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

[Koekepan]

<<< Sorry, chummer, means nothing to me. Never heard of ata-whatever basilisks. It's all just awakened lizards to me... wait a minute. OK, I can't guarantee anything, but it's just possible it's a thing that isn't actually a basilisk. I can't really talk about it, but keep your eyes open for something that looks like a cross between a snake, a skink, and a dragon, maybe as much as a dozen feet long or more, that shows up on the astral. If it's what I think it is, everyone involved is in a lot deeper than they should be. Stupid slots.>>>

[pbangarth]

<<<M&M, as usual you have me intrigued. Come on, you know more than you are telling, else why give such a cryptic warning? If things would get hot for you, maybe I could send one of my special little items to help you overcome the worry. Maybe, a handy Heal spell-on-a-stick like the one I showed you a while back. Complete with instructions. Use it for yourself to get out of a sticky situation, or sell it for a nice profit.

<<<My life could depend on knowing everything I can, if what you intimate is true.>>>

[Koekepan]

<<<Look, Baby Blue, it's not what you think. If what I suspect is true, then they're not that dangerous. Less so than actual basilisks, anyway. But I'll give you this for free: I think someone has a hidden agenda with these things, and what they're asking you for isn't what they really care about. Now, I gotta go, unless you're going to come over here and help me dissect this dire wolf and pickle bits.>>>

[pbangarth]

<<<Thanks, M&M. I'll keep your advice in mind. And I'll pass on the wolf.>>>

Blue has a lot to think about as he heads back to the safe house. Man and spirit keep a watch for trouble on the way. The snow is a bother, but useful cover.

[Koekepan]

By the time he gets back, the temperature is down a few degrees more, and the snow is thicker than flaked krill floating down a digester tank from a thirty kilo sack. Everything sounds muffled, and even a bus driving by is on snow fittings, running at low speed. If it keeps up, there'll be inches on the ground by sunrise.

The safehouse is still quiet, but the warmth of its heating system is like a blast from an oven by comparison, and his ears and cheeks burn as the warmth hits them. At least the kitchen has easy dispensing of soykaf, and a range of other beverages. They will be hot.

Once inside, the city's spirit leaves unless there are any last minute instructions.

[pbangarth]

Before ducking in to the warmth of the safe house, Blue sends the spirit on a reconnaissance mission around the house and environs, looking for any other astral presence that might be hovering in the area.

[Koekepan]

Sure, lots of them! But after ten minutes of shivering in the cold while the spirit regales Blue with commentary on the spiritual aspects of lichen, moss, hibernating spiders and shrubs, he comes to the tentative conclusion that nothing of immediate interest is paying any substantial attention to him.

[pbangarth]

Despite the cold, Blue shrugs and laughs at his own careless language. +++Almost as bad as computers, spirits are.+++

:::Thank you, spirit, for your thorough report. Please go home now, your service is ended.::: Blue enters the safehouse, and makes a cup of hot pseudo-chocolate to help warm up.

[Koekepan]

The safehouse is warm, quiet, and comfortable after his trek through the night. Connor could use his time getting in an early bedtime, or he could sneak back outside to try communicating with the world, or he could do research based on static resources in the house or ... he could play some of those virtual games that Chuck and Carlos were trying? What a selection.

[pbangarth]

There had been no reply from Henry on the walk back, not that Blue expected it. Henry runs a traditional, day business. It sure is nice and warm n the safe house. Blue grabs a snack from the kitchen and decides to have a look around. Maybe a library?

+++ Hmmm. Safehouse. Wonder if there is a safe, or other hidden place. Would a hearth spirit be able to tell, or find it? Let's find out! +++

[ Spoiler ]

summon hearth spirit, F2 Conjuring 5 + Owl 2 = 7 dice, target 2: 7 successes
Drain ChA 4 + Owl 2 = 6 dice target 2(L):4 successes No drain.

+++ I hope it's the same spirit. I'm growing fond of the crotchety old thing. +++

[Koekepan]

Sure enough, there she is. The power of the summons works on her, but doesn't seem to have manifested in any particular way other than a big mug of coffee from which she sips.

:::Sheesh, what are you? Some kinda nightowl? Do you know what time it is?::: She cackles a bit before sipping more coffee. Spirits can have a sense of humour, after all.

She's wearing fluffy bunny slippers. They have rhinestone eyes that gleam.

[pbangarth]

Blue laughs out loud at the joke. ::: That's me ... night owl all the way. Listen, I feel like figuring out this place I'm holed up in, so I want to explore a bit. If you know of some hidden places, little hidey holes and such, let me know, please, otherwise look through the building and check for such places. I'll wander around and get the lay of the place. Maybe find something to read.:::

[Koekepan]

:::Sure, sure, I know all the holes, where the bodies were buried, the ways in and out. I mean, ya find them when the plumbing breaks or the electric goes bad, doncha?::: She takes a big sip of astral coffee before leaning against a doorjamb.

:::Lotta things tucked into wall spaces mostly. Sometimes, holes drilled into doors, doorframes, things put behind carpet tacks or under tiles, yaknow? List as long as my last squeeze's gear lever, and twice as thick, if you know what I mean - but really, they're mostly empty. The only things big enough for a person are the panic room, and the emergency exit, and they're both downstairs, in the basement.:::

[pbangarth]

Blue's curiosity is piqued. :::Show me the rooms downstairs, first please, then take me to the hidey holes you mentioned that are not empty.:::

[Koekepan]

She leads Blue downstairs. The door swings open for her, and the light shows the various utilities and laundry equipment. She passes by them, and goes to a blank section of wall. A blank electrical cover swings out a bit, and behind it Blue sees a switch. She points at it and grunts. :::That opens panic room. Ain't fancy, but it buys time, I guess. The exit behind it leads to a transit tunnel. Don't know where that leads, don't care.:::

[pbangarth]

:::That's very helpful, thanks.::: Blue inspects the panic room, noting what supplies and amenities are stored there. Is it merely a roadblock while the residents escape through the tunnel, or could they hole up here for a while?

Then he turns to the spirit. :::Now, if you could continue and show me those hidey holes that are not 'mostly empty', I'd appreciate it.

:::You're a very useful being to have around, ::: he notes, with as much positive energy as he can muster in the mental message.

[Koekepan]

The panic room contains a sparse but useful set of kit. There are a couple of boxes of ammunition, some respirators, food for a while - but the strength of the door is probably not up to a determined assault, so it is probably just a delaying tactic.

:::Yeah, well, used to being used.::: She grumbles but willingly points at a door. :::In that door itself, drilled in a hole from the top and corked with a bit more, some kinda chip thing.::: She points at the room in which Candy is. :::The closet rail in there is hollow, metal. Unscrew it from the wall, there's some sticks of explosive. Never liked that.::: She goes to the kitchen, and points out a lighting fixture. :::Behind the glass, taped to the top so it won't cast a shadow, is another chip thing.::: She points to the wall behind the house's entertainment node. :::If you bust open the wall between two studs there, there's a bunch of combat drugs and stuff. Hate that. I'll stick to coffee.:::

[pbangarth]

Blue feels a pang of guilt and pity. Silly isn't it? Feeling sorry for a being of the ether. But there you go. :::Well, know that I appreciate your help. Why don't you go back home and enjoy a rest? I think you've earned it.:::

After the spirit leaves, Blue decides to wait for a couple of hours or three to see if Harry gets back to him, and to greet his rising roomies. In the meantime, a cup of tea and another shot at those documents on the chip.

[Koekepan]

By the time that the sun is up, not much later, Blue has not yet discovered anything particularly exciting about the nature of those documents, with the minor exception that apparently PoliDemos provided a gravid atavophid basilisk to Petsonal Petsonalities without a transfer of any ownership rights.

However, Harry does send a message back, intimating that while he's not very familiar with Petsonal, he knows quite a bit about the origins of PoliDemos and would be willing to answer a few questions.

[pbangarth]

Wow. A chance to actually learn something about what is going on. Blue steps outside, keeping his face hidden by his hat, and turns to face the wall of the building. Who knows what drone or satellite is looking for him right now.

He initiates a call to Henry. +++ Alright, Henry, be your encyclopedic self. +++

[Koekepan]

<<<Good morning. Excuse me, I am at breakfast. I'm not really sure what information would be valuable to you, but in summary I would call them an originally beneficial community organisation led astray by a narrative of righteousness into a series of developments culminating in a nascent, ostensibly extra-legal neo-feudal establishment founded on practices that would not be particularly outlandish to the Cosa Nostra. Certainly, I would advise the greatest of care in dealing with their representatives, because they have the strength of the self-righteous combined with the cupidity of the robber baron. I have every reason to believe moreover that their goals, irrespective of their rhetoric, have shifted substantially from their initial interest in defending their holdings into a more outward looking frame of reference for strategic and tactical action, which may well precipitate more active resistance from hitherto uninvolved third parties.>>>

There is a pause, perhaps for a sip of coffee, then: <<<Does this go some way to assisting you in your inquiries?>>>

[pbangarth]

Blue grins at the sound of Henry's over-the-top stretch of ten words into a hundred.

<<<It does indeed go some way, Henry. As usual, your erudition knows no parallel. What would really help, though, is to know how this group might get a hold of an unknown paranormal animal which they call an atavophid basilisk, the nature of which I would like to understand, and why they would want the exclusive use of progeny from such a beast.>>>

[Koekepan]

<<<As to their access to paranormal creatures, I can only speculate. I'm not presently familiar with that particular creature, or at least not under that designation. If you have a more precise description for me, I might be in a position to engage in some more fruitful research but basilisks as such are not generally known to have more than one significantly differentiable variety. However, given my knowledge of their methods I strongly doubt that they would be intending any trade in the field, rather than putting the animals to some specific use of their own. As a general rule they are better known for cruder exercises of power, whether political or otherwise, than for their steps in the delicate and nuanced dance of trade.>>>

[pbangarth]

<<<Thank you, Henry. I might have a description for you soon. The caution about the tactics and goals of the group is well received. In touch soon, I hope.>>>

Blue goes back inside and has a cup of herbal tea, waiting for either Carlos or Hopalong to rise.

[Koekepan]

Blue looks up from his cup of herbal tea at just the right time to spot a pale figure peering around the corner from the short hall with the bedrooms. Medium height, dark hair ... wearing a translucent shirt, female ...

Oh good. Cindy's awake.