>>314636
If we do this we're breaking our previous deals with others, which is even worse for our credibility with the goblins. The other weapons are not our's to trade away. Smets and Olga are dead, so our share is one half. Note that Crazy made no hostile moves towards us, he lived up to his end of the deal, and helped us kill Smets and take the collection.

Be apologetic about this, and use the training mentioned above to sweeten the pill.

He made an offer, we accepted. If he didn't do due diligence, that's his look out. Consider it fair play for the Palindrones, they're getting an amazing deal out of them, something pretty much unique, where as we received training from them.

On checking, we may not be bulletproof on the Camella side of things. Tell them they get 1/2 rather than 1/4 as in my earlier posts.

"You can keep the favor, but I get to keep three guns of my choosing."

If he declines, drop it to one gun. If not, go with the original offer.

Ok. Although I was sure that the conspirators to hit Smets had an arrangement, as it was specified that the introduction of Camella wouldn't change it, perhaps the details were not told to us in quest.

So, revised haggle, say that we have an implicit arrangement with our partner to share the spoils, and we wouldn't want to be seen to cheat them of their share. Can they accept taking the half of the collection that is mine beyond question, in return from only sheltering me from the bulk of the backlash, leaving enough to leak through that still harms me, but nothing that I cannot recover from in a week's rest?

Suggestion 2011/06/18(Sat)15:53 No. 314710 ID: 81f32a
File 130843760012.jpg - (132.03KB , 700x933 , Armas - Meat of the Champions.jpg )

Try to haggle but don't spend too much time and don't go for outrageous attempts (like going from full collection to 1/4th).
Accept the deal eitherway.

What I really want is to get that Angel and Queen blood.

>>314699
Make sure that we are able to talk during that week and eat (as I suspect we will need some heavy magical meat eating to recover from this) and that we are at least transported to our bed.
But other than that, yeah as long as we can fully recover with not crippling and last negative effects.

Oh? As a note, never offer the goblins anything for free ever again. It's an utter waste of time. Only ever sell them things.

>>314699
And I have to object to that on the grounds that it will take way too long to say. I stand with the one-sentence argument for leaving us with a gun or three; if we feel that Big Crazy is owed something we can pay him from that, which would be roughly equal to the share that he'd have gotten out of the original job if everything went according to the plan that we thought everyone was using.

At this point we're only effectively determining whether wealth goes to Big Crazy or Sometimes Merchant, since by the terms of the Bargain if the guns become ours we'll have to hand them over. Giving it to Big Crazy will presumably increase his loyalty/goodwill; giving it to Sometimes Merchant will presumably make this deal better for us. I value the latter significantly more due to the negative consequences if we fuck it up, so it seems senseless to try to argue that Big Crazy is owed half the collection when that will be massively reducing the value of our side of the Bargain. And I certainly value a week of our time and health more than I do a slight bonus to Big Crazy's goodwill.

Anyway, adding frills and explanations to our persuasion works most of the time and it's our usual strategy- but if we exceed six sentences here we're crippled or die. Therefore, we should not be using any statements that take more than two. This is a time to play it safe rather than take risks. Condense anything you want to say to ten words or less, please.

>>314626
As was mentioned before, the deal is in future tense and the Buntline is already claimed as ours, so we don't need this caveat. Also, it's wasting precious time to say it.

>>314677
We really don't want them to keep that favor. Getting it thrown into the deal was a huge stroke of fortune; every favor they have is potentially a Doonongaes-level job that we'll be required to undertake for no compensation. Don't take it out of the deal.

>>314728
Wait. That just gave me an idea.

We already payed for the AVT and should by all rights be the current rightful owners of it.

Exploit this.

Offer them to charge admission to a presentation, and auction of Mammon's device instead. If that doesn't work, a quarter, our share, of Smets' collection as well, auctioned at the same time. If still not, two hour nevernever training with each gun aside from Mammon's Device.

>>314725
>Oh? As a note, never offer the goblins anything for free ever again. It's an utter waste of time. Only ever sell them things.
It is not a waste of time. The goblins are fundamentally tied to the concept of the deal- and one of the first lessons we learned when beginning to haggle was that sales are not impersonal. The relationship between the buyer and the seller is as much a part of a deal as the terms of the bargain are. This was only emphasized by our later encounter with Go Ping, where he quoted his price as changing by a full order of magnitude based upon how much he liked a customer. Providing relatively minor items that you know the other party will enjoy, as we just did, is part of building up goodwill which fosters a positive relationship.

We know that this applies to the goblins on some level because they are not purely mercenary, doing nothing except what the Bargains they make require. Sometimes Merchant has been joyful and has given us information for free as a result of that joy. And as he quoted to us, "If one only did what is necessary, what would give their life meaning?" and called it an apt answer when we asked him why he did something unnecessary. Sometimes Merchant is an individual with personality, and in spite of his alien nature can therefore establish a positive relationship with others.

As a better relationship generally means that a merchant is willing to offer lower prices and a wider range of the goods which are available to them, I would consider the occasional free item- or deliberately discounted item- sent Sometimes Merchant's way to be an investment in ties with a business partner rather than a waste.


>>314752
We need a how to exploit it using a method that requires no more than one sentence of talking to Sometimes Merchant. Otherwise there's no time and we can't use it.


>>314755
This will take too long to describe, discuss, and argue. There is no time for it. Further, its value strikes me as far less than what is currently on the table, and therefore likely to bring only refusal and the waste of precious time, resulting in our crippling and/or death.

>>314759
>This will take too long to describe, discuss, and argue. There is no time for it. Further, its value strikes me as far less than what is currently on the table, and therefore likely to bring only refusal and the waste of precious time, resulting in our crippling and/or death.

It's three concise sentences. We get five or six. Also, they can charge a decent sum to a very large number of people for a presentation of Mammon's device. If they say no, we can accept what they offered immediately after.

>>314755
upvoting. want a presentation and auction anyway, don't want to lose the entire collection.

>>314759
>We need a how to exploit it using a method that requires no more than one sentence of talking to Sometimes Merchant. Otherwise there's no time and we can't use it.
"One of the guns in the collection was stolen from me, and I've just claimed a second. Those two will be excluded."

Try the 3 or 1 gun haggle attempt, then accept the frigging deal so we don't DIE!

wtf dudes! quest runner says we get a few sentences to haggle and everyone's all "NOT ONE SENTENCE NO!!!!! HAND OVER EVERY GUN BLARGLEMARGLE!!!!" holy jesus you all are stupid
>>314755
this.

Yet another idea. Add this to the offer of training. I offer anything left behind from when Savoy was severely wounded, indeed emasculated in the dwelling I have claimed.

For the record, do not make a deal where you plan to fuck with them in future.
Our reputation is worth far more than those old guns.

>>314755
Meh, I do not like this.
I prefer we get the deals from the presentation for ourself and as one person already stated this will take too long to explain.


When haggling do not go over 5 sentences.
Whatever you get, go for it after them. No time to lose.
Just imagine what kind of power they are going to use to shield you. Now imagine what will happen if you are not protected.... yeah.

"how about most of the collection, where I get to keep, say, 5 of my choosing, and give the rest to you?"

You could try to reduce the magnitude of the service they provide. Rather then blocking the backlash entirely, merely reduce it enough so it is does not cause you permanent harm, nor incapacitate you for more then a week.

>>314815

Being out of commission for a week could be little better than a delayed death sentence given who is gunning for us now.

Also, take note that since we're asking for help from them that will require them to further link themselves to us, Sometimes Merchant is now able to modify previous deals. It may have something to do with being a Friend to the Goblin clans of Turkey, or it may be that we're changing enough for them to revalue our utility and ability to survive a fight.

In any case, owing fewer favors is to our benefit, and we don't lose anything we actually had anyway. Specify that the weapons you, NotLocke, and Frau Brandt named are not part of the collection since they were rightfully sold to you three by Smets through H&H.

In fact here, use this:

"There are a few weapons among the collection which rightfully belong to others, having been retained by Smets in an attempt to cheat me and them. I can describe the particular guns in full. Those, and Smet's personal weapon, would not be part of this deal. If that's acceptable, I agree."

http://quest.lv/kusaba/quest/res/297498.html#i314967

This. Definitely this.

Fuck me, I fail at linking.

>>314967
This has my full support, SAVE Smets personal weapon. We have no claim to it.

NOTHING ELSE.

>>314967
Olga and NotLocke didn't actually buy anything themselves, the purchasers are dead, so I don't know if this really works.

Also, apologize after making the deal for trying to ask for something for free, we might have offended him.

>>315016

The weapons NotLocke and Olga described would belong to Ms. Havoc and Mr. Locke's estates. When we retrieve them we can decide how to contact their survivors, and perhaps make some interesting new friends.

HEY.

To make the deal stick even if we can't give all the weapons, ask for merely enough protection so that we do not incur any damage we cannot recover from on our own. We didn't specify how much protection we wanted so this deal might be for complete protection. That could be why it's so expensive.

In the end, offer whatever we can in exchange for the bare minimum we need to keep going, and if we owe the goblins favors so be it.

Suggestion 2011/06/19(Sun)04:47 No. 315041 ID: 81f32a
File 130848403470.jpg - (104.84KB , 650x700 , Armas - Bullet snatch.jpg )

Here is to hoping that we will get a trait to catch bullets in mid-air from eating that arm or something.


Also, I said this before but I will repeat myself:
Don't try to haggle for too long. Only make reasonable attempts.
Perhaps trying to weasel out the half of collection to Big Crazy is not the smartest thing.
If fact, you should realize that we are already getting a good deal out of this: Amen is quiet possibly a primal god or a demi-god, he is from Egyptian mythology, one of the oldest and most powerful mythologies. Plus with ate a damn sentient demon-arm.
The recoil is going to be enormous. So what SM asks is not unreasonable.


But there is one thing that bothers me actually:
>"I seek discreet protection from it."
Can anyone explain me why we need a discreet protection?
From Amen?
Why?
Why do we need to hide this from him? He said we will need to pay a price, he never said WHAT price, and we are paying a price which from our standpoint is very expensive.
So why do we need to hide this from him?
Besides, he is our servant and cannot do anything against us if we protect ourself from backlash. In fact, we should have straight up told him to protect ourself from it.
So remove this part from the deal. I suspect protecting us discreetly add up a lot to the price.

how about half the collection plus Savoy blood

>>315052
Not sure if that is a good idea.
Savoys blood cannot be that valuable.

We are going to waste time by asking this...

>>314568
>Do I risk delaying further and continue haggling-and if so, how shall I do that, what shall I say?

>>314967
I'll toss my vote in for how to handle our very brief haggling attempt with this.

>>314582
>>314616
>>314674
>>314699
Down-voting, we have been informed they won't settle for half and if by some miracle we trick them into doing so they will try to sever ties with us for screwing them on this deal.

>>314725
This is incorrect, our free information actually got us the offer to strike off one of our favors as part of our deal.

>>315027
Hell no, with how the Sometimes Merchant is talking the backlash of this will be massive. The bare minimum of protection will probably leave us out of commission for months.


>What should I do with the rest of the day?
If we're still down in the sewers after riding out the backlash we might as well do some follow up trades with the goblins. We can do the trade for angelic and royal queen's blood, offering the full story on the mission for a small amount of each to be paid today and today only. Now if Sometimes Merchant says they don't have what we need just break it up and get some more ingredients for our kitchen. Then we can offer to the auction listed >>311386.

Then we can head up into our apartment and try for a mission debriefing with Camella. We can discuss what happened to us after we breached the window, sans our dealings with Amen and how he helped us in the end. She can tell us about what happened to her, mostly on the shapeshifter end though. Shapeshifters are worrisome, particularly since we have no clue why this one attacked her and she didn't mention killing it.

Round out the day by trying to set up a couple meetings. One with Hafaz about what we do. He seems to be the only one of the gym bros who is magically aware so we'll want the story on that. Another with Rocco, regarding Savoy and his alliance with Skorzeny. And the last with Labombard to thank him for calming Lo Fang down and for the information he passed on to us. Maybe invite him to the gym and we'll cook him up a meal, discuss our enemies and do some plotting.

>What about the rest of this week?
We need to plan around when you can get the meetings for the most part.

I guess we can sell the dozen or so guns Camella got from the security force. We're the one with all the criminal contacts, should be easy enough to filter them through Mafia, Triads, and independents like Garbage Pete. The guns go for a minimum of thousand a piece from what I hear, shouldn't be too hard to get ten thousand for the lot.

See if we can't get the Walther WA 2000 and the Buntline Special test to find their magical properties out. We could have Camella take them Arkvad, keep us removed from the situation so Arkvad doesn't get a target painted on his back for Savoy to shoot later.

And at some point Amen will probably get the house freed up too, which means we'll get a status report on what happened to Smet's assets and the fate of the house. It will also mean we can start questioning Big Crazy, see what we can get out of him. Just a thought here, but the deal makes no mention towards ammunition. We can get Amen to bring us any ammunition Smets had. The mundane ammo he had is likely not worth much to the goblins, unless they have yet to make a deal for it with a supplier, but either way it could be of use to us. The real meat of this idea and the deal comes from any magical ammunition Smets had, we know he at least kept some on hand for his rather ridiculous home defense weapon. Now he might not have anything more, but I'm hedging my bets on him having at least of a couple guns that, like the Mammon's Device, were designed to take specialty ammunition. Offering the goblins magical ammunition made for their newly acquired magical guns will probably net us something nice.

>>315054
We were told they wouldn't accept a quarter, not a half.

Your suggestion is basically to roll over and show our belly, accepting what we are offered.

A note, we would not be offering the the Goblins Savoy's blood, but the results of us castrating him. Still, it might be better to try to make a deal with him for the mashed bollocks for something else after we've received the protection. I posted a list of upgrades for the AA-12 and components to add to in the disc thread. I suggest we try to bargain for them.

The Buntline is an all metal gun, I think. It might be interesting to see if we can upgrade Keihas by replacing the barrel and chamber with a new one made from Savoy's old gun.

>>314967
Point, then how about enough damage & or coupled with healing so that we take no permanent harm and will be fully recovered within a day? or a few hours? Its not much, but it is a reduction in cost to them.

Also good point in how to haggle for keeping some weapons. Agreed.

>>315041
good points. Didn't big crazy actually help set us up so he could kill us? And is currently our captive? Why are we paying him? we didn't even make an agreement about how to split the loot.

The only person we need to pay is CARMELLA! Did you all forget her? she needs her share here.
I think armas needs to get back the gun smets stole from him, then a few for carmella and that it.

And I also am voting for dropping the discreet portion.

Don't even try to screw them out of half the collection. We want to keep in their good graces.

For the sake of quickness you should combine the suggestions... as in "What if we drop the need for being discreet, only reduce backlash and/or couple it with healing based on whichever is cheaper so that I receive no permanent damage and am fully recovered by the end of the day, and allow for me to keep X"
Where X is whatever guns we haggle for.

>>314573
Good thing this is not the majority opinion, as this would have caused the deal to not be made in time and the recoil to hit Armas without any protective force. Bit of advice: when it is said time is at a premium-that's not the time to keep trying to barter on more than one subject-haggling involves back and forth, so you need to try and account for the time it takes the other person to respond. Also you didn't structure this as a bartering attempt, but general instructions for the character-which means leaving it up to me to write the haggling-which in no way means I will auto-format your words to comply with the sentence restriction. Things to consider for the future.

>>314617
>>314655
>>314710
>>315041
[QUADRUPAL FANART BONUS]
It feels like something clicks in my head-and just like that I can feel the building power, the energy untamed within me that must be adressed-and with that perception comes a more specific sense of how long I have-I must make my words count.
>>314967
>>314978
>>315007
>>315054
"There are a few weapons among the collection which rightfully belong to others, having been retained by Smets in an attempt to cheat me and them. I can describe the particular guns in full. Those would not be part of this deal. If that's acceptable, I agree."
My head is pounding ever harder as the Sometimes Merchant nods.
>[SM]"The Deal is struck-you will be sheltered from the coming force-and none shall know of it from our lips or actions."

I try to respond as the sense of wrongness within me doubles and doubles again in the blink of an eye and my knees wobble-my mouth starts to open just as my right leg buckles and I start to fall to the ground, feeling like an over packed sausage about to burst, the Sometimes Merchant's hand reaching for me-

[DISCONTINUITY]

I realize my eyes are open, dry and burning-I close my eyelids for a moment as I assess where I am. ...Okay, I'm lying prone on something flat, hard and dry-feels like stone. ...No, not completely flat-I feel some engravings beneath my hands on either side of me. I'm still clothed-definitely a plus-and my head is no longer throbbing. My eyes rehydrated, I finally begin looking at my surroundings-and see fuckall. Great-surrounded by darkness.

The Buntline is in my hand before I have time to finish registering I feel a hand on my left shoulder.
>[SM]"It is done."
My movement stills-and as the halo flickers into life, illuminating the subterrainean room-I see the smooth stone walls, the cavernous ceiling-and I know us not to be in the sewer proper. Where?-
>[SM]"I am returning you to your domocile, as it is becoming agitating preventing the mortal you took in from chasing after you."
Wha-Camella. But if she's doing THAT-
"How long did this take?"
>[SM]"a tenth of a day's worth of light."
...One hell of a strange way to phrase it-okay, a tenth of twelve hours of sunlight-over an hour. No wonder she got worried, with how quick I vanished.
>[MMM Trait activaged]
"So what changes were wrought by that which I imbibed?"
>[SM]"You are no longer limited by your bodies' innate inability to regenerate lost limbs-if you survive a given injury, given sufficient time and nutrients, you will recover to full capacity. This, from the energies Demonic you consumed."
"What about Amen's blood?"
At this I see a completely alien set of body language from the Sometimes Merchant-if I didn't know better I'd say he was-
>[SM]"....I do not know."
"You... don't know? Why not?"
..Wow, great sentence structure there Armas-head so damn out of sorts-
>[SM]"...The one you call Amen... it's blood would not allow us to interpret or analyze it-I cannot offer you an answer. Now."
Sometimes Merchant flashes a hand in front of my face quick as lightning, a hair's breadth from my eyes-I involuntarily blink-

I'm on the surface, a few feet away from the manhole I descended-

With Camella, SCAR in hand, working on the sewer entrance.

She does not seem to have noticed me.








What is my next move from here?

Carefully inform her that you are there and that you are alright.

Also, additional plan for the next few days, brief Camella on the various supernatural things we know about. Lesson One: Why Armus is not a Wizard and what a Wizard actually is.

>>315087
Also, explain that we now have a scary ghost butler, and also explain the story behind all those Nazis, and perhaps also about the Sewer Goblins.

>>315087
Inform Camella that we're here and apologize for taking so long. Try to do it in a fashion that won't immediately set off her combat-kill-everything mode, because she is normally jumpy as hell and likely to be even more so than usual after today's events. Also, thank her for being concerned enough to come looking for us. It's nice to have someone who gives a shit.

If she asks what the hell we were doing, explain that we were dodging the bullet of our own recklessness. Doing so was more expensive and time-consuming than expected. If she wants a more thorough explanation we can give it, of course, but based upon what she said before she'd rather have us keep quiet on the details.

If she really wants details, explain that Savoy shot us in the head and broke our neck during the fight and we made a bargain with this supernatural creepy person/thing to absorb a bunch of power in order to fix it quick, but doing that left us with only about an hour before we suffered horrible backlash that would probably have killed us. We had to bargain with someone else fast to keep us alive, which we did, but as we said it was expensive and time-consuming. Try to avoid explaining who or what the goblins are to her; our watchword when dealing with them thus far has been to keep their existence and our deals with them a secret unless there are compelling reasons to do otherwise.


After that, plans for the day/week are in >>314591 and >>315054.

>>315087
Call to her quietly. Say, "Apologies for being gone so long. A serious error we made during the fight was coming back to haunt us. I'll explain in more detail in a secure location."

Then get back in the van. Do not enter your house, Savoy knew where it was, and he told us that Skorzeny is also after us. He could well have told the Germans, so we have to assume it's compromised or even rigged to blow. You can never go back.

Drive away, and book into a random hotel in the middle of a random suburb. From now on you're going to need to sleep in shifts in the same room - for all you know, Savoy also has access to a source of supernatural healing and is back on his feet and ready to hit you.

Whilst there, tell Camella that you managed to get yourself poisoned during your fight with Savoy, and you went to the only person you thought could help. You can do little more save wait for Amen's call.

Whilst waiting, you can call Arkvad and call off the sale, and apologise for getting his hopes up. We won't be getting the weapons cahce after all.

Then, make contact with the mafia and give them the information that Savoy has admitted selling out their private infomration to the mafia to the Nazis, and was also in bed with vampires and demons. The mafia tend to be strongly Catholic, so I doubt they'll approve at all.

A thought for the guns that Camella took. If you have gained any liquid assets amongst Smets' holdings, it might be best to pay Camella for them out of those, and then sell them all to the goblins along with training to use them.

Now, we've learned that the goblins are aware that Camella is with us, so we should return to the idea of getting her on this training gig, once again paying her in cash whilst the goblins pay in training hours.

We should put this deal to Ito as well, asking him if he would like the opportunity to immortalise his art and train the creatures who taught me the footwork he was so amazed by.

If Amen hasn't got back in touch by the next day, go to see Ito and start on the basics of chakra training. Take Camella along as well.

If Amen gets in touch, take a trip to see him. You want to get Keihas back in your hands asap. When you see him, ask for an accounting of what you have "inherited" from Smets. You should be particularly interested in liquid assets or any other magical items Smets had, such as magical ammunition for the guns we gave to the goblins, so we can sell it to them. You should inquire whether it's possible for Amen to control teleportation within the house, such as, for example, redirecting any attempts to teleport to, from, or within it to a sealed box that contains nothing, not even air, that can be set to crush the contents.

Also ask about the 'pieces' of Savoy we shot off. Ask for them at the start. If he has them, take them to SM and ask us how much he would like to own Savoy's manhood?

>>315087
Huh, I thought we have more time...

Since locke and havok were murdered 2 weeks ago and replaced by big red and nazibitch (whom carmella killed, right?), then that gives us 3 guns we get to keep (the ones stolen by smets from havok, locke, and us). Unless he stole more then one weapon from either of them (we need to ask arkvard). We could, technically, ask arkvard which other guns smets has stolen from people who chickened out. I am worried that it might end up being too many though, we don't want to actually screw the goblins.

I say the one gun we bought is ours, lcoke's and havok's guns are carmella's share of this operation. Big red wasn't actually Locke so he holds no claim to that gun... I wonder what he was being paid to kill us. Did carmella lift any magic weapons from her downed foes?

After briefing carmella, we should barter some knowledge with SM for anything he knows about our new super butler. And use up some hours of survival to learn about weaknesses of donoongas (whom we have a limited time to deal with) and werewolves.

>>315116
Learning Doony's weaknesses is fine. No reason to spend hours on Werewolves right now though.

I have no particular thoughts what to do until' we get that call from Amen. When we do, order him to see us as his master even when not holding Keihas. Then identify the weapons we can keep. The others go to the goblins, and then we bring up a presentation for Mammon's device, followed by a secret auction for the device. In exchange for setting it up, as well as some other sort of fee, they get to charge admission. Play up that any of the guns that they wish to sell could fetch a higher price at this event, and that if set-up as a social event as well, they might be able to gather a good deal of information just from chatter.

Be touched. You KNOW she doesn't want to go back down there - you know those are some bad memories - but she's willing to do it for you. "Sorry. Thanks for coming to my rescue, but I wasn't spirited away or anything. I was just... well, I know a guy down there. Sort of a guy. He's not a bad sort, anyway."

If she asks what you needed your underground friend for, make it vague. "Healing a broken neck is... kind of hard. And it was taking too long, and Savoy was still there, so I ... hm. Well, basically, let's just call it an error in judgment. But it's all fixed now. Cost a LOT of money, however. I should still be able to afford your fee, though."

I would like at least a quick primer course in Ito's chakra training. Get in touch with the wolves, both to scope out the wolf versus vampire situation, and possibly selling Mammon's Device.

Then find out what our liquid assets are looking like; if Smets had some holdings we can convert into quick cash, I say it's roadtrip (to Finland) or booking a flight (to New Zealand) time. If not, it's time to take a few quick jobs.

>>315115
>Then get back in the van. Do not enter your house, Savoy knew where it was, and he told us that Skorzeny is also after us. He could well have told the Germans, so we have to assume it's compromised or even rigged to blow. You can never go back.
We were just in our house. While I agree that we'll probably need to either move or somehow fortify before too much longer, this is an irrational level of paranoia. Even the Nazis will take time to act on whatever information Savoy has given them; we likely have at least 48 hours to get our shit together before the earliest problems could reasonably emerge.

>we've learned that the goblins are aware that Camella is with us
Considering that they've had their brownies in and out of our house the entire time that she's been living there, I'm pretty sure they've known exactly where she's been this entire time.

>>315116
>I say the one gun we bought is ours, lcoke's and havok's guns are carmella's share of this operation
We will be paying Camella in cash, as agreed upon before the operation. The guns belonging to Locke and Havoc should in good conscience be given over to whoever their heirs or organizations were, if Arkvad can investigate that for us; it's a gamble, but it might turn up some rather useful contacts. Claiming to the goblins that we wouldn't give them the guns because Smets cheated someone else out of them and then using the guns strictly for our own benefits is pretty questionable and I'd like to avoid it if possible.

>And use up some hours of survival to learn about weaknesses of donoongas (whom we have a limited time to deal with) and werewolves.
I would back the Doonongaes bit, but we probably don't need more than an hour on werewolves.

As far as goblin training goes, I would be interested in getting a bit more training on magic weapon crafting with an emphasis on analyzing existing ones. Eventually I'd like to be able to sense the magic of weapons like that elf girl Laetissi could.

>>315191
>I say it's roadtrip (to Finland) or booking a flight (to New Zealand) time. If not, it's time to take a few quick jobs.
Do you figure we would take Camella with us on these trips? She doesn't really have anywhere else to stay for the moment, although of course she could use her money from this op to secure a place of her own. In any case I would like to have a better idea of specifically we're looking to do/accomplish in our native lands before going there. Get more in touch with our heritage, obviously, but how specifically? Wandering into the wilderness and hoping to trigger something supernatural seems unwise.

I was waiting for the right time to bring this up:

>Yet I feel that burning, tingling sensation of healing taking place, and I hope with every fiber of my being it's the blood I drank, and my healing kicking in.

Arams has discovered the "pre-healing" ability of his regeneration. That means that he can "store" an amount of healing by eating materials which heal him before sustaining injuries, and he get hurt that "stored" healing gets used up to heal him in mid-battle without him needing to eat something.
The stored healing diminishes after time so he needs to eat magic meat everyday as much as possible to sustain it (thankfully we have that part covered).
So, from now on, I propose Armas eats as much as magical meat as possible and before any mission has a hefty meal.

I guess this will not save us from lethal injuries till we upgrade regeneration further but it will be still very useful.

>What is my next move from here?
You know how incredibly jumpy she is. So be careful.

>>315098
>>315104
Yeah, I agree with these too.

Say something like: "While it has been very amusing I think it's time to explain some things..."
The tell her about Wizards and witches. Tell her that you don't have magic abilities yet, just some minor tricks you can pull. Let her know about bloodline powers and tell her that one is born with a special bloodline (you don't know if Camella has any, so she needs to find that out herself too... I guess SM could help us out there), you could give the example of Savoys Sicilian royal bloodline.
Tell her about practitioner powers and binding spirits and how to get them (as far as we know from Witches and Wizards), so that she finally has a reason to get out and take some independent contracts/action to better herself.

Also, after thinking a bit I came to conclusion that we have no claim on the weapons she looted .
If you think about it, she thought tooth and nail for them: killed the sniper assassin, 12 ghoulified guards, some shapeshifting faggot.
Imagine us in that situation. We would definitely have hard time doing that and would feel pissed off if someone tried to claim them.
So, we can offer her to help selling them (we have several contacts) and perhaps ask to borrow one for the Goblin training (we need vast array of different weapons to prolong these lessons)

Also, we cannot sell additional training for goblins to teach them how to use Smets collection... because we already have a Deal saying that we will teach them to use firearms, iirc it says no where that those guns must be from our possession. They could come with their own guns and ask us to train them and we would have too because that is what we agreed for (if I am not mistaken).

>>315106
Agree... but avoid mentioning that you have consumed and assimilated Demon flesh/blood


>>315183
I agree.
Till we get contact from Amen we shouldn't do anything special.

Actually, I am in favor of acquiring the mansion in less-than-legal means if we fail to do it legally.

>>315239
>We were just in our house. While I agree that we'll probably need to either move or somehow fortify before too much longer, this is an irrational level of paranoia.
I have to agree here

>should in good conscience be given over to whoever their heirs or organizations were,
Eh...
good conscience? Do you even know who Armas is?
He does not give a shit about that.

>I say it's roadtrip (to Finland) or booking a flight (to New Zealand) time. If not, it's time to take a few quick jobs.
>Do you figure we would take Camella with us on these trips?

I say we put this off till we determine if we are getting Smets mansion and his assets or not.
Then we move to the mansion, order Amen to protect us from any hostilities (yes, that includes Savoy. He cannot do SHIT in that mansion against us) but instead of killing people sent after us, he should capture, restrain and prevent their escape.
Then, if Camella wants, she can come with us or stay here in mansion and take independent missions if she wants to. But we should be vary of giving orders to Amen like "while I am gone do what Camella says" because that will be bad.

>>315087

"Camella, I owe you some answers, if you want to hear them. And if you don't, I still owe you my thanks. I wasn't in danger in there, but you didn't know that. Thank you for trying to come after me. And for covering me earlier. And for keeping me grounded the past few days. Let's go inside. I'll tell you what I know about your new rifle."

The Walther is rightfully hers, after all. She took it from Olga's body as a battle trophy.

"First, Savoy manipulated events there to try to use Olga and her mercenary to kill me and Smets, so that he could then kill them and claim Smets' supernatural butler Amen for some purpose. Smets thought Savoy was cooperating with him. His practice of making fast allies and then betraying them later is something he did to me, too.

"It backfired on him in two ways. First, he didn't kill me, so I was able to hurt him very badly. Second, I got control of Amen in the fight. I have a feeling it's going to be one long mindgame with Amen to figure out why Savoy needed him. If you want to be a part of that, be my guest."

"You got any questions so far?"

>>315260
>good conscience? Do you even know who Armas is?
>He does not give a shit about that.
By "good conscience" in this context I meant something more along the lines of "abiding by the spirit of our agreements" rather than "acting in a morally correct manner". Armas does give a shit about keeping his deals- it's why he has a Word Like Gold trait which makes supernatural entities more inclined to trust his word. He keeps his bargains- and almost always in the spirit that they were meant as well as their letter. Even the bit of tricky wordplay that he's done has been basically above the table/taking advantage of the other party's carelessness.

In this case, we just got the goblins to exclude certain guns from the agreement on the specific grounds that Smets had cheated people out of them, and therefore they rightfully belong to people other than us. Turning around and claiming them as ours after doing that would not actually violate our word, but would be a definite case of having made a bargain on shaky or false premises. I would consider that an undesirable blemish on our record, so we should dispose of those weapons in ways that keeps to the spirit of what we told the goblins.

>Also, after thinking a bit I came to conclusion that we have no claim on the weapons she looted
Certainly we don't. Everything off her kills is hers. She might want us to fence them on her behalf, though, or at least introduce her to an arms dealer or two.

We should probably give that intelligence line we were given a call and check up on the Doonongeas' status too. We've got plenty of enemies now, but at least he's one we can keep an eye on.

And also we should ask Camella about that missing day.

>>315340
Iirc, we can use that only once.
So I prefer we keep that ability till we think we are ready to deal with Doony.
Also, we should learn Maori heart-eating rituals, and/or awake bloodline power which lets us consume the strength of our enemies before we try to kill him.

Good idea to see if the real Havock and Locke have any heirs to give their guns to.

On travelling, driving up to Finland seems safe enough, but until Savoy is dead going to New Zealand is crazy. He can just teleport onto the plane in midair, drop a bomb primed to detonate in the hold, and teleport straight out, and then we just die.

>>315439

They make small planes, and there are these things called boats...

>Also, after thinking a bit I came to conclusion that we have no claim on the weapons she looted.
Did anyone actually attempt to make such a suggestion? obviously anything she looted off of the olga is hers. The question was DID she actually loot anything, remember she is a soldier and they are trained NOT to loot enemy weapons.
>Help her fence them / introductions
First thing first, use your identify enchantment skills to identify if they are magical and what they do. Then she can trade with H&H as an "aware customer"

>Get the weapons belonging to locke and havok to their heirs
Fair enough suggestion and supporting arguments, go ahead with that.

>We agreed to pay carmella cash
We did? I missed that part, or just forgot. Go ahead then.

>>315443
Savoy can just as easily kill us on a boat, and light planes are too slow.

>>315500
We lost our identify abilities when we were hit be the 3rd Palindrome.

>>315503

In a little business jet the entire cabin and cargo area will be watched by the crew and passengers.

Boats are harder, I'll give you that, but a small yacht could be observed constantly too.

>>315504
You forget that we really don't want to go on water right now, not with a magical shapeshifter wanting to kill us.

Right also Camella needs to know stuff for your surival and hers. For now though don't get shot and be touched by her trying to find you like this.

>>315504
A little business jet with the range to be useful on this journey would still have a hold.

So, it came to my attention that we ordered Amen to remove police in no-violent means. While this could work the first day, I am sure there will be a criminal investigation, maybe even involving Turkish FBI.
Now, while we did ask Amen to politely show the police to the door, we never prohibited him to answer their questions. Sooner or later an agent will come to question him and at one point Amen will refer to "his master" and since we never told Amen to keep his trap shut, he will definitely tell them our name.

So this is something we need to take care of, as soon as possible.
I am sure, Armas can sneak into the mansion even with police there if he doesn't go there fully equipped.


Also, check the news. I want to see what they say about the raid on Smets house.

Guile 2011/06/20(Mon)14:40 No. 315532 ID: f8aa66
File 130860600863.jpg - (201.38KB , 2191x1689 , Creepy Santa.jpg )

>>315239
>Do you figure we would take Camella with us on these trips? She doesn't really have anywhere else to stay for the moment, although of course she could use her money from this op to secure a place of her own. In any case I would like to have a better idea of specifically we're looking to do/accomplish in our native lands before going there. Get more in touch with our heritage, obviously, but how specifically? Wandering into the wilderness and hoping to trigger something supernatural seems unwise.
In New Zealand, I'd like to check out Roturua. It sits in a caldera and is filled with boiling geysers, hot springs, hot mud pools and other things that seem like they should be associated with Summer. After that, maybe Te Kahui Tapua, do some hiking through the sacred mountains?

Maori have a shitton of mountain gods, so mountains and volcanoes seem to be the place to look.

For Finland, Ukonsaari is the traditional place of worship for the Sami shamanists (bear cult, as I understand it). Sammallahdenmäki is a grouping of burial cairns going back 3000+ years. The Norse gods don't have a lot of idols and things; they seemed to mostly do their worship out in natural areas. Find a cool place outside, set up a frið-garðr, and call out to Ogrimir.

>>315439
It's early december, isn't it? We could be the creepiest santa ever. We leave bow-wrapped guns for all bad little boys and girls.

Oh right, the translation of the book might be ready in the coming week.
I think the estimated time was 1st December.


>>315532
Hah, Guile you have a knack to make Armas as creepy as possible.

I like >>315191 and >>315307 for how to deal with the immediate situation. I do take issue with the questions part, but that's because I would hate for the next update to end with us having to answer them and me having to type all this shit out again.

First call Ito using the number he gave us and ask him if it would be alright if we could come to the place tomorrow afternoon to do some Chakra training and if it would be okay to bring both Hafaz and Camella. He'll probably say yes given Hafaz's potential prodigy status and Camella's fast learning. If he says no just get the lesson changed to a normal training session. After that contact Hafaz and ask him to meet us at Ito Sensei's tomorrow in the afternoon. Tell him there's might be a special lesson and we would like him to join us and maybe he should stick around after the lesson to talk.

Call up Rocco Armani, tell him we just had a very interesting meeting with Savoy. It looks like he's not taking his excommunication well and he's switching sides. He's not only working with the Germans under Otto Skorzeny, but he's been taking pacts with vampire and devils. Now he and his allies are going to be making some very big waves in the area and we would like to be a part of the discussion on how this situation is resolved, perhaps offer the intelligence we have gathered and our services towards the matter. Say Friday night at the restaurant?

Then write up a letter to Labombard. Thank him for calming Lo Fang and the forewarning on Blackbeard. One good turn deserves another so tell him about our recent experience with Savoy. Explain how he set up a plot to kill us, how he revealed both his powerful demonic arm and new alliance with Skorzeny, and how he failed to kill us and has now lost that new arm and his testicles in the process. We would like to discuss the matter and others like it in great detail if he would like that, he can meet us at the diner in Ito's gym on Sunday if he wants. Hm, also make a point to call Ito at some point later and tell him we might be using his kitchen on that day, the old guy did tell us to call him before we go in the gym. Anyway take the letter and drive to the warehouse to drop it off with someone you think can get it to Labombard. Camella will probably want to come or at least make sure we don't disappear on her again. So when we get there see if any of our buddies from the Doonongaes mission are around, Go Ping should be if I recall correctly and he was promoted to watch over the warehouse. Ask him how things have been going, if Camella is with us introduce them. They might hit it off, Go Ping likes double axes, she likes double axes, they can talk and maybe Camella won't go crazy on us for working with more criminals.

Tomorrow wake up bright and early and make some breakfast for the two of you. Ask Camella if she would like to go out and meet some very helpful vendors that can help us with the dozen guns she got. The first stop is Garbage Pete's, dear god that will be amusing to see Camella's face when she sees that guy's set up. I don't think he'll be able to buy many, but I bet we can drop off at least two or three of the guns off on him and collect a thousand a piece. We could either try to go to our storage locker and get the one guard we know to direct us to a nice place we can drop them off or we can go back down to the warehouse and see if they Triads wouldn't mind a couple extra guns. Once that's over go to Ito's and train and do the meeting with Hafaz afterwords. He asked us what we were and what we wanted earlier. Tell him in the simplest way possible, we're a mercenary, one that works with and against things most think are only found in storybooks. That thing we did with the house was an accidental, but necessary discharge from a rare magical phenomenon. Now he needs to explain who he and his friends are. They were obviously in a unit together, but what do they do now? Why is he the only one that seems to know anything about the mystic? How much did he learn from that teacher he once told us about? If he answers those well enough maybe we can move past this and see if he can't help us help Ito a bit and hook us up into some tournaments we could attend so we can garner his school attention. That or if they know the owner of the gym go to, maybe they can get him to recommend us to the Corvos Academy and we can try to do some competitions or training there.

The day after that we should go down to the Holland & Holland offices here and see Arkvad. Tell him it turns out we didn't get away with as much as thought we did, but we do have some pieces. We were wondering if his people could take a look at the Walther and Buntline and see what they do or what the magical parts of the guns are. See if he can get the guys to do the work for free given the faulty information we got, speaking of which ask about the real Havoc and Locke. Who were they? If we have their guns with us ask him for the address of their estates and see if we can mail them with a note or if it's local enough if we can plan a trip later. When night hits we go down to the restaurant, Camella might want to attend, we kind of promised she would be of help to their organization if they got her a new identity. Then we can tell Rocco the full story on Savoy, about how Skorzeny's people will probably be getting a bit crazy and their upper management might soon direct more forces down here thanks to him. Try to imply he's no longer just someone who shamed the family, but a traitor. Talk about Savoy's devil pact that lead to him getting a demonic arm that could absorb and throw back bullets grafted onto him and his partnership with a very deranged vampire. Now he's not only a traitor, but someone who spits on the heritage and roots of the family, a heretic. He needs to be dealt with, he can't just be ignored anymore, if he do they'll have a serious German problem soon. The bosses will probably be pissed and send down the other digits in the hand to take him down, but Rocco can temper having to give the bad news if can say he already had the forethought to hire the man who crippled the many to help with their hunt. Ask for a dossier on Savoy to finish off the meeting.

While you're out and about doing stuff these other asshats suggested, be sure to drop by a music store and pick up a few albums. If you're going to have a new place let's at least make it livable. One album in particular we need to pick up is Foxy Shazam's album by the same name.
Anyway, at some point in the future prepare dinner for Camella. Order Amen to play Foxy Shazam - With An Axe when she comes in for delicious foods. Act like there's nothing out of place, you were just casually listening to good music while preparing food for your room mate. Then when she blinks have Amen place a single lit scented candle in the middle of the table. Say nothing about it.

>>315896
Down voting inviting Hafaz to chakra training, and also down voting converting it to regular training. Learning chakra manipulation is a priority, and we shouldn't insult Ito's teaching by making implicit conditions on it in this way. We can meet Hafaz separately. I also don't think it's appropriate to ask for Camella to be involved, Ito can invite her if he chooses to, but she hasn't put in the hours with him.

Also down voting selling the MP5s to anyone mortal. These weapons were just involved in one of the largest mass murders Istanbul has seen for years, they're as hot as can be. Also, a fence would give you a tiny fraction of their legitimate value. Instead, tell Camella that you will sell them on her behalf, and sell them and training using them to the goblins for whatever supernatural stuff you can get, and give her money.

>>315896
Mostly good suggestions.

I'm kinda inclined to keep Camella our ace in the hole, since none of the other PCs (or Lo Fang, I assume) know about her, though it wouldn't really hurt anything, either. Plus (here's the more cold-blooded reasoning) it keeps her more dependent on us.

The guns we may want to offload to Sometimes Merchant (and training too, perhaps); Al did have a point about a church being shot up with MP5s and then us selling a huge batch of them the next day kind of implicates us, especially when we can't explain where we got them from. Angle for another arrow charm from them, or just surface currency if they have that (they do accept it for their charms).

And I'm inclined for at least the first couple of Ito's chakra classes to be focused on just us; then we can broach adding Hafaz and Camella.

>>315913
Keeping it classy. What's next, jello shots with magical jelly?

...

Magical booze. Just a thought.

>>315896
>he can meet us at the diner in Ito's gym on Sunday if he wants
I would prefer not to involve Ito with the mafia or Triads if at all possible, and that includes Labombard. Ito has done well by us, and we should not repay him by dragging criminals into his dojo to discuss business. It's dangerous enough for him just having us hang out there already.

Also, no bringing other people to chakra class #1. We still have status as Ito's favored/senior student, and we should be exploiting it. One-on-one tutoring is far more effective for learning just about anything in the novice stages.

>Camella will probably want to come or at least make sure we don't disappear on her again.
I am not a fan of introducing Camella to the Triads, because she is still a nonexistent woman as far as most of the world is concerned- it would be foolish of us to squander that asset. Keep her floating. Not to mention that she's probably still not willing to throw herself wholesale into cavorting with criminals, and we are still on relatively thin ice with the Triads- bringing unknowns with us to their turf with no good cause will not earn us points.

>>315913
Really? Really? Using Amen as a crutch for manipulating our relationship with Camella? I thought better of us. Do not involve him in anything that we don't have a very good reason to involve him in.

If we can't pawn a lit candle onto the table on our own, with all our crazy stealth skills, then we can live without a candle.

I think that we should start making moves against Savoy before it is too late.
Doing nothing or, worse, trying to hide from him and just "wait" out are the worst possible courses of action.

Call the Confessor and Rocco. Tell them everything about Savoy. Actually, make it seem even worse. Spice things up, tell them he is in league with the nazis and in bed with demons, etc, etc. You could make some bullshit up. We want mafia to direct all of their efforts into removing Savoy.

Then we need to track him down somehow and locate him. This will be hard since he can be anywhere in the world. Though if he is still in Istanbul, we can ask SM for help. Also, we need to question Amen more diligently, try to circumvent his confidentiality binding and get more information out of him.
You can always sneak in the mansion during the night to give more orders to Amen, check on Big Crazy or whatever.
Speaking of Amen, order him collect all the remains of Savoy and put them in neat package and give them to us, to remove ALL signs of battle. Also check up how the prospect of getting Smets holdings is going. Ask him what valuables Smets has in the mansion (expensive jewelry, works of art, money, precious gems and metals, etc)

>>315930
+1 vote to everything he said.

>Romance carmella
Am I the only one who thinks this would be awfully awkward and creepy?

>>315091
>>315106
>>315115
...How to alert her to my presence without getting a gun pointed at me.... ah.
"*Ahem*"
She stiffens-but does not spin about, gun in hand-hey, look at that-progress!
>[Camella]"You better have a good explanation for the vanishing act."
"Sorry for taking so long-a serious error was made in the fight at Smets', and I had to resolve it... rather immediately."
>[Camella]"...But it's handled now, correct?"
"Correct-but there is a further issue that needs to be addressed-Savoy."
>[Camella]"...That teleporting thing?"
"There's that-but also in my scuffle with him I ended up needing sufficient aid after the fact that I lost the guns collected from Smets."
>[Camella]"Last I checked, I was the only one to load firearms into... ugh, the Right Laine."
"Well, moot point now-incidentally I know several places you could fence those MP5s-could make a tidy sum from that."
>[Camella]"Are any of those contacts NOT illegal?"
"...Depends. Would a supernatural fence count as illegal, if they predate any laws to the contrary?"
>[Camella]"...I think I'd rather deal with criminals, actually-them, at least, I can fathom."
"...You may not be thinking that through. Consider how much the police will be looking for those weapons."
>[Camella]"And what-selling it to a... supernatural source would be better?"
"Not exactly like they register their firearms-or indeed, interact with law enforcement much... at all, really. ..Anyway, think about it-I have some phone calls to make."

Camella follows me inside, replacing all her weapons in the van save the P90, which she keeps on hand and finger near at hand to the trigger-she's still on edge, that much is clear. Arkvad picks up on the third ring.

>[AS]"Look, if you're calling about the collection-"
"Actually I am-gonna have to cancel the sail-they were needed for a different purpose."
>[AS]"...For the best, I suspect-several of Smets' pieces were.... quite unique. Would be hard to resale without having questions."
"Saves us both some trouble. Next time I get a cache though, you'll be the first to know."
>[AS]"I can hardly wait. ...Oh, right: A heads-up, your name is now in our system for having helped facilitate that deal with Ito-I figure one more $100,000+ deal and you will have a job with us-whether you want it or not."
"Liked the Byzantine house thing that much, huh?"
>[AS]"It opened new possibilities-for all parties, really. Was that all?"
"Yeah-busy day."
>[AS]"I can believe it. Good hunting."

From there, my next call goes to a somewhat less legal target-Rocco Armani. I once more find myself happy I have a direct line to him.
>[RA]"Eeehh, it's Armas, right? Haven't heard from you in a while. How's that girl working out for you? Better yet-how's she working out for us?"
...Right, I got Camella's fake identification by implying she'd be of use with the mafia...
>[MMM Trait activated]
"Why don't you tell me after I fill you in on what happened."
The bemused cheer and slightly slurred words immediately resolve into crisp, focused speech.
>[RA]"...Okay, lay it on me."
"Where to start-well, ran into Savoy, who admitted to my face that he encouraged Castelletti to mistrust me on his arrival-implicating himself in escalating the whole clusterfuck that took your predecessor's life-which I am pretty sure was NOT endorsed by the rest of you guys, for one."
>[RA]".....Where did he tell you this?"
"At Florent Smets' house-a vampire of the Zosimus Dynasty."
>[RA]"....Go on."
"He also had replaced a lost arm with a demonic limb, presumably provided by said vampire-"
>[RA]"What makes you think it was demonic?"
"The pulling bullets into it's flesh and shooting them out the fingers, the slitted eyes all over the limb, the purple and black blood-I guess it could have been something else, but-"
>[RA]"...Jesus. Truck with vampires and demons?"
"It gets better: He flat out stated he had been in contact with Neonazis under Skorzeny-and that he was going to rondevue with them after our... altercation."
>[RA]"Woah woah woah-you saying you went toe to toe with Savoy... and you're still breathing?"
"Which is what brings me to your original question-I wouldn't be if it weren't for the girl you provided papers for-and it's thanks to her that the only people still alive that know what I learned about Savoy are the three of us-you, me and her. Would you say she was of use?"
>[RA]"Fuck-if what you say is true-"
"I'll swear it on anything or in front of anyone-short of Savoy lying on the parts he verbalized, no way this could be innacurate."
>[RA]"...That's what I was afraid of."
"Look-I got a whole mess of shit I need to resolve on my end thanks to that shitstorm-not the least of which keeping my ass clear of the law-I just wanted to let you know as soon as possible-hate to see him drag you all down with him."
>[RA]"If what you say is true-well, doesn't matter how strong a thumb is when the other fingers coil about it."
...Fingers, what-
[RAPID RATIONALIZATION Trait activated]
Camella called Savoy a finger of the mafia-coupled with Rocco's words, I assume him to be the Thumb-which would leave four other fingers. All assassins? Seems likely....
"Anyway-I'll keep you informed if I learn anything-I'd ask for the same, since Savoy seems to want me dead for learning of this."
>[RA]"Big surprise there-you know how his power works?"
"Teleportation-I think he can't do it when he's being watched?"
>[RA]"...Explains why you're still alive, then. Yes-but theres more to it. He doesn't have to know where he's teleporting to-he just needs to set... guidelines, for what kind of place he ends up appearing at. He can teleport to places he doesn't know exist, if he's concrete enough on his imaging."
...Shit.
"That.. is very useful information. Are there any wards that could keep him out?"
>[RA]"If there are, I don't know of them-not really much of a supernatural buff like Castelletti was.... shit, so Castelletti wasn't trying to fuck us?"
"Far as I can tell, Savoy played Castelletti and I, and convinced us both the other would not negotiate for any reason."
>[RA]"A damn shame... we'll be in touch Armas-okay?"
"Count on it."

Well-the Mafia knows the important bits-Savoy's betrayals, his truck with vampires and demons, and his new association with neo-Nazi's. Hopefully having the mafia's attention on him will keep him distracted.

As I hang up I feel it-Camella's attention on me as she raps her knuckles on the doorframe.

>[Camella]"So, that supernatural fence that would make these guns... disappear-how fast could you make a sale?"
"Under an hour-I can contact them via the sewers."
>[Camella]"...Then, I ask you sell the MP5s for me."
"Right now?"
>[Camella]"I would like to have more than a few hundred dollars to my name again."
"Okay-done deal. Be back in a bit."

I take Camella's haul-sans the Walther WA 2000-and cart them all down into the sewers-and again call out to the Sometimes Merchant.
>[WON'T TAKE NO Trait activated]
>[WORD LIKE GOLD Trait activated]
>>315183
It takes some back and forth-but shortly enough I leave the sewers, one hour less stored for redemption but enriched with knowledge, two and a half pounds of pure gold in a cloth pouch having replaced the dozen submachine guns. Camella quirks an eyebrow at my approach, even as I consider that the Doonongaes weakness.... is the cold.
"Not big fans of paper money, those folks-hope gold works."
>[Camella]"...Dios mio, how much is-"
"Well, at two and a half pounds-that's forty ounces, and last I checked gold was a little over thirteen hundred an ounce-fifty thousand and change. Think that covers your wage for this job?"
Who knew the goblins valued used guns over new ones, when the prior owners were supernatural? Definitely something to keep in mind.
For once Camella has nothing to say. Think I'll take that as a yes.
>>315191
"I... just wanted to say thankyou for being worried-I know how much you dislike the sewers."
>[Camella]"....What am I supposed to do if you die, hm? Infuriating as you are, what would I even do without you? I don't know this city, I still know far too little-and I have monsters that are out for my blood."
Doesn't seem to be much to say to that

>>3152239
It would take about one hundred hours of training to be able to sense magical weapons similarly to Laetessi. Given the exchange rate, it will be some time before you have enough hours saved up to do that.
I fire off an email to Arkvad-looking to find out who Havoc and Locke's heirs are, that I can give them the weapons that they were shorted on, before leaning back in my chair, thinking.
>>315260
...At Smets', I was able to begin healing based on food already imbibed-something I couldn't do before. Can I 'store' healing energy from food for later use? ...Well, guess I'm having supernatural meat and/or herbs with every meal, now-I suppose after doing that for a while I can do some tests or something, see if my suspicion is accurate.
>>315307
Camella is staring at me again-I can feel her eyes on my back. She probably still wants answers... okay.
"Camella, I owe you some answers, if you want to hear them. And if you don't, I still owe you my thanks. I wasn't in danger in there, but you didn't know that. Thank you for trying to come after me. And for covering me earlier. And for keeping me grounded the past few days. I'll tell you what I know about your new rifle, if you want."
>[Camella]"..I think I know how to work a rifle, bullpup of a highly limited run or no. But answers... those I would like very much indeed."
"Okay. First, Savoy manipulated events there to try to use Olga and her mercenary to kill me and Smets, so that he could then kill them and claim Smets' supernatural butler Amen for some purpose. Looking to be the last one standing, it looked like. Smets thought Savoy was cooperating with him. His practice of making fast allies and then betraying them later is something he did to me, too."
>[Camella]"...."

"It backfired on him in two ways. First, he didn't kill me, so I was able to hurt him very badly. Second, I got control of Amen in the fight. I have a feeling it's going to be one long mindgame with Amen to figure out why Savoy needed him. If you want to be a part of that, be my guest."
>[Camella]"That is all you, Armas-have fun with... Amen?"
"You got any questions so far?"
>[Camella]"...Just one, and I wonder if you can answer it: Why? Why would Savoy do that? He had a position of great power and influence in the mafia, and beyond that, the repetitious betrayals are destroying whatever reputation he had-but why? I can't see a gain he'd get from this-and I doubt it's as simple as him being insane."
"Got me on that one-if you figure it out, please let me know."

>>315340
With the conversation done for now-I call the contact line from Zosimus, looking to find out where the Doonongaes is-
>[Amen]"Yes, master?"
....Oh shit. Smets was my contact. ...Well. That... that makes this harder, then. Uh....
"Police still there?"
>[Amen]"There are still officers around the building, but not within it."
"...Any progress on the funds transfer?"
>{Amen]"As of yet none."
"Okay-keep me informed."
>[Amen]"You shall remain informed, master."
>>315515
"...Beyond the Turkish police, are there any other individuals investigating on or near the house grounds?"
>[Amen]"Four news-crews, three individuals in suits that as of yet have not stepped close enough to the house for me to more.. deeply read them who I suspect to be involved in Turkish intelligence. They have been here since the police vacated the premises."
"Can you describe them?"
>[Amen]"Certainly."

The first two descriptions are phenomenal-I imagine I could recognize either individual at a glance now-but the third one....

The third one sounded exactly like Adelat. ...Media coverage and Turkish intelligence-wonderful. ...That vacation is sounding better and better.


"...Have you yet given my name to any of the investigators you have encountered?"
>[Amen]"No."
"Good-continue to withhold that information. If they ask, you can tell them whatever cover story Smets had in place for interacting with mortal authorities."
>[Amen]"It shall be as you say."
I hang up-

>>315896
Only to make one more phone call.
>[Ito]"...Yes, Laine-san?"
"I was wondering if I could come and get some training today."
>[Ito]"You know my doors are always open to you."
"Thing is-not looking for Jukenjitsu training this time."
>[Ito]"...Ah."
"Is that acceptable?"
>[Ito]"...Give me an hour to prepare, and we can spend the rest of the day on the subject."
*click*
...Okay then.

Camella stays behind-after I explain Ito is teaching a private lesson and didn't agree to other students or even witnesses, she elects to spend her time methodically maintaining her weapons-and getting more familiar with her new rifle.

The lesson itself? A bit... odd.

A great deal of sitting in meditation and focusing inward, trying to percieve internal energy flow-alternating with exhaustive exercise designed to tire one out. An hour after the sun has set, when I'm so beat I'm lightheaded and near to passing out, drenched in sweat-I finally feel one of my chakras. Ito says it was a good start, and I try to believe him as I shower and head back home. On my return I check with Camella-and learn she is now looking up information about our escapade today. I head back out, and provide another trio of hours to the goblins, affirming that I still need to wait for things to die down before I can give them the agreed upon weapons-and push my training hours with the goblins back up to forty two.

When I get home... I decide to draft a return letter to Labombard. I thank him for interceding with Lo Fang on my behalf, and informing me of Blackbeard-and from there go on to give him as much information from the Smets job as I can, insofar as it pertains to savoy. I detail the injuries he incurred, his short-lived demonic limb-all of it. By the time I'm done it's almost midnight-and I fall asleep without much issue-my dreams filled with thoughts of a broken, bleeding Savoy attempting to kill me in my sleep-surreal, to be sure.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25th, 2010

I wake up early-making a breakfast with from the minifridge yet again, this time steak and eggs to really get some protein in the morning-as Camella continues to watch me like a hawk when I cook I don't have a chance to stealthily prepare the meal-but sooner or later her attentiveness will slacken-I merely have to wait.

Our first business is heading to Ito's gym for an early day workout-and I finally hit a hundred and ten hours in training with Jukenjitsu-with Camella having brought her axes, and looking quite distraught the aged instructor has nothing to teach her on their use. To cheer her up, I call the Triads, asking to speak with Go Ping-and ask if he would want to spar with another individual fond of using double axes.
>[Go Ping]"...What is this individual's name?"
"Camella."
>[Go Ping]"Is she a human?"
"Last I checked yes."
>[Go Ping]"I missed your flair for... snarkiness. How do you know her?"
"I work with her sometimes-she's a hot hand, no doubt about that, and I'm trying to do her a favor."
I do my best to completely ignore Camella's incredulous look as I drive and chat.
>[Go Ping]"Final question then-how would you rate her proficiency?"
"Let me put it this way-fourteen enter-one leaves. The others had guns-and many were supernatural-changed nothing for her."
>[Go Ping]"A healthy endorsement, that-then may I speak with her?"
"One moment."

I turn to Camella.

"So-someone quite practiced with axes is interested in talking with you-interested?"
Saying nothing, she takes the phone from my hands. It takes all of ten minutes, during which she purposefully pitches her voice low and makes it hard as sin to overhear-before flipping the phone shut.
"So?"
>[Camella]"...Can you drop me off at-"

After I leave Camella with Go Ping at the docks, promising Go Ping we'll share a drink soon, I head to a different location-Constanz' Crash Course. Only Hafaz and Shaya are there-and when I jerk my head towards the door, Hafaz follows me out. We both walk down the alley a little before I turn to face him. So I tell him-I explain that I am a mercenary by trade-and that many of my jobs involve things normally found in fairy tales-and that what happened to Ito's house was the result of a now resolved magical issue that had cropped up. He listens in silence, giving away nothing-and when I'm done.....

>[Hafaz]"What you do... sounds little different from me. Shaya, Hadar, Ahmad, Yoni-all are bodyguards, just like me-but they only deal with the mundane. Like you, I have supernatural clients-and problems, to deal with."
"...How can a human be a bodyguard when the threat is... say, a vampire? A horde of vampires? How do you not end up pissing off enough things that eventually they just up and kill you?"
>[Hafaz]"By specializing in incapacitation, not lethality. Grudges, for the supernatural, at least, are harder to nurse when you know your immortal life COULD have been ended."
"..Well, that explains things."
>[Hafaz]"As did you explanation. ...Yoni and Ahmad have both been wondering where you have gotten to."
"Yeah, guess I haven't trained with you all in a while."
>[Hafaz]"Since we have both.. come clean as it were, would you like to spend some time? I know Shaya would be happy to let the others know you've returned."
"Honestly? Sure. I could use another refresher on Krav Maga-haven't used it in a bit."

And so goes the latter portion of my day-sparring with Shaya and Hafaz, endless bouts and matches for hours-until my phone rings, Camella ready for pickup. Right as I hang up I get another call-Amen informing me that he has twenty nine thousand dollars available for transfer as of yet, and that the house is still under heavy surveillance. I mull this over as I pick up Camella, finding her and Ping alike sweating and happily tired-before telling Camella to head home with the Right Laine herself. After being dropped off near the docks, I head to my storage unit, put in another few hours with the goblins-and push my stored hours to forty five. I jog home, along the way having no issue making sure not a single person's attention falls on me-

And happily go to sleep.

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 26th, 2010

Camella wakes up first, for a change-and has something to share with me.

BRUTAL KILLINGS IN DOWNTOWN SHOCK ISTANBUL
...Hah. We are front page news... Yesterday AND today, for multiple newspapers-the job is mentioned on scores of internet news sights-but not a single mention of the name Florent Smets, or his residence, oddly enough-just the bodies at the church.



...Huh.

>>315532
[FANART BONUS-INTUITIVE THOUGHT]
....I think I may need a vacation-the thought of heading off to New Zealand or Finland is starting to look better and better-a chance to take a step back from all the madness I work with-and I am sorely tempted to do just that.











What's my next move here?

On the Big Crazy front, I think we should let him go with a slap on the wrist. "Your employer is dead, and frankly, I've got a lot more problems than you right now. One of the larger ones is one we share- Galileo Savoy. So... here's the deal. I'm letting you go. If you still want to, track me down again and we'll have ourselves a gentlemanly duel. If you want to try and take on Savoy again, give me a call."

It feels a bit dickish to up and leave right after Camella said we're pretty much her only contact, but I'm still for it. I guess we could ask if she wants to come with (zany roadtrip style, plus someone to keep an eye out for Savoy), but I'd be just as happy going alone.

Finland for now, methinks. Steal a car, bring Keihas (recover it from Amen), the Judges, maybe the mere. Learn how to set up a frid-gardr, hit up the Sami shamanists, maybe hunt yourself up a bear. Try to set up a ritual on the Winter solstice (the 21st); the Sami do the Beiwi festival on that day. Sure, it's basically to honor their sun-goddess, Beiwi, but it's still sacrificing white-furred animals to the gods. Also, Lussi night is on the 13th of December; it's a night when a witch rides through the air with her followers, a lot like the Wyld Hunt. From Lussi night to Yule, it is believed that trolls are the most active of any time in the year.

There is lots of knowledge we have yet to trade the goblins.
We haven't sold them the info on exactly what happened the first 3 times we were hit by a gate and how we survived it. Or the memory of the sample of mammon's device's true power.

We also haven't traded away the mammon device for something. Nor have we asked the goblins if they have a working method of teleportation.

STEALING a car is a terrible idea. Normal law enforcement would be after you. You are perfectly able to rent one, with money.

And we totally need a good explanation for Zossy when he asks us why we killed the contact he gave us if he finds out (as if he wouldn't, ha!)

>>315994
Perhaps Finland, and Yes to Roadtripping with Camella, but NO STEALING CARS. We must be STEALTHY. Turkey's most dangerous entities are after us. ALL OF THEM. Doonongaes, the Karmakarmakamui, the Zosimus-Dynasty-if-we-don't-kill-Doonongaes, Savoy, and Turkish Intelligence.

If we do take our little trip now, we must return before our deadline passes, and remain HIDDEN. That Turkish Intel woman seemed to be onto us. She may have suspicions about us. If our name shows up ANYWHERE, we may be endangered, especially with the Super Nazis on our ass.

Therefore, I suggest we press Big Crazy into our elite team, take him with us, and rent a car in his name. BEST PLAN EVER.

if the Doonongaes is weak against cold we should probably buy us some liquid nitrogen and a delivery system, if the weakness is enough to be noticed prior to the invention of refrigeration dumping a tank of liquid nitrogen on him should be have some interesting affects.

>>315955
Amen: Review what you know of Amen.
He's demonic
He's so powerful as to be inscrutable to the goblins.
Smets' preferred to die, or at least risk death, when there were wooden bullets burning him with a holy flame from the inside, rather than call on Amen to help.
Savoy had just had a demon arm fitted - perhaps Amen did this for him.

So, put the pieces together. Smets, who knew Amen, wasn't prepared to make direct use of him, but was willing to allow others to, presumably for a fee. Now, Smets probably knows more than you do about that it, so you should follow his lead. Perhaps offer SM the chance to meet Amen as a favour, although warn him of the above.

This is an opportunity to gain face with the Witch without breaking our deal with Cornilius. Get in touch with the number on the card, and ask them if it would be worth a boon to see evidence of the loss of a great power that the Zosimus have suffered. If they take up the deal, offer the witch the use of Amen, for a suitable price, but explain the above limitations. I imagine that she is sufficiently arrogant not to care.

Suggest to both that you have done all right with very simple orders so far, so they should possibly do the same, and that one way of working for one practised in magic, is to give it a large number of unambiguous commands sequentially, where one can check the intermediate steps. you obviously can't do that, but they could use it as a magical lathe that's prone to backfiring, directing its power as a tool without allowing it any discretion.

We would have to give some standard orders for this. Without risking harm to me or any other, or risking transferring control of you, obey X's literal commands exactly, and warning of any negative side effects or potential breaches of the first rules before following each command, for the next Y period.

Even if the witch doesn't take either of those offers, you can still suggest that you have come across a Device of great power that she might be interested in, along with an insight into how the power stored within can be harnessed. Would she be interested in discussing this further.

On Amen generally, you need to ask him what happened to the man it was looking after. Savoy's Buntline was in the house, so it might be worth asking Smets to tell us its full magical properties. It may not know, but it's worth a go. Ask Amen if a open a safe, unobserved from outside path us into the house from the sewers exists, or to create one if it doesn't, through which only you are allowed to pass. Then, enter the house to talk to Amen and check on our captive. Armas can be instructed to let anyone you invite into the house in the near future can be given one time permission to enter and leave via this entrance on a case by case basis. Get Keihas back into your hands first thing you do

You should ask Amen ASAP for any remains of Savoy that survives. I distinctly remember Savoy being emasculated, and I suspect that SM would pay handsomely for the evidence of this. He might even be able to do something interesting with them. If you get them, take them straight to SM for sale. Also ask Amen what the magical blood in the mansion, is from, also offer to sell this to SM.

You need to arrange the transfer of Smets' collection to the goblins. At the same time, ask if Smets has any more magical ammo for the guns, any magical devices apart from guns, such as bayonets, other weapons, or charms. Depending on what this is, you may have something to sell to SM in return for upgrading the AA-12 before your road trip.

You should speak to Big Crazy, and ask him how he feels about Savoy, who set him up to die. Is he willing to swear a binding oath to work with me to take him out. If he accepts, unbind him, let him eat, and invite him on our road trip. We want to learn how he survived what he experienced in the mansion, and he would be useful if Savoy jumps us in th emiddel of nowhere. If not, well, I wonder if SM would buy a live whatever he is...

You should ask Ito whether the chakra training would perhaps go more smoothly without all the living energy of the people of Istanbul around us. you should then ask him if he would like to accompany us on a training trip. you're going on a long drive, and you would be very happy for him to accompany us, and do some training in the great outdoors. I'm sure he's had a pretty stressful time of it, setting up a new dojo at his age, and the break will be good for him as well. He doesn't need to come with us all the way, of course, but you'd be honoured by his presence.

In any case, you should leave in a week for a road trip to Finland, as leaving straight after the hit is obvious. Do your very best to go subtly. You don't want any official record of your departure, return, or the borders you cross. Savoy may be able to find you anywhere, but the Germans presumably have to use normal means. Don't make it easy for them.

Spend the weak in intense training with Ito on chakras, protein loading on spiced supernatural meat every night to keep going. You should train the goblins up on the weapons you just sold them.

You should also broach the idea of a new deal with SM. As SM does himself for other goblins, you would like to act as a broker for training. If he can guarantee discretion, you can find other teachers for his clan. you will pay them, and handle the arrangements, and he can then pay us.

There is another deal you would like to suggest, in addition. It's all very well teaching the goblins to shoot, but practice in the range, is, as he knows, insufficient. you need to lead the goblins of repeated, long duration exercises in a wide variety of environments and situations, with varying weapon loadouts, team sizes and objectives. Now, this is obviously very challenging to arrange in a small room in the middle of Istanbul, but the Nevernever training facilities you previously usedwould be ideal as a exercise ground, as long as you don't age during the process. This will allow them to integrate their skills, to learn the small unit tactics required to use many of the weapons you've taught to support each other, and all the other skills of modern infantry warfare. This is win-win. His people will skill-up much faster and more thoroughly, and you will be able to gain our payment that much faster. In return, you would like a return of the favour of accelerated training in what you select. With the way things are hotting up in Istanbul, you would all be best served by skill-ing up as soon as possible. you're not quite fit enough to lead the training yet, as he observed in our previous Nevernever session, our mortal limits hinder how much you can be taught, or could teach, but you're working to redress this. When this is done, you'll be ready - unless he'd like to expedite matters, in which case an accelerated ageless training session for your teacher and you would allow this. It's his choice.

You also need to arrange to move flat before you go, and change the location that the goblins are sending your meat to.

Ask Camella and the goblins about the missing day.

>>316004
These plans will lead to fun things.
I am on board.

Now some words for talking to BC
"Hello, Mr, well you aren't locke in any case, though I have kept you here under lock and key, I imagine you wonder why I have not simply killed you. Well I am a mercincary , same as you and although your employer had an axe to grind with me, you do not. On the matter of your employer she was killed by a friend of mine, not axidentally at all, so Olga got that ax she was wanting, in the fact to be axect!

Now I do hope you are BEARing with me so far, I propose that we team up, lessen the chances of men like savoy having the balls to double cross us, ah yes I forgot he doesn't anymore, not after I shot them. A rather grizzly battle we had really. I managed to disarm him though, he'll be needing another hand with that, he isn't quite 'armless yet though. A danger to both of us.

So my offer is this, work with me as a partner, you know I have balls enough, and as a little more on this deal, axtra, I'll take you on a little road trip I'm wanting to go on, get away from the police swarming over our little spat, what you say Mr.Crazy?"

Stay out of sight the whole while when talking to him and release him from the start. If he'll only join for money then pay him.

If he declines let him go or sell him to the goblins as a trainer or whatever...

>Karmakarmakamui

What is this? I did a word-search, and yours was the only mention.

>>316045
All I could remember of the giant River Squid's name was that it had Kamui somewhere in it. So I just pulled some lyrics out of the 80's to replace "Okkoro" which I just remembered. But yeah, it's the River Squid. I thought he'd be pissed off because of what we did to his big badass Doony.

the local wizard is at WAR with doonie's boss... we need to get in contact with him. Maybe he can provide us with an instafreeze spell.
We need to also contact fang, let him know that:
1. We permanently resolved the issue with the gates. Share more info about it as a show of good faith. (specifically, it happened 3 times, i survived in manner X, I sold it to get rid of it and the buyer which is anonymous already caught 2 without any effect so I am safe to be around)
2. Inform him of savoys current dealings (the guy tried to kill fang, fang would be interested about the demon arm, its removal, etc).
3. Inform him we are after doonie and ask if he is interested in the hunt.

Apologies for double post:
>Leave carmella
What? why!
She is perfectly able to come with us. Remember we set her up with an identity, she is sticking with us to learn more about supernatural.

>investigation
I hope they don't find anything incriminating carmella there. Then again, she is special forces so she has the gear and training to avoid that.

>>/questdis/348207
Someone before me suggested it, we really should at least try to go for it.

Roadtrip to Finland with Camella (and Big Crazy if we can convince him to join our team). Rent a car.

>>316054
Wouldn't that be the same wizard whose glasses we shot off his face? I don't think "The Russians told me to" is going to work as an excuse. And before you say it, YES, I THINK HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO READ OUR MINDS AND FIND OUT.

>>315955
>the Doonongaes weakness.... is the cold
Welp. I wonder if we can get a line on some liquid nitrogen. It'd cost us a few thousand dollars, but I bet we could buy some and rig up a grenade system with it- how harmful exactly it will be to the Doonongaes I don't know, but it would probably be worth a try. Likely to be better than frags, at any rate. Or perhaps we could manage some more expansive explosively cold situation; a bit of training in the fine goblin art of trap-setting could be of great use here.

>Saying nothing, she takes the phone from my hands. It takes all of ten minutes, during which she purposefully pitches her voice low and makes it hard as sin to overhear-before flipping the phone shut.
Keeping her conversations secret from us, how rude. We need to acquire sharper hearing somewhere.

>>316054
I would prefer not to tell Lo Fang much about the resolution of our gate problem, aside from that it is solved. He is a cold and calculating leader in spite of his usual friendly front, and we cannot forget that every bit of information about us he gets is information which he might use to exploit us. He is still several hundred thousand dollars in the red on his overall relationship with us; we cannot expect him to treat us with any generosity.

>heading off to New Zealand or Finland
I wonder, could we move to there through the nevernever? Might be expensive to get guide, but could be an awesome adventure and get us all kinds of supernatural experience.

Before you go on a road trip, go out shopping. You will need a mannequin, a set of clothing similar to some of what you already have, another orange tie, and a cheap generic Mosin. Dress the mannequin up like you and leave it behind in case of unfriendly people trying to pay you a call. Hang a sign with "GONE TO TIJUANA FOR TEQUILA AND BITCHES, FUCK YOU ALL AT THE NEXT DONKEY SHOW" on the dummy. Meanwhile make a half-assed effort at hiding a notepad with a fake plan to hole up in Smets' place on it, and tell Amen to, royally fuck up anyone who tries to get in due to following said fraudulent plan, in the most utterly cruel, sadistic, and disturbing ways he can think of.

we must get Savoys blood (and whatever else he let there) and exchange with SM for angel and queen blood

>>316091
This. This. THIS. Make this a habit, for whenever we go to another country. Someday, gods willing, we'll throw them off by actually GOING to Tijuana. The one Caveat I have, is that we should make sure that Amen doesn't kill any official members of the Turkish Police, Mafia, Triad, or others who are trying to CONTACT us. We'd be in DEEP SHIT if the Turkish Intelligence officers sent to nonviolently investigate our house were NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN.

Also, we should do this>>316092

Oh, and get Amen an Internet Connection or something. He must be REALLY bored all day, sitting in that house and being mysterious.

>>316045
[A very impressive mispelling of Akkorokamui]

>>316115
[Danke]

>>316020

Oh my god those puns completely suck, don't use those.

>>316012

Oh hey speaking of BC maybe we should tell Amen to make sure he's fed, watered, and comfortable. Since we, y'know, didn't. Being prevented from dying is not the same as being kept in relative comfort as a prisoner.

Anyway wouldn't a safer option be to get a fake identity through one of our less than legal contacts? Either the Triads or the Mafia, either of them should be quite capable of furnishing Armas with a fake ID and passport to clear the borders. We'd just need to pay for it in cash or barter.

>>316085

Yes it's the same man, but he may not think to even ask us ahead of time. Also, we took that job specifically because it called for no killing, period. Plus it was funny as hell. It's worth putting out feelers.

>>315994

Let's not condescend to him. Let's talk to him, make nice, and get the groundwork for a personal connection.

"So. First, let me ask if you need anything. Are you comfortable?"

"Alright. When the shooting started, you said you wanted us to have met under different circumstances. I am completely willing to go along with that. It was just a job, nothing personal. Olga and Smets are dead now."

"Savoy's playing his own weird game; he doesn't forget, so I'll give you some free information about him. He's got a bloodline that lets him teleport to any place he can clearly visualize. He's fantastic at using that for infiltrating and gathering intelligence. If you have anyone who can get you a new identity, now's the time to talk to them. I think he may try to track you down. Your name, appearance, and nationality would make it easy for him. Messing with your paper trail will help."

"If you get into another fight with Savoy, keep your eyes on him. He can't teleport away if he's being watched."

"He slipped my grasp because I was badly injured. He's got the entire mafia after him now, so hopefully they'll corner him before either of us has to deal with him again."

"I'm back on my feet because it's tough to keep a good man down. Seriously, that fight took a lot out of me."

"Just to satisfy my curiosity, how much was the price on my head anyway?"

>>315946

You are not alone! Romance is the last thing we should attempt with her, we've only known her for like a week and half. Let the friendship continue to develop. Armas has very few friends anyway, there's no reason to risk a perfectly good partnership and platonic friendship.

Besides that, pursuing romance with her is not really possible as long as she is dependent on Armas. She's far too independent a person to see a (fairly ham-handed) attempt at romance as anything but an attempt to exploit her right now.

>>315955

Real causally, next time we have a meal with Camella, ask her what she thinks of her new magic weapon. Offer to show her the Brandt file that's got information on it. Remind her Johaan can make special loads for it too. He'll need to take a look at it to pick the right magic for the bullets though.

The Doonongeas' vulnerability to the cold is interesting. Magic cold will help, but so will picking the right venue. Ice rinks and food packaging facilities come to mind.

>>316103
you could order Aman to diplomatically turn away law enforcement, eliminate known enemies, and capture anyone else for later interrogation.

I have it on good authority that Big Crazy's player likes puns. "I understand you're still getting your bearings, but bear with me and no 'arm will come to you. Savoy has escaped; it's enought o give me paws. Boy, am I red in the face over that. I'm drawing a blank as to where he might be now but its time to saddle up and ride. I want to end him before he can do the same to me, and it came to be in a flash. I could use you; you have consider-a-bull talent. And you know he's gunning for the both of us. I could throw a few bucks your way if that would lift your spirits and make you more willing to stirrup trouble. It's a bit of a loaded question, but will you join me?"

Also, maybe take a step back, be glad we're alive after that clusterfuck. See if the nice old neighbor lady is in, spend an hour learning to bake cookies or something.

rolled 73 = 73

---

Rolling for Savoy's next plan of action

If we are going anywhere. Lets go to Finland. I want to re-establish the connection with Ogrimmir, I miss that guy.
Stock up on magic meat jerky before going though.

>>316017
This.

Also, if we're rejecting the vampires offer, you should go for the most you can get. Say to the representative of the other family. "If you were prepared to pay for the Zosimus to be shamed for falling to enforce the results of available, how much more valuable is the opportunity to publicise that the Zosimus themselves can not be trusted to fulfill their obligations under it?"

If they agree to buy the information, then say, "I can provide testimony, with a guarantee that I speak true, that the representative the Zosimus had nominated to speak for them in this matter was actively involved in a plot to trap or kill me, well before I had a chance to face the Doonegeas."

Now, every word of that is the complete truth. It's a very selective telling, but given Savoy's previous form, the entire thing could have been a set up from the start.

>>316085
You think we could shoot a wizard's glasses off and survive?! That was no wizard. That was just a guy who taught at a school the Wizard owns.

>>316242
If we do this, part of the deal should be that they play up Savoy's involvement in this. Get the Vampires to blame Savoy for this, so he has even more shit. If we don't do that, as a pit stop just as we leave for Finland, swing the Asitane, and ask someone someone to give an envelope to a one Cornelius Zosimus the next time he stops in. In it should be a letter in your finest handwriting that reads

"Dear Mr. Zosimus,

Thank for you sending me to a man who was working with a Galileo Savoy to kill me.

Love,
A little more than a napkin"

Amen gets an order to kill Savoy the moment he steps on the property. He also gets an order not to make any more deals with Savoy, because while they will inevitably screw him up, he might be able to do the same to us before that happens. Plus an order to throw something that only has Savoy's fingerprints on it, and is of little value to us, to the crime scene over by the church when no-one is looking and in a manner that can't be traced back to the Mansion.

Then we also send a letter to the germans letting them know that while we're not their fans and totally did everything Savoy said we did, he was the one who hired us to kill Brandt.

Remember before anything, sneak to Amen and ask her about herself, also Really need to talk to Big Crazy.
>>316020
This
>>316222
And that

>>316262
good, but lets do one better, we make it clear that Savoy was using Smets and wanted to kill smets, Also recognise that Smets wasn't beloved, but point out how Savoy was really snubbing all of Zosimus.

We want the Vamps after Savoy, detail the extent of his betrayal, noting how Smets was your contact and you'll need a new one, also make it clear that you killed smets before you knew he was your contact.

If telling them we killed him by having keihas eat him, might help, the do, if it won't then don't!

also you might want to plant a rumour in the Nazis that Savoy was the one who ordered Brandt's death, (truth in a way), get your Mafia friends to help there... they should have a few sleeper agents or something.

Also get in contact with Arkvad about Savoy, see if he has any idea/friends that would help.

Also meet with Sometimes Merchant and talk about dealing with Savoy see if you can bit savoy remains from Amen for this, make some nasty hunting monsters or something.

SM should also be able to hook you up with some supernatural hitmen or merc, hire a few to take on Savoy, also see about a general bounty on his head, something not too high or low...

The plan is simple, the plan is to make a really hard time for Savoy, then we rig our places and vanish form Istanbul for finland for a while.

Also dem Triads, they do not like Savoy either, follow that on.

Also as a show of friendliness to the wolves warn them of Savoy.

Now get on MD auction, this might lure Doony or Savoy, but lets make an interesting idea, the person who buys the MD has to use it agianst Savoy! anyway you need to talk to SM about the auction the get admittion fee sercery and all, make it clear it is an oppertunity for your own profit and his.

Now Road trip...
Bring Keihas and the mere, and infact a number of weapons, have Camella do the stashing in the vehicle and also, get over borders without being caught, or Fake idents and disguises from Criminal contacts Also make sure that everyone who needs to know you are vanishing knows and those who don't , don't know. SM in particular need to do something about food deals, halt them or have them follow you. Don't go before doing all this and the stuff above.

Now upvotes:
>>316091
>>316103
This, we really don't want messed up there, but it is too good of an idea not to use, see about getting some supernatual nasties to come out on the trigger too.

>>316017
This, combine with other suggestions, especailly the bit about Ito. ON the wolf ploy, go straight to the Vamps with the info afterwards. And sell the info to the weres first remember, and get them to say Savoy boasted to them of how he played the vampires, if they don't do that, tell the vamps the weres said that anyway.

>>316012
Due levels of paraniona

If we're going to sell the Mammon's Device let's do it right. Get down to the alley and into the sewers to talk to the Sometimes Merchant. Explain to him we're of the mind to sell the Mammon's Device and we have a proposal that could make this endeavor very profitable for the both of us. We would like him to hold an auction for the gun, drum up attention for our deal, and take in and inform us of bids made for the item and the people tied to them. We do require they keep our identity a secret for the obvious reasons. Where they get something out of this starts with being able to charging admission for any interested bidders under the guise of ascertaining people both serious about buying. Also make note that this is as much advertizing for the goblins as it is for us, they can use this to draw attention towards other deals they would wish to make with interested parties. In fact this not only draws attention for their deals, but it makes a very nice statement towards the trading power of his people by having such a wonderful item being brokered through them. And not only will this be a valuable deal in ways of advertizing, but it provides an excellent opportunity for information gathering. People will make bids and their bids will reveal to the goblins valuables possessed by parties they may have been unaware of previously, in essence they will have dozens of powerful people freely offering information which they would otherwise have to work or pay for. What they don't reveal freely in the form of bids could also be collected, no doubt people there will talk and with the goblins stealth they could glean much from the potential buyers. We do of course want to be informed of any information they glean that could be of use to us as part of the deal.

Once we're done with the goblins we can head out to see Johan Straus, he had some interesting offers for what we could convert the rounds into so we can use them after the device has been sold. I'm thinking we take the offer he had for the Matebas. It seems like one tailored to our situation, previously there were complaints about the Mammon Device's lack of subtly, the pure Death scheme gives us this and all we lose is a bit of power. The effect is also particularly nice, all it takes is six bullets to form a ward that exposes a soul to harm. This is amazing considering it could allow us to hurt enemies we might not normally be able to, even with something like the AA-12. The total cost for the changes to the rounds and to the gun so it can fire the rounds was thirty thousand. We were just informed that Amen freed up twenty-nine thousand from Smets' accounts. It seems like it would be simple enough to haggle him down couple thousand or only purchase six sets of six rounds and then pay him with the money we just got freed up. And while we're at it ask him if he has anything for teleporters or creatures vulnerable to cold. He should have something for both, but the former will probably be something considerably expensive whereas the latter is a rather simple weakness and we could probably make rounds our self, but it never hurts to ask. Who knows? He might surprise us with something.

While we're out we might as well get all the fake documentation needed to leave the country. Get back home and rig up some luggage with fake compartments we could use in case we need to hide anything. Maybe call up Arkvad, he has a job and he probably can't come, but he at least should know a couple people we might want to visit while we're in the homeland. Ask him if there's anything we could bring back for him, maybe a special food he can't get over here. Then try to get the house ready, pack up all our books, files, intelligence and whatever else we have in the ways of documents. In particular I do not want to leave that book of notes on goblin stealth for one of Savoy's goons to find, we should either burn that thing or give/sell it to someone we know won't be able to use it against us. Once all the information in the house is away we need to get our food in order, see if we can't stick our head down the sewer and get Sometimes Merchant to change the location where it's delivered to the fridge in Ito's gym or to Arkvad's house with a note that says not to eat it in English. Finish up by cleaning the place down and making sure we didn't leave much to identify the place as ours.

The next day we should check out how the goblin's auction has been going. We'll want to see the witch if it's been going on well, use the address we were given to go to her home. We have a great deal to discuss with her.



>>316017
>You should ask Ito whether the chakra training would perhaps go more smoothly without all the living energy of the people of Istanbul around us. you should then ask him if he would like to accompany us on a training trip. you're going on a long drive, and you would be very happy for him to accompany us, and do some training in the great outdoors. I'm sure he's had a pretty stressful time of it, setting up a new dojo at his age, and the break will be good for him as well. He doesn't need to come with us all the way, of course, but you'd be honoured by his presence.
Down-voting this, you can't really expect him to do come with us. The man has a school to run, one he can't even afford to keep at the current number of students, he can't just run off on the others for an indeterminate amount of time. It's not good for the dojo and by extension us as we need him to have one so we can continue learning. Sure having him come with us would be nice and we might get to learn a little on the way, but in the long term it doesn't really help us out. Getting him to go only part of the way with us is just irritating if we intend to drive there in a rented car, we would have to arrange for transport back possibly across several borders.

>>316091
This is some good stuff, up-voting. I do hope Amen gives us a log of suckers who fell for the ploy and what became of them, could be an interesting read.

>>316104
Giving an entity of great and terrible power like Amen access to the internet is an...interesting idea.

>>316222
>Also, maybe take a step back, be glad we're alive after that clusterfuck. See if the nice old neighbor lady is in, spend an hour learning to bake cookies or something.
A big yes to saying hello to the old neighbor lady. I wonder if those pages of the cookbook we got have a recipe for a nice casserole we could make her?

>>316242
>>316265
Up-voting these and up-voting hard.

>>316266
>SM should also be able to hook you up with some supernatural hitmen or merc, hire a few to take on Savoy, also see about a general bounty on his head, something not too high or low...
This is interesting and brings an idea to mind. We should try to work a way into getting one of the factions that is pissed at Savoy to hire Blackbeard to work against him. Get that potential threat off our ass and move him onto Savoy. It would be a win for us either way the contest goes.

>Now get on MD auction, this might lure Doony or Savoy, but lets make an interesting idea, the person who buys the MD has to use it agianst Savoy! anyway you need to talk to SM about the auction the get admittion fee sercery and all, make it clear it is an oppertunity for your own profit and his.
A big no the first part. It greatly reduces the value of the device when one attaches such a big string to it and we could go for having several interested people to none in no time.

>>316291
excellent ideas. A few refinements.
1. Sell the goblins the memories of the true potential of the gun, they could then sell that to whomever buys it.
2. Sell with the gun contact info of a person who can make those super demon bullets.
2a. Caveats for #2: First get in touch with the guy and:
A. Ask if its ok
B. Work it into asking for a discount on the mateba modification on the grounds of hooking him up with a new customer.

Ask if goblins or the guy who makes demon bullets can make bullets with a freezing enchantment. :)

>Teleporting
Since teleporting would be exceedingly expensive I imagine, ask for any alternative and discreet methods of fast travel. A way to travel to the other side of the world discreetly in a few hours (shadowwalking or whatever) would be awesome as well and probably a lot cheaper.

Another thing you can do is ask for information of where and how you can acquire such abilities. Specifically, are there lost artifacts guarded by monsters which you can defeat and claim? How about teachers? etc.

>SM halo is an angel's halo he won in a bet
It occurs to me, SM actually has contacts with angels... Lets ask him if he can introduce us. Its one more force to make deals with, and besides if we consider carmella's reaction to mammon I believe she would be happier making deals with the nicer supernaturals.

>>316265
I still think we can play both ends against the middle and not piss off either vampires or wolves, but I have to admit, this is a very Armas thing to do.

>>316315
Not a bad idea, selling the memory of how the Embrace works and the number of the Demonologist (with his permission), but the goblins, strictly speaking, wouldn't be selling the device. They would be our guarantors, assisting in our private auction and a group that people know hold to all deals, thus ensuring the Device's authenticity. We wouldn't be selling the Device to the goblins to sell to other people.

>the nicer supernaturals.

THe angels this is referring to could easily be the floating-wheels-of-eyes, shit-your-pants-in-terror angels.

Ok here is an idea for dealing with some of Savoy's junk.
First, we frame him for the stuff in the church and Smet's place, do it ourselves or get Amen to do it.
Then after that we go to the vampires, tell of Savoy's betrayal, play up that Smets dying(your contact) was His fault, and that he was basically snubbing the vamps. swear an oath you won't say a word of this to anyone else. Then go to wolves, have Amen play back Savoy's words, warn them that Savoy is dishonourable backstabbing swine. Also put it into their heads that the vamps will lose face if they kill Savoy, if they capture him, then the vamps will have to beg/give them things for him.

This connects with the other plans of dealing with Vamps and Werewolves.

>>316335
Well yeah, but Camella would still feel better and think of it this way, Savoy is into demons and whatnot so a bit of holy power wouldn't go astray.

I am in support of trying to get Holy contacts. We need a priest who is involved with the supernatural, SM might know something.

So, this could be our chance to find out about angels--

But I really think we need to strengthen our Winter bond. I say we go to Finland.

>[TO THOSE THAT THINK THE RUSSIAN JOB INVOLVED SHOOTING AT A WIZARD: SEE DISCUSSION THREAD http://quest.lv/kusaba/questdis/res/347115.html]

>>315994
>>316012
I consider what to do-and leave Camella to the papers as I move. Not much for it-if I call the house again, it could look suspicious to anyone that pulls the call record-so I head over to the house, and after waiting for half an hour find a chance to enter the house unobserved, careful to touch nothing. The moment I step onto the house grounds officially-a voice is heard.

>[Amen]"Hm, hm hm-The investigation still alights upon this house, oh master of mine-is it your intent to risk capture?"
"No-but I had some things to discuss with you. For one-I'm going on a trip soon, and in the interim people I have approved may be coming to meet with you. So unless something or someone offers you purposeful harm, be a courteous, non-violent host to them."
>[Amen]"Well well well-That can most certainly be done."
"Next, I want every gun of Smets' collection save the AVT-40 promised to me, and the weapons promised to the real individuals Olga and the fellow you have incapacitated all brought into the sewers without anyone noticing, to be given to the goblins living below-only give them to one that can confirm they are associated with the Sometimes Merchant."
>[Amen]"The guns of my prior master's collection save the four named will be distributed so."
"I'll need to speak with the captive-"
>[Amen]"Oh, oh oh? I shall need to rouse him-currently the captive mortal is unconscious."
"...You have been feeding him, giving him water, all of that.. right?"
>[Amen]"I was merely asked to capture and keep alive-not make comfortable."
"...Okay-well, take me where he is-"
The world blurs around me-and I'm in a concrete cellar with no doors, the man I originally knew as lock bound in barbed chains to the wall, sigils inscribed into the walls around him, his breathing labored-but even. I note Amen to be standing next to me, still dressed in the crisp orange pinstriped suit.
>>316337
>[MMM Trait activated]
"Answer me this-do you know enough of modern day forensics that you can leave evidence within this house such that the next round of investigation would then have reason to believe Galileo Savoy responsible for the shootings across the street?"
As I speak, I hear the bound man groaning, starting to wake up.
>[Amen]"Of course."
"I need to talk with our friend here-please busy yourself setting that up whilst I do so, and come get me when I call for you."
Amen bows, a tidy smirk pained across that ashen face.
>[Amen]"Of course, master."
Amen vanishes without so much as a breeze or sound-

Leaving me alone with my would-be assassin, who ended up aiding me far more than any assassin worth the name should. How to approach this... As his black eyes open and focus on me, I come to a conclusion.
>[DDDD Trait activated]
"So-I happen to know of your contract with Olga Brandt-now deceased. Is there anything you would care to tell me of your own free will?"
For a while the man says nothing, bound to the wall-but finally he acts.
>[BC]"Name's Big Crazy-I'm a mercenary, which I imagine could describe you as well."
"Go on."
>[BC]"Nah- 'afore I go further, I'd like an assurance that I'm not making the whole information extraction job easier for you for nothing."
"You are in no position to haggle."
>[BC]"Maybe. Or maybe you'd be surprised how hard it is to get information from me I don't want to give."
"A possibility-what did Olga tell you of me, before you agreed to this job on my life?"
>[BC]"That cunt? Said you killed someone she respected."
"I did kill a prominent neo-Nazi she and her husband followed-so completely accurate."
>[BC]"'Scuse me?"
"Oh, you did not know your employer was a neo-Nazi?"
The bound man stares at me in silence for a handful of seconds, the gears in his mind whirling-
>[BC]"...Shit. Even best case scenario, having that in my job history would fuck me."
"Hence why if you answer my questions, the nature of your past employer, the job uncompleted-remain our little secret, and your reputaion goes untarnished. Surely that would interest you."
>[BC]"Depends if I survive the conversation."
"Provide me all the information I request-and so long as you swear to not make further attempts on my life, I will let you go."
>[BC]"And why should I believe that?"
"Look at it this way-while you were hired to kill me, you did not shoot at me, but at one of my enemies-in fact, despite your job our interactions have been quite non-antagonistic-thus far. Based on this-I see no reason to not let you go if you are cooperative."
>[BC]"....Okay, so what do you want?"
"Was it Olga that hired you?"
>[BC]"No-old man Bob was contacted by an old friend, passed the job on to me-with no mention of the nature of the employers as Hitler fans."
"The job?"
>[BC]"To impersonate a Mr. Locke until such time as the target-you-could be lead into a trap and killed."
"The trap being this house?"
>[BC]"..We're still in that Smets guy's house?"
"Largely."
>[BC]"Then yes."
"Who were you working with concerning this trap-beyond Olga?"
>[BC]"The fucker that shot me-he arranged the trap-and now I know why-fuckin' asshole."
"Do you know his name?"
>[BC]"Guy that shot me? No."
"His name is Galileo Savoy."
>[BC]"If I get out of here, I'll be sure to remember it. ....Italian?"
"Correct. How much were you paid?"
>[BC]"Ten up front, forty on completion-and I sure as shit am not getting that forty."
"Glad to see you recognize that. Frankly, I've got a lot more problems than you right now. One of the larger ones is one we share- Galileo Savoy."
>[BC]"Didn't off him after I passed out then?"
"He is notoriously hard to make stay still. So... here's the deal. I'm letting you go."
>[BC]"The catch?"
"If you still want to, track me down again and we'll have ourselves a gentlemanly duel. If you want to try and take on Savoy again, give me a call."
>[BC]"A-huh. And the catch?"
"There is none-you did yourself a great service behaving as you did in that job's endgame. Shortly I will have Amen release you-and you can be on your way."
>[BC]"You keeping my Doorbell?"
"..Do you reference that Mare's Leg of yours? No, that shall be returned to you as well."
>[BC]"I don't like asking this, but I have to-you're going to let someone hired to kill you walk away-just like that?"
"Just like that."
>[BC]"...Suddenly I don't feel so bad about my living conditions the last bit. I actually had one more question, then."
"I may answer."
>[BC]"You going to try to kill Savoy?"
"Count on it."
>[BC]"Then I'd like to help you-got this thing where I really don't like betrayel-and I can't complain to Olga about being hired to help neo-Nazis, so... well, I have to lay my complaints at someone's feet."
"I am taking a brief trip-when I return, we can discuss that, if you truly mean it."
>[BC]"How would I contact you?"
"Simply speak with this house's butler-he can inform me of your desire to meet, when I return-but I warn you, Savoy is not so kindly as I am."
>[BC]"Which is why he needs to die-I get the feeling he'll see me as a loose end in need of tidying."
"Perhaps. Amen!"
>[Amen]"Yes, master?"
"Please release Big Crazy and return his belongings to him in a place where he can exit the grounds, please."
>[Amen]"Done."
And so it is-the chains hang loose on the engraved walls.
"Now, please return to me my rifle Keihäs"
>[Amen]"Done."
I can feel the sling hanging over my shoulder-and I still don't detect a whit of attention on me.
"Great-continue to keep the few guns I named out of the collection and the rest of my belongings hidden and safely stored until such time I ask for them-actually, if you can repair the arm to it's pristine, unmarred state that would be ideal."
>[Amen]"I can fulfill such a function-yes, yes, yes I can."
"Do you have access to contacts amongst the rest of the Zosimus dynasty?"
>[Amen]"Indeed-indeed, indeed I do, master."
"Please inform them that Savoy tricked Smets and two other parties into having a three-way altercation, with the hope of being the last one standing-imply that it seems very likely he was after your ownership."
>[Amen]"They shall be informed."
Well-between the Zosimus dynasty, the police and the mafia-Savoy has just a few collectives seeking him out now-hopefully that can keep him quite occupied.
"Last thing-when turning over the weapons to the goblins in the sewers, also provide, at my behest, whatever is left of Savoy's manhood-tell them of its source, and explain they are free to use it as they wish."
The goblins seem to hate Savoy thanks to his ancestry,maybe they could be a fourth party hounding him.
>[Amen]"Understood-and obeyed."
>>316017
"Do you have means of contacting the Muburak clan?"
>[Amen]"That is likewise within my capabilities."
"Then please introduce yourself to their matron Witch, explain you are calling on my behalf, and that I would be most amenable to discussing trade, such that she gets access to your skills and abilities. If she wishes to discuss details, she can leave a direct contact number with you-or contact me herself, if she so chooses."
>[Amen]"She will be informed."
"If anyone comes looking for me, or information on me, you are not to provide it to them unless I personally clear the individual in question."
>[Amen]"Understood... understood understood."
"Oh-as you get money freed up from Smets estate, please transfer it into this account-as discreetly as possible, I wish no overt money trail to officially link me to Smets just yet."
>[Amen]"Requests, requests requests-all heard, all fulfilled."
"Excellent-please relocate me to the house proper-"
I'm standing on the second floor, Amen still before me.
"Well-you have tasks set before you, and I shall leave you to them-call me if something of note occurs."
Amen merely bows-and I vacate the premises, taking twenty minutes to get away from the crime scene, not a single person spotting me.


That... didn't take very long, but a great deal was set in motion. Now... what next?

-Scratch that, someone's attention is on me-I track that focus back to its source-Big Crazy, leaning against the alleyway.
"Something more you needed?"
>[BC]"As it happens-I don't have a passport with me-nor do I have the funds on hand to quitely make my way back home."
"And?"
>[BC]"I seem to be in need of money or connections."
"I have both-why should I offer either?"
>[BC]"You shouldn't-but let me tag along on your 'excursion' and I imagine I can prove you should help me out."
"Is that a bet?"
>[BC]"It's a guarantee."
.....
>[MMM Trait activated]
"Accepted, then-just be aware that Amen knows you now-and I would not recommend trying to hurt that one's master."
>[BC]"Read you loud and clear."
I jot down the location of a lot within a block of my apartment.
"Okay then... meet me at this location at..." I glance at my watch "Five pm."
>[BC]"I'll be there."

I fade into the crowd-and feel Big Crazy's attention slip away from me.
>>316054
...There is another group I could set upon Savoy. So I call my triad contact, and ask to speak with Lo Fang. I get connected-and I tell him everything. I tell him about my 'gate' issue being resolved, I tell him about Savoy's severance of ties with the mafia and exceissively duplicitous actions at Smets' abode-I explain that the police will shortly be looking for him in connection to the event-and that's on top of the mafia and quite likely a Vampire Dynasty. I explain that I heard of Savoy's attempt on his life-and thought Lo Fang would like to be informed. After I finish my information dump, there is a pause long enough I wonder if I was disconnected without noticing, but finally-
>[LF]"...It would seem Labombard was most correct: That event in the healing room was isolated. I find I must thank you for this information-for it most CERTAINLY is relevant to me."
"One more thing-I've been contracted to kill the Doonongaes by a certain date-and after my current errands, I would most appreciate some assistance on the matter."
>[LF]"I shall inform Go Ping, Long Wang and Diao Yuan that May Lee's killer is soon to be hunted-I make no promises on whether they shall choose to aid you-unless, of course, you are looking to purchase assistance?"
"Maybe when I get back."
>[LF]"As I suspected-I imagine we will be speaking more regularly very shortly, Mr. Laine. Until then."
>>316016
>>316090
"Actually-one thing I DO want to discuss purchasing."
>[LF]"Yes?"
"Would you be able to procure some sort of liquid nitrogen grenades? I will need something very... cold when I do hunt the Doonongaes."
>[LF]"Why not ask me on your return-I am certain I will have a conclusive answer for you then."
*click*
Okay-Mafia, Goblins, Vampire Dynasty, Police AND the Triads-have fucking fun, Savoy you shit-eating asshole.



>>316091
>>316103
A plan comes to me-a plan that requires me to hit quite a few different shops-all of it ending with me picking up a mannequin.

[FUNDS:----- US$000,099,699.56]

I assemble my purchases-I scribble down a note in sharpee-and soon enough I have.... me. I've dressed the mannequin up in a cheap pimp's costume, like those I always laughed at back in the states-complete with a neon orange tie. I put the nonfunctioning Mosin Nagant Model 1891/30, complete with a dull bayonet, in the figure's hands-and smirk at the writing on its blank face:

GONE TO TIJUANA FOR TEQUILA AND BITCHES, SEE YOU AT THE DONKEY SHOW

I then check the inside of the breast pocket, the tiny parchment reading:

Camella, too dangerous-at Smets.

Amen won't tell them shit-so they'll have a dead end, and time wasted. Something more.. drastic may be more entertaining-but could earn me a whole mess more enemies without much gain for me.

As I arrive back home, setting up the mannequin directly before the front door, as visible as possible. From there, I slowly turn to Camella, who has been pointedly staring at me since the moment I walked in, mannequin in hand.

"As it happens I have a vacation upcoming. Have to leave a little something in case anyone comes knocking in my absence."
>[Camella]"Somehow I get the feeling you are not going to Tijuana."
>[DDDD Trait activated]
"Indeed not-I go to Finland, actually-been planning one of those 'explore your roots' trips for quite some time-I'm sure you can understand the impetus to know more about one's blood."
For once I seem to catch her off-guard-and the irritation bleeds away from her face, replaced with understanding and pain-
>[RAPID RATIONALISM Trait activated]
-Her lost family-the world she can never see again-I made her think about it.... crap. Okay-
"Do you want to come? You don't have to answer now, not leaving JUST yet-going to Ito's, right now. Want to go there, and think about the other one?"
>[Camella]"Pushy, pushy-fine, let us go to Ito's-I could do with a workout."

At Ito's, turns out the whole gang is there-Ahmad, Hadar, Shaya, Yoni, Hafaz-all drilling in Jukenjitsu. At our arrival we get a welcome warmer than any since Hafaz first began to suspect me-and shortly enough Camella has got them all riled up, a furious set of unstructured sparring breaking out-she wasn't kidding, she's practically trying to beat each and every one of them into the ground-well, works for me. I use the distraction to step into a private room with Ito-and resume my training on the nature of Chakras.

Lessons seem to have been radically revamped-my meditation is now exertion, my body spread eagle, only hands and feet on tiny handles, suspending my bodyweight in the air-with burning hot stones placed on my back, my neck, even my skull-seven stones, for the seven chakras. Ito lectures me, periodically quizzing me as he without warning lashes out with a reed whip-the goal being to focus on his words so well that despite my strain I remain in position. At first I fall time and again-but my magical saturation from constant meals of otherworldly origin, my decades spent tirelessly stalking under goblin tutelage each behoove me-and I start being able to answer his questions. The Muladhara, the Root Chakra-it lies in my prostate, beneath the burning stone resting on my pelvis. The Swadisthana, the Sacral chakra, lies in the tail of my spine, a burning stone resting atop it. The Manipura-the Solar Plexus chakra-I feel the stone burning through my back, reaching out towards a place near my navel. The Anahata, the Heart Chakra-I feel the stone's heat reaching about my spine and between my ribs, questing for my core. Vishuddha, the Throat Chakra-the stone resting over the span of two cervical vertebra makes my neck feel like molten fire. Ajna, the Third Eye Chakra, a stone on the back of my head reaching for my brow. Lastly... the Sahasrara, the Crown Chakra-the stone's heat boiling my scalp over the space that, when I was an infant, was called the soft spot. On and on it goes, him naming each of the seven Chakras, describing the segment of the body they lay in, and quizzing me as I strain myself into stillness, heat pouring through my body.

As the lesson progresses.. it shifts, attaining new facets. He begins to describe the sensation of energy within each chakra, the varying nuances he was taught and has experienced, implacably keeping the stones upon me piping hot. After four hours of this-he exits the room, leaving me in silence with no company save myself. I couldn't say how long he was gone-I was far too busy differentiating between absorbed heat... and Ito's description of energy. Something... I can feel it, some force, a pinprick of energy here and there...which ones? Where? I keep focusing, my breathing steady, my body rigid-as I start naming those perceived energies. Swadhisthana.....Vishuddha.... and Sahasrara. I feel something... more, than the heat that should burn yet doesn't. I carefully let myself down, stand, stretching as the stones clatter to the ground, the heat fading-

Yet the sense of those three chakra's remaining. I exit the room-to find Ito pushing me back within. He sits me down-and we converse. He changed the lessons because it seemed to suit my style more-and as a result, three of the chakra's along my my median line fitfully awoke. He goes on to say I should do no more lessons on the subject-until I can find a way of tapping the energies of the chakras yet active. He tells me that the method is something I will have to come to myself-even as he notes it interesting that I learned far more swiftly from the original lessons than the ones Ito himself learned from.

I duck out of the gym, with the time approaching five, and head off to my rendevous. I am greeted with a gun tossed my way-a Tokerov with a blood-stained muzzle and the faint sense of magic. Big Crazy calls it an axe-burier for us-and says he would be happy to go on the trip.

I make some plans with him-and head back to Ito's gym, joining the rest in the still continuing but now far more structured fighting taking place within. This continues for some time-before my phone rings.

I excuse myself from the continued spars and answer.
"Armas-"
>[Cornelius Zosimus]"I have only one question for you, so think carefully before answering: What happened to Amen?"
>[MMM Trait activated]
"Still bound-currently listening to me."
>[CZ]"....Very well then. It would seem you will need a new contact-I shall send it shortly. ...Thank you for the name of the party responsible for this."
I can feel him moving to hang up-
>>316265
And am seized in a fey mood.
"Mr. Zosimus: Thank for you sending me to a man who was working with Savoy to kill me. Really, compliments from a little more than a napkin"
>[CZ]"Wha-"
"We'll be in touch."
*click*
Maybe not my most brilliant move... but hey, at least for the moment my plans aren't biting me in the ass-so I figure I'm doing okay. And I got to mouth off to him. Always nice.

>>316291
After the lessons are concluded-at least for Camella and Me-culminating in us leaving, I bring my goblinic training hours up to forty eight-
And ask to speak with the Sometimes Merchant. I explain that I want to hold an auction for Mammon's Device-and sell to the goblins the memories of how Mammon offered me a means of more fully tapping the greed based powers within-which they can then sell to the highest bidder. Sometimes Merchant notes that for a respectable attendance-a crowd that could push the price to suitable levels in bidding wars-would take some time to set up-many of those who would be interested in such an item have... rather irregular schedules. Making them match up will be difficult-and pricey. I note how I provided Galileo's balls to them-and Sometimes Merchant, his mask switching back to the gleeful visage, relents. Well, got that pending now.

I head back home.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27th, 2010


The day dawn as most do-with a caveat. Camella says nothing over breakfast-right until we are finishing.
>[Camella]"...I don't think I want to go with you-I need to get my affairs, such as they are, in order-the gold needs to be liquidated-and I think I could work at Ito's as an assistant instructor-he implied such. Maybe next time?"
"If that's how you feel. Will you be staying-"
>[Camella]"At his place-I want nothing to do with your purusuers-or what they'll do when they see your taunt."
"What, it's a good idea. Call me if something happens, okay?"
>[Camella]"Wait, you're leaving today?"
"Probably. Oh, mind checking the mail while I'm out? Looking for something from either a Mr. Jagda or Labombard. Call me if they write?"
>[Camella]"...Sure."
She looks for a moment as if she is going to say more, then-
>[Camella]"Are you taking the van?"
"Nah-you can hold onto the Right Laine. Don't want to give them something easily tracked like that. Besides, you need wheels too."
>[Camella]"...Thank you."
She gets up rather swiftly-moving to collect her things and get ready to move house-as I go through my mental inventory-I have my Matebas-I'll swing by the storage and reclaim the judges-and I have Keihas. That should be good for a little trip, with no intention of killing anyone. ..Oh right, I'll have the Buntline too.

I trot off,, making my stops-before bringing the three MD rounds I hadn't brought on the mission with me to Johan's after calling ahead-and give him the Matebas, the twenty grand in check for retooling each to take converted MD rounds-with five thousand covering the conversion of the three rounds I brought into eighteen rounds set between three speed loaders. He says he'll be done in a day-

[FUNDS:----- US$000,074,699.56]


Which is my cue to call Big Crazy with the number he gave me-and ask if he has a car. He notes Olga had a car.

Even better, I find out that my minifridge fits inside of it-along with my cutlery and cooking utensils. With that established...


And just like that, my roadtrip to Finland with Big Crazy, a man who was originally hired to kill me... begins.

I am starting to feel bad for savoy... Which means we still haven't gone far enough :P

>>316401
Give him a little while, I'm sure he'll up his own levels of trollishness to counter ours.