Akh gets a little battered by the eddy, but in comparison to his earlier sluggishness he's lightning quick as he dodges the worst of most of the effects.
He sweeps his tail in broad arcs against the eddy and then dives through, passing through the wall of flame in the process (unless is low enough that he can go over). He beelines the yellow mercenary "Don't they teach you anything in mercenary school? You ignore the confusingly big bounties. There's always a catch." As he slashes away he considers that his own team seems to have difficulty learning that lesson.
Whoa WHOA! Jaraduk dances about at the energy and fire attacks...
He deflects much of the first wave, stays standing, and then lands right in the fire.
It's time to run through the fire.
Guess? moves out of the fire ring and takes a shot at blue!
"Uh oh. The bull has pulled out the sword. Y'all are in trouble now!!"
[ooc](Manual sight reduces range and AC cover bonuses by 2 if character doesn't move)
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The group resists the eddy, and those who are caught by the blast are partially shielded by Akh's brave body. While Guess? and Jaraduk choose to run through the wall of flame...
Akh is able to fly up and over to cut into the mercenary. "But.. but... the beach house!" While Jaraduk prepares for close combat, Guess? fires in at the other mercenary, cutting off a rebuttal. The mercenary spits blood, which quickly freezes on the bitterly cold ground. "Trouble can't find you, when reality is your play thing." Both mercenaries lock eyes and their hands move in a series of quick sharp motions. Reality seems to fold around the pair. One disappears in a puff of flower petals, reappearing to your left. The other's form splits into an array of triangles, unfolding again to your right. Each, almost in unison, raises a pistol to fire a bolt of electricity at your group.
Everyone is up! Round 3.
Melissa, 19 damage
Jaraduk, 39 damage
Akh, 3 damage
Guess?, 42 damage
Yellow Vorlath Mercenary, 68 damage
Blue Vorlath Mercenary, 67 damage
"You're already down to pistols? I would have thought you'd have more magic up your sleeves. You can't get a beach house like this." Akh shakes the sparks free from his tail and zooms towards yellow again. He delivers a hefty slash.
OH great, they can teleport around.
He sprints through the cloud of flowery puff to chase after one of them slashing with his doshko at the end.
"I admit. These guys have more tricks than the typical assassins who've been coming after us!"
Guess? takes aim at blue and fires!!
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Guess? and Melissa are unable to get a bead on the teleporting magicians, but both Akh and Jaraduk close in again. Next to Akh, the mercenary growls out "Well the arcane doesn't seem able to catch you as well as a classic - " He interrupts himself, folding reality in a puff of flowery incense. The other enemy disappears out of Jaraduk's reach, leaving only a swirl of concentric circles in the air. The left vorlath calls out to his partner, "Prepare for trouble!" The other responds as each slashes downwards in a diagonal with both hands. "Make it double!" As their hands finish the movement, Akh and Jaraduk each feel their guts being pushed apart!
Everyone is up! Round 4.
Melissa, 19 damage
Jaraduk, 39 damage
Akh, 19 damage
Guess?, 42 damage
Yellow Vorlath Mercenary, 99 damage
Blue Vorlath Mercenary, 99 damage
See the adversaries teleport again, Guess? can't help but express his fascination with a quiet, "oooohhhh... coooool...."
After missing his shot, Guess? continues to muse, "D'ya know the things I... errr.. we can accomplish if we can just teleport around like that...???"
It's plain to see what is boggling Guess?'s mind - crime.
*hurk* Jaraduk let's out a grunt of pain clutching the front of his torso.
He shakes his head violently and the pain seems to pass. Glaring at the Vorlath that just evaded him he sprints towards it, doshko held out in front of him.
Akh pats where his chassis just briefly had a small breach appear. "That was interesting. Shame it didn't work. For you." He approaches and slashes yellow once more.
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Does being a flying rat make her a bat?
No, but it DOES make her a brat!
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Akh and Jaraduk resist the internal damage, while Melissa and Jaraduk are able to find place for their strikes. The mercenary folds to Melissa's shock, and the remaining fighter cries out. "No, this cannot be our reality!!" He slices again, in the opposite direction, at Jaraduk.
Everyone is up! Round 5.
Melissa, 19 damage
Jaraduk, 39 damage
Akh, 19 damage
Guess?, 42 damage
Yellow Vorlath Mercenary, 142 damage
Blue Vorlath Mercenary, 128 damage
Akh flies leisurely over toward the last mercenary, keeping his eyes out for any others that think it might be a good idea to try the group or interfere with any cargo.
Guess? targets the remaining assassin and fires!
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Melissa is going to use the RUN option as that guy looks like hes about to need a medic....
"Alright shoot anyone else but me "
Can't miss the stabalize check she's about to make.
" What do you say we grab these two and give them the option of spending a few years in jail or a few weeks changing bedpans in the pandemic? We're gonna need to put a brig on our ship if we keep this up."
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Akh has a hard time seeing anything in the chaos. Are those flashing lights, or the shadows of the fading wall of fire? Are those shouts of alarm from the onlooking citizens, or the wails of the chaos eddy? Is that plastic burning smell Guess?'s new deodorant or the unloaded medicine crates among the ashes of the landing pad?
Melissa is able to stabilize the mercenary, just in time for Guess to destabilize his companion with a bullet to the brain. (Nothing a bit of duct tape can't fix!)
As your adrenaline stops pumping, and Guess? and Jaraduk go to relieve the mercenaries of their belongings while Melissa goes to stabilize the second mercenary, Akh gets a better chance to look around. The reality-bending changes from the witchwarpers' spells begin to subside and you see beyond the fence. A half dozen onlookers peer through the metal grating. Some have their datapads up, streaming, while others are talking into them excitedly. Perhaps related, you begin to hear the wee-woo, wee-woo of emergency sirens coming your direction. Inside the fence, there's a different kind of keening going on. Doctor Gulm has fallen to his knees beside the crates, smashing his hands against the charred wood. It seems that in the fracas, the medicine on the landing pad has been destroyed! Unfortunately you had just begun unloading the trolleys and moving the boxes into the cargo bay before being interrupted. Dr. Gulm looks at your with hatred in his eyes. "You! You brought them here! You attracted such unwanted attention! I knew, I knew, I knew!" He's panicked, and rambling.
Akh, thinking quickly and not soundly, suggests "Kidnap the doctor and force him to make more medicine?" He looks expectantly at the others. "Either way we should get going."
Jaraduk sobers as the scene of reality unfolds around them.
Well... I think you're coming with us!
He grabs the doctor by the scruff of the neck as they hurry into the ship. He nods to Akh for the suggestion.
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"Hot diggity!" Guess? transmits telepathically. "Kidnapping?!? Now we're talking! Surely there's money to be made here!"
Guess? immediately runs up to Gulm and says urgently, "Can't be us! No one knows we're here! No, it's gotta be the gangs and government intelligence agencies who've always been after you! Quick! Come with us if you want to live!
"We can disappear into space. Get you set up again somewhere remote and impossible to trace. We have the means to keep you safe."
Guess? looks around, appears concerned at the incoming sirens, turns back to Gulm and feigns concern and compassion. "Come with us now. We're you're only hope. Those people who are after you are nearly here!"
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"You had to turn to us because your bureaucratic shipping regulations keep anything from getting landed or taken off for a year. Blame them. Those guys were here waiting for us, and if we were THAT easy to spot we'd be dead now. So if there's a leak or anything attracted those yahhos here " She slides the brain in, finds either a piece of skull or a bit of concrete that fits in like a puzzle piece, she doesn't care which if it fits it ships "It was something on your end. Blame that."
"Look, its not the most economical option but anything you can make you can print with UPBS right? Get on the ship, borrow the workshop and start printing. Or email me the recipee and.. I'll probably figure out how to do it...Save people now. Panic latter alright? "
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When the rest of the team are immediately all for his suggestion (for their own specific reasons) Akh is a little taken aback. He gets ready to pick the doctor up and haul him onto the ship, but pauses for a moment to see if Melissa and Guess's convincing can make the "kidnapping" into a "rescue operation". "Uh, yes. Our ship is also... uh, full of delicious snacks. So you should definitely come with us."
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"But, but, but... you, they, you..." Dr. Gulm begins to hyperventilate, overcome by Guess?'s verbal barrage. "Safe?" He still isn't convinced, dragging his feet as the Preluria Patrol's sirens get louder, until Melissa's kinder words convince him. "Yes, panic later. Panic later."
You hustle the doctor onto the ship, stepping over and kicking aside the charred crates. Jaraduk and Akh work to close the cargo door as Guess? and Melissa begin the startup sequence. As the door closes you see two hover cars with aqua and jade striping pull up. Several officers jump out, one screaming into a megaphone, but you can't hear him over the roar of your engines. Guess? takes off, escaping the atmosphere in less than a minute. Once there you don't get any hails or intercepts from the Patrol ships. Perhaps there is some nefarious plan (as Akh likely suggests) or perhaps the bureaucracy of the law enforcement arm couldn't keep up with your quick escape.
Unsure of where to go, and without any clear pursuers, you just choose a star and head off at max speed. Dr. Gulm spends the first hour of your trip hyperventilating, banging in terror on the starship’s hull, and occasionally yelling accusingly. "You wrecked everything!” You're not totally sure who is the target of his ire, but choose to give him his space. Eventually he claims a corner of the starship, obsessively disinfects it, and refuses to leave. When you carry him a premium meal made from Cheffy III, you find that you have stowaways! His three little white drones appear to have snuck their way on board, circling him as he frets and cleaning all the time.
With an empty cargo bay and an unstable passenger, you decide to head to the rendezvous point with Tarika on Crater, in Preluria’s rings. No drift travel required. It's unclear exactly how long it would take the good doctor to rebuild the medicine on your ship, but you definitely have time to catch up with your handler. You shoot Tarika a message and turn that direction. Just a couple hours later, you get a video response. She must be in system! “I can’t believe this happened again. Hylax, grant me patience,” she mutters, before taking a few deep breaths. When she continues, her voice is tinged with sadness. “Y’all know I love you. I do. But we can’t keep this up… Half the hired guns in the galaxy are after you. Can you just… lay low for a while. I’ll… I’ll handle the folks on Eshrud. I can’t leave ‘em to sicken and die. I’ll cash out what’s left from the White Glove job and buy that medicine they need." She shakes her head, unsure. “In the meantime, think of the future! I mean, if ya want one. Cause if you do, you’re gonna have to confront Sinjin.” There’s a long pause. “Stick to the plan. Keep heading to Crater. When I’ve finished with Oline and her people, I’ll meet you there. Put yer heads together. Think of a way out of this mess. Be safe, and stay put.”
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Hey, Blip thwip and skip. Get over here. Show me how to make the docs meds. She may also want to update their security systems...
Melissa stays off the phone call to hide her poker ears "Do we want to try helping out any way? I trust that tarika wouldn't sell us out intentionally.. i mean. if she was going to she would have by now. But someone might be hacking things on her end. Your disguises aren't THAT bad that we could keep getting blown like this. "
Melisas eyes start doing that weird thing glowing red when she's really angry. "Alright you two. Either you are going to help stop the pandemic, or I'm going to mummify you in duct tape and wheel you into a children's hospital where can explain to the parents why their kids are dying from a preventable disease. Check all 14 million six hundred and five futures if you want there is NO reality where you're getting away with this! "
Akh does his best to avoid throwing out told you so's and fails miserably "Tarika's right. We should have been working out how to deal with Sinjin, not saving the lives of waifs dying of deadly diseases. She's buying the medicine for now, but we should make sure our new doctor does his part." Akh peers down the hallways "Actually, looks like Melissa's on that already."
"Then, it's time to put any of our resources we've got left over to digging up info on Sinjin and his crew. We find where he's going to be, make a big distraction to lower his guard, and then storm the place and punch his lights out." He nods "I'm sure if we don't things will only get worse and worse until we've got THREE whiny doctors on our ship."
"By the way, anyone else think Tarika shouldn't be blaming us for the outcome of a series of jobs she more or less orchestrated and we salvaged from utter disaster?"
If we wait long enough, perhaps Sinjin will find a new hobby. We can't be that interesting forever...
"By the way, anyone else think Tarika shouldn't be blaming us for the outcome of a series of jobs she more or less orchestrated and we salvaged from utter disaster?"
Totally. Deflection is the tool of the master.
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"beep-beep-clean-clean" Melissa is confident she understands the trio of drones, but their medical knowledge appears to be limited to proper disposal procedures.
Driving on your in-system drive, you arrive to the asteroid in a couple days. Crater is an airless, lifeless rock orbiting Preluria; you are confident you can hide there without being noticed. Melissa confirms that Crater is near enough to other Prelurian moons to use the infosphere there, so you can research Lord Sinjin, as Akh suggests. Tarika will eventually meet up with you on Crater; this could take some time though. That works, with no amenities on the floating rock you have plenty of time to figure out a plan to take down Lord Sinjin.
Dr. Gulm continues to be a troublesome guest. His rebuffs all attempts to get him to work, "You don't even have a proper medical lab, and that wouldn't even be adequate for my fine work! ... this galley is disGUSting! ... who updated Swip's operating system?"
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Akh heads off to check some shady infosphere forums for everything he can glean about Sinjin's current living and working situation, including any bases and associates.
As he works he looks up and spots the doctor grousing "It's almost like he doesn't want to save any lives. Are we sure he made the original cures? Maybe we can safely space him and go find the real doctor."
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... who updated Swip's operating system?"
"He was running on portals 34! Portals 34 makes portals 12 look like portals 20. Did you WANT to send all your information to Abadarcorp? Its only like 12 credits to buy your search history there."
Maybe they can FINALLY get the smell of defrex chunky salsa out of the airvents...
No reason not to spend a resolve point for the reroll
=45
No reason not to spend a resolve point for the reroll
=31
No reason not to spend a resolve point for the reroll
=40
"I'm sure if we don't things will only get worse and worse until we've got THREE whiny doctors on our ship."
Guess? counts his fingers, "Melissa, one. Gulm, two. You're just one whiny doctor away from being right!"
If we wait long enough, perhaps Sinjin will find a new hobby. We can't be that interesting forever...
"Speak for yourself! I am obviously of EVERLASTING interest!"
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The first day, Guess? searches for general shady information about Sinjin.
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The second day, Guess? taps into his underworld smuggler knowledge and contacts to see if he can locate information on the criminal Sinjin.
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The third day, Guess? uses his bounty hunter knowledge to locate the bounty currently placed by Sinjin on the party and sees if there's a way to work backwards to track down information about Sinjin, his contacts, and his whereabouts.
Guess? also gets annoyed by the whiny Gulm and as a bit of side research, sees if he can locate any kind of bounty that's out for Gulm.
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The fourth day, Guess? tries to track down information similar to the third day but more of a mercenary angle than bounty hunter.
Jaraduk definitely need's Melissa's help with computers, but while she sets it up he gets the coffee brewing.
Research montage!
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Akh, with his knowledge of the criminal underworld, is able to find a dark web forum that is particularly informative:
Sinjin was a member of House Idrezen on Apostae. He left decades ago with three of his cousins to join the Golden League and was branded a traitor. He flourished as a Xun assassin, attracted followers, and founded his own crime family. Now, Sinjin is a powerful member of the Golden League. He’s never returned to Apostae. The Golden League is an organized crime syndicate with a history stretching to ancient Golarion. They train prestigious agents known as Xun, who serve as assassins or enforcers. The Golden League uses magical tattoos and tattoo weapon fusions. Sinjin himself has multiple magical tattoos, including two feline guardians that come to life, and a phoenix. No one knows what the phoenix does.
Guess?'s mercenary connections let him learn about Sinjin's security:
Sinjin owns homes on many planets but is currently ensconced in his personal fortress, Rendalairn, in the Verces nation of Obarshi. Rendalairn is impregnable and crowded with bodyguards, Xun assassins, and soldiers. Attacking him there isn’t feasible; he must be lured out. But Sinjin has also cancelled public appearances and sent proxies to business meetings over the last few weeks. Luring Sinjin out of Rendalairn will require something he must attend to personally. Sinjin travels with a personal guard of at least 25, including three Xun assassins. For an ambush to succeed, he must be separated from the majority of his guards. Sinjin is incredibly slippery. He’s been attacked by enemies and presumed dead on many occasions, only to escape or resurface unharmed. To take him down, Sinjin must be cornered and unable to escape; picking the right location for the trap is key.
Melissa hacks into a Golden League database, learning:
Two of Sinjin’s three cousins died following Sinjin’s orders. The third, Zeldirn, had a falling out with Sinjin and left the Golden League in disgrace. Zeldirn’s last known residence is an isolated spaceport in Near Space called Smuggler’s Moon. A new starship, Risen, was recently delivered to Rendalairn. You can find schematics for this starship that give its capabilities and layout; TheRisen is likely to defeat the Last Chance in starship combat.
Jaraduk is able to find some interesting information on the social media sites:
20 years ago, the legendary tattoo artist Shaieth Evadross left the Golden League. Shaieth’s last known location was Smuggler’s Moon. Sinjin was personally dispatched by his superiors to find Shaieth, but he returned empty-handed; this is the only blemish on Sinjin’s otherwise impressive Golden League career. Shaieth’s trail ends at Smuggler’s Moon.
Unsurprisingly, Guess's smuggling knowledge comes in very applicable when researching the Moon:
Smuggler’s Moon is a remote spaceport in Near Space founded and operated by King Dregor. It’s big enough to attract a crowd of smugglers and vagabonds amongst which you could hide, small enough for you to gain control of, and remote enough that—were you discovered— it would take several days for a message to get anywhere. A signal jammer could knock out the entire spaceport’s transmissions. It has no Golden League presence. King Dregor is an uplifted bear with a fearsome reputation. It’s rumored he’s never been bested in combat. He’s accompanied by rhyphorian battleflower bodyguards, and maintains control with a maraquoi security force. The workers of Smuggler’s Moon are either paid by King Dregor or owe him a great debt. It’s rumored many are indentured servants or slaves. King Dregor lives in a penthouse at the pinnacle of Smuggler’s Moon. He’s greedy and proud, and might be susceptible to bribery or flattery. Dregor only grants audiences to supplicants who bring him a gift. Supplicants then request a favor, which he might grant in exchange for their loyalty and a long term of service, usually at least 10 years. Dregor is also a nature lover, easily distracted by unusual plant and animal species; he keeps a conservatory on Smuggler’s Moon.
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"So is there some sort of dangerously delicious honeybee we could find and or import for him? I doubt we can hold his cousin hostage considering he, you know, "downsized" the other two. Maybe his tattoo artist kept a DNA sample and we can clone that and go sprinkle it around some crime scenes to sick the stewards on them. "
Jaraduk thinks more on the cousin.
Maybe... but we could feel out how jilted and hopeless his cousin feels. You know, trust in Guess? disguises. If Sinjin has made their life just miserable enough they could be emboldened by joining up with us. And if they're too comfortable, well perhaps we could anonymously turn up the heat "in the name of Sinjin" and increase motivation.
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Akh relays his findings to the rest of the party. Once all the discoveries have been gathered together, he hems and haws about it all and comments "We should probably go talk to Zeldirn. If anyone's going to both know about Sinjin well enough to give us a lead on how to ambush him, and also have plenty of reason to collaborate with us to do so, it's him. In any case, everything points to Smuggler's Moon. It seems to be a meeting ground for people that have slipped away from Sinjin in the past."
"Yes, Smuggler's Moon is definitely a place to hit up. Seems like we're gunna need the bear king's favor if we're gunna find the cousin and the tattoo artist. I get the feeling they're not gunna be easy to find unless the ruler of the place actually helps us. Any ideas for where we can get some impressive wildlife or plants? Maybe the doc has some ideas...
"And actually, I see another place to head to in search of allies. Apostae. Sinjin is male. He defied their entire society and their norms. That's gotta leave a horribly bad chip on the House Idrezen's shoulders. It probably diminishes that house in the eyes of all the other houses. With the right offer, they'd probably jump at the chance to kill Sinjin. The enemy of my assassin is my friend, amirite?!?
"If you ask me, I think a drow house will be a much more reliable ally than a chaotic bear. Who wants chaos for an ally, amirite?"
Guess?, oblivious to the irony in his preceding statement, continues, "But ultimately, I think we should hit up both places. We're gunna need as many allies as we can get for this one!"
Jaraduk ponders the options...
Which do I think Sinjin is more likely to collaborate with to double-cross us? The Bear King, or the jilted house assassins on Apostae? It's got to be the Bear King...
He's not entirely confident, but the Bear King seems easier for Sinjin to weaponize.
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Guess?, in his bonus time, is able to find a bounty for a Dr. Tumult, who looks shockingly similar to Dr. Gulm, by the Preluria Patrol. Unfortunately, the reward is in 'Social Credits'...
You're inclined to agree with Jaraduk and Melissa's evaluation of Apostae - and not just because Akh is presumed dead and the House may still be looking for their missing stolen bigger-on-the-inside freighter. You begin to plan a trip to Smuggler's Moon after Tarika gets here.
Bringing a suitable gift would be certain to get you access to King Dregor, and an advantage against his significant political savvy. With only dead moons in the vicinity, it's going to be difficult to find something impressive enough for a "king". But... you have made some friends along the way. Perhaps it is time to call in some favors! The equatorial region of Vohxa has some plants found nowhere else in the Pact Worlds. It's been a few months since you've last spoken with the rebels, but perhaps one would be willing to send a package on a fast one-way postal drift rocket your way.
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"You know, what if we got him an exploding defrex? I think that might have some certain amount of novelty." Akh offers "Oh. I have an even better option - we could go to that water planet and get some neat plants from the super-eels we saved. They definitely owe us."
"Either way, I'm sure we can find something that the big King is going to like. We've seen a lot."
Guess?'s ears droop at the lack of cash payment for the good doctor. But at the mention of exploding defrex, all is forgotten as Guess? suddenly perks up!
"Yah! Yah! Great idea!! Who wouldn't want exploding livestock?!?!? It's both entertaining AND cuts down significantly on the buthering effort! Amirite?!?!?"