Vecaal's blunder led to some tense moments, but nothing seemed to come of it. Outside the context of the rest of the group, he was just another dragonborn who stopped off for a few drinks on his way home from work. Crocklespring Cognelius's half of the city was officially dry, as the officious gnome believed alcohol corrosive to the bodies and minds of his workers, but it was tolerated as long as it did not interfere with an individual's job nor their considerable off-the-clock obligations to the gymnasium.

Everyone else made it to the station without incident and slipped through one of the many narrow archways between the columns ringing the station. From inside came the grinding of gears, the sharp scents of oil and hot steel but also freshly baked bread from the station's several sandwich stalls, and the complex series of chimes announcing various arrivals and departures.

Kreo was just entering the station when an old woman grabbed his arm with a surprisingly strong grip. “You have a familiar face, child. You remind me of someone I once knew. Someone who was very dear to me.”

A loxodon reading a newspaper on a nearby bench uncrossed his legs and looked up at the commotion.

The rest of you see this and can intervene or not as you see fit. Baern, if you'd like to make a Performance check now (with advantage, as Vera is helping) you can try to create that distraction.

Baern and Vera tailed the group at a comfortable distance, following their progress across the busy plaza without intervening. Despite a few close calls it seemed as though the group might manage without the need for theatrics. Baern was almost ready to concede he'd overthought the situation - until they reached the station. As the 'old woman' reached for Kreo's wrist, Baern knew the window for the group to get away was fast closing. He glanced at his confederate but Vera had her head turned the other way watching the crowd behind them.

"I guess that makes me the scorned lover then..." he muttered. Pity. Vera was the much better actor. Well if he wasn't skilled he could at least be loud.

"You bitch!" he shouted, rounding on Vera. "Filthy, cheating harlot! How could you do this to me? With my own brother no less, you wretched woman! Who else have you been fucking behind my back!? You fucking him too??" Baern thrust his finger towards a hapless bystander who's only fault in life was to be standing beside Vera at exactly the wrong moment and was now transiently drawn into their drama.

"I should break his fucking face!"

Performance 10 with advantage. Higher if he can snag a bardic die off Vera.

11:13, Today: Baern Snagglehorn rolled 10 using 2d20, dropping the lowest dice only.  Performance. – 10

In reply to The Tinkerer (msg # 20):

"I am very dear to many people, grandmother, but I do not think we are acquainted. Here, in memory of our fondly remembered kin."

Kreo pressed two coppers to the woman's hand, playing off perhaps a little forcefully that he was simply placating an old lady, a smile on his lips

"Must be going!"

Frack watched all the goings on with a careful eye, not sure what to make of a drunken dragonborn, a scorned dwarf (who was prevuously a gnome), and now Kreo's grandmother of all people. She looks nothing like Kreo. He considered while adjusting his helmet in thought. He must get his appearance more from his grandfather's side.

With that mystery solved, Frack did his best to blend in.

Having already attracked too much attention with his 'drunken' stumbling earlier, Vecaal did not seek to directly intervene with Kreo but instead kept watch on the scene.  Leaning against a pillar to 'steady' his head, he let the whole of the scene sink in, sight, sounds and smells, and remained poised for action.

The loxodon gathered at least some of his attention, but then again someone of that size always did, didn't they?  Even if they were just reading the paper?

Baern and Vera's theatrics, dramatic as they were, barely registered in the bustling train station. Your average commuter saw worse on a daily basis. Even the bystander pointed out by Baern kept his eyes forward and pretended not to notice.

The loxodon, for his part, had eyes only for Kreo. Though he walked against the tide of laborers hurrying to make their trains, he was not slowed by them. Indeed, he moved as if he knew in advance where the crowd would part or a woman would stop to tie her shoe. As he drew near the satyr, he would be seen muttering what were likely the words to a spell. There were others moving like him, agents of the Cultivated Mind no doubt, two converging from inside the station and two more entering from outside.

"No, Suqaab!" the old woman begged, grabbing at Kreo's arm when the satyr offered her the coins. "Don't leave! Don't leave me again!"

Kreo, please make a Perception check and also could you let me know how hard/violently you are trying to pull away from this old woman? Like, are you willing to risk injuring her to get free? If so, please make an Athletics or Acrobatics check as well. This will determine not only whether you extricate yourself but also how gently you can do so.

The nearest Cult agent is the loxodon, who's about 100' from Kreo. Others are anywhere from 100' to 500' away. For simplicity's sake, I'll say that any of you can move to within 30' of any one of the agents (but not more than one - they are spread out) on your turn if you wish.

The station consists of a main concourse with several sets of tracks, an elevated platform with several more, and an underground level with more still. Three elevators move between the levels, all of which have crystals mounted atop them, near their gear assemblies. You've seen these crystals many times, but you notice they are now glowing faintly green, which you've rarely if ever seen before. They still appear to be moving normally. There are also stairs, but they are a less popular option and so only available at the far ends of the station.

The main whole station is quite busy, but the main concourse is the busiest, as it features shops and cafes as well as ticket booths and other infrastructure for commuters. The line you need is in the basement.

And let's all go ahead and roll initiative, in case that becomes relevant.

While no Florian Windwalker, Frack was perceptive enough to spot more than one suspicious character closing in on Kreo and his grandmother. He trailed the nearest of them as they made their way forward, preparing to intervene with his shield if needed.

Florian Windwalker? Noted monk of the mountain temple? Pretty much everybody's heard of him!
23:40, Today: Frack rolled 8 using 1d20+4.  initiative

Kreo looked around, frozen to the spot as the loxodon started towards him with magocidal intent, tensing his arm when "grandmother" wouldn't let go. A flash in his mind, a bubble rose to the surface. He pictured telling her to let go, the words laced with venom that would injure a Cult agent and likely kill a bag lady . . . he considered threatening her with his pistol. He breathed, the coins dropping to the ground with a clanging noise

"Please. I am not Suqaab, but if you do not let go I will likely die. Or that elephant gent and his friends will. If you're in league with these folk here, let go and you and I can fight. But let go either way."

OOC: Perception of 14, Persuasion (doesn't matter if it's disadvantage the first roll IS the lowest) of 12

"Bollocks," Baern muttered. Either he was too far, or the crowd was too packed for him to draw the Cult's attention. In either case he was now also too far to immediately intervene on Kreo's behalf. Shooting a glance at Vera he hurried off into the crowd, trying to head off the Loxodon.

Do we have the Whispers? Can we communicate at range?

Baern will move to within 30' of the Loxodon if that's possible. He is still disguised as a Dwarf.

Kreo had definitely been singled out, of that Vecaal was certain.  His quick check of their escape routes wasn't inspiring - elevators that were cramped and could be stopped to trap them within, or stairways way down at the far end of the platform, accessible only after pushing through the commuting crowds and whatever agents were skulking within.

He saw some of his companions circling in toward Kreo and Vecaal planned to do the same, but first he picked Baern and Vera from the crowd and established the Whispers with them.  [This might come in handy, right quick,] he announced his mental presence to them.

Then he began to move, sizing up the closest agent he'd been able to spot as he edged closer.

OOC:
Sorry, missed posting IC!  Initiative is in OCC thread.
Baern, I hadn't set up the whispers before, but you got them now with me and Vera, per usual.

Kreo's entreaties did not loosen the old woman's grip. The satyr noticed something strange about her, however. She not only failed to respond, she failed to react at all. There was no flicker of her eyes as he spoke, no sudden tightening or loosening of her grip. It was as if someone else were controlling her body.

In the same moment Kreo came to that realization, someone else attempted to control his body as well. He felt it first as a pressure on his temples, then between his eyes, then as a tension coursing across his entire body, probing for weakness. (DC 14 Wis save or you are paralyzed. You get to repeat the save at the end of each turn, so if you fail, you won't be able to move this round but you can roll a second time to try to break free for next round.)

Two of the Cult agents converging on Kreo suddenly blinked out of existence, appearing an instant later on the far side of a crowd and considerably closer to the satyr. With that, they abandoned any pretense of subtlety and ran toward him, shouting at the crowd to make way.

The loxodon is one of the ones who misty stepped, so he is now 10' from Kreo and 60' from Baern. Another one is now 30' from Kreo. The other three are 200-300' away, one still being tailed by Frack. They, too, have picked up the pace and are now running.

OOC: forgot to post it I think but initiative of 22 was rolled back with the Perception and Persuasion. Assuming this is a spell, rolled a 22 on the Wisdom save

"That's . . . not . . . "

Staying in the woman's grip for a moment, Kreo pulled his mind free and focused on the loxodon.

"Release her, or I'll do worse to you."

The threat wasn't spoken all that loudly, but the violet flash inside his mind likely spoke loud enough.

OOC: Intelligence save DC 13 versus mind sliver, failure brings with it 6 psychic damage and a -2 on his next saving throw

Frack lost sight of Kreo in the crowd, but continued to follow the suspicious agent closing in on the satyr. He wasn't sure what the muttering was all about but suspected it wasn't good.

Baern drew up short. There was nothing he could do for Kreo now, and he knew it - nothing short of starting an all out brawl with the Cult and there was no way Baz would approve of such a flagrant display of bellicosity. He tried to catch the satyr's eye from afar and shook his head.

Across the whispers he gave voice to his concerns:

[Kreo's been marked. It'd take drastic measures to cut him loose - we might do better to tail the Cult and spring him in transit.]

[Aye.  Agreed.]

Vecaal's response was a mixture of relief and frustration.  They hadn't been properly prepared for this, and now there was a wrench in the works.  With a snort he stopped tailing the closest agent and instead looked for a good spot from which he could track the movements of Kreo and her escorts, somewhere with a little elevation presumably.

OOC:
16:30, Today: Vecaal Alifras rolled 7 using 1d20+6 ((1)). lol...sheesh
Vecaal pulls a muscle in his neck looking around for a vantage point!

Frack sped up, trying to look inconspicuous while closing in on the muttering agent ahead of him. Unfortunately for the goblin Shield, his helmet slid down over his eyes and before he could correct it, he had already bounced off one onlooker and into two others. Tears of the hammer. There's people all over the place!

21:06, Today: Frack rolled 8 using 1d20+6.  Stealth. Close in without raising suspicion.

Baern spied Frack making his way resolutely towards the confrontation and made the split second decision to head the stalwart goblin off.

"Easy now," he said, softly. "We see it too. There's nothing for it right now, though. Can't afford a knockabout with the Cult in the open."

He nodded for Frack to follow.

"Vecaal has an eye on them. We'll find a better spot to spring Kreo that doesn't bring the whole lot of them down on our heads."

"But-" Frack turned to Baern with a look of apprehension spread across his goblin face. "He's in trouble..." He looked around for Procz. Certainly he'll know what to do. Unfortunately for Frack, the constable was lost in a sea of commuters, leaving the Shield on his own to decide. His gaze returned to the gnome. He certainly isn't Rom Redshield* when it comes to honor, but he did fight nobly against the clockwork dragon... Maybe he's right.

Frack wrinkled his nose in anguished thought. He adjusted his helmet to help with the decision while a barely audible part-squeak-part-groan escaped from between his teeth. The agents continued to close on Kreo. Frack could hardly look.


*OOC: Rom Redshield was Frack's paladin mentor who first saved him from drowning then couldn't get rid of him after Frack insisted on repaying him for saving his life. From Frack's perspective, Rom is the gold standard for nobility!

"Course he's in trouble. We'll be in trouble too if we make a scene."

"We ain't leavin' him." For one thing, Kreo knew too much. "We're just picking our battle."

Baern laid a firm hand on Frack's shoulder. "Stay close, okay?"

Frack wrestled with the situation in his mind. Kreo had come to our aid a few weeks ago at Owl's end. This seems like the perfect chance to repay that debt. On the other hand... (he actually looked at his other hand while considering this), Baern seems like he knows what he's doing. And he did say we aren't really leaving him, so maybe... If nothing else made his decision, the delay in deciding had put him another 50 feet behind the agent he followed.

Frack sighed and gave the gnome a resigned nod.

"He knows too much to let him go talk to Crock's goons by his lonesome. But I don't want to give up on the Luminescent Athenaeum either. You two go with the little constable. I'll keep an eye on this one." With that, she added her psychic power to Kreo's own, hoping they could at least spare the old woman further indignity as they got themselves captured.

Don't get excited! This is your DM posting as Vera. If we're going to split the party, I think it makes the most sense for her to go with Kreo.

Edit: Fixed Kreo's pronouns. I got hung up on Kreo = Cora = she/her!
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:58, Sat 24 Feb.

Kreo felt his psychic command rebuffed as the loxodon closed on him.

"Not bad," the old woman said, her voice deep now and making no pretense of belonging to anyone other than the Cultivated Mind. "In a different world, we might have been colleagues. Come along, now. We just want to talk. And we've got you surrounded. If you put up a fight you're going to lose, and a lot of innocent people will be-"

Kreo felt a sudden rush of strength, Vera's psychic power added to her own. The jolt pushed the Cult agent from the old woman's mind, and with a wail, she returned to herself.

"Suqaab!" She looked to the looming loxodon and the back at Kreo. "Suqaab, what's happening? Are they going to take you? What have you done?"

The other agents of the Cultivated Mind continued to close in on Kreo and now Veracity, oblivious to the others slipping past them and on to the elevators which would carry them down to the lower tracks.

Kreo, you needn't feel obliged to give up. You're welcome to try to escape as well if you like. You'd know that stopping a train would be extremely expensive for Crock, so the Cult wouldn't do it lightly. And they've given no indication they know where you're headed. So if you can make it to a train, you're home free.

Frack heard the cry of the grandmother and took an involuntary step toward her, then turned to Baern, giving the gnome a pained look in search of what to do next.

Panting and coughing, Procz caught up with the others. A few drops of blood trickled down his nose, telling the story about how he had probably fallen down somewhere in the confusion.

He had gathered that Kreo was in trouble with those Mind folk, but the kobold constable was not ready to give up on Kreo quite yet, in spite of Veracity urging them to make their escape.

In an attempt to help Kreo get away, Procz held off on fleeing with the elevators. He climbed off Zúm and sent his trusty familiar construct forward to deliver a spell on Kreo...

Casting Invisibility on Kreo, if possible, through Zúm dashing back and forth.

Baern could see the struggle playing out on Frack's face. He shook his head gently. Little did he know that Zúm was winding its way through the legs of milling workers, intent on delivering Kreo to freedom.