The Found Arcana - Sixth Interlude [IC] Options

[Gilga]

AM is very far from the stoic determination of Black, as rational as she is there are emotions - sometimes intense or even violent emotions.
Yet, she knows not to argue with Black in this manner; they are not that far apart. When TJ hurt her, she was stronger than him, but she did not pay and knew the rules. If TJ did not do his tasks, Jimmy would have sent someone worse. Appearing weak even if you are not weak is sometimes good, even though that particular case is a dent in her soul. Naturally, a person with a lot of money would use money more often to solve options, and the broke shaman would use it less frequently.

She takes another gulp of the beer, and just enjoys the atmosphere knowing that it is not long before she needs to leave. "Let's drink to luck and good stories. It is going to be a long night -but an interesting story one way or the other.



AM comments "Why not use remote sensing? why get inside? "

[Beta]

Jawsey messages back to the others <<The fire spirits are staying in the astral right now, right? With the rain and all I can't imagine that they want to materialize, so they are providing good astral observation, and could be physical in a couple of seconds -- albeit in the rain -- so it is pretty strong security. I don't think we could get away with sending you close enough to use a clairaudience spell to listen in, as they would see you. I don't have my sword back from being upgraded yet, and I don't like 4-to-2 odds much, so just showing up and making like the roof is an astral boxing ring doesn't appeal much. Depending on their orders I might tempt them to go chase after a water spirit? But if they are not allowed to leave where they are, that would make a limited distraction. Give me a few minutes to swing by and look at the situation to see if I can find an angle on it>>

Jawsey heads to his bed, automatically reaches to clutch his absent sword, then projects. The usual murk of Touristville is unpleasant but familiar, but he quickly leaves it as he heads toward The Jack O'Lantern. The astral in most of Redmond manages to feel greasy and gritty all at the same time, and is a reminder of another reason he doesn't want to fight the Halloweener spirits on their home ground.

He doesn't even try to hide from the fire spirits; by the sounds of it there is too much astral observation to avoid being spotted, so he just pretends that he doesn't have anything to hide. He does come in from the downtown side, he stays about 70 meters up, and focuses on seeming excited. Then he simply flies to near the Jack O'Lantern, stops, gapes for a second, does an astral cartwheel, and zips away towards downtown. In downtown he uses some of his standard astral jukes to make sure he isn't being followed, before looping out over Bellevue and finally back to his body.

Once back he messages <<I took a look, and while I'm sure they saw me I'm hoping that they'll take me as a thrill seeker, checking out the lair of the notorious Halloweeners, maybe on a dare or something like that.>> and then he communicates anything new that he spotted.

[Tecumseh]

The fire spirits don't appreciate Jawsey's presence. One growls and gives signs of displeasure, but they don't pursue him.

Tellingly, even while the one is shooing Jawsey away, the other three stay alert and on guard. They have been instructed wisely; it seems like a minor distraction will not create a significant response among the others.

They do stay tethered to the building, as if they have been given instructions not to leave. Or perhaps Jawsey's exhibition wasn't major enough to warrant a larger response.

Other than that, Jawsey feels like his assessment is correct: the fire spirits are for astral security and they would not want to materialize in the rain. Perhaps that is contributing to their frustration, knowing that they won't be able to immolate anyone tonight. Either way, their full attention is on the astral right now.

[Gilga]

>>I am sort of in the middle of drinks and eating, but I can leave if you need me. Didn't think it would warm up so quickly. Can you pick me up from the Hilton? I am not very fond of your dare-devil approach.

In principle, Haloweeners are led by a spirit that is very much aware of magic. So evidently magic security is tight but when there is a powerful but a system is only as secure as its weakest component. We can use the matrix to spy in there, I can hack you a few comlinks to listen in their conversations, perhaps a few glasses. I don't even have to hack the Haloweeners themselves, there are other patrons in there.

Alternatively, we can do ritual magic and spy in there from a relatively long distance. It is simply our awareness extending, and to the best of my knowledge, these spells are very difficult to detect because they are passive. So we can seat in a car a few blocks from the place and do rituals, or even be at their parking lot without a ritual. If we are in a hurry.

So are you picking me up, or should I take the ford and not park it overnight at the Hilton?


She rolls her eyes and sighs "They keep buzzing me, so let's do the ice cream now but I'll need to go before they solve it like Sioux soldiers."

[Jack_Spade]

'Well, if she puts it like that...'
<<I'm going to fetch you. I'll be there within the next 40 minutes.>>
It wasn't like he was afraid of going in there alone - but a better option was a better option.
'I really should try to learn a bit more about computers.' He resolved while he put his things in order and went back to bring the car.

[Tecumseh]

Bobby goes and gets the Dodge Xenon, is parked at an off-site location a short distance away. You have been paying a generous monthly fee - by Redmond standards, anyway - to keep the car safe and hidden and not associated with SIS at a public storage facility with above-average security. The outdoor units are big enough park a car in. Bobby gets through a couple layers of maglocks - one at the front gate, another locking the storage unit itself - and is privately impressed that the place isn't completely overrun with squatters. The down-and-out generally love the inexpensive shelter provided by storage units, but this place seems to discourage that with high prices and rigorous monitoring.

Puling the car out of the unit, Bobby sees that the Xenon is a head-turner, a flashy car for corporate brats. Luckily there are plenty of those in Redmond, as they enjoy the risk and adrenaline of slumming it, partying on the wrong side of the tracks. They get swindled or mugged often but Touristville generally knows to send them home in one piece.

The Xenon isn't ideal for being inconspicuous but it's great for getting someone to notice the car and not the driver. Bobby slips out of Touristville without anyone seeming to notice.

Bobby isn't highly trained as a driver but he has good reflexes. That's good on a night like this, where driving is a bit perilous due to wet streets and limited visibility due to the rain. Once he gets out of Redmond he can more fully enjoy the audio system, which has some robust bass that makes the car practically shake with a WHOOMP WHOOMP WHOOMP.

Picking up AM at the Hilton, the Xenon is a little gauche, but there are still plenty of them around. Corp parents prefer it when their brats smash an ¥18,000 Xenon rather than a ¥28,500 Shin-Hyung.

[Gilga]

40 minutes is a lot of time for drinks and food. With a belly full and a warm hug, she leaves Black promising a good story when she returns. Not the most useful visit, but having some emotional support and reassurance makes her feel better. She smiles seeing Bobby, and says "Let me drive." Seating in the car, she asks ritual magic or matrix hacking?"

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby wasn't usually a musical kind of person - but today he felt he could do with some rhythm - Rez Metal like his grandfather played was what he usually came back to at such occassions.
He switched off Mutilated Tyrant when AM got in and switched over to the passenger seat:
"Matrix - we don't have that much time to waste - and the place is likely warded as well."

[Gilga]

"Alright, Trix it is. We'll park nearby and I'll go in hot simulation. Text me if I need to go back." she says, she likes hot simulation and is feeling a tad braver after drinking some liquid courage. She drives to the general vicinity of the Lantern, close enough so she can identify the devices nearby, but far enough to not draw unwanted attention. She calls Trouble to help her with the logic spell, and just in case watch over her with Bobby.

Her mind is augmented by the spirits she enters hot simulation and mentally grins. This one is for you black - she thinks as she moves through the ether with the speed of thought, hacking a device and then going silent examining its data feeds.

[ Spoiler ]

AM would prefer to hack smart glasses to locate Carn-evil and locate a device within his physical vicinity. In a pinch, she'll try to locate a comlink or earbuds.

Improve logic + Troublehelp: 16d6t5 8
drain: 10d6t5 2

Hacking(persona): 19d6t5 9
not sure if I need to roll to use the comlink's sensors once I have a mark.
Edit file: 15d6t5 4

[Beta]

Jawsey asks them to put an empty cup or something on the roof when they park, then projects and then flies back near the Jack O-Lantern but places himself around a corner, where he can see people coming or going along the most obvious route to downtown, without being in site of the spirits. He doesn't expect to see anything, but it beats pacing around headquarters more.

He gives that half an hour, then returns to his body to rest and wait for word that AM has parked. Once he gets it, he heads over to the vicinity in the astral and identifies the car with a piece of trash sitting on it. He drifts inside for long enough to tell Bobby he can take that distinguishing mark off for now. He then does a patrol loop of the area to make sure it is clear of likely threats, then parks himself in a wall, peeking his face through every ten seconds or so to make sure all is still calm around the car.

He knows that Trouble will be watching out for AM, but providing more astral guard also beats rattling around headquarters.

[Tecumseh]

AM, powered by magic and VR, slices through the security of a pair of smart glasses, providing her a feed inside The Jackal's Lantern.

The interior walls and the columns that support the ceiling are all made of raw concrete, presumably because it's fireproof. Every flat surface is covered with countless scribbles and other graffiti. The tables are made out of old telephone cable reels and oil drums with screwed-on wooden panels that serve as improvised tabletops. Along the walls are deformed and bent fenders and bumpers of cars as well as mannequins wrapped with barbed wire, which hang next to countless pumpkin lanterns. The air is full of cigarette smoke and looks barely breathable. It's possible some of the smoke from the tire fire out front is making its way inside. All the staff are wearing Halloween makeup.

AM seems to have hacked the glasses of a businessman who is wearing a suit. Several Halloweeners are being very jovial with him and buying him shots. AM strongly suspects that he'll be rolled before the end of the night.

There's a table with a couple guys who look like local muscle. If not shadowrunners, then at least talent somewhere a step or two above gangers. There are blue collar types who look like they are drinking after work. Carn-evil isn't anywhere to be seen, nor are the clown-themed Halloweeners that you saw at Cutty's. If they are here, they are somewhere out-of-sight of the sarariman who is getting drunker by the minute.

[Gilga]

>>I got eyes inside, but no clowns. I'll try and find some more devices.
Making conversation, and to make sure that Bobby is not bored she adds >>Nice decore, and the waitresses are all painted up. Seems like a nice place to drink, aside from their terrible air, they smoke so much that is like the tires burn on the inside too. I can see why Nightmare would like it like that. I am sending Trouble to see if their clown car is parked in here. So watch over me more closely, just in case.

Trouble, can you go by the parking lot and see if you can find their clown car? If they paint their faces like that, they are not driving a Ford.

[ Spoiler ]

She continues looking for some verifications that the clowns are there, using the crossing between the available icons and the camera feed to guesstimate where the device she hacks is.
Hacking rolls: 2#17d6t5 8 9

[Jack_Spade]

<<Maybe they have camera surveillance in the back rooms. No, wait, we need Carn-evils com number.>>

Bobby switched channels: <<Hey Lysander, just one more question and another 100 nY for you: Can you organize for me the com code for Carn-evil?>>

To Jawsey he sent:
<<I'd feel better if your body was with us in the car. Staying at our place isn't safe.>>

[Tecumseh]

<<Short answer, no>> Lysander responds. <<I don't do biz with the Halloweeners, I don't know anyone who does biz with the Halloweeners. Any biz with them is usually 'here's some nuyen now go away' which doesn't exactly require a commcode.>>

Back at The Jackal's Lantern, AM is having mixed success.

Trouble did not see whatever vehicle that Carn-evil and the Halloweeners drove off in, and so cannot confirm if it is near the bar or not. There are various vans and trucks in the vicinity that could fit six or seven people, but none of them are so garishly decorated to be conclusively associated with the Halloweeners.

Furthermore, Trouble is clearly not welcome in the parking lot. The fire spirits - which have been shaped to look like hell hounds - don't move to strike but they sizzle and hiss and give every indication that they'd like nothing better than to dogpile Trouble and tear the cat apart. Their agitation is growing; if the summoner is familiar with AM's astral signature and makes the connection with Trouble then the spirits could be let off their leashes.

Inside, using the hacked smartglasses AM is able to start sketching out a layout for the interior of the bar. The sarariman is getting woozy and his camera feed isn't exactly stable but he's looking around enough to paint a picture of the front room.

Unfortunately, there's a lack of sophisticated electronics inside for AM to piggyback on. There are plenty of commlinks and even some earbuds but not a lot of glasses. In fact, if there are any security cameras inside, AM doesn't see them. There doesn't even appear to be an AR menu. And, come to think of it, there aren't maglocks either. The place is a bit of a blackhole in terms of electronics, other than the personal devices that some of the patrons have.

The camera feed is swaying like a sailor on a stormy sea but AM does manage to figure out that there's a backroom that she doesn't have access to, at least not visually. From your experience with Green Toes, and subsequent conversations with Lysander, you know there is a cauldron somewhere with Nightmare's True Name inscribed on it. According to Lysander, there is an everlasting fire in the cauldron and a team of Halloweeners is always there to make sure it never goes out, on pain of being burned alive. That means it will be guarded at all times both physical and astrally. But in the Matrix? Not so much.

[Gilga]

AM comments >> I think we found more than we bargained for. This kind of security makes little sense for a pub, I can deduce there is a back room - and I suspect that they keep something very valuable in there. The aspected background count, the wards, the fire spirits barking at Trouble for visiting the parking lot. I think that bastards keep Nightmer's true name in there, hidden in plain sight. There is no other reason I can think of for keeping a pub so tightly secured.

No Carn-evil, but I did deduce the location of a private room. If you are certain that he is inside - Jawsey seems to have tracked him in the astral here - then my guess would be that private room. I will see if I can get ears in there, there are no security cameras, and no more smart glasses in the place.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had used the time to sent out a pulse to create as accurate a map of the area as he could, scetching it down in AR for later use.

[ Spoiler ]

Agi Boost: 9d6t5 3
Body Boost: 9d6t5 5
Extended Spatial Sense F2+4 Reagents: 14d6t5 3
Drain resist: 15d6t5 3

no drain

Bobby has F2xMag8x10m Reach, so a total of 160m radius, extending through the ground. With three hits he should have a fairly accurate map, excluding warded areas, of the surroundings
SPATIAL SENSE, EXTENDED (PASSIVE, EXTENDED AREA)
Type: P Range: T (A)
Duration: S Drain: F – 1
Spatial Sense grants the subject an innate awareness and knowledge of his physical surroundings within range of the spell in terms of landscape, geography, and architecture. The layout knowledge lasts as only long
as the spell is sustained and is not retained when the spell ends (though the subject can make a map or recite directions before ending the spell). The net hits scored on the Detection Spell Results table (p. 286, SR5) determine how much detail the spell provides, progressing from a general idea of what’s where, to a rough map of the area, to knowing each exit and how secure they are.
The spell works in all directions (three-dimensional) and may uncover hidden layout features such as ventilation shafts, secret rooms, and sewer tunnels. It will not detect security features or living things. Areas that are protected by a mana barrier are experienced as “blank spots.”

Artisan: 7d6t5 2 to create an AR map that will remain after he drops the spell

When AM sent her revelation, Bobby grunted and remembered just in time to use his com to talk to AM
<<Well, that would explain quite a bit. Keep digging. I'll try to do some busywork for you and look at each link in the vicinity. Carn-evil is at heart a poser. I bet his link has some distinguishing feature.>>

[ Spoiler ]

Bobby has the Electronics group at 1, so is actually not that bad at using his commlink.
Detect how many commlinks are within 100m Computer: 7d6t5 1
Now filter for commlinks R4 and up
Computer: 7d6t5 4
Check commlinks for their icons: Computer: 7d6t5 2

[Tecumseh]

Bobby extends his senses and promptly receives a flood of spatial data. It's thorough and allows Bobby to corroborate AM's sketch and to fill in many of the details as they collaborate.

Bobby sees the front room, the rest rooms, and the kitchen. He also finds the back room, which is greyed out because it is warded. Furthermore, because he can see underground, Bobby can see that there is a warded room underneath the building as well, which is larger and extends beneath both the kitchen and the back room. He can see the sewers and pipes leading to and from the bar; none of these are large enough for a metahuman, but some of the building's plumbing does seem to intersect with the warded room underneath. If there's a burning cauldron down there, it could be tapping into the kitchen's ventilation above so that the Halloweeners don't asphyxiate themselves.

Bobby's Matrix efforts aren't as conclusive as he might have hoped. There are, in fact, dozens of commlinks with a device rating of 4 or better. This seems improbable until Bobby remembers the party at the Fun House and how all the attendees were given coins to make purchases like high-quality commlinks. Either that or, in the aftermath the formation of the syndicate, all the new syndicate members were issued expensive commlinks to improve their operational security.

Either way, there are lots of commlink even after Bobby tries to filter them. And, to Bobby's dismay, almost all of the device icons share the generic, out-of-the-box Matrix iconography for their respective brands: Erika Elite's crystal key in a fancy lock, FTL Quark's swirling atom, Hermes Ikon's office building, Novatech NetNinja's spinning suriken, etc. There is painfully little to distinguish one from the other. The Halloweeners either don't care about their Matrix icons - it's not part of their identity like it would be for, say, the Reality Hackers - or can't be bothered to update them.

[Jack_Spade]

<<AM, I've got an idea. Hack one of the more expensive devices and copy the adressbook. I bet one of them does have Carn-evils commcode in plain text. If the boss calls, you want to know its him. Once you know that, you can hack his link and listen in on what he has to say to his henchclowns.>>

Bobby sent to AM once he realized what was going on here.

[Gilga]

AM would select links of the types handed out in the Fun House and try to do as Bobby suggests, hoping for a jackpot. >> Alright, but failure would cost us the glasses because I don't want to be seen so I'll reboot.

[ Spoiler ]

She will try one link, and if it does not work, she'll try another.
Hacking rolls: 2#17d6t5 8 9r

edit file: 2#15d6t5 8 3

[Tecumseh]

AM looks around for likely candidates to hack. She finds a Hermes Ikon whose device icon has been lightly modified - the icon is of an office building, which is standard, but on fire, which is not - and decides to hack that.

The first step is to hop grids. Unfortunately she has to leave the local grid (decent, smooth) for the public grid (gritty, like sandpaper). Her deck's vectored signal processor can handle a fair bit of noise but there's even more than that so she loads up a signal scrubber program to help it out. That takes care of the noise, leaving her with a much smoother signal to work with.

The speed of VR combined with AM's magical enhancements make hacking a breeze. In no time at all she has slapped a fat MARK on the device icon and the started sniffing through its contents.

She finds the address book easily enough, which does seem to contain the commcodes for a fair number of Halloweeners. There's one for Carn-evil but not one for Nightmare. Perhaps that makes sense since, as an astral entity, Nightmare can't interact with technology easily.

[Gilga]

Having found the commode, her next step is to copy it. She reboots her deck and opens her eyes for a moment. Taking a moment to return to the sluggish speed of the physical plane. She speaks up, hoping that Jawsey is around but also because the deck takes a few seconds to reboot.
"Alright, I got the entire contact list including Carn-evil - not including Nightmare. Perhaps he does not get along with technology being a spirit. I am rebooting the deck because it was quite a bit of illegal stuff, so I don't want GOD to know that I exist. What is our next move? Do you want me to search for his link? Call him and try to relate to him when in private?

[Jack_Spade]

<<Don't call him. Try to hack his link and switch on its recording function. We need to know what he is talking about with his soldiers. Also, it would be helpful to pinpoint his location>>

Bobby replied. The day and also the night was going to be long, it seemed.

[Beta]

Seeing nothing in the area, but not seeing the car move yet, Jawsey slid into the car and manifested. "Any news or new plan yet?"

Once Bobby had brought him up to speed, he suggested "See if AM can trace his location, too." Then he added "I'll patrol this area for a few more minutes, then I'm heading back to my body. Will rest up on the astral projection side in case I need to do more later, and I need to go see Five-Finger Gao soon to get my sword-cane back, if you can't make it back before then I'll see if I can convince a hire car to come into Touristville for me. Feels like the sort of night where having the focus could be good."

[Gilga]

AM responds "Alright, I am going online again, but I'll need a dash of mojo for a few seconds because I really don't want to fail here" She says, but the second part of the sentence is addressed directly to Trouble that seats at her lap. Being mindlinked to him, she does not even need to ask. She closes her eyes, grins, and fondly strokes the cat. She can feel her awareness increase, and senses sharpen but then she transforms this sensitivity into matrix sensitivity just like the great Trickster wills it.

She loses herself after the signals and searches the secure comlinks for vulnerabilities she can exploit to get inside. Once she begins working, she turns herself invisible or less visible to be exact as Erika is not powerful enough to really be invisible. With her mental capacities amplified to savant levels, she feels like she takes the little deck to its limit.

[ Spoiler ]

The rolls and detailed actions are in OOC

[Gilga]

The longest part of her episode is to find the device icon, which is not at the pub. Always get your intel correctly, as the way it feels, there is no problem in just walking in. Though she had dinner at a much better place, there is no appeal in getting into that smoke-covered hell-hound layer. She reassures herself that jumping to conclusions is a bad thing - and somehow, they assumed he was at the lantern. Finally finding the device she declares >>I found him alright, but have a feeling that he is not in Kansas anymore. I'll make a trace, but with that kind of matrix conditions, he can be far away. . An Erika elite, another Erika - she could have that comlink if she was not paranoid about accepting gifts from criminal bosses. A sigh, but her last negotiation with the hacker club should get her out of debt in a few months or at least protect them from periods of low employment. She has to admit that she is fond of the brand, given all her success with the little deck.

The noise is terrible, even after using all her tricks to mitigate it - and it is a good thing she is a little drunk because she goes for it despite the noise. With that kind of noise, she might have done this hacking from the Ford -but then again, the parking lot of the Hilton is the last place she wants to be committing illegal matrix actions. Long story short, she observes the secure device, feels the urge to hack it and trace it. Though, she suspects that there is no danger from Carn-evil tonight, considering how far she thinks in the matrix. By this time, she is emotionally invested and would see this investigation all the way through - or make things worse while trying.