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Jane
Jane's posted up in the common area, with a controller in hand as she's leaned forward in her chair towards a TV with a PS4 connected. Next to her, pulling a slav squat on the arm of Jane's chair while battling with her own controller, is an Adidas clad brunette with a pair of ostensibly Gucci sunglasses. On the screen is frenetic fighting game action, and the two seem fairly matched.
However, Jane comes out victorious and Wildcard is now shouting, "Cyka!" She nearly throws the controller before Jane interrupts her moment of glory to hold her hands up and speak to her in Ukrainian, "Woah! Hey hey, you did good, you'll get another chance!"
Lesja
A little blue white ball of sparkling energy appears out of twilight a moment before Lesja does. The familiar plays the 'next time, let the wookiee win' clip from Episode IV into the air, which Lesja seems to agree with. "Has point!" She's in Ukrainian, too. They're spreading!
"Heading to kitchen. Want beer? Chips?"
Tommy/Bones
In a light v-neck wrapped dress, a dark enough blue to be nearly black color, she approached the door and knocked on it before entering, "Hi there! Guest coming. Archaeologist armed with local artefacts..." they carried a briefcase, and their usual satchel by hand. Black high-top shoes covered her feet.
Fox
Asleep on a couch: a pile of Husky, red fox, and rat. Stacked like large, medium, small, neatly on one another, tails all curled neatly. The fox snores a little bit. honk shoo mimimimimi
Jane
Wildcard wagged the controller around a bit but didn't throw it. Determined for the rematch, she just gets to picking her fighter. Jane answers, "I could go for a coke, sure!" A shove from Wildcard followed by a mocking expression from her and Jane changes direction, "Alright, I'll take a beer!"
Jane gets to choosing her own fighter before looking to Bones, switching to English, "Hey there back at you. Who is the guest? You know, in name terms."
Lesja
Lesja perks up considerably when Bones turns up, swapping back to English, "Hello! Just grabbing drinks and such, so speak up. When you say artefacts and local are we talking Lenape stuff, or the Reueben from Pumpernick's?"
She asides to her familiar who buzzes something. She answers, "So too counts!"
She starts off into the kitchen to start filling a bucket of ice with beers. Some peanuts are added to a bowl. "Last call for goodies this round!"
Tommy/Bones
"I'm Tommy, unless i need to be Bones... but I'm Tommy!" a smile and a bob of her head.
To Lesja, she tilted her head and studied for a moment, then put it together. And then there was a sleeping Fox, and she lowered her voice, "Oh, sorry! I didn't realize they were all sleeping."
They fidgeted with their suitcase a little bit, moving to a table, "I will take some tea, please Lesja, Any sort of salty snacks too, whether jerky, chips, what have ye.... and Lenape."
Lesja
"If it's Lenape I am too white for the conversation. Should probably wake Fox and maybe see if Peacekeeper is awake." Lesja is a woman with a leather Pouch of Ritual Significance. No medicine too be found. "Baldur. Is Baldur up?"
She's heading foxward now, for to wake her.
Fox
The vulpine creature yawns big, and the rat gets disturbed. Proper Ratthew stands up (on Fox's side) on his hind legs and folds his little paws in front of him. Fox wants the sashimi leftovers, the rat chitters, understood by anyone who understands the way that spirits speak.
One golden eye cracks open, slowly. Fox's tail twitches.
Oh, she can sleep anywhere," Ratthew squeaks.
Jane
Jane smiled, "And this here is--" She's interrupted by her squatting companion: "Ochai, therr. I cham Vildcard!" She looks to Jane and asks in Ukrainian, "I said it right?" Jane shrugged and answered, "More or less. But, eyes on the game." And the battle begins as Jane starts fighting it out with Wildcard.
In the middle of rounds, Jane asks, "What kinds of Lenape artifacts do you have? Anything pointing to something previously unknown?" She's distracted, but curious.
Tommy/Bones
Tommy opened the suitcase and pulled out a few baggies, like one might have evidence inside of them, and instead set down various tools like arrow heads, stone axe head and some potteery shards.
"Wildcard? Pleasure. It's nice to meet you..."
"I happeneed to see these along some ley lines I was investigating... and noticed that while they are certainly Lenape in origin, they also have a few runes, cracked or scratched, that once would have contained magics or what not. I thought I should bring them here versus notifying the local archaeological authorities."
Lesja
"Not at a burial site, I hope?" Lesja'a question is more pro forma. It's the first question she'll be asked upon waking the lodge elders up about something like this.
"Fox," she says a little louder with a snap of the fingers. "Ratthew, little help?"
Fox
Fox wants the sashimi leftovers, Ratthew repeats, as the vulpine's single open eye swivels towards Lesja. She says you asked.
Jane
This time, it is Wildcard who walks away with the win after a particularly tough first round, she pulls the second round and gets the finishing move on the third round, putting her hands in the air and rocking back and forth where she seems to spark just a bit.
Jane just shook her head, "Yeah yeah, that's what I get for playing Sonya." She sighed, and looked towards Bones and Lesja as they discuss the artifacts.
Tommy/Bones
For the first time, possibly in their association, Tommy looked offfended by Lesja's words. Enough that they had to fight off a few imagos and stop their nimbus from flaring and other such unWise ideas.
After a few breaths, "No. I detected no signs of burial. No signs of ghosts or other energies associated with burial. The ley lines had resonance of unity though. It was along the Schyllkill River, towards where they found things for the civic center.... or at least that's where I started on the ley lines... by the time I got out of the city, I ended up in the woods... and ... yeah. It lookedl ike, if anything, a displaced settlement that had been slightly uncovered with time. Does that make sense?"
Lesja
"See if I ever manifest you street pizza again, [squeaking sound]." Grumbling, Lesja roots in the fridge for the leftovers, then carts all the goodies back on a serving tray, sliding a beer over Jane's way, one Wild's way, and one over towards where Bones may sit. She keeps her own and a hand full of the peanuts, then sets down Fox's ultimatum grandly.
She's about to crunch some nuts when Bones gets the look that sailed 1,000 Los chanclas. Lesja lifts one fist of nuts and one beer in don't shoot.
"You want me to wake up brown people without knowing the answer??" Another, more curt grumble, "Fox, this is your job not mine!" Except it is hers now, too.
Fox
The Talekeeper lifts her head and stretches her shoulders, Ratthew scrambling down off of her. Agoston shakes them both off and grunts, and the vixen leaps down nimbly, making her way to her ultimatum. She leans down to take one piece of fish and then another, delicately, apparently waiting for the current storm to pass between the others. She has salmon and tuna to eat.
Jane
Jane accepts the beer with a nod and smile, "Thank you." And Wildcard takes it and gives an upnod and grin, and quickly turns back to Jane to clink their drinks, get a big gulp and get one more round in. Jane goes along with her and chooses her fighter this time, the T-800, to face off against Wildcard's Skarlet.
Tommy/Bones
"... Yes. I get it... it's just... I am my job. I am an Archaeologist. I am a Savant for the Mysterium... the thought that... I would... I do my best to never disturb tombs, and if I have to for some reason... I only take the most..." she waved it away and sat with the snacks and started munching to calm down.
"Apologies, friends."
Lesja
"It's okay. Baldur and I are pretty close on account of a stared at their soul a lot." Lesja finally just puts her peanuts into one of her cargo pockets. The beer is coming with her.
"Oontz, keep me looped in." Bzztzrrrrt. "Thanks, pal."
The little spirit wobbles in the air. Sup.
Fox
And conversely, the little rat goes scampering after Lesja, clambering up her pant leg, hanging from her belt, and scrambling up to her shoulder to ride along.
Fox leaves the last two pieces of tuna on the plate and pap pap pap over to sniff at the suitcase and the baggies it contains.
Jane
Jane nods to Bones, "So, I hate to be the absolute rube noob here, but what exactly is a leyline? I've heard the term before but I have to admit it's not quite where I've put my attention." At the moment, though, a lot of her attention is on the match. But the T-800 is her character and he's exterminating a blood witch. Wildcard is not pleased.
Baldur
It's not long before Baldur is slouching in from the hallway. Being a consilium councilor on top of everything else, they tend to be one of the more straight laced of the higher ups. At least most of the time. Seeing them in a pair of Gritty boxers and a tank top with their hair down and their own familiar hanging in the air at their shoulder. A little gust of wind, from the look of it in twilight.
They walk on over towards Bones, real seeming to recognize real before Baldur's fully closed the distance. "Bones. Ah, we've heard of you. What have you found." They raise their voice a bit and call to anyone who's near, "Come close, come close. Let's all see."
Fox
Fox is already there, sniffing at the things in the suitcase. Being an Orphan, she patiently assesses the items with the eyes of that ancient Legacy.
Tommy/Bones
A tilt of her head, and a tilt back, as she watched Fox study the items. Then a flicker glance between the... three familiars present? SHe felt left out for a moment, but returned to the archaeological items, becuase that was calming for her. It was her thing.
A flicker glance up to Jane, "Energy that flows through the earth. Where they cross tends to be special places, magically. Depends on the resonance. Prime Magic sees it very well. I have books and all sorts of things about it... so I just... follow them when I can find them to learn about the areas and ... it usually leads to history stuff."
"Councilor Baldur," they stood and bowed with respect, "I met you for a brunch, helping the family make eggs, while Fox made potatoes, I believe..."
Her movements became very fluid and even when standing up, they would rock back and forth, even flowing in place, "And yes, Bones. I am Bones... It is a pleasure..."
And she pulled out the items one at a time, letting Baldur and the others look. They were sweating now, red in the face as well.
Tommy/Bones
"I spoke with... this one..." she motioned ot the oldest looking Arrowhead, "It said it was Lenape. I started gathering what I could... and the runes... they look like High speech to me. The era is right too for pre-colonial, to colonial tools... and the area... I mean, it's what five, ten miles north of the site tehy found at the City Center."
Jane
Jane sets down her controller and joins the group at Baldur's invitation. Bones' explanation gets a nod, "I see. That wouldn't be surprising, I guess, but do you know if there's a connection between the lines and the history? And if so, which direction that link flows, lines as the cause or effect of history?"
Baldur
"You say you found this walking ley lines," Baldur asks in confirmation. Like this is important.
"Tell me exactly what you did. What you were doing. And do you walk with temporal anchor?"
Baldur leans in a little closer, smiling at the arrowhead like it's an old friend. "Ahhhh. Hello there! You're home, precious one." They spend some time just staring at the spirit, until it's fully known to them, and then they straighten slowly back upwards. They look to Bones, waiting for an answer.
Fox
"It doesn't want to be home, it wants to be free," comes Fox's voice after she looks at the arrow for a moment. There's a little wash of Forces before that, and the Orphan sits down, looking up at it. "It's a retriever in arrow form. Poor thing has been stuck for a long time. Someone should fire it at something."
She pushes up onto her hind feet, sniffling at the other objects. The axe, next. "Meant to be part of an Artifact. The axe could be finished, but I do not know what the intended artifact would have done." She leans her little fox body over, stretching, and her nose almost touches the pot. "For grain storage. Buried for-- " and, leaning, the very tip of her nose brushes a thumbprint on the clay.
Fox yelps, leaping back, and shakes her head like she's got water in her ears, sneezing.
Tommy/Bones
"Are you okay?" she said to Fox, worry clear.
Baldur
Baldur stares at Bones like a Councilor who won't be repeating themself.
Tommy/Bones
"I do indeed use Temporal Anchor. Our friend taught it to me so well that it is a praxis for me, I am also shielded from Time changes, and other supernal influences... and I have the three common twilight's visible...." she seemed confused at the need to be anchored.
Then to Jane, her look clearly said that she agreed with the question's importance, and that she had no clue why it was important right now.
Jane
Jane took Bones' look and turned her attention to Fox as she explained, this being a good time to be a student what with everything a bit above her pay grade.
Baldur
Baldur taps a pattern on their left arm and a control deck precisely like the one Lesja wears for her Techne appears on Baldur's left arm. They tap at it a bit, and a hologram displays in the air using prime energy.
"This is the ley line registry kept with Children, kept with the Werewolves, kept with the Consilium-- everyone. With an interest in the Ley Lines of Philadelphia signed to this treaty. The Saakima signed to this treaty. Everyone. All of us. It's what keeps us from tearing our throats out over feeding grounds."
"Point out to me where you found these, if you can, Bones?" They toss over the remote stylus from their arm sleeve, figuring the Mystagogue will figure it out.
Fox
She sneezes again, and then slinks back to the suitcase, pushing herself up onto her back legs. Fox leans over the suitcase again, gently touching the tip of her nose to the pottery once more. It's a delicate gesture, and one on which she is entirely focused: ears forward, golden eyes sharp.
Tommy/Bones
"I can do you one better... I left.." she pulled an earring out from her bag, "...this one's pair at the site, so I could find it."
She spoke in the High Speech, and pulled upon the Bones of Magic, and used the stylus as a rod easily enough to point at the 'hologram' of the map... the Imago forming a locate object to latch in on the exact spot of the other earring, or at least it's representation in the light map.
Baldur
"The 2022 survey." A new overlay, line right over the dot.
"The 2021 survey." A new overlay, line right over the dot.
"2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016-- unless these ruins have been missed just utterly overlooked by every single survey team including us, including people like Hearth? Sieghilde Altman? Bones, I am certain you are a highly competent archaeologist but you're saying you were just walking the ley lines and happened upon a settlement."
"Bones, you arrived recently, learned the praxis recently, and it didn't seem off to you. So that means if it is a time aberration it's one that happened before you arrived, and after the last treaty survey."
Baldur is looking around to see if anyone follows, including the fox.
Tommy/Bones
"October 2022... When was the survey done in the year? And why didn't... anyone else... notice?"
She frowned tapping the stylus on her finger, before realizing, and tossing it to Baldur.
Tommy/Bones
"WHat ... happened... during the Summer? Was that when... Balm Ascended? When Mark and family came here?" she asked while studying the time frames.
Baldur
"The Elder Balm is believed to have ascended in January. 2022." Baldur is slowly looking over at Bones with a big, wide smile on their face. "Nan was a quick study, I guess. Two months. Two months." Baldur claps Bones on the shoulder and gives them a jostle.
"We'll need to confirm this of course, but--" Baldur lifts their hands to their beanie and lets out an astonished, pinch me am I awake laugh. "I'm never doubting again. I'm never doubting again."
Jane
She looks between them, "I'm sorry, obviously a bit behind. Why would this site suddenly appear like this now? Is this another time change kind of thing?"
Tommy/Bones
"I should also mention in this moment, that Druid Amity saw that someone was fucking with my fate. Not directly, but like the connections that I have. SHe described it as..."
A flicker of magic, as he repeats word for word what Maddy said,
Nothing to speak of Great Destiny wise, and your fate hasn't been tampered with, but the way it's connected to everything else sure looks like it has been. Like if you've got a natural pile of connections to the things around you it looks like someone too a basket full of strings and rummaged around in for a while, with things going everywhere which way. Your connections look a little bit more like someone weaved them on purpose. Like someone's knitting is in the basket of string, too, but they tried to be sneaky by avoiding actually touching your own fate directly.
Baldur
"May I?" Asks the golden eyed Baldur with a slight tilt of the head. They nod towards Bones, "I would like to see for myself, if I might. We've actually been known to use spirits of fate for such things, can you imagine? I can detect so, if that's the case. You will have already looked at your own interconnections, yes? Or do you lack-- Oh, I suppose that's why you-- right."
"Anyhow." Their eyes get big as saucers. "Mother, May I?"
To Jane they answer, "Yes. That's correct. A time change kind of thing. You've not received the full briefing on the nature of the war we're fighting here, have you Soteria. If not, that is Weaver's responsibility. You're not arachnaphobic are you?"
This all makes sense in full, one must believe.
Tommy/Bones
"YEs, Councilor, of course," and then to Jane, "IT means sometimes between the Spring Equinox when everyone goes traipzing across the lines... and when I got here in October, someone did time magic, with prime probably, to change how the lines lay, and the town itself could have been moved through time and space to end up where I found it versus where it was...."
Baldur
"I encourage you to think bigger," Baldur counsels. Possibly the first good advice to come out of that word and that name in a long while. Not happenstantially, it's not behing a consilium seat.
Tommy/Bones
"...Ascended counterpart to the Exarchs...? The Tree... the lines... the ascension... the Exarchs sending seers back through time... the Ascended sending items... forwards?" she thought aloud.
Jane
"I've met Weaver. The time stuff a lot to get used to." She scratches her chin, she seems to be interested in the food pottery.
Baldur
"...now you're cooking with gas, Bones," Baldur answers with another sidelong glance at the other mage. Their hands remain on their head though, because the implications here are pretty huge.
"If there's anyone who knows how to get answers about ancient artifacts right out of the gates, it's probably Kayla. She's-- have you met Kayla? They're. Enh." A mushroom goddess? "They've been to the mother tree in the underworld and have a very close connection there. To the spirits there. Of our ancestors. So."
"If that," they point at the artifact head, "was built by them," and then they point down meaning the underworld, "and they," and then they point up meaning Balm and the Mother, "rewrote reality to get them here unmolested to this moment? I would call that a pretty miraculous sign, wouldn't you? Like. What a happy coincidence that would be."
Baldur looks so vindicated, "Oh, I am going to rub this in Penance's faaaaaaace." A beat. "Respectfully."
Tommy/Bones
"...Holy. Shit." From an Obrimos none the less.
Baldur
"Sacred shit," the Thyrsus corrects with wonder on their face. "Sacred shit."
Jane
"Woah." She turns her head to look to Baldur for a good few seconds, then to Bones, "That means all of this is a big deal on so many levels, right? Not just being historic, but preserved for a purpose?"
Baldur
Baldur snaps their fingers, touches their nose, then points at Jane, jumping up and down in place.
Tommy/Bones
"Ghosts, Spirits, Goetia, Supernal Beings... and... magic... so much magic...just... " she fell on her butt, and just stared, "And they were in my spare suitcase."
Jane
"Just wait until you check between your couch cushions and under your bed, geez..." She chuckles and nods to Bones.
Baldur
"Then tell your spare suitcase the River says thank you. Because it just did us a major, major solid. I think. Pending verification. But I mean. What else could it be. Right? I mean, before I go barging in there and saying we may be winning this goddamn war, what else could this be. Bones, you mentioned colocation and the like. Can we rule out this is all ex nihilo prop garbage? I didn't see any signs of it, but I was looking at Spirit resonance primarily."
"I think that's probably where you should start, actually. I'd suggest taking the Talekeeper with you, she's enormously gifted, she's former Mysterium, and she needs to get over herself a little about it. And speaking with Kayla. And I can't help but think that Soteria's presence here is of a purpose, too." Then look her over for a moment, dispassionate gaze to dispassionate gaze. They nod. Okay, respect. "Probably bigger than we think. That tends to be the way of things."
"Bones, I trust you intend to turn these over to Epiphanius and Revontulet? They're the ones both sides of our caucuses trust to adjudicate the information and access and so on. I've found it best to trust the system and just hand them over personally, but you did find them. And the Lex magica does exist. So you have certain rights legally that I must honor or you must set aside here."
Tommy/Bones
"I give all rights to these items, under the Lex Magica, to the Children of the Tree Order and those they allow to study it, namely Revontulet and Epiphanius. I actually was going to ask for a meeting with Epiphanius, the Hierophant, and members of the Children of the Tree's leadership..." she said, with a disbelieving laugh, "They... time. Fate... oh Lesja, why didn't I listen..."
Baldur
This is the straight up second time tonight Baldur could have been knocked over with a feather. They look absolutely speechless. The try a few times. "Are you--" No. "Do you think--" Nope. Baldur is going a litle pale in the throat and cheeks, actually, which is quite an accomplishment in someone with body control.
"Thank you, cousin." That seems to mean something more than, you know 'cousin'. "Thank you." But they don't gainsay it. They'd be foolish to do so. They start gathering up the priceless pieces for travel to safer storage for now.
"I don't know how to thank you-- do you need a familiar? A grimoire? A fetish? I don't really do material gifts, it's not my jam. So. It's these, a handshake, or have me feeling uncomfortable around you for the rest of your natural life."
Tommy/Bones
"Tutoring to reach Spirit Mastery?"
Baldur
"Done. Done. Yes." Baldur offers the handshake anyway, "You have the gratitude of the people. My schedule is posted. Ask my provost if you have conflicts, changes will be made." Assurances given, Baldur starts carting away things you can't sell for dollars but can give away for free.
Tommy/Bones
SHe stood and offered her forearm in grip to Baldur and said, "You are most welcome cousin." She said it with the same reverence.
Jane
Jane looked over the artifacts while the two of them make their deals. As they come to an agreement, she gives Baldur a wave and goes back to check on Wildcard, who has been off enjoying single-player Mortal Kombat 11 and the rest of Jane's beer to boot!
Tommy/Bones
"I... I thank you all for your time... but... I need to go meditate on this. I think ..." she let out a breath and offered a hug to Jane, Fox, and the rest, before heading to the exit.
Jane
Jane gave a hug to Bones, "Take care, come back around and see us again soon, eh?" She finished with a gentle pat on the back.
Lesja
Lesja, who had spent the entire time standing outside of Peacekeeper's door waitng to hear something that couldn't wait until morning. When Baldur leaves, she starts back. Oontz had been here the whole time, of course. Doing an observe.
Seeing Bones departing and Baldur gone, Fox asleep once again, she looks between Jane and their new familiar. "You two want some alone time? Or would you like some wierd company?"
Jane
Jane went to get her controller back and shook her empty beer at Wildcard. She looked to Lesja, "Oh, nah, we're playing out here so people can see who wins, so join us." She smiled. "How are you doing?"
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