War Room

[Animus]

Animus heads inside along with everyone else, and waits for the others to get settled before speakin, his voice tinged with bitterness. "It seems my level of ability isn't quite where I thought it was. We'll have to adjust our plan. I couldn't prepare a gate ahead of time, so I'll have to either cast it on-site, or prepare it once we arrive. I'd still prefer to cross into the Shadow Realm here, however, and we'll be able to do some scouting from the other side before we cross back." He looks around the room, waiting to see how the Arrows would react.

[Darren Nash]

Ash actually had a question, something he had wanted to ask from the Circle but with Tug kicking off, felt it best to wait.

"What's this Shadow Realm like? I have never been and would like to know what I'm gonna be stepping into."

[West (The Mage)]

West nodded at Animus' statement. He wasn't surprised, or disappointed; you simply took what you had and moved on.

At least this time we didn't have to go rescue the Gater.

At Ash's question, he looked to Animus to answer, his own time across having been limited.

[Animus]

"Have you heard of spirits? Basically, every object, and many events and emotions have spirits tied to them. Many of them are tiny motes, only minimally aware of their surroundings. But if an object or place begins to carry enough of an ... emotional charge, its spirit can awaken. The Shadow Realm is where they are supposed to live. Imagine reality held up to a funhouse mirror and you've got the basic idea. I don't know why, but in Sacramento, it's been nearly desolate of spirits since I came here. Which is good for us, because not all of them are friendly."

[Darren Nash]

Ash takes this answer in. Unfortunetly, it came with plenty of other questions. However, seeing that Animus seemed to know his shit, Ash could roll with it.

"Sounds fun." Well, it did. Ah, maybe one question....

"I don't know diddly about the Spirit Arcana. Will this make me a liability in there?"

[Animus]

Animus shakes his head. "No one's a liability. I can cover for you for the parts that require Spirit."

[Rosyn]

Teegan listens quietly, spine stiff and hands folded at her back, to the conversation about the Shadow Realm after following them in. Her knowledge on the subject was limited as well but she worried that in Tug's state he wouldn't have the patience for such topics.

[Tug]

Tug follows quietly behind everyone inside the Sanctum and takes his seat. He can see that no one else has shared his fashion sense; that was alright, he was making a statement. Quite honestly, he had nearly come in full on war paint. The Neo was a compromise.

"Right, we got to expect that they're expecting an attack and are going to be more vigilant than usual. So it makes the most sense to cross over from here," he says, nodding at Animus. "Then hustle over quick; we don't want to risk wasting any resources on any spirits that might still be around. I agree with Animus that we ought to scout the building first and decide where to stage the breach. Obviously, you want to get your casting done off site, so you don't alert them to our presence until we're ready. I'll take point once we're in. We don't know exactly what we're up against, as far as other mages. We want to scrutinize their resonances, see what spells are on 'em, assess the biggest threat and bring him down first." Tug looks across at West, hoping that he's learned enough from the Magister to avenge his brother. "I can hit 'em from across the Gauntlet; Animus can, too. I dunno about Ankh. That ought to give us the element of surprise and a few moments protection."

[Tug]

Tug coughs awkwardly. "Erm. I can't reach across the Gauntlet. Sorry, I, uh...don't know what I was thinking there."

[Darren Nash]

Ash says nothing but simply nods to Animus, mainly in thanks. He would never say those words though, not to anyone outside the Arrows, not until they had deserved it.

Looking around to Tug, Ash says nothing. The man was strung out. Perhaps this is too much too fast.