"Please, let me smash a chair over this guy's head!"

[Zephyrus]

[10:30] <@Zeph> --------------
03[10:30] * Aziraphale is now known as Thaddaeus
03[10:32] * Tehan is now known as Karl
03[10:32] * Vir is now known as Robert
03[10:32] * Kotono is now known as Kobrbagain
[10:33] <@Zeph> The streets are silent in sweltering heat of the July night. In the distance, a long dog barks and a woman screeches. But for all that Berlin was the shining capital of Germany, it was quiet. Perhaps more quiet than some felt was usual. The steps of the National Library loom before you, white marble leading up to an imposing building. (free act)
[10:37] <Robert> Robert glances at his companions, "Summoned too?" He ventures carefully.
[10:38] <Thaddaeus> A man walks up, clutching a white envelope in his hands. Thaddaeus Warwok, it says. "Yes." He pauses, looking around. "Do you know what this is about?"
[10:40] <Robert> "No, sir. I do not. The name's Robert by the way. Father Robert Lamb." He says stretching out a hand.
15[10:40] <Karl> "It seems to me," says Karl in a rich, practiced baritone, "that the fastest way to find out is to meet the summoner, hmm?" He grins. "Karl Gustav, of the Zurich Gustavs."
[10:42] <Thaddaeus> Thaddaeus grasps the outstretched hand. "Thaddaeus Warwok, Berlin Police Detective. Pleaseure as it is to meet you gentleman, as Karl says, I propose we enter the Library."
[10:44] <Robert> "Of course, of course. Lead the way, good detective."
15[10:44] <Karl> Karl nods gravely as he ponders these names given. "Onwards, then!" He starts up the stairs with a flourish.
[10:45] <Thaddaeus> Thaddaeus moves purposefully up the stairs, motioning his companions to follow. "What is it that you do, Mr Gustav?"
[10:46] <@Zeph> As you start up the steps to the libary, a door opens, and a tall, somber looking man in light grey suit of military cut steps out. "Follow me, please." Without waiting to see if you follow, he turns and disappears into the dark depths of the building. (more)
[10:46] <Robert> Robert follows closely, eager to hear more about his new-found companions.
15[10:47] <Karl> "I ramble, Mister Warwok. And I help where I can."
[10:48] <@Zeph> The National Library is imposing enough in the daylight, but in the dark, it is....unsettling. Shadows loom from every corner of the bookcases and from the vaults of the ceiling. Small rustles emanate from here and there as he leads you through the maze of bookcases and down three flights of stairs. He stops at a doorway and leads you in.
[10:49] <@Zeph> Inside is a single electric light, and a long table. There are several other figures sitting around it, talking quietly. They cease as you enter.
[10:49] <@Zeph> A voice says in a pleasant tone, "Please, my friends. Sit."
15[10:50] <Karl> Karl bows to the head off the table and takes a seat.
[10:51] <Robert> Robert inclines his head and takes a seat next to Karl.
06[10:51] * Thaddaeus complies, but chooses the seat closest to the exit. Years as a Berlin cop have taught him never to be complacent.
[10:52] <Thaddaeus> "What is it then, that we have all been summoned in such mysterious fashion for?"
[10:54] <@Zeph> The light brightens just enough for the shadows at the head of the table to lift. A blonde man, middle-aged and smiling, dressed in a fancier version of the uniform that the man who lead you in here laughs lightly. "I'm of the Abwehr. Those of us in the intelligence field enjoy our little cloak and dagger games. I pray that you indulge me."
06[10:55] * Robert raises his eyebrows but says nothing
[10:56] <Thaddaeus> "The... Intelligence field? You are with the government?"
15[10:57] <Karl> Karl frowns, but stays silent.
[10:58] <@Zeph> The man inclines his head in acknowledgment. "Correct, Mr. Warwok. I am Lieutenant Alfwin Bauer. I work for the army's intelligence branch."
[10:58] <Robert> "And what special qualities have brought us to your attention, Lieutenant?"
03[10:59] * Havoc (~blahblah@c-76-21-70-41.hsd1.ca.comcast.net) has joined #darkness
[10:59] <@Zeph> Another man, seated next to a mousy looking woman across the table from you, speaks up. "That
03[11:00] * Merc (~k@c-98-196-68-69.hsd1.tx.comcast.net) has joined #darkness
[11:00] <@Zeph> "That's what I'd like to know! No decent sort of people meet in the middle of the night, hidden from plain sight!" He grumbles.
[11:02] <@Zeph> "You were not forced to attend, Mr. Lichenstein. Nor was your wife." Bauer says pleasantly. "I made the invitation because of the...special qualities that you all possess in some way or another. Qualities that would serve me well."
[11:04] <Robert> "I serve only the Lord."
[11:05] <Robert> "If it is his will that I aid you in your quest, then I am his hands"
15[11:05] <Karl> Karl frowns disapprovingly. "Surely you are aware that I, as a citizen of Switzerland, will not be recruited into a German intelligence agency."
[11:06] <@Zeph> "And as for your question, Father Lamb...I'm quite sure that you all know of what I speak. The world is changing." He eyes Robert coolly. "Soon, the bonds with the old ways will be quite...dissolved." He looks at Karl, saying only. "This is not precisely a military matter, Mr. Gustav. Nationality has no bearing on why you're here tonight."
06[11:08] * @Zeph steeples his hands in front of his face. "Come now, there's no need to be shy. We're all brethren here. Think back to the strange things that have happened in your life. Things that you could not, or will not, explain."
[11:08] <@Zeph> OOC: Note change Zeph to Bauer
[11:08] <Thaddaeus> "Come now, Herr Bauer. I think I speak for all in attendance when I say that we would appreciate if the point would arrive sooner, rather than later." Thaddaeus smiles uneasly, "It is not every day that the Republic delves into secret meetings in the dead of the night."
[11:09] <Robert> "I would ask that you speak plainly, Lieutenent." Robert says, echoing Thaddaeus' sentiments.
15[11:09] <Karl> Karl narrows his eyes and folds his arms in a manner that radiates disapproval.
06[11:11] * @Zeph sighs. "What if I told you, Mr. Warwok...that I could help you find your brother? Or you, Father Lamb? What if I said that I know why dead and dim lights speak to you? Or even you, Mr. Gustav. I could perhaps even help you understand the desire within you to help, to aid, to roam."
[11:12] <Thaddaeus> Thaddaeus' eyes widen. "How... How do you know about that?"
06[11:14] * Robert glances about the rest of the room.
15[11:14] <Karl> "I will thank you to not talk of matters that are solely the concern of the Gustav family, and no other, before all and sundry."
[11:14] <@Zeph> Lichenstein cowers in his seat and the woman beside him is whitefaced. Bauer turns his gaze on them. "I know many things, Mr. Warwok. I deal in information. And Information...is power."
[11:14] <Robert> "I do not know what you are talking about."
[11:16] <@Zeph> Bauer grins. "Oh come now, Father. Deny it if you must, but you and I know the truth." He lays a sly finger on the side of his nose. "And my deepest apologies, Mr. Gustav. I deal in secrets and information. It is terribly difficult to keep them all in my head where they belong. Ofttimes, they escape me without my notice."
15[11:17] <Karl> "If that is how it is, speak your demands and be done."
[11:20] <@Zeph> "I will say only this. These things that have troubled you and haunted you all of your life...I can help you understand them and aid you in achieving your dreams. All I ask is that you aid me in return." Bauer is awfully fond of smiling, it seems. "As I said, we are all brethren, in ways that would be difficult for me to explain." (more)
[11:21] <@Zeph> "Suffice it to say, we are the tide that will sweep away the old things." He pauses. "If you are not interested in hearing what I have to say, you may leave. For once you do...there is no going back." After a moment, the woman rises, dragging her husband to his feet.
06[11:22] * Karl folds his arms in his seat, stony-faced.
[11:22] <@Zeph> "We'll have no part in this nonsense!" She declares haughtily, and begins walking to the door, her husband on her heels. Bauer makes eye contact with the man who led you in and he quietly slips out of the room behind them.
[11:23] <@Zeph> "Will you go, my friends? Or stay?"
15[11:24] <Karl> "You've made your position quite clear. Be done with this farce and tell me what it is you want."
[11:24] <Robert> "The messages you speak of are simply manifestations of the Divine in the mundane. They are evidence of His will. But, I will hear you out."
[11:24] <Thaddaeus> "If, as you say, you can help me reach Klaus... I will stay. Any little chance of finding him, I will pursue."
[11:28] <@Zeph> Bauer nods. "Very well. To business."  Bauer seems to twitch the fingers of his right hand...and the lights flicker for a few moments, throwing your sight into disarray. When they settle, another folded envelope sits in front of you, though the names are not your own. (more)
[11:29] <@Zeph> "I'm sure that each of you have felt to some degree, that the balance of power is shifting back and forth in Germany, even in the very streets of Berlin itself."
[11:30] <@Zeph> "I speak of politics, of course. Are any of you remotely familiar of what I speak?"
06[11:31] * Karl inclines his head a fraction of an inch.
[11:32] <Robert> "Dominus Daeus" Robert mutters glancing heavenward.
[11:32] <Thaddaeus> "Do you speak of Hitler? Of his intention to usurp Hindenburg?"
06[11:35] * @Zeph raises an eyebrow at Thaddeus. "Ah, so you are a fellow Nazi Party member? I would not know such a thing, since I am not high in the party. But I hope by this time next year, we will be felt in the Parliament. But my task does come from Hitler himself. An old noble, resistant to change and even more so to Herr Hitler's politics, has something in his--
[11:35] <@Zeph> "possession that he wants." Bauer pauses, gauging their reaction.
15[11:36] <Karl> "I am no thief, if that is what you suggest."
06[11:37] * Thaddaeus hesitates, contemplating his next words. "I would not say I am a Party member... I see eye to eye with Herr Hitler on some issues; On some others, I feel quite the opposite."
[11:39] <@Zeph> "I can respect that, Mr. Warwok." Bauer turns his eye to Gustav. "I am certainly not asking you to be a thief, Mr. Gustav. Why would you assume such a thing?"
15[11:40] <Karl> "Because you have still not gotten to the point of your own accord and thus have forced me to go questing for it myself. Would you kindly just lay out whatever it is you want from me?
[11:43] <@Zeph> "Very well, if bluntness is what you desire; Herr Hitler desires an object in possession of a political opponent of his. This noble, who I mentioned, is holding a gala two nights from now on his estates on the outskirts of Berlin, a fundraiser. He is auctioning off items that are of great interest to the Nazi party."
[11:43] <Robert> "And you want us to purchase these items?"
06[11:45] * @Zeph nods. "Yes, quite simply. We cannot use known party members or those with ties to the Nazi party. The old man keeps far too close an eye on us for that."
[11:46] <@Zeph> "You, and the couple who left, were handpicked using the resources of my intelligence unit. Your abilities and your lack of ties to the party will make this scheme successful. And if you are, I will fulfill my promise in aiding you as I said i would."
[11:47] <@Zeph> The door behind you opens, and the man who guided you earlier slips back in, pocketing something quietly before he takes up a station next to the door once more.
15[11:50] <Karl> "What is this item?"
[11:53] <@Zeph> "A statuette, Mr. Gustav. A fertility goddess that was very important to the people in this land around 2-300 B.C."
[11:53] <@Zeph> "It's part of our...cultural heritage, you might say."
[11:54] <Robert> "How much are we permitted to bargin for?"
[11:55] <@Zeph> "For as much as it takes you to obtain the item." Bauer responds calmly.
[11:55] <Robert> "Surely the party will not provide us with unlimited funds. These are hard times."
[11:55] <Thaddaeus> "I do not understand." Thaddaeus furrows his brows, "If we are sent to bid for an item in a legitimate auction, why were we, who you claim have special powers, chosen for this?"
[11:57] <@Zeph> "Mr. Gustav insisted that I come to point before I could explain fully." Bauer frowns briefly. "I do have a tendency to...dance around the truth. It is a habit of mine. But I'll come straight to the point."
[11:59] <@Zeph> "The world is changing, as I mentioned. Technology has been the instrument of this change. In the olden days, there was a force that man drew upon, a primal thing born of the earth and the elements. We took this power and used it to suit our needs."
[12:01] <@Zeph> "But now...with aeroplanes, electricity, automobiles, and telephones, there is no longer any need to rely on the force that sustained us; on the magick that enabled us to survive. As man evolves and adapts, so does magick. The last hundred years or so, it has changed and changed rapidly."
[12:02] <@Zeph> "New schools of magick, new adepts, and even whispers of something even stronger have become more prominent. It has come to the point where lines have been drawn: the Old Crowd and the Newcomers."
[12:03] <Robert> "This is the way of things. One paradigm rises and then falls. It is risky to meddle in affairs such as these."
[12:04] <@Zeph> "Some may say that is so, Father. Herr Hitler believes otherwise, as do all the Newcomers that follow him."
[12:05] <Robert> "What properties does this statue possess, if any?"
[12:06] <@Zeph> "That is something that you do not need to know." Bauer answers, his voice sharp. "Suffice to say that it will aid the Nazi party in our cause."
[12:10] <@Zeph> "We will sweep away the old ways." Bauer finishes quietly. "But to do it, we need your help. Herr Hitler will reward you handsomely for doing so."
[12:10] <Thaddaeus> "Herr Bauer, it is late and I have a job to do in not five hours. A duty to defend the very streets Herr Hitler wishes to lead." Thaddaeus proclaims, with more than a little hint of irritation in his voice. "I ask you, tell us what we need to know, and be done with these dramatics."
[12:13] <@Zeph> "In those envelopes are invitations to the gala, as well as fake identification. The very finest that my office can produce." Bauer gestures at the table in front of you. "Get in, obtain the statuette, get out, and meet me here immediately afterwards. And then, we are done."
06[12:14] * Robert takes the envelope off the table and stands.
[12:15] <Robert> "Gentlemen." Robert nods "I'll be on my way then.
[12:15] <Robert> "
15[12:15] <Karl> "We had better be." Karl takes the envelope and walks out of the room.
06[12:15] * Robert follows Karl out
[12:16] <Thaddaeus> "Lt... I do not know what my companions think, but I certainly find this conversation awkward. I shall accept for now, but I have a duty to perform for the Republic and for Justice. Remember this." Thaddaeus picks up the envelope, and leaves the room."
[12:17] <@Zeph> The somber man in the military dress leads you back to the front door of the building, without saying a word. As you file down the steps, he says, "You did well to withstand Bauer's rambling. The man is too fond of his own voice at times. But also be glad that you did not refuse. The Lichensteins assuredly regret not doing so."
[12:17] <@Zeph> With that, the door closes, and the streets are silent and dark once more.
06[12:18] * Karl snorts. "Scum."
06[12:19] * Thaddaeus sits down on the stairs, closing his eyes. "That was certainly... different. Do you also think that this whole business is quite unsavory?"
[12:19] <Robert> "Unsavory is putting it lightly. But I don't think we have much choice."
15[12:20] <Karl> "Of course it is. You saw them. His first resort was to tempt, his second to blackmail. They are scum."
[12:21] <Robert> "Information on this topic is hard to come by, and what you do find is worthless most of the time."
06[12:21] * Robert rubs his eyes
15[12:24] <Karl> "Bah. It's the journey that matters, not the destination. Knowledge in this field is worthless if you did not come to the realisations yourself."
[12:25] <Robert> "Of course. That is not what I was implying. Merely that we are without much guidence."
06[12:27] * Karl eyes Thaddeus. "This is your city, officer. Who would know about such a statuette?"
[12:29] <Thaddaeus> "Normally, I would differ to my department contacts in such matters; There is always a man with knowledge. But in this instance... This statuette sounds unnatural. Men of my line of work don't do unnatural. Father, perhaps someone in the Church would know something?" Thaddaeus glances in Robert's direction, a hopeful expression on his face.
[12:30] <Robert> "I am new to the Church. I just graduated seminary recently. I will make descrete inquiries however."
15[12:32] <Karl> "Seems there is little chance to learn more about this statuette but to attend the party."
[12:32] <Robert> "Shall we meet before hand?"
[12:32] <Thaddaeus> "Gentlemen, I propose we meet two hours before we are to go to the auction. I know a place not far off, Cafe Fritz."
15[12:33] <Karl> "And put all our eggs in one basket? If any of us are discovered to be working for the Nazi Party, we would be ejected."
[12:34] <Robert> "The only way that we'll be discovered is if you keep talking about it in the middle of the street."
15[12:35] <Karl> "Are either of you familiar with upper-class galas?"
[12:36] <Thaddaeus> "I don't get invited to many of them, as a Police Detective."
[12:37] <Robert> "And I'm a priest."
15[12:38] <Karl> "That's my point. If either of you make a social blunder, it will damage our cause considerably if we're travelling as one group."
06[12:39] * Robert opens his envelope and takes a look at the background provided. Pausing for a moment, he slides the information back into the envelope.
[12:39] <Thaddaeus> "Herr Gustav, I think we can discuss strategem prior to the party. Now I believe we could all use a nights sleep, to process the information we currently have. Cafe Fritz, two hours prior?"
[12:39] <Robert> "Shouldn't be a problem. If you'll excuse me, I must return to the rectory. I will have to take the morning mass in order to make up for the missed duties that will be required so I can attend the gala"
06[12:39] * Karl nods. "Gute nacht, gentlemen."
[12:40] <Robert> "Cafe Fritz, Thaddaeus. 'Till then."
06[12:40] * Robert nods to the others and heads back to the Church.
06[12:40] * Thaddaeus heads towards the station. "Another sleepless night... Looks to be one of many."
[12:40] <@Zeph> ------