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EpisodeSix

The Crew decided to tackle three of the Threats & Opportunities that presented themselves to them:

The Red Sashes are in trouble. Although both they and The Lampblacks are at stalemate in terms of controlling Crow's Foot, the Lampblack assassin took out a key Iruvian figure in their Academy staff. This assassination, however, may prove to be a bad move; the Iruvian nobility are rallying around the Red Sashes. What is more, the rumour is that The Red Sashes have finally located the source of their recent arcane sickness, and more to the point, how it came to afflict them...

Malista?, a priestess, approaches Mr Hopkins with a potential score. A substance they use in their rituals has been stuck on a vessel at the docks for weeks and the stocks they have are running out. What is the substance? Why are the goods not being released from the vessel? Can the crew retrieve the substance and get it to them. [The players decided that the substance is an illegal hallucinogenic, linked to the psychonautic endeavours of Malista's cult. The ship is caught up in port bureaucracy, with the authorities unaware of this particular cargo.]

Marlane?, a rival of Rin's and ferocious pugilist, has challenged Rin to one final showdown to show once and for all, which one of them is the best in Duskvol's fighting pits. Everyone knows that he fights dirty, and that the path to the fight will not be without hazards, of course, that's why they love him! Does Rin accept the challenge, and if so, how can the Salamanders even the odds and give Rin a fighting chance? [Marlane was identified as belonging to The Grinders? and renown for his dirty tricks. He relishes his 'infamous' reputation and plays up being the pantomime villain.]

The Score: Rin decided to accept Marlane's challenge, hosting the fight at the Salamander's new theatre as a cash generating gig. Naturally, they also planned to run a rigged book on the fight to raise additional funds, through encouraging the belief that Rin was injured, so that the bets were against him, leading to a pot when he won. They would particular seek to target the Iruvian nobles supporting the Red Sashes campaign, to reduce the size of their war chest. They also planned to ensure the head of the Port authority was present, so that they could 'persuade' him to let them access the boat, enabling the release of the relevant goods for the priestess Malista. Three birds with one stone/knuckle-duster...

The Set-Up: To set the scene, Rin started feigning injury with the Crew spreading a rumour that it wasn't looking so good for him and Marlane was the favourite. Rolling three 6's for the fortune roll, the outcome was impressive, with many betting against him in the book that Crash, with his 'hint of nobility', was running.

Alongside this, Crash started investigating the Port Authority's Chief Petty Officer Phin Daava. Reaching out to the Spirit Field, he compelled a 'drunk' spirit to discover for him Daava's weakness. The spirit identified that he had a weakness 'for the boys'.

They also identified Orlan Nail as being one of Marlane's ringside team. As a retired boxer, Nail had quite a reputation for fighting hard and having a repertoire of dirty tricks. No doubt he would be acting as Marlane's advisor in such matters. He currently ran a boxing club for urchins in Crow's Foot.

The Fight: The atmosphere was thick and tense as Esme, acting as the ring master, introduced the two fighters to the eager crowd. As expected, Marlane played up to his part of the pantomime villain. The opening rounds were tense, both combatants taking their time to size the other up, circling, watching. Naturally their were attempted dirty tricks, but the research into Nail's past tactics paid off, with Rin being alert to them.

During the early rounds, the fight was interrupted by news of the impending arrival of The Bluecoats [as a result of the engagement roll from the previous session]. Thinking fast, The Blue Salamanders brought the fight to a halt with the instruction to swiftly relocate to Dock Four where the fight would resume. This was managed successfully, with the Bluecoats forced to wait for a future opportunity to instigate their arrest. Mr H. however, noted that not all were able to relocate as smoothly as they should have. Skillfully investigating, he identified that for some reason The Gondoliers were interfering, holding people up. Why was this? [The suspicion was that it was as a result of their Chief Whisper, Griggs, being flipped in an earlier entanglement.]

The fight resumed, this time in earnest, with both competitors seeking to strike the killer blow, using whatever advantage they could. Crash decided to join Orlan Nail in playing dirty, and rigged the dock so that at a tug it could be collapsed, throwing the two fighters into the water. With Rin's skill in using the Spirit-breather, he was bound to have the upper hand...

...However, on his return, Mr. H. saw Tommy (Julian Thomas), the young man the Crew had used as leverage over the Chief Petty Officer, and immediately grew suspicious of him. In a fit of paranoia, he shoved him into the water. In doing so he inadvertently triggered the trap, causing the docks to begin to dissemble [a success with complication was rolled]. Both Rin and Marlane were plunged into the water. This premature dunking was far from disastrous, with the advantage of the mask, Rin was able to land the critical blow and win the bout!

As a result of their efforts:

  • the Red Sashes warchest from the Iruvians was decreased through their losses gambling on the fight
  • the goods were released from the boat
  • Rin became the champion underground fighter in the region

All in all a very successful score.

Downtime:

  • Payoff - 4 Coin (need to revise upwards)
  • Tithe - Paid to The Wraiths?
  • Rep - +4
  • Heat - +3
  • Entanglements - Reprisal
  • Factions:

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