The heroes were split in their efforts between the home front and the museum.
Action: Manage the Rose and Crown Pub
Challenge: 0 (Bert)
Result: Complication (5,2,1)
Action: Train Pub District Refugees
Challenge: 1 (Mooreland, Rolfe)
Result: Complication (4,4)
Action: Personal Rest and Reflection
Result: 3 (Honeymaren)
Action: Personal Rest and Reflection
Result: 6 (Dr. Doyle)
The Pub plugged along as was its usual, which was actually quite positive with the new Ale stock and the influx of ingredients that the agreement with Scrooge was still able to deliver.
Mooreland and Rolfe took over the training of the local recruits. The change in leadership style from Sir Bart took some getting used to, but over all, progress continued fine. A need was becoming apparent for an influx of weapons and armor for the group to truly be effective.
Honeymaren took the week easy, and largely kept to herself. It was rejuvenating for her to disconnect from the big, ugly city.
Dr. Doyle did NOT sit on her laurels for the week. She began to tidy up a space for the Admiral to move into, although Bert felt like she was providing too much space to a man who wasn't paying yet for lodgings. She organized her own notes and personal effects, and scrimped up enough resources to afford sending out another correspondence to one of her old connections.
Results: No positive or negative consequences for the Pub; +2 to Training the Recruits, but they will require 1 Barter of Investment before they become a serviceable Militia; Honemaren recovers 2 stress; Dr. Doyle recovers 1 stress; she may send one letter to any of her correspondence as a free action (both in terms of cost and taking an action) next week.
Action: Assault the Museum
Challenge: 2/3/2 (Sir Bart, Young Macintosh; Scrooge's Henchmen; Chimney Sweeps)
Results: Failure (1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 5)
Complication (2, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6)
Success (1, 1, 2, 5, 5, 6, 6)
The young highlander and the knight stood with a few of the better recruits from the pub district militia. They were in the allies across the street from the front gate of the British Museum. Their rodent informants had not retrieved any intelligence for them in time of the assault, but the time had come. Up on the roof line above them were their friends, the Chimney sweeps. A mess of scrooge's hired muscle were half a block down waiting for the charge.
Silently (which was strange for Young Macintosh) the heroes ran forward with swords drawn. The plan was to overpower the flank of cauldron-born on this side of the museum without attracting all of the others. The first undead soldiers were knocked down easily and began to be hacked to pieces. Chimney Sweeps used clubs and brooms to knock back other warriors who started to come into the fray as Scrooge's men began breaking down the front door.
Macintosh took the first bloody wound, as he took his eyes off of a Cauldron-Born whose head he had just severed from its body. Ryan was ill prepared for the headless body to bang a rusty mace against his ribs.
The door was taking too long to break down. Chimney Sweeps began to be overpowered by the undead monsters that were responding to the attack.
Sir Bart came to Macintosh's aid, hacking apart the offending warrior until its pieces could not stand. Free from the most immediate battle, he pulled the younger warrior up the steps, and together they forced the door open. Scrooge's thugs kept the door clear as the remaining militia members and chimney sweeps fought their way inside. Sir Bart took a few nasty beatings as he fought back the counterattack, but soon his soldiers were inside the museum and able to secure the pinch point of the front door.
There the tides began to turn in favor of the heroes. Soon, the last of the cauldron-born were cut into pieces. Sir Bart gave the order to Scrooge's men to dump the bodies in the Thames before a breeze brought any of the mist over the bodies to reanimate. After grumbling about needing to be compensated for that work, they carried about their business.
Sir Bart and Young MacIntosh made their way through the large museum. It was clear that the Horned King's magics had reached into this grand building just as it had the rest of London. Much of the great artifacts were corroding and disintegrating into dross and rubbish. The two men pressed forward, moving upwards towards the windows where they had once seen light.
Suddenly, Sir Bart rushed forward and crouched next to the body of a woman lying by the window. An electric torch whose batteries were spent laid close by. Bart rolled her over and checked her vitals.
"She's alive, my boy, but barely. Look at her lips - her skin. These are the signs of severe dehydration. And old cuts and bruises. She put up a fight before being locked up in here."
The woman stirred, and Bart asked her for her name. She managed a hoarse reply before collapsing again: "Eglantine."
Results; Macintosh takes 4 Stress (5, reduced by 1); Sir Bart takes 2 Stress; the Chimney Sweeps take a -3 Loyalty reduction; Fatalities in Militia reduce Pub District control by 5%.
Museum District control increased by 15%. Gain Miss Eglantine Price as a Hero unit.
Random Event: Personal Boone
Although the Pub was just "doing business as usual," it had been ages since anything felt routinely successful for Bert. It was looking like fate might actually be on his side. Gain +1 Bonus to any action Bertis assigned to next round.
