The Found Arcana - Chapter 11 [IC] Options

[Gilga]

"Now, what would Ksa think about this agent..." If I look weird, it is because I just invited some more juice into my brain. I explain to her, and let the wisdom of my totem inspire me to analyze the agent's code and fix it. I'll briefly explain the problem to Ifeoma without getting technical about it once I diagnose it and fix it.

To her other question, I respond naturally. "Well... I came here to volunteer, but I figured out Miss. Potter was here even before I entered because I noticed the security. There was a tiny favor I wanted to ask her, and I felt like all the stars aligned perfectly and thanked my good fortune. Then started the glitches with the SIN scanner, and everything went crazy. Thanks again for rescuing me...

I wanted to arrange a meetup in my neighborhood. Half the people support her, and the other half support Taul, but they mainly debate fashion choices. I knew that once they heard Miss Potter in person, they would all vote for her. I mean, how can you not love her? Then I contacted the campaign manager, and she is still unresponsive. So I figured perhaps if I could seize the opportunity and ask Miss Potter in person but - well, you know the rest of the story. Doesn't look like I'll get anywhere near her. What is she like in person?"

[ Spoiler ]

improve logic F6
buying 4 hits, resisting drain. 1 stun.
Drain: 11d6t5 2
then buying 2 hits to solve the problem.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby meanwhile took the one way he had found beforehand: The massive heat exchanger from the ancient HVAC had sagged a bit over time and exposed a small crack to the maintenance shaft. Turning into a weasel, he managed to squeeze in relatively comfortable. After that it was just running along hot and cold pipes and avoiding the cockroaches roaming inside the insulation. His next station was the janitor closet, where the hanged ceiling was left open. Once inside there he paused and listened if anyone was close by.

[ Spoiler ]

Perception: 13d6t5 4

[/roll]

[Thanee]

<< I got quite some information here... First, all six spirits outside have different signatures, which means there are six mages summoning spirits to protect her on the regular. And second... We have someone here, who is awakened. Not a full mage, an adept of some kind. She oozes confidence. And she must have had multiple initiations, because she knows a few more tricks about masking than I do. There is a masking focus in play as well, I must have been pretty lucky to break through at all. >>

[Tecumseh]

Bobby finds himself in the janitor closet.

Listening, he hears a great deal of meowing. He hears someone cleaning a cage and speaking to the cats. It doesn't sound like Ms. Potter's voice, which Bobby has heard in interviews. It's a different voice, but still female.

"Hi, Copurrrnicus, I'll be with you shortly.

"Edgar Allan Paw, I see you there.

"Hello, Pookiebutts! I'll be right with you, just you wait.

"Mr. Meowington... why did you have to knock over your kitty litter? What a mess!"

Bobby hears the kitty litter being cleaned up, with the occasional commentary of "ew" and a sporadic heavy sigh.

"Okay, kitty litter... kitty litter... ah, the janitor's closet."

The person is coming to open the door. Bobby is right next to the kitty litter.

~~~

"She's amazing," Ifeoma says. "Always so kind and down-to-earth. She looks you straight in the eye and when she listens you feel like the only person in the world.

"She remembers personal details. Like she remembered that my son had a soccer game, so she asked how it went! She and I trade recipes! I gave her one for an African peanut soup and you know what? She made it and brought me some! She put shrimp in it, like you're supposed to!"

Ifeoma looks like she's getting misty at the memory. It made a real impression on her.

(Bobby's jaunt through the kitchen found it spotless, like it hadn't even been used. Either she's a fastidious cleaner, or she hires fastidious cleaners, or the soup was made somewhere else.)

Fixing the agent is routine for AM. There was a bad software patch that didn't apply correctly and corrupted it. AM manages to undo the patch and then reapply it correctly. Once done, the agent works as it should.

"You're a genius!" Ifeoma exclaims, throwing up her hands in delight.

When AM mentions that Shir hasn't reached out yet, Ifeoma waves her off.

"Ms. Potter insists that all employees take at least one day off each week, but preferably two. She insists. She gave me a speech about diminish returns. I didn't understand half of it, but I hung on every word.

"One time she even told me she checks the office's connectivity records to make sure that folks aren't logging in when they're not supposed to be!" Ifeoma beams proudly, as if the idea to require time away from work was her idea.

"So the campaign manager probably just had the weekend off. She'll reach out to tomorrow, I'm sure of it. Her people start the week refreshed and recharged."

[Gilga]

After fixing the agent I say I guess I am a bit of a computer geek.

"Well, I hope you are right. I live in this new neighborhood and try to make a good impression." I reply to
I sigh she cooks! I cry with astonishment as if it is an essential merit of a politician. Well, the woman has mastered social interactions. It is more inspiring than cooking, considering I made Andrew lose it despite trying hard. How can she not feel the stress or all the negative feelings others are feeling... Also, the cameras are off. How can she be so lovely? I mean, gosh, I wish I was that nice, and I have tons of free time. She must be so busy, and the stress of emotional trauma and of running for office.

Now, let's see how much of a real person she is. I try to probe seeking some answer as to her involvement before the campaign. Oh, she sounds like a great person to work with, and you two seem genuine friends; I am so jealous... how long have you known her?

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby had to be quick. The weasel was good for small spaces, but it wasn't stealthy enough. With a decisive bite, he tore open a hole at the side of the kitty litter bag. That should keep the attendant occupied for a few seconds. Then he climbed up over the door and waited to make his escape in the form of a New Caledonean gecko.

[ Spoiler ]

Gecko change F5: 17d6t5 8
Spending action to clean my astral signature.
using base stats of snake +2 to AGI +1 STR and +2 BOD

B4 A6 R2(5) S4

Sneaking: 11d6t5 4

If there is time, I'm using AGI boost to improve my sneaking
Agi Boost: 10d6t5 2
Agi Boost: 2d6t5 0
Makes no difference

[Tecumseh]

"Hmm, well she started volunteering here about six months ago?" Ifeoma asks, seemingly uncertain about the correct answer. "So I talk to her once a week for six months, so maybe twenty five times. She even sent me a Christmas card!"

Ifeoma has it proudly on her desk, even though it's now April. The card is real: ink printed on paper. Old-fashioned, but it made an impression.

Ifeoma gets modest. "I can't claim that we're friends," she says, although it's clear she wishes it were true. "We're work wives!" she concludes brightly. "... but only two hours, once per week." She seems dejected that it's not more.

"Do you think..." Ifeoma hesitates. "Do you think she would keep coming, even if she gets elected?" The thought seems to be weighing heavily on her.

~~~

Bobby's distraction works a treat. A reasonably attractive elven woman - seemingly more attractive than you would expect of someone cleaning animal crates - opens the door.

She picks up the kitty litter bag and immediately notices that it starts spilling out of the hole that Bobby created.

"Oh no!" she exclaims putting the bag back down. "What a mess!"

The cats in the room meow a symphony, either commiserating with the woman or mocking her.

The exchange takes a few seconds, which is enough time for Bobby to scrub his astral signature and slip out of the closet while the woman's attention is on the mess on the floor.

Bobby is in a long room that's lined with pet cages that are stacked on top of each other up and down the side walls. The far end of the room looks like a dead-end, but maybe there's something down there that he can't see. To his right is a closed door that leads to the rest of the hospital. It looks like a heavy door, one that looks soundproofed to keep the cat chorus from echoing throughout the rest of the clinic. As such, there are no gaps around it to slip through. There is a narrow glass panel on the door to see what's on the other side.

[Gilga]

I grin . "So you have been here for a long while? What do you like most about this place?" As to her other question, I muse a bit "I... I think she would. I believe she genuinely likes it here. She'll be here if she is serious about a weekly day off work, that is for sure. I suspect you are the closest thing she has to family, but it is my first time here, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. I, Trix, searched this clinic before I came here."

I take a moment to assense the woman and appreciate it with my astral senses because it is a tad strange that she refers to Corrine as a "work wife", not entirely but she seems almost in love with the woman. I doubt I ever made such a lasting impression on anyone, well at least on anyone.

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 10d6t5 3

When I can, I text the team >> I am in at the reception, but they would not let me meet Potter. My biometrics are apparently questionable.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby speedwalked away in his gecko form, keeping to the ceiling and doing his best to adapt his skin color to the rest of the building's color. His first order is to check out the seeming dead end of the hall. What he needs now is a hiding spot. Cats aren't the place to stay though - their target is a dog person. So he needs to find the kennels.

[ Spoiler ]

Sneaking: 12d6t5 4
Finding a hiding spot for a few moments

[Thanee]

<< @AM: You wanted her to visit the neighborhood, right? Maybe you can have someone else relay a message? >>

[Gilga]

I text Raven back >>Working on it...

[Tecumseh]

The walls and the ceiling of the cat room are white. The cat cages are white as well. The room is brightly lit.

Bobby scampers along the ceiling. The elven woman doesn't notice, but the cats definitely do. Their eyes all follow him and there's a great deal of meowing. However, there was also a great deal of meowing before so the change is not so obvious. There is a risk that all the cats looking in the same direction will reveal that something is amiss.

Bobby gets down to the other end of the room and finds that it's not technically a dead end. There's an emergency exit on the left that leads back out the parking lot. On the right there are some shelves with supplies.

~~~

"Oh, that day off work is for her people, not for her," Ifeoma tells AM. "She works all the time! She's a hard worker, that's the truth."

Ifeoma looks pleased at the suggestion at the suggestion that the clinic might be the closest thing that Corinne has to family.

"What do I like most about it here?" she asks, thinking about it. "I guess I like doing a job where, at the end of the day, I feel like I've helped. The world can feel like a soul-crushing machine sometimes, but animals help you see the world with a different set of eyes.

"And when we can help someone's beloved pet, or help an animal find a new home, it just makes you feel so, so good."

She glows. Switching to the astral, AM can see the sense of well-being flow through Ifeoma. (Ifeoma doesn't have any 'ware. However, she does seem to have disease that looks like dark tendrils in and around her liver. The black wisps float through her blood, like smoke rising from a flame.)

There is a spirit on the astral that gives AM a stern look. NO is the overwhelming sense that it is giving off. Evidently AM has displeased it, either with her spellcasting or with her assensing.

[Gilga]

"Oh wow" I comment when she mentions Corrine's work ethics. "What a lovely distraction I am..." I appreciate the irony, and the attention I'll be getting would make it easier for Bobby as I don't strictly do anything wrong or intend to leave the room. Getting arrested would be disastrous even if I could handle the spirits, which I likely can't. I send an equivalent of a smile at the spirit, acknowledging its existence.

I sense her when she speaks about work, and I feel tormented mentioning an illness she may not be aware of is likely not a very good direction to take the conversation, but I am not cynical enough to ignore it. I can tell it works; you feel content and peaceful. You are the equivalent of a ray of light. I don't meet many people like you. Do you keep pets of your own?"

I bite my lower lip and zone out when I realize she is sick. I am not entirely certain how advantageous it is to tell the woman what I see, but I am not yet psychopath enough to ignore it. How do I mention something like that? Ifeoma...? I say quietly as if I have seen something I shouldn't. There is something that you need to look into. I know it is not my place to say, but I am worried about it... and it may be important for you. I say quietly, unsure how I can tell her about the liver but unable to look the other way and dismiss it.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby headed for the shelves to take cover. He needed to find the dogs - and for that he needed the area map. Thankfully, the Spatial Sense was a passive spell and wouldn't likely get attention from the spirits inside or outside the building.

So, he found a hiding hole first, cast his spell second and began searching for the room with the large kennels.

[ Spoiler ]

Hide: 12d6t5 4

Casting spatial sense F3

Extended spatial sense F3: 19d6t5 9
Drain Resist: 10d6t5 5

No Drain

[Tecumseh]

"I do have pets," Ifeoma nods. "If one just can't seem to find a home... I don't seem to be able to resist it! Plus my kids love them. My son and daughter fight over who loves them more. When they're done with that argument, they fight about which one of them the pets love more!" She laughs warmly.

Ifeoma looks at AM with raised eyebrows when AM says she has something to share.

~~~

Bobby finds a hiding spot from which to extend his senses.

He finds that the clinic is roughly a horseshoe shape, with the front of it to the north. Bobby is currently in the right/eastern wing. The top part is the office, bathroom, and reception area, and the left/western wing seems to have pet kennels in it too. Presumably the dogs are over there.

There are some vents that run through the building in the ceiling, but Bobby would have to get through the vent covers somehow. They are metal and appear screwed into the ceiling.

[Gilga]

I nod in approval when Ifeoma mentions the pets and children, and I can't help but admire her. It makes being the bearer of bad news all that more difficult, but I can't just let a potentially severe illness go unchecked and stay single-mindedly focused on getting some impression of Potter. Perhaps I once would ignore it when I was broke, but not now.

I take a deep breath and choose my words carefully, unsure how to deliver such news - or if it is news. "I don't want to alarm you, but I sensed something during our conversation... In your aura... Now, I am not a doctor, and it is not my place to intrude or diagnose, but I did see something in your liver, and I couldn't ignore it. I feel that it might be vital for you to look into it. Maybe you can consult a professional just to be sure?"

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby saw now the building and surrounding in exquisite detail. He still had to ponder a moment or two about how to get from here to there. Finally, he decided to move through the air ducts once more. For that he would have to go roach once more. He didn't particularly like this form. It was cumbersome to move his fetish around. At some point he'd have to transcend this crutch to bear the drain fully. Something to look out for during his next initiation.
Once he had shoved the elastic band through, he followed as a roach, pulled the feather with him and then turned into a large spider, so he could secure the fetish on his body once more and move silently through the ducts, always following his mental map.

Once there, he looked out through the grate, before doing anything else. With any luck the target could be seen from there, without him having to expose himself.

[ Spoiler ]

I'm using as low force as possible and scrub after each spellcast - for convenience I'm buying hits, 'cause I'm too lazy to roll them all right now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[Tecumseh]

Ifeoma stiffens at AM's inquiry.

"You're right," she says tightly, "it is not your place to intrude." It's clear she's unhappy.

"It's Hepatitis B," she says. "Chronic, if you must know. It will likely be the death of me.

"You are not a doctor, nor did I give you permission to examine me. In my culture, it is offensive to look at someone's soul like that."

She turns back to her desk.

"Oh, look at the hour! Looks like your time is up. Let me know if you need me to sign anything to acknowledge your participation."

AM can tell she's being dismissed.

~~~

Bobby gets up through the grate. As he looks down the vent, he sees a watcher spirit plodding away. It has the look of a garden gnome with a not-terribly-bright look on it's face. It's marching like it is in a parade, goose stepping down the vent. Each leg remains rigidly straight as it kicks its way on its patrol. Its back is to Bobby, so for the moment he's unobserved.

[Gilga]

"I am sorry for hurting your feelings, Ifeoma... I sigh and stand up, not wanting to impose myself but do want to help, if only to please the great spirits. If there is anything my friendship, money, or magic can help you with I will do it... Anything within my power to keep your family whole. I have No idea if she believes me - but I mean what I say. I wish someone had helped my mother and me when things were rough. Feeling so remorseful for hurting her feelings, I take a few heavy breaths to calm myself. "I just came here to care for animals; you don't need to sign anything... I will hide under a digital rock and cry myself to sleep. I'm genuinely sorry, Ifeoma... I couldn't keep such a terrible insight to myself when you have shown me nothing but kindness.


I leave with a heavy heart and realize nothing good will come out of this night. I mentally text my train of thoughts to the girls on overwatch. >> Gals, take me away from here before I do any more damage. I somehow managed to say the wrong things to the bad people. I want this night to end.


Here is what I like about the Trix: I don't see people's problems unless I try to uncover them. In my despair, I make a small prayer to my totem. "My loved Iktomi, I guess the joke is on me. Thank you for putting me up for a test. I would take your torments with love. Happy or miserable, I am forever grateful for your divine attention."

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby stopped and very carefully assensed the watcher. Just how many ressources did the party invest in their candidate here?

[ Spoiler ]

Assensing: 12d6t5 5

Looking for the force of the watcher - anything below 5 I'll risk, but after that the fetish becomes a problem to carry past

[Tecumseh]

Bobby finds that the watcher is quite formidable (F7). Its astral signature matches one of the spirits seen on patrol (which was also F7).

[Jack_Spade]

Once upon a time, Bobby would have gone in guns blazing - or rather claws flying. Now he had to consider consequences - both for him and his colleagues. Someone had spend quite a lot of effort and money to call up a high powered watcher - and likely not just one. The more powerful those constructs were, the harder it was to fool them.
He retraced his steps, slipped out again into the cat area and went for the emergency exit. Once there - and sure that there weren't any observers beyond some cats, he dropped his spells and instead weaved a physical illusion of the vet tech he had met this morning. Then he erased the traces of his casting and made sure his aura concealed the active spell as well.

Then he left the building as if for a smoke break, moving down the alley, until he reached the parked car where Tamarind waited.

[ Spoiler ]

Body Boost: 10d6t5 7
Physical Mask F3: 17d6t5 7
Drain Resist: 14d6t5 9

No drain for the physical mask - spending to complex actions afterwards to erase the signatures

[Beta]

Everyone is sounding glum after the experiences at the clinic. Tamarind knows that the classic solution is to buy people a drink, but that is not apt to be a hit with either Ana Maka or Bobby. She thinks a bit more, really not having much experience with all of the social outlets of a big city, when you have some cred in pocket. But the matrix is full of suggestions, and once she has filtered for proximity, being open on a Sunday night, lack of tight security -- in deference to AM's concerns around SINs -- she has her plan.

<<OK, whisking you away, but to have a bit of fun for an hour. I won't keep you up too late, dog knows I don't handle late nights like I used to.>> However she does stick around to also gather up Bobby once he comes out, then she heads off back to Bellevue, but not home. Instead she takes them to Wingding's Pinball Heaven, apparently home to Seattle's largest collection of playable vintage pinball machines. She doesn't know if it will boost anyone's mood that much, but an hour of distraction will hopefully set them all up for clearer thought. Besides, just in case they had any magical or technological trails, she figures it doesn't hurt to head somewhere with a lot of noise and flashing lights, excited people, and a credible excuse for not being home.

When they get there she promises to buy everyone tokens and that she'll drive them elsewhere after an hour, but they are stuck here having fun until then. In the matrix she adds <<Whether that is heading home, or to to the University printing offices, I'm easy.>>

[Gilga]

I almost enter Tam's car, well almost is a strong word, but for a moment, being off balance, my legs take me there. I recovered quickly, however, and then headed to my bike. Wearing my helmet and jack, I text Tamarind (and the rest) >> Wingding's Pinball Heaven; I'll wait for you there... There is no way I am going to let a van arrive there faster than a sleek race bike. Not when I am driving the bike, and while I am not exactly speeding up downtown, I am not entirely patient as well. When I get on location, I stow my helmet on the bike, and my eyes search for the van.


Today is one of these days when I felt like things were going my way and then grew a bit slack and reckless. It still feels like shit, and my heart is for Ifeoma, even though I barely know the lady. What's worth knowing all these things and keeping it all to myself? Is it a wonder that I rarely connect to people? The entire concept is easier online where I know nothing more than what is there - well, unless I get obsessed about someone but then I actively search and work my ass out to find things - the Wakan Tanaka don't just hand me sensitive information without context and without any way to act on it. Perhaps it is one of the many drawbacks of being able to look at people's auras, and still giving up that ability feels like giving up eyesight, smell, or hearing as it is part of my senses of the way I can see the world around me. It just sucks that I never got any closer to Potter and annoyed the hell out of anyone that talked to me.

Gosh - there really is no rest for the wicked.

[Jack_Spade]

Bobby was a bit depressed after he had delivered his failure report.

<<Looks like we'll have to try this another time. Though it feels as if time is slipping away. The election draws nearer. Can we try and track the killer after we do Tamarind's relaxing?
I'm itching to get this done.>>

Once at the arcade, Bobby went for a racing simulator. After a few laps, he felt bored and instead slipped into his meditation trance, while the machine went through his tokens. When they were used up, he exited and went to thank Tamarind. "Thanks for the treat - I needed that."