Order Meeting VIII

[Corn]

Corn waits. Minutes turn to hours, but he waits. He picks up a book from those he had brought there after a while, but he cannot concentrate. And then, finally, after several hours there is the verdict.
Corn listens to what Chambers said. It is not much but more than he had. And it was not Alex.
Corn breathes. It was not Alex. His son's body is not down a sewer that the police have not yet found. Enemies have Cloud, but Cloud is probably alive.
"Thank you. Thank you very much. Could it be someone that purposefully downgraded his or her sympathy with me?" Not that he assumes the kidnapper would have been someone he had discussions with, but it is better to be sure.

Is the other spell that writes the final name still active?

After Chambers answers that question, Corn puts words in the question that has been forming on his mind all those hours he was waiting for the verdict.
"Aside of an impressive use of magic, this was valuable help as we now know more than we did. This was not just a nudge of help, this was finding proof that it was not my brother-in-law, which can and will significantly help the investigation.
Why? Why do you help me? You have said you would help me, but this... " he motions towards Chamber's jacket "is above and beyond what anyone expected. Especially for a mage with my baggage, and you actually don't like. I am of little help to you. My standing with the consilium after what I have done comes out will be irrevocably damaged. I understand you want to keep your word but you could have fulfilled that without putting so much on the table. Honestly, I am not sure I would have cast the spell a 3rd time in your shoes. I have been ... of very little help on my own cause. "
Let alone that you know I am dangerously careless with words and thus with thoughts and ill-thought spells can actually cause tremendous damage by accident, he thinks but doesn't add.

"This... " he nods towards the jacket that held his momentary name. "This is a secret you shared with all of us. After all I have said and done and said," (yes, "said" was used twice) "you trust me with such a secret. You shared that with me. Why? Guanxi with me is of little value as I am and there's a good chance our enemies - or the Guardians - will see me dead or banished. "

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-11-12 14:10:43	Corn rolls 4 to Wits+Empathy (10 Again)	3, 10, 7, 6, 6	1 success

Empathy here is for Corn to figure why Chambers has been so... accommodating to Corn's stupidity.

[Chambers]

Careless miscount on my part. I got my target 5 suxx in2 rolls the third was not need. I am spending the wp to reimagine the spell just so everything is above board

Having just spent nearly five hours in ritual casting without a break to say his joints had got a little restless was true enough. And some time is spent stretching the ache out. "I don't know. They could well have, such magic does exist. I rarely get to cast that on mages so I have no seen if it changes the name in any discernible way." You would have to imagine but it is a niche example, hard to come across, and not what the spell was meant for.

As he clears away chambers would systematically end the spell in question. It has no further use for the day and he was not about to spend another significant portion of his time in ritual casting. Leaving his jacket blank. To Aurora's concern. "Thank you but no I'm alright. Not my first ritual and I highly doubt it will be my last." But a warm smile is sent her offer appreciated. The remnants of the bones, thread and burnt out tea lights all go into the bag the bones had first come in. That would be properly handled later. "My apologies, that took a while." Well aware that all present could gauge his relative power by the time it took him to perform a ritual.

Corns question catches him off guard. "No I don't like you." Harsh thing to focus on first perhaps. "But I don't need to like you to help you." Settling now back into his seat. "I helped you because for no more or less reason then I said I would." And he did not think himself some better then thou preacher. He tried to live by the standards set upon him as both a mage and a member of the Mysterium. "Call me a traditionalist if you will, but traditions help us put ego aside." The assorted pieces. Pipe, bag of burnt sacraments and chalk begin disappearing back into his jacket. "I could have done less, given less yes. But the need to start eliminating possibilities is important. Knowing it is very unlikely to be your blood relations." Because nothing was entirely certain. "I would need to check your connections with them to be entirely sure." But it is enough to go on for now. "Puts a major question mark over the published story and suggests a lot more strongly that someone or something has made efforts to stage this kidnapping to keep mundane law enforcement at bay." Which made it a best case scenario a serial killer able to stage a crime scene.

The why was more or less explained already. "The rotes of my legacy are what I am most skilled in. I chosen to use them now because they can cut to the truth of a matter that has been largely obfuscated. And I do ask that if you can replicate this spells you do not. There are risks involved if they are not treated with respect." Both a legacy of angry mages able to find you easily and the nature of our magic is far more complicated then just this. "Besides Guanxi is based on good will is it not? And this was knowledge of interest to you, that you needed." Not just some random tirade of questionable facts. "This how the practice was intended to be used, if more often in less serve instances." And it is not like Chambers is walking away with nothing today. A notable headache and a conversation with the council he has no idea how to begin navigating right now for starters.

[Guru]

Guru had remained quiet through much of the questioning but not still. Foot tapping a steady rhythm his jaw clenching and unclenching showing his visible discomfort but keeping his restraint for now. Though as Corn needed context to his own questions, "You were seeking knowledge in how to teach Sleepers or seeking others with knowledge who could. This quest for information are the answers I refer to. Did your search lead you to break the lex or bring unto us trouble?" He stated it as plainly as he could think to make it.


He had to mentally check off all the same crimes he was guilty of that Corn was. Though the last one stood out the most as Guru had been in the same boat though he'd been trying to save his subject at the time. The compunctions of stealing wasn't anything he was morally opposed to doing himself, it was the taking it by force instead of stealth. Add on the fact that he had been an Apostate himself not so long ago and would likely have defended himself lethally given the opportunity. "You're lucky that you didn't suffer any casualties then. I know if I came across a group of mages in my home I might not have a home afterwards but I wouldn't have any intruders either." He offered a shrug, material wealth meant little to him for a great many reasons. The intrusion seemed to upset him more than the thought of a sleeper being killed in the line of duty. "Let's not forget the fact two Councilors were apparently involved in the B and E." That bit of information certainly not lost on him.


He was the odd man out on the loss of life, it was unfortunate but he could certainly see Corn's perspective. He was in a corner, didn't have a lot of time to think and had to come to a decision right or wrong without the blessings of Arcadia to know otherwise. A stillborn child was one thing but a sleeper in the middle of knowledge they had no right to? Guru shook his head, "I know I might be the odd man out here given my past. My respect for the rule of law is..." he held his fingers up about an inch apart with a shrug. He'd never exactly made it a secret. "But he killed a sleeper in the line of duty retrieving a grimoire they should not have had. We can verify the story with San Fran as it was their crime to judge. If it hasn't occured again it's not a pattern of behavior."


Guru didn't like that others could see the spells in his pattern but he also didn't want to walk around unprotected either. He gave up some security for others and was working on the rest long term but he knew Chambers was right. It was a beacon, a trail in which follow. "He's right and the longer it remained on her pattern the more opportunity they would have to find more. Imagine being a curious mage and introducing yourself to her only to get her true name or dead skin from a handshake? It's an opening, an opportunity."


"I have to agree with Corn here and disagree with you Chamber's. While there might not be a statute for the crime if you really have a problem and wish to admonish someone for bad behavior the only opportunity you have is in the moment, the longer you let it go the more you say it doesn't matter. Though I don't know if this was six weeks ago or six months ago but the point still stands, it should have been raised then. Crimes have statutes for a reason, otherwise that Apostate might go to a larger city, and we might be at War tomorrow." A shrug of his shoulders because that could happen because the Law was dumb and was only there to serve those who held power as Chamber's only proved in his mind as he used his influence to push crimes from the past. "If we're going to charge for crimes of the past we might as well all hang."

[Aurora]

She had said she wouldn’t say anything more, but hell, sometimes you feel compelled. And she felt compelled. “Because there are good people out there Corn who when they say they will do something, they do it. Despite everything else, they do what they say they will do.” That was all there was to it. But he was right, it went above and beyond what she had expected him to do. It spoke volumes of his character and his ability to still help someone despite all the mistakes and dangers they had put not only themselves, but the community as a whole in.

The offer of assistance wasn’t expected to accepted, but the smile was returned with a nod. She would have of course helped if he had asked. A hand dismissed the apology, “No worries at all, the time went by quickly, I got a lot done.” Once she got into her work, she could be in it for hours, time meant nothing.

Now him agreeing that he didn’t like Corn was a surprise. Not many would just outright admit it, she knew she would, but she had run out of fucks to give a long time ago. But this from him wasn’t completely unexpected. Given the words exchanged and topics discussed.

Finally, Guru speaks up.

“The problem is that there continues to be problems without consequences. When a mage is allowed to skirt the Law and continue to break it, they grow accustomed to it, they begin to see themselves as above it, they make excuses for their behavior and it keeps happening. It’s a vicious cycle, it keeps happening until they either make a big enough screwup that simply cannot be ignored or they hurt innocent Sleepers or other Awakened. Then it becomes, why didn’t we handle it before it got to that point? We are at the point where more serious laws are at risk of being broken or have been broken. It’s a pattern and it needs to be handled before the actions kill someone.” closing her notebook, "No one has said what Corn will be held accountable for, only that the Council will meet and be brought up to date on what has happened and what has been brought to light. It could be decided that what happened in the past will be left in the past, or not. I don't know. But we can't keep running from our pasts and the mistakes we may have made in them."