Post by Someguy on Oct 5, 2011 11:07:09 GMT
As the sun goes down over Paris, Lady Veronica turns from the window and surveys her troops. She is holding a meeting of her best agents and any other mercenary to be found, all gathered together for a special assignment for which money was indeed no object.
“So that's the deal, loves,” she says sweetly. “You find those nasty men and make them pay. Then I pay you. Simple, no? And if they haven't already drunk the damn thing try and bring back the vial that they stole from the vault; I'll pay the man who does his own weight in gold...or heavy armament, if he prefers.”
A general murmur went through the room from the mercenaries, who were sizing up each other and Veronica's recalled agents with distrust. Once they left that room it was every man for himself. Considering that most of the people in the room were armed with explosives and automatic weapons, it would be a miracle if they got through the front door in one piece.
“I've given you copies of our dossiers on those responsible; photos, names, aliases, known accomplices, known residences, everything you need. Now go! 10,000g for a confirmed kill, riches for the vial!”
There was a heavy crunch as seven mercenaries tried to get through the door at the same time and after much squabbling and swearing they got through and were racing down the stairs, wondering if it would affect their paycheck if they just got it over with and started shooting each other right then and there in the manor. The agents saluted and left calmly, with the last to leave closing the door quietly behind him.
Lady Veronica turned back to the window. Her butler wondered aloud if hiring those men was either a good idea or worth the money it would cost if they came good while recalling the best of her agents meant that business elsewhere was being left unattended. She smiled.
“You might be right,” she said. The sun had sunk below the city skyline. “But then again, it's awfully exciting to have a vendetta to pursue, isn't it?”
***
Night falls and the streets of Nou Havre finally grow still. Walking into the town square, the man with the sawn-off passes the body of a man shot dead by the fountain on his way toward the lodge where he finds the site of the angry mob scattered by the charging Toyboata, which now sits on its roof as a charred and abandoned husk. The man approaches the pick-up and picks through the wreckage, looking for signs of human remains, and finds the charred body of the lodge clerk. He wonders who it was.
Behind him mill his comrades, uncomfortable in the cold night air and in the uneasy atmosphere of the torn Nou Havre. Between them is the security guard for the lodge, dragged from his home to the scene of that night when the lodge was destroyed. He explains in stops and starts what happened that night, and describes in detail the travelling group that had stopped here and caused it all. When asked what direction they went, the security guard suggests that they were most likely heading for Paris.
The man with the sawn-off nods. He leaves the charred Toyboata and gestures at Murdoch and the ex-marine to let the man go, who scurries off into the night. As they leave the town square, passing the bullet-torn body of a man by the fountain, they fan out in search of a vehicle and for new allies...
***
When you awake it's to the rhythmic clackity-clack of the train reverberating through the floor. Getting up, you notice that it's still very dark outside and small speckles of rain stream across the window as the train surges down the track toward it's destination. You're unsure of where you are heading; Brussels or Zurich, but then perhaps it doesn't matter for the moment. The rooms are quite comfortable, with good beds and a writing desk placed by the window. A sudden distant explosion makes you jump, but you relax; it's just the sound of steam being vented by the engine up front.
So, you're in your individual rooms of the tenth carriage, toward the back and away from the noisy engine. At the front is the nuclear train with Stevens and his colleagues burning the midnight oil to get the train as far away from the city as they can. Tsunami and El Rey are also helping out, earning the discount they were able to negotiate; unfortunately, the extra exertion caused by this will temporarily cost the two of you 2 Endurance which lasts until you leave the train.
You can talk about your next move from here (I'll provide a heads-up on what to expect from the Zurich and Brussels route), scout the train for supplies (Perception), head for the front of the train to find out where the train is headed, or anything else that comes to mind. I'll calculate your additional EXP from events on the platform and for surviving another chapter now.
“So that's the deal, loves,” she says sweetly. “You find those nasty men and make them pay. Then I pay you. Simple, no? And if they haven't already drunk the damn thing try and bring back the vial that they stole from the vault; I'll pay the man who does his own weight in gold...or heavy armament, if he prefers.”
A general murmur went through the room from the mercenaries, who were sizing up each other and Veronica's recalled agents with distrust. Once they left that room it was every man for himself. Considering that most of the people in the room were armed with explosives and automatic weapons, it would be a miracle if they got through the front door in one piece.
“I've given you copies of our dossiers on those responsible; photos, names, aliases, known accomplices, known residences, everything you need. Now go! 10,000g for a confirmed kill, riches for the vial!”
There was a heavy crunch as seven mercenaries tried to get through the door at the same time and after much squabbling and swearing they got through and were racing down the stairs, wondering if it would affect their paycheck if they just got it over with and started shooting each other right then and there in the manor. The agents saluted and left calmly, with the last to leave closing the door quietly behind him.
Lady Veronica turned back to the window. Her butler wondered aloud if hiring those men was either a good idea or worth the money it would cost if they came good while recalling the best of her agents meant that business elsewhere was being left unattended. She smiled.
“You might be right,” she said. The sun had sunk below the city skyline. “But then again, it's awfully exciting to have a vendetta to pursue, isn't it?”
***
Night falls and the streets of Nou Havre finally grow still. Walking into the town square, the man with the sawn-off passes the body of a man shot dead by the fountain on his way toward the lodge where he finds the site of the angry mob scattered by the charging Toyboata, which now sits on its roof as a charred and abandoned husk. The man approaches the pick-up and picks through the wreckage, looking for signs of human remains, and finds the charred body of the lodge clerk. He wonders who it was.
Behind him mill his comrades, uncomfortable in the cold night air and in the uneasy atmosphere of the torn Nou Havre. Between them is the security guard for the lodge, dragged from his home to the scene of that night when the lodge was destroyed. He explains in stops and starts what happened that night, and describes in detail the travelling group that had stopped here and caused it all. When asked what direction they went, the security guard suggests that they were most likely heading for Paris.
The man with the sawn-off nods. He leaves the charred Toyboata and gestures at Murdoch and the ex-marine to let the man go, who scurries off into the night. As they leave the town square, passing the bullet-torn body of a man by the fountain, they fan out in search of a vehicle and for new allies...
***
When you awake it's to the rhythmic clackity-clack of the train reverberating through the floor. Getting up, you notice that it's still very dark outside and small speckles of rain stream across the window as the train surges down the track toward it's destination. You're unsure of where you are heading; Brussels or Zurich, but then perhaps it doesn't matter for the moment. The rooms are quite comfortable, with good beds and a writing desk placed by the window. A sudden distant explosion makes you jump, but you relax; it's just the sound of steam being vented by the engine up front.
So, you're in your individual rooms of the tenth carriage, toward the back and away from the noisy engine. At the front is the nuclear train with Stevens and his colleagues burning the midnight oil to get the train as far away from the city as they can. Tsunami and El Rey are also helping out, earning the discount they were able to negotiate; unfortunately, the extra exertion caused by this will temporarily cost the two of you 2 Endurance which lasts until you leave the train.
You can talk about your next move from here (I'll provide a heads-up on what to expect from the Zurich and Brussels route), scout the train for supplies (Perception), head for the front of the train to find out where the train is headed, or anything else that comes to mind. I'll calculate your additional EXP from events on the platform and for surviving another chapter now.