09:40 <banana> Manchester, November 3rd. Winter by the faerie calendar, autumn according to the government. Either way it's cold, and the days last barely eight hours. Perfect vampire weather. 09:40 <banana> The Gardener affair is... not exactly out of control. Nothing new has really happened, and you're still trying to get a concrete location of the presumed lair. But there is a general sense of increased urgency. Is the Nameless House dictating the pace of events? 09:42 <tom> Gotta keep up the tempo. Gotta keep up the pace of operations. Can't lose the initiative, become reactive. That way lies certain defeat. 09:43 <tom> Oh yeah, and Bob's back in a manic phase. 09:43 <Crion> Aster forwards the e-mail from Stella Savoy to the rest of the team with a curt note to review its contents for their next sitdown. 09:44 <banana> The cell has two solid leads, and a forming plan. Over in the eastern CBD is Seveneaves, an office building which was once apartments, and a former bolthole for Alex Gardener. In the west of the city is the Manchester Museum of Hattery, containing an ancient fashionable veiled and feathered thing once worn by Ruth. 09:44 <tom> The new drone- CHERUB, stenciled carefully into the foam fuselage- sits ready at Bob's workstation, the slender wings flexing their ailerons while Bob troubleshoots the controller. 09:45 <banana> If you can secure the hat, your mercenary mage-allies should be able to use it to find its owner. But first, there is the question of how to surveil Seveneaves... and that one email. The only communication you've had from the vampire Court recently. 09:49 <tom> Bob leaves the greybox with the drone and returns without it, strolling back to his station to review the camera feed. 09:49 <Crion> Aster's intended response, which he'll share as a way of opening the floor, is a straight-forward and honest reply, possibly somewhat snippy, which will immediately give them clarity on where the WASC job offer stands as both legitimate work and something they can get out of. Damani doesn't have the legal power to summarily swear him to silence, and even if he did, he never executed it. 09:49 <hrolf> Rolf is reading the email on his phone, mouthing some of the words occasionally and frowning slightly. He finishes and looks up, incredulous. “Oi! So we’re being threatened by these fangfuckers FOR doing their dirty work? Bloody cheeky! Getting mixed in their business was a fahckin bad idea…” 09:50 <Crion> Aster: "We are not being threatened. Reading between the lines, Damani is being threatened." 09:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie’s at the email meeting. She can’t really do anything at Seveneaves right now, especially given how worn-out she looks. ”I think the email from Savoy is interesting because it implicates the Constable in, if not a cover-up, at least a lack of transparency.” 09:50 <VoxPVoxD> “Yes, quite.” 09:50 <Quaker> Badawi is sitting in the back of the cleared-out work van, which is parked a few blocks away from the Museum. Amjad is napping in the front seat while she studies blueprints. 09:50 <hrolf> "We're not being threatened? 09:51 <hrolf> He turns to Aster. "Weren't you there when they sent those goons after us?" 09:51 <banana> As usual, Fayaz doesn't know much about what you're doing... but he knows how to drive, and how to wait. 09:51 <VoxPVoxD> “We’re not important enough to threaten, yet. Merely to menace.” 09:51 <Quaker> In front of her is the full spread of her work tools, lockpicks to voltimeters to glasscutters to climbing equipment to elixir ingredients. She’s carefully going through the very last, mixing and pounding various powders and unguents in a mortar and pestle before scraping the resulting material into cans and tins. 09:51 <tom> If Badawi gave Bob the go ahead, a new wifi device, "CHERUB", will ping her phone as the drone circles invisibly overhead. Back at the greybox, Bob is fiddling with a stack of new radio equipment on his desk. 09:51 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. As I recall, I brutally incapacitated one as a warning to the others. Savoy recalls it too, because that's the source of the respect in her opening sentence." 09:51 <VoxPVoxD> Though that might change depending on what Councillor Barrowsmith says about Samhain. Maybe it’ll be nothing! 09:52 <Crion> Every day it's nothing is more ominous. 09:52 <tom> "That's just usual vampire shit, you know... they'd probably catch an ass-whooping if they didn't be snitty to us." 09:52 <tom> "So they caught a Talon instead." He shrugs. 09:52 <hrolf> Rolf: "Pack of cunts." 09:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie makes a face. 09:53 <Quaker> Amjad wakes at the sound of the notification on his phone. “I believe Mr. Goreman’s new device is operational, Miss.” 09:53 <tom> The Huntr app's received an update. There's a new streaming feature that opens up a greyscale box of... buildings, flipping periodically to infrared and back. 09:54 <Crion> Aster: "We'll respond firmly and if the Wolverine Squad bothers us again this time we'll leave the woman awake to drag the bodies of the men back." 09:54 <Crion> "And if there's a third time, there won't be a fourth." 09:54 <tom> "That's awful considerate of us." 09:55 <tom> "Think they'll be reasonable about it?" 09:55 <banana> Where's C.H.E.R.U.B. going today, then? Is the idea to get an aerial view of the hat museum before heading off to Seveneaves? 09:55 <Crion> Aster: "Murdering people in the street in the middle of the day is a poor habit to get into even if they are blood slaves. I don't want to take that step lightly." 09:55 <Crion> "As for them, they'll do as they're told. So it's up to Savoy." 09:56 <tom> Yeah, just the standard casing job. Power junctions, guard rotations, the like. There's not a whole lot you can get from the bird's eye view, but every bit helps. 09:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”This is an opportunity to greatly simplify the Gardener case; it would’ve been politically untenable to simply act as if we had never agreed to the deal, but now that we have a false pretence to point to...” 10:00 <banana> Badawi gets a lot of messages for a woman without an easy way to read them. While she waits, presumably uninterested in vampire politics, she's also got some updates from Richard - the results of his initial research into the cult of Khemut-Re, and an appointment for her requested catchup with Sourjack. 10:00 <banana> Your mysterious neutrefactor will be available by phone all day on Thursday (that is, tomorrow) or if you need information sooner he would be happy to reach out by 'less-professional means'. 10:00 <VoxPVoxD> I bet he would. Prick. 10:01 <tom> The drone hangs around for a few minutes, enough time for Badawi to get what she needs, then disappears from Amjad's phone as it dips out of range, taking a sweeping arc over the Irwell and back toward the city center and Seveneaves. 10:02 <tom> It stays in the low-hanging clouds, below the air-traffic radar. 10:02 <Quaker> Well, Badawi was suggesting it on behalf of the rest of the cell, so she’ll wait until tomorrow. 10:03 <banana> The possibility Willie identifies, ditching the Court side of the deal... is that something you're actually going to do? If so: when, and how? 10:04 <VoxPVoxD> That’s not up to Willie. This is Aaron’s show. 10:06 <Crion> It is something we are going to do if and only if the situation becomes much clearer on the WASC side that they can do so without a reputational hit or other reprisal. In other words, he wants to see how this Damani thing plays out. 10:07 <Crion> Meanwhile, we continue to work the case. If they attack us and we defend ourselves -- and we should now be traveling properly kitted to defend ourselves when making excursions -- these problems solve themselves. 10:10 <tom> Bob taps a button on the console, and the drone falls into a lazy orbit over the buildings while the onboard cameras begin to calibrate. He goes for a cup of afternoon coffee. 10:11 <Crion> Aster gets the working van up and ready to join the luxury van outside the...hat museum. 10:11 <tom> Bob piles in. "...No guns, right? Right." 10:11 <Crion> Bob can monitor his drone using the terminal in the back of the van and the satellite uplink, if he wants to save his data plan. 10:11 <Crion> Aster: "No. We're now bringing guns." 10:11 <tom> "Cool." He has one anyway. 10:12 <banana> That leaves Willie and Rolf... who are charged with persuading the wizards to actually make use of the antique you're hoping to obtain. 10:12 <Crion> "Keep them stowed, but we now travel like we might be fighting a vampire elder at the end of the trip." 10:12 <tom> "It's good to be back." 10:12 <Crion> Aster makes a noncommital noise and throws the van into drive. 10:13 <tom> He'll keep an eye on the monitors. 10:14 <VoxPVoxD> So what’s it like riding passenger side in Rolf’s car? How clean is it? Does he have the radio on? 10:17 <hrolf> The range rover hums as they drive along the M62. It's pissing down on the way, but Rolf blithely continues at 40 kph over the limit, closely tailgating the cars that refuse to get out of his way, and honking repeatedly till they get the message. The car itself is suitable for human habitation, but the back and trunk is tightly packed with Equipment. 10:17 <tom> Bob: "So, uh." 10:17 <tom> "...You and Doctor Blackfin, eh? Ehhhhh?" 10:17 <hrolf> Some sort of podcast is playing on the audio. The hosts are talking about a Mussolini being elected the mayor of Rome, and they seem fairly happy about it. 10:18 <Crion> Aster: "That's not a question." 10:18 <Crion> Aster: "You should be very careful with your actual question." 10:18 <banana> The Manchester Museum of Hattery had the misfortune to open in April, 2020. The grand opening was followed by an emergency closure and fifteen months of dust. 10:19 <tom> Bob already has what he needs. He laughs it off. "It's cool. I hope she enjoyed the party." 10:20 <VoxPVoxD> “Right. Couple of things. The wizards in Liverpool are communists; some of them are gangsters, some of them are artists; there are a series of ‘assemblies’. The plan, I think, is to offer a quid pro quo - we give them information and they give us information.”Willie’s got an earbud in the ear that’s facing away from the driver. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL8mZrEfrxg 10:20 <VoxPVoxD> She can just about keep her attention off the absolute bollocks on the radio. 10:20 <banana> The whole thing is a converted factory - possibly a hat factory - which has been fronted by a cafe-shop. It's all dirty brown brick - lovely stuff once, before decades of industry. 10:20 <banana> https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/h-frontage.jpg 10:21 <banana> They'll be open until 5:30 this evening. That much you know from the website (which is part of the Council's site; they paid for the shutdown). 10:21 <Crion> Aster doesn't give an answer one way or another as to Dr. Blackfin's experience at the party. He does make sure the van is properly parked on a sidestreet before they go banging on the side of Badawi's van. 10:22 <hrolf> Rolf flashes his lights on and off and curses at a particularly obdurate motorist that refuses to oblige him by changing line, and slows down in response to the tailgating. "Oh fahck off!" He scoffs at Willie's pronouncement. "So they ain't just scouse wizards, they're WOKE scouse wizards? Fahckin 'ell." 10:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”I believe they prefer awakened.” 10:22 <tom> He's on Aster's wing, hands in his coat pockets, glancing from side to side warily. 10:22 <hrolf> Rolf: "Are the working with antifa?" 10:23 <Quaker> Badawi opens the back doors for them. “Any trouble with the vampires, then?” 10:23 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”I don’t know! It’s not out of the question.” 10:23 <VoxPVoxD> “Richard’s theorised that the En Mitty your grubby psychic gangsters associate with is one of them.” 10:24 <Crion> Aster: "None that I'm aware of." 10:24 <tom> Bob: "What's the plan?" 10:24 <banana> Scanty Human Office records described the Free Council as a catch-all. Wizards who don't necessarily believe in anything. Communists, libertarians and the merely disinterested... but like all wizards, they're part of the War in Heaven, and usually on the Atlantis-cult's side. 10:25 <banana> The museum building towers over both vans. There are plenty of windows, if you wanted to simply break in, and don't mind a climb: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/h-windows.jpg 10:25 <hrolf> Rolf purses his lips, focuses on the road for a second. The car nearly hydroplanes as he violently switches lanes, then back again, overtaking the stubborn speed limit observer from the right. He taps the brakes, slowing down abruptly and brake checking the enraged man behind him. "See how you like it eh?? Up yours!" 10:25 <hrolf> Rolf purses his lips, focuses on the road for a second. The car nearly hydroplanes as he violently switches lanes, then back again, overtaking the stubborn speed limit observer from the right. He taps the brakes, slowing down abruptly and brake checking the enraged man behind him. "See how you like it eh?? Up yours!" 10:26 <VoxPVoxD> “Good God, man. Is there any part of your life that you don’t spend enraged?” 10:27 <Quaker> Agostina has got the blueprints rolled out for them on the little central table, and made notes with a grease pencil. “The museum closes at 5:30, so I’ll go in after that. Far as I can figure, it should be a pretty simple job. I can ascend up the side and get through either through a top floor window or the skylights. I descend down the stairwells until I get to the item, then it’s just cutting through the case and going back out the way I 10:27 <Quaker> came.” 10:27 <Quaker> “Three things we need to know:” 10:27 <hrolf> "Just lettin' 'im 'ave some." He turns to Willie, speaking over the honking behind him. "You know that's one of me red lines, innit. Working with antifa. The 'uman office 'ad a few people assigned to find antifa connections wif the night things, after all them statue topplings and riots in the states and 'ere." 10:27 <hrolf> "If I find antifa, I'd 'ave to report em. And I'd do it gladly." 10:28 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”What are you defining as ‘antifa’, here?” 10:28 <Quaker> “First, where and how many their cameras are. Two, where the item actually is, and what the case is like. Third, what alarm systems might be rigged to the windows and the case.” 10:28 <Crion> Aster: "I can map their security system." 10:29 <VoxPVoxD> That one’s not really ‘her’. Too anxiously adolescent. The next song comes up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah0Ys50CqO8 10:29 <hrolf> Rolf: "Antifa. You know, the wokes. The cultural marxists an the like. The brick throwers, statue 'aters, critical race theorists and shop smashers. Scum of the earth." 10:29 <VoxPVoxD> ...maybe in another life. She lets it play. 10:29 <banana> On the factory blueprints (as amended for the museum planning application), the display areas of the MMH only take up about a third of the building - the chunk attached to the shop, naturally. The rest of the place is storage and restoration facilities - they have a vast collection, apparently, of historical hats and hat-making machinery in need of repair. 10:29 <Quaker> “Mr. Aster, I think you can help with the first problem. Bob, if you don’t mind a quick visit to the museum, you can settle the second. I’ll work with the third.” 10:29 <tom> Bob takes out the parts of his shotgun and slides them under the passenger seat of the van. 10:30 <tom> "I'm on it." 10:30 <Quaker> What information did they get about the Gardeners’ hat, anyway? 10:30 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Well, I would expect political radicals, but not militants. Like I said, the ones Agostina and I met were an artists’ commune.” 10:30 <VoxPVoxD> “Or an artists’ cooperative, anyway.” 10:30 <Crion> Aster: "All I need to do is physically see one of their cameras, and the Tag module will do the rest." 10:31 <hrolf> Rolf: "Well, we'll see. I'll be keepin an eye out for antifa activity." 10:31 <Quaker> Badawi is sitting cross-legged. “Alright. They should have external cameras in the network. Can you get them if Amjad drives us by? Or would you have to walk by them?” 10:33 <Crion> Aster: "All I need to do is see the camera with my eyes; it doesn't have to see me. I do have to concentrate and remain still the entire time, so if we can simply park the van across the street or down an alley, I can do everything I need to do from the passenger's seat wearing a headset." 10:33 <banana> Is Willie directing Rolf to the Lead & Plutonium brewery? Has she called ahead at all? 10:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie definitely called ahead. She’s not an ass. That’s where we’re headed unless they mooted another location, in which case that is where they are headed. 10:34 <hrolf> The people on the podcast switch gears. “…reports coming in of antifa and other terrorist elements intercepting shipments of fuel to the United Kingdom, trying to sabotage brexit by causing artificial shortages…” 10:34 <VoxPVoxD> “Oh fuck off.” 10:34 <Quaker> Badawi nods. “Alright. Amjad can drive the work van while you’re in the passenger seat.” 10:34 <VoxPVoxD> “What utter rubbish.” 10:34 <Quaker> “Let’s get to work, then.” 10:34 <banana> You know what would make a great excuse to mute the podcast? That call-ahead. 10:35 <hrolf> Rolf looks up from the map on his phone. "Hmm? Wossat?" 10:35 <tom> Bob clicks his tongue and heads on into the museum. Just a normal dude thinking normal thoughts. 10:35 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Turn that down, I need to call ahead.” 10:35 <hrolf> "Sure fing." Rolf obligingly turns a knob to lower the volume. 10:35 <VoxPVoxD> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWLcKQLz_7g maybe if she had to pick a song for Sumi. 10:36 <VoxPVoxD> Once that song ends she makes the call. 10:37 <Quaker> Badawi’s got him on the radio. “Bob, look for a display case with the Gardener’s name, or any of their noble titles. You saw the painting, so you know what you’re looking for. Feel free to take a picture if you find it.” 10:37 <Crion> Aster nods and gets comfortable in the passenger's seat. To Amjad and Bob, if Bob's remaining: "You'll need to be eyes for both of us. Mine are going to be elsewhere, to the point where I won't be able to fully effectively watch the driver's seat blindspots." 10:37 <banana> Bob passes through the gift shop (https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/h-magnets.jpg). Hopefully he's got ten pounds on him, because looking at this many hats isn't going to be free. 10:38 <tom> He's going to get a nice little gift for Mari on the way out :) 10:39 <Quaker> Amjad fiddles with something on the console. “Yes, sir. I’ve got the police scanner as well.” 10:39 <tom> He's got the pound notes on hand at the kiosk. 10:40 <banana> Quill picks up the phone after about eight rings. "Hello, Willie. Your message said something about coming for a visit, making an offer... that's today?" 10:40 <Quaker> Badawi, on the radio: “Also, pick up a fridge magnet, if you don’t mind. It can be our one concession to pride back at the box.” 10:41 <tom> There's some quite nice little hat-shaped magnets to choose from, too. 10:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”If at all possible, yes. Are you terribly busy?” 10:42 <Crion> Aster, meanwhile, is in the cameras. Well, in his perception, he's in a darkened security room -- so darkened that the room has no other features besides the bank of monitors in front of him. They don't exist, of course. This is a mental construct, and new monitors are summoned and vanish as necessary while he moves his perception around the network. 10:43 <banana> Willie's phone vibrates at her ear and illuminates her face. Looks like the call's going to FaceTime. 10:43 <tom> He proceeds into the museum; he'll be back to agonize over Medwar's gift and pick up a handful of fridge magnets. 10:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie holds the phone at a more flattering angle reflexively. 10:44 <banana> Bob enters the main floor of the museum... which is not terribly busy, but there are some people here. The place is extensive. Room after room of display cases. The more expensive hats are under glass, and more mass-produced specimens are laid out on their blocks in long lines. The guy in the gift shop described this as "Britain's ONLY museum of the hattery industry", and you guess they're 10:44 <banana> making up for everyone else's failure to muse. 10:44 <tom> He spends a little time lingering at a display of hats from the turn of the last century- you know, that fucked up period where every woman's hat was expected to have some sort of taxidermied bird glued to the brim. 10:45 <Crion> What's the plan here? The sophomoric-yet-effective 'hide inside past closing time' gambit? 10:45 <banana> Most of the rooms look basically like this: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/h-displays.jpg 10:45 <banana> Finding the right hat... might not be easy. 10:45 <Quaker> Badawi: “Ask a docent, Bob.” 10:46 <banana> When Willie takes the phone away from her ear, the picture on it shows Quill's face for a moment, nose ring and a wink, then it expands off her phone entirely and flows onto the range rover's dashboard screen. 10:46 <tom> That actually forces him to break radio silence; he ducks away and taps his ear: "A what?" 10:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie beams at the energy display. ”Quill! You look fantastic. And so hi-res!” 10:47 <Quaker> Badawi: “A tour guide. One of the volunteers. They like this sort of thing, and they should be happy to help you find it if it’s not in the archives.” 10:48 <tom> "Gotcha." 10:48 <banana> Quill: "Thanks, yeah. Busy- no, we try not to be busy. Spotaneity, you know? That said, a lot of people at the loft get grumpy when their maker time is interrupted. Do you guys want to meet down in L&P? Have a beer?" 10:48 <hrolf> Rolf looks down from the road, eyebrows furrowed suspisciously. Does she look like one of the wokes? 10:48 <tom> Bob looks for someone with authority. Authority over the hats. 10:48 <banana> Rolf's looking at a woman with dyed hair, a chubby face and a nose ring, so... yes. 10:48 <Quaker> We just need Bob to find it. Then Badawi can shimmy in nice and quiet after the place shuts down. 10:49 <Quaker> Or learn if it’s in the archives. If it is, then Bob can find out where the archives are. 10:49 <Quaker> Just a normal, uh, American interested in hats. 10:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”That would do, I think.” 10:49 <VoxPVoxD> “Can you see my colleague? This is Mr. Hughes.” 10:49 <tom> "You don't think they're gonna find it suspicious that I'm asking and, you know, later..." Bob mutters into the radio. 10:49 <hrolf> Rolf nods curtly. "Alright then?" 10:50 <banana> It's easy enough for Bob to find a hat enthusiast. They have people positioned about the place, doubling as maintenance and security; this place has more of a budget than the art museum he was in the other day to meet the Carthians. 10:50 <banana> Shortly, he's chatting to an old woman who herself is wearing a very smart-looking conductor's cap about the history of fashion hatting and Manchester's local bespoke manufacturers. 10:51 <tom> Good for them, honestly. Kind of concerning to think about who might have a stake in propping up the hatting museum industry but that's a contract fora nother night. 10:51 <banana> Quill: "Afternoon, Mr. Hughes. Do you do microbrew?" 10:51 <tom> "Yeah. It's kinda funny, we're looking at stuff for the wedding and she's interested in uh, a kind of period style-" 10:52 <tom> He's trying to be subtle, here. 10:52 <hrolf> Rolf eyebrows furrow even further. "Wossat then? Like a micro aggression?" 10:53 <banana> There's no camera on the dashboard, so it's not clear how Quill can see Rolf, but you guess it's just a magic spell. 10:54 <banana> Mage: "It's no small beer." 10:54 <banana> "You know where to find us, Willie. I'll go wash up." 10:55 <tom> "I don't know what you'd call it. But imagine if a bridal veil was trying to evolve into a jellyfish." 10:56 <VoxPVoxD> “Thanks so much. See you soon!” 10:57 <VoxPVoxD> After the call ends: ”There, you see? Perfectly lovely.” 10:57 <banana> Bob has a fairly long and pleasant conversation with the old lady museum staffer about his nonfictional girlfriend's fictional hat preferences. He manages to finagle a tour of relevant historical pieces, steering them through particullar descriptions... and there it is. In one of the more highly protected cabinets, hats all a century old or more, is Ruth's veiled head-ceiling from the painting. 10:58 <banana> Aster's mentally mapped out security cameras.. they're at the key points you'd expect, but not every room has its own; the building isn't entirely modern, electrically speaking. 10:58 <tom> He wraps up the conversation with a pleasant promise to follow up. Maybe he even will. Badawi's already on his ass about having kids for chrissake. 10:59 <banana> There are routes to the century hat room which are largely unprotected, if you didn't come in the main entrance. Ruth's hat itself is surveilled, though. 10:59 <hrolf> Rolf: "Sure marm, as you say. I'll still be keeping me eye out." He turns the audio back up. "...no more EURO SAUSAGES in british grocers..." 10:59 <VoxPVoxD> “THAT’S A BLOODY YES MINISTER BIT!” 10:59 <VoxPVoxD> “FUCK OFF!!!” 10:59 <tom> He'll duck around a corner and make contact: "North wall, middle of the atrium. Looks like it's wired tight." 11:00 <banana> The good news is that there are so many hat cabinets here that they don't have their own individual security systems. 11:00 <banana> As far as Bob can tell, breaking the glass wouldn't sound any special alarm- although being here at all after-hours might. 11:00 <VoxPVoxD> A car cuts a little too close on the passenger side and Willie snaps ”Up yours!” at its tail-lights. 11:00 <hrolf> Rolf nods approvingly. 11:01 <Crion> Interesting. Aster will calmly talk the information over the radio to Badawi, wherever she's set up. If she's still in the van, no need for the radio. 11:02 <Quaker> Badawi: “Have him take a picture, please. And tell me what he sees around the case. Any locks or clasps? Alarm wires or signs?” 11:02 <tom> Amjad's Huntr gets a popup, an uploading image. 11:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie’s a bit out of breath. She’d be flushed if she had more blood in her, but she looks awfully pale, and there’s a plaster on the back of her wrist. ”I’ll just... rest my eyes for a moment. Let me know when we’re in the city.” 11:03 <VoxPVoxD> Both earbuds in. Something relaxing off the playlist. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0c2bKZMxEQg 11:03 <tom> Bob: "There's cams on the objective. Probably motion sensors, the case isn't individually wired but they've gotta have like a floor security suite." 11:04 <banana> Mechanical rather than electronic locks on the cabinet. 11:05 <Quaker> Badawi thinks. Old building like this. Probably wired the alarm through the phone lines. She can dummy a voltage through the line, up on the roof. 11:05 <tom> He follows up quickly: "No electric locks, at least, just the standard keyhole." 11:05 <banana> Liverpool: Willie hasn't been in the main floor at Lead & Plutonium before, and Rolf hasn't been here at all. The brewery-cafe is a large open space with huge metal vats behind the bar, wires strung over the space (some with clipped-on lights) and expensive looking wooden tables scattered throughout it. 11:05 <hrolf> Rolf: "Right you are." The podcast comes to an end as Willie nods off, and the rest of the drive passes in sweet, merciful silence. 11:05 <Quaker> She puts her lockpicks in the duffel. 11:06 <tom> Bob heads out through the gift shop, buys a few magnets. He's visibly disappointed at the lack of hats for sale, but maintains a brave facade in the face of adversity. 11:06 <VoxPVoxD> She didn’t do it - but if she’d done it, how could you tell her that she was wrong? 11:06 <Crion> Aster, calmly, somewhat distant: "Let me know when you clear the locks. I'll walk you through." 11:06 <VoxPVoxD> Ooooh. This is very micro. 11:06 <tom> Bob jogs back to the van. 11:06 <banana> One half of the place is occupied by some kind of function, men and women in suits laughing a lot and talking about Projects. The rest has only a few individual beer-tasters - and a pair of wizards sitting at the bar, arguing about salinity. 11:07 <VoxPVoxD> Is one of them Quill? 11:07 <tom> He waves his hand in front of Aster's face for a moment. Spooky. "Hey Agostina... can I ask for a favor?" 11:07 <banana> That is, one of them is Quill and you assume the other's a wizard. He's a big, sharp-faced man dressed in heavy clothing. 11:07 <hrolf> Rolf looks around askance. "'ere, they're making the pish right in the pub itself! Isn't that an 'ealth 'azard'?" 11:07 <tom> "Damndest thing, they don't have any hats in the gift shop..." 11:07 <Quaker> Badawi is packing her things in anticipation of sunset and the museum closing. She’s wearing a tight, dark grey hoodie and grey work pants. 11:07 <Quaker> “I’ll signal you once I get on the roof.” 11:08 <Quaker> “I’m going to have to take at least one other thing from the museum. Just to muddle the trail as best we can. Don’t want someone realizing that exactly one hat was taken.” 11:09 <banana> There are a couple of servers going back and forth from the bar to the corporate function. Little trays of cheese and chorizo. 11:09 <tom> Bob coughs. "If you could grab one you think'd be cute on Mari..." 11:09 <tom> "I'd owe you one." 11:09 <tom> "...It's her birthday next week." 11:09 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”If you have reason to suspect lax standards, do make a report to the Food Standards Agency.” 11:09 <Quaker> “Sure. She might want to hang off on wearing it in public for a while, though.” 11:10 <Quaker> Is it dark yet? 11:10 <VoxPVoxD> Willie leads Rolf towards Quill and... maybe Guts? But she’s got her phone out first. 11:10 <hrolf> Rolf looks at their contacts, and around them suspisciously. Any visible signs of antifa connections or activity? 11:10 <Crion> Still calm, still distant: "I do not recommend freelance theft. I especially do not recommend wearing stolen distinctive high fashion items in public." 11:11 <Quaker> “Best to save it for her changeling parties.” 11:12 <tom> "Worth." 11:12 <banana> Guts - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nm6DO_7px1I 11:12 <banana> "Is this art? Is this art? Are you?" 11:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie will introduce herself politely and in a low voice: ”Quill?” 11:17 <banana> As there are no known signs of antifa activity, Rolf sees none. Both mages turn to watch their contacts arrive. The guy with the jaw smiles, a little wary, and Quill moves up a couple of seats to make room. "Willie Wellesley," she says. "Contractor to the underground, nob turned good, sleepwalker." 11:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”How do you do? This is my colleague, Rolf Hughes, formerly of the Human Office, now of our House.” 11:17 <banana> "Her associate Hughes... also a sleepwalker, apparently. And this is Guts. My friend and the most original anartist in Merseyside." 11:18 <hrolf> Rolf makes a grunt and pauses mid-settling into his seat. “What’d you call me?” 11:19 <banana> Guts: "It means that you can tell Lies from reality. Doesn't mean you've had an education, though." 11:19 <banana> Guts: "It's nice to meet you people but I have concerns." 11:19 <hrolf> Rolf, proudly: "'s right. I can see through the fake news and I never passed me a-levels." 11:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie takes a seat. He wonders what they see when they look at her. ”Concerns are very understandable.” 11:20 <VoxPVoxD> *She wonders 11:22 <banana> It grows dark very early in Manchester these days. 11:23 <banana> The three hunters and their driver hanging around suspiciously in an alleyway don't have long to loiter. The sun's already setting as the museum closes. 11:24 <banana> Here's the catch: the building is also used for archival and restoration. The shop will shut, as will the actual museum itself, and you've got some chance that there are no roaming security guards... but Aster saw people go into the workshops down the back of the factory through his many eyes, and he doesn't see them come out just because the museum staff do. 11:24 <tom> I'm sorry, I thought this was a free countr- right. 11:24 <Quaker> Badawi waits until the last light leaves the sky. And then she’s quietly closing the van doors behind her and hefting the duffel over her shoulder. The door clicks shut and it’s like she’s been left alone in the real world, her world. It welcomes her back. 11:25 <banana> Aster can, however, see where the remaining people are. There are enough cameras to provide notice if any of them head into the (now unlighted) museum section. 11:26 <banana> Quill: "Willie and Agostina are nice. Rolf may be nice for all I know. I'm not vouching for anyone per se, but.. how have you been?" 11:26 <Crion> Aster passes this along, and remains in overwatch in case someone pops out of the basement, or a security office. 11:26 <Quaker> She hops a low fence and then uses a power box to climb over a second, higher fence, and then she’s standing next to the brick building itself. Time to get up. 11:26 <banana> You've got to. In order to get down. 11:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Very good, on balance! Work’s a bit hectic, and of course all the shortages are a pain. But... good. You?” 11:27 <tom> Bob whistles as she goes. 11:30 <Quaker> The first thing they taught her was to get her heartbeat under control. To look forward to the work. It’s a puzzle. It’s a game. It’s something else. She gets a running start and jumps onto a low-hanging girder, swinging up and around with her whole body until she’s squatting on top. The duffel back swings pat into her back. 11:30 <banana> Quill: "I'm doing juuust well enough to avoid a day job. Now, in our chosen line of work, that means gathering enough recognition to oblate a lil' and obviate the rat part of the race. Haven't managed to change the world yet, but I'm meeting some interesting people." 11:30 <VoxPVoxD> “I know the feeling!” 11:30 <banana> Guts: "Same. What is work for a pair of unawakened contractors?" 11:31 <VoxPVoxD> “How overhearable are we?” 11:31 <Quaker> She can feel her heartbeat through her arms as they get out the climbing kit. As she lifts herself very slightly off the building, just enough so that her hands can go up and grasp the irregular brick surface, her fingers sinking into cracks and her feet balancing on quarter-sized balconies, she can guess it’s not above 70 beats per minute. 11:31 <banana> Guts: "Ah, if you worry about that sort of thing you'll jump at every shadow." 11:32 <banana> Quill: "Hey, Mugs. Mugs!" She's calling for a bartender. 11:33 <tom> Bob watches the slim shadow scale the building. Aster can distantly hear the man light a cigarette. 11:33 <Quaker> She can see Manchester spread out further with each step up. Her fingers are like little dowsing rods, finding the ridges and rises in the masonry. She ascends quickly, lifting her body up and up at a steady pace. 11:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Fair enough. We did a job for the Wolf-Mourners at the last Super Blood Moon, helping keep the barrier between our world and the world of spirits intact. Mr. Hughes acquitted himself admirably in battle against several hostile intruders from that other world.” 11:34 <banana> The top floors of the building... mostly don't have cameras. There's only one entrypoint which Aster can actively monitor, which is an office overlooking what used to be a workshop floor, where the supervisors where watch. Is that where Badawi's heading, or would she rather go in blind? 11:34 <Quaker> A few minutes later, Badawi swings her leg and the duffel up over the lip of the roof. 11:34 <hrolf> "'s right. Milk run, really." 11:34 <VoxPVoxD> “Right now, we’re investigating a string of attacks and disappearances we believe connected to revenant vampires.” 11:35 <hrolf> "Nasty lot. Even by fangfucker standards." 11:35 <banana> Guts: "Good stuff. You're tough, or you'll soon find out otherwise. I haven't heard about any vamps gone nuts?" 11:35 <tom> Bob wonders how Willie and Rolf are doing. 11:35 <VoxPVoxD> Let’s have that fucking drink. 11:36 <banana> Quill: "It would be in Manchester... ah!" Mugs is here. Even odds he's called that because of the mugs he's carrying or that his name is like, Muggsley or something. 11:36 <Quaker> Badawi has some business, first. She’s gotta find a cable box up here on the roof. The alarm system has to be dummied with a fake voltage through the phone lines. Her voltimeters will make sure the signal is steady and uninterrupted, no matter what the sensors actually record down on the floor. 11:36 <hrolf> Rolf: "The fanglords want to keep it all 'ush 'ush, like. Both sets of em, for different reasons." 11:36 <banana> Quill recommends the stout, but you've got a few other choices if that doesn't appeal. 11:36 <VoxPVoxD> Willie prefers stouts. 11:37 <hrolf> Guinness for Rolf. 11:37 <VoxPVoxD> Ahhhh, dark, delicious, bread-that-makes-you-forget-how-insufferable-your-colleague-is. 11:37 <Quaker> voltmeters* 11:39 <banana> Quill: "Yeah, that does not sound like something I'd want to be involved in. More power to you, but." 11:40 <hrolf> "Oh I agree with you completely on that, miss." 11:40 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”We’re looking for someone who can look at a hat for us, and tell us where its metaphysical connections point. We’re prepared to trade information in kind, if that’s amenable?” 11:42 <banana> The hat museum alarm is thoroughly defanged. No matter what happens inside, it won't be calling the cavalry. 11:43 <Quaker> Badawi finds the electrical panel on the roof, and to her amazement the cables arent even protected by a box or a shell. They’re just…stapled, to the wall. In a few moment’s she’s got her grounded probes out and has slit openings in all the cables tied together. She checks her instruments until she gets the right voltage for each line. Phone line. Phone line. There it is. She dummies the signal and then covers the wire job up with some 11:43 <Quaker> random debris that’s lying around. 11:44 <Quaker> She checks her watch and then hits the radio bead. “On top. Signal is taken care of. Heading in.” 11:44 <banana> Built in the 19th century, electrified in the 20th, converted in the 21st. That's Manchester infrastructure. 11:44 <Quaker> “Anyone on the top floor?” 11:45 <banana> Guts: "Quill's okay at that sort of thing..." Quill frowns. "Hyperclasm is fantastic. He's a team player, too, so if you've got something for us... I don't see why not." 11:46 <banana> He takes a drink, and Quill qualifies it: "Something that isn't the location of another hat. We have enough hats." 11:46 <tom> Bob cracks his neck and takes up a pair of binoculars from under the van's passenger seat to follow Badawi's progress while Aster guides her through the gaps in security. 11:47 <banana> This is where the lack of top floor cameras comes in. There's nobody in the one room which Aster can see.. and nobody's entered it through the stairwells in the couple of hours he's now been concentrating. 11:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”What about... mummy prophecies?” 11:49 <Quaker> Is the roof door locked? She can get it open, if it is. Otherwise, she’ll head down the stairwells and follow Aster’s directions to the museum floor. 11:49 <Crion> Aster gives a status update. If there are any animals scurrying about in the cameras' view...he can jump into those, too. 11:50 <Crion> But this doesn't seem like that sort of establishment. 11:50 <banana> They do at least lock the door. Probably not sufficiently to inconvenience Agostina Badawi. 11:51 <banana> The top floor is basically empty. Halfway down the building, you start getting some lights and rooms full of old hatting gear. There is a single solitary security guard with a patrol route that passes through this floor, so Aster has to give some directions, and Badawi will need to be quiet. 11:51 <Quaker> It is not, as it turns out. Though the lock is so close to rusting out it actually snaps one of her picks when she turns it. 11:52 <banana> The only real hassle is making it through the cramped spaces. Room after room that looks like this: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/h-blocking.jpg 11:53 <Crion> Tedious, but not difficult. 11:53 <Quaker> Is this stuff actually tagged and labeled? It just looks like someone has piled a building full of Manchester’s previously useful industry. 11:53 <banana> The stuff they've categorised is up the back, where the people are. You've got industrial debris. 11:54 <banana> Feels a bit like the Manchester Museum of No Longer Making Hats. 11:55 <banana> Quill: "Mummy prophecies." 11:55 <banana> Guts: "Mummy prophecies. Do you have daddy prophecies?" 11:56 <banana> Quill: "Elmao. What, though?" 11:56 <hrolf> Rolf: "Me mum always said I'd be up to no good, and well...'ere I am. But I fink my colleague's talkin about somefing more serious." 11:56 <Quaker> She’s more than quiet. She’s basically not there. 11:56 <tom> She's so cool. 11:56 <banana> The beer's fine. Not quite like any major brand you're familiar with but close enough to mainstream that it doesn't strain the palate. There is a slight aftertaste you can't quite identify. 11:57 <Quaker> Is anyone hanging around the case itself? 11:57 <banana> Guts: "Oh, I'm serious about my Daddies." 11:58 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”I know, I know, it’s been some time since anyone had to care about the old lords of the old kingdoms. Which is why the imminent return of one such being, and details on the cult that reveres it, might be of interest to you. Even if only as information you could barter somewhere up the line.” 11:58 <Crion> If there was, Aster wouldn't be doing his job. 11:59 <banana> Guts: "So you're talking about, uh, really old kingdoms?" 11:59 <Quaker> Then she places the duffel by her side and kneels by the case. Is there anything unusual about the mechanical lock? Or the hat? 11:59 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Correct.” 12:00 <banana> "This is... Ubar stuff?" Not a name Quill recognises, apparently. 12:03 <hrolf> Rolf is confused. "No, we drove 'ere in me car." 12:04 <banana> Badawi passes through endless rooms of hats and comes to the century room. It's not exactly their pride of place, but these are old and cute hats indeed. 12:04 <banana> The display containing Ruth Gardener's hat is about Victorian garden parties, and there's a poster about the absolute necessity for ladies of the era to shield their faces from the sun. 12:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Perhaps. That’s not the traditional association.” 12:06 <banana> The lock will take a little subtlety, no more. The hat, however... it won't be easy to transport. 12:06 <banana> All the hats in this room are old and fragile. The display case is climate-conditioned. 12:07 <VoxPVoxD> “The mummies last surged in activity in the 1960s, around the time the werewolves withdrew. But we have heard a prophecy, whispered to the Crown beneath the Hill beneath the Yew, that one such being will rise again quite soon.” 12:07 <Quaker> So…it’ll fall apart if she takes it out? 12:07 <banana> Would it be worthwhile to bring the wizards a tearing superstructure and a bunch of loose scraps? Maybe that doesn't make a difference to them. 12:08 <banana> It might be possible to keep it intact if you take the block they're displaying it on. That's pretty bulky, though, a two-hands-carrying job. 12:08 <Crion> We can always come back and do this again. 12:08 <Crion> With proper transport. 12:08 <Crion> It'll be even easier the second time. 12:09 <Quaker> As in, her two hands? 12:09 <banana> Yes. 12:09 <banana> Guts scratches his chin. "I'm not sure what we're going to do with that, but it is interesting. And what you're asking for costs us... only a little bit. Hmm." 12:09 <Quaker> Hmm. 12:09 <banana> "I'm mainly interested in the long term here. Should we be, as a group, a pair of groups, friends." 12:09 <banana> Quill: "Should our group of groups be ungrouped." 12:10 <banana> Guts: "No, more-tightly grouped." 12:10 <VoxPVoxD> Willie sips her beer. It’s going down pretty quick. She feels a lot better. ”And it’s on this front that you have concerns?” 12:10 <banana> Quill: "Have you used Photoshop? Basically, the ungroup command turns the contents into individual shapes so you can put them all together some otther way." 12:10 <tom> Bob's tapping his foot. "What's wrong? She's taking a while..." 12:11 <Quaker> She’s quiet enough to safely toggle the radio bead. “How easy would it be to get out through the bottom level of the building? I’m going to have to carry the stand out.” 12:13 <banana> Guts looks back and forth from Quill to Willie. "I'm not trying to prescribe any kind of arrangement. I'm thinking about whether it would be interesting, useful, entertaining or safe to build ties with your... group." 12:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Ah! Well, I’m happy to answer any questions you have.” 12:14 <Crion> Aster: "Let me see..." 12:14 <Quaker> Badawi: “Otherwise I’m going to have to lower this thing down on a rope to Bob.” 12:14 <Crion> Ideally he's looking for an alley-facing side door. Loading port, emergency exit, something. 12:15 <tom> "Is she looking for a cute hat?" 12:15 <Crion> Aster: "No." 12:15 <tom> "Aw." 12:15 <tom> Bob stomps out his cigarette. 12:15 <Quaker> While she’s waiting for Aster to find a way, she is looking around for a cute hat. 12:15 <Quaker> They *do* need to take *something* else, just to confuse anyone looking into this. 12:17 <banana> Aster searches. Badawi could come out through the shop, which probably doesn't have locks that are any good up until you get to the front door itself, but of course there are definitely alarms in there. The remote alarm's been silenced, but might it still set something off in the building? There's a chance. 12:17 <banana> Side exits exist; many, once, now mostly sealed. One of them opens directly onto a fence and you could conceivably break through it. Another is past the workshop area, where several people are fiddling with this thing: https://limits.thomascastiglione.com/media/h-thing.jpg 12:18 <banana> Going that way, she'd have to dodge through a workshop, he thinks. 12:18 <Crion> Aster: "Bob, can you quietly cut a fence?" 12:19 <banana> Guts: "You've got interesting covered, but-" 12:19 <banana> Quill: "Let's not do bullet points. Are you guys like. Good or evil?" 12:19 <tom> Bob reaches into the toolbox in the back of the van, theatrically snipping a pair of wirecutters for effect. 12:19 <tom> He starts off into the night. 12:20 <hrolf> Rolf: "Wot kind of question is that? Course we're good!" 12:20 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”We don’t work with the Pyramid, if that’s what you’re asking. Mummy lore notwithstanding.” 12:22 <banana> Quill: "Great, but that ain- isn't what I'm asking. Are you the goodies or the baddies?" 12:22 <banana> She points at Rolf. "So like.. you try to help people, not hurt em, you aren't selfishly taking advantage of others, if people gathered about your deathbed they'd be weeping even if you didn't leave em anything..? 12:23 <banana> There's CCTV everywhere, but Bob knows that. He can watch out for it, angle his body to hide what he's holding... Stockport Rd. is busy, but he can cut quickly. 12:23 <VoxPVoxD> Willie returns to her beer. This is clearly meant for Rolf. 12:23 <tom> Bob crouches in the miserably stunted bushes that have slowly started to overtake the neglected part of an empty lot adjacent the museum's fence. 12:23 <tom> Snip snip snip! 12:25 <Quaker> There. A wide-brimmed boater hat, with a winding white band entwined with delicate ash branches and pearls. She guts the lock like a fisherman and puts it on her head while she gathers her things up. 12:25 <tom> He waits for Agostina to come on through; then he'll stitch up the fence. It won't hold up to scrutiny, but by the time they notice there's been a break-in they'll be long gone. 12:25 <Quaker> Badawi slings the duffel over her bag, and lifts with her knees. Hup! 12:26 <hrolf> Rolf: "Course we 'urt people, can't do this job without the odd argy-bargy, eh? But we go after the baddies. And as for me death - me mate Baz, all the lads from the ICF...they wouldn't be at me deathbed - cos they'd be ought there lookin for 'oever done me in!" He saw this on a meme on the internet once. 12:26 <Quaker> The hat and block come out smoothly. 12:26 <Quaker> Once she’s holding it comfortably, she begins to carefully waddle out towards the stairs and the first floor side exit. 12:26 <banana> Guts: "I guess that's solidarity. You'd get it on both sides of.. whatever you're asking." 12:29 <hrolf> Rolf: "So we got a deal?" 12:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”I’m sorry, are you asking if we’re good people?” 12:29 <Crion> Aster remains in full control of the horizontal and the vertical. 12:29 <tom> Bob's there to wave her through the hole in the fence, which is hardly obvious against the darkened side lot and bushes. 12:30 <banana> Quill: "Well, what do you want?" This was to Guts. She turns to Willie: "I do mean like.. subjective good and evil, but it's from our subjective point of view, right? If we're gonna help you out with supernal magic - which binds the actual extant soul into everything you do - all we really want is to not regret it." 12:30 <VoxPVoxD> “How would we know? How would you? No one answers ‘yes’ to ‘are we the baddies’. That’s the entire point of the sketch.” 12:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”I understand your motivations I just don’t... how do you trust anyone who does this work? I haven’t worked that out yet.” 12:32 <Quaker> As quickly as she can manage, Badawi maneuvers the block through the looming silent machinery and down the stairs. Does she encounter anything on her way to the door and fence? 12:32 <banana> Guts: "Get to know them really well. I guess we can get started getting to know you guys, do this small exchange of favours, and if you turn out to to be assholes..." 12:32 <banana> Quill: "We'd be really upset." Her eyes are large and sad, suddenly. 12:33 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”So would I.” 12:34 <tom> ...If she does, Bob is more than happy to just clonk someone on the back of the head and exfil. It's not like they can't get away with it at this point. 12:34 <VoxPVoxD> “I will say that I think that one can judge the goodness or badness of someone, by proxy, in the friends they claim and the company they keep. And that you would be to our credit, and I would consider it a matter of principle, a matter of honour, to see that we were to yours.” 12:35 <banana> She doesn't. She might have, but Aster sees it coming- he can just provide a map through every room, avoiding actual human beings as well as trip hazards, locked doors and dead ends. 12:35 <banana> Badawi's out. Nobody's aware, yet. 12:36 <Quaker> “Take this. Careful, it’s heavy. Get it in the back of the van.” Badawi hands the block over to Bob before she negotiates the hole in the fence. 12:36 <tom> Bob scoots. 12:36 <Crion> Aster withdraws from his mental security room and helps Bob secure the prize. 12:37 <tom> He ends up just strapping the whole thing into a seatbelt like a baby's carseat. 12:37 <Quaker> Badawi will close the back doors on them and get in the passenger seat while Aster and Bob are in the back, and then she pats Amjad on the shoulder. The van starts smoothly down the street, only stopping by the work van. 12:38 <Quaker> “Meet back at the box?” 12:38 <Quaker> The luxury van starts* 12:38 <tom> "Slick work, Agostina." 12:38 <tom> He hauls back up into the van and slides the door shut with a clunk. 12:39 <Quaker> Before he gets out, Badawi reaches back and puts the boater hat on Bob’s head. “Here’s for Mari.” 12:39 <tom> He beams. 12:39 <tom> "I owe ya." 12:40 <tom> Bob, in a fetching hat: "You okay dude? You were in the cams a while there." 12:40 <Crion> Aster closes the doors. "Sounds good to me." 12:40 <banana> Guts leans back and lifts his mug, finishing the beer. "...fine. Bring me a hat." 12:41 <banana> Quill: "And tell us about your Mummy!" 12:41 <Crion> To Bob: "The Tag module is perfectly safe in operation and completely harmless to activate. It's one of the few modules granted by the Wintergreen Process that puts no adverse biomechanical stress on the body." 12:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie beams. ”Right.” She takes out the folder with the research Agostina and Richard compiled. 12:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles at Rolf. ”Can you ring up Aaron and get a timeline?” 12:42 <tom> Bob is already gulping down an energy drink. "Shit, next time we'll bring the drone. You can just pop in and out?" 12:42 <Quaker> As the luxury van starts forward again, prize secured in the backseat, Agostina puts her seatbelt on and leans back into the passenger’s seat. She’s grinning insanely wide. “Haha. Aha.” Her heartbeat seems to rise all of a sudden. Amjad is carefully but quickly making his way down sidestreets. She cracks the window down to feel the dark night air on her face. This is where she belongs. That thought used to worry her. 12:43 <hrolf> Rolf: "Sure fing." He walks away from the table and into a quiet nook, picks out his phone and calls Aster. 12:44 <Crion> ...In Manchester? 12:44 <Crion> Dire. 12:44 <banana> Quill: "Does this say bees in the knees?" 12:44 <Crion> Aster will follow. 12:45 <tom> Bob, unprompted: "I think it'd be funny to bite a vampire on the neck. Like for irony purposes." 12:45 <Quaker> Badawi will key the radio. “Any updates from Willie? What did the mages say?” 12:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Or glamour to that effect.” 12:46 <Crion> Aster: "Biting a vampire on the-- as in, while having sex? Or simply...walking up to a vampire, and biting them on the neck?" 12:47 <tom> "Obviously that'd be a pretty big violation of affirmative consent otherwise. You know. They made us take that class every few months, for uh, reasons." 12:47 <tom> Look, we're on a long drive. 12:48 <Crion> Aster's pretty sure hickies aren't what's being discussed when it comes to affirmative consent. But he'll leave that aside for: "So you mean just walking up to one and biting them on the neck." 12:49 <banana> Guts leaves Willie and Quill alone to go upstairs for a while and corral 'our hat-reading guy'. Quill's more interested in the mummy report, for now. 12:49 <banana> "I mean, I have heard of these things, but never seen one. They're supposed to be uh... the power level varies. Some of them are basically God." 12:49 <tom> "Well I was kinda thinking of the other thing but now that you mention it..." 12:50 <banana> Aster's phone and radio are both going off, although it might be more important to get to the bottom of Bob's brain. Who knows what he might do, otherwise. 12:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Khemut-Re’s cultists sounded very impressed... but they would, wouldn’t they? The Regents under the Hill took it very seriously... but they sort of have to, don’t they?” 12:51 <tom> "I was just thinking, aheh, if anybody you knew in your VASCU days uh, got in as deep as Willie and it turned out... not how it turns out, every time." 12:51 <banana> Quill: "I'm thinking we'll pass this on to the Diamond, stay in their good books. As a collective, CGI does not really battle the undead per se. Would you have any objection if Consilium learns about our Mr. -Re?" 12:53 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”I wouldn’t. Our colleagues should be along shortly - Agostina is held in some regard by the Diamond in Manchester.” 12:54 <Crion> Aster: "Long-term relationships with vampires end one of three ways: enslavement, embrace, or exsanguination." 12:54 <Crion> He will answer the phone. "Yes?" 12:54 <Crion> He's got a hands-free handset. 12:54 <Crion> Headset. 12:55 <hrolf> Rolf: "The wizards bit. We got the hat?" 12:55 <tom> Bob's mercifully saved from having to respond to that by the call. 12:55 <tom> His radio clicks on: "The package is secured." 12:56 <Crion> Aster, vaguely irritated the man didn't call Badawi directly: "Yes." 12:57 <hrolf> Rolf: "Fanks, I'll relay that along." 12:57 <banana> After Rolf raises Aster and Aster raises Badawi, you've all got a place and time to meet. There's a school on Brownlow Hill called St. Nick - at least, that's what the mages called it - and you're headed for the chapel. Despite the fact it's now well into supper time. 12:59 <banana> Might be best to eat first, actually. But eventually, both groups of hunters can meet in the parking lot of a Catholic school's square and ugly chapel. 12:59 <banana> This is Liverpool, so the building is dark red brick. 12:59 <Quaker> Agostina enters triumphantly, with Amjad bearing the case and hat. “One vampire’s out of fashion headpiece, delivered.” 12:59 <tom> Mari's new hat goes into a little case in the back of the work van. 13:00 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Ah! You are a beautiful genius. Beautiful geniuses, all of you.” 13:00 <Crion> Aster: "Hopefully the process will not require the destruction of the hat; I have not yet had the opportunity to perform psychometry on it." 13:01 <banana> Five hunters, three cars, two hats. Someone's meant to meet you here at 7:30, which is... not quite yet. The school is completely shut down, still - some didn't reopen in June. 13:01 <Crion> Aster: "...Are the wizards not here yet?" 13:01 <Quaker> Agostina struts and preens a bit; she’s earned it. “Thank Mr. Aster and Mr. Goreman — they made it as easy as making a withdrawal from a bank.” 13:02 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”It’s not quite the appointed time yet.” To Agostina: ”Oh, I will. But I imagine they’ll acknowledge the lion’s share of the risk and labour was yours.” 13:02 <VoxPVoxD> “Isn’t that right, gentlemen?” 13:02 <tom> Bob has retrieved his shotgun from the passenger seat. "Like I said, I just stand around and get thanked." 13:02 <Crion> Aster: "The risk, certainly." 13:02 <tom> He smirks: "Not complaining." 13:04 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Oh, I’m so pleased. Rolf was excellent as well, once he’d had a good luck under the tables for antifa.” 13:04 <hrolf> "Didn't see any evidence of it...for now." 13:05 <VoxPVoxD> “And he looked! He did. Gave it a good old go.” 13:05 <tom> "Aw dude... c'mon... you know that Facebook stuff destroys brain cells..." 13:05 <VoxPVoxD> That stout wasn’t that high-ABV, why is she... oh right, the blood loss. 13:05 <Crion> Aster very carefully and gently reaches out to touch the fringe of the hat, where it will cause no damage. 13:06 <hrolf> Rolf: "It's not just facebook mate. The office 'ad orders from up 'igh to look for connections between antifa and the night world. Government took it serious after the riots in yankland." 13:06 <VoxPVoxD> Dryly: ”I’m sure they did.” 13:06 <tom> Bob smiles so hard his face almost closes up. 13:07 <VoxPVoxD> “How are you doing, Bob?” 13:07 <tom> "Great. As soon as we get back to the greybox we can review the drone feed and get some answers." 13:07 <banana> The veiled hat is old. It's seen (adorned) its share of events and dramas; none in many decades. If this was just Process-assisted CSI, Aster wouldn't be able to get anything from it. But the Process isn't just CSI. 13:07 <tom> "How were the wizards?" 13:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Quite charming!” 13:07 <hrolf> "They asked us if we were the baddies." 13:07 <tom> "Are we?" 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> “That’s what *I* said.” 13:08 <Quaker> Badawi: “I am.” 13:08 <hrolf> "Not me, mate. I fight for Britain." 13:08 <Quaker> Amjad sneaks out the door to return to the van. 13:08 <tom> "I don't think I am allowed to have an opinion on this." 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> “But in the end, they decided to trust us at least this far.” 13:08 <VoxPVoxD> “They’re going to pass the mummy lore on to the Diamond, probably.” 13:09 <banana> Aster sees - you gave us the permission in your regulations we wait in the stains the word that describes this is redacted - he sees an open, empty grave. There's nothing inside but a sprinkle of ash. 13:09 <banana> It's night, and it's still raining. That's Manchester, then and now. His ashes will simply mix with the soil. Why? Why is this what he wanted? 13:10 <Crion> What's the strongest emotion here? 13:11 <banana> Charlie's not here; you wouldn't let him come. That leaves... nobody. Of course Alex is supportive, and of course neither of you wanted him here. Not the rain mixing ash into mud under an undated headstone reading BEBUTOV * BELOVED. 13:11 <banana> Mourning. 13:12 <Crion> Is this a grave for one of the Gardeners' childer? 13:12 <banana> Yes. 13:14 <banana> As Aster trances, a light comes on inside the chapel. 13:14 <Crion> Does Gardener know who gave Ivan Bebutov final death? 13:14 <banana> The wood-and-gilt doors open, and a man in a t-shirt and lanky, brightly-dyed hair steps out to squint at the hunters. Hyperclasm. 13:14 <banana> Yes. 13:15 <Quaker> Badawi: “Howdy howdy.” 13:15 <Crion> Was Ivan Bebutov's final death administered over politics? 13:15 <Quaker> “Excited to take a look at our newly liberated hat?” 13:16 <banana> No. (That's the vision, not Hyperclasm. The extremely-lowercase-s seer is kind of excited, although he's also confused). 13:16 <Crion> Did Ivan Bebutov have it coming? 13:16 <banana> Absolutely not. 13:17 <banana> Mage: "Yeah, bring it inside, we look like weirdos out here. Hmm. Five of you now." 13:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: ”Mr. Clasm. This is Mr. Hughes, Mr. Aster, and Mr. Goreman.” 13:17 <tom> "We're multiplying." 13:17 <Crion> Aster steps away from the hat, grimacing. 'Absolutely not.' The questions received in Psychometry are vulnerable to subject-standpoint coloration...but... 13:17 <VoxPVoxD> “You know Agostina and myself already, of course.” 13:18 <Quaker> Agostina Badawi bows. “The Nameless House, at your service.” 13:18 <banana> The wizard examines the others, hands on his hips - though he'll gesture to get the hat moving, if they aren't already doing it. 13:18 <Crion> If Ruth Gardener merely told herself the lie that Ivan Bebutov had it coming, the truth still would have come out. 13:19 <tom> The man in the stupid glasses smiles back at him. 13:20 <banana> Hyperclasm: "About a fuckin' hundred... three.. even fuckin' more." 13:20 <banana> "This is why you sent us the ladies first?" 13:20 <tom> "Uh..." 13:21 <hrolf> "Only five of us mate." 13:21 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Yeah, so you've got a pretty good ratio." He shakes his head, several times, turns and stumps inside. 13:21 <tom> Bob pales. 13:22 <banana> There's light and warmth in the lobby, as well as the open door to the chaplain's quarters. "Through here, if you can move it safely." 13:23 <tom> His smile and optimism? Gone. 13:23 <tom> He follows the others inside after a quiet moment spent shaking his head. 13:25 <banana> It doesn't look like a chaplain's home. There are cassocks up on the wall, with the collar and everything, but that's the end of it; the rest of the spaces are covered in rock band posters (some ripple and animate as you watch) and flat screens unconnected to anything. 13:25 <banana> Hyperclasm's suite has a kitchen table just large enough for the hatblock, and you can all gather around if you don't mind spilling out into the living area where there are extra chairs. 13:27 <Quaker> Agostina is pumped. “Hey magic man! Do you know a good karaoke place that’s open for after we’re done here?” 13:28 <VoxPVoxD> She’s so happy. We’ve got to do these intricate heists more often. 13:28 <Crion> It takes Aster a second to piece together what the mage is talking about. Mainly because it's only through a very loose interpretation of the concept of 'killing' could he be said to have three. But what that says about Bob and Rolf...well then. Bob, at least, is not taking it well. 13:29 <tom> He hangs back and plops down into a living room chair, exhaling slowly. 13:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie brings a chair over to sit beside him. 13:29 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Karaoke? There should be something on Temple lane. Beatles country, you know." 13:29 <VoxPVoxD> Ugh. The Beatles. 13:30 <hrolf> Rolf slumps into a chair with a dad noise. 13:30 <Crion> Aster will find a convenient wall to lean against. 13:30 <VoxPVoxD> “You did good today,” Willie repeats to Bob in a gentle voice. ”I’m so pleased.” 13:31 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Personally I'm a homebody. I am also a past master of distant visions, and you're apparently giving us the good shit when it comes to... hats." 13:31 <banana> "Is this a hat of character?" 13:31 <tom> His laugh's just a little too quick on the draw. "Oh yeah? Yeah thanks." That really stings. 13:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie looks a bit pained now too. 13:32 <VoxPVoxD> So she’ll just sit with him. 13:32 <tom> He shakes his head. "We're doing... fine. Just gotta play the objective." 13:32 <tom> "As soon as we tie this one off the killings will stop." 13:32 <Quaker> Agostina: “It belonged to some powerful old vampire. Ask Willie for all her titles and such.” 13:32 <Quaker> “We’re trying to find where she is now.” 13:33 <Quaker> “What can you tell us?” 13:34 <Crion> To the question: "It is a hat of character." 13:34 <banana> Hyperclasm: "I can do this, aye. I will do it using the true divine power that flows through the bones of the world, drawn up from the earth and so on. and so forth. There's no need for a moment of silence." 13:34 <banana> He places his hands, gently, on either side of the hat. Eyes half-closed. 13:35 <Quaker> Agostina: “Aren’t you a dramatic one.” 13:35 <banana> Hyperclasm: "People seem to expect it, Nameless House." 13:36 <VoxPVoxD> Willie’s chair is armless so she’s borrowing one of the ones in the chair Bob is sitting in, 13:36 <banana> "Alright, this is interesting. Your is what they themselves would call an 'elder', real powerful-like. I've got to be careful, but there are some things I can pull safely to start." 13:37 <Quaker> Agostina: “We get the cool name because we have to do all this shit with our hands. When’s the last time you scaled a building and got past an alarm and three sets of locks without magic?” 13:38 <Crion> The Wintergreen Process is not magic. Her description of events is correct. 13:38 <banana> Hyperclasm: "She.. yes, she, if it wasn't stereotyped enough by the feather is in Manchester, won't surprise you, currently moving about New Islington. Quay between the canals." 13:38 <banana> "Why would I do that without magic?" 13:39 <tom> Bob inhales, steadies himself. "Ok, we're back." 13:39 <tom> "Forgot they could do shit like that." 13:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie whispers: ”When I met him he told me he knew the day I would die.” 13:40 <tom> "Ahahah wow, that doesn't make me feel less bad but at least now I'm kinda pissed at him." 13:40 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Aaanyway... your friend or more likely enemy is moving, uh, fast, superhumanly so. Mostly hunting in what I assume is Cottonfield Park. What in particular would you like to know?" 13:41 <VoxPVoxD> “That’s always been my preferred strategy.” 13:41 <Quaker> Wait…can they just finish the job, here and now? They could just call VI4…. 13:42 <Quaker> Agostina: “Can you get VI4 on the line?” 13:42 <tom> "The enemy of my depression is my friend, I guess," Bob moans. "Ahhh fuck, it's no use whining about it." 13:42 <Quaker> “Maybe we could just patch Hyperclasm through to Weaste.” 13:42 <Crion> Aster: "He probably doesn't want to remove the level of...remove...we provide." 13:42 <VoxPVoxD> Willie looks up. ”I could. Is that what we want to do?” 13:42 <Crion> "But I agree with the spirit." 13:42 <VoxPVoxD> “We don’t need to reveal our source.” 13:42 <tom> Bob gets up. "Yeah we shouldn't... enmesh anyone in this if we can help it." 13:43 <tom> "Done enough of that myself." 13:43 <tom> "Can't recommend it." 13:43 <Quaker> “I mean…this is kind of what they asked for.” 13:43 <Crion> If we tie this off now, then Aster's e-mail to Savoy will be quite different. 13:43 <Quaker> “Well, let’s leave Hyperclasm out. But call ‘em up.” 13:43 <Crion> Still snippy, but with a commitment to staying out of it on advisement. 13:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie looks around the room. Approval? 13:44 <Quaker> Finally. This job over and done with. She’s going to make them listen to her sing all night. 13:44 <tom> Bob's face if frozen. "Let's go off." 13:45 <tom> is 13:45 <banana> Hyperclasm: "I'm just maintaining my watch over here. Who Weaste is I do not know, but you're right to leave me out of them." 13:46 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Target's just fobbing off cops for now. 'no officer, I don't need directions to a homeless shelter', blah blah." 13:46 <Quaker> Agostina, quickly: “You’ll be left out of this, completely. Don’t worry.” 13:47 <tom> Bob pipes up: "I only wanna know one thing that could get us in trouble, okay. Just one." 13:47 <tom> "What're they gonna do if there's survivors in there?" 13:48 <Crion> Aster: "Why do you want to know that." 13:48 <Quaker> Agostina shrugs. “Ask them afterwards.” 13:48 <Crion> "If we're going to go this route, you absolutely do NOT want to know that." 13:48 <Crion> "Going this route is disavowing them." 13:48 <Crion> "Because, on information and conjecture, we can surmise they're no longer capable of being saved." 13:49 <Crion> "They're blood-bag husks for an elder that can only eat Kindred blood." 13:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie’s chilling out while the group formulates a consensus. Her head’s drifted down to rest on Bob’s upper arm as she looks at the dead screen of her as-yet-still-locked phone. 13:49 <VoxPVoxD> She sees her reflection in the screen. She can’t see how pale she is. 13:49 <tom> "And so, what, they should just... die? Cus'a that?" 13:49 <tom> "I mean, sure, whatever, it's cool, it's cool." 13:50 <banana> Hyperclasm: "She's left the cops behind and is back on the prowl. Jumped the fuckin' canal." 13:50 <banana> "I would NOT want to be out there full of blood." 13:50 <Crion> Aster: "What is 'should' in this line of work? Do you want to run in there with a gun?" 13:51 <tom> "I mean, like, I'm not.. I'm not jazzed about more vampires, okay? But... they'd be victims." 13:51 <tom> "Seems like shit to cut 'em loose. We could at least ask." 13:51 <Crion> Aster: "Either propose a plan of action for the team moving forward or put them out of your mind. All you're doing right now is making yourself sad on purpose." 13:52 <Quaker> Agostina: “Not the time or place for this discussion, Bob. Willie, call Weaste and let them now we’re tracking Ruth.” 13:52 <Quaker> “We can finish this right now.” 13:53 <Crion> Looks at the rest of the group: "Here is what I know about our current options. Point the first: if we do this, right now, in the presence of a mage who can confirm we're not being actively surveilled -- which I presume you can, Hyperclasm, or your blood pressure would be up -- we will get away with it." 13:53 <tom> "It's the smart move," Bob nods. 13:53 <Crion> "Point the second: It's inconceivable that they kill Ruth Gardener rather than try to rehabilitate her. Unable to say about her husband. But that will be the consequence." 13:53 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Nobody is spying on us. I can multitask. Fascinating conversation, by the way." 13:53 <tom> "Thanks dude." 13:54 <Crion> Aster: "I considered asking the team to step out to the other room but again, mage, surveillance. Pointless waste of my time." 13:54 <tom> He shakes his head. "Fine then. What's a few more." 13:54 <tom> "Let's get paid and get the fuck outta here." 13:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie messages the Baron Weaste. <can you take a Call, sir?> 13:57 <banana> Simpson Kirkpatrick: <If there's urgency.> 13:59 <VoxPVoxD> <We have Ruth’s location.> 13:59 <banana> The phone rings, of course. 13:59 <VoxPVoxD> Willie answers. She sounds much more awake and chipper than she feels. ”Sir.” 14:00 <banana> There are voices in the background; muffled; Simpson's covering the microphone. They recede, doors open and close, footsteps. "I'm arranging myself." 14:01 <banana> Hyperclasm: "I take it this means you don't need me to break her blood-firewall and get something more detailed than a loc-lock." 14:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie waves a hand in Hyperclasm’s direction in the universal gesture for ‘shut up’. 14:02 <banana> He grins, makes a throat-slitting motion with one hand, shuts up, puts it back on the hat. 14:03 <banana> Simpson: "Alright. Please tell me what you know of Ruth, Wilhelmine." 14:03 <VoxPVoxD> Mina: ”We have eyes on her in motion.” She relays Ruth’s real-time location over the last however-long as per Hyperclasm’s narration. 14:04 <banana> Simpson: "Right. Right. Understood. Yes, Ancoats across from the park. She could be moving, so I'll go if- oh." 14:05 <banana> He's talking to someone else: "You can't... do that." 14:06 <banana> Hyperclasm: "Stalking a couple in the alleys behind the late-night eateries on the north quay." 14:07 <VoxPVoxD> Waiting for him to get back on the line. Ball’s in his court. Like it always was. 14:08 <banana> Simpson; the noise of movement is audible again in the background, rapid. "You have to be careful out there, but-. Bring us our peers. Bring us back your glory." To Willie: "Final updates?" 14:12 <VoxPVoxD> After a beat: ”One final note, sir. Speaking on behalf of our House, and the nature of our continued work in the night-city... we’ve taken the decision that, collectively, we can no longer safely enmesh our collective selves in this particular sectarian conflict among the Kindred. Our House cannot accept any further contacts from yours upon fulfilment of this one.” The implication 14:12 <VoxPVoxD> is hopefully clear: they have her number, in several senses. But not the others’. 14:14 <banana> Kirkpatrick's end of the line is dead silent for a moment, and then there's a noise like windchimes. "Well, milady. Still- you still have our thanks, and... don't be between the A665 and the A6010 until sunrise." 14:14 <banana> He hangs up. 14:15 <Crion> Aster listens to one side of the conversation in silence, but watches Willie's eyes closely. 14:15 <VoxPVoxD> They just close when the line goes dead. 14:16 <banana> Hyperclasm either cannot or does not wish to read the room. "I'd really appreciate knowing what I've done, here. Quill tells me it would be reductive to regard it as good or evil, so feel free to editorialise." 14:16 <Quaker> Agostina, to Hyperclasm: “Actually, our armored Ottoman friend hit my mind with a spell the other night. So working with us will get you more of this sort of interesting thing, and eventually I’m sure we’ll find a way to team up and kill him.” 14:16 <Quaker> “Oh.” 14:17 <Crion> Aster: "Upset a vampire chessboard by getting a serial killer off the street." 14:17 <Quaker> “Well, there’s two factions of vampires in Manchester…” 14:18 <Crion> Just because they all know the truth is more textured doesn't mean this guy has to. They're trying to develop him as an asset. 14:19 <tom> Bob just sits there quietly until they're ready to go. A few times he looks like he's about to go talk to the wizard called Hyperclasm, but he doesn't. 14:36 <banana> It's in the news the next day if you know where to look. A major clash, thought to be gangland violence, resulted in major property damage at the corner of Bradford Road and Beswick Street. A warehouse was totally torn apart in a suspected bombing, and witnesses claim kidnapping took place, with screaming figures being bundled rapidly into a moving vehicle. No casualties or injuries have been 14:36 <banana> reported at this time. 14:37 <banana> Aster's the only one who knows more than that so far, because Sergio isn't in the loop. Aster's contacts in the Wise & Solemn Court are just starting to develop to the point of casual gossip, so he hears through the grapevine what really happened: the Constabulary had to respond in force when de la Warr crossed the Irwell for the first time in forty years.