PRP: DYLF: All Faith Cremation

[ReubanBrightwood]

Urns are usually made to be opened so ashes can be spread and so it is with this one. Thus Philip with some deft is able to pocket a handful of the ashes stored within.

Just let me know who and in what you are storing them.

The guide has a look of surprise for how quickly Philip has gone on and come back out, but masks it quickly. 'Everything taken care of sir?' Listening to the request a gentle frown creases his features. 'The cremation area is out of bounds to the public sir.'

Roll presence + persuasion -2 because it is an unusual request and against policy.

[Philip Crosen]

He took about 1 ounce of ashes, which he put in a plastic bag, tightly closed it, and put said bag into a small compartment in his backpack. With that, his bounty was not visible outwardly, and it was even hardly noticeable that it was gone from the urn at all.
Ideally, I`d go into that room again later, but getting to the crematorium to look back through time to verify if it actually is her is the most important part. Just gotta play my cards right and I can get at least somewhat to the bottom of this.
he thought, justifying his fast exit from the room and hopeful for his future plans.
Noticing his briefly surprised look, Philip replied:
"You misunderstand me, sir. I came out to thank you for your compassion. You`ve been nothing but kind to me during my search for closure and I replied with apathy. That struck me in there, which is why I came out."
He said this, trying to uplift his spirit, make him glad he`d helped him and out of a sense of attempting to encourage him into being happy for Mothisa and his own belief in spirituality and Philip`s belief in the same. This was not just in order to get him to let his guard down, but also because he genuinely felt for him and wanted to uplift him. He then re-emphasized, bringing all the sincerity to bear he could muster, though:
"But it would mean so much to me to visit the place I can physically be closest to her final corporeal moments to meditate and pray. And then I`d like to wrap up my visit by spending some time with her ashes again, if that would be acceptable.
he said, bringing all the sincerity to bear he could muster, before dramatically adding:
"As in: ashes, to fire, to ashes again. The cycle of life and death."

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-16 18:21:52	Philip Crosen rolls 4 to persuade(Pres.2 + Persuasion 1 -2 unusual request) (10 Again, WillPower)	2, 9, 5, 10, 4	2 successes

Inwardly, he was pleading with him too, if for a slightly different reason.
Come on, man. I`m doing this for a good reason. This could be a serious problem if we don`t get to the bottom of it.
So he eyed him with a wary, but moved, hopeful and questioning look, hoping he would give in. After all, he hadn`t had much luck with him so far, although his earlier spell had at least significantly allayed his initial fears, apprehension and suspicions about him.

[ReubanBrightwood]

His guide deliberates for a several moments before deliberating. 'Very well sir a short visit.' And he will begin to lead Philip through the corridors again. After a few minutes they pass through a heavy metal door that needed a key to open and head down some metal stairs into a bare brick room that lacks the calm and and reserved nature of the rest of the building.

What dominates this room is a convey belt that moves coffins from display in the service room above into the furnace below in which the cremation takes place. A massive machine of dark, hot metal. The temperature in the room high enough to immediately cause sweat to break out. 'Here you are sir.' The guide does not seem to be leaving. What's worse is ... Philips unseen senses alert him to something supernatural happening in the room. Nothing visible happens. No glyph, no runes, no notable effect. The guide does not react in anyway seeming not to notice anything odd about the room.

[Philip Crosen]

Philip followed the gentleman through the corridors despite the gentleman`s initial reluctance.
Well, at least I got through to him this time. And fortunately, time is relative for mundanes, so if I play my cards right, `short visit` is however long I need it to be.
he thought, relieved he`d managed to convince him that time to let him have access to the fire pit room.
After a while, they arrived at an almost ominous set of metal doors, which the guide opened for him, before leading them down a flight of stairs. Down the stairs, Philip arrived at a seemingly unassuming firepit room in the basement of the building. But the unnatural feeling immediately made him feel very ill at ease even without his mage sight up, already some distance away from the room. That feeling became downright oppressing once they actually entered. And then there was the scorching heat from the room`s usual operation, on top of everything. However, he tried his best to endure the heat and situation and remain composed outwardly.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-18 12:19:59	Philip Crosen rolls 5 to remain unphased (Stam. 2 + Comp. 3) (10 Again)	7, 4, 8, 7, 5	1 success

Possibly even supernaturally enhanced heat and eerieness? After all, this room is giving off all sorts of vibes. First of all, the strings I had to pull to get in here! Good grief! And then the basement, and the fire pit? This screams hollywood movie villain lair!
he thought, unnerved as they entered. Worse, once they arrived at their destination, the guide seemed to refuse to leave. Because he also didn`t seem to notice the supernatural problems, Philip`s paranoia about the guy which his earlier spell had mostly suppressed, instantly re-emerged.
So, how can I get him to leave? If I chant, it might seem convincing that I`m saying a prayer. And if he recognises High Speech I can act more directly against him?
Philip thought, unsure. However, he was sure casting Postcognition would be very risky. And if the guide was a sleeper, it would be unacceptable. With that, he knew he`d have to choose his next words very carefully to get him to leave the fire pit room. Giving this his all from a magical perspective this time, he decided to attempt to get a glimpse into the future in order to choose the right words next, feeling the mana drain that accompanied his extra ounce of effort.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-18 13:20:27	Philip Crosen rolls 5 to glimpse the future (Gnosis 3 + Time 2) (10 Again)	6, 2, 10, 4, 10, 2, 4	2 successes

I take it to get him to leave the room it`s a presence + persuasion at -2 again? And if I`m reading glimpsing into the future right, Philip may roll an instant action twice next turn, and I hope this persuasion counts for that?

[ReubanBrightwood]

-3 on the roll because you really shouldn't be here. But yes glimpse the future will work for for this , I laos need Philip to make a perception check.

The room maintains is heavy, hot, oppressive atmosphere. The incinerator like the belly of some great beast giving off heat and while Philip holds himself together well enough a few beads of sweat will started to form.

[Philip Crosen]

Philip knew he`d have to switch tactics to get the guy to leave, manipulation was the name of the game. After all, his dominating presence had gotten him in here, and likely wouldn`t work again.
Best not to tempt fate by using the same trick too many times. This won`t be easy even with a different approach.
He`d have to do his best to manipulate him even with his knowledge of alternate timelines. Inwardly, he cringed though as he saw an alternate timeline where he pathetically tried gaslighting him:
`You`ve been very helpful and kind to me. But it was your choice to let me see this room. And I was certain we`d already agreed and you`d promised you`d let me have privacy for my entire time here. I´d only ask for a few minutes of your indulgence while I pray alone. It really would mean the world to me, as I`m sure it would have for her as well.`

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-18 15:27:55	Philip Crosen rolls 1 to manipulate person (Manipulation 2+Subterfuge 2 -3) (10 Again)	7	failure

But he somehow felt that something more immediate was needed. He gestured and looked around the cremation room to emphasize his emotions, studying the room for the vibe the it was giving off and also to get any edge on the guide he possibly could.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-18 15:17:29	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to Perception (Wits 3+Comp. 3) (10 Again)	9, 9, 5, 4, 2, 1	2 successes

When he spoke in the main timeline, in addition to his gesturing, he made the facial expression of a dumbfounded and lost individual, who needed to come to terms with her death, playing the part of the emotionally wounded religious person. He also levied an incredulous look at the guide, over dramaticising the frown and going out of his way to ridicule the notion he`d get in trouble for doing his job and tending to his spiritual needs despite the breach of protocol.
"You`ve been very helpful and kind to me. But really, sir? You can`t possibly believe you`ll get in trouble for doing your job by helping a lost soul mourn a young woman too quickly gone from this world? I´d only ask for a few minutes of your indulgence while I pray alone. It really would mean the world to me, as I`m sure it would have for her as well."

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-18 15:16:09	Philip Crosen rolls 1 to manipulate person (Manipulation 2 + Subterfuge 2 -3 highly unusual request) (10 Again)	9	1 success

[ReubanBrightwood]

His guide looks to him clearly torn between wanting to provide comfort to the mourning Philip and following his safety protocols, leaving an unknown emotionally distraught person near a piece of equipment like the incinerator is not good health and safety.

Eventually he concedes. 'A couple of minutes is all I can promise sir. The room will be in use soon.' And with that he turns and heads back up the stairs and out the door.

Philip is left in the sweat box alone. Or so he thinks if he didn't seen a sign that could be considered concerning. Small crude letters seemed to be appearing one by one on the body of the incinerator, not pressed into nor scrawled in ink. its like the metal its self is being covered in the lightest layer of ash in a very specific pattern. so far it reads:

I T B U

Philip will also notice this room does have a security camera above the stairs by the door, protected by a dome shield.

[Philip Crosen]

For the second time that day, Philip was delighted he was:
Phew! Alone at last!
he sighed. But this time, the situation was quite different. First of all, while the guy was gone, the camera was not. This made his great hope of hopefully finding more of the truth about the cremated body of Mothisa Sudarata by casting Postcognition on the room he was in, much harder than he`d initially hoped and even borderline out of the question.
Something will have to be done about that camera though. he thought, annoyed, knowing the grave risks that came with tampering with the camera, even supernaturally.
He was also unnerved by what he saw as he was looking around the room for environmental advantages to assist him in getting the guy to leave and selling him his sob story. Because as he did so, he noticed the ominous crude letters `I T B U` forming as if being written by a faint layer of ash slowly covering the top of the incinerator.

While he saw nobody else there, whatever was writing this was clearly supernatural, and it was a good bet it had noticed the fact that Philip was supernatural too and had intruded into its` lair. But whatever it was, it hadn`t attacked him yet, merely writing ominous signs. Clearly Philip would have to analyse those signs later, and record a picture for analysis once it was safe to do so.
On top of that, he also knew he had no time to waste because another service would be starting in a few minutes and Philip wanted to investigate the area with as many means as he could in the limited time he had, knowing it would be quite difficult to get another chance to get into the room he was in. So, as soon as the guide left, he heard the metal doors slam at the top of the stairs and he was convinced no sleepers could hear him, Philip began chanting in High Speech in as loud a whisper as he was sure he could get away with. He figured:
In the highly unlikely event someone hears me, they`d most likely perceive it as prayers in an unknown language, considering I`m supposed to be praying in here right now.
He did all this while turned away from the camera, keeping his features, moving lips and hand movements as indistinguishable and unnoticeable as possible from the camera`s perspective.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-19 15:34:40	Philip Crosen rolls 5 to Masking his gestures(Wits 3 + Subterfuge 2) (10 Again)	3, 10, 2, 1, 5, 7	1 success

With his chanting, his first order of business was using his rote to ask fate to shift the odds
so that either the camera`s lens would be clouded, covered, damaged, or otherwise less usable or any part of the surveillance system less attentive in the brief time he was in the room. So in other words, that fate would in whatever way it chose mask or dampen everything going on in the room he was in from the camera`s view. This was an attempt to mask the supernatural goings-on in the room, including the letters he could see forming on the body of the incinerator in addition to his own spells, from sleeper view.

Hope shifting the odds is effective here. Also would like to know how much light is in the room and where the light sources are, and if there are any additional features such as windows, cupboards or storage closets in the incineration room besides the conveyor belt and fire pit?

As always, He knew and cringed at the risks of shifting the odds of fate ever more in is favor. That being all sorts of possibly even mundane fun that could come. But it was a risk he`d have to take with the camera present. After all, his goal to look back in time had to be occluded from sleeper eyes as much as possible, just like the other problems developing in the room as well as any mundane actions he might take that would seem out of character for someone who was supposed to be praying or contemplating. Any attempts of any had to be made with a minimum of sleeper involvement, minimizing his chances of problems.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-19 15:32:14	Philip Crosen rolls 10 to Shifting the Odds (Wits 3 + Science 2+Fate 3+ 2 (High Speech)) (10 Again)	9, 8, 8, 1, 4, 3, 5, 5, 1, 10, 4	4 successes

As usual, he felt the mana drain that accompanied this, with a part of his mana being given off into the unpredictable winds of fate.

[ReubanBrightwood]

there is a grated and blacked out window that can be opened for ventilation. A tube vents mot of the fumes out automatically. Most of the light comes from bulbs fitted into the ceiling. There are a few waist high cupboards pushed against the staircase as far from the incinerator as possible but otherwise the room is fairly sparse.

Philip sends mana down the threads of fate with a wish attached and by his will or the whims of something else it is granted. The heat in the room ratchets up significantly as without a show, song or dance Philip is no longer alone. The door did not open. The Convey system did not move. But a humanoid figure stands by the incinerator. Hairless charred flesh, lidless eyes full of molten sclera lips burnt off to show blanked teeth a scored hand draws on the metal hull of the device forming another letter. R.

In tandem with the appearance electronical equipment in the room .. all of it fails. circuits fried, losing power. He gets what he wants but at a cost.

[Philip Crosen]

He was very uneasy about the creature, despite it not attacking him yet, merely writing out the letter `R`, to add to the previous four. This gave Philip the idea it might have been responsible for the other letters too, in the brief moment before pandemonium broke loose. Philip thought he`d been prepared for fate`s unexpected turns, but a power outage, sudden nearly- complete darkness and a hideous humanoid creature hadn`t been among them and so once again, fate had managed to surprise him.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-20 06:51:07	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to remaining calm(Wits 3 + Composure 3) (10 Again)	5, 6, 1, 4, 6, 7	failure

The shock caused him to stumble as he lost his orientation relative to the being while searching for his phone, floundering in the dark for several precious seconds before finding it, turning on its` flashlight function as was built into pretty much every modern smartphone like the one his order tool was, and regaining his bearings. He had the good sense not to scream however, though he almost wanted to. Once he finally calmed down, he had the chance to think more rationally about the situation. If someone was monitoring the room, they`d no doubt be along to check it very soon, but it might take them some time to figure out what was wrong, which might mean that there`d be chaos in the administrative and monitoring areas of the mortuary. Fortunately, the failure was almost impossible to mundanely trace back to him. And he didn`t feel he was responsible for the effects on sleepers the other individual might have. After all, the guide hadn`t seemed to notice the ominous vibes the room was giving off while he`d been with him. On top of everything, Philip realised the guide might get in trouble for leaving Philip down there alone, now that something unexpected and bad had happened, like with the power, and that he`d failed to keep watch.
Oh boy, this is gonna be tough talking myself out of this one.
he thought, once he`d calmed down and briefly thought about the fact that the guide might also get him in trouble for this.
So much for doing something incognito. Darn, way to draw attention to myself.
he thought, annoyed and slightly scared about the situation.
But despite everything, he hoped he`d have at least a slight window to finally cast Postcognition before everything calmed down outside and someone came for him. So he restarted his quiet chanting, hoping to cast it before anyone came, knowing him to need all the magical power he could spare and taking the risk of others spotting the accentuated green objects which he knew to glow in the dark. He was prepared to accept any backlash from paradox if needed to contain the supernatural as much as possible. After all he was sure he`d have quite a mundane mess to talk himself out of once anyone came in anyways and he didn`t need the trouble.

To be clear, he`s prepared to accept all backlash from the paradox roll, don`t know where to write this so I`m writing it here, so it`s clear before the roll.

Dramatic Failure!

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-20 14:38:17	Philip Crosen rolls 1 to Paradox (Gnosis 3 (2 dice) -1(Order Tool) -1 (2 dot Spell)) (10 Again, Chance)	1	Dramatic Failure!

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-20 14:46:00	Philip Crosen rolls 7 to Postcognition (Gnosis 3 + Time 2 +High Speech 2) (10 Again)	4, 3, 1, 4, 4, 7, 7	failure

But, despite his good intentions, looking into the past to a point 2 minutes after the historical start date of Mothisa`s ceremony to try to verify the body in the casket, the spell didn`t end up showing him anything. So he was left wondering if it had all been worth it. After all he still had the other individual in the room, the `elephant` as it were, to deal with.