(WI) Now What?

[Witch]

She had debated back and forth with herself the entire way to the circle.

She had gotten ... ok, comfortable still wasn't right, but it didn't bother her stepping into the church anymore. But to make it a workspace?

But she hadn't wanted to bring the laptop back to her place to poke at.

And barring anyone else offering up their spots, the Circle it was.

A table had been found and dragged out. Extension cord plugged in and snaking its way to the power source. Not yet plugged in. But ready.

And she sat a few paces away staring at the thing, her eyes narrowed as she thought about what she wanted to try first.

[Winter]

As he stepped through the Circle, his eyes took in the familiar sights and sounds of the Sacramento's Sanctuary. It had been a year since he had last set foot in this sacred space, and yet everything seemed unchanged. The towering pillars and intricate carvings on the walls held the same old mystic charm that had always captivated him. The pang of nostalgia that had until then taken hold in his chest was suddenly washed away.

He adjusted his suit jacket, feeling the weight fall off him. He was a man of few words, but his eyes spoke volumes. They darted from one corner of the room to the other, scanning for any changes or signs of trouble.

As he walked towards the center of the church, he noticed that the place was uncharacteristically quiet. Sacramento was never a sprawling hub of the community, but where a small group once stood, now remained a single person.

He finally reached the center of the church, where a lone girl stood in front of a table. He clears his throat. "Hello", he says with a small bow of his head.

[Witch]

She had just leaned forward, deciding to go with the basic obvious first step, when she heard the door open.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked to the entry way, waiting. If it was someone she knew, she had a few words ready at the tip of her tongue. If it wasn't ... well, she would have different words. Less ... angry words.

Which is what it turned out to be. Someone she didn't know that is.

And though his darting looks about the room would indicate an actual new person, his stride forward was fairly self-assured, fairly ... knowing. Though ... she was the only person here. Nobody would pick the empty bookshelf against the wall to talk to over a person. Well. Almost nobody. Exceptions to the rules and all.

She returned his head bow with a bobble of her own, "Hi. Can I ... help you?" It was an awkward thing to ask. But like, obviously he found his way in, so he knew it wasn't a church. Which meant things. But that still left a butt-ton of options open.

Plus, the whole solo female thing.

[Winter]

Winter glanced at the young woman, there was a certain familiarity to her and the way she stood in the middle of the Church, something about her that made him cautious. He had learned over the years that not everyone was to be trusted, especially in the world of magic.


He nodded his head in greeting, his eyes scanning her from head to toe. "I'm Winter," he said in a deep, solemn tone, "used to live here".


He had been away for a year, and it seemed that some new faces had appeared in his absence. He wondered briefly about what happened to the others, did he turn out when the Consilium was on a low tide?

"Was passing through the city and hopped back to say hi", he shrugs, "guess I got the timing wrong".

[Witch]

”Winter.” The name was said with a sense of things clicking into place, the barest hint of a confirming nod to herself.

Straightening she lifts a hand in greeting, ”I’m Witch. I arrived a bit after you left.” Her lips twisted and her eyes flickered to the empty corners of the room. To the empty bookshelf. To the space empty of the smell generated from multiple coffee cups.

”I haven’t seen anyone else in a bit … so … “ she trailed off. Sorry, all your former fellow Sacramento mages seem gone… came to mind to say. But then again, he had left so …?

Whatever.

”Just swinging in for the hello?” Because if not - she had a laptop and who ever said it was a bad idea to have two sets of eyes scrutinizing and solving?

[Winter]

Winter gave a slight nod in response to Witch's introduction, his expression remaining stoic. He had never met her before, but he could tell that she was a mage by the fact she was here.

He listened as she spoke, hinting at the absence of the other mages, a flicker of concern crossed his features. Had something happened to them while he was away? It wouldn't be the first time that mages had disappeared without a trace.

He shook his head at her question. "No, not just a hello," he said, his voice serious. "I was thinking of re-establishing my Sanctum", he said, his eyes scanning the empty church. It was strange to see it so quiet, so empty.

"You're plugging that in?", he says, looking at the chord of the computer.

[Witch]

Witch brightened with a smile, "Ah! Well- welcome back then!" With his proclamation, she would have to have a conversation with him about being a Guardian but she saw his gaze move to the laptop. It was a conversation for later.

Sighing she tilted her head to consider the laptop, "Eventually probably. But not yet ... you have any experience with possessed laptops? Or software coding? Or," what was the phrase Cookie had used?

"Abyssal gematria?"

Leaning forward she tapped the laptop case with a finger, "I was just about to stare intently at it for a few minutes as a start before you walked in."

[Winter]

"I'm afraid I don't know much about demonic possession, although, when it comes to technology, I can temporary raise to the task", he says, carefully eyeing the computer. "Though, if you don't mind a set of extra eyes, I'm willing to assist in any way I can"

[Witch]

"I definitely do not mind," Witch chimed easily.

Glancing around she located a spare chair and moving to drag it closer, took the opportunity to give some actual backstory to the laptop.

"A few of us got wind of a computer game that was pretty much a breach. And that was just based on rumors. So, we did the things. Turns out that we inherited a runaway problem from LA."

"A couple mages down there attempted to summon an angel into a computer. Intent being to use it as a defense. When paradox wasn't contained, it pretty much backfired. Instead of an angelic defense, they got demonic trouble."

"This demonic trouble comes in the form of an addictive game that is spilling our secrets left and right. It's accessible straight up through the internet, don't even need anything fancy. Just the right link or site or whatever. And if that isn't bad enough, there are sleepers that they think are in some sort of cult to it. They don't know exactly what it is they are dealing with, but-" She shrugged.

Setting the chair in place and motioning that he was welcome to use it if he wanted, she moved back to where she had been when he walked in. "The mage behind the initial scheme did track it here, but something went wrong and well ... his funeral is being held at a very nice seeming funeral home. His second in command gave me this," leaning over she tapped the laptop again. "His laptop. Ground zero is the belief."

Taking a breath she leaned back, looking to Winter after her lengthy talk.

"As I said - was going to start with staring. See if that showed anything."

[Winter]

Winter listened carefully to Witch's explanation, his expression growing more serious as she spoke. It was clear that this was a serious issue that needed to be dealt with quickly. He took a seat in the spare chair and leaned forward to examine the laptop.

"I see" he said, his eyes looking at the computer for any signs of demonic influence. "Well, nothing has jumped out of the screen yet. Can't be a bad thing, or perhaps it needs power to work its influence", he deadpanned.

"Do you have experience with coding?" he asked, knowing that they would need that kind of expertise in this area.

"Let's see if we can find anything with our sights, I'll start with mine", as he stared at the screen, he began to mutter under his breath, the words a mix of English and High Speech. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind on the laptop until it became clear under the lenses of his supernal sight.
"It's alarming, not just the summoning or the death, but from what you're saying, the fact that more and more Sleepers seem to be attracted rather than repulsed by this thing"

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2023-04-06 08:24:59	Winter rolls 10 to Gnosis + Prime + HS, Supernal Vision Imp With Mind 1 Aura perception (10 Again)	4, 8, 8, 6, 10, 3, 10, 6, 2, 2, 1, 6	4 successes