(Body at Bismarck) Poison of Interest

[Gallows]

Key Ixidor Animus Jonathan Cook

Gallows and the others took Cook away from the Hallow to treat him. The Bismarck, still closed due to an unfortunate case of corpse-in-lobby, had plenty of empty space and beds to lie him down on. Gallows helped lift the Proximus--even with the man's weight, it felt good to be away from the Hallow and its corruption. Setting him down on a couch near the hotel bar, Gallows wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at the others.

"Could one of you treat him?" He asked. "My grasp on Life isn't strong enough just yet. Also, I think I might have pulled something." He sat down on a chair near the couch, breathing heavily. The poison had taken its toll--he was just glad they hadn't all passed out down there. He had a feeling staying unconscious in the vicinity of that place wouldn't be healthy in the long term.

"We can't let an assault like this go unpunished," he said angrily. "We need to find who did this and submit them to the Pentacle's justice."

[Ixidor]

The Awakened rocker is just as wiped as his fellow Thearch and ex-Lictor, if not more so. Okay, Ix was never called a Lictor, but that's just a technicality. The point is, he is trying very hard not to barf.

Ixidor's hands are on his knees, as he stoops to focus his breathing on settling the nausea in his gut. There is still that absurd feeling that he needs a drink, and he pushes it away. "We should start with re-investigating the Tower Bridge Ley Line. Maybe ask Tamwood or Denizen what they found when they took a look around. But something is straight fucked up, here."

Pause.

Breathe.

Don't Hurl.

Okay, good.

"I can do very little with the Life Arcanum, just really light stuff. And in this state, I'm not sure if I can even help myself yet."

Shit's just the bomb for hangovers, but Mana-poisoning? Ix is trying to determine if he really wants to try and bite off that much to chew.

[Gallows]

"I'm not sure how much help I can be looking at the Ley Line," Gallows panted. "No Prime. But I'll tag along, see if there's anything else I can do to help." He didn't like the way this was unfolding--he was used to taking mana and tass for granted. The idea that someone out there was tempering with it and there was nothing he could do to detect it--other than be hurt--was frightening.

[Animus]

The words Tower Bridge combine with the memory of that sickly-sweet creepy feeling. Eyes widen and the Thyrsus takes an involuntary step back, head darting side to side like a cornered animal. His first attempt to speak goes nowhere, mouth opening and closing ineffectually. After several quick sharp breaths, the second fares better.

"The Tower Br --" Eyes flick to Gallows, with a quick shake of his head. Agitation is clear. The animalistic impressions lurking within every movement, clearer still. "This isn't just ... an assault to punish. The bridge was the center of an Abyssal encroachment that somehow ... happened in an alternate past, but left its impression on this one. ... Rosh remembered everything. Enough others saw snatches, impressions, to corroborate. Whatever happened down there, it ... tasted of Paradox, and if they're attempting to replay what might have happened ..." Another shake of the head, pulse racing. He knew too much. The Abyss contained things far too terrible to be spoken of aloud.

Almost as an afterthought, his focus shifts to Cook, occasional twitches betraying his emotional state. What had happened to the man? Was he just out, or something worse? And if so, what did it say about the rest of them?

  Healer's trance

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-10-01 00:43:08		Animus rolls 11 to Gno + Lif (10 Again)		4, 7, 8, 8, 7, 1, 8, 3, 7, 1, 3		3 successes

[Gallows]

"An Abyssal incursion?" Gallows was suddenly all-business. There had been a few Abyssal groups working in New Orleans, and they had been an unholy terror. "Do you think there are Scelesti behind this? Or is it some sort of..." He grimaced at how wrong the word sounded, "Natural occurence?"

He had been assuming this was some sort of Seer attack, or one deranged enemy--maybe one of the Mad. But the idea of an organized Abyssal effort...the Consilium didn't need this right now. They had to nip this in the bud, before anyone else was hurt.

[Key]

Animus

Cook seems genuinely fine, although unconscious, there does seem to be a taint around his fingers though. It doesn’t appear as if there is any direct disease based around it.

[Animus]

The Thyrsus' voice goes cold. "Those bodies -- our people -- aren't dying on their own. Our enemy still has a face." And if it's the same as last time ... A very carnal part of him deeply wanted to run the man through. But his attention was already bouncing away.

Something was there. That in itself was enough to raise his hackles. But he needed to know. Eyes flick toward the proximus' fingers, studying, mentally peeling back layers. What was it?

  scrut on taint

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-10-05 00:22:19		Animus rolls 7 to Int + Occ (3) (10 Again)		2, 8, 5, 1, 10, 8, 7, 7		3 successes
2012-10-05 00:21:14		Animus rolls 7 to Int + Occ (2) (10 Again)		6, 3, 10, 3, 2, 1, 10, 6, 9		3 successes
2012-10-05 00:20:49		Animus rolls 7 to Int + Occ (10 Again)		1, 5, 3, 6, 4, 8, 4		1 success

[Gallows]

"A face," Gallows repeated. His face went stony. He had just finished fending off one attack by a mad mage, and was in no hurry to face another. "Any suspects you could name?" He had no idea what the outcome of these previous Abyssal encounters had been, but if any of the perpetrators had gotten away, that would be a good place to start looking. After all, it was Councilors who were being targeted--that implied that the enemy had some knowledge of Consilium politics. There was a certain level of familiarity suggested there that meant they might know the killer, or at least recognize the name.

[Key]

The taint that can be found on Jonathan's fingers, is the same as the tass. Except it seems to be inside the tips of his fingers not on them. Prime in nature, but not a spell by the way it looks.

[Ixidor]

Ixidor is listening. That's for sure. He's glad for Gallows' focus, because the smartass within him is begging to blurt 'shit just got real'.

He straightens, slowly. Trying to stand with a little confidence, and not look dizzy as a Quaalude junkie on a merry-go-round.

It works... sort of.

Wiping a hand across the cold sweat of his face, Ix comments without looking at anyone in particular. "I liked it better when it was just a bunch of Seers or Banishers that might need throttling."

His eyes focus on Animus, but dart to the Proximus briefly in indication. "What's the verdict on Cook?"