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Tarak Tales Shake-down: Terror Down Below!

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M

Mr Master

Pulsar
Joined
Jan 26, 2009
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Right behind you... you smell nice, by the way...
Chay Wytphire reports for duty as per usual each morning. He has a comfortable bunk in the City Guards barracks, with a fine roommate, and so he rarely has a problem reporting for his usual duties. In the locker room as he is getting ready for his usual patrol, he overhears two other Guards talking.

"...and now he's in the Clerical Infirmary, because of his wounds."

"What about his partner?"

"He's physically OK, but he's all catatonic and messed up. They've got telepathy spells working on him, so I hear. Still don't know what messed him up."

"Man, sounds like a problem for whoever is asked to investigate."

The sergeant walks in. "WYTPHIRE! Front and center! The Council needs to talk to you about your special talents!"

It wasn't the first time the Council of Tarak had called for Chay, but given the scuttlebutt he'd just heard, he didn't have a good feeling.

The Council chambers were on the Surface, the top level of Tarak, and he knew the way. Soon he was standing in the Council Chambers.

One of the Councilors looked down at him from their semi-circle of raised desks. "Chay Wytphire, there is a problem in the Mines. In the active mining levels, we have had some miners disappear. Work shut down, and we sent Guardsmen to investigate. We have not been able to discover what they found, but one was deathly injured, and the other mentally disturbed. We feel this mission is beyond the usual purview of the City Guard. Therefore, we are formally requesting that you, Guardsman Wytphire, assemble what members of your usual circle of adventurous friends as are available and please investigate. Something in the Mines is dangerous, and you are hereby charged with finding it and dealing with it as appropriate."
 
Chay couldn't help but feel ever-so-slightly nervous from the conversation, even though he's able to see alright in the darkness he would hate going through the mines... explosions tend to cause cave-ins. "Oi, I think we're up for the task. If it won't be much, I do request any maps of the mine created until the production stopped," he says with the normal salute as well as holding his helmet for the initial bow, somewhat still wishing to keep his horns on the down-low even though the higher-ups have a high chance of knowing already.

After leaving with or without the map, and a low bow again, Chay heads to the streets to find his pickpocket friend if possible while heading torwards the area his arcanist friend resides in, knowing that she'd at least enjoy the capabilities of being able to take something down with magic instead of living with a lack of violence. "Eyh," he says whilst giving a small wave to a vendor, looking at the produce and licking his lips from the look of a strawberry. 'Mmm... tastey strawberries...' he thinks to himself. Suddenly a though springs to mind and he resumes his small trek torwards his friend, walking up to the temple's door not too long after.

With a knock on the door, he hopes he doesn't get one of the riddle-speakers at the door. Last time he talked with one, it was only a few minutes before he almost threw a punch. "Damn scripters..." he mutters to himself and gazes upward at the top of the door. "Cersei, I hope you're up for something that involves darkness and mysterious obstacles."
 
Cersei looked back at the door from her desk that she had a very large book set upon. She was excited to be called for something other than the drear work she was forced to do thanks to the last time she had acted out a little, using excessive force to solve a little dispute. She grabbed her amulet and placed it around her neck while she grabbed her wand and stuck that in one of the many pockets she had sewn inside her robes. Her facial tattoos glowed a little with her excitement then she opened the door. "And mayhem to ensue, am I right Chay?" She smiled at him, brushing her curly bangs out of her face. She stepped out of the hall into the street and closed the large door behind her. "So. Did you seek Koh out first, or do we have to scour the streets and sewers for him again...Don't answer that. I don't want to know. Either way we should get going."
 
"Oi, didn't look for him since I had a thought that you'd probably have better luck than myself if we attempted to find him... though then again he's probably at The Blue Boggan," Chay says whilst watching as the spellcaster walks out the doorway and sighing, the small amount of armor he has on somewhat keeping him a little too heated though it won't be bothering him much yet. "C'mon, we'll try there first, then check out if anyone has been missing anything today and follow the stolen trail."

After a small amount of walking, Whytephire and Carnevale arrive at The Blue Boggan, with Chay opening the door and holding it for the spellcasting cohort. "Tell me if yah see him," he says as she walks through, then heading to the bar and ordering some lunch for himself, mostly being a half-loaf and leg of lamb with a half-pint of ale. "Want anything Cersei?" he calls over.
 
Kohdeki, or rather, for this situation, Dark Black-Adder, slithered about the River Shaft, gracefully snatching the coin purses of passers-by. His hood was down, and he tried to remain as incognito as possible. He was quite ready for a get-away sprint through the tower city, but it was something he would rather avoid regardless.

His ring knives made no sound as they separated the strings of coin purses, which were promptly deposited into Kohdeki’s pockets. He liked the haul he was getting at the moment. It would definitely buy a good round of drinks for him, as well as any friends that may tag along to the Blue Boggan.

Kohdeki knew Chay might get a bit angry at the fact that he had spent most of the day looting well-off tourists and pompous assholes, but Kohdeki doubted he could resist a good drink. Cersei as well, if she was so inclined.
 
Cersei shook her head in answer to Chay's question. "No, I've been cutting down lately. I can't stomach most of the food here. Too rich compared to the magicked gruel I usually eat." She looked through the crowd and sat down at one of the gambling table. It was a game of cards, she wasn't exactly sure what kind since all she was paying attention to who seemed to be winning the most. Where are you, Kohdeki? She wondered before raising with a nice hand. The other players looked at her intently then a couple of them folded while the remaining three called her. She looked at the table a few meters away and saw a large stack of chips...That one had to be Koh, if not he was stealing from the man who was doing the winning. Either way, it was confirmation that Kohdeki was here, so she signaled Chay with a wave of her hand.
 
Chay looks over to the wave and then back to where she was waving to, spotting the stack of chips before rolling his head. After getting his meal he heads over to the table and drops a hand onto the shoulder of the man who's currently winning all of the chips at the table. "Oi, that you Koh?" he asks and hopes that he is indeed Kohdreck because he always hates being that gaurdsman who ends up looking like an idiot.
 
((Skipping from my last post))

Kohdeki sat at a table by himself, a fine lunch spread out before him. He occasionally looked about the bar for anyone he knew as he enjoyed his ill-begotten lunch. Usually, he would look for a woman to have his way with, but he thought it might be a little early in the day for such an activity. Later, perhaps.

As Kohdeki sipped his mug of ale, his companions entered the Blue Boggan. A small, crooked smirk appeared on Kohdeki’s lips. They were looking for him; that was obvious. He put up the hood of his cloak and stood. Kohdeki wanted to have some harmless fun.

((Action: Sneak up to Chay and attempt to lift his wallet and dagger))

With silent steps, the young man snuck upon his prey. He wanted to lift Chay’s dagger, as well as his wallet. Just for shits and giggles. Nothing more.
 
((All right, first skill use of the actual shake-down game. When a situation like this comes up, I'll be doing the resolutions.))

((Kite did right by declaring his actions like that; he could either do that or just post them narratively and put a note at the end asking for resolution. Either way, the point is to notify me I have to dice it out for you. Now, this is a physical thing, so it's different from a mental convincing; you can't use, like Persuasion or Fast Talk on a fellow PC, but you can Sneak and attack and whatnot.))

((First step: the Sneak. Koh is stealing up behind Chay, getting close enough to try a Pickpocket attempt. He's not using any special items, as that would draw too much attention in a crowded room. It's Sneak versus Perception, and because of the noise of the room and the focus on the wrong guy, Chay's got a disadvantage.))

((Koh's Sneak is 6D, so his roll is 3, 6, 3, 1, 6, 3. Wild Die does not come up anything special, so the total roll is 22. Chay's Perception is 4D, but he's got a penalty, aforementioned, so he'll have to beat a 27. His roll is 4, 1, 3, 5. No Wild Die, and a total 13. That means Koh gets right up behind him, and if he weren't being careful, Chay would feel his breath on the back of his neck.))

((Koh's Pickpocket is also 6D. Lifting the wallet (or coin pouch, whichever) and the dagger will be two separate rolls. Koh rolls a strangely symmetrical 6, 2, 4, 6, 2, 4. Six on the Wild Die is rerolled as another 6, and that's rerolled to a 3. Total roll on the wallet is 31! As for the dagger, initial roll is 2, 1, 3, 3, 3, 6. No Wild Die, so the total is 18. Chay's Perception comes into play again, but this time, I'm not assessing a penalty of any sort. His roll of 2, 3, 6, 3 (no Wild Die, total 14) does not detect his wallet being lifted, but when Koh went for his dagger (a foolhardy move, some might say), Chay rolled a 6, 1, 5, 4. That's 16, and a 6 on the Wild Die, so a re-roll of that 6 add another 6, and that's more than enough (the roll after that was a 4, anyway). So the roll to notice the dagger being moved is 26.))


The bearded man at the table looks up, surprised and a little annoyed to be interrupted when he's winning. Seeing the blue tabard of the City Guard, in a place like the Blue Boggan, his annoyance moves toward anger with a touch of fear, but he doesn't move much, he just turns his head down to stare at the offending hand on his shoulder.

Just as Chay is about to react (apologize, play it off, whatever), he feels a tug at his belt, his dagger scabbard shifting a bit. However, he's not moving, so there's no reason for it to shift... other than the stealthy hand that has sneaked around his side and is gently lifting the blade free...
 
"I'm sorry, I must have been mistaken," Chay says and takes his hand off of the shoulder, turning it to his side before spinning on heel and pressing his hand down on the pommel of his dagger. "Oi, I've been finding it rather a pattern for me to be found by you more than I can find you on my own." He glances to Cersei and then finishes turning, standing to look at the pick-pocket who attempted to take his dagger. "Anything else you've taken?"
 
Kohdeki silently stroked his chin before pulling Chay's wallet from his pocket. He tossed it into the air a couple times before handing it back to Chay.

"Gotta' be more careful about your belongings in these parts, Chay. You might end up going home in your undies." Kohdeki said as he gave his friend a pat on the back and lead him to his table and motioned for Cersei to join them.

Kohdeki took his seat and continued his eating. He didn't mind the company of his friends, but both of them at the same time usually didn't mean a social call.

"I take it something's going on that requires my cunning and dashing looks? You know I don't work for free, so I hope that whatever it is has a chest full of treasure with my name on it waiting for me after we're done." Kohdeki joked. Sort of.

He always tried to milk the cash cow whenever he could. Kohdeki was a greedy bastard, but not so much so that it affected his judgment in a time of need.
 
Cersei left the card table with only a little more than she had sat down, ending up at the bar where Chay and Koh sat. "Chay has yet to enlighten me on what exactly our little mission is today. I didn't really care though, so long as it gets me out of doing guild work." Cersei ordered herself a drink, not something strong, but enough to take the edge off boredom. She looked at Chay with a wry smile, waiting for him to say what exactly was going on.
 
With a slight cough to clear his throat, and a bite from his meal, Chay begins the breifing. "It appears that something is down in the mines of the city, leaving a small amount of missing miners, a badly wounded gaurdsman, and a mentally disturbed gaurdsman after they investigated the mines in search of the miners. Until we excavate what is down there, mining has been ground to a halt and as a city we'll be unable to support ourselves or any of the metal industry. The council has called for us to find out what is in there, and to erradicate it if possible. I've got myself the already mapped parts of the mines, including the details on which the miners dissapeared from and haven't returned from here," he says and places the map on the table, taking a drink to cool his throat. "If anything I'd say that we'll need only us and our equipment so far, unles Koh requires something to see with, being that I'll assume that Cersei is able to illuminate with magic." Chay sits back and munches on some more of his meal, downing it with the ale. "Any questions?"
 
"None was talked about, but if we find anything of value in the mines we could just keep it to ourselves and sell at a later date, or even procure a spot in the trade industry. Koh, don't steal what is owned by the city, but if we find something like rough gold or ores you can use that as payment. Sounds good?" Chay says and sighs, forgetting to ask what the payment would be. "There might be an extra payment after we have completed the task, but I forgot to ask of such."
 
A thoroughly unamused look crossed Kohdeki's face. He hated doing anything for free, but this wasn't something he would pass up anyway.

"Fine. If we make it out with our heads still attached, I'm expecting you to ask for pay." Kohdeki said with crossed arms. "When are we leaving for the mine then?"
 
"When possible. I'm alright to head out now, and if either of you have anything to do you should probably do it now before we head in," he says and resumes his meal, finishing it in a few minutes before finishing his ale as well. "We don't know anything other than the layout of the mines, and since production has gone down we can only assume that the tunnels have collapsed here and there."
 
Cersei downed her drink quickly and gave a satisfied sigh. "I know I have to stop back at my chamber in the guild hall. I'm expecting a package that should have arrived by now. I might find a chance to use it while we're down there."
 
"Well then, when we're done here, let's go get Cersei's package and head down. I'd like to get this over with quickly." Kohdeki said before returning to his meal.
 
"Then it's settled. We'll drop by the guild and pick up the package if it's there, as well as head straight to the mine's entrance once finished at the guild. Just make sure to prepare for more than combat, anything that'll help out for navigating the mines would help us out more than a weapon at the moment," Chay announces and stands up, tipping the wench after setting the food down on the counter.
 
Cersei set the empty glass down and stood up, picking up the hem of her robes so they didn't catch anything as she did. "Shall we all go together, or should I just meet you two at the mines?" She asked as she layed down a couple coins for the drink and tip. "I won't be long, it'll just be a few minutes."
 
((side note 1: this isn't by any means the first time any of you have done work for the Council, so while Koh always, always asks about the pay, and Chay always, always seems to give him the run-around, it usually breaks down that Chay would get his normal Guardsman pay plus a hazardous duty bonus, Cersei would get the equivalent Guild commission (which is higher, but she tends to be worth it), and Koh will demand an exorbitant fee but will be handed what he secretly agrees is just about fair for his time and effort, but which he complains about incessantly until the charm wears off and he just gets back to daily life. This is usually plus loot (and in this instance, ore will not count as loot; Chay was joking to tease greedy ol' Koh). When the government asks you to help them out, you generally do it because it's for the good of the city. Private individuals, however, there's definitely a pay negotiation at stake.))

((side note 2: love the random daily-life interplay you guys are throwing in. That "actor's business" stuff is gold, keep it up.))

((side note 3: with such a constrained area being so heavily utilized, everything is carefully mapped within the city by the City Records Service; this includes the mines, as they have CRS stoneshapers shoring up the walls and waterproofing when they can and keeping track of what tunnels are being dug where. This means that Chay's CRS map is accurate, but that doesn't always help; the mining tunnels are extensive, labyrinthine, and confusing unless you are sure where you are. The technical entrance to the actual active mines is down at the bottom end of the Spiral; you've all been down there at least once (everybody explores all the way down the Spiral at some point in their lives) but not very often at all. It's a good place to meet, but after that, you're on your maps.))

((side note 4: I think you are doing well, keep on keeping on.))
 
"Meet us down there, Cersei." Kohdeki said as he finished his meal, "I've got what I need."

Kohdeki stood, purposefully forgetting to tip the wench, and left for the entrance to the mine.

((I'm on the PSP now, by the way. end turn.))
 
Cersei nodded and left the bar, heading back down to the guild hall to check her chambers for the package. It seemed she was in luck, a case with her name on it containing what she had been waiting for was sitting on her small bed. She opened it up, revealing a broad-bladed hand-and-a-half sword. It was ornamented with tiny jewels and the hilt was plated gold. Her overseer would be furious to see how vain she had been in comissioning this deadly piece of artwork, but that's precisely why she had bought it. The blade itself was made of folded steel and made to have a purely ornamental wavy pattern. The scabbard, being far less spectacular was made of a simple hardwood with weaved leather straps made to wear across the back. Cersei put the blade into its scabbard and slung it across her back, the hilt pointing over her left shoulder, then she cinched the strap tight before heading to the mines to meet Chay and Koh.
 
On the way out of the Guildhouse, one of the younger Wizards, barely a tracery of tattoos across his forehead and cheeks rushed past her in the corridor. "Did you hear? They think Stonesmasher and Shieldbiter are back!" He paused a moment, noticing the weapon on Cersei's back, and looked a touch disturbed, but then went charging on.

Within the Tarak Guild, the relatively common dwarven names of Stonesmasher and Shieldbiter had special connotations. They were a pair of dwarves with a twisted relationship who delved a bit too deeply into unsavory aspects of Entropics and others. The Guild knew they were moving a bit too close to the ancient warmagics that had brought about the Night Plague, so the two went rogue together almost a century ago, obliterating their tattoos and destroying parts of their amulets. They were legends, and not in a good way. Rumors had them summoning more Plague monsters, or working for the night breeds, or plotting some demented revenge, driven insane by their experiments.

The next wizard, a matronly halfling Cersei was reasonably friendly with, was more forthcoming with information. Apparently, a short time ago, someone had sold a piece of jewelry to a pawnbroker, and a browsing wizard had today seen it and recognized it as an actual disfigured amulet. Guild records had just confirmed it once belonged to Arran Shieldbiter. If Shieldbiter was indeed back in Tarak, somehow, then Wurra Stonesmasher would not be far behind.

It may have been just a coincidence. In fact, a sensible mind would pray that it was. But it was unfortunate that this news came right around the time of the mission.
 
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