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The gang moved from the deli to the museum.  The winter chill and the never ending wind from the lake made the day bitter.  The piles of blackened city snow and the clouds of steam from cars and pedestrians were testaments to the need for the city to keep going, even when no one wanted to be out of doors.

The Metropolitan Museum was not what might be considered art from the outside.  It had been built in a time when the grandeur was not so important as clean lines and efficiency.  The plain stone exterior had rows of glass windows on the upper levels.  The whole thing might be mistaken for just another office building if not for the enormous banner advertising the Egyptian artifacts show.  The steady stream of people moving in and out gave the impression that today might not have been the best day for the museum.  The winter cold might have been keeping people away, but it might also have been the lack of interest in things ancient.

The museum itself had three massive floors where exhibits were set up, and the Egyptian artifacts were on display on the second floor, which ensured people here to see them had to pass the gift shop and the table where volunteers tried to pry donations from people who were not members of the museums historical society.

Sammy noticed that the acoustics in the museum were horrible.  Sound had a habit of bouncing around all the hard surfaces, and this was only made worse by the lack of carpet, so every foot fall added to the echoes that gave the building a feel not unlike a train station.

Sylvia felt a surge of thoughts as she came through the doors.  The active minds inside were grains of clarity in the dull roar of background thoughts that seemed to blanket her new world.  People actually here to look at something, art students, history buffs, serious antiquities enthusiasts, they were all focused and intent, which made them stand out like lights in the fog of people who were only here to pass time and be out of the cold.

Donnie felt the tingle of magic in the building as he crossed the threshold.  It was faint and decentralized.  He was sure there were a half dozen sources here and there in the building.  Artifacts thought to be interesting for some reason or another, which held some faint trace of magic.  There was also a smell he couldn't ignore.  Antiquity had a smell to it, and even behind glass and with modern climate control his dragon blood could smell it.  It was like home, comforting and warm.  The smell gave him the impression that all was as it should be in the world, even though it never really was.

As they went inside Colin was struck by how crowded the museum was, then as his eyes adjusted he realized most of the people he saw were not really here.  Ghosts walked the halls, some not abiding by the walls and other objects that were currently here.  The phantoms were in layers, different times, different degrees of closeness.  Some ignored him, he realized those were the oldest ghosts, less connected to the world of the living.  Just traces of the energy they once were, almost fully in the great beyond.  Others saw him, some nodded, a few waved, there were hats tipped and warm smiles. 

Sarah wondered where the bathroom was.  She'd forgotten to go at the deli and the cold had reminded her.  She thought about the slick marble floor, and how much her brother would give to skate across it.  Ah, there's the bathroom.

Sammy winces painfully at the noise pollution, and starts digging around in her bag until she finds her earbuds.  She puts them in to help take the edge off of all the sound, but doesn't turn on her iPod.

Then she wonders When did I become so sensitive to acoustics?  That's weird.

She removes the earbuds because she isn't quite sure if she's hearing more or if this place is just really noisy and poorly designed to dampen sound.  A preoccupied expression fills her face as she absently looks at the displays leading up to the Egyptian exhibits.

Sarah gives a little relieved smile and excuses herself from the group.  "Be back in just a minute."

Off she wanders thinking idly, I should really get the restrooms of some nice places mapped out in my head.  Maybe sneak into the Conrad or the Drake hotel.

Colin looks around with wide eyes. There really is a lot of spirits all around, and many of them seem to know him as if he was a celebrity. He nods back at those who greet him, and try to understand if they're here for a particular reason, or if they're just as curious as he is about the Egyptian antiquities.

"Good afternoon." he whispers. "Could somebody show us around, please?"

"You're going to have to speak up if you want a docent, Colin," Sylvia says.  "Those old ladies look like they might not hear you even if you shouted."

"Antiques draw them."  The voice said.  A well dressed man, perhaps in his late fifties said.  As he walked closer Colin realized he wore a pocket watch on a fob, and carried a bowler hat and umbrella.  His color was slightly washed out, and when another patron walked through him, Colin was certain he was a ghost.  "One of those ghost hunting groups came here last year.  I heard one of them explain that we're drawn here because of the old things.  Something to do with the energy they hold or some such."  The man extended his hand "Robert Murphy.  Former man about town and journalist.  I spend most of my days here now, watching the world become fantastic."

Donnie paused as he passed the threshhold, feeling the tingle of magic. His nostrils flared  at the comforting smell and he gave a little shiver as something inside him recognized it. He rached out and snagged Sylvia's hand, grounding him a bit more. His eyes darted left to right, his right hand slightly extended as he felt for the magical emen ations, trying to casually figure out what was magic and what was simplky old.

Sylvia seems determined to shut out the ambient telepathic noise, but when Donnie takes her hand, it's like he's turned the volume up to eleven.

--mommy please can i have a dinosaur please please plea-ea-ease?--

--no for the fiftieth fucking time no god sometimes i wish I hadn't--

--why do people like that even come to museums?  they don't understand anything they see stupid ignorant proleterians--

--maybe i can schedule nick for 8 pm and elrod for 10 pm--

Sylvia flinches and makes an effort to put up her walls, a brick at a time.

"No, I'm not talking to them. The museum is full of spirits."


Colin extends his hand too, hoping it's the polite thing to do even though their hands are more likely to pass through each other than meet.

"Nice to meet you, Mr Murphy. My name is Colin Crow. I think I'd like to be a journalist too when I grow up, and our world has definitely become a lot more fantastic lately. We're here mostly out of curiosity, we read that some of the finds displayed here have defied scientific explanation, and we'd like to know more. Have you noticed anything interesting?"

Colin is slightly shocked when he finds the spirit as tangible as anyone he'd ever met.  The handshake was firm and crisp.  How a gentleman shook another's hand.


"Well, the fourth estate can use all the help it can get Mr. Crow."  Murphy looked around at the people moving about, "As far as interesting, I'm dead so everything interests me."  Murphy said with a smile.

Sarah gets rid of her 32 oz soda from lunch and admires the artwork.  She discovers an interesting rhyme or two on display.  The associated pictures are fairly rudimentary but remain evocative of the subject matter.  The spelling errors are no doubt a poignant reminder of the decay of our educational system and its effects on our society as a whole. 

Afterwards she washes her hands and heads out to join the others to appreciate art or maybe fight a mummy!     

"Oh." Colin says loudly. Everyone can see a look of surprise on his face and him shaking hands with the air.


"You have a point, I guess." Colin shrugs.

He starts walking along this strange newfound friend, looking around at the various exhibits.

The Egyptian exhibit occupies the second floor.  Cases of jewelry, cloths and artifacts of day to day life are arranged in three rings around the centerpiece of the exhibit, a large stone sarcophagus.  The sarcophagus is inlaid with what appears to be ebony and gold, accenting to stone image of a person that adorns it's surface.  The coffin is set on a stand so that it stands upright, just slightly off the floor.  A ring of plaques surround it which describe the various scientific analysis that have been conducted on it, which have all been unable to open it, or determine what's inside.  One of the plaques describes the analysis of a professor from Miskitonic University using some assorted magical spells, and that this too revealed nothing save that the sarcophagus had been protected by powerful magical wards.

Further plaques tell of the meaning of the inscriptions which decorate the sarcophagus on each of it's sides.  They tell how it is the guardian of the Princess An-Mar Com.  They further go on to say how the tomb where it was found was really two tombs, but the second was empty, the sarcophagus opened and the treasures gone from within the tomb proper.

The items in the display cases are all very simple, but still attractive in a historical sense.  There are a few people moving from case to case looking through the guide book (available for $7.95 in the lobby gift shop or at the kiosk near the top of the stairs) at the explanations for each piece.

Collectively you all overhear that the tomb where these items were found was actually discovered some time after the empty tomb it was reportedly guarding.  Archaeologists thought they had found just another empty tomb, but a team that visited a few years later, using ground penetrating radar, discovered the other chambers.  A hot debate continues as to weather the tomb of An-Mar Com was actually built with a secret entrance, or if it was built after the tomb of the guardian and thus needed another entrance.  The secret passage separating the two tombs was eventually discovered, and it's construction suggests it was only meant to be opened once, but that discovery didn't provide any useful insights into the thinking of the tombs builders.

An-Mar Com is only referred to as the daughter of a Pharaoh (Name is unimportant) and that she died or a mysterious ailment, suspected my many scholars to have been a faulty heart.  Her death was described as a 'wilting of the life' and a 'gradual paling of the skin' resulting in weakness and becoming easily tired, and eventually a quiet death in her sleep in her twentieth year.

Sammy jokes around.  "Guardian, huh?  I wonder if it was to keep her in or to keep things out?"  Then she shudders a little bit.  "I hope its to keep things out.  I'd hate to be trapped for ten minutes, let alone thousands of years."

Colin can't help but feel a quite sorry for the man. He likely died convinced to go on to a noble mission for all eternity, a mission he couldn't but fail, unfortunately. No man can stand up to eternity, and the guardian didn't manage to protect his princess form the looters.

He opens his eyes to the ghost light, to see if the sarcophagus is actually magic. He suddenly has a bad feeling. What if his soul was still trapped in that stone cage?

Colin's ghost site illuminates the sarcophagus.  It's certainly magical, but there is also another light, a weave of darkness surrounding the sarcophagus itself, shimmering like black sand shifting in the surf of a moonlit night.

Donnie wanders up, bending over to read some of the lower placards talking about the sarcophagus. His fingers hover over the stone sarcophagus, not quite touching it.

Blackbird? I've never seen anything like that. What is it supposed to be?

Wondering what is so interesting to Colin and Donnie, Sammy moves in closer.  "What are you guys looking at?" she whispers. "Did somebody put their used gum on the sarcophagus?"

"It's Colin and Donnie," Sylvia says.  "It can only be that they're (a) geeking out about magic or (b) trying to figure out if the sarcophagus has nipples."

Sammy giggles hard.  "Its not cold enough in here for anybody to tell.  I might be able to fix that, if you want..."

Perhaps some kind of warding spell, blocking something else.  It's the human weave of magic.

Colin just rolls his eyes at the girls' comments and turns towards Donnie.

"Donnie, it looks like there's a warding spell all around the sarcophagus. It's like a black weave all around it. Do you have any idea what it might mean?"

He looks back at the inscriptions. "He was supposed to guard another tomb that was found empty. Could it be that the sarcophagus contained the guardian's soul, and this spell was cast to prevent it from waking up, trapping it?"

He turns to Donnie again "And more importantly, should we something about it?"

"No!" Sylvia squawks, nipping that idea in the bud.  "They're dead.  They're not supposed to come back to life.  Dead is dead.  He doesn't even have internal organs.  His brain is in a canopic jar somewhere.  And for good reason!  Haven't you seen The Mummy?"

"Brrraiiiins!" quips Sammy, then corrects herself.  "Oops.  That's zombies, not mummies."  She gazes consideringly at the sarcophagus.  "You know, if he looks even a little bit like the Rock, it might be worth it..."  She laughs at the withering gaze Sylvia aims at her.  "Kidding!  I kid!  Mostly..."  Sobering up a little, she continues, "Maybe you ought to find out more about this guy and the princess before deciding whether or not to try to wake him up, if he's even in there at all."

Donnie leans back. "I dunno. He might go all kablooey angry-mummy on us and start eating peoples' eyes. That would be bad. I'd feel guilty if people had their eyes eaten out. Can you do your 'psychometry thingy, Colin? Read the sarcophagus' past?"

Sammy nods approvingly.  "That's a good idea, Donnie.  Maybe that warding spell isn't as old as the sarcophagus.  Heck, maybe the scientists have claimed they can't open it because they hid something in there themselves, or took out the treasure and sold it on the black market, and don't want to get caught out."

"But only the bad ones die in that movie."


Colin looks around.

"You cover me and I try."

He waits for his friend to form a curtain around him, then he leans forward to touch the side of the sarcophagus.

"This can't end well," Sylvia says, if only so she can say, "I told you so," later.

Donnie grins impishly at Sylvia. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

Sylvia gives him a flat look.  "My sense of adventure has been spanked out of me."

"Ooooo. Spankings." Donnie's grin grows wider.

Colin reaches out and there is a soft pop as his finger crosses the barrier of the black weave.  It tears open into flapping tatters like a sail ruptured by a horrific wind.  The black weave begins to shake apart, the fragments flapping in some unseen wind as the threads of it fade away until there is nothing left but the magic underneath, which explodes outward with a wave of physical force that throws everyone nearby several feet.  Some crash into display cases, some simply land in a heap on the floor.  Immediately alarms sound, and you can all hear a sound like the anguished cry of a tortured soul wailing across the vastness of history, until it arrives here and now.

There is a sound like thunder, and then another, and another, and finally as you look up from the floor where you landed you see the lid of the sarcophagus burst from the base and rattle to the floor.  The mummy with in, begins to stir.

OOC: Roll initiative and post it in the action thread please.

Oh. My. GOD!!! Sarah had never been more grateful for an empty bladder.  Every single horror movie was replaying it's highlights in her head. 

OOC: you are all within one move action of the mummy at this point.

The mummy Unfolds it's arms from it's chest and steps from the sarcophagus.  It glances around the room, without eyes you aren't sure if it actually sees where it is or not.  It's head swivels across the room, the sounds of people beginning to scream fill the air.  Any doubts about vision are tossed aside when it's gaze stops and it's vacant sockets seem to be looking right at Sammy.  It lets out a horrible roar.

OOC:

Surprise action over

BEGIN ROUND 1

Sylvia's action

Sylvia does what's become a knee-jerk reaction in their occasional team drills with Jack.  She digs into what she hopes is the mummy's brain and tries to fill the museum with visual chaff--Sammys everywhere.

Power Roll, I think (1d20 4=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1597204/)

Are mummy's ever the good guy?  Not likely.  Sarah prepares Interpose for Sammy this round in case Mr. Mummy gets ideas in his head. 

The mummy begins to look around the room as though perhaps he sees more than one Sammy.

Sarah tenses and readies herself for action

OOC:

Donnie's Action

Donnie steps in between the mummy and Sylvia, left hand in a mystic claw, right one ready to summon the Blade if necessary.

ooc: prepared to cast Blindness, holding action until the mummy makes a move towards one of his friends or a museum guest.

The Mummy continues to glance about, those horrible roars coming from it's dry and lifeless voice box.

OOC: Sammy's Action

Sammy is scared silly, and not quite sure what to do.  She only knows that she can't let the mummy hurt the innocent people wandering around in the museum.

She starts a soft swirl of air around herself, a force that can be intensified and launched if the mummy gets too close to the wrong people.  On the off chance that it isn't generally hostile, just scared shitless (like herself) and pissed off after thousands of years of imprisonment, she reaches out a hand and calls out softly,  "Guardian!  Here!"  She tries to look directly at where its eyes should have been.  If nothing else, it'll charge her and not Grandma Tildy over there with her two grandkids.

The mummy's attention suddenly snaps back to Sammy, it lets out a wicked roar and looks like it's about to rush her.

OOC: Colin's Action

Sarah is holding, as well as Donnie.  Sarah can use her teleport to interpose for anyone she can see (adjacent takes on a whole new meaning when you have TP)

OOC: super sweet!   - I think Colin is hiding because he did it again.  This is a kid that needs to keep his hands in his pockets when he goes places.   :8

OOC: actually, until he gets some proof of the contrary, he is absolutely convinced the mummy is a decent guy who got imprisoned. No reason to hide. :)

Colin stands up, steps in front of the mummy and lets his aura flare. He closes his arms in front of him, but not in an aggressive way, just to show him the symbol, and the power it represents. He speaks, and tries to send his voice directly to the soul of this tortured being, like he was one of his ghost friends.

"I am the Spirit Dancer." he says in his odd tongue. "My power woke you up. Who are you? What keeps you from your deserved place in Aaru?"

The Eye acts like a flashlight, it reveals the human form of the mummy, as he was before he was transformed into the guardian.  It is a strange effect, partially human man and partially a mummy, depending on which parts of the illumination strike him.  He turns his attention to Colin for a moment, and then he deep blue eyes focus on him.  I am Herod, sword defender of An-Mar Com.  Step aside Spirit Dancer, for I must protect the princess from the Djinn.  It's voice sounds like a wind howling through the streets of a city.  And then it moves forward, pushing Colin aside.

OOC: Those with held actions may take them at this time.  The mummy is headed right towards Sammy and he looks pissed.

"Sammy, he thinks you're an enemy of the princess he was sworn to defend. They probably didn't like the djinni much. I don't think he realizes where and when he is, or that the princess isn't here. Maybe you should leave, so we can try to calm him down."

He tries to grab the mummy's shoulder.

"Herod, this girl is only half djinn. She's a friend of ours, and not an enemy of your princess and yours. We'd have to keep you from hurting her, and we don't want to fight you. Please, let us explain."

"If I run, he'll chase me.  He might hurt innocent people if they get in his way.  It would be better for me to stay but to get the crowd out of here."

She retreats slightly by floating up out of the Mummy's reach, and adjusts the acoustics of the place so that her voice carries perfectly throughout the room and hopefully reaches to the rest of the building.  "There's a magical emergency at the mummy exhibit!  Evacuate the building now!  Call the SPD!"

With a clap of thunder, the Blade of the BorderLord is in Donnie's hands. He steps forward to intercept the mummy, blood red sgils flaring to life along its keen and mottled length. With a snapping of his will, he pulls on the mental connection between himself and the dragons, calling on the firey form of Salamander to come and assist in the fight.

ooc: Summon the blade. If that is a 'move' action and I can call forth Salamnder in the same round, i will do so.

The air ripples as Salamander slips through the veil into this world from the Dragon Reach.  The Mummy takes notice of this event.

OOC: Sammy's action

Sammy sets up a protective tornado around herself.  If the Mummy comes close, he'll be torn to shreds.  She isn't running away though.  She wants to keep him where he is.

OOC: Colin's Action

Colin tries reasoning again, but this time he also asks the spirits of the museum to be ready to intervene as well.

"Herod, do you know where you are? You're far away from Egypt. An-Mar Com is not here, she's not in danger. This is useless. Please, calm down, so we can explain."

OOC: I ready my action. If he steps forward, Colin and the spirits, if they decide to help him, try to grapple and immobilize him.

There is no reasoning with the mummy.  It's soul is held in place by a single thread, and it's mind only a fragment of what it once was.  It's sworn duty is all consuming, all powerful.  It must kill the Djinn threat.

The mummy shifts it's weight, leaning forward, and then bursts into a tornado of sand, which blasts towards Sammy like water from a fire hose.  As the mummy passes through the whirling winds around Sammy, bits of him are scattered but the blast of sand  strikes  (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1619418/) her.  Instantly the air shimmers as countless people come into view.  The shimmering spirits are men and women from back through time to the earliest days of the city, and they form a wall around the group, keeping the mummy from getting past them.  Colin knows that all they can do is keep the threat from reaching anyone else, they wont have the power to actually hurt the mummy.

OOC: Need a toughness Save from Sammy (1d20+6)


End Round One

Begin Round Two
Bonus +1
Approved Maneuvers: Grapple/Attack



Sylvia's Action

That knee-jerk tactic of throwing up decoys doesn't seem to have done much at all, so Sylvia drops it and begins to gather her resources to drill into the dusty mummy's head and ensnare him in a more elaborate illusion.  If she can tap into his, no doubt muddled, memories of home and duty, maybe she can figure out some more efficient way of keeping him off Sammy.  She performs a kind of mental reconnaissance, trying to establish a telepathic link and to dig up what information she can put to immediate use.

OOC:  Not so Tough (1d20+6=7) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1619605/)

I rolled a one.  Boom boom, out go the lights.

OOC:
Can I save Sammy? 

OOC: You can use your interpose (since you have TP)  If you spend a Hero Point you can get both of you out of the way.  Otherwise you can TP into the path of the attack and make a Toughness.

Sylvia feels her way into the mummies mind, a threadbare tapestry of memories, sepia toned and flickering like a strip; of movie film about to break.  There is almost nothing to hold onto, but she sees the woman, the one he's sworn to protect.  Her colors are unmarred by the passage of time.  As she tries to get some clarity from the memories she can see the woman, through the memory, just past the wall of spirits.  Looking at the group and the mummy.  Her contemporary cloths and vibrant colors show her to be real, here, now.

OOC: Sarah's Action (She had a readied action and can take that and then her normal action.)

OOC: Ooh!  Hero Point!  Sounds shiny.

IC: Sarah, prepared for the worst and definitely not wanting to step in front of the creepy Mummy, pops in and out with Sammy bringing her back with her. 

"Scary Mummy.  Can we go check out the Children's Museum or the Aquarium instead?"   Sarah wavers between the strong protective streak for her friends and monster movie fear.  She gives Sammy's hand a tight squeeze.

Sammy is unnerved by her close call and clutches tightly onto Sarah.  She was certain the Mummy's blast had been just about to hit her full force.  "The island.  If it gets out of hand, go to the island.  No people, and he'll have to cross a lot of water to get to us."

Sarah nods to Sammy's idea.  "I like the island but... we have to fight this thing don't we?  Colin's not getting it to communicate and play nice."

Sammy eyes the mummy nervously.  "Could... could we grab him and take him there?  By we, I mean you..."

OOC: It is Sarah's action.  To do this you'd need to make a melee attack roll to grab a hold of him and then he'd get a Will Save NOT to be dragged with you.

OOC:  What if the mummy was holding on to Sammy, and Sarah tp'd Sammy?  :8 Isn't that what hero points are for?  

OOC: That would also work, but he'd still get the Will Save.  Probably at a penalty, since he'd really want to kill you.   Er.....arrest?  No, this isn't COH.  Kill.

OOC: sorry no can do.  Can't TP that much weight without another HP and even then I couldn't port far enough away as a move action unless I used a surge to get additional action in the round for an extended port and even then we'd only be half way to the island which would be a bummer for the me considering I'd have to spend another HP to overcome the fatigue or plunge into the lake...

IC:

Sarah shakes her head, "Sorry Sammy.  I couldn't get out there in one go.  I don't have enough juice for such a big jump.  But I can't let it hurt you or anyone else Sammy.  Oh this is so stupid..."

Sarah holds her staff up before her and ports to the Mummy.  Her heart is pounding and her hands start shaking as soon as she starts the swing.  The sudden proximity to the creature drains the strength from her strike. 

OOC:Staff Attack (1d20 4=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1623087/)

The Mummy sees Sarah vanish, and then reappear next to him.  She swings her staff and is passes through a cloud of sand and the mummy bursts into a tiny sandstorm and then reforms in a second. 

OOC: Donnie's Action

Donnie points the sword towards the mummy and says to the flaming dragon next to him "Mummy only. Don't burn down the place."

He then steps forward and takes a swing as Salamander hisses like a teakettle. The flames that flicker along his spine in a lurid green nimbus flare up as he readies to let loose his fiery breath.

Attack with the Blade. (1d20+3=21) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1624452/) Flame on! (1d20+5=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1624455/)

The mummy sees Donnie coming in and tries to shift out of the way.  His timing is off, and he takes the sword slice through his mid-section.  He does manage to burst into sand as the flame blast strikes him.  When he reforms parts of him look to be made of glass and he still has his gaping wound across his chest.

OOC: Sammy's action

Sammy blasts (1d20=8) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1625692/) the Mummy with a burst of air.

Sammy lets loose with an air blast.  The mummy seems to sense it, almost as though it can see in all directions and bursts into a cloud for just a moment.  The blast disturbs the sand but it reforms again in an instant.

OOC: Colin's action

Can Colin see / do anything with this thread?

OOC: From what you've learned and know if you pull it back, you'll restore the being of the man to the physical form.  If you sever it you'll free the soul to go to the afterlife.

Colin bites his lip, and truly hopes he's doing the right thing, or, if he's wrong, to be able to undo it.

He reaches out, and grasps the thread that links Herod to his soul. He gently pulls upon it, afraid of tearing his soul from its rightful place. He needs to talk to him, though, to have him here. He really hopes what he's doing is not painful to Herod. The last thing he'd want would be to put his poor soul through unnecessary torture.

OOC: That action will take you until the end of the next round to complete.

Sylvia's action

Sylvia, with her foothold in the mummy's mind, digs in deeper and tries to take advantage of his freshly arisen confusion to give him the impression that he's standing in a familiar place, where his princess stands before him in a moment of privacy.  Sylvia tries to furnish the illusion with the mummy's own memories of home and safety, peace and calm.  "Herod," the princess says, "my truest champion and protector, much time has passed since we last beheld each other.  There is no cause for alarm.  The girl you attack poses no threat to me.  Her heart is good and full of honor, and she can help you to find me."

The mummy stops moving.  It's obvious to Sylvia that he's loosing touch.  It might be madness from his long undeath, or something else.

OOC: I may not have been clear.  You actually see the woman, the princess, on the other side of the museum, dressed in modern cloths, watching events unfold.  If that would change your action, let me know.

Sarah's turn.

Sarah struggles with her fears and tries again.  Get a hold of yourself!  So what if this is a mummy?  Big deal!  Donnie's got dragons!  Colin can call up lightning and Sylvia can mess with it's mind if it's got one to mess with.

She takes another swing at the mummy hoping to short-circuit whatever is holding him together.

Mental staff attack (1d20 4=18)
DC 18 / 13 for Will Drain (1d20 4=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1637211/)

The mummy takes the hit from the staff and cries out.  The scream is equal parts sound and an eruption of sand from it's mouth like blood spattering from an open wound.

OOC: Donnie's action

Donnie's blood is up. He chooses not to notice the mummy's cry of pain, bringing the Blade in an overhand diagonal slash downward.

Attacking the mummy! (1d20+3=12) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1637917/)

Salamander blows a narrow spew of green flame at the lumbering undead creature.

Flame on! (1d20+5=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1637920/)

The sword comes down and takes a serious slice out of the mummy, spewing sand out like blood into rivers on the floor.  The blast of flame arrives a fraction of a second later, but the mummy has scattered itself for protection, which saves it from some of the damage.  As it reforms more of it is now glass, and sand pours from it's wrappings like an hour glass.

OOC: Sammy's action

Sammy tries to scatter the loose sand to the 4 corners of the earth.   Sandstorm! (1d20=19) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1638551/)

The wind whips up and the sand begins to fly around.  It seems to resist being moved too far from the mummy, but the force of the winds soon overcome it's limited mobility and it begins to scatter all over the museum.

Colin can see the whirling torrent of white energy that is the mummy's soul expand into the physical universe, the Spirit Dance gently pulling the thread which brings it closer and closer to the body it once inhabited.  As the spirit closes the distance, the light in the room begins to dim. 

Now everyone can see the spirits which have formed a wall around the party.  They are several deep, and have their hands interlocked to form a barrier.  The whole room is cast in a semi-twilight, with pockets of eldritch glow standing out.  Donnie, his sword and intangible armor shimmering.  Sammy, a wispy gown of magic flowing all around her.  Colin, the visage of a bird's head and wings drapped over him like a cloak. 

As the soul is finally reeled into the body there is a burst of blinding white light.  A sound like air nails on a chalkboard begins to echo across the museum.  The mummy stops, his screams silent.  His gaze shifts around the room for a minute, and then the spark of life fades from him.  The body collapses to the floor and standing there is the spirit of a tall, lean young man.

There is a strange sound, like a klaxon from the right, and it's as though a wide door of white light opens.  Someone steps out of the door, into the world.  The light washes away all his features, but Colin instinctively knows who it is.  "Herod."  The man's voice is crisp and clear, a memory given focus.  "Your time here is done.  It's time to go."

Herod turns to look at the man.  "My duty?"

"Long ago fulfilled.  Come on, there are people waiting for you."

Herod looks around at the people, sudden revelation dawns on his spiritual expression.  "By Isis, what have I done?"

"Exactly what they did.  What you thought was your duty.  It's time Herod."

The man waits for Herod to walk to him, and then helps him cross the threshold of the wall of white light.  As the former mummy walks through, the man turns back and gives the group a nod, then he too goes into the light and the door closes.

The light is once again normal.  The spirits no longer visible, and the room shrouded in a silence that is so thick it takes several seconds for it to pass.

Time for us to evac.  Gather your Wing, Best we not be here when the chaos expires.  Morpheus' tone is calm and collected, like it always is.  He begins to talk Sarah through a short exercise in focus that will allow her to transport herself and the others out of the museum.

OOC: You can stay or go, your choice.  Morpheus is just giving Sarah the option for future scenes.  Out of combat she can use extra effort and all that crap with no serious penalty.

END COMBAT

Sylvia walks over to Colin and smacks him in the back of the head with her rolled-up museum flyer.  "Jackass!" she growls, peeved like a wet cat.

"Ow. I was only trying to help him. Would you like your soul to be imprisoned in a stone box for thousands of years?"

Sylvia's only too willing to bicker.  "Did someone tell you he was imprisoned?  Did he say, 'Colin, I need a little help here?'  'Cause it sure sounded to me like you guys--"  She includes Donnie in her censorial glare.  "--just decided it'd be a kick to raise the dead."

"Well, actually yes. There was black magic wrapped around the sarcophagus, locking him in. Otherwise I'm sure he would have risen when his princess' tomb was sacked. Instead he was trapped in, and his soul was left there to rot. If you're driving down a road and you see a car wreck, don't you check if everyone's all right? I just did the same."

Sylvia lets out another of those pathetic growls, then spins around and walks back to the balcony.  She stares in search of the woman whose presence she felt at the periphery of the mummy's awareness.

"I'm getting out of here before the reporters come," Sammy says, and starts walking quickly toward the door.  She pulls her hood up and tries her best to look like a nervous tourist.

"Well, I caused this mess, someone will have to stay and explain." Colin shrugs.

Still searching, Sylvia fumes but won't evacuate until she's seen her (stupid, stupid, stupid) friend through this.

Salamander fades from view, his shrill kettle-whistle echoing through the museum one last time before the flaming wyrm shimmers out of existance. Donnie's armor, a sleek suit of scale not unlike the pattern of dragonskin, shivers and dissipates. Donnie thrusts the Blade over his shoulder in a practiced motion and there is a rumble of distant thunder as it slides from view, hidden again in the in-between place. The lobstered guantlets remain for a second or two more as his green eyes melt back into their normal washed-grey blue, then he is once again plain old Donnie, a small smile on his lips.

He stands next to Colin as the spirit Dancer composes himself for the inevitable questions. Donnie's eyes follow Sylvia's stalking form and he says to Colin (oh so quietly) "She's so cute whens he's angry."

Sarah says, "Let's bail before there are questions... or cameras.  I've got a minute... Morph says he's gonna help me focus if you all want a free ride out of here.  Who's up for icecream?"

Sarah holds out her hands for everyone.

She thinks real hard in Sylvia's direction.  C'mon.  I'm buying? Followed by images of banana splits, milk shakes, or even the offer of tofutti as a last ditch effort.

Sylvia sees the woman, trying to blend into the crowds headed for the door.  Trying to blend into the crowds, throwing glances over her shoulder.

OOC:  Sammy's down there too, trying to blend in with the crowd.

One moment.  Fast-forward, she tries to explain, more in a series of images than in words.  A picture of the mummy.  A picture of the princess he was looking for.  A picture of the woman she sensed.  And now. . . .

Bingo.  There she is.

Sylvia tries to get a fix on the woman before she can leave.  She wants the basics for now--name, address, phone number, where the hell she's headed in such a rush, and why.

OOC: Sylvia will get some of it, bits and pieces that she can assemble later.

The woman makes it out the front doors and then Sylvia looses her, like she vanished.

Annoyed, she sends the information to Colin, making ruthless use of his photographic memory.  Hold that for me, will you?

Hey! I'm not your notepad! And why didn't you tell me before, it could have helped!

Sylvia recognizes his tone -I'm not really angry but I should at least make an effort to fake it, so next time you'll think twice about it-.

Sylvia wouldn't boss him around if she didn't think he secretly wanted it.  Of course, being a telepath is no guarantee that she's right.  I was busy keeping him from killing Sammy.

She mutters aloud, staring at the front entrance as the crowd, including Sammy and the reborn princess, funnels out.  "She's a loose end.  I hate loose ends."

Sarah sighs and shakes her head.  "It's like herding cats."  

Donnie looks at her and grins. "Meow!"

When he sees the sight of policemen past the flowing crowd, his grin fades. "Actually Sarah, I'll take you up on that offer. My dad's business associates would probably be pissed if they say my name on another police report."

Colin raises his eyebrows. "You might have a point here."

"You all go. I'll stay. They likely already know to call Chris. I bet that in every Chicago precinct there's a photo of me with the words: 'if you see this boy, brace yourself for trouble. Oh well. As long as I don't get him fired it's all right. See you later."

"I'll stay, too," Sylvia says.  "Maybe I can keep any shicks from being britted while Colin tries to tell them why he let the air out of their mummy."

It takes Colin a full minute of squinting before he figures out what Sylvia meant.

"They weren't going to open it, so I don't see the loss. Or if they were, better with here now to stop him then in a room full of hapless archaeologists."

"Yes," Sylvia says, trying not to sound sarcastic at all, "I'm sure that'll sound perfectly reasonable to the angry old administrator who'll march up the stairs any minute now."

Colin notices the sarcasm anyway. He crosses his arms, piqued.

"What about the mega-lawsuit they're going to get for putting a deadly dangerous artifact on show without adequate protection, if they give me trouble? Would that sound more reasonable?"

Sylvia levels her glare at Colin--and glances again at Donnie.  He'll get his scolding later.  She speaks slowly and evenly to get her point across.  "I'm sure anything will sound more reasonable if we can keep the museum authorities from getting unduly upset."  She gestures as if to coax him to follow the path from what she's saying to what she plans to do.

Sammy pushes her way through the crowd and makes it outside.  Once there, she regrets her decision to leave on her own instead of waiting for Sarah to zip them away; she can't fly, not with this many witnesses, and its cold out here.  She starts trudging for the nearest coffee shop to reinforce herself before making the commute home.

Sarah smiles at Donnie, "Just you?  Aw that's no challenge."  To Colin and Sylvia she says, "Okay if you two are sure... we're gone."

She waits a heartbeat for a change of mind before popping out of the scene.  *poit!*

Sylvia gives Colin a grim but determined stare and leans back against the balustrade to wait.

"I'd still like you not to mess with their minds if it isn't absolutely necessary." he says, mimicking her slow speech.

"Fine," she says, just a little tartly.  Bickering with Colin is one of her favorite hobbies.  "When will it be necessary?"

"Easy. When I tell you it is." he says, almost smugly.

Sylvia nods slowly, looking both displeased and a little toothy, as if she's looking forward to their next sparring match.  "So that's how it's going to be," she drawls and then plays spot-the-surveillance-camera, per Jack's tutelage.  She steps into a dead zone, and it's as if the emotional color washes out of her.  Subtly unseen, or at least too uninteresting to notice, she waits for whoever comes along.

Police and museum security push into the area.  Cops outside are trying to get statements, and that is the equivalent of trying to hold the ocean in place with a broom.  Sammy is easily able to make her way past the crowds to a nearby coffee emporium for some liquid heat.

Sarah and Donnie are up the block and can intercept Sammy as she moves for coffee, having made the port blind with Morpheus' help.

The inside of the museum becomes a wash of cops and administrators.  It's not long before they isolate Colin to get his statement, and then review the security camera footage.  Chris and Blaire Kellog arrive about ten minutes later, and the yelling begins.  Museum people one side demanding Colin be arrested for tampering with private property and using magic recklessly.  Blaire is yelling at them for having inadequate safeguards in place for a magically sensitive object on display in one of the three most magically active cities in the country.  In less than an hour people from the District Attorney's office have arrived, and a woman from the office of the Mayor.  Lawyers begin to arrive for the museum, and then there is a conference call with the museum that actually owned the display items.  This is when things take a strange turn, the representative for the museum that owns the sarcophagus tells the police to let the matter of any property damage to the sarcophagus or other display items that are theirs drop.  The Chicago museum people seem a little shocked, then they give the nod and everyone calms down.

A uniformed officer takes Colin's statement, and then he's told her can go.

OOC: No one ever notices Sylvia, unless she makes a point to be noticed.

[Was the representative for the other museum present, or was he taking the call?]

Sammy nods a silent greeting when she sees Sarah and Donnie, and keeps moving toward the coffee shop at a purposeful pace.  "Cold," she explains.  Then she remembers the trick she pulled when John took her to see the Christmas trees.  She forms a wall of air around her and her friends, and suddenly the cutting wind is gone.

Sarah smiles a little at Sammy and follows her into the coffee shop.  She orders a frozen mocha double espresso and a tall glass of water. 
After drinking down most of the water she sighs.  "What do we do now?  Seems like the field trip is over."

Donnie gets a plain cuppa and adds a splenda and cream. He stares at the table, his face pensive. "I wish I could have stayed with Colin, but with my dad's business, I didn't want to cause any more reports to appear on my record. They'd probably send the landshark lawyer like they did last time, and I don't want to ripple the slipstream any more than I have to. I hope Sylvia doesn't mess with their heads or anything. Colin is pretty good at talking people over to his point of view on things."


He looks over at Sammy. "Seemed the mummy had a hard-on for attacking you Sammy. Do you know why?"

Sammy is also quietly thoughtful.  "Maybe somebody like me locked him up in the first place?  Or maybe he had a thing against djinn?  I don't know."  She sips at her Caramel Macchiato.  "Seems weird that it was so easy to wake him up, don't you think?  I mean, this thing has been around for a long time, and the signs said researchers have been poking at it for a while without being able to crack it open.  How come the protections all fell apart when we walked in the room?"

OOC: The rep for the other museum was on the other end of a phone call.  So not present.

Donnie's nearby, Sylvia tells Colin as the brouhaha dies down.  He's a touchstone, her Donnie is.  I'll meet you at--  She flashes him an oddly filtered perception of the smell of coffee, Sarah, and Sammy--enough to identify their location, with some guesswork.

Sarah looks at Sammy, slightly suprised.  "Are you serious?  Donnie and Colin in the same room together with something magical and they didn't set it off?  Now that would be suspicious."

Sammy smiles slightly.  "I didn't expect them to be able to do it so quickly, that's all."

Colin looks surprisingly calm. He almost surprises himself too. there is something in using his powers that is... liberating, like something bigger washed upon him, sweeping his little troubles away. When he's asked, he explains what he saw, and the reason he did what he did. There's only one thing he omits: how the mummy recognized a djinn in Sammy. Her transformation into a magical creature has already been attracting trouble. No need to make it known.


Here he wonders which are the other two cities.


This is strange though, and prompts Colin to start asking questions. Which museum does the sarcophagus come from? Which other items came with it? What will happen now to Herod's remains?


He repeats the same story he's been saying over and over.

He thanks Chris and Blaire for their help, and accepts the little scolding he receives in turn.

He stops for a moment at the museum to thank the spirits for their help, offering his services if they might need anything, and promising he'll come back to visit them.

Then he leaves the museum and starts looking for the place Sylvia showed him.

"Guess what?" he says when he arrives. "They just let me go. The museum that owned the sarcophagus has decided not to press charges against anyone. Isn't it a bit strange?"

Sarah nods, "Well you know, with great power comes great mayhem.  We'll just be lucky if the boys don't find the history eraser button some day." 

There really are no remains, they sort of blew away.  The museum that owned the materials was the National Museum in Germany.  All of the items from the exhibit were from their collection, which is in the brochure so it's probably already known to you.

In a panicked tone, Sammy says "Don't give them any ideas!"  She looks over pleadingly at Donnie.  "Please don't do that - promise me?"


"That is strange.  Maybe they are afraid of being counter-sued?"

"I thought that was your doing," Sylvia says, slipping into a seat out of nowhere.

Colin is surprised. "No. How could I have done that? I have no friends in Germany. That I know of."

"Magic," Sylvia says as if it should be obvious.  "Can't you do everything with magic?"  She addresses the question to Colin, Donnie, and Sammy, the resident mystic types.  She and Sarah have the power of interdimensional psionics on their side--none of that hokey, magic-word-mumbling, forces-you-cannot-begin-to-comprehend nonsense.

Sammy looks at Sylvia blankly, wondering why on earth Sylvia would consider her to be an expert on magic.  "I don't know.  I can't.  Can you?"

"Not you, specifically," Sylvia says, leaning her head against Donnie's arm in a glorious display of teenage schmoop.  "You, generally.  You magic people, you.  Speaking of magic people, who here believes in the reincarnation of ancient Egyptian princesses?"

Sammy raises her hand tentatively.  "I believe in djinn, and dragons, and I'm holding out hope for unicorns with rainbows streaming out of their butts.  I guess I can believe in reincarnated princesses.  Why?  Are you one?"

"No," Sylvia says firmly.  "I'm the reincarnation of Britney Spears, didn't you know?"  She goes on without missing a beat.  "The princess was there.  She was standing there in the museum, and she ran away afterward."

Sammy's brow furrows.  "Do you think what happened was deliberate then?  Maybe she wanted someone to let him out?"  Her hand spasms around her coffee cup as a thin thread of panic starts creeping through her mind.  "Do you suppose... no.  Nobody would use him for djinn bait... would they?  That would be so cruel."  She looks from face to face of her friends, then stops on Donnie and Colin.  "If someone is hunting djinn, someone has a set of djinn bands they want to use.  If it comes to that... bind me or my mom to one of you before you let anybody else get us, ok?  Please?"

Sylvia doesn't follow the logic.  "How would the mummy make good djinn bait?"  Her eyebrows lift as she contemplates the possibilities.  "You're not drawn to dessicated dead guys, are you?"

Sammy blinks.  "The dustier they are, the better I likes 'em.  Nothing like sand in my sheets."

"It was just something Colin said, about him being enemies with djinn.  He picked me right out of the group and focused his attacks on me.  If he'd got loose, would he have eventually hunted me down? Maybe it works the other way too; maybe there are some djinn out there who would find mummies like this particular one and ensure their total destruction.  I don't know."

Colin shakes his head. "As far as magic goes, I'm sort of an ambassador. And a policeman. I can suggest ideas, but it's not up to me to make them come true. And I don't think I can do anything like that, unless you mean by good karma."


"Uhm. I don't know about reincarnation. I don't think Egyptians believed in reincarnation either, but I'm no expert. I tend to believe though, that when so many people believe about something, there must be a grain of truth."

Blackbird, can people be reincarnated? What does it means, usually? Do they remember anything about their past lives?


"I don't think so. That was my idea, I'm afraid. Sorry, by the way, Sammy. I didn't know he would have attacked you."


"What?!!" Colin looks at the two of them in total shock.

Donnie tries to look innocent, put fails miserably.


Donnie's near invisibly blonde eyebrows lift as he affects a haughty demeanor. "I will consider your request to not screw with the space-time continuum, Miss Samantha."  


"Of course. Magic is the cheat codes of the universe. You can call us wizard-types the uberhackers of the great CPU of the world. Of course, to do something on that scale, you'd need to be immensely powerful or have quasi-immortal powers and fates shifting the world around you to make life easier to solve." He most definately does not look at Colin as he takes a sip of his coffee, but the look is inevitably implied.


"Only if you wear see-through veils and call me master. You could live in a bottle!" He giggles, and accepts the punch from Sylvia. It was worth it. "But seriously, I don't think this was a case of someone setting you up. There were too many random factors. Plus, he was looking to take you out, not capture you. As Colin said, i think it was just a wierd occurance. Perhaps because of all the magical stuff going on in Chicago, the likelyhood of magical trouble is increased. Magic is like mercury, it tends to roll together and pool in ever growing fonts. That's why wizards and magical creatures tend to congregate in certain places. Strangely enough, Stonehenge was a man-made artificial focus for leylines in England. It is why-"  He trails off as he sees eyes begin to glaze over. "Anyway, I doubt it."

*sip*

Colin frowns. "What is this thing about bands and binding?" He doesn't look happy.

"We could look the princess up," Sylvia proposes oh-so-innocently.  "We could ask her what she was doing there."


"It has something to do with the seal of Solomon?"  Sylvia looks at Sammy as she takes her guess.  "Something I read on the Internet."

Sammy glances at Donnie for backup.  She's beginning to think she'd prefer Colin, if she has to be banded to anybody.  Live in a bottle...

"A long time ago, human mages and djinn worked together to do great magic.  They did it through means of bands which tied the djinn and its power to a particular human.  There are still some bands in existance."

Sarah, soo far out of her depth on this conversation, sips her drink.  *sip* "So.. there's a princess?  And she's around?  What's up with that?  Is she immortal or something?  STB the mummy who got himself all mummified to guard some chick that wasn't really in the next room over if she's up and walking around all this time."

Yes.  sometimes people come back into the wheel of life.  They usually have no recollection of their former self.  Some come back as who they were, but those are very rare.  Repeating their role in the cosmic scheme of humanity over and over.

"A long time ago? Is this legend or fact? Do you know anything more specific?"

He considers it a bit more. "What's the problem with that? Would you become the slave to a master? That's not my definition of 'working together'."

"To the best of my knowledge, it is fact.  The problem is that the human mage keeps control over the djinn so long as the bands are on, and the djinn cannot remove them.  It might work differently for me since I'm not fully djinn; I'm not sure I want to test that theory."

Sylvia lets her brain run to contingencies.  "How would we get those off you?  Blowtorch?  Something more arcane?"

"If the mage didn't want to release the bond?  Killing him or her might work."

"And how would we do it without juvenile prison records?"

"I don't know.  It'll probably never happen; Donnie said there aren't many bands in existance anymore.  He's the one who explained them to me in the first place."

Colin turns to Donnie with a look that would be dangerous if he only was more physically imposing.

"Is there anything else about this you forgot to mention to us? Like, say, a little enmity between djinns and mummies? Did you know about that in advance?"

OOC: Sorry, Bill, but when you don't say things to the character who's got photographic memory you're bound to run into a little trouble. ;D

Sammy tries to soothe Colin's ruffled feathers.

(OOC: Ha! Feathers.  Blackbird.  Get it?  Huh?  I crack me up.)

"To be fair, I think it was the person the mummy used to be that had the problem.  I don't believe being a mummy had anything to do with it.  Djinn inhabited that region of Earth, they were used by mages, probably in battles; of course someone would have had issues with them, especially if the people the mages were fighting against had no Djinn of their own.  Unless you were a historian who specialized in that part of history, you'd have no way of knowing who was on what side of the fight, or if that particular mummy was involved at all."

Sarah works on refilling her bladder.  *slurp*  Mmmm jittery goodness.

Donnie's eyes narrow. "It's not a crime if there's no body."


Donnie purses his lips. "Oh, sorry about that Colin. We were busy fighting a crazed mummy at the time. Next time I will stop and explain things to you while the mummy eats out our friend's eyes. About the bands, that was Sammy's information to tell. She asked me about them and I looked into it. I don't tell you everything that we discuss, just like you don't tell me everything you and Sylvia talk about." Donnie gives Colin a 'so-there!' look and drains the dregs of his coffee.

"Actually, I meant you could tell me before I released him. Something like 'Wait Colin, you'd better not do this while Sammy is around.' It's not like I ask for much. Oh, and about the things I talk about with Sylvia and not tell you about, here's one."

He slides his museum flyer in front of her.

I really do think that, if you want to claim to be fair, he deserves one too - he sends her.

Sylvia laughs, grinning at Colin and at the flyer.  Then, with great care, she rolls the flyer up and wags it in the air theatrically before she bops Donnie on the head.  "You, too, were a jackass for egging Colin on," she announces, without as much grumpy aggravation as she doled out to Colin in the museum.

Donnie rubs his head and smirks. "Yeah yeah. I can't let opportunities to poke mysteries go by though."

Sammy says, sotto voce, "Not true.  Sylvia's plenty mysterious..." and drinks some more of her drink.

Sylvia looks scandalized, but not really.  She thwaps Donnie in earnest.  "What else have you two been talking about that you haven't told me?"

Donnie raises his hands in self defense. "Not that! Sheesh. She is dating like two guys at once. She's probably the one with all the stories!"

Sammy just assumes a Mona Lisa smile and says nothing more about it.

"What did the woman look like, Sylvia?  In case she reappears?"

Sylvia pulls a Polaroid picture from the pocket of her coat and slides it into the middle of the table.  Funny thing:  the Polaroid image moves, sort of like a portrait out of a Harry Potter novel.  It depicts the furtive escape of the princess.  "We could go to visit her," Sylvia suggests again.  "I think I have her address and phone number."

[What's her name, GM?]

"Oooh!  Do Snape next!"  Sarah looks over the instant photo, "She doesn't look particularly horrible or anything.  Did she look like she was scheming a scheme when you first saw her?  Rubbing her hands together and chuckling evilly or something?" 

She turns the picture a bit for a better look.  "She looks a little like this girl In my home room everyone calls 'Tabby'." 

"Seriously?" Sylvia asks.  "She looks a little or a lot like Tabby?"

Sarah laughs, "Uh, a little?  Sorry just making an observation.  Sort of how Donnie looks kinda like a kid from a Pepsi commercial a few years back.  I don't think I'm making an id.  Sorry Sammy."

"That's ok.  My only plan is to stay far away from her until we know what she is doing, if she's doing anything that is.  For all we know, she might have been drawn there without knowing why.  She might not have a clue that she is a reincarnated princess."

OOC:Helen Carver.  The address is a brownstone near the university.

Having suggested it twice with no takers, Sylvia goes ahead and announces, "I'm going to check her out, probably tonight."  She's probably just fishing for a ride; Sylvia's the only superhero in town who has to take the El.

On second thought, there's Colin.  But Colin has Sarah.  And a bicycle.

Sammy is concerned.  "You're not going alone," she says flatly.  "If you're going to knock on her door, you need backup.  I guess I could hover up along the roofline... so long as she doesn't see me, I'm probably safe enough."

"Safety in numbers.  That's what I always say," says Sarah for the first time in her life.  "Would you like any one else in the neighborhood?  I'll be around.  Give me a buzz if you want some company and I can be just about anywhere pretty quick."   

Donnie shrugs, poking holes in his styrofoam cup with a coffee stir. "Althea hasn't had a chance to fly this week. I'm in, of course."

Colin looks around and notices he's the only one left. "Ok, ok, I'll come too. Just to check you don't get into too much trouble."

Sylvia, her instinct to lead (a.k.a. "be bossy") satisfied, looks pleased with herself.  She leans against Donnie and basks in the pleasure of a job well done.

Sarah adds, "We should bring cookies.  Or maybe iced coffee drinks.  You know.. sort of a good will gesture?"

"Seriously?  You want to knock on her door and say, 'Hi.  We're here to talk to you about your past life'?"

"Well," offers Sarah, "We could.  Honesty might work and if it doesn't then why don't we send in someone else with a wonderful disguise.  A police officer coming to question her about events at the museum?"

Sylvia can suddenly see Smith, looking patiently, wryly amused by their plan to take cookies to this woman who could be Pure Evil Reincarnate.  It's weird how the memory of him comes back to her from time to time, especially when innocence and cynicism butt heads.  "Okay," she says slowly.  "I'm willing to go with the 'ask questions first, shoot later' approach."

Sammy gives Sylvia a very odd glance.  "Whatever.  I'm not going in there unless I must.  Suppose she doesn't know who she was, and your friendly questions shake loose some old memories?  She could decide to pick up an old battle from where she left it.  That would be, oh, where she was pissed off and dying."

"Fair point," Sylvia says quickly, backpedaling without remorse.  "I say we go with Sammy's plan to do some covert surveillance before we knock on the door like Latter-Day Saints."  And just like that, the buck is passed.

Sarah asks hopefully, "We can still have cookies and coffee drinks though right?"

Sammy smiles.  "Definitely.  We need to keep up our strength."

Colin looks at Donnie. "What about we guys try to find out what we can about who she was, while the girls focus on who she is now?"

"Wait," Sylvia says, holding up her forefinger.  "Magic.  We could use someone who's good at the magic thing if we're actually going to talk to her."

Donnie looks at Sylvia as if she had grown a second head. "Hello? Donnie's sitting here? Do you know someone better who happens to be friends with all of us, is knowledgable of the situation, and aware of the group's concerns?"

Donnie and Sylvia have a game:  the more ludicrously soppy the terms of endearment get, the more likely one is pointing out the, um, momentary lapse of reason of the other.  "Snuggleboofy," Sylvia says, "Colin wants to do manly research things with you.  I'm telling him we need your manliness to keep the womenfolk safe."  Donnie might retaliate in a similar vein.

"Spookiepie, I know you get scared of big people, but they are just like us, only taller." He bats his eyelashes at her. "Besides, Sarah can probably so kick my ass. She's so much more bad ass than me."

"Sarah's ability to kick ass shouldn't be called into question by the likes of me.  I'm worried that there'll be eldritch magic afoot that we won't know how to deal with.  You and Colin are the finger-wigglers."  She demonstrates.  "We might need your expertise."

Donnie's head leand backwards, as if basking in the sun. "Ahhhhh expertise. Now you are speaking to my inner ego."

Sammy plays sweetener packet football by herself whilst the Village Elders speak, shooting goals through the matched salt and pepper shakers on the table.  When Donnie leans back to bask in glory, her index finger flicks and whap!, a packet of sugar smacks Mr. Inner Ego right in the middle of his forehead.  "Oops, sorry," she says.  Nobody is quite sure how much she really means that.

"I didn't mean..." Colin starts, but he realizes it's a lost cause. He sighs, rolling his eyes.

Sarah smiles, "I'm badass?  Really?  Cool.  I'll have to have that stiched into my hellokitty underwear."

"Hellokitty underwear? That's hawt." He then grins a conspiritory smile at Sarah, a World of Warcraft veteran like himself. " That'd be  epic. Certainly hunter loot. Pics or it didn't happen."

Underneath the table, Sammy feels a long serpentine tongue flick between her socks and jeans.

Sammy startles at the touch of the tongue and jumps up out of her seat with a squeak.  She sees what caused it, then glowers at Donnie and the area under the table.  She growls "Below the waist is off limits, Mister.  I don't care how much you might want my sugar."

"That's one screen shot you're never getting," says Sarah with a grin, "and only Colin gets to be around when they get proc'ed.  Uh.. when our relationship levels up,"  she finishes with a slight blush.


"Excuse me?  Something you'd like to share with the rest of the class Ms. Jameson?"

In response to Sarah's question, Sammy points under the table.  "Donnie needs to keep his lizard under better control"

Donnie laughs loudly. "That's what all the girls say to me."

From under the table comes the familiar sound of Pip's chirp.

Sylvia only rolls her eyes.  Donnie is all talk.

Her head still filled with visions of mummy dust forming into dry lizard-like fingers and pulling her by the ankle into a sandy grave, Sammy finds herself even more irritated with Donnie.  The vent in the ceiling over her must be on, because loose strands of hair start floating gently around her face.  She smiles adoringly at him and blinks her eyes like an infatuated simpleton.  "At least you were able to find your lizard this time."

Donnie affects a wounded look. "Ouch! cut me to the quick. No need to be cruel, Sammy. I'm just trying to lighten the mood. It's not as if e just fought a three-thousand year old mummy or anything." He slides out of the booth. "I need more coffee." Pip meeps under the table near Sarah, needle like claws patting her foot, probably hoping for a cookie. Sarah usually has the hook-up.

Realizing that she probably went too far, Sammy looks down.  "I thought Pip was a mummy grabbing at my ankle," she mumbles.

It is entirely possible that a small bag off partly crumbled cookies slips out of Sarah's pocket to land quietly on the floor near the little dragon. 

OOC: Good place to break and move to the next scene at the mystery ladies house?

[Yes, please.]

ooc: works for me!  Are we observing first and then chatting?  Or did Sylvia just want to sink her mental teeth into her for a looksee?

[I'm afraid!  Casual surveillance, including casual telepathic scan, first?  Then we send Sarah in to head the interrogation.  :)  ]

Sammy is convinced she's going to die.
She'll be watching and waiting from an airborne position.