[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
We're not exactly kitted for a fight with Yinzheng. And considering Serafina is in hiding and Yinzheng is NWO, we probably do not want to be drawing attention to leads. If Yinzheng finds out about Serafina, she might be able to find her before us. Which as Serafina is quite squishy, is not optimal by a long shot.
[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
- [X] "Pilot Langara is essential to this project. He has opened up to you recently; take him with you and see that he continues to bond with you. We need him stable and combat-ready once the prototype is completed.
Cavalier also makes a pretty good case for the Golden Chalice.
I also support [X] Golden Chalice because we haven't seen much of it, really.
We've seen one Golden Chalice master working on a personal mission he trusted to none of his disciples. We haven't interacted with the political facet of the Chalice. And for all the Chalice looks superficially like the New World Order, their philosophies are different in a very interesting way.
The New World Order says that the right man in the right place and the right time can fundamentally change the path the world takes.
The Golden Chalice says that the right man in the right place and the right time can fundamentally change the path the world takes.
They're not the Shadow Ministry-even if the seriousface Euthanatos work with the seriousface kinds of Etherites. They're renaissance men and women all-philosophers, commandos, politicians, and assassins. They also have surprising similarities to Janice in paradigm-they do alchemy and artificing, but they're not paradigm snobs and are willing to take on and encourage technomancers to join them (admittedly because their requirements are so steep they can't be choosy). They bring significant political force and because of their role in the Ascension War as self-proclaimed guardians of mankind's fate, they have an incentive finding young up-and-comers who might be able to bring them more influence by slowly outnumbering and replacing the old guard.
(Also, this way leads to Michael Thorton jokes because the two Chalice divisions are the Alpha Protocol, who do subtle infiltrations and assassinations, and the Omega Protocol, who load themselves up with permanent alchemical infusions and purify their blood until their divine ancestry is apparent and kick down doors, bouncing bullets off of their perfectly formed pectorals[1])
[1] Like most frontline ass-beaters, Enhancement is a very common Omega Protocol background, because they do things like "anoint their commandos in the water of the River Styx, burning away mortal weakness" or "ritually sacrifice an entire wolf-pack they killed bare handed to the hunt gods, giving a team of Omega Protocol soldiers the instinctive pack coordination, speed, and lethality of the wolf" and the like. Not guys you'd like to meet in a dark alley if they don't like you.[2]
[2] Also, they commonly trade with the Greek gods for very carefully chosen spirit endowments. Since Janice invokes a lot of gods, she may be able to learn a bit from them. Probably can't get their bulk discount on superhuman ability though.
(Also, this way leads to Michael Thorton jokes because the two Chalice divisions are the Alpha Protocol, who do subtle infiltrations and assassinations, and the Omega Protocol, who load themselves up with permanent alchemical infusions and purify their blood until their divine ancestry is apparent and kick down doors, bouncing bullets off of their perfectly formed pectorals[1])
We Asked For This
[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
- [X] "Pilot Langara is essential to this project. He has opened up to you recently; take him with you and see that he continues to bond with you. We need him stable and combat-ready once the prototype is completed."
Changing my vote to this.
Because: yesssss, this is basically everything I wanted. MOAR Giant Robots fight.
[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
- [X] "Pilot Langara is essential to this project. He has opened up to you recently; take him with you and see that he continues to bond with you. We need him stable and combat-ready once the prototype is completed.
We Asked For This
[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
- [X] "Pilot Langara is essential to this project. He has opened up to you recently; take him with you and see that he continues to bond with you. We need him stable and combat-ready once the prototype is completed."
I have a stated policy of pandering to the QM. I believe that inviting more suffering is an excellent way to do that here.
[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
- [X] "Pilot Langara is essential to this project. He has opened up to you recently; take him with you and see that he continues to bond with you. We need him stable and combat-ready once the prototype is completed."
Making our own problems saves MJ work grants us some control of the situation.
[X] The Golden Chalice (x0.8)
They seem sorta bland in comparison to the more eclectic choices available but magical death commandos are always an interesting choice.
[X] "Doctor Leon wishes that you assist him in security and oversight of a project. You will be going to Tokyo to provide protection and assist in containing any breaches."
- [X] "Pilot Langara is essential to this project. He has opened up to you recently; take him with you and see that he continues to bond with you. We need him stable and combat-ready once the prototype is completed.
The car is parked in a slushy lot outside the rest stop. They'd had to stop so Chris could go to the bathroom, and right now Janice is feeling ill at ease. Sure, she's borrowing a fifteen year old clunker just in case someone was following her and it had been making grinding noises, but… for the engine to cut out now didn't seem good. And it was meant to be easy! Just a four hour drive. She keeps her eyes on the police car parked on the other side of the road, even as she pops open the bonnet and takes a look inside.
Chris pokes her head out the engine. "Want me to try to start the engine again?"
"Yeah." The car revved again, but the engine didn't catch. "So it's not that the battery is flat," she says, thinking to herself out loud. "Tell you what. Go in to the gas stop and see if they have any… hmm. Mineral water, oil, and anti-freeze. We might as well try topping up the oil and checking that it's not freezing. And I'm thirsty."
"Aww. But it's cold."
"I'm going to keep on poking around and see if… I don't know, there's anything obviously broken."
"Urgh." The other woman clambers out of the car. "Fine."
She heads off, giving Janice time to think. They're heading north, up to the appropriately named town of New Salem. There's a decent-sized Verbena group there with impeccable Traditionalist credentials. They're a bunch of tech-unfriendly reactionaries, but Chris knows their leader - in the Biblical sense - and trained with them. So that's why they've got a gift in the back of the car for them, and the kind of formal dress robes that Janice hates wearing and only ever puts on when she's getting all formal in front of the Illuminated Brethren and other stuck up Traditionalist sorts who expect her to wear formal garments.
It's a bunch of rubbish, but it makes them happy. Now isn't the time for her to expand on her explanations for why society empowers certain modes of dress and setting up your own petty hierarchies based on your defiance of social norms is something you should be very careful about.
"Got them," Chris calls out as she picks her way across the slush. She's swaddled up in winter clothes and has a bright pink bobble hat which clashes with her green jacket and red skirt. Janice is fairly sure that Chris is probably colourblind, but she claims she isn't. It's possible that she just can't coordinate colours to save her life.
"Thanks," Janice says, taking the bottles from her. She pulls an incense stick from her handbag, lights it and places it on top of the engine block. She then pours the mineral water and a bit of antifreeze into the windscreen wiper tank, and carefully daubs the sign of Mercury on the inside of the bonnet, before topping up the oil. Crossing her hands, she calls briefly on Mercury - for travel - and Hephaestus - for craftsmanship - to aid the engine, and keep it working.
"Okay!" she calls to Chris. "Try it again."
This time the engine catches. "Just needed some more oil and antifreeze, I guess," Janice says out loud, snuffing out the incense and tossing it into the bin. "Come on. Let's go. We're behind time already."
"Yeah," Chris agrees, warming her hands on the hot coffee she bought for herself.
The heater in the car has also started working. Silently Janice thanks the gods for their generosity. Invoking them by their Greek names tends to work pretty well when machinery is involved. Probably linked to the way the Greeks laid the foundations for a lot of modern thought.
The rest of the drive passes smoothly. There's a tense bit where they pull into a layby and hide offroad to make sure that a police car that'd been following them for a few minutes didn't have Technocratic intentions, but it passes by just fine and after a suitable wait, they're off on the road again. The first sight of the Quabbin Reservoir is a sign that they're getting close.
The snow around here is still thick on the ground, and doesn't seem to be melting. The grey sky overhead merges into the land.
"I really hated the winter here when I was living in New Salem," Chris says miserably, rummaging in her bags on the backseat for another jumper. "I know the winter is when the world rests for the new life yet to come, but I wish I could just hibernate through this whole stupid cold season. Like a bear."
"Then get some bear blood," Janice says, pulling down a narrower road.
"Nah, I'd lose myself to the bear. I don't want to be a bear. I just don't want to have to live through winter."
Janice smiles. "Is this the address?"
"Yeah. Just take a right up there, towards the church. We'll check there first."
New Salem is ridiculously small in Janice's eyes. There's less than a thousand people in the town, and to the best of her knowledge nearly a fifth of them are involved in the Verbena group here to a lesser or greater extent. The local church is a front for the cult, with one set of ceremonies for the uninitiated and a second set for the inner circle.
Sighing, she parks where Chris tells her to, and lets the younger woman pick her way over the ground to approach one of the houses close to the white church. Her stomach is buzzing, but a quick self-calming meditation lets her keep it down. She hopes this will go well. It has to. Chris just has to explain things right so that they'll actually see her.
She'd go crazy if she had to live here. She's a city girl who's moved from coast to as needed. These kinds of small time places are… well, they're so static. It's the wrong part of the country for Deliverance-style duelling banjos, but if she wasn't a witch she'd be very, very reluctant to sleep in any local B&B for fear of someone trying to murder her in the night.
Chris is headed back out, and from the expression on her face, it's good news. Wrapping her sensible coat tight around herself, Janice gets out of the car and makes sure she has her bag of magical tools - and yes, a pistol too - with her just in case. And the gift, of course.
"Good news?" she checks.
"Yeah," Chris says enthusiastically. "Well, I mean, she's about as willing to talk to you as normal."
"Good enough," Janice says, feeling glad that she cast a blessing on herself before this trip. She had been worried that the car engine failure was a sign that fate had decided to turn on her.
An olive-skinned man who looks in his sixties with iron-grey hair waits at the door for her. Janice widens her eyes. "Francesco bani Euthanatos," she says, inclining her head to him. What is a member of the Golden Chalice doing here?
"Janice bani Verbena," he says, neutrally, leaning on his cane. "Good day to you. I was just leaving anyway. Just a private meeting with the leader of this coven. No doubt you have things within your own Tradition to handle."
"It is an affair of the Verbena, yes," she says, picking her words with care.
He smiles. "I would have thought that the weather is a little cold for dancing skyclad," he says.
She rolls her eyes and gives a little huff. He knows very well her opinion of such things - namely, if that's how you get your kicks, then it's fine, but speaking practically it's a terrible idea to try to do it in Central Park. Admittedly, she did a few times, but that was ages ago and she's grown up - and sobered up - since then. And the energies of Central Park are totally wrong for most workings anyway. Being a witch in Manhattan requires a lot more savvy than being a witch in a rural area like this.
"Well, farewell," Francesco says, sticking his gloved hands in his pockets and putting his black hat on. He is, in fact, dressed all in black, broken only by his expensive golden wristwatch, the golden buttons on his coat and an alpha-shaped golden lapel pin. He pauses. "One thing. Some advice, so that you do not tarnish your karma. Beware the knight. Witches such as yourself have long had problems with men who would light the fire beneath the stake."
She pauses. Considers what he said. Considers what she blurted out to her coven. "So that we are even," she says carefully, not wanting to be in his debt even implicitly, "the day before yesterday, I had an unwanted prophecy. I don't know what it means. 'Purity of intent is our foe. The wolves in the darkness are pure and so they will destroy us if they can. To compromise is human. They cannot tolerate that'. If you can use that, do with it what you will."
He tips his hat to her. "I will remember this," he says, in a way which leaves her with a nasty feeling that he gave her a warning just so she'd pass that to him. "You have never been an enemy of ours."
Which is not the same as being a friend, she thinks as he heads down the path and climbs into his car. What's his game?
But she has other things to focus on right now. Because she's following Chris in, stamping the snow off her boots, and being shown into the dimly lit house. It's dim outside, but the inside is only lit with candles and oil lamps. While she notes the presence of some flashlights, there's no electric lights in here.
She takes a breath, and enters the sitting room. Candles are arranged over every surface, burning with a softly flickering light. The walls are covered in paintings and sketches - and there's a bit of Janice's head which considers this a fire risk. Mirrors have been arranged around the room to maximise the light. Some of the mirrors don't reflect the room as it is right now.
There's another woman here,
"Loremistress Selene Mason bani Verbena," Janice says, addressing her as a peer. Which they are within the eyes of their Tradition, as leaders of a coven. This kind of technical correctness rubs Janice the wrong way as it's really a Hermetic thing, but… well. She'll take what she can get.
"Seeker Janice Moullin bani Verbena," Selene says in response, with a carefully measured bow of her head.
Selene herself is young - perhaps in her mid-twenties - and notably pregnant. She dresses in simple undyed fabric, which mostly conceal the careful, thin tattoos and scarification on her limbs and torso. Her hair is silvery despite her youth, a mark of the family. They say that their ultimate mother was left on a doorstep during a blood-red lunar eclipse and certainly their magic seems bound to the moon. The same slight otherworldliness surrounds her - the air smells like dew and has an edge of chill to it even deeper than this winter. She's an icy beauty, and the world knows it.
She wouldn't be leading the sect at this age normally, but her mother handed over control to her five years ago and went off to fight the Technocracy. She died in a raid on a Progenitor laboratory facility, cut down by a freak in living armour who moved faster than even someone channeling the powers of the Mother Goddess. Damage Control does such terrible things to nature to further the Technocracy's genocidal goals.
"Blessings be upon you and upon this house," Janice says. She steps forwards and carefully places the gift in the centre of the room, in the centre of the candlelight. "With my compliments, I offer this gift to you."
There's a moment of choice here.
"I freely accept this gift," Selene says after enough of a pause that Janice was worrying. "Welcome to my household, sister. What brings you to this hallowed place, away from the noise and uncaring cruelty of New York?"
Janice notices just at the moment when she fractionally glances at Chris that Selene is doing the same. It makes her feel a little better. Neither of them want to upset their mutual friend, so they're going to play nicely. Or at the very least, keep an aggression down to stiffly polite passive-aggressiveness, which is… uh, not uncommon between two witches who dislike each other.
She inclines her head. "You may know that for the past month or so, I have been trapped in the digital space known as the Spy's Demise," she begins. "I managed to slip a few messages out, but it was a very close thing and I only escaped a few days ago, when the beast folk managed to open a moon gate into the space and allowed us to flee." True, but somewhat misleading. She's not mentioning that it was a Technocracy idea to bring the werewolves into it. She's not even sure what that means - save that perhaps they should be even more worried that the Syndicate and the more urbane tribes are getting too close. "I have seen things in there and experienced matters that I felt it would be wise to approach others who practice the Old Ways, to speak to them about this and seek guidance."
It's a conciliatory gesture from her - and plays into how she knows Selene views the world. The other woman seems to consider this for a moment. "Tomorrow," Selene says. "We have a ceremony at midnight tonight, and I will not taint my mind with thoughts which could distract from it. She-Who-Is-The-Earth must be fed while she sleeps, so that spring comes." She pauses. "As sister-witches, you two are of course welcome as my guests," she says reluctantly. She shoots a glance at Chris. "You know where the guest bedroom is. Bring your things in from the car."
The guest bedroom is a small, whitewashed room with two single beds in it and an oil lamp. It's also distinctly chilly. Chris gets to work preparing the fire, although she doesn't light it yet. "Well, that went well," she says cheerfully. She doesn't unpack her things, though.
"I know you won't be sleeping here," Janice says cattily, as she checks that her formal white robe with red embroidery isn't too crumpled.
Chris smirks. "Look, I get cold easily," she says. "And the only time you let me in your bed is when I'm hurt."
"And then you bleed all over it."
"Not my fault!" Chris sighs. "Look, just resist the urge to argue with her. I'm not stupid. I know you both rub each other the wrong way. I just… I just wish you got on better. You've got so much in common!"
Janice shoots a sceptical look at her.
"You really do!" Chris insists.
Looking out the window, Janice can only see a few lights. The night's sky seems darker than it should be, that there's somehow not enough light pollution. She checks her disposable pay-as-you-go phone which she has on her in case there's an emergency message from Luke, but there's nothing there. "What kind of ritual is this going to be?" she asks softly.
"A cold one," Chris says, hugging herself. "No human sacrifice, in case that's what you're wondering about. We go out in the snow and shed blood on the bare earth under the snow. Also, some animals die."
"You're not being very detailed."
"You're not initiated," Chris says. "I can't explain everything to you - you're just there as a guest. If you go… she'll probably push you. But if you don't, she'll judge you."
So, Janice managed to pretty functionally deflect her in the first meeting - enough that she's at least willing to talk.
Now she has to handle things properly.
What gift did they bring Selene?
[ ] Three ripe apples grown upon their node, imbued with a spell for good health (Healing Charms, uses up their week's Node quintessence production)
[ ] Some locks of her own hair bound up in a ribbon, as a mark of good faith (giving Selene a usable sympathetic connection)
[ ] A book from her own library (if selected, an Int + Occult roll will be required to evaluate how well she picked it out, and a poor roll may aggravate her. Write-ins as to the nature of the book can provide equipment bonuses/penalties)
[ ] Something else (write-in)
Does Janice attend the ritual?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No
If yes, how does she involve herself?
[ ] Assertive - She's not going to let herself be pushed around. She is Selene's equal in the eyes of the Verbena, and even if the arch-conservative bitch tries to act otherwise, she has the full rights of a visiting Seeker accepted as a guest. (x0.8)
[ ] Participant - She's a visitor, and this isn't her sect. But she is a full member of the Verbena, and even if she isn't an initiate of this group, there is power in this ritual. She'll follow Selene's directions. (x0.9)
[ ] Observer - She's here to observe, not to take part. She's not going to get involved - merely witness it. (x1.1)
[X] Yes
[X] Participant - She's a visitor, and this isn't her sect. But she is a full member of the Verbena, and even if she isn't an initiate of this group, there is power in this ritual. She'll follow Selene's directions. (x0.9)
[X] Three ripe apples grown upon their node, imbued with a spell for good health (Healing Charms, uses up their week's Node quintessence production)
This seems the safest choice.
[X] Yes
[X] Participant - She's a visitor, and this isn't her sect. But she is a full member of the Verbena, and even if she isn't an initiate of this group, there is power in this ritual. She'll follow Selene's directions. (x0.9)
Well, the sympathetic connection is not something a paranoid Janice is going to give out, and I'm not keen on failing a roll when our tastes differ so much, so let's go with the stereotypically Verbana gift.
What gift did they bring Selene?
[X] Three ripe apples grown upon their node, imbued with a spell for good health (Healing Charms, uses up their week's Node quintessence production)
I think it's probably a good idea to go, not only to avoid the juuuuudging, but also to get a better idea of what Selene (and thus Chris, who she taught) is like paradigm-wise.
Does Janice attend the ritual?
[X] Yes
And since there's no actual human sacrifice, hmm. Yeah, okay, Janice is paradigm-flexible, and we're here to make nice. We'll be pushed if we go, and we want to just observe, but let's make a conscious effort to butter her up a bit and grit our teeth against any catty comments. We may also get some buffs out of it, which could be helpful.
If yes, how does she involve herself?
[X] Participant - She's a visitor, and this isn't her sect. But she is a full member of the Verbena, and even if she isn't an initiate of this group, there is power in this ritual. She'll follow Selene's directions. (x0.9)
Caution may well be advised before participating in the ritual. We don't what is required, what the point of the ritual is, or what the costs may be. Considering that we know Selene propitiates bloody-handed spirits of murder with human sacrifice the possibilities are not particularly encouraging. Now Chris denied that the ritual involved human sacrifice (though consider what it implies that she had to do that not-jokingly) but if the ritual is to get some kind of blessing or Endowment from the bloody spirits of the region, or to call down a curse on some enemy of the cult, or do something else ethically suspect that may leave Janice vulnerable or compromised in her emotions, morals, or sympathetic ties... well, maybe she should just sit it out.
No, she has that option. She's not a member of Selene's group. She's not an initiate, and even if it rankles Selene... well, better that than being party to some long-distance curse of some dude she's never even heard of before, or getting a blessing of rage-strength that makes you lose control of your faculties for a scene if attacked, or any number of not really kosher stuff this ritual could be about.
I don't think we have to worry about the aim of the ritual, since according to Selene, "She-Who-Is-The-Earth must be fed while she sleeps, so that spring comes".
And since it's apparently animal-sacrifice only, according to somebody who has in all likelihood participated before, there shouldn't be anything too objectionable about it.
I'm pretty sure the arcane, technical term the Hermetics use for a person who participates in a magical ritual without knowing what it is about is "sucker."
I don't think this will be a massive fuckover if we participate in it. Oh, it may well have a cost, but it's most likely that cost will be "exhausting us and spending magic to gain goodwill". Given that it's a spring-summoning ritual, it'll probably just be, you know, fertility to the region, making the sun come back, etcetera. Essentially, I think this is a "expend effort and leave yourself tired (and possibly pay some mana) to help us with our territory", rather than a "make yourself an accessory to horribly cursing someone to die in nightmarish fashions" choice.
Notably, we know Selene is a conservative who's too stuffy to be aligned with the Rogue Council and whose mother was killed attacking a Technocrat base. So I very much doubt she's going to be deliberately provoking the 'Crats by killing people with long-distance curses or calling down rage-blessings of murderfrenzy. Far more likely, if it's something of that form; it'll be a blessing for the town or protection for the coven.
Plus, while Selene doesn't particularly like us, straight up trying to screw us over with this ritual seems actively malicious in a manner disproportionate to her misgivings about us.
What Selene considers malicious and what Janice considers malicious are likely to be two very different things. Of course, a good deal of their philosophical differences probably revolve around how Janice disapproves of ethically questionable Verbena practices like human sacrifice, while Selene probably considers Janice to be weak-willed poseur who picks and chooses devotions which are convenient to her rather than honoring the gods by living in accordance with the Old Ways. That said Chris probably does know what the ritual is and is on good terms with both of them so she'd probably warn Janice if it was something she'd actively be aghast at.
Though if the cost is exhaustion there may be complications if she winds up having to fight later on, then.
