21:21 <Crion> There's a house on Locust Drive that demands a reckoning. 21:21 <Crion> But first, it's time to prepare. The big question is: how are you getting your Glamour up before going in? ARE you getting your Glamour up before going in? 21:22 <Crion> After that, are you asking for freehold support? Note that given that many of you make detailed, honest reports to your superiors, you're probably going to get it in some form whether you like it or not. Though it's possible there's been complications around that since you last checked in. 21:22 <Crion> After that...what's your general plan? 21:27 <CBN> Tony needs a big nap and a bigger gun, though not necessarily in that order. 21:30 <banana> Melanie needs to be around angry people. It's possible that the report to Summer can achieve that all by itself, and if not.. there's a game on today, right? 21:33 <Crion> It's bowl season, yeah. If Melanie's quick she can catch the late one today: the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, between Indiana and Tennessee. Going to be hard to find homers for that in Maryland...but maybe not compulsive gamblers with money riding on the game. 21:36 <banana> It will do. She's not interested in the game at all, but having it down there is.. soothing to her, helps her not feel the aggression she's drawing in from the thin crowd. A young woman wanders the stands in a hot-dog seller's wake, admission paying for itself in Glamour. 21:37 <trenchfoot> Nels could use a rest and some glamour... usually she plays guitar for people. Music is always wonderful for emotive responses. 21:37 <Crion> Sorry, I meant at a sports bar. Unless you have a plan for getting to Jacksonville, Florida. 21:37 <banana> Well, that saves on admission. 21:43 <banana> What Melanie's actually doing then is needling the others in the bar, pointing out just how shitty both these teams are; she understands football well enough to point out all the flaws in the college-level game, and whichever side you're invested in you won't be having a good time today. 21:43 <Crion> What a nard. 21:43 <dammitwho> Maggie's good enough at cooking, and the residents like her so much, that the management of local soup kitchens don't mind so much that she volunteers at very erratic hours. A few simple meals prepared with love, some hearty slaps on the back, and the poor hungry have their bellies filled and their fatigue washed away. 21:47 <Crion> Tony, meanwhile, will have a relatively easy time getting his shotgun back from Big Red. He'll have to listen to him ramble a bit and dig it up himself, but soon, it'll be in his position -- just covered in weird, loamy 'soil.' Probably could use a cleaning. 21:49 <CBN> Tony's feeling a bit drained, both emotionally and magically, so he can't just command the dirt to fall away without putting him even more, no pun intended, in the hole. So while everyone else is off doing whatever they're doing, he's sitting in the Wherehouse, cleaning his gun. Normal. Healthy. 21:51 <VoxPVoxD> The first thing Stewart does is go home and take a nap. Lauren's still bunkered in the Wherehouse, so the apartment is deathly quiet, and lying there alone in bed, shut against the light and the cold, all of this feels unreal enough to sleep by. Even Capra's desecrated corpse, whose image lingers in Stewart's mind's eye as he drifts off, is rendered remote and abstract in his mind, a smear 21:51 <VoxPVoxD> of reds and browns that blurs and fades like the world through teary eyes. 21:55 <VoxPVoxD> A few hours later he wakes up, showers, shaves, and puts on his nice tailored suit. He's got a clipboard in the car, and he drives a few streets down to find an apartment building where no one'd recognize him. A few knocks on a few doors - it takes a while before anyone answers - and then he starts in on a spiel about how he's from the property management company, and he's just performing 21:55 <VoxPVoxD> a routine check. Nothing specific, nothing incriminating... just a clean-cut kid in an expensive suit taking official-looking notes. 21:55 <VoxPVoxD> The fear comes easy. 21:56 <VoxPVoxD> After he's done, he feels like he needs another nap. But he has to settle for a couple drinks. 22:05 <banana> In the meantime, has List had anything to say about Gary, Mother - and the Wherehouse motley's plan to burn down their house? 22:05 <banana> In the meantime, has List had anything to say about Gary, Mother - and the Wherehouse motley's plan to burn down their house? 22:13 <Crion> Everyone who contacts their Court gets the same story: The Regents and Angelfire, along with a couple of Summer's hitters, went into the Winter hollow earlier today...and haven't come out yet. Young Street told Lister, who is now telling Melanie, to give them 24 hours before getting worried. You're eight hours of the way there. 22:13 <Crion> As for the hollow, well. It closed and locked behind them. But it's still there...? 22:14 <Crion> Lister seems distracted until Melanie mentions the Gemma connection, and then he's all ears. His opinion is: go grab that brass ring. You're greenlit. Just don't expect too many Freehold soldiers to be taking that door with you. ...Like, any. 22:16 <Crion> "You sent this guy running once, right?" he'll ask almost rhetorically, in a 'how hard can this really be?' tone. "You got this." 22:17 <Crion> And as for Gemma... "You know our policy on prisoners." 22:17 <Crion> "If she doesn't come back to face judgment willingly...she doesn't come back." 22:18 <banana> Melanie: "I think it's clear Gemma's been coerced. We don't know whether or to what extent she even lied. If I'm wrong, we'll find that out." 22:18 <Crion> Lister: "Then it shouldn't be a problem." 22:20 <Crion> If Stewart reports in, he'll get Gerald; Nels and Maggie, David Smitten. Tony, well. Clean that gun, Tone. 22:20 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, as always, made a full report immediately. 22:21 <Crion> Gerald will relay the news with a bit more caution than Lister, but no more concern. Street and Kingsley are apparently pretty bad about things like 'checking in' once their nose has hit the scent of an adventure -- especially if they're trying to one-up each other. 22:22 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart acknowledges this with no apparent surprise. 22:23 <trenchfoot> Nels still isn't quite used to the concept of calling, well, anyone, but on realizing the others are likely reporting in, she'll put in the call to Smitten. It's probably important, and she is nervous. 22:23 <CBN> Tony's got no one to report to but Steve, and honestly, it's better if Steve's not over-informed so he can over-worry about this one. That's what Tony will tell himself, anyway. 22:24 <Crion> Smitten's a bit more agitated, because this isn't like Amelia Banthem at all -- surely she would have at least sent the IT boy back with word first? -- but there's little to do but wait it out. 22:25 <Crion> Gerald will sign off on the Catonsville plan and sort of hesitate, pretty obviously deciding whether to offer to join you -- but after a few moments of deliberation he says his job keeps him holding down the office while his brother is MIA. 22:26 <dammitwho> Maggie will report to ol' Smitten as well. 22:26 <Crion> Steve, perhaps sensing that Tony is in a mood or perhaps just in a funk himself, will -- rather than parading around in full regalia doing crimes -- quietly grab a beer and plop down next to him as he cleans his shotgun, sipping in the otherwise silence. 22:27 <Crion> Smitten is less enthusiastic about the motley's plan as well, but he's got no standing to order you to stand down, and with both Nels and Maggie telling him about it, he just asks that you be careful. 22:28 <banana> Melanie returns to the hollow in an odd mood - convinced by half a bar of inexplicable Florida fans into half believing their team's any good. 22:28 <banana> "All the Kings and Queens are in Winter," she tells Tony, "and missing. We're don't need or get help." 22:28 <trenchfoot> The bowl game was between Indiana and Tennessee, which, to be fair, is way dumber than Florida. 22:29 <Crion> Smitten, fretting, will suggest you at least take some friends with you. You know the wizards, right? 22:29 <trenchfoot> The...? 22:30 <Crion> The guys that Kingsley knows. 22:30 <Crion> The priest and that hot guy in the union jacket. 22:30 <trenchfoot> She might not have their numbers, but one of them must. 22:32 <CBN> Tony nods to Melanie while using a relatively-not-filthy rag to clean every last speck of dirt from the grip. "I got some help right here." 22:33 <Crion> What kind of shotgun is that anyway, now that the grime's all off? What's it look like? 22:34 <dammitwho> Maggie was gonna ask them anyway! She has Union's number, and will relay what they encountered of Gary. <We probably could use some help! :-)> 22:34 <Crion> <wazzup> 22:34 <Crion> <wait that means nothing to you> 22:34 <Crion> <hey> 22:35 <dammitwho> <Do you know about an evil wizard named Gary? He makes space all twisty> 22:38 <Crion> Union: <lol yeah that guy's a joke> 22:38 <Crion> <wait what> 22:39 <Crion> <gary's life/mind, he doesn't know space???> 22:39 <Crion> <at least we didn't know he knew space?????> 22:39 <banana> Melanie: "Yeah I mean. When you need to kill some guys, a gun is very helpful." 22:39 <banana> "It's not something we've really need to do before." 22:42 <CBN> Tony's shotgun wasn't a double-barrel break-action before, but it is now. I guess the Hedge knows best. Easy as shit to clean, at least. "They took our fuckin' faces. Well, not yours, but mine and Maggie's." Still cleaning, but it won't polish, not really. The finish is dull, but not in a tarnished way, it's just...matte brown now, deeper on the hoping-that's-normal-wood handle, lighter on the maybe-some-metal barrel. Thanks, Hedge. Thedge. 22:43 <banana> Melanie: "I'm not disputing the necessity, it's just... a new experience, as far as I remember." 22:43 <dammitwho> Maggie: <I don't know what that means! Perhaps there is another wizard named Gary?> 22:43 <Crion> <no> 22:43 <banana> "We went after the loyalists and it didn't end up happening. Maybe there's another fakeout here." 22:43 <Crion> <No.> 22:43 <Crion> <i gotta call jesuit. are you guys alright> 22:44 <banana> "The Wyrd loves to repeat themes..." 22:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart arrives at the Wherehouse wearing sweats and a gun. "I didn't miss any wizard attacks, did I?" 22:45 <CBN> Tony: "At least with the Loyalists, one of them didn't want to be there, and another one stopped wanting to be there. These guys, though. These fuckin' guys." Tony nods to Stewart. "Not unless we did too, man." His hands really are getting filthy here, and he's already made of dirt, so that's saying something. 22:46 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's eyes are on the shotgun immediately. "Jeeeeesus." 22:46 <CBN> Tony: "Fuckin', wizards man. Wizards." 22:48 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Everyone who could help from Autumn is in the Winter Hollow. Any luck on you guys' ends?" 22:49 <banana> Melanie: "We're too assumed-competent to be assigned scarce assistance." 22:49 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Oddly flattering." 22:50 <dammitwho> Maggie: <Yes! Thank you :-) We cannot be imprisoned in twisty space> 22:51 <Crion> After a few minutes, Union: <well thats good to hear. jesuit wants to know what your gonna do about him> 22:51 <Crion> <about gary> 22:51 <banana> "Well, Mr. List is probably right. If most of this conspiracy's efforts' are fighting the kings and queens in some other Hollow, and Gary's people have fled, there won't necessarily be much danger at the house.. I think we have to expect traps?" 22:52 <trenchfoot> Nels makes her entrance to the Wherehouse then, flopping bonelessly onto some furniture. "Aren't we always?" 22:53 <banana> Melanie: "Sure, on every occasion that we've gone to assault some kind of Enemy Lair, we are." 22:53 <CBN> Tony: "I think it's a good idea if we figure out what we all can do, if this gets as fucked up and bad as it might with wizards and all." 22:53 <dammitwho> Maggie: <Well the plan at the moment is to step on his head until he looks like a gosh dang religious icon> 22:54 <CBN> Tony: "I can probably scare that lil' fucker again good, and I can track him down again if he does stupid room foldy bullshit. And if we have to run away through the Hedge, I can make it really, really bad for anyone to follow us. So plan around that?" 22:57 <Crion> Union: <well thats fucked up> 22:57 <Crion> Union: <im giving the phone to jesuit> 22:57 <Crion> Union/Jesuit: <Hello! This is extremely concerning!> 22:57 <Crion> <For you> 22:58 <Crion> <Union has told me you said that Gary put you in 'twisty space?' As in, you could tell that magic was working in the world?> 22:59 <Crion> <Nevermind. I have a Log> 22:59 <Crion> <Yes, OK. I should like to see you all at the Belvedere, before you visit Gary. At any time starting right now.> 23:00 <dammitwho> Maggie: <I will let the others know!> 23:01 <banana> Melanie: "As usual, I can hit people and stand in others' way. I can try and work out the philosophical basis of what they're doing, if it's worth extra credit. And of course I can unleash elemental forces and so on if we need to remove the actual house, but that might be too obvious in a suburb." 23:01 <dammitwho> And she will, indeed, call all the other-- shoot, we don't have a cool name for our motley. Are we just 'the Wherehouse', as well as that being where we live? Something to think about. 23:02 <trenchfoot> It's a good name! 23:06 <CBN> Tony: "Well, I guess we just need to figure out who's car we're taking when we do. But I could go for a nap first." His grip on the shotgun does not relax, even as he moves to stand. 23:07 <CBN> *whose car, also 23:07 <Crion> Steve watches, unblinking, then kills his beer. 23:08 <CBN> Tony: "Steve, you're welcome to hang out. Take care of yourself brother, keep your head down for a couple days." 23:08 <Crion> A muted honk. 23:21 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart doesn't sleep a ton that night, partly because of the long afternoon nap and partly because of everything else. 23:22 <Crion> Lauren's here to help him sleep. Like, actually help him sleep, that's not a euphemism. The mood around the place is a bit gloomy between her and Steve, though. Neither is a really big fan of our heroes riding out to the Bad House of Catonsville with just the big irons on their hip. 23:22 <banana> It doesn't occur to Melanie until she's deep in the night's meditation that Tony walking around with his hands glued to the gun would be alarming to normal people. 23:25 <trenchfoot> If normal people saw what we did, they'd understand too. 23:26 <Crion> Third of January. Dawn of the Final Day. 23:26 <Crion> Haha! Kidding. That's overdramatic! 23:27 <Crion> The wizards are expecting you after breakfast. 23:28 <VoxPVoxD> That's fine. Stewart's got a date with a computer anyway. 23:28 <Crion> Lauren is up early -- she didn't really sleep -- and will make it, or help make it if Maggie or Tony want to take lead, but frankly they should sleep in as long as possible. Eggs two ways, scrambled and fried, toast, and bacon. 23:28 <VoxPVoxD> Breakfast... 23:29 <trenchfoot> Eggs... 23:29 <CBN> The good news for the Wherehouse crew is, Tony was up bright and early and had Lauren's help in preparing the spread. You ever fried bacon with a piece of toast on top of it? Now they have. 23:31 <CBN> For his part, Tony made a breakfast sandwich for himself that looks like it'd kill him if today doesn't. So he's doin' good, feelin' fine. 23:31 <banana> Melanie: "Reverse toast. This would be a real hit on.. that internet thing. I used to remember. It's a site they used to have, before, where everyone was into bacon and videogames and so on." Difficult to eat without getting crumbs or grease on her undershirt, but it does taste good. 23:32 <Crion> Bacon, fried egg, and toast does lend itself to sandwiching. Frankly so does scrambled egg if you're willing to take chances and get messy. 23:32 <Crion> Lauren won't eat anything herself. She will kiss Stewart goodbye, say "Come back," and go back to their room. 23:32 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart, an uncannily tidy eater, manages to get away crumb-free. "We will," are his parting words. 23:32 <Crion> A mortal might say, 'promise me.' Changelings don't ask for promises on things like that. 23:33 <CBN> The last time Tony tried the fried-egg sandwich, the dripped yolk on the floor got sticky, then it got weird, then Wyrd. Never again. 23:33 <Crion> Not from lovers, at least. 23:34 <trenchfoot> Eggs, toast, and bacon are just as fine separately as they are together. Although... sandwiches... 23:38 <Crion> The Belvedere is waiting, when you're ready. 23:40 <CBN> Tony, around another sandwich for the road: "Amnyway, mlike gI mwas sayim." Chew, swallow, polite. "Anyone else know what kinda wizard shit there is? So far I know there's fire wizard, space wizard, and ghost wizard." 23:41 <banana> Melanie: "Maggie, did you say something about life wizard and mind wizard?" 23:41 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "There are ten Arcana." 23:41 <banana> "Or was Jesuit speaking speaking metaphorically, like the 'life of the mind'. Nerd wizard." 23:42 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart opens the Notes app on his phone. "Prime, Forces, Fate, Time, Mind, Space, Death, Matter, Spirit, and Life." 23:42 <trenchfoot> Nels: "What's Prime? The rest seem... mostly self-explanatory." 23:43 <trenchfoot> "Maybe not Spirit, either." 23:43 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Prime is like magic and truth. Spirit is... spirits, I guess." 23:43 <CBN> Tony: "Oh! Like ghosts." 23:43 <banana> "Which are.. what?" 23:43 <banana> "Ghosts would be Death, surely." 23:44 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I'm not totally sure what does and doesn't count as a spirit." 23:44 <CBN> Tony: "Well but like, ghosts are spirits, like in Christmas Carol and Scrooge and stuff." 23:45 <CBN> Tony: "You ever wonder if wizards just make up the categories to sound like they do more than they do?" 23:45 <trenchfoot> Nels: "How many of these can 'Gary' use?" 23:45 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "The thing he did to us was very powerful Space magic." 23:45 <banana> Melanie: "If it's all categorisation, there could be overlap. The boundary between Matter and Forces doesn't have to be hard like the seasons, they're supposed to be the same thing on some quantum level." 23:48 <CBN> Tony: "Melanie I love you like a sister but, you give me strong wizard vibes. A lot." 23:48 <VoxPVoxD> "Nothing wrong with that." 23:50 <trenchfoot> No, there is. Wizards. 23:50 <banana> Melanie: "Ehh. What they do is probably really interesting on some intellectual level, like you could have - I'm sure they do have - arguments about which Arcana is better or truer.. but it also isn't a choice or personality thing. Look at Union. They're as selected as we are, with the forces involved making similar decisions about suitability, that is to say, none..." 23:51 <CBN> Tony: "And remind me, the egg thing at the baseball stadium, that's something they can do, or something that they work for, or what?" 23:54 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "It was kind of a weird riff on I guess the wizard equivalent of an angel." 23:54 <CBN> Tony: "And can they summon angels, or do they take orders from them, or do they do how Loyalists are with Keepers?" 23:55 <CBN> Tony: "Just trying to figure our odds on running into another one of those when we go after these guys." 23:55 <VoxPVoxD> "The wizards like Gary who are in with the wizard gods can ask for an angel -- an ochema -- to help, or be sent one if their god thinks they fucked up." 23:56 <CBN> Tony: "Ah, well fuck then, two ways." 23:56 <VoxPVoxD> "It's not zero, but, they're not like... we're not overrun with them." 23:56 <VoxPVoxD> "They're big deals." 23:56 <banana> Melanie: "Are any of the wizard gods.. ones we'd recognise?" 23:57 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "I don't know for sure. We could ask Jesuit, he'd know." 23:57 <banana> "You'd hope so. Things that shape stories instead of the other way around." 23:58 <VoxPVoxD> Anyway, we're here. Stewart finds a place to park, eyes out for evil valets. 23:58 <Crion> When you arrive at the Belvedere -- who drove? -- Fireman and Union are waiting at the door. 23:58 <Crion> Ah. 23:59 <Crion> They'll wave you over. Hopefully you're not just waving those guns around in the street. 00:00 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart's is hidden under his "I haven't left my dorm room in four days" outfit of slightly-too-large sweatclothes. 00:00 <Crion> Ah, the Eilish special. 00:00 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart probably doesn't get that reference. 00:01 <banana> Melanie hasn't been here before, so she's trailing the others quietly and looking out for anything worth gawking at. 00:03 <CBN> Tony's leaving his in the trunk, and hoping no one heard him whisper 'back soon' to it. He puts on his brave, I-don't-hate-these-wizards face, but. C'mon. 00:05 <Crion> Union: "Heyy. What's up. Jesuit's upstairs. We're bypassing the bar." 00:06 <Crion> Fireman grunts with annoyance but nods and gestures, leading the way to the elevator to the 13th. 00:06 <VoxPVoxD> Wheeeee. 00:07 <CBN> Tony: "Hey guys! Is there a way to avoid getting trapped in a basement by wizards? That happened to us last night. He made it an infinitely long hallway kinda thing. Also good morning." 00:07 <Crion> Union: "Hey man. Yeah. What you do is you kill him." 00:07 <Crion> This time, when the elevator reaches that floor, it stops -- and it turns in a different direction than when it's let out into the library for Stewart every time. 00:07 <Crion> This time it lets out into a conference room. 00:08 <CBN> Tony smiles serenely at the thought. 00:08 <Crion> Frankly, this space shouldn't fit on the floor. It's not how roomy it is -- though it is roomy -- it's the fact that it has a vaulted ceiling that clearly should be pushing into the 14th floor. And yet, here they are. 00:09 <Crion> Jesuit sits at the head of the oblong table. 00:09 <VoxPVoxD> Weird geometry. 00:09 <Crion> There are three pitchers of ice water with lemon and chilled tumblers sitting out, if anyone wishes to partake. Jesuit is. 00:09 <Crion> "So. Gary." 00:10 <banana> Melanie: "Hello. He's probably gone, but if not, we're going to kill him." 00:11 <Crion> Jesuit: "I do not think so." 00:11 <Crion> "To the first part." 00:11 <Crion> "I'm agnostic as to the second." 00:11 <Crion> "But first..." 00:11 <banana> Ah! An ecclesiastical joke. 00:11 <Crion> To Stewart: "I have it you have a question to ask? And not of me." 00:12 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart: "Yeah, is there a way to get to the library from here?" 00:12 <Crion> The elevator doors will reopen. "Yes." 00:12 <Crion> "The rest of you...please enjoy the bracing water." 00:12 <CBN> Tony goes to pour himself a glass and pauses: "This regular water or magic water?" 00:12 <Crion> Union laughs. 00:12 <Crion> Jesuit: "It has lemon." 00:12 <Crion> He says this very deliberately. 00:13 <CBN> Tony pours himself a little bit. "Fancy, thanks." 00:13 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart ducks out with a last awkward look around but no parting words. 00:13 <VoxPVoxD> What does the Book have to say about God Above Rejoices in You? 00:13 <Crion> The elevator twists and opens immediately into the library. Everafter, sitting at the librarian's desk, waves him through. 00:14 <Crion> The question is simple. The answer is...probably also too simple. There's some magic at work here -- but Stewart and the Book are powerful. 00:14 <Crion> The entry for God Above Rejoices in You is long and involved and...somehow still unsatisfying. First the somewhat intimidating bits: there are a lot of biographical details in there -- he has prolonged his own life a ridiculous degree, apparently riding first with the Mongols and then serving Tamerlane (apparently it was he who was Tamerlane's, nee Amir Timur's, opponent in the conqueror's 00:14 <Crion> development of the Tamerlane variant of chess, played on a larger board), before disappearing for a time and wandering up to what was becoming Russia, flitting in and out of Catherine and Peter's courts, egging on Rasputin and fleeing before the fallout. This covers hundreds of years of history; he appears to die and come back at least once. 00:14 <Crion> After the revolution, he reappears in cheap mystical societies on the continent and for a time in Weimar Germany dabbled in Thulian life -- in fact, during the Second World War he played at being Pentacle, presenting as a British mage sent over by the OSS and adopting the shadow name "Beaumains" among the Resistance consiliums. As far as it went, this face turn appears to have been genuine; 00:14 <Crion> the Nazi mages knew him as "The Red Knight," both because of the connection in Arthurian legend and, more importantly, how often he soaked himself in their blood. The passage suggests that perhaps this was more an outcome of some deep-seated, internecine conflict with the Thulians than some true heroic face-turn. When the war ended, Beaumains disappeared. 00:14 <Crion> He stayed disappeared for some 60 years, re-emerging in Baltimore during the financial crisis with documents and standing that quickly ingratiated him to the Baltimore Pylon. When Society staged his coup in 2009 with the help of the defector Counselor, "Gary" kept his head down and swore fealty...and apparently, no one was the wiser as to his true identity or power. It's unclear from the 00:14 <Crion> entry what, precisely, he's doing...but the Book is certain that this creature of hubris and will is always playing the long game, has a heavy interest in syncretism and philosophical blend, and never really believes what comes out of his mouth. Hopefully it's possible to actually kill him. 00:15 <VoxPVoxD> Well, shit. 00:19 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart makes his way back as fast as he can. 00:20 <Crion> Jesuit, when he returns: "Stewart. You look pale. That means you've learned something." 00:21 <VoxPVoxD> Stewart sits down immediately and reads off his notes. When he's done, he pours and drains most of a glass of water. 00:22 <Crion> Jesuit: "Ah. So he's--" 00:22 <Crion> Union: "Antifa." 00:22 <Crion> Jesuit: "Functionally immortal." 00:22 <banana> Melanie: "An ancient creature of power and knowledge who was, somehow, scared of us." 00:23 <Crion> Jesuit: "That's quite an accomplishment, yes. But not one to rest on. You said he severed your sympathetic tie?" 00:23 <Crion> "You don't get to surprise a master a second time." 00:23 <banana> "No I mean- we need to find out what the actual threat was, the thing that endangers him, and use that." 00:24 <Crion> Union: "The way Space magic works is that he's literally there with you. So maybe the actual threat was, literally, you, about to beat him to a pulp." 00:24 <CBN> Tony: "Ah well fuck, Christ. Cool." Tone saying: not cool to realize after the fact. 00:25 <trenchfoot> Fucker shouldn't have tried to trap us in a forever maze if he didn't want to get beaten up, then. 00:25 <CBN> Tony: "Maybe he just doesn't like getting his hands dirty anymore?" 00:25 <Crion> Jesuit: "Possible. But then he made quite the gambit projecting into that archive." 00:26 <CBN> Tony: "Hey wait, if he's in two places at once, does that mean hurting either one hurts both, or what?" 00:27 <Crion> Fireman: "There's no 'both.' Space is folded. The two locations are one. There is only one him. You could hit him so hard he flew from the basement of that courthouse into his Catonsville living room." 00:27 <banana> "Attractive. But what can something like this do when it's had time to prepare?" 00:27 <CBN> Tony: "Siiiick." 00:28 <Crion> Jesuit: "Oh, many monstrous things." 00:28 <Crion> Jesuit: "Tell me, when did he become scared? Was it when you broke free of his Space trap...or was it when he realized you knew he was there, and could physically find him?" 00:31 <CBN> Tony: "Well, I did uh...one of our magic things, and I also told him I was going to come kick his ass, and told him where he was, because I knew where he was." 00:31 <CBN> Tony: "So both, all?" 00:31 <Crion> Jesuit, diplomatically: "It sounds like the latter." 00:31 <Crion> "It sounds as if he was arrogant, and doing an experiment." 00:31 <Crion> "How do groups of the Lost react to Space magic, etcetera." 00:32 <Crion> "It seems you showed him." 00:32 <CBN> Tony: "For what it's worth, the magic thing also felt like it stuck pretty good, usually you get kind of a twinge when it doesn't, like banging your shin on a coffee table." 00:32 <CBN> Tony: "Either way he didn't stick around at all right after." 00:32 <Crion> Jesuit: "Are you still tracking him?" 00:35 <CBN> Tony: "I woulda, but he broke it off himself." 00:35 <Crion> Jesuit: "Mmmmm. Yes, I think he's taking you seriously now." 00:35 <Crion> "...You managed to scare him, though?" 00:36 <CBN> Tony nods: "Seemed like! He stopped being there, and dropped the stupid long hallway thing, and broke off the tracker I had going." 00:37 <Crion> Jesuit smiles beatifically. "That's quite the accomplishment. I doubt he's been scared in many, many years." 00:37 <Crion> "..." 00:37 <Crion> "Union, get the car." 00:38 <Crion> Jesuit stands, and you see he's wearing atheltic sweatpants instead of slacks. "I'm going to change, and then we'll go." 00:38 <CBN> Tony shrugs: "Happy that the one hammer I have hit the nail on the head there." 00:41 <Crion> Fireman: "It's a way to do the work." 00:42 <CBN> Tony: "Any advice you can give us, to help get out of this stuff in future? Honestly it felt like dumb luck not still being in a basement now." 00:43 <Crion> Jesuit looks at Tony with slight shock: "Advice?" 00:43 <Crion> "My advice is 'ask your mage friends for help.'" 00:43 <Crion> "We're coming with you." 00:44 <CBN> Tony: "Hey, many hands make light work, we'll take it." 00:44 <Crion> Union: "Actually, Matter magic makes light work--" 00:45 <Crion> Fireman: "We'll get things set." To the motley: "I'll show you down to the bar if you need breakfast. Otherwise, give us 20." 00:46 <CBN> Tony: "We get out of this in one piece, we'll make you breakfast one of these days. But thanks." 00:46 <Crion> The mage-motley alliance is sealed, and the assault on 301 Locust Drive will begin...next week.