(Grimoire) Archaeology in Words

[Yumyumcrow]

It has been some weeks since the mysterious raid on the Ordo Chapter House. Time enough for leads to be investigated; time enough for the regular rhythm of the Order to reassert itself.

Aileen has gathered her research notes together, and is preparing to continue her investigation into the Necrotelenomicon's mysterious background.

This thread follows up on the Grimoire investigation - specifically the line of enquiry delving into the books past and origins
Bigpaw

[Aileen McFarlane]

Aïleen's increasing proficiency with the informatic tools, as well as mundane libraries and other various investigative tools was now bearing fruits. Given an unknown topic - the Necrotelenomicon - she had managed to dig up quite a lot about it in record time. What she didn't know yet was if it would be relevant, and she had yet to double-check their truthfulness, but still, it was very satisfying to make headway in a topic at least. Perhaps soon it would be the same for something closer to her...

Tonight, she sat in the Chapterhouse's Library, trying to find more details about the book's content. Already she knew its creation had been an accident during a fateful night, and that many many things happened on that night. Also, she had been able to learn that the book was in fact a collection of various texts, of which she had so far identified four. She decided to focus on the Revelations of the Eyeless King, and see where that would lead her.

[Yumyumcrow]

Aileen has two avenues of inquiry: she may research the Revelations of the Eyeless King as an academic text or as an occult object. One path is [Intelligence + Academics] and the other is [Intelligence + Occult]. She may pursue one or both lines of inquiry. The research will be an extended action, and given the obscurity of the text, each roll will represent one night of work. Existing bonuses for the Geomantic Nexus and the Library apply.

[Aileen McFarlane]

  3 nights, 11 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-01 06:36:18		[03] Aileen rolls 13 to Int 5 + Occ 3 +Geonex 3 + Library 2 (10 Again)		4, 3, 2, 5, 9, 10, 9, 9, 8, 7, 4, 1, 3, 9		6 successes
2014-05-01 06:36:18		[02] Aileen rolls 13 to Int 5 + Occ 3 +Geonex 3 + Library 2 (10 Again)		10, 8, 6, 9, 5, 2, 3, 5, 3, 6, 3, 6, 7, 1		3 successes
2014-05-01 06:36:18		[01] Aileen rolls 13 to Int 5 + Occ 3 +Geonex 3 + Library 2 (10 Again)		8, 6, 3, 3, 7, 4, 3, 2, 3, 3, 5, 9, 5		2 successes

A book of Prophecy that might yield some truth was something too enticing to pass up, and the young Mekhet quickly got lost in a maze of researches and cross-references, subtle hints and blatant red-herrings. Her rational, trained and organized mind allowed her to keep her focus steady, and come to some interesting facts.

[Yumyumcrow]

For three long nights, Aileen wrestles with the Revelations of the Eyeless King.

The text is obscure to start with: the writings appear in the Necrotelenomicon in their only recognised form. The writings are purported to be taken from the lips of a King of the Dead, yet the descriptions of this domain simply reflect a pastiche of Western lore. The rhyming scheme is complex but thankfully written in English. However, the meaning of the poetry has not yet been adequately explained, to the point where it is debatable if it is gibberish, prophecy, or the basic principles of an as yet unknown magical system.

There is simply no way to ascertain the quality of the text.

And yet...

The Revelations of the Eyeless King are not without precedent. It takes Aileen three nights of solid research (that consumes her time like a ravenous beast) but she finds hints and clues - tantalising clues! - scattered across history. There is something in the crude formulas and dense quatrains. But it takes some leaps of faith and patient detective work - an ordinary human might not make the connections, but vampires do not need breaks.

There are fragments consistent with the Revelation's formula's in equally obscure grimoires and the notes of early demonologists; in the prayers of early Christian sects, unearthed in clay jars from the desert, and in drug induced poetry from the hippies of Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s.

Its maddening. The fragments are too piecemeal to construct anything meaningful. They point to something...

The Shadow needs a drink.

[Aileen McFarlane]

The tantalizing feeling of being a hairbreadth from something had driven the Mekhet for hours, but she could only go so far without a break. No matter how disciplined the mind, there were limits, and she had reached her for now. Sobek was starting to remind her of her nature that she had somewhat denied, and resisting his urges was getting more distracting by the minute. Sure that she would make a breakthrough if only she could get rid of that nagging pest, Aïleen made a triple copy of her files - one in her computer, one in a USB stick she took, and one in a very secured server on the web, and rose to go find something to drink.

In the kitchen perhaps ?

[Yumyumcrow]

The kitchen is clean and somewhat spartan. Lightly supplied with victuals, Aileen finds cordial, orange juice, home brewed lemonade, tea and coffee. Evidently the kitchen is set up with mortals and the masquerade in mind.

If the Ordo kept anything stronger on the premises they ensured that it was secured away, out of sight and out of mind.

[Aileen McFarlane]

Perhaps there was some hidden virtue to drinking lemonade that explained the Grand Wyrm's fetishism with the beverage. Unsure of what to take, Aïleen went on and started sipping a glass of it while idly walking through the Chapterhouse. It felt like home to her now, and she had grown attached to its dusty books, its creaking floor or its shadowy corners. Stretching now and then, she relaxed a bit, before preparing to go back to work. That mystery wouldn't yield on its own, after all.

[Yumyumcrow]

The Necrotelenomicon waited...

@Bigpaw how would you like Aileen to continue?

[Aileen McFarlane]

After a few minutes of purposeless relaxation, Aïleen went back to the kitchen and put the glass in the sink, before walking back up to the Library. Whether that break had been useful or not remained to be proved, but it had at least given the Mekhet a few ideas.

Time. Space. Matter.

She tried arranging the pieces of choice by chronological writing, then by geographical origin, and last by content (alchemical formulas, summoning spells, ...), trying to find a pattern to make sense of the handful of documents she had.

  3 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2014-05-15 16:37:49		Aileen rolls 13 to Int 5 + Occ 3 + GeoNexus 3 + Library 2 (10 Again)		8, 9, 5, 4, 4, 3, 7, 7, 1, 3, 9, 4, 1		3 successes