GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Karen Twelves, Eric Fattig, and Adrienne Mueller
System: Blades in the Dark
Bellweather Crematorium
Interrogation continued and Elke began to stonewall the Wardens, which worked [She had a mean Resolve resistance] but soon earned their ire.
Soon after an affable character, who introduced himself as “Maury, the good cop” offered to help Elke if she would talk to him. Nope, no love for Maury either.
Later, alone in her dark cell Elke noticed water begin to seep in from under the door. Black water. Void sea water. And in the water a shape formed. It was Arquo! They had a short discussion but just before Elke could tell him any thing of true value it was cut off. We flashed back to Setarra pulling Arquo out of the void sea and telling him that she could help him again, but this time she would need four supplicants (read: nearly but not all the way dead bodies).
Harsh Negotiations
Back at Corro’s place, it was clear that both lords were interested, but each of them had stipulations [Desperate roll with a partial success from last session, against Tier III and IV targets. This was pretty brutal].
Strangford was straightforward. Needle came on his behalf to say they would pay five coin now, but required one of the Society to go on a Leviathan Hunt with them to prove the amulets would protect as soul from forced removal. That would mean two months at sea, with no guarantee of survival, but many more purchases in the future if it worked. [Serious complication].
Scurlock instead decided that he would have the necklace, with the Tycherosi woman wearing it as well. Jadvyga, meeting his eyes was enthralled as his willing servant [Severe Harm. In this case Level 4 Harm: Enthralled].
Ro did his best to stop this enchantment. He had been passing around a very fine spirit mask [Tier 4 from their acquire asset roll] for the guests to view the amulet with, and tried to attune to the mask, reverse it’s function and the use it to block Scurlock’s gaze. [This was a case where I required an action roll before allowing an attempt at resistance.] Ro rushed past several guests [Devils Bargain to start a clock “This party is over” 1/4] and tried to attune to the mask. He couldn’t control it though [Desperate Attune, Bad Outcome], and the mask threatened to draw electricity form all the lights and cause a huge disruption [3 more ticks on the “This party is over”] but instead he held the force within him and was electrocuted for his efforts [Resist with Resolve. Level 2 Harm].
So it was left to Jadvyga to fight of Scurlock, which she could only do by allowing the fragment of her that is demon to take over for a moment, and then falling unconscious… but doing so without anyone noticing [Resisted down to Level 3 Harm: Catatonic, Pushed to Prowl (Full Success) so she took a few steps back from the landing and slipped into another room before passing out].
Ro took umbrage with Scurlock’s attempt to take Jadvyga away from him and kicked the lord out, rescinding their offer to sell to him. Volette was sent to watch him and make sure he left the party and didn’t linger.
Payoff
Coin: 5 (it would have been 10 if both amulets were sold)
Rep: 5
Heat: 2
Faction: +1 Leviathan Hunters, -1 Lord Scurlock
Entanglement: Usual Suspects [Of course, Volette on the trail of Scurlock didn’t make it very far…]
Downtime
Not sure where to take her, Ro brought Jadvyga to lay low at Salia’s place, and Quellen to tend to her. Hix found it awkward to be around Salia, as expected. [Recovery]
While there, Ro also asked Quellen to tend to his wound… for some time. Not more awkward at all [Recover x 2]
Hix went out and stole cables from Sparkwright tower and then used them to run lines between the lightning tower she is attuned to and to the perimeter cabling at Ironhook [Indulge vice: Servitude x2]
Jadvyga and Ro, now concious, made their way to the Vale to relax and indulge [their vices!]
Hix tried to catch up on course work by schmoozing with the other students, but ended up telling them all about being in Ironhook and becoming the subject of all their gossip [Long term project, Worked on with Consort. Devil’s Bargain, everyone is talking about Hix now]
Late that night, Hix fell in a fugue state and when she woke, smelled like Gaddoc station [She sneaked in and tampered with the Imperial Telegraph station, as part of her debt to pay back to the Keeper of the Flame]
Volette returned covered in bruises and with a fractured leg. She didn’t give the Bluecoats anything, in fact she helped convince them that the Society were just students, but they didn’t let her off easily [Partial success on the Entanglement Roll -> Level 2 Harm. Also performed the Reduce Heat action while in there because of the All Hands move]
Aqruo, not wanting there to be another Brogan incident (Setarra just took him when Arquo was falling behind) found her a body. Someone that was probably a very bad person, he was sure.
What Rocked
I had planned to think on what the consequence for the partial success would be and totally forgot to do it. So at the start of the session I asked what the the lords would want if if they were the kind of people to just take it. And then answer was “everything and yep!” I was really happy how well that came together. This is was a particularly gnarly set of consequences, but I think they were just right for the folks involved.
Seeing Hix and Salia together was awesome. She’s changed and they aren’t sure why or how, but Ro has suspicions!
Elke is tough as hell. I like watching her keep fighting the wardens.
What Could have Improved
I feel like there are a lot of folks who have reason to hate the Society, but aren’t doing anything active about it (Captain Booker and his First Mate Kamelin Prichard, Polonia Clelland, Rosalind from the Gills, Judge Mora, Augus Mendelson, Corro Younghusband, Major Crane, Corran of the Billhooks, all of those damn Grinders, and probably more). It’s not that I want to be particularly easy or hard on the society, I just want to feel like the setting has verisimilitude. Pull a job on someone, spit in their eye, and they are going to be upset. And if they are the kind of people to take action, they will do something about it. My one reassurance is that Doskvol is a big city with a lot going on and each of these people have their own lives with other things to do.
