The Witness took in the room around him with some dismay. It seemed very much a post-apocalyptic set piece on some drama, intended to show the grim future that awaited all life on Earth if things went over the brink. The Witness could only hope that this was where he found himself - propelled to perceive the future by some magical means, the knife part of some arcane ritual. Or perhaps another dimension whose non-third dimensional geography was being reduced from its true form by his mind's limited capacity for cognition - his powers of perception enabling him to see something that his mind could not comprehend except upon a base, primitive level.<br/><br/>The book was an obvious draw, but the Witness felt paralyzed by indecision. Books were not safe. His first instinct was to leave the book alone.<br/><br/>Again, the voice, urging him to awaken. The sense that leaving the knife where it rested came, on some visceral level, to him. If only he could deduce the nature of the symbol! But his mind refused to offer up the desired piece of information to him.<br/><br/>"How?" Thomas murmured in a gravelly voice. There was no frustration in his tone, but a touch of all too human fear in the face of the unknown and possibly unknowable. "Why?"<br/><br/>With few options available to him, the Witness approached the book. It took no time at all to enter the adjoining room, but at the same time he felt tormented as Sisyphus by the length of it. The paradoxical nature of the flow of time was yet another feature of this strange location that gave the Witness pause and caused him to feel uneasy. In the fullness of time, perhaps he would come to see the true nature of this place.<br/><br/>He gazes down at the book, and then opens it, rapidly flipping the pages. Indeed, he is capable of reading the book faster than he can turn the pages, but in this place that seems an immaterial concern. The thought to clean the blood from his hands briefly flits through his mind, but, given the state of this place, the realization that the amenities he is used to - namely, running water - are not going to be available is fast in coming.<br/><br/><strong>OOC:</strong>Doubting Thomas is lured into some sense of tenuous security. But there could have been traps.<br/><br/>He will be as careful as he can with the book, trying to keep his bloody fingers on the margins and not on words. If the book is mystical in nature, or - more likely - he thinks it might be, he'll Take 10 on Knowledge Arcana.<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Character Sheet</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>The Unwilling Vessel; The Witness (PL 10 150PP)</strong><br/><br/><strong>Real Name:</strong> Thomas Miller <strong>Occupation:</strong> Hapless Do-Gooder<br/><strong>Bases of Operations:</strong> Chicago<br/><br/><strong>Attributes:</strong><br/>STR 10 [+0]; DEX 10 [+0]; CON 10 [+0]; INT 12 [+1]; WIS 18 [+4]; CHA 10 [+0];<br/><br/><strong>Skills:</strong><br/>Diplomacy 2 [+2]; Disguise 0 [+15*]; Escape Artist 2 [+2]; Gather Information +2 (+2); Knowledge (Arcane Lore) 8 [+9]; Investigate 2 [+3]; Language: Enochian; Notice 15 [+19]; Profession (Lawyer) 4 [+7]; Search 2 [+2]; Sense Motives 8 [+12]; Stealth 2 [+2];<br/>*from Morph<br/><br/><strong>Feats:</strong><br/>Equipment 1<br/><br/><strong>Combat:</strong><br/><strong>Bab:</strong> +0 [Melee];<br/><strong>Grapple:</strong> +0;<br/><strong>Damage:</strong> +0 [Unarmed];<br/><strong>BdB:</strong> +0 [+10 with Dodge Focus; +0 Flat-Footed];<br/><strong>Initiative:</strong> +0 [+0 Dexterity];<br/><br/><strong>Saves:</strong><br/>Toughness: +10; Fortitude: +7; Reflex: +7; Willpower: +15;<br/><br/><strong>Powers:</strong><br/><strong>Demonic Influence</strong><br/>Immunity 5 (Magic Descriptor) Flaw: Limited (halve effects' DC rank)<br/>Super-Senses 21 (Demonic Awareness, Extended 2, Rapid 1, Penetrates Concealment, Counters Obscure 5, Counters Illusion, Counters Concealment, Accurate, Acute,)<br/>Immunity 1 (Aging)<br/><br/><strong>The Devil Looks After His Own</strong><br/>Protection 10<br/>Enhanced Feat 10 (Dodge Focus 10)<br/>Morph 3<br/>Teleport 2<br/><br/><strong>The Gaze of Judgement</strong><br/>Damage 10 Range Extra 2, Action Flaw, Limited Flaw (half effect on innocents), Full Power drawback<br/><br/><strong>The Eyes . . . of a Stranger</strong><br/>Super-Senses 39 (Analytical Sight Group, Counters Illusion, Counters Concealment, Counters Obscure 5, Extended Sight 3, Penetrates Concealment, Radius Sight Group, Rapid Sight 3, Danger Sense, Microscopic Vision 4, Postcognition, Precognition, Ultra-Hearing, Ultravision, Uncanny Dodge Sight)<br/><br/><strong>Equipment:</strong><br/>Cellphone, PDA<br/>Headquarters: Concealed, Living Space, Security System<br/><br/><strong>Attributes 10pp + Feats 1pp + Combat pp + Saves 25pp + Powers 102pp + Skill 12pp = 150 pp </strong></div></div>