session five

hi, everybody! better late than never department ... we finally got around to picking up our broken worlds rpg scenario again. (the game is based on kill six billion demons, which everyone ought to be reading!) if you haven't read our previous session write-ups, you'll probably be lost, so maybe check out the link box on the left in that case.

now, here we go!

GM Claire: Okay, everybody ready?

Ariel: Almost. I'm still reading the notes from the last session so I can remember what's going on.

Sasha: I remember just fine. I spent the whole session doing nothing down in the dungeon!

Elle: And whose choice was that?

Sasha: Hey, just because Angry Ag got himself in a situation doesn't mean he can't be steamed about it!

Msg: How about we smooth things over and get the session rolling by starting with Ag? If it suits the Game Master, that is.

GM Claire: I think that's a great idea. Ag, you've been feeding the tortured prisoner rations from your pack. He has trouble eating them, what with his lips having been stitched around a flute for so long, but eventually he seems to have gotten some of his energy back.

Sasha: Great. I grab him by the arm and head back to the room with the three doors. He doesn't put up a fight, does he? That would really piss me off.

GM Claire: No, but he stumbles a lot, and very quickly he starts wheezing at the effort. His breath kind of whistles through his perforated lips.

Sasha: Whatever. If he's mobile, Ag is fine with it.

GM Claire: You encounter no resistance and pretty soon, you find yourself back in the room. The doors remain as before ... wooden tree-face door on the left, bronze demon-face door in the middle, stone snake-head door on the right.

Sasha: Okay, I drag the dude over to the wood one since that's the one my Pry Secrets roll made me think would work.

Ariel: But it was from a roll you failed! You don't know if that information was true!

Sasha: Do I look like I'm worried? 

GM Claire: As you drag him toward the door, the prisoner tries to say something. It sounds like, "ph- ph- phass ..."

Sasha: I tell him to just shut up and open the door.

GM Claire: He looks scared to do that and says, "phass...whord..."

Sasha: Geez, do I have to intimidate him into doing this?

GM Claire: "phasswhord ..."

Ariel: He's trying to say "password!"

Elle: I think you're supposed to let Sash figure that out on her own since we're not there.

Ariel: Oh, sorry!

Sasha: I figured that out! Of course I figured it out, what, do you think I'm dumb? "Password," it's obvious. I'm just ... role-playing my character. Even if I figured it out, that doesn't mean Ag did.

Msg: He is pretty thick.

Elle: I'm not buying it, but I guess I'll let it slide.

GM Claire: Good. Sash, if you keep pushing him at the wooden door, he says, "ph- phortal bfrafe! Phortal bfrafe!" and points at the bronze door.

Sasha: I say, "What the hell are you gibbering about?"

GM Claire: "Phasswhord," he says, pointing more at the demon face. "Phasswhord, phortal bfrafe!"

Sasha: Oh, NOW Ag gets it. I pat him on the head and say, "Good work. Go ahead and open it."

GM Claire: He blinks worriedly and says, "Mhee?"

Sasha: "Yeah, dude, you're the one who knows the password."

GM Claire: Very, very hesitantly, he walks toward the door.

Sasha: I get my sword out and tell him, "Hey, I've got your back if it doesn't work."

GM Claire: He eyes the sword even more nervously, then puts his hand on the handle of the door and squeezes his eyelids shut like he's working up his courage.

Sasha: Come on, dude, we haven't got all day.

GM Claire: Trembling, he says, "Phortal bfrafe" and then tugs on the handle.

Sasha: Yes! What happens? Does the door open?

GM Claire: No, the instant he pulls on it, that same thick black smoke pours out of the demon's nostrils and the guys coughs and staggers back. There's another smoky whirlwind and then poof, there's the big-ass devil who came out before.

Elle: Let me guess, he asks for the password.

GM Claire: That's exactly what he does.

Sasha: Aw, come on! The prisoner dude said it! I glare at the prisoner.

GM Claire: The devil is glaring at him too, and repeats, "Password" in his doom-filled voice. The prisoner is terrified. He says that same phrase over and over, but it doesn't do any good. The devil just says, "Incorrect. Password, or begone." He also lifts his giant iron club threateningly.

Sasha: What the hell? Did they change the password since this guy knew it or something?

GM Claire: The guy turns to you wide-eyed and points at his mouth and says, "Mhy liphs! I can't phronounce it, you have to! Phortal bfrafe!"

Sasha: Oh, crap. I don't know what the hell he's trying to say! 

Elle: I'm really having to bite my tongue here.

Sasha: Uh ... Fordal frafe? Fordal blape?"

GM Claire: The devil swings its club up and back. The prisoner has collapsed in terror on the floor.

Sasha: Shit! Um, I do a Pry Secrets! And I spend my power die! So like, the universe sends me the information in a mini-lightning-bolt to my head! Seven! Yes! Oh, but it's +Mind, and my Mind is -1.

GM Claire: So a six. 

Elle: Fail.

Sasha: I get to ask a question anyway! What seems to be the safest path forward?

GM Claire: The answer is easy, and even though it was a miss, you're pretty sure it's true.

Sasha: Awesome! Thank you, Claire! I love you! What is it?

GM Claire: "Say the correct password."

(general laughter)

Sasha: Goddamn it.

GM Claire: You've got maybe one chance to say it before the devil swings its club.

Msg: Can I give her a hint?

Sasha: No! No hints! I say, uh ... "Border break!"

GM Claire: The massive iron club arcs down to pulverize the helpless prisoner into a bloody mess, and the devil looks at you.

Sasha: Let me guess, it asks for the password again.

GM Claire: Yes. It raises its club threateningly.

Sasha: Er, is it too late for you to let Msg give me that hint?

Ariel: Wait, isn't that cheating?

GM Claire: I'm a generous GM, so I'll allow it, as long as it's just a hint and not the answer.

Sasha: Thank you!

Msg: He's only having trouble saying letters where you touch your lips to each other or to your teeth.

Sasha: Oh my god, I'm so dumb.

GM Claire: The devil is ready to swing again. "Password, or begone!"

Sasha: Um, um ... buh, duh no, not that one, fuh ...muh ... puh ... vuh ... wuh ... oh! Portal! That makes sense ...

GM Claire: Do you say it out loud?

Sasha: Yes! Portal ... uh .... um ...

Elle: The suspense is killing me here.

Sasha: Brave! Portal brave!

GM Claire: The devil scowls and dissolves into smoke and gets sucked back into the nostrils. You hear a 'click' from the door latch.

Sasha: Yes!

Msg: You're welcome.

Elle: Don't slip in the gory pulp from the whistle-mouth dude's body on your way to the door.

Sasha: Aw, man, poor whistle-mouth dude. I guess I should have asked him his name so I could say, "Don't worry, whatever-his-name-was, your sacrifice will not be in vain."

Elle: Eh, I bet his name was Bill or Paul or something, so you wouldn't have understood what he was saying anyway.

Sasha: Probably. Okay, I go open the door!

GM Claire: All right, you go to open the door ... and the scene switches to the kitchen upstairs.

Sasha: Damn it.

GM Claire: The sneaky little devil is lying dead on the floor, pulverized by Lonely Girl Gazelle Grey Eyes' whirlwind hoof attack, and you hear the tromp of many booted feet from the door that leads out of the special section of kitchen where she was working.

Ariel: Wait! Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm ready.

Elle: What do you need to be ready for? Sin-Sing is going to do all the talking. 

Ariel: Okay, I stand behind her then.

GM Claire: A whole pack of guards swarms through the door, led by an officer in a stylish and imposing uniform. 

Msg: I find a corner to keep my back to.

Elle: Before anyone can accuse us of anything, I point at the dead devil and say to the officer, "Excellent! You're here just in time to examine this assassin for clues! We're going to chase down the other chefs in case she had an accomplice." Can I make that a Bend Will move with the idea of him getting credit for finding the poison as leverage?

GM Claire: No, this guy is sharp and suspicious, and for all he knows, there's nothing on the body that will get him any credit with his superiors. He says, "When the whole kitchen's been emptied out? It won't be five minutes before Parkhassian hears about this, and I'm not going to be the one left here for her to take a chunk out of his hide because he can't explain what's going on." Then he turns to a couple of his guys and orders them to go round up the fleeing chefs.

Elle: "I like your idea better," I tell him while taking off my mask. "Less rushing around for me to do, and I've been hoping to speak with Parkhassian anyway."

GM Claire: He narrows his eyes and says, "Who are you? You're not any of the guards I know."

Elle: "Sin-Sing Cherise. My gang and I caught wind of this interloper's intent to poison someone at the Night of Song, and I thought we might further a business connection with the Palace by stopping the plot."

GM Claire: "'We?' How many of you imposters are there?"

Ariel: Gulp! I guess I take off my mask and raise my hand.

Elle: I give Paghla the nod so that she unmasks too.

GM Claire: Matash?

Msg: Well, I just re-checked my Heat score, and I suck at rolls that take social skill, so I guess I'll remove mine too.

Elle: Before he can separate us or start grilling anyone, I'm going to spin a story about how we overheard the dead devil in a bar, so I entered the contest as cover and used a connection to get uniforms for my gang members. Then we made our way to the kitchen to look for the assassin, and there he was.

GM Claire: That's going to be an Overcome roll to successfully deceive him. Roll +Heat.

Elle: Sure ... 5 plus 2 is 7, so I make it.

GM Claire: But with a complication. He demands to know who your connection is.

Elle: I cough up Gervender. I'm still planning to win the contest and get her freed, so no harm using her as a scapegoat here.

Ariel: Well, I mean, there might be harm, if you don't win! She'll get in a ton of trouble! They might even send her to the torturer!

Elle: (shrugs) So? You guys killed him, right?

Ariel: You don't know that, though.

Elle: I don't know about the torturer at all, so why would I be worried about him?

Ariel: ...

Elle: Anyway, do I manage to draw out my story long enough for this Parkhassian to show up?

GM Claire: You didn't say that's what you were trying to do, but I'll say yes anyway. She glides through the kitchen door with a couple of bodyguards behind her. You see that she's a member of the servant race, one of those people with the harp-sided faces. She's wearing a truly fabulous set of robes and is bedecked in entirely too much jewelry.

Msg: Hmm. That sounds suspiciously familiar for some reason.

GM Claire: She reminds you distinctly of Ras Supharna, actually, except that she favors rubies in her jewelry instead of emeralds, and the harp is on the opposite side of her head. She stops just inside the doorway and surveys the scene imperiously.

Elle: I perform an elaborate bow and tell her I'm delighted for the opportunity to meet her even if the circumstances are perhaps overdramatic.

GM Claire: Parkhassian says, "This is twice tonight you've made a distinct impression on me. Though I must say ..." She opens a fan and waves it over her open neckline. "The first had a more positive tone to it than this second one. Jafasitan!" The officer snaps to attention and salutes her when she says that. Presumably it's his name. She asks him what the story here is, and he relays the general outline of it.

Ariel: I hope he includes the part about the shrimpy devil lady having poison stashed on her!

GM Claire: Actually, Sin-Sing has been monopolizing his attention, and he hasn't yet searched the body. But he does tell Parkhassian about that claim and says he was just waiting for her to arrive before checking. She coolly suggests that he might undertake that task now.

Elle: While he's searching, I try to get in her good graces and say I genuinely hope our subterfuge to catch this devil doesn't disqualify me from the next round of the contest.

GM Claire: She tells you it depends on what Jafasitan finds, and looks over at him. He turns and holds up the vial of poison. "Assassin's guild poison," he says intensely. Parkhassian looks to the counter that's behind the body, where Grey-Eyes' Gazelle Hoof Whirlwind inflicted so much damage. "And is that the station she was working?"

Elle: "It is," I tell her.

GM Claire: "Crone's finger prawns," she muses. "Those were headed for my table, and I've never made a secret of favoring them. You seem to have done me a service."

Elle: I look at her seductively and say I'm hopeful it will be but the first. Assuming she can forgive our masquerade. Can I make that a Bend Will roll?

GM Claire: Considering your performance earlier, I'd say you have leverage, so go ahead. 

Elle: Oh, shit. Snake eyes. Even with my +2 Heat, that's only 4.

GM Claire: Ouch. She says she's going to need a top-to-bottom security check of the Palace before any further discussions could bear fruit.

Sasha: That's not good.

Elle: Yeah, I'd better turn this around quick.

Msg: I'm going to speak up here and say that one reason we came is that from what we've heard, we share a mutual enemy with Parkhassian and the Palace -- Fane Vasadra of the Quicksilver Lash.

GM Claire: Are you trying to do your own Bend Will roll?

Msg: No, my Heat stat sucks. I'm just softballing Sin-Sing some information she might use as new leverage.

Ariel: Isn't it kind of cheating to say out loud that's what you were trying to do?

Msg: Not if I do an Overcome roll to word it just right so that Sin-Sing gets what I'm up to and Parkhassian doesn't. Can I do that with +Mind, Claire?

GM Claire: Sure, give it a try.

Msg: Seven plus 2 is 9.

GM Claire: Success with a complication, trade-off, or misfortune. You've fed Sin-Sing the information, but Parkhassian is put on edge by mention of Vasadra and demands to know where you heard that the Palace and Vasadra are at odds.

Elle: I'll step in and say that what matters more than where we heard it is that we're free agents who could go after Vasadra without it being connected to the Palace. We'd be willing to take care of this problem for her to prove our value and the usefulness of our connection. Surely that would make up for any mess we've made trying to reveal this assassin-chef?

GM Claire: Since you did seemingly save her life, and she does really want to get at Vasadra, she says she's willing to let the irregularities pass, as long as you behave yourselves and stay out of the Palace restricted areas from now on. By which she means everyplace but the performance hall and the staging areas for the contest. And she reminds you that the rules of the contest are still in effect -- if you end up losing, you'll have to serve the Palace for a year.

Elle: I tell her I'm already committed to the rules of the contest ... and I say that if I lose, I'll even make it two years if she'll release Gervender from her obligation and not hold it against her that I persuaded her into helping me. That's another Bend Will, and this time I'm going to Push it. Damn it, seriously? Six.

GM Claire: She coolly tells you that the contest rules are not malleable and thanks you for reminding her of Gervender's disloyalty. Then she orders Jafasitan to have Gervender rounded up and taken to the torturer for a mild rebuke. "One or two scars, in a concealable location."

Elle: Damn it.

GM Claire: She also tells him to have you escorted to wherever your proper clothes are and monitor you changing back into them, then see that you're returned to the public areas.

Ariel: Oh, crud! Matash and I left our clothes in the storeroom downstairs, didn't we?

GM Claire: You didn't specifically say so, but I assumed that was the case, since you couldn't exactly wear them under the neatly tailored guard uniforms.

Ariel: What are we going to do? We can't tell them to escort us all the way back downstairs past those guards we killed!

Elle: I'm going to assume I see Grey-Eyes looking nervous, so I'll wink at her and say, "Looks like everything's working out fine, then. Let's go get our things ... assuming no one's taken them while we were gone."

Ariel: I guess that helps me calm down.

Msg: Do we just have the guards escort us back to where Sin-Sing and Paghla left their clothes, then?

Elle: I don't see any reason not to.

Ariel: Oh!

Elle: What?

Ariel: Nothing ... I just had a thought.

Msg: A good thought, I hope?

Ariel: Maybe! We'll see in a minute when we get to the room Sin-Sing left her clothes in.

GM Claire: Okay, well, three of the guards take you there, and it's not far, so you get there pretty quick.

Ariel: Great! So I spend a Power Die that I just remembered I had because we get a new one at the beginning of every session, right?

GM Claire: That's true, and Sasha is the only one who's spent one this session. What are you spending it on?

Ariel: On my Mantra of Prim the Loyal power, so I can add to your description of us getting to the room!  What I'm adding is, "Yes, and fortunately, when we get there, Gervender is waiting for us with the extra waiter uniforms because the room Sin-Sing and Paghla changed in was the same room where they were supposed to meet her."

Elle: Nice! Since I assume I'm leading the way, when I open the door and spot her, I try to gesture for her to hide before the guards get close enough to see she's in there. Then I tell them we'll be right out once we change, so they don't try to come in with us.

GM Claire: That will be an Overcome roll, +Heat, to make Gervender understand your gesture without them noticing.

Elle: Yawn. Ten plus two is twelve.

GM Claire: So she hides, but the guards were told to monitor you changing, so they don't want to just let you all in the room together with the door shut.

Elle: That's cool. I say I'll go first and each of the others can take a turn once I'm done, so the guards can keep an eye on the three who aren't changing.

GM Claire: They buy that.

Elle: Okay. So while I'm switching outfits, I tell Gervender they're going to be looking for her, so she needs to try and keep a low profile. I also tell her she needs to get directions from Matash or Gazelle-Girl where their stuff is, so that she can sneak there and fetch it for them and tell Ag to get the hell out of Dodge. If she wears Gazelle-Girl's things once she's back upstairs, maybe that will help her blend into the crowds and keep from getting caught. Since she's part of my gang now, I can use Dirty Work as the roll for her to succeed at this, and spend a Power Die for my Mantra of the Beast-Headed God to get a 10+ on the Dirty Work roll by giving her an inspiring speech as part of the orders. Like, "Blah, blah, blah, she's the most beautiful and clever new recruit I've had to my gang in ages, so I'm sure she can do it, etc." You know what? I also have her help me with my clothes while I'm changing, and at some point when she touches me, I'll remark on what soft and perfect hands she has. Hopefully that will go to her head and make her blush.

GM Claire: Well, she's got super-dark skin, remember? So you can't tell whether she blushes. But she's awestruck at the praise, and you feel pretty sure she'll do a good job.

Sasha: Wow, Elle, you're really good at this game as long as you don't have to roll for stuff.

Elle: Th-- Hey!

GM Claire: Anything else you do before going back out in your own clothes?

Elle: No ... but when I get out, I tell Matash and Gazelle-Girl, "My clothes and Paghla's were still in there, but it looks like somebody scrammed with you guys' stuff. I told you not to leave it out in the open.

Ariel: Good thinking! Um ... I guess I say, "Oh well, we're stuck in these uniforms for now I suppose."

Elle: Sin-Sing shakes her head and says, "I'm sure Parkhassian doesn't want us wandering around dressed like guards, but we still have those serving staff uniforms Gervender brought with the guard ones. Probably not as much of a security threat if you change into those." Do the guards buy it?

GM Claire: They scratch their heads a little and seem uncomfortable at the idea of leaving you in any Palace of Night duds.

Msg: I suggest we turn the shirts inside-out and leave off whatever caps or other accessories make the uniforms distinctive.

Elle: I'm sure between us Paghla and I have a couple extra scarves or sashes too. We can loan you those to make you look even more like civvies.

GM Claire: That seems to satisfy the guards. Paghla has been changing while the rest of you talked this over with them. Who goes in next?

Ariel: I guess I can.

Elle: I give her one of my scarves as she goes.

Ariel: Thank you! So ... I guess while I'm in there I tell Gervender how to find our stuff in the storeroom?

Sasha: You don't know Sin-Sing told her you'd do that, y'know. Role play!

Ariel: Well I assume she asks, since Elle told her to! Like, and I assume I don't scream in surprise when she comes out from wherever she's hiding?

GM Claire: She just stands behind the door while it's open, and gives an uncertain little wave when it swings closed and you see her.

Ariel: Er ... I wave back?

GM Claire: She whispers to you that she's part of Sin-Sing's gang, and you're supposed to tell her how to find your stuff for you.

Ariel: I'm glad it's me and not Matash Kachrang ... he'd probably be too suspicious to trust her. But I'll go ahead and give her the best directions I can.

GM Claire: She says she's never been to that part of the palace, but she'll do her best.

Ariel: Well, I get dressed then and tie on Sin-Sing's scarf like a belt or something around the uniform waist.

Msg: I'll do the same when it's my turn.

GM Claire: Right. Unless someone else has something to tell Gervender before you leave the room, the guards go ahead and escort Sin-Sing and Paghla to the contestant area, and Matash and Grey-Eyes to the Great Gallery where the contest is still going on.

Sasha: Any chance we can get back to me and whatever's behind that bronze demon-face door?

GM Claire: Actually, yes!

Sasha: And ... ?

GM Claire: It's dark, dark stairway leading down.

Sasha: Ugh. Okay, I take out my oil lamp so I can see and head on down.

GM Claire: It's creepy and shadowy, and you're not sure why but the stairway kind of makes your skin crawl.

Sasha: Goddamn creepy staircase! It really pisses me off when my skin crawls.

GM Claire: As you continue down, you think ... you start to hear some kind of whispers.

Sasha: Can I tell what they're saying?

GM Claire: No. You're not even sure if you're hearing them with your ears, or if it's some kind of psychic or spiritual thing going straight into your brain.

Sasha: Great.

GM Claire: But after a little bit, you think you see something ahead -- the bottom of the stairs, you think.

Sasha: Can I tell if there's any light coming from down there?

GM Claire: Yes, you think you see some faint illumination trickling across a stone floor through an arch the stairs  end at.

Sasha: I'll blow out my lamp and sneak the rest of the way.

GM Claire: Roll an Overcome roll, +Reflex.

Sasha: Seriously? Okay, whatever. My Reflex sucks, so I might as well push this ...  yep, just great. I get a 6.

GM Claire: Another Break Die for me, thanks! I need to start spending these things. You blew out your lamp a little early, it turns out, and in the gloom you step wrong on the stairs and stumble the rest of the way down and into the room, barely keeping from falling flat on your face.

Sasha: Uh-huh.

GM Claire: The room you find yourself in is peculiar. It has a metal-shuttered window on one wall, and a bunch of different-sized metal doors. There are several small ones, ranging from the size of a jewelry box drawer to big enough to put a large basket through. They're arranged to either side of the metal shutters, some of them near ground level -- mostly the bigger ones -- and others waist-high or chest high. Then farther away from the window are a person-sized door and a door big enough to drive a car through.

Sasha: I guess I walk over to the person sized one and try opening it.

GM Claire: There doesn't seem to be a handle or a way to get leverage on it.

Sasha: Are those whispers still going on?

GM Claire: Yes, still faint and indistinct.

Sasha: Whatever. I'll just go knock on those shutters and see if anybody opens them.

GM Claire: The shutters do open! And as soon as they do, the whispers become louder.

Sasha: Loud enough to hear what they're saying yet?

GM Claire: Yes. It sounds like they're listing off all different kinds of things that are filed or stored in different spots. "Scroll of the Misshapen Nebular Scepter, Row 16, Cupboard 9." "Electron Cloud Collander, Row 72, Shelf 12."

Sasha: Do I see what's making the whispers?

GM Claire: Maybe. Behind the shutters is a strange mass of tentacles on a stool, yellow-green and pinkish-purple and brownish grey. There's a large faceted crystal the size of a basketball on top of the tentacle mass, and you feel like it's a head and the whispers are emanating from it.

Sasha: Does it seem like it sees me?

GM Claire: You can't tell. It doesn't have any eyes.

Ariel: Ask it to give you the granny head!

Sasha: Hush! Let my character do what my character's going to do!

Ariel: Sorry.

Sasha: I ask it if there's a head stored in the ... uh, vault? I'm guessing that's what this is?

GM Claire: A whisper floats into your mind and asks you, "Which head?"

Sasha: Oh, great. How many heads do they have stored here?

GM Claire: Do you ask it that?

Sasha: No, I don't want to sound like I don't know what I'm doing.

Elle: Maybe too late for that.

Sasha: Quiet! I say I'm supposed to retrieve the preserved head of this old lady ... she's one of those harp-faced people, right? Related to Ras Supharna.

Ariel: Yikes, don't say that!

Sasha: Why not? And anyway, I already did.

GM Claire: The whisper says, "Head of Seredar Supharna, Row 37, Niche 33."

Sasha: I guess I say, "Sure, that's the one."

GM Claire: One of the tentacles picks up a clipboard and turns it to fit through the shutters. Then another one pokes through holding a pen. A whisper in your head says, "Sign." You see that there's a form on the clipboard.

Elle: Better pick the right name to sign, or I'm guessing there will be trouble.

Sasha: Just for that, I ought to sign Sin-Sing's name.

Elle: Great! You don't know what my signature looks like, so when they accuse me of signing it, it will be obvious someone was framing me.

GM Claire: It's totally up to you, Angry Ag. The tentacle-crystal thing is just waiting on its stool.

Sasha: Errrrr .... I sign it "Bill Whistler" and push the clipboard back through the shutters.

GM Claire: The tentacle mass accepts the clipboard and then just sits there.

Sasha: What, like it's reading the signature or something?

GM Claire: You can't tell, because it doesn't have any eyes.

Sasha: Ugh. Okay, I wait patiently for a while.

GM Claire: Nothing seems to be happening.

Sasha: This is making me so mad.

Msg: Maybe it wants its pen back.

Sasha: What? I don't have --

Elle: Did you say you gave the pen back?

Sasha: No, but obviously ... argh! I give it its pen back.

GM Claire: It takes the pen and you hear a whisper say, "Thank you," and then the shutters close again. A second later, one of the medium-ish doors slides open, and you see what looks like a large crystal vase with a head resting in the mouth of the vase.

Sasha: An old granny-looking head?

GM Claire: Seems to be.

Sasha: Great, I go over to get it.

GM Claire: As you walk closer, you see that the vase is half-full of a yellowish fluid, and a partially intact spinal column is hanging from the head down into the fluid.

Ariel: Ew!

Sasha: Whatever, I'm going to grab it and get out of there.

GM Claire: Hold on. When you reach for the vase, the deep-sunken eyes of the head flash open, revealing lifeless white orbs, and the withered lips move, letting out a creaky, grave-like voice that says, "Submit." You feel as though your will is fading and your spirit is becoming pliable and docile.

Sasha: What! Can I resist it?

GM Claire: Do you try?

Sasha: Of course I do!

GM Claire: Make an Overcome roll, +Heat.

Sasha: Oh, man, I better make this ... yes! Eight!

GM Claire: Success, but with a complication or trade-off. The head croaks out, "Do my bidding, or I will enslave you."

Sasha: Are you cutting a deal here? Tell me what your bidding is and I'll tell you if I agree.

GM Claire: It says, "Carry me to the Supharna Slave House, that I may restore it to its former glory."

Ariel: Wait, what? Are these Supharna people slavers too? That's so not cool!

Sasha: I tell it that sounds good to me, and then I pick it up and truck out of there.

GM Claire: The catalogue of whispers fades as you move up the stairs. You encounter no resistance passing through the room with the three doors. Where do you go from there?

Sasha: I poke my head into the storeroom to see if Matash and Gazelle-Girl are there, or if their stuff is still there.

GM Claire: Okay, let me think for a second about how long things have been taking here. They went upstairs while you went down to the door room and tried the wooden door. Then they went down the hall to the slave pens while you went to find the whistling guy ... that didn't take too long, because Matash crisped whoever was on the other side of the door and then they ran back and scorched up those guards and went upstairs.

Sasha: Yeah, while I was nursing that Bill Whistler guy back to enough health that he could tell me the password. Lot of good that did me.

Ariel: More than it did him! You got him squashed!

GM Claire: I'm going to say the time it took you to feed him and get him mobile --

Ariel: And get him squashed.

GM Claire: -- and get downstairs to the vault was pretty close to the time it took for them to kill the assassin chef and talk to Parkhassian and go to the room with their clothes. So ... Elle, I want you to tell me whether you think Gervender gets to the storeroom before Ag gets back there, or after.

Elle: Before. She's scurrying because she's nervous about being in an area where she doesn't belong, and she's also motivated because she wants to do a good job and impress me.

GM Claire: Okay. Then Sash, when you get to the storeroom, there's no sign of either your companions or their belongings.

Sasha: Super. That makes it easy on me. I'm just going to go back to the elevator level and skedaddle on out the back way.

GM Claire: Not so fast. When you get to that intersection upstairs --

Sasha: The one with the signs pointing to accounting and to the slave pens?

GM Claire: Yep. Not only do you see the charred bodies of the guards Matash flamed, but there's another set of guards who've found the bodies and are investigating. What do you do?

Sasha: What do you think I do? I set Granny down and pull out my giant-ass sword. Then I tell them, "You guys have about two seconds to run, or I'm carving you into giblets."

GM Claire: Are you attempting a Bend Will on them?

Sasha: Yes! And hey, is there any chance Granny s going to lend a hand, since I'm trying to get her out past them?

GM Claire: Sure. Describe what she says.

Sasha: Probably something like, "You doofs really better listen to him," but in her creepy creaky voice.

GM Claire: Okay. I'm going to say her eerie undead influence gives you a +2 on your Bend Will, in addition to your +Heat.

Sasha: Awesome! I roll ... eep -- four. Plus two is six, but my Heat is +1, so seven! Made it!

GM Claire: Yes, but with a complication. They run toward the slave pens yelling at the top of their lungs, "Intruders! Help! We need reinforcements!"

Sasha: I put my sword back away and pick up Granny and run for the elevator. Is there anybody in the big elevator room past those double doors?

GM Claire: No, but you also don't see the elevator platform, either.

Sasha: Don't need it. Who cares? I'll just slide or climb down the cable with Granny's vase under one arm.

GM Claire: It's pretty far ... are you sure?

Sasha: Damn right I'm sure. This place has been nothing but an aggravation.

GM Claire: Okay, roll Overcome, +Body.

Sasha: Six plus my Body of two is eight!

GM Claire: I roll a Break Die.

Sasha: What!

GM Claire: Come on, I've got four of them. I have to start spending them sometime. But you're in luck. I roll a 5, so it doesn't change your roll. That gets you halfway down. Roll again.

Sasha: Again? This is totally unfair.

GM Claire: I told you it was a long way.

Sasha: Eight plus tow is ten!

GM Claire: I roll another Break Die.

Sasha: Seriously?!?

GM Claire: It's a two, which lowers your die roll to six.

Sasha: Hah, plus my two body is eight.

GM Claire: Success with a complication. You feel like you're losing your grip on Granny s vase. You can either drop her, or fall yourself.

Sasha: How far is it to the ground?

GM Claire: A little hard to tell because it's dark here, remember? But somewhere between a long fall and a multi-story fall, so between 2 and 4 damage.

Sasha: No problem. I keep hold of Granny and take the fall. Can I try to brace for impact so the damage is less?

GM Claire: Sure. Make an Overcome +Body roll.

Sasha: Six plus two is eight. So help me, if you roll another one of those break dice ...

GM Claire: I roll a break die.

Sasha: Wtf, Claire.

GM Claire: But it's another 5, so your roll is the same.

Sasha: Whew!

GM Claire: Success with a complication, so I'll say you take the middle amount of damage. Three points.

Sasha: Can I take it with my armor?

GM Claire: I don't see why not.

Sasha: Awesome. I'm still basically unscratched, then. I'm going to scoot back to Ras Supharna with her grandma. I assume Granny can tell me where the right place is, so we don't have to set up a special meeting?

GM Claire: Yes.

Ariel: So that's it? Ag just gets away with the head? Is the adventure over now?

GM Claire: No, the rest of you still have to make it out of the Palace, and Sin-Sing still has the competition to finish.

Msg: Wait ... how are we even supposed to know we can leave? As far as we know, Ag is still downstairs and hasn't gotten into the Vault at all.

Elle: Right, but our jig is up as far as the rest of us continuing to sneak around this place. Parkhassian and Jafasitan have the guards on alert and doing a top-to-bottom check of the Palace, and they've seen all our faces. When Gervender comes back with your stuff, she'll tell us Ag wasn't in the storeroom. If we get to the Brewhouse and he's not there, we'd just have to figure out a way to go back in and rescue him later. 

Sasha: Like I would need rescuing!

Ariel: So ... is it time for the next part of the contest now?

GM Claire: Basically. You guys mingle with the audience, and Sin-Sing waits for round two in the contestant area. Gervender meets up with Matash and Grey-Eyes to give them their stuff -- or most of it. She's wearing Grey-Eyes' things as a disguise, like her Boss suggested.

Elle: Good girl.

GM Claire: So there are like, ten or so other contestants who made it to this round. Why don't you guys describe some of their acts?

Msg: The first one is a talking dog with a trained human that performs tricks on command. It's sort of a comedy routine because the human isn't very good at any of the tricks and is easily distracted, and the dog keeps having to correct him. The audience loved it the first time because it was a novel idea and the dog had a lot of good lines, but apparently he didn't think to hold back enough extra material, because parts of it are kind of a repeat this time.

Elle: The Strumpets boo all the repeat stuff.

GM Claire: The dog ends up leaving the stage with its tail between its legs when the act is over. What's next?

Sasha: Can I go even though Ag's not there?

GM Claire: Sure. It's not your characters deciding this stuff. You're just helping build the story as players.

Sasha: The next act is a lady with a sword who calls up volunteers from the audience to swordfight with her. She has this super-long tail that she holds one sword with, and she wraps it around the volunteer just right so it looks like they're holding the sword, and then she fights them with the sword in her hand while her tail moves them around like a puppet.

Msg: That sounds pretty cool.

Ariel: Does she just do the same thing the way the dog did? Cause I can see that getting old for the audience too.

Sasha: No, the first time she just did a couple of different fights, but this time she puts a big block of wood in the middle of the stage to start with, and she keeps the volunteers dodging around it while they fight, and by the end of the fight, their sword cuts have carved it into a wooden statue.

Elle: Hey! Don't give my competition super-cool stuff to do!

Sasha: Too late.

GM Claire: The crowd is very impressed by the act. What's the statue supposed to be?

Sasha: Uh ... a very flattering carving of Parkhassian.

Msg: Okay -- if I see how this is going, can I raise my hand to be the last volunteer.

GM Claire: You can, but it'll be an Overcome move to make yourself seem like a good pick to her, +Heat.

Ariel: Nooo, Matash's Heat is terrible! You better spend a Power Die, Msg!

Msg: I think you're right, so I Channel Flame when I raise my hand. That causes my eyes to glow and my voice to ring out with an otherworldly authority. Dang it. Even with the Power Die, I get a seven, minus one is six.

GM Claire: You overdid it with the special effects or something, because the audience looks at you funny and responds negatively to what they see as an interruption to a cool act.

Elle: The Strumpets probably grumble extra long at that, to help throw off the pacing of the sword-lady's act. Meanwhile, backstage I'm going to Pry Secrets to see if I notice anything about my fellow contestants I can use as leverage to unnerve them with a Bend Will move.

GM Claire: Pry Secrets is +Mind.

Elle: Yeah, but I'm going to Push the move to try to get a Power Die.

Ariel: You're so reckless, Elle!

Elle: No, Sin-Sing is reckless, because she's the Boss and she's used to getting her way. Damn. Five.

Ariel: Well, even with your +1 that still would have failed, so I guess no harm done.

GM Claire: Except that I get a Break Die.

Msg: And just when she was almost out of them.

Elle: I still get to ask a question, I just don't know if the answer is true or not. What here could be useful to me?

GM Claire: One of your opponents seems to be sweating a little. He's a scrawny little guy in nothing but a loincloth.

Elle: All right, I'll sidle up to him and try to needle him some about being sweaty to make him even more nervous. Do I get to Bend Will?

GM Claire: No. Apparently, his sweatiness isn't something that works as leverage.

Elle: Damn it. 

GM Claire: Who wants to describe the next act?

Ariel: Ooh! I know!

GM Claire: What is it?

Ariel: It's a skinny little guy in a loincloth, and he's a snake wrestler! He has this giant python he wrestles with and escapes from, and being all sweaty makes him slippery so he can slip out of its coils easier.

GM Claire: Nice!

Elle: Well, at least it doesn't sound like the kind of act that's as impressive the second time around.

Ariel: No, it totally is, because the first time he always got away, but this time it seems to catch him near the end and he goes limp in its coils and it swallows him and the audience is all stunned and horrified -- and then the big bulge like, moves all the way down through the python and he squirms out the other end!

Elle: Oh, come on.

GM Claire: The crowd is totally surprised and impressed.

Elle: Well, the Strumpets will try to make a stink about it and yell, "Gross!" and "Disgusting!"

Msg: Matash will heckle him too. "Boo! That was literally crap!"

Sasha: Haha!

Elle: If any of the contestants left has a musical instrument, I'm going to try to sneak over and try to tweak something so it's out of tune.

GM Claire: Risky ... that will be an Overcome +Reflex move.

Elle: No problem. And since my Reflex is 0, I might as well Push this one too.

Ariel: Elle, when will you learn?

Elle: Not this time. I roll a seven, so I succeed. 

GM Claire: I roll a Break Die ... but it's higher than either of your dice, so no effect on your roll.

Elle: Yes!

GM Claire: But there is a complication. One of the other contestants notices what you did and comes over. He says if you don't make it worth his while, he's going to tell the attendant on you and get you disqualified.

Elle: I tell him to bug off. If he tells the attendant, it'll be my word against his, because I'll say he's the one who sabotaged the instrument.

GM Claire: All right, then he changes his tune and says he's going to tell the person you sabotaged, so they'll re-tune it and your effort will be wasted.

Elle: I size this guy up. What's he look like?

GM Claire: Tall, impeccably dressed, and gorgeous. He's human and looks south Asian, with rich, dark skin and wavy black hair.

Elle: All right, since my flaw is that I'm always horny anyway, I'll say, "Why don't we find a broom closet and figure out a mutually agreeable arrangement?"

GM Claire: He's definitely up for that.

Elle: Great. While we're in there, I'm going to do everything I can to physically wear him out. Hopefully get some, uh, fluids of various sorts on his nice outfit, too.

GM Claire: Roll Overcome + Heat.

Elle: Now you're talking. Eleven plus two is thirteen.

GM Claire: Your feminine wiles overcome any caution or moderation he might otherwise have had, and the two of you rattle your way around the whole broom closet before you're done. He seems pretty tuckered at the end of it.

Elle: Great. How is it on my end? Does the guy know how to show a little devil lady like me a good time?

GM Claire: With that roll, sure. And because it was a 10+, there's no complication, so you're not too tired or disheveled yourself, and you don't end up being late for your performance slot. Which is up now. Anything special you're going to do?

Elle: Obviously, I have to try to outdo myself from last time. Now, did you say before that the gang's whole performance as part of the audience was all one Dirty Work roll? Because that would let me keep the previous success.

GM Claire: I think that's kind of a stretch. It's been several play sessions, so I really think this is a separate move.

Elle: Okay, then. When I get onstage with Paghla, I'm going to give an inspiring speech to my "very special fans" and tell them to pay extra attention so they might learn something. That way when I make my Bend Will move on the audience, I can get a +1 to my BOSS stat and maybe be in better shape with the Dirty Work roll.

GM Claire: Sure. Do you want to describe your performance now?

Elle: What I'm going to do is, I'm going to call for volunteers from the audience and mostly pick members of the Diabolical Strumpets Guild. Maybe a couple of those actors we hired too. Then I'm going to have them form, like, a human and/or devil, angel, whatever, bed for me and Paghla to writhe all over. At the most opportune moments, I'll do what it takes to entice the most arousing possible sounds from the "volunteers." For the ... "climactic" moment of the performance, I'll get as many of them as I can to come simultaneously while I Channel Flame on the Bend Will move to make the audience go crazy.

GM Claire: Okay, then. Roll +Heat.

Elle: My three rolls are 6, 6, and 1. Because I got double sixes, that means my +BOSS goes up by two!

Ariel: Ooh, sounds like that one was even more impressive than the first one!

GM Claire: The audience's jaws are mostly on the floor, but you still have to succeed at the Dirty Work roll for the gang's efforts to give you that extra push in terms of audience volume.

Elle: Five plus two is seven. Got it!

GM Claire: Barely. The Strumpets in the audience kind of half-ass it because they're jealous of the Strumpets you picked as volunteers to be in the act. But even though they're not as convincing as in round one, they do well enough, and you're pretty sure you're going to make it to the final round.

Elle: The final round is just to determine the Grand Prize winner though, right? Didn't you say I'm considered a winner just from making it through this one?

GM Claire: Yes, but your prize would be a more limited request. If you were to win the Grand Prize, you'd be able to ask for almost anything ... like, Granny's head, for instance, which you don't know Ag got his hands on.

Elle: Yeah, but I already promised I'd use my prize to get Gervender freed, and I think I'd rather take that and split rather than wait around and maybe blow my roll on the final performance and give the Palace guards more time to figure out what's up with all the carnage down on the slave-pit level. Can I pay my respects to Parkhassian and bow out here?

GM Claire: That seems reasonable. She reminds you that you've promised to take care of Fane Vasadra for her, and she implies that if you fail to bring her proof of Vasadra's demise, she'll have to have Jafasitan look more closely into the questionable activities you seem to have gotten into while here.

Elle: Okay, I gather up Gazelle-Girl and Matash and Gervender and tell Paghla to have the rest of the Strumpets leave the Palace in two's and three's so they don't attract too much attention.

Ariel: Whew! So we're out now?

GM Claire: Yes. What do you want to do?

Ariel: Rest! I'm all torn up and my armor is gone, so I really need to take it easy for a while!

GM Claire: Anybody object to saying you're all back at Britzva's Stiff Brewhouse to do a Rest move?

Sasha: Don't I have to hand off Granny's head to Ras Supharna first?

GM Claire: Ras Supharna's not there when you get to the Supharna Slave House. Do you want to leave the head with some underling?

Sasha: No way. Okay, I head back to Britzva's too.

GM Claire: So let me find the Rest rules in the rulebook, since this is the first time we've done that. How many wounds do you want to recover?

Ariel: I'm down two.

Elle: I'm not hurt at all.

Sasha: Me neither.

Msg: Matash is also fine.

GM Claire: Okay, then someone needs to make a Rest roll at -Wounds. So two dice, minus two.

Ariel: I'll roll. It's a ... four?! Minus two is two? Agh!

GM Claire: Bad news. While you're trying to rest, some thieves break in and steal something significant from you. It's the Obsidian Eye Gang!

Sasha: The who?

GM Claire: Those guys who were shaking people down at the stairwell to the lower levels of Throne, before you even got to the Palace.

Ariel: Do we even have something that's significant?

GM Claire: Definitely.

Sasha: Oh, no. No, I got that head all on my own with practically no help from anybody and I didn't even get wounded, so they'd better not --

GM Claire: Sorry, Ag, but when you wake up on the second day of resting, you find an eyeball carved of pure black crystal in the corner where you left Granny's vase.

Sasha: GRARRH! That makes me so FURIOUS!!!

Ariel: Well, do we ... like, at least get some of our wounds back?

GM Claire: The rules don't say you recover at all on a miss.

Ariel: Wah!

Msg: Can we try another Rest roll?

GM Claire: No reason why not, but if you miss again ...

Elle: Gazelle-Girl's the only one wounded. And since it's overnight, we get to count that as a respite, right, so we get all our Stamina back.

Msg: Also, if it's at least a period of hours, we can do a Train move and level up.

Sasha: Choo-choo, next stop, second level!

Elle: Not that kind of train.

GM Claire: You can definitely train. 

Elle: Before we go to bed and the head gets stolen, I hope?

Msg: That would definitely be my priority.

GM Claire: Sure. Everybody subtract your level plus 3 from your experience and pick a new move from the lists on your character sheets. You also get a Power Die, but since I think we're about to  do End of Session, there may not be much for you to do with them.

Sasha: I'm taking "Boiling Blood."

Ariel: What's that do?

Sasha: I don't know, the name just sounds great.

Ariel: Well, especially since I'm still hurt and my armor got lost, I'm going to take this "Armor of Will" that increases my armor by one automatically.

Sasha: Dang, that's pretty good.

Msg: I'm taking "Spin Wheel and Laugh at God." It basically lets me turn back time and undo something that just happened.

GM Claire: Yikes. That's crazy powerful.

Msg: There are some ... drawbacks.

GM Claire: Hmm. I'll have to read up on those. Elle, how about you?

Elle: I think I'll take "Squeeze 'Em Dry." Wait ... no, this "Serious Swagger" sounds even better, because I don't have to roll. Pretty much if I want something, I just have to do a favor for somebody, and I get it.

Sasha: That sounds like we're going to end up taking a lot of detours from our missions ...

Elle: Maybe. But it'll always be worth it.

Sasha: Detours make me angry.

Elle: Of course they do.

GM Claire: You each have the additional option of picking one of the things on this list to happen.

Ariel: Can I see?

GM Claire: Sure. Here's the rulebook.

Ariel: Hmm. Hmm. Oh! I pick this one: "Choose another character. That character learns of an opportunity for power or influence." I pick Elle.

Elle: Thanks, sweetie!

Ariel: I thought Sin-Sing would like that one.

Elle: Def. I'll pick ... for Gazelle-Girl to have a breakthrough in her training or understanding.

Ariel: Ooh! How does that work?

GM Claire: Why don't you tell me and I'll say whether I think your idea is fair.

Ariel: Um... I get double experience points for this session?

GM Claire: Sounds good.

Ariel: Yay!

GM Claire: Msg?

Msg: I'll pick ... Sasha's character. Angry Ag learns a secret, or gains a secret of his own to keep.

Sasha: Well, for damn sure the secret I learn is the location of the Obsidian Eye Gang's hangout!

GM Claire: I'll allow it. Who are you picking, Sash?

Sasha: Doesn't it have to be Matash?

GM Claire: No. The rules don't say there needs to be any kind of balance.

Sasha: Then I'm going to double up Gazelle-Girl's breakthrough in training. Can I do that and give her triple XP for this session?

Ariel: Oh my gosh.

GM Claire: I don't know if I'd let this happen every time you guys level up, but since this is our first time training, why not? All right, are we ready for End of Session?

Ariel: No, not yet ... what exactly happens when we wake up in the morning?

GM Claire: Well, Sash finds the eye instead of the vase. And I'll say someone dropped a matchbook or something with the name of a tavern. That's how Ag finds out the secret location. 

Ariel: Okay, I'm spending that Power Die I got on my Mantra ability to add that the matchbook has a password written in it too, "barking dog."

Msg: Good thinking!

Ariel: Thank you!

GM Claire: Anybody else? No? All right, experience questions. Definitely failed at several things and exposed yourselves to danger ...

Msg: Since the ghost of Stevis wanted me to find Fane Vasadra and we agreed to go take care of her for Parkhassian, does that count as advancing our story?

GM Claire: I'd say so.

Sasha: Woohoo! Three experience points at last!

Ariel: Holy moley, that's nine for me?

Elle: Checks out by my math.

Ariel: And it takes three plus your level to go up? That means ... five, six ... I already have enough experience to get to fourth level!

Msg: Awesome. Maybe we'll want to start off next session with another Train move?

Sasha: All aboard on that idea!

Elle: Please don't keep doing that every time the subject of training comes up.

Sasha: Haha, I may have to Google "trains" just to get more material before next time.

GM Claire: Speaking of which, one last question ... we're basically done with the scenario from the book. Should I plan on continuing to be the game master next time, or do we want to switch and let Msg do it?

Msg: That would be fine by me. 

Sasha: Sure, me too.

Elle: As long as I don't have to do it.

Ariel: Oh, and that means Claire could finally make up her character too! I vote yes!

GM Claire: Great! Off we go until next time, then ...