Dmitri, Mercurian of Creation in Service to Wind: PC.
Gerar, Malakite of the Sword: PC.
Jamin, Seraph of the Wind: Newly Redeemed Balseraph of Death.
Lyta Aram, Soldier of Trade: the PCs' assignment.
Mabden, Renegade Balseraph of the Media: a Redemption candidate.
Men in Black, demons of the Game: the nasty evil guys.
Tryphosa, Cherub of the Sword: Seneschal.
Unnamed Others.
Dmitri: a dashing, stylish Mercurian with Eli's Malakite Attunement and an invulnerable umbrella.
Gerar: a fairly straightforward Malakite sworn to give challenge before making an attack and never to lie for his own sake only.
Jamie: the goofy sidekick, a rollerblading Seraph whose preferred weapon is the quarterstaff. It's a good thing he Redeemed, because he would never have made it in Hell.
Laurence has decided that the PCs are a suitable team, although he hasn't said precisely what they're suitable for. Tryphosa delivers their new orders:
Dmitri, Gerar, and Jamie are to assist and protect Lyta Aram, Soldier of Trade, who is researching a set of artifacts called the Scales of Baal. They are believed to be in the Paris area, highly potent, and not necessarily evil, although it is certain that they can be used for evil purposes.
Their first task is to escort Lyta Aram to a meeting with the demon Mabden, who wishes to Redeem. He is offering one of the Scales, which he recently acquired, in exchange for decent treatment post-Redemption; Laurence treats all angels decently, and therefore is happy to oblige. However, it could be a trap of some kind; therefore, combat-ready angels are required.
The PCs are outfitted with three relics: a Seraphim Razor (much like a scalpel), containing Corporeal Healing/5; a car which shrinks to matchbox size and expands again when given the command word Fahrfegnugen; and a matched pair of pins which contain powerful one-use Songs able to blind (temporarily) even a Superior. This last gift, they are told, is to be used only in absolute emergencies; it is simply that there is a small but non-negligible possibility that they will come into conflict with Baal himself, and Laurence wishes them to be able to flee.
Lyta Aram is a fairly meek young redheaded woman. After introductions, she goes out with the protagonists, Dmitri expands the car to full-size, and they drive off to Mabden's apartment.
There is no response when the PCs ring Mabden's apartment from the ground floor. The PCs eventually sleaze their way inside, leaving Jamie outside to guard Lyta and watch Mabden's window. Music plays through Mabden's door, which is unlocked. The PCs open the door, go inside very carefully, and discover -- nothing. The CDs and books on the shelves and desk have been scattered messily around, but everything else is neat. Nothing is written on the calendar-pad on the desk. A song is on permanent-repeat on the CD-player. There's a piece of severed tentacle in a desk drawer, and the screen has been taken out of the open window overlooking the parking lot. There is no sign of a struggle.
(Of course, there is always a chance that a Nybbas Servitor's Soundtrack would give them some advance warning, enough time to get out without a struggle if there was danger coming -- and a suspicious demon might have had it on for the angels' arrival.)
The PCs determine that their best chance of finding Mabden is based on the Artistry interpretation of the song on permanent repeat (which was written in a rollerblading rink). Dmitri puts on Suzanne Vega's "Some Journey" and they head out to the largest rollerblading/skateboarding/etc. rink in town -- at Gerald Park.
At Gerald Park, the PCs spot eight men (well, six men, one woman, and one Big Bruiser) heading down into the rink. A quick resonance survey indicates that the leader of the group is a Balseraph of the Game. The PCs sow seeds of paranoia among the kids near the rink, gather skateboards that Lyta has thoughtfully rented, and head down into the rink. Gerar fails utterly to stay on a skateboard, so he throws rocks at Men in Black instead. Dmitri rolls down into the rink and knocks the Balseraph down. A couple of Men in Black turn to deal with the PCs, while the rest keep moving forward; the PCs spot someone who may be Mabden running for the edge of the rink. In the direction where he's going, there is a permanent fence and a temporary wall -- erected to separate an SCA event held in the park from the rink.
Dmitri rolls around poking the Balseraph with his umbrella, while making several Will rolls to keep a Habbalite in Black from inflicting Love for his target on him. Gerar battles a Djinn of the War, who demonstrates that allegiance by assuming celestial form without a ripple when Gerar starts beating him. (Gerar also takes a point of dissonance, for attacking the Djinn without a challenge.) The Balseraph also escapes into celestial form, making Symphonic noise, and the Habbalite, left alone to face the PCs, scrambles up the side of the rink and away.
As Mabden scrambles over the wall, Calabim of the game blow it up. The PCs catch up with them at the hole, and Dmitri slams the female in black into the concrete. The big bruiser turns to fight Gerar while Dmitri scrambles through the hole after the remaining three demons -- into a bustling SCA event. The big bruiser kills Gerar and tears off his head, and Gerar (being a Malakite) wakes up immediately in Heaven. One demon races after Mabden, two turn to fight Dmitri. They use a Song that turns everything dark, but while they're putting on their night vision glasses, Dmitri is rushing past them and catching up with the eighth Man in Black. That man in black completely fails to notice Dmitri, who therefore kills him. Dmitri sees an invisible Mabden hurry into his car and pull away, despite Dmitri's cries for him to stop -- Mabden sees the celestial form Balseraph, who hasn't stopped his pursuit. Dmitri manages to get Mabden to slow down long enough for him to scramble into the car. Shortly thereafter, the remaining Game demons are in their car and in pursuit. Dmitri shoots at them with a confiscated gun, directs Mabden into the parking lot where the PCs' car is, and then gets possessed via the Song. (Note: only two of the eight Game demons have been put down permanently, although three have been seriously injured.)
Gerar, meanwhile, has begged a new Vessel off of Laurence and returned to Earth. He gathers Lyta and Jamie and makes for their car. Unfortunately, Dmitri has the keys. Gerar fails to pick the lock on the door, and breaks the window. Then he fails to hot-wire the car. Dmitri and Mabden screech into the parking lot, and then start backing away as the Game demon in Dmitri cries, "Treachery!" Gerar plunges a knife into the passing Game car's tire, which means that the demon in Dmitri can't afford to let Mabden drive away. He grabs Mabden, puts cutlery to his throat, and demands that he stop the car; Mabden (who doesn't want the Game to take him) drives backwards into a house, confusing the situation.
The Big Bruiser gets out of the Game car to deal with this troublesome Malakite. Gerar has better luck this time, and puts the Big Bruiser down in two slices. Other Game demons are starting to emerge from the car, when Gerar begins hacking the Bruiser's head off. It takes several strokes, which should have been less impressive than doing it in one but just wasn't. The Game car heads off, with one flat tire, jittering and shuddering, because, well, Gerar was just intimidating.
Dmitri hurries to Blandine's Tower, and an Octopus-Cherub shows him the way into Heaven. Janus is, fortunately, with him immediately, the favorable wind that blows him towards the Groves. Janus listens to his tale of woe, and grants him the Kyriotate Attunement. Dmitri can now return to Earth in a ghostly air-form and float around. He finds his body in the car under the rubble of a house. He decides that the proper course of action is to make faces at the demon in his body, who is immobilizing the Balseraph with one hand, and has the other over the Balseraph's mouth.
Dmitri Ethereal Charms the demon in his body, with a 5 CD, reducing the demon's Intelligence to 1. The demon, taking advantage of its newfound powers of intellect, decides to attack Dmitri instead of keeping a hand over the Balseraph's mouth. He hits the window hard enough to send a piece flying through Dmitri, who immediately squeezes into the car through the hole. Then he paws at Dmitri for a while, before Mabden convinces him that they're really great friends. At this point, the demon lets Mabden go, and Mabden further convinces him that giving Dmitri's body back is the only way to go (it was fairly obvious that Possession was used, given two instances of Dmitri in the car.)
The heroes leave the area quickly, collecting the scale, Lyta, Jamie, and Mabden. Mabden is Redeemed, and the heroes retire to the Trade Tether with Lyta.