The situation
The trip into Copenhagen is uneventful, if you don't count the wyvern sizing up the jet during the descent. A military officer in his mid 30's greets you on the tarmac.

"I am Major Journi Nielsen, Danish Army," he says. "Let's get you inside and brief you on our situation." He takes you to a conference room in the airport complex.

"The city is in a fragile truce right now. Three factions have agreed, in principle, to get along: The Danish Army, the Elves, and the Trolls. I don't know how long we can keep this up. There are also Vikings here. I personally don't trust them, but they haven't caused problems lately.

"Although the technology of Core Earth still works here, there are no Delphi safehouses here. The Army will provide you with a HOFOR electric van while you are here, and you can charge it up here at the airport, the power plant, or at the facilities in the human-controlled area called Old Copenhagen.

"The odd visitors you were sent here to find were last seen in the Fredericksberg area, which is currently under elven control. They were spotted in the Tivoli Gardens area.

"As a personal favor, I would ask that you check in with Mayor Madsden at some point to discuss the city's future. The Queen's officials operating out of Germany want us to abandon Copenhagen, but we've held out longer than they expected, and I think we can survive here with the right support.

"Well, I've kept you long enough. Enjoy your stay." The Major then escorts you to the electric van.

Turning to the others, "So do you think Laplace would contact the local Church for help or should we start with trying to track down rumors of a shard?  Or try a different approach?"

In reply to Case Morrow (msg # 2):

"If this is a non combat zone, we could probably split up safely and handle tasks suited to each team member's strengths. I'm not particularly good at convincing people without using threats, so...not a diplomat." Jacob pointed out.

"Maybe we should check in with the Mayor first before we think of splitting up?  At least to see if there is any other angles?"

"It is best to follow local protocol," Johnny adds to the mayoral approach.

Ivan shrugged. "Grab priest, stand in fire until tell what want to know?" he suggested.

"Nice idea, but we haven't seen them in a few days."

"Well, let's get to City Hall (at the city square?) and see the mayor then."

OK, here is what we have discussed so far:

Jacob has offered a party split. Case and Johnny are considering taking a trip to City Hall to talk with the Mayor right away. Ivan wants to start the hunt for the Cyberpriest immediately. And Void hasn't voiced an opinion yet.

Another consideration is that the Army can only release one van to the group. If the group does split, you'll need to decide who gets the van and who has to find other transportation around the city.

I am willing to set up whatever the group decides. Logistically, if the group splits, I will set up split threads for each subgroup.

Ivan shrugged. "Hokay."

In reply to Gamemaster (msg # 9):

OOC-pretty sure the city hall goers can use public transportation or a cab. Those of us not going that route may need to have east transport for our investigation.

Void stepped forward, suddenly coming into everyone's sight once again. Her propensity to disappear when not being directly observed or interacted with was rather jarring, to say the least.

"Excuse me but in my time to understand your people, culture, and history, I have noticed something: in your 'horror movies', the time when people are most likely to die is after they have split up. Is this an apt observation on my part?" She asked in that odd and rather disconcerting voice.

In reply to Jacob Amer (Revenant) (msg # 11):

That needs to be decided by the group. If the group without the van wants to secure transportation, they can make a streetwise test at DN 8 for a single trip or DN 10 for a whole day. In addition, someone should address Void's concern about splitting the party or agree to stay together and decide on what order to tackle tasks.

In reply to Void (msg # 12):

"Is this whole area a warzone or under relative peace? I mean, let's face it-unless you wanna scare the hell outta the mayor, I won't be much good to you. Not to mention I might get you booted out of city hall." He pointed out, referring to his odd apperance.

"The elf commander, Eruvel Cathfaine, is quite reasonable, if secretive. They seem content to stay in their area as long as the Army stays away from them.

"The trolls, on the other hand, are more restless. They were bred for war, so aggressive behavior is common. Their leader, Tongue Lasher Frold, does her best to keep the other trolls in line, but it's hard when your subjects have literal rocks for brains, or so I've been told.

"There's also the wild card of the Vikings. Since the Battle of Terminal A, they have taken to raiding elsewhere, but that battle was bloody and resulted in the loss of the Viking leader and Oberstløtnant Lund." A scowl crosses the Major's face briefly. "The Army keeps tabs on them in case they try something."

In reply to Void (msg # 12):

"This not horror movie. Also have big guns and cell phones. Not worry, we protect you. Rashak rashak."

In reply to Jacob Amer (Revenant) (msg # 14):

"Elves, Vikings, Trolls...I'll bet that as long as you are on his side, the mayor would be ok if you were a talking eight legged horse.  That is just a guess, of course," Johnny says to Jacob, trying to be encouraging.

She. The Mayor is Mrs. Paulina Madsden. Other than that, you're probably correct, Mr. Ichii. She has respect for Delphi agents, no matter how they look."

"To the mayor together then?"

We have had several suggestions, but no real conclusions. I need to know if you're going together, or if you're splitting up. If you split up, I need to know which group is going in the van and how the other group(s) are planning on getting around town. Not trying to rush a decision here, but I would like to see progress toward trying to get one.

Johnny is all for everyone going to the Mayor's place. He shows this with nonverbal cues beyond what he's already said.

OOC
As stated, Case to the Mayor;-).

In reply to Case Morrow (msg # 19):

"Sure."

OOC: Void will go where Case goes.

"Well, I guess if you have trolls walking around, a man in bandages is no big deal..." He shrugs.

What once was a major thoroughfare in Copenhagen, the Amagerbrogade, has narrowed to a two-lane road due to axiom shifts. A few minutes after leaving the airport complex, Johnny (I'm assuming he's your driver as he has the most adds in land vehicles. If not, adjust accordingly and let me know so I can edit this.) stops the van as a couple of hay carts have caught on fire ahead. He is just about to turn around to get around it when two more carts behind you overturn and get hit by flaming arrows. Ivan and Johnny clearly recognize this as an ambush.

Five people approach the van. They are wearing Viking helmets and chain shirts and are wielding swords and carrying shields. One of them approaches the driver's side window and speaks.

"This is a toll area. The toll is two firing arms." Another Viking quickly whispers in this one's ear. "Excuse me, two firearms." They wait expectantly, but maintain defensive posture.

The van is too blocked in to move, but you can open the doors and get out. Due to the close quarters, long arms are useless, and handguns target their melee defense (improved by +2 for shield). Melee and unarmed options work normally.

You can fight or pay. If you pay, let me know who's giving up what. If you fight, I will flip a Drama card for initiative.

In reply to Viking Raider (msg # 26):

"Only one way to deal with a bunch of shakedown snakes..." Jacob grumbled. Still, he wondered how many of those Vikings could actual use the firearms.

Johnny exits the vehicle and says, "I will give you your arms," he turns on his katana causing the electric field to "snap" and finishes, "After I cut them from your bodies."

I guess it's clobberin' time.

Card for Round 1

All right, heroes, show these Vikings the error of their ways.

In reply to Gamemaster (msg # 29):

Jacob hops out of the car, grabs one Viking by the shield and proceeds to drag the man forward while head butting him.

OOC: Grapple at a Viking.

16:21, Today: Jacob Amer (Revenant) rolled 1 using 1d20.  Re-roll for 20.

16:21, Today: Jacob Amer (Revenant) rolled 20 using 1d20.  Grapple on Viking

Total to hit=16.

Not sure what the damage given Vikings don't have stats yet.

OOC: The Viking's melee defense is 13 (11+2 for shield). As a grapple, the damage would be 11 (STR-2). I'm not sure if you're trying to rip the shield out of his hand or just tie him up. As is, this isn't going to do much (2 Shock), but you could spend a Possibility on it. NOTE: Everyone is reset to their Starting Possibility total.

For the record, the Viking Raiders' stats are now in their description box.

In reply to Gamemaster (msg # 31):

Ooc-Putting adrenaline in my pool.

Johnny makes a forward feint followed by a full back spin overhead wrap to the vikings back, slicing through his armor like tin foil and taking him out. The move should have left him wide open, but somehow he pulls it off.

20:03, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 4 using 1d6, rerolling max.  BD.
20:02, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 7 using 1d20.  Possibility.
20:00, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 5 using 1d20.  All-out attack melee on nearest .

12+5+4=21 vs 13, good
12(2)+4=16 vs 11(2) 1wd 2shk
Johnny takes 2 shock Unflinching
Pooling Coup de Grace
This message was last edited by the player at 03:24, Fri 18 Mar 2022.

Case looks at Johnny's display and wishes he could be that cool.  He reaches into the electric samurai's mind to try to mimic a fraction of his puissant skill at arms.

OOC
23:46, Today: Case Morrow rolled 19 using 1d20.  copycat (melee)- Johnny.

16 result vs Johnny's will.

Second Chance to pool.

16 vs. willpower 9 is Good success, copying 3 adds for the duration.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:35, Fri 18 Mar 2022.

Ivan heaved himself out of the car, glowering. His knife darted out, slashing at two of the Vikings.

The Vikings are lightly scratched by the blade, although one of the cuts could develop into something more serious later.

OOC: Ivan needs a card up, and Void needs to decide if she's doing anything. One of the Vikings may be looking her way.

Void cocked her head and looked at the scene before her. She had noted a propensity for...violence, amongst the Born but this represented her first experience with it. She was intrigued and decided to join the others in defending themselves against the 'Vikings'.

Void seems to vanish for a second, only to reappear outside the van standing next to Johnny. A quick touch on his shoulder gives him hope and energy and a sense of power.

OOC: Your Storm Knights will realize that Void's touch transferred a Possibility into Johnny.


Recap of Hero Action
Johnny cuts down one Viking, reducing the total to 4. Jacob tries wrestling another Viking, who escapes but at the cost of twisting his elbow (for Shock damage). Ivan scratches two other Vikings. Case uses his psychic powers to mimic Johnny's swordplay techniques. Finally, Void slips out of the van and refreshes Johnny's Possibility expenditure.

Vikings will post their turn. The summary of damage and cards will appear at the end of their post. If people want to use the Seize Initiative to keep the current card, let me know. If not, I'll flip a new one.

Each Viking attacks one of the Storm Knights. Void's movements make her the odd one out who doesn't get targeted this round.

vs. Case:
Case manages to copy Johnny's melee weapons skill just before a sword comes swinging for him. Instinctively, he raises his lizard spear to deflect the Viking's sword, causing a scratch (2 Shock) instead of something worse.

vs. Ivan
The Viking manages to score a hit vs. the soldier's superior skill, but that same skill manages to keep the effect to minor pain (1 Shock).

vs. Jacob
This Viking scores what would be a serious blow to a living target, but against Jacob it's negligible (1 Shock).

vs. Johnny
Seeing his buddy get cut down causes a hint of hesitation in his attack, causing him to miss entirely.


19:10, Today: Viking Raider rolled 12 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Jacob.
19:09, Today: Viking Raider rolled 16 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Case.
19:17, Today: Viking Raider rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max ((1)).
19:09, Today: Viking Raider rolled 19 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Ivan.
19:08, Today: Viking Raider rolled 2 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs Johnny.

Recap Round 1
Case (0/3 Wounds 2/13 Shock) 3 Adds in Melee Weapons for 3 rounds
Cards in Pool

Title:	Second Chance
Description	Immediately reattempt a failed test. The new result replaces that failure.
	This can be played after a Mishap, preventing that effect.

Ivan (0/3 Wounds 1/7 Shock)
Cards in Pool

Title:	Action
Description	Add +3 to the total of your test.
	You may play this card after learning the result level of the test but before applying its effect.

Jacob (0/3 Wounds 1/8 Shock)
Cards in Pool

Title:	Adrenaline
Description	Add +3 to the total of a single Dexterity or Strength test, or a skill test based on such attribute.
	You may play this card after learning the result level of the test but before applying its effect.

Johnny (0/3 Wounds 2/8 Shock)
Cards in Pool

Title:	Coup de Grace
Description	Play to add 1 Bonus Die to your successful attack's damage.
	You may play this card after seeing the results of other Bonus Dice earned (including other Coup de Grace cards).

Void (0/3 Wounds 0/11 Shock)
Cards in Pool

Title:	Hero
Description	Play this card as a Possibility.
	You may only play one Hero card per test, but you may spend it in addition to regular Possibilities and/or a Drama Card.

Card for Round 2

Title:	Seriously?	Dramatic Skill Resolution	Critical Problem
Standard:	V -/H -	Dramatic:
Approved Action:	Any Multi-Action	Additional?:	Tests for the Critical Problem have additional -4 penalty

Ivan and Void should put a card into their Action Pool. Anyone who wants to Actively Defend should do so now. Once defenses are decided, I will process their next round of attacks.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Sun 27 Mar 2022.

No AD

In reply to Viking Raider (msg # 40):

No AD

No AD.
I 'colorised' a card when I made my post, should I also not it in Ooc?
('Action' for completeness).

That's fine; I just missed it. Maybe a reminder after the post that you did would help. I am editing the previous post to show the Action

The Vikings continue the assault.

vs. Case: The training Case picked up from Johnny for a time again saves him from potential major injury, deflecting a gut shot into a strike to the side. (+2 shock)

vs. Ivan: A lucky swing from the Viking connects, but the stab vest prevents penetration (+2 shock).

vs. Jacob: The strike was on point, but not very powerful. The vest deflected most of the blow. (+1 shock)

vs. Void: The Viking that struck Johnny last time sees Void bolstering him and decided she was the more relevant target. The momentary lapse of focus caused the blow to swing wildly, missing entirely.

14:43, Today: Viking Raider rolled 1 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Void.
14:43, Today: Viking Raider rolled 17 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Jacob.
14:42, Today: Viking Raider rolled 39 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Ivan.
14:42, Today: Viking Raider rolled 11 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Attack vs. Case.
14:50, Today: Viking Raider rolled 1 using 1d6, rerolling max.  Bonus die vs. Jacob.
14:50, Today: Viking Raider rolled 5 using 1d6, rerolling max.  Bonus die vs. Ivan.

Recap after Villains actions in Round 2
Case (0/3 Wounds 2/13 Shock, +2 Shock soakable) 3 Adds in Melee Weapons for 2 more rounds
Cards in Pool

Ivan (0/3 Wounds 1/7 Shock +2 Shock soakable)
Cards in Pool

Jacob (0/3 Wounds 1/8 Shock +1 Shock soakable, -1 Shock after taking action)
Cards in Pool

Johnny (0/3 Wounds 2/8 Shock)
Cards in Pool

Void (0/3 Wounds 0/11 Shock)
Cards in Pool

Card for Round 2

Heroes may now act. There are still four active Vikings.

In reply to Viking Raider (msg # 45):

"Screw this!" Jacob snarls. With one action he draws his whip from his coat, snapping and lashing out at three of the armed warriors.

OOC-spending a possiblity and my adrenaline card to hit 3 vikings. Got a damage total of 19 against 3 of them. Which should be 1 wound 2 shock.

Regenerates 1 shock.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:38, Mon 28 Mar 2022.

The 28 final die roll gets +9, 3 targets gives a -4 Multi-target penalty, and Adrenaline adds +3 for a total of +8 to the Melee of 10 gives 18, just enough for a bonus die on each. This would be rolled separately on each target, but since even a 1 on a bonus die is enough to defeat them, I won't bother. There is now one Viking left, who may not have enough time to contemplate his life choices.

Battered a bit by the Viking, an arc of flame emerges from the young man's hand to splash against the the raider.

OOC

02:46, Today: Case Morrow rolled 8 using 1d20.  pyrokinesis.

so 14 to hit no bd....so 2 shock.

Willpower into pool.

In reply to Gamemaster (msg # 47):

Occ-placing Adrenaline into my pool.

Do I get a card draw because I used a multi action?

No, because Multi-Target is different from Multi-Action. Multi-Action involves actions using different attributes (Taunt and Attack, for example) as opposed to the same action done to multiple targets.

Johnny is not accustomed to using his words in these situations, but the tableau speaks for itself. "You have one chance. Drop your weapons before I take them From your corpse," he says menacingly.

The Viking is visibly rattled.



12:31, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 20 using 1d20.  Intimidate (Unskilled)
8+7=15 vs 10, Viking is Very Stimied.

Pooling Second Wind

His face a peculiar mixture of pleasure at a good fight and indignation that the dared to hurt him, Ivan lashed out, but got nowhere.

Void took advantage of the wild swing, ducking underneath it. Then she rolled under the open van door and popped back up. When the Viking turned to continue the attack, Void slammed the door into him, knocking him down and sending him back a couple meters. The Viking, seeing he has been overpowered, fades into the shadows.


12:51, Today: Gamemaster, on behalf of Void, rolled 3 using 1d20, rerolling max
12:52, Today: Gamemaster, on behalf of Void, rolled 18 using 1d20+3, rerolling max.  Hero Card (Trick). +5 Bonus

11 Trick +5 Bonus =16. Outstanding vs. trick defense 6.

This message was last edited by the GM at 04:23, Sat 16 Apr 2022.

With the Vikings dispatched, it is a simple matter to put out the flaming carts and clear the street. The trip continues and turns onto Amager Boulevard on the way to City Hall.

Just after turning onto Amager Boulevard, the van is rocked as though a boulder had struck its roof. Ten toes attached to two ugly feet are seen wiggling over the roof. Two trolls, with feet and toes like those hanging off the roof, cheer wildly and encourage: "Ride 'em, Urk! Go! Go! Go!"

Combat from the Vikings is over, but the scene is still in effect, so cards are back in your hands. However, since there is no combat yet, cards may be played and traded from the hand.

As the driver of the van, Johnny will need to make a Difficulty 14 land vehicles test to keep the van from crashing. If he succeeds, then he engages in a contest with the troll on top of the van (land vehicles vs. unarmed combat, troll has 13 skill). Others can attempt things after we find out if the van has crashed.

At first Johnny tries to use his weight to shift the van as he would with his preferred motorcycle, but a memory of a lifetime he still isn't sure was his shifts his hands and feet into a maneuver he once watched on...a vidscreen? He pushes all other thoughts and memories aside as the one thing he is certain of in this situation comes out of his mouth:

"When driving in combat, attention must be maintained on task."

21:18, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 9 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Possibility:.
21:15, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 16 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Land Vehicle
LV 11 + 9 = 20 for Good Result

Case grabs the 'oh my god' handle as he notices the troll feet outside the window.  "Ew...nail fungus!"

Urk squats on the van as though he was riding a surfboard. The other trolls cheer him on mimicking surfing motions.

The troll has rolled a 12 on Unarmed Combat. Johnny will need to make a Land Vehicles test to keep the vehicle's speed. If he gets a Good success, he can dislodge the troll, but if the Troll gets a Good success the van will stall out.

18:44, Today: Troll rolled 9 using 1d20, rerolling max ((9)).

"we may have to fight soon." Johnny says.
17:30, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 12 using 1d20, rerolling max with rolls of 12.  And I mean it! (Possibility).

17:29, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 3 using 1d20, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  Not trolling around .

Total 13

Johnny manages to keep the van going for the time being, but Urk reacts by putting his right foot onto the hood. The shift in weight threatens to tip the van forward into a reverse wheelie. Urk's friends are noticeably impressed.


21:25, Today: Troll rolled 30 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Unarmed Combat Contest (13 base).
21:25, Today: Troll rolled 1 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Bonus for 10. Total die roll: 31 (+10 bonus)
Unarmed Combat 13 + 10 bonus = 23. Johnny will need at least a 19 to keep the van straight. If he fails, the back wheels will leave the road, stalling the van out.

Case reaches up to try to give the troll a hotfoot to help Johnny to dislodge him.

OOC

00:23, Today: Case Morrow rolled 18 using 1d20.  help johnny.
+5 (so 21)

Ivan watched the goings-on with a jaundiced eye. Bloody thing was surfing their van! Pity he couldn't shoot it for that.

"Don't those things know its rude to touch another fella's ride?" He pulled out his pistol and took aim at a larger toe...

OOC-taking an aim action.

Case counts as two extra people for the well-placed hotfoot. Between the others, one other person can be a lookout for obstacles, so that's a total of four, which gives Johnny +3 for this test. Since there may very well be gunfire after this, I am open to going into combat rounds after Johnny's test.

Johnny feels the van going into a reverse wheelie and immediately twists the handlebars and leans to shift the bike into a nose spin...only, that's not how any of this works in a van.

21:17, Today: Johnny Ichii rolled 5 using 1d20, rerolling max.  Land Vehicle .

I'd need a 13 or better on my last Possibility. Those are not odds I like.

Urk's move toward the front of the van lifts the back wheels off the pavement. Unfortunately, those are the drive wheels, and as such the van stalls in place. Urk's friends cheer and run toward him, and Urk jumps off, taking a bow.

With all wheels back in contact, the group can either leave or stay and fight them.

Case looks at the troll taking his bow and then back to Johnny, "Doesn't look like they mean to fight, just screw with the tourists to have a laugh.  Let's go."

In reply to Case Morrow (msg # 67):

"In that case, speed up. They wanna do more than show off and act like an ass, we will be ready." Jacob said, still aiming the Webly pistol just in case.

The trolls offer a quick thumbs-up as the van continues along Amager Boulevard. The slight foot-shaped dent in the roof does not affect its performance noticeably.

After a minute, the road narrows to a two-lane bridge. The bridge, however, is currently being blocked by a few dozen humanoids in brown robes. The hooded robes prevent identifying anyone's gender or race. They keep their hands tucked in their sleeves and move in the same direction across the bridge as you intend to go, but very slowly. Once the van comes to a stop, low chanting can be heard from them.

"Do you think there is a parade in front of them?" Case asks curiously as he glances to the side of the bridge to see if it has a pedestrian walkway or even a bike lane.  He then partially stands and leans out the window to try to see in front of the bunch of monks to see if they are just the tail end of some larger religious celebration.

Once stopped, Johnny cranes his head out the window to try and see in from of any of the chanters. He has a vague memory of... something... chanters ... marching slapping themselves in the face with ... the memory is gone as so many similar memories before it.

The chanters block the entirety of the bridge. At their current pace, it will take about a half hour for them to reach the other side. Once they get across, the GPS indicates the road will widen again and cross streets will appear, allowing for an easy bypass.

A quick assessment of the situation yields several options immediately:

1. Back up to a cross street on this side and detour to a new bridge. The GPS indicates a bridge to the north and another one to the south. They appear equidistant. Whether this will be faster than waiting depends on how much traffic is detouring that way.

2. Follow them in the van and wait for them to cross.

3. Follow them on foot. They are moving slowly, so it would be easy enough to catch up to them and see if you can get someone to talk. Once you see if they're in a talkative mood, you can easily move back to the van and cross when they're done.

4. Try to scare them into moving faster with gunfire or other similar loud noises. Something about that just doesn't feel right, but the thought does cross your mind.

These are not the only options; you are free to try other ideas.

"Lean on the horn?" Jacob suggested. Just running down the reglious nuts seemed wrong, but they had places to be. Needless to say, Jacob had very mixed feelings about religion these days.

"No, that would be rude," Case says over his shoulder as he hops out of the van.  The skinny young man walks ahead to the monks and without a hint of irony asks one of the chanters, "So where are you headed and what religion do you follow?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:07, Wed 20 Apr 2022.

Two of the chanters break off from the main group to talk to you. The taller one (just over 6 feet) begins speaking.

"I have recently pledged devotion to Asten, the elven goddess of secrecy. Her temple was brought here by Eruvel Cathfaine, who guides the elves here in Copenhagen. Eruvel is a former knight in the Army of Light. I hear they may join the city council."

"Yes, the Cathfaine has allowed us access into Frederiksberg for our daily pilgrimage. We meditate at the temple and then return. Although yesterday,..." The shorter one's voice trails off.

"Yes, that plane flying so low over us as we walked! I don't know if it made it to the airport. It seemed to be heading too far north and was too low. And loud, as a result of that. It was very hard for us to meditate thinking about what might have happened to them."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 03:08, Thu 21 Apr 2022.

"Neat!  I haven't seen many elves yet and Asten sounds interesting.  My folks were Episcopalian but they only went to church a few times a year.  Pretty boring."  Case looks puzzled a moment and then asks, "So does Asten help the elves live in secrecy and protect them when there is trouble?"

When the monks mention the low flying loud plane, the American doesn't really show a reaction at first and then lights up suddenly as you can almost visualize a light bulb spring to life over his head, "Oooh...say the plane wasn't pink was it?  Bright pink?"

The shorter monk answers, "Not pink, a dull gray. And it wasn't like the normal plane sound either." He/she (hard to tell from the voice and the loose-fitting robe) imitates a sound like a propeller.

The taller one jumps in, "Yeah, that's it! As for Asten, her worship is focused on chants and meditations to clear the mind so it can discern the knowledge that is hidden spiritually around us, making us better at whatever we do. Over time, it is designed to help us distinguish truth from falsehood, and make what is secret known to us."

Case face falls a little when it doesn't seem like Fate delivered Bruno to Copenhagen.  He does grin at the thought of JJs surprise if they managed to stumble across it and steal it back for her.  Though he supposes someone would have to learn how to fly a plane to make that happen.  He adds it to his mental checklist as he focuses his attention again.

With the taller one's explanation he adds an erudite, "Huh," as he chews over the information.  The Instructors didn't like God very much and made sure to point out how stupid and silly it all was when the issue came up.  And there was punishment if you did something really dumb like waste time praying instead of 'getting with the Program'.  Not that praying helped.  Though now it seemed silly not to believe, Case just wasn't sure in what though and there seemed a lot to choose from.

"Well I can sometimes see secrets if I concentrate really hard on something," he says helpfully.  "Thanks for talking with me."

The young man trots back to the van and swings back into his seat.  "They seemed nice," he remarks and then adds seriously, "Seems like a big prop plane came in low yesterday.  They weren't sure it made it to the airport but unless the pilot was very lucky, I'd bet they were working for the raiders considering they'd have to cross a bit over Asyle's boundary to get here.  The Council would have told us if they sent knights ahead of us.  It might be Brother Laplace but seems to me he was already in the city yesterday, not just arriving.  And I don't think the French would use a prop plane anymore.  So maybe someone else is playing."

Case looks out the window and smiles.  The shift in demeanor a bit noticeable.  "I don't think they'll take long to cross the bridge, and the view is interesting while we wait."

Ivan nodded at the news, but his attention was on the chanters. "Elven monks. I hear that they put their magic into their fighting instead of tossing fireballs like the rest of them." He sighed wistfully. "Love to fight one."

The two monks who were talking to Case return to the crowd of congregants. After a couple of minutes, a lane opens up enough to allow traffic to pass through.

You arrive at City Hall and are quickly ushered into the Mayor's office after they verify your Delphi Council badges.

This is the end of the scene. Destiny Cards will reset to five, then anyone can discard one card and replace it.

No discards.

HWH

(Happy With Hand)

Yeah, my cards are decent.

Ooc-Discarding Nemisis and Romance for a possibility each and drawing two new cards. Unless anyone else wants them.

I'm good here.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:31, Fri 22 Apr 2022.