Last Minute Research

[Max Heinz]

Time was running short before the planned attack against Khan, but the last conversation the group of Kindred had shared brought up some interesting theories. Hopefully, one of them would bare fruit and they could go into the fight with a better plan than "beat her until she dies".

Max would have liked to use the Order's library for his research, but seeing as how the entirety of the Sacramento Chapter's collection was still under duress, he'd have to make due with the more mundane resources of the California State University. He had pulled a few strings, and the quiet Mekhet now found himself waiting patiently in the Archaeological Research Center for the other half of his possible duo to show up.

He sneds out a text to Angel Ducard with directions to the building. Now, all he can do is wait...

[Max Heinz]

At least the pair matched, Max opting for his normal work attire of slacks and a button-down shirt. The pair could almost be confused for any other set of school employees who had met up for a little late-night research. Assuming they could overlook Max's paleness and Angel's odd coloring...

He gives a polite nod of the head to the Nosferatu as she joins him at the table, unable to resist a counter tease despite the seriousness of the situation. "Come now, give me a little credit. I'm sure I could come up with somewhere a little more enticing than a library if I was going to lure you out under false pretenses..." He pauses for a moment at the title she addresses him by, wondering if Angel know what he did here at the University or if it were merely another bit of teasing between the two.

At least she hadn't asked if he was German...

"The only place I can think to start is with the old legends and stories of ancient Egypt. Usually I would make use of my... fellow researcher's library, but it's temporarily indisposed at the moment. Which means we have to make due with the more mundane collection here. See what you can find about Isis, if they ancient Egyptians thought her capable of possessing someone or making herself appear physically. I'll do the same, but the old fashion way..." He motions to a pile of books he had already pulled for the evening; everything from modern treatises on the ancient religion all the way back to copies of the original papyrus scrolls.

-1 for Blush, because it's hard to remember things at 4 AM

[Yumyumcrow]

I will need to know if you are conducting independent research or acting as a team, and what your chosen topics of inquiry are. At present, I'm thinking of [Intelligence + Investigation] for computer based research; for traditional library research I am thinking of either [Intelligence + Academics OR Intelligence + Occult] capped by the Investigation skill (there is only so much you can drag out of books. You may voluntarily take a penalty of up to -5 dice per roll representing "deeper research" that involves vetting the source material for hidden truths and secret history.

[Max Heinz]

Given the fickle nature of the RNG, i figure it's better to make separate rolls. Plus, I'm not sure how well Max's brand of cross-discipline "research" will match up with Angel's training.

3 Suxx at -3 Difficulty

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2015-01-16 07:37:57		Max rolls 3 to figure shit out (Int+Academics+Specialty-3 Difficulty) (10 Again)		9, 3, 10, 5		2 successes
2015-01-16 07:37:32		Max rolls 3 to figure shit out (Int+Academics+Specialty-3 Difficulty) (10 Again)		4, 9, 1		1 success
2015-01-16 07:36:52		Max rolls 3 to to figure shit out (Int+Academics+Specialty-4 Difficulty) (10 Again)		1, 6, 5		failure

[Yumyumcrow]

Research is difficult enough. With the added pressure of time and a healthy distrust of most data available, it becomes harder still. The pair, however, are resolute.

Max concentrates on traditional library research, finding his inside knowledge of research techniques quite helpful in cutting through the jumble of legend and (mis)interpretation: he seeks diamonds amongst the coal of mundane research - the proverbial needle in the haystack that provides illumination.

Angel works the internet and has somewhat more success by searching through academic databases and trawling the grey world of fringe blogs and conspiracy theory.

Isis was the Great Mother of Egyptian myth, but before she had become systematised as a loving mother goddess in classical times, she was also a trickster deity and a goddess of magic. Egyptian myth was replete with cases of deities slipping, sliding, and merging - combining powers for limited times; much as one might allow oneself to be ridden in order to obtain access to a wider variety of mystical gifts (if one wished to lend credence to such things). Fascinating stuff - but not something that aided their quest much.

There were... little things... inconsistencies that Max kept finding; garbled references that Angel noticed popping up in some of the blogs. References to etchings, carvings, and graffiti in an unknown language: a local blog had found similar symbols being carved above the entrance to a new bank's headquarters, and over the entrance of some pseudo-masonic hall out near Folsom lake. A terrible piece of footage purported to have been found in an empty tomb - carried clumsily and pointlessly by a panicked cameraman who had seen something. In a recent auction in Lodi, nearly every piece had been marked in that strange text. It was even embedded in the watermark of some companies that operated out of the Bay area.

The Haunt's biggest find was a gallery of old photographs from the first half of the twentieth century, from a blog screaming dire warnings about "secret masters" taking over the world. Here was a gathering of old men flocking around a flapper; here was a collection of spiritualists with a man of colour lurking in the background, watching benevolently; in another, a sneaky photographer has snapped some candid shots of a small gathering in an Eastern souk - the figures are stiff, posed, more like statues than people, and they do not look pleased at being disturbed.

Max has a few finds of his own. One is a set of abridged excerpts set within a wider discourse on Oriental mysticism and its encounter with Western tradition. The text is old and littered with inconsistency, poorly weathered by time and changing attitudes. But dream visions and visitations by a "Golden Princess of Ancient Kemet"? Especially when some poetry would suggest a physical meeting? Even accounting for the writing coming from the pen of a drug addled French soldier, left abandoned in Egypt, it is still... impressive. Then there is the book supplied by the Society of Penelope - a biography of their founder, Madam Oberon - in which lies a photograph of a group of spiritualists with a black man watching benevolently in the background. Same book - hiding in plain sight - another photograph: Oberon as a young woman among an obscure persian sect, dressed as a boy, seated next to an aged mystic; a dark skinned body guard stands behind them, his eyes on her; evidently she knows by the slight curve of her pose, the angle of her neck and the shift in her eyes.

[Yumyumcrow]

Just a heads up. I'm looking to wrap this over the weekend and get on with the main event. If you wish to do anything more, let me know

[Max Heinz]

Max can only shake his head at what he finds. There are new clues embedded among some of the things he already knew; but all they do is serve to make the picture more muddled. Too much information, with no framework to hang it from; it was like trying to put together a puzzle without any border pieces to tell you where to start...

Frustrated for the moment, he pulls himself away from the small fortress of books he'd build around himself and moves to the other side of the table; looking over Angel's shoulder as she reviews her findings. His brow furrows, recognizing the markings instantly. "I've seen those before. My, uhh, research associates got their hands on an item from that auction; that's what drew me into this mess in the first place.

The bank sounds like one of her recent business dealings, as well as the stationary from out of San Fran; from what I was told that's where her original power base is. Like I said at the meeting, she's expanding out here for some reason.

The part that concerns me is the temple out in Folsom; I'm willing to bet that's headquarters for the Society of Penelope. They're supposed to have a building out there; given their interest in that item I was talking about, I think it's too obvious to be coincidence..."

He then pauses as she pulls up the pictures, the thin Mekhet absent-mindedly nodding his head as he spoke. "That's definitely her, it matches up with some of the things we found in her private collection. I don't recognize the other two photos, but they seem to match up with what we know; everything points to her having a Middle Easter origin." Again, all Max can do is shake his head in frustration. He knew there was something important here, buried among all this information, yet it evaded their grasp.

Deciding to take a different approach, Max reaches over the table and pulls the most relevant books over to show the other Kindred what he had found. "If my Goddess theory is right, this might explain why Isis was invoked. In her earliest incarnations, she wasn't just a queen; she was also a trickster and the embodiment of magic. Which might explain the aura the others saw around her. Egyptian gods are also quite... malleable. They changed rolls and functions over the years; merging, splitting, sometimes disappearing entirely from the pantheon. Most researchers assume it's just the natural evolution of the belief structure; but what if it wasn't? What if they really could combine, with each other or mortals?

And look at this..." He reaches over, pulling in another book. "Golden Princess of Ancient Kemet, IE Ancient Egypt. Written by a French soldier left behind in Egypt; it seems he managed to my physical contact with something supernatural..." He then turns his attention to the other photos, pulling over the book from the damnedable Society; comparing the the two dark-skinned men in the pictures. Could they possibly be the same man?