"Drop your weapons and don't move, or I'll eviscerate you all with our Etheric Accelerator Cannon," Snargle said over the PA.
The pitch black hangar of the Hand of Sorrow flooded with blue-white light after Snargle started up The Owl.
The seven, remaining Imperial officers staggered as they rose from the ground, still recovering from Lady Blackbird's spell. They circled her and the rest of the crew, steam-powered rifles and pistols drawn.
Naomi and Cyrus stood behind Natasha after grounding themselves to avoid being swept up by the wind.
A burst of blue lighting appeared in front of The Owl as Lady Blackbird concentrated her magic to help the Goblin pilot out while preparing to make a run for it with her bodyguard and the smuggler captain of The Owl.
The Imperial lieutenant, who had recovered faster than anyone else, glared at Snargle through the window of the ship. He raised his arms high, one palm outstretched, while the other hand gripped his rifle which pointed to the ceiling. Anger and hatred oozed out of every pore of his body.
(Less than an hour ago)
"Lady Blackbird is on the run from an arranged marriage to Count Carlowe. She hired a smuggler skyship, The Owl, to take her from her palace on the Imperial world of Ilysium to the far reaches of the Remnants, so she could be with her once secret lover: the pirate king Uriah Flint.
HOWEVER, just before reaching the halfway point of Haven, The Owl was pursued and captured by the Imperial cruiser Hand of Sorrow, under charges of flying a false flag.
EVEN NOW, Lady Blackbird, her bodyguard, and the crew of The Owl are detained in the brig, while the Imperial commander runs the smuggler ship’s registry over the wireless. It’s only a matter of time before they discover the outstanding warrants and learn that The Owl is owned by none other than the infamous outcast, Cyrus Vance.
How will Lady Blackbird and the others escape the Hand of Sorrow?
What dangers lie in their path?
Will they be able to find the secret lair of the pirate king? if they do, will Uriah Flint accept Lady Blackbird as his bride? By the time they get there, will she want him to?
Go. Play. And find out."
- Excerpt from Lady Blackbird, Tales of the Wild Blue Yonder: Chapter 1
The Breakout, Part I
Three, Imperial guards manned the brig of the Hand of Sorrow, as they escorted the prisoners into a sizable hall, eighty feet deep and sixty feet wide with a ceiling more than eighty feet from the ground. Six, hexagonal-shaped cells made entirely of metal were carved out into the floor, three on each side. They were about twenty feet deep and fifteen feet wide, complete with a single, metal cot in each cell along with a rusted toilet. Each 10x10 entrance consisted of metallic bars which lined the ground of the brig and retracted by way of mechanical gears hidden inside the walls of each cell.
 |
| Source: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/D-District_Prison Image used without permission. |
Despite the fact that the rest of the cells were empty, Natasha Syri, aka Lady Blackbird, Naomi Bishop, Cyrus Vance, and Snargle were all grouped into pairs and led to the rear-most cells on opposite sides of the hall. Snargle and Naomi shared the left-hand cell, while Natasha and Cyrus shared the right.
Only one entrance led into the brig from the front, where a male officer stood guard, while another male and female officer patrolled the hall back and forth, alternating positions as they continuously walked.
From inside the cells, the bars were situated on the ceiling with no lock or handle to speak of, and Naomi wasted no time in using her might to make the first move. Snargle gave her a leg up, and she burst through with ease. The bars splintered off the hatch and flew upward into the air, as Naomi climbed out to meet the stunned faces of all three guards.
Shock quickly turned to anger, and they each drew a steam-powered, tesla rifle - a highly advanced stun gun of the Imperial model - and began running toward Naomi.
Snargle crouched low and leaped out of the cell like a tree frog, somersaulting and landing gracefully on his feet in the process.
As one of the male officers passed over the opposite cell, Cyrus quickly grabbed his ankle and yanked his leg down through the bars. There was a loud crunch, and his tesla rifle dropped on top of the bars.
Natasha was quick to grab it and shoot the guard just as Cyrus let go to avoid getting electrocuted himself. She hit her mark, and the stunned guard went limp and paralyzed, his legs twisting even more. There was another loud crunch, and if they hadn't been broken by this point, they certainly were now.
"Mack!" the female guard shouted. She aimed her rifle at Naomi while signaling to the third guard at front entrance to come and help.
Naomi made a beeline for the female guard but missed. The guard quickly sidestepped and tripped Naomi who face-planted the ground. The guard's foot crushed the back of Naomi's head in, the rifle just inches away from her face.
"Don't move, or I'll shoot," the guard said.
The other guard reached a point ten feet from Cyrus and Natasha's cell and thirty feet from Naomi and the other officer. He pulled out a large, clunky radio attached to a battery, strapped to his belt, and began radioing in for backup. Cyrus grabbed the rifle from Natasha and jumped up to grab hold of the cell bars. He shoved the rifle through and attempted to shoot blindly at him before he got any words in. Natasha directed him to go more left, but Cyrus overshot his aim and accidentally hit Snargle in the side with a jolt of blue lightning.
"Requesting backup! Requesting backup! Prisoners escaping, I repeat, prisoners escaping! Code red!" the guard shouted into the radio.
Disoriented and injured, Snargle attempted to stop him by climbing the wall and leaping backwards into a tumble. Unfortunately, the Goblin underestimated the distance and ended up on his back five feet away. The guard immediately dropped his radio and shoved a tesla rifle into Snargle's face. Snargle drew his hands up and surrendered.
Standing at the back of the cell, Lady Blackbird barely saw the top of the guard's head. Cyrus offered her a boost, and she called upon her inherent, magical talents coupled with the noble training she'd received in the arts of Stormblood sorcery.
Her voice echoed in a strange tongue called the Language of Blood which only Cyrus and Naomi clearly recognized.
While there were a lot of practitioners of magic who knew basic spells equivalent of parlor tricks, true master sorcerers were a much rarer breed and were exclusively restricted to those of noble blood. Hardly any noble master would ever tarnish their reputation by imparting such ancient and treasured knowledge onto a mere commoner.
Once Lady Blackbird finished chanting the proper words and honing in on her target, a burst of lightning erupted in front of her hands and traveled through the bars and into the air. It made impact with the guard's shoulder before trailing through the rest of his body, electrocuting him.
The guard dropped to the ground like a ragged doll and curled into a fetal position, groaning and unable to move a muscle. Both his tesla rifle and radio fell onto the ground, and Snargle noticed another, strange device which also fell off his person. It was a remote control of some kind, smaller than the radio, with a circular dial at the bottom. It had a sliding switch running horizontally across the middle and six lights with circuit lines connecting to the various points of the slider like a timeline. Five of the lights were red while one glowed green, indicating that the rear, left-most cell was registering as open even though the bars had been broken apart by Naomi.
Prior to unlocking Cyrus and Natasha's cell, Snargle quickly picked up the tesla rifle, aimed it at the back of the female officer, and fired. The electricity left a scorch mark on her armor, and she slumped over Naomi's body, paralyzed and out cold.
Klaxon alarms started blaring throughout the brig and outside, and the crew knew it was only a matter of time before they were surrounded by a plethora of Imperial officers ready to re-imprison them or worse.
Naomi got up, grabbed the radio next to the moaning, fetal guard, and snapped his neck before handing the radio off to Natasha who was now free and happy to be out of her cell. Cyrus shared her sentiment and listened in as Natasha radioed in to stop the backup.
The Breakout, Part II
"Attention all officers, false alarm! I repeat, false alarm! We're all good here." Lady Blackbird used her manliest voice as she channeled every Imperial soldier over the wire.
<<Krrsscht! "This is Captain Hollas. Identify yourself, officer.">>
Lady Blackbird hesitated, but Cyrus walked her through the proper, military procedures of the Imperial army, including how to address Captain Hollas.
The officers' uniforms featured concentric, hexagonal patches on their shoulders with bars on the inside which signified different ranks. The dead guard with the snapped neck was Petty Officer First Class, Warren. The other two were Petty Officers Third Class Mack and McKenzie.
"This is Petty Officer First Class, Warren," Lady Blackbird replied.
<<"What's the situation down there? What was that about prisoners escaping?">>
"It was a misfire, sir. We thought one of the prisoners had escaped, but it was only a misfire. False alarm. My apologies, Captain."
There was a slight pause on the other line, but Captain Hollas's voice finally came through:
<<"Very well, officer. All personnel, return to your posts. I repeat, all personnel, return to your posts. Officer Warren, we ran the ship's registry through the system. Bring Cyrus Vance to my chambers in ten minutes. That's an order! Captain Hollas over and out." Krrsscht!">>
Cyrus cursed under his breath.
The crew of The Owl needed to get to their ship, and they needed to move fast. They spent a few minutes debating their plan of action. At first, Cyrus told Naomi to dress up like an officer and escort him to Captain Hollas's chambers. Lady Blackbird thought that if anyone were to put on the guise of an officer, it should be her, and Naomi and Snargle could go find the ship.
In the end, however, the crew decided on a completely different plan. Having once been an Imperial officer himself, Cyrus more or less knew the layout of the Hand of Sorrow and knew that The Owl was being kept in the hangar which was next to the galley and overlooked by the bridge. The ventilation shaft could take them straight there. Snargle would take the lead and get to the ship first. He'd start it up while the others boarded, and they would all fly out as fast as possible in the wild, blue yonder.
Easy plan, right? What could possibly go wrong?
Cyrus found a large spool of wire on Mack's body which just barely reached the eighty foot-high ventilation duct after Naomi stacked all three of the officers' bodies on top of each other. Snargle scaled the wall, secured the wire, and the rest climbed up with relative ease.
After meandering through a labyrinthine airway, the crew finally made it to a grate which overlooked the hangar. From their angle, they could see part their ship, along with eight officers of various ranks eighty feet below: two Petty Third Class Officers, two Petty Second Class, two Petty First Class, one sergeant, and one lieutenant.
"If we could kill the lights and get down there, our plan might actually work," Cyrus said. Snargle started spouting technobabble about needing to find the source of the lighting grid to hook the tesla rifle to in order to fire it and short out the circuits.
Sure enough, he found what he was looking for around the corner, and in minutes, all the lights in the hangar went dark. The crew lifted the grate, dropped the wire, and let Snargle go first.
It's a good thing Goblins can see in the dark, and it's even better when they're able to sneak past a group of blind soldiers without making a peep. Once Snargle reached The Owl, he was able to open the hatch silently thanks to some special oil he applied a few days ago.
One officer craned his neck toward him, thinking he'd heard something, but was too distracted by the blackout and turned back. Every Imperial was confused and on edge.
Cyrus and the others began climbing down the wire, unable to see what was going on themselves. Just as they got close to the ground, one of the Imperials stumbled into the wire and gave it a slight tug.
"What the-" the soldier began, but Cyrus jumped on his back far too fast for him to finish his sentence. He knocked him down and threw a punch toward his head, but the officer grabbed Cyrus's wrists and wrestled him to the ground, flipping him over and pinning Cyrus to the floor.
"The prisoners!" the officer shouted, but those were the only two words he spoke before Naomi dropped down like a ninja and snapped his neck in an instant, swiping his pistol afterward. Lady Blackbird came down as well and grabbed a rifle off the dead soldier as the rest of the officers cocked their guns and turned toward the noise.
Lady Blackbird whispered a chant in the Language of Blood. This one was different from her previous spell, and instead of lightning erupting front her fingertips, she summoned a gust of wind that blew her clothes and hair before erupting outward in a circle, knocking every officer off their feet.
Snargle witnessed everything from the confines of The Owl, and he formed a risky plan that would greatly aid in their escape. The only problem was that it required an exceptional bluff, and that sort of skill wasn't in his wheelhouse.
He really hoped this would be his lucky break.
"Drop your weapons and don't move, or I'll eviscerate you all with Etheric Accelerator Cannon," Snargle said over the PA.
The pitch black hangar of the Hand of Sorrow flooded with blue-white light after Snargle started up The Owl.
The seven, remaining Imperial officers staggered as they rose from the ground, still recovering from Lady Blackbird's spell. They circled her and the rest of the crew, steam-powered rifles and pistols drawn.
Naomi and Cyrus stood behind Natasha after grounding themselves to avoid being swept up by the wind.
A burst of blue lighting appeared in front of The Owl as Lady Blackbird concentrated her magic to help the Goblin pilot out while preparing to make a run for it with her bodyguard and the smuggler captain of The Owl.
The Imperial lieutenant, who had recovered faster than anyone else, glared at Snargle through the window of the ship. He raised his arms high, one palm outstretched while the other hand gripped his rifle which pointed to the ceiling. Anger and hatred oozed out of every pore of his body.
"Officers, stand down," he said. His frustrated voice echoed throughout the hangar, and the soldiers obeyed his orders, lowering their guns.
"Now!" Lady Blackbird said, and she made a run for it alongside Naomi and Cyrus.
Snargle already started turning the ship around as the three boarded, but the launch tunnel was closed. Lady Blackbird pointed her rifle to a switch located on one of the hangar walls and fired, opening the vacuum-sealed hatch.
The lieutenant signaled to the sergeant and several other soldiers who started boarding one of the other, docked spaceships, turning it on and getting ready to follow.
As The Owl propelled itself into the Wild Blue, an Imperial-class fighter ship was hot on its tail. A huge asteroid orbiting the central star appeared directly in their path, but Snargle's quick reflexes and evasive maneuvering came into play. He came dangerously close to clipping the ship but was able to pilot it right above the asteroid and use it to slingshot the ship directly toward Haven. The Imperial ship chasing them panicked and swerved to the left, avoiding a full on crash, but lost an entire right wing in the process.
No other ships pursued The Owl while it raced toward the most prominent of the Free Worlds at top speed. As a result, the crew reached their destination in less than half a day's time.
Not bad, all things considering.
The Refreshment (Haven)
<<"You have some nerve showing your face here,">> a woman's said over the wireless after Cyrus hailed the Smuggler's Port that they were landing.
Jennifer Towes ran the Smuggler's Port of Haven. It wasn't the most funded or prestigious port in the free world, but it was reliable in a pinch and catered to outcasts where other ports would turn them away. Jennifer was blunt, sarcastic, and often had an attitude, but she was fair, accommodating, and took pride in running a tight ship.
The fact that she seemed extra hostile toward Cyrus wasn't completely unwarranted. A couple of weeks ago, he took her younger sister, Kimi, out for a date. Jennifer found out and clearly wasn't happy with the news. Playing the overprotective, big sister, she hired one of her bodyguards to storm into Kimi's apartment that night. Cyrus and Kimi had just finished a drink and were starting to get intimate, when the door burst open, and the bodyguard threw Cyrus's ass out onto the curb with a message from Jennifer warning him to never see Kimi again.
Cyrus hadn't spoken to Kimi or Jennifer until now, so he played his cool, usual self in response:
"Oh, hey Jennifer... What's happening?"
"Cyrus, I've got a bone to pick with you. Meet me as soon as you land."
"OK, Jennifer, no problem!"
Cyrus couldn't help thinking this had something to do with Kimi, but he decided not to ignore the summons. First thing he needed to do, however, was to treat Snargle's wound - especially since it was his fault.
All the while, Snargle thought that Lady Blackbird had shot him - he had seen her use magic to generate lightning, after all. Of course, Cyrus kept his mouth shut and just nodded as he patched Snargle up.
"Mhmm, mhmm, but she is easy on the eyes, isn't she, Snargle?"
The Goblin had no comment.
"Hey, think you can play wing-Goblin for me?"
Snargle rolled his eyes, wincing every now and then from the pain.
They continued to make small talk which led to a conversation about their other partner, Kale Arkam. Kale had gotten stranded in Nightport during their previous mission last week. They were tasked with smuggling expensive wines, but Kale had to take care of some other business. He said to go on without him if he wasn't back in three hours. Cyrus and Snargle waited half a day before they were forced to leave without him, or else they were going to be late on their delivery.
Now that they were in Haven, Cyrus and Snargle decided to find out what they could about Kale before heading to Nightport which was only a few hours away. The funds they were receiving from Lady Blackbird would be enough to do whatever they needed to do there to find him - especially if Kale had gotten himself into trouble again.
After Cyrus finished patching Snargle up, he left to go see Jennifer, while Snargle left to acquire space/sky coal and other supplies from a contact of Kale's.
Meanwhile, Lady Blackbird had a chat with Naomi about Haven and their experiences with the Free World.
Naomi reminisced about how the pit fighters in Ilysium would talk about Haven, referring to it as the promised land where slaves could live free. Naomi vowed she would never believe it until she saw it with her own eyes, but perhaps now she would have her chance.
She remembered two pit fighters in particular who fled to Haven: Malechi and Livia.
Malechi was one of the more, formidable opponents she'd faced in the pits. He fought with honor and eventually bought his freedom with Haven as his intended destination. Naomi had great respect for him.
Livia was one of Naomi's greatest rivals in the pits, and the two never got along. Livia was all about proving her dominance but could never really compete against Naomi who bested her every single time. One day, Livia just vanished. Rumor has it she fled to Haven somehow, but no one really knew the exact details.
Lady Blackbird had been to Haven several times, when she used to work as a trade negotiator between her family and the Noble House of Mooncloud. The nobles who were Master Sorcerers were well known for their secrets surrounding dream blood magic. Lady Blackbird was on good terms with them all but had a particularly favorite and reliable contact named Logan Mooncloud who'd only started apprenticing at the time.
After their conversation was over, Lady Blackbird wanted to visit the market, and Naomi naturally followed. Snargle was on his way to pay a visit to one of Kale's contacts in order to acquire space sky coal, so the three decided to walk together. Cyrus stayed at the port and went off to pay Jennifer a visit.
As Snargle, Naomi, and Lady Blackbird walked through the streets, they witnessed a group of teenage punks who were shouting all sorts of sneers and obscenities at a Goblin couple walking down the street.
Humans, especially those who considered themselves part of the Empire, hated Goblins with a passion. It was racism at its ugliest. Many had a supremacist outlook toward them and considered Goblins inferior creatures, tricksters, moochers, pests that needed to be exterminated, and the absolute worst scum of the Wild Blue.
Despite being raised with such prejudices, Lady Blackbird never hated Goblins. She thought they were untrustworthy, sure, but she was never rude to them and never understood how other nobles could hate them with such fervent passion.
One of the teenagers took a long drag from his cigarette and glared at Snargle and the women beside him with hatred. The others followed suit with dirty, menacing looks.
Fortunately, there were plenty of potential witnesses walking through the street in case anything happened. For now, it seemed safe, but the relentless looks that the teens were giving did not seem comforting one bit.
Next Time
"Where the hell is Kimi, Cyrus?!" Jennifer roars.
The sounds of steam-whistle sirens blare as constables on bicycles appear in an alleyway.
"Wait a sec, you aint no pirate! Yer that Lady Blackbird they been lookin' fer!" says a shopkeeper as he glances back at a MISSING poster.
"My lady? Lady Blackbird? What are you doing here?" Logan says, stepping out of the shadows after exiting a drug den.
"The pirate king has eyes and ears everywhere, my Lady," a Goblin says, handing Lady Blackbird a gold coin of the Empire, stained in blood, with the Emperor's face scratched off.
End of Session 1
What exactly does Jennifer want with Cyrus, and what happened to Kimi?
Will Snargle run into any trouble with the teenage punks?
Will Kale turn up, or will news of his disappearance surface?
Will Naomi find Haven to her liking? Will she run into anyone from her past?
Will Lady Blackbird make it safely to the Remnants, and will she be reunited with Uriah Flint?
Stay tuned for Chapter 1, Part 2 coming soon.
Greetings, readers! If you've made it this far, kudos to you, and thank you for reading. My apologies from being absent from the blog for far, too long. A lot of real-life events have unfolded in the past four months, including a new job, a move, and a death in the family, but now that things have finally started to settle a bit, I've been getting back more into gaming with a strong itch to write APs.
This was my first attempt at running Lady Blackbird, which I've wanted to do for a long while. I played the game several times before and loved it, but running it is just as much of a thrill.
I have some commentary on the game itself, especially in comparison with Dungeon World (which I run most often along with Adventures on Dungeon Planet), but that commentary is best saved for its own post. I'll collect my thoughts and post sometime in the near future.
I got a chance to run a second session yesterday, even though we were down a player. A lot of great stuff happened, so I'll definitely follow up with another AP when I get more time.
I want to thank +Robert Ruthven (Naomi Bishop), +David Andrews (Snargle), +Wolfie Fang (Natasha Syri/Lady Blackbird), and +Lloyd Gyan (Cyrus Vance) for being awesome players.
I especially want to thank Lloyd for helping me out during my first GMing experience for this game. He's an awesome, seasoned GM who ran this game both times I've played, or was it three? Anyway, I greatly welcomed his help anytime questions about the rules came up, or when he'd give me friendly reminders to ask questions during pertinent moments - something I forget to do sometimes if I get too fixated on the moment.
All in all, great times, great game.
Thank you again for reading, everyone. It feels nice to post an AP again. There are still many games I have yet to post summaries about (especially the PbPs), so hopefully I'll find more time and energy to keep you all entertained with geeky goodness.
Until next time!
<<Krrsscht! "This is Captain Hollas. Identify yourself, officer.">>
Lady Blackbird hesitated, but Cyrus walked her through the proper, military procedures of the Imperial army, including how to address Captain Hollas.
The officers' uniforms featured concentric, hexagonal patches on their shoulders with bars on the inside which signified different ranks. The dead guard with the snapped neck was Petty Officer First Class, Warren. The other two were Petty Officers Third Class Mack and McKenzie.
"This is Petty Officer First Class, Warren," Lady Blackbird replied.
<<"What's the situation down there? What was that about prisoners escaping?">>
"It was a misfire, sir. We thought one of the prisoners had escaped, but it was only a misfire. False alarm. My apologies, Captain."
There was a slight pause on the other line, but Captain Hollas's voice finally came through:
<<"Very well, officer. All personnel, return to your posts. I repeat, all personnel, return to your posts. Officer Warren, we ran the ship's registry through the system. Bring Cyrus Vance to my chambers in ten minutes. That's an order! Captain Hollas over and out." Krrsscht!">>
Cyrus cursed under his breath.
The crew of The Owl needed to get to their ship, and they needed to move fast. They spent a few minutes debating their plan of action. At first, Cyrus told Naomi to dress up like an officer and escort him to Captain Hollas's chambers. Lady Blackbird thought that if anyone were to put on the guise of an officer, it should be her, and Naomi and Snargle could go find the ship.
In the end, however, the crew decided on a completely different plan. Having once been an Imperial officer himself, Cyrus more or less knew the layout of the Hand of Sorrow and knew that The Owl was being kept in the hangar which was next to the galley and overlooked by the bridge. The ventilation shaft could take them straight there. Snargle would take the lead and get to the ship first. He'd start it up while the others boarded, and they would all fly out as fast as possible in the wild, blue yonder.
Easy plan, right? What could possibly go wrong?
Cyrus found a large spool of wire on Mack's body which just barely reached the eighty foot-high ventilation duct after Naomi stacked all three of the officers' bodies on top of each other. Snargle scaled the wall, secured the wire, and the rest climbed up with relative ease.
After meandering through a labyrinthine airway, the crew finally made it to a grate which overlooked the hangar. From their angle, they could see part their ship, along with eight officers of various ranks eighty feet below: two Petty Third Class Officers, two Petty Second Class, two Petty First Class, one sergeant, and one lieutenant.
"If we could kill the lights and get down there, our plan might actually work," Cyrus said. Snargle started spouting technobabble about needing to find the source of the lighting grid to hook the tesla rifle to in order to fire it and short out the circuits.
Sure enough, he found what he was looking for around the corner, and in minutes, all the lights in the hangar went dark. The crew lifted the grate, dropped the wire, and let Snargle go first.
It's a good thing Goblins can see in the dark, and it's even better when they're able to sneak past a group of blind soldiers without making a peep. Once Snargle reached The Owl, he was able to open the hatch silently thanks to some special oil he applied a few days ago.
One officer craned his neck toward him, thinking he'd heard something, but was too distracted by the blackout and turned back. Every Imperial was confused and on edge.
Cyrus and the others began climbing down the wire, unable to see what was going on themselves. Just as they got close to the ground, one of the Imperials stumbled into the wire and gave it a slight tug.
"What the-" the soldier began, but Cyrus jumped on his back far too fast for him to finish his sentence. He knocked him down and threw a punch toward his head, but the officer grabbed Cyrus's wrists and wrestled him to the ground, flipping him over and pinning Cyrus to the floor.
"The prisoners!" the officer shouted, but those were the only two words he spoke before Naomi dropped down like a ninja and snapped his neck in an instant, swiping his pistol afterward. Lady Blackbird came down as well and grabbed a rifle off the dead soldier as the rest of the officers cocked their guns and turned toward the noise.
Lady Blackbird whispered a chant in the Language of Blood. This one was different from her previous spell, and instead of lightning erupting front her fingertips, she summoned a gust of wind that blew her clothes and hair before erupting outward in a circle, knocking every officer off their feet.
Snargle witnessed everything from the confines of The Owl, and he formed a risky plan that would greatly aid in their escape. The only problem was that it required an exceptional bluff, and that sort of skill wasn't in his wheelhouse.
He really hoped this would be his lucky break.
* * *
"Drop your weapons and don't move, or I'll eviscerate you all with Etheric Accelerator Cannon," Snargle said over the PA.
The pitch black hangar of the Hand of Sorrow flooded with blue-white light after Snargle started up The Owl.
The seven, remaining Imperial officers staggered as they rose from the ground, still recovering from Lady Blackbird's spell. They circled her and the rest of the crew, steam-powered rifles and pistols drawn.
Naomi and Cyrus stood behind Natasha after grounding themselves to avoid being swept up by the wind.
A burst of blue lighting appeared in front of The Owl as Lady Blackbird concentrated her magic to help the Goblin pilot out while preparing to make a run for it with her bodyguard and the smuggler captain of The Owl.
The Imperial lieutenant, who had recovered faster than anyone else, glared at Snargle through the window of the ship. He raised his arms high, one palm outstretched while the other hand gripped his rifle which pointed to the ceiling. Anger and hatred oozed out of every pore of his body.
"Officers, stand down," he said. His frustrated voice echoed throughout the hangar, and the soldiers obeyed his orders, lowering their guns.
"Now!" Lady Blackbird said, and she made a run for it alongside Naomi and Cyrus.
Snargle already started turning the ship around as the three boarded, but the launch tunnel was closed. Lady Blackbird pointed her rifle to a switch located on one of the hangar walls and fired, opening the vacuum-sealed hatch.
The lieutenant signaled to the sergeant and several other soldiers who started boarding one of the other, docked spaceships, turning it on and getting ready to follow.
As The Owl propelled itself into the Wild Blue, an Imperial-class fighter ship was hot on its tail. A huge asteroid orbiting the central star appeared directly in their path, but Snargle's quick reflexes and evasive maneuvering came into play. He came dangerously close to clipping the ship but was able to pilot it right above the asteroid and use it to slingshot the ship directly toward Haven. The Imperial ship chasing them panicked and swerved to the left, avoiding a full on crash, but lost an entire right wing in the process.
No other ships pursued The Owl while it raced toward the most prominent of the Free Worlds at top speed. As a result, the crew reached their destination in less than half a day's time.
Not bad, all things considering.
The Refreshment (Haven)
<<"You have some nerve showing your face here,">> a woman's said over the wireless after Cyrus hailed the Smuggler's Port that they were landing.
Jennifer Towes ran the Smuggler's Port of Haven. It wasn't the most funded or prestigious port in the free world, but it was reliable in a pinch and catered to outcasts where other ports would turn them away. Jennifer was blunt, sarcastic, and often had an attitude, but she was fair, accommodating, and took pride in running a tight ship.
The fact that she seemed extra hostile toward Cyrus wasn't completely unwarranted. A couple of weeks ago, he took her younger sister, Kimi, out for a date. Jennifer found out and clearly wasn't happy with the news. Playing the overprotective, big sister, she hired one of her bodyguards to storm into Kimi's apartment that night. Cyrus and Kimi had just finished a drink and were starting to get intimate, when the door burst open, and the bodyguard threw Cyrus's ass out onto the curb with a message from Jennifer warning him to never see Kimi again.
Cyrus hadn't spoken to Kimi or Jennifer until now, so he played his cool, usual self in response:
"Oh, hey Jennifer... What's happening?"
"Cyrus, I've got a bone to pick with you. Meet me as soon as you land."
"OK, Jennifer, no problem!"
Cyrus couldn't help thinking this had something to do with Kimi, but he decided not to ignore the summons. First thing he needed to do, however, was to treat Snargle's wound - especially since it was his fault.
All the while, Snargle thought that Lady Blackbird had shot him - he had seen her use magic to generate lightning, after all. Of course, Cyrus kept his mouth shut and just nodded as he patched Snargle up.
"Mhmm, mhmm, but she is easy on the eyes, isn't she, Snargle?"
The Goblin had no comment.
"Hey, think you can play wing-Goblin for me?"
Snargle rolled his eyes, wincing every now and then from the pain.
They continued to make small talk which led to a conversation about their other partner, Kale Arkam. Kale had gotten stranded in Nightport during their previous mission last week. They were tasked with smuggling expensive wines, but Kale had to take care of some other business. He said to go on without him if he wasn't back in three hours. Cyrus and Snargle waited half a day before they were forced to leave without him, or else they were going to be late on their delivery.
Now that they were in Haven, Cyrus and Snargle decided to find out what they could about Kale before heading to Nightport which was only a few hours away. The funds they were receiving from Lady Blackbird would be enough to do whatever they needed to do there to find him - especially if Kale had gotten himself into trouble again.
After Cyrus finished patching Snargle up, he left to go see Jennifer, while Snargle left to acquire space/sky coal and other supplies from a contact of Kale's.
Meanwhile, Lady Blackbird had a chat with Naomi about Haven and their experiences with the Free World.
Naomi reminisced about how the pit fighters in Ilysium would talk about Haven, referring to it as the promised land where slaves could live free. Naomi vowed she would never believe it until she saw it with her own eyes, but perhaps now she would have her chance.
She remembered two pit fighters in particular who fled to Haven: Malechi and Livia.
Malechi was one of the more, formidable opponents she'd faced in the pits. He fought with honor and eventually bought his freedom with Haven as his intended destination. Naomi had great respect for him.
Livia was one of Naomi's greatest rivals in the pits, and the two never got along. Livia was all about proving her dominance but could never really compete against Naomi who bested her every single time. One day, Livia just vanished. Rumor has it she fled to Haven somehow, but no one really knew the exact details.
Lady Blackbird had been to Haven several times, when she used to work as a trade negotiator between her family and the Noble House of Mooncloud. The nobles who were Master Sorcerers were well known for their secrets surrounding dream blood magic. Lady Blackbird was on good terms with them all but had a particularly favorite and reliable contact named Logan Mooncloud who'd only started apprenticing at the time.
After their conversation was over, Lady Blackbird wanted to visit the market, and Naomi naturally followed. Snargle was on his way to pay a visit to one of Kale's contacts in order to acquire space sky coal, so the three decided to walk together. Cyrus stayed at the port and went off to pay Jennifer a visit.
As Snargle, Naomi, and Lady Blackbird walked through the streets, they witnessed a group of teenage punks who were shouting all sorts of sneers and obscenities at a Goblin couple walking down the street.
Humans, especially those who considered themselves part of the Empire, hated Goblins with a passion. It was racism at its ugliest. Many had a supremacist outlook toward them and considered Goblins inferior creatures, tricksters, moochers, pests that needed to be exterminated, and the absolute worst scum of the Wild Blue.
Despite being raised with such prejudices, Lady Blackbird never hated Goblins. She thought they were untrustworthy, sure, but she was never rude to them and never understood how other nobles could hate them with such fervent passion.
One of the teenagers took a long drag from his cigarette and glared at Snargle and the women beside him with hatred. The others followed suit with dirty, menacing looks.
Fortunately, there were plenty of potential witnesses walking through the street in case anything happened. For now, it seemed safe, but the relentless looks that the teens were giving did not seem comforting one bit.
Next Time
"Where the hell is Kimi, Cyrus?!" Jennifer roars.
The sounds of steam-whistle sirens blare as constables on bicycles appear in an alleyway.
"Wait a sec, you aint no pirate! Yer that Lady Blackbird they been lookin' fer!" says a shopkeeper as he glances back at a MISSING poster.
"My lady? Lady Blackbird? What are you doing here?" Logan says, stepping out of the shadows after exiting a drug den.
"The pirate king has eyes and ears everywhere, my Lady," a Goblin says, handing Lady Blackbird a gold coin of the Empire, stained in blood, with the Emperor's face scratched off.
End of Session 1
What exactly does Jennifer want with Cyrus, and what happened to Kimi?
Will Snargle run into any trouble with the teenage punks?
Will Kale turn up, or will news of his disappearance surface?
Will Naomi find Haven to her liking? Will she run into anyone from her past?
Will Lady Blackbird make it safely to the Remnants, and will she be reunited with Uriah Flint?
Stay tuned for Chapter 1, Part 2 coming soon.
Greetings, readers! If you've made it this far, kudos to you, and thank you for reading. My apologies from being absent from the blog for far, too long. A lot of real-life events have unfolded in the past four months, including a new job, a move, and a death in the family, but now that things have finally started to settle a bit, I've been getting back more into gaming with a strong itch to write APs.
This was my first attempt at running Lady Blackbird, which I've wanted to do for a long while. I played the game several times before and loved it, but running it is just as much of a thrill.
I have some commentary on the game itself, especially in comparison with Dungeon World (which I run most often along with Adventures on Dungeon Planet), but that commentary is best saved for its own post. I'll collect my thoughts and post sometime in the near future.
I got a chance to run a second session yesterday, even though we were down a player. A lot of great stuff happened, so I'll definitely follow up with another AP when I get more time.
I want to thank +Robert Ruthven (Naomi Bishop), +David Andrews (Snargle), +Wolfie Fang (Natasha Syri/Lady Blackbird), and +Lloyd Gyan (Cyrus Vance) for being awesome players.
I especially want to thank Lloyd for helping me out during my first GMing experience for this game. He's an awesome, seasoned GM who ran this game both times I've played, or was it three? Anyway, I greatly welcomed his help anytime questions about the rules came up, or when he'd give me friendly reminders to ask questions during pertinent moments - something I forget to do sometimes if I get too fixated on the moment.
All in all, great times, great game.
Thank you again for reading, everyone. It feels nice to post an AP again. There are still many games I have yet to post summaries about (especially the PbPs), so hopefully I'll find more time and energy to keep you all entertained with geeky goodness.
Until next time!
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