Book 3, Chapter 3: An Ordinary Man

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{{#set:

  | title  = An Ordinary Man
  | is a   = chapter
  | chapter of = Humans are the Worst
  }}{{#set: chapter number = 3 | ordinal = 3 }}{{#set: has parent story = {{#ask: is book of::Humans are the Worst has book number::3 |link=none|limit=1|searchlabel=}} | chapter in book = {{#ask: is book of::Humans are the Worst has book number::3 |link=none|limit=1|searchlabel=}} }}{{#set: book number = 3 }}{{#set: blurb = In which a vehicle is tracked down, a suspect encountered, and an apprenticeship offered }}{{#set: content = It was the hottest day of the year.  In fact, it was a record setter in most places in Ontario, Quebec and the North-eastern United States.  Even those with air conditioners were yelling when ever someone opened a door outside.  For people who worked outside, it was hard.  For people who worked in a kitchen, such as Jack Marks, it was pure torture.

It was on this hot day that Jack and Allan Tarik met at David Shu's home. Food was prepared and shared (though the ice-cream that had been bought across the street had melted), and a plan on what to do next was discussed.

Each person decided to tackle something different. The RBG was explored in greater detail, revealing the use of Wood magic - something that falls within the Eastern set of magic rather than the Western set. A contact of Allan's, a geek named Gerry, created a new way to cross reference the Internet (i.e. a search engine) that would search 7% more of the Internet than Google. Gerry soon published this as an app. Finally, Warden Alvin Mish was interviewed about the use of Wood magic and was strangely quiet about it... though he did provide an address.

As a result of this sleuthing, two vehicles were tracked down, both black SUVs that were owned by Enterprise Rent-a-Car. One of the cars was rented by Piedro Cavalo, who quickly became a person of interest.

Before investigating Piedro, the three went to the address provided by the warden. It lead to a parking lot between the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple and another building that is virtually a mini castle. Within the parking lot was a VERY healthy ash tree. David, hoping to get some sort of magic response, knocked on the oak tree. Nothing happened; other than a woman in a gray cloak appearing and watching the three. She chided them for just announcing their presence. However, the three men had a good excuse to give to any mortal who would give them problems: "We're larping!" The Warden didn't seem impressed with that, but she invited them in (probably before they could make a mess of things).

Hanging over the parking lot was a extension between the two buildings - one that was heavily veiled. The building itself had turn of the century (1890's-1900s) furniture - typical for a wizard's home.

Introductions were made (though no titles were given) and an explanation of what the three were doing in the parking lot was made. David was entirely truthful about their exploits, and what they were looking for: more information on Wood magic and any practitioners of Wood magic in Hamilton.

However, the White Council didn't necessarily trust David. There were discussions about the laws of magic and what the Council actually did, mostly for the benefit of Jack. There was also discussion of what it would take for David to get good quality information: apprenticeship. To the surprise of the member of the council, David agreed (after a touch of complaining and possibly some internal dialogue). The White Council member effectively said "Okay... come back with a petition of membership and for an interview."

After this, the three went to Enterprise Car Rental. After David made noise about an accident, the person behind the computer pulled up the appropriate file. Unfortunately, policy dictated that Enterprise not give out any information, and the screen was turned in such a way that David and Allan couldn't see the screen. However, Jack, being a master of stealth, managed to get behind the desk without anyone seeing, and wrote down all of the information; including that Piedro is a frequent renter - possibly a frequent get-away driver? They also got his address.

When they went to his place, the three saw no car in the driveway. At a close cyber-cafe, Allan googled Piedro. He had no LinkedIn page, but did have a string of news paper articles on him, mostly linked to arrests for minor convictions: trespassing and public nuisance. (This is also where the PCs and GM had an OOC discussion about public urination. We are weird.) A bit more digging lead to the discovery of charges that didn't make it to court for a variety of reasons, including assault, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and smuggling. The conspiracy charges were mid-level conspiracy: the "conspiracy to do ___" type charges rather than the treason-type charges. Allan tried to pull up some medical records, in the hopes that he could find other people connected to Piedro (i.e. people who had been hurt at the same time), but didn't come up with much. It took a fair amount of time to go through all of the information, which led to the comment "Dammit, this is so much easier on Law and Order!"

Eventually, Jack decided he wanted to get a look at this person. He created a fake petition, stating that an unnamed child abuser was about to be released and may settle in this area. He then went up and down the street, getting signatures before coming to Piedro's home. Piedro signed the petition, thus letting Jack get a good look at him. Unfortunately, Piedro also got a good look at Jack, and an okay look at David and Allan (who were still in the cyber cafe, but were not making any attempt to hide themselves.)

Piedro signed the petition with the name Vasco da Gama.

The three went to the Community Police Center to see if any more information on Piedro/Vasco could be found. Introductions were made (again) and the locket was briefly discussed. Constable Joe Perry didn't know anything about the Century Club, and many members of his family had claimed to be psychic... but that may not have meant anything.

Jack was semi-interrogated (by the Sargeant) as to the methods he used to get the information on Piedro. He was lucky that he didn't actually name anyone in the petition, or else he could have been in big trouble. That said, he didn't really do anything wrong.

On the computer, Sergeant Providence pulled up Piedro's file. There was a list that included "Family, known associates and OTHER". The OTHER link lead to a file on a Janet Rainha, however the file was sealed. The date on the seal was September 7 2010, and was approved by Chief Glenn De Caire. Providence didn't have the authority to go into the file. Janet Reginha's name did not appear on any social media network.

At this time, David went to apply for his apprentiship, which was verbal rather than 20 pages of paperwork. There was, however, an interview with some awkward moments (for the Council members!) such as "who do you want to apply to study under?" and "why do you want to apply for apprenticeship?" David answered all of these questions honestly. There were also some technical questions, and some questions that just seemed weird. The topic of David's father came up.

Throughout the entire day, the weather remained hot, humid and oppressive. The constant heat had been unrelenting and unchanging.

Just before David went to bed, a telegram was delivered by Warden Mish, who wasn't impressed about being a message boy. The information that David had requested was granted from the council: names of those who practice Wood magic, as well as common information about Wood magic.

However, it was very hot, and just too easy to fall asleep before reading it. }}{{#set: starring = Allan Tarik }}{{#set: starring = David Shu }}{{#set: starring = Jack Marks }}{{#set: guest-starring = Alvin Mish }}{{#set: guest-starring = Chief Glenn De Caire }}{{#set: guest-starring = Constable Joe Perry }}{{#set: guest-starring = Janet Rainha }}{{#set: guest-starring = Piedro Cavalo }}{{#set: guest-starring = Sergeant Terra Providence }}

An Ordinary Man

{{#set: location = Concession Street community policing centre }}{{#set: location = "Empty Lot" between Hess and Queen }}{{#set: location = Royal Botanical Gardens }}{{#set: location = Scottish Rite Masonic Temple }}

Concession Street community policing centre, "Empty Lot" between Hess and Queen, Royal Botanical Gardens, Scottish Rite Masonic Temple, timestamp::2011/07/20 (played session date::2011/08/03)

In which a vehicle is tracked down, a suspect encountered, and an apprenticeship offered

It was the hottest day of the year. In fact, it was a record setter in most places in Ontario, Quebec and the North-eastern United States. Even those with air conditioners were yelling when ever someone opened a door outside. For people who worked outside, it was hard. For people who worked in a kitchen, such as Jack Marks, it was pure torture.

It was on this hot day that Jack and Allan Tarik met at David Shu's home. Food was prepared and shared (though the ice-cream that had been bought across the street had melted), and a plan on what to do next was discussed.

Each person decided to tackle something different. The RBG was explored in greater detail, revealing the use of Wood magic - something that falls within the Eastern set of magic rather than the Western set. A contact of Allan's, a geek named Gerry, created a new way to cross reference the Internet (i.e. a search engine) that would search 7% more of the Internet than Google. Gerry soon published this as an app. Finally, Warden Alvin Mish was interviewed about the use of Wood magic and was strangely quiet about it... though he did provide an address.

As a result of this sleuthing, two vehicles were tracked down, both black SUVs that were owned by Enterprise Rent-a-Car. One of the cars was rented by Piedro Cavalo, who quickly became a person of interest.

Before investigating Piedro, the three went to the address provided by the warden. It lead to a parking lot between the Scottish Rite Masonic Temple and another building that is virtually a mini castle. Within the parking lot was a VERY healthy ash tree. David, hoping to get some sort of magic response, knocked on the oak tree. Nothing happened; other than a woman in a gray cloak appearing and watching the three. She chided them for just announcing their presence. However, the three men had a good excuse to give to any mortal who would give them problems: "We're larping!" The Warden didn't seem impressed with that, but she invited them in (probably before they could make a mess of things).

Hanging over the parking lot was a extension between the two buildings - one that was heavily veiled. The building itself had turn of the century (1890's-1900s) furniture - typical for a wizard's home.

Introductions were made (though no titles were given) and an explanation of what the three were doing in the parking lot was made. David was entirely truthful about their exploits, and what they were looking for: more information on Wood magic and any practitioners of Wood magic in Hamilton.

However, the White Council didn't necessarily trust David. There were discussions about the laws of magic and what the Council actually did, mostly for the benefit of Jack. There was also discussion of what it would take for David to get good quality information: apprenticeship. To the surprise of the member of the council, David agreed (after a touch of complaining and possibly some internal dialogue). The White Council member effectively said "Okay... come back with a petition of membership and for an interview."

After this, the three went to Enterprise Car Rental. After David made noise about an accident, the person behind the computer pulled up the appropriate file. Unfortunately, policy dictated that Enterprise not give out any information, and the screen was turned in such a way that David and Allan couldn't see the screen. However, Jack, being a master of stealth, managed to get behind the desk without anyone seeing, and wrote down all of the information; including that Piedro is a frequent renter - possibly a frequent get-away driver? They also got his address.

When they went to his place, the three saw no car in the driveway. At a close cyber-cafe, Allan googled Piedro. He had no LinkedIn page, but did have a string of news paper articles on him, mostly linked to arrests for minor convictions: trespassing and public nuisance. (This is also where the PCs and GM had an OOC discussion about public urination. We are weird.) A bit more digging lead to the discovery of charges that didn't make it to court for a variety of reasons, including assault, obstruction of justice, conspiracy and smuggling. The conspiracy charges were mid-level conspiracy: the "conspiracy to do ___" type charges rather than the treason-type charges. Allan tried to pull up some medical records, in the hopes that he could find other people connected to Piedro (i.e. people who had been hurt at the same time), but didn't come up with much. It took a fair amount of time to go through all of the information, which led to the comment "Dammit, this is so much easier on Law and Order!"

Eventually, Jack decided he wanted to get a look at this person. He created a fake petition, stating that an unnamed child abuser was about to be released and may settle in this area. He then went up and down the street, getting signatures before coming to Piedro's home. Piedro signed the petition, thus letting Jack get a good look at him. Unfortunately, Piedro also got a good look at Jack, and an okay look at David and Allan (who were still in the cyber cafe, but were not making any attempt to hide themselves.)

Piedro signed the petition with the name Vasco da Gama.

The three went to the Community Police Center to see if any more information on Piedro/Vasco could be found. Introductions were made (again) and the locket was briefly discussed. Constable Joe Perry didn't know anything about the Century Club, and many members of his family had claimed to be psychic... but that may not have meant anything.

Jack was semi-interrogated (by the Sargeant) as to the methods he used to get the information on Piedro. He was lucky that he didn't actually name anyone in the petition, or else he could have been in big trouble. That said, he didn't really do anything wrong.

On the computer, Sergeant Providence pulled up Piedro's file. There was a list that included "Family, known associates and OTHER". The OTHER link lead to a file on a Janet Rainha, however the file was sealed. The date on the seal was September 7 2010, and was approved by Chief Glenn De Caire. Providence didn't have the authority to go into the file. Janet Reginha's name did not appear on any social media network.

At this time, David went to apply for his apprentiship, which was verbal rather than 20 pages of paperwork. There was, however, an interview with some awkward moments (for the Council members!) such as "who do you want to apply to study under?" and "why do you want to apply for apprenticeship?" David answered all of these questions honestly. There were also some technical questions, and some questions that just seemed weird. The topic of David's father came up.

Throughout the entire day, the weather remained hot, humid and oppressive. The constant heat had been unrelenting and unchanging.

Just before David went to bed, a telegram was delivered by Warden Mish, who wasn't impressed about being a message boy. The information that David had requested was granted from the council: names of those who practice Wood magic, as well as common information about Wood magic.

However, it was very hot, and just too easy to fall asleep before reading it. {{#ask: |An Ordinary Man |?title |?chapter number |?blurb |?empty |?label |?image |?parentordinal | sort = chapter number | link = none | format = template | template = SMW campaign chapters level 3 }}