Hunters · Page 3

"At 0900 tomorrow, you'll be debriefed by Gabriel and Kamikaze on any intelligence you have concerning the Protectives and you'll receive any intelligence we've collected, for your study. At 1200, you'll make rounds to assess area security and then assist Gabriel and Kamikaze in directing group leaders and their people in making the necessary renovations. Tomorrow, Colonel Baker and I will be making a visit to some allies.

Now, gentlemen, you're on leave for tonight. Rest and take your ease. Gabriel and Kamikaze will get you oriented. Colonel, I need your time for a little while longer. Magius, Pendragon, Moonlight..."

We move into the common building.

"Colonel, you may have heard stories and rumors in your time of working with the Protectives. The substance, if not the details, are true. Magius, a demonstration, please..." I let him preform a parlor trick, similar to the way that he did with Jack. "The Council are composed of mages--or wizards, or sorcerers, or enchanters; call them what you will, but in wielding that power, they made a deal with some demons to gain power over the whole world. And that, along with a liberal application of the gun and a jackboot to the back of the neck, is how they maintain it.

Legends, in many cases, are as a true as conventional history. My subordinates have unusual backgrounds and abilities. Magius is, well, a mage, as you've just now seen. Moonlight, my wife, is a werewolf--not quite what you think--and capable of traveling through an unseen realm from one point to another over great distances, in the blink of an eye. Gabriel can has ability to produce flame, thanks to the shattered hilt of an angelic sword that's taken the place of his heart. Kamikaze has an ability to turn invisible. Pendragon is particularly, uh, durable, I guess you could say. I...," I use telekinesis to lift a couple of objects off the table, "...have learned a thing or two over the years. Jack is, well...he's 'just' our explosives expert.

Those abilities--some exotic, some mundane--give us an advantage in fighting the Council, but our greatest weapon has been a bended knee and hands folded in prayer. That's what brought you here.

I've given them military training, but they've just about reached the extent of what I can teach. I'll be removing myself from that position and giving it to you, so you can take them farther and I can continue to manage overall operations. That's especially important as we grow beyond the confines of this small hamlet and begin rebuilding the Armed Forces. To that end, we have forty recent arrivals who should be fit enough recruits, with more on the way. We also have the names of about fifteen-hundred US military veterans, most with special operations backgrounds, spread all over the globe. We're sending out messengers, as we can, to contact them, but it's a slow process.

And that brings us to our meeting tomorrow. We'll be meeting the mayor and sheriff, who are both with us. I still have yet to work out the details, but in the next few months, we'll hopefully establish a provisional government with in the city limits. But tomorrow, we'll discuss the full extent of our plans."

I wave a ghost forward--they tend to linger about--"'Could you please ask the mayor to have the sheriff in his office for a 9:00 AM meeting? I'm sure they'll both be quite surprised to learn they're both on our side.'

Now, to the last order of business, the man whom they wanted you to assassinate. Did they give you any information about him? If he's important enough to kill, then he might be able to help us."

He is startled by how Magius turns smoke into the features of a woman. He nods, and the smoke dissappears.

"I've heard...stories. There's a man in my brother platoon who's never been beaten in a pistol quick draw competition. He's fought four very good pistoleros in a training exercise at one time, and beat them all at the same time. Rumor has it he's said its because he carries around the pistol that Billy the Kid died with in his hand."

He shrugs.

"I don't know about that, but I know that I've practised against him, and even if I had my pistol half-drawn with my hand on it, he still beat me. And I'm not slow."

He rubs his jawline taking in the information.

The ghost leaves with a smile, happy to be useful.

The colonel pulls out a PDA, and brings up a file. He shows you a face that seems familar. The picture is of a very dark black man in a business suit. Andrew Lock is the name.

There is no more information, but even looking at the picture which is years out of date, you can see the force and power in him. This is man who knows his mind, and is quick to let others know it too.

"No data on the target other than location. It was not considered important."

"I've heard...stories. There's a man in my brother platoon who's never been beaten in a pistol quick draw competition. He's fought four very good pistoleros in a training exercise at one time, and beat them all at the same time. Rumor has it he's said its because he carries around the pistol that Billy the Kid died with in his hand."

He shrugs.

"I don't know about that, but I know that I've practiced against him, and even if I had my pistol half-drawn with my hand on it, he still beat me. And I'm not slow."

"Interesting. Well, it doesn't exactly work that way. Most magic, if you want to call it that, has to be intentionally called upon. Don't think of it as any less 'real' or somehow separate from our world. It's as real as the air in your lungs and is a part of the same reality. If you can accept that it's just another aspect of the world we live in, it becomes a little less overwhelming."

The colonel pulls out a PDA, and brings up a file. He shows you a face that seems familiar. The picture is of a very dark black man in a business suit. Andrew Lock is the name.

There is no more information, but even looking at the picture which is years out of date, you can see the force and power in him. This is man who knows his mind, and is quick to let others know it too.

"No data on the target other than location. It was not considered important."

Avi (handheld): "Avi, find all information on Andrew Lock, including how they found out his location. And do you have any locally stored information of any person who matches the picture here?" My hope is that if I've encountered Mr. Lock's double in the past, I'll have some info.

"Here's what we'll do. I'll use my cover I.D.--Chief Officer Smith of the Intelligence Directorate--to file a report saying I captured and executed you and your men, after an informant let us know your whereabouts. I'll use the Sheriff, since Smith is supposedly on a long term posting that keeps him busy, to return uniforms and personal effects that will confirm the executions. I'll then file an order, transferring your mission to my control. That should keep anyone else from coming after him. It will also give me the needed excuse to step up operations as cover for our plans.

Avi, if you caught those details, I want you to make the appropriate arrangements."

Ghost (once he's back): "I'm sorry to turn you into a messenger boy, but I need you to find Andrew Lock at this location and tell him that some friends have stopped his assassination and ask him if he would speak with us. As always, be cautions. And thank your compatriots for me for their work. What they do is important and I don't tell them that enough."

I turn to the Baker, "Not that you need any lessons from me, colonel, but I hope you'll notice that ghosts are still people. We recruited them, like everyone here. You'll encounter beings and people in different forms. Pay them the same respect you would pay your own men. Not everyone remembers to do that."

Avi replies...

"Andrew Locke, age 47, graduate Princeton College in Electrical Engineering age seventeen, Doctorate at Lawton Divinity in Oratory, Visiting Fellow Thomas Aquineas Society, Gubernatorial Candidate for major party, State level Representative for four years from Florida, List of 100 Most Influential Speakers at position #4, Pastor of Low River Church for ten years, Accused of embezzlement, rape, and fleeing arrest. A 'shoot to kill' order is open on him. Publcally stated at the Florida State Capitol Rally Massacre 'It is the duty, no the absolute requirement, of every man and woman of conscience, of every patriot to resist this illegal government with all means at their disposal.'"

You recognize him as an astounding speaker with a force and clarity or arguement and a fire for righteousness that could shake a nation.

"David, I'm not able to disengage. The information came from a Council Member, Lucian Black by name. No quoted source. I'm unable to disengage."

I turn the PDA over and remove the power cell. I signal for Magius to begin some type of enchantment and for Pendragon and Moonlight to recite with me with Rite of Exorcism (the only thing I can remember at that moment) to sever any potential link created by a spell.

OOC: Physically, it shouldn't be possible to trace Avi's connection, as she is taking back routes through a complicated series of nodes which would take a substantial amount of time (hours? days? weeks?) to trace on an active connection. Further, she's also connected wirelessly, which means that even if they traced it to the last node, they would only have the location of that node, not hers, unless they deployed gear in the area to trace the signal, which would be blocked by the protection of the holy ground, in this case.

Any magical means used to trace her should also be stopped by the protection of the holy ground (I assume). It wouldn't stop them from physically tracing the route of the connection, if they could, but at the end of it, I imagine it would look like a ghost in the machine. Further (I'm not entirely sure of this one), the holy ground's protection should prevent them from seeing anything in Avi's memory, assuming they first trace her and penetrate her security measures.

So, while they could force the connection to remain active and detect the intrusion (if they haven't yet), it would look like some phantom entry into the system. And as Avi can report her status, even as she is compromised, such as when she was working on the platform/spacecraft, the fact that she hasn't yet reported any compromise on her part would seem to indicate the above arguments are true.

I hope I've made a cogent and convincing argument that I am not totally hosed by this turn of events :-) And Merry Christmas.

Indeed you have. Right now, its not altogether bad, but one of Avi's fingers got caught in a mousetrap of magic laid by a paranoid Council member.

Now she can't pull free.

You disconnect the PDA, and perform the Rite.

It has no effect as the target is not demonic, and is not in the room with you. (OOC: Not sure about this ruling.)

Avi mentions that she could cut a tiny part of herself free, and sacrifice a tiny bit.

"Its like I have my fingernail in a trap. I can cut my fingernail off without essentially damaging myself." She pauses. "I've caused a power outage in the area, and that should have evaporated my link, but I'm still linked, which is impossible as I understand science."

And Merry Christmas.

And see you in the New Year.

It has no effect as the target is not demonic, and is not in the room with you. (OOC: Not sure about this ruling.)

--M. J. Young

A spell that could work against someone located as at the other end of an electronic connection would be plausible (and indeed would overcome those defenses David has described, as the mere fact of connection becomes the link for the magic to follow) but it would have to be designed specifically for such a conception of place.

So, the spell would have to be designed to overcome magic defenses, in addition to any mundane security, true? And the link is one to Avi (or, specifically, a link to the PDA in which Avi resides), not the holy ground, so that is what you mean by "conception of place," correct? In which case, unless the spell is designed to affect the location of the system which has the connection, it can only affect the system itself, and the holy ground, unaffected, protects the system with its relevant defenses. Is my interpretation incorrect?

And David, my read here is this can only be one of two things (or possibly both). Either you've targeted someone who has defenses in place that are relevant here, and have entered into a contest of relative success skill checks (probably between Avi and the caster), or a botch was rolled and Avi did something wrong that compromised his own security.

A third possibility exists. Avi was successful in bypassing the computer security, but since she herself has no magical capability, there would be no skill check against the spell, which is a "mousetrap." That is, metaphorically speaking, she successfully disabled security on a window and stepped through, only to stick her foot in the trap, but the holy ground gives her a "cloak of invisibility," in this case (to mix metaphors), unless the trap is designed to disable the cloak. But then the skill check would have to be against the blessings of the holy ground, not Avi.

So although it is good that you detailed the defenses that you think are in place...

I would hope so, as the blessings were invoked according to my character's instructions. I must have written really poor instructions if they aren't there.

...it is entirely possible that any of these were negated by the circumstance.

Perhaps, but I believe that Eric's words, brief as they are, indicate that he has already ruled that:

1. They haven't been negated.

2. It isn't a botch.

So, as I take it, the spell was designed for intruders who had breached the system, but not to counter other magical defenses. It allows them to get in, so that it can seize them and run a trace.

In short, incorrect rendering of the rules or not, I'm hoping that we've established that I'm not completely screwed eight ways to Sunday :-S

Addendum: The blessings of the holy ground are directed against enemies, so the fact that Avi established the connection and the connection was forced to remain open shouldn't negate the protections.

Concerning "concept of place", Avi is interacting with a foreign computer via Internet, or the equivalent. That means he is using the equivalent of a Universal Resource Locator to access the information from the equivalent of a a Domain Name System. For the information to come to him, he must also appear as being at a Domain Name System, or the equivalent. This is how we define "whence" information comes and "whither" it goes. However, this kind of "where" is not impacted by geography. Avi "exists" in two different worlds at this moment; the holy ground exists in one of those, but the other does not have holy ground. That means he can be "found"--"located"--within the cyberworld in which he is operating.

I would say that he cannot be found within the geographical world in which he is also located--your position cannot be traced to him, because that requires crossing between worlds. As you noted, the nearest node outside the protected area can be identified, but not the spatial coordinates of your wireless connection. However, Avi is vulnerable to magical attack.

I would suggest determining whether Avi is atheist/agnostic in an active sense. I know that Whisp's computer is completely atheist (it refuses to believe that he can work magic even when he works it, nor that anything that impacts them could be magical). That would afford the computer a certain bit of protection against magical attack (and as you've demonstrated, it is possible to use magic through the connection). I do not believe that the magic could leave Avi and impact anyone in the Holy Ground--but that does not mean that Avi could not be remotely influenced to take actions which would affect people there. The negative side of determining that Avi is atheist/agnostic is that you could not discuss using magic with him (he would not comprehend it and think that that part amounted to doing nothing) and he could not cast spells (which possibly he cannot do anyway).

In short, Avi's cyber location could have been compromised such that Avi can be targeted by magic or technological attacks; Avi's geographical location is probably protected by the holy ground, but a trace could get as close as the nearest point on the line outside that holy ground and might be close enough to put you in danger.

I would be thinking in terms of how to create magic that will work in cyberspace, and how to cast it there.

--M. J. Young

However, this kind of "where" is not impacted by geography. Avi "exists" in two different worlds at this moment; the holy ground exists in one of those, but the other does not have holy ground. That means he can be "found"--"located"--within the cyberworld in which he is operating.
====================
Avi is sending and receiving packets of information between her and the target system, a bit like sending letters through the mail. The nodes/servers are like the post offices and mail hubs that sort the letters and then send them on. The letters have addresses on them to make sure they get to where they need to go, as do packets of information being sent out. As a recipient or sender of a letter, my existence is noted as the letter winds its way through the system that delivers it (though how much or little depends on how much information I put on the letter). In this same way, Avi's "presence" exists on this world's Internet, but the actual construct that is Avi resides on a system which is inside the bounds of the holy ground.

To quote from the thread on the old board:

No one should be able to step on to this holy ground who is in league--intentionally or unintentionally--with Anarch powers, they should not have any ["...I meant spiritual means, as in they would be barred from using them, so no invulnerability is involved."] means to affect anything that happens with in its boundaries, and everything with in its boundaries should be obscured from their sight--they wouldn't be able to spy on us--where even the act of obscurement itself should be outside their awareness.

Now, through that connection, someone might be able to bypass Avi's security or send a virus to affect the system. But in both those non-magical cases, Avi and the contents of her memory on that system are shielded by the obscuring protection of the holy ground, as the final point of contact happens where Avi is at. In magical cases, any spell faces the second protection, which bars it from being used (from working, or being initiated might be better ways of saying it) in the first place, yet I would say the connection can be forced open by a spell, because the connection was first made by Avi, beyond the bounds of the holy ground. But any spell which targets her is now attempting to affect her while she with in the bounds of the holy ground. If any spell is cast to work through the connection, then the point of final contact is still at the holy ground. Or, at least, that's how I see it. Am I off?

====================
I would suggest determining whether Avi is atheist/agnostic in an active sense.

I don't believe that Avi yet possesses a sentient mind that could hold a belief either way, but functionally, Avi is likely agnostic, as there is no programing present to deal with those situations.

====================
I do not believe that the magic could leave Avi and impact anyone in the Holy Ground--but that does not mean that Avi could not be remotely influenced to take actions which would affect people there.

How would the lack of a true mind affect things?

====================
...but a trace could get as close as the nearest point on the line outside that holy ground and might be close enough to put you in danger.

I'm not sure Eric and I have figured out how distant a connection she can establish. Consistently following the trend of miniaturization, without ditching physics, it should be considerable, in comparison to any handheld unit of equivalent size in this timeline. Of course, it's easier to receive signals over great distances than it is to transmit them, as it obviously requires more power. I would think the normal maximum range, without completely draining the power cell, is several dozen miles for transmission and reception.

I will, of course, defer to Eric's understanding of how these factors interact. Consider, though, that what Avi receives is analogous to a letter, and that the letter must have an address on it which accurately defines his location in cyberspace--and thus if someone can capture that letter before it reaches Avi they can get that location from the letter. That is a real location, despite not being a geographical one. Thus in a cyber sense it is possible that someone could discover "where" Avi is, and target that location, particularly if magic has been developed that can travel through cyberspace--something which is neither guaranteed nor excluded by the game rules. I would think that in a hardware sense, Avi exists inside the holy ground, but in a software sense Avi exists in cyberspace. Whether the holy ground protections extend into cyberspace is something Eric would have to determine; your argument is good, but I'm not going to examine it too closely since it's not my ruling but Eric's that matters.

You are correct that it takes less power for Avi to receive a signal than for Avi to send one; on the other hand, Avi has the ability to control the output level at which it sends signals, and not the level at which signals are sent to it. Also, since the system probably is designed to route transmissions through the nearest connection point (saves power and increases clarity and reliability of the connection) you would have to be using a tight-beam transmission to bypass closer connections. Avi could do that, but tight beam transmissions (narrowcasting) require that all parties remain stationary, and are easier to trace once detected (less reflection and distortion). Avi could receive from a more distant connection by boosting amplification on the receiver, but it would probably slow the connection speed a bit.

With that, I think I'll await Eric's decisions.

--M. J. Young

Consider, though, that what Avi receives is analogous to a letter, and that the letter must have an address on it which accurately defines his location in cyberspace--and thus if someone can capture that letter before it reaches Avi they can get that location from the letter.

Very true, but there are also ways to hide it. The way Avi might work is to alter servers to act like nodes in something akin to the Tor anonymity network (which, coincidentally, is actually distributed to allow people in countries with oppressive regimes to connect ot the internet anonymously). Of course, what Avi does may be a great deal more sophisticated than that (or maybe not).

Anyway, sorry to drag you into such a long discussion. I'm just trying to get a fig leaf here :-) Also, I think the discussion helps, as I'm not sure the rules have been applied this way before and it never hurts to iron things out for future games.

Anyway, back to the game...

I turn off the PDA, again. I leave Magius to continue his enchantments. To Pendragon and Moonlight I say, "Get Bibles and read out these verses." I throw Baker a copy and tell him to follow their lead (I prefer three readers, instead of two, for the blessing). I take out a dogeared notepad with verses written under different categories. I choose seven verses from the "For Protection" column (Psalm 18:2, 27:5, 31:2, 59:16, 62:2, 71:3, 144:2) to invoke God's protective against any examination of Avi, seven from "For Action" (Psalm 74:13, 9:5, 2:9, 3:7, 29:5, 58:6; 1 Kings 13:3; ) to sever the link, and seven from "For Deception/Obscurement" (Psalm 9:15, 55:9, 17:8, 31:20 ; 1 Corinthians 1:19; Matthew 15:14; Romans 1:21) to erase anything Avi left behind and make it appear as if a rival Council member accessed the information. As they recite, so do I. I pull out two medicine bottles with droppers, one with lamb's blood (figure it's better than using my own; thumb is still tender from the last time) and the other olive oil. Using one dropper, I make the cross, in olive oil, on the front and back of the PDA, to invoke a general protective blessing. Using the other dropper, I draw a pentagram with the lamb's blood, which represents the spell that has a hold of Avi. I place the PDA in the middle. Around the pentagram I draw three concentric rings, representing the Godhead (taken from Dante's Divine Comedy) and God's power over the spell. Around the concentric rings, as the verses are recited, I draw one cross in lamb's blood for each verse, so that three more rings of crosses are made. I erase one side of the pentagram with my thumb, symbolizing a breaking of the spell.

I'm going to say that Avi extends beyond holy ground (I understand the concept Marcoe well describes with his mail analogy) as Avi is several centuries more advanced than the current state of the art.

Avi is an ExSys or Expert System. He can give a fair rendering of what a human would act like but its a mask. He's not self-aware. The Starsongians never developed true AI. This is like your robot trainer, who is an ExSys in a different field of endeavor (martial arts). Now Avi is a bit broader than your Robot Trainer, but such entities have decided limits to what they can help you with. Right now, Avi is suffering degradation because he's having to cope with humans who don't act like his mental model says they should.

An interesting question: Should your robot suffer mentally from having to meet say Dragonball Z martial artists who defy the robots understanding of martial arts?

I will say that Avi should be resistant because of holy ground from being directly found.

Attempts to find her technologically are going to be extremely difficult as she is dozens of generations more advanced than the enemy. It'd be like an Apache horse warrior with horse taking on an M1A1 tank crew with tank. However, its not impossible.

One of David's biggest advantages is not Avi so much, but Avi plus the Lack of Knowledge of Avi. As soon as the Council realizes the Net is totally open to Avi, he loses major advantage even if they can't stop Avi.

I'm going to say the holy ground protections extend into cyberspace.

=============

Currently,

Avi's 'fingernail' went through a window in cyberspace to examine a computer file. A particularly paranoid Council member was in the habit of leaving 'mousetraps' on data he considered especially important. This is demonically enabled magic, but not a demon. Its relatively simple, but powerful magic. It exists in the noosphere (the world of information which is larger than cyberspace).

The mousetrap caught Avi. Avi tried to leave, but could not. Avi complained to David. Avi tried to, and succeeded in, shutting down the local power grid so that the computer he was accessing should be without power to no effect. David tried to use the Rite of Exorcism which was like trying to use a hammer when a wrench was needed.

"Someone is acessing my data in the 'fingernail.' They are an inexpert user, and are baffled. I can tell by the rhythm of the keystrokes."

You finish your request for a miracle.

"Granted." The word echoes through the air of your small room, and it overflows with authority.

"The link is no longer active. I have retrieved all of my 'self' from the Net." Avi says.

PT

I'm going to say that Avi extends beyond holy ground (I understand the concept Marcoe well describes with his mail analogy) as Avi is several centuries more advanced than the current state of the art.

Strictly speaking, Avi was beyond state of the art, even for Starsong, being the product of a Mad One.

Avi is an ExSys or Expert System. He can give a fair rendering of what a human would act like but its a mask. He's not self-aware. The Starsongians never developed true AI. This is like your robot trainer, who is an ExSys in a different field of endeavor (martial arts). Now Avi is a bit broader than your Robot Trainer, but such entities have decided limits to what they can help you with. Right now, Avi is suffering degradation because he's having to cope with humans who don't act like his mental model says they should.

But Avi's quite different than a normal ExSys, as she's an iterative precursor to the true AI (in fact "super AI") I received instructions on from the Mad One. I would argue that since the concept of a true AI has been introduced and Avi is an ancestor of that AI, presumably sharing a foundational structure, it may be possible that Avi could eventually achieve sentience, perhaps if Avi were to come to understand the Moral Law, Good and Evil (part of the reason why I had Avi study Shakespeare and the Bible).

If that is the case, then would she be in possession of a soul? Assuming that a thinking mind can not arise from unthinking matter, I would say yes. It's a bit like the conception of a child.

=============

I let out a deep breath and hold back the colorful words of relief. Composing an air of confidence, I finally speak.

"Well, we now I have our likely source of the order, Lucian Black. We've also learned something of his demeanor and tactics, which we've now used that to our advantage.

But, most importantly, we now know who Andrew Locke is. He's a man more dangerous to the Council than all of us, combined."

I'll do the rest what I stated here, except I'll use the ship-based Avi (more computing power; better onboard protections; not laboring under errors/degradation) and invoke the blessing a second time for those activities, modifying it for a case of detection/entrapment that might happen.

I wait for Locke's answer.

Thank you much for reminding me of the first bit.

==================

"Councillor Black has a reputation for being very careful, very thorough." Col. Baker says softly. "I expect he's sent a hit team, or will soon since we haven't reported in."

==============

Ship Avi comes back with a series of files.

"Rimbo, my demon intuition is acting up again. Can you check out Asheville. Something important is going down there."....Likely Councillor Joseph Malvecchio.

"Joe, OK. As soon as I get done translating this codex, the Baal rituals are very interesting. BTW, how is your dreams of a Great Spider going? That troubles me. I wonder about Sashi, and her hatred of you know."...Likely Councillor Arian Rimbaldi.

"Sashi is...indisposed. Too much recreation if you take my drift. Besides its not her Spider avatar. She never was that strong. I'm not sure why we took her in the first place."

Arrest record for Asheville.

"Jane Doe 2134 arrested for lack of ID, lack of Status card, resisting arrest, evading arrest. Later charge added: disrespect of magistrate, knowledge of forbidden document "cf. Fifth Amendment"."

Interview record.
This is difficult to read as a sense of evil clings to the typewritten words. A woman begins asking for release, refusing to talk, and then admits she loves Locke, and by turns and twists interspersed with torture is warped and shaped until she spits at Locke's name.

"Joe, you were indeed correct. One of the Legionairre's, and quite protected. I swear the building came close to exploding at one point. She doesn't understand Power thankfully, or only dimly. One odd bit, she claimed midway through the torture session that 'the name of the King of Israel shall ride to her rescue' and that 'a dog would eat my flesh'. It had the ring of prophecy which should be impossible, but we've been running into an improbable amount of bad luck recently. I wonder what is going on. I feel like this last year we've been watching a smoothly running machine start to need an...oil change. Perhaps the Baal Codex is just the thing. Nothing like running a few streets slick to straighten out things."

The ghost comes back.

"I could not come within a hundred miles of my destination. Strong, but subtle powers baffled me so that when I thought I was moving north, I found myself moving south."

"That's not unexpected. Since 'Smith' has now 'his' report, he'll be the first one they come to confirm your death, or rather, the Sheriff, since he's technically Smith's contact while 'Smith' is running a 'deep cover operation.' That means we'll have to manufacture some pretty convincing proof." I bring out the Medbox. "This is a device that is, for all intents and purposes, a hospital in a box. It reattached this arm." I hold mine up. "And it added about forty extra years to Jack's life.

This is not exactly a usual or easy request, but I need you and your men to sever your middle fingers, so I can supply whoever he sends with evidence that you are good and dead. With the Medbox, I can give you those fingers back, so other than some excruciating pain,there won't be any lasting side effects."

==================

I invoke the (let's call it) Connective Blessing a third time, but to make its effects permanent on "Ship Avi."

"Avi, what background and biographical information can you find on Malvecchio, Rimbaldi, Sashi, Asheville, these Legionairres, and the Baal Codex?"

Now, time for Asheville. Speaking to the assembled lot, "I didn't understand that last part about a dog eating flesh, but I'm guessing that the first part refers to me. That means we have a prophecy to fulfill. Magius, if you would get eighteen others from outside, we can have three groups of seven for the blessing we need to invoke."

The Connective Blessing, with a bit of modification, is quite good for what we need. First, we read out Acts 12:5-11, to invoke a repeat of Peter's escape from prison. Next, we preform the rest of the ritual and read out the prior verses, in their three categories, but replace the prior blessings (in order) with shielding against any detection while escaping, that she receive prompting and knowledge of where and how to get here, and that it would appear, by any examination, that a rival Council member had freed her.

The Colonel studies you for a second, and then nods. He calls his men in and explains. They pale a bit, but everyone pulls out a knife ready to commit seppuku, until the Medbox intervenes.

"Please allow me to do this ritualistic scarification."

The Colonel's eyes raise, but the Medbox has a very good doctor's voice, and he nods.

Flick. Flick. Flick.... In less than thirty seconds its done.

"The simplest method was to dose the cut site with Regrow. It should take approximately a week for your fingers to grow back." The Medbox says.

One of the soldiers passes out.

"He's fine. Pschyological difficulties with his own blood. Its not an uncommon affliction even among highly trained soldiers." The Medbox says.

=============

Avi gives you obviously brushed up and censored files on the Councillors, but even the sanitized versions are enough to turn your stomach.

Malvecchio is extremely intuitive. Rimbaldi is known for his hands on prowess, something of a 'gunfighter'. Sashi is known for indulging in all manner of vices, a party every night. She's recently ballooned to three hundred pounds, and looks distinctly unwell.

The Baal Codex is a legendary document for summong Baal back into this world. It was said that Solomon banished him (along with Lilith, and a fair number of djinn...)

The Legionnaires are a 'probably mythical group of Resistance fighters in the NorthAm/European arena.' They are said to be 'treacherous, unrealiable, unrelenting, merciless, and entirely unreal.'

It is Avi's opinion that if the Legionnaires' exist that a major concentration is near Asheville.

You receive a sense that the miracle is accomplished, but it does not lead to the usual sense of joy that you ordinarily feel at such a moment.

"No doubt..." I'm not without queasiness myself, but an excess of exposure has dulled it a bit.

"My apologies to you men for the this gruesome necessity. The next thing to do is to coarsen the bottom cut on your own respective finger by slicing off another section. But make sure to use only three knives at most, between all of you. And wear latex gloves--we have some around here in first aid kits--to prevent them from being able to pull finger print from the skin, as slim a possibility as that is. If they subject these to forensic analysis, we want it to look consistent.

After that, gather them up into some plastic bags, throw them in the fridge in back, and remember to not go there looking for food."

Turning to the Colonel, I say, "We'll tell them the bodies were destroyed with sulfuric acid and the contents dumped. If they ask why, we'll say it was to prevent reanimation. It'll be a boon for us, as it makes Smith look loyal and effective."

=============

Being felt by the others, as well, there's no need for explanation when I say, "We have time to correct this..."

The Connective Blessing, even in modified form, takes around ten minutes to get through. And since everyone is already here, the turnover is immediate.

Preserving the three blessing configuration, the first we invoke is remove all knowledge of where and how to get here be withdrawn and replaced with knowledge how to get to her own people. Second, we request that a vision of Christ be sent to her, explaining the need for salvation and how to receive it, and lastly, that once she finds her people, that a sign is given that she was rescued and not returned as bait (replacing the "Deception/Obscurement" verses with verses from "For Truth/Revelation"; Matthew 5:15; John 2:11, 3:2, 17:6; Romans 10:20; Revelation 10:7). That, I think, is due diligence for her welfare, without undue risk for our own people.

The Baal Codex: We need to make that disappear, quite literally. Again, the Connective Blessing proves ready to do the job. We go back to the original 21 verses in their three categories. We preform the whole ritual seven times, with our twenty-one supporting readers present. The first blessing we invoke is that any attempted observation or detection of the book by anyone or anything looking to use it, even if standing right in front of it, would be directed away from it on a wild goose chase. That should be more effective than simply shielding it. Second, we request that the book be lost through circumstance (a clerk misplaces it, a janitor comes along and knocks into his trash bin, et al.) and continue it's way away from those looking to use it, to the farthest place possible. Third and last, we ask that all methods of investigation make it look as if a powerful mage did it, leaving open the question of whether or not it was a rival Council member. We ask that all of these happen when no one is looking. All in all, those blessings and the way they were invoked should have the best chance of slipping past any enchantments they may have cast to protect themselves or the building, as it primarily targets the book, without trying to change any magical properties it might have, which is just a recipe for trouble.

The last thing I have everyone do is to call for an angel to find and deliver any sacred or mystical writings by Solomon that are not in the Council's possession, whether originals or copies. And to send an angel to Locke, conveying the same message I asked our ghost to deliver.

Smith gets a commendation in his file and a bump in his Status Points.

The miracles are granted.

This miracle is not (the Baal Codex one). It feels like you're trying to hide the One Ring of Power, and like the Ring, the Codex actively resists being separated from its master.

This miracle with Solomon's writing is granted. The house overflows with books, and you net a mage as well. He holds out a hand, and barks a phrase, and the air around him shimmers.

PT

This miracle with Solomon's writing is granted. The house overflows with books, and you net a mage as well. He holds out a hand, and barks a phrase, and the air around him shimmers.

Well, if he had any association with the Council, he would have been rendered unconscious on the spot by the protections of the holy ground. And considering the disorientation of the sudden event, his spell is most likely defensive; some type of shielding or obscurement. So, I take the marker board used for lessons on Sundays and write "We're friends. It was an accident that you're here. No need for spells." Writing, as a slower intentional act, seems appropriate to calm the situation. And holding up a sign usually gets a person's attention. Besides, I don't know if he can hear me with the spell that he's using.

Hey, Eric? *Whistles nonchalantly*...

He grasps the scroll he had in his hand.

"This is mine." Then he looks around him more closely. "Who...are you since you do not seem to be of the Council?"

"I am Magius." Magius says after breathing in to fill his very large frame.

The unknown mage bows.

"I have heard of you, but these others..."

"Are friends, trusted friends. Good people."

"What is good?"

"Good is good." Magius replies.

"Can power and goodness coincide? I am Judah."

"I've heard of a tattoo mage...." Magius asks tentatively.

"The same." Judah says proudly. "Still it is an honor to meet the Great Magius. This spell, it is..."

"Not of my making. Meet the leader of my...order." Magius points to you.

"So young. I assumed you an apprentice." Judah says.

"I have a young face...

The power by which you are here is not my own, but by the the One who is above all powers, whose weakness is greater than the strength of all, but whose love is greater still. He is the Creator. Through our error, you are here by His will.

You ask if power and goodness coincide and the answer is yes, in this way: power is a means, directed toward an end. I may exercise power to grant mercy, or exact vengeance, to help the oppressed, or oppress them. But it is not just a question of power, but of life; how then shall we live?

We extend our hospitality. We ask nothing in return, save for the effort all must make in maintaining this refuge. We can send for your other possessions, if you wish for an extended stay."

I throw him a Bible.

"That book contains Solomon's greatest works, as well as one who came after him, to fulfill the the words he wrote."

"I've memorized Solomon's words." He puts the Bible down next to him on a pile of manuscripts. "From this book, and others." He smiles. "I don't think you understand my question, but then perhaps it is I that do not understand for their is great power here. I would happily apprentice myself."

He pulls off his shirt, and points out his 'tats', and the accompanying spell that goes with it. It seems he's an expert in information seeking, djinn banishing, and simple combat spells.

PT

"On three conditions, I will accept. The first, is that you love Solomon's God with all you heart, mind, and soul and that you learn all that you can of Him. The second, is that you love others as yourself. The third, that you take up service to our cause--to free the innocent from the tyranny of the Hunt--and remain loyal to it, to the end of your life. Swear the highest oath that you know to do these things and I will accept your apprenticeship."

Mages are throwbacks to another time, when oaths like this would given and taken with such finality. I expect that he won't be put off by it.

His jaw drops.

"I'm not sure I can do that, my lord wizard."

Its true, he doesn't seem put off by the notion of a binding oath, and Magius seems to think it reasonable as well. Its more the content of the oath that he has a problem with.

"Would it not be well if I swore loyalty to you?"

He pauses, and then speaks.

"I swear, if you accept me as a true apprentice, to serve you truly and loyally until such time as you release me, or seven years have passed. I swear by my Power, by the Great Art, by the wit in my hands, and by the love I have for Life that I will not turn from my oath in the least thing."

He bends down on one knee.

Perhaps he's right. I thought he was ready to make the choice now, but in any case, I'm glad to have him.

"I accept you as my apprentice and the oath by which you swear it, but also welcome you as a friend, so rise and enjoy the comradeship of your new home."

I explain to Judah the issue of the Baal Codex and what we're attempting to do. As we prepare for another run, I ask him to add any enchantments that he can to the mix, barring him from invoking infernal powers.

In a moment of inspiration, I realize how we might get around the book's resistance. The book is connected to its master by way of ownership. In earthly law, private ownership by be superseded by government authority, in an action we imminent domain. Working under the assumption that this reflects Divine law, we could ask God to seize ownership and then re-invoke we tried before.

So, the Connective Blessing is a single unit we repeated seven times. We add three additional Connective Blessing rituals at the beginning, to invoke a transfer of ownership, but the first repeats the seven "For Protection" verses three times, the second repeats the "For Action" verses three times, and the third repeats the "For Deception/Obscurement" verses three times, with the second request being that the book's owner(s) have no awareness of the transfer and can't detect it. We then continue with the rest of the original ritual.

Judah is horrified at the prospect of Baal coming back.

"He was driven out of this universe a long time ago by my ancestors in part. What do these fools think they are doing by bringing him back? I wager they think they can control him, but he's not like that at all. Sooner control a volcano."

Magius and Judah have a quick conversation filled with jargon,a nd then ask that you have Pendragon as your focus for the eminent domain spell as she's the highest ranking in terms of ancient right.

"We're thinking that we argue that Pendragon as the assumptive Queen of England outranks the illegitamate pretenders of the Games Council, this creates a mystic echo, a resonance between God taking the Codex from Baal, and you as Pendragon's agent, taking it from the Games Council..." Magius pauses. "We create a parallel, and that generates more energy because equations like to be balanced. Its the nature of the Universe, similar to the 'nature abhors a vacuum'. Understand, sir?"

In any case, you begin the miracle, and with joy in your heart, you see it get knocked off a desk into the trash, and then later a janitor takes it to the trash dump.

The vision ends.

OOC: Didn't want to try and add up the numbers on that mess of a spell, did ya? I don't blame you. Sorry about that.

I make an exhale and a clap of my hands. "And that, ladies and gentlemen, leaves us with a very good night, so breath easy and get some sleep."

"Magius and Judah, I suppose you'll want to start taking a gander at all of this...," sweeping my hand over the piles of books, scrolls, and papers. "Tell me if you find anything interesting. Just don't stay up all night. We've got a meeting tomorrow."

OOC: 1+1=Hmmm, I know this one...:)

IC:

Magius and Judah both nod aggreeably, and Col. Baker laughs.

"I'll have the two o'clock guard send them to their beds, sir." He says quietly.

Pendragon is glowing in happiness as she sees that her Right is accepted.

Cynthia drags you off to bed for some private time, and you get to sleep later than you expected but with a reminder why you need to win this war so that others can have the joy you share. Because this world is full of large and small betrayals which get in the way of the trust and love that could be shared like you share with Cynthia.

The fog of too many late nights and the ache of overused body settle heavily on me, but right now, I'm happy.

I get up and dress. Seeing as how things are growing in scope, it might be time to choose a distinctive "look." Washington, Lincoln, Patton, Roosevelt (Teddy), and MacArthur all did it, with varying degrees of ostentatiousness and theatricality. Considering the scope of the battle that we're fighting, we need potent symbols to rally around. Going with a little more ostentatious and theatrical presentation probably isn't so bad.

We didn't bring any clothes when we made our hasty relocation, but the amount of crap the CO has built up in it's long residence here has made it a rat's nest, such that you can always find something useful. A decent suit, though a bit tight in the shoulders, is such a find. I borrow a long coat from Magius (who uses them, in place of robes, for that mysterious look of flowing fabric, while still not appearing utterly strange when walking down the street), which is a couple of sizes too big, but not horribly noticeable. I strap on the the elaborately custom .50 magnums, their low-slung tooled-leather holsters. I finish off with the machine pistol in its under-arm holster.

I make a quick check with Magius and Judah on anything they might have found. Magius, Pendragon, Baker, Cynthia come with me. I request that they wear their best formal clothes and that Pendragon wear her sword.

Judah, Gabriel, and Kamikaze I leave behind, as I want some of my people to at least coordinate defenses. I explain to Judah the issue with Lilith and that she may arrive, quite literally, at any time she chooses. I tell him not to show hostility, but to inform her that I was meeting with someone and I'll be back to speak with her. He might be a little staggered by that, but it's important that he do so, as I gave her my word. A brief invocation of blessings for obscurement, we're off.

Before the meeting begins, I ask the sheriff and the mayor to be patient, as we use a variation of the Connective Blessing to block any surveillance.

I start from the beginning and explain the basics of the Council's power and the "real" state of the world, as I did with Baker. That lays the groundwork the introductions, which wouldn't make sense.

"Magius, most powerful of the free mages to resist the Council and my adviser."

"Cynthia, my wife and confidant."

"Rhiannon Argel Pendragon, heir of King Arthur Pendragon and presumptive Queen of Britain." Part of the reason I'm springing the new name on her is just for the fun of the surprise, but also because she needed a full name now.

"Lieutenant Colonel Baker, US Army Rangers, my military adviser."

I let all that sink, including the fact that the sheriff and the mayor have both been with us, without either one knowing it of the other. I give a summation of what has been happening with the Council, without explaining precisely how or taking credit. I explain the embryonic details of setting up a false concentration camp and moving the people to other locations. I then go on to explain the rough idea of setting up a provisional government with in the city and, later expanding that to the county and then the state. I don;t give too many details, as I want to hear their initial thoughts, ideas, criticisms, and questions.

Cynthia murmurs after she sees you in your get up.

"You soooooo cute." She smirks giving you a hard time although her eyes glow. "I'll let out the shoulders in the suit tonight with Mrs. Canton, she's a seamstress."

Magius shows you a scroll he's magicked to English.

"And in the day of destruction, the Great King of the East came to us in his golden chariot, and bade us to let him speak to the monstrous creeping thing that ate the King Atalslan's villages and soldiers. We consented being greatly impressed by his golden and ruby-studden sceptre, and by his words which seemed to us as if they were the words of a lover for fairness and so he spoke, and the beast went back into his cave, and never came out again in that generation, or the one to come. When asked, all he would say was that some riddles are too hard for those of this Earth. When pressed, he bade us let him go, and to be content with our good fortune. Which we did, and we there set up a permament memorial of that great day to be celebrated ever since."

"This is a reference to the Unsolvable Riddle of Solomon, I think. The one riddle too hard for any man." Magius says.

Judah shows you some parallels between miracles, and suggests a way to structure prayers for more effect.

========

The mayor and the sherriff are both goggle-eyed. After the presentation, they stare at each other, and then nod ruefully. Both reach out to shake the other guy's hand.

"I knew I liked you more than I should." The mayor says to the sherriff. "Now I know why."

"We have a problem in the City Council. At least two of them are True Believers. Most are going along to get along, and I think one of them might actually hate what he's doing. He spends his time..." The sherriff begins.

"Drunker than a skunk. Yeah, Overman is riding the tiger and can't get off or the ones he destroyed on the way up will destroy him. But he can't live with himself either." The Mayor finishes. "But what to do about Yancy and Dilton, those two creep me out."

"This is a reference to the Unsolvable Riddle of Solomon, I think. The one riddle too hard for any man." Magius says.

"Well, what's the history behind it? Did Solomon conceive it, or did he simply transmit it from another source? What's the purpose of this riddle? What's suppose to happen if it's solved?

Judah, if you want to, call for an angel to explain this passage and to give you the Unsolvable Riddle."

================

"Drunker than a skunk. Yeah, Overman is riding the tiger and can't get off or the ones he destroyed on the way up will destroy him. But he can't live with himself either." The Mayor finishes. "But what to do about Yancy and Dilton, those two creep me out."

"Overman won't be a problem. He's hit rock bottom and he's looking for a way out.

Yancy and Dilton...what is it that's so 'creepy' about them? They might be nothing more than your typical sleazy politicians, which makes them easy enough to deal with, but I would rather not take chances."

Judah laughs, and then he realizes you're serious. He then gapes at you.

"Just like that, summon an angel? Master, I do not know how."

==============
"Um, well, Yancy is serious, real serious. He believes in the Status Games. And well, Dilton is..." The Mayor begins and then looks uncomfortable.

"A low-functioning pschyopath. I keep waiting for him to cross the line so I can shoot him while he' 'resisting arrest', but he's got enough self-control to keep back." The Sherriff finishes.

"Yes, I...I forget how good it is to have a conversation with someone who's not either a certifiable lunatic or pretending to be one so hard they've forgotten they aren't." The Mayor stops, and then gets up and walks out of the room with tears on his face. "Bathroom." He mutters humiliated.

"Well, it's how you got here... Our chaplain and the other members of the CO cell will show you. And don't be afraid to call on them when you need to. Just remember, they do not serve your whims. They serve God."

================

I wait for the mayor to compose himself, remain politely stoic (no man ever wants attention drawn to that type of thing), and go back to our discussion.

"We'll give them a chance to change their ways. If they don't, then their unfortunate secrets will be uncovered.

Yancy were Dilton were discovered to be members of an identity fraud ring, selling status points. Unfortunately, for them, some of their clients happen to be a terrorist cell that was attempting to make it to Sydney for the annual ceremony and assassinate as many Council members as possible.

The sheriff and his men were responsible for some excellent detective work, uncovering the initial financial irregularities that lead to one Chief Officer Smith uncovering the criminal conspiracies. However, we were not able to apprehend them, as they somehow learned of the investigation from someone connected enough to find out. Yancy committed suicide and Dilton's body washed up on shore, two gunshot wounds to the head.

That's only what will happen, of course, if we can't convince them to turn over a new leaf."

Two days later, the Sherriff comes to see you. He's got spectacular bruises and stitches all across his face.

"Its done." He notices you looking. "I thought Dilton didn't have a weapon. I was very careful to arrange that. I forgot he still had his teeth."

The news goes out, and congratulations are sent back with two of the Council and their Protector bodyguards.

The Mayor calls you in a panic.

The gunfighter and the intuitionist you spied on earlier have come to congratulate the local community leaders. And the mayor is afraid that the intuitionist will 'smell' something.

"Even if I didn't believe in magic, I'd know this guy was something special. He picks up on vibes and people's thoughts like...its scary awesome. And they plan to stay here two days as we've impressed them so much with our diligence."