Julia passed out cups to Duck to distribute to everyone before taking one herself and making herself comfortable cross-legged on a faded cushion.  She gestured for everyone to drink.

"Magical groups have been rumored for several years now.  I know of them from my experiences with ... my former employer.  But we would not wish to use their methods.  I have also heard of practices within the NAN.  The corps have been trying for a while, but this document I recently acquired might suggest a path for those of us who are not so-positioned.

What I know is this.  Forming a group will open up a magical pathway that may grant us greater powers, but it may come too with greater risks.  We will also be bound to each other.  This action will cost some of your independence.  It will also require secrecy.  I suspect the former will be more challenging than the latter for most of you.  Is this a path you all wish to walk?"

What do you mean by, it ' will cost some of your independence'?  Could you be more specific, please?

"If you choose to join, you will have obligations to the group.  If a member of the group has need of you, you will be obligated to assist - or risk losing access to the power you have gained, and perhaps some of the power you already have.  As well, if the group is to guide your assension in the mysteries, then you will need to help others in turn.  Those selected to be here all come from the same line of work, though some of you move in slightly different circles.

I understand that having ties is a risk.  If you wish to bow out, the time to do so is now."

The young woman shifts uncomfortably but no-one else moves to leave.

So say if we were to be trying to save a friend, and for some reason or another, one member of the group decides that they need my help with moving their furniture, I have to leave my friend to die and help them move tables or risk losing some of my powers?  What's to prevent people in this group from abusing this obligation?  And how do we know that no one in this group isn't going to break this kind of trust you speak of?
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Tue 24 Apr 2018.

"The group will decide what is reasonable and will also determine the consequences for failure to comply.  If you are severed from the group, it may come with a cost to your power.  All here will be equally bound and, I presume, equally motivated to keep the group's tenets to avoid loss of their own powers or other consequences.

I understand that, while I know most of you, many of you are strangers to each other.  Trust is hard to find in the Sixth World, and harder still for those of us who work in it's shadows.   If we wish, we could each share something of ourselves in a bid to build trust.  I can ensure that only truth is spoken."

She looks around the room to see if the notion is more or less appealing than the prospect of being magically bound to a bunch of strangers.

Caduceus listened with interest to both the questions that Koby asked and to the answers Julia gave.  It sounded like this was going to be quite the ordeal.  One that would require him to get cozier with people than he usually liked to get.  It wasn't in his nature to depend on others in the way the group would likely demand.  He liked to slither around on his own as he pleased.

However, it wasn't in his nature to pass up a juicy secret either.  And learning how to increase his magical capabilities certainly qualified.  The snake shaman decided to give more consideration to joining the group.  He could always leave later if things got too weird.

"Alright, I'm in.  I would like to see where this goes," Caduceus concluded aloud.  "I'll share something with the group, but I would rather have you go first," he said, gesturing to Julia.  "This is your show, after all.  And I'm better at collecting information than I am at sharing it.  Nothing personal."

In reply to Hairy (msg # 27):

"Yeh, yeh, I'm in. But next time, the team gets paid proper."

Hairy stands up. "Okay, so where this place at? No time like the now."

In the bar:

The presumed 'go-ganger' slides the credstick across the table and pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and hands it over.  An address is written with remarkably neat penmenship.

"Remember, it needs to happen tonight.  I'll see you here tomorrow night with your payment if you do the job right."  He slides out of the booth and makes his way to the door.


--------------------

Seeing no-one get up to leave, Julia took a sip of tea and began.

"Most of you know of my former employer.  And, as I mentioned, I had exposure to magical groups in my time there.  As you can guess, their practices involved the use of blood magic.  What you do not know is that, before I left, I played a part in one of their horrible rituals.  The victim was my own father - and I was the one who held the knife.

I had no choice.  My father was an employee who had failed in some way and was and was doomed regardless.  If I had not cooperated, they would have killed me as well as my sisters.  Apparently the energy of one family member sacrificing another provideded a boost to the magical energy.

It was then that I knew I had to leave.  I could not face my family again.  I can still remember the warmth of my father's blood on my hands."

She stared down at her tea for a while, then took another sip.

EDIT - fixed formatting
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:51, Sun 29 Apr 2018.

Koby silently listens on without ever drinking his tea.

"That... is brutal," Caduceus commented after a long bought of silence.  "I would never wish that upon anybody."  He didn't know what else to say.  It sounded like she had been messed up in some dark Aztecnology biz, or at least something similar.  He didn't like to think about it, but Caduceus still noted it in his mental dossier he had constructed for Julia.  You never knew when knowing someone who knew something could come in handy.

"I don't have any stories quite as dramatic as that, I'm afraid.  But I don't have such a close relationship with my family any longer either.  They were excited to learn I was awakened, and showed promise as a shaman, but all but disowned me when they found out Snake was my totem.  They never really understood, and I still rarely have contact with them."

Caduceus crossed his arms across his chest and slumped further against the wall.  His story might not have sounded like much, but it was more than he had shared about himself with strangers in a long time.

The troll gave a snort.  "What's wrong with Snake?"

Hairy checks the stick and bites the end. Why? It's what people do. He slips it in his pocket, nods to the go-ganger, and heads to the door. "See ya tomorrow. Keep my seat warm." With that, he heads out to his car.

Feeling the stress of a successful meet gradually dissipate, he pulls a little vial out of his inner pocket and does a quick line. As the red hot fire moves through his veins, he turns on his car and listens to the engine purr, then pulls out to scope out his target.

"Absolutely nothing," Caduceus replied to the troll earnestly.  It is what he himself truthfully believed.  But some others, such as his family, saw them as sneaky liars who will sell every last one of your secrets for a quick buck.

Hairy drove to the general vicinity.  The 8pm "dedicated sarariman" rush-hour had died down so navigating traffic wasn't an issue.  Finding a place to park his vehicle where there was a reasonable place it would remain intact for his return, the orc made the rest of his way on foot.  It was a rougher neighborhood.  A group of several toughs lounging around smoking and drinking gave him a bit of an evil eye, but he fit in well enough that they couldn't be bothered getting off their hoops to do more.

The building indicated by the slip of paper was slightly better maintained than its neighbors - meaning that it was painted in the last decade or two and the windows were relatively clean.  The latter made it somewhat easier to peer into.  The lights were out and, as far as you could tell, the shop was deserted.


---------

Chuck waited a minute or so for more.  When it was evident nothing futher was forthcoming, he shrugged.

"Grew up in the UK.  I was a wet little sod and my step-da, ee had a thing fer wee blokes.  Liked ta stick things in me bum.  Then I got big.  Stuck me fist up 'is bum.  To me elbow.  Ma didn't like havin ta work again and booted me out, so I crossed the pond."

The Japanese man looked down, obviously uncomfortable.  Kate's gaze moved from Julia to Chuck and back again.  She shook her head.  "Wow.  You guys have had to deal with some serious dreck!  Worst thing I can remember is being grounded for a month for lifting a pair of jeans - after my dad paid off mall security.  I mean I've fragged some corps and stuff since then, but I presume that's a given for all of us, neh?"

Duck shrugs, hopping off of his stool with a smoke tucked behind his ear. “Let’s see, I’m the only non-goblinized member of my family. All six brothers and sisters are full on orks.” Looking around, he continues. “Also, there’s the small matter of Having killed lots of people, most of them with my bare hands, some of em last week.” He brings a finger to his chin as he walks for the door. “Lastly, for the few of you who might know this, here’s somethin new. I really wish I had a pet cat and I’ve had a serious crush on Julia here for ages.” He winks to her, having never verbalized that before. He then steps out for a smoke.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:02, Fri 04 May 2018.

Julia gives a brief chuckle.  "Mi amante fantasma.

Please stay.  I don't think anyone here will mind if you indulge?  And some have yet to share..."

Hairy peers in the window, checking for anything interesting. Not seeing anything, he circles the building, getting a sense for its height, distance from its neighbors, and how burnable it would be. He circles around the back side and checks around for a back door, or even just an unwatched window. When he's sure he's not being watched, he'll check if they're locked (or poorly made enough to be forced).

The shop is one from the end in a line of 10 or so, though not all appear to be active businesses.  All appear to be of wood construction with a brick foundation and are single-story with bars covering the windows in front and rear.  Your target has maglocks on the front and rear entrances, which is a tad unusual for the district.

A group individuals lying against one of the buildings in the back alley makes it difficult to approach totally unnoticed.  However, the glazed looks in their eyes and the occasional limb twitch strongly implies that whatevers hitting their optic nerves isn't coming from their eyeballs

Hearing that everyone has unloaded, he decided to give a little.

College dropout.  Military drop out.  Government security dropout.  Guess the shadows only one left that would have me...

“Ah hell Julia, you know I don’t smoke around the merchandise. I’ll just be right here for a minute.” He says, half-stepping out of the door and staying half-in so he could still listen. He lights his smoke onnthe other side and takes a drag, blowing the smoke out in a calm, relieved breath.

In reply to DeusEx (msg # 50):

Hairy watches the group for a little bit, then pushes on by. Not like they can arrest a man for walking. He'll move on around to check the back for doors or any windows he can see in, or anywhere he can discreetly break inside.

The back windows had bars on them that appear relatively solid.  Nothing a welding kit or some acid couldn't take care of given enough time though.  The back door had a maglock much like the front.  Given the lack of grime and graffiti, it was probably not more than a year or two old.  The shop was dark, but Hairy's eyes had no trouble taking advantage of the dim light reflected down the alleyway to make out the content of the rear room: A desk with a few odd nicknacks, a shelving unit containing a number of cardboard boxes, a filing cabinet, a coffee machine and a small sink.  The boxes and the content of the filing cabinet would probably both go up nicely if aided by a decent accelerant.


----------

White Duck opened the rear door of his shop, taking a wiff of the sweet smell of decaying garbage from the near-by dumpster before inhaling the sweeter smell of his tobacco.


Julia shrugged and got up to pour everyone some more tea.  Noticing Koby's still-full cup, she asked if there was something else he'd prefer.

Martha chuckled.  "I won't speak for the others, but I've certainly nipped at the tail of a corp or two.  Let's see, what sins shall I bare.  There are so many to choose from...

Before I found my path many years ago, let's just say that I was more often in the bottle than out of it.  I lost my husband and my daughter as a result."  Her voice makes clear that this particular part of her history is something she made peace with quite a while ago.

"Fragging hobo cats..." Hairy curses under his breath.

He settles down in place, and decides to put some touches on his costume, in case it comes to that. He drops a few empty glass capsules on the floor and permits himself a quarter hit of a downer, just for authenticity. With that, he'll wait out the fragging smoker, damn cheapskate, can't buy something quality from a fine purveyor such as himself.

Duck steps from out of halfway through the door and lets it close and lock behind him. He leans against a nearby wall, casually taking a drag of his smoke and drawing out a deck of cards, shuffling them idly with his free hand, calling out to whomever is hiding.

"Wanna step out from behind that bin, omae?" he calls out without looking, flicking free some loose ash.

"You got no good reason to be back here, and since you're hiding, I'm presuming you already know that."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:10, Wed 09 May 2018.

Hairy pokes each eye until they're properly bleary and bloodshot and drools a little. He considers peeing himself, but decides art needs limits. Finally, he stumbles on out. "Heyyyy.... Hey listen, my uhh... my uncle is in this house here," he tugs on the locked back door a few times, "and I was... I was supposed to..."

Hairy trails off a little, letting his eyes glaze, before he looks back at WD. "Hey lend me a few credits for a sandwich, man? I'm real hungry."