Shadows of San Francisco: Opening moves

**ReubanBrightwood** · Feb 4th, 2026 11:36 AM

The looming threat possessed by the much larger, much stronger and frankly much more unscrupulous Golden Consilium of San Francisco has weighed heavy over the heads of the awakened population of Sacramento since the cabal claiming to represent the bay city had first been stumbled across ... here in the recently constructed housing development called the villages of Zinfandel an almost self contained little pocket not so terribly far from the circle of creation. With its own restaurant, shopping centre and various other amenities all bearing the same name the feeling of a insulated almost cult like community is hard to avoid.

Among the neatly trimmed hedges and green lawns a community notice board graces all around with gentle pastel coloured posters and pleasant invitations to house warming, dance recitals, and a book club. It was at this notice board the presence of the intruders was first noticed.

With no other leads it is here the awakened who have taken up the task have come, with the hopes of gathering more up to date information, delving deeper into the intentions and schemes of these bay bullies and with any luck sowing the seeds to drive them into a trap.

Abyssalstar Thirteen Skye LadySin The plot begins here in on the streets of the Zinfandel housing estate please make sure any character sheets purchases are submitted and approved before posting.

Please include relevant stats, equipment and spells in each post.

Thank you!.

**Thirteen** · Feb 4th, 2026 04:38 PM

This was a posh neighborhood, and Thirteen made an effort to dress like she belonged here. Posh also meant white, and being of mixed race would cause her skin tone and afro to stand out. Being noticeable was normal for the Acanthus, however. Her red hair and freckles made sure of that in any venue. Eye-catching had been used to describe her more than once throughout her life.

A nice flowy black skirt and a red silk blouse made for an odd juxtaposition with her motorcycle boots and jacket. She made it work, though. Stylish. Some cool shades helped.

Even here crows were not an uncommon sight, and at least one was hanging around the area as the Enchantress strolled through the village towards that notice board. It was here familiar, of course. Jinx was on eye-in-the-sky duty, keeping watch for anything she might not catch. He stayed in her general area, perching on a rooftop here, or a power line there, always with his mistress within sight.

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**Skye** · Feb 17th, 2026 09:03 AM

Back to this place, granted she often passed around it but having taken care to not wander to deeply, to not get seen in this area since. Especially since she was the only still acknowledged member of the circle whom had actually met the potential cabal, the only one they all would be able to tell by appearance alone at least to her knowledge. And even at best they would still see her as someone that held no desire to cooperate with them at worst well then they knew she had long since reported on their presence to the local Consilia. Having debated to bring Rosethorn but the risk it would draw the wrong attention to great to carry something like that casually in this area, her normal knives whilst possibly drawing an eye would at least not draw that kind of attention.

Not wanting to take the immediate risk to be recognized by sight, having changed her hair color to black with a temporary dye and put up into a Buddha bun, and a temporary tan applied last night not wanting to use one that would stain. A small attempt to appear less pale and at least not be as recognizable. Dressed up in a model darker attire with an added wide armed hooded crop top, pulling the masked part up over the bottom of her face, it might not be perfect but hey it was still winter months and gave a light degree of protection from instant recognition at least, topped off with a pair of dark gloves.

Needing no time to know where to head, what to look for, not thinking it would be as easy as last time but to not look would just be foolish as she makes her way over towards the notice board whilst gnawing on a piece of jerky underneath the mask. Making sure she and her fellow Circle member would come from different paths, as she immediately begins to look over the notice board and a glance at the surrounding area for anyone within earshot/that might be listening in, for something odd, or anything standing out to her. Neither wanting to speak just yet if not needed nor wanting to miss something if they still used the same methods.

Perception, 3 successes

Making certain to not give Thirteen more than a glance before feeling secure no one was obviously spying on them, places like these well busy bodies were all to common and they were outsiders.

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**ReubanBrightwood** · Feb 17th, 2026 02:18 PM

The plot hit pause due to reasons of ill health and has been given a 14 day extension on it's closing time!

Posh or just new and under a vainer of gentrification. What was the difference really. Her stylish get up works well to help her fit the mood of the place. Less fancy and well yes more affluent and even cheerful? No it's that certain feeling of being able to breathe that money buys you. The place totally lacks that feeling of desperation or need, how the other half live so to speak. And for every two polo shirted over weight middle aged bloke with a gold watch on his wrist there are those who embrace different stylistic choices. The common theme is of course everyone looks put together, more like someone you might see on tv advert or a few pages into a magazine. It clicks everyone here actually looks well healthy ... well rested, well fed able to afford new and nice clothes and accessories. Shiny cars regardless of the model or make.

Skye well over night tans from a bottle are not a quality product and the effect is a little more orange then she might well have liked, or been advertised but it does the job to make her usually pale skin not a recognisable feature. Her masked face however yes that does stand out, this is not the kind of neighbourhood hood people come waling around looking like they are trying to hide their faces. The almost burglar like appearance now that does get some odd looks a frown or two.

Both mages however do make it to the board. Skye's furtive, attentive, awareness of the immediate area does little to dispel the image of someone up to no good. But does merit something advantageous a tanned man with sandy blonde hair wearing an expensive shirt and trousers with matching designer coat is sitting at a nearby bench apparently reading a book. She met this man before he is the mage known as Anubis, the one who seemed quite willing to stir trouble with Cavendish.

Int+investigation -2 to detect any hidden messages on the notice board

**Thirteen** · Feb 17th, 2026 02:51 PM

An affluent, upper middle class suburban area. The American ideal. The kind she'd see in Hollywood movies. Nothing like the cramped flat she grew up in. How money changes things. California was expensive in general, but something about a place like this irritated her. Maybe it was the possibility that the Golden Consilium had long running connections here.

If Thirteen had any worries about blending into this developmental neighborhood, they went away once she saw Skye's outfit. Nobody might recognize the Arrow, but she sure wasn't going to avoid attention. Indeed, it took the Libertine a few moments to even identify the other woman.

She forced herself to look at the notice board, and bit her tongue to avoid making a smart ass comment.

1 success

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**Skye** · Feb 18th, 2026 09:39 AM

Each look of the area serving as little else than fuel to make something within crawl, that odd feeling of townies. Perhaps it was just an old stereotype from youth but one very much ingrained in her, the affluent wealth, people who would likely not survive a week in the wilderness without their gadgets, the sensation of something being just wrong, how could anyone wanna live like this? How did they not go stir crazy from the sensation a place like this invoked?

Eyes scanning over the noticeboard whilst seemingly ignoring her fellow Circle member, not wanting to draw the attention of the man or well not the wrong attention at least. Standing out, not fitting in that she could work with, being recognized from the brief moment they met that would be a different tale.

Investigate noticeboard, 1 success

Taking a second, raising her right hand to lower the fabric over her face down just below the chin to make her voice less muffled, about to speak before catching herself with a bite down to remain silent. There would be time to point out the man when he was not within literal earshot of them, nor to keen on giving him a chance to hear her voice for that matter.

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**ReubanBrightwood** · Feb 18th, 2026 09:51 AM

The two women one stylish, trendy eye catching the other still pretty and alluring in her own right but far from fitting into this comfortable normality of this neighbourhood both study the board. The clues are well hidden, in a logo there, the slant of the font on another leaflet the arrangement of images of another piece by piece they put hidden characters of high speech together to reach the same conclusion. The cabal was indeed still operating, still inviting still reading other mages to it only the location and time have changed. Was this something they practiced regularly? Had it happened as a result of the last time they had been found? At the moment hard to tell. Regardless the next meeting is tonight at 8pm in the Starbucks of all places.

Anubis a person unknown to Thirteen, sits lazily on his bench book in hand facing the noticeboard. Is here on official watch duty? how much of an eye are the San Fran mages keeping now? What can be sure is if he has looked up from his book for a even a moment while they two mages studied the board he would have seen them even briefly.

**Thirteen** · Feb 18th, 2026 10:36 AM

The Thistle Mage didn't have any details on this cabal. Just the fact that the Goldies had people settled this close to the Circle was a shock. No one had told her any shadow names or descriptions, so the man nearby didn't draw her attention.

No, she was focused on these hidden Atlantean runes. Ballsy of them, putting them on this notice board, no matter how well encoded.

Another Starbucks? Ugh. Her track record with the coffee franchise was not the best. The last time she'd been to a meeting at such a location, she'd come face-to-face with a pair of Hunters. Thirteen diverted her gaze to an innocuous part of the board, so as not to be staring at the hidden message, and thought to herself.

Had the disguised Ecstatic seen it? She couldn't just ask. Best to just wander off, then. So she did.

Where was she going? Well, nowhere directly. The redhead's plan was to meander around, while she looked up directions to this Starbucks on her phone. Maybe get to know the lay out of the estates until the meeting time arrived. If she and Skye needed to beat a hasty retreat, the last thing she wanted was to get lost in these suburban streets.

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**Skye** · Feb 18th, 2026 11:54 AM

Not much to do other than roll her eyes at noticing the pattern, same damn pattern, in the same fricking place, far over a year later or was it two now? Other than the potential guard dog they weren´t really doing much new. Then again last time she had no clue who to look for so one might have been there then to. They were really getting far to comfortable operating in an area where they only had their own self believed rights to be. A tad annoyed at the fact of just how many they might have recruited by now or just people they had gotten information on in general, or misinformation they might have sown, sure last time they were all visitors from the Circle far as she knew but with all this time who knows?

Letting Thirteen wander off whilst standing still at the place, taking a moment, snapping a picture of one of the flyers of an invite some distance away from the one with the hidden code with the phone placed right before it to clearly mark for anyone looking that it was indeed not taken of the one with a hidden message upon it, head put down as she begins to wander off herself trying to stay some distance away from Thirteen and not following her neither in pace or exact walk, but not let the distance get wide enough that she would not be able to hear her scream for a little bit at least as she walks at a calm pace with her eyes down on the screen for a moment, writing first one message, moving out and typing up a second, moving out and back to send both of in rapid succession, one to Thirteen deleted on her end soon as it gets sent.

Man on the bench.

The other to her second phones false app generated number with a picture of the flier.

Look honey they have book clubs here, and the area looks so quaint, I think this might be a sweet little place if the school district is good.

Keeping a calm pace whilst walking, just watching around without letting her eyes really linger for long on anything, mentally marking the more obvious changes since the last time she scouted the area but not dwelling on anything nor letting her eyes linger for more than the briefest of looks all to ok with being the one to get noticed between the two of them.

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**ReubanBrightwood** · Feb 19th, 2026 04:45 PM

Indeed the enchantress had an unfortunate track record with this particular chain something that seems unlikely to change if she attends tonight. Something made possible because yes it is easily found. As he wonders the streets with her extra winged eyes planning routes of escape and safety. Her phone does alert her to a message received as she wonders.

Thirteen can roll Intelligence +comp or Intelligence +Survival to memorise roads and areas, Jinx can of course roll teamwork to help her out!

At least the Golden Consilium mages were consistent, it made Skye's job that much easier and the code she had given out in the circle still useful in decoding the precise messages. In estates and suburbs like these a scream for help, in terror or excitement could be heard streets away so with that as her measure and to avoid seeming to be stalking her fellow mage Skye would have to let the gap widen to the point Thirteen is out of sight more often then not.

The area seemed busier then last she was here, more people, more activity more life. Houses have finished and sold, jobs have been taken and created. The community is more a buzz even in the colder months. That happy honeymoon period of thriving abundance before budget cuts and complacency kick in to strip it down over the coming decades.

Anubis stays on his bench either not having noticed them, not worried about them, duty bound to his post, or his book is just that good.

If you want to do any recon, prep work or surveillance now is the time. The Starbucks is where the meeting is but you also know about the house used last time which is still an option.

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2026-02-17 07:32:36	Skye rolls 4 to Perception (wit+com) (10 Again)	5, 8, 10, 8, 1	3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2026-02-17 14:27:24	Thirteen rolls 2 to Int + Investigation -2 (10 Again)	10, 2, 7	1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2026-02-18 08:56:32	Skye rolls 1 to Investigate notice board (int+inv-2) (10 Again)	9	1 success

Shadows of San Francisco: Opening moves

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