(IC) New Bedford at Night

[Daishain]

Bear is uncertain what to think here, but his companions have raised some good points, so he simply remains and watches for the moment.

[Ladorak]

'I smell deception and evasion on his words.' Growled Solomon 'And he is too sweetly spoken. I've never been greeted by a spirit I didn't know with such politeness... Yet' He spoke the last word reluctantly, forcing words past a mouth slowly locking into a predator's wicked and mirthless grin 'Yet given how he has been treated by Uratha can he be blamed for any deception? If I had been caged and starved by the Pure for a year... I would trust nothing that they say and say anything to win my freedom...` He chewed his lower lip 'At the very least we should call Knowlton and find out why his pack didn't free Pequod. In the meantime we can keep him caged without the cruelty of starvation, the Locus is right there.'

[Thundercracker]

Blaze nodded to Solomon.

“Yeah, makes sense, maybe Knowlton will know something,” he said.

[Ladorak]

Solomon brightens 'I'll make the call.' He makes a show of pulling out his phone and checking it. With an ironic hum he says 'No signal' and starts toward the Locus

Spoiler: Stepping sideways

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(5d10)[2][1][3][7][10](23)

Once on the other side he immediately dials the number. As he waits for an answer he goes to check on Pine.

[Bennosuke]

Before the group leaves Pequod, walking to the farthest corner of the building, the spirit answers Juno’s quesion. He says, “Well after the collapse of the Harbor Wolves, one of their numbers returned... He was quiet unpleasant, and I doubt he lasted long after his departure. Then some outsiders came, but they stayed out of the Shadow. I did my best to perform my duties, but they rested here for a night or two.”

***********************************

Solomon leaves the warehouse, and returns to near enough to the Locus that he can Reach. On return, there is a small pack of angry lesser spirits buzzing around the giant rock formation. The Muthra and Hursihim scatter upon his approach.

The return is a similar strain, and the Flesh greets Solomon with a rush of saturated color and shifting focus. Solomon removes his cellphone, but even before he can make a call, he sees that he has several missed calls from Mitchel Sanders, with a voice message demanding to know if they were alright, and if it was time the rest of the Pack could enter enter New Bedford.

Pine was doing fine, sitting in the van and pulling on a third nearly extinguished cigarette. She grins at Solomon and says, “Damn you kids are taking a while”, before dropping the spent butt out the van window.

Knowlton does not pick up the phone, it is nearly 3am; perhaps he is asleep.

[Madmal]

Iago peeks at Pine and raises his arms as in showing the exaggerated measure of a caught fish. "Big centipede. This size." He quips, hiding his smirk in the shadows.

You don't need to have the sight of an eagle to note Knowlton did not picked up, and with reason. It was 3 am, and Iago was never much of an all-nighter. And as that show went, "Nothing good happens after 3 am".
"Nothing? Can't blame him. It's bloody late, we need our beauty sleep" He grunts. "I'm knocking on the closed door."

He rolls his shoulders back, adopts a better posture and strolls in. "Great spirit Pequod. Thanks for your readyness on answering our questions. I apologize for not introducing myself before." He bows, as his brands reflect the moonlight "I am the Elodoth Iago. Truth-seeker of the Anchor Fangs. And I'm afraid you've been avoiding some details on your story."

[Erulasto]

The Cahalith is interested in Pequod's story for certain, but if the Spirit is not so forthcoming with the details now - perhaps they would be able to uncover more details at a later time. She'll listen if he responds, but otherwise she figures it is time to move on, at least for now, so Kara follows Solomon back to the Locus.

When she arrives, she closes her eyes to center herself and begins to work her mind down the winding pathway that will return her to Flesh.

Spoiler: OOC

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Roll to Reach!
(5d10)[10][8][10][8][6](42)

When she returns, Kara immediately checks her cellphone to see if she's missed any updates on her Twitter account with a small hum, and decides to - while she has a brief moment - post the selfie she took in the Diner, followed by another brief one taken now - spur of the moment with the sea to her back - and the caption: New Bedford is gr8t! But humidity is wrecking the hair!

[Ladorak]

'If only.' Solomon said to Iago ruefully 'We're all fine Pine, thanks for asking.' He lets the phone ring longer than is polite and than hangs up with a sign 'Well I guess he needed his beauty sleep more than most. Still though, he didn't strike me as a heavy sleeper.' He hits redial on one of Mitchel's messages and braced himself.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Thank you for speaking with us, we will return soon,” Blaze said, before returning through the gauntlet with the others.

“I need sleep, man, we going to crash here?” he asked.

[Daishain]

Bear, having followed the others out, nods, "This place certainly appears to be safe. We will need to address the Pequod situation soon enough, but for now, lets start clearing out space for a living area. Solomon, you calling Mitchel? Give them the thumbs up to finish pulling in here. Remind them to keep away from the problem areas we identified."

[Bennosuke]

(OOC: Before the pack leaves the warehouse proper and then the Hisil)

From the back of the pack, Santiago has been observing the conversation and calling on the powers that were his Auspice rite, the young Uratha activates Scent Beneath the Surface. Santiago pours Essence into the runes tattooed on his body, and within the Hisil a these symbols begin to glow with a powerful white light, covering one half of the Uratha’s rippling body.

With he power activated, he can see every flaw in the spirit’s story, every quiver in the strange ship’s booming voice. Pequod was not lying outright. No, he had not truly lied to the pack, but the spirit was not being honest either. He can smell the spirit’s deceptive nature, and emptiness that matched the omissions in the spirit’s words. Not only did the spirit know more than it was letting on, it somehow meant to bend it’s promise with the pack. Santiago was so close to knowing more, so close to being able to wrap the spirit around his finger, but he just was not there yet.

Stepping forward, the Elodath spoke up,

Great spirit Pequod. Thanks for your readyness on answering our questions. I apologize for not introducing myself before." He bows, as his brands reflect the moonlight "I am the Elodoth Iago. Truth-seeker of the Anchor Fangs. And I'm afraid you've been avoiding some details on your story."

The spirit Pequod froze, unable to speak for a moment. The entire ship was trembling, seeming to rock back and forth as if the waves of the Hisil had become a tempest. The ship itself was shrinking too, and aging. “How dare you!” the ship spirit sputtered. “How dare you” it repeated, seemingly unable to gain the composure to say more.

************************************

(OOC: Time warping to after the Pack leaves the warehouse)

When each pack member returns from the Shadow and re-enters a reality of sharpened images and focused colors, they each find a similar series of irate voice messages from Mitchel Sanders, demanding to know if it was safe to enter New Bedford, and only then thinking to offer a hope that everyone is okay.

[tonberryking]

"Wait!"

Juno yells out to both Bear and Mitchel, trying to stop them from contacting the others.

Do we know what happens if we try to open the crates and gear the Harbor Wolves left behind?? I don't care if it's stuff we can use, but if any of the band go poking around I don't want that ghost ship to get angry and uncooperative with them... or us!"

[Ladorak]

'How dare we?' Said Solomon with a laugh that felt deeply inappropriate 'Great Pequod, we are the descendants of Urfarah. How dare we? Daring is what we do, what we are.' He spread his arms out to include the whole group 'We are the Anchor Fangs and if there is one thing you should know about us it is that we dare.' The hands he had lifted to indicate his friends turning to Pequod, offering a conciliatory gesture, arms outstretched, palms up 'The second is that Santiago of the Anchor Fangs cannot be lied to, nor deceived by omission. We do not judge you for your deception great spirit of the sea. Given the way you have been treated by our people it is to be expected. I respect such cunning... But we are not like them.
'We do not punish Spirits who have done no wrong. Nor do we release unknown dangers on the world. You shall speak truth to us now, or you will be bound here long after the bones of the Anchor Fangs have rotted into the earth.'

[Bennosuke]

The ship spirit further withers at Solomon's words, now being tossed violently back and forth by some unseen waves. Calming for a moment, Pequod replies, "Very well", turning it's wooden head down in defeat.

[Ladorak]

Solomon nods, his eyes tracing every movement of the ship, watching for even the subtlest sign of aggression 'That is good. To begin tell us all the reasons you were imprisoned here, and tell us of the surviving Harbour Fang that visited you.'

[Bennosuke]

"I did not lie about why I was imprisoned here!" Pequod booms angrily, eyes again glowing with yellow light. "I was kept here solely to guard the Harbor Wolves' precious belongings!" The ship spirit calms, and performs a motion something like taking a deep breath in and out, before saying, "Only one of the Harbor Wolves made it here, after their mansion collapsed. His name was Silent Talons, though they called him Thomas. He came covered in blood and dirt, half crazed. He told me of what had happened before taking several fetishes and a klaive. Then he left and never came back."

Pequod stares directly at Solomon and defiantly asks, "Are you satisfied?"

[tonberryking]

"...Did the klaive have a serpent motif with a ring shaped hilt and a fork in its blade?" Juno blurts out before asking a more pertinent question, "And the crates and belongings of the Harbor Wolves. Now that they're gone, what would happen if one of us or another tried to remove them from where they lay?"

[Bennosuke]

The ship spirit looks at Juno with surprise and perhaps confusion. "I... don't know", it says cautiously. To Juno's second question Pequod responds, "I don't think the crates are booby trapped or anything. How about this, as a sign of good will, I will not bother your pack if you wish to search and use the Harbor Wolves' old equipment." The ship spirit's figurehead does its best to smile warmly at the group, though it is not an emotion easily portrayed.

[Ladorak]

'The bastards! They had no right...' Solomon snapped with harsh anger, he visibly took a moment to calm himself, incensed by what he had heard 'It is the duty of the Uratha to seek balance. In ourselves and in both worlds. We should not interfere with that which is in harmony.'
He looked up at the figurehead and the anger drained away, drowned in empathy 'This should not have been done to you. And I should not have doubted you. I apologise.'

[tonberryking]

Juno tugs at Solomon's outer clothes, trying to pull him away. She's already shifting back into her human form in the process, and with now fitting clothes she gives him a whisper. "Not that I don't feel sorry for him, but we're not immediately going to release him, right? ...Also... I'm going to check those crates." Juno has not been ...exceedingly forthwith about this mysterious sword she keeps asking about but by her own admission and Bear's ruminations, it probably was her father's or something.

Spoiler: OOC

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Do I need to roll for this kinda searching? I don't have investegation, but Juno's not exactly trying to tear the place apart looking for stuff...

[Erulasto]

Kara figures the Pack may be hungry after all that excitement, and seeing as how everyone seems pretty busy she sends off a mass text to everyone - including Mitchell - to start bringing their stuff over.

Then a quick Google search finds a nearby pizza place still open, and orders a half-dozen large pizza's for delivery.

"Got it in you to eat something before you sleep Blaze?" Kara grins, side-eying the warehouse curiously.

There was so much they didn't know yet....

[Bennosuke]

Juno separates from the pack, returns to the locus to reach back to The Flesh. Re-entering the warehouse, Juno can see that the inside is markedly changed.

Instead of a large wooden open boat house, it is a dirty cement walled factory filled with crates and boxes.

Spoiler: OOC

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Not to draw it out for you, but I suppose it depends on what you want to accomplish. Is Juno looking for something in particular? Is she looking to just catalogue everything? That will determine what you roll.

[Thundercracker]

Kara figures the Pack may be hungry after all that excitement, and seeing as how everyone seems pretty busy she sends off a mass text to everyone - including Mitchell - to start bringing their stuff over.

Then a quick Google search finds a nearby pizza place still open, and orders a half-dozen large pizza's for delivery.

"Got it in you to eat something before you sleep Blaze?" Kara grins, side-eying the warehouse curiously.

There was so much they didn't know yet....

Blaze

“Ah well.. now that you mention it, I could definitely go for a meat lovers, you ordering?” Blaze replied.

[Daishain]

Earlier, across the veil, Bear simply states, "Pequod, we will need time to discuss and prepare how to handle this. For now, please be patient."

Away from the spirit, he asks, "This isn't my field, but would it be possible to add an exception to the wards? Pequod may be convinced to continue in his duties while having his freedom. I would rather keep the wards up, and I am reasonably certain that he would rather not be kept out of his home any more than being trapped within."

Upon hearing the call for pizza, Bear pokes his head out of one of the cleaner side rooms, already covered in dust from moving boxes to make space for bedrolls. Holding up a finger in mock fury, he declares, "If I find so much as one bit of pineapple on mine there shall be hell to pay!"

[Erulasto]

Kara rolled her eyes at Bear's demands; she loved Hawaiian pizza! Such an unrefined palate he had.

She placed the order for four meat lovers, one ham and pineapple and one deluxe - with everything - and set it to deliver to the warehouse. She paid with her credit card, and added a sizable tip for the trouble of delivering all the way to the Harbour.

Considering the amount of pizza consumed by the band at times, Kara found it beneficial to be on good terms with most of the delivery guys and gals.

"Should be here in twenty or so!" She said as her stomach growled noisily.

[tonberryking]

Juno meanwhile continues to try to search the place.

Spoiler: OOC

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Sorry, weekend spillover and bad karma all around...

Juno is specifically looking for supernatural stuff like werewolf weapons (or even mundane weapons) talismans, charms, and the like--right now-- though she will be cataloging everything later as part of her massive endeavor to clean this place up. So if she finds the janitor's closet, she'll be happy, too!

[Daishain]

Bear keeps shifting things around, carefully. No telling what's in the boxes, but no time to check them out, not if people want sleep tonight. Not going to have time tonight to get proper sleeping quarters set up, the group's going to have to settle for having a large space to work with.

The big man starts to grumble a bit as he works, "Sure, I'll handle all these boxes myself, no need to lend a hand, there's only a couple hundred of the damn things."

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Just sleep in the van, man, no need to kill ourselves tonight moving all this **** around,” Blaze said, “we can check it out tomorrow.”

[Bennosuke]

'If only.' Solomon said to Iago ruefully 'We're all fine Pine, thanks for asking.' He lets the phone ring longer than is polite and than hangs up with a sign 'Well I guess he needed his beauty sleep more than most. Still though, he didn't strike me as a heavy sleeper.' He hits redial on one of Mitchel's messages and braced himself.

OOC: My apologies for letting this slip. If this happens in the future, please someone point this out to me.

When Mitchel picks up the phone, his voice is seething with frustration, like the skin of a corpse infested with maggots. “****ing finally,” he says, clearly failing at containing his anger, “So, are we good now? Can we come into town. We’ve been sitting with our thumbs up our asses for hours now. Everyone just wants to get in and go to bed!”

[Bennosuke]

Juno goes picking through the various boxes and crates. The search for occult or powerful objects is practically too easy, with one in every 4 boxes containing some sort of occult symbol. However, the highlighted findings include:

A brine bottle fetish (OOC: See pg 148)
4 inactive spirit wards similar to those strung up in the warehouse.
A forked klaive of design familiar to Juno. The knife blade is long and forked, but the handle is cord wrapped, and rather than a serpent engraving, there is a scorpion carved into the side of the knife.