Nilasa had broken in to try and steal some documents related to smuggling. She was caught by the guy you were chasing (the one with the burnt-oil smell); she tried to escape out the window, but he wounded her, then shot her just in time to interrupt her flight magic (which is how she wound up on the fence).
The embassy tried to hide the wound with healing magic, since the guy you were chasing leaves distinctive wounds contaminated with witchoil (the stuff in the smugglers' vials).
Nilasa had fey pepper on her because she'd drugged the embassy staff with it, trying to make sure she wouldn't be caught during her break in; she then drank an invisibility potion and snuck upstairs.
The doctor was a random passerby who moved to help her when she fell; she pushed what she'd stolen into his hands and he ran.
Apologies for the extended silence, and this: I don't think I'm going to have time to run this anytime soon, and it'd be hard to come back from this long hiatus anyway. Thanks for playing! Again, I'm really sorry.
If y'all have any questions about what was really going on, feel free to ask here, or via PM.
Sure, this is definitely enough of a break that leveling seems appropriate. In fact, I'd say it's a good point to call end-of-session. Post your answers to the EOS questions in the ooc thread!
Tethys
"I'd say your finding this box is a stroke of luck; whatever that group is up to, it can't be good. Keep an eye out for the rest of those; I'll have the other teams do the same. As far as the embassy goes... That sounds to me like they're up to something. Hopefully you can find out what from this doctor."
Everyone
So, how are you trying to pursue the doctor? Adir's nose, Retzack's "ask around", or something else?
Yeah, didn't mean to make anyone summarize, sorry :p Consider that part admirably hand-waved; got anything you want to ask your boss while you're here? If not, how are you planning to search the Nettles?
It takes several hours, and causes some notable disruptions in places, but you manage to commandeer a wagon, and haul the box through the city without inflicting much collateral damage. Retzack, the extended time spent in proximity to the box is somewhat draining, but you're done before you're in any real danger but do please mark 1 hunger. The magic-suppressing cells in the RHC's jail do appear to work on the box, as well; you get the box (and your prisoners) stowed without incident.
As you're finishing securing the box, a cane on the stairs behind you heralds the arrival of your boss. Inspector Supervisor Delft looks you over and says "Must've gotten interesting, from what I hear. What'd you find out?"
Kappa's question provokes a vigorous "no" head-shake from both of the captives. "Not right now, no. I know there's at least three, but that was the only one we had here right now." volunteers the man. The woman looks at him, before saying "T-Twelve. I've seen at least a dozen of those boxes come through...never more than three at once, and o-only the one right now, though." [ooc]Burke: both statements are true.[/b]
What Kappa found at the hotel is consistent with the residues you've found elsewhere - the same person presumably ran into him in the alley, followed his trail to the hotel, and followed him from the hotel to your present location.
Kappa
You again approach the box, and feel it starting to pull at your soul. The effects binding your soul to your body are stronger, for now. You attempt to pick the box up, and find it's astonishingly heavy; you can lift it, but only barely.
You're encumbered as long as you're carrying the box, and staying near it for anything longer than a few minutes will require another Defy +Con to hold on to your soul.
You spend a while trying to activate the rusted iron ring, but as far as you can tell, it's a perfectly ordinary piece of metal. It doubtless acts as a focus for whatever trick they're using to get around, but you think any circle of iron could probably be used.
Recap:
You left the embassy following the trail of a doctor, who has whatever it was Nilasa broke into the embassy to steal. Someone else was also following him, who smelled of burnt engine oil - the box you're dealing with now has a similar smell.
The doctor stopped by his hotel room, which had been ransacked after he left. After that, he came to the building you all were just in. One of your captives says that he was sent on to a safe house in the Nettles.
If you're calling in support for the box and your prisoners, what instructions do you give them? If you're heading to the Nettles after the doctor, how are you going to find him?
"I d-don't think so", the woman replies. " Never seen Enzo with one except when we were loading or unloading a box."
Tethys
The man swallows, looks around nervously, and swallows. "Enzo, and others, can use it to get around somehow. Seen 'em appear in a locked room, right in the middle of an iron circle like that. Didn't work for me when I tried one time, though. "
Well, it worked - sort of. Your breeze caused the pressure to release in one direction, instead of affecting everyone nearby; unfortunately, the wave of necrotic energy blew right back at you, knocking you backward and leaving you feeling weak. Take 1d10, and mark the Sick (Con) debility. Once the water finishes falling away, the box's effect is back to its previous state - unsafe to get close to, but merely unpleasant if you're a couple of yards away.
Burke and Retzack
The two thugs look at each other for a long moment. The woman finally nods, ever so slightly, and starts talking. "Working for Enzo - keeping tabs on some of the local businesses he's got...an understanding with. The box contains vials of some kind of liquid; Enzo's got us hiding it in some of the factories nearby, then collecting it after it's been there a while. Don't know what it does, but it's apparently super-dangerous. Leo found that out the hard way." She pauses for a minute. "Enzo had these wards - silver, circles, with this odd pattern on them - that needed to be kept on the boxes when they were full."
The man looks at her, and shakes his head. "We're both dead now, you know that?" Then he looks at Retzack, and moves his hand to the puncture wounds on his neck, and starts to look a little panicky. A moment later, he adds "Are you looking for that doctor? He was here earlier - said he needed to leave the city, fast. Enzo had him sent to the Nettles - told the guy they'd get him to a safe house. I don't know where, but if you let me go I can try to find out for you!" he adds, clearly afraid Retzack will follow through on his threat.
The Nettles is the lowest-class district in the city, rife with slums, and the hub of most of the IronHand's activity. Burke, the last part, about him being able to find out about the safe house, is a lie.
You find the thug where you left him, still pale and unconscious, and get him back to the alley without incident.
Tethys
Enzo disappeared during this fight in the alley, after laying the iron circle on the ground.
And your use of Trickle sounds good to me. More below.
Burke
XP for your 6-, and take the 5 damage.
A searing pain in your legs dominates your mind, along with lesser pains in your back, mirroring the woman's apparent injuries; her legs are still visibly broken, however. This has happened before - you've taken on her pain, but not her injury; she could compound her wounds if she tries to move at all. She begins to awaken. What do you do?
Everyone
Kappa and Tethys, mark bonus XP for acting on the 6-.
As Tethys starts to form a shell of water over the box, the faint uncomfortable feeling fades. Tethys, however, realizes quickly that all is not well; a sort of black bubble forms around the box, and she feels an outward pressure start to form. As long as you keep the box totally covered in water, you expect the pressure will continue to build; when the dam breaks, there's going to be a wave of its soul-tearing power that will be stronger the longer it's been submerged. What do you do?
"What is this thing and how does it work" is Spout Lore, not Discern Realities; your roll still leaves you with a 7-9.
The iron thing is a circle, a few inches thick with a diameter of a few feet, cleverly hinged so that it folds up into a relatively compact shape - probably so it's easier to carry. The metal is heavily corroded. It's clearly a focus for some sort of spell; similar things made of gold can be used to ward against teleportation, but based on what you saw, this one must have enabled...whatever it was Enzo did.
And for "Bad Feeling..."
When you get up close to the circle, your conduit tenses, as if something's pulling on it sideways to reality. the last time you felt this, you were close to a pathway to the Dreaming; the feeling's different this time, and your guess is this circle was part of a connection to somewhere else...maybe the Bleak Gate? What happened in your past where you were in, or came close to, the Dreaming (realm of the fey)?
Retzack
Retzack, you're getting close to the box? Give me a DD+Con, if you please!
Retzack, as soon as you get close enough to feel the box's effects, you know exactly what's happening; something inside it is literally tugging at your soul. Spend enough time close to it, without some kind of protection, and it could probably actually sever your soul from your body.
Kappa
Mark XP for your 6-.
Three times in the past, you've run into a case where what can only be described as a drop of liquid Dreaming manifested, causing all kinds of "interesting" effects on the nearby mortals. This feels vaguely similar to you - tell the squad what you did to contain those effects; anyone who tries that here can mark XP.
Everyone
The afternoon is getting on; it'll be shift-change at the nearby factories before too long, and this street will be getting a lot busier. This box could cause problems if it's still here when that happens. What do you do?
Actually, you guys are in the next district, a 10-15 minute walk away; but Adir relayed your location to Kappa previously, and Kappa's timeline had plenty of wiggle room; feel free to add yourself to the scene, Kappa.
By the time you get your garments situated, your quarry is nowhere to be seen; a large crowd of people, working class from the look of them, is marching and chanting down the street a couple of blocks from you, in the direction he was headed. Looks like one of the labor protests that's been happening more often recently. If he reached that crowd, he'd blend right in.
Right around then, a polar bear emerges from the building next to you, carrying a badly wounded woman in its mouth.
What do you do?
Tethys
Okay, got it. "quickly looking around" doesn't call for a roll.
There's no sign of the bit of silver; Enzo must have still had it when he vanished. There I, however, a rusted circle of iron on the ground where he disappeared, about four feet in diameter, made of multiple hinged segments.
There's a circular impression on the lid of the box, about the right size for the silver thing, but you're sure the bit you saw was more complicated - there must have been some sort of design in it.
What do you do?
Burke
The visual effect reminds you of a time you dealt with a Necromancer. Tell me about it. Doesn't have to be a fight, but you were there when some sort of death/afterlife magic was happening.
You drag the two collapsed bystanders away; their breathing steadies somewhat, and you guess they (and you) are out of immediate danger. Whatever is affecting you, it definitely gets stronger as you get closer to the box.
What do you do?
Adir
You step outside as Retzack is struggling with his cloak; you can see ice shining in the alley to your left, though it's rapidly melting. To your right, a group of protesters is marching along, several hundred strong. What do you do?
After a few more moments, the woman you're sitting on groans, and goes limp. She appears to have passed out. What do you do?
Retzack
Mark 1 hunger along with your XP.
You round a corner after your prey, and find him waiting for you. A blade flashes, and the clasp holding your cloak is severed; a hand reaches, and your hat falls to the ground. You're exposed to the late-morning sunlight now, as your prey resumes his flight. How does that affect you, and what do you do?
Burke
As you walk past the box towards the fallen civilians, you feel a sudden disorientation, as if you were momentarily pulled sideways out of your body. You fall to your knees before the feeling passes; as you recover, you find that your vision seems to be altered, with everything around you having a slight grey tinge.
Mark the Con debility along with your XP, and please add the following to your status bar: ●○○○○
What do you do?
Tethys
If you're rolling Discern Realities, ask your questions - but also describe what you're doing to find the answers.
Update tomorrow - but yes, the box is currently closed, and Tethys definitely first noticed the effect at the moment the guy who later vanished pulled a silver something off the box.
"Powered by the Apocalypse" is a phrase used to describe games based off the Apocalypse World engine - the 6-/7-9/10+ mechanics and the GM agenda/principles/moves structure. Other examples are Monster of the Week and Masks.
You can do as much in one post as you reasonably feel like you can predict the result of. Generally, that means rolling 10+ on the first move, or a 7-9 that has an explicit, player controlled consequence.
And of course, if I feel like you're doing too much, I'll let you know.
So, as a few examples...
6- on anything? Stop there :p
Roll a 10+ on a Spout Lore? Sure, describe your next action if it won't depend on what the Lore you get is.
Cast a Spell (7-9) then H&S: probably fine, as long as you don't pick the "draw unwanted attention" 7-9.
Multiple H&S: fine, as long as you get a 10+
Roll a 7-9 on H&S: that explicitly calls for a GM move in response, so stop there.
Defy Danger: on a 10+, you can usually proceed.
As a special case, my "house rule" for Defy Danger is that on a 7-9, you may narrate your own consequence and keep going. If you impress me with your deviousness or masochism, I'll tell you to mark XP.
The two collapsed figures didn't just slip; they're unconscious, breath weak and shallow, with a grey tinge on their skin where they were facing you. What do you do?
Retzack
Your bloodlust made you careless, and as you lean back in, your prey grabs your arms and rolls you over his shoulder; he takes off back down the alley, using the walls to help maintain his footing on the ice. Tethys and Burke are behind you, dealing with the box and two downed passers-by. What do you do?
Burke
The crowd listens to you, at least somewhat; they back away, and some leave, but there's at least a dozen who stick around, 20-30 feet away, watching. What do you do?
The man you walk past takes advantage of the opportunity to drive his dagger into your side take 1d6, but you easily separate Burke from his assailant and drink. Gain 1 blood. The man you're holding still struggles in your grasp; what do you do?
Tethys
Enjoy your XP!
You channel, and do create some more ice out in the street nearby; it's not until you've closed your conduit that you notice the audience you're attracting from this busier street - or that a couple of passers-by had moved closer to you, and have now collapsed on the ground near the box. What do you do?
Burke
The two unencumbered thugs glance at each other, then run; one heads past Tethys down this street, while the other turns back down the alley. Retzack still has claws in the last one. What do you do?
Black Kappa
The oil is decidedly unpleasant. It reminds you of the Bleak Gate, the realm where newly deceased mortal souls linger before they pass on; the way it's mingled with the blood...this could be from some hybrid of a creature from that realm, and this world.
The notes don't seem to directly relate to this blood; there's some discussions of surgical techniques that seem more advanced than you thought possible, as well as extensive notes about physical reactions to various traumas, but nothing otherworldly.
Eldin asks to see your RHC badge again before answering. "He's had several visitors over the weeks he's been staying here, none in the last few days that I'm aware of. He'd also recently exchanged several letters with the Danoran embassy. "
As you go through the room, you notice a few things. First, the papers certainly suggest that whoever was staying here was in fact a doctor; there's pages from texts describing anatomy, some handwritten notes about (apparently) surgical procedures, and so on.
Second, there's an odd bit of residue on some bits of a smashed bowl. Someone clearly tried to clean it, and noone without your unusual anatomy could've found the traces - but there's something that's an odd mix of blood and a dark oil.
The big conclusion, though, is that at least two separate people have tossed this room. The furniture was all moved twice, and there are two slightly different "flavors" of sweat scattered around. The staff is adamant, however, that noone has been in the room aside from the doctor, one policeman, Burke, and yourself. So, be on the lookout for whoever else tossed the room.
Adir
Icebreaker sounds good.
The woman alternates between groaning in pain, and cursing and trying to get out from under you, but between her condition and your bulk, she's not going anywhere.
Retzack
The ice cracks underfoot, and the man in front of you whirls about, dagger in hand. Behind him, you note the man Burke shot laying something out on the ground, and then...disappearing. You get at good look right before he vanishes, and recognize Enzo Nezi.
What do you do?
Tethys
You manage to endure whatever effect this box is having on you (you're quite certain it's the box), though you don't think extended contact would be a good idea. It almost feels like it's trying to pull your life from you.
The box is, however, far too heavy for you to lift. You're able to slide it to the edge of the iced over area, but you'll need help to get it any further. At least you've got a little space between yourself and the thugs in the alley. What do you do?
Burke
Ask for a 6-, and a 6- ye shall receive. Mark XP for it.
The ice hinders you, and your opponent manages to get on top of you. He grabs your wrists, and slams your hands into the ground, trying to make you drop your pistols. Take 1d6 if you hold on, or both your pistols go sliding away. He's still on top of you; what do you do?
You misjudge your stance, and as your size increases, the woman beneath you cries out in pain, and you hear a cracking sound; you suspect her legs are broken, probably in multiple places. What do you do?
Tethys
As you touch the box, the nausea strengthens, and you feel a numbness spread across you. DD+Con, if you please.
Burke
Your first shots strike the grounded bandit in the leg; he cries out in pain. As you aim your next shot, however, the fourth one jumps you from behind, knocking you to the ground. Take 1d6. The two of you slide several feet across the ice, as he tries to wrestle one of your pistols from your hands. What do you do?
Retzack
Random question: do you have a soul?
You step through the window into the alley. Basically the whole alleyway is coated in ice. Tethys is struggling with some kind of box; there's one man on the ground near her, clutching at his bleeding leg, and another closing in on her. Another is wrestling with Burke. One more of these ruffians stands between you and the rest of the scene, slowly moving towards Tethys. What do you do?
Black Kappa
Welcome back! As a quick reminder: Nilasa handed a bundle, presumably of stolen documents, to a man outside the embassy; he's apparently a doctor, and took a public carriage to this hotel room. Burke and Adir tracked him here during their pursuit of him, and you came here later to see what you can find out here. Adir noted that at the time they were here, the doctor's trail entered the room via the door, but did not leave; an unknown other party had entered and left after the doctor's last entry into the room.
A bellhop escorts you to the doctor's room at Inn of Blue Birds. The doctor's room is a mess; the mattress is cut open, the furniture's been tossed about, and loose papers are everywhere. A hotel staffer ("Eldin", according to a badge) tells you, in a slightly nervous tone, that the room hasn't been touched since that other agent left, except that he closed the window so none of the papers would fly away. What do you do?
The back room doesn't appear to contain anything of interest - old furniture, mostly. A window on the side of the building opens on an alley; you hear some grunting, and note that the alley appears to be covered in decidedly unseasonable ice - likely Tethys' handiwork. You also hear another noise, possibly footsteps, but they're oddly muffled and it's not apparent where they're coming from.
What do you do?
Tethys
It's tough to get leverage, but you manage to shove the man off the box. As you do, he grabs some kind of metal shape off one side; you suddenly feel ill, weak and nauseous, and the man you shoved off looks like he's not faring much better. The other three pause in their approach. What do you do?
Burke
You leap through the window, without quite enough care, and pick up several cuts from the glass take 1d4 ignores armor. Outside, your best search turns up no sign of your quarry; no blood trail, no footprints, no sign anyone other than yourself has been here in some time. What do you do?
Adir
You strike from behind, knocking the woman to the floor. She struggles, cursing at you ("Get off me, you blasted cat!"), but not immediately able to throw you off. What do you do?
You reach the box, but one of the men manages to scuttle over to it and gets there at the same time you do. He's draped over it, and you won't be able to just ice-hose him off the box (if you tried, the box would probably go with him). There's also an odd piece of rusted metal - curved, about two feet long, with some hinges or something on it, a couple of feet from where you are. The two ruffians behind you have regained their footing and are (slowly) making their way towards you; the last of the four is crawling away, towards the street that's still in front of you. What do you do?
Retzack
He fought hard, but not well. Another drink, and the poor prey slumps in your grasp. Behind you, you hear feline hissing, cries of pain, breaking glass, and the lobby's filled with smoke - you can't see anything. Ahead of you, there's a back room to the former apartment that you're in. What do you do?
Burke
I'm certainly not going to deny you some sweet, sweet XP. Mark it!
The door resists your first attempt to open it. Before you try second time, you hear shattering glass from the room beyond, followed by a loud, wooden thump. You smash through the door, and the room beyond appears empty, aside from some decaying furniture; a broken window opens into a narrow gap between this building and the next, and the air in the room is filled with dust. What do you do?
Adir
Given that the room was full of smoke and you couldn't see her, I'd go with that roll being a DD+...Wis? to locate her. In this case, though, the outcome is basically the same :p
You correctly guess where the woman was headed through the smoke, and catch up with her as she reaches the doorway Burke went through earlier. Her back's to you as she peers into that room; you've got the drop on her if you act now. What do you do?
Fair enough. Sounds like that probably doesn't work against armored opponents?
You manage to grab him, and take a nice, long, warm drink. Your victim cries out, and eventually pushes free, pivoting to put his back to a wall. He starts edging towards a window, keeping his dagger pointed at you. What do you do?
Tethys
You cover the next segment of the alley in ice, and the two men in front of you go sliding away, along with their box. They're prone, but close to the next cross street at this point. Behind you, you hear the first two thugs trying to regain their footing. What do you do?
Burke
He reads your kick, and pivots to take the blow on his hip; he then catches your foot, and drops you on the floor Take 1d4. He calls out "Get over here!" as he limps back through a door, slamming it behind him. For clarity, not the door to the lobby. You hear running feet behind you. What do you do?
Adir
As you focus on not stepping on your tail, you're vaguely aware of your quarry below; a curse drifts up as she finds the door blocked by ice. She pulls something out of a pouch, and the room below begins to fill with smoke, and you hear her running away from the building's front door. Your head's beginning to clear (no need for further DDs for being stunned) , what do you do?
Yeah, that's exactly what it is - the "-1 ongoing to a stat" debilities all have names: weak(str), shaky(Dex), sick(Con), stunned (Int), Confused (Wis), Scarred (Cha). They're talked about here in the manual .
Ahh, okay. Pesky overloading of terms - I'd been thinking of the Int debility, I'd forgotten there was a separate weapon tag as well. We'll go ahead as is, and I'll remember to distinguish those two in the future.
You bend down towards the kneeling man, and his arm flashes upward, a gleaming silver dagger leaving a wound on your left arm. He scrambles back and away from you, dagger outstretched.
Take 1d6 damage. The dagger is silvered; what effect does that have on you?
What do you do?
Tethys
How does the forceful part of Icy Ground manifest? I'm picturing you basically spraying ice like a firehose from your hands, is that about right?
You coat the alleyway in ice, and the force of your channeling shoves the two people sliding across the new ice into the wall. You glide between them, gaining ground on the other two. They curse, drop their load, and one turns to face you as the other pulls something out of his coat and kneels down, placing something on the ground near the box. They're about fifteen feet ahead of you; what do you do?
Burke
You trade blows Take 1d10 damage, landing a solid blow to his head but taking several cuts in exchange. He stays in close to you, not giving you room to fire, but you can see him starting to look for an exit, even as he spews forth a stream of threats. What do you do?
Adir
Your ploy works, your bounce off the wall is unexpected, and you catch her off guard and send her over the railing, down to the lobby floor. She manages to tag you with the stun stick as she falls, however; your nostrils fill with the scent of burning fur, and you're stunned Mark the debility. As your head starts to clear, you see the woman limping towards the exit. What do you do?
The guy drops his knife, and drops to one knee, hands behind his back. "Alright, just... don't hurt me! We're....with the Hand. Boss wants to shake down the factories around here, said we should set up here to...watch the area, pick out a good first target, make sure the Ravens aren't still in the area." He fidgets as he watches you closely.
What he just told you is a lie; this has never been Raven territory. He's scared of you, but even more scared of something else - presumably, whatever the real reason he's here is.
What do you do?
Tethys
The policeman doesn't appear to react immediately, beyond an acknowledging wave. As you head into the alley, you see four figures scurrying away, carrying a small but seemingly heavy box between them; when they spot you, two of them stop and walk towards you, drawing blades. One of them says "Turn around if you know what's good for ya," as the other two keep moving, struggling with their load. What do you do?
Burke
I see autocorrect mangled something in my last post; the guy in front of you has a sword and a dagger.
You fire, and the shot connects; before you can get a second shot off, however, he's on you, slashing with blows you just barely avoid. What do you do?
Adir
You leap back up to the balcony, and the woman there has drawn a baton, the end of which is sparking with electricity; getting hit with that will probably hurt, and might leave you stunned. She brandishes it at you as you face her on the balcony. What do you do?
Retzack
You glide smoothly towards the door, your path neatly avoiding the incoming shots without any apparent effort on your part.
As you enter the room, you suddenly recognize it - years ago, when the first factories were being built, a serial killer was caught here, with the partial remains of a dozen victims stuffed into the floorboards. You can still smell it...
Now, there's just one terrified tiefling inside; his pistol lies discarded on the floor, and he's pulling a knife. What do you do?
Tethys Alright, double barrier is fine.
The alley you could just walk to; anyone else might have trouble with the icy street, but you'll have no problem getting over there.
One other thing strikes you as odd...a few blocks away, there's a policeman looking in your direction; it should be obvious that something's going on where you are, but he's just watching.
What do you do?
Burke Works for me. Got a few edge cases that come to mind, but we can clarify if/when those come up.
You bat the thrown weapon aside easily, and burst through the doorway; inside, a man snarls "Git outta here" as he stands there, brandishing a small sword in one hand and a safer in the other. From his stance, your guess is he knows how to use them. What do you do?
Adir
Just as you move to strike, the door opens wide and the woman inside rushes out. You claw her hand, but the impact with her sends you flying over the railing, back down to the ground floor. Her pistol drops to the second floor landing.
She knows you're there now, she's two floors up, and you can see her reaching for something on her belt. What do you do?
Deal your damage, and also take 1d6 yourself from the fall.
I'm fine with just one tag. Doubling up a tag I think I'm going to say 'no' to - +2 armor, not a big deal, 2d8 damage would be more so :p
It's a very humid day, and you pulled more power through your conduit than you intended; your shield manifests, but there's also additional pillars of ice all along this block of the street - including one blocking the door your comrades just used to enter the building. You hear gunshots from inside, and a sudden set of footsteps from the alley on the right side of the building. What do you do?
Burke I'm okay with that; how "sensitive" is it? Do you pick up starving kids stealing food? First time offenders? What about white collar crime?
Looking around at the lobby, you can tell - this building is used as a gang hideout; everyone here is likely to be a member.
You walk forward towards the door ahead of you. Two more gunshots come from inside, one flying wide and the other pinging harmlessly off your RHC badge. As you reach the door, you hear a misfire and a Crisillyri curse; whoever's inside flings a pistol at your head. What do you do?
Retzack
More shots fly as you walk toward the door; you can smell fear from whoever's inside. What do you do? Probably going to be a Defy of some sort to get close enough to open the door.
Adir A 10+ on Shapeshifting gives you 3 hold, right? Or did you mean you were spending one hold for "easily traverse a steep surface"?
Bonus question: Your land is the Great Forest, and Risur is a tropical kingdom. Tell me, how did you learn to take a snow leopard's form?
You see the muzzle of a pistol sticking out from the door; it doesn't seem that the wielder knows you're there. The door begins to open wider; what do you do?
Tethys, what does your ice shield look like? How do you envision the hazard tag applying to it?
Burke, tell me about what qualifies as "evil"
for your paladin sense, please.
Sure, Kappa can be covering the hotel room until IZ comes back.
Burke, as you kick in the door, you hear the sound of multiple pistols firing; fortunately, all the shots seem to go wide, one hitting the cobblestones at your feet, and two others thunking into the door frame by your head. Looking inside, you see a decaying lobby, with doors on three floors. Several of them are ajar, and could have been fired from; your guess is that two of the shots came from your right, one of those from a higher floor, and the third from somewhere in front of you.
Anyone else doing anything, or shall we see what's behind the door?
Burke: My immediate answer would be "hire a runner", and to ask what means you have to verify the message is genuine; I'm open to another answer if you have one.
The RHC has a few other officers in town that you can call on, when they're not busy; you're also authorized to call on the Flint PD if required, though the relationship there can be a bit...rocky.
As your eyes sweep the area around you, you spot a figure in one of the windows, briefly - Enzo Nezi, a member of the new IronHand gang the RHC had captured not long ago. He's not supposed to be on the streets.
A few minutes later, you also spot Brill slipping into a nearby alley.
The Embassy
As Retzack and Tethys head out of the embassy, they spot Kappa, as well as a snowy owl swooping down from above.
Head where you like next; I'm fine with hand waving travel time if you want to catch up with Burke.
You make your escape, cleanly as far as you can tell. Looking at your handiwork, probably be three fourths of the windows have been broken. The alley appears deserted; you could easily head around and knock on the front door, if you wanted. What do you do?
Tethys and Retzack
"As I said, that won't be necessary. Sometimes such spells are used voluntarily, after all. " That is true... infrequently, but it does happen. But it's also true that any half competent such spell would also not allow the target to voluntarily seek its removal.
There's another knock at the door, this time with a specific cadence - two pairs of taps, with a brief gap in between. "I really must go; please excuse me. Beatrice can assist you with anything else you require."
Unless you stop her, she leaves the office, and heads down a stairwell after exchanging a few words with Bree the guard from outside.
What do you do?
Burke and Adir
The bellhop stammers out an "Okay" as you head back out. The trail leads around the side of the building, outside the window to the doctor's room. From there, it meanders south and east; Adir occasionally also picks up the doctor's scent, as the trail leaves the North Shore and crossed into the Parity Lake district. The new scent appears to be moving somewhat less directly than the doctor did.
Tracking becomes harder as the industrial smells from the district get stronger. The trails eventually end up outside a rundown brick flophouse, across the street from a (very loud) factory of some kind. Both trails lead into the building, come out, and then disappear, at slightly different points on the street; Adir's guess is that both the doctor and the other individual boarded carriages, probably about twenty minutes apart. This part of town doesn't have the same public carriage business as North Shore does, however.
You both have the distinct feeling of being watched, a feeling that only intensifies as Adir's transformation wears off.
What do you do?
Each of you knows, or has had run ins with, someone who lives or works in this lower-class industrial area; tell me a little about them, if you please.
