February 18, 2008

Preparations

At the diner, they considered their plan of action.  Kyna saw that the sewer around the theater was built in a circle, and within the various colored bricks was a magical pattern.  Ely wondered if magical things were more resistant to non-magical things.

Kyna considered burning down the theater, but realized that the pattern in the sewer was more important than the building.  Walter suggested causing an earthquake to disrupt the pattern, but the 18th century sewers were soundly built, and also warded.  Ely suggested inserting additional bricks into the pattern to disrupt it.  Kyna advised that altering the pattern did not remove the original pattern. 

Kyna researched the pattern in the sewer.  They walked the pattern.  She determined that the course of the sewer had changed over time, but the pattern was still intact and charged by the ley lines.  Ely brought a cheap digital camera with him and photographed the pattern.  Kyna was unable to get a sample of the bricks or to determine what spell the pattern was for.

Ely’s gut told him that spirit form would be a bad idea.  The pattern would consume him in spirit form.  A soul vacuum.  Kyna determined that the symbol was for transmutive magic.  However, there was no evidence that the wizard had created the pattern, knew that the pattern was there, or what he intended to do with it, to bring to the White Council.  

Kyna knew someone who might know more information about the ward.  She was told that breaking the pattern would break the ward, but as it had hundreds of years of power sucked from ley lines, breaking the ward could be catastrophic.  The better plan was to redirect the energy somewhere else.  They needed something to absorb the power.  Her contact suggested researching the Freemason’s archive of the design of the city.

Ely’s camera failed to capture any images.  The pictures were all black.

At the Masonic Temple

Ely, Kyna and Walter drove to the Masonic Temple in Alexandria.  It was open, but there were only a few people there.  They paid the library fee and researched the design of the city.  Kyna discovered that if the bricks were made of stone, it was a strength transformation.  Kyna discovered that if the bricks were made of wheat, it was a fertility transformation.  If the bricks were made of flesh, it was an animistic transformation. If the bricks were made of blood, it was a death transformation.

Further research determined that is was a flesh pattern of an elven soul-eating rune.  It would transform several people into elves, but elves that would not be bound to the fey leadership.  And as an elf, he would no longer be subject to the rule of the White Council.  Kyna considered informing the elves abut the wizard’s plan, but realized that they would not believe it possible until it had actually happened.  And then it would probably incite a war between the Winter and Summer Courts.

There were three ways to disrupt the spell:

  • Disrupt the spell
  • Disrupt power source
  • Kill the caster

Kyna hypothesized that the spell was the entire play, so they would have the entire length of the play to act.  However, the wizard had probably already warded the venue.  She needed to get inside the theater to determine what had been implemented.

Having exhausted the resources of the library, Walter and Kyna went home to sleep while Walter consulted his boss. The dragon appeared in the form of a Chuckie doll and told him that nothing good could come of it.    She did not care if the elven courts went to war, and that the humans would probably survive somehow.  She also said that there were too many elves in the world.

February 19, 2008

At the Theater

At 9AM, Walter, Ely and Kyna went to the theater.  Ely let them in which his key.  Kyna examined the premises with her Sight.  There were low level wards all over the stage to prevent sabotage.  They were not strong enough to prevent Kyna from disrupting them.  Ely wondered if Kyna could disguise her magic as his, but she told him that the wizard was significantly more powerful than her, and that casters were so infused in their spells as to be unique.

Kyna reasoned that the wizard was not an actor, he was the director.  Therefore he would likely be backstage during the performance.  Walter did not think that the wizard could benefit from the spell without being inside the circle.  But he could be anywhere within it.

Ely sought out the exact center of the circle and believed that he found it in the center of the stage.  He examined that spot carefully and noted a spotlight was pointed at that exact spot.

Walter and Kyna noticed that someone had entered the theater while they were talking.  Kyna hid.  Walter pretended to examine the seating.  The man introduced himself as the theater owner and asked them to leave for insurance reasons.  Ely convinced him to go to lunch with him and Walter.  Kyna veiled herself and existed the theater without being noticed.

They met at the falafel truck outside the theater.  There were several other food trucks there.  The theater owner told them that his family had owned the theater for 230 years.  They acquired it after the burning of Washington in 1812.  The theater was one of the few buildings that was not damaged.

He was worried bout the new play because it was only running one night and he would not make much from it, but he got a large cash deposit.  He also told stories about famous plays and people who had performed there.

More Planning

They spent the next few days researching how to disrupt the spell.  The best way was to distract the caster.  Pulling the fire alarm was considered, but the spell would probably enthrall the audience right at the beginning.  Walter suggested pulling the fire alarm before the show started.  Ely suggested finding a way to prevent the show from happening.  Kyna suggested that, since Ides occured every quarter, preventing the show would postpone it until July.

Ely wondered what the success condition was.  Kyna was under the impression that killing the wizard was the goal.  Circumstantial evidence was sufficient for her.  And also for the Wardens, as long as it was their circumstantial evidence.  Kyna suggested advising the Warden Beatty to attend the performance.  

It was clear that the spell would need to be disrupted during the performance.  Ely suggested making the theater their own “home turf” by putting stashing their own useful belongings in the theater.  There were only four people on the tech crew, so Ely would only need to avoid places where the tech crew might go and places that were warded.

Ely suggested putting drugs in the theater lockers and tipping off the police.   Kyna wondered when the spell was executed. They would need a copy of the magical script to determine how the spell worked.

Kyna reiterated that killing the wizard was the goal. Otherwise, the wizard would just regroup and try it again. They would need to strike at the wizard as soon as he was committed to the spell.  Once started, he would not be able to stop until the spell was completed.

The Group

  • Ely Vantide – debt collector – all kinds of debt. (Emissary of Power for a Dragon)
  • Kyna Quinlan – wizard of Irish descent. New to the White Council. Muscle for Ely
  • Walter Ballard – were-leopard and therapist to the Supernatural.
  • Zoe Kallas – waitress at grandparents’ diner in Arlington; journalism graduate looking for a real journalism job. (Changling who has no clue, mother was fey of Summer Court)