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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echolocation" data-source="post: 8167482" data-attributes="member: 7011911">Session 35Courtesy of Lisandra's playerLast session began at Keskay, as a new lot of passengers boarded the train, the most noticeable of which was Elanor Yanette, a rather lavish and intimidating woman, and her veiled companion, linked at the wrists in decorative gold cuffs. Also in tow was a dwarven man, Verzubak Tantalovich, seemingly enthusiastic about mathematics as he promptly began to oversee Emily’s game of strategy in first class. A charismatic blonde man named Ford Zugosky boarded, and an awkward gentleman named Leroy Flowers, dressed in an attention-grabbing red-suit, followed in by a bearded older gentleman with a slew of scrolls and papers that appeared to be an academic.As passengers settled in, orders bowls of chips and slipped into tables to make new acquaintances, the BAD got to work. In the first class quarters, John met our final Keskay boarder, a tiefling man by the name of Olivert Boone who caught the sight or John… or should I say John’s gun, through the doorway and struck up conversation, inviting the gunslinging duid for a drink.As John and his new gun-enthused friend joined the rest of the crew in the meals car, Angharad was bravely going where none other braved, slipping into a spare seat on Elanor’s table. The veiled woman’s humming halted at his presence, but Elanor remained impassive, eagerly devouring a plate of cream pastries. Once her flaky, sweet prey was devoured, she turned her hungry gaze upon the kineticist to inquire his interest. Price for conversation with her, it seemed, was a kiss on her hand, which Angharad stared at until the penny dropped and he reluctantly gave in to the social convention. But when the woman’s hand wandered to reveal a little more of her intimidating cleavage, Angharad’s attention promptly shifted to her much more modest companion. Just another scar for life to add to the collection. Though the veiled companion, Isobel, was not the chatty sort, he got a good look at the delicate gold chains linking them together and determined they seemed to be primarily decoration. Eventually, Elanor interrupted with an air of disdain and informed him not to speak to Isobel, that she did not enjoy it. His apologies were met with acceptance and another flash of cleavage that even the great Angharad could not brave, and the actor who played Henri exited stage-left with a hasty farewell.Meanwhile Lisandra had set her attention on the man in red. He seemed a little shocked as she approached him, but recovered enough to wipe his chip-greased hand clean on the leg of his pant before shaking her hand. Well, he certainly wasn’t a first-class passenger, was he? They spoke of his threads, which he acquired in Flint, a supposed small town near the Anthras Mountains named “Gabro”. Apparently he had been there for work, inspecting some of the mines. He quickly changed the subject to Lisandra, employing the tedium of returning a question about her ‘pretty dress’ and inquired to where she was off to. When she mentioned travelling with her brother to Crysillir, Leroy abruptly excused himself and with an awkward departure left her curious considering none of the reasons why a man would take issue at them mention of a chaperone as she made her way over to the bar, ordering one of Kov’s ‘Risuri lattes’ and to eavesdrop on the bustling conversation between John and Olivert.The tiefling regaled tales of his work adventuring and the pair made a toast, along with a morning dose of liquor, to good travels and fine weaponry. Olivert fawned over John’s weapon without restraint, asking of its origins and proudly showing off his own in return; a pistol brimming with fire magic by the heat radiating from the barrel. Both Lisandra and Ella caught the flirtatious vibe from  the tiefling as they observed the conversation, but it seemed to be all a show for the feminine audience, as he winked in their direction before taking another drink.Ella’s attentions redirected to Ford Zugosky, a small town politician from Ashkov, near Bhad Rhyzhavdut (Buhd RYEZ-hav-dut) headed for Cheurge to fundraise for his campaign. He spoke of the trouble of being a human, and a blonde one at that, running for mayor of a town composed of mostly Dwarven constituents, with the history between the Dwarved of Drakr and the golden-haired godhands of the Clergy. Enthusiastically, he ran his draft campaign slogans by Ella, who gave him some heart-felt advice about making sure to lead from the heart, and truthfully so and he accepted her advice gratefully.Lisandra decided to try her chances joining John with his new drinking buddy as her coffee arrived. The expected flirtation and the kiss of the hand was all well and good, but the medium knew she had perhaps under-estimated the level of sleaze the tiefling exuded as his grasp never left her, diverting from her hand to linger down her arm and slip around her shoulder as he continued to chat. When she heavily dropped the reason for their travel was to organize a marriage contract, Olivert seemed vaguely disappointed and expressed that John should marry this ‘Enzo’ instead and Lisandra should shoot him a Sending when she was available.Travels toward their first Enclave continued as certain dwarves discussed probability and gaming, the bearded academic debated magic theory with Alexi before leaving in a fluster. Angharad played protective big brother and inquired with the guard about which quarters Olivert was staying in. John brought Sidney out for her debut appearance in the meals car, with an ominous queue of music from the talented pianist as Kov got to work preparing a bowl of raw meats for the feline passenger.Meanwhile Ella stuck up a conversation with Bree, who sat quietly, still on her own and no longer keeping an eye out for whoever she was waiting for. Ella offered her a drink and tentatively enquired about her missing friend. While the subject was a sore one, Bree seemed to be thankful for the company and despite her obvious military background, content to respectfully socialize with a Risuri. Ella was especially curious about the woman’s arm, to which Bree was happy to humble brag about how it was torn off by a summon jaguar in a scuffle against a druid. She said she had been approached by a very unconventional doctor after the battle who used a blend of science and magic to reanimate and attach her arm. Fascinated by the story, Ella asked to inspect the work, casting a little detect magic to find a mix of conjuration and necromancy magic keeping the lifeless limb attached and functional.Finally the train made it to Cheurge, where the passengers allotted for the evening to stay in the Enclave. Team BAD booked their suite, a joint room upon Lisandra’s request, and dropped off their luggage before quickly debriefing and setting about their work for the evening. Ella and ANgharad decided to tail Leroy, and Lisandra would follow Elanor while John made his way to some of the local drinking establishments to gather some general information on any passengers who dropped in for a drink.Ella and Angharad followed Leroy to the same establishment as John and many of the train passengers for a drink. Alexi and Bree both drinking in solitude, while Olivert quickly put moves on a pretty patron for the evening and Verzubak busied himself with drunken speeches, lost dice games and buying a whole round for the room with what little he had left.A while into the night Leroy left the bar in a hurry. Angharad and Ella followed, watching him tailing a shaggy-looking mark of his own into an alley out back. They watched, perplexed, as Leroy shoved the man, who promptly pulled a knife of Leroy and robbed him blind.Meanwhile Lisandra had spent the evening subtly watching Elanor, who left the district after obtaining a pass from the local police. She followed the carriage to the gate in which it left, settling in for a rather long wait as she staked out the area for Elanor’s return. The pair returned, several hours later, accompanied by an armed escort back to the hotel, where the Team regrouped and debriefed for the evening.Before the drama of the evening was over, Team Bad heard a tapping at their window. Their window on the seventh floor, with no complimentary balcony. A little perplexed, Lisandra cautiously pulled back the curtain to reveal a grinning man, quite athletic from what she could see--which was plenty, considering he only wore a coat and nothing else. He waved as she stared. At Angharad’s prompt, she opened the window and the pungent stench of bath oils followed the man in, along with the distant sound of guards screaming above.He introduced himself as Mister Mapple and inquired if they had any pants to spare. As Angharad offered him a towel and Lisandra wandered off to find a hairpin to secure it, Mister Mapple discussed with Ella his bathing activities in the unrented penthouse above. As the guards pounded on the door, their barely clothed guest seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, and poised himself on the windowsill as Lisandra answered the door, before vanishing into the night. Curious Ella peeked out the window, to find him casually waiting at the ground floor for the guards to catch up and she cast Message to ask his first name. Mister. Mister Mapple, came the reply, before he sprinted off with the guard in tow. As midnight approached, the team took Sidney for a walk and met their Guard contact, Law, for a quick rendezvous near the gardens. He reported that a death had occured in coach that morning, shortly after arriving at Keskay. A man had choked on a small nut in the common food car. He was found to be carrying a poisoned dagger and a portrait of a dwarf; bearded and bald-headed and a few of the team wondered if perhaps it was an image of Verzubak. They requested he keep tabs on Elanor the next day while on the train and pass on a message to Writha to try to keep tabs on Bree and Bree’s room for any further information she could uncover. They kept things brief, and returned to the hotel to settle in for the evening.That night, Lisandra found her dream once again became a little stranger than normal. Again she dreamed of an Eladrin woman by her side, whispering wordless comforts to her as she was pinned down to a hard surface. Only this time three humanoid figures stood in the background, two that appeared to have wings. She tried to focus on them, but found her gaze kept returning to the Eladin. Opening her mouth to speak, to tell the woman she didn’t understand, the only noise that came out of her mouth was the sound of a baby’s giggle. She awoke to find her companions getting ready for the day, and the group made haste to board the train before departure for the next leg of their journey. The first class meal car was a buzz with rumours of a murder in Cheurge, but the group’s attention promptly shifted to the Griento family, who bordered looking dejected, Damata carrying his badly beaten daughter in his arm, and his son sporting a black eye as they made their way through.Several more passengers boarded at Cheurge, including Luc Jierre, as Elanor gossiped loudly about the apparent shut-in as she had a conversation with his companion in hand gestures. Despite the notable name-drop, Lisandra quickly approached Damata, quietly inviting him and his family to enjoy a private breakfast in their quarters together.Away from the crowd, Damata opened up over walnut croissants and honey-nut oats that his family had been attacked by drunken militia when touring the city last night. His daughter had taken their insults poorly, which was often a little more violent than non-orcish temper tantrums, but before Damata could pull her away, she was beaten badly and his son had earned a kick to the face for trying to help his sister.Interrupting Sidney’s epic pat session with the children, Lisandra called Dabbo over to inspect her wounds and ask permission to help ease the pain. With consent, she lay hands on the girl, calling on healing energy to ease the girl’s suffering. Grateful, Dabbo rolled her shoulder around with more ease and promised to fight alongside Lisandra in future. With breakfast coming to a close, the Griento’s returned to their quarters and the group decided to take Xorin up on his offer to show off the engine, and also submit a complaint to the conductor about the treatment of First Class passengers in the Cheurge Enclave. Along the way they took note of the cars and their contents, noting the many crates and containers in cargo as they passed through. One in particular was of a curious note; a crate filled with religious items and… was that snoring? Ella cast Keyhole and put her eye to the newly created hole, only to see an eye staring right back at her.Bursting forth from the crate, a familiar, but thankfully very much clothed, man greeted them.What the hell is Mister Mapple doing stowed away on our train? Who’s clothes is he wearing? What new acquaintances will our constables-in-hiding make today? Find out today, in the undercover adventures of Team BAD!</blockquote>

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