bailey meeting first half

 <Nick|GM> The community room at the local church is more cramped than the meeting room at the National Parks Office usually is. The room is meant for small hobby clubs and the like, not for a meeting of this size. The practitioners of Bailey sit at cheap plastic tables on barely-cushioned metal chairs. Both the tables and the chairs are of the folding variety.
 <Nick|GM> Even before the meeting starts, there's a tension in the air. The Springers, understandably, are in various states of falling apart. Their table has two couples sitting at it. Gavin and Wendy are the head of the family, and they don't look good. Gavin looks the opposite of relaxed, veins bulging as he glares at various other people in the room. His wife has obviously just been crying, but her expression now is stoic. The other man looks like he's gotten
 <Nick|GM> drunk in preparation for the meeting, and the woman standing next to him looks entirely out of it, staring off into space.
 <Nick|GM> At the opposite side of the room, a position that was probably chosen very deliberately, are the Highlands. There's only two people at their table. Sarah recognizes them as Rene and Gigi. It's hard to tell what they're thinking, in stark contrast to the blatant feelings of the Springers.
 <Nick|GM> Scattered elsewhere in the room are other groups. Ian can tell who some of them are from his briefing, and Sarah knows the important ones, at least. The Friedmans have taken up a position in the corner of the room, with all five of them present. The Dores are missing entirely. The Sailing Club, all but one of them old men, have two tables to themselves. The twin war mages stand tableless, leaning against the window. Two unremarkable looking women, one
 <Nick|GM> several years older than the other, are chatting at a table.
 <Nick|GM> And of course there are the Others. Most of the older practitioners are accompanied by their familiars, all in animal form. Taking up a whole table to themselves is a congregation of ghosts. Next to the Highlands, a nearly nine foot tall man with hair like leaves and skin like bark.
 <Nick|GM> ||
 <Nick|GM> ((Ian, please describe your group))
 <Divock|Ian> ((ok, gimme a sec))
 <Divock|Ian> The three Ginsburgs gravitate towards the Springer table. Ian and David, two colossi of muscle and Nick, merely a goliath. While he loathed wearing it, his father insisted they wore suits to this meeting if only to make a good impression on the rest of the townsfolk. He probably assumed this would be their first meeting with the Springers as well for that added professionalism. So the Ginsburgs towered over most of the other people in the
 <Divock|Ian> room in their ill-fitting suits. Most being the key word, as they found themselves still easily dwarfed by the Other on the opposite side of the room. Ian stands uncomfortably looking for a good table, and straightens his hair to keep himself occupied and to avoid looking nervous. ||
 <Nick|GM> ((And Thal, if you'd describe yourself, please))
 <Thalia|Sarah> Sarah actually just ends up standing in some odd spot. She didn't have the greatest relationship with anyone since her mentor was a drug dealer. While everyone else is dressed nice, it's probably pretty clear that Sarah slept in and had to get dressed quickly. Her hair is a bit disheveled and she didn't really have time to do makeup. She is drinking a coffee, however, and tries to find a spot sort of away from the families as she tries
 <Thalia|Sarah> not to show a favored side.||
 <Nick|GM> ((I assume you make your way to a table, Div?))
 <Nick|GM> ((Would you like to narrate that or should I?))
 <Divock|Ian> ((you go ahead))
 <Nick|GM> ...
 <Nick|GM> The Ginsburgs make their way to a table, and a final late arrival makes her way in. A woman in her early twenties with a bird of prey perched on her shoulder, she sits roughly in-between the two opposing families.
 <Nick|GM> After a minute of families muttering amongst themselves, it seems no one else is arriving. Sarah notices, though, that there are still conspicuous absences. Apart from the Dores, Charlie Mueller, who normally runs the meetings, is nowhere to be seen, and so is the younger Highland daughter, Julie, who usually attends.
 <Nick|GM> Irene Friedman walks to the front of the room, and as she does so, the chattering dies down.
 <Nick|GM> Irene is one of the oldest practitioners in the room. Her hair is white, her skin is wrinkled, and she totters as she walks. She clears her throat. "Now, I'm sorry for the last minute change in location. As you might have noticed, Charlie is not here, and the National Parks Office was locked. He's gone missing, and Matilda Dore told me that she thinks her brother went to find him."
 <Nick|GM> "So, as the most pressing issue, we'll talk about that first. Does anyone know anything about where Charlie is or why he isn't here?"
 <Nick|GM> Everyone stays silent. Either they don't know or they aren't saying.
 <Nick|GM> ((Please feel free to interrupt with ... at any time))
 <Nick|GM> ((Otherwise, I'll only || when something (a response, reaction, etc.) is needed from you))
 <Nick|GM> "OK. Well then, I'll put Elten in charge of arranging a search party. If you're willing to join, talk to him. I assume you'll go tonight, after the meeting, Elten?"
 <Nick|GM> Elten, the tall forest spirit, nods ponderously. "I do not wish to let too much time pass," he says.
 <Nick|GM> "Of course I hope he's alright too," Irene says. "I'll be helping out the search party from my home."
 <Nick|GM> "Wait," comes a voice from the Sailing Club. Turning to look, Sarah recognizes the speaker as Henry, she son of Captain Powell, and the only one in the club under the age of 50. "Maybe he's just run off for a break, or to get away, or on a job, or something. Why are we sending a search party? He hasn't been gone for that long, has he?"
 <Nick|GM> There's a couple of nods from the crowd.
 <Nick|GM> Irene is quick to respond. "He hasn't been gone long, no, but we have reason to believe he is in danger. He set up safeguards, and the office locking was one of them. I was contacted through another. And I think the Highlands can confirm?"
 <Nick|GM> Rene Highland tosses some sticks on the table in front of her, then looks up. "Yes, I am seeing danger. And- well, never mind. Better not to tell everyone."
 <Nick|GM> "So that's that, then," Irene resumes, her tone matter-of-fact. "We will send a search party."
 <Nick|GM> ||
 <Nick|GM> ((Reactions, opinions on Charlie, etc. are welcome))
 <Nick|GM> ((Thal, your thoughts?))
 <Thalia|Sarah> ...
 <Thalia|Sarah> Sarah has to wonder who was going... she was debating it herself. The Alchemiss debates going with the search party. How much use would she be? Get a pile of ingredients and try to mix stuff up on the fly? If she didn't already have some of this Irish coffee in her, she might be more worried. "Let me know if there is any way I can help. Alchemical stuff..." She trails off at the end. Or she should go herself.||
 <Nick|GM> There's a quiet grunt from the Ginsburg's table, and then the meeting moves on.
 <Nick|GM> ((Ginburgs'*))
 <Nick|GM> "Let's save any more talk on that for after the meeting," Irene says. "Next on the agenda, new arrivals, visitors, and so on. Please introduce yourselves." ||
 <Nick|GM> ((Div))
 <Divock|Ian> ...
 <Divock|Ian> Ian stands up, and motions to Nick and David to do the same, "I am Ian Ginsburg, and these are some of my family, Nick and David," He again motions to them respectively, "We were sent here by our father as a test to see how this group hierarchy works out, and we have some business that we'll be attending to in the next few days." He grins. ||
 <Nick|GM> "Ginsburg?" The question comes from Ernest Friedman. "I recognize the name. Where's you family from?" ||
 <Nick|GM> ((that's you again, div, if it wasn't clear))
 <Divock|Ian> ((yup))
 <Divock|Ian> ..
 <Divock|Ian> "We're from the Twin Cities area." Ian faces Ernest, continuing to grin proudly, "Not surprised you've heard of us, but you never know for sure with people out here." he shrugs. ||
 <Nick|GM> (("your family*" in my post))
 <Divock|Ian> ((yup))
 <Nick|GM> Ernest nods, satisfied.
 <Nick|GM> "Any other newcomers?" Irene asks.
 <Nick|GM> "Um," comes a voice from the back wall. One of the twins. Ian... recognizes her from somewhere.
 <Nick|GM> ((Roll know, Div, please))
 <Divock|Ian> $roll 1d6 guess who
 <*buffextras> [ATM]!ATM@net-vum.2cu.138.174.IP joined
 <Divock|Ian> $roll 1d6 Guess who
 <[ATM]> Divock|Ian "Guess who" [5]  = 5
 <Nick|GM> It's hard to reconcile the two appearances, because the surrounding contexts were so different, but Ian remembers her as the waitress from the diner he ate at last night.
 <Nick|GM> Mia continues to speak. "I met a practitioner Wednesday night. He's not here, but he said his aunt was Itsumi Hokusai."
 <Nick|GM> "I didn't find out much else about him, but I think he's going to be in town for a while."
 <Nick|GM> "OK, thank you, Mia." Irene responds. "There is one other newcomer in town. I was hoping she'd be here to introduce herself, but it doesn't look like she'll be coming. She's a very young girl, traveling with some Others. To ensure her safety, and out of respect for her privacy, I won't give out any more details, but please, if you meet her, be patient and kind. She's gone through a lot, my daughter tells me."
 <Nick|GM> "Is that it for new arrivals?"
 <Nick|GM> ((Thal, you want to say anything about Thay?))
 <Thalia|Sarah> ((Yeah.))
 <Thalia|Sarah> ...
 <Thalia|Sarah> ((Let me pull up the session, see what info I have about him.))
 <Nick|GM> ((https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WsRswDjnzdYGQLeJ7jsbWrk0gPoPeZqBElyWeEzGeuk/edit))
 <Nick|GM> (( https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WsRswDjnzdYGQLeJ7jsbWrk0gPoPeZqBElyWeEzGeuk/edit ))
 <*buffextras> Teruzi!uid43982@ealing.irccloud.com quit with message: [Quit: Connection closed for inactivity]
 <Thalia|Sarah> ((Mostly trying to see if he ever gave me his name.))
 <Nick|GM> ((He said his name was Jean, no last name))
 <Thalia|Sarah> "I had someone new in town stay over at my place last night. He was at the bar when I got in. His name was Jean, said he did glamour." Well, he was a magician, so maybe Sarah just banged some random guy, but it seemed to fit.||
 <Nick|GM> ((Was the night before last))
 <Nick|GM> ((Wednesday night))
 <Thalia|Sarah> ((*the night before last, then))
 <Nick|GM> "Wednesday night, could be the same as Mia's report," Irene says. "Well, good to know."
 <Nick|GM> "Jean is a French name," the drunk Springer says, a bit too loudly. Tom. "Hokusai sounds Japanese."
 <Nick|GM> Irene nods. "Well, in any case, it could be the same. It could also be a different person, of course."
 <Nick|GM> "If that's it for newcomers, then..." Irene trails off, waiting for an objection.
 <Nick|GM> When no one speaks up, she continues. "We have one more thing to get to, before we address the main concern. The weather, and other odd happenings anyone wants to report."
 <Nick|GM> "I'll summarize the issue," comes a new voice, rich and sweet. The voice still seems to originate from Irene. It had escaped notice before, but Irene's familiar was on her shoulder. A mouse.
 <Nick|GM> ((-had, is on her shoulder*))
 <Nick|GM> The mouse continues, "Ever since mid-Spring, it's been unnaturally hot. Ten, fifteen degrees above average. I'm sure you've all noticed, and we touched on it in our last meeting. Since this week, though, there have been disturbances in the spirits around town. Conflict, power struggles. Something's upset the balance, and the weather's gotten worse. There's been no rain with extremely high moisture. Cold fronts are breaking as if to avoid the town."
 <*buffextras> ChuckWild!uid264157@hathersage.irccloud.com joined
 <Nick|GM> "I'd like to ask the Springers for input. What's going on, and should we be doing something to stop it?"
 <Nick|GM> Wendy's the one who answers. She keeps an even tone to her voice, but it's obviously forced. "We don't know that much more than you do. The spirits are out of balance. Fire elementals and related spirits were getting stronger."
 <Nick|GM> "That's unfortunate," Irene's familiar responds. "Anyone else have any clues, or anything odd to report?"
 <Nick|GM> Captain Powell speaks up for the first time. His voice is that of a much younger man, powerful and smooth. "Kincaid came to me this morning. Said he had a run-in with the minions of the Horned Serpent."
 <Nick|GM> "Now, I don't know much about it, but I know it's bad news. Something to keep an eye out for."
 <Nick|GM> The girl with a bird on her shoulder stands up. "The Horned Serpent is an ancient evil. It needs to be destroyed, and I wouldn't put this weather stuff past it. It could be behind it.
 <*buffextras> Camtist!uid157531@whee.eee is now known as Camtist|GM
 <Nick|GM> ((it."*))
 <*buffextras> Thepicheese!uid244828@stonehaven.irccloud.com joined
 <*buffextras> Bel!sid83463@brockwell.irccloud.com is now known as Bel|Charise
 <Nick|GM> "Is that so?" Irene's familiar asks.
 <Nick|GM> "The Horned Serpent lives in the water, though," Captain Powell says. "Surely it wouldn't empower fire spirits?" ||
 <Nick|GM> ((check in, some thoughts from each of you, please))
 <Nick|GM> ((div first))
 <Divock|Ian> Ian scratches his chin, "Horned Serpent? I'm not familiar, can someone fill me in?" he asks. He glances at Nick and David to see if they know anything, but he doubts it, and then looks for anyone else who may answer him. ||
 <Nick|GM> ...
 <Nick|GM> Nick, he's surprised to see, seems to be asleep. David, on the other hand, looks as confused as he is.
 <Nick|GM> The girl with the bird familiar answers him. "The Horned Serpent dates back to the times before Europeans discovered the Americas. It's been an ever-present enemy on this continent, hunting civilizations on the Mississippi and throughout the Great Lakes. It is evil, and it directly opposes my patron."
 <Nick|GM> ||
 <Nick|GM> ((Thal))
 <*buffextras> NickMobile!uid158139@nick.isthebest quit with message: [Quit: Connection closed for inactivity]
 <Thalia|Sarah> Well, that would be annoying. Maybe she can help figure out a way to deal with it. Better not trash her library. "If it has a long history of hunting civilizations, that means it should have an M.O., right? It likely falls into a relatively strict pattern based on how it operates. And if it's been operating for that long, there should be information on that."||
 <Nick|GM> ...
 <Nick|GM> "It has mesmerizing powers, so it can manipulate important figures in the society, and divination powers, so it can predict the results of its actions. It has power over storms, disease, and rainbows. It uses those to attack the civilization. The last attack I know about was two years ago, in Duluth. They had record rainfalls, thunderstorms, and sinkholes."
 <Nick|GM> ||
 <Thalia|Sarah> ...
 <Thalia|Sarah> Sarah just blinks at the mention of rainbows. That was the weirdest fucking power. "Alright, so if we go with that logic, I expect that it would try to manipulate important figures... namely Others, powerful people, or Practitioners. If we're concerned about rising temperatures, who in one of those groups could have caused it? Unless heat wave falls under storm..."||
 <Nick|GM> Elten speaks again. "I... may know a possibility. I will check once the matter with Charlie is resolved."
 <Nick|GM> "Are we going to ignore the obvious answer?" asks Gigi Highland. "There's a family of powerful elementalists in the room." ||
 <Thalia|Sarah> "That's a big accusation..." Sarah takes off her glasses and chews on the side for a few seconds while she stays quiet. "But maybe we should get a clearer picture of how it behaves, then we can look for deviations in the pattern. If it's moving off he pattern, there has to be a reason, right?"||
 <Nick|GM> "That's, what that was, in Duluth?" Tom asks. His timing between words and volume control are out of whack. "I, knew it was fucked. That flood ruined me. I'll help with, the Horned Serpent."
 <Nick|GM> "We're not even sure that this is really what's causing it in the first place," Ernest says. "There hasn't been any rainfall for weeks."
 <Nick|GM> "Let's get back on track," the mouse familiar says, loudly enough to get everyone's attention.
 <Nick|GM> Irene takes back over. "It's good to have a suspect. Thank you, Margaret. If you are willing to help investigate further, talk to her after the meeting. She knows the most about the Serpent, and I believe she's already planning on fighting it." ||