2020-05-31 TPC: Planning for success
Planning for Success
Participants: Alexa, Artaud, Ashlynn, Clint, Edgar, Flynn, Sandy, Snake
Storyteller: Nate
Location: The Bawn - Fremont Hotel Lobby
Date and Time: May 31 2020
Summary: Planning to do some investigation, maybe take down a bane or two..
Deep within the earth is a lost piece of Los Angeles history - the Fremont Hotel. Thought demolished in 1955, it was instead sunk into the earth by the Garou of Los Angeles to serve as a place of respite. The formerly six-storied Mission style building is partially embedded in the earth as the land claimed its due of the agreement. The stone shifts in a transition to the yellow brick facade, with most of the front portions of the formerly L-shaped building still accessible, though a part of the retaining wall remains above as well. The original front balconies are still present, as are the red-tiled entry tower and scalloped parapets. The neon sign bearing the hotel name still hovers down the side of the tower, flickering in the cavern.
Inside the lobby, the mission style persists with cream stucco walls darkened over the decades, and pillars and ceiling beams of redwood with a grand iron chandelier. The floors aren't nearly as shiny as they once were and many of the tiles are cracked, but the deep tawny marble tiles still add a fleeting touch of elegance. A reception desk remains with the old wall of keys and mail slots next to a grand staircase. The windows glow with daylight or moonlight to reflect the world above the cavern, with electric and water supplied through the sept's means.
The time is now, the place is here. Discussions about the miasma over the umbral reflection of the 405 freeway have culminated in a gathering here, to plan the approach and next steps. To share information and make sure that everyone is up to speed. And to ensure the goals of the night are clear.
Snake has set up a whiteboard, with a map of the relevant road and a gas station marked at either end. On the map are icons for each Bane known, with several of them marked with a big red X at the north and south ends of the section of freeway.
Alexa, the recently-minted Fostern, is here with her Cliath cousin, Ashlynn. She's currently taken up a space against the wall while she waits for people to trickle in. Today, the Galliard's changed up her look slightly; her long black hair with a teal streak, normally down, is done up in a bun - presumably to keep it out of the way. She glances up towards the whiteboard, then leans over to Ashlynn. "This might end up being our first fight together since the Rite of Passage," she comments quietly, glancing over to her cousin with something of a proud look. "Depending on how things play out, of course. How you feeling?"
There are lots of small clusters of three to five icons along the freeway. And a rather-larger-than-the-rest icon of a Furmling at the the northern gas station.
Those who work the kitchens at the hotel have made sure there's snacks and beverages - water, beer, meatballs, and deli sandwiches. Nothing fancy, definitely on the cheap, but enough to distract a lot of Garou gathering in one space. Flynn is at one of the tables gathered near the whiteboard, the Lupus showing his odd nature with his phone in his hand. He's got a notepad app up and he's using a stylus to write glyph'ed notes. Here and there, he looks away from it to flip a page in a positively ancient looking journal in front of him with many of the pages taped back into place. It looks to be yet more notes and drawings of various items. For now the Rite Master is quiet, absorbed in his work while the Garou gather.
Standing against one of the walls, Edgar looks at the whiteboard trying to commit the entirety of the map to memory, burning the icons and their location into his memory. Even those that are not the target of tonight's mission are proiritites for another day. He upnods Alexa and Ashlynn silently and then returns his full attention to the white board of problems, both today's and the future's.
Ashlynn solves the hair-as-a-handhold thing by keeping hers short and slicked back. The bottle blonde studying the white board that Snake has set up. Arms folded under her chest, she's comfortably leaned back against the wall next to Alexa. There's an amused chuff and a sidelong glance to her cousin. "Think you can keep up?" Teasing the Galliard. "I wish I knew more about spirits. Think the little guys will swarm in when we move on the big daddy bane?"
Snake leans in to put a red question mark on the southernmost gas station.
Clint is here. He's not sure what's going on but he saw people he knew and curiously followed them with a bag of apples in hand. He find a patch of wall beside Ashlynn and Alexa, even trying to stand in a way to immitate them. He leans over to them and points at the board. "What does all that mean?" He chews an apple while staring intently at the board trying to figure it all out. "Too many possibilities to say for sure."
Artaud for his part is not so much here for grand ole conversations! Not this Garou! Oh no! He is here to get into trouble, and if that means he has to talk about gas stations sometimes, so be it. He doesn't understand gas stations, or clouds really, but the Lupus is clearly not too bothered either way as he just trots in with his tail hidden between his legs, As he makes his way through the room, he'll pause nearby, the lupus's ears flicking, a hacking cough in preparation for what may yet become. Now he is going along, licking walls, sniffing under couches, hoping up onto the reception desk to snuffle his way through things. He only NEARLY falls off getting up there.
Alexa flashes a grin at Ashlynn's light ribbing. "Just remember whose job it is to tell everyone else how cool you looked when you were shredding through banes," she teases. Her eyes drift over to Edgar when he glances to them, and she gives the fellow Fostern a respectful nod, turning her own attention to the board now, brows furrowing a little in thought. She's sure Snake will clarify what the symbol are once events are underway.
When Clint joins them, Alexa glances over to him, then looks back up. "I assume we've had some additional umbral scouting since the last mission. Snake will fill us in once things are underway." She glances to Clint. "Thank you for the cleanse last night, friend. I'm feeling much better this morning."
Making her way into the hotel is Sandy, having went for a quick run and a spot of meditation. Now refreshed, she looks to join her packmates, Snake and Flynn and stand at her sides. She gives a glance to the white board, then back tot he others with a bright smile on her face. "Hey guys. Welcome! Welcome. I hope you are all excited and eager to resolve things as best we can once and for all. So, I want to start off by saying that as we traveled the freeway, we saw roughly sixty to seventy hogglings and a couple more furmlings. Most of them were in groups of three to five. They aren't dangerous by any means to most Garou packs, but there is /plenty/ and it means we can be overwhelmed." She says as she gives a nod of her head towards Snake, giving a motion to the board.
"Bear in mind that's spread out over a mile or so," Snake rumbles, following on from Sandy. "Between sixty-five and seventy-five Gafflings is a lot, but over a mile, not so much. So. We got a gas station at the north; we know there's a Bane in there, looked like a Furmling and a big one. Hope everyone packed their nomex. The only way outta that gas station is south onto the freeway, and that's pretty much where the polluted stuff starts. Where it ends - or maybe starts in the other direction - there's another gas station exiting onto the freeway, north. We don't know what's in there, but I can take a guess and I figure you all can too."
Ashlynn mmphs slightly, straightening, then leaning back again. "So our best bet if they do swarm in, is that they come in waves and not all at once." Which is better than being surrounded entirely, if they can keep up the kill rate needed to stay ahead of the waves. "And they we only get the nearer chunk, and not all of them."
A big streetch is given then by Artaud as he continues sniffing and walkin along the counter of the lobby's front desk, clearly amused by being up here then even as he inquires with a curious expression then, "Consider making a big trap? Big cage? IF already is inside, why not?" Artaud though seems content to go with that then, "Or bring a really big bucket full of water. Or spirit of water? And lots of little buckets."
Edgar nods when Snake asks if everyone's packed their nomex and then immediately shakes his had, having no idea what nomex is. But nobody else seems to have any either, so he expects it's a joke; or a common popular reference that he doesn't get; or, worst case scenario, something that Rite of Cleansing can take care of. "So we have a raid team and two suppor teams holding back the waves of smaller ones? Maybe at the choke points so that we can shape the fight to our benefit? Do we know if the Gafflings are corrupted spirits or were wrought by the wyrm? I didn't think to ask last week, we had other priorities."
Flynn may be quiet but he must be listening, as mention of Alexa getting cleanses has him looking up from his work and squinting curiously in her direction. Sandy then arrives and the talks begin, and he turns away to turn off his phone and set it down over the journal as he closes it. "Those numbers are concerning, but the spirit types are not odd." He looks to Edgar and clarifies, "They are corrupt elementals. Air and Fire. Like elements, they will be near something they like. But we need to find why there are so many, and so large. Gas stations are foul places, but there may be more. A source."
"Of course." Says Clint as he tucks the bag of apples under his arm. His lips pull to the side and his brows furrow as he listens and holds his hands out, fingers splayed to look at them while the numbers are being given. "That is...a lot?" He sighs heavily and goes back to listening. "I can try to draw them away or trick them into taking a different route if they try to swarm." He shrugs with an unsure smiel on his face. "The only physical entrance to the gas station is on the bad side? Can anyone make a quick hole? I could squeeze in a window but do not think that would do much help." He shakes his head. "I do not think it would be there without something more."
"I'm fairly new to the Sept. Can we get an idea of who can do what? I can fight and cleanse in a pinch. And know the gift that will help protect me from fire." Ashlynn says, looking between the different faces. "I'd hate to split up, but it might be good to have a few of us sorted to split off if we get swarmed, to cover the rear while our Theurge work?" she suggests. Less splitting the group and more, allocating resources to a potential problem ahead of time so people know where to go should the thing happen a certain way.
Giving a nod of her head, Sandy folds her arms in front of her chest. "Yes, finding the source is key, or else we will be heading out here again and again, and I am sure that will both be exhausting and boring after awhile." She takes a quick headcount at those gathered, sizing them up before she looks over towards Snake and Flynn. "I trust you two to develop a strategy that you feel is safe. I do agree with multiple teams. I know that having a pack to investigate the source, followed by a support pack to ensure there is no bottle necking would bring value." She folds her fingers in front of her thoughtfully. "Alexa, I would like you to take leadership of your own group. I am assuming you plan on taking Ashlynn and Edgar with you?" She asks curiously, then gives a look to Clint and Artaud. "Artaud has proven himself to be an exceptional fighter. Perhaps him and Clint can join with you as well. Work out your roles amongst each other. Sound good?"
Edgar nods at Flynn and shakes his head at Clint. "I don't have anything to help with walls, but I'll Fangs of Judgement and Luna's Armor when we get Umbra Side. I'll save the rest of my Gnosis for Mother's Touch when we're done in case it's needed. The rest of the things in my toolkit aren't for fighting, they're for the social parts of Philodoxing." He smiles at Alexa and puts forward a fist for her to bump when Sandy puts them in a team together with a grin.
Artaud's attention shifts up and aside towards Sandy as he hears his name, quick tail wag there! But then he is looking focused, "OR perhaps, remake gas stations into great art installations? Tear down walls in real world? Change nature of building, cannot hide there then in Umbra." Artaud muses then, even as he flops down to lay down finally, content with his spot on the desk. "But.. will go fight, big battle. Small battle. All the same. Mrm. Sameish."
Snake looks around at the younger Garou - which is, really, all of them - and nods. "I need a good look at what's in the south," he says, then gives Artaud an odd look. "Look, bud, they're busy and open. It's not like they're falling apart - they gotta be some of the busiest gas stations in California. And I figure that if we track down their accounts and find out who their suppliers are and what they're actually supplying, it'll tell us a lot."
Alexa breaks her eyes from the board as Sandy points her out. "Understood, Rhya," she says simply, and then pauses in thought. She hasn't had much to say since the presentation started; she's mostly kept her eyes and ears rapt at attention on Snake and the others. Thus prompted, however, she says, "Edgar, Clint? Are you two interested in joining up with me and Ashlynn?"
"Cover your fangs. You're thinking too small." Flynn says, not sounding like he's directing it at any one Garou that's present. "The Banes are not the cause. They are our enemy, but not our prey. A carcass draws scavengers. Lightning will bring thunder. The Banes come because something draws them. The many are not what we are there to slay. The freeway is a good home for them, but there are many more than normal. We need more information. We need to find the nest of the corruption. We should search the Umbra, but also search here. Signs can be hidden in either place, so both sides of the Gauntlet should be checked. We should learn if these stations are aligned." He says in agreement with Snake, whom he gestures towards. "Fighting a swarm is foolish. If the hive remains, bees will just return. Crush the hive, the bees fall."
"I did some driving in the Tellurian," says Snake. "It's how I know our bad patch is bracketed by those gas stations, and how I know the only way out of those gas stations is the freeway. I didn't go in for a closer look at the time."
Alexa does, of course, meet Edgar's fist bump. She's not a monster. She gives him a little grin.
Clint stares at Sandy with wide eyes and slowly turns his head to Alexa. "Me? Are you sure you would not prefer someone..." He pauses to think of the words. "..better?" Just as quickly, he waves off what he said and nods to her. "I want to see what is there. See where the ripples come from. Drop a rock in their path." He smiles widely with another nod.
Ashlynn nudges Alexa lightly, nodding to her, then nodding to the others. "Tigerlily can chase down data trails, too, if we miss things when we search." she suggests after a thought.
"There is nothing wrong with you, Clint." Sandy says firmly to him, almost 'fiercely'. "You're Garou. You are strong. You bring value in your own way to the Nation. Do not ever, /ever/, in my presence, tear yourself down, or suggest otherwise." The Talesinger focuses on him for a moment before she loiks to Flynn and Snake, giving a nod of her head.
The "cover your fangs" takes all wind out of Edgar's sails and until orders are given, he realises he has nothing further to say.
"Option Seven, yes? Take big metal box, with cunning, smart, attractive on top of box, drive next to 'gas station'. Jump on top. Set up all sorts of gizmos and gadgets to watch. Do at both. See why both similiar yes? If so fascinated with source, easy, safe way. Less time with body in area, less time to get found out." Artaud adds then as yet another idea to add to the pile.
(Splitting off into two groups, logs here:2020-05-31_TPC:_Scoping_Out_the_Gas_Station_-_Tellurian, 2020-05-31_TPC:_Scoping_Out_the_Gas_Station_-_Umbra)
