Session 3 of #theHulls

Session 3 of #theHulls  

Info gathering:  what could’ve been a single attune roll, or even a two roll distract and pick pocket, turned into a eight-roll brawling, murderous, stressful, heat-attracting mess.

Here the players had a few options for their next score. There was a rather ripe burglary in their hunting ground, as a well appointed household seemed to be leaving the premises unoccupied. They had further ideas for progressing their plan to steal Baszo Bas’s whisky supply and sell it back to him. But the immediate problem that drew their attention most was Rat (the Lurk) being haunted by the ghost of a Duskwall Councillor, killed when Rat overindulged his Vice for stupor and almost destroyed the Red Lamp, and taunting Rat with revenge. Plus they acquired a Whisper for the next score so ghost hunting made the most sense.

They decide on an assault plan, but haven’t any idea on the detail: a point of attack. Mainly because the ghost hasn’t materialised or been spotted. So they decide to go to the Red Lamp to gather info on the ghost, it’s death and other peculiarities like how Rat did not die in the inferno. He was so stupid at the time, he cannot recall.

The Red Lamp is an opulently appointed four-storey circular building with a golden red roof. After the leviathan blood inferno, it is only operating on the top two floors, accessed by external stairs guarded top and bottom. The lower floors are gutted, burnt by the caustic fumes and effervescence of the leviathan blood that infamously flooded its lower basement and crawled uncontrolled over everything up to two floors above ground.

It’s dangerous for the crew around here because the Spirit Wardens are seeking the spirits that escaped this inferno, as well as someone to pin the blame.

To gather info, Vixen, the hired ex-railjack Whisper, tries attuning to the ghost field here, but it’s dirty and hazed grey. She finds prints of the Councillor here and there, matching those on Rat, and clear signs that the Councillor is lost and looking for his way somewhere, but nothing more. A poor roll result meant incomplete info.

Players decide to try another approach, to survey the scene within the basement for more info. Unfortunately the windows are boarded up and the main doors locked. However, they spot keys on the guard at the foot of the stairs and decide to steal them.

Dust (the Slide) assists Rat’s pick pocketing by distracting the guard by requesting access to the burnt interior as railjack cleanup crew. Or something similar. Rat finesses the key, but the guard doesn’t buy Dust’s shit and calls two guards down to prod the three scoundrels aways away from the premises.

Once those guards eventually return upstairs, and only the single guard remains on street-level, Rat leads a group action to prowl into the alcove where the main doors are in shadow and off the street a little. Unfortunately, it goes poorly, and things get desperate as the lone guard is still alert for their return and comes to investigate “a noise” and Rat is fumbling to find the right key on the ring for the door. Dust quickly flips her cloak and becomes her Red Sashes disguise that she prepared earlier and leaps out to confront the guard , accusing him of deflowering her younger sister. In fact the guard doesn’t seem surprised and rather knocks Dust over with a vicious thrust to her neck. Dust resists a wound and ends that foray with 7 stress.

Instead of using the distraction to continue the unlocking, Rat ambushes and garrottes the guard, dragging him into the alcove. They get extra heat, as a baker putting out old bread locks eyes with Rat as the Bell Tower rings the guard’s death.

They now enter the ground floor of the gutted and burnt Red Lamp, hiding the dead guard, and survey the place. They find a ledger, with pages hastily torn out. With a bit of charcoal rubbing, they identify the patronage of Nigel Posselthwaite, hailing from Brightstone. Rat recalls the name and they settle on the Brightstone bridge, north of Crow’s foot, as (the plan detail) where they will jump the unquiet ghost.

Phew.

Next session, the execution of the plan is dramatically more straightforward, thanks to the appearance of the Hound, and they recover from this info gathering in a much needed downtime.