(Duties) A Street Corner Named Desire

Nov 21st, 2019 06:14 AM

Shodan comes back between the two mages... only to head up the stairs and towards the power box again. In a series of automated movements he sets his backpack down, takes out the tools and sets to work on the cabling. This alone might not be sufficient to grant the spirit his electricity fix, but if Shodan is to do what he wants to do, then minimizing industrial accidents possibility was a good first step.

4 successes

Content with his work (and oblivious to the approaching menace of the haggard locals), the Prime Mover weaves a glyph to command electricity. One part of it is to protect the mage's body from sudden outbursts - there's only so much he can repair in time this short, with options this limited. The other part calls down all the currents he can find to converge in the box before him and then - the Theurgist hopes - towards the cables where the ephemeral entity dwells. Fist clenches around the golden coin that wards off the Abyss even as syllables native to Atlantis are softly spoken.

Let's hope this leads somewhere.

Dramatic Failure!

3 successes

Dismissing Transform Aura and Invisibility to Machines, bringing contagion penalty to 0. Also, Paradox roll chance die is due to spell level and the use of a magical tool

**Cosmo** · Nov 21st, 2019 07:12 PM

"Thank you Shodan."

The ladder's words were genuine as he returned his attention to the cables.

<<How does that feel? Enough to lead us onward?>>

**Yumyumcrow** · Nov 22nd, 2019 05:33 AM

Shodan is a work horse, tirelessly returning to the job at hand. Now he is sealing the cabling where it joins, cleaning up exposed wires and channeling them back into the cabling so that not a drop of power can be lost or syphoned away.

He returns to the junction box and gives a mighty good clean as well, clearing away debris and securing exposed wiring.

Below in the stairwell, Cosmo can hear the spirit chuckle and gurgle excitedly.

"Yisssss!"

Only the Shaman caught the metallic, electric, whisper from the spirit. And then Cosmo felt the presence move away.

Everyone saw the bursts of sparks and explosive arcs of electricity burst from the big fuse box. The arcing electricity ruined a lot of the work the Prime Mover had put into fixing the clapped out old fuse box -

But the crude arc's of raw electrical power shot down the walls and flared at the base of the stairwell.

"There. The hidden way is there..." The Spirit's presented popped close to Cosmo once more, sounding weak and drained, but still chuckling.

The sudden storm of wanton, unchained, electrical might gave the gathering mob pause: a further breathing space in which the mage's could act before the vengeful, yet cowardly, army of vagrants plucked up the courage to venture closer.

October has made her way down the alleyway and has reached the tattered fence. Like Cosmo before, she finds a way through but has to take her time lest she get snagged and caught in the treacherous mesh. And she spies the sudden - and rather horrific - electrical flashes popping from within the shattered building. She still has to get there, however; fortunately there is an entrance close by...

The Spirit is only Rank 1 so its Influence is pretty low. So it uses the Numina Blast to show the way...

I was hoping for more successes. At least the arcing electricity can give the group a starting point at the base of the stairwell.

Nov 26th, 2019 03:57 PM

"No problem, friend" he responds to Cosmo playfully and with a wink. No such thing as eternal enmities, and this was as good an opportunity to change course as any.

If the lashing electricity was anything to go by, the spirit was pleased. Sure, it undid most of what he worked on... and to be fair it was a bit underwhelming... but at least they have a clear direction now. Shodan begins to descend the stairs "You coming?" He says to all three mages, but mostly to Phoenyx and living stone , who have been silent for a while.

Wait... was that movement? It can be anything, from big rats to shadowplay to actual threats, but the Prime Mover can't be sure. Not yet, anyway. That is also when he realizes he's gotten no response from Kaze , and has in fact no idea where the rest of the Awakened are. So, he tries again "We're going to check out the basement" The words flow across the radio waves.

It's been four days, so I felt justified in moving this along. Also, I wasn't sure if Shodan can see the approaching vagrants (the narration does state there's several of them and they are advancing), so I tried to keep things vague

**Kaze** · Nov 26th, 2019 04:09 PM

Kaze reaches into a pocket and brings out his phone as if it somehow signaled to him of an incoming call.

"Yes? Okay. Yeah. I'll head over there too. See you there." Kaze says into the phone, simultaneously transmitting the message back to Shodan and any others on the frequency.

Kaze looks over at Spark and at Old Ben and says, "Thanks for the talk. I gotta get going now. I'll see you around, okay?" He smiles and heads out of the store towards the alley and building that the others were investigating.

Nov 26th, 2019 05:51 PM

Living stone turns to shodan and says in a hushed voice at calmer now that he knows what causing the sound
"It depends is the basement a good place to avoid the group of i guess sleeper vagrants that look disheveled and pissed of and heading this way i don't know what they want but there a look and they don't look friendly" Points to them to the rest of the mages.

Sorry it i didn't answer earlier was waiting for phoenyx answer

**Yumyumcrow** · Nov 29th, 2019 05:19 AM

Shodan and living stone take the stairs and head down as far as they will go. They ignore the slowly growing band of vagrants, currently leaderless and uncertain thanks to the still sparking electrics.

The stairwell does not descent far, barely a storey even. The base of the stair well ends in a storage space that is now filled with junk and debris. If there was any large furniture once stored in the tight space, it has long since been smashed to pieces. Despite being a snug and relatively safe spot, they find no sleeping bags or signs of human habitation of any kind.

Shodan had noted the angle of the electrical arcs as they burst and shimmied down the wall - and while the arcs had revealed nothing specific they had illuminated a particular section of blank wall; the space didn't register as magical, but that did not mean there was nothing there...

Kaze heads down the alley and worms his way through the mangled fencing. As he is moving quickly, he even catches sight of October as she vanishes into the building through the ~~open hole in the side~~ empty doorway at the side. The seasoned fighter's sixth sense tingles as well - his Danger Sense trills a warning along his spine - and while he can't see anything out of the ordinary, he senses a great pressure building, like the cloying humidity before a summer storm.

October ploughs into the building: a weird labyrinth of shattered spaces and broken rooms - some with evidence of habitation, some not. Her feet slip and skid on dust, debris, and noisome puddles lurking in the gloom. The Enchantress will make it to the stairs and landing where Cosmo and Phoenyx wait.

An angry sound is starting to grow, raw and unrefined. Maybe the mob of vagrants have found a leader...

**Cosmo** · Nov 29th, 2019 02:45 PM

As October joins them the Ladder raises a single finger over his lips before pointing to the source of the mobs' sounds. Rather then explain any further he simply descends the stairs after Shodan and Living Stone hoping for refuge but finding a surprisingly empty space instead. Given the litter and grime throughout the rest of the place with the Spirit's directions he doubted things were as they seemed. He gave the space a quick once over, hoping to find a path forward before they got mobbed.

3 suxx perception

**October** · Nov 29th, 2019 08:35 PM

At least I’m up to date on my tetanus shot she thinks with a bit of humor. Have to have humor here and there.

Now the electrical flares? That’s eye catching and worth getting a bit worried about. Ok, a lot worried about. The dust and debris make her glad she went with sneakers today.

The sight of Phoneyx and Cosmo was welcome, and as she was about to say something, she caught the gesture from Cosmo. A nod was offered, she understood.

When he descends, she follows, eager to see what was there, keeping her eyes open.

2 successes

Dec 2nd, 2019 03:13 AM

Okay. Cavalry is on the way. Just in time, too - these people living stone pointed out don't look friendly at all. A third ~~Arrow~~ ex-Arrow will come in handy while Shodan ~~figures out how not to get hurt~~ provides tactical support from the sidelines.

A dead end? Certainly looks like one, but the fact that there are no signs of human habitation is a little weird. All in all, it's a cozy spot. Could someone - or something - have evicted the occupants?

Shodan's gaze gravitates towards the wall. The electrical currents arch weirdly around it, as if Cosmo's invisible friend tried to tell them that something is behind it. Or in it. Unfortunately, they don't have time for sledgehammers or thorough archeological process. They do, however, have time for a bit of Stygian magic.

3 successes

Mana and a loud whisper of High Speech flow, forming a glyph of Unveiling. Little electricity was around, so Shodan felt comfortable dismissing the magical protection he cast earlier.

The roll formula includes both HS and the negated Contagion penalty

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-21 05:52:14		Shodan rolls 10 to Desperate repairs (Dex + Crafts + 2 Multitool + 1 Duct tape) (10 Again)		1, 8, 5, 10, 3, 10, 5, 5, 2, 10, 5, 6, 1		4 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-21 05:52:36		Shodan rolls 1 to Paradox (10 Again, Chance)		1		Dramatic Failure!

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-21 06:02:31		Shodan rolls 7 to Combined Insulate + Control Electricity (Gno 3 + Forces 4 + HS 2 - combined casting 2) (10 Again)		8, 5, 2, 5, 2, 9, 9		3 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-22 05:17:18		Spirit to do stuff rolls 8 to Power + Finesse (10 Again, WillPower)		2, 4, 6, 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 3		1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2019-11-29 14:40:38		Cosmo rolls 5 to Perception (Wits+Comp) (10 Again)		10, 1, 4, 8, 2, 8		3 successes

(Duties) A Street Corner Named Desire

Similar Threads

Glimpse Dichotomy of Desire

Glimpse (Harvest) Street-club called Desire

Glimpse Deep Red Desire

Hollow Desire Counseling

Nox New Office, New Duties