10:33 <banana> Everybody needs a holiday. 10:36 <banana> Once the album that fans will end up referring to as Wings comes out, you're all rich, or rich enough. The Nameless House can take time off, let tensions dissipate. Richard Haldane gets to spend some time outside (if he wants it..?). 10:37 <banana> How much of a break have the hunters budgeted for? Are they going to delete Huntr, or remain loosely in contact? Where's everyone going, by what altered ways, and with what designs? 10:37 <Crion> Well, Aster will certainly check it less often. But he's not about to let go of a business opportunity that has generated literally millions of pounds over the past few months. 10:41 <banana> One of the things that's still bubbling over is a different kind of business opportunity. 10:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie and Sergio are off to Sicily for two weeks after Christmas. She's not deleting Huntr; instead, she's strictly budgeting her phone time. Both to keep her from spending too much time on it in quiet or still moments, and so that she isn't tempted to use it as a guide or a shepherd through her holiday. She doesn't need to know which little road to take, or which of the restaurants she 10:42 <VoxPVoxD> can walk to has the absolute best reviews. She did set up notifications such that if there is an emergency, someone can send her a DM on Huntr and it'll push a notification. 10:42 <Quaker> Badawi’s work has her stalking naked except for skins, blood, and sweat smeared on her, through the Oaxacan forest with her rifle full of sliver slugs, for about a month. So the app gets checked not very often through January, since the phone it’s on is a few dozen miles away from her position on any given day, and anyway the mountains make reception intermittent. 10:43 <Quaker> Once that’s done, though, she gets to relax in Mexico City. Well, ‘relax’, meaning that her jobs are urban and relatively light, some infiltration here and surveillance there, and anyway she gets most of the days to herself. 10:47 <Quaker> By the middle of February, she is enjoying some very light work indeed: that of the procuress and antiquarian floating through the underground markets of North America’s largest city, finding, sampling, and purchasing rare reagents, bartering and haggling for antiques, observing new techniques and meeting new people. 10:49 <banana> It's not under Sourjack's aegis, but it's the same kind of work: the office/rumpus-room of Clan Gangrel awaits Aaron Aster and some of his closer allies. Savoy, a fairly massive woman leaning her elbows on an expensive desk, observes indulgently as several rowdy dude attempt to invent three-player table tennis. 10:49 <banana> *dudes 10:50 <Crion> It's rather simple, really. It just requires one of them to be roughly twice as good as either of the others. 10:53 <banana> Dylan's not here, and nor are any other of the clan's mortal members. Apart from hunters it's an all-undead meeting. Stella looks up, makes a little gesture - for a moment, it's reminiscent of Benni Athletic. The big desk, the big woman, the attending upon a Boss... 10:53 <banana> That's probably unfair to one of them. 10:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stella's not wearing a tracksuit. Big points for that. 10:54 <banana> Willie's got a number of silenced notifications coming in on her phone (unless she wants to be rude, in which case they can be noisy). 10:55 <VoxPVoxD> She may want to be rude, but her job is not to be! 10:56 <Crion> Aster's eyes follow the game for a moment before turning back to Stella Savoy and assaying how best to address her directly. 10:57 <banana> Antonia Chiaroscuro -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A -- "Dial up the sympathy for this one. We want them to think she can get away with murder." 10:58 <banana> Gerry, Maury and Jules -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXSwJCVgJO0 -- "Sometimes a bro is just a bro." 10:59 <banana> The shot of the gaming guys took a long time to produce a result. Given what you've learned about the system, that probably means it wasn't 'cached'. 10:59 <VoxPVoxD> Meaning nobody cared before now. 10:59 <VoxPVoxD> Someone is being shitty about being asked to pay attention to them. 11:00 <VoxPVoxD> Well fuck you, too, Jacques Creepin. 11:01 <Crion> "Primogen Savoy. Good...morning, I suppose it is now." 11:02 <banana> But finally, and coming through in moments: Stella Savoy -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTTC_fD598A -- "There's a long way to go, so you keep going." 11:03 <banana> The Primogen rises from her desk, adding height to bulk. Second one of these clan-elders Willie's met just recently. "Aster. Wellesley." Is anyone else there? "It's good to meet people with ideas." 11:05 <VoxPVoxD> "How do you do, ma'am?" Didn't the Gangrel Councillor also TrackCheck to a Leonard Cohen song? Wonder what that means. 11:06 <banana> Yes - but it was a cover. Perhaps whoever's producing this thing is trying to minimise royalties. 11:06 <Crion> "Likewise. Well met." 11:07 <Crion> If there's a handshake, Aster will resign himself to the bruising. 11:08 <banana> The bros(?) around the table introduce themselves rapidly; the widget got their names right. Maury says: "And you've already heard about the greatest of us.. Stella, stellar, CEO and adventurer, blood-mistress and polite-societarian!" 11:09 <banana> The talked-up clan leader comes out from her desk to deliver the dreaded handshakes. "Thanks, boys. Now. Our Dylan. He's not ok, is he?" 11:13 <Crion> Aster manages not to show it. "Yes and no. He himself is fine, and frankly, as of this moment the strange trinket he's managed to get attached around his wrist is doing little more than making him extremely annoying. But that might change...and he's tied to a much more dangerous resting occult issue." 11:18 <banana> Stella takes a 'seat' leaning against the arm of a sofa. There are more of them if anyone wants to actually sit. "One which Mr. Penberthy didn't even bring upon himself. We already have an action plan, but I'd like to ask you about the source of those impulses.. is it true that the Masons made the problem worse?" 11:20 <Crion> Does he recall the little grey men actually interacting with Cristina Aetherling's ghost in any way? 'The Masons made it worse' sounds like something that feels like it should be true but isn't actually supported. 11:21 <VoxPVoxD> Willie will sit - heterosexually - if Aaron does. She's here to back him up, the big mistake she can make is pulling focus or creating the impression of disunity. It may seem overly fussy to pay attention to small details like this, but each of them is basically a tiny unforced error waiting to happen otherwise if you don't. 11:21 <banana> They didn't, although they scrawled themselves over the upper level of the tomb. The alien alphabet is drawn to open minds, and a long-dead ghost may be the opposite of that... 11:21 <Crion> Aster paces and talks with his hands when discussing casework. 11:21 <banana> Willie notices Gerry, Maury and Jules starting to drift over toward her. She may be in danger of a 'sup. 11:25 <VoxPVoxD> She doesn't shoot them a warning glance. It'll be interesting to see how they feel free to behave in Savoy's presence, and it'll be good to get back in shape before holidaying on the continent. Their sexual harrassment is just so much more advanced across the Channel. 11:27 <Crion> Aster: "Again, something of a yes-and-no situation. The masonic interest in the case deals specifically with an extremely cursed dictionary now in our possession and kept carefully under lock and key filled with semantic, memetic little grey virusmen. A language disease, if you will. Interesting academically; not much you can really do with it practically, which is why Bowen was quite 11:27 <Crion> eager to pawn it off on us. I'm sure I can find some use for it -- or some safer place than a mason's study. 11:28 <Crion> "But whereas I think Dylan's symptoms are related to those things, the force actually keeping him bound, I believe, is the ghost in that tomb. And the ghost and the language virus seem to want to have little to do with each other. It's hardly like Cristina Aetherling can build them a spaceport in Scotland." 11:30 <banana> *for Penberthy, read Pritchard 11:31 <banana> Savoy laughs. "They are talking about one. Rockets in vogue, receiving a lot of pointless investment... a lot of pointless fights with kirk and council up there." 11:32 <banana> Dismissively: "Let's dismiss it." 11:33 <banana> When Bob arrives for the Waking of Robins, it's an odd scene. 11:33 <Crion> Aster: "While the grey men are, I confess, still something of a mystery...an enraged noble ghost from a thousand years past squatting where it shouldn't and hurting whoever comes near is much more straightforward, conceptually." 11:34 <banana> He's out in the wetlands once again; this time instead of a party, or a door made of sticks, there's a single elderly man in a folding chair, just sitting there in the middle of the swamp. 11:34 <banana> Hatch Starling has a floppy hat covering his face from the dim winter sun; the shadow of the Tatterdam up on the hill doesn't reach quite far enough to fulfil that function. His beard pools around the legs of the chair, getting in the muck. 11:35 <tom> Each step makes a sucking sound through the mud. "Hey Ice King." His affect is flat. "....We're still cool, right?" 11:36 <banana> Stella Savoy: "Yes it is. That's why your proposal is the right way to go." 11:36 <banana> She frowns. "The last time you people got in a scrap with mine, they were on opposite sides. I want to apologise for that- didn't have full information at the time." 11:37 <tom> There's a bird making noise in a tree nearby. Bob doesn't look up. "Definitely didn't just bring me out into the bog to, you know, two behind the ear, yeah? Yeah." 11:37 <Crion> Aster: "No one was permanently injured, so as far as the House is concerned, the apology is accepted, graciously, and reciprocated." 11:37 <Crion> Rather glad he didn't let Rolf run over Dylan's head. 11:37 <banana> Starling looks up a little as the hat starts to slip. "Hm?" The old man's face is vacant; he studies Bob, searching for something. 11:38 <banana> Gerry: "Sandra and her claw-boys get enthusiastic." 11:39 <tom> "Forget it, doesn't matter." Bob rubs his eyes. "What'r'we doin' today." 11:40 <banana> Savoy: "Haa.. fault us, not the kids." Dylan was the youngest of them; the GGG 'kids' averaged something like 40-50, in Aster's recollection. 11:40 <banana> "So, we'll move on.. down to Reading. Exorcism by force, that's the play?" 11:40 <Crion> Aster: "We've exhausted the diplomatic options. Rather forcefully." 11:41 <Crion> "And, for what it's worth, managed to secure Henry I's rather baffled blessing." 11:41 <banana> Starling: "Uh- right. We're doing something... yes." He struggles to his feet. 11:41 <banana> "Aha. It's Bob Goreman." 11:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, with regret: "Lady Ætheling seems most inflexible." 11:42 <tom> Bob offers a steadying hand. "Is it safe for you to hang out alone when you're fading in an' out like that man?" 11:42 <tom> Pretty stupid for you to say a thing like that, man. 11:43 <tom> Bob glances around. "...How did you even get a chair out here without a car?" 11:43 <banana> The King under the Hill almost has a hat malfunction, but it catches on his crown, and doesn't entirely fall. Starling: "I haven't been safe since 1984, Goreman. Needs must." 11:43 <Crion> Aster: "As for House assets involved, myself and Willie are obviously in play, along with a third -- our other American. We might have a fourth with us. Our fifth will be enjoying his holiday." 11:44 <banana> "Lensburg and Moss will be here soon. What did I tell you about the mystery?" 11:44 <tom> He looks warily at the old bearded man, like he's working up the courage to say something. 11:44 <tom> "That was a bad year for a lot of people." 11:45 <banana> Hatch nods, a lot more resolutely. "Pretty awful. Curious?" 11:46 <banana> Savoy: "Willie, is it? Thanks for helping out. I'm sure I've heard your name, perhaps from Gabby..." 11:46 <Crion> Aster says nothing, permitting this bit of social probing to play out. 11:46 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I'm happy to be of assistance, ma'am. Things like this are why we're here." 11:46 <tom> "Yeah." Bob puts his hands in his jacket pockets to warm up. He isn't gonna start smoking around a guy who looks like he's already been through a round of chemo. Maybe two rounds, tonight. "But I'm not about to lose sleep over it." 11:47 <banana> Stella to Willie: "Are they? Aster's running a business. Are you both with being paid in tomb-robbery?" 11:47 <tom> "So you don't gotta say anything you don't wanna." Not that he would. 11:48 <banana> "There could be quite valuable things down there, but of course the one we've seen is cursed." 11:48 <banana> *Are you both alright with 11:49 <Crion> Aster: "Not to put too fine a point on it but we're an American and two English talking here. It's a bit late to stop tomb-raiding for money now. " 11:49 <banana> Savoy: "Hahaha! When we say 'it belongs in a museum', it's a post-hoc justification." 11:50 <banana> Just on the edge of hearing, Willie can hear Jules - the one with a mohawk - mutter, what the hell is a hoc? 11:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Well, I see our remuneration coming two ways, ma'am. The first is that freeing an innocent man from a terrible curse is a simple moral good, and simple moral goods are self-justifying. But I also see it as an investment in our relationships in the night-city, a demonstration of what we can do, and what we want to do, to our fellow citizens and our future business partners." 11:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Sharing in the spoils of the tomb is just a physical representation of that working relationship." 11:52 <Crion> Aster: "It took me more than a few years to learn that the advisors and professors in school weren't talking up network building for no reason. And by then I was a state employee." 11:53 <Crion> "As for our fourth and fifth...the House is adjourned for the moment. A well-deserved rest and reset after putting a halt to Manchester's burgeoning invasion by self-absorbed space invaders (no relation to the little grey men). I think the dedicated interest of the three House-members with a dedicated interest in the Wise and Solemn Court will be more than sufficient." 11:54 <banana> Hatch Starling: "It's no great secret. The vampires went mad, tore up the city, disrupted our arrangements. The Tatterdam failed, worlds collided, thousands died. Years of stitching normality back together. But all of it happened before you were born, Goreman, and it's not going to happen again." 11:55 <banana> "Probably." Up on Harry's Hill, in the carpark that winds around it, you can see a limo pulling to a stop - Saul's here. 11:56 <Crion> Aster doesn't react to Jules's comment...but these men are going to need firm guidance to be useful in any way other than carpets for Cristina Ætheling to beat. 11:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie glances in Jules's direction, but doesn't actually put him in the spot. 11:59 <banana> Agostina has some downtime in January, enough to center herself and recognise that everything going on arises from the real world with real people in it. 12:00 <tom> It's funny, when you think about it. Someone like Hatch has been an old man for longer than you've even been alive. I guess that colors your perspective a bit. "What do you need me to do?" 12:01 <banana> She's got a nicer place to stay than usual, since Vincenzo is strong here - his manifestations correspond with the expression of wealth, now, a villa on the edge of Texcoco Lake which waxes with his presence. 12:02 <banana> There's an opportunity to catch up and talk about the future. The Tra-Se-Uu has taken very well to orange juice and sweetened milk, as well as the occasional mojito. 12:05 <banana> Stella: "Fine, I'm persuaded. Clan Gangrel will bring force to bear, but your expertise is going to be vital in this thing. In fact-" She shifts a little uneasily, spreading her arms in a gesture of confusion. "What does it take to cut a ghost?" 12:06 <Quaker> Agostina is laying on a lounger, in a sundress and broad floppy hat, huaraches dangling from her toes. In the courtyard of the villa, there’s a color TV showing an old Mexican western. She holds her find from the morning of shopping, a finely curving and brightly painted ceramic pot. 12:06 <Crion> Aster: "I'm glad you asked. 'Luckily,' in that we survived it and you didn't have to be there for it, Willie and I already have done substantial hands-on inquiry into what it takes to get this thing to manifest." 12:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Helpfully, I seem to be a medium." 12:07 <banana> "Take this down, Gerry. We don't want to be vague on these points." 12:09 <Crion> Aster: "And I'm an amplifier. That is to say that we're both going to be the focii and likely the locii of Ætheling's manifestation." He glances at the hapless notetaker, and in sympathy: "The ghost's gonna be angry at us and approach us, not you. Might even ignore you until the fighting starts." 12:09 <banana> Hatch: "It's helpful that Winter has accepted you. We need players who aren't touched by Arcadia in this little game, but it's helpful to have a more earthly connection to power. You'll be playing the role of the Snow Queen - Snow Prince if you prefer - who has imprisoned the young robins, which Spring's proxy must free." 12:10 <banana> Gerry: "If it does, it will be making a mistake." 12:10 <Quaker> The clay is cool in her palm, though the colors look a bit muted and distorted through the lens of her sunglasses. With her other hand, she reaches for a watermelon agua fresca in a sweating, chilled glass. 12:11 <Crion> Aster: "Basically, we're going to coax it across the ephemeral divide into a state that you all can take a swing at. To do that, we need to be anchors for it, and that puts us at substantial risk -- including during the manifestation. So you might not be able to rely on the two of us specifically to also be engaged in the direct physical attack." 12:12 <tom> Bob turns away to hide his grin, but he can't quite suppress the incredulity in his voice: "Wait, we're out here in a bog to do, what, improv? Shit man, I thought we were gonna be dumping bodies." 12:13 <tom> It probably wouldn't be the first time. How long's this swamp been here? There could be dozens. Dozens of dozens, and that's just from eighty-four on. 12:13 <Quaker> She cranes her neck to look at the clock in the room next to the courtyard. Just a bit past noon…maybe she’ll take the train down to the MNA today….it would be nice to see the statues again before she has to take off. 12:13 <banana> Stella: "We can put half a dozen soldiers in the tomb, so there should be enough bodies to cover you and also prepare an attack. Technically, we also have auxillaries - you've met - but my feeling is that ghouls aren't going to have a high survival rate down there." 12:14 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I think you're right. My sense is that the ghost is extremely powerful." 12:15 <banana> Starling sits back down, but he's alert now. Dryly: "There are stakes, but it's less direct than that. Your goal, if you can make it plausible in the game, is to smuggle a cuckoo over to Spring along with the robins." 12:15 <banana> "Don't give up the birds too easily, but that bit's guaranteed. Spring comes no matter what. But maybe it brings surprises." 12:16 <Crion> Aster: "Agreed. And nothing leads me to believe we need Dylan on-site for this. Having them waiting outside with a stolen ambulance -- or a chartered one, depending on the rates -- might be wise, however. Extra blood bags all around." 12:16 <Crion> And trauma supplies if he gets his ribs ripped open again. 12:17 <banana> Vincenzo Galli is here in person, Badawi thinks. It's getting harder to tell. That one of the oldest of her networks is the one which turned out to matter is pure luck, for good or ill - it's not like things were this way when she met Orlando. And he wouldn't have been a different man if they were. 12:18 <banana> Savoy: "We'll fund that. The site isn't far from town, and I'm not interested in a chance of a police search while this is happening metres from the surface. Hmm." 12:18 <banana> "The way you wrote makes it sound like it's almost a different world down there." 12:18 <tom> "I'm gonna ask what might sound like a stupid question. Are you talking about actual birds, figurative birds, or extra-figurative birds." 12:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I think it is, in a way. A bubble from a bygone age. Like a sort of fossil." 12:19 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, the threshold is quite the liminal space. That thing's had almost a literal millennium to stew in its hatred." 12:20 <Crion> "Think of it as a crucible." 12:21 <Quaker> What did he have to say when Agostina handed over copies of the cell’s uncovering of Cheiron’s activities? 12:24 <banana> Saul Lensburg has a parasol. No Odin means no automatic trackcheck - if Bob wants that he'll have to get a phone out - but it does leave his vision unimpaired for the weak-light clarity that sometimes sees through the Mask, and today it's so: 12:24 <banana> The Spring regent's brown suit covers roughly textured skin; he has something like fur, very short but dense. There's a gloss to his skin and eyes, bulging a little like pockets of oil are captured beneath. For all that, the way he moves has power to it - each step sinks into the swamp but leaves dry land behind. Bob gets an unshakeable impression that the Seelie Count knows where he's going. 12:24 <Quaker> In the meantime, she closes her eyes and leans back in her lounger, letting the soft warmth of the sun lull her into a snoozing twilight. From a distance, she can hear cars, and the murmur of crowds, and someone playing the guitar. Occasionally, she takes a drink. 12:25 <Quaker> One of the great things about this family is that they understand the need for comfort. 12:25 <banana> Beside him is a woman in a grey winter coat, with a bulge underneath it and sunglasses. No Mask or Mien. She looks kind of familiar, though. 12:25 <banana> Hatch: "You'll be talking about actual birds, but just talking. Improvised storytelling, a role-play." 12:27 <tom> Bob, clearly disappointed: "Not fair. I wanted to see that MP get some use." 12:27 <banana> Starling: "What are you talking about, Bob?" 12:27 <tom> He turns, ignoring the Spring Regent for now: "You probably don't remember- the gas mask doofus? Yeah?" 12:28 <banana> The woman: "Huh. What the hell." 12:29 <tom> Bob: "Your boss sucks ass, lady." 12:29 <banana> Lensburg: "Now, Bob, I'm sure you don't mean that." 12:29 <tom> "Oh, shit, I didn't mean-" 12:30 <tom> He just shuts up and does a little turn around in the mud. 12:30 <banana> His companion: "You're not my boss, Saul. This is- anyway, call me Moss." 12:30 <banana> "Christ, you're not hunting these people?" 12:31 <banana> Starling: "We are unmolested. Lensburg, let's set up." 12:31 <tom> Bob raises his palm. "Okay, first off, lots to unpack there, lady who works for Fortunato. 12:31 <tom> " 12:31 <tom> "Second, how the hell'd Saul swing a ghoul for this?" 12:32 <banana> Moss: "Lord Fortunato isn't my boss, either. Is that a name we should be using in the open?" She glances around, or at least turns her head (the glasses are pretty opaque). Unless there's someone up on Harry's Hill, you're at least a kilometre from anyone who might eavesdrop. 12:34 <tom> Bob rolls his eyes. "It's daytime, ma'am." 12:34 <tom> "If anyone were out here, I'd know, and you'd have brought a shovel." 12:35 <tom> He turns to Saul. "Lensberg. Haven't seen you since the thing." 12:37 <tom> "One second, I gotta check something." Bob produces his phone and squints through the settings menu until he can pull up Huntr. No new messages and, hell, might as well get a couple snaps for the gang back home. 12:38 <banana> Starling and Lensburg are giving each other things - dice, bits of bone. They're measuring out the quantities carefully as they haggle back and forth. Saul: "Well, that is my place at this time.. staying inside, waiting for the weather to change. I'm looking forward to your performance - both of you." 12:38 <banana> Vincenzo worried at the report like it was a tender piece of meat. Eventually he went away to worry some more, and now he's come back to talk. 12:40 <banana> It doesn't need to interrupt Badawi's comfort. The oldest remaining Galli sits on a piano stool, flipping through sheet music that someone's left on the instrument. "It's nice and warm in here." 12:42 <banana> Savoy: "What we could use is a plan of the crucible. If the ghost doesn't manifest without provocation, we have the opportunity to map the battlespace." 12:42 <Quaker> Badawi is half-awake. “Warmer than Manchester.” 12:42 <banana> "Maury, when you were down there with Craig, were the tunnels navigable?" 12:43 <tom> While the Lords of their respective seasons play with their dice, Bob turns to 'Moss' and purses his lips. "So are you also being punished, or did you volunteer." 12:44 <banana> Maury: "In theory, but they're full of crud. Large, really too large to make sense, but it's all collapses and rubble beyond the entryway." 12:45 <banana> Stella: "What if we use actual earthmoving equipment? We could dig the place out, set it up as a killzone, and then wake 'her Majesty'. There's no urgency.. don't tell Dylan's wife, though." 12:45 <banana> Vincenzo: "That place is getting too hot, in a sense. It's a more serious issue than I thought." 12:46 <Crion> Aster: "We'd want to assay the location on more time before giving the full go-ahead on that -- ghosts can be notoriously sneaky and, indeed, litigious about their borders, so we'd want to make sure we're not somehow giving it an advantage or worse an out -- but I don't see any issue with the underlying theory." 12:46 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you happen to have a stake in a snowploughing business?" 12:47 <banana> Moss looks at the sole chair, now vacated, but chooses to remain standing instead. She shifts a little to find a stable place in the wetland. "I'm just here for the sake of some poor imprisoned birdies." 12:47 <banana> "Punishment, is it? What'd you do?" 12:47 <Quaker> Badawi runs her fingers against the cool glass. “There are a lot of little wars threatening to boil over at the same time, over there.” 12:47 <Quaker> “The local powers are fragmented and not given to communication within themselves, let alone each other.” 12:47 <VoxPVoxD> "Moreso than earthmovers, a snowplough with a salt spreader, and a stockpile of salt to use in it, would be helpful." 12:48 <hrolf> Rolf stands surly..ly behind the rest of the party, scowling around for potential fangs out monsters jumping out of the shadows, but otherwise keeps mum. 12:48 <banana> Vincenzo: "They need to talk to each other like people instead of gods. As things stand, it's becoming a nexus of conflict. Too much visibility for us to gain the anchor we hoped." 12:48 <banana> "Agostina, I'd like to modify the role you're playing." 12:49 <Quaker> “Mhm.” 12:50 <tom> "I used to be in charge of million-dollar equipment, ma'am." Bob glances sidelong at the two gentlemen fiddling with their setup. "Now I'm in a bog in December doing interpretive dance." 12:51 <tom> "It's chill," heh, "I deserve worse." 12:51 <Quaker> “Which role am I playing now?” 12:51 <Quaker> “I mean, before this new one.” 12:51 <banana> Moss: "I don't think we need to dance, but if you feel the need.. cut loose, Snow Queen." 12:51 <banana> Bob's phone makes a noise. 12:53 <tom> Moss might note Bob hasn't actually answered her question, and he isn't going to if he has his way. He checks his phone. 12:54 <banana> Seelie Count Saul Lensburg -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5osPtE7kXI -- "There's still plenty we can do, and ways that remain open." 12:59 <banana> Moss doesn't have much of an English accent. Maybe it's not her native language, or maybe she's deliberately playing down her origins. "I think they'll be ready in a couple minutes. Saul did say I should keep my phone off once we start, just in case the Weird takes interruptions as part of the robin game." 12:59 <banana> Agent Moss -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6120QOlsfU -- "What was that name again?" 13:01 <tom> Aw dang it, I'm about to be humiliated aren't I? 13:01 <banana> Vincenzo: "You're keeping vigil, aren't you?" 13:01 <tom> Bob sighs. Not the first time this week. Not the first time today. 13:01 <banana> "I believe Orlando appreciates your wait. Surely the boy understands what he has." 13:02 <Quaker> Agostina sighs and sits up. “You know I hate it when people are cryptic around me. Just tell me what you’re thinking about.” 13:02 <tom> Bob replaces his phone in his coat pocket and rolls his shoulders. "So, what, we just stand here and... do what, exactly?" 13:05 <banana> Vincenzo: "I don't mean to be cryptic, Agostina. English is so literal.. I really mean that you've been in a holding pattern, doing all these things for something to do. If you're willing, I have a longer-term goal for you, something that will make things better as well as helping us out." 13:06 <banana> The doors to the patio open (by themselves) as the Tra-Se-Uu named Chuu drifts in. The alien creature's covered in a shawl, due to the sun rather than any modesty. It folds up against a corner, heat-exhausted but content. 13:06 <Quaker> “Mm. I have my own idea about what would make things better. I’m not sure my cell-mates would go for it. Or the monsters.” 13:07 <Quaker> “You go first, though.” 13:07 <Quaker> She picks up a little mister bottle and sprays the fluffy alien with cool vapor. 13:07 <banana> Stella: "It'd be nice if it worked like that, wouldn't it? Buy shares in some company before you use its services, get a discount. The thing that keeps it from being worthwhile is liquidity." 13:08 <banana> "We'll clear the area, then, and see what we can map of the tunnels. Get together a force. We should be ready to go.. perhaps mid-February?" 13:08 <Crion> Aster: "I'll block it off on our schedule." 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods. 13:09 <hrolf> Rolf opens his mouth partially, then shuts it. 13:11 <banana> Chuu gurgles pleasantly. Vincenzo raises an eyebrow at Badawi's ideas.. but it's not like he can stop her from having them. So he goes first: "We need calm. We can't have the thing in the tower at war with wizards, we can't have blood-suckers fighting each other with English people as the battlefield. Thugs with demon-brains fighting fairy relics." 13:12 <banana> "These conflicts need to averted, be brought to an end or moved out of the city. End the nexus, end all the attention being paid, bring back our chance to cross the ocean." 13:13 <banana> King Starling has finished his preparations, apparently. Lensburg's scattered some seeds in the wetlands and the two of them have cleared a patch of dirt on which to roll bones. 13:14 <Quaker> Badawi nods. “Okay.” 13:14 <Quaker> “Were you going to offer me more help to do this, or…” 13:14 <Quaker> “...?” 13:14 <banana> "And talk, Goreman. You describe the situation - your captivity of the robins - and Moss here will describe how she rescues them. It's a back and forth, taking in each others' 'moves' and continuing the story." 13:15 <banana> "If we begin now, the whole thing should be pretty quick." 13:17 <banana> Vincenzo: "Certo. If you take on a role for the House... it will empower you. We will clothe you in significance." 13:18 <tom> Bob glances at Hatch: "This is pretty goofy, sir, and that's coming from me." 13:18 <tom> "Alright." 13:19 <Quaker> “I’ve already invoked the name of the House as a shield. I’m bound to take a role in it.” 13:19 <tom> Are they looking him like they expect him to start? 13:20 <Quaker> “So, sure. I’ve got some thoughts.” 13:20 <banana> Vincenzo: "I know, I know, but I've been reluctant to make you into.. to make you represent something other than yourself. It means a little detachment from the world, you know? You won't be quite as subject to life's indignities or blessings. What do you think?" 13:22 <Quaker> “I don’t mind the indignities and I would probably miss the blessings. I don’t know.” 13:22 <Quaker> “But about Manchester…” 13:24 <banana> Lensburg and Starling back away and squat on different sides of the circle of earth, looking at a pair of thrown dice. Hatch looks up. "This has been a strong winter, so you'll need the hero to initiate the quest. Ready when you both are... don't worry too much about the details. You're just a conduit for the other game we're playing." 13:24 <Quaker> “It doesn’t strike you as revealing that all these factions of monsters have been left to their own devices, spinning their own little plots and intrigues, and this is the result? They’re very…” She thinks for the right word. “Frozen. Decayed.” 13:24 <Quaker> “They haven’t had a reason to change anything for decades.” 13:25 <Quaker> “Nor any outside power inviting them to take a greater institutional interest in each other’s affairs.” 13:26 <banana> Moss lifts her sunglasses and looks at Bob (grey eyes, mildly confused). "Well.. here goes nothing. A, uh, a Prince of the Realm marches toward the Snow Queen's palace - her frozen palace. He's shivering, what with the bare chest and thews and so on, but he's determined. The creatures trapped in there deserve freedom, and by his sword they'll have it." 13:26 <tom> Bob: "I put on my robe and wizardess hat." 13:28 <Quaker> “In my opinion, they are wrapped up in their own bullshit and reluctant to acknowledge the outside world, or admit that they have any sort of social responsibility to people, or each other. Their internal ideologies have ground to a standstill. If they ever engaged in some sort of ideological project beyond mere survival and stasis, it is now long past that point.” 13:28 <tom> Bob breathes deeply and centers himself. "Okay so we've got like, the castle from Frozen, or something, and she's uh... watching the hero through her magic mirror." 13:28 <tom> Fuck, dude. 13:29 <banana> The ghoul blinks. "So the Snow Queen is preparing in her uh, robe? The Realm Prince doesn't know what awaits him, but he's going to batter on the icy doors.. demanding entrance, basically. Through the mirror, you can see that the guy's liable to smash these things if he doesn't get an answer at some point." 13:29 <banana> Bob feels something odd moving through him as he speaks. Every word seems.. true, like he's recounting a history instead of making up a story. 13:30 <banana> The events he describes come with moments of recollection, as if they're something he saw or experienced. 13:31 <banana> In the circle, the regents dice and mark out lines in the mud to keep score. Lensburg's pants are spattered and dirty now, which normally he'd mind. 13:32 <banana> Vincenzo: "In my opinion, that's due to the nature of the power they have. Their power comes from being set apart." 13:32 <Quaker> “They are unconcerned at the highest levels with the cost of their own existence on ordinary people, but not threatened enough to seek alternatives. And too proud or invested to think differently, or reach out for help. And all of them are much too unafraid of local hunters than is healthy.” 13:32 <Quaker> “That’s my read, anyway.” 13:33 <tom> Alright man, let's rap for a second before you keep going there. You already know you're gonna lose. It's not even in doubt. At this point your job is to avoid humiliating yourself, so let's not get buried in the details of describing the Queen's wardrobe or her pose on the chaise longue, with the conspiciously revealing- ah god damn it- 13:33 <banana> Vincenzo: "Do you think the calm we seek can be achieved by shocking them into admitting where they really stand in the world?" 13:34 <tom> Bob: "The Ice queen casts Blizzard V and blows away the pesky shirtless hero." 13:34 <Quaker> “I think that they could be simultaneously courted and made a little bit more cautious.” 13:35 <Quaker> “Most of them, anyway.” 13:35 <tom> He steps away, scratching his chin. That should buy him some time to come with something, anything really. 13:35 <banana> In Manchester, late in December, Rolf and Willie stand with Richard Haldane on the street outside a broken vacant lot. 13:35 <Quaker> “Some of the conflicts will be irreconcilable. We just have to find the right fault lines.” 13:36 <Quaker> “I think my cell could exploit some important sympathies.” 13:36 <tom> "While the hero is distracted by the storm, the Queen descends into the dungeon through a secret passage." 13:36 <hrolf> Rolf alternately blows warm air onto his hands, and rubs them vigorously. Fuck the north, seriously. 13:36 <banana> The padlocks are all on, but Richard's holding a keypaid that trails wires at strange angles. "If this works like the Alpha Demons say, I can let us back in from the outside. But it won't work for anyone else." 13:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, being smarter than Rolf, is wearing gloves. 13:37 <banana> Haldane: "That is to say, it would work for them... if they had the code. Which I think is a bad idea, even though they honestly seem quite nice." 13:37 <Quaker> “Have you read all my reports? You’re familiar with all the local powers?” 13:38 <hrolf> Rolf: "Can't trust these computer geezers farther than you can throw em. They'll 'ack your nan for a larf." 13:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "My nan could do with a larf." 13:39 <banana> Vincenzo: "I've had to actually pay attention. This congregation of powers is very complicated." 13:39 <banana> "Buenos Aires is a far simpler landscape, even at night." 13:41 <banana> Haldane: "Tertiary seems very friendly, but the other one I've met is more of an internet troll." 13:41 <banana> "Hambo, he called himself. Always taking the mickey a little." 13:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "He's always been very sweet to me." 13:42 <hrolf> Rolf: "Me landlord rights group on facebook is always getting these trolls now and then. Labour scum." 13:42 <Quaker> Badawi: “You could sort them, roughly, into groups favoring the status quo, groups favoring upheaval, and expendable groups.” 13:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Why are you in a landlord rights group on Facebook? Surely you haven't been banned from the local Conservative constituency party meetings." 13:43 <Quaker> “What if the House flexed enough muscle to help the cell eliminate an expendable group, and then lent its name to courting the others?” 13:44 <tom> Bob continues: "The queen relocates to her second chaise longue in the royal basem- dungeon, where she and the other three member of her polycule usually hang and do drugs." 13:44 <banana> Moss in Kersal: "Uhh.. the windstorm's a pretty big deal. Obviously the Prince can't just fight through it, so he's forced to find something to hang on to... what he'll do is, with the wind blowing down the palace hallway, he'll scurry from alcove to alcove between the gusts. Maybe there are big ice statues in those things to hide behind." 13:44 <hrolf> "Well, I was actually- long story -but I was on the landlord group before that 'appened. It's a good place to exchange tips on 'ouse flippin, new markets, fings like that." 13:44 <Quaker> “There is a humanitarian and practical aspect of our work that we can appeal to.” 13:44 <banana> "If the Queen's not paying any attention though.. he's gonna make it through. That's what she gets for being a Snow Millennial." 13:45 <banana> Bob sees Hatch frowning out of the corner of his eye. The number of little bone chunks on Saul's side of the circle has multiplied. 13:45 <hrolf> Rolf: "Anyway, press the button mate. Let's get in, its fahckin freezin out 'ere." 13:46 <banana> Richard keys in a code; Willie smells brimstone. He's not just pressing buttons, although he is pressing them. The door opens, shuts, opens again. "Excellent." 13:46 <tom> Bob curses. "The hero breaks into the castle and is messing up all her pots and pans, but while he's up there, the queen has time to, uh, check on the... pigeons, I guess?" 13:46 <banana> "Rather than going in, how about we go over the road to the chippery? I'm still not sure I've got all the cameras out yet." 13:47 <banana> Moss: "Captured some of those as well as robins, did she? Since they're a completely different kind of bird." 13:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Sounds good. What do you say, Rolf? My treat." 13:47 <tom> "That's totally what I meant to say." 13:47 <tom> "There's a bunch of fucking birds down here, okay, let's not get hung up on the birds." 13:47 <hrolf> Rolf: "Fine wif me. I'm starved." 13:48 <banana> Vincenzo: "That sorting will be useful. It sounds like the role you're looking for is a diplomat, conveying threats and promises - between groups, and in your own right." 13:49 <tom> Bob coughs. "The queen's kept the robins in a nice little heated aviary in... her basement dungeon. They've got little nest boxes and have laid their eggs, because they're in the dungeon and they don't know it's winter I guess." 13:49 <banana> In the fish and chip shop, Richard wraps up the control pad in some butcher paper to keep it from curious eyes. "So! A couple of months off, and then we're answering questions. Where to go next, and all that." 13:49 <Quaker> “They already outsource their little problems to us.” 13:49 <Quaker> “But my idea, really, is…” 13:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Oh! That reminds me. I've got your Christmas presents. Do you want them now or shall we wait?" 13:50 <banana> Richard, immediately: "Presents, please. Who knows how long it will be before we see each other, we three?" 13:50 <hrolf> Rolf: "Yeah I can take em now." 13:50 <banana> He struggles for a moment to find some commonality. "We three.. actual British citizens, endlessly harassed by foreign allies." 13:51 <tom> BHe rubs his eyes and sighs. "By the time the hero finds the secret passage, the Queen has had time to get to her xans and talk herself up in the magic mirror. She grovels before the hero and begs for mercy, offering him the caged robins, nests and all, in exchange for her life." 13:52 <Quaker> “You help us knock off Benni Athletic and put his head on a spike to impress the locals and give us a little juice. Then we get funding and backing from the vampires, changelings, demon hackers, and Pentacle mages to function as peacekeeping operation in the city. At the same time, we begin to tutor and incorporate local Hunter groups into our framework. A hub that fits between all the different spokes. So they don’t have to talk to each other, 13:52 <Quaker> and to help them talk to each other if they need to.” 13:52 <hrolf> Rolf: "'s right. Fahckin yanks and argies. Couldn't sourjack find enough proper english specialists? Can't tell me there's a shortage, not wif everyone from the Office out of work." 13:52 <banana> Moss: "The Prince is surprised to find the captured birds warm and layin'. Maybe this Snow Queen can be persuaded, he's probably thinking. Question is, what kind of trap is this? He won't do anything immediately to the squalling woman. A witch who can cast that high-level a spell has got something up her sleeve." 13:52 <banana> "Could there be... something wrong with the birds themselves?" 13:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie ducks into her car and comes out with packages. A largeish, round lump of neat brown paper for Rolf, and a small box tied with a silk ribbon for Richard. 13:53 <hrolf> Rolf: "Wonder what they're doing now, honestly. Bunch of lads wif speciaized training and weapons and nuffink to do witf em...that's 'ow insurgencies start." 13:53 <Quaker> “Obviously, there are existing connections between them…but it’s mostly between individuals. Nothing that could match the institutional reach of what I’m suggesting. One friend among the others can’t compare to a Department staffed by professionals.” 13:53 <tom> Bob: "Is the hero a fucking ornithologist?" 13:53 <Quaker> “Plus, with the Human Office shutting down, the different factions will be looking for a civil liasion…” 13:53 <banana> Moss: "Probably no. I don't even think he's got a GCSE." 13:54 <banana> "This guy is like, a barbarian warlord. He's the Prince of.. the North." 13:54 <Quaker> “And there will be Human Office personnel floating around. A good time to poach talent.” 13:54 <tom> "Sorry- sorry- The Queen offers the hero the caged robins and their nests, brimming with turquoise eggs." 13:54 <hrolf> Rolf takes his gift from Willie and unwraps it. What's inside? 13:54 <tom> He seems suddenly unsure, briefly turning to Hatch then shaking his head. 13:54 <Quaker> “And that will be the House’s in. The backer for this new institution in civic life.” 13:55 <tom> "The Queen insists there's no trap, that the brave, strong, handsome-" don't make me come down there dude- "h-hero has won the day, I guess." 13:55 <banana> Moss: "Gleaming fucking muscles, going through all that cold into this warm room, there will be sweat- uh. Right, he says: 'At what price, these redbreasts? What do you ask for the end of Winter?'" 13:56 <banana> "'Cause if there's no price, that's fine. I can take the birds and go.'" 13:56 <tom> Now it's Bob's turn to scowl, briefly. "Get the fuck out of my castle and stop breaking my stuff!" 13:56 <tom> Bob rounds, triumphant: "Of course, little does the hero know that among the Robin's eggs-" 13:57 <banana> Moss: "A bomb??" 13:57 <tom> "Because he's a dumbass who doesn't know bird's eggs from fucking snakes-" 13:57 <VoxPVoxD> Rolf got a whole ham, on the hoof. 13:57 <tom> "A single speckled cuckoo egg, painted turquoise, and gentled placed among the others with a kiss." 13:58 <VoxPVoxD> It says Jamon Iberico de Bellota. 13:58 <hrolf> Rolf murmurs appreciatively. "Much obliged, marm. Very nice!" 13:59 <VoxPVoxD> Willie beams. "I wanted to get you something practical, and you've sort of got all the tools you could ever need. So I thought, something nice to eat." 13:59 <VoxPVoxD> "That is the second finest gammon in the world." 14:00 <banana> Vincenzo: "I don't like it. The first part appeals to me... we would happily send you back into that mundane suburb for vengeance on the idiot Benni. He's opposed us by name. Punishing it would have power." 14:00 <banana> "What I don't like is this idea of a peacekeeping hub... becoming a mediator between these forces would put you in constant danger. It would expose us and we're not ready." 14:01 <banana> "Talking to them, being the way they talk to each other, that's good. But since when are we fans of the United Nations?" 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> Richard got... a watch! A largeish, undelicate-looking watch, with an intricate face tracking time, date, and even the serene-faced phases of the moon on different dials. 14:02 <banana> Richard: "Very impressive. A ham of significance. Now, I do have something for each of you, but I'm afraid it's all digital- oh!" He's just pulled away the last ribbon on his box. 14:02 <hrolf> Rolf fishes around in his pockets, before producing a couple of scraps of paper. He pulls a pen out of his pocket and writes down a name and a number. "Well I 'adn't planned any gifts exactly wif all the goings on, but well..." he slides the papers over to Willie and Haldane. "Next time you're in London, call this numbah and give the bloke me name. 'e'll fix you up wif some free tickets to an 'ammers game, no problem." 14:02 <banana> "How elegant once again. Willie, you like these complicated self-maintaining systems?" 14:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I think there's something inspiring about them. And I also thought, given how you had to leave the Human Office, you probably didn't get a proper retirement gift." 14:03 <VoxPVoxD> "But for your service I thought, you were owed your watch." 14:03 <banana> Moss: "Interesting. Or rather, it's not interesting to the Prince, a real boofhead - but also a powerful hero, like. As far as he's concerned he's won in style. He's pulling that lever to open the roof and let the robins fly free, carrying their eggs and all." 14:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie takes the paper. "I'll hold you to that, Rolf." 14:04 <Quaker> Agostina: “I am already in constant danger. And my current position has them seeing me as an expendable mercenary. A loose end to be disposed of once the real fighting starts. At least one of my cell is compromised along the vampires.” 14:05 <banana> "The thing is, if the Queen gives up without a price.. maybe she's set her trap, but the robins win out too. An ice palace like this requires conviction, not fashion. It'll all be melted someday soon, and she'll be couch-surfing." 14:05 <banana> There have been a lot of exciting-looking dice rolls in the circle. Bob feels.. warmer than he has in quite a while. 14:06 <Quaker> “Our work puts people against us anyway. Offering something beyond money and endless stasis is also self-preservation.” 14:06 <tom> Bob: "That's global warming for ya." 14:06 <banana> Vincenzo: "I think the offer of hub-and-spoke communciation is sound, but being the common peacekeeper is not. It goes two ways: either they don't believe you're capable of it, or they realise you are, making you a threat." 14:07 <banana> Saul Lensburg: "Interesting. What's that going to do?" 14:07 <banana> Both men are standing, Hatch rather more slowly, but the Crown of Seasons is bright at his brow. "Well, I wouldn't want to be on a coast near the arctic pack-ice." 14:08 <Quaker> “Fine. Then we need more backing than we currently have. Otherwise we’ll be picked off by some group that sees us as an obstacle.” 14:08 <banana> Saul: "I mean your little spy. We both won, somehow." 14:08 <tom> Bob: "Why does everyone keep saying I'm a fucking spy?" 14:08 <hrolf> Rolf: "What's your gift, 'aldane? I've been lookin for somefing to protect against the fangfuckers when their royal rumble starts up again.." 14:09 <Quaker> “Vampires can’t be willing to mesmerise us, not without genuinely fearing retribution and death.” 14:09 <banana> Starling: "Racial stereotyping. All Americans are assumed to be members of the CIA." 14:09 <VoxPVoxD> To Rolf: "I think Bob was working on something." 14:12 <banana> Richard: "I'm not sure whether this will be useful, Rolf, but here we go..." He pulls out his phone. "I've got you an email account. It's just a protonmail login, but this one is special - I know some people who know some people. With this email, you can log in to any kind of paywall - all the news sites, subscription content, basically anything on the web that's limited access." 14:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Does it stop the Guardian website nagging you every day?" 14:13 <banana> "Why would Mr. Hughes want to read the former Manchester Guardian?" 14:14 <hrolf> Rolf: "I don't touch that shite. Corbyn's lot." 14:14 <banana> Moss: "Are we done, then?" 14:14 <banana> Saul: "Yes, you both fulfilled your hidden objective. Spring will come early but strange." 14:14 <banana> "It was quite an amusing tale, but don't quit your... night jobs?" 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I was just asking!" 14:16 <banana> Richard: "For Willie, I've got something I managed to pull off the USB stick Aaron handed us. Some of the documents the chief dracula handed over were once part of an encrypted network..." 14:16 <VoxPVoxD> Willie perks up. 14:19 <banana> Richard: "Unfortunately, the one server that's still up is largely defunct. All it had left on it were archives, this is a historical curiosity.. but it's very curious. I've sent you the torrent file. As far as I can make out, they're recorded seminars from the 50s, 60s and 70s - all phonograph stuff. And all in Balkan or Turkic languages." 14:19 <banana> "What we have, I think, is a large quantity of eastern-european vampire mad scientists discussing their research. Years' worth!" 14:19 <tom> Bob rubs his hands together as he steps out of the muck- his boots have become mired as he's been standing in one place for his weight to stick him in deep. "Yeah Hatch I gotta say, there's a bunch of starving writers you could get for like... not very much. If I'm really the best you've got-" he looks almost pitying. 14:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Oh my." 14:20 <banana> Vincenzo: "You prickle at it, Agostina. We can use that... give you thorns." 14:20 <hrolf> Rolf: "Eastern euros...from the 70s? Were they commies or, the right sort?" 14:20 <tom> "Fuck man, I know a best-selling author. Next time I'll just dial her up." 14:21 <Quaker> Agostina: “What was your idea, then? Tell me to stop three different wars, and…?” 14:22 <Quaker> She’s not bitter, but it’s not particularly sugarcoated. They’ve always had a very direct relationship. 14:23 <banana> Galli: "Do you realise who we're trying to beat? Every monster under every child's bed. We can't go head-on, or not for a long time. We have to build a human power, and not the kind of 'human' meant by the mage-priest you spoke to." 14:24 <banana> "That requires doing extraordinary things. But it does mean we get to choose who we are, and the significances we can give you will be the ones you need." 14:25 <banana> He's bullshitting a little too - this isn't about humanity versus monsters. The Sunset House wants to look after itself first, and its people. But it is also about humanity, or on that side of a line. 14:25 <Quaker> Agostina: “Mm.” 14:26 <banana> "If you want a way into the inner circle, this is the start of it. There's no lodge anymore." 14:26 <Quaker> “You know, there was already a power that kept the peace in Manchester. Real demon-hunters. The true Hunters. Not human, but…” 14:27 <banana> Vincenzo: "Hombre lobos?" 14:27 <Quaker> “The same.” 14:28 <Quaker> “Your significances and symbols…can they give someone the powers of the old Wolves? The real Hunter?” 14:33 <banana> Vicenzo: "If we knew where they'd gone maybe the world wouldn't be unbalanced like a box on the edge of a shelf. It feels as though we've been piling more and more things in that shoebox as we run out of room for troubling thoughts." 14:33 <banana> "My cousin Rob Zugaro saw a Wolf once when he was young. It didn't sound like something that could stay gone forever."