[Open IC] Cold Tea [complete]

[Rorx]

Mike shrugs at Livy's brush off, "No problem, I came to work on a paper as well," he nods towards the laptop at his place on his table, "but met people I know. If you change you minds before we leave then feel free to join us."

With that he turns and walks back to the table with Nari and Qiang and seats down, commenting in a low voice, "The woman's a student as well as being the newest. I think the prospect of meeting others so soon was probably too much to take in, so they both declined."

[Arak Noak]

Qiang laughed, "Now you sound like Huilang, she is always chiding me. She has tried to get me to see the larger view but claims I am like an accountant, that each line must be balanced before I can move on, even if the ledger is correct already." He looks away for a moment, apparently in contemplation, "Yes. If you need help or know of those who do you can contact me. But now, I think perhaps I need to ..." Mike returned and Qiang breathed an odd sigh of relief, "Judgment will stand for another day."

[Callum O'Connell]

Callum cocked an eyebrow at Olivia and leaned forward conspiratorily. "Isn't this a bit dangerous if they figure out what you are doing?" He whipered quietly. "I doubt anyone here will appreciate this little secret becoming widespread knowledge.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"It's already one of Boston's best-known secrets," she murmured softly. "One of the other students told me about it. And as I said, I'm not identifying the shop, just describing the experience. And, it's for class, not publication. I have to turn in a human interest story, and this was one of the options the professor offered." She smiled. "I think I'll be ok."

[Narinder Kapoor]

"Excellent."

Narinder smiled warmly at the man, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small silver case, flat and rectangular, and popped it open. Inside were what appeared to be several business cards, plain white, with his name and phone number. He flicked one out with deft fingers, though it was one from the bottom, and held it out to Qiang. Mike, of course, already had one.. Narinder gave one to many people that he'd met, depending on the situation. Of course, this was a card from the bottom of the stack, and unlike the simpler cards on top, this one had the printed appearance of a white marble surface. It stated his full name - "Narinder Kapoor" and a phone number, but underneath it a title as well.. "Communications and Delivery Specialist". By his name was a logo, of all things. It was the simple outline of a foot in movement, clad in a sandal with a wing attached and a circle around it, almost like an Olympic ring.

Click to reveal..

Successful Int+Occult roll identifies the Winged Sandal as a symbol of Hermes, Messenger of the Greek Gods.

"And by all means, if you need my assistance for anything.. please feel free to call. I'm always happy to help, if possible. We are after all, no matter our histories or backgrounds, on the same side of this mess."

[Callum O'Connell]

"Coolio," He said and leaned back, stretching his muscles again. While it was late and he really wanted to go home to shower and crawl into bed he wasn't about to go and leave Livy here with these strange Scions. Friends stuck by each other and that thought made him think of something else. He leaned in close again.

"Liv, I want to run something by you, see how you feel about it," He started slowly. "Since we both seem to be part of this crazy world, how about we strike up a partnership? You watch my back, I watch yours? My father said it was likely so many Scions are showing up in Boston because something big is going to happen. I don't know about you but I've now met four other Scions in the past week and know of at least one more. That's seven that I know about personally."

He paused to let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "Who knows how many others are in the city or what that is going to mean in the end. So what do you think?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Livy stared at him, her expression thoughtful. Julie - Erzulie - whomever, had told her to be wary of the other scions. Touching her tongue to her teeth, she considered carefully. "Ok," she said finally, nodding. "Let's do it." She'd known Callum before either one of them had been Scions; compared to teaming up with an unknown Scion, she'd take Callum in a heartbeat.

"You're the only one I've met," she said, then looked over at the table, "unless 'being in the same room' counts as 'meeting'." She lowered her voice again. "Have you met, like know names and digits for, anyone else here?"

[Arak Noak]

Qiang took the card and without a glance slid it into the pocket of his coat. He finished his meal and sat back studying all four of the other Scions for a long quiet momement.

Originally Posted By: Narinder Kapoor

"...We are after all, no matter our histories or backgrounds, on the same side of this mess."

"Of that I am not entirely sure. While we are all involved in the same way each of us acts and reacts to the circumstances at hand differently. It would be foolish to assume that some among us will not seek power for power's own sake even at the cost of betrayal and darkness."

[Callum O'Connell]

Callum breathed a soft sigh of relief at Olivia's words. This past week had been one ofthe loneliest of his life and it made him feel better knowing that he wouldn't have to face his increasingly uncertain future alone. "I'm glad you said that," he whispered back to her.

"I'm sure I've seen the Indian guy around, at the clubs and some art shows, stuff like that. One of Asian guys caled him Nari. The other two I've never seen before."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia nodded. "I've never seen them before either," she said, frowning but not looking at them. Her food - and beer - came and Liv poured a cup and tasted it. "Yep, beer," she muttered, then turned to her meal. After a bite, she nodded. "Pretty good, a little bland though." Callum could barely count the number of red chili peppers he could see on two hands, that was just what was visible above the sauce and piled food.

As she ate, she jotted down another note, then said, "Do you think we should get to know them? What have you heard about that Nari fellow?" She kept her voice low.

[Rorx]

Mike glances up from where he had resumed typing to look at Nari, "I have to agree with Qiang on that one, heard some stories of a couple of people who were working for the other side, or simply out for themselves. So you can't just assume that because they have a similar background to us that they will have the same goals. Hell, they could be generally on track but be furthering a different goal for their principle, after all the various principles all have their own interests that could clash from time to time."

[Narinder Kapoor]

Narinder studied them for a moment in return, then nodded reluctantly.

"Yes.. I suppose you must both be right about that. There are always those who put their own ambitions above the greater good. I suppose it is my place to prevent that, or to learn about it when it happens, so that the situation can be dealt with as early as possible. As far as petty differences.. those do not matter so much to me, as long as we keep what is important in mind."

He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket then, and pulled a few bills out of it, setting them on the table. It was more than enough for his own meal, and a generous tip for the pretty young waitress to boot. Then he picked up the pot, and emptied the last of the cheap alcohol into the small teacup, and took a gulp before standing.

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Qiang.. and to see you again, Mike. I hope you are both willing to call on me, if you ever need anything."

[Callum O'Connell]

Callum shrugged, "Nothing really. He's just a face I recognize," He said as he watched in Olivia bite into her chili monstrosity with horror. "Ugh, that really doesn't bother you?"

He considered her other question carefully. "I'm not sure. I have the feeling that we should, at some point but I don't think we should just assume every Scion has pure, or good motives," He finally said. "If my dad is right then all of us are being gathered here in Boston because 7+ Scions are going to be needed to deal with whatever is coming."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Nope, you should try wasabi," she said with a grin. "Now that has kick!"

As he got back to business, Liv sighed. "You'd better hope that six-plus can handle it, because I'm not up to fighting in a war. I won't be much help until I get some more training under my belt. Well, unless you need something written," she said, tapping her pen on the paper. She thought of Erzulie's announcement: You were made to love.

"Oh, to answer your earlier question... Erzulie." She shrugged. "It's not a big deal to tell people, is it?"

[Rorx]

Mike nods as Nari starts to leave, "Yeah Nari, see you around."

He turns back to Qiang, "So what do you think would go down better with an American professor, a paper applying I Ching to Sports Training or the japanese book of five rings?"

[Callum O'Connell]

"I don't think so," He said with a smile. "My dad is the Shining God Lugh, King of the Tuatha and God of Versitility." Olivia noted a hint of pride in her friend's voice although he didn't seem to be prone to boasting.

"As for fighting, well, this is war apparently so we may not have a choice. Still every army needs it's intelligence and they don't often see the front lines," he continued. "So um, who is Erzule? I mean, I know she's Voodoo, but what's her gig?"

[Dave ST]

The collective Scions each went about their own business within the small restaurant. The incestuous Olivia parleyed with the philandering Callum as the Celestial born Scions across the way indulged themselves in their debate and theological discussion with ever on-the-go Narinder, Scion of Hermes himself.

To the casual observer, all was as it should have been.

Gracefully the waitress, a woman none of those present recognized as the one who'd served their table before, exited the kitchen and made her rounds. To say she was lovely was an understatement. Her perfect Asian features complimented her work uniform and long straight black complimented her alluring brown eyes.

She passed the Scions of the Bureaucracy and smiled politely setting a fortune cookie down in front of each of the men. She gently placed an hand upon Narinder's forearm gave him a cookie as well.

The same held true for Callum and Olivia, despite not being done with her meal she found she'd been given a fortune cookie and with the same alluring smile that made even Callum second guess his sexuality she continued her rounds.

They could have spoken to her... why didn't they? Only until she was compeltely out of sight did their minds suddenly ask them 'Hey, why didn't you say something to her? Ask her out, her name, her phone number... anything!', but by then it was too late; she'd passed through the doors behind the bar and into the kitchen. By the time the Scions had thought to act Lachesis had already faded from the World and was home with her sisters.

Click to reveal..

1. No, none of you know it was was Lachesis, I don't care what your Occult roll turns up. However you might wanna justify recognizing a Greek Fate disguised as a Chinese waitress the answer will always be 'no'. Her name was given so that you the players know that one of the Fates themselves has just visited you. Your PC just thinks it was the finest ass he/she's ever seen on an Asian girl.

2. You have a fortune cookie! C'mon! Let's see what's inside!

[Narinder Kapoor]

Narinder had been about to turn and walk over to the table with the other two Scions when the beautiful young waitress presented him with the fortune cookie. Instead of his normal flirtatious smile, he had merely gazed at her, the expression on his face one of quiet awe. Finally, after she had left, his gaze flickered down to the fortune cookie she'd pressed into his hand.

With careful fingers he unwrapped the fortune cookie, and placed the wrapper on the table next to his plate. Then he broke it open, pulling the piece of paper out with a curious expression, and scanned it.

[Rorx]

Mike shakes his head to clear it from his momentary lapse then picks up the cookie from his keyboard, "You know I always loved th taste of these, although Grandad insisted that we make our own for the restaurant for many years. Come on Nari, open yours before you go." So saying Mike quickly opens his, reading the fortune inside before eating the cookie itself.

[Dave ST]

On a small paper folded several times (impossibly so, as there was no way it should've fit) it read as follows:

Bound by age, comfort and zest,

The inquiring hand could not rest.

But given to her heart's desire,

She gave to us - the sins of our sires.

And so now we wallow in our grief,

And seeking to close the box we weep.

While famine, plague, and other woes,

Beset ourselves - and our foes.

Click to reveal..

All the Fortunes are the same for each PC

[Narinder Kapoor]

Narinder's eyes narrowed at the paper for a moment, as he concentrated over the puzzle. After a moment or two, he drew in a breath, and let it out in a quiet whisper.

"Pandora's Box."

He glanced around again, as if looking for the waitress, but she was long gone. Finally, then, he glanced around at the others, first at the two men he had been with, and then in the direction of the other two Scions, to see if the piece of paper they held was the same size as his.

[Rorx]

Mike nods and looks up from his paper to Nari, "Sounds like either her or the box, and it is obviously no coincidence that we got the same fortune from the mysterious waitress. The problem is what do we do about it now?"

[Callum O'Connell]

When the strange waitress's spell was broken, Callum looked down at the cookie before looking back up at Olivia. He shrugged at her, picked it up and cracked it open. Popping the cookie into his mouth he read the little message and was thoroughly confused. He looked over at Livy and said. "What does yours say?"

He looked at the others as they spoke. then looked back at Olivia and raised his eyebrows.

[Arak Noak]

Qiang chuckles as he turns the cookie over in his hands, "You know we don't have these in China." He shrugs and takes a bite out of the cookie; his eyebrows rise as he tastes it, rather than a semi stale and vaguely sweet cracker the confection washes his palate with a delicate flavor of honey and vanilla. He pulls the fortune out of the other half as he savors the surprising treat. As he reads the fortune he understands, the divine taste comes from a divine cracker. He looks from Mike to Narinder and then to the other two Scions, without a word he stands and steps to their table. He bows formally, "Good evening and pardon our interruption, but it would appear that possibly we five are to be tied together for some purpose. Or perhaps not; may I inquire as to the fortune you both received?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia was stunned by the woman, so much so that it took her a long, long moment to respond to Callum. Even then, her response was fumbled and muted as she quietly handed the paper to him, still blinking.

The man approaching them made her tense, and she looked at Callum before saying, "It was a riddle, not a fortune. Did you get a riddle instead of a fortune?" She'd let Callum decide whether to trust him.

[Narinder Kapoor]

Narinder stepped up to the other table with Qiang, listening quietly at first as he spoke to the beautiful Scion sitting at the table. At her question, he nodded, and held out the scrap of paper.

"A riddle that we even know the answer to.. but that does little to help us deduce the intention. Perhaps together we may be able to make some progress in that regard."

He motioned to the two other Scions standing next to him, by way of introduction. When he spoke, he - unlike most devastatingly good-looking men - did not completely disregard Callum's presence. In fact, he had a way about his speech and his expressions that made them both feel as if he were speaking directly to their concerns, while at the same time not ignoring the other one's presence. He seemed to strike them both as possibly one of the most inherently trustworthy men they'd ever met, and for now at least his words set their minds and fears at ease.

Click to reveal..

Activating Charmer: -1LP

"This is Qiang.. you have met Mike. And my name is Narinder.. Narinder Kapoor, though it would honor me if you would call me Nari. All my friends do. Please, we had no intention of causing you any disturbance this evening.. but it seems that is not to be. Let us - at least for now - allow ourselves to submit to the streams of Fate, and see where they carries us. Better to wade into infested waters together than alone.. don't you think?"

[Callum O'Connell]

"Yeah," he said to Olivia's question. "And I don't get it." He was about to say more but the other 3 Scions had come to their table. He gave Olivia an uneasy look but it firmed into a resolve when he saw her face. Even though there were only days between their introductions to this strange new world she was relying on him as the more experienced member of their new found partnership.

Callum stood and offered his hand to the gentlemen. "I'm Callum, and this is Olivia," He said, intentionally leaving out last names. He wasn't sure if these men were trustworthy or not but it couldn't hurt to at least hear them out. If Fate was pulling strings tonight then he may be seeing more of these men in the future and putting forth a good first impression could be valuable.

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia stood as well, and mirroring Callum, offered her hand. "Hi," she said simply, waiting for one of them to try to cut her head off or something. When nothing bad happened, she relaxed a bit more, even managing a smile. Especially when looking at Nari - it was easy to smile when looking at him.

"First question - everyone get the same riddle? And second, do we know what it's about?"

[Rorx]

Mike takes Olivia's offered hand and answers her immediate questions, "Yeah, we all got the same riddle, the answer is that it is referring to Pandora and her Box. I assume you've heard the story? If not I can always Google it", he nods back over to his laptop, "so we all have the same version in mind while we talk."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"I've got the gist, typical story about how a woman is responsible for all the ills of the world," Liv said, quirking an eyebrow. "And no offense to your google-fu, but we shouldn't work from one version, mostly because we won't know if it's the right version. Like most myths, I bet the story varies from place to place, right?" And that right there is why I never dug mythology. It's a field of study that deals in lots of subjectivity. Give me facts any day.

[Rorx]

Mike nods, "Oh, yeah, there will be lots of variations I'm sure, I just thought if anyone wasn't familiar with the story that it would help." He shrugs and looks to see if Callum also recognises the reference.

"I'm a philosophy Major over at Northeastern by the way. What are you studying Olivia?" He nods to her note book on the table.

[Arak Noak]

Qiang bowed again before taking Olivia's offered hand, "I am Yueh Tian Qiang." He held off from offering more than that and even wondered how wise it was to offer that much, Trust has to start somewhere. "I must confess I do not know this story. I am from China originally, is this Pantera's Box something well known?"

[Rorx]

Mike turns to his friend, "It's from the Greek Pantheon, so more commonly known in the West. Pandora had a box she was not meant to open, she got too curious about what was inside so she opened it and out came all the woes of the world."

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

Olivia added her own bow; it was a reflex from her younger days. Someone bowed to you in greeting, you bowed back. You can take the girl out of Japan... "Pandora was charged with keeping the box safe, and one of the gods... I think... tempted her to open it. She only closed it in time to stop... Hope, I think it was," Olivia said thoughtfully. "My brother is the one who specializes in myths, not me, which, irony!"

She paused and cleared her throat, then said to Qiang, "Please forgive my ignorance. Before I call you something wrong, please let me ask - did you present your name traditionally, or in the Western style? I'm afraid I'm not as familiar with Chinese names, so I'm not sure which is your surname."

[Arak Noak]

Qiang smiles, "It is rare that I am asked, I thank you for this. You may call me Qiang, my family name is Yueh, though I do not trace my ancestry back to the great Yueh Fei." He nodded to Olivia and to Mike, "So this woman opened this box? And the box contained all of the bad things?" They nodded and he considered, "Perhaps then this could be an ... I am not sure of the word, it means to be similar. Perhaps this riddle is to be similar to the escape of the Titan's from their prison?"

Click to reveal..

Occult Roll

(10:12:57) ChatBot: (Qiang) rolls 5d10 and gets 9,10,6,4,9.

Result = 4 sux

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Allegory?" Olivia tried, then realized they were standing around. "Let's have a seat and try to puzzle this out." She looked to Nari and asked, "Are you still planning to go, or will you join us?" Say yes, hottie... say yes, say yes...

An interest in Nari was perhaps a complication she didn't need right now, but Olivia wasn't sure she cared. He was hot and she was in need of a distraction from her problems right now.

[Narinder Kapoor]

"I would be more than happy to join you, Olivia. It seems after all that we are here for a purpose, are we not? But perhaps we should move to less constricting accommodations.. ah, yes."

He stepped over to a large, round table meant for seating six, and held pulled out a chair for the only lady present, making a gesture for the rest to transfer their food and beverages to the larger space. He gestured to the waitress as the others got themselves situated, and murmured quietly to her for a moment before sitting down himself. He leaned back in his chair casually and wait until the murmuring had slowed and everyone was comfortable and transferred. When he spoke, his voice was pitched low but strong, so that those at the table could hear him clearly but that their words would not carry to other tables easily.

Click to reveal..

Rolling to recall the myth accurately: (12:01:01)ChatBot: (Narinder) rolls 5d10 and gets 10,2,2,5,10 = 4 suxx + 2 auto-suxx from E-Int = 6 total suxx.

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance here.. I am not knowledgeable in all such matters, I must confess. But the story of Pandora is from my own pantheon, the Dodekathion. So I am somewhat more familiar with the myths and legends of that culture. Of course, as the lovely Olivia has mentioned, the story can vary slightly from region to region, based upon your reference or source. But the basics are.. similar."

By that time, the waitress stepped over to their table and laid two appetizer combination platters on their table, with a mixture of the most common Chinese appetizers, like crab rangoon, egg rolls, shrimp tempura, and the like. Narinder passed the woman a credit card, and smiled at her politely, speaking in Mandarin.

<"Thank you, my dear. It will be some time before we need anything again, but you may keep everyone's drinks refilled and charge their meals to the card, if you don't mind.">

The waitress took the card with a nod, and walked off to see to her other patrons. Narinder motioned to the food politely, picking up one of the pieces of beef teriyaki for himself.

"Please, everyone, help yourselves. I assume that we have a long conversation ahead of us. As for the story of Pandora.."

He settled back again, and as he told the story he spoke with a soothing voice, the way you would picture someone telling stories around a fireplace.

"I should say first that Pandora's 'Box' is not the most accurate description. The more traditional wording, though it was translated improperly somewhere along the way, is Pandora's pithos, or jar. So it is likely that Pandora's Box, if it exists, is indeed either a clay or a bronze jar that would have been fashioned after a typical storage urn of the time. Clay was more traditional, but bronze would have symbolized strength, so it may have been used as well."

He lifted his glass of water - he had finished his beer at the previous table and left the pot, but had brought over his water glass, knowing that they would probably be talking for quite some time. He took a short sip, and set it down before continuing.

"Now in the myth, Promethius - who was one of the Titans - had stolen fire from Olympus, and given it to humans as a gift. This made Zeus - the king of the gods, and the lord of the Grecian heavens - quite angry. So he decided to punish mankind for the gift, though they had not done anything wrong by taking it. He ordered his son, Hephaustus, god of the forge and of blacksmiths, to fashion a beautiful woman. When it was done, she was given many seductive gifts from the gods. From Aphrodite, and Hera.. from Charites and Horae.. even from my own father, Hermes. And from Zeus, she received a large jar, and was instructed never, ever to open it."

He lingered for a moment, letting them absorb the words of the story before moving on.

"Now Promethius had warned his brother - Epimethius - not to accept any gifts from Zeus. The two titans together acted as 'representatives of mankind', and Promethius knew that Zeus would be likely to consider his brother just as guilty as him. But he did not listen, and Zeus presented him with the beautiful Pandora to be his wife. Now, of all the gifts Pandora had been given.. the most dangerous proved to be curiosity. Eventually she succumbed to her nature, and opened the box. From it sprang all the ills the world has ever known.. evil, sickness, disease, and burdensome labor. When Pandora realized what had happened, she managed to close the jar. Only one thing remained to humans within it.. and that was hope, which sees us through."

He trailed off at the end, and waited for the other's response to the story.

[Rorx]

Mike nods at various stages of Nari's telling of the story, "That's pretty much how I'd heard it, although interesting point about the jar vs box bit. I take the point on the possible allegory as well though Qiang."

He looks around at the others, "The question is what, if anything, are we expected to do about it?"

[z-Olivia Jenings-Izumi]

"Well, if it is an allegory for the release of the Big-T's," Olivia mused, "we're already doing it, in theory. But I really don't think it is. Here, look at it this way."

Olivia flattened her fortune on the table. "Break it down. 'Bound by age, comfort and zest,' - we have someone who is maybe old but comfortable and still lively. Was Pandora old? Not that I recall. 'The inquiring hand could not rest.' Again, implies Pandora, but could be many things. 'But given to her heart's desire,' - was Epimethius Pandora's desire? Again, not that I recall, though please correct me, though she was a gift. 'She gave to us - the sins of our sires.' Now this is interesting because of the break here. It's not needed for a straight statement, 'She gave to us the sins of our sires.' Riddles often rely on grammatical clues as well as verbal, so something to keep in mind, though... it matches the break in the last line, so who knows. 'And so now we wallow in our grief,' which implies that we're sad about something - are we? Is there something that all of the Scions grieve over? Or is that a reference to the sins of humanity? 'And seeking to close the box we weep.' Here, we're trying to close off what's happening, stop it, contain it. That could be Pandora's box/jar, or the Big-T's. 'While famine, plague, and other woes,' another reference to Pandora. 'Beset ourselves - and our foes.' And again we have a weird break." Liv grimaced and wrinkled her nose, her face screwing up cutely. "Those last three lines, er, words, sorry - make me think it's not an allegory for the Big-T's or the Little-T's. They are our foes, right?"

She looked around the table. "Thoughts?"

[Rorx]

Mike tries to follow Olivia's arguments, looking at his copy as an aid before commenting, "That first line with the break, 'the sins of our sires', that could refer to Scions. After all I've heard that a lot of us get born out of wedlock, which in most cultures could be called a sin. Pandora may not have been old at the time, but she supposed to have been the first woman, so she would certainly be old by now. Her hearts desire could be anything, curiuosity or hope are the things that spring to mind, as they are mentioned in her story."

It was very easy to look at this beautiful young woman as he made, what he hoped weren't stupid comments, "I agree that it is unlikely to be referring to the Titans. After as has been said that is a matter all Scions need to help and be concerned with. We should assume that this is something on a smaller scale that the five of us, or perhaps those in the City, working together would be able to handle."