Session Thirteen

Nathaniel surveys the scene, and people discuss stuff. Bernard surveys the situation. Case wakes up and he is pissed. Bernard fails to make sense of the equipment. Martinhost2 examines the unconscious guy that they took from the tube, and finds severe malnutrition/dehydration/anaemia/etc, and Sings Corporeal Healing. The guy comes around, dazed. Martin waffles comfortingly. Zebediah resonates on him, discovers that he is an Utter Scum Balseraph of Nightmares, and draws his sword and stands guard menacingly, passing this information on to the others. The guy tries to get Lucas to help him (I'm your friend!) but Zebediah points out the Balseraph bit, and gags/blindfolds the prisoner.

Meanwhile, Case and Nathaniel search the fort via booting down doors. They find the Goon Dormitory. They also find four master bedrooms. The first is clearly feminine, with white silk clothing, face preparations, silver and diamond jewellery. The second is male, a total mess, with copies of Hefty Hooters magazine under the bed and a strong smell of sweat. The third is incredibly neat, with a sketch of a cold-looking beautiful young woman, and scraps of metal swept into the corners. The fourth room is tidy, with a patchwork quilt, CD player with Sibelius, a basket with homemade bread rolls, woodcarving tools, and beard preparations.

There is discussion. Bernard gets a Cel Tongues call -- the Lilim giving him a phone number. He rings it. She wants to warn them -- "the Doctor" knows about them and is angry. She talks about "wanting to get out of it" and says she'll contact him later.

Bernard phones A-B and asks if he can find a local angel of Creation. A-B says he'll look into it. Bernard also looks at Nathaniel's phone, trying to find a local Creationer.

Nathaniel queries why the captive's still alive. Bernard says for interrogation. Case kicks the whimpering captive in the head and knocks him out.

Bernard phones a number he finds on Nathaniel's phone, and gets a drunken presumed Creationer who is apparently spending the night with a snake-charmer, but who agrees to wait for pickup on the pier.

Case patrols the walls solo and broods. He sees Lucas and Martin zooming off in the motorboat to pick up the Creationer. He also sees four motorboats approaching, men in dark uniform aboard and armed. He alerts the others.

The guy on the first boat yells "Codeword Sword!" Case resonates him, gets that he's honourable, and lets them in. The soldiers spread out and secure the place. The leader, Athanasius, is a Malakite of Laurence, and greets them, listens to Bernard's opinions, goes down and greets Zebediah. He presents Zebediah with a small steel sword to jab into his hand -- a gift from Laurence. Zebediah does so, hears Laurence say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant," and gains a 10th Force. Zebediah tells Athanasius what he thinks is going on.

Lucas and Martin tie up at the pier. A guy turns up, thin, dark, young, carrying a bag of bottles. He explains he's Daimon (Daimonique), the Creationer. They head back for the fort, and Daimon teaches Lucas how to sing Eskimo Nell. Case calls down from the ramparts for Daimon to teach him Frigging in the Rigging.

Daimon examines the machine and drinks whiskey. Lucas drinks some whiskey, too. There is more discussion. People decide they need to contact an angel of Trade to trace the VILL Corporation. Daimon knows a "cute chick in America" and borrows Bernard's phone to reach her, has a conversation over it, and gives her Bernard's phone number to call back, finishing by kissing the phone. Bernard gets out his hanky and wipes the phone.

Martin leaves the guard he possessed so that said guard can be interrogated, and the angels head into the fort. Daimon gets to meet the Malakite, and quietly or not-so-quietly does some Platonic appreciation of physical beauty. The general conclusion regarding the Weird Apparatus was that it was channelling stuff from both sides into the middle. Eventually everyone heads back, dropping Daimon off on the pier en route at Portsmouth. It turns out that the phone had rung the number of the girl whose flat he was in.

More talk. They return the boat, and people split up to sleep or Rite. Case gets drunk. Bernard gives Lucas an auxiliary (and very loud) bell for the phone. Martin gets another host.

Dawn essence. A homing pigeon arrives with a scroll for Case, who is asleep. Lucas triggers the phone, and the new bell wakes Case. Case smashes the bell (and has Bernard fingered as the culprit by Nathaniel) and reads the note in private. It says, "Legion inference not possible. M. (PS - this means whatever it is, it's not Legion. M.)" He eats the note, as it's ricepaper, then goes to shower. Lucas makes him coffee.

Bernard gets a message from Tony, saying that he's going to investigate Eloia in Cambridge. Bernard heads for the University library to report and to talk to A-B. He also works on tracking whoever supplied/outfitted the fort, and does role-maintenance.

Zebediah does role-work at the Museum.

Martin flies around as a pigeon. A Divine Intervention results in him possessing a racing pigeon. A few times, he thinks that other pigeons are paying more attention to humans than they should. He attempts a possession on a particularly oddly-behaving one, fails. Follows the pigeon, and sends other pigeons to inspect the area.

Case leaves the broken bell in a biscuit tin for Bernard at Meridian, with a note saying, "Next time, your head -- C."

Bernard tries to search for info on the criminals whose names Nathaniel gave him re drug-dealing. He also gets a chapter of the Liber Domini Telluris from A-B. Martin arrives and they discuss stuff.

Zebediah gets a phone call. It's the Lilim, calling him "Zebby" and saying she wants to talk and is considering changing sides. He resonates and gets that she has potential and wants to be honourable but is being forced into dishonour. (CD 6.) He tells her to come round. She asks him to "take care" before hanging up.

Nathaniel is at the Malakite Flat. He takes a phone call for Case which says that they have info on Ruritania and someone who "knows about it" to talk to him. Nathaniel says he'll pass it on.

Bernard gets the Vanderson charge sheet and looks for more.

Zebediah's at the museum, and the Lilim arrives. He invites her in. She's acting depressed, as though she's struggling with something. She tells him to kill her and run for it. There is an abrupt surprise attack with gas grenades and tasers, including an interesting application of taser to shield. Zebediah is eventually taken down.

Case's morning class goes well.

Bernard gets the full police report on Vanderson, including a photo, and phones Nathaniel. They talk. Bernard tells Nathaniel about the weird pigeon.

Nathaniel goes to buy mythology texts.

At around 11am Lucas finishes his classes and phones Nathaniel. Nathaniel suggests Lucas work on Role-stuff. Lucas goes off to work out at the boxing club, and is tutored by an older student called Dan who says he may have a chance at getting into the University team.

Bernard gets a phone call from the Lilim, sounding very unhappy, saying that she wants to change sides. He resonates and gets that she's telling the truth but that she's being forced to do it. He finds that she's at the La Lupa restaurant in town, and says that he'll be round as soon as possible.

Bernard and Martin agree that it sounds fishy and that a team response is safest. They phone around everyone. No answer from Zebediah's phone, but this doesn't really alarm anyone yet.

Martin sends a pigeon to watch La Lupa, and also picks up a new host from a nearby gym. The Lilim's inside, looking unhappy. Two men are nearby watching her, and one wears an ear-wire. There are three vans outside, one Habitat Furniture (big), one Andrews Grocers (small), one Johnsons Removals (big). Bernard checks up on the van numbers, finds they all check out. They plot. Bernard has Lucas go and warm up Bernard's car for a quick getaway.

Martin goes in as host, looking innocent, gets a table near the Lilim and watches. Bernard rigs up an earpiece connected to the mobile phone in his pocket. Martinpigeon2 and Nathaniel go round the back.

Case and Bernard enter and head for the Lilim's table. They try and get her out. People burst out of the van and into the restaurant, wearing gas masks and combat gear, yelling revolutionary terrorist slogans. A fight starts.

Case goes down. Martin gets sucked into a Kyrio Catcher. Bernard and the Lilim go down. Nathaniel invokes Gabriel and disappears. Lucas manages to haul Bernard and the Lilim outside via the back, and escapes with them in the car.

Zebediah, Case, and Martin wake to find themselves in a weird grey-white zone. Vapula's face floats above. (All right, they've never seen him before, but some things you can deduce.) He informs them that they're going to take part in an exciting ground-breaking experiment and be the first angels ever to explore another universe. Case attempts to commit suicide, but fails, the sword passing through him like smoke. There is weirdness. They reappear in front of La Lupa in Southampton.

Nathaniel appears in the arms of Gabriel, Somewhere Weird, who holds him until he recovers, then sends him after the others, telling him that he will be the way out.

Nathaniel appears with the other three. There is confusion. Martin ascends to investigate, and appears in a shattered and broken Halls of Progress. The others move to avoid cops who are checking ID cards. Southampton generally appears much greyer and more oppressive.

Martin finds Heaven looks as if Armageddon happened and the angels lost. His Heart is intact, but many others are shattered. The Volcano is no longer burning, and full of obsidian.

Martin returns to the others, and possesses a passer-by -- it feels oddly clumsy at the edges. Zebediah resonates him to ID him. He also resonates a passer-by (most honourable act, betrayed wife: most dishonourable, stole sugar) but feels clumsy again. The angels deduce they are inside some kind of Vapulan experiment and in the Marches or Hell.

Lucas brings Bernard and the Lilim to the Novalis-Tether on the Common. Clementine wakes Bernard, and then the Lilim. They talk. The Lilim says she's terribly sorry, that she was Geased, and that apparently Vapula wanted to send the angels to an alternate universe. There is general shock. The Lilim stays to talk with Clementine, while Bernard ascends to report all this.

---

Feather And Bone