Debts of Dishonor

Debts of Dishonor
Part of Search for the Sevenfold Staff
Date 2086-03-16 GM Robinton Location Cordoba, Spain Status Threat Level: Prime
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven	Major Corp
Blackhawk Chameleon Heracles Angra Mainyu	Character1 Character2

Summary

• 3/16 - 6 Hrs
• 3/18 - 8 Hrs
• 3/20 - 7 Hrs +1 on 3/21
• 3/22 - Maybe
• 3/25 -
• 3/30 -
• Current Total: 22
• Edge Burnt: 4

Background

During the events of Disasterpiece Theater, Blackhawk was forced to rely on Lamashtu in order to escape from the CAS without incident and with his truck in tow. In doing so, he ended up owing the drake three chips and it has come time for those debts to get called in.

Lamashtu wants Blackhawk to take the job from the Draco foundation to travel to Cordoba and find a missing shard of the Sevenfold Staff. While there, however, she has a little ‘side job’ for him, looking for another artifact from the tombs of the Hermetic Order of Catalonia, a sect of Qabballistic mages and traditionalist orthodox Jews hidden under the eyes of a Christian Inquisition within Spain.

The Meet

The team meets with Adowa "Moria" Webster after the various calls from their fixers, or in Blackhawk's case, his fixer and Lamashtu. She hires the team to recover the "Shever Hiyim" from Cordoba, an ancient Jewish artifact that they have divined to be there. The team gets ten percent in advance and begins to go over the specifics of getting into Spain when most European Countries are heavily gun contolled and secure. The team accepts the job with the rather large promised payment and begins to sort out how they're getting to Spain.

The Plan

Legwork

Matrix

• Parliamentary Monarchy
  • King Juan Carlos II, an ogre
  • President Antonion Perez
  • General dislike of metahumanity, with pockets of Humanis style hatred
  • Lots of Anti-Semitism remains in Cordoba, resulting in a number of attacks on the Jewish Community.

• Key Shadowrun Communities / Organizations
  • Ares has a strong presence in Euskal Herria
  • Aztechnology has its European HQ in Barcelona
  • Renraku Computer Systems in Madrid
  • Saeder-Krupp is the AAA with the strongest presence. Not only does it control the heaviest industries, but it owns Viento Systems, which is the traditional Matrix provider in the Country
  • Very little actual organized crime in Cordoba due to tourism, small town, etc.
  • About 20 Years ago the city was under attack by Shedim. It seems to have "resolved" without any obvious resolution, the news simply just stop talking about it.

• The Man
  • The Man is as big as a Troll and as fast as an elf
  • The photo matches the memory from Chameleon, but much worse. Heracles realizes that really strong magic can cause an effect similar to noise

• Hosts:
  • Cordoba Town Hall Host: R5 - A6 S5 D7 F8
  • Synagogue Host: R3 - A4 S3 D6 F5
  • Cathedral Host: R5 - A6 S5 D7 F8
  • Alcazar Host: R7 - A7 S10 D8 F9
    • Alcazar Nested: R7 - A7 S8 D9 F10

Networking

• Chameleon contacts Der Opa who gets him in touch with Cascade to smuggle both gear and people into Spain.
• Chameleon contacts Elle Palms for a divination which reveals the image of a "beautiful, perfect, human" with thoughtful, intelligent, eyes, that seems to almost be looking back at him.
• Chameleon and the team contacts Orianna Cazador in order to get the memory of the person of interest out of Chameleon's mind. They head to the Funhouse in Redmond Barrens, managing a good enough introduction to get her help. She requires their assistance getting a small faction of gangers "back into the fold" before she's willing to help, however. The team manages to intimidate, by way of shooting someone with stick and shock with a CS: Genitals. It's very effective. They get a 4 Hit Image of the figure, with a focus on the eyes being expressive

Planning

• Chameleon plans to practice and rehearse for a local persona
• Rent a van to get from Madrid to Cordoba and pick up Heracles

Once in Cordoba

• Scout the city physically and astrally
• Get a sense of the map of the place
• Blackhawk sticks to the sewers to avoid the sun and people
  • Looking for the Tetragrammaton Amulet during his off time
  • Researching the Tetragrammaton Amulet
• Matrix dive the various locations
• Finding the Hermetic Order de Catalonia

The Run

Disguise Notes:

• Ahriman: Normal Face
• Blackhawk: R6 Synthskin mask
• Chameleon: 8 Hit Disguise
• Heracles: R4 Synthskin mask

Travel to Spain

• Heracles gets smuggled in via Cascade without incident and begins scouting the national grid.
• The other three get flown in via the Draco foundation, which covers for Blackhawk's infection.
  • while at the private airport, Chameleon's machine pistol gets spotted by the MAD Scanners and he is required to put it back in the plane.
• The team rents a Caravaner, grabs some equipment to learn Spanish, and then heads out to pick up Heracles.
• Cascade notes that getting smuggled back OUT of Spain will be something they need to negotiate later, depending on how much heat the team generates in Spain.

Madrid to Cordoba

• While en route to Cordoba, the team stops for a pit stop at an out of the way gas station in the middle of the desert.
• While there, the team is set upon by a pack of four F12 lynx spirits that seem to be out hunting.
• The team manages to fight off the spirits and talk down the kid behind the counter, mainly due to Chameleon's ability to speak fluent Spanish.

Cordoba: The City of Light

Day 1, Sunday, All Day

• The team arrives in Cordoba in the evening and establishes their accomodations.

Day 2, Monday, Day:

• Ahriman - Learning Spanish 1
• Heracles - commlink running Alcazar host, finds hidden icon spider
• Heracles - commlink running Cathedral host, finds No hidden icons
• Blackhawk - Confirms that the sewers are more or less clear, but also being used by The Man. Cameras in B and C zones. Motion sensors in A. Ultrasound + all in AA+
• Chameleon - Finds the statue of Maimonides in the Tiberias square with unusual markings that look vaguely hermetic. There is an obfuscating ward around the statue.
• Heracles - running Alcazar host for real and finds the Nested Host within it, where the entirety of the Host is written in formal latin.
  • Finds files related to "The Monster" and "Safehouse intelligence" as well as scouting reports for "Los Juden" - their notes on trying to find the Hermetic Order of Catalonia
  • Uses Editor to copy "The Monster" and gets a scan on one of the deckers Cyber 5's, giving the sleeze rating and program loadout.
  • Trace Icon - deck is at the Cathedral el Carmen - across the street from where the Runners have their safehouse.
  • Trace Icon - one of the Cyber 5's at the Alcazar.
  • Probe Encryption - goes to break encryption on "Los Juden" and pops a R8 Data bomb, deleting the file and setting the host on Alert.
  • Before he can escape, the inquisition deckers follow him out into the Grid and trigger a convergence. Heracles gets Converged by "El Dios", which is thankfully not an immediate information feed to the Inquisition themselves.
  • CNP investigates but is unable to get anything more than a vague sense of very general descriptions of Hercales snythskin mask and someone big enough to be Blackhawk
• Heracles contacts Dash and orders a R3 Burner SIN, which Dash can get to them by Wednesday afternoon (Day 4)
• Reviewing the file of The Monster:
  • Inquisition agents and informants have been beaten to death with car accident level force.
  • Injuries caused by Blunt Force trauma, either as clubs or punches, but not blades or bullets.
  • Direct correlation - first the attacks against the Jews, then the attacks against the Inquisitorial forces which resulted in deaths

Day 2, Monday, Night:

• The team gets together to put their minds together on what is going on. Heracles does some researching, learning the legends of the Golem of Prague.
• Ahriman realizes that she knows some of the rumors relevant to the Sevenfold Staff, of which the Shever Hiyim is a part.
• She explains that the Shever Hiyim is a powerful focus on the level of artefacts. Her magical theory and traditions knowledge corroborate that such a thing could, potentially, create something like the Monster / The Man
  • She confirms that the statue is, in fact, a magical source. She also runs across someone in front of the Mosque who she sees through the masking of; Magic 7 Black Mage
• Blackhawk contacts Artemesia to ask about the Tetragrammaton Amulet. She recalls coming across some records from about 40 - 50 years ago about someone in Cordoba researching how to create a magical artifact to create an Astral Beacon with a huge amount of power. It's not explicitly blood magic, per se, but seems to cover some level of sacrifice and massive amount of power being pumped into it. Blackhawk recalls the information about the Shedim attack from 20 years ago.

Day 3, Tuesday, Day:

• Chameleon is met for breakfast by Thalia Sandoval, the Magic 7 person who Ahriman spotted and who, in turned, made a point of "finding" Chameleon. She explains that she represents a "consortium of interested parties" who know why they are in town and would prefer the 'item' of extensive magical importance to NOT fall into the hands of the Draco Foundation. She proposes hiring the team out from under the Foundation, offering an increased Cash payout and support from the CNP, the local police, who they have influence over. He brings this idea to the team and, perhaps, wisely, the team declines Thalia's offer.
  • Thalia attempts to use her spirit to influence Chameleon, but it fails and so she uses Alter Memory to cover her tracks.
  • Hawk arrives a short time later and is able to see through the masking to notice the presence of the spell.
  • Ahriman is able to see through the flexible signature to see the spell and ID it, causing Chameleon to break the spell.
• Hawk spends the day scouting the city for anything related to the Shedim attack and finds the fountain in the Plaza de Colon with an inscription: "The Brightest Light Draws the Darkest Shadows"
  • Spots a hidden button on the fountain
• Ahriman spends the day learning a rank of Hebrew
• Heracles does some repairs and rests.
  • Heracles does some research for Blackhawk. Fountain built in 1889, renovated in 1950, again in 2056, and the plaque added in 2066
• Chameleon does his tourist routine:
  • Examines the statue in the Jewish quarter but is unable to see if there anything unusual
  • Checks Synogogue, checks Alcazar, Checks Cathedral
    • HTR at Cathedral

Day 3, Tuesday, Night:

• Chameleon goes shopping for clothes for a new ID.
• Ahriman rests to recover edge
• Hawk shifts himself to a nighttime schedule (Hawk gets full night actions but limited day actions)
• Heracles rests to recover edge

Day 4, Wednesday, Day:

• Ahriman rests to recover edge and works on the second rank of Spanish (1/2)
• Heracles host dives the Cathedral-Mosque Host.
  • Finds 3 files with the titles encrypted: A, B, C
  • Databombed. Last edited Tuesday Night. Learns the owner's Mark.
  • File A: Disarmed. Copied. "Adam"
    • Day 3 motion sensor details near the Royal Stables of Cordoba
    • Assumptions that the Shever Hiyim was used to create the Man, tied somehow tot he Jewish Sephiroth.
  • File B: Disarmed. Copied. "Photos"
    • Compromising photos of CNP officials, the mayor, etc.
  • File C: Disarmed. Copied. "Project Chaos"
    • Notes on both the Hermetic Order and the Inquisition, keeping them off balance and fighting each other
    • Notes on potential key locations: Cathedral el Carmen, a house in the NE of the city in a residential district
• Chameleon goes to scout the Plaza de Colon and the fountain, determining that his bird form can probably hit the button.
  • He drives around disguised as "large" Thalia and attracts her attention in order to get a meeting.
  • Chameleon makes a deal with Thalia to work with her network after the events of this run in exchange for her assistance now.
  • Thalia reveals that the artifact is somehow tied to the attacks on Inquisition agents
• Hawk rests and recover edge.
• Heracles Burner SIN shows up from Dash.

Day 4, Wednesday, Night:

• Ahriman goes to the statue and, once inside the obfuscating ward, determines there is a F10 Masking Ward UNDER the statue, clearly covering some kind of underground area. She finds a small microphone hidden as part of the statue itself. He tasks Heracles with a search of potential passwords which narrows down their search to a few key terms in Qabbalism.
• Blackhawk and Chameleon go to the house connected to the Hermetics, locating the camera in the living room. They head back to regear before returning in the morning.
• Heracles gets into the public utility host and gets some pings on the motion sensor alarms that something seems to be spending the days in the Royal Stables but spending the nights moving through the sewers.

Day 5, Thursday, Day:

• Blackhawk spends part of the day keeping tabs on the Hermetic House and discovers no change in the location
• Heracles does some research on the Royal Stables, realizing the pings come from under the Stables. He stages a flyspy near the suspected grate.
• Ahriman spends the day finishing Spanish 2
• Chameleon explores the sewers underneath the Royal stables to set up a microphone and camera near the sewer entrance.

Day 5, Thursday, Night:

• Chameleon chats up some local researchers in order to get some ideas of possible passwords. He also gets a full lecture on Gemetria, which allows Ahriman to realize the password is probably a combination of key words that create a multiple of 18, a neurologically important factor. She realizes it is a combination of 'Yehidah' and 'Nefesh'. She triggers the statue, revealing a hidden entrance down underground.
• Blackhawk and Chameleon head back to the Hermetic House and trigger the trap that causes the house to explode. They manage to avoid the initial explosion but not the cloud of debris from the destroyed house, nearly killing them.
  • Blackhawk burns edge to live from the wood shrapnel of the exploded house.
  • Ahriman and Heracles race to their rescue across town but Heracles gets there first and stabilizes the two of them.
  • Heracles gets a nearby car to pop the truck, drives it over to the two bodies, and loads them up. He then drives NE out of the city.
  • Heracles realizes that Hawk's biomonitor is screaming a warning about the presence of wood.
  • Blackhawk burns a second edge to last long enough for Ahriman to arrive.
  • Ahriman arrives, gets Hawk out of armor, and Heracles burns an edge to Smackdown the first aid check.
  • Ahriman performs a miracle surgery, doing a Smackdown on the test, managing to get all the fragments out of Blackhawk before he dies - albeit barely.
• Heracles and Ahirman, having stabilized the others, drives out of the city in order to avoid any kind of police entanglements.
  • Ahriman starts walking back towards the city while Heracles drives the two unconscious runners towards Pozoblanco.
    • Ahriman gets her gear, rents a car, and starts driving back north to Pozoblanco
  • Heracles rents a one car garage / storage space using the R4 Burner in Pozoblanco to lay low for the night
    • First aid: Chameleon recovers 5 Boxes of Physical
  • Heracles gets some food and such, and then crashes in the car with the team.
  • Ahriman does some shopping for new clothes, cleaning supplies, medical supplies, etc.
    • Ahriman buys the following on her shopping spree: Cheap shirt/pants/shoes for ork size, cheap shirt/pants/shoes for human size, R6 Medkit, 3 Medkit Supplies, Rapid Infuser, Biomonitor, 2 Hemostatix Dressing, Statscan, 3 syringes, 3 liquid nutrients, 2 long haul, 5 doses of No Pain, 5 Doses of Cleaner Cleaner
    • Ahriman does a full clean - setting the old clothes on fire, dosing the car and garage with cleaner cleaner, rents a hotel room for herself.

Day 6, Friday, Day/Night:

• Ahirman and Heracles spend part of the day working on tending to the runners.
  • Blackhawk Medical Results: +15 dice from medical treatment. Recovers all physical.
  • Chameleon Medical Results: +7 dice from medical treatment. Recovers 5 more physical
• Ahriman rests to regain edge.
• Heracles does some matrix searching on the statue and discovers that there are isolated and squashed reports of it being cordoned off. Reports of a struggle of some kind, though no gunfire.
  • Heracles rests to regain edge.
  • Heracles spends the day resting to recover physical: +4 from medical treatment. Recovers 4 Physical, clearing his physical track
• While resting, Blackhawk contacts Asahiro Kunitoshi for a divination, who directs him to Hanako Shinoda.
  • Divination question:

• Notes for rest of run: Blackhawk's FBA has no more chemseal and is -4 armor from the explosion.
  • Blackhawk and Chameleon regain edge from spending the day resting.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.