Twinkle Twinkle Little Star - IC

On the outside the warehouse held no sudden surprises to the astral senses. It was fairly featureless though, after a moment of looking around Sha'hgrim did notice that while there were odd specs of life here and there in the form of plants and insects worming their way through cracks in the pavement, the building itself and a few feet out from it all around seemed to be almost entirely devoid of any such signs even as faint as that. Normally there was always a few tiny specs of life around all but the newest structures. Time and weather alone tended to eat away at even the strongest building materials and allow the odd blade of grass or perhaps an ant hill defy it's attempts at removing all life. Beyond that bugs and the occasional bird would nest or simply perch or wander about. The low humm and occasional snap followed by a few tiny motes of dimming life being extinguished told Sha'Grim that the building at least had some sort of bug zappers near the exterior, or at least something that was producing a sufficiently similar effect. The rest well, who knew but it was quite obvious that all the tiny bits of life that filtered everywhere were either avoiding a set zone around the building, or were being very specifically eliminated on a regular basis. Given just how neat of an 'invisible box' this effect created about the exterior of the building (Especially near the ground where she could actually almost see a line where plants and most insects simply refused to go) it was obvious that this was something deliberately maintained. It could however be a relatively simple enough security measure given the proliferation of things such as micro drones. Ordinary insects and things like grass were easily enough contained through the heavy use of pesticides, bug zappers and other similar measures and all without being hazardous to metahumanity in the grand scheme of things.

"There's something funny about that building. There isn't any astral warding, at least none that are outside the building. Give me a sec to figure this out..." Sha'hGrim mumbled while she started to wrap her head around what she was seeing. The utter lack of astral signatures was indicative of something, though Sha'hGrim didn't yet know what. She stared for a good moment, really assimilating what she was seeing before reporting fully and letting the team discuss. She kept her vision in the Astral for the time being, just to make sure that she could clarify, as the discussion took in what she was seeing.
"Ok, here's the deal: There seems to be a concerted effort to eliminate all life inside that line right there." She said, pointing out ahead to where the grass line was. Since she was seeing the Astral, she wasn't sure (and hadn't noticed in the physical) what was on the other side of the line. It was probably crushed stone, or something else which would look fairly normal to the casual observer.
"And when I say all life, I mean all life. There isn't a weed, a blade of grass, not even a mushroom or a bug. There's nothing at all living beyond that line. Which means that when we cross that line, we'll be pretty dern obvious to anything that can see the Astral. Fortunately, only living things can see the astral. And since I can't see a single living thing, nor a spirit, there's nothing to notice us. At least, there's nothing at the moment.." She finished her description, making sure that it was clear what she was saying.
"Basically, there isn't an astral barrier... kind of the opposite: there's a complete void of astral presence." She added. She figured that would be enough description, at least, to get the discussion started. She didn't understand all of the implications of what she was looking at, but she certainly had some guesses. And she could come up with a reason or two why she might recommend a security approach similar to what she was seeing.

"Now that sounds weird." Darkon took a look at the area himself.

Assensing roll. Int5+Assensing4=9d (9d6. hits(5)=5) (five hits)

"Why would someone keep the area completely devoid of life... that's actually quite impressive, given that they even have to eliminate fungi and bacteria. Which is nearly impossible on free ground." To himself, he thought: No life means no mana.

He turned to Sha, still talking on the new group channel: They might be deliberately turning the area into a mana void. For whatever reason. Or they are putting up a parameter where astral intruders stick out. I wonder if they have glowmoss inside the walls. But why all that effort if in there is only technology?"

He thought some more about it, then "Does any of you have knowledge about security systems? Maybe you can help spot sensors and cameras that might be out there."

I could send in a watcher and see what happens. But if it alarms someone, then our cover is blown.

"Yes, it's very weird. I've seen instances where security systems incorporated this for different reasons..." Sha'hGrim trailed off, trying to conjure up some of the times she had seen this, but Darkon beat her to the punch line.
"Yup. A mana void is a great example! And the glow-moss inside the wall would be another great example! If there's no ambient mana, then a magical being, spirit, or magically active metahuman will show up immediately, and obviously! There can't be glow-moss outside, of course, because we'd see that..." She trailed off again, thinking over the idea of a mana void, and why that would be desirable, or even beneficial. A magician can still operate within a man-made mana void though at a disadvantage to normal; and if there aren't defensive magicians (which seems likely), it can be to devastating effect. Although it will be much more taxing, so shorter lived. But it could be supremely powerful for that short period.
"Ok, this will take some thinking... But if that's really intended to cause a mana void, then it could be a huge advantage for us. I'll be limited in my casting capacity by the limitations on available ambient mana. But there's a good chance that there are no magically active defenders, because of the magical scarcity. So if you keep me alive, I'll be extra dangerous! And, of course, a shining target..." She said, hoping that her "positive thinking" was not unfounded and that the strange seeming security measure that they were looking at could actually turn out to be a good thing.

Scarlet listed as the two mages talked about the void that surrounded the building. It all sounded pretty elaborate for what as supposed to be a normal warehouse. She shot a look at Mississippi as they continued to talk shop. "Seems like a pretty elaborate security measure for a warehouse. The effort needed for this must have been considerable I would think. Am I wrong in assuming that?" She said to Sha.

She started looking over the building more carefully taking the time to look for the tell tail signs of a security system. "I have some familiarity with security systems. I'm looking now for anything on the outside." She said when they were asked about physical security. She did to want to speak for Mississippi as to what his skills were. When the time came if it was needed they would all find out what each was capable of.

Perception check
15d6.hits(5)=4
Intuition 5 + perception 4 + attention coprocessor + vision enhancement =15 dice

"Yeah, it was definitely a lot of work, and regular work. This would have to be maintained every few days, at the most. If not daily. And there's a relatively low reward to what I'm seeing here too. At least, to what we can see that's obvious. As I said, this would deter any Magician from wanting to be there. Despite the significant amount of work, though, the reward is fairly low: it's a constant distraction to a magician which cannot be ignored, but it does little more than that." Sha'hGrim responded. She was still unsure what exactly the goal of this, in this place, could be. If it were a part of a Magical Lodge, it could be quite a powerful opposing effect for her and Darkon. If, on the other hand, it was what it seemed to be, it would actually indicate that there was no magical opposition inside; which would give her and Darkon a fairly significant advantage as unopposed magicians. Of course, Sha'hGrim could easily come up with some fairly elaborate security countermeasures which would utilize this, among other things, to marginalize magicians. And if she really thought about it, she could apply those situations to this warehouse.
"I've got some ideas about how I use a setup like this, if we want to chat about it. But my ideas are purely academic, at the moment. I am no security expert.
"On the whole, though, I have to agree: it seems like a highly elaborate security measure for a warehouse. And on the surface, it's a low-return effort. That, of course, depends on how it's being used. And again, we're talking about a warehouse..." She said, agreeing that it certainly warranted further consideration, and that the work involved indicated that there was something of interest inside the building, even if it was not the thing that they were looking for.

Mississippi pulls up the node scan he started earlier and glances at the results while Sha works on the astral angle. He continues looking around for hidden nodes, as well as any other visual cues.

Reposted:
Ignore the first roll - this is from my previous post, since I've been scanning for hidden nodes the entire time.
All other rolls: To execute general search for Hidden nodes, the test is an Electronic Warfare + Scan (15+, 1 Combat Turn) Extended Test, rather than a Complex Action.
Turn 2: 4 Successes, Turn 3: 5 Successes, Turn 4: 7 Successes (15 reached, last roll of 2 successes not needed)
New Perception Check: Perception 7 dice (7d6.hitsopen(5,6)=2 successes)

"Well..." Darkon murmured. "Yes I can think of a few setups to bind such a void into a security parameter. Besides keeping out weak astral entities like watchers, it gives you an advantage at detecting magical activity." He paused. And thought.

What if they don't want someone to stay out? He looked at Sha and whispered into her ear: "Remember the home videos? What if someone put it in there? Either to monitor any activity or to make that theoretical activity more difficult to initiate?"

The shaman turned to Scarlet, giving Sha'hGrim time to think about that. "Good idea. And yes, it does look quite elaborate. But then again you never know what you'll find inside a box until you open it."

Further study of the exterior of the warehouse didn't really turn up anything terribly extraordinary, though Scarlet was able to spot a small maintenance drone casually trundling along spraying down an approximate two foot patch beside the building with.. well.. something. Could be water, could be some sort of chemicals. The exterior of the building was relatively featureless and bland, sporting one obvious main entrance but no windows, or at least none that were immediately obvious. If there were windows present then they were designed to blend in with the exterior of the building, something that wasn't exactly uncommon in this day and age given the earliest anti magic measures used everywhere was the heavy tinting or reflective one way surfaces put on windows and cars. By 2070 it became highly unusual to have windows that weren't some how blocking the view from outside, because that way a magic user couldn't just start casting spells inside a building by looking in through a window. That said there seemed to be no terribly obvious security in place, or at least no guards though odds were good there were a few cameras and drones posted about somewhere. The security out here was perhaps a little more than one might expect from the area but then any successful business these days tended to put a fair bit of security around any considerable investments, though in this situation if there was any really heavy duty security one would likely have to actually breach the building first before running into it.

Darkon wrote:

"Well..." Darkon murmured. "Yes I can think of a few setups to bind such a void into a security parameter. Besides keeping out weak astral entities like watchers, it gives you an advantage at detecting magical activity."

"Meh... Keeping out watchers is as much trouble as letting them in. They're a very useful watch dog, hence the name, which can't be used in this instance. Similarly, they're great for simple tasks like delivering a message, or finding something in the warehouse which was lost while stacking, or placed in the wrong section. I think they're too useful to want to keep them out. Unless there are no magicians in there." She responded, still studying the warehouse in the Astral.

Sha'hGrim caught her breath at Darkon's reference. The scenes where the Artifact were videoed flashed quickly through her mind. She tried to push the thought out, tried to ignore the nagging sensation that everything for the past 6 years had been somehow connected.
"Ok, then... We ready? If so, let's hit it." Sha'hGrim asked. Still viewing the Astral, Sha'hGrim rotated her head and looked at the other members of the new team, the temporary team.
"As I said: I'll keep my eyes on the Astral until things start to happen. That way, if there is anything else to see, I should see it." She added.

Darkon nodded at Sha'gGrims statement."A good idea." While he looked at the area once more, something seemed to come to his mind.

"While nobody is more eager to finally get results than me. But before we rush in there, one of you should see if there are any electronic security devices." He turned to Mississippi and Scarlet. "Is there anything you can make out?"

Mississippi sits in the driver's seat of his vehicle, his face and body hidden by the reflective glass of his SUV, letting the scan run and watching the results. "Wait a minute and I'll let you know. Sometimes you have to just let the scan run, as a rigger friend of mind told me years ago. There's a good chance they've got the thing running a Sat connection and completely wired, like an old school security plan."

To execute general search for Hidden nodes, the test is an Electronic Warfare + Scan (15+, 1 Combat Turn) Extended Test, rather than a Complex Action. This covers the rest of the first minute: 2 (2 hits), 4 (6 hits), 4 (10 hits), 6 (16 hits), 3 (19 hits), 7 (26 hits), 2 (28 hits), 4 (32 hits), 2 (30 hits), 6 (36 hits), 4 (40 hits), 7 (47 hits), 4 (51 hits), 4 (55 hits), 3 (60 hits), 4 (64 hits), 7 (71 hits), 9 (80 hits), 1(81 hits) (OOC Note: rerolled based on no exploding 6s, sorry about that)
Matrix Perception: Computer 6 + Analyze 6 - Distracted 2 = 4 hits

Scarlet who was sitting in the passenger seat kept a eye out on their surroundings as the mages and Mississippi did their things. It was beginning to look like that someone went through some lengths to secure the warehouse. That was good for both groups since what they were looking for had a greater chance to be in side.

She waited for Mississippi to give the go ahead on what he had found, if anything, before getting out of the Rover.

Mississippi nods once, then looks forward. The private comm channel they all now share though comes alive. "Well Scarlet we're in the right place. Place is a wireless deadzone - probably for the same reasons it's an astral deadzone. Even most small companies use a spray on wireless inhibitor, but I have never heard about it being used on any warehouse that wasn't holding a ton of valuable somethings. We're going to stick out unless one of the two of you has some spells to help mask us. Physical infiltration won' be a problem. We'll start with the roof access points. As soon as we head up, I'll have my truck fall back. Does your vehicle have an autopilot and a place you can send it? Not having a vehicle out here will help if things go to drek. If not get it out of sight at least. from there we can manage infiltration of the interior." As he speaks he pulls a ballistic mask out of his bag and puts it in his lap. "Now I'm not going to lie to you. I am not a full on hacker. I can manage the basics and we should be fine, but I don't want you expecting miracles. We should assume that once an alarm is triggered we are on a deadline of minutes. We get in, look around. If you've got them hooked up to your 'links, set everything you've got to record. Give me an idea of what you're looking for. We simply need everything - some idea of why this place is valuable, what it's holding, etc. The more information we have, the easier it is for us to help each other."

As Mississippi talked the likely hood that this was the place shot up. She reached for her bag as the Orc kept talking to the two in the back lining up the infiltration of the warehouse.

Having a feeling that she might need more than her machine pistol she unzipped the bag and reached inside. Her hand easily finding the grip of her SMG. She pulled it carefully from the bag. Anyone familiar with with weapons could tell it was a HK 227-X. Even in the low lighting one could tell it was well cared for. When placed atop of the bag its color shifted to match the bag. She hooked the SMG to the ready sling that was in her Greatcoat allowing it to swing free underneath the garment. Magazines were pulled from a pocket. Looking one over she nodded to herself and loaded the weapon with SnS ammo. The other three, one more SnS and two regular, went into the ammo pouches on the load bearing harness she already wore.

Seeing that Mississippi get out and moving to the back to gear up she did the same taking her ready bag with her. She smiled when she saw him gear up and looked at the two mages. It was nothing against them but she was glad that she was paired up with another professional. Not that mages weren't in general. She had knows a few who were and a few who weren't. Time would tell weather if these two were. She just hoped it would not be a trial by fire sort of ordeal. She looked at Mississippi again and nodded. "Looks like we're going in loaded for bear on this one." She said subvocally to the group.

Several other things came out as well. All found their way one pouch or another with a smooth fluid motion. Satisfied she had all she wanted she zipped up the bag. She quickly made her way back to the front passenger seat where she turned to the two mages. "Do either of you two have any Tacsoft loaded up on your 'links? It can make things a lot easier knowing your surroundings.

OOC:

A list of she's taking.

Spoiler:

"A what?" Sha'hGrim asked. Of course, she had heard of the tacsoft systems, had even worked with them. But she wasn't familiar with them enough that they would come immediately to mind.
"Oh, right... Umm... I don't think so." She said, not having needed more than a moment to remember what a tacsoft was.

"Uh, so, if that's it then let's do it. Someone wants to see whoever comes and goes. And that means that we want to see what's in there. Like you, we want to see as much as we can." Sha'hGrim said, pulling a thin scarf out of her pocket and wrapping it around her face. It did nothing but protect her identity, nominally. And perhaps keep her lungs from getting clogged with dust. Though, she didn't really believe that the inside of the warehouse was dusty, not based on the exterior. Someone was paying a pretty penny or two to keep the outside spotless, literally. And it was unlikely the inside would be drastically different.
"Oh, uh, are we going audible only in there, no signal? Or are we going to keep the line live?" She asked. She was no hacker, but she wasn't technologically inept either.

"I don't have a tacsoft either. Computers and me we don't really live in the same world. Give or take a website or two." He looked at his own car. "I think we should have a getaway car ready nearby. Just in case. I can summon a spirit to make us less noticeable, even on the astral. But the spirits presence alone might tip them off." He sighed. "I'm not very sneaky though. So I guess we might have to take that chance. Us walking over that empty plane of concrete out there will be noticeable anyway."

He pulled a hood out of his pocket. It was part of his form fitting body armor.

I could summon a spirit and keep it in reserve, in case I need it. And if necessary, it can blip in. "I will summon a spirit to conceal us. Close the doors please. That should keep peeping toms from seeing it. Fortunately, glass is not transparent on the astral."

He waited until the cars doors were closed. "Alright then."

He reached into the mana and, as so often, called with his mind. Luring forward the powers that keep the world moving. This time he reached downwards. Deep into Gaias body. Calling forth something that felt solid and unbendable even in the immaterial spheres of the astral. Steady as the turn of the planet itself. And yet there was the potential of quickness like a vulcans eruption.

Conjuring a spirit of earth, force6. Mag7+Conj4=1d / Spirit resistance F=6d (11d6. hits(5), 6d6. hits(5)=[6, 6, 3, 2, 1, 1, 6, 1, 6, 6, 5], [6, 4, 1, 1, 1, 5]) (Summoning 6 hits, Spirit 2 hits. 4 Services owed. (I chose the optional powers Concealment and Engulf because of the spirits force))



Drain roll, Spirits successes*2= DV4 Cha7+Will6=11d (11d6. hits(5)=2) (only 2 hits. Two boxes of drain stun. No penalty yet.]


He had reached deep. And the answer was powerful. But pulling the spirit through the thicket of mana was not too easy. Darkon felt the oh so familiar strain as a throbbing behind his eyes. But it lasted only a moment before it calmed down to an ignoreable buzz.

He felt the spirits presence, it had appeared astrally on the inside of the car. The mental voice sounded like rinsing sand. "How can I be of service?" The shaman shifted his sight to get a look at the spirit. It looked like a slightly crude carved granite statue of a woman. Very good. It will be useful. Darkon thought pleased. "I greet you Galataea." Darkon sent towards the spirit. "Thank you for your assistance. First, I need you to conceal my brothers... and sisters in arms and myself from any detection, be it physical or astral. Until I ask you to give us free again. But we need to be able to see each other." The spirit nodded, her neck bending as smoothly as a womans soft skin. But yet had the appearance of unyielding granite. The voice of flowing sand answered: "I can do that. As long as you do not stray too far."

Darkon nodded. "Good. Also I ask you to protect us by fighting our opponents if we get attacked. We will fight alongside you then. And you will not be alone.

Again the spirit nodded. "I understand."

"Yeah, Tacsoft is a weakness I suggest we all rectify soonish, whether we ever speak to one another again after this day. I haven't had any since I had the cyberware unit pulled out a few years back. Oh, and my truck will be nearby, just out of sight and on the move in an evade pattern. Gotta keep moving or the local punks will try and take something from it. I'd hate to have let it kill them." There was sarcasm in the last line, though there was some truth. Killing punks attracted attention. "One sec on the complete close up." He unloads a few odds and ends from his backpack into a compartment in his truck. He pulls on a load-bearing vest and loads some ammo into it. He then gets out carrying the backpack and the briefcase to the back of the truck. He opens it, removes the shotgun from the case, and removes the strap for it, and attaches it to two previously hidden connection points on the briefcase, so he can carry it hands free. He then pulls off his shirt and pants, revealing the form fitting armor beneath. It's quite obvious that he works out a lot given the shape his body is in. He rehides the shotgun and closes the back and gets back in and closes the door. "You're good to now." He pulls off his shades and dons the ballistic mask and the hood from the form fitting armor. The shades go in a case in his backpack, with the clothes he has in there, including what he had just been wearing minutes before. After they were ready to go, he gets out, pulling on the load bearing vest and grabbing the backpack. "In answer to your question about audible or subvocal, my suggestion is sobvocal. Outside is a deadzone, inside I doubt is. By inhibiting the wireless traffic, they make it near impossible to hack the system unless you are physically inside. We should be alright for our comms. Be a hell of a lot less likely to get us killed than talking out loud, not to mention them recording our voice - which is bad on multiple levels."

OOC: Gear, Armor, and Weapons Carried:

Spoiler:

"Agreed. I've used it in the past, and it's been helpful when I've had it. Though, since that's not really my primary area of expertise, I'm not really the one who focuses on that sort of thing. As a word of warning, this is a fresh 'link. That's both good and bad... It's good because I am certain that it's uncompromised. It's bad because I don't have any serious security in place. So if we face any 'trix security at all in there, I'll probably be turning this one off when we're done here - and maybe just chucking it for good." She says, pulling out a black silk scarf and wrapping it around her head. It wouldn't protect against any ballistics or chemicals, except minor smoke perhaps, but it would make sure that she didn't have a clean face shot on any cameras. And that was worth as much in most situations as chemical protection or ballistic coverage. In most situations.
"Well... I'm ready..." She mumbled, looking over at Darkon.

Gear:

Darkon smiled. "Alright. The spirit is here. And it will protect us as best it can. Also it will help to hide our presence. We will be harder to detect."

The spirit bent down and looked at Sha'hGrim. "You look strange." It said with it's slightly rough voice. "Why are you hiding inside this flesh?" The stare intensified even more. The behaviour was not violent, but still intrusive. "You can not hold on to this place without the flesh, is that right?" It scoffed, sounding dissappointed. "I am not that weak." A tensing of concrete muscles emphasized what it meant. "I can just make my own body."

Oh great. Instead of a white rabbit I pulled the schoolyard bully out of the hat. Darkon sent his thoughts to the spirit: "They are merged. And they are team mates of mine. Please cooperate with them."

After a few seconds of thinking, the earth spirit nodded. "Of course I will. And I can manage to conceal them though." That last part was intonated with full confidence and a more than healthy portion of pride. Almost as an afterthought it added, eyeing Sha'hGrim and her animals: "Nevertheless, they are strange."

Darkon sighed as he checked his gear one last time.

Spoiler:

Everything there. Sometimes I wonder if I should get more gear... nah, maybe later.

"I am ready. How are things on the electronic front?"

"Let's get this started then..." Sha'hGrim said, gesturing toward the building. In the astral, her aura lit up slightly more as she began drawing on the mana surrounding her. She would cast the spell outside of the "Void" area, entirely ignoring any potential for the "Void" to interfere with her casting. While she was doing that, she asked the bird to begin flying about, keeping an eye out for anything hostile to her and her team. Similarly, she told the Bandit to wander around nearby, keeping out of sight, and to similarly keep an eye out for anything hostile to her team. She knew that the watchers wouldn't be able to make it through the "Void" for long, so she just left them outside, relying on her magical link to alert her of any dangers.
"Strange? No, child." The larger spirit responded. Both of the Spirits knew, instinctively, which one was larger. The one merged with Sha'hGrim, like the one merged with Chasky, were both decidedly more powerful (though not by much) than the Earth Spirit Darkon had just summoned.
"While there are fewer of us Spirits capable of merging with a host on this world, there is nothing strange about us. And you can be sure that the Summoners who ask for our assistance appreciate the aid we provide them just as much as your Summoner appreciates your aid. Do not overlook the value of diversity in magic - the unyielding magician will always be beaten. And the same goes for the un-creative Spirit." The larger Spirit finished.
Sha'hGrim flickered her fingers a bit, turning off the subvocal mic on her commlink.
"What was that about?" Sha'hGrim whispered to Darkon, leaning over so that he would be able to hear her. She was wondering why her Spirit was bristling with indignation.
"Now is really not the best time for me to have to calm my Spirit down..." She added, still quietly. She held off momentarily on casting the Levitate while she sorted out what was happening with the Spirits. She could cast it any time - but she didn't need any further distractions...
As she was talking to Darkon, her two animals quietly heading their own way. The Owl announced it's leaving with a few wing flaps before it was effectively silent. The Bandit crawled down her arm, dropping to the ground silently and slinked off in to the night. They would circle the area, quietly, sticking to the "natural" hiding places, and keep an eye out. -1 Service for each watcher

He whispered to Sha'hGrim: "It seems this earth spirit is part of some spirit policlub." He winked. "No it's not that bad. But you know earth spirits... stubborn and proud."

"If the unyielding gets beaten, it was not unyielding enough." The spirit answered to Sha's spirit. "I am neither uncreative nor am I yielding to you. But for the sake of our magicians I will work with you, protect you and aid you. I have no qualms with diversity." Her smile was still filled with self certainity. "But you still are strange."

"Now now, play nice, girls." He smirked. It was meant for his own spirit, mainly.

"I am nice. You may see how it looks when I am mean later." The earth spirit responded with a smirk of her own.

Darkon sighed. "Anyway. If everyone is ready we should get going." He looked at Sha'hGrim. "One for each?" He asked.

Sha'hGrim felt herself shrugging in sympathetic response to her Spirit's shrug of indifference to the Earth Spirit which was misbehaving. Sometimes her Channeling metamagic was not focused enough to overcome minor thoughts and feelings. Or, sometimes she just didn't care to separate them out. Either way, she was amused by the situation, and by Darkon's humorous response. She snorted a slight laugh, flickering her fingers to turn on the subvocal mic again.
"Yup. Ready." She said, turning to Mississippi.

Spellcasting Levitate Force 1 on self:
6 Hits, only 1 counts | No Drain

Sha'hGrim's feet lifted off the ground ever so slightly as the spell took affect. She hovered there for an imperceptible moment, not more than a 1/2 inch above the ground. But she was no longer "standing". Her posture shifted slightly, as it was no longer supporting itself with muscles. She was straighter, somehow. It was a peculiar look, as a levitating metahuman is not something seen every day. Despite being peculiar, it was perfectly appropriate to her homeostasis - it seemed right, given the new way in which she was affected by gravity.

"Ok, you ready?" She asked him, grinning. Her voice changed subtly, the tone going from defensive to offensive, somehow. It had a deeper inflection, and carried more musical intonation - somehow the voice was thicker, while not being "lower".
"You're about to be picked up and carried by a cute girl. That gunna be ok?" She asked, her grin widening. Her eyes twinkled a bit. Either this was a joke to her, or something in her outlook had just shifted. It was hard to tell though, since the group had somewhat resolved the "aggressive" posturing more than a minute ago - so this change, if it was natural, should have happened then. But it didn't. It happened now.

Sha'hGrim's feet lifted off the ground approximately 6 inches, bringing her face level with Mississippi's. She floated closer, to about arm's reach, and winked. Then floated closer still.

A moment later, Sha'hGrim shook her head.
"Ugh..." Sha'hGrim said, touching down. She immediately took a step back, putting her hand to her head.
"Sorry. We've had a rough couple of days. I think my concentration is wearing a bit thin... That was the Spirit talking just a moment ago. Well, sort of. They can be a bit... Primal, for lack of a better description." She said, again lifting slightly off the ground. She looked over at Darkon, noting the look on his face. This time, Sha'hGrim really wasn't sure what had happened. But her apology had been sincere enough - and as honest as she could make it. Maybe it was the Spirit's actions showing through a bit. Her Channeling metamagic allowed her to retain direct control over her own actions while possessed, but she was still a young magician, and it wouldn't surprise her in the least if this sort of thing did occasionally break through her otherwise normal intentions.
"Was that you?" She asked the Spirit while she awaited a reaction from the other three standing there.
"Actually, no. But it wasn't really you either. It was some hidden piece of you which is tied up with the memories of this whole situation. It is coming out as a sort of stress-response to the locked up emotions from the trauma of the last time you and your team dealt with this particular situation.
"Ok, but I've been in hairy situations since then. I've been the sole survivor of a run, thanks in part to you!" She responded, referencing the long-standing relationship she had had with this Spirit.
"Indeed. And while some were severely dire situations, they were not this situation. Worry not - I will help you get to the bottom of this. Me, or another. You have a Guidance Spirit whom you call on as well - she may be able to be of assistance too." The Spirit responded. It's emotional response to Sha'hGrim giving it credit was beaming. She could tell that it was pleased.
"Well... I can't be acting like that with total strangers! We will definitely have to figure this out, and quickly!" She responded somewhat frantically. The Spirit sent her calming thoughts - a picture of a wooded glade with a quiet burbling brook flowing through it, Chasky and Jenny lapping at the water. It worked, and Sha'hGrim felt her "hackles" settling on her shoulders, and the calming influence of the Spirit settled in. She felt again in control of her own actions.
"Umnm... Right. Despite the Spirit's influence there, I do actually need your permission to levitate you." She said, her voice retreating to it's more "timid" version of itself. To Darkon, this would sound much more like the "old" Sha'hGrim. But even to Mississippi and Scarlet, the tonal change would be obvious. If there was a "true" version of Sha'hGrim, this one was a lot closer to it than the last one.

"Right. Having permission makes it easier. And I guess I'll take care of you, young lady." He smiled and ever so slightly took a bow before Scarlet. "I will do my best to make it a pleasant experience." His grin was silly and yet charming.

He had not missed Sha'hGrims change of tone. She must be more stressed than I thought, for a lapse like that. Or she's still not healed up enough. I wish we could wait longer, prepare more. But there simply is no time.

With that thought, his mind grasped into the mana, wrapping it around himself, suspending him and maing him seemingly weightless. He lifted off the ground just about a foot.

"When you are ready, my dear?" He said, looking down at Scarlet, holding out his free hand invitingly. Then, (if Scarlet consented), he wrapped a different portion of mana around her body, lifting it up with gentle ease, like a feather on a summer breeze.

Casting levitate force 1, first on himself, then on Scarlet. First Mag7+Sorcery5=12d, drain DV2 Cha7+Will6=13d, The second casting -2 for sustaining. (12d6. hits(5)=4, 13d6. hits(5)=5, 10d6. hits(5)=3, 13d6. hits(5)=7)