Imperator - Orbs of Power
| Imperator - Orbs of Power | |||||||||
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| Factions Involved | |||||||||
| ShadowHaven | Cavalier Arms | ||||||||
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Chance Bunny Hop Silver Lining Geodesic |
Character1 Character2 | ||||||||
Summary
Runners are asked to dive a Cavalier Arms host from back when it was a part of NeoNET in order to gain information about a project to create a focus.
Background
Imperator has heard tell of a powerful focus created as part of an experimental foray into enchanting by Cavalier Arms. Evidently lost in the shuffle after the collapse of NeoNET, information leading to its current location was uncovered - and she followed up by calling on the team.
The Meet
The team was ordered to wait in a vacant school. There - the Johnson manifested from the astral plane, much to the frustration of Bunny Hop and Silver Lining - neither of whom could speak given the former's lack of physical presence and the latter's inability to speak without technological aid. "Fortunately" Geodesic and Chance, the most trustworthy of teammates, were available to provide translation!
Johnson requested that the team not tell any others about this - a surprisingly smart request that Chance-as-P3ck3r had not heard in awhile.
With a small amount of front money, the runners were free to go dig into things.
The Plan
The team starts digging - a couple matrix searches, and a lot of experience collected among them.
The host is identified on the old NeoNET grid, hidden among the remnants - and in utter disuse. As the team enters, they find it's been thoroughly vandalized, with damage in evidence across the entirety of it. Also present is a slime girl, leaving AR graffiti around the host on what's evidently a commlink deck. Chance scares the bejeesus out of the poor thing, who flees - and then the team hunt down the entrance to the foundation.
The Run
The team enter the foundation and find themselves in a cell, guises transformed - Geo into Farrah Edgeknife, BHop into Bunny the Red, P3ck3r into Jacques Frohmmage, and Silver Lining into Silver Beefcake - an adventuring team, here to fight the Six Wizard Kings.
They start by fighting their way out of the dungeon they appeared in. Sneaking past guards, they make their way to a trapped chamber with an enormous stone statue at its center - a golden idol held aloft by its hands. Farrah can't resist the idol's allure and goes for it. But whn it's touched, the statue springs to life. Bunny the Red chains the monster for Silver to slam a fist into in a sky uppercut - one followed up by a blade from Farrah and a strike from Jacques. BHop gets the final blow - and the team make good on their escape.
Emerging into the world above, they find that there are two options before them: a town, and a tower. They visit the town first, taking the time to deface the local shrine (the portal node) before making their way to the tower.
Outside is an orange wizard - who BHOP attempts to speak to. But each greeting is rebuffed by the world around her, until she finally gives in and does what she correctly assumes it wants. In one strike, he is swiftly dispatched by BHop. Entering, behind Farrah's stealthy, sneaky, edgy stride, They swiftly discover that the towers central column serves as the master control node - but out of an overabundance of caution for what might be lying beneath the sculpting (which they caught a bare glimpse of), they elect not to fiddle with it.
... except, of course, for P3ck3r - who promptly creates a sasquatch companion.
Briefly, the team splits - Jacques and Silver venturing through a portal into a room of mirrors. Silver presses to the mirror - and a clone of himself follows out Jacques whole he wanders off. The reunion sees a flash of violence as the false Silver is destroyed.
Jacques elects to summon the Archive node to them - and Silver snatches the file from it. But when the group makes to leave, the world shudders around them again.
They seem to be getting railroaded upwards.
At the tower's peak, three wizards await - two of them nodes. Both are laid low by the party before the dark half of the crescent moon cracks open an eye. It drops down - an AI watching this realm, striking at BHop with a blade of despair. While she blocks it, form shuddering under the blow, Farrah and Silver fan out. But Jacques has an idea.
He charges to the Central pillar and turns the moon into a ham sandwich.
...
The demoralized AI falls moments later, and the runners make good on their escape.
Aftermath
With the AI defeated, the team make good on their escape and are promptly paid for their service.
Rewards
Run Rewards for "Imperator - Orbs of Power" (Deadly, 7-ish hours for 1.16x - 23 RVP)
24,000 Nuyen (12 RVP) (this includes your 2000 nuyen advance)
8 Karma (8 RVP)
6 CDP (3 RVP)
2 CDP (Free!)
Optional Contact: [Imperator](https://shreloaded.net/wiki/Imperator) (Connection 4 / Loyalty 1) (4 RVP)
Optional Gear Reward: Alchemical Preps up to availability 18, Alchemy Dumpster (vault of ages)(Up to 10 RVP)
Counts as a mundane ascension for Chance and Silver Lining