Cabal Building

[Campanella]

The late afternoon sun accentuated the pastel tones of the walls and played lovingly with the bass relief sculptures that Campanella placed with an artist's eye about his apartment. The lovingly light illumination played with fragrance from the flower beds on his balcony, which had been flung open with a table, chairs, lanterns ready for a late night. From the balcony, he could look down upon Sacramento's core: all tall buildings, green space and the grid of carefully maintained roads.

Campanella had spent the middle part of the day rustling up some finger food, dips, and a couple of quality wines. He was entertaining - of course there would be quality. He was showing off as much as encouraging the potential bonds of a Cabal to form. The genesis of the idea lay with the Thearch, Brother Rat ; but for the Cabal to truly be born, he needed Black Swan on board. None of the trio really knew about the others yet; Campanella hoped that the evening together would change that.

Now the Moros was attired in a light suit of grey material with a waistcoat instead of a jacket. He was staring out over the city, letting the slight wind run through his hair; one hand on the solidity of the concrete wall that framed his open space. He wondered what they would talk about...
Benji Wod.Infant

[Benji]

Not wanting to show up empty handed, Brother Rat had brought some melon slices wrapped in cured meats. His culinary skills were, oh, he'd say average, but cubing some melons and sticking meat slices to them with toothpicks was well within the range of what he could accomplish. Campanella's invitation had mentioned a third and process of elimination suggested to him who it would be. It would be interesting to see if the three of them would be able to stick together and overcome whatever little personality quirks they had all collected over their lifetimes.

Wearing a white dress shirt under a dark herringbone jacket, with jeans and dress shoes, Brother Rat knocked on the apartment door. He had plans but tonight was Campanella's show, and he was sure that Black Swan would have her own position to champion in her own way.

[Campanella]

"Brother Rat! Please. Welcome."

Campanella graced the Thrysus with a smile when he met him at the door. He moved to one side and gestured for the Thearch to enter.

"Cubed melon! Hmm! I think I can work with that. Please... I have put up a table on the balcony with some light offerings and some wine. A serviceable vintage. Quite summery. I am blessed as my balcony gets some good airs and it can be quite beautiful of an afternoon and an evening."

Like a true host, he led his guest to the table and then retreated, still talking, to bring out a third bottle.

"Thanks to your gift, though, I think this might be a better proposition." He presented the alternative to the wines he had selected - something a little more common place with which to wash down their melon-and-meat. "What do you think?"

[Benji]

Brother Rat takes the offered bottle to examine it. Moscato d'Asti. "I'm not really much of a wine guy Campanella, but you're our Sommelier. I'm confident your choice is in good taste." In fact, Google suggested paring a Muscat like this. Something about 'ebullient fruitiness' complementing the melon and providing a counterpoint to the salty meat. "You home is very well done. You must have had your eye on the location for some time before arriving." Brother Rat says, returning the bottle to it's owner and taking in the view. "Did setting up shop present any noteworthy difficulties, or was it smooth sailing?" He knew they were waiting on their third, so polite conversation was the order of the day until their arrival and weightier topics could be broached.

[Campanella]

"As you say, I 'lucked out'. I was quite desperate to find suitable lodgings when I first arrived. And... it just fell into my lap. The previous tenant had left and the place had just been put on the market." Campanella spoke as he poured their drinks, saluting his table companion in the process. "Actually having a place suited to my requirements has made settling in so much easier. It meant I didn't have to organise storage and that I could actually dabble in a bit in the art market while the bulk of my accoutrements arrived from back east. It definitely helped open doors for me; much easier than simply relying on the few letters of introduction that I possess."

He sat and made up a small plate for himself.

"I trust you are now similarly situated?" He still had no idea how long Brother Rat had been in town, or even if he had stable lodgings by this point.

[Benji]

Brother Rat makes a small plate for himself and samples small portions of wine, making appreciative noises at the flavor profiles, but not actually drinking a whole lot. "I've never been much of a 'thing' guy either. I have a small apartment and it's pretty sparse on the IKEA furniture, but it suits me well." He liked IKEA, in fact. One of his odd talents was an almost preternatural ability to correctly pronounce their product's names, even without knowing the language. "I do envy the view you have. It's gorgeous."

"So what are you looking for in a Cabal?" Brother Rat felt that they might as well include the meat of their purpose in their small talk. It wouldn't be difficult to incorporate their third when they showed up later. "Is it a practical thing? A political thing? A social thing?"

[Campanella]

Campanella smiled. "Yes. The view. I think that is what attracted me to this apartment. I had found a few that were larger but none of them quite had the view that this place does. I am quite content."

He imbibed the wine and sampled some of Brother Rat's offerings.

As for Cabals: "Mmmm. Hard to say. Most likely the practicality. This Consilium's charter is very specific about the role Cabal's play; that one can't really be anything if one is outside of a Cabal. Since I wish to stay and perhaps rebuild my Order, that means I need a Cabal. At present there are only two options and I am not sure if I would be welcome in either; I know very little of them apart from their names. No. I'd rather help create something new and lasting - a new Cabal. That way I get to find - and promote - those with like minds." He gestured with his glass.

"Which means, I suppose, that I would much rather have a social group than a political one. If we are good together, we can work together for each other's benefit. That is my belief. The existing groups no doubt are very much aligned to their founding member's goals and aspirations. Newcomers such as us would have to adapt and bend to those agenda's. I would rather start with something a little more open to my aims. And at present I'm concerned with re-establishing an Athenaeum of some stripe I won't deny that political motivations may come later, but as of this moment, my goals are the Athenaeum and to simply establish a third Cabal where we relative newcomers can support and learn from one another."

Leaning forward he picked up some of his own delicate creations.

"What about you?"

[Benji]

"I..." Brother Rat pauses, figuring out how to put this so he doesn't sound too awful as a potential cabal mate. "I have a tendency to make rash decisions, at least if the only person who has a say in making those decisions is me. I believe that my intentions are good, I just need someone I can trust to act as a sounding board for me sometimes. To help pull me back and bring the whole situation into focus better."

"That, and the other practical bits are important. But like you, I have obligations to my Order that I need to fulfill. My Order holds it's members accountable for supporting our society, but it also expects us to use our best judgement on how to accomplish it." Brother Rat shrugs. "Well, except for when they don't. I'm only an Acolyte, so I'm still learning. I want to have some control over what Cabal I end up with, so I need to show that I'm actively working on the issue if a Claviger brings the issue up." He pauses, with an uncomfortable look on his face before speaking again. "I think that might have come out badly. I mean to say that I'm in a position where I am expected to justify my actions to my superiors. I don't believe that my superiors will be unreasonable about it, but I still need to show them what I'm planning and where it stands within the Elemental Precepts. I believe that building new ties between both of our Orders would be beneficial to them both and touch on several Precepts at once, if that makes sense."

"My understanding of the Tapestry and my personal goals within my order do not, I believe, run counter to your desire to re-establish an Athenaeum. I believe, even if I am not allowed access to it, that having one in the Consilium is a worthwhile goal to strive for."

[Campanella]

"Of course," Campanella replied as he settled to listen. "I would be happy to assist you. As I have said, we could learn a lot from each other. If you can help me, I will lend what aid I can to your cause."

He sipped from his wine.

"And the Athenaeum? I am sure we can arrange a level of access should you help establish it and care for it. I believe there are precedents for such things in my Order. An Athenaeum can be many things. Sometimes they are storehouses of lore for my Order alone, it is true. But on other occasions there have been academies dedicated to making magical lore and training available to those worthy of it; just as there have been times when the Athenaeum becomes a prison for objects and persons that are a threat to the wider world."

He leaned forward again, contemplating the finger food.

"I will not deny that this talk of a war for reality centred on Sacramento has me troubled. Yes: I do see it as a challenge that can be overcome - by learning the new history of this area and turning it back to our advantage. But it is also terrifying as such acts undermine the tapestry and the correct knowledge and lore. Who knows what has been lost and is being lost by this hubristic attack on reality? It is my hope that I can find traces of the original timeline. It is my belief that if I can find enough pieces or relics of the original history of Sacramento, and bring them to a secure place of study, that we might be able to reverse this... curse the city has been dealt... and return the original timeline. Of course, all this is theory until I can find such traces or artefacts. And I admit that I am no scholar of the Time Arcanum nor do I believe I ever will be."

"But we can hope, Brother Rat. Hope that we can reverse the spell. Hope that others might have the right knowledge. Hope that I - or us, if you prefer - could construct a safe place of study suited to this task. That is my goal. My aspiration, if you will."

He finally chose one of Brother Rat's melon and meat slices.

"So. How can I assist you, my friend? I can call you such, yes? If you need to take the leadership role in our little group, so be it. I would rather keep my focus on the lore master position."

[Benji]

"Well if we can't call each-other friends," Brother Rat jokes, "I'll certainly feel awkward asking you if my ideas are dumb."

"With the Charter as is, I think questions of roles and leadership are largely superfluous. Since we don't even have a Herald right now, even if we found someone suitable to make up our third we wouldn't be able to be officially recognized." Brother Rat takes one of Campanella's offerings, a batch of roughly cut tomatoes and mozeralla, with basil leaves and vinegar. He had paired it with a 2013 Santiago Ruiz O Rosal from Spain, which had an interestingly blended mix of fruity and acidic tastes. "I'm all for you being our de facto loremaster, but until we become as large as the other cabals we both will have to worry about covering all of our bases."

"This talk of Seers and reality..." Brother Rat sighs. "It's beyond my comprehension. I don't have the first idea how to combat it short of guessing what their goals are and going back to disrupt them, which if you had suggested a couple of months ago would have made me laugh and figure out a way to remove myself from your company." He shakes his head. "I can share what I learn about the city, but I don't know how we would identify signs of alternate timelines."

"Is there a particular spell you know that you are fond of?" Brother Rats asks abruptly as a pall threatens to overtake the conversation.