She said "it really is okay..." and if Wraith agreed she'll touch his hand and deliver some comforting magical energy.

There, much better.

To Wraith's question, she answered: "Shark thinks we are in the ring, and I have a headache."

"A headache? You look like you are gonna collapse any time soon... In my professional opinion, I consider it unwise to continue this way."

Nova pulled out her medkit and diagnosed Wraith with his permission, but quickly realized that there was little she could do to help him regain his strength.

"Looks like Anna has the right of it. Whatever it is you two do to your bodies, it cannot be healed quickly. If I understand it right, it is similar to exhaustion, so what you do need is some rest. We are on a timer, but I don't think we are that much in a hurry, that we cannot afford to wait an hour or so for you to get in a better condition. Sharkboy has the right of it, pain killers, magic or not, are okay for emergencies, but this ain't one."

Sharkboy tried to corral the two mages before they took Nova's explanation that they just needed to take a nap.

"I'm not going to force you to hit the showers and tuck you two into your cots for nap, though I probably could. We've put ourselves under the gun, but bean-si has either been here for weeks, been gone for days, or was never here to begin with. We aren't really costing ourselves time by you two taking an hour to make sure you can stand up to a stiff breeze. Besides, bnc can use the cycle to scout the area with her drones."

Anna said with pride "A headache yes... I can boost the natural endorphin levels of the body which suppresses most of the pain. I can also boost natural recovery, so I'll be good as new in an hour or two." She shrugged and went to her bunk in the van, playing some relaxing meditative tunes in her earbuds. She closed her eyes and practiced breathing to calm down and drop her adrenaline levels, hoping to get some sleep. After several minutes she was vast asleep.

"Maybe it just didn't know but tried? Maybe it could sense my warmth or my essence and didn't think of my as a motionless victim but still as one separated from the group. Either way, it was completely unnecessary for y'all to leave the van and me behind.
I know of several ways how it could have sensed I was alone but of none how it could have sensed I'm in VR. Maybe it just tried to get past the mages?"

She finally got up and walked over to the two mages. "To be fair, I haven't ever treated a drained mage before. But if it's rest you need, I think I might still be able to care of you.", she says, now finally using her real voice. Wraith and Anna realize again that it has changed somehow. Not the voice itself, the way bnc talks ... it's just a tad more mechanical. A very subtle change, but still kind of eerie.

She looks Wraith in the eyes and smiles, hoping he'd remember their running joke from back then. "I read a book on medicine, you know. Come on, lay down, and gimme your venes. Don't worry, I wont use drones, I'll just give you an infusion with a tad of glucose and some soft antistimulants to help you find some sleep. I'll wake you in an hour. Anna, you too, come over here."

Wraith seemed to be reliefed after Anna's touch.
"Whew... Much better. Thanks."
He smiles.
"is there anything you haven't read something about, bnc? But seriously, don't you think we should investigate the hideout now and rest later? Before our fight attracts the wrong kind of attention."

"Look around you, there really isn't much to notice but snow..." Nova said.

"Rest up, then we go." It wasn't said in a commanding voice, but more of a 'c'mon you know it is the right thing to do'.

<<Hop in, we'll drive a bit around - no need to wait here in the cold. If we made someone suspicious, their alertness should be down again when we come back.>>
Eliza was back to her formal self with this suggestion.


One and a quarter hour later, the van was back. The winter storm was still blowing hard, but had subsided a bit in severity. Instead the snowfall had increased, cutting visibility just a bit more than before.

Breath...in breath out... Anna wakes up refreshed.

"I had a wonderful dream... Now let's go to the creepy freezing cemetery."

She cast the improve intuition spell, which was successful.



Sustaining both the improve willpower and intuition spells, she summoned a spirit.


Her smile widened as she had a powerful spirit ally, no drain and her capacity to resist drain was over the roof. Yet, she felt bad that her natural abilities failed her so horribly in the previous go.


She said "I have a spirit summoned and ready for action if things go bad. This time we do this the right way. Wraith, do you want me to help you summon a spirit? I can augment your ability to channel mana making drain less likely. I don't like to plan ahead... but if we go in circles again, I'll go bananas."

Wraith spent the hour in his seat, his hands slightly folded in a relaxed gesture.

He gladly accepts Anna's spells. "Wiz! How can you sustain so many spells at one time? Nevermind, tell me later once we're done here.

Now, we all wanna go, right?"

bnc grins in response to Wraith. "You know, yes, there actually are things ... but there's a remedy for that too. With a little push, unaweza kufanya chochote duniani."

Once they are all abed and cared for, bnc announces that she will now use the time to spy out around. If no-one object, she Jumps into the Nissan rotodrone and takes a tour over the graveyard.

The graveyard is incredibly large and the limited visibility also doesn't help, but except for a few foxes nothing moves around the cemetary.
The entry to the safehouse is hard to spot from above, but since it's beneath the canopy of several sturdy coniferous trees, there is not as much snow on it that you couldn't see the distinctive St. Mary figure. If there has been anyone around recently, their footprints are hidden beneath the fresh snow. Otherwise there is no sign of a secret watcher visible.
Cold, snow and wind are quickly depleting the drone's batteries and after only an hour it contains only a quarter charge - enough to get safely back, but certainly not for extended maneuvers.

bnc then returns to the van, then plugs in the drone in order to recharge it, and shares her results with her chummers.
"What do you think? I'd say we leave all pretense and just try and get there unseen."

Anna suggests "So we do invisibility spells for everyone? or just go there."

"No spells until necessary. It'll draw attention in the astral space. Just plain sneaking."

Nova had just sat down in the van while the others rested or remote-controlled drones scouting the area.

When Anna mentioned invisibility spells, she said: "If you can do that, sure. I would consider myself reasonably stealthy and the snow will also help, but full-fledged invisibility is another level, of course."

"Whatever you're saying, brains.", Wraith replies with a surprised grin.
"let's hope that we won't need that spetll. Anna and I will watch the astral plane, bnc, you checked for icons, right?"
He put on his gloves again, as well as a ski mask under his biker's helmet.
"Shall we?"

"Perhaps just for bnc then? I am already sustaining active spells this go. "

Anyways...

Nova put her mask back on and readied her rifle once more. She stepped out of the van and into the cold winter landscape.

"Ready when you are."

“I'd prefer going without any sustained spells or anyone astrally perceiving. Unless you're an initiate who can still hide from astral beings. I'd rather not draw another being's attention unless necessary. What did you think?"

Anna said "I am entering with my spells this time... I can sustain an illusion spell without draining me.

It is not that trivial to notice spells, one needs to first assense your aura, and even then they are not that easy to spot. Even if a spirit spots our spell, I think that it sends a clear don't mess with us message. In any case, this time I want to be at my best abilities. Which means augmented by a spell. I can also sustain an illusion spell with a funky new technique I learned, you can have it if you like."



Not wanting to discuss much, she pulled out her Ares Predator and exited the vehicle.

The heavy snow fall immediately took away Anna's ability to see further than 20 m. A look into the astral gave her a slightly farther view, but even here the gray of the snow blocked with its pure mass any auras further than 50 m out.

And this is why I preferred to spend my winters working down in Orlando.

Sharkboy followed behind the group with his hands in his pockets, doing his best to not show how cold he was.

Wraith said nothing on the way through the cemetery. Drek, this is cold.
He looked around with a mixture of caution and curiosity, apparently being interested in the architecture of the graveyard.
The curiosity seemed to fade as they got closer to their destination, and as he saw the Mary statue, he halted for a moment and let his third eye look around.

bnc groans audibly. "Anna. Alone today astrally perceiving and flinging spells around drew our enemies' attention towards us twice. You're just running around everywhere announcing us with a flare and a bang. I swear, if you get me almost killed three times in a day because you always think you know better although you don't, I'll go and search Kerstin on my own."

Seriously frustrated, bnc pulls over the mask of her chameleon suite and follows the group.

She shrugged and did not even respond.

She thought "Arguing with bnc is as pointless as tilting at windmills... When it suited her she could handle six chromed opponents unarmed, and when it does she needed an army to protect her from a single spirit. "

Anna took comfort in her barely visible predator and followed with it closely. If any, the terrible visibility was a plus when she was only proficient with a pistol. For safety, she kept astrally perceiving to notice astral threats.

The entrance lay before them and in the astral everything was calm expect for two things: the entrance reaked and radiated tainted Mana. It felt like decay and madness, worse than the already taxing background of the cemetery.
The second thing was the small Watcher construct moving slowly around the entrance. It didn't seem to be of very high force and didn't seem to have spotted them yet.
On a casual glance, it looked like a transparent version of a steriotyppically bearded dwarf with a pocket watch on a golden chain.

Before they approach, bnc quickly scans the immediate surroundings by using her Noizquito, and only comes closer if she doesn't find anything irregular (and if nobody warns her not to go any closer).

Anna stopped and texted >>Stop... a watcher spirit... Wait...
She kept her distance.

Anna orders her spirit to influence the watcher to guard some other tomb in the cemetery.

The watcher left it's post without spotting the team - it seemed.

The way was free.

She said ">>You can proceed, the way is clear - notice that the hideout has even higher background count, possibly radiation. bnc, any suggestions? I think it may be hazardous in the real world."

"Hazardous in what way?"

"Not sure, there may be several causes for such mana. Just make sure it is not toxic or radiated or something. "

Neither olfactory nor radiation sensor on James pinged near the entrance, so bnc was relatively sure that there was no radiological danger or airborn toxin close by.

Nova nodded towards Anna in an appreciating manner.

"Any idea what might have caused that magical taint? Could it have something to do with her... transformation?"

She shot a sideway glance at bnc. Surely, she did not want to remind her of the horrific things that happened or are happening to her sister. But it seemed possible, that this was somehow connected. Why else would this place be so weird?

"And that watcher spirit means that someone is keeping an eye on this. Probably the harvesters, right? Well... we still need to check the hideout, so how does it open up again?"

Anna said, "Your guess is as good as mine... I know that occult devices can occasionally explain this, but I am out of my depth here."

He nods with appreciation as Anna sends the watcher away.
"Hazardous to the real world?
I'm not sure we can really jump to such conclusions yet. Didn't Elizia mention that the hideout was an old world war two bunker or something?
True, the mana reeks of madness and death... But if this was indeed a refuge during the world war, I think that would explain the uncomfortable background without any implications for the physical world. Who knows what atrocities happened here. Perhaps that was responsible for the taint? "

He readies his gun and replaces the gel ammo magazine with a magazine of standard bullets.
Towards Nova:
"Turning the Virgin Mary should do it.
Everyone ready for opening the entrance?"

bnc indeed whinces when Nova mentions Kerstin's transformation but puts up a stone face, pushing unwanted thoughts into the back of her mind - a thing she's incredibly good at.

"James has a shitload of sensors, and they say it's fine. Uhm, any volunteers to push that fragging thing open?"

Sharkboy was a bit surprised that bnc was looking for volunteers. What is the point of having a robot that can be repaired and rebuilt if you aren't willing to use them to open dangerous doors?

"Before one of us mostly-meat bags tries to open the door instead of Robo-Jeeves, does anyone got some more explodey or fiery ways to knock on the door?"

Nova nodded to Wraith. Right, that was it... At Sharkboys question she shook her head. She had her shotgun with explosive ammo back in the van, but that was not really a good way to open the door.

"Well, then. Let's see what is underneath this," she said, as she stepped over towards the St. Mary figure.

"I didn't say, James can't do it, I just ... well, he's not that sturdy and quite expensive. So I just thought ... but I can do it. I mean, it can.", bnc says, somewhat unwillingly.

"I know how to use explosives, but I, uhm, kind of missed to buy some. I was kinda focussed on something else, so ... if someone has a bit of TNT in their pocket, I can bang open the door. So, uhm ... James?"
It's plain to see that bnc knows it would be right to have the robot open the door, but she's really, really attached to it.

"Hold on one sec before you have him open the grave, I can maybe somewhat protect him. I'll create a shield outside the grave, if anything fires at him, the barrier will hopefully take the worst."
With that said, he waves a hand over the entrance and murmurs: " Lord, shield us from whatever evil rests inside."

Following his hand's movement, a shimmering, golden barrier appears just outside the entrance.

"Ahm, thanks, uh, lord. Amen.", bnc mutters.
"Can someone hold my meat body for a second, please?"
bnc then drops into VR and Jumps into James, but going cold-sim, just in case. "Ready?"

Anna said "Or I can open the door with my magic finger spells while we all stand in relative safety... I would have suggested earlier but bnc kinds of yells anytime I cast a spell..."

Nova hopped over to where bnc was standing to sling an arm around her and hold her in place, as she entered VR.

"Err... sure. No problem."

"Uhm, well, as you have already used your astral perception to locate the watcher, and used some other mojo to get rid of it, I guess that doesn't make any difference. So ... yes, please."

Depending on whether Anna suggested this before or after bnc Jumped into James, she either refrains from it or leaves it again.

Once everyone was located in the place they wanted to be, Anna whispered "Open sesame!", and cast the spell (in a subtle imitation of Wraith). She seemed reluctant to speak louder in the cemetery as it was a creepy night. Using her newfound telekinetic powers she opened the safehouse door remotely.

The statue turrned easily and silently. With an audible click, the heavy stone plate moved a bit upward - likely moved by a balancing counterweight. Another application of the fingers pulled the plate upward like a book cover and revealed a steep staircase, leading down into darkness. Stale air and dust emerged from the subterranean safe house.

There were old footprints leading up and down the stairs, but they all had accumulated a fresh dusting, indicating at least a few weeks of undisturbed rest.