(AGToO) Dawn

[Kaze]

"That's...wow. In the Supernal Sight, it looks like you've lit off a flare in your bag, Sir." Kaze says in awe.

[Campanella]

Campanella gives his bag a double take - until he realises he doesn't have Supernal Vision this time but the Third Eye. The Moros chuckles and shakes his head; his laughter extends and changes timbre as Shodan enthusiastically explains his own findings.

"Do the wonders of the Supernal ever cease?"

More seriously, he continues:

"Hmm. The sympathy is troubling but is not something I can do much about at present. The object must latch onto the nearest Awakened aura, or something to that effect. And the Dream sending would have no doubt played a part as well. It would seem the USB is a challenge and an invitation, both. And someone wants to keep the prize to themselves."

His serious tone becomes a frown on his face.

"Really? There is nothing on the web? Her footprint has been... scrubbed? The company name is not familiar to me. I can furnish you with funds if need be. This... This is important now."

And concerning.

[Vincent]

@Cross Alastor

[Vincent]

Shodan : Another transaction is forever embedded upon the blockchain as the funds are effortlessly exchanged into crypto-tokens and moved to an escrow account. Nerds love challenges, and this one is no different. As soon as the request has been submitted, the view counter shots up, it will probably take the full night for the crowd-sourced answer.
Alastor : space itself seems to burst open around the seams of the bag, a field strong enough to partition the surrounding surface. Looking deeper, there is a distinct pattern to the design, a fractal like symmetry that repeats itself over and over and over until infinity. It's... unsettling.
At seemingly random intervals, a ripple or two traverses the space inside the cabin before its influence abates, waning and losing itself amidst the fury of the deluge raging outside, filling the cabin with the silence made by the vibrations of the strings of a violin when the notes have trailed far away from its maple bridge. Those phenomena are more common around the Hierarch's canvas and Shodan's laptop, which kind and how strong of a link is yet to be defined.

Giving another round before you have to drive to the meeting

[Kaze]

Kaze relaxes, content to be in the company of accomplished people who know what they are doing, and not distract or interrupt them. He waits patiently for something that needs doing, whether that is some simple, mundane errand or something more specialized to his talents.

For the moment, he just focuses on keeping alert for anything in the environment that needs attention, realizing the others are a bit narrowly focused on tasks at the moment.

General alert awareness of situation and environment:

  4 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-02-12 14:56:27		Kaze rolls 6 to awareness, perception environment/threat (Witts 3 + Composure 3) (10 Again)		4, 8, 8, 1, 9, 9		4 successes

[Campanella]

Campanella looked around.

"Alastor and myself are going to meet an art dealer contact of mine. This old colleague claims to have some information regarding the powers behind the theft of the painting. Whatever or whoever these powers are, they have him sufficiently spooked to talk to me face-to-face and not over a phone. I'm hoping he won't be so spooked as to throw me out when I turn up with a bodyguard. Hopefully my bribe will help."

Campanella nodded to the bottle of whiskey in its box.

"I would like you Shodan and you Kaze to stay behind with the car. I won't be taking the laptop or memory stick so guard them as well. Keep watch. If trouble comes... I am expecting you to be the cavalry."

He gave them all a significant look.

"I hope it won't come to that. I hope my colleague is just being overly cautious and will impart something useful that has eluded us so far. Something that will give some sense to what is going on. He implied that whoever hired the thieves was seeking to complete a collection. The artist doesn't matter, apparently, so much as the subject matter. And whoever this mystery person, clique, or faction is, they are quite willing and able to use force and cover their tracks. Hence why I am bringing Alastor along and why I would like you fine people to stay alert."

Another pause.

"One would simply hope I am going to have a nice furtive chat about dark dealings. But I suppose one must accept the possibility of something happening to disrupt my meeting. It would be nice if it was something terribly mundane like hired thugs but knowing my luck - and the Dreams I've been having - it'll probably won't be."

[Kaze]

Kaze nods, thoughtfully.

The young mage waits a moment to let other people ask anything, and then he politely asks, "Hierarch? I have one question, if you don't mind; you mentioned that Shodan and I are the protectors and safe keepers of the laptop and the memory stick, and we are also the reserve force to be ready to come in if it looks like we're needed." he recounts.

"So, just wondering if there is a prioritization there? Meaning, do you think it likely that there could be a diversion to draw us in to get the laptop and memory stick? I don't know whether you or them would be the most likely target, so specifically, would you prefer we delay or divide our forces to make sure the laptop and memory stick are protected, or just bring them with us and come in together as quickly as we can?"