Mage - Eric

[On the Tree of Life the realms above the Earth are Foundation (associated with the Arcanum of Death) and then Victory (associated with the Arcanum of Life).]

"I don't understand,,, higher realms? Heaven and hell?"

"Not quite. More like realms composed of more subtle forms of matter. As I say, it needs further investigation before we can draw any definite conclusions.

I think that the best thing we can do is sleep. We can meet up tomorrow to try and work out what happened. Maybe go back to the station in daylight and see what happens."

"Oh, okay..." Jennifer says, a little disappointed "Lunchtime perhaps?"

"Sure, shall we meet at the pub we were at earlier? It might be good to retrace our steps as fully as possible. Have you managed to get home safely? I've just got back."

Eric was aware that he should probably have checked Jennifer's whereabouts sooner, but in the aftermath of the evening's events his mind was swimming with theories and memories that he'd sooner forget.

[Bad cousin. Any theories you want to share with me?]

[Bad husband too...

Using the Arcana mapped onto the Tree of Life the initial twisting and collapsing - combined with Jennifer's experience of blood and torture, might suggest that they went into the next realm up. Which would be possibly be the Underworld in WoD terms.

But Eric went deeper down/higher up and found plants, a (possible) mother, and a new-"born" child, which all seems quite Life-oriented. Life being associated with the realm two steps higher than Earth.

No idea what it means yet, but that might be how Eric would interpret things.]

[Huh. Interesting]

"No, no..." Jennifer says "I'm still around London Bridge. I haven't dared go into the underground..."

Eric sighs, already regretting what he's about to say...

"Do you need me to come and meet you? To make sure that you get home okay."

[Alternatively, since she's there, she could investigate now... ]

"That's a good idea..." Jennifer says. "There's something here you should probably see. It makes no sense to me."

She tells you the name of a cafe she is in by Blackfriars.

[to be continued]

[I got the last train back home, so I'm guessing it's time to call a cab...]

Wearily, Eric casts a forlorn glance in the direction of home...

...and then trudges over to the minicab office outside the station, mentally preparing himself for the extortionate price of getting a cab to Blackfriars at this time of night.

You're £45 lighter when you get to the cafe but Jennifer is no-where to be seen

[£45!!!]

Grateful that he stopped at the station's cash machine while waiting for a cab driver to become free, Eric reluctantly pays the driver. Being sure to count the change. And not to tip.

By this point he's not especially shocked about Jennifer's absence, so he pulls out his mobile and dials her number.

[I was once charged £25 to go from S Bush to Fulham]

Jennifer answers quickly and she tells you she's just down the road. She's following a grey-haired man in a tweed jacket. You meet up as she's tailing him a few feet behind

Eric, wary about his cousin's temperamental nature, does his best to get her attention without startling her. He gestures to the man in front and makes an expression that he hopes conveys his confusion as to why she is stalking an old man through the streets of London.

And apparently felt the need to drag him here to assist...

Once you've caught up with her, she fishes the note out of her pocket and hands it over to you. And then stops for a moment, as if checking something on a nearby bus stop, but keeping the old man in sight.

Eric skims the note once, frowns, then reads it through again.

[Presumably using his Mysterium training to do so whilst not tripping over things as he walks along the road.]

He folds the note carefully and slips it into his jacket pocket, making a mental note to get a copy to his colleagues in the morning.

He whispers to Jennifer "Are we just going to follow him, or should we maybe try to question him?"

"What would we ask him? Do you know what this note means? Because I don't... maybe if we just find out where he lives, and then if we need to find him later we can."

[the man stops and turns into the 7th house on the left]

"Let's find out if he lives alone. If he does, we could invite ourselves in for a little chat."

Eric closes his eyes, whispers in the High Speech as he passes his hands in front of his face, and then opens his eyes to stare at the man's house.

[Casting the rote version of Sense Life - page 181]

[1, 2, 4, 4, 7, 9]

Jennifer asks if there's anything in the note that incriminates the old man, or to suggests what may be going on.

[He's in the house with two other people. One of the occupiers is blood-related to him]

"There's three of them. He's related to one. Probably his spouse and child." Eric is muttering to himself as much as to Jennifer.

He then turns to her. "Okay, we know where he lives and have potential leverage to use against him if we need it. Let's get somewhere quiet and take a better look at the note."

"Cool. Back to the cafe? Or shall we head to the bar where we were earlier?"

"The cafe might be best. If you followed the old man from there, there might be additional traces that we can find."