(2606) Sanctuary

[Mateus]

When Thirteen enters, Mateus greets her politely. "Greetings, councilor" he says and turns his attention back to the Hierarch. He hasn't answered Chambers' questions he recalls as people entered and all. "I am acknowledged yes, Hierarch Chambers . Sorry for being a bit distracted. The effort to map the lay lines and other supernatural activity seems interesting too and a good way to get around." he replies. The news that few want to form a cabal and that it is considered 'a lofty goal' are a bit ... peculiar. No mage can do everything by herself. "As for cabals, I can understand not many want to form a cabal with someone that just arrived but I will take your advice and try to give a good impression."

Then he turns his attention back to thirteen. "Councilor, the Hierarch has kindly informed me that if I want to help the consilium, you are involved in a couple of cases. I would be willing to give a hand, if you can find some use of me. "

[Thirteen]

"Hey, Aurora. Thanks!" She smirked and patted the shirt. "Found it online. Oh, been busy with a few things." The feathered familiar, meanwhile, fluttered over to the Shaman, landing within arm's reach. "I am wonderful! Thank you for asking, gorgeous! Trouble? Ha! Perish the thought!"

Thirteen may have responded sarcastically to Jinx's last comment, but she was listening to Mateus confirm he's been acknowledged. Good, that was out of the way, then. It had been awkward the last time, and when he had shown up at the pub during her and Aurora's luncheon. Now the Apostate was officially part of the club. His offer of help raised one of her eyebrows into an arch, "Cases? Did you have somethin' in mind?"

A look to Chambers, then, "Amazin' what you can find out about your enemies at the public library, eh? All the more reason to maintain a low profile when it comes to the news media." The Acanthus stepped closer to the Hierarch, "Speakin' of Seers, I completed that postcog on Zinfandel. I can confirm that Cartwright is dead and dusted. The Goldies cleaned up well after themselves. One interestin' note..."

Her brows knit together in thought, "Before he died, he spoke to that Space glyph, as if he knew who was on the other end. He said 'You said you'd get me out.' Exact words." A shake of her head sent the red bun wobbling. "I think he was expectin' a rescue and got double-crossed. Either the other Seers had no intention of pullin' him out of there, or they thought better of openin' a portal into a room full of angry Pentacles. Either way, they abandoned him to die."

[Chambers]

Aurora statement of her efforts soon to bear fruit grabs at his curiosity, but time and place and people. "Well I wish you luck with any final elements that need to overcome and that it is all you hope it will be." So often it was each achievement lead to more goals, more questions, more mountains with steeper and more demanding sides to scale.

Mateus making his excuses for the snub follows next, a gentle smile is given. He wasn't going to hold one slight against the man it could well have been accidental. "I don't know about a good way to get around, but it certainly a good reason to get around." And the most gentle way he could think to break a new mage into living in the city without knowingly throwing him to the dogs. Although he seems perfectly keen to do that to himself, an eyebrow arches as the man misquotes him to Thirteen. And what did I just try to hint about first impressions.

But the libertine shows her credentials as one of the cities most proactive mages then and there. "More reason to keep a low profile in general were we can." It didn't bear thinking about what could be found if someone dug into anyone of them with enough time and expertise. As she steps closer he focuses his full attention, trusting her enough to not instinctively step back himself. "Dusted? They disposed of the body I take it." Be it literally dust or a turn of phrase. "And that is in a way sad news to hear." Nothing was impossible but knowing that and knowing how to do any given things were two rater different conundrums. "Well it puts a pretty strong full stop in the issue of Cartwright then, shame it played out as it did." Betrayal and back stabbing were hall marks of Seer activity so hardly surprising. Focusing once again on the Councillor he summons up the warmest smile he can, with an effort. "Still very well done." If they needed any indication about who they were fighting, the type of character well this should put all doubts to rest.

[Aurora]

A shake of her head, “It has nothing to do about when you arrived, but about the history of Cabals in Sacramento. I have not seen a Cabal in Sacramento in a good number of years; they don’t tend to last long, and the city just doesn't tend to have the numbers to support them.” It was just the facts.

Back to Thirteen, “It’s a great shirt. Now, busy in a good way, or a bad way?” eyes narrow playfully. Then a chuckle at Jinx, “I’ve heard stories of your antics, though none of late. Watched any good shows?”

A sage nod, “Why am I not surprised that Seer’s are leaving each other to die? Or they thought it would send a message.” A shrug, “But seriously, one has to expect the worst from them.” To expect anything less was stupid.

“Speaking of the Ley Lines, I would still like to go back and reexamine the ones I was working on.” Did she have a lot of balls, so to speak, in the air? Yes. But she wanted Chambers to know she had not forgotten about dealing with that house. And it felt safer to refer to the Ley Lines than the house. “I have a few things to research, then I will be ready to go back.” To her, it was important the Hierarch knew she had no forgotten.

[Mateus]

There is a lot to unpack by what the councilor said but first his mind focused on... Space glyph!? By the Seers? In a room with mages?
"Councilor, if I may... I don't know the situations of course and I didn't catch everything but... a space glyph by the Seers where you are, even if the Seer in question died by what I presume is that other consilium the corkboard mentions could mean - not necessarily means, but could mean - that perhaps, a pylon of Seers now knows your face or it might have a tiny bit of sympathetic connection to you. Someone or several someones was at the other side of that space glyph even though, I presume, it was not a scrying window. But if that Seer could communicate words, it could mean he was also communicating what he was seeing or thinking. " that dead guy may have managed to state that a pentacle mage has a crow familiar, he thought but didn't say.
"It may be nothing, but if you need me so, I could try to sever any sympathetic links you want severed. If you have some sympathetic connection that you want investigated, I can do scrying too." Usually, he would ask for a price for this, but he is a new guy and... if that woman that he has met is tracked by Seers he could be tracked too. He was sincere to Salem when he said that it only makes sense from survival point to fight for the consilium you are with. If he could get Salem to work together, the two of them could probably go a long way into scrying even with a tiny sympathetic link.

The Hierarch makes a nice wordplay and he nods with a smile "Well said, Hierarch. I would like to help but I can't see ley lines. If someone takes me with them I would do my best to help."

Then, the Fish Councilor mentions she looks for Ley Lines... "Councilor Aurora , if you need any help or company in your work with the ley lines, I would like to help."

[Thirteen]

Thirteen nodded grimly to the Moros, "The one called Anubis, I think. He turned Cartwright to dust after Athena slit his throat and he bled out." Not a pleasant scene to witness, especially on repeat. Was it sad news? Yes and no, in her mind. "A waste of potential, sure. On some level our people failed him, but in the end he made his choice. If he really did know where the Circle was, he could have come here to find help in savin' Harringwood."

Her attention turned back to Aurora, "Eh, good I suppose. It's nothin' excitin', but needs to be done. Installin' security measures for a sanctum is a lot of hard work."

"I tried watching this old show, Twin Peaks, but I'm just confused. None of it makes any sense!" the crow's head bobbed up and down as he responded to the Shaman.

The Libertine's eyes shifted towards Mateus, "The Seers know my face already. I met one last year. Jaculus. And I know his face. But that's not a lot to go on for sympathy. We got shadow names for a reason. Cartwright didn't have one, and I have a lock of his hair. Postcoggin' the night he died was pretty easy." Well, easy for a three hour ritual casting, anyway. She shrugged, "Encounterin' a Seer once is a weak connection at best, and I know enough of Space magic to shield myself from scryin' now. But if I need a connection severed, I'll keep you in mind."

The talk of the ley line project brought a smirk to her face, "Salem and I documented a ley line a few months ago. It was... an interestin' day at the flea market."

[Chambers]

Knowing all to well about the ley line in question and the the area Aurora had made known to him, the Moros agrees that the less said the better. "If you come across anything in your research you think I could help with let me know." A gentle smile given, the offer genuine but equally vague.


Speaking of keeping information with in a reasonable form of restraint, Mateus it seemed was a talker. "We don't know who cast the spell, what the precise nature of the spell was, if Cartwright was actively communicating or just openly stating frustrations." And wild speculating did them no good at all. "Yes sympathy can be strengthened and removed but it still requires targeting so if the sympathy is not strong enough in the first place the danger, while not non existent is still lower then it could be." The offer to help is well and good but that was not down to him. "If someone is willing to take you along then that is their choice." Not everyone was willing to accept the help some preferred secrecy or a chance at the spoils alone.


Well that sounded like death magic given he himself could perform such a feat. "Dust and rot is easier to dispose of then an entire body that is for sure." And once sufficiently broken down some or even all of it could be cleared away with other spells. "He could have if he did know yes, but equally if he felt we had failed or abandoned him it might have been to late before he got caught up in the Seers nets and traps." A lone mage left out in the cold not trusting of the pentacle, what an easy cacth that must have been.

[Aurora]

She had nothing to add, knowing how everything worked herself.

Then a shake of her head, “Help isn’t needed, this is merely a cleanup.” Plus handling a personal matter that didn’t need others involved.

Nodding, “Yeah they are. But good to have in place because you never know.”

Looking to Chambers, “Will do. Just have a few things to wrap up, then I’ll let you know.” She might have some questions, she wasn’t sure.

“Maybe he was bait. They thought someone associated with us would feel guilty or something and try and save him. It’s not unheard of, Seer’s don’t care for the lives of other Seer’s of supposed allies. If someone came, great. If not, just a loose end to tie off.”

[Mateus]

The Seers know Thirteen 's face... that is certainly not good despite the happy twist the councilor puts on that. Sleepwalkers working for the Seers, ghosts, spirits etc can be used to track down the councilor by her appearance and then find out something. He notices the Hierarch didn't mention about the "they already know her face" part, just that it was premature to assume a Seer would speak with other Seers. The chance that the Seer about to die would simply air greviances in the air around a space glyph seems absurd for Mateus but he doesn't contradict the hierarch Chambers . Aurora 's explanation that the dusted Seer was bait seems much more probable. After all, a Seer thrown against several pentacle mages has as much chance to come out alive as a pentacle mage stepping in a Pylon's meeting.


He simply nods to the Hierarch as he states that whomever does a task would decide whether Mateus can tag along. Aurora for example didn't seem to need his help. He nods to the Councilor as she replies. He considers directly asking Thirteen... but the knowledge that Seers already know her face stops him from directly asking at that time. He can sleep on it and ask another day.

[Thirteen]

"All I observed is: it was a vulgar Space glyph, it was cloaked, and it came from an unknown caster outside the room. Lackin' any other noticable effects, it seems reasonable for it to have been a Scryin' window. That Cartwright seemed to know who it was and spoke to them suggests another narc was responsible. But all that's just guesswork based on the available information." A solid enough theory, in her opinion. Thirteen wished she had scrutinized the glyph when she had time-scryed the scene, but that... well, that ended up being a missed opportunity she didn't want to dwell on.

Jinx busied himself with preening his wings while the Acanthus focused her attention on Mateus. "Don't know when the next ley line mappin' mission will be, but everyone is free to sign up."

After that, she looked towards Aurora and shrugged, "Not sure why they'd think that, unless they didn't expect him to identify himself as Iron Pyramid with the first minute. That ruined any chance we'd help him. The only members of this Consilium that knew him were Philip Crosen and Winter, according to Cartwright himself. I only saw him once before in hospital and he was comatose in the burn ward at the time. Didn't even recognize him without all the bandages."