The Porcelain Dolls: Session 30 (August 16 2016)
Shade is back. Gloves is still in Ironhook.
Downtimes for the Hot Sot Blot & Jot (or The Lampblack Damp Whack):
Heat is 3, as it involved killing, but in a quiet and controlled way. Constance manages to reduce it by 2, by having her new Cohort disseminate the “official” story of what happened to Baszo. She also starts a project to whip them into shape (by removing their “Wild” disadvantage: 8 segment clock, 1 to start).
Boots plays good cop to Constance’s bad cop, and fills in another segment of the Lampblacks discipline clock. He also reduces Stress. He’s playing cards at Spogg’s when he overhears someone at another table muttering about “that fucking snitch”. He cashes out of his current game, heads over to the neighboring table, and sits down. The guy who was complaining, a big burly dock worker named Frank, tells him he’s not welcome. Boots asks Spogg if it’s alright that he plays at that table, and Spogg says he has no objections. Frank gets up and leaves in a huff.
Gears trains Personal, and gets an advance.
Kamali reduces Stress and trains Prowess.
Shade wakes up in the morgue at Bellweather Crematorium, just in time to avoid an autopsy by the attendant, Forrest Matson. Matson is understandably startled, but says this isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened. He retrieves Shade’s personal effects, and has him sign a next of kin release form (in lieu of something more appropriate). Shade finds out he’s missing three days, and was brought in the night before with a young woman, who turns out to be Jezelle, the girl that Tocker was possessing while working at the Bell & Birch. She was apparently poisoned, and it was initially assumed that Shade was as well (and he very well might have been, he just wasn’t killed by it). As he’s getting dressed, Shade is able to Attune to the Ghost Field and see Jezelle’s spirit, now twisted and feral, and struggling to get free of her body like a caged beast. Under the pretext of needing a few minutes alone to say goodbye to his friend, he uses his Spirit Hook to dislodge and bottle her. She attempts to claw his face off in the process, but his Wards are intact and prevent the Harm. He resolves to set about figuring out what happened in the missing days, and starts the long walk back to Crow’s Foot.
Constance, Boots, and Gears set about vetting Keel & Drav. Gears has the idea to set up a fake job to test them, but Constance decides to simply question them that night in the back room of the Bucket. Constance can tell by their demeanor that they have been more than a little humbled by their recent ousting from the Bluecoats, and that they are thoroughly in awe of her. In general, they come off as somewhat naive, and more than a little sheepish. Boots questions them about their service history, which they are quick to recite.
When Constance brings up the Dolls, they respond with blank looks. It turns out that they are here for the boxing, and had no idea about the Dolls’ other enterprises whatsoever. They feel a little silly for not having realized that Constance matched the description of the Dolls’ leader, due to the fact that 7-foot-tall women are in fact few and far between indeed. Constance asks if they are interested in joining the Dolls, and they are reluctant. Constance instead offers them management positions in her new boxing club (an idea she came up with right at that moment), and they are much happier with that prospect.
Constance confers with Boots and Gears, who all agree that if they are undercover agents, they’re not very good ones. Boots quickly heads off to check with Darmot, who confirms as much of their story as he can (they were discharged for dereliction of duty, which facilitated the supposed attack on Sgt Galloway, and that they were turned in by Avan, who got a promotion in return). Constance informs the two that she will shortly begin setting up her new enterprise, and will be happy to have them be a part of it, and that will keep them insulated from the gang’s other activities.
The next day, the crew meets with Fitz at the Bucket. Constance has Kamali slip something in his drink. Shade returns, and Constance gives him the short version of what’s been going on. A Cypher shows up to deliver an invitation from Mylera, just as Fitz slumps over at the table. Constance carries him off.
Notes:
Another session that consisted mostly of downtime stuff, but I took the opportunity to insert some items of my own. The morgue thing started with a single question to Shade’s player: “You wake up somewhere completely unexpected and naked. Tell me where it is, and I’ll tell you how you got there.” Everything else was improvised, though I knew I was going to bring Jezelle back in at some point. Rereading the section on ghosts reminded me that possessing ghosts inflict a Trauma for every week that they remain in their host, so this told me two things: Tocker absolutely wrecked Jezelle, and Nyryx is actually quite conscientious about his hosts in comparison.
#dontmesswiththedolls