Dramatis Personae

• Arnold Zahn (NPC): Son of Ares. Has a deathwish. Drunk. Tagline: “How about that drink?”
• Julie Wilms aka The Assistant (Winfred’s Ally): Human, probably. Former covert agent turned convert. Now spends her time assisting, guarding, and herding Winfred. Tagline: “Time to go, Sir.”
• Sarah J. Pokorny (NPC): Daughter of Thoth. Magician. Capable as hell. Tagline: “I may be in a wheelchair but I’ll kick your ass.”

Previously . . .

Over the past week, the group has moved into Winfred’s penthouse in the Regency Towers which Winfred acquired after a meth lab fire killed the property values. They’re still sticking together for safety so everyone has been staying in the same apartment for now. Pokie has worked with Adelphin to create a mystical contract for someone joining the Baby Turtles, managing to make something that’ll work to their specifications, speaking of which their Baby Turtle initiative is already drawing some attention with applicants. They currently have had two people over the past week who have both called Pokie due to how they’ve dealt with the Thule Society and word has gotten around.

They’ve only got a file on one of the demigods from the Thule’s stockpile of dossiers. Leslie J. Bonaventure, the godling child of Lakshmi and Daddy Greenbucks who was outcast by both pantheons. The file tells the group that he’s got OCD and is quite greedy, he’s been around for about 120 years and has survived the previous Harrowing. He holds a job as a professional jeweler and diamond seller, owning a jewelry front but has benefits from blood diamond ventures. He’s not exactly the highest moral fiber, but he’s not bad enough to work with the Thule Society. He was kicked from the Indian Pantheon for his amoral attitude while Daddy Greenbucks kicked him for the trouble with the economy and stock market in the 70s.

Diamond and the Green

Ekaterini Tsakalidis, Tercallus, Theroikon, and Winfred Timotheos
Diamond and the Green Diamond Exchange
Sunday January 2nd, 2012, 1000 hours
4850 W Flamingo Rd Ste #49, Las Vegas, NV 89103

Ekaterini, Winfred, and Pokie go to visit Leslie at his shop, Diamond and the Green, in the Flamingo Business center. Ekaterini is able to detect that it’s really warded. Julie is sitting in the car with Shira, Theroikon, and Callum who is telling them about his old days as a drummer and how his dreams were shattered when he broke his wrist in the metal shop during high school, he was basically put back together with cement and screws and it hurts like hell in the rain. He’s apparently a veritable gold mine for musical talents and information. During their exciting conversation, Thero and Cal still keeps an eye out seeing druggies on the street and some shady men entering the diamond exchange, the sort of shady where it looks less like someone wanting to kidnap other people and would rather sell some items. Cal’s danger sense does detect that one of the men that entered is about to try to rob the place.

Inside the diamond exchange is bit worn down but immaculate which Ekaterini appreciates. They can see the employees at work with Leslie just barely detectable in the back room behind the door with 80s music blasting through headphones loud enough that it could be heard by Thero outside if he listened closely. Pokie wheels up to the counter and hits the bell for Leslie to look at her for a second before finishing what he’s doing and then walking out. He greets her and suggests a more intimate relationship than what is in actuality.

Leslie looks over Ekaterini and Winfred and is able to detect that they’ve got some money in their banks. He invites them back to his office which is impeccably decorated with thick carpet and what appears to be copy of the resolute desk from the White House. Leslie mentions that they’re putting together a defense league and how it was tried before and that the gods don’t like that. But they’ve got some moxie and some success with the Thule and the fact that they managed to get Zahn and Pokie on their side. Ekaterini says that a good analyst doesn’t just use one data point and spills some of the scotch she was offered, cleaning it up which impresses Leslie.

However, Leslie isn’t impressed by how quiet that Winfred is being, who outlines everything that they know about him and that it’s not exactly that they need him but that he needs them if he wants to try to hide a bit better. Ekaterini tries to smooth things over by seducing Leslie a bit but instead ends up dribbling the scotch down her front while trying to drink seductively, but Winfred’s pitch back was impressive enough for him to ask him about the contract they’ve got. It’s apparently quite impressive to him though he tries to argue for some more perks for his side. Using the Intercom spell with Julie, Winfred manages to negotiate it back down so that Leslie only uses aboveboard methods of investment.

When the shooting starts in the diamond exchange, Leslie completely dives behind his desk while Winfred pulls Pokie away from the door as he communicates with Julie to aim to disable and not kill as his life is not in danger. Ekaterini keeps an eye out and causes one of the gunman’s clothes to start to try to strangle him as Pokie preps a defensive spell. Winfred, keeping an eye out starts to prep his own Awe spell. Cal heads towards the door and corrodes out the lock on the door keeping it from being opened. Julie, pulling the door open goes inside past Cal. Thero, having followed the two moves in and goes to grapple the man whose clothing isn’t strangling him.

Back in the back room, Ekaterini materializes a bag of coinage to use as a weapon while Winfred’s spell hits the man that Thero is grappling, causing overwhelming awe an ecstasy in the man’s brain for the next ten minutes. Ekaterini thumps the man on the floor, and then delivers a speech from The Godfather that finally convinces Leslie to sign immediately. He says that he’ll stop by later with information that they can go over and incorporate properly for everything, leaving the two thugs for Leslie to work with.

Gold and Silver, Silver and Gold

Ekaterini Tsakalidis, Tercallus, Theroikon, and Winfred Timotheos
Gold and Silver in Them Hills Pawn Shop
Sunday January 2nd, 2012, 1200 hours
713 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89101

The second applicant is Jessica M. Steinhoff. The Thule don’t have any kind of file on her but Pokie has worked with her before. She’s a lover of outdoors and is an animal enthusiast and she’s a professional party planner. She wanted to be a zookeeper but that didn’t work out so she went into entertaining. She’s only Thirty-three after all. She’s a godling of Dionysus and Hera and was taken care of by an ocean nymph for awhile before being on her own. She’s not an outcast, but she also isn’t favoured by them either, essentially ignored. She specializes in magic like Pokie, but mostly in terms of potions. She doesn’t have problems with the number of people that come to visit her unlike Leslie so everyone is happy to come around.

When they arrive, they’re invited in by someone that is more attractive than even Winfred. She talks about their reason for coming and tells them that it’s unlikely that she’d be any real help since she’s a non-combatant. She seems a bit miffed with Pokie for having spilled that she wanted to be a zookeeper or her heritage. Ekaterini asks about Jessica’s partying capabilities, whether she’s been to the Karnival Hotel, she hasn’t, or if she’s been the Caeser’s Palace, she hasn’t but doesn’t like it due to her heritage and having been abandoned by her parents. She doesn’t like the idea of joining a group since it’ll probably end up trying to fight everyone with a large enough group.

Ekaterini tries to convince her with the fact that everyone needs connections which doesn’t convince Jessica too well. Thero has more effect by changing into rat that Jessica immediately nuzzles. She asks what they’d expect if she joins and asked back what she has to offer. In her case, she’s got a couple thousand recipe drinks, a party planning company, the ability to create magical potions and or relics. She’s more reassured when Winfred tells her not to shut down her company, she’s got a finger on the pulse of the town and the fact that she isn’t being forced to fight is something that makes her happiest as Thero and her make plans to visit Lake Mead.

None of them know much about the Harrowing in general so they look at Pokie who explains what’ll happen. That they’ll be drawn to a single place and a ritual will be held with a sacrifice and for thirty minutes they’d have to hold out in a battle royale. If someone manages to last but not kill another demigod, they’re considered excused from the entire Harrowing. It’s going to be a difficult fight in that case. Once they’ve killed another demigod, during the ritual, they are locked into the ritual. With a quick explanation done, Thero and Jessica reaffirm their desire for a date as she says she’s going to speak with a Red Lodge person that she knows.

Heading back to the penthouse they investigate their options right now. Increase their fortifications, find items that they could utilize, and possibly other allies or lodges. Looking back, the Bluebird Lodge is kindly disposed towards them but they don’t have the resources to do anything major to aid them in any way other than information, perhaps introducing Jessica is one of many options. The discussion goes towards finding a mana battery where the odds are a bit high but Winfred does have a few contacts.

Winfred knows John A. Silver who he knows via Julie who did the wards on Regency Towers. Holkum is two things, absolutely obsessed with demigods and power of belief , and absolutely obsessed with relics. He’s lazy and a bit of an art lover that he’ll be happy to trade for magic items. He’s also squeamish as hell. In his pawn shop’s, Gold and Silver in Them Hills, front room is basically anything that they could think of, as long as it’s second hand. He’s excited to see Winfred and hits on Julie a bit which is responded with blankly and a bit of a blush.

Ekaterini inquires about a magic workshop for herself and is shown a good sized steamer trunk of equipment which she considers while Winfred speaks with John. He asks for a mana battery which John has one on hand in the form of mirror a obsidian flat circle with a wooden handle. They test it to discover that it could contain about 2,000 energy inside it at any one time, he got it for only about $100k but it’s worth at least $10 million. For Winfred, he’s giving a 20$ discount of $8 million which is outside of Winfred’s current bank account.

The second thing on the list is getting the obsidian sword identified which is identified as a relic that they picked up. The obsidian grows back whenever broken for one thing, anything else would require that he spends more time investigating it and considering its origins he doesn’t want it in his shop any longer since it’s something from the Aztec Pantheon and they’re all about blood.

John does give them an alternative way to earn the battery in the form of bounty hunting a former partner who stole a lot of goods from him. Kill him or turn him into the authorities, it doesn’t matter which to John as long as he gets his stuff back. What complicates it is that his former partner, Solomon T. Gold, is also a godling, the offspring of Ptah and Enyo. The deal is that whatever happens, whatever isn’t on the list is something that the group can keep, but he wants his stuff back. If something isn’t there, he’s going to have to assume that they’re being fair. The problem is that he’s got the Helmet of Invisibility and he’s pissed off a few other pantheons due to stealing and siding with the wrong side of things. For sure he sided with the Greeks and stole from a lot of people. He’s dangerous and likely to kill at least one of them, Winfred says that it’d probably be him.

John stares at him for a moment before dragging a silk bag from a nearby cabinet and tosses it to Winfred who looks inside to find a silver ring engraved with protection runes. But they’re welcome to walk out of there today with the mana battery as long as they take care of Solomon. He put John’s wife in the hospital, but if someone forced Solomon then something may be forgiven at least. Winfred asks what hospital she’s in, she’s obviously in trouble when in a life-threatening position and Winfred isn’t someone to let that slide.

Faith Abides

Ekaterini Tsakalidis, Tercallus, Theroikon, and Winfred Timotheos
Mountain View Hospital
Sunday January 2nd, 2012, 1200 hours
3100 N Tenaya Way, Las Vegas, NV 89128

John closes up shop and directs them to Mountain View Hospital where his wife is in the ICU with broken bones, damaged limbs, bruised and beaten and missing an eye and clinging to life. Theroikon starts off the healing session by naturally healing her with his aetheric powers before Winfred takes over, starting off with a diagnose spell, learning that she’s got brain damage in addition to her other injuries. Utilizing Restoration and then a Healing spell to bring her to proper health.

Aftermath

Since she’s intubated, she starts to freak out at her sudden situation while John tries to comfort her as alarms start going off around the room. A nurses rush in, recognizes Winfred by reputation as a faith healer for a split second before being distracted by John’s wife and starts to treat her. The Turtles take this moment to exit stage left, just staying long enough to tell a weeping John to bring her around after she’s been discharged and they’d take a look at restoring her eye. Things end with them heading back to Regency Towers and planning the best way to track down Solomon.

After Action Report (GM)

This was a really great game. If I hadn’t needed to do something else I would have ran another hour or two. The PCs stuck together, but were kind of split. They were “Scene-Adjacent” and fine with not having an immediate impact on the first NPC they visited. Then I had some guys jump out with guns. If it works for Chandler it works for me. The latter half was even better as I started riffing of Chris D. for some background NPCs and then the PCs did the right thing and helped Silver’s unconscious wife by healing her. He’s always been rubbish at healing spells. So that was nice.

Setting up the next big plot for the team was also a genuine joy as they realized out of character they are going to be tangling with the Aztecs gods. Maybe even something else…we’ll see how they respond.

Other Notes

None.

Soundtrack

“Ordinary World” (Cover) by The Hit House (Opening Song)
“Money” by Pink Floyd (meeting Bonaventure)
“Do You Feel It?” by Chaos Chaos (Closing Song)