[Desolation] Chapter 2: Hard-held

Yes, opening my brain, looking for the Howling, hoping it has been sent back into the maelstrom for now.


The Howling isn't contagious, no more than sharks or tigers or wolves are contagious. However, it is an opportunistic predator.


The Howling isn't dangerous to organized societies, they are too structured to open up to such a chaotic force that lives in the psychic maelstrom. However, those living on the fringes or in the wilds might fall victim, those who live in constant fear or desperation. They can be singled out and then it creeps into your head, prowls through your thoughts, whispers new thoughts, and slowly pushes you into a howling madness.


Normally, it is a coward and when confronted flees back into the maelstrom where it can hide safely in the chaos. But sometimes, once it gets into a group, it wanders through the group looking for a weak one to tie itself to, and starts stalking a new victim.


It happened in the Golden Age, too. It just wasn't as easy. But there were those living in desperation - the runaways, the homeless, the infirm - that would often give in to their fears, open to anything that might offer them a way out. The Howling was there, weaker then without the maelstrom to hide in, much easier to spot, much easier to chase away. There were those dedicated to doing that back then, speaking of the evils that would come into a person's heart, capable of using their will to push it out, or working to strengthen a victims resolve and drive it away themselves. But that was the Golden Age where people had excess food, warm clothes, safe places to live, where the sun was golden and the moon was clear.
 
"No problem Theo."


Then I hear it, that sweet sound of human engineered parts working all together ready to strike a pin to kick off the delightful reaction to propel a piece of metal at a velocity very capable of killing a human being. It's the sound that someone hears when either shit starts, or someone is implying shit is about to start. Jabber is also one of those people who finds himself in shit or causing it too much. Why in the blazes he's raising that gun into the air I'm not quite certain why he's raising a pistol into the air, the only thing I could think of is some delusion of jacking the golden age tech and cashing it in somewhere else.


Maybe he's just drunk and is about to shoot off some celebratory rounds into the air.


Either way, my body's reflexes responded in all the time it took me to put together some possible dots and I've got Heckler unslung and leveled at him. My feet are planted firmly and spread out to handle the recoil from the machinegun, I can feel him wanting to rip into Jabber. Been a long time since I actually used him like this, but I'm not Hooper so I'm not gonna very well shoot someone on a whim.


It hurts, really hurts, to project my voice like this at any volume that sounds remotely intimidating. So I keep it short.


"Fuck 'er you doing!?"
 
Ryoma, Hooper


Hooper, you punch through the ceiling and grab hold.


The vent snaps as you pull the would-be assassin though.


Several pieces of ducting and ceiling slam into you. [0-harm]


The assassin slams to the ground ass-first, but rolls to her feet in a quick recovery.


She leaps backward down the hall, away from you both, and raises an assault rifle.


Looks like she's going spray you both with fire.


What do you do?


Red Bean


Swirling emotions take chaotic form in razors.


They surge around you in clouds.


Thoughts, memories, feelings all seem to flood your mind.


You're unable to sift through them, but you know they're all close by.


You do not feel or see or hear the Howling among them.


For now, it seems you have rooted it out.


But there is one troubling thing as the Maelstrom penetrates you mind...


The closest feelings you are aware of are those of hatred.


Utter disgust.


Those feelings are right next to you.


If fact, you know where that hatred is coming from.


He's holding you.


What do you do?


Koch


He seems to like terse as well.


"Taking that fucking tech, Koch.


Get the fuck out of the way.


I'm going to count to three.


One.


Two."


He's going to pull the trigger early like the asshole he is.


What do you do?
 
Hooper


In that strange twitching walk, Hooper starts at the assassin. Her machete drags along the concrete walls, occasionally catching on some metal and sparking. The grinding sound fills the hall. There is no expression in her visible eyes as she gets closer and closer to the women.


The attention will be brought to her. Hooper doesn't even seem to care about the assault weapon. If Ryoma wants this one, she would be in more danger. Hooper doesn't care about being shot but cares about Ryoma being shot.


The machete raises as she gets closer and closer to the assassin. Ready to take her head.


Rolling to seize by force!


Suffer little harm


frighten enemy


2d6+3 → [4,2,3] = (9) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3940909/
 
Hooper, Ryoma


Ryoma, is there anything you'd like to do or add before Hooper does this? You can aid her roll, as well, if you'd like.
 
Only reason I didn't give Jabber a fatal overdose of lead to his fucking skull the moment he declared his intent to steel the loot was the fact that an able hand to guard the walls wasn't an easily replaceable resource. On the other hand there's also that whole thing of trying to be something of a better person. So despite mine and Heckler's best interests, we don't open up his face like a ripe fruit.


Instead with it being quiet, I can afford to talk at a comfortable level. Try a bit of reasoning with him, hoping he can get it through his nearly vacant skull before I need to empty out what little is in there over a two foot wide radius from where the bullet would leave.


"You pull that trigger and I promise you you're dead before you'll get to even think about letting off a second shot. You've got a chance to get out of this breathing or getting tossed off the walls by Hooper. Put the fucking gun down, and we can all just overlook this as a slip of willpower. All right? I understand it, the draw of something that could be worth more anything you've ever gotten to own before. This hardhold takes precedence over that. Over that relic, over you and over me. Don't think for a moment that I won't kill you and anyone else who wants to help you make this foolish gamble at stealing something that belongs to Graves."


Can uh, I go Social Aggro with that on him? Also that's really freakin' wordy. Feel free to interrupt it with a gunshot, it would only make me respect Jabber
 
Ryoma lunges forward, trying to beat Hooper to the draw. The less fatal this woman's injuries the better it will be when she gets turned in to Graves. With the wait of the Hardhold behind them it'll be easier to get to the bottom of all this. Ryoma rapidly sheathes her blade and charges in to crack this ill-fated assassin across the head with the scabbard. Then maybe she can persuade Hooper not to break the woman before they get what they need.
 
"When I was younger, so much younger than today,


I never needed anybody's help in any way.


But now those days are gone, I'm not so self assured,


Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.


And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,


My independence seems to vanish in the haze.


But every now and then I feel so insecure,


I know that I just need you like I've never done before."


She hugged Lumpy one last time and sighed.


"Why would you do that to her, Lumpenhaller?" She used his full name, the one that he had given her when they first met. "Why Ollie? If you hate me so much, why focus it all on Ollie? You owe me that much." The disappointment in her voice was clear, it wasn't the loss of Ollie so much as the betrayal from Lumpy.


"All I wanted was for you to find a place amongst us, to have a life despite everything that was lost before. We were creating a new family." She doubted for a moment whether he had ever tried to be part of it or if he had been hiding it from them all.
 
Koch


Oh no, you can say all that.


Going aggro has a social aspect to it built-in.


The point of the move is to change someone's behavior before they have a chance to defend themselves by force or with threat of force.


This is pretty much fucking textbook.


So yes, roll+hard, please.


Ryoma, Hooper


Hooper, do you care if Ryoma beats you to the punch?


Red Bean


Lumpy's face darkens.


"I'm confused.


Is there something wrong, Miss?


You know where Ollie is?"


What do you do?
 
Ryoma, Hooper


Ryoma, Hooper doesn't stop you as you charge past her.


But, you'll need to close the gap before you can bring your sheathed sword to bear.


The assassin has time, time enough to pull the trigger.


Perhaps your speed and skill will keep you alive.


Perhaps you're just too fast.


Either way, to close the gap, you need to act under fire. The fire is whether or not you get shot before you are within sword range.


Roll+cool.
 
"Lumpy, you are radiating it. It is too intense for you to hide. You hate me. You find me disgusting. You think I am hideous. But why?" That was the hard part for Red Bean, it was personal. Lumpenhaller really did hate her.


"Ollie, is... well, I feel that I shouldn't say more until I know for certain. Today wasn't just a group of gang-bangers in the desert, or a a hi-jacker in the motor pool, or assassins on rooftops. No, today is the maelstrom come to test our defenses. Ollie will be a victim of that. So, what is your part in all this? Is it your time to kill me, to make me pay for some offense that I haven't connected yet? What role are you here to play?"


She stared at the man, much larger than her, but she had a fire that had burned away her skin at one point. She kept it inside her, and now it was there to see for anyone who looked into her eyes. There was a fire contained in the agony of memories, a fire that was hers to commend now. She had survived it once, it could no longer hurt her. "Tell me. Tell me everything!"


Manipulate Lumpy into telling her (Roll Weird+3 = 8 + 3 = 11) & marking XP
 
Graves


"Matter of fact, I have."


Graves says, casually stepping past Roark as if taking in the view, before smoothly pointing the shotgun at the back of his head.


"Prim says you raped her, Roark. Now, I know what you're gonna say - same thing every piece o' shit I've gunned down for that crime over the years - 'She's lyin' Graves! She was drunk, Graves! She was dressed all sexy, Graves!" Well, fuck you. Let's see you try that last one with Ryoma. If she is lyin', Roark, why is she lyin'? Huh? You don't know her, you said. You don't know her daddy - so if you ain't the father, what did you do to make her accuse you?"
 
Ryoma, Hooper


Ryoma, you've got a tough choice to make.


You can either take the damage of the weapon and close the gap, allowing you to go aggro on the assassin.


OR


You can get pinned down behind the empty desk in the hall you had planned on using to vault over.


What do you do?


(We'll get to Hooper's roll once we resolve this.)


Koch


As you raise your weapon to take him by surprise, he pulls the trigger.


You take the bullet in your shoulder. [2-harm, armor applies]


Now, roll me the harm move.


To do so, roll+harm suffered, which might be 0 with your armor.


Red Bean


Hang on to the roll, a moment.


To manipulate him, you'll need leverage: some kind of offer or threat.


What do you offer him?


Alternately, you can try to force him to tell you using go aggro.


This would be trying to threaten him and actually backing it with violence if he doesn't do what you want.


With go aggro, you're trying to change a behavior.


What do you do?


Graves


Roark raises his hands.


"Holy fuck, Graves.


Put the damn gun down and let's talk.


You and me.


Just put it down ... "


What do you do?


Claire


Okay, first thing's first.


We need to highlight your stats


Whenever you roll a highlighted stat (success doesn't matter), you mark XP.


5 XP and you advance.


So, look at your sheet.


Under Hx, find the character with the highest number.


If it's a tie, pick on a whim.


Ask that character to highlight a stat for you.
 
Ryoma's at the height of her mobility, mostly naked and sword in hand. I'll take the damage. 2-armor go!
 
Ryoma, Hooper


You leap the desk as the assassin opens fire.


Automatic fire peppers the hallway, blanketing it in lead.


Ryoma, you feel a bullet pass through your thigh in a gout of blood. [3-harm, armor applies]


Despite the danger, you over take her and are within sword-range.


Hooper, Ryoma lunges forward, keeping you from getting to the assassin.


The assassin opens up with automatic fire and the hallway is filled bullets. [3-harm, armor applies]


Once you have calculated, roll the harm.


So, roll+harm suffered.
 
Hooper


Trudging down the hall, sparking her machete on the wall, not flinching as bullets screech towards her and wheezing counts as being scary right?


Armor 2 + Rasputin


No harm taken
 
Ryoma, Hooper


I agree, Hooper.


Ryoma, you here CLICK, CLICK from the assault rifle.


Her clip is empty and you're right up on assassin.


Would like to go aggro on her?


Hooper, you're up next.
 
Graves


Graves grins to himself.


"Sure, Roark, I'll put the gun down - soon as you tell me what all this is about. We're friends, ain't we? So why should you worry I'm gonna shoot you, huh? If you've done nothin' wrong..."
 
"You can't hide it any more, Lumpenhaller. I can see it, it radiates from you. I can feel it, the hatred, the disgust. I can taste it in the air, hear it in your thoughts. I can smell it seeping through your skin. You are done hiding."


"You can't go back, and your future is over. When they find Ollie - and they will - they will hear of your hatred and your disgust and they will blame you. You know they want to judge someone, to find them to be the cause of such misery, to find that all they suffer is because someone wasn't working with them. That will be you. Every ounce of hatred you have for me will be hurled back at you, every mote of disgust you possess will come to you 20 fold."


"They follow me. They will turn to me for answers and all I will tell them is what I see, and smell, and taste and hear and feel. I will not lie. I have nothing else to tell them. They will learn how you hate me, that you despise me, and that will apply to everything I say and do and teach. And they will know that it includes them, because they listen to my words, and follow my actions. And then they will find Ollie. There is no judgement harder then your peers seeing you as a monster, there is no punishment more desperate than suffering people finding the source of that suffering."


"But they listen to me, and I have nothing to tell them. No reason, no explanation, no objection. Unless you tell me."
 
Indifferent to the blood running down her thigh, indifferent to the woman's frantic fumbling for a new magazine, and to the pain shooting up her leg, Ryoma lunges forward. Her whole body follows the swing, a sideways strike aimed straight for the temple.


7. Marking XP.
 
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