Hitherby will have three swarms patrolling about the house, one inside, one heading for Shannen's, one heading for Liz's. She has plans for a bird, a cat, and several fleas.
Sephar takes one of the three birds that are circle-patrolling about Pat's house
to fly over to the Focal's rooftop.
Sephar has a pigeon and a mouse with Liz, a pigeon with Daimon, and the three patrolling.
Demiurge nods to Sephar.
Demiurge says "The rooftop of the building that houses Focals is much like any corporate rooftop. It's about twenty stories, and Focals is down on the tenth."
Hitherby breaks off a house-guarding swarm temporarily to fetch a cat and a bird. She also hops into several fleas. Then she brings the bird down in a place without other cats and transfers the fleas there. Then the bird heads in Focal's' direction, and the cat heads for William's (if it's a new day and a new Rite's worth) or -- heck, the cat goes for William's; I don't have the heart to just use it and leave it.
Demiurge nods to Hitherby.
Sephar nods and lands up there, and watches for Hitherby.
Hitherby says "If all this is successful, I bring the bird to within a block of Focals' and drop off a flea. Then the bird heads for the Focals' roof and the flea bounds towards the main door -- hoping to ride someone's pantleg in, or just sneak in when someone goes through the door. It's a fast flea, and fleas aren't crippled in their movements like some bugs are, even without Kyrios riding them -- but it may take a little bit, that's fine."
Demiurge says "After about ten-fifteen minutes, Hitherby, you manage to get your flea safely into the foyer of the office building."
Hitherby's bird lands beside's Sephar's and ruffles its feathers cheerfully. The flea -- is there an elevator area immediately apparent?
Demiurge says "There are indeed elevators apparent, which are regularly being used by people."
Sephar ruffles back.
Sephar coos, "The layout of the office itself is fairly standard..."
Sephar says ".. so the foyer is likely to be for public show. If you can plant yourself in either an office or the coffee room or something, you might get more."
Sephar says it as well or as badly as a pigeon might with a beak instead of lips.
Hitherby nods. She will enter one going up. She either remembers the floor or croaks, casually, to Sephar, "Floor?" before the bug enters. If she is enlightened, she does something terribly evil, hoping Jordi will forgive her -- a flying flea-style kung fu kick for the relevant button.
Hitherby might not be able to depress it; she's strong but has *no* mass :)
<
Sephar says "Tenth."
<
<
The lift goes uuuuuup, and opens on the tenth floor.
Hitherby sneaks out flealishly.
Hitherby feels smug, perhaps right about then. She's had commando animal-rescue training. She
can operate *elevators!*
There are a couple of signs opposite the lift, and one points down the corridor to Focals
Investments.
Hitherby refuses to admit to herself that she can read for something so petty as this. "Which way?"
she asks Sephar.
<
<
Sephar lifts its left foot and points toward the left. "That way."
Sephar assumes we're perched side-by-side.
Hitherby hops leftwards.
At the end of the corridor is a neat door with a shiny brass plate by it, saying "Focal's
Investments".
<
Sephar says "To the end of the corridor, the door should have a shiny brass plate."
<
Hitherby flutters her wings in thought. Is there room to slip under the door, or is it
pseudohermetic?
Demiurge says "No room to slip under the door, no. However, there's someone coming along the
corridor from the lift now, heading for the door."
Hitherby tilts her head back and peeeers at this guy. Just to check for, oh, Calabitishness. Of
course, there's only one Calabite she'd be able to identify, but hey. If he/she is not overtly vile, I'll
hop onto the back of the pantleg as he/she passes.
A young brisk-looking man in a suit with a briefcase makes his way to the door, and presses the
little buzzer next to it, saying, "Asher here. I've got the papers on the Svenson deal."
Demiurge says "It's not the Calabite you recognise, Hitherby."
Hitherby hops onto the back of his pantleg, then. Hey.
The door opens for him, and he walks through, closing it behind him. Inside is a small foyer-area
with several doors off it, and an elderly woman at a desk.
Hitherby checks out these doors to see if they have room under them. If not, she'll just stick to
the pantleg for now.
The whole area has a new, just-decorated feeling to it. Smells very chemical, doused with
air-freshener. The elderly woman looks up, and says to the young man, "If you'll leave the
documents there, Ms Namar will look at them in a moment."
Demiurge says "The doors all look flush to the carpet and wall, Hitherby."
The young man nods, putting the documents down. He then walks across to another desk,
currently unoccupied, and activates the computer there, beginning to type.
Hitherby mutters, hoping there are no elephants with exceptionally keen hearing around. Then she
notes to Sephar, "'m inside."
Hitherbird suggests, "You could crack a door to a person office?"
Sephar hrms quietly.
Sephar dances a bit on the building side and edge and takes possession of a line of steel down the
side of the building... feels for the halfway mark and goes for a floor board thats connected to the
girder. Then along that to a wall, keeping the layout as he saw it last in his head, he feels the wall
and doorframes set within it...
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
<
Sephar then will dive off the roof and fly to see in the window and possess a door and crack it
open that way?
Demiurge says "Sure, you can possess a door and open it."
Sephar nods and does so, then.
Demiurge says "Which door/area are you going for?"
Sephar says "What's available from the foyer view?"
Sephar says "Oh. Or if I see the Lilim while flying alongside, I'll crack open her door just a bit."
Demiurge says "To the right is a corridor which leads to the computer room and the filing rooms.
To the left are the offices."
Demiurge says "You can't see her, no."
Sephar says "Left, then."
Sephar says "Towards the offices."
Demiurge nods. The door creaks open.
Sephar says "Just a tiny bit open, a crack."
The man and woman both look up from their work, puzzled. The young man rises, and walks
across to close the door.
Hitherby leaps! when he comes close. Hop hop hop, long low hops if possible, to get through.
Sephar sticks the hinges just a bit until it hears from Hitherby.
Sephar says "So it's a little hard to close, not impossible."
<
The young man mutters something as he forces it shut, but never notices Hitherby.
Sephar unpossesses the door, and flies back up.
Sephar settles by Hitherby again... "You in okay?"
Hitherbird croaks, cheerfully, "Yup." And Hitherflea looks around to see what manner of giant
place she has found herself in.
There is a short corridor behind the door, with three offices off it. Nameplates on the offices say,
"Mr Focals", "Ms Namar", and "Ms Thayers".
Demiurge says "Hitherflea, try a Per roll."
<
<
<
Demiurge says "You fail to hear any interesting conversations, offhand."
<
Hitherby stretches her legs thoughtfully. Okay, these doors must also be flush. I hop up onto a
door or two to see if I hear anything more from right close up. Then she begins thinking about
how to get through a door on her own. Hm hm.
Demiurge says "Hm. Make another Per roll, Hitherflea, now you're checking closely."
<
Demiurge says "Sorry, you still can't quite make anything out."
<
<
Hitherby hms. If I use any Song, the disturbance can be traced to me, which means they'll figure
out in a puzzled minute what I am, yes?
Demiurge says "Well, they'll _probably_ hear the disturbance, and tell it's in the corridor, and
figure there's someone out there, yes. And possibly spot the flea and guess."
Hitherby considers other options. I can put a lot of force against a very small space using a flea
leg or mouth. How long would it take me to dig a flea-crawlspace through/under the door?
Demiurge says "Perhaps a couple of minutes, and hopefully nobody would notice the scratching."
Hitherby uses the traditional termite method for choosing doors, "Eenie meenie miney mo," she
says (translated), and then stops there because termites can never remember the rest. Then she
works on this clever plan.
<
Hitherby croaks companionably to Sephar, on the roof above, "Diggin' now into place."
Demiurge says "Okay, you're working on Focal's door."
Sephar bobs gently. "Do you want any side distractions? I kinda think it would be worse if they
were riled, but thought I should ask."
Hitherbird says, judiciously, "Not 'till trouble."
Sephar bob-nods.
<
<
Demiurge says "As you gnaw through the door, Hitherby, voices become audible."
A woman's voice says, "... and I would be grateful if you would give me a hand with this search.
Consider it a favour." It's the voice of the Game-Lilim, and there's an undertone of stress to it.
A deeper male voice says, "No problem. Okay, you want me to run the search on the public
domain records first, or on the car reg?"
Hitherby stops inside the door, if she can already hear.
Demiurge says "You can just hear without getting all the way through. Of course, you can't see."
Hitherby nods. She's paranoid. :)
The female voice says, "Car registrations, please. You've got the usual aliases there."
There is the sound of someone heavy sitting down, then ruffling paper and tapping computer keys
for several minutes.
Sepharbird settles quietly by Hitherbird, brooding over the view from the business building.
Somewhere across the city, William feeds Hithercat some nice tuna.
Hithercat miaus nicely to William.
Hitherbird croaks to Sephar, "Com'uter. Search. Driver's record. For Lilim. They're."
About fifteen minutes later, the male voice says, "Got him, I think." It isn't particularly triumphant,
just flat. "Daimon Lightner, and here's the make and registration. Returned it, though."
The female voice curses quietly, then says, "Got the credit card details?"
Sephar blinks quietly. "Should I mess up their 'puter work?"
Sephar shakes his head and then dives off the roof again... to see if he can see a terminal in the
foyer.
There are, indeed, terminals in view in the foyer.
Sephar possesses a terminal.
The elderly woman who was working on the terminal stares at it for a moment, as though she
might have seen something odd: then she shakes her head, and gets back to work.
Sephar does not use the keyboard, does flash flow of charge in bits to the cord connection and
uses that to try and get control of the computer that the terminal is connected to, tries to then find
data streams.
Hitherby warns Sepharbird, when it returns to the roof, "Still spying. Careful."
Sephar returns bird to the roof... and just lies in wait for data key with any of the names of any
of the folks he's been working with.
Sepharbird bobs a nod. "Nothing big... just watching and waiting, to see what they'll know or
want to know, maybe change a few small things, nothing big..."
Hitherby ruffles her wings in the ancient Kyriotate signal for, "I defer to your judgments."
Sepharbird bobs.
Sepharcomputer doesn't *do* anything with the data streams but monitor.
Sephar also controls outputs so that they don't show on the monitor he's possessing, at the
moment.
Demiurge says "Sephar can access the office network, and note the internet connections, and see
that in one office they're currently pulling a load of files from local car hire agencies."
<
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<
They are curerntly pulling up the records on one car hired to a Mr Daimon Lightner, his credit
card number, and the like.
Sephar changes four random digits on the credit card.
Sephar tries to do so without it being noticed.
<
<
Demiurge says "You do it, Sephar, and they don't seem to have noticed."
Sepharbird mutters to Hitherby, "They're pulling Daimon data, the tail end, it seems."
Inside the room comes the scratching of a pen, then the woman says, "That's about as far as we
can get there. Okay. If you do a sweep on the paper records now, I'll check the detective."
Hitherbird croaks, "No vitals before."
The male voice grunts, "All right," and falls silent again, as paper is ruffled.
Sepharbird, "Vitals?"
Demiurge says "Sephar, the people in there are now running a data search on public domain stuff
for Mr Patrick Murphy, private detective."
Hitherbird explains, "Got his cahr. But it's gone now."
Sephar tries to do random small numerical data changes.
Demiurge says "Roll again, Sephar."
Hitherby postulates to herself that they are either going to defame us or are simply studying us.
Hitherby doesn't feel up to explaining this to Sephar even in Kyrio-understandable bird-English.
Hitherby, fortunately, is utterly immune to defamation.
<
<
>From inside the room comes the sound of busy copying, and the whirring of a printer, rather than
any cries of, "This information is rubbish!"
<
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<
Hitherby doesn't inform Sephar, since she has no idea what Sephar is doing. :)
The male voice says, "So when do we get Focalor back with us, then? Or Verthurel? I was told
she was assigned here."
The female voice pauses a moment, then says, "They're both in Trauma. I heard that her Lord
might be pushing Verthurel out of it a bit faster than usual, but my information's unreliable there.
And as for Focalor, well..."
The woman's voice trails off. "Our Master hardly has the time to spare for him as things stand."
Sepharbird dances a touch. "I think I got it. Hrm. Doing little data changes. They were pulling
Pat's info."
The man grunts, and goes back to shuffling paper - or so one would assume, from the noises.
Hithercat miaus to William, walks up to him, and pokes him with a paw several times. Then she
sits back and looks up at him questioningly.
William bends down, and tries looking the cat in the eye. "Yes, proud hunter of the night? What
is it?"
Hithercat rolls on her back and touches a paw to her stomach. Then she gets back on her feet and
touches the same paw to William's foot or hand or something nearby.
Hithercat looks at him hopefully. Mental note: teach William voiceless handless shortpaw.
William considers. He reaches out to try rubbing Hithercat's belly.
The people in the office seem content with the data on Pat for a while, and don't try pulling
anything new.
Hithercat miaus in some frustration and then enjoys the bellyrub. Hitherbird, on Focals' roof, looks
for a bird besides Sephar to possess to send William's way. (Cats simply can *not* talk. :)
There are other birds on the roof who can be possessed.
Hitherflea listens thoughtfully. So there was a printer running for a bit and then silence and
paper-rustling?
Hitherby possesses such a bird and wings towards William's.
Demiurge nods to Hitherflea.
<
Sephar stays in possession of the terminal while it can, just quietly watching.
Sepharmouse with Liz will squeak, "Liz. Focal's is trying to look up data on Daimon, from the
car rental agreement he had..."
In the room, the woman says, "All right. Time for the regular mailcheck."
The man replies, "Sure. Any security?"
The woman chuckles, and can be heard to tap a few keys. "Just a moment."
Hitherby mulls. She would have dug more or less at the bottom of the door, unless there was a
metal plate there. If there was no metal plate, she thinks she will risk continuing inwards, because
it's unlikely that they'll notice a pinpoint of light coming through the bottom of the door -- in part
because there really won't be any, given the natural behavior of light. Besides, no risk, no gain.
She'd like to see these guys. However, if she was forced to dig higher, she won't risk it.
Demiurge says "You can probably continue to dig low, Hitherby."
Hitherby nods. She will do so. A tiny speck of black in the door, a slightly-larger hole -- they're
demons, and they won't be looking this way, and they won't imagine it can be done. (And yes, I
am doomed :)
Liz says "All right, Sephar. As long as you're about, try and get the home location for the people
at Focals. How many, who they are, what their celestial and Role names are, etc."
Hitherby understands what mail is. Terethel sent mail to Pat. And security is what keeps them
from accessing the computers at the Post Office. She's not completely unused to the modern
world!
Liz says "Be careful, okay? Is the Lilim of the Game around? And do they have any word on the
people we put in Trauma?"
Sepharmouse says, "I don't know yet."
There is a sudden surge as some black ice security hits the system, driving through it like a tidal
wave that forces viruses and Kyriotates alike out and into a dumping area.
Demiurge says "Sephar, you can try fighting this with Int."
Sephar does so.
<
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<
<
Liz watches the Mouse squirm. "Oh hell.."
Liz peels like a madwoman for Focals.
Demiurge says "Sephar, you manage to dodge the direct onslaught of the security program, and
you _think_ it hasn't noticed your presence, but you've been forced out of the system for the
moment."
Sepharmouse pants.
Liz says "Sephar... come on Sephar speak to me..."
Demiurge says "You aren't hurt, but you have had to temporarily exit the network to maintain
personal continuity."
<
Sephar nods and pulls back to the roof.
Liz is just flyin'.
Sepharmouse, "Don't burst in, I'm okay... just black ice... yeesh...."
Liz says "Do you need me at Focals?"
Liz says "No? Okay."
Liz slows back down, returns to driving back to the hangar.
Sepharmouse, "I have to see... what did that... Uhm... I don't think so..."
Liz says "Any info on who's there? Game, obviously."
Sephar says "yes..."
Liz says "The Lilim? Reinforcements?"
Liz says "Any sign of Focalor, the Calabite, or the Impudite?"
Sepharbird asks Hitherby, "Who is there, do you know? Any names? Any info on the Trauma
folks?"
Sepharbird is panting, too.
Inside the room, the woman says, "There..." She pauses, and swallows. "It's a personal for us.
Run the decode on it, will you?"
Sepharbird says, "They have... black ice... nasty. Had... had to get out..." to Hitherby.
Hitherby croaks, "In Trauma still. -- don't act! --"
Hitherby continues, ...
Sepharmouse says, "Trauma folks are still in trauma."
Demiurge says "Hitherby, you've just made the tiny hole through the door."
<
<
Liz says "Okay. Get everyone's name if you can."
Hitherby continues, "Azzkie forcing Ver-thur-el out fast. Lilim there. Djinn there."
Sepharbird bobs a nod, "Liz isn't coming, yet."
Demiurge says "Nobody shows any signs of noticing the pinprick hole in the door. There's a man
and a woman inside, the woman the Lilim from the opera house, the man tall and lean with pale
dead eyes."
Liz is beginning to believe that two Kyrios on the loose is just *such* a bad idea.
Hitherby looks in. And listens *really hard* to what they say about the message.
Sepharmouse says to Liz, "Azzkie forcing Ver-thur-el out fast. The Lilim is in the offices we
raided. A Djinn is here, too."
Liz says "Verthurel?"
Liz says "The Impudite?"
Sepharmouse shakes its head, "I don't know."
The Lilim leans over the dead-eyed man's shoulder, her breasts brushing against him in what looks
like a habitual trick, and scrutinises the computer screen. Her lips part in a low whistle.
Hitherbird croaks, "Message. Important. They may *talk*."
Sepharmouse says, "Likely, though."
Sepharbird bobs a nod and just quiets.
The man says, eventually, "Things are going fast." It's a neutral expression.
Hitherby, knowing very well that she can't read encrypted Hellscript, doesn't try and read the
screen.
Liz finishes driving back to her hangar, and showers, dresses for lunch, occasionally checking on
Sepharmouse.
The woman replies, "So what did you expect? He wouldn't have brought the charges if he didn't
think - know - he'd prove them." Her tone is nervous.
Sepharmouse murmurs, "Focals got an important message, the Lilim at least..."
Hitherby would be slaughtered by Jordi if she stared at it in hopes of conning the Seraph of Jean
Attunement out of an enemy Archangel :)
Sepharmouse, "Probably flushed the system before bringing it in."
The woman continues, "I didn't expect Media to jump that way, though. They usually have more
sense about which way their bread's buttered."
Hitherby croaks, "Stra-te-gy. Go in, make no noise, grab data when I say 'now?' Or too
dangerous?"
Hitherbird croaks that. Hitherflea couldn't if it tried.
The man grunts, and shrugs. He taps a portion of the screen. "So do we continue hunting our
prior targets, or go all out on the new stuff?"
Sepharbird shivers a bit. "It might be dangerous, but I could try it."
Sepharmouse shivers just a bit, too.
Liz says "Sephar?"
Sepharbird asks, "Is there a window I can look at their terminal from?"
Hitherbird says, calmly, "Your choice. Impor-tant information. Impor-tant Sephar."
The woman frowns, pouting as she thinks.
Sepharmouse says, "Might grab letter..."
Liz says "On the computer you were having trouble with?"
Demiurge says "There is a window from which the terminal should be visible, Hitherby."
Hitherbird bobs its head. "Can lead past?"
Sepharmouse says, "System... just possess terminal, pull screen image into memory, then run."
Sepharbird bobs head.
Hitherbird drops from the roof and swoops.
Sephar swoops as well.
Liz says "Hmm. Okay. Let me get ready, just in case."
Sepharbird goes down following Hitherbird...
Hitherby prays for poor demonic rolls and good SepharWillroll.
Sepharmouse says, "we're going..."
Liz puts on her shoes, makes sure her gun and CCW permit are ready to go.
Liz says "I'll lend you essence if you need it."
Sepharmouse thinks. "Yes, please... one?"
Liz walks out, gets in the car, ready for lunch with Terry, a commando raid on Focals, or just a
few deep breaths.
Demiurge says "Sephar and Hitherby swooooop down. You come into view of the window, and
can see the backs of the two people inside the room, and part of the screen as you close in."
Liz puts her hand on Sephar, gives up a single essence point.
Hitherflea, as Sephar passes, sings Corporeal Form. That's 1 Essence, yes?
Sephar possess the terminal, throws three essence into it to try and get the data from the memory
of the terminal of the letter and get out.
Sepharmouse chirrs softly.
Demiurge says "It is, Hitherflea, yes. Roll."
Hitherflea doesn't really understand the plan, so she wants to get them away from blocking the
terminal :)
<
<
Demiurge says "Sephar, you throw yourself into the terminal, and can feel the elegant, digitised
Hellscript settling into your memory."
Sephar will keep it in mind in binary, concentrate on binary...
Liz thinks.
Demiurge says "Hitherflea, you are now Corporeally form-altered."
Sepharbird says, "Have it."
Liz walks back into her Hangar, into the office, turns on the computer.
Liz says "Dump it to data if you need to, Sephar."
<
<
Sephar mouse touches the computer and dumps his memory into Liz's computer.
Hitherflea prepares to run for it.
The woman squints abruptly across the room, and points at Hitherflea. "There's something there!
I heard it!"
Hitherflea runs for it.
Liz watches the hellscript form on the screen, and mutters something about getting a spare
computer for this sort of thing.
Demiurge says "Liz, your computer screen fills abruptly with digitised Hellscript graphics - a
medium-length message."
Liz saves the message, encrypts it.
The man lunges across the room, slamming the door open, and peers about. His eyes fix on the
tiny Hitherflea, and his mouth curls in a snarl as he fishes something canister-like from a pocket.
Sepharmouse sighs softly as it off-loads the memory. "Thank you, Liz."
Hitherflea does a flea-style kung fu kick on the canister.
The woman gasps, and rapidly hits three keys on the keyboard, with the speed of desperation.
Sepharbird whirls in the air after Hitherbird.
Demiurge says "Hitherflea, agility roll. :)"
Hitherby, in case she should roll, rolls:
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Demiurge says "Hitherflea, your blow strikes the canister with more than insectoid strength, and
it ruptures in a horrendous cloud of choking gas."
Demiurge says "Sephar, are you still in the terminal?"
<
Sephar is out.
Sephar got out of the terminal as soon as it had data.
Demiurge says "Then you don't get caught in the security lockdown. ;)"
<
Sephar whews.
Hitherflea thinks, "Whoops." It charges back into the office to get away from the gas! It's going
to try and leap out through the window, shattering it. Of course, Hitherflea is not thinking in
terms of shatter-proof glass.
<
Demiurge says "Hitherflea discovers, painfully, that the window is indeed of shatterproof glass."
<
Demiurge says "The Lilim jumps for an empty glass that was lying on the desk, and makes a flying
tackle to slam it down over the stunned flea."
Hitherby has Protection 5 or 6; it probably doesn't hurt that much :)
Sepharbird asks Hitherbird, "Is your flea okay?"
<
Hitherbird croaks, "No."
Sepharbird goes back to the window, then.
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Hitherby's preconceptions are drastically altered. This glass is *not* more fragile than the door.
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Hitherby waits for Demiurge's actions or calls for rolls before she makes her next move. Or did
you mean that she successfully slammed down the glass?
The Lilim drops her full weight on the empty water-glass which she is attempting to pin the flea
with, and her eyes narrow.
Demiurge says "I think she successfully slammed down the glass, Hitherby. But this glass is not
shatterproof."
Demiurge says "Hm. Make a Will roll?"
<
Demiurge says "The Lilim is attempting to exercise Dark Desire upon the flea."
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As Sephar returns to the window, the man is stalking back towards the Lilim, shaking one hand
and still grasping the remnants of a insect-spray. The Lilim is attempting to hold a glass on the
floor.
Sephar possess the office door and slams it open.
Sephar possesses the desk and gets it to collapse?
Hitherby has no alternative. She will heave the glass off in a display of might (hey, she's got Str
8 and armor of (effectively) high-quality steel) and then bound for the door into the main room.
Then she'll try and knock it down with a majestic le -- or, well, not.
Hitherby will accept it if flying up to heave off the glass costs her an action. There are
disadvantages to not being human.
The man turns, snarling, and thus misses the Amazing Catapulting Water Glass as Hitherby goes
bouncing out of the grasp of the cursing Lilim.
Hitherbird croaks, "Doors! Doors!"
Sephar has the door slammed open...
<
Sephar tries to collapse the desk to get in the way of the Lilim and the guy.
Hitherby nods. The door to Focals' office was already open; it's the two beyond that she's
concerned about. But Sephar may mean the one beyond that already :)
Sepharbird says, "Tell me when you're through!
The desk, unfortunately, does not usually try to collapse as part of its normal function.
Sephar rolls the chair?
Demiurge says "Sure, you can roll the chair."
<
<
Sephar possess the chair, then... and rolls it into the two vessels, or tries to.
The chair crashes into the hapless Lilim, who was trying to get up, and sends her sprawling again.
And cursing.
Sepharmouse is giggling, now.
Liz just sort of stares at Sephar.
The Djinn slams through the doorway after Hitherflea, and looks around, trying to get a bearing
on where it went. He yells, at the top of his voice, "Lock all the doors!"
Liz says "You two are having *fun* aren't you?"
Sepharbird flies past the foyer window and opens the door to the office hallway.
Hitherby escapes through or pounces at the door to the main office, depending on whether Sephar
opened that one. Then she goes for the *main* main one. Tell her how far she gets. :)
Demiurge says "Someone's trying to close the door at the same time, Sephar. Str roll?"
<
<
<
Sepharpossesses a filing cabinet by the door and opens a drawer?
<
Liz says "Sephar, if you can do it safely, try to possess a phone nearby where the Lilim and the...
Djinn? wind up. No computers. Nothing with a security system."
Liz says "And something you can get out of easily."
Sephar possesses a phone.
Liz says "I want to hear what they're up to."
Sepharmouse says, "And? Ah..."
Liz pulls out her cellphone, grins.
Sepharphone dials Liz's number.
<
Demiurge says "The door stays held, Sephar, unfortunately."
<
Sephar possess a chair in the main foyer and rolls *that* into the person holding the door.
The filing cabinet drawer slides smoothly open. The man prowls down the corridor, eyes
narrowed.
Sephar unpossesses the cabinet.
The young man who is trying to hold the door shut yells, and dodges out of the way, letting go
of the door for a moment.
Sephardoor opens again.
The man frowns, and raises his hands, Singing.
Sepharchair chases her around.
<
The boom of a Song of Thunder washes outwards from the man, slamming into Hitherflea and
Sephardoor, and also into the young man with the chair.
<
Demiurge says "Sure, roll."
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<
<
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Demiurge says "Sigh. Both of you manage to resist. ;)"
<
<
Liz *stares* at her phone.
Demiurge says "Though the young man is lying in the Amazing Moving Chair, drooling faintly."
Liz says "Don't tell me someone just lit off a Song of Thunder?"
<
Sepharchair settles out of the way of the hallway...
<
<
Sepharbird asks Hitherbird, "You into the foyer, yet?"
The door to the main foyer is now swinging open.
Hitherflea is in the hallway, heading for it, pursued by the man. The Lilim, from her
battle-squawks, appears to be in pursuit.
Liz says "C'mon Sephar, update me. Do I need to be driving to Focals, or laughing my fool head
off?"
Sephar is out of the chair in the Lilim office.
Sepharmouse, "We're trying to save the flea, I don't think you need to be driving, yet."
Liz says "OK."
Hitherby reflects, using some of her spare Forces for brainpower, "I could kill them, but that
would be an excessive risk to my host. Sigh." (A Seraph might wince at this line of thought,
mind.)
Liz puts her office phone on 'speaker' and hits the 'mute' button, instead, and listens to the
insanity.
<
Hitherby bounces off a wall to get through the opening door before it finishes opening.
<
Sephardoor slams shut.
Sephar unpossesses the door and the rolling chair.
Sephar still has the phone.
The man crashes into the door as Sephar slams it, tearing it open again. In the foyer, the elderly
woman seems to be considering hysterics, and the young man is still out of it.
Sepharmouse hrms quietly to Liz, "The phone likely has redial... should I hang up and then dial
911? so that it can't be traced back to you?"
Liz says "Yeah, go ahead. You should probably also nail the phone company records, if you can."
Liz says "But wait a minute, and call.. information instead."
Liz says "Not 911."
Sepharmouse blinks a bit. "Oh... right. Not good to tie up emergency lines."
Hitherbird croaks, "Last door."
Hitherflea races for it. If knocking it down is not an option (remembering that she's harder than
steel right now -- paid lots of points for that Song :) and it doesn't open, she'll hide under the
desk. But she hopes otherwise :)
Demiurge says "Roll, Hitherby."
Hitherby probably can't knock it down, but she might be able to go through it. Considering the
concentration of force.
<
Sephar leaves the phone line on so long as no one approaches the phone.
Hitherflea screams, "Kiai!!!" Everyone else hears, "."
Demiurge says "Hitherflea leaves a neat, tiny-bullet-like hole right through the door. And emerges
the other side, in a gout of sawdust."
Sepharbird blinks, a bit late at what Hitherbird croaked, and then sees the hole?
Much cursing in Helltongue comes over the phone's speakers, together with the thorough
hysterics of an elderly woman, as the man and Lilim plough through the foyer and towards the
door.
Hitherby makes a spontaneous tactical decision. I have no hope of waiting for the elevator. Ergo,
I head for the other office on the floor.
Sephar possesses the main door and tries to hold it closed.
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<
<
The main door goes flying open as the man wrenches it back. The woman darts through to peer
down the corridor either way, looking for Signs of Flea.
Sephar possesses a rolling chair, holds the door open and flings the chair after the two of them.
Hitherby makes a Move Silently roll, perhaps, at a penalty because she's also hurrying?
Demiurge says "Sure."
<
<
The woman points, shrieks, "It's there!" and gestures again, Singing something.
<
Demiurge says "Int roll, Hitherby."
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<
Demiurge says "Ah, your sturdy Kyriotate intelligence throws off the fiendish nightmares she was
attempting to throw at you."
Hitherby wiggles her eyes. She'll get the brows later.
Hitherflea will attempt to bullet through into the other office on the floor; she doesn't have long
with the Form on.
The man gets hit from behind by the chair. He curses at it, then retreats back into the office,
dragging the woman with him.
<
The man slams the office door again, and the woman's cursing is audible down the phone.
Sephar unpossesses door and chair.
Demiurge says "No, Sephar."
Hitherby considers. Demi, am I murdering the flea if I leave it in the other office, or is there a
reasonable chance it will live a happy life feeding on humans there?
Demiurge says "It will probably live a fat and happy life."
Hitherby's actions stand as stated, then :)
Demiurge says "Sephar, are you pulling out of the office entirely, or moving into
something/someone else there?"
Sepharphone is still there... and the pigeon is on the roof, now.
The man and Lilim begin prowling through the office. The Lilim calms the older woman, while
the man is eyeing everything.
Sephar thinks a bit and then hangs up the phone quietly and dials information.
Sepharmouse says, "They're looking for me."
Sephar then unpossesses the phone.
Sepharpigeon pulls out.
Hitherby will drop the flea, then, as soon as it is in the other office and has hopped a few times
to elude detection. Similarly, as she no longer needs it for anything, she will drop the Hithercat,
hopefully gaining a point of Essence for giving it a new happy life. Then Hitherbird croaks, "Safe."
<
Sepharpigeon bobs a nod, "Shall we go, then?"
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Hitherbird considers that. "Yup," she chirrups, and is out of there like a zoot suit in the 90s.
<
Sepharbird flies with pretty cheerfully.
Sepharmouse chirrups cheerfully...
Hitherbird uses wings, not withdrawal -- no reason not to enjoy the day.
Sepharmouse goes to Liz's computer and modems into the phone company system and does what
it can to wipe out the record of the call to Liz's from Focal's phone records.
<
Demiurge says "You think you've cleared it, Sephar."
Sephar mouse chirrs happily.
Hitherby croaks to Sephar, "Know where Liz is?" She can take her time; the Kyrios are not in a
hurry now.
Sepharbird says, "She's in her hangar."
Liz sighs.
Hitherbird croaks merrily, since that's where her swarm is going. And that's all I need from the
scene, unless someone else is doing stuff :)
Liz rubs Sepharmouse ears.
Liz says "You two out and safe?"
Sepharmouse, "Yes! We're out and the flea got out, too."
Liz says "All right. Bundle up the graphics and get them off to Jean and Marc?"
Sepharmouse nods, "Sure."
Sepharmouse/computer bundles up the letter and sends it to Jean and Marc with a tag warning
that it's Hellscript...
Sepharmouse lets Liz add what info she wishes to the bundle to Marc.
Sephar adds addendum to the bundle to Jean about what it could figure out about the black ice...
that the office had it.
Hitherby will explain to Sephar, as we fly, about how the Media is apparently not helping the
game -- and there are new targets and old ones.
Liz adds a bit of commentary: this was taken off the screen of a game computer, and by the way,
Kyrios are pretty amazing.
Sepharmouse will add taht information to the report to Jean, including info about who is still
traumatized and who isn't, and what data Hitherby tells it, and shows the letter to Liz.
Liz nods. "Looks good. Hmm, I wonder if we'll see the Impudite soon.."
Hitherby does aerobatics happily. She had a plan, and it *worked*.
---