Dec 18, 2016
5 = 5[d14]
Deal with witch hunts for traitors in our midst.
“It seems that there were a few of the wizard’s students here in town when his experiment went wrong. Of course, the more hawkish of our citizens have been calling for blood and have begun to organize search parties running around the city looking for the students. So far they haven’t decided to execute anyone, but they are taking the law into their own hands by busting into houses and holding the students against their will. We’re trying to stop it as best we can, but we have an attack to plan against the demons and are stretched thin trying to keep them out. Can you deal with these fearful and reckless citizens?”
“I’ll do my best, but that could spark into a mob real fast. It may take force,” I reply.
“You are authorized to use non-lethal force but only if necessary. These are just scared citizens making a bad choice.”
“Aye aye, captain,” I say as I head off in search of these hooligans. I need to get to a tall building. What’s nearby?
Vine-choked distillery
Of course every town needs their wine, so it makes sense that there’s a distillery here. It’s situated on a small hill and even has a guard tower to keep out those who would rather steal their drinks instead of pay for them. I’ll make my way to the property trying to get to the tower. “Anyone here?” I call out.
(50/50 | 10[d10]) Yes, and…
Dominate / Inside
“Stop where you are!” I hear yelling at me from inside the distillery. “Help! Help us!” follows with a loud thunk and the sounds of a scuffle. It appears it’s time for some action. I run to the door. Am I attacked on the way up to the door?
(Very Likely | 8[d10]) Yes
Arrows fly out of the window towards me. How much of a crack shot is this guy?
2 = 2[d3]
A level 2 challenge. I’ll use my Crazy Acrobatics to dodge the arrows. If I pass, I’ll make it to the distillery door without harm. If I fail, I’ll take a minor wound. I’ll play the Kc and 8c which will crown since Kings are for combat. I crown with 4h giving me 22 total.
GM Cards: 6s, 5d, 3c, 8s
The first two of the same suit were 6s and 8s giving a 14. I make it to the door unharmed.
“Don’t come in! We’ll kill them! Stay back!” I hear yelled from the window. I listen for a little while using my Body Guard skill to ascertain the best thing to do. I’m guessing there are only two or three bad guys in there. I’ve heard two voices and at least two spots shuffling. I’ll kick in the door making them think I’m coming in that way and then immediately bust through the opposite window with intentions of getting to the hostages (wherever they are) in the room. This is a level 3 challenge. I’ll play a Ks, 5s, 2s and crown with 7c giving me 24 total.
OK, the cards in the random card generator on this don’t work so well. I just got three 2d in a row which can’t happen. I’ll get a real deck and draw the real GM hand to see what will happen.
That is insanity. The GM plays Kh, Ah, 4h, the King and the Ace crown giving a 8s and 7s for a total of 39. I fail and badly.
I jump through the window planning to roll, jump up, and head to the hostages. Unfortunately, while it was the other window where the arrows came from, this window also had a goon behind it. I crash into him, and we go down in a pile of flailing limbs. Meanwhile the bad guys have pulled up a hostage (looks like the owner of the place) with a knife to his throat. Back on the floor, the goon gets the advantage over me and pins me to the ground.
“What are you doing here?” he yells in my face with spittle flying.
“I just wanted to use the guard tower. I’m looking for some thugs in town although I think I found some here.” The goon headbutts me in the face for that one. Between that and the scuffle, I take a minor wound. A 7h means 2 points of damage (7/3 rounded down). My hand is down to four cards instead of six. I need a quick way out of this. I’d like to use my Crazy Acrobatics to wiggle free enough to use my Potential. If I can get free, I’ll activate my Wall of Stone potential to raise a wall around the remaining hostages (the family) and also around me and the main bad guy holding the distillery owner. That will shut out the other guys. Actually, how many bad guys are in the room? I know there are at least two.
3 = 2[d3]+1
So my wall will shut out the two other bad guys leaving me to deal with the main bad guy who has the owner at knife point. I think just wiggling free is a 1 card challenge. I will cache my High Priest’s Body Guard as well. (Thank you, Upwind, for making caches reset every session.) I will play Jc which crowns since I’m going to try to fake out the guy holding me down to get him off balance. The crown is a 3s and the cache is Ac which gives me a total of 23. GM plays Ad which auto-crowns a 5d for a total of 15. I make it free.
Now to create the wall of stone in exactly the right spot will be a 2 card challenge with my Potential. I play 9d and Ad which crowns a Jd for a total of 29. The GM plays Qd and Jd and the Queen crowns since it has to do with wisdom (in this case the wisdom to avoid the walls I’m growing from the stone). It crowns a 2d for a total 22. My plan works perfectly.
I try to work my hands free in a show of force that I let my captor win as I am feinting to draw the attention off my legs. I use my Crazy Acrobatics to pull my legs up to grab my captor under the armpits and pull him down to the ground. As he flies backwards, I leave my hands firmly planted to the stone floor of the distillery calling upon ancient powers to summon up a wall of stone. I feel the magic leaving my body and feel a rumble in the ground. The bad guys look around at the sudden earthquake, and I tumble backwards away from my captor at the same time sheets of ore plunge up through the floor. The owner’s wife and two children are separated from the two guys while I’m enclosed with the main bad guy and the hostage.
“That wasn’t very smart. If you value your life, if you want to live to see tomorrow, if you want to be able to retire to the coast some day, there is something you should never put in a trap: me,” I say as I stand up and pull out my twin bastons. I see the glimmer of recognition in the bad guy’s eyes. He knows I’m a Knight.
“St..st..stay back! I mean it!” He stammers while I advance towards him. “I’ll do it! I’ll kill the old man!”
“No, you won’t, and I’ll tell you why. These stone walls aren’t coming down until I say so, and if you kill the old man, there’s no reason at all for me to allow you to keep breathing. After that I’ll take your friends in to see Captain Drothos, and they’ll carry your corpse.” Do I hear the other two guys running out of the distillery?
(Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and…
The sounds of hastily retreating footsteps come over the top of my stone wall.
“I’m sorry! Please don’t hurt me! We just wanted the wine. If it’s the end of the world, we figured we should go out drunk. We didn’t mean to hurt no one,” he says to me and drops the knife.
“You’ll come with me to Captain Drothos, and the good news is that I’ll let you walk to him instead of carrying you myself,” I reply sheathing my bastons.
“Oh, thank you. Thank you!” he whimpers. I drop walls of stone and check on the family. Are they alright?
(50/50 | 8[d10]) Yes
After making sure the family is ok, I ask to use the guard tower. “I’m looking for some more thugs who are starting a mob to hunt down students of the wizard. I don’t know if the students are innocent or not, but I do know that it is not for the average citizen to decide. Captain Drothos asked me to stop them, and I thought I could see a large gathering somewhere in the city from your tower.”
“By all means,” the owner replies, “please use it. You are welcome here any time!” I head out to the tower and climb up for a look around. Is there are crowd gathering anywhere I can see?
(Likely | 3[d10]) No
Well, that sucks. I guess I still saved this family, but now I’m not sure where to look. Where the students have hung out? Is there a magic item shop or research library in this town?
(Somewhat Likely | 10[d10]) Yes, and…
Asking the distillery owner about it, I find out that the magic item shop is actually attached to a research library. The wizard used to run the shop in town before he moved out to the tower. Now it is run by a Rain Potential user who focuses on healing magic and research. Perhaps that would be a good spot to try. The owner of the distillery gives me directions, and I head that way after leaving instructions to keep the wine thief bad guy tied up. Drothos wouldn’t have time to deal with him now anyway. I’ll come back and deal with him later.
I make my way cautiously to the magic shop. What do I see as I approach?
Usurp / Art
“No, I’m not a student of his! This is my shop! You know me!” I hear as I approach. It looks like owner is having his art usurped by a mob. Looks like I’m on the right track. Is the mob very big?
(50/50 | 5[d10]) No, but…
It looks like it’s just a few people still, but they’re armed and look dangerous. How many exactly?
3 = 1[d3]+2
“You’re working with the demons! We know it! You’re just lucky we don’t kill you where you stand, you traitor. We’ll hold you over for a trial if we make it through this thing.” Do they get more violent?
(Somewhat Likely | 5[d10]) Yes, but…
“I say we break his hands so he can’t use magic on us,” says another of the goons moving aggressively towards the captured shop owner. The shop owner seems to collapse in a dead feint before the goon can get there.
“No need,” says the ring leader. “Let’s take him to the rest of them, but tie up his hands tight behind his back.”
I should follow them back to where they’re holding the others. I’m going to sneak after them with my Blend in Like a Chameleon skill. It will be a two card challenge. I’ll play a As and 9s which will auto-crown (Ace) with a 4s giving me a 23. The GM plays Ks and 4s which I don’t think would crown, but I will just in case with a 7d. That makes 21. I follow them without being noticed.
Walking stables
They head back to a stable it looks like several draft animals are quartered for use pulling carts around the city. In one of the stalls at the back, a group of three other magical looking youngsters are tied and gagged. The thugs throw down the shop keeper with them in the stall. Are there more bad guys here at the stable?
(50/50 | 10[d10]) Yes, and… +Event: Intolerance / The public
It appears a crowd has gathered in front of the stable. These guys are not really trying to hide what they’re doing.
“We found another one!” the ringleader shouts as the other two take the shop keeper inside. “We’ll get them all and stop these demons yet!” he yells while a cheer erupts from the crowd. “While we round up some more evil-doers, my men are in there interrogating these wizards trying to find a way to stop the demons. While Captain Drothos and the city government wring their hands, we’ll force these buggers to stop what they started. What do we want?!”
“Death to demons!”
“And how do we get it!”
“Kill the wizards!”
“That’s right. We’ll kill these plucky ne’er-do-wells who caused this problem right after we make them stop the demons. Keep this place safe while we find some more wizards, and remember, don’t let Drothos stop us. We’re the only chance the city has,” he says as he heads inside the stable. Are there any guards around who appear to be participating in this mob activity?
(Somewhat Likely | 4[d10]) No, but…
I don’t see any guards in the crowd, but they are suspiciously absent from this part of the city. If they’re not outright sanctioning this, they may be specifically ignoring this while the demons are dealt with. I guess that’s why they sent me here. I’m going to try to Blend in Like a Chameleon and make my way inside posing as someone who wants to help round up more wizards. Since most people are like that, this is a 1 card challenge to get inside. I’ll play a Js and crown since I’m tricking them getting a Joker. So I will auto-win. The GM would have played a 10s.
I make it inside and go to the ring leader saying, “I’m here to help. Can I go out on the next patrol with you?”
He responds with, “I don’t know you, but the more the merrier. It’s likely that any remaining wizards are going to be more powerful and a Knight would be useful.”
I raise my eyebrow at that. “What? Didn’t think I would know you’re a Knight? You can’t hide things like that, but it’s fine. We’ll need the help. Glad to know you’re on the side of reason if we’re going to stop these demons.”
As we talk, we get closer to the hostages. “Can I speak with one of them? I may be able to get the info out of them about how to reverse whatever brought the demons here without resorting to violence. They may trust a Knight.”
He eyes me with a bit of suspicion, but eventually says, “Sure. But I want to listen in.” I nod and move towards the hostages. I explain that I’m a Knight and want to know how to stop the demons. Do any of them know anything?
(50/50 | 4[d10]) No
“See, they’re even being coy with a Knight,” says the ring leader. “I think it’s my turn now,” he says drawing a dagger. I quickly push him backwards and block him out with a wall of stone. (6d) I run up to the hostages and begin untying the shop keeper while leaving the others tied.
“Oh, thank you!” he says. “What about the others?”
“I am willing to take it on faith that you’re not a threat due to a local who vouched for you, but the others may or may not be complicit in this evil. While I don’t agree with his methods, there is a grain of truth to their fear. It’s better to let the real authorities sort this out.”
“What do we do now?”
“You’re a rain potentialist, right?” He nods. “I’m going to bust us out, we’ll climb to the roof of the stables and address the crowd. I need you to subtly send some waves of calm on the crowd while I try to sway them. If we run, it will just incite more violence. We have to stop this now.”
As if to emphasize the point, I hear some pounding on the stone wall. “Knight! Where will you go? You’re trapped. Drop this wall and let us begin anew.”
I reach inside for the last bit of potential in me and give myself the Strength of Stone. (7d) I then bust through the outer wall of the stable, hold the shop keeper on my back, and climb to the top of the stable. I reach the peak of the roof and address the crowd.
“Good people! Good people! I am a Lemurian Knight, and I believe you are acting with the best of intentions. You want to save this city, and I want to help!” The people grumble, but look like they’ll listen. “However, taking people hostage without the use of the proper authorities is not the way to handle this. We need to take these men to Captain Drothos, and let the city guard sort it out.” Louder grumbles and boos come out. “I know you may not trust Drothos right now, but that’s just the fear getting to you. Have you ever had reason to doubt him in the past? Has he ever been unfair? I’m not a resident, but I do know that right now he is planning an assault on these demons. If we can break through the demon lines, we may be able to send for more help. He is getting ready to risk his life on what is likely a suicide mission to get someone to safety outside of the demon hordes. Instead of fighting ourselves, we should be fighting the demons. Join the assault, and let us save this city!”
I end my speech triumphantly and signal the shop keeper whose eyes roll back in his head. A thin blue mist only visible to potential wielders descends on the crowd trying to calm them down. I want to turn the crowd back into good citizens so that they will help the city guard. This would be a 3 card challenge, but the shop keeper’s potential lowers the difficulty to a 2 card challenge. Using my Every Little Thing You Say is Magic skill, I can only play one card, but I will cache my Cultural and Knight cache. I play Qc which crowns for wisdom with a 10c and my two caches come up 8h and 10h giving me a 38. The GM plays a 9c and Qc which crowns for Jh making 29. I turn the crowd.
“Alright, we’ll do it your way, Knight,” calls the ring leader of this band. “We may have acted hastily, but you see the wisdom in keeping and questioning these wizard types. Let’s head to Captain Drothos.”
I’m exhausted with my efforts so far today. The shop keeper leans over and says, “I can heal you with my potential,” and touches his hand to the cuts and bruises I received in the fight at the distillery. I’m back to full health, but I’m out of potential.
We round up the student wizards, disperse the majority of the crowd, and head to Drothos with the hawkish group led by Jobra Dublis (the ring leader). Once there, I explain everything to Drothos including the guy still tied up at the distillery.
“I’m happy with your efforts and your choice of resolution. We still aren’t organized enough yet to make a charge this afternoon, but the addition of some of these men will help. I think we’ll have to wait out the night and attack tomorrow.”
Good news, because I need magic back, but that will allow the demons to infiltrate more easily at night. In fact, is there a demon spy who was in the mob that is now with me talking to Drothos?
(Somewhat Likely | 6[d10]) Yes
Looks like I’ll be dealing with them later tonight, but for now, I need an hour or two to rest and get back some potential.