Unknown Armies - IC

[Kythia]

Wiki Page


Tuesday 13th August 2013, 9:34

It's a grey, overcast day.  The weather forecast says it'll rain later, as of yet it hasn't started, but the sunlight is struggling to reach the streets through heavy cloud cover.  The pavements are still wet from overnight rain and probably won't have a chance to dry, puddles against the kerb mean that every time a car passes it splashes water on anyone foolish enough to stand too close to the road.  Nothing particularly unusual, in short, as you hurry towards Unit 17, Fergusons Road cursing your lateness.  Over half an hour now the screen of your phone neutrally informs you.

You're brought up short in confusion though after passing the derelict warehouse that comprises Unit 16 - a "For Let" sign informing the world of the particular letting agency to contact should anyone desire to rent a warehouse in this former industrial district. 
Maybe you retrace your steps a short distance to check you haven't passed your destination by mistake, but no.  Units 1 through 16 sit as they have always done, a roughly equal mix of empty and let focusing largely on construction or related industries - any type of business whose customers won't be put off by the shabby surroundings.  A "Pet Superstore" perennially in the news for neglect of its stock is the classiest resident of the sixteen converted warehouses.  Which are exactly as they were yesterday.

Maybe you head on, thinking you haven't gone far enough for some reason.  Unit 18 sits as it always has - or always since you've been coming here at least.  Storage for a double glazing window firm, a stylised "T" announcing to those in the know that that premises is owned by Tyneside Windows.  It's exactly as it was yesterday.

Eventually, though, for want of anything sane to do you stand on the pavement, staring at the gap between unit sixteen and unit eighteen.  Yesterday it held a moderately prosperous Builder's and Plumber's Merchants.  Staff, customers, car parking spaces round the back.  A jaunty sign with a missing "O" announcing it as the premises of "J H ner and Sons".  Eight hundred and eighty square feet of stock on the ground floor, a similar amount of offices on the first accessed by a staircase protected by a "Staff Only" sign.  It's a place you know well.  Knew well.

Because today it's simply not there.  Not burnt down, not collapsed, simply not there.  Barely even a gap for it.  Instead of the wide plate windows facing the street, decorated with posters advertising the latest bargains, there is simply a small alleyway, maybe six feet wide, between units sixteen and eighteen.  Crab grass and other weeds grow through cracks in the low quality paving and there's a litter of empty beer cans and abandoned cigarette tabs.  A striking piece of graffiti in a vibrant red on the brick wall of unit eighteen the only thing that distinguishes it from any other run down alleyway in Newcastle.  A "chare" they call it, in the local slang - you realise your mind is making random connections and take a halfhearted step forwards to investigate the alleyway.  From your new position you can see the graffiti clearly.



It's oddly unsettling and you step back quickly.  Others are arriving now, puzzled looks on their faces as they do the same search for Honers as you just have.

[Remiel]

Any normal person would have assumed that they had gotten lost, that they were in the wrong place, that they were on the wrong street.     Any normal person would have gone back, retraced his steps, looked for familiar landmarks.  An entire place of business, lot and all, does not just disappear overnight.  It's impossible.  Even if, say, the place was burnt down, sacked by vandals or ripped from its moorings by a highly destructive and extremely specific tornado, there would be something.   A lot of wreckage.  An empty lot.  Flotsam and jetsam, and other things ending in -sam.   

But Norm, despite all protestations to the contrary, was not a normal person.  He was the first to arrive.  Normally, he was punctual, but today a series of freak occurrences involving a power outage, a trespassing cat, and a balcony window that mysteriously slid shut behind him conspired to contribute to his tardiness.  He stopped in the empty alleyway, clutching his unopened umbrella in one hand, his suitcase in the other.  He glanced left, at the derelict warehouse that was unit 16.  Then he glanced right, at the stylized sign announcing Tyneside Windows. 

Cautiously, he advanced into the alleyway.  He read the message on the brick wall.   He turned, slowly, half-expecting to see binoculars peering down at him from high windows or from through the tinted dash of a black, unmarked automobile parked on the other side of the street.

The important thing, Norm told himself, was not to panic.  Someone had left that message there for a reason.   As soon as he figured out what that reason was, he would be better equipped to deal with the situation on his terms.

[Blythe]

Miyo Takahara was not the type of person in life to be late to anything. She was the type of person to crunch every number in her life, from the account books at Honer and Sons to her schedule to every penny she ever earned. Today was unusual, though, in the fact she was late, and she arrived where her workplace should have been already in a state of some anger and confusion. The whole morning had started wrong, from her curling iron refusing to add a lovely flip to her hair to her clothes not being quite dry from last night's stint in the dryer, necessitating fifteen extra minutes in there so she didn't wear a damp pencil skirt to work.

So when she did arrive, her black heels clacking past each unit until she got to the right one, her black hair disheveled, her hand fumbling with her phone and her purse, she was floored to see only one familiar face at all—a fellow she worked with in accounting at the company.

Apparently he was the only aspect of Honer's that seemed to be there at all, and that included a distressing lack of the company building. But soon others arrived, looking around with some bewilderment, and Miyo stepped forward to look at the graffiti, standing near Norm. She sighed and looked for any sign the police had been called—none had. She grumbled to herself, “You have to be kidding me. The whole place is gone! Its not like we can just call the police and say, “Hello, I'd like to report a theft. Yes, it's a whole building gone. Oh, and some vandalism.” She fidgeted and said to Norm, “You got here before me—do you have any idea what this is all about?”

[Remiel]

"The police aren't going to be any help," he sighed.  Because they're most likely in on it, he added to himself.  He did not say this out loud, however.  He was very good at not saying things out loud.

"We All Know You Did It," he murmured, poking at the wall, and its graffiti, with his umbrella.  "Whom is the 'You' referring to, I wonder?"

[Blythe]

Miyo crossed her arms as if to ward off a chill through her body when she read the graffiti accusation, writ in a blaring red and painfully obvious to behold. She wanted to tell herself that there was a rational explanation for everything, but nothing within mortal ken accounted for a building actually vanishing. She wondered what type of paranormal activity could account for the sudden disappearance of a whole building, if indeed it was that? She tossed the thought out of her mind--she needed some empirical proof about what had happened before jumping to conclusions like that.

She said to Norm, "The You....I'm wondering, since...well, the building that was supposed to be here is gone, that maybe it's referring to someone at Honer's? Or...I don't know, maybe even someone spray painting that as if they knew who..."

She hesitated to say it out loud, but it was apparent enough to just blurt it out.

"...who took the building, maybe, and were calling them out on it?"

[Demigod1945]

       Chris Manners was what one could call annoyed. For he liked to be punctual when it came to investigating a lead in a case, especially one so personal. Having arrived to Honer's unit 17 warehouse over half an hour late because his car, which he had only just bought no more than four days ago, unexpectedly broke down in the middle of the street. After waiting impatiently for the local tow truck to find him and his car, take it back to the garage for repairs, catching the mechanic attempting to lie about the condition of the vehicle and overcharge him, he pulled up to where unit 17 was located. Or was supposed to be located, Chris did a double take on the where the warehouse was supposed be standing.

       But all he could see was a small, damp alley way squeezing in between unit 16 and 18. He stepped out of his car and cautiously  approached the alley way. He saw that what seemed to be employees of Honers had already arrived and were just as confused as he was. He saw a woman and man standing together studying some graffiti on the wall."We All Know You Did It" What the hell was that suppose to mean? He approached the pair and overheard the woman's statement about where the building disappeared to and who wrote the graffiti. He decided to input his opinion.
   "That's a good answer to why someone would do this... but I have feeling that's not quite right, you see the "You" in this sentence could be just referring to who took the building, if that is what happened, but it could also be referring to just about anyone here, whether it be me, you, or him." He pointed to himself, and then the woman and the man for punctuation.  "Or even all of us at once." Chris walked up to the graffiti closely, examining it with a fierce intensity."Of course it could also just be a message between rival gangs, but what are the chances of that right?

[Remiel]

Norm turned, slowly.  Miyo, of course, he knew.  He and she had worked together for...how many years was it now? Five? Six?  He'd lost count.  Days tended to go by in a blur, at Honer's.  Sometimes he felt that his entire life was a lie, and that everything he knew was merely a dream, and that he was merely a brain in a tank somewhere...

...

...

...no.  Best stop that line of thought right now.  Down that road, Norm knew, lay madness.

Reeling himself back into the physical world,  he blinked at the other man.  Miyo he knew, but this man he did not. 

"And who are you, sir?" he asked, without any particular hostility, but also void of any warmth or friendliness.

[Kythia]

Tuesday 13th August 2013, 9:39

Whatever he was about to reply is not said as a car, travelling way faster than the constraints of safe driving let alone the speed limit, pulls up with a screech of protesting brakes.  Leaving the engine running and the car door open behind him, a chubby man climbs out and looks round with evident worry.  He's clearly been distracted from his morning routine - half of his face is covered with shaving foam and the dressing gown he's wearing hangs open revealing a flabby white belly and a pair of white boxers over fat legs.  He notices Miyo and pulls it not-quite-closed-enough over his body but his attention is clearly still on looking round and worrying.

"Who are you?  Has something happened here?"  He's got a northern accent, Barnsley perhaps or somewhere near there, his tone is worried, not at all aggressive.

He clearly realises he's acting a bit odd and, after a brief moment to collect himself, pulls his robe fully closed and ties the belt to keep it there, gives a faint apologetic smile mainly aimed at Miyo. 

"Sorry, look..." he struggles for something to say for a second then gives a short laugh "OK, look, I promise I'm not crazy.  But...has something happened here?  It... I dunno.  Is everything here..." he trails off to shaking his head, clearly unable to articulate exactly what he's asking.  He goes to where pockets would be were he properly dressed and laughs again, then shuffles his feet as he peers in confusion at the alleyway. 

"I'm" he's speaking very slowly, as much to himself as you "I'm almost certain I've never seen this alleyway before in my life. Pretty certain this can't be good news.  Look guys, what has.. OK, I'm Michael Tannen.  And, yeah, I'm not a crazy person."  He laughs again, clearly aware that repeating it didn't help "But if there's something weird here then you need to tell me.  You're not in trouble but...yeah...I, I really do need to know."

[Rook Seidhr]

Arriving just behind Tannen is a young man in his late teens, short, wiry, wearing a button-down shirt and a vest under his windcheater, messenger bag over one shoulder, running with surprising speed down the pavement. He actually spins around a lamppost by one elbow to brake himself and comes to a halt staring at the absence of Honer's.

"Da…?" he says. "What…is this some kind of a…"

Tannen's words don't quite seem to register on him.

[Blythe]

Miyo had worked with Norm before; they had gotten along passably well, to her knowledge. She also knew Norm tended to examine things from every possible angle--in her opinion, that made him a damn good accountant. She fidgeted as he asked the identity of the new man with suspicion, but that was the least of her concerns before Tannen arrived on the dreary and baffling scene. His accent...she couldn't place it herself, being poor with that sort of thing and not having an ear for it--she placed it roughly as Yorkshire and didn't want to narrow it down from there. Nor did it matter.

Of course, focusing on the accent was clearly easier than focusing on the fat pale fellow's boxers. She turns a bit red, embarrassed, and she says, "Perhaps you should calm down, sir. You're the gent out and about only in a bathrobe. Tends to not be the most stellar first impression. And sir, I can hardly see how we'd be in trouble if you're the fellow out in his boxers."

She shifted uncomfortably and noticed the young teen who'd run up, seeing what looks to be incredulity on the young man's face, if she read him correctly, and she said, "Ah...you're looking for it, too, young man? Join the club. No one knows what happened."

[Rook Seidhr]

"But…my Da…I was supposed to bring him his thumb drive, he can't give his presentation without it…but…where…"

Bran's voice trails off to silence; he stares at the absence-of-Honer's, transfixed and unresponsive.

[Kythia]

Tuesday 13th August 2013, 9:40

"Good point" he smiles at Miyo awkwardly.  "I was in a bit of a rush to get here and probably could have spent a bit more time getting ready."  He notices he's left the car running and half turns to turn the engine off.  You all flinch, instinctively, knowing that if he bends in to the car it'll cause his robe to ride up and expose a sight you almost certainly don't want to see.  He obviously realises this as well and abandons the movement with a lame "I'll just leave it for now."

He takes a few steps into the alleyway and glances over it.  "We all know you did it, do we.  Am I a 'we' or a 'you' I wonder."  He clicks his tongue a few times while he looks at the three of you and then frowns and takes a few steps towards Bran, arms wide opening to show he's not threatening and his tone kindly.

"You alright there son?  You don't look it.  Get yourself into the glove compartment of my car, you'll find some chocolate.  Help yourself, even I couldn't eat it all."  He laughs self deprecatingly "and then talk to me.  Trust me, it'll help you feel better."

[Rook Seidhr]

Moving slowly, as if underwater, Bran walks around to the other side of the car and fumbles with the glovebox, emerging with a Dairy Milk and a Fruit & Nut. He unwraps one, focusing his attention on it to get away from the bizarre scene, and takes a bite.

[Kythia]

Time for a rules interlude

The stress gauges.  Mmmmkay.  These are a tricky concept and by and large its not essential that you understand them - I'll just ask you for a roll from time to time.

In essence though they're a way of monitoring how much the vicissitudes of life are affecting you mentally.  A madness meter, if you will.

There are five of them - Violence, Helplessness, Isolation, Self and the Unnatural.  Each measures how well you are coping mentally with the appropriate type of stress.  A combat veteran might have become all but immune to the sight of dismembered body parts but will flip his lid if he gets trapped in an isolation booth for a day.  A magician, on the other hand, might not blink an eyelid at being transported to a parallel world where Austria-Hungary won the first world war but will running screaming if someone pulls a knife on him.

Each gauge has two types of "notches".  Failed and Hardened (f and h on your character sheets).  There are 10 hardened notches, 5 failed ones.  Hardened notches represent you growing used to the appropriate stress - the combat veteran.  Failed represent it taking a toll on your mental stability.  Neither are what you might call "good".  Filling up too many hardened ones means you are increasingly withdrawn from what makes you human, you become a sociopath.  Too many failed means your mind has broken, you go insane.  I'll explain the rules for those two states when they become relevant.

When I ask for a stress check, what I'm asking for is a roll against your Mind stat.  Success gives you a hardened notch as you absorb into your psyche whatever it is that is so disturbing, bringing you a step closer to a disconnect from humanity.  Failure means it "got through the shields".  You take a failed notch and choose one of three actions:

Panic - You run the fuck away from it.  As fast as you can.  Doesn't matter where, the goal is "away" not "towards"
Paralysis - the deer in a headlights approach.  You might rock, maybe scream, but you stand rooted to the spot until its gone away.
Frenzy - you fuck that thing's shit up.  You attack, smash and destroy.

You pick one of those three and stay like that until I tell you otherwise.  In some cases, one or more of them might not be relevant, use common sense.

There are ways of removing failed notches.  The only one likely to come up is "psychological first aid" - which is what Tannen is attempting with Bran.  Shortly (within an hour) after failing a check if someone sits down and helps you make sense of it then they have a chance of repairing the damage done to your mind.  In game terms, they make a check against something like "Counselling", "Psychiatry", "Good person to talk to" or other relevant skill.  If they pass their roll, you erase the failed mark.

A lot to cover there.  Takeaway points are:
Roll Mind when I ask you to.
If you fail, choose frenzy, panic or paralysis
I will let you know when you can stop
I will let you know, in vague terms, what your current state of mental stability is.  Thats down to you to roleplay to the extent you like - Im not actually going to force it on you but I do think its very interesting to play.

He smiles kindly at Bran and nods encouragingly as he unwraps the bar of chocolate.  "Just throw the wrapper in the back seat, I'll clean it out later.  And if you want to talk to me then feel free.  It'll do you good." 

He watches Bran for a moment longer then turns his attention back to Norm and Miyo, though still casts occasional worried glances at the boy.

[Remiel]

"That's all well and good," interrupts Norm, irritably.  "But obviously you know something about this.  What do you know, sir? I suggest you spit it out."

Norm's tone is vaguely hostile, almost threatening, even though he's armed with nothing more than an umbrella and a suitcase.   Yeah, he's probably going to be the asshole of the group.  Probably die an early death.  Then again, who knows?  He could have a life changing epiphany.

[Demigod1945]

 "No need to be so hostile, but he does have a point sir, you do know something, I can see it on your face." Chris chimed in. He always thought it to be important that his opinion and knowledge was known, there wasn't a grand strategy behind it, he just liked to do it. Even he thought it was a bit odd not to have a reason for it, but he wasn't too worried about it. Chris made himself look at the mans facial features, studying them if you will, whatever the man said next, he would be able to tell if he was lying or not, at least usually that's what would happen. It had been quite some time since he had applied his skills of lie detection, having been researching on his wife's case more than anything else, and most of this research hadn't involved any human interaction for several weeks until today. He wasn't entirely confident that he was still at his peak.  There have been times where his skills had failed him, even if his skills were top notch, although they were rare and had never happened multiple times in one setting, just occasionally someone would slip through his grasp and lie straight to his face without him even seeing it. When he ever looked back on these moments he laughed at himself and vowed to improve his skills so that it never happened again.

[Kythia]

He takes a deep breath and casts a last worried look at Bran, so far as any of you can tell his concern does seem genuine.  He once again goes to where a pocket would normally be but this time looks irritated. 

"I don't suppose any of you have a cigarette I could bum off you do you?  Mine are sat patiently on my kitchen worksurface.

But anyway.  I suppose you might have a point.  Let's just..." he glances over at Bran and takes a few steps away from him, lowering his voice slightly  "...I'm just not sure this conversation is good for the lad at the moment.  He looks pretty shaken.  Anyway.

I don't really know something. Or nothing I can put in to words at least.  Something happened here about, oh, about half an hour ago.  I don't know what and I can't really tell you how I know without you thinking I've lost the plot.  Lets just say its a gut feeling: I've got a lot of gut to have feelings in." he slaps his belly and laughs, trying to break the tension then abruptly sobers.

"But I know this area really well.  Really, really well.  And..." he stares at the chare for long enough to make you think he's finished before abruptly continuing.  "Nothing seems to have changed, but I can't shake the feeling that I've never seen that alley before.  It's...I don't know.  Is there an opposite of deja vu?  It feels like I've never been here before but..." once again he drifts off to staring at where Honer's used to be with a worried frown.  Eventually he shakes his head and returns his attention to you.

"Honestly, I think you might know more than me.  The four of you stood here" he shrugs "I reached the conclusion you knew something.  Might even be responsible."

[Rook Seidhr]

As the sugar hits Bran's bloodstream, he suddenly realizes he's ravenous. He munches his way quickly through the Dairy Milk as Tannen speaks. The man's last words sink in as he's unwrapping the Fruit & Nut.

"Know something? Responsible?"

Bran wheels on the others. "You, you're…I've seen you…both of you. Do you know something? Did you…vanish the store? Where's my Da!" He takes a bite of the Fruit & Nut, almost without thinking.

Norm and Miyo vaguely recognize the teenager; he's been around the office from time to time, especially during school holidays. A minute's thought places him as the son of the Finance Director—their boss's boss.

[Blythe]

Miyo said to Tannen, "Sorry, no smokes on me. Nasty habit to pick up, you know." She turned to Bran after hearing the lad become viciously accusatory, worried about him, but nonetheless had no patience for such talk about her or Norm being involved with this. She squinted and finally was able to place Bran...the Finance Director's kid? That was going to be problematic. She said, irritable, pointing a finger at Bran, "Be quiet, you. I know you're upset. We all are. Some of us have jobs and income we're worrying about right now as well as people who may have been here. But accusing the people that might be able to help is no way to find your father." Her face softened after that, and she placed a hand on his shoulder, saying, "Look, we'll figure things out, okay?"

She looked at Tannen again....and she decided that the only way to figure things out was to take a risk and talk to Tannen honestly. There were no other leads, and it wasn't as if the police were going to believe a word any of them said. She met the fellow's eyes and said firmly, "The alley you are looking at is where a company called Honer's should be. I should know; I work for the accounting department there. I was late for work, and when I got here....well, I suppose you could argue I never arrived at Honer's....that none of us did, as there doesn't seem to be a Honer's right now." Miyo hoped Norm wouldn't skewer her for offering the info, but she figured Tannen could find it out from any of the other people milling about the area anyway, so why not?

[Kythia]

Tuesday 13th August 9:41

He frowns and studies the alley for a moment then shakes his head.  Steeples his hands in front of his mouth as he decides what to say.  "OK.  I can't... I really must stress how well I know this area.  And I know you're worried about your father, lad."  It's a flat vowel, fa-ther not far-ther.

"But, well, it might be best if you here this from me not someone else.  This, errr, what do you say it was?  A business or something?"  He squints at Miyo "The one where you were an, errr, well, whatever you said?  You're, I know this is tough to believe, but you're mistaken.  I've been studying this area for a bit.  This is My Turf."  He pronounces it like that, you can hear the capitals - My Turf not my turf.  "And this, this thing - it's never been here.  Someone's messing with you.  Messing with your memories."  He smiles, a bit worried.

"I know you guys, and you, love" this to Miko "have no reason to know me or trust me.  But, well, do you want to know what I think you should do?"

I want some rolls from you

Please DON'T post here (except Riveda) until I've adjudicated your roll.  As I mentioned, once you know the system a little better I'm fine with people adjudicating their own rolls by and large but until that time I'd sooner give you specific pass/fail information.[/

In brief:
Norm, Miyo:  Roll three times, first is under Mind, second under Notice, third under Mind.
Chris: Roll twice, both of them under Mind.
Bran: Roll once, under Mind.

In not brief - explanation:
First off I want a significant Notice check from you.  That means a d100 roll under the stat that governs Notice - Mind in this case.  So for example Bran has a Mind skill of fifty so Riveda needs to roll 1-50 on a d100 to succeed.

Second I want a Major Notice Check from all of you except DemiGod.  This means a d100 roll under your Notice skill itself, not the stat.  So Bran has a Notice of 30, he needs to roll a 1-29 to succeed.

Finally I want a stress check from all of you except Riveda (he did his earlier)- which is a roll under your Soul stat.  So Norm has a Soul of 50, he needs a 1-49 to pass.  If you fail both the previous Notice checks then make it on the Self track (Riveda, I'll transfer yours over if appropriate).  What this means is that your sense of who you are - an accountant, the son of a VP, etc - has been hit by the realisation that this was just an implanted memory.  You're starting to question what else about your self could be forged.  If you pass either of the first checks though, then there's another option, same roll but different results.   I'll explain to those its relevant to.

My dicebot ID is 39076 if you want to send me them that way or just post them in the OOC/recruitment.

[Remiel]

As Norm scrutinizes the boy, he recalls where he's seen Bran's face before.  He was there at the Christmas party last year, that awkward occasion when high-level managers are forced to socialize with low-level employees.  Norm recalled making clumsy small talk with the Director of Finance and being introduced to his son, currently the young man standing before him.  "Yep, you got us, kid," he murmurs, flatly.  We just waved our umbrellas like so, and made the entire building disappear.  Yup.  Guilty as charged." 

He sighed, and rubbed his temples.  He shouldn't be such a dick to the kid, he knew.  But this was not turning out to be a good day.  He didn't know what was going on, and Norm didn't like it when he didn't know what was going on.  It always gave him a headache.  He liked neat things, things which stayed put, things which didn't go wandering off and subvert the laws of physics itself.   It was why he became an accountant.

He absorbed Michael Tannen's revelation easily enough.  It sounded like just the sort of thing the Government would do.  Of course, there was always the possibility the man was completely full of shit.  Both possibilities were just as equally likely.

"Not particularly," Norm snapped.  "But something tells me that you are going to tell us anyway."

[Demigod1945]

"Well Mr. uh... Tannen, I can say when you say there has never been a Honer's here, I believe you." Chris paused a moment, but then decided to abruptly introduce himself to the group. "By the way, my name is Chris Manners, ex-psychologist and currently a PI (Private Investigator) of New Castle . He extended his hand to Mr. Tannen, wanting to see how he would react. "And what exactly do you think we should do, because I for one am a bit confused as what to do next." Chris cocked his head back, intently studying the man's face. To some he may have just been acting mock interest, but really he was looking for clue as too whether the man would lie or tell the truth. Secretly, Chris hoped that he lied, it made things much more fun and interesting in the long run.

[Kythia]

He spreads his arms at Norm's aggressive comments and takes a step back.  "Hey, I'm not looking for trouble.  Just seemed to me you guys might be in a bit of a mess and I didn't want to just abandon you.  You want me to head off then I will.  I'm going to be late for work anyway."

As Chris watches him he notices something interesting.  While Tannen seems absolutely genuine in what he's saying you notice that the name Honer's and even the exact details of what have happened don't seem to stick in his mind at all.  He's not lying to you, you don't think.  Or at least not deliberately.  But there is something going on.  It's almost as if his memories are being messed with rather than yours.  That somehow, his mental references to the fact that Honer's used to exist are being removed as fast as they are made.  It half leads you to the conclusion that he's mistaken, that your memories haven't been altered.

[Kythia]

Bran notices the same thing as Chris, that Tannen's uncharacteristic forgetfulness seems to indicate its his memories of Honer's that are gone not your memories of it that have been implanted.  Sure, the physical building is gone but at least you haven't imagined it all.

In fact, as you're thinking on this, it occurs to you you have proof.  The key in your pocket, the one to your father's office to pick up his pen drive.  It's still there and as you look at it you can see its even the same familiar keyring.  A promotional one for Honer's giving its contact number, website, address and all the rest.

Physical proof the place did exist.

[Rook Seidhr]

Bran looks at the keychain as he crams the last of the Fruit & Nut into his mouth. Will it morph? Disappear?

If he shows it to the oddly forgetful man, will it then morph or disappear?

He wants to swear loudly but is too well-brought-up. Instead he swallows the chocolate, walks back around the car, and holds the keychain in front of Tannen by the keys. His hand trembles, making them jingle a little.