[gilga]

@Kynos Other then signs of struggles you do not see a sign of forced entry. The man tells you - " I do not know about a dwarf but there was a dogwagon here not long ago, say 30 minutes ago - it evacuated someone. half the city is dying but only go for who ever is paying."

@Vanish eventually they are done, it was a talent hunter they want Balls to make an album or anything, yet they seem to be gone and Balls remains with his girlfriend bartender.

[Mercy Merchant]

Athos nods and thinks carefully.  "My honest answer may be hard to believe.  I have identified two major players in this show.  Grail is a strong vampire leader who is trying to upset the current order.  He is behind the zombies and the missiles that destroyed parts of the city.  Somehow he coopted a highly placed Yak named Venom to his side.  If I were a betting sort of guy, I would assume that he also has a highly placed Mafia person on his payroll, too.  Venom did a lot of the physical legwork for this vampire.  The other major player is some sort of rogue nanite intelligence that goes by the name of Red.  She was a KE project that went horribly wrong.  I think that she and Grail are working together, but I do not know if they are complete partners or together as a convenience and ready to betray each other for an advantage."

"I think that they were together on the warehouse because Red set up the bomb in the building, and the trap for the Yak boss and Dona Valentina.  Venom was taking delivery of some heavy missiles and other weapons from the warehouse just prior to the meeting.  That is about as much as I know.  There is some innuendo, but nothing else solid." 

Athos looks at Horse, knowing that the others will come when they are ready, not when he is ready.  He sits back in the chair, comfortable and confident, waiting for more questions.

[Jack_Spade]

"Thanks for the info." Kynos turned away and closed the door to the van, engaging the manual lock. He activated his commlink:
<<Sovereign, you remember when I busted you out from this island? I need a favor. Our little Dronerigger has let himself be captured by someone looking like Docwaggon. That means I lost Venom's trace.
On the plus side, he should no longer be protected from spirits while he is on the run. On the neg side, that means every fragger who has a beef with him now can find him sooner or later.
And I want to be that fragger. So if you are feeling well enough, could you please conjure some competent little spirit to search for those two? Starting point would be the address attached to this message.
Call me back as soon as you get this message, no matter if you do it or not, I'll try to find them the old fashioned way.>>

He then sent a message to Athos explaining the situation

Finally he started his bike up and drove to the point DemoX had told him where Minnie and Venom had gone ashore.
"Hey you there. Have you seen my friends? A naked ork and a hot chick, also naked? Where did they go?"

[Mulcarn]

No dreams, no nightmares, only restlessness.  The easy part was falling asleep, the hard part was staying asleep.  Vehemence or some other frenzied energy roused him from his bed.  Maxwell sits up and clasps his face with his hands to shake the blurriness from his eyes.  He gets up and walks over to his bathroom to brush his teeth and relieve himself, well not exactly in that order.  Once finished he stares into his own pale gaunt face, dark circles underline his sunken-in eyes.  He sighs heavily and starts going through his stuff for a fresh set of his standard shadow garb.  Once found he puts on his clean clothes and grabs the rest of his street gear, armor and all. 

[spoiler]Roughly 3 Hours of Recovery: 3#11d6t5 4 5 4 Nearly glitched on one of those.[/spoiler]

He lazily mumbles to himself.  "I wonder what time it is?  Hopefully close to nightfall."  Reaching into his pocket he fishes out the burner on loan from Kynos.  Maxwell activates the AR interface to check both time and messages.  The time was only 3:37 P.M; With one message left from Kynos.  He goes over it with little interest at first, but as he absorbs the information he rereads it again in fervor.  "Hmmmm, a mixed blessing.  A sign of approval from The Black Knight himself for my diligent hatred.  Let's see if I can find the ork first, then i'll help look for the dwarf."  Maxwell heads back to his bed to lie down in preparation.

He astral projects, flying high above the city.  High above the maelstrom of negative emotions and pollution that hinders his spellcraft.  Crying out, he calls forth his favored kind of spirit to aid him.  "You, you're made of fire, never higher.  You were born under the sun, forced to run.  We'll cry to the blood-red sun, in a voice born of stone and dust."

[spoiler]Summoning Force 7 Fire Spirit: 15d6t5 2
Second Chance: 13d6t5 6
Bad Luck: 1d6 2
Spirit Resist: 8d6t5 2
Drain Resist: 11d6t5 7
Force 8 Fire Spirit summoned with 5 Services.  No Drain.  Spent 1 point of Edge.
Optional Powers - Fear and Search.
Let's call this Spirit, Heaven's Bane.[/spoiler]
[spoiler]Credit goes to Gilga for the inspiration.
[/spoiler]

With his new demonic servant summoned, he ghosts back to his body.  Determined, he gets out of bed and walks outside.  He looks around briefly before whipping out his comm to text back.

@Kynos - <<Thank you for letting me know.  I'm going to try and locate Venom first, then i'll send help to search for your friend.  I'll let you know if I find anything.>>

Maxwell forms a mental image of Venom within his mind and opens up a telepathic link to Heaven's Bane.  "Find Venom, and once you do then guide me to his location."

[All4BigGuns]

@Vanish eventually they are done, it was a talent hunter they want Balls to make an album or anything, yet they seem to be gone and Balls remains with his girlfriend bartender.

Once the others are gone, Vanish levers himself up and approaches saying lowly, "You would be the one who goes by 'Balls', correct?"

[gilga]

@Maxwell the Daemon say with its terrible voice "FOOL MAGE! YOU ARE BLIND TO SEE THAT YOUR PRIZE IS JUST UNDER YOUR NOSE! DID YOU SUMMON ME TO MOCK ME MORTAL? YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS INSULT!"
Venom is 100 meters away from you. That much you know and the daemon... he is really pissed for this kind of service.


@ Kynos it is unclear exactly where did they meet, the last report from DemoX was somewhere between the city and the island in the ocean. There are plenty of camera feeds around, shops gas stations traffic lights security - nobody could truly disappear.

@Athos Horse tells you "It seems as if you have been busy" It is not long before Valentina and Tony arrive. Tony is more than a head taller than the somewhat plain donna Valentina. By the myth around her name you'd expect her to be as big as a troll.
She smiles happily and seat with you.  "They have some good selection of wines, I'd go for something red and strong that matches the meat we are going to have" Are her first words.

[Jack_Spade]

[spoiler]
Tracking: Tracking: 7d6t5 3

[/spoiler]
Kynos wasn't discouraged. He slapped the KE insignia back on his armor and began to ask around for the two fugitives - there were a lot more people on the street than he'd have expected after a zombie outbreak and he did his best to reassure them that he'd shoot any undead while he combed the area.

[Mercy Merchant]

Athos smiles and nods to Horse.  "I have indeed been quite busy.  And I expect to be even busier in the near future." 

He stands respectfully when Dona Valentina makes her appearance and waits for her to sit before returning to his chair.  He nods when she mentions wine and raises a finger to summon one of the staff to place an order for some "very nice" red wine.  It is not his place yet to lead off the discussion, so he waits for his boss to say something.

[Mulcarn]

Listening to his own spirit talk back to him in such a manner was chilling to say the least.  Never in his career as an illegal magician have his servants ever spoken to him like that.  Usually they don't say a word unless he tells them to, let alone threaten him.  What's changed?  Maxwell looks around rapidly in a state of paranoia, half wondering if he's still asleep.  In some kind of lucid hell.  He unsheathes his knife and very carefully pricks his finger.  He feels the cold steel cut into his skin and the pain of the blade severing flesh.  Eagerly he watches a few droplets of crimson hit the ground.  No, he's awake alright.

Maxwell inhales sharply and sheathes his knife.  He could still feel the link between himself and his spirit.  Like an astral chain to his mind and soul.  This isn't a dream and he did actually summon an angry vengeful demonic fire spirit.  Then suddenly, out of nowhere, it hits him.  He remembers that he told Heaven's Bane to find Venom and tell him about his location.  Not only did his dark servant find him, but apparently Venom is very close by.  Suspiciously close.

Maxwell crosses his arms and begins to think things out.  "If what my spirit is saying is true, then he's been hiding here the entire time.  But... that doesn't make any sense.  Why would Strawberry send me to go find the guy if he's practically in my backyard?"  He crosses his arms tighter and starts to frown.  "No, I might be going about this the wrong way.  I have two ideas, my first is that Venom is out of places to hide and he came back here hoping Strawberry would give him asylum."  Maxwell bares tooth and fang as his heart starts filling with rage.  "Or those two have been working together from the start.  It doesn't matter now, she can't protect him from my wrath any longer!"

He addresses his spirit with a furious commanding tone.  "Yes, you are correct.  It'd be a waste of your time to not unleash your power and strength.  That was the big point as to why I summoned you, to spread your fire.  My next task for you is to tell Venom to come to the front of the Joke and meet me.  If he doesn't do that immediately then immolate him until only ash remains."

[gilga]

@Kynos it does not take long to track them. The boat is still in the water and inside the boat there are many items, including an anti theft camera - it photographed them getting on a taxi, that you could get a partial id for. On the way to figure out with the taxi company who picked them up you remember that you paid a decker good money to trace a bug in Venom's hair.
Perhaps it is a good time to see how good he really was?

@Maxwell - The daemon say "I am not your errant boy mortal - fool I am more powerful than you are! YOU should be working for me." He disappears and you can feel that the connection between you and the spirit is growing weaker. The Daemon does not attempts to stop it but it is being banished. It is a tickling sensation you are not sure if the daemon arrives at Venom but he is no longer under your control. One thing that the Daemon says surprises you... more powerful than you? you are typically careful not to risk your life pulling arch daemons out of the haveans. How can that be? That said you better act quickly, whomever banished your spirit is probably not very far.

[spoiler]
made some banishing rolls spirit is gone but you drained the mage a bit. You would not beleive how lucky you are!
1. Banishing: 18d6t5 4
2. defense: 8d6t5 3
lost 1
drain: 18d6t5 5 1 physical to evil Strawberry.

Banishing: 18d6t5 5
resistance: 8d6t5 1
dRAIN: 18d6t5 4
spirit gone... now this was the evil part! to try and summon it (would have been so funny if it worked!)
Summoning (trap spirit): 18d6t5 2 (almost glitch)
Summoning (trap spirit)-resistance: 8d6t5 5

Strawberry could not summon your spirit. (cool tricks with banishing heh?)



[/spoiler]

[Mulcarn]

Maxwell could not believe the audacity.  Not only was his spirit talking down to him but someone had the gall to banish his servant.  "What the hell did he mean that he's more powerful than me?  Every mage worth their salt knows to never summon something bigger than themselves.  He was definitely under my control though, and he performed the service I gave him.  What the fuck is going on?"

He shakes his head in frustration, barely understanding the problems he's facing.  "Wait... He was bound to me, I felt that, I didn't imagine that!  But how was he stronger than me?  I didn't do anything different from normal.  Something else too is bothering me, someone severed my control from him.  The only other mage here that I know of is Strawberry.  This drek is getting ridiculous now!  How dare she control how I practice my craft!"

It's high time he has a nice long "talk" to Strawberry, and how he only has so much patience for games.  Before that he gets out his comm real quick.

@Kynos - <<I found Venom, sorta.  He's hiding out roughly 100 meters somewhere from the Joke.  I don't know his exact location though.  What's worse is that I think Strawberry banished my spirit that I just summoned.  I can't risk summoning another one currently or else it might go berserk and start rampaging throughout the Barrens.>>

He pockets his comm and heads around to the entrance of the Joke.  He walks inside with his hands in his pockets and his mouth curled into a twisted look of hate.  He exhales angrily through his nose and begins to look around for that idiot ginger elf.

[spoiler]Yeah it was a neat trick.  Spirits hate being summoned right after being banished though.  Not that it matters right now.[/spoiler]

[Shaman_Yuri]

It's been a long morning after a long previous day and it's been forever since she's felt clean, so Minnie gratefully accepts the invitation and follows Gi into the running water.

[gilga]

@Athos the wines are very good and so do the steak, the city almost looks peaceful from the top floor and Valentina, Horse and Tony all appear to be enjoying themselves. It is only after you are all done, including desert that Valentina gets to business.
She say:
"The Finnegans have seen better days, our money was stolen and our lines were infiltrated, these are bad news for the family but these are good news for us, should we continue now we can become the dominant force in the family, but we lost so much already. Athos I know you did not blow up that warehouse, I know I did not blow it up and honestly the simplest explanation seems to be the most probable who ever did that wanted me and Andu dead, wanted us to go to war with another syndicate and the goal was to weaken us and keep us busy. The hit on the family leaders just confirms what I suspected, there is a traitor inside our ranks. Nobody is going to cooperate with us, the family is no more. Trust can be established but only when things calm down, I have prepared quite a bit of funds on credsticks, offline and unhackable. The original goal was to buy us a piece of land in the Barrens. The matrix is no longer safe for us, our goal remains as before and we will need a loyal decker, our top priority will be to find one. Perhaps Yulia's girlfriend can help there.

We want to gain control over Turistville and the areas next to it, no military coup nor an undead invasion are going to change that. UCAS are a strong nation and they can solve their own problems. If they cannot solve these problems than we can also be successful with a new order. With all this Chaos and the our relative wealth we can make this an opportunity to growth.

Athos - if someone wants to kill you they'll have to try, you are strong and difficult to kill. Hiding is not for you!  I do want to eventually know who is our enemy but we need a land of our own, not Finnegan land our land a place where we can collect our taxes and establish a functioning power base. It cannot be Bellevue or any other part of the city where the other Finnegan's are going to be competing with us and interfering with our business.  We are going into the Barrens and what ever gangs are active in there they will have to be dealt with.

I gave you a shopping list, how are you progressing on that list? "

[gilga]

@Minnie It is good to shower, and it is even better to shower with someone that desires you. The only thing that breaks the harmony is a huge fire spitting Daemon that materialize next to you. Scorching the floor and activating anti fire protection. Chocking in pain from the water and fire extinguisher it say "Soverigns will meet you in the Joke, if you do not come I will kill you! Puny mortal" In an uncharacteristic bravery Gi laughs, "Oh really ? You are going to kill me. " he places a strong emphasis about the word kill .
"Yes mortal I will burn you so quickly that it will only takes you a second to die... are you coming or can I get on with my job." Gi answered "So let me get it straight - if I am not going to come to the joke you are going to KILL me... if I come to the Joke Sovereign is going to KILL me in there... you leave me with many exciting options."

It takes Minnie a bit to understand why her naked and defenseless lover is not alarmed by the fire daemon - he even seem to make him very angry - but the Daemon awaits his reply as to weather or not he is coming to the Joke. Saying the word KILL so many times did the trick and the fire Daemon disappears to the same place he came from. When it is gone Gi passionately kisses you and then say "The one good thing about Strawberry is that she just 'knows' everything that goes on in her domain. She is the most capable mage the Yakuza has access to. I knew she could do that."

 

[Mercy Merchant]

Athos enjoys the meal immensely.  He knows from prior experience that Dona Valentina will not discuss business until after dessert.  When all is finished and the brandy is served, he listens to what his boss has to say.  Nodding his head, he waits until she is finished and asks her question before replying.  "I admire the boldness of your plan, Dona Valentina and you have my complete support and loyalty.  I have been involved in determining our innocence in the matter of the assassination attempt that I have not completed the second phase of the list.  We own the former Yakuza warehouse, even if it is now mostly splinters and masonry dust.  With your permission, I will stop focusing on further identifying who the enemy plotter is and return to securing the loyalty of the people in the other two buildings.  He pauses to look at the other three.  "I will try to secure a decker, but I do not know if Nagisa is available.  If she is, we will need to make other arrangements to secure her trust and cooperation.  And how many soldiers do I have at my disposal to get this rolling?  We will not be able to ask for taxes if we cannot protect the people, and for that I will need guards and enforcers."