Norona: At the mention of the plant, Ed stiffens, all joviality fleeing from his face, and says ”You have found a supply of athen?” Without waiting for a response, he bellows for his assistant to ready the “Wrecker,” tells you to wait a moment, and dashes in the back. You think you can hear a high-pitched coughing, as if from a child, and crying from somewhere inside the shop, and then Ed is back, wiping away a tear and nodding to you. ”No time to waste, then, friend. On one condition: I will take the plant as payment for services rendered. I can haul your vehicles back one at a time; afraid my crew is a bit more bare-bones than usual. But we’ll get you to town in exchange for that plant.”
At the Battle Site:
The aftermath of the battle is a mix of chaos and order, as all such scenes are. Tarlok, though captive, watches his prey carefully for any sign of weakness to exploit. Mortals were always showing weakness when they ought to be consolidating strength. Why, if any of these mortals had half a brain they would…
Jareb wrote: ↑Wed Sep 12, 2018 2:11 pm Jareb drew a dagger seeming made from red transparent rock. The angel looks at Tarlock, ” You will need to find a new mistress. For like the mighty blade of St. Cathrine you will now as then loose something you hold dear.” With a swift motion Jareb slams the blood red dagger into the heart of the aspect. He commands, ”My dagger of binding shall join what goodness you have with me! Let us pray for both our sakes you have some left!”
Jareb cries out as the aspect eye’s go wide and she grips him with a delicate claw right where his heart beats. Gift lets out a cry! Then a flash of black and white lift erupts from the spot of his ritual and the aspect is no more.
Tarlok’s gapes at the disappearance of his Mistress. How?! He can still feel her presence through their bond, but it is distant, fuzzier. While the mortals are distracted by the blinding light left in the wake of the Mistress’s disappearance, his cybernetic eye automatically adjusts and he leaps to his feet, darting toward the wild. He makes it only a step or two before he is met by the butt of Toshiro’s shotgun, which provides just enough impact to put him back on the ground. Today is a weird day.
The cyber-knight looms over Tarlok while the other mortals scramble to work on their vehicles. Tarlok settles in, watching his captors as they work. He is quietly impressed both with the damage his siege breakers caused before their demise and with the mortals’ ability to regroup and make the best of their situation. He notes their lack of a proper watch while they work and files the information away for future use. They’re too relaxed after a battle; next time, we will save the surprise for after the fight. With a simple score of warriors, I could wipe these vermin off this plane forever.
As the party works diligently on the vehicles with a mix of magic, skill and brawn, Tarlok makes his own plans, until the Cyber-Knight returns. Tarlok sneers at Kuikku. Cyber-Knights. Such fearsome warriors in combat, but such soft prey the rest of the time. Their so-called “honor” weakens them, hamstrings their ability to do what is truly necessary, and is always their undoing. Tarlok is just ruminating on the Cyber-Knights he has killed in past encounters, when Kuikku begins to speak.
Kuikku wrote: ↑Tue Sep 18, 2018 2:01 pmNotice 4
Kuikku looks at the anthill business as everyone goes to work. He then looks down at Tarlok. "I guess I should have made sure we had a way of sending you back before we started on the important things. From what Jareb has said about losing your mistress this may be more of a sympathy anyhow."
Tarlok almost laughs in Kuikku’s face, even though Tarlok can see the blades descending. Typical. I find the one Cyber-Knight on this plane without a weak stomach. He finds himself coming very quickly to respect Kuikku, even as the psi-swords close in. This is how you handle a fallen foe. This is a death fit for a demon. And then the blades are on his neck, white hot with psionic energy, and Tarlok’s time runs out.
Norona Returns
Norona returns the better part of five hours later leading a gargantuan, eight-wheeled vehicle that looks like a cross between a semi-truck and an APC, with Ed at the wheel. The bed of the truck is segmented to allow it to fit in spaces its girth would normally not allow, and it features a large winch and hook for lifting and towing.
Ed hops out, surveys the scene, and gives a low whistle. ”That elf wasn’t kidding.” Ed leaves it up to Norona to make introductions, and he quickly begins assessing which vehicle is in the worst shape.
What Next?
It is full dark when Norona, Ed and the “Wrecker” return. Write up an interlude describing your character’s actions over the next few hours or the next few days; the timing is up to you. To get you started, here are some possible ideas:
- Helping with the vehicles, getting them back to town, or repairing them once there.
- Selling loot from the battle. Please include a Streetwise roll at -2 (to account for Avanzada Seca being a smaller town) in your post if you go this route, as well as a Persuasion roll if you want to haggle the price up.
- Looking for more athen plants. Please include a Survival roll in your post. The roll is at -6 if done near town, -4 if done more than 2 hours away, at -2 if done between 2 and 4 hours away, and with no penalty if done more than 4 hours away. If you choose to narrate your character going away from town, draw a card for every hour from town you travel. If you draw a club, narrate a complication that leaves your hero with a Wound (which you may Soak as normal). If you draw a Joker, add +2 to your Survival roll and quadruple the amount of plant you find.
- Researching the Jungle Castle. Streetwise, Investigation, or other appropriate skills are allowed.
- Or, make up something else entirely!
Everyone in the party gets a Benny, which can carry over into next quarter (this is the Browns Benny I gave out on Hangouts after the Browns won a game for the first time in almost two years). In addition, everyone who completes their interlude will get +1 XP and either an additional Benny (which can carry over into next quarter) or an additional Adventure Card draw next quarter (your choice).