Hahmot ovat jäjittäneet Phaitoksen levyn Frankfurtiin, Dr. Faustus Societyn tiloihin. Sen hankki käsiinsä Hermann Meyer, joka valitettavasti murhattiin seitsemän päivää sitten.
Mikäli murhaaja on vienyt levyn, tehtävä on ohi. Mikäli ei, levy on jossain salaseuran suuressa, 1800-luvulla rakennetussa kartanossa. Faustilaiset ovat järjestämässä kartanossa kaksipäiväisen Gala of Awakened November, seurapiiritapahtuman, johon on kutsuttu maagisten organisaatioiden ja akatemian kermaa.
Frost on järkännyt itselleen ja avecille, Voidille kutsun bileisiin. Loppu porukka on junaillut itsensä sisään drinkkitarjoilun hätäapuna. Ideana on, että Frost ja Void distraktoivat ja keräävät tietoa, sillä aikaa, kun muu ryhmä pyrkii paikantamaan levyn. N. kilometrin päässä kartanolta odottaa paku, missä on oikeita panssareita ja aseita.
Maksimipanssarointi on Form Fitting Body Armor ja aseistuskoko kevyet pistoolit ja niidenkin kanssa saa olla varovainen. Oletettavasti kaikilla on panssari ja jokin ase.
Kaikki kamat hoidetaan nakkuloilla, joita saa hieman enemmän, kuin normaalisti.
Pelin alussa käydään lyhyesti läpi suunnitelma. Lähinnä ehkä jotain RoE ja Abort Condition henkistä kamaa ja sitten olisi tarkoitus sukeltaa suoraan sisään juhliin.
Pelinjohtaja aikoo leikata melko napakasti kohtauksista toiseen, joten huomenna ei kannata lähteä NR perinteisestä "Hahmot jauhaa tuubaa ja tunnin kolme kohdalla päädytään pihviin" -meiningistä. Se on mahtavaa peliä, mutta huomenna sille ei ole oikein tilaa. Koitetaan pysyä asiassa.
5. päivä marraskuuta 2071
Dr. Faustus Society's Franfurt Grand Lodge
Human male mage
Human female awakened agent Aztechnology Securityn lähettämä tutkija.
Dwarf male awakened agent Aztechnology Securityn lähettämä tutkija
Human male mage
Lodge Master
Dr. Faustus Society's Frankfurt Grand Lodge
Fomorian male bartender
Old troll running Rhapsody Blues tavern in Europort.
Espionage runner team
Human Male Leader
Human Male Face
Elf Female Technomancer Rigger
Elf Male Ranged Support/First Aid
Troll Male Heavy Weapons
Ork Female Covert Ops B/E
The door opened. There had been two sharp knocks, a brief pause, and then a sudden flood of light and noise and odor into Captain Herrera’s office. There was a chopper heading west, thuds fading as it traveled toward the sun, and there was the smell that was everywhere. Herrera wasn’t sure what the smell was, but she had heard men in her command refer to it as “blood and death,” and that seemed apt enough.
''The door closed, and some of the noise faded. The building was light, with thin walls, but it was made of high- strength polymers durable enough to stop small-arms fire and a fair amount of noise. It was also mobile—four men could pick it up by hand and move it as needed. Captain Herrera used it as both quarters and a command office. The reason for the door’s opening and closing, Lieutenant Ramirez, was now inside, standing at attention. He spoke without preamble.''
“Captain, Lieutenant Ramirez reporting as requested. The perimeter has been secured. We have negotiated airspace control of the valley with the local forces and ensured that proper demarcation lines have been set.”
The lieutenant then stood still and waited for a reply while Herrera stared at her virtual desktop and decided how long she should make him wait. She could work without worrying that Ramierz would see something he should not—over the last several months, she had taken to encrypting her AR feed so that the virtual desktop wasn’t visible to her subordinates. She worked for several more minutes, moving AROs that only she could see.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ramirez becoming increasingly twitchy, clearly wondering how long he should stay there. Finally, he snapped a sharp salute and turned to leave.
“Lieutenant, has the research team made any headway yet?” Captain Herrera’s voice was low and rough ever since her larynx was damaged in the Amazonian conflict. It stopped the junior officer in his tracks.
“Not yet ma’am. Astral reconnaissance is slow because of the scarring and solid earth. GPR came back with some images of the temples. The construction appears similar to our teocallis but on a vastly more intricate scale. They’ve sent drones in, but signal degradation and collapsed tunnels have stifled progress.”
Herrera nodded — it was the same news provided by the Watch Log. If the research team was hiding their findings, they were being thorough. If he knew about it, the lieutenant would likely have mentioned any scuttlebutt that might have posed a threat to their operation.
“Very well,” Herrera said. “Inform the research team that Command is looking into the linguistic analysis of the markings. A team of actives was sent to identify and secure other sources of the language. There can be no mistakes on this project. Notify me immediately if the situation changes. Dismissed.”
She watched the lieutenant leave before turning her attention back to her reports. Intel reported that the language had been seen before—the DIMR had a map with identical markings and a group of hermetics found similar glyphs in the Karlsruhe administrative zone. Due to the obvious Awakened roots of the language, pressure to decipher the meaning of its inscriptions was coming from the highest levels.
Levels that went well past Internal Security and Herrera’s pay grade all the way to the heart of the Smoking Mirror and the founding influences. Age-old secrets were primed to be revealed.