Skyscraper Graveyard IC: Renaissance City

[Anarion]

"Do we really need to go alone?" "I mean, maybe you could come with one of us, or at least be nearby, in case we need help?"

[Deadly]

"Cyprus certainly gave the impression that she wanted to see you alone, or maybe that was just me. I say we at least stay nearby in any case, but is there anything else?"

[Anarion]

"Um, well, we should all go see Errant right now. And Jack said he was going to take us shopping too..."

[Tiki Snakes]

"Huh. I suppose I kind of did. Well, what I was thinking was that if you had a phone, you could call for help if something happened with Cyprus... Though I've got to work the specifics out on that idea yet."

Something about how eagerly Tessen used the word shopping was making Jack a little nervous.

[Anarion]

*Charming puppy dog eyes*

[the_druid_droid]

“I agree with Tessen, we could all use a talk with Errant right now.” Turing leaned on his cane and scowled at their future prospects, currently embodied by the far wall. “And I don’t intend to leave you alone when you go to see Cyprus, either. Whoever is free should travel along with you and stay somewhere nearby - not following, exactly, but there for backup.”

[Thanqol]

The Quiet did not advertise its' location to the local Consilium, but Turing knew a long-abandoned skate park nearby where you could wait if you wanted to meet them.

As an aside, the Consilium proper meets once a month on the 15th; thirteen days from now.

[the_druid_droid]

“Before we do anything else though, I’m going to go have a drink. You’re all more than welcome to join me, of course, and once everything’s settled, I can take us somewhere to meet with the Quiet.” Turing began to head off toward his floor and his liquor cabinet, trying to put off thinking about the upcoming meetings for just a little while.

[Anarion]

While Turing is getting a drink, Tessen goes and freshens up a bit, then fishes out a book from her room to read while they wait. At present, she's about halfway through "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck, an older, somewhat idealistic story about a farmer in China.

[Deadly]

"If you go shopping at some point, could you drop me off somewhere on the way? I got a bit of business to pay back Turing," Amun said to Jack. His earlier plan this morning had sort of been interrupted.

"A drink sounds good," he added at Turing's offer and, once done arranging with Jack, went to follow

[Tiki Snakes]

*Charming puppy dog eyes*

"How can I say no, to that?" He grinned. "Alright, we'll go shopping. At the very least for a phone. Anything else we'll have to talk about. I'll pass on the drink for now, If you don't mind Turing. Ask again later though, I think I'll probably need a drink before the night is out."

Jack strolled away, to wait quietly in the lobby. Not being entirely sure what the hold up was, he ended up resorting to checking the a the Detroit news online breifly, before flitting to the music related portions of the website.

"Come on, Tessen. Thought you wanted to go shopping!" He called up the stairwell, not entirely expecting to be heard.

[Anarion]

The elevator opens to reveal Tessen coming out, flipping through the pages of her book with a bit of smile. When she sees Jack waiting she says "Oh, I guess the building comm wasn't working again?"

She moves over to the skyscraper's front desk and applies a little bit of controlled electricity, taking her time, then says out loud "Turing, Amun, we're waiting to leave, are you coming?" Then to Jack "There, just press this button here and push the floor you want and it will open a line up there. It will probably work when I'm not here, maybe. Don't press it too hard though."

[Tiki Snakes]

"I still can't get used to all this High-Rise living." He smiled, opening the door for Tessen before following onto the street.

"So, what's on the itinery for our little excursion then? Are the others joining us?"

[the_druid_droid]

“Don’t worry, Jack. Whiskey keeps.” Turing smiled slightly, amused as he tried to imagine how the others would behave good and drunk. He was going to have to try and bring that about sometime.

Making sure Amun was in tow, the mage headed down toward his own quarters and an old, but clearly well-loved liquor cabinet. The silver railing around the top kept a few bottles close to hand, and taking one of them, Turing poured out a modest amount into two nearby glasses.

“I hope scotch is alright. It’s straight too, since I don’t have anything to make ice, but it’s good.” He handed one of the tumblers to Amun and took a seat in his chair, turning it to face the room instead of the view while sipping at his drink.

***

He had almost finished the scotch when Tessen rung them on the skyscraper’s comm system. The damn thing never seemed to work for him, but then again, he wasn’t an Obrimos.

“Right, we’ll be down in two shakes.”

Tossing back the last of the alcohol, Turing collected his cane and headed out the door toward the elevators, inviting Amun along.

[Deadly]

"If I can drink some of the stuff they brew around the city without going blind, I think I can handle scotch," Amun said. It wasn't exactly often he had something as fancy as scotch. He took the glass and sat down to savor the refined liquor.

When Tessen called he knocked back the rest of the drink, took a deep breath and rose to follow Turing.

[the_druid_droid]

When the elevator arrived at the ground floor of their sanctum, Turing straightened his tie and stepped out before giving a little flourish with the end of his cane.

“Well, I’m as ready as I’ll ever be!”

[Anarion]

"Okay, well, Jack you like to drive, right? We should probably go straight to meet Errant right after we're done shopping. I think phones are most important, but I would also like a gun I can fit in my purse, and actually maybe a nicer purse and a new sweater, if we can stop at a department store too. Well, we'll see what we have time for I guess. Shall we get going?" *smiles and heads out to Jack's car.

[Thanqol]

The shopping trip was uneventful; the wheels of Sleeper commerce turned predictably, even in a place like this. Nothing would impede the Mages' efforts to equip and arm themselves.

[Give me the short list of important things you get, particularly the ones you intend to carry on your person]

[Tiki Snakes]

(Phones for everyone who wants one, clothes for Tessen. Bit's and Bobs as Necessary)
"Are you really sure you want a gun, Tessen? They only really have one use, you know. Also, I may be misremembering, but even if you are sure, think there's a three day waiting period, plus if you want to carry concealed you need a licence."

Despite having one squirreled away on his person, Jack seemed a little squeemish about the gun thing.

"It could be worth considering just stocking up on pepper spray instead?"
More quietly, he added "If it must be a gun, and you need it sooner than that, we might have to look in less savory channels than the Rennaissance Center."

(Add a gun for Tessen if he isn't able to convince her otherwise).

[Anarion]

"Well, I guess a gun could wait. Pepper spray would be good to have anyway. But, I think maybe I should sign up for one and get the license. I just, well, after yesterday, I don't really feel safe." *Tessen sort of hugs herself a bit.*

[Tiki Snakes]

"A gun can be a deterrant. It'll make a street gang give you some leeway, or stop a group of salvagers becoming muggers perhaps. Problem is, once it comes to using it, the only way it'll keep you safe is by putting enough holes in the other guy first." He talked seriously and quietly.

"One of the main problems with a gun is they tend to escalate a situation. Yesterday might have turned out a lot different if you'd been carrying. I won't say you shouldn't. But you should be sure you know what you're getting into before you fill in that background check."

[Anarion]

"I'll...be careful" she says, filling in the background check form.

[Deadly]

Amun followed along. He didn't feel he had anything he really needed and it looked to him like Tessen was already buying for the four of them combined. Eventually he could possibly be convinced to accept a phone, one of the cheap models that still offered way more functions than he felt he needed, but he wouldn't ask for one.

After shopping he had Jack stop by at the broker briefly, to pay back Turing before he ended up forgetting about it.

[I assume that goes without any major events too]

[Thanqol]

[I am going to assume that Turing gets a phone and doesn't start a major international incident on his way to the next scene]

The Quiet meeting place was an abandoned skate park. Once a symbol of civic reconstruction and legitimisation of the past-times of the black youth of Detroit, now a faded, overgrown and decaying concrete wasteland. Splashes of colour from faded murals were visible under overgrown leaves and weeds. Broken glass bottles, empty syringes and shell casings covered the ground like sand. There was a chill here that was a little more than natural; like an icy hand reaching across the veil, gripping your shoulder and whispering, 'There is nothing for you here'.

As far as the Mages were aware, nothing magical happened upon their arrival; no triggers or tripwards went off, no traps sprung or messages sent out. But within half an hour of their arrival, the Quiet arrived.

Errant, dressed in black and silver, pretty as a doll, walked from an alley towards them. Her left arm was in a graceful black sling and cast, and her delicate footsteps brought to mind a princess in high heels - even as her boots crunched broken glass underneath them. If her injuries troubled her, today she gave no sign of it, walking as evenly as gracefully as a lady at her débutante.

Edelachtbare, the unpronounceable madman, followed close behind her. Seven feet tall and bearded like a painting of some pagan deity, his eyes flashed with thunder and fury and condemnation. His patchy leather coat concealed a bulletproof vest, only visible through the layers of furs if you knew what you were looking for. One ham-sized hand gripped an AK-47 that had the coldly professional aura of a weapon that had seen many, many wars.

"Good afternoon," said Errant, curtsying politely. Edelachtbare said nothing and loomed over the group. "Thank you, firstly, for not all dying pointlessly."

[Anarion]

When they first arrive at the skate park, Tessen uses her time magic to look back on the place a few moments after it opened. She wanted to see what it had been like back when it was vibrant, what the hopes were for this place before they were lost.

When Errant arrives and speaks her piece, Tessen bursts out "Oh Errant. I'm so sorry! Did you know what was there? The prophet, his painting was so beautiful, so transcendent. And we just let them take him. I thought...for a moment...that maybe Cyprus understood...but now...I, I don't know, I'm supposed to meet her and I don't, I don't know what's going to happen."

[Thanqol]

This park had never thrived. It was a heavy-handed, top-down, over-budgeted attempt by the government to try and address a problem that did not need addressing. Even when the neighbourhood had been better it had mostly been the hangout of dealers and gangers, with only a few brave or stupid kids using it for it's intended purpose.

If there was any light in the history of this park, it was the construction, and the optimism that had gone into the construction.

Errant held up her good hand delicately. "Please, calm down. Start from the beginning."

[the_druid_droid]

At the store, Turing acquired an older-model smartphone for himself, trying not to cost Jack too much money, since there was a fair probability of him violating the warranty in the future.

At the park, Turing waited quietly, leaning on his cane and wondering idly if the chill to the place was indeed the work of the Guardians. When Errant arrived, he visibly straightened, and smiled a bit when she congratulated them on not dying. That had been one of his goals in the encounter, surprisingly enough.

He let Tessen speak first, fairly sure that she needed the advice more than he did right now.

[Anarion]

"Um, the beginning. Right. Well, you came by and gave Turing an assignment, and it had a dossier about Cyprus in it. Oh, but you already know that, I don't need to tell you that part." *Blushes furiously*
"Um, well then Jack was out, so Amun, Turing, and I all caught a cab. I used supernal vision to steer us straight to the church because the picture was so strong it made threads of magic thick enough I could practically reach out and pick them up.

Then, we got there and there was an artist. I...oh, I've already forgotten his name, but I'm sure that Turing or Amun will remember it. He had painted a picture, the sword of Damocles hanging over Detroit, but it wasn't finished. We saw a fate spell guiding someone to the church and realized that the iron pyramid was coming. The artist seemed to have some prophecy to his words as well, so instead of running, we stayed and talked to the seers. We had the artist hide too.

They were, amazingly civil actually. Oh, they, right I'm forgetting a part, I'm sorry. *coughs and clears throat.* There was Cyprus, but also another seer named Slade. He knew mind magic and I think he works for the police. But he seemed to listen to Cyprus and we told them that we didn't want to fight. So, at first we didn't. We just talked. I think, actually that Cyprus isn't really a bad person. But, she said she saw an exarch, in person, and maybe that's why she's too afraid to leave the seers. Then we said something that offended her, I can't remember who, it was probably me. And she was going to use Celestial fire, but then the artist came out instead. The seers took him, and we didn't think we could fight him, so we were going to just let them leave. But then they started beating us up for some reason, and Cyprus hurt Amun really badly then she elbowed me in the throat. I panicked and tried vulgar forces magic. I'm sorry, I'm lucky I didn't cause a paradox.

Um, after that they left us, though Cyprus spit on the ground next to me and apparently Slade left a bit of his blood with a note that said they wanted out. And we used that to scry on both of them, and I guess Cyprus said she wants to meet with me alone tomorrow, while Slade is going to meet with Turing. And I don't know what we should do."

*exhales*

[Thanqol]

Errant took all this calmly, raising a hand to her face in quiet contemplation. She didn't say anything as she quietly sifted through all the information she'd been given, picking out important details and discarding unnecessary facts.

"A few thoughts... if Cyprus wanted you dead, you would be, so a trap is unlikely. This leaves two threats; that they are spies, or that they get caught. In case they are spies, do not tell them anything about the Pentacle that you can help. Do not discuss other cabals, their capabilities, or their areas of influence. A far more pressing danger is that they get caught while attempting to cross the tracks. The Seer in charge of this town is named Overlord. We don't know anything about him, and that should be a hint about how good he is. He runs a very, very tight ship."

[Deadly]

Amun couldn't help but smile at Tessen's rambling recount. Maybe there was something about the way she rambled innocently that made other people relax, or give up. He was just glad that Errant didn't seem to take the loss at the church too badly.

Overlord. He considered the "name" and shook his head quietly. So bland and unoriginal, unremarkable in every way, it was no doubt completely intentional.