Plot: Fallen Power: The Community Centre

[ReubanBrightwood]

Philip finishes up his food and heads through the double door marked main hall. A short windowless corridor greets him that ends in another set of double doors. On which he can see what the girl generously described as a notice board. This second set of doors, leading into the hall proper are plastered with flyers, leaflets, advertisements, sign up sheets and various other information.

Philip will need to roll an wits+investigation to make quick heads or tails as many seem out dated or partially covered by over things stuck up.

[Philip Crosen]

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Arriving at the mess of tons of pieces of plastered paper the girl called a `notice board`, Philip was absolutely stunned and stumped trying to make heads or tails out of it. What a waste of time! Surely, she can`t be serious?! he thought, referencing the movie Airplane! in his mind to calm himself down as yet another thing seemed to not go his way that day. If he got any info out of the girl, it seemed she was more interested in trolling him with this junk and leading him on a wild goose chase than actually giving him the info he was sure she had to have. Perhaps I was too obvious? he thought, annoyed. So after looking at that mess for a while, despite being a messy person himself, he gave up in frustration and looked around, going back to the table he`d recently been at and dallying around, thinking about what to do next, being incredibly unsure with himself.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-21 07:30:00	Philip Crosen rolls 4 to Study the notice board (wits 3 + investigation 1) (10 Again)	4, 7, 5, 3	failure

But Fate continued buzzing all around him with flutters of it constantly rearranging themselves as he looked around. And it was after a few minutes of thinking, watching the spectacle of this and refocusing on his current situation that he went back to that set of papers she called a `notice board`. He realized the disorder and the fact that she led him to it had to be a message from Fate guiding him. And the chaos had to be a mundane representation of the chaotic supernal sorroundings, an oversight he had missed. So he spent another couple of minutes trying to sift through the sheets of paper to make heads or tails out of it, despite initially being overwhelmed and frustrated, certain there had to be something somewhere he could use. Because otherwise, what was he even doing here? After all, the sentiment he was able to scrutinize fit perfectly with his state of mind at that time and he was grasping at straws anyway.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-21 07:30:30	Philip Crosen rolls 3 to Study the notice board (wits 3 + investigation 1 -1 2nd try) (10 Again)	9, 5, 1	1 success

spells , effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor 0, Init +6, Defense (applies to firearms too per Fortunes Protection): 7 (3 + 4), Spells active 2/6: ([2] Fortunes Protection, [2]Sybils Sight), Spell tolerance: 2/2, Vulgar spells: 0, Health: Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 2, 1 left) Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb(partly damaged from larceny attempt), order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash minus x, x amount spent at cafe for info, various mundane ID`s and membership cards, in car that was parked some distance away from location: additional first aid kit, fire extinguisher, unloaded shotgun with ammo in seperate compartment, katana.

[ReubanBrightwood]

With a bit of time and a few attempts to discern relevant information from the amalgam of useless paper Philip is able tell a few useful things.

There is a sign up sheet for a community meeting tonight to talk stagey for how to contest the purchase and demolition of the centre.

The Students sorcerer team that played in that fateful match is playing a home game against another team in an hour on the pitch.

And direct contact details for the man himself Simon Cartwright, a number to call centre security, and details to contact and book out the main hall for private functions.

[Philip Crosen]

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Temporal Eddies

Time

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Finally some useful info. I guess it wasn`t a wild goose chase. That girl was surprisingly helpful. Or she just didn`t care. he thought, sighing, taking in the situation at the `notice board`, happy that he was finally able to make some progress at last. He was able to find several different things worthy of note, marking down everything in a document on his phone he`d earmarked for this investigation. So he considered his options and their attendant risks and likelihoods of successful information retrieval.
A community meeting discussing how to prevent the purchase and subsequent demolition was certainly interesting. But that might be very high-profile, moreso if he attended, so certainly came with some risk. And that was even if he didn`t sign up to attend. It might, however, be a larger group of people and supernal influence on one of them would certainly be very interesting to discover. After all, the temporal resonance here does read`frustration`. So it could be two supernal entities frustrating each other? Each with a vested interest in one side of the conflict? he thought, theorycrafting different conclusions of his scrutiny. So even if he didn`t attend, and only spied on or researched the attendees he might be able to find out if some of them were under an influence, he reasoned.
Meanwhile direct contact details for Mr. Cartwright were certainly useful, but it might be difficult to get anything pertinent out of him. And no way could he be convinced to give him the key to the room he was looking for. Still, might be useful to find out if he`s under some supernal influence or how he`s doin`. he reasoned. But he figured that could be done at any time, since he`d marked down his contact details like everything else he found sifting through the papers.
The number for the center`s security was not that relevant, but potentially provided clues to the name of the security company. That was, in case he needed to hack into the camera system to disguise his presence at some point, or find points of weakness to enter the center during closed hours. On the other hand, details to contact and book out the main hall for random functions might offer an inroad into the bureaucracy of this place? he reasoned. Ideally without going through the boss so conspicuously as to call him directly, while still obtaining some form of relevant info.

For the time being though, he settled on said sports event that was to start one hour later, unsure whether he wanted to attend the community meeting that evening. After all, he believed that the sports was the cover for all the supernal goings-on around this place, especially with the recent string of perhaps even uncanny victories. So, he reasoned, if anyone could be found influencing mundane events there, like with an uncanny string of luck or something, it could be a useful first step. This had the added benefit of perhaps not making him seem too conspicuous as yet another face in the crowd, provided it was large enough, if he played his cards right. But he`d also need to know what sort of thing he`d need to attend it, or if there was any more he could find out about it before going. So he wanted to hear from the front reception clerk, after already having spoken to the lady at the café and looked at the notice board.
And, because of his success with the temporal scrutiny and the fact that he just wanted as much info as possible, he decided to cast Temporal Eddies on himself again, in order to get even more info. Feeling himself get immersed in the time streams as he did so, being again turned away towards a random wall where he saw no one, he smiled confidently. So it wasn`t a complete waste coming here after all.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-22 04:03:02	Philip Crosen rolls 5 to Temporal Eddies (Gnosis 3+Time 3 -1 (1 above stamina)) (10 Again)	5, 5, 7, 9, 9	2 successes

With that spell cast, he went over to the front reception clerk, per his reasoning to obtain as much info as possible about the circumstances of the game happening in an hour. He waited patiently for them to notice him until it was his chance to speak, smiling cordially as he did so. After a beat, he spoke:

”Hi, can you tell me if I need to get tickets for the game that`s starting in an hour and if I do, where I get them?”

How much more is Philip able to gather about the game that`s to start one hour later from the papers he`s sifted through, or anything else he`s seen so far around that center? Is he able to get the name of the security company from the papers?
And, would calling Mr. Cartwright also have to be done via the comms thread in that case?

spells , effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor 0, Init +6, Defense (applies to firearms too per Fortunes Protection): 7 (3 + 4), Spells active 3/6: ([2] Fortunes Protection, [2]Sybils Sight, [2]Temporal Eddies), Spell tolerance: 3/2 (1 over limit), Vulgar spells: 0, Health: Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 2, 1 left) Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb(partly damaged from larceny attempt), order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash minus x, x amount spent at cafe for info, various mundane ID`s and membership cards, in car that was parked some distance away from location: additional first aid kit, fire extinguisher, unloaded shotgun with ammo in seperate compartment, katana.

[ReubanBrightwood]

Approaching the clerk Philip makes his request.

''Tickets? Oh yes I can get that sorted for you. Just the one?''

The clerk will pulls a small stack of tickets from a little draw, pre printed. If that's all she has left then the game must sell well for a youth group match. Or so most would think Philip's enlightened will says otherwise. While not a spell in itself no glyph is visible the pile of tickets is coat in a thick and active aura of fate tied that ties itself around each one the tickets each strung together by this resonance.

As she pulls one of the pile however the thread of resonance pulls with it, grows taught and as the ticket is pulled fully clear snaps. The tangle of fate having reached its Zenith no longer shrouding this individual slip of paper. ''That'll be $15.''

[Philip Crosen]

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Temporal Eddies

Time

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

”Yes, one ticket for that game would be great. Thanks.”
He said, handing over 15 bucks in cash as payment to the clerk and accepting the ticket. The pile of tickets, simmering with flickers of fate attached and wrapped around it was certainly interesting, but it was risky to take a more detailed look with the clerk standing right there. Once the hall emptied out she might be manipulated out of position so he could sneak a closer look at the pile of tickets that merited closer scrutiny. Or perhaps relieve them of a certain key, provided they had it.
So he considered his options. He really wanted to give the lock another go too. But here he was torn between that and just accepting his failure. Although the effort he`d already put into it was certainly creating a significant sunk cost problem for him, perhaps even meriting stronger measures.
And then there was also another place he could go, the bathroom. If it was empty he might be able to cast Postcognition in it at an opportune time to perhaps overhear an unusual conversation, see individuals connected to this incident, or get a clue as to how to get his hands on a key to the office he`d tried to break in earlier. Although of course, that would be incredibly awkward and make him very uncomfortable too. Said and done, he decided to go there, discreetly checking if all the stalls were occupied before proceeding.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-23 14:28:13	Philip Crosen rolls 5 to Making sure he`s alone(Wits 3+ Subterfuge 2) (10 Again)	2, 10, 7, 9, 3, 7	2 successes

He would only need a moment, but he could potentially get a gold mine, or get weirded out for the remainder of the night.
And then there was the sports event starting soon. He did not want to miss it. But he knew he could technically still do a lot in the fourty-five-odd minutes before he knew he should start heading to the main playing hall.

spells , effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor 0, Init +6, Defense (applies to firearms too per Fortunes Protection): 7 (3 + 4), Spells active 3/6: ([2] Fortunes Protection, [2]Sybils Sight, [2]Temporal Eddies), Spell tolerance: 3/2 (1 over limit), Vulgar spells: 0, Health: Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 2, 1 left) Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb(partly damaged from larceny attempt), order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash minus x, x amount spent at cafe for info and $15 for ticket to game, various mundane ID`s and membership cards, in car that was parked some distance away from location: additional first aid kit, fire extinguisher, unloaded shotgun with ammo in seperate compartment, katana.

[ReubanBrightwood]

Ticket pocketed and pondering his options Philip has to wait for about ten minutes in the stall until the toilet does clear out fully. This perhaps virtue of the after school club having started and serving as something to hold the focus on those in attendance. He now has some time alone, how long unknown but the relative privacy offered by the cubicle means that even if some does come in he should remain undisturbed and visually unobserved.

His options laid out before him he has time to commit to any one of the plans he has in mind.

Philip can post cog in the toilets but he has to declare a date and exact time he wants to target the post cog which will be penalised by appropriate temporal sympathy and thus as a sympathetic spell vulgar. And is currently suffering contagion on spellcasting rolls.

[Philip Crosen]

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Postcognition

Time

view past events

  Concentration

To say Philip felt awkward preparing to cast Postcognition was an understatement, one of considerable size. And he also hadn`t really thought it through very well either. In order to get anything he`d have to make do with the miniscule research he had into this affair, order to try to determine a good time when people worth overhearing would be in the bathroom in the first place, after all. And that was truly herculean task, but one he was certain he could muster if he just gave it enough thought. And so, he pondered, and took it on himself to piece it together by process of elimination while he waited for the bathroom to empty. In between thoughts, and still while waiting on being alone, he ended Fortunes Protection and Temporal Eddies, feeling himself relatively safe, although he had no reason to feel safe in this semi-public bathroom.

Dramatic Failure!

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-24 14:43:32	Philip Crosen rolls 1 to figuring out a good time to overhear (wits 3 inv. 1 -5 exceedingly difficult question) (10 Again, Chance)	1	Dramatic Failure!

Choosing as his temporal target as 8 PM on the evening right before Mr. Cartwright`s most recent public appearance to defend this center, figuring the good sir might need to discuss some things in the evening in private with some employees, or perhaps if he was under someone`s influence they might meet there at that time. It was a gamble, but one he believed he needed to take.

So as soon as he was certain he was alone, he went over to casting his spell at his intended temporal target, having also readied his order tool-slash-phone for immediate use in the preceding ten minutes. Believing he could get away with it, he quietly whispered in High Speech, uttering words of power to strengthen his spell, and feeling the mana drain that accompanied his wish as his nimbus flared. And just like that, things were briefly pulled towards the center of the electromagnetic spectrum and all green around him gained the glow-in-the-dark effect they always got and were accentuated, as always happened in that case(whenever he cast a vulgar spell). He had after all waited 10 minutes and made sure he was alone before casting, so he felt that counted for something, so he was reasonably sure he wouldn`t be heard or noticed, having made sure to close the doors to said bathroom after the last person besides him left. And as he inscribed his will on the fallen world, he braced for Paradox and fun, and the corresponding potential need to absorb backlash from his spell if things got out of hand, something he was fully prepared to do this time.

Dramatic Failure!

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-24 14:46:45	Philip Crosen rolls 1 to Paradox (suxx absorbed as backlash) (Gnosis 3 (2 dice) -1(Order Tool) -1 (3 dot Spell)) (10 Again, Chance)	1	Dramatic Failure!

Postcognition 4-x suxx

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-24 15:09:01	Philip Crosen rolls 8 to Postcognition (Gnosis 3 + Time 3 +High Speech 2) (10 Again) (10 Again)	8, 9, 7, 10, 2, 8, 4, 3, 1	4 successes

Mana expenditure already marked in spoiler. Hope this covers everything.

spells , effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor 0, Init +6, Defense (applies to firearms too per Fortunes Protection): 7 (3 + 4), Total spells active 2/6: ([2]Sybils Sight, [?]Postcognition), Spell tolerance: 2/2, Vulgar spells: 1 ([?]Postcognition), Health: Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 2, 1 left) Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb(partly damaged from larceny attempt), order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash minus x, x amount spent at cafe for info and $15 for ticket to game, various mundane ID`s and membership cards, in car that was parked some distance away from location: additional first aid kit, fire extinguisher, unloaded shotgun with ammo in seperate compartment, katana.

[ReubanBrightwood]

While Philips precautions were sound, the abyss let him pass smoothly, and he pulls down Arcadian truth with minimal effort unfortunely a public toilet is not used as a clandestine meeting place as many movies and tv shows might have us believe and his spell while able to call up four minutes of time from the specified target with flawless detail gets him only metaphorical crickets. No one used the toilet in that tiny window randomly plucked from the air.

He does however recall seeing a sign for break room in the corridor upstairs. If he wants to fish for interactions between staff and the boss perhaps that might serve him better then the public toilet?

[Philip Crosen]

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Temporal Eddies

Time

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

To say Philip felt stupid watching that useless four minute `clip` he had summoned with his enlightened will was an understatement. So he ended the spell after only his first viewing, uncharacteristically so. The only notes he took on the document on his phone was brief annoyance at his foolishness. The mana was wasted on a useless evening restroom viewing and he knew it. It was clear he hadn`t thought his idea through at all and it had been a pipe dream at best. At least no one came in. he thought, a small silver lining for yet another frustration. So it was back to the drawing board, again. And with that annoyance over, he decided to cast the only spell he`d really had success with that day so far, Temporal Eddies. And Fortunes Protection on himself again for good measure too, as he headed back over to the receptionist.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-24 17:13:02	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to Temporal Eddies (Gnosis 3+Time 3) (10 Again)	9, 2, 3, 10, 4, 7, 3	2 successes

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-04-24 17:18:56	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to Fortunes Protection (Gnosis 3+ Fate 4 -1 3rd spell) (10 Again)	3, 9, 5, 6, 2, 10, 1	2 successes

Mana expenditure already marked in spoiler. Hope this covers everything.

spells , effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor 0, Init +6, Defense (applies to firearms too per Fortunes Protection): 7 (3 + 4), Total spells active 3/6: ([2]Sybils Sight, [2]Temporal Eddies, [2]Fortunes Protection), Spell tolerance: 3/2 (1 over limit), Vulgar spells: 0, Health: Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 2, 1 left) Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb(partly damaged from larceny attempt), order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash minus x, x amount spent at cafe for info and $15 for ticket to game, various mundane ID`s and membership cards, in car that was parked some distance away from location: additional first aid kit, fire extinguisher, unloaded shotgun with ammo in seperate compartment, katana.