(1909) Constructing Consilium's Circle

[Phoenyx]

The new face, Spark, seemed to be making his own discussions. Neither Death nor the Libertines held much interest for the Arrow.

The Hierarch drops some small tokens of information, but that only piqued her curiosity. Winter is given a respectful nod.

Cosmo seems to be willing to let the discussion rest, for now. Telling him "we were not safe, and are more safe now" would only reignite the issue that has been rescheduled for discussion. Phoenyx would let it rest as well.

.... or so she thought. Phoenyx looks at Shodan, utterly confused. "If I choose to meet with someone I do not understand why that bothers you, Shodan," she says, sounding as bewildered as she looks. "I invited Cosmo to discuss why he believes enhancing our safety measures hold no merit at a later time without us continuing to block up the Concillum, since the official decision has been made. Neither the Hierarch nor Sentinel was invited? If there was a matter arising I am sure it would be brought to them. I had suggested that if Cosmo had an issue with the work we did, he could discuss it with Winter." She tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. What about meeting Cosmo had him so riled?

He did however, have some good points. "I must agree with Shodan's points, Hierarch. I have fought the Seers when we attacked their sanctum. We took a powerful artifact. I cannot believe they would let all that go so easily? How are you so sure they are unlikely to strike us again in the imminent future?" Because the Seers, peace was just a lull between wars. "But if there is need of me, I will be ready to assist." And probably play mediator, if Shodan and Cosmo were both there.

[Kaze]

Kaze has been just watching and listening with an interested expression as if he's learning more about the people than the subjects of their discussions.

"Hey, Spark". he says, smiling. "I'm Kaze, Obrimos. Unaligned. Good to see you. I'm interested in that arcana too, at least enough to shut down combustion and some other things like light, not so much the whole actual 'dead' part." he says thoughtfully.

"I would be interested in learning if you were willing to teach, Hierarch." he says, "I would like to begin learning the nature of Matter, too. Not to try to take up your time, just as you might be available."

When the Hierarch mentions a task, Kaze smiles again. "I would like to help with a task." he says.

[October]

Well, if the Hierarch felt the Circle was safe, that was enough for her.

If the Seer’s wouldn’t be in a position to bother them, what did he know? What information had he received that the rest had not?

A cost? Huh. Was it one he had paid? Or one the Circle as a whole would be paying?

“I know I’m fairly new, but I’m always up for tasks.” And proving herself trustworthy.

Shodan will be able to tell October is bored and a bit pissed.

Shrugging, “I know some Death, not a whole lot, but I picked a bit up.” Probably from work. But it was more interesting than Life. At least to her.

[Campanella]

Campanella smiled quietly as further opportunities for learning were opened up.

Shodan bought the Hierarch to the matter at hand and his countenance darkened again. He ran a finger along his cheek as if he were trying to iron out another pulse on his jaw.

"It would appear the Seer's project to claim this city by manipulating time gained the attention of other forces. Other forces that now have their eye firmly fixed on Sacramento. I do not know for how long this shall be so, but so far these... forces... appear to be our allies. One can never tell with these things, however. You might say that one of those forces has taken up residence in West Sacramento."

He let his gaze gently move to the Libertine.

"It is true that my old Cabal laid claim to that area. But Aurora and Sand have left. I cannot claim the area on my own. Sensing that, someone else did. I am in no position to stop them but I can at least talk to them from time to time. And from what they have been telling me, they have been dismantling some of the stronger Seer bastions in the area. I'd like to let that continue. And to that end I would like to see our contact with our... allies... limited. I don't want us to get dragged into their... politics as it could only end poorly for us; likewise I don't want them to suddenly decide they need to put us into order or remove us from the city or anything else."

Was he revealing too much? Possibly. But the Awakened deserved to know.

"So, no, Phoenyx. Right now I doubt the Seers will be willing to strike at us here. Or anywhere else for that matter. The task which our consilium was given will expedite that further. It sounds simple enough: go to a location, investigate, remove the Seer influence; but I have no idea what the Seer influence is."

He withdrew an expensive piece of paper from a pocket.

"Just a location. A street corner and an alley way. If our ally is to be believed, the Seer's have a great investment out there. If we take it or destroy it, they will be greatly weakened."

He held the paper in his hands as the initial offers rolled in.

"I am quite relieved that there is interest in this. If nothing else we can appear to be taking their advice - if we want to call it that - seriously."

[Spark]

"I'd appericate any amount of guidance I could get on it," Spark replied to Campanella.

When Kaze introduced himself, Spark offered a hand. "Nice to meet you, Kaze. Death is a weak spot for us I figure it's a good idea to shore it up."

Spark nodded to Shodan, "Yeah same here, it's a pain staying up to date on the latest upgrade but it's worth it to help stay a step ahead of the other guy."

The man's ears twitch at the mention of a task, "I could come with if that's okay? I'm a new face here so no one would recognize me as a 'known mage' least for a little while."

Spark is lying about why he want's to learn death Composure roll:

[Winter]

"That would be me", is his succinct reply to the young man. Before they could delve further into the most basic pleasantries however, the Hierarch's call sprung the gears inside the Guardian's brain into action.
The Sentinel listened attentively. Under different circumstances he would have petitioned for the Moros to reveal the source of his information, alas, the Mystagogue's reputation for secrecy wasn't ill-gotten. In the likely case, the Hierarch would have deflected the question.
There was something else that puzzled him. The Seers weren't known for giving away turf so easily, and for a Guardian, the battle really never ended, always pressing the advantage and collecting every scrap of intelligence they could. The enemy of my enemy, isn't necessarily my ally It prompted the obvious follow-up question. "We can check the place out. But as always, we must assume that even this mysterious source could be feigning generosity", could the Moros have brokered a deal with the FBI? In secret?
Kaze had announced his apostasy with such lightheartedness that the Guardian made a point of inquiring further about it, circumstances permitting. Did Phoenyx manage to beat the Kamikaze out of him? Was there something deeper to his defection?
Oh, and the liar. The Guardian studies the newcomer. He didn't know about his motives, but the Guardian's own natural mistrust had just been upgraded to artificial.

  2 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-09-15 10:41:16		Winter rolls 5 to Sense Deception (10 Again)		8, 4, 3, 6, 8		2 successes

[Cosmo]

"Are our new allies human?" Cosmo's question was accompanied by a clearly confused expression. "You mentioned politicking and keep calling them a force or a thing, and I'm just wondering if my affinity for the Spirit Arcanum would be beneficial in your contact with them."

After dealing with Shodan's exchange, the Sentinels brief response was welcome. The Apostate nodded in agreement with Winter.

"I definitely agree we need more information before any kind of trust is established. Dismantling Seer influence maybe a good spring board for a more direct meeting though?"

Confusion turned inquisitive as Cosmo returned his attention to the Heirarch.

The two Libertines were noted with a look that signaled the return of his contempt. Argumentative or plain deceitful. Either way it was time to contact the Ladder.

[Phoenyx]

Composed as she is, Phoenyx's posture slumps an iota as Kaze announces himself as Unaligned. It still felt wrong, but it was the truth. She had so get used to that.

"So while there is a reduced likelihood of Seer attacks, there is an entity or entities powerful enough to challenge Awakened currently focused against the Seers. We should avoid contact, but are currently assuming to be benign?" There is scepticism in Phoenyx's voice. Winter had the right of it to her. It seemed to her the Seers had only been replaced with a more unknown threat.

Fortunately, Cosmo and Shodan were asking all the questions she wanted to know. There was no point repeating them.

Shodan's turn to the silent treatment, especially given the last bouts of discussion, would at least mean progress towards important topics could be made. His belief she was trying to subvert the Concillium's defense was confusing, but ultimately irrelevant. He would realise the truth eventually, or it would give her another topic to debate with him.

I'm not bothering with rolling for Spark's deception. Phoenyx can't read people at all, and she's focused on the other more pressing topics.