Roger and Mitch Investigate the Pyramid
Michael
So where we left off with Roger and Mitch: Roger had come down to the park to meet up with Mitch who was taking photos of a portion of concrete embankment near one of the park benches. Roger feels pretty warm as he walks into "the hot zone" created by Mitch's mild Pyrokinesis. Mitch was mumbling something about "they were bloody … what does that mean" as Roger approaches. Mitch looks up at Roger and gestures towards the area and the plaque that Mitch was examining and it's gone. Luckily, Mitch succeeded on his IQ roll by 8 to remember details on the plaque so he can tell quite a bit of it to Roger before the memories start fading.
Jeff
Mitch is entirely unsurprised to see Roger. I'm not saying he was expecting to see Roger, but he wasn't expecting to not see Roger.
Bill
Roger was surprised for about a half a beat, but adjusts. Those in touch with spirits get pulled together by those capricious bastards all the time.
"So man, what's up? What are you looking at?"
Jeff
Mitch gestures vaguely at the wall. "There was a, like a historical plaque there, but it wasn't like any plaque I've ever seen. It didn't seem like a Red King thing, though. It was just, weird. Like the kind of plaque that a human being might put up, but … anyway there were these two dogs who were Emperor Norton's dogs, except they weren't actually, and they were named something I forget what, dumb Civil War dog names like Petrocles and Glomper? Anyway they're like long dead, they'd have to be to be Norton's, right, but also they died like years apart, I forget the actual dates. The weird thing was the motto, E Clampus Vitus, if that's a joke I don't get it, but the actual weird thing was the date, which was March of 1990. Or 1998, I couldn't really make out the last digit, that's why I wanted to take the picture."
"Oh, and I saw the dogs, they were sniffing around in front of the pyramid," Mitch gestures vaguely over his shoulder. Mitch gestures vaguely a lot. "They led me here, I guess, they were alive and also they were, like, covered in blood, like they'd just won a fight. I don't think they were hurt so it must have been pretty one-sided."
"Anyway the date was the thing that … you know, you're seeing something normal-level peculiar and then it's suddenly super peculiar, I just needed a second, I'm good now. It's all good. All good."
Bill
Roger wipes off some sweat, and realizing what that might mean, starts to motion Mitch to come with him. “Hey, yeah. I gotcha. But there’s a bunch of pigs around here, not really your scene, my brother. Where did you come in? Where were the dogs? Take me over there, OK?”
To himself he thinks, “Oh, my Papa Legba, what you doing sending your dogs to us here? We on a threshold, that what you be saying?”
Michael
By the way, whatever level of extremely dim awareness of the faintest presence of History B that Mitch had when seeing and following the dogs and investigating the plaque is utterly gone now. And the brief aside that Roger makes to one of his patron loa does not result in any muttering or whispers from his own Phantom Voices.
Jeff
Sure why not, Mitch leads Roger back out of the park and over to where he met the dogs.
Michael
Stray dogs in a downtown area are not really common, even for 1973, which is why they stuck out like a sore Oracular thumb to Mitch. So basically their path took them from the street facing the front doors of the Transamerica Pyramid (where Mitch passed by in his cab), around the south side of the building, and then into the park. As Roger and Mitch retrace the dogs' path, Mitch doesn't get a whiff of History B at all. But Roger can give me an Urban Survival-11 roll.
(And just for my own confirmation, Jeff: the powers that Mitch can elect volitionally to use are the following: Aura Reading, Illuminated's ability to detect "conspiracies," and Oracle. The powers that are not nominally under Mitch's control are: Detect History B, Pyrokinesis at both levels, Serendipity, Weirdness Magnet).
Bill
>> SUCCESS by 6
Michael
Nice. As Roger's walking that perimeter of sidewalks surrounding the Pyramid, he considers the fact that Mitch said these dogs' muzzles and claws were caked with blood. That much blood just a matter of minutes ago should have left either blood drops or bloody paw marks somewhere on the pavement. Not a one is to be seen, even under nighttime conditions like right now. So while Roger doesn't think for sure that Mitch was "imagining" the two pups, it's seeming like maybe Papa Legba did send them? (i.e., they were immaterial or spiritual or illusions or Dogs from History B).
Bill
"OK," Roger thinks, "so San Pedro is winking at us; he's saying some one Opened the Way here. There's more to this bombing than just bombs, that be sure." He takes a good look at Mitch, and around for cops/FBI agents, and says, "Hey, Mitch, I think I get your vibe. I'm heading back out. The pigs here, they're gonna notice you soon. You want a ride, or are you … making your own way back?"
Roger also privately adds another point to his belief that Mitch is an incipient bocor in need of some coaching. But best not to push, especially not to bring down the heat.
Jeff
(And just for my own confirmation, Jeff: the powers that Mitch can elect volitionally to use are the following: Aura Reading, Illuminated's ability to detect "conspiracies," and Oracle. The powers that are not nominally under Mitch's control are: Detect History B, Pyrokinesis at both levels, Serendipity, Weirdness Magnet).
Mitch's Pyrokinesis is Uncontrolled and the higher level is Emergencies Only, but it's not Unconscious Only, so Mitch can activate the lower level of the power at will (assuming he can make the roll to activate it)
"I don't think the dogs were a thing. They're definitely not around now, anyway … if you're offering a ride I'll take it, sure."
Michael
If Roger and Mitch want to continue doing a circuit of the city just driving by the major schools, that's fine. You two can also head back to Livermore if you want. Your call.
Jeff
I feel like this thing with the plaque is not really actionable, so if Roger is willing I would like to get him to drive around a bit just in case something else shows itself… Recognizing that there might not be a second bite of the Apple today.
Bill
We might as well familiarize ourselves with the school locations — we may be back at them some day, suddenly. Military training says know your ground.
Roger's happy to drive around to public schools … while partnered with a white guy in the car. But not much more than a school-zone speed drive-by each. He doesn't have cover ready so as not to get mistaken for kidnappers. He'll definitely want to start with the poorer neighborhoods.
He'll check in at a payphone with Livermore first, maybe get a quick list of likely schools from the Librarian while on the line (depending on how many quarters he has.)
Hopefully poorer schools => less police challenges to the Black/Hippie No-Goodnik Look.
Michael
Okay, let's do this: Roger gives me a Streetwise roll and Mitch gives me Observation.
Bill
Streetwise-12.
>> FAILURE by 4
Jeff
Observation-13.
>> SUCCESS by 4
Michael
While Roger's knowledge of the streets of San Francisco (ha) is pretty good, he's understandably a little squirrely about lingering too long at each site. The drive-bys are quick and unobtrusive. But even given that handicap, Mitch in the passenger seat is pretty much able to tell that at nearly every one of the City's schools, there's an unmarked cop car idling or parked near the entrance. SFPD has definitely deployed personnel to watch over the schools but they aren't out here in black-and-whites... yet. Again, it's night time now so with the exception of a couple of schools holding night time events (sports, etc.) the schools are pretty much empty. Given the City's experiments with busing are still ongoing, you also don't seem to notice too much of a discrepancy between different school districts getting different levels of PD coverage.
The fact that activities haven't been fully canceled seems noteworthy.
Bill
Roger: Donald Scott is a racist pig, but apparently even he cares about children. If it's in the newspaper.
Michael
I figure the combination of Mitch's Observation and his dislike of cops are enough to be able to tell an undercover at 60 feet
Jeff
Yeah well what're the cops going to do up a guy wearing a sandwich board with the no-see-ums glyph or whatever, I'm not reassured even a little.
Assuming we make it back to the lab I wanna do a spread, maybe there's something in there I'm not seeing.
(By which I mean tarot because Mike has reminded me I can deliberately activate Oracle)
Michael
Sweeeeet. I will wait for all lines to converge back at Livermore to play that out.
Jeff
Also now that I think about it probably cops have stained auras, they're easy to spot.