10:08 <banana> The last flames of October are beginning to flicker and gutter out. Winter will soon be here. 10:09 <Crion> Oh, not you too. Samantha loved that stupid fucking show. Up until the very end, of course. 10:10 <VoxPVoxD> The ending was great, everyone's mad. 10:10 <Crion> Aster was simply glad to no longer have to hear about it. 10:11 <Crion> Does the Greybox actually have any form of parking? Probably not. And a bad neighborhood for it, too. 10:11 <tom> Bob is clean-shaven, slotting orange emergency flares into the shotgun's tube mag one at a time with a regular click in the back of his workstation. 10:12 <tom> Clean clothes, a new winter jacket in muted grey. Those same stupid sunglasses. 10:13 <hrolf> Rolf is in the common room as well, reading his phone over Bob’s shoulder and smirking. “You seen the news from Afghanistan mate? Fuckin Taliban savages. Wonder ‘ow the wokes square that, eh - what’s it to be, cultural sensitivity, or women’s rights?” 10:17 <Crion> Aster is there as well, engaging in the common recreation around the Greybox: pointedly ignoring anything Rolf Hughes says about things other than work. 10:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie spends the working morning juggling calls with her coworkers and her solicitor - well, the family solicitor. She's made a down payment on a lovely bit of land with some water. She can fix it up to be a little getaway, out of the city but close enough to commute. Or maybe a permanent residence if fleeing the city proves expedient. 10:18 <tom> Bob continues loading the shotgun. "They sent a few Valkyrie squads to Kandahar in '10. That's all I know about Afghanistan, man." 10:18 <Crion> Aster's biggest spend recently is sitting outside, backed up to the loading dock, with a boot on it -- one put on by Aster himself. He won't have his brand-new work van getting stolen by common ruffians. If they want it, they'll have to know how to defeat a boot AND hotwire it. 10:19 <banana> Fleeing is not yet necessary... but if you screw up this job, it might be. 10:20 <banana> There are millions of pounds on offer, potentially. The Gardeners, vampire nobility of the ancien regime, are missing presumed reawoken; Simpson Kirkpatrick wants them found and Sydney Damani wants them dead. You understand the politics enough to know it's deadly. 10:20 <hrolf> "Well, its gotten pretty bad. Biden's sendin troops back in again - about time if you ask me. We should be there too. Start up National Service again, give all the lads on the dole some Discipline." 10:21 <banana> This week is a good time to search for them, one way or another, and you'll want to survive - on the weekend, there's a party! 10:21 <tom> "Didn't you guys already have your shot?" 10:22 <tom> "Why would you wanna go back?" 10:22 <tom> "I say let the C.P.C have its chance." 10:24 <hrolf> Rolf: "'s exactly why, innit. The chinese will take over the place, and then next fing you know - they're spreadin' socialism over 'ere. We 'ad a close enough fing when the IRA lover was runnin labour. Too close for me, thank you very much." 10:24 <Crion> He's torn out the racks in the back, installed a battery backup and hook up to the van's own electrical system, and then spent a couple afternoons installing front furniture, a concealable gun rack, and an abbreviated analysis station with a slimcase PC setup and a satellite connection of reasonable security. Though they'll have to put a signal dish on the roof when they use it. 10:25 <tom> "Oh no, now they're gonna have to hold Blood Gulch. This is so terrible." 10:25 <banana> There's another matter this week, not directly related to the Hunt, but it may be related to survival, or at least to other potential work: Badawi's secured an appointment with the Liverpool Assemblies, spellcasting wizards who're willing to deal with ordinary souls such as* yourselves †. It's forty minutes by train - or Willie could drive them, since the new guy isn't here yet. 10:26 <Quaker> There’s a loud banging on the loading dock door. 10:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, blissfully, is not there to hear any of that nonsense, instead getting to talk to bureaucrats and lawyers all day until it's time to meet Badawi, either at the train station or at the Greybox. 10:26 <hrolf> A thought strikes Rolf. "Now I wonder how the wokes square that - socialism wif hijab characteristics, eh?" 10:26 <Crion> Aster, who saw her approach out of the van window, kicks the door open while pressing down the button. 10:27 <Crion> He's lab jacket off, sleeves rolled up. "Thank god you're here, Badawi." 10:27 <tom> "Yeah that's wild man," he mumbles, intensely furious at Aster for beating him to the door. He's trapped. 10:27 <Crion> "Rolf Hughes is talking Afghanistan." 10:28 <Quaker> Then Aster saw her approach driving the LuxVan. And following her… 10:31 <Quaker> A medium-sized man in a visored helmet and a red leather jacket parks behind her, killing the engine on his Honda motorcycle. 10:31 <Quaker> Looking through the visor, the man raises an open hand to Aster in greetings. ‘Asalaam walaikum.’ 10:31 <tom> "Bwoop bwooop security breach there's a normie in the Greybox," he singsongs. 10:32 <VoxPVoxD> Oh! It sounds like Badawi's new driver is in, so the Greybox it is. The front door buzzes as the man greets Aster. 10:32 <hrolf> Rolf frowns. "'oo's this then? 'e got authorization?" 10:32 <Crion> Aster: "Hello." To Badawi: "Have you cleared a new person with the people who actually run this facility?" 10:33 <tom> He's getting up- and away from this conversation, clearing the steps to go shake the dude's hand. "Bob Goreman." 10:33 <Crion> "I understand you like making Richard angry, and I sympathize, but--" 10:34 <Quaker> “Yes, I did,” she lies. 10:34 <Crion> Aster: "Good. Then I won't be getting any questions about it." 10:35 <Quaker> Badawi nods. “This is our new driver. Well, my new driver.” 10:36 <VoxPVoxD> Richard, perhaps in passive-aggressive protest, buzzes Willie in after about 30 seconds. "Hello hello~ oh! Wonderful!" 10:36 <VoxPVoxD> To the driver: "How do you do?" 10:37 <Crion> Aster will return to loading gear into the van. He's not about to start the briefing until this helmeted presence leaves. 10:38 <Quaker> The man in the red leather jacket takes his helmet off, revealing a slightly stooped man in his early 60s with a thick shock of combed white hair and an extremely full pushbroom moustache. “A pleasure to meet you all. My name is Amjad Fayaz. I have been driving professionally for thirty-five years.” He has a pair of buck teeth and a very ingratiating presence. 10:38 <Quaker> From his accent, it’s pretty easy to pick up that he’s Pakistani. 10:39 <Crion> To Fayaz: "I am Aaron Aster." To Badawi: "Are we safe to talk freely?" 10:39 <hrolf> Rolf takes a big sip of water from a glass on his table. 10:40 <VoxPVoxD> Lovely! "The pleasure is mine, Mr. Fayaz. Do call me Willie." 10:40 <tom> "I'm Bob!" Bob repeats. 10:41 <tom> "Does he know we're all sickos here, or it that gonna be an ongoing thing." 10:41 <Quaker> Badawi: “Anything you can tell me, you can tell Mr. Fayaz. We’ve worked together extensively. But if it makes you more comfortable…” She turns to her new driver. “Mind waiting a bit in the van? It’ll give you a chance to see what you’re working with. We’re going to go to Liverpool in half an hour.” She tosses him the keys, and he bows to the cell before leaving out the loading bay door. 10:41 <tom> is* 10:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's excited to meet some wizards! She's only had passing interactions with them, and Agostina's quite familiar... plus it's like a tiny road trip. Fun! But Aaron clearly has things to say, so Willie signals attention. 10:46 <Crion> Aster nods at Badawi's vouching for the man and returns to preparing his presentation. "As long as he knows we're going to be casually mentioning vampires, psychics, serial killers with co-location, faeries and etcetera around him and can handle it professionally, that's enough for me." 10:49 <banana> As Richard Haldane was busy preparing materials for the briefing Aster's having with Rolf and Bob, he wasn't actually aware of Fayaz's temporary appearance... but it can be remedied later. Once Willie and Badawi leave for a daytrip, the others can go through their plethora of leads. 10:49 <Quaker> Badawi: “He ran a werewolf over, once.” 10:49 <tom> "I promise to only ever bring in weirdos." 10:50 <banana> There's actually quite a lot to look into. Police reports, visual searches, finances and assets, research material from your clients... 10:50 <Crion> Aster: "We should endeavor to restrict access to this facility only to absolutely necessary personnel." 10:50 <Crion> To Richard: "Thank you, Richard." 10:50 <Quaker> Badawi: “Have you taken a train with the English? He’s absolutely necessary.” 10:51 <VoxPVoxD> Wow. 10:51 <Crion> Without looking up from his files: "Yes. I recall not getting a citation for disturbing the peace, for fun." 10:52 <VoxPVoxD> Are we taking the van, then? 10:55 <Crion> To Willie: "Willie! Good afternoon. Good luck in Liverpool." 10:55 <Crion> "Don't make the mages angry." 10:55 <VoxPVoxD> "I will do my very best." 10:55 <tom> "If they give you lip, hit 'em with a fireball. I bet they won't see that coming." 10:55 <Crion> "Unless you're sure you can kill them, of course." He smiles very slightly afterwards, to indicate he's very slightly kidding. 10:56 <banana> The thing about dragon-mages is... they can also throw fireballs. At least, Vivi's claimed to be able to do it. 10:56 <VoxPVoxD> They should try throwing one at Willie. 10:57 <Crion> Aster: "Alright. Hughes, Goreman. Gather around." 10:57 <hrolf> "Where we 'eadin?" 10:57 <banana> The M62 to Liverpool is pretty busy, so the trip will take a bit. How much has Badawi told Willie about where they're going... or Fayaz? 10:57 <tom> "Yessir," Bob snorts, hauling himself back up the stairs of the loading dock two steps a stride. 10:59 <Quaker> She’s probably told them ‘Liverpool’ and ‘Liverpool’, respectively. Octocat gave her the address? 11:00 <banana> She's looking for a converted loft, some sort of artists' space, above a brewery called Lead & Plutonium. 11:01 <banana> Once they get there, they're to ask for Sharpie or Guts, and the passphrase is "We are in the pay of Zinfandel". 11:01 <Quaker> … 11:02 <Quaker> Badawi: “Alright, Willie. We’re off. I’ll tell you where we’re going once we’re driving.” 11:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Right." 11:02 <Crion> He leads them through a brief, precise review of the literature -- here, the three animal attacks, two more over here, and then three more very scattered disappearances with no real clustering to them. He has helpfully mapped out the most efficient route to visit the site of all eight crimes. 11:03 <VoxPVoxD> This would be a pretty funny way to kill Willie. 11:03 <VoxPVoxD> Ugh. Stupid thought. Too much time with Bob. 11:03 <Crion> Then it's a brief refresher on the Gardener asset paper trail (the bank accounts; the safety deposit boxes) and a reminder of the vampires that might show up during the investigation by pulling out the Gardener family tree, though it's obviously of only slight use without pictures. 11:04 <tom> Bob takes the two halves of his shotgun and slips them under each arm of his jacket. 11:04 <tom> "Alright Aster, what've you got for us?" 11:05 <Crion> Obviously that line happened before all of the above. 11:05 <Quaker> Amjad is waiting for them in the driver’s seat. He’s actually circled the block and come back with some bagels and tea from the nearest breakfast shoppe. 11:05 <hrolf> Rolf is nodding. "Alright, 's pretty thorough. Good job Aster. Where to first, then?" 11:05 <Quaker> Badawi stops by his driver’s window. “Liverpool, pub called Lead & Plutonium. Drop us off two blocks away?” 11:06 <Quaker> “Of course, missus. Sounds excellent.” 11:06 <Crion> Aster: "We'll head to this animal attack, then move up to here, here, and so on. I've sent the information to the van so we can navigate on the fly. Gentlemen, in the parlance of the day, I want you strapped. Concealable, but armed." 11:06 <Crion> "No idea what's going to take an interest in our interest." 11:07 <hrolf> Rolf pats a bulge under his coat. "Already sorted mate." 11:08 <Quaker> The back of the van is still very luxurious. Badawi sits on a plush recliner. “The radio is all yours, Amjad.” 11:08 <VoxPVoxD> What a sweet man. Willie brought some work to do on the ride, so even if no conversation is forthcoming she can keep her mind from wandering towards imagining whatever outlandish criminal atrocity Mr. Fayad has surely experienced. 11:08 <Crion> Aster tosses Rolf the keys then. "You drive, Bob's shotgun, I'll be on the machine in the back of the vehicle. Play it cool if we get pulled over. I've got connections with local police and I assume Mr. Hughes has strings to pull as well." 11:08 <banana> Committed, perhaps? 11:09 <VoxPVoxD> 'Experienced' was a deliberately neutrally chosen verb! 11:09 <tom> Bob looks relieved. "Finally, something simple." 11:10 <tom> "I've got incendiaries." 11:10 <Quaker> The driver is already putting the name into his satnav console. “Good to meet you, Missus Willie.” He connects his phone to the van’s bluetooth: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a18py61_F_w 11:12 <hrolf> Minutes later they’re driving along, with Rolf going at least 30 over the speed limit. There’s sport on the radio. “…and its Foden to Grealish…Grealish to Gundogan…Gundogan back to Foden… Foden back to Ederson…he looks like he’s going to hoof it for a minute with Antonio trying to close him down, but its back to Foden on the sideline…”. 11:12 <Crion> Aster: "Hughes." 11:12 <Crion> "If you put damage on my vehicle I will put you in the hospital." 11:13 <VoxPVoxD> This is so nice. "What do you know about the people we're meeting?" 11:14 <hrolf> Rolf promptly slows the car down, and turns the radio up. He curses. “You ever seen that Simpsons fing where they’re just passing the footie back and forth? Complete tosh of course, its the beautiful game. But if there’s one team that plays like that, its-“ he switches to a mock Mancunian accent “-Manchester fackin Citeh. Fackin Pepball.” 11:15 <tom> "I've never seen a soccer game after I left school." He didn't say he graduated. 11:16 <hrolf> "We should go some time mate. This is football's 'home, after all." 11:16 <Quaker> Badawi has her eyes closed as she plays with the reclining function. “Not too much. They’re supposed to be friendly sorts. Interested in field research and actually talking to ghoulies and ghosts and all that. I’d think that our strongest leverage is our access to cases, seeing things up close. Maybe one of them will be willing to help us.” 11:18 <Quaker> “They belong to the Free Assemblies, which are separate but allied with our local sorcerors. Kind of a mildly sectarian thing. Not friendly to the Seers. So…maybe don’t bring up our work for Zeno. Or, don’t bring up that we worked for Zeno. Maybe killing spirits will impress them.” 11:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I had the impression that the Wolf-Mourners were a crossbench organisation. Does that not include the Assemblies?" 11:19 <Crion> Aster has spectrometers, a lapel camera -- actually a repurposed police body camera, but one of the better ones not intentionally designed to turn off when jostled -- and a bag full of other analytical devices, but it's his mind that's the key when they hit the sites in question. 11:19 <Crion> The Postcognition module...he activates it. 11:20 <Crion> After some initial canvassing, that is. 11:21 <banana> Crimes take place all over town, but the group you're interested in centers on a slice of the city from the clubby Northern Quarter to suburban Miles Platting in the northeast. The narrow geographic range is one reason that the Greater Manchester Police believe these attacks to be the result of some sort of wild animal, maybe even a wolf that's wandered in from the moors. 11:22 <Crion> It's never actually 'just a wolf.' But the creatures it used to be when it wasn't 'just a wolf' have vanished over the past fifty years, at least according to the literature...and the mages. 11:22 <Crion> So what have we here? 11:23 <tom> "Yeah man. Sounds like a good way to blow off some steam. ...No brawling, though?" 11:23 <tom> "I can't be gettin' my ass beat before missions." 11:23 <tom> Turning around in his seat to face Aster: "Does England even have wolves?" 11:24 <Crion> Aster: "Other than The Wolves of Willoughby Chase? Not many." 11:25 <banana> There are witnesses to interview (for Rolf to yell at), tracks for Bob to spot, clues and traces documents for Aster to examine. After a few hours of rounds, you're already convinced of one thing that the police just couldn't see: a human intelligence with superhuman strength is behind this. 11:25 <Crion> Well, that rules out the 'wolf,' but not much else. Maybe the psychics. 11:26 <Crion> Really does not seem like their scene. 11:26 <banana> Nobody who remembers anything saw more than one attacker, but the creature - the person - they describe made up for it in sheer prowess. The physical evidence is scarce, but consistent with sudden overwhelming force. 11:26 <Quaker> Badawi: “There’s the local Consilium, and the Seers. Opposed to each other, violently. The Free Assemblies sometimes work with the Consilium. I think the Wolf-Mourners are a strictly Consilium-Seer thing, but just between members. Like…us working with Rolf. I’d still kill all his friends if I needed to, but we work on specific things together.” 11:27 <banana> At one lucky location, an alley behind rowhouses in the northeast, there are fragments of bone that the cops missed. Splintered right out of someone's arm. 11:27 <Crion> Aster: "Gentlemen, please seal the alley both ways, and don't stop even if you hear me start hyperventilating or screaming." 11:27 <banana> Elsewhere, in Liverpool- are the hunters heading straight to the brewery? 11:28 <VoxPVoxD> "Right, yeah," responds Willie, like that's the most normal thing to say in the world. 11:28 <VoxPVoxD> I don't think we have any other stops, do we? Agostina has the itinerary. 11:28 <hrolf> Rolf: "On it." 11:28 <tom> Bob: "Yeah man. But if the screamin' goes on for too long I'm gonna go shove my shoe in your mouth so you don't bite your tongue off, okay?" 11:29 <tom> He spins and heads down the opposite way from Rolf to keep out lookie-loos. 11:29 <Quaker> Amjad: “Be wary of any sorcerors you do not personally know. They are civil, but scheme endlessly. A very human thing, to forget that you are human once you have stood on a peak above the clouds.” 11:29 <Quaker> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2purc8WbAls 11:29 <hrolf> He takes up a post at one end, leaning against a wall and leaving his coat casually unbuttoned with the butt of his pistol sticking out. Any casual trying to get in here is probably going to have second thoughts. 11:30 <Quaker> They do not have any other stops. How long does it take to get to Liverpool? 11:33 <tom> Bob leans out the mouth of the alley and fusses with his ODIN. "I think we might have a bit of a tail." 11:34 <tom> That goes out over the radio. They aren't on public relations tonight, so it's his his voice, uncoded. 11:34 <VoxPVoxD> Oh this song is much sadder. 11:35 <hrolf> Rolf: "I get that feeling too." He scans up, down, pokes his head around the alleyway, looking for movement, flashes of light from a binocular, sus bystanders - anything? 11:35 <tom> "Could be that Vie n' the WASC ('wask') are just keeping tabs on us while we work." 11:36 <tom> "Not gonna get bent outta shape over it unless I see something worse." 11:36 <banana> Rolf and Bob are on high alert as they wait. They can't see anything right now... but yeah, if they both think they've been watched, that's not safe to ignore. 11:37 <Crion> Aster leans down over the bone chips...and changes his approach. Looking around, he's not sure he's got enough of a scene here for the Postcognition module per se. And that one hurts to waste. 11:37 <hrolf> Rolf: "I don't like it." 11:38 <Crion> So instead he touches them, like he touched the hunting dog-man's anklet, and opens his mind... 11:38 <hrolf> To Aster: "'ow's it going in there mate? Might 'ave to 'urry it along." 11:38 <Crion> Is the person these bone chips belonged to dead? 11:38 <tom> Click: "We'll be outta here soon. Just keep an eye on the nerd- no don't bug him, he said not to bug him-" 11:38 <banana> Time to Liverpool is 30 minutes into the city and another 20 to find parking near Lead & Plutonium. The exterior of the presumed wizards' habitat is an old warehouse converted into a two-floor structure with separate exterior entrances; signs indicate the brewery (and its attached tasting restaurant) and the studio spaces. 11:39 <tom> "Keep your head on a swivel." 11:39 <Crion> It's fine. Aster's very good at ignoring Rolf Hughes when he needs to. 11:39 <banana> Willie's blood-senses aren't showing her anything odd here. The kind of power which Badawi's contacts call 'true magic' feels like nothing at all, if it's present. 11:39 <VoxPVoxD> No demons and no vampires... provisionally a good thing. 11:40 <banana> The alleyway crime scene is where one kid on a night out claimed his mate was rushed and taken by a 'beastie'. The bad news for those young men... and the good news for you... the beastie got him. He's kaput. 11:40 <tom> Bob retreats inside the mouth of the alley to limit his exposure, but he's got both hands in his pockets, just below the hidden halves of the shotgun. 11:40 <Crion> Was this person killed by a vampire? 11:41 <banana> Even better news. 11:41 <Crion> Aster stands. "We're done here. Back to the van. Are we compromised?" 11:42 <hrolf> "Something's up. Best not wait around." 11:42 <Quaker> Badawi: “Willie, can you give Amjad your number? For when we want to signal him to come around.” 11:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie writes it down for him. 11:43 <tom> Bob loads back up into the van. 11:44 <hrolf> As they drive off, Rolf picks up speed. He switches streets once or twice, doubles back, and takes a couple of aggressive U-turns to try and catch anyone following. 11:44 <tom> "First one was red. Small car, bright. Like lipstick red..." 11:46 <Quaker> “Alright.” Amjad lets them out a block away. 11:46 <VoxPVoxD> Exciting! 11:47 <Quaker> Are there stairs leading to a door above Lead and Plutonium? 11:47 <banana> The stairs up to the studio spaces were once a fire escape... which raises the question of whether the building is fire-safe now. The main door is unlocked, but it just opens into a tiny little lobby structure that's been built out of plywood to hide away the rest of the loft. 11:48 <banana> There's a window, which opens from outside the booth. Once Willie and Badawi step in, someone comes over and rolls it up - a squat young woman with a nose ring and crop top. "Eh?", she says articulate. 11:48 <banana> ly 11:49 <banana> The most recent of all the reported attack scenes is a back garden up in the suburbs, a fully detached home with a small patch of land and what was formerly a carefully tended vegetable patch. It's all torn up now. 11:49 <VoxPVoxD> Agostina's doing the talking here, right? Willie's happy to, but she just assumed. 11:49 <banana> The homeowner is a Dr. Megan Meadows, whose guest was attacked, but survived. At this time of day, there should be nobody home... but the hunters have been followed here. They saw a green car pretty clearly, several people inside. One of the ones Bob spotted earlier. 11:50 <banana> Having reached your destination with the tail just half a block back, how are you going to play it? 11:50 <Crion> Aster: "How do you two feel about making them take this one on the chin?" 11:50 <Crion> "I have no patience for footsy." 11:51 <tom> ...How many people is 'several'? Bob will try to give 'em a once-over with the ODIN. "Oh no, please, don't make me humiliate any of the local shitkickers." 11:51 <tom> "Anything but that." 11:51 <Crion> Aster: "Park over here, we'll get out and wait for them." 11:51 <tom> Bob laughs. 11:52 <hrolf> Rolf duly pulls over. The van is parked at an annoying angle that will force passing cars in the next lane to have to illegally switch to the other side of the road to pass it. 11:53 <Quaker> “Hello. We’re friends of Octocat and Vivi from Manchester. We’re in the pay of Zinfandel. Looking for…” She sighs. “Sharpie and/or Guts.” 11:53 <Crion> Aster pushes open both the back doors of the van and hops down onto the street, hands in his lab coat's pockets. 11:53 <VoxPVoxD> They're not *that* much dumber as sobriquets than Octocat and Vivi... 11:53 <Crion> What time of day is it? We're not looking at the vampire itself, surely. Ghouls or something else, then? 11:54 <Crion> Blood slaves should learn to tread carefully around them, and there's no time like the present. We are not the same. 11:54 <banana> The woman acting as a receptionist says, "Hey, I hadn't even asked who you work for yet. I'm Sharpie, or I was... I go by Quill recently. Just a sec." 11:55 <banana> She steps around the side of the entry booth and unlocks the door, allowing you into a wide space that's something like an art gallery. There are paintings and sculptures, but they're on easels or freestanding; the walls are largely covered in doors into more private spaces as well as shelves of equipment and tools. There's a kitchen complex up one end, with a whole lot of ratty sofas surrounding 11:55 <banana> a nearby table. 11:56 <Quaker> Badawi turns to Willie. “I had heard the North was going through some deindustrialization, but I had no idea it was that bad.” 11:56 <tom> Bob follows the good Doctor, hands tucked into his pocket. If anyone's looking, they can see his lips are pursed beneath the mirrored lenses. 11:56 <VoxPVoxD> How's the kitchen? To Badawi: "Vintage is very 'in' right now." 11:56 <banana> There are two others visible in the gallery space, washing some dishes. They look over curiously, but are too far away to actually call out. (It's large, but not very modern). 11:56 <VoxPVoxD> Is this some kind of... cooperative? 11:56 <banana> Quill: "So, you're in, but who are you? Welcome, I should say. And who are you?" 11:57 <Crion> Aster lights up a cigarette. 11:57 <hrolf> Rolf has his pistol in hand, under the coat. 11:58 <banana> The hunters' artfully positioned van forces their tail to stop halfway up the street. It's sleepy here, this afternoon, but cars do go past every few minutes. You won't be alone for long. 11:58 <Crion> That's fine. 11:59 <Crion> If they're just going to sit there, Aster will begin to walk towards them. 11:59 <banana> Three people spill out of the car to make six of them. Two guys and a woman, all middle-aged and bearded (albeit slightly in the latter case). 11:59 <tom> Bob checks for weapons as soon as they open the doors. 12:00 <banana> One of the men is wearing a leather jacket, which makes him cool (and warm). He looks muscled but not exactly fit. Keeping one hand clenched around something in his pocket, he says: "Uhh. So you're the ones poking your.. you're doing something unwise, mates." 12:00 <Crion> Aster: "And what do you intend to do about it." 12:00 <hrolf> Rolf: "Oh? Says 'oo?" 12:01 <banana> Weapons: yes. The other guy's visibly armed, and the woman has something on a strap around her body. 12:01 <Quaker> “We work for the Nameless House, in Manchester. Partners with Strangeways Retrieval on some things. We’ve got some work and some information, and we thought your organization might find it interesting. The Manchester Mysterium said you were friendly and trustworthy, and offered to put us in touch. I’m Badawi, and this is my partner….” 12:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Willie Wellesley. How do you do?" 12:02 <Crion> Aster: "I work under license and consignment. I work for money. I do good work. I'm on a job. I know who has my back here, and with the police, and with the people who own the police. I'm covered." 12:02 <Crion> "Can you say the same?" 12:02 <banana> Quill: "Hey, nice to meet you. Partners like business or?" 12:02 <banana> She walks as she talks, more energetic than she first appeared, ushering you over to one of the side rooms. This one's door is open, so you can see it's empty apart from a table and a few nice but aged chairs. 12:03 <Quaker> “Like business.” 12:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods. 12:03 <Quaker> “But…no problem with gay people.” 12:03 <tom> Bob: "I'm Bob." 12:03 <banana> Quill: "Cool. We are definitely both friendly and trustworthy, and we are- lol. Uh, thanks for making it explicit, though this is 2021 so I was just kind of assuming." 12:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie gives Quill an encouraging, 'do go on' sort of look. 12:05 <Quaker> How could anyone have a problem with gay people? *Alberto Fernandez’s* son is nonbinary. 12:06 <banana> "Anyway, 'my organisation' - we're Anartists. The Colourless Green Ideas. Sad to say you might not know that name yet, but we're also proud supporters of the Free Councils." 12:06 <banana> Quill: "Of which I imagine you have heard, and whom I imagine you came to see." 12:06 <VoxPVoxD> Oh wow. 12:07 <Quaker> “We did. But…if you don’t mind filling us in on your actual structure. We’re more used to the traditional organization back in Manchester. Bit fuzzy on who belongs to what out here.” 12:08 <banana> The bearded.. gang? frown at Aster, and Rolf, and pay a little less attention to Bob. The frontman says, "You shouldn't be worried who's covered here. Here's who's telling you you've gone wrong..." He raises a fist and clenches it. The others do the same. 12:08 <tom> He smiles. "Just a heads up, kids, I'm kitted with incendiaries so if you guys wanna throw down, there's a pond down the way you can jump in." 12:10 <banana> All three of them concentrate with varying levels of effort. Sharp metallic claws slide implausibly from each one's knuckles, splitting skin without breaking it- they look exactly like Wolverine from comics. 12:10 <tom> "Are you people fucking kidding me?" 12:11 <tom> "Oh my God, dude, I am going to kill you idiots so hard if you test us." 12:11 <Crion> Aster: "Do you want to die here in the street." 12:11 <banana> Frontman: "Let's not decide who's going to kill who just yet." 12:11 <banana> "Here's the deal... you people. What do you call yourselves?" 12:11 <Crion> Aster: "We represent the House." 12:11 <hrolf> "The Night Watch." 12:11 <tom> Bob glances over to Aster, then Rolf. 12:12 <tom> He snorts. 12:12 <Crion> Aster kicks Rolf in the shin. 12:12 <Crion> Well, no he doesn't. 12:12 <Crion> But he wants to. 12:13 <Crion> Aster: "The House of the Night Watch. It's not important what we call ourselves." 12:14 <banana> Quill takes a seat, and a moment to get comfortable. She swivels back and forth for a moment then rests her elbows on the table, looking at Badawi and Willie with undisguised interest. "Sure, like. You've come at a good time for an exchange of information." 12:14 <banana> "It's pretty obvious that the two of you are not Awakened? No offence. But you're working the Underground?" 12:14 <hrolf> Rolf: "'s right. What's important is that this is probly the point where you fuck off before we get upset." 12:15 <banana> Bearded woman: "Ha! If anyone's fucking off.. it's not gonna be Clan Gangrel." 12:15 <banana> A name you know, but it's evident these people are not vampires. 12:16 <Crion> Aster: "You're not vampires." 12:16 <Quaker> Badawi: “We’re specialists. We take urgent jobs from well-heeled clients that require a certain finesse. And discretion. But no, we’re both Sleepers.” 12:16 <banana> Bearded frontman: "That's broadly right. We're loyal servants of a great power... greater than your House or Watch or whatever. We're here to deliver a message, and the message is you're making a big mistake." 12:16 <Crion> Aster: "You're not vampires." 12:16 <Crion> "The vampires are going to be angry you're running around pretending to be vampires." 12:17 <banana> The front guy sneers, waving his single clawed fist. "Tell it to Stella Savoy." 12:17 <banana> "Oh and, uh, Stella Savoy has something... to tell you." 12:18 <banana> "This job you've taken on.. speaking of pretending to be vampires. Don't. It's for them, the masters, not something you should touch." 12:18 <Crion> Aster: "Great." 12:18 <VoxPVoxD> "For all intents and purposes, yes, you should treat the two of us as ordinary mortal humans." The subtext is there. Willie's not going to spell it out explicitly, because then it looks like she's countermanding Badawi, which undermines their position. 12:18 <Crion> "Thank you. Now we've got a name to work on." 12:19 <Crion> Aster waves the cigarette. "As for the rest, either let's do this...or get out of the street. You're blocking traffic." 12:19 <Crion> Ghouls. 12:19 <banana> There actually is a four wheel drive visible far down the road. Half a minute away at most. 12:20 <Crion> Turning and walking away. "Tell the Primogen if she has a problem with us she can take it up with the Constable. I have rights and standing, and I'm on his work. She'll know what that means, even if you don't." 12:21 <tom> Bob pivots on his heel after him. "So, of course, they're also all up in each other's shit, huh," he hisses. 12:22 <hrolf> Rolf: "Told you so. Don't truck wif vampires." 12:23 <tom> As soon as he he's hauled the sliding door shut: "I am not gonna get driven off by their version of mall cops. No sir." 12:23 <banana> The Gangrel Ghoul Gang... trail after you, jeering. "Listen to the old guy!" "If you don't anyone up in yours, don't get up theirs!" They're not attacking, just straight up walking up to where you are and remaining there. 12:23 <Crion> Aster isn't even getting back in the van. He's going to take his bag and start heading for the garden. 12:24 <tom> Bob shakes his head, pops out the follower spring on the magazine, holds open the catch, and ejects the emergency flares onto the floor of the van. He's loading the last of the buckshot shells into the shotgun as he's joining Aster in the garden. 12:24 <tom> Fuck around and find out, guys. 12:25 <banana> Quill: "Cool, cool. Can't show you much magic then, but- let's start with the basics like. You do know about magic. How about the Big Lie?" 12:25 <Quaker> Badawi: “We are aware of the Seers, yes.” 12:26 <banana> There's a large window in the meeting room-studio, and the room where you're idly chatting to a presumed wizard is full of light. Elsewhere in the loft you can hear a little bit of chatter and a few odder noises, fizzling and something like a steam whistle. Maybe that's from the brewery downstairs. 12:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "We are eager to learn." 12:28 <Quaker> Badawi nods. “We are. In a mutual exchange, if we can. That’s why we’re here.” 12:28 <Crion> Aster, taking his bag out of the van, turns to the leader. "Here's a thought:" 12:28 <tom> Bob grins. 12:29 <banana> The biggest man raises his eyebrows, a surprisingly eloquent gesture. Then his eyes roll back into his head; he shrieks like a deflating balloon and crumples into a shallow sleep. 12:29 <Quaker> “Our work has us interacting with odd sorts and interesting things frequently. Strangeways thought your circle might find some use in that. Plenty of opportunities for field research for the enterprising sorceror.” 12:29 <hrolf> Rolf, looking in the rearview, sees an opening. He slips into reverse gear and slams on he accelerator, towards the stunned group of wannabe Toughs. 12:30 <Crion> Aster, to the woman: "The thought is: take your man and get out of here before I let these two get far more serious than the splitting headache he'll have when he wakes up." 12:31 <tom> The man in the visor cackles like a jackal. 12:31 <banana> The woman snarls and raises her fist- and sees the van begin to accelerate. "Ah Jesus." 12:31 <Crion> Aster raises a hand. Hopefully Rolf sees it before he hits them as well as the ghouls. 12:32 <banana> The other guy grabs his friend by the ankles and starts dragging. She reluctantly but very rapidly joins him. "You mortal cunts will get it- you don't know who you're disobeying. This is super deeply unwise." 12:32 <banana> The two conscious ones will swear and rave, but they'll go if you let them. 12:32 <tom> "Be safe, kids." 12:32 <Crion> Aster: "The Primogen has my e-mail if she needs it." 12:33 <tom> It's already over, but now Bob's On. He's breathing hard. 12:33 <banana> Quill listens to Badawi's pitch. "Yeah, could be. Maybe even some inspiration in it. OK, let me give you the sell- not that I'm asking you to sign up for anything, this is just how we see ourselves, etcetera." 12:34 <Crion> Aster spikes and snuffs the cigarette. "Finally. Back to the real work." 12:34 <Crion> Unless Rolf decides to run him over with his own van of course. 12:34 <hrolf> Rolf leans out of the van and gives them the bird as they scarper. "DON'T LIKE IT UP EM!" 12:35 <Crion> For once, Aaron Aster is in full agreement. 12:35 <tom> Bob follows Aster out onto the grass. 12:36 <banana> Quill: "Long story short: hundreds or thousands of years ago, evil wizards tried to seize power from a putative God or Gods, conquering the heavens. At this point in time, magic - which is real and amazing was something anyone could do, a truth inherent to all human beings." 12:36 <banana> "Though some people weren't very good at it, and the mage-lords who built the Silver Ladder were extremely good, or extremely evil looked at another way. Here's the thing: they succeeded." 12:37 <banana> "Took over the higher realities, kicked the ladder down behind them - which fucked everything up as it shattered - and now true Power is something only a very few can attain with luck and determination, following fleeting beacons in the wilderness of the outer spheres." 12:38 <banana> "All of this may be familiar to you, if you're magic bounty hunters, or if you've read Zinn." 12:39 <banana> With the "Clan Gangrel" heavies gone, the investigating hunters are alone in Dr. Meadows' wrecked garden. 12:39 <Crion> Surely the lady of the house is still in the hospital and no else is about to accost them? 12:39 <tom> "...There was a survivor, yeah, for this one?" 12:40 <tom> "You said the garden got all tore up?" 12:40 <banana> According to the police reports, a woman was attacked here just last night - cut up by a knife or claws and almost dragged off into the night. Only the fact that her host was an M.D. saved her from bleeding out. 12:40 <banana> There was an interruption, according to the report- a second visitor arrived, interrupting the attack, and the creature or burglar may not have liked their odds at that point. 12:41 <Crion> Lucky her. 12:41 <banana> The third person was actually herself a cop, so this whole thing is recent and well-documented. There's still tape on the house back door and there were squad cars here this morning, while you were going over the places that cops weren't actively searching. 12:41 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. You know that bit I said before? About how I might start making noises, screaming, etcetera." 12:41 <banana> However, they've left by now - there isn't a lot of actual evidence. 12:41 <tom> "...Does it hurt?" 12:42 <tom> Bob puts his hands on his hips. 12:42 <Quaker> Badawi: “I have heard roughly that, yes. Though I’ve only read Samir Amin, not Zinn.” 12:42 <tom> "You know, when you do the thing." 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What do you see as the *role* of your true magic in a world bled of its potential?" 12:42 <Crion> Aster: "Reliving the last five minutes of a near-fatal brutalizing by what's obviously a personal embarassment to Stella Savoy, Primogen of the Gangrel of Manchester? Yes, I suspect it will hurt." 12:43 <Crion> Aster: "I suspect this is not the Gardeners, but we must know for sure." 12:43 <tom> "Alright, let me know if you need like... a water bottle or something." 12:43 <tom> Bob is already turning to take up a position to intercept any random pedestrians who wander too close. For now he'll take a little stroll through the torn-up garden. 12:43 <banana> Quill, to Badawi: "Nice. There's a lot of 'roughly' going around... something which isn't generally clear to people who work with us but are not of our Order is that this stuff isn't an approximation or a half-remembered recounting. It's literal demonstrable truth, although the demonstration is not convenient." 12:43 <tom> Any sign of any digging? 12:43 <hrolf> Rolf: "I'll stay lookout again." 12:44 <banana> To Willie: "We keep the flame alive, like the Atlantean Diamond does, but we go beyond them and make use of it. Having found magic in the world, we believe in doing things that are only possible with magic. Study, experimentation, science and art." 12:45 <Crion> Aster: "Thank you, Mr. Hughes. Mr. Goreman. Please don't touch me, even when I start to bleed." 12:45 <Quaker> Badawi: “Could you elaborate on your specific relationship with the Free Assemblies? How does that…work.” 12:45 <tom> ...Bob will make sure he picks up some cottonballs from the shitty little medical box under the van's front passenger seat. 12:46 <Quaker> “We don’t want to waste your time if tagging along on a mission to either kill or retrieve feral elder vampires isn’t your ‘bag.’” 12:47 <hrolf> Rolf: "Shouldn't we let the bloodsucker DCI or wotever know asap. Just in case, like." 12:47 <Crion> Aster's eyes have rolled up into his head and he's gone into the recreation of the past. 12:48 <tom> Bob replies over the radio: "Let's let the nerds handle it dude, we're tac-team. If anything goes wrong we can cut ties." 12:49 <banana> Aaron Aster's at Megan's place. Things are kind of awkward now that you know Sarah will be over later. Where exactly do you stand? Or sit, rather - there are deckchairs out here in the garden, and at least it's comfortable, the cold night air a nice counterpoint to warm bathrobes from the spa trip. All around you are plants and snails that want to eat the plants. 12:49 <hrolf> Rolf: "Well, like. Those lads let slip 'oo wanted us off this. We're a loose end right now innit. Should tighten it up soon eh?" 12:50 <banana> Just Aaron on the deckchair and nobody else out here. Maybe nobody else coming. It's quiet, there's time to look around and think, to notice out of the corner of your eye the fence bending flat into a ramp. 12:50 <tom> "...We've got enough hours of daylight left to get it sorted. Anyone good enough to waste us won't be up for a time." 12:51 <tom> "....Besides, I'm pretty sure Letitia and Suzie like me." 12:51 <Crion> There's always this moment. The detachment of knowing it's coming. 12:51 <tom> It's a good thing Aster's not conscious to hear that one. 12:51 <tom> "You guys might be shit outta luck though." 12:51 <hrolf> "Wouldn't let your bint 'ear that." 12:51 <Crion> Because that's the thing: he gets total awareness of the scene all at once, through the timeline. It's impossible to surprise him when the creature appears, but he can still feel the instinct. 12:51 <banana> Motion, impossibly rapid- half the fence is down. A path torn through the cabbages. Someone's on you, an attacker, home invader, a monster - you call for help, terrified by clear, try to fight back. You work out, run in the mornings, swimmer's body, but she's impossibly strong. 12:52 <Crion> It's vestigial though. Ah. Here it comes. 12:52 <tom> "She knows I'm only joshin'." 12:52 <banana> It's a woman, maybe? Thin and wearing something like a tracksuit, kind of sexless, not tall, holding and tearing and breaking. There is a great deal of pain. It's hard to tell what is happening to your body. You cling to the ground, to carrots and leaves. 12:53 <banana> The door's standing open with light spilling out. Megan's hit the thing with a chair and it barely moved. You're hoisted into the air, arms useless now. Consciousness is coming in blinks between gaps. 12:54 <banana> The fence digs into your side. There's a gunshot. More. You hit the ground, or it hits you. 12:54 <Crion> Interesting. He can vaguely feel his throat gurgling. 12:54 <tom> Bob's made his way to and back from the van. He's got the little army-green plastic box in his hands, and he's furrowed his brow in concern while Aster... convulses? 12:54 <Crion> The Gardeners, he suspects, would not be caught dead in tracksuits. 12:55 <banana> One last clear image: her face, blank, mildly disappointed. The woman's moving away at that same incredible clip while the others rush towards you and scream things. She didn't even bleed, just disappeared into the night. You can't feel either of your hands. 12:56 <Crion> Does Aster recognize her? 12:57 <banana> In the moment, no. He only experiences pain, Sarah's bloody hands, Megan doing something that puts him to sleep. No more. 12:57 <banana> But as he returns to an awareness of his own self (we stand around while you dream you can almost hear our words but you forget) it comes to him. 12:58 <tom> When Aster comes out of it, Bob's looking down at him with those stupid fucking sunglasses. He's got a spool of gauze that he's unwrapping with some concern. 12:58 <banana> Tracksuit or no, that was the face of the woman in the hats. Expressionless, thin and pale, dead eyes - and undeniably Ruth Gardener. 12:58 <banana> One of them's alive. 12:58 <Crion> Apparently one of them has been caught dead in a tracksuit. 12:59 <Crion> Aster: "Ruth Gardener did this. We are on the correct -- ah, fuck -- track." He begins unbuttoning his shirt as he stands, and will accept the gauze from Bob -- he's bleeding into his undershirt, from his chest. "Let's get back to the Greybox and reset." 12:59 <hrolf> Aster wakes to the sound of a GB news anchor launching into a tirade about vaccination mandates on Rolf's phone. 13:00 <Crion> Ah, we're already on our way. 13:00 <banana> Quill blinks a couple of times. "Er... feral vampires, no, not my bag personally. But you know, we do have some people who just kind of love an excuse for a fight." 13:00 <tom> "...How bad was the attack, you think?" 13:00 <banana> "When I say 'we'..." 13:00 <tom> He follows back to the van. "...She gonna make it, you think? The victim?" 13:01 <Crion> Aster: "Would have been fatal if not for police and medical intercession. Gardener is playing for keeps. Got a good look at her face. Unsure if she's in a fugue state or if vampires just look like that during their butchery." 13:01 <hrolf> Rolf whistles as he sees the blood. "Dunno what the voodoo is mate, but doesn't look like somefing you wanna do too often in one day. Let's get you 'ome, eh?" 13:01 <Crion> "Yes please, Mr. Hughes. That would be good." 13:02 <tom> Bob will hand Aster an unopened water bottle from from the front seat. 13:02 <tom> "I heard it helps with blood loss." 13:02 <tom> "A bit of that goin' around.." 13:02 <banana> Quill elaborates: "The Free Council is a big-arse group. It's just an umbrella organisation for us, mages, to share information and cooperate on things, or to resolve disputes that affect us all. For that purpose we've got Assemblies, tiered local democracies. We anartists send a delegate to one of those, as do other groups in the area, and the assemblies all contribute a delegate to a city-wide 13:02 <banana> institution." 13:02 <Crion> Aster: "It's possible she was simply interrupted before feeding from her kill -- I don't know how they decide to do it -- but there was no attempt at the classical sucking of blood. Just pure animal violence." 13:02 <banana> "Mages are just people... people with magic. So there's someone into anything, even vampire hunting. Probably not very many people; vampires are dangerous." 13:03 <tom> "Freaky shit." 13:03 <Crion> "One assumes that GMP has people who know what vampire attacks look like. That these are all classified as animal attacks..." 13:03 <Crion> "We can make a broader inference that none of these have been feeding attempts." 13:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What does it mean to create magical art?" 13:04 <Quaker> Badawi: “It’s not just vampires. We handle whatever clients request. There’s…” She pulls a sheaf of photocopies from her satchel. “We’re looking into some Star Children, as well.” 13:04 <Crion> Finishing up with his wounds: "Stella Savoy obviously knows something. I'm unsure the degree to which I want to poke that beast, however." 13:04 <hrolf> "What's the point then? Or is she just gone cukoo?" 13:05 <Crion> "We've already got two bidders involved here, we hardly need a third." 13:05 <banana> Quill sniffs happily and her face lights up a bit. "Anart is like, anarchy through the medium of art. What we do is create works which create an impression or make a point... literally. It's common to ask 'is this art', yeah? What CGI asks you is, 'is art this'." 13:05 <tom> "So, like," Bob turns around in the passenger seat, narrowly avoiding pinching his balls against the catch on the back half of the shotgun in his coat. "So they're not dead-enders, but they're also not even feeding, just, what? Is there something the victims.... have in common?" 13:05 <tom> "You're our Dracula expert, Aster, does this sound like anything?" 13:06 <Crion> Aster: "Not geographically, I assume not from circumstance either...targets of opportunity. It sounds like the behavior of a rabid animal. Again, Clan Gangrel being involved is therefore not a huge surprise." 13:07 <Crion> Aster: "I have some very sketched-out suspicions, but they don't have evidence to them yet. It's worth noting that the Gardeners are not Gangrel." 13:07 <tom> "Yeah but... not even feeding? Would they go nuts and then not eat?" 13:07 <tom> "Freaky." 13:07 <hrolf> Rolf is typing into huntr: "ileads followed...attck by lads (savoy), fuckd them up....gardener sighting confimed...need cross ref victims of attks @richard thx - rolf" 13:07 <Crion> Aster: "What if they feed by consuming meat? Like animals?" 13:08 <banana> The good news about the confirmation of Ruth's involvement is that if you can follow trails from any of these attacks, there's a good chance they lead you in the right direction 13:08 <banana> . 13:08 <banana> Quill: "Hey, do you want to see a piece of mine?" 13:08 <Crion> Aster: "The hypothesis I'm sketching involves the Gangrel doing something foolhardy to the Gardeners' corpses after coming into possession of them...and the Gardeners coming back wrong." 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie, eagerly: "Yes." 13:08 <Quaker> “Of course.” 13:08 <tom> "Fuck, that's not good." 13:09 <tom> "Oh, fore I forget, Rolf, I got a lead on your elf problem." 13:09 <hrolf> "Yeah?" 13:09 <Crion> "Do I have evidence to directly support that? No. But what I do have is a Gangrel goon squad with more aggression than sense and a Mekhet elder in a tracksuit mindlessly gutting humans without a lick of stealth or self-preservation." 13:09 <Crion> Aster frowns. "Hughes's what now?" 13:10 <tom> "Liam's a Londoner. Recent arrival. I'm gonna put out some feelers after Samhain, see if I can work something out so nobody gets shit-stomped." 13:10 <banana> "Alright!" Quill gets up rapidly, although she's not super fit so it could be rapider. "This is partially finished.. out here, I've got the end studio.. this is going to be an installation at the University, on the Heath." 13:10 <hrolf> Rolf blows up. "'e's 'ere? In manchester? Gimme his facking address." 13:10 <Crion> Aster doubts that's the desired outcome from-- "Rolf, why are you trying to shit-stomp a changeling?" 13:10 <tom> "I don't know it yet bro calm down!" 13:10 <hrolf> "'e owes me five thousand pounds and an apology." 13:11 <Crion> Aster: "I assume it's the apology that counts." 13:11 <tom> "Lemme just-" He looks at Aster- save you from getting killed- "Save him from you, okay." 13:11 <tom> "You'll get your money." 13:12 <tom> "...Sorry, I'm gettin' off topic..." 13:12 <tom> "So, can you like, tell, if Mrs. Gardener's... there?" 13:13 <banana> Haldane sends through information on the attack victims. The main thing that connects them seems to be geography- they come from all walks of life, or all walks of life who might find themselves alone in northeast Manchester. 13:13 <tom> "Or is this uh, fuck, what's it called? The Dicaprio movie? With the bear?" 13:13 <VoxPVoxD> While following Quill, Willie takes her phone out to check and see if there's any updates in Huntr, and also to peek at Quill through TrackCheck. 13:13 <Crion> Aster: "No. Like I said, I don't know if she's in a fugue state or if she's simply a dispassionate psychopath by nature." 13:13 <Crion> "She is a vampire." 13:13 <Crion> "I can reasonably infer that this is not how anyone is accustomed to her feeding." 13:14 <tom> "It doesn't seem very efficient." 13:14 <Quaker> Really? ‘Star Children’ didn’t get a bigger response? 13:14 <tom> "I hope Sarah can still use her arms..." 13:14 <hrolf> Rolf: "Feels like, whatever the toff bloodsuckers want. We're gonna end up wastin' 'er. Doesn't sound she can be reasoned with, like." 13:14 <VoxPVoxD> No matter how keenly interested someone may be in the world around them, at the end of the day everyone wants an excuse to talk about themselves and their interests. 13:14 <Crion> Aster: "Likely not. Our wildcard here, even if we write the woman off, is her husband." 13:15 <Crion> "Remember, these have all been singular attacks." 13:15 <Crion> "He is less likely to see the wisdom in putting her down like an animal." 13:16 <tom> "Unless he's even more a dead-ender than she si." 13:16 <tom> is 13:16 <hrolf> Rolf realizes he needs he needs to take a left turn sharpish, and abruptly cuts off an Aston Martin in the adjacent lane to take it. He gives the driver the bird out his window at the sound of indignant honking. 13:17 <Crion> Aster: "Well if he's actually just dead, that's an easy million." 13:17 <tom> "...So what's she look like?" Bob chuckles. "Might have to make an ID myself, you know- what." 13:17 <banana> Quill is showing off four large pieces of painted plasterboard, each depicting a Simpsons-like cartoon figure - man, woman, boy, girl. They all look very similar and they're dressed conservatively, with happy smiles. 13:17 <banana> The TrackCheck shows you: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX3iLfcMDCw 13:17 <banana> "Waste is just another form of subversion. The drive for efficiency is anti-humanity." 13:17 <Crion> Aster just manages not to bang his head against the van wall. "Fuck's sake, Hughes." 13:17 <Crion> "Learn to drive." 13:18 <banana> Quill: "I'll put the husband up on the big fountain with the others at his feet, probably. Depends on when we can sneak this stuff in. Try touching the pieces." 13:18 <Crion> Aster: "She looks like the painting of her. Except in a tracksuit. Taller and rangier than I'd have thought. Shorter hair? Perhaps just tied back." 13:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie touches the girl. 13:19 <VoxPVoxD> Or tries to, anyway. 13:19 <banana> The paint is dry and the plywood is sturdy. Her hand tingles for a moment. 13:19 <Quaker> Badawi lets out a very, very long internal sigh. 13:20 <Quaker> Anarchists. 13:20 <tom> "Hm." 13:20 <banana> When she takes it away, there's a moment of nothing, then... little green waves are coming off her arm. Actual sine-wave-shaped lines of green-yellow light, squiggles in the air. 13:20 <banana> Quill: "It's called The Nuclear Family." 13:20 <tom> Bob rubs the bags under his eyes. "So she's killing people, but, she's not drinking any blood. And the attacks aren't in one spot." 13:20 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Blimey. Am I-- are we--" 13:20 <tom> "So she's just... going out to random places, spying on people, trying to pick 'em off?" 13:21 <banana> "Irradiated! But it's modified. Won't damage your cells, shows up visible spectrum instead." 13:21 <hrolf> "Might not be so random." 13:21 <VoxPVoxD> She doesn't sound frightened or upset. She looks fascinated. 13:21 <banana> Quill: "Spreads to anything you touch for a while, then anything that touches, or they touch..." 13:21 <tom> "...Maybe they do eat meat, shit, I don't know fuck all about vampires." 13:21 <Crion> Aster: "We have no specific reason to believe she is doing anything so considered and intentional as 'spying' or 'trying to pick them off.'" 13:21 <hrolf> "Maybe the victims knew fings? Dunno what the teen lad might know though." 13:21 <banana> Quill: "Totally harmless, virally visible, and it will set off a geiger counter." 13:22 <Crion> Aster: "No offense to you or, frankly, me, but I want Willie on hand before we interview any victims." 13:22 <Crion> "People actually like her." 13:22 <tom> "Not just people. Haha." 13:23 <tom> Bob gulps. 13:23 <Crion> Aster: "No, mostly just people. Animals despise her." 13:23 <banana> Someone else has come up to the studio door, which Quill left open. A middle aged guy, just watching the conversation - he chuckles at the sight of the squiggly 'radioactivity waves' emanating from Willie's arm and dissipating harmlessly(?) into the air. 13:23 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Is it meant to satirise traditional family values? Patriarchy throwing off, you know, alpha particles?" 13:24 <hrolf> "Think 'e meant her vampire friend." 13:24 <Quaker> Do not talk about politics. Do NOT talk about politics. 13:24 <Crion> Aster waves a hand. "Vampires are people. Being people isn't special." 13:24 <Quaker> She successfully does not talk about politics. 13:24 <tom> "...You guys should ask her about Kagemenauch some time." 13:24 <banana> Quill: "Something like that. There's a half-life, so anyone you irradiate will only have the effect last half as long.. you could think of them as the betas." 13:25 <tom> If they ask after it, he'll just shake his head. 13:25 <Crion> Aster: "What?" 13:25 <Crion> "Spell that." 13:25 <banana> Wizard in the doorway: "Not coherent." 13:25 <banana> Quill: "Ah, but the stimulated gamma rays are." 13:25 <hrolf> Rolf "Point of view innit? They ain't Our People at the least." 13:25 <tom> "I c-can't, dog! I can barely say it!" 13:25 <Crion> Aster: "Spell what you just said." 13:26 <Crion> He isn't getting into this conversation with a guy who doesn't think the Irish qualify as people either. 13:26 <hrolf> A thought strikes Rolf. "Wonder what the wokes would fink about vampires. People 'ave a right to not be et, but what about the poor vampy's right to live, eh?" 13:26 <tom> "...K...A...G..." Bob squints. 13:26 <tom> "...E? It's an E or an A." 13:27 <tom> "M..." 13:27 <tom> "...Eunach." 13:27 <tom> "I don't know dude! why you gotta call me out!" 13:27 <Crion> Aster, still looking at Bob: "I don't fucking care what college students think about vampires, Mr. Hughes." 13:27 <tom> "She didn't like, say how it's spelled! She just had sketches." 13:27 <hrolf> "Oh its not just the college cultural marxists mate. They're everywhere now." 13:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie turns around to greet the new wizard. "How do you do, sir?" 13:28 <Crion> To Bob: "You understand that my whole skillset is crossreference of information, right? Even the mages agree: knowing how a thing is spelled is incredibly powerful magic." 13:28 <Crion> He's written down a number of permutations. 13:28 <tom> "Well I didn't ask! So I can't help you, because that'd be a f-fuckin' weird thing to ask while she's spilling her Traumas to me." 13:29 <VoxPVoxD> It wasn't traumatic! 13:29 <hrolf> "That'd make dictionaries the most powerful spellbooks in existence, innit?" 13:29 <Crion> Aster: "You told me to ask about it. So I asked about it." 13:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's fine. 13:29 <Crion> To Rolf: "Smartest thing you've said in some time, Mr. Hughes." 13:29 <tom> "I said you should ask her!" 13:30 <tom> Bob fumes, crosses his arms over his chest. The jacket is poofy. 13:31 <banana> Is this whole argument taking place in someone's turf-ridden and wet back garden? 13:31 <hrolf> No, in Rolf's car. 13:31 <Crion> In the van, heading back to the Greybox. 13:31 <hrolf> Or rather, Aster's. 13:32 <banana> The new wizard says: "I do well, thank you. Name of Hyperclasm. Patrons, Quill?" 13:33 <banana> Quill: "Guests, but we might end up working together. They're vampire hunters and miscellaneous service providers. Do you guys do illegal art installation?" 13:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie glances at Badawi. If we did, this would be her field. 13:33 <Quaker> Badawi: “We do, if you can pay. Our minimum fee for any job is one million pounds.” 13:34 <tom> Bob has time to unfold the now completely fucked Bingo card from his pocket and jot down a few marks. https://i.imgur.com/iyLSTRU.jpg 13:34 <tom> Then he'll enjoy the ride home. 13:34 <banana> Quill: "Well, I'll let you know if we need something set up inside an RAF base." 13:35 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Ahah. I'm curious, who's paying you that kind of money?" 13:35 <Quaker> “Pleased to meet you, Mr. Hyperclasm. Is Guts out at the moment?” 13:36 <Quaker> “The Night Court of Manchester. Star Children smugglers. And the Wolf-Mourners, previously.” 13:36 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Guts is our fearless leader. He led his way into some pull's bed last night, and has not yet led the teleport of shame home." 13:36 <VoxPVoxD> Ahah. 13:36 <VoxPVoxD> No Guts, no glory. 13:36 <banana> Quill: "You're really getting between worlds there. There's probably a lot you're learning that you could sell... to some of us, for example." 13:38 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "We think so, yes. And we can do so directly, by allowing you to send observers and colleagues on our missions, if you desire." 13:38 <VoxPVoxD> "I imagine your trained eyes will be worth more than any after-action reports we could come up with." 13:40 <banana> Quill: "What's the catch there, that whoever's on the mission is on the mission?" 13:40 <banana> Hyperclasm: "I'll let you and the Family catch up." He turns away. 13:41 <VoxPVoxD> The Family? 13:41 <VoxPVoxD> Oh. 13:41 <Quaker> “Any interest in elder vampires, Mr. Hyperclasm? Or Star Children? Or…elves?” 13:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie's got her phone out again. What does TrackCheck say about Hyperclasm's back? 13:45 <Crion> Aster spends the ride back writing on the computer in the back of the van, and when they park at the Greybox's loading dock, he sends that stuff to his computer in his workspace and stiffly walks in to keep writing on it. 13:45 <banana> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpzbMLDliyI - "With a long enough lever and a place to stand, you can see forever. Don't substitute Pulp Fiction version, we can't get the rights." 13:46 <tom> Bob drops off his shotgun into his locker in the loading bay. He's gonna set up the others' later once he has Haldane's permission. 13:47 <banana> Richard Haldane's busy when the hunters return - he's often busy these days filling various forms and making phone calls. As usual, he sets them aside to greet people, offer them tea and in this case ask about the investigation. "Mr. Hughes' message," he notes, "spoke of unusual excitement." 13:49 <Crion> First an e-mail to Constable Damani, detailing the day's actions both as a matter of investigation and against the ghouls representing Clan Gangrel, written dispassionately and honestly, making it clear that he didn't start the fight but that he did end it and he welcomes further discussion on both counts with the Primogen if that's an issue. Second, he will pull up DS Walker's e-mail and 13:49 <Crion> pass along his assessment of the crime scenes in question -- including the Meadow scene -- while redacting anything that's too obviously court-political. For instance, he won't cop to knowing who Ruth Gardener is, or give her name. 13:49 <banana> Badawi practically chases the older wizard out the door; he stops retreating and sits on the arm of one of the many sofas in the gallery space. "All of those things are interesting. How have you encountered them and survived?" 13:50 <tom> He spends a moment collecting up all his loose flares that have been rolling around under the passenger seat since they met the ghouls, then heads into the greybox, whistling, with his coat thrown over his shoulder. 13:51 <Crion> He will, however, note the ghouls that tried to interfere with him, the make and model of their vehicle, and mention they aren't to be trifled with. 13:51 <Crion> (They are, of course, just not by regular police officers.) 13:51 <Quaker> “We work for the Nameless House. We’re the best at what we do.” 13:52 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Fascinating that I haven't heard the name. Less. Where are you located?" 13:53 <Crion> To Haldane: "I had to spare a thought for a man pretending to be a comic book character." 13:53 <Crion> Aster: "Worse, Hughes introduced us as from 'the Night Watch.'" 13:53 <Crion> "Right after I said we were from the House." 13:53 <banana> Haldane: "Which means he probably thought you were also cosplaying." 13:53 <Crion> "So now there are vampire flunkies out there who think we're from the House of the Night Watch." 13:54 <banana> Haldane: "Well, we know who we are." He frowns. "Or who we think we are." 13:54 <VoxPVoxD> Do we? 13:54 <Quaker> “We’re out of Manchester, as we were just telling Ms. Quill. Neighbors to Strangeways, who we work with on occasion. Newly established, but made up of extremely capable veterans in our respective fields.” 13:54 <banana> "Hello, Bob." Since there are a few of them here... "Would you care for a clue?" 13:55 <VoxPVoxD> Just who the hell do we think we are, exactly? 13:55 <banana> Speaking of Quill... she's going to keep showing Willie art pieces unless stopped. 13:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie is very curious! And it seems like Badawi has that man in hand. 13:56 <tom> "I'd always love to get a clue." 13:56 <tom> "None've stuck yet, though." 13:56 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Always nice to see an enterprising... house. Do you have business cards?" 13:56 <VoxPVoxD> We do, actually, but they're technically just samples Willie's done up since she hasn't run them by the whole group yet. 13:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie probably showed them to Agostina on the ride, though. 13:57 <banana> Richard: "Well, this is a clue we already had, but I've made it easier to read. I've extracted the encrypted family tree off Willie's phone and put it together on a bit of A3." 13:57 <VoxPVoxD> When they're somewhat separated, she asks Quill, "Suppose that I *could* be exposed to more delicate magic. Suppose I was not a 'sleeper'." 13:58 <banana> With a flourish, he produces a roll of paper and then pins it up beside the map on the big board: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/family-tree.html 13:58 <Quaker> Badawi: “I think Miss Wellesley does.” 13:58 <tom> "Oh fuck that's Suzie, isn't it." 13:58 <Crion> Aster: "And there's a Barrigan on here." 13:59 <banana> Little post-it notes go on the thing, corresponding to the notes Simpson Kirkpatrick added. "Agatha is available for an interview at your convenience -Weaste". "Do not speak to Samwise - he or she is acute, and loathes us. -Weaste". 13:59 <Quaker> “So, Anartists…know anyone in Liverpool who would fit the description of intrepid researchers who would be interested in accompanying us out in the field?” 14:00 <banana> The whole thing is entitled HOUSE GARDENER OF CLAN MEKHET, but it's partial according to another note. "Any childer sired in the last forty years aren't in my records. -Weaste" 14:00 <Crion> Aster: "If it's the same Barrigan, he's certainly old enough not to clear out teenagers himself." 14:00 <tom> "Shiiit, Nineteen Eighteen?" 14:00 <Crion> "But maybe it's not." 14:00 <tom> "...Doing pretty good for a hundred." He whistles. 14:00 <Crion> Aster: "Focus, Bob." 14:01 <tom> "Yeah, yeah." 14:03 <Crion> "I wonder if Ivan died in the Civil War. Final Death, that is. That's what the 'f.' and dotted lines mean." 14:04 <tom> "You mean, ours?" 14:04 <tom> "Huh." 14:04 <Crion> Aster: "Date doesn't mean much else to me." 14:04 <tom> "Whole lotta eighty-fours, yeah." 14:04 <Crion> "And it is the only one here that isn't positively Orwellian." 14:06 <banana> Badawi gets the mages back on track eventually - Quill is showing off magic art, and Hyperclasm is trying to probe her for information. But they do return to the topic of who might help with fieldwork. 14:07 <banana> Everyone's out on the sofas now, which is drawing interest from other people who wander into the building or out of studios. It's unclear how many mages work here, but some also live-in. 14:07 <tom> "...We could always talk to Ms. Cutsworth." 14:08 <Crion> Aster: "I could. You would be staying here for that." 14:08 <banana> Quill: "So for general wizard warfare, you want a different Order to ours.. the Adamantine Arrow are dedicated mage-soldiers. But they don't work with outsiders. We can point you to two cabals who might be interested in this stuff." 14:08 <Crion> "She has to file a report if she tries to mind control me." 14:08 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Two?" 14:08 <Crion> "You are not so sacrosanct." 14:08 <banana> Quill: "There is also Team Aquarius." 14:09 <banana> Hyperclasm: "..." 14:09 <Quaker> That sounds like hippies squared. 14:09 <banana> Quill: "Team Aquarius are not very friendly. They'll fight things for payment, though. Probably not a price you'd want to pay." 14:10 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Are they affiliated with the starchildren?" 14:10 <banana> "Yeah, I think so. They're free councillors like us, but they do some sort of mentallist business." 14:11 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Interesting. We'll happily take both referrals, if they're on offer." 14:11 <Quaker> “Wait…Merseyside Mensa?” 14:11 <tom> "Why don't I get a report." 14:11 <Quaker> “Or something like that?” 14:11 <banana> Quill hasn't heard the name. She looks at Hyperclasm, who seems to have a broader knowledge.. though he also seems less interested in sharing it with you guys, at least as a leisure activity. 14:11 <Crion> Aster: "You haven't literally signed yourself over to the Wise and Solemn Court, after meeting all of its various and sundry babes in the Free Trade Hall after midnight." 14:11 <Quaker> See, she *does* read the reports Richard makes. 14:11 <Crion> "And no, I can't facilitate that." 14:12 <tom> Bob narrows his eyes, puts on a slight smile. "...Oh, so you're joining Willie in the cold cuddles club. I can respect that." 14:12 <banana> The other mage reluctantly answers: "...no, that's a different group. Aquarius are.. selfish, which is fine, that's part of our charter, magic isn't communism. But they work with criminals. The star-child group is an outfit from your city called the Athletics, who manage part of a smuggling route. Dope, tass, eye of newt. Maybe worse things." 14:13 <Crion> Aster: "I would be much more popular with the vampires if that were the case." 14:13 <banana> "Here at the port end, they work with what I will charitably describe as our people. But not people I know personally, or want to." 14:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "More mercenary than militant." 14:13 <Crion> Aster: "I'm also given to understand that they at least pretend to be alive during sex. Though I don't know why I'm telling you that. You'll take it as encouragement." 14:14 <banana> Quill: "Yep. I will give you, in exchange for the art appreciation, the name of a nicer guy." 14:14 <Crion> "I assume the spider-woman keeps you in line." 14:14 <Quaker> “You frown on working with criminals?” 14:14 <Quaker> And just what is wrong with crime…? 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> Well, the whole kitchen needs to be ripped out and replaced for a start. 14:15 <banana> Quill: "I frown on smuggling heroin, which kills people, and stolen tass, which kills the world." 14:15 <banana> "You'd do better to contact Zebek Trajan and his partner. They're explorers, basically; of this world and others. I bet they'd be into your deal, help us out in exchange for seeing and taking advantage of interesting things." 14:15 <Quaker> Badawi nods politely. “Noted. The nicer guy sounds like the better option.” 14:16 <tom> Bob, grinning the biggest shit-eating grin: "She likes to keep me on a tight leash." 14:16 <Quaker> “Partner as in business…?” 14:16 <banana> Quill grins: "Yes, but they are also gay." 14:16 <tom> "So what's the plan, man? You wanna follow these leads, I can cool my jets, take a break." 14:17 <banana> Hyperclasm: "People should just get married now that it's legal. If they want to, I mean. This kind of clinging to what used to be a necessary fiction just keeps them set apart from the mainstream." 14:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That sort of arrangement is much more in the spirit of what we were hoping to achieve. A shared broadening of horizons, and deepning connections within the night-city." 14:17 <Quaker> “What’s Zebek’s partner’s name?” 14:17 <Quaker> “Or night-cities, in this case.” 14:18 <banana> Quill: "Daniel. He's some sort of immortal cultist. Not a mage per se, but he keeps up." 14:19 <banana> "Question." 14:20 <banana> "Do you just.. go around meeting people with supernatural powers and asking 'em stuff?" 14:20 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Whenever possible, yes." 14:20 <banana> Quill: "And that works? I mean, it's working on us. We like talking about ourselves." 14:20 <Quaker> “Though it depends on the supernatural powers in question.” 14:20 <banana> "But some of the things out there, like the vampires and the changelings and the demons..." 14:21 <banana> Hyperclasm: "And the Seers. They don't like talking about themselves." 14:21 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles. "...are also people, and whatever their need for secrecy, they still desire to be known." 14:21 <VoxPVoxD> "We aim to foster broad, respectful relations with as much of what you call the Underground as we can." 14:21 <Quaker> Badawi: “It turns out that apparently the changelings love talking about themselves more than you could possibly imagine.” 14:21 <VoxPVoxD> "It is the cornerstone of our ethos, and our business model." 14:22 <Quaker> “Also, vampires love to show off and lecture.” 14:22 <banana> Quill: "Maybe you disarm people because you don't read as dangerous. Although..." 14:22 <Quaker> “No offense, but you all kind of do. Present company very much excluded, for which we are certainly grateful.” 14:22 <banana> Hyperclasm: "You finally noticed? After hanging out with her in small rooms for an hour and a half?" 14:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "And you, here, labour on behalf of humanity at large--" 14:22 <VoxPVoxD> She looks from mage to mage. "I'm sorry?" 14:23 <banana> Quill looks at Willie again, eyes changing in a nonlinear fashion. "Huh." 14:23 <Quaker> Badawi: “They’re pinging your blood, I believe.” 14:24 <VoxPVoxD> "...ah." 14:24 <banana> Quill: "Blood, is it?" Her face does something else again. It doesn't make a lot of sense, to Badawi; Willie thinks she sees a sort of zoom lens effect, eyeballs shrinking into themselves and taking on rotating rings of light. 14:24 <Quaker> “The Nameless House has particularly talented members, yes. All of us.” 14:24 <banana> "Well, at least you aren't with the Father!" 14:25 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I am ever so curious as to what you two are seeing right now." 14:25 <VoxPVoxD> The Father? 14:25 <VoxPVoxD> ...Satan? 14:26 <banana> Hyperclasm: "It's just generic stuff. That is, I'm not doing anything but look at you with supernal senses, so I see what I'd see about anyone - the mass of your bones, the weight of your soul on scales. When you'll die, that sort of thing. But in your case... Willie, was it?... the bells of Pandemonium toll when you speak. It is the tongue of devils." 14:26 <Quaker> Badawi whispers quietly to Willie: “One of the very most powerful Seers. The top ones all have names like Tarot cards.” 14:27 <banana> Quill: "Don't be a dickhead!" 14:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Ah. Yes." 14:27 <banana> "Don't try to intimidate or show off to these guys, they came here in good... faith, or something, maybe not the right word." 14:27 <VoxPVoxD> "Have you heard of the Lucifuge?" 14:27 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Yep. If you've survived her, you're one of less than a thousand, aye?" 14:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes, sir." 14:28 <banana> Quill: "I'm going to have to pick your brains on that... dickhead." 14:28 <banana> To the hunters: "He scries. Like, on everyone, all the time." 14:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I would be delighted to engage in a free and fair exchange of knowledge some time. And I would very much like to see more of your art." 14:28 <VoxPVoxD> "But I think we must be off." 14:29 <banana> Quill: "Oh, sure, sorry." 14:29 <Quaker> Badawi: “Yes. But just one or two more questions, before we are.” 14:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie doesn't seem to be in any rush. 14:29 <banana> Quill, to Badawi: "Right, yes. You're pretty much right... God the Father. One of our four chief enemies. Sort of. We leave them alone as long as they leave us alone, which they don't." 14:29 <Crion> Aster, to Bob: "I need some rest, at least. And some time for the Court to respond." 14:30 <Crion> He thinks for a moment: "...For tonight, at least, I will rough it on the couch here." 14:30 <Crion> "Just in case Stella Savoy comes looking." 14:30 <Quaker> “Well, if you ever need help killing Him, you have our card.” 14:30 <Quaker> “Are you…friendly? With the Wolf-Mourners?” 14:31 <Quaker> “We know they are a bit…ecumenical.” 14:31 <banana> Quill: "I've heard the name, don't know any. What they do is good work, though." Hyperclasm has nothing to add this time. 14:31 <Quaker> “Does the name Janissary mean anything to you?” 14:32 <banana> Quill's expression goes grim as she nods. Hyperclasm nods grimly. A random wizard passing on her way back from the toilets also nods, in a particularly grim fashion. They know Janissary. 14:32 <VoxPVoxD> How very grim. 14:33 <Quaker> “Ah. Well, we were warned off of him. Them. Just trying to find out why, exactly.” 14:34 <Quaker> “But I’m sure that’s for when we’re all better acquainted. We’ll be off. And thank you, really, for your hospitality.” 14:34 <Quaker> She makes sure she and Willie get all their information exchanged. 14:34 <VoxPVoxD> This was fun! 14:34 <Quaker> “If you’re ever in Manchester, ring us and let us take you out to lunch. Happy to treat friends.” 14:56 <banana> When Willie gets back in the luxury van, her whole seat starts emanating comical squiggle-waves into the air. They're larger in proportion to its size, and look like stink-lines in a detergent advertisement. 14:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie really likes Quill.