You know that saying about best laid plans? Well, it's true, as the Mage gamed proved to all. We (the players) had sent emails during the week detailing just what we wanted to accomplish before taking on the Hive. We managed about 2 1/2 of them. Of course, a lot of other stuff happened. Much of it not good.
We started right where we left off last game. The boys were at the Observatory relaxing a bit. Chloe and Brand had just left Christian's office and were heading home. Calvin! decided to go and visit Helvin. He wanted to see if he could talk him into joining us during our raid on the Hive. Both Romulus and Nate agreed to go with him. When they were almost there, they all noticed smoke from a fire. It seemed to be coming from the area where Helvin's house was. Their suspicions proved right. As they drove up, they saw Helvin's house in flames with police and other emergency vehicles around. Calvin! jumped out of the car and attempted to get to the house. He was stopped by police. To get some information, Calvin! lied and told the officer that he was family to the person who lived there and wanted to know what happened. He was told that no one would know what happened until the fire was put out. Calvin! decided to use Forces to help with that. While he was doing so, Romulus got a sense of danger and left the car to search things out. Nate, who stayed in the car, felt the same thing and saw two dark suited agents pop into view, heading towards Calvin!. He attempted to get Calvin!'s attention with an annoying fly. Calvin! just brushed it away and keep ranting. Romulus finally saw the Technocracy agents and made a beeline to get Calvin!. They made it back to the car and drove around until they were sure they weren't being followed.
While driving back to the Observatory, Chloe made a phone call to Fred (vampire friend of Lethal's). She asked if she could meet him somewhere to talk to him. He warily agreed to meet up with her at O'Douls Pub. She told Brand about the change of plans and added that he was to drop her off and be on his merry way. Her answer was a flat stare from him. Deciding it wasn't worth the fight, she told him he could come but had to stay in the car. He agreed to that. Still convinced she didn't need a babysitter, Chloe started peppering Brand with question after question. And, she didn't stop. Frankly, she didn't care much about his answers; she just wanted to annoy the hell out him so he would finally give up and leave her alone. He didn't leave but he did get annoyed. They finally made it to O'Douls. Chloe went inside and headed straight for the table where Lethal, Fred, and a few cronies were seated. Lethal and Chloe traded their usual insults (god help them if they are ever trapped somewhere together). Fred got up and led Chloe to another table. She gave him the pictures of Petite and Shade and explained who and what they were. He seemed relieved that was all she wanted. He bought her a beer as they chatted for a bit. Afterwards, Chloe rejoined Brand and gave him directions to Rapture.
After driving around for awhile, Romulus suggested they go to his place. They got there without incident and holed up for awhile. Calvin!, still being upset about Helvin's possible death, started drinking. After some time passed and Calvin! had a few more drinks, they snuck out the back entrance and took a cab to the Observatory.
Getting to Rapture, Chloe sent Brand to the bar with instructions to relax and get a drink. She talked a bit with Genaro, reminding him of his promise to take her for her first tattoo. He though that was a great idea but it wouldn't happen until 3am, when he got off work. Chloe agreed to meet him back at Rapture then.
Back at the Observatory, Nate was intent on making himself some tea. Calvin! was intent on making himself drunk. Romulus was intent on avoiding the whole Calvin! getting drunk thing. He did so by going outside. As he looked over the horizon, he saw a surge of power, like electricity, over what appeared to be North Hollywood. He headed back inside and told Nate and Calvin! what happened. A sober Nate declined to go with him to check it out but a drunk Calvin! thought that would be spiffy. Romulus was smart enough to suggest that he, not Calvin!, should drive. So, they left.
Being alone, Nate decided to head into Skip's Horizon Realm. Not wanting to disturb Skip, Nate started to walk around, taking in the sights. He noticed the Realm was smaller then he thought; only twenty or thirty buildings were actually there. It was also rundown and seemed to go in circles. What happened next was a big surprise. Nate felt the whole Realm shake. He then saw a flash of light in the distance and watched as a crack appeared in the Umbra. Lastly, he heard a very loud thunderclap.
With time to kill, Chloe and Brand headed out to run her errands. First stop was the pawn shop where she bought a Polaroid camera. She still had to get a picture of Romulus in exchange for learning what Christian knew. Next stop was to her apartment to pick up more clothes. Then they went to get dinner. They still had plenty of time to kill, so Chloe suggested going to Das Bunker for some dancing. Brand said he wasn't going to dance. Chloe said he was. On the way there, Chloe set up some rules. If a hot guy hit on her, Brand was to be her brother who desperately needed to get laid. If an ugly guy hit on her, Brand was to be her just out of county boyfriend who was jealous and mean tempered.
As they entered the area in North Hollywood where Romulus saw the energy surge, the guys came across a 2-3 block blackout. People were milling about, looking at a huge crater/sinkhole in the ground. Calvin! used mind to check the area for any strong emotions that seemed out of place for the event, like happiness or great satisfaction. Romulus used Spirit to check the area out as well. What he saw freaked him out more then a bit. In the Spirit world, the crater wasn't there. What was there was a monster he hadn't seen before. Fighting it were people wielding magic. These people were dressed...oddly. He also saw that our favorite Marauder (for that's what they were) Mel was there fighting right beside the others.
Done with watching the crack and wandering about, Nate decided to head up to Skip's laboratory, where he found a meeting going on. He slipped inside, not drawing attention to himself. Skip, Olivia, Helvin (he's alive!), and Rebecca were talking to a couple of people in suits. Or rather, the gentleman in the dark grey suit was talking to Olivia and Rebecca. The female with him was taking notes. Nate had no trouble figuring out they were Technocracy. As he watched, the conversation ended and Olivia walked through the gate with the two Technocrats.
After they watched the fight for a bit, Calvin! wanted to call Tommy. Mel was associated with him (Not sure if girlfriend or what) and he thought Tommy should be notified about what was happening. He didn't have that number, so he called Chloe, who did. She gave him the number and they talked a bit about what was going on. They both agreed to call the other if help was needed. Calvin! then called Tommy. When he found out where Romulus and Calvin! were, he told them to get the hell out of there. They were needed elsewhere. Tommy gave them the address and they left to meet up with him and Jack.
So ends the first part of the game. On board for the next installment: a couple of fights, what happens when someone drinks too much, paradox is a bitch, and a date is set.
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