Found Arcana – chapter 3 IC
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Found Arcana – chapter 3 IC
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“Oy, chummer down with the gun. If we wanted a piece of you, we’d have taken it while you were down.”
Bobby stepped in front of AM, shielding her somewhat.
“You are in deep shit by the way. Runningbird was found dead. The guy who holds his markers hired us to take a look and he wants us to deliver the head of the one who did him in. For your own sake it would be best if you didn’t add us to your list of enemies.So I’m saying this one last time: Put the gun down and let us help you get out of here.”
Spoiler: -
AM could feel fear creeping as the troll pointed his gun, but Bobby made her feel safer. “Yes, I am a certified Shaman. Your leg is broken, held together by your bone lacing. I was going to try and heal your leg with healing magic… but I am not at my best at gunpoint. Is there anything else that you need?”
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Mato is disappointed that his umbrella hypothesis doesn’t pan out. He follows Bobby outside and acts as a second pair of eyes for the urban tracking.
Mato follows close on AM’s heels as she closes the distance to Reynolds. He uses his cyberware to confirm many of AM’s astral impressions. He nods at the troll, impressed by a kindred spirit similarly dedicated to improving himself through the mundane arts.
<<Wait, let me get next to him. I can overpower him if he’s still drugged.>> Too late, AM already said hello. She seems to ask Mato to hang back – as he admittedly looks more threatening – so he complies.
<<I don’t know any first aid>> he tells Bobby. <<What’s the opposite of ‘first aid’? ‘First harm’? Whatever it is, that’s what I know. There’s a medkit in the car though.>>
Mato sets up a perimeter, keeping an eye open for vultures, real or metaphorical.
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“Fragging mages!” He levels the pistol towards what he can see of AM …
Spoiler: -
Bobby in his human form wasn’t the quickest runner around – but he was far from slow. While the troll was still swinging the heavy gun into position, he focused on the hurt man and willed him to transform into something harmless, roughly his weight: A giant tortoise.
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The gun fell to the pavement with a clatter, but fortunately the vaunted Ares design and engineering did its job and the pistol didn’t discharge.
Meanwhile the tortoise did its best to thrash about, although it seems likely that the tear in its shell must be causing it pain.
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There’s some commotion and Mato overhears Reynolds cursing the finger wigglers of the world. Bobby neutralizes the situation effectively, although probably doesn’t improve Reynolds’ impression of mages in the process. Unless Reynolds always dreamed about being a giant tortoise? Possible, statistically unlikely. It probably wouldn’t help to explain that Bobby wasn’t actually a mage, as the distinction would likely be lost on the man.
Mato DNIs some thinking, if only to avoid Reynolds’ overhearing him just in case the eventual plan hinges on some secrecy.
<<Okay, we have an uncooperative witness. Given his behavior in the security cam footage – and his current disposition – it seems logical to conclude that that he was negatively affected by magic last night, leading to his current hostility.>>
<<He still seems like our best lead about what went down last night. Maybe we can tranq him, let him sleep it off. We patch him up a bit, pump him full of painkillers, and generally improve his mood. When he comes to, I can talk with him – cybergoon to cybergoon – to see if we can sidestep this bias of his.>>
<<Any other ideas?>>
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<<I agree, let’s take him home with us. Let’s get the car. AM try to heal him. That’s probably the best chance you’ll get.>>
Bobby maintained concentration on his spell and used the same one on himself – this time to take the form of a very large and very strong bear, so he could imobilize the transformed troll.
Once the car was there, he lifted it into the trunk – making the car sack almost to the bottom of its springs.Spoiler: -
Back at the house, the group is clustered in the common room around a large tortoise that is making an odd hacking/hissing sort of noise and periodically snapping in the direction of pant legs.
Then Jawsey manifests, saying “Glad you are home, wanted to let you know I’m tied up, in Everett for another couple of days most likely. Seas are too rough to unload the incoming ship onto the landing craft, and the Coast Guard patrolling heavily. So I’m still on scout duty. Anyway, what’s up with the troll?”
The troll tries to bite Jawsey, and seems frustrated to find him incorporeal.
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AM frowns, she did not even understand that there was an attack. It all happened so quick, a brief second and the troll was a turtle.
She objects when the idea is to just place a giant turtle on Ford’s high amenities interior. “You are putting a bear and a turtle in OUR car? what’s wrong with you people, the seats cost a fortune…” Changing into a bear to carry the gaint turtle is smart, she gives him that. Much more useful than her own growth spell which modestly increases the limits of what one can achieve. The physical stress to the car she values so much brings her empathy pains but she carefully drives the car back home. The nasty Troll is their only lead – and not figuring it out will have drastic consequences.Once in the car,
>>Probably best to let him think that it was me that turned him. That way he won’t be so biased against Bobby. I’ll heal him if you restrain him or if he calms down. There is only one chance at healing, and if he moves around too much he’ll break the spell so we actually need his consent. AM responds “Be safe. Jawsei” and then she mutters “It is so difficult with you.”.She fires a look at the turtle and says “Reynolds… Calm down so I can treat you for the pain and internal injuries. Your hip bone is broken and every time you move around it may further fracture and hurt a major blood vessel. What will you do after we talk to you? Go to a hospital? They don’t hand out medical insurance in the illegal arm dealing industry, do they? I can fix your bone, but only if you let me heal you soon. Can you control yourself and let me do it?”
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“It will probably help if I let him turn back into his metahuman form.” Bobby waved at Jawsey and nodded at his colleague.
“Mato, maybe you can get him to see reason.” With that, Bobby stepped back and let go of the spell, turning the troll back into his naked self. With a casual toss, Bobby threw him a towel, so he could cover up. -
Reynolds looks around, somehow managing to look like a cornered rat despite towering over the other occupants.
“Fine, fine, frag, I’ll do whatever you want if you promise no more magic! Just get me some pain meds or something.”
Jawsey whispers to Mato “Looks like you all have your hands full, I’ll get the story later. I have occasional bits of downtime, if you need a bit of spirit help or astral cover ARO me, and I’ll let you know if and when I have time to do something.” Then he fades back through a wall and gets back to work.
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AM carefully close the distance and applies the medic kit according to the instruction of the auto-doc to relieve pain. “No magic Raynolds as you requested, just a high-quality medic kit.” Once the procedure is applied, and the doc diagnosed the best pain relief technique AM asks “So can you tell us what happened yesterday?”
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Mato’s “cybergoon to cybergoon fireside chat” plan hasn’t been closely adhered to but he tries to salvage it. He sits next to Reynolds, trying to stay within easy reach in case he needs to overpower him.
“Let’s start slowly,” Mato suggests. “We’re all friends here. We’re trying to help you; we just don’t want to get shot in the process.
“We know your name but you don’t know ours. You can call me Dirk.” This is Mato’s name from his fake SIN. “You’ve been out all night and had a rough time of it. You hungry at all? I’d be hungry if I were you.”
He turns to AM. “Can you get us some chow and a cup of joe?” Mato is clearly trying to use military slang. He turns back to Reynolds. “Might not be great, but should be better than a combat breakfast: two aspirin, two cups of soykaf, a quick prayer and a quick puke, right?”
<<@AM Not trying to boss you around, just wondering if he might be more at ease if you’re not present. Also, can you polish me up a bit? You know, that spell that gives you a better personality? That might help here.>>
While they’re waiting, Mato decides that talking some shop might set Reynolds at ease. “We’ll double up the painkillers. We noticed you had the ‘ware that scrubs your system. Same here! I find it eats up the pharmaceuticals, both good and bad. I have the internal air tank too. Nay on the steel lining for the bones, but yea on the titanium and carbon fiber.” He holds up a cyberhand to show it off, hoping it might resonate with Reynolds. Plus, it might be the best way to prove “no magic here!”
Chit-chat complete, it’s time to move onto business. “Your femur is cracked and you’ve been poisoned. You’re a tough fragger though, and made it through the night. Do you remember what happened? We found some security footage of you, but you look… not yourself. Were you conscious through it? Anything you can remember would be helpful. We’re trying to find out who did it and why, but maybe you already know.”
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She responds “Well, where are my manners, “Amy Green” she did try to introduce herself.
When Mato mentions Aspirin, the medkit sends a warning which she convoys. “Well, you can’t actually take Aspirin after sever physical trauma. Trust the autodoc, it is high quality and you got some NSAID based drugs that also help your body to heal. If they penetrate your augmentations that is. “ she excuses herself to bring some refreshments as well as two cups of coffee. Sets the table, and then makes herself scarce drinking some coffee in the background.She texts back, mentally through her DNI: >> Boss me around as much as you like if it makes him talk. I’d rather not use magic infront of him, I am not good enough to hide it from trained security. I’ll augment you when Raynolds cannot see the casting, so take a leak or something.
While Mato is talking to Raynolds, AM hacks his comlink to see if there is anything she can use. I assume we picked up his things and kept the link with us as we only turned him back right now.
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Reynolds mostly mumbles at first, but as the first aid kit and the painkillers take effect he eventually gathers more coherence. Mato’s strategy perhaps works as he eventually focuses on the orc. “She did something to me, I swear. I never would have abandoned him, I swear, but she DID something. I was there, but it wasn’t me. She gave me something to drink and I didn’t want to, but I did anyway. Then I walked out. It got hazy real quick, I think the drug, but my system started clearing it I think because then I remember walking on the streets. It was real windy, I was losing my balance and I kept laughing but it wasn’t funny. Then a car came up the road fast, and I realized it had been real quiet on the streets. And I ran out onto the street and jumped in front of the car, but I didn’t mean to. My body wasn’t listening, but at the last minute finally it did, and I managed to partially break fall off the hood, but it caught my leg. The pain helped me think clear for a bit. I had to get off the street, hide from scavengers, wait until I could walk straight. I might have shot at a dog. Then there was a girl, a human, another magician. I think she did something because everything went weird again and my body didn’t work right. And now I’m here. But it wasn’t my fault, it was magic. You’ll tell him, right?.” At the end he’s grasping Mato’s mechanical hand and pleading.
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Mato nods solemnly, holding Reynolds’ hand like a dying brother. “Yeah, I’ll tell him. He’ll believe me. He’ll understand.” Mato’s a drekky liar but Reynolds probably isn’t in any condition to notice.
Mato wonders if AM is the “human” who did something to make everything go “weird”. Seemed to fit the evidence, and Reynolds clearly isn’t picking up on little details, like the shape of AM’s ears.
“Who was it?” Mato asks. “Who gave you something to drink even though you didn’t want to? Do you know who she is and why she would want to do this? We want to find her and get back at her for you. That drek ain’t right.”
<<@AM If we find this slitch you can jam the mana so that she doesn’t turn me into her personal killbot, right?>>
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She sighs, getting blamed for Bobby’s magic felt strange as well as being called a ‘human’. but it was a cold day and she wore a stocking cap, and a so he might have missed her lean and somewhat androgynous elven body. Not that it mattered, none of it did – she should not listen in their conversation but hack that darn comlink. She connected to it, and visualized the matrix as she scanned its firewall looking for a week point to suppress. Comlinks were usually a joke without their owner present, so she was optimistic.
She sighs to herself and thinks “I wish I could do Bobby level magic. I wonder how he manages to cast spells being a physical adept. His technique is unlike anything I encountered before.”
>> Sure thing Bobby, it is the most basic form of sorcery. You learn how to protect yourself long before you can actually do anything worthwhile with your talent.
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Bobby had taken a step back, watching and listening. He felt his hypothesis being confirmed. Mind control magic. Few things could get you put down as quickly on the street as the rumor that you could control other’s minds.
The others tried to calm the troll down by asking nicely. That didn’t seem to be the right thing to do for a guy like that. Also they were wasting time.
“Attention soldier! Are you trying to be a disgrace to the flag? Stop that rambling at once. We want a coherent report. Now! Start at the beginning, use names and dates like you’ve been taught, for god’s sake.” -
Cracking Reynolds link took some time, as it was a security model with a solid firewall, and Reynolds had been reasonably diligent with his security. But it was unprotected and after ten seconds or so AM was in. Finding anything useful, that took some a couple of minutes. Annoyingly the troll seemed to be a big fan of acronyms and abbreviations for nearly everything, and it took accessing several sources for UCAS military and pseudo-military abbreviations and terminology, some clever search routines, and a bit of inspired guesswork before she had pulled some useful intelligence from the files.
Reynolds had been called ‘on duty’ yesterday about 4pm, although the only planned appointment was at 8pm and they had no planned outings.
There was a reference to a check of workshop security at 7:17pm, so possibly they’d been down to Runningbird’s workshop.
The 8pm appointment was with ‘Ms. CSR’, a name abbreviation which also showed up 11 days earlier for an 8pm appointment.
On the occasion of the previous appointment was a note that AM thought translated to roughly ‘angry client’ and a reference to ‘lot 824’
Tracing down ‘lot 824’ finds records of Reynolds helping secure transport of it from Willougby’s auction house, a lower end auction house in the north end of downtown. There was shortly after a trip to ‘V’ which may be ‘the Vault’ that Michela had mentioned, and to some material secured in the workshop.There could be more bits of info to tease out, but that is all AM gets within a few minutes.
Meanwhile Bobby’s approach seems to help. Reynolds repeats the information in a somewhat crisper manner, indicating that the client arrived just before 8pm, Reynold’s buzzed her into the building and let her into the reception area. He’d given her a quick pat down, but admitted that as she was a woman and not very dangerous seeming it was fairly basic. She’d paused just before stepping into Runningbird’s inner office turned to Reynold’s a look, and that is when he’d seemed to lose control. She put a flat glass bottle in his hand, then turned back and entered Runningbird’s office. Reynold’s then found himself drinking the flask, and holding onto it as he walked out, quietly closing the door behind himself. He exited the building and kept walking, with his awareness getting very hazy. After some time, he isn’t certain how much, he threw himself in the path of a fast moving vehicle, but seemed to regain control at the last minute and managed to somewhat reduce the impact. After that he was briefly more alert, and recognizing where he was he moved to a ‘defensible location’ where eventually you lot found him.
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