Giles steps to the center of the room, giving a respectful bow to the other three, his long hair pulled back neatly and beard trimmed close. Through the dim light, the others can see the man's grey coming through his hair and beard as he speaks.
"You all realize already, that I compiled a list of concerns for our new order here, and I am sure you all have taken a look at it. It is my opinion, and I hope our Master agrees, that it is time we did something about some of these concerns." The man pauses and addresses Justin. "First of all, we will be needing the services of a conjurer, who can renew and maintain our elemental guards in this place. Also, we will need a larger membership if should carry the fight to the Black Hand in the future. I believe that the Master and I should seek help from the Alabaster Maiden, and also keep an eye out for ways we can loosen the Black Hand's grip on that place. These three tasks, I believe can be completed as one." As the man finishes, he turns to face dignified Koe. "Koe," He begins, "Crimson, the leader of the Red Rovers go-gang, who provide outside security for us has informed me of a message from someone calling himself Malexzhigeir. He wishes to speak with someone who can speak for the Master. He says that his aims are not dissimilar to our own, and he has an opportunity for us to establish a financial base for our organization. Master Blake has deemed that you would be the most appropriate person to send, as you are skilled in the art of tradition and honor, and truely represent that which our group represents. He has requested to meet at the Space Needle restaurant tonight at 8." Not waiting for an answer, Giles turns finally to Ichigo. "There is an opportunity for war, for you sir." Taking a long look at Ichigo's missing left arm, Giles continues. "The Red Rovers are locked in a war, and the battlefield is the Everett docks. Their enemies, the First Nations gang is slowly making inroads on them and while they help protect this place, they don't have the power to stand on their own. You, my friend, are needed to help turn the tide of our friends' war. Though a great commander you may be, this will still be quite a challenge. Crimson has requested you to come to their safehouse in the Everett dock district." Giles, passes a piece of paper with an address scrawled on it to Ichigo's good hand. "You are to relieve the lieutenant in charge there and take over operations yourself."

With his part said, Giles gives up the floor to any comments and questions.

Giles, answers Koe calmly. "From what I understand, I'm not sure Malexzhigeir is a "mister" at all. But Crimson was pretty vague. I'm sure if he had any more info, he would've given it to me. In any case, I certainly don't know anything about him. If you have any research you would like to do, including buying clothes, I would take care of it soon though. Do you need an money for clothes? I have a small amount I could give you. If not, good luck tonight."

"Then we should get moving. The more time we spend idle, the more time our enemies have to move on us. We can call her on the way there, but it would serve us well to get there early so we can keep an eye on new arrivals as they come...shall we?"

After bidding good luck to Koe on his endeavour, we leave the hall and make our way to the nearest bus stop. Ever on edge, Giles pays close attention to our surroundings and the activity of the neighborhood. The streets feel at peace tonight.

As you board the bus, you see an ork youth listening to headphones, a woman feeding her infant, and an old woman, clutching her groceries tight as the bus takes off. On the way to the Alabaster Maiden, you call Jessica, who answers promptly.

"Hey Justin, I hope you're doing alright. It's strange that you mentioned those guys, the Black Hand or whatever. We had three of them get killed out back a few nights ago. It was strange, because whoever got them, cut them up pretty bad." She pauses and then continues. "There have been a lot of those guys around. Most of the other "groups" are on the sly with them, and they know they can't cause trouble inside. It's when people get outside things get rough. I hope you're not planning on stirring up trouble with them. I don't know what they're into, but it doesn't feel right. They always have at least one guy here...right now they have two. Both looking all done up too in nice black suits."

You take your vehicle and pick up some nice clothes, taking the extra time to get a fitting rather than pick a presized getup. After getting al squared away, you pay the clerk 350 for the suit, and then make your way to the Space Needle.

Arriving a half-hour early, you take the elevator to the observation deck where the restaurant is located. As you step off, you are met by a server, a well-dressed female in what you guess to be her late 20's.

"Good evening sir, do you have a reservation?"

You tell her your here to meet Malexzhigeir, and she checks the list.

"Please come ths way." She announces.

You follow her through the restaurant, looking out the rotating observation deck at the breathtaking Seattle skyline. The lights of the skyscrapers look so beautiful, betraying the suffering that many of them are built upon. The server leads you to a table where a well-dressed and good-looking Asian man is quietly reading his menu. As you approach, he stands up, setting down his menu and gently bowing.

"It is good to see you could make it." He begins. "I trust you are here to speak on behalf of your master?" You can tell that he is impressed by the style and cut of your suit.

"Oh that's good news." Giles replies sarcastically. "I'll try not to kill too many of them and leave some for you then."

As the bus pulls up to the stop near the club, Giles reaches up and pulls the stopcord. The bus' air breaks puff as the vehicle comes to a stop. Disembarking, you look at the club from afar. The neon lights of the club's sign cast an eerie glow accross the sidewalk, and the traffic passing by in the street. Without delay, you make your way there.

Passing through the large, arched doorway, the interior of the Maiden comes to life before you. Pulsating light and rhythmic, arcane music fills your ears as you walk past the large ork bouncer, who is wearing a typical decked out "mage" robe. You chuckle...looks just like the movies. Past the beautiful Alabaster statue of that ill-fated mage for whom the club was named, you see the bar and a sparse sea of patrons. At either side of the club are numerous archways leading to the halls where some magical groups rent space as guildhalls.

"Maybe we should lay low, get a drink and check these people out for a bit?" Giles suggests. "What do you think?" He asks over the music.

The man is again impressed with your respectful attitude. "Yes, we shall order." he answers.

You both order, and over a good meal made better by a terrific view, you discuss business. The asian man begins calmly:

"I will begin by informing you that I too speak only in place of my master. Melexzhigeir is very interested in certain events that have transpired with your master, and has interests which he believes would be interesting to you as well. You are familiar with the element known as Orichalcum? It is a very rare thing indeed, useful in many different applications of magic." The man explains. "You may have heard, that it can only be made through alchemy, but recently, with the coming of the comet, it was discovered in naturally occurring forms." The man raises an eyebrow to punctuate his sentence then continues. "My master knows of a deposit, and wishes to establish a mining operation. As I said, he looks upon your struggles with great interest, and knowing that you are in financial need, is willing to extend an offer." Without waiting for a response, the man launches into his next statement. "He wishes your help in clearing up a problem that has occurred with his mining operation, and in exchange is willing to offer a percentage of the mining profits, as well as a portion of the product itself. Do you feel up to the job? I understand you must have questions, and I am more than willing to answer what I can if it helps."

You make your way to the bar and order a drink, covering Giles' drink as well. After paying and tipping the bartender, you turn and look around the club for the individuals Jessica described to you over the phone. Quickly, you spot Jessica, who returns your glance with smile and a nod to her right. Looking to that direction, you spot two men, dressed to kill in all black. Both are human and appear to be conversing with eachother. One is older, with a large scar running from his forehead accross his left eye clear down to his cheek. The other, much younger and attractive, has the look of a subordinate. "The scarred one is known to me," Giles states. "My mentor gave him that scar."

Suddenly, you hear a crash behind you. Quickly turning to assess the situation, you see a youth with scraggly short blonde hair grab a towel and begin picking up pieces of glass from the floor behind the bar. "Sorry man, i didn't see that there." He apolagizes to the batender. The bartender replies with a sigh.
"Just get it picked up." He turns away, and then looks back. "..and Max, go ahead and kick back for a little while, you've helped out enough."

Not demanding your further attention, you turn back to watch the Black Hand members, just in time to see them get up and move swiftly towards the Alabaster statue. They make quick time and it isn't long until you spot the object of their attention, an attractive elf girl with long blonde hair. They stop her at the base of the statue and appear to be having some sort of disagreement. At one point, the scarred man violently grabs her hand, then pushes it away as they continue to argue.

The asian man respectfully replies. "My master is fully aware of your moral obligations, and would not ask you to break them. Though his offer may sound generous, It is because it is also very dangerous. The mining facility is located approxamately 300 kilometers inland of Halley base, in Antarctica. It is a completely automated facility, and has not been heard from in some time. The last time a drone carrier was sent to pick up an orichalcum shipment, it was not heard from again, and believed to be lost in a storm. We have not gotten any reliable reports for some time, as the facility is small and very remote."

"Well as you put it," the Asian man retorts, "Antarctica is not a very accomadating place. As far as we know, a rather severe storm has disrupted the operation. The locals would know more, but we do not wish to make inquiries with them lest they should somehow be involved. Orichalcum is very valuble after all." He stops for a moment as if trying to recall something from memory. "Not many know of the operation, but any who would are most likely locals. Even then...it is quite remote."

"We only require somebody to find out what happened, and if it is anything more than a storm, we would like it dealt with if it is reasonable to do so. Due to the difficulties of reaching the facility, we do not want to send a full maintainance crew out to fix a bent antennae." The asian man jokes. "Your job would be one of observation, assessment and report."

"Ah, the specifics." The asian man begins. "We can provide you transportation via air to southern Chile, followed by sea transport to Halley base. I reccomend you purchase your own gear before you go, as many things are hard to find down there. This should include rations, navigation systems, land transport, and anything else you may find you need. We can provide you with 20,000 to purchase these supplies. Anthing left, you can spend as needed when you get there or beforehand." The man waits for approval, but adds one more thing. "Will there be just you, or do you intend to take anybody along? We need to know that we may book transport."

The asian man painfully replies. "Well, I would suggest that you take not too many, as the money offered was in fact all that can be spared at the moment. If you would like some time to contact your associates, I must call my master and inform him of what we have discussed thus far." With that, the asian man gets up and leaves the table, making his way to the waiters' station. You see him exchange words and then the waiter hands him a telephone to use. He dials, and then turns away from the waiter.

You continue watching the confrontation at the pasty white statue. After exchanging more words, the scarred man motions his hand, silencing the girl. She stares at them wordless and they turn and return to their table. After they return to their seats, the girl walks to a table and has a seat. A waitress comes to serve her, but the girl appearantly declines, shooting nervous glances towards the men who had confronted her every now and then. It appears they are still keeping an eye on her. Giles leans over to you and whispers. "They will recognize me. If you would like to speak with the girl I'm sure I can grab their attention long enough for you to slip into a private booth

As Giles finishes his sentence, his pocket secretary rings. He answers. "It's Koe. He wants to talk to you." Giles says, handing you the phone.

Giles picks up his phone. "Hello. Good evening friend, you want to speak with Master Blake? I hope that means the meeting has gone well so far. Here, I will hand the phone to him."

Giles nods in acknowledgment and moves towards the far wall so as the approach the scarred man and his companion from a direction that would force them to look away from the girl. After moving through the crowd, you see Giles make a slight gesture with his hand as he approaches them, a spell you guess, confirmed when you see the scarred man's drink tip over by itself into his lap. Making himself known, you see Giles say something to the scarred man, causing both to turn to face him. From what you can see, the exchange is anything but friendly.

With the enemy distracted, you take a good look at the young lady as you move quickly to her position. She looks very athletic and attractive, with strong green eyes. You can't spot any weapons on her to speak of. As you get closer, she looks as if acknowledging a warning, and turns to face you. "Can i help you?" She asks defiantly.

You finish up on the phone with Justin as the asian man returns and takes his seat at the table. "So," he begins. "Were you able to converse with your master?"

The asian man thinks for a moment and then replies. "Halley base is fairly large, 200 people maybe. It is a popular spot for tourists to Antarctica because of it's position to watch the southern lights. I believe you may be able to find a rental at the base, but I cannot guarantee that. The mining operation is about 300 km inland of Halley."

"Well that's not really your business now is it." She shoots back. "They are just...friends of mine." She says nervously.

"Listen," She say irritatedly. "You don't know who those guys are, and if they see you talking to me, you're going to be in some trouble. So do yourself a favor, and walk away before they see you."

The girl is taken aback by your firm resolve. Grudgingly, she beats out a reply. "Fine. If you're looking for trouble then you'll have it. Let's get out of here."

You look to Giles and the Black Hand members and see Giles, hands slightly out to his sides, walking a slow circle with the scarred man and his companion, who both clutch focuses in their hands. Taking the opportunity, you slip out the back with the girl, who as soon as you're out hits you with a question. "So, you want to tell me what this is all about?"

"Ummm, ok then..." The girl spouts sarcastically. "You're "The One"...ok. Well whatever you're talking about, you sound like you have your own problems." She turns as to walk away and casts one last sentence. "I'm sorry about your mother, but those goons are holding my mother right now unless I pay them a lot of money, so I have to get on that right away."

The asian man smiles as you agree. "If you report to SeaTac airport before 7pm tomorrow, you can pick up your ticket at the South American Airways desk and depart at 7:20. When you arrive in Santiago, Chile, you will have to transfer to a small turboprop plane (covered on your ticket) to transport you to Punta Arenas. The transport ship Arctic Star will be ported there. It's carrying supplies for Halley, and you may be able to finagle more equipment from the crew. In any case, they will be expecting you and will grant you passage. If there is nothing else, then I believe I will be going. I wish you luck in this endeavor."

She pauses, shocked. "Well i don't know where she's being held, but if you think it's possible, I want to help."

"I've never done anything like that before, but I can hold my own I guess. We need to find out where they're keeping my mother though." She answers.

"Rest assured," The asian man assures. "...we will be in contact with you." With that, the asian man stands, fixes his coat, and makes his way out, leaving certified cred at the table to cover the bill.

When you try to call Giles on his pocket secretary, you get a beep after 5 rings that takes you straight to voice mail. After leaving your message, you head back to the guild hall.

Since your initiation into the group, and being touched by "The One"s aura, you are pleased to find that the wards do not trigger for you anymore upon entering the hall. Meaning for you, less false alarm responses from the Red Rovers. After making your way in, you settle into the hall's expansive library, looking for any references to the Antarctic you can dig up, including anything pertaining to "The One". Starting with an exaustive search of the prophecies, you find an obscure passage referring to "the weapon of balance", a nondescript item that from the text seems to be magical in nature. It is referred to further as "constructed of the arcane gold", which through not a terrible leap could be referring to orichalcum. The way this links to the antarctic is that it supposedly "rests where the earth does not turn". One of the poles possibly?
After this, you move on to a more general search through the hall's records, finding a passage of interest referring to a malicious spirit known as the silap innua. The silap innua are supposedly manifest as terrible storms and have been known to call great winds and even lightning. Appearantly, they are only found on the antarctic continent. The passage does not go into terrible depth, and that is all you are able to glean from it.
On a more ominous note, you find references to the southern lights, and according to the records of the hall, they are a rift in the manasphere. When the lights are aligned a certain way, "as curtains" the book says, they lead elsewhere. It does not go into detail about where they lead. Only calling it "the land of stars". It is well-known however, that space is considered a mana warp, and any astral projecting done outside the atmosphere usually results in the instant death of the mage. However, the passage is compelling, though you need not worry about it. Being an aspected mage, you cannot astrally project, only perceive.

You carefully place old terry book marks into the books to hold the passages you have found, and meticulously place the books back into their rightful place on the hall's many shelves. With no matrix connections at the guildhall, you leave once again, hitting a 'matrix cafe' coffee shop to do some online research. You look up some general information pertaining to antarctic travel. From what you can tell, you should be pretty well equipped. Interestingly, it very much discourages travel by foot over long distances, and sled dogs don't fare as well in the antarctic as in the arctic. The preferred method of travel would be an industrial snowsled, but those run in the hundreds of thousands. Possibly, you may be able to contract a driver that owns one.
Halley base was first established by the British and is popular for it's great view of the southern lights Aurora Australis. It is a hub for travel and tourism, what little the remote continent receives. Often it attracts wealthy thrill seekers, and self-styled "explorers". Little more than idle rich seeking the end of the earth. It is also one of the few, if not the only place in antarctica to find decent food or drink.
You find many references to the Orichalcum rush and the frenzy of the corps to capitalize upon it. It brought the antarctic more activity that it had ever seen. What is interesting is that deposits were not found within the ground like elsewhere in the world, but within deposits of ice. Orichalcum had never been seen to occur natural, it had to be created by alchemy, and now rumors are that as mysteriously as it appeared, it has all dried up. Though this could be only speculation as many deposits were strip-mined dry.
After all your searching, you are unable to find other pertinant information, your eyes very tired from the glare of the computer screen.