2020-03-19 Red King's Revenge

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## 2020-03-19 Red King's Revenge

### PCs

Michael Aurelius
Nicholas Perandus
K. Malcolm Lawson

## Log

> **Michael Aurelius**After a week reviewing his own writings and such things, Michael finally gathers the courage to go meet with his fellow hermetics. He enters the covenant through the same way his mentor showed him, and goes to the closest thing the covenant has to a central/meeting hall to see if he finds other mages or apprentices to speak to**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Nicholas is wandering back from the Enigmatic Circle to the kitchens to find a snack before heading to his lab. Checking in on the common room with an apple in hand "Hello there, my name is Nicholas i don't believe we've met." He looks at his hands and pauses mid way into extending it out.**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm had not had contact with his Pater in some time, despite reaching out, and knew he could often be found in the Chantry itself. Going vaguely stir - crazy in his apartment and having nothing better to do late on a Thursday night, he decided to try his luck at the Chantry.
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> Crossing the empty streets was no particular challenge, and the Metro was still running, so Malcolm soon found himself at the Chantry. Never liking the forboding look of the place, he quickly made his way inside to search for his mentor, starting at his laboratory.**Michael Aurelius**he approaches Nicholas with a amicable expression in his face, then says:
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> "Is my face so forgetable? We met a week ago on the ceasefire lounge, my most noble fellow. I'm Michael, don't you remember?"
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> he looks at your hands halfway into the air, is there anything with them that i should be able to note?**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Apologies, it has been a long week, what with the pandemic in the wider world familial responsibilities had pulled me out of the house some. I'm fine and all just, no reason to risk things" he says looking between their hands**Michael Aurelius**"I see, aaand i understand"
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> He puts his hands on his overcoat's pockets
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> "But i thought you worked with computers, not medicine. How did the pandemic pull you out of your house?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Finding that Nicholas was not in his lab, Malcolm started to head back upstairs, hoping to find him in one of the communal gathering places of the Chantry. He would start with the kitchen.**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Family work, responsibilities that lie out in the sleeper world. When, events of this nature happen different apparatus get activated and brings me out. Events of the past many years make it so that living outside of the chantry are...dangerous."**Michael Aurelius**"Did you get into trouble with the Technocracy?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Entering the kitchens, Malcolm did not find his Mentor, but did hear his voice out in the common room nearby. Malcolm headed out there to find him in conversation with another member of the Order whose face was familiar, but Malcolm did not know him by name. He stood somewhere in Nicholas's line of sight and waited to be recognized.**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Not me, family. My Grandfather fell with Doissetep, my father had, issues during the 2nd Massassa war, family going back, it's been drilled in to stay, careful."**Michael Aurelius**"I see"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Seeing Malcolm haning back he waves him forward
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> "Michael, meet my apprentice Malcolm Lawson, Law student and student of the arts. Malcolm, this is Micahel Aurelius bani Jerbiton"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"A pleasure, Michael. I have seen you around the chantry many times but never got a moment to make your acquaintance." He extends a hand to shake reflexively.**Michael Aurelius**he turns towards Malcolm
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> "The pleasure is shared, Malcom, same thing from me, but it is good that we finally got to meet each other personally"
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> He looks at Malcolm's hand thinking of the pandemic Nicholas just cited
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> "Maybe a handshake wouldn't be the most adequate thing in the current situation, right?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm smiled sheepishly and withdrew his hand.
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> "Sorry, force of habit. I meet a lot of people on a day to day basis and it's a bit of a reflex, like snapping out a business card."
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> "I hope I'm not interrupting an important discussion?"**Michael Aurelius**"Nope, i just found him here by chance, you see, i'm just making acquaintenances with my fellow hermetics, nothing too oficial now. And you? Are you here to conduct something important or just passing by too?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Turning to Nicholas "Well, I have been trying to get ahold of my Pater here for several days. I finished the last lessons he had set for me and I was wanting to proceed with further instruction. I also have had some interesting encounters out beyond the Chantry walls that have been vexing me and may be worthy of further investigation, but I wanted to seek his advice on how to proceed."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Anything private or should we take a seat?" \*motioning to the chairs in the common room"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm seemed to ponder that a moment before answering
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> "Yes and no, I meant to bring these matters to your attention personally, but if you feel Michael would be a good sounding board as well, I don't think it's anything necessarily requiring discretion, but I might be misreading the situation. Perhaps the privacy of your laboratory?"**Michael Aurelius**"I see, aaand i understand"
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> He puts his hands on his overcoat's pockets
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> "But i thought you worked with computers, not medicine. How did the pandemic pull you out of your house?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Finding that Nicholas was not in his lab, Malcolm started to head back upstairs, hoping to find him in one of the communal gathering places of the Chantry. He would start with the kitchen.**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Family work, responsibilities that lie out in the sleeper world. When, events of this nature happen different apparatus get activated and brings me out. Events of the past many years make it so that living outside of the chantry are...dangerous."**Michael Aurelius**"Did you get into trouble with the Technocracy?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Entering the kitchens, Malcolm did not find his Mentor, but did hear his voice out in the common room nearby. Malcolm headed out there to find him in conversation with another member of the Order whose face was familiar, but Malcolm did not know him by name. He stood somewhere in Nicholas's line of sight and waited to be recognized.**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Not me, family. My Grandfather fell with Doissetep, my father had, issues during the 2nd Massassa war, family going back, it's been drilled in to stay, careful."**Michael Aurelius**"I see"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Seeing Malcolm haning back he waves him forward
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> "Michael, meet my apprentice Malcolm Lawson, Law student and student of the arts. Malcolm, this is Micahel Aurelius bani Jerbiton"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"A pleasure, Michael. I have seen you around the chantry many times but never got a moment to make your acquaintance." He extends a hand to shake reflexively.**Michael Aurelius**he turns towards Malcolm
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> "The pleasure is shared, Malcom, same thing from me, but it is good that we finally got to meet each other personally"
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> He looks at Malcolm's hand thinking of the pandemic Nicholas just cited
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> "Maybe a handshake wouldn't be the most adequate thing in the current situation, right?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm smiled sheepishly and withdrew his hand.
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> "Sorry, force of habit. I meet a lot of people on a day to day basis and it's a bit of a reflex, like snapping out a business card."
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> "I hope I'm not interrupting an important discussion?"**Michael Aurelius**"Nope, i just found him here by chance, you see, i'm just making acquaintenances with my fellow hermetics, nothing too oficial now. And you? Are you here to conduct something important or just passing by too?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Turning to Nicholas "Well, I have been trying to get ahold of my Pater here for several days. I finished the last lessons he had set for me and I was wanting to proceed with further instruction. I also have had some interesting encounters out beyond the Chantry walls that have been vexing me and may be worthy of further investigation, but I wanted to seek his advice on how to proceed."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Anything private or should we take a seat?" \*motioning to the chairs in the common room"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm seemed to ponder that a moment before answering
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> "Yes and no, I meant to bring these matters to your attention personally, but if you feel Michael would be a good sounding board as well, I don't think it's anything necessarily requiring discretion, but I might be misreading the situation. Perhaps the privacy of your laboratory?"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Fair enough, let's take a walk. Michael, if you are up for a mystery feel free to join us."**Michael Aurelius**"Sure, no better way to link up with fellow hermetics than dealing with misteries together"
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> he looks genuinely interested in whatever this mistery might be**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Oh, I believe this will pique your interest, then. And our Order is strongest when we combine our resources, so I will be grateful of the assistance."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**\*Nicholas leads the way down into the laboratory area of the building and walks to one of many non-descript rooms. On entering there is an odd combination of computer setup in one corner, a separated area for chemistry/alchemy work with a fume hood, burners and kept extremely clean. There is a table with several chairs in a separate corner that is rather covered with books and papers that Nicholas quickly cleans off. \*
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> "Come, sit and be welcome, what'd you run into Malcolm?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**Malcolm entered the room last and closed the door behind him
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> "Alright, I will try to be brief but this is a bit of a long story."
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> "Late last week Tuesday night, before the world went mad, I was working late on some files at my internship. It's an interesting firm, they seem to trust me to stay late, but when I realized it was well after midnight I made my way out, locking up behind me, when I became instantly aware of something BIG happening nearby. That sensation you get when someone is working a really potent spell - tingles up the spine, hairs rising on the back of the neck and all that. I immediately opened the All - Seeing Third Eye, and could tell someone just worked something big a few blocks away. It was as if they were shooting up a flare that you could feel for a few miles around."
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> "Curious to see what this entailed, I followed the trail to this old house a few blocks away from downtown, just in time to see two people running out of it, a young man fleeing with terror in his eyes, like he had just seen a ghost or something, and a young woman chasing after him, and she was lit up brighter than I have ever seen - practically radiating power, like you look when you're working an effect, Nick, only exponentially moreso."
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> "Deciding that I needed to know what was going on with them more than what was going on in the house for the time being, I followed them down to the Metro station, where the young man bowled over another woman and jumped aboard the next train. The young lady chasing after him tripped over the woman he tackled, and ended up on the platform herself. My attention was fixed on the young lady, but I could have sworn I saw the other woman pull something off magically too, a suspicion that I would confirm momentarily."
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> "I offered to help the ladies to their feet, and the young woman fled the scene after a brief exchange. I learned her name was Shiloh, and I have made contact with her again since, and that's an issue to deal with separately"
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> (@Nicholas (Ian Smit) and @Michael Aurelius, feel free to comment and/or interrupt, otherwise I will continue)**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Nicholas nods along**Michael Aurelius**Michael seems to be paying atention and not interested in interrupting**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Unfortunately, I was not at that time able to explain to her the gravity of what had just happened, and Shiloh fled the scene. As I was leaving, I spotted the other woman - whose name was Tati, if that rings any bells for the two of you, as I believe she was a part of our Order prior to washing out and choosing her own path - scrawling some sacred geometry on a pillar and recognized it for what it was, and she was most definitely working a scrying effect. I wasn't going to say anything, but she yelled me down, and something told me that she might have the skill set to further the investigation I was about to continue, into the house itself, so I invited her to join me. It may end up being a mistake in the long run, but a hunch told me that this person was not there by accident either."
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> "We went back to the house they came tearing out of, and they had left the door wide open. There wasn't a soul in sight and the one old security camera was easily avoided. I know a bit of light trespassing is not normally my Modus Operandi, but something about the place begged further investigation, so I pulled out some leather gloves so as not to leave forensic evidence, and we went inside."
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> "Within we found a secret passage opened from a cabinet in the kitchen leading down to the basement, and a room filled with dust - covered glass instruments, looking like a partial Alchemy laboratory. Two of the jars had broken, and one was fairly well bleeding Resonance, and it had blood on it as well. Tati observed me picking it up, so I made a show of disposing of the blood covered ones, stating that I was trying to ensure that the kids didn't get caught. I recognize that that might have been our best way to find the two, but I brought back another sample whose fate I will discuss in a moment."
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> "On our way out, I closed up all the doors and locked them behind us, and the open window that they got in by in the first place, though I left that window unlocked, exactly as it has been when they got there. Tati and I parted ways, but would encounter each other again later. I know Tati was scrying on Shiloh the whole time, I think it safe to say Tati followed her home. If she was following the other young man, whose name I have since learned to be Nathan, I cannot say for certain."
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> "Later that week, I tried contacting you, Nick, after checking my own resources. I can only speculate that the alchemy lab within was used by an Awakened Magus like ourselves, given that symbols for all Nine Spheres were on the glassware, and only some of them have Alchemical meanings as well. The fact that the setup carried Resonance also suggested it was used by someone familiar with the Arts."
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> "At a loss for direction, I contacted Albina, and told her all I've just told you. She analyzed the sample of glass, and determined its Resonance to be part of the whole setup and not from the individual who touched it. It might have been the catalyst for events, but the impressions on it were old. Which makes me think that setup might be part of a Wonder, certainly something you might want to investigate. But there's more to the story with Shiloh and Tati, and others as well."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"So I was out on my way back from studying at a cafe before they shut those down last Saturday night when I ran into Sean Caldon from the Ceasefire, and across the street I could see Shiloh, talking with a woman in a power suit who gave me a distinctly uneasy vibe. The two of us lingered, and when the woman left, I approached Shiloh again, and this time I was able to convince her to let me explain some things about her new situation."
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> "As I was able to confirm in a private conversation in one of the University Study Halls later, Shiloh Awakened that night, and that was undoubtedly the flare of power I saw from ten blocks away. I was able to explain to her a bit about caution in deploying her abilities, and a touch about Paradox in the initial conversation, and broke the ground for several more that have followed since."
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> "At our second meeting in that place, though, Tati somehow crashed the party. She must have some serious skills in the Ars Conjunctionis, as she was able to slip in and out of a locked building with those heavy academic doors without my hearing her do so. She interrupted the lesson with a lot of poisonous interjections, stinking of weed and generally being obnoxious. I tried to continue, but we were interrupted again by another Hermetic, Angelika, who seemed to be looking for something, and also entered unnoticed, and another woman I couldn't identify - it was as if Shiloh had become a magnet for every Magi in a mile radius. They completely ruined the quiet lesson and I think scared the hell out of Shiloh with a very Cliff's Notes accounting of the Ascension War. We made our way out of there, and all our further conversations have been taking place at my apartment, where I can control access better."
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> "I have been trying to slowly and subtly recruit Shiloh to our Order, giving her common information about Magi, the Order, and the history of magic. I was almost finished with the Grand Convocation last night and about to start on Sphere Theory"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"But we will soon reach the limits of what I can teach without giving away secrets that shouldn't be taught to the uninitiated. Obviously, she knows I'm biased in our favor, but I think her perspectives are compatible, and her raw talent impressive. So the Recruitment of Shiloh is problem Number 1 on the list."
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> "Problem Number 2 is the dissappearance of her friend Nathan. She hasn't heard from him in days, he isn't returning texts or calls or anything, and this person was her best friend and witnessed her Awakening. I didn't get a good look at him or his aura, as hers was blazing too brilliantly for me to see much else. It's possible something happened to him as a result of the Awakening of Shiloh, and it merits investigating."
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> "Then the third component is the Mystery of the Old House and the Alchemy Lab within. I did some digging in public records, but the chain of title to the property ends abruptly in the 1950's. The house is clearly much older than that, but I can't find when it was built or who owned it back then. It's currently being targeted for historical preservation, but that proposal is dragging through a city council that has a lot more important things on its mind. It looks abandoned, and if two kids could break in without difficulty, three Order Magi could easily effect the same, but there has to be a better way to get access to the place. I did take photos of the whole setup, which I will happily share with you two."
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> Malcolm pulls out his phone and shares the pictures with Nicholas and Michael (@Janothar might want to describe the setup of the Alchemy Lab for their benefit)
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> Malcolm took a breath, his story complete.
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> "So, what do you think? How do we go about unraveling these mysteries and recruiting a new member to the Order of Hermes?"
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> (@Nicholas (Ian Smit) and @Michael Aurelius, thanks for your patience, and here's your queue)**Janothar**The alchemy lab that Malcolm shows them largely consisted of a table, a cloth that was on the floor, and a bunch of seemingly random glassware. Several of them have the sigils of various spheres on them, though Prime and Life are missing.**Michael Aurelius**"Well, did she say anything about the reason why she was there with her friend in the first place?"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**(what part of town is this in?)**Michael Aurelius**// downtown, i think**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Investigating rumors of it being an old Alchemist's abode, though she did not provide a source for those rumors. It's in Downtown Manhattan, I have the address."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Nicholas sighs lightly, takes out a notepad and starts taking some notes and writing some plans
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> "So, two things of differing import. One recruitment and the other securing of the object, wonder or not, doesn't belong out in the wild like that."**Michael Aurelius**Michael rests his chin on his hand, clearly deep in thought about the story
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> After Nich speaks, he then says
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> "yeah, on the subject of recruitment, helping her find this friend would surely help. In fact, it could win her over to our side by itself"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Securing of the object can either be, simple snatch and grab or we can put up a little more legitimacy and find out the listing and go buy the place. There may be more there and needs some investigation."
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> "Is he still missing?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"I didn't see it listed for sale, but I also wouldn't have looked, Manhattan Real Estate near downtown would not go cheap."
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> "She hasn't had contact with him. I don't know if he's missing or simply avoiding her."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Nicholas stand to go grab a laptop and brings it back to the table. Looks up the address on Zillow and MLS to see if it is for sale or lease ( @Janothar is it?)**Michael Aurelius**"If we tray to buy the place, it surely will be contested. If someone with a power suit was speaking to her, the possibility of the Technocracy also following these tracks is a real one"
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> "The covenant is a big place, surely we can arrange to bring anything of value from the building here, can't we?"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"We don't. An outside proxy will do the purchase. A quiet charity that i know of."
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> "I'd simply rather avoid running afoul of the NYPD for looting at a time like this."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"It could be that they are, or are simply interested in Shiloh as a recruit. She's not been cautious about using her Arts, despite my warnings, and has doubtless attracted attention to herself. That's why her recruitment was a matter of such urgency I proceeded before talking it over with you. I'm sorry if I overstepped my bounds in that regard."**Janothar**Nicholas stand to go grab a laptop and brings it back to the table. Looks up the address on Zillow and MLS to see if it is for sale or lease ( @Janothar is it?)
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> @Nicholas (Ian Smit) The location that's being considered for historical preservation? It is not.**Michael Aurelius**"You do raise a good point, Nich, there's the possibility that the Technocracy is keeping an eye on the building now that it has awakened that girl"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Initial steps i would say you did the right thing there. Hopefully not too much too fast but sounds like you were doing the right thing there."**K. Malcolm Lawson**(That simply means you find the owner and make a private offer)**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**(or if it is being considered for historical preservation, simply have the group that can do that part of it?)**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Well, explaining magical history takes awhile. Reading this material took several weeks, summarizing it has taken three nights so far, and I only just got up to the Grand Convocation."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"I'll look into the building tomorrow and see if we can't find a clean way in and out without raising too many flags."
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> "Right, the scary bits, cool. Why don't you try to reach out again, and see if she has some time to talk and that you would like to introduce her to a couple more people."
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> "Say sometime tomorrow or Saturday?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"That's the tricky part, getting her to be willing to meet with others. Though I do think she would bite if we could tell her we can help her find her friend. Can we do that?"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Did you manage to palm off the blood from the glass?"**Michael Aurelius**"We surely can, finding him would be easy and, if he's just avoiding her, some well-placed words should be enough"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**Waves to Michael "Or if you have a better method for tracking, all yours"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Unfortunately, no, I could not, Tati was watching the whole time. I was lucky to palm any sample, and it was destroyed by Albina's examination."**Michael Aurelius**he looks towards Nich
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> "You work with tracking? I don't know how to do it, but if you manage to find him i can go talk to him"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"I don't, no, but the theory is sound enough to reach out for assistance from someone else in the Covenant.
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> I'm assuming Shiloh has reached out through normal means with no success?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"So she said. Called and texted, no responses."**Michael Aurelius**"Well, you could find someone to find him? Also, Malcolm, you analysed the place further? Like, the laboratory"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"I haven't returned since the initial incident, and beyond the research I did in public records. If I knew the name of the place or the alchemist who was supposed to have lived there, I could go through the records here, but it would take some time to dig up information that way."**Michael Aurelius**"So no field research? Like, to try and infer what happened there?"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Fair, I'll work contacts and see about getting us access to the building to be able to do a full sweep and come to amicable terms on it. Then maybe some online research to track this" looks to his notes "what was his name again?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"I had limited time, being that it was three in the morning before Daylight Savings time ended when I found the place, and I was concerned about covering our tracks and theirs as much as investigating the scene."
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> "I think she said his name was Nathan, but I didn't catch a last name."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Fair enough, well, internet sluething tomorrow. It's getting late so let's see what we can dig up tomorrow and keep in touch, I'm generally here, if I'm not, leave a note." he says with a smile**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Yes, Nick, we'll do that. And I never got to showing you the Rote I worked up to demonstrate a grasp of Ars Essentiae for my initiation. You had also mentioned a planned lesson, I'm guessing we don't have time for that just now and that this investigation takes precedence."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"Practical always best, we'll get back to the books when we don't have pressing things."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Well, Shiloh will need a teacher, and I can't do that as an Apprentice either. Unless Micheal is up to taking a student."**Michael Aurelius**Michael, who has been just following the last phrases, seems taken by surprise by this prospect
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> "Hmmmm... i surely would be interested in teaching, but i don't believe i'm old enough in the order to be awarded a student just yet"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Neither was Nick, but here we are. Fate dropped Shiloh in my lap too, and if I started her instruction, I may be required to see it through or hand her off to someone competent who can."**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"That...is a rather loose concept given the current state of things." Motioning between Nicholas and Malcolm**K. Malcolm Lawson**"You have been a good teacher, Nick, don't doubt your abilities because of my struggles. I'm getting there, and I should have a lot more time, what with the lockdown and all. Maybe I'll finally get the hang of Ars Vis yet."**Michael Aurelius**he nods his head
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> "Of course, i forgot the magick crisis amidst the sleeper crisis."
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> Still, he doesn't seem much sure about the propposal
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> "I just don't want to take upon a responsability i may not be up to"**Nicholas (Ian Smit)**"we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Considering the level of interest so far in Shiloh we are one pitch among many."**Michael Aurelius**"I'l tell you what, if no one else seems interested in doing it, i'm up to taking her as my apprentice due to the circunstances."**K. Malcolm Lawson**"We will figure out who will teach her formally once we get her agreement to enter the Order proper. Until then, I will continue to employ gentle persuasion that we are the right choice to make."
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> "Assuming that I can't, which is true at present, and no one else wants to, I will try not to screw up the foundations of her education."**Michael Aurelius**"Yeah. Well then, shall we meet again tomorrow night to discuss this matter again?"**K. Malcolm Lawson**"Indeed, tomorrow night. I will check in with Shiloh, see if she is up for meeting some friends. And Nick said he would look into the options for accessing that laboratory for a proper investigation."