Aaron rushed down the alley, out into the main street, then turned and headed for the closest taxi stop. He hailed the nearest cab and jumped in the back as it rolled to a stop. “I need you to move fast, I don’t have much time.”
The reply came in a series of twinkles, which prompted Aaron to look at the driver.
“Oh, dolomite!” Aaron realized he had jumped into a cab driven by a team of fairies.
The fairy team leader raised their hand while rubbing thumb and forefinger together, indicating they wanted to payment first.
“This is one fracking day.” The dwarf searched his pockets for loose change, and, based on the kind of day it was, he was pretty sure this was the same team of fairies he had turned down earlier. Aaron patted his chest, paused, then patted his chest again. “Oh, no.”
The twinkling intensified as the fairy team leader pointed to the taxi door.
Ignoring the fairy, the dwarf hurriedly opened his trenchcoat and searched all the inner pockets. All of them were empty. His vial of concentrated Tuber arcanatum was gone. With volcanic fury no longer able to be contained, Aaron gripped the divider in front of him and screamed out his rage.
The fairy flew in Aaron’s face and twinkled furiously at the dwarf’s rage.
“What!” Aaron yelled back at the fairy. His nose was nearly touching the little creature. “What do you want from me!? My best friend just got hauled off to jail, I’ve lost one of the most important things in my life, and I still haven’t found that coprolite gnome!”
The fairy twinkled intensely at Aaron, but they were not pointing to the door.
Aaron took off his spectacles, rubbed his face hard, and then looked at the fairy. It was still too bright for comfort, so Aaron put his shaded spectacles back on before addressing the team leader. “Look, I… I’m sorry, okay? It’s not been a good day. I need to save my friend. Can you help me get to an address?”
Aaron groaned and held up a finger. “Just give me a moment.”
Aaron – Investigation skill 10 vs. Difficult DT – SUCCESS
The dwarf plunged his hand into the orc’s weathered shoulder bag. As he felt around in the bag, Aaron felt something round, hard, and not in the bag's main compartment. He checked an outer pocket, and though it was not in the outer pocket, he still felt the object through the bag’s liner. The dwarven investigator looked at the rim of the shoulder bag and noticed that some stitching had a fresher coloring than the rest of the stressed stitches. He grabbed at the sides and pulled, tearing the stitched seams apart. Aaron plunged his hand into the hole and withdrew a large gold coin. The coin flashed and sparkled in an almost hypnotic manner. It was undoubtedly not a government-issued coin, but glancing at the fairy, the dwarf was sure that wouldn’t be a problem. “Will this work as payment?”
The team leader twinkled absently as if mesmerized by the gold coin. They easily took the coin from Aaron, even though it was nearly the same size, and showed it to the rest of the team. All the fairies began to converse in a hushed cacophony of twinkling as they crowded around the coin.
As the team of fairies discussed the dwarf’s offer, Aaron stared out the window at the cars driving by on the main road. So much was happening, and the day wasn’t even over. He thought about the vial of arcane mushroom dust and about Molly—he needed to find the dust.
A loud twinkling interrupted the dwarf’s thoughts, and Aaron turned to see the fairy team leader smiling and waving emphatically.
“We’re good?” Aaron asked.
The team leader answered in the affirmative.
Smiling, the dwarf gave an address to the fairy. “Please, get me there as quick as possible.”
The team of fairies got to work. One revved the taxi’s engine, another shifted the gears, two were at the steering wheel, and on the team leader’s command, they sped out into the traffic.
Aaron braced himself as he rocked back and forth with the hard turns and lane changes. The fairies were certainly trying to get him there in record time. Aaron flipped open his Hacklet and began to conduct a few searches.
Aaron – Hacking skill 12 vs. Difficult DT – SUCCESS
Breaking into the police network, Aaron was able to verify the location of the jail where Tommy and Swift were being taken. Tommy was going to be booked with general holding. However, Swift was placed in a special cell intended to negate magic use. Swift also had a unique tag on his record. Closer inspection of the tag indicated that Swift needed to be transported as a tribal disciplinary fugitive. The dwarf had never known anyone to be a tribal fugitive before. This tag gave Aaron a moment of pause as the dwarf thought aloud, “Who is this orc?”
+ 1 Upgrade point awarded.
“Well, would you look at that,” Aaron murmured contently.
With no time to bother with the extra upgrade point, Aaron pushed past the notification and focused on the task at hand. Having verified where Tommy and Swift were being processed, Aaron shifted to the next target: Corey.
A twinkling from the front of the taxi brought Aaron out of his Hacklet and back to the present tense. The team leader was holding up a few fingers, and as Aaron looked out the window, he realized they were almost at their destination. The dwarf acknowledged the team leader and turned back to his Hacklet.
There were half a dozen locations where Corey could be working. After the cop incident from earlier today, it was unlikely Corey would still be around that spot. However, remembering that he set up Corey with a temp account for funneling MIST money, Aaron made another successful hack attempt to see where that money was and if Corey cut the account and ran (like the street elf was supposed to do).
Unsurprised, the dwarf shook his head when he saw that Corey had not cut and run. The temp account had been closed down and flagged for illegal activity, but that high-level security bot hadn’t stopped there. If it was a low-level security bot, like Aaron had initially assumed, the account would have been shut down and flagged. However, this bot went into some kind of pursuit mode. Aaron followed the digital footprints left by the bot and discovered it had tracked Corey and his gang to their hideout. The bot then tipped off the cops who raided the hideout and—
Twinkling from the front of the cab interrupted Aaron again, and the dwarf looked up to see they were at the first stop.
“Wait for me,” Aaron requested as he slid across the backseat to exit on the sidewalk side of the cab.
The fairy twinkled in response and made a motion indicating that Aaron was on the clock and they would only wait so long.
Recalling the fuss the team of fairies made over the gold coin, Aaron was pretty sure there was enough payment for him to get a few more rides out of that cab. Still, the dwarf wasn’t ready to fall out of the fairies' good graces just yet. “I’ll be quick.”
The dwarven investigator quickly ran down a narrow alley and behind a row of dumpsters. Aaron was surprised to see no one here except a homeless-looking bum. He turned to the bum and asked, “Where are the Boomer Boys? There’s always at least one person hanging around here.”
The bum shrugged, then held out an open hand, silently asking Aaron for payment.
“For the love of,” Aaron grumbled. “I swear, you can’t make money in the city because everyone is always looking for a reason to take it.”
The dirty homeless person did not flinch and continued to hold out their hand.
Knowing he didn’t have any money, Aaron plunged his hand into Swift’s shoulder bag, digging around for something that might help. “Here, take this. It’s all I got for you.”
The homeless person examined the old, leathery jerky that Aaron placed in their hand. They gave it a careful sniff, then sucked on the end of it for a moment. Their eyes brightened a little from the taste, and they spoke briefly. “Coppos came, raided the spot. Tried to haul away the Boomas but only got one.”
“Thanks.” Aaron turned about and quickly ran back to the cab. He was grateful to see the fairies hadn’t left him yet.
Twinkling greeted Aaron as he slid into the back seat.
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“Thanks for waiting,” The dwarf said as he got situated. “I got another place I need to check out.”
Acknowledging the location, the fairies twinkled as they pulled back into traffic and sped to their next destination.
Aaron had hoped one of the Boomer urchins was still hanging in this spot—at least they could have given the dwarf better directions on where to go next. But, if their urchins weren’t even keeping watch, then that bot set the gang up really bad. MIST was more serious than Aaron had realized, and he began to get a creeping paranoia that this was a situation far above his level. The dwarf pulled up his Hero Sheet and checked his stats.
Name: Aaron Frimslayer Moxie: 0 0 0 M Defining Traits: HD: 1 [BLOCKED] UP: 3 Affiliations: Hero Level: [BLOCKED] Law enforcement (poor), Fourth Block Boomas (neutral), Ferdinand the Shark (poor), Alpha Numeros (indifferent), MIST Corp. (neutral) Attributes: Skills: Intelligence: 7 Mycoculturist (INT): 2d6 Strength: 5 Investigation (INT): 2d6 Spirit: 3 Crackshot (DEX): 1d4 & 1d6 Dexterity: 6 Hacker (INT): 2d6 Gear: Investigator trenchcoat, Shaded spectacles, Long-barrel revolver (0.460 caliber), Shaman shoulder bag
The dwarven investigator frowned as two things were apparent from the stat sheet. First, he was now on MIST’s radar—his direct involvement put him in their sights, and he was not at a high enough level to get out of their sights. Small organizations were easy enough for the dwarf to unaffiliate with. Also, even if he didn’t remove them, his standing with smaller organizations was rarely consequential. However, if his rating with MIST dropped to anything less than neutral, Aaron was confident his life would end painfully. The dwarf would need help scrubbing his affiliation with MIST, but that would need to happen later; right now, Aaron needed to find Corey.
The other cause for frowning, though Aaron never needed a reason to frown, was that he only now realized he had lost his fedora. Aaron liked that hat; it really brought the whole investigator look together. However, worse is that he hadn’t even realized he had lost his hat until now. “This is not a good day.”
Twinkling from the front announced their arrival as the fairies maneuvered the taxi to park alongside the curb.
Aaron took a moment to collect his head and prepare for this next encounter. Twinkling at his side, Aaron turned to see the fairy team leader looking at him. The dwarf jumped to a different train of thought and focused on the cabbie team. “Do you all have a card or something in case I need another ride?”
The leader snapped their fingers and twinkled. One of the team members popped open a compartment and pulled out a business card that was a little larger than the fairy itself. They flitted over the front and handed the card to Aaron.
Holding the card between his fingers, the dwarf only saw a black and white QR code on one side and a mushroom in a circle on the other side of the otherwise white business card. He furrowed his brow at the lack of information on the card but did not press the issue. Pocketing the card and thanking the team of fairies, Aaron exited the taxi and entered a nearby alley.
The alley was shaded, dirty, and almost empty. Another homeless bum was curled up in a dirty long coat and a large hood with their back against a building wall. This time, Aaron expected to see this person. The investigator quickly approached, “I need to see Corey.”
Long coat did not move or acknowledge the dwarf’s presence.
Aaron slicked his hair back and stood in front of the homeless-looking person. He spoke sternly, “I need to see Corey.”
The head moved, but the hood still shadowed the person’s down-turned face. They did not move and spoke in a quiet, raspy voice. “You’re not welcome here, dwarf.”
“I’m not here to play your games, you little grunt. Either I am going in, or Corey is coming out. Pick one.”
“I am no grunt,” The raspy voice spoke with elevated volume. “And you will not—”
Aaron stepped past the hooded sentry and pounded his fist against the wall three times. “Corey! Get out here.”
“Hey, you can’t do that!” The homeless-looking sentry jumped up. “Stop that right now!”
“Corey!” A few more ham-fisted strikes on the wall. “Get out here now, or I will hack my way in.”
The sentry was on his phone now, “Yeah, he won’t listen to me! … I tried … Well, how are you supposed to stop a dwarf?”
Aaron grumbled as he flipped open his Hacklet and began to scan the area.
“What are you doing with that?” The sentry blurted out, still on the phone. “Put that thing away. Don’t do that!”
Aaron continued to check the wifi signals in the area and various network connections without regard to the sentry.
“He’s not listening to me!” The hooded sentry was back to crying on the phone. “… No way—I’m not doing that.”
Some metallic clicks and a clank were heard as the illusion spell on the wall faded to reveal a reinforced metal door. The door opened, and Corey stepped out with three of his boys. Corey was not happy. “Get ‘nside, Justin.”
“I tried to stop him, really.”
Corey shot the sentry a hot glance that cut off any further communication. The sentry scurried inside.
“Yor not welcome ‘ere, Frimslaya.” Corey’s voice was a mix of heat and cold, but it was far from lukewarm.
“I need your help,” Even as the words came out, Aaron felt that was not approach for the moment. He closed his Hacklet and faced the street elf.
“Yu’s need my ‘elp?” Corey laughed his signature, rapid-fire laugh. “Yu’s? The great detective Frimslaya? Ah, nah! Yu’s played me once, mate. I’m just out ‘ere to negotiate ‘ow’s we’s gonna fuck yu’s up.”
“I told you don’t get greedy! I told you to cut that account quick before they could catch you.”
“They didn’t catch me, man. They ‘unted all o’ us, Boomas! They dun sent the coppas afta us and creat’d a bloody blue firestorm on our opration.”
“I told you it was MIST, a deep-cursed corporation. You don’t mess with corps; you cut and run.”
“There was no cuttin’, remember?”
Aaron remembered. He could not stop the cash from being siphoned. At that time, he didn’t think of why, but now, knowing there was a level 20 AI pulling the digital strings, it was likely the AI prevented the cut to track and attack Corey and his gang. Aaron pushed the past aside to deal with the present. “They got Tommy.”
“What’d yu say, mate?”
“The cops. They raided one of the A1 safehouses and arrested Tommy.”
Corey rocked back from the news. “Shit. Imma sorry to ‘ear that. I know that cuz was like a brother to yu’s.”
“Yeah, he’s all I got.” Aaron’s voice was quiet and distant.
“I stills got to fuck yu’s up, though.”
“What?” The distance in Aaron’s voice snapped back to his current location.
“Yeah, man. Thems the rules. Yu’s gone fucked up my oprations, now I’s gots to fuck yu’s up.”
“Oh, hold your uranium, Corey! I didn’t fuck up your ops. That’s on you. Getting Tommy out of prison, that’s on me—and you’re going to help me.”
Corey laughed his signature laugh. “How yu’s thinkin’ Imma gonna ‘elp yu’s?”
“That portal mage of yours, what’s her name? Jenny? Jessie? Whatever. I need her to port me into the prison so I can get Tommy out and wipe his record clean.”
Corey's demeanor darkened. “‘Er name is Jackie. The coppas got ‘er. Prob’ly got ‘er locked up with yor boy, Tommy.”
Aaron was blank-faced as he took a moment to process this new information. “Well, this is a load of coprolite.”
“Call it what yu’s want, Frimslaya. Imma still fuckin’ yu’s up for Jackie and all the rest o’ the biz.”
“For the love of chalcedony! I thought you said this was a negotiation?”
The slender street elf cracked his knuckles and neck. “Negotiations are dun, Frimslaya.”
“Wait,” Aaron held up a finger, vainly hoping it would slow Corey and his boys from their advance. “Wait! I can help!”
Corey laughed, but it was darker than his typical laugh. “Fuck yor ‘elp.”
Two of Corey’s boys rushed to either side of Aaron and slammed his back against the wall. The dwarf struggled, but the two Boomas held his arms tight, preventing him from escaping Corey’s vengeful intentions.
Aaron (Strength) vs. Corey – 3 vs. 9 Aaron fails. 1 Physical Moxie strike inflicted.
Corey delivered a punch straight to the dwarf’s gut. The punch was solid, deep, and much harder than Aaron had anticipated. Even for an elf, Corey could land an impressive punch. Aaron heaved and struggled to get his breath back.
Aaron (Strength) vs. Corey – 4 vs. 3 Aaron succeeds.
The next blow was a right hook to the face, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the first. A split lip was bloody and painful, but it was far from being something that could keep Aaron from functioning. The dwarf worked on getting his breath back and tried to free one of his arms.
Aaron (Strength) vs. Boomas Gang (Teamwork) – 3 vs. 8 Aaron fails.
Despite the dwarf’s struggles, the elves on either arm pinned Aaron tightly against the wall. He was practically on his toes, grunting as he pushed and strained against his captors, but it was no avail.
“Ya know,” Corey said while stretching and flexing his fingers. “Jackie and I, we’s were a thing, ya know? Like, somethin’ special.”
“I can save her!” Aaron cried out through ragged breaths.
“No, yu’s can’t.” Corey made a fist, and his fist began to glow an infernal red. “This ‘ere is the it works. We live, we die, or we’s get lock’d up ‘n die in prison.”
Aaron (Strength) vs. Corey – 3 vs. 10 Aaron experiences an exceptional fail. 1 Physical Moxie strike inflicted. Dazed status inflicted.
The power of Corey’s enchanted punch was like a truck slamming Aaron into the wall. Dust clouds blew about while the dwarf’s ribs cracked with the wall behind him. His head slumped down as a small red indicator flashed in the periphery of his vision—it was a warning. Aaron was on his last Moxie. Another strike like that and he would lose his connection with the system.
Corey lifted Aaron’s head and locked eyes with the dwarf. “Yu’s can’t change it. She’s gone. Jackie ain’t comin’ back. And the sames gonna ‘appen to yu’s.”
Everything was swimming, spinning, garbled together in a swirling mess of pain and breathlessness. Aaron tightly squinted his eyes to keep focus on Corey’s blurry face as he uttered defiantly through the blood pooling in his mouth, “You’re wrong.”
Corey shrugged and delivered a final infernal punch to Aaron’s face.
1 Physical Moxie strike inflicted. Aaron has zero Moxie remaining. Aaron’s System connection is lost.