LogApocalypse World: Black Rain-Jason-5

Game log for the 2021/04/19 session of AW: Black Rain, as taken by Jason

String and Sybil have an open mission from last session to find dirt on the Syndics, so that Captain Maxwell can compell them to go along with his plans. One group where they might have leverage is the smiths. While the individual smiths can pick up and leave, they need shops to work, and the shops are basically first come, first serve. Anyone who leaves town might not be able to come back and work later, so while some entire professionals have cleared out to find food, the smiths have mostly stayed put. String goes to that part of the market and sees Hampton, and tells him she wants some new bowls for catching rain water. They discuss costs and delivery timelines, and he mentions having a big order open from the miners. When String stops to read him, she sees that he's really uncomfortable talking about his dealings with the miners. Sybil tries to give him the teary eyes and plead for him to push their deal up, he kicks them both out and tells them not to come back.

The two of them go to see Plumber, the miner's syndic. String starts out mentioning that the miners have been doing a lot of work, and she's wondering if there are jobs available. Plumber's eyes narrow until she makes the purpose of her question clear, but then he just mentions that people need to be able-bodied. There's a clear implication there that String and Sybil do not count as able-bodied. Plumber also warns that their food is also rationed, so just signing up for pit work isn't going to magically feed the flock. They also have precautions to keep new miners from finding out where the mine is, so that nobody can wildcat their claim. This time Sybil's read is that the guy is just going to feed them platitudes until they go away. String starts causing a distraction by trying to pin down the pay scale for the pit crews while Sybil hides her brain relay in the area. Then they go to report in to Captain Maxwell.

Bento escorts the two of them to Captain Maxwell, whose new office is looking properly office-like now and less like a storeroom. Cadbury is there as they enter, reviewing the supply situation. String reports that the miners are clearly up to something and she and Sybil are working on finding out what. Just as they're wrapping up, Sybil begins screaming and falls down, convulsing. She feels like there's a hot poker through her head. This fit passes after a short period of time. String does a little healing mojo on her favorite brainer. That has the effect of opening her brain to the maelstrom through Sybil. She hears voices, people talking about whether something is a listening device, and wondering who sent them to watch the miners. String can recognize one of the voices as Plumber. Once things settle down, Sybil lets Captain Maxwell know that the miners are working hard to keep him from learning what they're up to. Sybil can barely sense her brain relay and that it has sustained some sort of damage.

The Captain sends for Fisher and Xander, and asks them both to do a survey of the exterior of the settlement to see what the miners are up to. Xander conducts a search of the keep, using his sonic screwdriver, and finds no sign of imminent tunneling. Fisher dies of boredom several times, but you can't keep him down, you know? They do find other oddities, like bricks that are always cool to the touch, or like the fireplace in the dining area which, when no fire is lit, gives off the faint sound of sobbing. Xander starts thinking about serious study of the keep, which would require time and either Cadbury's help or orders from the Captain for everyone to cooperate with him. It would take a couple weeks.

Then they start doing the same sort of search in the settlement. Fisher sees a truck bouncing down the road, grinding gears going up the hill, and he notices the back of the truck is full of miners. He points their direction of travel to Xander, who sees the truck pull up to the miners' hostel. They backtrace the truck's trail, and end up past the market place at the bottom of the hill. Fisher notices a teenage kid watching Xander very closely, and then he throws something. It sounds like the pebble hit something metallic. Fisher and Xander quickly discuss options, and decide Xander's going to try to figure something out fast, before things get out of hand. Fisher notices a guy aiming a scoped rifle at them from an upper story window. This area is full of warehouses and such, and theoretically the Syndics are in control, or their minions. Fisher figures that when they bail, they need to move closer to the shooter, where his line of fire will be occluded. Xander follows the tracks to one of the warehouses, one half-carved into the site of the butte, and figures his best way in would be through the small person-sized door on the side of that warehouse, or maybe through the spot where one yank might pull some of the tin sheeting away from the corner and let him slip in. The two of them move in.

As they move forward, they hear someone racking a bolt. Xander runs for it and takes a bullet which leaves him face-down in the mud, bleeding. Fisher returns fire and puts a couple quick rounds into the shooter, but he's not sure his target's down for the count. Fisher keeps his head up, starts dragging Xander to safety, and prepares for battle. They end up under the eaves of a building across the street from the warehouse. He quickly assesses that Xander's not dead; he's taken a through-and-through that probably shattered his collarbone.

The gunlugger throws Xander over his shoulder and goes to cross the alley, hoping to move out of the area without getting hurt. He barely turns one corner before getting ambushed by a guy with a shotgun. Fisher drops his tool-wielding buddy and goes into the nearest building, looking between the wall boards to find the shotgunner's position. He hears the gunman hiss a warning to someone else. A few rounds of suppressed AP fire drop the man with the shotgun. Someone fires back. Fisher scrambles up an interior ladder and goes looking for a better view. The upper story area of this building (maybe a drying shed) is small, but there's a sort of exterior roof walk that he could step out on to. Fisher picks a spot well away from his old location, kicks a hole in the wall, and pops out. A couple bullet holes appear in the tin, showing that there's a bad guy in the alley. Fisher jumps down, thinking to open fire as soon as he hits the ground. He just sees the guy duck around the corner, but since the guy is retreating, that buys him time to pull Xander to safety.

Everyone in the settlement hears gunfire. Captain Maxell figures he probably instigated this and decides to lead his gang into town.

Fisher's got Xander on the other side of the alley, safe for the current instant, but he figures he has to get off the street and out. He starts working his way into buildings, trying to navigate roughly toward the exit from the district. Once he realizes he's being chased, he ducks into a potter's kiln house, unoccopied, and tries to set an ambush under the cover of the heavy brick kilns. He tucks Xander into a kiln to give him some extra protection. Xander wakes up sometime after getting suck in yon oven and promptly opens his brain, thinking about how much he needs a doctor.

String's hand begins whispering to her, repeating Xander's nervous thoughts about how badly he's bleeding and how much he needs help. This is enough for her to put two and two together and conclude that Xander's caught in the gunfight somewhere. She begins moving toward the entrance to the fort, around the marketplace area. Lots of people are wandering around, speculating about what the fighting might be. A truck full of miners bounces down the road, and she notices that a few of the people in back have guns. Captain Maxwell and his men come along shortly behind them. They're close enough for her to shout a warning that the miners have guns. He asks how many, and she tells him three to six. Someone in the marketplace turns to her and asks if she can shut her hand up. She has to admit that she can't.

Fisher hears people shouting, one of them claiming that he's chased a thief into the kiln house. He can hear people just outside the door and takes a couple pot shots through the doors, to keep them honest. Then he hears engine sounds, and a lot of thumping and splashing. Oooh, a massed assault! Fisher decides his position is stronger waiting for the attack than it would be if he tried a sortie, so he makes sure he's tucked in good, and waits.

As Captain Maxwell approaches, he sees Cabot and a couple of his men heading in the same direction. He can't tell if they're responding to the incident or directly reinforcing the miners, so he keeps his options open. Deadeye is specifically watching the Syndic security force to make sure there are no surprises. As they get closer, Cabot calls out of a surprised greeting. That's when they round the corner and see maybe ten guys trying to figure out how to assault the kiln house. One of them sees Cabot and the Captain, and calls out that they've got a good thief in there. Fisher shouts out, "The fuck you do, you murdering shits." Maxwell draws his pistol and orders the men to stand down. There's a long moment while everyone tries to figure out what's going on. The hardholder realizes that if the shooting starts, a lot of people are going to die. This area just has too many people in it and hardly any of them have cover. He repeats his order. One of the miners refuses to stand down, claiming they can't let a food thief go. The Captain says that's what he's there for. Plumber orders his men to lower their weapons. Maxwell then instructs them to move along, but Plumber wants to recover his stolen goods. Fisher calls out, "We didn't steal shit, fuckhead." Cabot tells the Captain that he can't just trust him that food will be returned. Maxwell offers to let Cabot and crew stay but insists that the miners go, and Cabot embraces that idea. Plumber reluctantly backs down. The Captain tells him to stay as an observer, but he begs off, saying that he has to make sure his men don't do anything stupid. The miners leave.

String sees the miners depart in their janky-ass truck, but they don't go back to the hostel. They make a right turn, drive through the market, and head out the front gate. She starts making her way to the area where it all went down, around which a crowd is gathering. She walks up to the Captain and asks where Xander is. Captain Maxwell assumes he's inside. String goes to enter. Cabot expressed surprise that Xander's in there. Fisher shoves the door open hard and then pops back behind the wall. String walks right in, and Fisher tells her where to look. She grabs his shoulder and does her whammy thing.

Fisher comes out, very disagreeable, and challenges Cabot to see if there's a hoagie in any of his mag pouches. Once they agree he isn't a food thief, he points the Captain to the warehouse that they were originally investigating. The Captain offers to let Cabot accompany him and his men as they look at the warehouse. Fisher needs Cabot as they go. Xander's in bad shape, and he once again commits information to the maelstrom about how badly he needs a doctor. This time he rolls really well and this is stable, container, and persistent. The mysterious doctor ought to pick up the signal no problem. At this point he asks String if there's anyone who can take him home and bring him a bottle. She takes him back to the grotto, where Sybil volunteers to go get his whiskey from his truck. He declines.

More of Cabot's people show up as the posse approaches the warehouse. It's shackled shut, which is unusual around here. Maxwell and Fisher follow Syndic security in. At first it's just a warehouse. There's some animal fodder, big baskets of ore, and evidence of trucks coming and going. There's fresh dirt and rock chips on the floor. A brief search turns up a spot against the back well that opens up into a mine tunnel, where a couple hand carts are parked. Maxwell opines that this is highly irregular and he'd like to see where it goes, and Cabot doesn't disagree. He pulls out a shakelight, shines it down the shaft, and they start exploring.

The tunnel goes 70-80 yards deep into the rock, where it ends at a face with some tools and some loose rock. The tunnel isn't quite straight, it curves, and then there's a sort of stethoscope arrangement. Maxwell listens and hears running water. Cabot looks like he just stepped in dog shit and says this needs to go to the Syndics. Fisher queries that, but Captain Maxwell agrees that this does need to go to the Syndics, to see how many of them knew about it. He orders Plumber and Hampton summoned to see what they know.

Once Cabot leaves, Fisher tells the boss that he thinks some Syndic heads should roll for this. Of the course of the afternoon, Cabot reports back that Plumber and his men have all left.

That night, the Syndics meet. Borthwick lays out the situation, acknowledging that the spring is under the sole jurisdiction of Captain Maxwell. When it's his turn to speak, Maxwell expresses his deep disappointment that someone would ruin the relationship that he'd established with the Syndics. The head of the glassblowers asks whether he intends to curtail the independence of the guilds. Maxwell replies that nothing is off the table, but perhaps, if they would collectively assist him with a task he has, he could let this issue go. He wants their organizational and financial support to send to the cattle clan. They're OK with that but they want guarantees that any sanctions he creates will be targeted only at the miners. Captain Maxwell agrees. Fisher nearly dies of disappointment at this failure to shed blood. The Syndics will supply vehicles and barter for the expedition to the cattle clans but Captain Maxwell has to lead it.