Tam wakes at dawn and wanders to the kitchenette of her single room efficiency, above the landlord's garage. She smells the left over egg salad she made 'recently' and makes a tuna sandwich instead. She has a couple days off from work, so she intends to go exploring. When she has finished her sandwich, she showers and dresses in comfortable clothing and sits in the center of the room to meditate, setting her mind on stable ground for the day to come.
1 hour meditation, total 4 successes
2009-08-20 09:57:43 Tam (Writer) rolls 6 to Meditation (Comp+Wits) 6, 4, 5, 8, 2, 2 = 1 success
2009-08-20 09:57:57 Tam (Writer) rolls 6 to Meditation (Comp+Wits) 7, 9, 1, 10, 9, 1 = 3 successes
After about an hour, Tam moves into a light yoga routine for half an hour, warming and stretching her body.
When her yoga is finished, she stands still and starts to chant in high speach. In her ears, her voice becomes the only sound, a center point around which all else centers around. She builds her Imago, an ephemeral blanket that wraps around her body. In her mind, a full day is imprinted upon the blanket.
Tam focuses once more on an Imago, chanting her mind into focus, but this time, the Imago is an old one, created by someone else. She opens her mind to the world of whispering voices and shifting shadows.
Tam reaches out with her perceptions and found a solid Gauntlet. She pushes her mind further, attempting to see on the other side, intoning words of High Speech to guide her way.
Opaque Gauntlet
2009-08-20 22:28:29 Tam (Writer) rolls 5 to Peer Across the Gauntlet (Gnosis+Spirit+HS-3) (10 Again) 6, 5, 7, 5, 5 = failure
Her concentration does nothing. See, Tam, she reflects, Arrogance blinds. You get cocky and you think you can just bend the rules whenever you want.
Smiling at herself, she gets back to concentrating, to pierce the veil between worlds.
Opaque Gauntlet, again
009-08-20 22:32:22 Tam (Writer) rolls 4 to Peer Across the Gauntlet (Gnosis+Spirit+HS-3-1) (10 Again) 5, 3, 5, 7 = failure
"Fuuuck!"She says aloud, exasperated. Sighing heavily, she calms herself down. Winn Park was just blocks away. She left her apartment and headed to the park, trying to cheer herself up by watching the world with mage sight as she goes.
In the park, Tam sits down on a grassy spot in the shade and enjoys the scenery. Then, she straightens her back and quietly concentrates, determined to see what is on the other side.
Finally
2009-08-21 00:08:52 Tam (Writer) rolls 6 to Peer Across the Gauntlet (Gnosis+Spirit-3) (10 Again, WillPower) 2, 2, 9, 10, 3, 10, 1, 8 = 4 successes
She feels the spell take hold. She attempts to look across the Guantlet.
Translucent Gauntlet
2009-08-21 00:13:23 Tam (Writer) rolls 4 to Perceive across the Gauntlet (Wits+Comp-2) (10 Again) 2, 8, 8, 3 = 2 successes
Tam's spell finally cuts through the veil of the Gauntlet to reveal ... surprisingly little. Other than a few motes, there is not a spirit in sight. What happened here?
Note: You don't have to roll perception every time you want to look across, just when there's a detail you might miss.
Tam brings her vision back to the material world. She gets up and wanders the neighborhoods, occasionally peeking into the Shadow, looking for any sign of spirits. Eventually, if she does not find anything, she will return to her apartment.
Tam returned home feeling empty and confused. There was something seriously wrong with the Sacramento Shadow and she was determined to find out what the problem was.
She found herself back where she started, standing in her room. She dropped the spell Peering Across the Gauntlet and reached out with her mind to touch the Gauntlet and make an opening. She began chanting, sharpening her focus, telling reality there needed to be a hole in the Gauntlet for her to pass through. She stared into the reflection of her small wood-framed hand mirror, reminding herself of where she was and the reflection in which she wanted to travel.
The spell goes well, but half way through the ritual, doubt creeps into her mind and the spell threatens to spin away out of her grasp. She quickly locks her mind tight against negative thoughts, holding the Imago strongly, but she feels the Abyss ripple through her, burning into her a reminder that this is not a game.
Extended Spirit Road casting
Paradox 1st Roll: 2009-08-21 20:25:20 Tam (Writer) rolls 1 to Paradox for Spirit Road (10 Again) 2 = failure
After four and a half hours, she is sweating, her head is aching, but before her, reality softens and bends. A dent in the world appears and deepens, opening a hole between the material world and the world of shadows and spirits. Quickly, she steps through. Once on the other side, she turns in time to see the gateway close, disappear without a trace. She looks around, looking for anything dangerous, anything that might not like her intruding into its territory.
Looking around the room's reflection, Tam can see a few motes, but no larger spirits. She also notices that the corners of the walls don't seem as sharp as one would expect, as if they're slightly out of focus.
Paradox is only rolled before the first roll of a Vulgar ritual. Any successes are subtracted from the dice pool of every roll.
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