There's a crackle in the air as new magic clashes against old, and to those who used their Sight, a crackle of energy passed through the air that left anticipation of more in it's wake. The handle hissed as it slowed it's vibration, steam lightly rising off of the brushed metal as it reflected Olympic's hand back at him.

Well, funny story, I was reading through the book and think I messed up on this. While it would truly be a clash of wills, counterspell looks like it specifically only works on magic while it's being cast, and not to end a continuous effect. That's what Dispelling for, which falls into Prime.

HOWEVER, Olympic has Prime, which allows him to do exactly that. Therefore, the dice pool would have still been 4 (1 Gnosis + 2 Prime + any yantra). Success indeed. Due to this, you have 2 Reach. I would assume you're using one of them to apply advanced duration (since it only lasts for 3 seconds otherwise), and the other to cast instantly. That work for you?

Mnemosyne suppressed a shudder at the hint of Paradox tainting the doorway. Once she had seen enough she steps back, pulling her awareness back toward the real world (switching back to regular Active Mage Sight) and pulling her coat closer around her shoulders as if to fight off a chill.

"...Okay, so the Hierarch might be using us as bait. That's good to know." She shook her head, then turned to the rest. "Something is very wrong inside that apartment. I can't be sure without looking, but it looks like our missing Councilor might have botched a summoning. Badly."

Animus... She thought to the Goetia hovering formlessly over her shoulder. Will you behave yourself if I manifest you?

I'm insulted, Master. When have I ever caused you problems?

Don't make me answer that question...

Mnemosyne held out her pen and begins to chant softly in High Speech, tracing a pattern in the air with its tip. To anyone looking in her direction with their Sight, her shadow, dimly cast by the hallway's lighting, seemed to shift to cast against the light, instead of with it, and they'd feel a slight, momentary surge in emotion, as if whatever they were feeling suddenly became amplified...

---

OOC: Time for some more complicated spellcasting...

Casting Goetic Summons (Mind 3, pg 162). While I don't need the primary effect of the spell (as Animus is right here next to her) I'm casting it for the secondary Spirit 2 effect, which grants the Goetia the Manifested condition for the Duration of the spell.

Spell Factors - Instant Cast (1 Reach) Advanced Duration: 1 Scene (1 Reach)
Yantras - Mantra (+2) and Dedicated Magical Tool (+1)

Rolling for Paradox first - going to Contain if I get a success:

11:19, Today: Mnemosyne failed (no successes) using 1d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((1)).

And that's a dramatic failure on a chance die (since my Paradox pool was reduced by my Tool) which means I regain 1 point of WP!

Rolling to Cast Goetic Summons (3 Mind + 1 Gnosis + 3 Yantra):

11:21, Today: Mnemosyne rolled 4 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 9,8,9,10(+4),3,3,4.  Casting Goetic Summons.

So close to that Exceptional Success! Oh well. That's a success to give Animus the Manifested condition for the remainder of the Scene.

---

Ephemera began to flow from the tip of her pen, first tracing the smoky outline of a figure, then rapidly filling in a solid form, until on the floor in front of her sat what appeared to be a large German Shepherd, its head reaching up past her waist height, all jet-black save for its eyes, which were deep red - and, in fact, glowing slightly. As Mnemosyne finished her incantation it looked up at the group with as haughty and aloof of an expression as its canine face could manage.

"Um... this is Animus," Mnemosyne said, gesturing toward the 'dog'. "My familiar. Something is wrong with Twilight inside the apartment, so I wanted to make sure he could follow us."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:50, Wed 04 Jan 2017.

"Possibly," Midas says, focusing his eyes on the Matter around him. "Might also be a test. See if we can't solve this sort of problem on our own. I mean, if we can't, do we even deserve to be mages?"

Sorry, been pretty busy. Here's that Mage Sight roll you asked for. Spent Willpower on it.

13:37, Today: Midas rolled 2 successes using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((7,8,8)).

"Before we walk in, let me check something," Paracelsus said.

She took out her pocket watch and drew the symbol for Time on it while reciting the spell in High Speech. When she was finished, she opened the watch and looked inside. Her first question was "Will I be in danger if I open the door and walk inside?"

Divination

4 Reaches
+1 Reach- casting time
+1 Reach- ask more complex questions
+2 Potency- 2 additional questions

Gnosis 2+ Time 3+ Yantras 3 (High Speech and Tool)= 8 dice

15:58, Today: Paracelsus rolled 6 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((10(+9),2,7,2,10(+6),10(+7),3,10(+9))).

Meanwhile, Hohenheim was careful to put Paracelsus between himself and the phantom dog.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:08, Wed 04 Jan 2017.

Olympic waits at the newly revealed doorknob while Paracelsus looks into the future.

"Handy trick, that.  Remind me to learn how to do it."  He says to the others in a stage whisper, trying not to disturb the spell casting.

OOC:
That assessment works for me!  I also have the Dispel Magic Rote in my Grimoire, so no matter how it happened, that spell was going bye-bye.

To those with their Sight still open, it was as if the group were lighting sparklers, each nimbus swirling in the air and lighting it on fire. The spells that were left on the hotel floor seemed to reciprocate with their own energy, the light smell of lavender in the air increasing as each new spell was cast. The canine familiar form hovered into existence alongside the Mastigos, locking eyes with the cat familiar, both their tails slowly moving back and forth.

As they continued to work their wills, a low rumble passed through the hallway as the train passed outside, and the distant shaking of light fixtures could be heard through the doors.

---

Midas

As Midas looks closer, the weaving of the Matter Arcanum became clear as writing on the wall. The magic woven into the doorway went deeper than just the Forces spell that Olympic had dispelled; deeper within, a secondary spell had been cast that placed a lock deep inside of the . It seemed that either Leviathan or his allies had cast more than one layer of protection on the entrance.

If Midas wants to attempt a Compelling spell (Matter 1) to magically open the lock within the door, the door's Durability trait of 2 will be subtracted from the dice pool as the Withstand trait. Of course, there's more than one way to skin a cat...

---

Paracelsus

Both the minute and hour hand spun in opposite directions, the tiny gears giving an audible whir as they churned with her spell. It didn't speak, as forming words was beyond even the machine, although Paracelsus could feel the response rush through her arm as the Arcanum gave it voice.

Yes

Congrats on the first exceptional success, that's question 1 of 3. When you have 4 Reach listed, is that because you are taking an additional Reach as part of your Exceptional Success? Or were you taking Paradox for that instead and wanted a different bonus?

"Hmm... looks like there's a lock within the door itself. Anyone know how to pick a lock? Otherwise, I'll try and magic it open."

"I know a thing or two, but I don't have my hairpins with me.  Also, I do have a boot with a moderate amount of muscle behind it, if it comes down to it."  Olympic offers, half seriously.

"You wanna kick down the magically trapped door, be my guest. Let me just stand back and to the side a bit..."

OOC: Neither. I messed up, it should only be 3 reaches, so 2 questions. I'd like to try the condition/resolution option- I'm not sure who determines that.

Paracelsus considered her next question. She had a list of questions, but yes/no answers wouldn't get her very far. Still, there was one thing she was worried about.

"Will the entity that came through that tear in the veil return?"

"There's still danger here, but it could something on the door, something inside the room or something completely different. Still, forewarned is forearmed. I suggest you magic it open instead of picking the lock or forcing it. It should be safer."

---

Paracelsus

Yes.

The hands spun a second time, almost bending with their speed, little metal grinding against even smaller brass, seeming almost eager to answer her. Even with the grim news, there was a warm feeling the crept from it as it's last response came out, sending a warm feeling along Paracelsus' arm and through her chest.


Gain the following Condition:

Charmed: You may invoke this twist of fate at any time as a reflexive action. If used to avoid injury, resolving this Condition reduces the damage to 1. Otherwise, neither you nor the mage knows the exact nature this good fortune will take when it manifests — only that it will have a significant impact.

Resolution: Your character narrowly avoids some misfortune or enjoys a lucky break; the Condition is resolved as described above. Gain an Arcane Beat instead of a regular Beat when you resolve this condition.

"I said 'if it comes down to it,' relax!  I may not be as well read or smart as some of you, but I'm not that dumb!"  Olympic says, hands up in mock surrender.  "But, that does bring up a good question before we go in.  Are any of you any good in a fight? If there was a botched summoning back there, we might have one on our hands.  Personally, I can handle myself pretty well, and Forces is pretty direct in its destructive power."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 19:19, Sun 08 Jan 2017.

"Whatever came through there is coming back," Paracelsus told the others. "So that's a good question, Olympic. I'm afraid the best I can do is whack someone with a stick or flick small objects at them- I play field hockey. I can run away with the best of them, though, and that's always an option."

"Go ahead and give it a shot, Midas." She and Hohenheim got out of the way to let Midas do his thing.

Mnemosyne looked down at her dress and shoes, then back at Olympic. "If it's got a Mind I can do a little damage. Otherwise I'm counting on him," she replied, gesturing toward the black dog seated by her feet. It grinned - or at least, a canine approximation of a grin - showing off its fangs.

She nodded toward Midas. "Go ahead. I'd rather not make a forceful entrance if we can help it."

Midas sighed, calling upon his knowledge of Matter to compel the lock to open. It wasn't normally his field, but if it was necessary...

Okay, I'm still getting a hang of this system, so bear with me if I get this wrong.

This is an improvised spell with a base spellcasting pool of Gnosis + Matter, which is 3. I will add the Concentration Yantra for +2 abd my Dedicated Magical Tool for +1, for a total of 6 dice. The Durability of 2 is subtracted, for 4 dice total. And finally, I spend a Willpower to bring it up to 7 dice. As I am Gnosis 1 and using my Dedicated Magical Tool, I roll 0 Paradox dice.

Rolled four successes total on the roll to Compel the lock to open.

03:52, Today: Midas rolled 4 successes using 7d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((2,7,8,10(+6),8,5,9))

As Midas touched the door and compelled it to change it's shape, the others could hear the wood creak and moan like an old house, shifting back into it's original form. With both the handle becoming solid and unjoined from the wall, the door swung inward, a draft of cool air meeting the awakened as if there were an open window inside.

Even without Active Mage Sight, the awakened feel the presence of the Hallow when the door opens. There is a power in here.

The Hallow was a room like any other in the hotel at it's first glance, but as you stared in, the room became deeper and wider as if an optical illusion were unfolding. It didn't expand beyond reason, but to say the room was almost twice the size of a suite would be fair. The walls were decorated in a faded white and gold wallpaper, weathered and breaking with seams...

...and, of course, covered in blood.

It was a sight unlike any other; as if there had been an explosion in the middle of the room, but instead of fire and debris, it instead coated the room in a thin layer of gore and viscera. It had even hit the light fixtures, casting their tinted light along stained sheets and the soiled carpet. There were no bodies to speak of, although there did seem to be some stains that were concentrated in the center that may have been something before.

Other than that, however, it looked empty.

Everyone: It's pretty gnarly. Roll Resolve and Composure to enter the room without taking a condition.

Midas: Since you only have Matter 1 and Gnosis 1, Midas would originally only have a dice pool of 2 before adding yantras and willpower, meaning that he would have had a 6d10 roll instead. Since you had 4 successes, removing one die would at worse change it to 3, but even if that were the case it's still a success.

"Oh, shit..." Olympics mumbles half to himself as the gory scene is revealed.  He felt his stomach start to turn the same way it had when he first saw the photos of his brother, but this time he was able to suppress it.  "I don't think we we the ones who made a forceful entrance here."

He takes a few cautious steps across the threshold, keeping his eyes peeled for any movement in the physical realm.

---

OOC:

09:50, Today: Olympic failed (no successes) using 4d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 3,6,4,7.  Wits + Composure (Perception).
09:38, Today: Olympic rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 2,2,10(+4),10(+8),6.  Resolve + Composure.

Resolve+Composure:
10:04, Today: Mnemosyne rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((8,9,6,2,8)).

---

Mnemosyne put her hand over her mouth and nose as she followed Olympic into the room. She felt her stomach churn at the sight, but managed to keep her cool. "I guess we've found the missing Councilor..." She shuddered at the thought, then focused inwardly, letting a little Mana out to suffuse her pattern with protective energy... (Spending a point of Mana to activate Mind Mage Armor).

She cast her eyes around the room, still attuned to the higher realms, looking for more signs of whatever caused this macabre scene (Mind, Space, and Spirit active mage sight still active.)

Animus, meanwhile, padded straight toward the center of the room, looking around at floor-level. Even he seems to be on high alert.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:15, Tue 10 Jan 2017.

Paracelsus had to stop at the doorway to recover her composure. She had thought there might be a body, but hadn't expected anything like this.
19:14, Today: Paracelsus rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((5,5,2,8,1)).

She carefully entered the room, doing her best to avoid the bodily remains spread around. Hohenheim leapt to her shoulders in order to avoid stepping on (and then having to clean off) the bits of body.

With her Fate/Time sight active, Paracelsus scanned the room to see if anything else stood out.

Midas enters the room, but rather than looking scared, he looks... well, furious.

"Oh, not this shit again," he growled. "Everyone on guard. Whatever did this might still be lurking around."

His eyes scanned the room, his knowledge of Death and Matter helping him to interpret what was almost certainly a scene of grisly murder.

Midas rolled 3 successes using 6d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 1,10(+7),3,8,6,8.  Resolve + Composure.

With the blood being dry as well as the stale scent that hung in the air, it was safe to assume that whatever had happened was not recent. Unlike the actual taste of blood, which actually bit the senses, this was a burn on the back of the throat with each exhale. Those that used their Sight could feel the dark energy that seemed to pour off the walls and up from the floor, like the

Paracelsus: with your Time sight, you can see the Time effect bound to the room that seemed to distort the length of a day to make it longer. It seemed to be emanating from an object within the room. Roll Gnosis + Time to attempt to locate it.

Midas: It was a botched summoning alright, but from the remnants of the magic that Leviathan had been casting, it seemed that he had been trying to summon a Death Supernal.

Mnemosyne: Through your Sight, you find yourself standing at the torn edge of Twilight. When the summoning went awry, it appeared that the Abyss all but exploded forth with energy, tearing the spirit energies to shreds as it gave way to whatever came through...and something definitely came through.

All the while, you begin to feel a sickening feeling in the back of your throat as you feel a dark energy begin to grow...


Roll Initiative. Anyone who rolls a 13 or higher may take an instant action along with this post to cast or use attainments.

Oh snap, first initiative roll of the chronicle!

Mnemosyne's roll -
12:59, Today: Mnemosyne rolled 15 using 1d10+5 ((10)).

Animus's roll -
13:01, Today: Mnemosyne rolled 9 using 1d10+7 ((2)).

Not going to cast any spells because I already have one active (Goetic Summons) and I don't want to add more Reach to my spells than I can avoid... and I already have Mind mage armor active.

Olympic's days as a quarterback were not far behind him, and his reflexes served him well.  As soon as he felt something coming, he closed his right hand into a fist and instantly, he was surrounded by an invisible shield.

13:21, Today: Olympic rolled 14 using 1d10+6 with rolls of 8. Initiative.

Spending a Mana to activate Forces Armor.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:32, Fri 13 Jan 2017.

Gnosis+ Time to find object emanating Time:

14:09, Today: Paracelsus rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((9,2,5,8,9)).

Initiative: 14:12, Today: Paracelsus failed (no successes) using 1d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((6)).Init= 10.

Hohenheim's init: 14:14, Today: Paracelsus rolled 2 successes using 1d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((10(+10,2))).= 15

Paracelsus focused on finding the object that was affecting the passage of Time. Hohenheim's back lifted and the hair on his back and tail grew out. He hissed a warning as the energy grew.

"He invited a thing of Death here, and paid for it dearly," Midas said, drawing necrotic energy around him to defend against enemy attacks. "Let us hope we don't do the same."

Casting the Death Variant of Mage Armor, spending 1 Mana.

Got a 9 on initiative.

18:09, Today: Midas failed (no successes) using 1d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((3)).