(PRP TH) - Treasure Hunt!

[Aurora]

Ok, so the others got that there was something with the tree.

There was a frown as she looked around, then looked to Belle and Corn, “Something isn’t right. I didn’t detect any bones either, aside from my own, none. Meaning none from animals that had passed, or are here, alive.” Was something blocking her magic? Or were they missing something?

To Belle, “Something like that. Or it could simply be a starting point. Maybe the tree is where the lovers met, but the choker is somewhere else. Maybe somewhere else that was special.” She muses out loud.

She hears Belle talking to Corn, but she focused on the tree and what was around it. A chair? A table? Signs of a path?

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-07 12:19:39	Aurora rolls 5 to Looking Around the Tree(Wits 2+Comp3) (10 Again)	8, 8, 8, 3, 4	3 successes

[Corn]

Wait, she did detect her own bones? I didn't get anything...

Then Belle asked a ... personal question. "Eh, well... I wouldn't call it a lover's nest, no." Corn said, embarrassed. His mind did wander back to his wife and their bed - now their marital bed. They were trying for a baby but it wasn't clinical. The act was loving and very intimate. It was the small things on top of the physical release. The minor. The breathing, the warmth of her body touching his. That strand of hair stuck on her sweat on the side of her neck. The way Maria bit her lower lip when she was there ... get your head out of the gutter! What are you thinking?!

Corn was not a very paranoid man, but that was not the kind of thoughts he wanted in his head when surrounded my mages, in a mage's sanctum. A mage that was invested enough on relationship to get THAT item in his possession.
That locker... could it protect you, my love? Corn thought again and he shook his head to clear the thoughts of the normal, married guy. He was Corn at this time, the mage, the mystagogue. Focus on the job! You are not a teenager!

"Sorry. I got distracted for a bit." Corn apologized.

He approached the other two and looked around the willow, as best as he could, trying to find any clue about what function this willow had and why it was important.

Wits + Investigation to try and find any clues.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-07 17:25:32	Corn rolls 5 to Wits + inves (10 Again)	7, 10, 6, 8, 5, 8	3 successes

Perhaps it was a gate? A Marker of some kind? A lover's nest as Belle called it? Part of a bigger arrangement? The anchor of a ghost?

The anchor of a ghost... Corn concentrated again and after speaking in High Speech he reached to Stygia and gave himself the ability to see ghosts.

Speak with the dead. Corn's spells exceed stamina, he has -1 to further spellcasting

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-07 17:31:35	Corn rolls 6 to Speak with the dead: Gnosis + Death + 2 (High speech) (10 Again)	1, 5, 8, 6, 3, 7	1 success

Then, he turned his attention to the willow and the area around it.

I tried to not make the thoughts too explicit, I apologize if I crossed any lines and made anyone uncomfortable.

[Aeolus]

The Awakened ducked through the thick curtain of branches and it was like they stepped into another world. The air felt warmer and heavier, and they could swear they could make out a sweetness in it. Even the grass was healthier in here. Most of it could probably be explained by thermodynamics and by how well the foliage isolated the branch-made dome from the outside, but still.. there was no denying the almost tangible sense of melancholy, of longing, and of joy. Nobody could blame anyone for harboring tender thoughts as they welcomed themselves into this love-struck Mage's world.

Aurora and Belle could make out faint remains of a spell, their Supernal Vision lending itself to such things easier than other sights. White wisps floated in the humid air of this secret retreat like dandelion seeds, brown lines were drawn over the ground like roots. Corn noticed those too - their resonance was solid, almost architectural.
The Shaman was the first to find it: following the wisps she circled the trunk until she basically stumbled over an intricate rune hovering an inch above the ground, and while Aurora watched it another tiny wisp of Magic broke off of it and got carried away.

Belle focused on the tree, but as far as she could tell there were no spots to hide anything, nor was there any Magic worked into the willow itself. If someone hid something in the tree they were pretty clever about it - at least, clever enough to outsmart the Warlock for the moment.

Corn took a more methodical approach to surveying the area. This place had certainly changed with time - just like the rest of the property - so he could mostly take educated guesses about its purpose. With where his mind wandered anyway the Moros found it very plausible that a couple could put down a blanket here and watch the spotty sunlight through the leaves while laying in each others arms. The ground was even, no roots or old plants disturbed the softness found here. The tree looked well cared for and if he had to guess Corn would say that the way the branches grew and fell were cultivated in some way to create this dome. The place Aurora was looking at seemed to break the even-ness.. or did it?
While casting another spell, he felt the strain he put onto his pattern, but his spell took hold nevertheless. He didn't see any Ghosts or Spirits to prove to him that it had actually worked, but in contrast to the earlier failures he definitely felt the connection to his Watchtower happening, the Imago turning into reality.

Corn can make a (Wits + Investigation) roll.

Success

'Special' doesn't even beginn to describe it - at least someone had such a strong opinion about another 'special' place that it still resonated with Fate's threads.

You guys can scrutinize the spell (Aurora and Belle would gain +1 for those rolls) or try to dispel it (I'd tell you if you rolled enough successes).

3 successes on scrutiny

The spell is upholding some form of illusion. Something beneath that rune isn't what it seems.

[Belle]

As Belle ducks under the willow leaves she can feel the change in the air. Well, what do you know? The grass is greener on the other side. But it's more than the grass; it's the air. It makes her feel things she's not used to feeling: safety, comfort, almost feelings of...

Home

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-08 20:46:09	Belle rolls 6 to Scrutinze Rune (Int + Occult + ST Bonus) (10 Again)	5, 1, 7, 2, 1, 1	failure

A tinge of guilt pervades her otherwise happy perception of this peaceful place. Her scrutiny is warped by a desire to get out; a fear that she's desecrating something precious. "You got anything" She looks over to Aurora "I'm kind of running a blank here." She looks embarrassed. Even as only an Apprentice in the ways of Prime magic, she was normally more observant than this.

[Aurora]

Now this was a hideaway she could get behind. Some place she could spend hours upon hours, lost in thought and feeling of the area. She wanted to stay here, lean against the tree and just enjoy the feelings. Maybe make a call to a certain someone to join her. A private escape.

Shaking her head, her eyes focus on the Rune, as she kneels down to look more closely at it.

Could this be hiding the choker? Or was it simply a protection against prying eyes or something?

Looking to Belle, she shrugs gently, “Maybe?” watching the fading Rune. "But it's something.." her words drift off. But what was it?

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-09 11:50:28	Aurora rolls 8 to Scrutinze Rune (Int 3 + Occult 3+ 2 ST Bonus) (10 Again)	5, 5, 7, 8, 5, 4, 7, 7	1 success

Accidentally read +2 instead of +1, but subtracting doesn't take off the single success, unless you want it to...lol!*needs coffee*

[Corn]

Passing through the leaves and finding the others scrutinizing the rune, Corn refers to what he caught with the Sybil Sight.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-09 14:04:44	Corn rolls 5 to Wits+inv (10 Again)	9, 6, 1, 1, 2	1 success

"The words about a different 'special' place resonate with fate, Aurora . I can't tell for sure whether the choker is somewhere else or not, but I can tell that someone had such a strong opinion about another 'special' place."

The place seemed ... lovely. "This indeed looks like a cozy love-nest."
Seeing as the rune was solid, Corn also attempted to scrutinize the rune.

Scrutinize:

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-09 14:36:13	Corn rolls 6 to Int + occ (extended) (10 Again)	6, 2, 2, 5, 10, 9, 8	3 successes

I put it as an extended roll... but got it in the first roll

[Aeolus]

Belle 's first look at the spell woven into the area came up blank - maybe the rune was too intricate for her understanding, maybe the deterioration over time has made things less recognizable. Or maybe the Warlock was just momentarily distracted.
Aurora found out little more: it was definitely some sort of Prime magic used and so far she could only tell that the spell was pretty potent, even if time has taken its toll.

Corn meanwhile put his methodical thinking to good use and only took mere seconds to properly identify the rune's use. This spell hid something, and it had been enhanced in a way that made it last a long time - of course, as with most things they've encountered, with nobody around to care for those enchantments things were slowly falling apart.

All right - now that you've found out that it's only an illusion (granted Corn communicates this with the others), you can either try and dispel it (Aurora has found out that the spell has a potency of 5 left) or 'attack' it in the hopes of breaking the illusion.

[Corn]

Corn found the reason that his spells failed! Well, not exactly, but he found the root of the illusion at least.

"This rune is veiling. It is a loooong lasting illusion that hides something. " Just in case, Corn did a good look at the rune. You never know when that rune could show up again. " @Belle or Aurora , could you imprint that rune to your memory or something? If we can recreate it later, it would help us study this artifact; we will have something to start, something to compare info with."

Not having eidetic memory or magic to perfectly memorize anything, Corn simply tries to focus on that rune as best as he can, to imprint it to memory the usual way, like students and artists do all the time.

What should I roll to get bonuses in the future to remember this rune in case it shows up in our search or somewhere else?

[Corn]

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-12 10:24:59	Corn rolls 6 to Int + occ (more scrutiny) (10 Again)	2, 1, 2, 1, 7, 8	1 success

+1 success to scrutinize the rune

[Belle]

Belle could've smacked herself upside the head, but she was still kind of sedated by the mood under the tree. "Oh, duh! Of course!" She grimaces briefly. "Afraid I don't have the Mind power for that exactly, but this might help..."

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-12 21:55:43	Belle rolls 4 to Improvised Ephemeral Image (Gnosis + Prime) (10 Again)	10, 10, 7, 5, 7, 1	2 successes

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-12 21:57:43	Belle rolls 7 to Mimic Rune on Phone Case (Int + Expression + Ephemeral Image Bonus) (10 Again)	2, 10, 3, 4, 3, 4, 4, 3	1 success

Belle weaves the power of Prime with her own artistic sensibilities. She pulls out her cellphone and imprints a mirror of the Rune on the back, sprucing up the case with some nice arcane imagery. "That should hopefully keep until we can get a written copy." With her main focus on preserving the rune, she leaves the initial dispelling up to Aurora and Corn. Best part of being on a team: multi-tasking!

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-10-12 22:00:09	Belle rolls 6 to Scrutinize Rune (Int + Occult + ST bonus) (10 Again)	2, 2, 6, 4, 9, 2	1 success

Scrutinize roll just in case it's required for Belle to copy the rune. If more turns are needed, Belle will reserve her first turn for Scrutiny, then use Ephemeral Image to imprint the rune copy