In reply to warhammer (msg # 13):

As you look around. You will notice a lot of the gang members are asleep (it is after midnight).  They tend to stay close to their own groups.

No one seems to want to tale Malleable man
'S place on the roof.

The man in the demon jacket speaks up.    the name is Lord Thorne, but most still call me Henry.  And I am in charge.   Do you see the thugs fighting?  Of course not.  I take it that you see us as the bad guy?  I assure you we are not.  Look around.   Most of these people don't have anywhere else to go.  Most are runaways or from broken homes.  You, so called heroes say you care, but you don't.   You with your fancy armor.  I bet you have a nice home to go to with your 3 meals a day.  Most of these kids would kill for 3 meals a day.  Now, we are not bothering anyone.   Go home.

"Understandable, there is safety in numbers. Missing anyone lately?" Warhammer asked. "Word has it that some of your companions, rather than wearing jackets that proclaim themselves to be "Demons" have in fact become flesh and blood versions of the real things. They broke into the museum near here and Torch started a fire. I had two of them take pot shots at me. I put a burst of bullets into one covered in spikes and moments later, he got back up and kept on fighting."

Wraith will orbit the warehouse at about 10" above it searching all around and through buildings

N-Ray Perception (Touch Group), +1 to PER Roll, Discriminatory, Analyze, Increased Arc Of Perception (360 Degrees), Targeting, Telescopic:  +14, Tracking, Transmit (50 Active Points)

Per 14- 21:01, Today: Wraith rolled 11 using 3d6 ((5,1,5)).made by 3

Mal didn't go straight to the warehouse floor. Maybe he didn't make astute observations by noticing things other people didn't, but he could take his time and be thorough. What were they doing in this warehouse, anyway?

In reply to Malleable man (msg # 17):

Believe it or not. There is nothing unusual to find in the warehouse.   A lot of thugs have guns.  Other than that, it's kinda like being in a homeless shelter for street thugs.

Thorn scoffs.  Noticed you avoided the real issue.  You say demons are evil?  So far they have given us a whole lot more than any so called hero ever did.  You forget.   We have had to do unpleasant,  illegal things as well.   So, let me guess... you are going to tell us how bad these guys are, but not give us an alternative.   Personally,  if you ask me, you so called heroes are the bad guys.

Najewa slips inside and finds herself a perch high in the rafters. She listens as 'Lord Thorn' lists his grievances, and finds his points not unreasonable.

"Fair enough. Humans have always existed on the fringe of society. They are there as they do not fit in, were discarded by their families, or have fallen into the world of drug abuse and alcoholism. Still others have have created networks in order to exploit people by labor or sex trafficking." Warhammer said.

"Now, you are well aware that people rarely do things out of the goodness of their hearts. You might be doing what you think is right to keep the people from falling deeper into the dungheap of humanity but you have to ask yourself, what do they expect in return?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:01, Sat 05 Sept 2020.

In reply to warhammer (msg # 20):

Loyalty.   Just like each group here asked for Loyalty when they joined.   Now. If you want real power,  the demons do ask for more.   But it's nothing worse than what we've already done.  Just think,  no more eating out of dumpsters.  No more living on the streets.   It would be worth it.

Ooc:  Ginormica?  Are you still playing?  Note everyone is inside the building and you would have better luck convincing if you worked together.   Wraith is invisible.   Najewa is in the rafters.  Sentinel and Warhammer are together.   Malleable man is in the crowd.   Feel free to interact with other NPCs.

"What do they ask?" Sentinel floats down slowly, coming to rest just to the right of the armored hero, "I'm curious.  They ask that the host allows them in?  They promise power you've never known before?  No hunger.  No sickness.  Oi that does sounds nice doesn't it?  All you got to do is maybe hurt a few folks you probably don't know or maybe who did you wrong?  Something like that?"

The mystic shakes his head and asks, there's no mocking in his voice, "Bet you've heard a lot in your time.  Study hard and you can be great.  Social workers telling you the system will take care of you, help you get back on your feet.  I lived on the streets once, different city, really different in fact, but lot of these same problems there too.  I remember fighting for a dry place to sleep, stealing scraps and running before another hungry mouth could take it from me.  Cynical was a survival skill that kept me alive."

"So if some bloke came along and told me how he was going to take care of me, take away all my woes, give me a leg up over everyone who'd let me down...I'd know there was a catch.  A hustle.  Three-card Monte and the queen's already in the dealer's pocket."

"An I think you know that's what's going on here too."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:53, Sat 05 Sept 2020.

Has Ginormica arrived yet, you said it was a long walk :)

In reply to Sentinel (msg # 22):

Ginormica is at the warehous.  Some of the thugs are really listening to the arguments.   There are some that are not.

yes, I know exactly what is going on.   You don’t get something for nothing.   There are kids here who want more than just food every day.  Some want power. Some want revenge.

 You make how you turned your life around sound like an easy road.   You can't tell me it was an easy road.   At least the demons haven't lied that it will be easy.  To have power. I would gladly give up part of my soul.   Many here would.   Our soul hasn't exactly done us much good up to now. 

He looks up in the rafters and noticed Najewa.   This should not be possible.   It's like he knew she was there the entire time.

at least we don't hide what we are   he looks at Wraith,  even though she is invisible.   Then he looks right at Malleable man who has blended with the crowd

Mal walks through the crowd, approaching the discussion. As he walks, he changes into a passable imitation of Lord Thorne. Although he begins speaking as if he's musing aloud, he finishes speaking addressing Sentinel. "You don't hide what you are? Maybe. But I doubt anyone here can claim to actually be what they appear to be."
"I can't find a surgical suite or ritual circle anywhere. So whatever they're doing to these poor idiots is being done elsewhere. Let's see if there's a bus or train or something doing the transport so we can track it to the place."

"They are not planning on taking just a part of your soul. I mean at first that is all you give up, but the more you use the gifts they give you the less of you there will be. In the end you will be consumed by their fire and nothing of you will remain, only they will remain." Ginormica will explain.

"And that's the scam," Sentinel nods to Ginormica before turning back to Thorne and looking the man in the eye, "So I suppose if you want to get technical, the mage didn't lie to you....he just omitted a few important bits.  These entities aren't from our plane of existence, can't survive here in this foreign matter any more than you or I could in outer space.  They need a vessel to wrap em in a protective cocoon, kind of like an astronaut in a space suit."

"Thing is, takes a lot of energy to maintain that existence but fortunately for them there's a meal wrapped up with them.  You soul.  Your chi.  Your shakra.  Whatever you call the you inside this mortal coil of yours.  They only needed your permission enter, only needed a portion of your soul to get the ball rolling, to start growing.  And just like any parasite, as they grow stronger, the host grows weaker.  Eventually the original host just isn't anymore an the thing inside the shell has a full hold onto this plane."

Sentinel steps closer to Thorn, not in a threatening manner, more to emphasis his point, "For the host, in the end it's death, same as gettin shot or hit by a bus even though their body doesn't show it.  How fast just a matter of how much they gave em to start.  The few who've gone full demonic, maybe a few weeks but I'm bettin less.  Those who take a lesser amount, hard to say.   They'll make it longer, sure, but hope they didn't have anything important planned more'n six months out."

"It won't be pleasant.  Frankly, a bullet would have been kinder."

He waits a moment, waits to gauge Thorns reaction before offering, "You're being used.  I don't think any of you signed up for a suicide pact, did you?  Oi mate, let us help for it's too late."

Okay, Sentinel's seen the mage and some of his demons in action.  Heard some of the details from the curator at the museum.  Gotten some idea of the arrangement made with the teens to accept the demons in.  I'd like to see if there's anything important he can guess further about the demons themselves (plane of origin, types, pantheon, etc...) or changes that will begin to be noticed by the hosts.

20:15, Today: Sentinel rolled 14 (with 4 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system.  KS: The Mystic World 13-.
- missed by 1

20:16, Today: Sentinel rolled 8 (with 2 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system.  Deduction 13-.
- made by 5
This message was last edited by the player at 01:16, Wed 09 Sept 2020.

In reply to Sentinel (msg # 27):

A lot more thugs have started to gather around and they seem to be listening more to the heroes.  Thorn has lost a lot of his audience.

A lot of us doubt we would really loose that much.  We are nobody's in the world's eyes.  And let's face it,  nobody's going to miss us... besides,  let's say you convinced these kids.  What then?  Some don't have a home to go to, and the rest don't "want" to go home.  What then?

Malleable Man, still looking much like Lord Thorne, addresses the man, "you keep saying 'we' and 'us', but you're really not much like the people around you, are you? I'm curious as to where you came from, and what brought you into this."
"Were you, and the Demons, attempting to unite the street people before someone showed up to pass out the transformations? or did you show up at the same time that occurred?"

In reply to Malleable man (msg # 29):

Thorne is older than most of the thugs.    My role was to get these individuals to stop fighting and to work together.   

He really didn't answer Malleable man's question but neither did the heroes answer his.

Ooc:  this part is almost over.   You just have to figure out what to do with the teens.

"So what is in it for you? Give the demons five souls and get a toaster, ten you get a microwave?" Warhammer said. "Calling yourself "Lord Thorne" means that you approach leadership from a position of power, not to protect others. If you called yourself "Guardian" or "Defender" Thorne that would be a different matter. People have a tendency to support people in power as long as they feel protected. In the hierarchy of needs, you are filling their most basic, but it looks like you are the only one getting the rest of them fulfilled...at their expense."

"Seems you've accomplished that goal, getting them to stop fighting, that is.  Looks like they need something more now," Sentinel looks to Warhammer, then to the rest of the heroes before stepping forward

"You lot," he calls out, "going to see what we can do to get proper accomodations.  Maybe have the local food pantry drop off here.  That should tide things over until we can find a more permanent place for you to live."

"Meantime, any of you want to finish off your High School diploma or want help applying for a job, be at Novel Idea bookstore after 10.  Be polite to the lady and mind the cat or I'll hear about it."

He waits a moment, gauging whether they would be receptive or not.  Also to see if any of the others could offer the youths any support.

Malleable Man nods at Lord Thorne, and as he turns to address the gathered kids, Malleable Man changes. Instead of mimicking Lord Thorne, he appears as himself. But before he begins to speak, he stretches his arms and legs and shakes them around like a wavy arm guy. Once this has gathered him some attention, he shouts, "this man says you're working together, that's good. We're not here to stop you from doing what you want to do, but we've heard some of you may be forced to do things they don't want to do. I still believe if you're working together, you don't need our protection!"
"There's nothing you can't do if you set your mind to it and work together. So, it's on you. If anybody tries to force you and yours to do something they don't want to do, work together and make them stop. Just let us know if you run into anything you can't handle."
Returning to his normal size and shape, he makes his way to Lord Thorne and speaks just to him. "Ok. Your role isn't over, yet. But there's a new wrinkle. From this point on, if you fail you'll hear from me, as well as whoever set you on this task."

Najewa leaps from the rafters to land safely before the others. She says "the scythe has a mental connection to 'Lord Thorne' here. That means he either is already possessed by a demon, or has the magic to make such a connection. As for the teens, I have little I can offer. I can teach a few how to live off the land, but I suspect they all prefer living in the city, away from the wilderness."

In reply to Najewa (msg # 34):

Without warning Thorne blasts Najewa (surprise attack)

09:19, Today: Lord Thorne rolled 12 (with 3 body) using 3 with the Hero (Champions) system with rolls of 6, 5, 1.  To hit.

, Today: Lord Thorne rolled 16 (with 4 body) using 4 with the Hero (Champions)

16 Body 48 stun before surprise bonus.

it's about time you came down.   

Najewa should be at 1/2 DCV (base DCV) and take 2X stun.  Ocv is 9 on Thorne.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:36, Mon 14 Sept 2020.

In reply to Lord Thorne (msg # 35):

Wraith will move up to 20" and desolid(if more than a 1/2 move)or up to 10" and punch Lord Thorne

ocv 8 to hit roll 07:39, Today: Wraith rolled 13 using 19-3d6 ((3,1,2)). hitting DCV 13
Damage 07:41, Today: Wraith rolled 34 (with 9 body) using 9 with the Hero (Champions) system ((6, 5, 5, 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 3)).

"Possessed and using you guys for his own benefit. You might want to get cover." Warhammer said to the followers.

Sending a command to the ZF-1A, a ruby pulse of energy slammed into Lord Throne, knocking him to the ground.

OOC:Hit DCV 13 for 39 damage and 0 knockback (Knockdown).
14:38, Today: warhammer rolled 8 using 3d6.  Attack

14:40, Today: warhammer rolled 12 using 2d6.  Knockback.

14:40, Today: warhammer rolled 39 (with 12 body) using 12 with the Hero (Champions) system.  Damage.

OOC: First of all, BY HER OWN WORDS, Najewa suspected he might be possessed. She would not have dropped her guard against Lord Thorne. Yeah, you might get +1 or +2 for surprise, but not 1/2 DCV. Secondly, Najewa is in her normal human form, and is at 12 PD, only 6 of which are Resistant. If this is 4d6 RKA, this blast will likely kill her if the BODY AND STUN are doubled after bypassing defenses.