Game Play 9- 25

Afternoon finally comes to the town of Ranstoc.  Ezekeal and Jesay  make their way back to the Ocean View Bar where the last of the dust has settled from the fight which took previously.  The austere environment has finally returned and the regular guests have unwrinkled their clothes and go back to sipping their fine imported wine.  The bar, with it's large clock face staring into the crowd, is being newly restocked.

The hostess eyes both Ezekeal and Jesay, though Jesay receives more of the tainted glares.  Despite what feelings bubble up in the hostess, she greets them with a cheerful smile and Ezekeal tells her which table they need to go to.  The hostess rolls her eyes and points lackadaisically toward table number 12 and then promptly helps the people behind them.

The woman that Ezekeal and Jesay approaches is first not seen from the approach to the entrance due to a large hat.  Her clothing would suggest that she is middle class, but how they fit her seems like the clothing has been costumed tailored.  Not to mention, the clothing looks like it had been bought recently.  She is looking away from them, but from her posture and her overall presence they could tell that she was from a family who was wealthy.

Jesay decides to stay within ear shot to hear the agreement over as Ezekeal gets the woman's attention.

"I am Ezekeal Ramhor," he says as he approaches, "I hear you are in the need of some assistance."

The woman looks up at Ezekeal, her face which as once hidden is now revealed.  She is a young and pretty lady, though her beauty is muted by how distressed she is.  She sniffles a little but hold back the tears to say her name with a pleasant smile, "I am Vicky Billings, charmed to meet you. Please Mr. Ramhor, sit."

Ezekeal sits down in polite manner at the small wooden table draped with a simple table cloth.  In front of the woman is a slender glass of a pale, translucent, bubbly drink which she sips on.  She looks deep into Ezekeal's eyes and starts to tell her story, "Thank you for coming under these grave situations.  I have to say, I had no idea where else to turn to except hire protection.  I am deeply afraid for my life and the well being of my father, Rollin Billings.  Recently he has been not acting in his usual manor, he been acting concerned and disconnected.  I have tried talking to him about it, but he either ignores me or has claimed that I would not understand."

She sips from her glass again as she tries to hold back tears, "I know this maybe a little silly, but he has been gone all weekend.  This has been a great concern and I fear for both our lives."

Ezekeal nods and thinks for a moment, "What has happened to make you think that danger is to eminent?"

She starts to sob a little but holds back her tears and gains her composer.  "One event occurred not too long ago, my father was trying to send a carrier pigeon to someone in the dead of the night.  I know that he believes that carrier pigeon is the most discreet, despite being archaic, way to send communication. He would have only done that if he thinks he is being spied on."

She takes a breath and sips more from her drink, "We also have been what appear to be threatening letters.  Though, I do have to say that I do not understand what they say because the language I am not familiar with.  Also, he is the lead designer for the Night Lamp Auto and Airship Company.  So, more than likely he has made inventors and designers mad because he is the one who approves and disapproves all the ideas which the company looks into.  My theory is that perhaps some mad foreigner who had a design did not get approved recently.  And if this person wants to harm him and his family, it is not hard because I am the only other family which my father has.  I... I could be kidnapped and tortured because this one man hates my father!"

"Do you know where your father is so we can assess this situation?"  Ezekeal calmly asks.

She nods her head as she starts to cry a little again.  "Yes, he is probably at the Night Lamp Company.  He has been spending a great amount of time there.  Maybe I am just getting a little too worried over nothing.  Perhaps he has been working very hard this weekend."

As Jesay overhears this conversation the only things she can think to herself is, "I haven't heard an amount for the job."

Ezekeal thinks for a few moments to take in all that he has heard, "If things are as dangerous as you make them sound, then perhaps I need more than the advertise price."

She nods in agreement, "I will give you 5,000 Pres right now, and I will also give you 5,000 Pres when this is over with."

Jesay tries not to look like she is listening, but in her mind she is swimming with joy.

"The job sounds quite interesting," Ezekeal says as he keeps a solemn mask on. "I may have an associate that may be interested in helping as well."

With his finger he points in the direction of Jesay, who is only a few chairs away from them.  Vicky swivels her head in Jesay's direction and looks her up and down, and then looks back at Ezekeal as if he had just wronged her.

She meekly says, "I am Vicky Billings, it is a pleasure to meet you."

As Jesay tries to introduces herself, an Authority enters the Ocean View Bar.  He pushes past the hostess and marches toward Ezekeal, Jesay, and Vicky.  The group takes little notice until the Authority looks at all three of them in a group.

"I there a Vicky in this group?"  Says the Authority gruffly.

"Yes," chirps Vicky, "I am Vicky Billings, how do you do?"

The Authority pauses for a moment, as if the question of how he does isn't in the normal range of questions he gets asked on a daily basis.  The Authority takes her out reached hand and shakes it awkwardly.

"I am sorry to inform you Miss Billings, that your father is dead.  The funeral, as permitted by his will, will be as soon as possible."

To this news Vicky breaks down.  Her tears start rolling down her cheeks and she pulls out a handkerchief which she uses to dab her face and wring in mourning.  Jesay looks disgusted by the sobbing woman and steps a few inches back.  Ezekeal looks slightly embarrassed and stays silent as his future employer shrieks with sadness.

"Do you think you still need our protection?"  Ezekeal finally says after Vicky calms down.

She starts shaking her head and looks at Ezekeal, "I dearly more need your protection.  This has made all my worst fears concrete!  How could you even ask when my father just died if I would not want your protection?!"

She tries to stand up and gain back her composer again.

Jesay leans over and whispers to Ezekeal, "This funeral is bad news."

"I guess I will take you with me to the funeral."  She says as she straightens her posture.  "I will call my chauffeur."

She starts to walk toward the exit expecting both Ezekeal and Jesay to follow her.

"If you think someone is after you," Ezekeal points out, "I would think that a public funeral would be one of the worst place to go right now."

She shoves her chin up in the air and protests, "I must see if in fact this man is my father or not!"

"My real question is," Jesay says with a suspicious squint, "that if you're so concerned about your life then why put it in the hands of two random strangers.  Why don't you let the authority handle it?"

"But that is who posted the ad for me," Vicky looks offended and adjusts her hat.  "Don't you know that they can't handle anything like this which is outside the law?"

Ezekeal pauses Jesay before she could spout off anymore.  As an ex-Authority, he knows that many towns do not allow Authority to go out of their way to investigate matters or protect people.  They can only do things which have a written law to them, and sometimes that can change depending on the government.  Unfortunately, they can do more about land disputes and destruction of property than murder.  So, the Authority in many matters will post ads in specific areas for both Bounty Hunters and Mercenaries to find them.

"I am starting to think at this time," Ezekeal says as he tried to calm Vicky down before she does something rash, "that the risk is being out weighed by the price.  Especially that we know so little about what has happened."

She looks almost hurt and is almost beginning to cry, "Do you want more money?  I can get you more money!"

Ezekeal raises his hand, this time to Vicky.  He does up to the Authority who is still standing there, "Can we go examine the body of her father before the funeral so we can see that her father is actually dead?"

The Authority shrugs, "You will have to get permission from the funeral director because I do not know what the will of the recipient of this untimely endeavor is."

Ezekeal turns to Jesay and they softly talk to each other.  "If we can get this over with," says Ezekeal, "than perhaps we can still get our money."

"That would be ideal," Jesay replies.

"Do you know a way to get to the funeral dierctor quickly?"  Ezekeal asks the Authority.

"Excuse me," Vicky says, "I assure you that my chauffeur can get us there better than any escort of the Authority."

They all leave the Ocean View Bar and head out to the front of the Fish Market.  A nice car with a man dressed up in almost a uniform pulls up.  The man jumps out of the driver's seat and opens up the back door for them.  They get in one by one.

The now sober Bruno and Otis are running down the street as the walking machine of Professor Agustus Brier slowly gets away and eventually goes out of sight.  They find themselves at the Clock House Square.

Here there is lots of activities that tourists are partaking in.  Bruno, despite being a little self-conscious about his appearance and smell, goes in after the alluring smell of food from the street vendors.  After a good run, Bruno's stomach feelings a little empty.

She searches through the food vendors.  One food vendor had fried apples on a stick, another had a cook pocket sandwich full of fruit and unidentifiable meat, and another had long sticks of bread which are cooked in boiling oil and then drenched in butter, sugar, and cinnamon.  Everything looks enticing.  But a voice lures him to go further.

"Come here," says the woman's voice.

Bruno looks over to where the voice is coming from.  There at the entrance of a make shift tent covered in decorative rugs stands a woman.  She wears embroidered silks, golden chains which dangle off of her provocatively with coins on the end of each string, and several amulets.  The biggest and most pronounce one is the right above her cleavage which has the image of the Negustor God on it, Cyfrin, a ever twisting serpent with a human skull for the head.  Also, she has many rings and arm bracelets which look like brass snakes which are wriggling and twisting up her arm.

"Come with me," She says as she motions toward him, "I need to tell you your future."

Bruno is enchanted by the exotic lady and comes into the tent.  The inside of the tent is filled with large stuffed pillows, a small table with a fancy decorative bowl, and every candles which are suspended from the supports of the tent.

She makes sure Bruno is well seated in an over-stuffed pillow and sits down by the table.  She fills the bowl full of water and then dramatically throws something into it, which starts to make the bowl boil, steam, and spark.

Bruno is too distracted by his own appearance to truly appreciate the performance which the lady is given.  He becomes very aware that his clothing is damp and has the smell of alcohol.  In his best efforts he tries to straighten his mustache so he could look appropriate for his hostess.

She looks at Bruno, and then looks at the bowl.  She takes a long gaze into the hazy mist and sparks which are coming out of it.  She then gasps and scoots the table aside, "You are going to die of today!"

There is a pause and it seems like silence has flooded the tent.  She then takes out a giant trunk and starts to rummage through it, "For the right price, I can give you a good luck charm that will help you in your travels."

Bruno starts to think hard about this, but is taken in by the woman anyways.  He looks over the medallions which she is taking out and can see that they are handcrafted, but no time or consideration has been put into them.

"30 Pres for this one," She says as she handles the medallion like a sacred object.

Bruno twitches his mustache in thought, "How about 15?"

The lady shakes her head, "No!  I am willing to go down to 20."

"How about 17?"

"Okay, that is fair," She says in a huff as the goods are exchanged.

Bruno looks at his new lucky medallion.  It is in the shape of a star with the body of a snake slithering around the points.  In the middle of the star is a depiction of a skull.

At the Fish Market, Evelyn decides to look around too see if she can find any supplies in the shops.  Around her there are Cizinec entertaining crowd, one group are playing instruments and having someone dance for money.  A lone woman, who is also Ciziniec, is telling stories as her children run through the crowd.  Also, the ever present gang, The Bad Hat Bullies, are hanging around a few areas but not doing much of anything else.

Evelyn decides to go into the shop Hannah's Knives.  Where the lady behind the counter, presumably Hannah, is still listening to the old man rant about wars that never happened.  Evelyn approaches and counter and Hannah looks relieved.

"Do you have anything of interest back in your storage?" Evelyn says after she perusing over the knives which were on display in the shop.  She sees nothing that is on display which tickles her interest.

The woman looks Evelyn up and down and shrugs, "Sure, let me go back and look."

Hannah leaves Evelyn with the man who rants on about wars.  Evelyn does her best to ignore him until he says, "You're Cizinec, aren't ya?"

"You got a problem with that," Evelyn says as her hand clinches into a fist.

"Don't they war all the time?"  The man blurts out.

"I think they're better off pickpocketing people than waring all the time," Evelyn says with a smug grin.  "But still, you got a problem with that?"

The man starts laughing insanely, "No, they were my buddies in the war."

The man keeps talking and lightly touching on subjects like the war he was in, the government which should war, and how at one point he was a seafarer in the war.  Evelyn, despite her annoyance, lets the man drone on until Hannah shows back from storage.  She has several items with her; a few large knives which could pass a swords, flimsy cutlery, and then a box marked in a strange language.  She opens up the box, which is filled with hay for packing and four knives.  The four knives are small enough that they could be concealed and thrown in an expert's hand.

She starts to inspect the box.  She first looks at the box to see if she could recognize the language, but unfortunately none of the symbols look familiar.  She picks up a knife and inspects it.  She cannot see anything special about them.  They have bone handles and are extremely sharp.  The blades are hand pounded and made from a home made steel alloy.  As she looks at them, she ends up cutting her finger tips.  Hannah quickly hands her a rag to cover the blood.

"How much for these blades?" Evelyn asks as she presses her wounds with the rag.

"300," Hannah promptly replies.

"How about 200?"

"No, how about 350 for bleeding all over my knives too?"

"It is too steep of a price," Evelyn starts to leave.

"Hey, wait," Hannah says with a sigh.  "Is 250 an all right price?"

Evelyn hesitates a little and then agrees.  She takes both the knives and the box with her.  As she goes back to the crowd, her mind solely concentrates on the box and the hidden meaning behind it.

After scouting out the musicians group and seeing how much money they have got, she goes up to the elder of the group who is overseeing their performance and watching the money.

"How much will is cost to get some information," She says anxiously to the elder Cizinec.

He looks her up and down and snorts for the smoke from his pipe goes through his nose.  "What kind of information do you want?"

"Knowing the origin of something."

"Origin of what?"

"Of This," Evelyn says as she takes out the box.

He laughs and holds out his hand, "Pay me 50 Pres."

She give him the money and he shoves it in his pocket.  "Negustor," he says as he shoos her off.

Feeling a little bit more confused but glad she had something to go off of, she departs from the Fish Market.  She gets on her wolf and starts riding toward the Graveyard so she can attend a funeral of someone she does not know.

Filling in the Gaps for Dieter

First a note: the events which occur with Dieter are not played by Sarah (the player).  There maybe errors within the personality, but Sarah gave me full permission to use Dieter as a NPC so the plot could move on.

Dieter leaves the office of Rollin Billings and looks in the long hallway once again.  The two janitors are gone and they have left the place spotless.  Dieter walks down the hall to see if he notices anything else, but nothing significant is within eyesight.  He goes back into the main entrance and places his hand on the rail to push the door open.


"You!"  A voice shouts from the other hall.  Instinctively Dieter looks over and sees a tall, gaunt man who is nicely dressed.  His hair is thrown back but the curls weave behind his head giving him a refined but frenzied look.  "Are you Dieter Wagner?"


Dieter looks the man up and down, "That I am."


"I am most gracious to meet you," The man says as he grabs Dieter's hand suddenly and starts shaking it.  "The wondrous detective who has saved this company from destitution!  I remember a few years back that Night Lamp had been in trouble and your investigation proved it was not the company who was smuggling weapons and unsavory commodities but the head of shipping."


"And who are you?"  Deiters grabs his hand back from the grip of the man.


"Oh, I am most sorry," Looking rather embarrassed the man says, "I am Theodore Nobstick, the co-owner and head inventor of the Night Lamp Auto and Airship Company.  I am grateful for your appearance on the premises in this dire time."

"You must mean the murder."

"Why yes, the murder.  There was an emergency stock holder meeting this morning and on the instance of Neil Fiply, poor dear Rollin Billings murder has been covered up.  Neil made this rather eloquent speech about how we should not have bad publicity right before the fights leading up to the Grand Exhibition.  The Authority were then paid off and we're having a quick funeral."


"The quick funeral part of the cover up?" Jests Dieter.


"No, I would not even stand to have something undignified like that happen here at the factories.  The strange thing is that it is Rollin's new wishes from his will that he should get buried as quickly as possible."


"New wishes?"  Dieter is almost taken surprise by this information, "Did he recently revise his will?"


"Rollin Billings practically tore down the foundation of his will and restructured every syllable.  By his contract at Night Lamp, we can legally look at his will after he rewrites it and makes sure that he does not try to do something ungentlemanly like clause that any designs cannot be used after he died.  It is a bit stringent of us but we have to protect our assists as well."


"True.  How long ago was this?"


"This was about two weeks ago.  And speaking also as a friend, despite him being an elderly man who could have fathered me, he also started to act unlike himself within that time range.  This was after he accumulated the list three weeks ago."


"What list?"


"I am not supposed to talk about that, it is confidential and will now be internally investigated,"  Theodore throws him a look which could stop birds in flight.


"Mr. Fiply, you have to tell me everything.  The smallest detail can help."


Theodore shakes his head, "It was an accumulated list of technology which Rollin was looking into.  Rollin Billings has... had the esteemed job of approving blue prints and and schematics of machinery and other things for the company to research.  Though, he came upon some machinery which someone had put in which I have never heard of and I couldn't make heads or tails of what they did.  So I gave him a blessing in which he could contact an expert of his choosing, though I put the stipulation of no one here in the company could know who he was contacting."


"So, a mystery man may hold the key to Rollin's death."


"I am afraid so, Detective.  Though, now I have to be going because dear old Billings' funeral is soon."


"May I join you?"


"Sure, then perhaps you can also tell me of what you think of the mercenary I am going to hire."


"A mercenary?"


"I gave the authority the grand task of finding me a mercenary who can protect important assists of the Night Lamp Auto and Airship company from any unwanted danger or unknown villains.  Though I think the Authority who wrote it down miss understood me."


Deiter opened the door for Theodore and then followed Theodore out, "How is that?"


"The Authority asked me which building I meant."


"And what did you mean?"


"I need someone protected."


"And who would that be?"


Theodore laughed, "Why, it would be you!  I had full intention of having my good friend's death investigated.  Even at risk at having Neil furious at me for a bit.  But I decided that one sure fire way to get you hired is to get you protection."


"I can protect myself just fine."


"Consider it a slight annoyance before being paid a great amount of money.  I do not know if it is the sense of injustice I am feeling or the mournfulness I have but 10,000 Pres when the job is done."


Dieter stops in his tracks and looks at Theodore.  He had heard about Theodore's eccentric ways, but never knew they were true until experiencing them first hand.

Finally Back in Action

Well good news!  I am all better again and I am ready to GM the hell out of the game!  Though, that makes me wonder if the abbreviation "GM" can be used as a verb like that.  Is it like a firefighter saying, "I am going to firefighter the hell out of that fire!"  Or a cop saying, "I am going to cop the hell out of this city!"  And besides, why would I want to use my role of a GM to exercise the game?

I promise that is the last of the "stoner" thoughts and puns.

Anyways, this Saturday (September 25th) we will have the game in the usual place!  And as I have been promising for the last month, VEHICLE LISTS!  For reals this time.  And also, hopefully I have made a few more documents for myself to create better and smoother game play!  Because everyone loves game play which is smoother!

Soon I will have something which will complete the GM notebook and hopefully it will be something which will help many others GM the game in the future!  Not to mention I am going to try to make more items, especially items which help skills and stats in specific ways.  Another thing I will try to do with in the next few weeks is to make the attributes on the GM's items list uniform with how the players need to write it down on their sheets!  I found that a little confusing for myself when I was trying to give items to players.  Also, I should somehow organize it better.  I am smelling spread sheets!

Huzzah! Sharing the Game is Easier!

Sharing all the information on this game is sure a pain in the ass.  Sending so many file attachments through the internet is not only time consuming but gets tedious.  So I started to mess around with Google Documents and I have to say that it is pretty handy.  Soon I will have the whole games (or the bits which I want to share) on the internet!  A personal victory for me, pretty insignificant news for everyone else!

If you're interested in having the documents which make up the player's guide, feel free to email me for the links!

Final Decision

So, I decided to cancel this Saturday's session.  I think I am too sick at the moment to GM and also Work.   Unfortunately working pays bills so that outweighs playing a game.  How can I ever get paid to GM?!  That would be an intriguing job and a most awesome title, "Official Game Master."

What You Might have Missed the Last Meeting

So, the meeting on the 11th was not so great gaming wise.  Only Rachel and Madelin showed up.  Unfortunately because of scheduling conflicts n one else could show up even if they wanted to.  Though, hanging out with those two is always lovely and we did Western Washington's best past time, drinking coffee and talking.

I am on the fence about having another session this Saturday mainly because I have just been diagnosed by a REAL doctor that I have a sinus and ear infection.  So I am really not feeling all that peachy and I need to lay low just in case this turns into a respiratory infection as well.  Though, I should know by Thursday if I am back to fighting strength or not!

Also, if you haven't noticed I have changed the background of the blog and soon hopefully I will put up my awesome little banner where the title of this page is.  Personalizing things is great fun!

News and a Schedule

The next meeting is confirmed to be on the 11th (This Saturday) at noon at the usual place.  I am still toying with the idea of a second day, but I would have to look at my schedule further.  Everyone who has replied back to me so far has given me their input and opinion on a second day, and I thank you for that.  But until further notice, we're meeting on Saturdays.

Also, another idea I had was that I could do a second game sometime during the week, but have that plot independent of the game play which is happening with the Saturday group and if we ever have need for it, can combine the two groups.

Hopefully I will have the long awaited vehicle sheets done by this Saturday.  I just hope the printer I have been using works.  Well, I will cross my fingers and come up with a plan B to plan aa-delta-z.  Also by popular request, I am gonna type something out so people can GM a game themselves.  Basically the only different between the GM notebook and the Player's notebook is that the GM has the information on all the items/weapons, vehicles, places in the town (and NPCs you find there), the plot (or what little I have types out), and a large list of generic NPCs.  I was going to type out something for future GMs about their role in the game and how to decide what number to roll in situations (which is explained in less detailed in the player's guide already).

I realize too that I need to update the "Other Cultures" in the intro because we have defined the Cizinec more, talked more about the major Religion in the empire, and introduced gangs.

Game Play 8-21-2010

Here's what happened on the game session which took place on August the 21st, 2010.

Game Play!

The morning in Ranstoc proceeds as usual.  Though for one pugilist the morning has snuck up on him.  The early morning victory has been stretched for Bruno as his pet bear, admirers, groupies, and trainer sit around a table at the Ocean View Bar at the Fish Market.  After checking on his bear, Oscar, Bruno goes up to the bar and orders a martini with a umbrella skewered through the olive.  Apparently, Bruno thinks this makes the drink fancier.  Despite the fanciness of the drink it gets Bruno just as drunk, and already being very dimwitted the drinks do not take long to get to his head.

The feeling of invincibility bubbles inside Bruno as he downs another martini.  With this feeling, the urge to dance over comes him and he jumps up on the bar as the crowd starts to sing a lively drinking song.  Bruno starts doing a rendition of tap dancing, but ultimately has no taps on his shoes so a lot of stomping and knocking over of drinks pursues.

Soon, the shouting and singing crowd gets replaced by the Authority.  They start to shout at Bruno but to no avail.  He is too drunk and too stupid to know what is going on.  Then, out of the blue, Bruno thinks it would be a grand idea to pull someone up on the counter with him, which happens to be an Authority Officer.  The Authority tries to apprehend and stop Bruno.  The Authority ends up swinging his fists and hitting Bruno square in the jar.  Bruno becomes enraged and starts to wildly swing.  He hits the Authority after a few attempts, and knocks him off the counter.  Though Bruno throws off his balance and falls behind the counter.

Dieter's morning is also moving along.  As he goes past the graveyard and sets foot on the grounds of the Night Lamp Auto and Airship Factory, he notices that there are many cars driving out of there quickly.  He notes that they are too nice looking to be the common worker or even the higher paid office workers.  These vehicles in fact belong to the stock holders.  The sight of the robust and esteemed Quail Sefun, a philanthropist and wealthy land owner, verifies the theory.  He also sees the front man and co-owner of the company, Neil Fiply, drive away from the company quickly.  Though, all is not hectic as he can see the workers through the large panned windows of the factories.  They are going about their business like nothing has happened.  Along the wall is a group of security guards for the Night Lamp Auto and Airship company.  These guards are nothing like the Authority.  They wear clothes of the common man because they are workers at the plant.  They're weapons are not guns, but wrenches and other tools of the trade which they use on a daily basis.

Dieter, armed with a friendly smile and a pack of cigarettes, approaches the group of security guards.  Dieter offers one cigarettes and the guards takes it suspiciously.  Unfortunately for Dieter they all know who he is and what his occupation is.

"Eh, you're that Dieter guy aren't ya'?"  Says the guard with the cigarette.

"That I am.  Looks like you are having a busy day," replies Dieter as he looks around the guards.  He notes that security is a little bit higher than usual.

"Yeah, something about the offices," he takes a puff of his cigarette and thinks.  "I am not sure what is going on but something in the offices has spooked all the big wigs."

"I saw them leave like a bat out of hell."

The guard nods in agreement, "For some reason they called an emergency meeting and got all us security here. It's kind of weird."

As continues to smoke his cigarette, he points toward the offices of the Night Lamp factory.  The office building isn't like all the other buildings.  All the factory buildings are large, square, and have large thickly panned windows.  The office is ornate and slightly an odd shape, too bumpy and curved to be a rectangle or a box.  And on each of the corners spires rise up, though not higher then the factories' roofs, so it seems like a hidden castle in an industrial landscape.  The sculptures on the building depict workers, airships, parts of engines, and clockwork.

In the front of the office there is a parking lot for all the autos.  Despite the capacity it can fit, there's only a few personnel autos which sit in it.  Dieter determines that the only people who are left in the offices are the people who push papers and keep the company afloat.  Dieter realized one auto stands out. It must belong to other owner of the company, Theodore Nobstic.

Surprisingly enough, Dieter gets into the offices easily without being stopped by security.  Inside there is a receptionist who is barely paying attention to those who go through.  Also, Dieter can see that down one of the long hallways are janitors who are mopping up something.  Dieter approaches the receptionist first.

The receptionist looks up with a dull look and drones, "Welcome to the Offices of the Night Lamp Auto and Airship company."

"I have a meeting with Theodore Nobstick," he says with determination.

She blinks and looks down at the large scheduling book in front of her, "There's no appointments today.  Why are you really here?"

Dieter grimaces because he was caught in a lie, "The truth is that I saw all the ruckus.  Do you know what that is about?"

"They're cleaning up something down that hallway," Dully says the receptionist.  Apparently no on clued her in what was going on.

Dieter goes past the receptionist and does down the hallway where the Janitors are.  He can tell just from the blood splatter that is being cleaned up that no projectile weapons were used, but the weapon was something large and heavy which was used repeatedly to bludgeon someone to death.  And since the janitors are cleaning up, Dieter cannot tell if there had been a struggle or not.

Naturally Dieter asks the Janitor about the what has happened.  The old man in coveralls, named Abbot which is indicated by a name tag, stops for a moment and looks at Dieter.

"It was poor old Rollin Billings.  He apparently was working here on the weekends.  He never made it five steps from his office," Abbot points toward a door with a freshly polished plaque which had the name of the victim on it.  "It looked like someone club him on the head."

Dieter goes into Mr. Billings office.  The scene inside is an office of a genius.  The room is plastered in blue prints, schematics, and technical drawings of machines, parts, and vehicles.  On his desk a shiny name plate announces that the desk belongs to the late Rollin Billings, who also happened to be the lead designer at the factory.  There are two wired baskets on the desk with the tags of "in" and "out" on them, and of course the "in" pile is bigger than the "out" pile.  Also, on his desk there are perpetual motion sculptures slowly moving and ticking.  By the desk there is a trash can with crumpled up pieces of paper in it.  The room also has a abundance of tall file cabinets and on top of all the cabinets are what seem to be heavy brass sculptures of the vehicles which Night Lamp has made over the years.

Dieter first goes for the trash cans and takes out a few pieces of paper.  The one which catches his attention the most is one which has a listing of several strange machines, such as "Linguistic Sound Wave Converter" and a "Automatic Multiphase Electric Pulse Input Amplifier".  With each name there is a long list of voltage readings and schematics.  But the thing which most amazes Dieter is there is blood on the very edge of the paper.

He keeps looking around the office.  All the large sculptures of the vehicles look very dusty and unmoved for years, except for one.  This particular model looks like it had not only been moved but cleaned recently.  But who ever cleaned it missed a piece of material on the very edge, which with further inspection turned out to be blood and hair.

Also, in the office there is a cabinet open.  This particular drawer, marked advanced research, looks like it has been unlocked and open.  A file from this drawer looks like it had been taken out.

Meanwhile, back at the Fish Market Jesay has found her booze to put her weeds, which she found beach combing, in.  Even though she does not like to stay in one place for long, the sights and sounds of the Fish Market pull her in like many other visitors and tourists.  As her eyes gaze toward a shop which seems to sell knives of all shapes and sizes (though not of high quality), she sees an imposing and tall figure walk out.  His face can tell a tale of displeasure and wasted time.  Though how he dresses and holds himself tells a different story.  Ezekeal, like anyone who has served on the Authority, holds himself in a strong and determined manner.

Intrigued by Ezekeal and in the interest of sociability, Jesay goes up the him and asks, "Are you here for the fights?"

"I may check them out," Ezekeal says as the ever present smirk climbs back on his face.  "I am mostly here for some work."

"Do you know who the best pick is?"

"Well, I do know my pick is a boxer named Bruno.  There might be boxers who are more skilled, but he would be the best bet."

She looks over his strong but wiry frame, "Do you do any fighting yourself?"

"I have," Ezekeal pauses fro a moment.  "I mostly keep that for my profession.  For my job it is necessary, but most of the time I just like to have a good time on my days off."

"Would you be interested in a certain... business deal.  Assuming that you're not already working, of course,"  Jesay slyly chirps.

"Oh, I have a bit of time, what did you have in mind?"

"I do not think this is the best place to talk," She says as she motions him to follow her.  "How about a walk by the beach?"

Ezekeal follows Jesay past all the shops at the fish market and around where the tourists dare not to tread.  The surroundings are not as crowded, loud, or gaudy as in front of all the shops.

As they view the sea and the beach, Ezekeal decides to quote a little witty piece of poetry about the sea.  Jesay is amused as they keep walking down to the beach to discuss business matters.

They get there and there's a moment of silence.  Jesay looks into Ezekeal's eyes and says, "I don't know if you're a betting man, but there's money to be made."

"By doing what?"

"Athletes; they're always looking for that advantage.  The one thing that will put them over the edge, Right?"

"Correct..."

"So what would happen if we supplied them with that advantage? or at least make them think that we supplied them with that advantage?"  She slips a bottle of alcohol out of her bag and shows it to Ezekeal, "I have purchased this booze and picked some weeds by the water.  I am going to combine the two to make a beverage that looks like something unique and smells like something unique.  Then I am going to sell to athletes, and of course since it is alcohol so it will not enhance their performance but detract it.  Then it is our job to bet on the sober athlete."

She waits for a moment and tries to read his face.  Then shoots him a sly little smile, "But I need someone to make this a little more convincing.  And that's where you come in.  You would claim that you have seen this happen in a different town and it was amazing how this worked."

"When are you going to be doing this?"

"To be honest I do not know the schedules of the fights, but as soon as possible."

"I do have a meeting with someone to be a bodyguard, but if we can work around that then it would be a deal... for a good percentage."

"Naturally," Says Jesay as she puts back the bottle of alcohol.  "I am in town for a while, I could help out with your venture too."


Evelyn is outside the Authority Office after dealing with her own business transaction.  With the bounty in her pocket, she leaves the town square in hopes not to talk to any Cizinec.  In a change of heart, she abandons the plan to go to the bar by the docks and decides instead to go to the Fish Mongrel by the Fish Market.  She mounts her wolf and rides through the streets.

She arrives at the fish market and sees that there is a little bit of a ruckus in the market.  Though, she cannot see any way to benefit from financially from that and the sight of a small crowd Authority further discourages her, so she heads toward her destination.

She heads into the Fish Mongrel.  The bar looks like a well loved pair of shoes and smells about the same.  The bar counter is worn and no amount of wood polish would make it look any better.  Old worn paintings of sea scenes hang crooked on the scuffed up wood panel wall.  The patrons are all older men who look like they have spent their time on the sea fishing.  The bartender is behind the bar sitting on the stool and whittling a piece of wood.

Evelyn walks up to the bar and gets the bartenders attention, "Do you have any jobs?"

The Bartender shakes his head, "Yeah, there are."  He takes from under the counter a dingy leather pouch and opens it up, "Well I guess I could..."

Suddenly, through the door an Authority marches through.  He has a crumpled up piece of paper and hands it to the bartender.  The Authority looks at Evelyn, and mumbles something about Cizinec underneath his breath.  Evelyn, though annoyed, ignores it and lets the man leave unharmed.

"Oh my, something must have happened at the Night Lamp," Says the bartender as he puts the paper away in the leather pouch.  "I don't think a little lady like you would be interested in anything like that."

"Let me see it anyway," Evelyn says with determination.

He rolls his eyes and hands the crumpled up piece of paper to Evelyn.  It describes, in very little detail, a job which would pay 10,000 Pres to anyone who is willing to guard the offices of the Night Lamp Auto and Airship factory.  All she needs to accept the job is to meet Theodore Nobstic at the funeral of Rollin Billings which will take part during the Mid-Afternoon.

Meanwhile, Professor Augustus Biere is riding through the streets of Ranstoc on his self-invented walker.  He decides that staying with his cousin and his family for the duration of the Grand Exhibition would be more enjoyable than any inn.  He first, out of good taste, picks up wine.

He navigates through his cousin's neighborhood.  All the houses look the same, though most have little quirks which the owners have installed, painted, or placed themselves.  Each one squarely sits behind a small brick wall and a black rod iron fence.  Each yard has a garden, a porch, and a stone way path which leads from the gate to the house.  In front of his cousin's house, the picturesque scene of Augustus's nephews and niece are playing in the front yard as his wife admires and tends the flowers.  As for his cousin, he is on a porch swing drinking an alcoholic beverage.

Augustus's Cousin, Earnest, comes up to Augustus very enthusiastically.  "Oh my!" He exclaims after looking at the white wine, "Let's go to the Fish Market!  We can look at tourists, buy fish, and come back home!  Then Anny the Nanny can cook the fish!"

Augustus doesn't bound off straight away for he greets Ernest's family.  Igor Xavier, Augustus's faithful ape companion, climbs out of the vehicle and starts to "mingle" (or as well as a gorilla can mingle) with Cousin Ernest's family.  Meanwhile Ernest climbs into the walking contraption.  They start bounding off over autos and people toward the Fish Market.

When they get there, they see that the Authority is trying to stop a bar fight at the Ocean View Bar.  Of course, Cousin Ernest jumps into the action.  But Augustus, being a gentleman, goes up to the Authority who looks like the one in charge and asks if he could do something to stop the fight.

"Do you mind if I go into the bar and shoot off some blanks?  I will not damage anything and I just hope to get their attention."

The Lead Authority thinks for a moment, "That's probably better then what we're doing right now which is beating up the civilians."

The Ocean View Bar is not like the bar Augustus remembers from previous trips to Ranstoc.  It is like someone took a fine lady and replaced her fine silken clothes with a potato sack and then drug her through mud.  Everyone is fighting everyone else and he even sees a bear in the midst of the chaos.  Augustus raises his gun to the air and shoots.  The room doesn't stop.  Those who are closest to Augustus stop though and turn their mad glares and violent attentions toward him.  He tries it one more time, but with no avail and more people wanting to cause him harm.

Meanwhile, Ernest is trying out his new feeling of indestructibility and is trying to fight Oscar the Bear.  Finally, Ernest hits Oscar on the nose and really angers the bear.  Though, Bruno notices his companion in pain and immediately comes to his aid.  At this point, Augustus grabs his cousin and runs back toward the walking vehicle.  Augustus has no problems getting into the contraption, but Ernest, as he is drunk, can't quite make it.  August with one great pull, lifts Ernest mostly inside, though leaving his feet dangling out of the vehicle and pants starting to lower.

In a frenzy both pugilist and bear companion chase after the Professor and his cousin down the street.

Filling in the Gaps

Undoubtedly if you have been reading this blog you have noticed a slight bump in reporting what has been happening in game play.  Well, there has been two sessions sense my last post and I think it is my GM duty to inform what has been happening.

Unfortunately right now with the current work schedule the group hasn't been able to meet up for the last two weeks (August the 28th and September the 4th).  I also also hoping that perhaps since we have only a few hours to play on Saturday, that perhaps I could collect the schedule of everyone to see when else we could meet.

This first blog will be about the session which we had on August 14th.  I am sorry it isn't as detailed at the last game session, but my next post will be phenomenal (hopefully).

New Characters!
Dieter Wagner is a private investigator in his mid 30s who lives in Ranstoc.  He is constantly coasting above the poverty line as he looks for new jobs.  He is a tall well built man with a square jaw and a crooked nose.

Professor Augustus Biere is an older gentlemen (it has been disputed that he is either 40 or 60, but nothing in between).  He grew up in the West Hall area but later found himself teaching at a College in North Crow.  He is now a professor of Applied Steam Physics and Clockwork Mechanics. He believes that there should be a new mechanical age in which everyone can have access to steam and clockwork powered machinery and has taken steps toward that goal.

Game Play!
Ranstoc is still continually waking up with he sun.  As the morning burns on, more shops become open.  The problem at the Night Lamp Airship and Auto Factory has calmed down and the Authority are going back to base.  In the town square the Cizinec are getting their acts together and greeting the tourists who are starting to gather,  The welcomed sights to tourists are an unwelcome sight to Evelyn Wolf.  She avoids any contact with the people on the town square to her journey toward the waterfront where she will find a job suited for her at a bar.  Though, as she goes she spots another sight which is less than desirable.  A woman is being harassed by a group of men from a gang called the Bad Hat Bullies, which happens to be one of the largest gangs in West Hall.

Knowing that she could get some Pres in her Pocket, she disrupts their meeting by having her wolf, Zora, bowl the men over.  In a flash the men are tied up and slung over her companion.  She back tracks toward the south and goes to the Authority's office and collects the awards.  In the background,the crew who has come from the Night Lamp offices are talking amongst themselves about a murder.  Evelyn ignores this and strolls to the front desk.  With some negotiating, Evelyn earns 500 Pres per head she has collected.

Meanwhile, Ezekeal hails a cab and goes down to the Fish Market.  He checks out the bar which he will be meeting his "client".  Though seeing it was way too early, he decides to go exploring and finds himself in a knife shop where a woman sits behind the counter and listens to a man, who is more than likely a patron.  The man is droning on about a war that he had participated in, which is peculiar because there haven't been wars in the Hepian Empire for at least 90 years.  Ezekiel sees an interesting knife and tries to negotiate the price with no success.  Unfortunately, his skill has made the woman at the counter a little more than mad and leaves Ezekeal with the delusional man as she "goes and check her stock for something cheaper."  After leaving him there for several minutes with the delusional man, the woman comes back and offers Ezekeal a large knife with a rather wide blade, Ezekeal finally talks the woman in lowering the price of the original knife, but then the woman admits that her shop has nothing of fighting quality because it was a tourist shop.

Despite a good night's rest, a bad morning wake up can ruin a morning.  This is the case for Dieter Wagner who woke up this morning by the sounds of the Authority Sirens.  Dieter, being a naturally curious man and a private investigator, cannot resist the temptation of seeing what is happening at the Night Lamp Airship and Auto Factory.  As he crosses the graveyard, which just happens right next to his neighborhood, he passes a freshly dug grave where the head stone only contains the current date.  Thinking nothing of it, Dater goes toward the ever-growing buildings in the background.

Down south, a strange contraption containing Professor Augustus Biere and his gorilla companion, Igor Xavier, crawls down the road.  Despite hearing the noise of the Authority, which August figures as just a domestic dispute, they head into town.  The good professor is in town for the Gran Exhibition, which part of his extended family will be watching with him, but also for another reason.  For months, a pigeon has been a courier to messages which have been containing secret messages which have been containing of names and descriptions of machines which either Augustus has never heard of or only has read in theoretical papers.  The last one the professor has gotten the message was, "MEET ME AT THE NIGHT LAMP.  ASK FOR ROLLIN BILLINGS."  Though, instead of plunging straight into adventure to see this Bliings chap, the Professor decides to establish a base of operations at a cushy inn.