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

[Gilga]

'"McElroy is the prime suspect for me, we told him that Invictus was disrupted, and he owns all the wards and has spirits/watchers patrolling the perimeter. A violent event in the astral must have triggered his attention. I find it unlikely that we are the ones to discover it - when he should have been on the lookout for astral threats.

My other thought is Invictus because he is not really permanently damaged, and managed to evade questioning after behaving very suspiciously. He could have influenced the Duchess to open the vault and give him the sword. Destroying the sword is clearly in his best interest."

[Tecumseh]

There are plenty of gaps that Mato needs to fill in. He squats in the middle of the maze, examining the molten slag created out of the sand when the sword was destroyed.

<<Step one, we need to figure out if Invictus was the target and the Blue Admiral was collateral damage, or if the Blue Admiral was the target and Invictus was the collateral damage.>>

<<AM, Jawsey, what would it take to destroy a weapon focus like this? Is it just the same as blowing up a sword, or is there a ritual to it? Why, for example, would you take the sword into the middle of the maze to destroy it? That seems like unnecessary effort unless it's part of some sort of procedure. Did they need this heavy concrete slab to contain - or channel - the explosion somehow?>>

<<AM, the perpetrators have been pretty careful with the cameras as a whole, but are there any looking at the maze? Or does the maze have any other sensors we could leverage for information? Noise or heat or anything that would indicate how the sword was destroyed? It seems like a blast should have been widely heard.>>

<<We can go confront McElroy but I'll say innocent-until-proven-guilty for now. Let's not underweight the Duchess' dream. I agree with AM that she could be the inside person, acting against her will through an implanted suggestion or perhaps even active puppeteering.>>

Mato tries to think back to the quarters of the Duke and Duchess, wondering if there were any points where a fiber-optic cable could have been snaked through - the ventilation perhaps - to cast a spell.

<<Let's go talk to McElroy. Remember that he has a good deal of experience with magical archaeology, so I can't help but think that Invictus would have been of special academic interest to him. He's also in charge of preparing lodgings for all Pike family members around the globe, so if anyone could plant a weak point in the security - or give advice to others about how to avoid it - it would be him. Given his thaumaturgical experience, I expect that he'll be experienced at controlling his aura. We may have to rely on more technical judgements of his statements.>>

Mato fires up his relevant softward subscriptions: both Thermal Mood Reading and Vocal Tension Lie Detection are effective in helping to judge someone's intentions.

[Jack_Spade]

Mato soon found at least some answers to his questions. The center of the hedge maze was well screened off from the rest of the estate. No sensors could see or hear inside and the auras of the living plants also screened the astral side quite effectively.
Mato guessed that thermite had been used to melt the sword and the concrete slab had been used to cover the conflagration, shielding it both from normal vision as well as the thermal bloom.

Whoever had gone here, had thought well about how to keep the destruction secret while it happened.

[Tecumseh]

Mato reports his findings to the others.

<<All this shows a lot of preplanning. Not just in the sense of having the thermite but also a plan about when and where to use it in order to shield the happenings from others.>>

<<Added together with the Blight rounds downing Invictus, it's looking more and more like he was the primary target. Someone went to a lot of effort to nix the sensors, pop the safe, get the sword, slag it, and drop Invictus. That's a serious grudge.>>

Mato wonders if it's even illegal to waste a free spirit. There are maybe six or seven countries that offer SINs to free spirits and offer legal protections from banishment, but the UCAS isn't one of them. If it hadn't been for the theft of the Blue Admiral, the greatest crime committed might have just been the destruction of Sir Pike's property, specifically his sword.

<<Coming out. Are we headed to McElroy?>>

[Gilga]

"Yes, let's go visit him"

[Jack_Spade]

The team found McElroy was already up, apparently meditating in his office. When Jawsey led his two team mates in, he looked up and unfolded himself from the lotus position:
"Good morning. What's going on?"

[Beta]

Jawsey glances at the others, then figures it is his boss, he might as well explain "Cunningham called us this morning, more trouble. Long story short, it looks like someone took Invictus' formula--a sword-- got it out to the centre of the maze in the grounds, then carefully destroyed it. The hedges would have blocked the astral from anyone not pretty much overhead, but they should have been visible heading out to the maze. Is there any chance that the watchers were messed with again to make sure they were not spotted?"

to the team he added <<I suppose he has to hear about the Blue Admiral, but let's take this on one thing at a time.>>

[Tecumseh]

Mato privately wonders if it would be better for Jawsey to not be here, if the 'interview' might be more productive with outsiders that McElroy doesn't know.

He also doesn't want Jawsey pitching softball questions to McElroy. It's a natural tendency with people you know, especially with people you report to.

Jawsey leads with Invictus. Mato would have started with the Blue Admiral and McElroy's wards but too late now. This angle might work too.

<<I'm beginning to wonder if Invictus was a collaborator, the inside 'man' so to speak. What Invictus wanted was in the safe, just like the Blue Admiral. So perhaps Invictus made a deal: Invictus gets the sword, the other party gets the ring. I suppose Invictus could have even delivered the ring to a drone, perhaps on the rooftop. Once that was done, it was time to tie up the free spirit's loose end.>>

<<That would imply that Invictus needed help getting into the safe, or in getting the contents of the safe out of the Duke's quarters. The Duchess might have had a role in that.>>

<<Let's find out who had access to the Blue Admiral before the proposal. That person could have either influenced the Duchess via the ring, or the MET2K guard that tipped over the vase, thus creating a distraction during which the Duchess could be influenced.>>

In the meantime, Mato watches McElroy's reactions closely, running them through his software suite to help analyze McElroy's involuntary physical responses.

[Jack_Spade]

McElroy's eyebrows rose in honest surprise: "Say that again, please. The spirit formula of Invictus was destroyed? How?
Wait. That means Invictus likely was indeed disrupted and now is permanently banished until the vessel of his spirit formula can reform - if at all.
The watchers didn't notice anything, but those were patroling the edge of the property, so unlikely they would spot something. The high powered guardian spirit I called up to patrol through the rest of the night also didn't pick up anything that it deemed worthy enough to wake me up about. But then, it was patrolling inside the house, looking for trouble. Unfortunately, now that the sun has rissen it's gone and I can't ask it if it noticed anything else tonight.
Whoever did this must have a very good knowledge about astral and magical defenses to chose so carefully a spot to dispose the vessel.

And... wait, how did the sword leave the safe? Did someone summon Invictus through my wards by using the vessel?"

[Gilga]

"Well I told you he was. she proceeds bitterly The Duchess was mentally manipulated to open it. Perhaps by Invictus himself."

[Jack_Spade]

McElroy's frown deepened: "So, let me get this straight: Invictus and an as of yet unknown partner set up a plan to steal the sword from our employer, using spirit powers to plant suggestions for different actions. Their plan works, they get the sword out, but then, Invictus gets disrupted and his partner decides to destroy the sword.
That doesn't make sense. There must be something else to this story. Such a betrayal must have a motivation. And Invictus must have trusted the partner without knowing he would be betrayed."

[Gilga]

>> I agree, Invictus gets freed from the sword - the conspirators get the ring. It a win-win situation, but who did Invictus interacted with?


"I do not see a betrayal here, I see the perfect escape. Destroying the sword means that a new formula would form and would likely be impossible to find. Freedom from the possibility of servitude. Thing is, with the looped camera, and gunshot, and getting Bloom dosed out there are more people involved.

Do you know who had access to the ring during the last couple of days?"

[Jack_Spade]

"No, I don't think that is the case. The formula is Invictus' connection to the material plane. Without it, he can't come back here when he is disrupted. I'm quite sure about that. Taking back the sword, I agree, would be in his interest. But destroying it... Do you have the pieces with you? Maybe he destroyed a fake to make us think he is disrupted and gone for good.
What has the ring to do with this?
To my knowledge, it was brought here yesterday with it's escort of MET2K mercenaries - before that likely only people with access to the high security vault of the auction house would have had a chance to see the ring."
McElroy replied.

[Tecumseh]

<<He's either a good liar or his surprise is genuine>> Mato reports to AM and Jawsey.

"The ring is missing," Mato informs him. "As the wards to the royal quarters are yours, and given your role in preparing lodgings for Pike family members, we wished to confer with you about how two powerful foci could have been removed."

This is a deliberately provocative statement to see how McElroy will react. Indignation, most likely. But the wording is angled to let McElroy safe face by interpreting things as a professional inquiry, a collaboration with a man of McElroy's experience.

"Yes, we can examine the pieces of the sword," Mato confirms, producing a small sample that he took with him. "But the astral scene felt like magic had been performed. How was it put? Like alchemy gone wrong." He looks to Jawsey to confirm.

Back to McElroy. "Given your expertise in arcanoarchaeology, Invictus must have been of significant professional and academic interest to you."

This is more of a statement than a question, a verbal prompt to keep McElroy talking.

[Jack_Spade]

"What?" McElroy lost for a moment his composure, but calmed at once: "Ah, now I see. I had to key the ring into the wards - otherwise it wouldn't have been possible to bring it into the house without intersecting the wards. Likewise the sword when it was brought here. I admit, I never bothered to remove it from the allowed signatures afterwards."
McElroy looked at the sample: "No doubt, that's the real deal. There are still traces of the original signature on it. Sir Pike graciously let me study it a few times before."
To the last question he nodded: "Indeed. It was one of the reasons I took up employment with Sir Pike in the first place. I had long talks with Invictus - frustrating ones too, since he habitually would embelish things left and right. But maybe he just wanted to lead the nosy wizard around on his nose. I can assure you that I wouldn't have any interest in disrupting and banishing the spirit - safe the few occassions where he wasted hours of my time with false leads."

[Beta]

<<He forgot to unkey the ring and swords from the wards? Either awfully convenient, or awfully sloppy>>

"Wait, you had to key the ring to the wards? We saw some magic on it at the dinner, but I thought something had been cast upon it. Are you telling us that it was inherently magical? What sort of magic?"

Jawsey still felt that they were missing more than one facet of this whole thing, but the information about the items being keyed to the wards did solve one mystery. Wait, maybe more than one thing. "I presume Invictus was keyed to the outer house wards, but what about the wards around the ducal apartment?"

[Jack_Spade]

"What spells are you talking about? The Blue Cardinal is a draconic artifact - it can be used as a powerfocus, one that is always active.
As you already know, Invictus had access to all the outer wards, but I made very sure that he couldn't move through the secured family quarters with the double wards and the astral bacteria."
McElroy shot back

[ Spoiler ]

I very carefully took note who you told about the spells on the ring - McElroy was not among them.

[Beta]

Jawsey nodded at the comment about it being a draconic artifact "OK, that makes sense, there was a lot about it that I couldn't make much sense of, it seemed alien. I wondered about dragon, but I wasn't sure. But I thought there was a glimmer of detection magic, or illusion, or some combination, under that. It didn't make a lot of sense, and the opportunity to get a good look was brief so I didn't get a chance to really study it to try and make sense. It seemed curious, but not an emergency. I'd meant to ask you about it, but shortly after that everything started going sideways and it slipped my mind that we'd not talked about it."

[Tecumseh]

"Alright, we're missing the full story.

"If Invictus was the inside man then we need to find the outside man, or woman. We need to find out who Invictus would have trusted, and what the motivation behind the betrayal would be.

"The motivation might have been tying up loose ends to cover up the theft, or might have been revenge for Invictus' personality faults."

Mato transitions to DNI texting, presuming that the next part may be undiplomatic to say out loud in front of a household employee.

<<It's also possible that Invictus was not the true target, but rather Sir Thomas, so to speak. For example, we know that there is bad blood between Sir Thomas and his brother, as well as their father and their mother. It's not bad enough for Sir Thomas to be disowned but it might manifest itself in family politics, or they might sabotage attempts of gaining independence from the family's finances.>>

<<Remember that Maria is the Duchess of Sevilla. She was orphaned after her whole family was wiped out during a terrorist bombing at the wedding of her older brother four years ago. She alone survived, which means that she must be the heiress to an incredible fortune. It's entirely possible that the broader family disapproves of the match and is trying to disrupt the wedding in an attempt to keep Sir Thomas dependent on the family and, thus, in line.>>

Then, as an afterthought, he comms Cunningham: <<Who procured the Blue Admiral? Did Sir Thomas purchase it or was it a gift? How did it get from Alamais' horde to MET2K before being placed on the Duchess' finger? And how was Met2K selected to secure the ring?>> He remembers Cunningham alluding to MET2K's competing loyalties and wondering if the broader Pike family is among them.

He switches back to speaking out loud in front of McElroy.

"Who would be the most familiar with Invictus' social circle, so to speak? Perhaps we speak with Housekeeper Emily Nassau. We understand that she is remarkably well-informed about everything go on in and around the household."

[Jack_Spade]

"Alright, we're missing the full story.

"If Invictus was the inside man then we need to find the outside man, or woman. We need to find out who Invictus would have trusted, and what the motivation behind the betrayal would be.

"The motivation might have been tying up loose ends to cover up the theft, or might have been revenge for Invictus' personality faults."

McElroy nodded: "I wished someone would have informed me about those spells. A detection spell you say? That might have been how Invictus was able to bypass my wards. If he managed to implant a suggestion into the Dutchess' mind, she could have gotten up, opened the safe and called Invictus in. He could have bound the ring to himself and taken it with him into the sword/metaplane. The Duchess would then only have to have held the sword out of the window beyond the wards and release the spirit again.
The detection spell likely allowed him to communicate and trigger the suggestion.

Has Invictus told you anything? I think you mentioned that you confronted him in the green house last night?"

[Beta]

"He didn't really tell me anything, but we did talk briefly, and it is why I'm fairly sure he was not planning on being disrupted." Jawsey keeps his face straight, but he's sure his aura is in turmoil. He's not sure how either McElroy or his partners will take what he is about to say next.

"I went astrally to the greenhouse, to ask him his perception of what had happened at the dinner. At the time I had the impression of interrupting his personal time of enjoying the mana up there. He was about as expected, haughty, dismissive. So ..." He blows out a long breath, then hurried through the rest "I offered a small spirit pact, some of my human experience for his information. My experience is that even the most powerful can be motivated by greed if you can offer them the right bribe, and, judging by his aura, that was indeed the case with Invictus. However he said something about forms that need to be followed, and said he'd find me in my chambers in an hour, and to be sure to lower my wards. My impression was certainly that he was on the level with that comment, not trying to lead me on."

"And then he followed that up with--and believe me his exact words stuck with me -- 'And now, if I may, depart from here at haste if you do not want to lose your immortal soul.' He didn't rant it or put compulsion into it, but I utterly believed him and flew my essence out of there as quickly as ever I could."

[Tecumseh]

Mato nods. He's not in a position to judge, as these astral matters are as far beyond him as outer space. If anything, Jawsey seems to have done well by bribing Invictus and getting him to talk a bit.

"Invictus did have a flair for the dramatic," Mato agrees.

He looks to AM to see if she has any other input or ideas. If not, he says, "Let's go talk to Ms. Nassau."

[Gilga]

AM remains quiet and imagines the great spider laughing at their plight, the ring is stolen - and they are in the dark. She is having a hard time concentrating, and her mind is filled with the implications of not completing the job. She had her hope of getting just a tad out of that swamp and then showing off empty. They had no apparent plan, and she saw no way out of the situation. She felt lost and tried not to panic.


When Mato addresses her, she jumps a little bit torn from her thoughts into the present moment. "Yes... Yes... Let's go meet her." she replies and thinks "For all the good that would do us"

[Jack_Spade]

Finding Ms. Nassau was easy enough - she was busy conducting her maids from her office.

As the team arrived, she had five AR windows open, showing what the maids where doing from a first person perspective.
She frowned as she saw Jawsey and his companions:
"What are you doing here? If you need cleaning supplies, you can take them from the upstairs lockers."

[Beta]

"This isn't a mess that those supplies will help with." He couldn't resist the straight line, even if he wasn't feeling much like joking.

He perched on the corner of her desk, in a way that his back would complain about later. <<Mato, can you get just a little too close, from her side? I don't want to outright threaten her, but crowd her, take away her feeling of contro. Ana, can you look at those AR windows and figure out where they are being shot from? I don't remember seeing obvious cameras on the maids? If we know what she is shooting we might get an idea of what information she should have.l>>

"What can you tell us about Invictus. Who he interacted with? Where he would spend his time? Was there anyone that he seemed to have a history with or seemed to do business with?" Jawsey deliberately used the past tense, but didn't offer up an explanation of why. Although this domestic spider had probably already felt the twitches in her neatly laundered web and knew what was up.