[Ben saw something in the woods that he had to investigate. He drew out and gave to Kathy a copy he'd made of a map he'd seen on Dustin's desk after the shield went down.] [Kathy subsequently wandered down the stream a bit more and ran into an Ari who is looking slightly dazed and sitting by a pile of rocks right near the stream.] [Start!] (Does Ari have a light source by her?) (Sure, she's got a flashlight.) (Was wondering if she was another of them see in the dark types. ;P) (Last I checked, no, although she's good at seeing by the light of computer screens. ;p) [Crickets rub their legs together and make a chirping type sound.] * Katherine comes walking out of the woods. Her arms are folded, and she's smiling faintly as she steps into the edge of Ari's circle of flashlight. "Good evening." * Ari slowly lifts her head and looks in Katherine's direction. "Ah? Good evening." * Katherine raises an eyebrow. "Are you all right?" Not quite. In an attempt to activate a glyph Red and I came across, I suffered a good deal of magical backlash. It completely disabled me, though I have mostly recovered. * Katherine blinks. "A glyph? Where were you?" * Ari lifts one hand and points to the rocks. "It's right there." Katherine can now see that she has one of the magical tomes from earlier in her lap, and she's using her other hand to keep a tight grip on it. We have found how whoever is performing the robberies is leaving the school. * Katherine glances at the tome, trying to get the title, then steps closer to the rocks to get a look at this glyph. How? Activating the spell weakens the barrier surrounding the school such that someone could cross it without setting off the alarm. The uses of the spell correspond exactly to the dates of the robberies. [The glyph is three intricately inlayed circles drawn on a rock in the stream. Looks like they took a good bit of work and a skilled hand.] [Meanwhile, Ari's data tablet vibrates slightly, informing her that she has a message.] * Ari hmms softly and gets out her data tablet. * Katherine kneels and peers. "So, where's Red?" She left while I was still suffering from the backlash. I believe she went towards the school, but I'm afraid I was not in much of a condition to observe anything beyond that. Let's hope she doesn't get caught, then. Yes. [Conveniently, Ari's datapad has a message from Mai saying that Red had reported in and that she'll brief you two on what Red found as soon as you get back to the safe house.] Ah, and here is the answer. She has reported back to Mai, who will relay what she has discovered when we report back. * Katherine reaches out and touches the glyph thoughtfully, tracing it with a finger. She hmms, and then a slow smile grows. "I see. Well. This looks suspiciously like Ms. Richmond's handiwork." It is highly possible. So what have you and Ben discovered? For that matter, where is he? Ben went to check something in the woods. He said it looked suspicious, and I should go on ahead and take a look at these rocks we've heard so much about on our tour. Heard so much about? * Katherine stands again, rubbing at one shoulder. "One of the students, Dustin Amherst, said Maris likes to spend time by them." She looks over by Ari and smirks. "That's a reason he gave for her to spend so much time in the woods. Outside, I imagine, of studying, making out with him, and assisting in theft." * Ari snerks. "I see." * Katherine waves vaguely. "Also, we discovered that the 'full tour' of dorm life includes sending women into the men's washroom." I beg your pardon? Well, it does. I almost got to see a boy use the urinal, he was in such a rush. It wasn't my idea. * Katherine reaches into one pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. She hands it to Ari. "Dustin and Maris are very close, apparently. Close enough to have a locket which prevents lying when they both hold it." * Ari takes the paper. "That shows a certain amount of distrust in their relationship." She unfolds the paper and reads it. [The paper contains the rough outline of a map with a few landmarks and street names. It has the prep school, another location, and a broom flight plan coming from London to that location and then to the school.] I'd disagree. That's Ben's rendition of a map he saw on Dustin's desk. I would say this is very telling. * Ari folds the paper back up and hands it to Katherine. [The paper incidentally also notes that the map had "Remember to use the portal spell" written on it.] * Katherine takes the paper between two fingers. "Rica Oackley claimed it's an assignment. According to Ben, she's covering up for him. I agree." When I spoke with Crystal, she said Rica used to be a good connection in accessing illegal goods. Well. * Katherine looks at the map herself. "Before teaching, of course." This also corroborates with what Red was speculating earlier. Really? What did she say? She considered Maris' lack of magical powers outside of the school, took into account her resourcefulness, and postulated that Maris is seeking a way to retain her powers upon leaving the school. * Katherine blinks, then says with a vague tone of amusement, "Isn't that the theory we came up with over the dinner nobody ate?" * Ari looks slightly chagrined. "The backlash seems to have affected my memory more than I initially realized." * Katherine nods, then frowns a little. "How long did it affect you?" * Ari considers. "The brunt of it lasted for approximately ten minutes, though the effects have diminished since then." What did it do? I believe the effects were equivalent to consuming a very large quantity of alcohol. At once. * Katherine snickers. So you were drunk. * Ari looks highly embarrassed. "In essence." * Katherine grins. "I'm sorry I missed that." She taps at the paper. "Portal spell. Does it ring any bells? I didn't see anything like this cast in the school." I believe Red mentioned something about it, or perhaps when I was reviewing what she had encountered... at any rate, Mallory cast a spell to take her into a painting, or a pocket dimension that seemed very like the painting. Huh. Interesting. I wonder if all students know that spell and if there are more applications than just... sitting around in paintings. Well, if nothing else, it is a good emergency hiding place, provided no one else examines the painting very carefully. * Katherine nods. "That's true. But why would someone want to use a painting portal spell before or after flying to London?" She blinks. "Though I suppose they could potentially keep stolen goods in a painting. I wonder if that's within the spell's abilities." If the pocket dimension can temporarily contain people, then I do not see why it would not be able to retain material objects. We should research this. * Katherine mmms. She grabs her cell and dials Mai. Hello Kitty. * Katherine says, dryly, "You were just waiting to use that." I wouldn't want to blow your cover, but I see that's not a problem. Yes? We need an analysis on a glyph designed to weaken the school's security field. It's on a pile of rocks by the stream in the woods in the south eastern section of campus. I think it's Maris Richmond's work, but I imagine SAB would like to be certain. I'll arrange for a field forensics team to secure the site and evidence as well as leaving a passable duplicate. Good. Also, can you look up a spell for me? Porta. I'd like to know its capabilities and power level. I need a little more than that. Common word for spells. [There's a sound of book pages fluttering even so.] Mallory Corwin cast it to take himself and Red into either a picture or a dimension much like it. They could speak and interact while there. Ah, teleportation... opening locks.. pocket dimension. Alright. People and objects can be brought in. Objects present in the picture appear real while in the picture but can not be removed. The portal remains open as long as a person or object from the outside world remains inside. The caster of the spell has considerable power while in the portal.] It's rather sophisticated and would need a specially enchanted painting to avoid risk of collapse if it was kept open for more than a few hours. However, with a proper painting, it could be kept open indefinitely. Paintings in close proximity can sometimes be linked, see Looney Tunes movie. What does this portal look like? Ordinary painting. Any enchanted one would be noticeable under a detect magic spell or the like, but otherwise it would look normal. So one just steps in, then? How close do these paintings have to be in order for them to be linked? Within ten meters. And yes, one just steps in. You wouldn't be able to tell until you broke the surface. * Katherine paces a bit. "You said the spell requires a level of sophistication. About how sophisticated are we talking about here?" * Ari waits patiently, as she can only hear Katherine's side of the conversation. Talented student, at least five years of training. Extraordinary training or talent might make exceptions of course. Do me a favor and look up Dustin Amherst and Isaac Maddox. Do they have training previous to coming to the School of Magic? [Pages flip and a bit of time passes.] "Dustin would have had sufficient cumulative training. Isaac had some, but not at the level needed. I see. How common is the spell? Would it be something likely taught to everyone in the school? Fairly uncommon. It wouldn't be taught as part of ordinary coursework. It's a little specialized for most fully trained mages to know without a good reason. Oh, and the team's on the way. So if you want to bring yourselves in to the safe house, the site will be secured shortly. Thank you. Oh, and leave a message for Ben, will you? He's investigating something else. * Mai hits a few keys on a pad generating small beeps. "Done." We'll see you there, then. * Katherine removes the phone and hangs up! Oh no! * Ari looks up at Katherine. "What is the plan?" * Katherine starts walking. "We're going to touch home. We were right; Porta can be used to hold stolen goods." * Ari stands up and follows her, still holding the book. "Good. Let us see what else has been discovered." [You both arrive at the safehouse after taking reasonable paranoia measures. Mai waits there as well as several datapads and pots of tea and coffee.] Welcome back. Want to hear about what Red found or start on something else? (Are there cookies or scones or whatever with the coffee? Kathy hasn't eaten since lunch.) (Sure) (Woot!) (Not cookies. Fruit and cake!) (Mmm. Fruit 'n' cake.) * Katherine heads in and has a seat with a sigh. She wastes no time in grabbing an apple. "Let's hear what she got." * Ari pulls out a chair and sits. She nods in agreement with Katherine. Cutting to the chase, she found a storehouse of items behind a secret door in the keep. None of them were the items we are looking for... * Mai checks a list. "A bronze lamp, capable of containing a powerful extra- planar. A small gilded chair with elaborate metalwork that I believe to be a throne of the goblin mountain king...." * Katherine rubs at the apple. * Mai keeps reading. "A bell apparently made of gossamer material. Apparently has ties to the fair folk, but full present use unknown. One heart three times human size, kept in stasis in an aquarium, previously belonging to a dragon." I'm sure the dragon appreciates it. Was there anything else back there? An electronic security system. Also the artifacts were kept in separate secure containers but linked by tubes to a focal point beneath the floor. Where in the keep was this? * Katherine takes a bite out of her apple. (And then I fall into a deep sleep only to be awakened by my true love.) (* Haruko kicks Katherine. "Don't wait for true love. It's dumb.") ( Yeah, well, you should learn how not to comma splice!) ( Ladies, please. Let us take this to the OOC channel.) ( Least I'm not in a coma. Wait, I'm alive and living with Kaede. ::Haruko grabs for the apple.::) * Ari looks pleased. "Aha." Red thought her intrusion may have been noticed, but that it wouldn't be directly traced to her. And on top of the dining hall, Red checked the source that you detected, Ari. * Mai smiles. "Hurst apparently was aware of the hiding place as he investigated when she initially triggered the pressure plate hiding the room. And apparently he likes singing 'Brick in the Wall' while he works. Red greatly emphasized that point. That's the whole of the short version." * Katherine chews and swallows. "If Hurst is aware, then chances are the entire staff is aware. I can't imagine why they wouldn't be. It could be the battery." She has another bite. That is what I was thinking. * Mai checks a few of the books that you were reading earlier. "It would potentially generate a great number of Mys." * Katherine nods. "I'm thinking it's our battery. How is it distributed through the school? Could Red tell?" * Mai looks through her datapad and compares it to a book. "She couldn't tell, but what she saw would be consistent with the system of magic transmitted by a wireless network that Ari described earlier." With the students as a secondary power source as well. As Ben suspected. * Katherine bites into her apple again. With her free hand, she pulls the copied version of the map from her pocket and unfolds it, holding it down on the table. Katherine takes a moment to chew and swallow before she says, "We only have a copy, but I'm wondering where this mystery location is." * Mai looks at the map with interest. * Katherine lets her look. She grabs the datapad near her and starts messing with it. While chewing on apple, mind. * Ari looks at it as well. [Katie finds that the point corresponds with a ritzy neighborhood of spread out mansions. Slightly more classical than nouveau rich, but it is a fine line between the two at times.] * Katherine eyes, then flips the pad so the other women can look. "Does this seem right?" * Ari examines it, then nods. "It looks correct to me." Oh, I should mention. We've gotten expanded searching authority based on what you've already found. If you want to pull up private, family, or financial records of any suspects, we can arrange that. Similarly, you can search computer accounts with legal authority. * Katherine smirks. "Good to hear. Let's use it and see if anyone's tied to that area. Students or faculty." * Ari nods, because Katherine is just a bit faster. You'll still need to provide a reasonable basis of suspicion, but even crimes like tax evasion can be used. And I can find that without needing a warrant. * Ari looks at Katherine. "I would say that we have a reasonable basis, wouldn't you?" * Katherine nods towards Ari. "Fairly reasonable, yes." * Mai gets to work, checking a datapad and a few books of records simultaneously. About thirty seconds later, she smiles. "Got it. Anyone want to guess?" * Katherine smiles faintly at that and has another bite of her apple, letting Ari go first. The Amherst household? * Mai shakes her head. "They do have a country house, but not in this area." Also, it might be too easily traced back. Hmm. * Ari looks over at Katherine. "Your turn." * Katherine swallows. "How about Richmond?" * Mai shakes her head. "No, they actually don't have a country house. This particular mansion ::She pulls up a picture of a rather classy and slightly foreboding looking mansion.:: belongs to Alvar Ethelbert." * Ari arches an eyebrow. "Really, now." * Katherine rolls her eyes. "Next thing you know, the entire school is in on this little stunt." I am beginning to wonder who *doesn't* know about it. Quite. Not a bad commute. But then I'm not one to complain. So, what's next? Does he live there at the moment? He does. We can get a search warrant, but even a successful sneak and peak runs risks of detection. * Ari looks at Katherine. "I believe it is worth the risk. Do you agree?" * Katherine chuckles. "So long as we warn them not to be swallowed by any paintings." * Katherine turns her apple and bites another section. * Ari smirks. "I think they will accept that as a fair warning." I don't mean to say it's not worth the risk, but once we do that search, we may lose the element of surprise. You may wish to finish up less obvious aspects of the investigation first, but if you prefer, we can commence with the search immediately. No, hold off on it for a bit. * Mai hits a few buttons and takes a quick picture of the map with the datapad. * Mai nods. "It'll be ready when you want it." What remains to be done? Check Ms. Oakley's financial records. Is there anything out of the ordinary? Will do. First, what's the circumstantial evidence you're using to justify the search? ::Mai grabs a flexible datapad and expands it so that you can all see the results once she pulls them up.:: Well, first of all, we believe she is involved since she has been covering up for Dustin and aiding him in flying. Secondly, she is a former monster hunter and did used to traffic in illegal magical goods. * Mai nods and records both points. That'll do it. You'll need a bit more if you want to have legal authority to break into her computer account, but maybe you'll find that in the search. * Katherine nods, still eating her apple. It's almost gone. * Mai goes to work and brings up Oakley's accounts. There's a fair number of common place transactions. She's well paid (nigh a million a year) and lives it up. Oddly, she has received large transmissions of cash from a few Asian banks and has made small regular payments back to them subsequently. The cash appears to have been largely spent on a variety of charities and foundations... [The foundations include: Widows and widowers of dragon hunters, Heroes Unlimited, Slayers Trade Union, the Adventure's Technical Institute...] [And the like.] [The accounts are displayed on a large data pad with a fairly big font in front of you.] * Katherine eyes as she nibbles on the core. "Why the money from Asian banks? Can we follow that?" [The money moved in those transaction has all been in the past few months. And in the tens of millions of dollars.] (Remind me: When were the thefts?) (I posted it in the briefing today. :P The transactions start a few weeks before the thefts.) (How frequent are they?) (Three big transfers to her. After that, monthly payments back of about 1% of the total transfers.) That will take a bit more authority. Can you think of any specific justifications? * Katherine sets her core on a plate and goes about pouring some tea. Those appear to be very sizeable loans. Her records do not show anything that would justify that amount of money, either. No collateral or revenue... * Katherine nods. "Three thefts and three major transactions." That'll do it. Alright, we have authority. Ari, would you mind hacking this one? * Ari holds out her hand for the datapad. "Not at all." * Mai brings up a console. * Katherine sips her tea. She's not hacking. * Ari gets to work, hacking away. There's a slight smirk on her face as she does so, and if Katherine's paying any sort of attention, she may notice that Ari's eyes briefly flicker to yellow, then back. In no time at all, she taps one finger against the table. "I have it." * Katherine doesn't pay attention to anything, and if you believe *that*, her player has a bridge to sell you. [Ari brings up records from all three banks. Apparently all three loans were made against secretly held ownership shares in a limited liability corporation. The name of the corporation is the (Language being Japanese)] Well. [It seems that the loans were made due to progress in establishing a new and potentially highly profitable franchise location in Japan.] I see they have been busy. [Site acquisition is apparently underway now, but is being held up by the government permit process.] * Katherine looks over to see what Ari's got. "It seems so." [For clarification, the loans were to Rica. The collateral she used was her partial ownership of the franchise. She blew the money on adventurer charities, oddly enough.] [Even odder given that they revoked her license after a questionable Ogre slaying.] Can you tell if the money Oakley's given away actually went to these charities? (She's paying it back with her salary for now. However, she'll need substantial inflow from the franchise to be able to keep it up) * Ari looks over at Mai. "I can, but would I be overstepping my bounds?" Go ahead. Good. Else I was about to politely request that you visit the restroom for a few moments. * Ari gets back to work. * Katherine snickers. * Mai chuckles at that. Well, they are all going to the charities. However, some of those charities are a bit suspicious, at least by government standards. It seems that most of the money tends to end up lining the pockets of certain executives. * Katherine nods. "Is there any connection between these executives and, I don't know, Ethelbert, Oakley, or our three favorite students?" * Mai stands by and looks curious. Well. It seems that Ms. Oakley once was briefly accused of assault for threatening one of them. * Katherine blinks. "How did she do that, or doesn't it say?" He was on the committee that recalled her adventurer status. She was quite upset. She later apologized, and the charges were dropped. * Katherine shakes her head. "Well, she may very well just be donating to charity and not realize where it's going. Is there anything else?" I don't see any past records of major donations. I'm dubious about the idea that she just acquired a highly ineffective charitable streak. * Ari types a bit more. "Hmm. Several of the other executives were on the same committee." Is she that desperate to be reinstated? * Katherine has another sip of tea. Maybe she doesn't want to spend the rest of her life teaching wizardlings. * Ari checks one more thing. "The remaining ones are on the current committee." She may be. Can you find out if there's a reinstatement in the works? Her status is currently under review. Well, this may be enough for authority for hacking into her account legally. Unless you'd prefer to investigate someone else first. One question first. Is there any way we can tell who else is involved in this ? * Mai blinks. "Good idea. What's your circumstantial case against them? The records are apparently well hidden, but we should be able to track down the country they're registered in and get those records." Namely, aside from the timing, how might the thefts be tied to the ::Mai's accent, incidentally, is good but shows a slight trace of distaste.:: * Katherine sets her cup down and grabs another apple. She starts to rub at it. "There were three transactions to Rica, only a few weeks before the trio of thefts. Perhaps the items stolen can be used as a battery for another set of wands." * Mai nods. "You're forgetting about the theft from Frei, but that loan might not have gone through yet. That battery connection should more than do it." * Mai works some and calls on SAB accounting resources. * Katherine smirks faintly and eyes her apple before munching. [You find the records. Alvar Ethelbert owns the majority, Rica Oakley 25%. Alvar apparently has sold some shares and made some loans for fundraising, but only to Asian venture capital firms with no apparent ties to any of the students or faculty.] [It does note that Alvar is responsible for having the magic system operational before most of the money kicks in.] [Alvar also has taken some rather clever steps to hide his ties. All the connections are to Swiss or Caribbean accounts and the like.] [End of data.] * Ben Carmichael enters the room, surveying it. He's dressed as when he was last seen, still in the Benji Ward outfit. 'Sorry I took so long.' * Ari looks up. "Good evening." Evening. * Katherine glances over at Ben. "Did you find anything?" * Ben shrugs. 'Just a stray baby griffin. Guess they forgot to put it away for the night. It led me on a merry chase through the woods before I caught it.' You look remarkably well for someone who's been gryphon-wrangling. * Ben's clothes are somewhat muddy and so on. It would be consistent with tromping off the beaten path a bit, though he doesn't look terrible. Well, to make efficient use of our time, I suggest that one of you brief Mr. Carmichael and the other carry on researching for now. * Ari looks at Katherine. "You brief and I'll research?" * Katherine nods to Ari. "Just what I was thinking." She waves for Ben to have a seat with her free hand. * Ben sits down next to Katherine. So, what's next, Ari? * Katherine has another bite of apple, chews, and swallows. She turns to Ben. "Ari was at the rock pile. There was a glyph inscribed there; I recognized it as Maris' work. When activated, it can weaken the field around the school to the point where someone can leave campus undetected." * Ben picks up an apple and bits into it. 'That would be consistent with the theory that Maris is involved with the thefts.' * Katherine nods. To make things even better, the glyph was apparently used not long before each of the three thefts. * Ari interjects. "I neglected to mention it earlier, but it was used once before the thefts as well." * Ben nods. 'So, there's a strong chance the thief and the person using this glyph were connected.' 'If not one and the same.' * Katherine nods. "Also, that map you saw in Dustin's room that Rica covered for? The unknown location is in the neighborhood of one Alvar Ethelbert." 'Interesting.' We currently think the stolen items are being hidden in a painting. * Ben gives a small smile. 'Good thing you're through playing Kitty, then.' * Mai works on documenting the evidence collected so far. 'Do you have evidence, or is that just your thought as the best place to look?' * Katherine snickers. "But I *liked* that painting with the parrot and the unicycle." She opens the copy Ben made of the map with one hand, using a finger to point out the scribble he copied down. "Portal spell. Mallory used a portal spell to step into a painting with Red." 'Was it that one?' It could be. Dustin's skilled enough to use it off campus. (Dammit. Maybe Mallory IS in on it. Maybe they all are. Every frickin' teacher and student. And the groundskeeper. And the paintings. And the more intelligent desks.) (And the inkwell! I knew it was involved!) ( I was framed!) (Tell it to the judge.) 'Anything else turn up of interest?' If you don't have any specific ideas, Ari, we could get authority to go after Rica's account. Or you could call up Hurst and see if he knows anything useful. * Katherine bites her apple, chews, and swallows. "Rica's received three very large transactions from a ." That bit was in Japanese. "About in the tens of millions of pounds. It's a franchise that's looking to open in Japan and teach students magic there." There are two people involved in this school thus far. Alvar Ethelbert, who owns about seventy-five percent, and Rica Oakley, who has the last quarter. 'A ?' Ben says in very very bad Japanese. * Katherine smiles faintly. "Close enough. Preparatory Academy of Magic." If we go after her account now, will it arouse suspicion that will interfere with any other investigations? It's unlikely, Ari, unless you make a rather uncharacteristic mistake while searching. Then unless Katherine or Ben has any objection, I shall do that. Go ahead, Ari. 'I have no objection.' * Ari nods and gets to work. Alright, first could you summarize your current thinking on Rica's role and the evidence against her, for the record? (Is that addressed to me?) (Yes.) (But Katherine can help.) (Ben should sit still and be quiet.) Red got a good look at our wand battery. It does take magical items. A large number of them. And, it seems, Ethelbert's responsibility is to have the system up and running before the new school opens. (Too bad. I'm briefing!) Also, Hurst likes Pink Floyd. (This is an important fact!) (It is.) (One song in particular. Anyways) (Yeah, whatever, Greg. He's just a Floyd fanatic, and you know it.) (The joke was the song in particular. :P) (Bah.) (Did I suspect on record that magical items could power wands? I *know* I thought it.) (Yes. It was brought up in a past session. Someone thought it up.) (I need to go find out if Ben can be smug about this.) (Found it!) (Ha!) (Yay, smug!) * Ben nods. 'I thought the stolen artifacts might be used to power wands when the students alone couldn't.' 'Though this new school makes clearer why that would suddenly be necessary.' * Katherine nods. "It would. And that about brings you up to speed." She turns the apple to a fresh spot and bites into it. All right. Rica is trying very hard to get her adventurer status reinstated. While she will have ownership in the new franchise, she may not necessarily want to be teaching. * Mai nods. "Alright, that in combination with the franchise information summarizes things well." She takes a moment to summon the cybermancy book again and carefully hands it over to Ari. "Enjoy." * Ari takes the book. "I have it." [Ari opens the book and starts a spell when suddenly the book shakes and leaps out of her hand, landing on the table. Mai then glares at the book with a highly reproachful expression. "Cooperate or I will call your librarian and have you moved to the basement stacks. With the mildew." The book then rapidly settles.] (Aw. I wanted to wrangle that grimoire. I own its ass, remember?) (I am so not touching that thing. It's scary.) I must have said something horrible to it when I was under the influence earlier. * Ben picks up the book, and holds it out to Ari. * Ari reaches out and clutches it tightly. "I have it." * Ben gives her a look indicating he's heard that before, but lets it go. (Yeah, like a few seconds ago.) * Mai looks to Ari. "It should behave now." She then looks to Katherine. "When you're ready, you can keep up separate research while she hacks." * Ari opens the book to the proper page. "Whatever I said to you earlier, I apologize." Then she takes a deep breath and starts chanting the spell, her voice just a bit louder than it normally is. * Ben eyes Ari warily. * Katherine watches with some curiosity. * Ari continues chanting (not in binary, sadly). Her eyes flicker from green to yellow, then remain yellow, then start flickering between yellow and red. Her brow furrows a bit, and then finally her eyes turn green again and she smiles. Triumphantly, she finishes the chanting. * Ari exhales and holds the book out to Mai. "There. I'm sorry that took so long." (Ari's eyes are a traffic light!) (That's right; you probably haven't seen the full effect before.) * Mai takes it back and smiles. "Got it." * Ari lets go of the book and reaches out for the datapad. "Mind if I use this?" Not at all. ::The book is dismissed from her hands.:: * Katherine continues eating her apple. She drums her fingers on the table for a bit, then looks by Ben while Ari uses the datapad. "So, what did you do after you caught the griffin?" * Ari starts entering information into the datapad at an extremely fast rate. Her eyes flicker between green and yellow as she does so. Very soon, she's finished with that. "Done." [The datapad shows the contents of Rica's personal account. Her email account is rather sparse, containing only conventional communications. However, there are several other files. A blueprint management program, a text file called "justifications," and a spreadsheet called "power".] * Ben turns to Katherine. 'Well, seeing as how I was in the famous Make Out Woods, I thought I should take the opportunity to make out with someone. That took a few minutes,' he says deadpan. * Katherine raises an eyebrow. "You must have run into Red, then. I didn't think she was your type." 'Well, I make do with whoever's at hand. You know me and my uncontrollable fits of lust.' Ben takes a long drag on his cigarette. * Katherine snickers as she has a look at a datapad. "It sounds like you. Always have to jump at the first pretty thing you see." That reminds me. Yvonne was doing some checking up on you guys after finishing her mission. She may have gotten some information on you from Victor. ::She frowns slightly.:: He never was great at controlling animal appetites. 'Some information on us?' I'm sorry? Information on us? [Katherine sees the same things that have already been seen. I'll say multiple people can study the info and directory at once.] Checking up? Asking questions about you. Or maybe she was just bitter and looking for some gossip. So... what about it? And Oakley can't write. Nothing, just thought you'd want to know. * Ari smirks. "Should we be worried?" * Mai shrugs. "That's up to you." * Mai glances over the data on her own pad. 'This one's obvious,' Ben says, pointing at the Power file. * Katherine nods. "It is." * Mai walks over to look. "Oh?" * Ari nods. * Mai notes the document and gets her datapad. "Alright, what's your interpretation, for the record?" * Katherine shrugs. "School power values. Here and the potential's." Well, it's a comparison of the Mys produced by the current academy versus the potential Mys produced by the Japanese academy. 'How much the students are producing, how much the artifacts are producing, and what the difference in the sums of the two schools is.' I'm not sure how significant the power gap between the schools is. Perhaps it is needed to maintain a balance, or perhaps there is simply a certain amount of pride in being able to produce more power. Perhaps she's looking to acquire enough artifacts to make up for that gap. 'Or perhaps something requires them to synch up.' * Katherine nods. * Mai nods. "I'll have the lab try to compare the Mys counts to the known artifacts. We can move on to the other files for now." [End.]