RE: Treasure Hunt - In the Hand

[Aeolus]

Maybe Corn was less distracted by the Abyss and screaming men, maybe it did him better to experience those feelings instead of just parroting Belle's heartfelt speech. Whatever the reason, the Moros' words resonated with honest and clarity and for the first time he had the feeling of actually getting through to 'Dina'.
The change of her expression came suddenly this time, as if he had just slapped her awake: confusion, denial, anger, pain - all of those emotions flashed over the ghost's face in quick succession. Was she mourning her own death or the death of her lover now? Either way, it looked like a different kind of torment. Gone was the romantic longing, the eternal hope that they might be reunited in this world. It was replaced by real pain as reality set in.

Finally though, the storm passed. Although the air almost reverberated with emotion, 'Dina' now seemed serene, accepting of her fate. She looked around with a new sense of understanding, landed on the necklace Belle was just working on, and then regarded the bearer of the news with a ever so small smile. She was already beginning to fade, to lose form and substance even to the enchanted eyes of the Mystagogue.
Then she was gone.


With all of this going on it maybe was a good thing that Belle wasn't able to sense most of this. Sure, there was a low roiling in her Unseen Sense as 'Dina' moved on, but she was pretty deep in her zone. Heck, to not only find such a complicated Artifact but also identify it all by herself? This ruled!
Of course she shouldn't get ahead of herself. Taking a step back - mentally - she looked at the Resonance again. And again, from a different angle. Something reminded her of peacock-feathers, as weird as that sounded. Following this hunch she dove in again: knowing, unveiling? Yes - but no. This spell was far more sophisticated than a mere Mage Sight, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was in the same ball-park.

By now they have almost spent three hours in the Athenaeum. She couldn't be far from done, but then again you never really knew with ancient Mage-toys.

[Corn]

"I will miss you..." Corn said to Dina that was not Dina as she moved on. Things returned to what they should be, but Corn was left with the bittersweet feeling you have when one of the top students of your professor graduated and was moving to a prestigious Ivy League College or a profitable career far away, and you knew that you helped her reach that place but you will also never see her again.

With a sigh, Corn returned to his research. Perhaps a spirit, probably one tied to knowledge, would do good in the Athenaum and give him someone that is not interrupting -or bored- when he points out things. They just had to "raise" the resonance of the place towards something that would appeal to such entities, probably putting enough study, knowledge and such. Something to ask their Thyrsi.

Some time later, as Belle was still deep in her research, Corn looked at his watch. It would be a couple of hours before his wife returned home. This is taking long. If it goes for much longer, he will have to find an excuse for being away. Dropping to the Library to return books and borrow one about the Slavic people of Europe during their movement South in the early middle ages. That would work.

[Belle]

She studies the Choker, peeling away the layers of enigma and resistance. And then there's an...absence. Belle can't quite put her finger on it. Like something was there and it's gone. In the moment, she's so entranced by what's she's doing that she doesn't think too much on it. But she knows she's close...so close now.

Prime? Why Prime? What connection does Prime have to beauty? Maybe illusion? Maybe it's not so much revealing beauty as it is projecting it, like the illusions she can create with Prime? With her newfound focus on mind, Belle takes the shortest of breathers; just enough time to take a deep breath and shut her eyes for several seconds to prevent straining. And then the Warlock is back at it again with hellish tenacity.

5 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-01 22:57:57	[01] Belle rolls 5 to Extended Scrutiny of the Artifact Round 5 (Int + Occult) (10 Again)	10, 4, 10, 9, 2, 10, 9, 2	5 successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-01 22:57:57	[02] Belle rolls 5 to Extended Scrutiny of the Artifact Round 5 (Int + Occult) (10 Again)	4, 4, 7, 8, 10, 3	2 successes

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-01 22:57:57	[03] Belle rolls 5 to Extended Scrutiny of the Artifact Round 5 (Int + Occult) (10 Again)	5, 8, 7, 5, 10, 10, 9	4 successes

Spell Tolerance 3/3, Vulgar 0, Armor 5, Analyze Suxx (per ST confirm) 27/?

[Aeolus]

That hellish tenacity paid off - or maybe the universe decided not to mess with Belle when she was in a bad mood. Either way, the breathing technique paid off: once she went at it with a clear head, she saw it almost instantly. What had changed their lives significantly, what had opened their eyes to the terrible beauty behind the Lie?
Why, Awakening. Much like the petals of the Resonance-flower opened up when given attention, the wearer of the Artifact could open the eyes of their Sleeping beloved.
Following that line of Resonance brought Belle to a Glyph written in Atlanthean. The simplest - and based on context clues most fitting - translation would be 'kiss'. She probably had to thank Aurora some day for the lessons.
It took only mere minutes once she had put her mind to it, but she definitely hadn't missed anything: the Artifact would grant the wearer the ability to see and converse with ghosts and by kissing a Sleeper the wearer could make them see what usually would be denied to them by the Lie. Not what she had expected, but people apparently expressed love in a multitude of fashions.

So there you have it. Good job!
The Artifact is rated at 9 dots (or 90xp) and can't be used by anyone until the cost has been paid. Why? Because Magic - and balance.
I will remove my marble from this scene so you can discuss the aftermath; if you have any question just tag me.

[Corn]

Corn, unaware that Belle finished with the item or what it does, concentrates on his studies.

[Belle]

"BOOM!"

The epiphany hits Belle like a thunderclap and she jumps out of her seat, hands clap together and arms go up in a touchdown gesture. "YES! Got it!" The Warlock cuts just short of a victory dance to quickly jot notes down in her notebook. She practically skips over to Corn, notebook in hand. "Okay, so we're looking at a dual-purpose Artifact here. The first bound ability is to speak with the dead, hence Dina. The second bound ability is to grant Mage Sight to Sleepers; and the trigger for that power is a kiss." Certainly one hell of a way to make a relationship feel special.

She's riding the high of discovery now; just barely avoiding a stammer. "So, this is going to take some massive mojo to attune to; none of us are going to be able to use it anytime soon. That said, I can also look into options to have its powers removed. Or we just go to containment, since we know there's no great risk of it cursing anybody." She looks to Corn. "Hey, did anything happen with Dina? You've been quiet for a while." Belle was a master at tunnel-vision, she's almost certain she missed something while she was working.

[Corn]

Corn turns around at the "BOOM" sound and looks at Belle . He is about to ask what the heck goes on but the excited warlock bulldozes him with revelations and soon he's taken up in the excitement.
"Ohhh, that's a very thoughtful item! You deserve a treat!" he says when she reveals the powers. He is less enthused by the time it would take to anyone to attune to it, a testament of the dedication of the necrophiliac moros that (hopefully) didn't actually turn his wife to a ghost just never did the effort to help her move on. Still an asshole but less so.

Then Belle mentions de-powering the artifact. Depowering an atlantean artifact. Stealing the powers of an artifact... At first the words don't register. He can't believe he heard correctly.
"God, no! We will not mess with an artifact! This is no mere imbued item, you said it so. It's an artifact. I can't believe an acquisitor-hopeful would consider, let alone suggest, stealing the powers from an artifact of that age. What you suggest is worse than a suggestion to break up Stonehedge to pieces! Destroying this would rob the world of a wonder from Atlantis and actually one that is benign for a change. "

Then Belle mentions Dina and Corn looks towards where the ghost was floating with a sigh.
"She moved on. She had a good life from what she showed me with her numina, but that life ended. It was time to move on. I can't say I won't miss her but unlike that possessive necrophiliac, I am willing to let a ghost go, actually help a ghost go. I can understand wanting to spend more time with your loved one, I honestly do, but it is in no way healthy to hung around a ghost AND leaves the problem of what happens when you die and the ghost remains all alone."

As a player I am neither angry nor look down on the player or the character for that suggestion of "depowering". Just to be clear; that was Corn's reaction that doesn't realize what 90 XP means.

[Belle]

Belle's glad to see Corn sharing her enthusiasm for her discovery. "So, are we talking like desserts? Or is there something a bit more Mysterium-y we could put on the table here?" Belle was by no means against being rewarded for her efforts.

Corn's enthusiasm turns to criticism quickly though, and Belle's eyes narrow as her temper begins to...

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-02-06 01:36:46	Belle rolls 6 to Resist Vice: Indignant Anger (Resolve + Composure) (10 Again)	2, 1, 10, 4, 10, 7, 5, 2	2 successes

...resolve itself in a focused stare. "Just going through all of the options, boss." She doesn't give in to the voices in her head (and maybe from the ring on her finger) telling her to verbally chew him out for doubting her dedication to the Mysterium. "I'm all for preservation of Atlantean history, but I wasn't sure if you'd feel like this thing would be a liability given it was used as a ghost anchor. I don't want to be a part of perpetuating misery with magic." Unless it's earned. "That said, I apologize for running my mouth. All the possibilities just came out with the excitement." The bitterness fades a bit with the apology, more so as a reminder to calm the heck down. She knew Corn didn't mean anything bad by it. He was just crazy passionate about his Order.

He mentions Dina and Belle's not sure whether to feel relieved or sad. She'd kind of been getting used to having a somebody riding with the Choker. "I'm glad she found closure. And I'm sure the fact that you believe that brought some comfort to her. I know I'm relieved the head Necromancer in the Mysterium knows something about consent." She can't stay angry at the loveable goof for long. She walks back to the Choker, taking a moment to just observe from a mundane perspective "All that said, what do you want done with this? I'm guessing stored somewhere in the Mysterium? And how do you want the findings cataloged? Do we have a secure online database for this or are we going straight analog? Not that I mind either way, I'm all up for writing a freakin' novel about this thing."

No worries; completely understandable. And a fun chance to try out Belle's Vice

[Corn]

"I am talking dessert and coffee is well deserved, Mystagogue. I would also write a letter for you to use if you want to officially join the Order; how your spells and mostly your dedication helped us gain valuable insight on some atlantean workings. No need to explicitly mention an artifact, I think.
Now, the head necromancer of the Mysterium, who is just an initiate of death, would ask you to catalogue those findings. And I think we better keep that item locked up in the Athenaum. Perhaps we will trade it later for something else with a different Mysterium Caucus, perhaps we will study it more, perhaps we will use it for inspiration for us all. You can use this laptop here to write in digital form and save your work in a usb stick that should NOT leave the Athenaum. Not the circle, the Athenaum.
That contribution of yours should be shared with the others as it may influence whether you will be the grand winner of the Mysterium's contest. " Corn said with a smile. Yes, Dina was now in a better place.
Looking back at where the ghost was he sighed. "It is not healthy for us to get too attached to ghosts. But I found her presence ... soothing. And yes, I know that she's a dead person so finding a ghost's presence soothing is ... alien. I am not one of those necromancers that are so used to ghosts that forget the living. "

Then he turned to her. "So... ready to get your well deserved dessert and coffee?"

BoxingUnicorn want to end this scene here and jump on the car scene that will probably take place a few weeks from now?

[Belle]

Now that's what Belle likes to hear: good ol' Mysterium social currency. "If you can swing the recommendation, that would be awesome! Thanks, Corn!" She shakes Corn's hand, her earlier frustration doused with the promise of being a valued part of her Order.

"I like that call: keep things in-house and minimum paper trail. I'll get to work as soon as I can." Belle nods to Corn as he talks about Dina passing on. ​"I'm glad. I haven't known too many Necromancers, but the ones I've met here in Sacramento seem to be a good bunch." She can tell Corn means his words; he really does care about his life and the lives around him. A man of the present. She respects that.

She makes sure Roxie's Choker is properly secured before grabbing her jacket and smiling like a kid in a candy store. "Thanks for the vote of confidence! As for the treat, I think I'm in the mood for a victory milkshake."

For sure! Thanks so much for the fun Scene!