Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

"Standard Party"

2 (22.2%)

"Don"

1 (11.1%)

"Hybrid"

6 (66.7%)

Total Members Voted: 9

[Stirk]

Huw smiles.

"You won't regret it, Greid. I'll bring the boys in, and it'll be like we were never here."

Bring my people in, and get them set up in the basement, along with whatever equipment we have. If we have a still, start brewing, and set up a lookout outside the building.

Your people begin pouring in with all the subtly you could expect from Dwarves transferring weapons, brewery equipment, and otherwise useful items into a basement. They managed to get not caught, with nobody who wasn't a dwarf noticing your movements at all. It is, of course, enough for poor Greid to take a deep drink of a large flask while sighing something that was no doubt supportive.

As your men start making themselves comfortable in the new base, they start up the copper stills as several go on lookout with weapons hidden under their outfits.

One of the men from the stills approaches you. He informs you that, while most of the equipment has gotten here safely, something seems to have gone wrong. They do not have anything to distill, stating that your ingredients seem to have gone missing. He mentions that it is possible they where stolen during the confusion of the transfer.

*****

Rokha thumbed through the notebook Vance had given her. The rumours were all standard stuff, not related to her. Maybe she could look into the rumours of a secret organisation, but for all she knew whoever looked into it could end up at the bottom of a river faster than you can say 'political espionage', and throwing away lives wasn't her thing.
Of course, that wasn't to say dangerous business wasn't afoot. Standing in the middle of the human district as her various gang members came over to her one by one to begin with, but what was more dangerous was looking for some sort of permanent dwelling. Meeting from all over the city was good for staying hidden but they needed somewhere, a base of sorts. Of course, the dangerous part was not merely looking for one, but then gaining access to it. She had most of the others working on that at the time, while Vance had gone back to his own house and a few members were taking a rest after several consecutive days of collecting payments from (and paying some debts to) clients.
The first few members return with whatever findings they have as to a hideout or, for that matter, a safe meeting place for the Circle.
What do they have to say?

One member walks up to you, speaking from beneath his gas mask.
"I have found something we can use as a mobile base. A group of Orcish Nomads is settling down in Lorraine, and are looking to sell their fleet of RV-trucks and Travel Trailers for cheap. They are sturdy, large, Orcish design, we shouldn't have a problem fighting inside of them and they are large enough to be comfortable. But I am afraid the noise they make when moving is unsubtle, even with constant motion we would be easy to notice even in Orcish territory."

Another member reports his findings:
"I have found a wonderful place for a secretive hive. There is an abandoned water-tower twice the size of a house over in one of the Animal-men ghettos. It seems to have been used to supply 'lizard men' with their beloved water before excess water usage was outlawed and such public displays where removed. It will no doubt be difficult to find us there, and we can fit all our equipment in it with little trouble. I do fear that it only has one entrance, and its walls are not combat grade. If we are put on the defense there, we may be in trouble.

The next one comes in, removing her gasmask before stating "I too, have found a potential meeting ground. A small distance outside of the Elf territories, there is a grove of trees in a kind of park that the Elves now seem to ignore. It contains a group of proud and mighty trees and is incredibly thick, as the life giving soul effects everything around here. I believe this would be an excellent meeting spot, so long as we don't over use it, we can plan right under their noses. No doubt this miniature forest is secretive, and allows us to escape or defend ourselves as necessary. But I do not know why it is abandoned, and it is quite close to elf territories. If we where discovered, we could have a powerful ambush waiting for us."

[Playergamer]

"You mean stolen by one of our men, or someone else?"

Either way, Huw has a few men start looking for the thief. He also sends a few men out to buy more supplies, so they can start brewing ASAP.

[SaberToothTiger]

Hmm... I could use that underground room as a place for a still. Then again, the church is a nice and large place to live, and it isn't overly conspicuous
either.

Tell some of my men to clear do that raid, while ordering the others to change the church into a base of operations.

Also, try to arrange for another batch of booze to be smuggled in.

[Stirk]

"You mean stolen by one of our men, or someone else?"

Either way, Huw has a few men start looking for the thief. He also sends a few men out to buy more supplies, so they can start brewing ASAP.

"Probably someone else, sir. I don't know any one of us who would steal potatoes or corn at this point. Probably some street rats took it when nobody was looking. We will get right on it."

Your men quickly go out to market, and return with some decent Lorraine grown ingredients. They put the yeast and ingredients into several jugs and put them around the still, waiting for them to ferment. They inform you that under normal circumstances it could take a week to make, but they suspect that in Lorraine it will take half as long.

Some of your men investigate around the areas the ingredients could have been stolen in, following the route. Potential witnesses aren't willing to say anything, fearing your men may be undercover cops, and there are no hints about who could have done it. They return later, empty handed.

(Aaaaand now I have various moonshine making websites on my search history just to find out how long it takes  . If I ever get arrested, my search history will probably not help whatever my case is  )

****

Hmm... I could use that underground room as a place for a still. Then again, the church is a nice and large place to live, and it isn't overly conspicuous
either.

Tell some of my men to clear do that raid, while ordering the others to change the church into a base of operations.

Also, try to arrange for another batch of booze to be smuggled in.

Your men begin moving equipment into the church with no troubles, though they tell you the Church will need to be repaired to it to be of any real use. They try to do some repairs themselves, but do so unimpressive. They manage to move most of the small equipment in good hiding places, but leave the large equipment until they can be sure nobody can see through one of the massive holes in the building and ruin their secrecy.

Would you like to order some of your men to smuggle it in, sending them to far off cities (taking some time) or to arrange something with locals?

Your men wait until nightfall to perform the assault. They move together as a group, heading toward the mansion on the gas-lantern lit streets among the other denizens of the night. They hop the fence one after another, weapons still hidden, as the approach the door. One man opens it effortlessly, his companions rushing in as he holds it ajar. It seems they entered in the kitchen. Several men begin quietly opening the drawers, pulling out brilliantly crafted silver silverware that no doubt costs a great amount, dumping what they find into potato sacks as they try their best to keep quite. The rest of the men pour into the next room, which is still dark. It seems to be the living room, with a giant staircase likely leading your men to their goal. They hear a sound, and the leader makes a hand motion ordering the rest to hide. The men scatter well, taking up positions where they would be unnoticed by casual observers in an instant.

There is the sound of a key turning a lock at the front door, before it opens. A dark figuring wearing a maid uniform walks in, humming softly to herself. She flicks on the light, then flicks it off, three times before settling for on. She turns around to lock the door when the leader makes his move, jumping from his hiding place with a knife. He puts his left hand over her mouth, and the knife over the young elf's neck. He whispers "Don't make a sound. Do as you are told.....!!!"

Suddenly, there is the sound of glass shattering in the room. Two guards came crashing in through the window, with sub-machine guns. Your men reach for their own weapons, preparing to return fire, but the guards lay down an impressive stream of suppressive fire forcing them to keep their heads down. More security guards come in after them from the same entrance, with shotguns and rifles, to the point where they outnumbered the raiding party in the room. Your men began to crawl towards the back or otherwise get out of there as quickly as possible, the first warning the others that the mission has been blown. The leader, most surprised of them all, tries backing up while keeping his hostage. Before he can shout orders to the attacking guards, the wind is knocked out of him! The elf girl pulled her elbow back with an impossible strength, likely enhanced my magic, crashing into his ribs like a warhammer. He is knocked to the ground without a chance at even using his knife, clutching the bruised wound. The elf maid then pulls out a autoloading handgun and points it as his head. "Don't make a sound. Do as you are told..."

Meanwhile, the rest of your men rushed out the back. Some police officers had already shown up, but where arriving through the front where the gunfire was coming from. Your men manage to escape to the streets, where they dissipated into the crowd as they rushed away. The "loot" party even managed to keep a hold of what they had gotten this far. It wasn't a fortune, but it was probably worth an impressive sum. The elves had some high quality champagne lying nearby in addition to the silverware, though not much else could be found in the kitchen.

Result: Failure
Loot: Silverware (14), Lorain Champagne (4)
Heat up
One man arrested

[Playergamer]

Huw decides to let the theft go, for now. After all, it's just corn and potatoes. He sends a few of his men out into the District, looking for anything of note. Elvish patrol routes, rival gangs, any info that would be useful.

[SaberToothTiger]

((Could you post the rolls in the turns, please?))

Send my men to other cities, to smuggle in meat and alcohol. Hide the loot in a safe location near the church, order repairing the church walls. Look for some sort of a rich dwarf.

[Adragis]

Rokha thinks for a momen,  then broadcasts. Right, we'll take our chances with the place near the elvish district. Carshe, you and Vincent go out and tell anyone who's at their homes that we've found a meeting place. Laele, you show me where you've found. We'll give the others directions soon. And by the way, everyone, keep your masks off when we're not on a run, please. They only make us more conspicuous.
In essence, the two who kept their masks on inform the gang of the choice, Laele (the one who took her mask off) show me where she means. Everyone keeps masks off now unless told to wear them.

[Stirk]

Huw decides to let the theft go, for now. After all, it's just corn and potatoes. He sends a few of his men out into the District, looking for anything of note. Elvish patrol routes, rival gangs, any info that would be useful.

Your men perform a quick scout of the area. They report that many places are completely saturated with rival gangs, almost every dwarf has some form of contact with one and is semi-willing to report rumors about them. From what they can tell of the patrols, no elves willingly step into the district without an absurd amount of backup. The patrols seem to be made up of non-dwarf guards, typically Orcs and humans, who seem to be paranoid enough to change their patrol from day to day. Your men also find a few speakeasies that where scarcely hidden, and the location of a "grey" marketplace filled with normal-looking stalls selling some useful equipment. They continue to get information on it, discovering that its location continuously moves and changes shape to avoid capture. The merchants mention you can sell things here as well, for a somewhat low price (as they have to resell it themselves, after all) but without the risks normally involved with selling illegal goods. They mention that you can even set up your own stall, if you pay a fee and a "tax".

Is there anything else you would like to do before the next day?

****

((Could you post the rolls in the turns, please?))

Send my men to other cities, to smuggle in meat and alcohol. Hide the loot in a safe location near the church, order repairing the church walls. Look for some sort of a rich dwarf.

(( I would prefer not to, I generally don't like posting the rolls. On top of ruining the immersion, it kind of transforms it from a "role-playing game" when you act in character to something a bit more meta. Besides, it lets me hide all the rule changes and system quirks better.))

The smugglers report it will likely take about a week for them to go to a proper town and return with the goods, assuming the dealing goes well. They set off in the middle of the night, careful to not be spotted by the guards as they make their journey.

The loot is quickly hidden in the Churches wine cellar, which seems to be mostly hidden and intact (if completely emptied) and relatively safe as your men return to hide out. They try to lay low the rest of the night.

The men report that it is too dark to work tonight, but promise to get on the job in the morning. Some suggest hiring locals to do the work, suggesting they would preform the job better, faster, and it would help cement you in the community.

The men report to you several names of well-known rich dwarves, but of course, they are all wealthy dwarves are naturally either gang leaders themselves or allied closely with one, or it would be impossible for them to become wealthy in Lorraine. They are likely just as well defended as the Elves, making up for lack of police support with fortress like homes and an even larger amount of guards. One of the men, a smuggler who often leaves the city, suggests sending men to a different city to kidnap someone. He mentions how they are less guarded, and while it may raise heat more then doing something in a place like Lorraine on top of taking more time, it is likely much easier.

Is there anything else you want to do before morning?

***

Rokha thinks for a momen,  then broadcasts. Right, we'll take our chances with the place near the elvish district. Carshe, you and Vincent go out and tell anyone who's at their homes that we've found a meeting place. Laele, you show me where you've found. We'll give the others directions soon. And by the way, everyone, keep your masks off when we're not on a run, please. They only make us more conspicuous.
In essence, the two who kept their masks on inform the gang of the choice, Laele (the one who took her mask off) show me where she means. Everyone keeps masks off now unless told to wear them.

"As you wish..." the mask-wearers stated somewhat dissapointedly. "Its not like it is less obviose if we are just holding them, and it don't feel right leaving them behind...." one mumbles ( you cannot tell who) as they leave, no doubt used to having his mask muffle any complaints he has.

Laele, meanwhile, leads you on foot through the city. You move around through several districts, back tracking several times, before finally arriving on the outskirts of the Elven district. Surly enough, she brings you to a surprisingly large forest randomly placed in the city. It is at least several blocks big, from what you can tell, and as thick as an untamed jungle. Some of the trees tower above you, large enough that they should be easily seen from the outside, though you can not recall ever seeing them there. It does seem untouched, without the hints of multiple races covering the rest of the city. It is almost as if you walked into a different world, separate from the rest of Lorraine somehow.

"Will this do?" she asked, keeping her mask off as ordered.

[Adragis]

((I wasn't aware my entire gang always wore gas masks at all times
Rokha is suddenly an amnesiac, it seems))
Rokha looked around, testing a few trees and checking the floor for newer footprints. Hmm... Seeing as it looks to be practically untouched, it's probably not often frequented. It seems like the best option. There was a brief pause as she admired the scenery, something Lorraine's main cityscape wasn't really famous for. It's certainly a break from the rest of the city, although we will have to get used to moving around in this. Well done, Laele. Now, we'd better get to telling everyone else where this place is."
Leave the forest, and get Laele (and myself) to organise an actual meeting in it. After we've told someone, the person we've told can tell someone else, and so on and so forth. Not too many people to get around, after all.
Also, if they really want to they can wear the masks. Just not when we're trying to blend, or talk with people. I guess I'll explain later.

[Stirk]

((I wasn't aware my entire gang always wore gas masks at all times
Rokha is suddenly an amnesiac, it seems))

((Oddly, it is just these three actually  . The rest of the gang wears whatever you want them to wear, from circus cloths to business suits to gorilla outfits. Most probably leave any gas masks behind.

**EDIT**

Guess I should point out that, unless otherwise stated, I generally assume that your gang is dressed similarly to your Don, and have around the same ascetic equipment like sunglasses or, in this case, a gas mask. That doesn't mean they always wear them, of course  ))

[Adragis]

((Well, they can if they really want to. I bet Carshe has named his one Velza or something
Also, seeing as Carshe is a Khavash, I deduce that it was Vincent who muttered, as I wouldn't be able to hear Carshe mumble, because he wouldn't broadcast that to his gang leader!
Although going by how much of a wuss she is in the discipline department he might.))

[Stirk]

((Well, they can if they really want to. I bet Carshe has named his one Velza or something
Also, seeing as Carshe is a Khavash, I deduce that it was Vincent who muttered, as I wouldn't be able to hear Carshe mumble, because he wouldn't broadcast that to his gang leader!
Although going by how much of a wuss she is in the discipline department he might.))

((Plot twist! It was neither of them, and only a result of your own paranoid mind. *Scribbles note about remembering the telepathy thing*))

[SaberToothTiger]

Look for a rich dwarf to sell champagne to.

[Adragis]

Look for a rich dwarf to sell champagne to.

((champagne? hah! everyone knows dwarves don't drink that poncy stuff! ))

[Playergamer]

Have a few men drop by the speakeasies, and see if any of them need alcohol. If they do, tell them we'd be willing to provide it.

Also, send a group of my men out to ambush one of the patrols. When the guards are alone, preferably on an empty street, my men mow them down with gunfire.