Michaelmas Term 2007 - History (Ancient and Modern)

[Knave]

 

Freshers. @Spektor @Gregorotto

 

Noughth week is over.  The First Week reading list is stacked two feet high next to your bed. Posters congruent with your intended new Oxford identity have been hung in your private rooms within your college - Aristotle, Dr Dre and Che Gauvara are popular with the Freshers this year. For those who drink, a poisonous amount of alcohol has been taken - at civilised champagne receptions with your tutors, at boisterous sessions in the college bar and local pubs, and on grimy dance floors in student nightclubs - dark temples of incipient adulthood. You’ve signed up for an infeasible number of student societies, and are already starting to realise that the people you have been hanging out with so far aren’t going to be your long-term friends. You’ve attended a bewildering number of inductions: departments, college, laboratories and libraries - the last of which required the swearing of an Oath“I hereby undertake not to remove from the Library, nor to mark, deface, or injure in any way, any volume, document or other object belonging to it or in its custody; not to bring into the Library, or kindle therein, any fire or flame, and not to smoke in the Library; and I promise to obey all rules of the Library.” before your library card was activated.

There’s just one final formality to conclude: Matriculation. You gather in the main quads of your respective colleges, wearing your new subfusc attire: a commonor’s gown over a white shirt and black suit, topped off with a mortarboard, all hastily purchased at either Shepherd and Woodward's or else Walter’s, the University outfitters. Some students are wearing it smartly, others with as much edge as they can get away with without drawing the attentions of the Bulldogs.

You process through the streets of Oxford, following the head of your college who will present you to the University, before queuing to enter the Sheldonian Theatre

 

Hal

If you notice the three students leaning against one of the Emperors’ Heads that guard the entrance, studying the queue closely, you probably put them down as curious tourists. A fair few are gathered around, snapping photographs of the strange rite.

 

Annika

You spot Sophie standing outside the Sheldionian, watching the St Catherine’s Freshers file in. She makes an inaudible remark to one of her companions - a slight, pale young woman who don’t recognise, who fixes you with a somewhat vacant stare - then waves to you.

 

Once Inside, the Vice-Chancellor admits you to the University in fluent Latin:

‘Scitote vos in Matriculam Universitatis hodie relatos esse, et ad observandum omnia Statuta istius Universitatis, quantum ad vos spectent, teneri.’

He gives a helpful translation for those of you who aren’t reading the Greats: ‘Know that you are today added to the Roll of the University and bound to obey all the statutes of this University so far as they apply to you.’

Once the formalities are concluded, the newly-minted students flood into the surrounding pubs - the Turf Tavern, the White Horse, the King’s Arms, the Chequers, the Bear, the Crown - all within a few hundred yards of Broad Street.

Once the lengthy celebrations are complete, the students return to their colleges, checking their pidgeon holes in the Lodge for any new mail as they pass.

You find a singular envelope within the narrow wooden confines. It is blank, and is sealed with red wax, stamped with a plain circle. This is hardly the most unusual thing to happen this week, so you don’t think twice about opening it.

 

Welcome to Oxford. Your talents and experience have been noted, and you are hereby invited to join a society dedicated to the protection of this University from unnatural infringements. 

This prospect may be appealing to you. If not, I suggest you hear us out nonetheless. Someone like yourself will need resources, guidance and protection during your time here. We can provide all three to members.

Please present this letter to the barman at the Eagle and Child between 6 and 7 this evening in order to hear what we have to offer. You remain free to decline the invitation thereafter, however attendance tonight represents a commitment by you to keep the attendees and proceedings of the meeting secret.

Kindest personal regards, &c.

A.P.S.

Acting President, OUMHS

 

OOC: Please go ahead with your initial posts. You can recap your experiences of arrival, please end with your approach to the barman in the Eagle and Child (if you choose to go!). Feel free to use a Move if it makes sense.

 

Edited June 14, 2023 by Knave (see edit history)

[Knave]

@Ezeze

The Reverend Beaumont is firmly ensconced in his favourite reading chair when the phone starts to ring.

“Professor?’ You hear the soft voice of Alice, the local oracle. “I hope you had a good Long Vacation. If it's convenient to you, would you please meet me at the Bird and Baby, around 4 perhaps? I would like to understand any encounters or signs you saw over the summer. And, if you want… the new potentials will be joining from 6. I’m sure they would be interested to meet you. If you are available? Perhaps it would help persuade them."

She sounds hesitant, still feeling her way into the responsibilities of Society President.

“You were right, by the way. Lady Branwen’s grandson came up last week. I’m going to See him later today, we’ll see if it runs in the family or not. There's also this Annika girl to check out. I Saw her almost two months ago, and that's early for me.”

 

OOC: Let me know how you reply and what you think about this information. Feel free to use a Move if it makes sense.

[Knave]

@emotionaut @DoNotFearToTread

Sophie and Ekram

Your phones beep loudly as a text message arrives at 7AM. Part of your deal with the Society is that your phones are always on loud. This attracts a lot of annoyance from lecturers and hookups (if any) alike. 

Sophie + Ekram - I need to post up outside the Sheldonian today to get a look at the Freshers. Probably have to be outside for a couple of hours at least, plus a few thousand people going past close by. You guys free to babysit me? Sheldonian at 10.

Sophie - did you spend much time with this Annika? I Saw her back over summer and it wasn’t easy getting you two together. Is she a potential, or a threat? Signs unclear. Alice

Alice is Acting President while the President is overseas on some mysterious errand. She’s a psychic of sorts, but incredibly open to possession by almost any creature or person with any aptitude for it. She spends most of her time in a few warded locations, cycling between them in daylight before she can attract any unwanted attention. On the occasions when she has to be out and about in Oxford for longer than twenty minutes, she’s usually accompanied by at least one other member. 

The Theatre is not far away, but Alice is late, preferring to make sure you are there to meet her. She locks up her bike, and then surreptitiously traces a few chalk sigils on the Emperor
image uploader with the traffic cone on his head - the signs offering minor and temporary protection - then turns to the pair of you.

“Good summer? Any fun? Anything… interesting?”

The first line of Freshers is coming into view now - St Hugh’s, it looks like -  and she turns her pale grey eyes on them, only vaguely listening to your answers until they are past. She shakes her head.

When St Catherine’s arrive, Sophie points out Annika, and once they are safely past, Alice clicks her tongue. “That’s a powerful aura. Not one I’m familiar with. It’s not divine, that’s for sure. Dutch right? I’ll have to talk to Professor David. But she’s in.”

The Jesus Freshers are late arriving, despite being just across the street. Alice nudges the other two. “That’s him - Halarch. Professor David said he was worth taking a look at.” She stares intently and nods. “Definitely”

By the end of the morning, she’s also pointed out a pair of twin ladies from Lady Margaret Hall and a tall man who walks with a cane from St Peter’s. She brings out five sealed envelopes from her bike’s basket. “Find their names - make sure they all get one. Please. Sophie - don't mention anything to your daughter unless she arrives tonight. It's her choice."

OOC - feel free to talk about coming up to start your Second Year. You might want to reply to the text. Let me know how you figure out who gets the letters. You don’t need to roll for it.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Knave (see edit history)

[Ezeze]

The Reverend Dr. David Beaumont, Professor Emeritus

Luck □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Harm □ □ □ | □ □ □ □

Experience □ □ □ □ □

"Oh, uh." David looks to the left side of his desk where, right beside his Rolodex (where his landline used to be), his calendar sits. It's open to the month of September and mostly empty. The next thing on it isn't until a week from now, and that just a reminder to send a card (with a few quid in) for a grand-nephew's upcoming birthday.

 

"Yes, yes I think can make 4" David agrees. "You'll be a little late, of course. Should I order your usual?" Alice was late as a rule, but that wasn't her fault. It was dangerous for the girl to be anywhere alone for long. But she's too valuable of an asset to let her hide away forever.

Edited June 14, 2023 by Ezeze (see edit history)

[emotionaut]

Sophie

●○ the Monstrous ○●

StatsCharm -2, Cool +2, Sharp 0, Tough 0, Weird +3

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ○○○○○

Moves

Unnatural AppealRoll +Weird instead of +Charm when you manipulate someone.

Dark NegotiatorYou can use the manipulate someone move on monsters as well as people, if they can reason and talk.

IC

Sophie’s eyes slide over to the phone on the edge of her nightstand as it cries for attention. Mornings are usually her most precious time. A majority of the young minds around her are still blissfully sleeping, and those awake are mostly concerned with a hot drink or maybe a workout. It’s quiet time, but she wasn’t expecting it to stay that way today. Not after last night.

 

Checking the first text, sent to her and Ekram, she punches in a brief reply:

 

will be there

 

A moment later, Alice follows up with a private message. Sophie considers what to write back while finishing off one of the biscuits she baked the other night in the floor kitchenette. Then she types:

 

saw her a few times

standard stuff

bits of a tour, broken across a couple days

met with our tutor

 

She pauses, thumbs hovering over the buttons of her flip. Then she adds:

 

there was something last night

best relayed in person

but I like her

 

And that’s the end of quiet time, perhaps for a while.

 

---

 

At the appointed time, Sophie spots Alice riding up on her bike. She says nothing as the other woman carries out her protective ritual, knowing it best not to distract from the task. Once Alice is done and makes an attempt at small talk, Sophie smiles and shrugs. “Sure, summer was summer. You didn’t miss much. Figurin’ David – eh, Dr. Beaumont – filled you in on what little went on. Nothin’ that couldn’t be handled, so,” she says, knowing full well that Alice is only half listening.

 

Sophie then stays quiet while Alice appraises the candidates, only offering an affirmative grunt to confirm Annika’s nationality. At the end, when it comes time to sort the envelopes, Sophie plucks out Annika’s and then considers those addressed to the twins. Looking at Ekram, she asks, “Here, how’s about I handle the twins and you the two lads?”

 

To Alice, Sophie then adds, "And that Annika, she's a right powerful witch, altogether. Didn't even know it, though I expect she has some idea, after last night. Can fill you in if you don't have to bunk off straight away."

OOC

Actions and rolls go here.

Edited June 15, 2023 by emotionaut (see edit history)

[Spektor]

°•η→φ←ζ Aηηika, ╪he Hex ζ→φ←η•°

Stats: Charm +2, Cool +0, Sharp +0, Tough -1, Weird +2

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ○○○○○

Temptation: Power

Moves & Gear

Bad Luck CharmWhenever you use magic and miss, the backlash never affects you directly if there’s someone else around to hit. It’ll go for allies, other hunters, and innocent bystanders. Sometimes, every so often, it might even hit an enemy.

Cast the Bones Once per mystery, you may perform some kind of divination (tarot, casting the runes, reading entrails, or something like that) to glean information about the future. When you seek guidance by divination, roll +Sharp. On a 10+, hold 2. On a 7-9, hold 1. On a miss, you get some information, but it’s not what you want to hear. Spend those holds to ask any question from the investigate a mystery move, or one of the following questions:

• What can I gain from this person/place/thing/creature?
• Who has touched this person/place/thing/creature
before me?

The Keeper will answer truthfully, with either a direct answer or how to find out more.

Sympathetic TokenAs long as you carry a personal object belonging to someone, such as a lock of hair, a full set of toenails, or a treasured family heirloom, you get +1 ongoing to use magic against them. You can also use magic against them at a distance. If you try to use magic against them and miss, the token is lost, destroyed, or loses its power.

 

Rotes:

Leeching Enchantment(Must be cast at night. Requires the burning of pressed flowers.)
This ability works similar to the Use Magic ability: Enchant a Weapon, but with extra bonuses.

On a 10+
Enchant a weapon. It gets +1 harm and +magic and + Vampiric (1 healing for each time it deals damage).

On a 7-9
The effect is weakened. Choose two of the three tags.

On a miss
The weapon turns on you as you attempt to enchant it. Take 1 harm ignore armour. Apply no Effects.

 

Gear:

Athame(2-harm hand magic silver)

Staff(1-harm hand balanced large)

IC

'Maybe getting shitfaced drunk last night was not the brightest idea.'

This is the prominent thought swimming around in the Annika's alcohol-soaked brain as she makes her way through the streets of Oxford, in line with her fellow First Years. The thought makes laps in her mind, returning to the forefront every time her stomach churns with nausea. In moments like these, the young Dutch woman is thankful that she already has a pale complexion, otherwise her sorry state might be overtly noticeable. Given that she had spent most of the first week celebrating her arrival at a university she never imagined she'd ever be accepted into, she had promised herself she wouldn't participate in such things the night before matriculation. But Annika has never been one to keep her promises, especially the ones she made to herself. Such oaths were easier to break when you were the only one who ended up disappointed. Alas, she had made it on time at the very least, and considering what had happened later in evening at her own little preternatural after-party, she figured it was worth it.

Her eyes catch sight of Sophie and a hazy, drunken image of last night's events join in on the laps being swam in her brain. 'Oh shit, that's right! She was there. She saw It. Or at least she saw what It could do. It's not like I can exactly keep away from her either. She's my Mom, according to these weird-ass traditions. I guess Uni is going to be much like home: always explaining myself to my parents.' The need to roll her eyes swells at that thought, but she suppresses the urge. There will be enough rumors spread about her considering last night's 'incident', she doesn't need to add 'bitch' to the names she would be called. At least not yet.

The pale, silver-lined eyes glance towards the strange, skinny girl next to Sophie. 'Who the hell is that?' Knowing this place, it was probably her new aunt, or cousin, or whatever-the-f*ck. The girl she doesn't know deems it necessary to actually wave at her. Annika responds with a wide-eyed, awkward half-smile and a slight incline of her head, the kind that said 'Wassup?' without actually verbalizing it. She quickly looked away and tucked a loose lock of dyed hair behind her small-gauged ear while she followed in the path of the other new students, hoping this day (and this hangover) would be over soon. The faster she could get back to her room and start her outrageous amount of required reading the better. 'Looks like I won't be screwing around with magic any time soon.'

 

If only she knew what she was in for.

 

Formalities conclude and Annika is thankful for it. Although, the idea of flooding the nearby pubs doesn't seem like a good one to her. A tavern would do just fine to get a bit of food in her stomach to soak up the stale alcohol though. Before long, the young witch has her feet kicked up in the opposite chair at the Ashmolean Museum Cafe with a club sandwich plated in front of her, tea in one hand, and a book in the other. American Metalcore music blasts through the speakers of her padded headphones, but it strangely seems to help her focus her mind on what she's reading. Perhaps she should be spending the day with her fellow First Years, getting to know them and establishing her identity at the college. But she figures that will come in time and there is no need to rush anything. After all, it's not like she would be leaving the University any time soon if she has anything to say about it.

Finally, Annika returns to her Lodge at St. Catherine's College and checks her pidgeon hole where she fines two letters. The first is from her parents and includes every aspect of their personalities in its content. It starts with another congratulations (because thirty times wasn't enough, apparently) and continues to express how proud they are of her. That is all well and good, but she suspects the letter will not continue in that fashion. It doesn't, and Annika rolls her eyes as she reads over a set of rules to be followed and grades to be kept up if she wants them to continue funding her education.

"Ik ben zeshonderd kilometer verderop en ze proberen me nog steeds onder controle te houden.I'm six hundred kilometers away and they're still trying to control me. Get f*cked." she mutters to herself and crumples the letter before tossing it unceremoniously into the nearest rubbish bin. The next letter is odd, but no more odd than the hundred other weird things she's experienced since joining. "What the hell is an 'unnatural infringement'? Is this, like, the local racism club or something?" She exhales a sigh. Another thing to keep her from completing her assigned reading. Maybe this is some sort of test to see if she can attend all these traditional meets while still completing her work. If it is a sign of things to come, she needs to step her study game up if she wants to keep getting her parents' money. It is a small price to pay for her, and a very, very big price to pay for them. Seems worth it.

Later that day, at the Eagle and Child Pub, Annika enters around 6:32pm and assesses the ancient interior. Her usual jaded attitude is interrupted by a sense of wonder, given how much history the walls must have seen in their time. She can only hope they have at least gotten new pints for the drink in all that time. She approaches the bar man with one hand shoved in her pocket and the other twirling the letter with a broken wax seal between her fingers. "Heyyy..." She starts and leans against the bar, "...Soooo, I got this weird-ass letter. Said I was supposed to give it to you, or something, I don't know."

 

 

Edited June 15, 2023 by Spektor (see edit history)

[Gregorotto]

⛤᛭⛤ StatsCharm -1, Cool +1, Sharp 0, Tough +2, Weird +1 ⛤᛭⛤

 

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ○○○○○

Moves

Cast Out EvilCast Out Evil: You may banish an unnatural creature from your presence. Roll +Tough. On a 10+ it is banished. On a 7-9 it takes a little while for the banishing to take effect—the creature has time to make one or two actions. Either way, the banished creature is unharmed, and you have no control over where it goes. This move may be used on unnatural hunters (e.g. the Monstrous). On a miss, something is keeping it here. That’s bad.

Lay on HandsLay On Hands: Your touch can heal injury and disease. When you lay your hands on someone hurt, roll +Cool. On a 10+, heal 2 harm or an illness, plus they’re stabilized. On a 7-9, you can heal the harm or illness as on a 10+, but you take it into yourself. On a miss, your aura causes them extra harm.

No LimitsWhen you push your physical body past its limits, roll +Weird:
• On a 10 or more, your body obeys your will, to the limits of physical possibility (see below), for a moment.
• On a 7-9, you do it but choose one consequence: suffer 1-harm, take –1 forward, or you need to rest right now.
• On a miss, something goes horribly wrong.

Advanced No Limits. If you advance your no limits move, add this:
• On a 12 or more, you can continue acting at your body’s limits for 30 seconds.

For the purposes of this move, “physical possibility” means “conceivably possible for a human.” For example:
• Physically Possible: Lift an SUV, Jump over a truck, Punch through a wall.
• Not Physically Possible: Lift a building, Fly, Punch a blast of energy at a foe.

SmiteSmite: Your body and divine weapon always count as a weakness against the monsters you fight. Your unarmed attacks are 2-harm intimate hand messy.

IC

Bloody Mam-guSouth Welsh for grandmother, pronounced Ma'am-Gee.

He should have suspected something like this, he should have seen it coming. But Hal was never the sharpest tool in the shed when it came to judging or charming people, and it appears he's walked into a trap after all.

The whole thing of it was overwhelming, and not necessarily in the bad way. It was new, it was pomp he was not used to. The biggest series of shenanigans he had been used to was Calan Mai following the coast around Swansea, or having to pretend he wasn't home when the streets became thick with mari lywd demanding what was tantamount to Detroit-style rap battles for beer or food at the 900 too many days of Christmas. The tradition, the grandeur, that was new though. He was folk, he was rustic, he was small town at the best of times, but this? This was ceremony that was older than God and twice as shiny. Which was nice, he supposed. All the time he'd spent around Mam-gu in London hadn't exactly helped with his sense of perspective on that, given her connections, but she didn't go trotting her working class grandson all the time, either.

The Latin was underwhelming, as were the oaths; what was he, a bleeding knight of the Round Table swearing allegiance to Frodo to give him his sword, his bow, and his ax? All that for a library card, what was that about? Whatever the case, the ceremony stretches on and it takes most everything for him not to pop open his new Samsung phone, complete with flip keyboard, and play the new-fangled version of Snake, now with more than two colors! Blimey, that modern technology. What will those Koreans think of next?

Keeping to himself, upon returning to Jesus in his very physical way he finds a note, and immediately rues the day. "Bloody Mam-gu."

She knew this, she had to know. She sent him here specifically so whoever this professor was, who was not Acting President, could guide him into the light, save his soul, and bring him into the family business of kicking evil spirits' asses. Not that he minded, he was definitely good at that last part, but it was the pomp and circumstance of what Branwen did that would drive him knackers. And then there was the whole problem of him seeing things and hearing voices of long-dead gods from Annwn.

No biggy.

Still, no reason not to humor her, though how she knew about it, he realized, was beyond him. She didn't go to Oxford. She was salt of the earth, like he was. Well-connected salt, granted, but still. So, with little delay, he heads to the Eagle and Child, note in hand, and approaches the bar with little room for ceremony, plomping the note on the counter. "This is for you. Peroni for me."

And with that, Halarch Peredur has arrived in Oxford.

OOC

Actions and rolls go here.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Gregorotto (see edit history)

[Knave]

@emotionaut Alice looks tired and a little anxious as the last of the Freshers enter the building. "Well... I gotta get going soon. What's the short version?"

[emotionaut]

Sophie

●○ the Monstrous ○●

StatsCharm -2, Cool +2, Sharp 0, Tough 0, Weird +3

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ○○○○○

Moves

Unnatural AppealRoll +Weird instead of +Charm when you manipulate someone.

Dark NegotiatorYou can use the manipulate someone move on monsters as well as people, if they can reason and talk.

IC

“Short version...” Sophie repeats, buying herself a few moments to consider her words as she walks with Alice to the relative privacy of the bike rack. “In fairness, she's little different than the rest of the freshers. Got dead ossified like any other last night. What she done different came after, meanin' to say that magic and drink don't mix at all, at all. She called forth somethin', like, somethin' I don't know. Seemed harmless at first, playin' with the lights, wind whippin' about the halls. But I felt true darkness in its heart. It wanted more, so I had to intervene.”

 

Sophie catches Alice's reprimanding look and holds up her hands in defense. "Nothin' to fear. The girl was so knackered by the drink and the toll of the spell, I'm not sure she even remembers the half of it. Sure, she saw me so she saw me. But I don't think she heard me chattin' up the thing, convincin' it to eff off. Fierce bit of wordplay, if I may say, though I don't expect it'll stay away forever.

 

"If we don't bring the girl in, we're like to be dealin' with her again one way or another. Not that it's a reason alone to give her a pass, but she'd be far less of a danger to herself and others with a bit more trainin' and supervision, all the same."

OOC

Actions and rolls go here.

[DoNotFearToTread]

In Brief

Ekram

The Wronged

Stats: Charm +1, Cool +0, Sharp +1, Tough +2, Weird -1

Harm: ○○○ / ○○○○

Unstable: ○

Luck:  ○○○○○○○

Exp:  ○○○○○

Playbook Moves

I Know My PreyYou get +1 ongoing when knowingly investigating, pursuing or fighting the breed of monster that caused your loss.

DIY SurgeryWhen you do quick and dirty first aid on someone (including yourself), roll +Cool.

On a 10+ it’s all good, it counts as normal first aid, plus stabilize the injury and heal 1 harm. On a 7-9 it counts as normal first aid, plus one of these, your choice:

• Stabilise the injury but the patient takes -1 forward.
• Heal 1-harm and stabilise for now, but it will return as 2-harm and become unstable again later.
• Heal 1-harm and stabilise but the patient takes -1 ongoing until it’s fixed properly.

Never Again!In combat, you may choose to protect someone without rolling, as if you had rolled a 10+, but you may not choose to “suffer little harm.”

Trust Your Gut (alt Weird)When you consult your instincts about what to do next, roll +Weird:

• On a 10 or more, the Keeper will tell where you should go. Wherever that is, it will be important. You get +1 ongoing on the way to this place.
• On a 7-9, the Keeper will tell you a general direction to go. Take +1 forward as you explore that.
• On a miss, your instincts lead you into danger.

 

New Recruits

One wouldn't be wrong to think that Ekram might be a late riser. Long nights over the canvas, or over a pint, meant he'd missed plenty of classes before noon. They'd not be wrong to think it but they would, in fact, be wrong about his current state and that is all due to the new smoking policy adopted by the college. Ekram's night consisted of walks every two hours like clockwork, his body wrenching him out of a fitful dream to tame its craving. No smoking in basically any enclosed space meant he was out in the nearest designated area, a few clustered benches around a slab of cement with hedges separating it from the main walk and the passers-by. One boot braced on a bench, he leans elbow on knee and flicks ash into the air before taking another pull. He'd brought cartons of Drinas back from home after the break but last year had shown him that even with the reinforcements his mother would send he'd run dry and have to settle for local smokes before the term was half done.

*chirp*

He blinks, confused, before patting down his pockets for the Nokia flip phone. His mother insisted on the phone halfway through his first year and he still isn't used to carrying it. Now that he needed it for 'work' it felt more like a chain around his ankle. Flipping it open, he thumbs keys until the message opens. Another inhale and he crushes the last of the cigarette under his shoe, stepping away from the benches to make the short trek back to his room. Tapping out the message requires enough concentration that he has to stop several times along the way to avoid running into anyone or anything.

I'll be there. Will there be coffee?

Slipping into his dorm, he tosses and turns for another hour before giving up on sleep entirely. He unrolls the prayer mat and positions it in the corner of the room, giving his morning devotion to Allah before slipping into the bathroom for a long shower. This is followed by too much time spent at the mirror with comb and razor to maintain an image of not caring at all about his image. Living alone didn't sit well with him but it is the standard of practice. Too much silence makes his brain turn to dark things. No sense of community to it. His hand hovers near the back of his dresser, where he'd taken to securing the knife by taping the sheath to the flimsy particle board backing, but it comes away empty. No reason for a weapon today, but that doesn't stop him from stuffing the knuckles into his jacket's inside pocket.

With time to kill, Ekram stops by the studios to stare at his current project. Not much more than a smear of colors on canvas at this point, he knows there is something in there. Every new brush stroke seems wrong, though, and he's gotten to the point of dreading even touching the thing. Maybe whatever is trying to come through in it simply...shouldn't. Frustrated and disappointed, he arrives at the meeting sullen and broody. Catching up with Sophie might help with that, but time isn't on his side there as the boss pulls up just as he does. He nods to her but doesn't offer up much more info about the summer that Sophie does.

"It was quiet. Nothing died, at least." Withholding comment on the exchange about Annika, he does watch her as she moves off into the crowd. One thing he's always been good at is spotting is trouble. She's definitely trouble. When Alice points out Hal, he grunts a reply.

"Doesn't look like much." In truth, Hal looks a bit soft to Ekram. Still, something about the way Alice appraises the guy makes him sure he's missing something. The woman's unnatural perceptions can't be denied. He breaks his stare only when Sophie divies up the work. He takes the envelopes she suggests with a nod, tucking them into his jacket.

"Good luck with your vjestica." He can hardly believe he's saying it. Witch. There are witches. Ghuls, awful as they are, make sense to him. He's known about the for so long. Now he's facing the truth, that ghuls are just one monster among many, and he longs for simpler days. Still, it's nice not to be doing it alone. Splitting with the two as they move toward the bike rack to speak further, Ekram takes on his task in the most obvious way possible. He just starts asking people.

He'd learned English during the war to speak with American reporters and while the intervening years made him rusty he'd picked it back up easily. It is the accent, though, that seems to draw people in. The Balkan is heavy on his consonants and the locals seem to dig it, giving him an easier way in conversation than he'd expected moving here. He already has Halarch's name and he knows that if you ask around enough there isn't anything you can't learn in a place like Oxford. With the deliveries out of the way, and no class for another hour, he ducks into a quiet corner to call his mother. Maybe a bite to eat while he's at it.

 

Edited June 17, 2023 by DoNotFearToTread (see edit history)

[Knave]

After a brisk ten minute walk down the Woodstock road, David arrives at the The Eagle and Child in plenty of time. Alice finds him in the front snug, her glass of Merlot waiting. It not too uncommon for late afternoon tutorials to be taken in the pub, so the slight young woman and the older man draw no attention.
 

“Thanks for the drink.” Alice sits with her back to the entrance, traces a small sigil in chalk on the tabletop and covers it with a beer mat. “I Saw five this morning. The most in my time, did you ever know of so many? It’s probably just random variation, but… you know I’m paranoid. Seems like a lot. And I’m not talking about folks with a bit of vampire five steps back in their family tree either - these Freshers are holding some serious potential. What exactly did Lady Branwen’s say about the boy? She’s an exorcist right? Well, he’s something else altogether, doesn’t get his juice from the same jug as her.”

Alice has said all this before, a number of times. She’s a worrier. It goes with the gift. 

“Anyway, you caught wind of anything while I was gone?”

…….

Their conversation continues as Hal and then shortly afterwards Annika, enter the pub. They pass by the secluded entrance to the snug where Alice and David are talking quietly, though Alice goes quiet as she feels them pass by, and the beer mat in front of her twitches ever so slightly. 

The barman takes each letter, holds it up to the light. He seems to find whatever it is he is looking for, and jerks his head for you to follow him. “Sure. This way then.” (Hal is handed his Peroni in a bottle on the way).

He wordlessly leads you to a small door marked private. Beyond it a short wood-panelled corridor, ending in another door. This one isn't marked at all, but it is locked. The barman fishes a key from this pocket and unlocks it.

The room beyond is a well-furnished private backroom: a small open fireplace, laid but unlit, soft leather armchairs, dark wood panelling, a small dining table for eight.

Taking up almost the full extent of one wall are a series of large honours boards, carved with hundreds of names. An enormous bookshelf stands opposite the fire, laden with well-read books, both ancient and modern. Across the walls are hung various oddments and curiosities with placards: a billiards cue, a full sized wooden oar and a matched pair of swords over the fireplace are most obvious. Interspersed among them are plenty of photographs, most in black and white. Finally, there's a small but very well-stocked bar in the corner. 

—--

As Hal and Annika encounter each other in the backroom, Sophie and Ekram arrive, and they spot Alice and David immediately. Alice looks up and smiles her greeting. 

“Only two so far. Let’s give them a few minutes to look around before we start with all the talking. Give the others time to show up. Join us?”

 

OOC

So David has a brief talk alone with Alice, and then Sophie and Ekram join them in the front room.

Annika and Hal don't see them as they arrive, they are both taken to an empty private room in the back, with a bunch of possibly interesting stuff in it. Let's say Hal was first, and Annika arrives after.

 

Edited June 16, 2023 by Knave (see edit history)

[Ezeze]

The Reverend Dr. David Beaumont, Professor Emeritus

Luck □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Harm □ □ □ | □ □ □ □

Experience □ □ □ □ □

 

Despite the warm weather outside, David is conservatively dressed in a collared shirt and tweed jacket. He's wearing his wedding ring but not his clerical collar. The whole outfit, combined with his little circular glasses, screams 'professor' and adds to the impression passerby would have that this is a tutorial.

David's drink of choice is a long island ice tea. It looks like tea, it tastes like tea, but it is most definitely not tea. Rather it's a collection of some of the strongest spirits available at the pub in a glass. He nurses it very gently; only a few sips are missing when Alice joins him.

"Perhaps He is preparing us for a new challenge." Alice can hear the capital 'H' in the way David says it, leaving no doubt who the pious man is speaking of. He takes a deep breath and another long sip of his drink.

"It was the 40th anniversary of Mary's passing, you know, over vacation" David doesn't doubt that Alice knows, it's just a segue. "I visited her grave. Cleaned it up. Left some fresh flowers. Didn't see anyone else there. Not a lot of recent burials in that section, I guess. But the plot next to her is still empty. Waiting for me." He gives a peaceful little smile that manages to turn the sentence from something macabre into something hopeful. He's not in any rush and hasn't been for decades. "So I've got to leave this world a better place than I found it, or she'll be disappointed when I finally do rejoin her. All that time and nothing to show for it?" He chuckles into his drink, imaging exactly what Mary would have to say about that.

"And five new members? That is a great opportunity. If they have half the potential of Ekram or Sophie - or Eddie - it will be a whole new chapter for the society. But, uh, lets not put too much pressure on Branwen’s grandson before we've even met him. Wouldn't be fair, you know. To him or the others. Kids" no one attending Oxford is a 'kid' anymore, but they all look it to someone of David's advanced age "they can sense stuff like that. Even if they can't put their finger on exactly what it is they are sensing."

------

 

By the time Sophie and Ekram join them David's drink is still less than half gone. He smiles at them. "Order something" he says with a nod towards the bar. "Tell them to put it on my tab, I'm covering tonight. They have some great non-alcoholic cocktails. Oh, and ask for a new glass of Merlot for Alice too, please." David is not exactly wealthy, but a lifetime of work and careful shepherding of his money has left him better off than most university students. It's no trouble for him to pay for a few drinks.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Ezeze (see edit history)

[Knave]

"Providence? Perhaps."  She nods at a wooden plaque hanging on the wall beside them. "As Mr Lewis said:

'if you do one good deed your reward usually is to be set to do another and harder and better one'.

"That has certainly been my experience the last three years."

Alice nods and smiles a little awkwardly as David describes his observances at the churchyard, torn between mirroring his hopefulness and the instinct to console him. "I'm sure she would have liked that." is the best she can come up with.

....

When the others arrive she shakes her head at the offer of a second drink. "Best not, not so far from home." Alice's home in Oxford is Merton College, notoriously demanding in its academic expectations, a mere 10 minutes away. "Plus I've got to make a speech I guess. Damn, I wish Eddie was here." Alice is too young to worry about saying 'damn' in front of a man of the cloth.

Edited June 16, 2023 by Knave (see edit history)

[Ezeze]

The Reverend Dr. David Beaumont, Professor Emeritus

Luck □ □ □ □ □ □ □

Harm □ □ □ | □ □ □ □

Experience □ □ □ □ □

(Before the others showed)

"That's a good thing. The best, hardest tasks are the most worthy, and the truest tests of ourselves" David says. He leans forward and rests his hand on Alice's. "Trust. Believe." Then he releases her, sits back and changes the subject.

"Five, though. I know a little about the one. Tell me what you know about the other four?"

Edited June 16, 2023 by Ezeze (see edit history)

[Knave]

"Little enough. As I said, I had a vision of this Annika over the Vac. Didn't get much, just a name and a face and this sense of... something. Foreboding? Not the right word. Just a... gathering. Anyway, I spoke to Judy at St Catherine's. You remember her? Nice lady. Gautam pulled something bony and hungry off her car a couple years back. She's in that in-between state of definitely knowing we saved her life, while also really not wanting to know anything about what's really going on. Anyway, I said something was up, in portentous tones, and asked for a favour. Got Sophie made her mother. Who knew they would be doing the same course?

She leans in a lowers her voice as though about to share some college gossip.

"Anyway, to hear Sophie tell it, Annika's already a full witch. Got drunk last night and set a spirit up in the college. Sophie sent it packing, the way she does. If she doesn't sign on today, we'll have to keep an eye on her. Well, even if she does sign, we'll have to.

"As for the others, even less. A pair of twins with a shared aura. Probably just co-telepathics, but that can lead to other things. And a guy with a bad limp and a murky aura. Maybe contaminated in some way, if he shows I'll ask him."

Edited June 16, 2023 by Knave (see edit history)