20:15:14 <~Wellwick|GM> ...
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20:16:03 <~Wellwick|GM> ((Previously: https://pastebin.com/F5DwnhCb))
20:20:02 Machiavelli led his new followers through the streets, back to the bar where the kids were waiting. Towards the end of their journey, they spotted a block of flats where the highest floor was lit up on fire. People were scattered around the outside of the building, whooping and cheering, tossing glass bottles.
20:21:02 Some people were only huddling on the ground, giving the sense that at the very least, the people on in the inside had been evacuated. There weren't any panicked shouts, just people being angry, violent and taking it out on the city.
20:22:34 "Jesus," Robert said, taking in the sight, "I hope everyone got out of there okay." The fire certainly looked to be burning out. It was odd, the way it flickered in the same tone as the setting sun, how it would most likely burn itself out with the daylight.
20:23:36 "People have managed worse," Brandon said, more sombre than Machiavelli had heard him to this point.
20:23:52 They were only a few short streets from his temporary base.||
20:26:59 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli strode confidently, a step ahead of his two recruits. He quirked an eyebrow at the sight of the burning building, shaking his head a little. Destroying their own infrastructure for no gain other than a small relief. Barbaric.
20:28:49 Barbaric and worrisome. He'd have to put a stop to this at some point, but today he had bigger fish to fry. He nodded along with Brandon's words. "Remind me of this building after we're done for the night," he ordered. "I want to see if there's something that needs to be done."||
20:29:47 <~Wellwick|GM> Brandon responded with a softly spoken, "okay."
20:31:51 They passed along the shattered glass of the bar, and Machiavelli glanced inside, the five kids (including Marco) inside, chatting. They were sitting on the tables and bar, rather than the booth seats.
20:32:18 Brandon and Robert had yet to spot them, and he wondered briefly how he was going to play the introduction of the kids.||
20:32:38 ((I can go into detail about the 4 new kids if you want, either now or in the next post))
20:33:49 <Megiavelli> ((The one kid is called 'Milo', Well. Geez.))
20:34:04 <~Wellwick|GM> ((I'm clearly brain dead
20:34:18 ((Fricken Milo/Marco))
20:34:31 ((Sorry :S))
20:36:54 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli stopped just outside the bar and turned around to face his two new recruits. "Stop," he told them both. "Inside are my previous recruits. They are younger than you. I hope this will not be a problem." He made sure that in no way sounded like a plea.||
20:38:15 <~Wellwick|GM> Robert frowned while Brandon raised his eyebrows, performing a seesaw motion between their brows. Neither said anything, so Machiavelli stepped inside, which gained the attention of the children.
20:41:32 Machiavelli had met Milo's friends just the previous evening. He'd been excited to introduce all of them, especially an excitable kid called Pico, who seemed to be his best friend.
20:41:32 There was Lily who was one of the biggest and oldest of the group, as well as messy boy named Richie, who didn't seem to have bathed in weeks.
20:41:32 Emma rounded out their little group, and it often seemed like she was their leader, despite being small, a pixie like blonde, no more than 10 years old. She made up for it all with her bossiness, which Machiavelli had seen Milo turn into a much grumpier side of the girl, when he jokingly picked on her.
20:42:17 They'd been reasonably well behaved considering they didn't have much reason to trust Machiavelli.
20:46:07 "-because we're meant to share," Richie finished saying, just as the kids noticed their arrival. Milo slid off the bar when he spotted them coming in, a small white stick the remnants of a single piece of candy left on the counter.
20:46:07 "Hi," he said, a lot of brightness and childish spirit, with a sprinkling of exhaustion which was a symptom of the city. He smiled at Machiavelli.||
20:46:19 ((Sorry for the long post))
20:48:12 <Megiavelli> "Milo," Machiavelli greeted him with a respectful nod. "Is everything alright here? I picked up Brandon and Robert earlier tonight, and they will be assisting us."
20:49:04 He was most curious about how the two adults responded to seeing this. If they started shooting each other awkward glances, he'd have to do something about it.||
20:53:39 <~Wellwick|GM> "Everything's good," Milo said, which Emma frowned at a little, "sir."
20:53:39 At Milo's formalism, Pico let out a laugh, and a few of the other kids giggled. Machiavelli made sure to observe the two adults with him and while both seemed a little uncomfortable with the kids, neither outright said anything.
20:53:39 "Hi, everyone," Robert said, gaining the attention of the kids.
20:53:39 Emma skipped over to him and stuck out a hand. "Nice to meet you."
20:54:37 "We're going back tonight?" Milo asked. He looked a little worried, but not scared. He seemed to trust Machiavelli at the very least
20:54:41 ||
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20:55:54 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli nodded. "In a moment," he told Milo. "I have to talk to Brandon and Robert for just a moment."
20:56:51 He turned to face the two of them, his voice all business. "You have concerns," he said. "Speak. Best I address them now than when we're already at work."||
21:00:09 <~Wellwick|GM> "They're young," Robert said after shaking Emma's hand and watching her walk away. He kept his voice down so that the kids couldn't hear him. "It's not safe for me and Brandon to go down into those tunnels, so it's definitely not safe for the kids. You're going in there alone?"||
21:02:37 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli shook his head. "They are my eyes and ears. They know how to keep hidden, and their first priority is to ensure their own safety. They are safer around me than anywhere else in the city, as I am certain you've realised from the building we've just passed."
21:03:45 He sighed. "I assure you they will not come to harm, and should it actually come to a confrontation, I will be the only one facing down Sterro, with the rest of you evacuating."||
21:06:21 <~Wellwick|GM> "I- uh, okay, fine. As long as they are safe." Robert didn't look happy, but he wouldn't get in the way.
21:07:14 ((Roll me a wits))
21:07:43 <Megiavelli> $roll 1d6+1 Wits!
21:07:43 <[ATM]> Megiavelli "Wits!" [5] +1 = 6
21:09:57 <~Wellwick|GM> Pico had snuck up on the adults, creeping into one of the booths and used the tables for cover. When he jumped up and shouted "Boo!" both Brandon and Robert flinched back, Brandon yelping in surprise. Machiavelli had spotted him sneaking over, and managed to control the shock impulse, but he had to say that Pico's childish cackles seemed to be easing some of Robert's worries.||
21:12:36 <Megiavelli> Looking unflappable /was/ an important part of his appearance, so that worked out well. Not to mention that Pico's arrival was a wonderful opportunity.
21:13:13 "Pico, tell Robert and Brandon what we did last night." He was fairly certain that would assuage their worries entirely.||
21:17:26 <~Wellwick|GM> "Uhm, well Milo brought us here and we met up with you and then we went out to go in the tunnels but they were- there were lots of soldiers around and you said that it was not safe so we should all go home and we would try again tonight instead," Pico finished with a quiet, giant exhalation. His eyes buzzed with energy and he looked up at Machiavelli earnestly, like he was waiting for approval.||
21:20:51 <Megiavelli> "Thank you, Pico," Machiavelli responded, approvingly. "Tell Emma to get everyone together. We're leaving in a minute."
21:21:08 He turned towards the two men. "Satisfied?"||
21:21:26 <~Wellwick|GM> Pico smiled and nearly tripped over himself running back to the others.
21:22:16 "Hey, I'm fine with it," Brandon said, a slight smile on his face after the shock. Robert nodded at Machiavelli.||
21:25:43 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli nodded. "Good. If you see the children running away, you ensure their safety first, and your own second, am I clear?"||
21:27:49 <~Wellwick|GM> That seemed to put Robert much more at ease, even though Machiavelli was asking them to potentially put themselves in danger. "Of course."
21:28:48 Emma and Milo had led the rest of the kids over, and they were gathering up with the adults. Brandon traded names with the kids, and Robert followed suit.||
21:31:53 <Megiavelli> That would have to do. He was putting himself in a lot of danger at the moment, but his power currently made him the only one suited to an actual fight, and it was important to build up loyalty amongst his lieutenants, even outside of his power's hold. The last thing he needed was all his people turning on him the moment a power-nullifier entered the mix.
21:32:45 And later on, once he had more combat-capable lieutenants, he could focus on grander strategies, without having to put himself in the vanguard.
21:34:43 "Follow me," he said, as he headed outside, once again glad his costume covered his full body against the cold. "Children, spread out. Stay in my sight and tell me when you see any soldiers," he ordered. "Stay safe."||
21:39:21 <~Wellwick|GM> They made good progress through the mostly empty streets.
21:50:27 People were clearly playing it safe, doing their best to avoid the fighting and riots of earlier in the day. The kids stayed spread out, some out ahead, a couple at the back. Richie stayed nearby to Machiavelli, while Milo took the lead.
21:52:17 Pico chucked a snowball at one point which Lily responded to in kind, but it didn't escalate to a full blown fight. Brandon and Robert were quiet, seeming to take the thing a lot more serious with every passing minute. Maybe they were just conscious of the responsibility they had taken on, or maybe they were starting to realise they could be at home, on sofas and staying warm.||
21:53:56 <Megiavelli> It was good that they were taking this seriously, at least. If Machiavelli was going to keep the two of them on for a longer term, he would need them to be able to handle this kind of pressure.
21:54:29 Even if he was seriously considering letting them serve as handymen instead of field agents.
21:55:16 "Should you ever need to run," Machiavelli said, to the two of them, "regroup at the headquarters. If I don't join you after half an hour, go home."
21:55:32 He let that sink in for a moment. "Any questions, before we arrive?"||
21:58:15 <~Wellwick|GM> The adults stayed silent. Richie raised his hand though.||
21:59:32 <Megiavelli> "Yes, Richie?"||
22:01:23 <~Wellwick|GM> Machiavelli already got the sense that the question was inane from the look on Richie's face. "Milo said that he got that big lollipop while he was with you and he wouldn't share it! Can we go see the strange man and get more?"||
22:02:28 <Megiavelli> "I will make no promises," Machiavelli said, his tone grave, "But I will see what I can do."||
22:03:26 <~Wellwick|GM> Richie looked solemn and nodded, like this was the most serious matter in the world.
22:04:24 It seemed this night was a little luckier for Machiavelli. When they finally did reach one of the giant holes in the ground that led into Sterro's tunnel network, there was no soldiers crawling at the entrance.
22:04:54 Nighttime was fast approaching now, but the darkness below looked far from inviting.||
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22:09:34 <Megiavelli> Evidently the soldiers were otherwise occupied. Good. "I am assuming the both of you are still interested in being lookouts," he said to Robert and Brandon, all the while peering into the hole to see how far his regular eyesight took him.||
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22:14:02 <~Wellwick|GM> He was starting to get his night eyes, but he might well need some source of light down in the tunnels.
22:14:28 ((Since you were planning on heading in, I'll let you have a flashlight for down in the tunnels, but you can write that part))
22:16:02 "Yeah, but it's going to get cold, so we might want to try and get into one of the buildings out here," Robert said, indicating one of the block of flats that faced out onto the road that Sterro had torn open.
22:16:39 "What- what exactly are we looking out for as well?" Brandon asked. "And do you have a radio or something that you want us to use to get in contact?"||
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22:19:22 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli was glad Marco had stopped that raid earlier in the day. It left him with a few options in the here and now. The flashlight was, of course, an invaluable addition to this expedition.
22:21:24 Camtist → Camtist|GM
22:26:25 <Megiavelli> Marco had bought the radios on a whim, once. Phones were reliant on notoriously bad reception, and he had wanted to stay in contact with Naomi anyway. It had not done him much good in that regard, but they came in handy now.
22:28:25 He handed one of them to Brandon. "You will keep an eye out for soldiers and capes. If you see them enter the hole, contact me immediately, if they simply take position around it, wait for my check-in before telling me."
22:29:29 "I will be checking in every five minutes or so, until our reception dies. If I check back in on our way out, I want to know what happened in the meantime, are we clear?"||
22:31:37 <~Wellwick|GM> "Sounds fine to me," Brandon said, flicking the radio on. Machiavelli did the same, and a quick burst of static confirmed they were connected.
22:32:34 "Where are we going?" Milo asked, as the kids formed up on the group, so everyone could hear Machiavelli a little easier.||
22:36:12 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli took the flashlight, clicked it on and shone it into the hole. "We are going down, and it is very important that you keep your voices down, do you understand?"
22:36:39 "If I say 'run', you immediately run outside together and find Robert and Brandon."||
22:39:13 <~Wellwick|GM> "Okay," Emma said, drawing up to her full height (which even on Machiavelli, wasn't much higher than his waist). "We're ready."
22:41:29 The six of them broke away from the adults, heading towards the tunnels. Machiavelli watched as the two made their way into the building, checking through which windows would work best, before deciding to head to a higher flaw. Robert made eye contact again, but it was past time that they made their way below.||
22:45:23 <Megiavelli> Machiavelli gave the two of them another nod, before he followed the children. "Emma," he said, holding out the flashlight. "Take this. It is your responsibility, and I am relying on you, understood?"||
22:47:59 <~Wellwick|GM> She nodded, pointedly ignoring a frown from Milo at having been picked.
22:50:10 The darkness quickly swallowed them up as the tunnel sloped downwards for a good fifty metres before it took a turn. The tunnel was at least seven foot high, and wide enough that four of the kids could stand side by side, but there was some variance.
22:51:11 Initially the ground was muddy, slushy, but it wasn't long before the ground hardened significantly. It was hard to tell, but the air felt a little cooler.
22:52:28 The flashlight showed that the tunnel was starting to turn, and Machiavelli realised, looking up, that they would no longer be able to see their way out once they followed the bend round.||
22:56:11 <Megiavelli> "Milo," he said, deciding to give the boy something to do as well. "Put a sign on the wall that lets us know where we came from, make it nice and big so it will be easy to see with the flashlight." If they had to run, Emma having the flashlight would be able to lead them out.
22:56:36 Machiavelli would just have to memorise the route he took himself.||
22:59:29 <~Wellwick|GM> $roll 1d6-17 But, Machiavelli, I don't have a sign...
22:59:29 <[ATM]> Wellwick|GM "But, Machiavelli, I don't have a sign..." [2] -17 = -15
22:59:36 <~Wellwick|GM> ((Oh poor Milo))
23:01:09 A brief infliction of his power meant that Milo found himself pulling items out of his pockets, trying to find something that would work as a sign. Unfortunately, the kid didn't have a piece of paper with him, or anything that would really work-
23:02:17 <Megiavelli> ((I really should've brought a stick.))
23:02:21 <~Wellwick|GM> A second later he decided that his coat would do, taking off the layer and shoving it against the wall. When it wouldn't stick, he tried digging at the frozen dirt that lined the walls with his fingers-||
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23:03:48 <Megiavelli> "Milo, stop." Machiavelli said. "I apologise, I should not have done that." He stepped up to him, getting down on one knee before him to look him in the eye. "Are you alright?"||
23:05:08 <~Wellwick|GM> Milo's brought his hands away from the wall, seemingly momentarily disorientated. He brought his fingers up, the dirt packed under his fingernails, but he hadn't cut himself at all.
23:05:34 "I- I'm fine, I'm okay," he said, then his voice turned small, "sorry."
23:06:23 Emma was shining the light on the two of them, and Machiavelli could just make out the look of worry and compassion on her face. The other 3 kids weren't really visible, further back in the darkness.||
23:07:27 <Megiavelli> "Look at me," Machiavelli said. "This was entirely my fault, and you have /nothing/ to apologise for. I am sorry for making you almost hurt yourself, and I will be careful not to let it happen again."
23:08:58 He turned to the other kids. "Richie, Lily, could you go fetch a stick? Something that allows us to mark where we've been and find our way back."||
23:10:35 <~Wellwick|GM> The two kids were running back up to the surface within seconds. Machiavelli hoped they didn't start Robert and Brandon running, but he was sure the two had enough sense to wait and see just what they were doing coming back to the surface again.
23:11:18 Milo met Machiavelli's eyes again, and he nodded, quiet for once. He shivered, still holding his coat out.
23:12:29 Pico was by his side by the next moment, ushering him back into his coat again, while Emma was casting the light around the tunnel.
23:14:36 Machiavelli saw Richie and Lily heading back down again, clutching a piece of rebar with some cloth around one end. Not the most convenient thing to use, but it would be able to properly cut into the frozen dirt some.||
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23:18:50 <Megiavelli> "Do you think you can work with this, Milo?" Machiavelli asked, trying to sound a little more gentle than he usually did.||
23:22:07 <~Wellwick|GM> Milo took it from Richie, and tried digging into the dirt. It took him a good few attempts to make a hole, but he finally managed to leave a dent.
23:23:20 He made another to the side of it, then a third hole, in between the two, and higher up, creating three points of a triangle in the dirt. The whole thing took him nearly 90 seconds, and even then, it wasn't very easy to see.||
23:24:02 <Megiavelli> "Do you want some help?" Machiavelli asked.||
23:25:37 <~Wellwick|GM> "I can do it- I want to help, but you," Milo took a breath, clearly trying to keep himself calm, "you could do it faster than me I'm sure." He held the rebar out to Machiavelli.||
23:27:38 <Megiavelli> "You would be surprised," Machiavelli said, taking the rebar and trying to make a triangle out of the three dots.||
23:28:00 <~Wellwick|GM> ((Give me that sweet, sweet Brawn roll))
23:29:17 <Megiavelli> $roll 1d6-1 Brawn
23:29:17 <[ATM]> Megiavelli "Brawn" [5] -1 = 4
23:29:20 <~Wellwick|GM> ((I'll only ask for the first one, that will inform how well you do it, and you'll slowly improve as you get into the rhythm of it))
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23:30:54 <~Wellwick|GM> Machiavelli hacked away at the dirt, carving the triangle into the dirt. It took him a minute or so to complete the shape, but looking at it he could imagine the light catching it and making it obvious. It was a little tiring though, considering how tough the ground around them was.
23:31:11 It would only get tougher as they went further down, too.
23:32:59 ((Might want to consider a simpler shape))||