Skyscraper Graveyard IC: Renaissance City

[Anarion]

"Tessen? You in there?" Jack said, lightly laying a hand on Tessen's shoulder.

*remains catatonic*

[Tiki Snakes]

Jack brought his head down close to Tessen's face, speaking quietly.
"Come on now, none of that. You don't have time to be terrified of whatever it is you can see out here. You know why? Because it's going to be much, much worse later and you're going to have to deal with it. Alone."

Jack hugs the unresponsive Tessen breifly, before standing up and starting to move away.

"I'm going to go start the car now. You should probably come with me, this is a rough neighborhood. It's your call though."

[Anarion]

[Thanqol, what does Jack look like with spirit vision going? It might affect my response to Tiki's post.]

[Thanqol]

[Thanqol, what does Jack look like with spirit vision going? It might affect my response to Tiki's post.]

[All human beings look totally normal. Jack's car also has a really nice, friendly and helpful Spirit version]

[Anarion]

Tessen barely responds to Jack's touch, barely letting a glimmer of light through her eyes and seeing that at least he still looks like Jack. That was something, not everything was insanity and madness, even in this crazy world. She doesn't move when he walks away, but after a minute of being alone, she opens her eyes more fully. The madness is still there, but none of it has apparently tried to actually kill her or even do anything to her.

Slowly, she stands up, dusts herself off, and walks outside. Jack's car practically glowed in the spirit world, and it was obvious he was doing a good job taking care of it. Tessen found herself wondering if the skyscraper would have something similar. She hoped that all that work she'd been doing with the electrical wiring and the elevators had made it a little bit happier. She thought maybe she'd ask Jack to pick up some paint on the way home. A nice shade of lavender might be just the thing to spruce up the 28th floor.

She climbs into the car, a slight shudder still going through her as she takes in the madness of the world around her. "Would you really have left a defenseless young girl alone in the middle of Detroit?" she asks playfully.

[the_druid_droid]

Amun sat down and took a small bowl of cereal himself, nodding while chewing. "Sure. Best be wary, though," he muttered. "You never know with these brain mages and Seers. So what's the plan?"

[It was Cyprus who wanted to see Tessen alone, Slade had no particular demands like that, right?]

"No plan as such," Turing sipped his coffee slowly, "if you want to come in with me and talk with him, feel free. If not, just see if you can stick around somewhere nearby, preferably with Prime sight up. I don't think anything funny will happen, but if it does someone needs to let the others know."

[Tiki Snakes]

"I might have." Jack lied, unconvincingly. "Or I might have grabbed you by a foot and dragged you to the car like a sack of potatoes, I was kind of playing it by ear."

"We've got a little time yet, you fancy driving around for a bit? I figure whatever horrible sights are out there, it's best to get you used to them before it's time to meet our new friend."

[Thanqol]

It quickly became apparent to Tessen just how peaceful it had been around Kurosawa's house. The spirit courts there were tame in comparison to the streets of Detroit.

Ancient tree spirits, garlanded with weeds, rose out of vacant lots, drawing strength out of the barren grass that grew there and smashing their branches against the crumbling edifices of the buildings that had been unjustly built around them.

The ground was littered with the corpses of shot-up vending machines, and pawn-shaped soldiers swaggered around decked in gold and pistols.

Shops were built like fortresses, and most had bloodstains either inside or outside.

A gang of starving and gangly McDonalds clowns were laughing as they beat the weary old spirit of a private restaurant to a bloody pulp.

A homeless addict wandered around, surrounded by a cloud of spirits with deaths-head rictus grins that reminded her of the thing they'd fought the previous night.

But for all the horror, here and there were... glimpses.

A group of three black men, shining and perfect with bright blue overalls, walked down the street together. They had the Ford logo on their clothes, they had jobs, they were up and coming - the dream of prosperity. Their hands were elaborate complex constructions of tools and, when approached, they vanished.

A white picket fence house with a perfect lawn and two old people sitting out front sipping lemonade - a powerful peaceful dream that overpowered the building's physical rot.

A bearded Moses, with fire in his eyes, stood outside the church and bellowed an endless, ranting sermon - it made no coherent sense even though she could now understand the strange whispering language of the Spirits, constantly referring to bible verses and hellfire - but the power of that frothing madman scared the more wretched spirits, who steered well clear of the street.

Everything here was given form and turned up to eleven. The good and the bad. There was a lot more bad than good, but there were good things.

[Deadly]

"No plan as such," Turing sipped his coffee slowly, "if you want to come in with me and talk with him, feel free. If not, just see if you can stick around somewhere nearby, preferably with Prime sight up. I don't think anything funny will happen, but if it does someone needs to let the others know."

"We'll see when we get there. Good, solid plan." He finished his breakfast and nodded. "Ready when you are, then." As the Time mage in this two-mage party, Amun knew when the meeting was supposed to be ... yup, definitely liarjack.gif

[But his player may have totally forgot the entire schedule that was posted a while back ]

[Anarion]

Tessen nods weakly at Jack's suggestion, but does her best to keep her eyes open and look instead of trying to shut out the world again. It goes alright, overall. Several times as Jack is driving around, she lets out gasps or meeps, and more than a few whimpers as she realizes how much of the streets are lined with murder. At a few of the worst, she flinches or closes her eyes again, but she waves off any help from Jack and continues to try and look.

When she first sees those worker spirits though, a wide smile crosses her face and doesn't leave it, even as she continues to be startled and flinch at other things crossing her vision.

After a little while, she turns and hugs Jack and tells him "I knew it. I knew there was something worth saving here. Now, let's go make a stop at the hardware store before my meeting. I want to get some paint and paintbrushes for our skyscraper."

[Thanqol]

"We'll see when we get there. Good, solid plan." He finished his breakfast and nodded. "Ready when you are, then." As the Time mage in this two-mage party, Amun knew when the meeting was supposed to be ... yup, definitely liarjack.gif

[But his player may have totally forgot the entire schedule that was posted a while back ]

[I may have too, but I remember today!

You're meeting with Slade at noon and Tessen's meeting with Cyprus at 6 in the evening.

I'll tell you now that Slade is going to not show up to his 12'oclock meeting with you guys. As an Acanthus you'd get a "He's not coming" reading with Time magic the moment you showed up and checked your watch, but Amun might stick around for a while just in case he was cloaking his movements with Time magic.

In order to sync the groups a little the clearest meetup point is 4pm back in the sanctum after you've had time to look around, go shopping, and anything else you want to try. Cyprus' meeting starts at 6 and you guys gotta decide what you're going to do about that.

One final thing; if you call up Jack and have him scry on Slade he gets 404'd by a tonne of Wards and can't get anything other than the impression that Slade is alive and hiding.

Sorry to be OOC-expositional here but it's the best way to get the timelines sorted out (and there's not a whole bunch of great gaming to be had in waiting for a dude who isn't coming). Feel free to post your way through gaining that information and your reactions ]

[Tiki Snakes]

Jack doesn't react that much to Tessen's meeping, really. He simply drifts around Detroit, letting the city guide them where it would. It's an odd and entertaining enough drive even without the spirit-visions.
"Now there's an idea. Well, not that, though we can certainly do that if you fancy. No, I wonder if I could bribe Hilltop into doing some work up on our roof. I mean, it's practically the opposite of her preferred canvas, but it sure would be something."

A Hilltop mural, right on top of one of the more powerful Hallows in the city. The thought was strangely tantalizing and he remained a little distracted even as he pulled in at the Hardware store.

[Anarion]

Jack doesn't react that much to Tessen's meeping, really. He simply drifts around Detroit, letting the city guide them where it would. It's an odd and entertaining enough drive even without the spirit-visions.
"Now there's an idea. Well, not that, though we can certainly do that if you fancy. No, I wonder if I could bribe Hilltop into doing some work up on our roof. I mean, it's practically the opposite of her preferred canvas, but it sure would be something."

A Hilltop mural, right on top of one of the more powerful Hallows in the city. The thought was strangely tantalizing and he remained a little distracted even as he pulled in at the Hardware store.

"She won't do it." Tessen sounds unexpectedly bitter. "She only does her murals on things that are going to collapse and decay. A senseless waste. If she did agree to work on our roof, it's a sign that we need to go hire a roofer before the building caves in."

[Tiki Snakes]

"No, see, she works on things that are going to fall apart because it's all about change. I think I might be able to talk her into it, given half a chance."

[Anarion]

"It's about wasting work that could be inspiring people!" Tessen slams a hand on the dashboard.

[Tiki Snakes]

"I don't know what Hilltop is after here in Detroit, Tessen." Jack says quietly, after the sudden bang.
"But inspiring people is your goal. It's your Truth. Hilltop has to follow her own Truth, whatever that is." He looks like he might elaborate further for a moment, before apparently deciding otherwise.

[Anarion]

Tessen doesn't look like she has anything to say on the matter. And anyway she's distracted again by an especially large building that's practically painted with blood. Just another stop in a recent gang war, if she remembers the papers right.

[the_druid_droid]

"We'll see when we get there. Good, solid plan." He finished his breakfast and nodded. "Ready when you are, then." As the Time mage in this two-mage party, Amun knew when the meeting was supposed to be ... yup, definitely liarjack.gif

[But his player may have totally forgot the entire schedule that was posted a while back ]

Turing nodded and gathered his things before leading the way out the door. The walk to the church was a decent length, but they had plenty of time, so to amuse himself Turing pestered Amun with questions about Prime magic and its flavor of Mage sight in particular.

---------------------------------

When they arrived at the building, Turing headed inside, allowing the other Mage decide whether or not to enter for himself. He sat down on one of the splintery pews, facing the alter and took in the sights of the slowly-crumbling church while he waited for Slade to make an appearance.

[Deadly]

Amun was, if not perhaps the best of teachers, then at least enthusiastic and passionate about it. Making Turing see was easy. Making him get it was harder. Trying to make Turing understand the 'primal ideals', the 'fundamental truths' or the 'perfect essence' hiding at the heart of everything, the core ideals of how everything 'ought to be', seemed to make Amun rather more animated than he usually was, waving and pointing and gesturing as they walked, looking at the primal ebb and flow of the city together.

Trying to explain it in terms of Fate and Destiny, how everything was messed up but at its heart there was a sense of how everything 'ought to' unfold, probably didn't help Turing understand, but Amun made a valiant effort.

This was his passion. He could just have let Turing see and left him on his own, but he wasn't going to pass up a chance to talk about it lots too.

***

Once they reached their destination, Amun followed inside. He didn't feel good about leaving his friend entirely alone with a known brain mage and Seer. And then he sighed, realizing that nothing was going to happen. Well, nothing as planned, at least. "He ain't going to show up," he muttered. "At least, I'm fairly sure. Unless that's what he wants us ... or others, to believe."

[the_druid_droid]

"Hmm..." Turing fished out a cigarette and lit it, "maybe so. Still, no harm in giving him a chance. If he doesn't show up in half an hour, we can go visit Firebee instead. I do still have to pick up that gun from her."

Although his expression remained neutral, Turing wondered what might keep the Seer from making an appearance; the most likely options didn't seem very promising.

[Deadly]

Amun nodded and took a seat, watching the place carefully for any sign of trouble. "Not the best of signs, if you ask me," he said as they waited.

After about half an hour he added, "Doesn't look like anything's gonna happen here. I'm inclined to suspect he's in trouble. Either that or he's just terrible at keeping appointments, or randomly decided to waste our time. Unless you have any ideas I guess we should see Firebee, then rendezvous with the others."

[Thanqol]

Firebee's laboratory was a little outside town, adjoining the Arsenal's military testing range. A small complex of fortified buildings surrounded by barbed wire fences and black-armoured private security guys with assault rifles opened out at the back to a small airstrip and a huge firing range. A railway line ran directly into the factory building. On the drive up, ominous warning signs with things like "EXPLOSIVES" and "TRESPASSERS WILL BE SHOT" warned off the wrong kind of people.

It was a bizarre and intimidating moment when the guards waved them right through. They didn't even pat them down.

They were escorted upstairs to Firebee's lab, and the escort stopped at the doorway. When they stepped inside they felt a strange, weightless feeling - an intense positive crackling along the outside of their brain and a freedom from the weight of their clothing and gear. They had just stepped into a demesne - an enchanted location, free from Paradox, where the most vulgar magic could be cast freely and openly.

The entire place was cast in soft blue light over perfect white chrome. Monitors on the walls showed dementedly complex bright blue wireframes and characters and symbols that might be some form of Atlantean strung together into networks of symbols more complex than their minds could understand. There were workbenches covered with computer panels, disassembled weapons and stranger pieces of technology alongside the occasional archaic wand or collection of sticks. There wasn't a single wire in this place; everything was clean-cut and self-contained.

And there were the drones. Perhaps half a dozen in number, they looked like what would happen if Apple was contracted to design a military combat robot. They all floated on fan turbines and were doing a variety of tasks - one was typing into a console with a slender series of 'fingers', another was carefully carrying something in a HazChem bag away, and one of them was by Firebee getting a pat on the head.

Spoiler

Show

Firebee, the woman responsible for the technomagical wonderland in this room, stood up and smiled. "Good afternoon, Mr. Turing, Mr. Amun."

[Tiki Snakes]

They sat in awkward silence for a moment, in the Hardware store car-park.
"So, paint and brushes then?" Jack broke the silence.

[Anarion]

"...Yes, paint and brushes. ...And Jack, I'm sorry, I um, I didn't mean to upset you. I hope, that, you're not mad at me."

In the hardware store Tessen briefly wondered if the hardware store offered some kind of frequent customer discount. She had this weird feeling she would need to keep coming back here.

She also tried to steal herself, getting ready for what their skyscraper might look like with her new spirit sight.

[Tiki Snakes]

"Whatever for? You haven't done anything." Jack brushed the issue aside, casually as Tessen picked out her choice of paints and brushes. "You probably want a couple of rollers and roller trays if you're intent on painting the entire floor. He pointed out, wondering with some amusement if Tessen had finally finished her assault on his wallet or if he would be footing the bill for this, too.

[Anarion]

[As the only person with resources 4, I really don't see any scenario where Jack doesn't end up as somebody's personal piggy bank. And he seems to have trouble saying no to sweet ladies with a winning smile.]

Tessen finishes buying stuff and she and Jack head back to the skyscraper.
[And I would like to know what our building looks like with spirit sight.]

[the_druid_droid]

Turing smoked through several more cigarettes, slowly and methodically, until it became clear that Slade wasn't going to show after all. Rising, he gave a little shrug and motioned for Amun to join him.

"I agree that Slade not showing is a bad sign. But before we get too worried, we should talk to the others. Hell, if you're up for it, maybe you and Jack could see if there's anything Fate or Time could say about our interactions with the man. We might get Jack to scry on him too, just to cover all our bases."

Turing straightened his tie. "Meanwhile, how about some weaponry?"

---------

When they arrived at Firebee's demense, Turing was impressed - and it showed. He'd seen some impressive technology during his time in industry, and the University's facilities hadn't been shabby either. But this place was pushing science fiction.

"Good afternoon. I don't think I've had a chance to see your lab before now, Ms. Firebee," Turing's grin was almost childlike as he spoke, "it's really something else."

[Thanqol]

Most buildings, externally, looked roughly the same as they did in the normal world - only twisted, only alive, with windows as eyes. The hardware store had been a place of bloody fragments, like spirits had been hacked up into pieces and buckets of eyeballs and skin and bones of wood and metal were sold individually. The power tools also growled dangerously, posing and flexing like bodybuilders.

The Cabal's sanctum looked, more than anything, like it was asleep. The dust here was thick and choking, a faint snoring sound rumbled through the building, and things were falling apart from age and neglect. The rooms that were lived in - especially the libraries - were alive and vibrant, with curious spirits of magic and knowledge all about.

When they arrived at Firebee's demense, Turing was impressed - and it showed. He'd seen some impressive technology during his time in industry, and the University's facilities hadn't been shabby either. But this place was pushing science fiction.

"Good afternoon. I don't think I've had a chance to see your lab before now, Ms. Firebee," Turing's grin was almost childlike as he spoke, "it's really something else."

"The things you can do when you don't have to worry about those bothersome laws of physics," Firebee said breezily. "Free Council groups all over the country send me unusual items for analysis and research. In facilities like this, the Order pushes the boundaries of what the impossible makes possible,"

[Deadly]

"Greetings," Amun said politely, gazing around at the high-tech wonderland. Now, Amun didn't personally much care for huge weaponry, or all the materialistic, high-tech stuff in general, but he could certainly appreciate the advancement of knowledge - both scientific and magical - and the building of stuff in itself. As long as he didn't have to work in a place like this for an extended period.

"Very impressive," he added.

[Anarion]

The Cabal's sanctum looked, more than anything, like it was asleep. The dust here was thick and choking, a faint snoring sound rumbled through the building, and things were falling apart from age and neglect. The rooms that were lived in - especially the libraries - were alive and vibrant, with curious spirits of magic and knowledge all about.

Tessen puts a hand on the building as they're coming back. "We use so little. So much dust and waste. I wonder if we could put more of this building to use. Dedicate a whole floor to research, and another for practice. We could put in a gym too..."

In the meantime, she drags Jack up the 28th floor to help paint it lavender while they wait for Turing and Amun to come back.