Scion: Hero (IC)

[DeTess]

Liliana compiled the results of her research into a report, stopping by a print-shop to get a map of the tenements printed out on a large sheet of paper. Her work done, she found some time to drop by Brand again. She had been impressed with the way he he had managed the crowd back at the party, and was eager to learn some of his tricks.

The drama lessons done, she grabbed a quick dinner at the hotel, then headed for the meeting.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Whew, this teaching gig was harder than he'd expected! But surprisingly fun to watch his friends running through the communications and miscommunications at the heart of Twelfth Night. The play had always been his favorite of Shakespeare's works, probably because it featured a lady passing as a man to flirt with the male and female co-leads (the perfect wish fulfilment fantasy for the younger him). Twelfth Night would always have a special place in his heart for that, even if that wasn't the lesson he needed it to teach right now.

Reading and playing your opponent. Even more than that, reading and playing the crowd. Those skills had been a key part of his success in the cage; some of the audience would have been content simply to see him rise to the top as the most skilled fighter, but many more would have grown bored if he'd played every fight completely straight. Introducing narrative concepts like back-and-forth, rising stakes, and dramatic climaxes to his fights had been challenging, yes (taking unnecessary hits to sell the idea that he was an underdog was only slightly less dangerous when it was intentional), but it had kept the audiences on the edge of their seats. A happy audience was a returning audience, and a returning audience meant his cut of the profits was larger than ever.

Brand forcibly shook himself out of the nostalgic reverie. Shame on me, he thought. Those days were bad for me... not to mention for my opponents. The last thing I want to do is backslide into the person I was back then. Still, it was nice to see something pleasant come of the talents he had honed in those arenas.

He'd already told Julian he would be there for this dinner; now he was taking the stairs up to the correct floor. He'd been googling famous regional dishes to try, and hoped the catering would include seafood. Brand could absolutely go for some crab cakes right now.

[Justanotherhero]

As the first team member arrives at Hotel Spice and Sky Atlanta Perimeter's meeting room B04.03, they find Julian preparing the space for the strategy session. A large oval table at the center is surrounded by comfortable chairs, with documents spread out and a laptop connected to a projector ready for presentations.

Zahir stands by, ready to take detailed minutes. The room is lit to balance clarity and comfort, with refreshments available on a side table.

Julian greets the first arrival with a welcoming smile, inviting them to get comfortable. "Glad you could make it. I hope there was no trouble?" As he looks around the room, Julian thinks to himself, *More satisfying than the last setup, still not quite the pantheon-worthy display of old.*

The hotel provided a well-curated catering service for the meeting. The spread included a variety of options to cater to diverse tastes and dietary requirements.

**Starters:**
- A selection of gourmet cheeses paired with a variety of crackers and a fresh fruit platter.
- An assortment of fresh spring rolls filled with vegetables, shrimp, and vermicelli, served with peanut and hoisin dipping sauces.

**Main Courses:**
- Grilled salmon fillets, lightly seasoned and served with a dill and lemon butter sauce.
- Herb-roasted chicken breasts, accompanied by a rosemary and thyme jus.
- A vegetarian option of stuffed bell peppers filled with quinoa, black beans, corn, and topped with melted cheese.

**Sides:**
- A mixed green salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a choice of vinaigrette or ranch dressing.
- Roasted mixed vegetables including carrots, broccoli, and sweet potatoes.
- Garlic mashed potatoes, creamy and garnished with chives.

**Desserts:**
- A dessert platter featuring mini cheesecakes, chocolate brownies, and macarons in various flavors.
- Freshly brewed coffee and a selection of teas.

**Beverages:**
- Sparkling and still mineral water.
- A selection of soft drinks and juices.

[DeTess]

Liliana gave a slightly bitter smile as she looked over the food available. That was what she got for only reading the where and when on the invitation, and assuming she'd need to get dinner beforehand. Still, she grabbed some options from the desert section, while waiting for everyone else to finish their meal so they could start the meeting.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Cheerfully, Brand started loading up one of the plates with a little bit of everything... but the plate was oddly small, and he ran out of room too quickly. Looking at all the things he still wanted to try and doing some quick mental geometry, it was going to take at least four of these tiny plates, plus a glass or two.

The reasonable thing to do would be to make multiple trips as he finished each plate, but... I haven't practiced that skill in a while... and I kind of want to show it off.

So after filling his plates and pouring his drinks, he started loading them up on his body to carry them back to his seat. His hands, his forearms, the crooks of his elbows, his shoulders, atop his bright red hair; anywhere a plate or cup could go without stacking, he put one, even empty ones when he'd loaded up all of his.

He straightened carefully and walked back to his table, controlling the balance of his fragile load with precise manipulations of the tension in his muscles and the angling of his limbs to nudge items that were threatening to slip back to true. Reaching the table, he used his foot to pull out his chair, then sat down and carefully unburdened himself of all the plates and cups, setting the full ones in a neat arrangement in front of his seat and stacking the empty ones off to the side. Then he picked those up and carried them (normally) back to the serving table....

...And stopped to smack his head with his palm. The oddly tiny plates that had inspired this maneuver were at one end of the serving table, yes... and at the other end sat stacks of normally sized plates. He'd been struggling because he had been trying to serve a four-course meal onto plates intended for the crackers and cheeses.

Spoiler: OOC

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This is the Omnidexterity knack in action, letting Brand use any part of his body with the dexterity of his hands. Also, Brand's incredibly poor perception coming back to bite him once again.

Can I get a stunt for this?

[Kish]

Spoiler: OOC

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Yes, I like the description, but in light of the current lack of stakes I'll call that a one-die stunt.

[Justanotherhero]

As the group settled into the meeting room for dinner, Julian and Zahir made their way to the buffet table, opting to start their meal with fresh spring rolls and grilled salmon.

While enjoying their plates, Julian and Zahir engaged in light conversation, weaving in elements of their time in Alexandria which apparently also contained a few drinks. „ I am very glad that dads side of the family is so effective at preventing hangovers," Julian remarked, appreciating the benefits of extraordinary drinking capabilities backgrounds. Zahir chuckled in agreement, „Yeah sadly that doesn’t prevent the lightweights among recruits from making a mess.“

After enjoying the food and conversation, the pair shifted focus to the task at hand. Zahir, ever the meticulous one, prepared his notepad and pen to capture detailed minutes of the meeting. Julian, meanwhile, began sorting through his notes, organizing his thoughts and information. He aligned documents, checked his digital files on the laptop, and laid out his notes.

[Benoojian]

Max, being a college kid, will never turn down free food. He sets up his laptop at one of the places arranged for the group and then helps himself to as much of the buffet as he can carry.

[Kaworu]

Mateusz was quite busy, trying to learn basic medicine, applied psychology and being presentable all at once, but it worked quite well. Probably being a Scion helped him with that a lot, being honest.

He sat down with all the others, a little plate filled with sweets and a cup of hot tea with sugar by his side. He was so busy with his own education, that he didn't really had time to check on satyrs or the dude that they mentioned (besides basic googling and social media checking). But, telling the truth, he had no idea where he should have started.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

"So. Let's review our last operation."

Brand had finished the last of his salmon, and politely dabbed his lips with his napkin. But then he spotted a stray chunk of gouda on his plate, and couldn't resist popping it into his mouth. So good, he thought, chewing the smoky cheese happily.

Oh right, the review. He hastily swallowed. "The good first. We made it in and out, retrieved valuable intel, and all without resorting to violence. On the other hand, we're essentially back to where we started: a lead to where the dagger is and who possesses it, albeit one that is hopefully more correct than our first one." And how had their client's intel been so inaccurate? It at least made it unlikely that she was working for Forsen, who knew the satyrs didn't have the prize. Though perhaps she had been spying on the titanspawn(?) and only knew that he had reached out to the satyrs after the dagger was stolen, drawing the obvious conclusion that they were the ones who had taken it?

"Also, several of us had our cover blown, and we clearly underestimated the powers of the satyrs; had they wanted a fight, things could have gotten ugly very quickly. This can probably be written off as an inherent risk when dealing with the supernatural, but obviously I'd prefer to be better informed about our next opponents' capabilities."

[Justanotherhero]

„An identity leaked to titanspawn is, to say the least, problematic," Julian began, his tone reflecting concern. He paused, unsure if his next words would reveal too much, yet feeling the necessity of being transparent. "The truth is, I don't have a foolproof solution for this issue. But..." Julian hesitated again, hoping he wasn't about to share something embarrassing. It felt right, though, to be open with the team.

"Back home, I believe we have the means to provide those concerned with new options concerning official documentation—formal name, origin, address, and so on. This could be useful in case someone is worried they might be located by unwanted parties.If someone wants to I can ask if we can arrange it?“

As he said it he realized he himself was not 100% as cautious as he would have liked.

[DeTess]

"I didn't let anything slip that I would be worried about anyone else knowing." Liliana shot Brand a meaningful look. "I do have to caution about the risks inherent to false identities though. Using one for a short while has its own issues, but if you want to assume an entirely new identity.... well, you'll end up with at least one, most likely multiple, people holding a pretty big secret over you for the rest of your life. That's not to say I don't trust you, Julian, but can you say that the people you'd ask to arrange this are completely selfless and free from angles from which they could be blackmailed?" Liliana let that hang for a moment. "'Either way, we need to chase down the dagger first. If anyone decides they need to disappear after that, I might have some advice as well."

"I have some worries of my own about how our client got so mistaken, but for now the main problem is the dagger. We can do our due diligence on her once we've secured it." She opened a folder and handed out several handouts containing the information she had found out about Forsen, before spreading out a large printed map of the Vine City tenements. "You can read those at your own pace, but to summarize, Forson seems to know what he's doing. He isn't on any watchlists as far as I could find, and though he is known to stray into the greyer areas of the law he hasn't done so to the extend that anyone felt like going through the trouble of getting him arrested for it. His company's products have passed muster, but if anyone here feels like doing their own analyses on his company's products I'd welcome it."

"Forson is not our target though." Liliana flipped to the back of the handout. It contained a short profile, but it consisted mostly of fields marked 'unknown' and best guesses. "A former employee of his named 'Mog Raznosgolar' is, but this individual is a ghost. No online presence whatsoever, and nothing that my contacts could dig up either. All we know is the location the Satyrs gave us." She gestured at the map she had put down. "Though Forson might be worth looking into, for now this is the puzzle we need to solve."

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Brandon shrugged. "Sharing my identity was a calculated risk, and a minor one at that. I have no mortal family for it to be traced back to, and research into my former acquaintances will provide only enemies. In fact, thanks to my efforts and machinations, most of them are currently in jail." The most prominent one who'd slipped his net was her, and they'd never catch her unless she let them. He certainly hadn't been able to... though it was possible his emotions had clouded his efficacy on that one.

"One of the advantages of having turned over a new leaf," Brand continued. "That's why I gave the satyrs my phone number, instead of letting one of our members with an actual business card do the honors."

Spoiler: OOC rambling about Brand's vulnerability now that his identity might be out there

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Brandon is perhaps underestimating his vulnerability; people trying to manipulate him could conceivably go after his professors (though that might lead to them ambushing the god Ogma's mortal guise, which would be hilarious) and a couple of ex-boyfriends/-girlfriends from the university before his Visitation. If they make the connection to the vigilante and the 'anonymous sources' that helped the police take down the fighting rings, then his contact on the force and several of the vulnerable children/teens that he personally rescued become possible targets as well, though that would require a lot more legwork to figure out.

Researching him through Dublin's criminal element, though, will turn up exactly the dead end he described. Looking into his birth/orphanage records would be even worse, since Brandon isn't his birth name, variations of "Flynn" are fairly common last names, and he has no positive emotional connections with any of the foster families or orphanages he stayed at over the years (rather the opposite, in most cases) even if they did manage to find those records.

Of course, thanks to his geas, if anyone (well, anyone weaker than Brand) was threatened in an effort to put pressure on him, he would have to help. But Brigid is the only one who knows about that geas, so he should be safe on that front for now.

[Justanotherhero]

"Liliana, your caution regarding the use of false identities is well-founded," Julian began, his tone measured. "The risks of assuming a new identity are significant.“ He paused for a moment, reflecting on the trust and confidentiality required to manage such a delicate situation. "It's true, the people involved in arranging these identities might also not be immune to titanspawn threats or circumstances.
Turning to address Brand's comments, Julian nodded in understanding. "Brand, your approach to sharing your identity was indeed a calculated risk, and it seems you’ve managed the potential repercussions well.„

"As for the dagger and our current leads," Julian continued, glancing at the information Liliana had spread out, " Mog Raznosgolar’s elusive nature certainly complicates the task." He gestured towards the map and the profiles laid out on the table. "We must strategize carefully, ensuring we understand potential traps we might encounter. Not that I … know much about our employer.“

„Forson could be investigated by maybe getting a job at the company. For Mog hmm do they have apartments for rent in the area?“

[Benoojian]

Max quickly reads through the reports, one detail niggling at his brain, "The information and marketing on Slam! sounds strangely familiar. I'm not sure the ingredients count as natural, more like supernatural. I'd love to do some magical testing on it before we get too deep into planning our next move. If my suspicions are anywhere close we'll need some Slam! and an unbound mortal to test it on. I don't suppose the hotel stocks any Slam!?"

[Justanotherhero]

„I can find that out. And if you want one of us can pose as a slam representative handing out free drinks?“

Julian would try to order some Slam! from room service.

[Justanotherhero]

After room service comes. Julian returns with a can of Slam! .

„As for an unbound mortal we will probably have to take a look around.“

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Brand didn't like the idea of experimenting on a mortal. But this was something that hundreds - possibly thousands - of people drank daily, with no apparent adverse effects. In this case, his protective instinct was probably an overreaction. Still, I'll keep an eye on the situation, he thought.

[Benoojian]

"How unethical would it be to just offer a waiter 100 bucks to drink it?" Max grips one of the cans of Slam!, seeing if he can sense a fatebond on the drink already. He pulls out his magic book and a set of occult tools, setting up a ritual to analyze the thaumaturgic resonance of the drink. "If this works I should be able to separate any magical ingredients out from the natural ones and we won't need them to drink it." Max begins chanting as he pours some of the soda into the improvised ritual circle. The Natural elements should be pulled towards the iron on one side and the Supernatural pulled towards the crystal on the other for 'easy' identification.

[Kish]

Max's efforts detect no supernatural quality to the drink which can be detected through examination.

Spoiler: Max

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Max does sense the presence of a Fatebond with the passive effect of his Knack--but he realizes that he has been experiencing that sensation when around his companions for some time. He could spend a Legend point for more details, including whether the energy drink is Fatebound to someone, or he could try taking it away from his companions or asking them all to leave the room.

Spoiler: Brand, Liliana

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You remember the satyr suggesting you hurry to get the dagger. If he's right about the situation--which, of course, he may not be--renting an apartment to set up extended surveillance might mean leaving Gunnar Forson time to reclaim the dagger.

[DeTess]

"The energy drink angle is interesting, but it is not our main purpose here." Liliana was eager to bring her companions back on track. "Forson is actively looking for the dagger, so we need to focus on getting it first. Any suggestions for tracking down this Mog person quickly? Worst case, we could just move in, and see what our presence can shake loose, but I'd prefer a more solid plan."

[Justanotherhero]

"The energy drink angle is interesting, but it is not our main purpose here." Liliana was eager to bring her companions back on track. "Forson is actively looking for the dagger, so we need to focus on getting it first. Any suggestions for tracking down this Mog person quickly? Worst case, we could just move in, and see what our presence can shake loose, but I'd prefer a more solid plan."

"In theory Mortal help is only a few dollars away. Hiring one or two detectives to check out any people that moved in lately should not cost this world. Beyond that we could again try to split up in a surveillance and a diversion team?
An alternative is of course to attempt to not look for the dagger first but to look for Forson first and assume he will find it and when he does we can act.
In theory a CEOs shedule is something that should be written down and accessible."

[Kaworu]

Mateusz was strangery quited the whole time. But, actually, he was deeply considering something.

- You know... - he finally muttered, very slowly, more to himself that to the others - I know computer, right? And... maybe I shall hack him? You know, email, social media accounts, such things. I mean... this is technically illegal... - he started making circles with his thumbs - But... if just to have accesss to some info... and not enter into his systems any kind of virus or anything... I mean... hm...

He wasn't really sure if he wanted that. But the dagger seemed to be important, and just breaking into his accounts to just have some "passive" data, instead of pretending to be him... that wasn't, like, a great sin... right?

[DeTess]

"Unfortunately, he has no such online presence, or I would have beaten you to the punch." Liliana replied. "Hiring a private investigator or two would be an option if we had more time, but in that case I'd simply do all the legwork myself." She looked over the map again.

"Does anyone have access to some muscle on short notice? Mercenaries or the like." She gestured at several points on the map. "Main access to the area is here, her and here. If we can get those watched we could go in, try to spook our target and nab him when he tries to run. We could do something similar to what Brand did during the party, make it obvious we know for our target to provoke a response."

[Justanotherhero]

Julian looked at Mateusz, surprised but pleased to see him willing to contribute in an area where Julian himself lacked significant expertise.

"Does Forsen have any social media or online accounts? He's not our primary target, but in a worst-case scenario, he could lead us to the dagger. I assume he must have access to at least one company email account, right?"

When the conversation shifted to the topic of mercenaries, Julian was somewhat taken aback—not because he opposed the idea, but because he had not yet succeeded in recruiting mundane support for the impending war, a feat his father would have undoubtedly accomplished.

"I have to admit, I can't offer trustworthy mercenaries. However, would paid lookouts, like private eyes who are unaware of the full extent of what's happening, suffice for your plan?"

[Kaworu]

Mateusz sighed with relief. So he won't have to hack into some accounts... not in this very second, at least.

- The offer is still on the table, you know? Maybe I cannot hack this particular person, but I can do some hacking, if an opportunity will arise. It's not something I take lightly, but I also do realize that the dagger is important, and it's way better if we put our hands on it than third parties.

[Justanotherhero]

"Does anyone have access to some muscle on short notice? Mercenaries or the like." She gestured at several points on the map. "Main access to the area is here, her and here. If we can get those watched we could go in, try to spook our target and nab him when he tries to run. We could do something similar to what Brand did during the party, make it obvious we know for our target to provoke a response."

„Private security companies are not that expensive but I doubt they will actively engage in arresting someone without some form of explanation. I have to cultivate some contacts on that area. Would people on the lookout be enough for your plan to work,Liliana?“

[DeTess]

"That depends on who and what Mog is, exactly." Liliana replied. "Which is one of our known unknowns. "If he is just your average guy it would be sufficient, but if he's a titanspawn we need some rough people who won't panic if things get weird. It's also why I asked if anyone already knew someone. Hiring an unknown has all kinds of problems."

Liliana sighed. "We just don't know enough about Mog then. I'll head there first thing tomorrow morning to get the lay of the land. Brand, I'd appreciate if you could be nearby in case trouble finds me. If anyone else feels comfortable with this kind of legwork, feel free to join me. The goal is to find out more about Mog, such as who and what he is and where he lives."

[PoeticallyPsyco]

"But of course," Brand said, his pleasant smile widening slightly. "I love field-trips."

[Benoojian]

"I thought I was here as the muscle."