MtA: Sun, Surf, and Shadow

[JMobius]

Morpheus mutters to no one in particular when he realizes that the building before him is the address they are seeking: Damn it. I hate skyscrapers...

[MinotaurWarrior]

The Foreign Lord and Montaenoo attempted to perpetuate their slow approach towards the rest of the group, partially for dramatic effect, and partially because The Foreign Lord was scanning for sapient minds attempting to spy upon them. "Well, while Montaenoo and I were away I called the storage facility in Arcadius's name. The phone-jockey, a cuban man, was definitely not a sleepwalker, if anyone cares. As for this place, if you were not aware it is the center for petty and paranoid Mysterium members, otherwise known as our political HQ." The Foreign Lord arrived at the knot the group had formed and settled down, his bodyguard standing behind him in an intimidating manner (not to say that a jet-black giant can stand in such a way as to not be intimidating). "Honestly, I am surprised that someone possessed of a productive office such as provost would have any holdings here, but I suppose he does, or rather, did. Even if there is nothing of use in his office, it might be wise to investigate the building in general, who knows what useful information might be contained within. Throughout the investigation I will must insist that Zephyr and I closely monitor the rest of you," The Foreign Lord eyed Edwin, un-trusting of Libertines, "To ensure none of our orders secrets are revealed."

[Chineselegolas]

Edwin

Noticing The Foreign Lord eyeing him as he spoke, Edwin pulled his cloak around him once more, "I'm not actaully interested in what you are doing, I'd rather just get back to my own stuff" he said, moving to put anyone between him and TFL. "How are we going in, front door us accompanying you two, or do you guys have a back entrance more suited to avoid attention" his hands moving into his pockets holding the coat close.

[Ditto]

Zephyr

Zephyr stands from where he is sitting, on the sidewalk next to Morpheus."Yeah, don't take the idol off the pedestal or we'll drop giant books on you." He was rather unconcerned at the prospect of others learning anything of deep secrecy just by passing through - this building was basically in the Mage's Yellow Pages, so the residents knew better than to broadcast themselves. "The whole building isn't ours, but the front desk sorts are in on the secret (enough), so we won't draw any stares walking in. We should just move up to Arcadius' floor and see who we find there to start. We've been sanctioned by the Orders to investigate, so I don't think we're going to meet any trouble that far." Knock on wood.

Spoiler

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Sort of a side-quest in my head... whenever I decide the microphone I'm tracking has been stationary long enough, I'd like to GoogleMap the location (heh) and see what's there, if there's a un-used public/Mysterium computer in the building. I'll probably want to Scry that area at some point.

[MinotaurWarrior]

The Foreign Lord seemed rather disturbed by the lack of fear on the part of Zephyr, and the lack of interest from Edwin. Thoughts like do the diamond orders really have no knowledge of the prime principal (referring to the concept that fear is the force that smooths the gears of society and pushes them to work faster) and Is Zephyr a traitor? Or simply a fool? Does he not recognize the inherit threat of allowing people who have not been ordained to learn certain things into the place where those things are kept? Has he forgotten the reason we have censors? For nearly a full second The Foreign Lord stood in shock, but recognizing the fear in Edwin brought him out of it.

"As Zephyr has said, entrance should be as simple as walking through the door, and pushing a button on an elevator. What will be difficult is the actual investigation. I do not believe that any of us are skilled detectives, so we will have to rely purely on Arcana and perhaps some interviews and interrogations. As such it would be useful if you could cast any ESPs you have." Alrikar paused for a few seconds, then continued "Now, is it time to depart the tor and enter the tower?"

[JMobius]

Morpheus pipes up: "While I'm capable of a number of different 'ESPs', I'd prefer not to rely on them here. If everyone in this damn very tall place is quite so touchy, it seems imprudent and rude to be perceiving things we perhaps weren't meant to. Let's start with just trying to talk to people -- and for that, I'm quite ready."

[Premsyl]

The guards in the lobby greet you amicably, and direct you to the elevator without any delay. One of them remains in the elevator with you. He takes a card key from a zip-line on his belt and swipes it in a scanner located under the floor-numbers, and then presses the number marked 42. He explains absently how the top 15 floors were locked off to anyone but 'y'all types.'

When you reach the 42nd floor, he lets you know that he'll be 'just downstairs' and doesn't waste any time in ushering you out of the elevator, closing the doors, and returning to his post.

You find yourselves in a dimly lit waiting lobby. The walls are wood-paneled, and the carpet is dark-blue with red patterning. One wall is a grand picture window, revealing the Miami night sky. The half-moon reflects off the ocean waters past the colorful skyline. Across from the elevator bay is a reception desk, behind which is mounted a massive painting depicting an artist's rendition of Atlantis before the fall. A finely dressed man with a shaven head and thin eyebrows is sitting behind the desk. He sees you enter, and stands, revealing that he is of a lanky and gaunt appearance.

[JMobius]

"Greetings!" Morpheus says without breaking stride, walking up to the man and extending a hand to shake. "I am Morpheus. We're here about the investigation."

[Premsyl]

The man comes out from around the desk, and takes Morpheus' hand, shaking it lightly. "Yes, yes. I expected this. My name is Immiron, it's been appointed to me to show you to Provost Arcadius' office and assist you in anyway I can, as well as ensure that your investigation does not exceed the parameters of the case at hand."

[JMobius]

"Thank you, Immiron. I've great reverence for the work of the Mysterium, and I will see to it personally that your secrets are kept. Please, lead on."

[Ditto]

Zephyr

Zephyr nods to Immiron as he leads them to the office. "Tell me, Immiron - is there anyone here who Arcadius worked with frequently? A staff, or retainers who are unaccounted for? Accounted-for would be great, actually. We'd like to talk to anyone who Arcadius dealt with regularly, and know about anyone who hasn't been around lately."

[Premsyl]

"Ah yes, Zephyr, wasn't it? As I'm sure you've been told, Provost Arcadius was a very private man, as many in our order are. He employs retainers, but they rarely come to this building. Most of Arcadius' work was done out of his home. His office has in it a computer, which may have a list of contacts. I've not felt it necessary to go through his personal belongings, but I'm sure it would be perfectly prudent for you to do so. I'm afraid I have no other knowledge than that. The provost was merely an acquaintance of mine." Immiron takes a key from the desk, and gestures for them to follow him down a hallway.

[MinotaurWarrior]

"Immiron, if I may ask before we proceed down the hall, who is the stand-in Provost? I haven't quite been keeping up with internal affairs."

[Premsyl]

"We've appointed a talented Mastigos named Angelo as the stand-in. The appointment was made arbitrarily, so I will assure you that Angelo is not a suspect, if that's what you're thinking." He proceeds down the hallway.

They walk all the way down a hallway with doors on either side. Some of them are open, revealing well kept offices, and an immaculate board room. They reach the end of the hallway. Immiron unlocks the door and opens it to a large corner office. A leather chair sits behind a dark oak desk. A flat screen monitor sits atop the desk. Two of the walls are dominated by full glass windows, one other has a full bookshelf, and the last has a closed door which appears to lead to a closet of some sort.

"I've never known Arcadius to allow anyone but himself to enter his office without him. He even insists on doing his own cleaning. He's quite good at coming and going unnoticed around here, I've noticed, too. I'll be right up front if there are no more questions."

[Chineselegolas]

Edwin

Walking over to the computer and sitting down, he turned he computer on, and pulled out the keyboard. "My day job involves computers. You have any idea of any protections he might have set up on this thing"

[JMobius]

Morpheus stands over Edwin's shoulder, offering pointers and advice on anything that might be overlooked. Part of his attention, however, is drawn to a careful visual surveillance of the room from his position.

[Premsyl]

"I don't have any idea about that. I've been in here perhaps twice since Arcadius became provost, and each time I was uninterested in his computer. It is common for we of the Mysterium to place such locks on our computers, however not so common for us as for you of the Free Council." His voice is slightly sardonic when he mentions Libertine's order. "I'm afraid I have business to attend to. Inform me when you're finished so that I may lock everything up and escort you back downstairs." He bows low and backs out of the room, turning on his heel and walking back down the hallway.

[Premsyl]

The computer screen before Edwin and Morpheus flickers to life, welcomes them to the O.S. and promptly requests a password. A quick key combination from Edwin brings up a black screen with a flashing white text-cursor. A command prompt.

Spoiler

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If either of you want to attempt to hack the system roll Intelligence + Computer.

Morpheus scans the area. There are some drawers in the desk, one of which bears a keyhole, and after an attempt to open it, is locked tight. Not much else is remarkable about the desk, except that it's not been dusted in a while, and most of it is covered in a fine layer of the stuff. A photo sits on the desk. A scenic shot of some mountain somewhere. Another look shows that the picture in the frame is slightly off-kilter and the whole thing doesn't look quite right. He can't see anything else remarkable from this angle, however.

[MinotaurWarrior]

The foreign lord, figuring that even a libertine should be able to gain access to a computer, began investigating the book shelf. First he memorized the titles of the books, then he began systematically (by number of references to magical subjects in the titles of the books) flipping through the pages of the books, memorizing their contents as images to be read later.

Spoiler

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this is definitely pushing the boundaries of eidic memory.

EDIT: added an endtag for this spoiler box

[JMobius]

Taking a momentary pause from his over the shoulder assistance of Edwin, Morpheus walks over to the frame on the desk, picks it up, and attempts to remove the photo from inside the frame.

[Premsyl]

Morpheus fiddles around with the picture frame a bit. All of a sudden the back of the frame comes apart in his hands and a small silver key falls to the desk.

Meanwhile, Alrikar pans the bookshelf. Over a period of time it becomes apparent that this isn't exactly the master library of a Mysterium scholar. Most of the books are ones available in sleeper bookstores. These are covered by a layer of dust. Some books, however, aren't as mundane. He finds three on Atlantean history, one on magical theory and the space arcanum, and one more on the current state of the orders. However, behind a book labeled Do-it-yourself Carpentry, is hidden another book. It's binding is rudimentary at best, and it seems as if it's seen many days. Alrikar can't read the writing in the book, that seems to almost squirm on the page, and focusing on it to long begins to hurt his head. The entire book is written in this strange language. Alrikar turns the book over and finds a single post-it-note on the inside back cover. On the piece of paper is written in blue ink. 'Azura.'

Zephyr is milling about the room, investigating. He 'felt' the microphone stop moving about twenty minutes ago, and there's been no movement since then. A moment's focus reveals to him that it's come to a stop several dozen miles south, somewhere in the Keys. He's jolted back to awareness by a commotion in his pocket. His phone is ringing. It's Darcan. When he answers it, a deep, smooth voice speaks at him through the earpiece. Hello, my boy. Word around is that the Provost has gone missing. Word's also around that you're on the case with a bunch of misfits, though that bit's not such common knowledge."

[MinotaurWarrior]

Alrikar, deeply disturbed his inability to read the text, put the ensorcelled book in his coat pocket, tells Montaenoo to take the other interesting books, and turns to the closet door, attempting to open it.

[JMobius]

Morpheus shrugs and smiles, and applies the key to the locked bin in the desk.

[Premsyl]

Alrikar tries the door but it doesn't budge. Closer inspection reveals that the door is made of the same heavy stuff you'd find in a modern hotel, and that the door bears no visible keyhole, or card-slot.

Meanwhile, Morpheus' key fits the lock and he is able to easily unlock the drawer. Inside are a few college-rule notebooks, filled with scribbled text and sketches. A photograph showing a younger Arcadius with his arm around a pretty, young latino girl. The setting is a beach, white sand and crystal blue water. A hotel is visible behind them. Also inside is a sheaf of papers, mostly random in nature, consisting of but not limited to printed e-mails, written memos, and requisition receipts, and a map of the Everglades with several locations noted with permanent marker. Finally, Morpheus locates a PDA. He holds down the power button and the machine comes to life. Inside he finds no addresses, but the scheduling calender reveals some. Mentioning that he's met recently with three people, each on different occasions; respectively named Rosalyn, Charon, and Azura.

[JMobius]

Having finished shuffling through the items, Morpheus frowns, flipping through the various pictures. He tosses them on the table. "There are some good leads here, might be some loved ones worth investigating." He steps toward the door. "I'll be right back, I've got to talk to Immirion."

Going out to meet the man, he asks "Hey, quick question. Any particular rules you'd like us to mind in conducting the ah... more subtle part of our investigation?"

[Premsyl]

Immiron looks up from his computer, where he'd been typing furtively. He smirks. "If your masters have taught you anything of our order then you should know that I have no shortage of either rules nor subtleties. I am, however, going to have to ask you to be more specific." His eyebrows raise. "Why? What have you found?"

[JMobius]

"Nothing of much significance, as yet, just a number of personal effects." He pauses. "Though even those have their use. Regardless, as promised, I wish to respect the secrets of your order, and so wish to know whether it would be acceptable to open my eyes to the mysteries here -- particularly as a student of Prime."

[Chineselegolas]

Edwin

Sitting at the computer trying his best, Edwin failed to get anywhere. Leaning back in the chair he said "This may take me some time, not having any luck so far"

[Premsyl]

Spoiler

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Ok, I guess I'm the bad DM who sets up a Dice-Rolls thread and then doesn't check it for Dice Rolls. You are making progress on that computer system, though, trust me. Almost got it. I'll make sure I check the rolls thread more often, after all, I set it up.

Immiron looks back to his computer screen, and begins typing again. As he does so he speaks. "You're at liberty to proceed with the investigation inside Provost Arcadius' office however you see fit. Should your investigation extend to other parts of the building, then you may find things a bit more difficult. Don't mistake me, however. It's an affront to me that the consilium has decided to bring in so many... outsiders. I am merely following the directives of my superiors. I do trust that you'll report anything overtly unsual that you find? After your perusal, of course. Investigation or no, there are rules."

Edwin's been going at it for quite a while now. It's obvious to him that he's making progress, however. Morpheus had been able to give him some useful advice before he'd made his own discoveries and left the room. The system, however, remains locked. Just a little bit more, it seems.

[JMobius]

Morpheus frowns slightly at the commentary. "I've no intention of theft, if that's what you imply. I'm sure you have as much, if not more interest in the recovery of Arcadius than we, and I'll be mindful of that." He nods his head in respect, though expression still betraying a slight feeling of insult. "Thank you."

He returns to the office, attempting a casting Supernural Vision on the way (1 success).