The Found Arcana – Chapter 6 [IC], Continuation of https://www.rpgplayroom.net/forums/topic/the-found-arc Options

[Tecumseh]

<<That's largely correct, except - per AM - the watcher couldn't have been pinged with a round of Blight because it can't take corporal form like a spirit can.>>

<<So I wonder if the MET2K merc was meant to cause a scene, knowing Hammington would overreact and send the mercs outside, thus preventing the hell hounds from being released and clearing the way for astral intruders. Some spirits have the power to influence minds, do they not? So that could have been Invictus, neh?>>

<<We know that Invictus was in the corridor outside Sir Pike's chambers, but it's unclear to what end. That olive oil scent seems to be unique to Invictus. Jawsey, are you familiar with scent compounds following a spirit in and out of its materializations, either in theory or in practice?>>

<<We know Invictus was waiting for someone or something. Jawsey, how to spirits arrange for their rendezvous? I presume they can't use commlinks like the rest of us. Would there be any record of that anywhere, in the astral realm or elsewhere? Was Invictus assigned any quarters that we could search?>>

<<We know Igor and Invictus left early. Perhaps an alibi? Do we have any information on Igor's whereabouts since then?>>

<<At this point it's easy to suspect anyone and everyone because we don't have a clear motivation in play yet. A theft? A political power play between rival factions? Boredom among the rich and idle?>>

<<Let's see what AM can turn up from a sound analysis, and if there are any inventory or records systems she can tap into about weapons discharging.>>

[Gilga]

>> Bloom did you get anything from the greenhouse our guest Invictus was disrupted.
she texted and begun performing the sound analysis.

[ Spoiler ]

5 hits in ooc

[Jack_Spade]

The analysis was done quickly, despite the bad audio. Moving through the gun catalogue brought no matches until it moved on to custom models. There was a hit:

"Savalette Guardian with additional magazine, double barrel modification, silenced, wepean mount."
Only known weaponsmith to produce: Roman Czerniek, Czech Republic, Prague.

[Gilga]

>>Kurt Van Der Bloom are you there? She orders Trouble to find Kurt.
Returning to the meatworld AM shares her finding with the team, and then goes over the guest list to figure out who might be connected to Roman Czerniek, ot to Czech Republic or at least to Prague.

[ Spoiler ]

Is it intentional that Kurt is not answering the text in a time like that?
I could not find the intel on the guests, anyone got a pointer?
Should I roll something for that?

[Jack_Spade]

[ Spoiler ]

No, sorry, I just meant to give you the information you needed.
Kurt is still on, although he is close to going to bed himself

<<I'm here, I'm here. Are you done soon? It's getting really late - even with the involuntary nap I took.>>

The guest list isn't much help, since more than half of them seem to be from Europe and therefore within driving distance of Prague.

[Beta]

<<So, what now? Go to bed and hope for the best? Or do either of you have any other ideas?>> Jawsey isn't crazy about just abandoning the hunt when something or someone could be lurking, but on the other hand 'bed' does have a lot of appeal, and they do seem to be out of leads.

[Tecumseh]

Mato isn't sure how the sound analysis could pick up on an additional magazine, or a weapon mount, but he won't question it for the moment.

"Is anyone known to carry a Savalette?" he asks the other chasseurs. He doesn't want to rush to judgement, as he still suspects that the gun is being brought in from offsite, perhaps on a drone, but it's also possible that there's an inside agent, one who might have drugged Van Der Bloom. Best to eliminate all possibilities.

[Gilga]

AM asks Troubles assense Van der Bloom as she taunts him and see how he reacts. Then she asks him to find out if his flying drone is armed.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 10d6t5 2

>> Take a long haul or a coffee or something and stop crying. A guest was assaulted without traces, the camera's looped. I am not going to sleep until I know what is happening. How can you? It is your day job and reputation at stake. Also, despite all your expensive equipment, I am the one doing all the work. You are like the Wizard of Oz with infinite computing powers, years of expirience, and a legendary reputation- How come rookie me is the only one piecing the pieces together?


She texts the team >> Van Der Bloom files are top secret, not to say an attacker would not find them but it is possible that the man drugged himself as an alibi. There could be two flying drones in here, but we've only seen one - and this place should be secure enough to discover intruding drones. I sent Troubles to see if Bloom's drone is armed with the gun we are looking for. I think he knows more than he is telling us about this thing - no way he just wants to sleep.



Next she tries to see what the guest that leaved early (Igor) was doing, until he left the sensors of the mansion. She also checks all flying drones that any sensor recorded within the mansion to see if any of them could have taken the shot.

[Jack_Spade]

Van der Bloom reacted cranky: "I got dosed up, ok? So shut your mouth, before someone does it for you. You are the subordinate, so of course you do the work. Feel free to stay up. You have access to the files. Deal with it."
Trouble saw no difference to before - only that Bloom was even more tired now. His drone certainly was too small to carry such a weapon without it showing obviously.

Next AM started to sift through the recorded data. Igor left the party and went down to the cellar - apparently he went to the wine cellar, returned with a bottle and went into the spa area. She didn't see him leave again, so he supposedly was still down there - possibly with an empty bottle of red wine.

As told before, AM sees that the mansion doesn't have any drones in its employ - neither ground nor flight. And likewise there are no records of drones around.

[Beta]

<<I'm not entirely sure that spirits do anything special to arrange a meeting, other than showing up and talking, or sending an intermediary to to go talk. If there is a way for them to leave messages or something I don't know it. Although my magical education is still at about the 'define a verb, noun, and adjective' stage, so there could be something I'm ignorant of.>>

<<Someone could have reached Invictus almost anywhere. But the most obvious place would be his room, if he has one. Ana, I know you have a long list, but could check to see if there is a room assigned to Invictus? If there is I'll go see if I can get in astrally, and see if there is anything there with a signature different from his own.>>

[Jack_Spade]

Mato isn't sure how the sound analysis could pick up on an additional magazine, or a weapon mount, but he won't question it for the moment.

"Is anyone known to carry a Savalette?" he asks the other chasseurs. He doesn't want to rush to judgement, as he still suspects that the gun is being brought in from offsite, perhaps on a drone, but it's also possible that there's an inside agent, one who might have drugged Van Der Bloom. Best to eliminate all possibilities.

"That exact model? Nope, no chance. But I actually have the standard one - at home. It's a pretty reliable piece." Brad replied.

[Tecumseh]

Mato drums his fingers, a bit lost. There are threads to pull on... but they're all short and not that promising. And there's an opportunity cost for every question in terms of time and effort.

<<Let's stay off the Long Haul>> he advises AM and Jawsey. <<This is supposed to be a week-long engagement and we can't afford to sleep through a day or two when it wears off.>>

Actually, due to his nephritic screen, Long Haul is almost useless for Mato anyway.

<<At some point we'll need rest. At this point all of our leads are so thin that we may need to let the situation develop.>>

"Alright, let's patrol," he says to the other chasseurs. "Mr. Kaminzky may be in the spa with an empty bottle of red wine. What's the etiquette for getting guests to bed? Or for making sure that they're not floating face-first in the hot tub."

[Gilga]

"The etiquette is to be male, I don't go near any drunk guest." She sighs Something is foul, but there is a drone firing and no drone at the sky, and there is a guest disrupted... I mean how can you just sleep."

She texts Hamington to report the finding of Invictus and asks him to take a look of his own.

[Jack_Spade]

Hamington didn't reply - apparently he had turned his commlink off for the night. A more insistent message over the house intercom got AM an angry retort, that for magic she should ask the Courier McElroy.
McElroy replied: <<I'll take a look. Good work. For now stand down I'll have a powerful spirit patrol the house until the morning. Should there be any intruder still around, it will take care of it.>>

Brad replied: "I'm going to check on him. If he isn't in danger, we leave him there. It's warm enough down there that he won't need a blanket."

[Tecumseh]

Mato nods to Brad. Before going on patrol, he pings AM and Jawsey.

<<Bed may be in our best interests. I can't take Long Haul because my nephritic screen will chew it up. Plus, my sleep regulator has me on a minimal amount of sleep each night. I recommend that you don't take any either because this engagement lasts a week. Being awake for four days and then sleeping for a day or two isn't conducive to meeting the obligations of our contract.>>

<<Maybe I'm overlooking something, but at this point we don't seem to have enough information to act on. We can clutch at straws but we'll just exhaust ourselves in the process. It might be better to get some rest and come at the problem refreshed.>>

[Beta]

Jawsey agrees <<Let's get some sleep. Probably there will be something horrific to wake up to, but at least we'll be rested to deal with it. Besides, if we push this too far now, blame is more apt to come back to us.>>

He let's McElroy know <<I can set up a not-so-strong spirit to help keep an eye on things. I was thinking 50m up and 50m inside the perimeter, to keep an eye on the watchers so that we don't have as much mystery if anything happens to one overnight. Is that OK with you?>>

He calls up one of the Hunter Brothers, and for once today the summoning is routine. He instructs it to stay a bowshot in and a bowshot up from the fence, and to let Jawsey know of anything happening to any astrally active forms until sunrise.

[ Spoiler ]

summon spirit 3+1=4: 9d6t5 2
spirit resist: 4d6t5 1
drain resist: 13d6t5 4
1 service, no drain

[Jack_Spade]

McElroy replied:
<<Good, that will do nicely. Have a good night.>>

For the next 5 hours the team found a bit of rest - until 0830 sharp they were woken by a call from Cunningham: <<Get down immediately to the family quarters - there has been an incident. The family is fine though, but I think this calls for your talents as detectives.>>

[Beta]

Jawsey replied <<Acknowledged>> and threw back his covers before he could fall back to sleep.

His own alarm had woken him up 40 minutes earlier to check in with his spirit before sunrise and to thank it for its service, and he'd just settled back into a deep sleep when Cunningham called. Once he rolled out of bed he replayed the message a few times to try and process the info. Family Quarters --> means I have to dress properly. Incident --> Drek, that is what we were trying to head off. Talents as Detectives --> I really need to wake up.

He grabbed a quick cold shower, getting chilled but no more awake. Dressed in his uniform. Grabbed his cane. Wondered if it were possible to ask the kitchen to deliver coffee to the incident scene? Decided he shouldn't push it. And started heading out. Only then did he think to to message Mato and AM to ask <<You both ready? Or already there? Maybe it helps if we arrive together?>>

[Tecumseh]

Thanks to Mato's sleep regulator, he's already been awake for three hours when Cunningham's message arrives. After patrolling for a bit the night before, he had slept from 0230 to 0530 or so, then got up to shower, shave, and dress. Then it's small first breakfast, followed by patrolling, before a larger second breakfast. Then Cunningham's call comes through and it's time to really get to work.

<<En route>> he confirms to Cunningham.

<<I'm up and have been patrolling for a while. I'm a little farther out on the grounds so it will take me a few minutes to get back if I don't run. I'll meet you at the family quarters.>>

[Gilga]

AM is half baked at that hour and struggles to pull herself out of bed. Trouble is curious, and never sleeps so he decides to hang around Mato which is safer during mornings.

She gets dressed quickly and goes to see what happened. "No shit Sherlock..." she thinks "of course something is a miss... ", she stayed awake in her bed failing to connect the dots - which explains why she is so miserable right now. She pops a Caffeine gum, and does her best to not project her misery at being awake in her environment - she is on the clock after all.

[Jack_Spade]

The team assembled in front of the family quarters with minimal delay and where called in by Cunningham.
Where the rest of the house was a feast of oppulence and wealth, the family quarters appeared surprisingly spartan and yet comfortably lived in. Instead of pricesless persian rugs, here a treadbare carpet, instead of gilded ornaments, simple, yet sturdy furniture, employed for functionality and not looks adorned the rooms.

"It turns out your fears for an intruder were not unfounded and I apologize for not taking any more stringent measures. And while both his Lordship and fiance are unharmed, they are considerably distraught. As it appears, someone got through the defenses around here, overcame the locked safe and stole the Blue Admiral. No locks were forced or alarms tripped. There are obviously no cameras inside these quarters. You and I secured the perimeter and I'm absolutely certain, that no-one could temper with the locks of the door - not without breaking the seals."
Cunningham explained while he led them to a kitchenette, where his Lordship and the Duchess both sat in bathrobes and enjoyed espressos. He looked somewhat confused and angry, while she had a look of fear on her face.
"Sir, Madam, I have a confession to make: These gentlemen and lady are not mere servants but specialists that I hired as extra protection against an eventuality like this. It is to my shame that I did not act yesterday night as they warned me about irregularities around the house. I did not come into your quarters for a full search, as I deemed your privacy a higher value than a hunch - as I thought then."

Thomas Pike spoke up then: "Enough with the recriminations. It's fair to say that I'd been rather put out if you'd disturbed us yesternight. Still, I'm most concerned about this. I have promised my love here that she would be safe with me. And upon my oath, I'm not a man who takes his promises lightly. So I give you free reign to investigate this.
Preferably before we set off for the hunt today."

[Tecumseh]

Mato nods at the directions and gives a curt, formal bow.

"Thank you, sirs and madam.

"As we begin, were there any signs of intrusion beyond the absence of the ring itself? If I am understanding things correctly, the doors were locked and the seals were still intact this morning."

To the AM and Jawsey he comms: <<Can we scan things astrally? Given the presence of unknown magic on the ring, I wish to be sure that the ring is, indeed missing and not simply, say, in hiding... either due to an illusion or due to the Duke and Duchess being involuntarily manipulated into misplacing it.>>

He activates his sensors, especially his radar sensors and his millimeter wave detection system, to begin scanning the place. He takes particular interest in the area of the wall where he briefly detected a form last night. He walks the perimeter of the room to note possible entry and exit points, but slows for a moment when he comes to the questionable portion of the wall.

<<When we're alone with him, let's also follow up on why Cunningham is so sure that the locks of the door could not be tampered with without breaking the seals. And, equally importantly, let's ask about the nature of the seals. Perhaps they could have been 'reset' after someone tampered with the door locks.>>

[Gilga]

AM chews her gum nervously, and she feels her knees getting weak. "Stolen..." she repeats overwhelmed with the possible consequences... but they are not fired yet, Cunningham apologizes which brings back some color to her cheeks.
She nods at the Duchess and asks quietly "What is your take on all this? Are you feeling well? Did you notice anything pit of the ordinary yesterday night? Even if it is a small insignificant detail, it may be important." she observes carefully her emotional response.


AM asks the dematerialized Trouble to find the ring, or if there are some astral traces to it and then responds to Mato's message
>> Trouble had the best look at the ring

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing Trouble: 10d6t5 4

[Beta]

Jawsey takes a good look at Cunningham as well as the couple, checking their auras for any magic or discruption. Then he goes to examine the safe, visuall and astrally. He messages Mato <<Probably best that you take your scanners to the safe too, and maybe see if you can tell what is behind the wall it is next to, too.>>

[Jack_Spade]

Jawsey looked over the assembled people and their auras:
Cunningham was as he had appeared before - rigorous, calm and considerably augmented. Pike was agitated but otherwise healthy. From the Duchess, Jawsey only got glimpses of fear and confusion. Both appeared to have minor essence loss through a datajack, but otherwise nothing significant.

The safe was much more interesting: There was definitely some residual magic signature there. It almost appeared like a high force spirit had been summoned - although there was no sign of a summoner present.

Trouble informed AM over their bond: 'There was a true name in that safe. But it's gone now. It smells of Invictus'
Now that Trouble had informed her about it, she too could smell the faint olive oil aroma lingering in the air.

Cunningham meanwhile displayed the security: "A mechanical lock, a maglock and an air gapped sensor suite for visual, IR, ultrasound, radar and a magnet resonance receiver protect the door. Neither has been tripped or shown any signs of having been bypassed."

The Duchess replied to AM: "No, I'm not feeling so well. I was quite swept away from all the attention. It's been a long while since I had so many people so close to me at once. I really think we should call Katya here..."
Cunningham interrupted: "Your bodyguard has been very active the last days, give her a bit more rest until we are finished here. Too many cooks... you understand."