Ben kicks one the corpses, before sighing and walking back to the receptionist. "See? What did I tell you? They're all like this, real men wouldn't charge a gunman with swords, but they aren't real men. Idiots even stab themselves whenever they get a papercut, it's crazy. I only winged the one but he's probably off sobbing and failing to commit suicide in some corner now. I'm telling you, you don't want to get entangled with people like that.
Return to the receptionist, then relax watchfully near her while giving her some life advice. Shoot any samurai that decide to come by, nice clean headshots this time.
No further attacks. You see two pale young men in evening dress wheeling a refrigerator past (not the one you opened), and a third, elderly well-dressed man dragging a large wooden box. They see you, scowl, and keep going. These guys move unnaturally fast and gracefully, even for professionals.
"I..I am part of a Coven. A bunch of witches. I'm a fresh recruit, with only one failed mission under my belt. A bunch of other witches are here, too. We were all sent here to find the Recluse, who COULD end up being a danger to everyone in the building. I knew nothing about there being vampires here before our encounter. I asked you the question about the unwanted unusual garbage so that I could figure my out if the occupant of the apartment was the recluse or not. As soon as I suspected you were some sort of vampires, and NOT a single recluse, I wanted to just leave and sorta pretend this encounter never happened. But then I saw a theiving co-witch of mine, named Jimmy,in your apartment, and thought he was going to steal from you all. I was sure that you would find him out and think I was some accomplice of his, even if I ratted him out then and there, since we're both witches, so I felt like I had no choice but to pretend he wasn't there stealing anything, and hope I could get away from this building quick enough to never see you again. But then he cast a bright spell for no reason whatever, and all it did was draw attention to him and stun everyone else. Actually, now that I think about it, it made his action a little more brave slash brash, so he may have done it to make the act more valiant and make a sword he could make from the coins a little stronger. Anyway, though, I felt backed into a corner. Didn't know what to do until that samurai guy showed up. Thought my only chance to get out of this alive was to deflect suspicion of that flash and all onto whoever was his master, who in hindsight may be the the Recluse. Didn't really expect you to believe me, just wanted at least a LITTLE reason for me to not be affiliated with the flash. I was sure that there would be more of the katana-guys, and that they may have made a decent distraction for me to get away. At this point, there's NO reason for me to care about whatever Jimmy stole except getting it back to you all. If there's anything I can do to make up for what's happened, please tell me. I could make a wand or talisman or something for you, but I don't know if non-witches can use them. I could do you a few favors for a while until the coins are paid off, perhaps with interest. If you have any more questions, ask them, and I'll answer. I trust you all that we'll find some way where we all come out of this happy with what we haven't lost."
If I somehow survive this, I'm probably getting a rune for blabbermouth. Anyway, be ready to react to whatever happens next.
Edit: Also, Drop an ice cream demon. The other one does specifically nothing, unless it would undo my isolation rune's effects, in which case drop it, too.
You sing like a canary, before the old man's eyes widen, and you are flung into the bathroom shower a third of the way through. Your wand is thrown in after you.
"Stay there. Idiot says there's a Recluse upstairs, witches around here too."
"Shit. They're probably poking him with a wand to see how he reacts right now. We need to move."
"You get Uncle Misti, I'll take the coffin.
Hurry."
"I thought the energy here was just ambient-"
"Ambient bollocks. We'll find a new place, get out of here now before the ceiling falls in."
"You follow us we kill you."
You are left alone in the apartment as the hastily packaged coffin and for some reason the fridge are taken hurriedly out through the door.
go investigate the corpse. Strip it of anything valuable and easily accessible like money and weapons.
You get a katana, and some leather armour with metal bits, if you want it.
"Glorious nipping steel thousand folded cut through anything."
Grab a sword and cast wand spell 2 on it.
The katana is too long to be turned into a wand.
Wisdom: 6The obvious answer here is to snap the katana in half. And you're going to do exactly that.
Prac: 3
You hit the katana against the wall a few times, but it doesn't break. Maybe this wasn't the best plan.
[/s]You also percieve some crazy summoning shit going on upstairs. Well, crazy from your limited experience of magic. It's as powerful as, say, Sand was at her most dangerous, not that you saw that.
"I would, but your magical acid has blocked off the way to the stairwell. Would you mind removing it for me?"
If he removes it, head back down the stairwell and go visit Room 6/OceanSoul (casually).
"By the way- that was some !@#$ good summoning, old sport. If I had my hat with me, I would tip it to you."
He doesn't remove it, just grimly concentrates on the swirling mass of acid, which grows to cyclonic proportions, already stripping away the walls. Looks like your exits include the fire escape at the end of the corridor, the balcony in his apartment, or through someone else's apartment.
The spinning waves of corrosive start moving towards you, faster and faster. Now would be a good time to either run or fight.
Head back in and head up to the second floor.
You walk up the stairwell and onto the second floor. You see a whirling mass of clear liquid, like heavy sheets of rain had been superimposed on the corridor. There's also a lot of smoke, and you're beginning to see though the floorboards and people's doors.
Runic Sight: 3+3=6
You also spot a magic gem twinkling in the wake of the acid, over a patch of dangerously eroded floorboards, quite close to apartment 24's door.
Goethe T. Helle
Puissant fettle - 1
Ritual potency - 2
Runic sight - 1
Banal combat - 0
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 2
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £5, clockface minus one hand, highlighter pens, knife
From the beast: one bone, empty molasses jar.
[Dog Collar Pendant][Molasses Clockhand Wand]
[Icecream Beast Blood Fur Chalice][Beast Remains Wand]
Runes:
Isolation: you never had many friends or allies, so are used to poor odds. +1 to rolls when outnumbered and alone.
Stoicism: a rune that calms those dealing with shock, tragedy or injury.
Perseverance: despite all the odds, you managed to kill a huge beast using nothing but hot syrup. Bonus to attack and extra damage to powerful or resistant enemies after several turns of combat or aggression.
Dwarven Weapon Storage: learned from a dwarf carrying a small armoury on his back. Increases load of weapons and tools that can be borne without being hampered or slowed down, or collapsing outright.
Puissant clots: 1
Puissance: 3/6
Name: Ellen York
Has a few teeth embedded in forehead. Blood on face.
Puissant fettle: 1
Runic sight: 1
Banal combat: 1
Agility: 3
Runes:Unending Avarice: you can tell which loot is the most expensive and tradeable instantly, and can grab it as well. Pearls, money, fur coats, expensive champagne, and all things glamourous are magically attracted to your questing fingers.
Wallfish: a rune derived from snails you particularly enjoyed eating with pearls and vinegar. Better at avoiding damage when in or heading for cover.
Inventory: Duct Tape, nettles, crocuses, thorns,
Unrealistic but still useable katana
[Broom] - Roomba wrapped in rusty barbed wire.
[De-thorned Rose Wand]
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance: 6/6
Name: Sir Worthington the Fourth
Stats: Ritual Potency: 3
Practicality 3
Inventory: £45,
[Glass Eye Pendant] [Paintbrush Wand]
{Financial Toad Demon Mucus}
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance: 5/5
Jimmy "Car bombs" Castanza
Slightly slowed by a heavy load.
Magical power boosted by Oligarchy rune.
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 3
Banal combat - 1
Aim - 1
Melee - 0
Agility - 0
Practicality - 3
Inventory: £25, very rusty saw, length of pipe stuck to block of concrete, highlighter pen
Bag of old gold coins
[Lightbulb Antenna Wand]
[Broom] - Bike handles for steering.
Runes:
Detonation: volatile stuff explodes or catches fire more when you're around it. You can't help it, it must be genetic. Written rune used to detonate volatile substances.
Dead Man Running: you escaped the wrath of a mafia boss. Higher chance of surviving things that should really be deadly.
Mafioso: a mafia hitman, you preferred not to let your targets know they were hunted until after they were spread over an area of three hundred metres. Bonus to carefully planned unexpected attacks.
Alchemical (definitely idiot) savant: you saw an alchemist's shop when wandering around London, and deluded yourself that you understood something of how it worked. Because of the nature of magic, this belief is now partially true. Use this rune to make substances a bit more useful or volatile when used in alchemy.
Trader: a rune that when signed signifies to people that you'd be a good guy to buy from and sell things to.
Reticence: a rune whispered to you by birds perched on phone lines, you can get information without giving away much about yourself.
Bethel: a rune that enhances and aids summoning performed where it is written.
Degeneration: you saw men turned into animals. This rune turns advanced things like steel bolts into crappy primitive things, like wooden bolts.
Entrance: a god tried to break into our world. You now have a +2 in breaking into magic places you shouldn't be messing about with.
Hiijacking: Sand crashed a summoning-party and inserted herself into the centre of the ritual. Things with this rune written on will be more central to events and will conduct more power and magical energy than they should by rights.
Hassle: a rune that allows you to deal more effectively with multiple threats, distractions and tasks at once.
Scrap-crafting: after making a wand with bicycle horns, you have improved at making stuff out of junk. And you were already great at making stuff out of junk.
Oligarchy: a rune revealed to you the first time you flew over London, spelled out in the twistings of the financial buildings and the houses of millionares. Increases your power according to how much money you have.
Punctuality: You're good at getting things done on time.
Puissant clots: 2
Puissance:2/5
Ben Breeze
Stats:
Puissant fettle - 0
Ritual potency - 0
Runic sight - 0
Banal combat - 4
Aim - 1
Melee - 1
Agility - 2
Practicality - 0
Inventory: knife, taser, handcuffs, police baton, stab vest, torch, incapacitant spray, and a first aid kit. All in sports bag
Also a bag of athames, a cooked leg (stored at Vince's place), a worn face-concealing hooded coat.
Four generous Roast Beef and Horseradish Sandwiches
Gunfarmer P90 (45/50) (in bag)
Discarded somewhere tophat and embroidered coat.
Puissant clots: 3
Puissance:5/5
Name: Sir Ritualington
DEAD
Ritual Potency: 3
Agility 3
Inventory: £50
[Wooden Cane Staff] - taken by police.
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance:5/5
Name: Derrick
Slightly slowed by a heavy load
Puissant fettle - 1
Banal combat - 2
Melee - 1
Agility - 1
Practicality - 1
Inventory: £40, scrap metal spike, crate, katana
[Pocket Knife Wand] [Scrap Metal Shield Staff]
Puissant Clots: 1
Puissance:2/6