What we need is a monkey wrench!

Two years brings a lot of changes, Liam thought as he sat, cross-legged, on the earth topped roof of the bunker access building. Very few of those changes had been for the better, though they hadn't all been bad. Of the changes, he regretted Willa's departure from the Cabal the most. Yes, they still kept in touch, but it wasn't the same. Willa's family responsibilities had called her back to the mountains of North Carolina barely year after helping the Cabal acquire and purge the old missile silo/abandoned technocratic stronghold of nephandi. He shouldn't have been surprised -- living in the fast nothing between Kansas City and St. Louis was a drain upon her spirit, so she hadn't objected when her mother and grandmother asked her to return to Asheville. Liam signed. She would answer a call for help, and would take any of them in if they needed shelter, but her absence still left a hole in the heart of this place. He was thankful that she hadn't also left them without a healer, Lee had taken Willa's role as the Cabal's healer.

Opening his eyes, his gaze fell upon the lean, asian girl gracefully moving through her morning katas. Lee had grown so much since they'd met. That, of course, was to be expected as she grew into full adulthood. Her entourage, as Liam thought of the spirits who guided and advised the woman, moved in the currents made by her practice. Liam was surprised that her magickal growth had not included more spiritual prowess, but it hadn't. Possibly it was because the spirits had sensed impending need, and had encouraged her to glean what she could from Connor and Willa while they were available to her. 

Connor had disappeared months ago, answering yet another call to deal with his family's financial empire. Though it wasn't uncommon for him to disappear for short periods of time, this one had lasted longer than previously. At least Lee had gained a greater sense of the currents of potentials and possibilities from Connor, but Liam missed the gambling rogue far more than he'd expected. There had been something comforting in having the rich SOB around as a safety net. X athlete Liam might be, but he wasn't one of those idiot who only proved his manhood by living life at high speed without brakes or safety equipment.

Liam rose, lifting his censor from where it had nestled in the dirt, and let the smoke drift about him as he took a deep breath. He wandered the rows of their vegetable gardens, allowing the smoke of his incense to trail behind him. He felt the plant spirits accept his offerings, and knew they would yield a bountiful harvest this year. By the time he'd walked the perimeter of the fence that surrounded their stronghold, or was it a chantry, or a just a sanctum? He'd never been completely clear on the designations... though, since the great upheaval, he supposed any place of power free of nephandi or technocratic hold was a sanctuary if nothing else. 

Lee had finished her morning ritual and was back in her rooms when Liam descended the stairs to the common area. He wandered over to the temporary scaffolding and looked up at the ceiling. Luc was on his back at the top of the scaffolding, his brush moving in precise motions, leaving a silver tracework in its wake. Liam waited until Luc pulled his brush from the concrete.

"What are those sigils for," Liam asked before Luc could start another diagram.

"I am striving to improve the primal integrity of the living levels. That last breach could have been much worse." Luc frowned as he checked the diagrams of his spellworking. "And trying to do so without turning us into a beacon to any mage within a hundred miles."

Liam smiled. "That'd be nice. It would be a shame to have finally shrouded the prima-pool only to attract even more attention than the node had."

Luc grunted his agreement. "It would be nice if we had someone else who could do this work. I am not convinced that Willa's willows will serve as a long term solution."

"The might," Liam sighed, "and Lee seems capable of maintaining them"

"With your help," Luc grumbled as he began a new section of the working. "I don't have anyone reinforcing my efforts."

Liam nodded. "True, and as truly astounding as your sigils are, it would be nice to have more functional options."

Luc snorted. "Don't like my sigils?

Liam wandered to the fridge and pulled out the pitcher of infused water. "I must admit that as effective as they are, I'm not fond of all my clothes having sharpie patterns traced on them."

"You like being bullet proof well enough."

"True." Liam poured out two glasses before returning the pitcher to the fridge. "But it does raise more than a few eyebrows when we take the vehicles in for maintenance and they see all the sigils under the hood and around the wheel wells." He walked back over to the scaffold and held up a glass. "You should drink more, the air handlers suck the moisture out of the air something awful!" 

Luc paused, turning on his side to reach down and grab the glass. "So, by 'practical' you mean you want someone who can improve the equipment?"

Liam nodded. "None of us are technologically inclined. Sure, we can all change light bulbs, know how to use computers and can put on a spare tire, but none of us knows a thing about circuit breakers, lift engines or ventilation systems. And, frankly, I don't want to depend upon esoteric means to keep stuff running." He grinned. "Could you imagine what would happen if we were to call in a repairman to fix a fan motor?"

Luc rolled his eyes. "And we thought this place would be a good location for a chantry why?"

Liam looked unerringly toward the base of the main silo. "It was an unclaimed, secure structure housing a wellspring of primal forces?" 

"I have distinct memories of the prior inhabitants." Luc set his water on the scaffold planks and went back to tracing his spellwork.

"Primal Vermin... we cleared them out... eventually."

"After three assaults, and months of cleansing and fortifying during which time we had how many unwelcome guests?" 

"You act like that wasn't expected. Of all of us, you should have been the least surprised by the difficulties in reclaiming a previously lost sanctum... or... what is it the technocrats call them?"

"Who knows... I try to avoid having to converse with any of the technocrats. They've fucked shit up so bad at this point I'm surprised any of us can still do magick."

Liam sipped his water. "It could have been worse."

Luc spat. "Horizon shattered, nephandi polluting the world unchecked, most of the elders dead, how much worse could it have been? They tried to awaken everyone, and like we already knew would happen, the human race just ignored the call."

"They could have destroyed the traditions utterly, or their failed awakening could have locked the world down even worse. Sure, things went crazy but it went crazy for everyone, not just the traditions... I hear there have even been split offs from the technocracy, like when the Adepts and the Sons broke free." Liam took another sip and flopped down in one of the overstuffed chairs. "Its been over 15 years, and people are seeking alternative truths even more today than before the shit hit the fan."

Luc grumbled again, then finished another arc in his spellworking. "Anyway, you were talking about bringing a mechanically inclined person into the fold?"

Liam thankfully returned to the original conversation. "Yes, and I think I've found someone."

Luc stopped his brush and turned to look at his companion. "Oh?"

"There's a practitioner up in Marshall who looks promising. Works at a garage and is renting a little place that I bet he wouldn't mind leaving." Liam shrugged. "Only hitch is he appears to have a younger sister or cousin living with him. I don't think she's awakened."

"Just a little hitch," Luc said dryly. "Have you talked with Lee about it?"

"She wants to scout them out before we approach the mechanic, but she trusts when the spirits point me in a direction."

"Of course she does..."

Liam raised an eyebrow. "Just because you're nearly spirit blind, you can't really say the rest of us are wrong."

"I can, but I don't. I simply don't like depending upon information from sources I can't verify."

Liam grinned. "And you really dislike the idea that someone could just walk into your rooms without you knowing it." Liam gestured at the sigils about the room. "Thus, the primal reinforcement."

"Unwanted guests are unwanted guests."

Liam took another drink of his water. "No arguments there."