Encounterlogs
Williams Odd Encounter Sr Sienna 241009
In the enchanting setting of The Cauldron -- Garden Apothecary, a mystical team assembles to address a technological and supernatural intrusion. Tabitha, the owner, alongside Berlin, William, and the clever Percy, discover technological devices designed to siphon off bank information and spy on the premises. As Berlin offers to disable the devices, and William suggests disrupting their signals temporarily, Percy the tomcat proves instrumental in locating a hidden device by knocking a jar off the shelf. Meanwhile, Tabitha, plagued by bank issues and mysterious technological woes, decides against closing her bank accounts prematurely, fearing the breach's depth. Despite Berlin's willingness to electronically trace or destroy the devices, Tabitha prefers to unearth the mastermind behind these invasions first.
The journey reveals various skimmers and spy devices attached to payment terminals and hidden in unlikely places within the apothecary's many rooms. William, with no tech expertise, finds his efforts complemented by Percy's intuition and Berlin's magnokinesis. Their meticulous search uncovers all devices concentrated around the registers which are promptly neutralized. Tabitha experiences a vision revealing "Fae. Swan" as potential clues to their adversary, leaving the trio to ponder the identity and motive of their unseen enemy. As Tabitha convulses and recovers from her ordeal, suggesting a deeper, possibly supernatural layer to their troubles, she queries the team about their findings, hinting at the beginning of a magical investigation into the intrusion's source. Berlin, equipped with the collected devices, stands ready to obliterate the technological threats, awaiting Tabitha's directive on how to proceed next.
(William's odd encounter(SRSienna):SRSienna)
[Tue Oct 8 2024]
In The Cauldron -- Garden Apothecary
This garden is beautiful as it is impossible. From the door and through the garden is a cobblestone path that guides visitors along the sights. And what sights there are. The flowers that grow here are both geographically rare and unusual in their appearance and often some of them look out of this world. A patch of impossibly blue puyas are in one corner; the delicate white beauty of Queen of the Night is on the other; ghost orchids and lady slipper orchids grow together, unnaturally, and growing along the wall of the garden on a vine are delicate bleeding hearts. One would never notice the alleyway is nearby, because this entire area smells floral and sweet.
It is night, about 64F(17C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds. There is a first quarter moon.
When Percy(tomcat) trots himself in with Berlin, Tabitha makes little pst pst pst sounds for him to come to her. "Anyway, like I was saying, I had some Alabaster scouts do some of the research and digging that I couldn't.. There might be some kind of tech here that's collecting data. At least I locked up so no one could get their cards stolen too... I've been doing a precursory check, but even if I find something.." She bites that broken lip. "I don't know that I could hack it. Just break either the curse ... or hex it."
Percy(tomcat) meows, looking around the garden, and then pads to Tabitha. The cat begins to curl around her legs, looking around the shop with a little suspicion.
"I could wipe it," Berlin offers, "I can't really hack into it yet, but I can certainly make it unable to call home."
William looks between Tabitha and Berlin, figuring Percy(tomcat) is just hanging around "I- Don't really know what I can do about it- But I'm here to do anything you guys need..."
Tabitha sighs as her phone buzzes again, and she has to once again respond to another bank message. "Anything, really, will help. Even a shoulder to sob on." But she isn't sobbing. She's more just simply frazzled. There is a look given Percy(tomcat), and she worries her lip.
"I wonder," Berlin mutters to himself, tapping a fingertip against his temple. "Any kind of tech has to have some kind of metal in it. If I start at one side of the room, and try to..." he pauses, thinking, "If I try to lift all metal things, whatever is hidden should pop right out." He glances around, trying to see if there are any metal things that might interfere, then picks the southeast corner, and starts to move along the wall, glaring down at the ground as if expecting the soil itself to move.
William puts a finger to his lips "Or... If it accesses bank information, it needs to communicate with either phones or cards some way... So it has a signal of some sort, or works magnetically... Disrupting that might at least stop it while we try to find it- But then again, how?"
Percy(tomcat) brushes against Tabitha's jeggings before it looks around the garden. Breaking away from the redhead, it starts to pad around the garden -- widdershins, the black cat goes, amber-gold eyes scanning for mouseholes and things out of place.
"Magnokinesis," Berlin answers William, not really caring if the man thinks he's simply gone mad or knows its possible. He continues glaring at the ground, moving slowly along, focusing hard as he tries to make every metal thing move so it can be seen.
"I am not looking to destroy the place," Tabitha says to Berlin. "But if you see something maybe a little odd... You could try." She answers her phone. "Hi, yes, thank you for calling me back, I have been waiting to talk to ...." Then there is music, loud, from the phone. She sighs. "I've done everything to stop this, everything that the bank told me to do.. I swear to God. When it comes out who it was.... I'll make them eat every single dollar as I shove it down their throat." She, while on hold, begins to make another sweep, with her phone flashlight.
Tabitha's phone buzzes incessantly, a stream of notifications lighting up her screen with complaints and updates from Haven National Bank, the constant influx only adding to the frazzled tension in the air. As she pauses to check her phone again, the buzzing finally ceases, replaced by an incoming call from an 800 number - the bank's investigative department reaching out directly at last.
Meanwhile, someone eyes scan the garden meticulously, his fingers twitching as he prepares to manipulate any metal hidden in the area. However, the tranquil setting of the garden shows no sign of hidden tech; the only metal present belongs to garden tools and decorative fixtures. Its clear that if any rogue devices are to be found, the team will have to move inside, closer to the point-of-sale systems.
William doesn't seem to surprised, or well, maybe slightly but out of learning of its existance, not of its magic nature, already way too used to not knowing these kinds of things "Right... But what happens after we find that device? We get rid of it and then what? The people that came in for Tabs are still out there and whatever they tried, they can try again"
Tabitha's phone buzzes incessantly, a stream of notifications lighting up her screen with complaints and updates from Haven National Bank, the constant influx only adding to the frazzled tension in the air. As she pauses to check her phone again, the buzzing finally ceases, replaced by an incoming call from an 800 number - the bank's investigative department reaching out directly at last.
Meanwhile, Berlin's eyes scan the garden meticulously, his fingers twitching as he prepares to manipulate any metal hidden in the area. However, the tranquil setting of the garden shows no sign of hidden tech; the only metal present belongs to garden tools and decorative fixtures. Its clear that if any rogue devices are to be found, the team will have to move inside, closer to the point-of-sale systems.
"Down boy," Berlin says to a common garden trowel as it starts to rise in the air. He shakes his head, having quartered and searched through the entire garden. He makes his way over to the redhead, slipping his arms around her from behind. "I don't think its in the garden," he says, squeezing her comfortingly to his chest. "Only things I found here were shovels and rakes and things, and a few quarters."
"Yes, hello... again. I don't understand why there are all these complaints. I have done all the paperwork with the bank. I've contacted the IRS. Why, if there is a freeze on my funds is money still being siphoned out. A freeze is a freeze. This ..." Tabitha pauses and exhales a breath. Once more, she walks the cobblestone. "I don't know that it is here... I had looked just a little earlier, but the garden, while small, has a lot of little hiding places..." She says this with her hand holding her phone away from her ear a moment.
William tilts his head ever so slightly "If people can use magic to manipulate metals or magnetism... They probably hid it somewhere it would be dangerous to use it, no? To avoid it getting found... So where in the cauldron is the more sensitive couple electronics?" He says glancing towards the entrance "There wasn't anything on the reception either... Is there anywhere else with such things?"
Tabitha paces to the sliding glass doors in order to the main room. "There are many little rooms in the Cauldron. I don't expect it to be easy. This is done by someone experienced." Leading the group out of the garden, through the foyer, she steps into the occult section, her phone back to her ear to listen to whomever is on the other side.
William perks an eyebrow, following Tabitha around the place "Yeah, right... Who did it, by the way? Who were the one to come in yesterday and- Well, rough you up?"
Berlin follows behind Tabitha. Once in the new room, he continues to focus on the floor, glaring down at it as he seeks to manipulate anything made of metal. Inside, he's far more careful. He only shifts shelves and merchandise a little bit, just enough to make them catch notice, before they're dismissed as being something expected. This seems a lot more difficult for him, and he occasionally pauses, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples against the onset of a headache.
The representative's voice comes through the line, soft and empathetic, "Miss Matheson, I completely understand your frustration, and I assure you, we're doing everything we can to resolve this." The line goes quiet as the clacking of keys ensues, and background noise suggests they're working from home like so many others this late in the evening. "We have frozen the accounts which has ceased direct access to your business accounts for any more direct withdrawals, but it's possible that the information is being accessed in real-time through another method. If you're open to it, we can proceed with closing down your current accounts and opening new ones over the phone right now. This will ensure that any compromised account numbers are no longer accessible."
There's another pause before the rep continues, "I also want to suggest checking your point-of-sales systems. We've seen similar cases where rogue devices or skimmers have been attached directly to credit card machines or payment terminals. If you're able, I'd recommend having a look at those areas specifically - and how is your WiFi? Have you ensured you've changed the name and password? Simple overlooked measures are often how devices are compromised to begin with."
Percy(tomcat) follows the crowd in, largely on the lookout for tuna. Or bugs. Or electronic hacking devices, whatever they are. Really, it's on the look out for things that seem out of place.
William huhs to himself, able to listen to the phone due to following Tabitha closely behind "I could check that... I don't think we did it when we looked around there, we mostly checked shelves and under furniture..." With that he walks back towards the entrance of the place, managing to get behind the counter as best as he can, and, even though he probably cannot open or access everything in there, he tries to look for any weird devices near to the register, also checking the device itself to pay or any potential computers there are around in order to keep track of the stock
Percy(tomcat) lets out a loud meow, hopping up with some catlike agility on a shelf. Padding along the shelf, the black cat bats at a jar, sending it falling off the shelf to crash on the ground. There's another 'meow', as if trying to attract attention to its location.
"I don't think that that is a good idea since something is likely collecting all the data it can on me, Miss. And what good would it do to have you give out a new account number when they are still actively tracking." She tell the representative. "I have changed the password, but again... they have somehow still hacked into the wifi. I have an antique register and use clover for non-cash payments." Tabitha mutters, off the phone, to the group. "A call to heckate would be easier than this.. The one thing I didn't check was video. Who came in and out after the event. But a little scry into a crystal ball..." She eyes one of the crystal balls out on a shelf for sale.
"Whatcha got Mephistopheles?" Berlin asks to Percy(tomcat), moving over to the shelf he's currently destorying. He scans it quickly, trying to avoid stepping on the broken glass. "I don't see anything, what did you find?"
Tabitha might originally think that Percy(tomcat) is just being ornery again and taking out aggression on an innocent jar. But she starts to walk over to him. "I would like to do all that, when I feel a little more confident that this is not just going to continue."
William rises his voice a little bit, calling out to the people that presumably remain on the occult section of the shop "Hey! There's something over here, I think... I'm no tech guy, but this seems... Different" He says pointing down towards one of the card reader's, maybe the only one, he doesn't know, but he waits patiently for them all to come check it
The jar crashes to the floor, revealing a small device, no bigger than a matchbox, that hums with faint energy, its surface smooth and dark. It emits a soft pulse, and a thin wire snakes out, disappearing behind the shelf. A small red like blinks intermittently, easily seen by Tabitha and Berlin as they crowd around the ornery Percy(tomcat) to see his find.
Percy(tomcat) meows again, looking at Tabitha with a smug, Cheshire Cat smile on feline features.
Tabitha kneels to sweep carefully through the broken porcelian of a jar, and what was its contents, its herbaceousness filling the room with its scent. Her intent is not just to smash the device, even though she has a nice pair of boots to do it.
"Good boy," Berlin says to Percy(tomcat), grinning at the cat. "I think the little pussycat has earned some extra tuna tonight." He studies the device, not that he knows anything about tech. "I could overload it," he offers, fry it and trace the wire to wherever it goes, that's all I can really do though.""
"Why wasn't it escalated in the first place? I've been trying to get hold of your department for a day now." Tabitha shakes her head at Berlin, "If you fry it, how will you trace it? I don't know much about the hacking world, just enough to get myself by, and be able to access Network six six six. But all I can really do is tell whether its compromised."
Berlin shakes his head, drawing his finger illustratively along the wire connected to the device. "I mean follow it," he explains, "I could focus on this wire, following it to wherever its connected. Maybe that'll lead us to something."
William doesn't notice the whole deal about the cat and the jar at first, still just waiting and tilting his head as no one comes. Moving his body over the counter slightly to peek his head over the corridor, trying to see whatever they were going on about "Guys... I don't know what you found... But there's more here" He reaches out again "I think- Someone check that I'm not crazy"
Given the evident tampering, Tabitha can access, that, yes, it was tampered with. She scoops up the item, still studying the device. She licks her lips and nods to Berlin. "I would like to know who has done this..." She moves to William's side to take a look where he has pointed out. "They're probably all over. I have registers in every room...." She turns back to her conversation on the phone. "I really feel like closing my account and starting a new one at this moment is not a wise decision on my part." Her expression is turning slightly soured, and she says under her breath to her team of keen eyes, "I feel like I ought to put it into a completely different bank."
Percy(tomcat) lets out a mrowl, tilting his head to look between William, Tabitha, and Berlin. Then he hops down, pacing around the room some more.
Tabitha speaks quietly to Berlin, "Can you trace this number?" She holds her phone out to him to take it down.
Berlin shakes his head. "I can't do anything that subtle yet. with more training, yes, but not yet. I can fry phones, and wipe memory, but I can't trace things yet."
William glances at the card reader again, now that it has been noticed slowly moving away from the counter, walking into the middle of the entrace, and walking over to check whatever happened with the jar, picking up quite quickly what the deal was upon seeing the wire running from wherever the device was right now to behind the furniture "So... That's checking every register, look around to see if there's more of those... And maybe potentially something else..." He says with a sigh "Again, I am no expert, but I would assume the ones in the readers are for the bank thing... Do we know if that blinking thing is audio or video? Or maybe both?"
"I don't see any lenses," Berlin replies to William, "But that doesn't mean much these days. Cameras can be tiny." He begins to trace the length of the wire, following it along the shelf, trying to figure out where it originates.
Tabitha nods to Berlin. "Well, we should work on that." She sort of half chuckles at herself as she uses a phone, in order to do her business. "Likely both. Because why not right? It is not enough to make one miserable, but to watch it too? It sounds like a very fae thing to do. Or demonblooded. Or... well, really, who am I kidding..." She says to William, "But the reason to sweep the room is to find these very things. We could just destroy them but..." She pauses. "But..." she breathes out. "I want to try at least a couple things before we kill them... when we find them. When. Confidence. Maybe misplaced. She bounces the very tampered with." She pokes at her phone settings, to 5E. She heads back to the main room and opens a cabinet. The wifi is then shut off. "Wifi is off, ma'am." She looks to the device. Her fingers curl around it. "Can you keep looking in the other rooms? Downstairs, in the Cathedral, in the book nook? That would be all the registers." She asks the men, and man-cat alike. But she has something to focus on.
Percy(tomcat) moves, hopping onto the checkout counter. It knows what a register is, even if wi-fi seems like some invocation, and it paws at the keys, trying to open cash doors. Amber-gold eyes peer for blinking red lights.
"I'll take the cathedral," Berlin volunteers, "Probably less interference there. I'll be able to find them easier without a bunch of metal." he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets, making his way toward the grand staircase and down into the auction block, through the door, and into the cathedral. Once there, he starts to perform that same search, mentally tugging at everything metal, identifying it, and setting it back in place.
William puts a hand over his mouth, pondering some more, glancing a bit at Tabitha as if uncertain of her condition, clearly still worried there might be something lingering in her head, though not really having the knowledge to base it "I'll take a look downstairs..." He simply comments, walking to the corner of the occult dedicated room and opening his way downwards, climbing down the ladders to try and find anything else, not only in the potions room, but also in the bathroom or the northern area
William will just take the bathroom and the potions area, and leave the northern area to Berlin, probably for the best, he's more likely to find anything than the basic human he himself is
Once Tabitha has turned off the Wi-Fi, the device within her hand seems to stop blinking almost immediately. It goes dormant, save for a dull pink light that shows it still powered on. A cursory glance reveals that it can be powered off entirely with a subtle switch at the back of the case.
`For the adventurous Percy(tomcat), the register still maintains the card-skimmer that William discovered and announced not long ago. But because he goes smashing paws into buttons, its enough pressure to cause the slender device to come off the top, tumbling over with only a small wire attachment to keep it together. One little swipe of a paw or tug of the teeth could disconnect it entirely, killing it dead so it can't take any more numbers.
Downstairs, William has his work cut out for him, but nothing seems amiss where the auction took place. All the devices were concentrated around the registers, which can be easily found the same way he discovered the first skimmer ealrier.
William takes his sweet time to inspect the auction area even while he finds nothing, not only looking for devices like the one he found before, but also like those revealed by the cat, doing even a double check. With a sigh upon finding nothing in the area devoid of any registers, he glances towards the bathroom, making a bit of a face "Why would they put them there... They're after- Not that..." But despite his words, he moves onto the smaller room, trying to scan and find any possible unusual electronics in there as well
Percy(tomcat) bats at the skimmer.
Berlin decides to narrow his search. Instead of the entire room, he circles the register. He notes the wire that plugs it into the wall, leaving it in place. Any other cables or wires he gives a gentle mental tug to, trying to dislodge any bugs or devices they might be connected to.
Percy(tomcat) stares at the skimmer for a while, shaking its feline head. He nudges at it again, to send it falling off the register with a crash.
The skimmer hits the floor with a satisfying thud, delicate plastics splintering apart to expose its electrical components within.
Berlin finally finds a loose wire. He tugs on it mentally at first, then physically once it's worked free. He follows it along, finding a similar skimmer and bug to the one upstairs. He nods in satisfaction, pulling hard on the wire until it gives way, killing the devices.
With a self-satisfied 'meow', the black cat knocks over a container containing pens for people to sign their credit card receipts. Percy(tomcat) watches with a little delight as it hits the floor.
William manages to find nothing on the two rooms he checks, and with a sigh, knowing that Berlin was taking care of the third room downstairs, he climbs up to the main floor once again. Sighing to himself before opening the door to the book nook and deciding to take a look there are well, stretching a little before starting in probably a more tiresome room with all of the nooks and crannies between furniture, books and even cushions
Tabitha opens her eyes, the lashes fluttering at the last word that she's spoken. Her eyes, not so blue, as they film over to a milky white momentarily as something fills her vision. "Fae. Swan." She utters these two things. Hard to tell if there is one n or two n's on the name of the bird. And then her brows start to furrow and she shakes where she stands. It is not like an epileptic seizure, though, but a sickly convulsion. In a flash, her eyes return to normal and she crosses her arms about her stomach. When fully out of her vision, she asks the guys, "Find everything?"
Berlin trudges back up the stairs, dropping the broken device on the counter. "I think that's all of them," he says, sounding a little tired from all the focusing. "That's all I found at any rate. What do you want us to do with them? Want me to just fry everything?"
The journey reveals various skimmers and spy devices attached to payment terminals and hidden in unlikely places within the apothecary's many rooms. William, with no tech expertise, finds his efforts complemented by Percy's intuition and Berlin's magnokinesis. Their meticulous search uncovers all devices concentrated around the registers which are promptly neutralized. Tabitha experiences a vision revealing "Fae. Swan" as potential clues to their adversary, leaving the trio to ponder the identity and motive of their unseen enemy. As Tabitha convulses and recovers from her ordeal, suggesting a deeper, possibly supernatural layer to their troubles, she queries the team about their findings, hinting at the beginning of a magical investigation into the intrusion's source. Berlin, equipped with the collected devices, stands ready to obliterate the technological threats, awaiting Tabitha's directive on how to proceed next.
(William's odd encounter(SRSienna):SRSienna)
[Tue Oct 8 2024]
In The Cauldron -- Garden Apothecary
This garden is beautiful as it is impossible. From the door and through the garden is a cobblestone path that guides visitors along the sights. And what sights there are. The flowers that grow here are both geographically rare and unusual in their appearance and often some of them look out of this world. A patch of impossibly blue puyas are in one corner; the delicate white beauty of Queen of the Night is on the other; ghost orchids and lady slipper orchids grow together, unnaturally, and growing along the wall of the garden on a vine are delicate bleeding hearts. One would never notice the alleyway is nearby, because this entire area smells floral and sweet.
It is night, about 64F(17C) degrees, and the sky is covered by dark grey stormclouds. There is a first quarter moon.
When Percy(tomcat) trots himself in with Berlin, Tabitha makes little pst pst pst sounds for him to come to her. "Anyway, like I was saying, I had some Alabaster scouts do some of the research and digging that I couldn't.. There might be some kind of tech here that's collecting data. At least I locked up so no one could get their cards stolen too... I've been doing a precursory check, but even if I find something.." She bites that broken lip. "I don't know that I could hack it. Just break either the curse ... or hex it."
Percy(tomcat) meows, looking around the garden, and then pads to Tabitha. The cat begins to curl around her legs, looking around the shop with a little suspicion.
"I could wipe it," Berlin offers, "I can't really hack into it yet, but I can certainly make it unable to call home."
William looks between Tabitha and Berlin, figuring Percy(tomcat) is just hanging around "I- Don't really know what I can do about it- But I'm here to do anything you guys need..."
Tabitha sighs as her phone buzzes again, and she has to once again respond to another bank message. "Anything, really, will help. Even a shoulder to sob on." But she isn't sobbing. She's more just simply frazzled. There is a look given Percy(tomcat), and she worries her lip.
"I wonder," Berlin mutters to himself, tapping a fingertip against his temple. "Any kind of tech has to have some kind of metal in it. If I start at one side of the room, and try to..." he pauses, thinking, "If I try to lift all metal things, whatever is hidden should pop right out." He glances around, trying to see if there are any metal things that might interfere, then picks the southeast corner, and starts to move along the wall, glaring down at the ground as if expecting the soil itself to move.
William puts a finger to his lips "Or... If it accesses bank information, it needs to communicate with either phones or cards some way... So it has a signal of some sort, or works magnetically... Disrupting that might at least stop it while we try to find it- But then again, how?"
Percy(tomcat) brushes against Tabitha's jeggings before it looks around the garden. Breaking away from the redhead, it starts to pad around the garden -- widdershins, the black cat goes, amber-gold eyes scanning for mouseholes and things out of place.
"Magnokinesis," Berlin answers William, not really caring if the man thinks he's simply gone mad or knows its possible. He continues glaring at the ground, moving slowly along, focusing hard as he tries to make every metal thing move so it can be seen.
"I am not looking to destroy the place," Tabitha says to Berlin. "But if you see something maybe a little odd... You could try." She answers her phone. "Hi, yes, thank you for calling me back, I have been waiting to talk to ...." Then there is music, loud, from the phone. She sighs. "I've done everything to stop this, everything that the bank told me to do.. I swear to God. When it comes out who it was.... I'll make them eat every single dollar as I shove it down their throat." She, while on hold, begins to make another sweep, with her phone flashlight.
Tabitha's phone buzzes incessantly, a stream of notifications lighting up her screen with complaints and updates from Haven National Bank, the constant influx only adding to the frazzled tension in the air. As she pauses to check her phone again, the buzzing finally ceases, replaced by an incoming call from an 800 number - the bank's investigative department reaching out directly at last.
Meanwhile, someone eyes scan the garden meticulously, his fingers twitching as he prepares to manipulate any metal hidden in the area. However, the tranquil setting of the garden shows no sign of hidden tech; the only metal present belongs to garden tools and decorative fixtures. Its clear that if any rogue devices are to be found, the team will have to move inside, closer to the point-of-sale systems.
William doesn't seem to surprised, or well, maybe slightly but out of learning of its existance, not of its magic nature, already way too used to not knowing these kinds of things "Right... But what happens after we find that device? We get rid of it and then what? The people that came in for Tabs are still out there and whatever they tried, they can try again"
Tabitha's phone buzzes incessantly, a stream of notifications lighting up her screen with complaints and updates from Haven National Bank, the constant influx only adding to the frazzled tension in the air. As she pauses to check her phone again, the buzzing finally ceases, replaced by an incoming call from an 800 number - the bank's investigative department reaching out directly at last.
Meanwhile, Berlin's eyes scan the garden meticulously, his fingers twitching as he prepares to manipulate any metal hidden in the area. However, the tranquil setting of the garden shows no sign of hidden tech; the only metal present belongs to garden tools and decorative fixtures. Its clear that if any rogue devices are to be found, the team will have to move inside, closer to the point-of-sale systems.
"Down boy," Berlin says to a common garden trowel as it starts to rise in the air. He shakes his head, having quartered and searched through the entire garden. He makes his way over to the redhead, slipping his arms around her from behind. "I don't think its in the garden," he says, squeezing her comfortingly to his chest. "Only things I found here were shovels and rakes and things, and a few quarters."
"Yes, hello... again. I don't understand why there are all these complaints. I have done all the paperwork with the bank. I've contacted the IRS. Why, if there is a freeze on my funds is money still being siphoned out. A freeze is a freeze. This ..." Tabitha pauses and exhales a breath. Once more, she walks the cobblestone. "I don't know that it is here... I had looked just a little earlier, but the garden, while small, has a lot of little hiding places..." She says this with her hand holding her phone away from her ear a moment.
William tilts his head ever so slightly "If people can use magic to manipulate metals or magnetism... They probably hid it somewhere it would be dangerous to use it, no? To avoid it getting found... So where in the cauldron is the more sensitive couple electronics?" He says glancing towards the entrance "There wasn't anything on the reception either... Is there anywhere else with such things?"
Tabitha paces to the sliding glass doors in order to the main room. "There are many little rooms in the Cauldron. I don't expect it to be easy. This is done by someone experienced." Leading the group out of the garden, through the foyer, she steps into the occult section, her phone back to her ear to listen to whomever is on the other side.
William perks an eyebrow, following Tabitha around the place "Yeah, right... Who did it, by the way? Who were the one to come in yesterday and- Well, rough you up?"
Berlin follows behind Tabitha. Once in the new room, he continues to focus on the floor, glaring down at it as he seeks to manipulate anything made of metal. Inside, he's far more careful. He only shifts shelves and merchandise a little bit, just enough to make them catch notice, before they're dismissed as being something expected. This seems a lot more difficult for him, and he occasionally pauses, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples against the onset of a headache.
The representative's voice comes through the line, soft and empathetic, "Miss Matheson, I completely understand your frustration, and I assure you, we're doing everything we can to resolve this." The line goes quiet as the clacking of keys ensues, and background noise suggests they're working from home like so many others this late in the evening. "We have frozen the accounts which has ceased direct access to your business accounts for any more direct withdrawals, but it's possible that the information is being accessed in real-time through another method. If you're open to it, we can proceed with closing down your current accounts and opening new ones over the phone right now. This will ensure that any compromised account numbers are no longer accessible."
There's another pause before the rep continues, "I also want to suggest checking your point-of-sales systems. We've seen similar cases where rogue devices or skimmers have been attached directly to credit card machines or payment terminals. If you're able, I'd recommend having a look at those areas specifically - and how is your WiFi? Have you ensured you've changed the name and password? Simple overlooked measures are often how devices are compromised to begin with."
Percy(tomcat) follows the crowd in, largely on the lookout for tuna. Or bugs. Or electronic hacking devices, whatever they are. Really, it's on the look out for things that seem out of place.
William huhs to himself, able to listen to the phone due to following Tabitha closely behind "I could check that... I don't think we did it when we looked around there, we mostly checked shelves and under furniture..." With that he walks back towards the entrance of the place, managing to get behind the counter as best as he can, and, even though he probably cannot open or access everything in there, he tries to look for any weird devices near to the register, also checking the device itself to pay or any potential computers there are around in order to keep track of the stock
Percy(tomcat) lets out a loud meow, hopping up with some catlike agility on a shelf. Padding along the shelf, the black cat bats at a jar, sending it falling off the shelf to crash on the ground. There's another 'meow', as if trying to attract attention to its location.
"I don't think that that is a good idea since something is likely collecting all the data it can on me, Miss. And what good would it do to have you give out a new account number when they are still actively tracking." She tell the representative. "I have changed the password, but again... they have somehow still hacked into the wifi. I have an antique register and use clover for non-cash payments." Tabitha mutters, off the phone, to the group. "A call to heckate would be easier than this.. The one thing I didn't check was video. Who came in and out after the event. But a little scry into a crystal ball..." She eyes one of the crystal balls out on a shelf for sale.
"Whatcha got Mephistopheles?" Berlin asks to Percy(tomcat), moving over to the shelf he's currently destorying. He scans it quickly, trying to avoid stepping on the broken glass. "I don't see anything, what did you find?"
Tabitha might originally think that Percy(tomcat) is just being ornery again and taking out aggression on an innocent jar. But she starts to walk over to him. "I would like to do all that, when I feel a little more confident that this is not just going to continue."
William rises his voice a little bit, calling out to the people that presumably remain on the occult section of the shop "Hey! There's something over here, I think... I'm no tech guy, but this seems... Different" He says pointing down towards one of the card reader's, maybe the only one, he doesn't know, but he waits patiently for them all to come check it
The jar crashes to the floor, revealing a small device, no bigger than a matchbox, that hums with faint energy, its surface smooth and dark. It emits a soft pulse, and a thin wire snakes out, disappearing behind the shelf. A small red like blinks intermittently, easily seen by Tabitha and Berlin as they crowd around the ornery Percy(tomcat) to see his find.
Percy(tomcat) meows again, looking at Tabitha with a smug, Cheshire Cat smile on feline features.
Tabitha kneels to sweep carefully through the broken porcelian of a jar, and what was its contents, its herbaceousness filling the room with its scent. Her intent is not just to smash the device, even though she has a nice pair of boots to do it.
"Good boy," Berlin says to Percy(tomcat), grinning at the cat. "I think the little pussycat has earned some extra tuna tonight." He studies the device, not that he knows anything about tech. "I could overload it," he offers, fry it and trace the wire to wherever it goes, that's all I can really do though.""
"Why wasn't it escalated in the first place? I've been trying to get hold of your department for a day now." Tabitha shakes her head at Berlin, "If you fry it, how will you trace it? I don't know much about the hacking world, just enough to get myself by, and be able to access Network six six six. But all I can really do is tell whether its compromised."
Berlin shakes his head, drawing his finger illustratively along the wire connected to the device. "I mean follow it," he explains, "I could focus on this wire, following it to wherever its connected. Maybe that'll lead us to something."
William doesn't notice the whole deal about the cat and the jar at first, still just waiting and tilting his head as no one comes. Moving his body over the counter slightly to peek his head over the corridor, trying to see whatever they were going on about "Guys... I don't know what you found... But there's more here" He reaches out again "I think- Someone check that I'm not crazy"
Given the evident tampering, Tabitha can access, that, yes, it was tampered with. She scoops up the item, still studying the device. She licks her lips and nods to Berlin. "I would like to know who has done this..." She moves to William's side to take a look where he has pointed out. "They're probably all over. I have registers in every room...." She turns back to her conversation on the phone. "I really feel like closing my account and starting a new one at this moment is not a wise decision on my part." Her expression is turning slightly soured, and she says under her breath to her team of keen eyes, "I feel like I ought to put it into a completely different bank."
Percy(tomcat) lets out a mrowl, tilting his head to look between William, Tabitha, and Berlin. Then he hops down, pacing around the room some more.
Tabitha speaks quietly to Berlin, "Can you trace this number?" She holds her phone out to him to take it down.
Berlin shakes his head. "I can't do anything that subtle yet. with more training, yes, but not yet. I can fry phones, and wipe memory, but I can't trace things yet."
William glances at the card reader again, now that it has been noticed slowly moving away from the counter, walking into the middle of the entrace, and walking over to check whatever happened with the jar, picking up quite quickly what the deal was upon seeing the wire running from wherever the device was right now to behind the furniture "So... That's checking every register, look around to see if there's more of those... And maybe potentially something else..." He says with a sigh "Again, I am no expert, but I would assume the ones in the readers are for the bank thing... Do we know if that blinking thing is audio or video? Or maybe both?"
"I don't see any lenses," Berlin replies to William, "But that doesn't mean much these days. Cameras can be tiny." He begins to trace the length of the wire, following it along the shelf, trying to figure out where it originates.
Tabitha nods to Berlin. "Well, we should work on that." She sort of half chuckles at herself as she uses a phone, in order to do her business. "Likely both. Because why not right? It is not enough to make one miserable, but to watch it too? It sounds like a very fae thing to do. Or demonblooded. Or... well, really, who am I kidding..." She says to William, "But the reason to sweep the room is to find these very things. We could just destroy them but..." She pauses. "But..." she breathes out. "I want to try at least a couple things before we kill them... when we find them. When. Confidence. Maybe misplaced. She bounces the very tampered with." She pokes at her phone settings, to 5E. She heads back to the main room and opens a cabinet. The wifi is then shut off. "Wifi is off, ma'am." She looks to the device. Her fingers curl around it. "Can you keep looking in the other rooms? Downstairs, in the Cathedral, in the book nook? That would be all the registers." She asks the men, and man-cat alike. But she has something to focus on.
Percy(tomcat) moves, hopping onto the checkout counter. It knows what a register is, even if wi-fi seems like some invocation, and it paws at the keys, trying to open cash doors. Amber-gold eyes peer for blinking red lights.
"I'll take the cathedral," Berlin volunteers, "Probably less interference there. I'll be able to find them easier without a bunch of metal." he shoves his hands in his jacket pockets, making his way toward the grand staircase and down into the auction block, through the door, and into the cathedral. Once there, he starts to perform that same search, mentally tugging at everything metal, identifying it, and setting it back in place.
William puts a hand over his mouth, pondering some more, glancing a bit at Tabitha as if uncertain of her condition, clearly still worried there might be something lingering in her head, though not really having the knowledge to base it "I'll take a look downstairs..." He simply comments, walking to the corner of the occult dedicated room and opening his way downwards, climbing down the ladders to try and find anything else, not only in the potions room, but also in the bathroom or the northern area
William will just take the bathroom and the potions area, and leave the northern area to Berlin, probably for the best, he's more likely to find anything than the basic human he himself is
Once Tabitha has turned off the Wi-Fi, the device within her hand seems to stop blinking almost immediately. It goes dormant, save for a dull pink light that shows it still powered on. A cursory glance reveals that it can be powered off entirely with a subtle switch at the back of the case.
`For the adventurous Percy(tomcat), the register still maintains the card-skimmer that William discovered and announced not long ago. But because he goes smashing paws into buttons, its enough pressure to cause the slender device to come off the top, tumbling over with only a small wire attachment to keep it together. One little swipe of a paw or tug of the teeth could disconnect it entirely, killing it dead so it can't take any more numbers.
Downstairs, William has his work cut out for him, but nothing seems amiss where the auction took place. All the devices were concentrated around the registers, which can be easily found the same way he discovered the first skimmer ealrier.
William takes his sweet time to inspect the auction area even while he finds nothing, not only looking for devices like the one he found before, but also like those revealed by the cat, doing even a double check. With a sigh upon finding nothing in the area devoid of any registers, he glances towards the bathroom, making a bit of a face "Why would they put them there... They're after- Not that..." But despite his words, he moves onto the smaller room, trying to scan and find any possible unusual electronics in there as well
Percy(tomcat) bats at the skimmer.
Berlin decides to narrow his search. Instead of the entire room, he circles the register. He notes the wire that plugs it into the wall, leaving it in place. Any other cables or wires he gives a gentle mental tug to, trying to dislodge any bugs or devices they might be connected to.
Percy(tomcat) stares at the skimmer for a while, shaking its feline head. He nudges at it again, to send it falling off the register with a crash.
The skimmer hits the floor with a satisfying thud, delicate plastics splintering apart to expose its electrical components within.
Berlin finally finds a loose wire. He tugs on it mentally at first, then physically once it's worked free. He follows it along, finding a similar skimmer and bug to the one upstairs. He nods in satisfaction, pulling hard on the wire until it gives way, killing the devices.
With a self-satisfied 'meow', the black cat knocks over a container containing pens for people to sign their credit card receipts. Percy(tomcat) watches with a little delight as it hits the floor.
William manages to find nothing on the two rooms he checks, and with a sigh, knowing that Berlin was taking care of the third room downstairs, he climbs up to the main floor once again. Sighing to himself before opening the door to the book nook and deciding to take a look there are well, stretching a little before starting in probably a more tiresome room with all of the nooks and crannies between furniture, books and even cushions
Tabitha opens her eyes, the lashes fluttering at the last word that she's spoken. Her eyes, not so blue, as they film over to a milky white momentarily as something fills her vision. "Fae. Swan." She utters these two things. Hard to tell if there is one n or two n's on the name of the bird. And then her brows start to furrow and she shakes where she stands. It is not like an epileptic seizure, though, but a sickly convulsion. In a flash, her eyes return to normal and she crosses her arms about her stomach. When fully out of her vision, she asks the guys, "Find everything?"
Berlin trudges back up the stairs, dropping the broken device on the counter. "I think that's all of them," he says, sounding a little tired from all the focusing. "That's all I found at any rate. What do you want us to do with them? Want me to just fry everything?"