SC: Off the sinking ship

[ReubanBrightwood]

The arrows expertise allows her to move unseen through and past the armed response unit and much like them she becomes readily aware of several bodies collapsed in their cubicles all with the same burn wounds as the body in the foyer had. She is faced with a glass wall the partition this call centre/ admin location away from well something else a double door seems to be the only point of ingress onto a partially collapsed staircase leading up. She can see what looks like one of the mages (Salem) from the Consilium meeting lying flat but way to close to the transparent wall. It must be a matter of a minute at most before he is seen by the armed officers carrying out rapid cubicle by cubicle checks.

Winter makes the call that its time to go but with armed officers downstairs and a mage doing who knows what with his sprit buddies in twilight above where will they go? A level of indecision shared by Philip as he rattles off a series of possibilities without committing to a plan and with neither acting to begin the extraction as the window ticks rapidly towards being closed.

Corn spends time to cycle spells and align the whims of fate. Time he really does not have. Turning a section of the floor into chalk. Chalk a substance used by civil engineers in the construction of tunnels, foundations, embankments and can be set in mortar in building construction in place of bricks. Which is to say as long as it avoids getting wet or is water proofed chalk is a construction material, one known for its ability to not undergo deformation. And while it does not require immense amounts of force to buckle it does require force to be actively applied. Once replaced with another material capable of supporting the load the floor does not collapse as he had hoped.

Salem seems to be choosing the keep low and quiet option.

Vincent Winter
Xisdor Philip Crosen
Fedup Corn
Lionell Salem
Phoenyx Xadun

[Corn]

The chalk didn't give in... crap. Someone else has to do it, as he is already low on mana and high in paradox.

"Crap, the chalk didn't break. Can either of you apply pressure on the iron desk or the discolored patch of floor underneath it, to cause the desk to fall down and give the impression this floor is unstable? Dox is going to be a problem for me otherwise. I'll use some covert magic to help. "

After Corn concentrates for a few seconds to find the right moment to use his magic, to aim it well, Corn opens the water bottle he carries and moves his hand in the way he learned as his first rote several years ago and takes control of the water's shape (shape liquid).

Shape Liquid +1 Str, pens offset with QF, 3S

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-19 10:49:25	Corn rolls 12 to Dex + occult(+1 myst)+matter -2 (strength) (10 Again)	9, 4, 5, 5, 5, 2, 3, 10, 7, 6, 8, 3, 7	3 successes

The water spills out and takes the rough form of a humanoid that is exactly 1L in volume as it quickly proceeds towards the door. Before it reaches the door, Corn speaks a few words in high speech as he again tries to let fate decide the best moment for the spell, and tries a combo spell to help him understand where and how he should hit the chalk with the water with the greatest efficiency (Find the Cornerstone & Eye for Destruction).

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-19 11:08:59	Corn rolls 8 to Gnosis + Matter -2 (combined) -2 (Potency factor) -1 Contag +1QF +2HS (10 Again)	2, 9, 10, 7, 7, 8, 6, 9, 1	4 successes

Once armed with destructive knowledge thanks to his connection with Stygia, Corn sends the water (shaped like a rough humanoid) to speed through the door - and if it makes it to the chalk uninterrupted, to try to press with all its considerable strength at the weak point.

I took a -2 to give it strength +1 (offset with QF, like the -1 of cont), so that it could "penetrate" deeper in the chalk when needed. All 3 successes go to strength as the volume is not large. So, the strength is 4. For the Combined spell, I used just 1 turn for Quantum Flux.

spells and effects

[4] Quantum Flux
[3] Gain Skill: Stealth (+2 because 2 life dots, but potency 3).
[5] Matter armor
[2] Reconfigure Object
[1] Speak with ghosts
[2] Transmute Earth
[3] Shape Liquid
[4] Find the Cornerstone & Eye of Destruction


Armor 5
Spells active: 8/8
Spell Tolerance: 6/3 (I am at -3)
Vulgar spells: 3
Mana: 3


Equipment:


Small backpack and pockets:
The aforementioned Small backpack
Cellphone
Lead Medallion (dedicated Tool)
Wallet, includes his ID, credit cards, some cash
His cross and his wedding ring
A bottle of water and a candy-bar
pack of hankerchiefs
pack of gum
Flashlight
ziplock bags
strong Duct-tape
Swiss knife Switch knife
pistol
Disk from the admin

[Phoenyx]

The Arrow takes a breath to focus her will, and runs against the wall to the broken staircase.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-19 18:32:21	Phoenyx rolls 8 to PARKOUR! (Wall Run) - Str2 + Athletics 3 (10 Again, WillPower)	9, 4, 10, 1, 8, 5, 3, 1, 5	3 successes

The invisibility drops as the Arrow runs along the wall of the broken staircase and lands gracefully at the top, her trenchcoat covering her like wings. She stands and drwas her knives, letting the combined spell unweave so her sound can be heard.

"You! Get away from that wall before you're seen!" she hisses at Salem.

She looks around the room, recognising all the mages from the Concillium. "Get over here. We have about 40 seconds before those armed guards get close enough to see or hear us. Can you all get out, or do I have your permission to conceal you all so we can just walk out and we avoid a huge Veil issue?" The Arrow's tone brokers no bullshit.

Active spells: 3/7 (Monthly rit Cloaked Unseen Shield Pot5, Monthly rit Cloaked Supernal Vision Pot 6, Invisible to Machines Pot2)

Defence: 2
Armour: 6/5
Willpower: 2/3
Mana: 6/6
Gear: Armoured trenchcoat 1/0+, Smartphone, Pistol in underarm holster (Beretta M92, +2 lethal), a sheathed dagger on either hip (left is standard, right is Phoenyx's magical tool), purse (gun permit, driver's license, bank card, $27)

[Philip Crosen]

Quantum Flux

Fate

"aim" any action

  Prolonged

Evidence Shroud

Matter

destroy physical traces

  Prolonged

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Philip blinked as another mage, someone he hadn`t counted on, made their presence known and apparently reprimanded Salem. Phoenyx`s presence, and offer of an easy way out, was much appreciated so he immediately nodded emphatically when she offered her way out.
"Yes please.”
he said, almost unable to contain his excitement at the free way out and did what he was told. Corn on the other hand got a skeptical frown. Risk falling into the hole myself, and give away our position with your stunt? I mean, you do you but I want no part of it.

But he was not going to let Phoenyx take all the credit for concealing them, in whatever manner the Obrimos was going to prevent others from seeing or hearing them. Because her mentioning of concealing them got him thinking- he knew that biological trace of their presence had to be eliminated, whatever was already there, in addition to sight and sound. So, impressed with the urgency of their situation and despite his double spell and knowing he had used up a good amount of mana to fuel several of the spells he had up, including Gain Skill (stealth) and Exceptional Luck, he ended all of his spells except Quantum Flux. He knew contagion would overload his pattern otherwise, because he knew he`d need the greatest radius possible and quietly began chanting in High Speech to will the highest radius of Evidence Shroud into existence that he could. He added the condition `for only my and my allies` evidence to be erased`, knowing he couldn`t erase the cops` or the corpses` DNA downstairs, lest he trigger disbelief. And he also knew he couldn`t erase shoeprints. Still, it was the best he could do.

He had decided to entrust his stealth entirely to Phoenyx, expecting it to be Fate she showed up and offered them the out she did when she did.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-24 10:33:51	Philip Crosen rolls 2 to Evidence Shroud (gnosis 3+Life 2 +HS -8(16 yard radius) (3 compensated by QF), condition: only me my allies` evidence erased) (10 Again)	9, 5	1 success

But there was one thing that troubled him enough to whisper anyway, so scared was he of the implication. Shoeprints.
“Do any of you know how to get rid of our shoeprints?”
he said, not completely confident in his own abilities to completely erase their presence, leaving it a question for any of his fellows to answer.
But still, with this at least partial veiling success in the bag, or as much as he could do anyway, he went about attempting to re-cast several of the spells he`d ended. But he did this without High Speech or Quantum Flux aiming or double spellcasting, knowing speaking was really not the best idea at the moment unless absolutely necessary.
Still, managing to get up Fortunes Protection well enough,

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-24 11:51:17	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to Fortunes Protection (Gnosis 3+ Fate 4 -1 (contagion)) (10 Again)	6, 4, 4, 6, 10, 10, 3, 8	3 successes

he failed with Sybils Sight but didn`t bother attempting to re-cast it for the time being.

failure

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-24 11:52:28	Philip Crosen rolls 5 to Sybils Sight (Gnosis 3+ Fate 4 -2 (contagion)) (10 Again)	7, 7, 1, 3, 4	failure

Ending Gain Skill with +2 stealth may or may not cause Philip to be more exposed.

spells, effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor: 4 (Fortunes Protection), Init +6, Defense : 3, Spells active 3/6: ([2]Quantum Flux, [1]Evidence Shroud (16 yard radius), [3]Fortunes Protection), Spell tolerance: 3/2(1 over limit), Vulgar spells: 0, Health: , Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 0 left)
Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb, order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash, 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]

In a show of skilled athleticism and trained manoeuvring Phoenyx bounds up and past Corns collapsed stare case to land before the four Consilium mages who for lack of a better term seem to be loitering around, she tries to take charge of the situation and swiftly before things gets seriously out of hand however in the best case of scenarios the response is lethargic at best its like they don't appreciate that armed officers are closing swiftly in mere seconds away.

Corn is takes over twenty seconds to move through a series of casting, chanting and just kind of focusing.

Philip follows a similar process also breaching past the twenty second mark.

Salem and Winter don't react at all.

Corn is directing what looks like a bottles worth of water over to a patch of off colour floor in a spartan room behind a door of fogged crystal and white wood, pressing it into the discolouration and a loud cracking sound can be heard and shockwaves in the floor as it begins to give, while Philip is doing something that can't immediately be visually discerned.

But the leisurely pace has cost the group. For all of her best intentions and ability that the mages do not abide Phoenyx's warning or instructions, it is the brake pedal on a swift and safe resolution and it bites them all.

The door behind them is breached

disbelief 4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-28 15:46:09	armed officer rolls 6 to disbelif (10 Again)	9, 10, 1, 10, 8, 2, 1, 5	4 successes

Corns collapsed staircase unravels and is fully restored to function.

The first armed officer points a shotgun up the stairs, stumbling across the group. "Hands up. Now!"

[Corn]

Phoenyx is here, we will ma... crap. Corn thinks as Phoenyx appears and right after her, before he had a chance to comply with her plan, the officers showed up. He immediately let the chalk spell and the water shaping to end, before the sleepers could notice them.

All he could do was to hope he was not seen by the officers and that his stealth holds. To ensure that Corn tries something that, in hindsight, he should have tried before. Hidden in the shadows as he is, he sends his will to the watchtower to thicken them, make the gloom around him and those close to him stronger, make perception more difficult (Shadow Sculpting).

1 S

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-28 19:50:44	Corn rolls 5 to Gnosis + Death-1 (10 Again)	5, 7, 10, 6, 7, 1	1 success

spells and effects

[4] Quantum Flux
[3] Gain Skill: Stealth (+2 because 2 life dots, but potency 3).
[5] Matter armor
[1] Speak with ghosts
[1] Sculpt Shadows


Armor 5
Spells active: 5/8
Spell Tolerance: 3/3 (I am at -1)
Vulgar spells: 3
Mana: 3



Equipment:


Small backpack and pockets:
The aforementioned Small backpack
Cellphone
Lead Medallion (dedicated Tool)
Wallet, includes his ID, credit cards, some cash
His cross and his wedding ring
A bottle of water and a candy-bar
pack of hankerchiefs
pack of gum
Flashlight
ziplock bags
strong Duct-tape
Swiss knife Switch knife
pistol
Disk from the admin

[Winter]

This is bad, he needed more time to perform the banishing spell, time even the welcome arrival of Phoenyx couldn't buy him.
And so they were stuck on the defensive, the creatures on the other side a threat to the Sleepers. It wasn't so much for the veil, as the Curse would have cleaned the act, but ideally he would have avoided adding more bodies to the pile.
He remembers that the area was laden with panels of glass, something that gives his next spell a reasonable explanation. He turns the light of the Sleeper's torch on its head, so that it no matter what, it will always aim it at the guard's own eyes, blinding him.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-29 01:21:18	Winter rolls 6 to Influence Light Imp Gnosis + For (10 Again)	9, 3, 3, 10, 3, 10, 4, 8	4 successes

Will wait for the modifiers before attempting stealth

Equipment

Wedding band, moleskine notebook + pencils, black stones catholic rosary, brass knuckles, Kevlar vest (thin), Wallet, iPhone, flashlight

Spells

Supernal Vision with Mind 1 [pot 1], Forces Armor [pot 1], Probable Cause [pot 2] (1 use of rote action remaining), Energetic Tass Electricity [Size 2, Pot 4, DORMANT], Control Light [pot 4]

Stats

Health: 8-2(1 is Resistant, all Bashing)
Mana: 5 (5+1 stored inside the tass)
WP: 0 (5)
Armor: 4 (1 from Equipment|+2 vs Firearms - Lethal to Bashing)
Defense: 3
Active Spells: 4 (+1 inactive)
Personal Spells: 4 (+1 inactive)
Contagion: 1 (+1 Inactive)
Vulgar Spells:4

[Phoenyx]

The Arrow's face grimaces in irritation as some of the mages seem more distracted with their action, or perhaps their Pride, than accepting her help.

Then all goes to hell. At the sound of the securtity guard's voice, Phoenyx dives away from the stairs to hide herself from their view, drawing her knife magical tool with practiced ease.

"Fine," she mutters under her breath. "Focus on my spell," she adds to Phillip and she prepares the High Speech.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-30 18:49:41	Phoenyx rolls 1 to Paradox: Gno4 = 2 -1 (Magical tool) (10 Again)	10, 2	1 success

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-30 18:51:58	Phoenyx rolls 6 to Combined Spell, Bestow Invisibility & Sound Mastery = Gno4 + Force5 + HS 2 -2 (Combined) -2 (2 targets) -1 (Tolerance) (10 Again)	10, 7, 9, 9, 7, 6, 1	3 successes

Phoenyx grits her teeth as she absorbs the backlash of the spell.... before she and Phillip Crosen wink out of visibility. Only through Mage sight can they be seen, the orange Glyphs of Force hiding their bodies from view and manipulating the sound so they cannot be heard.

Active spells: 3/7 (Monthly rit Cloaked Unseen Shield Pot5, Monthly rit Cloaked Supernal Vision Pot 6, Invisible to Machines Pot2, Combined Personal Invisibility and Sound Mastery (Philip & Phoenyx)

Vulgars Cast: 2

Defence: 2

Armour: 6/5
Willpower: 2/3
Mana: 6/6
Heath: 1B/8
Gear: Armoured trenchcoat 1/0+, Smartphone, Pistol in underarm holster (Beretta M92, +2 lethal), a sheathed dagger on either hip (left is standard, right is Phoenyx's magical tool), purse (gun permit, driver's license, bank card, $27)

[Philip Crosen]

Quantum Flux

Fate

"aim" any action

  Prolonged

Evidence Shroud

Matter

destroy physical traces

  Prolonged

Fortunes Protection

Fate

Shielding

  Prolonged

Sybils Sight

Fate

Mage Sight

  Prolonged

Philip nodded and did what he was told, trying to stay close to Phoenyx and focus on her spell as the flashlight of the cop suddenly started blinding the cop and Philip and Phoenyx apparently turned invisible. But as he did so, he also decided to attempt to re-cast Sybils Sight under the cover of Phoenyx`s spell. Chanting in the quietest High Speech, the imago finally formed although he did not aim it with Quantum Flux.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-10-31 15:47:45	Philip Crosen rolls 6 to Sybils Sight(Gnosis 3+ Fate 4 + HS -2 contagion -1 2nd try) (10 Again)	2, 4, 10, 7, 5, 4, 5	1 success

Philip will attempt to follow and stay close to Phoenyx, *if* he can perceive her presence through Sybils Sight somehow. If he cannot, Philip will stay to assist his fellow visible mages in facilitating their escape for the time being.

spells, effects and gear

Speed 10, Armor: 4 (Fortunes Protection), Init +6, Defense : 3, Spells active 4/6: ([2]Quantum Flux, [1]Evidence Shroud (16 yard radius), [3]Fortunes Protection,[1]Sybils Sight), Spell tolerance: 4/2(2 over limit), Vulgar spells: 0, Health: , Mana: WP: (max WP/scene 0 left)
Gear: backpack with: 1 L plastic water bottle, lighter, cigarette pack, can of hairspray, hair comb, order-tool-slash-phone, PC(Laptop), first aid kit, wallet: with car key, 50$ cash, 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]

Mages hit panic stations Corn and winter swiftly realising they had squandered what time had been given to them, resort unplanned to the duality of darkness and light. Corn ends the spells working in conjunction to bring down the ceiling one and then the next in order. Then he pulls and deepens the shadows of the stairway to provide darkness

+1 to stealth rolls

while winter grabs the light of the mans torch and redirects it backwards making use of the angles of the glass wall and the properties of refraction in a clever way to keep things believable. And this officer cries out as he is swiftly and unexpectedly caught in the beam of light and for the moment blinded.

The issue with high speech is it needs to be loud enough to be over heard and while most certainly not understood and maybe not perceived even by the now suffering officer both Phoenyx and Philip invoke the remnants of the Atlantean language within hearing of the office. Her Nimbus flares with the vulgar casting the fiery wings wrapping around the arrows form, the eagle screech piercing the stairwell and to the arrows benefit though as she absorbs the abyssal backlash of her paradox

remember paradox suxx also apply an equal penalty to the spellcasting roll even if absorbed

and manages to pull both Philip and herself in a soundless, invisible state, visible only to those with mage sight who can perceive the glyph in their patterns.

As he winks into silent invisibility Philip finishes his cast and the trusty spell quantum flux is ready to aid him once more.

Of course where there are one there are several as two more armed officers follow their college through the glass door and guns are pointed up the staircase, two replacing the one that Winter has pacified.