Other Halves

The group gathers at the diner, hashing out the broad details of their nascent cabal. They decide to call themselves the Ebon Cross and define their purpose to aid in stabilizing the city's spiritual problems.

A few nights later, Valkyrie has a surprise visitor at her night club. A woman calling herself Yew, supposedly a Mysterium censor from St. Louis, approaches her about the Chicago Workings Folio. Surprised at her knowledge and at the strange woman's interest in retrieving the book, Valkyrie tells her that she will think about it. Meanwhile Adele and Miguel work at the mall, encouraging charity to offset the resonance of greed. Miguel attempts fumblingly to impress Adele while everyone shares in the Christmas cheer. Lastly, the senior members of the cabal are approached by the Lictor, Nomos. He has heard about Colt and Mammon's plans for a peace treaty between the Dreamcatchers and the Chthonic Road. He informs them that he is interested in helping push the plan further. He also hints of some further interest in Colt.

Spurred by the knowledge that others are searching for the folio, the cabal decides to find Burgess's half of the book. After some preparation, they return to the Burgess House via a Twilight gate opened by Adele. Though they thoroughly search the building, they find nothing new. Moving outward, they look into the architecture firm, Fortuna Redux. Merlin searches their office under the cover of darkness but again they come up empty.

They decide to begin looking into the fates of those who fell under Burgess's mind control. They learn they have since recovered but lack any memory of their time under his control. Focusing on those who were controlled the longest, they visit each in turn seeking a sympathetic connection to the Burgess copy through the sympathetic link to the version they gained from Ellsworth. Eventually using the cover of Christmas carolers, they learn that Michael Pilat has a connection to the item. He no longer remembers it and he doesn't have it on him, but they have their first lead.

They then hit his old apartment from before the destruction of Burgess. They find it already broken into and searched. After some searching they find the mage Yew attempting to make a graceful exit. She introduces herself to them and again tries to convince them she is just trying to get a dangerous book secured. She offers to help them find the other half.

They decide to meet her later at a diner. They make a few quick calls to determine who she really is but neither Ishtar or Cornerstone are able to confirm or deny it immediately. At the diner, Yew reveals her group's map of the Burgess Grid, which is more complete than the cabal's version. As they scrutinized her protections and peered through her lies, they see she is not a member of the Mysterium or from St. Louis. She is skilled in Mind magics but only at the Apprentice level. They also see that the Folio must lie in one of three banks on Burgess's Grid.

The next morning they pinpoint the bank. Colt and Valkyrie enter with Colt disguised as Michael Pilat. Using fake identification, they gained access to the security box holding the lost copy. Scrutinizing it reveals a potent spell cast on it. Unfortunately Colt grabs it before they could determine how to disable it. Its effect however remains mysterious.

Afterwards at the Promethean, they talk to Ishtar and Cornerstone, who are of the opinion that Yew and her compatriots are likely Seers of the Throne. They also convince Decima to remove the spell from Colt. She remarks that the spell was created by a potent Seer, the left hand man of Midas. From the resonance, they can see he is a potent mage with Disciple and Adept level skills in 3 Arcana. Finally Decima hears their oaths, completing the foundation of their cabal.

Over the holidays, Adele visits Athaliah's and does some research on the Beshilu and the spirit of Chicago River. She's learns a little about them, but some information is missing, especially about the the hungry dead mentioned in Colt's Awakening. She also sees signs that Athaliah may also be researching this.

After the holidays, the Ebon Cross decides to lend the Chicago Workings folio to Cicero in return for his aid in securing a Hallow.