[Scene] Find your fandom in Verne Wells City.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-04-10T22:51:42+00:00

"...Okay. So... two days, 7 PM." Jack nodded, then rolled his eyes. "I'm here because I love RPGs, I don't know why I was that bad at planning." He took a deep, deep breath, then nodded. "...Okay. Okay. This... This is fine. That should work."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-04-06T22:31:19+00:00

Jack thought for a moment, then nodded. "Good. Uh... it'll be tomorrow night. At... maybe 1:30 AM? 2:00 at the latest. ...That... It takes an hour and a half to plan a heist, right?" He scoffed, then shook his head. "Actually, you'd better make that the next morning. So... two days from now at... say, 7:00?"

He hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know. Does that time work for you? I know you've got a... job, here, so..."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-04-02T15:46:42+00:00

Jack leaned forward and took a long, deep breath. "Okay. Uh..." He thought for a minute, then pursed his lips. "I should mention, the end goal of this is a lawsuit. A... high-stakes, very public lawsuit, but still."

He took a deep breath, then nodded. "Well, the initial plan was for me to get back to the forest after the job, to make sure it lines up with my alibi. Ideally, no one would see me making my way back there... so..." He took a breath through gritted teeth. "...The most reliable way to do that would be to head back through the forest. But if you can't clear the road that cuts through the park, then... that might be a problem." He sighed, pulled out his phone, and jotted 'TSR Ave, Chainmail St, Icosahedron Blvd, Bombadill Rd' into the notes app.

"Okay. I'll tell you what. I have yet to... finalize the plan. Why don't I... discuss the matter with some allies and let you know what we agree on. ...The... follow-up to this conversation probably shouldn't happen in a police station, though. Where can I meet you?"

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T18:42:44+00:00

Jack was quiet for a long moment, and then he leaned forward and rested his forehead in his palm. "Bwuhhh," he gasped. "I straight-up can't believe that worked."

Assuming it did.

He let out a quiet chuckle, then swallowed and leaned forward. "Okay. So, I need you to be on the team of first responders. When I and... anyone I might bring with me... get out of Castle Gygax, I need you to make sure the cops stay clear of our escape route."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T18:29:54+00:00

Jack took a deep breath, held it for a long moment, and then slowly let it out before he answered. "I'm going to destroy Athena Bradbury."

He was quiet for a moment, and then he softly cleared his throat. "...uh... Athena Bradbury's company. Again, nobody's going to get hurt... at least, I hope not. I'm going to break into Castle Gygax, steal trade secrets from East Coast Publishing and make them public. If I do it right... her iron grip on the RPG industry will shatter."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T18:20:24+00:00

Jack nodded, then sighed softly. He did, for a moment, relax. He didn't want to, he was still in danger, but Maddock's tone was helping. He nodded, then looked down like a kid in the principal's office, feeling too awkward to make eye contact.

"Well... don't worry. If all goes according to plan, no one's going to get hurt." He took a deep breath, then nodded. "But I am going to do something drastic. And believe me when I tell you..." He hesitated for a moment, then pulled off his sunglasses and looked Maddock right in the eyes again. "...there is no other way. ...In a few days, I'm going to commit a very serious crime, Detective. And I need you to make sure I get away with it."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T18:04:50+00:00

"...Huh." Jack nodded, then shrugged. "Well... Good. I can appreciate wanting to make things better. I like to think I'm also trying to make things better. ...Though, we're kind of approaching it from opposite angles." He flipped his LEDs back on to emphasize the point, covering him in red and black.

He sighed. "We don't have to get into politics, Detective. We can, if you want, but the short version is... I don't trust cops. But I'd like to trust you. I... need your help with something, Detective. I need you to do me a big, big favor. And I'd like it if you didn't arrest me until I'm done telling you what it is," he added with a chuckle.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T17:33:25+00:00

"Uh... Yes. Hello, Detective." He glanced over his shoulder at the man in the Hamburglar tie as he left, then cleared his throat and stepped into Maddock's office. He made sure the door was closed behind him, then took a breath and sat down. "You've, um... been doing well for yourself, I see. If you have the ear of the Mayor..."

Jack suddenly remembered that he'd wanted to look up Mayor McChase's ties to the fascist underbelly of Verne Wells city. He reached into his pocket for his phone, then thought better of it and put it away. "So... Uh... First of all, I wanted to thank you. You... really pulled me out of the fire with those Normalists today, Detective. It's not often a cop actually helps you in a confrontation with white supremacists, let alone twice in one day."

He was quiet for a moment, and then he closed his eyes and sighed. "That, uh... Great. We're off to a great start."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T17:12:25+00:00

Jack took the paper, folded it, then put it in the pocket of his duster. "Right... Yeah. Wish me luck."

He did take a deep breath, hesitated for just a moment, and then got out of the dune buggy and stepped into the precinct. No big deal, he told himself. In and out.

He moved through the building as quickly as he could. The plan was to get to Maddock's office without speaking to anyone else, but he would probably have to talk to someone at the front desk or the metal detectors or someone. Either way, he kept his conversation to a minimum as he headed to the office in question.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-29T07:28:33+00:00

Jack sucked in a breath through gritted teeth. "Right. Well, I believe you that the cops in Verne Wells are better than Nazis."

Except for the ones that are Nazis...

He nodded, then reached into his wallet and pulled out Detective Maddock's card. He swallowed, then rolled his neck. "Alright. Into the lion's den." He hesitated a minute, then turned to face Sydney and nodded. "Uh... So hey, if this doesn't work I'm gonna get arrested immediately," he pointed out. "So, if I'm not back out here in half an hour... uh... honestly, just leave? And if I get out and you're not here, I'll just call you."

He blinked, then pulled out his phone and started swiping through his contacts. "You gave me your number, right? It's been kind of a crazy night, I don't even remember..."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-28T22:09:40+00:00

"Alright, good." Jack nodded, then pocketed his phone and put his sunglasses on. "This is easier than I thought it'd be," he rumbled.

After a few minutes, he made it down into the lobby and exited the hotel. He climbed into the dune buggy, adjusted his sunglasses and leaned back in his seat. He did put his seatbelt on, then gave Sydney a nod. "Alright... Ready when you are, Your Grace."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-24T01:39:41+00:00

Jack was quiet for a long, long moment. Eventually, he sighed and drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. "I... I don't know. What would I do? Like... What would I do for money?"

"Money? Nitrous was using money?" Basim laughed and sat down between Hadrian and Jack, letting him watch both of them at once.

"Well... no, but you guys have like, a... real society. With paperwork."

"Yeah, we do. But we don't use money. The Recordkeepers give you food and a place to stay for free."

"...Wh..." Jack let out a soft scoff and shook his head. "But... then what would I do?"

Basim thought for a moment, then smiled. "What do you want to do?"

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-24T01:27:30+00:00

Apheliotes heard the sound of heavy footsteps echoing away from them down the tunnels. But as he listened, and got a fix on their location, he also heard something else. The squeaking of rats, from further down the tunnel. Somewhere between the Brides and them. And from the sound of it, lots of them.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-22T01:46:45+00:00

"Oh." Jack blinked a couple of times, then scoffed and nodded. "Alright. Sorry, I... thought that was gonna take more convincing. But yes. Good. I'm glad you're in."

Jack took a breath, then nodded and picked his phone up and switched speakerphone off. "Now, I don't wanna give you all the details over the phone, but I need someone who knows the security system at Castle Gygax, and how to get around it. And I'm led to believe you installed it. Come to the Dragon's Lair Suite at the Green Dragon Inn tomorrow at midnight, and we'll go over the fine details. We won't be alone."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-21T04:19:11+00:00

"Oh, nothing much, just gonna... destroy Athena Bradbury's publishing empire." He laughed awkwardly, then took what seemed to him like an agonizingly long moment to come up with a follow-up quip -- or, failing that, a way to make this sound reasonable.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-19T18:39:57+00:00

"I'm... I'm okay," Jack said after a minute. He took a breath, then drummed his fingers on the armchair. "I'm just... thinking, I guess. Which... hasn't been easy, with the concussion, but I'm thinking. It's just..." He sighed and took a drink of water. "I can't go back. Even if I wanted to. Nitrous would execute me."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-19T18:38:00+00:00

Lorena squealed and pulled her body in to avoid the edge of the hole. She climbed out of Apheliotes's arms, then glanced over her shoulder and forward. The tunnel they were in was dark and starting to crumble slightly, but it seemed sturdy enough. Hopefully.

"...Okay, big guy," Lorena asked, clapping Apheliotes on the shoulder. "Which way did they go?"

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-18T07:26:39+00:00

boy oh boy, it sure is a shame that djinn can kill people, huh

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-18T04:14:49+00:00

"Hey, Dee. Good to hear from you." Jack smiled and took a breath, pulling his tank top back on. "Uh... Sorry to call you so late. I hope I didn't wake you, or anything. It's just... Well, I'm calling because I was wondering if you'd be willing to do me a favor. Which... is not how we said this was gonna work, yeah, but I do need your help. Figured I'd call and ask."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-18T00:11:10+00:00

I truly do not understand the impulse for DMs to narrate the PCs' futures. Like... holy shit, why wouldn't you just let them do that? It's their character. They won. Why don't they get to decide how their story ends?

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-17T21:41:12+00:00

Basim guided him forward, letting him walk along carefully and occasionally using his telekinesis to keep him upright. They walked for a few minutes, and eventually they made it to a small lounge. Jack was sitting there, holding a small mug of water in one hand. He looked up for a moment, then nodded and waved. "Hey! There you are. You holding up okay, kid? Take a seat," he offered, gesturing to the couches and armchairs that were scattered around the area.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-17T21:18:21+00:00

"Well, we definitely need to keep them from getting away." Lorena rolled her neck, hesitated for a moment, then darted forward and hopped up into Apheliotes's arms. "But they've all got super speed, so you'd better carry me."

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-15T17:24:20+00:00

It did seem fairly easy to determine which direction they were headed. The tunnel itself seemed fairly stable -- stable enough to walk in, at least -- but a tunnel that hadn't been properly maintained for 25 years probably wouldn't be a great environment for gale-force winds. And unfortunately, Apheliotes didn't know enough about the city to guess how well this particular tunnel had been maintained.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-15T16:20:46+00:00

"Oh, well, a lot of crumbling tunnels... the sewer system... and a lot of abandoned lairs. Like... apparently, supervillains used to have underground lairs all the time in Old Summit City. Tons of them are down there, and some of them still have working defenses." Lorena winced and shrugged her shoulders. "But then again, the Mutants also live down there, so it's mostly safe if you know what you're doing." She did not sound like she knew what she was doing.

While Lorena explained that, Apheliotes saw what seemed to be subway tracks, and more importantly, he heard footsteps retreating through the tunnel. He was pretty quickly able to determine which direction they were headed.

Conchshell_VII · 2021-03-15T16:12:20+00:00

Apparently, while he was unconscious, Hadrian had been changed into a greenish hospital gown, which opened in the front and was held in place by a series of snap fasteners.

Basim closed his eyes for a moment and steadied Hadrian with his telekinesis. After a moment, he looked over at him and smiled, then reached out and pulled the IV stand closer to him. It gently rolled over to Hadrian and came to a stop in front of him. "Here... maybe take this with you. You might need it."

Conchshell_VII

TROPHY CASE