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J.R. - FP: 5 "Well thank you sir, I am partial to it myself," JR says with a grin that quickly turns serious. "Now, you're right about everything you said just now. It wasn't no explosion, and you weren't imagining it. My friend here and I deal with things like what was in the church. Can you remember anything about how it appeared or what it did before the fight?"
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Mar 24, 2012 05:07
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 00:42 |
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“Are you with the Compact then?” He didn’t wait for a reply. “They didn’t just appear, they knocked on the front door. I thought it was strange, the door wasn’t locked. I was talking to that police officer, the wizard, when they knocked. They looked like young men. One asked if he could come in with his friend.” He looked down. “I let them into God’s house. I was a fool. He shook my hand and then there was a knife. I don’t know… much after that. The first one just ran away with my... then the other started to change into that demon. The wizard saved me, put himself between it and me, pulled me back to the altar. I remember the windows blowing out and the demon roaring." His eyes were distant, like he was watching it in his head. Then they focused on Ada. "She was there, ask her."
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Mar 24, 2012 06:22
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Mitsuo - FP: 2 Having ground away a large part of the black ink stick and filled another small copper pot with the resulting night-black liquid, Mitsuo draws out one of the smaller brushes. The body of the brush is a simple sanded bamboo reed. The bulbous horsehair head is tied on with string and natural glue. Dipping the brush first in the water, then the ink, he unfurls a piece of rice paper edged in red silk, about 10cm by 30cm, with a gold-leaf symbol at the bottom. Gently and deliberately he strokes at the paper, lifting and twisting the brush to alter the thickness of the lines to some inscrutable tradition. Though he writes only a few characters, the slow pace of his strokes and moments of contemplation between characters add up to a full ten minutes of writing. Finally, he replaces the brush in its case, now selecting a red ink stick and a small square marble rod, topped with a carving of a bull. He swipes the ink stick at his inkstone for a few moments, then wets the flat end of the rod in red ink and stabs at the bottom of the paper. pre: 久
真 延
実 毘
を 古
お
示
し
下
さ
い
塚田
Everything is in place. Mitsuo kills the lights and kneels at the center of the circle. He takes a huge breath, his whole body arching upwards as he fills his lungs. Then he exhales - slowly, achingly slowly, letting the breath carry away all of his thoughts, emptying his body and his mind. He pauses for a moment at the end of the breath. Finally, his lungs screaming for air, he closes his eyes and breathes again. The four candles at the edge of the circle spring to life, flames dancing in the shadowy room. Mitsuo's eyes spring open. The black candle catches flame, merrily burning with an impossible purple-black flame that casts flickering shadows where the others create light. He chants the words of his gofu over and over as light and shadow skirmish in the corners of the room. "Kuebiko shinjitsu-o oshimeshi kudasai, Kuebiko shinjitsu-o oshimeshi kudasai, Kuebiko..." He feels the crackling energy build up in him, almost reaching the spillover point, but coming up just short. There are a handful of talismans here that could supply that last jolt of power, but the circle is closed and he doesn't want to start over. Remembering a thought he'd had earlier, he casts his mind back into the sea of his memories. Calla lilies in a porcelain vase, supporting the portrait of his mother in its gilt frame, so carefully arranged on the little table. Such a small shield, too small to block the sight of her casket on the podium, framed with huge sprays of lilies and chrysanthemums and orchids and the plumeria she'd loved so much, the ones his father had spent so many thousands of yen to ship in from Oahu. The smell of her hair when he'd buried his face in her shoulder, and even then she'd promised him, "I will always watch over you," as if it weren't all his fault... He brushes a tear from the corner of his eye and lets it fall on the gofu, smearing the ink of his signature. A surge of power and the candles flare. Light and dark play over the surface of the lens, chaotically interfering and building on each other, until finally resolving into a coherent image. Mitsuo blinks rapidly and gazes into the glass. Good ol' thaumaturgy. I want to know the previous owners of the grimoire and what they've used it for - starting probably with Reggie and going back from there. Similar to Sight but probably not as comprehensive. Meditation gives me a Discipline declaration for "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind," using tag to power the spell. Maudlin recollections are part of taking a mild mental consequence "Misty Eyed" to power the spell. "Kuebiko (immobile but all-seeing scarecrow kami), show me truth - Tsukada"
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Mar 24, 2012 06:29
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The glass flickers with color. A man blows dust from the cover of the book. He is alive, flush with power, smiling. He is dressed all in black, his hair the color of ink. He flips the pages of the book, greedily devouring the knowledge within. He waves his hands in a ritual gesture and the corpse of a woman in a wedding dress sits up in her coffin, rotted face concealed by the veil. The undead bride holds her lover tightly and they dance in her tomb. The image shifts slightly. The man looks older, wrinkled and sunken-cheeked. But these are not the ravages of time. They are a price paid for the power behind his jaundiced yellow eyes. The smile has faded to misery and regret. The man stands at the top of a cliff with his corpse bride, and they step over the edge together. The image swirls. A man takes a book from the skeletal hands of a long dead corpse at the bottom of a cliff. He is alive, flush with power, smiling. He is dressed all in black, his hair as dark as night. He flips the pages of the book, greedily devouring the knowledge within. He looks at the corpse and speaks a word of command that Mitsuo cannot hear. The skull glows and snakes and beetles crawl from the sockets, much to the man's delight. The image shifts slightly. The man looks older, wrinkled and sunken-cheeked. But these are not the ravages of time. They are a price paid for the power behind his jaundiced yellow eyes. His smile has become a madman's grin, and he reaches for a gun and places it below his own jaw. The image swirls. A woman's hands pluck the book from a shelf. She is beautiful and alive, flush with power, smiling. She is dressed all in black, her hair dyed to match. She flips the pages of the book, greedily devouring the knowledge within. He can see her clapping, slowly in a steady rhythm, as the skeleton of a rat dances on the table before her. The image shifts slightly. The woman looks older, wrinkled and sunken-cheeked. But these are not the ravages of time. They are the price paid for the power behind her jaundiced yellow eyes. Her smile is gone, replaced by a proud sneer. The image shifts, and now the woman's face is familiar. Dead, a corpse, but still moving. The vampire who called herself the Duchess. The sneer is replaced by a bitter snarl. All humanity is gone. She lies broken on the floor, torn nearly in half by J.R.'s holy bullets. The image swirls. He sees himself in the glass, picking up the book from behind the counter of the copy shop. Alive, flush with power, smiling. He is dressed all in black, with the coal black hair of his father's people. He flips the pages of the book… Mitsuo looks away quickly, shaken. mistaya fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Mar 24, 2012 |
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Mar 24, 2012 07:21
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Ada duSang - FP: 1 Ada grimaced. She didn't feel very good about asking the nearly KO'd father for information, but what choice did she have? "What did the young man who ran away look like? Did he give you a name? If we can find it, maybe we can have a talk with him about the company he's been keeping. A very serious talk." Ada said, her voice grim.
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Mar 24, 2012 08:32
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Father James shakes his head and looks very serious. "No, no name. Don't remember his face, hurts when I try. Shadows, buzzing in my head. Father Lauden told me not to go to the meeting, but the Compact was invited. I thought it would be good to see the others..." He trails off a bit, and sighs. "I didn't really believe, you know? I thought I did, but seeing it standing over that poor woman... That's why it came after me. I thought I was safe in the church, but I invited it in." He laughs weakly and leans back on the pillow. "I can still feel it, every once in a while. Like someone's sticking pins in it." He squeezes his good arm with his remaining hand. "If it's gone, why can I still feel it?"
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Mar 24, 2012 12:54
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Jenny Hirsch FP: 5 Jenny smiled faintly as Hughes biked off. He really did believe in her... and that helped. If someone with that much darkness in his past could still think she was worthwhile, then maybe... After devouring the sandwiches in her kitchen, suddenly ravenous, Jenny walked back to her room. The night table drawer was still open where she'd left it, and she slowly lifted the shallow bronze bowl and placed it in front of her. Dozens of white sleeping pills and a few green antiemitic tablets were scattered along its polished surface. Jenny could faintly make out her reflection staring back at her, distorted slightly by the curvature of the bowl. Jenny sat there, sitting on the fluffy sheets of her bed and staring into her escape, eyes blinking back silent tears for a full five minutes before speaking. "No. Not today." Carefully lifting the bowl, so as to not spill any tablets, Jenny lowered it back into the drawer from which it came and closed it. It hadn't been the first time she'd stared at the bowl, despairing and working up the nerve, but it hadn't happened since... since she'd failed to save Donald. Almost a year and a half ago, now. She'd thought she could fix everything now, she could... The night table had a key, and Jenny turned it to lock the drawer tight before returning the key to its loop on her silver necklace. Tilting her head back, she swallowed Hughes' potion in one gulp before laying down on the bed, not bothering to undress. Not today, she thought. And from deep, deep inside of her, the place where she drew her power from, she heard an answering echo. Not today. Not yet. And then sweet, blessed unconsciousness finally took her. Made some character changes, finally. Bumped Scholarship to +5 and swapped it and Rapport, then took the Magical Doctor custom stunt. quote:Magical Doctor: You may use your Scholarship skill to declare appropriate justification for the recovery of moderate physical consequences when outside a medical facility, and for the recovery of severe physical consequences within a medical facility. You gain +1 to rolls to provide medical attention, and a further +1 when the damage was caused through supernatural means (a vampire firing a gun would not count, a vampire clawing someone would). Also rejiggered my Thaumaturgy focus.
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Mar 25, 2012 06:52
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Ada duSang - FP: 1 "Everything you lose sticks with you. It's not there anymore, but the knowledge that it once was is, and that's enough." Ada said, nodding. "It's like a scar. It doesn't heal, but with time, it fades." She leaned closer to Father James. "Father, can you tell us where we can find Father Lauden? I think we need to consult him, before anybody else gets hurt. Those freaks have spilled more than enough blood already."
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Mar 25, 2012 07:55
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J.R. - FP: 5 "Came after you? Had you seen these things before, or done something to bring them down on you?" JR questions.
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Mar 25, 2012 13:31
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He nodded. "Night before last, after the meeting at the bar. I walked Pamela to her car, just being polite. I was heading for mine when something grabbed her from the hedge. I thought it must be some kind of animal, but it wasn't. It was the same demon you saw. Pamela was eviscerated, I couldn't do anything to help her. She didn't even get the chance to scream." A look of horror crosses the man's face. "I ran for my car. It came after me, chased the car two blocks before I lost it. That's why it came to the church, it knew I saw it. Father Lauden and the... the wizard cop said I would be safe as long as I stayed inside." "And you would have been, James, if you had any sense." Says a deep bass voice from the entrance of the room. Ada and J.R. turn to see an old, stout man with a neatly trimmed grey beard and no hair at all. He's wearing black with the traditional stiff collar of a Catholic priest. "I'm Father Lauden, just Lauden is fine." He frowns as if looking at the two of them is leaving a bad taste in his mouth. "I expected visitors from your side, but not here. Or do you not care if you short out someone's life support with your mere presence? Leave James be, he's in a lot of pain and you're just making him relive what he's already told me." Lauden opens up a window and lets the sun in. It seems to cheer Father James up a bit and he actually smiles when he closes his eyes. It also sparkles off the chalk circle someone has drawn on the floor around James's bed. Lauden pulls the divider sheet across the room, hiding the injured man from view, and looks at Ada and J.R. suspiciously. "Now I'll give you the benefit of the fact that James isn't dead that you aren't demons in disguise here to finish him off in the ten minutes I left his side to eat something. I've been doing my level best to get him out of here and behind a threshold but they won't release him for another night. Who are you, and what will it take to make you go away?"
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Mar 25, 2012 14:10
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Mitsuo - FP: 2 Shivering, Mitsuo turns away from the glass. The air stirs and the candles puff out. He shuffles to his feet and begins replacing the ritual supplies. That vision's going to stick with him for days. Replacing the book on its shelf, he vows: that will not be me. I cannot give in to that temptation. With everything in order, he descends the stairs, quintuple-locks the doors, and heads back up. He tumbles onto a futon in the back corner of the second floor. He's asleep within thirty seconds of hitting the pillow, a trick he perfected in the Teishin Shudan days where every second of rest had to be used to the fullest. Dreaming of black-haired men and ravens carrying golden books, he waits for the phone to ring.
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Mar 27, 2012 01:25
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 3 It had been a while since Hugues had to set up Wards of this magnitude. The Anti-Hex Wards for his electronics were simple and routine, but if he was going to be holding onto something of significant nastiness, he needed something special for it. Come to think of it, the last time he held something this bad was when he died. That wasn't quite a pleasant thought. For that, it was probably best to establish just what it was and how hidden this book needed to be, and for that he needed Mitsuo. Hugues picked up his phone, and made the call. "Mitsuo, it's Hugues. Ready when you are. Got Wards set up so you don't blow up my techy stuff. Should I throw something quick up for whatever you're bringing over?"
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Mar 27, 2012 02:13
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Mitsuo - FP: 2 When the phone rings, Mitsuo rolls off the futon and hits the ground in a crouch. He blinks quickly, once, twice, before straightening up and striding over to answer it. "もしもし。Oh, yes, you probably should do that. I did a bit of scrying and got some... disturbing results. Caution is definitely in order. See you shortly." Stripping off, he jumps in the tiny standing shower. Sixty-two seconds later he's ruffling his hair with a towel. A few quick passes with a straight razor, a splash of disturbingly bright blue aftershave from a tiny glass bottle, toothpaste and mouthwash and ready to go. He picks a suit from a small walk-in closet full of, well, a bunch of suits. And a few sets of workout clothes; you can't always wear a suit. He takes the tie in hand, glances thoughtfully in the mirror, then carefully folds it and stuffs it into a jacket pocket. Cole's silver pin follows the tie, hopefully muffled by the layers of fabric. He nabs the grimoire and a soda on the way out. Hugues should have some answers about the book. Mitsuo toys with the idea of asking him to set a ward on the book and keep it hidden. In the end, he decides that keeping it around would both make it safer and provide an exercise in self-control. A part of the Eightfold Path: the exertion of effort to prevent one's descent into evil things. He smiles and downs half of the soda as he pulls into traffic. Just a taste of evil, that is all I can afford.
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Mar 27, 2012 04:27
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 3 When Hugues hear's Mitsuo knock on the door, he lowers the Wards he had placed there and opened the door, with his right gauntlet aimed directly at Mitsuo's face. "Prove to me you're Mitsuo and not a demon in disguise." Hugues then took a step back, giving Mitsuo room to enter, without giving him permission to enter.
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Mar 27, 2012 04:52
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Mitsuo - FP: 2 Mitsuo holds his hands away from his body, palms toward Hugues. "This thing really has you on edge, ne? Um, ちょっと待って-" * With a thought all of his muscles loosen and his posture slumps slightly, relaxed and ready for any quick movement. He steps across the threshold, just far enough for it to be obvious that he's done so. Once inside, he slowly sticks out his right arm. He uses the left to unbutton the cuff and pull it up, revealing the half-healed gouges Slimy gave him earlier. "I really wish we had figured out where that drumming had come from first. It would have saved us all a lot of trouble." There's a momentary temptation to play the "I know what you did to Steve" card but Mitsuo dismisses it with a flash of anger. He primly fixes the sleeve of his suit and stands at attention, waiting. "Well, satisfied? Can we do this the right way now?" * "chotto matte" = "wait a minute"
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Mar 27, 2012 16:01
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 3 Hugues let out a sigh of relief and lowers his right arm, closing the door. "Your presence is welcome here, guest and friend." With those words, the invitation was complete and Mitsuo shouldn't be held back. He then gestured around the apartment. "Don't cross the yellow police tape, it's warded against you. And don't ask where I got it." Hugues said. Sure enough, there was a circle of police tape surrounding Hugue's TV stand, and lots of police tape covering one of the bedroom doors. "Set it down on the coffee table." Hugues said while he he walked over to his bookcase. It was small and it was filled with elementary age textbooks, a few textbooks on computers, and near the bottom Hugues pulled out his English to German dictionary. He turned back and set the book on the coffee table. "Show me what you got."
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Mar 27, 2012 17:04
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Mitsuo - FP: 2 The invitation makes Mitsuo's skin tingle as his power floods back. He draws the grimoire out from where he'd tucked it under his jacket, held in place by his belt. He sets it on the table next to the dictionary. "Before we start, you should know..." and he describes the vision to Hugues, conveniently omitting the last bit about himself. No need to frighten the little guy by hinting that the book might already have Mitsuo in its grasp. He's tempted, yes, but he won't give in to it. The power comes at much too high a price. "So. There is not much else to do except begin the translation, unless you have some other idea?"
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Mar 27, 2012 17:10
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J.R. - FP: 5 "We're working with the Warden, working on finding the hard cases who been sending demons after righteous folk. If'n you know anything about that or what's happened, I'd be mighty grateful to ya, and we'd be on our way," JR says, doing his best to calm the man. Rapport 3/+// = 1
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Mar 27, 2012 17:12
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"The Warden eh? Well..." he sighs. Lauden hasn't slept in two days and it shows. "I guess James owes the Warden his life, and you too Miss. I don't know how much more I can tell you though. The Compact was invited to the meeting of powers, just as a courtesy. We usually don't accept those invitations but James is young and he wanted to see what's out there with his own eyes. He saw a little too much, and he paid for it. What bothers me most is that it seems like they were after his hand more than his life. I haven't seen hide nor hair of a hellspawn since and he's a lot more vulnerable here than anywhere else. It's almost like they don't care." --- The ink on the page writhes and wiggles at Hugues’ touch. He runs a hand down the page. “Be still.” he commands in German. The words settle. Articles of black magic are predatory. They respect only power. Hugues reads the title page in silence before translating to Mitsuo: “An Alternate Source” -John Greer There is a short foreword. “The master’s absence is longer than expected. Perhaps the fools on the White Council have finally succeeded in destroying him. I do not possess his skill but I have found ways to harness power of equal strength. The demon folk are ever eager to bargain.” Hugues does not read any more aloud, because the book is filled with notes and dark magic rituals. Most are necromantic in nature, raising the dead, controlling corpses, causing rot and disease and decay, but the important part is they don’t draw on the caster’s magic. They draw on a demonic source. The handwriting in the book, which starts off very neat and proper, becomes more of a scrawl as the pages turn. Near the end the words are hardly legible. “Poor decision. Another angle is needed. Must destroy-“ The line scribbles into nothing, and there is a faded brown stain soaked through the last few empty pages. The final page holds only a single word, written in the same faded brown. “Mel’Karshok” It is a Name. mistaya fucked around with this message at 18:01 on Mar 27, 2012 |
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Mar 27, 2012 17:29
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With the translation work done Mitsuo and Hugues exchange looks. Then they both start to speak at once. “Why don’t we-” “I think we should-” (pause) “You first.” “No, go ahead.” “Well, I thought we could bring up a demon – not THAT demon – just something we could ask about the name in the book.” “Huh. I was going to suggest the same thing.” Hugues grins. “Great minds. I’m pretty good with wards, we should double up on the containment just in case.” Mitsuo nods. Both of them get to work. Hugues draws the circle with a piece of chalk. His small hands make quick work of the intricate patterns, and his precise, rapid movements indicate years of practice. Once the outline is done he roots around in the kitchen and comes back with a small pack of rosemary, which he sprinkles in one of the outer rings. “They absolutely loathe this stuff,” he explains as he cleans his hands. Mitsuo looks over the circle, takes the chalk from Hugues and adds a few flourishes and a kanji inscription around the outer ring. With the physical side of things done, the two sit on opposite sides of the circle. Hugues is cross-legged, Mitsuo sits on his calves. They close their eyes and concentrate. When their minds are blank, they both call up power from within. Mitsuo holds his out for his partner; Hugues grasps the offered energy and channels it into the circle. The chalk begins to glow, faintly blue at first, then brighter and brighter. Finally it settles to a soft luminescence. Hugues grins. “Well, that part’s done.” Mitsuo stands up. “Now for the harder part. I know a few-” “Hold on. I’ve got one over here.” Hugues scuttles over to a bookshelf, pulls out an ancient volume and leafs through the pages until he finds his mark. “Here.” Handing over the book, he points out a large, heavily illuminated word – MURRAZONOTH. Mitsuo chuckles softly. “You are full of surprises, my little friend.” They repeat their dance from earlier. Hugues comes up with a small charm inscribed with the emblem of a mouse. “Demon bait,” he explains as he sets it outside the circle. Mitsuo reaches up and pulls out a few strands of his hair, setting them on top of the mouse-charm. They take up positions on either side of the circle, standing this time. With the book held open in one hand, Mitsuo chants loudly, rising and falling tones causing the circle to pulse in time with his cadence. Hugues’ Lore +4 for True Name “Murrazonoth” Containment circle: Hugues’ Lore +5 to cast, Hugues’ Resources +3 for Rosemary, Hugues’ Lore +5 for Circle-craft, Mitsuo’s Lore +4 for Circle-craft, Hugues’ Discipline +3 for Zen, Mitsuo’s Discipline +3 for Zen Lore +5 and 5 Maneuvers for a total of 15 Complexity Rolls are here, completed successfully. Summon: Mitsuo’s Lore +3 to cast, Hugues’ Discipline +3 for Zen, Hugues’ Resources +4 for Demon-Bait, Mitsuo’s Lore +3 for Demonology, Mitsuo’s Discipline +8 for Zen Lore +3 and 4 Maneuvers for a total of 11 Complexity Rolls are here, completed successfully.
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Mar 27, 2012 19:45
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Thick purplish goo bubbles up seemingly through the floor into the circle. It curls around the offered token and coalesces into the shape that could be called feline, if cats were hairless and covered in horns and spikes, with wide set eyes and extra rows of sharp teeth. ”Oh, how long it has been…” The demon purrs, rubbing it's razor-wire whiskers on the token. "Someone remembers what I like." It looks Mitsuo up and down briefly. “And who might you be?” It says, all smiles and amiability.
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Mar 27, 2012 19:57
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 3 --> 0 Mitsuo - FP: 2 --> 1 (Off screen Fate-Point to reroll the Lore check to translate the book in the first place.) Hugues stood on the opposite side of the circle as Mitsuo called out to Murrazonoth, holding the energy for the binding in place. Hugues couldn't help but smile briefly when it appeared. The hellish thing chose the same ugly cute form it had last time. It was going for the same strategy to break free, and Hugues knew how to deal with that. "Who we are is irrelevant to you." He spoke coldly, as he glared at the creature. "Murrazonoth, you were summoned here to serve us, and Murrazonoth will submit to us." With those words, he unleashed the built up power he and Mitsuo had built up. Binding: Hugues’ Lore +5 to cast, Hugues’ Lore +5 for Demonology, Mitsuo's Conviction +4 for Faith in the Family, Fate Point on Hugues' Clone of a World War II Warden, Fate Point on Mitsuo's In From the Cold. Lore +5 and 2 Maneuvers and 2 Fate Points for a total of 13 Complexity Rolls are here, completed not so successfully. Spending a Fate Point on Clone of a World War II Warden to give the -1 roll +2, casting the spell with no problems. Krysmphoenix fucked around with this message at 23:06 on Mar 27, 2012 |
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Mar 27, 2012 20:14
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Ahem. Murray concedes after massive mental trauma. He'll do as you ask. The hellcat stiffens at the sound of Hugues' voice, turning it's head all the way around to look behind it without moving its body. As the binding falls it yowls in fury and panic, visibly losing form and collapsing back into a puddle of goo before taking the cat-form again, this time with no cheshire smile or anything but pure hatred in it's black empty eyes. "Not needed. How rude, no manners." It hisses and begins pacing the circle, eyes wide open as if searching for something specific. After a moment it sits, panting. It faces Mitsuo, and bows its head low. "Hajimemashite, taichou. How may I serve my new masters?" *Nice to meet you, Captain. mistaya fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 27, 2012 20:31
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Mitsuo - FP: 1 ”よろしくね。僕が言うようにあなたが行うんだ。" * Sparing a quick look at Hugues, he reaches over to pick up the grimoire. "We need some information. There is a name." He checks the back of the book. "Mel'Karshok. Please tell us what you know about the owner of that name. Start with what you know to be true, then you may move on to rumour and speculation - and be sure to tell us when you do so." * "Yoroshiku ne. Boku-ga iu you ni anata-ga okonaunda." / "Nice to meet you. You'll do what I say." (stated as fact, cocky to the point of rudeness)
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Mar 27, 2012 23:07
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The hellcat looks pleased with itself, ignoring the somewhat insulting tone. "Ah, Mel's book has once again come to light I see. The owner of that name is someone of much greater strength than I. Telling you what you wish to know may put me in danger..." It huddles in on itself a bit. "But... I cannot refuse. What I know is that Mel'Karshok is a trader of sorts. She likes to share her power with mortal men, especially. You seem like her type of bargainer, taichou." It stretches, and shakes its head. "What I have heard is that Mel'Karshok has made a bargain with one of the phages of late, and her influence is growing. I do not speculate on the movements of powers, I am not a fool." It paces back and forth, looking at the room with those wide black eyes.
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Mar 28, 2012 01:00
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Mitsuo - FP: 1 Mitsuo frowns slightly. "When you said 'the phages,' what did you mean? Are you referring to the phobophages specifically or to some other entities? And there was another thing..." He looks down at the grimoire briefly, casting his thoughts back over the last few days. "Ah, yes. The eyes. There was a human found dead, with one eye cleanly removed. This grimoire was supposed to hold information about eye-snatchers. Does Mel'K- ah, Mel have some desire for eyes? And what do you know about entities who would want to steal eyes?"
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Mar 28, 2012 01:23
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Murray makes a soft mewling noise that must be laughter. "No, taichou. Not fae. What you call..." he tilts his head, thinking, "White Court. Yes, that is the latest term for the host, I think." It licks one paw, which might almost be cute if its tongue wasn't forked and black like a snake's. "Eyes... Perhaps. The eye is a focus, an aiming device. You would find many such spells in the book, were you to read it." He smiles darkly. "Too common a focus, I could list hundreds of spells that use eyes. Narrow the field, or I cannot help you." Murray needs specifics here, and you might want to mention anything else that demons have made off with recently for the best result.
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Mar 28, 2012 01:35
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 0 Hugues paused for a moment at the mention of the White Court. So they were involved in this? "There was more." Hugues announced, looking at Mitsuo. Did they mention this part to him? "Another human was attacked, this one had his hand cut cleanly off by a blade of some sort. There appears to be no blood relation between the two humans attacked." Although he might want to double-check that, just in case. Hopefully Mr. Nazarene would be around to answer questions soon. "Does that narrow the field for you, whelp?"
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Mar 28, 2012 04:31
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Murray sighs, tiny shoulders drooping. "What eye, what hand, what human? Is the eye of a thief the same as the eye of a virgin? I think not, no no. Left or right, these things are symbols. They hold great power over the spell one can cast with the pieces."
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Mar 28, 2012 08:01
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Ada duSang - FP: 1 "What do you mean they were after his hand?" Ada asked, furrowing her brow. "That doesn't make sense. Why take a hand and leave the rest? I don't think they were interested in leaving anything behind, given how wild that demon was back at the church." She racked her brains for a moment, trying to reconstruct the train of thought that had led the young man to take the Father's hand. "Let's see...James comes to the meeting to see what's up, and gets more than he bargained for. Somebody becomes interested in him, and he's chased back to the church, where the demon and his friend pay him a visit. The demon goes berserk, and..." She blinked. "...And then why did his companion jet like that? Makes no sense at all."
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Mar 28, 2012 08:54
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 0 Hugues looked up to Mitsuo when asked about the eye, who pointed to his own left eye. "The left eye belonged to a woman who hunts demons who find their way out of the Nevernever. She was not a virgin. The right hand of a Catholic priest." He was starting to like this thing less and less, it kept asking questions. Perhaps before banishing the whelp, he'd have to remind it to not tell anyone about this conversation.
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Mar 28, 2012 08:57
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Murray purrs. "Now we are getting somewhere. The left eye takes in power and focuses it. The right hand exerts power. These are pieces of a whole." It smiles brightly all of a sudden, as if coming to a realization. "Oh mortals, mortals, if I guess correctly you are in for some fun." It laughs again, the sound grating and cold, then speaks in a singsong voice. It has a biblical sound to it, as if translated from another, older language. "When the tongue speaks only lies When the ear hears only painful cries When the eye sees only violence and death When the hand strikes only the innocent Then shall come down the Wrath of the LORD The sea shall rise, the ground falter The city shall perish in fire and water" Murray leaps into the air excitedly, and presses his nose against the invisible wall of the circle. "Gomorrah, mortals. Oh, would that I could see such a thing!" --- Lauden nods. "Indeed. It makes no sense, unless his hand is what they were after all along. The Warden's presence is what drove the first to run, if I had to guess. If the theft was the main objective, they could hardly let him pursue. Killing him or at least delaying him may have been the actual goal of the fight." mistaya fucked around with this message at 14:25 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 28, 2012 09:40
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Mitsuo - FP: 1 *sigh* "Riddles already? I hoped you would be more original than that. Regardless, how involved are you with these... phages? A, ahem, person in your position could be valuable to them. And after that, please tell us about the last time you were summoned - who summoned you, where and when, who else was present, what they asked and what you told them." Mitsuo grins wickedly. "Assuming, of course, that speaking these things won't cause you to spontaneously combust. Either way, though, you will tell us."
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Mar 28, 2012 19:02
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Murray rolls onto its spiky back and bats at the air with one paw. "I didn't write it, Taichou. Complain to your prophets, if you would complain. Or perhaps they are not yours, ne?" It yawns. "I have no dealings with the phages. They are..." It snuffles. "Too close to the mortals. Weak things, none too smart. The hosts are often worse." It sits up and looks pointedly at the circle containing it. "It has been ten mortal years since I was last summoned to this plane. The last was a Warden of the White Council. Alone, in a dark place I knew not." It looks at Hugues. "Shall I continue master? Or would you prefer I hold my silence?" Its expression is positively smug. mistaya fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 28, 2012 19:18
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Mitsuo - FP: 1 Mitsuo's a bit confused. There's definitely something going on here. "Continue."
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Mar 28, 2012 19:34
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J.R. - FP: 5 "Well, I thank you for telling us what you know. We'll leave you two for now, then, and I'll pray Father James gets better soon," JR says, as he and Ada leave the priests. As the wizards walk out, JR turns to Ada, saying "Reckon I'll get set up at my hotel, then maybe I'll go talk to the rest and tell 'em what we found out." JR heads out and into a cab, directing it a motel he'd found a couple weeks back. He checks into a room and begins setting up his ward. The new-found anchorstone would help to hold the spell, allowing JR to cast it once and have it last several days rather than having to recast it every morning. A few minutes of concentration and drawing in power, and then JR sends it outwards to fill the room. If anyone other than a hotel employee entered the room, an iron ring he wore on his hand would rust. Setting the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the outside of the door finished his preparations for the room. Settling in at the Mid Town Hotel, setting up a 5 shift ward (0 base strength, +2 for an alarm, +2 for making the alarm tied to a ring, plus 1 for making it last a few days rather than until sunrise.) Thanks to the anchorstone, JR has 5 lore for wards, so no prep needed. Will update with results once foxxbot returns Piell fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Mar 28, 2012 |
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Mar 28, 2012 19:44
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Murray waits for a few seconds, but Hugues remains silent. "As you say, Taichou. The Warden of the White Council had come into possession of a ritual. A way to attach his soul to the body of another, if he were to perish in the war between his people and the phages. But he did not wish to use this ritual on another living mortal. I taught him the secret of constructing a shell, a permanent form that would not collapse in the dawn-light. He was a fearful man, for death stalked in his shadow. I often wondered if he succeeded, for he did not call on me again and no other has brought me back to this plane since that day. I see now that he did."
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Mar 28, 2012 21:23
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Hugues Turner Fate Points: 0 --> 1Flashback to 10 years ago... posted:"A soulless vessel? Yes...I think I can tell you what you need. However, there's also the matter of the price." Murray smiled a smile that reminded Hugues so much of the cheshire cat, which only grew the more it spoke. "If I am going to help you free your life from death, you should give me freedom. Three days. Unrestricted, unwatched." In those three days, 24 cars suffered unusual accidents anywhere from tires slashed to the 11-car pileup on the highway. 20 people hospitalized after being attacked by a feral cat, include 3 critically injured animal control workers. Not to mention dead mice found all over the city, $1,284 worth of items stolen from random stores that "just disappeared" and then that incident at the strip club. Took them weeks to get that stench out. Hugues wasn't proud of that deal...but at least no one was killed. (All this for a Compel on Old Hugues' "I'm afraid to die" Aspect, which later got turned into "The Abyss Gazes Back -- Fifth Lawbreaker.") "Enough." Hugues ordered, anger seeping into his voice. "Who summoned you before is irrelevant, and you will not speak of it. Go back to the ritual. Explain with detail your riddle, what will happen if this ritual is cast?"
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Mar 28, 2012 22:07
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Murray laughs. "What riddle? 'tis scripture, the fate of Gomorrah in the land of Canaan. Fire and water, destruction on a grand scale. How delightful!" It pauses and stiffens. "I do not know the ritual, I am not so powerful as that. But the eye and hand you speak of, they are also in the song. Marks of the faithful, they are, those who worship. To call down the Wrath will require great deception indeed. A perversion of the sacred." Murray's eyes dance. "You will try to stop it, no? I would dearly love to watch. A bargain, a bargain like we had of old. Let me watch, master, and I will aid you as I can, no binding needed. I will take the form of a mindless pet, and cause no harm to mortal kin. I must see this, I must!" Murray rears back, paws on the invisible wall of the circle, mewling pitifully.
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Mar 28, 2012 22:50
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| # ? Apr 20, 2024 00:42 |
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Mitsuo - FP: 1 Mitsuo snaps out of his reverie, pulling away from Hugues and his awe at this grand revelation. "Uh. Well. Your offer is... interesting, tempting, but I am afraid we must decline. Your presence would complicate things greatly. There is one more question I must ask, then we can think about sending you home. What can we do to prevent this 'fate of Gomorrah?'" He looks sidelong at Hugues again in wonder, then turns back to Murray, awaiting an answer.
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Mar 29, 2012 03:17
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