IC Thread: Ch. 1 - The Quiet Place

Meeting the executive branch didn't rattle John much - he was used to it, given his corporate background. What was worrying though that it was a meeting between mage higher-ups from warring factions and nobody could tell him why he made the cut. His mentors were as perplexed as he was - with Bitsie frowning, annoyed at her own lack of knowledge; Professor shrugging aloofly, his lack of interest in the political matters on full display; while Yamamoto, the most openly concerned member of the bunch, strongly advised him to be careful and watch his back with the Technocrats. The wild rumors that his housemate and confidant Todd was spouting didn't help to calm John's nerves much either.

They would kidnap you and make a clone from your DNA, send it back to your Chantry as a spy. So while you're getting butt-probed by robots in some corporate dungeon downtown, the clone is sleeping with your wife and hanging out with your cabal. Don't even get me started on the lizardmen. Yeah, yep, that's also them. You see, they first extract.. John sighed, listening to his friend and de-facto landlord going on and on about the evils of Technocracy, as he was ironing his pants for tomorrow's big meeting. His own knowledge of the group was pretty scarce, as he in large part followed Lindsey example and was focusing most of his time at the Chantry studying. In trying to prepare for the event, John questioned all three of his mentors on the etiquette of such a gathering, but the responses were somewhat varying. In the end, he decided to fall back on his mundane know-how and simply wear his work suit.

---

The one place of respite from all this worrying was in his dreams. It took a bit longer than usual to let go and surrender his mind to the soft and turbulent waves of oneiro-oceans.

The "citizens" of his dream realm had a strange knack for knowing when John was stressed, depressed or otherwise needed some emotional support and talking to. This time was no different. In a matter of minutes the whole gang was occupying the small makeshift kitchen, making tea and snapping cookies. The whole dream council convened, his advisors began.. advising.

There is a lot to learn from these Masters. Perhaps if you ingratiate yourself in their inner circle.. - begins Red.

What? No way! This is such an obvious set-up! They're just going to use you as a scapegoat! What you need to do is to stay invisible. Don't talk to anyone, blend in with the rest. Damn, hide in the bathroom if you have to! You heard what Todd said. These Technocrats people are probably behind the Illuminati and the Devil's Eye.

Not that Devil's Eye nonsense again! Always with your conspiracies!

Well, maybe they just recognized how hard John was working and decided to promote him? - Tish chimes in innocently.

Yeah, right! Promote him to a butt-probe receiving SCAPEGOAT, more like. You gotta open your eyes people! I mean, why else would the leaders of the two biggest groups of mages want JOHN at their annual fancy-schmancy symposium? No offense John. - Joel, the council's foremost conspiracy "expert", stated, as he turned to John and shrugged.

After a bit more deliberation and a whole pack of consumed cookies, no clear consensus was reached, apart from "go and see, be on the lookout for any danger".

---

There is one more thing.. - Red's tone turned serious, and the rest of the council went quiet. - We heard the knocking again.

A strange occurrence began to appear a few weeks back. The dream folk reported someone (or something) knocking on the front door of the Demesne. John himself was yet to experience the phenomenon, but a thought of something finding and lurking behind the walls of his innermost sanctum was terrifying. Did IT find him?

Ignore it. And NEVER open the door. Or interact with it. Do not ask who it is or look into the windows. In fact, let's put up some curtains. Doctor Yamamoto was very clear about the dangers of this place and that the locals can be quite hostile to those they consider intruders. Okay?

We understand. I'll keep an eye out, don't worry John. Somewhat reassured by Red's words, John sighed heavily and chomped on another cookie.

Now about that formula we discussed..

John wondered at times if the difference in character of people inhabiting this place was due to some unconscious influence of his. Where the Malcolm he knew in life was an eccentric, rambunctious fellow, this Red was a more subdued man, acting often as a father figure, advisor and another mentor. The two of them often talked and work-shopped various rituals and discussed general structures of the hermetic practices and the foundational laws by which they function.

---

The dreamers dispersed after some more tea time small talk, each going about their own business - the idea that John found both fascinating and strangely reassuring. John and Red spend the rest of the night talking, until it was time to wake up.

Done with his morning routine, John donned his trusty suit, a solid salaryman look, and got into his car.

Just be careful, alright? I know the meeting's on our turf, but still. Never know what these assholes are planning. With his last bit of advice done, Todd tapped the car a few times and went back inside.

---

It took some time to get to the King William's Historic District due to accident related congestion. The good habit of arriving early has paid off again, John thought to himself, as the car was standing by the tall gates of the Villa Finale, waiting to be processed for entry.

Once inside, a helpful servant leads John and two other men, with whom he is unfamiliar, through the antic looking hallway, decorated with watercolor paintings of surrealistic landscapes. Nodding at the others, the young disciple waits until he is spoken to, choosing to stay to quiet for now, carefully observing the two leaders present.

---

Terrific, just terrific.
There are times when being noticed is good, and times when it’s bad, and when a bunch of high-ups you’ve never heard of suddenly want you at one of their high-profile events, they’re either secret fans of yours after all (ha ha!) or there’s trouble brewing. Man finds himself in that position, like Elastigirl said, either he’s in trouble, or he’s going to be.
Dominic locked the car and shouldered his keytar, the reassuring weight of the instrument settled across his back on the strap. He turned on his heel and stalked across the crunching gravel towards the house. He’d figured there was little point in trying to conform to any expectations of dress or appearance; whoever wanted him here either knew who he was already, or simply didn’t care. Either way, not much point in sucking up. Besides, most Etherites seemed to think that being overly fashionable demonstrated shallowness and a lack of Scientific rigour, both cardinal offences.
So; black boots (albeit shined). Slim trousers. Tailored leather jacket. Shades. An outfit suitable for a gig (of almost any sort).
Not that he hadn’t been thinking about this; his thoughts just hadn’t been focused on his own appearance.
Try as he might, Dominic couldn’t think of anything he’d done that seemed likely to attract this kind of attention; that suggested it was unlikely that he was here to be Called To Account for something. No, more likely someone thought they’d Found A Use for him.
Right or wrong, he wasn’t looking forward to finding out.

John will politely ask for a glass of water, smiling gently towards the staffer. Taking a sip to wet the slightly perched throat, he'll listen attentively to the Archmage's spiel, keeping an eye contact with the guests from other faction, but being careful not to stare. There is another peculiar fellow at the meeting, the one who arrived with a strange musical instrument on his back. Restraining his curiosity, John simply smiled at the sight, without saying anything. There was a lot of eccentrics among the Awakened and prying into their personal practices was usually not a good idea.

Dorgraff, John, bani Order of Hermes. A short, to the point introduction. The Order wasn't his "house" per se, but going into detail about his involvement with a particular group within it seems irrelevant to the conversation at hand, especially with Technocracy members present.

John will make mental note of each person in the room, trying to remember their names and affiliations. Archmage and the Techoncrats representative would be on top of the list, followed by the other two men and anyone else who is going to appear later.

Dominic, feeling slightly nervous and more than a little out of place, and not wanting more coffee, politely requests iced tea, thanking whoever delivers it. He listens to the meeting preamble with some interest; on a certain level, this meeting is most important as part of a sequence he hasn’t previously paid much attention to, not expecting it to directly impact him. However, the preamble and associated ritual is like the header file on an old piece of code; it can tell you all sorts of things about where this procedure came from, who’s been involved with it, and what it’s expected to do. Assuming political elements are involved, expectations around the table are not necessarily aligned, so he also watches for any reactions to particular phrases. Or maybe everyone else knows the agenda, and just the mooks like him weren’t kept in the loop…
"Dominic James, bani Etherites" he announces. He doesn't really expect any reaction from the Technos across the table; the split is ancient history, and he’s quite sure they already know who he is. If they care.

John glances at the two gentlemen beside him, to see if either of them will speak out. Seeing some hesitation, he will reluctantly begin.

Umm.. Well, firstly, allow me to thank you for inviting us and granting us this opportunity. I am sure all of us present here realize the importance of inter-faction cooperation.

Memories of the corporate life rise to the surface, reminding of a usual way these cross-department projects go - awry. Each side pulls on the blanket, trying to get the credit for the whole thing, resulting in delays, easily fixable errors (which weren't due to abysmal lack of communication), and lost profits.

May I ask why the three of us were chosen for this assignment? Is it simple availability or are there certain.. talents and proclivities that fit this particular task?

Hopefully it wasn't because of what happened during the Awakening.. Was this some sort of test? Or did the three of them simply stepped into the middle of some faction pissing match? Or worse - something personal between the higher-ups? If they really do want us to investigate, perhaps they will be willing to share some information?

Can you tell us more about these.. disappearances? Anything that you already have gleaned will surely prove useful and guarantee that we are not going to be wasting your time chasing leads that you have already investigated.

So they want us to go to some rundown homeless camp and poke around - John thought.

Finding the source of any active or leftover magics in the area shouldn't be too hard - that was kind of John's thing - but working the locals.. The rough and tough folk were not exactly his crowd. Hopefully one of the other "recruits" had enough charm and street savvy to deal with that part of the assignment. Just go in, quickly locate the problem spot and report back in. John glances at his teammates.

Don't get dragged into the Otherworlds again and don't get stabbed with a rusty knife by homeless person. Easy, yes. Just stay calm and it's going to be fine.

Yes, I understand. Is there anything else we should know? - John responds, trying to sound calm, cool and confident, while jotting down the important details in a small notepad he produced from his pocket.

---

Dominic shifts in his seat, struggling unsuccessfully to keep several wry smirks from his face. "It’s practically a grim joke for me to be called an employee, semantic conventions aside. Employees get pay and benefits. As for the task, I wonder what other resources we have to call upon. Because, as I’m sure you are aware, I am by training and experience a specialist in a rather limited field which does not particularly suit me to street work. Now, I, and if I’m not mistaken, another," he inclines his head towards the young Hermetic, "similarly unsuited to such an environment, have been tasked. I can imagine my Etherite - seniors’ - amusement at throwing my name forward, but I can’t imagine them thinking me well prepared for this. And last of my immediate thoughts, the quantum signature was precisely quantified but not otherwise characterised? That seems - well, I can’t think of a better word than "sloppy" for that."

John will wait to see if the big wigs have anything else to add or if one of his new companions has any other insights or questions. If the higher ups are done with assigning the assignment and his comrades are also finished, he will nod and say, to cover for any uncomfortable silence:

If that is all, then we shall depart. Assuming my companions here are free, we should get started immediately, in which case you can expect our preliminary report tomorrow. We thank you again for this opportunity and will try to not disappoint. Now, shall we, gentlemen?

After getting up from the table and giving the bosses another polite nod, John will allow himself, along with the Etheretrite and the Syndicate agent, to get escorted out.

Once out, he will reach out a hand for handshake, observing both men in turn.

John. Nice to meet you. So should we take a drive to see what's all the fuss is about or..?

There was a certain familiarity with the Society of Ether - both Professor Lindsey and Doctor Yamamoto, two out of three John's mentors, practiced a paradigm favoring a more scientific approach, thus allowing for a semi-frequent collaborations with the Enlightened Scientists. Both described them as an "inspired, but often weird or outright kooky bunch". The large keyboard on the Eteretrite's back did not inspire confidence.

The Syndicate, on the other hand, was a mystery to John. All he knew about them is that they are part of the Technocracy, one of their "traditions" and that they deal primarily in the financial sector. Neither seemed like they would be particularly comfortable in the pallid squalor of city's shanty towns and "bad" neighborhoods.

Dominic shakes the offered hand with a wry, if reluctant, half smile. "Dominic, fellow reality deviant. Pleased to meet you, wish the circumstances were less drafty. I mean it, we’ve been drafted. Anyway, kind of glad to have a Hermetic along; from what I’ve heard of your history, your whole trad is made up by stitching together disparate groups into a coherent whole. That seems like a useful model for our current situation. So, I reckon we each need to know a bit about one another. I’m a student, acoustic engineering and music. My Science runs to a handful of related areas."

The Order is quite a patchwork of groups and ideas, yeah. But, uh, acoustic engineering? That's pretty unique. I don't think I've met another willworker who worked through sound. Guess that explains the, uhh.. - John gestures at the keytar - the instrument.

I used to be in corporate myself, finance, before my, umm, Awakening.. happened. If I had to pick an area I'm good at, I'd probably say detection. Varied repertoire, but I have a particularly good nose for any Otherworlds related phenomena - spots where the Gauntlet or Shroud are thin, any denizens lurking nearby, stuff like that. I assume that is why they brought me on. I also have hands-on experience with the Dream Zone and adjacent realms. So you can leave locating the anomaly to me, should be able to pinpoint anything out of the ordinary, I think. The mundane locals I'm not so sure about..