Fae Mood - A Flying Circus Quest

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Hilda has low Hard, right? She might want
[X] Swashbuckle
That would let her roll Daring in a fight instead of Hard, and she could fight non-lethally.
 
2-3 Difficult Decisions
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    • Oh, btw, I forgot to do Fame before, so I'll do it now. That last job you did didn't like, make the world a better place necessarily, but it definitely made you looked skilled. So 1 Fame.

    "I don't like hurting people." You said offhandedly, watching your rebellious falcon tear into a seagull carcass fifteen meters away.

    "Neither do I. Luckily, when we're in the air, everyone's on board with the fact they might die today. If not from each other, literally anything that could go wrong in a plane." Riya said, taking a sip of her coffee. "Well, that's what I keep telling myself." She said with a laugh.

    "Have you killed anyone before? I don't judge, it's a wild world." You asked, glancing over at her.

    "No. Never had to. Well, ok, maybe I should have a couple times, but it's just easier for me not to."

    "How do you avoid that?" You asked, looking confused.

    "You're never fighting in a vacuum. Use your environment. Don't focus on hurting your opponent, focus on keeping yourself safe. Soldiers train to kill regardless of the circumstances, but you aren't a soldier. You know what you use to fly? That part of yourself that turns off your inhibitions and lets you do incredible things when you leave your fear behind? You can use that on the ground too. And by the stars, most people don't have what you have." Riya explained, before exhaling deeply. "Sorry, bit of a tangent. Hope that was helpful." She said, looking away from you, sounding embarrassed

    "Its alright. I did." You said while thinking about what she said.

    You now have Swashbuckling!

    Finances! Riya is an npc combat pilot and her plane is expensive, so her upkeep is 3þ, but your plane was covered by her this routine, so you only spend 4 out of your 5 hard earned Thaler. If you're asking where the extra Thaler went, scrip rolls from Gregor. In the pursuit of making the quest more like a real game, I'm gonna count the other pilots' full upkeep. If anyone has objections to that I would like to know though.

    Your bottom line is 5þ per routine. Don't fall below it.
    _______________________________________

    "14þ for the job, that's how I'll open." The Fischer clerk/priest of the Town Hall/Central Temple said, opening a bag to reveal fourteen shiny golden pucks. He sounded slightly distressed.

    "Sounds good so far." You joked.

    "It's dangerous, isn't it?" Riya immediately asked, clearly knowing better. The dual-role worker chuckled slightly.

    "Most likely. There's a woman, her name is Monika, that has taken it upon herself to save the shades of Totenwache, gods help them. She's a freelance salvager that takes jobs from our town, and spends any money she has left on trips to Toenwache to help bring corpses to the river for proper rites. It's a noble pursuit, I'm sure you can guess her inspiration. She was on one of her runs, and last night we spotted a yellow flare from the city. She can't fly her plane home, and needs help." The man explained. "…I also understand how dangerous the cities are, so… if she didn't make it, at least bring her home for proper rites. I can't imagine leaving her to become what she's been striving to help for so long." Riya looked like she was thinking for a moment, before pulling you to the side of the room.

    "I don't like this job." She whispered.

    "What? Why not?"

    "Ok, look. I know you don't know much about the world but every city is a no-go zone. They're full of shades, poison gas, and desperate survivors. And finding a single person in a city? That sounds nearly impossible."

    "Flares can be seen and heard for miles. We'd never even need to leave the airfield."

    "That's what I'm scared of. There's also the fact we don't have a spare seat to bring them home in."

    "Can't we use the airship?"

    "The wind flows towards the epicenter. I don't know if I'd be able to tack out of it, plus, what if the sails ice up? Then we'd be stuck too."

    You took a breath. You couldn't just leave someone there to die in the cold, could you? Then again, if you both died out there, it was no use to anyone.

    If you wanna ask any additional questions list it. I'll answer all of them in the next update regardless of who wins the vote, unless the vote comes to walking away, cause then it doesn't really matter.

    [ ] "You're right, fuck, you're right. It's too dangerous." (Politely Walk Away and roll Find Work again)
    [ ] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    [ ] "We can't leave her to die, we'll find a way!" (Press The Issue +Calm which is +1)
     
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    • Texas Red said:
    [ ] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
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    [X] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    -[X] The (temporary) aid of one of the towns (powered) airships, to facilitate the recovery of Monika if she happens to be too wounded to hang onto an aircraft, and ideally, to bring her aircraft back as well.

    Texas Red said:
    You know what you use to fly? That part of yourself that turns off your inhibitions and lets you do incredible things when you leave your fear behind?
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    Gotcha. Handle interpersonal relationships on the ground by selling people to the local fae.
     
    Texas Red said:
    💀💀💀💀💀💀

    She's talking about your +4 Daring.
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    Too late, let's negotiate for an introduction to the local fae so we can sell Monika to them and collect from both them and the customer. :p

    I like borrowing an airship.
    [X] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    -[X] The (temporary) aid of one of the towns (powered) airships, to facilitate the recovery of Monika if she happens to be too wounded to hang onto an aircraft, and ideally, to bring her aircraft back as well.
     
    [X] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    -[X] The (temporary) aid of one of the towns (powered) airships, to facilitate the recovery of Monika if she happens to be too wounded to hang onto an aircraft, and ideally, to bring her aircraft back as well.

    Do we have protective gear? It's still a gassed city. We don't need a Hilda popsicle.
     
    [X] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    -[X] The (temporary) aid of one of the towns (powered) airships, to facilitate the recovery of Monika if she happens to be too wounded to hang onto an aircraft, and ideally, to bring her aircraft back as well.
     
    I like the way this is phrased and I think it's a good idea.
    [X] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    -[X] The (temporary) aid of one of the towns (powered) airships, to facilitate the recovery of Monika if she happens to be too wounded to hang onto an aircraft, and ideally, to bring her aircraft back as well.

    10ebbor10 said:
    Gotcha. Handle interpersonal relationships on the ground by selling people to the local fae.
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    Seconding this, to the woods with them.
     
    Alright, I'm gonna move on and start typing up the next response. It'll take a while though, so if anyone has objections just post what you want to negotiate further and I'll begin a new vote on it.
     
    2-4 Ready For Takeoff
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    • [X] "Just let me negotiate, maybe I can make it safer." (Negotiate, +Daring which is +4, write in what you want to negotiate for)
    -[X] The (temporary) aid of one of the towns (powered) airships, to facilitate the recovery of Monika if she happens to be too wounded to hang onto an aircraft, and ideally, to bring her aircraft back as well.

    "Fine. I'll hear you out." Riya said, clearly anxious. You turned back to your potential employer, thinking for a moment before speaking.

    "Could we have the service of a powered airship? You're airship manufacturers, and we're both scout pilots. We don't have a seat to bring her home in. Plus, we need to bring her plane home with her." You asked without a hint of anxiety from asking for more.

    "I already have one in mind. I can have the crew briefed and balloon ready for takeoff by the time you two can taxi out." The clerk said, smiling hopefully.

    "There's poison gas all over the city, isn't there?" You question.

    "I'll make sure the crew has enough gas suits for all of you." He responded, before focusing his attention on Riya. "We never leave our own. If you're helping us like this, you're our own." That seemed to ease her worrying, at least a little.

    "And they'll stick with us?" She asked, still looking a bit anxious.

    "You'd all be part of the same rescue mission." He explained, trying to comfort her.

    "Alright. I'll do it."

    "I'll have the airship ready by midday."

    ___________________________________

    "Odde-… Odda?" You attempted, looking at the odd text scrawled in faded dark red paint on the canvas of the airship you were staring at.

    "Oddæchulöp." The airship's escort pilot said, a young Fischer man with dark blue-grey skin and black and white streaked hair. "She was captain's first… teacher. They have a long history together."

    "Odd name, where's she from?" You ask, trying to make sense of the name in your head.

    "Uh… not from around here." He dismissed. "I'm Edgar, by the way." He said, turning to you and extending his hand for a shake, giving you a toothy grin. You took his hand and firmly shook it.

    "Im Hilda. I heard you're a pilot too, right?" You said, thinking his hand felt freezing cold.

    "Beautiful name. Right. I fly an old wartime Thorstad S1M2b I found in a city across the Dark Sea." He said, sounding like you should be impressed at that. To be fair, you kind of were.

    "You've been south of Himmelgard?" You said, slightly astonished.

    "Yeah! This isn't the first job into a city I've done. There's a surprising amount of bombed out settlements down where Seversky used to be." He explained, turning back toward the tide pool where a red and yellow seaplane fighter sat. It was oddly shaped, with the wings near the back and a rear mounted propeller. It had a long nose ended in the barrel of a clearly very high caliber machine gun. "I call her Osprey." Just then, Riya walked back over, clad in one of the bulky gas suits you were granted by the airship crew. It had a leather hood with a wide tinted lenses where the eyes were, and a filter attached to where your mouth was. It seemed to be built out of a set of winter gear, complete with snow boots, a fluffy coat, gloves, and snow pants all stuck together with rubber. She basically tore off the hood, face covered in sweat.

    "The filter smells burnt wood." She simply said, seeming very displeased.

    "Why do we need the mask anyway? Isn't it just freezing over there?" You asked, like an idiot.

    "No. The reason the city is completely frozen is because of a gas that was used to freeze out its algae farming program. If you breathe it in, or it gets on your skin, it forms ice crystals anywhere you let it, and you either die of frostbite or suffocate on solid ice in your lungs." Edgar explained in the harshest way possible, clearly to make sure you didn't forget it.

    "Goddesses, ok, wow." You said plainly, looking back at the trunk filled with a couple more sets of gas protection suits in front of you.

    Few questions! Do you trust Edgar, this unfamiliar man you've had a single conversation with? Hilda isn't sexist, but has been raised in an extremely misandrist coven for her entire life, so that may unfortunately affect her inner state. Trust is more than just generally being ok with him, it means you'll back him up in a fight, lend him money, and think of him as your best friend. Riya is trusted but I'm not gonna make you take stress for that.

    [ ] Don't trust Edgar
    [ ] Trust Edgar (+1 Stress)

    Next! Is there anything you want to do before takeoff? You currently have 1 XP, so unless you wanna buff a single stat for the next routine, you can't do much in terms of introspection. There might be other things you want before takeoff though, so definitely say if there is.

    [ ] Buff a stat (Say which one)
    And/Or
    [ ] Do something specific (Buy stuff, do magic, do a pre-flight personal ritual, etc.)
    [ ] Cut to takeoff (Write in altitude you wanna fly towards the city at)

    Also! I never gave Hilda a Mastery Move! However, I think a move from either Slipstream or Dogfighter would be fitting to the way she fights. Sorry to dump so many votes on all of you at once.

    [ ] Write in which mastery move is most befitting to Hilda

    You can vote on all of these at once, you're not limited to one question!
     
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    • [X] Don't trust Edgar
    He seems friend-shaped, but I want to let him cook for a while more before checking the box I think.

    [X] Cut to takeoff (Write in altitude you wanna fly towards the city at)
    -[X]12 altitude
    high enough to keep us clear of any particularly enthusiastic ghosts with machine guns, but low enough that we can - at least with a spin - get down to useful altitudes for ground-related work easy enough.

    [X]Mastery move: Slippery Customer (Slipstream)
    That getting shot up earlier really spooked Hilda, so she's gonna be more mindful of ways to prevent her enemies from getting the chance now.
     
    TortugaGreen said:
    -[X]12 altitude
    high enough to keep us clear of any particularly enthusiastic ghosts with machine guns, but low enough that we can - at least with a spin - get down to useful altitudes for ground-related work easy enough.
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    I like the idea! Just so you know, there are cumuno-whatever blanket clouds in this mission, which according to the rules go from around Altitude 5 to… let's say Altitude 35. Big clouds, it is a massive blizzard-hurricane. Just telling you so you can change your answer if you want, or keep it if you'd want to approach from the clouds!
     
    hm, clouds from 5-35? I think I'm willing to adjust my vote then; new vote:

    [X] Don't trust Edgar
    [X] Cut to takeoff (Write in altitude you wanna fly towards the city at)
    -[X]6 altitude
    [X]Mastery move: Slippery Customer (Slipstream)

    Another idea: just barely high enough for said enthusiastic ghosts to have a hard time spotting us through the clouds, but so close to the bottom of the clouds that we can drop out of it at effectively any time we like.
     
    [X] Don't trust Edgar
    [X] Cut to takeoff (Write in altitude you wanna fly towards the city at)
    -[X]6 altitude
    [X]Mastery move: Welcome to Earth (Slipstream)

    I'm imagining using magic to raise a piece of ground abnormally high to make this move even better.
     
    Use wind magic to make a cloud, fly thought it, opponent follows and it's just mist over soil.
     
    [X] Don't trust Edgar
    I agree he's friend shaped, but I think Hilda would want to spend at least 1 mission assessing a man in particular before deciding he's best friend material
    [X] Cut to takeoff
    [X] 6 altitude
    [X] Head to Head (Dogfight Mastery)
     
    Y'all seem very divided on the masteries, might need to split this into two votes.
     
    [X] Don't trust Edgar
    I agree he's friend shaped, but I think Hilda would want to spend at least 1 mission assessing a man in particular before deciding he's best friend material
    [X] Buff a Stat (Hard)
    [X] 6 altitude
    [X] Nerves of Steel (Dogfight Mastery)
    — when it came down to it, she was barely able to shoot down an enemy plan. Let's fix that.
     
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    [X] Trust Edgar (+1 Stress)
    [X] Cut to takeoff (Write in altitude you wanna fly towards the city at)
    -[X]6 altitude
    [X] Nerves of Steel (Dogfight Mastery)

    I want to like Edgar, and I like Nerves of Steel
     
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