I pray to the LORD for wisdom and discernment and protection, that I would know how He would have me interact with this presence in my vision.
IF He leads me toward interacting (rather than ignoring, or attacking, or fleeing), then I attempt to read her surface thoughts, while saying "What is your name? And what brings you here?"
Interaction.
She has no surface thoughts.
"Wrong answer. And supposedly you set me here. If you want to go forward, then enter the Butcher's Shoppe on Halston. And take the door on the right in the back."
She vanishes, and you're back out of your vision with a nasty surge.
I blink, and shake my head, and mentally share my vision with Bob.
:: What are your impressions? Do you have any insight, or suggestions for how to answer such a question, if I encounter her again? And do you think I should proceed with the Butcher's Shoppe? ::
"Um."
::He doesn't recognize Sarah?! That could be the mind memory thing. What's going on? I mean, its Black Magic to wipe my memories like he did, and then he must have done it to himself.::
"Find the girl."
"I honestly don't know. I know thats a door to the Nevernever."
::Just what is going on? Is that a trap?::
"What is the Nevernever?"
"Um." Bob the Talking Skull seems to be rendered speechless.
::WHAT is going on? A. Oak's majorly blown his mind on faerie dust. B. This is not Oak, and therefore is something nasty that probably would like to munch on tasty spirit and knows enough magic to get through Oak's wards, and brazen enough to risk the Threshold. Bad, bad news for Bob. (A long string of curse words follows.)
An extremely calm and polite Bob speaks up.
"Its the over reality, the land of everything that does not quite fit into normal reality."
::And even a mage with a tenth of Oak's talent knows what the NeverNever is.::
My own natural instincts are to level with Bob, and tell him who and what I am, and how I came to be here.
But I remember the LORD's prompting for me not to tell Karrin.
So I pray silently for the LORD's leading now, seeking insight as to whether or not it is of Him for me to speak of such matters with Bob...
Not yet is the clear impression.
"I don't recall hearing that term before."
My brow furrows.
"Well, Bob, this seems like a worthy case, even if we ourselves are the clients. For this mystery, we have three questions to be answered."
"One, what memories have been deleted?"
"Two, how did we come to be in this situation?"
"And three, who did it?"
I regard him quietly.
"Any ideas?"
"Perhaps a fourth question: Why was it done?" Bob says. "As far as I'm aware the only people that have come in here are the Wizard John Oakmaster, myself, and Molly. I am uncertain if Molly has the power to do this, she might, but the skill to do it, without damaging me, again perhaps as she is more of a light touch than you. But to convince me to volunteer for her to do so, highly doubtful. Which leads me to the conclusion that I and the Wizard did it to ourselves which is Black Magic, of a sorta grey kind."
He pauses and you can read his mind that he's not holding anything back although he is prepared to fight you in a wizard's duel if you try to jump him.
"I am uncertain of what you have lost, but I have lost everything of the last month except for the last three days."
He pauses.
"I believe I have answered your questions."
::Well, Ramirez...nah, the funny guy is clever, but not that powerful to break a Threshold, and still bespell me. Merlin, that old stick, wouldn't bother. Ancient Mai, well she could, and if she has, oh boy, we're so dead. And Oakmaster's old nemesis, oh, he'd love to do this to Oak and me. Probably buy himself a fancy bottle of Dom after he executed us both with his Warden's Sword. Not sure he's got the juice. Of course, Oak has made a LOT of enemies, demigods, demons, White Court, Red Court, Black Court vamps, Sidhe queens, necromancers...its really surprising he's still alive, that is if he is, and this person in here is him. First rule, survive. Second rule, think about helping Oak out.::
I pray silently, seeking the LORD's leading as to whether or not I should enter the Butcher's Shoppe on Halston, and take the door on the right in the back...
You pray, and you realize there are a number of things you could do....
1. Track down that Imp who promised to murder someone in your honor.
2. Track down who Sarah is.
3. Get ready for the party tonight.
4. Check out Johnny Marcone.
5. Wait for Molly to show up.
6. Get breakfast, or perhaps lunch.
7. Research the NeverNever, particularly in the folio in Wizard Oak's collection.
8. Try to blast past the image of Sarah with raw power.
9. Since Marcone is denying you burned down the Velvet Room in a somewhat unconvincing manner, investigate this.
10. You now know Ramirez is the funny man...
11.Go visit the Butcher Shoppe and try the door.
12. Ask the Ring for data.
13. Research why most of your dreams of the future show up with 'Fire' or 'FIRE'.
14. Other possibilities...
Indeed I do realize possibilities such as these.
However, I am acutely aware that:
(*) the LORD has brought me here for His good purposes
(*) I don't know what those purposes are yet
(*) I don't know a whole lot of other things yet either
(*) my own wisdom, randomly flailing around, won't be as effective as His leading, if I can discern it
(*) my own instincts thus far (tell Karrin about me, tell Bob about me, don't necessarily engage with the girl in the vision) have not thus far proven reliable here, since He has led me to act contrary to my own instincts
My own current instincts would be:
(*) tell Bob about me
(*) try to blast past the image of Sarah with raw power (dealing with things via the LORD's power and playing to my strengths, rather than dealing with things by Sarah's rules or anyone else's and playing to their strengths)
However, I already know it isn't time yet to tell Bob, so I'm also unsure if blasting past the image is what the LORD has in mind for me.
Therefore, I seek His leading in prayer, so that I would have insight into which of the many possibilities He would have me prioritize...
OOC: I'm aware that such an approach might short-circuit the scenario, so I won't be offended if you don't want to provide such leading. But in character, seeking His leading is what I would do... :)
OOC: I should not complain too much. Its a wonderful hook, and allows me to impose odd restrictions. And I have an answer for you, which even if it turns out to be apparently wrong, I'll put it down to the mysterious purposes of God aka if you are not smart enough to figure out how to outthink a superintelligence, then how would you be able to outplan God who is vastly smarter than a Starsongian 'mad god', or an Avalonian superintelligence.
You feel God leading you to what your player had decided for you to do. (I hope that's not too disrespectful. I don't think it is.)
So you you are barred from telling others of your true identity, you dig deep and go after the image of Sarah in a postcognitive trance.
This time, she appears right away.
And you assault the way with force and diligence until you begin to drive her back.
"Oak, please, stop, Oak!" You hear Bob's panicked voice from mundane reality. "My skull is beginning to crack."
"Heads you lose, tails I win." the Sarah image says.
I pause quietly within the vision.
"Why do you seek to hinder me? Are our paths irreconcilably opposed?"
"I was set here by the Wizard Oak for his purposes which he did not tell me. You may yield, or give me my secret and I will let you pass, or destroy Bob."
Bob appears in the vision.
"Ah, I really don't like the plan that involves me getting smushed. As I trust Oak, I have to assume he had a good reason as he would see it to kill me. He'd better have a good reason. You'd better have had a good reason, because I'm thinking about killing you myself."
"Hmmm. So I'm supposed to avoid the plan where you get smushed, so that you can kill me instead. Well, I guess that's what friends are for. But is it likely you would be in your current state if you hadn't agreed to it?"
I sigh, and turn back to Sarah.
"There must be a good reason why you were set here. So I will cease my current efforts. Have you any advice or wisdom to offer me?"
After the vision ends, I ask Bob if he is OK, and try to mend or heal him if necessary.
Then I go upstairs, and pray, seeking any glimpses of superintelligent insight that the remnants of the supertech in my brain may be able to provide...
"No, as I said, the signs in my brain show that it was voluntary. There'd be more damage if I was forced to it." Bob says. "And don't forget teh romance novels."
"Find my secret, or go to the Butcher Shoppe or cease seeking this way." The Image of Sarah says as the vision ends.
"No, just give me time. I know the magics to heal myself. Your necromancy is a bit subpar." Bob says.
You seek insight, and you have suddenly a flicker. Sarah on Hardison Tower...you were to meet her. On a date. The last thing that Bob remembered before his amnesia began. Its likely that somewhere around here is information on her phone number or address.
You flip through some papers, and eventually find written in the back of the telephone book a name 'Sarah Maxwell' with a phone number.
The front door opens, and a pony-tailed girl comes bouncing in.
"Good to have you back, boss."
I smile and give a welcoming nod, even as I attempt to tap into her surface thoughts and language center.
"Thank you very much. What has been happening around here lately?"
"Well," She frowns crossly. "I've managed to get four of the beads on my bracelet to stand up."
::You get a flash of her furiously concentrating, and cursing your name, and then going back to concentrating.::
She holds out a bracelet made of copper wire and fifteen black beads. She frowns again, this time in concentration. And three of the beads go to the top and pull up into the air.
::Up. Up.::
"I don't see why I have to do this before I can help you." She pouts. And then brightens up as Mouse comes charging in.
::He's as bad as Dad with this 'little grasshopper' garbage. I should call Dad, see if I can schedule some sparring with longswords. Get the kinks out of my back, and let me blow off steam.::
"Been feeding the Voracious Appetite." She says as she go gets his and Mister's food. "And," Calling out a bit louder from the kitchenette. "I did the research you wanted me to do on Mrs. O'Leary and the Great Windy City Fire. Turns out Mrs. O'Leary was on the Wizard's Council at the time. She dissappeared twenty years later. Could be still alive. Would be in her second or third century by now, I guess."
::Should have remembered to get O'Leary's exact age.::
"OK, well done with the research. Thanks."
"Now I need you to write up complete briefings on every case I've been involved with for the past two months, and the sooner the better. I'll need them quickly to get an out-of-town consultant up to speed, so don't assume they have any local knowledge. Start with the most recent ones first, and give each one to me as soon as it is ready. How fast do you think that can you have them ready?"
I smile.
"Not only will that be useful to me, but it will also help you learn how best to help me. The more complete your grasp on these things, the better."
"Oh, and keep at the beads. Among other things, you will need control, and discipline, and perseverance to progress."
OOC: I need clarification...
You feel God leading you to what your player had decided for you to do. (I hope that's not too disrespectful. I don't think it is.)
So you you are barred from telling others of your true identity, you dig deep and go after the image of Sarah in a postcognitive trance.
I wasn't certain how to parse the typo. Am I barred from telling others of my true identity, or not barred? :o
OOC: You are barred. Now why would that be?
She blinks.
"Um, okay, I can do that. Of course, I wasn't that involved with some of the stuff, but what I have I can get for you." She thinks. "Two days, okay?"
::He kept me out of a lot of things, and made me stay home a lot. But I'll start with that renegade magician, then the LSD murders, then helping him build his city model. Need to get out some notepaper."
She finished up.
"Now that I've got my assignment for the next bit, is there anything else you want me to do?" She says as she heads to the door to leave.
::New Magic Spell. New Magic Spell.::
OOC: GM Whim, no doubt... :p
"OK. Whatever you finish sooner, give to me first."
"Oh, please get O'Leary's exact age for me as well."
I give a friendly nod.
"Keep working at the beads. When building a building, you need a firm foundation."
After she departs, I pray, asking the LORD to reveal what has happened to my dop, or some insight to help me discern this mystery...
OOC: A bit of that. :) But there is an in-game reason beyond that.
You pray, and you get an image that seems to require poetry to understand. A snowstorm hurricane covering the Midwest, and in the eye of the hurricane, your dop rests. When you seek more information, you're suddenly aware that the hurricane is aware of you. And the vision breaks, no, that's too violent a word, the vision ceases, as if a newborn baby had a toy gently removed from its grasp. You're not sure what that hurricane was, or what it represented, but it had power that dwarfed what you've received as a man does a baby.
I scan through the "Songs of Clouds" Poetry book to see if there are any relevant references to my vision of the dop resting in the eye of a snowstorm hurricane.
After that, I go downstairs to the gray cloak, and gently lay hands upon it.
Then I pray, and reach out with my postcognitive senses toward the cloak.
And then I pray again, and attempt to telepathically contact my dop, using the clock as a link between us...
Winter Queen
In the snow
I stood quiet
Sitting soft on the drift
As my lady walked
Toward, ever toward
Me she stepped over
The snow, Between the
Flakes
Dream of regal grace
My Winter Queen
Surrounded by her storm
That's the closest you find.
You reach back into the past.
You're standing in a circle. The man who tried to kill you in your dream is across from you. To your right is a Native American man in a grey cloak. To your left is an All-American Girl, also in a cloak. All those in the circle have one.
In the middle, is a Korean guy spitting out blasphemies and insults as he is forced to kneel on the stones.
Your enemy looks at you with a cold smile.
"Warden, you brought him in." He pauses. "However, you're without a sword. Let me handle this for you." He draws his silver sword and a strong voice cries...
"For the crime of Black Magic, the Wizard's Council sentences..."
The vision fades.
You pray, and suddenly you're very cold, and nothing else happens.
I emerge with a thoughtful expression, and ponder.
Then I move to the eagle bookend, and pray, and stretch my postcognitive senses toward it.
And after, I do the same with the shelf upon which the skull resides...
You see a vision of a different room, a ratty apartment. You see something with too many arms come crashing through the wall, followed by a vision of loveliness almost too beautiful to bear.
"Wizard, you should have known an apartment has little Threshold." The lady says with a cute smile as she raises a kukri knife to slice you open.
You see your other, in deep fear, reach up and smash one of the eagle bookends. And the
All-American Girl steps in from the kitchen.
"Ms. Raith, this is America, not the Old World, and nobody cares how noble a vampiric bloodline you bear."
The thing takes AAG's lightning bolt by diving in front of the vampiress who flees before the wrath of a Warden. The thing turns into slime.
"Called from the NeverNever, young man. Oak, right? Well, accept Martha's advice, get a long-term lease or a house, and ward it properly."
You catch a vision of your dop banging his thumb hard with a hammer as he tries to put up the shelf.
The vision ends, and you're a bit shaky with all the psi work you've been doing, and your stomach rumbles as well. It's lunchtime, and you had coffee for breakfast.
OOC: Oops, double post... :o
After entering the apartment, I give whatever loving attention Mouse and Mister may be needing, and get some breakfast for myself.
Then I take some time for Bible reading, and a quiet time in prayer.
And then I pray for wisdom and insight into the nature of the skull downstairs, and whoever (or whatever) is watching me from it, whether directly or indirectly...
OOC: Nah, I don't do coffee, and I don't skip breakfast. But I'm about ready for some lunch anyway... :)
I sigh, and stretch, and make my way upstairs for lunch. And as I eat...
"Ring & CU2. Please update me with current analysis results..."
After lunch, I look around the apartment for information regarding nearby libraries and/or bookstores, and for any cash, credit cards, IDs, library cards, etc...
OOC: Ok. But Karrin had offered you coffee, so evidently your dop does do java.
The food is mac and cheese, ham slices for sandwich bread, and the like. There is no microwave so you're left fiddling with the antique gas stove.
"A high pressure cell with an inversion layer is causing the unseasonable warmth in the day, while allowing the normal temperatures at night. Uncertain about their theories as they seem to have logic errors inside them.
Also, three recent fires which is statistically anomalous we gather. One is at the corner of Oak St. and Maestro Blvd..
Also, the leaderof the nation-state of Suzari has threatened that Vespucia 'will burn in the fire she has given others'.
Also, Reverend John Fredericks is currently preaching a sermon on the radio entitled. 'Why the world will end in fire in thirty days.'
Our analysis suggests an unusual for human, and unusual for this culture, preoccupation with 'fire' and 'apocalypse'."
"Play sermon from beginning." And I listen while eating...
After lunch, I look in the apartment for info on libraries and bookstores nearby, and for my dop's IDs, library cards, cash, credit cards, etc...
You listen to the Reverend who pounds, shouts, and condemns with enthusiasm the excesses of the wicked, and the corruption of the government in the Windy City, and the apathy of the people.
"And the Lord has revealed to me, my children, he has revealed to me his faithful servant, and me alone, that on the Summer Solstice the demon Azarael will be released from the Pit, and all who are not brought into Holy Communion will be erased in fire! Come to me, my children, and I will show you the path to life everlasting."
You find a wallet.
Inside it are two hundred marks in various denominations, the largest a single fifty. A wrapped up piece of paper with a single phone number on it in a feminine hand, and some lipstick in a kiss. Another more recent piece of paper.
"Wizards don't use credit cards." Says the paper.
There is a driver's license, and you see that you were born on the same day as your other, although his full name is 'John Houdini Copperfield Oakmaster'. Looking at the picture is close to looking at yourself, although there is a harder, more dangerous look about your other. He looks like a man it would not be wise to mug in a dark alley.
You see a Windy City Public Library Card.
There's a bar tab for McConnelly's.
Around the apartment you find an add for McKay's Used Books, and another one for the Book Emporium, and one for Dark Forces (Books with Danger) says the subtitle. In the blue pages you find about two dozen more bookstores, although the blue pages drop open from use to 'Wizards', and you're the only one listed in teh blue pages.
OOC: Is the "Wizards don't use credit cards" paper in my handwriting?
I ponder that particular piece of paper thoughtfully, as well as the tidings from the sermon.
"What are the locations of the other fires, besides the one at Oak St. and Maestro Blvd.?"
Those street names can't be just a coincidence...
Then I pray for wisdom, and refreshment, and guidance. And I attempt (downstairs, if necessary) to stretch my telepathic senses toward Reverend John Fredericks, to probe his thoughts, and determine how genuine he is, and how genuine his revelation story is...
OOC: Yes.
"Wedgley and Martins. LSD." The Ring replies.
You pray, and suddenly you remember the Imp of Fire promising to dedicate its next murder to you. And you know what started the fire at Oak and Maestro.
You reach out to the Reverend's thoughts, and you feel a rising pulse of energy inside you building, soaring out of control, and then it halts as you feel help. You've contacted the Reverend's mind.
"Joe, I know you want to do what God wants, to be saved from the wrath to come. Well, Communion of the Saints means Communion. We share and share alike. There is no marriage in the fellowship. Your wife, Kimberly, will be loved and shared amongst the others of the congregation,a nd spiritually counselled by the deacons and by me, of course."
"But, really...."
"Son! Have you looked outside? Felt the heat? Had the dreams of fire? You KNOW what's coming don't you? Do you want yourself, and your lovely wife and children to be saved?"
"I-I guess so sir."
You reach back into the past.
You're standing in a circle. The man who tried to kill you in your dream is across from you. To your right is a Native American man in a grey cloak. To your left is an All-American Girl, also in a cloak. All those in the circle have one.
OOC: Man who tried to kill me in my dream??? What man? What dream? :o
-=-
You reach out your post-cognitive senses, and are suddenly gripped by such a powerful vision that you black out. Upon waking, all you can remember is fire and the phrase 'the ladies three give the weird' and 'ok.' after it.
"CU2, what is the local date and time?"
After lunch, I pray, and ask for the LORD's healing and discernment, and attempt to probe my own thoughts, seeking the forgotten details of the powerful vision I experienced.
Then I head down to chat with Bob again.
"I'm trying to mentally round up possible suspects for the memory misplacer, but I'm not certain I know all the possible angles."
"What enemies do you remember either or both of us having? And which ones do you think are the most likely suspects? Please give me a synopsis..."
You remember back to your first vision of the future. There had been a man in it with a sword trying to cut off your head in a fight with you. Now from this second vision, you recognize the sword as a Warden's sword. Evidently, you're a Warden as well, but you don't have a sword for some reason.
CU2 gives you the date of May 21, or thirty days till the Summer Solstice, of 2010, and a time of 12:30 in the afternoon. The outside temp is 96 Fahrenheit.
You pray.
And you remember a pastor talking...some times we have to start with milk, can't handle the tough stuff right off. After we get tougher, more wise, more knowledgeable, more trusting...well then God sends us the hard cases.
Bob giggles and then gets himself under control.
"Oak, you've made so many enemies. The most logical suspect though is ourselves. Somehow we saw somethng we thought it better to forget. And while you have a lot of enemies, and I have a fair number of them, only Molly, Ramirez, and you know about me being in your service. If you want to know who or more importantly what is your enemy in the preternatural world, you might better start with what or who is NOT your enemy. Of course, by now, a lot of them are rather cautious about messing with you, considering what tends to happen to those who attack you."
I consider his words thoughtfully.
"Please summarize all you remember about Molly and about Ramirez..."
Molly is your apprentice. She is twenty, blonde-haired, perky. She is the daughter of your friend, Matthew Schmidt. She tried to 'fix' her druggie boyfriend with Black Magic, and ended up turning him solidly nuts so he spends his days confined in an asylum. For that, she was going to be executed, but you stepped in, and took her on. Of course, if she strays again, then not only is she executed, but you this time. She's got a more subtle touch with magic than you do, but then most people do. She does have greater skill with empathic magics.
Ramirez is the hotshot Warden, a young twenty-five year old, the youngest Warden in over ninety years. He's good with knives, and electrical magics. He's got a strong sense of humor, and he tends to have a large number of stories about his successes with the ladies. He usually works the Southwest. He's not as powerful as you are, but he might well become so.
Bob considers it possible, but unlikely that either could have forced him to amnesia, and with doing the amount of damage, he thinks it rather unlikely. You could have forced him too, especially with the bond between skull and owner, but he thinks it unlikely you could do it with such minimum damage against his will. You're not exactly known for your light touch with the magic. If you had your skill and Molly's skill together, you could. Or, as he thinks, it was voluntary.
I monitor his thoughts as he summarizes, probing for faces to match with the names.
Does Ramirez look familiar?
IF he doesn't match the man who tried to slice off my head in the vision...
"OK, here is another question. Do you recognize this guy?"
And I telepathically share a still image of the man in my vision...
And after his response...
"What about Sarah? What skills are her strengths?"