December 2013

Each mage found themselves directed or led to s sanctuary in Chicago’s China Town, dedicated to teaching new mages. Each member of the group has been introduced to “Blue Bear” and accepted as members of the Chantry. Currently, he appears looking like Yogi Bear.

The party the first adventure they settled into the Chantry and the City. This introduced them to each other, including the dramatic entrance by Trent. Megan set up the Clinic and begun operations for the poor. Ed has found the books appalling and worked to get the money and other operations cleaned up. Trent provided an update to the old computer which works better than new. Tracy's and Trents have been dragged into support.

January 2014

Trent got an “in the event of my death/disappearance” package from “The Swede” another Adept with whom he has been in contact. He has already asked Trent to look up some information in the past. The Swede was tracking “Vasari” who appears to have been working for the Technocracy Syndicate. Vasari is manipulating financial markets very subtly. The Swede fell off the radar 2 weeks prior to the message arrival.

The Package appears to have been set up to come to her Mailboxes Etc. (or whatever he use) if The Swede did not send a weekly code. Inside: o Details of Vasari’s movements online. o Young Adepts who are manipulating markets or even ATMs that Vasari appears to be targeting. There is a list of lost Adepts in Atlanta, New York, Chicago, LA, San Diego and Seattle, and their support staff, 15 in all. Tom (Tracy's Character's Robot) has postulated that with 15 VA in the manipulation group, his thought is someone was/is a rat. The Swede was worried Vasari was going to strike someone again, and was going to try to intercede. He left the details of the strike. A post to his log makes it sound like he stopped a HIT Mark, but then there is nothing after that. An investigation on The Swede's apartment points to him going to save a VA in NYC. The VA he went to save in New York is also now missing. Trent went to The Fanum, the Werewolf Sept to visit Joy.

Ed worked to bribe the Fire inspector and get a clean bill of health with no hassles. He also noticed a talisman as part of an art display going into the Museum.

• It is an Ancient Egyptian Knife
• It was lost during the time of Napoleon.
• You recognize it from drawings your mentor had in his books in your study
• It is supposed to be able to cut through delusions, but reports showed that prolonged contact drove people to depression and suicide. Indeed, this is on display now because the last owner of the collection killed herself.

The team secured the knife with highlights of the adventure including breaking into a museum at night and find it was being held open for vampires to view art, with a hasty retreat after Trent tripped, and some vulgar magic on Ed's part. Tracy and Ed also met with ancient mummy, Sekhemkhet, who resides in the city who helped them keep the dagger safe.

Megan is very much appreciated in the Charity Community and isgetting fancy invites in the Sleeper Community.

• She has been asked to do an interview for the Sun-Times.
• She has been invited to the Chicagoland Chamber Dinner, to sit at the Open Hearts, Helping Hands (OH3 is the slang). The invite is by its director, Ginger Robbins. Feb 22, 14.
• She has been working to find other doctors to help meet the demand (a day here, a day there of donated time), added an extra staff nurse with the budget help of Ed.
• This has led to Wing Kong gang members being hired to put pressure because when does Clinic play local dealers with their snake oil. Pressure was put on the advanced practice nurse works in the clinic the team went to her home escort her home and in an attack killing three gang members in a car and moved her to a safer location.

Adrien notes that in the latest issue of Paradigma, there is information about monster sightings in Lake Michigan. At work, she also is asked to research an area of the city that she is told the clients want to condemn so a new pharmaceutical building can be put in.

The team travels to New York City via rail, in search of the lost VA. Megan boards at the last minute after saying she was not going. LAKESHORE LIMITED, VIEWLINER Chicago Union Station to NYC Penn Station 9:30pm to 6:23 PM the next Day

Trent uses minor mind magic to get any items needed onto the train. This does not include Tom, of course. Then he stays up the night socializing, arriving the next morning as if he did not miss any sleep. Edward spends the night writing, and emerges a little dazed but calm, as if he is seeing the world in a new light.

The two missing NYC VA’s are Ice Soup and Laughing Man. Both are part of the group The Swede had put together to track Vasari. Laughing Man was the VA he went to save before he disappeared. Ice Soup was the first to vanish.

• Ice Soup: Ice Soup is a young, new VA, who has lots of promise as a tracker. He awakened shortly before Trent. What you know about him is standard whiz-kid stuff, as he was a natural and already quite good with computers. He was staying in an apartment in bad section on The Bronx. His last known whereabouts was going to a meeting in Central Park for Chess with Laughing Man. He did not make it. Investigation of the Apartment led to a trapped apartment, with Edward stuck in the floor for a while, and a flight from Men in Black.

• Laughing Man: Laughing man was more experienced, having come into the VA in the early 2000’s. He is a behind the scenes sort of guy. He has a house in Queens. He holed up after the above Chess incident, and his last known whereabouts was his home, but if The Swede saved him, based on The Swede’s last log entry, they went in under city of NYC. There was a clear trail from the home left by the Swede to the undercity.

Before the team heads under the city, Edward belatedly informs the local Hermetic Chantry of his presence. Trent reveals the head VA in NYC is not a fan, and is not on his list of “go to” for help:

Tesserarachnid aka TA4, uses an avatar of a spider with a 4th power sign. He is the oldest active VA still in NYC (i.e. has not retreated to a horizon realm like Crystal Palace and did not die on 9-11-01). He is charismatic and well respected by old and new VA alike.

The team opts to follow the path alone. Into the underground they go, following leave to be the Escape Route one of the virtual adepts. The group follows symbols left by the Swede. As they progress, they clearly see they had to pass through a Bone Gnawer Spet's territory underground. After a quick discussion between Trent and a Werewolf the get an escort to meet an obvious Son of Ether. Upon seeing them, the man says, “Welcome to Oz”.