Tales of the Veiled: Episode 6
Having returned from the Deathlands after successfully assassinating Tuhan, the crew kept their heads down low. There were two new recruits; Volette “Tick Tock” Daava who was the cousin of Tiros and Rafellos “Gizmo” Greenswood. The more experienced Cutter took these potential assassins under his wing to show him what a day was like out on the streets for the crew. And what a damn day it was…
Rook’s (Tiros) friend, Sawtooth, had them meet him in a secluded alleyway to warn them that the Bluecoats were looking for them and looking for them hard. It seems that the evidence that the crew had gathered previously was false and now a good number of Bluecoats were being sentenced soon enough to prison. Hoping to alleviate the problem between them and the Bluecoats, a meeting was established between the three assassins and the Bluecoats that hired them.
It was less of a meeting and more of an intimidation, as Cinda, Jol, Lewit, and Reyf all advanced on the assassins and made it damn clear that they were going to solve this issue for them or there would be bigger problems to deal with. An agreement was made to kidnap the magistrate’s only son and hold him for ransom until the Bluecoat charges were all dropped and they were cleared.
As the group returned back though, they encountered an unwelcome face that they had met before in the Deathlands. Made of living quicksilver and shifting cogs of an unknown metal; the demon known as Ixis revealed itself again and demanded there be “justice” for the slain Inspector. The group was able to calm it down enough that it would watch and see what they would do but it still held its demand; it would require their blood or the blood of the Bluecoats.
Stuck between either the dangerous and newly outfitted Bluecoats or the danger of a power and vicious demon, the crew decided that they would accept the consequences of pissing off the Bluecoats more and go after them. Using Tick Tock’s friendly connection with Grace, the group was then able to secure a key to infiltrate from the third floor and move down. A risky engagement left them trying to manuever through a crowded Watchtower during the Blinding Hour when a quiet fight broke out. Bad rolls led to bad resistance rolls, though few Bluecoats were even aware of what had happened and the group was able to slip downstairs and to the kitchen.
After flashing back to show they acquired a poison (a good Acquire Assets roll showed that they had secured Devil Root for the job), they intimidated the cooking crew and forced them into the freezer before poisoning the porridge and getting the Bluecoats to grab some as well. Unknown to them, the shifts changed and a good portion of Bluecoats came in for grub, unknowingly eating their doom.
The assassins escaped soon after, vanishing into the thick and dangerous fog, where they were soon contacted by Ixis again. The demon was impressed by their brutal methods of justice and offered to become a patron of theirs, letting the three bind him per the old sorceries. Infused with the excitement of having gained a demon’s power upon their side, the crew’s excitement dwindled when they realized that the Bluecoats marching into Six Towers for a manhunt for a dangerous outfit known as….The Veiled. War has come to the assassins and no one is sure who’ll be left standing…
The game was small but good, with only three of the five players able to actually make it. I can see why John suggests three to four players, as I was able to focus more on side roleplay and questions for the characters. This is my first war I’ve gotten to play through, especially a war with the Bluecoats, and I am excited to see how my players are going to end hostilities. I had suggested to them to make it “not cost-effective”; if you hurt them enough, they will eventually back off. I’ve also alerted them that heat is going to skyrocket now, as they try to do their work.