Gene frowns and gives you an odd look. "You are a very cunning girl and I should be more careful about what I say. But, OK, I will give you a small hint. What you are involved with now is just the tip of what is happening. Something very bad is brewing on the edges of existence and you may be involved. Is that new and exciting enough for you?"

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #175

"That's certainly mysterious at least. And a bit worrisome..." Cynthia frowns "Ok, more than a bit actually. Is there any way I can learn more about this? I mean, can you tell me more or is this some kind of 'You have to find by yourself, for if I told you it would make things more complicated even if you don't want to believe it' kind of things?"

She pauses, then glances at Gene "Wait, is that why you were tasked to guide me? To help me, but also to judge and evaluate, to know if and how I'm involved in this 'something very bad'? To 'loose' me somewhere in there in case you thought I was dangerous for this whatever it is?"

Surprisingly, Cynthia doesn't really seem anxious. Or accusing. She's mostly just curious and intrigued.

"My, you are a cunning girl. Cunning and very clever. Let's just say that you are being given the opportunity to look through a window at a bit of the picture beyond it. It is a very small window, almost like a peephole, actually, so your view will be very small. But it is much more than most people will ever have. And at this point I do not think you need to worry about me leaving you out here to die. You are a special person, Cynthia, and can be key to what is going to happen. One of the keys. That is all I am going to say on this matter for now. Dinner is ready. Afterwards, I think an early night because we have a long way to go tomorrow."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #176

Multiple emotions seem to war on Cynthia's face. Even if she tried to hide it, it would probably be crystal clear... She doesn't even try to hide anything though. In fact, she doesn't even think about doing it. There's some concern in there, but mostly, it's excitement. Finally, after a couple of seconds, she whispers "Cool. she nods seriously "Ok. I'll try to get my peeping-tom skills to top shape then."

After that, she eats happily and politely thanks Gene for the meal. She has trouble deciding to go to bed however. Like a child, she is quite excited, and it makes things rather more difficult than normal to get to sleep. Especially when she notices that she's sleeping in the dream of a dream. Still, after a long walk, a nice soak and a good meal, sleep comes quite fast once she's laying down in her tent.

@Cynthia Morning come crisp and clear, with a definite chill in the air and the aroma of cooking bacon wafts through the tent. As you stir, you hear Gene call out. "Hey there, sleepy head. Time to crawl out of there if you want some food before we start walking. Got some bacon and scrambled eggs coming up and coffee is hot and ready. When you emerge, you see Gene sitting on a camp stool near the fire, working on the breakfast. He is wearing some sort of frilly apron and a tall white hat. "Good morning. There is a good spot to relieve yourself just over there. Do hurry up at it, though, as we need to be moving right after we eat."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #177

Cynthia mumbles a "'Morning" still half asleep. She's usually more of a morning person, but today...or here at least...it doesn't seem to be the case. She turns towards the indicated spot, then stops and looks back at Gene. And his apron. And white hat. With a chuckle, she says "Woh, that's cute."

Still half laughing, she does her business, then sits by the fire and helps herself. "Hmm, smells good, thanks. I'm famished."

As she eats, she can't help but glance at the white hat and finally asks "Hey, do I get one too? Or is it only for the cool kids?"

Gene looks over at you with a small twinkle in his eye. "It is only for the cool kids who want to share cooking duties. Since I am just about done here, you will have to wait until dinner to wear yours. Same goes for the apron. And thanks for the comment; one of the perks about living as I do is that I have a lot of time on my hands and can learn all kinds of neat things. Like cooking. It is easier to just create the meal, but not nearly as much fun. After we eat and clean up, I would like to show you how to know where the strands are so that you can pluck one yourself. You will not always have me to guide you and will need to know how and where to go to finish this expedition on your own." He stops talking and digs into his meal, offering you seconds when he sees that your plate is empty.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #178

Cynthia laughs "In principle I don't mind sharing duties, but while you probably wouldn't be...affected...I'm not sure I would survive my culinary talents. Even here... Well maybe if I were able to create this meal ex-nihilo, but even then I'm not too sure... Must be cool to have all the time in the world to learn whatever you want. As long as you can share it with someone else I suppose, otherwise... But I don't and I'm only seventeen anyway. And my esteemed mother had other things to do, like do her nails or something, than teach me. I'm not sure even she knows how anyway..."

She shrugs, then nods "As for the plucking, sure. Teach away."

Cynthia looks at her plate. With a grumble she says "I suppose it doesn't matter here. And since we'll walk all day anyway..." she holds her plate to Gene. Just as she's about to eat, she asks "Hey speaking of which, am I being to wake up days after I went to sleep?" after a pause, she grunts "I hope not, I'd be mummified..."

"Time here moves at a very pace than where you come from. If all goes well, you will be back in your room mere moments after you left. Let's clean up and then I can start showing you how to detect the resonance strands." Gene takes up some of the plates and cooking paraphernalia and carries them to the pool, where he washes up and stacks them back in the tent. When done with everything, he wipes his hands on his apron and stick it and his white hat in the tent and zips the front closed. He turns and motions for you to follow him as he walks a short distance from the tents. He holds his hands out in front of him and says, "Here, put your hands on mine and let your mind go out through the fingers. You are searching for a difference. I can only describe it that way. A difference. Go on."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #179

Some witty remarks make their way to Cynthia's mouth but she manages, with some difficulty, to hold them back. After all, he knows what he's speaking about. Or should anyway. With a shrug, she steps in front of Gene and places her hands on top of his.

Closing her eyes, she doesn't yet try to look for a difference. First, she focuses on her fingers, on simply "feeling". The rest should come naturally. If it comes at least...

At first you get nothing. Gene makes a small turn to the right and waits for you to acknowledge something different or indicate no change. After several attempts, the small changes in your position seem almost inane.............then, there it is. Something different. You have no real words to describe it, but there is a feeling of difference. Just over there.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #180

As she feels the difference, Cynthia shouts "Here!" She opens her eyes, and winces "Err, sorry, got a bit too excited there." She looks at her hands and adds "It's different, but no idea how I can qualify the difference..."

Gene shakes his head. "You cannot, really. Resonance is just too different. I know of mortals that have spent years researching exactly what the difference is and failing, usually deciding to add themselves to one of the pools in defeat. Please do not get wrapped up in that; just accept the difference. Now that you have sensed it, you can reach out and refine the location better. Remember that the resonance is invisible to normal sight and can barely be felt. Plucking a strand of it is rather like trying to pluck a drop of water without breaking it. Now, the resonance is very hardy and you cannot break it by plucking it, but you need to get it right within the first three times or the strand you are working on will react and punish you for the temerity of bothering it. I have seen reactions ranging from a mere slap to a shock approximating electricity to a great bashing blow. So the answer is to get it right the first time, but if you fail twice, just give up for the time. The strand seems to forget your failures after about two hours, although I have noticed that of late the interval seems shorter, and the punishment seems harsher."

He takes your hands and moves them so that you can "feel" the strand beneath them without touching it. "OK, it is just like plucking a musical instrument. Try it and see if you can do it. Remember that the strand will react violently if you fail three times."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #181

Cynthia grunts "That seems encouraging... It's a good motivation to get it right at least..." She checks to see if there are no rocks in the vicinity, in case she should fail one too many times.

Squaring her shoulder, she nods and tries to feel the strand, and, ever so slightly, to "pluck" it, trying to imitate Gene for the time being. She will have the time, later, to find her own way of doing things, but for now, best do like the teacher. She wasn't any good when she had a music instrument in her hands but this? If it's Resonance, she was born for this. Literally.

The resonance strand is amazing to the touch. The best description is that it hums, and the closer you get the more it hums to you. It is not so easy to pluck it and your first attempt fails. But you are right; you seem born for this and the second attempt has the strand pop into view and Gene claps his hands. "Well done, Cynthia. Well done. Now, are you ready to follow this?"

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #182

Cynthia's smile is filled with wonder "That's...cool." She enjoys the feeling for a couple of seconds more, then nods "Yup, I'm ready, we can follow this to its source. That's where we're going right?"

Gene nods as he sets out along the now-visible resonance strand. "Partially correct. That is where you are going. I will go with you only so far because your eventual destination would rip me apart and I would like to avoid that. But I an not abandoning you just yet, nor will I leave you without enough knowledge to survive in the pool. At least for a bit. I will explain more about that as the time approaches. For now, though, I think it is important that you get to know this strand a bit better. Don't touch it, but place your hand close to it. Learn to recognize the sensation so that you can pick it up easier."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #183

Cynthia nods. "Yeah, I'd rather avoid staying with the pool when all is said and done..."

Doing as she's told, Cynthia places her hands next to the strand. Not too close at first, but slowly closing the distance. That way, when she feels something, she knows it's the strand. And she knows how it feels.

Still wary for snipers, he considered his options, to this point the mercenaries had not employed combat mages or other magical assets, and so he could only hope their apparent benefactor would remain focused on the merc's. He crossed the intervening space quickly, cautiously, feinting in one direction before sprinting in the opposite, until he slammed his shoulder into the low retaining wall on the opposite side of the roof.

From there, he took position above the intersection where a number of the mercenaries were still engaged with the spirit, or elemental, or whatever threat their mysterious benefactor had summoned. Maintaining cover, he swept the intersection with his HVAR, using the scope to ensure that the mercenaries were still unaware of his position, as he did so he tried to identify the commanding officer, to ensure that he could contribute to their confusion, and disrupt their chain of command within the next few seconds.

Gene watches you for a bit nods as you work out what you need to do. He has a nice tenor voice and uses it to sing some operatic arias, of which he knows more than a few. Several times during the day, he will stop and point out things about the resonance strand you are following, and his instruction actually makes it easier to find it. The terrain is much as it was yesterday, but the sun seems to be brighter and hotter and he takes two hats from his pack, handing you one. "This is not really a sun out here, but a representation of how close we are to one of the resonance pools. It will get more uncomfortable as we get closer in an attempt to send you back where you came from. It will probably snow this afternoon, or perhaps even some sort of gale. It is a good thing I packed to be prepared." He points ahead to a small rock outcropping where you can see a splash of color. "We will stop there and have lunch. I want the strand to disappear so you can practice finding it again. You seem to be holding up well, but what do you think? Still into this?"

Monday 11 June 2075 0414 Vory Neighborhood Seattle


@Echo You get to the edge of the small parapet overlooking the street below. Peeking your head over the top you see several men shooting at the side of the building. You also see a pair of armored cars rolling down the street in the direction of the fighting. They are not marked, but look to be similar to those that KE uses to transport men into a battle zone. Each one can carry up to twenty armored men. Suddenly a volley of gunfire rings out from the several of the buildings on one side of the street and some sort of flaming device sails from a window to land squarely on top of the lead vehicle. The armored cars shrug off the small arms fire and the flames seem to have little effect as well. You watch as several ports open on the side of the cars and machine gun fine rakes the buildings the attackers are using for cover, silencing the neighborhood gunners, or at least driving them to seek better cover.

@Eva You watch as the man you are sure is Echo approaches the same lip of the roof you are using for concealment. He does not seem to see you at this time. You can observe the same events in the street, except that you can see the illusion of the earth spirit and he gives no sign that he does.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #184

As Gene sings, Cynthia listens, appreciative. Making some comments about any similarity she notices between what he sings and what she knows. She doesn't try to sing or even to hum though since she would do so completely out of tune.

She dutifully follows his guidance when he points things out, but still tries some variants, to find 'her' way of doing things. Not because she doesn't believe in Gene: his way may very well be be the best way, period, but she wants to make sure of it. After all, it might be best for him, but not completely adapted to Cynthia: she's a human, and a Technomancer. Whatever he is, he sure as hell isn't any of these things.

She seems to enjoy walking in the sun though, even if it isn't really a sun, and puts the hat on her head "Is this some kind of place where you have best avoid mentioning what you wouldn't want, or it doesn't matter? Like... If I say I enjoy the sun, will we get dark clouds and heavy rain soon?"

As they stop for lunch, Cynthia lets go of the strand. She considers for a moment trying to get a feel of the other strands, in opposition to the one she's interested in, but refrain from doing it. It would be counter-productive: the goal is to learn how to find a strand, not to specifically find that one.

With a smile, hands behind her back, she turns to Gene "Yep, it's nice. It would be boring alone though. Anything I can do to help with lunch?"

Gene interrupts his singing to laugh. "Yes, it is just precisely that sort of place. I did tell you before that I knew you were a clever girl, didn't I? And I applaud your trying to do things your way. We are different, you and I, and you may find something that works better for you. That is one of the things you are here for, after all, isn't it; learning about the resonance and how to manipulate it?"

The color among the rocks turns out to be a huge cloth overhang stretching across a gap in the rocks to form a sort of pavilion. Gene slips his pack off and sets it on the ground, pulling out various supplies he is going to use to fix the lunch meal. He will move aside and let you help, showing you what to do. "Cooking is much like anything else, even resonance research; you just start at the beginning and find the right recipe to get to the end. And, also lust like resonance research, there is more than one perfect way to get to the end and you should experiment a bit to see what works for you."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #185

Cynthia looks a moment at the sky, as if she were trying to defy it. She's wondering if she could fool the place, by saying the opposite of what she really wants. After a moment though, she doesn't try: she likes the sun after all. For now at least.

After a while, she nods "Yep. That and the peeping thing at what really happens, don't believe I'll forget that!"

As she's trying to help, Cynthia snorts "Yeah, except you can't poison yourself with the Resonance." she frowns then adds "Ok, you can do fry your brain, so that's not much better..." she shrugs "I don't have any recipes though. Sure I could find some at home, but then, the problem would be the ingredients. Those things are hellishly expensive if you want to make it an habit. And cooking with soy and algae seems... I don't know, like trying to paint with mud. Not worth the effort."

She stays silent a moment, looking at the overhang. "Does this always stay here? Or is it something that's installed when needed?"

Gene nods in agreement at your comments but does not say anything until you ask about the awning. "The awning? No, I put that here when I saw how far we were going to get by lunch time. It is all magic, dear. The same as with the camp last night and again tonight. To change the subject a bit, you are making good time and I think we will get to the end of our time together by the end of the day tomorrow. I think that you will be ready, but you will need to decide that for yourself. I could talk about the pool, but it is so much easier when you can actually see one, so I will wait for those revelations, but feel free to ask any other questions you wish to ask."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #186

Cynthia laughs "Any question? Since you offer..." her eyes sparkle for a moment, then she frowns, pensive. After a couple of seconds, she asks "Ok. You talk about magic, and we more or less agreed yesterday that we could reach the Metathings from here. But what is the link between Mages and Technomancer? Are we two sides of the same coin, one for the Matrix, the other for...hum... Meatspace and Astral? Which is a bit unfair if it is! But anyway." She waves her hand to dismiss this.

From her way of talking, it is evident that she's only thinking about all of this on the spot "This seems to be the natural conclusion from what you said on this place, if both Mages and Technomancer share these...'pools'. But then, the most interesting question, and the most far reaching becomes 'What exactly are Magic and Resonance?' and 'What are those pools?'" She pauses then adds "Oh, and let's not forget, 'Are Mages and Technomancers the only ones sharing those pools?' Oh another one. If Mages and Technomancers are using those pools, we're like gazelles - or gnus, depends from the person of course - drinking from a lake. But who are the predators? And where are they?"

"Hey, now that I think about it. Mages are old. Something like fifty or sixty years or something like that. Technomancers not so much. Even if you take some rumours into account, it's what...Ten years? Twenty at best? How did it work before? If we are two sides of the same coin, wasn't there an imbalance?"

Monday 11 June 2075 0414 Vory Neighborhood Seattle

Bryant tapped his comm, and surveyed the route the vehicles were taking towards the compound. "Vlad, we've got two armored vehicles, each holding two ten man units, heading north on 244th NE, driving right for the compound. We need a way to block their route, make them exit the vehicle, we can disrupt the teams, but if they can drive right through our defenses we're fragged."

Even as he spoke, he kept pace with the convey, his movements precise, and graceful, his leaps, aided by the jacks in his legs, both powerful and explosive. Once in position he was able sight the lead engagement merc running interference outside the vehicles. As he depressed the trigger, two cylinders popped out of the side of his forearm, gyro-stabilizers, and the crosshairs didn't even waver as his HVAR rifle spewed out a burst of APDS at his target.

@Cynthia Gene considers your questions as he finishes preparing the meal. He hands you a plate and says, "Hmmm. Those are some tough questions, Cynthia. Not sure I can do justice to them in my answers, but I can try. You are partially correct in saying that mages and technomancers are similar but using matrix and astral means to a similar end. But, no, really. They are very much different. Neither can really do what the other does, and there is no information yet as to whether or not the sources of their powers are related. There are similarities, of course, but real proof is out of reach so far. And, yes, I get your point about gazelles and predators. One would think that there must be something that exists beyond the pools, but perhaps they are wondering if they are the gazelles and so do not show themselves to those who take from their pools? As for the timing, I have no idea why mages awakened years earlier than technomancers. I look at it as something to occupy my twilight years researching. I have little else to do but ponder and research such questions, but I have to say that you have sparked a renewed interest in them. You are definitely not a boring woman."


@Echo Monday 11 June 2075 0416 Vory Neighborhood Seattle

Vlad responds to your call. >>Yeah, well things will not do well in some of these streets. I wonder how these mercenaries are so well equipped? Who has heard of deploying armored cars like this in a city? We are engaging the lead elements and I cannot send anyone to help you. Can you delay their arrival? Have you found the mage that was helping us?<<

As you move along the building front you can see other people appear on roof tops across the street. A man and two girls in some sort of ganger jackets move to the edge of their building just as you fire at one of the men on the ground that is now guiding the vehicles. Your shot is hurried and less effective than you had hoped, the shots bouncing off the armored breast plate of the soldier. The force of the hit staggers him a bit, though, and he dodges for cover behind the vehicle. The three unknown gangers across the way unload on the vehicle from their vantage point and two flaming molotov cocktails come flying out of the near building to land on top of the armored cars, setting both ablaze. You see a gun port open on your side of each car and the wicked barrel of a machingun poke through each. You duck as the guns rake the rooftop where you are taking cover, sending brick and cement chips plying.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #187

"Oh." Cynthia nods "I see." she pays a bit more attention to what she's doing on the lunch front for a couple of seconds, then adds "And well, I try to be. That would be a fate worse than pretty much anything. Being boring that is."

She stays silent for a moment, then squinting at Gene, considering, says "As for this gazelles thing...maybe you and yours are the gazelles?" she frowns "I don't imagine you as a gazelle though. More like a...Drek, I don't know much about animals. Oh yeah, a giraffe, I saw a wildlife documentary once, and if I remember right, they are pretty much left alone. But of course, they can still suffer if their resources are drained one way or another by the other animals."

Head cocked on the side, she looks at Gene, trying to imagine him as a giraffe and chuckles "Anyway, for the timing, one of the explanations is probably that the matrix infrastructures didn't allow for the kind of...massaging...we do. Maybe there were latent Technomancers for as long as there were Awakened, but they didn't realise it until the matrix was mature enough."

For a second she plays with her tools, pensive "The best way to check this would be to see if there was a peak in Emergence at some point - probably somewhere in the last ten to fifteen years - that is now going down to reach a plateau." she shrugs "Of course, such statistics are probably not feasible even for Awakened, so for Technomancer it would just be impossible." she sighs.

Gene shakes his head and finishes chewing before responding. "Nothing is impossible if you want to try hard enough. It just looks impossible, all the way up until it doesn't and then people slap their foreheads and say "Ah, of course" in some sort of chorus. I suppose the mages and technomancers could all be the gazelles and we might be drawing resources from wherever the pools are. IF there is anything sentient on the other side, it, or they, might be upset or curious. I know I would probably be both. I am a creature of magic and am not even sure where I sprouted from. Heck, I could have been drawn from beyond the pool and just don't remember."

He shades his eyes and looks up at the "sun". "I suppose we ought to clean up here and get moving. There is a nice rock just there if you need to use the facilities. I can take care of the cleaning up and pack things away for the afternoon hike."

Monday 11 June 2075 0416 Vory Neighborhood Seattle

He thumbed his comm as the cement chips went flying, one of them scoring a small cut along his cheek. >>I'll do what I can, good luck Vlad.<< With that he bolted down the stairwell to one of the windows below him where Vlad's people were barraging the vehicle with their molotov's. He shouldered his way into the apartment, seeing the desperate face of the family that dwelt within, quickly, and in broken Russian he spoke, "A friend, Vlad's friend. Quickly. I need." He pointed to the molotov the square faced, older woman was assembling, gasoline, detergent, stuffed into a cheap bottle of alcohol, common enough in the barrens.

He took the bottle and held it securely in his left hand, what he was thinking was insanity, but his round of shots from the rooftop meant that the merc's outside of the vehicles were now opposite the cars, meaning that he could use them as cover too. Assuming he could get close enough to one of the gun ports that it wouldn't be able to swivel for a clear line. It was dangerous, hell, it was suicide without back up, but he didn't have an option, if he let these vehicles roll through to the compound then everything was going to go to hell, and people were going to die. Vlad's people. His people.

He shouldered his HVAR and approached the window carefully, the family, using small arms fire had already cleared the glass from the frame. He looked down, two stories, his legs would take it, and he was hoping that they wouldn't anticipate the maneuver. He looked at the family, fear and desperation under a thin veneer of determination. "Back up." Again broken Russian, but it seemed to get the message across and he jumped.

He landed beside the lead car, the machine gun tracked his movements, but as anticipated he was too close to the vehicle, he hooked his left arm over the barrel of the machine gun, trapping it in the gun port, and as he did so he brought his right arm back and with the full strength of the cybernetic limb, he drove the laser-etched carbon blade of his forearm spur through the casing of the machine gun, hoping to disable it and have the gunner retreat through the gunport. Most likely to bring a sidearm into play.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #188

This time Cynthia doesn't answer, staying pensive, thinking about all of this. As Gene mentions the facilities, she agrees "Best go now, yeah."

Once back, she remakes her pack, taking care to put the heavy coat on the top: that way, if it snows suddenly, she won't have to freeze her ass and dump the content of her pack on the ground to find what she needs. "Ok, ready to face whatever this place wants to throw at me. I hope at least. So, first I have to find the strand I suppose?"

Standing up, Cynthia goes to the place where she left the strand before lunch, and tries to find it. If she does, she'll go to 'plucking'. While she would like to pluck it on the first time, she will mainly try a lightly different way of doing things, from what she learned of her study in the morning. As such, she doesn't expect to find it on the first try since there would probably be some adjustments to make, but that's a small price to pay if it allows her to have a better way - for herself - of doing things when all is said and done.

@Cynthia The strand hums to you as your hands get closer to it, but your first try at plucking it into view does not succeed. Mindful of Gene's warning to not fail three times, you try again and...............................success. The strand hums into view and stretches cleanly out in the direction you wish to go. From the corner of your eye, you can see that Gene appears very pleased with your success, but his face goes somewhat wooden when you turn your head to look at him. "Nicely done, Cynthia. Now let's see how far we can make it before dark."

The sun is sweltering and even Gene breaks out into a sweat. The terrain is flat with no rock outcroppings for shade and no water holes that you can see on the way. Even husbanding your water supply, it will be a close thing to have it last the afternoon and what if there is no water source at the evening's stop?


@Echo Monday 11 June 2075 0418 Vory Neighborhood Seattle


Your very risky maneuver seems to have paid off as the gunner is unable to track on you, his shots stitching a line of holes across the front of the building behind you. You can barely hear brick and glass shattering and people screaming due to how close you are to the gunfire. You can, however, smell your clothes as they begin to smolder from the heat put off by the very hot gun barrel. A flesh arm would have been scorched but your barely registers the heat as you bring your right arm up and cut nearly through the barrel. The resulting explosion as a round travels down the bore looking for an exit throws you to the ground. You can feel pain from bits of shrapnel in your chest and face. Your flare compensation is enough to keep the flash of the explosion to just dots dancing in front of your eyes, but having no similar protection for your ears, you are now deafened. You observe that the nearly severed gun barrel is drooping from the port. Oddly enough you have the presence of mind to wonder where the molotov cocktail has gone as it is no longer in your left hand. Turning your head seems to make the pain in your ears worse, but it does allow you to see several things at once.

A young woman of maybe sixteen or seventeen is running from the building behind you, screaming words you cannot hear and pointing some sort of assault rifle towards the front of the car. You think that she is firing it but cannot hear the shots. She is accompanied by two unarmed younger boys who are running towards you. At the same time three armed mercenaries come racing around the front of the vehicle. As the the girl fires, one of the men dodges behind the car and the other two hit the street, bringing their rifles up.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #189

When she notices Gene's reaction, Cynthia smirks but doesn't comment. She doesn't seem to like the heavy sun too much, even with the hat. In the morning it was a nice change from Seattle's usual, but now it's too much. A multiple points on the way, she considers asking Gene about water supplies, but stops herself: what if she asked and the place made sure that there is none?

Another possibility would be to assure happily that at least the sun is much better than a downpour. Hoping for said downpour to occur. However, she's not even sure this downpour would come, and more than anything, she's not sure at all that a downpour would be better... It would probably make them miserable and not pleased at all.

And there's the last possibility. That this is a test of some sort. To see how far she can go. Well, if someone hopes she will give up, they'll be sorely disappointed. She never abandoned, and here will not be the first time. Her body might give up on her, her sunburns might hurt like hell, but it will certainly not be a conscious decision. If she even has a true body that is.

Gritting her teeth, she continues to walk, step by step, focused on reaching the evening, following the strand.

@Cynthia The oppressive heat really begins to bear down on you and you see that Gene is even affected. The distance between stops is getting shorter and Gene rations the water at those stops like a prison warden. At some point you see a pond of water a short distance from the path and your body takes three steps towards it before Gene gently grabs your arm. "No, dear, not that way. The water is not really there, but is an illusion of sorts. At attempt to keep you from making it to shelter. We must keep going this way. here, take this water. I have been husbanding mine a bit to make it stretch for an emergency and this looks like an emergency." He hands you the canteen and watches as you drink the three swallows it holds. "There, that should get you through with what you have saved of your own bit. You have to show this place that it will not beat you. Come on now, let's walk some more."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #190

Cynthia looks a bit ashamed at the canteen "Sorry, I should have left some for you." She grumbles "If all this is controlled by someone, or something, I think I'd like to have a word with him. Or it. Maybe trash it a bit. All friendly like you know. And you say it will be worse tomorrow? Great... But if it thinks it can defeat me..."

She snorts, and starts to walk again, her hand still hovering near the strand "Dream again."

@Cynthia Gene walks quietly for some time. His pace has slowed quite a bit from earlier and he is breathing a bit harder. He turns his face to you and you can see that he is in some pain and struggling. He smiles through cracked lips. "I should have brought chapstick. I knew I would forget something. Nothing for it now but to press on. Sorry about the guided tour, but it seems to a bit harsh on the guide. I would advise you to push on. There is a small hill ahead, with some rocks and a spring. You should be able to make it there and I will follow as best I can. I might be a while, but I will get there. Go on, now."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #191

Cynthia is very obviously displeased "I will get there when you do, not a moment before." She grabs Gene's arm and puts it on her shoulders, as she put her arm on his back "Here." she snorts "I may drown you for suggesting I abandon you once we're there though."

After some staggering steps, breathing heavily she adds "Or not drowning. Might enjoy it... And I don't swim anyway..."

Gene gives a sort of laugh mixed with pain. "How perfectly ironic. You are going to jump into a pool and you do not swim." Other than that, he walks along, leaning on you as little as possible, but his weight does get a bit heavier as the afternoon progresses into an early evening. Gene stops and mops his brow with an already soaked rag and nods with his chin. "Just up there a bit farther. Cannot really see it due to the heat coming up from the ground, but the small rise with rocks is not too far ahead. This old man does appreciate the effort it is taking you to help me. Thank you."

Indeed, the sun is going down...........bit by tiny bit............but you can see the heat coming off the ground in waves in front of you, almost as if the land itself is trying to stop you. Oh, wait, the land IS trying to stop you. And failing. You are in a great deal of pain when you finally make it to the rise. The nearness of the water that is supposed to be here seems to lighten the load and even Gene picks up his pace a bit. There is welcome shade from some rocks and you can hear a burbling spring. Gene cautions you to not drink too much at once as he lowers himself next to you and dips his face into the cold, refreshing water. After what seems like hours of letting the cool water run over your face and hands, you sit up to find Gene watching you from the ground. "Thank you for not leaving me out there, but I am not sure that was the smart play to make. We might have both failed to get here when it was pretty certain that you could make it on your own. Still, I thank you for it. Now, how about some dinner?"

He stands and walks on legs that are only a bit wobbly to disappear into a cleft in the rocks. Following him, you find a small campsite set up as the night before, although the tents do seem a bit askew and some of the equipment is laying about. Gene shakes his head. "My magic gets weaker the closer we get to the pool. There is a bit of interference from the resonance here, see, and that is playing hob with my spells. Oh, well, nothing for it, I guess. It is not as good as last night, but it is still serviceable." He starts getting things out for the dinner meal and soon has a fire going and coffee heating as he gets the food ready to cook. "In the morning, you should be able to see the pool from on top of these rocks. I will talk you through what you will need to do and send you off."

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #192

Not paying attention to her clothes, Cynthia enjoys the soak in the spring quite a lot. She doesn't answer for several minutes, just...content to cool off in the water.

When she feels better, she stands up, and follows Gene. As he works on the lunch, she processes to dry herself: it wouldn't do to catch a cold now... As she does, she says "Maybe I should have. Maybe it would have been smarter. But consider this: if we hadn't managed to reach this, I would have failed as a Technomancer. Not something I'd be pleased with, but something I'd be able to live with. Probably. However, if I had abandoned you, I would have failed as a person. And that..." she shakes her head, then shrugs "Seems worse to me. And well... That's what friends are for, right?"

Nursing a coffee, she asks "Your Magic becomes weaker here, because of the Resonance right? So shouldn't I be able to do more than grabbing a Resonance thread and follow it one way or the other?"

Gene nods. "I knew you were clever. Yes, you should be able to do more than just follow the strand. If you knew more about how the strands work, which is why you are here in the first place. By completing this task, you will hopefully learn more about how to manipulate the strands better and increase your ability to work with them back on your plane." He hands you a plate of food and fixes one for himself, sitting back in relative comfort, the travails of the day behind him.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #193

"Oh. Okay then." Cynthia eats silently, content to just unwind. Trying to not think about what's awaiting her tomorrow. "Hey, will you be okay to leave this place? Or will you wait for me to finish my metaphorical bath in the pool?" Yeah. Of course she had to talk...

"I will wait here. For me to go further, would be a great risk. I would do that for a friend if I thought you needed me, but I think that you are ready to go to the next stage solo. But I will be here when you return full of new knowledge."

As you talk, you suddenly feel a drop of rain, then another, then a few more. Gene frowns and looks up at the sky. "Could have used this earlier today, but now? If it is going to rain, we should get cleaned up and get our things inside the tents." He stands and takes the packs to the tents before returning to quickly finish eating. By this time the drops are still only a few here and there, but the sky is promising more.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #194

"Oh I didn't imply you would follow, but you could have left to whatever you come from, your task accomplished." she smiles "Of course, I'd have been pissed if I didn't get what was promised."

As it starts raining, she grunts. Not that pleased "Yeah. It could have. You know, I considered a few times just professing my love of the sun and my fear of rain just to get some water... But I felt like it would have been even more miserable in the long run, so now..."

She grumbles and tosses her things in the tent. "I suppose I'd best go to bed now. I'm exhausted anyway, and if we have to talk in the morning before I go to the pool..." she shrugs, then yawns.

The sound of rain against the tent is pleasant and helps lull you to sleep. You are awakened in the middle of the night by noises from outside. By the sounds of things, the rain has picked up in intensity and is hammering at your tent. opening your tent flap, you see Gene outside using a small shovel to carve a trench to direct the water from the tents. The rain is really coming down and does not seem like it will let up any time soon.

[Cynthia Rawson - Monday June 10th, 2075 - Resonance Realms] #195

"You know..." Cynthia stops, interrupted by a yawn "You could have asked for help..." she frowns "Nah, you should have. I'm not a Princess you have to protect. Someone to guide, yes, sure. But that's all."

She shakes her head "If it's better to move the tents somewhere else, just say so. And if it doesn't... Just give me a shovel too, it'll be faster..."

Monday 11 June 2075 0418 Vory Neighborhood Seattle

He had planned to drop the molotov into the gunport and light up the interior, forcing the men inside out, but now he had lost even that small advantage. Luckily the attack on the still firing machinegun had caused a dramatic misfire, which seemed to have resulted in a similar outcome. He shook his head, trying to clear the deadly ringing in his ears, and moved towards the front of the vehicle, "Move, to, me!" His Russian was broken, basic, learned from exposure to Vlad, his men, and B.'s translation program, but he hoped it got the message across, he stepped around to the front of the vehicle, hoping that he was the bigger threat than the civilians.

Taking a knee behind the quarter panel of the armored vehicle he unloaded a deadly fusillade of APDS towards the three gunmen, forcing them to keep their heads down and throwing off their ability to draw a clean shot on either the young woman, or her children.

@Cynthia Gene is puffing a bit from the exertion of digging the trench. "Alright. Consider that this is me asking for help. There is a second small shovel in your tent. It was supposed to be useful to ward off bears or overly excited old men, but it seems that digging a trench might be a better use for it right now." Sure enough, there is a small folding shovel just to your right. By the time you get outside, Gene has a pretty good ditch going and most of the water is being funneled away from the tents. He nods as you jump out to help and you get soaked to the bone helping him complete it. The water is coming down in sheets and you cannot make out much of anything if it more than twenty feet away. Gene looks at you and says, "Thanks for the help. Not sure how much longer I could have managed on my own without using too much magic and I do not want to do that right now. Not to alarm you, but I am pretty sure that something is out there looking for us and using the rain for concealment. You may very well ask how I know. Let me show you." He looks off into the near distance and points an arm just as something lights up the sky, even through the rain. The fireworks-like effect lasts for only a few seconds, but there is an immediate effect. You hear something snarl out and move off in the direction of the light. The impression you get is of something HUGE. Gene waits until the noises subside in the distance before talking. "See? Not sure what it is and not sure I want to find out, but it seems to home in on my magic. Fortunately, it seems easily confused and I have set some special effects that have been keeping it occupied for a bit. OK. The ditch is dug for now and I recommend that we both get something dry to wear."

He is not really looking at you, but your clothes are plastered tight against your skin from the water.

~~

Monday 11 June 2075 0420 Vory Neighborhood Seattle


@Echo No matter that it is nearly always effective in every vid, trivid, or holovid you have ever seen, shaking your head really does little to clear the ringing in your ears. This is certainly true for you right now as you remain deafened by the explosion of the machinegun barrel. As you struggle to your feet, you realize that the two kids are running to you as the girl is yelling something at them. She is just as surprised as the three gunmen are when you move to the side of the armored car and open fire. The girl is holding her assault rifle all wrong, but she does know how to pull the trigger and sends some bullets at the men to reinforce the idea that they need to keep their heads down. The two on the street quickly wriggle back to the cover of the vehicle without opening fire.

From your position next to the side of the car, you can feel it vibrate as the engine kicks to life. Your vantage point gives you a pretty good view of the lead car as it engages gunmen who are raining bullets and fiery bottles on it. The flames are keeping the men inside but do not seem to be doing much to damage the vehicle and the machineguns are putting a ton of suppressive fire down. The girl with the gun yells something at the kids who turn about and race for the building they had come from as she joins you. Her short-cut hair is up in a scarf of some kind and her face is smudged in sweat and grime and a couple of red lines caused by shrapnel of some kind. She smiles at you and motions her head back to the building. "Come. Shelter." You cannot hear her, but the idea gets across. She tries to take your arm to lead you.