With a plan in place for ridding the city of Algol, the cabal begins to investigate the Disciples of Nehjarra. They need to destroy or remove the spirit Nehjarra before they can summon the Supernal god. They quickly determine the names and basic history of the mages in the Apostate cabal. In addition to the three Awakened, at least a dozen Sleepers live on the compound.
With the basic information in hand, they decide to visit Gary and scout out the cabal’s sanctum. Mammon contacts the Gary Councilium, specifically Black Dog’s provost Red Thunder. He agrees to meet them to look into the matter at a parking lot on the edge of Gary. The tall Acanthus is waiting with the wind blowing his long dreadlocks about. He tells them of his initial investigation. It seems the compound is cursed. Many accidents have occurred near there over the past couple years. The buildings are fortified but the inhabitants don’t seem to have any real combat training. Paradox however is on the rise. Lastly there are three young children living on the compound.
They find a vantage point to look down on the compound from a few blocks away. Shadow and twilight is eerily vacant. When Adele attempts to use Mage sight to scout for defenses, she feels the sting of potent paradox. The Abyss is strong here but on the plus side there are no magical defenses. Valkyrie meanwhile notices that the neighbors are all moving away with many abandoned properties and For Sale signs about. Colt reads the resonance of the region, sensing fear, building violence and a potent aura of bad luck. Spotting one of the children walking with the pregnant mage Apas, he sees that the boy’s aura is a half filled void. The bad luck is wound tightly about the child and his aging has been accelerated.
With the threat of paradox, they decide to find the edge of this Abyssal field. They find it about a mile away. Mammon scries into the compound and shares his vision with the others. As he and the others scout out the compound, Adele finds a nearby road spirit and asks it about the area. She learns that the strange effects began about 2 years ago and from its description it seems like it started when the children were born.
The others find the twelve cultists, their three mage leaders and the three children. In addition to Apas, a Sleeper is also pregnant. The children have all been possessed in the past and have the same damaged auras. The lead mage, Vayu, has been possessed numerous times. The children are also ill both mentally and physically and all have the same father. Adele, joining in the viewing, posits that they could be like the Nephalim, the children of angels. It does seem likely they are the children of Nehjarra. Adele then scries, searching for the stain of death. She finds many violent accidents have occurred in the area. There are also three graves, holding Anna’s first victim, another cultist strangled by Vayu, and and third who died in a bizarre accident involving a bathtub and a radio.
Lastly she looks at the children’s souls..and sees the Abyss staring back through the jagged holes in their souls. This is clearly the problem. Their souls are damaged and the Abyss is washing in through them. The cabal decides they need to research this phenomena and try to save the souls of the children thus putting a stop to the paradox and bad luck.
Red Thunder suggests that the local Mysterium might have the books they need, though he seems fine with just killing the children to resolve the issue. He takes them to an old Victorian house in the center of Gary. An old woman called Hypatia opens the door. She seems wary of Red Thunder but lets them in. The house is filled with books as well as the sound of the Mystagogue Theon and the Apostate Zelda talking. It seems Zelda is also concerned about what is going on with the children of Nehjarra. Unfortunately Theon is suffering from dementia. With a bit of help from Mammon though he is able to locate the books. After a several hours of research they find a chronicle of something similar to the children, called the Nativity. It seems curing the children is rather difficult, though the Guardians keep a treatise on it in the Censorium in Chicago.
Zelda tags along on the way to the Censorium while Red Thunder goes to prepare with Black Dog. The young mage apparently has received a rough introduction to Mage society in Gary and is surprised to find sensible and helpful mages. At the Censorium Mammon convinces Big Sixteen to let them in, playing on his charitable nature. They quickly find the record and learn the terrible cost. The ritual requires removing the child’s soul and then filling it with the pure essence of something Supernal, like an artifact.
The terrible sin of removing a soul weighs heavily on Adele’s mind. Acquiring an artifact will also be difficult. They might get one from the alternate world. Colt suggests summoning a Supernal being and convincing it to sacrifice itself for the children. They examine possible alternatives but they are even worse. They could replace the souls dooming someone else. They could find a spirit of karma and let it devour the children but even then two people would have to die for one to be saved.
The cabal agonizes over the terrible choices before them, while in Gary the Iron Hand simply plans to kill all the children.