Nate gives Faith a sad, casual salute as she leaves, but says nothing until the door's closed behind her.
"You were too hard on her," he says to Maggie after Faith leaves. "You wanna talk loose cannons? You weren't there. That idiot Jim-Bob tried to blow Sierra's head off. He's drunk on what little power he has and doesn't give a rat's ass about the law. He's a shining example of everything that's wrong with 'government authority.' If he'd behaved like a proper officer of the law, we wouldn't've been forced into the position we were."
He pauses to pop a pill. "Hell Maggs, when I heard the LEOs were coming, I took up a sniper position! If things'd gone differently I'd've been the one you were chewing out. Look, I know this is your show and we're just hired guns, sorta. But you need to understand that we all did what we thought best, did the best we could under the circumstances. We always have, and we always will."
He looks at the closed door. "That goes for Faith, too. Letting her go is a mistake."
Gavril makes his apologies, but says he thinks he and Faith were in the right, and says he is leaving PATRIOT as well.
Maggie looks back-and-forth at Nate and John, and says, "Never have I seen a mission go so bad so fast. I'd understand if you wanted to leave too, and I'm not going to ask that you do this mission for me, but for PATRIOT. I'm convinced that there is another organization out there, and that we have a mole. If you can get the intel we need, I think PATRIOT can be saved. After that, I'd understand if you want to part ways.
So, go meet Astaria at the GPS location I've sent to your phones. Best of luck!"
You get to the co-ordinates at the time specified, 1 AM.
Nate and John see a slight form in the darkness nearby. John whispers "What is your quest?", and you both hear "To find an African swallow" whispered back, which is the correct password.
An attractive, slender, well dressed woman approaches, cautiously. She has an air of superiority about her. She has a pistol on both sides of her. From the look of the holster they appear well used. She approaches the group and says "Good day to you, my name is Astaria EsFallen. And you are?"
"Nate," the nondescript late 30s/early 40s man in fatigues says as he eyes the woman up and down. "Nate McCulligan." He looks at John and jerks a thumb at the woman. "Maggie must think a lot of this one if she's sending her in cold. Not to mention us being down to three operatives."
The cops found them when they completely cleared the crime scene, and were returned with you in those boxes.
Maggie also gave Nate and John the van, which has LOTS of resources. Just ask, and there's a chance something useful will be in there.
The slightly short, slightly overweight young man in his early 20's wearing jeans and a plaid shirt says "Name's John. Listen, we got to tell each other what we're good at right now if we have any chance of pulling this mission off.
I'm pretty good with my guns. If either of you ever gets hit, try to get to me as soon as possible, I'll be able to heal you quick. What about you, girlie?" John's couldn't help but react to that air of superiority, same one Faith had, that nearly blew the mission.
"I am an excellent marksman with my guns, and I have extensive knowledge of the occult. If it involves the occult I am sure I know how to deal with it."
"So what's the gig, Love. I'm up for anything."
"We've got to break into this so-called factory and find proof that there's a secret organization that's trying to...well, organize...all the weird occult things that have been showing up recently. It'd be even better if we could find proof that they've infiltrated PATRIOT, the company paying your bills. This is strictly a sneak-and-grab, got it?"
You are facing a large sluice drain, with a hinged gate across it, and a padlock on the gate.
"Hey, soldier boy, speaking to Nate, "you got anything to get us through the gate?"
Nate hitches up his pants. "My expertise extends to all manner of armament and ordnance. Covert ops. Graboid hunter. You can count on me not to back down from any threat."
"Well, except for clowns," he adds quietly. "And hospitals. And elevators. And small confined spaces. Which elevators are, so they're worse than just small spaces. So the order is clowns, elevators, confined spaces, hospitals. No, wait. Clowns, elevators, hospitals, confined spaces. Oh, and mushrooms. Yeah. Clowns, elevators, confined spaces, mushrooms, hospitals, that's the order."
Visibly disturbed by recounting his phobias, Nate pulls out a prescription bottle and dry-swallows a pill.
"Now let's go kick some nefarious occult butt!"
___
"Well, I could shoot the lock off, but that'd attract attention. We probably have a crowbar in the van but that'll be noisy too. I wonder if Maggs included a bolt cutter." Nate returns to the van to check.
I think Streetwise is more of a social interaction skill. <searching> Yep, more like gathering info "from the streets".
But Maggie does have a set of boltcutters in her van.
While Nate goes to look, John says to Astaria, "Don't let his quirks fool you, he's good in a fight and he'll always have your back. How long you been fightin' strange beasties? Or if this is your first time, how'd you learn to use those guns?"
"I started as a forenzic anthropologist. Traveling to foreign lands, some of them hostile, I needed to learn to protect my self. Once I started practicing with my pistols, Bessie and Bert, I found I had quite a nack for it. I am equilly good with either hand as I am ambidextrous. Burned up a lot of rounds at the practice range. I assure you, I am an expert marksman.
Once I got into the research, I found I loved the occult. So I spent my free time researching the occult. I have over 50 adventures, simulated. This is my first real forey into the field. But I assure you I am well prepared to handle anything that comes along."
To John "So what's your story, handsome?"
It's hard to tell if John is caught off-guard by being called "handsome", or whether he just doesn't like to talk about his past, but he stammers out "Huh? Me? Uh, well I...um...I spent a lot of time living on the streets, so I learned how to survive out of necessity. Then I discovered that I had these, uh, abilities that helped me survive, like making people confused so I could get away, or healing myself or others.......anyway, that's it."
He turns his attention to checking his guns, making sure they're ready to go. Astaria might notice that he speaks awfully good English for a "bum".
"Well, if we're all introduced, lets get to the op."
"Found an effective lockpick," Nate says with a grin as he holds up the bolt cutters. Mimicking an old fast food commercial he intones to John, "Please sir, step aside," then positions himself in front of the grate. A minimal bit of elbow grease and a dull "clonk" later, and he pulls away and discards the now-useless padlock.
Nate pauses to pull a small plastic squeeze-bottle from a pocket of his cargo fatigues, liberally applying oil around the top of both hinges. Cautiously pulling the gate open, he bows and makes a sweeping gesture inward. "After you!"
You follow the only path thru the drain, until you eventually come to what looks like a sluice grate in the ceiling.
It doesn't appear to be locked or bolted, but it is fairly well stuck in its fitting.
Strength checks -4 to push it open relatively quietly.
Nate examines the grate carefully, giving it a gentle shake. "Gonna be tough getting that open without making a racket," he whispers to the others.
"Alright, soldier boy, time to flex those big muscles and see if you can open that thing without wakin' the dead"
Nate shrugs, then grabs the grate and tugs.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Well, I'm not as well muscled as GI Joe over here. But, I'm no whimp, so I'll give it a go."
"Damn, well, I can't open it quietly, so looks like we have to blast our way through. Hey Thrasher, what is the next step, dinomite or a pry bar?"
Nate grins. "I'm never one to pass up a chance for high explosives, but... here. " He reaches behind him to pull out the crowbar retrieved from the van and hands it over.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The grate opens easily using the crowbar for leverage, but creaks a little as you pry it loose.
Climbing up thru the square hole, you find yourselves in what appears to be a basement level of the factory building. But it's unlike any factory room you'd expect - there are shelves and shelves of glass, metal, and ceramic jars filled with what looks like herbs, body parts, and some things you can't even recognize at first glance.
A single closed door provides an exit to the room.
"Cheery place," Nate says quietly, eyeing the body parts and pulling his pistol.
"Facinating". Astaria moves over to examine the body parts and identifies them to herself, but can be heard if anyone is listening.
"Hey 'doc', get over here and focus on the mission!" John whispered, gesturing at the door.
Nate snickers, then moves to the door and places his ear against it, listening.
Scanning the herbs and other stuff on the shelves, Astaria will...
Notice = 20, 4 Raises?!?!?!?
Well if there is anything to notice or trigger a hummm response, I'd say Astaria saw it or found it.
"Hey Guys check this out!!!" Whatever this happens to be.
Astaria sees an object tucked far back behind a large stack of other stuff. It's something she has only heard of in legends and myths, that is said to be a key component in a very obscure mystical ritual. It is shaped like : 0+
and its color is hard to describe - seems to shift from red to gold in the dim light.
Nate hears a gravelly voice thru the door "Hey, didjya hear sumptin'?" Sounds pretty close, like 10-20 feet away. "Ha! I'm *always* hearin' things around this creepy place" says another voice. As you listen, you hear footsteps fading away.
"Shh!" Nate hisses, waving frantically at Astaria, then pulling away from the door and speaking quietly. "At least two other people in here with us. Other side of the door, probably far side of a room, possibly headed away."
He puts his hear back to the door.
Astaria reaches in and brings the object into the full light and looks at it carefully diggging into her Occult Knowledge she concludes:
Success without modifiers.
She carefully wraps up the object and tucks it safetly into her Pouch.
Drawing both pistols she moves over to the door.
As Asteria touches the object, suddenly her senses seem to come alive for the first time. You can hear the drip of water down the sluice, smell the mustiness in the room, even see a little better in the dim lighting.
But it all goes away after you wrap it up.
Nate hears nothing more.
"OK Nate, let's get this show on the road. Crack the door and let's get a look at what's happening."
Nate nods and tries to quietly turn the knob and open the door.
Nate opens the door and peers out thru the crack. No one is in sight.
Astaria will take out her new bauble and hold it in her left hand, righ hand still has a pistol in it and proceed slowly and quietly down the hall.
Nate slips in behind her and pulls the door most of the way closed to minimize any light spillage.
Nate grabs a small item from the shelves that looks like it should keep the door from latching without holding it too far open.
After wandering around the dimly-lit hallways for a couple of minutes without finding a stairs or elevator, you hear the sounds of talking from around the corner.
It sounds like it's coming your way. There's a door about 6 feet away from your present position, and the nearest corner (away from the talking) is maybe 20 feet.
Astaria will check the door to see if it is locked. If so then will position herself for a surprise attack on the men coming around the corner. She holster her pistol and puts the "quizzt" thing in her pocket. She will attack with her martial arts so it is quick and quiet. She signs to Nate to do the same.