Summons to Speak
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Gilded Cage, Level Two Ritual
Reference: Player-Made
Description
Also known to Architects as How Did You Get This Number? and Ask Not For Whom the Phone Rings - It Rings For Thee
Example of play-use:
Tanya and Drew stood around the corner of a convenience store, watching the Bus Depot burn. The Unaligned anarchists had escaped, the ransom money was going up in flames, and likely so was the Seneschal's childe, in torpor and probably locked in one of the lockers in the blazing bus station. With a muffled boom, another fuel tank went up behind the depot, where the busses filled up between runs. Tanya ducked, hiding her face from the fireball down the block - skittish as any Mekhet. Drew refused to look away. It wasn't just a building going up in flames, he knew. It was his chances of seeing another night. Around the corner, at the front of the convenience store, a pay phone began to ring. With a cold, gnawing certainty, the Gangrel knew it was for him. He picked up the receiver, noting that the phone had been vandalized, and the cord was all but severed. He nonetheless held it to his ear without saying a word.
"From my window, I see a fire downtown. From my blood, I feel the heat. My childe is in that fire, Supplicant. Either retrieve her, or join her."
"Yes, Dr. Seward. Right away, sir," Drew answered, but the line was already dead. Hmm. Poor choice of words, that. With a glance at Tanya, he started jogging toward the inferno, steeling himself against the heat and fear. She would be of no help, and he had no choice. As the elder had demonstrated - it wasn't as if he could run. Seward would find him.
This ritual permits the Architect to telephone anyone in the city. The incantation is mathematical rather than mystical, involving the numerological aspects of the phase of the moon, the time of night, the characters of the target's name (whatever name he is known as to the Architect - it need not be a True Name), and a host of other variables. These numbers are filtered through a tortuous quasi-mathematical equation which inevitably yields a seven-digit solution. A calculator or notepad may be used to help with the math, but is not required for the ritual. What is required is a land line telephone. The solution is dialed, and the nearest land-line phone to the target begins to ring. In an effect reminiscent of Majesty 4, the target will know without a doubt that the call is for him. So will anyone else nearby. Receptionists will offer the phone to the recipient of the ritual without answering first, saying simply "Call for you, sir." Homeowners will allow their guest to answer, knowing that the call isn't meant for them. There is no compulsion to answer - nothing that requires a resistance roll, anway. Just the knowledge that the call is meant for them usually suffices. Even disabled or out-of-service phones will function. Dedicated lines - like those phones installed in elevators - will serve the ritual just fine.
If the subject is not near a phone - driving down the street, for instance - the Architect will somewhat irritatingly be put "on hold." He will hear soft muzak reflecting his mood until the target approaches a suitable land-line phone. So long as he doesn't hang up, the ritual will function. If he does hang up, the ritual fails, and the willpower spent is still lost.
It should also be noted that the seven-digit result of the equation/ritual is only good once - it will not function later, and the ritualist does not gain confidential or unlisted numbers for later use. Caller ID does not identify the ritualist...indeed, it does not recognize an incoming call at all.
System
A land line telephone.
House Rules
Created by natasha.
Combat Ready
No.