From the Gutter

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Lit by the relentless flame of the Elemental Pole of Fire, the South of Creation has been intimately and inexorably altered to match the patterns found within that conflagration: its land marked by scorching heat and its people by burning passion. More so than any other, the South is a study of contrasts: unfathomable wealth and unimaginable poverty, unfettered ambition and unending hopelessness. These and thousands more, both great and small, await the curious traveler.
Arc 0 - Meeting the Crew
Lit by the relentless flame of the Elemental Pole of Fire, the South of Creation has been intimately and inexorably altered to match the patterns found within that conflagration: its land marked by scorching heat and its people by burning passion. More so than any other, the South is a study of contrasts: unfathomable wealth and unimaginable poverty, unfettered ambition and unending hopelessness. These and thousands more, both great and small, await the curious traveler.

You lean back, stretch limbs that had grown stiff as you'd sat in the gloom-filled dorm room you called home, and stare out the sole window into the distance:

[] [Chiaroscuro] A sinuous line, blood red, and lined by diamonds sparkling in the afternoon sun meets your eyes. Chiaroscuro with its red streets and its profligacy of First Age glass. The jewel of the South, its largest city, and the port which connects the South to the rest of Creation. A ruin of the First Age: its few intact soaring spires home to wealth beyond measure, its labyrinthine depths home to rumors of reality twisted beyond imagining.

[] [The Lap] Rolling hills dotted by a patchwork of amber and pale yellow farms that fade into irrelevance against his massive form meet your eyes. The Lap, sheltered within the seated form of a mountainous and mountain-sized statue of a monk lost in meditation. In almost all ways average: its wealth modest in comparison to Chiaroscuro or Gem and its peace moderate compared to Paragon. Only in passivity does it truly excel. After all, nothing ever happens in the Lap.

[] [Gem] mountains of volcanic glass and searing, lifeless desert stretch that into an unremitting horizon meet your eyes. Gem, the mountain that is a city, the city that is a mountain. Where avarice and freedom walk hand in hand down streets paved in gold and poverty. Where law and order stem only from those strong enough to demand them. Where great Houses vie for scraps of power and scheme to become something greater.

The fraying leather binding of The Southern Compass snaps shut with a flick of fingers. It wasn't your favorite book, not by far, although the expression of contrasts was a nice touch. It was, however, one of a small handful of books you could keep for more than an afternoon without Fluttering Bow starting to complain. It was also serving as a rather poor distraction the anxiety gnawing at your stomach.

For as long as you can remember, you've been a part of the Night Runner's Guild, slowly working your way up the guild's formally informal hierarchy. From those early days as a sticky-fingered child, playing at lookout and gutter-runner, to the day less than a month previous when you'd been granted the black cloak and brass pin. All told, you'd spent what had amounted to a lifetime honing your skills within the guild.

[] [Negotiator] you'd learned early on that a quick tongue could get you out of more fights than a quick knife or quick feet. (+5 Diplomacy)

[] [Scholar] books had been your constant companion back at the guildhouse and the knowledge contained within had been worth far more than their weight in gold. (+5 Learning)

[] [Enforcer] Stalwart Orichalcum, one of the guild's senior enforcers had a bit of a soft spot for children, or perhaps he just liked thrashing them, either way, you'd learned the value of being able to fight. (+5 Martial)

[] [Rogue] The Night Runners were a guild of thieves, and what skills could possibly be more useful to hone than ones larcenous and stealthy. (+5 Intrigue)

[] [Fence] It was a poor thief indeed who could not quickly and accurately appraise the loot they were stealing, and you were quicker and more accurate than most. (+5 Stewardship)

[] [Intercessor] prayer had its place, in the customs of the Realm and the propitiations of the Gods, and a gift for knowing where to best use that had saved your skin more than once. (+5 Piety)

Tonight was different though. Tonight would be your first heist as the leader of a crew.

"Come on you lazy bum," a voice rendered hoarse around the edges by years of exposure to the South's relentless dryness, a voice that belongs to your oldest and best friend: Moonsilver Fist, calls from their shared room and draws you from idle contemplation. "We've got a heist to plan and a score to make… and if you don't hurry Fluttering Bow's gonna keep talking and then I'm gonna have to shove him into the trash chute."

"A brutish threat from a brutish woman," Fluttering Bow's disdainful voice follows on the heels of Moon's words, "nevertheless, it would in no small way behoove this hastily assembled crew to finalize a course of action."

"We've still got a few hours before nightfall," Ivory Sky's low baritone rings pleasantly in your ears. It was a priest's voice, despite his current occupation and preference for all things shiny. "Let

[] write-in name/gender (and a character pic if you want)

"Sulk in peace if they wish to."

It wasn't sulking, you think but don't say, it was nerves, and that was perhaps even worse. Still, since your crew had finally gathered, and were apparently growing either impatient or violent it was time for you to join them. Standing, you breathe out slowly, releasing for an instant only the constant and instinctual control over an ember that burned without relief in your soul and:

[] [Fae-Blooded] your eyes flicker with rainbow iridescence and the confines of causality become stifling. Infinity, bereft of form or substance sings a siren's song within your thoughts. You swallow. Possibility fades to probability fades to eventuality.

[] [Demon-Blooded] your shadow pools around your feet, swathing them in near darkness. A sibilant voice, impossibly distant, impossibly close whispers seduction and power in your ear. Your head shakes. Promises of wealth unending and power unmatched fade to inaudibility.

Three sets of eyes flicker over as the door to your room opens and you step outside. Moon, sprawled lazily on a threadbare couch, grins up at you, green eyes alight with an entirely too familiar mania. Fluttering Bow spares you a brief glance, and an even more brief nod of greeting before he's back to inking meticulously neat notes on an uneven piece of scrap paper spread across the dining table. Ivory Sky smirks at you in that annoyingly dismissive way of his and ostentatiously smooths his faded silk vest.

This was your crew. Moon who liked to hit things and attended a sermon every week. Fluttering Bow who was not just smart but seemed to know at least a little about everything. Ivory Sky who knew to the jade bit the value of everything he touched and kept a shrine to a Lesser God of Vengeance.

You'd all known each other for years, indeed, for some, you couldn't remember a life before them. So when you'd finally earned your promotion, deciding who to invite had been easy. Fortunately only one of them had needed any convincing and you'd had to:

[] [Tracker] accompany Moon on a brief hunting trip for a particularly stubborn rival of hers. (+1 Intrigue +2 Martial)

[] [Occultist] assist Fluttering Bow in acquiring a small number of books on religious practices. (+1 Diplomacy +2 Learning)

[] [Herbologist] serve as manual labor while Ivory Sky set up a small, subterranean, herb garden (+1 Piety +2 Stewardship)

It had been an easy enough task, all things considered, and you were more or less sure that they would have agreed to join even without your aid. Still, it was always nice to get a small peek into the lives of your comrades and friends.

Dismissing that bit of history, a look down tells you that the scrap paper Fluttering Bow has been working on is actually a map of the neighborhood your crew had chosen as a target. You pull out a rickety three-legged stool and slump down, letting your arms drape on the table as you lean forward in study.

As though your actions had been the signal they were awaiting, Moon and Ivory Sky get up from where they'd been and join you and Fluttering Bow at the table. It was finally time.

"Fluttering Bow's been on recon for the past few days, scoping out some potential targets," you look down at the map, skimming over the copious notes. "So we'll start there… the floor is yours Fluttering Bow."

Bright red eyes look up and he leans back, brushing messy brown hair out of his face as he looks at the rest of your crew.

"Since it's our first heist together, we all agreed on a reduced risk profile. To satisfy that stipulation, I've been canvassing a neighborhood on the periphery of the Fallen Ashes Guild."

He points toward a spot on the map outlined in a dull red ink.

"The Dappled Willow is a shopkeeper's neighborhood. Note the distinction from merchant or factor, Moonsilver Fist."

"Keep the insults up and you still might end up in the chute," the sound of knuckles cracking is followed by twin thuds as Moon's bandaged fists fall heavily on the table. "Won't even interrupt the meeting. I'm sure we could still hear your annoying voice from inside it."

There was an edge to the words, both from Moon and Fluttering Bow. Unsurprising, really, it wasn't just your first time as a crew leader, it was everyone's first time as a full member of a crew. Nerves would settle once the heist was underway, but for now…

"Let's leave the mockery and rearrangement of limbs until after the mission," you smile easily, but there's a hint of something at the edge of it.

"Sorry, sorry... no need to turn on the creepy factor, I'll behave," Moon grins, shrugs, and leans back. She nearly falls as the stool lacks a back and that moment of flailing for balance does as much or more than your words at easing the frisson of tension that had been brewing.

"Apologies Moonsilver Fist. I spoke inconsiderately," Fluttering Bow adds his apology with a slight incline of his head and returns to his briefing.

"To reiterate, the Dappled Willow is home to a number of moderately successful shopkeepers and semi-skilled artisans. It is in all respects average: patrols from the city-watch occur not more than twice per night and the individual targets have no more than three live-in servants or slaves to keep night watch."

"How many guards in a patrol?" Moon's eyes flash in that way she did when she was anticipating violence.

"Three, all armed with truncheon and wearing studded leather armor."

"Little better than a militia then…" Moon frowns, sounding much less interested. "Three might be tough, but if we get the drop on them…"

"If it's all the same, I would rather avoid any unnecessary conflict," Ivory Sky's expressive face twists with distaste, but it's always been hard to read anything from those solid black eyes of his. "Bloodstains are always so difficult to remove from clothing."

"In this case, I must agree," you put in before Moon can start arguing. "While it might be nice to ramp up the watch's pressure on the Fallen Ashes… we don't want to tip them off that we're working in their territory. Not to mention if word makes it all the way to the guildmaster…"

Four figures shiver in entirely unfeigned fear. Rain of Petals wasn't what one could call a vocal leader. In fact, they never spoke at all, preferring instead to drop small pieces of parchment with their orders in all sorts of terrifying places. Like on your forehead while you're sleeping, or in that one cubby that you'd hidden halfway across the city…

"Right, let's not do that then," Moon nods a touch quickly.

"In fact, I would prefer to avoid leaving any trace of our presence," you look around the table and upon seeing agreement from your crew you gesture at Fluttering Bow to continue.

"We are thus left with three potential targets:

[] "A high-walled shopkeeper's house. I couldn't get a look inside, but based on the flow of food in and trash out, there's no more than five permanent adult residents, eight if we're accounting for slaves. The windows are barred and the door locks appeared to be of high quality. A difficult target, but likely a valuable one."

[] "A silverworker's workshop and residence. The shop itself seems to see minimal business, likely due to the fact that the artisan himself is white-haired with age. There were two slaves I saw picking weeds from a small sand garden. This is the easiest of the targets, but unless you think he's kept his life's savings with him, it's also the least valuable."

[] "A grocer's shop. It's in a highly visible spot and was nearly full with customers from sunup to sundown. As a result, a headcount was somewhat complicated, but I think no more than three overnight residents. Armed guards come by once a week to empty the till, so there's only going to be so much loot available, but contrary to the first option, none of the locks appeared that complicated."

For a moment your finger hovers over the map itself and you close your eyes as your hand continues to spin. With a stabbing motion your finger knifes down and you open your eyes and look at the target you've chosen.

"Good enough for me… any concerns or disagreements or anything else?"

Two head shakes and a shrug of shoulders meets your question and you nod in satisfaction. Now all that was left was to… your fingers trace along a small burlap sack filled with jade bits.

[] "Moon, see if you can pick up a few things in case this all goes anathema-shaped." (+10 to any Martial rolls for next heist.)

[] "Ivory Sky, I don't know what you'd need, but I want our loot to be with the fence by dawn." (+10 to any Stewardship rolls for next heist.)

[] "Fluttering Bow, incredible work as always. Take the rest of the afternoon and see if you can find anything else out." (+10 to any Learning rolls for next heist.)

With that said, you toss the bag of jade bits at your chosen target and grin, "this is it. Our first heist. We succeed here and it's no more shared dorms."

You hold your fist out and it's met first by a bandaged fist, "I'll finally get a look inside the armory that doesn't come with Stalwart Orichalcum thrashing me black and blue."

A manicured fist joins yours and Moon's, "as nice as the rags left for common use have been. I will enjoy finally wearing proper finery."

Finally, ink-stained fingers join in, "I've read everything in the common library enough that I can quote them damn near from memory. If I don't have something new soon I believe I shall go insane."

"To a safe and successful heist," four fists bump and four teenage faces light in anticipation.

With that, you stand and your crew joins you. You point down at the map, at a dead-end alleyway near the target you'd chosen.

"We'll meet on the rooftop here two bells after midnight. Make sure to arrive separately and that you're not being tailed."

[The rest of this post will wrap up character generation. You can pick one option from each of the following categories except for Mystery Box which you can select from twice (some of the mystery options may be more easily guessed or more valuable than others).

Please note that some of the options listed below require a compatible option to be chosen above.

Your character starts with a score of 5 in each of the stat categories.

If and when your character unlocks Essence 1 charms/spells/artifacts/etc. will become available (at least in theory). These things will offer small numerical bonuses and rather larger narrative ones.]

Personality
[] [Gregarious] you've always had an easy enough time talking to people. (+1 Diplomacy)

[] [Just] you believe strongly in a personal code of morality. (+1 Stewardship)

[] [Brave] while you still feel fear, you refuse to let it control you. (+1 Martial)

[] [Erudite] books are just as much a companion as any individual. (+1 Learning)

[] [Quiet] when you're not talking it seems like you just fade away from notice. (+1 Intrigue)

Legacy
[] [Demon-Blooded] Stone seems to yield before you and refuses to give up your secrets. (+2 Intrigue)

[] [Demon-Blooded] Ferocity sharpens your blades when you defend something you consider yours. (+2 Martial)

[] [Demon-Blooded] Dice and coins and situations, all seem to fall in your favor more often than not. (+2 Stewardship)

[] [Fae-Blooded] Your face and voice are ever so slightly twisted in a way that's favorable to those you meet. (+2 Diplomacy)

[] [Fae-Blooded] Songs of restless longing, of impossible beauty and decadent nightmare echo softly in your ears. (+2 Piety)

[] [Fae-Blooded] Flashes of implication and consequence guide your actions at the most inopportune of times. (+2 Learning)

Genetic
[] [Attractive] you are considered appealing of form to individuals capable of such feelings. (+2 Diplomacy)

[] [Strong] you are imbued with a robustness above most of your peers. (+2 Martial)

[] [Smart] you are able to learn things quicker than most. (+2 Learning)

Mystery Box
[] [Mystery] A second breath.

[] [Mystery] A buzzing fly.

[] [Mystery] A twisted ring.

[] [Mystery] A moment's grace.

[] [Mystery] A graceful moment.

[] [Mystery] A secret respite.

[] [Mystery] A gray fleck.

[] [Mystery] A faint glow.

[] [Mystery] A flashing blade.

[] [Mystery] A faded parchment.

Hi folks. I've been wanting to do something with Exalted for a while now, but I didn't necessarily want to tread the path of having an Exalted character, and I wasn't sure how to simplify the mechanics so I wasn't having to roll tons of dice and keep track of a bunch of stuff. I still wanted the unpredictability of dice though. Thus, we have for our MC a not entirely human character and for our mechanics the CK system.

For folks that have read other quests I've run, I think this one will be a bit more serious in tone, but Exalted can be a gloriously absurd setting at times, so who can say.

Please vote by plan.
 
Character Sheet
Whispering Brook



Stats

Diplomacy 11

Learning 7

Intrigue 12

Martial 5

Stewardship 5

Piety 5

Essence 0

Traits
[Fae-Blooded] There are times where your skin feels stifling, where the inexorable procession of cause to effect is as a burning goad within your soul.

[Fae Lineage] Your face and voice are ever so slightly twisted in a way that's favorable to those you meet. (+2 Diplomacy)

[Attractive] You are considered appealing of form to beings capable of such feelings. (+2 Diplomacy)

[Gregarious] you've always had an easy enough time talking to people. (+1 Diplomacy)

[A Graceful Moment] In dreams you are something different, something unfettered by the vagaries of existence. In reality you are bound, but at times those chains seem somehow... looser. (One failed roll involving reflexes or grace can be rerolled per turn.)

[Sound of Silence] Is it the nature of reality to respond to the whims and desires of its inhabitants? Is it a legacy expressed in the way your eyes glow with pale luminescence or the way some fey something hides in your shadow? Whatever the case, an aura that attenuates all sound constantly surrounds Whispering Brook and can with effort be directed to mute even otherwise moderately loud alarms. (+2 intrigue)]

Skills
[Rogue: Novice] You have begun learning skills both larcenous and stealthy as taught by senior guild-members within the Night Runners Guild. (+5 Intrigue)

[Occultist: Untrained] You are coming to the horrifying comforting realization that Creation is merely the surface of an unimaginably deep ocean. (+1 Diplomacy +2 Learning)

Wealth
15 Jade Bits

[Faded Parchment] A small piece of parchment, folded about the center and covered with incomprehensible symbols. Despite both negligence and intent, this bit of paper always returns to your possession before the next new moon.
 
Last edited:
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by dmclain2 on Jun 24, 2021 at 12:04 PM, finished with 12 posts and 9 votes.

  • [X] Plan: Dashing Rogue
    -[X] Whispering Brook, Male
    -[X] [Chiaroscuro] A sinuous line, blood red, and lined by diamonds sparkling in the afternoon sun meets your eyes. Chiaroscuro with its red streets and its profligacy of First Age glass. The jewel of the South, its largest city, and the port which connects the South to the rest of Creation. A ruin of the First Age: its few intact soaring spires home to wealth beyond measure, its labyrinthine depths home to rumors of reality twisted beyond imagining.
    -[X] [Rogue] The Night Runners were a guild of thieves, and what skills could possibly be more useful to hone than ones larcenous and stealthy. (+5 Intrigue)
    -[X] [Fae-Blooded] your eyes flicker with rainbow iridescence and the confines of causality become stifling. Infinity, bereft of form or substance sings a siren's song within your thoughts. You swallow. Possibility fades to probability fades to eventuality.
    -[X] [Occultist] assist Fluttering Bow in acquiring a small number of books on religious practices. (+1 Diplomacy +2 Learning)
    -[X] "A high-walled shopkeeper's house. I couldn't get a look inside, but based on the flow of food in and trash out, there's no more than five permanent adult residents, eight if we're accounting for slaves. The windows are barred and the door locks appeared to be of high quality. A difficult target, but likely a valuable one."
    -[X] "Moon, see if you can pick up a few things in case this all goes anathema-shaped." (+10 to any Martial rolls for next heist.)
    -[X] [Gregarious] you've always had an easy enough time talking to people. (+1 Diplomacy)
    -[X] [Fae-Blooded] Your face and voice are ever so slightly twisted in a way that's favorable to those you meet. (+2 Diplomacy)
    -[X] [Attractive] you are considered appealing of form to individuals capable of such feelings. (+2 Diplomacy)
    -[X] [Mystery] A graceful moment.
    -[X] [Mystery] A faded parchment.
    [X] Plan: Adorable Ragamuffin
    -[X] [Chiaroscuro] A sinuous line, blood red, and lined by diamonds sparkling in the afternoon sun meets your eyes. Chiaroscuro with its red streets and its profligacy of First Age glass. The jewel of the South, its largest city, and the port which connects the South to the rest of Creation. A ruin of the First Age: its few intact soaring spires home to wealth beyond measure, its labyrinthine depths home to rumors of reality twisted beyond imagining.
    -[X] [Rogue] The Night Runners were a guild of thieves, and what skills could possibly be more useful to hone than ones larcenous and stealthy. (+5 Intrigue)
    -[X] Platinum Dove, Female
    -[X] [Demon-Blooded] your shadow pools around your feet, swathing them in near darkness. A sibilant voice, impossibly distant, impossibly close whispers seduction and power in your ear. Your head shakes. Promises of wealth unending and power unmatched fade to inaudibility.
    -[X] [Occultist] assist Fluttering Bow in acquiring a small number of books on religious practices. (+1 Diplomacy +2 Learning)
    -[X] "A high-walled shopkeeper's house. I couldn't get a look inside, but based on the flow of food in and trash out, there's no more than five permanent adult residents, eight if we're accounting for slaves. The windows are barred and the door locks appeared to be of high quality. A difficult target, but likely a valuable one."
    -[X] "Ivory Sky, I don't know what you'd need, but I want our loot to be with the fence by dawn." (+10 to any Stewardship rolls for next heist.)
    -[X] [Brave] while you still feel fear, you refuse to let it control you. (+1 Martial)
    -[X] [Demon-Blooded] Ferocity sharpens your blades when you defend something you consider yours. (+2 Martial)
    -[X] [Smart] you are able to learn things quicker than most. (+2 Learning)
    -[X] [Mystery] A second breath.
    -[X] [Mystery] A gray fleck.
    [X]Plan Sinister Man in the Shadows
    -[X] [Chiaroscuro] A sinuous line, blood red, and lined by diamonds sparkling in the afternoon sun meets your eyes. Chiaroscuro with its red streets and its profligacy of First Age glass. The jewel of the South, its largest city, and the port which connects the South to the rest of Creation. A ruin of the First Age: its few intact soaring spires home to wealth beyond measure, its labyrinthine depths home to rumors of reality twisted beyond imagining.
    -[X] [Negotiator] you'd learned early on that a quick tongue could get you out of more fights than a quick knife or quick feet. (+5 Diplomacy)
    -[X] [Occultist] assist Fluttering Bow in acquiring a small number of books on religious practices. (+1 Diplomacy +2 Learning)
    -[X] "A grocer's shop. It's in a highly visible spot and was nearly full with customers from sunup to sundown. As a result, a headcount was somewhat complicated, but I think no more than three overnight residents. Armed guards come by once a week to empty the till, so there's only going to be so much loot available, but contrary to the first option, none of the locks appeared that complicated."
    -[X] "Ivory Sky, I don't know what you'd need, but I want our loot to be with the fence by dawn." (+10 to any Stewardship rolls for next heist.)
    -[X] [Demon-Blooded] your shadow pools around your feet, swathing them in near darkness. A sibilant voice, impossibly distant, impossibly close whispers seduction and power in your ear. Your head shakes. Promises of wealth unending and power unmatched fade to inaudibility.
    -[X] [Quiet] when you're not talking it seems like you just fade away from notice. (+1 Intrigue)
    -[X] [Demon-Blooded] Stone seems to yield before you and refuses to give up your secrets. (+2 Intrigue)
    -[X] [Smart] you are able to learn things quicker than most. (+2 Learning)
    -[X] [Mystery] A twisted ring
    -[X] [Mystery] A secret respite.
    -[X] Jackal Truth. Man
    [X] An Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove.
    -[X] [Gem] mountains of volcanic glass and searing, lifeless desert stretch that into an unremitting horizon meet your eyes. Gem, the mountain that is a city, the city that is a mountain. Where avarice and freedom walk hand in hand down streets paved in gold and poverty. Where law and order stem only from those strong enough to demand them. Where great Houses vie for scraps of power and scheme to become something greater.
    -[X] [Enforcer] Stalwart Orichalcum, one of the guild's senior enforcers had a bit of a soft spot for children, or perhaps he just liked thrashing them, either way, you'd learned the value of being able to fight. (+5 Martial)
    -[X] [Fae-Blooded] your eyes flicker with rainbow iridescence and the confines of causality become stifling. Infinity, bereft of form or substance sings a siren's song within your thoughts. You swallow. Possibility fades to probability fades to eventuality.
    -[X] [Occultist] assist Fluttering Bow in acquiring a small number of books on religious practices. (+1 Diplomacy +2 Learning)
    -[X] "A high-walled shopkeeper's house. I couldn't get a look inside, but based on the flow of food in and trash out, there's no more than five permanent adult residents, eight if we're accounting for slaves. The windows are barred and the door locks appeared to be of high quality. A difficult target, but likely a valuable one."
    -[X] "Fluttering Bow, incredible work as always. Take the rest of the afternoon and see if you can find anything else out." (+10 to any Learning rolls for next heist.)
    -[X] [Just] you believe strongly in a personal code of morality. (+1 Stewardship)
    -[X] Untamed Stallion/Male
    -[X] [Fae-Blooded] Your face and voice are ever so slightly twisted in a way that's favorable to those you meet. (+2 Diplomacy)
    -[X] [Attractive] you are considered appealing of form to individuals capable of such feelings. (+2 Diplomacy)
    -[X] [Mystery] A second breath.
    -[X] [Mystery] A flashing blade.
 
Arc 0 - Midnight Rendezvous
White hair ripples wildly as the ocean breeze sweeps in through the bay and over the warehouse you'd chosen for your perch. Despite the late hour, the pier below was still humming with activity. On one side, moored by thin strands of something that almost glowed in the moonlight was a sleek, almost serpentine ship that was disgorging a curious mix of cargo and heavily armored figures. On the other, a boxy, high-castled ship was lit almost to daylight by glow-lamps, and even from here you could hear the sounds of revelry.

You consider getting up, taking a short trip down the pier, and joining in. An easy smile and a few witty exchanges and you'd have a few new rumors that, if you were lucky, might even be worth an obol or two. Alas, you'd asked your crew to meet atop an apartment building near your target two bells after midnight. So instead, here you would stay, enjoying the way the ocean breeze cut the worst of the heat still radiating from stone and masonry, and awaiting the faint chimes of the overnight bells that would force you to move.

Below you the sound of revelry shifts slightly and your foot starts tapping in time with the pounding of some resonant drum. For a fleeting moment, you wish you'd thought to bring your qin so you could weave melody and dissonance into the chaos unfolding below. Sadly a heist was no place for a musical instrument and more for concern over breaking it than any issues with unwanted noise you'd left it behind.

Maybe tomorrow. That dragon ship would likely be gone with the tide, but the corsairs, with the way they were carrying on it seemed like it would be at least a week before...

Chime. Chime.

Ahh, the second bell already. It seems you would be late, but then who would ever imagine something as outlandish as a punctual thief. Still, it was time to go, lest you arouse a truly staggering anger. So, with a sigh, you roll over the side of the roof.

A twist as you fall from the high, flat-roofed warehouse turns what would have been a painful collision with paving stones into an elegant tumble. The slight sound of your landing is muffled by skill and soft-soled shoes while your brief presence in the alley is erased as the deep shadows cast by the warehouse spread around you in a welcoming embrace.

You straighten, and your heart pumps, sending exhilaration and anxiety through you in equal measure. Your lips peel back in a grin Moon would have called beyond creepy and seafoam eyes spark twin points of light within the gloom. Tonight was the night you would carve the opening stanza of your story into Creation… you could hardly wait.


"You're late."

The words greet you as you shed shadow for pale moonlight. You look over at where Ivory Sky had claimed a spot leaning back against the building's narrow chimney. Your broad-shouldered friend has traded that rainbow patterned silk vest of his for a midnight-blue linen robe that was wrapped loosely around his frame.

"By less than half a bell though… so I believe that's my win Ivory Sky."

In a contrast of both clothing and attentiveness, Fluttering Bow is at the very edge of the roof resolutely watching the streets below and wrapped in tight bandages of midnight blue cloth that cover him all the way up to his eyes.

"How can I be late?" your head tilts in amused mockery, "when I am clearly not the last to arrive."

Your response prompts a dismissive scoff from Ivory Sky and a moment of attention along with a few words from Fluttering Bow before his head turns back to the study of the empty street below.

"Is it your contention that the magnitude of your crime is rendered into irrelevance by an equivalently greater crime from your peers?"

"No Honorable Magistrate, I but plead clemency, so that the court will not be distracted by such misdemeanors when the true villain of this saga arrives."

On the heels of a more amused scoff from Ivory Sky, the last member of your crew arrives with a graceful leap from a nearby building.

Moon lands lightly in front of you, and as she straightens you see she's clad in an ink-black halter top and tight black leggings that are almost indistinguishable from her onyx-black skin. Her bone-white hair has been pulled back and tucked under a plain black bandanna. In all, your friend is a vision of the midnight sky and for a moment your eyes drift down to admire well-defined abdominals before rising back up unnoticed.

"Really Brook, throwing me to the Hunt when you're the reason I'm late in the first place."

Your best friend smiles easily, and as ever your thoughts catch at the way pale moonlight transforms her usual mundanity into something ethereal. It was a curious sort of change and one that only ever happened under the moonlight. It was also a mystery that remained as yet unsolved, despite your best efforts as well as the cracked leather binding of more than one tome.

"Sorry Moon, but Fluttering Bow looks like a hanging magistrate and I'm far too pretty to get sold into slavery."

As ever, your best grin bounces off Moon without even the slightest effect. Fortunately, any further scolding is interrupted by Fluttering Bow as he abandons his lookout perch.

"If I could somehow manage to both hang you and sell you into slavery, I'd probably have better things to do with my time than adjudicate such minor crimes."

Seeming to agree that it was time to begin, Ivory Sky pushes himself off of the chimney and saunters closer.

"I'd imagine the Delzahn would frown on ghost slaves… though, with the proper precautions, one wonders if that might instead be an untapped market, hmmm."

With the ease of long practice, not necessarily as part of a single crew, but as associate members of other crews, the four of you crouch down in the middle of the roof. By unspoken agreement, three sets of eyes turn toward Moon who unwraps a small cloth bundle that had been tucked unobtrusively over one shoulder.

She begins taking items out and placing them gently on the ground between the four of you. The first to appear is a small leather bag tied with a thick twine that's been punched through the edge of the bag.

Do you get any presents from various guild luminaries and mentors?

Stalwart Orichalcum: doesn't really know you that well and provided exactly what was asked for.

Azure Blossom: [Attractive] + [Gregarious] + [Fae-Lineage] = yes, she rather likes you.

Indigo Whisper: [Novice Rogue] = a little something for the road, but nothing special.

"Caltrops and sharp enough that I was worried they'd cut through the bag and then my shoulder."

Well, how could you possibly let that statement go untested? You pick up the bag, untie twine knots with deft hands, and reach in. Your finger slides against metal and you pull back with a wince. Your eyebrow raises as you notice the thin line of blood welling on your finger.

"Dragons, that's sharp."

"You're like a child Brook, always touching things you shouldn't." Moon's head shakes in fond exasperation.

"I must confess to a certain concern that we all will one day meet a grisly end when Whispering Brook espies a sign warning of horrible and painful death and decides he must test the truth of it." Fluttering Bow smirks as he ties the twine back into a knot that can be undone with a quick tug.

"And yet we have all accepted this fool as our leader so perhaps that says more of us than him." The look on Ivory Sky's face as he responds is equal parts rueful and mocking.

Deciding to bring things back on track, Moon coughs, deliberately, and takes the second item out of her bag. She holds out a small, egg-shaped object.

"Seems someone's been turning up the charm on Azure Blossom cause when she heard why I was asking around for stuff she practically shoved this in my hands."

"She's the one that flirts with me, and shouldn't you be more worried about your best friend getting caught in the clutches of an older woman like that..." Your defense fades as you realize exactly what it is Moon's holding in her hands. "Oh wow is that…"

"A Dream-Smoke Grenade," Ivory Sky breathes out, seems to realize that he'd momentarily lost composure, and continues in a more even tone, "it's a shame the reagents lose potency so quickly after being encased, but it will certainly make tonight a bit easier."

[gained one Dream-Smoke Grenade (usable this heist only): automatically negates one failed detection/infiltration roll and replaces it with an auto-success.]

Moon returns the grenade to safety and tosses a canvas bag down to join the caltrops.

"Finally, we have a trip-vine bag courtesy of Indigo Whisper, who didn't want to let such a promising protege meet an untimely end."

"Well, I definitely haven't flirted with her," you respond, and feel somewhat aggrieved at the unspoken accusation shared between three sets of eyes. "Oh come one, have you ever seen her take the wings off a fly at fifty paces with one of those knives of hers… I've got at least some sense."

"That seems like a debatable statement," Ivory Sky drawls with a laconic sort of amusement.

"Intemperate and licentious are hardly the traits of a successful leader," Fluttering Bow adds to the condemnation with a nod of agreement.

"Don't worry Brook, I'll stick with you. After all, our years of friendship demand such loyalty, even if I'd much prefer it to be otherwise," Moon's lament is the last to join the chorus, but she's unable to completely hide the smirk twitching at the edge of her lips.

"If we're done picking on Whispering Brook?" three smug grins are all the response you get to that. With an amused exhale, you continue, "then let's get down to business. I'll take lead on getting us in and making sure we don't get caught."

"Ivory Sky:

[] "You're with me. I'll need a second eye out for the good stuff."

[] "You're on overwatch. Three ruby-throated owl calls if we need to abort immediately, I'll leave anything less up to you."

[] "Take the trip-vine and the caltrops and set up a getaway route for us."

"Moon:

[] "I may need another hand inside if things go loud."

[] "Take a bell to scout around and take care of anything that could come out and bite us."

[] "stay on standby. I want you ready to drop anyone who gets too close, quick and quiet… nonlethal if you can."

"Fluttering Bow:

[] "Inside with me. I still owe you a book for that one I trashed the other day, don't I?"

[] "Up top. We'll need your eyes and brain up there on lookout. The how is up to you."

[] "see if you can make something interesting with the trip-vine and caltrops. Something to discourage pursuit."

Here we have three general roles: infiltration, lookout, and getaway and three other crew members to fill them. Put your crew in the right spots and they'll perform better (e.g. higher bonus to rolls).

As a hint each member will perform well in two assignments and poorly in one.

Your crew has stats in the same way that you do. Though you don't know the exact numbers, you do have the narrative.

Please vote by plan.
 
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Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by dmclain2 on Jun 27, 2021 at 9:45 AM, finished with 5 posts and 3 votes.

  • [X] Plan: Watching the Sneaks
    -[X] "You're with me. I'll need a second eye out for the good stuff."
    -[X] "stay on standby. I want you ready to drop anyone who gets too close, quick and quiet… nonlethal if you can."
    -[X] "Up top. We'll need your eyes and brain up there on lookout. The how is up to you."
    [X] "You're with me. I'll need a second eye out for the good stuff." Sky
    [X] "stay on standby. I want you ready to drop anyone who gets too close, quick and quiet… nonlethal if you can." Moon
    [X] "Up top. We'll need your eyes and brain up there on lookout. The how is up to you." Bow
 
Arc 0 - A Heist Conducted
"Ivory Sky you're with me; I'll need a second eye out for the good stuff. Moon, stay on standby; I want you ready to drop anyone who gets too close, quick, and quiet… nonlethal if you can. Fluttering Bow up top; we'll need your eyes and brain on lookout, the how is up to you."

Ivory Sky nods and shuffles over to your side while your other two crew members share a quick look.

"It'll take too long for you to change position," Moon's comment jabs at Fluttering Bow, but without any of the heat of a real insult. "So I'll watch from the north side."

"Why would I even want to move?" Fluttering Bow's head tilts in amused disdain, and his words are far more cutting. "I've chosen this spot out of a dozen potential locations for maximal visibility. By all means, feel free to contribute according to your limited faculties."

"Why you-" your ears pick up the faint sound of knuckles cracking as Moon draws her hands into fists.

"Moon, Fluttering Bow." your voice cuts through the brewing argument.

"Tch, fine," Moon growls, but her fists unclench and her face relaxes soon after. "Bat calls if you see anything I'll need to take care of Fluttering Bow."

"As you wish," he nods in acceptance and turns toward you and Ivory Sky. "I have one Thunder Grenade. If you hear it, abort immediately."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," you cover a faint fluttering of anxiety with a confident smirk. "I don't think my ego would survive Indigo Whisper's mockery."

"I don't see why that would dent your ego when nothing else ever has," Moon drawls, her smirk matching yours perfectly.

"Should we reschedule this so the three of you can continue bantering or…" Ivory Sky cuts in, his face a mix of annoyance and amusement.

"Right, we're wasting midnight," you accept the remonstration and raise a hand in farewell. "See you two on the flip-side. Let's go Ivory Sky."

Matching actions to words, you glide over to the edge of the roof, take half a glance at the three-story fall, and tumble gracefully off. An annoyed curse is drowned out by the rush of wind against your ears and you grin. It would take poor Ivory Sky a few minutes to climb down the rope ladder he'd almost certainly used to get up there in the first place.

Your knees bend as you land and tuck into a roll that bleeds off momentum and ends with you springing upright. Another time and you might have raised your arms as though you were a tumbler finishing their routine in front of a crowd, but tonight you had more immediate concerns. Namely, a ten-foot tall wall broken only by a door made out of banded metal and some dark wood.

It was time to earn your keep, and all the better if you could figure out a way in before Iron Sky finished climbing down.

Do you see an easy way in? DC 40 = 65 + 10 (intrigue) = 75, you do.

Note: sometimes DC are a representation of reality rather than strictly a representation of skill: for instance, a low roll here would have resulted in a much more difficult way in.

The first obstacle was the outer wall, and running a hand over the coarse stone and exposed bits of brick that make up the wall protecting the compound, you smirk. Even Ivory Sky would be able to climb something this easy.

Fingers calloused by just this sort of climbing wedge into gaps in stone while soft-soled shoes find similar purchase. For one who'd trained on the near glass-smooth walls back at the guildhouse, there was no challenge in this, and you're atop the wall and lying prone in the span of a single breath.

Glancing over into the compound, your eyes fix first on a broad-shouldered dog sprawled out on pale sand and deep in slumber. Your mind drifts toward a thin-bladed throwing knife strapped against your thigh. That dog would likely be the most problematic guard, and it would be an easy enough throw from here. Your hands remain motionless though. Maybe if it woke up, or you couldn't find another way in, there'd be no choice, but for now…

You start worming your way along the flat-topped wall and continue your study of the enclosed area. Halfway around and the dog is out of sight, and into its absence is a gnarled and twisted tree-trunk bearing the weight of dozens of thick, leafless branches that practically brush up against the house itself.

Well, you could hardly ignore such a blatant invitation. An invitation that looked sturdy enough to support even Ivory Sky's bulk at that. So with the route decided, you drop lightly to the ground outside the compound and wait for his arrival.

Are there people moving in the night? DC 40 = 83 + 20 (crew properly assigned) = 103, it's quieter than a mausoleum.

Ivory Sky arrives with a disgruntled look on his face and a slight shortness of breath. He cuts off what he'd been intending to say when he sees the satisfied look on your face.

"Wall's dead easy to climb, won't even need the ladder." You pat the wall and after a moment's inspection, Ivory Sky nods his agreement. "Inside's even better. There's a tree that'll put us on the third floor. Quietly though, there's a dog sleeping on the other side. Give me a hundred count to see if I can get a window open and then come on in… count quickly."

"I'll see you on the inside then," your friend's voice is a low rumble, as close to a whisper as it ever got, as he hands over the wrapped bundle of his rope ladder.

With a plan set, you scamper back up the compound wall and drop silently down on the other side. Just as easily, you ghost up the thick, knotted trunk and over to the house itself.

Is there a conveniently accessible window? DC 60 = 62 + 10 = 72, it's there, but latched shut.

Bands of decorative masonry, inches thick and decorated with figures on horseback, ring the house at intervals that almost certainly correspond to the floors of the house. Again, it's almost trivially easy to traverse the short distance along the exterior of the house toward your destination. A high arched window that's both wide and tall enough for Ivory Sky to fit through without crouching.

Reaching the window itself, you lean back, bracing your weight on a single hand as you gently test the window. It fails to give and you shrug internally, somewhat reassured that things wouldn't be too easy. Your wrist flicks and a flat, hooked piece of metal almost materializes in your fingers. It takes no more than a few seconds before you've hooked the latch and you peek inside as the window cracks open soundlessly.

What looks like furniture covered in long white sheets meets your view. A storeroom. Perfect. You flip the window open wide enough to slip inside and hop lightly over the sill. Once inside, you brace the metal claws of the rope ladder against the window sill and test it with a firm tug. Satisfied that it will hold your companion's weight, you drift further into the room.

Is anyone moving around the neighborhood part deux? DC 40 = 62 + 20 (crew) + 10 (previous crit.) = 92, still crickets.

You lift the edge of one of the white sheets revealing a divan upholstered in what looked like silk with every bit of exposed wood practically covered in gilt. It was more than a little tacky, but if this was the kind of thing they left in storage… this might be a more lucrative heist than any of you had thought.

Muffled grunts draw your attention back to the window in time to watch as Ivory Sky pulls himself through. Your friend scowls in your general direction and breathes a few deep, but silent breaths.

Once he's recovered from his exertion, you motion him over.

"We're on the top floor, so this is most likely where everyone's bedrooms are. I'll scout around and see if I can find anything. If you're up to it, take a look around the second floor, otherwise, just sit tight here and we'll go down together."

Ivory Sky is silent as he mulls over the offer. Eventually, he nods his head and responds, "I'll take a look around. I think even you can figure out that shiny things are more valuable."

You smirk at that and hand over the Dream-Smoke Grenade. "In that case, take this. I'm sure you'll need it more than I do. I'll come and find you when I'm done upstairs."

Carefully, Ivory Sky takes the fragile, egg-shaped grenade and tucks it securely in a belt pouch. "Whisper or something when you get close… I don't want to hit you with this damned thing."

"Sure, sure," you smirk, maybe you'd see if you could lift the grenade off of him before announcing your presence.

With that, you slip out the storage room door and into a gloom-filled hallway, lit only by diffuse moonlight streaming in from a skylight.

Can you creep through a bedroom and not awaken someone sleeping? DC 75 = 99 + 10 (intrigue) = 109, like a thief in the night.

A crit so soon, what absurd luck.

Three doors line the sides of the hallway, two similar to the one you'd just emerged from and one with a bit of silver worked into the door. That one catches your attention only as long as it takes to drift over to it, at which point you see the door at the end of the hallway. Gaudy would be an understatement for the battle scene worked in gold leaf and and all the colored glass bits.

Who could ignore such an invitation? Certainly not you, so your feet slip soundlessly down to the end of the hallway, where cautiously, your fingers trace the air just above the handle. There's no trap that you can see or feel, no sign of anything mechanical nor the tell-tale buzzing of thaumaturgy. With a held breath, you push, and silently the door cracks open and you slip inside.

A small sitting room meets your eyes, but almost before you're finished processing the fancy looking furniture and the colorful wall-hangings, you're moving toward an ornate door set on the far side. After all, where else would a shopkeeper keep his wealth than in his bedroom? Your hand stops mere inches from the doorknob though, arrested by some faint instinct. You look around, but there's nothing in the sitting room. A glance down at the handle reveals nothing of any sort of trap. Could it be warded by something greater… no, unless there was a great deal more wealth hidden here than any of you had imagined, you'd have felt the tell-tale tickling of inversion by now, unless…

Your eyes continue drifting around before finally settling on hinges worked with small metallic needles. A cricket door. How annoying. Even the slightest of movement would scrape those needles against a coarse piece of metal and make a sound like that of a cricket's chirp, thus giving the cursed security device its name. Unfortunately, disarming a cricket door was tricky in the best of times and now was definitely not the best of times. Dragons.

A moment before giving up and resigning yourself to checking the desk drawers and cabinets in the sitting room, effect strikes and inspiration follows. A slow grin steals across your face as you hold your hand up. Your fingers strike against one another but the snap sounds muted, as though from across the room. Well now, wasn't that convenient and there's more to it than just that, you can feel it. So when your focus turns toward the hinges of the cricket door, reality shifts obligingly and it's without even the slightest surprise that there's only the faintest of whispers that emanate from the door as it swings open on silent hinges.

Like the opening of a present, the contents of the bedroom are revealed before you: a trove of treasure and a rotund figure sleeping underneath thin silk sheets.

[Sound of Silence] Is it the nature of reality to respond to the whims and desires of its inhabitants? Is it a legacy expressed in the way your eyes glow with pale luminescence or the way some fey something hides in your shadow? Whatever the case, an aura that attenuates all sound constantly surrounds Whispering Brook and can with effort be directed to mute even otherwise moderately loud alarms. (+2 intrigue)]

Like iron filings to a lodestone, your attention and shortly after that your feet, are drawn to a gem-inlaid jewelry box sitting prominently at the edge of a dresser. Well, that certainly looks pretty, so into the sack it goes. A few shiny bits of metal placed haphazardly on the dresser grab your attention and soon join the jewelry box.

And since no heist could be considered complete without a bit of ransacking, you quickly, but quietly dig through dresser drawers. Two colorful silk shirts and a loose pair of silk pants join your shiny metal loot, a little thank you for Ivory Sky since he wasn't really used to this kind of exercise.

What do you grab? No DC = 53 + 5 (stewardship) + 10 (crew) = 68 = 6d10 * 2 (narrative) jade bits worth of loot = 12d10

Total heist loot
12d10 jade bits
Some silk clothing

To explain, loot rolls work a bit differently. First, there's no DC associated with them, rather each multiple of 10 (rounded down) provides 1d10 worth of currency correlated to the value of the heist target (jade bits in this case).

Crits are expressed as specific items rather than non-descript loot.

You pause at the bedroom door and look over your handiwork: drawers are opened, clothing is strewn about chaotically, and there's a noticeable absence of valuable items on the dresser itself. In a way, it's almost artful how ransacked it looks, and a satisfied smirk stretches widely across your face as you depart.

How's Ivory Sky doing? DC 40 = 3 + 10 (crew) = 13, not well. At least he had that grenade.

You practically skip down the flight of steps toward the second floor, marveling at how silent your footsteps are without even trying.

Stairs give way to an open room filled with a long table surrounded by high-backed chairs. A glance around shows that the cupboards have been cleaned out of any silverware and since you're not interested in carrying any large porcelain bowls, there's nothing else of interest present.

A pair of saloon doors lead to what was almost certainly the kitchen while a plain door set near it likely led to some servant's area. Opposite those two was a significantly more ornate door, once again set with gold leaf and colored glass bits. Well, this was hardly a choice.

As you draw near the door, a whiff of rainbow iridescence oozes from beneath the door, and what carefree amusement you'd been feeling crashes into focused awareness. Dragons… it seems that Ivory Sky had used the grenade, it must have worked though, since no alarm had been raised. That only left the question of if your friend was still awake and hopefully he was; it'd be a pain to try and drag him back out. Your thoughts whirl even as one hand slips to a throwing knife and the other stretches toward the door.

Soundlessly, the door opens, and soundlessly you slip inside. A map of the South, exquisitely decorated with golden calligraphy and territories inked with vibrant colors dominates one wall, while a painting of a familiar-looking fat man dominates the other. Both of those sights fade to insignificance next to Ivory Sky wrapping a length of coarse rope around the arms and legs of an armored figure lying unconscious below him.

You cough quietly, but Ivory Sky doesn't look up. A frown flickers across your face until… oh, right. You cough slightly more loudly and shoulders bunch as your friend practically explodes from his crouch into what would have been a defensive posture if he knew how to fight.

Instead of appearing threatening, Ivory Sky looks rather comical with his fists too far outstretched and his knees too far bent. You poorly cover an amused smirk and raise an eyebrow

"Did our sleeping friend get the drop on you?"

Ivory Sky frowns, kicks at the bound guard, and winces as his thin shoes collide painfully with steel mail.

"He was sitting behind the desk wide awake and just staring at the door when I opened it. Moved damned quick too. It was all I could do to get the grenade out and the door shut before he was on top of me."

Is there an inconvenient interruption, DC 40 = 98 + 20 (crew) + 10 (previous crit) = 128, nope it's quieter than the endless void out there.

"Well, at least you got him," you look down at the armored figure and shrug. "Better him than us."

"I poked my nose down on the first floor for a quick look but it's all servant's areas and foyer. Though there might still be some basement storage to look through if you want?"

"Hmm, probably not a bad idea. Did you find anything interesting in here?"

What do the two of you grab? No DC = 26 + 5 (stewardship) + 10 (crew) = 41 = 4d10

Total heist loot
16d10 jade bits
Some silk clothing
A few recreational books

"Books and a trade ledger. Might be able to find a buyer for the latter and Fluttering Bow will surely want the former. Selling either is no sure deal though."

"I nabbed a bit of jewelry… I'll need you to take a look to see if it's the real deal. I also snatched a few nice silk shirts, and if I were to guess, I'd say our unwitting host for the evening is of similar size to you… if a bit more rotund around the waist."

"It'll do. I've got needle and thread if it's too poor a fit."

"Well then, shall we take a look in the basement?"

"Right behind you."

Do the servants notice your descent? DC 40 = 17 + 12 (intrigue) + 10 (crew) = 39, they do, but dismiss it as nothing.

Note: since you'd gained that trait from the earlier crit, the nature of success and failure changed somewhat. Thus even though you didn't hit the DC it doesn't result in an alarm and hasty exit. Significantly failing this roll would have still gone poorly for you though.

The two of you leave the office and continue down a short hallway to where a small square door is set near flush with the wall. It was a servant's door: connected to a variety of access hallways so that slaves could move around the house without attracting attention, and just what you'd been looking for.

The door takes a bit of effort to wedge open, as its obviously not been as well cared for as those used by the family who lived here, but your sound dampening aura ensures that no more than a slight squeak of rusted hinges emerges. Unfortunately that slight squeak might have been too much as the sound of someone rolling over in their sleep stops you motionless, one foot past the doorway. What kind of slave put their mat down right next to the Dragon's damned door.

You stare down at a threadbare sheet covering a lean, older figure and hope. Hope that they'll roll back over and go back to sleep without investigating. Hope that you don't have to put those knife-throwing lessons to fatal use quite yet. And wait, breathlessly, heart pumping an intense but steady refrain in your chest as your world focuses down to this singular instant and the poor slave who may just make the worst and last mistake of his life.

You count, mentally as the seconds stretch on into minutes, as your mind wavers on whether to continue waiting or just end it.

Five-hundred.

Slowly, your hand stretches down to your knife, palm wet with sweat and anxiety as it caresses the rough leather hilt.

Six-hundred.

An endless moment passes with naught but the voice in your head slowly counting but your knife remains sheathed.

Eight-hundred.

Your heartbeat pounds loudly in your ears and your throat slowly turns parched as your eyes remain fixed on that motionless lump of humanity.

One-thousand.

Regretfully, a razor sharp blade slowly emerges from its sheath and you breath deeply, and exhale explosively, soundlessly, as you prepare yourself for murder.

Twelve-hundred.

Finally, in that timeless moment before intent transforms into action, the breathing from the pile of cloth smooths into the slow deep breaths of sleep. The wave of relief that rushes through you as you sheathe your knife threatens to send you to your knees, but you catch yourself.

Shakily, you step back through the open door and gesture for Ivory Sky to find a place to hide while you search below. Sneaking past a sleeping slave would be no issue to one with your skill, unfortunately, your companion was significantly less skilled than that. A fact that he apparently knows just as well as you, because a scowl and a nod of agreement are all the response you get to that before he retreats back to the office.

With that resolved, you offer a quick, formless sort of prayer for the sleeping slave. Without even a whisper to identify your passage, you ghost past them, down two flights of rather rickety stairs, and into a large basement storage area.

What do you grab? No DC = 41 + 5 (stewardship) + 10 (crew) = 56 = 5d10

Total heist loot
21d10 jade bits = 126 jade bits
A few silk shirts
A few recreational books

Since Exalted is intentionally fuzzy with currency, we'll say that for the purposes of this quest a jade bit is roughly equivalent to a week's worth of cheap food or a couple days at an inn.

It's pitch black inside the cellar and you sigh at having to waste a perfectly good glow-stick. There was nothing for it though, and so practiced hands dig through various hidden pouches for one of the two sticks you had decided to bring with you. A twist and a shake set the phosphorescent material to glowing softly. The light it emits is faint, but it's enough to see by. It's enough that you can even make out the stenciling on some of the crates stacked around you.

You have five minutes until the alchemical concoction begins to fade and too much cellar to search in that short amount of time. So with a shrug, you close your eyes, spin in a circle, and hold out your arm. Your eyes open and follow down the aisle pointed out your spinning.

With a shrug, you trail off down the aisle, stopping near the cellar wall and in front of a crate that hadn't been as neatly stacked as the ones surrounding it. The words Raw Wares stenciled in simple calligraphy draw your attention and as much from curiosity as the ticking clock of your light source you wedge a fat-bladed knife under the lid and twist.

The sound of the latch popping is muted by your soundless aura as is your thoughtful hum when you look at the contents of the crate. Blocks of a dull, silvery metal stare back up at you. Why couldn't it have been gold

Steel ingots, not worthless, but not extremely valuable either, and heavy on top of that. Still, your time being able to see is running out, so with a slight grunt of effort, you add a pair of ingots to your bag.

Tossing the bag back over one shoulder, you wince as the straps dig into your shoulder. Fortunately, you were just about done here and you had a much better pack-mule waiting upstairs.

All that was needed now was a quick exfiltration and a rooftop rendezvous to divvy up the loot.

Does anyone notice you leaving? DC 40 = 81 + 12 (intrigue) + 20 (crew) + 20 (previous crits) = 133, you could have probably stolen the sleeping dog too.

When you crack open the front door, out of mild curiosity, you notice that the sleeping dog has moved to a new spot well away from the walkway from the front gate to the house. It appears that exfiltration will be even easier than infiltration, and so with that obstacle cleared, your mind traces back over what you and Ivory Sky have seen while robbing the place.

A plan begins to bubble in your thoughts and a smirk grows across your face as it pops. Yes, that would do nicely and leave a bit of a false trail at that. So after a quick word with Ivory Sky; his own smirk evidence enough of his approval of your plan. The two of you begin collecting any incriminating evidence you'd left behind and finish the scene by leaving a spilled and half-empty bottle of bourbon by the now untied but still unconscious guard.

With that bit of confusion and chaos left behind you, you and Ivory Sky waltz out the front door and back into the night.


"Looks like you two had fun without us?" your voice causes a pair of relaxing crewmates to jerk from where they'd been huddled over a pair of dice

"Not a single soul out for three blocks in any direction," Moon sighs as she fishes up the dice and drops them in a pouch. "It was all we could do to stay awake after the first few rounds."

"Once you went in there wasn't much we could observe from out here," Fluttering Bow adds with a touch more embarrassment. "We still kept a lookout after each turn."

"Well, I suppose I can't fault you for having nothing to do…" you shrug, "though I'm willing to leave it up to Ivory Sky to see how he feels."

"It is hardly my place to comment on the actions of others, this night at least." Ivory Sky matches your shrug with one of his own. A shrug that loosens the straps on the pair of bags he'd been carrying and ends with him placing the night's loot between four suddenly focused and anxious thieves.

If that wasn't a sign to begin, you don't know what was.

"To start, this target was damn near perfect. Lightly patrolled, full of loot, and almost unguarded. Credit for that has to go to Fluttering Bow."

Red hair shifts as your friend tilts his head in acceptance of the praise.

"Next, I have to thank both Moon and you again, Fluttering Bow. No job's ever easier than one where there's no external complications."

Moon grins and pounds a fist into her hand while Fluttering Bow's face cracks into a slow grin.

"Finally, I've got to thank Ivory Sky who managed to gas the one guard on night duty."

Ivory Sky tilts his head to accept the thanks as well, though his face is a mixture of thankful and embarrassed that you didn't spread the full details of that particular mistake.

"But you can't eat words, so let's get on to the main event."

With that, Ivory Sky undoes the bindings and lets the rather random collection of loot spill forth.

"Ivory Sky and I were talking about it on the walk back and we figure we've got about 120 jade bits worth of fencible merchandise. As well as some nice clothing and a couple of books as a bonus for whoever wants them."

You pause for Moon's excited exclamation and Fluttering Bow's more restrained, though still excited one.

"You all should know how this works, but since we're new to working together, I'll lay it out again. Guild dues are 100 bits per quarter and promotion's 400 bits. On the one hand, I don't think any of us wants to see what Rain of Petals does to delinquent payers. On the other hand, we've got nearly three months until dues are due, so we can set aside a lot or a little or nothing."

Your crew remains silent, but it's clear that each member is busy running sums on how much it was worth paying now or paying later.

"I know the crew-leader typically takes a bit larger a share, but that's not how we'll be doing things here. So, gentlemen, lady, I've just got one question: what's it going to be?"

[] write-in amount to tithe. (The shirt and books are being divvied up narratively and each crew member will walk away with a quarter of the coins that you don't tithe to the guild.)

Surprisingly quickly, the shares were assigned and all that was left was to head back to the guild and begin the work of turning loot into cold hard cash. And to decide how you were going to spend what remained of the night, at least until the adrenaline wore off and it was time to crash.

[] Ivory Sky will be in charge of getting your loot to Azure Blossom. Perhaps your pretty face will help, or perhaps it will hurt. You won't know until you try.

[] Moon likes to decompress with violence and since Stalwart Orichalcum is probably sleeping, her sparring options are limited. You could be a mobile striking dummy, it probably wouldn't even hurt that much.

[] Fluttering Bow's hand is already stretching toward the nearest of the books and you have no doubt about where he will be spending the next few hours. Surprisingly, he's never exactly minded company while he reads, at least not yours.

To explain a bit about how I intend to run this quest:

There will be a split between turn actions that take place over the course of a month and various arcs and mini-arcs that will be self-contained.

Turn actions will more or less be divided into the six stats as per many CK2 style quests though this quest will focus more heavily on the narrative aspects rather than nation-building or whatever.

Turn one will start at the end of the next chapter.

Please vote by plan.
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by dmclain2 on Jun 30, 2021 at 2:06 PM, finished with 8 posts and 3 votes.

  • [X] Plan: Balancing the Books
    -[X] 100 bits
    -[X] Fluttering Bow's hand is already stretching toward the nearest of the books and you have no doubt about where he will be spending the next few hours. Surprisingly, he's never exactly minded company while he reads, at least not yours.
    [X] Plan: Paying some of our due
    -[X] 25 Jade tithe.
    -[X] Ivory Sky will be in charge of getting your loot to Azure Blossom. Perhaps your pretty face will help, or perhaps it will hurt. You won't know until you try.
 
Arc 0 - A Successful Return
[] Plan: Balancing the Books
-[] 100 bits
-[] Fluttering Bow's hand is already stretching toward the nearest of the books and you have no doubt about where he will be spending the next few hours. Surprisingly, he's never exactly minded company while he reads, at least not yours.

You can't quite help the incredulous tone in your voice as you and your crew come to a decision on how to split the loot.

"Just to make sure, we're all ok with paying it all off now? No one wants a few more bits so they could just as a complete hypothetical… go to that one spa over in the Dried River District? An important part of feeling good is looking good, right?"

Your eyes meet Ivory Sky's, who mixes a scowl with a shrug but he doesn't say anything.

"Or maybe drop a bit more on the offering plate at the neighborhood temple? I hear there are special services for important donors..."

"It isn't like that," Moon doesn't shout, since you're all still on top of a building near y our heist target, but her eyes are practically burning, "and shut up Brook. This is what we agreed on."

"Ok, ok. I'm just making sure… after all, there is that one private library over in the Garden District with all those beautiful illuminated manuscripts. An entry pass is only like fifteen bits, isn't it?"

Fluttering Bow manages a smirk as you look over at him.

"Is this perhaps an attempt at coaxing us into reconsideration? One wonders if this charade is perhaps because Hidden Vale and the Five Fairies are playing at the concert hall next week?

And here you thought you'd hidden that flyer before anyone could see it. Still, you put on an easy grin at the accusation.

"What a spurious and entirely unrelated claim. I merely wished to ensure that my dear crew-mates were not depriving themselves of some of the better things in life."

"If you really want to go to your stupid costume party thing Brook, I'm sure we can loan you a few bits, we'd even be real generous on the interest… Ivory Sky, help me out here."

"Of course, Moonsilver Fist. We, your loyal crew would happily float you a simple loan of say twenty bits, compounded daily at the competitive rate of five percent. One word and it would be yours for the taking, Whispering Brook."

"Is there no generosity amongst thieves," you lament and three sets of flat stares are all the response you get. So, with a sigh you relent.

"Hmph, fine. We'll be responsible criminals and pay dues first, but if most of the next score ends up going toward promotion I might have to throw a tantrum."

"Well, now that you mention it, Brook, I've heard that a crew of Masks does get access to some wild training courses."

"The kind of challenge that can unlock an edge of almost preternatural skill in those capable of it, at least if the guild logs are anything to go by." Fluttering Bow nods in agreement and twists the knife a bit further, "in fact, for those of us with unresolved issues outside of the guild, Mask is where the formal trading of favors starts to become a currency of its own."

Ivory Sky's voice is a low rumble, "If it is as you say, Fluttering Bow, then perhaps saving for promotion is not the worst of choices."

"Are we going to return to base every night to sip tea and quietly discuss the day's news?" your foot stomps down but doesn't make any noise… oh right, the sound aura thing. "I refuse. The story of youth is taking stupid chances and making dumb choices and I demand the opportunity to do both."

Dead silence meets your proclamation and as your mind flitters back over the words you'd just said, the tips of your ears start to burn in embarrassment. Your hand rubs at the back of your neck and you grin somewhat sheepishly.

"Ahem… well I still say we should enjoy the time we have without expectations or responsibilities while it lasts."

"Histrionics and stupidity aside, I do agree with Whispering Brook." Fluttering Bow's smirk would have perhaps cut a bit worse if you hadn't just decided to sink completely into the awkwardness you were feeling. "We could all probably find a good use for a bit of spending money."

Ivory Sky shifts and the crew's attention turns toward him. "So long as we get promoted within the next few years, I have no complaints about reserving a larger portion for us as individuals."


You struggled to put into words the feelings that were coursing through you as you walked down the hallway to the dorm shared by your crew. Excitement. Relief. Elation. Sadness. Exhaustion. The primary one was easy though: it was satisfaction, and you could see it in each of your crewmates. Satisfaction: in the swaggering, strutting way Moon was walking, in the quiet composure that seemed to radiate from Fluttering Bow, in the confident, almost arrogant way Ivory Sky's head was tilted. Your crew and it was a crew in truth now, rather than just a collection of friends, seems to have been transformed by success.

Maybe in the morning, the weight of that would hit. Maybe then you would feel the responsibility of ensuring that your crew would time and again experience this feeling. Or maybe not. It was, after all, something to ponder when the low thrum of emotion wasn't plucking deep notes in your soul. Or perhaps it was not something to ever ponder at all. A hero plagued by doubt made for a compelling narrative, but did you want it to be yours?

Your pondering of whether or not to ponder other things at a later date cuts off with the arrival of the front door to your dorm. For a long moment, the four of you stand motionlessly in front of a room that would after tonight no longer be your home until finally, Moon is the first to break the silence.

"I think I'm gonna go find something to hit. I'd prefer a moving target if any of you are interested…"

Ivory Sky and Fluttering Bow are quick to offer a shake of the head, and that just leaves you to give an answer.

"Moon, you know I love you, so don't take it the wrong way when I say: I would seriously consider castration before I would consent to be your punching bag for the evening."

"Hah, of course you'd choose that… it's hard to miss something you never get a chance to use." She smirks and lifts a hand in farewell. "I'll see you all later."

With that, your best friend saunters off, and magnanimously you decide to let her have the last word.

"I believe I shall go and see if Azure Blossom is willing to provide immediate cash value on our loot, unless either of you wish to accompany me." Ivory Sky is the next to offer his plans for the night. "If it's acceptable, I will also deposit our dues."

Fluttering Bow once again offers a shake of his head, accompanied this time by a soft noncommittal sort of noise.

"Nah, I don't think I'm up to Azure Blossom's particular brand of flirting tonight," you decline as well, "and if you want to drop dues off, go right ahead."

"In that case, I will go and handle what financial matters we have." Like Moon, he also raises his hand in farewell. "Until we meet again."

You watch as Ivory Sky leaves, seeming a touch more sure of his footsteps than he had been just a few hours previous. It seems that perhaps overcoming that guard had done rather more than you'd guessed in changing your friend's sense of himself.

"I think I will take some time to read through one of those books we just looted. You are, of course, welcome to join me… though I doubt I will be much for conversation." Fluttering Bow offers once it was just the two of you.

"Sure, I think I could use something a bit quieter right now," you accept the offer as the two of you walk into the common room set between your four separate dorm rooms.

While Fluttering Bow pours brown liquor into a pair of cheap clay tumblers, you dig through the sack of non-loot goodies for the books Ivory Sky had found. The tumbler is set down beside you with a dull thunk and you catch a whiff. Seems like the drink of choice was cheap bourbon… without ice, unfortunately, since that was a luxury beyond that available to Cloaks.

A pair of books emerge from the sack and you hold one in each hand, "Looks like we've got a very specific sort of historian here… The Decline and Fall of the Shogunate and Contagion and Response. Any preferences?"

"A book about a plague that nearly extinguished all life in Creation or a piece of propaganda establishing the legitimacy of the Realm… one wonders that authors ever bother with aught but the natural sciences."

"So are you saying you want the book about a time where chaos reined and the living envied the dead or the book about the plague?"

A soft, amused snort is the response you get to that as Fluttering Bow takes Contagion and Response from your hand. "Morbidity aside, I believe I will immerse myself in a time of pandemic."

"I suppose it's the bad old days for me then." Your book and glass of cheap bourbon join you as you sink gratefully into overstuffed cushions of an arm chair. One leg slings up over the side and your drink settles onto the floor after you take your first sip and relax fully, there was nothing quite like the burn of alcohol.


For a time everything is quiet, save for the flip of pages being turned and the clink of tumblers being raised and lowered.

It is into the strife and conflict amongst the mountainous North that the Warlord-

"Do you remember the day I first arrived at the guild?" Fluttering Bow's soft voice cuts through the silence.

Thankful for the distraction, the dry historical tome had almost put to sleep more than once, you look up from the words you had been reading but not really comprehending. Your friend has set his own book face down on his lap in favor of staring deeply into whatever remained in his tumbler.

His words spark a memory and you think back to a boy about your own age, wearing a green silk vest and matching pale yellow pants that had obviously seen better days hesitantly entering the cafeteria for dinner. "That was what, almost three years ago, wasn't it?"

"Almost to the month." Red eyes meet your own for a moment before falling back down. "I never asked, but why did you invite me to join you and Moonsilver Fist?"

"Did I need a reason?"

Fluttering Bow shrugs a bit awkwardly at your response, "I suppose not."

"It's not something I could have put into words when I was younger, but… I think I understand some things a bit better now."

You pause and look down at your own drink, a bit thankful that you were just drunk enough to have this conversation, and then continue.

"Creation has… patterns… patterns on top of patterns. Most of them I can't understand or even really see, but some of them… they're like little pieces of a story. The villain escaping to trouble the hero again and again, the fell beast vanquished as the townsfolk learn bravery, that sort of thing. But it's not like any story is really only one story, you know… that fell beast has its own story too."

You tilt your tumbler up, draining it of the last of your drink and luxuriating in the way it burned down your throat and into your stomach.

"So when I saw you there, wrapped in fear and despair and a burning desire for revenge I wondered what kind of story you would write and I decided that I wanted to see it play out."

"I suppose curiosity is as good an answer as any," Fluttering Bow muses more to himself than to you. "You never asked though, about why I was there."

"I've known Moon my whole life and there's still things she won't tell me… still things I haven't told her. Ivory Sky has his own story to write too, I suppose."

You pause there, savoring with inexplicable senses the way this seemingly trivial moment is poised on the edge of something more, and let the words that would continue this particular moment fall into place. Fall into place and are rejected. If nothing else, friends at least should be spared these cheap bits of narrative manipulation.

"All of that's fine though, life would be kind of boring if we couldn't keep secrets. So instead, let's wait and see if there's a day in the future where all four of us want to lay our cards on the table at the same time."

Fluttering Sky shivers almost infinitesimally and takes a final swig from his drink.

"That's not a half-bad idea. If our collective unfinished business were so easy to resolve, it already would be, so we all probably need to get stronger or smarter or just better."

"I'll drink to that," you raise your glass, look into it and sigh. "Or I would if I could… throw me that bottle would ya'?"

In answer, a bottle of brown liquid sloshes gracelessly through the air before landing on your stomach, having avoided your most coordinated attempt at snatching it out of the sky. Alcohol pours into a clay cup, you sip, and exhale in satisfaction.

"Got any plans for your first day as a full guild member? I've got a bit of official crew leader stuff I should probably get done and then I think I'm gonna spend a bit of time playing in the Drifting Sand Square."

Fluttering Bow marks the page he'd been reading in his book and sets it on the floor before grinning and answering.

"There's a cute baker's apprentice at a shop over in Five Oaks that may enjoy a nice afternoon out. He's been playing a bit coy for the past few weeks, but I think I've figured out a successful approach."

"Hmm, that's not too far away… if you make it to the square, take a look for me. I've been practicing a few new songs and its always fun to try them out for a new audience."

"Anything catchy… something we could dance to? It would be nice to get a feel for what's underneath that apron you know."

You smirk in response to the drunken leer that crosses your friend's face.

"Not really, I prefer looking to touching. I have been practicing with a pan-flute, though, so if you want to dance I can do happy songs. If you'd maybe rather have him cry in your arms… or cry in his, I can do sad songs too…"

"You're almost always playing some instrument or other and I never even thought to ask." An exasperated exhale follows that mumbled statement, "do you even know how helpful music is in charming someone's pants off?"

"Never considered it." You more or less succeed in shrugging despite being sprawled out almost upside down on the chair. "I just like it because you can tell a story without words."

"Well if I my plan works, you'll definitely see the two of us, and a few dances followed by something a bit soulful would probably be just the thing-"

The door slams open on the heels of Fluttering Bow's request and Moon struts in.

"What are you two idiots talking…" she takes a deep whiff and a disapproving glance at both of you and the empty bottles sitting by your chair. "Reeking of booze already? Don't the two of you have anything better to do."

You glance at her sweat stained clothes and raise a sardonic eyebrow, "us reek? Didn't anyone ever teach you to bathe after exercising?"

"And change back into these same dirty clothes, not a chance." Moon scowls at you, "and don't change the subject. I'm absolutely sure there's things you specifically should be doing, oh glorious leader."

You take the chding with an amused smirk, there was after all only one plausible explanation for her current mood.

"Was Stalwart Orichalcum awake and willing to smack you around the sparring floor after all?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," she admits even as she storms past the two of you and in to her bedroom.

"Anyways," you let that not-entirely unusual scene pass without comment and return to the original conversation. "Bring him by and I'll play whatever you want."

"Thanks Brook," he slurs slightly, "I mean…"

"Nah, it's fine so long as I can call you Bow."

"Help me with this baker boy and you can call me whatever you want."

Ivory Sky saunters in through the door that Moon had carelessly left wide open and closes it behind him.

"Well if it's dating help you need. You'll be happy to know that Azure Blossom threw in a one time completion bonus of twenty bits."

Well since everyone was back, perhaps it was time to make a few plans for the next month, but first you need to complete the group, so you call out, "if you're done sulking, put on some clean clothes and come join us Moon. We're gonna figure out what to do next month."

"Yeah yeah, I'm coming," Moon emerges from her room, wrapping a loose linen vest around her shoulders. "And I was not sulking. I was contemplating… you should know that by now Brook."

It was probably better and definitely easier to just let that go. So you did, and started laying out your plans for the month:

[Turn 1 Vote Options]

Whispering Brook has 6 actions that he can use on any of the options below. He can also ask each of his crew members to work on 1 of the options below (with the caveat that training would apply to their abilities rather than Whispering Brook's.)

An example plan could look something like:
[] Example
-[] option
-[] option (crew member's name)

If you want to gain and keep a reputation as a skilled crew leader, you're going to need to train
-[] Stalwart Orichalcum is a master of bladed weapons, and as a crew leader, you're entitled to training sessions with him.

-[] The library in the Night-Runners Guild has a surprisingly extensive collection of Dalzahn cultural and political books, and as long as you don't upset Amber Rain too much, she will allow you to borrow some of them.

-[] The obstacle courses set up in the underground tunnels that played host to the guild were an excellent way to practice your skills and you kind of wanted to try out that nightingale floor with your new aura.

-[] Like any good thief you could do simple sums, and do them quickly, but there was more to numbers than simple arithmetic. As a newly minted crew leader, you should probably take some time to learn about that.

-[] There was a surprising amount of negotiation that went into making sure the guild's territory ran smoothly and as a crew leader that's now a part of your responsibilities as well. Fortunately, Azure Blossom has offered to show you the ropes.

-[] Creation sometimes seems constrained liberated by the meaning imposed by the narratives that run through it. One such narrative calls to you in the sleepy flow of your heart's blood.

You're a thief and every good thief needs a target for a heist. So you should probably get on that
-[] Moon wants to knock over a gambling hall as your crew's next heist target. So naturally, the first step is to head over there and check it out.

-[] Ivory Sky has his eyes on a small, cramped, and oddly well-guarded office at the back of a large warehouse near the docks. He needs some help to determine when the best time to rob it is though.

-[] It worked pretty well last time, and Fluttering Bow is more than willing to do some poking around for targets again. He'd like a bit of your help to deal with fiddly things like locks and stealth

-[] Sometimes the best options are the ones you come up with yourself. It may take a bit of time, but you could probably scout around for a good target.

With your first successful heist, you're now officially a full member of the Night Runners Guild
-[] You know a few of the senior mentors in the guild, the ones that helped out associate members, but you should probably spend some time trying to meet some of the others.

-[] The guild has dozens of crews at the same rank that yours is. You could spend some time in the Cloak Room and get to know some of the other leaders.

-[] Despite guarantees brayed at you in the cafeteria, you'd made Cloak faster than that donkey Mighty Bull. You might never have a better chance to rub his face in that than right now.

-[] It occurs to you that you don't even know the full extent of things offered to Cloak rank guild members. If you wanted to know more, you could always wander around, and maybe ask a few questions.

The guild provides many things for the up and coming thief, it's merely a matter of going and getting it
-[] You've got a few throwing knives, but if you want something that packs a bit more punch, you'll need to go dig through the armory.

-[] That Dream Grenade really saved your crew a bunch of trouble and with your new promotion, you could probably get one pretty cheap.

-[] As a newly promoted Mask in the guild, you're entitled to a private room. Your crew-mates are too though, so if you want to get the best option available, you'll have to move quickly.

-[] Ivory Sky isn't the only one that's been looking for an upgrade of his wardrobe. Plus, some nicer clothes would probably make it easier to move around in richer areas.

The better crew leaders know that they need more than just the things they get for paying dues to the guild.
-[] It wouldn't take more than a bit of effort to start putting together a gossip network. The sooner one gets established, the sooner information can start trickling in.

-[] Having a few boltholes set up with equipment, food, and whatnot are vital for an appropriately cautious thief. You're not exactly that, but they're still probably a good idea.

-[] A crew is entitled to a neighborhood or block that they can charge dues in and are responsible for running. The rules for that are restrictive, but it would result in a steady stream of income.

Chiaroscuro is a huge city with more places than you could ever imagine visiting.
-[] Explore the Old City

-[] Explore the New City

-[] Explore the Harbor

-[] Explore the Foreign Quarter

-[] Explore the Undercity
 
Vote closed
Scheduled vote count started by dmclain2 on Jul 3, 2021 at 2:51 PM, finished with 3 posts and 3 votes.

  • [X] Plan: Laying the Groundwork
    -[X] The obstacle courses set up in the underground tunnels that played host to the guild were an excellent way to practice your skills and you kind of wanted to try out that nightingale floor with your new aura.
    -[X] Ivory Sky has his eyes on a small, cramped, and oddly well-guarded office at the back of a large warehouse near the docks. He needs some help to determine when the best time to rob it is though.
    -[X] You know a few of the senior mentors in the guild, the ones that helped out associate members, but you should probably spend some time trying to meet some of the others.
    -[X] It occurs to you that you don't even know the full extent of things offered to Cloak rank guild members. If you wanted to know more, you could always wander around, and maybe ask a few questions.
    -[X] As a newly promoted Mask in the guild, you're entitled to a private room. Your crew-mates are too though, so if you want to get the best option available, you'll have to move quickly.
    -[X] It wouldn't take more than a bit of effort to start putting together a gossip network. The sooner one gets established, the sooner information can start trickling in.
    -[X] That Dream Grenade really saved your crew a bunch of trouble and with your new promotion, you could probably get one pretty cheap. (Ivory Sky)
    -[X] Having a few boltholes set up with equipment, food, and whatnot are vital for an appropriately cautious thief. You're not exactly that, but they're still probably a good idea. (Fluttering Bow)
    -[X] A crew is entitled to a neighborhood or block that they can charge dues in and are responsible for running. The rules for that are restrictive, but it would result in a steady stream of income. (Moonsilver Fist)
 
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