What the future holds?

[Corn]

"My goal?Out of this discussion? I had a feeling you don't know where to start, as I did when I joined, and wanted to see if I could help you find something and also reassure you that while the order is academic, I understand there are other things in a mage's life than research, so if you need time, get some time and we will still be here. Tell you that you are not 'falling behind schedule' as we are not closing the Abyss any time soon. But in the mean time, try to motivate you and perhaps help you find what you want to do.
What I get out of this... I don't know. A discussion with a friend about magic etc and what he wants to do is good enough for me, I suppose."

[Crystal]

Corn's answer made Crystal realize that he had become defensive again. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yeah, sorry. I appreciate that." A beat or two of silence. "Thanks man. Things haven't been exactly stellar lately." And that? That was a tone in Crystal's voice the Moros might not have heard yet. It lacked the usual bravado the Warlock even had in his snarky comebacks.

[Corn]

Corn raised an eyebrow. "Things have gone less than Stellar for me too, Crystal . " he said with a sigh. "The part of what you could do and that there's no timeframe cleared up... what is the issue? Why are things not stellar and is there anything I can do to make them more stellar? "

[Crystal]

A second of startled surprise as Crystal really looked at Corn. Sure, he hasn't been fashion forward in any way ever.. but he looked like he had a rough time. "Uh, you mean the Consilium business?" Of all the things one could do moping with the head of the Order wasn't something Crystal had seen himself doing when he got up today.

"Thanks for the offer but," he threw his hands up, "nah. You know, when I got here Aurora warned me that people would come and go constantly and I thought 'damn, that's pretty cynical even for my standards' but she was right. It's taxing." And while that was only scratching the surface it was more than he had admitted to anyone while being sober.

[Corn]

Corn nodded to Crystal words. "I think you are overlooking the joys your other life can provide, Crystal. I believe it would help you to develop deeper connections than just a few mages or short relationships. A great many of our kind are nomadic by choice or circumstance. But most Sleepers spend the majority of their lives within 15 miles from where they were born. Look it up. It would help you set roots in here, if you want that.
Don't get me wrong, I like Aurora a lot and respect her and her choices, but she is cynical and can be distant. Hell, I am also cynical when it comes to new arrivals. You and I arrived here about the same time ... and we are now mid-old guard! There are people that arrived after us and already left. "

Then came Crystal's inquiry about his 'less than stellar' comments. Not exactly what he wanted to talk about. And would not mesh very well with the "forge meaningful relationships outside the awakened" message he wanted to send. But since he had advised Crystal to do that, wouldn't it be fair to give him a warning that it may not be as peachy as he preached?
"When I say things haven't been stellar, Crystal, I mean real and serious problems. Not a bruised ego and a few unflattering comments by people that I rarely work with. We lost... I... " Corn sighs. He doesn't allow his mind to dwell on the issue at this time. So, he just goes for it trying to keep the hole in his soul untouched.
"I don't know if you were aware. We were expecting a child with my wife. It wasn't meant to be. We lost him a few weeks ago. It has been... rough but we have support from relatives and friends. So, no, I have more pressing issues than whether Puck would make poor Phoenyx do her chores over putting a sleeper to sleep. But it is what it is; We are already recovering with my wife. The grief councilor helps. I... I don't want to talk about it. I believe you understand."

[Crystal]

Crystal tried really hard not to roll his eyes at Corn's sentiment to form deeper connections in his life. He had tried. It didn't work out. He was just not that kind of person. But he barely restrained himself. "I just think that cynicism is a decent defense mechanism. Are we overdoing it at times? Maybe." See? He was able to admit he is somewhat wrong.

But then Corn's news hit him and the Mastigos realized how unimportant all of that was compared to what Corn had been dealing with. Corn, who talked about his family with nothing but pure love and admiration. He must have been through hell and back. "Fuck. I'm really sorry for your loss." He stopped and thought about what else to say. It's not like he had a ton of experience with consoling people facing serious trauma. "I respect you not wanting to talk about it. Just be sure to give me a call or a text if you need something." He idly wondered if this meeting was ultimately also to distract the Moros from his grief - and whether he needed to double his efforts to find something to work on now.

Which really was a selfishly shitty thing to think about, but he couldn't help it.

[Corn]

"Thank you. I appreciate it" Corn said to Crystal , trying to move past his loss and re-take his sunny, optimistic disposition.
"This world," he said waving his finger around to point at the Athenaum, meaning the mage-world, "is a part of me. But it is a part of me that I belong to for a few hours every day or two. The sleeping world is where I spend and I expect to spend most of my life. Where most of my friends, acquaintances, relatives, co-workers are in - with the exception of a few good-looking, rich, fashionable and cynical will workers. So... I admit that I have a vested interest in improving the society sleepers live in. Not leaving the Seers to win, or even to gain ground. Breaking the Lie so that I don't have to hide.
I want us to leave a better world for my kids. "


But Corn's smile didn't hold. He gave a sigh and looked around. "The Athenaum looks pretty empty. At first, I thought we should modernize. Have books in electronic form. But I see now the error of my ways. I will bring books in dead-tree format." he said to Crystal. Clearly the motivational part of his speech was over and Corn was now just making small-talk. His eyes felt on the safe. Not the safest place.
"Do you think we should invest more in security in this place, Crystal? We do have something the Guardians probably won't like us to have."
Corn turned to Crystal to see if he agreed. This was a discussion after all, not him expressing his thoughts as the mastigos nodded.

[Crystal]

Crystal listened and waited. Tried to hear what Corn actually said. There was nothing particularly important in Crystal's Sleeper life - that's what drove him into his lifestyle to begin with. Problem was, instead of just burning out like any other somewhat wealthy guy with a tendency to favour instant gratification he got thrusted into this big and meaningful and reality-defining shit and he felt even more lost. There was no running away from either side completely, and it sucked.

"I appreciate the pep talk." And with the carefully diplomatic tone the Warlock chose it really did sound the part. "Well, maybe you're right and that's something worth working for. I'll give it some thought, okay?"

The sudden change of topics caught the Mastigos off-guard. "Uh, I guess? Look, It's not like I couldn't contribute to that as well, just as long as you don't mind us keeping all the Sleeper sciences clearly labeled and stored away where they belong." A lopsided grin hushed over Crystal's face. "Are you talking about the cursed thing? We could invest in more security, but do we have reason to believe the Guardians are snooping?" Because even if this again went to show how naively sheltered he was, he didn't want to believe that this Consilium would breach each others' trust like that.

[Corn]

"We don't have a reason to suspect they are snooping. But Guardians are well known to snoop on Mysterium business. While our current Guardian doesn't seem that type, we don't know who would appear in 3 months or 3 years or 20 years. And what I am going to do to the safe, would hold for as much. Furthermore, anyone could be a Seer. Or become a Seer in the future. I am not sure how well you investigate visitors but you are among the few that have mind magic to detect lies. Most of us have to do with gut instinct and trust. " he said non-chalantly as if Seer infiltrators was not as big a threat as he actually just told Crystal they were.

Corn moved to the safe, opened it, took out his lead coin and started talking in high speech. As usual when using powerful magic, corn used mana to ease the passing of the spell to the Fallen World.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2022-05-30 13:03:24	Corn rolls 9 to Gnosis+Matter -1 +2 (10 Again)	10, 2, 6, 4, 6, 4, 5, 9, 6, 2	2 successes

"That hurt...again. Take it from me Crystal , the stronger your connection to Watchtower grows, the more jealous the Abyss becomes. "

Then, he gently pressed the inside of the safe and a secret compartment opened. He took the artifact, Dina's choker, and put it in the secret compartment. Not the cursed bracelet.
"That way, if anyone busts open the safe, they will find something and may not look further. " he said to Crystal pleased with himself.

Vulgar spells:1

I just realized that Secret Compartment - Edge of Darkness Wiki (nwod.org) is not a master-tier spell. So, Paradox would be a chance die, thus the 8 would be a failure.

[Crystal]

Crystal nodded slowly as he tried to remember that other Guardian that walked in and out of the city. What was his name again? And did he even really leave or was he just hiding in plain sight? "I.. guess. Although it's a bit frowned upon to just read peoples' minds, isn't it?" All this talk about Guardians and now this are making Crystal more and more antsy again. Shit, there was a reason he wasn't dealing with this most of the time. "You know I got into hot water for that? And I doubt that I could pull it off without anyone noticing either."

And just like that Corn defied reality and dug a hole into a solid safe like it was nothing. Was he trying to prove a point or something? Like show him how wonderful it can be to lean into that side of you after basically just stressing the other way? The Warlock was shifting in his seat, the smile almost faltering. "Shit, I can feel myself overthinking." Come on, simplest solution. Get out of here and numb that pretty head of yours. "So thanks for showing me this. I guess that makes me trustworthy in your books?"