Gloria Mundi update
The cabal met with Enoch and told them what they'd seen. He speculated a bit, thinking the mirror might be an Atlantean artifact, possibly from Pandemonium (because of the little pocket portal it's carrying around). He also told them a little about the Free Council in the city, mentioning Special Media Group to them for the first time (insert joke about geek mages here). Somewhere in here, Ogma called his order (in the form of the Shadow Chorus) and told them he needed to speak with them. It was a call that would save his life later that night.
They all went to the museum (again) to have a look, and Niamh cast a spell to allow them to speak with the spirit of the mirror. They asked it if it knew that it was hurting people, why it was doing that, what it was, etc. The big lesson of the night was: "Spirits don't really have a choice in what they do." The spirit had some interesting things to say on the subject, calling all humans "amalgams" and "magath." But just as it offered never to hurt another person if Morrigan swore never to raise the dead again, the spell was forcibly broken.
Unsure how that happened, Morrigan and Ogma went to talk to Chambers. They told him what the mirror was doing, and he expressed concern and regret for not noticing earlier. He said he'd find a way to remove it from display, but wanted Morrigan handy for when he started investigating it (Adamantine Arrow and all). He said that there shouldn't be too many mages in the room with the mirror, though, as it seemed to draw strength from them. She agreed, but said Niamh should come along as well for her expertise in Spirit magic. The cabal met up and discussed their mutual distrust of Chambers. Enoch said that he'd not be joining them for this mission, and advised that the mirror be either destroyed or locked away forever.
The mages went back to the museum that night. Chambers let them in and took them to the display room, which he'd warded against outside magic and to keep the Sleepers away (this ward also had the effect of shutting down Ogma's Space-based armor spell). Once in the room, Ogma used Space to look through the mirror...and saw the walking dead coming at him.
12 zombies rushed through the portal and attacked, swarming on Ogma (since he was closest). The battle raged, with typical actions from the characters: Jack jumps into the fray since his magic is largely non-offensive, Tyrrhenus uses Prime to create a kind of Fist of God spell, and Morrigan wastes spends an action trying to scrutinize the zombies and see where they came from. Ogma tried to reactivate his armor, but failed, and the zombies bit down.
An aside: I'm used to Werewolf, where 7 levels of lethal damage is nothin'. You just shrug that off. Ogma only has seven Health, so he started bleeding out. Chambers used Death magic to deactivate the zombies, and Morrigan finally followed suit, but Ogma was dying. Niamh stabilized him and Chambers called 911, while Tyrrhenus and Jack started throwing zombies back into the mirror. Morrigan balked, worrying that they'd reanimate, and so there were still two bodies in the room when the security guards (one of whom had EMT training) showed up. Morrigan did use Forensic Gaze and noted that both people had died as a result of an overdose of a freaky-rare drug once used as an anesthetic, but only used in recent years as a sedative in maximum security psych wards. Jack, on his way out, used Time magic to look back to when these folks died, and saw a masked man with long fingers injecting them with the drug. They were in a basement, with other bodies chained to tables.
Note, BTW, that Chambers has long, spindly fingers. But Jack never saw his face in the vision, and "misdirection" has kinda been the name of the game here.
Jack, Tyrrhenus and Morrigan fled the museum before the police arrived and Niamh went with Ogma to the hospital. In the hospital parking lot, the former three encountered a robed mage calling herself Culsu, of the Shadow Chorus (a Guardians of the Veil cabal). She said that Ogma would be taken care of, but wanted information about what had been happening. She listened to their story and advised that they make contact with the Consilium again - before the Nemean made contact with them.
Meanwhile, Ogma was shunted off into an empty room and healed by two other members of the Chorus, Februs and Angerona. They told him that he owed them, and vanished. He hadn't been processed by the hospital yet (no ID), so was off the hook that way, but there will still be problems with the Sleeper police to come.
For now, though, the cabal's discussing the Consilium and a possible name (finally).
They all went to the museum (again) to have a look, and Niamh cast a spell to allow them to speak with the spirit of the mirror. They asked it if it knew that it was hurting people, why it was doing that, what it was, etc. The big lesson of the night was: "Spirits don't really have a choice in what they do." The spirit had some interesting things to say on the subject, calling all humans "amalgams" and "magath." But just as it offered never to hurt another person if Morrigan swore never to raise the dead again, the spell was forcibly broken.
Unsure how that happened, Morrigan and Ogma went to talk to Chambers. They told him what the mirror was doing, and he expressed concern and regret for not noticing earlier. He said he'd find a way to remove it from display, but wanted Morrigan handy for when he started investigating it (Adamantine Arrow and all). He said that there shouldn't be too many mages in the room with the mirror, though, as it seemed to draw strength from them. She agreed, but said Niamh should come along as well for her expertise in Spirit magic. The cabal met up and discussed their mutual distrust of Chambers. Enoch said that he'd not be joining them for this mission, and advised that the mirror be either destroyed or locked away forever.
The mages went back to the museum that night. Chambers let them in and took them to the display room, which he'd warded against outside magic and to keep the Sleepers away (this ward also had the effect of shutting down Ogma's Space-based armor spell). Once in the room, Ogma used Space to look through the mirror...and saw the walking dead coming at him.
12 zombies rushed through the portal and attacked, swarming on Ogma (since he was closest). The battle raged, with typical actions from the characters: Jack jumps into the fray since his magic is largely non-offensive, Tyrrhenus uses Prime to create a kind of Fist of God spell, and Morrigan wastes spends an action trying to scrutinize the zombies and see where they came from. Ogma tried to reactivate his armor, but failed, and the zombies bit down.
An aside: I'm used to Werewolf, where 7 levels of lethal damage is nothin'. You just shrug that off. Ogma only has seven Health, so he started bleeding out. Chambers used Death magic to deactivate the zombies, and Morrigan finally followed suit, but Ogma was dying. Niamh stabilized him and Chambers called 911, while Tyrrhenus and Jack started throwing zombies back into the mirror. Morrigan balked, worrying that they'd reanimate, and so there were still two bodies in the room when the security guards (one of whom had EMT training) showed up. Morrigan did use Forensic Gaze and noted that both people had died as a result of an overdose of a freaky-rare drug once used as an anesthetic, but only used in recent years as a sedative in maximum security psych wards. Jack, on his way out, used Time magic to look back to when these folks died, and saw a masked man with long fingers injecting them with the drug. They were in a basement, with other bodies chained to tables.
Note, BTW, that Chambers has long, spindly fingers. But Jack never saw his face in the vision, and "misdirection" has kinda been the name of the game here.
Jack, Tyrrhenus and Morrigan fled the museum before the police arrived and Niamh went with Ogma to the hospital. In the hospital parking lot, the former three encountered a robed mage calling herself Culsu, of the Shadow Chorus (a Guardians of the Veil cabal). She said that Ogma would be taken care of, but wanted information about what had been happening. She listened to their story and advised that they make contact with the Consilium again - before the Nemean made contact with them.
Meanwhile, Ogma was shunted off into an empty room and healed by two other members of the Chorus, Februs and Angerona. They told him that he owed them, and vanished. He hadn't been processed by the hospital yet (no ID), so was off the hook that way, but there will still be problems with the Sleeper police to come.
For now, though, the cabal's discussing the Consilium and a possible name (finally).