Belief: How does it work? Roll: 97 + 10 (Spiral Power) = 107 Artificial Crit Success
Breathe in.
….
Breathe out.
….
Breathe in.
….
Breathe out.
….
Breathe in.
"What are you doing, father?"
You let an eye open up to view your daughter through limited vision. She's currently...reading three books at the same time by levitating them around herself.
That….makes sense actually. Makes you wonder why she hasn't been doing it before.
"Meditating," your eye closes as you start your exercise again.
"I can see that, but why?"
Your eye opens again, "To see if I can unlock some more of this 'Belief' stuff inside of me. Did you see what I did last time? I want to have something like this mastered as soon as possible."
You wait, expecting Ana to say something matter of fact about your decision. Instead she shrugs and walks towards the kitchen. A bit surprised, you decide to call after her and ask why she didn't say anything, "What? If you think that will help you in your endeavours, I support it. Who knows, maybe just deeply thinking about it will help."
With that, she leaves you to your breathing. You nod, and close your eye again.
Now, to get back into your rhythm.
Breathe in.
…..
Breathe out.
Breathe i—holy shit.
You can...feel things.
And not just the normal things either, no. You can feel things….better, you guess? It's the only word you can think to describe what is happening right now.
You're eyes are still closed, yet you're aware of everything around you. You can hear the fluttering sound of birds taking flight outside of your house, the material in your sofa creaking slightly from your weight, even the skittering of insects along your window sills outside.
You stay like that for a while, just taking in the...well the everything around you. You're more calm than you've ever felt, and it is that calmness that makes the things you can feel all the more breathtaking. At any other time, you wouldn't have been aware of any of these things. The stress of everyday life would consume most of your senses. But now, you are truly zen.
Yet, for some reason, you feel like you're missing something.
It feels like there's something on the edge of your vision that you just can't see or grasp. It's in the palm of your hand, yet intangible to you.
You reach your hand out, trying to grab hold of it—and end up falling flat on your face when you move too far off the sofa.
Your rub your nose while blinking your eyes to readjust them to sunlight. From the kitchen you hear snickering and send a look towards your daughter. She just looks away with that innocent grin on her face.
Slightly irritated, your thoughts go back to that state of...zen you entered for lack of a better word. Maybe you could replicate it?
Being able to feel the environment around you would be a huge help when trying to detect sneak attacks or worse.
(New Belief Power: Zen Sight: I Feel all, thus I See all (When activated, all enemy Stealth Rolls receive a -25 Penalty, and you gain a +25 Bonus to spotting them and Combat! Increases chance to Negate Magic!))
How ya doing wolfies? Roll: 10 + 10 (The Dice are Kind) + 20 (Amulet) = 40 Success
Your trip over to the Harromont's place proves...well you wouldn't say fruitless.
More like…unnecessary..
You had come over there to say hi, but also ask about the body parts that were strewn about the lawn during the ambush. You would think that some people would be suspicious of a severed arm lying in the street.
However, Volkar assures you that they have already taken care of it. This isn't their first time having to hide their "appetites" from the public eye. When you ask what they do with them, he tells you it's a "family secret".
Other than that, not a lot really happens. It's just been a normal day for them.
(No real changes)
Crossroad Investigation Roll: 83 + 5 (Knowledge) + 25 (Harrowmont Help) - 10 (Low Knowledge) - 20 (???) = 83 High Success
You've gotten physical evidence, but Volkar says that's not enough, "We're gonna need more to go on first."
You ask why, after all can't you just take them to Court and get everyone involved arrested.
He then points out, "They've been operating since 1980 and they haven't been caught yet. Even if we do bring this to the Courts, it's more than likely they will just pack up and move somewhere else. And, not just that, but they'll be aware of you and will start to actively hunt you down." You sigh in the face of his wisdom. He is your senior when it comes to this stuff, so you should listen to him.
He continues, saying that it doesn't rule out a Trial. You just have to make sure that they can't easily reform themselves, and take out that Eldrith Monster under the school.
That's why you need something that can help you plan the attack.
Floor layouts, a list with the names of the cultist, or anything that can help you make a plan of attack. You suggest going back to Crossroads. Maybe there's something you missed?
Volkar dismisses the idea, "If they're not seven kinds of retarded, they probably already know they're missing some papers. More than likely they would've informed the Principal, but are worried about others finding out what's actually on the papers. You'll need to find some other way of getting the information."
You rack your brain, trying to think of any other way of finding what you need about the cultist.
Then you remember; Kelly.
She's the one you saw at the front desk for Barton's.
She's the one that wrote down the information for Anastasia.
Which means that….
You see Volkar smile, "I know that look in your eye. You think of something that might help?"
"You could say that," you answer, bringing out your cell phone and dialing James' number. If your hunch is right then he should be able to get you Kelly's number. You've never seen him go to Darlings yourself, but you seriously doubt he didn't check the place out once the rumors around you started. Which means he probably went and spoke to Kelly a few times.
So….
Ok, time to look at the Pros and Cons of the current situation.
Pros?
Your hunch was right, and James did have Kelly's number, which he happily gave to you. Kelly was more than willing to meet with you outside of school. You set the location as the Vade Mecum Library entrance at 4:30.
When you got there, Kelly offered to invite you to her house for some dinner. You accepted, and were able to gain entrance to her apartment nearby.
Cons?
Unfortunately, your hunch proved correct, and Kelly did turn out to be apart of the Cult. She apparently brought you to her house to knock you out and then interrogate you. She even brought along two of her fellow "nurses" to help restrain you.
More pros?
You weren't stupid and had Volkar tail you the entire time. So when Kelly tried to kidnap you, he sprung into action.
More cons?
By "sprung into action" you mean busted down the front door howling like a maniac, punching the nurses through a wall, and then chokeslamming Kelly onto the floor.
More pros?
Kelly was just knocked out cold, and the both of you were able to search her apartment for information. You ended up with a list of names of the Cultist (apparently there are 15 of them in total, but some of the names have been crossed out) and a simple floor plan that indicates there are at least 3 more layers to your school.
More cons?
You're pretty sure that you're gonna be charged with breaking and entering if you don't take care of your mess, so you're on cleanup duty while Volkar goes to get rid of Kelly and the two nurse's memories. When you ask him how he plans to do that he once again tells you it's a "family secret".
And so, you find yourself staying behind until nightfall, trying to mend a broken door.
Terrific.
(Investigation Complete! New Knowledge Available! New Option Available: Take the Fight to them!)
Book Reading Roll: 23 + 15 (Prodigy) = 38 Fail
Something must be up with Ana. She tried to read a couple of the books you bought her today, but she just couldn't get through any of them.
In the end she gives up, frustrated but not discouraged.
You try to calm her down, saying it's just some bad luck.
(No Change)
Practicing Powers Roll: 10 + 15 (Potential) = 25 Fail
If it is bad luck, then it translates over to her powers.
The second the two of you try to practice them, they fizzle out.
The following tries produce the same result.
Ana throws up her hands in frustration, and chooses to go to bed.
You're left with a confused look on your face, and a couple of scorch marks you need to clean up.
(No Change)
Rivauld Visits
The ringing of your doorbell wakes you from your slumber. Groggy from sleeping on the couch so much, you groan as you get up on your feet. You slowly stumble towards the door, rubbing the sand out of your eyes. The doorbell rings again, and you shout, "I'm coming! Give me some time!"
Who could be coming here at this hour? No one your slumbering mind can think of right now.
You peer out the peephole and are greeted with a familiar feminine face. She stands patiently at the door, hair let down in spirals around her shoulders.
You blink twice.
Then you rush into the bathroom and slam the door shut.
You start to get out of your old clothes when Ana knocks on the door, "Father? Is something wrong?"
You answer through the door, "Ms. Rivauld's here already! I thought she wouldn't be here until the afternoon at least! I need to get my good clothes on! Can you go let her in while daddy get's ready? Please?"
There's a slight pause, before you hear the tell tale sounds of her small feet walking towards the door. You sigh in relief, and go about looking at yourself in the mirror.
Your hair is brushed and combed.
Your teeth are brushed until they are white as pearls.
And your face is washed as well as you can get it, though you do notice that you're growing a bit of a beard.
Satisfied, you dart out of the bathroom and rummage through your wardrobe. The only thing you've got that will be sufficient is your school outfit. Groaning, you grab it anyway and start putting it on. From the living room you can hear the sounds of laughing, which brings a bit of warmth to your heart. Sounds like they're getting along.
You do one last once over in your phone's reflective screen, before walking into your living room. The sight that greet you is a very happy one. Your daughter is sitting down, showing off her Human Psychology book to Rivauld (she's not levitating it thankfully). The older woman is smiling as Anastasia points out various parts to her.
From here you are able to get a better look at what she's wearing. It seems to be a mix of a sunday church outfit with a sun dress. It's dark brown skirt reaches all the way down to her knees, and her hands are covered by black gloves.
When you step into the room, both of them look to you. Rivauld smiles and stands up, "Craft! How have you been?"
You hold out your hand to shake, "Well enough. And yourself?"
She shakes your hand gently, "Same. I've just been listening as your wonderful daughter reads to me. And I must say that she's a very knowledgeable one. Not every child could understand the terms in a book such as that. Let alone one still in Kindergarten!"
Ana walks over to the both of you, book crooked under one arm, "No need to praise me, Ms. Rivauld. I just enjoy giving knowledge out to others, as I'm sure you understand since you are a teacher."
Rivauld crouches down until she's level with your daughter and holds out her hand, "Please, call me Olly sweetie." After your daughter shakes and kisses her hand, Rivauld stands back up and addresses you, "So, where we going today?"
"Going?" you ask. You had no idea you would be going anywhere today.
"But of course! Unless you want the three of us to be cooped up in your house all day long? Doesn't that sound dreadfully boring though?" she pouts a bit at you when she finishes the sentence.
"I must agree with Olly," Ana says walking to your right side and grabbing hold of your leg. "While I do enjoy this home of ours, it is very nice to go places other than school everyday. Don't you agree, father?"
You look between the two women and resign yourself to taking them somewhere. You're basically out voted, and you don't want to make two women upset at the same time. Especially since one is your adopted daughter.
So let's see here..
Where will you go for the day?
[] The Park (No Cost; Minimal SL Increase; No Event Roll)
[] The Gym (1 Money; Average SL Increase; 1d20 Event Roll)
[] The Mall (2 Money: High SL Increase; 1d100 Event Roll)
[] Ask Rivauld (??? Money; High SL Increase; ??? Event Roll)
[] Write in...(??? Money; ??? SL Increase; ??? Event Roll)