Tarnikos loops around and returns to the jail, out of breath.
That's the hardest I've ran in a long time. Now for the finale.
He pulls out an amulet with Halthar's sigil painted on it, draws a knife and heads inside.
The final greycloaks turn to look at you. You have a risky position.
Tarnikos rushes in and attacks.
Tarnikos, you begin slashing at the greycloaks viciously. You manage to cut one quite deeply and the rest start to back off. What do you do?
Tarnikos takes the wounded greycloak by the chin, forcing him to his knees before cutting his throat.
The other greycloaks turn and run.
The bells of the crematorium begin to ring wildly as deaths occur throughout the city, the ravens flying out wildly to locate the far flung bodies. It'll take a little bit before the Spirit Wardens arrive at this spot, but there's no time to dawdle. The greycloaks are fleeing, what do you do?
Tarnikos beats feet and gets away from the jail as quickly as possible.
Mender, Tarnikos comes running to you. You've been holding the escape route waiting for him. What do you do?
Hutch, you hear the bells, the other murders have occurred. It's time to do whatever you're going to do.
Velaris is dead, obviously...but where is Emaline for all of this?
Hutch, manic and cackling hysterically, walks to the center of the circle, and the body of Velaris. Stooping, he runs his fingers through the pooling blood and washes the freshly tooled bone. "As the navigators of the bygone age did before me, I bessech you, Halthor, for your resplendent guidance. May we see the patterns in your divine providence, and secure on the earth what was lost from the skies."
"Did all go well with your...ritual?" asks Mender as he helps Tarnikos into the tunnel and then closes the grate. He then motions for Tarnikos to move with him away from the entrance, lest they be discovered by pursuers.
Once they are what they are what Mender deems to be far enough away, he will light a lantern and take a look at Tarnikos, looking for injuries.
Tarnikos grins like a madman but says nothing, showing his lack of injury.
Hutch's coat is unbuttoned and hangs open. Two of his pockets are torn, and the seam in his shoulder is splitting open. His sleeves are stained past the elbows with blood. He stands in front of the fireplace in the lounge, staring into the flames, arms at his sides, breathing deeply like some massive sleeping beast.
A woman none of you has seen before sits in a chair facing the door, drinking expensive scotch from the decanter. She has the look of a shade: barely substantial and predatory. "You lot didn't die! My brother owes me sweets... Anyone fer a drink?" She swirls the last three ounces of scotch in the decanter.
"I was never in any real danger my dear. I was merely backup in this scenario. Bye the bye, who are you exactly?"
"I'm on the payroll -though not for this job, exactly. Exactly who I am is Cissa of the Black Diamonds. From what I gather, darling, we may have more to discuss in private. For now, let's count our losses. Your Blackstar popped off again, but not without doing his part in the ritual. The atifact is attuned. Where is the other blademaster? The bitey one?" Cissa finishes the scotch with a pop.
"Do ya mean me? I'm right here."
Tarnikos lumbers into the room, unsure of the situation.
Cissa claps her hands, delighted. "Good, good. No significant casualties to speak of..." There's a pause as the woman dares the two of you to object. "My brother tells me the two of you have been... off-put? -by all the wyrd majyk, and I want to assure you that we will be returning to more pragmatic ventures. In fact, we might be clearing out some of the wyrd influences in this region. Mender, I want to put a special focus on your objectives for now. You let me know what materials you need, and I'll have my brother make the arrangements."
"How strange that nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude..." Other than this odd quip, Hutch does not move from the fireplace, nor move his gaze from the flames. His shadow stirs restlessly.
"You mean Verlaris has left again?" asks Mender. Turning to Hutch, Mender says "Why did you invite this woman into our base, and how does she know about my research?"
"Yes," Hutch croaks. "Cissa is my sister, she has always been welcome here, but she has only now stepped out of the shadows. In the dark of the night, I have sent her whispers of our dealings. She is quite taken with your work, Mender, or what of it I understood."
"There was an attack. The acolytes are disposing of the bodies."
Prophet's on a bender again? Emaline says Is this just the place he holes up between those? She asks.
Nice to meet you, Cissa Emaline says
"Sure seems like that's how he sees this whole thing sometimes..."
Tarnikos frowns to Emaline.
"People here call me Tarky."
"So, then, have we concluded our due diligence with your faith-based activities?"
"I certainly hope so. I need to blow off some steam."
Ok, lets roll into downtime!
Payoff: 2 coin for the offetory, 3 more coin snatched from the Greycloaks
Heat: This was pretty chaotic, but it was distributed chaos. Because of all the other murders that happened last night, I'm going to only give you 2 heat.
Entanglements!
Cooperation: A +3 status faction asks you for a favor. Agree to do it, or forfeit 1 rep per Tier of the friendly faction, or lose 1 status with them. If you don't have a +3 faction status, you avoid entanglements right now.
You don't have a +3 status faction, so you're under no obligation to do anyone a favor!
It's time for your downtime activities. Please let me know if you need a refresher on what you can do!
Cissa will take 1 coin and give Mender and Tarnikos 2 coin each, assuming there won't be any argument.
You addressed a challenge with calculation or conspiracy.
Very yes. This was Hutch's first Grand Design, so at least a +1.
You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background.
Got to murder Velarius, got to ride a goat across rooftops, played messenger, and brought his sister back from the shadows. A firm +2.
You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas during the session.
I have a trauma now, but this one still has to wait.
Downtime
Hutch is invariably found standing over the attuned whale bone, humming discordantly as if he were trying to tune an instrument. Occasionally, someone walking down the hall might hear him talking to someone, but when they enter the ritual sanctum, the conversation ends, and no one is there.
Hutch continues to correspond with the Flock, and seeks out information he can use to blackmail Jeren into loosening his grip on the archives.
I'm going to give you 2 for a challenge with calculation or conspiracy. That was a masterful play!
Can you tell me a little more of what you're doing to sway Jeren?
Thank you!
Hutch wants to figure out why Jeren isn't answering, and gather everything needed to sway him because he's not great at swaying people. Maybe Jeren's clammed up on all the local spiders, or it's personal. He will absolutely not approach Jeren yet. This is trying to find leverage.
Ok, that small amount of roll gets you the information that what ever has spooked Jeren is personal. He's not talking to you in particular.
[b]yeah, So, where to, now that we're done with the weird ghost stuff? Shoud I get to finding him... Again?[/] She says
You addressed a challenge with violence or coercion
Well I murdered a guy and drew a hell of a diversion with caltrops and gunfire, 2?
You expressed your beliefs, drives, heritage, or background
Not really.
You struggled with issues from your vice or traumas
Not really.
Tarnikos hits the pits and spends way too much money gambling it away.
Do you have a long term project you’re interested in? What drives Tarnikos? What does he want?