With poor Cerberus soundly thwacked (honestly, the crumbling masonry did more damage than Cerberus himself managed to!) the mixed group of Mages and Werewolves soon realized that it was time to go. They had upset the delicate balance of this odd little pocket of Space/Time and it was about to wink out of existence taking them with it. Fortunately, despite the fact that they disrupted her research, Mysterium Acanthus Arch-Mage Reenie Beloshe decided to leave them a sign-post anyway to point the way toward the portal home. This is probably a good thing, if only because Aenaiyah had snagged a backpack full of her research* as soon as they arrived at the Dogs of War Compound.

Naturally, because the players wound up in a Space/Time bubble they arrived back at the arm of the Statue of Liberty (just outside the torch) not long after they left. This was shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve. That’s just the kind of generous GM I am to not spoil their holiday celebrations. I even suggested that they turn on their various Mage sights and look out over New York City on New Year’s Eve from the observation deck of the Torch of the Statue of Liberty because I am just that good to them.

It wasn’t until I insisted on talking to each one of them individually in The Room that they began to think that maybe they were in trouble.

It was when I insisted that they NOT discuss what I told them until I had spoken with everyone, was back in the main room, and said “Go!” that they began to get really, really nervous.

I admit it, I love instilling fear!

So as I pulled them aside and asked which versions of Mage Sight they were using to look over the city, I gave them the following information as appropriate:

• Fate: Something is going to happen here… something BIG. You can’t tell what it is. All you can tell is that it is going to HAPPEN! It may be something good… but it may be something bad. Whatever it is, it will be televised live to billions of people!
• Forces: You can see the electrical grid of the city. It’s very pretty, especially with all of the power being drawn into Times Square for the lights and cameras. There is nothing unusual in this sphere.
• Death: There is a heavy weight of death around the city, and it is heaviest around The Ball. You don’t see any ghosts in the area.
• Life: The City is teeming with life tonight! This is to be expected in light of the crowds that have gathered to celebrate the coming of the New Year. Oddly enough, while there is certainly a high concentration of life in the streets below The Ball, there is some kind of odd spike right near The Ball itself.
• Matter: It is no great surprise that there is a great deal of matter around you, after all this is New York City. There does not seem to be anything that is in any way unusual about any of it.
• Mind: There are so many minds in the city tonight, and so many of them are hopped up on a variety of substances, that it is difficult to focus. That said, the prevailing mood is one of joyous anticipation. A New Year is coming! It’s time to celebrate!
• Prime: It’s Manhattan, and it’s New year’s Eve, and yes, there are Mages about in the city. Most of what you see are small magical effects. People have their Mage Armor up, things like that. When you look up toward The Ball however… when you look there you see something more. Someone is casting just under The Ball, and whatever it is that they are casting… it’s powerful.
• Space: You have just stepped through a portal that lead you back from a bubble of Time/Space, so yes… Space is slightly distorted here. Other than that, it’s Space… and it’s filled with bright lights. As you keep looking you start to see what could be something… in the area under The Ball. You aren’t completely sure, but somebody might be casting a Space spell there…
• Spirit: The first thing you notice is that the various Spirits in the area of Manhattan Island tonight seem to be trying to leave the city. Even the normally stationary spirits like trees and skyscrapers seem to be leaning away from something. As you look over the city a pattern emerges and you realize that they are all pulling as far away from Times Square as they possibly can. The Ball is brightly lit, and poised to drop!
• Time: It’s New Year’s Eve. Generally this represents great change, and this night is no exception to that. Usually there is a sense of something ending, and something new beginning… but tonight that feels… not quite right. It’s hard to put a finger on it, but you almost get a sense that Time is undecided at the moment. Something is going to end, most certainly, but will there be something new to replace it… you can’t quite say.

*It would be a while before that backpack was returned to its rightful owner.