2026.03.17: Measure of Many Pt.5

Measure of Many (Pt 5/7)
Continuing from the previous log, the group realizes there is something 'else' present below The Nexus and goes to investigate it.
IC Date	March 17th, 2026
Players	Archimedes, Book, Lavender, Maxwell, Phil, Storm (ST)
Location	The Nexus
Prp/Tp	Previous Scene Pt.4 <-- Measure of Many --> Next Scene
Spheres	Mage, Sorcerer, Psychic, Traditions

Over the last four weeks, the group has discovered that the Nexus has developed a strange webbing that first appeared in the Umbra and now exists physically. The Mouseguard explained that it isn’t a threat, but scaffolding—holding together the strain caused by multiple magical paradigms operating at once.

Through experimentation, the group learned the web redistributes magical energy and reacts differently to Awakened and linear magic. They also discovered the wards are weakening and the node is dormant, forcing whatever this is to compensate and that's what's caused the physical web or net or scaffold.

By the end of last session, they began carefully feeding energy into the lattice to reinforce it, but one junction remains unstable—and the structure clearly extends deeper than what they’ve seen so far.

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‘’The walls of this half dome, attached to the library are painted a soft, soothing blue, and the warm green carpet is centerpieced by a ring of white couches shaped into arcs in a circle around a glass coffee table. A place to relax and have light conversation, with a trio of vending machines beyond them offering drinks both hot and cold, and snack foods. Unfortunately they only seem to accept Canadian money, and tokens from Chuck E. Cheese's.

To the left of the couches are a variety of recreational devices, Air Hockey and Foosball tables, Table Tennis, and poker. Several multigame arcade cabinets showcase classics from the golden age, with sound thankfully dimmed low, line the wall. But the centerpiece is an honest to goodness Medieval Madness pinball machine on the end. For those looking for a less strenuous experience, a full bookshelf of various boardgames stands on the opposite end of the machines, near the vending units.

To the right of the couches, are a variety of recliner chairs of various makes and colors. They are arranged in a vague semi-circle around a massive high definition TV set against the curve of the wall, hooked up to a dvd player and every console from the atari forwards. Which is possibly a very good thing, since left to its own devices the TV only seems to receive stations showing the likes of Season Three of Galavant, and Spaceballs 2: The Search for More Money. ‘’

A faint lattice of threadlike strands has begun appearing throughout the room, stretching between beams, shelves, and open air like a convoluted highway system.

In the Umbra the structure is far clearer, forming a glowing scaffold of lines and junctions holding everything carefully balanced.

To those sensing Prime, the threads carry slow currents of quintessence, like power lines redistributing energy where different paradigms rub against each other.

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The faint glow from the last round of magic still lingers within the netting, individual threads humming quietly, shifting, settling, moving things along, spreading it out until it's invisible again and has become a part of the Nexus. The immediate strain has eased and everything is holding together.. for now.

Across the room, the junction where Paul pointed to continues to flicker. It brightens, dims, steadies, then does it all again, like it's trying to stabilize itself.

Maxwell arrives at the nexus hurriedly, he seems to have run a bit late. when asked why, he only responds that he was wrapped up in previous commitments, but his hair is damp and smells faintly of oranges.

When Maxwell comes barrelling in, Storm spins that way and holds up a hand. "Hi. Hold up. Shit's happening."

And indeed, several of the Mouseguard pause and follow the various vibrations and flickerings. The current voice of the mouseguard scoots a little closer and squints, adjusting his glasses. "That one isn't local," it mutters under its breath. And the web adjusts ever so slightly.

Lavender is looking and watching how things are reacting here. The mouseguard speaking to them, she nods, "Not local. Ok, so we need to trace where it is coming from." She looks around to the others. "Either it is drawing elsewhere, or someone else is trying to tap into this place. With the wards failing, that is a bad sign."

Phil picks up on the scent ahead of the movement. "Fridge break down?" he wonders out loud, then turns and squints at the latest arrival. "Wait, you mean /he/ isn't local, or that strand that was just acting up?"

Archimedes watches the energy course down deeper into the Nexus, his eyes narrowing as his looks deeper into its depths. He furrows his eyebrows as well as wrinkles his nose, reaching up for a moment to push his glasses up higher. Finally, after a moment of carefully weighing options, Archimedes announces, "We should venture deeper into the Nexus and get a full understanding of what we are up against." He then leans forward, looking towards the Mouseguard, "Will you be able to maintain this place if we look deeper at the netting?"

Book steps into the space without hurry, his pace unbroken by the tension already coiling through the room. His attention doesn’t settle on the people gathered there, but on the shape of the strain itself, the way it threads through the structure and pulls unevenly at its edges. He pauses, one hand coming to rest lightly against a nearby surface as if confirming what he already senses. His gaze drifts toward the point where the distortion gathers, not sharply focused but quietly certain, as though he’s recognizing something rather than discovering it.

When he finally speaks, his voice is calm and grounded, absent any urgency. "I'd swear that it looks like something’s pushing through."

EVERY SINGLE MOUSE turns to look at Maxwell as his presence registers. A couple of them skitter along the lines and peer more closely. One even rises up on its hind legs, licks a paw, then tests the air. "Not him." The same one turns and addresses Archie. "We've been holding this. Just remember everything you've learned about this place."

Storm nods to Lavender and takes her hand. "Yeah. We really need to find out what's going on. We've got to go in deeper."

Another mouse tugs a nearby strand tighter, testing it. The net buzzes in response like strumming a guitar. .

The scout mouse glances toward the direction the tension runs, then back to the group. “Definitely something outside."

Phil shakes his head. "That could be a good thing or a bad thing. Hate to have to bet on it right now." He takes a few steps back toward his car, fishing out a cell phone and dialing a number. "Hey, it's me. Yeah, I got a thing, hold my calls till I get back to you." Then he hangs up, powers the phone down, and leaves it sitting on the ground as he walks back.

Maxwell is somewhat indignant at being dismissed by a group of rodents. "Well, if it's something outside, what are we doing in here? We're not gonna learn anything we don't already know sitting on our hands blathering about it."

Book catches the reference to "outside" and has to be that guy that asks what could be an obvious question, "When they say 'outside' is that like just out of this room or out of the reality? Cause... that'd be an important distinction ya know?" He's not exactly sure what's going on and mostly trying to proceed based upon instinct and gut reactions at this point but so long as he can be helpful and doesn't die it's all good.

"Fuck if I know," Storm says, looking around to the scouty mouse. "No one's sitting on our hands. We're JUST getting this information." He lays a hand on Lavender's shoulder. "What do you see, babe? Everyone else hold up just a little bit. We don't want to overwhelm the system."

Lavender opens her bag, and pulls out a weight on a string. She also takes out a water bottle and drops it in long enough to get wet and the puts the bottle back away. She then holds the string up with the weight hanging down, and then lets it move if it wishes while she concentrates with her eyes closed. It takes a minute, but then she opens her eyes. "It is coming from below the Nexus. There is another power source. Deep inside. It's thrumming.. pulsing. Maybe it wants found? I'm not sure, but it is alive down there."

Words like Thrumming could be dismissed as a bit of creative description, but "pulsing" suggests an association with heart beats and living things. Book gulps. "W-what... could live down there? Please don't tell me this is some kind of Lovecraftian thing. I'm not a fan of tentacles and eldritch drawn faces and all that. I could live without those kinds of nightmares." Taking a moment, he tries to focus his mind for a moment and seek answers his own way.

Archimedes stops to peer towards Lavender as she performs her magic, then raises an eyebrow as he looks towards Book, "We can't say for sure that it isn't an a Lovecraftian horror. It could certainly be worse, Mr. Book." He then glances around, asking, "Shall we go find out? I'll lead the way, if you don't mind."

Maxwell takes a small pill from out of a container in his pocket and downs it before readjusting his glasses. He focuses onto the choke-point. "hmm... it doesn't really look like something is coming through to me. Sort of the opposite, actually, like it's being *pulled* on, into a tight knot by... whatever is on the other side."

Phil shakes his head a little bit. "That doesn't sound good either. Yeah, go ahead," he adds, gesturing vaguely toward Archimedes with one hand.

"Holy Shit..." Book exclaims, holding his head and reeling from whatever his mind had just touched. "There's something down there... and it ain't right." He stumbles a bit and has to bend to one knee to find some sense of stability before he's able to get his words out. "Not...like a person. not like an animal.. I don't know -what- that is..." He looks more than a bit shaken.

Archimedes peers towards Book, his eyebrows falling as his face takes a downward turn, "That's not good. Generally, this place was frequented by Mages. When one with such a mastery of Reality starts to lose their grip on theirs, terrible things happen. If that's the case, we must be cautious and ready to strike back against whatever twisted reality comes our way." He turns, looking down again the the Mouseguard and nods, "We shall remember what we've learned." He turns his head, finding one of the strands that lead deeper, and begins to follow it down.

The lattice reacts almost immediately to Lavender's magic. A low, steady pulse runs through the net. It's subtle at first, then stronger. The flickering choke point thrums again, flashing a little more brightly. and lines leading away from it draw tight, like something's pulling on it.

Several of the mice freeze. "Oh..." one of them breathes. The scout mouse spins around on his thread and leaps to another one nearby and looks DOWN. "That's not new. That's just.. really old. Come on if you're coming."

The mouse leaps onto Archimedes's shoulder. "Let's go.

Storm breathes in, lets it out slowly. "Yeh, none of it sounds good really." He looks at Lavender and then swings his attention over to Book. "Oh fuck." THEN to the mouse on Archie's shoulder. "Vote now. Stay or go."

"No one ever got anything done by chickening out. I say we go." Maxwell says, putting on a brave face. The implication of an 'M-word' sobered him, but it won't dampen his scientific resolve.

Lavender looks to Storm and then to Archimedes. "I'm going. You go first though." She knows she is not the right one to go in first, but she isn't planning to miss this. "Let's be careful. This may take us all." A nod to Maxwell. "Thomas, if we stay together, it is better for us all. But your decision."

Book pushes himself to his feet and pats his satchel as though reassuring himself that his tools are still with him and that all is not lost. "I gotta see it..." he mutters and tries to focus his eyes a bit - much like one trying to push their way through an ice cream headache. "That's a pain that's gonna linger but forewarned is forearmed...let's go."

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Imagine this old and mostly abandoned, but still theoretically functioning. And the webbing of course.

Monitors and adjustable overhead lights hang from the ceiling on thick steel arms which can be rotated or bent to provide perfect illumination alongside ideal viewing of all vital statistics. It is cold here to prevent infection and the air is a crisp 55 degrees.

An operating table dominates the center of the room. It is made of steel also and has steel restraints for patients who might compound their own procedures. The blue cushioning atop the table provides comfort, but the drains at each of the four corners suggest that this luxurious surface can be removed to provide a coroner's table without it.

The western wall has three hospital beds, complete with monitors and IV Stations. Next to this is a collection of steel shelves and cabinets which house the various tools of the surgical trade. The eastern wall has large drawers that are just the right size for bodies to be stored for research or later transport to the bereaved. Also on this wall is a huge steel door that seems like it would lead to a vault. There is a high density glass window in its center. The room is immaculate in its cleanliness.

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The scaffolding shifts again and then re-settles. As people start to move, things tighten up a little bit as if it's making way for them. Not anything so dramatic as a parting of the red sea, but this is either a trap or a welcome of some sort. The pull from below becomes more clear, more obvious. Not anything dragging you along, but a pathway. As you cross into the med bay, the threads slope downward along one wall, slipping between shelves and stone, disappearing toward a narrow stairwell that until now, no one had paid any attention to

As Archimedes leads the way, he reaches down to his messenger bag and opens it. There is a moment of concentration, but then he rests his arm on the open bag. As they walk deeper into the Nexus, a snakelike figure draws itself up and out of the bag, spiraling its way up Archimedes' arm to the elbow and the floating off into the air as the spiral runs it course. The silver-blue dragon floats off into the air and then loops around to hover near Archimedes as the monk continues his way following along the strand.

When they arrive in the hospital room, he takes a look around and then nods his head, "This is interesting. Why would the Nexus need to have a place like this originally?"

Phil turns around in a circle, pausing here and there. "Are we sure it did? I don't remember it offhand, but someone might have just rearranged their stuff. I try not to watch the Etherites too closely, I wind up understanding just enough to give myself a headache."

Lavender has no idea about if this was like this before or what. "Either way, this is.. well, I wonder why they would have this here and not there one personal lab." She shrugs at that. "Do you all see the stairwell? Maybe we need to go down that?"

"Different paradigms. THis is clearly the sciency wing." Storm is being SUPER careful. The mouse on Archie's shoulder is joined quickly by a few dozen others, both clothed and not. They're heading for the stairs and they get that far and the scout calls for a chittery HALT to them. One of them standing on the threshold to the stairs calls out, "Careful, it's LOUDer down there."

As people draw closer, that faint hum deepens into something much more rhythmic. It isn't a heartbeat, but it's close enough that here and there, bodies want to match it. There is a flash of light from somewhere near the stairs, but on the far side, like a beacon. Totally not a trap.

"Um... folks?" Book calls out while he's walking around with the others to get a sense of this new area, "I think we might have a bigger problem." He's trying to focus his attention and senses around him - like he can't quite pin down what he's registering. The mental "noise" doesn't feel like anything he's ever touched before. "I...I'm not sure if this is one thing...down there or several." He pauses for a second and then adds, "Man this is a weird fuckin signal..."

Lavender is still trying to sense things and she gets something. "Everyone. The missing mice. I think they are down there. We need to go down the stairs. It isn't much further from there."

Archimedes turns to peer towards Book, his eyes narrowing to study the bookseller for a long moment. He then blinks and says, "Well, wait. Let me see if I can make sense out of what you're sensing, Mr. Book." He narrows his eyes, watching Book as if trying to discern what he is sensing. He takes a deep breath, one hand coming up and forming a loop with his thumb and forefinger, while his other three fingers remain extended and splayed. He takes a deep breath, paradoxically his stomach and chest falling as if he were actually breathing out, and as his chest rises once again matched oddly with his exhale, Archimedes produces an Ohm that seems to fill the room, permeate its Pattern, then reaches further carrying his senses. The Ohm is long and drawn out, proving once and for all that Archimedes is the most wasted set of lungs in a state with legalized marijuanna.

As the Ohm seems to reaches its conclusion, he snaps back to the presence and for a moment, the silence seems oppressive in the air. He takes a moment to steady himself and he announces, "There is certainly a mind here, but it's not like any mind I've ever touched before." The Akashic Brother, bringing his hand to his chest and setting aside Archimedes Andrews to be Rewritten Sutra for a time, "The mind is foreign and very wrong, in comparison. It's a thing trying to think. No voice, no sense of self, and no thoughts in language. Its entire existence is patterns. Pressure and intent. It is all orchestrated to a rhythm, as if it is processing rather than thinking."

He looks towards Lavender, "Slowly, Lavender. We must wash our bowls after finishing eating." He looks back towards Book, "You did well, considering."

"As long as it's not trying to contact us about our extended warranty," Phil mutters. "Can you tell /what/ it would be thinking about, if it could think?"

Storm reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little pill case. He pops one in his mouth and crunches it. The bitter taste throws a shiver through him. He checks his watch, then brings his thumb to his mouth and gnaws at a hangnail, bringing just a tiny bit of blood. This is all done pretty subtly as they pause and discuss things. Pretty low key for an Ecstatic.

Lavender looks very confused. "I need that 'Archimedes for Dummies' book I'm afraid to understand that. So are we going down there? I think we should. We can only figure out so much from up here."

Archimedes turns to look towards Phil, studying the mage for just a moment before he nods, "When we get closer, yes. I'll reach it, slip past the defenses of its mind fortress, and discern its process." He then looks to Lavender and nods, "We should, yes. Let's go." He then looks back to the stairs and says, "Let's go. Stop looking at the mice, Xiaolong." The last seems to be towards his familiar floating silently nearby. Archimedes heads for the stairs, pausing at the top for a moment and then descending quite step by quiet step.

Another pulse rolls up from below, stronger this time. The strands along the stairwell draw tight, all of them angling toward the same unseen point. Impatient? Frustrated? Something. For those who can sense such, nothing seems particularly... violent.

Storm exhales slowly. “Alright. That settles it.” The scout gives a small nod. “Careful. It’s trying to fix something." With all the magic, however subtle, floating around, there are little flashes along the strands, like a mini rave. Storm creates an actual disturbance just beyond the doorway, leaving light bright enough to briefly illuminate the way down the stairs and what looks like a rather large ball of yarn -- except it's the netting. Then it goes dark again as things level out.

Lavender is right behind Archimedes, ready to go - her hand taking Storm's if he let's her. She looks back to see if the others are following. "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to... I don't know."

Book goes quiet again, not touching the lattice this time, just watching it the way you watch a current instead of the surface of the water. His head tilts slightly as his focus shifts, following one strand, then another. “It’s not one thing,” he says after a moment, voice low. "There are layers here. Some of it adapts—changes depending on what’s moving through it. Other parts are... smoothing things out. Keeping everything from grinding against each other. Is this some kind of engine"

He asks the room full of magical experts, eyes lifting to where the threads intersect. "This was built to stabilize things—to make different pieces fit whether they should or not." His gaze drifts back toward the flickering junction, then down, thoughtful. "I didn't know magic could be...uh...mechanical like that."

Storm's brow arches and he takes hold of Lavender's hand, but then pulls her to a halt. Gently. He looks at HER and her only. "If you feel me pull, don't resist. You hear me?" He says it quietly. It isn't a threat. He doesn't specify exactly what might be pulling. But dear fucking lord. "/Magic/ can work any way we want it to." MAGIC. He looks around the sciency room and.. flips it off. "Fuck science." He looks back to Archimedes and gestures. "Let's go."

Archimedes speaks as he walks down the stairs, "Magic can feel like different things, Mr. Book. Some people make magic that is vibrant and full of change. Others, like myself, make magic that is very structured and ordered, with changes layered upon change to create greater change. Others make magic that feels like change is created by tearing away at what exists currently." He then gestures back towards Storm, "In the end, Storm is correct. Ultimately, it works in the way we want it to." The change in statement is subtle, but meaningful. He then grins, "Well... As a scientist..." He doesn't finish, continuing his descent.

The stairs lead downward, the ancient stone worn smooth. The netting leads downward, a few little strands clinging to those who are actively using magic.

At the bottom of the stairs, everything opens up. It isn't exactly a room. It's a hollow carved out of the building's foundation, like this thing just dug a hole through and took up shop.. not unlike ice might. But it's stone. It's old and uneven. The netting converges here.

Dozens of dozens of dozens of bundles of the netting pull inward from every direction, drawn into a central point where they knot and tangle together in a dense, shifting mass of light. It flexes, tightens, releases, like it's constantly adjusting itself.

Pulses run through it here and there and when it does, a pulse runs along from whatever line and the whole thing contracts slightly before it expands again, evening out the tension along the lines that stretch back up to the Nexus.

Around it? The missing mice. They are moving along the structure in very precise, strange patterns, adjusting the lines, reinforcing this point with knots, working along it or within it. Some of them don't quite move like a mouse anymore. They're far too synchronized, too aligned with the thing in the center.

Phil shakes his head. "See, you say that, but if you didn't have science, then what would you rebel against? Curfews and the Hays Code?" Phil is starting to pick up his old bantering cadence, but leaves off again as he gets a better look at just what's in the basement. "So did anyone /intend/ to build a Chinese room down here? I don't think the mice signed up for it, at least."

Lavender does not know for sure, the magic vs science discussion. But as they get down the stairs she's looking around. "Wow. Oh there are the mice! Wait, they are working?" She very much wants to go speak with them, but she waits to see what Archimedes does first as he is ahead of her.

Archimedes takes a long moment to look around, his head tilting towards the dragon floating near his head. He nods in response to something, but then looks towards Lavender, "Yes. They do seem to be working, don't they? Do they seem to be acting like mice to you?"

The lines don't just meet. They aren't tangled. They're overlapping, splitting, reconnecting in ways that don't quite reflect normal space. It looks like a knot because things are moving very fast. But it's clean, neat, PRECISE. Where several points come together - things, tighten, flex (not unlike a heartbeat but JUST different enough). Decision points. One path carries more weight for a second and then it's dispersed to the 'proper' strand and evens out as the excess is pushed further along.

The pulses move in sequences, not waves. One triggers another, and another and another, branching out along the web.

The mice closest in arrive exactly when and where they're needed to tug here, push there, adjust this and they're just there when the pulse arrives. At the center, there's a gap where everything crosses, but there's a tiny little.. nothing.. at the center.

Lavender is concerned about the Mice, but all she can say is, "This looks like the mice here are worker bees. But where is the Queen?" She isn't sure what is going on here, although the movement is fascinating to watch the precision. "If I had to guess, it's like they are all connected somehow to this web. And all I can think of is something like the Borg."

Phil gestures toward the center, from what he expects is a safe distance away. "Might be possible to set something else up to take the load off their shoulders, a piece at a time. Better have a plan B, though."

Archimedes looks around, his eyes following each of the mice as they work the threads and be exactly where they need to be at the exact time. As the mind processes, Archimedes matches it, his own mind becoming several as he watches the mice give weight to each strand and then Archimedes begins talking it out, "The mice all seem to be working together in a linked effort. Perhaps a hive mind? They are operating this as if it's a machine learning computer, with chi or primal energy as its electricity. It comes in, more weight is given to a strand based on something, which moves along to another thing, that moves along to another. It's amazing." He falls silent, his brains working to process what he is seeing and perhaps make decisions of his own in a very similar manner as his previous conjecture regarding what to do next.

"What.. the fuck... is this shit..." That's all Storm The Science Hater has to say about this. He has a nice, tight grip on Lavender's hand though.