(Mimir's Well) The Back Room

[Toren]

Following the events surrounding the discovery of O'Falley's corpse, the task still remained for the appointed Censors to deal with the aftermath. There was also the matter of the Tass blade as well as contacting other Orders of the Pentacle with the news of this new death, but all in good time.

Toren lugged the body of his fallen colleague, Jack, with a heavy heart down the hall. Toren could only hope that many of Jack's burdens were left behind when he left the mundane flesh to take on his role among the shades. Since Aenigma worked at the Museum anyways it wasn't hard to get a key to one of the back office rooms meant for cleaning and maintaining the historical exhibit artifacts. Toren would lay the body on the center table in the room before taking a step back, folding his hands before him and bowing his head respectfully. After a moment he came alive again, smiling to Aenigma .

"Well now, what shall we do first?" he says brightly. "Shall we secure the room or should I see what I can get from that blade?"

[Aenigma]

Giving enough time for his Cabal mate to pay his respects to the fallen Mystagogue, Aenigma stood back as he waited for Toren to be done. As the Moros opened his eyes and addressed him, the young Warlock gave him a quick nod. "Well, it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a quick scan of the room," he said in response, his eyes glancing around them for a quick moment. "Make sure there are no cracks in the foundation, so to speak." He let out a soft chuckle after saying those words, considering he was standing next to an architect after all.

"Once we do that, it may not be a bad idea to try using the blade to scrying on its creator again," he said to his fellow Censor, placing the container that held the tass weapon on a table nearby. "When I gave it a try, I hit a Ban of some sort...or a Ward perhaps." Aenigma gave his Cabal mate a little shrug. "But maybe you'll have better luck..."

[Toren]

"Easy enough," agreed Toren at the suggestion for observing the room's foundations. "The scrying however, that's never very easy, especially since our connection would be limited even without possible Wards interfering. But we work with what we have, yes?" Toren already began to make himself useful, walking about the room and inspecting the foundation. It was unlikely there were any cracks, and even if there were he doubted it would make much difference getting into the room, but every room deserved a once-over from a skilled inspector. But for the interest of time Toren decided to just cast a spell for that purpose.

  Find the Cornerstone, Fail

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 01:34:16		Toren rolls 6 to cast Find the Cornerstone improvised [Gno+Matter] (10 Again)		5, 5, 6, 2, 4, 6		failure

Strange...he was sure that one would work. Then again he so often went without it that perhaps he sabotaged himself. Ah well, a simple observation would do.

  Inspection, 2suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 01:36:39		Toren rolls 4 to inspect the room for structural weaknesses [Wits+Inv+Sp(Buildings)] (10 Again)		3, 4, 2, 10, 10, 2		2 successes

Once the room was deemed secure, Toren moved back over to Aenigma and the blade. "Right then. Now the Blade." Toren held his hand over the container and envisioned the Imagos. With his other hand he brought forth from his pocket the magical tool he possessed, a lead coin befitting his path. He had done this once before and hadn't been very successful but he still wanted to give it the old college try. "I will see if I can capture an image of the blade's creator. If they have hidden themselves in a realm beyond my knowing then there's nothing for it, but if they stand in the material then find them I shall." He chanted then, the words of power that he knew, bringing his focus on the blade and tracing the subtle lines back towards its source. It was clear from his lack of mudras that he was not using the Rote version.

-1 Mana for Sympathetic Casting

  Paradox, fail

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 01:55:15		Toren rolls 1 to check for paradox [(Gnosis3/2=2)-MagicTool1] (10 Again)		1		failure

  Scrying, 1sux

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 01:59:29		Toren rolls 11 to cast Scrying sympathetic improvised [Gno+Space+HS+WP] (10 Again, WillPower)		7, 2, 4, 7, 3, 7, 1, 5, 8, 1, 1		1 success

Unfortunately, Toren's concentrated efforts could not break through the static either and he sighed a breath of defeat, rubbing his temples with his open hand. "No good...I couldn't even make the connection. I guess I'm not as trained as you with that particular working, Aenigma. Well, let us at least move on to our next course of action, warding the room, right?"

[Aenigma]

Aenigma nodded at his Cabal mate's words. "Yeah, we work with what we have," he said to the Moros, offering him a reassuring smile. He took a moment to look around the room as well, mostly keeping an eye out for other entry points besides the door they had used. After all, he didn't want to leave a potentially dangerous object in a room that could be easily broken into.

  1 suxx to look around too

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 10:23:10		Aenigma rolls 7 to Wits+Investigation (10 Again)		7, 2, 6, 1, 5, 10, 3, 1		1 success

After his quick investigation of the room, the Warlock turned his attention back to Toren. He nodded at his companion's words, ready to assist him in case the person at the other end decided to reach back through the scrying window. "Good luck," he said as his Cabal mate prepared to cast the spell. As Toren's Nimbus flared, Aenigma couldn't help but observe the change in color of his friend and their surroundings. He did take note of the lack of a Mudra, which is something he would address after the Moros had finished with his casting.

"Perhaps my suspicions are accurate, and the creator of this blade is making use of ward as well," said the Warlock in reply to his friend's words, a frown forming slightly upon his brow. "I did notice you don't seem to know the rote for the scrying spell. That is something we can rectify at a later point if you wish." Aenigma smiled at Toren, giving him a little wink. Clearly, the Mastigos was implying that he could teach him the Rote for said spell in the near future. "But yeah, we should move on to the warding of this room."

Just as he finished saying those words, the Sphinx said a few words of power as he did a subtle movement with his hands. Before they got started with the ritual, he planned on requesting the Lady's aid with their casting. Once he had done so, the young Censor met his companion's gaze. "I am ready. Let's begin," he said to the Moros with a nod. Bringing his hands together to form the appropriate Mudra, Aenigma began to chant in High Speech along with his Cabal mate.

  magicks! +3, +2 and +2 dice to Toren's respective spellcasting rolls

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 10:37:32		Aenigma rolls 12 to Resolve+Occult+Rote Spec+Space+HS to cast "Ward" (teamwork with Toren) (10 Again)		2, 3, 6, 9, 2, 2, 9, 7, 3, 5, 7, 4		2 successes
2013-01-23 10:37:10		[02] Aenigma rolls 12 to Resolve+Occult+Rote Spec+Space+HS to cast "Ward" (teamwork with Toren) (9 Again)		6, 6, 3, 10, 8, 6, 7, 1, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4		2 successes
2013-01-23 10:37:10		[01] Aenigma rolls 12 to Resolve+Occult+Rote Spec+Space+HS to cast "Ward" (teamwork with Toren) (9 Again)		5, 3, 8, 9, 4, 1, 2, 5, 5, 5, 2, 7, 10, 5		3 successes
2013-01-23 10:36:07		Aenigma rolls 11 to Manipulation+Occult+Fate+Rote Spec+HS to cast "Exceptional Luck" (10 Again)		3, 6, 2, 4, 7, 10, 10, 2, 5, 1, 2, 6, 1		2 successes

-1 Mana for Exceptional Luck. Both 9-agains used during first 2 rolls of ritual casting

[Toren]

"Hmm? Oh!" replies Toren when his Cabalmate offers to address his lacking Rote. "That's right, you were using a Rote when you attempted to Scry. I guess that would be something really useful for me, thank you for the offer. But later, yes." The Moros smiled gratefully before moving into position to begin their chanting.

He had done these Rituals with his Mentor before but never with his Cabal, so it was interesting to hear the younger man's voice mingled with his own. The language of High Speech was meant to focus their minds empower the working with Truth to overcome the Lie. It seemed to take a long time until thirty minutes had gone by and Toren's mouth began to become dry. But he hardly noticed since his full concentration rested on the task of crafting the spatial barrier. His hands moved with similar mudras to Aenigma's, drawing down the Supernal with skilled precision.

  Extended Cast Ward, 19suxx

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2013-01-23 14:06:20		[03] Toren rolls 11 to cast Ward Rote [Resolve+Occult+Rote Spec+Space+HS-1(no sacrament)] (10 Again)		5, 7, 6, 10, 9, 3, 8, 8, 9, 10, 5, 3, 7		6 successes
2013-01-23 14:06:20		[02] Toren rolls 11 to cast Ward Rote [Resolve+Occult+Rote Spec+Space+HS-1(no sacrament)] (10 Again)		10, 5, 1, 7, 9, 8, 8, 7, 2, 7, 5, 6		4 successes
2013-01-23 14:06:20		[01] Toren rolls 11 to cast Ward Rote [Resolve+Occult+Rote Spec+Space+HS-1(no sacrament)] (10 Again)		2, 6, 5, 8, 10, 10, 9, 10, 10, 3, 10, 8, 10, 3, 5, 6, 6		9 successes

The Imagos billowed and enveloped both them and the body and blade. With Aenigma's help he was able to increase the Duration of the spell so it would last long enough for them to complete their analysis.

Toren observed the product of their casting, smiling with satisfaction. "Looks good, I'm doubt anyone will break through here without some effort. Want me to throw up a Ban on it to keep out unwanted objects?"

[Aenigma]

As they finished the ritual, a smirk formed on the corner of the Warlock's lips. This was the first time he had made use of his willworking in a collaborative effort with Toren, and the final product certainly brought him some satisfaction. He chuckled a bit at his Cabal mate's words, shaking his head slightly. "Yeah, I doubt anyone trying to breach the ward will be successful," said Aenigma, agreeing with what the Moros had said. "A Ban may not be a bad idea, but what sort of Ban are you looking to implement?"

[Key]

The actual ritual casting takes three hours to complete.

[Toren]

"I dunno, something like we have on the Sanctum, something to prevent weapons or unwanted materials. But perhaps we shouldn't waste any more time preparing for the unknown. So long as no one can find or get to the blade we can trust it's out of reach of those trying to spy on us." Toren's gaze moved to the container housing the Tass Blade. "Now we have to decide whether to strip the threads from this blade in order to move it to the Athenaeum or contact someone with authority on the matter. Also there's the idea of contacting Ariadne to gather her opinion based on her past experience with these events. The more we know the better we can proceed in action."

[Aenigma]

Aenigma considered Toren's words, wondering if a Ban was in fact needed in this situation. "You know, the warding should hold up for now, since this room can only be accessed by employees anyway," he said in response, considering what other options may have been available to them. "I could try making the area less...noticeable to those who walk past this door though." It was perhaps worth a shot, but the young Censor didn't want to waste a whole lot of time debating their options.

"Well, severing the threads now would defeat the whole purpose of us storing the blade here," he said to the Moros with a quick wink. After all, they could just store the weapon in the Censorium if the sympathetic ties were abolished once and for all. "I'd feel more comfortable if we consulted Curator Primoria first, since she may wish to try a scrying spell herself or something." The Warlock gave his companion a little shrug after saying those words. "As far as calling Ariadne goes, we could certainly do that once we are done here; exchange notes and what not."

[Toren]

"Ah, well...yes," says Toren as he considers Aenigma's suggestion. He had wanted to avoid contacting the Curator, less she consider them incapable of handling the situation themselves, but they were at an impasse with this Blade. The next course of action would require a skilled Scrying spell from someone they could trust. "Would you, umm, like to do the honors? Do we even get a signal back here?"