New Burning Wheel Adventure! Spy hunt

[darkmage0707077]

Session 8

STORY
The night passed on without further incident, and morning broke with the rooster’s call. Maggie headed on down and began her breakfast entertainment act at the Inn, singing a rather scathing song about the nobility. Someone in the crowd summoned the guards on her for such scandalous remarks…and was rather dismayed when the guards who turned up told them to stuff it and took up an ale to sing along. Max was also in the crowd, provided the rockstar treatment of free breakfast and a table of his own, and he calmly observed the festivities. Lidia re-poisoned her dagger after having spent it last night, and Popeye stayed at his ship to practice sword fighting. All and all, an almost mundane day.

…so of course, it had to be shattered. Just as Maggie finished her act and Lidia came down for a late breakfast, several more guards burst in and called their slacking comrades for an emergency. When the group ran outside, they saw what the Captain and Popeye had spotted from the prow of his ship as he practiced: great billows of smoke, coming directly from the Naval Yard.

Popeye wasted no time: he lept over the ship’s prow, summersaulting through the air and rolling across the dock up into a sprint - he raced with all his might to the naval yard and found that the Naval Yard was in a state of bedlam. Guards from both the city and naval yard were scrambling to form bucket brigades, desperately trying to put out the fire that was rapidly consuming the great drydock building where the kingdom’s newest warship was nearing completion! It seems that the spy ring had grown desperate and decided to strike at the heart of the matter…

Popeye stopped a guard and asked to know if anyone was inside, but the guard didn’t know. He then demanded that the guards go in and find out, but the man (wisely) balked at the suggestion that they run into a burning building and possibly make the situation worse. He even mocked Popeye by sarcastically saying “Look, I’ll go in if you do, OK?”

Sadly for him, Popeye mistook sarcasm for sincerity; the guards would follow if he himself went in first? Fine! Popeye charged forward and bashed his way through the front door, straight into the blazing inferno!

Once inside, Popeye quickly held his breath and got his bearings, locating the ship through the smoke. Dimly, over the roaring flames, he could hear groans and calls for help coming from the ship, and he ran up to the main deck where they were coming from. He found several survivors, including one man who was vainly trying to help his friends escape. He quickly took this man and lead him to where he knew water was waiting below and forced him over the side into the water. A swift “AAHHHsplash” was all he had time to register before he threw himself into the work of helping others, escorting those who were standing over and pushing them off before running back.

Just as he’d finished dragging the last standing man and was starting to drag the first of the unconscious ones - impressive for a man with one arm! - he saw a large chunk of the roof give way and come crashing down onto the front entrance…and then heard cries of shock and pain, including one very familiar guard’s voice from just a minute ago. It seemed they’d followed him in after all, and paid for it as they’d feared!

Meanwhile, outside, the rest of the group was racing to follow the guards, with Father Max moving surprisingly quickly through the crowd, bobbing and weaving through the throngs of people that were gathering to look on. He arrived to quite a state: the building was half carbon and plasma now, and in addition to bucket brigades, several guards were banging on the now-sealed door, trying desperately to get in!

Max paused for a moment to consider his options. He had the power of his faith within him, and he could attempt to summon his god to intercede. But this carried large risks, what with all these heathens around him to bare witness.

For you see, dear reader, though Max is a man of Faith and sworn to the service of Chuck…these two things are not necessarily linked. Though he swears fealty to Chuck in public, his heart and soul actually belong to the heretical faith of the Green Man, and it is from he that the holy power within Max comes from. And he knew from past experience that something of the magnitude required may cause his holy master’s presence to be known in a way that is unmistakable.

Still, though, he had to try; perhaps he could pass it off as Chuck somehow in the confusion? Max reached deep into himself, praying fervently for a sign of His favor…but nothing happened. It seems the Green Man wasn’t willing to assist in a matter dealing with heretics that would burn his followers as soon as look at them. So be it; then all Max could do was lead the townspeople in prayer. And so he did.

Back inside, Popeye had made his way down to the entrance to find three guards trapped under the burning debris. Fortunately, their armor had protected them for now, but they were absolutely trapped underneath. He went to the guard from before and tried to pull the debris off his leg, using his sword as leverage, but his strength wasn’t enough.

Then, a grim thought took hold…and without even thinking, his sword was in motion for its intended purpose. The sound of metal cleaving flesh, and then a heartbeat later, a piercing scream filled the air: With a single mighty stroke, Popeye had cleaved the poor man’s leg from his knee. A terrible price, perhaps, but the man would live, at least.

Popeye went then to go help the others, but realized that he simply didn’t have the strength to move the debris himself. And the poor one-legged guard on the ground would be no help…hold on! This was a place where ships were built; surely they’d have something to move heavy ob-ahHA! He found a large mobile wench that hadn’t yet been consumed by the flames, and used it to lift the debris off the coughing guards. He then quickly lead them to where the water was and pushed them in before heading back for more survivors, while sections of burning roof continued to fall around him.

Back outside, Maggie and Lidia arrived on scene, where Lidia asked a guard what had happened. She was told that the fire just suddenly started, and then a “one-armed crazy sailor” ran into the building to save people; the guards had been shamed by this and had run in to try and help/save him, but then the entrance got blocked and they’re all trapped inside.

At this news, Lidia and Maggie both knew all that was going on. And Lidia…knew that there was nothing she could do to help. Not without putting herself in harm’s way, at least. She told Maggie that there was nothing to be done but pray and grab a bucket, which she did and began ferrying water in the hope that the blaze could be put out.

Maggie…wasn’t so sure she was helpless. After all, she had abilities that some might consider to be…unnatural. Surely she could use those to help! She made like she was going to join a bucket brigade but then - somehow - managed to slip away beyond Lidia’s notice. Making her way through the crowd to behind a secluded alley, she assessed her options, not as an entertainer or a spy, but as a wielder of the arcane arts.

Her Shard spell, while formidable, wouldn’t be enough to punch through the side, even in its currently weakened state. Nor could she cast it without people immediately noticing; even if they didn’t see the telltale signs of magic emanating from her area, they’d certainly notice a large hole suddenly punching its way into the building’s side!

No, normal direct sorcery wasn’t the answer. So she had to turn to a more indirect method of assistance; perhaps there were people inside. People who were dead. And she knew how to summon said dead. Or at least, she knew the basics; sadly, she didn’t have the proper tools, and there was no time for hunting down what was necessary to make proper gates. She’d have to use her magical power to force it into existence. She channeled her power and recited the summoning rituals she’d learned so long ago, hoping she’d be able to convince the spirit to take its body back long enough to help those still alive; surely even without the gate in place, their desire to help others might override their desire to torment the living!

And that’s the hope she held right up until the demon appeared in front of her.

Right out of one of the pages of Chuck’s Book of All Things Infernal: black, scaly wings; skin the color of obsidian; malevolent, ruby-red eyes; the cruel smile of a being that delights in tormenting anything it can access. And though it had its would-be master before it to attack, thanks to the lack of any prison gate, it had its pick of those to torment in the crowd beyond. And a screaming crowd would be oh so much more fun.

It quickly flew up into the air and dove toward the crowd, who were completely oblivious to the approaching danger; all eyes had been on the fire, after all. The first anyone knew of it was when the winged horror swooped into the middle and snatched two helpess citymen by their shirts, then soared high into the air! Lidia and Max were roused from their work by the screams of “demon” from the crowd, and had time to look up just as the fiend reached its height and - with a smug finality - released its hold on the two.

Time slowed to a crawl as they plummeted toward the waiting ground. Maggie, now desperate to fix her horrid mistake, tried to simply summon raw magic in the hope it would do something, anything to save them! Unfortunately, her frantic mind lacked the calm required and the power fizzled on the vine.

Max, meanwhile, realized that he could leverage the crowd to save them; this was a place of ships, after all. And ships have all kinds of things such as tarps and sails which could be used to catch people falling! And the faithful sheep flock in front of him would surely assist an authority figure such as a Father of Chuck! With a sharp command, he roused the people from their cowering and directed them to pull a large tarp underneath the falling individuals, with Lidia assisting in directing their positioning. They’d just managed to pull it taught when the two landed on it, nearly hitting the street below despite the cloth catching them!

They were bruised, shaking and crying. But they were alive.

Max barely had to tell the others to take refuge before the crowd scattered and ran. Lidia helped direct the others toward safety from the cackling monster above, then took refuge herself.

With everyone else safely out of the way, the man of the cloth turned to face down the hell spawn above him. He once again reached deep into his soul to the will of the Lord of Nature behind it, begging his god to banish this enemy of mortals back to whence it came! Sadly, the laughing demon remained; perhaps Max’s faith wasn’t strong enough to handle such a ferocious beast.

The demon then swooped low, and for a moment, the stragglers thought it might retaliate…but no, it was winging back toward the city. To a particular alleyway, where a petrified Maggie stood waiting in shadows, watching all. The demon flew down before her, and thanked its “master” for allowing it to have so much fun today, then asked her what service she required. All Maggie could think to do was get the thing away from here, to send it back where it came. But she couldn’t show it fear else it might think her weak.

So she lied. To the demon. She said that she no longer required its services and asked it to return.

The demon, of course, recognized the lie for what it was. But it was so impressed with this mortal’s stones, that she’d have the sheer gall to attempt to lie to it, that it simply laughed. What an amazingly fun day this was turning out to be! And so, it decided to humor her and return from whence it came, even providing her its name, and a request to “look it up should she ever wish to have even more fun in the future!”

A few moments after the demon had vanished, Max rounded the corner. He’d seen it duck down in here, and now only found Maggie, standing here instead of with the crowd…where a demon SHOULD be ripping her face off.

Curious.

…He asked if she’d seen the demon, and which way it had gone?! Maggie quickly said that the demon had taken a swipe, but she’d ducked and it had flown past her and disappeared.

Max didn’t believe that tall tale for even a hot second.

…He patted her on the shoulder and thanked Chuck that she was alright and that it hadn’t harmed her, then told her to get with the others; he’d follow suit shortly after he made sure it was gone. An “order” that Maggie was more then happy to follow.

Back in the building, Popeye had been busy, dragging the final survivors off the main deck before jumping into the water himself. He felt bad for the poor guard at the entrance, but realized that a one-armed sailor would have a tough time saving a one-legged man, and that he’d probably bleed out in the water anyway.

Suddenly, a section of burning roof gave way and fell directly onto where he and the survivors swam! He just managed to swim out of the way of the sinking debris, but several others were trapped underwater! He desperately tried to pull the wreckage off, but couldn’t get enough leverage again! Fortunately, a number of greatful helping hands came to assist and, together, they managed to pull the debris off both people.

Unfortunately, the chaos and confusion prevented poor Popeye from locating the way out of the ocean, and they were running out of time; the building would collapse at any moment. Thinking quickly, he decided that the only option left was to try to break through the nearby wall; perhaps the fire had weakened it enough that those strong enough could knock a hole through it. He quickly located a large beam suitable to use as a battering ram and, with several survivors’ help, he charged straight at the wall…

…and straight through to sunlight and freedom! The wall gave before their combined might like tissue paper, and the other survivors staggered their way toward freedom. The one-legged guard even managed to hop his way through this hole, clutching his leg with him like a treasured companion. Instantly, the crowd was upon them, and all were pulled clear of the fire.

The guards and townspeople, awed by the miracles they’d seen this day - of the brave Father who fought off a true demon from hell, and of the one-armed savior who’d pulled nearly a dozen survivors from the wreckage - were swept up into a holy fervor that can only be described in biblical terms. After all that had been seen and done, they would NOT lose to the unholy fire this day! Townsfolk grabbed tarps, cups, whatever they could think of to carry water and threw themselves at the fire, attacking it with the zeal of crusaders on an enemy force, with guards - equally shamed and awed by the sailor - raced inside to battle the new entrance to battle the flames from within, dousing the fire any time it dared to touch the ship’s hull.

And, in time, the smoke cleared. Though the building itself was destroyed, the ship stood tall above the water line, as if it was a gift that had been placed within the fire from on high. Singed, damaged in places. But salvageable.

Exhausted but jubilant, the group of heroes moved through the cheering crowd, enthusiastic. But as they did their jobs and gathered information from the crowd and guards, enthusiasm quickly gave way to confusion and concern. Though it would be blamed on the demon, they knew in their hearts the terrible truth: the spy ring was at work. And what’s worse, they’d managed to strike in broad daylight, managing to set the thatch roof of the building ablaze without use of a ladder, and none had seen an arrow being fired. Though it’s possible such an act could be done without being seen…the demonic encounter had put to mind an altogether different method of setting fires from a distance.

It seemed that the spy ring may be more resourceful - and dangerous - then they’d realized…

AFTERMATH
So how’s THAT for a complete ass-pull??

Seriously, those that read my Spoilers will know that I had NOTHING like what was described here in the works. I literally was sitting there as the breakfast entertainment scene was playing out and thinking “Man, this is gonna be a real boring intro session. I need to spice it up! Maybe I can use the spy ring? Yeah, sure I can: the Glassworks know they’re made, so they’re desperate. And they were targeting the Naval Yard…and the dry dock where they know a new ship is being built in particular…and some of their members have used fire before…perfect ”.

From there, the session just ran like complete clockwork. I’d swear I’d staged the whole thing if I didn’t know myself better! Seriously, I knew I was on a role when I started the fire off with the line “And just then, the guards burst into the Inn in a panic!”…and we had to pause because one of my late players had arrived, requiring everyone to resettle, and I knew that I’d have them from stewing on that. Moments like that were littered throughout, and the players never once got bored or otherwise felt jilted.

I’d originally planned it to be a quick thing, too - the spies set the building on fire, the players arrive on scene and watch the building and ship burn to cinders, then they go in looking for information and/or steel themselves for their planned attack on the Glassworks. Popeye running in was certainly a surprise, but his Impulsive trait made it an obvious thing. To say nothing of all the others - as you might imagine from the story, there were points it seemed like I was handing Artha out like Halloween candy!

I did do a bit of quick ad-libbing for dramatic effect. When things are really tense, I like the idea of using timers to really ratchet up the tension for players, too. As such, when Popeye was in the building, I actually switched over to Action phases, and used 2 D6s to keep a visual count of things for the table: one acted as a counter for how many people Popeye knew were still trapped, and the other was a countdown. Every action Popeye took would take 1 from the D6, and once it hit 0, a piece of roof would fall, with Popeye’s player then having to do a coin flip on whether it landed somewhere safe or on top of himself and the survivors. After that, I’d roll the die, and that’s how many more actions they had before another section of roof fell. To slowly increase the danger, I also rolled a B1 “test” to determine if the building would finally collapse, resulting in Mortal wounds for everyone (he had a Persona point reserved). Miraculously, all 5 times it was rolled, it came up success (4, 5, 6, 4, 6, in that order - you better believe it was burned into everyone’s mind!).

When the others arrived on scene, I decided to just flip back and forth between Popeye and them, with them just going around the table if they didn’t have any “coordinated” activity to do. The demon also acted at the end, after every PC acted.

Overall, if I had to redo that, I’d have had those who were in the same scene - Max, Lidia and Maggie - write down their actions on a sheet of paper and reveal them at the same time as the demon; that’s more in line with Burning Wheel’s method, I think, so I’ll keep it in mind for next time something like this happens. Beyond that, though, the whole thing went over spectacularly well, so that’s a trick I’ll be pocketing for other times.

Also, I decided - and informed the table beforehand - that enough sessions had passed that it was time for the new players to start thinking of things on their own, and coming up with their own Advantages and FORKs for tests. So I asked that, for the next few sessions, the veteran TTRPGers refrain from giving the new players specific ideas for what to do, so as to let them think on their own; they can only give hints, and remind them of rules. Obviously my veterans did chafe a bit under the muzzle at first, but considering what we saw that night, I think it’s worked out quite well, and the veterans also seemed to enjoy everything enough to accept the situation. And it is just for a few more sessions, anyway. Just enough for the new players to have a chance to think on their own.

Also, just to be clear, Maggie failed the Summon test, and I thought about just having nothing happen…but that’s boring! She definitely used her Gifted trait to power that attempt, so how about we make it an Unwanted Summoning instead?? And a random roll determined it was a Corporeal Spirit instead! And so it went…

And yes, the ship being saved was a stretch, but a lot of other magical things had happened that day, tons of hail-marry tests that came out well, so it wasn’t that far fetched. And besides…you know what, screw that, they worked for this one, every last one of them, and a veritable boat-load(ha!) of Artha spent across the table. So I figure they damn well earned it (especially after the final open-ended roll I made of “the whole damn city” vs “the fire” - 6 successes on 3 dice! Even with ob 4, that fire was no match!)

Popeye was the star of the show, and I don’t think I need to say that his player was on the edge of their seat pretty much from start to finish. They were pretty much constantly worried that they’d die, and to be honest, so was I! As much as I want to avoid new players dying immediately, I’d be doing a disservice if I just magically made everything safe, especially when Popeye’s character had chosen to brave death itself! Hence my throwing as much randomness as I could from the situation; it prevented me from being biased, and possibly would’ve helped sour feelings if the worst should’ve happened.

Maggie’s player was enthralled by the whole spectacular mess their character had caused. And they were also quite happy to be try out the Summoning mechanics, though now they realize just how important a prison gate can be, even if they’re able to summon stuff out of thin air with their Gifted trait. They actually went and came up with lyrics for the Sing test in the tavern, as well as created and told actual lies to people, which is something they’re not used to doing. They’re starting to get the hang of this whole “spy” thing now!

Lidia hung back this session, as she was kind of out of her element. She’s designed for sneaking around and ferreting out information, not saving damsels - or dock workers and dumbass sailors - in distress! Her player even requested a change to Lidia’s Beliefs to make this survival instinct more apparent. Still, the player had a ton of fun supporting the rest of the group, with the expectation that they’ll be getting some spotlight action next game.

Max surprised all of us by managing to steal some of the limelight from Popeye with the demon crisis that Maggie created, which I think drove home for everyone what I’ve been telling them this whole time: Burning Wheel wants you to cause trouble for yourselves because it’s WAY MORE FUN that way. Max’s player also happens to be the newest to roleplaying in general, so I was still helping the player out a tad, but I also decided to put some pressure on: they’d been coming up with prayers and taking their time writing them down, but for the demon banishing, I pulled out my phone and said “you have 60 seconds to come up with a suitable prayer” and forced them to make up something on the spot; under pressure, it took them all of 15 seconds. I later heard from mutual friends that they were beside themselves with glee over that, as they didn’t realize they had it in them!

The final part where Max encountered Maggie was amazing: the player was doing an amazing job of hiding Max’s true suspicions and feelings and adlibbing a believable response, acting so utterly sincere that had we not seen the die results and known better, we’d have believed that Max believed her innocence!

Barnold’s player had to miss that day due to obligations outside their control. But from what I hear, they’re mad they missed this session and are chomping at the bit to join, especially with the hint I gave that magic may be afoot and that Maggie’s facade is starting to crack.

I enjoyed myself, but am nervous for what’s ahead. It’s gonna be hard to top this next session, even with it being the culmination of the group’s planning and my having had plenty of time to make it interesting. Still, though, hopefully my players will enjoy it even if it doesn’t reach the heights of this time.

SPOILERS

Spoilers

Gee, who could’ve possible doneit was the spy ring, naturally. Specifically, I’ve decided that the Bosses both are Gifted, and one of them decided for a more overt method now that they know they’re compromised. They’d been holding back as they didn’t want to reveal that they had magic yet…not until they were ready. They’d planned to get someone into the dry dock and have them just set a fire at night when they had direct access, but that plan’s walked the bloody plank by now. So they took the risk and…it somehow didn’t pay off? When they find out, they’re going to be full blown panicking! Time to reach out to a potential friend for help…!

Inn’s pretty much starting to pull up stakes and hunker down until the heat’s died off a bit. They know about the Glassworks now, but they’re sure as hell not going anywhere near it. Ditto the Tavern; they’re pausing all activity outside of serving drinks for a bit, and leaving the cell over there to its fate.

[darkmage0707077]

Session 9

At last, the culmination of everything the players have been doing up to this point. It’s time to strike!

STORY

The crowd of townspeople were cheering for the day. They’d managed to stave off an attack by a merciless demon, one who’d tried to destroy the navy’s shipyard, and - through his minions, some said - one of the local houses, too. Through some miracle, a brave one-armed sailor had smashed his way into the burning drydock, leading the charge where even the guards dared not, rescuing nearly a dozen people during the effort and inspiring the town to save the drydock and the ship itself. Chuck had truly blessed them this day!

Popeye found himself something of a minor celebrity here. Everywhere he looked, the people were giving him praise for his actions, some thanking him for saving their loved ones, and guards were wanting to go out drinking with him. All the adulation quickly got to his head, and he quickly started realizing that he DID deserve this praise. After all…

“It’s ME!”

Lidia watched from a distance as Popeye became center of attention, then moved forward with the crowd to meet up with him. She asked if he was alright here, then after he assured her he was (his public NEEDS him, after all), she nodded and moved through the crowd away from him. Due to his status, he was no longer suitable as the patsy she needed in case things went south, which was problematic as Maggie also was proving too competent to…

…Wait. Where WAS Maggie?? Lidia looked around in a start, realizing she hadn’t seen Maggie since joining the bucket brigade before the confusion with the demon. She needed to find Maggie quickly and make sure nothing had happened to her, either from the demon or the spy ring!

Maggie, for her part, had run away in a blind panic after the demon disappeared, though it was less from fright and more from shame and guilt over the havoc she’d inadvertently caused. At last finding herself in a dark alley behind some trash, she slumped down in a corner and quietly began to weep.

She began to explore the city in a methodical fashion. She knew all the likely locations that someone might go unnoticed, but there were a LOT of them, and quite some time passed before she finally ran into Maggie, who’d had time to collect herself and emerge from the alley.

As they walked back, Lidia explained Popeye’s new status as the “town savior” and - for the first time that Maggie had seen - expressed true terror over their mission; a normal spy ring with human opponents is one thing, but a spy ring bolstered by magic that’s capable of summoning demons?! Lidia apologized to Maggie over dragging her into this mess, though she also mentioned that they were in the best position to save the town from it that night.

With that, the two of them split off; Lidia decided to make her way to the Baron to explain what had happened to His Lordship, while Maggie went back to the inn to collect herself (Lidia, of course, having no inkling of the true reason for her distress…).

Popeye, meanwhile, had managed to extract himself from the throngs of his adoring fans and though to himself. “Self”, he thought, “You’re riding high on fame, so now is the PERFECT time to go talk to the Commodore about your Captain’s little issue!” And so, that’s just what he did.

When Popeye arrived, the Commodore bolted from his seat like he’d seen a ghost, demanding to know if the talk of demons was true. Popeye was…confused; he’d heard the people talking of demons, sure, but he’d not seen any demons inside the burning building, so had dismissed that as just people getting carried away. Still, his ego carried him right past this little detail, and he confirmed that yes, all of it was true, especially the parts about him saving the ship, the guards and the workers.

Once the Commodore had finished draining what was in his bottle, Popeye then laid in about the problem with the funding for his ship. The Commodore - who had, of course, once been a Captain and was familiar with ship costs - immediately understood the situation, and swore to assist in any way he could, though he himself didn’t have the funds needed; the Baron would be the best person for that. Popeye said that perhaps the he should go speak to the Baron himself; to his great surprise, the Commodore agreed, thinking it a splendid idea to ask for that as a reward for his service (while silently thanking the stars that HE wouldn’t be the one asking the Baron to loosen the purse strings).

Popeye thought about going now, but the Commodore suggested waiting; too much chaos right now, plus he’d have even better leverage to get what he wanted after he ALSO stopped the spy ring that night. Agreeing, Popeye decided to go celebrate his success for a bit - maybe take up some of the guards’ offers of a round on them - and then head back to his ship to sober up and prepare for the evening.

Returning to his ship was a rather fun experience - the entire crew was assembled, seemingly waiting to see if he’d show back up, and when he did, all stared at him as if he was a ghost. When he boarded, the Captain was quickly summoned, and demanded to know if the talk of demons was true. His own Captain mentioning demons gave Popeye true pause; could it be true what they were saying? No, surely it must have been exaggeration; he’d seen no demons that day! Popeye declared that it was, but that he was on the case, and that through him, he’d not only make secure the ship’s future, but also make them all richer then they’d been before! This brought a great cheer from the crew (minus one rather miserable sod, though Popeye decided to ignore him this time) and after the First Mate dismissed everyone else, the Captain invited him to speak of the details on the whole thing in his personal quarters. At length and with real passion, at that…

Meanwhile, Lidia headed to the castle, where she was recognized and ushered into the Baron’s hall immediately. No preamble or otherwise; she had a message to deliver.

All eyes - nobles and guards alike - were on her as the Baron simply asked “Is it true?”

And even the Baron’s face turned grey as she responded “Yes, My Lord - all of it.”

When Lidia even mentioned possibly needing more resources for that night, the Baron bellowed for his most elite men to join her that night, vowing to her that “whatever men you need to stop these vile demon-summoners, you shall have!”

Lidia then asked for privacy, and with a glance from the Baron, the remaining participants quickly exited the room. She then gave a full report of their findings dealing with the spy ring, as well as some of their plans for the night. The Baron nodded in approval, and wished her luck that evening, mentioning that due to this demon business, he’d have to make a report to the royal family requesting additional aid.

He then summoned his guards back in, and with them were some of the elite soldiers he’d requested, and elite they were: no mere guards, but full knights with experience in the field of war. Lidia gave them instructions for being prepared, though she realized it almost wasn’t necessary with them; unlike a typical guard, these people seemed to understand the meaning of “stealth”, and assured her they were well-versed in night time assaults. They left to make further preparations, and Lidia decided to head back to the Inn to wait.

It was only later that Lidia realized that she’d forgotten to address the Baron as Your Lordship the entire time after the first…and further realized that, where before he’d have angrily corrected her, he hadn’t seemed to care even slightly this time. For once, he’d been treating her almost as equals to himself.

And then we come to Maggie.

Maggie dashed up the stairs to her room, barely paying any attention to the Innkeeper’s greeting. She knew a reckoning was coming for her now, and she wouldn’t put it off anymore.

And securely in her room, she opened her pack and allowed the reckoning to hop up onto the bed in front of her. In the form of Selina, her 9-year old daughter-turned-frog.

They simply stared at each other for a minute, Selina simply sitting there staring at her mother, waiting.

At last, Maggie opened up, apologizing for screwing up things so badly, and promising that she would make them safe as soon as she could get them out of this mess.

Selina then replied by saying that it wasn’t that she’d messed up that was the problem; it was the constant lying about it. She was lying to all her friends - Lidia, Popeye, even Mathew from the spy ring - about everything, and this was hurting them. What would their god think of all this?? It’s not fair to them that they don’t even know why this is all happening!

Selina then continued and began crying froggy tears, saying that she was tired of running, tired of never having friends or never being able to stay in the same place for long, always on the run; her mom finally seemed to have friends here, people she spoke to for more then just money, and this place seemed nice if not for all the spy stuff going on. So why couldn’t she just tell them?

Maggie paused, heart wrenching; her daughter was obviously pained by all this, and the strain of never having friends of her own or anyone to talk to besides her mother must have been tough. Plus, she was had a surprisingly good point: it wasn’t fair that they didn’t even know. But Selina was a child, so there were certain things she wouldn’t understand, like how revealing that she summoned the demon would likely cause her to lose their “friends”, and likely a whole lot more. She didn’t want to betray her darling daughter…but telling the truth about herself now was seemingly impossible.

And so she made a compromise with Selina; she said that now wasn’t the right time to tell them, but that she promised to tell them when the time WAS right. In the mean time, she’d make up the trouble she’d made to Lidia in another way: by composing a ballad in her honor of her unsung deeds and Maggie’s friendship to her, one that she would sing when she got it right. Selina was a little disappointed, but the ballad mollified her, at least, so she agreed that this would be good enough for now. Maggie got to work on the ballad immediately after, planning to dedicate time every day she could to make it one that was worthy of being sung by the bards of legend.

And so, time passed. And night, at last, did come.

Lidia, Maggie and Popeye all joined up with the soldiers at the agreed on time, who came in light armor setup for a silent night raid. The Baronette was in the lead, both to Lidia’s relief and slight annoyance - he was incredibly competent and it made sense for him to be here, but it also made him vulnerable. He informed his men that she was overall in charge of this mission, being experienced in these kinds of matters, and they were to differ to her overall judgement in all things.

Lidia first went to the guards they’d posted to watch the Glassworks, but they said they weren’t sure if anyone had entered or not; they’d seen nothing that night, despite their vigil. Popeye then immediately volunteered to check the area and see if they were there, running off without waiting to be told. The Baronette moved to stop him, but Lidia gestured for him to hold off, quietly saying she’d been expecting this, and that if he got into trouble, they could just rush in after him.

Popeye quickly entered the glassworks, opening the door and moving into the main work area. At first, he thought he heard voices, but everything quickly went silent as he listened further, and he decided he must have been mistaken. No movement or further noise was made despite him looking around some, and he decided to make an exit to report quickly after that.

Lidia took the news of him not seeing or hearing anyone with a bit of skepticism. Still, between him AND their lookouts, it did seem deserted. But she wanted to check thoroughly anyway. So, she had the Baronette prepare to move in cautiously, torches out, and she and the others would move in with them. They all crept in through the open door, scanning the darkness for signs of movement.

And just as they were all inside, that’s when the first dagger pierced the darkness and bounced off a soldier’s armor.

An ambush! More daggers flew out of the darkness, seeming from every which way! No light shown anywhere else in the building other then those the group carried, making them easy targets for the spy ring; conversely, the group was completely in the dark (HA) about where their foes were positioned, and every time they tried to move toward where they though the spies were, daggers would come from a new direction to pin them all down.

Lidia at first tried to advance, desperate to try and stop them before they could potentially summon another demon. When she realized how hopeless their tactical situation was, though, she retreated out the door, despite efforts to pin her in place with thrown projectiles.

Maggie, too, tried to make for the door, but she was successfully pinned. Daggers flew at her from all directions…at first. But, after the first few, she noticed that fewer daggers came her way as time went on. Almost as if someone had recognized her from before…questions for later. She quickly took advantage of the lull and dove out the door, quickly getting behind the opposite doorframe to Lidia.

Popeye was having NONE of it. He bravely charged into the darkness repeatedly, sometimes with the guards and sometimes on his own, only stopping because the place he THOUGHT the spies were turned out to be empty, and the spies’ daggers would again come from a different direction. Fortunately, his seemingly-impenetrable hide made most of the daggers bounce off harmlessly.

The guards, meanwhile, were having an even worse time of it. Though their armor was thick, it didn’t make them impervious to lucky strikes, and they were just as confused on where to strike as Popeye. Lidia called for their retreat once she was outside, and they quickly obeyed, falling back to outside the building. She then ordered them to throw their torches in and smoke them out; having posted guards at all entrances to the building to catch runners, it would only be a matter of time until they had prisoners now. The Baronette gave the direct order, and the torches went flying back through the door.

Now alone and with only the torches - and their all-too-familiar-feeling smoke and heat - for company, Popeye found himself completely overexposed; though he was tough, he wasn’t invincible, having already taken a wound or two from very precise dagger throws; sooner or later, they’d wear him down, and with fewer targets now, he was finding more daggers being thrown his way by the second. He decided at last that now was the time to retreat…but unfortunately, his haste to escape caused him to miss the door by a few inches and he ran smack into the frame. The others then attempted to simply pull him to safety…but only managed to slam him into the frame again (10 dice with helpers! Ob 2! Missed it by 1! ). His nose bruised from the mistreatment, he had to weather another round of daggers to the back before finally managing to retreat to safety.

After the torches were thrown and Popeye was out, Lidia quickly peered into the building to see if she could determine their movements. With the piled torches inside, she was able to barely make out the moving shapes of the spies - it seemed they were retreating now that they’d forced their assailants back out, but not toward the entrances…bolt hole. There must be a secret way out. Lidia cried out for everyone to attack NOW and cut them off before they could escape!

As one, the Baronette and soldiers rushed back in, snatching up their torches as they went chasing after the fleeing spies. The guards on the other entrance, hearing the shouted commands, burst through the other door, managing to catch a couple of spies completely by surprise, but the others managed to make it into the back room. All were in hot pursuit now!

They came into what appeared to be a storage room in time to see one spy disappear down a hole in the ground, here, with another preparing to make his descent. Just as they closed in on the second spy - who was preparing a dagger in a desperate move to try and make them hesitate - Barnold suddenly cried out in alarm, having detected a build-up of magical energy from the-

BOOM. The bolt hole exploded, throwing the now mortally-wounded spy clear out of the hole, and sending the pursuing group crashing to the ground, dazed and stunned. When they rumbling subsided and they managed to pick themselves up, they found that the hole was completely sealed up.

Cursing up a storm, the Baronette ordered his men to begin digging out the rubble immediately in an effort to find out where the spies had fled to. They’d be long gone, sure, but they might at least have an idea of their getaway plans this way. He bade two of them go with Lidia and the others with torches in order to help them scour the Glassworks for anything of value left behind, any sign as to their plans here and what their mission might have been. Lidia, equally furious at the spies’ escape, wasted no time in tearing the building apart, searching every last corner of the place.

They turned up quite a bit; it seems that the spies hadn’t been as prepared for their assault as had been at feared, and so in their haste to get away, had left behind quite a bit. And what they’d left behind was troubling, indeed. Hand-drawn guard patrol routes, estimates on number of soldiers and guards in the town, city wall layouts…it seemed that the spies here had been meticulously cataloging the defenses of the entire town, with particular attention paid to the naval yard.

Also among the documents recovered were plans for the ship that Popeye had helped save…but on looking at it, it seemed strange and somehow off. He was no shipbuilder, of course, but the ship’s general design wasn’t like anything he’d ever seen before. Lidia - who’d been briefed on the ship in secret by the Commodore - quickly took the document with her for later.

Finally, they found a partially burned note, which appeared to be orders to the mysterious leaders of the spy ring. Sadly, Lidia’s reading skills were poor, and the orders were mostly burnt beyond recognition, but one part that stood out to her was " two otgs."

On returning with their findings, the Baronette was troubled; he confirmed that the defense reports were incredibly accurate. It seemed that the ring had been operating in this city for quite some time to have narrowed it down so well. Either that, or they’d had someone very highly placed, in deed.

…Wait, had? As in, past tense? The Baronette then revealed his own findings; they’d managed to dig out the bolt hole…or at least, until they hit the solid rock wall at the dead end it lead to. And “dead” was the operative word; they’d found what was left of the spies bodies mixed in with the rubble, and were busy filling the hole back in to act as a tomb for their remains. On closer inspection, Barnold determined that the magic he’d detected was set to go off once anyone rounded a corner in the underground tunnel.

All was now clear. It seems that the bosses had told their spies to use this bolt hole as an escape if they were attacked, but had actually set a magical trap to detonate should anyone actually attempt to move through the tunnel. And so the spies unwittingly sealed their own fates thinking they were fleeing to safety. An efficient - if gruesome - method of “cleaning up lose ends”.

The group stared hard at the ground in frustration. Their enemies were gone - had, in fact, likely never been here tonight at all. Though they were thankful they’d not had to deal with demons, magic was now on terrifyingly effective display tonight. The poor fools they’d caught likely wouldn’t know any more then the others. And as the bosses had likely gone to ground, it would be a while before further leads would surface. They were out of options for now; all they could do was bide their time and wait for

…Or at least, most of them were out of options. Maggie recalled what Mathew had said about a meeting place outside of town, and silently wondered if the bosses might have reason to be interested in meeting her still.

As the night moves on, we call this chapter of Lilac Bay’s story to a close, with the group having won and this spy ring destroyed, but with several more still at large and no clear next move at this point. Time will tell if they’ll be able to handle what awaits them in the coming days.

As the Spy Hunt continues on.

AFTERMATH

And, as indicated, this chapter is brought to a close.

So a couple of things: Barnold wasn’t actually present for this game. His player had made it clear when they joined that they were going to be “spotty” in making it to games this year due to work, so this is expected. However, I wanted Barnold to be present for the climax so he could share in some of the rewards, so got permission to play him as an “automaton” - unless specifically directed to do something by the players, he would function as an NPC that was useful for plot points that I deemed relevant, such as using Second Sigh to “see” the magical explosion and confirm that the spies have access to skilled magic users. So their absence, while it sucked, was understandable as they’d come in expecting to miss games.

The same cannot be said for Max’s player.

The reason it’s taken so long for anything to happen is because that player constantly called out due to illness or other excuses. I have a strict policy of calling games where half of my players are out, so this has caused significant delays in joining back up, as they plus either Barnold’s or another player would be out at the same time. This time was the final straw; not only did they call out last minute, but they called out after I’d gotten direct assurances that they would be able to make it the day prior, and had relayed those assurances to the rest of the group.

At that point, I made the executive decision to kick them from the game; if they’re that sick all the time, then they need to stop playing games and focus on getting themselves well. Maybe after their health is recovered some, I’ll consider letting them rejoin.

Anyway, onto the game that night: as might be expected, I rewarded everyone (including Barnold) with their first Deed point. Everyone was super-excited when they found out what it could be used for. If I had to guess right now, I’d say Maggie is in the best position to earn more on her own.

We didn’t have time for the traditional post-game Trait discussion, as the game had been an extended session and everyone had to go, but I decided that we’d had the initial one several sessions back anyway, and we’d just say that one counted for this time, and have another one 6 or so sessions from now.

Popeye’s player seriously was doing an excellent job of portraying his character’s new over-inflated ego, so props on that. Sadly, the entire ambush was actually mainly his character’s fault; not even trying to stealth up and poor perception rolls made that happen. And yeah, with Forte 8, daggers were bouncing off him like he was wearing armor. This is actually good; I like that he can help cover for mistakes the party makes by being a sort of one-man army. He even got a point of Steel for all the near-impossible tests he’s made against it over the past several sessions, so his bravery now matches his toughness. Tonight was also the night the player blew most of that spent up Artha; tough Popeye may be, but with all the disadvantages, even he was having a difficult time in the Glassworks! Of course, they made most of it back pretty quickly, but I used them as a demonstration as an opportunity to remind everyone of the “easy come easy go” nature of most Artha. If you’re playing right, you’ll earn tons of Artha quickly, so you’ll have plenty to spend on difficult rolls and the like later. And all the while, the game goes in weird, crazy directions and becomes the stuff of near legend by the time we’re done with it!

Maggie’s player did a fantastic job with RPing the anguish she was feeling over the demon incident. I don’t think the player was expecting me to actually RP Maggie’s daughter the way I did, but it seemed to work well. With Max gone, she’s no longer at risk of being exposed (for now; Barnold is still here), but with the actions of the spy bosses and Selina’s plea, she’s having second thoughts about working with the spy ring further. I’m going to be a little sad to see Maggie’s player no longer working at odds to the group - it made for INCREDIBLE drama, and I would’ve loved to have seen it go even deeper. But the group wanted a Black and White game right now, so I had to make the spy rings bosses the clear “bad guys”, even if that meant potentially curtailing some of Maggie’s RP potential for the moment. I DID state that the spies themselves would continue to be a mixed bag of personalities, so Maggie should still be able to turn hearts and minds if her player wants to try for that; it’s just that the bosses of the rings are going to be cut-throat assholes so there won’t be any ambiguity as to what side to ultimately fight on.

Lidia was the in the center-seat for this one, so she was kind of the star player, coordinating everything and making sure they managed to get out of the mess they got themselves into. Her being shaken up by the demon and magic seems to have opened up some more RP possibilities for her player, fortunately; before, Lidia was super-detached and were only really doing this out of loyalty to the Baron (and the cushy life that brought her), and some mixed feelings about the Baronette. Now that the players are truly realizing that Beliefs are meant to change over time, Lidia’s starting to change, too, and is expressing genuine concern for the first time ever.

Overall, quite pleased with how this game turned out. And this’ll be the last session for the rest of the year; I’ve found in the past that trying to schedule anything during holidays is nearly impossible, so have just put the game on hiatus. We plan to meet again in January. Before then, I’ll figure out how much downtime has passed in-game and let them note their practice and such for their characters.

SPOILERS

Spoilers

So I’d actually expected the Glassworks scene to go completely differently, with the group catching the bewildered spies completely off-guard in the storeroom and then calling the guards in as backup. The spies were busy trying to figure out why their bosses were late to showing, and had only just begun go realize they weren’t coming when Popeye came in.

I hadn’t expected Popeye to just YOLO on in, brazen as brass with zero consideration for stealth, so the lookouts the spies posted were easily able to notice him entering and get word back to the others that they were being attacked. When he left, that gave them all the time to get ready.

The spies, in turn, weren’t expecting a dozen well-trained soldiers to come in with the party, of course; they’d planned to kill Popeye and his friends right then and there and decide what to do afterward. After realizing they had no hope of escape, their goal was to just drive the group back out so they could try to escape out the bolt hole in cover of darkness.

“But wait!” I hear you cry. “What if the bosses had been caught there? How would THEY have escaped??” Simple: through the bolt hole.

The bosses hadn’t been entirely lying - the bolt hole actually WAS an escape route…if the bosses were present, that is. Since they were aware of the trap - and one of them had even created it - the bosses would simply deactivate the trap temporarily as they passed. The solid rock wall at the end was actually a “solid” illusion, designed to confuse pursuers in case the trap failed to stop them (I gave all the PCs an Ob 3 Perception test to sense it was an illusion, and none of them made the check, including Barnold); the tunnel actually extended out to a location outside of town in the woods nearby. In the event they needed to escape, they’d disable the two spells as they passed and re-enable them afterward to cover their escape, as well as any spies they deemed useful enough to save.

That being said, that’s all for if the bosses were there. The party’s deduction was otherwise completely accurate: the bosses feel that any spy stupid enough to show up after warnings that they’d been compromised (i.e. everyone actually there) were liabilities and would be better off removed. Considering what usually happens to captured spies, they may even have considered it a “merciful” act…

Oh, and yes, the bosses are open to meeting with Maggie if she approaches them. Not all of the spy members were caught or killed, and they’re keen to rebuild if they can. And having another magic user with them would certainly be a big help.

The other two spy rings have gone to ground. The Inn, of course, was well aware of what was coming and so had already closed itself off. But even the Tavern couldn’t fail to notice their target meeting a bunch of soldiers to raid the glassworks, so have also suspended operations for the moment. Everyone’s now completely immersed in their “fronts” and all business operations are suspended indefinitely.

The Inn is aware of the Glassworks’ bosses escape, and has let the ex-Glasswork bosses know that those in charge will NOT be pleased, both with their discovery and with their failure to stop the new ship’s construction.

Fortunately, the bosses have quite a bit of information to provide to help ease the news of their loss. Even without the documents the party captured, the bosses are able to relay much of the town’s defenses. The loss of the new ship’s schematics is a blow - they’re not ship builders, so like Popeye, weren’t able to decipher what they were looking at. But they’re at least able to relay that the ship is of a new design never before seen.

And yes, I decided to change the ship from “just another warship” to “an experimental vessel” to make it more interesting to the story. Due to the Kingdom’s new focus on magic, the ship is going to use magic in its design and construction in order to have features like 19th century warships. Magically-driven paddle wheel in the back to supplement sail power, plus a 270 degree turret and two 16-pounder canons that use magic to fire instead of powder charges. It’s got an array of ballista on each side for further armament, as well.

I’m holding it as a potential reward for the players after they’ve stopped all the spy rings and are ready to move forward; Popeye could easily request use of it, and his Captain and Crew would be happy to use it. Of course, I can see the party potentially wanting to stick with their current ship since it’s less conspicuous; up to them. In which case, it would just remain a plot-point for the players to follow.

[darkmage0707077]

Session 10

STORY

In the day after the pyric victory at the Glassworks, the exhausted group traveled around to clean up what they could. Lidia, Barnold and Popeye headed to the Baron to discuss matters.

Upon arrival, the Baron was rather grim at the news that the spy masters had managed to escape and that the remaining spies were killed. He was also as disturbed as his son was at the discovery of what they knew. Still, he acknowledged the group’s efforts and agreed to chartering Popeye’s ship and crew when Lidia suggested it, seeing the wisdom in keeping an undercover vessel on hand in case his workers needed exit the town discreetly, even in spite of his intense dislike for the captain. All and all, the meeting could’ve gone better, but it went alr-

“But what about my reward, sir?”

All eyes locked onto the face of Popeye, who had let this remark slip out.

Apparently, he felt that - as the one who’d saved the shipyard and dockyard, and was “the people’s hero” - he should get an additional reward on top of everything! The man was even so bold as to not address His Lordship by his proper title, in front of the whole court!

As he made his argument, he failed to notice the storm cloud forming over his general vicinity. Then, after “pondering the matter” for all of 2 seconds, the Baron spoke. And when he spoke, his tone made those who had been near Popeye suddenly (and conveniently) absent.

Oh, Popeye would absolutely get his reward! The whole crew would be rewarded handsomely!..IF they succeeded.

But if they failed, he, the crew and his beloved captain would be put to death as traitors to the kingdom immediately.

As Popeye was half-lead/half-dragged out of the room by a terrified Lidia and Baronette, the Baron called out in a snide tone “Do give my regards to your captain when you see him, whelp.”

After a severe tongue lashing by Lidia and the Baronette - which seemed to have little effect on his understanding of events, to everyone’s INCREASING frustration - Lidia heads off to let the good Captain know what has transpired, while Barnold went out into the town to try and gather information (and to calm himself after seeing such a horrendous gaff). The Baronette went back in to calm his father down, while Popeye made like a magician and disappeared…into a bottle, as it turned out.

After searching around, Lidia finally found the ship, but the superstitious sailors were at first reluctant to let her board, so called the Captain down to decide what to do. After a few winks and kisses from her pretty face, the crew and First Mate were on board with having her on board. The Captain was…“immune” to this, unbeknownst to her, but he was practiced enough that he could play along.

Once in the cabin, she dropped the act and revealed who she actually was. The Captain was quickly informed of all that had transpired at the Baron’s castle and the situation they were in - fully paid for while this was going on, but also under threat of death if Popeye screwed up. They’d effectively been pressed back into service! The Captain thanked Lidia for her time, and Lidia informed him where to reach her if he needed to get in touch again. After that, she headed off to speak with the Baron again, as he’d been in the middle of asking to speak with her and his son in private before the fiasco started.

Later, when Popeye finally had the drink-infused nerve to enter the ship, the First Mate and Captain were already waiting for him. Seeing that he was drunk again didn’t help his anger, and he let Popeye know he was pretty damn pissed, but the Captain was willing to give his second mate and lover a chance at redemption. Still, though, Popeye was absolutely going to be punished - the Captain forbade him from drinking while on board his vessel, with the threat that if he was caught doing so, he’d be keel-hauled for it, or worse.

Things weren’t looking so hot for Popeye as he left the ship to ponder the situation. Perhaps he should focus more on his “people’s champion” reputation? As such, he began looking for people to help, whether they be down-trodden damsels in distress or ditch diggers that couldn’t afford to pay the muscle they needed. Showing that he was a man of the people may help curtail the situation he was in with that nasty old Baron…!

On returning back to the castle, Lidia and the Baronette were taken to the Baron’s private meeting chambers, where he revealed that he’d been in contact with His Majesty, and the situation was worse then they’d imagined. On discovering evidence of organized espionage in Lilac Bay, the King had ordered the other Barons and Viceroys along the ocean border to check for similar, and reports had come in confirming other organized attempts at spying and sabotage, though they’d been far smaller then this effort and so had been dismissed as normal going on until now. With such a concerted effort, it was becoming clear that one of their enemies was planning something major against the kingdom, possibly even a full blown invasion! Unfortunately, no additional information was uncovered - the other towns’ conspiracies were far smaller and less organized then this one seemed to be, and no “leadership” was caught. If anything, evidence seemed to suggest that Lilac Bay was the source of any organization and leadership the enemy efforts had at this point in time. After questioning Lidia to ensure there wasn’t anything else, he re-iterated again that - despite his hostility toward that fool she worked with - he was willing and able to provide any resources possible so long as they were deemed relevant to stopping these curs!

After she was dismissed, Lidia went and spent the rest of the day trying her best to curtail the rumors that Popeye’s actions had started, though it was of limited effect. Her frustration peeking, she met privately with the Baronnette for the first time since the situation began and unleashed all her pent-up anger on him, domineering him in a way that he’d never experienced, much to his surprise (and excitement).

After that, Lidia went and found Maggie in their room, where she explained all that had happened. Maggie, for her part, had been simultaneously working on both a new spell and a song in her “friend’s” honor, like she’d promised her daughter, so she had to hide things quickly for fear that the surprise would be ruined! On learning of their compatriot’s foolishness, Maggie did her best to console Lidia, though there was only so much that could be done. Maggie then decided to head on out to try and gather information, while Lidia collapsed on the bed into a restless slumber, dreaming of a fool wielding terrifying magic against her.

Of course, Maggie neglected to mention HOW she would be “gathering information”, which was just as well, as Lidia likely wouldn’t have understood. She went out to town and performed for a time, waiting for the sun to go down so she’d have cover of night. Then, she headed out the main gate and headed toward the forest, casting Cat’s Eye when she was far enough away that she was sure she wouldn’t be seen. She then traced her way through the woods to the ancient “witch’s tree” near its center, where frogs liked to gather from a stagnant pond nearby.

After some careful searching, she uncovered a message indicating to return “once the moon was caught by the branches of the tree”. This could only have been left by the spies, and appeared to be recently placed, so she assumed it meant the very next time. When she looked at the moon from her position through the leafless-limbs of the forest and calculated how long before it would be viewed through the limbs of the witch’s tree, that meant just a few days from now. Replacing the note exactly where she found it, she then attempted to cast Low Speech so she could speak with the frogs, but sadly failed from her exhaustion, managing only to summon a small case of The Sickness onto herself. Deciding instead to do a ritual to her Frog Goddess along with her ever-present daughter, she then made her way back home to sleep.

As we close out, the group is at odds on where to go next…all save Maggie, who seems to have a midnight date with destiny.

AFTERMATH

I LIVE! Seriously, been a little bit as we took the holidays off, but we got back together and continued the game. People were gung-ho about it, too; seems everyone missed stuff!

Honestly, I thought there was going to be a bunch of downtime - weeks, if not months, while the group waited for the other cells to surface again. But then, last moment, I remembered that Maggie had that connection to the remnants of the Glassworks group that she could use, and mentioned it to her player, who enthusiastically agreed that Maggie would want to check the very next night. Hence why things are continuing in “real time” for the moment, though we’ll have a few days’ time skip to her rendezvous.

Barnold’s player had to leave early, which is why their part of the story is cut short. Still good that they’re able to attend, of course, though we’d all hoped that their personal stuff would be over by now. Apparently not. Oh well, what can you do?

Lidia is doing an amazing job of keeping the plot moving, but her player is admitting that they need to start playing toward their traits and beliefs more. I’m trying to give them situations that they can find themselves stuff to get in trouble over, but I admit that it’s somewhat difficult for her, both due to her trait/belief choice (she’s very cool and calculating; very aloof) and due to Popeye’s constant antics requiring a counterbalance to keep derailment from happening. Fortunately, her player is very experienced with TTRPGs and is content with things as they are now. But I do worry that they’re not getting to enjoy the game - I’ve played with them in other games and seen them do character stuff that rivals the the best of what Popeye’s done, so I KNOW they can be a troublemaker if they want; they just can’t right now, and it makes me grit my teeth in frustration!

Speaking of “frustration”, let’s talk about Popeye, who’s staring to become frustrating in a different way entirely.

PLEASE DON’T GET ME WRONG, it’s not what you think! His antics are a blast for the whole table, myself included! And his player is acting completely in-character at all times, so it’s not like they’re just clowning around and being deliberately disruptive. We all have an amazing time with this stuff, so I’m not complaining about that per-say. And they’ve earned a boat load of Artha from it for creating so much drama, too!

No, what’s frustrating for me is that Popeye is acting up so often, so hard and with so many characters that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justify him not being “dealt with” by an angry mob. Lidia’s starting to imagine his face when she practices her throwing knives, and Barnold’s character has “despises incompetence” in his Beliefs, so he hates Popeye, too. Even kind-hearted Maggie is starting to have doubts about him, with her own daughter asking if he “is that much of an idiot” while they went to the woods. Already, people are starting to pull up stakes around him and distance themselves from him, even his allies.

Again, OUT-OF-CHARACTER, we love him, but IN-CHARACTER, he’s pissing off all the wrong people. I don’t WANT to take him out of the game, but if his player keeps on going like this and doesn’t find SOME way of reigning him in, it’s going to become impossible for me not to have someone abduct him in the middle of the night and have him buried in a deep, dark hole in the middle of the woods. And, as mentioned above, I suspect it’s interfering with Lidia’s ability to cause trouble, too - she’s constantly having to babysit and clean up his messes, after all, so kinda hard to act out in that situation. So as much as we enjoy it in the moment, it’s starting to have a long-term impact on fellow players.

Much as it pains me, I’m going to have to have a one-on-one chat with Popeye’s player about how to reign him in a bit. I thought that was his love of his Captain, but after what happened this game, I can’t trust in that anymore, so the player’s gonna have to come up with something else.

Overall, it was kind of a slow game, but then, we’re just coming back from a long break, so it’ll take a while to get into things. Hopefully, after some downtime finally commences and the spy ring is back at it, we’ll be able to get into more substantial stuff. Especially if Barnold’s player finally settles down and is able to come more regularly!

SPOILERS

Spoilers

As might be imagined, the spy rings are playing possum right now, so no real change there.

The one at the Inn is continuing to monitor the PCs, and has finally noticed Maggie talking to an unknown third party (her daughter) when she’s supposed to be alone. They’re not entirely sure what to make of this, but considering they have magicians within their own ranks, they can hazard a guess. And since they’ve determined that the others don’t know about this, they figure that if she IS a magician, then she’s a rogue magician. And with Barnold being a court sorcerer that has a list of duties that includes “rogue magician hunting”, they figure this might be very useful at some point in the future.

For all intents and purposes, though, they’re unable to gather information that’s outside of the Inn or not otherwise town knowledge, so that’s the extent of what they’re able to learn unless something significant happens at the Inn itself.

Tavern is completely possum. They know Popeye frequents there constantly, and that he’s the one who saved the shipyard and the people in it, but don’t know anything else beyond that.

As for the bosses of the Glassworks - yeah, they left the note. They consider themselves undercover enough that they can just start over, and plan to meet up with the remaining members, if there are any. Whether they plan to kill them to tie up remaining loose ends or actually start over is another question entirely, though it’s likely the latter since they’ve just lost LITERALLY their entire organization; starting with SOME members is gonna be better then starting from absolutely nothing.

As a precaution, they’ve cut themselves off from all contact with the other cells, and have destroyed all remaining incriminating documents and the like. Sadly for them, if they’re captured, they CAN be interrogated for names of more auxiliary contacts and former drop locations that can be used to trace the other cells, and even their superior’s handle (the boss who works at the Inn, FYI). So capturing one of the spy bosses would be a major coop if it can be managed.

Of course, they’re aware of how valuable they are, so will fight MIGHTILY if cornered, and are loyal enough to try to kill themselves to prevent information from being disclosed. Even if caught, breaking them is going to be a very difficult task in and of itself.

All of this is up to Maggie’s actions, though. We’ll see what happens and where things go over the next couple of games.

[darkmage0707077]

Alright, another Session, number 11!

STORY
We open with Maggie going directly to the tree on the appointed night, where she found a number of people in robes conversing with each other in hushed whispers. She tried to sneak up to determine what they’re saying, but sadly, a snapped twig drew everyone’s attention to her.

Fortunately, the group recognized her as the magically-inclined woman who’d warned them about the ambush, so she was welcomed into the group, both out of hope that she was hear to join, and out of fear that she’d disembowel them all with her magic if they refused.

She’d cast her Cat’s Eye as darkness had fallen, per her habit, so was easily able to make out the faces of most of her fellow compatriots - several were very familiar from when she’d given her warning at the glassworks, though one was new.

And then there was Lawrence, who’d since been released to act as the group’s double agent. His eyes betrayed his surprise to see her, but he quickly masked his concerns, sure that his “handler” was here to ensure things went according to plan. Man, was he glad he’d switched sides - this group thought of everything!

They all turned and then Maggie saw what she could only assume to be the leaders of the group; the epitomes “A” and “B”. They had their hoods pulled down low over their faces such that she couldn’t make our details; if they knew magic like the group suspected, they’d likely suspect that her ability to make her way through the woods at night without a torch was no accident and taken precautions accordingly.

The one known as “B” was the first to speak, welcoming her and thanking her for coming with her earlier warning. He was sorry they didn’t fully act on her information; she had been just one person, after all, so they couldn’t be entirely sure of her trustworthiness. But it had been enough to warn some of them out, and for them to clear out the more important information.

With that, he addressed the assembled crowd of conspirators, taking pains to reassure them that despite the rumors, they had NOT summoned a demon at the docks! NO SIR, BY CHUCK, NO THEY HAD NOT. Both A and B were emphatic about this, reassuring that though they had magical power, they weren’t cavorting with the spawn of the pits! The crowd seemed placated…for the time being, at least.

On being pressed about the “dead-man’s tunnel”, B seemed rather dismayed; it seems that the tunnel WAS designed as an escape, but only he and A knew to make it past the trap. The intent had been to lead the others through it if they’d been trapped, but the leaders had been delayed in arriving due to business and so weren’t present; they didn’t know exactly when the strike was set to happen, so couldn’t be prepared. The members had been warned that it was dangerous to use the tunnel, but they’d not mentioned the trap for security. “It was regretful, what happened; we wish we could have saved them…” To Maggie’s surprise, B seemed genuinely mournful over the loss. A, however, remained silent.

When Maggie - and Lawrence, who couldn’t help himself - brought up the various arson attempts, B was…rather upset. “Yes…that arson at the house was RATHER UNFORTUNATE, WASN’T IT, A??” A, for his part, didn’t deign to respond. After a moment’s silence, B then further explained that Maggie’s warning had forced their hand; they knew they were in trouble, and that once the raid happened, they’d lose time and preparation, if not more. But they weren’t in a position to strike true yet…so they instead went with a rather desperate daylight strike at the shipyard. B stammered that he hadn’t realized they’d have workers working nearly 24/7 on the ship inside, though that excuse seemed a bit weak to Maggie; surely if it was so important, he’d have known the kingdom would be working on it as fast as possible…? Still, he’d seemed genuinely sorrowful over the loss of life thus far. Maggie didn’t know what to think about this.

Finally, B was forced to admit that, due to the raid, they’d lost many resources and several good men. B thanked Maggie for being willing to join them, but was despondent about rebuilding, unsure of where to even begin.

It was then that Maggie suggested that she train them in entertainment - singing, juggling, etc. They could then pose as a traveling entertainment group, operating in the open! Lawrence was enthusiastic about the idea, backing up his “compatriot”, and this lifted B’s spirits.

A then asked if this meant that Maggie would be joining their group. Maggie said she would…for now. She was here for information, and to ensure that loss of life was minimized, especially frogs (this last point raised eyebrows, but they collectively shrugged; she’s a magic user, of course she’s strange!) The moment the information stopped coming - or the bodies started mounting - she was out, and would possibly even be gunning for them. When A threatened the frogs on the tree, she revealed how serious she was by using her Swipe spell to send a needle of wood across his cheek from afar, a very precise maneuver that drew a drop of blood from him and created a pinhole in the back of his hood.

To her surprise, A seemed to nod in agreement after this. He then revealed that, since they no longer had actual funds, he was willing to provide her with more then just pedestrian information - he was willing to teach her in the ways of magic, as well! He offered a prid-quo-pro deal where he would teach her a spell in exchange for her teaching them to be entertainers; if she wished to learn more of his spells, she could teach HIM a spell of her own.

And so, Maggie’s days were became a double life - during the day, she would spend time at the Inn and with Lidia, composing a song in her friend’s honor and waiting for news about the spies. At night, she would teach those very same spies how to disguise themselves to rise again, and learn a new spell from her temporary magical master. And how quickly she learned, too! Not only was she able to learn the spell perfectly, she learned it faster then he’d expected, earning his begrudging praise (and managing to not set off an earthquake in the process, either!) She was no mewling child of a magician, that was for certain, and her new mastery of Create Shadow was proof of that!

As the weeks passed, Lidia spent time practicing her skills, managing to discover that the court doctor she’d met and seduced before was actually practiced in instruction and could teach her better self-control. All the while, she waited for signs that the spies had come out from playing possum. As did Popeye…somewhat.

Popeye, you see, was hell-bent on becoming the peoples’ champion, by any means necessary. He searched high and low, and was able to find a number of people to help with unskilled labor, such as ditch digging and holding ladders, though often his one-armed nature got in the way and caused more of a mess then if he’d stayed away! And he wasn’t actually saving people like he’d hoped, though he did find one or two to times where he was able to chase would-be muggers away. But this wasn’t getting him anywhere; he wasn’t going to be the people’s champion this way!

…Well. If he couldn’t FIND someone to help…then he could MAKE someone to help.

He knew how to start a fire (kinda). He had all that money he’d found, and knew where lamp oil was sold.

And he knew which workhouse the children of town labored in during the day.

His devilish plan formed, he set about purchasing as much oil as he could from various locals, and snuck over to the target workhouse during the day. After surreptitiously tying the doors shut, he snuck back and doused the rear of the place with lamp oil. Then - after a few false starts - he managed to light the place on fire, upon which he raced off and waited a few minutes to let it really light up.

Then, he started yelling at the top of his lungs “FIRE” and raced back toward the scene, heroically throwing himself through a window of the burning building! Inside, a number of children were frantically throwing themselves at the door, but it was stuck fast! At first, Popeye tried to grab one of the kids and pull them out of the window, but the poor thing was struggling from fear at the unknown man and the one-armed sailor failed to keep a grasp. After this, he used his authority as an adult to command the kids to attention so they’d calm down, and then forced the barred door (after subtly cutting the tied knot with his sword) to allow the children to escape to freedom. Looking back through, he spotted one terrified child in the corner left behind, and was able to carry the young and petrified child out the door with him. Huzzah! The day was saved!

And thus ends today’s thrilling adventure, with Popeye getting the praise he so sorely wanted, and Maggie working both for and against the group’s interests. And all the while, Lidia ponders what to do, and when her foes will finally come out to strike again.

AFTERMATH
Yeah, hmmm…mixed feelings on this one.

On the one hand, it was TERRIFIC seeing Maggie going out and becoming the free agent she seemed destined to be. Her player was enthusiastic about playing both sides at this point, having now fully understood the concept of spies and intrigue. And everything Popeye’s player did was completely spontaneous and in-character; Popeye wants to be the people’s hero, and he’ll do it no matter the cost! So what if a couple of kids get flame-broiled on the way - gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet, right?! Cries of “You’re a monster!” resounded across the table alongside laughter at this whole situation, and it was glorious fun.

…On the other hand…Lidia. You’ll note that her character didn’t really come up. That’s because she didn’t really get a chance to; the others took up almost all the time in the session. And while it’s true that not everyone should be in the spotlight at all times, I fear that this is a worsening of the pattern I noticed last session - Lidia’s character isn’t finding ways to make trouble, or at least, isn’t going for them. And this is a big issue to me. Further is that while Popeye’s insanity is fun, it’s pushing him more and more into “rabid dog” territory, where he’s eventually going to be put down. And as I said before, I don’t want to have to do that, nor does anyone want me to.

I still haven’t had a chance to speak with Popeye’s character about the situation I mentioned last time. I hope to be able to in the next couple of days, because we need to get this resolved, and FAST.

On another note, Barnold’s player’s stuff seems to have finally come to an end, so they can join the table properly from now on, hopefully. So we’ll be able to do more mage hunting stuff, at last!

And yes, this was their first downtime. I believe Popeye’s player didn’t quite grasp the concept, and had been complaining about the slow progress of practice and instruction, but the downtime helped enforce the idea of how “time skips” can be beneficial to players and how practice can do wonders to help fill in gaps. Much of the session was spent with players filling out practice schedules and tests for the 2 month period that would pass before the spies started up again.

SPOILERS

Spoilers

So the spies are still playing possum, here. The glassworks were, of course, detailed above. So nothing particularly interesting, there.

What IS interesting is that the Inn is planning to make contact with home soon to give their report on the glassworks’ cell’s destruction. This is going to involve some very powerful magic, so a certain returning wizard with Second Sight may just receive a clue about the power of the spies they’re dealing with.

I’ve decided I don’t want to reveal the Inn yet. I’ll likely have the Tavern be the next target, and save the Inn as the final reveal of the game. Though I MAY drop a couple of hints to Maggie, depending on how her player handles the glasswork spies. We’ll see.

[darkmage0707077]

So, Session 12 and in we go!

STORY

Our story begins by turning briefly to Barnold, who’d decided to use the months they seemed to have to assist his comrades be more useful in the field, by manufacturing some magical items to assist them.

For Maggie, he produced a magical mantle that could lend her his skill in oration. For Lidia, he created a magical bag that always replenished with poisons (she being the only one he’d consulted beforehand, Lidia was able to request what she wanted). And for Popeye, he made a fancy hat that would - miraculously - grant him great skill and knowledge of proper etiquette.

Unfortunately, while Maggie’s came out near flawlessly (8 Natural 6s on the same DIE!), the others…weren’t as unblemished. The bag for Lidia had the requirement of needing to be fueled by blood before she could use it. And Barnold almost couldn’t give the hat to Popeye due to a strange overriding desire for it, only barely managing to force himself to part with it. At least the things worked, though, and all were grateful to the mage for laboring to make them useful items in his spare time.

A day after, Lidia was wandering the streets, waiting for news to come back from her mole Lawrence, when suddenly, she noticed a person walk past her that should not be.

A double take confirmed it, especially when he tried to run - it’s one of the spies from the glassworks, back from the dead! But how?! Lidia NEEDED answers!

A couple of now-expertly tossed daggers (laced with poison), and her opponent was down and out. Thinking quickly, she picked him up and - with herculean strength on her part - managed to stumble over to the Inn with her “inebriated friend”.

The innkeeper helped her take him up to her room, where Maggie was still preparing the song in Lidia’s honor (and pondering singing lessons for the spy ring in the woods). She was quite surprised to see Lidia has a new friend with her, and even more surprised when she recognized the man as the person from the forest meetings that she didn’t know! Managing to swallow her reaction, she helped Lidia secure the new prisoner for interrogation, her mind racing on how she’s going to prevent this guy from spilling his guts.

As it turns out, though, she needn’t have worried about that…in the metaphorical sense, at least. On waking, the prisoner refused to talk, and seemed absolutely unphased by the interrogation techniques Lidia used. So, seeing no progress and deciding that waiting wasn’t worthwhile, Lidia slit the man’s throat. No hesitation or pre-amble; a flick of the wrist and spray of red, and the miracle man was with the departed once more, his life blood spraying onto the floor.

THIS was all too much for poor Maggie, who had a mental break and ran screaming from the room. Lidia tried to stop her, but was unable to control the inconsolable woman, who blew past her into the hall, screaming as she fled downstairs!

The Innkeeper quickly took the hysterical entertainer and asked what was the matter, and Maggie sobbed about the man being murdered in front of her, in cold blood! As the innkeeper made to speak, Lidia rushed downstairs, claiming that Maggie was mistaken, and that she’d gotten herself “all worked up over nothing”. A bit of persuasion (and some coin) convinced the Innkeeper to side with Lidia, and he lead Maggie into the kitchen where his wife made her a nice meal and some tea to calm down.

Once back out, the Innkeeper asked Lidia to please “clean it up”…and that’s just what Lidia did, quickly going to the Baronette for assistance. He rounded up some guards and stormed the Inn, demanding to know what was what, making quite a ruckus and (pretending) to question Maggie and the innkeeper…up until the “contraband” of the body was carried downstairs and out the door. The innkeeper, now clued into both the plan AND how influential Lidia really was, had a Baronette about his end of the story, and he and his wife immediately went upstairs to clean the leftovers up as well as they could.

Lidia returned to a very shaken Maggie, a bit disappointed in how she’d handled herself, but honestly not too surprised - considering all that they had been through, it was a miracle this girl had lasted as long as she had without breaking!

Fortunately, killing the man wasn’t too big a deal. He may have been unwilling to provide answers, and his pockets may have been bare, but they still had the most important part: his cadaver. At her request, the Baronette placed the body in an old alley under constant surveillance to see if anyone showed up to claim it or anything peculiar happened. If nothing occurred after a few days, they’d move it to the castle where Barnold would use his magical know-how to see what was going on.

Maggie, on the other hand…found herself in a crisis of a completely different proportion. Just when she thought she could maybe be friends with someone, they turn out to be a cold-blooded murderer! She HATED people being killed, and wanted it to stop, after all! But more, this person being caught emphasized her precarious position with riding the line - all it would take was one slip-up from the others for her to be undone…or a word from Lawrence.

She realized that he was a loose end that Maggie couldn’t afford to to leave hanging. Her presence in the camp was likely preventing him from reporting to Lidia, but that wouldn’t last forever. She realized she was running out of time, and non-violent options.

So, she decided to speak to her mentor for advice: the voice in her head.

Now, unlike some heady voices, this particular “voice” was very much real, as the spells it had taught her in the past attested; it was her original magical tutor, and her guide on her spiritual path to froggy enlightenment. It had not guided her wrong thus far - surely, it must have answers to impart?

Sadly, while it offered its sympathies - and a new spell for her to learn, to assist her in this spy-ring madness - its wisdom was a bit vague, as usual. It mentioned the need for her to keep her wits about her, as the path she was forging was incredibly dangerous, but that it agreed that this path would provide her the answers she sought - both on who to trust and how to proceed in her life. Finally, it said that she shouldn’t judge Lidia too harshly yet; there may be circumstances she’s not quite aware of yet.

Her next meeting with the spies was a night or two out. As she broke connection with her “master”, Maggie resolved to go there to get some answers on this man Lidia claimed should already be dead…and to see what she could do about Lawrence’s loose tongue.

As we close, Maggie looked to console her poor daughter, only to belatedly realize that her poor froggy “familiar” was completely silent. Not a peep or croak from her since the incident. Poor thing must be traumatized, too…

AFTERMATH

So, in fact, this session was quite short due to personal business from the GM, and from us getting Barnold’s 4-month downtime scheduled out. The player’d missed a number of games, so I didn’t want them to miss out on the practice time, at least! That, and they remembered their enchanting skill and wanted to use the downtime to make stuff, so we went through that for the first time, as well, which was quite fun for everyone, but cut down on our session length a bit.

Unfortunately for them, they were out of time on scrapping and starting over on the botches, but I let them meta that they learned about the curses very quickly and so knew about them beforehand, either from testing as part of the process or in the attempt to give the cursed hat away.

Maggie’s player has a LOT of stuff to do, and they’re constantly talking with me out-of-game about plans they have with the glassworks spies or ideas for enhancing the lore. They’re super excited about what’s happening so far!

And I finally got to have a talk with Popeye’s player about my concerns. There was a bit of arguing and convincing, sadly - they thought at first that I was angry at Popeye and wanted him dead, when I just wanted to warn them that Popeye continuing down this path might lead to his death, and I had to reassure them repeatedly that I was having as much fun with his antics as the rest of the table! Fortunately, in the end, they heard me, which is why you didn’t really here much from Popeye this game; they were letting Lidia’s player have some breathing room to try and make trouble for once.

And make trouble she did! Killing that man without really questioning him hit no less then two of her beliefs, so she finally got a bit of Artha like the others had been wracking up! It was really nice to see Lidia’s player able to cause a bit of mayhem of their own instead of seemingly having to carry the plot and be the responsible one the whole time. Here’s hoping I can give them more opportunities in future.

As for me, I’ve mostly been hanging back and letting player antics happen during this little lull, just poking the embers a bit to keep things. But it’s high-time for me to stoke the flames again and for me to get the next chapter going, so after a bit of player stuff with Maggie, I intend to kick the next chapter off at last.

Though I will admit that I’m somewhat worried. I haven’t burnt out yet, but this tends to be about the point that things start to unravel for me, both narratively and psychologically. We’ll see if that changes this time.

SPOILERS

Spoilers

So, uh…yeah, that guy Lidia killed? Complete ass-pull. We were running low on time after Barnold’s stuff was done, and I wanted there to be SOME narrative besides the gift-giving, so just had that…happen suddenly. And things went from there on.

I’d PLANNED to have this unknown person be Maggie’s link to the Tavern cell if she pursued more double-agent stuff, but this was more interesting in the moment, and I can always have the leaders get a replacement once they find out what happened from Maggie…assuming Maggie tells them to truth, of course.

Speaking of, there’s much debate on A’s and B’s hierarchy in the order, who’s actually in charge, and the extent of A’s power in the group. Yeah, A’s got a number of spells, but not that many - he’s actually only got a couple more then Maggie, mostly as a check against her; against Barnold, he’d be completely outclassed in a fight! The glassworks was meant to be an easy challenge for the group, and that’s reflected in the leaders, with B also not being the most competent leader out there (letting Lawrence back into the group after him being captured and then the ambush happening? There’s desperate to rebuild, and then there’s reckless!). The PCs could easily wipe the floor with the remnants of the spy ring on their own; the only thing stopping that is Maggie herself.

But yeah, gotta get stuff in gear, and I figure that I’ll have it happen with the Tavern being next. The Inn is about to contact their home for instructions, and I plan to have Barnold accidentally detect that transmission during his study of the body as a way to indicate renewed activity.

Instructions will be to gather as much information as possible on the new group, and to try to turn them if at all possible. And to get in touch with the Tavern and have them accelerate their timetable, as without the glassworks to undermine the defenses - or stop the ships being built - they’ll need some REAL leverage to ensure the invasion goes well.

So the Tavern will be the next ones to strike. And they won’t be as crap at this as the Glassworks were; not only are they more capable, but they’ve also been able to focus on just the castle instead of having to spread out to the entire town.

[darkmage0707077]

ALRIGHT…Session 14

STORY

Our story begins with Maggie not consoling her daughter, but instead heading out into the woods that night to see what the hell is going on; who is that man that Lidia killed?! With a start, she realized that the spy ring had been flagging on their end of the bargain, and she intended to hold them to it…as well as tie up a lose end that could cause her trouble.

When she got to the forest, she hung back from joining the group as she’s done before, wearing an ominous air. “I’ve been fulfilling my end of the bargain, but what about yours? Where is my information?” she demanded.

B looked a bit awkward, but quickly relented; Maggie HAD been teaching them the art of the performing troupe, though they would need some makeup/disguise kits to prevent being recognized at the gate…fortunately, several members stated they had at least rudimentary ability to apply-WAIT. That FACE! One of the ones who’d volunteered was the same person Lidia had killed; Maggie would NEVER forget that face so long as she lived, and there was no mistaking it even with the hood! What’s going on?!

Maggie managed to keep her composure as B sat down to give her what she was asking for: information for information. The honest truth was that they were at a loss of purpose; they HAD been tasked with studying the fortifications and defenses of the town, as well as the layout of the shipyard and any ships being built, and preparing as much of it for sabotage as possible. With that thwarted, their new job was to reach out to their superiors for new orders. But they didn’t have any direct method of communication, so they would have to try and reach out to the other cells still in operation.

Maggie tried to ask about their overall goal with the town, but B became cagy at that point: he may be nicer than A, but he wasn’t born yesterday, and Maggie had only joined a few months prior, compared to the literal years that the others had worked together. Plus, they were still very vulnerable, and while it was nice she was helping them, nobody forgot that she was technically part of the enemy, as well.

Still, B, being the magnanimous soul he was, offered to make it up to her in another way: one of his jobs as leader was to teach those under his charge in the ways of spycraft to ensure they could do their jobs, and he was a skilled instructor, at that. As such, he was willing to do the same with Maggie, teaching her in the art of Stealth. Maggie happily accepted this, and they began her training immediately that night, with others joining in to get a bit of refresher (and to test out the new meat’s metal).

One of those who joined was exactly the lose thread she’d come here for…when they had a moment, Lawrence and Maggie hid behind a tree to discuss the situation. Lawrence was frantic, asking her what they were going to do and why Lidia was becoming increasingly irate over a lack of reporting; he couldn’t keep this up forever…wait. Wasn’t Lidia getting reports from Maggie? Then why is-

The lightbulb went off, and his eyes narrowed. So this wasn’t a ruse; Maggie really WAS working for the spies, against Lidia and her cohorts. He made his ultimatum to her: give him one good reason why he shouldn’t turn Maggie in as a traitor to Lidia in order to save his own skin, right now!

Maggie’s answer was a single word: Magic. His wife was still in a coma, with no signs of recovering. Only the power of Chuck or arcane forces could work. They both new that A would never heal Lawrence’s wife even if he could, and good luck getting a court wizard to listen to and do a favor for a traitor, so the only real option the man has to be a happy family again…is her. And magic is forbidden, so if she’s turned in now, it’s likely that she’d never get the chance. After he has his wife back, all Maggie would want in return is for them to just…disappear. Vanish into the kingdom or wherever, away from all of this, and away from a position where Maggie could be unveiled before she’s ready. Maggie admitted that she didn’t currently KNOW a healing spell, but he’d seen how quickly she’d learned A’s magic, so she was confident she could find and learn one, given a few months’ time.

A mighty struggle took place behind his eyes: she was asking for quite a lot, for him to somehow cover her and keep up this charade to Lidia for half a YEAR?! Yet the prospect of ultimately having his wife back, his family back, of having the ability to just go and start over again…

“So what do you want me to tell Lidia?”

Maggie took a minute to prepare her new co-conspirator’s story, and with that, they head back to the clearing before anyone misses them.

And now we return to the antics of Popeye who, upon realizing that the nobility he’s trying to impress don’t really care about what happens to a bunch of peasant children - a good deed, certainly, but nothing worth special consideration from them - decides he’s going to have to try a bit harder to get the nobility - and specifically, the Baron - under his thumb.

And so he hatches a plan. A cunning plan. An insane plane. A brilliant plan.

One day, when the Baron JUST so happens to have left the castle on important business (Lidia knew it was to discuss the spy ring with his fellow barony and the Earl at said Earl’s home), he launched his plan into action:

Popeye made his way to the castle, choosing to blend in with those who were coming and going rather then risk being spotted; they’d have let him in, of course, him being known to them. But today, he didn’t want anyone to know he’d been there.

He headed to the stable, where he quickly set to work repeating with it what he’d done with the children’s workhouse before. One small amount of lamp-oil, some dry hey, and some recently-practiced fire starting skills, and the tinder box that had been the castle stables was quickly engulfed in flames, the screams of terrified horses quickly being overcome by the shouting of panicked guards and the stableman.

With the distraction of the burning stables and the cover of the smoke from same, Popeye made his way into and through the castle. The Baron had taken a number of people with him on his retinue when he’d left, including a number of his most elite guards. As such, the castle wasn’t completely covered like it normally would be, and coupled with many of them watching the commotion in the courtyard, he managed to slip into his target unnoticed: the Baron’s personal chambers.

Sadly, this is where his plan started to unravel. You see, he’d come here thinking he’d simply steal a thing of the Baron’s, planning to frame him for some crime that Popeye had yet to dream up. Something small enough to be missed, but that was unmistakably the Baron’s. Sadly, on taking a clasp from one of the Baron’s cloaks, the man discovered that the guard had resumed his post outside, and that he couldn’t leave the way he’d come in. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the Baron’s silk bedsheets and tied them together, making a long knotted rope down to the ground. He managed to scale it without it coming undone, and fled the scene…but there was no way he could hide the rope or undo it. Fortunately, it was on the far side of the castle, so it wouldn’t likely be found soon, and he HAD managed to escape with his prize, so all’s well, I suppose. He rapidly went and got drunk to celebrate and steady his nerves, as per his custom, then went to tell Lidia all about how he’d saved the children, in an effort to show he wasn’t useless.

Sadly, the whole “drinking” part didn’t do him any favors. It was morning when he showed up, and Maggie was doing her usual comedy routine (having long since paid her way, the Innkeeper and she now had a standard arrangement of room and board for work), with Lidia eating breakfast and conversing with the Innkeeper while listening to Maggie’s antics.

In bursts Popeye, looking like he was about to fall down from being so drunk, demanding to know where Maggie was. Lidia and the Innkeeper bade him sit before he makes more a fool of himself and disturb Maggie’s act, but he couldn’t keep his voice down as he regaled Lidia of the heroic tale of him “saving” the children from their firey fate.

…Oh, Popeye. Of all the people to try to lie to, you HAD to pick Lidia, whos entire existence depends on telling - and detecting - lies. Lidia didn’t know which part necessarily was false, but she could absolutely sense that the smell from Popeye wasn’t just drink; some of it had the distinct odor of bull, as well, and she called him out on it. In fact, she called him out on a lot of things, saying she’d had enough of his being a drunken fool, and that he needed to stop this at once.

Popeye tried to argue that drinking made him better at his job, but the Innkeeper and the rest of the audience (including Maggie, who’d heard the commotion and come to listen) were all swayed by Lidia’s argument. Decisively, as well: Popeye’s arguments were torn to absolute shreds by Lidia, who demanded that he get and STAY sober from here on out. The now enraged and embarrassed Popeye stormed out, while the Innkeeper assured Lidia that he would get word to the taverns and other areas that Popeye wasn’t to be served for a time, to help him straighten himself out.

An hour later, Lidia received a knock on her inn door, where a guard was let in by the Innkeeper. He quickly relayed terrible news: the Baronette had been attacked by an assassin! Though the strike didn’t seem deep, the Baronette was now comatose, and they believed it to be poison.

Lidia, enraged nearly beyond reason, demanded to be taken to him to see what could be done, and without waiting for a reply, strode out at speed. While hurrying to keep up, the guard explained the situation as best he could: sadly, the assassin had managed to escape, as there were few guards at the castle currently, and a suspicious fire that burned the stables to the ground had caused a heavy distraction for those who remained. He’d also apparently made an escape through the Baron’s personal chambers to avoid detection, stealing a cloak clasp as he’d gone.

And so our story ends, with Lidia heading toward the castle, anger in her eyes and a twinge of fear deep within her heart…

AFTERMATH

Yeah, I know, it’s been a while. LOTS of stuff kept getting in the way.

So, Barnold’s player has basically admitted that they’re unable to make game for the forseeable future due to constant family events. As such, we’ve officially removed them from the game, and are now looking for someone more permanent to replace them. Barnold may return from time to time, but only as a cameo.

So that convincing of Lawrence by Maggie was EPIC - all told, it was an Obstacle 10 check! But thanks to spending of both a Deed AND Fate point, they did it with 13! Absolutely heroic effort!

However, I later realized that I’d blundered on that one, as they’d actually made an Intimidate roll against Lawrence earlier and failed; that’s how and why Lawrence realized she wasn’t actually on Lidia’s team and made his demand of her. I’d forgotten the “Let It Ride” rule in the heat of the moment. Now, TECHNICALLY, Lawrence had given Maggie the opening by demanding something from her, and it’s more fun to keep this littler charade going…but I did have to let Maggie’s player know about my mistake in private later and that they wouldn’t be getting another “make-up” check out of me again. They said they understood, and again, ultimately, everyone enjoyed the result, so all’s well that ends well. But I have to do better.

Popeye’s player enjoyed being back at it. And the Baron’s being out? A lucky Fate die requested by them. Of course, it worked out for my plans to move the plot forward (finally), so that was diabolically wonderful. But yeah, as usual, Popeye earned mucho artha this session.

As did Lidia - that Duel of Witts against Popeye was fantastic, and their player did a fantastic job playing the heart ache Lidia had hearing that the Baronette was injured, demanding a Steel test over the news (and almost failing)! Granted, they weren’t in the limelight much this time, but fortunately, the plot’s rolling, so next time should see a lot more of Lidia on stage.

Ultimately, the session was good, but by the end, my players were starting to demand that the plot be set in motion, which I agreed with. Granted, this was just before the guard arrived for Lidia, which we’d put off to resolve Popeye’s dual with Lidia, so it all worked out light clockwork, where just as everyone’s personal beef got resolved, plot JUST so happened to show up in the next scene. But I can understand them feeling like there was a long lull in the action, as it’s been quite a few now since the Glassworks scene. several sessions were us getting practice/training setup for the first time, learning the rules of it and how it works. And a couple others were us going back to handle Barnold and/or other things that had to be retconned in to fit the story properly. Still, the pace has lagged a bit, so I need to pick it up next time!

SPOILERS

Spoilers

So…yeah. The Tavern cell has finally struck!

Of course, they weren’t expecting to get a helping hand from their own enemies! Whereas I’d originally planned to have a roll-off to see if he was caught, Popeye’s make-shift rope ladder and stable fire basically made the assassin slipping into the castle a “Say Yes” scenario. From there, it was just a matter of killing the guard outside those chambers (who wasn’t expecting an attack from the door itself and so was easy prey), and then just waiting for the Baronette to come by and investigate the missing guard. A quick strike to the exposed neckline, and down the rope ladder he went. It was almost too easy.

The strike wasn’t intended to kill the Baronette, of course; they’re banking on the castle having some healing to counter their poison (Ob 2). It was to send a message to the Baron, in the form of a note tossed at his prone form: play ball with us, or next time, your son won’t be getting back up. And this is a threat the Baron will take very seriously indeed.

The Inn is a bit annoyed with the guard coming and grabbing Lidia like they did, as now Lidia may consider her cover blown and decide to move shop. And they were getting such good intel on their foes from her! At least Maggie will be sticking around, and so long as they meet in her room - or discussing their plans near their friendly Innkeeper and/or his wife - they’ll still be able to keep tabs on them.

So far, it hasn’t made much sense to strike at the group directly: they need to know how extensive this counter-spy operation is and, ultimately, who’s in charge of the group (it’s the Commodore, in case you forgot, and surprisingly, the group’s been good not to mention this in the Inn thus far). The Baron likely isn’t in charge directly, so who’s pulling the strings of these puppets? Until they know who the true mastermind is, they’re not willing to off these guys for fear that it’ll expose them and/or that the next ones won’t stay at the Inn and give them intel.

Of course, if the Tavern cell ends up falling, the Inn may decide to grow a bit desperate. And they have been having to keep their own mission on ice while their enemies sit right on top of their heads, which has been slightly aggravating to them anyway; now would be the perfect time to send out envoys to the surrounding nations for a non-aggression pact!

Perhaps with this commotion at the castle, they can get their own plans in motion at last.

[darkmage0707077]

So Session 15. Starting to pick up the pace again.

STORY

Lidia arrived at the castle and was VERY quickly ushered into the chambers of her eye’s apple; though they didn’t know of her true occupation of head counter spy, her job as the Baronette’s…“personal assistant” was well known in the castle.

Maggie had come along, but had made the mistake of instinctively cracking a joke to try to lighten the tension…which only served to draw undo notice to herself and got her banned from entering the Baronette’s chambers.

Inside, Lidia headed over to the unconcious baronette’s side. The Court Doctor was there, unsure of what to do. Fortunately, this was a matter of her expertise: Lidia quickly identified the poison from some residue found on the nearby knife the assailant had thrown. With this information, she was able to determine that an antidote was possible, though she couldn’t make one, herself; nor could the Doctor. They’d have to get one of the local town Healers in to work on the cure. But it would have to be discrete - if the people heard of the Baronette’s attempted murder, they would be in a panic! The doctor went outside and asked the current head of the guard to send a trusted runner.

Sensing opportunity, Maggie requested that she be allowed to go in the guards’ stead, which they agreed to. She ran out, racing as fast as she dared to the local healer after only a brief bout of searching, and managed to get her to convince her to come to the castle without drawing suspicion from the crowds outside; thus far, they’d only heard about the stable fire, and nothing more.

While Maggie was out, Lidia searched the Baron’s nearby room where the Baronette had been attacked, and found the knife used. On examining the remaining poison, she realized that the amount used wouldn’t be lethal, so it was unlikely that outright murder was on their mind.

A further search of the room turned up proof: a letter, written with the Baron’s stationary, was haphazardly lying near where the dagger had been thrown. Of course, Lidia didn’t know how to read properly yet, but…she was barely able to make out the words after a bit of squinting and intense concentration:

“He lives because we wanted him to. This time.”

So it wasn’t outright assassination they’d been after, but extortion! The familiar style of the knife made it very clear who was sending, as well. She quickly folded the parchment into her clothes, then concluded her search: bedsheets had been used for a quick escape, and a stylized clasp had been mysteriously stolen from one of the Baron’s cloaks, for purposes unknown.

She then returned to the Baronette’s side and waited. Eventually, the door opened and the Healer was ushered in…along with Maggie, who simply walked in with her like she owned the place.

Maggie, despite herself, was somewhat impressed with the accommodations of the Baronette. True, she’d been a noble, herself, and one of higher station, so had seen her share of fancy accommodations in her youth. But even for the Baron son, the living accommodations were quite good; it seemed that the city really was a wealthy trading hub! She then fell in by Lidia’s side as she was filled in on what the other had uncovered.

While the healer administered the antidote for the poison Lidia identified, she spared a glance of outright tender worry at the Baronette’s direction. Nobody in the room noticed…save Maggie, who’d spent enough time around Lidia to begin picking up on her emotional cues, and now realized that there may be more to Lidia’s attachment to the Baronette then just mercantilism; the woman may have become smitten with her noble employer! Things kept getting more and more interesting…

Lidia informed the Healer and Doctor of her plan to not reveal the Baronette’s swift recovery, and swore them to secrecy on this matter; the spy ring meant for him to recover, but they also likely expected some chaos from his absence to occur. The Doctor - having already met Lidia previously and being somewhat aware of the goings-on of higher-ups - agreed, while the Healer simply bowed her head and shut her ears, preferring not to get involved with things that were over her poor head.

When the Baronette awakened, Lidia explained her findings to him, giving him the letter she’s found. On reading it - and finding out that his assailant had escaped in the chaos - the Baronette was furious, swearing that every guard in the castle would be drilled on discipline and observational skills before the week was up! Lidia agreed with this, but advised him of her plan to keep his recovery a secret - he could relay orders through her and other trusted advisors to keep things at the castle running, all while they played up the ruse of his still being unconscious. This might cause the spy ring to slip up in some way, or at least work on incomplete information. The Baronette wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but agreed to this - she was making too much sense to ignore.

Lidia then proposed a novel idea: since setting fires seemed to be the hallmark of these rogues - first their turn-coats’ family home, then the shipyard, recently a children’s workhouse that Popeye had told her about (she was finally believing him!), and now the stables - it seemed that the common bucket brigade simply wasn’t enough. It might make sense to start mobilizing the town and pull individuals aside to help with emergency situations like fire and rescues. Perhaps they could be called…hmmm…Inferno Warriors! Perfect! The Baronette agreed this idea made sense in the current situation, though he worried about it impacting the town’s economy, to which Lidia pointed out that with the state of the town, the economy was already impacted, and this could only help.

As such, the order was sent out immediately via the guards, which shocked the hell out of the peasants of the city: usually, nobles were pretty slow to react to such things, taking months to even realize there was a problem with them. But the Baron and his son seemed to be reacting to their concerns with lightning speed, without the people even having to petition the court! They’d been expecting to have to fend for themselves, as usual; indeed, the guards found they barely had to do much more then better organize the efforts the townspeople had already started putting together over the last few days. Now there would be training and money behind the effort instead of it just being a disorganized grassroots affair, making it more effective then ever! Three cheers for government efficiency!

Lidia then headed out with Maggie in tow; Lawrence had indicated that he had news to tell her after MONTHS of nothing, and she needed to be ready for him the night after this one, especially after what had just happened.

Maggie ALSO needed to prepare for his meeting with Lidia, though in a different way: coaching him on what to say to Lidia so she didn’t send all of the guards to pounce on them, or worse, go there to view the situation, herself! Things would get exceedingly awkward if Maggie was spotted where she wasn’t supposed to be, chumming it up with people she wasn’t supposed to like…

So what of Popeye, I hear you ask? Well, Popeye had taken his tongue-lashing in his usual manner: with a bit of raging self-indulgence. Unfortunately, word had already gotten out, and he found himself unable to get anyone to serve him - even the Tavern basically told him to “keep walking”. This allowed the fog in his head to clear some, and for him to fully process what had been going on recently, and thus he came to one inevitable conclusion:

He and his Captain were ROYALLY SCREWED.

He made a bee-line for the ship to speak with the Captain, plans already forming in his mind. But when he got there, his crewmates stopped him before he could board, demanding to search him for “contraband” per the Captain’s orders. Popeye pretended to comply…for about 2 seconds before swinging a haymaker at the side of his mate’s head. The man ducked and tackled him to the ground, and a big brawl broke out, before the commanding voice of the Captain immediately caused everyone to come to attention. The furious commander bade Popeye to come with him, RIGHT NOW.

As soon as they were inside and the door was shut, Popeye immediately laid out the situation as he saw it: the whole spy business was going downhill FAST, and those damned women in charge of him were to blame! They weren’t listening to him or letting him act at all, so he was being forced to watch as the spy ring seemed to move ever further from their grasp. In an act of desperation, Popeye had gone and stolen the clasp of the Baron’s cloak, as he had an idea of how to get themselves out of this stupid mess they found themselves in.

Before he could explain further, the Captain held up a hand to pause him, a grave expression on his face as several things seemed to click into place for him. After all, why was his Second Mate - a man he trusted his own life to many times over - seemingly screwing up so much with this? It hadn’t made sense before, but now it did: it was that wench he was working with. And he’d been so quick to trust her, too! Damn it all, what’d he been thinking?? Realizing that all their necks were on the line - quite literally! - the Captain quickly bellowed for the First Mate to come in so they could plan things. The First Mate, for his part, was rather surprised that “The Captain’s Daughter” he’d brought wouldn’t be used, right up until Popeye repeated his explanation and his face turned as ashen as the Captain’s.

Fortunately, Popeye had a plan. The problem was that his reputation was currently in the trash with the rest of the group; they didn’t trust him worth a damn with the spy stuff, and it’d been months since the spies had really been a problem, so he had to make the spies seem like a bigger threat then they were. He couldn’t rely on the spies to help, of course…at least, not knowingly. That’s where the crest he’d stolen comes in: he intended to plant the thing at the Inn where his compatriots were staying and have a fire be lit, where he would then “miraculously” detect said fire and evacuate everyone. The crest would have been planted nearby as a “calling card” of the spies, which would show that he had value to the team after all, saving them from a dastardly plot to kill them all in a firey death!

The Captain thought for a minute, then agreed to Popeye’s plan with one condition: nobody was to come to harm in this. If Popeye’s plan injured or killed any innocents in this, the Captain would out him like the rat he was and see him hung personally. With that understanding, though, the Captain gave him free rein to take whatever supplies he needed from the ship for his plan to work, and even ordered the First Mate to assist him, as needed. Popeye quickly made use of his supervisor’s help, setting him as the fire starter so that Popeye wouldn’t attract undue attention, then grabbed as much lamp oil as he could. With the plan in mind, they set off for the Inn.

Popeye had already surveyed the Inn before returning to the ship after Lidia and Maggie had left, the plan already having formed in his head by that point, so he knew exactly where to strike: the kitchen, where a back entrance was. By the time they got there, it was evening, and the Innkeeper and his Wife were preparing to turn in for the night. He was allowed in, and was bade upstairs to where Lidia and Maggie were preparing. Once there, he apologized for his behavior and promised he would “do better in the future”…not technically a lie since he hadn’t stated what, exactly, he would do better at, but still, it was a start. To his surprise, Lidia responded in kind, stating that Popeye SEEMED to be good and useful, but that his drinking habit was what was wrecking his performance, with Maggie chiming in agreement. However, if they were both willing to give him a fresh start if he would at least try a little harder, to which Popeye agreed. They would need his help, after all.

From there, they then let him in on their happenings at the castle, much to Popeye’s growing shock and alarm, though for reasons neither of the others could possible have guessed. He hadn’t considered the possibility that the spies would use his own antics to advance their plans! Perhaps they were craftier then he’d thought…

And that’s when he finally started smelling smoke. The First Mate must have had issues lighting the fire like he had; he’d have given the man tips, but that’d just make him suspicious of his goings-on. He quickly yelled “Fire!” and ran out, as his companions now could smell the same smoke with his warning.

Smoke was pouring out of the kitchen as Popeye and the other raced out, and the Innkeeper and other guests of the Inn were racing to get out, as well. Popeye tried to “help” the wife of one of the merchants staying there - and by help, he meant lift her up and carry her down the stairs like a badass, similar to the kid from last time - but a full-grown woman who’s actively moving is quite a bit more difficult to bodily sling up then a stationary child. Especially for a one-armed sailor. Needless to say, he tripped on the stairs in the attempt, and they both went tumbling down. Thankfully for him, SHE wasn’t injured in the attempt, and she quickly bolted for the exit as he clambered up and went after, his companions not far behind.

Fortunately, the townspeople’s newly improved bucket brigades and Blaze Combatants had already started showing results by defeating the fire in record time. Due to the fact that the Inn was MUCH more sturdily built then the other buildings that had been torched, only part of the kitchen was destroyed. A thorough search of the ruble by the guards uncovered the crest, and this sent cold shivers down Lidia’s back: this had been a direct attack against them, she was sure of it. They knew where she and Maggie were, and worse, seemingly WHO they were. That guard coming to take her to the Baronette had raised her hackles earlier - she’d been packing when Popeye had arrived - but this confirmed her suspicions that they’d been compromised. Hell, they might even know her personal connection to the Baronette…did they know about her true feelings for him, even? They had magic and demons on their side; could they read her mind?! One thing was clear, at least: they couldn’t stay at the Inn any longer.

Lidia headed back to the Castle to sleep it off, with Popeye and Maggie in tow, the latter now feeling a bit shaken, herself; whoever this new spy ring was, they seemed FAR more competent and capable then the one she was familiar with! Maggie was setup with temporary quarters, but where would she live now? Could she return to the Inn? She couldn’t stay here, she was just a wandering performer!

Fortunately, Lidia had a plan to get her into the castle on a more permanent basis. One that would see Maggie taking on an all-too familiar role from her past, ironically enough…Maggie might soon find herself once more donning the bell-tipped cap of the Court Jester by the time the Baron returns.

And so we end with Popeye back in the group’s good graces, but the group as a whole in more chaos then ever. They need Lawrence’s intel. And soon!

AFTERMATH

…Huh. Well, that took turns I wasn’t expecting. At all. None of us were, in fact. I don’t even think Popeye’s player was expecting what went down, to be honest. Still entertaining, though!

Maggie’s player is wracking their brains on what they’re going to coach Lawrence to tell Lidia that won’t unduly arouse her suspicions. A tricky prospect, to be sure, and I may have to help them brainstorm before the next session. Ultimately, the choice of what Maggie will do is up to them at the session itself, but helping them come up with ideas certainly can’t hurt; could even help things be even crazier, in fact! Just have to be careful not to go overboard with this, as I do NOT want to play favorites, here. A few suggestions, and that should be enough to get their mental gears turning in time for next.

Lidia, too, is also going to need some brainstorming time, but for a different matter: how to convince Maggie to accept the Court Jester job. I’ve taken the heart the idea of “no secrets between players”, so everyone is FULLY aware of the backgrounds of everyone else, and obviously, they’re also aware of everyone else’s shenanigans. Lidia’s player is aware that Maggie will likely turn the job down because 1) It puts her in contact with nobles, which increases chances she’ll be recognized, especially if she takes on the job she was last known for, and 2) It’ll be a lot harder to meet with the Glassworks crew when all the town guards know her coming and going. Fortunately, I’ve got a few suggestions for them on how to convince Maggie, as well, so it should hopefully all work out in time for next session.

Popeye’s player…does not need my help. At all. They’re killing it all on their own, seemingly without even intending to. I’m a lot more confident now that they’re letting Lidia’s player have their time to shine after my conversation, too, so I’m perfectly happy to let things continue as they have been.

Next game is going to require a LOT more mental focus on my part, as the whole Lawrence RP is going to be VERY VERY difficult. Even if Maggie’s player has great ideas, I’m still going to have to try to thread that needle through Lidia’s suspicious nature to keep him from just being offed entirely for being useless; after what just happened, she’s in no mood for delays! We’ll see what happens, of course, but I’m going to be pushed to my limits next time, for sure.

I just hope I can handle it.

SPOILERS

Spoilers

So…that happened. And suddenly, the Inn is wondering what in the hell is going on?!

As far as the group leaving, they’re super sad that the group will be leaving. And they had such great intel from them! But that’s not too big a deal; the Innkeeper’s been let in on the group’s secret thanks to the “clean-up” operation, so he’s confident he’ll be called in to help with something or other before long. Plus, he plans to make sure to let Maggie know that her deal is still open, if she wants to stay on, so there’s every chance at least one of them will return. Maybe then they can find out who the mysterious Fourth person she keeps talking to is (Maggie’s frog/daughter).

But that’s not that pressing right now. Of more concern is the fact that their building was FREAKIN’ FIRE BOMBED!

First, they don’t believe for a SECOND that the Tavern would attack the Inn - all the bosses know the Inn’s true purpose, so starting a fire there would be insane, risking exposure and the downfall of all their plans! The group seemed clueless enough - if they hadn’t been, they wouldn’t have talked so freely in their room, and there likely would’ve been a confrontation far earlier then now.

No, the Inn now suspects that it’s the group’s mystery boss who’s responsible; the crafty master likely brought on multiple groups, and they may be finding clues the others haven’t.

The Inn is going to have to do some internal checking to ensure they haven’t been compromised, but they can’t pull up roots again - they’ve wasted too much time without any progress, and their own goals need to be met. As such, they’re going to have to risk sending the runners/diplomats now, before the town becomes even more locked down then it already had become! With the defenses of the town intact after the Glassworks’ failure, outside intervention on land may be needed to crack this egg, if the Tavern’s plan also goes awry.

Speaking of, the Tavern is absolutely OVER THE MOON at their luck and success: some crazy loon set a fire at the stables, creating the perfect distraction to infiltrate the castle! And what luck, the infiltrator found the Baron’s window with a bedsheet rope ladder hanging out of it, as if an offering from Chuck himself! He was suspicious at first, of course, but on cautiously confirming that nobody was there, he snuck in and prepared to find the Baronette, stopping only long enough to write the intended message.

Sadly, his luck almost ran out when he opened the door just as his target was rounding the corner! He slammed the door shut again, but not before being spotted. Hearing the armored footsteps approaching, he readied his dagger in a concealed position, letting fly at the Baronette’s neck. As the man collapsed, the spy chucked the letter over after the dagger, then ran and nearly leapt out the window, sliding down the ladder escape as he heard shouts from above. He then quickly disappeared back into town before anyone could realize which way he’d gone.

After the session was over and we were packing up, one of the players actually asked me point blank “Have we been compromised?” I had to keep my face as neutral as possible, slyly telling them that saying one way or another was a bridge too far and would “give the game away”. “Players shouldn’t with-hold knowledge of characters, but GMs should absolutely with-hold knowledge of plot!” The player agreed and backed off. Oooooh, if only they knew the TRUTH

They will eventually, though. It’s just a matter of time.