Rachel is still outside of the apartment from where she was astrally exploring the rest of the building before, when suddenly everything gets hectic.

Once she realizes what is happening, she quickly runs down the stairs, knowing full well, that she is not the fastest when it comes to that.

She pulls out a small inhaler and uses it. Quick reactions could be crucial now.

The huge spirit moved with unnatural speed. Now that the ward was down for the moment, it rushed through the open door as well, catching up with AM and Rachel. It ignored Tamarind and Mato, but spread it's tendrils through the whole staircase.

Suddenly, plants seemed to grow out of the ground and walls, turning the whole section of the building into a teaming jungle.
A very unfamiliar feeling gripped the two mundanes, as if they suddenly weighed nothing.

Arcana check Theshold 1 for mages, 3 for mundane

This is about life and death now. The spirit is so powerful, that they will not be able to defeat it with normal means. And it is so fast, that they cannot get away from it.

There is only one way to oppose it. They need an even bigger spirit. So, that is exactly what Rachel summons now.

Tamarind has a brief surge of joy -- finally the magical stress that has awakened the magical talents she's always longed for! Her astral form is awakened!



Then her logical mind takes over. She's studied magic enough to know that powerful spirits can create astral gateways, where even mundanes can find themeselves projecting. This is clearly the case here, and what she's read about the situation comes to her. Still, the temptation to sore into that green haven, the ultimate garden, is strong. But her fearing of leaving her body empty is even stronger, and she tries to follow the half-remembered instructions on how to stay anchored in oneself.

A bit to her surprise (and maybe a bit to her disappointment), it works. She seems to have body and spirit still working together. She resists the temptation to try and perceive astrally, and instead focuses her thoughts to thoroughly mundane matters.

She tells her van to release the back doors, and calls Toothless on an emergency deployment to her location. She'll need to spend time later making sure that the drone didn't take damage from the drop when it powers its way out of the van then fall to the pavement floor. She doesn't know if its "jaws of life" hydraulic jacks will be able to pry open the doors from the parking lot to the stairwell or not, but if they can manage then its gecko-tipped tracks should let it start speeding up the stairs. They might need its medical services, but they might simply need it to carry an unconscious or dying body out of the building quickly.

And then she heads down the stairs. Time to get her body as far away as she can, and send in drones for scouting and retrieval. They can't fight this thing, just try to understand its instructions and use those to their advantage.

My options are dry, unarmed, and against such a potent spirit that I am unlikely even successfully to to to connect a spell. I have nothing to fight with - but must I fight Does this spirit wishes to harm us - or is it compelled to do so - and if so, they must have left some room for personal judgment and interpretation, and this is where bargaining is possible. There is always some form of free will, even with slaves. So I take a breath and speak from my guts - what I truly feel about this situation.
Surely a hyper-intelligent, ancient entity such as a great plant spirit would not be happy with such a service and such conditions. Anything this powerful must have a sense of self-worth, en ego and would want tasks worthy of its greatness.

I turn my face to the spirit with the respect I think they deserve “I have no quarrel with you, and I suspect you have no problem with us, great honorable spirit. You are chained and abused in the most humiliating manner - Kept in a little can, in such an unpleasant place, to be used as a trap. It is not appropriate and cannot be pleasant. You deserve a lot better; you deserve respect and appreciation. I understand the limitations of your chains, and I take no offense in anything you are compelled to do - but if you agree to fulfill your service less efficiently - then we will find a way to set you free. ” I add "I, Amy Maka Green - a shaman of the Sioux people, give you my word." With true intentions, as any true shaman must treat a great nature spirit, and I also give the spirit my true name to inspire confidence in my words.

The Plant Spirit... halted.
"You are intruders. But you are not the intruder I was made to expect and hunt.
But I must banish the intruder. So I must banish you."

It moved again, but not apparently with the same zeal as before - instead it seized upon the newly arrived air spirit, slamming it's vines into it.

The spirit of air easily evades the attempt.

Mato follows AM into the workroom. When the massive spirit erupts, he scoops an arm around her waist, pulls her out of the room, and pushes her toward the front door to encourage her rapid egress.

"Time to go!" he suggests.

They race out the front door with the spirit in hot pursuit. The spirit does ... something? Something that's well outside of Mato's realm of experience. AM stops to talk, Tamarind's releasing drones, and Raven is doing... something. It's all so very confusing.

Mato has no real clue what's going on, but the plant spirit is having a freaky effect and he doesn't want to be anywhere near it. He hooks his arm around AM again, pulling her away as his hydraulic jacks pound the ground to buy precious extra meters.

I have no time to gauge the reaction to my little speech because Mato feels like it is time to go and takes us up in the air, down to the floor, up again, and so forth through the thick jungle. Jumping down through the thick vegetation floor after floor, I get a bunch of branches in my air, and a few painful hits as the vines scratch us, but it is totally worth it. I have a silly smile on my face due to the excitement and speed of motion which I only experience in simsense. I could get used to that kind of attention and to that kind of action.

In the back of my mind, I can notice the impending combat between the plant spirit and some other spirit which I assume Raven summoned and Tam's drones making their way to the scene, but these are all in the background. "Wow" I comment speechless as I calm my breath, and realize just how fast did we go.

Moving through the staircase was akin to stumbling through a post apocalyptic ruin, reclaimed by a jungle. Vines, ferns and even tree branches were ready to trip, snare and brain anyone moving too fast. The only quick way down was the open center of the staircase - and there, like an expanding pillar, the rift stood, getting larger by the second. On the other side, the teeming jungle swayed in a gentle breeze. It could have been a peaceful picture, if it wasn't for the plant spirit reminding everyone just what entities were likely hiding in there.

AM and Rachel had enough experience to realize, that all these plants on their side were just astral constructs, given solidity only through everyone's dual natured state.

Screams came from the flats on the lower levels. Apparently the effect of the rift spread through the walls.

Tamarind makes her way down through the staircase as well as she can, happy to stay away from whatever is going on int he middle of things. She'd really like to take time to try and make sense of the astral, but her readings suggest that even when mundanes see the astral, they never can manage to interpret it properly.

It is hard to see the stairs, see the jungle, and follow her AR windows, but she does her best. When she sees that Toothless is at the door and see Trouble, she projects speech through the medical drone "Trouble, can you help with doors at all? If you can it would be a big help."

AM is a big girl - literally and metaphorically - and Mato isn't intending to physically carry here the whole way. But he also knows that her body is 'new' and she might not be accustomed to using it to its full potential yet. Mato went through much the same learning curve when he first received his cyberlimbs. Suddenly he was strong and graceful where he had only been weak and clumsy before.

He activates his hydraulic jacks, both to make his jumps stronger but also to make the landings easier. They do a marvelous job of absorbing impact when landing and really make falling much more pleasant.

Mato handles the obstacles nimbly as he skips over the astral constructs. He doesn't really have the vocabulary to process what he's seeing all around him. Is this is what the mages deal with all the time...? he thinks to himself as he bounces around like Super Mario. No wonder half of them are bent in the head.

Trouble answers Tamarind's question levelheaded and perhaps more stoic than the mortals. Perhaps it is the knowledge that he is unlikely to die - even if he gets disrupted. "I can open all doors with my mind; what do you need?" She can see and hear a talking cat since they are dual-natured and he does talk in the astral. Though, to be fair, it is the least strange thing in the situation. This is an odd experience since the black cat never physically talk.

While the huge plant spirit continues to attack her own spirit, the spirit of air keeps defending instinctively.




Rachel takes a good look at the gigantic plant, even though she is fairly certain that this one has been the work of Victoria, it is always good to be sure.

The witch uses her own movement to stay away from the astral rift as much as possible while continuing her way down towards the ground floor, and ultimately the exit of the building.

"We are no intruders, and we are leaving! But maybe you can help us understand what is going on here."

She also asks her spirit to keep protecting them while taking her a safe distance away from the rift, without hurting the other spirit, and afterwards relay her questions to the other spirit, once she is clear of the astral phenomenon, in the hopes that it can and will answer some of them. Maybe it is easier to talk to another spirit.

Please ask, what the spirit can tell us about the summoner and the others. It was the female that did the summoning and binding, right? Were there any auras that would imply that there is mental control exerted on some of them?

The cursory examination showed that the plant spirit had the same signature as the hermetic lodge. But there were also signs of the other signature on it.

Arcana knowledge check Threshold 3



The plant spirit continued its futile attacks on the air spirit, but answered in that rough, grating voice: "My master is cruel - always calling and binding, binding, binding. Again and again and again. The pain, the pain, the pain. But the other one is worse. Don't let them catch you. They are..."

At that moment something curious happened. The spirit seemed to continue speaking, but no words could be heard. The plant spirit stopped. Rage, pain and despair crossed over the alien plant face. And from one moment to the other, it was sucked back through the ward.

From one second to the other, the rift vanished and with it the astral plants. Only the screaming from inside the two appartments remained.

<< That was... interesting. Guys, what do we do now? These two, they are cruel and ruthless. And also very powerful. Honestly, I am not sure we can handle them, if it comes to a confrontation. And I don't see why they would be up for a friendly chat. I tried to get some more information about them from the spirit, who must know quite a deal, and I was told that much. But then some kind of safeguard triggered and the spirit was forced back inside the apartment. Maybe it is worth a try to get in again, and see, if I can learn more? But it could also be that that was what triggered it. Oh, yeah, and with the word having been broken down, they surely know that someone with magical abilities is here. Also, we might want to calm down the neighbors. >>

Luckily I don't show much-exposed skin, but I got a few bruises, and it all vanished. In retrospect, we should have waited, but who knows? These were some very slick dodges; I admire the control of your body. You are like a dancer. I say quietly as I relax my breath and adrenaline and signal the rest to get to the car and not play superheroes. I begin to despise the way this party behaves and fear the implications of meddling in their affairs.

>> I wondered how long it would take Mr. Harry Potter to discover his wand is showing. In any case, the apartment is a bust. Let's GTFO before half their spirit army is hunting us.

Mato is extremely confused. The things happening here are beyond his realm of experience. Perhaps AM and Raven can explain it to him later. If not? Well then it was not to be understood. He trusted in their knowledge to the point where he didn't feel it would be productive to duplicate it. Better for him to focus on other matters.

<<We should go>> Mato comms. <<We do not have the mental-health expertise that these people require.>>

It sounds cold, and perhaps it is cold, but to him it is logical.

<<Having to talk to Knight-Errant will cost a significant amount of time, and we are already well behind our quarry.>>

He tries to move quickly for the car but doesn't sprint outright. He wants to make sure Raven and Tamarind don't fall too far behind.

<<Tamarind can drive unless she needs to be riding her drones, in which case I'll take the wheel. AM, why don't you start looking for cameras that might indicate what these people are driving and which direction they might have turned.>>

Tamarind was just trying to frame how to describe the door she wanted open in terms that a spirit might understand, when the astral jungle vanishes. She tells Trouble "Never mind now, the situation changed."

Then she orders Toothless back into the van, and the van to pull up by the door. She recalls Auntie 1 to meet her by the exit. Time to pack up and get out.

To the rest of the team she messages <<Everyone OK? Anyone not OK with getting out of here immediately? And finally, where are we headed? Home for everyone to gear up, or somewhere more random to not possibly lead them our way? And speaking of leading them our way, if anyone left blood let's take time to clean it up, and the same goes with any astral fingerprints. These folks seem talented enough to possibly follow us from the smallest breadcrumb, if it it magic related.>>

<< Okay, I will come to the car. But I still have something to do here, so I will head back astrally from there, so we are ready to leave at any moment. Shouldn't take long. Also, what about security cameras? If they record the interior of the staircase and we just leave, that won't look too good, right? >>

Rachel will take a moment to erase her astral signatures from the summoning before heading outside to the car. She will ask her spirit in the meantime to infiltrate through the ward, without breaking it down, and look for the other spirit, always keeping on the defensive, to see if it is possible to learn more from that one. Stay in touch through their connection and immediately relays everything that happens. She apologizes in advance for the terrible astral situation inside the ward. The people who are doing this are terrible. But it is crucial that they learn as much about them as possible, if they are to confront them at some point.

She will also ask for the spirit's opinion about whether it is better for the plant spirit to get disrupted by them, as hurtful as that is, or just leave it be. As there is little else they can do at the moment to ease the obvious suffering endured here.

I nod in agreement to Mato and look for traffic cameras nearby. >>I also want to look at the ritual, if they left they did not skip town they went to do some follow-up ritual. They went to a place where that would be easier I suspect, but I am looking for traffic cameras nearby. As for the doorbell camera - I can hack it, but it may go sideways so it is your choice really.

I look at Mato and text>> Alright, who is left in the list of contacts? Want to just call Victoria or the Forth and see what happens? I mean, we really don't want anything bad happening to them, and we know someone is tracking them.

<< Just wondering, what the right course of action is here. We are here on official business for the owner, have a key, so nothing to worry about, I guess. >>

The air spirit followed it's orders - and had no problems to overwhelm his opponent thanks to the force disparity it didn't take long for the air spirit to disrupt the plant spirit.

The question if it did or did not want to be disrupted didn't come up, as the plant spirit didn't talk or hesitate to attack and fought to the bitter end.

Rachel's spirit showed satisfaction when the other spirit went down.

At the same time, the cockroach drone became active again. It buzzed and sent an ARO, visible to the whole team:
<<We need to talk - call me
Gladius>>

>> Aham... Alright, let's call the guy... I mean, we were about to anyhow." I ensure everyone is ready to chip in and calls Gladius using the number in our file.


"Gladius, Hi. You found an odd moment to ask for a call - but we were about to call you soon. How are you doing? and why are you spying after your friends?" I am usually not that direct, but almost getting banished to the meta plane of plants adds to my directness, and the fact that I was reckless in activating the trap - is another thorn in my ego.

<<You triggered a trap meant for me. I informed myself about you through your matrix site.
I'm down the street in a black GMC Bulldog.
I'd prefer a face to face meeting. Victoria Arione is a very dangerous individual and she wants me dead. The group is on its way across the border to go south to Texas.>>

Now back in the car and out of danger, the adrenaline rush should slow down, but it does not quite do that for Rachel, who is still under the effects of her drug. She appears squirelly and can't keep sitting still. When the others look at her, she just grins sheepishly.

"I had a feeling that he would be the one the trap was meant for. Alright, let's meet him! I doubt he is going to try something. And his knowledge about the others will be invaluable. Besides, the spirit I summoned in the stairwell is still around for a bit and can keep us safe."

I silence the phone briefly to say , "You are amazing, Raven." I say when she mentions the spirit. "I did not see much because I was in the woods, but that spirit is an absolute storm... an incredible talent."

Then I comment to him, "Pretty sure mommy told me never to get into a van with a stranger, but sure let's meet in the van. I am sending my ally Trouble to take a peek, no funny business."


I am not sending Trouble; he is just more curious and less terrified than the rest of us, so he volunteers to be first. It must be liberating to be challenged to kill permanently. Trouble moves at the speed of thoughts, searching for the Bulldog, and then peeks at his head. If he spots Gladius or anything astral, he'll say "peekaboo!"

It takes us a couple more moments to reach the van. I can feel the adrenaline surging in my veins as I approach—the ex-fire watch tech-savvy mage. That was a creative use of a personal assistant agent I must admit." I say to break the ice, and secondly because I am genuinely impressed, that man has some cunning.

Trouble noticed two things: there was a man in the van and there was a spirit in the man.
Both looked at the familiar, but didn't appear hostile.

When the team reached the van, they saw a man in a trenchcoat and what was clearly form fitting body armor beneath it. His short cropped steel grey hair was well accompanied by his steel blue eyes.
He got out of the van and nodded toward the team:
"SIS. You've had some impressive customers. Pike Hall was quite impressed by your work."

He smiled and shrugged at AM's compliment:
"I do what I can with limited tools.

But we don't have time to waste. Tell me: what have you found out so far and I'll try to fill in the gaps."

I do not comment on his assertion about Pike Hall, but I don't feel very comfortable with compliments, but I am glad they are happy. "Worked with them in the past, I presume?" I briefly but politely introduce ourselves though the website really has most of the information. "I am M, and these are Raven, Tamarind, and Mato."


I say "We haven't done much, really; we know that Xavier Junior stole an expensive magical artifact from his father's private collection. Senior wants it back quietly without involving the police or hurting his child. We had just started at Junior's apartment when I accidentally triggered the trap. Did not have time even to clean my face when you called." It is mostly the truth, but I keep the part where we have his video feed for myself. Don't kiss and tale applies to decking more than to kissing. Part of the job is to keep discreet about the online crimes you committed, and laws must be against hacking comlinks, not something I'd like to admit doing openly to a stranger.

In the astral, Trouble addresses the spirit in Gladius directly.
"I am Trouble, what about you? How long do you plan to stay here? Do you like sharing a body?" Trouble asks the spirit inside him;
****
Trouble assenses the spirit and Gladius to determine how powerful they are - and perhaps the spirit's type.

Tamarind would love to leave talking to the talking people, magic to the magic people, and matrix security to actual deckers. The problem was that AM was all three, and couldn't do them all at once. At least they also had other resources for magic and talking.

So she did a scan of their gear for marks, in case anyone had taken advantage of the situation to tag them. Once that was done she checked out Gladius on the matrix side, and finally took a good look at the signature of his van.

Mato scowls.

He wants to tell Gladius, Whoa, hey, buy me dinner before you put your hand on my hoop. But AM is doing the talking.

<<I don't trust him yet>> Mato comms. <<I don't like that he's asking what we found out. He may be competition. Let's slow-play it until we're sure that our goals are aligned.>>

If the fact that Gladius is possessed is shared, Mato will ask his more magically astute teammates: <<In that scenario, can you tell who the 'driver' is, so to speak? Do we know which of them is in control?>>

While AM (and perhaps Raven) do the talking, Mato sets up a loose perimeter and keeps watch. He can use his cyberears - with their audio enhancement and select sound filter - to listen to the conversation.

Ah, talking. Talking is good. Talking keeps you occupied. So, when AM talks, Rachel is more than happy to reply. "Thank you! I know, it was almost reckless, and could have hurt myself, or even worse, but something had to be done there. These guys really pull no punches. Unfortunately, it probably means they are aware of what happened and are warned. But I guess, they expected that, anyways. Still wondering, what the two signatures on the spirit mean. The summoner was the one the lodge belongs to, which more than likely would be Xavier IV himself. If we assume, that the ward was done by Victoria, since it was not the same signature on that one, she also had her hands in the summoning, or possibly binding of the spirit. Or did something else with him, that would place her signature there."



Glad to be free of the constraints of the car, Rachel hops out and paces around the place, while AM does the introductions.

She will look at Gladius and the spirit possessing him with her astral senses in the meantime. Her spirit friend is just hanging around in astral space.



"We also know, that you bought a large amount of more refined reagents. Since they are the ones doing the big rituals, it would make sense that those are for them. Did you have some falling out? Our plan was to look at her apartment next. Have you been there as well? Is it even worth going? Time is precious, after all."

Earlier: "That part is relatively easy; great form spirits are constructed from conjured spirits using invocation and ritual magic. Xavier summoned and bonded the spirit, and Arione, the ritual expert, augmented it with her fancy invocation techniques. Thus the spirit would carry Xaiviers signature, and the construct that augments it would carry Arion's. These are similar techniques to the ones used to make a Familiar like Trouble, but Familiars are gradually built from simpler constructs rather than from spirits. "

On the matrix side, everything seemed clear. Gladius currently had no devices online and the team equippment was mercyfully free of any MARKs.

Trouble recognized the spirit in Gladius as a Guidance Spirit, bearing Gladius' signature as its summoner - and the spirit apparently maintained three spells on their shared body.

Gladius showed up as having good health although with some lingering pain from recent injuries and higher than normal magic, indicating that he was at least twice initiated. One health spell and two manipulation spells permeated his aura. It seemed as if he was in control of the shared body.

Gladius seemed alert, but not afraid. There was an intensity to his personality that radiated like a beacon.

He answered: "I assume you are holding back - I saw you using drones to scout out the place. But fair enough, trust has to begin somewhere:

As you already know, I'm Gladius, former Firewatch operative and currently independent operator, not unlike your outfit.
I've been contacted by Tien IV about a month ago to help him set up a field expedition - a secret one that wouldn't leave traces in public records. He and his girlfriend wanted to test some theories about summoning.
The money was good and I had worked with the family before. So, I got on with it, organized supplies, talked to coyotes and bought a ton of reagents on their request.

That's when I got second thoughts. The reagents were enough to enact either a dozens of large rituals or one or two really gargantuan ones. Protecting the clients gets really hard if they do something so spectacular, that any higher mind in the area would come flooding there.
So I dared to question them about their plans. Tien had me nearly convinced that they just wanted to conduct a long series of experiments. But apparently, that was one question too much for Arione. She sent me to fetch a shipment from the harbor. And it was a trap. A bunch of concrete statues tried to bludgeon me to death, as well as a few gangers with suspiciously expensive assault rifles trying to shoot me.
I got out, but not without getting hurt pretty badly. Unfortunately, I couldn't fake my death, so I used a bit of recon gear to see what was going on, while I patched myself up.

Now I want to find out, what Arione plans. I know they are heading for Texas, but I don't know what they are planning that would be reason enough to kill me."

Earlier: "Ah, yes. That makes sense. I didn't know for sure whether you can use the ritual for a spirit that you did not summon yourself. Also, spirits are not 'constructed', they are sentient beings. They are called from the metaplanes. Our magic only allows them to bridge over into our world. Except for those little guys, I believe. What are they called again? Watchers?"



"Yeah, we know a bit more, obviously. But it's not a whole lot, to be honest, as we just started our investigation here."

"There are a lot of questions still, though. Maybe you can help with those? Do you know about the special item, that they acquired just recently?"

"You certainly look like an accomplished mage. Definitely more experienced than I am. Since you have been in their presence for a while, you probably know quite a bit about the two and what they are capable of, or three, depending on whether that third wheel is also still with them, or was just some puppet they used along the way. We know, they can communicate mentally, probably through some spell. I am still wondering who's in charge, though my money is on Victoria. But is Xavier with her due to a mutual understanding? Or is there something else involved. Maybe you have seen something on their auras."

"And then there is the big question, of course. Motivation. Why are you going after them? Curiosity alone seems a bit far-fetched."

Gladius frowned:

"The Xenobite-Tesseract? Yes, Tien IV mentioned he'd ask his father about the artifact from his collection. It made preparing for the expedition a bit more stressfull to include a multi-million Nuyen artifact.

Creamor is a smart cookie - don't belief for a second that he is just a third wheel. He owes Tien a few favors as far as I understood. That guy managed to survice Boston on his own and get out of it. Not many can boast about that. Though I have to say he looks to have some severe shell shock. At times he just stares into nothing and seems to be completely in his own world, but then he shows that he didn't miss a beat. A mind as sharp as a mirror shard.

That's the extended mind link spell. Creamor is usually the one maintaining it, as he is the best multitasker of the group.

But yes, Arione is definitely orchestrating this. She convinced Tien to set up this operation - I didn't ask how, but if I had to guess, she used both charm and logic to convince Tien. I did assense the whole team as a routine matter and there didn't seem to be mind control involved with Tien. Though that doesn't mean much. I know for a fact that all three have masking foci.

I'm not going after them - or rather I wasn't. But if someone who hires you tries to off you, a fellow gets kind of curious as to why. My guess is that the story Tien told me is bullshit and Arione got nervous about me asking. Since the brunt of the work for the expedition was done, she probably thought she could get rid of me.
The ward at the flat would have let me and my second mind in, but not out again. It was my good fortune that I expected a trap and sent a spy drone in instead.

Because if this team has a blind spot, it's the technical side of things."

Gladius seems a bit off to me; his story lacks details like what gangers and homunculi capable of murder are possible, but they take a lot of time to make, are simple-minded, not very perceptive, and considering the scarcity of mages that can pull up such a feat it is too distinctive of Arione. Most people that try to murder try to obscure their involvement, not make it obvious. Also, the spirit tried to banish someone, not to murder - perhaps being banished ends with murder but perhaps not and it is certainly not the most straightforward to kill an initiated mage. Not that I downplay the dangers of being in another meta plane and not necessarily making it back to your body in time.

"Any other evidence that leads you to believe Arione tries to kill you? Try to think about it, what was in the package... which gangers, did you see these statues before?"

"Also, if you already know they are going to Mexico why are you still here? Either you are on your way to them or you lay low somewhere they'll never find you. Why stay so close to the apartment?"

Tamarind strokes Beauty as she listens through the chrome pigeon's senses, giving herself some distance from this intense man. She also sets her agent on matrix watch so that she can focus more on the conversation.

<<I think that we have done enough sharing of information on an answers-for-answers basis. Not that we have much left to say, but he doesn't know that. I'd really like to know what his intentions are before we tell him more of ours. Obviously finding where in Texas is key information, and what sort of gear and travel plans he put in place would be good to know. But if he has his own agenda, then telling him our intentions wouldn't be wise.>>

Out loud all she says is "Being pummeled by concrete statues sounds awful. I'm glad you were able to get away and heal up. It doesn't sound like something that many people would have survived."

Gladius shook his head: "There is no doubt about it: Arione sent me personally to the warehouse in question. When I got there and picked up the supposed package, a bunch of crates broke open and I was swarmed by little concrete golems, trying to pin me down. At the same time three gangers - probably Crimson Crush - opened up on me with assault rifles with underbarrel grenade launchers.

What else but a planned ambush do you think that is?

And the trap at the flat - it was tailor made to separate me from my higher mind.


I'm still here, because I needed a day to heal up. I was about to cross the border when you guys showed up on my agents monitor."

"I believe you. The spirit was tasked to only attack awakened and he also told me, that he was meant to expect someone specifically. And, quite honestly, I don't see who else that could be but you. Okay, so how do we proceed from here? Assuming we join up forces, what is the plan, once we find them? You can probably guess who our employer is and what our goal is. Yours is still a little nebulous. You had a whole day to make a plan, we only had very little time."

"It sounds like an ambush," Mato agrees, trying to sound conciliatory.

"But what's your plan?" he asks Gladius. "We have to go after them, because that's the job. Are you looking for revenge? There's no profit in it, or so they say."

Mato examines the climbing claws on his hand like someone inspecting their fingernails. "I would disagree, personally, but we are all satisfied by different things."

(AM may recall Mato mentioning that he planted his childhood bully underground last year.)

"Sounds like you worked with their coyotes. How do you think they're getting to Texas? Usually I'd say The Big Dance from Seattle to Denver, and then the End Run from Denver to San Angelo or Austin but..." He sucks in air through his teeth, making a tight whistling sound "... Ghostwalker has Denver buttoned up tight these days, and I don't imagine a couple committed summoners and binders are going to take a chance waltzing through town and drawing the dragon's attention."

I give the man a piece of my mind, hopefully without oversharing our hand.
"I am still trying to piece back the stories, and somehow it feels like you did Arione a favor by not dying. Too much legwork to kill you, too many loose ends if you did, and she is trying not to attract attention. As for the trap, it is a needlessly dramatic method requiring that again requires a lot of effort when using a spirit to attack your higher mind can have a similar outcome. Why go through all that drama and effort just to hurt you?"


>>> Also, for the trap, it was a can opener connected to a motion sensor that somehow triggers a spirit... Didn't Gladius say they are not very tech-savvy? Because this is expert-level tinkering. I am getting a bit suspicious --- if I did not know better, I'd say he set up the trap. It is more similar to what he did with the drone and secretary .

Gladius nodded at Mato:
"Yes, the Denver route is gone, but there are still a few paths to take that lead around the city. If I had been eliminated, they could use them, now they'll have to rely on Creamor and his knowledge of crossing the country.

As to my motivation: I hate traitors - and letting something like this slide isn't good for your rep. Also, I have a feeling that Arione isn't what she pretends to be. I had lots of experience with fleshform bugs and this whole thing smells like a particularly bad infestation."

At AM's accusatory tone he just rose an eyebrow:

"I agree: it was over engineered. Though at the same time actually pretty smart. They knew I'd be looking for magic traps. Using technology, even if it's only a can opener to trigger the trap was a good try. Just tells that it was done by a creative mind with little experience.

And without revealing too much: It's hard to find me if I don't want to be found."

"That was one of my first suspicions, when we learned that the behaviour of Xavier changed after he met Victoria. Mental control, possession, something along those lines. Insect spirits would certainly fit that picture. Or that stuff that went down in Boston? The masking foci you mentioned clearly point towards them hiding something. I mean... duh! But especially if they all have those, that is not likely to be just for privacy concerns. I still hope that this is not the real him. Would be difficult to bring him back otherwise."

trying to make peace because I am not suspicious of him. Well, I am, but not in particular, I suspect everyone until proven otherwise. I was thinking that perhaps someone has played him to separate the team from its security. "Excuse me, but I am still processing that that spirit actually tried to kill us. Leaving a death trap at home is extreme, especially when the father has a key. "

I want to scream... why did we agree to do this - it is amazing money but murder mages, seriously? Three of them with their foci and academic degrees and murder? I thought about murder twice, dammit. I am not cool with it, I am afraid, and I was reckless, and I tried. I smile at Raven appreciating how smart she is, connecting the dots - something is very wrong, and I feel so out of my depth. I wish I could find something. I think that my face loses its color when Galdius mentions bug spirits. Wanting to be gone from the conversation and into the privacy of my matrix persona, I say
"Okay, I don't normally admit these things, but there is not much time to mess around. I took your last drone feed, can you share more? Also, if you know which car they took off in it would save time. I'll try to trace their route to make an educated guess on how they crossed the border. "

Work off that fear, keep busy, and don't think about that boogymen at night. I think to myself.

"You probably did not notice in the confusion, but the spirit completely ignored the mundanes and only went after awakened."

Rachel is still too hyped up to really process what they are doing here. Of course, going up against these mages is somewhat suicidal, especially with no real time to prepare properly. But with Gladius at their side, and a clear advantage on the techological side of things, maybe they actually can come up with a solid plan. Any straight-up confrontation is definitely not going to end well. On the magical side, they are clearly outclassed here.

But the way these people treat others, people and spirits alike, is just awful, and who knows what crazy ritual they are preparing with that stolen artifact.

Money is one thing, and the money is certainly good. If it was just that, Rachel would probably propose dropping this whole gig. But this goes beyond money. These people have to be stopped. And they are the only ones in a position to do so.

If people even is the correct term for them.

Mato doesn't look particularly disturbed by the speculation about Victoria.

"Could be bugs," he says, "could be blood. Texas is awfully close to Aztlan.

"Gladius surviving does scuttle whatever travel plans they had previously. That gives us an opportunity to catch up. With luck, Creamor hasn't been to Texas before, so maybe that slows them down a step.

"The question then becomes how they are traveling: by land or by air. If they're catching a t-bird - which doesn't seem impossible given the resources at their command - then they'll be moving quickly. The t-bird jockeys makes runs in and out of Cascade Ork all the time."

He looks to Gladius.

"Do we know where in Texas? The alternative is we travel there directly and set a trap. We can move legitimately, and thus more quickly than they can."

"San Angelo, a town right next to the border to Atzlan." Gladius confirmed

"And yes, if you are working for Tien III, as I infer from your previous comments, it would be time to ask him about his private jet. Getting there a few days before them, might give us a chance to set an ambush. All discussed options concentrated on moving on the ground. Though a strong enough Mindshard could produce a strong enough acceleration effect to make that travel comparable to flying.

They went off in a Tata Hotspur, though I doubt they'll keep the car after they cross the border. A change of vehicles was always included, no matter the plan.

And sure, you can have the videos. I sent my suit and the drones immediately after I had myself stabilized. But there isn't much there. Just the three having staring contests while using the mindnet. They went about preparing the ritual and packing their bags.

Tien must have taken the focus from his father while I got ambushed. By the way, what exactly does that focus?"

"It can be used to summon potentially any kind of spirit, regardless of tradition."

Mato doesn't elaborate further. He knows that Gladius will immediately understand the implications.

He nods about the private jet. "Indeed. Well, 22C would be a nice change from the weather in Seattle. Maybe it'll even get a little bit hot." His climbing claws flash out, then retract.

He looks around. "Tamarind, you still have any friends in the Denver area? Smugglers who might be able to tip us off about someone doing The End Run from Denver to San Angelo?"

Tamarind sighs, meanwhile making the Sioux Sign Language suggestion "ask superior officer" aka Razak. Whatever its origins, the sign language has evolved with the militarization of Sioux society. So conveniently this set of signs is well developed.

Then she admits "I was sent to Denver, well the FRFZ, reluctantly, and I didn't really like the crews I was working with much. So no, I didn't really make friends or stay in touch ... or give them any warning when I was bugging out. I know some about the smuggling business, but I don't have useful contacts left IN the smuggling business. I'd say get down there first and do our best to be ready for them. Probably time for me to mention that my firepower amounts to a few flying eyes with tasers, self-defense for detective work, not amped up for taking on powerful mages."