[bakuinvestigations]

I reread the initial setup post twice to figure out what was meant.

I took it that the Crow was the leader (the one with a short sword) and that s/he/it was dropped by Vindariel first.

I don’t know if the NCO was crafted or part of the squad in the first place.

Of course, I could be completely wrong on my assessment.

[bakuinvestigations]

Going into the second round:

Reaver Initiative Roll: 1d6+13: 16 [1d6=3]

And Mercy requested I roll for Sian:
Sian Initiative Roll: 2d6+15: 19 [2d6=2, 2]

[bakuinvestigations]

Thursday, March 25, 2077; 13:07
Av de St Julien, Marseilles; Lany, Baku, Marcel, Iliena, Christine, Keiko & Mirai

All of the wives had gathered into Lany’s small flat. It was getting smaller by the minute as it was filled with four women, two girls, and two men with Domashi on his way to make three. Less than half an hour before, all the wives and Mirai were having a very nice lunch. After such a tense morning, they felt refreshed to be out and just enjoying each others company. Lany had also gotten great relief from a call she received from Marcel informing her that the homeless violin girl was awake, and that he had the doctor from downstairs coming up to check on her. Iliena had tried calling Domashi, but the call went to voice message. He only just received it and is on his way to meet the other man that Lany cares for. He was not looking forward to this. His greatest weakness is going to be right in front of him, and he will need to confront it. He tried to prepare himself for the sharing of his wives. It was only fair, after all. They allowed him to roam free, he should be able to do the same. For the life of him, he just couldn’t come to terms with the concept in only four days.

Despite feeling both excited and nervous about the meeting, Lany’s mind is elsewhere. She skips the awkward silence and immediately goes to Marcel, giving him a brief hug. She breaks away quickly and starts hastily. ”Thank you for staying Marcel, how is the lass? Is she still awake?” Her eyes are scanning the room as she speaks.

Marcel smiles down at Lany. ”You can relax. She is good, the doctor is in your room now completing his examination. She said her name is Alix.” He adds the last in so that she can finally quit beating herself up for not knowing.

A wave of relief comes over Lany as she hears she is doing well, enhanced in no small way by not having to call her girl or lass anymore. Her first instinct was to race to her bedroom, but she didn’t want to leave Marcel standing there with the family without any introduction. ”Thank bloody Christ…”

Keiko gives a quick look over to where Lany is, but something about the way the woman is standing resonates with Keiko as a cry from a mother and she simply cannot condemn something that she would likely say in her place if Mirai was the injured girl. She just takes Mirai’s hand and walks quietly to the small kitchen. A slight gasp can be heard from the kitchen and Keiko tugs Mirai right back out to the living room, this time giving Lany’s back a good glare.

Lany continues, ”Marcel, these are my partners, they work for an investigation agency I’m stayin on with here in Marseilles.” She looks back at them with a little smile. Without even thinking, she starts heading for the bedroom to check on Alix. ”I’ll be right back.” Lany says over her shoulder.

Marcel watches Sam walk away from him with a small smile and an obvious twinkle in his eyes. Then he turns to the group. ”Hello, I am Marcel. Nice to meet you all.”

Iliena steps forward with a hand out. ”Hello, Marcel. It is nice to meet you. My name is Iliena. This beautiful woman next to me is Christine.” Christine shakes Marcel’s hand and nods before stepping back so Iliena can continue. ”And this beautiful woman is Keiko, The extremely bright child is her daughter, Mirai. Our male partner is out for a bit, but it is hoped that he will join us. His name is Dominik. We are sorry for barging in like this, but we were with Sam when she got your call and she drug us along.”

Marcel smiles lightly. ”Well, this is her place. If she brought you here, I can not complain. Nice to meet you Iliena, and you Christine. Keiko, and very nice to meet you Mirai.” He leans forward a bit when speaking to Mirai.

Mirai looks up with a shy grin and shakes Marcel’s hand when he offers it then goes back to standing behind her mother, The women smile at her then look back up at Marcel and watch him. Iliena makes a soft cough in her throat. ”We understand that you are a policeman, Marcel. Do you enjoy your job?”

Marcel shifts a tiny bit. ”Yes. For the most part. As with most jobs, there are good points and bad points. I imagine Investigations will be very similar in that regard?”

As the group converses in the other room, Lany is relieved to see the girl awake and smiling, the kind Doctor Gottellard just having shared a joke with her. Pausing a moment to let them finish, she then steps over to the bed. As she approaches, Alix looks up at her with recognition in her eyes, remembering the pretty red haired girl who had put money in her case so many times. Lany places a hand on Alix’s shoulder, speaking softly in French ”Alix, I am so relieved you are awake. My name’s Sam… but you can call me Lany. How are you feeling?” She hopes she isn’t overwhelming the poor girl.

The doctor looks up and smiles as he begins disconnecting the med kit leads from Alix. ”She is very lucky, Alix is. It looks like the hits to her head did not leave any lasting effects, but I would still like to see her watched. I have contacted a friend at Bleu Mont, the charity hospital, and they have said she can have a bed there if you prefer that solution. She is still going to need some care for a few days, at least until the worst of the bruises and cuts begin to heal. Should I make the call to have them come get her?”

Lany has to stop an offended look from coming to her face, and simply shakes her head. ”Thank you, Doctor Gottellard, but that will not be necessary. I will make sure she is taken care of.” She states in a determined voice.

The young girl in the bed has been following the conversation and had frowned at the thought of going off to the hospital. She, like most orphaned kids on the street, has heard the rumors of Bleu Mont and they are not nice rumors. She barely hears Lany’s words but they light up her face. The doctor looks from Alix to Lany and nods while shrugging his shoulders. ”Well, I can see that the answer is a no. Very well, as long as you can promise that she gets fed and takes some pain meds and anti-inflammatories, I can see to leaving her in your care. I think my work here is done for now. You know where to find me if something changes. Here is a scrip for the meds. See that it gets filled and used properly.” He stands and hands Lany a slip of paper, gives Alix one last look, and leaves the room.

Seeing Alix’s face light up energizes Lany, and after the doctor leaves she looks down at her with a grin. ”I suppose we should follow the good Doctor’s orders. Let me fix you something to eat.” She suggests, seeing the girl brighten at the notion of a meal. She hadn’t eaten in over a day. Alix smiles and nods. She is very hungry and cannot hide that. Not forcing the girl to reply, Lany simply brushes a finger down the girl’s cheek and gives her a wink before heading out to the living room on her way to the kitchen.

When Lany emerges from the bedroom, she catches sight of Doctor Gottelard leaving and five sets of eyes swivel to look at her, pinning her in her tracks. Marcel breaks the silence first, ”The doctor said you have decided to keep Alix here? Hmmm, I am not sure that we have anything suitable here for a sick girl. We may need to get some food in.”

Surprised by Marcel’s honest assessment, Lany takes a moment to think before responding. ”Aye, we should get Alix somethin to eat. I know I don’t have much here. I… I just didn’t want to send her away. Nobody is going to be there to pick her up from that hospital.” Lany looks down before adding, ”The poor lass looked afraid of the place. She’s been through enough already.” Lany ends with a somewhat emboldened tone.

Christine nods and steps forward a bit. ”Based on what the doctor told us as he left, I can order some food for you and her. We can probably have something here in less than twenty minutes. Is that alright with you?”

Giving Christine a thankful look, Lany’s demeanor softens considerably. ”Aye, of course it is. Thank you for offerin…” She stands there a moment confused, unsure if they wanted her to continue.

Iliena comes over to Lany and touches her arm. ”You look a bit drained dear. Why don’t you sit down for a bit? You have friends here to help.” She looks over to Marcel. ”Why don’t you come into the kitchen with me, Marcel, and tell me all about yourself.” She moves to his side and takes a hand in one of hers and leads him into the kitchen, followed by Christine and Keiko, who instructs Mirai to wait near Lany for a bit.

Following Iliena’s advice, Lany sighs and plops down on the couch rather heavily. She had really got worked up fast by Marcel’s unexpected lecture, and was working to keep herself from escalating things further. She gives the others a weak smile as they proceed into her kitchen, quite embarrassed that everyone had found out just how devoid of food it really was. As she sits there alone, she feels a little tug on her leg and looks down to see Mirai looking up at her with a smile. As she looks at Domashi’s beautiful daughter, her mind instantly clears, all the worry and shame plaguing her now gone. Lany gives the girl a warm grin, and leans in towards her to whisper ”And just what can I do for you?” She said in an almost silly voice she hadn’t planned on using. Mirai lights up as she hears Lany, then covers her eyes playfully, peeking through her fingers to watch the reaction. Lany glances at the empty space on the couch beside her and scoops Mirai onto it quickly. Surprised by the move, Mirai lets out a laugh as she lands. The two begin to talk, and Lany remembers a game from her childhood. She has Mirai hold out her hands and places her own under them, showing her to pull them away before Lany could tap the tops. Thereafter, a steady stream of giggling can be heard from the couch.

The next twenty minutes pass with Marcel getting what amounts to a friendly third degree from three very interested sister wives. Although polite, there is no doubt in Marcel’s mind that he is being grilled, but he can also tell that the questioning is well intentioned. Still, he considers himself saved by the bell when first the food arrives, followed almost immediately by Domashi’s arrival.

Domashi comes in to a scene he hadn’t expected. At first glance, all he sees is Lany and Mirai playing on the couch together. There was no one else about. ”Hello ladies. Where is everyone else?” Mirai points to the kitchen, and goes back to playing with Lany. ”Thank you Mirai.” He smiles to his daughter, and wonders if she knows it is him. Letting that mildly depressing thought float away, Domashi looks to Lany. He decides to let her be for the moment, as she seems totally taken by playing with Mirai. With a sigh, he heads to the kitchen. At least there is the smell of food.

The small kitchen is crowded with three women, a man, and a youngster in the uniform shirt of a food delivery service. At Domashi’s entrance, Iliena turns from where Christine is slotting a stick for the food trays stacked on the table and comes to him. ”I am glad that you got the message, Dominik. It is quite crowded in here let’s go back out to the living room so you can meet Marcel.” As she stands next to her husband, she motions for Marcel to come over.

Domashi sees a tall, trim young man leave the kitchen and walk his way. The man is eyeing him up and down, as if trying to get the measure of him. Marcel holds out a hand, offering a firm handshake. ”Hello, sir. You must be Dominik. I am Marcel, a friend of Sam’s. It is nice to meet you.”

“Great…” Domashi bemoans the confrontation before trying his best to imagine Iliena, Christine, Keiko, any one naked in order to help sell the smile he gives Marcel. ”Hello Marcel, it is nice to meet you too.” He pauses, as the only other words that come to his mind are to tell Marcel to leave.

Marcel grins as he releases Baku’s hand. ”I have heard a great deal about you in a few minutes, sir. I wish to thank you for befriending Sam. It seems that she has far more friends than I had imagined, actually.’

Domashi is stunned throughout the time Marcel speaks. He wasn’t expecting anything like that to be said. ”You are welcome Marcel. Fortunately, Sam fit right in with us. I had not counted on that when I first offered her a position with us. We are all very fortunate to know her.” “This is getting kind of awkward. Gotta go through with it, though.” He has to admit to himself that Marcel isn’t nearly as dislikeable as he had hoped.

Keiko calls out, ”Hey, you three, move away from the door so this nice young man can leave.” As the three in the doorway move aside, the delivery man smiles at them and walks out of the kitchen and the flat. Keiko follows him into the living room, carrying a tray of rather aromatic food towards the bedroom. ”Back after I give Alix some food.” Lany finally looks up from playing with Mirai, and sees Keiko moving toward the bedroom with the tray and jumps up quickly. ”I should help.” Lany states. Mirai tugs on Lany’s leg again, as Lany rises. When Keiko gives the two of them an approving nod, Lany takes the girl’s hand and leads her along after her mother.

Marcel watches Lany stride to her bedroom, and rubs his chest gingerly. He then motions Domashi over to the side of the room away from any of the women and walks that way, waiting for him to follow.

With only a slight pause, Domashi follows Marcel even though he would rather be following any other person here. As he approaches Marcel, he asks with raised eyebrows. ”Alix? Is that the girl?”

Marcel nods and grins. ”Apparently so. Or so she says it is, anyway. I spoke to her for a few minutes before the doctor kicked me out of the bedroom. Poor kid has no family. Been an orphan on her own for several years. She thinks she is maybe eleven, maybe twelve, although I think her lack of nourishment makes her look younger.” He makes a general wave towards the women. ”Rather formidable, aren’t they?”

It takes Domashi a few moments that feel like minutes to figure out just what Marcel might be getting at. ”They certainly can be. I almost wish I could blame it on Sam’s influence, but they were all formidable before we even had the chance to get to know her.” He looks Marcel over quickly. ”You do not seem to be too badly wounded from your time with them.” He looks back to the bedroom, if for no other reason than to signal a topic change, then he looks back to Marcel. ”Sam said the girl was attacked? That sounds particularly vile. Why would anyone attack a homeless orphan?”

Marcel frowns as he nods his head. ”I would agree, sir. Particularly vile, indeed.” Domashi can see Marcel tense and his hands come together as if cracking something. ”To hear Sam tell it, three thugs were after her for some sort of cut of the money she was earning in the subway by playing her violin. I have heard her a number of times as I walked past the Metro entrance. She is particularly good, in my limited opinion. Anyway, even Sam does not know what happened, but apparently the thugs beat Alix up and left her to die behind some old vending machines. You should see her poor little body…..all covered with bruises where they punched and kicked her. She asked about her violin and was heartbroken to find out it had been smashed.”

With someone to hate finally, Domashi finally starts to feel more relaxed. ”She was left to die!?” Domashi lowers his voice to a harsh whisper after that outburst catches the attention of Christine. ”Seriously? That is fu… “ Even though he is whispering, Domashi has no interest in drawing the ire of Keiko right now. ”Fragged up. Sam didn’t mention anything like that. I get your point about the violin, but at that point it is just an object. The least of the horrible ordeals.”

Marcel nods. ”I can certainly agree with you on that, but neither of us are an eleven or twelve year old orphan who relied on that object to make any money at all. To her, it was far more than an object….it was her livelihood. Anyway, I have reported the incident to my superiors and they have promised to send a detective out tomorrow to look at the scene and see what he can find out. Sam indicated there was one man, a janitor I believe, who saw the three men. If he can talk, we might be able to get some justice for Alix.”

Domashi relishes a spiteful little moment as he considers telling Marcel that he will just buy Alix another violin. Then the thought of telling Lany he would do everything he could to keep his insecurities from affecting his judgement barged into his mind. With a sigh, Domashi nods. ”I have not had the opportunity to work with any of Marseilles’ detectives. Are they good?”

Marcel considers the question then shrugs. ”I will not lie to you, sir. There are some good and some bad detectives here, just like in any large city sprawl. I like to think that the overall quality is good, except…………….” It seems like he is about to say more but he shakes his head. ”I suppose that you have a lot of experience working with detectives in your line of work? Where were you before Marseilles?”

Domashi waves a hand absently. ”You do not have to keep calling me ‘sir.’ Thank you, though. I was working out of Paris before I came here. It is kind of unfortunate that we are not in Paris, as I could have some pull with the detectives there. Well, the Chief Inspector has the pull, I can just prod her a bit.”

Marcel turns to look at Domashi, an impressed expression on his face. ”Paris? The Chief Inspector? I am impressed…Dominik. May I ask why you left Paris for Marseilles?”

For just a moment Domashi fidgets as the conversation turns a bit more personal. ”It was for a case, a job. Then I met what would end up being quite the team, and it seems Marseilles will be our new location. Well, that sounds like I stumbled on all of them here. I knew a couple from Paris and elsewhere. Christine and Sam I met here.”

”And the other two, if it is not too impertinent to ask?”

Domashi squints at Marcel. ”That could be considered too impertinent, but under the circumstances I will allow it. Iliena, I know from Paris. Keiko and I grew up together. If you must watch out for one, watch out for her. She is possibly the strongest of the bunch. Sam could be, though.”

Marcel nods towards the bedroom. ”Keiko? I can see that, it could be the mother in her that makes her so strong. But I will tell you that Iliena is the one I might be most concerned about. I have seen her type before, or at least what I think her type is. If I were to guess, I would say that her accent is probably Romany. If so and if she is a Gypsy, she could be the most explosive one here. Someone like that would be a good ally so I would say that you are fortunate to have her on your side.”

Domashi smiles and looks to Iliena. ”You are quite correct. I am very fortunate.” After a moment of reflection, he turns back to Marcel. ”Now. What of you? Aside from capturing the attention of Sam, what do I need to be asking you about?” He does give Marcel a little grin.

Marcel gives Domashi a straight look. ”I am a policeman, Dominik. Not much more to tell, actually. My father was a policeman, but he is dead, along with my mother, murdered by gangsters. My sister is married to an Italian and they own a cafe not too far from here. They have two great kids. There are some other relatives scattered about here and there. My mother was Moroccan so most of her part of the family is over there. I hope to make detective some day, but am not senior enough yet to take the exams. I live about two blocks from here and I happen to like Sam very much. What else do you want to know?”

As Marcel goes straight into his life story, Domashi remembers he wanted to study his aura. He shifts to his Spirit Sight and watches it stay steady the whole time. Not a single fluctuation. His emotional state remained even, showing no sign of deception. Domashi did not count the fluctuation of several understandable emotions at the mention of his murdered parents. ”I’ll be fragged. An actual honest man. How do you do it?” He can’t help but smile to Marcel.

Marcel laughs and grins at Domashi. ”Up until now, I might only have been able to tell you that I was following the sort of path my father taught me, but now I think that might only be part of the answer. Now, it might sound a bit crazy, but something about Sam and what she might think of me if I was dishonest. Lies will always come out in the long run, and it is just not worth it to risk losing her……………..friendship over. Does that make sense? If not, it is the only answer I have for now.”

Domashi smiles at the pause in Marcel’s speech. ”I think I might have detected a little lack of honesty there. That is okay. I can keep that between us. And yes, it does make sense. Sam does seem to have the ability to change those around her, and I have only seen for the better.”

Marcel smiles at Baku. ”Thanks. Yes, I have only known her a few days, actually. I walk the beat past this place and she has had a schedule where she is sitting at the cafe downstairs almost every day at the same time every morning. She drinks what appears to be the same caf, although sometimes she has a muffin of some kind. I would smile at her and she would nod her head in response. Never said a word to each other until Monday just past. Now, I have taken her to meet my family and they are telling me I would be foolish to let her get away and they might be right. Unfortunately, as a mere policeman, I have not the resources to even begin to think of supporting her, so that is that for now.” Iliena turns to look at the men and Marcel shivers just a bit. ”Now, to be honest, that one, Iliena, she is…………….different. I am pretty sure that she is Gypsy, as I said earlier, but her eyes are just something. Like they know everything about me already and we have barely spoken any words together. Dominik, you have managed to surround yourself with some amazing women.”

In spite of his best efforts to hate the man, Domashi finds himself liking Marcel. He even has the unspeakable urge to give him advice on Lany. ”You are right, but I think they have surrounded me. I am not so sure I played much part in it. I can offer you a suggestion, though. As far as Sam goes, do not concern yourself with supporting her financially so much. As you can see, she doesn’t really live in the clouds, and I am pretty sure she is the type that wants to support herself. Beyond that, you are on your own.” He turns to look back at Iliena, with a little thought of thanks for unsettling Marcel. Domashi hasn’t fully gotten over him taking some of Lany’s affection from him.

Marcel chuckles and motions to the room. ”You are so right about her, Dominik. I will tell you that you probably do not want to go look in her fridge. I am not sure what she does for food, but it certainly is not stored in the flat.”

Christine gets up from off the couch and says softly to Iliena as she passes. ”I need to look. It has been too quiet in there.” She softly raps on the bedroom door, and opens it as quietly as she can before sticking her head in to see how everyone is.

The scene inside the bedroom is quiet as Christine opens the door. She can see Keiko standing near it watching the scene with an astonished look on her face. Alix is laying in the bed with her tray spotless on the nightstand. She has a Neil the Ork Barbarian action figure in her hand, and so does Mirai, kneeling on the bed towards the foot. They both have an odd look of anticipation in their eyes as Lany suddenly leaps into view from behind the bed with a large red dragon in her hands, ”I have come for you!” she shouts, then repeats the phrase in French so Alix can follow too. The girls nearly scream in excitement before composing themselves and presenting their warriors to do battle with the foul creature that had come to destroy their tribal lands. Christine watches the heroic struggle play out in silence, having a hard time believing that it was Lany, a deadly, corp-built assassin, she was seeing. As the action finally dies down, Lany looks up and sees Christine, suddenly feeling self conscious. ”Oh Chris… Were we makin too much racket? I hope we didn’t disturb anyone.” Lany was surprised by her words, she rarely cared if she disturbed anyone.

Christine smiles and shakes her head softly. ”No, actually. You guys were being too quiet.” She nods to Lany and to Keiko, and slips back out of the room.

Seeing her window, Lany immediately goes back and scoops up her figure. ”The dragon has returned!” Alix and Mirai burst into a cry similar to before, and the battle begins anew.

Out in the living room, Marcel’s ‘link announces that he has a text. He frowns as he takes it from a pocket. ”That’s my office tone. I am on vacation.” He looks at the screen then lifts his face to Domashi. ”I guess I really need to take this. Excuse me, please.” Marcel begins tapping onto the pad as he moves off to the kitchen.

Domashi was about to tell him to go ahead, but Marcel wouldn’t have heard him anyway. So, instead he walks over to Iliena and Christine sitting on the couch. He looks down at them with a small smile. ”I do not see any monsters here, unfortunately. I may have been over reacting to this.”

Iliena reaches up and puts a hand on Domashi’s. ”We may all have been a bit hasty in judging him. Perhaps he is not trying to steal Lany away from us, but merely loves her like we do. Remember, my dear, that love is infinite. If Lany loves us, she can still love another. Perhaps we ought to begin looking at increasing the size of the family instead of worrying about losing one of us.”

Domashi feels his heart lurch at that idea, and takes a deep breath. ”Perhaps. I do not feel I am ready yet. Then again, I felt that there was a great challenge here for me, and so far it has been small. I trust your words, but I do not feel them myself.”

Christine stands and slips her arms around Domashi. ”And that is just one reason we love you so much. You have enough love in you to share among several wives. Do you love one of us any less than another of us? Can you see yourself loving even another wife? Or more? Marcel seems to be a nice guy and he might be a good fit. It is a bit early to tell yet, though, but we should at least see what he is made of, eh?”

Domashi enjoys Christine’s embrace while letting her talk. ”Now that I realize I can’t hate the man, my biggest fear is that he isn’t strong enough for all of this. I would never make Lany choose between him or us… But what if he does? How would Lany take that from Marcel, and how hard will it be to pick up those pieces?”

Iliena opens her mouth to try to reply but is interrupted by Marcel coming back into the room from the kitchen. A child could see that he is visibly upset, but he quickly brings his emotions under control as he looks around at the others in the room. ”That was the precinct. I am being called in and my vacation postponed. I….I might not be available for a few days. Do you think it would be alright to interrupt Sam while she is in there?”

Domashi nods to Marcel. In spite of his reservations on nearly every aspect of the idea of Lany seeing this man, someone needed to give her a chance to speak to him before he left. ”I’ll do that. Should things go sideways, I’ll take that on.” He smiles with genuine mirth at Marcel. He then looks to Christine and Iliena for a bit of strength before heading to the bedroom door. He knocks twice, and after a three count opens the door. ”Sorry to break this up, but Marcel has been called back to work. He also thinks he might not be available for a few days, and I thought you should at least get the chance to speak to him, Sam.”

Pulled out of her engrossed state, Lany looks up in disappointment. It is only deepened as she realizes the totality of Domashi’s words. ”He is? I suppose I should thank him for tryin.” Lany replies somberly. Laying her dragon down on the bed with the girls, she gives them a wink before proceeding out into the living room. As she enters, she notices the discomfort in Marcel’s expression and approaches him in concern. ”They called you in? What the hell for? Is everything alright?” She asks in a flurry.

Marcel takes a step back as Lany approaches and raises his hands. ”Hold on. Please let me answer one question before you rush on to the next. All they would tell me is that it appears to be some irregularities at the precinct that need to be looked into and an internal audit has been called. It could take anywhere from two to four or five days, depending on what they find or don’t find. I will keep you as informed as I can, Sam, but it is very likely that the entire precinct will be locked down for this and officers brought in from elsewhere to cover our beats.” He looks around at the others, now, then back to Lany. ”But it does raise the issue of taking care of Alix, Sam. I was going to be able to help do that for a week or so while on vacation, but now………? Would you like me to see if my sister could look after her? I know that they have the room and they would take good care of her until the audit is over.”

Lany’s whole demeanor seems to drop at the mention of Alix going away. ”To Margaritte? But, shouldn’t I be the one who looks after her? I brought her here, I guess I feel responsible for the lass.” Lany states in a soft tone.

Marcel nods slowly and speaks just as softly. ”And if she comes to wake you in the middle of the night?”

The memory from that morning cut Lany like a knife. What if the girl had a nightmare and came to her for help. She’d likely kill the girl if she punched her anywhere near as hard as she had hit Marcel. She starts biting her lower lip, trying her best to keep from going to tears. ”You’re right, she cannae stay here. It’s not safe..” She says, feeling defeated.

Marcel steps up and embraces Lany. ”Sam, it will be alright. We will get past that and figure out what to do about it, trust me. I can make the call to my sister and see if she will do this for us.” He looks up and tries to lock eyes with Domashi. ”It seems that Sam has some issues from her past that do not let her sleep well and she reacts………….poorly to being wakened. And she can pack a powerful punch. She is concerned, we are concerned, about that………..” His words just break off.

Domashi nods and sympathizes with his opponent. ”I can understand that. We can help you look out for her. Please, ask your sister if she can help. Make sure to thank her for even considering it from all of us, and if she can not for any reason… I can promise you that we will find a solution to this. Do you have time to talk to us? Or are you needed back right away?”

Marcel nods his head. ”No, I have time to talk for a bit. I do not need to be at the precinct for a couple of hours yet and it is close. I will need to go by my place to change into a uniform and get some things together to take with me. And I need to talk to my sister. Can you give me a few minutes?”

”Of course, do what you need to do.” It wasn’t until this moment that Domashi realized that he had been watching Marcel hug Lany for a minute or two. He can’t help being shocked at how little it bothered him.

Marcel smiles at Domashi and nods his head as he steps away from Lany and brings out his ‘link. A quick conversation later and all is arranged. ”Sam can take Alix to the cafe when she is ready. They are expecting her and will have a room prepared. I told her that it would only be for a few days. Dominik, will you help Sam get Alix over there?”

Domashi nods. ”I will. And if I should need any backup, I have plenty here.” He waves his arm around the room indicating all of the women here. ”I had meant to discuss things at a slower pace, but I do not have that luxury. There was a reason we were all coming here before Sam had even received the good news about Alix. She is concerned about you, and she says that you might be in trouble at work. Do you have any legal council you can refer to? Is there any chance this could be targeted at you? Am I way too paranoid from dealing with the people who usually ask for my services?” He quickly smirks to cover up the fact that he may have just overstepped some boundaries with Lany.

Marcel gives Lany a look then lifts his head to scan the rest. ”I appreciate your concern, and it may well be valid. I have been asking some hard questions about some supposedly dead cases that have involved certain undesirable elements. I have also alienated some of my colleagues by not participating in the normal activity of taking money from the shop keepers on my beat. I know my partner is very disappointed. There have been some anonymous notes reminding me of what happened to my parents. There is dirt at the precinct but I cannot find it. This audit could be part of that, if that is what you are asking.”

”Is there anyway you could, or even would, avoid this audit? I had planned on offering to set you up with a hotel room for a few days, if only to assure Sam that you were safe. I can still do that, if you can avoid going in.” Domashi will wonder where this concern all came from when he has a chance to think about it later.

Approaching Marcel, Lany takes his hand in hers and looks up into his eyes. ”I told them because I was worried about you. I promised I wasn’t goin to let anythin happen to you. They… we want to help. Please, let us watch your back for awhile.”

Marcel looks down into Lany’s eyes then back to Domashi’s as he gently shakes his head. ”Thank you very much for the offer, Dominik. Thank all of you. It means a lot that you would all think of this when you do not even know me. But, Sam, I cannot just run off and let them win like this. That is not the man I am. It may get to the point some day that I need to stop being a policeman, but if that happens, I will quit and hold my head up, knowing that I tried. Who knows? If it does not cost too much, maybe I could hire all of you to look into some of these cases that the police seem unable to solve. But I cannot really just not go in for this audit, no matter how it might be a set up.” He looks directly at Domashi. ”I think that you really understand, don’t you?”

”I do. Ever since I declared you an actual honest man, I knew you would not avoid this. I had to offer though.” Domashi looks to Iliena and Christine. ”I think we might want to go down to the cafe, and give them some time. Can I buy you two anything?” He smiles to them both and offers his hands to them to assist them up.

Marcel shakes his head but gives Domashi a nod of thanks. Keiko nods as well and motions to Iliena to come with her as she heads off to the bedroom to get Mirai and Alix. There are some words of disappointment heard as the girls are told that the game is over but soon enough Iliena comes out by herself. ”Keiko and I refuse to let that poor child out of here in the rags she wore. I think that we need to find some clothes for her. There is a Stuffer Shack just down the block so I will go get some flats or something to at least get her to where she will be staying. No problems with that, I trust?” Looking around she sees only nods of approval and she smiles at everyone before leaving the apartment.

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[bakuinvestigations]

Color code test post:

Seagreen
Forestgreen
Lightgreen
Darkseagreen

Cadetblue

[bakuinvestigations]

No problem. I have already edited in the single word needed to fix everything.

Play on.

[bakuinvestigations]

How does Vindarial get half a dozen spears?

There are 12 praetorians, Sian has 3, Reaver has 4, Kayton has 2. Where do the extra spears come from?

[bakuinvestigations]

I will admit that I am going off of memory. And that my memory is not nearly as iron clad as it used to be.

I am fairly certain that Theran Slavers are the primary bad guys for PCs from the core Earthdawn Book. And I am fairly certain that Thera is the Human empire. Thoal is Dwarven, and the Woods are Elven.

EDITed to add: Not necessarily the best source, but I found this with a quick search.

“Wait, there’s more. The humans run the Theran Empire, they use blood magic, they enslave other races, and they make war in flying castles.”

[bakuinvestigations]

The races are more balanced, but Thera is a Human empire. With non-humans often being slaves, not trusted soldiers.

I always thought it odd that the Human empire is the birth of the Elven language…

[bakuinvestigations]

Yes, it is Physical.

As Obidancer pointed out about Counterpelling, she can even avoid that 1 box too.

[bakuinvestigations]

Sian’s Willpower roll: 7d6t5: 5 [7d6t5=6, 2, 5, 6, 1, 6, 6]

I would not spend an Edge in this case, but since you requested the roll:
Willpower Reroll: 2d6t5: 0 [2d6t5=4, 2]

5 hits total, at worst 1 damage.

[bakuinvestigations]

The only other PC that means anything to Reaver is Sian, and he doesn’t believe she is human.

That is kind of harsh, I know. But none of the guys have done anything to endear themselves to him at all.
In this case it works out, as the men aren’t affected.

With Sian, the logical side of my brain tells me she isn’t human any more. With the virus changing her biology enough to change what she needs to eat, that tells me that her DNA has changed enough to make her different as far as the spell goes.
Kind of like how Chimpanzees are not human, despite the tremendous similarity in DNA.

With that, the rational side of my brain tells me that Game Balance™ does not always follow logic. 😛

[bakuinvestigations]

For reference Street Grimoire pg 104:

“These are variations of the Death Touch, Manabolt,
and Manaball spells (p. 284, SR5). They’re specialized,
designed to target a particular species or metaType:
One Less Naga, Slay Ork, Slaughter Dwarfs, and so on.
The target of each spell is designated by the spell for-
mula. These spells only discriminate based on biological
species, not social status or any other quality.
One Less requires the caster to touch the target. Slay
affects a single target. Slaughter is an area effect spell.”

[bakuinvestigations]

Reaver
Morning, August 10, 3113 BC; Waterfront, The Great Island of Thera, Theran Sea

Zaor’s heightened battle senses watch everything as it unfolds, almost in slow motion. Even as the soldier in front of him stumbles backwards in shock, Zaor notices Kayton leap forward and stun a man with a touch while three guards approach Sian. Two foolishly lower their spears as they come up to her, allowing the woman to step inside the effective range of their weapons and strike at one. Sian’s hand moves almost too fast to follow and one of the soldiers clutches his throat in a vain attempt to stem the flow of arterial blood from a wound that stretches across his neck. The second soldier is unable to bring his spear to bear, but the third man roars out as he stabs forward, piercing the side of the woman. Strangely enough, the woman seems not to notice, almost as if on one of those drugs that allows one to ignore pain.

Their deceased leader having recklessly given them orders to seize the band, four of the remaining soldiers try to capture the cloaked Elf, with three doing the same for the self titled Nine Killer. The cloaked Elf was about to offer them to surrender once more, until one of the Praetorians stabbed the charming Sian.

”That was the last mistake any of you will ever make.” His voice is cool and calm, although the Red Haze around him swirls and pulses angrily. He quickly shapes it into a tight ball and forces it to explode in the rough center of all of the soldiers. Fortunately, Sian had listened to him and had her humans retreat to spare them this pain.

As the wave of red tinged Mana spreads out to about twenty meters in diameter, all of the human soldiers are wracked in pain. Their very cells burst and decay, very much like their flesh was dying on their bones. A couple of the toughest manage to stay on their feet despite the agony, but many of the rest drop to their knees and a few of the weakest fall down screaming.

Spoiler:

All rolls are detailed in this post.

44

[bakuinvestigations]

Mercy and I are combining our posts into one, since they are kind of short separately.

For Reavers part:

Casting a Force 8 or 9 Slaughter Humans.
Casting Roll: 11d6t5: 5 [11d6t5=6, 6, 5, 6, 4, 3, 3, 3, 4, 2, 6]
Spend an Edge to reroll misses.
Casting reroll: 6d6t5: 1 [6d6t5=1, 2, 4, 2, 6, 4]
6 hits total. Resisted with Willpower only. All Praetorians affected.
Using all the Blood Points from the Rupture spell to reduce Drain to 0.
No Drain.

That has about 5 down in my book, and the rest are at least -1 die pool.

[bakuinvestigations]

And now the editing is done, now that this post is updated.

[bakuinvestigations]

If any have been following the Marseilles Madness IC thread, there have been some changes to this post to reflect the characters and situations better.

There will be another light edit coming up as the posts after are adjusted a bit to fit better.

[bakuinvestigations]

Reaver
Morning, August 10, 3113 BC; Waterfront, The Great Island of Thera, Theran Sea

As the leader croaks to seize them, the cloaked Elf just smiles. “Worst idea you have ever had.”

He grabs the spear of the nearest Praetorian, and pulls him in closer. He places his palm to the soldier’s chest as blood gushes out of the warrior. The cloaked Elf grins wickedly as the Red Haze rises from the blood and is drawn about him.

”Thanks for bringing me more power. Now, I suggest you make your peace.” He gathers the Red Haze preparing to unleash more damage.

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Spoiler:

All rolls are in this post

[bakuinvestigations]

There are 12.

[bakuinvestigations]

Now that we have actually engaged in combat, perhaps we can get a few details?

How many are in a “squad” of Preatorians? In the US alone, squad refers from as little as 2 to up to 12.
Nevermind, I see it now.

I’ll be editing in my dice rolls here in a moment.

Initiative (13+1D6): 1d6: 6 [1d6=6] (19)

Casting a Force 10 Rupture to collect some Blood Points.

Casting Roll: 11d6t5: 3 [11d6t5=2, 5, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5, 2, 6, 4, 3]
Spend Edge to reroll misses
Casting Reroll: 8d6t5: 3 [8d6t5=5, 2, 2, 6, 1, 4, 2, 6]
6 hits total, Resisted by Body alone. Even with 2 or 3 hits, that would give Reaver 3 or 4 blood points for the next combat turn.
Drain is only 2
Drain Resit: 14d6t5: 3 [14d6t5=1, 5, 2, 3, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 3, 1, 1, 6, 1]
No Drain.

[bakuinvestigations]

Thursday, March 25, 2077; 13:09
Outside Une Table au Sud, Old Port, Marseilles; Baku

Margot says; ”I will send you a message tomorrow. Is that good?”

”Quite good, thank you Margot. I look forward to hearing from you, and don’t forget to tell me how much you need reimbursed for.” As they part ways, Domashi pulls out his commlink and dials his favorite dancer.

”Miss Bishara! Hello, this is Dominik Ripnu, your biggest fan. I was wondering if we could talk some business. I have some work for you.”

There is only a slight pause before she answers. Perhaps she is trying to recall the name. >>Dominik? Yes, I remember you quite well. Thank you for contacting me. I have been thinking that we may have parted on less than optimal relations and would like to see about changing that. But, you say work? In what capacity, Dominik? Dancing or decking?<<

Domashi smiles at the thought of improving relations with the sexy and talented Jasmine. ”Can’t it be both? No, that is not the best way to start. I am looking for some information gathering, of a sensitive matter. Do you have a less public way to talk?”

>>Hmmm. In person, maybe. I have a class at two for about an hour, maybe a bit more with some chatting as the women leave. Maybe after that or a bit?<<

”I like the idea, but I have an appointment to pick up a suit at three. If you feel like stepping out for a bit, I would not mind you joining me there. Otherwise, we can meet afterwards.” Domashi thinks about not getting more personal with Madeline, and decides he would not mind if it was to spend time with Jasmine.

>>Where is this place? I could come meet you there. What sort of a suit?<<

”The place is Vêtements à l’esprit, in the Rue de la Tour. It is a tux / formal suit for the charity gala tonight. The one with Meister Armond performing, if there are more than one.” “Too bad I can’t bring two dates for this job.” Domashi thinks as he imagines walking into a room with Lany on one arm, and Jasmine on the other.

>>The gala at the Hotel de Ville, the city center? Gregoir has invitations for that. He really likes that Armond guy for some reason. I was not going to go, but maybe I should rethink that decision. Are you going stag?<<

“The universe keeps throwing wishes my way…” Domashi lets out a light sigh. ”No, but I can go into greater detail when we meet at the store. I think you might be interested in going, for one reason or another.”

Domashi hears Jasmine laugh over the ‘link. >>OK, you have me interested. I will be at the shop as soon after my class as possible. If you finish before I get there, call me with a place to meet you.<<

“My room. For the rest of my life.” Domashi thinks as an answer to her request. ”I will do that, but I do not think you would miss the chance to poke fun at me during my final fitting.” He smiles at her image with a twinkling in his eyes.

Her voice seems to be a bit softer. >>Not sure I would be making fun of you, Dominik. I think we are a bit closer than that….at least I do hope that we are a bit closer than that.<<

”I have every intention of fulfilling your hopes, Jasmine. If you think we are closer than that, I know we are. I will see you around three-ish, and make sure to work up a sweet for me to wish I had observed the class.” “I must figure out who I owe for such favors.” Domashi vows to himself.

Another laugh and Jasmine closes the comm, leaving a slight gap in space where she had been just a moment ago.

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