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[Rebel Script ⍺] Midnight Hunt - The Hand of Oblivion

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Posts

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leo follows Lynch into the Embassy. He's in agreement that they needed to be in and out quickly. In fact, he's so in lock step that he even pauses when Lynch does, looking into the artifacts as the pass, following her gaze and dropping a step behind, and hurrying to catch up, bumping in Lynch as she pauses at the last second and watching in horror as Lynch bumps into a frozen woman. Leo knows what happens next, the woman will begin to unfreeze, but what happens following that he's never been around to witness.

    Moving quickly, he shoves past Lynch, drawing his knife and bringing the hilt down on the head of the woman who is slowly unfreezing. If he can knock her out, they can secure her out of the way and quickly search before running away. If she doesn't actually see them, she won't have anything to report.

    Attempting a "knock you out" hit here. Figure it's base, plus quick, plus surprise since she's practically non-moving?


    Geth, roll 3d6 for Mama Said Knock You Out

    Mama Said Knock You Out:
    3d6 11 [3d6=6, 2, 3]

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    edited March 2021
    Emmett
    It’s just a regular church with this statue.

    Taking in the statue, you note the dragon at the saint’s feet. Reptilian with a touch of snake. There is a reddish stain on it he pedestal; wine, not blood.

    The rest of the church is regular. The architecture and art are local. You realise there’s nothing much else here.

    That’s you for the moment! I recommend turning to get out of here...



    Leo

    There’s an soft thud as she hits the carpet before either of you can catch her. She looks about 40, and her uniform is covered in medals. Once you grab her to pull her out of the way, you realise... this is the Commandant. She leads the occupying forces in this city. You could kill her right now. Will you?

    Endless_Serpents on
  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Lynch looks on, utterly incredulous at the Commandant. Her goal had been to just get in, get the information, and get out, but this...*opportunity*...it had just handed itself to her....

    Leopold, without even realizing it, Lynch has the Stiletto knife in her hand and murderous intent in her eyes...in a moment here, you think she may lose herself entirely to Bloodlust...

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leo catches the woman and takes a deep breath in relief. "That was close." he says quietly. Looking up, he sees Lynch standing there, knife in hand, anger in her eyes. Leopold knows in this moment that something bad might happen, but he doesn't want to push too hard as he might shove Lynch over the edge. So instead, he tries a different tact.

    "Help me find some rope and cloth. We tie her up, cover her eyes, dump her in a corner. She'll have a strange story, but no one is going to know what happened." He looks up with at Lynch with innocent eyes, powerless to stop anything from happening, holding his breath again as he waits for a response.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Lynch looks half possessed, and for a brief moment, Leopold thinks she will turn on him as well...but his calm demeanour puts her at ease, and the tension slowly abates. Finally catching her breath, Lynch pockets the knife into her sleeve, and smiles up at the young lad Leopold. "Yeh...yeah...tie er' to the chair, an' dump her in a corner. Let em' ALL talk bout how they got taken, tomorrow morning." The knife goes away from where it had came, and within a few moments Lynch stands up again, holding her length of rope. She looks across the backpack at Leopold, the cords held between gloved hands. "Well...shall we? I'll take care of her...you find what we came here for, yeh?"

    Lynch offers eagerly to tie up and dump (rather than murder) the Commandant, while Leopold checks the place for clues

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    For a second time in a matter of seconds, Leo stops holding his breath. He lets Lynch take the woman out of his hands, and silently hopes that she isn't going to slit her throat the second his back is turned. They were running out of time, however, so he couldn't do anything other than focus on why they were here.

    He looks around the room, looking for papers or clues, any sort of report that might indicate why their actor was killed.

    Do you need me to roll anything? Essentially, if there's a desk, rifling through the papers on it. If there's anything that stands out, Leo's taking a look.

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Lynch & Leo

    Together you raid the place. Not enough time to be gentle about it. You rip open the drawers of the desk looking for anything of note. You find:

    Perfumed Letter
    Dear A,
    As always my duties press upon me gravely...

    ...Give my love to your mother.
    Yours always, L.
    A fairly standard letter home, but the use of initials rather than names lends a sense of the illicit. An affair?

    Ocule Report
    Definitely a murder ma’am. Gruesome too. We’ve got a man to watch over the body as per your instructions; a local man, but trustworthy, religious. I would inquire why, if I may?
    The report goes on to detail the capture of a smuggler and the general opening and closing times of several businesses. Who’s giving such a report? What is an Ocule?

    The Book
    A small red book detailing the religion of Langleich, it’s pretty much the same as the one you grew up around, but they do it all weird and says the prayers wrong, you know?

    Lynch, there’s an expensive looking set of military books if you want to pinch them!



    Emmett
    You hear a single step echo all the way from the gate. Time is starting to rev up.

    Where to next?

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Is time speeding up in a way where I have to choose if I want to copy down the report or take it?

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Copying will take awhile. It is clear that every choice regarding speed is important.

    Stealing it will have an effect on the city... but you did knock out the commanding officer of an army anyway...

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leopold quickly swipes the report and the red book. At this point, the commander will know someone was here, but if they can get away fast enough, they won't be implicated. He won't have time to just copy the report, and they need all the information they can get.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Lynch unceremoniously dumps the Commandant's body into a corner, chuckling to herself wickedly.

    Taking note of Leopold stealing the items from the desk, she nods at the lad, grinning. Making sure to knock the rest of the bookshelves contents onto the floor in a rush, Lynch reaches up to grab the gilded military manuals, and jams them down into her bag. "Probably just a good idea," she muses at Leopold. "Make it look like the whole thing was a sloppy pinch...not like we were here looking for anything in particular, right?"

    Lynch looks down at the desk, and the perfumed letter which remained there. She reaches over and picks it up, inhaling the perfume. "Hmmm...taking this, too." she informs Leopold, as she places the letter gingerly into her bag. "Dirty laundry's even better than cash, if you can find a use for it!"

    "Alright, think that's it then? C'mon Green, clock's ticking: we need to leg it the fuck outta here!"

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leo nods. "Yeah, I think we're almost out of time, let's run."

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Calling it now- the Langleich occupying forces will blame the Commandant's robbery on the Ordeal natives, and start taking the *screws* to them over it. Lynch will eventually regret not just murdering this woman (although I'm sure that would've just made whatever's coming out from this 100 times worse)

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Flip side, if Lynch murdered her, the forces might start purging due to the murder instead. Damned if you do....

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Tick.. tick... Time is about to begin again.

    If you intent to search in garrison further, that’ll be a challenge due to how fast you’ll have to work. If you’re escaping, tell me how, and I’ll reveal the troubles earned...

    The sky is heavy with clouds. The rain is coming down in sheets, heavy as Hell.

    b7vkqmrvrm71.jpeg

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Lynch feels like they've pushed their luck *plenty* far enough: she is *leaving*. Question: if we go straight to Escape, will we still have enough time together to plan for tomorrow's rendezvous or compare notes tonight?

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    If you all get out, we could say you meet up at Lynch’s place? It’s the only home we’ve established so far.
    I’ll wait for everyone to post, then hit you all simultaneously.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Quick as a cat, Lynch makes her way back the way she had snuck in, sliding down bannisters and climbing through gaps in fences. She looks back to make sure Leopold is following only once, shooting him a grin as she does so.

    She takes a second near the front gate to stop, and hike her coat up over her hat and shoulders. Crouching low as she can, the young woman darts through the blocked entrance of the Garrison, a shambling mess of blood and gore making its way through the fleeting moments of the Midnight Hour...

    Lynch will go out the front gate and wait to make visual contact with the guys, across the street and out of sight of the guards. Then she's gonna lead Leopold and Emmett back to her place, half a block ahead and taking the least travelled route she knows so as not to be seen

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leopold is right behind Lynch, deftly taking quick steps to get himself as far outside of the building and garrison as he can. They drove in via car, but at this point it felt like they had a better shot of slipping out if they left it behind.

    He tried to keep an eye out for Emmett as well, the man had slipped into a different building and Leo wasn't sure if he had been paying enough attention to the time to know when to leave. Still, they were in the middle of an occupied garrison, so he had to trust that Emmett knew to get out, and maybe had run already.

    Leo leaves through the gate he had pushed open, trying to cross the half mile gap between the walls as quickly as he can.

  • fadingathedgesfadingathedges Registered User regular
    edited March 2021
    Emmett stares at the statue for an inordinate amount of time. The scales. He finds his hand on the grip of the white pistol, half drawn, when he hears the echoing step. Blinking, he backs out of the church and makes for the gate.

    I will likely be locked up with work until late today.

    fadingathedges on
  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    edited March 2021
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TR4gill6ktM

    You book it out of the garrison just as time begins!

    As you had two successes (6) and two twisted (1-3) rolls, any trouble all but cancels out.

    You hear a shout far behind you, but the guards didn’t register you as having run from the garrison, just that you were a bunch of locals running in the dead of night, splitting up through different side streets or off through a tree shrouded park.

    Lynch retrieves her decrepit boat and moors it up along the river on the same side as her hovel, pulling it onto the bank, concealed by reeds. Leo and Emmett go their own separate routes that lead back to Lynch’s place. Probably time to wash and get a nap in.

    Leo’s eyes only:
    You swear you see another raven-thing fly over you, then vanish.

    —————

    Results of the Hunt

    You didn’t find your primary quarry, but together you’ve uncovered some serious details! You gain 1 momentum! The question now is can you learn more by day? Emmett may have found a lead.

    The nightmares you did slay will trouble the city no more! Your reputation as hunters has increased! The weakest of nightmares will run from you, and spirits will take greater interest in your presence!

    Overall you’ve kept the secrets of the midnight hours from prying eyes, and so saved their minds... though it will soon become evident that knocking out the commandant will makes things significantly more difficult for your people.

    You got a boat! It’s in terrible condition, but you could choose to work on it (using the creation rules).

    Endless_Serpents on
  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Feedback

    Just to cut-in to the game for a bit, I’m interested in your thoughts. Post here or PM.

    For me personally, I wouldn’t say it was my best work. This system does work in person, but as we’re posting when you can, extending an action to ask you to take further risk (anything that makes your roll again) etc., is a bit much. Because of that I don’t think we’re getting the most out of it.

    I need to be way tougher with consequences and dangers, because it looks like on average you can get a 6 result without much effort, and that’s before using the fuller mechanics to get more dice. The most interesting moment in the game so far was forcing the danger of the commandant waking up, and offering up her death if you wanted it.


  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    edited March 2021
    I think you nailed the first thought I had. I expected more failures, but it felt like we kept getting enough dice to land at least one 5 or 6.

    I think either there need to be more strict allowances on dice (base+trait+assitance) and then make the other "situational" dice much harder to use. The only fear I have around "tougher with consequences" is that it's always tough when the dice roll poorly and you get punished badly for that. Now, it may be adjustments need to be made on the fly where this moves to the other side of the pendulum to start and we try to find the happy medium.

    I'd also be ok if there was a system where you're asking for further risk in advance (e.g. "if you fail, do you want to risk it?") and giving us what we might roll so that we could post, roll. Then decide to roll again quickly if we don't like the roll result. That may speed up some of the challenges of PbP for that type of system.

    AustinP0027 on
  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Everything I say here is colored by the fact that Lynch may be my favorite character I've ever PC-ed so far, and her do-or-die rolls have nearly all paid off for me so far...

    100% agree that under the current system and PbP, things like further risk and turn of Fate have gotten underutilized (at least through the current moment! I nearly pressed my luck with the Commandant, before Leopold stepped in). I enjoyed that the Deafened condition is probably going to be a part of her character now, and think that was very well implemented!

    As a person who personally feels like they roll lots of 1s and 2s in these games, I am greatly a fan of the opportunity to roll more dice! But, maybe there needs to be more consequence for consecutive failures? What I'm thinking is...maybe Lynch uses Meticulous all night long, but she fails 3 times on Nat 1s using that feature. And now, she's activated a ticking time bomb where her primary feature might fail, since she's so off her game (on the GM's personal dice roll) until she clears the condition somehow?

    Also a *big fan* of Austin's idea of giving us the idea of what "further risk" might look like ahead of time... extra announced options are always good to build roleplay around IMO, even though that's *definitely* much more additional work for you!

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Clarifying further.

    The "see the further risk" part is just me thinking you say "Here is a thing. If you roll 3 or below, that's bad, and you can decide to risk it further." Something like that which makes it clear when you would ask for another roll there, but not necessarily that you have to tell us what bad thing is going to happen.

    I like mrpaku's idea of failing a bunch in a row with a trait/skill/option makes something worse happen for that specific thing. That could encourage us to try and expand our choice to not always rely on a single thing. Leo's a great example, everything I did was Quick in some way. I'd probably keep doing that, but if I rolled bad in a row, I could see it being worse because I'm leaning on that one crutch over and over.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    edited March 2021
    Lynch takes the boat downriver, hiding down between the railings in case any peering eyes are about at this dark hour. Once she arrives upon the shore, she makes sure to cover the top of the boat with some of the overlarge plants that she pulls out from along the banks, tucking the craft carefully away amongst the reeds. She’s mostly pleased with herself at tonight's work: facts had been gleaned, Nightmares had been vanquished, valuable treasure procured, and this craft now belonged to her, in…well, it was decent enough shape! *BUT*, it was even now a place to escape to should trouble arise, and a roving base of operations that she could stash in nearly a *baker’s dozens* of safe spots along the rivers of the city....that was enough....

    Something still bothered her though…the Commandant. She had felt proud of herself, refraining from *just* ki…well, she suppose that would have probably happened, had Leopold not interfered. But Lynch still felt a queer disquiet around her stomach: even then, they’d overreached somehow tonight, hadn’t they? This would all somehow come back to *bite them*…

    Making careful note that the two gentleman Hunters have followed in the streets behind, Lynch quietly makes her way down the block, now striding between the edges of the streetlights. Part of her hesitated to bring these men around to her “home”. But…they *did* prove themselves, didn’t they? Lynch couldn’t help but agree. The Old Hunter Emmett seemed like a bit of a Nutter…maybe one who’d spent too long among the Midnight Hour, and gone a bit too much into it…but still, he clearly knew some things, something *BIG* about all of this. And his years of experience held wisdom that Lynch regrettably had to admit hers did not. And as to the young Hunter Leopold….she recognized that energy, his *spark*. Almost a man, and more than ready to prove his worth. She felt she could trust the Green innately, without hesitation. But she also felt that familiar worry from her time among the Ordeal forces…with his naivety, his desire to prove himself? This one looked positively *marked*... Just do your work then, Lizzie; remember, don’t get attached. Just gonna hurt real bad again, when you have to bury another one…

    A moment’s hesitation more, and Lynch marches over confidently to her own front door, and puts in the key. With a wave of her left arm over her shoulder, she signals her companions in, and leaves the door slightly ajar for them to follow behind...


    Lizzie Markovich is going to take a bath in the kitchen, pouring *nearly-boiling* water into a large metal tub (that takes up half the kitchen) to clean the funk off her and hang the gored clothes nearby, scrubbing them later. She will then go to sleep inside the one bedroom the hovel contains, directly off the kitchen and "living room". Both rooms have been modified to be heavily fortified: the bedroom with a strong, heavy-duty lock, and the kitchen with several (possibly stolen) large-scale carpets hung overhead to provide privacy. There are two buckets out back for waste. Lynch will provide toasted (very stale) muffins, eggs, and a gamey-beef-hash for breakfast in the morning, after unlocking and emerging from her own room. She will be eager to peruse and compare information from the night before....

    mrpaku on
  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    edited March 2021
    I’ll make a proper post later, but is everyone down to continue with the rules as is for the daytime session, then maybe a slight update for the next midnight hours?

    I’m thinking of continuing this game just until you slay (or are devoured by) your reptilian quarry. We can leave it open ended enough try play again some day!


    The sun begins to rise, a hazy orange glow peeks through the mist etching it’s way through the streets, soon to give way to a warm, clear day.

    A drunk is singing somewhere, doves are cooing.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mm6rOM2ASnU&list=PL1mZeR4wTBoxiM86th4lOXhMQN8wDWYAt&index=7

    Endless_Serpents on
  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    They smell the cooking long before they hear her about. Lynch is up at dawn, despite the taxing toll of the evening before.

    She emerges into the living room between the heavy carpets, holding chipped cups of (fairly weak) coffee. After serving Emmett and Leopold the steaming mugs, she returns to the kitchen, and quickly comes back bearing mismatched plates, heaping with nearly-burnt muffins, mostly-scrambled eggs (slightly salt-and-peppered), and a "beef" hash that seems to contain mostly entrails, and is mixed in heavily with strange spices. "Big job means a big meal, yeh? Eat up gentleman, it'll just go bad if ya don't..."

    Lynch pores over the evidence accrued the night before as she eats, sloppily shoving food into her mouth as though she were ravenous. Now cleaned and unkitted, she hardly even resembles the hard woman you both met the night before before. Draped as she is in an overlarge nightgown, it's easy for Emmett and Leopold to finally take notice of how young Lynch actually is, without her affectations, and the coating layer of blood.

    Shoveling a forkful of hash into her mouth, Lynch reads the Ocule Report. She remarks curiously, "There was murder...and then they had someone watching the body. Sounds like, a priest." Lynch takes another bite, and thoughtfully begins to chew the scrambled eggs. Through a mouthful, she asks. "Now, why do you think they'd be doing that?"

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    y9rl8hwdrvh5.jpeg

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cy7Qk8zoqYs

    Points of Interest
    Your minds turn to places that might further your research and preparation for the hunt.
    * The nearest Orthodox church is to the east. The vicar is fresh out the box; the prior vicar died on the front line, quite the famed medical by all accounts. Do you go to church?
    * There is a nunnery full of old birds that don’t do much, as far as you know. They keep to an archaic version of the city’s religion, even by the standards of the rest of the clergy. What have you heard they get up to?
    * The national library is a jewel in the city’s crown, but the Langleich forces have posted their own men inside to keep watch on what books people are taking out.
    * Lynch, you know the apartment (or wherever they’re hanging around now) of a particular professional. Is that a secret?

    Each of you, tell me of a place of note in the city. I’ll add it to the map.

    —————

    Use of the Day
    You’re going to need to prepare for the midnight hours. Perhaps you’ll buy equipment (you’re poor, so it may require service or trade), craft something useful (tell me what you intend and I’ll reveal the caveats), seek knowledge, or cure what ails you. Tell me what you intend and I’ll narrate from there, no need to roll for every idea.

    —————

    Refresh your Equipment Slots
    You can always pick something you’ve used before (like Leo with his lantern), but for now clear your items.

    —————

    80xqw8bayyem.jpeg

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leo wiped the sleep from his eyes. Sitting up on the couch as he heard rustling. He had slept comfortably enough, his youth keeping aches and pains from awkward positions away.

    He happily took the mug from Lynch as she presented it, disappearing and reappearing with food so quick that he almost laughed while taking a sip. His stomach growled, he was hungrier than he thought and he was sure last night's endeavors had something to do with that.

    "Hmm?" He said while chewing, "Oh righ'. Pries'." He swallows the mouthful of hash he had shoved in.

    "We should probably look into that more. You don't guard a body unless you're afraid it's going to get up and walk away"



    Sorry, busy day at work.

    Place:
    Crawley's Pub - run down and barely functional, it's a place to get a drink and drown your sorrows, or meet up without too many wandering eyes.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Lynch nods along agreeably with Leopold, wiping food from the corners of her mouth with a half-dirty rag as she finished the plate. Sighing and throwing the spotless plate into the table, Lynch proceeds to business. “*Right*! Well, they’ve got Saturday service at the Church here, in what, a few hours? I was headed that way this morning anyways...heh! The new Vicar, he’s Greener than you, even, Leopold!…but, he’s a very devout man. Knows his business.” With sudden fervor, Lynch plucks the book on religion out from the pile, looking for relevant passages or pictures about the creature they’d been tracking…

    Geth roll 2d6 for Cliff Notes Bible Study (1 Challenge, 1 Meticulous Reader)

    Lynch would be attending Church, as she does *several* times a week. She would linger after the service to innocently talk scripture with the new, eager Vicar: specifically focusing on whatever we learn from the religious book of Langleich that we stole, and the Scaled, Bloodied Statue which Emmet had discovered at the Garrison

    “After that, I’m gonna meet an…associate. A doctor! Gonna try an get that ear o’ mine taken care of…and figure while I was there, I could show him the swath of skin, and that feather we found…he’s a reader, very-well studied! Might know something about what kinds of animals these are, maybe even what we can do about them…”

    Lynch will then visit “Dr.” Farkas, to address her Deafened Conditon, possibly find additional information on the animal parts procured last night, and maybe barter for “pick-me-ups”

    “After that, my plan was to hit up Crawley’s Pub…got some pieces I should move before someone finds me with em’. Person I’m looking for is usually there Saturday nights, in a back booth…figure I could trade out the “fine art” I’d procured for some cash, maybe some *small* artillery.”

    Lynch wants to exchange stolen goods for guns and bombs. Big guns and bombs, if she can pull it off.

    “So, what are you boy’s plans for the day? And where we meeting up again tonight? Leopold? Emmett?” (Leo notices that her use of “Green” in relation to him is very slowly starting to wear-off…)

    ---

    Place: Munitions Factory: More active now than it was even during the War. A massive factory which cares as little about the workers as it does the breaking down and aged machinery (if that's possible). A place where some guns or bombs could possibly just “disappear” from

    Cliff Notes Bible Study (1 Challenge, 1 Meticulous Reader):
    2d6 8 [2d6=4, 4]

  • fadingathedgesfadingathedges Registered User regular
    I think it's fun!
    Some of your comments are based off our performance, I think, and overall I think we've had good luck rolling. I think one of the system's strengths is that the results are all narrative, so good luck or bad luck is really just driving narration rather than 'you all fail and die.' So I wouldn't focus on too much on

    I would focus instead on the things that link your system to your setting. Consider, for example, designing an attack for a gritty/real-ish post-apoc world game. You don't take the epic swingy-ness if a D&D-style 1d20+X. You might instead go with the more regular bell curve of a 3d6 attack roll. You can achieve extraordinary results on both extremes, but most of your shots are going to be somewhere in the average range, and that kinda matches the picture you are trying to paint.

    I think you need to make those kinds of considerations for your game. You have a system designed as a one-dice-fits all. Again, the strength of the focus on narration mitigates this, and it's a game, but the system and the setting(s) are basically strangers. I would consider finding ways to integrate them more.

    I would also consider a batch of optional rules for PBP use. Things like a round-robin auto assist for most actions (that are instant at the table but could take a day in PBP), a rotating Captain mechanic for some of the non-major decision making to avoid repetitive voting slowdown, and stuff like that.

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Lynch
    You hike up the street towards the church, book in hand, and flick through it.
    ...and lo, Yanoc did spake before the Visitation, dagger in hand...

    ...The steadfast love of the ONE never ceases; his mercies never come...

    ...So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day...

    ...writhing in the dark, the Serpent did whisper...
    It’s all a bit pompous really. You prefer the songs and feasts to the text, and the Langleich version is even more stoic. Overall though you’re confused why they even go to the trouble of separating their version of the religion.



    Once in the service though it’s obvious why you bother. Singing together, you can pretend you’ve got a great, big family. Old ladies wipe your face with their handkerchiefs, and ask if you’ve been eating. Kids clamber over you, unaware you’re not another cousin or aunt. Even the fellas are alright, and keep to themselves (or their wives).

    Plus you always take a bit of extra wafer bread and a gulp or two of wine. To make you extra holy, naturally.

    The vicar, a short lad with a mop of hair, scratches his head after reading a particularly dark passage.
    0a4pvd7drg36.jpeg

    “Right, well, I think it’s fair to say, what we should take from that is to be kind. Right?”, he beams, and under his earnest gaze everyone murmurs an agreement.



    The vicar raises an eyebrow.

    “I won’t ask how you got this, but fair to say its an incorrect translation, but not a terrible book. I’ve read it myself, as part of my training.”, he opens it right to the parable of Saint Jeorg, “The big difference is in this bit. In brief, a tribe is beset by a dragon, who they feed one child per week to in order to still its wrath, until Jeorg appears and slays it, becoming both a saint and king. Only in their version, Jeorg tames the dragon.”

    “It’s the only reference to a dragon in the text. So I would conflate it to a fallen angel; not something to be tamed, to be kept around after such evils. I’m sure you can see how poor translation work can spoil the message, right?”

    He slams it shut and smile, pleased with himself.

    I haven’t really taken your roll into account as it wasn’t exactly a challenge to get this, so no consequence for you!

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    Lynch takes her usual soul-filling solace from the Church ceremony. She sings along to each of the church songs, and intones along with all of the scripture. She greets her neighbors on each side, and blesses them at the appropriate time. And, she relaxes for a rare moment: a burden lifts. People, Langleich and Ordael alike, smile at her, and ask how she is. If these people can smell the sin on her, they certainly have the good graces not to say anything. Lynch clears her throat, and takes up the Hymn…

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    --

    She tugs at her hair and smiles girlishly up at the young Vicar as he peruses the chapter, just in case he got suspicious. She wasn't too concerned. Lizzie wasn’t one of the maids who were an eager part of the young lad’s fan club…but she could fake the part well enough, if necessary.

    “Oh, bless you, Father, bless you!” Lizzie Markovich clasps and kisses the Vicar’s hands between her own. “Peace keep you! I will continue to study these words, and hope His Insight my guide my path!”

    Lizze Markovich wanders back down the middle aisle, more Lynch with every step she takes. Stamping through the Church, she mutters quietly to herself “Fecking dragons now, FUCK.” From a pew nearby, one family looks over, aghast at what they think they heard. Lynch attempts to turn the outburst into a cough, and waves apologetically at the family, as she gets her things and prepares to depart…


    Lynch will head to the “Doctor’s” now, unless either Leopold or Emmett came with her to Church this morning and wish to investigate the situation further- don’t want to get ahead of the morning. Leopold? @AustinP0027 Emmet? @fadingathedges How goes your end of the case in the daylight?

  • fadingathedgesfadingathedges Registered User regular
    I'm proceeding with the assumption that Emmett has no idea what happened while he was in the church. He would be against killing people, and very, very against killing people during the Hours.

    "Thank you." They ate in silence for awhile, each mulling over their thoughts of the night before. Absently, "Potatoes are so good."

    He listens as Lynch describes her plans for the day. "Artillery?" Emmett raises his eyebrows. "Isn't that a little . . . impractical? How big do you think these things get?" The fork pauses. He frowns, then continues eating.

    "I'm going to see what I can learn about our dead actor. Who is making funeral arrangements, address, so forth. If he was one of us, someone knew. At least the someone who shot him. Maybe others."

    "I'll swing by the spot where the Lady with the candles was, too, if I can scrape up the time. See what's around." He pauses again. "Where does a Spirit get candles? Does she shop? Or keep a very large bee?" He shrugs.

    Location: Tors Verdin Cemetery. One of the oldest places in the city, one can find traces of every era the city has survived. While remarkable for its size, vintage and variety of graves, it is best known for the "glass graves." In a gilded age, the wealthy would build elaborate mausoleums, raised off the ground by stone pillars, lidded with heavy plate glass set over the dead beneath, who were interred to stare eternally into the sky. Some have tumbled. Most remain, dim secrets gazing at the stars through grimy glass.

    Just realized I didn't hit Post on this oops.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    I assume Lynch nearly *cold-blooded-murdering* the Commandant will come up in and around whenever Lynch and Emmett might finally have it out over "who was on what side of that War", much morseo now since Leopold is the only other person who knows! Also, even though Lynch is absolutely terrified of Spirits, I'm *personally* glad Emmett is on that part of the case today, because as a player it's one of the most interesting angles here!

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leo sits silently in a pew as Lynch goes off to talk to the Vicar. He wouldn't admit it to her, he had made up some excuse of not wanting it to be too suspicious having both of them question someone, but he was uncomfortable here.

    His parents were very religious as he grew up, drilling the scriptures into his head at a young age, but when his mother died when he was 10, his father had gotten....darker. No, that wasn't fair, the loss of your wife was a terrible burden, leaving you with a daughter you can't relate to and a son who was a handful. They stopped going to church after that, and there were nights when their father rolled in late after staying at the pub all day, rambling about the terrible things the church did. It stuck with Leo and he had kept his distance whenever he could.

    Lynch was cursing as he headed for the door and Leo fell in beside her.

    "Find out something of interest?"



    Im slow but I was planning on Leo going to the church with Lynch since he grabbed the book in the first place. That said, this starts to give me a new picture of Leo that I'll roll with so I can play this out of him not going with her to talk to Vicar since I missed the post.

  • mrpakumrpaku Registered User regular
    At Breakfast…

    Lynch’s ears light up at the compliment to her cooking, as Emmett eats the hash. “You’re welcome!” Despite her standoffish nature from the night before, Lynch seems to crave the approval of the Older Hunter.

    However, she digs in when Emmett questions the plan to acquire Artillery. “Might’ve been! Impratical before, that is. But we got that boat parked off shore now; should be much easier to move supplies up and down the river. And I’m not talking *cannons*, mind! Hoping maybe to get our hands on some long rifles, extra ammo…few hand mortars, maybe a couple ceramic grenades. We need to be fully prepared next time!”

    Lynch locks uncomfortable eyes with Emmett as he asks how big the Nightmares can truly get. Her gaze is equal parts amused and incredulous with the Veteran Hunter’s question.

    Finally: “Now , you be careful dealing with the Spirit! Poking around...keep telling you, they’re nearly as bad as the Nightmares. Now, the candles, *I* figure she summons the same we she does her dress…s’all dream fabric, lights on the candles too!...”

    ---

    At Church…

    Lynch nods as she walks down the aisle, slowly sidling up to Leopold. She fans herself to cover her frightened expression.

    “The thing we were hunting last night?…I think we’re looking for a fecking dragon, Leopold! You remember the parable of Saint Jeorg? The people buy their “safety” with their children’s lives, throw them down a Dragon’s gullet while it chuckles back at them? That’s what we’re working with here… think there’s people *worshipping* this thing…maybe, even trying to somehow tame the Nightmare.” Lynch chuckles darkly, then begins to nervously pick at her nails as you depart the Church...

    After a while, she speaks again. “…there’s another thing I was thinking. Can't stop thinking. The Father, he said something about Fallen Angels…and the report we read, had someone watching a dead body for some reason, right?” Lynch walks along, letting the question linger. Then she asks. “So, Gr…err, I mean Leopold. The Nightmares. You ever given much thought as to…where they come from?”

  • Endless_SerpentsEndless_Serpents Registered User regular
    Emmett

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    You make your way to the Tors Verdin Cemetery and push open the creaky, rusting gate. Two hewn fellows are digging a grave, arms thick with dirt, while no more than ten feet away a child is cleaning a gravestone with a leaky watering can.

    Further in, two women in pitch black are standing beneath a chapel arch. One is late thirties, thin, sharp featured. The other is much older, perhaps her mother, and leans on a cane. They’re... in heated debate? Wait! The younger woman has grabbed the other by the wrist—looks like a tussle might well break out!

    What do you do?

  • AustinP0027AustinP0027 Registered User regular
    Leo stops walking for a brief second as Lynch mentions a dragon, quickly catching back up as he shakes off the shock. "A dragon?" he says is a whispered tone, "How....what...." he sputters for a moment. Dragon's were mythical, things of stories. There wasn't any way that was what they were after, was there?

    It only takes a moment for Leo to move from incredulous to acceptance. With that he had seen since he started venturing out with Emmet, there wasn't much room for disbelief in anything anymore. He had seen too much, and most of it were things you wouldn't even hear in stories.

    "Where they come from?" Leo responds. "I can't say I've thought about it all that much, but, I guess I just kind of assumed they just exist. You know, like the tales you get told as a kid. Stuff in the dark, everyone knows about it, it's just always been there." He shrugs as they step outside the church. His eyes scan their surroundings immediately, he's still on edge from last night, and there's a bit of a guilty nature to it given they had broken into the garrison. He wasn't good with secrets, he didn't have the calm nature that he thought he saw in Emmett, though he wasn't sure that Lynch really had it either based on everything he had seen so far.

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