A few days pass, finally allowing for some relaxation. Talion finally completes Sal's sword... which looks like the hilt of a light saber. It even makes the noise and a light when you press the button.

 However, to anyone with the ability to see across the veil... it also looked like a lightsaber. However, Talion insisted that it was able to loosen the mana and essence from supernaturals with a swing.

 Not long after, Noah woke up one day in a... semi human form. After several horrifying moments of random transformations, the forms settled into a few basic states: Human, Semi-Dragon, Mostly Dragon, and Full Dragon. As he crawled out of his room half-transformed, he met Talion sitting at the table with a smirk. "Surprise."

 For the rest, time was fast approaching for Halloween. The time was coming to pick costumes.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:43, Sat 23 Jan 2021.

Sal graciously accepts the sword, stepping to a safe distance from everyone and igniting the blade, making sure it isn't pointed at anyone.

 As Sal messed with his new weapon, he found that it was incredibly light and would take some getting accustomed to compared to a normal blade.

 Once Fate walked through the main area, Talion handed her a book. "These are my collected notes on magic. Bound, animated, and granted sentience, the book will harm anyone other than you who tries to read it with effects ranging from blindness to madness to death. If you leave it somewhere, it will find its way to you. If it is stolen, then the thieves will perish. If you misuse the knowledge herein, you will die."

Closeness was how Noah managed his trauma. Which is why when he woke up with a random transformation ongoing he threw himself back. He was careful, never wanting to turn Mistral into Christopher Reeves 2.0. The bulk was an issue at times.

Once everything settled he stormed down ready to kill Merlin or some invading cabal. When he saw Talion and got the suprised he gave the man a thumbs up, went to eighty twenty mode, and went to steal a bit more anti trauma snooze time from hypnos.

Sal puts his new weapon away. He sits down with Talion, and says, "My time away from Kindred society has not gone unnoticed. The Prince expects me to work towards his interests. He doesn't believe I've been where I told him, and doesn't understand I've been working for the interests of everyone who isn't part of a doomsday cult. What we've done together, is so far beyond him... yet, I'd like to keep him as an ally..."

 After getting a good laugh out of freaking Noah out... perhaps the first laugh he's had in months... he turned his attention to Sal. "Indeed. Victor is a man of many talents... but believing in the impossible isn't one of them. He's a pragmatist and, like most Kindred, likes to trade in favors."

 Talion pulled one of the wish marbles out of his pocket and rolled it along the back of his knuckles. He still wasn't very good at the trick but he looked to be practicing. "... so I've made certain to let Victor know just how much I've appreciated that he's loaned me your aid."

 The marble rolled off the back of his hand and he pulled back to catch it against his body and put it back in his pocket. "So rest assured that your help here serves his interests quite well."

Mistral was awakened by Noah thrashing about in the oversized bed they shared, seeming to be in the midst of some painful difficulties.  She leaped up and was quickly armed with a blade and ready to kill any intruders, despite not wearing a stitch.  “Are you unwell, mon dragon?  What can I do?”  She soon realized there were no intruders and that Noah was unlikely to die immediately, and chalked it up to the incomprehensible magic that was part and parcel of life at the amethyst palace.  Besides, without her welcome no intruder could find their way into ‘the Prism’, as she’d come to call her new multi-locational sanctum design.

When Noah returned in man-dragon form, Mistral was deshabille and pouring fresh-pressed coffee into a pair of mugs.  She paused to look him up and down, then raised a brow.  She remarked, “I know this form in dreams, but now it is real, hm?”  She offered him a steaming mug, then approached closer and ran a hand along some of the new scales before suggesting, “Would you like to return to bed?  Je voudrais.”

Some time later, Mistral snuggled cozily next to Noah and sighed, “Grey is insistent about the Halloween costumes... It is hard to decide what to be.  Have you given it thought?”

Noah joyfully rumbled at her as he took the offered snackrafice of coffee. "You remind me to renew the contract with Jitters now that Argent is away. The more defense we have the better I think." He did enjoy spending time with her to just relax. He worked the trauma through dreams and recovered with closeness. And it showed to a small degree, he was a bit quieter, heled a temp lower than a heated blanket.

But time brought him out of it. He would deal with the nothing a bit more as time went on. He had quietly relayed the events of the nothing to her in dream time. Just as heared the better detail on what happend on her side. Much like her bubble in the sewer his bubble did just about the same. Once he came to it was a bullet through the dark dimension.

He wasnt sent to the abyss but in a mirrored dark realm made by the death angels. A jar for souls so they could prevent final transition. Still, he put it behind him to deal with it in doses.

"It's her first Halloween so it's a grand idea. Part of me thinks I could go as a male maleficent if I could talk you into a female prince valiant."

"Or we could go as a whole big family theme. Want me to call Grey and see what she wants to go as? As it's her first-ever Halloween no doubt she has locked on something."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:39, Mon 25 Jan 2021.

Fate entered the room and Talion approached her. As she was handed the book and listened a look puzzlement followed by realization hit her face. "Thank you very much. I look forward to reading and learning all that's here." Once the explanation was given she went to hand the marble she had received earlier back to him.

 Talion took the marble with a nod, leaving her now with a library in the form of a single book, containing notes regarding the fundamental reality of time.

After the mission, Mistral was newly reluctant to embark upon their usual lucid dream adventures, for reasons she did not articulate.  It was only after the first night when she awoke screaming in a cold sweat that she conceded to share what she’d seen beyond the dark portal: A hellish realm of twisted geometries and screams on the wind, haunted by one’s own fears and doubts manifested as shadowed horrors.  The sphere of nightmare at its center, chained and glowing balefully through many fractures.  She held Noah while crying quietly, then confessed, “I fear bringing such nightmares into our dreaming.  I... would not have you share ces horreurs."  Now Noah would insist on helping her to deal with this nightmare, curse him.  It could be difficult to be an aloof misanthrope and keep problems to herself when he insisted on caring so much.  It was also difficult to deny the aid after offering it herself when he shared his own brush with the void.

Later in the morning, at Noah's costume suggestion, Mistral propped her head up on a draconic shoulder to glower at him.  With a dangerous tone that was all pretense, she warned, "Va te faire voir.  I am not dressing as Prince Valiant."  She looked into the middle distance and considered, then said, "Malifecent suits you.  You have horns already, though not the same shape.  For moi?  Hm.  A ghost or a witch are perhaps too near to truth.  A vampire may be un faux pas with Sal..."  Mistral sighed and said, "Oui, let us consult with Grey.  She is never lacking for ideas.  Allow me to dress, first."

Mistral arose from the oversized bed and walked toward a blank amethyst wall, making a small sweeping gesture over her head that caused the ceiling and walls to unfold and curve outward like a dimensional kaleidoscope.  The space looked as if it were mapped to the inside of a roughly spherical prism, with each plane looking down into a different place arrayed overhead.  A dim and cold cavern with a crystalline pool, a blue cabin on the S.S. Grey, a spartan study, and a few other spaces with lights turned out.  Mistral proceeded to step onto the amethyst wall and walk up it like a ramp and into the local gravity of her cabin on the S.S. Grey, now appearing to stand nearly sideways relative to the chamber she'd just left.  Mistral rummaged in the closet and retrieved a fluffy neon-green bathrobe, which she wrapped around herself.  She stepped back up the cabin's wall and back down the amethyst wall and into local reality, then with a gesture folded space back together into a perfectly normal bedchamber carved out of a huge geode.  She paused and looked at Noah, whose eyes seemed to spin in different directions.  "Oh.  Pardon, mon dragon.  I ought to have warned you I meant to open le Prisme."  She had explained previously how she'd arranged to interconnect all of her places of sanctuary into one, which she had named the Prism because of its multi-faceted nature.  She had warned Noah that he may not find it pleasant to look at, and this may be the first time he'd seen it.

Mistral sat by him on the bed and petted Noah's scaly head, then said, "You may call Grey now, whenever you are ready."

 It did not take long for Grey to come bounding into the bedroom holding Fred the Littlest Lobster... who was desperately trying to pinch Grey and win his freedom with no noticeable success.

 "Hello! I was showing Fred around the ship! He's not as talkative as Jitters was. I miss him.

 Hey, think Fred might talk more if I put him in he Kaiju system?"

A Halloween party? Interesting. What would I wear? Michael pondered the thought as he looked out at the beautiful landscape. “Perhaps a plague doctor would be fun. I could have the pieces and a scythe commissioned out of copper. A morbid spin on a devoted healer.”

You know me well Mist XD

Noah absolutely insisted on working through the horrors they saw together and slowly. The lion share of mages went bonkers and it was hard to find an elder mage no less an archmage who wasn't bent in the head somehow. Hell was not something to be kept in a bottle, it fermented quickly and would pop a cork in no time. So he shared one of the tools he used for dream control. It would take a good amount of work but setting up a pause spot on her hand could train her mind to halt dreams. In the end, it was her call as he was happy to be an open ear as needed or an extra hand. "Never be afraid to bring your nightmares to me. Before long we will have you faffing about like Doom Gal."

He smiled at her protest as to the costume suggestion. "I dunno. I think you could make a sword and armor look good."

His eyes did indeed roll around as bent space did not mix well with Noah. He sat back and laced his fingers over his stomach being used to it. He gave her a sly smile as he could still see the green robe.

"I may have a way to get Jitters back. I'm still a little weak on spirit magic though. We wanted to talk to you about Halloween. I don't know if this is your first or just your first with us. But we wanted to know if you had your costume idea nailed down." He blinked a bit. "I am always down for a Kiaju fight but resurrecting Ebirah may ruin part of the city. If you do, make sure he doesnt have claws or anything."
This message was last edited by the player at 01:23, Wed 27 Jan 2021.

 Grey threw up her hands, causing Fred to try all the harder to extricate himself. "Yay! Jitters is coming back!"

 She paused for a moment, looking down at Fred. "I wanna be a superhero!"

Noah sat up and smiled. "A solid start, do you know which one or will you be going with something of your own desgin."

 Grey grinned wide. "Imma go as The Golden Grey!"

 Her outfit begins to morph in front of them as she "dons" her outfit... which was a mishmash of superheroes all given a golden paint job. Iron Man's suit, Thor's Hammer, Captain America's shield, and a cape that looked to be made of pixie wings. Replacing the gauntlets on the iron man suit were a pair of Infinity Gauntlets, complete with gems that sparkled with an inner light.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:50, Wed 27 Jan 2021.

After Fate called her contact at the police department and gave them the plate numbers she sat down across from Talion and started reading over every word in her new book. She was never much into costumes, but with the trench coat, the book, and maybe a floppy hat she was well on her way of looking like a sorcerer, of course this was far too close to home for comfort. But this did pose an interesting idea that if she did cast magic she could perhaps play it off as a magic trick she learned special for the holiday.

Opening up was a continual struggle for Mistral in her relationship with Noah, especially about her weaknesses and fears.  Nonetheless, Noah drew it out of her by begrudging degrees via stubborn supportiveness and acceptance.  Sometimes, she even expressed her gratitude for the support... in private.


Mistral gave Noah a look that said of course she'd make the sword and armor look good, but tough luck.  Grey's exuberant enthusiasm for her remarkable mish-mash superhero look was endearing as always.  She smiled demurely at the result and said, "Surely none can defeat le puissante Golden Grey.  Je l'aime.  I like it."  She gave the superhero theme some consideration, then said, "Superheroes are good, although I always found the villains beaucoup plus intéressant."  Mistral got up and went behind an amethyst dressing screen to actually get dressed for the day, and sighed, "Of course, the supervillains féminins tend to be garbed in scanty, form-fitted costumes..."  Noah would approve of such a costume for her, she knew without even seeing his face.  Mistral considered, then called "I have always liked Mystique, the villain to the X-Men.  In le comiques she wears some clothing, at least.  Des avis?"  She looked to Noah and Grey for their opinions, though Grey would probably need to be introduced to the character.  Mistral emerged from behind the screen dressed in black skinny jeans and a blue hooded jacket that matched the tips of her hair, and remarked, "If it does not look well Mystique can always transform, non?"

Once Noah was ready they left the room to meet with the others, though by no doorway visible from without.  After giving greetings, Mistral offered taciturn approval of Michael's plague doctor costume idea.  She approached Fate, who was reading a book with rather interesting diagrams, and asked, "Madame Fate.  Have you had any results from the license plates?  Also, you spoke of means to find trace of your quarry.  When you have it, I can find him."

Fate looked up from her book which she had been reading rather intensively and answered, "I called and gave them the license plate numbers, but they haven't call me back yet. As for the item of connection, I do not have that on me, but I am certain that the police station I called must have something we could use."

Michael appreciated Mistral’s opinion of his costume. He had a somewhat worried look on his face. “It has been almost a day since I was at Haven. The ward will disappear soon. The good people of the city that sought refuge there will be vulnerable. I need to return to refresh the ward then I can return. My wish has greatly enhanced my speed. I haven’t tried running on water yet. If I can’t would it be impolite of me to ask for transportation back? I don’t want to miss the party, but I have my obligations.”

Mistral pulled out a transparent slate, turned on the holographic screen and brought up an interactive satellite map of New York City.  After scrolling the frame around briefly, she handed the slate to Michael and said, "Show me the Haven's localisation.  I will establish une Porte that will remain open à perpétuité... or rather, as long as I allow it to remain open."  She nodded to Fate and said, "When he is finished, show me this police station."

Mistral regarded Michael thoughtfully as he perused the map, then said off-handedly, "You should attempt it.  Running on water.  That would be an impressive trick."

Nefertiti sat there and listened still and was not sure what they was all talking about only word she knew was "party".  The mentioning of this word Halloween is unknown to her for she was born at a time way before it was celebrated.

Looking at them in a daze expression but still she listened to see what all she could grasp.

Noah smiled wide, "Hail the mighty Golden Grey." He would later deal with the horror that her tools would be functional... and her core was effectively his heart... Thanos's heart...

Noah smiled delightedly at the supervillainess theme idea. "You'll want to stay away from the Rebecca Romijn version of mystique." He flipped through his giant slate for a moment. "Yeeeaaa, white dress with the skulls. I am sure setting something up will be well within your abilities. It's gonna be harder to talk Talion into going as Doctor Strange." He pulled up the sheet, thwapted it once in the air to settle it back on the bed, and by the time it settled he was already fully dressed in one of his day suits. Grey got a shoulder ride down for breakfast. "Working world-ending gauntlets aye?"

He cracked his fingers once downstairs, "Lobster omelets will be up shortly." He rather adored a central cooking and eating area. He could have been a hibachi chef in another life.

He smiled at Michael as he put on an apron for the humanoid dragon form he had taken. "Scarecrow... hmmm... running on water...?" He sent Michael a video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3St1GgoHQ "You'll kick their backsides."

He looked over to Nefertiti as he started cooking on the countertop. He performed tricks that he was clearly cheating with as the knives caught too much air time, the spices drifted too slowly. He was a little ways in when he indicated a counter seat for Nefertiti. "Sit, Talk, ask questions if you like."

Sal came in and took a seat, as well. He couldn't enjoy the meal, but he was nothing if not sociable. He smiled at Grey when he saw her in costume. "Fighting supervillains today, Grey? I think we've all earned a break from that, don't you?"

OOC: Costume post for funsies, prior to joining the others outside :)


Mistral considered, then took out her slate to search through some images for reference.  Her brow raised as the perused the artwork, which held quite the lascivious variety of interpretations of the character.  At last she found an acceptable image and studied it briefly, then set the slate and closed her eyes to form the Imago.  Mistral whispered unutterable words, drew her hands together and then... became Mystique.  Blue skin, bright red hair, pupil-less yellow eyes and an elegant sleeveless white gown with a skull belt and matching thigh-highs and arm-gloves.  She was recognizably Mistral, but cosplaying via a quite convincing sensory illusion.

Mistral looked down at herself, noting with alarm the rather risqué cut of the gown.  She remarked in a voice that now carried the character's menacing, imperious undertone, "Merde.  This gown has more side-slit than it does fabric."  'Mistique' paced to and fro with an elegant stride distinct from her own, seeming oddly empowered but uncertain how to feel about it.  She rested a hand on hip and glowered at Noah like a supervillainess, then said, "This appeals more than I expected, though I may now give a Prince Valiant costume greater consideration."


https://imgur.com/iJfpFtp

Fate looked up from her book upon seeing Mistral's illusion and pondered something. "That's quite an impressive illusion, but then again with what I've seen you capable of this must be nothing. I wonder, do you think that you could teach me some of your magic. I'm still such a novice, but perhaps with a touch of your kind of magic I could improve my level."

 Grey held up the gauntlets as they sparkled with the reflection of the Amethyst's light. "They have Finity Stones! Father said I wasn't responsible enough for Infinity Stones yet."

 As she was playing with the gauntlets, she lost her grip on the hammer. It fell down on the stairs with a metallic clang but anyone who tried to pick it up would find that it not only would shock them slightly upon touch... but that it was also impossible to lift (10 successes minimum required to make it budge).

 As Sal took a seat nearby, Grey beamed. "We're playing Halloween today! You dress up and get candy!"

Mistrals illusion: Noah walked over and gave Mistral the credible offer that he would take her back to bed for more napping but also encouraged her costumed perfection. "You are lethally good looking with scarlet hair. Mystique is a rather perfect fit for you love. Delightfully hard to pin down but steals the eye once seen."

Cooking: Once Sal sat down Noah pulled up a plate and pulled out a crystal. He cracked the crystal like an egg and poured its contents onto the plate where it formed into lobster omelet just as Noah had promised. He did the same for a glass of orange juice. "Let's see how your stomach handles Tass. Or I can convert it to ectoplasmif you like."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:57, Thu 28 Jan 2021.

Michael politely corrected Noah. “The outfit is that of a plague doctor. A physician during the Black Plague who would be on the front lines of combating the disease. What some don’t know is that mask they wore with the large beak was actually stuffed with aromatic herbs to hold off the constant smell of death and decay. Thank you for the breakfast. I had been living off of rations and dehydrated eggs. Fresh food is a nice change of pace.”

Michael had an idea as Sal mentioned his estate just outside of the city as he looked at the black card. “Hey Sal, is there any property for sale around your estate? I can try to move the Haven to the area near it for convenience.”

"Halloween. A young Kindred once told me its the day we get to take of our masks and show the world what we really are. The fool got caught by hunters at the end of a trail of bodies. I think they may have your order, Michael. Got what he deserved. Your costume looks good, Grey, just don't let it get to your head. Yours too, Mistral, but don't let it get to Noah's either, or he might ruin the eggs," he said with a wry grin.

Sal gratefully accepted the food, "Thank you, Noah. I guess I should've known better than to think I wouldn't get an omelette, too."

After Michael's question, he said, "Not really. I chose my location for privacy. I believe there's an old farmhouse for sale 10 miles closer to the city, though..."

 Grey grinned as she picked up her hammer as though it were a plastic toy. "Kay!"

 As Michael mentioned the Plague doctor, Pestillence turned to look at him. It said nothing but simply returned to its work (the four horsemen were off in a corner with Alyssa on their slates).

 Talion had, at some point, vanished in the commotion of breakfast but returned a bit later wearing a grey robe and pointy hat with a gnarled staff in one hand and a large book in the other. He looked at the group with the slightest hint of a smile. "I'm a wizard."

"And here I was worried about me dressing in that type of costume." Fate chuckled to herself. "Great minds think alike Talion. With this book you gave me I was thinking the only thing I was missing was a hat, though maybe a different hat than the original pointed one." She laughed.

Mistique's only answer to Noah's foreseeably favorable reaction was an enigmatic smirk, before sauntering out of the chamber to meet with the others.  She had decided to keep the 'costume', apparently.


Now appearing in the blue-skinned, scarlet-haired, white-gowned form of Mystique from X-Men, Mistral explained to Nefertiti in a melding of the character's voice and her own, "Halloween is a holiday celebrated by costuming oneself, often as fictional characters as Grey and I have.  It originated from a celebration of the dead known as All Hallow's Eve, or 'Toussaint,' en français.  In the Western world, it has become a day for revelry of a light macabre theme."  She regarded the demi-goddess with pupil-less yellow eyes and asked, "I have seen artwork from your era of holy men and women in the animalier likenesses of the gods.  Were such costumes used in divine rites, or otherwise?"


Mistique smiled and nodded once.  "You are inquisitive, Madame Fate.  I appreciate this, as I have similar inclinations.  Oui, I could teach things that would be of use to you.  I doubtless have things to learn from you, as well." 

When Michael provided a rough location for his Haven on the satellite map, Mistral took the slate back and studied it briefly, zooming in and panning around the surrounding area.  Having gotten what she needed, she dismissed the slate into thin air and then twirled a wrist in a circular gesture while speaking a syllable of power.  A round portal with supernal vapor boiling off its edges opened against an amethyst wall, through which could be seen a dingy brick wall in some other place.  Mistique got Michael's attention, then explained, "This Porte will take you to an alley one block's distance from your haven.  It is only visible and traversable to those of us present, as well as to those brought through by our intent.  It can be opened and closed, as so."  She performed a gesture like pushing closed a door and spoke the phrase, "Seal the way."  The portal closed at the command.  She then performed a gesture like turning a knob and pulling a door open and spoke the phrase, "Open the path."  The portal reopened on command.

Mistique turned to Michael with a hand resting on a blue-skinned hip, then said, "The Porte shall remain for one day.  Will you go solo, or would you have assistance?"

Noah kept cooking until there was a plate for everyone. Even the Synths got edible Tass as he assumed it was a treat. There was a plate set in front of Nefertiti. "This may look like cooked eggs but for you, Sal, and our synth buddies it is converted Mana called Tass. Try a bite and see if it agrees with your stomach. I can convert it into one other material if this doesn't agree with you."


"Foods up Horsemen."

Noah held up his own giant mug when Talion walked in, "You're late for breakfast Gandlion." If Talion did not get the reference there would be a Lord of the rings watch party. He smiled at Fate, "Salem is not that far for a shopping trip if you want to find a witch costume still. And it was really mostly new york that got turned into dooms day."

He set out a basket of french breakfast puffs and a pitcher of the good kind of orange juice with the pulp. For his own meal, it was just full-on boiled lobster rather than an omelet. He had gotten squeamish about eating eggs after getting his scales. But he had no problem with other people having them. "Any more rounds we need to add to the list. You all know dark is when it starts happening."

"A trip to Salem for a shopping trip sounds nice especially for my type of style. Sounds good. I think I'd take you up on that offer. A witch costume it is, ironically. When shall we go before or after the police station?" Fate looked to Mistral as she was the one with the transportation ability.

Michael whistles at the magical portal before turning to Mistral and giving a nod of thanks. “Thank you. Since the portal will not fade immediately and I have a couple of hours before the ward fades I’ll eat breakfast with everyone before it gets cold. Afterwards, I can go briefly alone to perform the ritual and return.”

The priest then types a quick message on his phone and pulls out a square card reader that plugs into his phone. A quick swipe of the black card sent a message to his conspiracy along with a generous fund to have supplies and food air dropped to Haven.

Mistique inclined her head in acknowledgement of Michael's acceptance of the portal, then seated herself with a poised posture that was definitely more her character's than her own.  She noticed Talion's wizard robes, which was an understatement made into a garment.  With a smirk, she quipped, "Très magique."  The blue-skinned supervillainess accepted a plate of lobster omelette and took a puff pastry, which she began to eat in a mannerly fashion.

When the question arose about a trip to Salem to shop for a witch costume, Mistique considered, then suggested, "For those of you seeking a costume, be aware that mademoiselle Grey can fabricate garments to one's specifications in the blink of an eye.  One need only to ask.  This is true, Grey, non?"  She primly took another bite, then added, "The catch being that Grey tends to add her own style.  In my view, her contributions are nearly always improvements, but c'est contestable."

Mistique turned to ask Grey with an indulgent smile, "Ma fille, might you be so kind as to create your most fabuleuse hat for Madame Fate?  Conventional materials, and sans dangerous special effects, s'il vous plaît."

 Grey looked up at Mistral while munching on one of the tass omelettes. "But I don't know of any witch hats that aren't pointy. Most witches I know about were called hags and they didn't wear hats at all."

Mistique replied without hesitation, "In that case, you must be creative.  Think of it, ma fille.  You will be l'inventrice of the first not-pointy witch's hat in existence."  She didn't know what this hat may look like either, but she was certain that a miniature godling of pure creative power would be up to the challenge of inventing one.

 Grey thought and thought and, while the Horsemen were busy eating, the readings on their tablets spiked for a brief second.

 After which, Grey ran up to Fate and planted both of her little hands on Fate's pant legs. Fate's forehead was suddenly engulfed in a halo of white. When the glow faded, her head was wrapped in a black silk bandanna with deer antlers made of synth bone. On the front and back of each antler was a holster for incense (a total of 4 holsters in total). Finally, just behind the antlers were four faux raven feathers tucked into each side of the headband at a 45 degree angle.

 From the antlers were tied strips of black silk into which synth bone fangs of some sort of nondescript carnivore were woven. They jingled each time she turned her head.

Nefertiti looked at Mistral as she explained what was going on.

It wasn't much for her to grasp but still she didn't know what to think of being during this holiday of celebration.  When the question was asked she looked a bit serious.

"Oh my dear it was all for Royalty and Ceremonial Reasoning. her words then slowly drifted to a softer tone as she started to remember some of the things she was taught by the High Priestess.

Then she watched as many started changing the clothing they was wearing and the little Grey touched Fate and produced an interesting headpiece for her to wear.

Fate used her slate to try and get a better look at the headpiece. "It certainly looks 'interesting'" She felt around the daggly bits from the horns. "Hopefully it doesn't draw too much attention, at the wrong time that is." Fate didn't quite have much more to say about the hat, nor did she want to upset Grey if she stuck her foot in her mouth. "It'll... do." She did her best not to sound bemoaning or begrudging and tried to resign herself to accepting this hat as the 'one'.

Sal chuckled, "Grey, you have a wonderful imagination! Could you please make me a Jedi costume? I already have a lightsaber, I just need the robes. Light-side, please, like Obi-wan's."

Noah smiled at this little wedding at Cana moment. The unraveled of knots was alive and well. Noah tilted his head at Fate. He flipped that giant slate to an old video that her headdress reminded him of. https://youtu.be/QRg_8NNPTD8

"White robe and a little creative makeup and you'd be right there. Though, tilt your head back for doors. Going forward causes back issues." He tilted his own head back and even in the smaller form dragon horns still weighed a lot.

 Grey grinned and ran over to Sal, planting her hands on his pants too. Sal's clothing began to swirl and morph, flowing and reconfiguring until he was wearing brown robes made of... what was likely some sort of synthetic microfiber.

"Thanks for the advise." Fate nodded to Noah.

Michael admired the new outfits on everyone. “So what kind of party do people of your caliber have?”

Mistique gave a single nod in acknowledgement of Nefertiti’s words, and wondered if she’d given offense for speaking of the gods of Egypt.  Perhaps the demigoddess was simply nostalgic for an era past and gone for millennia.  After a long pause she said quietly in her own voice, though she still wore the look of the blue femme fatale, “This world must be étrange to you indeed, even apart from our bizarre recent experience.  You have no cultural reference for these fictional characters, and even the archaic origins of this holiday came millennia after your time.”  Mistral considered, then asked, “Do you wish to revisit Egypt, Queen Nefertiti?  Much will have changed, but relics from your time do remain.  The world still studies your history and culture.”

Grey’s headwear creation was remarkable, Mistique thought, and the elfin godling’s creativity continued to be amusingly unpredictable.  She returned to the villainess voice, which sounded somewhat incongruous providing encouragement to Grey, “Très bien, Grey.  Merci for your merveilleuse creations.”  Fate herself seemed less than certain about it, so she said, “It is a striking look.  Would you still like to visit Salem to search for the rest?”

Mistique answered Michael’s question evenly, “I myself have not celebrated this holiday since my youth, so I am as curious as you are, mon ami.  I suppose this may be the one day of the year for ones such as us to go unnoticed in Sleeper society.  Human society, pardon.”  She turned a blank yellow-eyed gaze to Noah, who she suspected had plans for celebration, as he seemed to for everything else.

"Thank you Grey. How do I look?" Sal posed with the "lightsaber" careful not to touch anyone with it.

Sal said to Michael with a wink, "I've never partied with people of our caliber, before. I imagine its far more fun than the parties I'm used to."

"Grey would make sure of that, in any case. Wouldn't you, sweetheart?" He grinned at the godling and patted her affectionately on the head.

"A trip to Salem does sound good especially now. This hat has me thinking of the Angelina Jolie Maleficent. I think we could find an outfit that better fits it." Fate had already started thinking of the possible costume with maybe a corset, definitely pants, and maybe long black sleeves which could be fit under her vambraces, after all the vambraces fit the style already.

 Talion sat in his chair, looking far more comfortable in his robes than in his suit. "I don't know. I've never celebrated it before... but, from what I understand, there is candy, ghosts, and decorations. So, I have taken the liberty of setting up a haunted house for the children. The four horsemen will be chaperoning them... sans War. War will be presiding over the festivities for the refugees in the city. Food, costumes, and candy for the children. Alyssa is tasked with coordinating the reconstruction of the city but they all have been asked to gather for the celebration as well.

 With the mayor giving synthetics basic human rights, this will be a good time for humans and synthetics to close old wounds.

 … and Atlas will be handling the food and drink for the rest of us after the festivities and after the children have gone to bed."

"In Salem, I will need to pick up some special gourds for a ritual. I'd like to make our little Cabal entirely official and tonight is the night to do it. It's a little rite of calling up the Witch lights and an imbuement." Being a prior introvert big parties had once made him a fish out of water. "After the ritual the only thing I had planned is reverse trick or treating, delivery care packages."

"Not sure of many Halloween parties going on. The free council always has a shindig but it always turns into a weed den given half an hour. The Merlin is likely still cross with me, somehow he wound up in texas strapped to a goat." He looked at Grey, "Don't do woowoo drugs."

"It should be noted we could end up spending all day in Salem. The witch house, the house of seven gables, the John Ward house, The merchant house, the endless night vampire ball, hawthorn hotel which is haunted, Marbelhead lighthouse, the Wynotts store, curio shops galore."

"It sounds like Talion has the night cap on lock. Does anyone else have ideas to toss into the pot?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:03, Sat 30 Jan 2021.

Nefertiti looked at Mistral and nodded her head as it was obvious that she was at a lost to all that was happening and being born in a era that has long past and is considered ancient times.

When offered to revisit Egypt she smiled as if a child was offered some chocolates.

"I would be most appreciative if your able to send me there.  There is somethings that I would like to have a look at and see what has all changed since my time of life. her voice was a bit joyful as the thought of going home was possible.

While all the talk about this party and costumes was still a mystery to her and she understood the details, somewhat but still it didn't bring much interest to her.

Mistique was pleased to be able to help Nefertiti find her home again, as she knew something of what it was like to become alienated from the world.  She confided in her own voice, “I have not been to Egypt, nor do I know where in it you reigned, so this journey will necessitate some study and planning.  Find me, when you are ready.” (OOC: side-thread?)

As breakfast finished up and plans for the day were discussed, Mistique studied satellite data for Salem, Massachusetts.  She had visited there, once, so it would not be quite so difficult to reach as Egypt.  She announced in the tones of a supervillainess, “Shall we go, then?  Allons-y.”  She performed a brief incantation and with a circular gesture drew open a round, smoking portal in the air.  Nothing but a dense wall of shrubbery was visible beyond the mystical doorway, which Mistique stepped through first and invited the rest to follow.

Stepping out of the portal saw them emerging from a viney hedge in a neglected corner of Howard Street Cemetery in Salem.  The air was chill and the leaves had mostly fallen upon the old cemetery and its rows of weathered tombstones.  Mistique remarked drily, “A fitting place to arrive, I thought.  This way.”  The sorceress disguised as a blue, shapeshifting femme fatale led them out through the cemetery gates and down a lane lined by typical New England residences with Jack-o’-lanterns on stoops, toward some commotion a couple of blocks away.  They soon found themselves arriving at a quaint cobbled plaza known as Essex Street Pedestrian Mall.  Here light crowds of shoppers strolled amidst Halloween decor and many dressed as witches and zombies and a variety of other characters.  Fate would have no problem finding costumes here, and several of the particular thematic landmarks mentioned by Noah were within easy walking distance.

Noah nodded and put the dishes up and went down to the Fabratori for a moment. When he came back he was in his base draconic form but was covered with a semi-transparent film. On each of his horns was a ring that had four pads. The same was strapped to his shoulders with a cape made of a material he only called "space-aged" at best. His costume was something he had been planning some time but not for the current purpose. He had been making a means for one of his doppel line of synths able to mimic anything. Including one synth able to appear as a tank if so required.

The tech was a mix of reactive film and hologram projectors. Common tech used in interesting ways. It took very little time to just plug in a three-sixty view of space around earth and implant a human face avatar into its 3d space.

Once he turned on the projectors about his head his body swiftly became the universe around the earth as seen from satellites. The Shadowed face avatar was of William Hartnell when he played the very first Dr. Who.


Noah's costume was Eternity from the Avengers. Once everything was up and running he followed after to Salem, and promptly fell over once he made it to the other side.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:03, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

As he enjoyed shopping, and wouldn't get to do anything with his costume tonight, Sal joined the others. Before entering the portal, he said, "I'm afraid my night is booked. I'm throwing my own party, Kindred only, and naturally, I'll be expected to be there all night. If Mistral needs to snag me for a ritual, give me a call, I'll need to find some privacy. Please, record what you can though, so I can see what I'll have missed."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:23, Sun 31 Jan 2021.

Fate finished up the food Noah had made for her. It was a different experience, but it was filling. She then wasted no time in following Mistral through the portal to Salem. Fate held a picture in her mind of what sort of costume she was looking for.
https://drive.google.com/file/...N3h/view?usp=sharing
Perhaps adding a simple black corset around the stomach wouldn't be too out of place. Minus the cape and replacing the headpiece with the one that Grey had made for her. It might just work. She kept her eyes peeled for possible shops to look in. Maybe they might even find a custom place. That would be neat and if she were to enjoy this holiday then she needed the distraction of finding a good costume. Not finding her bounty and not going after the next one right away was taking its toll, but Fate shook herself from those thoughts. Costume, costume, need to find a good costume, she thought to herself. Anyone who could see her could see that she was distracted, but also dazed in awe. She had never been to Salem before and it was quite interesting to see.

Nefertiti smiled to Mistral but there was also a sadden feeling in the air to be denied something she longed for.  But in time she knew it will happen, just need to wait a bit longer and that wouldn't bother her much.  She been away for centuries already, what is a few more days.

Watching as Mistral created another portal to somewhere new.  This too was something that intrigued Nefertiti.  The creation of Portals.

Watching as others changed their clothing to something beyond normal she didn't say anything but watched and then she looked to Sal as he mentioned about his own party, Kindred only.  She smiled in his direction and wondered if she could crash it.

Suppressing the urge, she moved with the others to see what this place called Salem's might hold anything that would interest her.

Once Noah got his Eternity costume up and running, Mistique circled him to take in the galactic vistas.  She looked up and remarked, "Très subtile, as usual.  I like it."  After passing through the portal, Mistique paused a moment to regard Noah flopped on the grass with a bout of portal vertigo.  A copy of Mistral dressed in casual clothing emerged from around the hedge to sit next to Noah and rest a hand on him, then said to the others, "Go on.  I will mind him."  Mistique finished the thought, "He will rejoin us soon.  This way."  The blue-skinned shapechanger sauntered off toward the Essex St. pedestrian mall. 

Mistral usually operated somewhere beneath the perceptions of most observers, so hiding in plain sight with an eye-catching illusory form was a novel experience.  Halloween provided a perfect cover amidst crowds of costumed revelers, however.  Mistique received a degree of unwanted attention, though ogling from passersby was mostly simply obnoxious rather than dangerous.  She was ready with an icy supervillainess glare for cat-callers, and had worse in store for any would-be gropers.  There were a number of costume shops to be found along the pedestrian mall, ranging from Halloween pop-ups to kitschy witch-themed superstition shops, to upscale boutiques.  Pausing in a square with a selection of options, Mistique remarked to Fate, "I think you will find here all of the costume apparel that you seek, Madame."

Across a street from the the shopping square was a small park bordered by low stone wall with rows of granite benches protruding from them.  Mistique stepped away from the others and acquired a bouquet of white daisies from a flower vendor, then made for the park without a word of explanation.  She knelt by one of the worn stone benches and read the inscription: 'Susannah Martin, hanged, July 19, 1692'  Mistique laid a single daisy on the stone bench and then moved to the next, leaving one flower upon each of the twenty memorial benches.

---

Noah smiled up at Mistral as he kept his eyes closed to help his recovery. He pulled a black card out of one of his side bags. "Just encase someone in the group finds something the Cabal as a whole needs. This is Salem after all, if there was a mage capitol in the states this would be it. There is also a black market for supernaturals in the back of the Crow Haven Corner store if someone needs something special. Or at least there was last time I was down here." There was a literal wand store with a working mage shop in the back that sold casting tools. Hell, a real witches cauldron held power all its own.

"Thank you, Dear Mistral." He didn't elaborate and quickly moved on. "Right, if I dont hit up the local Merlin they are likely going to send a arrow squad."

Noah reached out with one finger past Mistral and ushed it into the graveyard soil behind her. There was no hiding the cabal from any mage worth their salt. Mistral was the only one that would successfully avoid detection. But with the rest of the group, a magical whale pod just showed up. And Salem was a town of hedge mages.

So he sent a pulse through the local leyline. A marker of who was in town and a message to the local Merlin. "The Ark Cabal is in the town of Salem. We are just stopping in for All Saints day shopping and to preform the Rite of Cabal formation. We will leave shortly there after." He very quietly spoke his message to the Merlin, no one outside the cabal had to know. If the Merlin had a bone to pick Noah would deal with it.

"Mistral, would you like to tag-team to bring back Jitters? I assume if we give him the role of the Cabal's messenger it would be better for him than a defender of a morphic ship that could vanish on him. I had not ever really knew Harry but Jitters was awesome."

Fate wasted little time in going into each store until she had found what she was looking for. She managed to find a black shirt that flowed around the breasts perfectly, a black lace corset to go around her stomach and bring the shirt into an even better shape, and a pair of flowy black slacks that curved around her just right. Even though the costume called for a pair of heels Fate didn't care for them and didn't want to be caught unawares if anything should happen so she found herself a good sturdy pair of black combat boots military grade. She used one of the changing rooms from one of the shops where she had bought the costume pieces and took a look in the mirror. She wasn't used to such form fitting clothes, but they fit and she could still move so that was good at least. With everything in place she looked like Maleficent, if Maleficent had antlers instead of horns and had daggley pieces hanging from the antlers. She left the store in full costume and rejoined Mistral. As Mistral spotted her, Fate asked, "So how does it look?"

Michael decided to take the portal to Javen after breakfast to renew the ward and take a few minutes to make sure everyone was ok. He informed them that he was having a shipment of provisions and supplies air dropped on the top of the building by the end of the day.

He popped back into the crystal mansion just in time to catch the portal going to Salem. It was certainly interesting to be in a group of individuals that more zealous members of his order would have immediately tried to kill. This was further made bizarre by going to the witch capital of the country. The memorial of the people who had died during the witch trials did make him sad, and he wondered if some Hunters of old had been responsible for it or just ignorant people. The priest walked along observing the surroundings with interest but sticking with the group.

The Mistral who sat with Noah took the black card without comment, then folded it inward to the space-between-spaces.  She remarked, "Intéressant.  I was unaware of these places.  My previous travels to Salem were... unannounced.  I did not wish to mingle with the local sorciers at that time."  Not that she was excited about that prospect now, which was why she elicited a light sigh when Noah announced that he was announcing their arrival to the local arcane authorities.  Resigned to this necessity in light of the very real possibility of mages coming to the town's defense, she remarked, "That would be best avoided."  On the question of re-obtaining the services of Jitters, Mistral agreed, "Absolument, if he is not otherwise bonded.  Chevalier Jitters is a force to be reckoned with, and I am certain Grey misses him.  Has Argentus been so foolish as to dismiss his most formidable ally?"  Just then, another identical Mistral emerged from the the hedge where the portal was hidden.  Cloaked in tricks of misperception, she made for the shopping plaza.

At the pedestrian market, Fate returned in full costume just as Mistique laid her last daisy on the final memorial stone to the victims of the Salem witch trials.  The costumed supervillainess had a somber look, but she made a sly smile as her yellow eyes looked Fate up and down.  She remarked, "Dangereusement beau.  As dangerous as it is bewitching.  It suits you."  Mistique noticed that Fate was not entirely comfortable in the costume despite how good it looked, which was a feeling she very much understood.  She added in a conspiratorial tone, "Such styling is far from comfortable for moi either, but it has its appeals.  Reactions from the men can be amusant."

Inclining her head to Michael, Mistique then said to the group, "Do we seek anything else?  There are places here that specialize in less conventional merchandise, if there is any interest..."  She turned her gaze upon Michael to gauge his reaction, and considered whether he might be obliged to report such occult establishments to dogmatic superiors.

 It took only a few moments for arcane eyes to fixate on the group's location. Crows landing and watching creepily, distortions in space only visible to arcane sight, and spirits sending relay messages about town.

 Most of it subsided after the initial shock of this group's arrival wore off (Noah's message through the leyline helped) but there was still more than a little scrutiny.

 Michael in particular felt as though he were being watched... a few too many crows in the trees paying him just a little too much attention.

Noah would have rolled his eyes at the birds, but it was a moot point as his eyes had already been rolling around. "Yea, the Bird brigade is already here. I really need to get a rolladex of every city Merlin. We've gone a little long reaching it seems." Noah smiled, "Even with my multi-tower curse they likely still can't see through the talents... If they wanted to talk it won't be too long before they send someone."

He started to get up, he was getting there but not exactly yet as he settled back down. "Eh, every side has an underbelly. Mages, Vampires, Wolves, Hunters. Who knows, as you become more practiced with disguises you may just end up with a much larger tool bag of 'no one on earth can find me.'"

"Cant say I know if he ended the contract with Jitters but his coffeeshop is surely gone. Even then given Jitter's nature I think he could pull off more than one contract with aces. Miss the fuzz ball."

Back in the cemetery, Mistral agreed with Noah, "We will contact Chevalier Jitters upon our return, and offer generous terms for un nouveau pacte."  She arose to her feet and extended a hand to assist him to stand, then asked, "Have you regained your equilibrium, mon dragon?  We have drawn attention in town, and I believe we may have local company soon."

In the shopping plaza, Mistique regarded the watching crows calmly alongside the other signs of observation not readily visible to the eye.  She reported simply to the others in the imperious supervillainess voice, "We have been noticed."  Turning to Michael, she stated forthrightly, "You may soon be called upon to clarify your sect's position regarding 'witchcraft' and its practitioners, Monsieur.  Consider your answer carefully, and whether it would be wise to remain to give it."  She was curious about that answer as well, particularly after visiting the monument to the victims of the Salem witch trials.  However, she would give Michael the benefit of the doubt considering previous successful collaboration against the husk.

Michael notes the increased surveillance on him. He makes a cross over his chest and makes a quick prayer. The world that is not seen and the veil that hides supernatural creatures falls away as his sight is enhanced to see the world beyond what mortals see. His will is also reinforced against the spells that he knew would soon come his way. He looked over at Mistral. “It should be interesting for sure. At least I am in similar company. If I was alone, I’m sure I would have to defend myself and escape. Hopefully, those here are as open-minded as our group. Although being in Salem considering how history played out might not be the best of circumstances.”

OOC: Enacted True Sight of St. Abel to see the supernatural world and identify supernatural people and powers and Epipodian Safeguard to add +5 to resistance against mental control/influence abilities.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:54, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

Fate thanked Mistral for the compliment, then watched as the crows gathered. She didn't like being watched even if she did understand why. She closed her eyes fully for a moment then opened them with a new sight. She could feel she powers enhance as she opened her eyes for the first time with her new powers active. No one would notice the difference, but anyone paying attention would notice Fate's focus grew sharper at the birds. She touched her hand to her chest and bowed her head only slightly for less than a moment as she felt the familiar protection of her ward.

OOC: Activating The Sybil’s Sight, Temporal Eddies, and Fortune's Protection.

 As Noah finally regained his composure, he felt something... airy. There was air in his pants where none should be... and bits of sand were now filling his pants.

 The air around Noah became suddenly cold as a faint howling could be heard from his back pocket.

"Shit, Wraith." Noah clapped his hands and a black sheet formed there. "In the bag buddy. If the sand runs out you'll poof." It was his body tass rote spell that he had used to bridge the gap before he had a human form, which wasnt that far back at all. "Pop in and I'll form it for you."

 There was a moment where the sane began to whirl. Echoes of screams and inaudible whispers fill the air as mist and white sand fill the black bag Noah had formed.

Noah pulled the draw string on the bag to close the flat space. He twisted it once and the draw string had become a tail. Another twist of the bag and it had formed into a small black animal. "Give it a moment's focus and it should take on some details of you. Sorry man, that bottle was made to last but dragon bum is a weapon of mass destruction."

https://youtu.be/NArFIVt9t1Y

 When Noah was done, the echoes of screams had faded and a black cat now stood at his feet. It turned around and placed its paw in the white sand at Noah's feet, soaking back up the lost sand inside.

 Once he was done, he looked up at Noah with a face that seemed made to be angry and uttered a Meow in a voice seemingly composed entirely of bass and reverb.

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

 The rest of the group noticed that the birds only watched them for now. The presence of a Hunter at Salem on Halloween had likely ruffled many feathers. However, since they were only shopping for now, there were no movements.

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

 The case was not so at the graveyard where Noah and Mistral were. One of the ravens flew down and, once they were certain no one was watching, they transformed into a human woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. She stared at the group and then at the cat. "What is that thing? What have you unleashed here."

 The cat turned to look at the woman judgingly... and both Noah and Mistral could hear the whispery echoes reverberating out into the twilight. The cat locked eyes with the woman and she very clearly began to sweat despite the fact that the cat had done nothing.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:56, Fri 05 Feb 2021.

Noah reached down and scooped wraith. "This is a buddy from the land of the dead, Moros realm, he was being picked on by a few specters so we rescued him." He stepped forward so Mistral could vanish or stick around as she so wished. If he wasn't being a distraction for her he wasn't doing his job after all.

Noah reached up and turned off the hologram and pulled his hood off, extending his neck fully and looking at the woman. He was biggo horse size, but there was always a weight when he was standing upright. "Noah, the Dragon of Purgatory. Sponsor for the Cabal of the Ark. Sorry about Wraith. I have teleportation vertigo so I fell over and broke his phylactery by accident. I owe him a new mobile home now."

He looked down, "No damage buddy? At least now you can get around." He was already broadcasting the mental image of Jitters riding Wraith into battle.

 Wraith looked perturbed about being picked up and quickly climbed out of his arms and onto Noah's shoulder where he perched like a parrot, glaring at the woman and completely unaffected by Noah's sudden transformation into a horse sized dragon.

 Noah's transformation immediately began to draw attention from sleepers, who gawked. He could see one kid pointing and shouting. "Look! It's the dancing dragon!"

 Phones were being pulled out and pictures taken.

 The woman froze like a deer in headlights, unsure of what to do. She quickly retreated out of the clearing and down a passage through the trees.

Noah smiled as she walked away. "That is the most literal example of 'Beyond my paygrade' that I have ever seen." He nodded once making sure that Mistral was still blocked from crowd sight if she wasn't already gone. He spoke quietly, "Looks like you are still outputting a huge aura. Care to set up a contract big guy? Help Mistral protect me when I hit the dirt from vertigo, that way you have enough of a shell to not scream doomsday to the world? Kinda hard to see the world through a bullhorn. I don't like the contracts a whole lot, you're a part of the group, not a pet. But it does offer some benefits."

He looked at the kid who spoke up, smiled, and twisted his head around so he was looking at the kid upside down before spinning his head back around. "Ladies and gents, Human and Synth alike. I am Noah, prime technician of Ark industry. It is my very good pleasure to wish you all a spooOOOOookkyyy Halloween. Taking a little vacation after pushing for Synth rights back in New York. So do me a huge favor and have the best Halloween you have ever had! And don't forget to give your Synth buddies a taste of the Holiday. I know they will absolutely love it."

He reached into the robe that was the skin of his hologram and pulled out a pouch. He took out a giant claw full of chocolate gold coins and tossed them into the air. "Happy Halloween! And a Joyful feast of all souls day!"

 The kids scream in delight as the adults laugh and cheer, clapping along with the children.

 It had the side effect of drawing more families as the ones already present resumed their business, creating a stream of families to come see the dragon until the candy was gone.

 The angry looking cat still sat upon Noah's shoulder, casting his judging gaze upon the crowd of merrymaking.

Mistral observed the escape of the wraith they'd captured in Stygia with some alarm and backed away to begin the process of banishment, until Noah whipped together a cat body for it to occupy instead.  The black feline seemed none too pleased with its new form, nor with reality itself, it seemed.  There was hardly time to remark upon this remarkable circumstance before a nosy raven became human and came to talk.  Mistral did not have time to make an escape before this arrival, though she had made herself less noticeable.  The woman seemed to have no demands to make of them, and so Mistral declined to speak.  They had not sent their best, evidently.

Noah was doing a fantastic job of distraction, so when his showmanship began Mistral was gone like smoke on the wind.  A ghost passing unnoticed through the margins of awareness, keeping pace with the blonde woman retreating down a forested passage...


Mistique considered Michael for a long few moments.  "I would not rely on hopes of permissiveness here, mon ami.  Mind you that we trespass on their territoire, and we would be wise not to court the displeasure of the locals.  I will not go to war over a shopping trip."  She turned flat yellow eyes to Fate and Michael and asked, "That being said, let us conduct our remaining business."  As the blue-skinned, white-gowned supervillainess spoke, a nondescript woman in a pale blue hoodie and matching hair entered a storefront not far away.  The signboard above the door read 'WYNOTTS - makers of fine wands since 1692'.  Next door to Wynott's was a dark, gambrel-roofed shop with a sign that read 'CROW HAVEN CORNER : Salem's first witch shop'.  Next to that was 'Olde Main Street Pub'.

Inside Wynott's, another Mistral stopped inside the door and quickly took in the shop full of souvenirs for Sleeper tourists.  She looked toward the back and spoke to the clerk, "I am in the market for the special merchandise."

Sal remained with the bulk of the group, taking in the sights. When the birds began watching them he wondered whether they were shapeshifted humans, or bewitched animals. He wondered if it would be worth it to spend some time in the near future developing the ability to commune with animals himself. Not that it would be any wiser to use it on these birds if they were familiars than it would be to dominate them if they're human. They had not, after all, made any aggressive moves towards his Cabal. "Take this as probationary permission to shop as long as we cause no trouble," He said quietly over comms. "Whatever happens, do not engage. We are uninvited guests in someone else's home. Let them see we mean no harm."

After having expressed an interest in what the other stores might hold, Fate followed behind Mistral. She agreed with the statement Mistral had made about not being willing to go to war over a mere shopping trip. Fate had grown curious about what type of souvenir someone like Mistral would be after, though so she made sure she stayed close enough to see and find out.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:54, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

Nefertiti followed with them into places where vendors was selling items of odd looking things.  Seeing that the people were out shopping and buying odd clothing to wear for this thing called Halloween.

It was all too foreign for her for her upbringing was not like this and it only gave her the impression of commoners lifestyle. Her life consisted of learning hieroglyphics, etiquette behavior and the practice of Rituals.  But she must admit that this era or timeline is something she had never dreamed of or thought possible.

Not having the slightest idea of what would best suit her she remained quiet during the shopping and watched and learned all that she could.

Noah gave a nod to Mr. Wraith Bass McDoom Jr. "I can agree to that." He reached allllll the way behind him to the small black bag that he kept strapped to his tail. He pulled out a spool of wire. "It won't be fancy until we can get back to the Faboratory but it will due for now." He took the dark silver wire and started braiding it in a Celtic knotted pattern.

When he was done he had a small dark metal collar. "It will have a filter that will turn your aura into another for now. It's gonna take a full ritual later. We should shop for your fetter also."

Sal says to Nefertiti, "your usual attire would draw extra attention any other day of the year, but it's not exactly a costume. If you like, I can help find something that would suit both you and the occasion."

OOC: Okay, busy busy…


Group 1 (Everyone Except Noah. "Mistique" is present here)
----------------------------------------------------------

 It felt eerie and oppressive under the gaze of that many birds, but they made no aggressive movements. There was a moment where all the birds looked away in one direction but they quickly re-oriented their attention on the group and observation increased.

 However, the group was free to shop as they liked. There were even some trinkets that were actually magical (charms, incense, special candles) among the wares the sleepers sold... but not anything of a potency or effect that someone in the group couldn't also do.

Group 2 (Noah)
---------------------------------------------------------
 The candy eventually ran out and so did the attention. Once attention was off of him, he was easily able to make the collar and was able to fasten it around Wraith's neck. The cat did not make a fuss but seemed to take it out on everyone who made eye contact with him, glaring at them with disdain.


Group 3 (Mistral)
---------------------------------------------------------

 Mistral managed to follow the blonde woman unseen until she transformed back into a raven and flew away. However, it was not a difficult thing to track her as she fled and soon she was watching through a scrying mirror as the raven landed and transformed back into a person.



Group 4 (Mistral, Fate)
---------------------------------------------------------

 The shopkeeper eyed you for a moment and held out his hand. There were hoops to jump through to gain access to magic items. A token (readily available to mages) was placed in his hand and he led the women into the back of the shop where wands, staves, replica weapons, coins, cups, pentacles, and mirrors, all fashioned out of a plethora of materials.

Once Noah had an anchored spell to turn the aura into a titanic aura of overwhelming indifference, as really all cats are. He started quickly making the buys he needed for the ritual and a location. It was going to be an imbuement so he already had the giant mana rock, it would take fire elementals and the lanterns... So nothing hyper-expensive.

The hard thing was going to be to find the best location for the occult ritual. But one thing he was sure to do was to buy as much candy as he could carry and hand it out with the Eternity costume.

Really he was just happy the Maelstrom aura was handled.

Michael nodded at the warning and continued to stay with the group. He was becoming more an more paranoid with each passing minute.

Sal looked for a spot with no people, and walked over and pulled out his slate. While looking over the top of it at the nearest of the surveillance birds, he said calmly, "Look, we survived New York, and really just want to relax and do some shopping for the holiday, and perform a perfectly peaceful rite in one of the most magical cities in the world. I understand the need for surveillance, but do you really need more than one bird for each of us? Its bound to draw attention, and its just kind of creepy, you know? Some of us would really like to focus on the more whimsical side of crass materialism and cultural appropriation of an oppressed people, and I'm sure at least one of us has never had a proper lobster roll, so if you could point me in the right direction, that would be great. If you want more eyes on the ritual, please take it up with Noah."

Mistique watched the birds with a level gaze as the others shopped, noting their momentary shift in attention.  She sighed and remarked drily, "Attention is being drawn elsewhere, but scrutiny on us will soon increase.  Fantastique."  At that same moment she watched the blonde woman who had accosted them in the cemetery reporting to her superiors.  A Mistral emerged from Noah's periphery and tilted her head toward the Essex Street pedestrian mall, indicating that he should follow.

In Wynott's wands, Mistral held the shopkeep's eye as he extended his hand expectantly.  With a gesture easily mistakable for a simple trick of legerdemain she summoned a small, angular crystal and placed it in his hand.  It was a cloudy gray hue with geometry that was curiously difficult for the eye to parse, appearing convex from certain angles and concave from others.  In the back of the shop, Mistral examined the stock of magical tools on display, looking in particular for mirrors, cups, or coins of brass or iron.  Sounding bored (not so different from her usual tone), Mistral asked the shopkeep, "We cannot stay long.  Are there any particularly notable pieces?"

Each of the Mistral copies in different places and with different company spoke quietly in unison, "A welcoming party comes to meet us, bientôt.  Meet at the witch trial memorial park in five minutes."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:42, Sat 06 Feb 2021.

Noah nodded as he hooked a key on to Wraith's band. "On my way." He packed up his small purchases and started following Mistral 432 to meet up with the group.

 As Sal found a quiet spot to converse with the birds, he found that there was only really one of them with their eyes on him specifically and it did not take much effort for him to convince the bird to show him the way to a restaurant. It flew off and perched as if for him to follow, always remaining within sight before flying off to the next perch until it landed on a food truck selling lobster rolls. He wouldn't be able to eat these without needing to throw up later but Noah's tass food, while it looked pretty, had no real taste to it and couldn't compare to the taste of real food.

 … and, strangely enough, his recent transformations had made it so that normal food was appealing again... at least to some degree.

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

 There were many pieces in Wynott's Wands for a discerning mage with items made from various materials. There were a few that were also magical and, while they were expensive, all were within what at least someone in the group could afford.

OOC: coming up with magical items is hard... so I'm going to let you guys pick either a normal or magical wand and denote the maximum resources you have (if you pick a magic wand) and I'll come up with a magical effect later so we can keep things moving.

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

 Wraith pawed at the key about his neck as Noah fastened it on his collar with an aura akin to contentment. However, he still glared in challenge at anyone who chose to make eye contact from atop Noah's shoulder.

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

 The oppressive presence of the crows remained, causing even the sleepers to hurry past the group, mumbling about how creepy so many birds in one place were. However, as Fate, Sal, and Noah rejoined the group, a large number of them took to the sky in a black, cawing mass of swirling birds and then dispersed... like a living beacon.

Fate looked around the wand shop keeping her eyes sharp for anything of interest, though she never kept her gaze from Mistral for long as she was still intent on seeing what her fellow mage would go for. Amidst the spying, Fate found a particular wand that seemed to hold her eye. She could sense an aura about it. It was magical of some sort, though she could not discern it right away. She picked it up and took it to the shop keep. "I'll get this one." She said as she waited for the shopkeeper's response with the price. Once she had it she handed over the money for the wand and took the wand back in hand. She also asked if there were any type of arm or leg straps which had a holster for a wand that she could get as well. If he did have any she would go for an arm strap, but she would get what he had if not that type. If none were to be found she would say "Okay, thank you anyways." and be on her way following Mistral once more.

OOC: Magic wand please. Good luck coming up with it. Hope its not too difficult on you. Maximum Resources 3 (or 4 with card).

Noah looked up at the murder swarm and popped his neck side to side, considering how long his neck was even hidden it was an ordeal. "You would think we had a number of gods with us considering how they are acting." He turned and smiled through the costume at everyone. "Right, this one is my fault. For the new people, one of the first interactions we had with the demon we are hunting is a trap that sent us to the land of the dead directly. We ran into some specters in the Maelstrom and bartered our way out. The one who was getting picked on, well we brought him with us."

"We really are like a dungeons and dragons group that found a buddy."

"Well, the crows are on me. I fell on the bottle that was his home. And now we have a housecat, that hates everything and everyone. Goth Cat is named Mr. Wraith Bass McDoom Jr. Wraith, this is the group so far. I think we are just missing Talion." The whole time he was slowly charging up the layers of spells he kept up for a fight.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:00, Mon 08 Feb 2021.

Michael chuckled. “So it’s not just me. Good to know. What should I expect with all we’ve just seen? Do I need to suit up or try to outrun them?”

Eternity shook his head. "If you run they will just scry you out and nuke you from orbit. Nephandi are the ones you deal with in violence. Mages you talk, mages love politics and they have a fetish for being bound up in red tape most of the time."

"If they attack outright I can take the first hit, most low tier stuff won't get past my scales. But its most likely they will take up positions and talk, after all they don't know what is going on so they wont risk a open fight."

"The best thing we can do is stay in public. They wont cast magic infront of so many sleepers but we can to some effect."

 The group, after a few more minutes, managed to gather. However, after a few more minutes, the crowds begin to thin in the direction they were heading.

In Wynott's Wands, plain-clothes Mistral found a thin wand of iron inlaid with brass fluting whose leatherbound grip fit neatly into her hand.  She hadn't been looking for a wand in particular, but she liked the weight and feel of this one, and its enchantment intrigued her.  Mistral showed the item to the shopkeeper, then performed an arcane gesture that caused three spherical, yellow-colored hard candies to roll from nowhere into her palm.  She placed the three candies into the shopkeep's hand one at a time and said, "A closer look will show these to be more than they appear.  This will suffice in trade, non?"

With the trades within the shop completed, Mistral stepped outside with Fate.  She pointed to the small memorial park bordered in a stone wall and granite benches, where Mistique was already present with Noah-Eternity, Michael, and Sal.  She said quietly, "We convene there.  The Arrows will arrive soon."  As soon as Fate looked away, the Mistral next to her was gone as if she'd never been.

In the park, Mistique regarded the crows with a level yellow gaze as Noah told the tale of how they'd come by Wraith.  She remarked idly in the biting supervillainess tone, "Had I known you meant to carry Wraith in a pocket, mon dragon, I would have suggested a more durable réceptacle."  As they awaited a visit from worried locals, Mistique drew up a ward over the park, just in case.

Sal observed warily the crowd beginning to thin. "Unless they get the crowd to give us some privacy. Just please, please tell me, that if we don't make an aggressive move, we don't need to fight. This was supposed to be a nice relaxing shopping trip."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:51, Tue 09 Feb 2021.

After the Mistral with her disappeared, Fate approached the group. "I certainly hope not. I didn't come here to pick a fight." Her eyes stayed sharp at the scene around her as she watched for anything of interest.

OOC: Keeping my two mage sights active from before and have Fortune's Protection for the day because I spent the 1 mana.

 The group took up position in a memorial park as sleepers lost interest in the place, slowly filtering out of the area, save for a few who sat nearby but not terribly near.

 Only then did one of the approach, dressed in black robes and wearing the smiling mask from the twin faces of drama. He took it off to reveal a man of roughly middle age with a scar across his left eye.

 He pulled tight his black leather gloves. "I've heard of you. Some crazy New York mage turned himself into a dragon and somehow didn't go poof the first time a sleeper saw him. It was a subject of a Grand Consilium, if I recall... the first ever.

 Why they didn't snuff you outright for something like this, I'll never know and I'm not quite sure I care. What I do care about is that thing."

 He pointed at the cat on Noah's shoulder. "We've been getting some conflicting reports about you guys. Most say you're just shopping... and I'm inclined to believe it from the bags you have, but the dragon summoned a specter.

 Now, I can tell from your expressions that you don't quite understand the severity of that so I'll explain. All supernatural creatures are monsters of some kind or another... but they become something else entirely if their humanity dies. They become something monstrous and murderous. That thing is what happens when a ghost's humanity dies.

 They tear holes in the fabric of reality in order to thin the barrier between the land of the living and the land of the dead. Salem is a place with a history of mages being wrongfully accused of black magic... so forgive us if we are more than slightly perturbed when someone shows up using actual black magic.

 However, you guys don't seem the type that usually deals in that sort of stuff. The corruption is a sort of beacon to any Moros worth his salt... so I'll start with this question. Why did you summon a specter here in Salem and what are you planning on doing with it?"

Noah's tail snaked out from under the holographic robe to gently touch between Mistral's shoulderblades to establish the connection. He was sure she was much more skilled than he when it came to the potency of magic, but he had a wider breadth of magic to put at her fingertips. "Agreed my love. If I was a smarter man I would have updated it as we made it when I didn't have scales, seemed I gained a bit too much weight."

And now came questions. "The Earthbound up north had set a trap for us that transported us to the land of the dead inside the Maelstrom itself. I had bartered passage and Wraith here was being harassed by other specters. He lead us out of the storm and opted to come with me. I suffer from teleportation vertigo and fell on his flask, which I admit needed an upgrade."

"However, he has helped us when it was of more benefit for him to attack us. And he could have done far worse a number of times yet. It is to be part of our charter to seek the light no matter how dark it gets, and he was a bit of a help when the Nephandi had been seeking immortality." He was more of a threat really, even in their immortal deaths they couldn't escape the group.

He shrugged at the mention of the Consilium, "And yet the Earthbound attacked the Grand Consilium and the mages have still not turned their eyes to the threat. I still hold them no ill will, even the ones who called for my head."

"As to what I plan to do with Wraith? So long as he doesnt hurt anyone I plan to keep him on staff protecting myself and others."

"Like I said, his bottle broke due to a fall from my disability. He would still be in his bottle joyfully gnawing on mana if not for that. The Tass cat is a fair bit more durable."

Mistique looked askance at Noah after hearing 'my love' from him.  He kept saying that, and she wasn't sure yet what to make of it.

Soon enough there arrived a masked figure who came to deliver patronizing accusations based on faulty assumptions.  Noah had plenty of words to explain and appease, as ever he did.  After the explanations were finished she asked the fellow, "We have indeed come simply to visit and to shop, not to quarrel.  The matter with Wraith was un accident soon managed with no harm done, beyond sullen feline glares."

The supervillainess gestured about her with a white-gloved hand and said, "As a token of goodwill and in honor of this memorial, we have performed repairs upon the local Tapestry.  See, if you like."  After the mage had his look, she concluded, "Are you satisfied, or will you fret further over this peaceable visit?"

 The man stood, looking at the group for a few seconds before speaking. "I feel I must warn you that the likelihood of that creature turning on you in a moment of weakness is nearly guaranteed... but, if you want to take that risk, please do it elsewhere.

 The rest of you have done nothing wrong and so you may stay and shop as you like but I must ask you..." He indicated Noah. "...to leave this place."

Noah nodded once, "Seems the best option is to ensure the local constabulary is happy." He turned to Blue Mistral and started taking off the costume shell so he could fly. He still had on his oversized clothing, as opposed to dragons in fable that wore nothing but their skin. "The next best place to perform the rite is stonehenge. Unless we have Merlins cave on the map."

"Ill head home to drop off the feline subwoofer and let Talion know where to be."

"Agreed. But I must be home in New York by tonight. I'm having company," Sal says.

Noah smiled at Sal, "The ritual once started only takes a few moments. At worst we can have a Dopple stand in for you and act like a drone."

"If you don't want to participate I will understand, but please do let us fill the gap so you can be there. As crazy as I am this is something important to me."

Michael knew better than to remark on the situation. A cabal of Mages who knew what he was is letting him walk away free. He wasn’t going to chance messing that up. Then something occurred to him. He looked at Noah. “I assume what you’re talking about is a mage only affair? I can go back to Haven and make sure everyone is ok and the food arrived.”

Mistique inclined her head in agreement to the terms given by this man who'd come to give unnecessary warnings.  She turned to Noah and asked evenly, "Will you return by air, mon dragon?"  He knew well the alternative transportation on implicit offer, but it would be his choice whether to put his equilibrium in the blender again.  To the others she asked, "I myself have accomplished what I came for.  Anything else for you, mes amis?  If not, there is no reason to further trouble nos alliés in Salem."

On the matter of the rite Noah had in mind, Mistique put in, "The journey is sans conséquence, but why not perform the rite chez soi, at the isle?  What does Stonehenge offer, in this case?"

Noah looked at Michael as if only slightly confused. "You're part of the cabal unless you're entirely opposed to it. You've shed blood on the same dirt we have. And you're likely to want to be there when the earthbound is killed."

"You may be... well as you are. But you're also a good man."

He nodded to Mistral. "I'll need my wits about me the remainder of the night. And you're right. It can be done with the loci of home. Just kinda wanted to tie it to history. Now that I think about it Talion would likely crack Stonehenge just based on his magical weight."

Michael shook his head. “I’m not opposed to it at all. Just was wondering if it was a mage only thing. I’m ready to go when you all are. I just tagged along for the sights.”

"All ready here."

 The mages of Salem watched the group leave and, while most of them found themselves back on the island near instantly, it would take Noah a fair bit of time to return by air.

 When the group returned, they found Grey with Talion... "playing" with the finity stones in a containment field. The stones were nothing short of the raw energies of creation condensed into a crystalline form as Grey exercised her creativity in the medium of unidentified energies and conjuring matter of unqualifiable physics from within Talion's reality bubble.

 However, the light in the stones dimmed shortly after the group (sans Noah) arrived, their energies depleted and the stones rendered inert. Grey quickly ran up and hugged Mistral's leg. "You're back! Father let me play with the finity stones! I got to paint the sky!"

 Looking up, the sky was not painted an absurd color... though there was no telling if it had been before they arrived.

Sal smiled at Grey, and cocked an eyebrow at Talion. "Such a good girl, not to paint the sky without permission."

Nefertiti went along with them to the place they called Salem but during her time there she only discovered that the area was filled with Mages who didn't like to have visitors during a time they claim to be holy.  It wall was nice and cute but still it wasn't giving her anything she really wanted to discover.

The departure of Sal later tonight was something that intrigued her but she knew that he wouldn't want company to join him.

Then there was the Ward that Michael had to attend to but it only gave her interest in her own Haven.  She needed to return there and have a look around to make sure things didn't go crazy while she was away and that her Follower was able to retrieve some of those wonderful fruits that she found to be tasty.

The space station could cross the united states in just a few moments. It took Noah about a quarter an hour before he was free-falling from low orbit to get home. Falling to earth he shifted to his mostly human form and was gliding down. He started curling back up as at some point Wraith had let go.

He started writing out on the local VPN for the slates. ~So we can perform the rite. It needs to be either as sundown starts or midnight starts. But I'll need everyone present. Including our spirit buddies.~

PM

Mistique led the group back to the cemetery hedge through which they'd arrived in Salem, and just like that they were back at the amethyst palace.  After quickly destroying all trace of the portal to give something for the Salem witches to puzzle over, Mistique patted Grey on the head.  With brows raised she asked, "Painted the sky, hm?  I'm afraid I do not see your work.  What paints did you use, ma fille?"  Mistique then produced the wand she'd picked up in Salem to show to Grey, a thin iron rod with inlaid brass fluting, and said, "This is a new wand I've procured.  Aimes-tu?  I think I will call it 'Négatrice', or 'Negator', for its defensive properties."

A message came in on Mistral's slate, which she read quickly before turning to Sal, "Bien sûr.  Provide the location and I will arrange passage."  Nefertiti would also have passage to her own haven, should she desire it.

When Noah arrived in mostly-human form Mistique looked him up and down with a smirk and asked, "What other preparations are needed for le rituel?  There is some time yet for other festivities before nightfall.

Noah smiled and had a tone of delight, though he was still looking for Wraith. Last thing they needed was for him to have bailed and not taken the teleport. "We need to call on good Sir Jitters. I see no reason he shouldn't be part of the official Cabal."

"It may be wise to also have the extended family such as Amy here. I've enough mana to ensure they each get a minor infusion as follows in good standing." Noah was rather excited for a free council to have an official cabal before the full star. More so because of people like Michael, Sal, and Nef. Fate, Mistral, and Talion are official mages for sure. But with the group being so far reaching he couldnt be more happy about it.

He held up a hand to Mistral. "If you would like to pilot I can provide the push to bring up the Folgers Knight."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:31, Fri 12 Feb 2021.

 Talion walked up behind Grey. He still looked tired but seemed to be in good spirits. "We used non-Newtonian gasses for the paint and neutralized them before we brought the ward down. It might have caused concern among the mortals had I actually let her paint the sky."

 Grey inspected the wand with a grin as Wraith walked up to the group from the direction of the house... a place Noah had not been to yet. However, before reaching the group, Wraith and Talion locked eyes and the two glared at one another for several uncomfortable seconds before Wraith broke the gaze and padded up to Noah, leaping back up on his shoulder.

 Talion watched the cat for a few more seconds while still speaking. "Amy's currently with Jamie tonight. They said they had a surprise for us so we'll meet up with them later."

Nefertiti looked at Noah.

"Can you give some details as to what this Ritual is to do? she don't think she was fully informed of its reasoning that she needed to be there.

Looking to Mistral "I would gladly accept the portal near my Haven.  It would quicken the travel and my speedy return back.  If I'm needed for the ritual.

Michael stepped through the portal back to the island. That could’ve turned really bad had he not been with them. Once back on the island, he smiled at the child’s antics. It was certainly a strange week and probably a unique experience among Hunters. “I too am curious about what is all involved in this ritual.”

Noah made a Mmmm? Sound before smiling. "The rite itself is a formality. It's simply to identify a moment in time our Cabal became official so the Merlin of New York wont have fits next time we do anything public. The Rite itself could help us in the long run, such as Mistral being able to use that minor correction so any one of us could be used to evacuate another. But that's more due to her skill than the rite."

"In your case Nef, if I recall there was a cast of maji elites back in the day? This would be kinda like their formation but no initiations."

"The ritual, I will make a perfected flame and use it to summon a number of lesser candle spirits. They will each be given three mana and a lantern as a home. Their task will be to watch over you for the night and at the end of the night use the other two manas to infuse your pattern. You could keep the candle spirit going but you'll need to have a formal agreement with it. Most of us can help with that and even a hyper minor spirit is a wonderful spiritual alert system."

"This imbued mana will be in your pattern until you use it or give it to someone who can. Its imbued mana so it can make magic items work for you or in the case of a few of us act as a sustenance. I am sure everyone could find a use for it even if you're not a mage. Works wonders to get past wards that take mana as a key for example."

"As to a cabal charter, I'm a free council so we dont really put weight in such things. However just simple observation of how our group works boils down to; punch up to the strong not down to the weak, and the only failure is to give up before the task is done."

"Our lil cabal has done things that help the whole world and seen things even elders of any race only dream of. Before too long people are going to start following our example. Dedication and Fortified discretion in action are solid, but I am always open as this should be a group thing now that I'm finally thinking about it."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Fri 12 Feb 2021.

Michael scratched his stubble in thought. “Interesting. Well I’m of course all for it. Not sure how my superiors would feel about me being in a cabal. Might torture me and then burn me at the stake for being a mage sympathizer, so I’ll have to keep it under wraps or come up with a cover story. I would like to note that our cabal doesn’t necessarily have to do everything on our own. We have contacts that could help us out. For example, a little info leak to the right hunters about a minor problem that needs to be taken care of and a cell will take care of it.”

Noah leaned in, "If your people try to hurt you or kill you. Call out to Grey or tell any synth to get ahold of me and we will come get you and not hurt anyone. I promise."

 Talion walked over to one of the rustic looking chairs and took a seat. "Bear in mind that most supernaturals frown on leaking info to Hunter cells... too many risks that their secrets may be leaked. For most, dealing with Hunters is a blade that cuts both ways. A Hunter that kills your foe today may be at your own throat tomorrow.

 To me, personally, Hunters are simply mortals who have chosen to willingly step into the real world and I respect that. I simply wish that most were not quite so antagonistic about it."

Sal nodded, and said, "Indeed. Though its not just hunters. Kindred generally don't want mages in our business, Lupines are loathe to ask us for help, the fae-touched don't trust anyone-- and rightly so-- really, most of the supernatural communities are insular by necessity, but the reasonable among us are always willing to make exceptions in desperate times. And we all value those who prove deserving of our trust."

After reading a message on his slate, Sal said, "I would prefer we perform the Rite by sunset. I need to be at my estate to greet my guests. Nefertiti, I'm sorry I couldn't invite you, but you will get your meeting with the Prince soon, and we can see about the rest from there. Really, I'd love it if you all could come, but its a kindred affair. Besides the security issues, Kindred parties are... well... anyone who isn't bored to death falls under intense suspicion."

Mistique nodded, then pointed with her chin toward the looming amethyst palace.  A plain-clothes image of Mistral stood by a tall doorway to the geode interior, beckoned to Noah, and then went inside.  The doorway led to Grey's coffee shop, which was something of a shrine to her most-favoritest beverage.  As Noah arrived, Mistral had just finished filling a gallon-capacity mug with steaming, jet-black coffee, which she then hefted to a table at the center of the space.  She said, "An offering is not strictly necessary for the summoning, but I believe it will be appreciated by le récipiendaire."  Setting the giant mug down and centering it on the table, she said, "Let us begin."

Mistral circled the table while gesturing and speaking a brief incantation in the High Speech before issuing the formal summons, "Chevalier Jitters, we call upon you as friends with invitation of renewed alliance.  We have coffee."  Mistral expected that those final three words would suffice to summon the knight of the fragrant bean, but she turned Noah a questioning glance in case he had anything else to offer while the mystical communiqué was open.


Mistique went to the same vast wall of amethyst facing out onto the open plaza in which they now stood, and beckoned to both Sal and Nefertiti.  She consulted briefly with each on the locations of their respective havens and where they would wish to place a new doorway.  "As with le Porte for Michael, these will only be visible and traversable to myself and each of you respectivement, as well as to those brought through by our intent.  Regardless, I would caution against sharing it unless necessary, and only to those you trust absolutely.  Les Portes will remain at your disposal for one week."  She had each of them choose their own code-phrases to open and close their respective portals, and then proceeded to create the mystical gateways flanking Michael's currently shut portal.  With a brief focus upon each, Mistique summoned twin circular portals ringed in glowing vapors to span the space to each of their respective havens.

Sal and Nef:  Mist will make the portals to your specifications, so decide where you want them to come out to in/near your havens and pick your magic words :D


Mistique remarked with dry sarcasm, "With such friends as those, one wonders if enemies may make better company."  She smiled and channeled the supervillainess character as she added, "We welcome you, Monsieur Michael, because you have proven a capable and principled ally.  We have no quarrel with your superiors so long as they occupe-vous de leurs oignons.  Mind their own business.  It would be in their best interest."

Noah chuckled at the offering as it was so absolutely fitting. She worked quickly and that was a blessing all in and of itself. When Mistral offered with a glance he moved to full dragon form as he walked up to the cabinet. He reached into the third cabinet on the second shelf and pounded his fist on the back wall to open a compartment. He set out a half-pound bag of expresso chocolate covered coffee beans, he took a measure that would be safe for Jitters and offered Mistral the tea saucer with a single gold coin in the middle of it at he shifted back into mostly human Noah. "To sweeten the deal I hope." Jitters was the Black Bean Knight so the coffee was the best call.

Fate watched the happenings quietly, but soon went and retrieved her book and started her reading again sitting comfortably at the table from this morning.

 As Mistral was gathering the coffee for the ritual, she noticed that she could now see the floor of the silo where the coffee was kept. It seems they were almost out of coffee.


https://youtu.be/2V82TIkX9t4


 The coffee and beans vanished as if being consumed rapidly before a foot tall squirrel stepped out of the ether and onto the counter. He was dressed in tiny black boots, a little black button up dress and a little tricorne hat with a fluffy feather poking out of it. Be took off his hat and bowed with a flourish. "You have called and I have answered, Sir and Madame. I would be more than happy to renew our contract. How would you have me assist you?"

 As Jitters refitted his hat, Grey squealed happily to see her old friend again. He jumped atop her shoulder as she god close and she stroked the fur at the back of his neck as he awaited their answer.

Noah gave the knight a bow. "Good to see you Jitters. If I could impose on you a long term goal of my own, Grey could benefit by learning the art of hydroponically growing her own coffee, less the world be barren of the bean. As to a short term goal I am sure Mistral has a better idea than I."

Sal gives some thought,  to phrases unlikely to be uttered in any context other than as passwords, and says, "On this side it will open with the phrase 'Anata no harinezumi wa watashi no kaku shokuhin dassui-ki ni suwatte imasu.' The other side of the portal will open to a private study which I will keep locked. The phrase to open the other side is 'Il tuo riccio è seduto nel mio disidratatore nucleare.' Both sides will close on the phrase 'Damn it.' I want it to close quickly if I'm surprised, after all. All phrases can be whispered if necessary. Either way, the portal would be invisible and unusable to anyone I don't want going through it at the time, right?"

 Jitters turned to look at the silvery elf he now stood upon. "As the newly appointed Coffee Baron, I would be delighted to show Lady Grey the Way of the Bean."

Noah nodded, "Thank you sir. What do you think Mistral? Have him on as a messenger or a guardian?" He blinked, "Hell, that reminds me." Noah reached into his pocket and pulled out a page of a passport. "Whole family will be comming to town."

With the paper in hand he walked over to the wall and made a sign as he started pushing into the wall. "Take my hand big guy, I'll pull you and whatever you have a hold on through." Noah couldn't portal, that was left to the elegant style of Mistral. But what he was doing was breaking the rules and clearly in the realm of space and matter.

There was no grace to that magic, it was just brute force power to bridge two places. Linking the atoms of two materials and then making them passable.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:10, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

 Noah felt a hand grab on to his and, when he pulled, Scar came through the wall, wearing lederhosen with a checkered green shirt and a giant backpack filled with pottery, beer, and souvenirs from oktoberfest. There were lipstick stains all over his collar. "Hello everyone! I brought souvenirs!"

 He seemed to still be a little drunk.

OOC: for those not in the know, Oktoberfest was over 4 weeks ago.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:29, Mon 15 Feb 2021.

Mistral inclined her head to Jitters the squirrel knight and greeted his arrival, “Content de te revoir, Chevalier Jitters.”  Noah requested help in replenishing the coffee crop, and Grey had a cheerful reunion with her best chum.  Mistral added, “Tonight we establish the cabal via ritual officiation, and we would invite you to take your place.  We require a defender of l'île d'améthyste, and I can imagine none more qualified.  Will you accept this duty, Chevalier?”  Moments later Noah pulled a drunken Scar through space (rather clumsily, but she had to admire the resourcefulness) and into the coffee shrine, lederhosen and all.  Mistral welcomed him as well, “Bonjour, type.  I see that you have had quite the revel.”  Noting the lipstick on his collar, she added drily, “You were popular, non?”

Outside, Sal gave a rather particular set of magical pass-phrases for the new portals to his haven on the mainland, which Mistique had him repeat as she formulated the keys to ensure they were correct.  She confirmed that the portal would be invisible and impassible to those Sal wished it closed to, but Mistique was certain to clarify, “Passage for unknown visitors will remain subject to my approval, apart from yours.  You understand.”

"Of course, Mist. I wouldn't dream otherwise. Say, if I were to imbue this portal with some Mana of my own, and if you allowed it, would the portal last longer?" Sal asked.

Michael once again stood in awe of the seemingly impossible magic acts being performed. It made him wonder how many times had a cell of Hunters had actually succeeded in taking out a well structured cabal in the past.

Nefertiti wasn't fully sure where in the city she found her Haven but she knew that it was in a certain direction away from when she walked away from Michael's Haven.

"I must admit that I'm not familiar with this city much but I do know that I was going to go to the Institute with an acquaintance.  He studies there. thinking for a moment.

"Yes I think he said he even lived near it. nodding her head "He was riding a contraption that had two wheels and his legs was making it move.

 Jitters bowed with a flourish. "T'would be my honor, milady. Henceforth I shall be the guardian of the Amethyst Isle and Instructor in the Way of the Bean."

 Meanwhile, Scar was ever so slightly unsteady on his feet. "Indeed. I think it was the fact that I looked like tourist but spoke German that threw most of them."

Noah put a hand on Scar's back to keep him steady. "Sounds like you had a well-valued vacation that was well earned. Good to have you back buddy. Be sure to refresh your backup as I am sure you don't want to forget that adventure. We are about to have a rite so you are more than welcome to come."

He smiled at Michael. "Buck up, you are in the big league's big guy. I'll remind you that you have done things that would be in the same realm."

He clapped his hands, "Right, that is everyone who should be here that can be here, Talion, once we have an all clear from you we can start. Dont want to end up overcharged if we conflict some how."

 Talion nodded as Grey (Holding Jitters), a tipsy Scar, Wraith, and Fred in his spiffy new Kaiju suit (he is now a crawfish the size of a small horse currently without claws) gathered for Noah's cabal ritual outside the amethyst mansion carved from a geode pulled from the mantle of the earth and now sits as a nonexistent island tied to an oceanic leyline.

 Talion smiled from his seat in the chair he'd crafted by hand. "Here are gathered the pillars of the new world. If you do not mind, I'll supply the power for this ritual of yours."

Time passed and Fate finished her reading. When she notice everyone start to gather she joined the group waiting patiently to see what this ritual was about.

Noah gave a bow once he got outside. Set up was a time for people to gather so there was time yet. "Right, just a warning. Perfected fire is a bit unique. Don't put the flame in something air-tight and always treat it as twice as large as it really is. Outside of that, the little lanterns should be more than enough."

He took out his slate and set some music as it always helped him with his workings. : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVomQtrtMTM

From a case he had set out early he pulled a rather massive crystal Tass. It was a stockpile of weeks of him dumping his daily recharge of mana into it. It was fabricated but as close to as raw mana stone as he could make.

Noah stuck his tail into the soil and started walking in a big circle around the table he was setting up on. "And to make sure our synth buddies are not going to have to soak any paradox." He opened a box and tossed a number of small puck drones into the air. Each of the little puck drones exposed their cores that held a liquid metal setting up containment with the nature of the metal.

He then pulled out a battery of black metal that matched a number of weapons he had made for the group. He connected a crimson metal cable to the battery and then to a gold woven wand.

He reached up and cupped a hand in front of his mouth, breathing out he caught some of his breath flame. He was touching on every sphere of power so any mage could join in to mitigate, though wat he was doing was more material and the magic was very simple and primal.

"The Ark is home to the exceptions of the exceptions. People unfraid to do the right thing and to push back when pushed. The Ark steps in when others wont so long as the cause is just. We punch up to the strong but not down to the weak unless corrections must be made. And we dont give up as you only fail when you stop trying."

"Is there any who would not agree to this?"

Michael stood next to the table as summoned. Well at this point, I don’t think anyone would believe me if I told them.He shook his head no at Noah’s question. He had no idea what would happen if he even considered saying no.

Upon entering the location of the ritual, Sal was pleased to see Scar doing well, and to see the return of Jitters. Fred's new appearance amused him. He nodded along with Noah's words, and smiled gently as he asked for objections. He doubted there would be any.

This was all going to be something new for Nefertiti to experience and she was a bit on edge of the matter but still there was honor in the words that Noah spoke and to bring the world back to some balance after it feeling the claws of Apep.

Finding a spot where she felt comfortable and a bit of the energy of the leyline flowing through the ground beneath her feet.

Fate had no objections, everything Noah was saying sounded fine to her. She showed her approval silently, then continued to watch on.

Mistique nodded, "Had the location been known to me I might have made le Porte permanent from the start, but investiture of énergie at a later time will serve just as well."  Mistique listened to Nefertiti's difficulty in describing a location, and realized her own error.  She said, "Pardon, I was silly to ask directions for a land unfamiliar to you, mon amie.  I will take us near, and we can locate your haven from there."  She then added, "The two-wheeled vehicle is called a 'bicycle.'  Une machine classique, but I have not ridden one since I was very young."  (OOC: not sure if it needs a whole scene, but I imagine Mist and Nef could spend an hour or two to poke around the area for the haven, then set up the portal from there :) )

When the ritual began, Mistique smoothed the white gown underneath her before sitting primly and crossing blue legs knee-over-knee, then beckoned Grey to sit on her lap.  As they got comfortable, three identical plainclothes images of Mistral formed a triangle around the gathering and began to whisper something indistinct in perfect unison.  One of the replicas produced the iron-and-brass wand from Salem and began to trace in the air, then passed it off to the next Mistral before dissolving into a plume of bright mist.  The wand passed from one replica to the next until the incantation was complete and the final copy placed the wand in Mistique's hand before vanishing into the wind.

Noticing their new compatriots looking confused, she addressed them, "Participation in this ritual is not to be coerced.  The choice is to each their own, and will be respected without question."


Mistique listened carefully to Noah, regarding him with yellow eyes as she gave the words due consideration.  A long pause, then she amended in her own soft-spoken voice, "...May truth and knowledge be our guide."  She might have used the word 'reason', but in a cabal containing Noah and Grey, that might be asking much.  Mistique then nodded her crimson-haired head in assent to the rest.

 As Mistral prepared the ritual space, she felt the Pattern of the area she had designated fill with mana. It was so thick that it manifested as a luminescent fog. "And may the pillars of this world hold strong when its shattered foundations are renewed."

Noah sighed once everyone had consented. With a gesture of his battery-powered wand the giant mana stone cracked as a sign the ritual was starting to roll. He was thankful for the ward Mistral formed as so many candle spirits manifested with perfected fire would be fantastically hot.

It always seems more quiet in the dark
It always feels so stark

He was almost singing as he was directing the magic that touched every sphere. He produced a candle that was so large it could be used for a Catholic easter vigil. With the battery-powered wand he tipped the hand full of his Breaths Fire. A single lick of white fire was pulled from it before he let what remained to dissipate.

How silence grows under the moon
Constellations gone so soon

He used the white fire on the tip of the wand to light the oversized candle. The act caused the giant mana stone to crack further and to start to flake into the air contained within the two wards, one magic one material. It was a good thing too as Noah's material ward was only so strong.

I used to think that I was bold
I used to think rules would be fun

He blew on the candle and it would not go out. Instead, sparks flew in a cone to the barrier of both wards as his breath was hotter still. Each spark reacting to the powder-fine mana crystal shards in the air. As they reacted he reached up and pulled nothing down, the gesture setting the sparks to a flame. Quickly looking like the star filled night sky within the field.

Now all the stories are being told
Except for one

He put the heels of his palms together and twisted with a pulling motion to his side like an anime character about to blast. But the little flames all cheered as tiny candle spirits started finding root in the elemental sparks that had been fixed for them.

As the stars start to align
I hope you take it as a sign

He drew the little spirits to the tiny lanterns that he had purchased in Salem. Each lantern home to a small white candlelight. Some lights merged, others claimed their territory quietly alone.

That you will be okay
Everything will be okay

Each lantern held a candle spirit of perfected fire. Each Flame heled a chunk of mana that was to be infused into its user come dawn. Even for someone who couldn't use mana, they would have a small pool that could be used in other ways.

Noah exited the circle holding the first lantern, he held it out for Talion. He would be the one to go back and forth to the table within the ward as the temperature had gotten to the ignition point but the lanterns themselves had become cool to the touch. But he would go and get each person their tiny lantern, a sign of the light in the dark.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:42, Thu 18 Feb 2021.

 Talion took his lantern and sat it on the table next to him. He watched intently as Noah entered and exited the circle each time to bring each person their own lantern.

Mistral let the illusory Mystique costume fade as the ritual commenced and the sun sank to the sea’s horizon, leaving her in the unassuming look she’d actually been wearing all day.  She watched Noah conduct the ritual with pale gray eyes twinkling by the light of perfected flames made into tiny stars of mana.  The lanterns were made as the real stars lit up the sky above brightly here out on the ocean far from shore.  Talion received his lantern first, then Noah approached with two more for her and Grey.  Mistral held his eye as she received the lanterns with two hands and an inscrutable expression.

As Noah turned away Mistral offered the first lantern to Grey, who snuggled on her lap as cozily as a nearly weightless elfin godling could.  She held her own lantern next to Grey’s and shared a faint smile with the child as they admired the glimmering flames together.

Everything was okay, in this moment.  Perhaps Noah’s lyrics weren’t all naive.

When Talion took his small lantern Noah smiled just thinking of all the random insanity he could pull off with it. When Mistral took hers his smile grew wider. "I always wanted to give you a bit of dragon fire."

"Come now, Sal has an appointment to keep. Just remember, there are only a hand full of things perfected fire cant kill. If you want to use it as a weapon you will have to feed the mana it gives you back into the weapon. Otherwise, it will give you a second mana reserve."

He offered one to Nef and Michael. "I think you could use it to sustain you. For you, Michael, find a demon you cant kill and this will turn it to ash. Just be sure to recharge it every now and then." And then there was the thread that connected them all, a creative mage could make a global communication with them. "Just don't pitch them if they burn out. We can always use them later."

It was effectively a magical helper that would last until it wasn't fed. But as with anything Noah-related, it had layers beyond that. Most importantly, it was a fixed moment and ritual. Something he could hook on to with Omnimagic later.

"I've twisted the aura on the one for you Michael. It's gonna take a hunter worth his salt ten times over to tell its little more than a magnesium sulfate lamp."

Sal accepts the lantern with both hands, bowing as he does. He doesn't leave right away, waiting to see everyone else receive their lanterns.

Nefertiti was graciously received the mysterious lantern giving to her by Noah.  For a moment she stared at it intensely as if she was looking at it in a different sight.

Michael accepted the lantern in reverence. It was strange being given a magical gift by a Mage. That’s another one for the Hunter History books. He waited for the full ritual to be completed.

Fate accepts her lantern carefully and stares at it for a moment.

Once everyone had a lantern Noah put a hand to the barrier of the ward and he started pushing back. Talion was kind to power the ritual but just leaving it to saturate the air would be problematic. He couldn't just feedback the mana into Talion as that would be screwing a garden hose into the hoover dam. Within the ward it started raining, he was creating Tass as little stones shaped like rain. Once the spell to convert the wards contents into tass was underway He turned back to the group.

"Never played with that much mana before." He clapped his hands to get the crystal dust out of the scales that covered his hands in the mostly human form. He clapped his hands with a magical echo. "I now declare the Cabal official as of midnight tonight." He looked over at fate, "The silver ladder is gonna be pissssssed."

"Thank you all for humoring me. I've got a few more rituals to cast so dont let me keep you any longer if you have plans." He looked at Michael. "There is a cintas truck with a lock on it near your haven. The code on it is the address of your haven. You'll find it loaded with care packages and bags of candy as I am sure you are protecting kids too."

Michael looks at Noah with increased respect at the generous gift for the people of the Haven. He sends a quick text to the guy he left in charge about the truck. “Thank you. I know they will greatly appreciate it. I know not to look a gift dragon in the mouth.” He a light hearted chuckle.

"Thank you, but why exactly would the Silver Ladder be pissed?" Fate felt her newness showing as after all she was still learning everything that there was.

Noah grinned as he imitated a voice of some high-up fuddy-duddy, "A mad young brigand will never find a home in my city. Just a bad running joke."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:47, Sun 21 Feb 2021.

"Ah." Fate responded brushing it off as an understanding that he had had a bad experience with one of their order and that this was a way of spiting them.
As the ceremony came to an end Fate stuck around to watch Noah work. He was obviously much more skilled than she was, just like Mistral. She admired that about both of them and wanted to one day be as skilled one day herself. It would surely be a long ways away however.

"Thanks, Noah. I'll be going now. Don't have too much fun without me, everyone!" Sal said, and then changed into a suit (with his concealable weapons concealed, of course,) grabbed his "briefcase" (survival rifle) in one hand, his lantern in the other, and took the portal to his estate.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:01, Mon 22 Feb 2021.

Noah set out a number of objects on the table as he was raking up the small gemstones with his tail. "If you want to watch you should participate." He offered her one of his imbuement tools. "You may not be a prime mage but learning how to be a cooperative caster may be a boon if we start doing Cabal rituals."

"Sure." She spoke sheepishly. "I've never been apart of rituals like these before. Let's just say they are a bit ahead of me. I still have much to learn. I would be grateful to help in anyway that I can." She accepted the tool carefully.

It seemed that Nefertiti was also interested in participating in helping with the objects on the table but she wasn't sure if she could because of her not having the same sort of connection to magic as they did.  She was able to cast spells of a different nature but still she could cast Rituals of another.

"Would I be able to help as well? she asked Noah.

Noah nodded to them both. "In reality, it's an illusion caused by Omni magic. Mistral is leaps and bounds ahead of me but I touch every sphere of magic with a giant bulk of power." His tail went to the underside of the table as he passed his Omnisight to him. It covered every sphere of magic and allowed them to see that the end of his tail was coated in rituals and a magical circle around its tip in the air.

"Ritual casting as a group is great practice to later dealing just masses of raw magic. In my education, it wasn't about directing so much as adapting." He drew on the local leyline, a visible act to omnisight, and started his casting.

"More casters means more potency." He was handing out small holdout pistols to both of them. "Ill vent the spell, all you need to do is focus on using a casting tool to direct it into the weapon and anchoring it. Once done the bullets will act on this side and the other side of the gauntlet."

"Ghost bullets." He nodded at Nef, "Many forms of magic don't require any formal arcane training. Sadly much of it is about summoning demons, but there are rites and rituals you could cast. It's still good training for the control needed."

 When Noah was finished turning the mass of mana within the casting circle into rain-shaped crystals, he found that he had another 30 miniature tass crystals. Further, each lantern had been augmented a fair bit further than he had originally anticipated (an extra two per lantern).

 Talion himself didn't say anything about it. Instead, he just stood up and held the lantern up as he looked out at the darkening sky. "Once everyone is finished here, I was going to go meet up with my kids. I promised them a Halloween to remember and you're invited too. There will be a haunted house and I'm throwing a Halloween party for all of the people in the city.

 I'd like you all to be there for the party at the very least. I have some important announcements to make."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:55, Mon 22 Feb 2021.

Mistral gave an enigmatic smile and replied evenly, "Merci.  Now the others may have some as well."  As the ritual concluded, she projected the mana-lantern beyond linear space, making it appear to fold inward to the point of vanishing.  Mistral inclined her head in farewell to Sal as he departed, watching closely as he passed through the portal.

Noah held court with an impromptu ritual magic class, which Mistral observed unobtrusively for a time.  She was gone between one moment and the next, having stepped away to approach Talion.  Mistral asked him quietly, "Is the haunted house préparé?  I might assist in its arrangement, if needed."  She was not one for parties as such, but she would be interested to check up on the children and to hear whatever announcements Talion might make.

 Talion nodded. "Indeed. I rented out an abandoned building, purchased the candy, crafted the fetters, and hired the ghosts myself. I believe that's all that's required. This is my first time running a haunted house."

 He pulled out some ghost hunting equipment (including an Ouija board) out of his pocket with a slight smile. "Apparently, this gear is used by humans to locate and communicate with the dead so I got them too. I would like for the kids to look back on this night as one to remember."

With a twist, he moved to what seemed the boring part of his little ritual. "My style can be a bit boring as it's just moving giant blobs of mana around. Is there a ritual you always wanted to do? Or perhaps a boundary you want to stress and test?"

During the whole Ritual she kept her eyes in a different Realm to see what all was really happening and she wanted to remember all that she could.

There never is a boring part to any Ritual, the whole process is a sacred.

When Noah spoke she didn't know whom he was speaking to she remained quiet and assumed he was speaking to Fate for she was more attuned to the Mortal realm of magic.

While the ritual had been going on Fate kept her sight active wanting to see everything that she could. When Noah asked his question Fate hesitated for a moment then responded, "Are there any rituals you'd recommend to know which can be done with only one person?"

Noah smiled at Nef, "Don't be afraid to speak up, as I said, there are rituals you don't need to be a mage to do, but I can see you're solid with the potential of it." He tilted his head side to side as he thought about Fate's question. "Imago is the important thing in what rituals you cast. So the sky is the limit if you have the will for it. But in your case rituals that you can fire and let autopilot will be a massive heavyweight for you."

"In all cases, spells and their long-form rituals can be allowed to continue on their own without taking up that little space in your will. In my case, I keep up a link, armor, my anti-collateral Talion shield, and an Omni sight. I could then, cast a long form ritual phantasm on the island to hide it and with that little push of will maintain it without stressing my daily spells."

"I think, from what I have seen, that is where you could swing really hard. I could see you designing a rote that allows you to course-correct spells you have just going on their own. For example, a ritual that by fate forces someone to end up back up at a certain building currently running on a potted plant, events and random chance somehow always forces them back there. You set that ritual up and its just floating in the either. You then use a 'tap the rite' rote and mark the person. They are then stuck in a fate prison until the spell runs out. As it is a free-floating ritual you could set it up to last weeks if you get skilled at it."

"Could lend to your natural talents, preparing many options to solve problems allowing you to tap any of them in a moment's notice." The limit would be her willpower. It took willpower to let a spell run on its own. But if she had enough of them going she could have a preloaded ritual to trigger for just about any problem she could think of.

Sal came back through the portal barely a moment after leaving, and began looking for Nefertiti. When he found her, he said, to all present, "Sorry to interrupt, but I need Nefertiti for a bit. If you please, Nefertiti, come with me. Oh, before I go, Noah, may I have a bit of that Tass, please?"

He sent a message on his slate.

Nefertiti was a bit shocked to see Sal returning so so, when he had to rush off for his own private Halloween party.

When he requested to have a moment of her time her right eyebrow arched slightly as to wonder why.

"It is time? was all she could say before thinking of what was she going to wear.

Noah nodded, "Do you need it in a form consumable or do you just want the gems to make something else?" Tass required a prime mage to use or to be made into a form that is useable. He didn't want to give Sal something he couldn't use and ruin a plan or something.

 The group had finished their chats and the group departed for land. He encouraged the group to come with to the Haunted House... which was, apparently, a real haunted house and not just people spoking one another.

 The orphanage where the children lived was immaculate and well maintained in stark contrast to the conditions of the surrounding buildings. A serious-looking woman wearing a nun's habit met them at the front door. She scowled at Talion. "Who are these strange people?"

 She didn't actually seem to be talking about the group, but rather the three-of-four Horsemen that had gathered nearby.

 Talion smiled fondly at the woman. "They're chaperones. I plan to make sure everyone stays safe."

 The woman eyed Talion. "Sometimes I wonder if you understand what that word means."

 He let out a small laugh. "Everyone, this is Mother Rita. She runs the day to day affairs of the orphanage. I came along and sort of semi-adopted them... but she's aware of what I do and the things I tend to be involved in so we agreed that it would be better if the kids stay here.

 Mother Rita, these people have been assisting me. These two..." He indicated Noah and Mistral, "Were part of the group that helped me save everyone."

 The woman, who's tone had been icy toward Talion, warmed considerably when she addressed the group. "You have my deepest thanks for what you've done. The children are about ready with their costumes. Make sure to keep this oaf in line while you're out."

 She smacked him in the stomach but he didn't flinch from it. He still had that amused smile on his face as Rita went to check on the kids.

Noah waved hello to the sister. "Happy all Saints Day sister." The idea of the kids going to a truly haunted house was something that made him wish he had a proton pack or ghost trap of some sort. Couldn't plan for everything that could be... "Still more work to do but even the bad guys take a day off so we can too."

"In theory." Fate spoke up from the back of the group. A haunted house, a real one, this should be a sight to see, Fate thought to herself.

To Nefertiti, Sal replied, "Yes, ma'am."

To Noah, he said, "Ah. Not used to this. Consumable, please."

OOC: BTW, how much mana was in that Omelette? I just realized, Sal might not be hungry anymore.

Mistral readily agreed to Sal's request, but the portal she opened for Sal and Nefertiti opened out into a vacant parking garage two blocks away from the location.  She might be able to portal directly into Prince Victor's inner sanctum, but she would rather not let him know that.


Just before arriving at Talion's haunted house Mistral reprised her illusory cosplay of the X-Men villainess Mystique.  She had been curious about where Talion's multitude of adopted children lived, and was pleased to see the fine state of the place.  Mother Rita seemed a prickly sort of governess, but Mistral couldn't help but like her after seeing her sass Emperor Apocalypse himself.  With a theatrically-menacing supervillainess tone, Mistique greeted Rita simply, "Joyeux Halloween, ma Mère.  I am pleased to see that the children are well cared-for."

As Mother Rita hurried off, Mistique turned to Talion and asked, "You are certain the spectres you have fettered can do no harm?  Even to lay eyes upon certain spectral forms can threaten the sanity of an Awakened, much less children."

 As Mother Rita hurried off to fetch the children, Talion smiled and nodded. "I did background checks on all of them. There were no criminals or mentally unstable ghosts among my hires. All of them were recent passes with relatively easy to fulfill final wishes. I asked for a few hours of their time and their reward is a synth body and one week to move around the city. That should be enough to let them escape Stygia and reach their final rest.

 That said, they were hired to scare the kids and be spooky... I would hope my offer has them quite motivated."

 A few more minutes pass and the Rita emerged from the orphanage with all the kids in tow. Most of the kids were likewise dressed in the theme of super heroes. Wolverine, Iron Man, Superman, Batman... and the list went on.

 But there were three costumes that stood out. The first was three of the smallest children making up a combined costume of a New Year's dragon painted white. While it was a fairly crude rendition crafted by children, it was close enough to Noah's full dragon form to be recognizable. They jumped around "roaring" at all the adults present.

 Then there was the couple, Jamie and Amy. Jamie came out dressed in a simple black suit with his hair pulled back and sideburns lightly dusted with flour. He had a contact in his left eye to change the color. He looked very much like a smaller version of Talion.

 Rita was beaming as Jamie approached. "We all agreed to dress up as our favorite superhero this Halloween.... so I dressed up like you. You're my hero, Dad."

 Talion, for his part, stared in shock for a second or tow before grinning like mad and lifting the teenager off the ground like a small child. Tears streamed from his eyes as he laughed without restraint for the first time since any of you had ever seen him.

 Amy, for her part, was dressed in jeans and a hoodie with frosted hair and blue tips. She approached Mistral with a big smile on her face. "And you were the person who saved me. You took me out of that horrible place. You're my hero."

 Nearby, little Jenny (who Mistral had saved from gunpoint via portal) was also wearing a costume similar to Amy's and the young girl was now clinging to Mistral's leg.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:46, Sun 28 Feb 2021.

Noah smiled at Mistral as she was ensuring that the ghosts wouldn't be too much for the kids. Perhaps in spite of what she says, she would make a good mother. Time would tell in the end and given the powers they handled the family life was not likely something to happen. Time would tell.

When the kids came out he was a bit concerned that the iron man costume would really work and fully operate. That passed rather quickly once the kids came out with the multi-staged dragon costume. When they came up to him he roared right along with them fully in character to cheer them on all the way.

He smiled wide when Amy presented as Mistral. "Knight in shining armor indeed."

Mistique nodded once in acceptance of Talion's precautions for the real ghosts in the haunted house.  She nonetheless intended to accompany the children in case need should arise for an emergency exorcism.

Soon enough Talion's many children paraded out in a varied multitude of superhero costumes, many of which were clearly hand-made.  Mistique's scarlet brows raised at the sight of the white dragon as it roared and leaped onto the scene on three pairs of tiny sneakers.  She turned Noah a look and was amused by the playful stand-off between the miniature dragon and the real one.  Then came Amy and Jamie approaching Talion with an explanation of the costume theme, and the joyful moment that followed threatened to warm Mistral's heart, despite herself.

Mistral hadn't recognized Amy's costume until she approached, beaming sweetly with a distinctive new hairstyle.  Amy's words made yellow eyes go wide as she struggled with how to receive such a remarkable statement.  Mistique stared in shocked silence for a beat until being startled by little arms grappling her leg, and looked down to see adorable little Jenny also dressed up in a hood with blue hair-tips.  The supervillainess act was all gone, and Mistral murmured in her own voice, "I am not a..."  She had to stop herself short, however, because who was she to dispute their choice of hero?  The girls didn't know that she was undeserving, but they did know that she'd rescued them in their respective moments of need.  The case for Mistral's hero-denial was looking worse by the moment.

A drop landed on little Jenny's hood as Mistique looked back up to Amy, face contorting as she failed to suppress a genuine tearful grin even rarer Talion's.  She sniffled and half-composed herself before at last muttering, "I am glad you both are safe to choose a poor costume.  Merci, Amy."  That didn't come out well.  Not quite knowing what to do, she squeezed little Jenny's shoulder and asked, "Would you like to see the haunted house, mademoiselle Jenny?"

Mistique had been avoiding looking at Noah, but she finally looked up at the entirely expected toothy grin.  She tried to glower at him, but somehow all she could manage was an embarrassed smile.

 Jenny Jumped for joy. "Yes! Yes!"

 It was a sentiment shared by most of the younger children. Grey remained in the back, away from the other children.

 The Four Horsemen (sans War, who was not around) and Alyssa gathered the children into four groups for the evening and Talion led the group to an abandoned industrial warehouse. A sign carved from wood had been hung on the top reading "Haunted House".

 It was a far cry from the standard over-decorated haunted houses most people went to. Jamie was the first to speak. "This isn't a haunted house. Where are all the decorations?"

 However, Jamie grabbed his sleeve as she looked up at the building. "This building has real ghosts in it, doesn't it?"

 Talion, for his part, appeared almost puzzled. "Yes it does. I've never heard of a haunted house with decorations before. I've hidden bags of candy for all of you inside. First one back out gets a special prize."

 There was a chill in the air and a sense of foreboding to the building that Talion simply didn't seem to register (or perhaps he simply didn't care), though the kids were getting slightly spooked. Still, most were more curious about actual ghosts than truly terrified. Anyone expressing doubts in the group were immediately met with jeers of "chicken"... they seemed to be hyping one another up.

 Jamie looked from Talion to Amy and back. "This is going to be terrifying, isn't it?"

 Talion beamed, another extremely rare look for him. "I certainly hope so!"

Noah moved close to Mistral if she needed a shadow to regroup in given all the sudden attention. He knew she was always an echo or a shadow but he couldn't figure out if it was a preference or rooted in any kind of anxiety. Either way, he was there without so much as a comment as to the warm moment. That was for her, a humble hero.

He chuckled at Talion's alien concept of what a haunted house was. "Next year we will go to Disney land during Halloween Talion. I think you will like it." He leaned down and smiled at Grey. "Think you can get in and out without using any of your tech? A real challenge if you ask me, hunting with them as one of them."

He wasn't sure if everyone was going in but he blinked his right eye and it went black as sin. Omni sight was great for shotgunning for info, but death sight was something best used for dealing with ghosts and ghouls.

Fate stayed at the back of the group away from the kids without being too far from her allies. She wasn't a "kid" person and never had been. Even since being a little girl herself she always would seek out the adults around her to talk. She stood, still in full costume from before, trying her best to make sure nothing would get caught on her antlers. She looked very much the part of Maleficent with her current expression being one of near brooding, when it wasn't discomfort from the fit of the costume being too revealing.

Mistique gladly took refuge in Noah's shadow as the children excitedly gathered excitedly for the haunted house.  She paused as they started toward the entrance and looked back to see Grey alone in the back.  After regarding the elflin godling for a moment, Mistique offered a white-gloved hand for Grey to take and asked in the supervillainess voice, "Would you like to accompany us, ma fille?"

Talion's reassurances about the haunted house were decidedly not reassuring.  Mistique suspected that his being an ancient entity accustomed to his own phenomenal cosmic power might have skewed his perspective on 'terrifying' and 'dangerous'.  Before the gaggle of children entered the haunted house, Mistique whispered words of power to instill the children with a bit of extra courage.

 Grey took Mistral's hand, promising Noah not to use her powers while inside. Wraith was left outside. Talion and the horsemen remained outside as well, effectively guarding it in such a way that no one else would be able to enter.

 Jamie took point. All of their bravado faded into quiet foreboding as they finally made to step foot across the threshold. As he touched the door, it creaked open of its own accord, giving way to the foyer of what was once a hotel.

 The children walked inside, apprehensive, with eyes darting furtively at every creak and clang the ancient building made.

 Grey, for her part, was unbothered by any of the noise.

 Now came the difficult part. Where was Talion most likely to have hidden the prizes?

Noah turned to look at the door and watched nothing leave the door frame. "Oh that is clever." He smiled at the adults. "Talion doesn't need to know anything about a haunted house. The ghosts themselves can bring in what they know is scary from their own perspective experience. It's better than open-ended phantasms as it means the scare isn't personal." Noah would have imbued the house to reflect what scares the kids, but in the end that could bring in Peter Pan or Nephandi and make it go from scary to horror. What Talion did was far more clever and safe.

The children remained understandably reluctant to participate in this ill-considered activity, so Mistique decided to provide some guidance.  As she stood in the foyer holding Grey's hand, three identical plain-clothes Mistrals strode confidently into the doors behind her and fanned out.  One approached a corridor lined with doors, another the foot of the grand staircase, while the third peered into a derelict ballroom.  Mistique addressed the children, "Come along, children.  There is nothing to fear.  Help us find the sweets, or else the adults must keep them all to ourselves."  She gave the other adults a look to encourage them to help guide the kids.  Each of the Mistrals beckoned to a group of children closest to her, encouraging them to help search and providing unspoken assurance that an unafraid adult would accompany them.

Once the hunt had begun the Mistrals would make a show of searching for hidden treats, but somehow overlooking any finds and leaving them for enterprising children to snatch up.  In actuality, she was on the lookout for ghosts and keeping ready to deal with them, should the need arise.

 The children begin to follow Mistral reluctantly and, once everyone was away from the door but not out into other parts of the hotel yet, the door slammed loudly behind them.

 The children all screamed at the noise and turned to see nothing there. Wind blew from somewhere down the hallway but none of the windows were open.


 The children began to climb the creaky stairs of the once-grand staircase to the upper floor of the hotel. Things skittered and scratched at the edge of everyone's vision but, upon turning, nothing was there. Meanwhile, Grey's vision remained fixed upon things within the house that did not seem to be there. She was smiling and did not seem to have the same spooked reaction as the rest of the children.


 In the ballroom, the lights began to flicker suddenly and then went out. There was the sound of a child giggling faintly and a whisper audible to anyone who had entered the ballroom. This way!.

 As the light flickered, there was the image of a child in a white dress with hollow eyes and an impossibly wide grin, beckoning toward the children with a single finger. All the kids that followed Mistral into the ballroom screamed and tried to cling to Mistral. (if she chooses not to be there at the moment, they fall through her and onto the ground in a pile).

 The image was there for only a second before it was gone, leaving one to imagine if they had actually seen it at all.

For a nigh-omnipotent emperor spirit, Talion could be quite an idiot at times, Mistral thought.  Odds were looking favorable for many of these children to develop some degree of PTSD from this little scavenger hunt.

The copy of Mistral in the ballroom became corporeal at the sight of the ghostly girl.  Creepy little girl was something of a horror film cliché, albeit for good reason.  The children now crowded her legs, which caused her to realize that the children might think her illusory replicas to be ghosts and be doubly terrified.  "She is harmless.  She only wishes to play, but cannot help appearing sinistre.  Let us carry on with the search."  The children hardly cared about the treats anymore, now that spectral terrors lurked in every corner.  Who could blame them?

Each of the Mistrals attempted to guide their respective group's attentions away from spectral manifestations and toward likely hiding places for treats.

---

Manipulation + Empathy to attempt to distract kids from creepy stuff and get them back to scavenger hunting :)

• 00:45, Today: Mistral rolled 1 success using 3d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 9,2,2.  Manipulation + Empathy.

This message was last edited by the player at 10:07, Sun 07 Mar 2021.

Noah had managed, to somehow, get a box of popcorn and was watching spaces that was occupied by nothing at all. He was beyond amused at what he was seeing and was just barely paying enough attention to follow the group of kids to provide some measure of safety should something go sideways. "God bless creative narrative."

One large wing spread over the kids in the back before it retracted as there was no danger that he could perceive. once the specter mob moved along. If Mistral was the guide he was the security, with pop corn.

Fate followed somewhat less amused. Talion did quite the number providing these ghosts it was true, but these poor children didn't deserve this. Nonetheless what could she do? She stayed at the back of the group watching everything around them, keeping a sharp eye for anything that seemed out of place.

 The version of Mistral that led the children up the stairs came to unlocked hotel rooms. Most were empty but there was one with a crayon picture on the bed. It was a picture of a stick figure child and a man in black with an angry face who looked like he had crayon fire drawn around him.

 One of the pictures suddenly fell off the wall and the door slammed shut behind the children suddenly! One of the older kids grabbed at the door but it wouldn't budge as the lights flickered for several seconds and another picture fell off the wall. The kids screamed in terror, huddling around Mistral and, a few seconds later, it had stopped and the door opened with no resistance at all.

 The kids poured out of the room and down the stairs as fast as their tiny legs would carry them but they stopped just shy of the door outside. One of the older ones (maybe 14) turned around. He was breathing heavily as he looked at his brothers. "Dad said there were real ghosts in here, didn't he?"

 "Yeah but they're scary!"

 "Dad's on the other side of this door, you know. Are we really gonna run away? We've been through way scarier stuff than this!"

 The other, younger children nodded, steeling their young nerves... and not a single one tried to open the door.
--------------------------------------------------------------

 The hallway to the left led to a kitchen. Utensils and plates (that looked strangely new) covered the shelves and cabinets within.

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

 Having recovered from their partial freak out, the kids followed Mistral through the ballroom to the only other door, one that led to the staff elevator and the dumbwaiter likely used to deliver food to the guests upstairs.

 The lights flickered for another moment and a single word in a childish whispered voice could be heard. "Down!"

Noah was ear to ear smiles as he offered Fate popcorn by tilting his giant box towards her. "It all starts with a baby, and the mother says boo. It scares the hell out of the child but then they giggle. That is its first moment of fear. We all enjoy dipping our toe in the cold water of fear."

"Their first run-in with the hyper scary was the Nephandi, this is letting them know that it is ok to be scared when there is safety." It became apparent he was speaking into his slate in his other hand. There was a psychological evaluation for each kid with an audio recording program pulled up.

Fate took some popcorn and ate it, then she thought on Noah's words. As long as no one got hurt he was right and with the three of them here the children would be kept safe. Fate relaxed slightly, but didn't let her guard down just yet. Not until they were out of the haunted house would she do that. "Yes, you're right."

Mistral went corporeal in the haunted hotel room and was prepared the defend the children, though it seemed to be no more than another scare.  As the children fled to where the other adults were, she picked up the crayon illustration and looked at it closer, then turned it over.  She spoke aloud to the empty room, "A fine illustration.  The flames suggest that you mislike cet homme in black, non?"

In the lobby, Mistique eavesdropped on the fearful children attempting to talk themselves out of leaving early.  Their bravery was commendable, all things considered, but the debate led her to consider the terms Talion had given.  A possibility occurred to her that made her grumble to herself, "Quel connard..."  She then glared toward the door and spoke in the sibilant tongue of spirits, which she knew would reach Talion through any physical barriers.  Mistique's tone was reproachful. 

In the ballroom, a Mistral examined the elevator with suspicion, judging whether it was likely to work reliably or no.  Confined spaces and ghosts tended to be a poor pairing.  At that same moment, each of her replicas searched their respective areas for a stairwell.  As she did so, she reminded the children, "Have any of you found a bag de bonbons yet?"

 There was no response when Mistral spoke aloud to the room. As the other selves searched for a stairway down, she encountered a locked door... though nothing a little space magic or a super knife couldn't handle.

 Inside was the stairwell. It had been locked from the other side by a simple mechanism that would unlock automatically when the handle was pulled. A sign reading "Exit" had been plastered on the bottom of the door where it could only be read from the other direction. At the bottom of the stairwell, Mistral could see another door like this one with a lit room just beyond. From off to her side, she could hear a whisper. "Go Back!"

 Unlike the other times, there was no shaking or flickering of lights to accompany the whisper. The children were not nearby while she was scouting either.

 As the children got more accustomed to the scary hotel, they got just a little braver, walking off to investigate something or another (but never going off more than a quick run from the group). They indicated that they had not seen any candy yet.

 The elevator looked almost new... if one made it past the rusty spots and age marks (which flaked off, revealing it to be some kind of paint).

 The buttons, while faded and cloudy, pushed with a crisp click... one that often fades to a dull pop and loose jiggle over years of use and buildup in the joints.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:51, Thu 11 Mar 2021.

Noah nodded once looking at Grey, "Thank you Grey." He offered Fate the whole box of popcorn. "One moment, I have to make a phone call back home." Noah put his thumb and pointer finger to his head like a telephone and started a magical phonecall.

Fate accepted the box of popcorn as she watched somewhat surprised by Noah's casualness. She still didn't find the thought of watching these children to be amusing, but Mistral was here and she was doing a fine job. Fate popped some popcorn into her mouth. Amusing or not Fate would watch because to her this was guard duty and she would not fail Talion if it came to protecting these kids.

The copy of Mistral that had found the door to the stairs performed a gesture that opened a small, bright-ringed portal next to the handle, which she reached through like a window to open the door from the other side.  She answered the ghostly whisper in an even tone while opening the door wide, "I go where I wish to."  She then proceeded down the stairs to scout ahead by herself, while another Mistral took her place by the door.  The copy of Mistral by the elevator told the children there, "I have discovered stairs elsewhere.  I believe l'élévateur to be safe enough, though it is likely a ghost will visit during the descent.  Whichever path you choose, I will accompany."

In the lobby, Mistique glared at the door for a long moment.  She then relayed the same information to the children there and provided guidance to toward the two path downward.

There was a Mistral waiting at the elevator and at the door to the stairs, ready to descend with the children that preferred to attempt either path.  Mistique looked to Fate and Noah enjoying the show and asked, "Will you descend avec nous?  I believe the show now moves to the lower levels."  She reached a white-gloved hand into Noah's popcorn, took a few kernels and popped them into her mouth.

 It did not take but perhaps a minute to reach the bottom of the stairwell and the next door required the same trick (locked from the other side) and, like before, a giant "Exit" was placed on the door.

 Said door opened into the room with all the candy, wrapped in neat little orange packages. It seemed that Talion had planned this little excursion as a gauntlet of sorts.

 There were already children heading over toward the stairwell. However, a few of the braver ones were looking around the elevator.

Noah nodded to Mistral, "I'll head down here shortly. Michael just met Fluffy on the island when he had his sword out. Telling him how to stand down and calm Fluffy down." He held out his clawed hand with a black spark in it. A useable by other version of his death eye.

Fate followed Mistral down to the lower level with only a nod.

The Mistral at the bottom of the stairs closed the door into the room with the orange bags, leaving it as she found it.  She stepped backward beneath the final flight of stairs, where she melded into the shadows.  There she waited.

Above, Mistral stepped into the open elevator and turned to await the children who wished to join her.  Another Mistral held open the door to the stairwell, standing aside to let the children through.  Both copies spoke in unison to their respective charges, "Going down?"  When all the children who wished to were ready to descend, Mistral closed the stairwell door behind them and offered the youngest child in the elevator to push the button to descend.

Mistique remained in the lobby to accompany any children who did not wish to descend, or who wished to continue the search elsewhere.

Noah stopped talking on his hand phone and trundled far enough to talk to one of the Mistrals. "You may want to send a copy to back up Michael at the house. He has had a run in with a hunter but it didnt sound violent. I'm heading to his haven to see if I cant twist this to our profit." All in all the kids are more important but the hunter thing would be come a huge problem if not curbed early.

 With a few kids in the elevator, Mistral pressed the button and the elevator immediately began to fall (not descend but actually fall). The children inside immediately began to scream in panic but the elevator itself only fell for roughly 4ft before the hydraulics kicked in, delivering them safely to the floor below.

 However, at roughly the same time, the kids found the candy at the bottom of the stairs. The elevator didn't work from below but a version of Mistral at the top of the stairs was able to press the button to bring them back up (the elevator seems to have been meant to only go one way).

 Soon all of the kids had gotten their candy and Jenna, the young girl dressed as Mistral won the grand prize.

 Talion seemed mildly amused that they had skipped a fair portion of his gauntlet and held true to his word, pulling out a small cauldron and sitting Jenna inside. As she settled in, the pot began to hover around 3ft off the ground. "This was the prototype for the hoverboard. I redesigned it with a Halloween theme.

 The rest of you will be getting the first 30 hoverboards that are produced on your birthdays with the eldest getting the lowest serial numbers... but, for today, Jenna won the Halloween prize so she gets her flying cauldron."

 He had even stuffed dry ice and water in it so it was constantly boiling mist as she drove it around.

Mistral had expected further spectral manifestations on the way down to the treasure room, but it seemed that the elevator gag was the final challenge.  The tension of the ordeal was released and the children were happy to find their prizes.  They played and shouted and ran around all the way back up to the surface, as children do.  Little Jenna, however, declined an immediate celebration to instead hurry up the stairs with her candy bag to claim the grand prize.  Mistral found that she was exceedingly proud of the girl for her cleverness.  Mistique approached Jenna hovering unstably in the cauldron and said with a smile she failed to repress, "Bon travail.  You were quite brave.  Take care with your new toy."

Noah approached a plain-clothes Mistral who said, "That was less disastrous than expected.  Some of the children may yet have nightmares, but nothing serious."  He then reported on Michael's encounter, which caused Mistral to pinch the bridge of her nose and curse quietly.  "Merdasse..."  If Noah was observing the island remotely he would recognize by a subtle resonance shift that Mistral had arrived there, though no cameras or scrying eye would pick her up directly.

Noah looked back at the house, "Boss man didnt skip the kids for skipping the ordeal he isnt likely to skip you either. Even in the extremely unlikely event he does come see me later and I'll cover you. Yah did good. Just be sure to avoid the greater cat of bass."

He leaned down and smiled at the tiny baba yaga. "Flying lessons on friday lil one. Raise hell till then."

He nodded at Mistral. "I'll hit the other side of the portal from here. Fate, hunters have had a running with Michael. If you want to take the portals you'd be a hell of alot faster than I." He held up his slate as he connected a group call before taking off at best speed.

The kids would be safe with Talion. Safest in the world he thought.

Fate nodded and wasted no time in getting to the portal. She went through it without hesitation once she saw the coast clear.

OOC: Everyone except Noah head to The Incident thread.

Noah made the best time he could, even feeding Grey for an extra boost. Landing only so far from the building to duck into the supply truck and jump back out as Dapper Noah. If he was going to stall or even turn this hunter he had to get him asking questions. Though it would be interesting if he had true sight or something.

He had his suit, the green men's suit scarf that looked dapper as all hell, and his cane. He walked around the corner to the way leading to the portal and then started looking for the hunter in question.

 Noah found that the alleyway had been abandoned by the time he got there. The man had left but it was unlikely that he had gotten very far.

OOC: One success on a Wits + Investigation roll needed to find him.

In reply to Manofdusk (msg # 217):

05:40, Today: Noah rolled 1 success using 2d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s with rolls of 8,3.

 Noah arrived on site and, with some difficulty, found the man as he was getting into a Hummer. Since it was practically a tank, it was good when heading into hostile territory... more likely to come out still running than more fragile vehicles.

 He looked up and narrowed his eyes. "The Dragon of Purgatory himself. To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

 His hand had drifted to his hip.

Noah kept his distance and leaned on his cane. "Demon worshiping Nephandi have been poking their nose around. I mean to crush every last one of them, even if I have to kill that earth-bound demon." He tilted his head to one side as he looked around for a sniper or something on a roof. "Takes a strong cultist to ping that hard on my senses."

"You know me, who are you?"

 The man raised an eyebrow, listening to Noah talk. "Demon worshipping witches and warlocks. Sounds par for the course. My name is Voscal. I came to check up on one of our wayward brothers. His tolerance of monsters and black magic seem to have clouded his judgement and he has strayed from the narrow path.

 But you... everyone who has even the slightest interest in the supernatural knows of you. An actual dragon. We have a great many things to ask you, all in due time of course."

 There was something vaguely threatening in how he spoke that last bit.

Noah's face turned to an iron smile ask he asked Grey to comb the area for one of his hairs, or a dusting of skin cells. The man was running after all and it would be good to give Mistral something iron clad.

"Protestants..."

"Ask your questions unless you mean something else. If you do mean something else I promise you it would not end well for anyone."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:15, Fri 19 Mar 2021.

 Voscal just smiled and shook his head. "Nothing ever ends well for the Vigilant. We each know our days are numbered. The most any of us can hope for is that someone remains to carry the light when we fall. You'll hear from us soon."

 Voscal slams the door to his Hummer and begins to drive off.

"Lev Grossman - The hero is the one who pays the price." He tilted his head.  "When you are ready to hunt a EarthBound demon, give me a call, we have corruption to burn." As Voscal drove away he blinked and took a picture of the man's license plate.

"Thank you Grey, we will see if there is a match at the portal location, see if there is a match."

 There was a moment and then Grey's notice pops up. "Samples acquired. 5 matches found."

Noah smiled, "Thank you Grey, No idea what I would do without your help. Please hold any samples for MIstral so we can fully ID them later." As he was in the area of the portal he reached down and touched the ground, just dumping hidden power into the ground until trying to trace the echo of magic would be like looking at a flashlight in the day. Hushing any magical traces in the area.

12:41, Today: Noah rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the World of Darkness nWoD system with a target of 8, rerolling 10s ((4,10(+10,6),3,10(+4),1,2,10(+4),2)).
-4 10s to use prime to mask any use of magic in the area the portal had been.

He then pulled up his Slate and sent a text to The Merlin of New York. _Hunters in the area. Going to distance from the community to ensure no one else gets tracked. Earthbound was routed and had to move, he left behind a dangerous trap the Cabal cleaned up. You may want to meet with Sal about it on the island tomorrow._ He then sent that message not through the cell network but transferred the words with a bit of space and matter onto a slate with the Merlins synth.

OOC: To The Incident