Screech is an older human street rat who is in the pocket of the Triads...or the Yakuza...or who knows this week. His BTL habit keeps him desperate for cash and his morals kinda loose.

Brannigan gets a message on his commlink directly.

"Hoi chummer. Dis is Screech. You might not know me. I need...um...a place for a party in Puyallup that can be fixed up a little. I keep lookin' but I ain't found a place that won't fall over. Hit me up if you find anything...there's nuyen in it and I heard you got a need."

Reyna’s commlink buzzes as a message from Bianca flashes onto her goggles, “+Someone’s been spamming everyone they can reach about looking for a place to party. You mentioned that you needed a job, so here’s their contact. Good luck and tell me how it goes later!+” Reyna flops into a worn bed as she starts composing a message for Screech, “+Chummer, Reyna here. I heard that you needed a line on a place to party. I don’t have one now, but I think I can help you out with a little bit of matrix digging or old-fashioned footwork. I need money for next month’s rent, so get back to me about employment terms?+”

Once her message has been sent, she closes her eyes and lets her mind detach itself from her body and enter hot-sim. She keeps one digital eye on the icon for her commlink as she begins to spin up a search engine.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:12, Sun 11 Dec 2022.

Brannigan frowned in surprise as his comlink went off right as he was leaving the bar after being told by Caitlin that she had no work for him. He wasn't desperate...not yet, at least...but he did need to make some nuyen for the month. He almost missed a step as he quickly brought the message up on his image link.

The message came up in the field of vision of his cybereye. He read it, pausing during the read-through to ask himself, "Screech? Who the frag is...oh wait!" He snapped his fingers as he remembered. Then he immediately frowned in confusion, shaking his head. "Wait, that tweaker...has a job?? The world's officially upside down." There was a light lilt to his accent denoting his Irish descent.

He shot a quick message back, +Need more info, chummer. How big? What kinda party? How long til it's needed? How much nuyen?+

He got in to his car and started driving slowly as he racked his brain for places that meet be usable.

The flophouse that Greer had carved out was a pile of dirty clothes and trash; as such his beat up Meta Link buzzed for quite some time before the Ork opened an eye and grunted, throwing his hand out to dive into the pockets of his sweatshirt to fish it out.  He grunted as the tweaked out voice of Screech rang out of the speaker.

Chop didn't mind Screech that bad; the guy had some bad taste but they often traded BTLs together.  But hearing that the tweak had a job for him.  Well, that was new.  "Vutma must be lost in a BTL schiz..."  But there was nothing better to do but warmup today; the next bout was too long away.  If there was a job, it would put gas in the tank.

He poked at the Link.  +This better not be a goose chase, Screech.+
This message was last edited by the player at 03:38, Fri 09 Dec 2022.

Winter only knew Screech as a vaguely rat-like junkie, always trying to pawn some junk for a handful of nuyen. So when Wen told her he was hiring someone to find him a building in Puyallup of all places, she was quite taken aback. That has to be a scheme of some kind, she thought, and one that is going to end badly for all involved. But curiosity (and a need to make her next payment to a certain loan shark) won over and she quickly send out a message to the unlikely employer:

+Heard you were looking for a place for something and were willing to pay for it. Got 3 questions for you:
1. How much?
2. What exactly are you looking for?
3. And, most importantly, HOW MUCH?+

Getting Screech to reply to the link is strange. For 20 minutes at a time he's not really there. Other times you get back message like "Grumpunh lug"

Eventually, you get a somewhat coherent reply. His transcription algorithm must be the most dirt cheap one on the market because no human would say "Regan" for the word "right". With some effort for translation, the answer you get back is mildly coherent frequently profane with the same basic responses.

"What, you got something?"
"No, why you wasting my time?"

"How much? You got nothing so I ain't payin' you drek."
"It's a finder's fee.
"If you find somethin' then we can discuss  the fee."
"Until then.... frag off..."

Brannigan frowned at the random, incomprehensible messages. Was he for real? Was he tweaked out? He let out a sigh. If he wasn't so desperate to make sure he had enough nuyen before the first of the month...

He drew in a deep breath and sent a similar message to the first, +Sure, I know a couple places but how big you need and what kind of party? How long until it's needed?+

He kept driving, scoping out places that might work, but really he kind of needed the info to make a good choice.

Winter deciphers the meaning of Screech's messages... she thinks.

+So, you are looking for some place and we are going to discuss the fee when it is found. A-ha. Details, Screech. How big a place? Do you need a whole building or would a part of one do? Does it matter where in the Puyallup it is? When do you need it? What do you need it for? And yes, if you are paying after you get what you need, then we should agree on the fee before that. Lest you later decide that half a soy-burger is a fair finder's fee.+

OOC: Going with the assumption that the guy send this to all of us. I'm trying Area Knowledge to see if Winter knows of a suitable place for whatever this guy is up to. Pretty good roll, though Winter doesn't have the knowledge skill on Puyallup specifically.

21:29, Today: Winter rolled 6 successes using 7d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5.  Area Knowledge (Seattle).

Reyna frowned as her commlink's icon notified her of the stream of barely comprehensible message. ‘So, he wants me to find something before he'll talk about money. I guess I didn’t have anything pressing that I needed to get done today.’ She retreats back into her flesh as she blinks her eyes open and leans on her arm as she sits up, ‘I guess my best option is to find someone I can ask questions since I didn't find anything on the matrix.’

She reaches over to a small table and grabs her commlink before swiping through the number on it until she settles on one and starts tapping away at the screen as she composes her message, ”+Hey Chop Chop, have you already seen Screech’s messages? I’m planning on wandering around the barrens to ask about places, and I wanted to know if you’d be willing to help keep trouble away from me while I do so?+”

Chop rolled is eyes at the message.  That was the kind of reply he expected.  He was about to ignore the message altogether when a second one popped up.  It was from Reyna, one of those technokids that had moved into the Barrens lately.  She was certainly a good sort and it seemed like it would be good for some fun to head out around.    He typed out a quick message as he got dressed, his usual workout gear that would be good for a small boost of intimidation to shoo away the rats while they snooped around.

"+Sure thing Rey- want to meet me at the Black Junk Yards and we can span out from there?  I have half a mind to tell the idiot to check the lava flows..."

As he started to get ready to go, he started to think about places in the Barrens and beyond in the general district that would be a good place to check out.

Going to use his Puyallup Barrens AK to bolster their walk.

14:57, Today: Chop Chop rolled 4 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5.

Reyna heard her commlink buzz as a message flashed across her goggles. With a smile, she started tapping into the air with her gloves, “+Sounds good! I’ll grab a bus and be there soon.+” She dressed herself in a set of clothes she had picked up from a barrens vending machine to try and blend in. Overtop it, she threw on her armored jacket and tucked her shock gloves into the inside pocket as she tossed a handful of chips into a small tin.

With her preparations complete, she pulled her hood up and her shoes on as she began jogging to the bus stop, and, from there, to the Black Junk Yards.

Upon her uneventful arrival, Reyna hunts for a relatively safe car husk to sit and wait inside for Chop Chop. Her eyes swing back and forth as she silently runs her living persona to alternate scans of her surroundings in AR for icons running silent and longer range scans for icons in case she needs to find someplace else to duck down and wait for him.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:15, Tue 13 Dec 2022.

The day is currently mild with a light mist coming in from the ocean. Rain will come later in the evening.

Following up on a few ideas, our team makes their way variously into the Barrens. It's environs live up to the hype. Stripped husks of car litter the streets no longer containing enough metal to be worth salvaging. More building have collapsed into rubble since the last time you were here. Only a couple of new streets are blocked off.

There are a number of inhabitants loitering on street corners or lurking in doorways. Rough dirty clothes are a standard here with the occasional cart of detritus being pushed around.

Brannigan pulled over and parked, leaving the car running as he closed his eyes in frustration for a long moment, picturing a nice fun image of throttling Screech. His fingers twitched a bit but then he calmed down once more and shook his head. "what to do, what to do."

Then he sent out a message to a couple people together, Reyna and Winter. +Hoi, ladies. Got a possible quick job. Not sure of cash. Crazed addict unhelpfully offering scratch for a place to party with zero details. I know a couple possibilities but can't check 'em all myself. Interested?+

Reyna reclines the seat of the car she's sitting in as she puts her shoes onto the dashboard. When her commlink buzzes, she flips it out and reads Brannigan's message. She lets out a contemplative 'hmmm' as she thinks it over before typing out her message. "+Brannigan, it sounds like you're looking into Screech's thing as well. Me and Chop Chop are meeting at the Black Junk Yards, so if you'd like to meet us there, then I'm sure at the very least we'll all get to spend a day exploring the barrens. You're welcome as well Winter. I don't think that Chop Chop will be too upset if more people tag along. Especially, since there's a distinct possibility that Screech may not actually have any money.+" With a flourish, she snaps her commlink closed and tucks it into her jacket before returning to watching for threats and her companions.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:28, Thu 15 Dec 2022.

Chop muttered to himself as he put his jacket and shades on.  He could be sleeping right now... Or slotting a chip... or doing anything right now if it wasn't for that idiot and his wild goose chase.  But right now, it was at least something.  If they walked around a bit, it would give him some cardio at least.  The sound of his Morgan rumbled as he climbed into it, then took off for the Yards.  The place as as much swap meet as junk repository, so at least that would be fun hunting...

Tearing through the broken roads out from his squat, the Morgan did its usual jittery bump and jump over the Barrens roads until suddenly it was visible coming up at the Yard, his tusks and shades gleaming in the light and plastic tarp over the frame flapping behind him like some sort of cape.  With a screech he stopped just by where Reyna was and got out, locking the car up against a lightpole.

"Skraa Reyna!" he said waving to her, his tusked grin always looking like a million nuyen.  "Think we're actually gonna see some yerz outta this?"

Reyna's attention is ripped away from the matrix by the screech of a car coming to a stop near her. In her surprise, she makes an abortive attempt to hastily get out of the car and find cover, but merely stumbles out and onto the ground with a thump. Upon hearing Chop Chop calling out rather than some danger, she rolls over, dusts herself off, and gets up as she answers, "I don't think so, but I think we'll at least find something interesting." She pauses for a moment before continuing, her words filled with more uncertainty about his response, "Brannigan sent me and Winter a message about Screech's search while I was waiting. I invited them to wander the barrens with us, but if that's not ok with you, then I can apologize and tell them that I'll meet them some other time." With the most difficult part over, she adds, "So where did you think we should go first?"

Winter replies to Brannigan's message. +Yeah, I heard that quote-unquote job offer, as has probably half the city. If Screech was hoping to keep this event he has planed discreet, he is in for a surprise. But that's his problem, right? Anyway, I got nothing better to do, so might as well give this a try.+

As she's packing her gear (better take a gun for this one, she thinks) she hears from Reyna as well. +Sounds good. I'm on my way.+

With that she gets on her bike and takes off in the direction of the Black Junk Yards.

Brannigan replied to Reyna. +Yes. Same 'job'. He reached out to me specifically, but I guess spammed others as well.+ Small pause. +Yeah, okay. I can show up there.+

He nodded slightly and rolled his eyes, agreeing with Winter's words about Screech and the 'job'. He was going to be pissed if this was all for nothing, or if Screech didn't pay. Or tried to frag them over. And Screech wouldn't like if that was the case.

To Winter he replied, +Well, he's being a hoopfragger about details and answering questions, which isn't making me happy, but I'll see you at the junkyard.+

He made a turn and changed his driving direction to head to the junkyard.

Chop shrugged with a grin. "No prob, big enough Barrens for alla us," he replies before hookig his shades onto his shirt.  "Maybe together he can figure what Screech is up to."

The pile of metal discards nominally named the Black Junk Yards is an unexpected meting place. If there are any sales of salvage happening it's far away from here. Any functional parts would be hard to find among all rusted hulks.

The night is split by lights as new vehicles invade. It's only a gathering spot, but being out of the way a not unreasonable one. Their presence is short lived as they soon move further into the Puyallup....destination unknown.

Upon seeing the cars pulling into the junkyard, Reyna cups her hands and leans forward as she shouts, "Winter, Brannigan, we're over here!" After shouting, she leans back onto her hands to wait for the others to approach before she continues in a more relaxed tone, "Do any of you have ideas about where we should start asking questions, or do you just want to pick a direction and go? I couldn't find any leads on the grid, so I'm up for either."

Winter takes off her helmet and nods in greeting. "The way I see it, we have three options."

"First, we look for a place in Loveland. Least likely to have a building fall down on us, but it does mean dealing with Mafia or, less likely to work, Yakuza. If our... employer is looking for privacy for whatever he has planned, I am not sure this would be acceptable."

"Second, we look for a place down in Carbanado. Problem here is we would have to make a deal with the orcs, and it would likely be expensive. And somehow I am getting a distinct impression Screech doesn't actually have the money for that, at least not yet."

"And finally, there's Hell's Kitchen. We should be able to find someplace there that is at the very least still standing, and for free or at least very cheap. It's also most likely to have a building fall on us, and we would probably have to deal with the local squatters."

She shrugs her shoulders. "As for what I would recommend, well, none of the these choices are particularly great. But from what I can gather for Screech's screeching, I think Hell's Kitchen may be the closest to what he is looking for. Because if he wanted to and had the money for it, I believe he would have just rented a place elsewhere himself."

"That's the way I see it, anyway. Not sure how I feel about kicking out some poor bastards to the curb for that sleazebag's scheme though. Especially since I am not convinced he has or will ever have the money to pay us for it."

Reyna nods along to Winters's explanation before answering, "I'm not sure that I'd want to pick a fight over this either. Maybe we can negotiate a usage fee with the residents, convince Screech to invite them to whatever he's planning, or set them up at a coffin hotel for the night? I can't imagine that Screech has enough drugs to make whatever he's planning last very long, so hopefully it'd be a small enough disruption to their routines that they'd be interested."

"If we're talkin' fee for the residents, my votes Carbonado.  I could talk to the guyz and get a deal maybe, but it depends on what Screech has in mind."  He leaned against Reyna's car and crossed his arms in thought.  "Gettin' info out of him is a pile o' drek lately.  I ain't letting him loose in there if he's bringing in some Humanis idiots or somein."

Brannigan parked and got out of his car after he showed up. He walked towards the little gathering and opened his mouth - but Winter just steamrolled over the information he was going to suggest. He stared at her, brow furrowed, looking a little bit hurt and angry, like she'd stolen not only his thunder but the fragging clouds themselves too.

"Yeah. Well. Frag. Those were the ideas I had too."

He looked down and let out a sigh. This day was not getting better as time went on. He rubbed one eye for a second.

"Hell's Kitchen is likely the easiest and cheapest but...whatever." He gave a shrug.

Reyna casts a downward look and seems a little uncomfortable as she suggests, "If we really want more information, then I could scoop his commlink's matrix history and see who else he's been talking to and what he's been looking into. It's not something that I'd want to make a habit of doing, especially with anyone of importance, but he's not really being very helpful and he's kind of a nobody. It'd take some time to sift through it, but it'd give us a lot more information than we have right now. It should also be undetectable unless he has some," she raises a hand and wiggles her fingers in the air as she finishes her sentence with a bit more flair and energy, "sourcery of his own."

"Great minds think alike." Winter replies to Brannigan. "I guess so do the idiots, but let's hope we are in the former category."

"As for hacking his comm, I'd say go ahead. Normally I'd consider hacking an employer's comm to be a serious faux pas, but since the weasel is yet to actually hire us, why not? It might help us figure out what the hell he wants in the first place."

Chop nods with the ideas so far.  It wasn't too bad to see through Screech's link just to figure who he's been yelling at.  "Innameantime, do we wanna check out the Kitchen and see if there's anything stupid going on there tonight just in case we suggest it?"

Reyna slides herself off the hood of the car and lands with a slight thump as she affirms, "Sure, that sounds good. I think that I can do the hack during the car ride over. After all, there's no sense in all of us just standing here while I work."

Brannigan raised one eyebrow at Reyna and said, "Normally? I'd be a little hesitant as well, probably - but Screech?" He shook his head. "He kinda brought this on himself, you know? If he was more forthcoming and less crazed jerk, this would be a whole lot simpler. So hack away I say."

He glanced at Chop Chop and shrugged. "Sure." He looked at everyone. "We all riding separately?"

“I’m glad that everyone’s open to hacking Screech. Hopefully there’s something useful that I can find,” Reyna answers before she pauses. Looking slightly more embarrassed, she continues ”I’d be grateful if I could get a ride from one of you, so I can work in VR and avoid the buses.”

Brannigan gave a half-shrug and a 'come on' gesture with one hand. "Sure. I've got a four-door, so whoever needs a ride is welcome." He then adopted a mock-stern look. "Just wipe your feet before you get in." before chuckling.

He headed to the Americar and unlocked it, getting in.

"Sounds good. Let's see if we can find some place that won't fall on our heads in there." Winter puts her helmet back on before heading for Hell's Kitchen.

OOC: GM, does Winter know of some promising places in Hell's Kitchen where we could start our search? Assuming we get there without issues, of course.

Chop nodded.  "If ya don't mind, I'll hop in with.  Don't need a whole caravan pissing off the Kitchen.  I should move my Morgan before it gets thought of as junk first."  As he starts to find a place to stash the off-road vehicle, he thinks about what he knows of the Hell's Kitchen area.

OOC: Rolling for AK Puyallup Barrens to help with knowledge specifically of the HK area.
09:23, Today: Chop Chop rolled 2 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 ((5,6,1,2,4,1,2,2)).

Reyna says, “Thank you Brannigan, I’ll probably spend a good chunk of the ride unconscious.” She approaches his car before scraping her shoes against the road and climbing in. Once she’s buckled herself in, she gets ready to switch to VR and do her work.

Winter plans on following after the car on her bike. Well, scooter, really.

Brannigan paused and stared at Chop Chop with a mock glare for a long moment. Then he grinned and let out a chuckle. "I don't mind at all. The more the merrier, especially if she's gonna be zonked out most of the ride, you know? Otherwise, I'll just listen to music."

Winter knows Puyallup moderately well, but some doors don't open for her. Chop knows of a local chopshop called Ork Mechanics, Ya that he can stash his bike. They're a four blocks away. They can't really deter anyone really determined to get to the bikes, but they should be able to keep the casual vandal away.

"I just figger that it's less conspicuous if we have a whole party going one place.  People get trigger happy when they get antsy."  He made sure that his Morgan was hidden from sight and locked up and then took a seat in Brannigan's car.

After dropping off Chop Chop's bike off at Ork Mechanics, Ya , he piles into Brannigan's car with Reyna. In short order, Reyna starts to find Screech's commlink and her RAS Override causes her body to relax making her appear to be asleep.

Brannigan and Chop Chop turn their attention to places in Hell's Kitchen. The Cabinet has already sunk into the ashy swamp that formed under it.

Regulus Joint Industries sold their facility to Yamatestu before the rename to Evo. However, Evo never did anything with it. The building still has the Regulus logo on it. Locals call it the Pilings as it's been built above the ash which might keep it from the same fate as the Cabinet.

The Hollows is a collection of old stone domes slightly buried in the ash. Vedacorp originally built it before they were taken over by Saeder-Krupp. Recently the Yakuza had used it for a Jazz lab, though they have pulled out four months ago.

The Skull is named by the way it looks from the outside. Most of the industrial facility is buried now, but the part left above ground looks like a skull. There's a lot of the facility accessible and the Black Rains patrol it irregularly.

None of these places are accessible by vehicle, but you can get close and walk.

Brannigan glanced over at Reyna. "Welp, she's out." He glanced back at Chop Chop. "So. You muscle? Or something else?"

He made a noise at the Regulus building. "That's...a good possibility." He nodded. "I think we check that one out first. The Hollows is...either a good option or a really bad one. Nature abhors a vacuum I hear and after the Yaks pulled out, someone else likely moved in."

He found a place to park within walking distance of at least Regulus where their vehicle were the least likely to be disturbed and waited for Reyna to finish up and Winter to join them.

Winter pulls up by Brannigan's car. From her scooter's trunk she pulls out a duffel bag with various tools. Her helmet she leaves on the bike, but between the hood of her coat, her glasses and the respirator, there's very little of her face visible anyway. Shouldering the bag, she looks around the ash wasteland. "We're checking out the Regulus then? Any news from our matrix specialist?"

OOC: Sounds good. Should we try for a stealthy approach until we know what we are getting ourselves into here? Winter could take point if that's desirable.

Reyna climbs out of Brannigan's car with a distracted movement. You can see her eyes darting back and forth as she looks through information on her goggles as she says, "Apparently Screech has been bugging people for at least the last 4 days, but I've got six commcodes that he's been contacting repeatedly. Actually cracking his commlink open is a bit beyond me unless I can corner him in a host, or we get me closer to wherever he's hiding. It'll take me some time to check them all out, but I can do that while we walk. By the by, are any of these familiar?" Reyna lists out the six commcodes so the rest of the party can see if they recognize any of them.

OOC: Reyna isn't completely incompetent at sneaking, but it's a close thing. Maybe she could talk to and distract people?

The Regulus facility is a series of seven building built on the slopes of Mount Rainier after the eruption. In spite of their efforts the building never really stayed clean. The entire effect leaves all the buildings a matte gray. Long since abandoned, a few optimists decorated them with leftover paint. The blowing ash has long since been muted.

The buildings are on stilts. There are five sets of ladders and seven entrances to the buildings.

OOC: There is a difference in the entrances, so you have another choice.

Winter looks over the commcodes without much hope. "Nope, I got nothing. Anything else in his commlink that could clue us in on what the weasel is looking for? Or where he has been looking for it?"

OOC: I guess we can start with the closest building and go from there? Go for the entrance and see if anyone's home?
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Sat 31 Dec 2022.

Brannigan listened to Reyna and then gave a shrug. He shook his head. "Unless everyone's good at bein' stealthy, I saw we just pick a door, an' walk in like we own the place." He gave a shrug and a wide grin.

Then he headed towards the closest entrance.

As you step up to the door of the nearest entrance, you can hear screeches that sound vaguely melodious, but very loud. The entrance doors were glass which has long since been broken in. The entrance way is clear, but there is ash streaking the floor, blown in from the surrounding area and debris from the slow collapse of the structure. The floors seem solid here, but the two story ceiling is falling in.

Stepping through the entrance, this area was obviously a lobby of sorts. It's two stories with a large amount of glass broken in various piles on the floor. There were a few gardening beds along the walls over grown with a couple of trees covered with vines. The source of the loud screeching are half a dozen medium sized birds flying in the upper story and calling noisily.

Across from the door, is a splintered pile of some sort of furniture. It seems to have collapsed under it's own weight. There is a smear of brownish color on the floor curving around from behind it. Further behind this pile is a doorway leading to a darkened corridor

Looking deeper into the rooms, there are some wide steps down to left leading to an open area. There are two doorways out of the larger area, though you can't see what those lead to. Toward the inner wall, there is a hobo campsite with a couple of ratty tents and a campfire. It does not appear to be currently occupied.

Brannigan frowned when he heard the noises. He paused and glanced at the others, quietly asking, "What is that? Anyone recognize that sound?"

He eyed the campsite at first, just giving it a once-over. Then he stepped towards the darkened corridor.

OOC: Is there a check to recognize the noise?

Whooooo that was close to a Glitch. Forgot to record each die so copied this instead:
12:49, Today: Brannigan rolled 1 success using 10d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 ((4,1,1,4,4,1,2,2,1,6))

Winter flicks on a low-light flashlight to get a better look at the lobby. "Looks like it's just birds. Ugh, what a mess."

She tries to determine how likely it is for the crumbling ceiling to come down on their heads.

I'm assuming there's no power and it's dark in there. Looking at my knowledge skills, would Architecture help with figuring out if this place is a lost cause or not?
20:55, Today: Winter rolled 3 successes using 7d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 5,5,3,3,6,4,1.  Architecture.

Reyna carefully makes her way through the glass before finding her eyes drawn to the brown smear. She pauses for a moment as she asks hesitantly, "Is... Is that blood?" She reaches into her coat as she exchanges her AR gloves for shock gloves while her eyes dart around the matrix checking for any devices that might indicate the presence of people.

OOC: Should she make a matrix perception and a regular perception check to detect things?

Everyone seems to be roaming around the large open space. The ceiling seems stable to Winter. Whatever glass that was up there is already down. The floor is less sure. There are softer spots in the floor that flex underfoot.

As Brannigan steps past the collapsed pile of furnitature toward the darkened corridor past it, he hears some hissing from the pile. Turning to look back he sees two pair of read eyes peeking out of the gaps in the pile. Clearly a couple of Devil Rats have taken up residence.

OOC: Is everyone following Brannigan?

Reyna trails after Brannigan as she watches the matrix. She is content to let him take point and encounter whatever nasties are waiting for them in the building.

Fortunately, Winter can easily walk over even the flimsiest surfaces, so she is not worried about falling through. Unfortunately, the rest of the team probably can't. "Careful where you step. Floor is in a bad shape."

Following after Brannigan, she turns her flashlight at the noise coming from the pile. A revolver slides smoothly from the sleeve of her coat and into her hand, though she hopes she will not have to use it. Gunfire might draw unwanted attention to them, even here in the middle of nowhere.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:16, Sat 07 Jan 2023.

Nothing comes lunging out of the debris pile as you skirt it. You move further down the darkened corridor. After three meters, it opens into a wider space. There's still space down the center, but piles of furniture line each of the walls.

Thirty meters away, you see a column off to the right of the central passageway. There's a strange triangle shape attached to it. The triangle is long and points down with several thin sticks pointing up above it.

Further than the odd column the passageway opens to a much larger area. There are some shelves you can see in the distance both to the right and left.

Brannigan wasn't too worried about the rats. Unless they were of unusually large size. He did keep his machine pistol in hand, however. Just as a safety precaution, of course. He didn't plan on shooting anyone. Actually, he rarely planned on it, but sometimes it happened anyway.

He frowned at the triangle for a moment. He didn't know what that meant or signified. Which he didn't like. But he kept moving. He slowly stepped just slightly out in to the larger area, just enough to look both ways quickly.

Once Brannigan gets closer to it, it becomes more obvious what it is....a devil rat head. Tied to this column with some rough cord is this desiccated devil rat head with it's nose pointed down. Embedded into the back of it's skull are several thin sticks painted in various ways. There are no other real symbols displayed, but one of the sticks has the dried remains of an eyeball skewed on it.

The larger area used to be a large work area as denoted by the piles of furniture. Nothing is functional at this point being twisted and bent. You could melt down the metal and process the recyclable synthetics for raw material.

There are several paths through the debris. The one off to the left is most clear. Looking up, it leads through the wall to a corridor that seems to have fabric of some sort draped on it's walls. The other two curve off to the right. The more central one only deviates slightly as it wends past a pile where the ceiling collapsed. In the distance, you can feel moving air and see it lighten suggesting the central path leads to an open window. The furthermost to the right seems to go into a more complicated warren of furniture piles. You don't have a good line of sight in that direction.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:24, Sat 14 Jan 2023.

Winter follows after Brannigan to get a better look at the symbol. She squints at devil rat head, trying to figure out why anyone would make such a... Totem? Fetish? She opens her mystical perception to assense what she is looking at.

This looks vaguely magical to me. Maybe a toxic shaman has made his lair here? Or something? Not really all that well versed in Shadowrun lore, I'm afraid. I'll try assensing the symbol and the room we are in, maybe we can get something more that way.

21:56, Today: Winter rolled 8 successes using 9d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 5,6,6,6,5,5,6,4,6.  Assensing.

Ok, I think this is the best roll I ever made in Shadowrun, and it actually runs against my astral limit of 7. But whether it actually does anything is up to the GM. As for knowledge skills, Winter has Magical Theory, Magical Threats and Spirits. Would any of these help here? If yes, GM can roll for her, all of them have 7 dice.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:16, Tue 10 Jan 2023.

Reyna gives a small shudder as the devil rat head comes into view. Creepy things in creepy places were never good news. However, she wasn't going to be the first to say that they should turn back, so she kept following Brannigan into the larger area. Once they were there, she whispered, "So, there's an unusual amount of devil rats around here and that was a devil rat head we just passed. Does that mean anything?"

Brannigan slowed to a stop and then backed up a bit as the other two became interested in the devil rats and the symbol. He shook his head slowly and shrugged his shoulders. "Not...that I know of. I mean, it could be a small or new gang's symbol? It could be some whacked out rat shaman gone crazy? Something else entirely, dunno."

He turned back to watch the way he had been walking, listening and making sure he didn't see anyone coming. He waited for the others to be ready to keep moving forward or suggest something else.

Reyna shrugs as she moves to follow Brannigan into the next room. One of the magical folks would know something, or she would find out when rats tried to kill them. Either way, there wasn't much that she could do in the moment. She beckoned the others forward with her hand as she waited.

Winter is looking at the rat head, but does not understand what it is. It has no magical signature. In fact, this whole area has very little magic activity. There is a sense of loss or abandonment. The totem itself emanates possession or opposition, but that could just be the emotions of creatures that have perceived it.

Brannigan catches movement out of the corner of his eye toward the right, but when he looks, it seems to be a scrap of shredded plastic ruffling in the wind...in an area away from the window.

Reyna is keeping aware of the local Matrix area and she gets brief signal that vanishes in the blink of an eye.


OOC: I made a mistake with the previous description. Two of the passages curve off to the right. I will edit the text of my previous post to be more clear. Nice roll Winter, Unfortunately, none of your current skills will help you with this display.

How are y'all handling the dim light inside this interior area? There is daylight back the way you came and from the window in front, but much of that is blocked by the debris.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:27, Sat 14 Jan 2023.

Winter shakes her head and reports on what she perceived. "I half expected this thing to be magical. But nothing. Maybe it's just a warning sign to scare people away?"

OOC: Where to next? Following that movement Brannigan noticed?

Also, it's daytime? For some reason I assumed it's night, probably because it's always night in cyberpunk. Anyway, Winter has low-light vision and (when that's not enough) a low-light flashlight.

Brannigan's head was moving slowly back and forth as he looked down each hallway open to them. He had switched his goggles to lowlight as available, and to thermal if needs be. He stopped suddenly, and his head tilted a bit. That...was that out of place or was he being paranoid? He immediately his decision - if he was paranoid, then so be it. But if he wasn't, he wouldn't be caught off-guard.

"movement." he said very quietly.

Then he turned towards that...bag or whatever, in that direction and started looking around more carefully, taking only one step towards it and then stopping.

Reyna quietly mumbles out, "Someone had a device on in here, but they turned it off really quick. It didn't stick around in the matrix long enough for me to get anything off of it." She tenses and untenses her shock-glove wearing hands in the darkness. She hadn't thought to prepare herself in case she needed to go somewhere dark, so she did her best to keep track of the person in front of her and listen for anything that might be around her. She was planning to pretend to faint dead away and work from the matrix if she thought she could get away with it safely; however, animals wouldn't fall for such a complicated trick.

Everyone pauses at Brannigan's warning, whispering or just keeping still, listening and looking every direction. Inside the structure is quiet. There are occasional moans as the wind finds openings in the walls. But no unusual noises occurs and you see any movement.

5 seconds pass still and quiet while the three paths in front of you silently beckon.

Chop had been keeping mostly his own counsel during the whole trip.  He did nod to Brannigan's question of if he would be considered muscle, but largely it was just going to places and checking them out, so he figured he didn't need to pipe up... too much.  "I'm.... not sure about this place,"" he admitted.  It wasn't a sense of fear, just that this place was strange.  He hadn't heard of any Rat shamans setting up shop or anything of the sort, so he mostly just took his hands out of his pockets and tensed up, keeping his eyes peeled for any sort of weird drek to pop out while he let Brannigan take the lead on where they'd go next.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:01, Wed 18 Jan 2023.

Reyna quietly adds, "We might as well follow whatever you saw, Brannigan. It's probably a little better than us wandering blindly through the factory." She shifts from foot to foot as she waits for him to lead them deeper into the building.

Brannigan hesitated a moment, staying still, then almost jumped as both Chop Chop and then Reyna spoke up while he was being quiet and focused. He stumbled one step forward, stifled a curse and shook his head once.

After a moment, he gave a nod and stepped forward towards where he'd seen movement. Might as well check it out.

"+Wait a moment.+" Winter uses trodes to send a message to others over her comlink. She focuses for a moment and her form fades into the gloom of the place. "+Maybe it would be better if I go first? Slightly less chance of me getting a slug in my head than the rest of you, I think.+"

If nobody stops her, she takes point and silently moves in the direction of the movement.

Casting Improved Invisibility. I propose that Winter goes first, with the rest following her. Hopefully if she spots something she can give a warning in time. Didn't note this in my rolls, but I casted the spell at force 4, so only 4 hits. No drain though.

08:15, Today: Winter rolled 5 successes using 12d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 1,5,4,6,2,2,2,6,2,6, 6,3.  Improved Invisibility.
08:16, Today: Winter rolled 3 successes using 10d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 3,6,3,3,3,3,4,5,6,1.  Drain (3).

And sneaking. Traceless Walk also gives a -4 dice penalty on anyone trying to detect her by hearing.

08:28, Today: Winter rolled 4 successes using 8d6 with the Shadowrun 4th ed system with a target of 5 with rolls of 1,5,6,4,5,2,3,5.  Sneaking.