The group now sat in Sal's mansion, discussing what to do next as the sun rose.

 An hour passed and the sound of motorcycles could be heard outside. It was three of the Four Horsemen: Death, War, and Pestilence. With them was Noah.

 Also, by this time, Mistral managed to return, shivering and partially frostbitten.

Once Noah got close enough to the building the slates kicked up with a song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUsFWO08CO0

Noah was just far too impressed he was flying with the cure, war santa, and death in a semi V formation. Even if he was barely flying with a torn wing and off weight.

Once they landed he knocked on the door still in dragon form, too afraid to turn human with a missing an arm. painting Sal's home red would be a bad idea. "Anyone home?"

Michael opened the door and looked at Noah and the Horsemen behind them. “You bring the beer? I think we all need one after a day like today. Mondays am I right?”He pats Noah on the shoulder and motions for them to come in.

Noah nodded as he reached into nothing and pulled out two six packs of bottled beer and a box of cigars. "There is landshark beer which is my special treat but I have a bunch of speckled hen beer. It tastes like shit but if you smoke a cigar with it the flavor turns into something great."

He stepped aside for the three of four horsemen. "Famine is KIA but her mind is networked so the fabrication of a new body is going to get started soon. I have some info but we need to get everyone to a safe place."

"Scar is ok, so is Amy. Jitters will need to be resummoned. Where is Mistral and Mr. Wraith?"

"Hello Noah." Fate spoke plainly. "Still needing to repair the arm, huh? Better do that soon if possible." She didn't have much to say and she kept quiet for the most part, something was eating at her.

"Wish I could, the labs are dust. There is a repair station at the academy but it's going to take a bit, people come first." He leaned down to eye level, "You good? All intact? Number two ok?" He wouldn't press the issue further if she wasn't up for it. Everyone was likely shellshocked a tad.

"Yea she's safely tucked away. Being saved for a rainy day so to speak. Feeling kind of useless in all of this. I'm good in a fight which is where I'm sure we're headed, but all this other stuff with the island being gone I don't know what I can do."

Noah nodded once, "You are indeed good in a fight, and that all happened very fast." His eye twitched a bit before he closed it and took a deep breath. "The enemy had a fallback plan if she got snatched. When she vanished she had orders, armed men showed up to a number of locations and started shooting up places related to us."

"It may be a good idea to get ready for a fight, to keep an eye out for a car in a hurry to get here, or some kind of marking that identifies this building. I'm an absolute log when it comes to investigating such things. Are you up for a quick investigation and a sharp eye?"

"If so I can enchant one of your eyes for a bit of help."
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Tue 07 Sept 2021.

After the calamity Mistral knelt by the pool in the subterranean cavern beyond the portal with eyes closed, searching afar.  Over the course of an hour she summoned groupings of stray waterlogged synth parts from thin air, which she gathered into neat arrangements.  She spoke to no one during this effort, and her shivering grew increasingly violent over time.  After more than an hour had passed she rose to her feet and spoke hoarsely to anyone who may have joined her, “Up the stairs behind is… a safe space, if such is needed.  Tell Noah that I am sorry.  J'ai fait tout ce que j'ai pu.”

Without a further word Mistral stepped into a shroud of mist and had been gone ever since.

The portal between Sal’s estate and the cavern hallow remained active, keyed to the phrase she’d given, ‘Triumph without glory.’  The stairs she mentioned were an old set of wrought iron spiral stairs that ascended several dozen meters up through the cavern roof to open into the base of a vast obsidian structure of hundreds of honeycombed chambers spiraling up thousands of feet.  It was all vacant, cold and silent… but probably safe.

"Sure, I can help. What are we looking for?" Fate perked up slightly finally something she could do.

Sal said, "We should take the Portal to Mistral's sanctum. By this time tomorrow, I expect more than my lawn will have been destroyed, here. Frankly, we're lucky the place didn't blow the moment we opened the front door. Perhaps we should rig this place to trap trespassers. I might be able to make sure the Kindred know I'm here, before we leave, if they don't already."

"Mib puts small tokens under phones and computers. Brands are either going to be a small single symbol cut or dried blood."

"If we take a portal I will take a half hour dirt nap but I'll follow your decision on this."

Sal said, "You look like you could use the rest! Of course, we can wait until you've made any preparations you need, first, if our enemies give us the chance. Anyone who wishes to take the portal, go on ahead. I have no attachment to this place, and you have no obligations to defend it. I'd much prefer none of us are here when they come looking for us." He looked sadly at the broken bodies of the synths. "Someone, make sure they make it through the portal. They didn't deserve this."

Noah nodded once and pulled three glowing blocks from nothing and a small bag offering both to Sal. "Last three blocks of angry putty that blows big and the bag is bigger on the inside to take what you need. I'll see to the synth parts. We can revive synths from the smallest parts."

"I did establish a line of communication with Victor. He has been advised to take cover and is pissed but on our side. All he wants is for us to keep Talion calm until he returns. Talion has been locked in the mana reactor so he is safe for now."

 Before leaving, Fate did a quick sweep of the house but found nothing. No bugs, no wiretaps, nothing to indicate that the house had been marked.

 The transition was peaceful enough and Sal was handed the detonation device to his own home, leaving him with the decision of whether or not to blow up his mansion.

 The other side of the portal led to a cave with a pool of water in the center and a black obsidian staircase leading up into a honeycombed network of hexagonal rooms and corridors made of obsidian. It was fairly dark, all save for the motion activated solar lights that kept their immediate surroundings lit.

 The inside of the foyer was so tall that it vanished into blackness above them and large enough that the darkness made it difficult to tell which way was the exit and which way was further in.

Once through the portal, Noah promptly fell over as his eyes rolled in entirely independent and random directions.

After Fate's sweep revealed nothing she felt even more useless. Did she miss something or was there really nothing to find? She felt she was losing her touch, but she took a deep breath and held her head up following Noah through the portal.

On the other side of the portal Noah was on the ground with his customary half hour dirt nap from his teleportation vertigo. His body temperature was way up, like a hot water bottle to the touch. And he was quietly sobbing, with the treat distant he was getting a moment to start processing the things he had just seen.

He kept muttering about the orphanage, Grey, and baby Alex.

 The day was long and cold in the French Alps, with minimal creature comforts (Grey had gotten tired before she could include them), and no news from anywhere about the goings on outside.

 Night fell and, if anything, it grew colder. Noah found that he had a message on his slate. "I have some things of yours. I would like to return them."

 Attached was an address and the initials "AY".
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:57, Fri 10 Sept 2021.

Noah had set up a number of stone bowls with molten rock contained for warmth. He was mostly recovered as he turned over his slate. "Anyone know someone who signs their emails with a 'AY' like some kind of batman villian?"

"Not a clue here."

When Nefertiti awakened from her horrible rest, her eyes opened quickly and she looked around. Not sure where she was she wrapped herself with something she found next to her and began to walk around looking for anyone.

Once she spotted them "Where are we? she asked.  It wasn't cold to her but she didn't wish to show everyone her form until it was fully healed.

When someone informed her of where they were she then heard Noah's question "I'm new to this world so I wouldn't know anyone.

Sal staged the estate to look like he was holed up in the security room, deep within the manor, and set the explosives to trigger if anyone tried to open the door, careful not to get fingerprints on the explosives. He didn't keep anything important in the manor, and didn't want it to be obvious that he had fled, so he left everything else as it was, aside from the furniture he used to board up the security room from the inside (which was where he had the portal set up in the first place.) Then he spoke Mistral's password and walked through the portal.

Noah pulled up his slate and showed Sal just to be sure.

He did respond however, ~Stranger danger. Name when and where. Be careful, not in the mood for another double cross~

"Anyone feel like meeting strangers?"