"Ummm, ok, sure, if I can watch you. I don't know what's on there. I've never spied on him, but there may be something in there that you wouldn't know was strange, ok? I hate to pry, but we need to know more about the mask, and if there's something in there, we need to find it. Thank you."
 She pulled over another chair and let him take the one behind the desk. She sat in the one she brought over, then reached over and turned the computer on.

   Alex eagerly sat down and booted up the Professor's computer.  Immediately a pass word request window pops up and Alex nods.

  "Shouldn't be too difficult for a techie like me," he says smugly and begins trying various passwords.  Each time he does the same message comes up on the monitor, the face of the Professor looking around and his voice inquiring:

  "Is that my Moon Child?"


   On the fourth try from Alex, he is STARTLED to see a tiny dragon form, hovering above the keyboard.  Its scales glow green, as if it was made of light, and it snaps at Alex!  "YOU ARE NOT MY MOONCHILD!" Exclaims the computer, in James voice.
   Alexander de Marest, computer wizard extraordinaire jumps back in astonishment, and is subsequently chased around the room by the tiny emerald dragon, its tail leaving a trail of light as it flies...

  "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH MOON CHILD, GET IT OFF ME, HELP FOR PITY'S SAKE!" wails Alex, although the dragon hasn't actually done him any harm so far as Moon Child can see.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:13, Sat 18 Aug 2012.

   The Owl Man speaking with Luke turns to Heart of Fire and translates for him into the Amerindian language they speak.  There follows a heated discussion among the Owl Folk, but Heart of Fire seems to have the final word, and gives his terse reply back to the translator, who then addresses Luke:

   "You are a strange man, Walks in Shadows, and you say the words the Nunnehi want to hear, but do they come from your heart?  My people are doubtful, but Heart of Fire, son of Blood Feather, speaks for you, and says it brings him joy to see you breaking the iron horses of our enemies.  Heart of Fire says your deeds will sing the truth, not your clever speech.  You know of the Spirit Mask of Tecumseh, sacred to the Nunnehi.  If you are truly the enemy of the White Demons, you will know what to do with it when you find it.  Heart of Fire has spoken, the Nunnehi will leave Walks in Shadows in peace...for now, but we will be watching."

OOC:LUKE ROLL A LUCK ROLL  1d20 succeed if you roll your Luck Roll score (7) or below.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:53, Sat 18 Aug 2012.

- rolled 1 using 1d20. Luck roll (7-). And again, the Lady smiled upon her Fool. 'Dance for me,' she whispered in his Mind's Ear, 'Entertain me'.


Luke smiled, and gave a respectful bow to the head man, the one to whom he'd been introduced to as Heart of Fire.
"It was a pleasure meeting you. Please thank Heart of Fire, and those he travels with, for me", Luke said.

Then, now dismissed, Luke turned and walked off into the shadows ... for, apparently, that was his way and his name.
He couldn't help but smile to himself; and although he felt like whistling a tune as he slunk away, he opted instead for stealth.

He gave the MagCon guys a wide birth as he headed back towards the cabin.
And he was acutely aware of the owls that watched him from branch and wing, like spirits of the night.

He remembered Owl was a powerful totem among many indigenous tribes: a spirit of death and rebirth, if he remembered correctly. And of swift travel and the silent kill.   He remembered something about a secret cult called the Silent Striders ... who travelled the lands, never having a home, but always bringing death and war to the evil in the world.   He liked the sound of that.

And these Nunnehi, these shifting owl warriors.  He liked them also.  He felt more comfortable in their presence than among the pretty Fae that had first met them in this forest ... although, if he could bring a friendship between them, he felt so inclined.

Soon, the lights of the cabin twinkled in the near distance, through the trees.

In reply to Alexander De Marest (msg # 32):
 "No, it's the Moon and you are the sun! Who else would it be? Oh, there's Jade! Hi Jade. How did you get out of the computer?"
 Caught almost against her will by the greeting, she of course answered as she always had as a child, and later when she came home from college and he greeted her at the door. She smiled briefly with tears in her eyes. She couldn't help wonder where he was and if he was ok.
"Here Jade! Come here!" She didn't know if that would work, or if jade was real or an illusion, but she seemed to grow slightly bigger even as she watched. She sure didn't fancy a full grown dragon being unleashed! A tiny palm sized one was enough!

   The green dragon chased Alex around for another minute or two, then flew back and alighted on Moon Child's shoulder.  She weighed nothing at all as she perched there and snorted with self satisfaction in the direction of Alex.  Moon Child can see up close, a slight haziness, a fading at the edges of her form that suggests an ethereal nature.
   The computer meanwhile, begins to hum and the monitor lights up as soon as Moon Child speaks the familiar phrase aloud.

  "Voice recognition confirmed.  Welcome MoonChild, I leave all that is contained on this machine to you," the computer says in the professor's voice.  Instantly numerous windows begin to appear all over the screen: folders, files, documents, videos, and icons displaying all of Professor James' research and personal information.  One folder in particular catches Moon Child's attention, it is entitled:

   Fae Treasures- Accumulated Data on the Spirit Mask of Tecumseh the Shawnee Chief

   Alex came, cautiously back towards Moon Child, but stopped when Jade's head snaps up and it growls at him warningly.  He cranes his neck, trying to peer around Moon Child and her pet to see the computer screen.

   "Well, that's certainly not something you see every day.  The dragon is an interesting touch, how is it done, some sort of holographic projection perhaps?  So the Professor has an advanced Verbal Command program, my my; well played Professor, well played indeed."

   He makes no attempt to move closer to the computer, but his eagerness to play with the now unlocked PC is evident.  Alex almost twitches with anticipation, but one look at the tiny dragon keeps him where he is, five feet from the desk.

   As Luke gets near the cabin, he realizes how fortuitous it was he chose to be stealthy on his return.  In the pale moonlight, he sees two of the MajCon men having taken up positions on either side of the Cabin Door.  One is armed with a high powered cross-bow, the other with what appears to be some sort of staff that looks oddly like a tall Christian cross...except that the top tapers to a sharp point (like a pole arm, the medieval partisan or svardstav).
   Neither man APPEARS to have noticed Luke...yet, but they make it almost impossible for him to approach the cabin, any closer than the forest edge, without being seen.
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:53, Sun 26 Aug 2012.

"It's nothing I ever saw before. I knew he said something about a dragon program, but I thought it was that speak and type one. And this little beauty was only a 2d programmed avatar in the computer before."
 "Well? What are you waiting for? I think I gave the correct answer. Try it again."
 She went back to stroking the mini dragon, which felt as real as real could get! How was it possible? Unless...it really was real?

Luke grimaced.
He slowly crouched, in the darkness, as the two men both faced the door.

He waited.  As they entered, he was sure that both men would be focused on the interior before them ... and if he waited till the second was entering, he figured it unlikely that they would notice someone behind them charging.

If all went well, he might just, with the Lady's favour, take out two armed opponents before they realized that he was descending upon them.

He waited there, in the darkness.

   Alex makes his way around Moon Child and Jade, watching the dragon warily, then sits down at the computer.  Already, however, the monitor is flashing and opening a program with complex equations scrolling across the screen.  These equations suddenly spin and then suddenly Jade, sitting in Moon Child's hand, begins to recite a preprogrammed speech with Professor James smooth baritone.

   "The Spirit Mask of Tecumseh is a very powerful Fae Treasure.  It allows the wearer to communicate, via what can only be some sort of psychic connection, with the denizens of an alternate reality the Kithain call the Spirit World.  After several enlightning experiments, I have finally come to the decision that it would be best if returned to the Nunnehi, and then forgotten, for humankind is not yet ready for this kind of revelation.  My journals, along with any other material relevant to this artifact, should be completely, and irretrievably destroyed.  I trust you, my Moon Child, you'll do what is best; you always did have a better moral compass than I.  Would that I had had the sense to listen.  You can find the mask in my Special Room, a Chimerical place I created for this purpose.  All you have to do is close your eyes, and reach out for it, and believe with enough intensity to activate the magical energy associated with it.

  YOU CAN UNLOCK ANY DOOR, IF YOU ONLY HAVE THE KEY...remember that, my Moon Child.  I hope, someday, if we are fortunate enough to see one another again, that you will find some way, in your heart, to forgive me for this mess I have left you, which I acknowledge, beyond all doubt, is completely and unequivocally my fault.  Good luck, and know that, in spite of all appearances to the contrary, I do love you dearly, and always will..."

   Then Jade disappears and the screen goes blank, despite Alex's attempts to reboot it, the computers does not restart.
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:15, Fri 07 Sept 2012.

   As Luke watches, one man holds some sort of commuication device to his ear and has a brief, heated conversation with whomever is on the other end.  Since they are speaking in hushed tones (in spite of the anger evident in whatever topic they discuss) it is very hard for Luke to make out what they are saying.  Also, oddly enough, they do NOT converse in English!

   OOC: d100 roll please Luke, if you'd like to catch any of their conversation.  If you roll forty percent or less, then read the spoiler below:)

 

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
"Sciunt nos sumus hic. Sunt currus corrumpetur. Nunc adgredientibus. Fratribus nostris venire cito. Nos mos exstirpamus his profanum abominationes ex mundo, et deleant sua daemonum larva."

---

   Once finished with his call, the man speaks quickly and quietly to his partner, who is kneeling down and working on the door.  He takes out a piece of chalk and draws several odd looking signs around the frame of the door, then anoints them with some liquid from a vial in his pack.  Once completed, he says quietly, but very firmly:

   "In nomine Deus, aperire hoc ostium!"

   The strange symbols glow softly at the mention of these words, as if reflecting the moonlight, and then the door clicks open!

 She listened to the professors words with tears in her eyes, for she missed him terribly. Then she tried to do as he said. She closed her eyes, and tried to still herself well enough to sense the doorway to that special room he mentioned, reaching out as best she could to try to open the door as he'd said.

'Eei Aye' Luke thought to himself, 'mojo and tech. Crap'.

Still ,he waited till they were entering, and had their attention on the interior before making his move.


ooc: how far does Luke guess he has to run to get to the door? Please

   Alex watches with amusement as Moon Child closes her eyes and then reaches out into the empty air.  He is forced to swallow his derisive reply, however, as her fingers find an invisible knob and pull it towards her to clearly reveal a portal into another room.  It is dark within, and there is the smell of old wood, and dust, and also a hint of...sulphur?

   "That's not possible, it defies every accepted physical law!" Alex stammers incredulously, but the fact is he cannot deny the doorway that has appeared in the middle of the air!

OOC: Luke guestimates the distance at no more than fifty feet.  Note that the two men have not entered yet, but obviously intend to do so immediately. They will enter before Luke arrives, unless he does something to distract or deter them from doing so:)

 She opened her eyes as her fingers felt the knob that her eyes couldn't have seen, but now that she had touched it, she believed it was there, and so it was. She pulled the door open and stepped forward, peering into the darkness waiting for her eyes to adjust.
 "Let there be light please." She tried commanding a light, since it couldn't hurt, and would merely make her seem foolish if it didn't work. But with the little dragonette and the hidden room, and the other things she'd seen, she had to believe it was possible.

indeed.  Luke intends to wait until the two are actually entering ... when their (presumably) entire attention will be focused INTO the cabin, and they are least likely to notice any activity behind them outside.
He hopes to catch them unawares.

 

   Moon Child's footsteps echo as she steps into the Chimerical Room.  Calling for light has an immediately reaction, as every candle, lantern, and sconce in the room is instantly lit.  At the far end of the room a large hearth sparks up, its warm fire giving off a golden light.  In the bright glow that now pervades the enormous room, Moon Child can see the place is made of a dark grey stone, rather like an old baroque castle. Numerous arched alcoves are set into the walls, each one housing one of four characters: A Prancing Unicorn; a Roaring Manticore; a Watchful Wyvern; and a Laughing Faun.  A large weathered looking oval table, which takes up a good third of the room, rests upon a woven carpet of red and gold.
   There above the mantle, its painted eyes gazing across the room at Moon Child and Alex, hangs the Spirit Mask of Chief Tecumseh of the Shawnee!

 She looked around with shock at the room that looked as if it belonged to a castle somewhere. She slowly walked along studying the creatures in the niches then stepped over to the mask. She reached up and carefully took the mask off the wall, studying it as she did, and trying to sense any power or danger coming from it, without actually trying to "invade" the mask's inner space.
 She wondered what to do with it now she had it. Maybe she should take it back to that fae girl and ask her to call those shawnee fae to come get it.

   Alex came cautiously forward to stand beside Moon Child, taking a break from examining the unusual room to look at the mask with a mixture of curiosity and trepidation.

   Moon Child can feel the raven face mask almost vibrate in her hands, the worn smooth wood is warm against her skin, and the large eye-holes seem to her as if there is some spark in their depths, a faint light that begins to swirl like mist and glow...

OOC: Moon Child, please roll me a Luck Roll, which is 1d20.  A successful roll is your luck roll score, which is 8, or less.  Good luck.

   Scanning his surroundings quickly, one of the MajCon men slips silently into the cabin while his partner guards his back.  This lone sentry then follows about one minute later, cautiously entering then starting to close the door behind them...

   OOC: No worries my friend, I just wanted to make sure I had described the situation adequately as I've had GMs before who did not and it was very frustrating.

It was as the second man turned his attention into the cabin, and began to move, that Luke made his own.

As quietly as a run could be made, Luke dashed from his spot among the shadows, making for the door.

But he had to modify his plan, now.  As the two MajCon agents had separated themselves somewhat, attacking the second would only draw the attention of the first ... who would be out of Luke's reach.

He decided instead to tail them for the moment ...


when he got to the door, he stopped, with his back to the nearby wall, and took a quick look in through the doorway, or a nearby window, to update himself on the enemies location.

 She looked at the mask, closely noting the details and how the wood was worn smooth, and how it was detailed in it's carving, the feathers seeming to almost seem real, how the eyes seemed to follow hers where ever she looked, almost as if there were a real spirit in them. They sparkled and seemed to glitter, drawing her in deeper and deeper...

22:08, Today: Moon Child rolled 15 using 1d20. luck roll.

   Luke peers through the tall window beside the door, noting that the sigils placed on the door frame by the MagCon agents seem to have vanished without leaving any trace.  Inside he can see the two men, carefully combing the ground floor in search of Moon Child, Alex, and Luke.  They are quite thorough, and careful not to make any noise, treading carefully and deliberately, surveying the area for any sign of danger.  They slowly make their way towards stairs and begin to climb them, their backs to the door as they do so.