In reply to Kale Arkham (msg # 48):

Yes, for all traits except for your petty magic, where you cannot add multiple tags, but only one in the trait. But the Petty Magic trait is the exception here.

Naomi waited silently near the doorway ... observant, and ready to deal with, and surprises that came along.
She wasn't happy about this, nor comfortable, but she'd hold all that inside for the moment:  and gift it to someone worthy soon enough.

Meanwhile, the Lady and the Captain could play their games of dominance, until they figured out how to play nicely with each other.

Cyrus quirked a brow and tilted his head slightly. He was taken aback by the questions, but, he was definitely willing to answer. He figured she was right to ask such questions, considering the situation they had been thrust into, and that was mostly his own doing. He touched his tongue to his lips before he began to speak.

"This life? I suppose a bit of fate and my own doing both went into it. When I joined the Imperial Forces, I was young, and malleable. I did as I was told for... years. I served here, on the Hand, as a lowly private. As I grew, and came into my own, I felt a longing. Something that answering to another man would never give me."

"But I still had much time to spend still under the thumb of Hollas. So, I became insubordinate. Unruly. An individual. And Hollas didn't like that. We fought, I ate my share of punishments, but I refused to back down. Eventually, I was dishonorably discharged. It seemed a fate worse than death, like being marked for the remainder of my days as a cog that didn't fit into the machine."

"But people aren't machines, my dear. They have hopes and dreams, wishes, and they should be allowed to live without the jurisdiction of the Empire, or the fear of punishment therein. To rebel, and break further, I started smuggling." Cyrus took a deep breath, then smirked and scratched at his chin where his scars crossed the jaw.

"But as for purposefully taking your proposition? Of course I did. I meant what I said and that you would be taken to the Remnants under my care. And I, as you will learn, am a man of my word."

I'm not entirely sure wether or not all characters in the refreshment scene get their pool dice back, or just the main one it revolves around. The  purpose of refresh scenes seems to be rewarding character building in the story, so I think it should go to any character in the scene that gives some insight in their character. For now this is the Captain, but I don't think the scene is over yet. One thing about refresh scenes is that any player (including but not limited to GM) can ask questions that have to do with this scene to flesh things out. So, if I would like to have Lady Blackbird refresh as well, I should ask her something to do with this scene to give her a chance to develop character backgrounds.

My question to Lady Blackbird:


What about Vance made you uncertain to begin with? Were you always hesitant or were you sure that things would work out with your plan to run away? If so, what gave you doubts afterwards?

Others can also ask questions still. Refresh scenes are still available for the others. Naomi can pipe in if she needs to and Snargle and Kale can have a chat in the vents if they need to. The only thing to be aware of is that when you do a refresh scene, I will advance whatever is in motion.

"Oh, you served under Hollas? It is a personal matter, then," Lady Blackbird sighed. Another unforeseen complication – not only had Vance’s past crimes gotten her in a pickle, the captain of the Hand of Sorrow had a personal vendetta against Vance.
What were the odds, really?

Well, high.

The Lady’s delicate jaw stiffened. Stupid, stupid lass, this had been perfectly predictable, but her mind has been elsewhere.

A girl was crying in her estate’s garden by the alabaster fountain, a star-filled night in Ilysium, a star-crossed lover in Ilysium. It was the last ball of the season and the last time she would ever cry. It was the night her uncle told her she was to marry Count Carlowe, and the night she received the last letter from Uriah. It was the moment she had decided to leave everything behind and flee, and the moment she had first faced the enormity of it.

"Come, dither not, for I cannot live without you, my sweet Natasha," said the letter, and then other, sweeter and saltier things that couldn’t be repeated in polite company; and then the practical details, for Uriah Flint hadn’t become a pirate king by being impractical. "You need a reliable ship, my darling; The Buzzard, under the helm of my most trusted lieutenant, should be in Ilysium next week…"
But The Buzzard had been shot down a few days earlier near Olympia, and Natasha couldn’t wait a day more. She had Naomi pack only three travel chests with the bare, bare essentials, scarcely a dozen gown or so, and she hired the first ship she found, in the worst part of the Ilysium docks.

Which happened to be The Owl.

A compendium of all the things that were wrong with it – goblins in the crew! Wanted by the authorities! Old and leaky! Captained by that Cyrus Vance, who had that… gleam in his eye, when he talked to her? For whatever reason. Probably just greed, yes. And that first mate, the shadiest man she had ever laid eyes on.

But she told herself to get on with it, and not be childish. She cloistered herself in her cabin and tried to minimise contact with the crew… hating herself for it, at the same time.

She was on her way to marry a pirate king, by the Wild Blue! The rest of her life would include many more outcasts and oddballs like those. That gave her some pause – yes, she was in love with Uriah Flint… but then again, she had always seen him in secret, during his clandestine visits to Ilysium. What was he like when he wasn’t in a nobleman’s disguise, when he reigned in his own territory, at ease in the depths of the Remnants? Perhaps he didn’t look so different from any member of that motley crew, just bigger and meaner? Alright, and sexier…

She shook her head irritably. Enough daydreaming, enough told-you-so. She was where she was, misgivings or no misgivings, The Owl was her only means of escaping that blasted wedding. And Naomi and her couldn’t pilot it on their own, well, she still needed Vance, Arkham and Sgurgle... Surgle? Oh, whatever.

"Very well, captain Vance. I shall trust your word then, for I have scarce choice in the matter at present. But know this: should you betray my trust in any way, the very Uriah Flint will stop at nothing until he has your head as a mantelpiece," she said levelly, doing her best to sound dangerous in her pale blue dressing gown. "And you will be richly rewarded, naturally," she added, with some distaste.

All he cared about, clearly.

Naomi, checking out the doorway for any incoming threats, rolled her eyes.
‘Forget Flint’, she thought.  ‘He’s nowhere as close as I am.   And there may not be a head to mount on no mantelpiece’.

Turning back, she simply said, “Ways clear. Let’s do this”; motioning for the ‘bound prisoner’ to move ahead of her.
That taser-baton rested easily, even comfortably, in her hand.

Alright, so the dice pools of both Cyrus Vance and Lady Blackbird have been refreshed.

As Cyrus was answering the Lady we cut to some scenes happening at the same time.



A tube arriving at a desk. A man, backlit, reaching for it, opening it and reading it.



We see an extreme close up. Eyebrows raised. We hear a growling voice say: "Vance..."



We see Hollas scribbling, frantically, stamping a document and sending it back into the tube quickly and efficiently.



Smash cut to a hallway where a caped imperial Captain Hollas, flanked by two marines are marching towards the brig. The sound of jackboots hitting the steel floor. Hollas smirks. "Got you now, Vance.", he mumbles.

---

Meanwhile, in the vents — Snargle and Kale are moving about silently and undetected, but where to go? Who will take the lead? It looks like Kale wanted to use Mechanic: Sabotage? That would give him three dice to start with. I'd wager that in the mechanic trait, Engines would also be applicable, so that would be four dice. If Snargle can find a way to help him out he can receive a helping die from Snargle. Then you can add however many die from your pool as you want. If you fail you get them back and gain an extra pool die. If you succeed you loose the pool dice you wagered.

As the disguised group moves on through the hallway, they pass multiple people doing their own things. Let's see how good you are at acting, all. Someone make an acting roll, others, aid how you please and give helping dice like this (one a person only).

As you are out of the door the camera zooms in on the tube station in the brig. A tube plops out, with nobody there to read it. The camera zooms in, a faint sound of jackboots on steel floors.

As the ‘apparent authority’ here … the Imperial Guard escorting prisoners … Naomi knew that it was her appearence and perceived authority that would either draw attention, or blend them into the scene among them.

Luckily, Naomi was a Keen and insightful woman, who’d lived among liars all of her life. And she’d picked up a lot of confidence and tricks (and confidence tricks) along the way.

Besides, what was an Emperial Prison Guard but a thuggish brute with attitude and a weapon?  Surely she could pull that off.
So she walked with a strong, arrogant gait: shoving the insolent prisoner* along, and keeping a protective aware  eye upon the damsel.
       * After the way his crew had just spoken to her Lady, Naomi found some small pleasure in enacting such brutishness towards the man before her
The truth was, Naomi remained alert for any threat to ‘the damsel’: ready to respond to her safety over all other matters, if the need called for it.   Key of the Guardian?


- rolled 5,5,5,3,2,1,2.  1d + Keen: Insightful, Aware, Liars + 2 pool.
I, of course, invite the good Lady and the Captain to ‘help out’.    When you do, roll that extra die for us, and add it to our total, please
This message was last edited by the player at 10:26, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

I figure Snargle has enough cursory ship knowledge (being a pilot) to help figure out where the engine would be. He's also probably more accustom to the tight spaces being a shapeshifter living outside the law. So he'd be able to offer a little advice going through.

"Ha! Serves ye right, ye bastard!" Natasha cackled, sticking her tongue out at Vance. "Now youse getting a taste of youse own medicine, oi? How's that, oi! He picks I's up at the Nightport, he does," she said, addressing Naomi now, "an' he says, oi, pretty young maid, how's youse for a pleasure cruise, milady? He says, the filthy maggot! Oi, a cruise, says I, skedaddle!, ye scurvy brigand, I's no milady for the miladyin' away, and ye thinks I's a simpleton? No, faith, says he, an imperial guinea per day I's giving you for your sweet affection, so says he, for as long as youse sails with I's! This he says, the rotten liar, he did! And I's been rollin' an' tumblin' in that rusty tin for no less than a for'nite, an' not a rotten penny to be seen!"

She thought about spitting, but discarded it. It wouldn't look convincing, she had never done it before. What if she hit Naomi instead? She hooked a hand in Naomi's arm instead.

"Kick he's teeth in, good guard, do! No more smilin' up the wenches you're doin', nay! Youse just dessert ye's getting, ye louse, ye rapscallion! "

---

11:27, Today: Lady Blackbird rolled 4 using 1d6 with rolls of 4.  Helping Naomi with her Imperial Guard routine.

EDIT: Oh, before I forget, is this Key of the Imposter again, Questioneer?
This message was last edited by the player at 12:02, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

"So, I figure we go jigger some wiring somewhere...like ratmites have been at them, in a couple of places."
He shifted around and produced a small plastic wrapped package and held it up in the dim light to show Snargle. "I reckon if I mix this crap mizodust with some engine oil, I can make it look, and smell enough like their shit."
Tucking it back into one of many pockets, he started crawling forward.
"...A few key wires, here and there...they'll be buzzing around setting traps, and we can find bigger targets,.."



Secret of Concealment- crappy street drugs

"What, that's it? Chew up some wires?" Snargle gave Kale an incredulous look. "Come on, think bigger. We don't need to cover our tracks if we blow up the evidence. Can't we break their cooling pipes? Flood their engine room. If we break it in a few places, they're going to be running all over. Meanwhile, we get back to the ship and bolt before they're back online."

Snargle eyes gleamed in the dark vent as he imagined the epic explosions and chaos that would ensue.

Kale shrugged.
"Bigger...sure..gimme a moment."
He pulled out the small packet again, licked a finger, dipped it in, and rubbed it on his gums. Then looked at the shimmering and shining vents for inspiration.
"....air vents....cooling...heating...ratmites too small..." He muttered.
His eyes flashed in the dim light as he hit on something.
"...Small shuttle...fires up, full speed..straight through an inner hull wall, into the main body of the ship."
He grinned.
"And we'd already be near the ship to bolt as well..."

Snargle's ears twitched and he gave a wolfish grin, "I heard the word 'fire.' What's the idea?"

His eyes glinted with excitement as Kale outlined the idea.
"We set a shuttle to auto pilot. Disable the safeties, and send it flying through the ship...smashing its way to the command deck..if we aim it right."
Then a little crazy stepped in from the md-buzz.
"We could be on it..firing what weapons it has as well..more firepower..and the Best View!"

Snargle's grin grew from ear to ear, literally. Then retracted it a bit, rememberimg that non-goblins found that creepy.

"Ohoho. I like that idea. Command deck is on the top of the ship, right?" he asked. He was already crawling towards the shuttle bay while running the vectors and courses through his head, thinking about how the possible blind spots for the gunnery and sonar.

Cyrus stumbled from the push, and sneered as he barely caught himself. That shove was a bit more sincere than he was anticipating.

“Aye! I invited the lady aboard the ship, I did! But cause I thought her a beautiful girl. Most breathtakin’ sight in all the Blue, she was! Wanted to skitter away from the life she lived, aye, and I did nothin’ but offer a safe bed with me open arms! That ain’t a crime, now is it?” Cyrus asked, pulling his commoners’ accent from what he remembered his grandfather sounded like. A crazy old man, but loveable and heavy in his words.

---

Cyrus Vance rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  Helping to sell the routine.

Let's all say that if I forget to tell what the difficulty is, that it'll be a 2.

The Disguised Group succeeds in their subterfuge for now. Nobody seems to care. And yes, the Key of the Impostor and the Key of the Guardian have been hit. Take XP for that.
Where are you planning to go next?

The Vent Rats need to give me a roll still I think. Or if you rolled, feel free to paste it from the dice-roller here. The difficulty is 2, the objective is to find your way to the engine room. If you fail it will either take longer or have another complication of my devising happen along the way. Good use of the secret of concealment!

As soon as the three of them rounded a corner and were without earshot of the marines, the Lady let go a little laugh.

"That was certainly invigorating!" she whispered, a blush of excitement on her cheeks. "Mama always used to say I would have been such a great actress, had I been lowborn. She meant that as chastisement, naturally," Natasha shrugged, very pleased with their choral performance.

She looked around; all the corridors looked the same to her: long metallic bowels with no clear destination.

"Which way to The Owl? I put forward that we wait for the first mate in the ship, with engines and whatnot at the ready, so we can beat a hasty escape as soon as he's back. Oh, and the goblin. If we categorically must, that is."
This message was last edited by the player at 10:11, Tue 03 Aug 2021.

Kale has to be the one to roll but I think I gave him a helping dice

23:35, Today: Kale Arkham rolled 37 using 10d6 ((5,5,4,3,4,2,6,1,6,1)).
Included Snargels die
This message was last edited by the player at 13:36, Tue 03 Aug 2021.

Also, I'd like to do a refreshment scene with Kale but obviously talking while sneaking in the vents doesn't work so I was thinking we could do a flashback. Technically if it's a flashback, Naomi could join since she didn't get one earlier.
---------
It would seem strange to some, but being in these vents and hearing the hissing of steam and rushing water made Snargle homesick for the Owl.

His mind brought him back to crawling under the Owl's engine. Kale had dropped a screwdriver under the engine and it landed right between the two heating coils. It was one of the few places he couldn't reach to get it back and a collection of lost tools had gathered there. Snargle was the only one small and malleable enough to get them back. It was a bit demeaning but no one else could do it and Snargle couldn't say no to that.

The muscle and cartilage in Snargle's arm stretched and warped as he gingerly slipped between the coils. The coils were off, of course, but the lingering heat would still be enough to burn him. That also meant the engines were off but the Owl was still gliding along, albeit slowly.

One by one, Snargle started to pull out tools and hand them to Kale. Then he pulled out a long rod with a rippled hook at the end. One of Kale's lockpicks?

Snargle handed it up to him, "What the heck is this for?"

"I could tell you but I'd have to kill you.-engineers rules. I dont make em."
He snatches it up.
"Ah..I missed you my sweet."
He looked back down at Snargle after the happy reunion.
"oh..thanks.."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:48, Tue 03 Aug 2021.

"You too need to be alone?" Snargle asked Kale, handing him the last of the tools. "I don't want to interrupt your reunion"