A new New York (IC)

[Lamech]

Opening Scene
Roughly a week ago, 6 day to be precise, word started spreading that there would be a "celebration" at Weatherby's today. Fliers appeared in places frequented by the supernatural community, and rumors started to spread. At first no one believed it, Amanda said said she knew nothing about it. Then rumors started to trickle in, the Red Court had vanished; things certainly did seem quiter. Eventually, a few brave (well foolish) souls checked out a Red Court nest. Every vampire there was dead; their hearts had burst out of the chests. Just yesterday, the official word trickled through paranet. The Red Court was gone.

Which brings us to today. There certainly was a celebration at Weatherby's. The onwer was happy for the business, and for the first time in a while the place was cheerful. Everyone was safeish again, no longer fearing spill over from the war, and a major predator removed from the food chain. The paranoia is gone, just a week ago people would kept to themselves, been on alert, and shunned newcomers. But today they were talking with strangers, singing songs and getting drunk.

Presently a man climbs onto a chair, and yells "I have a few things to say to-". As people continue on and ignore him, he pauses for a second and says "Is anybody listening?". When he gets no response he says, I'll buy everyone a round if I can have a minute of your time. Then the tavern goes silent. "Alright then, I'll be brief. I've confirmed that every vampire I knew about a week ago is dead. Even a couple that should have been well protected from magic, so the Red Court really is dead. Now many of you here, you know who you are, helped against the Red Court. You took up arms against the dark. I would just like to say, your work is not done. Dark creatures still threaten us. But a major threat is gone, so now is the time to push the advantage. If you strike now, you can use that advantage to cleanse our city. And with that I leave you to your celebration."

Anyone is free to try and find someone in the crowd, but I'll need an Alertness roll from everyone.

[Eldest]

I turn to look for anybody she knows in the crowd. A party isn't right without somebody to share it with. I dodge around groups of chatting patrons as I look around the tavern, waving aside offers of beer. I also try to keep track of where the man who just spoke went.

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Alertness
(4d3-3)[1][2][1][3](4)
I call the color green for speaking.

[Lamech]

Eldest: You see the bouncer, Sam, and the owner, Amanda. A few people you've seen around the magical community would be here too, unless you avoided the community completely somehow. And of course, the other PCs.

The first thing the guy who just spoke does is goes up to Amanda, and appears to be paying for something. She then yells, "Okay, next round is on this guy." He then walks over too a golden eyed lady, and he says something before leaving. The lady looks like she's in her twenties, but its hard to tell.

OOC: Anyone else with the alertness rolls?

[Aneurin]

Jane

It figured. After days of walking and hitchiking to the airport, after scrounding a last minute visa on the first flight out of there, arranging to meet everyone at Weatherby's, after an exhausting flight and miserable search for a taxi; there just had to be some kind of party going on, didn't there? Either that or James had invited everyone he knew, and everyone they knew, too.

Looking tired and travel stained, Jane had leant by the door for the entire speech - having arrived just in time for it - with her hands stuffed in the pockets of her old felt great coat.

When the speaker seems to have stopped talking, Jane looked slowly over the assembled crowd, before letting out a long, exhausted breath, and with a visible effort of will steels herself and begins pushing through the crowd to the bar, working on the theory that if her old friends weren't at the bar, someone at the bar might know where they're sitting.

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Alertness: (4d3-8)[2][1][3][1](-1) +1 for 0 overall.

Going to use a pretty purple.

[Rizhail]

James was sitting at a table near the middle of the room, telling a story to a small crowd over beer. "...and then the blood-sucker rushes at me, thinking I must be out of juice," he says, leaning over the table and grinning. "And right as he's about to leap at me, BAM! I gave the bugger both barrels from my sawed-off. The look on his ugly face was priceless."

He leaned back and started nursing his mug, looking over the crowd for familiar faces. Settling on Allie, he grinned wider. "Hey, Allie! Over here!" he yelled, waving her over while trying to clear some space for her to sit. Another figure weaving through the crowd caught his eye, and James yelled again. "Jane! Hey! Take a seat!"

Downing the rest of his mug, he slammed it on the table. "It's not a party 'til the gang's all here!"

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Alertness: (4d3-8)[2][3][1][3](1) +4 base skill = 5 (superb).

Going with brown for speech.

[Eldest]

You sure drinking that much is a good idea? I smile as I say it, sitting down next to James and pulling out a chair for Jane. Then I wave at the others in the group, calling them over.

[industrious]

Voodoo Eddie

Eddie approaches the rest of the group, face covered in an unseasonal black balaclava. Most people instinctively part way for him; it's a consequence of being a rotting corpse. The smell isn't something that you can just shower off. Even if Eddie's tried before.

"If today isn't a day to celebrate, then what is?"

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Alertness: (4d3-6)[2] = Fair

[Lamech]

James, and Allie, notice one thing odd, well odder than normal. Now, a bunch of people are dressed oddly, such as Eddie. The people in particular are dressed in coats or sweaters despite the toasty temperature inside from all the people. They seem to be going around, all individually, bumping into people shaking hands, or clutching someone's arm for a couple seconds, but very light on talking. By itself, this doesn't seem to odd, in fact there seems to be a college-aged girl, in what looks like a Victorian era dress doing something similar.

Now the thing that really sets the coats and sweater team aside, is every so often they head over to a corner, talk to someone dressed like themselves, and go back to the weird touchy routine. Then the person they talked too, pulls out a notebook, writes in it, puts it away, and goes back to staring off into space.

[Eldest]

I point out a few of the odd people, and the woman in the dress. Any of you guys know them?

[industrious]

Voodoo Eddie

Eddie blinks, and focuses more sharply on the figures Allie has pointed out.

"Don't think so..."

So much for a nice, boisterous time with everyone.

Investigation: (4d3-8)[1]+4=5(Superb)

[Lamech]

Eddie
You notice that the girl seems to know a few people as those people stop her and talk to her for a bit, and when she goes to the bar to get a drink she definitely seems to know the bartender. She also seems a more considerate, if she can't shake someone's hand she moves on. She definitely seems to be enjoying the atmosphere of the place as well.

The other guys seem to avoid talking to anyone and no one goes up to talk to them, if they can't get someone's attention they'll just grab their arm. They shove their way through the crowd, and they haven't gotten anything to eat or drink. All in they seem stiff and out of place.

They also seem systematic about how their going about it. If someone gets up to leave, and they have not "gotten" the person, then they make sure they do before the person is out the door. One more detail you note, the golden eyed lady seems to be keeping track of the the guy with the notebook; not staring or anything, but keeping a decent line of site to him and keeping him in the corner of her eye.

[Aneurin]

Jane

She hears James shout, and turns to where he's sitting, raising an arm to wave over the shoulders of the crowd and she begins to make her way over to the table.

As she sits down, you can see her face is pale with dark smudges under her eyes. She swings her rucksack off her shoulder under the table, taking a moment to check on the "umbrella" handle that's sticking out of a rolled up blanket. She sinks into a seat that's facing the door. She doesn't remove the leather gloves she's wearing, or her coat, though.

"Hey, I know you missed me but did you really have to invite all of New York to welcome me back?" she says with tired smile. "What's going on? Who was that guy talking when I came in?"

[Rizhail]

"As far as I can tell, he's some fella who's real pleased that the vamps are gone," James replied almost absently, focused on the odd men wandering around. Noticing the way the made physical contact with everyone, his paranoid wizard instincts began to kick in. "Now why would anyone want to walk around touching everyone and taking notes...?" he mumbled, stroking his chin for a moment and glad that he hadn't had more than a single mug of beer thus far. "We're in the meeting place of most of the talents in NYC, minor or major. And if two talented folks make skin contact, they can..."

His eyes widened in shock for a moment, then narrowed, his mouth twisting into a snarl as he started counting how many of the odd men were wandering around the room. "Dammit all, they're making a list of practitioners," he practically growled beneath his breath, just loud enough for his comrades to hear him. "Some prick Reds did the same thing a while back, trying to hunt down anyone who could be a threat to their operations."

He stood up and ran a hand over the leather bracer on his right forearm, murmuring under his breath and activating the magic held in the copper and silver embedded in the leather. "I can tell you're tired as hell, Jane, and the rest of us just want to relax for once, but ya'll mind watching my back? Someone needs to see whether these pricks are up to something, or just plain antisocial."

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Activating the mystic capacitor to give Jimmy the Supernatural Power Source aspect for the rest of the scene.

And a question on aspects: would taking the straight forward confrontation route and trying to figure out what these guys are up to fall under Jimmy's If I Don't Help, Who Will? aspect as a compel? The train of thought here being that, while he's happy to keep his head down (Low-Profile is half of his high concept, after all), there's a couple of really suspicious folks hanging around and no one seems to be noticing or doing anything.

[Eldest]

I'd rather not jump straight to a fight, if it's all the same to you. Despite my words, I stand up with James and follow him over.

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Hey, I noticed them!

[Aneurin]

Jane

"It's good to see you again, too," she says with a tired smile. "I've no idea what you're talking about, but I'll be over here if you need me. Scream or something so I wake up. Unless you want me to go over there as you? Just tell me who I need to talk to and what about."

[Lamech]

As James and Allie start to head over to the guy with the notebook he first tries to move out of their line of site a bit, and puts the notebook in his coat. When that doesn't work he turns, whistles and starts a brisk pace towards the front entrance. His four friends, upon hearing this stop, one in mid-handshake, and also head towards the entrance. A few people turn and stare when one of them as they pushes through a group of people.

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Rizhail that definitly works as a compel.

[Lamech]

Double post so this migrates to the front page.

[Eldest]

Hey! I start to walk after the strange people, looking back to make sure James is with me.

[Rizhail]

Eyes narrowed at the strangers' attempt to leave, Jimmy waved toward the door. "Bas!" he called to Sam Bastion, making sure the bouncer noticed the odd balls trying to get out the door.

He waited a moment, letting the five men get near the door and away from most of the people in the restaurant. James raised his left hand, the silver and copper threads on his glove glowing slightly as he channeled the energy from his bracer through it. "Aegis," he whispered, unleashing his will toward the door.

The air in the doorway shimmered, seeming to solidify; after a moment, it was like looking through fogged glass, though the fog effect was constantly shifting. "I don't know who the hell you are, fellas," James said, planting his feet and crossing his arms, his voice loud and clear, "but we didn't just get through all the BS the vamps threw at us to have someone else start something up. Who in the hell are you, and why are you IDing us magical folks?"

He didn't show it, but James was already working another spell in his head. That keeps 'em here, but it's best if we get a shield up on this side of 'em, too. Just in case.

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Jimmy's casting an evocation to make a block against the gaggle of odd folks trying to get out the door. Specifically, he's erecting a wall of force in the doorway as a zone border.

The math behind the spell:

Wall of Force
Spirit Evocation, Defensive Block
Power: 7 shifts (Superb Conviction, +1 power specialization, and +1 power focus means a cost of 1 mental stress only)
Control: Rolling Superb Discipline, + 1 for control specialization (+6 total)
Duration: 3 exchanges
Effect: Erects a zone border at the door of Weatherby's, requiring a Great (+4) or higher Might roll to break.

Control roll (I put the +6 into the roll itself): (4d3-2)[5]
EDIT: Tagging the 'Supernatural Power Source' aspect on Jimmy for +2 to the roll, bringing it to +7, just enough to control the spell.

James' Status:

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Stress Tracks:
Physical Stress: oooo
Mental Stress: •ooo
Social Stress: oo

Fate: 2

Consequences: None used
Available:
•1 Mild (+1 for mental stress only)
•1 Moderate
•1 Severe

[Aneurin]

Jane

From the table there comes the audible slap of someone bringing the heel of their hand into sharp conjunction with their forehead.

"I'm back in New York for less than five minutes and he's trying to start a fight,"

[Lamech]

When the shield goes up over the door, while it takes a few seconds for everyone to notice the conversation stops. The guys attempting to leave spin around, eyes focusing on James, and put there hands up as if ready to fight. Sam (the bouncer) previously lounging in a chair, unfurls his arms and stands up. He growls, at James I'm not sure what exactly you think these guys are doing, but I know for certain we are NOT starting a fight inside. So I'll ask you kindly once, drop the barrier and leave.

A lady from the crowd steps towards James. She looks like she's in her late twenties, with dark hair and brown eyes. She asks "What exactly is going on here?"

[industrious]

Eddie

Eddie stands up after the lady speaks; his voice carries over to the whole of the inn.

"Well, apparently, these folks were making a list of all our talents. And I don't think they're the Paranet."

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Spending a hero point to tag a Scene Aspect (Quiet and Tense). Using Rapport as a maneuver. Placing "Suspicious" on the people trying to leave.

(4d3-5)[4] +2 Rapport, -1 Living Dead, +2 from the tag.

[Lamech]

The lady says Umm... while they may be creepy I don't think that's possible since they weren't practitioners. At least the one who shook my hand wasn't. She thinks for a second. Well, maybe there is a slight chance... Better safe than sorry! She approaches the coat and sweater team Can I see that book you were writing in? Everyone's just a touch paranoid and this would clear everything up.

[Eldest]

I step towards the coat and sweater guys, and give them a second look, to see if there is anything else odd about them.

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This is where her trouble could come in, now...

[Lamech]

Allie
You look at them, and they begin to fall away. Their skin melts and flows into the ground. Behind are vaguely man-shaped clouds of darkness. There are pulsing, glowing lumps of green inside of them, yet you cannot seem to pinpoint them. In fact you can't even seem to pinpoint the people themselves. You can see them, but you can't tell where exactly. You thought there were five of them, but now you can’t tell? Are there four? Maybe seven? Or maybe it’s just one? Then they all look at you and smile revealing rows of razor sharp teeth.

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If this somehow begins to cause trouble its worth a fate point; you could freak out; it would be really bad if you got into combat too.

Everyone:

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If you have anything else to do before the NPC's start acting up you should post it.

[Rizhail]

At Sam's request, James snapped his fingers and the barrier dispersed. While he knew he could be reckless, he wasn't a fool.

Only fools refused to do as Sam asked.

Still, James was ready for the odd balls to do something. He focused his energy, ready to erect a shield or shove the strangers out the door if they tried something. Otherwise, the wizard remained calm and quiet and let the strange woman do her thing.

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Making a maneuver via Discipline to try and place an aspect on James, something like 'Focused' or 'Locked and Loaded, Magically Speaking'.

(4d3-3)[3] (the +5 for James' skill is already in the roll)

[Eldest]

They have no skins... Skinless! They're Skinless! I recoil back in horror and start to shift to wolf form, heedless of the surroundings.

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Do you have a problem with the Skinless being a Cherokee horror story that Allie's mother told her about. Nothing actually concrete, just like the Boogieman or Slenderman. "Stay inside at night or the Skinless will get you".

[Lamech]

When the barrier falls Sam puts his hand on the guy with the notebook, Alright then, we are going to get a good bit away from here, and then we can all sort this out. he glances at James also you're coming-
Then he gets cut off by Allie, when he sees her start to transform he rushes over
Its okay, its okay their leaving. and the lady who asked what was going on looks at Allie, panicked and says Wait, what's a skinless?

Four of them get out the door and start running, the last one steps outside and saysWe would love to sort this out and put everyone at ease. But right now we appear to be causing much distress to the lady, and so we must depart in haste. He also turns to run.

The golden eyed lady begins to move towards the door as well, muttering to herself.

Allie The skinless are outside the door, and then there is only one of them. It puts its head back, opens its mouth and lets outs shrill scream.

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That is a good aspect, and Skinless sound like great monsters to tell a child about.
And fate point for Eldest

[Aneurin]

Jane

Scooping up her rucksack and slinging it over one shoulder, Jane dodges through the crowd to arrive at the door with more-than-human speed.

"Every time I come to America there's trouble. Maybe I should take that as a hint?" She pats Allie on the shoulder as she goes past without slowing down, and looks out the door. "I don't suppose anyone saw which way those charming people went? I for one don't like the idea of leaving 'skinless' wandering around the place, whatever 'skinless' may be."

[Eldest]

I let out a snarl and jump forward, snapping at the Skinless's lower legs. They might not have hamstrings, but usually legs are important to movement.

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(4d3-4)[3] Fists maneuver to put a aspect similar to "Hamstrung" on the one Skinless Allie sees.
And she now has 4 Fate points.