Behind the Crown [IC], Behind the crown are shadows Options

[Koekepan]

The spirit mulls this for a while, and then blandly says: :::Nnnope. Sorry, chief, nothing like that.:::

[pbangarth]

"""Hmmmpphh.""" Blue fills Karmakaze in on the failed info quest. """ Got any ideas how I might try to dig for something useful? """

[Bastard]

Karmakaze thinks for a minute, not knowing exactly what Blue has said to this invisible entity.

"""Did you ask about new people coming in? New people in charge? Do the spirits understand money? Maybe they have seen money being paid to people, that are not the workers."""

[pbangarth]

"""No. I can try that, but such concepts are a little beyond spirits. """

::: This is a place where food is served to those who come in. People who come here to eat trade for the food with something we call money. Sometimes using paper or metal, sometimes using a stick that feels really technical. Have you noticed anyone come who makes that kind of exchange, but not for food? :::

[Koekepan]

:::Yeah, yeah, of course. Suppliers, of course, and technicians. And the staff, you understand. All the good people doing their good things. Biz is good, you know?:::

The spirit reaches into the space beyond itself, and retrieves utensils. Blue gets a view of the spirit cooking up a batch of eggs benedict, and it smells amazing. If Blue were hungrier, it might have been deeply distracting.

[pbangarth]

""" Probably because I'm just not good at this kind of research or questioning, I'm not getting anything useful from the spirit. """

Blue fills in Karmakaze on the latest news from the spirit. """ Hmmm. The spirit does mention technicians coming and getting paid. Maybe I can ask what they worked on? And it tells me that 'Biz is good.' Maybe that's a line to follow. """

[Bastard]

"""It may not be able to help us at all, but it doesn't hurt to keep asking."""

[pbangarth]

""" OK. """

To the spirit, Blue asks, ::: You said technicians came. Please tell me what they worked on. And, did Biz get a lot better after they did that work? :::

+++ Sure, biz would get better after that spiffy new fryer was installed, or the nice new neon sign, but I gotta fish for something. +++

[Koekepan]

:::Sure! Techs came. Worked on the fryer. Worked on the lines to the fryer. Worked on the oil tank. What's to tell? Won't say that biz got a lot better though - it was maybe three hours out? A couple of tables substituted, and then it was back to biz, babe.:::

The spirit serves itself two eggs benedict, and sets to with evident pleasure.

[pbangarth]

""" All right. I think we are barking up the wrong tree with this line of questioning. """ Blue fills in Karmakaze on the latest conversation with the spirit.

"""If there is no evidence of strong-arm tactics being applied, maybe we need to come at this from a different angle. Political action has been intimated. Can we go anywhere with that? """

[Bastard]

"""It may have been all financing and behind the scenes. I don't think a spirit will see that. Maybe there was a change of staffing? Did new bosses come in?"""

[pbangarth]

""" Yeah, you did ask earlier about new people in charge. """ He turns back to the spirit. ::: You told me about the boss. Did the person in charge change a while ago? :::

+++ If the spirit takes each question as a service, I'm running out of them quickly here. +++

[Koekepan]

:::Nope, chief. Boss is same as been for a while. Just as well. Get a bad boss in, you get a bad rep, place gets bought out and Under New Management signs faster than soft-boiled eggs cook, and that's just how this biz runs. Just the other day, was talking about how music needs to be upbeat but low in the mornings for the hungover slots rolling in. That's a sensei who gets his market.:::

[pbangarth]

::: Oh, yeah? Who was that you were talking to? I'd like to know who is interested in how this biz should run. :::

[Koekepan]

:::Me? Oh no, no. The manager was talking about it, I was just behind my counter, ears open. Ya sling hash long enough, you hear plenty. This boss is smart.:::

[pbangarth]

Blue shakes his head. """ I'm getting nowhere, fast. As far as my source is concerned, """ (Notice the cleverness of Blue's choice of words? No listener should know he is communing with a spirit!) """ there has been no external pressure applied to force the situation in this establishment. I don't know where to go next in my questioning of the source. """

[Bastard]

"""Okay. I think our best bet is a long night of research."""

[pbangarth]

"""That sounds good. We can go back to my place where we can hide while you do your police work. I'll call up Sweez, the hearth spirit of the building and have a chat with him. I have some ideas about how to relate to spirits, and maybe he would be willing to answer my questions, seeing as we have come to know each other a bit.

"""Speaking of which, I'll give this house spirit one last assignment to perform for the rest of the night. If I leave, it will disappear along with any remaining services it would have, unless I leave it with an ongoing task, in which case it will stay till dawn performing that one."""

Blue reconnects to the spirit. ::: I leave now. Thank you for your honest answers. You have helped me learn some things. For the rest of the night, please stay and protect the staff of this establishment from dangers physical or astral. :::

He rises then, and heads out the door. Once outside, he summons a smaller city spirit to help them on their way. With the hearth spirit left with that last task, Blue can actually call another one out here without disrupting the first spirit. More experienced shamans have likely done this for as long as summoning has been practised, but Blue has had little call to do so before. His life may depend on this 'loophole' sometime.

[ Spoiler ]

Summon F3 city spirit: target 3, 6+2= 8 dice: 5 successes
Resist Drain: target 3(M), 4+2 = 6 dice: 2 successes so L Drain, 1 box stun
Heal Drain: target 2 +1 for stun = 3, 12 dice: 9 successes
Heal time =60/9 = 7 minutes per box, so 7 minutes.

A bit fuzzy after the summon, but Blue will rest in the car on the way home. He will have the spirit Guard the car and the two of them.

[Koekepan]

The trip back to Blue's pad takes about half an hour, and is generally uneventful, if one doesn't count the regular traffic snarls.

[pbangarth]

On the ride back, Blue recovers in short order, and with a clear mind considers what he has just done. He has two spirits on the go, something he has never done before. One in the restaurant, a hearth domain, and one following along with the car, in the city domain. +++ How far can I push this? +++

Back home, Blue directs Karmakaze to park out back, where their car will be less noticeable. Once at the front door, he knows entering his apartment will change domains. So he communes with the city spirit, with images of firearms in his mind. ::: If people approach this door bearing tools such as you see in my mind, attack them with all your abilities. :::

Now for the next level test. If Blue enters his apartment and summons Sweez, will that constitute 'Domain: Hearth' and send the spirit in the restaurant back to its plane, or is each hearth domain separate? Whether the spirit in the restaurant stays or goes, Blue will have learned something. """ Time for some science in the home, Karmakaze. ""

Blue steps into his apartment, cancelling any extra services from the city spirit. He can still feel the presence in his mind of the two spirits, each performing its appointed task. As Karmakaze settles in for some research, Blue opens to the astral and call his friendly neighbourhood hearth spirit.

[ Spoiler ]

Summon F4 Hearth Spirit: target 4, Summoning 6 + Owl 2 = 8 dice: 5 successes
Resist Drain target 4(M) , CHA 4 + Owl 2 = 6 dice:4 successes No Drain!

As Blue congratulates himself on summoning once again with no Drain, he feels the coming spirit's presence. He waits to see whether he loses contact with the spirit in the restaurant.

[Koekepan]

Sweez comes into view, looking about as wild-eyed and under-nourished as ever. Blue's brief tenure in this undersized efficiency apartment does not seem to have been long enough to make a substantial change - either to the location or to Sweez directly. The only factor that is obviously a development is that Sweez is swaying to the thunderous beat from the club, which penetrates (or permeates) the spiritual side of this environment as well.

[pbangarth]

Blue lets Karmakaze in on a concern that has been drifting around in the back of his head. """ The research we do about the phenomenon in the Fremont district is important. I am worried though, about finding Daisy. Missing person cases, if I am correct, tend to end badly if the missing person is not found within a couple of days. We're there now, I think. Once you have the info you seek now, maybe we should concentrate on finding her. Not to mention the fact that the payoff for finding her is a lot more than that for figuring out the Fremont thing.

""" Yeah, yeah. They could be related. ""

As Karmakaze dives into her research, Blue carries on a conversation with Sweez. It is amazing to him that he has three, count 'em, three spirits in touch with him at the same time. What a revelation.

::: Hi, Sweez. Good to talk to you again. I see the music is moving you as much as it does the crowd upstairs. Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could come and go as you like, maybe grow in knowledge and power on your own? I think we call that state of being a 'Free Spirit'. That ever catch your fancy? :::

[Koekepan]

Sweez's spiritual aspect seems to vibrate, and his normally thin face contorts into a shark-like grin of hungry delight. :::Yesss, yes. Yes!:::

[pbangarth]

Blue is receiving mixed emotional messages from the two entities in his apartment. Sweez is radiating what looks like lust for power, and Karmakaze's aura has hints of confusion and frustration. Blue didn't think his machine was -that- basic!

To Karmakaze he says, """If my equipment doesn't suffice, we can go to your place. I'll just finish with my friend here. It'll just be a few minutes. """

To Sweez, he emotes, ::: It looks like you like the idea. How can I help make that happen for you? ::: In the back of Blue's mind there is a little voice, mumbling something about things going terribly wrong. But did that little voice ever stop the progress of science?

[Koekepan]

Sweez's aspect in Blue's view seems to flutter, as if conflicting rays of spotlights pass over it in various hues before leaving pitch darkness in their wake, and a voice that now resonates like the boom of an amplified bass says: :::Can you follow me to the metaplanes, Owl's chick?:::