CLOACA'S TALE

"Cloaca! There you are!" Namaraman nearly shouted, excited at having finally found the dirty little ratling, who was perched eating his lunch on the side of one of Northwatch's many ancient, open sewers. Built on the ruins of a much grander and much older city that had been abandoned at the end of the last Age of Sorcerer Kings, Northwatch represented King Umbar the Just's determination to bring the northern wilds under his control. It had been a decade under construction so far, and though several thousand people now called it home, as a town it was really just getting going. Cloaca and his simple-minded companion Nicker worked for the local lord the King had charged with the work, a dour man by the name of Mournsworth. Nicker had been kicked in the head by a horse as a young ratling, and had never been quite right after that, but he worked hard enough... and provided Cloaca some companionship in the sewer-cleaning duties that consumed his days.

"Come! My friend, there's someone who's been looking to meet you!" the human merchant said as he crouched down to Cloaca's level. Namaraman and Cloaca weren't friends, exactly, but they did business together frequently enough. Over the years, all manner of interesting baubles and valuables had been lost to the sewers of first Aladazhiare and then Northwatch -- and Cloaca had become something of an expert at finding them. Namaraman, who dealt in antiquities and other curios, was often the one who ended up putting a few coins in the ratling's filthy paw for what he pulled from the ancient muck.

Nicker eyed the human and his friend at the same time with his misaligned eyes. He shrugged his slight shoulders and took another bite of the hard, stale bread he'd been picking at. "I keep working. You go if you want."

---

OOC: Just to get us rolling. The Sorcerer Kings were Archmage Lizardmen who ruled the land and built great towers and walled cities all over the place. They had more advanced engineering than the simpler folk have currently, and as a result the ruins of their cities are quite something to behold. Think Roman architecture, roads, stonework, and aqueducts and such. The place (Aladazhiare, now called Northwatch) has been occupied off an on over the centuries since the fall of the Sorcerer Kings, so there's quite a lot of good trinkets to be had in searching the sewers -- which are very elaborate. They snake all through the city, and are mostly underground, save for the open sections at the edges, like the one you're sitting near now. I have some ideas for how we can get into conflicts, contents, etc., but if there's something specific you want to see, speak up!

This message was last edited by the GM at 21:15, Sun 07 Sept 2014.

Cloaca's ears twitched at the sound of his name being call. Instinctively his head dipped and his ears flattened when encroached upon by others, both only rising slightly when Namaraman crouched to better meet at Cloaca's level.

His head bobbed lightly at the invitation from his self proclaimed friend to meet with someone else. He turned slightly, bringing both his paws to his mouth, and with quick determination finished gnashing through the remainder of his meal in a blink. Normally he would have savored the scant morsels afforded his station, but the idea of something new pinged at his inquisitive nature. He had finished his meager meal and was moving along with the merchant before he had had a chance to turn, only having made it a few feet.

The idea of meeting someone new caused Cloaca to almost forget about his sewer companion. He turned back momentarily to acknowledge Nicker's willingness to continue on without him, "Yes, but not too far from the entrance. I shouldn't be long." With that, he lurched forward, regaining the ground that he had lost to the merchant.

Peering about as they proceeded, Cloaca's imagination ran rampant, "What might it be that someone wishes to speak to lowly me, Namaraman?"

---

OOC: I am good with however you want to present the story in order to cover all the dials of FATE. So please, drive the train. I am not as much worried about doing what I think Cloaca might do IC as I am about working through the various mechanics of FATE; conflicts, contests, etc. Especially this early in the story. If there is something that strikes my fancy, or have questions about, I will chime in. Sorry for the brevity of my reply. It is late and I go to work early tomorrow.

Namaraman led the way up the cobbled street towards his shop, grinning as he walked. Middle-aged, the man hailed from the southern kingdoms, and kept up with the practice of oiling both his dark beard and his long, black hair. "Why one of the trinkets you brought to me, Cloaca, almost a year ago. Do you recall that stone disc fragment? With those blue gemstones I was unable to name? We hypothesized that it might have been a piece of a medallion, once upon a time. Well, I finally found a buyer -- and she is very interested in finding out if there is more of it to find, in the sewers."

The merchant's corner shop, Curios, wasn't far away -- which was a good thing, Cloaca thought as he kept an eye out for the city guard. Many of them didn't look fondly on his kind walking boldly down the street, and lately Watchman Tomple had seemed to take particular pleasure in running any ratlings he came across back to the sewers or any other hiding hole that would provide some safety from the big bully's club. Above Namaraman's store, in a corner room that had windows facing two different streets, Dirty Kalie could often be seen entertaining one of the workers or soldiers who inhabited Northwatch. She never had much time for Cloaca, unlike the young, brown-haired woman who worked in the inn down the street. Urzula, the furry little humanoid thought her name was, and while he was never sure why she sometimes offered him food scraps from the cook's evening meals, he was glad that she did.

"You'll need to be polite," Namaraman counseled as they approached his painted door. "Very best behavior, yes? This woman is not from around here and might be easily spooked. We both stand to make a great deal of money if this works out, my friend. Hear her out, then think of your future."

---

OOC: No worries on brevity -- we're not writing a novel here, though I'll admit we're off to a better start than I was perhaps originally expecting, due to this just being a glorified playtest.

First things first too -- Fate Point awarded for allowing the compel of your Aspect "Inquisitive." I should have called that out before, but I meant to offer that up -- for going with the merchant instead of getting back to work, and for leaving your friend who is generally okay looking after himself. This is a point worth noting, advice-wise. Get the Fate Point economy rolling early -- it's much more interesting, in my opinion, when people aren't afraid to spent Fate Points. And that's helped out if they see that they will also be steadily earning them.

Finally, this trinket / medallion fragment -- you do remember it. It came from a deep and dangerous part of the sewers, a dank, dark place near the city's center that gave you quite a bad feeling. It was found on a grate, a bit too large to slip through. You've never been to the -even deeper- area where that grate drained...

Sorry to stop short here -- just wanted to give you a chance to react before getting into the store and meeting the buyer.

"...interested in finding out if there is more of it..."

'More of it...,' he thought as he begun to swoon...

"...in the sewers."

'More of it...,'

The world begun to spin...

'The city guard...,'

*Swoosh!*

'Watchman Tomple... what is...,'

*Whoosh!*

'Dirty Kalie...,'

His vision began to contract.

*Thwoom!*

'Urzula, the furry little humanoid...,'

And it was gone. Darkness. Blackness. Cloaca peered into a never ending abyss.

He sensed it at first, just out of reach of his vision, within the veil. A wickedness, an evil he could not comprehend, let alone fathom to describe.

It was unseen, but moved just the same. He was not alone in the expanse.

Cloaca tried to pull back. Movement. Malicious. A shadow within a shadow.

He back peddled. Depravity. Catastrophe. Shadow.

'PULL BACK!'

Rage.

Cloaco found himself, wrapped in shadow. His feet first. Bare and cold against the ridged metal sewer grate. His damp tunic clung to his form, held fast by a tattered bit of rope. The trickle of water, dropping into the nether through the holes in the grate. His arms thrust forth, and within his grasp a trinket. The gentle howl of the wind below. He focused on the trinket.

"You'll need to be polite," came a whisper.

'Yes, polite. Of course...,' he thought.

*A glow*

"Very best behavior..."

'Always...,'

*Brighter*

"This woman is not from around here..."

'Nor is... It...,'

*Squinting*

"... my friend... your future..."

Cloaca could feel his eyelids pressed tightly together, escaping the assault to his sight, as if he willed his eyes to become diamonds from the pressure. Slowly, he commanded them to open. The blaze of the trinket's subsided into day. Blinking, he stood, arms still outstretched as if he was still there - among the shadows, arms still stretched forth - in a memory.

But now, only Namaraman stood before him. A look of bewilderment upon his face.

Cloaca shook as a dog, shedding the last of the water from a mid-afternoon rain.

'Evil below... the light,' he thought as he pulled his head into his shoulders and looked to the ground, now below his feet, for comfort and support.

---

OOC: Yea, well I tried. Mixing of past and present tense. Terrible display of senses. Meh. Do what you will now with the thing before you... a Ratling returning from a horror.

"Cloaca? Cloaca! Steady, there. Are you with me?"

Namaraman rolled his eyes and shook his head at the little creature, frustrated by his lack of focus. It was unlike him -- one of the reasons that he liked dealing with the ratling was that he was generally sharp-witted. Perhaps Tomple had landed one too many blows on Cloaca's skull, and he was now no more astute than his idiot companion, Nicker. The merchant hoped that was not the case, as it would mean he'd lost a good source of income, to say nothing of whatever coins they managed to pry out of the witch's hands today. When the filthy sewer worker seemed to be back in the here and now, the swarthy-skinned human led the way up the steps to his store, then opened the door and went inside.

"Enchantress! I have found the one I spoke of! The light-fingered master of Northwatch's tunnels and sewers!"

Namaraman's shop was something to behold inside. The man had amassed thousands of curiosities over the years, books, artistic carvings, jewelry, furniture, tapestries, gaming tokens, bowls, wooden teeth, ancient coins -- all manner of junk, some of it actually worth something, was piled high in every corner. The place was a labyrinth, with narrow passageways winding between stacks of dusty tomes and piles of cracked scrolls. Cloaca normally found the store dizzying in its density, but today was different. The human woman -- the 'buyer' -- was an even more remarkable sight, and her dramatic form held his little black eyes as they rounded a corner and found her standing in the middle of the shop, smiling.

She had white teeth and tanned skin -- so much tanned skin, as the silks she wore did more to accentuate than conceal the curves that Cloaca knew human men found so compelling. She had long, shining hair, raven-colored and wind-blown. An emerald cloak spilled on the floor behind her, and a small metal girdle of shining scales covered her abdomen. Long, wisping fabric hung between her bronzed legs from the girdle's glittering edges, shielding her modesty against prying eyes. Looking down at the little ratling, the woman's smile broadened.

"I have heard much about you, little one. I am Alizia of Tesh, and I would like to employ your services."

---

OOC: Alizia is attempting to impress and awe you, to put your on your back foot paw by Creating an Advantage. That's a skill test of her Flashy vs. your skill of choice (provided you can justify it). Her result: 21:08, Today: Harrigan, for the NPC Alizia, rolled 3 using 4 Fudge dice with rolls of 1, 1, 1, 0. Flashy (+3) roll to Create an Advantage over Cloaca. That's good for a total of +6.

Cloaca managed to make it inside the shop, and he had every intention based on his recent experience to flatly refuse any offer to do business that pertained to the trinket he envisioned.

But she was so self-assured and remarkable. Not to mention striking in her lavish attire... ⁰

'Still your mind Cloaca,' he thought, 'this can only lead to danger and a fate far worse than what one might expect within Northwatch.' ¹

He planted himself firmly and raised his chin in an attempt to stand his ground. ² 'I will not be as she suspects, a timid gutter rat.' he thought. ³

Even so, he could not completely reject her, not until he heard her out. She surely commanded attention from whence she came, she would be considered nothing less than a queen in Northwatch. He could not reject her out of hand. He would relent, but not cower. Besides, what did she want from him? Why this particular trinket? Questions, hundreds of them, began to consume his curiosity. ⁴

"What is it that you seek from your humble servant, m' Lady?" was all that would come.

---

OOC:
(0) Missed! 22:20, Yesterday: Cloaca rolled -1 using 4 Fudge dice with rolls of 0, -1, 0, 0. Lady wanting to hire me. Initial Defend Roll.
(1) Spending a FATE Point for a re-roll Invoking: Inquisitive
(2) 12:46, Today: Cloaca rolled 2 using 4 Fudge dice with rolls of 1, 1, 0, 0. Re-Roll to Over Come Lady wanting to hire him. Careful +2, Roll +2 = 4
(3) Spending a second FATE Point to Invoke: Underestimated Sewer-Dwelling Ratling brings total to: +6
(4) Compel: Inquisitive?
Edit to change OOC text to Orange
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Tue 09 Sept 2014.

"More of this," the woman said simply, and suddenly there was something in her hands -- when, a second prior, Cloaca would have sworn they were empty. The ratling recognized it instantly. It was but a fragment of something larger, something greater. When whole, the thing would have been disc-shaped, perhaps four inches across, with gemstones set around the outer edge. It was made of smooth, polished stone, and the two gems on the shard sparkled in the sunlight that streamed into Namaraman's shop.

The woman's green eyes fairly glowed as she held the ancient fragment out before her, like a piece of blessed bread. "Do you remember finding this? Do you remember where? It is a powerful talisman, and it is important to my people. I am willing to pay you to search for more pieces of it, to bring them to me."

There was a scent in the air, suddenly. Cinnamon? Something nice, something fresh. This woman was persuasive. Cloaca didn't yet know her name, and yet her voice was like warm, soothing oil.

---

OOC: Okay, so vs. her Create an Advantage roll of +6, you defended with a +6 -- 2 from your (re) roll, 2 from Clever, and 2 from invoking your aspect. Don't think this is an appropriate place to compel your Inquisitive aspect just yet -- recall I mentioned I should have compelled it before when Namaraman asked you to come along... and my might score a FP again if you agree to her request against your better judgement.

So all told, you've earned one FP so far (I presume you accepted the compel to go with Namaraman), then you spent two on your defense.

BTW -- tying mean she gets to create a Boost. A one-shot advantage / aspect that goes away once it's invoked. We'll call it "Dazzled by the Exotic Buyer."

Cloaca's muzzle twitched, from the sudden smell of Cinnamon or nervous curiosity, even he was not quite sure. Out of habit he stroked his whiskers like a human would a goatee, as he pondered his options. His latest 'experience' not withstanding, the trinket was a curiosity...

He turned his gaze to Namaraman momentarily, then looked about the story. If she was alone, in this remote place, it said a lot about her ability. She surely exuded confidence, and there was the way the trinket 'just appeared' within her grasp...

Cloaca's gaze returned to the woman, "It sounds as if this trinket, in its entirety, is a valuable and wondrous thing. I can only imagine what it would mean to a people to regain it. But what if the remainder is lost to the ravages of time, and I can't find it? I mean, the sew... erm tunnels are vast. I believe I know where that," pointing at the trinket, "was found, but... I just don't know."

He lightly slid his foot back and forth in an arc on the store floor for a moment as a myriad of questions flooded through his thoughts.

"I am not an adventure m'Lady, I am merely a peasant with an eye for trinkets..."

---

OOC: I had forgot about the Boost since she was the one that initiated the engagement. Thanks for clearing that up. Understand about the FATE Point too, was just wondering.

I am tracking I have 3 FP remaining and updated it but it's not updating under Cloaca's name.

Should I make a note of the Boost on my CS or is that something you would track?

Alizia smiled again. "This is no trinket, my little ratling. While I cannot be sure more of it lies beneath the city, I am willing to pay you to look. Your reward will be much more handsome should you return more fragments to me, but you will have coins in your paws regardless. And no lunk-headed adventurer can help my find more of the talisman, you must know this. I need someone who knows every corner of the sewers, who has seen the dark and damp secrets that lurk beneath this ancient place."

Her eyes sparkled and her voice seemed to take on a slight musical quality then. "Will you help me, Cloaca? Will you assist in this quest?" A bag of coins was in her hand then, dangling from her long, elegant fingers.

---

OOC: So here's how I normally do it...

• Alizia's aspects have not been revealed.
• Scene aspects include "Labyrinthine Stacks of Goods," and "Books and Trinkets from Far and Wide."
• Current active boost: "Dazzled by Alizia"

I figure if Cloaca agrees to do the work, we're going to roll approaches to see how well he ends up being compensated. So if you're in, go ahead and choose an approach and make a roll. The result of Alizia's roll, combined with that, will determine how much is in the purse.

Cloaca took a few tentative steps toward the lady Aliza and began to stretch out his paw to retrieve the bag of coins, but stopped short. He brought his paw back and stroked his whiskers in contemplation.

"M'Lady, you have the most... graceful hands. One could almost envision them as being magically imbibed  ¹, if one was not mistaken. It causes me to wonder if you could not offer an additional... service perhaps, above the surely impressive offer already set forth. You see, I have a friend that I would need to enlist to assist me, that is... well slightly off due to an unfortunate accident. Perhaps you, or someone in your employment, could see if his ailment could be reduced, or even fixed entirely?" he asked.

Almost as soon as he asked, Cloaca began to second guess his approach. He glanced to Namaraman to gauge his response to his own request, before returning his gaze back to the intriguing Aliza.

---

OOC:

Holy crap! I know this is just an introduction game, but I am really getting into the character and the game... guessing I am going to hate to see this end.

(1) 15:31, Today: Cloaca rolled 0 using 4 Fudge dice with rolls of -1, -1, 1, 1. Carefully (+2) guess that Aliza has a Magical Aspect of some sort associated with her hands. I am assuming this is a use of an Approach to Overcome an Obstacle (the obstacle being: not knowing an Aspect on the NPC.) So +2

I also want to spend another FP to Invoke my Aspect: Inquisitive for another +2. Total: +4

I could really start to see Cloaca having a Stunt like: Because I am Inquisitive, I get a +2 when I Carefully Overcome an Obstacle, to identify magical things about a person, place, or thing.

But we can leave that for later I suppose.

Namaraman clenched his jaws and his hands as Cloaca pressed the deal. Clearly the merchant felt as though his own profit was on the line as well, and perhaps it was -- perhaps a commission if the ratling was successful in finding more bits of the artifact?

For her part, Alizia cocked her head as the purse continued to dangle from her fingers. "One might be more perceptive than many give him credit for," she said simply. "Your wits are sharp, Cloaca. Your station here does not suit you. Use this opportunity to change that. As to your friend, it depends on the nature of the ailment. If it is of a... serious nature, then our best hope will be to re-assemble the talisman that I seek."

---

OOC: Discovering Alizia's aspect is a Fair (2) task -- so you succeed, and the aspect, "Exotic Sorceress" is revealed.

Aspects in play:

• Alizia has the aspect "Exotic Sorceress"
• Scene aspects include "Labyrinthine Stacks of Goods," and "Books and Trinkets from Far and Wide"
• Current active boost: "Dazzled by Alizia"

Like that stunt, but you might want to wait until a little further into the playtest to decide.

Incidentally that was a "Create an Advantage," roll, not "Overcome."

Check out p14 of FAE:

quote:

Create an Advantage
Creating an advantage is anything you do to try to help yourself or one of your friends. Taking a moment to very carefully aim your proton blaster, spending several hours doing research in the school library, or tripping the thug who’s trying to rob you—these all count as creating an advantage. The target of your action may get a chance to use the defend action to stop you. The advantage you create lets you do one of the following three things:
• Create a new situation aspect.
• Discover an existing situation aspect or another character’s aspect that you didn’t know about.
• Take advantage of an existing aspect.

And regarding your question about Boosts, they last for the scene if unused. FAE, p26:

quote:

Boosts: A boost is a temporary aspect that you get to use once (see “What
Do You Do With Aspects?” next), then it vanishes. Unused boosts vanish when the scene they were created in is over or when the advantage they represent no longer exists. These represent very brief and fleeting advantages you get in conflicts with others.

Cloaca exhaled, his shoulders slightly dropped as he did, indicated that he had made up his mind. Alizia may not be all that she appeared to be, but he had decided - for now - to attempt the proposal.

"Very well M'lady," he said, as he stepped forth to retrieve the coin purse, a small consideration compared to the possibility of being able to help his friend.

---

OOC: Interesting, I am assuming "Exotic Sorceress" will remain discovered for an extended time, assuming nothing within the game changes it? I'm not envisioning any way to take advantage of it at the moment IC.

A Fair (2) task? Interesting as well. Is that a GM ruled TN or is it based on something? I, based on my mistaken assumption that it would be an Overcome Action, assumed it would be passively resisted. But then again, I realized I was thinking more along the lines of FATE v2, where Aspects could be considered to have an associated adjective based on how many check blocks it had. For Example;

[ ][ ][ ] "Exotic Sorceress" could be passively defended with a Good (3) rank.

That's why I burned another FP trying to reveal it. Thinking it would have a pretty high TN. If it would have been "Diabolic Exotic Sorceress", it would have revealed her intention to me. But since it didn't, I see Cloaca going along with it under the circumstances.

Also, I am going to assume that me and Nicker have all the basic equipment we would need for general spelunking considering our jobs. If not, let me know and I will delve off into the "Labyrinthine Stacks of Goods."

"Good!" Alizia said happily, her eyes twinkling as the little ratling took the payment. "I have great faith in you. Namaraman here tells me you are a source of great income for him."

"Well!" the merchant blurted, finally unclenching his tensed-up hands, "Not exactly great income, my lady! I m-merely meant that he was... trustworthy! And reliable, and... sharp-eyed."

"He is all those things, of that I have no doubt," the enchantress said, her smoothly uttered words prickling Cloaca's fur and ears alike. She caught and held the little creature's eyes with her own once more. "I shall return here tomorrow at his same time, to see what you have found. Do we have an agreement?"

---

OOC: Her aspect (one of them) has been revealed -- permanently. I probably would have had you create a boost for the scene if you hadn't spent the Fate Point, as it would have been a tie. That is, her aspect would have stayed hidden, but you could have tagged the scene with a temporary one.

Two other things to hit on here:

1. Remember you can decide to spend Fate Points after the roll. That is, if you'd rolled one point better, you wouldn't have needed the FP to win the contest and reveal her aspect. Even now, you could decide to keep the Fate Point and take the tie -- creating the boost I mentioned above, instead. You have a lot of leeway with how and when you decide to use Fate Points.

2. In some FATE games, discovering her aspect may indeed have been better handled by an opposed roll. But this is FAE, and I think it's meant to run a little cleaner and faster. Check out p19:

quote:

We’ve talked about the four actions (create an advantage, overcome, attack, and defend) and the four outcomes (fail, tie, succeed, and succeed with style). But in what framework do those happen?

Usually, when you want to do something straightforward—swim across a raging river, hack someone’s cell phone—all you need to do is make one overcome action against a difficulty level that the GM sets. You look at your outcome and go from there.

But sometimes things are a little more complex.

It then goes on to talk about Challenges, Contests and Conflicts. So for simple one-off rolls, you'll usually (IMO) be rolling against a GM-generated difficulty. Cool?

Oh, and you have all the gear you need, yep.

Cloaca nodded to Namaraman then Alizia.

He tested the coin purse in his paw, bouncing it lightly. He really had no idea what this was meant to signify, but he had seen merchants that Namaraman traded with do it at the end of a bargain.

"Tomorrow then M'lady. I shall bring you something then. Whether trinket or only news, only the gods and time will tell."

He was reluctant to turn an leave, not wanting to show offense. He just wasn't used to such meeting and the manors associated with them.

---

OOC: Again sorry it took so long to reply and even then with a "meh" post. Just exhausted. Got home early today and passed out for a four hour nap. Probably could have slept through till tomorrow. LOL

Alizia smirked slightly, amused by the ratling's politeness. "On the morrow," she intoned, offering a slight bow.

---

Cloaca knew that returning to the place where he'd found the first fragment wouldn't be easy, but he wasn't expecting to have his path blocked so quickly. The easiest -- and driest -- access to the northern tunnels was through the north outfall. While decades of development had seen the city grow, the north side of town was still a ruin, a tumble of stones and rotten timbers from ages past. The old sewers weren't in use there, but sometimes unsavory types made camp among the ruins, unwelcome in Northwatch's inns and even barns.

That was the case now -- as Cloaca rounded the final corner, he saw that the channel leading back into the city's sewer network was occupied. A collection of perhaps a dozen gnoll mercenaries, viscous and cruel creatures, had made camp in exactly the place where he'd hoped to gain entrance to the sewers.

---

OOC: Up to you whether you're alone or with Nicker. Intent here is to force a choice -- find a way past the gnolls, or turn back and go the way you went before, which has its own perils... which we can better define if you end up going that way. Feel free to write those in yourself while working through the decision.

Cloaca froze in his tracks when he saw the encampment of Gnoll mercenaries. His nose began to sniff instinctively as his head and eyes darted side to side looking for a place to hide. Instinctively his first response was to hide. Maybe he could late sneak past them as the shadow of night closed in around them...

'There!' A small outcropping of stone and timber. He dove for it, 'It will have to do,' he hoped.

---

OOC: With the roll (-2) and my Sneaky +2 approach, I got an Average 0 result. I was shooting for Creating an Advantage Aspect: Hidden in a tumble of stones and rotten timbers! Not knowing what it will take to succeed, I really didn't feel comfortable posting more. Time will tell if he is drug from his 'hiding spot'.

If insufficient to Create an Advantage, could he succeed at a cost?
Would success be determined based on a Target Number or apposed by one of their approaches?

20:33, Today: Cloaca rolled -2 using 4 Fudge dice with rolls of -1, 0, -1, 0. To attempt to CaA for new Aspect: Hidden in a tumble of stones and rotten timbers.