MoM Session 3: Shipping Up to Boston Pt. I
General Summary
May 13, 1994 - Friday
The still presently-unnamed cabal found themselves called to the Free Council’s Lorehouse in Milwaukee on short notice, being informed by the Hierarch Tiresias to clear up their schedule for the next few days. The elegant marble and statuesque columns of Tiresias’ office were in stark contrast to the Hierarch’s nervous state. He told the cabal that an associate of his from Boston, a mage named Chain Parris, has called in a favor that requires a few trustworthy mages to travel to the Hub. Tiresias confessed that the cabal were some of the only mages available at present, but acknowledged their competence in solving problems within Milwaukee. After finding himself short on proverbial cards to negotiate the cabal’s assistance, he promised access to rotes, tass, and even offered to loan the cabal an artifact should they aid him in fulfilling his promised oath to Chain. With an all-expenses paid trip awaiting them, the cabal took flight on a private Cessna plane, making record time due to Medea’s manipulations of Fate.
Upon landing in Boston-Logan Airport, the cabal received the red carpet treatment, being chauffeured via limo to a penthouse office. There, they came face-to-face with Chain Parris, a healthy-looking man dressed in simple yet exorbitant expensive suits. Chain told the cabal that he served as representative of the Hierarch of Boston, a man known as the Nemean. The Nemean sensed a disturbance in the Shadow, caused by a mass exodus of spirits from a construction site in the neighboring city of Cambridge. The few spirits that offered up communications mentioned something about a “spear” being unearthed, something that Chain was unsure was literal, metaphorical, or a combination of both. Upon being questioned, he mentioned a few complications with the task. First, the Nemean wanted this to be handled by foreign mages to Boston, with none of the locals the wiser. Second, the precise location of the “spear” is unknown, with it being especially difficult to track down in the labyrinthine nature of urban construction present in the area. Third, it is public knowledge that (pre)historical human remains were unearthed recently as well, prompting a tribal representative of the Wampanoag Amerindians to try and petition for a more measured approach to excavation. There would be a town hall meeting tonight to discuss how to move forward regarding construction in Cambridge.
The cabal was split on how to handle the situation. Slush immediately felt some sympathy for the Wampanoag, and wanted to attend the town hall, while Rembrandt reasoned that the cabal could simply knick the artifact and be out of the city by nightfall. Seeing the benefits of a multifaceted approach, the cabal split into teams. Medea and Slush decided to attend the town hall while Morgan and Rembrandt decided to examine the construction area to see if they could at least locate the item in question. Before the cabal left Chain’s tower, he offered a phone number to reach him, as well as the number of the Head Sentinel of the Boston Consilium, Anaconda “The Axe,” in case things went completely awry. He also mentioned a few areas in town under control of the Seers, caught in a perpetual cold war with the Pentacle. Chain also cautioned the cabal that a Banisher might be in the area, noting that the corrupting influence of Banishers are the few adversaries that can even unite the Pentacle and the Seers. Morgan cast a powerful Death spell to mask the magical nature of the cabal members and the four made their departure.
Medea and Slush made their way to Cambridge town hall, finding seats on opposite sides of the room to keep their association hidden. The event was packed, with the local news crew even being present. Slush immediately identified three VIP speakers for the meeting tonight as he sat to the front of the room: Robe Andrews-Maltais (the tribal representative of the Wampanoag), Professor Bradford Gable (professor of historical archaeology from Harvard), and Jason Costanzo (owner of Shady Hills Construction). Medea, meanwhile, sat with a contingent of upper-middle class citizens, learning that the tax burdens of curated excavations would be catastrophically high. As the town hall began, both noticed the presence of one especially unusual individual - popular actor Kevin Bacon - albeit in a somewhat-competent disguise.
As the meeting was inaugurated by the droning and utterly tepid lecture by Professor Gable, a spell cast by Medea caught the attention of several individuals in the room: a roughneck townie man, a well-dressed business-type woman, Robe, and Kevin Bacon. Perplexingly, the spell, a means to identify fated interconnections between people, was harder to control than would be expected. Medea was able to identify an interconnection between the townie and the businesswoman, pegging them as mages of unknown affiliation. As Slush cast a spell to improve his sensory ability, he noticed the same individuals as Medea clue into a spell being cast. More importantly, he was raked by the ravaging claws of the Abyss, his spell calling more Paradox than expected. Upon absorbing it, he realized the origin of the boosted Paradox was Kevin Bacon, or Kevin Facon as Slush took to calling him. This individual was supernaturally aware, but not a mage or Sleeper. Making Medea aware of the danger of casting spells, Slush returned his focus to the next speaker: Robe Andrews-Maltais. Medea scanned Robe as he got onstage with her Interconnections spell, reacting in shock at the realization that the man had a Destiny that was unfolding at this very moment. More shocking was how upon being examined by magic, the threads of Fate stretched from Robe to both Slush and Medea.
Meanwhile, Morgan and Rembrandt made their way to the Lechmere train station, the rough location of where the “spear” was unearthed alongside some ancient human remains. What they found was a massive amount of construction, with the station being the only oasis in a sea of half-erected steel and concrete. Both Rembrandt and Morgan ducked into private bathrooms to cast Space and Matter spells, respectively, to help track down the spear and the associated human remains. Though Rembrandt cast her spell with ease, Morgan found several impediments to his casting ability, only barely succeeding; Stygia’s inferior Arcanum is Spirit after all. Rembrandt found difficulty in getting any “spears” to appear in her spatial field, while Morgan found too much noise in his detection, a plethora of human remains being present in this historical district of Boston. Both combined their magic with mundane investigation, attempting to find the location of the excavation site. Though initially unsuccessful in finding the human remains they were tasked with, Morgan did stumble upon a ghost by the banks of the Charles River.
The ghost appeared to have bludgeoning wounds, capped by bloodshot eyes and a pale complexion. The ephemeral block of cement tied to his ankle and his location by the river shed more light on the ghost’s demise. When Morgan began speaking with the ghost, its raspy voice, still gasping for air, only cemented (natch) Morgan’s assessment of the ghost’s death. After a short negotiation, the ghost agreed to help the two mages with identifying an old Amerindian burial ground from his era in exchange for being released from his fetters. Through a combination of Space and Matter magic, Rembrandt was able to find the ghost’s skeletal remains 40 feet below the river and open a portal to it. Morgan shunted the remains out as the portal was quickly closed. Seeing the remains of the ghost, a humerus still attached to the concrete block that sunk him to the bottom of the Charles, Morgan identified the remains as a fetter and destroyed the rope connecting the weight and the ghost’s skeletal remains. The ghost pointed in the direction of the Amerindian burial ground before dissipating, whispering a final thanks to the two mages. With their search radius significantly reduced, Rembrandt and Morgan were able to find the excavation site in question, belonging to Shady Hills Construction.
Time will tell how the town hall meeting goes, if the nebulous “spear” can be found, and if the foreshadowed threats of Seers and Banishers will make an appearance. And who the hell is Kevin Facon really?
The still presently-unnamed cabal found themselves called to the Free Council’s Lorehouse in Milwaukee on short notice, being informed by the Hierarch Tiresias to clear up their schedule for the next few days. The elegant marble and statuesque columns of Tiresias’ office were in stark contrast to the Hierarch’s nervous state. He told the cabal that an associate of his from Boston, a mage named Chain Parris, has called in a favor that requires a few trustworthy mages to travel to the Hub. Tiresias confessed that the cabal were some of the only mages available at present, but acknowledged their competence in solving problems within Milwaukee. After finding himself short on proverbial cards to negotiate the cabal’s assistance, he promised access to rotes, tass, and even offered to loan the cabal an artifact should they aid him in fulfilling his promised oath to Chain. With an all-expenses paid trip awaiting them, the cabal took flight on a private Cessna plane, making record time due to Medea’s manipulations of Fate.
Upon landing in Boston-Logan Airport, the cabal received the red carpet treatment, being chauffeured via limo to a penthouse office. There, they came face-to-face with Chain Parris, a healthy-looking man dressed in simple yet exorbitant expensive suits. Chain told the cabal that he served as representative of the Hierarch of Boston, a man known as the Nemean. The Nemean sensed a disturbance in the Shadow, caused by a mass exodus of spirits from a construction site in the neighboring city of Cambridge. The few spirits that offered up communications mentioned something about a “spear” being unearthed, something that Chain was unsure was literal, metaphorical, or a combination of both. Upon being questioned, he mentioned a few complications with the task. First, the Nemean wanted this to be handled by foreign mages to Boston, with none of the locals the wiser. Second, the precise location of the “spear” is unknown, with it being especially difficult to track down in the labyrinthine nature of urban construction present in the area. Third, it is public knowledge that (pre)historical human remains were unearthed recently as well, prompting a tribal representative of the Wampanoag Amerindians to try and petition for a more measured approach to excavation. There would be a town hall meeting tonight to discuss how to move forward regarding construction in Cambridge.
The cabal was split on how to handle the situation. Slush immediately felt some sympathy for the Wampanoag, and wanted to attend the town hall, while Rembrandt reasoned that the cabal could simply knick the artifact and be out of the city by nightfall. Seeing the benefits of a multifaceted approach, the cabal split into teams. Medea and Slush decided to attend the town hall while Morgan and Rembrandt decided to examine the construction area to see if they could at least locate the item in question. Before the cabal left Chain’s tower, he offered a phone number to reach him, as well as the number of the Head Sentinel of the Boston Consilium, Anaconda “The Axe,” in case things went completely awry. He also mentioned a few areas in town under control of the Seers, caught in a perpetual cold war with the Pentacle. Chain also cautioned the cabal that a Banisher might be in the area, noting that the corrupting influence of Banishers are the few adversaries that can even unite the Pentacle and the Seers. Morgan cast a powerful Death spell to mask the magical nature of the cabal members and the four made their departure.
Medea and Slush made their way to Cambridge town hall, finding seats on opposite sides of the room to keep their association hidden. The event was packed, with the local news crew even being present. Slush immediately identified three VIP speakers for the meeting tonight as he sat to the front of the room: Robe Andrews-Maltais (the tribal representative of the Wampanoag), Professor Bradford Gable (professor of historical archaeology from Harvard), and Jason Costanzo (owner of Shady Hills Construction). Medea, meanwhile, sat with a contingent of upper-middle class citizens, learning that the tax burdens of curated excavations would be catastrophically high. As the town hall began, both noticed the presence of one especially unusual individual - popular actor Kevin Bacon - albeit in a somewhat-competent disguise.
As the meeting was inaugurated by the droning and utterly tepid lecture by Professor Gable, a spell cast by Medea caught the attention of several individuals in the room: a roughneck townie man, a well-dressed business-type woman, Robe, and Kevin Bacon. Perplexingly, the spell, a means to identify fated interconnections between people, was harder to control than would be expected. Medea was able to identify an interconnection between the townie and the businesswoman, pegging them as mages of unknown affiliation. As Slush cast a spell to improve his sensory ability, he noticed the same individuals as Medea clue into a spell being cast. More importantly, he was raked by the ravaging claws of the Abyss, his spell calling more Paradox than expected. Upon absorbing it, he realized the origin of the boosted Paradox was Kevin Bacon, or Kevin Facon as Slush took to calling him. This individual was supernaturally aware, but not a mage or Sleeper. Making Medea aware of the danger of casting spells, Slush returned his focus to the next speaker: Robe Andrews-Maltais. Medea scanned Robe as he got onstage with her Interconnections spell, reacting in shock at the realization that the man had a Destiny that was unfolding at this very moment. More shocking was how upon being examined by magic, the threads of Fate stretched from Robe to both Slush and Medea.
Meanwhile, Morgan and Rembrandt made their way to the Lechmere train station, the rough location of where the “spear” was unearthed alongside some ancient human remains. What they found was a massive amount of construction, with the station being the only oasis in a sea of half-erected steel and concrete. Both Rembrandt and Morgan ducked into private bathrooms to cast Space and Matter spells, respectively, to help track down the spear and the associated human remains. Though Rembrandt cast her spell with ease, Morgan found several impediments to his casting ability, only barely succeeding; Stygia’s inferior Arcanum is Spirit after all. Rembrandt found difficulty in getting any “spears” to appear in her spatial field, while Morgan found too much noise in his detection, a plethora of human remains being present in this historical district of Boston. Both combined their magic with mundane investigation, attempting to find the location of the excavation site. Though initially unsuccessful in finding the human remains they were tasked with, Morgan did stumble upon a ghost by the banks of the Charles River.
The ghost appeared to have bludgeoning wounds, capped by bloodshot eyes and a pale complexion. The ephemeral block of cement tied to his ankle and his location by the river shed more light on the ghost’s demise. When Morgan began speaking with the ghost, its raspy voice, still gasping for air, only cemented (natch) Morgan’s assessment of the ghost’s death. After a short negotiation, the ghost agreed to help the two mages with identifying an old Amerindian burial ground from his era in exchange for being released from his fetters. Through a combination of Space and Matter magic, Rembrandt was able to find the ghost’s skeletal remains 40 feet below the river and open a portal to it. Morgan shunted the remains out as the portal was quickly closed. Seeing the remains of the ghost, a humerus still attached to the concrete block that sunk him to the bottom of the Charles, Morgan identified the remains as a fetter and destroyed the rope connecting the weight and the ghost’s skeletal remains. The ghost pointed in the direction of the Amerindian burial ground before dissipating, whispering a final thanks to the two mages. With their search radius significantly reduced, Rembrandt and Morgan were able to find the excavation site in question, belonging to Shady Hills Construction.
Time will tell how the town hall meeting goes, if the nebulous “spear” can be found, and if the foreshadowed threats of Seers and Banishers will make an appearance. And who the hell is Kevin Facon really?
Report Date
04 Feb 2023
Primary Location
Cabal Members
- Medea
- Morgan Lindquist
- Rembrandt
- Slush
Comments