UE Issue #6: Infernal Convergence

[gurusql]

Gathering on the rooftop
Building next to Willoughby Tower
5:31 PM Local Time – Sunday, December 6th, 1987

Wind Dragon: DEX 20, DEF 20, END 46/46, STUN 38/38
Eclipse: DEX 20, DEF 21/25, END 46/46, STUN 29/29
Azir: DEX 18, DEF 27, END 56/56, STUN 56/56
Warlock: DEX 18, DEF 22/24, END 40/40, STUN 40/40

Wind Dragon agrees with what Warlock is talking about, but mentions "I hope that Eclipse can know more about her habits." The two float to the roof.

As the Crusaders gather on the rooftop, Eclipse is clearly working on this breathing and focusing on keeping himself calm.

Actions?

[Rex]

Azir

To the new arrivals, "Give him a moment."

[shaidar]

Eclipse

Eclipse attempts to block out all distractions to focus on his forms and motion...

Tai-Chi (14-): [_3d6]=(5+6+6)=17

..but doesn't seem to be having much luck.

[MrKinister]

Warlock

Warlock watched as Eclipse went through a series of motions in the Tai Chi style. His form gradually descended until his feet touched the ground, and then fully bore the weight of his body. He watched as the sunlit hero worked on his form, and perhaps his thoughts. He could relate to the situation. He had a younger brother, one who not infrequently would get into trouble. Robert was eager, perhaps too much, and Warlock was a bit conflicted in his own path, as Robert was following in Warlock's footsteps, but he seemed to encounter more trouble than himself. As the older brother, the expectation was that he should serve as a role model, but that was a traditional way of looking at things, and Warlock was anything but traditional. This, of course, irked his father and mother. But ... should he care about it? After all, it was them who told him that "perhaps it was better to make some distance".

He suddenly realized he had been lost in his own thoughts for a bit, so he brought his attention back to the moment at hand. He lifted his frame up off the ground by a few inches, then brought his legs up into a floating lotus position, where he closed his eyes and went into his own meditation routine.

[gurusql]

Wind Dragon

Seeing that Eclipse was not calming down, will say - "Through patience and practice, you can cultivate virtue. Let your motions be a lesson in harmony . . .and not in frustration."

[gurusql]

Gathering on the rooftop
Building next to Willoughby Tower
5:32 PM Local Time – Sunday, December 6th, 1987

Wind Dragon: DEX 20, DEF 20, END 46/46, STUN 38/38
Eclipse: DEX 20, DEF 21/25, END 46/46, STUN 29/29
Azir: DEX 18, DEF 27, END 56/56, STUN 56/56
Warlock: DEX 18, DEF 22/24, END 40/40, STUN 40/40

While it does not happen right away, Eclipse is finally able to gather himself with the help of his teammates. The Crusaders are left with multiple questions and few answers.

Some of those question include:

1. What happened to Julia and where can she be found?
2. Where are the rest of her notes?
3. What was she doing looking at magic and with a specific and complex algorithm?
4. Where did she get the name, Ohzar?
5. How did she know to use this book?
6. Why did DEMON take her?

And I am sure there are other questions but they can choose the answers together.

Actions?

[shaidar]

Eclipse

Eclipse looks around "Sorry, sometimes I need to ground myself." he smiles "to help keep my powers under control. My sister was a journalist, a political activist. I've never heard her show any interest in magic, but she has a nose for finding a good story. Now, where might she keep her notes?... nowhere obvious..." his voice drifts off as he thinks.

Does Eclipse know where his sister hid her notes for her especially sensitive stories? Does she have any storage lockers or place that very few know about?

[Rex]

Azir

"I don't know much about magic but. If you didn't know much about magic and you wanted to research a story involving or about magic where would you start?"

[MrKinister]

Warlock

"I don't know much about magic but. If you didn't know much about magic and you wanted to research a story involving or about magic where would you start?"

That was a good question. Coming from a world where magic is common and taught to all children coming of age, he didn't really need to ask where it could be found. For him, it was merely his teachers, or the public lore libraries scattered through the city. But here, on Earth, where would one, anyone, start to look for that information? Warlock methodically traversed through his mental "rolodex", looking for the possibilities.

"Let's see... we can always start at her home. She may keep notes on her research there. Then we can check on her place of employment. She may keep records of her articles on her electronic devices. And she may be working with others who may also know more of her efforts. And then..."

Warlock tapped his head, attempting to remember anything that may lead him to a more defined path.

OOC: Any of the skills in my list offer a suggestion as to where to start? Any public mystic or arcane personalities or organizations would be a good starting point.
Here's a roll for the most applicable one: 13-: [_3d6]=(1+6+2)=9

[gurusql]

Gathering on the rooftop
Building next to Willoughby Tower
5:32 PM Local Time – Sunday, December 6th, 1987

Wind Dragon: DEX 20, DEF 20, END 46/46, STUN 38/38
Eclipse: DEX 20, DEF 21/25, END 46/46, STUN 29/29
Azir: DEX 18, DEF 27, END 56/56, STUN 56/56
Warlock: DEX 18, DEF 22/24, END 40/40, STUN 40/40

Eclipse stood on the rooftop, trying to piece together the oddities of the situation. His mind kept drifting back to his sister’s habits, and the small details that always seemed to add up in ways no one expected. It wasn’t just that she always had a notepad with her - no, it was the way she used them. The constant need to document, write, sketch, and make sense of everything. Eclipse knew that once one of those notepads was filled, it was filed, but she always had several boxes of them tucked away in her apartment. Her space was a catalog of unfinished thoughts and jotted-down ideas. But now, there was a new layer of complexity. The fact that the code she had been working on was left behind in the library was telling. But her notepad? Gone. The only logical conclusion that Eclipse could come to was that Julia must had it when she was captured.

But if that was true, Eclipse realized, it opened up a different kind of puzzle. Julia's editor might have known about her assignment, but tracking down that kind of information would not be easy. Editors were often tight-lipped about such matters, especially when it came to sensitive or secretive work.

Azir, on the other hand, was struggling with her own line of reasoning. The discussions about magic had left her with more questions than answers, and she wasn’t sure if she even believed in it. But there were two particular things that kept circling in her mind. First, the van that had been used. A van wasn’t exactly a subtle vehicle; it stood out. Had they left any clues where it had been parked? Any footprints, tire tracks, or markings that could reveal more about where it had been and who had used it? Second, and perhaps more puzzling, was the question of why Julia had been so far across town, getting coffee. A random errand? Or was it something more deliberate, a strange choice of location that hinted at something larger?

Warlock, meanwhile, had been turning over recent events in his mind, trying to find connections, but it wasn’t easy. A few weeks ago, there had been a major archaeological dig that had caught his attention. The press had been strangely quiet about what had been uncovered, giving nothing more than cryptic hints and vague references. It was clear something significant had been found, but no one seemed willing to talk about it. There was one detail that stuck out to him, though a name - Agios. The same name that had been attached to Julia’s translation. It was the same one that Julia had translated into Ohzar. How was this old worthless spellbook in a public library no less connected to his enemy.

Actions?

[Rex]

Azir

"I am going down to look for physical evidence where the van was seen. Eclipse, any idea why she would have been in this part of town to have coffee? Any friends live near by? If we can't think of a reason maybe one of her sources set her up or the library itself could be significant for some reason, one of its collections maybe?"

[shaidar]

Eclipse

"I'm not sure, let me think about it. She was very careful with note-taking and her notebooks, which would be stored at her home. She would have had a notebook with her. The questions is would she have hidden it before she was caught. It might be worth searching around the exhibit, or by the public telephones just in case."

Does Eclipse have any idea why she might have been in that coffee shop?

[MrKinister]

Warlock

Warlock's mind dug through the events of library, and any possible relationships. Perhaps there was a correspondence with a recent archeological discovery he had read about, although to no significant detail. He tried to recall names and places, but he really had given it little attention. He would have to retrieve a copy of the publication that he had originally read.

He tapped on the communicator, and asked,

"CHiP, can you give me a list of articles spanning the last two week dealing with new archeological discoveries? There shouldn't be very many of them."

He waited patiently for CHiP to finish collecting the information.

As he did so, he remembered the mention of a van. He suggested,

"If they came in a van, and used spells to conceal themselves, they may have left behind traces of arcane power. If we find where the trail starts, one of you may be able to track the movement of the van? I am not familiar with everything your powers are able to achieve."

Waiting for the team's response, Warlock prepares for what may be a few minutes of arcane sleuthing and criminology work.

[gurusql]

CHiP

"I am sorry Warlock, but the team has not given me access to periodicals"

But that would be a great one to have . . .

[gurusql]

Eclipse
Does Eclipse have any idea why she might have been in that coffee shop?

Other than for a story or meeting a contact - nope.

I will see if there are another ideas, before I head down to the parking lot.

[gurusql]

Pulling some things together
Building next to Willoughby Tower
5:35 PM Local Time – Sunday, December 6th, 1987

Wind Dragon: DEX 20, DEF 20, END 46/46, STUN 38/38
Eclipse: DEX 20, DEF 21/25, END 46/46, STUN 29/29
Azir: DEX 18, DEF 27, END 56/56, STUN 56/56
Warlock: DEX 18, DEF 22/24, END 40/40, STUN 40/40

Azir checks out the parking lot and sees that there is evidence of a van being parked here with lots of boot tracks and one set of heel prints. The van exited to the east but without any additional skills to bring to bear that is the best that simple observation can do for you.

Eclipse checks the room again and it able to find her notepad (I had mentioned it was present early and then said no, I want to remove any confusion. I was expecting you to get this information later, but no worries.). The notebook does mention an appointment with a security guard from a closed factory. The security guard never showed up per the notes. The timing of this could relate to the coffee shop receipt. The one word written with a box around it is Relique.

There is nothing in the notebook as to where the code came from which is strange in itself, but there is the code work that was posted in the early posts.

Warlock remembers that he read a newspaper article that mentioned a Scientific American article. He searches the library and finds the Scientific American article that references a dig in Mauritania, that recently recovered a highly decorated jeweled container and several other religious artifacts. There was limited description except it was described as containing unknown demonic visuals.

[Rex]

Azir

Is the closed factory east of here?

[MrKinister]

Warlock

Warlock remembers that he read a newspaper article that mentioned a Scientific American article. He searches the library and finds the Scientific American article that references a dig in Mauritania, that recently recovered a highly decorated jeweled container and several other religious artifacts. There was limited description except it was described as containing unknown demonic visuals.

Perusing the issue of Scientific American, Warlock reads the article with fascination. In particular because he had travelled to Mauritania before, in his effort to know the world, but he had not really stopped to take a moment to actually pay attention to the country and the land. Locked into the Sahara, Mauritania's landscape seemed like the perfect place to keep something hidden for a long time, perhaps even centuries.

He searched the article to attempt to discover where the artifacts were presently being kept, and who was presently studying them.

As he returned to the team, he realized that there were several avenues of exploration here, all of which might hold information useful to them.

"Looks like we have several ways to approach this. We can see if we can track the van in some way or another. Perhaps there may have been a camera in some nearby store or street corner that might have picked up its license plate. We can try to locate this security guard with whom she was intending to meet, and we can also look into this recently unearthed relic. It looks very suggestive and may have something to do with our case, specially since the iconography indicates demonic themes.

I propose we focus on the nearby at the moment. The van, then the guard. The relic may only be indirectly involved with events here."

[gurusql]

Azir

Is the closed factory east of here?

With a little help from CHiP - East about 6 blocks from the library is the lake, the coffee shop and factory are about 13-15 miles mostly to the south.

LibraryToWarehouse.png (66.92 KiB) Viewed 155 times

[Rex]

Azir

"The factory seems are best idea for our next move, anyone else have another idea?"