Raiders of the Temple of the Last Crusade (Aiden, Fergus, Karlsen)

OCC - I am working under the assumption that the owner of the Trump, or anyone likely to come looking for it, will be people who are not from Nexus, or at least understand that it is a Shadow not Substance. Especially if they are married to an Amberite. I am guessing they are shadow walkers like ourselves. They should be able to figure out the message. If they don't we will get in contact with them one way or another.

Kalsen shrugs with a false nonchalance and follows after Fergus.

Aiden replaces the ring in the tiny box and shoves it into an inside jacket pocket. Then he takes a quick look at the letter passed to him. "I think it's only Random who specializes in 'Fancy' much these days...and then only when he has to. It'll do fine....I am rather curious to see if anyone shows up. "

At hearing Fergus return , Aiden nods and says, "Go on with Benjamin. I'll catch up in a few minutes."

Aiden takes a seat in the cabin and removes his right boot. Opening the false heel containing his lockpicks set, he removes what appears to be a tiny button from an even smaller pouch behind. Placing the tiny electronic tracking device on the underside of the velvet liner inside the wedding ring box, he sets the box on the small fold-down table just at the top corner of Karlsen's letter and turns to leave.
At least I'll have a chance to find whoever comes snooping about...just as long as they stay in a near enough Shadow to operate this level of technology....

Aiden pulls a small receiver from his jacket pocket and turns it on.


After closing up the small boathouse, Aiden moves to catch up with the rest...

[OOC - Fergus is correct, the existence of Shadow and Amber is unknown to the general populace of Nexus.]

The library is an impressive building of green marble columns with two big statues of owls out front, on either side of a small broad flight of stairs. Owls are associated with books and learning here, just as turtles with sea-going and lions with government, snakes with crime, etc.

Inside the place is nearly deserted, but lots of nice chairs and seating areas are laid out--green, black and gold. Lots of light. Staff in minimal and friendly, but with so few patrons service is swift. They'll be glad to help you find what you're looking for.

Fergus feels at home with the books and the temptation is to spend some time here, but he knows that they have important things to be getting on with.

"I'm after some information on the Oracles Group. Is there a book around that deals with their foundation and goals?"

This takes some cross-checking with a lot of indexes. In the end, the following information comes to light.

The Oracle Group is one of several religious groups that have a somewhat pessimistic world-view, seeing Nexus as one of many islands adrift in a vast often hostile ocean of reality. They are sometimes associated with the so-called Phantom Airship Movement--people who claim unidentified airships of advanced design have been spotted, with strange crewmen (usually green with antenae) sometimes kidnapping ordinary citizens for mysterious reasons. But the Oracle's focus is on what in Earth terms might be the equivalent of the End Times. They're something like an armeggedon cult, but well-funded and secretive with several celebrity members (kinda like Scientology).

They do maintain a center here in town.

As far as ideology goes, the Oracle maintains Nexus is under threat from alien Visitors as a long-term prelude to invasion. They advocate vigilance and rather more social control than is the norm at present, Certain somewhat reclusive religious factions are viewed with alarm, even paranoia, and they presume some parts of society already under Visitor influence. Programs for awareness and attaining greater spiritual enlightenment are available.

Rumors abound of the Group's activities on a private island where it is said they worship some kind of idol and engage in all kinds of nefarious goings-on (the details depend upon who is doing the telling).

Politicians keep their distance from the Oracle Group, but are careful not to insult it.

Fergus has some suspicions about the group. For a group that is so vehemently against Alien incursion on the Nexus, they certainly seem to have agents in other parts of Shadow with the monocles. This tells him that the people who are directing the Oracles certainly do not share the views they give to their lower members who are certainly in the dark to the existance of other Shadows. Further Fergus has some suspicions as the when and why they were formed. He is expecing that they were formed around 20 years ago.

He decides to try and find out when they were founded and by whom. Also he notes down the location of the centre of the cult in town.

The Oracle Group was founded by a sometimes-speculative author and ex-marine approximately forty five years ago. He died almost twenty years past, after spending the last several years of his life bedridden and frail following a stroke.

Fergus ponders on the fact that the leadership of the group changed about when he was born. Someone took over running the group at that time and used it to keep him in prison all his life. Although he was in jail they took the oppotunity to educate him, so it was obvious that he was to be used if necessary in some kind of game. It was probable that whoever took over running the group knew what had happened to Isobel.

He decides to try and find out who took over the running of the group and whether they are still in charge now.

He runs up against a brick wall, metaphorically speaking. Different accounts give different names and descriptions of who leads the Oracle Group. The only consistent detail is that the Chair of the Board of Governors (which may or may not be a mostly honorary position) is one Andrew MacGuyvers, the son-in-law of the Founder.

Fergus turns to the others and tells them what he has found out.

"So the way I see it the only way we are going to find anything more about who is running the show is by a bit of direct action. There's a chapter house here of the cult here we could go and infiltrate or we could check out the house where I was held and see if we can dredge up Dragan Forrester and shake him down. What do you think?"

Aiden's receiver goes off.

Kalsen says, "I'm just going to poke around a bit. Let me know when you are ready to leave."

He wanders off to the periodicals section if there is one and looks for trade magazines for manufacturing of magical devices. Lacking that he will investigate mundane manufacturing practices. If such periodicals do not exist then he will ask after reference materials pertaining to the same topics. If asked he will say that he is looking for someone to make a specialised device.

"Actually Karlsen I'm just about finished up here. I don't think there's much else I'm going to get on the cult, and though I would dearly love to stay and look at all the other interesting things around here I think we have more important things to do."

Fergus looks wistfully at the other books and then turns back to the others.

"So do you want to go look at the local branch of the cult or investigate the house and see if we can find Dragan Forrester?"

"I am interested in the location of that private island and especially this 'idol' they worship. You know, it's just possible that it's a living idol, if you catch my dri...."

....As the low tone interrupts, Aiden, with some small surprise, quickly removes the small receiver from inside his jacket and turns off the low audible signal. That was a bit sooner than I anticipated. They must be shadowing our every move

Raising an eyebrow and speaking in a low tone to Fergus and Karlsen, he says, "We may have just found him." He flashes the receiver at them quickly and then turns to check the locator screen to see if the ring is on the move....

OOC - I was intending that to be what Karlsen was doing while you were looking at the stuff for the cult.

When the other two catch up to Karlsen (assuming they search him out) he explains, "I am fairly certain the model for the birds in the box is from this shadow. So I am trying to determine if it was manufactured here, or elsewhere."

OOC - David?

"Highly likely that it was manufactured here, though I doubt the sorcery component were added here by anyone from this Shadow. Magic is unknown here by the residents."

Fergus looks at the device that Aiden flashes at him and replies in a similar quiet tone.

"What's that then Aiden? Care to enlighten us a bit on what that is showing us?"

In the Nexus, the mainstream of society takes views "magic" as the stuff of fairy tales. There is an occult tradition, championed by some groups who tend to remain fairly private. Most folks call them eccentric, when being kind. Others simply refer to them as crazies. All this Karlsen learns pretty quickly, most obviously from volumes of the Encyclopedia Nexia. Here is a culture that sees the world primarily in terms of mechanics. Perhaps for that very reason, religion enjoys a place of honor, of obedience--but more from inertia, a love of tradition than anything else. Those who are very religious clearly don't believe overt miracles happen in this age, or at least only very very rarely. Given that, it is perhaps inevitable that the deeply religious of this world take it extremely seriously indeed.

Aiden's device shows the ring is indeed on the move, still very much inside the city, and headed for Old Downtown, a slightly seedier area with much older buildings than New Downtown (built atop the remnants of a nasty fire two generations past).

Aiden continues to keeps his attention mostly on the small device as he answers Fergus....

"From time to time, in my line of work, it's necessary to use indirect methods to locate an artifact I've been commissioned to obtain even if I know approximately where it is. In other cases, it may be problematic for me to just waltz in and remove said artifact from its surroundings, professional competition being what it is. So I've developed various means of surveillance...one of which I'm using right now. "

" I didn't see any special reason that we might need that wedding band anytime soon, and so, just before I left the boathouse, I planted a small electronic bug in the ring box and left it beside Karlsen's letter....just on the off chance that someone did come snooping around after us....Seems they did." Aiden jiggles the receiver.

"Looks like whoever it is has someplace to be. This thing just went off a minute ago and the ring's already on the move...toward the old city center it looks like."

Swinging his legs off the reading table and putting on his hat as he stands..."C'mon, fellas. Let's go see who our secret friends are."

"Well we better get a move on then."

The signal indicates whoever-has-the-tracker to be headed through Old Downtown rather than into it. On the other side are older docks, where a lot of shipping goes on.

Fergus feels the adrenaline start to pump as they chase across town. He is so focussed on their quarry that he only briefly wonders about the workings of the device, something that he would have normally spent hours on.

Then as they approach the docks a thought occurs to him. They are heading to the docks for a reason and that reason is probably to get on a boat. Fate was conspiring to get him on a boat one way or another. Maybe they were going to the secret island that Aiden was keen to see? At least that would have been a short trip. He'd let Aiden pinpoint the exact location in the docks.

The question that was nagging at his brain was why they would want the ring.

"Cousins. Any idea why they would want to take the ring? Was Isobel's marriage a secret and we've just given the enemy proof?"

Along the way, Aiden periodically makes subtle checks to see if they are being tailed...turning into barely used alleys or streets, making abrupt stops appearing to examine something of interest, checking passing shop windows for the reflection of anyone following behind....


Answering Fergus, "The ring could be important for any number of reasons, though when I planted the bug I wasn't sure that it would be of any interest at all. The marriage, if there was one, was quite possibly secret. But did our enemies know of this already? Or are we giving them information that may prove dangerous or problematic later? I don't know. I believe what risk there is is worth the gain of what we might find out. We needed a good lead and now we have one......And besides, it's high time we became the hunters instead of the hunted. They have apparently been keeping tabs on us since we arrived here, and that seriously bugs me. It's time we returned the favor. "

The movement ceases at what turns out to be a fairly indiscriminate warehouse. Ring and tracker are clearly inside.

Fergus adjusts his eyes to try and see if there is another way into the warehouse. A drainpipe and an open window.or perhaps a skylight. He'd watched many a Holo-vid with the bad guys in a warehouse. It always seemed to end in a fight.

"Have you a plan? Is this going to turn nasty?"

"In this case, I don't believe we have the time to come up with anything elaborate. Too much chance of missing something if we waste time. With several of them known to have access to Trumps at least, whatever they're up to could be over and done with before we get inside, so.... let's do this as quickly and quietly as we can. "

" Benjamin, if you would, find a place out of sight and watch the front door. I'm going to head around back of the warehouse from this side. See if I can't find a more private way in. Karlsen, if you would head around the other side...We'll meet up around back if you don't find anything. "

Turning back to Fergus, "Do you have a Trump of Karlsen? I know there's not one of me in your deck."