Heroica RPG - Quest Masters' Lounge

[Pyrovisionary]

You obviously have never played Secret of Monkey Island!

I was just thinking about that. I love that game.

If you haven't played it. Do so... Now!

There is a remastered edition on IOS for anyone who wants better graphics.

Also, Maniac mansion and Zac Mckracken .

Edited July 5, 2013 by Pyrovisionary

[Flipz]

An excellent video about difficult vs. punishing. I'd really really recommend it for all QMs, this is something I've struggled to articulate for a long time in Heroica. (Then again, that tends to be a running trend with Extra Credits. )

[Endgame]

I've seen that video - I think one of the issues iwith it is that in Heroica, there are no continues. If your party gets TPKOed, game over - no retries, no restarts, no continues. It puts a lot more strain on a QM designing a boss encounter then, say, a video game designer creating an RPG boss encounter.

Edited July 5, 2013 by Endgame

[Duvors]

You obviously have never played Secret of Monkey Island!

Nether have most people.

But I thought that,as the name was Root Beer it would effect serpivines rather than zombies.

[Kintobor]

Nether have most people.

But I thought that,as the name was Root Beer it would effect serpivines rather than zombies.

Ha! Didn't think of that!

And I'll let you know that quite a few people know about Monkey Island! I played it a few years back, and thought it was great!

[Flipz]

(Then again, that tends to be a running trend with Extra Credits. )

Just need to make a quick disclaimer: I do NOT agree with the opinions in Extra Credits as regards Season 6, Episode 17: Used Games. Their first two videos in the series? Smart. Reasonable. Logical. That one? Not so much. (Apologies for the minor off-topic, I just needed to state that for the record.)

I've seen that video - I think one of the issues iwith it is that in Heroica, there are no continues. If your party gets TPKOed, game over - no retries, no restarts, no continues. It puts a lot more strain on a QM designing a boss encounter then, say, a video game designer creating an RPG boss encounter.

I think the defining factor for Heroica is allowing the player to make meaningful choices, rather than just relying on the luck of the dice roll. If there's only one enemy (or, at least, one specific enemy that needs to be beaten in order to finish the fight), then there's little choice to be made: attack it, or do nothing and let your party members handle it (or if you have the ability, heal them). Failure in such a scenario has nothing to do with whether or not the party made intelligent choices, but rather on how the dice happened to fall. This is enormously frustrating, both for players (who suffer severe detrimental effects through no fault of their own) and for QMs (who may find their stories cut short and who will become the target for discontent).

One of the reasons I focused on scrolls in the beginning was that it allowed me to do something besides "Arthur casts an Ice spell at [insert enemy name here] from the back row." It's something that Brickdoctor made a really, really intelligent choice with in allowing us to build siege weapons in Quest 17: it gave low-Level characters with few skills and choices and opportunity to MAKE meaningful choices: do I use my inbuilt class skills to fight the foe, or use the special abilities afforded by the siege weapons? Do I stay where I am and hope my friends and I roll well, or do I retreat to another part of the fort for safety? Choices like these are what makes a Quest truly engaging.

Now, though, it seems to me that the number of abilities players have access to (and thus the number of potential choices they have) are increasing, but the choices themselves have lost their meaning. Often times, it feels like my job is to "Blind enemy X so that the rest of the party can survive", or "attack enemy Y because nobody else can handle it", or sometimes even "attack enemy Z because if you try any of the others you're screwed". Instead of choices, there are puzzles with a specific solution, with the randomness of the die tacked on to prolong the process of solving the puzzle. (I'm not talking about any specific scenario here, I'm drawing some elements from many different fights, that I've seen repeated elsewhere.) I'm not sure when or where this started to happen, but I see it a lot in plot-heavy Quests. Ironically, the Quests with the loosest plot generally seem to have the most open, fun battles and out-of-battle scenarios. Sandy is the only QM I've seen who consistently manages to balance freedom and significance of choice AND cohesive, understandable plot; I don't know how you do it, Sandy, but you are a god among mortals for doing so.

So what can we do to improve this? Well, Sandy and Endgame are both good examples of allowing an intended plot to take unexpected diversions without punishing the players for making a meaningful choice; Sandy in all three Wolfgang Quests, and Endgame with Quest 70. WBD also has a good example in the Ecatsue encounter, in which he allowed the party to reach a meaningful, amicable settlement with the enemy without having to sacrifice the boss battle he'd planned--a true example of how this sort of partnership becomes a win-win scenario for both party and QM.

But what about in-battle? That, unfortunately, I don't know. I've already shown Brickdoctor's solution, but that obviously won't work for every Quest (though it IS a very good reason to include NPCs with unique abilities; expect a Theatre post that will go into more detail on how to use NPCs "soon^tm"). The problem can be partially improved by picking a party with diverse abilities, though that runs the risk of each party member having a very specific role in battle and only getting to fulfill that specific role. But really, the issue lies in QM battle design, and that, I'll admit, is something I have little experience with. I can analyze what's been done, but really we're quite far from discovering exactly what it is that makes the ideal fight. There may not be any "magic formula" for a good battle, but at the very least we should keep trying, and more importantly keep experimenting, so that we can learn from experience what works and what doesn't. In that way, QMs are, in a sense, playing a game of their own, trying different strategies to improve the player experience and either succeeding or failing in their own ways--and, hopefully, learning from that experience.

[Zepher]

I'm intrigued to see what happens when you actually get around to hosting a quest.

[Duvors]

I think that a good stratagem for battles is to have a lot of throwaway goons with one to three more powerful or special guys in charge. But I don't have any experience with this so I could be wrong.

As for quests that give the players lots of choices, I think that people have gotten into the habit of either giving a standard A or B choice or a choice that isn't a choice at all(like,for instance,fight the troll or jump off the cliff).

Brickdoctor is a master of giving free reign to his players without sacrificing his storyline and if you want help on that score ask him.

Puzzles are Waterbrick Downs forte.

[Kintobor]

I think that a good stratagem for battles is to have a lot of throwaway goons with one to three more powerful or special guys in charge. But I don't have any experience with this so I could be wrong.

As for quests that give the players lots of choices, I think that people have gotten into the habit of either giving a standard A or B choice or a choice that isn't a choice at all(like,for instance,fight the troll or jump off the cliff).

Brickdoctor is a master of giving free reign to his players without sacrificing his storyline and if you want help on that score ask him.

Puzzles are Waterbrick Downs forte.

It can be really annoying to the players, especially the free hits, with a lot of little enemies. Battle should vary, and be engaging. A technique I'm going to try with my next quest is setting up variants of similar enemies, some with crossbows, some with swords, some with spears, etc. However, each encounter adds a new type of enemy, or a different combination of enemies. Perhaps one is hastened, another lucky. Maybe I'll replace the crossbowmen with a few lieutenants. Variation is key to any good quest's battles.

[Capt.JohnPaul]

The combinations work well, especially when the enemies help each other or have a specific role. For example, in Nova Tertia, I did this, and rolling a Special Damage against the dinosaur's leg would cause a Power Rush, and Hasten the dinosaur. Or having a frog do little damage, but have it poison a hero. It can really be a nuisance if used correctly.

[Duvors]

It can be really annoying to the players, especially the free hits, with a lot of little enemies. Battle should vary, and be engaging. A technique I'm going to try with my next quest is setting up variants of similar enemies, some with crossbows, some with swords, some with spears, etc. However, each encounter adds a new type of enemy, or a different combination of enemies. Perhaps one is hastened, another lucky. Maybe I'll replace the crossbowmen with a few lieutenants. Variation is key to any good quest's battles.

The combinations work well, especially when the enemies help each other or have a specific role. For example, in Nova Tertia, I did this, and rolling a Special Damage against the dinosaur's leg would cause a Power Rush, and Hasten the dinosaur. Or having a frog do little damage, but have it poison a hero. It can really be a nuisance if used correctly.

Both good battle tactics as far as I can see.

Another example of freedom of choice is Sandy's quest Protect My Brother. Although the Quest could not go anywhere but the place Sandy wanted it to the party was given a chance to talk it's way out of every battle except the one with the troll.

Whats more,Sandy gave the party puzzles with no fixed answer,if Sandy thought it would work,it worked.

[Brickdoctor]

Brickdoctor is a master of giving free reign to his players without sacrificing his storyline and if you want help on that score ask him.

You mean I'm supposed to have a storyline planned before I let players do whatever they want? Storylines, roleplaying, character development... I'm not sure what they are.

[Duvors]

You mean I'm supposed to have a storyline planned before I let players do whatever they want? Storylines, roleplaying, character development... I'm not sure what they are.

Well you fooled Me.

And by storyline I meant plot.

A plot.

An evil plot.

[Emjajoas]

The quest I'm in the process of planning out is going to only have 2-3 battles tops; not only do I not want to have complicated battles for my first quest, but sometimes battles can be the least fun part of a quest. I'd much prefer mysterious/riddles/puzzles, which is something I'm going to try to implement.

[Waterbrick Down]

Wall of text with quite a few good points.

While these are definitely things to try implementing more, I feel it to some degree depends upon the individual QM and the individual players. From the QM side, each of us have certain strengths and aspects of QMing we enjoy. For some of us it's battle designs, for others, story; others, NPC's or puzzles. With some QM's you're going to get a complex battle with many layers of mechanics, other QM's are going to give you enemies to just grind through and focus their efforts elsewhere. It's definitely something to be taken into consideration when your signing up for a quest. Not all quests are going to cater to you as a player even though they might as a character and we have to be willing to accept that.

Unfortunately, there is no magic formula to a perfect battle either, because every player is different, and what might be enjoyable to one player i.e. a battle requiring a lot of strategy, may be extremely frustrating to another who just wants their character to smash things to oblivion and that's it. Choices are an excellent way to make a story engaging, but let's remember to balance things out with enough limitations so as to not overwhelm players who want to play in a more simple style.

[Palathadric]

Good points mentioned. Just trying to think about my own quest idea and see how to work on it to improve it. For now I need to work on the sets though, and get those finished finally, especially since almost all the heroes are reaching their advanced classes now.

[Flipz]

QM Note: WP added, also just a friendly reminder: The cart can be used to reduce any damage dealt to a hero by 50%, and Mac still has 9 strips of duck-tape to repair the cart if needed.

Thank you for reminding me to add a section on escort missions to my Theatre write-up on NPCs. If I hadn't already taken and edited the pictures a month ago, I would have rewarded you with a spot in the skit...but since I have, you get nothing!

For those interested, the real reason this one's taking so long is making the thing not sound like a rant. It totally has nothing to do with laziness.

[Duvors]

Just remember that the freedom to make stupid decisions is better then being forced to make a right one.

[Zepher]

I generally let you (the host, in this case Endgame) have the first say, but I've got lots of notes dancing around in my head, and I want to put them down somewhere before they exit. They're mostly about roleplaying, so people not on the quest who want to hear a Zepher opinion on story-telling, role-play, and those who have even a slight interest in Boomingham, you'd do well to read the following notes.

So, first, technical aspects. Scenery was LDD. I just don't like it. It was nice for what it was, but I just am personally not a fan. Sorry. I think you're a smart enough person to understand that it's not at all personal. The loot was VERY GOOD. Nothing over-powered, felt appropriate for the people dropping them and the length of the quest. The battles were mostly Endgame level, which I liked. Last one was supposed to be easy, I understand, but it was still a little flat for our final battle. My only complaint were the immunities (I too need to improve) which were mostly fixed, and the lust special. I know I've spoken out on my love for it, but it's a good thing for level mixed parties. I felt too many high leveled enemies had it. My SP was relatively useless all quest.

Now, the story, and I'm trying to say this in an organized manner, but there's lots. Firstly, and most importantly: this was a Karie themed quest. She stole the quest. HOWEVER (and this is rare) that did not make it unenjoyable for the other players. It is not (as Flipz said) what I expected upon entering, but it seemed to be YOUR intent, and not Kintober rail-roading the party. You as a QM designed a quest based around a HERO, and it worked, so congrats.

My gripes with your story are as follows (there are 3 of them):

1) Masson was too immaculate. I understand you wanted him to be a good person using bad means... but he was TOO good of a person. There was no real conflict. That's why I say that Karie was the character of this quest. Masson wasn't really complex because when confronted with his flaws, he immediately amended them. No conflict.

2) Nevron. Nevron was not really fleshed out enough, for me. In many ways, I feel he could have been left out of the quest entirely after we saved him. Same thing as Masson - I didn't see any bad in him, or any questionable. There were no ticks.

3) Nevron and Masson got chummy too quick. I think you wanted to paint Masson in a perfectly reformed light, but the Town Watch accepting the Syndicate so quickly and completely was kind of a let down to me. A cool final battle instead of extra Wolfgang goons would have been Nevron saying "LOL, we don't at all condone vigilantism, you're insane," and Masson and him going toe to toe. How much more exciting would that have been for me and Arnulf (who wanted to fight Masson) AND Em and Arthur (who were on the edge and would have to make a TOUGH choice) AND Karie (who already has a love for Masson and a hatred for the City Watch)? I think you let your plot force your characters to do some things that I found unbelievable. Never do that to your characters.

NOW, that being said, I LOVED THE QUEST. It was fun, it was challenging, it had great interactions and a cast of, (while sometimes black or white) really fun characters. Little Proggs were great, bar scene was great. You gave us a huge amount of freedom, the amount I wish I could offer, but have never been able to pull off. I never felt rail-roaded, and no plot point seemed out of place or confusing.

To my fellow players now:

Arnulf - Man, thank god you were a long. You were my only friend this quest. Arnulf seems likable, has a good heart, and he and Boomingham would most definitely be friends. I feel like I want one more quest with you - we got separated in 66, and then in this quest were so staunchly dealing with the rest of the party, we didn't get to actually have our friendship flourish. I (and Boomers) will NOT forget that you have good morals, though.

Em - You are one of the best players here. Silent, deadly, thoughtful.... I love Em. I do. I think that you are a wonderful team player both battle-wise and roleplaying wise. You wait your turn, look out for the party, and when you speak its because you HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY. So many characters talk so much, you talk so little. But its because Em is thinking about things and evaluating things. He doesn't appear checked-out, just silent, and it's great to have another character like that around.

Arthur - Oh my little Flipz. You just love fighting with your party, don't you? At the beginning of the quest you HATED Karie, Arnulf and Em for knowing the Stealer already (and siding with him) and by the end you HATED me and Arnulf for being against him. Same advice as always - write less. Silence can be just as profound, as Em taught me. No big speeches, let others respond. Don't say everything that's on your mind, allow for subtext, or for someone else's reaction. It's hard to respond to everything you say. Arthur is a great character though, and you're a genius strategist. Arthur is malleable, and willing to change, and I love it. You never enter and leave a quest with the same Arthur, so it's always exciting, and ALWAYS justified.

Karie - I saved you for last. It is a shame that you are Boomingham's enemy now, because Karie is one of my favorite characters (you get to join Cronk and Skrall as characters I love who I can't play with ). Karie is fantastic. She is crazy, has got a great past, and, you may think I'm joking - the fact that she gets sick around bloodshed is possibly my favorite trait in this whole RPG. I think Karie is real. She's young and reckless, she's confused and sort of screwed up (I love the fact that she was hexed in that first quest). Hell, I love the fact that she got her @ss handed to her by Guts and YOU LET IT HAPPEN. Not everyone needs to be the smartest or greatest or most badass. Karie is an intriguing person without all of that. I can't wait to see where she goes, and hope to host her again soon (or somehow end up on a quest with her).

And I'm going to keep on talking, just about myself now, because why not?

Boomingham - This may be a little conceded to say, and others may not agree, but I think it's true: while Karie was the protagonist of this quest, Boomingham was the antagonist. I don't think he was an evil antagonist, or even a malicious one. But this quest brought out some of the best in him, and a lot of the worst. I was happy to explore him commanding unruly individuals. Arthur and Karie really showed that he was a good commander. I at least think he did, and I think he dealt with them very well until the end, but I'll talk about that more later. I really think he showed some real honor and valor and tried to teach these kids a lesson. But, and this is something I'm so happy this quest brought up: Boomingham is a total hypocrite. In a really awful evil way. Boomingham wants people to shape the world into the world they wish to see, and that's what the Stealer was doing. But Boomingham didn't agree with the Stealer's vision of the world, so he wanted to kill him. And the reason he didn't like the Stealer's vision of the world was because the Stealer was (in Boomingham's eyes) killing people to achieve it. It's really terrible. It's a terrible thing for Boomingham to do.

And then he lost. This is the first quest Boomingham lost. Really, miserably failed at. I don't think he'll ever forgive himself for leaving Masson alive. He (and I, actually) consider Masson to be truly evil. Taking away someone's memories or their ability to choose is probably the worst thing you can do to them. The Wolfgang members chose to be Wolfgang members - even if Masson turns them and "leaves them the same person" they aren't, because what are we but the sum of our actions? Furthermore, they didn't make the choice to leave the Wolfgang, they were forced to. And Masson got away with it. He knows how to build the Harvester. Leaving him alive was a dark step back for Boomingham. He will probably never forgive himself. I think he personally would have preferred to fight to his death.

Finally, Karie betrayed her party. I know others don't see it that way, but Boomingham does. She walked free too. That is (for obvious reasons if anyone knows his backstory) the worst thing anyone could do to him.

THE END. Thanks for the quest EVERYONE, and thanks to whoever reads everything I just wrote.

[Emjajoas]

I most definitely agree. Quest 70 was absolutely astounding, and I have to say I loved /all/ of your Heroes. You've all fleshed out your characters so thoughtfully and so well that it makes me jealous; I'm still not sure where I want to take Em completely. It is, however, really good to know that I'm taking him in a direction that I want him to be in, so thank you for the words of praise, Zepher. (:

I also agree with the three points of criticism Zepher brought up; and I would've enjoyed maybe a little more puzzle-like elements entering the Syndicate base. Getting into the Fountain and then being instantly met by enemies wasn't exactly dull, but it felt somewhat repetitive in my opinion, if that makes sense.

Overall, though, I thought the battles were wonderful and I thoroughly enjoyed the quest overall. The story was great, the meeting with Masson in the hotel was great (it kind of helped the story shift focus from Karie to the rest of us), and overall I feel like the entire quest helped us all develop our characters in new and interesting ways. Honestly, 70's been my favourite quest so far (even though I've only been in, like, 3) and I'm looking forward to having more interaction with you guys/your characters. Most certainly looking forward to the next Endgame quest, that's for sure.

I also have to point out that I absolutely adore the Proggs, and I find them really interesting. I know there's a history of Proggs in the Quests and whatnot, but I'm not completely familiar with it, and learning about it after meeting up with the Proggs for the first time felt really... Real, I guess? I don't know what I'm trying to say.

Anyways, great quest! I give it a 9/10.

[Palathadric]

I have to say that I'm kind of glad I wasn't on the quest. I like quests that move fast, but I don't like quests that move fast when I'm not online and then hardly move at all when I am. You made a good team being all relatively close to each other time-zone wise.

Good points by Zepher. I love Boomingham and I think he would get along better with Pretzel than I originally thought.

[Endgame]

I'll address what I said before I launch into my own analysis:

-Yes, I'm not a huge fine of LDD either, but you work with what you got, unfortunately :shrug_oh_well. And in terms of physical LEGO, I have mostly blue, lime green, and white. Not exactly the perfect pieces to build a quest out of. LDD allows me to perform acts of improv as well, so that is one plus to it.

-Loot was one of the my strong points on the quest, I felt.

-Yes, my puzzles could do with a little bit of toughening up. Besides the last one and perhaps the second, I felt they were too easy. Flipz had already seen the first, and knew the answer as soon as he saw it.

-Yes, I did go overkill with all the Lust specials, and that is something I'd like to remedy in the future. Definitely some food for thought to me.

-If you wanted to go toe to toe with Masson, attack him! I let a PC fall in love with my "antagonist" and join him, Boomingham acting out of turn with the rest of the party and lunging for The Stealer would be perfectly fine! My quests simply outline a list of places to go and what is in those places: what you do in those places, besides the soltuions I have thought up (Even then, I'll allow you to stray from that sometimes) is entirely under your control.

-Nevron isn't exactly the cleanest Town Watch member; after all, he is an interloper to the Wolfgang, and associates them. He is essentially a traitor to the Wolfgang; Vigilantism isn't that big of a problem in his mind, given his profession. He still beared personal gurdges, but had seen The Syndicate's prowess in battle, saw how well they cooperated in bringing down Briar, and saw how Masson removed Briar's memories. There is sitll some bad history between nevron and The Syndicate, but ultimately it was forgiven.

Battle Analysis:

Battle 1: The introduction to the first Syndicate goons, albeit currently unnamed and cryptic ones. The Syndicate Peon's ability to tame and get a Wolfgang alligator was a bit of foreshadowing on what was to come.

Battle 2: This served as a bottleneck into Act II. It signified your fairly mundane goal of destorying the Armory was over, and that a whole new task was in front of you... a far more complicated and dangerous one. Overall I liked the mechanic of the different buffing stands, but unfortunately Arthur pinned them down incredibly fast.

Battle 3: One of my favorites. I went from an 8 enemy battle to a 4 enemy one - and this one was a lot more difficult! It lalowed me to introduce Octavyn, also my favorite NPC in the Syndicate (besides Masson, of course.) I felt this was probably my mosy cohesive group of baddies. They all functioned and cooperated, albeit by indirect means, and put up a good fight against you heroes.

Also: For you curious about Karie's kidnapping: it was staged. Karie agreed to it and Octavyn simply gagged her and escorted her out before the smoke cleared.

Battle 4: Beep. Beep. Warning. Warning. Anachronism. Stew. Yes, a battle against robots, of all things! I hope this one wasn't too far out of left field, given Masson's skill set.This battle was challenging, but interestingly enough it could've been a whole lot worse: Em got Karie to stand down, and Karie got the Cleric to try to shut down Magnus. We know how that ended. The Chromoids were an interesting mechanic, and one I'd like to explore a bit more in the future, but hopefully I'll make it so they just aren't cash cows to Overkill Glove users.

Boss Battle: The Stealer of Senses: Here is what would've went down if you failed to convince him:

-Battle begins! Masson leads the group, while a Octavyn with a similar level but nerfed HP serves as his second and command. Two Syndicate Elites (They were actually going to be called the "Syndicate Phalanx" troops in battle: they were Masson's bodyguards) would back them up. The first phase of this battle was going to be an amalgation of all previous battles:

Battle 1: The Black/Silver pair of goons would've been similar to the ones found in Battle 1.

Battle 2: There would be various stands buffing and backing up the Syndicate, like in the Armory battle.

Battle 3: Octavyn strikes back, as well as te "four-person" formation.

Battle 4: The Stealer of Senses would spawn a Lesser Chromoid every 3 rounds or so. They would be clunky, oil-based things without the ability to regenerate, starting at eith yellow or green. However, to prevent Arthur from going on an Overkill spree, they'd be immune to Fragile and possibly Electricity.

So a list of enemeis would be:

-The Stealer

-Octavyn

-Syndicate Phalanx Silver

-Syndicate Phalanax Black

-Potion/remedy Rack

-Shield Rack

-Weapon Rack

-Bomb Rack

-The occasional Lesser Chromoid

When the collective HP of all of the members was down to about half, OR The Stealer of Senses fell before that happened, Phase 2 would begin - by accident, actually. A bomb rack would be toppled over from the battle and all of the bombs would explode collectively, uncontrolled. This wouldn't be too bad... If there wasn't a slew of Oil-based robots laying all over the room. For their own safety (he doesn't want anyone to die) The Stealer would order everybody to run to the edges of the room and turn their backs towards the bomb, while he ran towards Octavyn to get him out of range.

Boss Battle (Phase 2): Masson Of course, the bomb would go off before The Stealer could manage, and all hell would break loose. The explosion sets the room on fire and decimates the wall, forcing the heroes outward - out of the base and onto Storefront Avenue. Though t seems like The Stealer was dead, he actually manages to drag himself out of the flaming rubble, Octavyn slung around his shoulder. The explosion damaged The Harvester, causing it to spark - The Stealer would use that to his advantage, rebooting Octavyn's heart with it. As everyone involved in the blast tries to recover, Briar would appear on the scene, heading to that alley we saw him in. He was out to kill The Stealer despite the hostage note, and knew that The Stealer's goal was to assit the poor: thus, he holds a beggar and arrow-point, threatening to shoot the poor civilian if The Stealer didn't stand down. The Stealer takes a third option, rushing and absorbing the arrow himself - taking the pain, he uses the Harvester on Briar and his goons, getting him to fight with The Syndicate for the final phase. A small riot would break out Storefront ve, the occasional rioter joining the fray. The battle would consist of:

-Masson (his uniform was stained black by the ash, and his hood burnt away altogether - he'd be pretty badly wounded, part of his face covered in burn marks. His cape would be ragged ad he'd generally just be exhausted. Fighting on pure will-power, this version of the Stealer (going by his first name now that the cowl is off) is actually stronger.)

-The Harvester

-Octavyn

-Briar

-Syndicate Elite (former wolfgang goon)

-Syndicate Elite (former wolfgang goon)

-The occasional rioter

The Stealer of Sense's stats are on a different computer, so hopefully I'll get his description up by the end of today.

Battle 5: 3 versus 10, against Briar! This battle was purposely a curbstomp: it was meant to show how strong Masson really was, but mainly to affirm the possibilty of The Syndicate working with the Watch.

Masson:

Masson was a bit different from my normal cast of villains. Like I have said, all of my big-bads are simply broken-hearted people forced to evil; Masson was no exception. However, almost every other enemy I've made lashed outward from their issues, and hurt tons of people in the process: Masson lashed inward, and it led to some serious issues. he became obsessive over his studies, developed irrational phobias, hardly ate or sleep. Ultimately his sanity just decayed, and a legitmately good person was driven to trying to achieve a fair goal with awful means. He was immaculate, yes - but it was just his last-dtich attempt at trying to deal witha ll of the guilt and sadness he internalized. He became aloof and detached, trying to bury his own emotions and self to complete his goal; Karie was the only one who could bring Masson back down to Earth, and thus was the only one to convince him to give up The Harvester. Note how not all of his flaws are fixed: the Harvester is destroyed, but he is still essentially a vigilate. He isn't above using Exterlate, either. And although he is much happier now that he has Karie, his pyschological problems are simply less apparent, not gone. This quest worked wonders for Masson and pretty much saved him; however, he still has a long road of recovery to walk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whew! That's a lot... I'll have the player analysis up soon, folks, and the sidequests up hopefully soon. I still have a lot of things to say, but I will say this: This was an excellent party.

[Endgame]

More stuff!

Things Missed:

-The Stealer boss battle, obviously. However, this contained 2 other missable things then I already described:

-Punii would've been on the roof on one of the shots of Storefront Avenue during the boss fight - you skipped his cameo!

-If you had beat Masson and either killed/jailed him, Briar would've staggered up and (begrudgingly) offer you Wolfgang reputation. Of course, you ended up siding with Masson, so this never occured and the oppurtunity was lost.

Player Analysis

Zepher already made an absolutely bloody massive one, but here is mine!

Boomingham (Zepher): Boomingham was amazing in this quest. Usually so outspoken and willing to share his opinions, this quest really seemed to have an effect on him. His philosophy is that there is nowhere to go up... But in this quest, it seems like he went down quite a few steps. Seeing him practically silent at the end, and his transition to thate state, was chilling and a pleasure to read. You were the right choice for party leader, in my mind, and also showed me the importance of silence as well as the importance of speaking up. Each can have a profound effect when used correctly, and you utilized both in this quest to great effect. His hypocrisy became more and more apparent as the quest continued, and by the end he truly felt like a villain. Giving Karie the Pixie Dust was probably your best choice as a party leader, as cruel as it may be. Now, only thing left is to get on one of your quests.

Arthur (Flipz): Arthur seems to be filled with turmoil - not knowing who fights for or why he does it. And that becomes apparent as his allegiance shifts throughout the quest from accusing the Stealer of rape, murder, enslavement to siding with him. Masson and Arthur really are similar, and led to an interesting dynamic of changing opinions. Inconsistency is usually not good, but here it was utilized in an excellent fashion, so As always, you were the chief strategist, and remain the best one in Heroica to date. My only advice is to make Arthur a bit light; Everything he says carries such weight, it is hard to respond to him at times. Other then that, after an almost 18 page long PM chain, it was great hosting for you.

Arnulf (Shoker86): Always nice to have a returning questee, and you are no exception. At the beginning, due to Arnulf's knowledge on the Stealer, it led to quite a fw nice scenes while you were in the Sceleris Alleys. You were Boomingham's only friend in this quest, really, but that isn't a bad thing. It only helped highlight the split between the two "factions" of the party, per se, and that is a very good thing indeed. I hope to host you again some day.

Em (Emjajoas): Another retruning questee from 56! Great to have you back on board for the conclusion to The Stealer arc. Like I've mentioned previously: Silence works. And Em uses it wonderfully. He may be soft spoken, but he strikes me as such a considerate and withdrawn person. The respect you displayed for Masson as the quest went on was interesting to see grow, as well. You only say something when you have something to say - You say Em has no direction, but I think he is going in a great one already.

Karie (Kintobor): Gee, I wonder why I saved you for last? As you can tell from the 1.5 levels of EXP I granted you throughout the quest, your roleplaying is phenomenal. Karie is such a realistic character. She started out innocene tenough, but the direction shes been heading in - through hell, back, and back into hell again - has really shown all aspects of her character. She's one of the most realistic characters in the heroica realm, and it is always great to see how she'll react to something. She's pretty humble as well: You've allowe dher to get abused so many times (It being my doing most of the time ) and we've really seen so many idfferent sides of her. 70 was a bit Karie-centirc, but it was because of how well the quest suited her. Slowly baiting you into "betrayal" of your party was one of my favorite acts as a QM. 70 may have been an emotion roller coaster for Karie, but she seems to finally be one step closer to peace. Now, just to see how this relationship will blossom...

The Stealer of Senses

"So it has to be this way... Engarde!"

The Stealer of Senses, Level 48 Humanoid

HP: 1600/1600

SP: 8

Immune to Exterlate!

Specials:

Arc Slash: The Stealer ravages the party, dealing damage to every hero equal to their Power. The Hero who rolled Special Damage has their sense of Taste stolen, removing all of their positive effects.

Mass Harvest: The Stealer expertly utilizes the Harvester. All heroes have a 1/2 chance of having their sense of Hearing stolen, making them Confused for 3 rounds.

Battle Analysis: The Stealer concentrates, calculating all other possible moves the heroes could make. He becomes Hastened and begins to Counterstrike for the next 2 rounds.

Passive Specials:

Adaption: All negative effects last only 2 rounds on The Stealer. When a negative effect wears off on The Stealer, he becomes immune to it.

Going Numb: All rolls of Damage has The Stealer harvest that hero's sense of Touch, Weakening them for the next 3 rounds.

Mimicry: The Stealr pays close attnetion to the weapons used against him and copies the technique. On rolls of Damage, The Stealer also attacks the hero with any special effects their weapon might possess.

Endgame Syndrome: ???

Drops:

Nothing

[Shoker86]

It was great quest Endgame. I'm glad you hosted me for second time. After two quest, which were great, but didn't touch Arnulf's personality as 56 and 70 did.

Battles were great. Players were great also.

Boomingham - great leader, and only one who thought siding with Masson was bad idea. I don't like Masson, he's too unethical but seems to preech a lot. And seems only Boomingham had the same opinion. I agree that he and Arnulf could become friends

Em - Em reminds me somethimes of my favorite actor Clint Eastwood Minimalistic aproach, noone knows who he is, he rarely speaks, he mostly "just" acts. I like his development so far.

Arthur- Arthur is a great character, who's thinking big, that sometimes he forgots the small things around him. Arnulf hated his interogation during battles, only to see him accept alliance with Stealer. Very usefull in battle, great tactician, generous. Arnulf definietly has urges to tell Arthur his opinion.

Karie - This was your quest definietly. Karie's development from 56 to 70 leaves plenty of room for inetrpretation. Dating the guy, who was responsible (indirectly) for her torture, makes me think of Stockholm syndrom. As for her betrayal, it was huge turning point in this quest, it is one of the greatest sins in Arnulf's mind, and especially the way she did it, apearing under mask. I don't know how and will they patch this up.

[Endgame]

And now for the final installment in the 70 review trilogy:

Sidequests

Room 201 (Boomingham)

Boomingham downs the rest of his drink, bidding adieu to Miss Piegon. making his way to the second floor, he says Karie, Em, and Arthur slotting their keys into their doors and walking in. The Paladin follows suit, inserting his key into room 201 and throwing the door open. he catches it before it can slam into the wall, walking inside:

It was one of the nicer inn rooms Boomingham had seen as of late. A small table sits to the left, today's issue of the Eubric times folded up neatly on it. A set of drawers lies beyond the table, made of solid oak. A gold dish for food sits atop it - as well as a bottle of wine, and a glass to pour it into. A small candle sits on an endtable, its flickering flame the only source of light in the room. Front and center stands a bed, comfy by the looks of it. The entire place had a home-like air to it.

Lord Lawrence Boomingham (Zepher)

46 Years Old, Human, Level 25 1/3 Paladin *Immune to Fragile, Sleep and Weakened* *Encouraged!*

Power: 38 (+4**)

Defense: 12

Health: 45/46 (+2*)

Ether: 15/24

Gold: 148

Equipment: Scupperer (Great Sword, WP: 11, Darkness Fire, causes Bleeding Effect for 5 Damage until remedied or healed to full health) Round Metal Shield (SP: 7), Counterstrike Gloves (On Free Hits, Deals damage to enemy equal to Boomingham's level), Heavy Armor (SP: 5, Immunity to Fragile), Tome of Affluence (Generates 10 Gold if equipped for the entirety of a battle, immunity to sleep and weakened, accessory) ****Pseudo's Blessing's Blessing (Not an Artifact, +4 Power)

Inventory: Frozen Saber (Great Sword, WP: 9, Light Ice, stunned effect), Bedroll, 2 Meads, Fire Brandy (Encouraged, Immunity to Ice), Emerald Lamp of Summoning, Marksman's Monocle, Scroll of Recklessness (Encouraged and Fragile for rest of battle, 5 ether, 50/50 chance), Scroll of Blindness, 1 Scroll of Weakening, Scroll of Fragility, Scroll of Sealing, Garnet, Sapphire, Hood of Belthazar Bluehood (+4 to Power, -6 to Ether), Hamantasch (consumable, lucky + blessed effects upon consumption for the length of one battle), Admantite Shard, Everlasting Venom. Remedy, Seventh Heaven, Phoenix Essence,

Debts: 128 Gold Arthur, 1 gold Docken, 75 gold Sorrow

OoC: I drank the mead Arthur got me.

Boomingham sits down on the bed. He tosses his shield to the floor, along with his heavy armor, and props open his Tome of Affluence. He begins to read it and mark it up.

Chapter 7: Business Manipulation

In business life you are bound to run into those who do not agree with your ends. You have a number of options in that case. You may outmaneuver them, making it impossible for their business to survive (Chap. 8) or you may target them for destruction intentionally, using a varied degree of legal and illegal means (Chap. 9). The easiest route, however, is to convince them to come to an understanding that is profitable for both parties prove to them you are in the right.

"Check the room first, you old fool," Barty hisses at him. Boomingham sighs, pours himself a glass of wine, and picks up the Eubric times, skimming it for anything of import. He then opens up the drawer.

Boomingham looks through the room he had rented. Pouring himself a glass of wine, he looks around - all of the drawers were empty, vacant and cleaned out from the previous guest. Eubric times, is expectedly, dominated by news from last night's Foundation Ball event. The paper was brimming full of editorials regarding last night's ball - some were actually accurate, while others were simply ludicrous. Boomingham snorts as he reads an "expert" claiming that the Wolfgang was being assited by extraterrestials. he put the paper down - he was probably one of the most knowledgeable people on that subject in all of Eubric.

Boomingham does and stares out the window, looking down at the street below, still sipping at his wine.

Boomingham sips his glass, looking out the window into the streets of Eubric. Hundreds of stars hung in the sky, illuminating the road below. The occasional person walks through the street, but nothing of interest.

Boomingham continues to sip his wine, but upon sitting down on his bed, he finds himself unable to sleep. He stands up and walks to his door, opening it up a crack, and, making heavy thudding noises the whole way, attempts to sneak back down to the bar.

Boomingham attempts to go back down to the bar - making heavy thudding sounds as he tries to make his way down there - but to his dismay find the bar closed.

Boomingham grumbles and treks back to his room. Finally feeling his eyelids growing heavy, he falls into his bed and attempts to go to sleep.

Trundling back up the stairs, Boomingham walks back into his room, the door left ajar from his attempt for more drinks. He steps in and locks it, looking at the bed. His eyelids growing heavy from the exhausting day, he tosses himself into bed. The drinks take their toll on the paladin's body as well as the day's experiences. Ready to put the past few hours behind him, Boomingham drifts off into a peaceful slumber...

Lord Lawrence Boomingham (Zepher)

46 Years Old, Human, Level 25 1/3 Paladin *Immune to Fragile, Sleep and Weakened* *Encouraged!*

Power: 38 (+4**)

Defense: 12

Health: 46/46 (+2*)

Ether: 24/24

Gold: 148

Equipment: Scupperer (Great Sword, WP: 11, Darkness Fire, causes Bleeding Effect for 5 Damage until remedied or healed to full health) Round Metal Shield (SP: 7), Counterstrike Gloves (On Free Hits, Deals damage to enemy equal to Boomingham's level), Heavy Armor (SP: 5, Immunity to Fragile), Tome of Affluence (Generates 10 Gold if equipped for the entirety of a battle, immunity to sleep and weakened, accessory) ****Pseudo's Blessing's Blessing (Not an Artifact, +4 Power)

Inventory: Frozen Saber (Great Sword, WP: 9, Light Ice, stunned effect), Bedroll, 2 Meads, Fire Brandy (Encouraged, Immunity to Ice), Emerald Lamp of Summoning, Marksman's Monocle, Scroll of Recklessness (Encouraged and Fragile for rest of battle, 5 ether, 50/50 chance), Scroll of Blindness, 1 Scroll of Weakening, Scroll of Fragility, Scroll of Sealing, Garnet, Sapphire, Hood of Belthazar Bluehood (+4 to Power, -6 to Ether), Hamantasch (consumable, lucky + blessed effects upon consumption for the length of one battle), Admantite Shard, Everlasting Venom. Remedy, Seventh Heaven, Phoenix Essence,

Debts: 128 Gold Arthur, 1 gold Docken, 75 gold Sorrow

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Boomingham's sleep is interrupted by the gentle rapping of knuckles on the door. The Paladin, still a bit woozy from his short sleep and previous drinks, staggers up and looks through the window. nearly the exact same scene greeted him as he gazed out - he must've only slept for a couple of hours. With a timeframe in mind, Boomingham shifts his attention to the rapping on the door. As his eyes focus in the nighttime darkness, the paladin picks up one detail about the door - someone had unlocked it during his slumber. Recently, he could only assume...

The door swings open - and in the doorway stands the silhouetted frame of The Stealer. He holds his hands up, palms forward. From his time in the war Boomngham knew the gesture as the universal signal of "I'm unarmed"... and yet, The Harvester was securely attached to his waist, pulsing quietly.

"Good evening." he says politely.

"Hello there," Boomingham glances at his weapons on the table next to him, and the armor in a pile on the floor. The only thing within arms reach is the wine bottle. He picks it up. "Care for a drink? Is this normally how you make new friends? I can't imagine that you're here to steal my senses. A coward such as yourself would have attacked while I was asleep. That being said, I must warn you I'm not really in the market for new friends. Especially the likes of you." There is an awkward pause. "Well, have a seat. Have you read the paper yet today? You'll find me mentioned in it."

"No thank you to the wine. I've been abstaining for the past few years."

The Stealer takes a seat on the inn room's stool. Despite his years of experience, even The Stealer had an aura that seemed to demand respect...

"Not here to make friends, exactly. Just to have a chat. To be quite honest, Boomingham, I am not one who enjoys leaving a wake of blood and destruction. Call me a coward if you will, but it simply isn't the way I operate. I have no reason nor desire to hurt anyone I don't have to. And that is the reason why I am here, I suppose. I do not wish to cause harm to anyone unless I must. Now, I feel almost certain that by today's end, we will clash on the battlefield... I may die tonight. Who knows?"

Even while saying he may die, The Stealer's composure does not waver. he is eerily serene - it is as if the notion didn't daunt him

"Now, do you want blood shed tonight, Boomingham?"

"Our clash depends entirely on you. I don't think that anyone wishes for more bloodshed than necessary, but sometimes it's required. I was serious when asking if you'd read the paper. I wonder how much you know about this supposed witch Baba."

"When it comes down to it, you will be stopped tomorrow, one way or another. I would love to see you turn that device over to me now, and walk out of this room to go do good, but I can't imagine that you'll be doing that. I'll even rob you of your senses with it if you'd prefer. Same as you do to the people you help start new lives."

"I'll have assume that you won't be talked out of your foolishness though, and that you'll continue to rob people of their right to choice. That is the most heinous crime I can think of, so yes, I can stop you. If you had not robbed those Wolfgang goons of their senses earlier, I would have killed them anyway, but with respect. They stood for and defended their ideals. I killed them instead out of pity. You took their ability to choose for themselves. That is the only power we have, and it is our greatest power and greatest responsibility. I call you a coward too because you cheat people and steal their power. When we fight tomorrow, it will be with a clear head. It will be me defending my ideal, versus you defending yours."

"You have no right to destroy others ideals. I will not allow you to, because it goes against what I believe. You walk away from this, I will have convinced you to change. That is fine. You stay with your device, you continue to rob others of their power, I will kill you."

"I have no taste for the Wolfgang higher-ups, Boomingham. As far as I'm concerned, they're doing nothing but propagating the noise I wish to destroy. The news of a "Baba" being at the top of the Wolfgang ladder is fairly new to me, however. Thus why I'm siphoning off of the Wolfgang... They're being manipulated just as much, if not more then, then Ulric then I have. Just with fear of the very people they swore their lives to. Most of them have expressed regret when I discuss with them, Boomingham. They find a quiet world something to look forward to... and yet, they fear death at the hands of the Wolfgang if they defect. At what point am I not actually injecting a thought in their minds, but simply empowering it? even Samantha, who you mowed down, found merit in the concept.

I'm assuming you've never quested with a Witch, then."

"They can't rely on you for a quiet world. How is stealing them away any different then them defecting normally? It is not, except that they have no choice in the matter. And there was a boy, Atramor. He was a witch. Travelled to Strivvi with him. He was a good lad. I have no vendetta against witches, only those who rob others of choice. You and Baba are among those."

"Hmph. You act as if progress will simply come from your pacifist ways. yheroica is little more then damage control, Boomingham. There is nothing inherently wrong with that... but you only arrive as or after the trouble has passed. You do little more then maintain the status quo in Eubric. And what has the status quo led to in Eubric? Nothing. It has allowed corruption to fester and flourish, and made Eubric's already massive pile of bodies grow steadily larger each and every day. No amount of Heroica's pacifist methods can truly change it. Sad as it may be, tyrants and dictators are the only ones who can drive progress in this world. But I am achieving what they do without the death and bloodshed. If I wanted to limit the noise, I could just as easily murder Wolfgang left and right, in cold blood. But by building my own organization... change can finally be made in Eubric."

"Robbing someone of the choices they make is murder. You say that you leave intact who they are, but what are we other than our actions? You murder the same as everyone else, you just defile the body afterwards. As for Heroica's pacifism, I promise you, if it comes to a head, I will actively try to stop you, using as much violence as necessary."

"The same goes for progress. Preventing you will be progress, if you ask me."

"They're free to leave if they so choose. I've already had one person walk away - and, unlike the Wolfgang, I didn't sic an entire task force to burn his house down. Their choices remain their choices. You place such a high value on freedom, yet believe it to be so fragile. I influence one choice and they're dead... and yet members of your organization go on wanton brainwashing sprees, making comrades turn on eachother. You compared me with the witch Baba. She only wants to drag Eubric deeper into the grave it has been digging since its establishment. My aim is to pull it out. Every death in this city... So many of them, all a result of the noise that plagues it.

But I suppose there is no causing either of us to stray from our paths, is there? Tonight will see whose ideals will win The game is nearly afoot, Boomingham. And may the best man win.

But now, I bid you adieu."

The Stealer gives the paladin one last steely glance, exiting the inn room. He closes the door behind, plunging the room into darkness and leaving Boomingham alone. He slumps back into bed, soon drifting into another few hours of fitful rest. Whether or not his ideals were correct, The Stealer remained a force to be reckoned with... And his showdown with the The Stealer of senses would be coming before long.

In a cruel twist of fate, he actually thought what he was doing was right.

Room 202 (Arthur)

After a stressful day of brawling and bickering, Arthur retires to his rented room. Exitting the bar and ascending a flight of stairs, Arthur walks down the hall until he finds the door nnumber that matched his key: 202. Slotting his key into the door when he finds it, Arthur flings it open to reveal his rented room.

It was one of the nicer inn rooms Arthur had seen as of late. A small table sits to the left, today's issue of the Eubric times folded up neatly on it. A set of drawers lies beyond the table, made of solid oak. A gold dish for food sits atop it - as well as a bottle of wine, and a glass to pour it into. A small candle sits on an endtable, its flickering flame the only source of light in the room. Front and center stands a bed, comfy by the looks of it. The entire place had a home-like air to it.

Arthur Justus Regulus VII (played by Flipz), Level 25 1/3 Sorcerer, 21-year-old male Human *Immune to Sealed* [ Currently in: Quest #70: The Syndicate] *Lucky!*

Power: 38 (25 + WP:13)

Health: 37/37 (Basic Health: 5 + Level Bonus: 23 + Class Boost: 4 + Permanent Boost: 4*)

Ether: 0/35 (Basic Ether: 5 + Level Bonus: 23 + Class Boost: 1 + Robe of the Archmagi: 5)

Defense: 3 (Robe of the Archmagi)

Gold: 1435 (Owed 128 gold by Boomingham; owed 50 gold by Grimwald Gjinko; owed 70 gold by En Sabah Nur,)

Equipment: Unlucky Horseshoe (WP:13, retrievable, causes Jinxed-effect; throwing weapon), Robe of the Archmagi (Bodywear, SP:3, Max Ether +5, Immune to Sealed), Lens of Speed Reading (Accessory, Allows a scroll to be read in addition to a normal action. Suitable for scroll users.), Overkill Gloves

Inventory:

Weapons: Sir Roderick's Sword (WP:12, Longsword), Staff of the Cultist Battlemage (WP: 7, 50% chance of Fleeing upon being KO'd; suitable for Mages and Clerics), Hollow Blade Dagger (WP:6, dagger, hollow-blade [Mulled Wine]), Staff of Ennon - (WP: 5, Light-Elemental, Restores 2 ether on a roll of 2, 3, or 4), Healing Staff (WP:5; heals instead of damaging), Healing Staff (WP:5; heals instead of damaging), Spider Leg (WP:8, doubled against flying enemies; spear; unsuitable)

Artifacts: Shackles of War (Accessory, Prevents anyone from fleeing battles), Cloak of Deception (Backwear, Free hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent), Ancient Crown (Headwear, First successful strike of battle deals Cursed-effect), Jester's Hat (Headwear, Wearer may choose to gain one immunity from targeted enemy), Stingy Gloves, Sticky Gloves

Gems: Opal (Ice), Amethyst (Darkness), Topaz (Lightning), Diamond (Light), Garnet (Earth),

Tools: Bedroll, Telescope, Shovel, Magnifying Glass, Pickaxe, Magic Compass

Scrolls: Scroll of Blindness, 2x Scroll of Sealing (1x Lent to De'kra), Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Sleep, 2x Scroll of Frailty (1x Lent to Nyx), Scroll of Armor Sundering (Reduces target’s SP by 5 and has a 50/50 chance of success), Scroll of Poisoning (Grants target’s weapon the Badly Poisoned effect for one battle at the cost of 5 ether), Scroll of Luck (Grants target the Lucky-effect for one battle. Costs 10 ether.), Scroll of Weakening,

Consumables: Grand Potion x4, Remedy x8, Elixir x2, Nostrum x 3, Smelling Salts x 4, Mead x 3, Jinxy Juice, Ether Core, Noxious Venom (When used on a weapon, the weapon deals the Badly Poisoned effect for the duration of the battle and the Confused effect for the next three rounds, for the duration of one battle.), Zoot's Plaything, Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 random elemental damage to all opponents), Tesla Bomb, Grand Tonic, Double Rainbow, Bright Polish

Before doing anything else, Arthur begins a systematic search of the room with his Magnifying Glass--first the paper, then the stool--cushion, underside, and if the two separated, the underside of the cushion as well--followed by the dresser drawers. It would not do to be caught unawares.

Arthur inspects the room for the slightest hint of a trap, dismantling everything to ensure his safety - he finds no contraband or foul play.

Deciding he can relax, he decides to pick up the paper and read it. "Wonder what they've left here for me...?"

Arthur inspects the Eubric Times, one of the newspapers circulating throughout the city. it appeared to be nothing special - just standard issue, deposited into the inn rooms everyday. Arthur picks it up and beings to read...

Unsurprisingly, mos tof the paper was dominated by last night's Foundation Ball event. The main article itself was well-written enough, and informative, but unsurprisngly it revealed nothing new to the sorceror. It was when Arthur got into the editorials did the paper begin to get downright bizarre. Some were rational and correct enough, but Arthur simply had to put the paper down when he read an "expert" claiming to spot extraterrestial ducks being depostited into the theatre by a flying, disk-esque craft.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Arthur throws the paper haphazardly onto the stool before walking to the nightstand and inspecting both it and the drawer (and the contents of said drawer).

All the drawers were empty, cleaned out and left vacant from the last person to use this room. Considering some people stayed here more then one night, storage units were required.

Arthur picks up the bottle of wine, intending to drink it, but is stopped by the urge to yawn. It was time for a good night's rest. He stores the bottle with the rest of his things before preparing for bed. He takes a look at the label as he removes his hat and cape and sets them aside with his weapons and other equipment.

The label simply said "Albatross" - it would at least be decent wine, judging by the quality of the drinks they served below.

Arthur stowed the bottle before getting into bed, quickly falling asleep.

Stowing the bottle and his belongings, Arthur goes into bed. Today had proven to be a stressful day, for both the boy and mind - both were exhausted at this point, begging for the sweet release of slumber. And they received it, the sorcerer soon falling asleep. He feels his ether and stamina return to him as he closes his eyes, dozing off.

Arthur Justus Regulus VII (played by Flipz), Level 25 1/3 Sorcerer, 21-year-old male Human *Immune to Sealed* [ Currently in: Quest #70: The Syndicate] *Lucky!*

Power: 38 (25 + WP:13)

Health: 37/37 (Basic Health: 5 + Level Bonus: 23 + Class Boost: 4 + Permanent Boost: 4*)

Ether: 35/35 (Basic Ether: 5 + Level Bonus: 23 + Class Boost: 1 + Robe of the Archmagi: 5)

Defense: 3 (Robe of the Archmagi)

Gold: 1435 (Owed 128 gold by Boomingham; owed 50 gold by Grimwald Gjinko; owed 70 gold by En Sabah Nur,)

Equipment: Unlucky Horseshoe (WP:13, retrievable, causes Jinxed-effect; throwing weapon), Robe of the Archmagi (Bodywear, SP:3, Max Ether +5, Immune to Sealed), Lens of Speed Reading (Accessory, Allows a scroll to be read in addition to a normal action. Suitable for scroll users.), Overkill Gloves

Inventory:

Weapons: Sir Roderick's Sword (WP:12, Longsword), Staff of the Cultist Battlemage (WP: 7, 50% chance of Fleeing upon being KO'd; suitable for Mages and Clerics), Hollow Blade Dagger (WP:6, dagger, hollow-blade [Mulled Wine]), Staff of Ennon - (WP: 5, Light-Elemental, Restores 2 ether on a roll of 2, 3, or 4), Healing Staff (WP:5; heals instead of damaging), Healing Staff (WP:5; heals instead of damaging), Spider Leg (WP:8, doubled against flying enemies; spear; unsuitable)

Artifacts: Shackles of War (Accessory, Prevents anyone from fleeing battles), Cloak of Deception (Backwear, Free hits against the wearer have a 1/6 chance to be redirected to a random opponent), Ancient Crown (Headwear, First successful strike of battle deals Cursed-effect), Jester's Hat (Headwear, Wearer may choose to gain one immunity from targeted enemy), Stingy Gloves, Sticky Gloves

Gems: Opal (Ice), Amethyst (Darkness), Topaz (Lightning), Diamond (Light), Garnet (Earth),

Tools: Bedroll, Telescope, Shovel, Magnifying Glass, Pickaxe, Magic Compass

Scrolls: Scroll of Blindness, 2x Scroll of Sealing (1x Lent to De'kra), Scroll of Confusion, Scroll of Sleep, 2x Scroll of Frailty (1x Lent to Nyx), Scroll of Armor Sundering (Reduces target’s SP by 5 and has a 50/50 chance of success), Scroll of Poisoning (Grants target’s weapon the Badly Poisoned effect for one battle at the cost of 5 ether), Scroll of Luck (Grants target the Lucky-effect for one battle. Costs 10 ether.), Scroll of Weakening,

Consumables: Grand Potion x4, Remedy x8, Elixir x2, Nostrum x 3, Smelling Salts x 4, Mead x 3, Jinxy Juice, Ether Core, Noxious Venom (When used on a weapon, the weapon deals the Badly Poisoned effect for the duration of the battle and the Confused effect for the next three rounds, for the duration of one battle.), Zoot's Plaything, Chaotic Bomb (Causes 100 random elemental damage to all opponents), Tesla Bomb, Grand Tonic, Double Rainbow, Bright Polish

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Arthur's slumber is disturbed by the gentle rapping of knuckles on his inn door. The Sorcerer's paranoia allows him to startle awake, alert almost instantly. His eyes dart to the window - the same night sky was before him. He managed only a few hours of sleep, it seemed. Tearing his eyes away from the starry night sky, he turns his attention to the source of the noise - the door. He notes grimly something about the doorknob: the lock was undone, somehow opened during the night without his notice. Even in his after sleep daze, Arthur knows there is a very limited number of people who would be coming to this exact room tonight.

As if on cue, the door swings open... and The Stealer stand sin the frame. He holds his hand sup, palm forward, but The Harvester was attached securely to his waist nonetheless.

"Good evening." he says politely.

"Come to kill me, Stealer?" Arthur's hand scrambles for his weapons, but all he can find at the moment is a bottle. He glances down to see a Smelling Salts--he quickly pops the lid and splashes the substance on his face, the salts suspended in the solution relieving him of his post-sleep haze. He keeps his eyes focused on the Stealer as he climbs out of the bed with his back to the wall, hoping for a chance to regain his weapons before being forced into a fight.

"No, actually. I don't take pleasure in killing, Arthur. I did it too much as a kid to ever savor it. Pain falls under a similar category... I've simply come here to talk, Arthur. Trying to hurt as few people as possible."

"Then talk." And where the hell are my clothes? Arthur slowly, without taking his eyes off the Stealer, rummages around in his belongings, attempting to assemble some guise of presentability. He discovers a Mead, uncorks it, and downs it as well, before continuing to attempt to prepare himself.

"It is simple, I suppose. I do not enjoy inflicting pain, Arthur. Why do you think I designed the Harvester the way I did? Why do you think I drugged those watchmen instead of simply murdering them? It is meant to be nonlethal, Arthur. Lives are not mine to snuff out."

"So you snuff out their souls instead, by taking their free will--or their 'common sense', as you like to put it."

"Look--your brand of peace? It's nothing. It's worthless, because the moment that thing shuts down, or gets damaged, or whatever, all those people go right back to the way they were. It doesn't last. True peace is something you work toward--like anything good, it can't be achieved in a day."

"Now, I'll be the first to admit--that little gizmo you have there? It's not all bad. In fact, you could do a lot of good with it--steal the senses of people in pain while the doctors work to cure them, steal the senses of criminals so they can't commit crimes, can't harm the Watchmen who come to arrest them. You could have been a Hero. But you went too far. Taking peoples' will? That's enslavement. Whatever those people are after you've finished with them, they're not the same people, because you've taken an essential part of their personality. You are stealing peoples' souls, and leaving a hollow fragment behind. I can justify a lot of things, but not that. You want to make a better world? You change it from within--you overthrow the system, or you take some other shortcut to power or victory, and all you get is Chaos. And I've seen the end of that road: an empty world, devoid of life, where the few who are left die hopeless and alone. Take it from someone who's been there: villainy--even well-intentioned villainy--never ends well. Especially if you win." Arthur's eyes held a truth that hadn't been there before--somewhere, somehow, he had seen it.

The Stealer shakes his head, not losing a bit of his professionalism.

"Their minds are not tethered to The Harvester, Arthur. I've been walking this path, trying to achieve this since my first kill... and that must've been almost nineteen years ago. I have used The Harvester in some of the ways you described as well, Arthur. You think of me as some villain. Did you know Samantha actually agreed with what I was trying to achieve? She was in support of the concept of a quiet world... and yet, she refused. She was fearing reprimandation for being a deserter, afraid her own life would be taken if she attempted to assist me. Thus is the evil that resides in a city filled with noise. A city like this, Arthur.

Is what I want truly so terrible? Just someplace where people can live simply and quietly if they so choose?"

"It's not a bad vision. But not at the cost of freedom."

"Hm. How free do you this city is to begin with, Arthur? Besides, I refuse to use The Harvester on any one of my men or women more then once. If they choose to walk, they walk. You seem to assume I hold a mental vice over their minds... I simply plant a single idea, and move from there."

"Do it with words, not force, then. When you use that Harvester, you're making them think thoughts they would never have thought of their own accord. You're changing who they are, which destroys who they were. It doesn't matter if it makes their lives better--if you're altering peoples' identities, you're doing no better than those of us who find ourselves killing to try and improve the world. You're picking and choosing who gets to live in the world you're shaping--you're just creating new people to replace the ones you destroy. But you're still destroying the old ones. And the ends just don't justify the means--believe me, I've learned that the hard way."

"You lack faith in individuality, sorcerer. One stray thought makes them a different person? One stray thought destroys them, leaving but a slave? You place such a high value on freedom, yet consider it so fragile. By your logic, almost half of your heroes are dead husks now, replaced by someone else. I simply give them the idea of working for Syndicate. Nothing more.

Many Wolfgang members I've faced have agreed with the sentiment of a quiet world, and yet do not wish to join out of fear of punishment... At what point do I simply empower a thought, and not plant it? Isn't a prosperous life what almost everybody wants?"

"It's not a stray thought, it's somebody else's thought. It's the difference between choice and coercion. If your device stopped time and allowed you to spend the equivalent of months having a philosophical discourse with those Wolfgang until they decided to leave their old ways and join your cause, I would have no problem, because the thought to join your cause would originate from them. Yes, you would be giving them the idea by speaking with them, but their decision to join you would come from their processing of your argument and their decision that your cause best lines up with their desires. You would be convincing them, not coercing them. That's an important distinction to make. People have to be free to make their own choices--even if they are the wrong ones. To interfere in that process is to deny them their basic rights as intelligent beings."

"Would you prefer them dead, Arthur? Would you prefer anyone dead?"

"It doesn't matter what you or I prefer for them. What matters is what they would prefer for themselves; most individuals would rather die than lose their freedom of choice, especially if it's lost to someone forcibly meddling with their thoughts."

"Besides, redemption can only be found if it's sought truthfully from the heart. Everyone deserves a chance for redemption--a chance no one can ever have under the influence of the Harvester."

"Now, on another important topic...could you please turn around for like five seconds? Please?"

"No. Do it on your own time. I could easily end up with a dagger in my back. I am not fond of literal backstabbing."

"Suit yourself."

"So I take it my words have given you new perspective?"

"I fear I'm giving more of a chance then your Watch does, Sorcerer. Your organization is the one that can't stop using the guilotine, not mine. I simply make them think they work for someone else. Whether or not they adopt the philosophy, stay, leave... That is not my decision to make for them. The Town Watch means well, I suppose, but your cavaliar attitude is disgusting when you're oblivious to the slaughter occuring in your own camp."

The Stealer shoots Arthur a steely gaze that shook him to his core - his aura of authority grows more intense, and the room seems to become colder. This was not a man to be trifled with.

"I take it you are still hellbent on killing me - as is the other men you so delightfully alerted, I presume. Will I die tonight? Possibly. Who knows. But at least I will perish with my beliefs in line. Your words are hollow, Sorcerer. Everything you say conflicts with what you do. You determine and define fredom, and yet by doing so you take it away. Your capabilities almost match those of the Harvester, and I assume that you have quested with a Witch before. Their specialty? Complete mass mind control. You try to bring justice to Eubric, and yet you ally yourself with the Town Watch. The Town Watch isn't about justice, Arthur. It's about propogating the status quo. Not to mention I've seen some officers demand a "tithe" for the meagre services you've provided... You so willingly talk philosophy, but do you even have a true one yourself? Decide who you are before you attempt to change who I am.

The sad thing here, Arthur? You'll probably find me before you find yourself."

The Stealer shrugs, then continues. His gaze does not falter, Arthur at the brink of shivering.

"Maybe you never will. Maybe the true Arthur has been twisted and crushed under the noise of Eubric, leaving a hollow shell. Tragic, but common. Hurt souls are easier to break, I suppose. And The Harvester can see someone's pysche and state of mind like different colors in the spectrum, Arthur. You're a very, very broken man, Arthur.

Now, if you excuse me, before you attempt to disgust me further with your human anatomy, I'll believe I'll show myself out. Neither of us will be swayed from our paths... Not like you ever had a true path to begin with."

With that, Arthur silently slumps back, perturbed by The Stealer's words. He walks out the door, closing it behind him... Leaving Arthur in silence. The silence of his own thoughts was a scary place indeed...

Arthur pulls on the last of his clothes and gear...just in time for the Stealer to get away. He calls out, even though he knows his words can't reach his foe.

"Change comes from within, not from without. I have to be what the Watch should be...because no one else will."

Room 203 (Karie)

After an exhausting day of battling and revealations, Karie walks up to her room. Climbing up a flight of stairs after exitting the bar she reaches the second floor, walking down the hallway until she reached Room 203. She slots the key in and opens the door, walking inside the room she had been given...

It was one of the nicer inn rooms Karie had seen as of late. A small table sits to the left, today's issue of the Eubric times folded up neatly on it. A set of drawers lies beyond the table, made of solid oak. A gold dish for food sits atop it - as well as a bottle of wine, and a glass to pour it into. A small candle sits on an endtable, its flickering flame the only source of light in the room. Front and center stands a bed, comfy by the looks of it. The entire place had a home-like air to it.

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor) *Lucky!*

22 year old Human Rogue, lvl 13

Power: 18 (lvl 13 + WP: 6)

Health: 19/19

Gold: 224

Defence: 1

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Lover's Locket (Protects from enamoured effect), Leather Armor (Bodywear, SP: 1)

Inventory: Potion (3), Mead (4), Remedy (2), Venom (1), Smoke bomb (1), Telescope (1), Bedroll (1), Heirloom Dagger (WP:3), Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp) (1),, Topaz, Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear), Smelling Salts, Nostrum, Mulled Wine (2)

Karie picks up the paper and reads the headlines.

"Wouldn't hurt to catch up on current events."

Karie leafs through the paper, her eyes settling on the frontline.

~Foundation Ball Fiasco!~

Last night was a momentous one in Eubric's history, being its 400th anniversary - but in more ways then one. Almost the entirety of the Town Watch was reported to surround Bilbert Wigglepike's theatre, expecting the notorious Steerpike the Prisoner to be on the scenes. Their suspicions proved to be more then correct. Steerpike was present, stated Town Watch Lietunant Serevan upon (incredibly short) interview - as well as Violetta the Catburglar and Donny Dozenhands. All were soundly defeated in combat and are currently deceased.

None of the attendees of the party suffered anything more then minor injuries - the Wolfgang recieved the bulk of the pain that night, it seems.

Karie tosses the newspaper aside. No mention that the Kayla was murdered in an unconscious state. Typical. Something catches her eye outside the window. She looks outside, keeping her distance.

Karie gazes out the window, looking into Eubric's starry sky. The constellations almost seemed jumbled tonight, tangled together in a celestial heap.

After looking outside, Karie rummages through the drawers, looking for anything that might have been left by the previous guest. Afterwards, she lies down and attempts to go to sleep.

The room is immaculate, all of the drawers empty and dusted - whoever cleaned these rooms was definitely earning their paycheck.

Karie flops down onto the bed, eager to put the day's events behind her. Despite the plethora of thoughts assaulting her, she finds drifting to sleep rather easy - her mind was still awake, but her body was exhausted. Her mind eventually gave into its body's pleas, drifting off into a sleep.

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Karie awakes to the sound of kunckles gently rapping on the sturdy oak door to her room. Rubbing the sleep out of her eys, she looks outside - and sees the same night sky that she saw what felt like minutes prior. It seems she managed to get five or six hours of sleep before whatever nocturnal visitor had arrived. karie sit sup straight, affixing her gaze at the door. Her face nearly goes as pale as her makeup once was when she realizes it had been unlocked.

As if on cue, the door swings open - and Karie chokes up.

The Stealer stood in her doorway, hands up - currently unarmed... Though she could see the Harvester attached securely to his waist, pulsing quietly.

"Apologies for the intrusion, ma chère." he says, sincerely - once again, demonstrating that there was a heart somewhere in there...

Karie's blood was pumping, her heart was about to burst out of her chest, she found it hard to breathe. She took a few deep breaths and sat up straight, looking the Stealer in the eyes, or at least where his eyes should be. Her weaponry wouldn't get her out of this scenario. She glanced at the bottle of wine and glass.

"Would you... you care for a drink?"

She gets up and uncorks the lid.

"Ah, no thank you."

The Stealer walks in to the room, closing the door behind him. He walks up to Karie... The rogue's mind races, thinking about how many dual-pronged scars she'd have when this encounter was over. Instead, he simply places a calming hand on her shoulder, motioning for her to sit down on the edge of her bed. He still retained that authoritative aura, that presence that demanded respect... but there was less of a cold edge to it this time. The Stealer sits on the stool, looking directly into Karie's eyes.

"I'm not here to hurt you, Karie. I'm not here to hurt you."

Karie took the bottle and poured herself a glass on the bed, her hand shaking. She took a long drink, savoring it. She tried to remain calm. It was hard considering she killed his nephew. She eyed the Harvester, then moved up to the mesh covered eyes.

"Then why are you here?"

Her fingers circled around the rim of the glass. The Stealer wouldn't hurt her, he was too honorable. She didn't like being around him, but still, there was that sense of trust and respect, something to admire about him.

"Karie, I want you to understand something. I loved my cousin, yes. But I knew he was sick. Demented, even. I tried my hardest to keep him away from the path he was determined to walk, to keep him away from The Harvester.

But one night, my carelessness led to something horrible. Five people, imprisoned, treated like objects, threatened with a life of slavery. And for one of them, that final option came very close to fruition. Because of the mistakes I had made, 5 people were scarred... one of them, perhaps permanently. There is no doubt in my mind what would've happened to you if your party had lost to my cousin, Karie. I loved him, yes, but he was twisted. Perhaps beyond repair. He wouldn't have used you for your combat prowess, to put it lightly."

He pauses before continuing.

"I don't like to hurt people, Karie. I don't like to kill. I designed the Harvester to be nonlethal... I made that drug so I could simply erase someone's memory instead of erasing their lives. But because of what I had created, you in particular were hurt badly. And nearly killed.

Does it still haunt you today, Karie? Right now, just being near me?"

"... yes."

What more was there to say? She was frightened of the mere thought of him winning that fight. It had kept her up at night. She had gotten drunk just to erase the memory, and not even that worked. She still heard his voice, his cooing calls of pleasure and torture.

Lab rat, lab rat, lab rat...

The Stealer gives a small sigh.

"That's what I thought. Karie, trauma is the sickness of memories. It takes bad memories and corrupts them into worse ones, making thinking about them unbearable. It is a permanent mental scar, and one that can spread.

Near permanent, anyway."

He glances towards the Harvester.

"The Harvester harvests senses, Karie. Or, more accurately, parts of the mind. Can turn off some, can turn on others. I know you won't like the idea of this, Karie, but I can remove it. The trauma, the nightmares. You'll still remember it... but it won't be plagued by the trauma that came with it. That's why I'm here. because of what you did, karie, you were hurt. And I want to fix that if you'll allow me."

Karie looked back down into her glass, swirling it about. She stood up and looked outside, out at the stars. He could fix her. He could mend her, and make her forget what happened. With Arnulf in the bar. The drunken stupor afterwards. Him, constantly running his mouth off in her head. However, she'd be under the Harvester. The dual pronged menace that gave her the scar she would have to live with for the rest of her life. Karie took a deep sigh, then finished her drink.

"This is all on me trusting you, and unfortunately for you, I don't entirely."

She looked back out the window, thinking. If he did do anything to her, it was over. It would be the Apprentice all over again, but if he being honest...

"How long will this take."

The Stealer notes the fear in Karie's eyes. He speaks softly, gently.

"Karie. If I wanted you to bow down to me, there wasn't anything stopping me from doing it in the armory. I don't want slaves or thralls, Karie. Pain and sadness is the common denominator between everyone in Eubric, rich or poor. I just want to change that.

The procedure itself? 10, perhaps 15 minutes."

"Will it hurt?"

There was a sense of fear in her voice.

"No. No physical contact whatsoever."

"And I'll never hear him in my head ever again?"

"Will you remember it? Yes. Will the trauma haunt you? No."

A few tears trickled down her cheek. Karie sat down on the bed. She was going against everything she yelled at the Stealer in the warehouse. Did that make her a hypocrite? Or was this different? Was the Stealer right for doing this? She wiped the sweat off her head. She had come to a conclusion.

"Sir, I appreciate your offer, but I must decline. I feel as if despite wanting this trauma to leave me... I just can't do so like this. The trauma comes from your cousin as much as your weapon. Your offer was most generous, and most welcoming, but my mind is set. Life is a continuous experience, not one that can be muddled and altered in a few minutes. We deal with the deck that's been dealt to us, and what one does with it is up to oneself. I feel that since the moment I got off the boat, I've been dealt a terrible hand, but like most of the people in this city, I believe my hand will get better, but not like this. Not with the Harvester."

She sighed. The bridge had been burnt. There was no going back.

"I will however allow you to leave without a disturbance. You've shown no real threat to me, why should I to you? As far as I'm concerned, this never happened."

She got up, corked the bottle of wine and passed it to him.

"I hope you... understand."

She hoped the two could come to a mutual agreement, at least for the time being.

"As a side note, you really need to rename that weapon. Harvester strikes fear into people, something you're against, if I'm not mistaken?"

The Stealer shrugs, and speaks calmly

"It was your offer, Karie, and also yours to decline. No offense taken. And, thank you for the wine."

He turns to walk out, looking back one last time before exiting.

"Oh, and Karie?"

"...Yes?"

The Stealer lifts his hood for a moment, revealing the face of a 25 year old. It was a young face, and not a bad one... but from his facem it seemed life had taken its toll on The Stealer.

"Call me Masson."

And with that, The Stealer lowers his hood back over his head, stepping out the door. It closes behind him... and it was as if he was never there. And yet, he was. It seemed as if he had buried his own humanity to achieve his goals, becoming aloof and remote... but Karie saw a glimmer of humanity in the man she once dreaded.

And he seemed like a good person.

Karie stared at the door as the Stealer left. To her word she kept quiet. She lied on her bed and stared at the wall, crying quietly to herself. The Apprentice's voice began to resonate in her head.

You'll grow to enjoy being my lab rat one day, darling. Even if I have to rob you of all your common sense to do it, you will one day enjoy every second of being under my thrall. May that day come soon.

"Go to hell, you son of a bitch."

Karie had successfully confronted her fears... But this encounter only added more complications to the decisions Karie would have to make down the line. Despite this, she feels stronger from this experience.

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor) *Lucky!*

22 year old Human Rogue, lvl 13.5

Power: 18 (lvl 13 + WP: 6)

Health: 19/19

Gold: 224

Defence: 1

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Lover's Locket (Protects from enamoured effect), Leather Armor (Bodywear, SP: 1)

Inventory: Potion (3), Mead (4), Remedy (2), Venom (1), Smoke bomb (1), Telescope (1), Bedroll (1), Heirloom Dagger (WP:3), Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp) (1),, Topaz, Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear), Smelling Salts, Nostrum, Mulled Wine (2)

Room 204 (Arnulf)

Arnulf, still mulling over the rumors he had acquired in the bar, decides to hit the hay and get some rest. Exitting the bar and walking up a flight of stairs, Arnulf realizes he was the last person to retreat to their rooms. Finding the room number that matched his key - 204 - Arnulf slots his key in and opens the door. He steps inside...

It was one of the nicer inn rooms Arnulf had seen as of late. A small table sits to the left, today's issue of the Eubric times folded up neatly on it. A set of drawers lies beyond the table, made of solid oak. A gold dish for food sits atop it - as well as a bottle of wine, and a glass to pour it into. A small candle sits on an endtable, its flickering flame the only source of light in the room. Front and center stands a bed, comfy by the looks of it. The entire place had a home-like air to it.

Arnulf sips wine into a glass, takes newspaper and reads while laying in bed

Arnulf slumps into bed, unfurling his copy of the Eubric times. Unsurprisingly, the paper was dominated by last night's Foundation Day Ball event.

~Foundation Ball Fiasco!~

Last night was a momentous one in Eubric's history, being its 400th anniversary - but in more ways then one. Almost the entirety of the Town Watch was reported to surround Bilbert Wigglepike's theatre, expecting the notorious Steerpike the Prisoner to be on the scenes. Their suspicions proved to be more then correct. Steerpike was present, stated Town Watch Lietunant Serevan upon (incredibly short) interview - as well as Violetta the Catburglar and Donny Dozenhands. All were soundly defeated in combat and are currently deceased.

None of the attendees of the party suffered anything more then minor injuries - the Wolfgang recieved the bulk of the pain that night, it seems.

The main article was accurate enough, but some of the editorials were downright bizarre... one "expert" claiming he spotted celestial ducks invading the theater from outer space.

"Damn journalists, pack of hyenas" Arnulf murmured, drinking more and more " Ducks from outer space, my big behind" He stod up, half drunk "Well let's see what we have in these drawers, and to sleep finally"

The drawers were all empty and dusted, cleaned out from the previous visitor. Content with his search of the room, Arnulf heads to bed, ready to sleep off his drunken stupor. The events of the day begin to catch up to him as he climbs onto the bed - before long, his body succumbs to exhaustion, and Arnulf falls asleep.

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The rogue's sleep is disturbed when knuckles rap gently on the door, pulling Arnulf out of his slumber. the drunkness had worn away, only to be replaced by alertness. His gaaze shifts to the room's sole window. The stars still hung in the sky... he had only slept for a few hours, it had seemed. The kncoking persists, Arnulf turning his gaz eo the source of the noise; the door. He quite nearly gulps as his eyes discern a single detail through the darkness - the door wad unlocked.

As if on cue, the door wings open... and the silhouetted figure of The Stealer stood in its frame.

"Hello - apologies for the intrusion." he says sincerely.

"Good to see you again, Stealer" Arnulf mumered "I guess I'm sober now, so you can tell me what do you want with me" Arnulf stood up "Sorry for bad manners, but you did surprise me, care wor a wine?"

"Ah, no thank you."

The Stealer sits down cordially, and yet, he still carries the same aura of authority, A presence that was formidable, that deserved respect.

"I just want to talk, Arnulf."

"Ok, you wouldn't mind if I take a cup" Arnulf said "All right we can talk, you're my guest , so I wouldn't mind if you start" Arnulf sensed Stealer's authority. He needed to show this man a respect he have always deserved. Enemy, but worthy enemy, strangely but i feel respect for this guy.

"Now then, Arnulf, you can probably understand my modus operandi at this point. Do it non lethally with as little people hurt as possible. I'm going to ask you a simple question, Arnulf - will you join the crossfire between The Syndicate and whatever forces that are currently sicced on me? I'm trying to harm as few people as possible here, Arnulf. make your decision."

"I have made my decision long time ago Stealer" Arnulf sighed, knowing the next words would be ones that Stealer didn't want to hear "I'll have to turn you down. I know my life's at stakes but I value my beliefs above that. You know that man who doesn't believe in something is a empty shell" Arnulf stood up "So with all that said, my answer is, no"

"Hm. Fair enough. Then we shall meet on the battlefield before long, Arnulf. I dop hope you'll be ready."

The Stealer looks Arnulf directly into the eyes - a chilling gaze that shook Arnulf to his core. This was not a man to be trifled with.

"Tell me, Arnulf... do you oppose my "quiet world" philosophy?"

"There are some things that I hold to be true, but fundamentally I dissagre with it" Arnulf tried to return the gaze but he couldn't match Stealer's steely gaze "We shall meet on the battlefield then"

"Heroica is little more then damage control, Arnulf. Call my methods what you will, but Heroica only arrives as or even after the problem occurs. Which is fair enough, I suppose. But the status quo isn't help this city - its dragging it down, deeper into the pit of despair. Only taking the offesnive can anyone truly alter Eubric for the better. The Syndicate is an organization of change, Arnulf. We're not simply propogating this city's horrid standard... we are changing it. We must make progress, or the stigma will destroy the generations to come.

Now... Today, we shall see if one man and a vision can change a city."

The Stealer stands up, gracefully walking to the door. Arnulf breathes a sigh of relief as the purple-clad man begins to exit. He opens the door, glancing back as he stands in the doorway.

"Til' we meet again."

And with that, The Stealer is gone. he closes the door and it locks behind him... The menace was gone, but his words remained. Was Heroica really just damage control? Was everything in this city just serving to maintain the status quo - was progress even possible here?

These questions plague Arnulf as he lies down, still thinking about his encounter with The Stealer...

Room 205 (Em)

Em says goodbye to the Progg larvae, the red and purple ones pikcing up their martini arguement right where they left off. Still feeling a bit tipsy from the neron's Shot he had taken, Em makes his way to the second flair. Climbing a flight of stairs to the seccond floor, he walks to the end of the hallway, finding the room number that matched the one inscribed on his key: 205. Em slots the key in and steps inside...

It was one of the nicer inn rooms Em had seen as of late. A small table sits to the left, today's issue of the Eubric times folded up neatly on it. A set of drawers lies beyond the table, made of solid oak. A gold dish for food sits atop it - as well as a bottle of wine, and a glass to pour it into. A small candle sits on an endtable, its flickering flame the only source of light in the room. Front and center stands a bed, comfy by the looks of it. The entire place had a home-like air to it.

Name: Unknown. Most call him "Em," though his real name remains largely mysterious.

Unknown age male human ranger

Level 11.5

Power: 19

Health: 16/16

Gold: 70

Equipment: Aquabow (WP: 7 *Badly Poisoned!*, Water-elemental), Ranger's Quiver (+1 WP to all Bows/Crossbows), White Marksman's Hat - (⅙ chance of Assassination vs. Flying monsters; Headwear)

Inventory: Smoke bomb, Grating Stone, Nostrum, Bedroll, Shovel, Pickaxe, Potion x5, Remedy x3, Gentleman's Hat (SP: 1, suitable for men, headgear. The wearer has a 1/2 chance to not be affected by Asleep.), Venom, Ice Bomb, Grand Potion, Bow(WP:5), Mead x2

Em briefly inspects the room, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

If he finds nothing, he curls up on the bed after blowing out the candle and attempts to slumber.

Em carefully sweeps the room for anything out of the ordinary - checking under cushions, beneath furniture, in the drawers. He finds nothing out of the ordinary, the room free of devices and the drawers empty. Content with his search of the room, Em staggers to bed, ready to sleep of the Neron's shot he had gulped down. The day had proven incredibly stressful, the ranger gladly slumping into bed. It isn't long before he drifts off into a slumber...

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Knuckles rap gently on his door, startling the ranger out of his sleep. He still felt a bit tipsy, but otheriwse up and alrt. His eys drift to the window, the constellations still hanging in the night sky... he had only slept for a few hours. Shifting his attention away from the window and to the source of noise, Em notes something very grim. The door was unlcoked. Even in his half-awake stupor, Em knew there was only few people that would come to this room this night.

As if on cue, the door swings open - and The Stealer stands in the doorway. He holds his hands up, palms forward, the universal sign of being unarmed... and yet, The Harvester is attached to his waist, pulsing gently.

"Good evening." He says politely.

"Evening," Em replies, raising an eyebrow. Unsure of what to make of the Stealer's presence, Em opened the door wide and gestured for the purple-clad man to come inside. "I can't say I didn't expect some sort of visit, but I can say I expected it to be a little more... Forceful. What brings you here?"

The Stealer takes a seat.

"I'm not usually one for force, Em. The Harvester was designed to be nonlethal, after all... I've seen too many people die, and I have no interest in contributing another corpse to Eubric's growing pile. I'm here simply to discuss, Em. if you wish to pull a bow on me, so be it, but that would be... ill advised. I'm simply trying to see how many people that I will have to hurt. I do not enjoy causing pain either, but I am more then willing to retaliate in self defense."

He sighs, and continues.

"I'm assuming that you have already sent the Town Watch to chase me down, among other groups. Now, before they come at me with torches and pitchforks, lets just have a civil chat, shall we?"

"I'm no fool; I won't draw my bow unless provoked." There was a pause.

"As far as the civil chat goes, I'd enjoy that," Em replies. He gestures to the bottle of wine on the table. "Help yourself."

Crossing his arms and leaning against the wall, Em cocks his head at the Stealer. "What is it you wish to discuss?"

Despite being in a one on one scenario, The Stealer's authoritave aura did not falter. It was a formidable presence...

"I am not one for wanton destruction, Em. I do not wish to hurt and cause pain to those I do not have to - harm only who you need to, and nothing more. Thus is my philosophy. So, I suppose the reason I am here is simple... Right now it is a new day, Em. And I feel almost certain that by this day's end, we will be on the battlfield. Will I die today? Who knows."

The Stealer gives a small shrug, eerily aloof and disconnected from the words he was saying. Most people trembled at the thought of possible death, but The Stealer seemed remarkably serene about it... It would appear the trials Olegaia gave this man desensitized him.

"Now, when we meet in the battlefield... Will you try to take my life, Em? Must I hurt you in battle, or can we both spare ourselves the pain?"

Em stood staring at the man for a long minute, questions flying through his head. Were there other options? What of the other heroes in his company? He couldn't betray them, nor could he bring himself to kill the Stealer in cold blood.

Em sighed.

"Your logic is sound," he said at last. "The other heroes in my company don't seem to fully appreciate what it is you're trying to do. Dictators and tyrants are the only people who fuel change in this world, and although your means are peaceful, the ends are similar. I have no wish to take your life. In better circumstances I might ask to join you, but the idea of betrayal doesn't sit well with my gut."

Shaking his head, Em continued. "I won't--can't-- kill you in cold blood. I can't kill you in a fair fight, either. We both know this. Assisting in killing you is no different from putting the knife in your gut myself. However, I fear it's beyond the point of choice."

"It's a shame, really. You stand for something this world needs. Order.

...But I, myself, am a fan of chaos."

Em paused for a moment, inspecting the Stealer. He really had no wish to kill the man, though if it came down to it, he would rather himself plunge the knife into the Stealer than any other. He felt he understood the man better than the other members of the party. Perhaps the understanding was mutual.

"One last thing, Stealer. I feel rude hosting a guest when we don't know eachother's name." With that, Em extends a hand. "Mortimer Mahzan, at your service."

"Very well. At the very least, we'll part not as enemies... but with some sort of understanding. more then I could ask for from some other of your cohorts, at any rate - but I bear no grudges."

The Stealer takes Em's hand and shakes it.

"Allow me to one up you, Mortimer."

The Stealer pulls back his hood, revealing the face of a 25 year old. He was young, but he had a look on his face that belonged to someone far older... He looked worn by the times, but not defeated. There was a spark of determination in his sharp blue eyes like none other.

"My name is Masson."

The Stealer pulls his hood back on.

"Now, shall I show myself out?" There was no hint of malice in his voice - he was simply asking if it was time for him to go.

Em's eyes widen slightly in surprise at the Stealer's revelation, though he quickly hides it. The man was more human than the other members in the party cared to admit.

"It does seem to be that time," Em replies courteously, bowing to Masson. "Although we are on opposite sides, I wish you luck."

The Syndicate

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor)

22 year old Human Rogue, lvl 14

Power: 20 (lvl 14 + WP: 6)

Health: 19/20

Gold: 271

Defence: 0

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Lover's Locket (Protects from enamoured effect), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear)

Inventory: Potion (2), Mead (3), Remedy (1), Venom (1), Smoke bomb (1), Telescope (1), Bedroll (1), Heirloom Dagger (WP:3), Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp) (1),, Topaz, Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Nostrum, Mulled Wine (2), Leather Armor (Bodywear, SP: 1)

Octavyn and Karie rush out of the Albatross, staging a kidnapping for the sake of Karie meeting Masson once more. They silently exhale the last bit of smoke from their lungs, fearing that coughing would alert any eventual pursuers. As the Albatross fades out of sight, a blinded Karie being guided by a sprinting Octavyn, the two duck into a vacant alley for a moment. Octavyn undoes Karie's gag, slinging his cape around his shoulders. He rolls his shoulders around a bit, getting the cape into just the right position. The Admin liked it when it billowed in the wind, even though it served absolutely no practical purpose whatsoever.

"Never a dull moment! We have about 15 seconds to catch our breaths here, before we sprint to our next location. Use the 15 seconds wisely."

Karie downs a mead and then wipes her lips.

"This takes me back. After you."

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor) *Encouraged!*

22 year old Human Rogue, lvl 14

Power: 20 (lvl 14 + WP: 6)

Health: 19/20

Gold: 271

Defence: 0

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Lover's Locket (Protects from enamoured effect), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear)

Inventory: Potion (2), Mead (2), Remedy (1), Venom (1), Smoke bomb (1), Telescope (1), Bedroll (1), Heirloom Dagger (WP:3), Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp) (1),, Topaz, Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Nostrum, Mulled Wine (2), Leather Armor (Bodywear, SP: 1)

"Ready for the literal long run?"

Octavyn holds up three gloved fingers, counting down silently so that Karie could see. As soon as his hand clenches into a fist he dashes out from the alley, moving with the same elegant speed he did in battle. Karie just barely manages to keep up, huffing and puffing all the way. The last of the stars were fading away, the sun rising in the horizon above. Their sprint weaves them through various alleys and side paths, managing to evade the eyes of civilians and town watchmen alike. The path was intricate, a route memorized by Octavyn to not only get them there quick but also keep them out of sight. After almost 15 minutes straight of sprinting, the duo seems to have reached their destination. They stand on a market street, vacant stalls lining the sides of the row. Various items were on display, but the stalls were all closed - however, they would open eventually, and thus there was no time to dawdle.

A large fountain stands in the middle of the street, humanoid statues perched from it as the water gurgles from spouts lining the fountain's inner rims. The sound was almost tranquil, and soothed the nerves of both people. Octavyn expertly jabs his corseque into the flowing blue waters, memorizing the exact position of a miniscule keyhole. His blade dislodges a thin slab of stone placed to conceal the lock, the Admin inserting his weapon into it and twisting it with a click.

"You may want to take a step or two back."

With one last twist of his Corseque part of the fountain folds inwards, the ground accompanying it folding into the hollow crevice as well. Small pebbles roll into the newly made hole - a small passage used to maintenance the fountain, by the looks of things. A ladder dangles inside the dark tunnel, the space just wide enough for the two to climb down single file.

"Down we go!"

Octavyn practically leaps down the gap, sliding down on the ladder rails into the darkness. Karie reluctantly follows suit, her mind adjusting to the darkness as she descends. Her climb seems to take an eternity... or maybe it was just the prospect of meeting Masson again.

She reaches the bottom, going into a narrow tunnel. The air was damp, and the floor slippery. Octavyn awaited her at the foot of the ladder, and so did a face Karie would never forget... The Stealer of Senses.

Octavyn and Masson converse, the purple-clad gentleman raising an eyebrow at Karie's appearance.

"We only take hostages when absolutely necessary, Octavyn."

"She isn't a hostage, sir. She came here on her own accord."

"And you're quite certain you didn't just bring her here in a twisted attempt to win the "Which color hair will The Stealer's eventual girlfriend have?" office pot?"

Octavyn snickers.

"Heh heh. No, sir. Sorry Masson, but I put my money on "Will remain single" for that one."

"Hmm." Says Masson simply, giving Octavyn a pat on the shoulder. He turns his attention to Karie.

"Ravi de vous voir, ma chérie." he says simply.

"Pas mal, mon bon monsieur."

She replies with a soft smile. She looked about.

"So... this is were you live? I expected it to be a little more... comment dites-vous, animé?"

"Just the tunnel to the actual HQ. Everyone is upstairs... and speaking of which, Octavyn?"

Octavyn gives a mock salute.

"Yes, mon capitan?"

Masson jerks his thumb towards the ladder.

"It's steak night. Get up there before the other troops take your portion by "mistake", alright?"

"Wait... Steak night...?"

Octavyn rushes to the ladder with more speed then ever, frantically climbing up the ladder to claim his dinner. Guy liked steak, it would seem.

"Shall we head up ourselves?"

"I have no clue where I'm going, so lead the way!"

The belly of the beast was just up this ladder. Karie's blood was pumping, and her nerves were on edge. If she was going to get Masson on her side, it was now or never.

Masson and Karie go to the ladder and ascend, Karie practically a bag of nerves. She was greatly concerned by whatever laid at the top of this ladder...

they reach the top, Octavyn already flinging open the door at the top of the ladder in his mad dash for meat. Masson helps his guest up out of the ladder chute, directing her through the various quarters of the Syndicate hideout. The wind through hallway after hallway, passing various rooms.

The walk pass a mess hall, about half a dozen Syndicate members indulging themselves in steak. Through the closed door they can hear the server: an elderly woman, by the sound of her voice. She seemed rather content with her current position, making small talk with the troops and graciously accepting their thanks for the meal.

"I met her at a soup kitchen and hired her," The Stealer explains. "She saw firsthand what a world filled with noise did to people, so she was happy to cater to our cause."

They walk by a few more rooms: a Training Room, where a handful of Syndicate members were sparring. They passed an armory, as well as The Stealer's own laboratory. They walk past a few small storage closets, quietly walking past the barracks. Rows of plush looking cots lined the sides, though only one Syndicate Elite was asleep at the moment. They pass a few more miscellaneous cahces of weaponry, as well as a few security checkpoints, before The Stealer reaches the room he was looking for.

"All of the HQ is free domain, except this area - I assume you want to have whatever conversation you have in mind without interruption, and this is the only place."

Karie expects the worst as The Stealer reaches for the doorknob... a war room, or perhaps a grand throne room. But she received a mixed surprise when Masson opens the door, and steps inside.

The Stealer's own chamber.

The room was sparse, incredibly so: Karie expected luxury upon luxury, but The Stealer's chamber was sparse and he had few possessions of his own. Karie recognizes the bottle of Albatross wine she had given Masson on the table, and noticed a red bottle on the edge of the table. Two stools meant for sitting sit in the room, as well as a chest meant to contain his Stealer garbs pressed against the wall. A weathered photograph is tacked near the table, and a simple bed sits in the corner.

Karie checks the bottle of wine and inspects it to see if any amount had been drunk, besides what had been during the last conversation. She then looks over the photo tacked on the wall.

"So, how long did it take you to start all this? Getting all the beds, food, sparring equipment, etc., must have been hard work."

The bottle had seemed to have one cup drunk from it since their last encounter. Masson chuckles slightly, but with no malice.

"I was abstaining until I got that bottle. Emphasis on was. One drink can't hurt during one of the more stressful periods of one's life..."

Karie looks at the photo, and chokes up. What she saw was heart wrenching:

It was a family photo, after Masson had been adopted by his aunt and uncle. A young apprentice, no older then seven, stands on the far left of the photo. He was a far cry from the twisted monster Karie met - back then, he simply looked like a happy child. Deep in poverty, but had a spark of childlike optimism and innocence nonetheless. Behind him stand a man and a woman - the Apprentice's parents, and Masson's aunt and uncle. They smile warmly at their kids, despite being garbed in tattered clothes. It was almost hard to believe those two would eventually descend into the corruption of the Wolfgang. Almost, but not quite. it had happened to Karie's own sister, as she now knew. Despite that, they looked all the world like two loving parents. Probably because they were. Perhaps saddest of all is young Masson. Not even a teenager at this point, he stands a distance away from his family. There is a smile, but he looks aloof. Even at his young age, the stains of time had already taken its toll on him. Remembering what Masson said while in the armory, he had already killed people at this point. This photo was probably one of his few bittersweet moments.

"He was so full of life back then... I was too, I suppose, compared to now. We all were." murmurs The Stealer.

"Most everyone contributed something to the Syndicate when they entered - I pretty much sank every legitimately gained gold I earned into this. A great portion of waht you see was bought legally."

"I'm... well, sorry it had to end the way it did."

Karie stares the picture over, holding her arm. She wondered how much did Kayla age after she was taken by Maxwell to live in the manor on the top of the hill. She wondered if Kayla remembered her, thought about her during the night.

"I can't remember much about my sister. My birth sister at least."

Her mind moved to Amelia, her older sister. She wondered what she was doing back in Charis. She would be twenty three by now. She wondered how Amelia thought of her, as a runaway?

Karie moves over to the chest, inspecting the outside only. It would be rude to rummage through Masson's personal belongings.

Masson holds up the red bottle. Inspecting cloesly for the first time, Karie reads the label: Anti-depressant.

"Probably one of the reasons I take these now. Too bad they don't work. Never have, and never will..."

From what Karie could tell, the chest was meant to hold Masson's clothes. Nothing too interesting about that.

"Well, it's better than the way I tried getting out of depression: Pixie Dust."

The room was humble, probably more-so than her room back at Cliff's. She put her weapons on the table and sat down on one of the stools.

"I came here to talk."

"About?"

Karie took a moment to think her words carefully.

"I take it that you know who I'm related to. Octavyn told me Ulric perverted her. Literally. People say he's helping the poor... but when Kayla and me were both in poverty, and the fact he used her like that... I just don't know. I'm lost, and I don't know where to turn, I guess. "

The Stealer grows pensive.

"Often, I think of what makes Ulric and I different... And I think I have the defining answer. Ulric rules his forces through fear. I lead The Syndicate from respect...We're more then a gorup of common thugs, Karie. We're a family.

When I lost my way - when I literally had nowhere to turn - I fought. I fought for my ideals. what I wanted to see. I wanted to see a world where people could have what I never could get if they so chose. A quiet, simple life. A childhood. I killed my first man when I was no more then six years old... I wanted nobody to endure that torment. I want to give to families what I never had. A peaceful, quiet life... I think it's something worth fighting for, Karie. It is an ideal that keeps me going."

He places a warm hand on Karie's shoulder.

"You can join our family if you so choose, Karie."

"Boomingham would probably kill me. Arnulf would too. So would Em and Arthur."

Karie reached back, uncorked the wine and slugged it back.

"Avenge my sister. Kill Ulric. Get at shot at getting even with Patricia, preferably not murder, murder's a little harsh."

She fiddled with the bottle. Masson was giving his hand out to her, a hand that needed support just as much as she did.

"Worst comes to worst, I could just say I was hit by the Harvester."

She looked at her reflection in the bottle. Was she as horrible as her sister if she agreed?

"I'd be playing devil's advocate. I disagreed with everything you've said until now. After what happened to Kayla, I can't let what happened to her happen to anyone else. It could have happened to me had it not been for Maxwell back in the Hovels nineteen years ago."

Could she turn back after this? She sat for a moment. A quiet world. With the extermination of Ulric, crime would slump, and Patricia would be left to find some other position. The corruption of the town watch would end, and she'd have her peace. And should trouble arise, the Syndicate could take care of it easily.

"What color do the garbs come in? I'm thinking blue."

Masson removes his hood,choosing to address Karie face to face for this. The slightest smile tugs at his lips. It was the first time Karie had seen anything like that on The Stealer's worn features. He lays a hand on Karie's shoulder, giving her a kiss on the cheek - and Karie knew there was nothing malicious in the gesture. Both parties blush, Masson only for a split second. He takes Karie by the hand and helps her up.

"Welcome to The Syndicate, Karie."

"Now then... lets get your garbs chosen, and you can join the rest of us for a meal. Blue is fine with me, though if you want to incorporate your Catsuit into your outfit, feel free."

"I'll probably wrap it around my waist, like right now, and then wear the grabs over it. No need to make myself known!"

Masson wasn't the monster she thought he was. He was a man with admirable goals in a city that needed them. She was still wary of the Harvester, but not of Masson. She reaches her hand out and gets up. The feelings of affection might not have been mutual, but at least he was something Karie didn't have enough of: a friend.

"Thanks! I guess I should get changed. Someplace private."

She blushed a little. Perhaps things would turn out alright.

"The rest of the crew, Boomingham, Arthur, Arnulf and Em, they're going to come after me, and you. They're probably interrogating the informant right now."

"Right now, they're coming for us for different reasons... Though I have no doubt they are interrogating Nevron right now.

Bathroom is to the left of the barracks, if you want to use that."

"Sure thing. I'll be back shortly."

Karie gently grabbed the garbs off of Masson and walked down the hall, trying to find the washroom. After a few minutes of searching, she comes across it, and steps inside. She locks the door, a little jittery. She had no clue what she was going to do once she met the Stealer, but now she had a plan. Masson's goal was Karie's goal. Ulric destroyed both of their lives in someway, and together they'd do him in.

She begins to change and looks over her new uniform. The mesh mask of doom! It was certainly imposing. She wrapped the catsuit around her waist, and then began to put her new uniform on, putting her casual attire back in the bag she had put it in earlier.

This seems to be a common theme going on lately.

There was no need to put the white face paint on, it wouldn't be necessary. For kicks she put the hood on just to see how well it hid her face. She could see rather well... but it was rather hot. The Stealer must have been doing this for a while to tolerate such heat. She then peaks out of the washroom and takes the hood off. She walks back to Masson's room and knocks.

"So, you like? I would of gone with red, but that seemed too obvious."

Masson gives Karie the thumbs-up.

"Looks good - I think you might be our only bright blue member. Anything else you want to know about how the HQ operates before we head to the Mess Hall?"

"No, no. I think I understand everything."

Karie was unsure of what would happen when the rest of her former party came to rescue her. Death was possible. So was salvation with the Syndicate.

"After you!"

The two Syndicate members begin their stroll to the Mess Hall. Masson brings something up that was niggling in the back of his mind:

"Karie... I believe you mentioned you could just pass off your new garbs by saying you were under The harvester's influence? That may set you back to square one... and that point, you'd have no choice but to join the heroes in my assassination.

And I hope it doesn't have to come to that."

The conversation is cut short when the two reach the Mess Hall door. The duo walk in, a few eyebrows being raised over Karie's new suit.

The Stealer takes his seat, only one remaining vacant. Karie recognizes a few people amongst the crowd: the Bomber who had been in the armory, as well as Octavyn, of course. The had donned their masks once more, apparently done with their meal. They give their compliments to the chef, an elderly woman who had a biggger streetwise spark in her eyes then some heroes. Nonetheless, she seems as kind as can be.

"You never fail to please, Charity!"

"Agreed - I couldn't take another bite, you made so much!"

"Mess hall has been a whole lot better since you came on board."

"Couldn't say it better, friend."

The bomber still seems to be snarfing down the last few bites.

"Ffdelficious!"

"Thank you, dears."

"Steak came out good tonight, I take it, Charity? Got any left for us?"

"Of course, Masson! Two more steaks, coming up."

She heads back, meticulously preparing more food. The attention focuses back to the newbie.

"Soooo... Welcome to the club, Karie!"

"Well, thanks for taking me! It seems that for the time being Masson's goals and mine are overlapping. Despite the previous hostility, I'm thankful you've allowed me into your fold!"

Karie smiles slightly. Back into a fold of people who were less than well-publicized by the authorities. The club could contend, but her pickpocketing days saw more shifty alliances then she could remember.

"I'm curious how long your organization's been around. A few months, a year? It can't have been that long? You don't mind if I sit, do you, or do I have to commit to some initiation ritual?"

Karie chuckled. The night club initiated her into their fold by pouring champagne over her after the show, and then had one huge party backstage. She could still remember seeing the Emcee, smoking his cigar through the smoky air, nodding and smiling in the armchair, a glint of curiosity in his eyes.

"4 months, thus far."

"And what a four months it has been. No fancy ritual or sacrifice to the blood gods - just take a seat. Charity should be down with the food soon."

Karie pulls up a seat and sits by Masson.

"Masson, for a group like yours, you certainly have a lot of supplies. Such a large operation must take more than a pretty penny to operate. I'm curious as to how you acquire so much food and supplies?"

There was a sense of inquisitiveness and curiosity in her voice. She was rather intrigued about how the whole Syndicate ran, and got it's supplies.

"You'd be amazed how much the Wolfgang hoards, both in terms of gold and supplies. After we persuade the people in a Wolfgang establishment, we typically make off with whatever they have. About a thrid of the gold and half of the food gets distributed around the hovels, and the rest is used to build this place up. This was a maitnenance warehouse before The Syndicate moved in, so we recieved plenty of toools and supplies from the get go there, as well.

"Well, it's certainly effective! I suppose stealing off of people who most likely originally stole their goods is one way to go about doing things. It's good to know some of the loot is going to a good cause."

She chuckled. She hadn't felt this wrapped up in things in ages. Her mind lingered onto a more pressing matter.

"Does this place have a back door, an escape route so to speak if the base's location was ever compromised?"

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor) *Encouraged!*

22 year old Human Rogue, lvl 14

Power: 20 (lvl 14 + WP: 6)

Health: 19/20

Gold: 271

Defence: 0

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Lover's Locket (Protects from enamoured effect), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear)

Inventory: Potion (2), Mead (2), Remedy (1), Venom (1), Smoke bomb (1), Telescope (1), Bedroll (1), Heirloom Dagger (WP:3), Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp) (1),, Topaz, Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Nostrum, Mulled Wine (2), Leather Armor (Bodywear, SP: 1)

"We've managed to claim one little section of the Sewer from the Wolfgang, and I fiddled with the portcullises down there so they'd never open again. We have one small sewer route to escape - it links off from my laboratory."

At that moment, Charity comes in with two steaming hot plates of steak. She sets them down in front of Masson and Karie.

"Fresh off the fire! Eat up.

And what is your name, dear? Always nice to see new faces in the Syndicate."

Karie smiles as the plate is set in front of her. She hadn't eaten in a while.

"You must be Charity? I've heard so much about you. The name's Karie. Karie Alderflask. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Karie begins to eat her meal.

"Hope you enjoy your time in The Syndicate's company, Karie. I'm always willing to cook up a hot meal for an organization that is doing something for Eubric!"

Masson and Karie begin to eat up, a few of the Syndicate members requesting seconds. Of course, they reiceved them in record time. Masson continues to eat, seemingly getting ready for something.

"Uh oh," whsipers a Syndicate Elite to Karie. "He's putting on that serious face again. This was probably the happiest I've seen the boss... ever, really. Wonder if you have anything to do with it?" suggests the Elite with a slight smile.

"Knew I should've bet on redheaded..." mumbles another.

Masson wipes a bit of barbeque off of his face, and stands.

"Okay, Syndicate members, small briefing while we indulge ourselves. We're actually expecting two visitors tonight - two parties of them, at any rate. First is the obvious one: the heroes of Heroica. They got a hold of Nevron after Octavyn was defeated -"

Octavyn chuckles ruefully.

"I'm... just going to blot that incident from my mind for the time being..."

" - So they are likely en route."

"Is this automaton ready for them, sir?"

"Yes. A few, actually. I managed to finish Magnus from the oboslete Ji Pei parts we intercepted. Really not that useless if you know what you're doing. At any rate, the automaton is fully operational, and should provide a good roadblock while we lock up most of the HQ. I don't want them meandering around our halls, taking our valuable supplies. That is a priorty. Heroes have been known to absolutely ludicrous amounts of gear, and many of it tends to be explosive. we have plenty of things that could ignite in this base, and I'd like it if this place didn't burn down to the ground."

Octavyn takes a sip from his mug.

"And the second group?"

"I sent a hostage note to Wolfgang lietunant Briar, baiting him here with the idea of Wolfgang captives. Since the passing of the Wolfgang generals -"

Masson casts a fleeting glance towards Karie, knowing who her sister was.

"He ha sbeen power hungry. Of course, we don't have any Wolfgang captives. but it is good that he thinks that. I expect him to bring a few of his lackeyes, despite being instructed to come on his own. I suspect tha the won't be easily persuaded to our cause, but we should be able to dispatch him easily. Even if he was to come at the same time as the heroes, the two groups would probably weaken eachother up. Briar is not a no-ranker - if we can get a direct siphon into the Wolfgang, it'll strengthen our cause.

Any questions?"

"As far as I'm concerned, it's laid out clear as crystal. However, we will be using Exterlate to remove the Heroica members memory of this place if they so lose, yes? I don't think killing them is beneficial to anything."

Despite backing the opposite side, Karie didn't want harm to come to the rest of her former party members. If things turned sour, would they kill her? Masson's statement about not having captives felt a little wrong, since they did, but they were better here than on the streets hurting others. Would she even be admitted back to Heroica after this?

"That is the plan, yes. The Syndicate doesn't kill - merely incapacitate and sned them home with the last week or so muddled afterwards. Killing them would achieve less then nothing... I have no need nor desire to add to Eubric's body count."

The Stealer quiets down a moment, before continuing gently.

"Perhaps you should accompany the automaton, Karie. You may be able to defuse the situation before it begins... Seeing you in the Syndicate garbs should atleast have some impact."

"Sure thing. Where is the automaton being positioned?"

Karie cleared her throat. She may need to use a different voice. Something a little more masculine.

"Just outside the anteroom where you enter. You'll have the assistance of a few other Syndicate members as well. I expect that they will enter shortly..."

Karie finished her plate, scrapped of crumb and morsel. She wiped her face with her napkin, and looked up at Charity.

"Excellent, Charity! I must say, it was very filling!"

She turned around to Masson, cup in hand.

"Would you like to give a toast? Something to rally the troops beffore we go into combat, Masson?"

Karie grinned at Masson. The Syndicate was growing on Karie. Ulric would soon be dead, and Masson and herself, as well as everyone else here, would find peace.

"Any time, dear."

Masson smiles back at Karie.

"Yes, lets."

Masson raises his mug

"To a quiet world."

"To a quiet world."

"To a quiet world."

"To a quiet world."

"To a quiet world."

"To a quiet world."

They clink glasses, Octavyn narrating the sound effect out of obligation.

"Clink."

They drink up, Masson rising from his seat. As the silver-cald elite eloquently put: "he has that serious face on again."

With the toast completed, Karie feels completely like she is part of The Syndicate. This was an experience she'd never forget.

Karie Alderflask (Played by Kintobor) *Encouraged!*

22 year old Human Rogue, lvl 14.5

Power: 20 (lvl 14 + WP: 6)

Health: 19/20

Gold: 271

Defence: 0

Equipment: Sexy (WP: 6, Rapier, Disregards SP, usable by Knights and Rogues), Lover's Locket (Protects from enamoured effect), Catsuit (Wearer has 1/3 chance to completely avoid rolls of COUNTER and DAMAGE and Free Hits; suitable to women only; bodywear)

Inventory: Potion (2), Mead (2), Remedy (1), Venom (1), Smoke bomb (1), Telescope (1), Bedroll (1), Heirloom Dagger (WP:3), Map of Brendenton (1), Spider Coin (worth 1 gp) (1),, Topaz, Scroll of Newtity (costs 10 ether)(usable by ex-Amphibians only), Ethereal Cloak (SP +2, Max. Ether +4), Nostrum, Mulled Wine (2), Leather Armor (Bodywear, SP: 1)

QM Note: Most QMs give full levels for roleplaying, not half, so consider this the second part of your reward.

Masson begins his spiel.

"Okay, so let us prepare. Octavyn, you take the two Phalanx troops to the Training Room for last minute exercises. Lock up when you're done, and rendezvous with me."

"Gotcha, boss."

The two Elites - the Phalanx troops, apparently - are a bit more respectful to their superior officer, bowing their heads slightly.

"Understood, sir."

"Affirmative."

The three exit the room, giving their last few compliments to the chef before walking out the door.

"I'll get the automatons up and running. You four, you'll be deployed alongside them - head to the anteroom I spoke of earlier. It'll only take about 10 minutes to get the automatons operational, so I'd advise going now."

Karie looks at the crew of Syndicate members she'd be fighting alongside -a cleric, a duelist of some sort, and the bomber they had encountered in the armory. They all rise from their seats, heading out the door.

"Best of luck, you four."

With Masson's parting remark, the squadron begins their walk through the HQ's twisting hallways. Karie doesn't have the layout down pat quite yet, instead playing follow-the-leader. The cleric seems to be at the front of the line, guiding the group through the HQ with ease. They make small talk as they walk.

"So, it's Karie, correct? Enjoying the Syndicate thus far?"

"I think I actually saw the boss smile. History in the making."

"Yeah, the boss is usually a bit aloof. This is the happiest I've seen him... ever, really. And you seem to be the cause, at any rate. All I know is that the office pot has been in turmoil since you arrived, heh."

The cleric laughs softly, but there is no malice.

"To a quiet world."

She clinked her glass with the other men as she took a sip afterwards.

Karie smiles at Masson as she rises from her seat. She thanks Charity for the meal as she walks with the group to the anteroom, trying to get her hood on properly.

"Yeah, that's me! It's a nice place you got here. Working facilities, beds, an excellent cook. The only thing that's missing is the scenic lakeside view."

Karie chuckled to herself. It was a little claustrophobic down here, but it was better than the streets she'd lived on before. She felt uneasy being with the Wolfgang bomber who she fought earlier.

"Well, I guess it's good to see Masson in better spirits. He's gone through a lot it seems. Perhaps he needed someone to talk to. I guess I did too."

Perhaps there was feelings for Masson. They had very similar backgrounds, and they did seem to get along. Would it last though was the question on her mind, as well as her previous quest-mates reactions to her new garbs. They probably thought she was kidnapped, being interrogated for information. She began to limber up and mask her voice. Theatre was her former occupation after all.

"Sorry, just trying to change my voice a little." Karie said in a more boyish voice. Hints of her voice were present, but heavily disguised.

"Unfortunately, a view like that would also be a gaping security hole..."

"Sorry, just trying to change my voice a little." Karie said in a more boyish voice. Hints of her voice were present, but heavily disguised.

"Not bad. If you can hit every note on the scale in your new voice, then that usually means it is good to go."

"Thanks."

Karie followed the crew through the hideout, finally getting the hood on. It would probably turn into an oven soon, considering how hot it was.

QM Note: That's a wrap!

Edited July 9, 2013 by Endgame