TLDR: Orin achieved magical some hardcore magical mojo with Orm's help. On their way back to Atlantis they were ambushed by one of Trigon's demons. Orin gets very badly hurt and Orm is panicking. This happened about 6 hours after Dick fought off the demons hunting Raven in Gotham.
I am Arthur Curry, son of the lighthouse keeper Tom Curry. I am Orin, son of Queen Atlanna of Atlantis. I am a creature of both air and water. I was born of both the sky and the deep.
I draw in light and blast off in the same direction as Orm, turning my head to see what my brother is so desperate to escape. A red skinned demon with four glowing eyes upon its face and antler-like horns upon its head.
And it's keeping pace with us, and it's… laughing. As if it's toying with us.
I shove the demon away and pierce it with my trident.
"ORIN!"
I let go as the demon screams in pain from the imbued light that I enchanted it with. It opens a rift to flee back to its home dimension. I turn to Orm-
8:44 PM, Wednesday May 9th, 2018
Gotham Central Children's Home
Jason takes a deep breath and looks like he's gathering himself up for-
"BATMAN! PLEASE TEACH ME HOW TO PROTECT EVERYONE! I WANT TO BE LIKE YOU AND BEAT UP BAD GUYS AND MAKE THEM STOP HURTING PEOPLE!"
He turned to face you and is looking you dead in the eyes. His face is determined and his hands are grasping your wrists as tightly as they can. Well this is an unexpected turn of events.
[X] I'll think about it.
"Let me think about what I can do. I can see that you have a lot of guts and that you want to do the right thing, but it's not easy doing what I do. So while I'm not saying yes, I'm also not saying no. I need time to think about it because I don't want to rush things. If you really do want to be like me, then the first lesson you need to learn is to think your actions through. You can't just go off of instinct, because those will get you into trouble like they did today. You tried to do the right thing but did it in the wrong way. But if you combine that instinct with some forethought, you can do a whole lot more good. Do you get what I'm saying?"
"I…"
Jason's eyes well and he grabs onto you again and tears start falling again, though not in the wracking sobs like before.
"Tha-thank you Batman."
You pull him into another hug and rub small circles onto his back.
"Hey, let it all out. I'm here, at least for now."
"I'm just- I'm just so happy you believe me. I really am trying to be good but everyone thinks I'm nothing but trouble… Thank you for visiting me Batman. Thank you for believing in me."
"I'll come visit you again, I promise."
(Gained +1 SL with Jason Todd. New Social Link: 1)
(Talking with Jason made you think about your past and how you became Robin. While you still mentally think of yourself as Robin, that's slowly shifting to Batman. So where does that leave you in the future? You should start thinking about taking on a Robin of your own, though that'll require quite a bit more planning and pondering before you're ready.)
(New Investigation Thread opened: Legacy of Robin)
1:21 PM, Wednesday May 10th, 2018
Wayne Manor - Main Dining Room
"So now that you've asked me infinite questions, it's my turn to ask you. Now that you know, what do you want to do about it?"
"Help you. Duh. Detective work is my bread and butter mister Bat detective. I'm officially supposed to be working with you so why can't I do so a little closer to home as well? Partners?"
She reaches out a fist for a fist bump.
"Barb… You know how dangerous it is to be associated with Batman right? Beyond just working together I mean…"
"Doesn't matter. Now you gonna bump or what?"
Her expression is confident but you can see the twitch of her smile starting to fade as worry creeps into the back of her mind.
[X] Fist bump
"Partners till the end. I won't lie to you and say that there's no danger. But if you're absolutely sure that you want this, then I won't say no. I trust you and know that you always have my back. Thank you Babs."
Her smile come back with full force and then she slaps you with full force, sending you sprawling onto the floor. Ow.
"I deserved that."
"Damn right you did. Now we're even. Come here partner."
Babs reaches a hand down that you take, and she pulls you upright and sits you back down. Your right cheek stings something bad, but your shoulders feel lighter and a sense of calm washes over you. You really should have told her a long time ago.
"So. You have a flight in a few hours-"
"Not a flight per se. I'm taking the Wayne jet."
"Right. You'll need the room for all the stuff you need and to bring back Talia and the kid."
"Yeah, and it'll probably be easier to coordinate a quick getaway too, as long we we're close to civilization."
"Alright. Go and come back safe okay?"
"I will-"
"And keep me posted. I'll help if you need anything hacked or researched. I am pretty great with tech you know."
She winks and then gives you a hug.
"Seriously though. Come home safe."
She lets you go and then gets up.
"I'll head to the office now and get some things ready so if you do call I can help at a moment's notice. Bye Dick! Bye Raven! Bye Alfred!"
Raven waves distractedly, still slowly savoring the steak while you give Babs a smile and wave.
"See you when I get home."
"I'll show you to the door Miss Barbara."
(Barbara Gordon SL increases to 10)
(Barbara feels energized to be helping you and got over her funk)
(Increased chance of unintentional information leaks)
(Increases chance of your rogues discovering your relationship with Barbara)
(Barbara joins the Bat-family)
(SL Ability Updated - Oracle: 60% chance of gaining relevant information in a case when you run into a dead end. Procs every time you hit a dead end in an investigation and need to pivot to a different lead.)
7:49 AM, Saturday May 13th, 2018
Gyirong Town, Sigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China
You and Raven are perched upon the mountain southeast of the town while you watch the two main roads into Gyirong through binoculars. Thankfully the chilly air is not too bothersome between the many layers of warm clothes you packed and Raven's occasional warming spells, so you're not too worried about having too difficult a time up here. You arrived entirely too early yesterday, at sometime around 4am or so, and set up camp to hunker down in for the next few days. You have two all terrain vehicles that you rode up here with that you're hoping will allow you to quickly get down to either road and intercept Talia as soon as you see her.
From the calculations you had Barbara and Alfred do, Talia should be arriving some time between yesterday morning and Sunday night, so you and Raven have been switching off taking watches while she casts an augury every so often to see how close Talia is getting. According to the latest augury from about an hour ago, Talia is getting pretty close, though you don't know exactly what that means in absolute units rather than magical feeling.
It's currently Raven's turn to keep watch while you cook breakfast…
"Dick? There's a car coming!"
You look up from the oatmeal out towards the entrance ledge of the alcove where the camp is situated.
"Which side?"
"From the northeast road. I only just spotted it… it looks beat up. Even more than some of the ones I saw in Gotham."
"Alright, I'm coming."
You leave the pot alone for now, grab your binoculars, and climb up to the ledge Raven is perched on. She points out a moving beige speck in the distance. Hmm.
You bring the binoculars up to your eyes and see the car, a beat up old unbranded pickup truck, probably of Chinese make. From the style, it looks like it might have been from the late 90s or early 2000s. Good choice to avoid detection, though Talia and the kid being Arabic and European looking rather than Asian doesn't help. Maybe she's wearing a headscarf? Hard to tell right now who's driving since the car's too far, but only need a few minutes before it gets close enough.
"Raven, can you put out the fire and get the ATVs ready? If this is them I want to go immediately."
"Sure."
You hear her get up and climb back down to the camp's alcove while you continue watching the car. Definitely looks like there's some movement in the back seat too, but the angle isn't great. You hear the rev of the ATVs starting up as the car turns the corner of the mountain and swerves a bit before straightening out. Is the driver not in good condition or did the car have some sort of mechanical failure? Could be either but you'd wager on the driver not being in good condition. If it's really Talia, she might be hurt or fatigued.
"The ATVs are ready!"
You don't respond, as the car swerves again, righting itself just in time to avoid crashing into the guard rail and flinging itself off the mountain road. Your heart skipped a beat. Screw it. You should go down and investigate regardless. It would be the right thing to do.
"Raven, I'm going! Might not be Talia, but the driver is in danger!"
You jump back down to the camp and make your way over to the ATVs. Raven is starting to pack up the camp and has her helmet ready and her leather jacket on. You get ready too, helmet on, switch to a leather jacket, and zipped. You climb up onto the vehicle and you're off. Raven knows the plan. Get everything packed and come down to assist as soon as she's ready, with medical gear and magic as needed. The car is coming from the east, so intercepting it here means you can head straight to the border if needed.
You're approaching the car from upside the mountain, and whoever the driver is probably just saw you since they're speeding up a lot. You make for an interception and toss a batarang, aiming to get it caught on the windshield wiper. You watch it go, and it hits exactly where you wanted it to, getting stuck on the windshield wiper. The car starts slowing down and comes to a halt as you continue your way down. You're only a few yards out now, and you see a woman get out of the car- that's definitely Talia!
You activate your radio.
"Raven, it's Talia. Are we packed yet? Send a message to Alfred too."
"Still packing up and I'll message Alfred. Let me know if there are any pursuers. I can help with them if needed."
"I'll let you know if I need help. Thanks."
Another few moments later and you bring the ATV onto the road and pull it to a stop. Talia is looking into the back seat and whispering something, probably to the kid, who looks like is currently wrapped in a big bundle of blankets. Talia herself doesn't look too good. She has hastily wrapped bandages all around her body over her clothes and underneath the open jacket, and it looks like some of them have fresh blood. She was probably wounded relatively recent- Oh.
The car itself has some battle damage. Slash marks from swords or other bladed weapons, and the glass of the back window is gone. There's a few throwing knives and shuriken embedded in the metal too.
You jump off the ATV and rush over.
"Talia-"
"Dick, you have great timing. I've lost a lot of blood and I don't think I'll be able to make it much further without rest. Father sent assassins after us after I made it known that I wanted to return to Bruce's side before he passed, so we've been on the run for almost a month now. I lost the team that's currently after us about a day ago, but I have a feeling they'll probably try to intercept just before we hit Gyirong town."
"Got it. I have a plan to get us out, but I took ATVs. Will you be okay if we take them instead of the car? Will you be able to hold on for… maybe thirty minutes?"
"I… I don't think so."
"Okay. One sec."
You turn on the radio again.
"Raven, no pursuers right now, but Talia's wounded and lost a lot of blood. Anything you can do to help?"
"I can give her a magic infusion that'll act as a temporary blood transfusion. I can also magically close any open wounds, though she'll need rest afterward."
"Crap. I-"
You react before your brain registers the whirling sound of a thrown shuriken, and get Talia back into the car. You whisper to her to prevent the pursuers from overhearing-
"Dick? Is everything okay?"
"Talia, go south toward the border. I have the Wayne jet in Kathmandu. My friend Raven will intercept you on the way and ride with you to Rasuwa Ghadhi, where we have a truck."
"Are you under attack?"
"Raven, we're under attack. I'm okay. I told Talia to take the car to where we came from. I'm gonna engage."
"Okay. We're all packed so I'll intercept on the way as planned."
You grab the next thrown shuriken out of the air and throw it back down the mountain where it came from.
"Great. Dick over and out."
You grab the collapsible escrima sticks in your jacket and fully extend it, just in time to deflect another trio of stars. Three assassins climb up over the railing and immediately attack you- Shit!
One of them fires an assault rifle at the car and it swerves, crashing into the side of the mountain. Radio activated.
"Need backup! Talia crashed!"
"Coming!"
You launch yourself towards the gunman and kick the assault rifle out of his hands, and deflect a katana swing from another approaching assassin, and dodge two knives from the last. You kick the gunman again and get him between you and the thrower while you engage the swordswoman.
You see a black bolt fly down and capture the thrower and gunman while you disarm the swordswoman and pin her face down on the floor in a grapple.
"Thanks Raven. Check on Talia while I bind these guys."
She nods to you and flies over to the car. You use your escrima stick to quickly knock out the assassin you have pinned, before getting up and doing the same for the other two assassins that Raven bound up in her magic. You drag the three of them together and start searching their clothing for any tracking devices or other interesting things.
"Dick, Talia is alive but badly hurt by the crash! I can save her but I'm going to be vulnerable for a few minutes and Talia won't be able to function afterward!"
"Got it, I'll keep you safe! Do what you need to do in the car, at least you'll have some cover! And make sure the kid's alright too!"
You turn back to the three and search as quickly as you can, and pile up all goodies you found. They had extra weapons, another two dozen throwing knives and shuriken, two pistols, and a machete, in addition to the burner phones and a GPS device. Looks like this thing is… tracking Talia? How? Questions for later. You take it and the phones with you, and toss the weapons down the mountain. Nothing else of interest in their pockets or clothes.
You finish just in time to see a fourth assassin climbing over the ledge, aiming a handgun at the car. You throw a batarang and disarm him as you rush in for a quick knock out- Shit! The katana swing glances off your stick as you backpedal two steps. This guy's a hell of a lot better than the others, though you suppose you did take the other three mostly by surprise.
Swing. Deflect. Thrust. Somersault. Punch. Deflect. Dodge. Thrust. Dodge. Deflect. Opening, you punch. Grapple. Take down. You press your knee against the assassin's back and you hold him in submission.
"Yield."
"No-"
You smash his head with your escrima stick.
"Yield."
The man grits his teeth and bucks. You activate the taser in the end of your stick and press it against his neck. The man spasms for the two seconds you held it against him.
"I won't ask you again. Yield."
"I- … I yield."
He slackens against you and you pull out rope to bind him too.
"How many are in your group?"
"I yielded but I will not answer."
You taser him again and turn up the voltage just a smidge. You release him after four seconds this time.
"How many are in your group?"
The assassin is shaking, but still refuses to talk.
"Okay. Let's do it this way then."
You quickly search him and again toss all weapons down the mountain, and pocket the phone he's carrying. And a second GPS device. The assassin's face is stony.
You grab the assassin's arm and start pulling on it.
"How many are in your group? I'll dislocate your arm if you don't talk."
The man stares at you for a few moments but he doesn't say anything. You pull and pop it out of the socket as painfully as you can manage, though you take care not to do any lasting damage. He screams.
"How many are in your group?"
He's panting as you shift to the other side. You tug him arm a little.
"How many are in your group?"
He winces.
"Just us four. There are more assassins on their way, but they won't arrive for another ten minutes or so."
"Thank you. Are there any coming from Nepal?"
You shift back to his other side and pop his shoulder back in, eliciting another yelp. He takes a few breaths before speaking again.
"None that I know of. We were expecting to ambush her in Gyirong town since she's injured and won't be able to make it to Nepal without medical attention."
"Thank you."
You knock him out as suddenly as you can before getting up and walking back over to Raven and the car.
"Everything okay over here?"
"Yes. I put the child to sleep and Talia is resting now. Are there any more coming?"
"Yes, but they won't arrive for another few minutes at least. Can we move them?"
"Damien will be easier to move than Talia, but yes. I can fly them if anything."
"Is Damien the kid's name?"
"Yes."
You nod, thinking for a moment.
"Okay. Let's do that then. Can you take them to the border? I'll go pack up camp and then meet you there. Oh. Um. Are you able to drive the ATV while flying them?"
"Yes, that shouldn't be a problem unless we get attacked again."
"Okay. Then I think we should be find for now. The assassin doesn't think there are any on the Nepal side since they were planning on ambushing at Gyirong town."
She nods.
"See you there then?"
"Yeah. See you at the border."
11:55 PM, Saturday May 13th, 2018
Talia's Bedroom, Wayne Manor
Finally home after way too much travel in such a short amount of time. You're going to have so much jetlag, what with the ten hour time difference… It's still Saturday, even after seven hours getting to Kathmandu and eighteen hours in the air! But still, everyone is home, safe and sound, though you're fairly sure Ras will be sending more assassins after Talia. Nothing to be done about it now.
You and Alfred lay Talia down on the bed as Damien and Raven watch intently.
"Miss Raven… Will mother be okay?"
"Yes. She needs maybe another day or two of rest, but she'll be okay."
"Okay. Mister Dick? Mister Alfred? Can I go to bed now? I'm tired."
Alfred looks at you, to which you nod at him, and leaves Talia to you. He walks back over to Damien.
"Of course Master Damien. Please follow me."
You call out, "Goodnight Damien. We'll talk more soon."
Alfred and Damien walk off, leaving you and Raven with Talia.
"So. Talia."
Her eyes open and look at you, but she makes no move to get up.
"I guess you not noticing that I was awake would have been too much to hope for."
"Yeah, well. When you're trained by Bruce, not much slips your attention."
She smiles sadly at that, and the three of you sit in a comfortable silence.
"Thank you Dick. I don't think we would have made it without you."
"You're welcome. I was quite surprised by Damien by the way. Why did you hide him from Bruce?"
She winces.
"It… was not my choice. Father demanded that Damien be raised and trained as an assassin, shaped and molded to become the inheritor of the League since Bruce refused to inherit it."
Silence reigned for a long moment, but you and Raven both stay quiet, letting Talia gather her thoughts.
"It… wasn't supposed to end this way. Bruce was supposed to inherit the League after taking down my father, and then use it to put the world onto a better track. One without the insanity of my father to suppress innovation. To suppress civil rights movements. To suppress ecological movements. Because of my father this world has not truly moved forward since the colonization of the Americas. Because of him, I had to watch my love die from a disease that could have been cured."
She sighs.
"Bruce… He named you as his inheritor. I posed him the hypothetical of if we had a child together, if he would still name you as his inheritor, and he said yes. That you are and could be everything that he could not be. I didn't understand when he told me that two years ago, and I still don't understand it now."
She takes another moment, staring up at the ceiling.
"But… if Bruce trusted you then I will too. Dick, would you help me raise and train Damien? I want him to one day kill my father and inherit the League of Shadows. To do what I could not, and what Bruce died too early to do."
How do you respond?
[] "No, I won't help train a killer. I'll help raise and train Damien, but we're going to do this my way. If you're asking for my help then it's me that you'll get, not Bruce."
Consequences: Gain SL with Damien, Damien is raised and trained as Dick would do so for his own future children and/or Robins
[] "No, I won't help train a killer. I'll help raise and train Damien, but he's the son of the Bat, and he's going to inherit that legacy one day."
Consequences: Gain SL with Damien, Damien is raised and trained as Bruce did for Dick
"Okay, I can accept that."
"Good. On… another note. I have a favor to ask from you in return."
"Of course, it's only fair."
"Raven and I are currently preparing to fight against the demon lord, Trigon. We want your help."
"I recognize the name. The dark god worshiped by the Church of Blood if I remember correctly."
"The… Church of Blood?"
You pause and think for a moment. Hm.
"Never heard of them. Raven?"
"Also no."
Talia sighs and closes her eyes at that.
"There's a lot to say, but not tonight. I need to rest."
"You also never answered if you'd help us."
She opens her eyes and turns her head to look at you for a moment before responding.
"You're serious about fighting Trigon."
"Yes."
"You're a fool. Both of you. We can take down the Church of Blood, but Trigon? If even a tenth of what's said about him is true then fighting him will be nothing more than suicide."
"But regardless, that's our goal-"
"Dick. Let me."
You nod to Raven.
"Behold the seed of Evil. The seed was born of Evil's fire. The seed shall be His portal. The seed brings utter darkness. The seed beholds the light."
Talia's reaction says it all. Her eyes widened as Raven started speaking the prophecy, and she almost recoils at the palpable dread infusing the words. But she doesn't. Her face steels and she nods to you.
"I'll help. True prophecies are few and far between, but I've heard enough. We'll need all the help we can get if that's true."
"We know. Raven thinks that Trigon's going to arrive on October 30th this year."
"Then we have our work cut out for us. Let's talk more about it tomorrow. It's been a long month and I need to sleep."
"Alright. Have a good night Talia."
You and Raven file out of the room, but you look back once you cross the threshold.
"And welcome home."
You gently close the door.
(Regained 6 SL with Talia)
(SL ability unlocked - Counterintelligence: Completing a mission or discovering an investigation lead against hidden foes have a 30% chance of revealing the foe's next objective)
(Talia has rejoined the Batfamily)
(Talia has agreed to help in the fight against Trigon)
(Talia requires 2 weeks of recovery time before she will be ready to participate in any missions beyond acting as ground control)
(Lead acquired: The Church of Blood - Talia mentioned that the Church worships Trigon. Sounds like they're worth investigating so that you can gather more information on Raven's father and on potential countermeasures)
(Talia Blacklisted investigation complete)
QM's NOTE: A week late because I had an extremely difficult week personally, but here we are! Also much longer than I thought it would be. Enjoy.
[x] "No, I won't help train a killer. I'll help raise and train Damien, but we're going to do this my way. If you're asking for my help then it's me that you'll get, not Bruce."
(SL Ability Updated - Oracle: 60% chance of gaining relevant information in a case when you run into a dead end. Procs every time you hit a dead end in an investigation and need to pivot to a different lead.)
You have two all terrain vehicles that you rode up here with that you're hoping will allow you to quickly get down to either road and intercept Talia as soon as you see her.
According to the latest augury from about an hour ago, Talia is getting pretty close, though you don't know exactly what that means in absolute units rather than magical feeling.
Reminds me of a game of "Coriolis the Third Horizon" tabletop rpg I played. We were investigating a space ship that we learned was being bad magic mojod by a djinn. We we re interrogating the ships possesses captain, and demanded to know where the djinn is. He goes on a spiel how her awakening is near and how there's nothing we can do about it.
My "I'm so done with all of this shit" captain just grabs him, starts shaking him while shouting: "Can I get that in meters!"
You're approaching the car from upside the mountain, and whoever the driver is probably just saw you since they're speeding up a lot. You make for an interception and toss a batarang, aiming to get it caught on the windshield wiper. You watch it go, and it hits exactly where you wanted it to, getting stuck on the windshield wiper. The car starts slowing down and comes to a halt as you continue your way down. You're only a few yards out now, and you see a woman get out of the car- that's definitely Talia!
Swing. Deflect. Thrust. Somersault. Punch. Deflect. Dodge. Thrust. Dodge. Deflect. Opening, you punch. Grapple. Take down. You press your knee against the assassin's back and you hold him in submission.
(Regained 6 SL with Talia)
(SL ability unlocked - Counterintelligence: Completing a mission or discovering an investigation lead against hidden foes have a 30% chance of revealing the foe's next objective)
(Talia has rejoined the Batfamily)
(Talia has agreed to help in the fight against Trigon)
(Talia requires 2 weeks of recovery time before she will be ready to participate in any missions beyond acting as ground control)
(Lead acquired: The Church of Blood - Talia mentioned that the Church worships Trigon. Sounds like they're worth investigating so that you can gather more information on Raven's father and on potential countermeasures)
(Talia Blacklisted investigation complete)
[X] "No, I won't help train a killer. I'll help raise and train Damien, but we're going to do this my way. If you're asking for my help then it's me that you'll get, not Bruce."
[X] "No, I won't help train a killer. I'll help raise and train Damien, but we're going to do this my way. If you're asking for my help then it's me that you'll get, not Bruce."
