(Hostel) (private) Lost Remains

[Samaritan]

  Cast at Home

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-01-13 12:20:40		Bishop rolls 7 to cast Entropic Guard 24h [Death 4 + Gnosis 2 + HS2 + 1 tool -2duration] (10 Again)		4, 10, 4, 9, 3, 1, 2, 7		2 successes
2015-01-13 12:20:07		Bishop rolls 9 to cast Grim Sight 24h (Death 4 + Wits 3 + Occ 1 + HS 2 + Tool1 -2 duration) (10 Again)		7, 9, 6, 5, 3, 1, 2, 4, 3		1 success

A small room had been set aside in the basement of Hostel Hi. It was well lit and there was a small window near the ceiling, which allowed for fresh air to be circulated into the room. For the time being, it was simply a room for private conversations among the guardian caucus, when they needed a place away from public eyes. In the future, the basement would probably become something else entirely. One would see.
Today was about making sure, that the future did not hold any particular problems directly resulting from the five mages killed and consecutively locked into soul jars by some less enlightened individuals. In order to get a lead on that, Bishop had invited Animus ( roadnottaken ) and Ariadne ( Kelreth ). They had known the deceased to some extent and might have insight into their posessions, knowledge or projects, which could have been divulged during an interrogation or torture. It was necessary to know, what aces your enemy might have up their sleeves. Luck favored the prepared.

So Bishop would prepare.

He was waiting in the lobby of the Hostel for his guests, dressed elegantly, but casual.

[Ariadne]

A frown paints Ariadne's face as she walks to the Hostel. Ignored is the right way to put it, leaning on Bishop too much. Hopefully this goes well, what ever that may be.

Entering the Hostel Ariadne throws a small wave Bishop's way. "Good to see you again."

[Animus]

Animus follows not long after, mimicking the wave as best he could. Understanding the need for the gesture, if not its exact purpose.

Asp had said he needed to be around people more, to reconnect with humanity. But it all felt so foreign. So much effort to understand. In his weaker moments, he wondered if it was even worth it. But to be forever without purpose ... what sort of life was that?

So he would play his part, and hope that in time it became more than simply an act.

  precast mental shield, -2 mana

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-01-14 11:54:03		Animus rolls 9 to Gno + Mind (10 Again)		8, 2, 10, 7, 1, 1, 9, 7, 5, 9		4 successes

[Samaritan]

Bishop shook both Ariadnes and Animus hand and guided them downstairs into the meeting room.
"Thank you for coming on such short notice. If you like anything to drink or eat, I can call the reception and get you something." he said, politely but serious. "But I won't waste more time than necessary. Councilor Mace has handled the matter of the soul jars and during that process, she had noted certain circumstances, which may need further investigation. She said, the individuals, whose souls were taken, had been tortured prior to their deaths."
He let that statement stand for a moment.
"Of course, the killers might simply have induldged in their base perversions. But torture usually gives rise to the question, if the dead mages were having something worth extracting with violence."
Again, it was a fact which Bishop simply stated matter-of-factly. There was no need to implicate anything. It was prudent to trail this assumption.
"Both of you..." he indicated to Ariadne and Animus, "...have been considerably longer in this city than me and both of you have had dealings with the dead mages. The question right here and now is: Were any of them in the possession of something, which would be worth obtaining? I am thinking along the lines of artifacts, grimoires or access to certain sites or halls. Anything, which would give somebody a severe advantage over the combined power of the mages of the dia...pentacle of Sacramento?"

[Ariadne]

"..They all had been high up in their Orders right? Or had some position within the Consilium?" Ariadne asks as she shifts to look to Animus. It has been a while, quite a while. And took so long..

"So the jars are still intact?"

[Samaritan]

Bishop shook his head.
"As far as I know, the souls were returned to the places all souls go after their bodies part. Councilor Mace had taken to that duty." he replied.
"Please understand, at this point, it is all speculation. This conversation here is meant to find some measure of direction for efforts. Councilor Mace is currently working on a timeframe starting from the time of death to the point, where the jars were recovered. If you can supply me with enough material we can check, we will make a cross-referencing if any of the things you supply have been in any way altered in the timeframe. From that we might deduce, if the souls were tortured for intent or merely for the sake of torture."

[Animus]

Flashes of imagery: Triquetra's mutilated body laid out mockingly. The fading spark of life, sputtering and dying despite Supernal will.

The shaman shakes his head with an audible snarl, trying to push the memories away. "Their murderers are dead." The answer is abrupt. Too abrupt, and unnecessarily sharp. "Besides, it was the souls they needed for their damned ritual. And the bodies that were weaponized. Why would they need information, too?"

As he speaks, Animus becomes noticably more agitated, movements growing more sharply-defined and distinctly more feral.

[Samaritan]

Bishop glanced at Animus, unsure if he was about to get bitten, if he would speak up.
<Wouldn't be the first bite, I suppose.>
"Well? Why would they need information, too?" he reflected the question back. "If you have insight into the minds of these kind of people, by all means, please do share it with me. Otherwise don't underestimate your adversary. So you say, the souls were weaponized. That means, someone was trying to get an edge. If these people were thorough, we need to assess, what else they could bring to the playground. The murderers are dead, so you say. How can you be sure, that you got them all? Did you interrogate? Investigate? Ask nicely?"
Bishop let out a sigh and held up a hand to ward of any harsh words.
"I am not second-guessing your operation against these murderers. I am merely pointing out, that we need to be sure, that this fire is out and all the tinder which is left gets doused."

[Animus]

A low growl, his mind resisting the direction it was being pushed. Why couldn't those memories remain buried?

The shaman's eyes water, hits of what could become tears. "They were all ... important in their Orders. The bodies were ... dropped on their Orders' doorstep, stabbed through with tass knives."

Warring emotions. Anger, anxiety. Unhealed grief.

[Ariadne]

"As best I know they were going to use the souls to before a ritual. I'm not aware of any other members of their..cult? Ideally they have been purged." Ariadne is confident that the ritual was stopped. Hopefully the damned Banishers hadn't tried to convince anyone else to do something stupid.