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  1. - Top - End - #121
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    ???
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    ((Port from Discord, Part 6))

    Quote Originally Posted by Aiden
    Aiden freezes as Durendal is swept out of his hands. He hadn't expected to be able to land a blow on Sir Maelan, but never before has the sword fallen from his grasp. Somehow, it hurt more than if he'd just been hit. If the Knights really wanted to take Durendal away from him, he would be totally incapable of stopping them. So what was preventing it?

    Ashamed, he bends down to retrieve the fallen sword. Holding it in his hands, he feels something unexpected from Durendal. Not frustration or disappointment, but defiance. And in that moment, he had the answer to his question. They can't take it. Durendal won't allow it.

    Try again!

    Squaring up again against his opponent, Aiden squeezes Durendal's grip as he holds it in front of him, but a prickling sensation on his palms makes him loosen up, relaxing the grip. "Huh? Like this?" Other sensations direct more minute adjustments in form and position, and only after paying them mind does Aiden realize that they'd always been there. The new form feels better, more comfortable. "Okay. Let's do this." With two more quick steps forward, he slashes out, more fluid and confident than before.
    Quote Originally Posted by Kye
    Waking up to a text from Hastings isn’t uncommon, she was a chatterbox always eager to send positive messages and helpful “advice” even when he was asleep. Rare are the messages he finds useful but this one earns a loud sigh of annoyance. A distraction, another distraction, after a long night. “You’ll pay.” is all he returns before getting dressed in as casual of clothing as he has without looking...well. Poor. Missing a night in the kitchen wasn’t going to make any of the others angry, there were always plenty of hands now that they lived in such small confines, someone was always away for something important or other. A glamour over his hair and eyes, hiding their unusual shades, was quick but necessary and then he was out the door.

    He took to this wrinkle as he took to pretty much everything. Resigned grumpyness. He still wasn’t thrilled that Penny and Hastings had conspired to set up a meeting. Less thrilled that it turned into business. He carried it with him on the bus all the way to the school and into its halls. He’d been to school...once or twice...there was talk when his family were alive to send him to one. To integrate more fully, or so he’d been told.

    The purge ended that. He’d been home schooled every since, tucked away safe and sound to learn what proper children of Albion learned. The shape of totems, the secret words that bent the fabric of reality to your whims, to hold a sword, to lie. Arithmetic and other worldly aspirations were a side thought, to be learned but nowhere near important in a world that had now declared itself your enemy.

    So it was with barely contained contempt that he clipped down polished hallways, eyes lingering over spirit posters and colorful lockers as he counted out the rooms. C2. C4. C6 and there at the back was C13. 3:20, on the dot. If you weren’t early, you were late. He gave a rapping knock on the door before pushing into the room, steeled and hackles raised.
    Quote Originally Posted by Lucan
    Lucan’s pulse is racing, his mouth dry. These are the big players, and it will be all too easy to screw things up if he’s not careful. Not to mention the warnings he received yesterday about not being able to rely on official channels to prevent the upcoming chaos.

    No pressure, right?

    “Thanks for seeing us,” he replies, putting a Public Smile on his face. “My followers have been eager to see the content I have for them, but I couldn’t in good conscience put it out there without coordinating with you here first.” Well, his good conscience had been saved from being overruled by the need to post by a small margin, thanks to this morning’s message that has brought them here.

    “One of us received a tip that information about the group that was responsible for empowering and controlling kids. We were told to check out that address, and so we went in force and arrived by stealth. I couldn’t tell you how that information got out, but it clearly was good,” JigaWatt explains.

    “Once we arrived, we entered and uncovered a bunch of kids and a bunch of scientists in the process of making more super powered pawns for whoever was behind this. We jumped in and intervened with their security team, and then Dr. Moron came out and tried to do his whole big villain gig.” He smiles.

    “We stopped them,” he concludes simply with a shrug, then digs into a pocket of his jeans.

    “I’ve got it all right here, if you want to look at it,” he offers, holding up a SD card.
    Quote Originally Posted by Teagan
    Liminal stood next to JigaWatt, her eyes constantly flickering towards Weaver and her stance shifting nervously. All thoughts she'd had of "impressing the League" fled quickly as the rubbery heroine was stuck between awe and terror. On the one hand, even she hadn't expected JigaWatt's League contact for the day to be one of its highest ranking members, and her jaw had dropped open the moment she laid eyes on the archmage. On the other hand, there was a certain amount of panic she felt at the prospect of being in a room with one of the most powerful beings in the world. Liminal had never cared much for the magical types, just the idea of their powers terrified her sometimes, and Weaver was among the best. Having her seemingly irritated at the start of the meeting was a bad omen. It was easy to forget that the archmage was one of the heroes of Halcyon when a small voice kept whispering in Liminal's head that she could probably destroy the entire room with a snap of her fingers.

    Contrary to what Liminal was expecting, Weaver's line of questioning was rather direct; almost too blunt. She couldn't tell whether the archmage was worried over a possible leak in League intel, or if she just wanted to strongarm some kids out of their achievement. She didn't have a good enough read on the woman to decide one way or the other, and that made her even more hesitant to answer. Besides, only Fox would know anything about the source of their information, and if JigaWatt hadn't mentioned that, she wasn't going to volunteer anything either. There were enough scam artists out there that asked for your valuable information first without offering anything in return, and Liminal hoped that wasn't what the League was trying to do.
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  2. - Top - End - #122
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    ???
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    ((Port from Discord, Part 7))

    Aiden

    With Durendal's aid and your now-conscious cooperation, Knight and sword strike as one. Your attacks flow into each other, Durendal surging with excitement and a palpable sense of power that has been lacking from all your previous conflicts.

    Sir Maelan blocks each strike as you make it, but this time there is focus behind each motion. Gone is the callous dismissal of his perfect defense; each clash of steel is a true exchange.

    Strike, block. Strike, block. With each attack you feel your connection to Durendal growing stronger, the power flowing between each of you in an endless loop that makes you both faster, tougher, deadlier.

    And then, as you level another slash at the opposing Knight, Durendal seems to move almost of its own accord, tilting at just the right angle and swinging with just enough extra force to make Maelan feel the blow. When Claiomh Solais takes the strike in perfect form, the power behind the strike reverbates through the blade and through it, passing to the Red Knight with just enough force left to push him back a single inch.

    Against any lesser fighter, a victory barely worth mentioning. Against a Knight of Albion? It is a war cry. A declaration.

    This Knight is mine, and my choice will not be disrespected.

    Maelan nods his head in respect and relaxes his stance. "That is how a Knight does battle. There is a flow to battle, like a river of steel, and your blade knows the direction of the tide. Durendal has never chosen wrong, Aiden. You are fortunate to wield a blade so full of heart and mind."

    He allows you only a few seconds to accept the praise before returning to his warrior's form. "Now... again. And this time, do not stop until you have struck my armor."

    Kye

    To some, school is a labyrinth of chaos, drama, and obligations. But you've been in the Warrens, and the simple distractions of secondary education hardly compare. There are more important things to worry about than sanitized histories and toothless literature.

    Chess is not one of those important things, but here you are regardless.

    You push into the room with full guard up, ready for anything. Keen eyes used to scanning for threats sweep over a room so banal as to be dreary: it is every inch the picture of a conventional classroom, from the whiteboard to the rows of seats to the unmanned teacher's desk.

    A few of the desks have been pushed aside to make space, and in the center of the room desks have been pushed together to create makeshift tables. Two students are seated at one such table: a boy and a girl, the boy bright-eyed and the girl darkly-dressed. With your sudden entrance the boy is only half-stood, rising from his seat to meet you all too slowly. The girl hasn't looked up from the object of her interest: a game of chess.

    The chessboard is prettier than the cheap sets you've seen before, something old-fashioned and hand-carved. The pieces are high-quality but functional, lacking any of the frills and stylizations that make many 'fashionable' chess sets annoying to learn. At a glance, the girl is winning by a high margin.

    "Hey there! You're Kye, right? I'm Caleb, and this is Ellie. We're stoked to have a guest to our quaint little club." He flashes you a winning smile so full of sincerity it almost hurts. Is this guy for real? The girl is sharp contrast, only barely acknowledging your presence with a brief glance before returning her gaze to the game before her.

    Caleb strolls over to meet you with a wince. "Sorry about Ellie, she gets deep in the zone. She's nice once her brain comes back to the real world, though. Besides me and her, we'll get Daniel and Maxine in a few minutes."

    Ellie chimes in, voice dry and dispassionate. "Max's got another thing going on today. So just Danny." She doesn't lift her attention from the chessboard, and even moves a piece as she talks. "Check."

    Caleb looks back at Ellie and pouts. "Aw, really?"

    Lucan and Teagan

    Weaver and Crane listen without interruption. Crane nods along, while Weaver just purses her lips. It seems the League's mage doesn't entirely buy all the details of your story... but she doesn't argue any points you bring up.

    When the SD card is offered, Crane takes it delicately. "I'll take a look, and I'll make sure it comes back pristine." He offers you a smile, then exits through a side door, leaving the two teen heroes alone with Weaver.

    For a moment, Weaver simply remains as she is, silently watching. But the moment doesn't last long, and with a deep, pained breath, Weaver says, "I... must admit to a bit of weakness. Your team's presence at the New Dawn facility caught me very off guard, and I have spent the days since trying to understand how exactly you slipped my divinatory web. I fear that frustration has rendered me uncivil, for which I apologize."

    An apology? From a Leaguer?

    "In the weeks leading up to the assault on New Dawn, I poured spell after spell every day into divination magic. From scrying spells to portents and omens, I exhausted all my resources so that the operation would be perfect. But somehow, four teenagers who had never once appeared in the web were not just present at the operation, but actually arrived before the League." You can feel the exasperation coming off her, but as she talks you start to get the feeling that she's not really aiming it at you.

    "Make no mistake; I do not believe your team guilty of any malice in the act, but I cannot ignore the consequences of your absence in my foresight. Whoever tipped you off is a strong enough or clever enough mage to hide from my spellcraft, and there are very few people in this city capable of that. Even fewer with good intentions."

    She pauses, giving both teens an appraising glance. "I respect that you place value on information, and that you care about protecting your sources. It shows integrity, and so I will not ask you to divulge who tipped you off. I will merely advise caution in dealing with this third party. Those who dwell in shadow are often consumed by it."
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  3. - Top - End - #123
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    Still in high alert, it was all he could do to not fling something at this new boy as he stood. His heart raced for a moment though when nothing came...no assault or even a harsh word….he relaxed ever so slightly. Were these just regular people? No powers? They didn’t seem to have them but one could really never be sure. Would anyone expect him, standing here, to be a mage? No. There was the problem. Two of them, and two...one more...on the way. Also probably for the best, who would he play against if there was an odd number? Or would he just waste more time watching the others play. The latter sounded far worse than the former, both falling short of finding the remaining books in the treasure trove his newfound master had requested.

    It then dawned on him that in all this thinking, appraising the two, he’d not said a single word. No mask to hide behind either. “Yes.” he finally managed, glancing back towards the door. A quick escape. “I-I yes, I’m Kye.” He offers a sheepish smile, a rolling shrug of his shoulders and a hand towards the game near won. “I think it’s your move.”

  4. - Top - End - #124
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    JigaWatt
    Conditions: Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +3
    • Danger: -2
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -2

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • Stage-fighting: When you directly engage a threat with an audience watching, mark a condition to roll + Superior instead of Danger.

    • Time for the show: When you put on a flamboyant display of your powers, roll + Superior.
      On a 7-9, name one NPC present.
      On a 10+, name two NPCs present.
      The named NPCs must either volunteer help or information, express admiration, or ask for your help, GM’s choice.
      On a miss, your display catches someone watching in the wrong way.

    • The gossip mags: When you tap into the gossip and rumor of the celebrity industry for information on an important city figure, roll + Superior. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one:
      - What are they up to?
      - What or who do they most care about?
      - What allies do they have? Enemies?
      - Where and when can I find them?
      - How could I make them vulnerable to me?
      On a miss, ask one anyway, but they hear about your interest in them.
    • Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat.


    JigaWatt exchanges a glance with Liminal.

    ”I know we haven’t really been at this business a long time, but even so we’ve already realized that you don’t really trust anyone who’s not part of your Team,” he replies with a trace of caution in his tone. It’s words like that that often preface an adult trying to forbid one from doing something they think is too much for you.

    ”We honestly didn’t know about your planned operation; we’re just grateful we didn’t end up interfering with things after all. We’d rather be allies to the League than an annoying interference, after all,” he says wryly, considering the arcane powerhouse sitting before them. He doesn’t want to be under League jurisdiction – none of The Team does – but to be sanctioned by and working with?

    Hell yeah!


    Spoiler: OOC:
    Show
    Pierce the Mask vs Weaver: 8
    How could we get you to officially sanction The Team?

  5. - Top - End - #125
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Zombie

    Join Date
    Dec 2016

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Liminal
    Conditions: Angry, Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +2
    • Danger: -1
    • Savior: +1
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • The Mask: You wear a mask and hide your real identity. You embody Freak while wearing your mask.
      Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your mask’s Label. When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didn’t know it already, mark potential.

    • Mild-mannered: When you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade. On a 7-9, choose one:
      - you’re still under observation
      - you leave something incriminating behind
      - you’re forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it
      On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly head.

    • Game face: When you commit yourself to save someone or defeat a terrible enemy, mark a condition and take +1 ongoing to all rolls in direct pursuit of that goal. At the end of any scene in which you don’t make progress towards that goal, mark a condition. When you fulfill your goal, mark potential.

    • Thick and thin skinned: Whenever you have Angry marked, take +1 ongoing to unleash your powers.

    Liminal watched with irritation as Crane stepped out the door with the SD card. She always hated it when people walked out of sight with something she owned, though in this case the item didn't belong to her and JigaWatt wasn't visibly bothered by it. Still, it just felt wrong to let someone disappear with something so valuable. It was like letting a cashier walk off with your debit card, you never knew what they were doing with the information.

    She was still mulling it over when Weaver offered a rather unexpected apology. Liminal shared JigaWatt's glance, but she didn't know what to say. They'd gotten the mission from Corax, and apparently whatever they'd done to get the information, or whomever they'd gotten it from, was incredibly powerful if they could pull the wool over Weaver's eyes. Liminal knew almost nothing about spellcasting, but all those things Weaver claimed to have done sounded really impressive. What were they getting involved with? Also, was that line about the shadows...coincidental?

    Before she could say anything, JigaWatt did what came naturally to him; that being open up his big mouth and say some fairly diplomatic (and sometimes intelligent) things. She was becoming more and more glad that he was there. If it'd been just her, Liminal would have just dropped out of League adjacent missions altogether if she'd thought it was making them angry. At least now, they were looking in her direction. Well, JigaWatt's direction, but Fox wasn't the only Team member skilled at being a shadow.

    "We could be associates, if allies are a bit too casual." She added quietly after JigaWatt made his offer. "But we're not here to cause trouble."

    At this point, Liminal might've settled for "junior member", but she had no faith that Weaver would accept such a thing.
    Last edited by Kirjath; 2020-02-24 at 11:23 PM.

  6. - Top - End - #126
    Orc in the Playground
     
    DreadPirateH's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2012

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Aiden
    Conditions:
    Potential: 2/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +0
    • Danger: +0
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +0
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • [X] Fight the good fight: When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
    • [X]The legacy matters: When you take Influence over someone from your legacy (or give them Influence over you), mark potential and take +1 forward. When someone from your legacy causes your Labels to shift, mark potential and take +1 forward.


    Aiden's heart soars as he lands the blow that knocks Sir Maelan back. This newfound connection with Durendal opens a whole new world for him. As he attacks Sir Maelan again, he feels lighter, freer. Aiden can't help but grin, his focused determination giving way to joy as the current of power builds with every strike. The clash of steel sounds like a song as sword and knight harmonize together, each attack building toward an inevitable crescendo.

  7. - Top - End - #127
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    ???
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Lucan & Teagan

    Weaver smiles wryly. "An attitude I'm sure the rest of the League will appreciate. We've had far too much trouble lately. For all our efforts, New Dawn remains several steps ahead of us."

    Crane returns to the room and hands JigaWatt the SD card. "Thank you for your cooperation. I ran the video through a few quick algorithms to see how it might affect our campaign. The bad news is, a significant portion of the video is unusable in its current state; anything that directly shows what New Dawn is doing to people represents an arrow in the opposition's quiver. If people were aware that metahumans could be mass-produced - even temporary metahumans, as we've discovered most of New Dawn's experiments to be - it would undo years of work in getting people to accept metahumanity."

    "Now, we're aware that suppressing the truth is not a permanent solution, nor an ethical one," he continues, "but until we have measures in place to offset the damage of that information, we need to focus on keeping the peace."

    Weaver nods in agreement. "Once my team is closer to cracking New Dawn, we intend on making a public statement revealing everything. It may even be possible one day for the technology that New Dawn is pioneering to be used for the betterment of the world, rather than brute terror attacks."

    Crane leans back in his seat and says, "So, that leaves two options for the video. We have talent here that can edit the video pretty heavily, and on a level unnoticeable to even the trained eye. We can digitally scrub the majority of dangerous information and leave a 'clean' video for you to release publically. The second option is to lean on field-of-vision blur effects and clever cuts to try and edit around the crucial data, though this might result in a pretty choppy video in parts. Either way we're willing to help with the process. The third option, is, of course, to hold off on releasing the video until the League is ready to make a statement... but that statement likely isn't coming for weeks, and I heard how anxious you were getting in a few of those phone calls." He gives you a sympathetic wince.

    Spoiler: Pierce the Mask
    Show
    The League's modus operandi is integration. A big part of the Halcyon League brand is making sure everyone knows just how valuable League training and resources are, as opposed to mere cooperation. However, there is precedent: in a generation past, the League's hands were tied by a draconian and thankfully short-lived government policy. To get around this, the League offered covert support to a team of young superheroes called the Morning Owls and sanctioned their actions. Of course, it bears mentioning that most of the team went on to join the League in an official capacity once the policy was lifted.

    If you want history to repeat, you need to make a show of usefulness. Sharing exclusive intel could get Weaver's interest, and leveraging your media platform - and that big spike you got from targeting Lang - could get her attention.


    Kye

    Caleb winces and looks back at the game. "Check already? But I was following the booklet perfectly."

    With a second glance you see a thin paper booklet in front of Caleb's seat: a list of movesets used by professionals.

    "Too perfectly," Ellie replies. "It makes you predictable."

    Caleb turns back to you. "I'm not really in Ellie's league, but I try to help her practice for tournaments. She's won cash before, and trophies!" You can feel the pride radiating from his voice. "I'm just a collector, really." He scratches his head and grins.

    Ellie sighs. "You could improve if you took it seriously. I'm not a natural or a prodigy, just a hard worker. That's what matters most, you know." She scoops the game and starts resetting it. While she moves the pieces, she finally turns her cool gaze on the newcomer. "You any good?"

    She gestures to the now-empty seat and Caleb steps aside, grabbing his booklet as he finds an adjacent seat to watch the match from.

    Aiden

    Two blades, two knights, and a dance of ringing metal. With each clash you can feel your connection to Durendal growing stronger and deeper, and you begin to perceive the glowing threads of power that bind you to your blade. The same threads connect Maelan to Claiomh Solais, though much thicker and more numerous, more akin to the steel cable that holds up suspension bridges.

    At some point the world fell away, the entire castle vanishing from your perception as the duel became the only thing that mattered. You can feel yourself getting closer and closer, with each strike chipping away at Maelan's defenses, with each strike proving yourself, proving your bond, proving that you are meant to be a Knight-

    And then, a clear but wizened voice interrupts your mock combat.

    "Sir Maelan, it is good to see you again after such a long absence. And, ah, Errant White. How fortuitous that I find you here within my humble abode."

    Immediately, both of you freeze, torn from the song of battle by that all-too-familiar voice. Maelan sheathes his sword and gives a crisp salute. Your vision of the glowing threads disappears like it was never there, and you hear Maelan say in his most reverent tone, "Bartimaeus. Thank you for the kind words."

    The Wizard of Albion stands before you in all his glory, leaning against a staff of pale gold and smiling at the both of you.
    Last edited by Malexia; 2020-02-26 at 11:19 PM.
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  8. - Top - End - #128
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    He studied the two for a moment longer, being the only sample size he had of their group's dynamic. Caleb was studious, Ellie industrious. The former to score a win against the latter...but why? To impress? To humble? No...Caleb wanted to be liked. He was insecure, maybe, with his easy smile and eager greeting. He wanted to make a good first impression, and wanted this girl to make one too. Of the two, he was certainly more acclimated to Ellie's style of greeting. She was focused on the win but if her opponent was so hard to read, why all the concentration? She didn't want to make mistakes? She was winning handily, a mistake or two could easily be permitted certainly? Especially when playing someone you knew. That wasn't good enough it would seem. Either full victory or nothing.

    "No one's accused me of that." he finally answered, returning the cool gaze with one of his own. He didn't know the game at all really, other than the basics. Rooks moved in straight lines, knights in a strange L, bishops diagonal but only on their color, etc etc. The Knights were not a Chess people though he knew those of Albian persuasion were more keen on it. He knew people, well enough. A useful tool learned in the Camp. If you could read people, you could beat them in just about anything. He hoped his read on these two, as early as it were, would be enough. Otherwise he was about to be beat and more handily than poor Caleb. He took the offered seat all the same, placing his chin in hand and elbow resting on the table. "You meant in chess? I've never played. You're not going to go easy on me though, are you." He offered a wry smile, a feint of his own. Where were her cracks, how could he get her out of that zone enough to at least unbalance her if even for a moment.
    Last edited by Razade; 2020-02-26 at 11:56 PM.

  9. - Top - End - #129
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    JigaWatt
    Conditions: Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +3
    • Danger: -2
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -2

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • Stage-fighting: When you directly engage a threat with an audience watching, mark a condition to roll + Superior instead of Danger.

    • Time for the show: When you put on a flamboyant display of your powers, roll + Superior.
      On a 7-9, name one NPC present.
      On a 10+, name two NPCs present.
      The named NPCs must either volunteer help or information, express admiration, or ask for your help, GM’s choice.
      On a miss, your display catches someone watching in the wrong way.

    • The gossip mags: When you tap into the gossip and rumor of the celebrity industry for information on an important city figure, roll + Superior. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one:
      - What are they up to?
      - What or who do they most care about?
      - What allies do they have? Enemies?
      - Where and when can I find them?
      - How could I make them vulnerable to me?
      On a miss, ask one anyway, but they hear about your interest in them.
    • Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat.


    Lucan, understandably, has a welter of emotions roiling inside him. On the one hand, he had been fairly certain that there was information in that video that couldn't be considered acceptable for general public knowledge.

    On the other, it really sucks to know that he has to edit things down not just for viewability or length, but actual content and message.

    He…really wants to ask Liminal's opinion on this, but knows he can't. Because he can't go looking indecisive in front of the League of all things, and because this is his life, his fame. If he can't wrangle it on his own, is it really his success?

    "…we'd better scrub the footage," he says with only a hint of reluctance. "I'm pretty sure a 'bad' choppy cut would convince some of my fans that a coverup was happening. I try to avoid bad cuts and focus issues where I can," he explains with a shrug. Sure, a lot of his videos have chop in them, but that's to be expected with some of the stunts he does. Out of place chop, however, would look…wrong.

    "I'd also like to, uh, reserve the right to release the undoctored footage when it's appropriate to do so," he adds, wanting to get that on the table right here and now.

    And along the lines of his life, his celebrity, and his decisions....

    "And…I've come across some information that I elicited, and independently verified, that ties into Junebug, New Dawn, secret technology dumps in-city, and at least one imminent planned terror attack," he adds with a rush. He feels guilty, vaguely, that he's passing this information on to the League without discussing it with The Team first, but this is some pretty serious stuff going down, and it may just be more than they can handle on their own.

    And...if he was more introspective of a person, he might have to admit to himself that he's still scared from his encounter the previous evening, and the thought of handing this off to someone else more experienced to deal with is a welcome one.

    Fortunately, he's not that introspective.

  10. - Top - End - #130
    Orc in the Playground
     
    DreadPirateH's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2012

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Aiden
    Conditions:
    Potential: 2/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +0
    • Danger: +0
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +0
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • [X] Fight the good fight: When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
    • [X]The legacy matters: When you take Influence over someone from your legacy (or give them Influence over you), mark potential and take +1 forward. When someone from your legacy causes your Labels to shift, mark potential and take +1 forward.


    As quickly as it began, it was over - the dance of battle, the song of steel, the realest feeling of being a Knight he's yet felt, gone in an instant. Taking his cue from Sir Maelan, Aiden reluctantly sheathes Durenadal, turns, and salutes by crossing a closed fist over his heart. Looking up at the wizard standing on the level above them, he groans inwardly. Fortuitous, he says. He probably found another dusty book for me to read. I'm going to bomb my algebra test so hard!

    Aiden still wasn't sure if Bartimaeus could truly read minds or if it was just one of his many uncanny knacks, but he'd long since given up trying to suppress his thoughts around the wizard. From the first moment Aiden had met him, Bartimaeus the Blind had had a way of subverting his expectations. He'd been expecting a wizened old man with rheumy eyes, flowing white beard, and starry robes that swept the ground. Instead, the wizard had bright, twinkling eyes, a meticulously cropped white beard, and an immaculately tailored suit. The staff, never far from his person, was the only obviously wizardly thing about his appearance, slender and golden with its moon-cradling-sun shepherd's crook. Even as he stood there, Bartimaeus defied expectation, leaning against the staff and appearing almost frail. But Aiden knew better.

    "Bartimaeus! Sir Maelan was just giving me some pointers," he says, feeling the strange urge to explain his presence at the castle.
    Last edited by DreadPirateH; 2020-03-01 at 11:11 PM.

  11. - Top - End - #131
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Zombie

    Join Date
    Dec 2016

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Liminal
    Conditions: Angry, Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +2
    • Danger: -1
    • Savior: +1
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • The Mask: You wear a mask and hide your real identity. You embody Freak while wearing your mask.
      Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your mask’s Label. When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didn’t know it already, mark potential.

    • Mild-mannered: When you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade. On a 7-9, choose one:
      - you’re still under observation
      - you leave something incriminating behind
      - you’re forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it
      On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly head.

    • Game face: When you commit yourself to save someone or defeat a terrible enemy, mark a condition and take +1 ongoing to all rolls in direct pursuit of that goal. At the end of any scene in which you don’t make progress towards that goal, mark a condition. When you fulfill your goal, mark potential.

    • Thick and thin skinned: Whenever you have Angry marked, take +1 ongoing to unleash your powers.

    "'Scrub the footage'?!"

    Liminal almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. The League wanted to control the information, that was understandable, but a coverup? People's lives were in danger, with no telling how this New Dawn organization was getting more lab rats to experiment on, and the League wanted to bury the information for weeks? How did the organization collect so many people for their experiments? She hadn't heard anything about massive kidnappings, so were they just recruiting? Wouldn't that mean this sort of information would help dissuade people from joining them?

    "But...you can't just show yourself fighting the villain without showing the villain practicing...villainy, right? That makes no sense. Is he just showing up to fight Moreau because...he's there?"

    And yet JigaWatt agreed to the terms readily. Liminal almost strained her neck with how fast she whipped around to gawk at him. She caught herself quickly, this was his meeting and call to make after all, but internally she was reeling. She had to calm herself down with the reminder that the League knew what it was doing. They were the ones in charge of this, they were the ones offering the Team an olive branch (though that in and of itself still seemed a tad unnecessary). Maybe JigaWatt was just smarter in this sort of situation. Unfortunately, her mouth had gotten ahead of her brain again.

    Offering up the rest of the information he had also caught her off-guard. JigaWatt had gotten into topics even Liminal knew nothing about, and that stung a little. It stung a lot, actually. All she did when she was away from the Team was go home or go to work. She knew Fox was more secretive about how he pursued his leads, but the way JigaWatt just opened the floodgates on all this information he'd gathered between their last mission and this meeting just made Liminal feel like she wasn't pulling her weight at all.

    It was embarrassing. Liminal unconsciously shrunk a couple inches as she had listened to the meeting progress without her input. She didn't have anything to add to all this talk of terrorists and technology dumps. All she could think about was a text she'd gotten from a witch about the power of friendship.

    Her thoughts spiraled quickly from there. What kind of hero was she? Why was she doing this?

    "Sorry, you're right. Do what you gotta do, JW. Like retaining the rights to tell the truth, eventually."
    She couldn't believe the words, even as she said them. More than unethical, it wasn't anything she'd expected from following JigaWatt's content since even before she'd become a hero.

    Of course she regretted adding that last bit in immediately. There was no call for that, the League had their reasons. Meta-human acceptance aside, there was likely far more going on here than she was prepared for, obviously. More than that, she'd probably just shot her friend in the foot.
    Last edited by Kirjath; 2020-03-03 at 11:55 PM.

  12. - Top - End - #132
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Kye

    You see the first bit of human emotion from Ellie as she matches your wry smile with one of her own. "Not a chance, newbie. But I will make sure the game is fair." Something in the way she says that last word gives you the sense it matters a lot to her.

    Ellie gives you a run-down of everything you need to know; her descriptions of basic rules are simple, assuming you to know at least that much about the game, but she goes into detail on how castling and en passant work. Caleb hands you a sheet of paper with efficient reminders of movement and rules.

    And then the game begins. Within a few moves you get your first read on Ellie: she's watching you just as carefully as you're watching her. Every motion you make, every glance, she notes and files away. You can't tell if that's just how she plays chess or if she's trying to discern something about the person by watching the player. Her early play reflects this with moves that feel more cautious than your skill level deserves, but you don't get the sense that she's going easy on you, rather that she refuses to underestimate any opponent.

    Lucan & Teagan

    Crane takes each response in stride. "We appreciate your cooperation, JigaWatt. And we want to make it clear that this is cooperation, not coercion; we're not asking you to sign any paperwork or sign away rights to the footage, and we encourage you to release the unmodified version once the League goes public."

    Weaver adds, "The League is built on a foundation of stable, ethical relationships. We have seen what happens when would-be heroes stray too far into shadow while pursuing an ideal of justice. New Dawn has forced us to play a subtle game, but we will never sink to the level of Ex Machina's group."

    Ex Machina was a superhero, once, but his mounting frustration with the systems keeping heroes in check led him to build a group of disillusioned supers dedicated to opposing AEGIS and dispatching vigilante justice. Eventually, the extremes he went to in his shadow war made him no better than the villains he sought to destroy, and he was taken down. Ex Machina refused to be taken into custody, and so his battle with a hero team (several members of which would go on to join the League, including Weaver) ended in his death. Most of his followers were captured and incarcerated in the Cold Room, but a few escaped.

    The mention of Ex Machina is like a puzzle piece clicking into place; the reason you're getting the VIP treatment from a central member of the Halcyon League is because they know what they're doing is close to that line... and they know that you know about the secrets they're keeping. You aren't sure if this is more for your benefit or for the League's; though Weaver's body language gives away nothing, her mention of an enemy that was, for her, personal, suggests that she has more at stake here than just PR. Whether it's convincing you or convincing herself, she wants to make it clear that the League are still the good guys.

    And then, JigaWatt says the magic words.

    The second they understand what they're hearing, Weaver and Crane share a look that speaks volumes. Crane shifts further back, while Weaver gives you a long, searching look. The Leaguer mage arches an eyebrow. "Intel like that would be incredibly valuable to the League's effort. If you know the details of this terror attack, the League could put measures in place to make sure it is brought down before it even becomes an incident. And a connection between Junebug Technologies and New Dawn? You're certain?"

    Aiden

    Bartimaeus nods and smiles. "And well he should. Combat training is an important part of a Knight's tasks. Sadly, I must cut this session short. Apologies to the both of you, but I wish to speak with dear Aiden in private."

    The language used might be permissive, but there's no mistaking a command from the Wizard. Sir Maelan turns to you, Aiden, and says, "Practice. Your life will depend on it."

    And then you're following the Drood further into the castle. While the main hall was fairly normal, the castle architecture begins to warp the closer you get to Bartimaeus's tower. Paintings that seem too deep to be 2-dimensional, suits of armor that almost seem to turn to look at you, and flights of stairs that wind around and around and should cross each other but never do. It's very disorienting, even after being taken to the Wizard's study several times before. You're not sure you'll ever get used to it.

    As you travel, Bartimaeus chats with you, affecting a friendly air. "How have you been, Aiden? I hope you're balancing your identities well, as I know it is something new Knights always struggle with."
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  13. - Top - End - #133
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    Kye is, if not a quick learner at least eager to listen. Castling and el peasent going completely over his head. They'd stacked him against someone way out of his weight class which meant that Plan B was now Plan A. Cheat, distract, confuse. People liked to make analogies to how tactics were like chess, an allusion to moving pieces on a board, but they never struck him as accurate. Every little piece could only move one very special way when a real combat situation, a real tactical situation, rarely had only a single viable option. You were also generally not alone against another single mind. It was more, then, similar to playing four or five games of chess at once.

    "You're very focused." he starts not long after the game, the start of his own game. He wasn't sure how he was going to move pieces freely yet but those plans were laid on a larger foundation. "Are you sure that's necessary against little old me?" he asked, losing yet another pawn. "There's only the three of us, surely we could talk about something? What do you think Caleb? You have anything on your mind? Any other hobbies you both like to do? I don't have much time for them myself, that's why I'm here. Mom thinks I don't get enough exposure to kids my age. I'm sure Ellie here takes the same dedication to her other hobbies as this, she must be a force to be reckoned with. Do you do this for school work too?" It was a gamble, just using white noise, to drag some kind of reaction out as he eased his previously lost pawn a move ahead.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Used Are you Watching Closely. Got a 7.

    - Going to expose a weakness or flaw
    - Going to confuse them for some time

  14. - Top - End - #134
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    JigaWatt
    Conditions: Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +3
    • Danger: -2
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -2

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • Stage-fighting: When you directly engage a threat with an audience watching, mark a condition to roll + Superior instead of Danger.

    • Time for the show: When you put on a flamboyant display of your powers, roll + Superior.
      On a 7-9, name one NPC present.
      On a 10+, name two NPCs present.
      The named NPCs must either volunteer help or information, express admiration, or ask for your help, GM’s choice.
      On a miss, your display catches someone watching in the wrong way.

    • The gossip mags: When you tap into the gossip and rumor of the celebrity industry for information on an important city figure, roll + Superior. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one:
      - What are they up to?
      - What or who do they most care about?
      - What allies do they have? Enemies?
      - Where and when can I find them?
      - How could I make them vulnerable to me?
      On a miss, ask one anyway, but they hear about your interest in them.
    • Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat.


    JigaWatt takes in a sharp breath; while the reaction from the Leaguers is everything he could have hoped for, the intensity behind all of it is still a tiny bit alarming.

    "I’m certain there’s a connection between New Dawn and Junebug’s technology," he clarifies. "I’ve seen that much with my own eyes. Almost assuredly someone on the inside of the company is supplying it; my information says it goes all the way to the top, but that’s, um, hearsay." He thinks that’s the right term, anyhow.

    "And yeah, we could smash things up and prevent these attacks from ever getting off the ground...but that’ll just make them that much more careful the next time they try, and we can’t count on finding stuff out ahead of time again, can we?" he goes on. "Don’t we kind of have to use this information...decisively? Strike at the last moment, when they’re all assembled and in the midst of their illegalities? That way we catch the most of them, and have the best chance of uncovering all the details of their plans?"

    He hopes this is all as obvious as he feels it is.

    "Surely somebody will flip to save their own skin, and that could stop things right there for once and for all." He takes a breath, and forces out the last bit.

    "And...it could be more difficult than that," he says reluctantly. "When I was there, a super showed up, she had been told by someone higher up the chain that they were going to have an intruder, that night. They knew I was coming before I did. And I barely got out of there without being detected. The meta, a woman...she was searching for my mind." His voice falters at the end there, reliving anew the sharp fear of nearly being caught by someone who could do who knows what with his brain.

  15. - Top - End - #135
    Orc in the Playground
     
    DreadPirateH's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2012

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Aiden
    Conditions:
    Potential: 2/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +0
    • Danger: +0
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +0
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • [X] Fight the good fight: When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
    • [X]The legacy matters: When you take Influence over someone from your legacy (or give them Influence over you), mark potential and take +1 forward. When someone from your legacy causes your Labels to shift, mark potential and take +1 forward.


    Aiden is disappointed to say the least. This was the first time any of the other Knights had ever taken him seriously. And he was doing it! If a few short minutes had already made such a difference, he can only imagine what else he might have achieved, which makes the interruption all the more bitter.

    Aiden meets Sir Maelan's gaze, nodding dutifully. "Of course, sir. Thank you for your tutelage. I won't let you down."

    Following Bartimaeus into the depths of Castle Grail, Aiden tries to keep focused on the wizard's figure. The first couple of times he'd come this way, he couldn't help but marvel at it all, but the magic was unnerving. He'd learned the hard way that if he didn't concentrate on the path directly in front of him he could easily get lost. Fox would probably have a field day, but Aiden didn't care for it. He was pretty sure the painting after the second landing was different every time he passed it, and once he could have sworn one of the suits of armor flipped him the bird. It felt as though even Castle Grail itself didn't respect him.

    Bartimaeus's small-talk didn't make concentrating any easier. His words always seemed to carry hidden meanings, and every conversation felt like a one-sided game of chess. "Really? I'm doing my best, but it doesn't seem to be good enough for the others. It's hard to imagine Sir Maelan or Lady Cordelia having trouble."

  16. - Top - End - #136
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Zombie

    Join Date
    Dec 2016

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Liminal
    Conditions: Angry, Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +2
    • Danger: -1
    • Savior: +1
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • The Mask: You wear a mask and hide your real identity. You embody Freak while wearing your mask.
      Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your mask’s Label. When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didn’t know it already, mark potential.

    • Mild-mannered: When you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade. On a 7-9, choose one:
      - you’re still under observation
      - you leave something incriminating behind
      - you’re forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it
      On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly head.

    • Game face: When you commit yourself to save someone or defeat a terrible enemy, mark a condition and take +1 ongoing to all rolls in direct pursuit of that goal. At the end of any scene in which you don’t make progress towards that goal, mark a condition. When you fulfill your goal, mark potential.

    • Thick and thin skinned: Whenever you have Angry marked, take +1 ongoing to unleash your powers.

    Mercifully, it seemed like they'd ignored her remarks. At least no harm had been done. The speed with which the PR guy just brushed her concerns aside was irksome, until JigaWatt rationalized it. They had information that they were going to sit on until they could use it to catch the most bad guys. It was logical, but Liminal couldn't help but think of what would happen to all the people that would get strapped to a lab table and injected with...whatever that scientist put into her the other night. A lot of people were going to suffer, but it sounded like that was the plan. Sit on the information until it had the right time to release a PR statement.

    But she had no room to interject. To their credit, the League was still stopping all of this New Dawn nonsense as it popped up around town, and they would've hit the lab if the team hadn't gotten there first. They were professionals, the heroes she'd been looking up to since she was a kid. She didn't have to like their devotion to good publicity, but they were the grown ups. Even now, all the talk of Junebug and New Dawn's technology was just flying over her head. And apparently JigaWatt had met a psychic villain of some kind and hadn't told anyone about it either.

    Liminal was really starting to feel like a fifth wheel.

  17. - Top - End - #137
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    ???
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    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    KYE

    Your first bit of wit falls on unwelcome ears. "Necessary doesn't enter the equation."

    A flicker of irritation crosses her face as you continue your game of white noise, though she's quick to disguise it behind that cold mask. You can tell you're getting under her skin. She must not be used to table talk and mind games, since she mostly plays tournament games or against friends who know what she's like.

    Her initial replies are noncommital, barely full sentences, with Caleb filling most of the space in answer to your questions. And then, you see it - a moment of hesitation, her hand briefly twitching, hovering over a piece before moving to the one beside it.

    Without warning she moves her gaze from the chess board to you, locking eyes with you. "I don't have hobbies; I'd rather spend that time developing useful skills. Chess, for example, is both intellectually nurturing and carries a chance for financial benefits. School work, likewise, has both academic benefits and teaches a proper work ethic. When I'm not studying or practicing chess, I help out around the house and at the cafe my parents own."

    From the moment she starts talking, her attention seems to almost completely vanish from the game. Your little trick faces no resistance, and her movements of the chess pieces seem almost mechanical, automatic, like she's put that part of her brain on autopilot while she focuses on your conversation.

    LUCAN & TEAGAN

    Weaver and Crane listen intently to all the information being unveiled. Crane is frowning the whole time and taking notes, while Weaver's face is a mask of stone.

    When you get to the part about the psychic, Weaver's fist briefly clenches, though she quickly controls herself. Softly, she murmurs, "A telepath, a precognitive, a geneticist, an alchemist... who else is working for you, New Dawn?"

    She sighs and for a moment you can see pain and frustration in her micro-expressions. "There's a lot of good we can do with that information. With the location of technology drops I can assign a meta with stealth powers to confirm the details and track the source undetected. As for the terror attack... I'll have to discuss details with Sentinel, but I plan to suggest modifying regular patrol schedules to have a team 'coincidentally' in the area. It would get heroes on the ground quick enough to stop the attack while making it look like mere bad luck for the villains. But, again, that's talk for Sentinel."

    AIDEN

    Bartimaeus chuckles. "You see them now at the height of their power. Once upon a time, Maelan was young and foolish. Cordelia... well, she's always been a bit ahead of her peers, but consider her the exception that proves the rule. What you're experiencing is by no means extraordinary."

    You reach the wizard's study, a room straight out of fairy tale or a fantasy book. It's also surprisingly cluttered, with arcane tomes and strange reagents covering nearly every surface. Above, the ceiling reaches into infinity, the walls at a certain point becoming an endless library.

    Bartimaeus takes his seat at the central desk and gestures for you to sit across from him. Once you've settled, he steeples his fingers and offers a friendly smile. "It is good to see you again, truly. I have been watching your progress with great interest."

    That's a surprise, since you haven't seen much of the wizard since that first meeting... but then again, with magic like his, he probably doesn't need to be near you to see you.

    "I'd like to hear about your recent adventures, if you'll indulge me."
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  18. - Top - End - #138
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    He was worried he was up against one of those sorts. The sort that was above the chatter, above the granulated sound bites of everyday conversation, a snob. They were the worst sorts for this sort of brinkmanship, especially with a biased observer, but the walls cracked. "There you are." he thought as it all came down in nice sizeable chunks. A facade, to cleave away. He was supposed to be doing this to get away from The Fox, to be a kid. That was what Sara wanted but old habits died hard and even if he had a persona up as well, inside it meant more about fooling these people than it was to seem natural. The natural him...did it even exist? An image of what that would look like was a gaping him sized hole in the tapestry of all the other faces he had to wear. The Fox of legend was much the same. There was no tale of the Fox alone. He was an actor in everyone else's story. Detached from their struggles enough to get what the clever beast needed and then to simply move on. A shadow to all the other animals.

    "Very practical." he nods sagely, fingers flipping pieces here and there as they lock eyes. They were playing another game now, one he was good at. "So it's all jobs to you then. Maybe you're having fun here in this club but that's not what it's about. Don't you think Caleb would enjoy it more if you maybe tried to have a little fun with it?" Listen to him. Was this new face a hypocrite? Was that who he was making for this club? "If you don't enjoy what you do then it's a chore. If it's a chore, like cleaning cafes, you're not getting anything out of it past pure brute work. The ceiling is low, you've reached it. It reminds me of a story my own mother used to tell me. Mr. Beaver would make his dams, day in and day out. Always the same along the river bed. It was just the shape he learned to build in. Mr. Fox however built his den year after year in a new spot. When the river flooded, he simply moved. Mr. Beaver never had a home again. He got used to his surroundings, never adapted, simply worked and worked and worked on the same dam every damn year."

    He had no real strategy of his own as he moved pieces about, ignored movement rules, simply flat out cheated. Not outside taking the King, that was the point after all wasn't it? "What's worse, since Mr. Beaver was homeless, he had to stay with Mr. Fox. Do you know what Foxes do to homeless beavers?" He let the question rest for a moment before looking away, finally tearing his eyes from his opponents. "Oh my...Checkmate? Is that the right term?" he asks, mocking being startled as he moves his queen into position, as if he were looking at some alien language.
    Last edited by Razade; 2020-03-30 at 06:47 AM.

  19. - Top - End - #139
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    JigaWatt
    Conditions: Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +3
    • Danger: -2
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -2

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • Stage-fighting: When you directly engage a threat with an audience watching, mark a condition to roll + Superior instead of Danger.

    • Time for the show: When you put on a flamboyant display of your powers, roll + Superior.
      On a 7-9, name one NPC present.
      On a 10+, name two NPCs present.
      The named NPCs must either volunteer help or information, express admiration, or ask for your help, GM’s choice.
      On a miss, your display catches someone watching in the wrong way.

    • The gossip mags: When you tap into the gossip and rumor of the celebrity industry for information on an important city figure, roll + Superior. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one:
      - What are they up to?
      - What or who do they most care about?
      - What allies do they have? Enemies?
      - Where and when can I find them?
      - How could I make them vulnerable to me?
      On a miss, ask one anyway, but they hear about your interest in them.
    • Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat.


    While not always the most perceptive of people, Lucan can nonetheless feel the amount of uncomfortable that is rolling off Liminal in waves. He’s pretty sure she’s pretty pissed at finding this information out this way, but....

    Well, he didn’t exactly have the chance to fill the group in on this before the League came at him out of the blue like this.

    Aaaand he has a feeling that’s not going to save him from the rest of The Team’s opinions on the matter.

    "We want in on this," he replies, feeling it's time to wrap things up but needing to get things locked down first. "The Team. We brought this to you, but it was brought to us first; that was done for a reason." Whether or not his teammates knew differently, he isn't about to let the League know that this isn't something they were all aware of from the outset. He'll rectify that as soon as possible in any case.

    "We're going to be at the rally; they won't even know we're there until it's too late," he says, daring greatly to inform rather than request. From the cross of information he had received, that seemed to be the most likely point for disaster. And, potentially, the greatest chance of finding out something critical.

    "We will be happy to coordinate to avoid any more...surprises, like last time," he goes on, "make sure that everyone involved is aware of what the situation is." And that's going to be the case on more than one level. When someone knows they're going to be observed, it's far easier to avoid slipping into grey areas in the name of expedience.

  20. - Top - End - #140
    Orc in the Playground
     
    DreadPirateH's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2012

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Aiden
    Conditions:
    Potential: 2/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +0
    • Danger: +0
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +0
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • [X] Fight the good fight: When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
    • [X]The legacy matters: When you take Influence over someone from your legacy (or give them Influence over you), mark potential and take +1 forward. When someone from your legacy causes your Labels to shift, mark potential and take +1 forward.


    Sitting in the seat, Aiden is no more comfortable than he was the first time he was summoned by Bartimaeus. Having the wizard's full attention on him made him feel like a mouse before an owl. No matter where he might scurry, there was no place to hide.

    As Bartimaeus asked about his "recent adventures", Aiden's mouth suddenly feels dry. He knew exactly what the wizard was referring to, and it wasn't talking pineapples. There was no use trying to skirt the issue on this one. "Ah. You mean...the lab. We were tipped off that there was something strange going on at an abandoned building in the Warrens. We investigated." As Aiden retells what happened, the panels show the action with Aiden's rectangular narration boxes overlaid. But rather than the usual art style, the panels have the look of a decadent Albian tapestry. "The place was being used by a crazy scientist who called himself Dr. Moreau." The tapestry shows the four teen heroes confronting the villainous malpractitioner arrayed in black robes and a plague doctor mask. "He was experimenting on humans and metas, and it looked like it had something to do with that new drug." The masked-figure stands over a figure strapped to a medieval torture table, a vicious caduceus upraised to bludgeon the captive. "We defeated Dr. Moreau and freed his test subjects." Tapestry-Jigawatt hurls a thunderbolt at the doctor, striking him down while Tapestry-Errant White frees the captive with a stroke of his mighty sword. "Then Sunshot showed up." A jaunty archer with a feathered cap and nimbus glow appears, the four awe-struck heroes arrayed around him. "The League was conducting a sting. Apparently there were a lot of other labs just like that one that all got taken down that same night. It just so happened that we'd gotten to this one first."
    Last edited by DreadPirateH; 2020-04-07 at 06:46 PM.

  21. - Top - End - #141
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    ???
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    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    KYE

    As you tell your story, her gaze keeps sharpening, like she's trying to bore a hole in you with nothing more than intense focus. When you deliver your question and give space to the air, she wastes no time with a curt response.

    "Absolutely nothing, because foxes don't eat beavers, don't like water, and don't take in strays."

    Then checkmate is announced, and she looks down at the board. Her questing gaze sweeps across each and every piece, attempting to calculate what exactly led to this... unique board state.

    "How unexpected. Congratulations, Mr. Fox."

    Before she can say anything more, a new voice enters the conversation.

    "Hey, Ellie! Hey, Caleb! Hey... new guy?"

    A glance at the door reveals the newcomer, a dark-haired boy with an over-stuffed backpack. He sets his bag down by the door and gives you an understated smile. "Hey. Name's Daniel, but you can call me Danny. You?"

    LUCAN & TEAGAN

    Weaver listens carefully to your speech, hands clasped. When you are finished speaking she takes a moment to think over her words before taking in a deep breath and saying, "I would advise... caution."

    "We do not yet know what level of threat New Dawn will send to this rally. While the previous attacks have been of only minor danger, even to inexperienced heroes, that was before the events in the Warren and your encounter with the telepath. Their next strike could be another test of their product... or it could be something much, much worse."

    Then, Weaver rises from her seat and folds her arms behind her back. "Before any decisions can be made, I must confer with Sentinel and perform a sequence of divinations. I will endeavor to make that conversation quick, and I will send a reply through the number we have on file once a deliberation has been made. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."

    Crane rises as well, clearly signaling that the meeting is about to end. He adds, "We look forward to coordinating with you, JigaWatt and Liminal."

    AIDEN

    Bartimaeus listens intently, betraying nothing of his feelings on the topics you discuss. When you are finished, he taps his desk idly. "An eventful night. It is experiences like those that will mold you into a hero of Albion, if you let them. I would encourage you to try and learn from that battle; the greatest teacher of all is one's own history."

    He picks up a trinket off his desk, some strange item of glass, crystal, and gold. He turns it over in his fingers, in a repetitive motion you would call absent-minded if that adjective could ever apply to the Drood.

    "Tell me about your teammates. How did they fare against this 'crazy scientist'? What do you make of them as heroes?"
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  22. - Top - End - #142
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    "So dour." She was a hard one, that was for sure, but nothing like Errant. If he could get even one idea to that brick wall then he could get through to this sourpuss. He bristled at the nickname, just a little, a frown creasing his lips as his eyes looked back over the game board. "What can I say. I must be a natural."

    Even he had to give a start at the sudden intrusion, every urge in him to stand and ready himself fought down by the time his head whipped around to look at the newcomer. One of the others, had he really let his guard down so much? He knew at least one more was coming. A mistake, what if it had been someone dangerous? Even here, the eyes of Albion wouldn't look over such a place. Danger was ever present, and he'd been caught playing games. Hasting's fault, he rationalized. She would make him weak in her drive to make him "better".

    "Leaving." He scraps the crappy high school chair against the ground to emphasis this point as he stands. "If you'll forgive me for our short time, I've rembered some errands I need to get done before nightfall. I'll be back though, I'll steal a smile from Ellie before I leave for good. You can count on that. It was nice to meet you all, I hope I get to know all of you so much better in the weeks to come. Danny, I'll be your servant next time." He extended a hand towards the newcomer, a show of disarmament in his neck of the wounds. A Son of Albion with their main hand exposed couldn't draw their blade after all.

  23. - Top - End - #143
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    Male

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    JigaWatt
    Conditions: Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +3
    • Danger: -2
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -2

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • Stage-fighting: When you directly engage a threat with an audience watching, mark a condition to roll + Superior instead of Danger.

    • Time for the show: When you put on a flamboyant display of your powers, roll + Superior.
      On a 7-9, name one NPC present.
      On a 10+, name two NPCs present.
      The named NPCs must either volunteer help or information, express admiration, or ask for your help, GM’s choice.
      On a miss, your display catches someone watching in the wrong way.

    • The gossip mags: When you tap into the gossip and rumor of the celebrity industry for information on an important city figure, roll + Superior. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one:
      - What are they up to?
      - What or who do they most care about?
      - What allies do they have? Enemies?
      - Where and when can I find them?
      - How could I make them vulnerable to me?
      On a miss, ask one anyway, but they hear about your interest in them.
    • Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat.


    JigaWatt also rises, more than willing to move on before it comes into his head to push his luck even further. He has a feeling he's going to need all the luck he has left to survive The Team's displeasure.

    "We're on the same side here," he offers by way of explanation. Articles of methodology aside, none of them wanted violence and blood running in the streets.

    "If you have any more questions," he shrugs. "You know how to get in touch with us. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to seeing what your technicians come up with with regards to my footage." His surprise derailing aside, that had been the original point of this meeting, after all, and despite everything else he owes that content to his followers.

    He glances at Liminal; she's ready to leave, yes?

  24. - Top - End - #144
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Zombie

    Join Date
    Dec 2016

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Liminal
    Conditions: Angry, Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +2
    • Danger: -1
    • Savior: +1
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • The Mask: You wear a mask and hide your real identity. You embody Freak while wearing your mask.
      Once per session, you can affirm either your heroic or secret identity to switch your Mundane with your mask’s Label. When you reveal your secret identity to someone who didn’t know it already, mark potential.

    • Mild-mannered: When you try to use your civilian identity to deceive, trick, or slip past someone, roll + Mundane. On a hit they buy your facade. On a 7-9, choose one:
      - you’re still under observation
      - you leave something incriminating behind
      - you’re forced to make a fool of yourself to sell it
      On a miss, one of your civilian obligations rears its ugly head.

    • Game face: When you commit yourself to save someone or defeat a terrible enemy, mark a condition and take +1 ongoing to all rolls in direct pursuit of that goal. At the end of any scene in which you don’t make progress towards that goal, mark a condition. When you fulfill your goal, mark potential.

    • Thick and thin skinned: Whenever you have Angry marked, take +1 ongoing to unleash your powers.

    At last, things were wrapping up. It felt like she was a child again, waiting on edge for the school bell to ring so she could finally go home. It was strange to think that just a few hours earlier she'd been so incredibly excited for this event, but Liminal was used to life's many disappointments. Worse was the thought that she'd probably embarrassed herself in front of the League, and that was something that would stick with her even after the day was over. Liminal wasn't sure why Jigawatt had asked her to join the meeting, but she doubted he had been malicious about it. Maybe she was just the lame teammate he was dragging to social events.

    "It was nice to meet you."
    Liminal offered absently as she nodded her head in the League's direction. She turned towards Jigawatt, who seemed ready to leave as well. Without any further comment, she moved for the exit. By now, Ryan was probably getting hungry anyways, so it was time to head home.

  25. - Top - End - #145
    Orc in the Playground
     
    DreadPirateH's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2012

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Aiden
    Conditions:
    Potential: 2/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +0
    • Danger: +0
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +0
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • [X] Fight the good fight: When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
    • [X]The legacy matters: When you take Influence over someone from your legacy (or give them Influence over you), mark potential and take +1 forward. When someone from your legacy causes your Labels to shift, mark potential and take +1 forward.


    Aiden frowns, thinking back to the battle. They had been successful, but until JigaWatt had stuck him to the ceiling, they were all faring poorly against Dr. Moreau himself. Aiden hadn't so much as made a scratch on him, and Liminal had been thrown around like a ragdoll. Keeping his guard up, Aiden has to choose his next words with care. He fixes his gaze at the trinket in Bartimaeus's hand as he collects his thoughts.

    "They...we...acquitted ourselves honorably. But we have a lot to learn. Each of them has the makings of greatness. Like iron hidden in ore. But we still have fires ahead of us before we can be forged."

    As he describes each of his teammates, each gets another tapestry panel exaggerating their strengths and weaknesses. "JigaWatt single-handedly ended Dr. Moreau's threat, but he wastes too much time flaunting for his 'viewers'." One side of JigaWatt's tapestry shows the boy high atop a mountain lobbing thunderbolts at evildoers below, but the other shows a peacock preening an ostentatious tail, oblivious to sets of disembodied eyes and fangs that surround him.

    "Fox's magic is powerful, but he cloaks himself in shadows and lies. I am glad to have him as an ally instead of an enemy, but our people tell stories of foxes. I am...wary." Fox's tapestry shows him as a sorcerer at the height of his power, a sage surrounded by ancient grimoires and ritual components with the world itself in the palm of his hand. Its counter shows a wily fox walking upright, wearing a farmer's costume and straw hat as he sneaks into a chicken house, betraying charges he was meant to protect.

    "Liminal has the heart of a hero. More than almost anyone I know. She fights with us to help other people, not to help herself. But she's as green as any of us. She's still mastering her powers, and she gets in the way before she can figure out where she's most useful." Her tapestry shows Liminal as a glorious caretaker, tending the needs of a world beset with problems. She has many arms, and each of them is extended to a different person in need, her hands morphed into the very thing to cure their individual woes. But next to that is an image of a long snake, its coils tangled and knotted. The snake tries to free itself, but only makes the problem worse.

    After divulging this assessment, Aiden feels a sense of shame. Is he betraying his teammates by discussing their weaknesses with someone else, even if that someone else seems near-omniscient? Looking back up at the wizard, he kicks the question back to him. "You said yourself you've been watching. What do you make of them?"
    Last edited by DreadPirateH; 2020-05-21 at 08:28 AM.

  26. - Top - End - #146
    Bugbear in the Playground
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
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    ???
    Gender
    Female

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    AIDEN

    Bartimaeus steeples his fingers and gives the question a long moment of consideration.

    "They are rough and untempered, that is certain. With time, all of you could become living legends of the city. But... they are not like the knights of old. Not driven entirely by duty or justice, but by more individual reasons. It is the age of the individual, after all."

    As Bartimaeus speaks, the walls of the study seem to fade away, their very substance blown away by a light breeze, leaving formless light behind. That light shifts with his words, and images form - not flat and static, but lifelike and changing, three-dimensional. The visions show a city of industry, a city of glass and smoke and steel.

    "You spoke of the Fox. The Fox is an ancient adversary of the roaming knight, not out of malice but out of a trickster's instinct and a shrouded heart. I know not what darkness lurks in his past, but it is a heavy one. While his powers may be useful, you must always watch yourself around him."

    The visions shift to a cloaked figure, a living shadow moving through a crowd. Two baleful eyes burn amid the darkness, glaring out from beneath that heavy hood. As he walks, the shadows behind him twist and contort, full of indistinct calamities.

    "The shapeshifter, her gift is unique but she seems ill-suited to it. Her focus is not true, her strength weighed down by hesitation. As she is now, she may cost you victory through that hesitation. For all her skill at putting on faces, I believe she has yet to find her own nature."

    The visions shift again, this time to Liminal in a crowd. As she walks through it her face morphs, again and again, flitting between different identities.

    "As for the storm-caller, his zeal is commendable but his motives are... perhaps corrupt would be too harsh a word, but virtuous would be far too kind. Greed can blind even noble hearts."

    The visions shift a final time, to JigaWatt blasting foes with lightning, the electricity arcing across the entire room and zapping scores of masked thugs. And yet, his focus is not on his enemies at all but on his recording equipment, and a stream of indecipherable noise pours from his mouth.

    Bartimaeus dismisses the visions, and he picks up the trinket once more.

    "It grows late, and you should be heading home. But before you leave... I have a gift." He sets the trinket of crystal and glass in front of you and gestures for you to take it. "This enchanted device will prove useful in the days to come. You are sure to encounter interesting people as you continue to fight the forces of darkness. Whenever you desire insight on a person of interest, simply hold the device and speak their name into it. The device is not all-knowing, but I have put a great deal of information in it."

    With that he stands and moves for the door. "Come; I'll walk you out."




    KYE

    Danny blinks confusedly at the suddenness of it all, but politeness takes over and he shakes your hand. "Yeah, sure thing. Hope to see you next time."

    Ellie remains seated, still looking at you with that inquisitive, questing gaze. "His name is Kye."

    Caleb walks over and makes a little pouting motion. "Aw, leaving already? Darn. Well, we'd be happy to have you back next time. Chess club's always recruiting!"

    But they don't try to convince you to stay, or stand in your way. Indeed, as soon as Caleb and Danny have said their goodbyes they're already gravitating over to Ellie to refocus on chess. Their attentions so easily diverted, there is nothing left to stop you from slipping away and getting far from this massive distraction of an encounter.




    LUCAN & TEAGAN

    You're led out to as far as the initial side room just beyond the public face of the Hall of Heroes. All the requisite niceties are dealt with, and then the two of you are alone together, the meeting behind you and your uneasy deal with the League lingering in the air. JigaWatt chose to censor his content - to hide the truth - for the sake of... appeasing the League? Helping the fight against the enemy? Cold networking? It's an uncertain question, made worse by the objections that his own teammate voiced in the meeting. For a team... you're not quite on the same page. Not yet. Not with information still being unequal.

    What's a couple of heroes to do?
    Some kind of word-witch. She/her. Find more of my stuff at my new website!

  27. - Top - End - #147
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    JigaWatt
    Conditions: Afraid
    Potential: 0/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +3
    • Danger: -2
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +2
    • Mundane: -2

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • Stage-fighting: When you directly engage a threat with an audience watching, mark a condition to roll + Superior instead of Danger.

    • Time for the show: When you put on a flamboyant display of your powers, roll + Superior.
      On a 7-9, name one NPC present.
      On a 10+, name two NPCs present.
      The named NPCs must either volunteer help or information, express admiration, or ask for your help, GM’s choice.
      On a miss, your display catches someone watching in the wrong way.

    • The gossip mags: When you tap into the gossip and rumor of the celebrity industry for information on an important city figure, roll + Superior. On a hit, you can ask the GM questions. On a 10+, ask three. On a 7-9, ask one:
      - What are they up to?
      - What or who do they most care about?
      - What allies do they have? Enemies?
      - Where and when can I find them?
      - How could I make them vulnerable to me?
      On a miss, ask one anyway, but they hear about your interest in them.
    • Suck it, Domitian: When you stand strong while dramatically under fire, roll + Savior instead of + Danger to directly engage a threat.


    Still shaken by his encounter with the newly-revealed mind reader the night before, JigaWatt's nerves are on edge as he and Liminal make their way out of League Headquarters, no words exchanged between them until they emerge into the open air once more.

    "Look," he says almost immediately, not looking at her. "Everything was all chaotic last night, and I almost got my ass handed to me verifying the information that was sent my way, and then I got contacted by the League first thing this morning, and...."

    He sighs. "I didn't get that information to you guys first, and there's no good excuse for that," he admits, looking down at his feet. "We need to get together with the other two, and I'll lay everything I found out for all of you, okay?" Pulling his phone from his pocket in a practiced motion, he opens the Veil app and sends out an urgent meet request to the rest of the team.

    Man, are they going to be pissed. Justifiably so, though.

  28. - Top - End - #148
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    It was the right way of things, to simply move without being noticed. Who was he to intrude after all in such a space? Bidden by masters the boys and girls of such a function only whispered about in the linoleum lined hallways beyond, he was an outsider, ever the Fox in a hen house, whose passage would one day be caught by the farmer. This was not his place, these were not his people. They were buried by secrets and things far more tangible. He'd let his guard down once but now he was on alert, he had to make up for such an egregious slip so when the tell tale buzz from his pocket signaled the team's summons he was all to quick to shoot a reply back.

    "We will see you there."

    It was all he needed to send. A much longer message however was reserved for his next target. Hastings.

    "Your task is finished. Since you enjoy making play dates for me, why don't we spend some time on the town for our next wellness meeting? I have so much I want to speak about with you." He omitted paragraphs. It was her duty of course to keep an eye on him, weekly meetings to make sure he wasn't slipping. Coordinating tasks at Camp Joy, keeping up with his own mental wellness. Hasting's job was surely a trial and he had every desire to make her week that much more difficult for precieved slights. First with Delphi, now with this. It wouldn't do to linger however, the team was meeting.


    ---

    Ralph's Wreckers wouldn't be his first choice. It wouldn't be his last choice either but it was Jigawatt's and that alone brought him to the sprawling heap. He'd dressed down, in the short period between the chess match and the meeting in the waning evening, a simple black cowl and skull mask over more action oriented garb also of black. One couldn't mess with what others thought he'd come in after all, he had a reputation as an edgelord to maintain. He'd come early, simply standing in the spot requested in the meet up. Silent. It gave him time to think, to process exactly what he would have to bring to bare here. The others, Liminal and Jigawatt, had made no indication on their feelings on Delphi's offer. Errant of course had. The task was uphill on that alone.

    There was more of course. All that he'd discussed with Corax would need to be filtered. He wouldn't go out of his way to abandon such confidence but his new role as her direct apprentice was...an alteration. It changed things in a broad spectrum and if there was a singular pricinple he believed in it was disclosure with the team. Differences aside he was loath to breach the minimal trust they seemed to have with him. Despite this change in relationship, as he'd hopefully made plain with his new "master", the team came before all other obligations. It was unbreakable, even if the others thought otherwise. If anything, because the others clearly suspected him of dubious loyalty.

    Such thoughts wouldn't do well to carry into conversation however and so he remained silent, stationary and eager to simply clear these things of the table.

  29. - Top - End - #149
    Orc in the Playground
     
    DreadPirateH's Avatar

    Join Date
    Jul 2012

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Aiden
    Conditions:
    Potential: 2/5
    Spoiler: Labels
    Show
    • Freak: +0
    • Danger: +0
    • Savior: +2
    • Superior: +0
    • Mundane: -1

    Spoiler: Moves
    Show
    • [X] Fight the good fight: When you pull your punches while directly engaging a threat, you can roll + Savior instead of + Danger. If you do, you cannot choose to impress, surprise, or frighten your foe.
    • [X]The legacy matters: When you take Influence over someone from your legacy (or give them Influence over you), mark potential and take +1 forward. When someone from your legacy causes your Labels to shift, mark potential and take +1 forward.


    As Aiden follows Bartimaeus back out of the magnificent castle, the trinket weighs heavily in his pocket. Gifts from the wizard were like favors from a fae - helpful, but full of unspoken danger. A promise you didn't know you were making that will be terrible to keep. But the Blind Eye is no mere bauble. More than knowledge or even obligation, being granted such an implement of power represented the wizard's trust. A tangible token of his progress on the road to being a Knight Errant in full!

    This has been a good day. But it isn't quite over yet. On the road out of the castle, as he nears the edge of the pocket, he feels his phone vibrate. "How am I even getting cell reception here?"

    It was just one of the many mysteries of Castle Grail. Like, where "here" even is to begin with. The place was full of secrets and contradictions that Aiden feared he'd never understand. When Bartimaeus had explained coming and going from the castle he'd made it sound so simple, as if one could arrive from almost anywhere, and depart to practically anywhere else. Aiden hadn't quite gotten the knack of it in practice had been relying on what amounted to the "public" entrance, discretely-placed Albian lion statues. But it had been a good day, and he was feeling unusually optimistic.

    Conjuring his suit of identity-shrouding armor, Aiden fixes the image of Ralph's Wreckers in his mind as he passes beyond the veil...into a clearing surrounded by mountains of rusted out vehicles and old car parts. It worked! But he's not alone.

    "New mask, same old Fox. Are we the first ones here?"

  30. - Top - End - #150
    Titan in the Playground
    Join Date
    Sep 2014

    Default Re: [IC] Masks: The Unseen Path

    Fox
    Conditions:

    Potential: 3/5

    He said nothing, mostly out of surprise that he had to quickly tamp down as Errant simply appeared. He'd all but dozed off standing statue-like in the junkyard before the Albian's arrival so it was with a little bluster he looked to the knight with those same burning eyes. Same Fox, same eyes, different mask. "We were. Now you are here. The others are not." He looked away, out into the junkyard to summon the rest of the act. Fox was not merely who he was, it was a costume the same as the clothing and the mask. He'd been wearing it for some time, between meeting with Delphi...and Corax. Even the earlier chess match. He'd been Kye less and less as of recently, the Fox was clever. It could steal anything, even you own self.

    What of Errant however? Where had he been and how did he get here? It was magic to be sure. Not simply because Errant too was of Albian stock, not simply because of his place in Albian life, but it was simply something he felt. Errant had not displayed such skills though perhaps he had them all the same, used sparingly. The mind wanders dangerously in the dark and in the gulf of silence he finally turned back to the would be knight. He'd wondered, often, if Errant knew of the slaughter that befell his own kin. If he did, what did he think? What would have done were he there. The Fox would whisper poisonous words into his heart. That Errant knew, that Errant was an enemy like the rest. Errant served the Wizard, trained beneath him. Such thoughts were of no benefit to him, to the team, and he kept them deep. Mixed in with other, perhaps even more dangerous thoughts to balance them.

    They were kin, no matter how distant. The blood of Albion was within both their veins. In another life, in another place, without the masks and the deceptions and the conflicts who would they be to one another if they were to be anyone at all. Would that he could live among his people, would he look up to Errant like so many must? A protector of the Albians here in the city along with the other Knights? If they were simply young men, could they find common cause? Neither settled right in him, compatriot or foe. It made it hard to balance his identities, made it hard to keep the facade. Errant before all others in the team was the greatest danger to him. Not simply because of what he represented to Albion or his mission but simply because of what he represented to Kye.

    "You are wrong." he finally spoke. He let the words linger. Counted the seconds. Ten. Nine. Down to one. "Delphi cannot be trusted. The League does not wish to work with us, she simply believes they do. They will use us for their own aims." He had no real context here, he'd not replied to the text he'd sent everyone a few days before and the others hadn't even responded. He wasn't sure Errant would even remember but that was his game. Keep him off his feet. "You simply trust in them because you already wear the shackles of another. You are wrong Errant, and we will convince the others when they come. We must go alone against the New Dawn."

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