Book Regulation

Fillard Goldman Museum
Location	Fillard Goldman Museum
Date Began	Nov 4th, 2011
Date Ended	Dec 3rd, 2012
Storyteller(s)	Kailaria, Magiuspendragon
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This page describes the investigation lead by Aenigma and Miach about a collection of books that triggers the Awakening of Banishers.

Beginning in November 2011

Late Morning at the Museum
It all started in November 2011 when a shot-wounded Nicodemus stumbled upon the steps of the Fillard Goldman Museum, holding within his grasp a book, and begging for it to be protected by the Mysterium. It so happened there was a meeting at the time, and Miach rushed to his help. He spirited the book away, and Jack O. Falley took care of it while Miach went with the man to the hospital. Jack then asked that some Mystagogues start looking into this, and Miach, Aenigma, Demise and Question answered the call.

Beginning in December 2011

The Book and the Bullet
Phone call to Hospital

The four Mystagogues started their investigation by studying the book itself, which yielded two clues:

• its name : What Is Laid Before Us, By Dafetin Styande. The author wrote in a Supernal Script attuned to Fate, (Supernal Script, Mysterium book, p202), otherwise the pages are blank.
• a note in its spine, reading as follows:

I have sent this book with my newest inductee because our ears have heard tell of three more books in this series having turned up in Sacramento. Because each book is the only of its kind, they sell very well, and collections sell even better. These need to be brought into our custody because they tend to produce more enemies to our people than allies of those whose eyes are opened by reading them without any guidance. Best of luck, -Hierophant Hermes

Thoroughly searching the internet, Aenigma found few information about WILBU, but there was another book's title that caught his eye: "Seeing the Light" by Uriel. Nicodemus had regained consciousness, but was asleep at the time of the investigation so they couldn't talk to the man. Miach produced the bullet that had shot the man, and Aenigma scried it, having a vision of a poorly-kept dining room, but found no useful clue from it. They put WILBU in a safe at the Museum, and headed to WiW to see if they could get further clues.

Beginning in April 2012

Books on the loose !
Ancient Ways
Continuing the Search

Miach asked Crowley about the two books, WILBU and Seeing the Light, but got a blank. He asked nonetheless if Crowley could please inquire about them. Looking on the net, Aenigma found three occult stores where Seeing the Light and the two other books might be found:

• one is on J Street: Ancient Ways,
• one is on L Street: Enchanting Supplies,
• a third farther south across the Interstate on Freeport Avenue: ??

Going next to Ancient Ways which is closest to WiW, the mystagogues managed to find two books hidden behind others deep in a shelf: Seeing the Light by Uriel, and Beyond Death by Santino. They buy them casually, posing as mere customers, and left. Keeping the books with them, the Acanthus and Mastigos then made their way to Enchanting Supplies. There, they didn't find a third book that might be theirs, but noticed a suspicious void in the bookshelves. They left then, and headed back to the Museum to prepare their next investigations.

Beginning in May 2012

Back at the Museum
Miach tries to look in the future and see if they will find the book in the last bookstore, but fails (lack of Space 2 for a Sympathetic spell). With one of the book as a focus, Aenigma tried to scry on the last one. He was successful, and found out an address: a very large, very luxurious, white house with a large pool outside. The street sign read 39th St and gold numbers by the door of the house labeled it as 1428. Inside the house, on the second story, is a richly decorated library with mahogany crown molding. The walls are lined with bookshelves filled with books. The third book is named "The Life We Live", by Alder Hastings. Aenigma then turned to the net, and gathered that the place had been just bought. He couldn't find the name of the buyer, but found the real estate agent instead: Ms. Hatsfield from Remax. Miach's careful studies of the book yielded that "Seeing the Light" by Uriel had been printed in 1750, and "Beyond Death" by Santino had been printed in 1758, by different companies. They left the two books they had just collected in the Museum's safe, and left for the real estate agency.

Beginning in June 2012

A Mysterious Customer
Interested Buyers

Entering the agency, Aenigma sweet-talked the waitress to get an appointment with Ms Hatsfield, and presented them as James Sutherland and associate. While shifting the conversation toward the particular mansion on 39th, he read the woman's mind and gathered that it was 'the Perkins sale'. They looked through various other houses for sale, got the woman's card, and left for the Museum.

Back at the Museum, Aenigma did another online search based on that name, and dug up that some bloggers had an appointment with her on the morrow to visit her collection. He got a picture of her too. The mystagogues were making plans on how best to replace the bloggers when a note popped on the Warlock's computer: 'You're interested in the Perkin's collection? I can get you in. Just require a favor in return. Meet me at the corner of X and Y, at the witching hour.'

Miach tried a Divination about the meeting, and got the following reading "the impression of a knife against his skin, A sharp pull and a trickle of blood. the flutter of wings and a book in his hands."

In the meantime, Aenigma managed to discover that the IP belongs to one of the commenters on the blog, who goes by the name Spyder. He can also track the IP to a Sacramento ISP. Spyder often commented on posts involving large collections, and seemed particularly interested in the contents of those collections. The comments often carry an underlying urgency which seems to have increased over time. A few times, the comments have taken a decided turn for hte nasty, calling the intelligence of the authors and other commenters into question.

Further prodding by the Acanthus reveals that WILBU has a Destiny, but that it hasn't been tampered with.

Deciding to accept Spyder's invitation, they placed the books back in the Museum's safe, and got prepared.

Beginning in July 2012

The Witching Hour

After a short pause through Aenigma's Sanctum to get prepared, and with their Patterns full of Spells, our two mystagogues reached the meeting point at the appointed hour: situated near the river,just off to the side of the 1st street bridge, down by the riverfront.

A skinny blonde teenage boy joined them, that Aenigma suspected of being a puppet. He offered to let them in the Perkins' mansion, at the price of a book that can be found in the collection, or information related to its current location. According to the boy, it's a grimoire that was stolen from his family. It has no title, simply a rosebush embossed on the spine. He's afraid of retrieving it himself.

According to the boy, the library is protected by electronic measures, as well as less conventional ones, that he can bypass with bloods from the two willworkers. They declines, and he revealed the protection to be:

• First is a circle of salt and iron, to ward off evil spirits and the restless dead.
• Second is a circle of elder and rowan, to protect against those with hostile intent.
• Last is a circle of blood, securing her belongings from all but family without permission.

It sounded a lot like Hedge Magic to the Awakened, and they felt they could deal with it. The boy reasserted they were perfectly serviceable, and that they could reach him through a number he had left in Aenigma's computer, then left.

The mystagogues then headed back to the Warlock's Sanctum to prepare for the retrieval.

Beginning in August 2012

One Step Closer
Aenigma was confident that if they could break the physical circles of the wards, they would be fine.

Scrying on the book as had been described to him, the Warlock managed to get a reading: A room, dimly lit with low flickering lights. Wooden shelves line the walls, packed with books. The book in question is sitting on top of a glass display case, open to a page. The page itself is handwritten text, a few diagrams, and afew margin notes in a different hand. The book is open to a ritual which seems to be designed for opening one's mind to a higher power, and drawing the essence of power back into this world. It's supposed to grant visions of the future. Around it, the other books visible comprise a collection from all sorts of Sleeper mysticism texts. Most seem pretty harmless, though a couple catch Aenigma's eye. One is known to contain a primitive summoning ritual that has a tendency to cause nearby spirits to materialize. They prepare and head toward the mansion.

Beginning in September 2012

Midnight Mansion
They arrive at the place where the last Book is kept, and prepare to break in. An obvious light clues them that someone's inside. An eerie feeling give them pause though, and they realize that the Mansion is protected by a Ward, upgraded with Bans, even though Aenigma had been able to Scry its inside before. Consulting the future, Miach determines noone inside should be informed if they break through the ward, and they climb the fence to be met with an uncomfortable silence and a short hedge. They get the feeling they're being watched, but decide they can't just leave yet. At that moment, the Warlock realizes that the fence and the hedge are the first two wards they had been warned about. Both make various attempts at tearing it apart (whether through Life magic or mundane tools), but to no real avail. At one point, Aenigma notices there is a statue of a black cat every six feet, three feet inside circle of the hedge. They are all looking outward, you seem to be exactly in it’s sight. They are all connected to each other, the hedge and the fence behind you. They are powerless to influence or break them though, and those statues even registered as sentient to Aenigma. When Miach finally manage to damage the fence, the statues animate, and start surround the mages, escorting them toward the exit. With no choice but to leave the premises, they promise to come back later, more aptly prepared. The flickering light of the house has been moved to a ground level window in which the dark form of a cat is placed, perhaps staring out directly at the fence.