Clockwork Abattoir: Sordid Tales

[Seraph]

[ic]Alone up on the second story, Mr. Nix is confronted with a sense of unease.  The increasing sunlight it disorienting, and he has an urge to rush into the building to escape from it.  But we are alone.  No Vex.  No stupid tricky horrible Hell-beast to help us.  Is it a trap to get rid of us?  Nix grinds his teeth in agitation.  Every moment he lingers here, the sun rises higher, its rays gathering about him like a swarm of buzzing gnats.  Hellspeak, common enough in this city.  Not enough to incriminate.  What does this place have to do with the night stalker anyway?  It said nothing of chemicals or tinctures.  Wasting time.

Nix tests the door handle.  If it is unlocked, perhaps he can get a sense of this place and its connection to events.[/ic]

[ooc]In case he needs them:
Nix Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote]
Nix Initiative (He is on his guard in case someone is waiting to attack him beyond) [blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote]

Likewise, just in case:
Vex Perception: [blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]
Vex Initiative: [blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 1, total 1[/blockquote][/ooc]

[Ghostman]

[ooc]
This is exactly the sort of trouble those bombs are for, so might as well use one or more of them now.
[/ooc]

[ic]
Xavier ignores the watchmen's question; he has no intention of allowing himself to be arrested this easily. His hand suddenly darts to grasp a smoke bomb from his belt, crushing the device to instantly detonate it. As the cloud of smoke erupts to engulf him and the guards, Xavier rolls on the ground to get on his feet and run. His cover having been thoroughly blown, he is concerned now with one thing only: escape.
[/ic]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ic]The Ossifragant ignores Catena's ineffectual flailing. The ghul instead maintains its vise-like grip on the albino mercenary. Her ribs threaten to snap under the ungodly pressure and skewer her internal organs with their shards. Almost as unnerving, however, is the strange sensation she feels on her back -it feels and sounds as if the nightfolk's vestigial head is awakening, mouthing at Catena's back like a shriveled infant rooting for a bloody teat.

"That'sss right, my darling," the Ossifragant coos, as she attempts to tear into Catena's neck with her serrated teeth, "It'sss ssupper time..."[/ic]

[ooc]Bad rolls indeed (almost as bad as Ghostman's recent ill-luck). And you assumed correctly. Rolls of 1 automatically fail, be they dodge or attack rolls. 

Your move. You are still grappled, so you need to make an Agility defense roll or take another 5 points of damage (DC 4 now, with the 1-step hindrance included). And my bad, I didn't include your AC (I forgot about it since you don't wear armor), so last attack only did 5 damage to you. As before, you can attempt to slip out of the grapple (Agility DC 4), or muscle out of it or take over the grapple (Might DC 4). And you can obviously attack if you want instead, either in or out of a grapple.  Thank you for posting your stats last round. That was perfect.

Finally, roll a perception check for me.[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ic]As the smoke cloud engulfs the trio, Jeun stabs down, but his swordspear only strikes the cobbled street. The sergeant shouts, but his command is stifled by a coughing fit as he inhales the irritating fumes. He staggers back, out of the vapors, and blows a brass whistle.[/ic]

[ooc]Due to your expertise and 2-step benefaction from the bomb, you reduced the dodge DC to 0, so there is no need to roll for the initial stealth or dodge. This round, however, you do need to roll. DC is 1 for those in the cloud, or 2 for those without. You were able move a short distance last round. You can move a similar distance and hide this round, or a long distance and hide, but doing so imposes a 1-step hindrance to your stealth task. Roll for perception as well please -and please include your stat pools at the end of your posts.[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ic=Nix]The door is locked. The diabolist, however, is able to regain his bearings after a secondary examination of his surroundings. He discovers he has wandered to a building adjacent to his original target, one connected by the rickety staircase. Moreover, he is able to make out the vapor-wake of Vex snuffling amidst the fumes. He hears the hell-hound cackle as it catches a mutated rat and tears off its limbs one-by-one. Off in the not-too far distance, in the direction of the Tarnish's exterior, Mr. Nix hears the rattle of metalline wheels and a strange, wet gurgling sound. Vex, entertained by the rodent's death-shrieks, does not hear it. [/ic]

[ooc]Thanks for the all the helpful rolls, SH. Also, please post your stats with each ooc section, as you do have 1 Intellect damage from your emonomancy, IIRC.[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ic=Hadric]Ulle-Shi, as always, is deeply unnerved by Nibs' presence. The liberated-but-still-seemingly-loyal demon is an affront to the barrister's neatly codified legalities. Then again, so is its erstwhile master.

Rubbing his brow, Ulle-Shi massages away the taxonomic conundrum as he listens to Hadric's news. He nods, attempts to speak several times, then gives up altogether, resigned to wait for Hadric' manic report to run its course. By the time the shreeva finishes, however, the barrister is distracted by all the implications.

"Tea with Magistra Taim? That is good, my lord. She does indeed have influence with the Chief-Justice. Yet-"

He flicks his head for a moment, as if mentally whipping himself, then continues, "-yet far more immediate is your need for greater caution. As your judiciary advocate, I must advise that you improve your residence's security. Why, your front door was left ajar. At first, I was concerned you left again, or were victim to robbery. I knocked, and no one answered. I thought we agreed that you would hire a servant to handle such affairs."

"And not the demon," Ulle-Shi raises a finger, cutting off Hadric's assumed reply, "We don't need to publicize that legal nightmare."

Sighing to regain his composure, the barrister continues:

"If you wish the courts to respect you as a noble, you need to start acting like a respectable, responsible, and rightful heir of House Phel-Nirian. Locking, much less closing, your front door would be a good start. Hiring a doorman would be a commendable following step. In fact, I would advise the latter as your first recourse, as doing so will address the former, among other needs, like my ability to drop off missives and necessary documents in your absence. Regardless, the status quo exposes you not only to the legal risk of ridicule and scorn, but also an unacceptable risk of physical assault. Why, imagine if I had been an assassin hired by your uncle. I could have crept in, unannounced, unknown, into your very bed-chambers whilst you slept unawares. In one stroke, however illegal and unethical as it might be, he would have completely absolved himself of the successionary debate."

"It was these very same kind of behaviors that caused your last barrister and my former superior to abandon your case. Unless you wish the same event to occur again, I strongly urge you to act upon our advice."

"That said-," he continues, without pause for fear of being interrupted, "-my original reason for coming was to relate a conversation I overhead last night in the archives. News that gravely pertains to your case."

"It was late, and I was returning some documents that I had borrowed in preparation of our next brief, when I overhead two of your uncle's clerks  talking freely to one another about the case. They must have assumed they were alone, though I also suspect wine may have also loosened their tongues. In any event, they revealed that Claudius is utterly confident that you be able to prove your identity; he accepts it as a foregone conclusion. Yet, by delaying this ruling, he has been able to deflate interest towards your cause. More importantly, he has been able to delay the far more important case: the resolution of succession. By extending the first case, he has been attempting, successfully I might add, to drain your coffers. In doing so, he has also been establishing the merits of his contentions for the second case: that you are unfit to rule. Regardless of your mother's intent, regardless of your bloodline, the courts have the power to deem you unable to rule, in which case, control over the House would immediately go to the next of kin -i.e., Claudius."

"And frankly, my lord, recent events provide ample evidence to support his contention."

"Consequently, I suggest the following: Restore the properties that the court has given to you. Make them profitable, both to you, and to the economy of our fair city. Understandably, this will take some time, but the monies will be necessary to overcome the legal blocks your uncle is setting up. Moreover, it will be essential to refute his contention that you cannot be trusted to manage the financial interests of your House, and that investing you with said power would be a detriment to the economic stability of the city. Character... eccentricities will not matter at all if he cannot prove the above points, as the courts can ignore social atypicality but not economic insolvency."

"Try, however-," he adds delicately, "-to curtail such eccentricities if at all possible. At least in public, please. They do nothing to aid our case, my lord."

"Now, as to the matter of Magistra Taim, I would certainly advise you to attend, and by all means engender as many allies as you can amongst the nobility. As for Chief-Justice Shenn, however, I would posit that his influence, and thus her influence over him, will become far less important with the coming year. The elections will see a new group of justices and stewards alike. Although many will stay, Shenn's health is failing and the pundits all agree that his time is at an end. Consequently, I do not expect any large legal decisions to be placed before him, or made by him, in the following months. Perhaps your current case, but not the following. Which is ideal, since you will need time to counter your uncle's contentions, just as I will need time to review the pertinent case law."

"With those responsibilities before us, I should depart."

"Oh, I almost forgot-," he says as he turns to go, but stops, extending the notarized parcel in his hands, "-this belongs to you. It was delivered to my office. It seems an old paramour of your mother, one Harne-Fei, designated that she receive the enclosed items upon his death. There was a small dispute whether, in her absence, the package should fall to you or your uncle. However, I was able to convince the magistrate that the will designated Cybille, rather than House Phel-Nirian, as the legal recipient of the package, and that such personally-deeded items would thus fall to the first-blood descendant rather than house patriarch. Oh, Claudius' barristers objected of course, but they backed down swiftly enough."

"But now, I really most go. Daylight is burning."[/ic]

[Seraph]

[ooc]Was my perception check high enough to determine whether the sound of "metalline wheels and a strange, wet gurgling sound" was approaching or receding, or otherwise moving?[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ooc]No, the distance and din of the vents and steamworks preclude such distinction. Your vantage provides you a benefaction to perception checks, even as your overall surroundings provides a hindrance. Daylight ain't helping either.[/ooc]

[Ghostman]

[ic]
Having just avoided being skewered Xavier takes flight, his feet battering on the cobblestones as he sprints for the labyrinthine back streets and alleys where he hopes to elude his pursuers. He throws a few quick glances back at the guards as he flees but mostly his attention is dedicated to finding an optimal route for an escape. To improve his vision he yanks off the eyepatch covering his clockwork graft, his appearance being the least of his worries for the time being.
[/ic]

[ooc]
Attempting to move a long distance and hide.

Stealth roll, with one level of Grit applied:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 2, total 2[/blockquote]

Perception roll:
[blockquote]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/blockquote]

Stat pools:
Might 9/10 (0), Agility 13/14 (1), Intellect 12/12 (0)

[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ic]Competence finally trumps coincidence as Xavier evades his pursuers. Before either Watchman can respond, the assassin ducks into a nearby alley, away from Praedarchs' Boulevarde. Racing into the nest of backstreets that sustain the ward's maze of boutiques, he blends into the bustling crowd of teamsters, cart-haulers, and porters.

Behind him, the blaring of Watchmen's whistles and barked commands hound him. Fickle fortune, however, finally favors him, when the rogue spots a joiner's display left leaning nearby a short-storied building. Swiftly, he races up the decorative staircase and nimbly leaps to the shingled rooftops. He creeps stealthily atop a row of conjoined shops, hiding between thinly smoking chimneys.

From his concealed vantage, he can easily spy upon the enraged hive of Watchmen. They scour the streets and shops, stopping passers-by and searching carts and wagons. It seems as if the entire ward's gendarme is looking for him -and it seems, at least for the moment, that he is successfully evading them.[/ic]

[ooc]Well spent Grit. Also, thanks for posting your pool stats. If you do stay atop the roof, I'll need balance checks as well as stealth. Should you choose to stay, tell me how long.[/ooc]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ic]Hadric bids a polite farewell to Ulle-Shi, promising to address the necessary matters of profitability and security. He sits down on the edge of his bed, the parcel in his lap. "A pressent." Nibs says, half of his body dangling down from the canopy. "Open it, nazori. Open it!"

"Hmmm. A present, indeed. But in our experience, have mysterious packages ever been a good omen?" Hadric replies.

"In Crepussscle. At the Jaded Growler, oh, how enjoyable. How deliciousss." Nibs says.

"A good omen for you, maybe! I, however, had to lug around a certain bloated and comatose snake for three weeks. Anyways, Ulle-Shi is right, I suppose. We should head down to the Copper Ward, roust ourselves up a doorman. I'd love to give you the job, but some people just aren't as forward thinking as we are, and I can't afford to lose another barrister over it. Respectability, Nibs, is the word of the day. Now, the parcel." Hadric says, untying the twine that binds it.[/ic]

[ooc]Rolls examining the contents of the parcel. Hadric will of course also read anything inside.

Perception: This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d6 : 3, total 3

Sense/Identify Witchcraft: This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d6 : 3, total 3[/ooc]

Edit: Ack, sorry. Edited the in character text after rolling. Perception was a 3, Sense/Identify was a 2. Didn't know it would do that.

[Steerpike]

[ic]Catena tries to push the Ossifragant's snapping jaws aside.  She squares her jaw and thrusts her head upward, attempting to head-butt the ghul's lolling vesitigial head.[/ic]

[ooc]Catena will apply two levels of Grit to aid her defense, draining 3 points from her Agility pool:

This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d6 : 1, total 1

She counterattacks, attempting to head-butt the Ossifragant.  She will apply one level of Grit to her attack, draining yet another point from her Agility pool:

This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d6 : 6, total 6

If she hits, she'll apply a level of Grit to her damage, draining a point from her Might pool for a total of 7 damage.

Perception:

This dice roll has been tampered with!
Rolled 1d6 : 6, total 6

Pools:

Might 7/13, Agility 7/12, Intellect 7/7[/ooc]

[Steerpike]

[ooc]Adjusted Pools from damage:

Might 2/13, Agility 7/12, Intellect 7/7

Since I rolled a 6, do I get to decide on a major effect?  If so I'd like to stun the ghul so that I can disentangle myself.[/ooc]

[Rose-of-Vellum]

[ic=Hadric]Removing the paper and twine packaging, Hadric hefts a fine humidor. The box is fashioned of richly ornamented snake-cedar and has a lid inset with rose-tinted acrylic glass. The pane reveals a dozen cigarillos, a clockwork hygrometer, a sepiolite-carved cigarillo holder, and a handwritten note with spidery script that reads:

Beloved Cybille,
A gift to kindle. May it remind you of an old flame, and nights when we both burned bright.
H.F.

Reading the writing aloud, Nibs perversely snickers, then flicks its forked tongue longingly at the fine cigarillos.

Hadric's eyes meanwhile glow with aurelian light as he inspects the contents. His eldritch senses detect a dweomer, resting inside the cigarillo holder. Its enchantment is subtle and hints at secret, simmering flames. The arcana, however, is not nigromantic. Instead, it resembles goetic spellcraft that is oddly bereft of diabolic influence.[/ic]

[ooc]In more layman's tongue, an invocation is stored within the cigarillo holder. It will activate once, and only once, when a cigarillo is first smoked through the device. You can't tell what it will do exactly, but it seems it will summon something, rather than directly affect the user. And that something is not demonic.

In addition to the ensorcellment, Hadric sees that the hygrometer is operational and that the contents have thus retained their optimal humidity.

Also, for what it's worth, you have no clue who Harne-Fei is, other than what the note reads and what Ulle-Shi related. [/ooc]

[TheMeanestGuest]

[ic]"Hmmmmmm." Hadric hmmms.

"Hmmmmm!" Nibs concurs.

"While mother's personal business certainly isn't any of mine, we can't let this fine gift go to waste. Coincidentally I just so happen to have a powerful craving for the sweet smoke of one of these cigarillos. Which is to say, let's surreptitiously suss out the secrets of its summoning. So, retrieve the pack, and I shall place it upon my back." Hadric says, gathering up his things. Nibs hisses with amusement as it squirms under the bed, then emerges on the other side pushing a large and dusty backpack with its head. "I'd let you watch the house, Nibs." Hadric continues, shouldering the backpack. "But I think you could use the fresh air. And besides, I'll need to avail myself of your good judgment when selecting our new hire, of course."

"You'd no doubt pick a ssscoundrel. A thief!" it says, slithering its way up Hadric's body, slowly coiling itself into the backpack.

"Right. So, remember the word of the day - that means no peaking until we're across the river and well away from the easily offended crust of our fine society. But first, a smoke! Like mother always said, one shouldn't smoke indoors. 'Once its in you can't get it out.' she'd say. So, to the stoop!" He says, cradling the humidor under one arm as he steps out of his bedroom, winding his way through the decrepit old bordello to the backdoor and the small riverfront yard. Crossing the threshold, he recalls Ulle-Shi's chiding, and reluctantly locks the door behind him.

Hadric takes up one of the cigarillos, gently placing it into the holder held between his lips. Nibs worms its head out of the pack to peer over Hadric's shoulder. Hadric snaps his fingers, producing a small spark and a gentle waft of cinnamon. Kindling the cigarillo to life, he inhales deeply.[/ic]

[ooc]Hadric will spend one intellect point on gutter witchcraft to light the cigarillo. Pools are thus currently - Might: 13/13, Agility: 13[14]/14, Intellect: 8/9[/ooc]