On the Outside

[Winter]

He sat in his living room, the remnants of the day's light casting shadows across the balcony. The simple meal lay on a side table, untouched as his attention remained glued to the ritual before him.
He took a deep breath and cast his senses outward, seeking a connection between the threads of Fate and the daily news. His fingers traced the pattern of an intricate knot, speaking the words of power that wove together the strands of destiny.

"Until I light the next cigarette", he said.

The air crackled with ephemeral energy, the scent of ozone stinging his nostrils, as he willed the imago into existence. For him, coincidence was rarely just coincidence; it was often the subtle whisper of the supernatural attempting to make itself known. And then, the copy of the Sacbee, he had purchased on his way back home - a daily ritual - seemed to pulse faintly with warmth as if in response to his spell, he was looking for random news that Fate one way or another would tie to the Veil. It wasn't much, more often than not the results were cold trails, but it kept him busy.
Dislodged from his focus, for one reason or another, his mind conjured an image of Star. That's when a smile spread over his face, he wondered how the guy was doing.

Opening the paper on a random page, his eyes scanned the headlines, settling on a particular story tucked away on page three. "break-in," he read, the unlit cigarette bobbing as he spoke. The black, bold letters stark against the ochre newsprint. The details were scant, the police suspected foul play, but something about the curt report set his instincts on edge.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-02 05:50:33	Winter rolls 9 to Synchronicity imp Gnosis + Fate + HS (10 Again)	9, 9, 1, 7, 4, 7, 1, 1, 2	2 successes

1 Ambient Mana Spent, +3 conditional duration, 5 turns

[ReubanBrightwood]

As Winter flicks through the days paper, his daily ritual to keep a finger on the pulse of the city , aware and even ahead of supernatural happenings the odd thing or two stands out touched by fate in small ways, musings and interests no doubt but none present anything near as strongly as the words that line up to standing out between articles and pages forming a hint, a clue, a direction.

Three home runs in the recent river cats game.
Deadpool and wolverine most popular movie of the month.
Buy one, get one free next year on Christmas trees.
Elderly citizens taken advantage on in online scam.
Record sales of stock on the 08/28/24 lead to the fall in price of salt.

[Winter]

He makes a noise, the cigarette moving along with his face. He muses on the signs, A violent crime and a kidnapping, and a date.
Still insufficient, there was nothing actionable or that aligned with his mission. He reviewed the paper once again, the enchantment still active in his pattern.

[ReubanBrightwood]

As the Obrimos continues to peruse the paper more words leap at him imbued with the significance of fate, the answers he looks for if he has the wisdom to pertain the meaning of the clues and hints, the articles, headlines, adverts and puzzles a medium under which his purpose can be directed to necessary ends. Continuing to build a narrative from the pieces of a great puzzle.

The consequences of the short fall of corn from the harvests this year
This shape had a diameter equal to twice its radius
A right species of nightingale has been seen in the western fringes of the city this last month.
Astronomers should be looking for Mars pass through the twin stars Castor and Pollux in the sky tonight.

[Winter]

His eyes narrowed as he scanned the paper again, more details jumping out at him as if illuminated by an unseen light. The pattern was beginning to take shape.
"Three...twin stars...right...western," he muttered, the unlit cigarette bobbing with each word.
He grabbed a pen and quickly jotted down on the newspaper's margin:


3 home runs
Twins (Deadpool/Wolverine)
Western (fringes)


His mind worked to connect the dots. Three significant events in the western part of the city? Twin perpetrators involved Or perhaps...
His eyes widened slightly as the strands of fate coalesced into one of many potential truths. Three victims (How so)? Two perpetrators (or was he misreading it?). Operating in a right-angled pattern in the western fringes of Sacramento.
He glanced at the date mentioned earlier - 08/28/24. Just over a month ago. Aligning with the nightingale sighting.


"Not conclusive," he mused.
He finally lit his cigarette, taking a long drag as he considered his next action. The break-in report from earlier now seemed more significant than he had expected. He'd need to dig deeper, perhaps make some inquiries. He exhaled a plume of smoke, watching it curl in the dim light.
Winter reached for his phone. It was time to put out some feelers and he knew the right person for the job.

[ReubanBrightwood]

Winter has a series of clues, and a fate guided direction, now the question becomes who is he calling? what is his plan? What is going to do with this information?

[Winter]

"The person you are trying to call is unavailable. Please try again later."
He grunted. The voice on the other side felt heavy like the blade of a guillotine, beheading - once and for all - his plans for a quick resolution of the investigation. Alas, he needed a way to get to the crime scene, which meant either contacting the SacBee or pay a visit to the SacPD virtual archives.
Neither options he was particularly fond of.

[ReubanBrightwood]

So with his most immediate contact proving to have been less then reliable, his options become far more convoluted, far riskier and some well out of his immediate circles of influence.

How is it he will progress with the path fate has pulled him onto by directing his attention to that which truly matters?

[Winter]

He decides to try his luck and pay a visit to the Sacramento Police Department HQ. He needs, after all, just a connection to their database.

[ReubanBrightwood]

Winter is currently at the cap for 2 plots per character so while I don't mind doing some info gathering from his sanctum allies, contacts etc he will need to wrap one of his current plots to begin wider ranging investigations