[HydroRaven]

After the bumpy and uncomfortable ride, Rat gets his hood off his head, immediately asking Syra if everything was alright. After a quick look around, he nods at Boomer's comment. "You know it's bad when everyone's deserted the area" says the ork. He turns back to Syra and says "Better if you stay close."

When Quinten tells them their destination, Rat said to him "Naked like we are, I hope we're getting an escort."

Int 5 + Cha 2 (7d6.hits(5)=2) 2 hits on the judge intentions roll, no glitches.
Visual and audio perception, actively looking. (18d6.hits(5)=5, 18d6.hits(5)=4) 5 hits on the visual, 4 on the hearing, no glitches.

[Chrona]

Three Star cooperated easily with the instructions given, eager to just find out what the job is and get started. He secures and checks his seat belt and throws on his hood, keeping track of as much as he could aurally, though it would likely not help.
The area they arrive in was obviously the sort of place they needed for this amount of secrecy, he doubted there would be a wireless signal anywhere nearby and if best, running off such old equipment it wouldn't do much good. e followed the group a long the designated path and kept his senses open to what was going on.

Gun Trivia, Judge Intentions, then perception for when inside the truck and perception once outside (7d6.hits(5)=2, 8d6.hits(5)=3, 10d6.hits(5)=4, 10d6.hits(5)=1)
jic (30d6.hits(5)=13)

[Xzylvador]

Quinten shook his head. "Not where we are going. Don't worry, it's not far."

The more perceptive among you (4 hits) notice signs of battle less obvious than shot up car wrecks. Bloodsmears on walls and concrete and nearby, dozens of claw marks and imprints of dog paws -only much bigger- can be seen, though most of it has been washed away by the rain and faded over time.
From inside some of the buildings, or maybe it's a bit further away, yelps, barks and howls of dogs can be heard.
It's also obvious that, despite how much the major resents dealing with you or Quinten, he is now entirely focused on protecting his men. He likes the situation here or putting his men at risk even less than the one with you, but there's a desperate look in his eyes, he doesn't seem to have a choice.

[Xzylvador]

Just around the corner, the street looks far different from the ones at the crossroad. Every building still looks as deserted as before, but here it seems that despite the acid rain and the occasional ash, smoke or smog clouds, nature has begun to reclaim the area. Moss grows on every surface and grass and other small weeds have taken root anywhere they can.
There aren't any cars or other vehicles parked at the sides, instead they've been piled up onto a meters high wall a couple of hundred meters from here, barricading the street.
Quinten points to a several a residential building halfway the street, it doesn't look really any different from the others. "Almost there. Let's get off of these streets."

[HydroRaven]

Rat follows Quinten's lead, being mindful of his environment and keeping an eye on the elf girl. As he looks at his environment, questions start creeping in his head. "What the drek is going on here? And why is our Johnson holed up here?" Something was fishy and Rat didn't like it.

[Yogi]

Boomer Followed along with the others.  The state of the area was down right depressing.  It not only looked bad it felt bad.  It was gut a gut feeling but over the years he had come to trust those feelings.  He noticed the barricade of cars and looked at Quinten.  "A barricadse of cars?  Any reason in particular?"  He said as he hurried along as quietly as possible in the way Quinten had directed. 



11d6.hits(5)=2   Perception check visual   11 dice
11d6.hits(5)=4    Perception check hearing   11 dice
8d6.hits(5)=2    Infiltration for being quiet   8 dice

[Xzylvador]

Quinten sounds different before. Less cocky and confident of himself, perhaps. Almost humble. "It's not of my making, if that's what you're asking. I'm a guest here, just like yourselves."

When you arrive at the entrance of the building, before opening the doors Quinten turns to you. "Once inside, the rules will be different. I'll be there if you have any questions or just feel like chatting. But understand that my protection or influence means absolutely nothing in here. The... inhabitants of this place are your hosts but not your employers. Their exact connection with my client is unknown to me but from what little I do know, they normally have little -if any- contact with the outside world. They don't have any guests, certainly not the likes of us. The reason for them to allow this... I can only speculate. Just, please, behave yourselves and listen to our hosts. This should be quite a unique experience, do not spoil it."

[BestTeaMaker]

Syra had been silent during the entirety of the trip (no point in gabbing off in the dark like a madwoman), but she when she got out to take a look at her surroundings, the oppressive desolation had taken the words right out of her mouth.

Nearby, she heard Quinten...was he fumbling a bit? What could be here that even made that guy tremble?

She could feel her throat tighten as she coughed out a reply. "Yes, zombie apocalypses are quite the unique experience. Speaking of which...'they'?"

[Xzylvador]

"I doubt very much our hosts have had anything to do with in what's happened here, I assure you... They simply make good use of the privacy it provides. But you'll no doubt find out for yourselves soon enough."
The front door of the building has been reinforced with thick metal plates and Quinten has some trouble pushing it open but with a little help from Boomer and Rat, the door opens into a large open entrance hall. Even more than on the street, nature seems to be reclaiming what was taken from it long ago. Grass, weeds and moss have taken root in every hole and crack and near the windows even small saplings have started growing towards the light.
Walking slowly ahead, another double door blocks the way, its security glass has been completely overgrown by moss and is no longer transparent.
As you step through, Spooky notices you've also passed through a powerful mana barrier. Behind the doors and barrier, nature’s return is almost complete. Not only are there weeds and moss everywhere, but parts of the exterior wall have collapsed under the weight of large trees pushing against them and smaller trees, shrubs and bushes have taken root inside, growing towards the light falling through the openings. Tiled floors and marble stairs have been torn apart by thick roots rising up from the ground.

_{Not an actual picture from the building’s inside, but just to get the idea:}


You can feel fresh air flowing in as you Quinten guides you further towards an opening in the back side of the building. Your view of what’s outside is blocked by high hedges and leafy vines dropping down from the exterior walls.

[BestTeaMaker]

Three times in a single night. That was a record for Syra as she stood, slightly open mouthed in awe, of what appeared to be a forest inside a building. One moment she was in a ghost town, the next she was strolling through Bambi's forest. Her journalistic blood was boiling, excitement tingling in her fingers. As she meandered across roots, she took the time to concentrate on her surroundings, wondering if any hint of the Matrix existed in this naturalistic environment.

Matrix Perception: 7d6+2d6(Technomancer)+3d6(Actively Looking)=5 hits
JiC: 7 hits

[Yogi]

Boomer entered the new areas with the others.  Each area as each area became more overgrown with plant life he began to realize that what he thought was going on might just be the polar opposite of what he had been thinking.  "It's like someone took a forest and transported it here."  He said with some amount of surprise. 

He looked at the elf lady who had been the late comer to the group.  "I don't think we have to worry about your zombie apocalypse girly.  Looks more like Jurassic Park to me."  He said smiling as he recalled an old movie he saw as a kid.

"Quinten, this is unbelievable."  He said as he surveyed the lush surroundings. 


Perception check visual INT 4+ skill 4 + vision enhance 3 (11d6.hits(5)=6)
Perception check hearing INT 4+ skill 4 + aduitory enhance 3 (11d6.hits(5)=4)
JiC (30d6.hits(5)=15)   A great roll for a JiC that will probably not get used. 

[Chrona]

Three Star followed a long in silence. This was a lot of, seemingly, only loosely affiliated groups of people working together just to allow this meeting to happen. It left a bad taste in his mouth.
The flora in the building was somewhat impressive but only continued to make him dislike the situation.

perception (10d6.hits(5)=3)
jic (30d6.hits(5)=10)

[Xzylvador]

With some effort, you manage to squeeze your way through the thick bushes.
It takes a few seconds for your mind to properly process what your senses are capturing, so unexpected is the view you suddenly find yourself faced with.
Surrounded by old, burnt-out and abandoned apartment blocks on all sides you find what can only be described as...
Paradise.
There’s no other word that really fits, only the word doesn’t do it justice. Ask anyone to describe a natural paradise. Now ask anyone living in that paradise to describe paradise and maybe, just maybe, if that person had a good imagination this could be what they’d try to think of.
Hundreds of different kinds of trees and plants, flowers and herbs, in all sizes, scents and colors fill an area the size of a city park. Only small pieces of the walls of the buildings surrounding the grove can -barely- be seen beneath thick layers of climbing plants in different shades of green and yellow. Despite the lousy weather on the outside, here the climate appears warmer, comfortable, inviting you to bare your skin to the fresh air and enjoy the soft caress the gentle breeze. Various colorful birds chirp their songs on branches high up in the trees, butterflies flutter from flower to flower.
Small paths (although the word ‘path’ implies plants being trampled, bushes hacked away and trees being chopped. None of that seems to apply here, these seem to have grown naturally.) lead deeper into the grove and you can see, behind bushes and flower beds, several clearings, small ponds -some with steam rising up from their waters- and hammocks formed by intertwined vines and soft leaves.
A wave of calm, peace and tranquility falls over you as you attempt to take it all in and it seems as if a weight you never knew was there has been lifted off your shoulders.
Next to you, Quinten’s mouth falls open. ”I… I can’t believe I’d forgotten…”, he quietly says to himself before he chokes on his own words and stands there with his mouth agape and a tear rolling down his cheek.

I generally don’t like it when GM’s write things like ‘you feel amazed’ or ‘you’re left breathless’ or ‘you don’t understand how’ or force any other kind of emotional response on my characters, so I tried not to do it here but I really had to restrain myself. (And I may have failed by writing “A wave of calm, peace and tranquility falls over you...”, but that’s actually part of a magical effect, so I’m keeping it.).

That said, my vocabulary is simply lacking to describe the beauty of this place.
For such a place, so beautiful and pure to exist anywhere in the world… It's almost alien in the concrete, steel and plastic modern world you live in. A modern person probably couldn’t even imagine its existence unless maybe if they’d gone deep down in the Amazon jungles (but hey, isn’t there a war going on there?) and even then they’d have trouble conceiving it. Most people would probably be having trouble believing even while they stand there looking at it.
BUT, like I said, I’m not going to force that, just like to clarify that they’d probably need to be a rare kind of insane or be a robot not to be at least a bit overwhelmed or emotional.

The magical effect is pretty much like a Dryad’s Glamour, only it works for the entire grove. In addition to that, the scent and pheromones released by some plants as well as the magical powers of some awakened plants also cause a sense of relaxation, peace and bliss just by being here. Even without those magical effects, this place’d be dreamlike for anyone (and double to anyone living in the dystopian concrete, steel and plastic world of Shadowrun). With the magical effects…
But, again, do with it as you please.

There is also a feeling, a sense of power, it’s hard to place for most of you, but Spooky really feels (and if he wants, sees) it clearest.
You’re inside a Force 3 magical background count aspected to Wiccan and Druidic magic. Its effect on Spooky’s magic is that of a Force 2 background count, the earthly magic isn’t as ‘hostile’ as it is overwhelming. It simply is so abundantly present there’s little breathing room left for other types of magic. What magic or powers do you prefer to drop?

[Chrona]

Three Star placed his hand over his eyes and grimaced at the floor. He concentrated on the power he felt in the room, he wasn't awakened but if even he could feel it it just added to how unnatural the place felt. The unnatural pleasantness of the place turned his stomach, he couldn't deny its beauty but his his personal philosophy caused this urban oasis to cause his anger and resentment to pool in his gut. Right now, all of this was just a distraction, he needed to be focused and not shed tears like Quentin.

Straightening himself up, he spread his hands out wide, "Such beauty and tranquility, I am now intrigued on who it is being wasted on." Others may act in awe of this when they break their composure but when Three Star's composure is made to falter by the paradise in front of him, he meets it with bravado and hostility.

jic (30d6.hits(5)=14)

[Yogi]

Boomer has seen some pretty exotic places.   Even a jungle or what once did pass for a jungle but the magnatude of this place was just astounding.   He took a few steps away from the others and ran his hand over the plant life be etch his feet.    He could hear Quinten behind him mum doing about the place and forgetting. 

Looking around he thought he spotted a naked woman amid the plans and trees.   He shook his head at how the place made him feel.   It was odd.   He'd been around mages for many years and could feel a faint similarity between what he felt here and then.  He was no expert though and it could just be all in his head.   When he heard Three Stars comment he turned around.   The offhand remark made him think   It had to take tremendous power to initiate something like this in the middle of a concrete jungle.   

He looked at Quinten.  Something wasn't adding up.   "Quinten.  I can only imagine the power it's taken to create this hear.  With that said, if our hosts can create this, what do they need a handful of runners for?"

From the corner of his eye he spotted a figure approaching.    "Looks as if we're about the be greeted."



JiC (30d6.hits(5)=12)