Log7th Sea: The Search for Salvation-2013/02/28-Jason-1

Game log for the 2013/02/28 session of 7th Sea: The Search for Salvation, as taken by Jason

Still Veldi, 9 Nonus

We get the manacles off of poor Reginald. Nikolai returns to the safe house to make sure things are cool there, while Reginald and Felix head for Grandmama's hotel.

Benito has been out shopping with Daria Calabretta di Dionna and has no idea that something bad has happened- until he sees Felix and Reginald hurrying down the street, looking somewhat bloodied. He decides to tail them. They're moving at a brisk pace, but Reginald still notices Benito and Daria. He mentions such to Felix, who suggests that a friendly shadow means they don't have to worry about being followed by anyone else anymore.

Léon continues following Mia and her friends from the rooftops. Unfortunately clambering over rooftops is slowing him down, and they're pulling away from him.

Reginald and Felix get to the hotel. Reginald asks Felix to wait outside and catch up with Benito. Reginald finds the door to Grandma's suite open and slightly ajar. Six men with swords are waiting inside. He tries to close the door and back away, but the door immediately bursts open and the fight starts. The door bottlenecks the brutes, and they lack true skill, so they can't connect. Reginald yells for help. Felix passes the shouting on to Benito and then runs up the stairs.

Reginald stabs one of his attackers and puts him out of the fight, then repeats the feat. Felix goes sprinting up the stairs and down the hallway, entering forward stance as he does. Two more thugs come through the doorway, but Felix rushes in and takes them both out with brutal efficiency. The remaining thugs jump out the windows, one of them kicking the door closed on the way. Reginald kicks it right back open and both heroes rush in. Reginald doesn't see Grandma anywhere. One of the bad guys leaps out the window and rolls off a convenient awning. Reginald tries to knock the remaining bad guy out and catches him a nasty shot to the back of the head. Reginald gives Felix the choice to pursue or not, but Felix decides to stick with his battle buddy. Benito arrives on scene to see that the fight's pretty much over.

Benito suggests that those thugs not suffering from grievous bodily harm drag their injured friends into the room. They're reluctant, but when he invokes the Musketeers, they decide to do it his way. They're cursing and groaning in Castille. Reginald asks who sent them. They tell him that he knows perfectly well. Benito explains to Felix what's happening, and Felix promptly kicks his threat display into high gear, tearing a piece of shirt off one of them and using it for a sword-cleaning rag. Turns out that Alonso is in town.

Meanwhile, Léon continues to pursue Mia and her friends. They spot him. Whups! They take off running with full intent to lose him, and they get a quick jump on him now that they know where he is. He reacts in time to keep sight of them but this could be a long chase. Léon finds a rope to slide down and turns it into a running chase rather than a running across roofs chase. He begins to gain ground. When one stumbles, he manages to get right on top of them. They draw knives.

Mia sees him and tells her men to "take care of him." Léon takes a chance and gets away with it, slapping both with his rapier before they can react. "Sorry I could not play with you longer, gentlemen," he tells them, and then runs off after Mia. He manages to catch up with her quickly, grab her by the arm, and tell her that he needs to speak to her. She does not spit poison at him, which would surely let Felix down if he was there. She does scream for help. He says, "Forgive me, madame," and then gives her a quick punch to the solar plexus. Or tries to. She actually has a hidden knife, as it happens, and sticks Léon instead. With a poisoned dagger. He asks her how long the poison lasts and how deadly it is. She tells him it lasts for days. Léon gets the fear. He lets her go and staggers back to the safehouse, slowly. Passer-bys tisk at him for being drunk so early in the day.

Benito realizes that he needs to get Daria before she gets into trouble. He finds her talking to a well-dressed Montaigne man. Gastogne seems dubious about his new Castille aquaintance and continues flirting with Daria as though Benito was the interloper. A challenge, of the non-dueling variety!

Reginald's interogation seems to be stalled out. Felix offers to geld them all but Reginald ignores him. Instead, the Avalon decides to take their money and weapons and let them go. Felix protests that they haven't been hurt enough, so Reginald makes them leave their left boots. Sigh. Reginald then tells Felix that Grandma is probably safe. They pack up and head back to the soup house, in case any poor folk are in need of left boots or spare change.

On our way out of the hotel, Reginald and Felix see Daria talking to Gastogne, while Benito stands by looking irked. As they walk up, Benito points out that Charouse is distinguished by the remarkable population of people living in liquid shit. Felix gives Daria a court bow, while Reginald offers Gastogne a boot. When he declines, Reginald walks away toward home, and Felix follows after. Daria gives Gastogne a very gentle kiss-off, and then asks Benito what the hell goes on here. This forces him to explain about how the Inquisition is after us, for both professional and personal reasons. She seems somewhat disturbed by the danger level implied by Benito's laundry list of enemies. He offers to send her back to Vodacce, if the danger is too much for her. Back at their hotel, they find her room has been tossed. Benito moves her to a different hotel, closer to the theater.

Reginald and Felix encounter a somewhat the worse for wear Léon. Reginald counsels him that street theater is not the easiest way to earn money. Léon ignores him and tells Felix that Mia poisoned him, proving Felix right all along.

Nikolai returns to the safe house and informs Claude and Janisse that there's been trouble. He asks after Benito, hears that he isn't around, and goes out looking for him. He stays to fully inform the NPCs about what happened, and barely gets a block away from the safe house when he meets Reginald, Léon, and Felix on their way back. We trade stories.

Janisse begins operating on Léon, who tells us all what happened to him. Benito suggests that Leveque or Frémiet d'Bas might be interested.

Janisse and Reginald go to the Explorer's Society, with Felix in tow as bodyguard.

Léon feels bad and starts drinking. Benito paces.

Reginald informs Emmanuelle Aubois that the Inquisition is in town and tried to kidnap him. She wants to notify the authorities right away, routing it through their patrons. Unfortunately he has no proof that it's the Inquisition in town, which makes it much harder. Meanwhile, Janisse gets the whole story of the day from Felix. She disapproves.

At 6, Benito uses the needle to send a message. "Removed Avalon from Castille. Why are we still being bothered?" He gets no reply for about two hours, after which it transmits, "We want the Avalon."

"Why? Can there be a bargain?"

"Come to the docks tonight."

So this sounds very safe and just like any other thing which could not possibly go wrong. Everyone looks forward to it a lot.

The apothecary we found for Léon assures him that the symptoms will subside in a day or so. There's a counteragent that will stop the tremors but cause, um, stomach trouble. Léon takes it.

Benito hids the needle in an empty wine bottle and throws it into the offal behind the butcher's.

We go to the soup kitchen to see if we can't hire an inconspicious street person who could act as a spy for us, giving us intel on the inevitable Inquisition trap. The steward tells us that they're doing good work and serving many people at the soup kitchen, but of course they could use more food. Food's hard to get everywhere. One of Markus' tough guys is in, so Benito approaches him. He realizes that he can't hire the guy direct, because the guy works for Marcus. He can, however, offer an exchange of favors - as long as we don't look like we're hiring him. Benito sets aside bread and soup for the guy. Benito and Léon give the steward extra money to make up for the food set aside for our man. Once the food runs out, they shut down.

The tough comes back and trades food for his report. He sees four guys on the dock, and he knows at least four more are out there on an unfamiliar ship. Felix takes his report and looks for any way it's a non-obvious trap, but it really seems like they just expect us to go to the ship with them. They have at least ten guys out there. Also, the four guys on the dock didn't seem to have swords. Felix and Nikolai caution Benito that nothing in this deal could possibly be good for him. Benito worries a lot about his family back home, and how easily the Inquisition could get to them. He wants to do something to secure their position and thinks trading the needle back is a good idea. We feel nervous about this.