Total War - Icon City (IC)

[Zemalac]

Order of the Hand and Eye

East Temple [PM]

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"Of course, of course," says the dry man, beginning to move in the indicated direction. "Interesting acoustics indeed. Sound seems to travel through this building like a magician's illusion, my friend. Just blink, and it's gone."

The Low Master of Ceremonies shakes the cobwebs from his head and glances around the empty corridor. He isn't sure how he'd gotten there--the last thing he remembered clearly was leaving his office. He must have been lost in thought as he walked and taken a wrong turn somewhere.

He looks at his watch and frowns. Ten past, and the prospective member he was supposed to be meeting hasn't arrived yet. He hates it when people are late.

And on the rotunda, an unremarkable face peers through a window at the inner sanctum of the Crossroads Club.

OOC

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I apologize if I've taken too much for granted in writing the result of my action here, but I like creating little scenes like this, with the sudden mismatch of what the characters and the audience know. If you want to change anything feel free.

The essence of my action, if you don't get it from this, is to use Blink And It's Gone and then go check out the rotunda. I figure this secret wizard can then loop back around and greet the Low Master for the first time, with no one the wiser and me somewhat more enlightened.

[Cognimancer]

Mordecai

Super-PAC [PM]

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"I am saving some wiggle room on this negotiation, yes. Don't really expect them to buy my rationale at face value. Good news is, I've got a check-and-balance built in. We'll see what they say, but I'm not asking you to start fighting the ICPD over the right to sell these - hopefully, we can work out a deal."

Mordecai smiled. "Demons, huh? I do know a thing or two. If you want to put me in touch with the Hardliners, I could probably help. Anything in particular I should know about their case before I dive in?"

[Imperial Psycho]

James Edison

Public Announcement
The Edison Electric Company is very excited to announce a new product line!
Want to try out some of the cool gadgets EEC has for sale? Don't have the technical know-how to keep everything running? Introducing the Mechanical Maintainer!

For the low low price of 4 Cash, the Maintainer will handle that busywork for you, seamlessly interfacing with and maintaining almost any technical device.

Mechanical Maintainer can only handle 1TP of maintenance a turn,. Do not taunt Mechanical Maintainer. Not for use by under 5s or over 712s. EEC accepts no liability for accidents, spillages or robot uprisings related to the Mechanical Maintainer

To the Family [E]

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Yup, one shot. Entirely worth the expenditure though, I assure you. Very fancy tech.

To Lazarus Tech [E]

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As far as information goes, if you have anything on powers, that would be a big help.

Get me that, and I can knock down your price to 5 Cash. Sound fair?

New Years Party [PM all attendees]

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James was never exactly a party animal, preferring the cold comfort of nights in the lab to nights at the bar, but this night really took the cake. Petty theft in Pyre Hill? He shuddered involuntarily as the song washed over him. He stood frozen as Avalon made his attack. Sparks danced between his fingers, almost involuntarily. James hesitated.

"Ah, Screw it. " A blast of lightning flew from his hand with an incredible speed, aiming to blast Whipporwhill off her feet and interrupt the song.

"Come on, Graveyard Gang. Music's playing. Time to dance."

[bigstipidfighte]

Super-PAC

Mordecai[PM]

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"They're trying to track down the Children for us. They've agreed not to contact the Children directly without us, so if you'd make sure they stick to that, it'd be appreciated.

As to the matter at hand... we're breaking new ground here. Nobody has clear jurisdiction over magical sales, not the CCP, not the MRB... the ICPD certainly has reason to be concerned about weapons sales, but they can't really claim to be the final authority on this either. Big picture, it's going to be up to Super-PAC and the magical community to try and work out a deal with the city. Small picture, what sort of deal are you looking to walk out of here with today?"

[Lost Demiurge]

New Year's Evil Part 2! The Undeadenning!

"The siege continues, as the ICPD arrived first on the scene, MRB squad carriers pulling up not far behind them! They've established a parameter around the mansion, giving the zombies plenty of space. But with so many civilians scattered through the manision, a firefight could have deadly consequences..."

"Hey, are those motorcycles pulling up? Who's that guy in brightly-colored armor in the middle of them? Anyone know the name of that Rider?

Party of the Damned!
All attendees in the main hall... [PM]

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The tall woman's purse hits the stage with a THUMP, and Grim swoops down with a large sack, and chucks it in. Her act of compliance is the first stone crumbling from the dam, as a mob of panicked socialites start throwing wallets, watches, jewelery, whatever they've got at the stage. A few items bounce off of Tombstone, who doesn't move, keeping one eye on the wall that she tossed Avalon through.

And Whipporwill's dirge continues, worming its way through your skulls, winding up and down your spine, causing your flesh to tremble, and your breath to come hard and fast...

Grim gathers up loot, chucking it into the sack, at one point sticking the scythe into his chest to free up both arms. "Yeah, there we go, now we're cookin' with lard! Keep it coming!"

And then James Edison threw lightning at them.

(TO BE RESOLVED IN MID-TURN 2...)

Registration versus fraternizing...

Virtue's public statement, seen by most as a response to Super-PAC's PR initiative, causes a lot of debate. The fact that superpowered criminals are causing a crisis AT THIS VERY MOMENT, lends weight to Virtue's words!

Still, public opinion seems torn. Something must be done, but... Civilian handlers? More oversight? Psychiatrists? Won't all this cost money?

And in the midst of all of this, PETA exhorts people to think of the BUNNIES, people!

THINK OF THE BUNNIES!!!

Incredibly, this draws people away from the pro-powers crowd. Super-PAC's initiative is supporting magicians, and well, magicians kill bunnies, everyone knows that now!

(Actually, the story about animal sacrifices is redacted by the Icon City Insider, but the tabloids have caught it and MAN are they running it into the ground.)


Super-Pac
Internal [PM]

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The PR initiative is struggling. It could really use some help, whether that be a money injection, some really good press, or something of the sort.

Also, PETA doesn't like you much. You support people hurting bunnies!
(You are at -1 Influence with PETA)

Die Kriegers
to Virtue [E]

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Know what we call this? A good start. Maybe work about being a little stricter in the future, and we'll see if we can't make some... donations... to your cause.
(You gain 1 Influence with Die Kriegers)

Virtue
Internal [PM]

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Huh, things are going well! If you can keep public opinion going your way, the powers that be are going to have to issue a response.

In the Rust Belt
Gilgamesh, Observers [PM]

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The reporter nods. "Well, the Black Bloods have been kidnapping people lately. Rumor has it they go west from here, into the Blight. That's just rumors, though. Of course... We COULD maybe keep you posted on more rumors, if you, say, promised to give us a call before you went and did mighty deeds like this in the future..."

Gilgamesh starts checking the bodies over, after most of the reporters disperse.

He finds a few readied needles full of black tarlike substance.

GILGAMESH[PM]

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As Gilgamesh examines the first couple of needles, he notices that the liquid inside is rapidly breaking down, turning to some ashlike powder. Now why is that? Finding another vial he looks it over. Nope, tar. He holds it up to the light to examine it, and it immediately starts decomposing.

Fortunately, Gilgamesh is enough of a scholar to realize what's causing this. It's the LIGHT. The stuff is photosensitive.

He is able to retrieve a few needles without exposing them to the light. (You recieve Black Blood Shots x2)

As Gilgamesh searches, a band of men and women in the blue colors and white eye symbols of the Watchmen walk out of the Rustbelt, and the leader waves at Gilgamesh. "Hey. OP. You got a minute to talk? You done good man, but we got bidness..."

The few reporters left give you a wide berth, as he walks with you around the complex.

Rats scatter as you pass piles of junk within it. "OP. Yeah, we all get a name when we join up, and well, you came through. You're a watchman now, and we callin' you OP. Stands for Original Pimp. Seemed to fit given your story an' all how you tamed the wildman." The girl you saw checking out your thews a few days earlier holds up a well-thumbed copy of Mythology for Dummies.

"Thing is, you done told the Black Bloods on live air that we put you up to this. So warwise we jus' went from cold to hot. You're a bad***, no doubt, but they gonna come in force, an' they won't underestimate you again. So I tell you what." He points to one of the other guys, a black middle-aged man wearing a torn hell's angels jacket. "My man singer, he was in charge of our turf in the Brownstones. Now he's offerin' it to you, and offerin' to be your second. We got [5 followers] worth of our homeys in this place, but there's at least half again that many 'Bloods around, not countin' whoever they pull in from Westmarket. We want you to help us survive here, hold on to as much turf as we can. You wanna bring in anyone else too, we don't mind... But the Bloods will be comin' before the month's out. Think you can lead the Watchmen here to victory?"

He offers a blue bandanna, with a white eye pattern burned into it with bleach...

John Smith
Internal [PM]

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Looking to have some fun? Sure, I can help! Let's not talk business here, though. WT's sniffing around, best not to give her more things to risk noticing.

She gives you a chatroom invite. (This is a request for a PM)

MRB
to Virtue [E]

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I'm afraid that many of our casefiles are classified. Why don't I forward this on to the ICPD? They can tell give you a count of how many times they have to call us in, that'll give you the numbers you're looking for.

(They do so, and you get numbers back for the last few years. You find that the number of metahuman-related criminal incidents has been climbing steadily over the years. It's actually kind of stalled out for the month of January... The police haven't been called in on many supers-related crimes so far.

The notable exceptions being the robbery at the Pyre party, and the monster at the museum.)

Virtue
Internal [PM]

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You try to contact the families of the deceased, but find it difficult to reach them.

Black Blood gangers, as it turns out, don't carry ID and ICPD hasn't released a list of their names, yet.

Some investigation might turn this information up...

MRB
to Merlin [E]

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All right, we'll accept that. Do you want us to transfer the files this month, or do you want to wait on that? We're a little busy right now, so next month might be better.

Knight of Blades
Internal[PM]

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(Mark off an action for PMing Friendly fire, please.)

They're happy to hear from you! Always willing to support the local community... They can get the following things for you:

Pistols [1 cash per follower equipped]
Sniper Rifle [3 cash]
Flashbangs [1 cash per 2]
Frag Grenades [2 cash per grenade]
Milspec body armor [3 cash per VIP, 5 cash per follower equipped]

They also have a couple of specials right now!

Augmented Guard Dogs [5 cash per follower]
Nanotech disguise kit (Shifts your face and form temporarily) [4 cash, one use]
Industrial explosives (Used for levelling a building, too bulky for regular combat) [7 cash]

Barside Police Station
Mordecai, Super-Pac [PM]

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The lieutenant sighs in frustration as Mordecai talks, then agrees to a recess.When he and the lawyers return, she leans forward, looking him in the eyes.

"Mister Carter, I'm well aware that there are currently no local laws governing magical weaponry or the sale thereof. But your "If I don't do it then someone else will" excuse holds no water with me. The fact of the matter is regardless of how things MAY turn out, you ARE doing it RIGHT NOW."

"I'm not so concerned with the greater politics of the situation, as to making sure my officers and random bystanders don't get blown up by weapons they currently have no defense against. That murder victims don't end up in my morgue, with weird injuries which baffle my forensics team."

"See, I don't know magic, but I DO know people. And there are quite a few people out there who would take a weapon meant for blasting supernatural creatures, and use it to shoot at cops or squad cars. Or their wife, after a few beers and some loud arguments."

"In short, I'm asking you, Mister Carter, AND your advisors to help me figure out a way ahead that doesn't end up with good people dying at the hands of easily-obtained magical bazookas."

Spelunkers
Garren Gomar, Foundation, Virtue [PM]

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(I forgot that Pierce was there as well, potentially. Nyrt, would you care to spend a Pierce VIP action to go with the spelunkers?)

Checking over the roster that you got from the museum, there is indeed a crate missing. It looks like the one holding all the statues that were gemmed.

Figuring out if anything else is missing is going to take a while. A lot of the statues are broken, and the bits are mixed in and around. Museum staff step in at this point, and tell you that they can try to reconstruct the broken ones, and do a tally of anything left.

Golden Flock
Internal [PM]

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Sharon Deckhart tagging along is crimping your style in regards to thoroughly searching the mansion. How openly larcenous do you want to be?

Also, you DO find a few phones.

Vorpal
to Golden Flock [P]

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"You. You're the bird who wants to talk to me? I haff no crackers for you, sorry."

"And I don't think I can give you details about my investigation, either. It vould be unprofessional."

"Now, if you're looking for OTHER interesting things about the Black Bloods, I could sell you those little tidbits."

Golden Flock
Elsewhere...[PM]

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The rats find a couple of rooms that could have held people, and old scents of blood and fear, but nothing recent. The local homeless are happy to talk to the reporters for small change, and mention that a truck pulled up every week or so, and stuff got unloaded and loaded. Sometimes people were swapped out. Anyone who got near got shot or grabbed, so they didn't see much beyond that.

Vorpal
to Sergei [P]

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"Nein... The heroes interrupted me, so... It's their problem now. *Cough*, *Cough*"

MRB
to Ideal [P]

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"At this point our orders are to contain the Manor, and only move in if the situation deteriorates. If you want to send troops over to either help or breach, you're welcome to. You should also be aware that the Foundation's going to attempt a breach and conflict, soon."

"Things you should know? Hmm... Looks like your Engineer's done a request for our files, that we've filled. We could brief you on the remaining Gang members, but it would take time and effort so we're reluctant to do that given our current business unless you feel there's a DEFINITE need right now."

"I can point out that they're not throwing EVERYTHING into this. They've left their living minions out of this one. We're only seeing supers and zombies..."

Ideal
Internal [PM]

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Oh yeah... My bad. Sorry, I misremembered. He is in fact a rank 2 powerhouse, and about equal in strength to Tombstone. As a rank 2 Powerhouse, he can leap decently far, land without hurting himself (Like 20 feet a bound or so,) lift about 4-5 tons, take pistols without getting hurt, take heavier calibre bullets to non-vital spots as bruises or grazes, and ignore most frag grenades or similar small explosions.

Avalon fiddles with his comm and cranks it up. He finds that it DOES mitigate the distracting sense of dread that her song engenders... The cost is that he won't be able to hear anyone unless they're flat out screaming in his ear while this is going on.

And yes, you can totally spend a faction action to have your boys try to go CSI on the shooter's spot.

Hardliners
Father Figure [PM]

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Belladonna spends a few days, listening to the father preach in Grand Central Avenue, drawing crowds of the faithful and unfaithful alike. DAMN, he's good. His followers, the HERALDS as they call themselves, are eager to spread the word. And more and more grow around him by the day.

Assuming control might be tricky. He's not exactly organized and he's a little suspicious of Belladonna right now.

As far as drugs, the cult doesn't deal in them, but they sure do buy them! The skillsets of the cult are mainly laborers and homeless, though they're starting to attract some flakier white collar types... Mainly the unemployed, and young students in search of a cause.

Fort Steyer
Hardliners [P]

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"No, we DON'T know who you are, dawg, and we don't care. Stay the %#%# outta stuff that doesn't concern you, or you'll wind up dead in a ditch."
(That was the local dealers, NOT the military themselves.)

Watchmen
to Hardliners [P]

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"Well, gee. Some rich @%!%!s get held up and the WHOLE CITY goes CRAZY. Eh, what a shame. Meanwhile we got psycho freaks coming to eat our skulls and no one cares. Sorry, we got bigger fish to fry right now. Let them eat @%!%@!% cake."

Vorpal
to Hardliners [E]

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Well, if you want to help so bad, talk to the Knight of Blades. He was the less stupid of the heroes I ran into, he might actually get the job done.

Hardliners
Internal [PM]

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1. Checking out Anne's husk: It's however many actions you want. But the Smith feels it'd only take him 1, really, to be 85% sure.

2. Ambushes at the party: Sure, the map would totally help you set up an ambush after the party. Of course, the grounds are crawling with cops and MRB right now, the parts that aren't crawling with zombies, anyway.

3. Scarin' pushers: Do you want to spend an action to try to pump up your rep and use it to scare the dealers?

Lazarus
Internal [PM]

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Yeah, doing work to augment your followers would take one or more actions, generally.

Let's see, Doctor and Surgeon both factor in here, so I'll say you can do 2 followers Per 1 VIP action spent.

Also if you have specific augments in mind beyond general improvements to their physical forms, you might have to research them individually.

Your guards are already upgraded to the max you can get them without researching better augments.

Black Bloods
to Family [E]

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Okay, that's a start. We saw your sniper leave, so we know who shot her. Guess we owe you one... (Gain 1 Influence with Black Bloods)

...Now if you want us to owe you BIG, that Gilgamesh guy has got to go down. We're coming to @$%%! him and those @%!%!% Watchmen up in a few days. You up for helping on that, too?

Graveyard Gang
to Family [P]

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"Digger here. Huh. You did something in there to help us, you say? All right. I'll check when we're done, if it turns out you DID do something, we'll give you a bit of the profit."

Family
Internal [PM]

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You check your databases. You've never heard of Charlie. Sergei Kalinin, however, is on the books as a fixer. Someone who knows a lot of shady people, does a lot of go-between stuff and organizing.

Siege at the Mansion
Foundation [PM]

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The MRB talk to you as you unload. "We're holding a perimeter with the police, occupying most of the grounds. Keeping 200 meters back from the zombie ring... Can't risk any gunfire from out here, there's civvies spread throughout the house. Too much collateral."

"There's some sort of sonic effect going on..." He indicates the distant music blaring from the house. "Get close enough to hear the words, and you start feeling terrified."

"We grabbed the vans they used to crash the gate and unload the zombies, but there was nothing in them. There's three identified supers inside, a flying regenerator, a powerhouse, and an emotion controller."

"Our orders are to hold positions and maintain perimeter unless the situation deteriorates or resolves."

"Any other questions?"

Order of the Hand and Eye
East Street Temple [PM]

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Your man who went to the East Street Temple fails to check back in.

[The_Admiral]

Spoiler: Attack The Mansion

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"Earplugs it is then, can't risk using Trigger Overdrive with that much potential collateral. Mind if we borrow the trucks?" the armoured figure asks.

OOC: Deploy earplugs or some sort of silencer in the helmets or headphones blasting this into their ears, reduces situational awareness, renders dudes immune to the music. We use the trucks to take down the zombies and The Rider just crashes into the party, performing a flying kick on the first baddie he sees, preferably whoever's singing, if he or she stops the song, Rider will switche off the music and then do a Man to Man battle with the other, or whatever the gender or species his opponent is.

[Mabn]

Merlin

Spoiler: Lazarus(e)

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I collect silver bullets, metaphorically speaking, but at present my arsenal is weighted towards the supernatural. At some time I will ask you to craft me something, likely something very odd. I will need to to do so and do so quickly. Also if you could take the databases in a rough format my employees are rather occupied at the moment and it will be a while before I would be able to send you more formatted briefings.

Spoiler: Hardliners(PM)

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"Actually I am not. Could be the Children to. I'm planning to search for them on my own, and I can look out for this artifact. The operation seems to be in Mordecai's line of work. Either way if you find it I would appreciate bringing it to me. Any institution which loses its director, has no ready backup director, lets loose a dragon in a major city, and gets robed in a one month window should not handle dangerous artifacts. I have a friend that can safely dispose of it."

[Eldan]

Gilgamesh in the Rust Belt [PM]

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To the Reporter, Gilgamesh nods. "If it is convenient and won't spoil my plans, sure, I'll call you ahead of time. That's a fair deal."

Then, after he has pocketed the vials, he smiles, fiercely, at the gang members. "OP it is, then." He grabs the bandana and ties it over his mane of hair.
"As for the rest, well, I just took down a dozen of them, without a weapon. I think I can do it again. And I've commanded battles for, oh, six or seven thousand years now. Won't find many better than me. So. I want a gun. A big one. Or two. Then I want to see everything you have in the district. Fighters, weapons, vehicles, buildings. If they attack us, we'll have to get fortified. Put out some spotters, too."

Lazarus [mail]

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"I've secured two intact vials. The stuff is photosensitive, so I have a few more that are crumbled and a few berserker corpses that may have remains in their bodies. If you send someone to pick it all up, you can have one of the vials."

I'm mostly out of actions, so, you'll have to handle the delivery.

[Grimsage Matt]

John Smith

Internal [PM]

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Chatroom

Very well. Should prove informative.

Sage Tol'Grim accepts the invite, and quickly sets up an additional firewall, but not a conventional human one. Instead, he sets up a layer of protection only the Deep Trolls have, a sub-electron encryption added to his signal and firewall.

[Nemesis67]

Lazarus Technologies

To Gilgamesh (E)

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I'll send my people over right away then. Thank you for the help. As soon as I have any results, I will inform you.

To Merlin (E)

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You have yourself a deal, sir. How about we handle the exchange next turn so the both of us have people available to do the proper transaction of data?

To Mordecai Carter (E)

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We have negotiated a deal with Merlin for Database Magic 2, so I thank you for your offer, but I'll be going with them. Currently I'm borrowing from the Banker's Dozen to get my business off the ground and I'm trying to keep my Cash use as minimal as I can...

However I am still interested in possible cooperative ventures in the future. Once I get a stable revenue, I will discuss possible mergers of Magic and Tech. Or buy one of your Mana Fonts off of you, as I am very interested in dabbling myself.

To Edison (E)

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Agreed. [Powers 1] and 5 Cash for one of your generators, to be delivered to my lab in Icon Health Services. Do you have the people available this month to receive the database, or should we conduct the exchange next month?

Internal (PM)

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(Follower Action spent) Send my guards, agents, and a researcher to pick up whatever Eldan wants me to pick up. Little confused as to what he's offering, sounds like corpses + intact vials + crumbled vials, and if I get them all, he'll let me do research on them and let me keep one of the intact vials.

If I run into the Black Bloods (which I assume I will because they'll be gathering up the bodies), I explain that I want to refine their combat drugs and give them a better dose if I can. I didn't want to make any direct contact to ward off suspicion and I have no desire for Gilgamesh to start meddling around in my vicinity, so I hopefully can help them find his weakness and possibly arm the gang once I develop some combat tech to at least keep the fight away from core territories. Utilize my Influence to get them to be fine with this, if necessary. Possibly get a corpse, if they would allow it, but I'm not going to push the issue if they aren't fine with it. The vials are enough.

Try to avoid the gang if I can, though. I'd rather not antagonize them at all, or make them suspicious at all. I mainly want to prolong this war so I can make a tidy profit off of it and get the police to arm themselves with my future products. Possibly off the back of Virtue's goals of monitoring supers...

Get the vials and whatever bodies (if any) they're fine with me taking to my lab (the public one), and keep them in a storage that works. I'll decide whether I want to do anything this turn with it before EoT. Ouroboros is probably the better choice for Wealth growth, but this could also be a promising start in the arms trade.

[Thelonius]

Golden Flock

Internal [PM]

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''Ms. Deckhard. As a gentlebird I simply can’t allow you to walk into danger.'' Eduard perches on a large palm plant, in a small side room on the way to the main hall, as he speaks. ‘’It’s just too dangerous and I wouldn’t forgive myself, if something were to happen to you.’’ He gives no outward sign, but behind Sharon, Bongo makes his move. He expertly grabs her and in a single leap reaches the bathroom door, stuffing her inside and slamming the door shut. ''You can remain there until danger has passed. I’ll make certain to direct police to retrieve you. Bongo - make certain no zombies reach our lovely companion.'' The sound of moving furniture reaches in as Bongo quickly piles a bunch of furniture against the bathroom door.

[I know she can get our especially with her Power, but I really just need to lose her for a few moments. I don't trust simple door to hold her long so I'll add some furniture.]

Element of Surprise!
Eduard [Socialite 1]: distract Ms. Deckhard, so Mr. Bongo can make his move.
Bongo [Jet-Pack Villain Minion Past 1]: He sure grabbed a lot of dames back then. He know how it's done.
Bongo [Gorilla 1]: Strength to overpower her and barricade her inside.

*And off to my original plan

Vorpala [M]

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''Well, I'm no amateur, how much for this ''other'' information?''

[Orbiter]

Trifecta to Gilgamesh[e]

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Hail Old King my name is Tempest, i see you are already tasting the combat this city has to offer, do you need any help or support?
I enjoy combat so i will help you against your war.

[Mabn]

Merlin

Spoiler: MRB(e)

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next month is fine if it would be helpful.

Spoiler: Lazarus(e)

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Very well

Spoiler: Internal

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data analysts will research the cult of Yig and the harbingers(burning 1 influence on each) with the goal of tracking the stolen Lemurian artifact and learning more about both groups.

[Eldan]

Gilgamesh to the Trifecta

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"Of course! Any help is appreciated. We are currently looking at the district and discussing plans, feel free to come by at any time."

[Zemalac]

Order of the Hand and Eye

Crossroads Club [P]

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"Hello? This is Mr. Day--I sent you a letter yesterday? A friend of mine was dropping by your East Temple to talk about prospective membership, I believe, before coming to meet me for lunch, and he's quite late. I was wondering if you'd seen him, by any chance?"

Internal [PM]

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Solomon recieves the alert that the East Temple man failed to check in. He scribbles a message on a piece of notebook paper and hands it to Gomar before leaving. Hopefully the mysterious man can pick up where my investigation left off, because Solomon has other problems to worry about right now.

Gomar should realize he's holding a note once the influence of the Secret Hand wears off. If handing him something would disrupt the Hand enchantment, just leave the note somewhere that it will be noticed.

The Note

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Ask about the golden serpent statue. It contains (or is) a tulpa, and was probably what they were after. I'm afraid I may not be able to help further beyond this point, so good luck.

-SOEH

[Orbiter]

Trifecta to Gilgamesh[e]

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Coming with Strider, he looks like a giant monster, dont attack him, anyway he should be usefull for this battle.

To the Watchmen[e]

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Names Tempest and my Big buddy that you will soon see is Strider.
How you gonna see us?, weeeell we are gonna assist Gilgamesh, got permission from the guy himself, and i am telling you so i wont hear that i dint warn ya about me or my big buddy.

[Thelonius]

Golden Flock

Vorpal [M]

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[Vorpal offered 4 Cash price on info]

Now that sounds like a steep price. Especially seeing how you are failing to deliver on your contract with your clients and have encountered a recent setback with heroes and Virtue. Now you know I rub my beak with high and mighty and is in the center of the rumor mills of the city. If you plan to get a high-profile job after this one, you might need a good friend in the city. How about [2] Cash and we’ll be friends.

[Ladorak]

Hardliners

Merlin PM

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'I have to agree with you on that one sir.' The Major smiles crookedly 'Haven't seen security that bad since the Clue Clowns lair. Harrowing, if you're afraid of clown dolls. I'll let you know if we turn anything up on the Harbingers, what can you tell me about them? It really helps to know what to look for.'

Father Figure

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OOC: Well at least something came of this. Set up shop inside the cult then, bring in a few 69ers to do the business. Belladona's going to leave for now... Can I continue in PM later in-turn tho please?

Watchmen

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Why friend, you only had to ask. I told you, we're cut from the same bolt. We're vigilantes too. There's a bond of kindred spirits between us. You're right, **** the snobs. No amount of good press is worth picking up after elitist *****s. So, tell me about your problems. We'll help, but we'll want something in return.

We'll reinforce your turf if you give us a cut of it. Let us sling on your corners and we'll make sure they're safe. Fair?

Vorpal

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Lady you got us all wrong. I don't even know what the job is. You mentioned a pay day, give us the details and we'll throw you a finders fee.

Internal

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Spending one action on Ann Droid's body then. Using Belladona and her power/trait (Infiltrator) to boost our rep

[Mabn]

Merlin

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"I know their name, how to look for them, and that they're new. Bringing the millennium took a bite out of my power and I feel like I'm running around legally blind hearing my glasses go crunch. Hopefully when next we speak one of us will know what they're talking about."

[Cognimancer]

Mordecai Carter

Super-PAC [PM]

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[continued from the recess before last update]

"I've got another trick up my sleeve," Mordecai tells the suits. "I'm willing to partner with the police in the event of criminal use of the boomsticks. Your tracking system idea is pretty on-the-nose: if somebody abuses these items, I can find them. I think, or at least I hope, the police will accept that trade-off if I can guarantee them the location of any criminals holding my wares."

"Only thing is, I know I'm not the only mage in town, and I don't know what you think about the precedent we're setting here. I meant what I said back there; I think the police and I are on the same side here, and I'm willing to work with them to stop bad guys and save lives. But that partnership sounds awfully close to Virtue's registration scheme, and I don't want to give the law and strong precedent on this without checking with you guys first."

Hardliners [E]

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Greetings. I'm Mordecai Carter, wizard. Heard you're having some demon problems I might be able to help with. What's going on?

[bigstipidfighte]

Super-PAC

Mordecai[PM]

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"No, actually that sounds fine. Combines personal responsibility with willingness to work within the law. Magical community policing itself, but not cut off from regular law enforcement. We can work with that. Try to keep it as informal as you can, though. We'll look into more formal arrangements, if the city is interested."

[Nyrt]

Virtue

Under the museum [pm]

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After learning that there is only one crate missing, and such a suspicious crate at that -gems are commonly thought to be magical- Pierce leaves to "Get back to his job." He visits Pyre on the way back and tells him to get well soon, apologizing profusely for inadvertently dragging him into that mess in the vaults.

Internal [pm]

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Using influence with Commissioner Rackham to get that list of names. Additionally, using Temperance to try to dig up rumors of gemmed statues surfacing anywhere.

[oblivion6]

The Family-Black Bloods[E]

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I think I may be able to provide some form of backup, yes. What kind of firepower are you packing exactly? My people aren't very well-armed. Speaking of firepower, what do we know of Gilgamesh and the Watchmen?((Does a few days mean next Mid-Turn phase?))

The Family[Internal]

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1. What do my Databases tell me about the Watchmen and Gilgamesh?

2. What kind of weapons could my black-market dealers get their hands on?

[b]The Family-Edison[E]

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Right, I may purchase a batch from you later this [Turn].((I forget, do they require TP to maintain?

The Family-mordeci Carter[E]

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I may come for a Boomstick soon then...

The Mana Gems, do they constantly suck up the energy or only when used?((can I stockpile them and use them as I need to? Or does 1 charge get used up every turn even if not powering anything?))

[Ascaloth]

Sergei

Spoiler: To Vorpal [P]

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"Now now, dun be a wet towel, kay babe? Ol' Sergei really wanna help, 'n payin' off 'e favor right quick would be great, too."

"Tell yer wha', I got dis boy who be a real terror, kills wit'out remorse 'n chews bubblegum at 'e end o' it. Wha'ever it be ye doin' 'fore 'e heroes mussed yer up, 'e boy can pick up where ye left off, kay? I mean, Sergei knows ye were knockin' 'e Black Bloods 'round a bit fer some reason, 'n 'e boy can put 'e fear o' God in 'em fer 'e same reason wha'ever it may be, alright?"

"Hell, dis can be even be done, no charge! 'N ye get 'e credit 'n 'e pay from whoever 'tis hired you, wha' be more! C'mon girl, dis 'ere be a good offer from Sergei, eh?"

[Cognimancer]

Mordecai Carter

The Family [E]

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Stockpile the gems, put them in storage for a year and then break them out next Christmas - they retain their charge until used. The boomsticks, however, need to be kept in a powered state until use. So if you buy, say, two mana gems and one boomstick, that boomstick will stay powered for [four turns]. But if you buy the mana gems and nothing else, you'll have that pool of energy until you get something that requires maintenance. Once the mana runs out though, you'd better buy more gems, or a font, or use whatever magic items you have. I'm not responsible for any consequences of neglected maintenance.

ICPD [PM]

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Back in the office, Mordecai listens to the police's counterpoint. "Alright," he sighs. "I can respect that attitude, lieutenant. Practical. Looking out for the people. Believe me when I say that I'm not trying to be a war profiteer in this - I don't want good people, innocent people, on the wrong end of my wares."

"How about this. I can't do a background check on every person who visits my shop, but I can note who's buying anything dangerous. If they want a boomst- uh, rod of blasting, I'll warn them that they're still responsible for obeying the law. And if somebody does abuse that power and use my products to hurt innocent people, give me a call, and I can help you find them. Once I make an item for someone, I can follow the energies that I tied to the physical..."

He notices the lieutenant's eyes start to glaze over, and started again. "Basically, I've got a magic GPS that can lead you to the culprit, if they're misusing my tools."

[Ladorak]

Hardliners

Super-Pac e

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Thank you for the contact, he has contacted us. I'm afraid our lead on the Children may come to nothing. It's looking increasingly likely we've got a lead on the wrong cult. Following it up

Merlin PM

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That's sure something to hope for. he smiles again 'I wouldn't bet on it though. You said you know how to look for them?

Mordecai e

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Ah, the very man. Did Merlin mention our name to you? Or was it Super-Pac? You come highly recommended.

My name is Belladona, pleased to make your acquittance Thankfully not your typical demon problem, not that I'd know what that was. Still might be dangerous though, I'll warn you straight up. He's got powers of some sort, I've no way to measure them, but persuasion to a supernatural degree at the least.

He does not appear to be dangerous however. I haven't ruled out that they may have cut him loose deliberately, but it really does seem that the persuasive power allowed him to walk away before the ritual was complete. Still, they cut marks into him and put something inside him. Now he dreams of great beasts rising. Now he dreams of the end times.

I don't really want to hurt him, he seems harmless enough, and I've done a lot of digging so far. What I want is a lead on who did this do him. Can you use this demon or whatever it is to track it back to where the ritual took place?

Father Figure PM

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OOC: What are the actual tenants of the faith? Before I call in a specialist to rip the poor guy open again I would like to know. Is he harmless enough? What are his commandments or key messages? Feel pretty bad for the guy already. I thought he was a con man when I first walked into the room

[Imperial Psycho]

James Edison

To the Family

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I would be happy to whip up some for you. Sadly, yes, it does require a little bit of maintenance. I'll work on that in the future. For now, you might consider our new Mechanical Maintainer, which is more than capable of handling such work for the Lightning Grenades or any other technology you might wish to use.

[Lost Demiurge]

Gilgamesh in the Rustbelt
Gilgamesh, Lazarus, Observers [PM]

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After the reporters leave, ICPD finally shows up, and starts collecting corpses. They seem surprised to be able to do so... A resigned looking beat cop gets a statement from Gilgamesh. He doen't seem to like the Watchmen at all, and he is not too impressed by the bandanna on Gilgamesh's head.

But there is no trouble. "Well. It's clearly self-defense, even if you did get up in their grill. I'm more worried about what's going to happen to the rest of the district. Hope you're half the hero the reporters are pumping you up to be."

Shortly afterward, Lazarus' team arrives, and takes a couple of vials from Gilgamesh.

LAZARUS

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The police are currently loading the bodies up for transport to the morgue. However, there's plenty of cover, and they're distracted. You could TRY to snitch a body without being caught, if you so chose.

The head Watchman departs, leaving Singer to explain things. The ex-hells angel has a ten-pack-a-day voice, gravelly and rough.

"Black Bloods around here mainly in two neighborhoods, Slumside an' Public Housing. They got maybe [4 followers] in each 'hood."

"They got Westmarket right west of here though, no tellin' how many in there."

"We mainly in Slumside and Shanty Towns. Like I said, [5 followers] total. More in Shanty Towns, thass where the crib is. Got our bidness over there, can't lose it or we're done in the 'Stones. Slumside, we can give it if we have to. Only a few houses and apartments there."
He digs out a scattergun and hands it to Gilgamesh. "Most our boys got pistols and knives. Couple shotguns. We got some cars, couple hogs. What? No, not critters, motorcycles."

"They got MORE. More guns, more people, more cars, few trucks... And they use that black tar @#%#@%. Gotta kill 'em twice over to stop'em if they juice."

"And word is they got other stuff. Boss is some kind of power, no one knows what. Scary #%#!%."

"Oh, and you maybe should know, Vorpal's outta here. We were hoping she'd mop up Slumside, but heroes chased her, and someone shot her 'fore she escaped."

"Heroes didn't stick around, though word is Knight of Blades still got some guys pokin' around somewheres."

Sage Tol'Grim

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Ah, the secret sub-electron encryption of the Deep Trolls! That would be AWESOME... If he had the schematic on hand to make one. That might be something useful to research later.

But he can certainly spend some time to set up more protection for his network, and he does so easily. He is pretty sure that no one's going to break through without some major work.

West Wing, Pyre Manor...
Sharon Deckhart, Golden Flock [PM]

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''Ms. Deckhard. As a gentlebird I simply can’t allow you to walk into danger.'' Eduard perches on a large palm plant, in a small side room on the way to the main hall, as he speaks. ‘’It’s just too dangerous and I wouldn’t forgive myself, if something were to happen to you.’’ He gives no outward sign, but behind Sharon, Bongo makes his move. He expertly grabs her and in a single leap reaches a nearby bathroom door... At which point, she manages to grab hold of the doorframe and find the weakness in his hold on her, slipping free and kicking him in the face as she does so.

Sharon scrabbles backward as Bongo shakes his head and reorients himself, and she comes up holding her pepperspray.

Golden Flock
Internal [PM]

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OOC:
::Stares at his dice::

Whoa.

Vorpal
to Golden Flock [PM]

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After some banter, you settle on a price of [2 cash.] Wiring it to the bank account given, you talk with her some more, and she divulges what she knows.

MRB
to Merlin [e]

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All right, remind us then. We'll make a note, but the City is busy right now.

Merlin
Internal [PM]

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Your researchers start looking into the topics, working hard, making calls, calling in favors, and checking manuscripts from the Library.

The research on the Children of Yig is going to take a while, no way around it.

Research on the "Harbingers" brings immediate results.

There is no group called the Harbingers. However, there IS a group called the Heralds, that has arisen recently. Their leader, Father Figure, claims visions of the apocalypse, and preaches on the streets of Grand Central Avenue. He's evidently a hell of an orator, and his spiel of great beasts who will rise to crush this world is drawing in the doomsayers and apocalypse junkies.

Father Figure was just another homeless crazy, up until a week or two ago. After Y2K he started preaching, and folks started listening. He's using his position to reap a few benefits, getting money and favors from the faithful he draws in. Though he seems sincere in his beliefs, he's also enjoying the perks of being a cult leader.

The Heralds have no real magic capability, or advanced tech capability. They're just a bunch of true believers, some of them quite crazy.

Crossroads Club
Order of the Hand and Eye [P]

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"Oh yes, that fellow, Mister... Mister... Huh. For some reason I can't quite recall his name. Yes, we spoke and I showed him around. He left afterwards, and I believe his wife picked him up in the parking lot. That's the last I saw of him."

(That particular agent is unmarried.)

Garren Gomar
Spelunking [PM]

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As Garren is talking to the museum staff, he notices that he seems to be holding a hastily scribbled note. He wasn't a second ago.

THE NOTE

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Ask about the golden serpent statue. It contains (or is) a tulpa, and was probably what they were after. I'm afraid I may not be able to help further beyond this point, so good luck.

-SOEH

Watchmen
to Trifecta [E]

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Hell, come on down! Bring whoever you want, we don't mind. Anyone good with my man OP is good with me.

Hardliners
Father Figure [PM]

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Sure, she can be a regular attendee. Easy enough to talk to the Father later in the turn.

((The Tenets of his faith are that the apocalypse is comin', ain't nothing we can do about it, so you might as well wrap up your earthly business and do what you like. He says that if you're REALLY lucky, and HIS faith holds strong, he might be able to help turn the great beasts away from a few people. If he does, and there's enough world to rebuild, well then lucky you, it's all yours!

Of course, the Father needs to be around and in good shape when the beasts show. And gifts make him quite happy.))

Watchmen
to Hardliners [E]

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Well, tell you what. Talk to our man OP (Gilgamesh,) he's runnin' the Watchmen in the 'Stones now. You cut a deal with him, we're cool with it.

Hardliners
to Vorpal [E]

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Oh, my mistake. But I'm quite serious, the heroes are on the case now. Talk to the Knight of Blades if you want to help, maybe he'll cut you in.

Hardliners
Internal [PM]

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Your techs are reasonably sure that Ann Droid's body isn't trapped. It might have been at one point, but it got banged up badly enough that anything like that has been disabled.

They transport it back to your zeppelin, and the lab within. They estimate that if you simply use it as scrap, that'll be [6 points worth]. Scrap points can substitute for the cash cost on metal stuff on a 1 for 1 basis.

You spend an action and use Belladonna to throw some fear into the yokel pushers...

Fort Steyer
Seedier Element
to Hardliners [P]

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"Ah, @%@% man, didn't realize you were THOSE guys. Uh, tell you, tell you what... You can sell on our turf, we'll stay clear. Also tell us what you're pushin', and we'll sell other stuff. No-no need to fight, here..."

Virtue
Internal [PM]

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The police chief makes a few calls, and gets you that list of names. Turns out that the cops actually got to retrieve the bodies for once, so they can ID most of the perps. You call up their families, and though a few hang up when you mention their sons/daughter's names, a few listen. They're quite happy to pursue legal action against Gilgamesh, but don't know how to go about it.

Temperance gets you information. Seems like a lot of high-quality gems have been turning up in pawn shops across the city, of late. Someone's been trying to get rid of them, but clearly has no idea how to go about it.

Black Bloods
to The Family [E]

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Pistols, shotguns, black tar to make us stronger. Plus a van full of nasty critters for mister @%##!^ Gilgamesh. There ain't many Watchmen in the stones, maybe [5 followers] at most. They got some guns but not many. Gilgamesh, we don't know. $@%@#er's strong, you seen him on the news.

((Yeah, they're gonna strike in Mid-turn 2))

Family
Internal [PM]

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Your databases... Don't have any more info than what they list. Someone with more knowledge of Icon City could tell you more about the gangs. And all you know about Gilgamesh is in the Heroes database or it isn't. You could always spend an action investigating to dig up more...

The market's a bit slim right now, as far as weapons goes. Your dealers can get you [2 followers worth of pistols] for free, or [1 follower worth of shotguns] for 1 cash.

Vorpal
to Sergei [P]

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"No charge? Vhat's the catch?"

"Nein. Look, the Knight of Blades said he'd look into things. Don't want to throw too many people in the mix."

"You really want some fun und make me smile, go send your boy killer out to kill Black Bloods. They'll be coming for Gilgamesh soon, easy to find. Shame to let beefcake like that die."

ICPD
Mordecai, Super-Pac [PM]

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The chief listens, and nods as he offers a compromise.

"Hm. Well, we'll see how it goes. Alright, we'll accept that for now. We'll try that, see how it goes."

She sighs, goes and looks out of the window. "I'll tell you this though, you'll want to keep lawyers around. If politics goes against magical types like you, you could find some serious lawsuits coming in concerning your product line. Even if you keep your nose clean others might not, and the public isn't always too good at telling who's a wicked witch and who's a good warlock."

[Zemalac]

Order of the Hand and Eye

Crossroads Club [P]

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"Really? I wasn't aware he was married. I'll try his cell again, I suppose. Thanks anyway."

Click

Internal [PM]

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Get a team to stake out the East Temple. 3 Followers for now. If there are security cameras in shops facing the Temple, or anything like that, steal their memory cards and check to see if our man ever came out. I assume secret wizards would be good at this sort of stealthy thing, so I don't think it will need magic (though if I need to spend a Blink to make it happen, so be it).

[Ascaloth]

Sergei

Spoiler: To Gilgamesh [M]

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Hail there, Lord of Uruk! A little bird told Sergei you might be facing some trouble with the Black Bloods soon. Just wondering, where and when is it gonna happen?

Spoiler: To Vorpal [P]

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"Wha' catch, babe? It jus' be ol' Sergei lookin' to pay back 'e favour, o' course dere be no charge! Wun be a favour otherwise, eh?"

"But ye know wha', I think I'll point 'e boy t' dis Gilgamesh, too! Thanks fer 'e recommendation!"