Murder in the Pines: The Story Concludes
Well, for now. Last night I ran my last session of the Mage: The Awakening chronicle called Murder in the Pines. I'm handing the reins of that group over to marrowbourne for a while to run Mutants and Masterminds, and then probably picking it back up again. You can see quotes for said Mage game on this page, just scroll down.
Still apparently in Pandemonium, the characters debated their options. Midnight started working on a portal while Shabriri experimented magically, finally trying to use his connection to Arcadia (Shabriri started the chronicle as a Thyrsus, but his player and I agreed that he made more sense as an Acanthus and his Arcana spread was legal either way, so we switched him) to bring Arcadia here. He managed to create a little patch of ground that looked like his experience of that Realm, but about that time Midnight opened the portal to the cabal's sanctum. Falstaff, Bolg and Shabriri went through, but Jocelyn, concerned with what Midnight intended to do to the five Sleepers with them, stayed. Midnight intended to open a portal to the Watchtower, sign his name again, and let the five members of Persephone Unbound sign the tower, but required them to join the Guardians of the Veils when they returned (he's no dummy, they'd be great assets to the order). Jocelyn argued that they should have a choice, and Midnight finally agreed to simply stipulate that they talk to the Guardians first, and then seek other orders if the Guardians didn't suit them. He then got to work on the portal.
Meanwhile, the three other mages were discovering weirdness. First, they went outside and noted that all the snow had apparently melted overnight. Shabriri called the Collection, but the phone was answered by Jones, his dead employee (killed by a werewolf a few sessions ago, you might recall). The mages started driving there, but noted that they knew everyone they saw. Some folks were old friends, casual acquaintences, but everyone they saw looked familiar. Realizing that they weren't on Earth, they started thinking about how to fix the problem...
...at the same time that Midnight opened the portal. The Sleepers stepped through, and then he and Jocelyn, but only the two mages found themselves on the tower. Midnight signed his name and vanished, leaving Jocelyn alone...
...and Midnight woke up on a concrete floor, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of his cabal and the cultists. A man sitting on the steps (he was in a basement) introduced himself as Billy and said that his cabal had felt the magical blast that put the characters into their comas and brought them back to this sanctum. Midnight telepathically contacted Jocelyn, who was already suspicious, and soon enough the other four mages figured out how to bring themselves out of the comas.
They met with the Untold Stories cabal (two Mysterium, two Adamantine Arrow) and told them their stories, got to know them, and so on. They found out that Marcher, the guy who'd killed Hades' wife (and who wandered over the hill in Pandemonium) had been dead when the Untold Stories cabal found them, apparently of a heart attack. Jocelyn and Billy made dinner, Bolg sparred with the US cabal's Mastigos (named Oswald) and lost, and the other folks hung out and rested. Midnight scryed for the mask and found Mel wearing it somewhere in a dark place. With a little help from Shabriri, he widened the scyring window and found where that place was - a room in an under-construction building fairly nearby.
The mages drove out to the building and cast some spells breaking in, and found themselves teleported in front of Mel. What was Mel's intention in doing so? Did he think he could beat them in a fight, or was he trying to parlay? We'll never know, because Jocelyn shot him. A few gunshots and spells later, Bolg tackled him and ripped off the mask and Shabriri planted the SS dagger in his eye (and then gave it to Midnight to destroy - it was starting to creep him out). The mask safely back in the collection, the cabal returned to Cincinnatti.
The five Sleepers had Awakened, all as Mastigos. Three joined the Adamantine Arrow and two joined the Guardians, but they definitely make superb Sentinels for the Cincinnatti Consilium. The Hierarch of the city, a woman named Helen (read the opening fic to Tome of the Mysteries when it comes out) gave the cabal a seat on the council, and they named Shabriri as the Councilor.
There are still quite a few loose ends, but that's the way I like to leave things. And anyway, we're going to revisit this game in a few months. :)
Still apparently in Pandemonium, the characters debated their options. Midnight started working on a portal while Shabriri experimented magically, finally trying to use his connection to Arcadia (Shabriri started the chronicle as a Thyrsus, but his player and I agreed that he made more sense as an Acanthus and his Arcana spread was legal either way, so we switched him) to bring Arcadia here. He managed to create a little patch of ground that looked like his experience of that Realm, but about that time Midnight opened the portal to the cabal's sanctum. Falstaff, Bolg and Shabriri went through, but Jocelyn, concerned with what Midnight intended to do to the five Sleepers with them, stayed. Midnight intended to open a portal to the Watchtower, sign his name again, and let the five members of Persephone Unbound sign the tower, but required them to join the Guardians of the Veils when they returned (he's no dummy, they'd be great assets to the order). Jocelyn argued that they should have a choice, and Midnight finally agreed to simply stipulate that they talk to the Guardians first, and then seek other orders if the Guardians didn't suit them. He then got to work on the portal.
Meanwhile, the three other mages were discovering weirdness. First, they went outside and noted that all the snow had apparently melted overnight. Shabriri called the Collection, but the phone was answered by Jones, his dead employee (killed by a werewolf a few sessions ago, you might recall). The mages started driving there, but noted that they knew everyone they saw. Some folks were old friends, casual acquaintences, but everyone they saw looked familiar. Realizing that they weren't on Earth, they started thinking about how to fix the problem...
...at the same time that Midnight opened the portal. The Sleepers stepped through, and then he and Jocelyn, but only the two mages found themselves on the tower. Midnight signed his name and vanished, leaving Jocelyn alone...
...and Midnight woke up on a concrete floor, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of his cabal and the cultists. A man sitting on the steps (he was in a basement) introduced himself as Billy and said that his cabal had felt the magical blast that put the characters into their comas and brought them back to this sanctum. Midnight telepathically contacted Jocelyn, who was already suspicious, and soon enough the other four mages figured out how to bring themselves out of the comas.
They met with the Untold Stories cabal (two Mysterium, two Adamantine Arrow) and told them their stories, got to know them, and so on. They found out that Marcher, the guy who'd killed Hades' wife (and who wandered over the hill in Pandemonium) had been dead when the Untold Stories cabal found them, apparently of a heart attack. Jocelyn and Billy made dinner, Bolg sparred with the US cabal's Mastigos (named Oswald) and lost, and the other folks hung out and rested. Midnight scryed for the mask and found Mel wearing it somewhere in a dark place. With a little help from Shabriri, he widened the scyring window and found where that place was - a room in an under-construction building fairly nearby.
The mages drove out to the building and cast some spells breaking in, and found themselves teleported in front of Mel. What was Mel's intention in doing so? Did he think he could beat them in a fight, or was he trying to parlay? We'll never know, because Jocelyn shot him. A few gunshots and spells later, Bolg tackled him and ripped off the mask and Shabriri planted the SS dagger in his eye (and then gave it to Midnight to destroy - it was starting to creep him out). The mask safely back in the collection, the cabal returned to Cincinnatti.
The five Sleepers had Awakened, all as Mastigos. Three joined the Adamantine Arrow and two joined the Guardians, but they definitely make superb Sentinels for the Cincinnatti Consilium. The Hierarch of the city, a woman named Helen (read the opening fic to Tome of the Mysteries when it comes out) gave the cabal a seat on the council, and they named Shabriri as the Councilor.
There are still quite a few loose ends, but that's the way I like to leave things. And anyway, we're going to revisit this game in a few months. :)