Sam: When last we left the Deus Ex Machina Dancers, they had just ruined months of careful planning, killed three major NPCs, and sabotaged the primary plot thread with a van, some leeches, and a herd of fire-breathing sheep.
Ed (ooc): Don't forget "destroyed all the vampires in England."
Fanny (ooc): And they weren't fire-breathing sheep.
Sam: They then proceeded to leave the scene of the biggest reality crime since Vargo's zepplins in a minivan with a cloaking device.
Bill (ooc): And a cooler full of booze.
Mary (ooc): Who could forget that?
John (ooc): So, Sam. Do you want us to decide what to do next, or are you planning to hit us with a session-long Paradox backlash from all the stuff we did last week?
Sam (ooc): While the thought had crossed my mind, I have decided to let it go and merely take the consequences of your actions into consideration.
Bill (ooc): That should give you plenty of material to work with.
John (ooc): Any Paradox hanging over our heads?
Sam (ooc): In my benevolence, I'm going to say no.
John (ooc): Stop that. You're reminding me of George.
Bill (ooc): At least he's sober.
Mary: "So, where now?"
Nate: "Back to Edinburgh. The Technocracy is trying to turn my hospital into a Walmart."
John (ooc): How many of the death-marked folks in the valley actually died? I imagine Mel would know, and that's going to decide what Homer does next.
Sam: All the ones you've met so far are dead, now.
John (ooc): Ah. Good.
Bill: "I think we could all use a bit of a vacation. Edinburgh is familiar territory, at least. We can rest and protect the Node at the same time, I think."
Mary: "I agree, though I think using the hospital as a base of operations might be unwise. We might want to set up housekeeping nearby - somewhere we can keep an eye on the Node without having to spend all our time in a basement, together."
Nate: "While I want to keep the Node safe, I agree. That many healthy, non-clergy people hanging out at a hospital all the time might raise suspicions and could make it a bigger target than the Node already makes it."
Fanny (ooc): Besides, if we're all roommates, it'll be like the Sims except with mages, complete with the woo hoo.
Ed (ooc): Never say woo hoo again.
Sam: So, are you getting an apartment together in downtown Edinburgh?
John (ooc): That would probably get a bit cramped.
Mary (ooc): Not to mention having to listen in on the nymph and the satyr every night.
John (ooc): Yes. So, it'll probably be a few apartments. Allan and Homer can go in on a two bedroom, together. Christabel and Draw can have whatever Christabel and Draw want.
Bill (ooc): A mirror on the bedroom ceiling?
Ed (ooc): Yuck.
John (ooc): Walter can live wherever Walter lives now. And Clara can live by herself.
Mary (ooc): Oh no. Clara, Allan, and Homer are going in on a three bedroom.
John (ooc): Okay...
Sam: Great. Are we settled in, now? Can we strike out toward the next plot?
Nate (ooc): We already have a plot. The Technocracy is planning to knock down Serenity Hospital and build a Walmart on the ruins.
Mary (ooc): Nate's right, but can we please discuss our plans in-character?
Bill: "What next?"
Nate: "Serenity Hospital is in danger of being bulldozed by the Technocracy."
John: "We can't exactly take on the entire Technocracy and expect to win. They have us out-numbered and out-gunned. At the very least, we need a way to even the odds."
Fanny: "I could contact my mentor. She has many allies among the Verbena who would not be delighted to have science make itself older than paganism."
Nate: "And I will speak to my superiors with the Chorus."
Mary: "Do you still have the phone number of that Technocrat you tipped off, Draw?"
Bill: "Yes. Why?"
Mary: "For all its organization, the Technocracy is still a bureaucracy. Someone inside it is not going to be happy to hear that another part of it wants to demolish a hospital. Maybe you'll get lucky, and the Smith you talked to the other night will oppose it. For my own part, I'm going to start organizing a protest and send around a petition."
John: "Hold off on the last bits, Clara. The Technocracy has not yet given us a formal notice of their intentions. What we've learned so far was gleaned by means of magic and speculation. If we let on that we know something, they might suspect the truth, and we wouldn't want that. Contact your Traditions and let them know what's going on, but save the public outcry until we have a reason to know we should rally the protestors."
Bill: "Good point. Besides, if Mary is right, the notice we receive will also reveal something about the group that wants to take control of the Node. I suspect the New World Order, but it could easily be a Syndicate plot, as well."
Mary: "Or a collaborative effort between members of both."
Nate: "We are decided, then?"
Ed: "Yes. You have helped me fulfill my goal of destroying all the vampires in England. I would be ungrateful to refuse you aid in this matter. I will consult my contacts, as well. Many of them now owe you a greater debt than you know."
Nate: "Thank you, Allan."
Bill: "No greater debt than I owe all of you. I have spent the last several years tracking the Nephandi who forced my wife to pass through the Caul. I only hope she is now at peace."
John (ooc): I'll believe that when I see her corpse.
Bill (ooc): Shush, you.
Sam (ooc): See all the damage you did last week? No William to rescue. No Nephandus wife. No murdererous vampire with Fortitude to stake. All your revenge has been taken. All your angst is gone.
Nate (ooc): There's still my vow of celibacy.
Mary (ooc): Glad that's still working out for you, Nate...
Bill (ooc): It's easier for us to focus, now, and we have no shortage of sticky.
John (ooc): And by my count, I have a good eleven more people to kill. Feel free to bring them into the story so I can remedy that. I'm way behind in the race to eliminate my angst.
Ed (ooc): But doesn't killing those people mean Homer has to die?
John (ooc): Yes, but unless you wind up as a wraith, death is pretty much the end of your problems.
Nate (ooc): Unless you wind up in hell, of course, which could be a real concern for an assassin.
John (ooc): Maybe, but as a Euthanatos, Homer believes in reincarnation.
Bill (ooc): So death isn't the end of your problems, after all. It's just the beginning of a new set of problems.
John (ooc): Same shit. Different life.
Sam: But in real life, what are your characters doing, now?
Bill (ooc): Looks to me like some GM conferences are in order. People are meeting their mentors, contacts, and superiors to make our problems their problems.
Nate: I'll go first. Walter is going to place a brief phone call to his immediate superior and arrange a meeting in the Shrine of St. Andrew at St. Mary's Cathedral. I'll assure him that it is important, but I won't go into detail in case the conversation is monitored.
Sam: He will meet with you there after the 12:45 service tomorrow.
Nate (ooc): Okay.
Fanny: Christabel will send a homing pigeon to her mentor in London, telling her I need to meet with her soon and that I am currently in Edinburgh. I'll leave her to decide on a location. I'll use Life 2 to increase the pigeon's endurance and speed so it can get there in a day, so long as the weather is fair.
Bill (ooc): You're sending a pigeon to London? You realize we have too many of those there already, don't you?
Fanny (ooc): It's just one pigeon.
Bill (ooc): Perhaps, but if everyone thought that way, you'd have legions more pigeons.
Sam (ooc): I find it difficult to believe that even if every Verbena sent a pigeon to London each month, it would have much of an impact on the total population of London pigeons. It's like trying to change the taste of the sea with a salt shaker and a teaspoon.
Fanny: Reality, gentlemen. The pigeon is away. That makes it Allan's turn.
Ed: Allan is going to check his contacts, looking for people who would be opposed to the bulldozing of a hospital in the name of progress. To you want to play it out, or should I just roll?
Sam: I'm trying to keep this simple. Roll. Dif 6.
Ed: One success.
Sam: You ask around and find several people whose family members are or were patients at the hospital and had a positive experience with the staff and environment there. You also find quite a few people who are organizing to oppose the building of Walmarts in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. You think it would be relatively easy to introduce one group to the other, once the Technocracy's intention becomes public knowledge.
Ed: Excellent.
Bill: Draw will wait until after the rest of the cabal has received orders from their Tradition superiors before making the phone call that will likely get us bugged for life.
Sam: Are Clara and Homer planning to do anything before Walter's meeting?
John: Homer is going to research his next victims, if Mel is willing to reveal enough information about their names and whereabouts. Are there any in or near Edinburgh, that she knows of?
Sam: Make me an Avatar check, dif 6.
John: Two successes.
Sam: There is a wealthy, elderly couple in Edinburgh marked for death. Further research indicates that they are major and regular donors to Serenity Hospital.
John (ooc): Meaning that killing them would put the hospital in danger from the Technocracy.
Mary (ooc): Or that it will leave a major windfall that will save the hospital, if the legal issues can be settled before the Technocracy moves against it.
John: I imagine Allan made no secret of whom he was attempting to contact?
Ed: He'd have no reason to be secretive.
John (ooc): That's good to know.
Ed (ooc): What are you planning, John?
John (ooc): If I spoil the surprise now, Sam will be ready when I finally spring it.
Nate (ooc): What horrible things are you going to do to those people?
John (ooc): Trust me. It's all for the greater good.
Mary (ooc): Remind me, again. Why are the Traditions the good guys in this game?
Fanny (ooc): Because magic is older than science, maybe?
Ed (ooc): And more fun to use.
Sam: Shall we move on to St. Andrew's chapel?
Bill (ooc): Yes.
Nate: "Monsignor Argyle. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."
Sam (as Argyle): "Don't mention it. What is on your mind, Father Smollett?"
Nate: "I fear for Serenity Hospital, Monsignor. A member of the Orchestra had a vision that the Secularists wish to build a marketplace on its ruins. You know well the good works done there in the name of the Almighty."
Sam (as Argyle): "Have you more than music as proof, Father?"
Nate: "We encountered a Secularist vandal in the chapel. His sinful thoughts betrayed the Secularists' intentions."
Sam (as Argyle): "They have not yet made it a matter of public record. They will not storm the marriage feast with sword in hand. Instead, they will want to turn our wine into water."
Nate: " You do not anticipate further acts of vandalism, Monsignor?"
Sam (as Argyle): "It is not impossible, but they are more likely to steal the loaves and fishes. Few are the women with two small coins, these days, so we cannot restore lost credit to the hospital, if it fails. We can shield it from this assault, but it might draw attention to the Church, if we do so. I believe the flock will be far more generous than usual, next year, however."
Nate: "Shield but conceal from view, the better to hide the shield?"
Sam (as Argyle): "Yes. You will need to find a way to deal with the rest until the donations pour in to preserve the hospital."
Nate: "Thank you, Monsignor. I think I can manage that, with God's help."
Sam (as Argyle): "Go with peace in the One, Walter."
Nate: "And also with you, Monsignor."
Sam: Anyone else plan to do something before Fanny's mentor responds?
Mary: Not really. Clara will flirt maddeningly with Allan while further fortifying the magely minivan, setting up a security system around the apartment, and generally tinkering with a variety of devices in her bedroom.
Ed (ooc): She's flirting with Allan? Why?
Mary (ooc): It's the only safe thing to do. Walter is a priest, Bill has Fanny, and Homer has an awful lot of baggage. Allan is motivated, well-connected, and gutsy. Not that Clara is particularly good at flirting, mind you."
Sam: Anyone else? No? Christabel, you receive a pigeon in response with a message from your mentor. She will be in her London shop during the day for the next week. You're welcome to drop by whenever you can.
Ed (ooc): Your mentor runs a magic shop in London? That's a bit suspicious, isn't it?
Fanny (ooc): It isn't a magic shop. It's the Marks & Spencer at the Brent Cross Shopping Centre. She works in the bakery.
Ed (ooc): Tell me she at least lives in a gingerbread house.
Fanny: Christabel will let the rest of the cabal know where she's going before catching a train to London. She will be fairly insistent upon going alone. She is shy about revealing her identity.
Ed (ooc): Probably because she's a witch who works in a Marks & Spencer bakery and sends messages via pigeon to her students. Couldn't it at least have been a small owl? Or even a raven?
Sam: Roll me a Mentor check, dif 6.
Fanny: No successes.
Sam: Christabel walks into a Marks and Spencer and goes to the bakery. The woman she recognizes as her secretive mentor waves her over to a side door where they can converse in an alley.
Fanny: "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important, Moira."
Sam: Moira lights a cigarette and takes a long drag. "I'm on break. What brings you to London, Christabel?"
Fanny: "The suits are trying to change history."
Sam (as Moira): "That's nothing new, Bel. Look at how they covered up the Burning Times."
Fanny: "This time, they are going to bulldoze a hospital in Edinburgh to do it."
Sam (as Moira): "So, you've finally found a cabal of your own."
Fanny: Christabel sighs. "Yes, but they are deserving of our help. Has word reached you of Grasmere?"
Sam (as Moira): "Are you sure your new friends oppose the suits? If you and they had a hand in Grasmere, you went to the suits for help before consulting any of your superiors."
Fanny: "I know, Moira. We had only a couple hours to mobilize against an entire army of dark creatures. If we had hesitated, a powerful dark spirit would now be walking the Lake District."
Sam (as Moira): "We do what we must. See to it that you do not grow too dependant on your allies of convenience. They are no less our enemies than the twisted ones, if less prone to vulgar displays."
Fanny: "Yes, Moira."
Sam (as Moira): "As for your little problem in Edinburgh, I'm afraid there is little I can do so far from my base of power. I will put our brothers and sisters on alert concerning this new development, but I cannot guarantee any reinforcements. I'm sorry, Bel."
Fanny: "Any advice, at least? I've traveled far for this answer."
Sam: "Take up smoking. It gives you an excuse to take a break whenever you want." She snuffs her cigarette. "I've got to go back to work, now."
Fanny (ooc): Well, that sucked.
Sam: And that's where we'll end for the night.
ST (Sam) - Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Clara (Mary) - Mary Shelley
Christabel (Fanny) - Fanny Brawne
Draw (Bill) - William Blake
Homer (John) - John Keats
Walter (Nate) - Nathaniel Hawthorne
Allan (Ed) - Edgar Allan Poe