Gloria Mundi Update
The cabal woke up and shared dreams again. Tyrrhenus dreamed that he was back in the bar, and saw a Giger-esque creature around Mariah's neck, with little spider-web strands stretching to everyone else in the bar (all Sleepers). When he stared at the creature too long, it killed her, but then two critters skittered away.
Winter, meanwhile, dreamed that she was in an old house with wood floors that smelled of rotted meat. Little creatures moved in the shadows, but she couldn't see them clearly. A man stepped out of the shadows behind her and said, "Those are the Cobblers. I've been keepin' them locked in the blood, but now you're screwing it up, and I'll be taking it out of you and yours." (Or something to that effect; I didn't write it out ahead of time.)
Discussion decided that finding the vampire that attacked Kali would probably be necessary, as would further investigation of Mariah at the party that Friday. So the cabal split up for a while to do stuff.
Kali and Niamh went out to the Gravediggers to get some information on vampires. Niamh went along to visit with Seraphim, whom she'd recently learned was a Thyrsus of the Mysterium, like her. She found him practicing his swordplay (this is not going to get all fan-fic, I swear, he was literally practicing swordplay) and they talked about spirituality, the courts of the Spirit Realms, and goals for themselves. He took her into the spirit world and they walked through the snow until they found a place of balance (he said). Niamh stepped in and felt the stark difference between spirit and flesh, and realized that she could lean either way. She's thinking Spirit, now.
Kali, meanwhile, talked with Hydra (Hades was his original goal, but apparently the Nemean summoned all of the Sentinels to him that morning, which didn't seem to concern anyone). In talking with Hydra, she learned a little about vampires, but Hydra's main point was that the cabal was growing powerful enough now to be a threat...or a tool. They needed to find a purpose and declare it.
Ogma went to work, and got sent to the hospital to help a young woman with an unusual story. She'd been attacked the night before, stabbed with something very small and sharp, and drained of a lot of blood...which apparently just vanished. Ogma read her memories and found that the same vampire that had attacked Kali had attacked this woman, but he also learned that the vampire paralyzed the woman with fear. Ogma considered reordering her memory to make it seem like a mundane attack, but as it happens Breach the Vault of Memory isn't a Lasting spell, so it's not really worth the time for this kind of use. He just told her to consider keeping her story mundane, since others weren't likely to believe her (and she agreed).
Winter went back to school and met with her old teacher, Viktor. They chatted about the theater and working, and she asked if he knew Mariah Gravenor and if he was going to the party. He was, and asked Winter to go with him, and then said that he had been to the Gravenor's home town and that there was a quaint legend about the "Cobblers" there. The Cobblers were little house elves, but were vicious and vindicitve, and once you got on their bad sides there was no going back. Winter, intrigued and a little mystified at this apparently random bit of knowledge, thanked him and took off.
Tyrrhenus, meanwhile, went Xmas shopping and as he was leaving saw a set of bloody footprints. Following them to a stock room, he found two dead bodies and some lingering magic. He followed the trail outside and saw a young mage carrying a duffle bag. He questioned the mage (named Vision), but he wasn't in any mood to answer to Tyrrhenus. When Tyrrhenus pulled out his cell phone to call the police (or his cabal), Vision used Mind magic to render him mute. Tyrrhenus activated his "fist of God" spell, whereupon Vision glared at him...and nearly killed him (Psychic Sword = not fun). To his credit, Tyrrhenus knew that further confrontation wasn't wise, and took off.
Back at the house, the mages took stock of the situation and Kali pushed Ogma to scry for the vampire. They found him in a basement, sleeping, but sunset was too near, so they decided they'd hunt him down the next morning.
Winter, meanwhile, dreamed that she was in an old house with wood floors that smelled of rotted meat. Little creatures moved in the shadows, but she couldn't see them clearly. A man stepped out of the shadows behind her and said, "Those are the Cobblers. I've been keepin' them locked in the blood, but now you're screwing it up, and I'll be taking it out of you and yours." (Or something to that effect; I didn't write it out ahead of time.)
Discussion decided that finding the vampire that attacked Kali would probably be necessary, as would further investigation of Mariah at the party that Friday. So the cabal split up for a while to do stuff.
Kali and Niamh went out to the Gravediggers to get some information on vampires. Niamh went along to visit with Seraphim, whom she'd recently learned was a Thyrsus of the Mysterium, like her. She found him practicing his swordplay (this is not going to get all fan-fic, I swear, he was literally practicing swordplay) and they talked about spirituality, the courts of the Spirit Realms, and goals for themselves. He took her into the spirit world and they walked through the snow until they found a place of balance (he said). Niamh stepped in and felt the stark difference between spirit and flesh, and realized that she could lean either way. She's thinking Spirit, now.
Kali, meanwhile, talked with Hydra (Hades was his original goal, but apparently the Nemean summoned all of the Sentinels to him that morning, which didn't seem to concern anyone). In talking with Hydra, she learned a little about vampires, but Hydra's main point was that the cabal was growing powerful enough now to be a threat...or a tool. They needed to find a purpose and declare it.
Ogma went to work, and got sent to the hospital to help a young woman with an unusual story. She'd been attacked the night before, stabbed with something very small and sharp, and drained of a lot of blood...which apparently just vanished. Ogma read her memories and found that the same vampire that had attacked Kali had attacked this woman, but he also learned that the vampire paralyzed the woman with fear. Ogma considered reordering her memory to make it seem like a mundane attack, but as it happens Breach the Vault of Memory isn't a Lasting spell, so it's not really worth the time for this kind of use. He just told her to consider keeping her story mundane, since others weren't likely to believe her (and she agreed).
Winter went back to school and met with her old teacher, Viktor. They chatted about the theater and working, and she asked if he knew Mariah Gravenor and if he was going to the party. He was, and asked Winter to go with him, and then said that he had been to the Gravenor's home town and that there was a quaint legend about the "Cobblers" there. The Cobblers were little house elves, but were vicious and vindicitve, and once you got on their bad sides there was no going back. Winter, intrigued and a little mystified at this apparently random bit of knowledge, thanked him and took off.
Tyrrhenus, meanwhile, went Xmas shopping and as he was leaving saw a set of bloody footprints. Following them to a stock room, he found two dead bodies and some lingering magic. He followed the trail outside and saw a young mage carrying a duffle bag. He questioned the mage (named Vision), but he wasn't in any mood to answer to Tyrrhenus. When Tyrrhenus pulled out his cell phone to call the police (or his cabal), Vision used Mind magic to render him mute. Tyrrhenus activated his "fist of God" spell, whereupon Vision glared at him...and nearly killed him (Psychic Sword = not fun). To his credit, Tyrrhenus knew that further confrontation wasn't wise, and took off.
Back at the house, the mages took stock of the situation and Kali pushed Ogma to scry for the vampire. They found him in a basement, sleeping, but sunset was too near, so they decided they'd hunt him down the next morning.