The Found Arcana - Chapter 10, X marks the spot Options

[Jack_Spade]

"Naturally. Never sign a contract you haven't read. But you'll find this one pretty smooth and succinct."
Xavier replied.

And indeed, the contract was quite basic, forbidding discussion of details of the case with anyone outside of SIS as well as names or dates outside the absolute legal minimum.

Once signed on behalf of SIS, Xavier continued:

"Now, as you already know, this is about my son and an artifact he borrowed from me without permission."
He pulled up an oldschool printout of a funny looking cube. It almost looked like an optical illusion, where parts of the cube seemed to shift as soon as you didn't focus on one particular part. As far as could be made out from the photo, it was made of a jade green to aqua marine blue material.

"This is the so called Xenobite-Tesseract - an allusion to a 20th century horrorfilm - which happens to be one of three known to exist. It's one result of the artifact rush in the late 50ies, found in the Mojave dessert. It has several interesting properties with the most important one being a very potent summoning focus.
My son is a prodigy and an accomplished mage, but still young and impulsive. He took the XT from my collection against my express wishes to conduct experiments. To be honest, I'm pretty sure his new girlfriend put him up to it. The artifact is worth millions. I'm afraid that he will come to harm using it, or even more likely, be taken advantage of by this girl. Obviously, I don't want to involve the police or any other official channels. He is my son and we all did stupid things in our younger years, I'm sure."

[Thanee]

"Mr. Tien, what can you tell us about that girlfriend? You also gave us the impression that your son does not want to talk to you anymore. But you would like to change that. Can you tell us a bit more about your relationship?" Rachel asks.

Still active on the astral, Rachel will also curiously look around, when looking at the collection and also when speaking to the two people, which gives her the opportunity to take a closer look via assensing as well.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing Dr. Jackobson 6 hits
Assensing Mr. Tien III 7 hits

[Beta]

Tamarind starts a matrix search on the name of the artifact. She experiences a familiar regret at not having been born earlier, as the artifact rush has always sounded like a fantastic period to have been an adult, when many people, not all awakened, were involved in chasing down magic. She perks up at the thought that with SIS she is getting a taste of the same thing.

[ Spoiler ]

matrix search on artifact: 13d6t5 7
The dice are hot so far!

[Gilga]

I smile when Xavier introduces XT, I like magical artifacts, and I wish we had more, not because of the monetary value but because they are professionally facinating and tend to provide us a glimpse into the thinking of the most brilliant magical minds. It seems like a lovely toy, and between the lines, I suspect the kid is mighty. I don't know much about unique artifacts, but powerful foci require powerful talent to utilize. If he is a full mage, with a talent like Bobby's and the right conjuring, we may be outmatched even SIS on one. If this XT so powerful to imply that? I mean, he thinks he can use it.

When I speak, I ask What exactly do you want us to do? I get that you wish to get the XT back - but in what manner? How would your son react to us? Is he likely to use force to stop us? How dangerous is he? Also, any detail about his life may be helpful, from how he spends his days, friends, family, and people he interacts with daily in addition to his girlfriend. Is he a member of any magical society? Or has any business position he fills? What are his hobbies? ...And most importantly, where do you think we can find them?

I looked for your son before the meeting, and aside from a fascinating research thesis and a few dry details, I did not find much. Your son seems to keep his secrets better than most. He feels careful and disciplined. I say matter of factly.

[Jack_Spade]

"Mr. Tien, what can you tell us about that girlfriend? You also gave us the impression that your son does not want to talk to you anymore. But you would like to change that. Can you tell us a bit more about your relationship?" Rachel asks.

Still active on the astral, Rachel will also curiously look around, when looking at the collection and also when speaking to the two people, which gives her the opportunity to take a closer look via assensing as well.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing Dr. Jackobson 6 hits
Assensing Mr. Tien III 7 hits

The collection is mostly mundane, even though some exponats show strong emotional attachement, likewise, both Jackobson and Tien are mundane, very healthy, but with some essence loss - likely from genetic treatment as well as some very exzellent deltaware headware.


Tamarinds matrix search appeared to take longer than the current conversation, so the results had to wait a bit.

What exactly do you want us to do? I get that you wish to get the XT back - but in what manner? How would your son react to us? Is he likely to use force to stop us? How dangerous is he? Also, any detail about his life may be helpful, from how he spends his days, friends, family, and people he interacts with daily in addition to his girlfriend. Is he a member of any magical society? Or has any business position he fills? What are his hobbies? ...And most importantly, where do you think we can find them?

Xavier nodded and said:
"Bring back the XT by what ever method you deem necessary - without hurting my son obviously.
My son is not a violent person. That said, he is a full mage with three initiations to his name. He is very talented where conjurations are concerned - binding, banishing and summoning as well as all relevant rituals in that context. He is very driven - always researching and working. That left him with very few real friends. I'll give you a list of his known associates.
He is an alumni of MIT&T and part of their magical research circle.
His hobby is his work - as I said: he is driven. Spirits and the metaplanes are what he loves to talk about.

I don't know where he could be. He is not in his flat, nor in one of the summer places of our family. And he hasn't checked into a hotel under his name. My yacht hasn't left the harbor and my private jet also is grounded. His SIN wasn't registered as having left Seattle.
I'd say you start looking at his flat though. With all his magic research I wasn't comfortable taking too close a look there. That's a job for specialists like you.

Ah and about his girlfriend: Two months ago he met her at his research group. Since then he is nearly as obsessed with her as with his studies. Victoria Arione, 27 years old, ritualist expert from Texas. It might be my personal bias, but I don't like her and I think she has bad intentions towards my son. Though beside a very bad car accident a year ago, there is nothing suspicious or remarkable in her biography."

[Tecumseh]

"They don't get tired, no," Mato tells Tamarind. The question surprises him but he is happy to talk about 'ware. The magicians never wanted to talk about them, understandably, so having Tamarind as someone else to talk shop with was a pleasant prospect. "It's my cardio that's the weak link: my heart and lungs do eventually get tired. There's an air tank in my right leg that can help alleviate some of the VO₂ max issues associated with intense aerobic exercise, like swimming. Perhaps one day I can find the room for a synthacardium but, honestly, my limits get tested in training far more than they do in the field."

~~~

Up in the office, Mato kicks himself for not doing any Matrix searches on the address, which presumably would have pointed toward Dr. Ian Jackobson and what his role in this exchange might be. Why was Dr. Jackobson the one insisting on an NDA? Mato would have thought that Mr. Tien was savvy enough to request one for his own sake.

<<Tamarind, would you please do a quick search on Dr. Ian Jackobson? Just whatever we can learn in 60 seconds.>>

Mato reviews the NDA with his elementary knowledge of UCAS and Seattle Metroplex law. It looks simple and straightforward, so he nods and signs it.

"Dr. Jackobson, may I be direct and ask about your role here today? Are you serving in a professional capacity? Or as a trusted friend and advisor to Mr. Tien? In either case, I am sure your expertise will be most welcome." This is bulldrek, but it smells sweet.

Mato lines up his own questions.

"Mr. Tien, I appreciate your concern as a father." More bulldrek, but Mato can pretend. "In addition to the questions of my colleagues" - he indicates AM and Raven - "I have some of my own.

"First, you suggested that your son may come to harm by using the Xenobite-Tesseract. Is that because it is inherently dangerous, or does it simply allow summoners to exceed their own limits? I do wish to handle it properly when we recover it for you.

"Secondly, you said the artifacts is worth millions. My immediate concern is that such a valuable piece of property will make your son a target. Now, as my friend here pointed out" - he motions to AM - "your son seems exceedingly discrete. But my worry is that we may find our efforts not just opposed by your son, but by other professionals who have identified a profitable opportunity."

This line of questioning can be used to help scare up the price a bit. Mato has other questions, such as about how IV was able to remove the artifact from the collection against the express wishes of III, but those can wait.

[Beta]

Tamarind starts doing the search that Mato asks of her, and is distracted enough that she blurts out a question rather than passing it along to the rest of the team to ask "If we tell your son that we are working for you, how do you think he'll respond?"

She follows up by message <<Sorry, I don't have a feel for the rhythm of this yet, or who I should pass along questions to, for asking. The other thing I'd like to know is if the father knows of any other changes in the son's life in the past year, besides the girlfriend. He doesn't have a history of theft or spectacular magic, what led him to do it now?>>

[ Spoiler ]

buy 3 successes on the matrix search

[Gilga]

I mentally text Tam >> ask him politely after he answers Mato. it is important that your voice is also heard in this conversation., and would say it myself if she does not.

[Thanee]

<< He also hasn't answered my question about the relationship to his son. I suppose, it was just an oversight, as he surely understands the importance of that part. >>

[Jack_Spade]

"Dr. Jackobson, may I be direct and ask about your role here today? Are you serving in a professional capacity? Or as a trusted friend and advisor to Mr. Tien? In either case, I am sure your expertise will be most welcome." This is bulldrek, but it smells sweet.

Mato lines up his own questions.

"Mr. Tien, I appreciate your concern as a father." More bulldrek, but Mato can pretend. "In addition to the questions of my colleagues" - he indicates AM and Raven - "I have some of my own.

"First, you suggested that your son may come to harm by using the Xenobite-Tesseract. Is that because it is inherently dangerous, or does it simply allow summoners to exceed their own limits? I do wish to handle it properly when we recover it for you.

"Secondly, you said the artifacts is worth millions. My immediate concern is that such a valuable piece of property will make your son a target. Now, as my friend here pointed out" - he motions to AM - "your son seems exceedingly discrete. But my worry is that we may find our efforts not just opposed by your son, but by other professionals who have identified a profitable opportunity."

Jackobson just shrugged: "Both, I guess. Though I don't think I can give you any advice here beyond the obvious. As agents of Mr. Tien you are within your rights to enter his property - including that he granted usage to other people. If those people have changed codes or added security measures, you are within your rights to circumvent them - non-destructively if possible. That is to say: Be discrete and there shouldn't be any need for me to be active in a professional capacity."

Tien answered:
"Yes, the XT has been classified as partially decoded. Which - as far as I know - means, experts aren't sure if there aren't more functions and effects in it than is currently known. The focus can be used to summon potentially any kind of spirit, regardless of tradition. You can imagine the danger that comes with that kind of power.

That is also my worry - if people find out that the artifact is out there, there might be a whole army of criminals hunting for it - hence why I asked you here on such short notice. My son took the XT yesterday and I noticed its absense this morning. The faster you resolve this, the less likely the information is going to spread. If his girlfriend is behind this for profit, she might have hired help. But as a ritualist, I'd expect her to use other methods - like little golems or some such."

Tamarind starts doing the search that Mato asks of her, and is distracted enough that she blurts out a question rather than passing it along to the rest of the team to ask "If we tell your son that we are working for you, how do you think he'll respond?"

"Hm. That is a hard question. In general, my son and I have a cordial relationship. We don't see eye to eye on everything, obviously. I don't think he would react violently. More likely that he would try to flee or lock himself in until he is ready to come out on his terms. He has tremendous willpower and a strong personality - as a conjurer, I'm given to understand, that is a requirement sine qua non.
To answer your question: I think he'll be willing to talk if you approach him with respect and without threat."

The quick search on Dr. Ian Jackobson shows that he is a full partner at the law firm you are now, moves in the same art circles as Tien and by all indications is a friend of the family.

[Thanee]

"The biggest requirement is the talent itself, obviously. But a strong willpower certainly is important, not only as a conjurer, but as a magician in general. Every tradition has slightly different ways of dealing with the dangers and the stress of magic-use. Your son is following the hermetic tradition, correct? So, he will approach any problems in a logical and calculating manner most likely. The picture you are painting at the moment certainly looks like that girlfriend could be the driving force behind all this. Maybe he told her about the artifact, or she found out on her own, you are a fairly public person after all. She could have enticed him, told him that she would love to see it in person, or even try it in a ritual."

"If that is how it is, we need to understand your son's motivations. And it won't just be to impress a girl. There must be something deeper. If we want to convince him, to give it up, we need to know why he even went so far as to 'borrow' the artifact. And we need to figure out a way to show him, that this woman is not interested in him as a person, but only as a means to an end."

"Can you tell us a few things that you and your son have in common? And a few things, where you are definitely not seeing eye to eye, as you put it?"

"How about his relationship to his mother? I understand, you live apart. She is in europe, right? Is she still in his life, though? Does your son talk to her?"

"Also, have there been other girls before Victoria? Maybe we can reach someone. Could give us some interesting insight."

[Jack_Spade]

Tien frowned at those questions:

"Those are rather intrusive questions.

I'd say my son and I both share a love for art and value hard work. I am very proud of my son's accomplishments, even though I can't claim to understand everything he does. We've spend many a day in museums, discussing the old masters and what makes art art.

We are not seeing eye to eye about women. He had a very difficult relationship with his mother and never expressed much interest in women until recently. She was always trying to set him up with the daughters of her friends. He prefered to converse with his spirits instead. I encouraged him also, but more to get out and socialize - connections are the lifeblood of business. But that was all too frivolous for him. Time he considered wasted.

He wasn't a shut in by any means, but he never tried to expand his circle of acquaintances.

As far as I know, he hasn't had contact with his mother in over a year.

There was one girl, Gracie. She studied with him in Boston. Nice girl, very bubbly kind of personality. She just ignored his shut in tendencies and dragged him with her by sheer power of her natural magnetism. Sadly, she didn't make it out of Boston. Never heard from her again."

[Thanee]

"Thank you! Obviously, only answer what you are comfortable with sharing, but keep in mind, that this information might be crucial in what we want to achieve here."

[Gilga]

I keep my attention and take it all in, listening to the man talks as much as I can assess the situation. The man is in a bind, but how much would he pay? Did he come to us for being affordable or for being good? I look at Mato and make the Sioux sign language gesture for "How much to ask?" It is subtle, and the literal translation is "How many eels?" but I trust it to do the work. I want to go high because there are plenty of ways such a gig can go sideways and because the Third feels dangerous. One should always initiate the offer in a negotiation. It sets an anchor for the price of a service and sets the negation around that particular number.

These rich folks don't mingle with the peasants unless they need something. So I take what the Forth says with a grain of salt. Nobody can tell the true intentions of another person. Such a rich family would have welcomed anyone of my economic status with suspicion. The part about the mother is a bit odd because she lives in Europe - I know these guys have a private jet or whatnot, but it is far.

Mr. Tien, sometimes a small detail can be crucial for achieving the ideal outcome; bare with us. I want him in a good mood before we talk Money, and so I follow with a simpler question. About Victoria, any addresses in the city she may be in? Do you know if she came here for your son or if she has some other connection to the city?

[Tecumseh]

Mato has a different opinion on negotiations than AM, although he has to concede that he may be in the wrong since she is much more experienced. His philosophy was always that the person who initiates automatically loses, especially in a scenario like this where the client's value of money is so radically different from their own. To Mato, the bigger concern is underbidding the work, rather than being lowballed by the client.

He wiggles and flexes his fingers in what might be taken for an idle drumming, but which literally translates as "The second mouse gets the cheese," which implies, "Him first."

To further the conversation along - and to scare up the price some more - Mato nods to III's response. "Yes, but not just an army of criminals. An artifact like that could potentially draw the attention of the Draco Foundation, the Dunkelzahn Institute of Magical Research, the Atlantean Foundation, plus any number of corporations who might be tempted to use their extraterritoriality to eliminate concerns around legal ownership of the Xenobite-Tesseract."

He drums his fingers - for real this time - which make little clacking noises on the table.

"The girlfriend does seem to be a person of interest. With such a large age discrepancy between the two, one wonders about the interpersonal dynamics of the relationship. At age 27, a ritualist expert could have amassed sufficient resources to bring in outside professionals like you suggest. It is an avenue we should investigate."

He holds his hands up slightly off the table.

"Speaking of investigation, before we proceed much further may we discuss the particulars? Your initial inquiry requested that we return the artifact at a minimum, and that returning your son - or convincing him to have a conversation remotely - would be worth extra. May we define the precise parameters for success in each instance? You don't wish any harm to come to your son, naturally. But what if we were to sedate him, either for our own protection or to help deliver him safely? Would this be acceptable, or do you wish for their to be no physical interference with your son whatsoever? Within the bounds of our personal safety, of course."

[Jack_Spade]

"After we conclude this meeting you'll receive a dossier about my sons associates. Arione's information is included. As far as I know she has a little place in Snowhomish."
Tien's face went very serious at Mato's last questions:

"I very much hope you won't have to bring him to me bound and gagged. I don't think that he would ever forgive me such a transgression. No. Convince him or let him be. That much respect must remain. The only reason would be that he endangers his life or that of others.

No, just bring me the Xenobite-Tesseract and make him understand, that I only want to talk with him."

Jackobson leaned forward and whispered something in Tien's ear
"Oh right, the incentive. I'm willing to pay you 100k for the XT, another 50k if you manage to convince my son to contact me and another 50k if you manage to do all that within the next 24 hours, as every minute increases the risk that someone else is getting interested in the artifact."

[Beta]

Tamarind is quite ready to accept the offer and to get going,on the theory of sooner started, the better odds of making the timing bonus. But she defers to those who were not a couple of weeks away from living in their van on the money front. She puts down her coffee and walks her fingers across the table a couple of steps to sign "charging bison" to signal her eagerness to get started without further delay.

Additionally she sends a message to her drones and her van, for the former to all load into the latter -- all except Stitch, who she instructs to get her ready bags of spare clothes, armor, weapons, and gear, and load those into the van. She doesn't bother the others just yet to see if they want anything.

After a moment's thought she also sends her un-scarred delivery drone to Taco Temple, and puts through an order that she hopes everyone will be satisfied with. It can meet up with them wherever, and then they will have food, of a sort, and hand. One less delay later.

Then th

[Tecumseh]

"Understood," Mato says of the conditions placed on the IV's return.

[Gilga]

I yield to Mato, unsure if he knows better than me - but I am not confrontational. It turns out okay; my anchor would have been 150k for XT, but additional bonuses may or may not be collected, so we are in relatively good shape. It feels like either way would have been alright -but just because it is a lot money does not

"We are not very far" I nod in agreement, but there is a "but" there. Still, your offer is a little light for retrieving the XT, which is the main reason for us being here. You are asking us to go down a rabbit hole here, facing two powerful mages in the mix; one of them claims some extraordinary abilities in his research thesis. They have quality education, access to expensive resources, and the ability to conjure any spirit. In addition, we still need to deliver the XT to you. Competition over lesser artifacts in the local scene has been fierce and violent in the last year. So that alone is a risky task. Doing that for 100k is a bit light for the current circumstances.

The other incentives help to keep things interesting, but again these depend on very uncertain factors with unequal knowledge. For example, you understand your relationship with your son better than us and can gauge better how likely we are to convince him to talk to you. So 50k does buy you our best effort, but it is difficult for me to value the chance to collect that part of your offer.

Indeed, retrieving the artifact within 24 hours is desirable - but I do not know how possible it is. 50k implies that we will go out of our way - but without much intel about where the XT is, it is uncertain if it is even possible.

We provide you with a delicate, discreet, and time-sensitive service here. We do anything from top to bottom, from legwork and intel gathering to extracting an artifact; we take all the risk on our firm. Even finding the XT is nontrivial, with two mages trying not to be found within 24 hours may require some luck. It is a lot to ask for in return for 100k. So I suggest increasing the reward on finding XT to 150k and sealing the deal. Such an amount would be significant enough for us to take on these risks, and start right away"

[Thanee]

That's a lot of money Rachel thinks. But then, again, that artifact is worth millions, there is only little time, and they do not know how much magic is going to be thrown at them. She takes a moment to compose herself, before adding some helpful remarks for the inevitable negotiations. Where there is money, there is always more, after all. As much as it sounds, Mr. Tien and also his lawyer friend probably have a different perspective on money than they do.

"There is not much time for preparations. Time is of the essence here. Not to mention, that we cannot really say for sure, what exactly this is leading us into."

Anything else? Think, little Raven, think...

[ Spoiler ]

Teamwork on Negotiations: Buying 3 hits

[Jack_Spade]

Tien sighed and nodded: "You have me over a barrel here. I can't really shop around for offers right now. Alright. 150k at delivery. Plus the boni as discussed.
I'm also giving you my direct comm code, should you need more information, as well as Dr. Jackobson's for anything else in regard to permits, access, etc."

He put a datachip on the table.

"This is a little dossier on his friends and associates with contact information. It is very bare bones, but I'm afraid I couldn't add more with the limited time."

He stretched out his hand to AM: "Do we have a deal?"

[Gilga]

I can feel my heart pounding after I make the bold claim, and I am relieved when the Third agrees. I stand up and shake the man's hand, feeling like I can breathe for the first time. "Deal" I add.

[Tecumseh]

"Thank you," Mato says, standing and buttoning his jacket because that's what he sees business people do when they stand with jackets that can be buttoned.

"Is there any security footage of when the artifact was, ah, borrowed? Pressure sensors or the like? I know you discovered the absence of the artifact this morning after the fact, but any sensor information might help to establish whether your son was able to accomplish this on his own or whether there were outside parties involved."

[Jack_Spade]

"I have reviewed the files. It was nothing more than my son going into the collection room, shutting off the alarm with his house key and taking the artifact. It wasn't like I had forbidden him from looking at it."

Xavier Tien III stood also up, signifying the end of the meeting: "I'll await your call - when you have the artifact, bring it straight back here. Dr. Jackobson will take it to the client vault for the moment. Good luck in your hunt."

[Thanee]

"Thank you! Alright then, we better get right to it. Clock's ticking."