No Time to Die

Mission Report

In the dusty backrooms of the Bitten Hand inn, deep in the warrens of Dust Town, New Volt, The Pillar of Indignity channelers meet with the hardened Quake operative JilMil to plot. A Quake cell, holding vital information on the nearby military holding of Farsight Post, have been captured and slated for execution.

The plan is to get John Heartwood and Aubrey Gene arrested and slated for execution (as both these party members can operate without needing access to an Astir). Then, during the execution, break everyone out while they are outside the Administration Fortress. JilMil agrees, this is a good a plan as any.

New Volt sits across three mesas rising out of the desert (with a dark and smoky undercity of foundries and industry nestled between them). The main square of Dust Town, the largest and southernmost of the three mesas, is where the executions are to be held. To the north-west lies the taller (but smaller) mesa with the Administration Fortress on it, a large iron and stone slab of heavy-duty oppression.

Best Laid Plans

Five to noon, the Dust Town square is thronged with people gathered to watch the execution; the air is thick with a sense of inevitability, the exhales of a populace long-used to these sights. The worn gallows sit cordoned off to the north of the wide circular space, a naked and insolent threat. Dotted through the crowd Ashur, Lily, and ReyKur. Aubrey and John are both locked in a cramped armoured prison transport - otherwise alone. The crew’s Astir’s (and John’s big axe) are stowed in a nearby delivery van¹.

Beneath the buzz and hum of the crowds, the three channelers whisper amongst themselves and JilMil over their vox-links. JilMil’s contact in the fortress has got the schedule, a group of general criminals (slackers and dissidents) will be hanged first, followed by the Quake cell, and finally the newly arrested Aubrey and John Heartwood. Not ideal, but we can make it work.

Noon, the first recipients of G.U.M.C. justice are shuffled out onto the platform. As Lily looks up, shielding the sun from her eyes, her gaze locks into the eyes of a member of The Assembly. Their techno-magical augments sprouting from their head are recognisable instantly, and so is the mixed sense of guilt and gratitude that hits Lily like a train. She has no choice.

“It’s time to go, now.”

This is not the plan, and Ashur hisses this at her through the vox. It is, unfortunately, too late - the vox-link is crushed on the ground and Lily’s bone & sinew Astir is powering up as her teeth grind together in fury.

Chaos Revolver

As the others rush back to join her and power their own Astirs up - Lily is already striding out into the square. She pulls out the Chaos Revolver and fires for the black-masked executioner up on the gallows. The first shot shatters into the crowd, screams erupting with the smoke and dust, the second finds its mark - obliterating the executioner and a large portion of the Gallows.

In the prison transport, the sound of that shot and the subsequent alarm, sounds suspiciously to Aubrey and John Heartwood like “the signal”. Aubrey flexes their arms, and begins to channel their magic, vines and treebranches growing out from their body and prising the van apart from the inside.

It gives, with a groaning screech, but not before John Heartwood has also taken a beating from errant branches, growing into his legs and wounding him badly. Undeterred, Aubrey, now grown into their titanic form, rips open the next armoured car, while John Heartwood punches a surprised guard in the nose.

Back in the square, the fight has begun in earnest.

Ashur, his wraith-construct Astir flowing around him like a funeral shroud, flings out his spectral hammer. It collides heavily with Captain of the Guard Morvat “The Worm” Vor, cutting off his shouted orders to “Halt, lay down your arms,…” with a mighty clang of metal on metal. As his commanding officer reels, a guardsman in a Compliance-pattern Ardent² charges forward through the smoke to engage Ashur, tearing across him with a blast of energy from his flux-thrower.

Lily charges forward, under a hail of crackling lightning fire from the Compliances behind the security cordon, she secures the condemned Assembly member, bringing them into her cockpit, and wheels round to face Morvat. Her revolver comes up again, and she fires point blank into him, focussed.

ReyKur engages another guardsman, her clanking and shambling Astir of discarded mining equipment bound together with grey-black sinew clashing against the saw-stave wielded by the opposing Ardent.

How Many Snails?

Back in the main street off the square, John Heartwood is looking down into the ruined transport Aubrey popped open, and can see the Quake cell hunkered down inside. He helps them to their feet, and introduces himself (loudly). They need to get away, Aubrey summons a swarm of Snail familiars to help the Quake escape, and John Heartwood leads the way out through the narrow twisted streets, pushing through the chaos of the massed crowds fleeing the square and melting away into the alleys of Dust Town.

As Aubrey turns back to the square, she hears the sounds of marching Ardents from the North. The street leads directly up to the Iron Bridge, and the Administration Fortress across it, and reinforcements are arriving. At the head of the column is a finely worked ardent, in shining silver with a flapping blue cape, carrying a long lance. A voice from the loud hailer,

“Halt, sinners, you defy the holy order with base violence. Lay down your arms and justice will be swift!”

Aubrey doesn’t buy it, or just simply doesn’t care. To slow the advance they lope across the street and begin to tear down a huge clocktower. As it cracks, beginning to fall, through the rubble and rockdust a piercing bolt of light screams out and strikes their titanic form across the shoulder. Wounded, but with an effective blockade in place, she turns back to the fight in the square.

Smoke and Dust

As Lily draws Morvat’s attention, from the other side of the square Ashur lets his hammer fly once more and it strikes home. Morvat’s Astir, Tunnel Bore, is disintegrated into shimmering mist³.

The last of the security forces are mopped up, cleft in twain, and slammed bodily into the blood-soaked dust. With the Quake cell secure and (presumably) heading to the lift down to the Undercity with John Heartwood, all that remains is for the channelers to escape themselves.

Ashur weaves his magic around them all. His own partial corporeality seeps through his mortal allies, turning them and their Astirs into wraiths. They move off, fading into the dark alleys and walking wholly through smaller buildings in Dust Town. Eventually, meeting up with John Heartwood and their rescued comrades at the lift. As they make their escape, John rigs the lift to blow, and the whole group flees off into the Undercity and the desert as the dull cracking thud of the explosion rings out between the mesas of New Volt.⁴

Outcomes

• Rescued the Quake cell & secured vital information to infiltrate Farsight Post.
• Heavy civilian casualties at New Volt.
• Marshal Felicity has seen Aubrey Gene‘s distinctive titanic form, and will recognise it.

Setup

What’s Happening?

A Quake cell have been captured, and are slated for execution, along with some other captured dissidents and slackers.

Meanwhile, the Ordo Militant Marshal Felicity is staying with the town governor.

Locations

The city of New Volt is a large mining town built over three large mesa rocks. The area around this rock formation was once dense jungle, but has been cleared for mining operations. Now New Volt houses mine workers, and operates some large factories and foundries feeding the mine works.

The city is split into three sections on each of the mesa rocks, with bridges between them.

• Dust town:
  • Southernmost region, largest of the three
  • Housing for workers and common folk
  • Busy claustrophobic streets
  • Dirty, dusty
  • Locations:
    • Main square
    • The Bitten Hand Inn
    • The Volt Market
    • Grand Lift
• The Spike:
  • North-west region, smallest but tallest of the mesas
  • Housing for Mining Concern officials, and official buildings and administration.
  • Grim, functional, buildings
  • Locations:
    • The Administration Fortress
• North town:
  • North-east region, smaller than Dust town
  • Housing for higher-rank families, factory owners, and the amenities they expect
  • More open streets, tent clothes and awnings cover streets. Small pools, greenery
  • Locations:
    • The Church of St. Ursula
    • The Sapphire Quilt Bathhouse
• Undertown:
  • Between the mesas the factories lurk in the shade
  • Factories, foundries, and the very worst living conditions
  • Dense, smoky, choking streets
  • Locations:
    • None to speak of?
• Bridges:
  • There are 4 bridges between the mesas
  • Iron Bridge
    • Between Dust Town and The Spike
    • Relatively narrow, fortified, well-guarded
    • Retractable?
  • Main Bridge
    • Between Dust Town and North Town
    • Wide, open, made of rock
  • New Bridge
    • Between Dust Town and North Town
    • Narrow, made of steel
  • Silver Bridge
    • Between North Town and The Spike
    • Well guarded, but not as militarily inclined as the Iron Bridge

Resistance Assets

• Quake cell, slated for execution
  • Nord Arndor (he/him)
  • Cal (they/them)
  • Tux Frume (they/them)
  • Jessie J. Needle (she/her)
  • Can operate together as a Resistance Cell II, but weaponless.
• Quake operator Jilmil,
  • Golgolgol with a heavy countenance and deep mottled green scales
  • She/her
  • Guarded / uncompromising / jaded
  • Traditional golgolgol daggers 1 (melee / defensive)
  • Charged elixir of greater incandescence 1 (melee / bane, area, setup)
• Fallen Dragons member Lavinia
  • A human with long mousy hair and thin glasses, tall and willowy
  • She/her
  • Hopeful / trusting / idealistic

Argent Court Actors

• Captain of the Guard Morvat “The Worm” Vor (Side: brash, underhanded) (mundane).
  • He/him
  • Fine sword (melee) I
  • Projected lance (ranged) I
  • Astir: Tunnel Bore III
    • Greatsword (melee / area, 2H)
    • Loud-hailer, allies weapons get Bane when nearby.
    • Once per scene, put a nearby ally at risk to clear a risk.
• GUMC Security personnel (Extra: brutal) (arcane).
  • Arc-baton (melee) I
  • Ardent: Compliance Pattern II
    • Saw stave (melee / messy)
    • Flux thrower (ranged / messy)
• Ordo Militant Marshal Felicity (Main: Duty-bound, stiff, unforgiving) (divine).
  • She/her
  • Staff of holy office (melee) I
  • Dragonfire (ranged / area, messy) I
  • Astir: Holy Purpose III
    • Shimmering scales (ward)
    • Light splitter (sniper / reload, impact)
    • Divine lance (melee, blitz)

Footnotes

1. JilMil’s Fine Meat & Sundries ↩

2. The compliance pattern is a heavy, wide legged, flat panelled ardent that would look quite a home in a quarry. It is, instead, usually found on patrol wherever the G.U.M.C. wants to impose order. It has a houndskull bassinet style head, and is typically armed with arc lightning weaponry. ↩

3. Messy? ↩

4. We probably could have gone on a bit longer if I’d spun this out, but I felt like the sortie was coming to a pretty good natural close and especially as it was the first one it felt like a good time to stop. ↩