Chicago:Sessions:20050702

July 2, 2005
GM: Bobby J.

TriFocus Academy continues to grow. 30 more students enrolled in January 2005, bringing the total to 110. Headmistress Dr Jessica Spring wants to include grades down to 6th, and toward this end has hired a dozen more instructors. She still hopes to admit 250 students in the fall.

Another school for children with metahuman talents has been established in Massachusetts. TFA has offered to cooperate with this school and share techniques for teaching the young and gifted.

One of the most popular seminars of the Spring 2005 semester was a three-week poker class taught by Jason Rathbone. He taught the students not only how to play the game well, but how to recognize a cheat or a crooked game. At the end of the seminar, a campus Casino Night allowed the students to put their schooling to work (using funny money). Dr. Adrian Paul and Shabaz of Justice Patrol led other well-received seminars.

Blue Star (Anthony Darr) investigated the “fishy” instructor candidate that Jessica interviewed last year. He found that the man was a Fagin, trolling for young meta talents (and saw TFA as the mother lode). Darr dug up enough dirt to put the wannabe mastermind behind bars.

As of June 2005 the current construction phase is almost complete. Brodie Cates, overseeing security, discovers several enchanted ‘bugs’ deemed to be the work of the elusive Black Moon Society hidden within the walls. (Thaemon and others have been working to bring down the Society, but its leadership remains at large. They have somehow avoided almost all the various traps set for them, leading many to speculate that they have a powerful seer or precog working for them.) Thaemon, Earl, and some other mages scan the entire campus and find it clean.

Calissa Hook, the young woman who agreed to reside at TFA after last year’s demon gate scenario, has become an amalgam of magic, psi, and meta powers. She is a level 3 mage [note: last year it was level 5], damage resistant, can see in the dark, is immune to poison, clings to walls, possesses a strong mind-shield (non-psionic), levitation, psychokinesis, and a vibratory attack. She has a healing talent, but its use tires her. She is taking General Business courses at college while still contemplating what she wants to do with her life.

The three “problem kids” who enrolled in September 2003 are still attending TFA, and Jessica judges they are making good progress in overcoming their sociopathic tendencies. Another potential “problem kid” has signed up for summer session.

Fifteen seniors are scheduled to graduate this term, including Terry Roark, the school’s top hacker. Jessica holds a private counseling session with each of them. Five of the grads, all women, are mages (Samantha Etch among them). For each of them Thaemon crafts a powerstone class ring with a permanent Mystic Mark.

Graduation ceremonies take place on the evening of Friday, June 10, 2005. The event is open to the students’ families and to guests invited by the school. (Jessica jokes that she would have liked to open it to the public, but she figured John Whitetop and Brodie would kill her for such a large security risk.) The commencement speaker, Marcus Anthony, hails from Philadelphia; formerly he was a costumed superhero known as Captain Liberty, and is now a member of the US House of Representatives.

Almost as soon as graduation is over, Jessica sets out on a multi-city tour to raise public awareness of TriFocus Academy and the importance of giving special guidance to children with metahuman abilities. She brings with her a multimedia presentation put together by students to express how TFA has helped in their personal development. (Students are identified by pseudonyms only, and their images are digitally altered to make them unrecognizable.) Reg Myers, in his Joseph Lampton guise, accompanies her to many of these speaking engagements.

A civic-minded group in Los Angeles has invited Jessica to extend her tour by one more stop, so after returning to Chicago to welcome the students to the beginning of summer session, Jessica, Reg, and Brodie teleport with Thaemon to the TriFocus offices in the City of Angels. So it is that on the morning of Thursday, June 30th, Jessica and “Joe” are breakfasting with Sabrina Starling and her son Trevor Starling, who have come down from San Francisco. Jessica’s phone vibrates; she excuses herself from the table and moves to a quiet part of the restaurant’s foyer to take the call.

“There’s been a major mystic event!” Despite the weariness and excitedness in the voice, Jessica recognizes it as that of Karl Helm, a mage who graduated last year from TFA and went on to attend college at USC. He and his friend Danny Fodam, a “wild talent,” had been driving in Karl’s Jeep on Highway 80 between St. David and Tombstone, Arizona, when “something rolled through here Tuesday night… like an earthquake, then rising mist and swirling fog… I think you can walk worlds there now.” Karl felt he had wandered across several worlds, seeing “fiery steeds… swastikas… fire… and some sort of master mage” – an old man with long flowing beard, elaborate robes, a pointed hat, and an ornate staff. Somewhere along the way he had lost his Jeep, then lost track of Danny. His cellphone isn’t working, so he’ll calling from a pay phone at “a greasy spoon called Paul’s Western Diner” in St. David. After checking that Karl’s physically okay and doesn’t need money, Jessica tells him to sit tight until she can get there.

Returning to the table, Jessica tells Sabrina and Trevor that there’s an emergency she must attend to involving one of her students. Sabrina responds, “If you need any assistance, please call me.”

As they get into their car, Reg whips out his Blackberry and verifies that on Tuesday night there had been a very minor (2.9 on the Richter scale) earthquake registered near Tombstone, and several drivers reported to have been disoriented by heavy fog. No one has been reported missing.

Jessica phones Thaemon (who is setting up a teleport beacon at the TriFocus office building) and Brodie (who is testing the security there). Brodie acquires a Hummer and starts moving necessary equipment into it. Now that Thaemon’s attention has been drawn to it, he realizes he has had a sense of the “mystic event” in his mind since arriving in LA.

Jessica calls Carla Elliott at Team Infinity HQ. Carla reports that Blue Star, Jeen, and Eon had just left for Europe, Darkness is still out of town, and Helios is unavailable. Driver is about to leave for the airport. Jessica talks to Rathbone and asks him to fly a backup crew to Arizona.

Reg brings up a list of the spells Karl learned at TFA, and notes that he also attended Brodie’s martial arts classes. Karl’s vision of fiery steeds matches the description of a Banestorm, an interdimensional flux that randomly opens and closes and may leave persistent passages. From public records he learns that Daniel Fodam is a troubled youth, “brilliant but socially erratic.”

Reg finds out that Karl has been training with Dorn Vint, mystical consultant. Vint is registered with DMI and has acted as a paid consultant to the Los Angeles metateam and the Starling Foundation. Reg gives his office a call. Vint has heard of Team Infinity. Reg: “Can you sense gates? There’s a big one. It involves one of your students who was one of mine.” Vint has met Danny Fodam, “a natural mage in the wild state… Karl had to convince Danny that I could help him,” and Vint is to begin teaching him in the fall. “His power level is not all that high. However, he is a mana sink, and he appears to be aspected toward unusual events. Karl has helped him gain a modicum of control over the past several months.” Reg states, “There’s a big gate open – and he’s not on this side of it.” (Vint generously assures Reg, “Oh, there will be no charge for this call.” Reg thinks to himself, “As if you were going to see any of my money…”)

The four of them don commando suits / “business suits” and pile into the Hummer. Brodie puts the pedal to the floor, and doesn’t let up until he goes flying past an Arizona State Trooper. Brodie stops and backs up the Hummer, much to the trooper’s surprise. Brodie hands Trooper Adams several forms of ID, including his Team Infinity card (which identifies him as Neko). Reg gives the trooper his business card. Thaemon suggests that he close the road between St. David and Tombstone. Adams has heard of the strange events, and seems to accept that the four people in the Hummer are on their way to deal with them. Brodie points out, “You realize, the longer you keep us here, the faster I’ll have to drive.” Adams waves them on.

A few hours later, the team reaches St. David and pulls up in front of the diner. Karl waits on a bench outside; Jessica gets out and he jumps up and comes running. “I can’t believe you got here so fast!” He explains that “Danny is a Weirdness Magnet” and he remembers now he’d lost track of Danny right about the time the wizard appeared. Brodie hands Karl a commando suit and tells him to put it on. Facing south, Jessica senses a squall on the Astral Plane. Thaemon feels he will have as much as 5-15 seconds of warning before the next Banestorm; “The potential stretches for miles.” The elven mage notices that Karl’s class ring has no charge remaining.

After freshening up a bit, the team continues down Highway 80. Brodie stops the Hummer a few miles from the northern edge of the phenomenon. Thaemon gets out and puts up a big lighted illusory sign: “Stop! Do not go beyond this point! Dimensional Hazard!” “Are we still going?” Karl wonders. “Sure,” replies Reg. “We don’t pay attention to our own advice.”

Nearer the affected part of the road, Jessica notices a roiling on the astral level, and Brodie sees steam rising off the pavement. Thaemon orders “Stop” and Brodie stops the Hummer two yards away. Rising fog covers the road, and within it are images of horsemen riding away. Reg notes that his cellphone hasn’t been able to obtain a signal since getting within a mile of the fog. Brodie drives off the road and around to the south of the befogged area, where Thaemon conjures up another warning sign. He puts up a third sign on Highway 82 just west of where it joins Highway 80. Brodie checks with TriFocus security in LA, who he had told to keep track of us, and they report that the signal had disappeared for a bit. Brodie radios Trooper Adams to make sure the highways are being blocked off (and makes him the envy of all the other Arizona State Troopers).

Brodie hits the fog lamps and eases the Hummer into the fogbank. As dampness swirls around them, the pavement sounds different. Then the vehicle changes into a wooden freight wagon, and Brodie finds himself holding the reins of an eight-horse hitch. Everyone’s clothing has changed in appearance to Western garb of the 1880s, and weapons have altered their forms also. Reg notices six dwarves marching along the road, picks and shovels over their shoulders. Karl says, “This looks familiar.”

Jessica asks Karl if he can sense Danny, and he does, off to the south. Thaemon asks Karl to describe what he senses, and is in turn able to discern a whirlpool effect that Karl says sometimes surrounds Danny when his wild magic manifests.

The team enters Tombstone, a booming mining town populated by a mix of humans, dwarves, and elves. In front of one saloon are tethered two horses branded with swastikas. Brodie observes that their tack reminds him of motorcycle saddlebags.

Just south of town stands a small, isolated house. Sensing the Glamour spell, Karl asks, “Are we gonna dispel the illusion?” As Brodie stops the wagon in front of the house, the front door opens and a gunslinger steps out. “Howdy!” he calls. “Did y’all bring something here for the boss?” “Trouble,” Brodie answers. The man exclaims, “We ain’t done nothing to nobody!” Jessica senses that the man is very afraid of something. Thaemon mentions the Banestorm and that the group is looking for a lost person, and the man says, “Storms are dangerous.” Thaemon casts Counterspell on the illusion of a small house, revealing a five-story tower. “The tower’s been here,” Thaemon says levelly; “It wasn’t brought here by the storm.” The man states, “The guy came here for help, and we’re helping him.” He points out that he knows Thaemon and Karl are mages, Reg is just a normal person, and Jessica makes him nervous.

With the man distracted, Brodie turns invisible, slips behind the man, and opens the door to the tower. He notices the man is wearing an elaborate ring. Carefully, he slides the man’s guns out of his holsters.

Reg says, “Mister Normal wants to come talk to you,” and walks toward the man. The man looks around. “Where’s your invisible guy, or teleporter?” “How would I know,” Reg responds, “I’m only normal.” He walks right up to the gunslinger and suddenly brandishes a shuriken in his face. “My friend,” he says, gesturing with the blade, “isn’t invisible anymore. Did you sign up to be cannon fodder? I really don’t care about your boss. I just want to see the kid.” Pointing out that the man’s guns are missing, Reg gets him to hand over his ring; after a brief examination, Reg gives it back. “You think the most dangerous things in the world are mages? Boy, are you mistaken.” Brodie returns the man’s guns.

During this confrontation, three men have come into view across the street. They sport crew cuts, sharp Aryan features, cavalry uniforms, and guns at their hips. Gesturing with his head, Reg says, “Hey, pilgrim. Nobody will bother our rig while we’re inside, will they?” The man replies, “Not if they know what’s good for them.” Meanwhile, Thaemon hands two spellstones to Brodie and two to Jessica.

The team goes into the tower and enters a meeting room. Seated at the head of the table is a man attired as an Eastern dude (Reg appreciates his fashion sense). An unlit pipe and various magic components lie on the table in front of the man. Thaemon seats himself on one side of the wizard, Reg pulls out a chair for Jessica on the other side, Karl stands behind Jessica’s chair like a squire, and Reg sits across from the wizard. Brodie and the gunslinger take up posts near the door.

The wizard intones, “You may call me Magnus.” “Oh, may we?” Reg replies flippantly. Magnus cuts to the chase. “You realize the wild mage is a danger?” Thaemon states, “It’s an erratic and ultimately futile way to power your spells.” Magnus declares, “I want to know how he calls the Banestorm.” Thaemon: “I will investigate the Banestorm and shut it down.” Reg, to Magnus: “But that would take all the fun, wouldn’t it?” Magnus: “The elf mages don’t like what our guild does… If I give you the young man, you’ll go and leave me in peace?” Reg: “That’s all we came for.”

Meanwhile, Brodie introduces himself to the gunslinger. “The name’s Cates.” “Bonty,” replies the other, but he doesn’t shake hands. “How long have you worked for Mister Wizard?” “Nine years, since he saved my life in New Mexico. That was a bad time.”

Magnus: “I can train him. Eventually he could become a powerful mage.” Thaemon: “His presence here could expand the Banestorm. I see you’ve never actually experienced one. At the very least, I know more of these things.” Finally Magnus sighs and seems to capitulate. He rises from the table. “I will go and bring the young man. I’m sure one of you will wish to accompany me.” Stepping into a small side chamber, Magnus pops away.

Thaemon follows, and finds himself in an intoxicatingly high mana area. Danny sleeps in an easy chair, surrounded by several magic artifacts that focus and intensify his wild magic whirlpool effect. Magnus gently shakes Danny awake. To both Danny and Thaemon he says, “This isn’t directed at you; I need to shut down the devices.” He performs several mystical gestures with his hands.

Reg steps into the room. “I thought you’d need someone to bring the kid back, since you two mages will be watching each other.” Magnus, startled: “You’re either more powerful or more foolish than I thought.” Thaemon looks down and says, “Daniel. Karl is downstairs.” Danny recoils from the sight of the tall pointy-eared mage. Reg asks, “Didn’t Karl ever tell you about his teachers?” Danny gestures, “You’re the big elf, but I don’t recognize you.” Reg: “They don’t talk about me.”

“When we pull Danny out of here,” Reg comments, “it may all shut down.” As he leaves with Danny, Reg flips a shuriken at Magnus. “Don’t cut yourself.” Thaemon sees Magnus “catch” the blade using some sort of spell.

Reg and Danny emerge into the meeting room. Karl runs up to greet his friend. Jessica checks Danny over carefully, locating a very small object embedded in the web of his right hand. It appears to be a high-tech tracker, and it is active. Applying a dab of local anesthetic, Jessica cuts out the device and applies a bandage.

Brodie says to Bonty, “Lead the way, Billy.” Bonty does a double take. “Nobody’s called me that since New Mexico.” Bonty mentions that Magnus’s other men are out exploring the road. Reg says, “We’re going to close it down.” Bonty remarks, “I’ll miss some of ‘em.”

Across the street, Brodie and Thaemon both see one hidden Nazi, wearing a boom mike, watching the tower. Reg checks his headset; there’s a lot of static, but voice transmissions are possible. Checking the wagon, Brodie spots a strip of dynamite wrapped around the axle (like plastique) with a black box detonator. He points it out to Thaemon, who teleports the dynamite behind the Nazi. Reg looks up, spots the Nazi, pulls out his cane, releases the sheath, and stalks toward the Nazi, sword in hand. The Nazi backs away… and stumbles over the dynamite. Reg simply nods. The Nazi picks up the dynamite, looks at Reg, then walks away. Reg calls after him in German, “You’d better take your friends with you.”

Returning to the group, Reg says to Danny, “You need help. Who put the tracker in you?” Danny doesn’t know. Thaemon conjures up a small lead-lined box and gives it to Jessica to put the tracker in with the caveat, “It has to stay on you.”

Jessica takes the reins and drives the wagon away from the tower. Danny lies down on the floor of the buckboard, with Karl lying atop him. As they pass through town, Thaemon spots a buckboard that reminds him of a military Jeep, and the horses bear swastika brands. A mount for a large gun is in the back of the buckboard, but there’s no gun there. Jessica thinks she sees people on the roof of a saloon up the road. Brodie climbs out of the wagon, turns invisible, and climbs up the side of the saloon. He sees three Nazis and a Gatling gun, and quietly removes the pin from the gun’s swivel. He also notices two Nazis with longarms, and radios their locations to the wagon. Thaemon exits the wagon, steps into the shadow of a building, and teleports.

Jessica slows the wagon as her Danger Sense pings. Thaemon sees a drow, riding an elven steed, stop at the edge of the dimensional road. The drow looks about, noting the location of each of the Nazis, then casts Missile Shield on himself.

Reg judges that the wagon is currently 40 yards out of the Gatling gun’s range. He tells Jessica that when they reach a certain spot on the road to start driving as fast as she can. He also notes a Nazi on a balcony with a Sharps rifle, aiming at that same spot.

Thaemon casts Mass Daze on a bunch of Nazis. The drow dismounts, and Thaemon, lip reading, sees the drow tell his horse, “Kill the two on the right.”

Brodie fast-draws two swords and, quick as a flash, decapitates two Nazis. The third Nazi on the roof turns the Gatling gun… and the gun falls off its swivel. Brodie runs for the edge of the roof. Thaemon teleports across the street.

Thaemon concentrates on a spell. Brodie reaches the edge of the roof and dives over. The elven steed puts one forehoof through one Nazi’s head and barely misses with the other. The drow teleports between two dazed Nazis and thrusts a sword through each of their hearts. Thaemon fast-draws his sword and decapitates a Nazi schmuck. The roof Nazi draws a gun. Jessica shouts and larrups up the horses. A bullet strikes the back of the wagon. Reg hears something slap the tailgate, and a hand appears over the edge.

The drow looks over at the wagon and concentrates. His steed tries to body-block Thaemon, who blinks two yards away. Reg yells to Karl and Danny “Stay down!” as he flips himself over the back seat, lands in the back of the wagon, and steps on the fingers. Brodie misjudged his jump, hits the balcony hard, and drops one of his swords. A hand grabs for Reg’s ankle, but slides off his spats. Out of a side alley, a Nazi on horseback charges up to the wagon; Jessica fast-draws her gun and aims. Thaemon sees Brodie lying spread-eagled on the balcony, teleports behind the rifle Nazi, and chops off his trigger arm. The weight of the arm pulls the trigger, but the rifle discharges harmlessly. Brodie goes invisible and rolls inward; the Nazi on the roof fires at him and misses.

Thaemon steps out onto the balcony, points his sword up at the Nazi, and shakes his head. The Nazi fires anyway and hits himself right between the eyes (due to Thaemon’s Reflect Missiles spell). The drow has gotten up on his steed again and is riding toward the wagon. The Nazi leaps from his horse onto the wagon, his horse continuing to keep pace. Tailgate Nazi grabs for Reg’s leg again, misses again. Jessica half-turns and fires, hitting the Nazi. Reg spins around, swinging his cane – and sees the wizard Magnus standing on Karl. Reg hits him in the face, knocking him off of Karl. Brodie grabs his sword, stands up, and starts over the balcony railing.

Brodie breaks the railing and both his swords go flying as he spins out of control. Thaemon teleports onto the wagon and swings at Magnus, who blinks. The Nazi fires back at Jessica, hitting her in the right arm… and she doesn’t even flinch. Tailgate Nazi flips himself up into the increasingly crowded wagon. The drow parries one of Brodie’s flying swords. His steed performs a 180° turn, pacing the wagon. Reg fires his sword cane sheath at the Nazi who shot Jessica, then slices him with his blade; the Nazi, already injured, passes out. Jessica fires past Reg and hits Tailgate Nazi.

Thaemon glances back, spots Magnus, casts Dehydrate on him, then swings his sword (but misses). Reg cuts Tailgate Nazi. Brodie is able to mitigate his fall somewhat; he grabs the tailgate of the wagon, then spots two sticks of lit dynamite attached to it. Tailgate Nazi tries to jump out of the wagon, gets caught on something, and dangles over the side. Magnus teleports away.

Brodie yanks the burning dynamite off the wagon. Thaemon casts Trace Teleport and learns that Magnus has returned to his tower. Reg grabs Dangling Tailgate Nazi’s feet and hauls him back into the wagon; the Nazi is yelling something about dynamite.

Thaemon shouts to Brodie, “Here!” Brodie throws the dynamite, and Thaemon teleports it after Magnus to the wizard’s tower (“Most likely his laboratory,” Thaemon remarks later, with satisfaction). “Can you get my swords?” Brodie asks; Thaemon teleports, retrieves them, and returns to the wagon.

Brodie dumps the dead Nazi overboard, and lets Karl and Danny sit up. Jessica gradually slows the horses to a canter.

Reg puts his sword to the Nazi’s throat. “What do you think you’re doing?” “Furthering the Reich,” the Nazi answers boldly. Pointing to Danny, he adds, “To claim him for the Führer.”

Thaemon addresses the drow, who continues pacing the wagon. “Magnificent mount. What are your intentions?” The drow replies, “To guide you where you need to go.”

The Nazi raves at Reg, “I have faith. We would control him. We have controlled other worldwalkers.” He names a demon Reg recognizes from his occult studies. “I, too, walk the worlds.” “Not anymore,” Reg rejoins. Aside to Karl, Reg asks, “Is this guy a mage?” Karl answers, “No, psychic – an aura I’ve never seen.”

Jessica speaks to the drow. “We won’t come with you; you don’t want to come with us.” The drow replies, “Who said I’d be with you?” Jessica says, “I have a good sense of direction.”

Brodie says to the Nazi, “Can you walk now?” He hauls the Nazi upright… then hurls him against the drow. This disrupts the drow’s control spell for the transition. As the steed draws away from the wagon, the Nazi fanatic can be heard to shout at the drow, “For the Führer I claim thee!”

As the wagon emerges from the fogbank, it turns back into a Hummer. Thaemon announces, “Time to close the road.” Jessica stops the vehicle. Thaemon gets out and paces about, pondering what must be done.

Reg says to Danny, “You know your magic and Karl’s power opened this road.” Danny: “No… I didn’t know.” Reg: “You need training.” Danny: “Sooner than I thought – like, tomorrow?” Reg: “You don’t have that much time.” A determined expression crosses Danny’s face, and he declares, “I promise, I’ll close the road. Whatever it takes.” Reg, pleased: “That doesn’t sound like the Danny Fodam I’ve read about.”

Thaemon declares that the road can be redirected to where it will cause no one harm. He hands large powerstones to Karl and Danny, and several Major Healing spellstones to Brodie. Jessica gazes outward with Astral Sight and locates an empty world. Improvising, Thaemon utters many arcane phrases and makes several mystical gestures. At the end of the ritual, Karl is very tired, Danny has taken physical hurt, and the powerstones are drained. Thaemon, too, is hurt, but he touches the hilt of his magic sword and is healed.

Just then, a jump jet roars overhead. Rathbone radios, “Are you all okay? Need help?” The team on the ground assures them everything’s under control, and they’ll all be driving back to Los Angeles. (They’ll be using that time to talk to Danny and convince him to come to Chicago and attend TriFocus Academy.) Rathbone calls, “Race you!” and the jet zips away.

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