The events in week 5 of the Mage: the Ascension chronicle: Duplicity (#DPLCTY), between 09/01/2019 to 09/07/2019.
Jonas Carter (Continuing scene from Week 4)
Mage Storyteller:
You find a strange looking device sticking into Mark’s grave, while it’s
purpose is unclear you can sense some sort of energy pulsing through it at
regular intervals. It shimmers in the daylight upon each pulse. You don’t sense
anything obviously malicious or dangerous.
Jonas Carter:
I look over the device for any identifying marks, and then draw a circle
destruction to shut it down [Entropy 3 Slay Machine].
Mage Storyteller:
[Make an Intelligence + Investigation check, none of your specialties apply.
Difficulty 8]
Jonas Carter:
[no successes]
Mage Storyteller:
[The dice bot said you got a 10 & an 8 yeah?]
Jonas Carter:
[but two 1s]
Mage Storyteller:
[Getting my d10 dice pool systems mixed up.] You can’t figure out the
devices origin, something about the device nags at the back of your mind
though. You are able to deactivate the
device which crumples & implodes, retracting a 6′ cable into itself as it
does so.
Jonas Carter:
I stand, dust off my pants and look around, seeing if anyone noticed the
device’s destruction.
Mage Storyteller:
There doesn’t seem to be anyone around you and there is a peacefulness only
interrupted by some far off commotion, a group of people in a copse of trees.
Jonas Carter:
I walk over in that direction, in case they have found another of these
devices.
Clay Hellstrom & Sitri Lovelace (Continuing
scene from Week 4)
Mage Storyteller:
The creature is emitting a compelling if heavy
handed zone of attraction. Feeling the energies moving around you you discover it
is highly localized & most effective with there’s a line of sight between
victim & creature. You’re unsure as to its purpose or intelligence.
Clay Hellstrom:
[Is there a colour to its aura? Using Prime 1,
can I sense anything to do with quintessence in the vicinity? A trail?] “Allison, just trust me, do not look at the
woodpecker. *Trust me*.”
Mage Storyteller:
It’s incontrovertibly the red and yellow of the
fruit of the Arbutus tree, the strawberry tree. You arn’t quite sure where or
how you know that. The thing has no trail, seemingly to be entirely self
contained. “Allison looks at you
quizzically and takes a few steps back.
Clay Hellstrom:
[1/2 What texture is its aura? I think about what
Des taught me about seeing auras. I also look around the area to see if anyone
else is eyeballing this, or standing out. Also for any stones that might fit in
my hand, or branches]
[2/2 Clay is dressed pretty PNW: hiking runners,
longish, olive drab canvas shorts , a black t-shirt with the Cascadia flag, and
a dark grey bucket hat — assuming the weather is to be fine all day]
Mage Storyteller:
The aura puckers and ripples out from the bird,
drawing the eye in hypnotic patterns. [Intelligence + Esoterica for what your
remember. Difficulty 7.] Behind you as you look around you see @LovelaceSitri with
a pair of binoculars. [Describe yourself Sitri.]
Clay Hellstrom:
[I do not have Esoterica, so I cannot make the
check. I look over toward Sitri] “This sounds nuts, but you really don’t want
check out that woodpecker.” [Sitri sees someone who looks like they are dressed
for ligh summer hiking].
[I’m torn between chasing the bird off and
leaving it be. Is it actually all that harmful or deliberately malevolent? But
the obsessiveness it creates can’t possibly be all that benevolent.]
Sitri Lovelace:
[ Sitri is 6’1 with gray eyes and bright pink hair. He’s dressed in black
jeans and a T-shirt covered in paint. He has many piercings and some tattoos
can be seen on his arms. All in all he looks like a punk. He’s also smoking
something while looking at @HellstromMta]
Clay Hellstrom:
[I notice the binoculars – and I stand at about 5’10”. Dark
hair, green eyes, clean shaven, looks fit.] “Hey man, can I use those for a
moment? Are you seeing any of this?”
Sitri Lovelace:
[I look back at kai
since they are his.] “I don’t mind just make sure they get back to me.”
Clay Hellstrom:
“Thanks. Are you seeing any of this? These people? That
bird? It’s bizarre.” [takes binoculars, avoids looking directly at the bird,
but watches the people, their behaviour, and scans the area looking for
anything else that might explain what’s going on]
Sitri Lovelace:
“Ya it’s kinda weird.
I haven’t seen the bird yet though. Don’t really see any point in looking out
for a bird” [I stay on top of the mausoleum but I scoot closer to the edge
nearest @HellstromMta]
Clay Hellstrom:
“Best not to look at it, it’s… well, it’s hard to believe.”
[I scan the area still]
Sitri Lovelace:
“A lot of things are
hard to believe… try me”[I take a deep draw from my joint and lean back
waiting to see what he has to say]
Clay Hellstrom:
[I describe what I saw with the woodpecker, how you fight to
not become obsessed with it. I don’t get specific with magical senses, but it
seems mind altering, and note that the behaviour of the on-lookers is unusual].
Sitri Lovelace:
“Are you high?” [im
asking in a joking way but you can tell that there’s something there.] “It’s
just some dumb bird nothing supernatural about it”
Clay Hellstrom:
“Glass houses. And no. Forget it, you’d never believe it. I
still don’t entirely believe it.” [Still scanning] “You’re either an artist, or
a house painter?”
Sitri Lovelace:
[smirking] “Artist good guess. How about you? Why are you
interested in the bird? If it messes with the mind and your looking for it then
aren’t you just doing what it wants?”
Clay Hellstrom:
“Res… paramedic. As for the bird, I dunno. I felt an urge to
follow it, obsess over it, but managed to pull away. And the way all these
people are obsessing over it. It’s weird, not normal.”
Mage Storyteller:
In that moment theres a popping
noise, an explosion of feathers raining down from the trees. The people
watching, shocked and dismayed, rush forward to start grabbing the feathers.
[Each of you make a willpower check.]
Clay Hellstrom:
8d10 Rolled: 9, 9, 5, 1, 5, 1, 6 and 6. *whistles*
Sitri Lovelace:
8d10 Rolled: 3, 2, 9, 8, 8, 7, 9 and 10. Better get new
dice.
Mage Storyteller:
You’re each able to resist the sudden
overwhelming desire to have one of those feathers, to own it. To possess it,
always and defend it from all that would take it from you. Certainly the group
in front of you is getting rowdy, though within yourselves the feeling passes.
Sitri Lovelace:
[lookjng around and glancing at kai I start shifting to leave] “ I think it
may be time to go ”
Clay Hellstrom:
“I might have to stick around, if
this gets violent they may need help.” [pulls out phone to call dispatch if
things get out of hand.]
Sitri Lovelace:
“If your calling cops then I’m definitely out of here”
Clay Hellstrom:
“Allison will call the Ambulance, but they’ll bring the cops
if it gets violent. I got a guy who might know what the fuck this was about.”
Mage Storyteller:
Kai shakes his head, clearing it. “What the fuck. I was
about ready to jump into that mess.” He shakes his head again. “Shit,
I must be too high.”
Clay Hellstrom:
“It’s not that, I’m completely sober and that’s twice that thing pulled at my brain.”
Looks at Allison, “Keep your phone handy to call this in, try not look at it
directly, I need to make a call. Excuse me.” [I step away to consult with Des
if he answers].
Sitri Lovelace:
[I look over too kai worried and curious] “Are you ok man?
You look kinda messed up. Do we need to go?”
Mage Storyteller:
Allison and Kai both look very out of it. Allison kind of
nods her head at you Clay & Kai is just sitting on the ground shaking his
head. The people are crawling around on the ground, not hoarding feathers but
they seem to be searching for the perfect. So far no violence.
Des answers. “What’s up? I’m middle of the lunch rush
right now, man!”
Clay Hellstrom:
[I explain to Des in point form what’s happened and
happening, how it affected me and the others] “Basically, I’m alarmed Des. No
way this isn’t a bit of the hocus pocus in action. Who else am I going to
call?”
Paul Chambers (Continuing scene from Week 4)
Mage Storyteller:
As you get closer a noise begins to overwhelm your
senses but you can’t make out what its
trying to say. Its all you can do to stay standing, walking towards it. As
about ten feet away the anomaly becomes unstable and implodes.
Paul Chambers:
Paul turns around and leaps to the
ground. “Everybody get down!!”
Mage Storyteller:
In that moment you can make out exactly one intelligible
word, your own name. It’s spoken softly except the sound has been magnified
thousand fold. You see a glimpse, a flash of a moon. And then the pressure
stops, your mind clears and whatever it was is gone.
Paul Chambers:
Paul is laying on the ground as of a grenade was incoming.
He’s likely made a scene.
Mage Storyteller:
You look up, dazed. You see Marquis standing there looking
concerned. Behind him a dozen bewildered parents and children are staring. The
asphalt is hot beneath you, your own name echoing in your ears. Your daughter
approaches “Dad, are you ok?”
Paul Chambers:
*Paul is honest about mental health with his kids.* He looks
up, eyes wide, shakes his head. “No hunny, I think I just had a flashback,”
he’s clearly frazzled. Stands up and says, “Sorry folks, it’s been a bad day.
Don’t forget to take your meds”. He
looks at Marquis
“Sorry, bud. Bit of a moment… it’s been a rough day.”
Mage Storyteller:
You daughter hugs you & says “That’s ok Dad”.
Marquis, while still concerned, also looks relieved that there’s something he
can connect this behavior to. “Come back in Paul, can I get you some
water?”
Paul Chambers:
“Yeah, that would be
good. Do you have any Tylenol? Helps to take the edge off, something about
blood flow or some such the doc says.” Paul hugs his daughter in return and
tells her to go swim, “You’re the best for checking on me,” he says to her.
Mage Storyteller:
She gives you a big grin and walks quickly, just slow enough
to not attract the life guard’s ire, back to the pool. Marquis goes off to get
you Tylenol but as you sit there you can’t shake the fact that that image was
not our moon.
Paul Chambers:
Paul makes a note of it on his phone. He needs to call
someone, or report this, even if it’s just to a therapist, he knows something
is off, but can’t decide if he should say anything or not. He givers over the
send button on an email to a top line for deviancy.
Mage Storyteller:
[Has Paul reported
deviant activity before? Assuming yes when/what was the last time and how did
he feel about doing it?]
Paul Chambers:
Over two years ago. That was a cut and dry incident for him,
as it was a Vampire he’d noticed feeding. DC seemed full of them.
Mage Storyteller:
Certainly the last vampire you’ve seen. Do you alert the
hotline?
Paul Chambers:
He decides not to. He holds it as a draft in his email.
Mage Storyteller:
The rest of your visit to the pool passes uneventfully. Is
there anything else you’d like to do on the way home or once you get home?
Paul Chambers:
Paul brings the kids home and let’s his wife know he had an
incident at the pool. He head’s off to do some research on the types of events
he has seen today. He makes sure he’s using a double VPN to protect his search.
Mage Storyteller:
[Roll Int + Investigation]
Paul Chambers:
3 successes
Mage Storyteller:
You find very little on conventional channels. Once you
delve into some archived Void Engineer research, you find a reference to an
aborted project on inter-dimensional communication through rifts describing a
visual phenomenon similar to what you saw.
Paul Chambers:
I print a hard copy. That sort of thing isn’t good to keep
digitally, even with failsafes and masks to cover my tracks. I have some skill with the transmission element
of the research (Correspondence 2) but maybe not with any needed DS. Better to keep it close for now
