Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Echolocation" data-source="post: 8260015" data-attributes="member: 7011911">Session 53 - What we Lost in the Flames and on FlagstoneCourtesy of Lisandra's playerLast session began in an eruption of flame. Entering the Grande Suites spa in search of Kell, Team BAD and their military entourage opened the doors to find Connor instead, gagged and strapped to a bomb that eagerly erupted.As Lisandra stared in horror from the doorway, eyes locked on her ex-lover’s, memories of their time together filled her mind. Hours studying his face as she sketched him, hidden away in their spot in the Old Mill. Talking of better futures and possibilities. The dream of being rich enough to not have to hustle for their living. Memories of how she had hurt him, with her long con in North Shore that took her away from him, and away from him. The memory of his lips on hers. She’d never get a chance to make things right. To return home. To have a future with him, better or not. She had always been terrified working for Kell would have ended with him dead. But never like this.As the flames burst forward, eagerly sucking up all the oxygen in the room, splintering the walls and consuming everything in its wake a voice spoke in Lisandra’s mind, urging her to move. A spirit, though no one she recognized. Or registered, as she stood there frozen. Just as the flames came rushing towards her, the spirit flung closed the door, sheltering those in the hallway from the worst of the hit. As the Grand Suites were torn apart, the world went dark for Team BAD.Across the city in the Central District, B Team were going about their usual itinerary escorting Mediator Brakken around Flint when the explosion happened. At first, the explosion seemed just a figment since, thanks to the fanatical Eshcatologist cult, explosions were not an unheard of occurrence in Flint these days. But as Dima shakes the thought off, Josiah’s keen eyes shift to her and he spots three figures in an alleyway across the way. Lorcan Kell, the snake in a tophat, is easy enough to recognize, flanked by his two bodyguards, decked out in full metal armor and several more thugs trailing behind them. Serena orders Brakken to stay back, and the B-Team begins to approach. Carlao, evey the textbook constable, pulls free his badge and issues Kell an order to stand down and recites the cause of arrest. 985 accounts of burglary, 354 accounts of murder… and Kell interrupts, to cound each of the cistables present, correcting the body count to 358. An all-out conflict broke out as B-Team met Kell and his lackeys head on in the open. They traded blows in a frantic battle. Kell struck Dima down to watch the chaos unfold as she bled out on the flagstone. She watched as Kell advanced on Josiah, taking him down with an enchanted machete as the gunslingers rifle jammed. She watched as Serena slit the throat of one of Kell’s guards, and as the other pinned Carlao down, wrenched his shoulder from it’s socket and pinned him down with plates from his armor that reformed themselves into an iron gauntlet. A dagger through the seams of his plate, and the cavalier took his last breath. Kell took a hit from Serena’s flying dagger, only to pull it free and turn it back on her, slicing her throat in retaliation.Dima’s laboured breathing brought a twisted smile to Lorcan’s face as he and his bloodied  bodyguard, Nick Reider, stood victorious. He ordered Nick to get the cleric to her feet as he pulled out a rusty blade.“Take a good look at yer dead friends,” the Butcher ordered and gestured to the fallen bodies of her comrades. He pulls an old rusted blade from his coat and advances on her, “... cos it’s the last thing you’ll ever see.”Back in the Grand Suites, Angharad came back to consciousness. His eyes opened to a scene of scorched and splintered wood, blast through walls and bodies littering the room he found himself in, one across the hall from where they had stood. He finds Ella and Lisandra breathing, but unconscious and wakes the tiefling first. As she comes to, he offers her Skeet, who had been laying detached a few feet away. As she reattached her shell-shocked leg and took in the devastation around her, Angharad moved on to awaking the medium. The Cipiths stirring didn’t bring her to consciousness, but he hears her pained words of protest. I can’t. Leave me alone. But as he reached to pick her up and carry her out, the woman’s jolts awake, blue eyes stared up at him. She greeted them both a little disoriented and awkwardly. Nervously perky, even, you might say. Angharad recoiled at the odd change in personality and lla was quick to deduce that Lisandra was in fact being steered by Xambria. A very eager, and annoyingly perky Xambria who just wanted to get out and get on with their original mission.As the team checked over the decimated spa house for aforementioned escape tunnels, shouting from above rose, and Azrabey came falling through the cracked ceiling, a screaming thug falling quiet in the Fey’s vice grip. He nods to the group, and promptly takes his leave.After healing funneling quite a few wand charged into healing their wounds, Team BAD carefully made their way into the escape tunnels. The trauma of the explosion inspired careful checking for traps and other hazards along the way. Ella was able to make out recent tracks leading out past a pair of unmanned cannons, leading out to a sewer grate in Parity Lake. Angharad promptly received a message from Delft, informing him of reports of Kell spotted in Central, and the devastating status of the B Team who confronted him. From there, they hail down a carriage and head to the point Delft referenced. Police on the bloody scene fill them in on the recent happenings to the best of their ability and point the team towards the direction Kell and Nick left from. Thanks to some divinatory deduction from the frustrated tiefling, Ella found a bloodied crumpled sheet of paper that had been in Kell’s possession, according to her deductive vision. It looked as if it were used to wipe clean a blade before it was discarded. Strangely, it was not the blood that caught her attention, but the hand-written copy of B Team’s itinerary that laid underneath the stains.How the naughty word did that happen?Furiously, Ella shoved the evidence at Angharad, who tucked it into his scarf for safekeeping and the team set on trying to follow the tracks leading away from the grizzly scene. After a long, winding route through Central, and out into the Nettles, the Team found themselves in a rundown shack not far from Cauldron Hill. An out-of-place brick in the wall tipped Ella off to a hidden compartment that once held a few palm-sized objects in it. The footprints led from the compartment to the door, it’s frame embedded with rusted metal, where they vanished. With curiosity, Xambria inspected the hovel with curiosity and detect magic, noting a fading conjuration aura. Likely the spell needed to make travel work, as mentioned by Quentin in his statement. Que additional Gnomish swearing.[SPOILER="GM note"]If the whole party was present, I would have had the players encounter Kell and likely enter combat. However, John's player couldn't make the session, so I just yeeted them to the Bleak Gate. One player previously commented that they prefer combats when everyone can attend.[/SPOILER]With no amulets, or spell to follow, the defeated constables returned to HQ to check in with Delft. The offices were a sombre scene. A long faced greeting from Maxwell and sobbing drifting through the door to the morgue set the tone nicely after such a day. Xambria awkwardly broke off to wait in Team BAD’s office as Ella and Angharad continued to Delft’s office. After assuring their poor haggard boss that Lisandra was not part of the death count, Ella launched into getting Delft up to date with the events of the day. At the mention of Angharad’s ‘reinforcements’, he made a note to bring it up with the Cipith later, and when mention of the B-Team itinerary is made, he became livid for much the same reason Ella had earlier. It was Delft’s turn to swear profusely. There seemed to be a mole in the ranks of the RHC. He swore to get to the bottom of things, and spent some time updating the pair on what had transpired with the B-Team and told them not to speak to any other constables about their activities until the situation was sorted. Their report completed, Angharad went to his office to tell Fake Lisandra that Real Lisandra had the morning off and she should just get her home. Seemingly nursing a headache, Xambria was all too happy to oblige.Before he left, the Cipith offered his home to Ella, should she want somewhere to stay that was not around family if she wasn’t in good spirits. She declined, stating she had a place to stay and stormed off. Bemused, Anghard made his way to the breakroom, stopping to share a drink, toast to the dead and listen to Pete share stories in their honor.Ella had headed to the morgue to check on poor Dima, the source of the sobbing they had heard earlier, as she sat amongst the tended corpses of her fellow constables. Tear would have been shed, if Dima still had eyes, but Ella had plenty to shed for the both of them as they commiserate on the horrific events of the day. Eventually, the tiefling took her leave, heading back to Lisandra’s apartment and knocking to see if anyone was home. It was Xambria who greeted her. Awkwardness ensued, but in the end Xambria assured Ella that Lisandra would want her to stay and the pair parted ways to end their evening, though not before Xambria had collected all of the loose sketches and notes from the desk, and took them far away from the curious leg that liked to make messes.Exhaustion set in, and eventually sleep took hold.Just before dawn, Ella awoke to movement in the apartment. She spotted Lisandra’s form quietly move through the lounge, placing her keys on the desk and leaving. Through the locked door, as if it simply didn’t exist. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, the tiefling scrambled to attach Skeet, and clamour for her clothes and Lisandra’s keys before sprinting off to tail her friend through the streets of Central and up towards Parity Lake. She watched as Lisandra approached the wreckage of the Grand Suites, slipping past the rope barrier and wandering through the charred and splinted remains. Eventually, she falls to her knees, sobbing. Through her tears, she called out to Connor, trying to find his spirit through the thick congregation of death that lingers there.A familiar voice, distinctly not Connor’s answers. The same that told her to move when the flames had raced towards her. The spirit took a moment, as if sorting through the crowd of spirits present and seemed to pull one forward, presenting one one she requested. In the monochrome in between where Lisandra’s consciousness dwelled, Connor’s ethereal form came into view.Ella eavesdropped with concern from hidden behind nearby rubble as the medium said her grief-stricken goodbyes to the man she loved. When the conversation left Lisandra reduced to a sobbing mess, the tiefling cast a message cantrip and to see if the woman wanted company. As her head rose, Ella stepped into view, dashing over as Lisandra nodded. More tears were shed, apologies conveyed and assuring hugs shared. When Lisandra had no more tears to shed, she steeled herself for the day ahead. A royal banquet and a trip to the Bleak Gate were still on the agenda, and if that was where Kell was hiding, she was not going to let her grief stop her from being there to put an end to him. With a quick activation of her shoes of reliable style, her soggy appearance neatened and she headed into HQ with Ella to their appointment with the tailors.So one of the top five shittiest days at the RHC was to be brought to a close by attending the opening dinner to the peace negotiations between Risur and Danor, as guests of the Danoran figurehead; Lya Jierre. Otherwise known as the chainsaw blade-wielding royal bureaucrat that had previously dismembered most of Team BAD last they met. Snazzy new outfits were fitted, though Lisandra made use of her illusionary aid and dressed in something more practical than she appeared, and distracted herself by tutoring her fellows in a crash course on etiquette.Oh, after Angharad got the disappointed Dad-talk from Delft about being a Vekeshi terrorist, of course. Apparently he didn’t know about that...So to the Royal Square Team BAD go, dressed to impress and none to impressed at the idea of meeting with Ly again. But we know this job is full of doing things we don’t like in the name of the King. Despite reservations, the team was greeted by their old friend Avakkir who seemed to be the guest of Governor Roland, the brawny Deva near bursting from his tuxedo as he hugged each of them. He informed them they were right on time, and gestured to Lya’s massive ship, signalling the Danoran’s arrival.The Danoran’s disembark to a small orchestral play of their national anthem, as ministers and bureaucrats allot behind the Head of State, Han Jierre, and his niece the Minister of Outsiders, Lya Jierre. Complete with her bodyguard entourage, of course. The fanfare came to a climax as Lya approached Team Bad. The Governor attempted to introduce the RHC’s finest, but was cut off by Lya’s own designation of the Team; the ‘good people’ she crossed blades with in Vendricce. Wow. That’s not awkward. Less awkward when she also included the assistance with Axis Island… Lisandra stepped up to fill the pleasantries, biting back her distaste at the scenario as Lya explained the events in Vendricce were a misunderstanding and thus her invitation an olive branch to mend fences. Afterall it was the RHC who struck first. Wasn’t it, Angharad? Lisandra was convinced there was much more left unsaid, but politely let the pleasantries play out. Angharad was not so content, and upon going their separate ways, the Cipith casually dropped a threat on her brother’s life in Danoran, should there be any further misunderstandings in future. Ella and Lya weren’t the only ones to catch the comment, as the Cipith found the Danoran Minister of War glaring at him with a look that could kill. Catching the heightened emotions, Lisandra forcefully steers Angharad away from the glaring Danorans.The dinner itself at Hotel Aurum is a typical five-course affair complete with formal introductions, fanfare and thinly veiled interrogation posed as light conversation. The first course was served with a side of moral philosophy, as Han Jierre became curious about the constables' opinions on how fair they felt the sentencing of the former Dutchess Ethelyn of Shale were. Ella professionally took up the response to inform him that her actions were reprehensible, and the punishments were befitting of the crime. Before the conversation continued much further, Lya spoke up to usher the conversation somewhere less loaded. The second course was paired with Brakken’s curiosity on what hardships this concept of peace between two nations will face. While Minster Lee believes fear of industrialization to be an issue, and Lya a matter of convincing Danoran veterans with tales of barbaric Risuri will contribute, Angharard speaks up to add that a lack of cultural interaction for the everyday people of the nations, it will be a difficult feat. Grudges are hard to move past without proof to shift perspectives.The third course is accompanied by Governor Stanfield inserting a little not-so-subtle grandstanding to brag about some of the changes he has helped modernize Flint with, such as the new railways additions, factory establishments in Parity Lake and Hotel Aurum itself. As a counterpoint, the Minister of War interjects with a few issues of her own to highlight, including stories of the corruption and suicide of Mayor Reed Macbannin, arsonist attacks on said factories, and most recently; threats of bombs and Royal Constables found dead in the streets. Stanfield takes it in stride trying to pass off the points as ‘growing pains’ in the rebalancing of an evolving society and ensures if there were any danger to the delegates, that he, nor the King, would hesitate in informing them of such. The Minister of War turns her glare onto the constables, demanding to know what they have done to make their city safer, and brags about the peace experienced in their capital Cheurge. Lisandra takes point and responds with the needling smile of a practiced noble-woman, informing the minister that the RHC works tirelessly with local authorities to keep the city as safe as possible, but should the peace talks go favourably, then perhaps the good people of Danor could give Flint a fer pointers; such as locking people up in curfews as they do in Cheurge just to keep citizens and guests safe. The Minister’s initial smile quickly turns to a frigid glare and Lya promptly makes her way over to engage the woman in hushed conversation. A guard sneaks in to approach Minister Lee, and the name Azrabey Varel is just overheard.Sure enough, a moment later the doors opened and in marched The Seen of the Unseen himself and presented his sword respectfully to King Aodhan with a request: King Aodhan! I apologize for my disruption, The Unseen Court wishes to know more about the dangers Ekosiggan saw, and so I request permission to investigate further; to the Bleak Gate, to explore Cauldron Hill further. Your Nation owes me nothing, and if you wish to deny my request you need only say so.The tension in the air was thick. The furious King attempted to save face, and turned the Fey away without hesitation, but there was a distinct lack of an actual refusal. Han Jierre suggested perhaps the King should deal with his uninvited guest, and his people will leave him to it. With that, the dinner was over. The constables follow Minster Lee and the King to speak further, at the request of King Aodhan and quickly make their way to a private room. Brakken, who seemed slightly nervous through the final dinner exchanges, followed, calling out that he had something important to report. As Minister Lee shut the door in the minotaur’s face and magically protected the door from outside intrusions, the King fumed. All element of surprise was lost due to Asrabey’s flair for the dramatic. But he conceded Fey's prowess in battle, and was inclined to send him along. For full transparency, Lisandra made sure the king knew Asrabey’s stake in the matter; his wife, who he swore to protect was likely in the Bleak Gate, and it was unclear on which side her loyalties laid. The King assured that the vows to the Court, and the politics with Risur would ensure Asrabey’s inability to move against us, and that he would see to it that Asrabey deferred to RHC order while in their company. Before any further decision could be made, a voice urgently entered the minds of those present.  Brakken’s voice. “I’m a telepath,” he explained, “I read the Jierre’s mind. Let me in!”What, pray tell, did Brakken read from the minds of our favourite Danorans? What dangers lay in wait for Team BAD in the Bleak Gate? Whatever happens, it looks like peace talks are not exactly going ahead in the most peaceful direction. Hopefully we don’t die, or start a war. Keep your fingers crossed for us in the Complete Misadventures of Team Bad.</blockquote>

Verification