The Road to Hell

[Aeolus]

Rails got a phone call and left without elaborating why.

The woman barely looked at him leaving, opting to roll her eyes at Moira instead. "Why thank you." Womanly solidarity apparently only went so far. Maybe Moira projected the frequency she might think about little reality-enhancers onto the woman, maybe her praise wasn't as effective as hoped.

Apollo still stayed in the background, although a quick glance here and there made it clear that the woman hasn't forgotten about him. Still, Moira was the main conversation partner. "There is this nurse who leads the group. Stephanie is her name and apart from her I haven't really noticed anyone else important. Helpers here and there, yes, but she seems to be the head of that program. She took a few careful steps towards the main street and the entrance, then looked back. "I think I'm going in now. Thanks for the help."

[Moira]

Moira nodded solemnly. "I understand. Ummm look, would you mind if we exchanged phone numbers? Just in case? It's always good to have someone looking out when your health is wonky like this, ya know?" She offered, taking out her cell phone, and glancing at Apollo. She didn't want to go back inside, so maybe Moira could advocate on her behalf. "I mean maybe I can put in a word or something inside since you want them to undo what they did?"

Roll to convince to exchange info

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-05-12 10:34:45	Moira rolls 5 to Convince? Manipulation + Persuasion + SL (10 Again)	4, 1, 10, 9, 6, 3	2 successes

Stats, Spells, Equipment

Health:
Mana:
WP:
Armor 0
Defense 2


Vulgar 0
Active Spells: 1/5
[2R]Influence Sound
Personal Spells: 0/2


Equipment:
Khukri 2(L) 2/J 3 •• 9 again on targeted attacks (Pg 24 WOD Armory)
Pepper Spray Durability 1, Size 0, Structure 1, Cost n/a
Sports Car: Durability 2, Size 10, Structure 12, Acceleration20,SafeSpeed 161 (110 mph), Maximum Speed (Mini Cooper Sport Version 235 (160 mph), Handling 4 (Pg 147 WOD Core)
(Parked around the corner)
Smart Phone with Internet +1
Arcana Tool Fate Coin (PG 90 Mage Core)

[Apollo]

Apollo smiled at the woman and crouched down so he was at her level and not standing over her. "I can help you inside if you need help or moral support or anything."

[Aeolus]

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-05-14 07:22:46	Mage ST rolls 4 to resist Moira's suggestion (10 Again)	7, 6, 6, 4	failure

Moira could see the woman think about the offer - or rather: she could see her think for reasons not to take it. The Acanthus might have been there herself. Be it pride, distrust or plain ego, exchanging contact information wasn't something some people took lightly. But maybe the nausea has brought down her defenses enough to actually agree on it. "Oh what the hell." She opened her purse and rummaged through it for a few moments until she produced a plain white business card which she handed over to Moira with a shaky hand. It read 'Monica Berger, Financial Advisor' and listed a mobile number. She glanced at Apollo while handing it over, her lips pressed tightly together.

"Thanks but I don't need any-" She stopped herself and really looked at him, maybe for the first time since they met. She barely stayed on her feet and those two strangers in front of her obviously wanted to help. The Mages could practically see how Monica swallowed her pride and started again. "That would be nice, thanks."

[Apollo]

Apollo offered her an arm, allowing her to hold onto him to support herself if needed. He pondered where rails had gone without saying a word but trusted that it was important. Moving at the woman's place he starts to head inside the centre, allowing her to take the lead.

[Aeolus]

Bump Moira .

[Aeolus]

The first few steps were a bis hesitant, be it because she was somewhat intimidated by Apollo's appearance or because she wasn't a hundred percent steady on her feet yet, but Monica lead the way out of the alley and towards the entrance again.
Standing in front of the door, the Thyrsus could feel the pressure on his arm increase slightly as the woman apparently steeled herself - then she let go of Apollo's arm with an almost inaudible scoff. "All right, thank you." She swallowed, then she pushed the door to the community center open and walked in with a stubborn determination that probably was mostly for her own sake.

Following her, the Mages went through an unspectacular entrance hall (more notice boards, artwork created by the community of varying quality, a vending machine for drinks and snacks, two people sitting at a table and idly chatting) into a short hallway leading to a 'community room'. The sign outside the door said there was a private meeting going on (a more subtle fine print identified this meeting as a NA meeting), but Monica pushed on and entered through that door without stopping. Maybe she knew that if she had time to think it might end badly again.

They ended up in a brightly lit and equally community-driven decorated room. Tables have been pushed to the sides and offered a variety of snacks and two canteens of coffee, while most of the chairs were put in a circle in the middle of the room.
Nine people sat in this circle, stemming from various walks of life and backgrounds. One of those people was a middle-ages woman with sensible shoes and a cardigan thrown over a simple dress sitting in a chair facing the door. She had dark circles under her eyes and had an air of exhaustion around her, but as soon as the group entered the room she attentively and openly looked at the newcomers. "Why hello there. It seems you're a bit late, but please have a seat and join us. We were just about to introduce us to the group."
Monica looked back at Apollo and Moira, the friendly greeting and the solemn atmosphere having taken out the wind of her sails for a moment, then she took a chair and joined the circle. Whatever she had to say apparently had to wait for a more opportune moment.

If anyone would have liked to do something before entering we can work it in retroactively - just wanted to move forward for now.

[Aeolus]

Apollo we can also make a cut here - the exposition is practically done and you can either play this scene alone for now or we continue investigation at a later date with a regrouped cast of characters.

Another bump for Moira .

[Apollo]

Sorry for the delay in posting. I was waiting on Moira, and then had 3 busy office days (groans). Seems like a good place to cut and we can maybe do some background stuff and pick up part 2 of the investigation later

[Aeolus]

Ultimately the two Awakened decided that discretion was the better part of valor - so far they hadn't raised suspicion and could retreat and regroup this time.

For now they had just another source of hear-say to go off of, but this one came with a live performance of sorts. Was there really something off about this particular support group?
And if there was: was it bad enough to look into?

Ending scene for now to pick up once Moira is back or with a stocked up cast.