Friday Night Features

This journal isn't abandoned, but I won't be updating it again until early June. We are still playing weekly. But the preperation is taking up my time, and I don't have any left for the tangy blow-by-blow recaps here.

The Elector Countess of Nuln informed her court wizard, Manfred, that he needs to show Rose Briana the ropes. (She is a budding Bright Wizard from Talabheim who ended up in Nuln in something of a refugee situation, but a very competent and court-experienced wizard. And a hottie.) He agreed and began her training.

The evening started in Ubersreik, where the company gathered at the behest of Elsbeth, who was consecrating the new Morrspark that Baron von Hettrikite had commissioned and created on her behalf. The ceremony took place on the first day of autumn, at dusk.

The event was well attended. Zimmerman and Arbogast came on behalf of the Morrspark in Middenheim, accompanied by Fanmaris. Elsbeth and Eustace attended, along with Helmswift, Manfred and Kat, and Liselle and a few of her entourage.

Her consecration went on for four hours, then they had a huge feast followed by some more private parties.

The Company returned to Nuln. Kat got sent on an espionage mission to a party Kelria was throwing. She discovered that Rupert, the Duke's son, was working with an Estalian assassin to poison Manfred and Rose and then arrange them together in a compromising position, clearing the court wizard and heir apparant to the position in one fell and easily explicable swoop. She got out with her dire knowledge undetected.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Company attended Helmswift's Arming Ceremony, where the priests of Sigmar clad him in his armor once more. At the end of the ceremony, Lord Mauritas prophesied that the darkness was coming to break across them, the time was soon. After that the Sigmarites spent the night in prayer and the rest of the Company slipped away, having had enough of sermons for a while.

Manfred, Kat, and Liselle were summoned by Kimmalet around midnight. They arrived, and she told them about the plot on Manfred, adding that the assassin's name was Nethelis and he was staying in the Crooked Moon tavern.

In addition to that heinous plot, more was brewing in Kelria's scheming mind. He brought in a wizard from Marionberg originally, currently a darling in the Altdorf court, named Jaan Kriedman. Currying favor locally, Kriedman stood to be shooed into court wizard position, a man loyal to Kelria right at the Countess's back.

And still more! Kelria currently entertained Graf Albreich Haupt-Anderssen of Stirland, bringing the young Graf in to entertain him and also to try to persuade him to marry his daughter Amelia. Were that alliance to be sealed by marriage, Kelria's power north of Nuln would balloon, he would be related to one of the Elector Counts by marriage, and combined with his own prestige and prowess and long history of service he would have a number of unsettlingly powerfully positioned levers to use against the Elector Countess of Nuln, virtually assuring his replacement of her one way or another.

Kimmalet made it clear to them that this could not stand. The Countess Emmanuelle was shaken, angry, and convinced that a very clear message needed to be sent to the Duke for his arrogance and his audacity.

Manfred's task was to publically confront and break Kriedman, to send an unmistakeable message to the court. Liselle and Kat were to engage in the darker side of politics; nab the assassin, sneak him into Kelria's estate, put him in a compromising position with Amelia, the Duke's 17 year old daughter, (preferably using Kelria's sword as the killing weapon,) then see to it that a Stirlander is first on the scene so the rumors about Kelria's temper and disregard for his own flesh and blood spread in the right circles.

Without going into too much detail, both parties succeeded in their distasteful tasks; the wizard was set aflame and nearly killed, and while there were a lot of complications, the two women managed their dark and dasterdly deed. Liselle gained claustrophobia as a result, too. She still feels half choked by the pillow she used to end Amelia's life...

With all the action around Nuln, it was thought that the Company would be well served by a short trip, a vacation of sorts. They headed to Boroch on Aver, always nice this time of year. They took Agatha and Max along as well.

Upon arrival, they found that a pack of bandits were tolling a bridge on the road to Averheim. They were unsettlingly gleeful at the notion of dissuading them. There are always troubles with ruling; the dwarves were slowed by a lack of skilled labor, and they might not have enough fighting men to meet the levy Baron Willis might impose on Boroch.

Helmswift did go down and assess the twenty current militiamen, and gave them the beginnings of some more skilled training. Their leader, Kane, was a former infantryman in Altdorf's military.

They headed to the roadblock; easy things first. After the bandits had blocked them onto the bridge and charged their toll, Liselle convinced them to at least consider joining up with Boroch's fighting forces and live in the village, pardoned. They sent a contingent back. Their leader, Kiplinger, sent Temsel back with a group.

The reception went fairly well, and the rest of the bandits moved in as part of an uneasy truce between the villagers and the outlaws. If nothing else, more people to send in the levy...

The adventure ended on Nachgeheim 28, 2325.

Alex Carmichael got a visit from his sister, also a wizard, who brought him a gift and a warning about enemy wizards in town. They parted amicably.

An immortal named Feldman tracked Mellisand down at the Sky Platter restaurant and challenged her; he dispatched her easily, but Shelm was on the scene, so Feldman backed off. Mellisand was, however, grounded.

As Maggie oversaw her club, Sanctuary, a man on the dance floor made eye contact with her. He touched her mind, told her to run while she still can, it's almost too late. Then he vanished into the crowd, leaving her unsettled.

The Gray Ghost summoned them to the dome of the Edgarton Museum of Fine Art. A hidden meeting location that was outfitted something like a crypt was there. They combined information.

The Dusk Society is planning a big offensive against the Shell Clan. While they are out with the best of their warriors, the Gray Ghost feels it will be time to strike. She coordinated things with the police, and she knows they have a lot of unfenced stolen goods so they might go to court if caught.

Also, they hired some muscle to help oust the Shell Clan of ninja then go after the Dusk Society's other enemies, including those assembled. Abel Moghri, a powerful wizard, and his familiar and bodyguard Aelus.

The Gray Ghost mentioned that this might be their last jaunt together. No explanation was forthcoming.

They headed to Lowry's Junkyard and engaged the ninja. The evidence was blown up, but a thug was persuaded by the Mist Knight to reveal that fireproof safes were hidden in the wreckage so the good stuff could be retrieved after the fire. By the cops, rather than the ninja, after that little revelation.

The Jonin engaged Mellisand and escaped. She did, however, slay a second wizard on the premisis after a brief and decisive battle. She also sparred with the Corax familiar Aelus, but that was indecisive. And she had a bit of fun with nerve gas.

The Mist Knight chased off a lot of thugs and blasted Aelus with crippling damage, putting him out of the fight. He chased off Moghri and told the police where the evidence was.

Morrigan took out the ninja sniper lookout and shot out the boobytraps that had been laid for the SWAT team and was otherwise helpful.

There were a few ninja on the premisis, but most were in training or just thug wannabes. Many escaped, but quite a few were captured, and the Dusk Society base of operations was compromised.

After a job well done, they retired for the evening.

Later, firebombs exploded throughout a building in Midtown. Working together, the heroes managed to clear the building and minimize loss of life. A hunched man in goggles was spotted escaping a viewing position on the roof, leading to speculation.

Carmichael was walking a lovely lady named Gina Twilleger home from their date when a man stumbled up to them and collapsed. He looked like a drunk bum, then Carmichael saw all the shuriken sticking out of him.

Ninja warned him off, but he didn't listen. He chased them off, sending Gina home. The bum grabbed him by the shirt, insisted that there be no hospitals, and gave him a rough-cut shuriken with an email address engraved on it. He wanted Carmichael to send a message; the Smith needs help. And he passed out.

Carmichael cleaned him up, finding that he carried tools in a carpenter's apron, and a small sledge.

Meanwhile, to stay busy while in Edge City, Mellisand started reviewing tourist attractions and restaurants and clubs for the Edge City Review put out by Leshram International. Shelm also advised her that if Leshram International is to grow in Edge City, it would be most useful to have the vigilante protectors of the city with them so they didn't end up against them. Her mission? To get friendly with the locals. They lucked out in that she already has an "in" with the Gray Ghost and Morrigan and the Mist Knight.

Carmichael leaves the Smith in his loft apartment in Midtown and goes to Sanctuary, where he borrows a computer to send an email to the mysterious address. Maggie goes home with him to help look after the Smith; she detects that they're being watched, finds the ninja camped on the opposite rooftop listening to every word they say. As she was a crow at the time, he didn't know he was being eyeballed at close range by the enemy. He even shared his McDonalds with her.

As per the email, they rendezvous with Blake of the Shell Clan at Sanctuary at 5. The club was not yet open, but they found a piece of newspaper weighted down with a rock in the middle of the floor telling them to meet him at the 46th Street subway station.

Then the stain glass window shattered as ninja swung in, and more poured in the sides. Mellisand cut a hoarde down, Carmichael got the Smith out, and Maggie sought cover then shot them to pieces. In the alley there were more, but they were defeated soundly.

Now in rush hour, they manage to get the Smith to the subway station. There is a note to leave him there, and a whisper in the darkness lures Carmichael away to have some words with a figure he could never quite see. The Shell clan resolved to go into hiding until this blows over.

That excitement was over. For now.

A few days later they read in the paper about a gang of thieves stealing the Edgarton Museum of History and Arts of its collection of original reels for Beatles tunes, the uncut and unreleased studio recordings. Mellisand investigated by doing a piece for the Edge City Review on the museum, and getting in good with the curator. He showed her around; the electronic system was scrambled, then uncanny strength and pre-planned precision removed it.

The Mist Knight also ghosted onto the scene and picked up a few clues. Probably three of the perpetrators. Metal armor.

Three days later, another heist. A Stradivarius violin worth 12 million was stolen from a collector named Migswell. Mellisand checked it out, agreeing to go to dinner with Migswell's dandy son, and discovered that the violin was in a room in the center of the house, in a clear plasteel safe that had elaborate protections.

The Mist Knight stealthed to the scene later, finding where they burned down through the roof in a blind spot in security and took it from there. A scary combination of strength, computer expertise bordering on unnatural, and precision planning made this gang effective.

The thieves work fast. A few days later there was another heist. They tried to steal a digilog audial processor developed by Chase Multinational. The Gray Ghost caught them in the act, capturing two of the gang. One fled the scene.

Archibald Rimround was captured. He was famous as a sound collector, he loved digital and analog sound and could imitate any sound he could hear. He made a fortune selling collections of music put out by his band, Audiotronic.

The other captured thief was Bollux, a dapper Englishman with a talent for scrambling and persuading computer systems; a meta. Wreck, the fellow in power armor, got away. They figured out that Numbers Malone was planning the scores.

Numbers and Wreck hacked the broadcasting system and sent out notice of an illegal bounty to Edge City as a whole: they found a fence, $12 mil for the Strativarius. That $12 mil will be given to the one who can get them an an audio recording of the Gray Ghost begging for mercy.

Of course, that precipitated a rush of a tide of scum to a very excited Edge City underworld. Rumors fly about hit men and costumed freaks with reputations heading into town. Within 24 hours they already checked with their contacts and knew to expect Painkiller, Malady, Bladespinner, and the Director on the costumed freak end. Also Ike the Pick, Dexter Walgreen, and Earnest Calavaras as top dollar hitmen.

They just make it to Take Two, a comedy club in Midtown, as the Director finishes giving marching orders to the army of thugs gathered there. They break up the party; Morrigan got one shot on the Director then fled in a hail of hot lead. The Mist Knight battered numerous thugs down and stalked through the halls after the Gray Ghost fired teargas through the system. Mellisand slashed and hewed at fleeing thugs, cutting them down and killing a few, letting those who could stagger off do so, shrugging off gunfire.

Three armored cars fled the scene. Morrigan trailed one of them, the Gray Ghost blew up another and dragged the occupants out. The Mist Knight found the back door the Director escaped through and triggered the explosive left as a boobytrap. He was fine.

Maggie traces them to the Director's Cut theater, and she summons the others. They go in gangbusters. The Mistknight had a run-in with Painkiller, who actually broke his shield with explosives. He stopped the giggling madman, injuring him badly. Painkiller doped himself up to attack again, but he botched and hit himself with his stun baton. Night night.

Meanwhile, the Ghost triggered the boobytrap on the back door at a distance, then charged in with the others. Malady was playing on the piano, making everything difficult, but a little magic blast and teargas put an end to that. The group engaged the hit men and masked freaks in hand to hand and took them down. A quick interrogation gained them nothing, but one of the hit men had a lock pick gun and two numbers written on his arm. Train station lockers!

Meanwhile, the Director hijacked Dingo Recording Studios and broadcast that he would kill a hostage every hour until the Gray Ghost surrendered to him. His thugs with video cameras kept an eye on the area.

The party split up. The Ghost called the police and called in a favor to have them get to the station right away. Mellisand called in a favor to get the press over there at the same speed. Morrigan shifted to a raven to get there first and make sure the Strativarius was there; if there was no collatoral, then there could be no bounty, end of situation. The Ghost and the Knight raced to the recording studio.

Morrigan ran across Bladespinner guarding the lockers, and shot him up some. He almost got away, but the police caught him; Morrigan worked fast to open the lockers and make sure ther was no booby-trap; the press went live with the finding of the violin and Beatles reels.

The Director sardonically bowed out, announcing "cut". But, to keep them from chasing him, he also told them that the CEO of the studio was in the basement with a bomb strapped to him. Then he exited stage left.

The Ghost chased him, and the Knight sprinted to the basement and found the terrified CEO with the bomb ticking down. Only his super-human brilliance let him carry the day, but he defused the bomb. The Dirctor, unfortunately, slipped away in the confusion.

They were content to have a happy ending, leaving a sequel to another day.

The Sanctuary is a nightclub in upper Midtown that used to be a cathedral, but the faithful thinned out so they had to sell the building. Now it is a nightclub, and Maggie is their head bouncer. So when one man came in to hassle another man, she supervised as they took it outside. They looked reverberating and strange to her eyes, but she shrugged and let it go; live and let live.

Then the explosion of light in the alley, and, well, one of them didn't live. He had his head chopped off and left in the alley. From an upstairs window she saw the victor limping away, but by the time she shifted to a bird to follow, he was gone.

Meanwhile, Mellisand got a call from Leshram, who runs Leshram International. He asked her to go investigate the slaying of Wilson King, one of his best troubleshooters, of whom he was quite fond. Of course she complied. Arriving, she met with Shelm, the Immortal who ran operations in Edge City. He supplied her with a limo and a driver, Luke. They went to check out the Sanctuary club where he was killed.

Mellisand inspected the crime scene, then used her assets to be invited in by an exciteable bouncer. He got Maggie from upstairs, and Maggie revealed what she knew. Obviously the church was no longer Holy Ground, thought Mellisand.

They also had the pleasure of meeting FBI agent Turley, who hinted at decapitated employees of Leshram International turning up here and there, and was effectively ignored until he went away.

In the meantime, the Gray Ghost summoned Carmichael to inspect the blast residue. Like no emp or concussion grenade the Ghost knew of; Carmichael ruled that it was energy but not magic. He went inside as the club opened, and found Maggie and Mellisand.

The Ghost slipped into the balcony of the Sanctuary, as usual, and found them there. Told them that a man matching the description seems to have busted up Corner Pocket, a bar in the Torpedo Bay district, last night. Perhaps they should check it out. The Ghost also made it clear that she doesn't like the idea of anyone in town chopping anyone else's head off.

At the bar, Mellisand fended off some hungry thugs and dealt with the bartender. Carmichael chatted up a cigarette girl, and Maggie went upstairs to have a word with a nervous gang holed up in an office. Together, they found out that Walter Blade was the name of the big guy that busted the place up last night. He took the leaders of the Spitting Dragons and the Skulls with him when he left; a number of people were killed or hospitalized. He took a shotgun blast to the chest, bled, didn't seem to care overmuch. A gang war is getting ready to start, and there's a big meeting in the Core tonight.

Unfortunately, upon finding out the name is Walter Blade, Mellisand is able to connect that alias with Cord Avery, an old rabblerousing Immortal. They realize Shelm is in danger too late, but the Gray Ghost races off to save him as they prepare to go into the decaying and abandoned slum core of Torpedo Bay known as the Core.

Something flings throwing stars at them as they leave.

They arrange to be mugged by gangers, and they dispatch them in a single round and take enough of their uniforms to pass. Maggie scouts the place out as a crow, and reports back. Then they all head in, moving past the ganger barricades with hardly a second glance. (Except at Mellisand's butt.) Maggie draped them in urban mufti and they keep their mouths shut.

Once inside, Mellisand realizes that one Immortal is upstairs and one downstairs. Upstairs Blade is railing at the mob, whipping them into a frenzy, something about sacking City Hall. They go downstairs, and Carmichael's magic persuasion gets them past the guards and into the basement where Chalm is being held.

Working quickly, Carmichael preps the guards at the back basement entrance to believe he is in charge, then a mix of magic and bluffing lets them untie Chalm and get him out the back, up the stairs, and over the barricade.

Of course, they are pursued, but Maggie's precision shooting and Luke's mad driving get them out of that. They retreat to the Leshram International offices and load up with weapons, then head out to confront the mob of gangers that Blade has brought here to bring Chalm and Mellisand to him so he can behead them properly, like he did the gang bosses so he could take control.

In a blaring battle, the security forces of the complex lose their first wave, and the Company stands in the breach and pushes the mob back, breaking their spirit and chasing them off before the city's SWAT team or the special security forces at LI can react. Blade reluctantly leaves; there will be another day. He has time, after all.

The victorious Company has a drink at Sanctuary and then parts ways, job well done.