Shen's Quest IC, OMG I'm running for Emo Samurai... Options

[Ophis]

OOC-Okay this is a mini campaign for mr Emo Samurai, it's a solo gig, so at the mo no one else to play. I may add extra people if the plot goes that way. For Emo, do rolls on this thread in spoilers please, any OOC questions to me in PMs.

Okay Emo, you have your basic brief from Phoenix, and an address. The ball is in your court now.

[emo samurai]

Shen crosses the Salish border without incident; he is, after all, a citizen. He doesn't drive; instead, he tells the car to park somewhere near the border, slots the parking fee for a week, and with a flash and a glimmer conjures a misty spirit of air to conceal and fly him to the apartment in the alley behind a nearby bar. He also physically masks himself to look like a kindly old black man so that no one recognizes him. He shrugs off the drain, accesses the grid, and guides the spirit to the apartment invisible.

[ Spoiler ]

It's a force 4 air spirit with the Guard power. It got 2 successes, Shen got 4 successes with 13 dice on his drain resistance, and with the force 4 power focus got 6 successes. He casts Physical Mask at force 6 and stages down 2 drain out of 4.

[Ophis]

The apartment seems normal enough on the outside, no signs of any special defences, just a substandard wooden door and cheap ass masonry walls. Shen can have a look around the area there's no unusual activity here except what could be a couple of drones loitering high above the block.

[emo samurai]

His body goes limp in the spirit's grasp as his mind leaves it to explore the premises, to check if the setup is, indeed, what they say it is.

[Ophis]

As Shen's spirit touches the wall of the building he senses something ahead of him blocking his passage. Seems the place is warded.

[emo samurai]

He sits and watches people come and go to see if everything's clear, assensing the people entering and leaving to see if they're the people they say they are.

[Ophis]

Shen can sit and watch people for a while, though no one is going into the building. After about an hour, a food delivery will arrive, the door wiill be opened by and man in his mid twenties, with native features and long blond hair. He chats to the delivery man for a few moments, takes the box of deliveries from him and as he does so winks at Shen.

[ Spoiler ]

feel free to make your assening test for his aura, at minus 4 dice due to him being only partially thru the ward.

[emo samurai]

[ Spoiler ]

1 success and a glitch.

[Ophis]

The man answering the door, is completely mundane, he seems fairly bored but is otherwise healthy. He seems aware of your presence but is not astrally active.

[emo samurai]

Holding up the physical mask spell, I decide to touch down in the alley behind the building and knock on the door.

[ Spoiler ]

Am I going too slowly? Should we move this to AIM?

[Ophis]

The door is answered after about a minute, not by the man you just saw but by an attractive human in her late twenties. Her hair is long and worn loose, black streaked with red. She's unarmed but wears a black catsuit that seems to be armoured.
"Hi, who the hell are you?" she asks, her expression is serious and hard. Behind her you can spot the man shifting about in the room keeping an eye on your converstaion.

[ Spoiler ]

Pace is fine by me, AIM would be harder to organise as I'm usually working during day time and tabletopping or sleeping at night, may be possible to do at some time, but I'll get back to you on that.

[emo samurai]

Shen, realizing that Phoenix has already seen his true form, decides to drop the spell and tells her, "My name is Shen, and I am here to see Phoenix about a task he has asked me to do."

[ Spoiler ]

I guess the pace is okay for me, too. Then again, I'm vacationing in China from next Wednesday until the 5th of July, so I'll be busy then.

[Ophis]

She grins, "Come on in then, I'm Cheerleader, my feral friend is Wildside."

Once you inside she hands you a odd looking commlink marked with a simple handprint. "Can I get you something to drink? We have tea as well as beer."

The apartment pretty much looks as you expected , though someone has installed some sensor pods on the window frames. The guy at closer look has a fairly bestial cast to his features, not orc, just somewhat feline and not in a cute bishi way.

[ Spoiler ]

Thats cool, just warn me again before you go

[emo samurai]

"Tea would be nice." Shen nods a silent greeting to Wildside.

"So what is it exactly that you do? And why would you need my skills if you already have at least some degree of in-home magical support? I'd assume that it's not subcontracted work; most groups short of mid-level corporations wouldn't pay 100 :nuyen: an hour for the erecting of a ward."

[Ophis]

"We need your skills, in helping people sort their lives out." says Cheerleader, "We both do the security side of things on this operation, Phoenix wants you to cover the counselling side."

[emo samurai]

*Sips his tea* "I would be pleased to help. I remember Phoenix mentioning two young girls who have been through a lot."

[Ophis]

"Three actually but he has another expert working on the worst case." Cheerleader states, a little too matter of factly, "The other two are in there rooms at the moment Hannah, and Wing are their names. They seem to be able to function but have no real idea about where to go next. Phoenix said you have experience helping people find their way in life."

[emo samurai]

Shen looks a little sad as he gazes into his tea. "Yes... Yes I do."

[Ophis]

"Cool, I'll let you get settled for a moment while I go and check the girls are okay for you to meet them, they're a little nervous around men at the moment. Unless you want a bit of a run down of the situation they where rescued from."

[emo samurai]

"I would like to know more about them."

[Ophis]

"Well up until about a week ago, they lived in a glass fronted room in a very posh house in Bellvue. They were the 'possessions' of a fairly well connected arms dealer, we're talking connections with Chimera, maybe even Winternight, basically a bastard's gun runner. He had tastes that ran into domination, he liked his lovers to act as slaves to him so much he kept them as slaves. Both of the two your dealing with were street kids, runaways one from an restrictive family and one after a bad time at High School. They got grabbed by people and sold into slavery. They've been slaves to the guy in question for about 3 years, we think that they've witnessed him causing the deaths of other slaves." Cheerleader keeps the deadpan tone throughout her speech. Even with out being astral you can sense the emotion she's repressing.

[emo samurai]

The little light there is in the room fails to fall across Shen's face for a moment. "Has he been dealt with?"

[Ophis]

"Not as yet, Phoenix is unsure about the guy's strength. He has a viable team or two for take down, but isn't sending anyone in unprepared."

[emo samurai]

"Anything else about the girls?"

[ Spoiler ]

I'm leaving tomorrow; I guess I'll have to wait for your answer until July the 1st.

[Ophis]

ooc- have a good time.