(AGToO) A General Theory of Oblivion

[Vincent]

Campanella, Mystagogue, Moros. Campanella is a man of habit, of discipline, dutifully in control of his passions. He has seen death, and he knows it's just the beginning.
The Moros Campanella is a man who commands respect, both in his mundane affairs and among his peers. Tonight, the placid tranquillity of his sleek upscale residence has been interrupted. A shrill in the middle of the night, the ominous harbringer of trouble to come. On the other side of the phone, the voice of a woman he had barely met, an acquaintance but of the kind you can't easily ignore.
A few words were exchanged, a concerned look appeared on his austere features.
It took a few minutes but the doorbell rang, sign that his unexpected guest had arrived.

Campanella Yumyumcrow Eurydice Stray

[Vincent]

Let's leave the first part to Campy and Dicey, for those willing to join, please sign here

[Campanella]

Campanella moves, dragged from his bed and the morphean gulfs of slumber. Sleep is banished from his mind in fits and starts as he recognises the voice on the phone.

He moves with swift deliberation once he puts the phone down. He shrugs into something more presentable and clears away the evidence of his late night celebrations: a platter cleared of food; a wine glass; a bottle deposited once more in his bar fridge. Then with quick rote casts he prepares himself for anything.

A simple mind cantrip clears his head: in one track, he returns to sleep; in the other he remains wide awake and ready to talk.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-12-24 19:17:34		Campanella to cast 1 Mind, 2 Thoughts rote rolls 7 to Wits + Investigation + Mind (10 Again, WillPower)		5, 8, 2, 4, 8, 6, 4		2 successes

Then he sets to preparing a Sight and a Shield.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-12-24 19:20:00		Campanella to cast Matter Armor rote rolls 11 to Intelligence + Occult + Order Spec + Matter + HS - 2 Spell Tolerance (10 Again)		1, 5, 9, 4, 8, 8, 6, 5, 4, 5, 10, 7		4 successes
2018-12-24 19:18:25		Campanella to cast Matter Sight rote rolls 12 to Intelligence + Occult + Order Spec + Matter + HS - 1 Spell Tolerance (10 Again)		4, 3, 10, 3, 7, 9, 5, 9, 4, 8, 6, 7, 2		4 successes

Not that he is suspicious of his guest. Rather, she has called him urgently and he does not yet know the full situation. Best to be prepared.

When Campanella opens the door he resembles a Victorian gentleman at his leisure, wrapped in a thick dressing gown with leather slippers on his feet. Sleep has been completely banished from his features and while his hair might be disheveled, it lends him a rakish, rather than reprobate air.

[Vincent]

Giving Stray another day or two, else we'll just ghost the exchange

[Stray]

Super sorry! In between the holidays and my birthday today the thread slipped. I will write a post shortly

[Eurydice]

As Campanella opened the door, he'd find Eurydice in decidely less presentable fashion, it seemed the news had come to her at an inopportune time as well, but, unlike her Councilor, her need to travel to his home and her want to pass on her information before leaving the city meant she had little time to prepare herself.

Additionally the notable calm, stoic expression for which Eurydice had been known was gone, replaced with a more grim cast. Over her shoulder, a black messenger bag, within which lie the hard drive she had prepared with the information she had gleaned from the SPD.

Dark eyes flicked to the Councilor's own.

"Thank you for meeting me," she says, "May I come in?"

The Moros remained still, but there was an element of urgency in her features. They had a lot to discuss. The message. And her need to depart back to her Consilium or origin.

[Campanella]

Campanella cannot suppress the frown that forms on his face when he see's Eurydice.

"Please," he replies courteously and steps to one side.

Once the other Moros has entered, the Councillor moves swiftly: first to check the corridor beyond his apartment and secondly to close the door.

  

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2018-12-31 01:27:01		Campanella to check things out rolls 3 to Wits + Investigation (10 Again)		5, 5, 2		failure

"May I offer refreshment? You look like you need it." He gestures to some seats.

Campanella is a proper host. He hovers until he knows refreshment is not needed and only then follows the Arrow to the seats.

[Eurydice]

The Guardian gives a brief nod of thanks, entering the Councilor's dwelling as he steps to the side. Taking a moment to take in the interior as Campanella moves to ready the place and himself for the guest in his midst, Euryice eventually follows the man to the place where he seems to settle.

"No thank you, Councilor," she offers, a small smile tinged with sadness on her face, "I cannot stay long."

Looking to the seats she moves to them and seats herself, taking a moment to adjust.

"I was recently contacted by a recent mentor and it seems I am needed back in Vermont," she says, "The responsibilities of the Consilium in Burlington spans much of the state and their resources are stretched a little thin. The need help and I can't keep it from them in good conscience."

The Moros' hands then move to her bag, unzipping it to retrieve a portable hard-drive.

"However, by that same conscience I cannot leave until I leave this with someone capable here in Sacramento," she states, her words possessing themselves with a tone of certainty. Her gaze suggests this individual to naturally be her Councilor himself.

[Campanella]

A pulse flares briefly on Campanella's jaw.

"Indeed? I understand completely, Eurydice. You have obligations to your mentor that must be met. I would expect nothing less from an Arrow. Or anyone of the Pentacle for that matter. You must do your duty."

The Moros Councillor's brows ruffle again. He had most certainly not been expecting the gift curse? of a data drive from a parting mage.

"I see."

Campanella feels the weight of Eurydice's words.

He shifts in his seat, raises a hand to receive the drive.

"Tell me what has happened," he says simply.

[Eurydice]

Eurydice hands the drive over as Campanella extends to receive it.

"My apologies if I've been unclear about my affiliations, Councilor, but I am a Guardian," she says, her expression wavering between apologetic and awkward.

"There was a theft between the nights of December 4th and the 5th in a gallery adjacent to the mansion of a man known as Eisenduller," she begins, offering a brief pause to allow the Councilor to recall the philanthropist, "Eisenduller also owns the gallery. Despite a vast amount of artwork in the collection, only one painting was stolen: a piece by Eisenduller's daughter, Emily, who disappeared along with her husband and child during a house fire. Their remains were never recovered. For your reference the code is EE6-71."

Another pause, Eurydice knew how this sounded so far. It sounded like a regular investigation and she knew she had to get to the point lest she lose Campanella's interest.

"I received details from the police department when they hired me on to investigate the matter privately: forensic card, a gallery of the crime scene, various reports... all in all it's a few gigabytes worth of data. Normally, that would take me at least a few minutes to download on my computer, but it downloaded in full in less than a second," she says, "Following this, I received another email. From the future. Ten days from now to be specific. Within was a message in a broken form of High Speech regarding a 'Seeker of the Treshold' and 'She Who Waits Below'. It also included an image... but I couldn't make it out. It looks like its guarded by some form of steganographic encoding, but that's not really something within my expertise. I've ensured a copy of the image and email is in there as well."

The main explanation for her late-night intrusion mostly out of the way, Eurydice relaxed. A little.

"It seems to me that the investigation has more interest than just Eisenduller. Someone or something with some mastery over Time is trying to assist the investigation. Given the responses, its pretty clear to me that they are at least aware of my status as an Awakened. I don't think its far fetched to assume they know others as well," Eurydice let the statement sink in. This was more than a basic curiosity of a lone Moros. It was a security issue. "I don't have much evidence, but this investigation is more than it seems, Campanella. That's why I had to bring it to you. You have better contacts and influence here than I and I believe you can assemble a team that can tackle it efficiently.