Acanthus meeting at Philip`s place

[Philip Crosen]

Quantum Flux

Fate

"aim" any action

  Prolonged

Cavendish Kelreth Lachesis MaxPosh



At the appointed time and place, Philip was ready. His (tiny) apartment had been brought up to spec, the table set. And he`d decided the seriousness would go down better with food. So, quietly chanting in High Speech, forming the imago for Quantum Flux to assist with his cooking, he put his entire Awakened will behind it- the task of making him and his place presentable and any guests happy.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-09-07 18:24:24	Philip Crosen rolls 7 to Quantum Flux (gnosis 3+ Fate 4 + HS 2 (-2 duration)) (10 Again)	4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 10, 2, 6	1 success

chocolate chip cookies, exceptional difficulty partially offset by QF, (size 3 (+1), durability 0(+1); target 2 ... 9/2 suxx, 4/4 rolls, 2 hours

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-09-07 18:28:41	[03] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make the best chocolate chip cookies (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	10, 8, 8, 10, 9, 2	5 successes
2024-09-07 18:28:41	[02] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make the best chocolate chip cookies (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	1, 8, 6, 9	2 successes
2024-09-07 18:28:41	[01] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make the best chocolate chip cookies (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	10, 1, 2, 4, 9	2 successes
2024-09-07 18:28:21	Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make the best chocolate chip cookies (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	4, 4, 1, 1	failure

With a decent snack and/or desert done in his chocolate chip cookies, he decided to also whip up a lasagne for a main dish, anything to make his guests happy and feel welcome.

lasagne, exceptional difficulty partially offset by QF (size 3 (+1), durability 0(+1); target 2 ... 5/2 suxx, 4/4 rolls, 2 hours

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-09-07 18:41:23	[04] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make lasagne (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	3, 7, 10, 6, 9	2 successes
2024-09-07 18:41:23	[03] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make lasagne (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	6, 3, 2, 7	failure
2024-09-07 18:41:23	[02] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make lasagne (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	6, 9, 9, 2	2 successes
2024-09-07 18:41:23	[01] Philip Crosen rolls 4 to make lasagne (Int 3 + crafts 1 +2 (kitchen) -5 extraordinary difficulty (QF removes 3 penalty dice)) (10 Again)	10, 3, 7, 7, 4	1 success

For drinks, wine, beer, water and assorted juices would be provided.
But he didn`t dress in business clothes. Blue shorts, orange shirt, standard running shoes. He hoped his new friends could make it. It wasn`t every day he invited someone to come to his place after all, but he felt that the occasion warranted it.

[Cavendish]

New in town, senior mage, dinner at his ?residence?. Cavendish shows up in dress slacks and a button down, though rolled up and a few buttons open. And a bottle of wine.

Wait dudes a Libertine..fu... Crosses Cavendish's mind right as he knocks on the man's door. Well this should be interesting.

[Philip Crosen]

With his preparations complete, Philip decided to welcome Cavendish at the main entrance downstairs,as he`d otherwise not have heard him knocking on the door to the outside of the apartment complex he lived in. So he beckoned him inside and to follow him, showing him the way to his place.

"Hi. Glad to have you. Make yourself at home. I made cookies and lasagne for this occasion and got an assortment of drinks, so I hope you`re hungry. But while we do have a lot to discuss I have a favor to ask. For sensitive topics like anything about company business I`d prefer writing. I`m just crossing my t`s and dotting my I`s so I hope you understand."
He said with a smile that was replaced by a brief frown, taking out his order tool slash phone and quickly writing and showing him a draft for a text of rules he wanted him to in his sanctum, *If he was interested in seeing the phone, which he then immediately deleted afterwards if he showed interest or not. It was a power move as much as anything else, but also an acknowledgement of the risk that came with inviting other willworkers to his place.

Yeah, my place is secure and I know I invited you but I`m still taking no chances. So please don`t speak of anything regarding company business in my place, or at least disguise it so it isn`t obvious to the unenlightened. Or you could show me the most sensitive stuff on texts or paper like I`m doing now for stuff. Call me paranoid but I don`t want any trouble with my neighbors. And I`ve no problems with you using your enlightened will, as long as you don`t destroy anything. But for words of significance I`d ask you to whisper as quiet as possible and only behind closed doors. And I forgot to ask, but if I run into you on the street with other regular guys around, what should I call you?

[Cavendish]

"Thanks for having me." Cavendish replies as Philip lets him into the building and then follows the senior Acanthus. "All of that sounds wonderful, I brought a malbec. Not sure if it'll go with the cookies but it should work with the lasagna."

He nods as the sensitive topics rules are laid out. "Makes sense." A pause as he reads the message. "All reasonable and understandable. I guess I'll go by Cave? Is there a specific custom for the office around here?"

[Philip Crosen]

He nodded, pleasantly surprised by his initially seemingly understanding reaction to his house rules.
"Well, let`s eat. And I`m glad you understand."
he said, gesturing to the table as he closed the door of his apartment and prepared to serve the lasagne, also taking out two wine glasses for the malbec to go with the main dish. Eventually, he got to answering Cavendish`s question, nodding when he asked to be called `Cave` in front of sleepers, something Philip found quite curious.
"But, custom? Not that I`m aware. That`s just how I like to do things."
He then started eating the dinner, beckoning Cavendish to start as well.
"Anyway, feel free to start."
Eventually, he got serious and started typing on his phone again in a text app, showing it to Cavendish *IF he was interested, and deleting shortly after:

So, the purpose of this meeting is mostly to decide on how we continue with our Path at work. I would be prepared to essentially continue the task of (still essentially interim) Counsillor with your support. But I want to know what you think, and if you have intentions to become Counsilor yourself. And, while our other friend can be informed if needed, they already seemed to hint some time ago that they don`t want a prominent position and seemed to defer to me. So I think it`s up to us, although we would need to be three officially, like I said earlier.

[Cavendish]

The wine glass is raised. "Thank you for the invitation and meal." Then Cavendish starts to eat as well. When the phone is offered Cavendish leans forward to read.

"Hmm" A moment later his own phone is out and the Ladder types a response.

Maybe once I have settled in and gotten to know our side of town? It would be improper to show up and demand a Counsilor seat. I'll support you continuing forward as the official Counsilor for our Path. I look forward to meeting our third at some point.

"How formal is the office around here though? If I can ask? It felt seemingly relaxed when I stopped by last."

[Philip Crosen]

"It`s nothing. Well, I`m just glad you like it."
he said, downplaying having put his absolute all into the cookies and lasagne, beyond thrilled Cavendish seemed to appreciate his efforts. He then took a moment to think about Cavendish`s written response before again writing out his own, deleting it immediately afterwards.

Well, I get the feeling that was our other Pathmate Lachesis`s opinion too, from the brief talk I had with her. But I still felt it proper to ask officially before declaring myself Counsilor, hence the invitation. And thanks so much for your support. It means a lot.

After taking a sip from his wine and a few more bites from his lasagne, he added:
"Anyway, if you have any complaints with the way I do things at work, do feel free to call me out. I am only human too, after all and I value your input. Hence why you`re here."
He was a bit taken aback by the, observation? regarding the tone among Awakened, but still tried his best to answer.
"Oh? Well, most everyone`s pretty chill as far as I`ve seen. We`ve got some friendly competitions going on. And everyone`s capable of proper, grown discussions, like any good workplace environment. But don`t let that fool you. Discussions can still get pretty tough. And there`s always the risk of escalation. Which fortunately has yet to really happen, though."

[Cavendish]

Reading Philip's response between bites Cavendish nods. "Gladly, I look forward to your leadership. And meeting our coworker at some point." There's a pause.

"I'll make sure to do it when its just us or our group. Critique in private and all." A bite, and hurriedly. "Not that I plan to critique but you know."

"Sounds..human?" The Ladder chuckles and sighs in relief. "I've heard stories of some places being more intense. Leadership decides that there's a single way forward and it gets messy. Not that there isn't potential." Wisdom. "Knowledge we couldn't learn, but still. We aren't our competitors."

[Philip Crosen]

"Well, that sounds good. And yes, we are not out competitors. Glad we aren`t. But tell me, are you referring to leadership in town or in your group at work? "
he said, in between bites of his lasagne. He then typed on his phone, deleting it again after showing Cavendish what he`d written.

So, tell me about your order`s philosophy. Did you mean, that there`s always a single person who decides stuff in the Silver Ladder and everyone else just has to follow along and any other opinions aren`t tolerated? Anyway, regardless, I`m curious to know anything about how you think and what you expect. What`s your personal philosophy regarding leadership? And what do you expect of me in my new position?

[Cavendish]

"I'm glad that we are not as well." The Ladder pauses as he chews, then starts typing into this phone. And keeps typing.

It's about Wisdom and knowledge. The experienced lead the inexperienced. Both in our world and the sleeper world. There are Precepts that lay things out. Opinions are tolerated. We aren't the jailers.

In brief the Precepts are:
We are One Nation.
There is a better future for Us.
Imperium is our Right
Sleepers follow.

My personal view on leadership is that I believe in people who will push Us forward. For your position? I guess advocate who you see fit. The first step is to get structure in place then we can see how things shape up from there.