Or'zet! An opera in three acts: confrontation

Or'zet! An opera in three acts: confrontation
Part of All The World's a Stage
Date 2085-09-07 GM Villiers Location Seattle Status Threat Level: Deadly
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Pentacle Club	Club Security	Disassemblers
Navaja Nearl Gulliver P23 Heart of the Tempest Fire Mage	Rheinhold Bauer Lisa Simpson George Wilson Richard Ricardo Andreas Zikos Wu Shan Wanda Running Deer	Adept Spider Leader Gunner Soak	Bruno Clank Chef Sharkey Hummer
Casualties and losses
			Bruno Clank Chef Sharkey Hummer
9 hours run time

Summary

Brought to you by the same people hosting the RATS group above ground, now a new below ground operation is growing! The runners 5 are requests to be a part of the production by helping them set up a new place for the RATS to roam. Trials and tribulations in the form of fighting and negotiating occur, but the smarmy runners are able to charm and smash their way through their obstacles.

Background

The passing of Halley's Comet in 2061 and 2062 marked a period of tremendous and strange magical activity, including SURGE, the appearance of Shedim, natural orichalcum and other awakened mineral veins, and the appearance of the great dragon Ghostwalker, the orichalcum rush as the substance suddenly appeared in natural, mineable deposits, and vanished just as mysteriously. Halley's Comet made Reinhold Bauer a small fortune selling flakes of orichalcum from the cellar in the house left to him by his parents. By the time the level of magical activity subsided and the orichalcum ran out Bauer had tunneled extensively under his house and connected to the waste water run-off passages beneath. The accumulated wealth allowed him to pursue his education in Geomancy.

Bauer met Lisa Simpson and George Wilson in Manhattan while studying with Juliette Burma, a leading practitioner of Black Magic. A common origin, common world view and sexual attraction brought them together. Upon their return to Seattle they formed an initiation group and grew very slowly but surely over the years. Black Magicians can, and do, cooperate with one another but their alliances are unstable and ever shifting...and always driven by self gain. In many respects they are like megacorporations in oligopolistic competition.

The rehabilitation and re-integration of the Ork Underground changed things for the Pentacle Club...in particular a substantial increase in travel between the different areas of the Underground generated low level Song Lines connecting different population centers and magical power sites.

1. A rating 2 Song Line connecting the Mall in Lordstrung’s Department Store (at Fifth and Pine) and the Crying Wall monument in Tacoma.
2. A rating 2 Song Line connecting the Crying Wall monument to the Sheraton Tacoma, a refuge for hundreds of metahuman during Night of Rage.
3. A rating 2 Song Line connecting the Tacoma Underground to the Puyallup Underground runs from the Crying Wall monument in Tacoma to the mines of Carbanado.
4. A rating 2 Song Line connecting the Downtown Underground to the Everett Underground runs from the the Mall in Lordstrung’s Department Store to tunnels beneath the Pinehurst neighborhood.
5. A rating 2 Song Line connecting the Downtown Underground to Charles Royer Station in the Redmond Barrens.

Astral explorers are generally interested in, and knowledgeable about, astral topography. The lines soon attracted the attention of Richard Ricardo. The opportunity to divert mana to their own uses was too good to pass up. There was an initial period of disagreement and negotiation between Bauer, a geomancer and the two geomasons - Simpson and Wilson. Bauer constructed the mana prism, arcane chevron, and mana conflux to divert a line to his house. Simpson and Wilson would use geomasonry to divert a line to the depths of the temple. A rating 2 mana line can support only two diversions via a mana prism so no further diversions could be made at the current strength of the parent line.

However...a sudden burst of activity by the Disassemblers in the nearby tunnels forced the club to establish substantial magical and technical security measures to seal off the area under their compound from the rest of the Underground. Just when things look really bleak...they get worse. Out of the blue a group of opera buffs start snooping around and then hire a seer. They peek back and....the opera buffs decide to hire a collection of criminals to meddle further. WTF!?

The Meet

The team meets the J Katherine Davis and their crew in the deli, which is extremely busy. One of the guys in the deli has a platinum docwagon band on, but everyone seems fairly in-place. She offers food before dealing with the business, and the team happily eats with her. Paz brings out a White Noise Generator to help keep things professional. Tempest scares off one of the Kathryn's entourage, after appearing imposing!

After food, Kathryn mentions she wants to set up a new underground acting troupe, much like the one they made above ground. They're looking for new places, but she wants help from the runners to deal with obstacles. The runners are tasked with exploring the area that seems like a good fit, and to make sure the area is safe and clear. They also mention that she will offer to pay for a tarot reading for them, as well the runner's bounty starts as 20k nuyen. She does offer connections to help the runners instead of gear. Nearl mentions that she may be able to introduce Kathryn to someone who might be able to help with funding of the program.

Pointing the team to Maryann Clay for the divinations, Kathryn gives the team each a silver coin to get things started.

The Legwork

After some short introductions, the team deliberate where to go first. Deciding to stick together, the team heads to meet Maryann Clay, in the Zephyr-South Multi-Use building. Maryann is a little disturbed to see Nearl, but ultimately reads the cards for everyone.

Navaja gets a reading...

Card 1 - The Moon

Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error.

Card 2 - Death Reversed

In the reversed position, Death can mean that you are on the verge of meaningful change but are resisting it. You may be reluctant to let go, or you may not ...This could also be pointing out resistance or fear blocking progress. If that is so, the advice might be to confront those issues, even if only internally. Pause before taking action.

Card 3 - The Fool

The first card of the Major Arcana and believed to be the most influential, positive and powerful one indicating new beginnings. It is numbered zero which indicates that it has infinite possibilities and limitless freedom.

P23 gets a reading...

Card 1 - The Moon

Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error.

Card 2 - Death.

Death is one of the most feared cards in a Tarot Deck, and it is very misunderstood. Most times, people take the name of the card literally. However, the real meaning within the Death card is one of the most positive in the whole deck. The Death card signals that one major phase in your life is ending, and a new one is going to start. You just need to close one door, so the new one will open. The past needs to be placed behind you, so you can focus your energy on what is ahead of you.

Card 3 - The Chariot

The Chariot is all about overcoming challenges and gaining victory through maintaining control of your surroundings. The key message that he brings to you is that you must maintain focus, confidence, and determination through a process that will be full of winding turns and detours. If you have a plan or a project that you seem not to be sure about, the Chariot shows that you should pursue the plan with a structured and ordered approach. Your boldness will ensure that you achieve all that you should in this goal.

Heart of the Tempest gets a reading...

Card 1 - The Moon

Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error.

Card 2 - The Devil Reversed.

The moment when an individual becomes self-aware and breaks all of the chains that come with addiction and poor habits. But one thing is usually clear – breaking off these chains, especially those of addiction is never easy. So, one has to be prepared to make the necessary changes that might initially seem painful to make the adjustments that will pay off in the end by being able to find your true self again. Self-assessment is called for in this case and the individual needs to take some time and list all of the things that they need to get rid of. And once that has been done, and then it would be time for them to embark on the difficult journey of self-improvement.

Card 3 - The Star.

The Star brings hope, renewed power, and strength to carry on with life. It shows how abundantly blessed you are by the universe as evidenced by the various things around you. Remember that you hold within you all that you need for your fulfillment - the only thing that you need is courage. For this, you have all reasons to rejoice. To see this card is a message to have faith, for the universe will bless you and bring forth all that you need.

Nearl gets a reading...

Card 1 - The Moon.

Hidden enemies, danger, calumny, darkness, terror, deception, occult forces, error.

Card 2 - The Star Reversed.

The Star card reversed suggests that you are temporarily alienated from your brilliance and usefulness. You may feel clumsy, unskilled, at odds within your true nature. Focus on your unique gifts and talents -- their source is divine. It's your job to learn how to apply them.

Card 3 - Judgement.

Judgment points to freedom from inner conflicts, and so clear a channel, that the buried talents and gifts of past incarnations can come through an individual in this lifetime. This card counsels you to trust the process of opening yourself, because what emerges is of consistently high quality.

However, unlike the other runners, Gulliver wishes to get a crystal ball reading instead. Inside the vision, Gulliver is shown visions of the man with the doc-wagon band from the meet, a snooty man wearing an ace of coins suit. And after the visions, Tempest and Nearl work on a ritual together, while Navaja goes shopping for a new shotgun.

The Run

Trying to find a way into the ork underground for their mission to begin for real, the team are a bit stumped on how to get underground. So, Nearl and Paz calls up their contact, Hez-Kukra, to find a way to smuggle themselves and goods to the OU. Hez suggests that the team work to get some info on the area. After some deliberation, the team decides to stick with a less conspicuous manhole entry to the OU.

To start off the exploration, Tempest jumps down the entire ladder, all 10 meters of it, and takes little damage. Next, Paz and the team follows, not by jumping, and protected by climbing gear from Paz. Once in the bottom, the team realizes the underground portion is actually a carved out tunnel in the ground, looking like it may collapse at any moment. The team once down there, found a mana line being split by a gargoyle, with runes carved into the walls around it. The line, a song line, was aspected to travel.

Near there, the team also found a grate blocking their way. Paz, feeling brave, sticks her hand through the grate and finds a blockage. Finding it to be a mana / physical barrier, Tempest decides to try and singlehandedly destroy the barrier, and does so with ease. Yet, on the other side, is a surprised watcher spirit which immediately barrels away. Tempest's own watcher spirit destroys the enemy spirit without much difficulty, as well. Paz then rips off the grate, allowing the team access to their prize. Tempest again uses magic to allow the team unimpeded movement, and attempts to track enemies of the team. Finding some ahead, tempest and Nearl buffs the team while Tempest seeks perfection on a spell and casts an astounding amount of magic to obtain the perfect buff. The team, over adequately prepared, heads forth into danger.

Wandering in order into a room, the team find themselves in someone's home. Inside is a camera, blinking. Noticing a pattern, Navaja deftly understands it to be Morse code! So, discerning it to be an SOS, the runners spring into action to find where this particular person in need. Holding a commlink with text up to the camera 'Where are you and what do you need' the blinks respond 'I'm the security officer and I need you to leave'. Further communication brought the team a location and time in order to negotiate further, and so they decided to leave what ended up being someone's home.

Deciding to get some extra work done before going to club pentacles, the team decide to do some more scouting beforehand. Though, their efforts show that all the routes lead through the same building. So, the team decides to go back to a hotel to rest and plan further. A quick matrix search shows that the house is currently owned by someone named Reinhold Bauer; he's the owner of a Black Magic Lodge (note: Not Black Lodge), known as the Pentacle Club. An address, commcode, ownership, property tax account, social media, and info on the lodge are all acquired.

Afterwards, Paz reaches out to her brother, who after a payment from Paz, seeks more info for the team. Coming back after a few hours, Elias Zenthra comes back with a list of members: Membership & officers:

Reinhold Bauer - Lodge Master [Black Magician]

Lisa Simpson - President [Black Magician]

George Wilson - Secretary [Black Magician]

Richard Ricardo - Treasurer [Seer/Explorer]

Wu Shan - Sargent-at-arms [Adept]

Andreas Zikos - Apprentice [Black Magician]

Wanda Running Deer - Novice [Black Magician]

Plenty of time contacting contacts and searching later, Nearl calls her Black Lodge Black Mage Contact, Fire Mage, who spills the beans on this 'puny' Pentacle club, and that the house was actually above an Orichalcum mine, where Bauer made a fortune mining flakes of Orichalcum during the rush. As well, digging around provided much info, save for the most salacious details, on all the associates of Bauer, as well.

After a rest at a nearby hotel, Tempest goes on a hunt for essence and comes back well fed. After they return, the entire team continues to the meeting place. Once there, the teems finds a garage and four building in the compound; once, the pentacle club, and another the temple. As well, a housing unit and a staff housing, assumed for the club.

Heading to the front after parking, the team is met with the security on the building. There are cameras, fly-spies, and even a tripple-stacked set of wards at the front door. Tempest attempts to walk through the front door, and is geeked by the other 'team' of opposition; Bauer's crew. The opposition, clearly hostile, starts to frisk the team for weapons. The guards need to grab a stool for Tempest. The team makes it past the checkpoint by surrendering their weapons, and meets with Bauer directly.

Bauer mentions that he's frustrated because his team of dark magicians are always arguing over what to do, and the runners counter with a "live and let live" sort of co-prosperity situation. Bauer's counter offer is for them to "go away". Some deliberation gets him to open up further, mentioning non negotiables;

1. No further mana line manipulation at this location.
2. Skraacha to provide area coverage to prevent gang interference.
3. The ability to ward the mana prism without restricting area access.

As well, Bauer mentions he wants tickets to a local music festival. Ricardo, the seer, wants 4723 nuyen tab to be paid off at a local casino. One of the members wants Biggie Cheesecake (not beefcake) to 'get some action' between tempest and that same member. As well, the runners are requested to geek some Disassemblers around the underground, also. Bauer reveals that there is another way into the water containment area the team is seeking, which is currently collapsed, though it could be return to normalcy with effort.

The team contacts Kathryn, to double check and draft up a contract for the Skraacha, though she won't able to get it done until later tonight. Getting the tickets, Nearl decides to cover the cost of 1000 nuyen for a set of tickets; which is a steep price, since the event was otherwise sold out. After those few tasks, the runners prepare themselves to storm the Disassemblers hideout.

Sneaking down int othe hideout, the team gets ready with a cavalcade of magic and technique, sneaking up to the door that leads to the enemies inside. Once ready, Paz opens up with a grenade shot, and by the storming of the team they are able to quickly dispatch and dismember the enemies very easily. Nearl claims some of the corpses for her necromancy rituals, and the team cleans shop.

After their resounding victory, Gulliver calls Kathryn once again in order to try and get some money to pay off the debt, and for 'entertainment'. Asking for 7500 Nuyen, the team acquire it, and head to the Casino where the debt can be paid and where Ms. Cheesecake works. Tempest hires Ms. Cheesecake for herself and Paz. Grabbing the ticket showing the appointment was made, paying off the debt, and nabbing a copy of the agreement where the Skraacha would patrol more around the Pentaclub's underground operations, meant that the job was considered done after returning to show off these items.

Aftermath

With negotiations between Kathryn of RATS, the Pentaclub, the Disassemblers (being disassembled), the Finnigans, and the Skraacha completed, the RATS group was able to make their way to a new stage of planning for a new production.

Rewards

Deadly TL - 20, 9 hours - 30 RVP

20,000¥ (10 RVP)

15 Karma (15 RVP)

10 CDP (5 RVP)

2 CDP (Base)

+5 Faction Ork Underground Theatrical Society

-1 chip on Fire Mage for Nearl

Optional contacts:

Carleton Moreau C4L2 (5 RVP)

Maryann Clay C6L1 (6 RVP)

Biggie Cheesecake C4L2 (5 RVP)

Optional Qualities:

Heart of the Tempest - Toughness at chargen rate (9 RVP)

Game Quotes

"DAMMIT, I've been cucked by the dice bot" - LOV.E

"Does she want them dead or want the [picture] signed?" - LOV.E

"Tempest isn't gonna try anything complicated... Let's try out a new spell!" - Eva

"It sounds like it's time for them to get paid and us to get laid" - LOV.E

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Nearl

I was worried about Navaja being a little newer as a runner, but he kept his own. His tracking skills impressed me enough to wish to work for him again. As well, the connections I made further with That Man and connecting S3I to the RATS group makes me feel truly accomplished.

P23

Genuinely, I was expecting things to go tits up asap. Manalines, powerful mages, Tempest, it would have been easy for it all to go wrong. Glad it didn't, and that ultimately these wizards seemed to be like minds to my brother. Brilliant team, great endings.

Gulliver

Gluttony, Lust, Pride, and Wrath is a good summary of our team.
Sounds awful?
It's a very effective assemby!

Heart of the Tempest

Mmmmm, a most excellent job. An excellent little jaunt in the underground, two meals an' teammates without pointless issue with making the most of the death, an' to cap it all off... getting paid for a foursome including a most attractive giantess prostitute. She shalt be gaining a repeat customer, methinks.