2026.03.03: Measure of Many Pt.3

Measure of Many (Pt 3/6)
The group returns hoping to figure out what is going on with the webbing, and finds things have changed - but is it better or worse?
IC Date	March 3rd, 2026
Players	Archimedes, Book, Ed, Lavender, Paul, Phil, Robert, Storm (ST)
Location	The Nexus
Prp/Tp	Previous Scene Pt.2 <-- Measure of Many --> Next Scene Pt.4
Spheres	Mage, Sorcerer, Psychic, Traditions

The Nexus, when everyone returns, is quiet. It isn't empty, just quiet. The now-familiar hum is still there, faint but present.

What stands out immediately though is the netting. It was previously only able to be seen in the Umbra, but now it has manifested in the reality everyone can see. Once everyone is inside (We'll get there) Fine strands stretch through the room, thin as spider silk but clearly visible when the light catches them. They run between shelves, along the edges of beams, across corners of the ceiling. Some drift lazily through open space while others cling lightly to the stone and wood of the building itself. Everything connects in deliberate ways. It doesn't seem chaotic or messy. Things seem to be connected -- several strands coming to a single point before they veer off in other directions.

And there are mice everywhere. Dozens, hundreds of robed figures move along the threads with surprising ease. They're climbing, adjusting, tugging this thing here and pushing that one over there. One pauses to tie off a knot at a junction, tending to things carefully.

One mouse spots the group when the door opens -- one of the scouts. "Oh..." it says simply. "You came back."

Robert carefully avoids the netting, checking some joints in a cigar case between checking the knots. "Of course we did. Sorry it took so long."

Book pauses just inside the doorway, one hand still resting on the frame as his eyes adjust to the strange sight before him. The thin strands catch the light like spider silk, running across the room in careful lines that meet and split again. His gaze follows them from beam to beam, then down toward the floor where the robed mice move along the threads with quiet purpose. For a moment he simply watches, head tilted slightly, the look on his face calm but clearly curious.

"Well," he says at last under his breath, stepping fully into the room. "I'm guessing that this is not all a group hallucination. Would anyone care to explain what I'm seeing? Forced evolution? Magical constructs? Possibly even critters from some other fae dimension or something?"

Phil makes a face as soon as he sees the overgrowth. He /really/ wants to ask a heap of inappropriate questions, but manages to at least contain himself to just one for now. "Are these /for/ something?" he asks the mice, gesturing toward the nearest swath of webbing.

Ed avoids the netting as well as they can... which in heels and a hat, carrying a parasol, may not be as well as it could be. Their skirts are long, aubergine, paired with a black waistcoat over a white shirtwaist, a cameo pinned at the collar. They do not look happy with the current state of affairs.

Robert almost seems to mumble the question "Mosquito netting? If so.. what the hell size mosquitos?" audible, but maybe talking to himself.

Paul seems reluctant to move into the room at first after seeing all the webbing. When he does he is very careful, eyeing the webbing and the floor for the mice so he doesn't harm any.

Storm comes in with the rest of them. Probably spaced a little further apart, further away from Lavender than Storm is comfortable with in this scenario. But they make it through and Storm immediately takes stock, squinting just a little to define just WHERE these things are. "Mm... not a hallucination, no. This is what we were seeing over on the other side, but it's .. worse?" Maybe>

Lavender has a basket filled with goodies she hopes will be things the mouseguard will like. But there are hundreds of them here. Did she bring enough? Uh oh. As they are looking around and she is walking ever so carefully, she is trying to account for what is all here. "Of course we did, dear guardians. We are here to help."

One of the mice that had been watching from the strands above tilts its head. Around it, the scurrying continues with tiny robed figures moving along the threads, tightening a line here, adjusting an intersection there.

The scout that greeted them. Kind of.. steps a little further along its strand, peering down at the group with open curiosity.

“Well,” it says, “that’s encouraging.”

It glances sideways as another mouse scurries past carrying what appears to be a scrap of paper much larger than it is, then looks back down again.

“You can see it now.”

The statement is delivered like a confirmation more than a question.

Another mouse nearby pauses in the middle of tying off a junction and adds with a sigh, “That means it’s progressed to the next stage.”

A small cluster of mice gather along one of the nearby lines, all watching the humans with the attentive air of technicians waiting to see how a machine behaves once the power is turned on.

One of them gestures vaguely at the webbing stretched through the room.

“It started doing that after you left.”

A few of the mice who are NOT wearing clothes scamper toward Lavender. Food!

Book shifts his weight slightly and glances toward Storm as the man speaks, then back to the webbing again. "Not worse," Book says quietly, voice calm and steady. "Just visible now." His gaze drifts over the busy mouse guard, then toward Lavender and the basket she carries. The small nod he gives her is warm but brief. When Phil asks his question, Book folds his arms loosely across his chest and studies the threads again before answering. "Everything built like this has a purpose," he says after a moment. Then his eyes settle on the scout mouse that greeted them. "The question is whether we are looking at a repair... or a warning."

Ed shrugs softly. "I can offer mere conjecture."

Phil peers at Book for a second, rubs his eyes, then turns his attention back to the mice. "/Do you lot know/ what it's for?"

Not a single curse word out of his mouth. He's learned some patience over the past several years.

Lavender kneels down and starts setting down containers with food in it. Cheese, crackers, muffins (small pieces), various vegetables, fruits. Nothing huge so they can easily carry it. "Here you go." She listens as the others are describing things. "So after we left it started appearing like this. Great. Ok. Has anything else changed? Are your kind ok? No one else missing?"

One of the robed mice pauses in the middle of adjusting a strand and looks down to Phil as if the question was absolutely silly. Another nearby stops tugging at a junction and leans forward a little, ears perked.

“Yes,” the second one says.

The answer comes simply enough that it almost sounds obvious.

Several of the mice glance toward one another as if silently deciding who should elaborate. The scout from earlier shuffles a few steps farther along its line until it is hanging almost directly above the group.

“It’s for /holding things together/,” it explains.

A tiny paw gestures toward the lattice stretching through the room.

“The Nexus used to do that on its own. Mostly where you couldn’t see it.” The mouse tilts its head, studying the strands thoughtfully. “But with all of you coming through lately after being away for so long, it decided to make the structure visible.”

Another mouse nearby snorts softly.

“Easier to maintain that way.”

The scout continues, peering down again. "It's a scaffolding."

The little mice swarm over Lavender, a few getting ready to crawl up her leg. Storm looks about to object, but then the food is set down and they all converge on the food.

Paul says, “The actual building, walls and all of the Nexus or the reality around it?”

Phil furrows his brow as-- yes, the immediate answer is obvious, but he hoped they'd chime in with some additional context, and he wasn't disappointed. "That's a good question," he says to Paul. "Because it sounds like it was worried that /things/ would fall apart, otherwise. So it'd be good to get a handle on exactly which things those are."

Book stands still for a moment as the mice explain, his eyes moving slowly along the strands stretched through the room. He has no idea what a Nexus is supposed to be, but whatever this place is, it clearly has rules that existed long before he arrived. When the mouse calls it scaffolding, he lets out a quiet breath through his nose.

"Scaffolding for what?" he asks simply.

His gaze lifts to the scout mouse hanging above them, then drifts back across the webbing again, careful not to brush against any of it as he shifts his footing slightly. "what exactly /is/ the Nexus?"

Robert says, “I still want to turn into a mouse and take a look around, see things from their point of view...”

Archimedes is late to the reconvening of the exploration party, quiet foot falls herald the arrival of Professor Archimedes Andrews, walking of the Three-Fold path. He stops as he gets within an easy distance to hear the speaking of the mice, his eyes alert and peering around as he listens to the explanation, "Well, the scene has certainly changed." He then reaches down, unzipping his messenger bag that is known to some to carry the dragon Xiaolong. He looks towards Book and seems about to reply, but then falls silent as his attention is drawn elsewhere for a brief moment.

Lavender pulls out a few more things of food, so she does not really get swarmed here. They will be well fed. "I see. Is there something falling? Something that.. oh!" She stands up and says to the others. "I think I know what is failing! The wards! The wards are failing. Let's check and see if they are still in place here... although I'm not totally sure the right way to do that." When Book is talking, asking questions she tells him. "A group of Mages and sorcerers found the building years ago, all local to Prospect. And they worked to clean it up and set it up for all the Traditions to use. They named it The Nexus since it was a place for us all to come together. But then many of them left town, and it was abandoned more or less."

Book glances back toward the threads again, then to the mice moving across them, trying to make sense of the connection between what Lavender just explained and what he is seeing. "So this place," he says slowly, looking between Lavender and the scout mouse above them, "was built to be some kind of shared space... and those wards were meant to keep it stable?" His brow creases slightly as he studies the lattice again. "If they are failing, is this scaffolding something the Nexus made to hold things together until they are fixed... so what could have broken a place like this?"

Several of the mice pause when the questions come, little paws still gripping the strands. One nearly slips, catches itself, and chitters softly before steadying again. Whiskers twitch as they all look down at the humans below.

The scout mouse tilts its head. “Not the Nexus,” it says. "The Nexus is just a place." A tiny paw gestures outward, not just to the room but vaguely beyond it. “Magic is what’s being held together.”

Another mouse nearby nods, tugging a thread tighter as it speaks. “All the ways the Gods make it work.” The scout’s tail flicks toward the webbing. “When too many different ideas pull too hard in different directions…” it says, “things can come apart." A small pause. “So the Nexus ties them together.”

Several of the mice pause when Lavender mentions the wards. A few of them exchange quick glances, whiskers twitching, tiny paws still gripping the threads. The scout mouse above them tilts its head.“The wards?” it says, thoughtful.

Another mouse nearby tugs gently on the strand it’s holding, testing it, then nods once. “Yes,” it admits. “Those are failing.” A few of the others murmur agreement, the way busy workers might acknowledge a known problem while continuing their task. “But this isn’t that.” Scout gestures with a small paw toward the webbing stretched through the room. It shifts its footing on the strand, looking down at Lavender and the others. “The wards kept things out.” A tiny pause. “This keeps everything inside from pulling apart.”

Robert looks around the room a moment.:"Something large and hungry. Since this was visible in the umbra, probably spiritual. Since there are mice in here, I somewhat expect if something is trying to break in, it'll look feline, but that expectation itself might cause it to look that way..."

Ed speaks in a quiet voice. "Is this because the node is gone?"

Archimedes shifts on his feet to be able to listen to the words of the mouse better, "Wards that keep things out, but this keeps everything inside from pulling apart. Is there a binding in place for the magic in here?"

Phil crouches down to get a better look at some of the nearby webbing, letting out a long sigh after a minute. "I assume you guys will chime in if you know the answers to any of these questions. Here's one more: do you expect it's safe if we take a look-see for ourselves?"

"Nothing's trying to get in. At least not that we can tell. We're just mice." At Ed's question, several of the mice nod. "The node helped. But this started before that was gone. Just the wards getting weak didn't HELP."

When Archie asks about bindings, the mouse plucks the string he's holding onto. "Not one binding. Many understanding's tied together. This is where it's starting to pull apart." Finally, Phil's question is met with a lot of chittered questions and back and forth between some of the mice that ARE wearing clothes. "You can look. Just don't pull too hard.

Robert blinks, even if it's not actually visual. "Oh, that's a thing... note to self, transform outside, then come in."

Archimedes blinks, and then gives a start as realization seems to dawn on him, "Oh, of course." He then looks around, "This is, at its heart, a place for a group of mages to meet. Oftentimes, groups of mages will create conjoined sanctums, or pockets of various understandings of realities, close by to work magic in the company of others. I wonder..." He turns away for a moment, bringing his right hand up, palm flat with his thumb against his sternum. He takes a deep breath, exhaling slowly while his chest expands out, in reverse order than what is typical. This seems to have an effect on him, as a moment later, he opens his eyes and looks around as if spying the world from a completely new direction. He leans forward, looking at the webbing. Slowly, his mouth parts into a smile, "This is amazing. There is chi running along the netting, and..." He lifts his head, looking around, "Where belief conflicts, this webbing moves the resulting chi energies away before it can cause problems." He then looks down, squinting, "When I opened my third eye to the flow of chi through here, some of these strands got brighter. I wonder why!"

Ed pulls a notebook from their pocket, flipping through and consulting their notes - nonsense to those who might glance over their shoulder - as they push up their pince-nez, pink lenses glinting in the low light. A stethoscope, an old-fashioned affair, is retrieved next. Inexplicably, they hold it to the notebook, listening carefully.

Ed pauses "This... is some manner of artificial unification engine. A great conjoinment of theories. Oh, the things I could learn here...." They trail off. "But the node is gone...."

Robert says, “Gone taken, or gone depleted?”

Lavender looks around, "My guess is it is like the one at the Key House. Dormant until someone, or someones reactivate it. It is not usual for something to be taken. As far as I know. And this place was still checked on."

Ed says, “I don't know. I detected echoes, but it felt... absent."”

Phil nods. "That's not uncommon. Probably could still be reactivated if someone wanted to put in some elbow grease-- a lot easier than trying to pull together enough ley lines from scratch."

Archimedes nods his agreement, "Yes, the node is still here but bereft of the power. It's like an empty pool, just waiting for someone to connect the pump." He begins walking down one of the webbings, avoiding stepping on any of the mice as he speaks, "It looks like the webbing is working on ambient quintessence. Not the concentrations of a node, but the ambient energies suffuse all creation."

Archimedes does something. Ed does the same thing, just in a different way. A couple of mice and pinged around and one of them loses its footing on the line that they're traversing. There is a faint flash of light as power zooms along this line AND that one. They converge at one point and there's a slightly brighter flash

Robert looks thoughtful for a moment. "I mean, I can start one, kinda like a bonfire. But the way I do it tends to not last. But since there is already one there, it might be the spark it needs to reignite it.Of course, if the nexus is about cooperation, if someone who used different techniques were to fan the flames a bit...

Paul looks at Robert and adds, "We've all worked together in the past and we did great stuff. We could do it again."

"I think we can probably worry about the node later. This is something more immediately," Storm suggests

Ed says, “Alright. With what would you advise proceeding?"”

Lavender agrees, "We need to make sure the wards are keeping out anything.. everything it should be. To protect what is here. Then we can check on the node, if anyone wants to get it reactivated. The wards should not be dependent on that."

"And we especially want 'em back up and running before we turn the node back on," Phil points out, "otherwise it's just a neon sign saying Come Steal Me."

Archimedes hmms and nods his head, "I agree regarding the node. There is so much to do before then. I would like to keep looking at the sanctums. The mouse said they're coming apart and I want to see if there is something I can do to reinforce the binding, if needed." He continues walking along, stepping slowly and peering in directions where understanding of realities seem to clash with an outpouring of resulting chi being channeled down the webbing.

The mice had been watching the flashes with intense interest — several of them scurrying along the strands to follow the brief surge of light as it raced through the lattice. One that had nearly fallen earlier clings tightly now, whiskers trembling as the brightness fades. A few of them chatter rapidly to one another in quick little bursts before the scout mouse raises both paws. “Careful,” it says.

Several of the nearby mice immediately start adjusting the threads where the light had traveled, tightening one line, loosening another, like technicians correcting tension after a sudden load shift.“That,” the scout adds, “is exactly what this is for.” It walks a few steps along the strand until it is directly above the group again, peering down.

“When you push magic through here, this spreads it out. Otherwise the different understandings would collide.” One of the mice below tugs a thread experimentally. It hums faintly before settling. “Right now it’s working. The strands are taking the strain.” A tiny pause.

“But if you all start pushing very hard at the same time, the web will have to grow more lines.” Another mouse looks up from the knot it is tying. “Which it can do,” it says with a small shrug. “But it takes work.”

The scout’s whiskers twitch toward Lavender when she mentions the wards. “Yes. The wards should be looked at,” it agrees. “They’re thin in places.” Then it glances around at the brightened strands Archimedes and Ed had triggered. “But what you’re doing now? That’s helping us see where the stress is.”

Ed ponders. "So keep energizing the threads? But not with too many variables, lest the quanta collapse the strings?

.... To be continued ....