GM: Adam
Players: Dalton
Synopsis: Dalton is approached by a group of people that present a briefcase and a key to him. Taking the key posesses him with an entity that presents him with the role of a 'Harrier' in the Fortunates Game. His role and rules are explained as the first of the Games starts, a credstick in the Warrens up for grabs.
Date: 03/30/2070
Its 10 pm, do you know where your children are? Well, they are certainly not at Princess Di Park in the warrens, the place is just a spot for gangers to deal drugs, homless people to hide out, and the general scum of society to do business. Dalton, at this time of night, has taken it upon himself to monitor the park. He sits crouched on a roof with a good view of the park, using binoculars to scan through the park for any sign of activity he can interfer in, ruining drug deals or shady dealings is all part of his grand plan to actually try to make the park useful for good people. So far, he has stopped two drug deals tonight by simply stunbolting the men involved, he continues to watch for more targets under the concealment of his City Spirit.
For a moment the hair stands on the end of Dalton's neck as 'something' comes. The city spirit— it looks to Dalton and simply vanishes into a cheap of trash nearby him— without a word or reason of explaination for the dismissal/banishment.
On the four corners of the roof, fire erupts like pyres of old— marking this otherwise disfunctional building as sacred. The pyres— they have eyes— they have arms.
From behind Dalton, three people— three figures— wearing black milspec armor— stand. They show no aggression. The 'pyres' also do not swoop in, although it is clear all of them could have. One of the armored men holds a briefcase made of black leather.
Being magically enhanced in the reflexes department has its disavantages, you tend to react too quickly. At the dismissal of the spirit, Dalton is already turning around as the fires erupt. His aura pulses as he draws in mana energy to shape into an attack spell, but at the last instant he holds off, clearly seeing he is outnumbered and outclassed. He releases the mana energy slowly, letting it ebb back into the astral realm, then simply waits to see whats going to happen, he does in fact shift his magic to the defensive, ready to move should a spell come his way.
There is a quiet— almost awkward silence between the group and Dalton.
After letting dust settle— the one armored man with the briefcase steps forward. He goes halfway of the distance to the other man— places the briefcase on the ground— and backpedals to where he was previously. They all watch him intently.
Dalton slowly reaches out a hand to point at the case, as he does, he channels mana energy into the levitate spell to lift the case off the roof, and shake it first, its a bit elaborate to be a bomb, but paranoia rarely hurt anyone. He wishes he had magic fingers to open the case, but after the levitate inspection, he moves the case over to his position, setting it on the rooftop at his feet.
The case levitates with ease— and does not go 'Boom' by any means. The three armored men and four fiery pyres continue to watch him as silent observers.
As the case settles on the ground at his feet, Dalton reaches out a gloved hand to try to open it, waiting to see whats the contents of the case might be.
The case, not locked, opens to a single key inside of it. It looks like a tumbler's key of old, only the teeth are replaced with a blank's boxy rectangle. The head of the key is red.
Dalton reaches a gloved hand down to pick up the key and look over it closely. He looks to the figures, then puts the key in a secure pocket of his clothing, he runs a hand through the inside of the case, just in case something else is in there like a tracking device or anything of the sort.
The key burns in Dalton's hand. He finds that he can not release it into his pocket. The fire spreads, like a poison, through his arm, towards his chest— and eventually his entire body as if he was being immolated.
Pain, its a sensation that Dalton has felt before, and he really thought he had a good idea of the limits a human can endure, unfortunately he was wrong, his teacher must have been holding back when she would cast the agony spell on him, because this was unbearable. He cannot even scream, his body burns, his muscles tense to the point they almost snap inside his arms, and his body jerks as he falls to his knees, then face forward onto the rooftop, finally he manages to scream out, a hoarse shout that dies quickly as his brain no longer able to cope with the pain simply pushes him into unconsiousness.
The world is black for a moment. It sounds as if someone is talking to him, but it is impossible to make out the words. It just sounds like faint murmuring. The sleep cools the heat of the pain. But like all rests, it comes to an end.
When Dalton's eyes finally open back up, things were just as he left them. The three armored figures are standing there— only they are kneeling before him like soldiers. They watch him diligently. The pyres do as well.
The sensations return to Dalton quickly, one moment he was on fire, then next blissful slumber, and now awareness. He stirs, moving to his feet, but something is wrong. He looks down at himself, his clothing gone but in its place a black shell of sorts encases his form, he feels the extra energy imbuded in him, and quickly begins to panic in his mind, no, no, something has possessed me? Am I alone in my own body? He does what he can to try to discover if he is truely still himself.
Telepathically something speaks in his head. Something familiar. Something not his own. (( Greetings, Harrier. ))
Something familiar? What would be familar about a voice in his head, he begins to think in response to the voice ((What has happened to me?))
(( You have become a Harrier, Harrier. )) the voice responds. Its hard to put a finger on it. Its as if one was PABed and heard the voice of thier father after the fact. (( A Harrier in the Shadows of Fortune. Your role is fleeting, but vital. It has rules. I am your guide. ))
Dalton brow tries to furrow in thought, not sure what he has suddenly gotton himself into, but he seems to have no option but to play along ((What rules, and what am I required to do, and will I be returned to myself once I've done what you want?))
(( One thing at a time, Harrier. )) says the voice as the Shadowlands is updated with an entry from The Fortuantes. (( First, of your role. You are a Harrier. A Harrier's role is to deter the Players as they achieve thier goal. You must sow mistrust in solid Teamwork. You must draw out incompetance in otherwise solid Professionalism. You must dampen the brightest of Style. )) There is a pause. (( For each point you deter. You, in turn, shall profit. ))
Dalton thinks over the request, and the job description, he guesses the players will be shadowrunners from the information given to him about these fortunates, and he is unsure if his role as thier antagonizer will be one he can ever recover from, he thinks over his options, but finds he can do little since he went and picked up that key, curiosity most likely has gotton him killed. ((Alright, how am I supposed to do these things? I can't exactly blend into the crowd like this.)) he has a few ideas, physical mask might be of use, but he really wishes he had learned the influence spell sooner.
(( Your identity is sealed. Simply request a form— and I shall grant. )) the voice says (( There are rules. To start— you may not kill the Players. Likewise, they may not kill you. With each Event— you will be informed with what resources you will be provided to accomplish your task— and only for the duration of that event. ))
Dalton seems to nod to this ((What about using my own abilities, my spells and spirits, is that allowed? Or am I limited to what you can provide for me?))
(( Your natural talents are available to you. )) the voice says (( If there are restrictions to them, you will be informed. For the most part— you'll find yourself greatly enhanced— but to the extent violates the rules for me to inform you. ))
A few moments of thought to himself, or so he hopes, and he is glad that there is a no killing clause on this contract ((Alright, when do I begin this job?))
The voice says (( Immediately. The first event has been decided. )) In his mind the trix post from Spiritual Fortunate appears briefly.
Dalton tries to reach for his pocsec, then wonders if he can grab something like that ((How do I track those coordinates?))
Dalton pulls out his pocsec, inputs the coordinates into google maps, and trys to find out where in the warrens this address is.
(( I believe that you can handle without my guidance, Harrier. )) the voice says as the coordinates show that is not more than a few blocks away from his current position.
Dalton nods ((What rules do I have to follow? I assume its prevent any group from getting the credstick. Care to be more specific on my tasks?)) With that said though, he quickly casts a levitate spell and begins to fly towards the target location.
(( I can not be more detailed. )) He goes on to recite: A Harrier's role is to deter the Players as they achieve thier goal. You must sow mistrust in solid Teamwork. You must draw out incompetance in otherwise solid Professionalism. You must dampen the brightest of Style.
Dalton grumbles as he flys across the rooftops, staying close to get some cover from being spotted from the ground. As he arrives at the spot, he begins scanning the alleys for the trashcan and credstick.
There is most definately an easy way to find it. There is a small crowd in an alleyway as you get closer to the coordiantes.
Dalton quickly lands on the roof above the alleyway, then begins to conjure a city spirit, a black hood and cloak cover his features, the cloak blowing as if caught in a wind, its all very dramatic.
«Auto-Judge[TRUE]» Baron (#3002) rolls 6 (Conjuring) + 2 (Totem) vs TN 6 for "Summoning F5 City Spirit, +1 BG count.":
2 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 = 0 Successes
«Auto-Judge[TRUE]» Baron (#3002) rolls 6 (Conjuring) + 2 (Totem) vs TN 6 for "Summoning F5 City Spirit, +1 BG count. KP:1":
1 2 4 4 4 5 5 10 = 1 Success
«Auto-Judge[TRUE]» Baron (#3002) rolls 10 (Charisma tattoo bonus) vs TN 5 for "Resisting 5L drain":
1 1 1 3 5 8 8 9 11 11 = 6 Successes
Below is the credstick on the trashcan lid. Every now and then someone goes to grab the credstick— but it slips just out of thier reach. They get frustrated and lunge after it— chase it even, but no one can grab it. It always returns back to the trashcan lid. Its a lot like magnets.
Dalton quickly orders his city spirit once it arrives to descend into the alley and confuse everyone that is in the alley except for himself. Then he starts watching the group, picks one of the most capible seeming people, and casts invisibility on them.
«Auto-Judge[TRUE]» Baron (#3002) rolls 7 (Sorcery) + 7 (Spell Pool) vs TN 5 for "Base TN 4 +1 BG count. Improved Invis":
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 4 5 5 5 5 5 8 = 6 Successes
«Auto-Judge[TRUE]» Baron (#3002) rolls 8 (Willpower) vs TN 3 for "Resist M stun":
2 2 4 4 4 5 5 10 = 6 Successes
The amassed stumbel around aimlessly into the streets and around the Warrens. Its like watching a drunken party. And, of course, one just disappears.
Dalton continues to toy with the people, he uses mindprobe on one fellow that looks like he might not belong in the warrens, reads the mans mind and gets his information and cell phone number, then calls the guy pretending to be someone he knows and tells him he is fired. Its about as creative as Dalton can get at the moment, he really wishes he had learned more spells.
Its mass hysteria! Soon dogs and cats will get along and it'll rain ori! No its just a scene of a lot of confusion and no one seems capible of getting the credstick.
Dalton continues to try the mind probe tactic, he searches various minds for signs that they came there with a partner, and once he finds one that fits, he requests to change into the form of the partner, then he goes invisible, levitates down, and joins in the chaos. Moving over to the man that he is supposed to be partnered with once he becomes visible again "Man, leave it, leave the stick, you run, go for help, I'll stay here and watch to make sure no one else gets it." he licks his lips, turning to stare hard at the credstick.
And the poor sod goes off into the night, trying to find a way to get some easy cash while leaving his partner to watch the money.
Dalton, switches forms again, this time to the guy he just sent home. He looks for the partner he impersonated and moves over to the fella "Hey, get out of here, I'll watch the stick, you go get help."
And the OTHER poor sod goes off into the night, trying to find a way to get some easy cash while leaving his partner to watch the money.
Dalton shakes his head, well, that ought to get those two into an argument when next they meet. He looks around, trying to figure out some way to cause chaos here, according to his instructions. Perhaps someone in the alley stands out as a potential target.
Its odd— but no one stands out. Its like going to a party and something is inherently missing. Its lacking. There is plenty of chaos— but it looks like the denizens are moving about aimlessly. The internal 'guide' is notably silent.
Dalton backs off to a corner of the alley, shaking his head ((These guys are amatures, no one has the strength to get past the confusion. Am I supposed to work on just these guys?))
(( You are suppost to work on Players. )) the voice says (( None of these people here are Players. ))
Dalton frowns ((Alright, well, will you let me know when a player arrives?))
(( Indeed I can. ))
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