>>2130898
At the moment, you've managed to sway her under threat of Sandra's death to return to the room that you first met. With a hand consistently on Sandra's shoulder- not that she could do much of anything anyway with a broken wrist and a hole in her leg- Verity looks at you with an expression like a condemned woman. Sandra just looks entirely disgusted with the situation, but refuses to speak up.

"Okay, then!" you announce cheerfully. "Now that we got all of that real unpleasant business out of the way, maybe we can start acting nice again!"

"What do you want from me?" Verity asks.

And then Sandra breaks her silence - so much for that. "She shouldn't get anything, Verity! Why the hell are you-"

"I'm not gonna lose you again!" Verity blurts out. "Not like this- it's not worth it!" Huh. Sounds like there's a story there. Well, you chose poorly in friends.

"Do you really going to just waste everything that we've worked for!?" Sandra yells. Okay, you can see where this is going, so you might want to just make your position known here and now.

>"Honestly, I'm not here for you guys! So if you let me go and maybe fork over a few things, we can just...forget everything happened."
>"Well, since you were jerks, I'm thinking you could help me out...y'know, until I decide you've paid for being jerks."
>"Okay, so what's this history behind you two? Does it involve how you became a star or what?" You won't deny that you're at least a bit interested.
>Other

>>2130899
>"Okay, so what's this history behind you two? Does it involve how you became a star or what?" You won't deny that you're at least a bit interested.

>>2130899
>"Honestly, I'm not here for you guys! So if you let me go and maybe fork over a few things, we can just...forget everything happened."

>But really come on, you were brainwashing people, you guys got lucky it was me. I'm not interested in screwing you guys i just don't like to be screwed while doing a job. There is the fact that Sandra is a excellent poker player so it would be hard to replace her in the table. Geez i just wanted some extra bucks

>>2130899
>"You're not going to waste any work at all, you just work for me now! You do as I say for a little while and I'll forgive you for the little stunt you played on me and we'll part as friends."

>>2130910
5 bux it's a Free Willy reference

10 more minutes due to thread start.

>>2130899
>>"Honestly, I'm not here for you guys! So if we just let this go and maybe fork over a few things, we can just...forget everything happened."

>>2130899
>>"Well, since you were jerks, I'm thinking you could help me out...y'know, until I decide you've paid for being jerks."

>>2130940
The mermaid would need to be half whale not half dolphing anon.

>>2130899
>"Well, since you were jerks, I'm thinking you could help me out...y'know, until I decide you've paid for being jerks."

So, planning time. what can we do to ensue that they won´t try to fuck us over?

>>2130973
More then we did? Dunno, maybe shock collors or some cantrips using the runes in a piece of wear so we would know were they are and who they are talking to.

>>2130899
>>"Well, since you were jerks, I'm thinking you could help me out...y'know, until I decide you've paid for being jerks."

>>2130973
Easiest way would be taking something as collateral, though we'd need something valuable enough to qualify.

>>2130973
Maybe we can pretend to mark them? Light our hand up with energy channel and give them a little burn. Just say "this will make sure you don't break your promise". As long as they believe it.

>>2131012
I'm partial to "The contract is sealed" myself, but I like that. If we can manage, we should make the burn distinctly NOT rune magic-like, but clearly something alien.

Writing! Sorry, had a phone call.

We're gonna make do...stuff.

>>2131027
I like the contract part. Let's make her sign one! That way the rules a pretty clear and we can even write the consequences if they betray us.

Apply some runes and some sparklibg to make it look like a magical contract!

>>2131033
We could use our light trap or the zone dectectors as the ¨seal¨. Whichever is the most flashy should work the best. or both.

Looks like they will be the first to witness a little magic show. Poor Jacob

>>2131034
Time to write a contract that could make Sal blush.

>>2131033
While amusing, a written contract introduces the risk of loopholes. The point here is to scare them. If they find a "loophole" they will try to exploit it. Keeping things vague removes this risk.

>>2130899
>>2130933
>>2130937
>>2130947
>>2130970
>>2130987
"Oh, relaaaax," you say casually, patting Sandra on the shoulder just a little too hard. "You're not going to lose anything. Just think of it as a...temporary change in ownership? Yeah, that sounds good." Kinda wish you had a chair to swivel around in. That would really sell this whole thing. "So, here's what's going to happen. There's some stuff that I need to do. And you're going to help me out."

"What kind of 'stuff'? Verity asks.

"And how long?" Sandra follows up, still cradling her wrist. Oh yeah, you should probably do something about that... Maybe. Honestly it's kind of impressive how she hasn't flinched in pain yet. Must be that actress training. That hole in her leg can't be easy to deal with either. Even if it is cauterized.

"Private stuff that I don't really feel like telling you about right now, and for as long as I decide you're good for it." You can tell neither of them is happy with that, but, hey, that's what they got themselves into. Fortunately for them, you have a little bit of good news. "If everything goes well, then after we're done, I'll leave you alone and you'll literally never hear of me again. Ever ever ever. You try to welch on me or get tricky and I'll turn you both into swiss cheese, sure, but really, that'd only happen if you were EXTRA stupid." It's all said with a smile, which only adds to the eerieness. "Actually, thinking about it I'd probably worse, really."

"Of course..." Verity says dryly. Can't be healthy for her skin. "And you won't harm Sandra any more?" Verity asks.

"Not a hair on her head!" you say. You don't know if you'll have to break that promise, but hopefully not. If only because breaking it means that something went wrong.

"And we'll have everything back under our control- no lasting damages?" Sandra adds. Seems like she's finally coming around. Good.

"You two do everything right, and no one will even know that I'm in charge," you assure. "Easy stuff."

Verity just frowns. "Hm...and how do we know you'll keep your side of this 'deal'?" The way Verity says 'deal' makes it sound more like a swear than anything else.

>"You won't! See how pissing someone who's ridiculously stronger than you off works?"
>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."
>You can fake a bit of magic to convince them you're legit, you suppose...
>Other

>>2131103
>>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."

>>2131103
>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."
>Other: Standards, like be polite. Be efficient. Have a plan to kill everyone I meet. *Professional* standards.

>>2131103
>Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."

>>2131103
>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."

And if that doesn't convince then.

>You can fake a bit of magic to convince them you're legit, you suppose...

>>2131103
>>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."
"But if it makes you feel better"
>You can fake a bit of magic to convince them you're legit, you suppose...

>>2131061
I don't think there is much loophole in. Breaking of any rules writen in this contract will result in the break of it and so in to the punishment of the sign party.

>>2131103
>>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."

>>You can fake a bit of magic to convince them you're legit, you suppose...

No reason not to

>>2131103
>>"Because professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS. You're not worth the trouble to screw over unless you screw me first."
>>You can fake a bit of magic to convince them you're legit, you suppose...

Why? Because we're us.

Also because we're gonna place a spell on you (not really shhhhh)

I would prefer not to fake magic.
That’s more Lorelei’s bag of tricks, and it might make the two desperate enough to find some other magic to counter ours, except theirs will actually work.

>>2131183
well... i can´t think of another way of them not trying to fuck us over. Sandra does seem like a really vengeful one.(And verity might as well be, but she seems to be pretty reasoable right now)

>>2131183
What's your idea then?

>>2131183
Also if they fuck with us we just kill then. Simple as that. No need to over complicate stuff.

>>2131196
Just something as simple as “you betray me, and I and my organization will kill you and everything you love, and wipe the continent of life just to be sure; you saw what I can do, and I’m just a foot soldier compared to everyone else” seems less likely to be tested and found to be fake than something they could test when we’re not watching.

>>2131216
Then why overcomplicate things with a display of magic that they can test and figure out is fake, compared to a threat that we just demonstrated we can back up?

>>2131217
But anon what makes you think we will give then the contract? The devil doesn't do it, so we don't need to.

>>2131226
They can just try doing something that is prohibited in the contract when we’re not around. When we don’t know about it or there’s no consequences, they’ll know there’s no contract magic.

>>2131220
Because they don't trust us and because we won't give then the contract, so they can't do exactly what you just said.

And if they don't like we just kill then.

>>2131231
Then we keep a eye on then?Also i don't understand your thinking if they try to betray us in either way we still have the same problem.

>>2131239
You’re over complicating things with a light and sparkle show when a simple threat would suffice.
And why wouldn’t they just try something from the contract? They can remember parts of it, not having physical access to the contract doesn’t mean they can remember anything from it or try to do something that they remember it prohibits.

>>2131239
So we’re going to keep a constant watch on them? We have other things to do, not watch them for signs of testing the limits of the contract we make them sign.

>>2131255
Oh okay so i know whats up now. Sorry but my thinking was more in that since we revealed then we are a professional so signing a contract with then would make then feel more safe.

Nothing stops us from putting some restrictions into us, which we as Miranda already said what we were going to do to make then feel more inclined to help.

But i guess it might be just to much bullshit for little possible gain.

>>2131271
>so signing a contract with then would make then feel more safe.
That doesn’t sound like a good assumption since the Shakers appeared to work solely on verbal contracts in our interactions with them.

And yes, I think the contract and sparkle show is too much bullshit that can be tested for little potential gain.
With the threat, they know that they can try to bend their side of the deal but that they can’t break it or we come after them. And they can’t afford anything that makes it LOOK like they reneged on their deal.

If they think there’s a magical contract, then they’ll try to test it, see if we’re bullshitting them, and how much they can get away with. And if they know it’s fake, then they can try to undermine it by making opposition crop up in ways that can’t be linked to them, because they know we can’t magically know it was their fault.

The reverse is also true, if they believe the magic is real, that they have no incentive to stop anyone else from interfering with us because the magic of the contract will exonerate them.

I don’t think it adds more to our bargaining position than it presents potential problems.

>>2131303
Oh well nothing to be done now. So we will roll with whatever happens.

>>2131103
>>2131116
>>2131121
>>2131122
>>2131123
>>2131126
>>2131145
>>2131162
You shrug. "Duh."

Verity just gives you an odd look. "And by that, you mean..."

"Because I'm a professional enforcers," you explain simply. "And professional enforcers like myself have STANDARDS."

In front of you, Sandra blinks in confusion, "So were you lying all the time at the poker table?"

... That was actually hard to explain. "Kiiiinda? I mean, I DO travel a lot. But, that's nothing for you to worry about right now. Right now, you just have to worry about listening to what I say, and not making me mad! As opposed to now where I'm, y'know, only mildly annoyed." You can see Verity start to make a face at that, but she quickly schools her expression back into something neutral. "So, you don't have to worry about me suddenly getting a vicious streak. That's bad for business." And then a thought strikes you. "Although, if you really want some assurance..." And with that you hold out a hand. "We can shake on it."

The both of them look at your outstretched hand with clear suspicion. They obviously think something's off, something that will screw them over badly. "What, what's the problem? You make a promise to not screw me over and do everything as I say, I make a promise to not kill you or ruin your business in any way whatsoever, and when I'm done, it all goes back to you. Sounds like a fair deal, right?"

There's a tense minute as they both silently debate over what you just said. However, it's Verity who reacts first yet again, splashing through the small indoor pool too grab and shake your hand. "Fine." Her eyes are hard as steel, and her grip is firm, if wet. "We'll hold you to that." She tries to pull her arm back - and is surprised when you hold on.

And that's when you a stretch your other arm to Sandra. "You, too~" you singsong.

She just glares back at you. "I would, but we're in a bit of an awkward position and my closest hand is..." she motions down to it, and says nothing further.

You just smile. "Then you won't mind if I do this." and with that you take her injured hand - gently for once - and you let your power flow a bit, splitting your tension between the two ladies. One way goes just for show, but the other's for proper healing.

And as their eyes boggle, your smile grows wider. "Consider this a show of good faith."

Really, that's all they honestly had.
---------

>Please roll 1d20 for certain happenings, thank you.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2131415

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>2131415

Rolled 5 (1d20)

>>2131415

...Huh.

Okay, then. Gimme a second.

Hoo boy.

>>2131447
Well, that’s ominous.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>2131415

File: 1390109025021.jpg (19 KB, 251x251)

19 KB JPG

>>2131447

>Boss, BOSS!

>What, Tabo?

>You need to get up here, the kid's here, and shit's broke loo-!

>...Tabo? TABO!? Shit!

>...

>Okay, what the FUCK is going o-?

>...

>...Jonas?

>...Carmela? I...what!? What are you doing here?!

>I- uh...just...SHIT, GET DOWN!

-----------

And because of this I'm gonna need another roll for results from happenings. 1d20, best of three.

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>2131524
Please dont be nat 1 like i rolled>>2131453

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>2131524

Rolled 19 (1d20)

>>2131524

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>>2131524
Damnit, is it competition?

>>2131533
>>2131552
>>2131575

>Oh my god, oh my god...

>Jonas, calm down.

>Carmela, please, you HAVE to explain what went on in there. And why are you dressed like this?

>I...I...this...this wasn't supposed to be this way.

>What?

>I was supposed to help you with that silly little dream, think you'd won, and then- then we'd maybe actually start going out, y'know? Maybe I'd give everything to Tabo, make my assumed name my ACTUAL name, move out this stupid city. Have you ever been to Lulane, Jonas? It's beautiful out there.

>I...no, I haven't...but what's this- who's Tubo? Give what? Carmela, please, I need to know.

>*sniff* Of course you do. You always need to know. That's the problem, isn't it? Your silly little overactive head getting you into trouble...

>Carmela...

>...Well, I guess first thing's first. It's actually Carmel. No 'a'. Stupid fake name, right?

----------

And I'm gonna stop it there for tonight, I'm nodding off. I'll see you lot Sunday!

>>2131645
...Okay, so she's getting the guy she wanted to get. That's great.

So what's going to happen to our job? We could still do it if we're getting paid, but if she's going to cancel, that might be a problem...

...

...Hey, QM? Has there been any cases where people got to join the Intersection if they paid their way in? Or get a limited time visa pass for vacations, or as a safehouse to have the heat on them die down in their world?

>>2131821
>So what's going to happen to our job?
The job is a contract; there should be an exit clause, and she'd likely have to pay a penalty. If there isn't any such clause, she's on the hook for the money and we're on the hook for the work either way.

>>people got to join the Intersection if they paid their way in?
The intersection wants people that'll be producers of wealth; a bulk payment would be nice, but thereafter they'd be a net loss. I doubt short term stays are a thing, but I don't have any proof.

>>2131857
>The intersection wants people that'll be producers of wealth.
>Ran a crime syndicate for years, either running up the ranks of a previously formed syndicate, or created her own from scratch after she started at the bottom.

Pretty sure she can hash it. Hell, we might be able to make her our second in command when we're off on a job. The big problem with that could be getting her to go legit, but it looks like she's willing to try...

>>2131821
No one's just paid to get into the Intersection. They've either been picked or recruited, and in some cases such as Mono, requested to go and had someone to patron them. Like >>2131857 said, they want moneymakers. Also, yeah, there would be an amount she'd have to pay regardless.

As for what's going to happen to the job? Wait around. But this job was always meant to be a 'the world doesn't revolve around you' kinda job. That sentence might still not mean anything specific yet, though.

>>2131645
well, things might get super easy. Hopefully.

>>2131959
If she had to go clean with her boyfriend early, then maybe that means she hasn’t socked away enough money yet for a comfortable retirement. And if she wants to get out of the game, then it would be best for her if there were no other Families that might come after her.

Best case: she rescinds the Collateral Damage Rider and drops restrictions on our operational methods, in order to receive a reduction in the final cost of the contract, so that she can route the savings to her retirement fund.
We can easily make up the difference on our end by looting the people we kill and their own personal stashes and vaults.

>>2132263
well, it seems like they arent even a thing yet. I just hope she doesn't tells us to do something stupid.

Allo folks, writing.

>>2136439
'ello

>>2131645
It's only an hour or so later when you walk out of the building, unmolested and free. Turns out that their information network ran fairly deep; Sandra had eyes and ears in a number of entertainment related industries like radio, tv, and of course movies. All those people with their ears to the ground on the latest personal gossip? That meant that she usually knew what went on and where, no matter what branch of society they were in, so long as the information was remotely public. And even if she didn't know, she could get the information fairly quickly. Verity was one of those sources, and by all means they had a very, very close relationship. They refused to elaborate on it, but it was plain to you that they were more than simply an informant and her employer. Well, whatever it was, it was useful for you.

The only thing that you were concerned about was if they try to double-cross you. Although, like you said before, it would be more of an annoyance that you would have to solve than anything truly threatening. At least, you hope so. Now you have to figure out just what you want to do with them. They insisted that they needed to leave at the moment, if only in order to keep up appearances, but they did provide you with a number of methods of contact via phone (at your insistence) that will allow you to reach them just about anytime. You did ask them about two things before you left, however…

>Name two pieces of information that you want Sandra and Verity to get to you- if they don’t know them, they’ll find them. They cannot find out information that's exceedingly personal or unrelated to public events.

>>2136663
Where does Spider do business?
What's he working on right now?

>>2136663
The mafia influence over the city (who controls what, and such)....
And i really don't have a second one

>>2136663
Welcome back!

Hmm, we want useful info, but ideally don't want to reveal too much about our goals. With her connections a muttered word into the right ear could hamstring our efforts here. Though I guess if they were going to screw us over, they wouldn't need that info anyway.

1) Info about the local families, with a focus on Spider's family and Spider in particular. Things such as businesses they run, prefered hangouts, friends/acquaintances/rivals, general temperament, etc.
2) Info on the other Shakers, mainly things such as profession, personality, and any noteworthy history or connection to the families.

If 1) is too big to count as a single 'piece', go ahead and count both 'pieces' toward it.

>>2136683
>>2136700
>>2136720
Details. Who are the players, and what are they playing?

Writing.

>>2136663
>>2136683
>>2136700
>>2136720
It had taken a little bit of careful phrasing, but ultimately the first thing on your agenda was trying to find out the details about Spider’s operation within the Giogionne. You knew a few things, mostly that he was into gambling and what not, but you needed to know a little bit more in particular if you were going to get close to him. Fortunately, the girls admitted that although they weren't particularly close with the gang, they had heard a few things about some common hangouts of his; general stomping grounds. Apparently, much like that one guard said, the Shakers and him were at odds; he'd been trying to muscle the Shakers out of several businesses for a while now. Their connections had managed to stifle him so far, to the point where even physical intimidation was fairly useless, as they could probably cause something just as bad right back.

Frankly, by everything that you’re aware of, the Shaker’s are basically a gang of their own, or at least something approaching one. The only big difference was that they didn't seem to have actual underlings, perse. A couple of them engaged in the occasional illegal scenario- not that Sandra was willing to divulge the details- but in general they kept things mostly above board, or at least not TOO criminal. Due to this, and the Giogionne already having a heavy influence, there isn;t exactly a whole lot else in the way of rival families here. Apparently there's a small holding of Gravers here, but they don't own anything more than a couple of toy shops , and are mostly just trying to stay under the radar.

Fortunately, the information that you've managed to get otherwise was very valuable. You knew exactly just what Spider was probably going to be up to this week- it seems that he has a bit of a ego, and a taste for the high life, and he tends to show it via showing up at a lot of expensive functions. He takes in an opera show apparently every Thursday, and on Fridays he ‘cleanses his palette’ with a show at a very different kind of club. By all accounts he's rather easy to sweet talk, if you’ve ‘got a decent pair and aren’t afraid to show ‘em’’, in Sandra’s own words- although if you cross him apparently his wrath is rather terrible and merciless. Can't say you're particularly surprised, but considering your looks, it may be a bit of a hassle in order to get in.

cont.

>>2137002
Aside from that, he apparently tends to hang out at either the casino that you were at earlier, or his own private villa on the southside. It's apparently under heavy protection, and armed to the teeth, however. The way Sandra ranted about him and his ‘tacky, third rate decor’ for some time seemed to be rather vindictive, and you get the feeling that there's some history THERE, too. She only calms down when Verity pats her on the shoulder.

The Shakers themselves are largely the four that you encountered already, and together they either control or have heavy influence in most media and entertainment happenings in the city, although there's a pair that apparently occasionally join them in their card games- Cleo and Alex, an attached to the hip pair much like Sandra and Verity, who are up-and-comers in the fashion world who Sandra is trying to convert. They apparently managed to independently make their way up in the world, and in fact have apparently some connections to a few major players in the government structure. Sandra and the others have been trying to ply them for several months now in order to obtain those connections themselves, and maybe force Spider out of some of his holdings.

With that knowledge, you're pretty sure you have a plan of attack for the next few days. Or at the very least, you're positive you can formulate something. In the meantime though, you do have a magic show to prepare for, and hopefully you might be able to get something out of Jacob for it…

Well, you're pretty sure you could probably get away with some fancy light shows, but it never hurt to practice a little bit…

>Try to find somewhere relatively quiet outdoors, so you can actually practice with some room. Might even be able to work on something actually useful.
>You can just practice in your hotel room. You'll have to keep it very simple though, and stick to just practicing your efficiency.
>It’s really too simple of an event for you to really bother practicing at all.
>Other

>>2137023
>Try to find somewhere relatively quiet outdoors, so you can actually practice with some room. Might even be able to work on something actually useful.

>>2137023
>>Try to find somewhere relatively quiet outdoors, so you can actually practice with some room. Might even be able to work on something actually useful.

We should ask Sandra if there's someplace where we can practice our sticky bomb that has some noise canceling runes in it.

>>2137023
>>Try to find somewhere relatively quiet outdoors, so you can actually practice with some room. Might even be able to work on something actually useful.
Avoid anything flashy if possible. We don't need any prying eyes getting a better understanding of how... unusual we are.

>>2137023
>Try to find somewhere relatively quiet outdoors, so you can actually practice with some room. Might even be able to work on something actually useful.

>>2137069
>>2137089
>>2137092
>>2137097

Fairly unanimous. Gonna need 1d20 to try and find a good spot. Best of three.

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>2137118

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2137118

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2137118
Just fuck me up dice gods

Rolled 17 (1d20)

>>2137118

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>2137118

>>2137123
>>2137125
>>2137135
Shame that first roll wasn't a 7. WELP.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2137118

I have forgotten what kind of spells we are working on... Sticky bombs, upgraded flux and healing I think?

For the show I was thinking of elaborate use of small barriers. Could do things like parting water like Moses and make water flow through the air. Using them as stepping stones like in the show fight and'fly' and walk on air.

>>2137143
would you have done something special if we had hit a triple 7 (or any triple number for that matter)?

>>2137216
Honestly, yes.

>>2137118
>>2137123
>>2137125
>>2137135

Might be worth trying to find somewhere that you can practice out in the open. Who knows, you might actually be able to do something other than practice parlor tricks. You'll need to find somewhere that's decently secretive, though…

...aaand the best place you can find is a dump. If nothing else seems to be really more of a junkyard, more metal and various irons than expired food, but it still smells, and you get the feeling that someone- in fact multiple someones- is in the vicinity. There's no one in your immediate viewpoint, but you still get the feeling that whoever or whatever they are, they're hiding out. The best you can find even in the junkyard is a very small area, maybe about as big as a small front yard. There is a small consolation however, in that there's a few loose old cars and other goods that you might be able to use as target practice if you so needed any.

Now the question is, just what kind of practice will you be doing? There's always the sticky bombs that you could probably work on, but aside from that, maybe you can come up with something new. Then again, it might be safer to just go with what you know and just work on a routine with the skills you already have. That would still probably involve you working on some skills of yours though. Which to be frank, you probably need to do anyway.

>Practice something new. (Sticky bombs, come up with a new technique)
>Train some skills you already have. (Pick 3! http://pastebin.com/eTu7U2PZ)

>Regardless of what you choose, roll 1d20.

>>2137236
>Practice something new. (Sticky bombs, come up with a new technique)
Could we come up with something like a magic flamethrower?

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2137257
and my roll.

>>2137236
>>Practice something new. (Sticky bombs, come up with a new technique)
Sticky Bombs, Ranged Heal (healing someone without touching them), Flux Mine (Flux Wave, if the wave wasn't centered on us, and was triggered by proximity).

>>2137257
Valid. I AM curious as to why, though?

Rolled 18 (1d20)

>>2137263
ROLLS.

Oh, and the roll isn't for effectiveness, this is for something else. The roll for effectiveness comes next.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2137236
We're generally well rounded: decent sensing and traps, with plenty of combat options. and most of our existing skills are fine where they are.

>>2137257
I like this though. Something not overly destructive for close quarters, with plenty of utility potential. Should even be that hard, try destabilizing(?) a magibeam.

>>2137271
Should I do two more rolls for the other two suggestions I made?

Rolled 16 (1d20)

>>2137236
>Practice sticky bombs
>Try to use light/mana to create some illusions
>Practice on Miranda's magic performance
set up a zone scanner and occasionally use hearing boost while practicing, we don't want any observers.
unless the dice gods will agree, it's not gonna be successful.

>>2137265
Rule of cool and it makes sense to light the magic snot on fire.

>>2137273
No, those come later.

5 minute warning.

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2137236
>>Practice something new. (Sticky bombs, come up with a new technique)

we still need to field test those sticky bombs

>>2137260
>>2137272
>>2137292
what is happening

why are there so many sevens

>>2137306
RNGsus is mocking us

>>2137236
>>2137257
>>2137263
>>2137276
>>2137292
It takes you a few minutes to consider your possibilities. You do want to continue work on your sticky bombs of course, but aside from that, you have to think there's something else that you could pull off. Something flashy but with some semblance of effectiveness in a fight.

There's a few ideas that run through your head, most of them being derivatives or advancements of techniques that you already have, but not many of them are all that flashy, per se. After a few moments of thought, you wind up running your hand through your hair in consternation. The city runs hot, and it's been just a little bit under sweltering all day.

At that, a particular thought runs through your head, suddenly, and while you're not quite certain of the practicality of it, you can't deny that there might be something there. At the very least if just for showing off and intimidation. The question would be how to make it efficient… and thinking about it, it might be something if you were to be able to reduce the amount of mana it would take to execute, maybe just not have it be that focused... And perhaps if you could manipulate the consistency so that it persisted on whatever your target was, similar to what you're planning for your sticky bombs to be...

>NOW, roll 2d20 for training effectiveness. First is Stickies, Second Mystic Fire (Or whatever name you want to give it).

Rolled 11, 3 = 14 (2d20)

>>2137353
Watch me fuck this up, everybody!

Rolled 14, 5 = 19 (2d20)

>>2137353

Rolled 8, 9 = 17 (2d20)

>>2137353

Rolled 1, 14 = 15 (2d20)

>>2137353

>>2137353
Well...at least sticky bombs are progressing. Writing!

>>2137353
>>2137356
>>2137363
>>2137377
Things start off well enough for a few hours, at the very least with the sticky bombs. You’ve finally gotten them to a point where you can keep them consistent as they leave your hand, although your control isn't at the point where you can make it as long as small as you like; it's all one specific size. A little bit bigger than a softball, but that'll have to work for now. The explosions also aren't as big as you'd like them to be, reminding you of a grenade impact, or maybe a bit bigger. The fact is that the very same thing that allows them to be this viscous and sticky also saps a lot of their explosive strength. You're pretty sure you could figure something out in the future, but at the very least you have a working basic version for now.

>Learned skill ‘Sticky Blast (Basic)’! Can fire off a one-shot blast that’ll stick to an enemy or other surface and remain undetonated until you will it. Cannot be charged or shrunken, and has much less explosive power than a full charged magi-blast.

It's when you try your new technique out that the troubles start. Considering what you're intending to do, you figure that it might be a good idea to try and combine some traits of your own energy channel along with the ‘looseness’ of your recent achievements of a sticky blast.

This proves to not be very effective, and what you get is more explosive fireworks than anything else , resulting in a large crackling , yet fairly harmless explosion that nonetheless robs you of your eyesight for a few moments.

As your vision returns, however, you hear a scraping noise nearby, behind a wall of junk and compressed metal, along with the pitter-patter of small feet. They seem to go up to the edge, and as you tense, preparing for their intrustion, their fall silent, only to run away again. They do the several more times, to your confusion, and a quick, perfunctory sniff reveals that it's nothing that could really threaten you. You have to wonder just what the issue is... but at the same time, don't know if you want anyone seeing what you're up to. Then again, you might be able to just scare them off if they’re this skittish…

>Time to get out of here. You’ll worry about practice later.
>Might as well at least see what it is. Call it out and see if you can’t put some fear into it.
>You’ve got time. Wait and see if it decides to come on its own, or wimp out.
>Other

>>2137444
Oh, almost forgot

>Cost: 250 Mana. You can reduce this cost by practice and refining the skill further.

>>2137444
>>Other
Practice that firework thing for a bit. That could be a great closing trick for the show!

>>2137353
>Mystic Fire (Or whatever name you want to give it).
Handwarmer
Toaster
3rd degree
Fire Hose
Witch-Tester
Cremator

>>2137444
>Might as well at least see what it is. Call it out and see if you can’t put some fear into it.
We don't need tattletails ratting us out.

>>2137444
>>Might as well at least see what it is. Call it out and see if you can’t put some fear into it.

>>2137444
I will support this: >>2137453 imagine making tricks with fireworks! Bitches will love it!

>>2137459
Will-o-wisp?

5 minute warning! There's a tie between >calling it out

and

>just continue practicing, see if you can make fireworks intentionally.

>>2137459
Hey, you wanna see a
>Card Trick

>>2137497
I think you will need to roll a dice boss

>>2137459
Mystique Fyre

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>2137453
>>2137459
>>2137460
>>2137461

1: Just practice, ignore otherwise.
2: Start yelling.

>>2137510
Let's give this dumpster folk a show

>>2137444
>>2137453
>>2137459
>>2137460
>>2137461
>>2137500
All things considered, you can probably just boot it out if it starts getting particularly annoying. Or, if it just so happens to be some sort of homeless person, you can probably do away with it. A bit unfortunate, but in this situation it's unlikely that anyone would miss it or think of foul play. In the meantime however, you realize that you’ve stumbled upon something that could actually be rather useful to your efforts tomorrow. Probably wouldn't be much use out in the field, but it's something.

The next half hour or so consists of you trying to intentionally replicate the mistakes that you've made; it's actually somewhat easier, mostly because you don't have as much to focus on in terms of theoreticals and experiments. That, and the fact that you have a general idea of what you did ‘incorrectly’ works out in your favor.

It doesn't actually take you all that long to figure out how to create another sparkling blast- although you have to admit that you're still not quite certain of how to control it beyond general location. Still, that should be good enough for a one-time show tomorrow. If you decide to develop it further, who knows? But for now, you should be fine. Hmm... Also seems that these ‘fireworks’ take some time to dissipate. You’re not sure if that's good or bad.

‘O-ooohhh...pretty!’ Oh, right. You had a ‘guest’.

‘Really pretty!’ Ah. Two?

And as you turn around to look the mice in the eye, you realize that they seem to have forgotten that they're unexpected. As you might have expected, they look particularly grungy, with their brown fur matted down in a number of places, and their clothes rather tattered. From the looks of them, they’re twins, most likely. One boy, one girl. The boy is dressed in a blue tank top and messed up jean shorts, with a bandana on his head. He's got what seems to be an old crowbar in his hand, along with a bag of...something. The girl actually isn't dressed too much different, the only big difference being her tank top is red instead of blue, and she seems to have a medical eye patch over her left eye. The both of them are wearing heavy-duty gloves and boots, although those are just as in bad shape as the rest of them.

It's only after your efforts fade entirely that they seem to recall that they’re in someone's presence- and the way their bodies hitch up after meeting their eyes with yours makes you realize that they think they probably shouldn't have been watching.

>...Bah. They’re harmless, and not worth your time. Just leave.
>Easily mesmerized, it seems. “Enjoy the show?”
>Ugh. Get them out of here. “Congratulations. I know who you are now. Say anything about me, I’ll find you.”
>Other

(Gonna wrap it up here for tonight, will try to run tomorrow since I'm feeling good, but we'll have to see.)

>>2137797
>>Easily mesmerized, it seems. “Enjoy the show?”
No need to bully them just yet. Just give them some cash to make sure they keep quiet about our activities, like thirty bucks between them.

>>2137797
Oh yeah, what're the stats on that Fireworks spell?

>>2137797
>>Easily mesmerized, it seems. “Enjoy the show?”
>>2137827
nono, we give them cash IF they know something.

>>2137797
>Easily mesmerized, it seems. “Enjoy the show?”

>>2137848
>No real damage on it unless it hits point blank- and then it's basically kinda a 'burning' sensation. Doesn't stick, though- and again, the bright flash can briefly blind people, although not as well as SF. Costs about 350, because it's a decent bit of mana being thrown around, it's just unfocused, so...mostly harmless.

>>2137848
Looks more like a flare spell.

>>2137885
Kinda could be! It's like...y'know how grease pops from a skillet? Kinda that. Or maybe a better description would be sparklers cranked up to 11.

Well, now that we have that sticky bomb, we have a pretty viable method for doing our current job. Just plant one on the inside of one of their car tires, let them get to a bridge, overpass or particularly windy canyon road, and then detonate. Probably looks enough like an accident if we only do it once or twice.

>>2137797
>Easily mesmerized, it seems. “Enjoy the show?”

> Heal the girl with he messed up eye

Why? Because I'm not a monster. Also because street urchins are a classic spy group.

>>2138349
healing bodyparts, SPECIALLY street kids bodyparts is a huge no no. They will begin asking questions, specially because its a street kid, and we don't know if this kind of magic is achievable. And then, the wrong kind of people will start asking questions and the kids will rat us out(like the little rats they are), which WILL compromise the mission.

Also, healing random kids we find isn't who we are and its a waste of mana.

>>2137797
>>Easily mesmerized, it seems. “Enjoy the show?”
Ask some basic questions, see if they might be useful, now that they've seen us doing something unusual.

>>2137827
>>2138349
Like >>2137849
said, we could offer such things as rewards or services rendered; Miranda isn't a humanitarian. I doubt the eye is a fresh wound though, which'll make it more difficult to fix, if it's possible at all.

>>2138358
Street kids aren't like you, they know that secrets are important. Because we secrets are found out, they lose things like eye's and lives and virginity.

>>2138385
ok, first create a coherent argument, and then come to argue.

>>2138360
Or to gain instant and total loyalty.

I mean we could always take her eye out again.

>>2138390
A) We've already healed body parts, in fact we literally just did that to Sandra who is much more of a threat than street kids by every possible metric.

B) Street kids actually have to be a lot more careful of who they tell things to, because they have zero protection of it getting taken from them.

C) Street kids are a valuable spy force because people ignore them, but also because their live's depend on being ignored at the right time and being noticed at the right time (for begging).

D) Miranda really only has to be as much of a sociopath as people choose to play her. "It's what my character would do" is a shit argument.

Stop being "That Guy" so hard.

>>2138402
>A) We've already healed body parts, in fact we literally just did that to Sandra who is much more of a threat than street kids by every possible metric.

Its not that we can't, its that you are healing them for basically them meeting us; At least let them prove their worth. Also, we healed Sandra as a token of good faith; to show we have no hard feelings and to more or less secure that we and they up to some extent wont try to fuck over the other party.

>B) Street kids actually have to be a lot more careful of who they tell things to, because they have zero protection of it getting taken from them.
And thats why you don't heal body parts, specially from what can be assumed to be a person from the bottom of the power chain, becasue people WILL notice that "the kid that didn't have one eye yesterday has one right now. What the fuck is going on, lets get that information out of her". they can be street smart and everything, buy they are still kids. They won't turn down the oportunity to brag about their newly healed eye. Its better to give them cash, so they can pay their debts/buy alcohol, or whaterver they want to.

>C) Street kids are a valuable spy force because people ignore them, but also because their live's depend on being ignored at the right time and being noticed at the right time (for begging).
I agree with that, and we can do that with cold, hard, cash. Which we have a lot of and is way easier to conceal.

>D) Miranda really only has to be as much of a sociopath as people choose to play her.
Miranda is not a sociopath; we have shown we have a heart to the people of the intersection, because they are the people that she can continually meet and coexist with. She literally has no reason to care for some people that has literally known for less than five seconds. We only care about them when they are relevant to the job, and so far, they aren't.

>"It's what my character would do" is a shit argument.
But that's the whole idea of playing with a premade character. You get into their shoes and play with the options you already have. That said, we can change mirandas personality ( we tried at the beginning, when everyone told us we were acting weird), but it won't be quick, and we definitely won't start with something as altruistic as repairing a strangers bodypart when the alternative is simpler and has less loose ends.

>>2138402
A) the extent of our healing ability is unclear. I don't think we're replaced missings parts, fixed infected tissue, or worked on scar tissue. We're not specced for healing, it's just something we've picked up as useful after a fight.

B) is true, but isn't a good thing due to C.

C) we ain't the first ones to think of using urchins as spies. If someone's gotten to them first, they'll rat on us at the first opportunity. Someone they're established with is a more stable food source than a new unknown quantity.

D) Miranda is a 90-odd year old professional mercenary. She does this for the motes. She isn't heartless, but she not going to go out of her way to help someone unless she's got a good reason.

Leave off the insults, they make it seem like your arguments can't stand on their own.

>>2138428
C) is a good point. Someone else might be using them already. In which case we have to be able to give them something worth more than whatever they're already getting.

We don't know how bad the eye injury is. If we would just be speeding it up, or if it's outright gone.

>>2138428
> they make it seem like your arguments can't stand on their own.

Faaaaaaaaags especially >>2138390

oh no. My feelings.

:(

They're little rat-retards, I'm sure we can do better than show up out of nowhere and lay on hands their personal Jesus. If we do that we'll probably end up like a modern day saint and unless you want to use something crazy as that as a cover we shouldn't.

Fix them up as a parting gift if you want, that's cool, but not while we're on the mission.

>>2137797
>>2137827
>>2137849
>>2137866
>>2138349
You're not quite sure what they think is going to happen, but you suppose the answer to what IS going to happen entirely depends on them. In the meantime though, it couldn't hurt to at least maintain a veneer of decentness. “Enjoy the show?”

They both rear back as though they were expecting you to yell at them, but it only takes a moment or two before they recover and both rapidly nod their heads. “Yeah-yeah! Really really nice! You...you do magic?” the boy asks.

“Where’s the plates, the things?” the girl asks before you can answer, and for a moment you're confused until you realize that she's talking about sigils. “I don’t see ‘em, no-no!”

Also taking a look around, the boy just sniffs and curiosity. “You a big person? Heard only big people can do magic with no plates. Thassa lie, though, yeah-yeah.” Not sure what he means by big people, but that's not quite what you're aware of.

“Ooh! Can we see more, huh? Please-please?” the girl begs, and you’re not quite sure whether to feel annoyed, confused, or both. “We can give ya stuff!”

“Get ya stuff! I can build, yeah-yeah! I can, swear it!” The boy opens up his back to reveal a multitude of small pieces of electronics and various other metal goods. Some of them look...beyond odd. “I build lotsa stuff! Good stuff too, works, yeah!”

The girl however, looks a bit more shy. “Uh, uh...I kin...I kin do stuff. I kin find stuff. An’ see stuff. Kinda. Yeah! Please-please?” For a second she turns away, and something goes off inside your head that tells you that she's hiding something, but you're not sure what to say to these two, if they're even worth it.

>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.
>Just give them some money and get them out of here- they might attract more attention.
>No, they’ve already seen plenty. Shoo them off and make tracks.
>Other

(Sorry, this is the only one for today. Will run tomorrow, though!)

>>2139117
>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

>>2139117
>>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

>>2139117
>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

Color me intrigued

>>2139117
>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

>>2139117
>>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

>>2139117
>No, they’ve already seen plenty. Shoo them off and make tracks.
Should we be trying to shake down small children for money and trinkets?

>>2139305
maybe?

>>2139117
>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

>>2139305
I'm thinking its more like we're an adult showing two little kids what weird skills we can do to entertain them, and them showing us how they can belch out the national anthem or dislocate their shoulders in return.

>>2139117
>>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.
No harm in it, and who knows, they might be useful.

>>2139117
>At least ask for a demonstration of their abilities. You’re not giving anything without getting anything.

See stuff?

>>2139117
>>2139127
>>2139128
>>2139136
>>2139236
>>2139283
>>2139498
>>2139557
>>2139702
You frown, but it's more in thought than in refusal. You're not opposed on principle, but.. “Alright, then. Let me see what you both can do first, and then I might consider doing more.” You can't say that there isn't a part of you that's a bit intrigued by what they claim, if only in an academic sense.

Their eyes light up almost immediately when you give the okay, and the boy immediately starts to motion for you to follow as they begin to head off. “Gotta quiet place, real secret, yeah-yeah? Come on!” The girl nods in agreement, and before you know it you find yourself following the two through the twists and turns of the junkyard. At some points, they seem to slip through a few very thin cracks that you find yourself having trouble fitting through; you're not that much taller than them, but that's still enough to make things a bit tight, and you can tell that your clothes are getting a bit scratched up.

The pathway ends at what seems to be a very strange pile of junk that seems as though it's... well, just a pile of junk, but looking at it a bit closer, you can see that it's a bit more constructed than that. There's a few flat panels of various goods like dryers and refrigerator doors that are cobble together a bit too cleanly, and a large car door seems to indicate the entrance. “Over here!” With little fanfare, they swing the door open and head down into what seems to be some sort of hidden bunker area. Clever.

It extends into the depths a bit further down than you expected, although when it finally opens up, you’re... actually somewhat surprised. For a pair of literal street rats, it seems that the boy might actually have some skill when it comes to engineering. From what you can tell there's pretty much approximation of all the basic furniture one would need in a bedroom, made out of metal instead of wood. There's a king size bed with numerous pieces of scrap forming a frame, and even a few brass knobs on the head and footboards for some semblance of style. A dresser made up of large pieces of sheet metal, and even a mirror in it that he apparently managed to find. There's of course the table, and beyond that…

Toys. Or at least, some semblance of them. Various mechanical dolls and toy vehicles, and devices, all put together in a hodgepodge of bits and pieces of metal and plastic and other things. The dolls are all walking, windup and everything, and the cars are driving in circles and on the whole it makes you think you stepped into a different world entirely. You haven't seen technology quite like this yet, simple as it may be.

cont.

>>2140272
As you sweep your gaze over the various creations, the boy rat puffs up with pride. “Nice, yeah-yeah? Made all of it myself and with Lass, yup-yup..”

“Lass?” you ask.

He just motions with his head over to the girl. “Sis-sis. She’s Lass. I’m Tot.”

“Hi!” she says like she’s just meeting you. Ah. Makes sense. “I saw it, an showed Tot-tot it!” Hm? Saw it- showed it? Before you can ask her, she grabs your hand and looks up at you with a bright eye. “Iunno stuff, but I can see, an’ Tot-tot knows stuff, yeah-yeah! So I show ‘im, an’ he makes stuff!”

For some strange reason, you feel somewhat unnerved by the intense look but she's giving you… “How?”

“Iunno. Stuff. I can’t tell. But I can show it. But you gotta lemme see first!” She’s acting like you're holding some sort of delicious candy from her…

“See what?” you find yourself asking. More than one alarm bell going off in your head, for some reason.

“See what you want! Need your hand!” And she holds her paw out, clearly expecting you to take it.

>Let her see.
>Do not let her see.

>>2140274
>Let her see.
I admit, I'm curious if she'll figure out where we come from.

>>2140274
>>Let her see.

15 minutes to go due to start of run.

>>2140274
>>Let her see.
curiosity killed the cat.

this will be interesting, because there are like three answers for that.
Either it will show that we want to return to our universe, or that we want to kill the giogiorno family, or that we want to enter spider´s inner circle. It will be fun.

>>2140274
>Let her see.

>>2140302
or stacks of motes; despite her past, Miranda isn't terribly complicated.

she's just gonna see a pile of corpses and a world winked out of existence

you'll traumatize her

>>2140274
>Do not let her see.

Rolled 32 (1d50)

>>2140274
>>2140289
>>2140290
>>2140296
>>2140303
So. Maybe some kind of clairvoyance? Fine, you'll give it a shot. She better not did too deep, though. “Alright…”

As you take one of her paws in your hand, she brings the other to her eyepatch, flipping it up- and revealing the tiny sigil plate embedded inside of it, as well as the metal sphere that takes up where her left eye should be- and the now-glowing sigil inside of IT, too. Before you can say anything about it, you feel a sudden, yet surprisingly massive outpouring of mana flood up from the now brightly smiling mousegirl- and washing over you.

Immediately you feel the world slow down, and something- squirming around in your mind, like...Ha. Like a mouse exploring a massive maze at a brilliantly fast speed and bumping into every wall there.

You're not entirely helpless, though; this isn’t the first time your mind’s been pulled open, and you've developed a couple of tricks to block off some of those corridors...if you’re quick enough, you MIGHT be able to direct her to what you want her to see…

>Show her theoretical weapons.
>Show her the names of your targets.
>Show her just Spider’s name.
>Other

>REGARDLESS OF CHOICE, roll 1d20, best of 3. You don't need to worry about my roll. (Unless your roll is trash, then maybe.)

Rolled 7 (1d20)

>>2140319
>Show her the names of your targets.

Rolled 4 (1d20)

>>2140319
>>Show her just Spider’s name.
Lowest risk; target names could be leaked to someone else, and the weapons would just be irresponsible.

Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>2140319
>Show her just Spider’s name.

well, handler jinxed us.
Do we get a bonus because our ending numbers are basically the same?

Oof. Still would suggest voting, though.

>>2140337
Nope, sorry!

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>2140319
>Other
A stack of motes so big it'll make Sal cry

>>2140319
>Show her just Spider’s name.
Jeez, we've been rolling poorly lately...

>>2140355
It seems that RNGsus wants us to move to another mission

File: 1253212705376.jpg (20 KB, 200x300)

20 KB JPG

Haha god DAMN

File: 1382333527971.jpg (77 KB, 500x468)

77 KB JPG

>>2140354

>>2140319
>Show her just Spider’s name.

>>2140319
>>2140322
>>2140323
>>2140332
>>2140354
>>2140355
>>2140369
‘Might’ having been the operative word. She's so reckless, so indiscriminate with how she twists and turns, and the speed at which she moves is entirely unexpected for you. Normally when someone tries to look inside your mind, they're methodical, precise. They have something that either they know they're looking for, or at the very least an idea of what they want to see. Hardly anyone goes looking inside someone else's brain just for kicks.

Not so with this kid. It's like she's running through the hallways of a gallery and only stopping for maybe a second at each of the paintings. She doesn't really care about the nuances of anything, not looking for any deep meaning are particularly juicy secrets intentionally. She just wants to see as much as she can and sort it out later. You do your best to try and focus her attentions towards the name of Spider, but she hardly seems to take notice, maybe glancing at it once before moving on like so many of the other things that she sees.

And then you realize that there's a good chance that she's either seen or is about to see things that she really probably shouldn't. With a massive force of will, you do your best to reach out to her inside your own mind.

And yell at her. ‘GET OUT!’

Almost immediately you hear something shiver inside your own head, and before you know it, suddenly Lass snaps her head back like she's been hit, and falls right on her tail end. Tot, who’d simply been watching everything with a careful eye up until now, quickly rushes up to her and cradles her in his arms as she clutches her head, looking back and forth between you two as you yourself try to recover from the mental intrusion. “Sis-sis! You okay?!”

Fortunately, it doesn't take her more than a few seconds to recover after she opens her right eye; clearly looking disoriented, but none the worse for wear, at least on the outside. The left eye remains closed, and she pulls her eyepatch back down before addressing you again. “Weeeeeeird…saw lotsa lotsa stuff...” When she looks back up to you, you can see that she’s got the expression of someone who isn't sure whether to be awed or afraid anymore.

But she’s shivering either way. “Uhhh…uhhh…”

cont.

>>2140488
You just quirk an eyebrow.

“She can g-go!” Lass quickly turns to her brother. “She can g-go fast-fast! If-if she wants!” at this point, you're not sure if it's her verbal quirk again, or if it's just her stuttering out of fear. Either way, you're not sure if this is a good thing or what.

Before you can mull on it a bit too much, Tot seems to looks at his sister, almost like he wants to ask her a question. He doesn’t, though- for a number of seconds, neither of them say anything, although you can detect a few faint twitches of their heads. Then you see his eyes widen in surprise, and he looks at you with a similar uncertainty fear. “You...you in a family, yeah-yeah? Weird family! And space!”

“Business,” you automatically correct. Say what you will about your employment, you are no gang member...at least, not a permanent one. “It’s entirely legitimate.” At least, as legitimate as an extra dimensional plane can get, you suppose.

“Yeah. We was inna gang once. Got caught-caught by police, yeah-yeah.” Tot explains, seemingly ignorant to your protestations. “Said we was weird-weird, and took us away. Did stuff. Put the thing-things, in, yeah.” It's only now that he taps his bandana, but he doesn't uncover it. Something happened, alla it went boom-boom! We got out, an’ stuff. But we ain’t doin’ nothin’ against anyone, nope-nope! No beef or nothin’!” Ah. Well, that explains that, not that you were asking. Still, that doesn’t mean you don’t have something to do. Spider’s still your goal, and it’s getting late.

>See if you can't force these two to do something for you. Intimidate them if need be so they know to get it done quickly and efficiently.
>Just show off a bit more magic to them- maybe at this point you can impress them and convince them to keep you their secret.
>Maybe you can try to appeal to them some other way. If you can convince them to be followers, they could be useful…
>Other

>>2140491
>Just show off a bit more magic to them- maybe at this point you can impress them and convince them to keep you their secret.

>>2140491
>Maybe you can try to appeal to them some other way. If you can convince them to be followers, they could be useful…
Tot’s toys could be used to carry mana crystals to create “accidents”.
Lass may be able to be useful for information extraction.

>>2140491
>>Just show off a bit more magic to them- maybe at this point you can impress them and convince them to keep you their secret.

>>2140491
>>Just show off a bit more magic to them- maybe at this point you can impress them and convince them to keep you their secret.
>>Maybe you can try to appeal to them some other way. If you can convince them to be followers, they could be useful…

I'm sorry if I was a bit harsh with you, but some of my memories are private for a reason, dear. But I might have a few requests for certain creations. If they exceed my expectations, I might have a more unusual but lucrative offer for you two.

>>2140491
You know....
They said 'don't make it a habbit'...
But with all the knowledge and all, at this point, if they survive till the end, we MIGHT have found us a two new recruits.

Or not, it's a hard life after all.
Dunno. Just saying. Leave it to Silver Eye Solutions to find the quirky ones.

I mean... we ARE expanding as a company...


... that to say, again, bythe end of it.
For now? Iunno. Use em. Good skills.

>>2140510
If you really want, I can see how a mind reader can be a valuable asset for Owlia and Cylica on their business trips

>>2140510
Tot might be useful as another magitech engineer, more on the practical applications with Owlia than pure research. His abilities might extend to picking up pure tech, which would help for building support equipment for low-mana worlds. There might be a niche job for information retrieval for Lass.

But, that’s something to talk over with Sal.

>>2140491
>"I didn't tell you it was open season inside my head, you need to watch your step."

>Show off
>Appeal

I think we can do both. Ask what they think of the mafia and see if they aren't inclined to help get rid of one

>>2140510
Yeah, I can see them doing some work for us. They might do well as traders, or possibly as a sort of side business.

>>2140491
>Just show off a bit more magic to them- maybe at this point you can impress them and convince them to keep you their secret.

>>2140526
>>2140517
Then we should keep them away from us so they don't end up in danger by association.

Locked. Seems like we might be showing off...with a bit of a lean towards appealing to them in another way. Writing!

>>2140510
Well, I'm personally also looking for potential to go with that talent. To show that their powers or skills could get better in a new environment.

>>2140517
>>2140510
I don´t know. I kinda dig the brother abilities, but not the sister´s. I feel like she is not that unique, or powerful, since she has to touch someone in order to access their minds.

>>2140550
I doubt she's had formal training or a mentor of any kind

>>2140510
They look pretty raw, we don't need more support, and we've only got, what, 2 more slots for now? That said, they make a good first impression, and don't appear to have any ties here. I'm game for testing them, but what we really need is more frontline fighters.

>>2140550
Compared to what we've seen of the '''competition''', she is an interesting sort. Competition being other companies in the intersection.
Developing an specialization, that being SPECIALISTS, might be sonething that will help SES grow and stand out.
Fron what I read about sister, she is fast, and if trained properly, might perform a total recall on a person, before they can put their guard up.

That to say
>>2140526
>>2140537
>>2140511
>>2140517
Wow, that's quite a lot of likeminded individuals.

And lastly
>>2140570

If we can create a suble handeling company, as in, the stuff we do, we could easily outsource our services, like with the crystal kingdom mission.
But You still have your point. We'll see how things turn out in the end.

As stated, they might not want to join, and intersection is not the nicest place, compared to their world.

>>2140566
Of course, but training them will cost money and time, and don´t have either.

>>2140491
>>2140498
>>2140501
>>2140506
>>2140509
>>2140510
>>2140530


Hm... Thinking about it, a plan starts brewing in your head. You not sure if it's entirely feasible, but it might be worth pursuing. Either way, it starts with you keeping your promise. “Look, I DID say that I would show you some more magic if you showed me your skills. You were a bit more intrusive than I’d hooooped…” At this, you give Lass a bit of a side eye, to which she shrinks back at, but you continue on with a small smile. “But as long as you don't do it again, I guess I can look past it!” You can see them both visibly de-tense, and breathe out mutual sighs of relief.

And so there's at least another half hour or so of you performing simple mana manipulation tricks- your remote controlled magi-blasts go over pretty well with them in particular, especially when you make three of them start rotating around in circles. It's not too hard when you're not focused on an opponent that's actively trying to kill you, and making patterns in the air is honestly pretty good control practice regardless.

It's when you started lighting your arms up in mana fire that you decide that your next step in your little idea should begin. “So...no beef with anyone, huh?”

Tot shakes his head, possibly a little too quickly. “Nope-nope. Don’t hurt them, don’t hurt us. Easy. Stay quiet, find stuff. Good-good stuff. All this, we found. Find food, leftover stuff. Keep away from the mob-mobs, from the big-big folks, from everyone. No one us, stays nice an’ quiet, yeah-yeah.”

“Sooooo…” you drag the word out to make sure you have their attention. “You guys got it worked out, huh?”

cont.

>>2140673

Almost immediately Tot looks at you kinda suspiciously, still keeping an eye on his sister. “I guess, yeah-yeah.”

“You guess? Doesn’t sound like you’re very sure about it, really. I mean I guess I can't blame you, but it's got to suck at least a little, right?” You try to look nonchalant as you shrug, hand on fire and still juggling the three magi-blasts in midair. Doing it one handed is harder than it might seem…

“We good. Faces get too big-big, people want us again. Gonna cut-cut us.” The both of them shiver at that. “We stay low, we stay safe, yeah-yeah.”

“Hm... And this would be because you're worried about what the royals would do to you?” you ask.

“You too, yeah-yeah.” Huh? That’s news... “Not supposed to do it, nope. Only big-big people supposed to, they say. People find out, they come after you.” well, you didn't think that was a factor. but still, hopefully it won't be so obvious as to get you targeted. “S’why no gangs again, nope-nope. People find out. People tell-tell, come after us again.” Ahh…

“Well, like I said, I'm not in a gang. it's a business. A business with actual PAY,” you emphasize.

Tot frowns, but then Lass nods her head, ever so slowly. “Weird-weird, yeah.” Her voice is softer, like she's trying to come to terms with something. “Not big, remember? Think, Tot-tot...”

Tot just frowns, but it doesn't say anything for a minute, clearly recollecting something. “Yeah. Weird-weird.”

“Well, how about I try to make it a little less weird?” And with that you dissipate the fire and the magic, fixing them with an easy grin. “I’m authorized to give you both temporarily employment on this little job I’m on.”

“Sis-sis showed me.” Tot says grimly. “Spider. You wanna know about him, wanna...” he drags his finger across throat in the universal sign, and you just nod in agreement.

“You help me with this, and it'll help you in the long run. One less big gang on your backs! A lot more freedom to move. And of course I'll pay you for it! Like I said, it's a job. A job that paaaaays well… ”To assure them that you're good for it, you reach into your own bag and pull out a handful of bills. To your complete non surprise, they immediately lock on to the money as though they were starving children, which they very well might be. “You wouldn't even have to do anything dangerous.”

“...” Tot says nothing, instead, the two of them look at each other again, and do that wordless subtle head-shaking thing.

“Maybe. What-what do you want?” He asks. “I can make-make stuff. Stuff they say you can't make it. But I can make it anyway. I’m smart-smart!”

Lass nods. “And I can see stuff, I told you! Can we have the money, please?”

>What do you want from them?


(Gotta wrap it up for now. Interesting stuff. Building quite the network. Anyway, I'll be back Thursday!)

>>2140675
Gas grenades

For lass, we can just knock people out and have her look through them. More efficient then interrogation, enhanced or not. If we're good, they won't even know we did it.

>>2140675
A taser/stun prod. It can be battery operated, mana crystal operated, or feed directly from us. Making all three will bet him a bonus.

Oh, a little device that can produce different sounds: soft walking of several feet, like they’re trying and failing to be stealthy enough. Whispering.
Something that we can use to set up distractions or get people to move to check something out. It won’t work on smart or trained guards, but it should work on dumb grunts.

A remote control spider/car with a camera. Real-time control and video would be nice, but I’d be satisfied with it just being able to go somewhere and take pictures, or hang out and take pictures whenever something enters its field of view.

Lass just needs to do some memory diving on anyone we bring in; I don’t want to risk her getting in trouble by actually bumping into targets to read them.

>>2140675
A throwable lure that uses recorded voices to distract guards. Bonuses will be given for how long it can last, how many voices it can record, and if it can interact with multiple lures.

A small mine triggered by proximity that bounces up and slices foes with monofiliment wires.

>>2140686
>>2140699
While cool ideas, don't forget they'll need the proper materials to make what we ask for. I doubt they have much of anything intricate available.

>>2140716
Adding another thing to this, maybe see if he can either reverse engineer that mana storage tank/collector in the basement of Verity's Chateau or make it super efficient.

>>2140930
wouldn't it be better if he does that to our collector?

>>2141101
It's so that we can know if he's able to tinker with one, without putting our collector on the line or possibly killing us.

>>2141152
why not begin on something less dangerous then?because if the kid fails on Sandra's tank(supposing they even would let us come close to it) it will give a mana overdose to a lot of people, and probably kill them. Which means unwanted heat on us.

>>2141160
...That's a fair point. Maybe have him draw up blueprints on upgrading the tank?

>>2140930
This is a streetrat tinkerer; he's not going to have anywhere near enough education or experience for something like that. Simple mechanicals is what we should be expecting from him, timers and 4 servo-robots and the like, not reverse-engineering magitech.

>>2141181
Why not make him upgrade our glyph? way easier than moving the two kids to sandra's house, and we already have everything right now.

>...soooo...you lied to me. A lot.

>...I'm sorry.

>I don't know what I'm supposed to say about this. You're...you're the thing I've basically dedicated my life to fighting.

>I tried not to get in your way, Jonas, I knew what you were trying...

>What, were you enjoying the show too much?

>!

>What? I'm not stupid. It's a dream of mine, but I always knew it was going to be rough road- or at least probably hard to do in my lifetime. I knew there'd be people in my way, I just didn't think...

>Jonas...

>Look, I might need some time alone, okay? What with all this you being head of one of the crime families I wanted to wipe out...

>! But...

>Just...yeah. Thanks for the save, I mean it. But... leave me be for a while, okay? Just to clear my head, okay?

>I...

>...

>...okay...if- if you're sure.

>Yeah. Thanks, Carmela- Carmel, sorry.

>...

>...

>...No...no, no, not now. I...damnit, what am I...

>...

>...Fuck 'em. Fuckemfuckemfuckemfuckemfuck ALL OF THEM! FUCK ALL OF YOU BASTARDS!

>...

>...

>...

>...fuck me, too. It's...impossible. Like this. I have to...

>>2141440
Well. She knows what happens if she breaks her side of the contract, right? Sal made sure to explain it in detail?
Is she going to try commit suicide by Miranda?
Not that I mind; it means we get this job done a lot sooner, and we simply take the money we're owed, killing everyone who gets in our way.

>>2141488
no, you aren't thinking crazy enough. She is going to make us kill all the families so that way her sweetheart can be worry free.

>>2141440
I mean.

If she is willing to let go of the "minimum damage" rider, we could probably wipe the gangs out entirely.

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OLXkuMLoVY

>>2141565
>>2141571
Woah, woah, wait a minute. Killing all of the Families is well beyond the scope of the contract.
She'll need to re-negotiate our fee for that much extra work. And this time, if she's going to keep that Minimized Collateral Damage Rider, I think we should bump up the percentage considerably in light of the target-rich and densely populated nature of the area of operations.

>>2141605
man, she is crazy right now. she'd probably accept the new contract with whatever fees we put on top of it. Hell, we might even need to bring the whole crew (sans mono) to help us!

>>2141440
Christ, she fell for him hard. If he was actively working on wiping the crime families, she had to know it was only a matter of time, right?

>>2141605
Minimum Collateral is a massive pain, but it is presumably worth it, else we wouldn't bother. Also, without it we could nuke the city and stay in contract. Say MG, is there an 'intermediate collateral' rider? Something to the effect of wreck some buildings, kill some people, do some damage, but leave the city intact?

>>2141612
She has to be able to afford it; some of our high end contracts could bankrupt smaller nations.

>>2141669
>She has to be able to afford it; some of our high end contracts could bankrupt smaller nations.

so? that's not our problem. If she doesn't have enough cash, we just end up reposessing her stuff, or make a deal like the one we did with the flower team.

>>2141684
Could do, though that just makes it more of a pain to collect. Still, if we think she has /some/ ability to pay over time it could work.

>>2141699
i mean, she IS a mafia boss, i doubt she has any lack of income. But even if she left her job after our mission, we could always find alternative ways for her to pay.

We shouldn't have left the continent huh. Still, this is more fun than having to misdirect and hide from that guy the whole time

>>2142366
We couldn't have stayed under the radar back there; the deaths of mob bosses would have brought the heat sooner or later. Hopefully once we get spider pointed in the right direction we can speed things up without drawing a target on us or our client; we've still got a lot of names on our list.
If the client would have let us, her sweetheart would have made a great scapegoat for an assassination or two, though.

Check wan two.

>>2144040
hullo

>>2144040
present

>>2141669
>>2141488
>>2141571

Would you say that she would do anything for a small change in the contract?

>>2144040
'lo

>>2144040
Here.

>>2140675
>>2140699
>>2140716
>>2144051
>>2144056
>>2144057
>>2144062
>>2144073
It takes a little bit to think about exactly what you might like; considering that this is a junkyard, they can probably throw something together that's reasonably effective, but you're not going to expect top-level engineering from them. You'll have to keep your expectations low to moderate. After a few minutes of them staring at you uncomfortably, you finally come to a decision on a few ‘tests’. “What about a sound producer? Something that can imitate small sounds, like walking or maybe murmurs?”

“Recorder thing?” Tot frowns in apparent confusion. “Yeah-yeah, can do that, for sure! Lotsa old stuff ‘round here, lotsa noise an’ stuff.”

“Good. Beyond that, anything that you might be able to remotely control. You know what that means, right? I can press a button or move a stick on a device, like a television remote, and something else will move? Something with a live camera in it or something that can take pictures. Think that’s feasible?”

To your surprise, his eyes shine with delight. “Ooooh! Like bigga toys! Yeah-yeah-yeah!” Well, at least he’s excited. “Gonna be cool, make one for sis-sis, too!”

“Yaaay!” Wonderful, you’ve made her day. Grand. I thought comes to you that maybe he might be able to do something with your converter eventually , something that could make it probably more efficient. That's going to take a lot of trust earned however, and you need to see if he's capable of doing it in the first place. That, and a few other ideas run through your head, but for now those two should be the most reasonable things. They're relatively simple to do, and you won't have him worry too much about making things meant explicitly for murder.

Not yet, anyway. “When can I expect these things?” you ask. You’re going to have to figure out a timeline if you going to expect to come back here and get these things…

Tot just shrugs. “Iunno. Two days, come back, yeah-yeah?” Huh. That's actually quicker than you were expecting. Certainly not complaining about it, though.

With that, your interactions with them come to an end for the night as you excuse yourself, and as you leave their little hideaway, you can already hear their voices going and metal clacking as Tot rushes around, most likely gathering some basic supplies.

Hopefully, the magic show tomorrow will work out just as well as this one did. For now, you need some sleep, as tomorrow is bound to be at least a little interesting.

>Roll 1d100

Rolled 85 (1d100)

>>2144098

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>2144098

Rolled 8 (1d20)

>>2144098
time to show off!

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>2144098
>>2144118
let's try that again

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>2144098
I wish we could have still gotten a stun prod.

>>2144121
>>2144118
come on, try it again

>>2144106
Big rolls today.

>>2144098
This rat kids are way to adorable. Also need five more agents and then we can start turn this mafia game into a Rainbow Six game.

>>2144106
Ooh. Not too shabby! Writing.

>>2144134
Keep it in mind.

>>2144134
We will come back anon. No worries.

>>2144098
>>2144106
>>2144111
>>2144118
Following morning starts out well enough. With showtime happening today, you at least got one major thing on your plate that you need to make sure you're ready for. You can probably go ahead and show up early just to make sure that there won't be any particular surprises, or maybe talk to Jacob before the show, just in case.

As you head out of the hotel to catch a taxi, you notice someone vaguely familiar sitting on the sidewalk as you do. It takes a few minutes for you to recall, but you remember that that's one of the men that was watching the casino. He doesn't seem to notice you, and he's staring off into the distance, talking on what seems to be a very crude sort of crystal communication. You haven't seen that before around here. You only get just enough time to activate your improve hearing to hear a few words.

‘...yeah, I’ll be there. We’ll get this sorted out, Big S, don’t worry.’

Well, well. Checking your time, you've got a couple of hours before you’re due. Question is, if you want to risk trying to tell him or not. it could take up more time than you expect... Not to mention that you do still have other ways of gathering information. Then again, they may not be so direct as this one.

>Follow the man.
>Don't follow.

>>2144252
>Don't follow.

>>2144252
>Don't follow.
No getting sidetracked.

>>2144252
>>Follow the man.

Simple enough. On our way to the gym for our little show.

>>2144252
>>2144256
>>2144257
>>2144261
Part of you wants to. You think it could be a feasible possibility that wherever he's going may lead to the man himself. But it's only that. A possibility. If you follow him and he needs you to somewhere unrelated, you'll have wasted a lot of time on a wild goose chase. Might be better in this case to just stick to the system that you've got set up for now and head over to Jacob's in order to start setting up.

The building itself actually isn't as small as Jacob made it sound; it's a red brick, large building with its own rather sizable fenced in area and parking lot, and seems a bit bigger than your usual high school gym. As you enter, you can easily see there's quite the layout, with two boxing rings, one on either end of the building, and a multitude of fitness tools between them. One side has a set of doorways which you can only presume leads to some sort of offices or the sort, but here a number of people are taking advantage of the various facilities, doing various exercises on the floor, lifting weights, and taking part in some sparring in the two boxing rings that are at either end of the building. Curiously enough, Jacob seems to be nowhere to be seen.

You take a few minutes to look around for him, and your searches unfortunately unsuccessful until one of the boxers, a large, red-headed man with just a bit of a pot belly looks at you curiously. “Hey, you lookin’ for someone or just enjoyin’ the view, lass?”

“Jacob,” you say. He quickly nods his head in understanding as his sparring partner, only slightly thinner than him and with a thick head of brown hair, speaks up.

“He’s out for a bit. Mind waiting?” You shake your head, and decided to take a seat on one of the benches nearby that seems to be open. Hopefully, it won't take him very long to get back.

The two men currently in the ring aren't too bad- the red-haired man is really more of a power puncher, while though brown haired man is more than out boxer. It's clear the redhead needs some work on his follow-though, though, as his punches are more than a bit sloppy, despite being quick.

“Dad!” Suddenly, a shrill voice breaks through the din of your mental critique, and you look over to see a smaller, red headed girl who bears a striking resemblance to the man in the rain. She's actually fairly toned, and a green tank top with black stripes down the left side of it, and matching shorts. The way she marches up to the ringside, a glare in her eyes, makes it clear that she's got something in particular to say. “Yer doin’ it again!”

cont.

>>2144432
“Doing what again?” the man asks piteously. For a second you forgot that he was the adult…

“Yer slappin’, not jabbin’!” She puts her hand on her hips like she's a schoolteacher lecturing a delinquent student. “You’re lettin’ yer arm swing too much, and putting too much elbow work into it! Jabs are s’pose to be quick, clean-” and she gives off a few examples herself as she swears up. Her form really is a lot better, as she snaps off a small series of jabs with some ducking and weaving to emphasize.

Unfortunately, her father doesn't seem to recognize it. “I figured that’s what I was doin’?”

“No, no!” She shakes her head. “I...ugh.” she puts her head on a swivel for a bit, looking around, until she spots are you just sitting there. “Miss, d’ya mind gettin’ in the ring with me for a sec? I know yer probably not trained or anythin’, but my big galoot of a pop needs a bit of an example. Not gonna hurt ya, I promise! Jus’ wanna show him proper form.”

"Pretty sure I got the basics down by NOW..." her dad grumbles like a scolded child. His sparring partner just grins, shrugging.

Well...hm. Couldn’t hurt, but considering you’re here for Jacob…

>Sorry, I’m here on business.
>Sure, I guess.
>Other

>>2144436
>>Sure, I guess.

>>2144436
>Sure, I guess.

>>2144436
>>Sure, I guess.

>>2144436
>>Sure, I guess.

>>2144436
>>Sure, I guess.
Let's see if we can act like we have some experience, but not tones; we did say we could take care of ourselves. We act too far out of appearances, though, and someone might start asking questions.

>>2144436
>Sure, I guess
Don't really need to show off yet either

>>2144436
>>Sure, I guess.
Ask if she wants us to fight back or just act as target dummy.

dodge everything by an inch

>>2144489
>>2144481
>>2144487
I thought we were trying to be low profile. Or is this just so Spider catch word of us and get interested in recruting us to the family?

>>2144505
We're just letting a girl show her dad how to throw jabs. Asking if it's ok to spar if we're going into the ring anyway isn't odd. Unless you think dodging punches is going to impress the socks off everyone both present and absent?

>>2144436
>>Sure, I guess.
Lets act the part we are disguised as, please.

>>2144436
Well...you guess you could do something to help. “Sure, why not!” You could at the very least help with some form, if nothing else. “And I’m not all that helpless. I can fight back!”

“That so?” She says interestedly. Seems like that statement caught her attention. “Well, don’t fret too much about trying to keep up. Just square up and see if you can't defend yourself while I take a few potshots at ya, kay?”

“Sure, fair enough.” And with that, you slip through the ropes as the older men go ahead and leave the ring. She just jumps in completely over, and you can tell that she's raring to go even against someone who has the slightest bit of fighting experience. Well, you have a role to play, though you might be able to give her a little something.

“Alright, gal, what’s yer name? I’m Brina.” She says.

“Marie.” you nod as way of greetings. “Shall we?”

“Square up!” she says by way of response, and she immediately starts throwing a few jabs your way. “Okay, dad, see how I’m moving my elbow? You’re going too wild- watch how she reacts and how I adjust…”

>Focus on dodging.
>Just take a few shots on your arms.
>Try to hit back here and there, see how she takes it.

>Roll1d100 for effectiveness.

(Sorry about the delay, got caught up. I'll run tomorrow, though!)