17:17 <banana> It's a weekday tomorrow, so Empanading isn't open late. The sun still went down some time ago, as the weather's getting... the locals would call it "shite, ey". 17:18 <banana> Dark clouds have covered the stars. Aaron Aster and William Goreman are the only people left inside the restaurant, and they're just discussing their manner of leaving. Umbrellas would be wise. 17:18 <Crion> How are the empanadas? 17:19 <tom> Yeah, Bob's got his hooded jacket. He'd rather fight Sergio's elders all at once than bring a freaking umbrella. 17:19 <banana> The counter hasn't actually gone dark - the morose woman behind it wouldn't mind earning a bit more if there's a walk-in, even this late. She doesn't do the cooking; Aster doesn't know who's in the kitchen, but they're.. interesting. 17:19 <Crion> For Goreman's benefit: Aster walked in, in his running clothes. Meaning loudly-colored form-fitting gore-tex. He put a coat over it but... 17:20 <tom> "...So she says, 'they leave us alone', but what does that mean? Do they keep a freaking list?" 17:20 <banana> It's the closest thing he's had to real Mexican food up here, without actually being Mexican. These are 'Spanish empanadas'. 17:20 <Crion> Well, Aster has maybe 2% body fat. 17:20 <tom> God damn I really need to start working out again. Fucking Aster's about to out-swole me here. 17:20 <banana> The ingredients are fresh, great balance of jasmine rice and various fillings in the bowls, it's good food but doesn't quite feel authentic. 17:21 <Crion> He's got some muscles, but he looks more like a professional marathon runner than anything else. 17:21 <Crion> Maybe a soccer player. 17:22 <tom> "And I'm just wondering, because, like you said, I'm not seeing news reports of a dude with a sword carving people up, obviously." 17:22 <Crion> Aster, to the worker: "One empanada, and a bottled water." He has cash. 17:23 <tom> He'll shut up when someone might overhear him, of course. 17:24 <banana> Servitor: "Is that to go." 17:24 <tom> Bob is rapidly becoming a regular. He gets something with caffeine in it. Gonna be one of those nights, gotta stay sharp. 17:24 <Crion> Aster: "Yes." 17:24 <Crion> To Bob: "Bob." 17:24 <banana> Aster's takeaway will be ready in just a couple of minutes. 17:24 <tom> "Yeah yeah, to go." 17:24 <tom> He just gets a drink. 17:24 <Crion> Excellent. He leaves an extra bill as tip. 17:25 <banana> Outside, the rain threatens but doesn't eventuate. The street entrance faces toward the commercial centre of Eccles, with a few car lights and the occasional noises of English people going God-knows-where. 17:26 <tom> Fucking rain. Bob's careful to keep the visor under his hood. Rain and cold temperatures can damage the Huginn's coating. 17:27 <Crion> Stretching, jogging his legs a little as he cools down: "So what's your night route?" 17:27 <tom> Inclement weather might fuck with the thermals... but the ODIN is an all-weather system. "I like to follow the canal a bit, then hook north, come back around. Haven't seen any floaters or dumps yet, so that's a good sign I guess." 17:28 <Crion> Aster: "The Greater Manchester Police think so, I'm sure." 17:28 <banana> They won't thank him for the tip, but they'll keep it, of course. Fuckin' Americans. 17:28 <tom> Braver than the troops. 17:28 <Crion> Then they understand we do it for ourselves, not them. Good. 17:29 <Crion> Aster: "Do we actually go down into the canal-space?" 17:29 <Crion> "Or just up on the road." 17:29 <tom> "I haven't. I only got the one pair of boots right now." 17:29 <tom> "Should we? You're the detective." 17:29 <banana> Manchester has the highest murder rate of any city in the United Kingdom. Tonight would be a good night for it; in one direction you've got the closed up quasi-mall area, shaped like a village but it's all commercial, and in the other darkened housing projects - then the canal, even darker. The only lights are on the other side, where there used to be working docks. 17:29 <Crion> Aster: "Fuck no." 17:30 <Crion> "The canal's disgusting. Every standing body of water in England is disgusting." 17:30 <Crion> Aster: "I suppose we should go where the lights aren't, however." 17:31 <banana> The further you get from the restaurant strip, the less the alleys smell of urine. 17:31 <tom> "You think Covid fucked 'em up bad?" 17:31 <Crion> Aster: "I don't really care. But sure." 17:32 <Crion> How's the empanada taste? 17:32 <tom> He scoffs: "What, you don't care? You don't think their numbers going down has an impact on your work?" 17:32 <Crion> Aster: "We're talking about vampires, right?" 17:32 <tom> "Yeah." 17:32 <Crion> "They don't die when they run out of blood." 17:32 <Crion> "They go to sleep." 17:32 <Crion> "If COVID made them go to sleep, they're waking back up." 17:33 <tom> "Oh, oh wow. Haha." 17:33 <banana> It tastes good. Warm rice-meat-veg, synergistic flavours. It just doesn't taste like anything you could get in Texas. 17:33 <tom> Bob sips his pepsi or whatever. Who cares. 17:33 <Crion> Aster hates Texas, so that's fine. 17:34 <Crion> A Philly Mexican food truck, though. That'd hit the spot. 17:34 <tom> "I just mean, are we worried they could have some kind of mass freakout if they run out of food?" 17:34 <tom> "I guess it already happened." 17:34 <Crion> Aster: "They're smart enough not to do mass freakouts. Or to frame them as terrorist or gas attacks when they do happen." 17:35 <Crion> "Don't want to get caught in the middle of one of those." 17:35 <tom> Nodding, stoic: "Knife crime." 17:35 <tom> Bob is always scanning his peripherals. And yes, he is always looking for traps. 17:36 <tom> They should be getting close to the canal by now. 17:37 <banana> Corporation Road turns into the projects and becomes a less-trafficked barrier between Eccles and the rest of Salford. The sidewalks - sorry, pavements - are cleaner but it's just due to cycles of dust and rain, not any kind of regular mainteance. 17:38 <tom> "It all just makes you wonder what sorta wild shit is happening five feet away we don't know about." 17:38 <banana> If you were to head directly east of here, you'd leave Eccles proper and reach Irwell Grove, where some of the Winter Hill changelings live. West down the canal or north up into the commercial district are the bulk of the suburb. 17:38 <tom> "Alright, first folk. We go West or East. It's your call." 17:38 <tom> fork* 17:39 <Crion> Aster, looking into the darkened canal: "Play stupid games, win stupid prizes." 17:41 <tom> "So like..." 17:42 <Crion> Aster: "Ssh." 17:42 <tom> He shuts up, frowns. 17:42 <banana> The canal does move. It's deep enough to have carried ships once, but too polluted for fish.. so the little waggles down there are odd. Faintly glowing things dance beneath the dark water. 17:43 <banana> ...and as soon as they catch Aaron's attention, they're gone. He has a strong sense of cause and effect. 17:43 <Crion> Aster: "Something in the canal water. Somethings." 17:43 <Crion> "They don't like being seen." 17:43 <tom> "Fuck, man, my ODIN didn't get me anything." 17:44 <Crion> He looks about. Can they walk along the canal without having to literally step into it? Surely that's how building a city works. 17:44 <banana> There's a path. Concrete, with incongruously pretty trees hanging over it, hiding the semi-urban landscape to the north of you as you walk. 17:45 <tom> He remembers what he was gonna say: "So, if you had the choice, would you choose to not find out, even if you coulda done something about it?" 17:46 <Crion> Aster: "Define 'something.'" 17:46 <tom> "I dunno, do you think you could Talon A Man With A Plan?" 17:46 <Crion> "This isn't 'Salem's Lot. We're not dragging vampires out into the sunlight. Or hopefully falling down the stairs onto knives." 17:46 <banana> Lights up ahead: someone's back yard runs up to the canal path, and they're having a bit of a rager. It's some distance away, but you can see people packed in there and hear music that will violate noise ordinances once it hits 10. 17:46 <Crion> "Oh." 17:47 <Crion> "I probably could. It probably wouldn't matter. Jesus." 17:47 <tom> "Ha, yeah, you're probably right." 17:47 <Crion> He's frowning in the dark. "I put odds on thirty percent of them vaccinated at most." 17:48 <tom> "Oh man you would not be surprised the problems we had with that in the Task Force I bet." 17:48 <Crion> Aster: "I would not." 17:48 <Crion> "Let's stay out of the light." 17:49 <tom> "Everyone 'n their mom wants the NGSW and the fucking polymer ammo, even though that shit jams every six rounds. But when you ask 'em for a shot, then everyone just loses their shi- yeah, right, right." 17:49 <Crion> "Unless you want to get yelled at by twenty-five Rolfs." 17:49 <tom> "...I could take 'em." 17:49 <tom> He does as directed, though. 17:50 <banana> What is the collective noun? A Brexit Party of Rolves? 17:51 <banana> There are trees, and dead lampposts, and the party's own fence. You're just two shadows outside the pool of light and dully shining faces. Nobody in the laughing mass looks undead, or abducted, or wizardly. 17:52 <Crion> They skirted several tests, they were wildly self-impressed, and we called them the Irish Rolfers. 17:52 <banana> From here on, roads begin to spider off up north into the residential part of the town - once a housing development, where all the new homes were built as Eccles went from a country village to part of the greater municipality. 17:52 <tom> It's like taking a walk back through the history of suburbs. 17:53 <tom> Maybe slightly less racist? 17:53 <Crion> Aster keeps an eye on the canal until its out of sight. 17:53 <Crion> Even if just blocked by trees. 17:54 <banana> There's a lonely pleasurecraft chugging its way up the Irk. Two silhouettes on the deck, which seem to turn to watch the two of you up on the high wall of the Ship Canal. 17:55 <tom> He checks their temperatures. 17:55 <Crion> Aster: "Let's pause." 17:55 <Crion> "Ah. You see them." 17:55 <tom> "My ODIN doesn't box the rich." 17:55 <banana> Wind is starting to gust. Both of the people on the motor-yacht have body warmth; their heads are *very* high up on the IR scale, but that happens. 17:55 <Crion> Aster, the marathon man, will...pull out a pack of cigarettes and light up. 17:55 <Crion> "Smoke?" 17:56 <tom> "Sure. I owe you one." 17:56 <tom> "Fuck Mari's trying to get me to quit." 17:56 <Crion> Aster: "Simply have an odd constitutional resistance to nicotine addiction, like me." 17:56 <tom> If it's even possible to keep it alive in the drizzle, anyway. He'll puff. 17:59 <tom> "It's a little weird. Heads are warmer than the rest of the body. Could just be the jacket absorbing the body heat, though." 18:00 <banana> The small yacht is going against both wind *and* current, so it's slow. On the far side of the canal are large and largely disused warehouses, with only a couple of lights. Trafford looks frankly benighted compared to the prosperous parts of Manchester in which you've spent more of your time. 18:01 <Crion> Aster: "Keep smoking your cigarette. Let them see it." 18:02 <tom> "Can they warm up at-will?" 18:02 <tom> "Bloodsuckers, I mean." 18:03 <tom> He takes Aster's advice and inhales. 18:04 <Crion> Aster: "Oh now this is interesting." 18:04 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, vampires can spoof bodyheat if they try. But these aren't vampires. These are starchildren." 18:04 <Crion> "Now. You want to know what's interesting about that." 18:04 <Crion> "Look at the boat." 18:05 <tom> He does. 18:05 <Crion> "It's moving up the water...but it shouldn't have the engine for that. And you're not getting heat from the prop, are you? Not the right amount of heat." 18:05 <Crion> "And there's no chop." 18:05 <tom> Huh. "That's right." 18:05 <Crion> "No propeller displacement." 18:06 <tom> "Wow, what a flex." 18:06 <Crion> He sucks the death stick. "They're moving it with their minds." 18:07 <banana> Now that they've got the tipoff, the next point is obvious to both men. The deliberate progress of the small vessel, the way it slows by the jetties and its occupants look around into the night - it has the character of a patrol. 18:07 <Crion> Are they obviously carrying? 18:07 <banana> Not obviously. 18:07 <tom> "Oh, ha. I guess they're on the same task as us." 18:08 <tom> "Idiot patrol, I guess." 18:08 <Crion> Maybe. Are we anywhere near where Aster took that meeting with the schlub that the courts of England said needed to stay away from his wife? 18:09 <tom> "Think they were looking for... you know, the thing you saw?" 18:09 <tom> He shrugs, returns the cigarette, still alive. 18:09 <tom> "We could wave 'em down I bet." 18:09 <banana> That was in Trafford too, but some way south of here, inland of the river. 18:10 <Crion> Aster: "We could. Would we want to?" 18:11 <Crion> "Two Americans waving down a patrol boat sounds weapon-free to me." 18:11 <tom> "They could already probably pop my pea-brain from there. And we're supposed to be making friends, right?" 18:12 <Crion> Aster: "There are structures to how you make friends. Testing pickets isn't best practice. But if you want to--hold on. Are you armed?" 18:12 <tom> "If I want to find Carl I probably shouldn't walk around his living room with a piece." 18:12 <tom> "That's a negative." 18:12 <Crion> Aster: "You're not armed." 18:13 <Crion> "This is literally the one time it makes sense to--" 18:13 <Crion> "Okay." 18:13 <tom> "You didn't say anything!" 18:13 <tom> He's pouting. 18:13 <Crion> Aster: "You tried to carry in the fucking Manchester art gallery! I didn't know I had to say anything!" 18:13 <Crion> "Fine. It's fine." 18:13 <tom> "That was for a thing!" 18:14 <Crion> "This is a thing, Bob." 18:14 <Crion> "But it's fine." 18:14 <tom> "I thought the whole reason we were out here was to make nice, okay. Fine." 18:14 <Crion> "Not with the fucking starchildren!" 18:15 <Crion> "Alright." 18:15 <tom> "They're probably not any freakier than my people." 18:15 <Crion> "Probably not. Let's just..." Is there a bridge or something where the patrol route could possibly cross them with two wandering tourists? 18:16 <tom> "Look, if you're carrying, just toss me it if it looks like we're about to go live, okay." 18:16 <tom> "You got your Talon." 18:16 <banana> You could just leave on one of the northward streets. Boat can't go up there. 18:16 <Crion> Aster: "I'm wearing a skintight bodysuit! The Glock is my safe! Responsibly!" 18:17 <tom> "So don't give me shit for- whatever, yeah, fine." 18:17 <Crion> Well we can obviously avoid it. That's not the issue. 18:17 <banana> Right now, it's going southeast, slowly, toward a dock. They're still watching you - two dark figures against the background of poplars and back gardens - but not doing anything about it. 18:17 <Crion> We want to see what its patrol is guarding. 18:18 <Crion> There it is. 18:18 <tom> The dock it is. 18:18 <banana> This is where a telescope would really come in handy. 18:18 <banana> (Or a DSLR with a telescoping lens.) 18:18 <Crion> Aster: "Before we go over there we should probably reckon with the fact that they likely do not, under any circumstances, want us over there." 18:19 <Crion> Isn't Bob wearing a ridiculous set of tech glasses? 18:19 <Crion> Surely they're equipped. 18:19 <tom> He flips through settings. 18:24 <tom> After a second, he's squinting intently at a greyscale image of the opposite shoreline, resolving, resolving... 18:27 <banana> As Bob concentrates on the psychics, Aster looks around for a bridge. There is one, but it's a couple of hundred metres further west than you were previously planning to go. 18:28 <Crion> Well, that's not that useful. Unless the patrol is ranging out there. 18:28 <tom> He hits 'em with the trackcheck just to be thorough. Might not get another chance. He'll check it later, though, it's not a real priority. 18:28 <banana> 'Bridge' isn't really adequate - there's an artificial eyot with two swinging bridges, a marvel of 19th-century construction. In daylight, it would look like this: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/bridge.webp 18:29 <Crion> Is that the way to loop around to the dock? 18:29 <banana> Unless you've got a helicopter. 18:30 <Crion> Aster could literally just swim. Ruin his tracksuit, but, 18:30 <tom> "It's slippery. Wouldn't it be just perfect to conk your head falling off a bridge and drown on your way to meet a vampire or whatever." 18:30 <banana> Bob activates night vision and zoom, tunes them together and gets a much clearer picture. There are two people in the small yacht, which has come up to the dock but not actually tied up there, and a third one *on* the quay who's speaking to them. 18:30 <tom> "They're doing a debrief with a third." 18:31 <Crion> Aster: "To what degree do we want to involve ourselves here?" 18:31 <banana> The ones in the yacht - their brain-heat now fading a little - are an older man and a heavily muffled-up young woman. The guy on the dock is dressed a lot more cheaply than either one, and.. he's pointing a knife at them. 18:31 <Crion> "They're going to see us coming." 18:31 <tom> "You're in charge here. I'd say they're probably looking for what you saw, if they're going up and down the river. Maybe helping them gets us some clout." 18:31 <tom> "Maybe it stops a murder?" 18:31 <banana> You can't hear what's going on, but old yacht guy is laughing. 18:32 <tom> "One's got a knife. Old guy's laughing?" 18:32 <banana> The man holding the knife gestures with it, short and sharp. The yacht remains fixed in place - despite the current. (The woman is still concentrating.) 18:33 <Crion> ...How deep is the water. 18:33 <banana> About 30 feet. 18:33 <tom> "I guess the lady's the one sailing. Looks like she's doing.." He puts two fingers up to his temple and squints. 18:35 <tom> "If we wanna get there in time to mop up we should probably hustle." 18:35 <Crion> Aster curses and runs to dive into the water. "Swim or go around!" 18:36 <banana> Somewhere, the TrackCheck whirrs and revolves on its gimbals, beginning to record. 18:36 <tom> "Are you kidding, man? Fuck. Okay, alright! God damn!" 18:37 <tom> God fucking DAMN IT 18:37 <tom> He kicks off his boots. 18:37 <banana> As Aster plunges into the water, Bob sees more guys coming out of the warehouse. Looks like they're here to back up the one with the knife. 18:37 <Crion> Aster is a very good swimmer. But he also takes out a mask and puts it on before diving in. 18:38 <tom> He'll tie the laces around his neck as he goes in. 18:38 <tom> This fucking sucks so much bro, holy. 18:38 <tom> He at least has the foresight to keep his visor above the water. Jesus, can you imagine? 18:39 <Crion> Aster emerges from the water, slicks off, throws away the mask. 18:39 <tom> Bob is spitting out canalwater and making horrible noises. 18:39 <Crion> Visually, he probably looks like more of an asshole than he ever has. 18:39 <tom> Bob, who already looked like an asshole: "Hohohohoh god." 18:40 <tom> "So what's step two, here?" 18:40 <banana> Here's the situation when Aster clambers out of the slimy water onto the wharfside cobbles. 18:41 <tom> He puts his boots back on and something slimy sloshes. This is awful. Everything is awful. 18:42 <banana> There are now five presumed starchildren out here. Two of them are in a boat; he can see Bob's "old guy", a man with huge dark eyebrows and a nest of slicked-back hair. The woman with him is barely more than a teenager and dressed as if being cold - you are very cold - is the worst thing anyone could experience. 18:42 <tom> So it comes to pass that Corporal William Goreman is shivering in the cold Manchester night, unarmed and soaking wet. 18:42 <banana> Neither of them is armed, but the old guy has both of his hands out, palm up, with crackling orbs of energy floating above each. One green, one black. 18:43 <banana> At the warehouse end of the jetty are three hard-looking blokes. They wear windcheaters and in one case a bandana. One of them is black and two white. All three are carrying knives and they're also scowling like they mean it. 18:43 <tom> I really wish I had my gun! 18:44 <banana> At the point of emergence, the original knife guy was yelling something like "-and it'll be the last time you-" but then: everyone turns to look at the guy emerging sleekly from the water and the other one floundering behind him. 18:45 <tom> "Hey kids." 18:45 <banana> Only Heavy Coat Woman looks younger than Bob himself. (As her concentration wavers, the yacht shifts a little.) 18:45 <tom> Bob's looking to Aster for direction here, like he's not the stupid asshole who basically suggested they do this. 18:46 <Crion> Aster: "Well now. That was fucking refreshing. Who here hates Benni?" 18:46 <banana> Orbs Man: "Welcome, comrade." 18:47 <banana> The dock goons focus on Aster. Their leader makes another one of those short cutting passes with his knife.. which turns out to be posturing rather than mental magic, but he says, "Fuckareya to be askin and fuckisit to ya." 18:48 <tom> "Woah hold on-" 18:50 <banana> The ones in the boat are clearly on your side here, but it also feels like they're sneering at you. This whole thing isn't the kind of trouble you were looking for. There's an impulse swimming up both hunters' limbic systems to blame all five of the weirdos. 18:51 <Crion> Aster: "You'll pay to find out. Stand there, don't do anything stupid, I'm going to talk to the old man and the kid. I'm already feeling like I don't like you, so that's how I know it's tense." 18:53 <tom> "Hey guys, come on now, don't let this get out of hand, it's not even Tuesday yet." 18:54 <banana> What are these guys seeing? Who is the bad/good cop routine coming from? 18:57 <Crion> Aster has never been the good cop in his life. 18:58 <tom> Bob's playing to type here. 19:05 <banana> The goons size up the situation. What are the credibility of Aster's threats and Bob's blandishments? Who are these men that just came out of the water? 19:05 <banana> They're kind of fuckin scary? The leader's already dropping back, lowering his knife. One of them glares at Aster, then drops his stare, but before he does- there's a Wintergreen interaction. 19:06 <tom> Can Bob see their cranial temperatures falling? 19:06 <Crion> A wwwwh-- 19:06 <banana> The glaring guy's is actually spiking. Eyebrow's Oldman brain is cooling down, though - the orbs of power are fading into nothing making cool 'pop' noises. 19:07 <tom> "Careful there, hothead. Don't wanna blow a gasket." 19:08 <banana> Aster was trained for this. Maybe he's even experienced it. It's still a shock, feeling his thoughts shaken between entirely incompatible mechanisms. (breaking the first the second the third). Two different foreign intrusions are briefly in charge of his psychology. (the fourth wall fifth wall floor no floor you fall). Parts of his interviews come back to him - and drown out the starchild's 19:08 <banana> noise. 19:08 <banana> He's alone again. 19:09 <banana> Goon Leader: "......Easy. Fuckin'.. easy." 19:09 <Crion> Excellent. 19:09 <Crion> All good here. 19:09 <banana> Mindreading goon: "He's serious. Knows what we are, maybe killed some." 19:10 <Crion> Is there a gangway up onto the boat? How's the kid handling this? 19:10 <banana> The woman in the boat whimpers. The man with her, now unadorned by fireballs, is solicitous, putting a hand on her shoulder - "We'll be leaving, then." 19:10 <banana> The goons didn't want them there but it's also not clear they want them to just leave. The situation is still a little volatile and nobody knows what's what. 19:11 <Crion> Aster will nod to the old man, then. Everyone getting a chance to cool off is the optimal outcome here. 19:11 <banana> In response to the nod, he snaps his fingers. Does Aster have a free hand? 19:11 <Crion> Two. 19:12 <banana> The goons have backed off a little and are rapidly conferring. They're saying they need to keep Aster and Bob here, to interrogate them, ideally interrogate everyone, but.. stopping the yacht from going is a serious risk. They seem to decide against it. 19:12 <tom> The odds don't favor us if the boat leaves. 19:13 <Crion> We'll deal with them in a minute. 19:13 <tom> "You wanna tell 'em about the thing?" 19:13 <Crion> No, let them take us to Benni. 19:13 <Crion> Let them find out how that conversation goes when they explain what we stopped them from doing. 19:13 <banana> The boat begins to swivel in the water as the young woman hunches in her coat - it'll start picking up the wind in a moment, so they'll be able to rapidly head west. The hawk-eyebrowed man moves along the rail to keep pace with the turn, still watching the whole situation - to Aster, he calls: "You did me a favour." 19:14 <banana> At the moment of the fingersnap, fire materialises in your palm. Not an orb this time, a traced outline - there's heat, shocking against the water and wind chill, but it's very brief. A rectangle of flame bursts into solidity and then there's a cooling, ash-edged business card. 19:14 <Crion> Aster nods again, and slips the card inside the gore-tex suit. 19:14 <tom> "Cool." 19:14 <tom> He squishes in his boots. 19:15 <tom> "Cooool." 19:15 <banana> Bob's less distracted, and the gang underboss approaches him first. "Ere." This guy is fairly large. He's still got a knife. "You may find it 'cool' but we need to know who yer are - now." 19:15 <Crion> Aster, without looking back. "You know Benni's wife? The singer. The one with the Calling." 19:16 <tom> "....You guys hang out with Rolf. Right." 19:16 <banana> Aster sees the yacht, released from a mental grip, begin to move. After a few seconds, neither of its occupants looks back. 19:16 <Crion> Excellent. He'll turn to face the goons now. 19:16 <banana> Thug: "If I knew Benni's wife, Benni would have me castrated. But I know Rolfie Hughes." 19:17 <banana> "Are you claiming we're some kinda associates?" 19:17 <tom> "I just got twelve kinds of cancer swimming here. Right now all I want to claim is a space heater, man." 19:17 <banana> One of the other two is watching the yacht go and filming it with a phone camera. Probably streaming to someone. The other, the mindreader, has also come up to talk to the hunters. 19:18 <Crion> Aster: "I'm claiming that you not getting into a fight that ends with an old man and a girl dead on your docks, let alone one of you, is the good way this ends. Especially since now you can blame us." 19:18 <banana> Thug: "Nobody's looking to get anybody killed, alright. That would be a crime." 19:18 <tom> "Then what the hell was that?" 19:18 <banana> "No, who the bloody hell are ya?" 19:18 <banana> "I'll start. Name's Bob." 19:19 <tom> "I too am Bob." 19:19 <banana> The Other Bob: "I mean... good. Ok." 19:19 <Crion> "Aaron Aster. I didn't see you at the stylist. Only Leon and Chex." 19:19 <banana> Mindreader: "Jaysus. Two Bobs." 19:20 <Crion> "And the kid." 19:20 <banana> Two of the three of them have put their knives away and they don't seem to be on the edge of violence... but they're not offering you hot showers. 19:20 <Crion> Good? 19:20 <tom> Hope the Free Bus doesn't mind him dripping all over the seat. 19:21 <banana> The Other Bob: "Anyone can say a bunch of names." 19:21 <Crion> Aster: "You've got a mindreader." 19:21 <Crion> "Ask him if I'm lying." 19:21 <tom> Bob begins thinking very stupid thoughts as a defense mechanism. It's not clear if this registers any different than usual. 19:22 <banana> Mindreader: "Yeah, I got his last few weeks. This guy's met Benni, and uh.." He's going pale in the wan light of the warehouse doors. "Uh, let's not fuck with him. There's other stuff.. I don't wanna know this." 19:22 <Crion> Aster smiles. 19:22 <tom> Get his ass. 19:23 <banana> His eyes have kind of closed. "It's just sensory stuff, man, I don't know why you were in all those places, I'm not gonna say anything, please don't.. tell any of those people about me." 19:23 <banana> Bob 2: "Huh?" 19:23 <Crion> ... "We'll get out of your way, now. See you around, other Bob." 19:23 <tom> "See you." 19:24 <tom> He'll kinda nudge Aster with his shoulder. "See, told you. Stopped two murders." 19:24 <banana> Mindreader: "Just fragments, really. Scenes. A patchwork. I.. Bob, I need beer. I need to forget." 19:24 <banana> He'll trail off if you're leaving. 19:24 <Crion> Doesn't seem healthy for him to stay. 19:24 <tom> Yeah it's time to go do Laundry. 19:24 <banana> A long, squelching walk west to the Barton swing-aqueduct? 19:24 <Crion> Sounds good. 19:25 <tom> He'll stick it out. 19:25 <tom> If it's still raining at least they shouldn't look much more miserable than usual. 19:25 <Crion> A nice thing about gore-tex is that the water really wicks right off. 19:25 <banana> Bob's got some notifications from Huntr, to which he didn't really have time to pay attention. 19:26 <tom> "Damn though you shook him up good." 19:27 <Crion> Aster: "I suppose so." 19:27 <Crion> Aster: "Perhaps that's enough for one night." 19:28 <tom> "Well, we're making progress. Do you think the thing in the water was related to that, or is fucked shit just really concentrated?" 19:28 <tom> "Probably not too shocking not many bloodsuckers are out in this weather." 19:28 <banana> The first track is for the old guy with the energy powers. The card in Aster's pocket says BOGDAN GEORGIOU, Mensa Merseyside. 19:28 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRw7LBzjLTo 19:28 <banana> "Start with the sting. An intrusion or a distraction, earlier than we expect." 19:29 <banana> wait, wrong youtube ;_; 19:29 <banana> here we go: 19:29 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsp3_a-PMTw 19:32 <Crion> Aster: "Your dogged devotion to the vampires of Manchester is fascinating. You know we just met the second faction of starchildren in this city?" 19:33 <tom> Bob is checking his ODIN which between the river and rain has been mercifully spared complete bricking. "We've got trackcheck coming up." 19:33 <Crion> "Oh?" 19:33 <tom> "Also you should see Carl then you'd get it," he replies. 19:33 <tom> "In particular I'm starting to get their whole deal is when you move in you gotta like, show up, kiss the ring." 19:33 <Crion> "The big one who looks like he's from a Japanese video game?" 19:33 <tom> "I hope I don't actually have to kiss a ring." 19:34 <banana> Next up on the track list is the moonchild on the yacht, who didn't speak. You don't know that her chosen name is TRACEY PALICO. 19:34 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joj4BqEfhis 19:34 <banana> "Never give up. Not even when you really should." 19:34 <tom> "Yeah dude he's Baron Eccles. Many people are saying it." 19:35 <Crion> Aster: "Well that would be contrary to the secrecy with which they try to conduct themselves." 19:35 <banana> The third guy you managed to get recorded was just barely close enough to the camera. Still, the rigged-up Gadget has spat out its opinion on THE OTHER BOB. 19:35 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCpOdB8lBvg 19:35 <banana> "He was also there." 19:35 <tom> "That's mean of the thing." 19:36 <tom> "Isn't it kind of freaky if this thing tells you you're extra? Like what does that say?" 19:36 <Crion> Aster: "That's why I don't let people point it at me." 19:36 <banana> The guy does have supernatural mind powers, you assume. Probably shouldn't totally write him off. 19:36 <Crion> He collects his coat from where he left it. "I'm going to get in a last run back home." 19:37 <Crion> "We should do this again, without the dangerous intervention." 19:37 <tom> "I'm not jumping in the canal again." 19:37 <Crion> Aster: "Make no promises, tell no lies." 19:37 <Crion> "Goodnight, Bob." 19:37 <tom> "Don't freeze. Peace." 19:37 <tom> He looks for a bus station. This is gonna be hard to explain.