess. It was nice of you to be my Watson for the evening, but I am afraid we now must walk different roads, for we have chosen fates that shall not leave us aligned." She reaches up and pulls off her gloves, looking up to Malcolm's face as she does, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the law."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Such a rule leaves the world in chaos, and there is far too much of that as it is, but I can understand the desire to be free of overly litigious restrictions. Even Lawyers get Lawyer Jokes."
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> He reaches into his trenchcoat pocket, and pulls out a business card. "Should you ever get caught breaking a few unnecessary rules and need help getting out of some undeserved consequences, here's where you can find me. I'm at the Bronx Clinic on Mondays, and Queens one on Wednesdays. Call anytime you need help. The law is meant to help people live in harmony with each other, after all, and sometimes it actually does that."
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> He turns to go, pauses, and turns back. "Just because you have chosen a solitary path, doesn't mean you need to be alone. If you find yourself facing more serious troubles than getting run over by a scared kid on the Subway, give me a call, and I'll see what I can do to help."**Uyôtowá (Tati King)**Tati doesn't look at the card. She just pockets it in one of those tiny pockets--which doesn't make a lot of sense because she has big pockets in her jacket. Nevertheless. She salutes Malcolm as he goes. "Yes, sir, officer, sir."
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> (I'm passing out now. Thanks to all three of you! I know Shiloh is asleep)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(I'm going to regret this in the morning, but that RP was worth it. See you next time!)**K. Malcolm Lawson**(Also, would it be too late to state that we closed windows and doors on our way out? Since Malcolm's secondary goal - after finding out what happened - is to make sure the kids don't get caught, it would make sense to eliminate the obvious evidence there was a break in at all.)