We went from the docks to out new HQ, and sent Koda in, invisible, to scout the building. *There are rat footprints and some boot footprints, some near-sentient molds, and signs of recent (but not present) squatters.* *According to Tom, the music chip on the floor is quite recent--the chip was released two days ago* Tom set the emergency-open code, after asking about "e", to "666666666666666" DArgo told me about 2.71828, and we sent Dana and Koda to the store to get cleaning supplies, locks, and other stuff like that. I helped Tom get up to the roof, where there were little rocks over paper. We were thinking of ways to secure the ventilation system (tom suggested razor wire) and I suggested jingle bells to replace the rocks, or touch-sensitive paper under the rocks that are there, so we know people are on the roof before they get in. Dana and Koda came back with toys, and a bunch of cleaning stuff. In the basement, there are industrial chemical solvents, flooded floor, water heater, furnace, etc. Dana started cleaning, and I tried to do what she was doing. She and Koda started playing tag, and we called the number that Julia Statton had given us. "Hello, Mike's Pizza." "Um... we'd like a pepparoni and sausage pizza please" "Okay. 20-30 minutes" A guy named Steve delivered our pizza. He didn't look like Julia Statton. I called back and asked for a pizza with marshmallow, and the guy asked me if my parents knew I was up so late. I guess they don't do that kind of thing. NEWS FLASH: *There have been a bunch of Rakasha spirit attacks in India, and nuclear testing in France.* *A' checked on the kids who we'd put in the hospital after the shrimp spirit mess, who appear to have been put back out on the street, or into foster homes.* Tom offered to introduce me to Handel (probably to get me to stop singing Billy Joel and the Beatles) We called the pizza place **yet again** and I asked for a shrimp and garlic pizza, and mentioned that I was from the Oracle corporation. He asked if we wanted anything _else_... I asked for coffee and soda ;-) and a bunch of napkins. Then Alpha Prime talked to them. Three thugs, one in a suit and two in black leather. A' talked to them, as they were offering "protection" and told them that we were actually looking for neighbors who will "look out for us" and "neighbors with shotguns". "Our last building burned down, fell over and sunk into the swamp, and nobody even called the cops" They looked scared and confused. A': "Who is your boss, anyway? Anyone I might know?" Guy: "I hope not... I mean, I'll just need to get... special authorization for the special offer" A' really freaked out the street gang =) they "walked" away, really really fast We were planning to send Tom, Kianna, Dana and Jonathan to the bar to meet Frank. Kianna left to go get her dress, and as the other three were leaving, I saw over the video monitor a Big Scary Guy swing at Tom, hit, and his head exploded. There was some gunfire from outside, and I started running towards the roof door. There was more gunfire, and sounds of battle. I realized the door would be locked, and started running to the *downward* stairs. There was *even more* gunfire. I tried to get into position so that I could shoot my stunner through the railings. I aimed for a second, and shot at the bad guy coming up the stairs with a thing in his hand. It didn't seem to work, so I tried again. I decided it was uselesss, and threw it at the bad guy. He caught it. and fired at me. It hit, but didn't knock me out (armor is a good thing) and I continued scrambling up the stairs away from the grenade. It went off with a bang and a flash and a bunch of smoke. I was stunned as Tristain kicked it down the hall, but so were the bad guys. Two of them recovered, and put on gas masks, Tristain appears to be sick, and there's a new guy with a sword & some guns. A stunner hit me, but I didn't pass out. Of course, by now the gas is to me, so I'm *really* stunned. There's more stunners firing and the big cloud of gas spreading. I fell down a few stairs, and crawled to the door, outside, and into the nice clean air. There are sirens in the distance, maybe a few minutes away. Docwagon shows up, and I try to wave them off, despite being stunned and confused. Apparently, it works, and they go away The new guy comes outside, with an A' drone, pulling out Tristain and Koda to the nice, gas-free air. (He's a 6'2" human with a bandanna, an earring, muscles sniper rifle, cutlass andd gas mask, in a grey trenchcoat, between 20 and 30) "So why are you here? And who are you, anyway? Not that we're not grateful--I mean, thank you, but ?" "So there I was. I was in Germany, see, about these weird people in America, in Boston, who kept making enemies of big corps, and I had weird dreams about some other weird places that didn't make any sense. The closer I got to Boston, the less the dreams were waking me up at night. I was watching you guys, and followed you here." I introduced myself as "A'leia Anora O'Shay, Troubador", and first-impressioned him "Interesting". He started hitting on me, in Sperethial and in English. "Dude, you're a troubador and you can't drink? I love this country!" -Barton "If it is them or you, "You're the one who tells the story, and the eyes, and is all cute, and that's great." "There was me, and the duct tape, and the unconsious bodies...-Tristain (So that's why he raises the dead)--Dana (in sp) You should stay away from that one--Barton to Aleia We discovered that Barton is also a dreamer, and A' got in touch with Kianna who went to deal with "Statton". Tristain started trying to get people organized: In Progress: * Kianna meets with Statton To Do: * Interrogate Attackers * Collect the Oracle Corp. Pick l/t goals * Debrief Kianna Ongoing: Move in, set up, repair building Find Clue Objectives: Stop Scourge Kill Horrors I sat down with Kianna, and talked "I went to the bar, and met up with Frank. He didn't want to talk about stuff there, but wanted to know what we wanted, what sort of deal we were looking for with A' on the radio with me, thank the God and the Goddess. Sorry, you're dealing with a Pagan" "Pagan? What's that" "We'll talk about that later" "Basically, we want to know what they know, they think we're incompetent. They are really good about gathering information--where we are, that there are now more of us, heard we had sold out to one of the Tirs, and then in the last 1/2 hour that we were back in Boston with spiffy magic items" "Be careful with those--it's an Astral Beacon, it's dangerous" --me "I still want to look at it. Some of us will be going to meet with them half an hour after sunset tomorrow to talk--knowing us, it'll be the entire company" We go, get the other people from the hospital, and come back "By name's Barton Blackspear. Oh, be afraid, no, not really. It's a good pirate name--I made it up myself, I'll be honest. I don't necessarily remember much about everything. I remember being born in Germany, some research thingamajiggy--first people I really saw were scientists and such--suffice it to say I was trained for a while there, which affect things, give me some memories that are perhaps older than I. Sooner or later I said "hell with you guys, I want to see what the world has to offer. I went to Germany (I thought you were in Germany) I went to Munich--I don't have her gift for stories--I spent some time in the army, don't really want to talk about that much, and I started having dreams--some of you guys, some of people I don't see here, maybe of this Camrish you mentioned. I don't know, I've never been there, maybe you can take me. I got sick of having these dreams--so I found out Boston was in the US--why would I want to go to the US? I don't know. My dreams started getting less painful, but I figured, "Hey, an adventure." I came here, arrived almost right next to you guys, but though that there were better ways to get aquainted than just walking up and saying "Hi" . I was on top of a nearby building, I tend to do that a lot and figured I could bail you out." "You said you were trained? In what" "What do you need?" "Which Army" "Army is perhaps the wrong word. Task force. Secret." "Is Seder-Krupp after you? You said you were from Germany..." "Not that I know of..." He asked, in character, what year it was. I told him 2060. "It's nice to meet you, Mr Barton"(Aleia) "You can call me Barton"(to Aleia) "You may not" (to Tom) Tom asked to have a word with Barton, out of range of A'leia. ((warning about A'leia being impressionable and ...)) "Kianna, I'd like to introduce you to the small concept called "manners!" (Tom) Tom, after a conversation with A'leia and Dana, took A'leia aside and gave her a book on the "facts of life" and all the things she didn't know about. "God damn it, I need some troll action now!"--Dargo "There will be no baby elves, damnit!"-A'leia Over the loudspeaker, A' requested that, from now on, people *always* wear armor, minimum medium monocrys, preferrably the heavy seramet-insert monacrys that "will let you pretend to be Dargo for a while". Don't pretend to _be_ Dargo--it won't work. There was a thump from the kitchen, and we ran in to find out what was going on. We found Kianna, having cut herself on the wavy daggar, and bled onto the knife. "(ask Lauren)" We all go to the room A' designated as a "conference room" for Kianna to talk about the threadweaver. "I met with him, and sat in the booth with him. He had some sort of white noise device to keep people from overhearing. I mentioned that we were interested in the threadweaving that he had demonstrated, he said that was the wrong place to talk about it. We told him that we were interested in getting information from them, and suggested that perhaps an exchange of services would be useful. They're pretty convinced that we are incompetent. We arranged to meet them at the Gazebo in Boston Common tomorrow, half an hour after sunset. He cast a truthing spell on me to determine whether I was who I said I was, and whether we were working with either Tir. He seems conviinced of that."