(Grimoire Hunt) Let the Record Show

[Abacus]

The last thing Abacus wanted to be, was a confounding variable. He had a very clear aim, and yet, it seemed Sacramento would follow him whether he liked it or not. Of course, the resonance would be roiling off of the breacher. He wondered if the Obrimos had his katana on him somewhere.

This would not go up in smoke. This had to be done right.

He turned to the coterie.

"Kaze, Shodan. Keep watch. Outside. Space out your entrance into the store by seven minutes. That's a minimum."

"Pixel, you're with me."

[Pixel]

Scalpel to hammer in no time flat. Pixel smiled to Abacus all the same.

"Okay."

The groups were how he imagined them to be, the division into them being far more blunt then he had intended. Still, it hadn't been his fault. The Warlock wasn't ending up in some Guardian cell because of Kaze, and that's if the Pentacle found them before the Seers. Or Banishers. Or Hunters.

[Kaze]

Kaze smiles at Shodan, "You always introduce me to the most interesting places and people, bro." He says.

He nods at Abacus, acknowledging his words. "Your show." Kaze says, glancing around alertly.

  3 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-03-05 19:34:54		Kaze rolls 6 to perception (Wits 3 +Composure 3) (10 Again)		9, 2, 4, 3, 10, 9, 4		3 successes

[Yumyumcrow]

The group heads off together, slowly drifting into two more discrete pairs as they go.

The city changes rapidly about them, going figuratively and literally down hill very quickly. It had been said that San Francisco had a homeless problem - and from what they saw, either the city had a homeless problem or else they had walked right into a very bad part of town.

Even at this well lit time of day, the broken and the destitute clung to the street. They shambled by in a world of their own; they peered out with fear and suspicion from the alley ways. One slept openly on a corner; another simply lay, brazenly slumped in the gutter. They claimed another small park that the group passed, turning it into a virtual camp: the lawn had long since lost its manicured lustre and the bushes looked stripped and anaemic.

They pass an honest to goodness peep show, somehow still operating in a milieu beyond the early 1980s. The frontage looked like it hadn't been painted since that decade.

A faded, art deco movie theatre holds court over the neighbourhood, as worn down and as thread bare as the street walkers who sauntered openly on a few corners. @Abucus noted the weight of the grand old building in its crumbling surroundings.

The shop claims the ground floor of a tall-ish, narrow building, and is slightly obscured from the street by having its main entrance in a tight alleyway. The alley was not exactly marked as such and took some seconds of lateral thinking to deduce. Next to the front door was a grungy community notice board overflowing with ripped pamphlets and cheap posters.

Up close, the building has a certain weight that triggers Abacus Sight. Shodan and Kaze Supernal Vision picks up a ripple of power framing the upper storeys. Pixel senses this as well; his Third Eye catching a sudden surge of whispers babbling from an upper storey.

Kaze has been acting as overwatch on their short journey. The homeless - distasteful and shocking as they are - are no threat; many seem tired and exhausted. None hang near the shop and the grungy notice board is not damaged or abused in any way. Posters and pamphlets hang limp from the board in grotesque layers of printed pulp: bands, activities, announcements...

Arcane glyphs encoded on paper alert the Apostate Obrimos that the message board is not exactly meant for Sleepers...

[Pixel]

Destitution? Decrepitude? Throw a few used needles on the sidewalk and Pixel would feel right at home.

"Don't make eye contact." His voice is just above a whisper as he walks with Abacus. As they approach the alleyway and piece together what it was for he hears the whispers. "We're here."

His eyes wander to the upper floors of the building.

"You want to go first or should I?"

[Abacus]

"I will. It'll make more sense."

Could you pin it on obsession? Sure, with enough effort you could attribute the action of every Mage to their obsessions. But Abacus looked the part. Older. Sterner. He could pass for a teacher stuck in the dream of Burning Man's past.

He took another look at his surroundings before walking inside the not-so-storefront door.

  3 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2020-03-06 22:55:16		Abacus rolls 6 to Perception (Wits+Investigation) (10 Again)		6, 10, 1, 9, 2, 8, 3		3 successes

[Yumyumcrow]

Shodan scouts the block. There are several other buildings on it, of similar age and style and they block the shop from unwanted investigation. Given by the style of the buildings, and the rough shapes of their lots that he can discern, the Mighty can conclude there will be a small garden and an exit, somewhere.

Returning to the alleyway (from the other end) bears more fruit: at the other end of the alleyway is a coffee shop. It is open and tables spill into the alleyway. Aroma of good coffee. An independent store, not part of a chain.

Exploring the alleyway further reveals it to be rather bare and austere with a few doors and garages (all shut). A wall and part of a fence confirms his hypothesis that the shop building possessed a garden - so one of the garages must belong to the shop.

Tune In reveals what he would have expected: a mash of radio and television signals from the local channels; the unintelligible babble of the internet (though someone is streaming psychedelic music); a woman is having a conversation over skype - pressuring negotiating for some concert tickets.

Abacus makes a brief assessment of his surroundings before striding into the shop. Like Kaze, he notes the sudden lack of homeless in their vicinity; and he becomes aware of the arcane glyphs on the paperwork hanging in piles from the worn notice board.

And then the Enchanter is in the shop...

The shop is a narrow space; narrow and long. It is an anachronism, a throw back to a past slowly fading from memory. There are stacks filled with CDs. Shelves filled with vinyl. Music memorabilia hangs from the walls. Down one end there are booths for listening. Faded paintwork on the walls hints to the store's origins in the pyschedelic movements of decades past. Smell of dust, chalk, and sage.

Two men put an electric guitar through its paces in another corner. One is tubby, hair disheveled, grey and hanging in ringlets to his shoulders. The other is lean, shaven headed with a carefully groomed beard, dressed in black slacks and black turtleneck.

A rocker billie woman mans the high counter. She pops gum and lowers the magazine she had been reading.

The rocker billie and the lean fellow with the shaved head and turtleneck carry a certain depth that the dishevelled guy does not.

[Kaze]

Kaze nudges Shodan and murmurs, "Check it out." He indicates the notice board. He drifts alertly over to it and looks at the specific notices for any useful information before waiting the agreed upon moment to make entry into the shop.