>>18442863

You quietly exit the conference room, and stand out in the hall, a little ways away from the door. You pull out your phone, and decide to dial mom first, since its been longer since you talked to her. Curiously, she doesn't answer her house phone or her cell phone, and you leave a message saying to call you back when she gets it, and if not, you'll call later.

With that done, only dad is left to call.

Or not. You don't actually have to talk to your old man, you could just drop him another text. A part of you isn't sure you want to tell him the story, because you're sure you'll spend the next hour comparing wacky adventures, and you're not sure that's the best for your sanity right now.

>>18442948

Okay, post seems to have worked that time. I keep getting errors when I try.

I'll try and attach the Character Sheet now.

So everybody is having that problem, then, I take it?

Or do I just need to bump this back up to the front page so you guys can see it.

I can see this fine, just had to go look for it.

Talk to father anyways, I wanna get some more backstory on him.

>>18443116

You decide to call him anyway, and have your phone dial his number. After only a couple of rings, he picks up. "Son," he says, by way of greeting. "Been expecting you to call." He's letting the drawl into his voice. Charles York Fortesque, York to his friends and colleagues, you suspect to try and cash in on Indiana Jones' move, was originally born in Louisiana. While he hasn't lived there for a great many years, he still sounds fresh out of the bayou. Oh well, 'My dad sounds like Gambit' always got you bonus points in those 'who's dad is coolest' contests as a kid.

He pauses, waiting for you to respond. "Hey, Dad." You greet him. "Do you want to talk about editing my autobiography?" he asks, a little tone of triumph in his voice. "No, dad, just because you weren't making the story about the Aztec Mummies up doesn't mean I want to edit your book." "C'mon now, it's full of great stories. Most of which are true." You didn't want the call to take this route, but you've been calling the old man on his stories since you were six. "The bedouin princess?" You challenge.
"True. Though she was prettier than I described, because your mother would kill me."
"Mushroom men from the Hollow Earth?"
"I showed you pictures of those."
"Grainy, black and white pictures. Monkey demons throwing flaming poo?"
"True. How I met Blackstone, actually. I can see why he didn't mention it though."
"Ghost pirates!?"
"Okay, that was bullshit. But only because that story wouldn't be interesting otherwise."

Perfect timing, just finished watching Sherlock!

>>18443283
Oh dad! Him and his stories..

>>18443283

"The story wasn't interesting without ghost pirates?" "Well," he says, " 'We dove down to the wreck and all we found were bones and this cool old cutlass but all the treasure was dug up ages ago' isn't very compelling now is it?" "Touche." You concede. It was also pretty apropo, since while your father was only whichever the lowest belt color of Karate is (Interestingly enough from a father-son dojo thing you both joined when you were 10. You're actually a belt up from him, since he kept missing classes to go adventuring) he did have all the classical training of a 17th century cavalier; horsemanship, rapier, and pistols.

"So, if we're not talking about the book, what did you want to talk about?" He asks, after the conversation lulls for a bit. "Well, it's a bit of a long story. It started Friday night, I went out to a club with Johnny and the guys-" He cuts you off. "Dammit boy, I've warned you about that. The only thing that boy has any style in is fashion and journalism. He has terrible taste in women, in cars, in food..." He trails off, but you cut him off before he can keep going. "Yes, thank you dad, you've said so before."

>>18443448
do try to keep him on track... his mind tends to wander, comes with being a retired adventurer I guess.

Btw, not sure why but people don't seem to join metahuman anymore... perhaps we crossed the "magical 20" where people are afraid to join in because of ongoing story.

>>18443464

Or the fact I haven't had a regular length thread in like, two-weeks.

>>18443512
Yeah, I guess that would have something to do with it too. Still, I prefer short threads over no threads. I'm also still waiting for deity quest, but that's been weeks too. It was almost daily before it stopped...

>>18443448

"Can we focus, dad? I know we haven't talked in a while..." "Alright, alright." He says. "Tell your story." You do, in full detail, from Friday night, to this point, right now. There is a long pause after you finish. "Well." Your father says simply. "You're in some deep shit, son." "Yes, thank you captain obvious." You don't feel bad about letting some snark slip into your voice, this is just how you talk with your dad. "That's *Doctor* Obvious to you. I was never in the military."

He pauses for a second. "Have you told your mother yet?" "No, I couldn't get through to her." "Alright, I know your mother pretty well, so let me preface this for you a little. First, she's going to be pissed you let," He pauses for a second. "Hold on, lemme think of the words she'd use. Right got it. She'll be pissed you let some 'french mad science hussy' drug you and conduct illegal augmentation surgery on you, and that you go sticking your dick in trouble. That last part is how I phrase it. Then, she's gonna be real proud you're some kind of kickass hero now, with shiny new powers and a new girlfriend and you're doing well for yourself. Then she's going to get real sad and depressed about how much danger you're in." You nod while he talks. Sounds like your mother. "Now, be careful, because if you end the conversation too soon, she'll break down after you're off and you'll leave poor Sherry with all that baggage."

>>18443737

Hrm, actually meant to post this one.

>>18443737
>Hey dad all this shit happened and the world might end
>Ok, here's the how to tell your mother
Best dad ever.

>>18443792

Dan's dad is pretty laid back. He's used to delving dungeons filled with deadly death traps, or perilous scuba dives into underwater caverns which could collapse and drown you at a moment's notice. So the world ending doesn't really bother him too much.

rolled 125, 28, 88 = 241

After we're done talking to dad, we should go to the occult library on campus and try and look up any situations similar to what is happening now had been recorded and what was done to resolve the issue as well as any common mistakes made by either side.

>>18443999
Damn, forgot to clear my dice.

Let's ask the man for some advice. If he's been in the shit before, surely he's got some idea of what we should do.

>>18443999
that's.... actually a damn sensible suggestion. How come we never actually thought of that? It was always "how do we deal with this, oh no", but nobody thought up "has this been done already" before...

>>18444053
Probably had something to do with the momentum of events, plus I'm new to the quest and just finished reading through the archived threads yesterday.

>>18443737

"I'll keep it in mind, dad." You say. It probably means you'll want to keep your mom on the line for a while, until she gets over it. She's not usually emotional so it should blow over quick, and you can spare the time in your day. Not like you have anything pressing. "See that you do." Your father replies. "She'll take it harder than I will. I mean, I'm a pretty easy going guy. I was face to face with a giant obsidian jaguar statue once. That walked around and shot bolts of green flame from its eyes. It's hard to startle me these days." "So you've told me." You say, in a flat voice.

>Anything else to ask dad?

>>18444077
Just ask him for any advice he has preparing for or dealing with shit like we're what we're dealing with right now, you know imminent death by ancient and eldritch horror from a different universe.

>>18444077
we've got nothing else on our hands for now anyway, perhaps ask a bit about drede-I mean blackwood.

>>18444093
>>18444104

"Alright, so, any advice?" You ask. "I just told you-" You cut him off, "No, about the whole situation. Thing. Going on." "Right, that." He says, and again there is a lull in the conversation. "Well, normally, I'd just say to try and charm her over, love and hate being so close and all, but given you already have a new girlfriend, that's probably not the best move. Especially since the new one sounds tough. Maybe not like your mother and her goddamn knives (Your maternal grandfather was a hitter for the Russian mob. He taught his little girl how to handle a knife. Your mother is the only lawyer you know who routinely carries a butterfly knife into the courtroom), but still scary." You nod into the phone. "Well, you've been in the shit before, dad, what do you do?" "Run like hell. Good tactic for everything but sharks, boulders and poison dart traps. If that doesn't work, dodge it. Good for everything but sharks and flamethrowers. If all else fails, punch it in the face. Good for everything except things which are not sharks, nazis, mushroom-men, lions or angry bedouin." "You've been a great help, dad." "What do you want, kid? Just punch her in the face when the time comes. Blackstone is right, if she doesn't like you that much, she'll make sure to go out of her way and gloat."

>>18444237
Wait, so how does he deal with sharks?

>>18444276

Punching. Punching only good for sharks, nazis, mushroom-men, lions or angry bedouin

>>18444331
How come I'm not man-pregnant with your child yet?

>>18444331
Oh right, I got muddled with the double negative. So why is he suggesting we punch Red? She's not a shark, nazi, mushroom-man, lion, or angry bedouin.

>>18444372

OR IS SHE?

>>18444390
I'm betting that under all that angst is actually just the urge to kill jews.

>>18444390
I just went back through the thread where we first met her and there was no description of her skin color! We thought she was Schroedinger's ethnicity like Dan but she was secretly a Bedouin all along! Wow Omega, you really know how to write a plot twist.

>>18444422

Actually Dr. M was the one raised by former french nazi-sympathizers in south america.

She doesn't hate all jews but their ideas about racial "equality" may have started her on the road she's on today. The Mad Science didn't help.

>>18444452

This is now canon. Anna is a mad arab. Her mother's maiden name was Alhazred.

>>18444484
hahahaha
now get back to writing! We have to inform mom!

>>18444552

So you're done talking to Dan-dad, then?

>>18444582
Yeap, then call and break it to Ma, then go do>>18443999.

>>18444582
unless he's got some more to spill about blackstone (my apologies for having his name wrong earlier), yeah, I think so. I didn't expect him to be so easygoing about our powers, but hey, he IS a crazy archaeologist adventurer... Mom's probably not gonna do as well, and we gotta spend time on her.

both flood detection and captcha are hating me today

>>18444484
>Alhazred
>alhazRED
>RED

FFFFFFFFFFFFFF-

>>18444634
>>18444638

"Well, that's all then, I guess." You say. You hear your dad shift around on the other side of the line, and you'd guess he's nodding his head. "Alright then, son. I'll talk to you later, I guess. Call me to tell me how it turns out." "I think you'll know how it turns out dad," you say, with a bit of a bitter chuckle, "by whether or not there's a giant red eye floating in the sky to the south Wednesday morning." "I reckon you're right, boy." You end the call.

You're about to dial your mother again, when you see someone trying to get your attention out of the corner of your eye. You look over and see Johnny, Jeanne, Anya and Roxy standing by the conference room door, drawing your attention. Roxane was the one waving to you. "You all done?" She asks. You give your head a slight shake. "Want to try and call my mom again, then head over to the library." She nods. "Alright then. Johnny and I are going to head back to the storage room. I'm going to check on the Hammer, and also see if I can did out my mouse-hunting robots. Blackstone said we should move in groups." Jeanne coughs. "Anya and I will go with you to the library. We can help you find what you're looking for. Also, don't take this the wrong way," She shoots a glance at Roxy. Apparently her "punches possessed math-wizards and doesn't afraid of anything" attitude makes Jeanne nervous. "But my dorm building is co-ed, and I've been at this school a couple of years. If you want to sleep on my couch or floor, it might be safer than your own room. Or at least different."

>>18444957

That was intended as a >what say question

>>18444957
Fuck yeah, just got back from work, see MRQ, awesome evening. Anyway, let's ask if she has any wards, or if it's just safer by way of concentrating competent people in a close proximity. Also, I'm picturing a former-Triad knife-slinger on loan to the Russians in NYC as Dan's maternal grandfather. A seriously burly, heavily-tattooed, cigar-smoking, scarred Chinese man with at least two visible knives and a few concealed ones sitting around in a wife beater and suspenders. Dan comes from a very, very interesting family.

>>18444957
While its safer, we should probably try and let Red come to us.
We need some way to find her.
If we go somewhere else, she might not find us, or check that place after checking our dorm and be more prepared.

>>18445047
We don't want to be coup de graced in our sleep, though. While I agree, we should bait her, it would probably be a good idea to have everyone stay with someone else so that someone can be taking watch.

>>18445097
>>18445047

Dan's room is warded for another 24 hours (actually longer since you did it last night, IIRC) but if I'm remembering right, it just imposes penalties on an unwanted person who crosses the line, and alerts Dan that there's an intruder. Makes it harder to be killed in your sleep if they can't counter it, but Jeanne is a full-blown magistra, from a family of such. Her defenses will probably be much more potent.

>>18445167
And even if they breach the ward, it's better to have backup.

>>18445167
If the alertion has no range, then we can just hide out somewhere else and be ready once she trips the ward, right?

>>18445273
Assuming she doesn't have some mystical method of detecting where we are. Based on the fact that she came for us at Ashwood's, that's unlikely.

>>18445273

Right.

>>18445291
Then why not take up the offer.
Still be ready, of course, but we don't have to sit in the trap directly then.

>>18445286

A powerful psion who's mind was piggybacking in off your dreams did kind of punch Big Eye in the nose.

Just saying, it might have been easier to find you that way. Also, Jeanne. Been magic for a long time. Maybe she knows how to block scrying reception. Also just sayin'.

Take her up on the offer

>>18445309
>>18445273
>>18445047

"Well," You say, glancing around at the assembled, "I did ward my own room last night. But yours will probably be safer than mine, I'm sure." She nods. "Yes, I've put some effort into building semi-permanent defenses. I've never had call to arm them but it should prevent physical or magical intrusion for the night."

The conference room door opens, and Dave, Cheryl and Naomi step out. Dave nods at you. "I'm going to get my stuff packed, then my and Cheryl will be driving upstate to visit her parents for a week. If I don't see you again before we leave, good luck, man." You shake his hand. "Have a good trip." You say. Naomi walks up beside Dave, and looks at you. "If you don't mind, since I've said I'd look out for you, if I can crash on your couch tonight?" You exchange a glance with Dave. "I'm not sure the couch is up for it..." You say. Dave shrugs. "Alright," you decide. "The room is warded for another day or so, anyway. Not that I'll be there, so if you mind acting a bit like first response if something happens, you might find someplace else." Naomi gives a very canine grin. "No, that will be perfectly alright." OOOOOOOK then.

>Call mom right away, or give her a chance to call you back, and hit the library?

>>18445511
Right away.

>>18445511
Right away; if she doesn't pick up, it should only take a minute anyway, and if she does, well, this particular situation is lending itself to urgency of a sort.

>>18445527
>>18445533

Johnny, Roxane, Cheryl, Dave and Naomi leave. You hold up a hand to Jeanne and Anya. "Hold on a second, I want to try my mom again." They both nod, and you move a little ways off to maintain a good place to have a quiet conversation, then dial.

At first, you don't think anyone is going to pick up, but just before the machine gets it, the phone is got. "Hello?" asks a woman's voice. You recognize it as Sherry, your mother's partner. Which is a really weak word to describe the relationship, now that you think. of it. "Hey, Sherry." You say. "Oh, hi Dan, how you doing?" "Doing alright," you say, not adding 'all things considered'. "Is my mom available." A pause, then "Not this second, hun. She's giving one of our neighbor's legal advice. Again." You give the phone a half smile. "Funny, I distinctly remember her saying she wasn't going to get in the lawyering business again. She wanted a quiet life among nature." "Yeah, your mama said that," Sherry says, the same tinge of wry humor in her voice you had, "But for some reason, when people come asking, she can't help giving them advice."

(cont)

>>18445818

You chuckle at that, and so does Sherry. You guys didn't always get on so well, and still you wouldn't call you relationship with her "close" but she'd been alright in your books ever since she showed you how to fish with dynamite. "When will she be done?" You ask. "Don't rightly know. I think she's talking with one of the neighboring ranch hands about a sexual harassment suit. Do you want to hold on, or have her call you back?" "Huh, I'm going to a library, so I'm not sure it'll be best for her to call me back," You ponder aloud, "But on the other hand, the only thing she talks about longer than harassment is criminal cases, so I don't want to be on the line for hours." "Up to you, hun." Sherry replies.

>>18445834
"Could you ask her to send me a text whenever she has time? I'll clear time to talk to her whenever it arrives."

>showed you how to fish with dynamite
Sherry's awesome. If it weren't for the emotional baggage from when he was younger, Dan would probably be a lot closer to her now. That's too bad.

>>18445834
Text idea is good.
We really can't just hold for several hours.

>>18445874

You frown, and consider for a second. "Can you have her shoot me a text when she's done? I'll make some time and call her back when I get it." "Sure." She says. "I'll tell her as she's free. Shouldn't be *too* long." "Thanks Sherry." You say, letting your relief into your voice. "Anytime, hun." She paused for a second. "You sure everything's alright? You sound a little stressed." You can't help but let a little bark of dry laughter out at that one. "You could say that. I'd just like to talk to my mom sooner rather than later." "Well if you need someone to lend an ear..." "No offense, but I have generic ears up to my elbows. It's something I just think I need to talk to her about." Sherry doesn't even pause. "Ah, one of those conversations. Hope its not anything to earthshaking. Last time I had one of those with *my* parents was when I had to tell my mom I wasn't going to find a nice husband with lots of money and a big house because I was gay." she pauses for a second and continues, "Joke's on her, I gay-married a lawyer and have a giant ranch house now." You make some more small talk with Sherry before hanging up, and deciding to hit the library.

>>18446026

Dan was kidding when he said it would take hours, but it could have been a while.

>>18446102
>joke's on her
Sherry's a fucking baller. So, she's Dan's step mom, I guess? Or she's just Sherry, and we can leave it at that.

>>18446157
Can we refer to her as Other-Mom?

>>18446214
Probably not. She didn't really have a component in raising us, and most step-kids refer to their step-parents by their first name anyway. It's not a big deal.

>>18446214
>Other-Mom
>Other Mother

Let's just stick with Sherry.

>>18446214

You could, but I'm not sure it fits the relationship, like >>18446226 said.

Dan's parents split during his early high-school years, and he lived with his dad for the last couple of years before college, while his dad was teaching at LCU.

Is this dead or just sleeping?

>>18446657
I think Omega's typing the library scene.

>>18446682
It's been like half an hour. If he takes much longer, he'll be Writer-Dude levels of slow.

That being said, I am willing to wait that long when it's quality writing.

>>18446682
>>18446657

No, Omega's doing that thing he does when activity slumps for a while after having been pretty high, which is forget about it for like half an hour and come back. Next move inbound.

Though it'll be using a Research check (Yes, I'll be rolling dice again, how long has it been since that?) so if you want to put anything onto it, now's the time to say.

>>18446807
Relationship with Veritas, right?
And possibly our father and mother, although they're not on our sheet.

>>18446807
Yeah, veritas seems the best one to choose. Hmm would we be getting a bonus for following a passion in history for what we're looking up and/or a loyalty to humanity for why we're looking it up?

>>18446907
>>18446825
What are we looking up again? More info on the Red Star?

>>18446919
We're going to try and look up any information about past situations like or related to the one we're in right now and both how it was dealt with and the mistakes made by both sides.

>>18446919

You're checking to find records of attempted summoning of Outsider gods before now, though I'm guessing summoning up Old Gods or Archdemons also fits your bill.

>>18446907

History, probably, but Humanity loyalty is more when you move to remain loyal to human kind.

>>18446907
>>18446825

You head over to the Esoteric/Parapsy library, with Jeanne and Anya in tow, with Huan coming out of the room to follow you down to the library, though he says he can't stick around, since he's going to go meet Sunshine and Summanus when they get on campus. You settle into a quiet corner, and decide to do some research, at almost exactly 4 in the afternoon.

(3x8 and 3x10 on Research)

You must be getting the hang of the Esoterics library's shelving system. Or maybe having a couple of witches who know it pretty well make it easier. In relatively quick order, you've skimmed some Occult books on the subject of Outsider summon. To your lack of surprise, most of the information is scattered, lots of personal journals and POV stuff. The factual information is mostly classified, thanks to the USA's BLACK CHAMBER. The supposed code-breaking organization founded in 1919 was actually the cover for an anti-Occult organization who did a lot of work in New England, especially in the 20's. There are some declassified files from them in the library, but even then huge chunks of it are still redacted.

(cont)

>>18447250

Sorting it out, you can tell the summonings happen basically as Blackstone described it. Some cultists who worship powerful Outsiders gather up, usually in a circle, and do a ritual chant, which usually ends with some big infusion of power, usually taking the form of human sacrifice, possibly in the massive form. This allows the Outsider into the world, usually temporarily, for direct interaction with the worshipers. Doing it for extended periods seems to be difficult, and isn't regularly done. In fact, you don't find any clear cases of it being done successfully. Which makes sense, since the world is still here. It takes an even larger amount of energy than normal, and failing results in a botch job, sometimes pulling the entity apart in a destructive burst. Apparently this is what cause the Tunguska event in 1908. There is a way around, for the Outsider to form a local "avatar". A self-created body which is built in this universe and invested with the lion's share of its power and intelligence. The downside, for it, is that it has to obey the local rules of physics. And this still takes shitloads of power on our end, since the door has to be open long enough to give it time to do this.

>Any specific questions?

>>18447263
In which ways did each of these events fuck up and how bad would it be if we scissored the Red Star like that?

>>18447303

>In which ways did each of these events fuck up

Mostly, the rituals lacked the proper amount of force, and the Outsider was effectively bounced back out of reality. Equal and opposite reactions and all that.

Some of them were foiled by interrupting the ritual at key points, causing either immediate failure, or prevention long enough to kill or drive off the cultists.

>and how bad would it be if we scissored the Red Star like that?

Bad. Tunguska was rated at between 10-15 Megatons. 15 Megatons was the force of the Castle Bravo H-Bomb they tested on Bikini Atoll, the largest bomb ever tested by the US. You're looking at the total loss of the campus, and probably most of the city.

No further questions?

>>18447459
Does the Red Star have any noted bans/banes?

>>18447587

Not what you were looking up. You were focused on finding historical cases of Outsider summoning of this scale. As far as you can tell, summoning the Red Star hasn't been done like this.

And from your past research, none that you can find. Though he does seem to be related to blood, somehow. He is "Red or Crimson Star, King of Blood, Lord of the Red Earth."

>>18447703
Then let's WHOLE NEW RESEARCH CHECK for this motherfucker.

>>18447731

(2x3, 4x6 on Research)
(You're rolling 10d for this, BTW)

You decided to change gears, to try and find out more about the Red Star specifically. Its mostly what you know from before, but it doesn't take you long to figure this out. It's a powerful Outsider, ruler of the majority of its observable universe. The Red or Crimson Star, King of Blood, Lord of the Red Earth. Its mentions are few and far between, due to it being more malicious and active than most Outsiders. It actively seeks to consume more life to add to its own self. Some scholars have observed it, or taken some intelligence from others to know this. To use terms you can understand, it seems like some kind of end-of-line evolution, a form of self which reached a level to avoid natural selection, making it a dominant lifeform. So dominant, it was able to cross the voids between stars and consume entire worlds of life forms. If allowed into this world, it would likely do the same. Growing and expanding, it will attempt to eat all forms of life in the known universe, eventually coming to effectively BE the entire galaxy.

>>18447926

Deciding for the moment, you've had enough reading, you close the book in front of you, and rub your eyes. This stuff is so hard to get through some times, especially work that has been translated. You've spent maybe an hour on all this. Suddenly you notice your phone vibrating.

You pick it up and see that its the text you were waiting for from your mom. Huh, you weren't actually expecting her to really be an hour. You excuse yourself from Jeanne and Anya, who are also skimming some volumes. Anya seems to have some ability to read, despite having no eyes. You're not sure you want to know. You get up, and exit the library proper, and prepare to make a call.

Metahuman Renaissance Part 22 END.

Thread has been archived, don't forget to up vote.

Feel free to continue asking questions, including ones relevant to those Research rolls, until the next topic opens. If you'll excuse me, I need to go share the interactive story love with my regular gaming group.

>>18448023
Neat, when will the next thread be?

>>18447926
This Red Star guy sounds like kind of an asshole. I don't think we should be his friend.

>>18448098
Who would have thought?

>>18448098

He is, isn't he?

>>18448065

Tomorrow, at 4 EST ish.

>>18448113
Well we did only meet him once. Maybe he had a hangover and his wife had left him and he'd generally had an awful day and was in a bit of a mood. His friends Anna and Voicy-kun haven't been very nice to us but you can't judge him because of how his friends act.

>>18448168
>Anna and Voicy-kun
I have a rage boner now.

Amount of Parkour Expected: A LOT

Amount of Parkour Received: NONE

Amount of ParkourRelated Disappointment: YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH!

>thoroughly disappointed in everyone in this thread.

>>18450309
Should have gotten here sooner, then, ParkourAnon.