] Lucian: OK, stealing this channel, then!

So, last time we saw you, you were keeping a young girl from being scared as she, her cat, her dad, and their horse all made their way to town (the dad leading the horse, the horse carrying the girl, the girl carrying the cat.)  You keep a sharp eye out as you go through the woods, and at one point have to send Ricco (who's been discretely following) after some shadows, but they melt away at his approach--ghouls, probably, who tend to only attack the wounded.

Eventually, you make it to where you can see the lights from the town over the next rise.  Your companions had been hoping for your assistance getting back into town, but signaled to you that they'd find a different way.  The dad's plan was to just walk into town and beg forgiveness from the Montaignian watch, but you know who's on duty tonight, and find it extremely unlikely that that'll work:  they'd probably let the girl go, but they'd jail the dad overnight, flog him the next day, and probably fine his family, to boot.  You've had a while to think about it, so at this point, you have a plan.

You have one normal drama die and one 'plan' drama die (which you can use if you can justify somehow that you prepared for this eventuality).  What would you like to do next?
[2:06 PM] Lucian: (And I'll add an @adri for the ping if need be)
[2:13 PM] adri: Ping me if I don't respond tonight after putting the little one to bed!
[2:13 PM] Lucian: Sure thing!
[2:13 PM] Lucian: We can be as async as need be.
[5:46 PM] adri: I kind of want to try distracting the guards by acting like I need help (damsel in distress?) while they sneak in. Though I suppose first I should try to help them find a better way in than just waltzing past the guards while I talk to them. Hm.
[5:47 PM] adri: Also trying to refresh my memory on how all this works, lol
[5:47 PM] Lucian: Heh.
[5:47 PM] adri: My default of seduction seems like it'll only go so far with them, so I'll skip that.. for now ??
[5:49 PM] adri: I briefly considered trying to distract them with hotness and alcohol, but I don't know that I have any of the latter, and it seems like I can play on their concern better?
[5:49 PM] Lucian: When you roll, it's knack+trait, keep trait.  OnMUD, it's 'roll 5k3' if, say, you're rolling writing/panache.
[5:49 PM] Lucian: (since you have a 2 in writing and a 3 in panache)
[5:50 PM] Lucian: A rule of thumb is that a 'k2' is reasonably likely to get a 10, a 'k3' is reasonably likely to get a 15, etc.
[5:51 PM] adri: Cool, thanks
[5:53 PM] Lucian: Do you want to do some reconnaissance to see which approach might work best with the particular nearest guard?  Or to find an entrance with a guard most likely to fall for plan X?
[5:53 PM] adri: I think the former.
[5:54 PM] Lucian: Also, you came on this mission prepared, so if the plan was to have some alcohol, you can have some alcohol.
[5:54 PM] adri: aw yiss
[5:55 PM] Lucian: (This makes it more fun to play, so we don't have to waste a lot of time in the planning stage for stuff that never comes up.  You're on your mission; you have what you need.)
[5:55 PM] adri: My ultimate goal is to meet back up with the others, right? I want to distract the guard, get my companions inside, and then go on my merry way?
[5:55 PM] Lucian: Right!
[5:56 PM] Lucian: They're taking the woman they rescued to a prearranged spot (a hidden basement in a tailor shop).
[5:58 PM] adri: I guess I do want to find the entrance with the guard most likely to fall for anything and then figure out what might work on them.  Maybe one is less at full attention than the others and might be easier to distract in any way?
[5:59 PM] adri: Maybe steer clear of any who might know me, or an entrance with too many guards, I'm making this complicated, but it's fun.
[6:04 PM] Lucian: Heh.  OK; hang on, and I'll figure out what to have you roll for.  (Just as your kid went to bed, mine got on a call with me ;-)
[6:04 PM] adri: ?? no worries
[9:46 PM] Lucian: OK!  Let's see.  So, after you and Ricco doing some scouting, you find out the following regardless of what you roll:  There are three entrances to the city you can get to easily from here:  South, Southeast, and Northeast.  Everywhere else there's walls that could be climbed over by Ricco (on his own), or by you (with Ricco's help), but not by the dad/daughter.  All three have a single posted guard at them, and they all check in with a group of circling guards about once every half hour or so.  (And by 'check in' I mean mostly 'Hail / hail / nothing to report / same', but sometimes there are conversations.)  Among the circling guards, you're familiar with a few of them, and know them as 'the chatty one', 'the angry one', and 'all business'.  There are some others that are unknown to you, as well.  You've made more of a point to get to know the stationary guards, though you have yet to obtain a copy of the posting duties; hence the reconnaissance.

It turns out that the South entrance is manned today by Arras, a rather-more-brutish guard on the rather-more-brutish 'Forte Squad' led by Lord Forte, who you hate.  Arras is charged extra at the Jenny's Guild, and is only allowed access to a few of the ladies.  The Southeast entrance is manned by Tristand, a fop and frequent customer of the Jenny's Guild, who is as attentive to the ladies as he is to his duties.  The Northeast entrance is manned by Jori, a large raucous man who loves food (particularly bread), and will sometimes stop by the Jenny's Guild just to chat with folks in the common area.  From reports from those chats, he apparently misses his wife and daughter (both back in Montaigne) quite a bit.
[9:46 PM] Lucian: For rolling, I'll need both a Perception check (normally just Wits, but you have Keen Senses which adds 1k0, like a knack) TN 15, and a Stealth check (stealth/finesse), TN 20.  Either you or Ricco can roll either or both.  If you feel more confident about either, you can roll it first and any raise you get will add +1k0 to the other roll, or to some other future related action.

There are two ways to get a Raise on a roll:  the first is by exceeding the TN by 15.  The second is by deliberately making the roll harder by 5 (a 'called raise').  It means you're more likely to fail outright, but it gives you that bonus on a success (sort of a 'double or nothing' bet).  So if you're like 'Hey, Ricco is awesome at scouting, I bet he'll make at least a 25', you call a raise on the scouting roll, and if you get 25 or higher, you both succeed and get a bonus for later.  If he gets a 23, he fails, even though he would have succeeded without the raise.  If he goes wild and gets a 40, you get two raises; one for the called raise, and one for getting 15 above the 25.
[10:00 PM] Lucian: Failure on one roll means that Ricco will have had to scamper off into the city during his reconnaissance, so won't be able to help with the next bit.  Failure on both rolls means Ricco's gone and you'll have put everyone on alert, increasing future TNs.  Any raises leftover can be spent either as +1k0's on future rolls that are related to the scouting you did, or to bring about some favorable coincidence (i.e. if you really wanted 'the angry one' having just left the southeast gate when you make your play).
[10:04 PM] Lucian: Oh, one last thing:  the dad/kid's home is to the southwest of the city, so if you get them inside the gates, they'll have to sneak the shortest from the south gate, slightly longer from the southeast, and a bit longer than that from the northeast.
[9:17 AM] Lucian: And another laster thing: you can declare that any of the people above know you or don't know you, as you wish.  You could even have them know masked-you only, if you want that to be a thing. 
[5:47 PM] adri: Ok. The perception check would be 4k3 with keen senses, and stealth would be 4k4, because I've got no stealth, but have lots of finesse ?? So I'm going to roll stealth first, and I'm going to do it on the MUD. (those rolls seem correct?)
[5:48 PM] Lucian: Well, don't forget Rico.
[5:48 PM] Lucian: He has Stealth.
[5:48 PM] Lucian: Ricco.
[5:49 PM] adri: Oh right. Does he have a character sheet somewhere or just the plotting doc?
[5:49 PM] Lucian: (You bought this guy specifically because he had stealth ;-)
[5:49 PM] Lucian: He's on the spreadsheet, at least.
[5:49 PM] Lucian: And, uh, I think that's it.
[5:50 PM] Lucian: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JGmIVui0CanZLHIcF41bIY8J6zTaLQoy0BxSyrAJ_5Y/edit#gid=827865219
[5:51 PM] adri: Ok, he's got a 3 in stealth and 4 in finesse, so 7k4?
[5:51 PM] Lucian: Correct!
[5:52 PM] Lucian: (IIRC, the special thing about a Vodacce valet is their 3's in all Criminal knacks.)
[5:53 PM] Lucian: Woo, 55!
[5:53 PM] Lucian: | [7thsea] genericgeekgirl rolls 7k4: 9 10+6 9 10+10+1 8 2 2 | 55
[5:54 PM] Lucian: Ricco moves like a shadow, and you lose him several times despite the fact that he's two feet away.
[5:54 PM] adri: Tall dark and handsome, and nigh invisible.
[5:54 PM] adri: Maybe not handsome
[5:54 PM] adri: I dunno
[5:54 PM] Lucian: Tall dark and more dark and where'd he go
[5:54 PM] adri: haha
[5:55 PM] Lucian: So!  You beat the TN by 35, so that's two free raises!
[5:55 PM] Lucian: Which in this specific case means "A +1k0 each on your Perception roll or something else to be determined later."
[5:56 PM] adri: Hm. Can I save both? Is that too much to keep track on?
[5:56 PM] adri: of
[5:56 PM] adri: rather
[5:56 PM] Lucian: Sure, save both; that's fine.
[5:56 PM] adri: And just roll straight
[5:56 PM] adri: AUGH
[5:57 PM] adri: 14
[5:57 PM] adri: on perception
[5:57 PM] adri: I have drama dice, though?
[5:57 PM] Lucian: OK!  So, you can either fail and lose Ricco for now (having served you well) or you can spend a drama die and try to roll a 1 or greater.
[5:58 PM] adri: So it acts as an added 1k1 right?
[5:58 PM] Lucian: You do indeed have one drama die and one 'plan die', which is a drama die you can spend on A Thing You Planned On.
[5:58 PM] Lucian: Right.
[5:58 PM] Lucian: (you don't re-roll with a 5k4, you just roll 1k1)
[5:59 PM] adri: Did the ones from the other session roll over? Cause I marked some on my sheet as a thing, since we're not doing the thing where they become XP
[5:59 PM] adri: Using one and it's a 7
[5:59 PM] Lucian: Oh, if you had more than one from last time, then yes, you still have the extra.
[5:59 PM] Lucian: You succeed!  Narrate at will!
[5:59 PM] adri: One sec, scrolling back up ??
[5:59 PM] Lucian: Heh.
[6:05 PM] adri: Ok, at a high level, I'm thinking southeast gate, both because it's the best option that doesn't involve Arras, and because Tristand sounds like fun one to interact with. I guess my plan is for me to do the distracting while Ricco kind of safeguards the others to their home and we can reconvene somewhere outside the city.
[6:06 PM] adri: I can woo him with my charm and beauty/ and that flask of hard liquor I happen to be carrying. 
[6:06 PM] adri: that was weird, I hate you discord
[6:06 PM] adri: I was trying to be witty, and it actually replaced my text
[6:07 PM] Lucian: Oh, you did the ^x^y thing?
[6:07 PM] adri: "s/foo/bar"
[6:07 PM] Lucian: Oh, right, that too.
[6:07 PM] adri: Was not expecting that
[6:08 PM] Lucian: OK, so head to the southeast gate, let Ricco watch for a time to shuffle the family inside.
[6:09 PM] adri: Penelope adjusts her, uh, assets, makes sure her hair looks good, and kind of wanders over to the guard at the Southeast Gate. "Good evening!", she calls out with a smile.
[6:10 PM] adri: (He would recognize me, definitely)
[6:10 PM] Lucian: Tristand: Ah, good evening, mademoisselle!
[6:10 PM] adri: "How goes the watching? You must get lonely out here, so late at night..."
[6:11 PM] Lucian: "Ah, how can I be bored, when the fresh air brings such treasures as yourself?
[6:12 PM] Lucian: "Someone who knows that my duty is to wait here with you, until the next watch circles by to escort you home, as it is, of course, after curfew.
[6:13 PM] Lucian: "You are too kind."  He does a sweeping bow and kisses your hand.
[6:15 PM] adri: Something something charming, distraction roll would eventually be... some trait + dangerous beauty + seduction. Panache and wits are equal, I don't remember what we used last time.
[6:15 PM] adri: I imagine we flirt for a while
[6:16 PM] adri: Not sure he'd take the bait of a drink on duty
[6:16 PM] adri: Though...
[6:16 PM] Lucian: At this point a single distraction could turn him away from watching the gate for a handful of seconds, but probably not long enough for an old horse to walk through unseen.
[6:17 PM] adri: Well, let's see if I can charm him into sharing a sip with me?
[6:18 PM] adri: He must be awfully thirsty
[6:18 PM] adri: I say charm,I mean seduce
[6:18 PM] Lucian: He easily slips into flirting with you, but does keep a watchful eye on the gate.  You do think you might be able to get him to take a few sips, at least.
[6:19 PM] Lucian: Let's say TN 20 to get him to drink a bit, which will lower his inhibitions a bit (easier TN to, uh, inhibitions-laden stuff later)
[6:20 PM] adri: Cool. Panache?
[6:20 PM] Lucian: Sure!
[6:20 PM] adri: 37
[6:21 PM] Lucian: Success!  Roleplay!
[6:22 PM] adri: Penelope hikes up her skirts, peels the flask off her thigh, and says something appropriately charming and witty. "Share a sip with me?"
[6:22 PM] adri: (I knew able drinker would be useful)
[6:23 PM] adri: One day, I shall challenge someone to a drink off
[6:25 PM] Lucian: Tristand smiles and actually gulps a little, but recovers and exclaims, "Ah, you tempt me, but I must.." and then he feels his face turning red and continues "have but a sip, sure.  But, my darling Penelope, in truth," [he takes a sip], "we must see each other later.  My duty now is to this gate, and there are ghouls without."
[6:27 PM] Lucian: "I, suppose it has been a while since we've been together?"  He blinks rapidly, as if to clear a memory.  "Yes, that will be rectified."
[6:30 PM] adri: Penelope smiles and places a hand on the collar of his uniform. "Oh, absolutely. I look forward to it." She hands him the flask. "But for now, another sip?"
[6:31 PM] adri: I'm happy to use the plan drama die or a raise or whatever to ensure it's a particularly strong and sweet sort of alcohol I've got with me.
[6:31 PM] adri: The sort of thing that goes down easily while doing a number on your abilities to focus or decline
[6:32 PM] adri: only to be used for good
[6:32 PM] adri: of course
[6:33 PM] Lucian: "Oh, ha ha, my dear!  I must not, I am afraid.  When my duty is to you, then whatever you wish.  But my duty now is to this boring street, to ensure that it stay boring."
[6:33 PM] Lucian: [You know him well enough to know that you'll need to switch tactics before 'have a drink' works with him again (if ever), but he has drunk some.]
[6:34 PM] adri: All right!
[6:36 PM] Lucian: He sighs.  "Couldn't sleep, I suppose?  The climate here is quite damp, this close to the sea.  Sometimes I just can't breathe right and toss and turn instead."
[6:37 PM] adri: Penelope says something inappropriate about tossing and turning that would make a sailor blush, but she does so with a smile.
[6:37 PM] adri: (I am also prepared to sing a melancholy tune or throw myself at him because I think there might be a ghoul around :D)
[6:37 PM] Lucian: He grins wickedly back.  "Ah, promises, promises.  Indeed!"
[6:40 PM] Lucian: "It is good of you to stay, though you tempt me monstrously and shall be greatly rewarded for it.  Normally 'tis just drunks I have to corral to where I can see both them and the gate until I can hand them off.  Most unpleasant.
[6:41 PM] adri: "Oh, that does sound unpleasant..." Penelope stops and thinks for a moment. "So, ghouls, huh? That sounds scary. "
[6:43 PM] Lucian: "Yes!"  He puffs up again a bit, happy to be able to tell a pretty lady tales of danger and heroism.  "They go after the wounded in packs, and tear them to shreds!  Why, just the other day..." [cue rambly dashing story of a patrol he was on.]
[6:44 PM] adri: "You're so big and strong. You'd keep me safe if one were to appear, would you not?" She runs a hand across his upper arm in another seduction attempt to keep him flustered, but talking and focused on her.
[6:45 PM] Lucian: That sounds like a TN 5 at this point.  He's definitely flusterable.
[6:45 PM] adri: She seems very intent on his story and genuinely a little scared.
[6:45 PM] adri: Hmmmmm.
[6:46 PM] adri: I am definitely going to raise that, but wondering what sort of bonus could be gotten here.
[6:48 PM] Lucian: A +1k0 to your next related action per raise seems reasonable.   Also, I'm kind of judging 'what he's willing to do' by the story flow as well as Just Dice.
[6:49 PM] adri: Sounds good
[6:49 PM] adri: so TN 10?
[6:49 PM] adri: I will cry if I miss that ??
[6:49 PM] Lucian: One raise would be TN 10, two raises TN 15, etc.
[6:49 PM] Lucian: Ha.
[6:50 PM] adri: 32
[6:50 PM] adri: I should stop worrying and trust the dice
[6:50 PM] Lucian: That's a success and another +1k0!
[6:51 PM] adri: I don't know that I even need him to drink more, if I can get him really animatedly talking to me
[6:51 PM] Lucian: He's quite flustered, and he's sort of hesitantly telling you bits of the story, and you suddenly realize he's wondering if you're into ghoul roleplay, or rescue-from-ghoul roleplay, and is unsure whether he'd be into that himself or not.
[6:51 PM] adri: Hahaha
[6:56 PM] adri: Penelope kind of overacts the scared damsel in distress part as she listens to his stories, clinging to him a little, not too much, but making her physical presence well known to him.
[6:57 PM] Lucian: He reaches his arm around your shoulder reassuringly, which kind of messes up the grand gestures he was making, but he seems to feel it was worth the trade-off.
[6:58 PM] adri: I presume Ricco is somewhere watching and waiting and rolling his eyes.
[6:59 PM] Lucian: I feel like he's waiting stoically, having seen this exact scene 1000 times before.
[6:59 PM] adri: haha
[7:01 PM] Lucian: I also feel like he's a bit jealous, because Tristand is actually a fine-looking specimen, and all the best ones are straight.
[7:01 PM] adri: Aw
[7:03 PM] Lucian: So at this point, you feel like if you went for a long kiss it might be long enough, but if you could get him away from the gate and then kiss him, that'd be much safer.
[7:06 PM] Lucian: (Other plans are also of course completely possible.)
[7:08 PM] adri: If I were to move away from the gate into a bit of shadow, because I think I saw, I dunno, a stray cat, any chance he'd follow me, at least part way? Out of a need to protect me and/or be near me?
[7:09 PM] Lucian: Yup!
[7:10 PM] adri: "Oh.. is that a cat? It looks injured... " She disentangles from Tristand and takes a step towards the shadows a little ways away from the gate. She looks back, frowning. "I should, I mean, should we, um..." She walks away a little.
[7:10 PM] Lucian: [The rules he is duty-bound to follow are that if he sees someone out on the streets, he must have them stay with him until they either go inside where he can see them do it, or hand them off to the roving watch, who will escort them home.]
[7:10 PM] adri: Ah!
[7:11 PM] Lucian: He breaks off mid-sentence.  "A... a cat?  Surely not, mademoiselle.  They make noise when injured.  I.. have heard it."
[7:12 PM] adri: "Oh, are you certain? I'm just going to have a look..."
[7:13 PM] adri: She's been walking away as she says this, unless he tries to restrain her
[7:13 PM] Lucian: "No, Penelope, please, I must..." He holds out a hand to stop you, but is much too the gentleman to actually grab you, and you [can?] easily slip away and into the alley.
[7:14 PM] adri: "Aw, are you worried about me? That is so sweet." She changes tactics and melts up against his body.
[7:15 PM] adri: I'm willing to just kiss (oh god, I typed kill first) him now and throw banked raises into the roll and see what happens.
[7:16 PM] adri: If I can't get him to budge
[7:16 PM] Lucian: Tristand breathes an audible sigh of relief.  "Nay, I have no doubt you could take care of yourself, probably against a ghoul itself, much more a cat.  But my duty is to see you until you are inside again, or passed on, and my duty is to watch the gate, and I cannot do both if you run off.
[7:17 PM] Lucian: "I would have to, I dunno, come arrest you or something."  He shudders at the thought.  "The prison is no place for you."  Then mutters, "Tis no place for anyone..."
[7:18 PM] adri: Penelope smirks and changes the mood back with a sultry promise that he can "arrest her anytime he likes."
[7:20 PM] Lucian: The man suffers emotional whiplash for the seventh time in ten minutes, and only his bedrock foppishness allows him to smile weakly in return.
[7:21 PM] Lucian: "At any rate," he says, and turns back away from you to walk back towards his spot by the gate.  "The sergeant had just routed one ghoul, when..."
[7:21 PM] Lucian: [He says, giving you a chance to dart into the alley.]
[7:22 PM] adri: Do I think he's likely to be angry at me for long if I do?
[7:23 PM] Lucian: Roll Wits!  TN 10.
[7:23 PM] adri: 14
[7:25 PM] Lucian: You think that if you can get him into the alley and then kiss him, he'll think that was your goal, and be mildly upset, but mostly relieved that it wasn't anything else.  Having sex on duty is greatly frowned upon, and he would be mortified.
[7:25 PM] adri: Ha, all right.
[7:26 PM] adri: Penelope edges towards the alley slowly, keeping an eye on his back, and then turns and makes a dash for it. She waits for him to notice she's gone, at which point she will respond with a coy "meow?"
[7:29 PM] Lucian: "Out of nowhere, he... Penelope?"  he asks, turning and seeing you missing.  "Penelope!  What..."  [and here you meow.]  "Oh, for... thou minx!  You make me the fool.  Please come out."
[7:30 PM] adri: "No. I mean, meow. Come and get me.
[7:31 PM] adri: :sticks a booted leg out of the shadow, exposing some ankle.
[7:31 PM] adri: Or maybe a knee makes more sense, with higher boots.
[7:32 PM] Lucian: "And, uh, drag you back to your spot?  Surely I can drag you wherever you like when you're on duty and I'm not!
[7:34 PM] adri: "Fine, fine.... " You hear a thud. "Ow."
[7:35 PM] Lucian: He startles and comes to attention at once.  "Oh!  Did you twist your ankle?  Let me..." and he darts into the alley immediately.
[7:36 PM] adri: Penelope looks sad and in pain and a little scared. "I don't know if I can walk..."
[7:36 PM] Lucian: "Oh, no!  Here, I shall carry you."
[7:37 PM] adri: She lets him pick her up, and then she apologizes for being so careless, but expresses her appreciation, yada yada yada, and then goes in for a kiss before he can go far with her.
[7:38 PM] adri: With Ricco's help, could I get out over the wall later?
[7:38 PM] Lucian: He awkwardly is carrying you in his arms and of course can't see around your head when it's pressed into his.  Roll Seduction!  TN 15 because damn you made this easy on yourself ;-)
[7:39 PM] adri: Haha, one sec
[7:39 PM] adri: 22
[7:40 PM] Lucian: OK!  If you like, at this point you can spend a couple of your earlier raises to get enough time for the family to get in and past without the possibility of a notice roll for him at all.
[7:41 PM] adri: Sure.
[7:41 PM] Lucian: Would you like to rp the scene, or shall I?
[7:43 PM] adri: I generally just envision Ricco leading a horse, a man, a girl, and there was a cat?, kind of comically right past us with Tristand not even noticing.
[7:43 PM] Lucian: Perfect.
[7:46 PM] Lucian: Tristand stumbles a bit into a wall or two, vaguely trying to protest at first, but finally just sinks into a wall behind and you in front and melts a bit.  You finally come up for air and grin at him.  "You weren't injured at all, were you?" he asks, quietly.  You moue.  "No"  "You devil."  "meow"  "You devil cat."  You snuggle into his shoulder and he gallantly carries you back to his station.  The family and Ricco are long gone.
[7:47 PM] adri: Haha, aw
[7:48 PM] Lucian: He sits on his uncomfortable chair with you still in his arms, settles in, and sighs one of the most contented sighs you've heard in your life.
[7:50 PM] Lucian: After a minute or two, he asks quietly, "Do you have a place to go inside that I can see from here?  I... I don't want him to take you from me, but I could stand it if you left."
[7:52 PM] adri: I presume it's possible for Ricco and I to get back out of the city and on our way to rendezvous with the others?
[7:52 PM] adri: also "him"?
[7:52 PM] Lucian: The rendezvous is inside the city!
[7:52 PM] adri: oh!
[7:52 PM] Lucian: (The roving guard he'd have to hand you off to.)
[7:52 PM] adri: Ahhhh, ok
[7:53 PM] adri: Penelope nods. She kisses his cheek, slips away from him, and says, "I'll see you soon."
[7:54 PM] adri: I presume there's some place I could go that would satisfy him and then I could go off once he feels that I'm safe and he's done his duty
[7:54 PM] Lucian: He stands and watches you go, dutifully turning back to watch the gate regularly as he does so.
[7:54 PM] Lucian: Sure!  You want to make up a place, or shall I?
[7:54 PM] adri: You can
[7:56 PM] Lucian: OK!  There's a second-story apartment rented by one of the girls you know well that's just down the street from here.
[7:58 PM] adri: Penelope walks confidently up to the building, makes contact with the gal who just happens to be home and unoccupied, I presume, and disappears inside for a bit.
[7:58 PM] adri: Or should we figure out how I contact her? ??
[7:58 PM] Lucian: I mean, knocking will probably work, though it'd wake her up.
[7:58 PM] adri: Yeah. I was hoping she might be a night owl.
[7:58 PM] adri: I don't know what time it is!
[7:59 PM] Lucian: It's like 3 in the morning, I think.
[7:59 PM] adri: Oof
[7:59 PM] adri: Hm.
[7:59 PM] adri: Well, I can bribe her back to sleep with some alcohol if she wants it
[7:59 PM] Lucian: But you all stick together.  If she came to your door at 3 AM you wouldn't bat an eyelash.
[7:59 PM] adri: Aw
[8:00 PM] adri: She knocks, explains briefly and quietly to the girl that she just needs a place to stay for 15 minutes, and offers her the flask as an apology.
[8:00 PM] Lucian: Oh, you know, there's probably a particular knock, even.
[8:01 PM] adri: I was mostly worried about waking up other people in the building?
[8:01 PM] adri: If she's on the second floor
[8:02 PM] Lucian: Oh, right; I was imagining a balcony door with an outside stair.  Should have said!
[8:02 PM] adri: Ah
[8:03 PM] Lucian: Sylvia greets you groggily and hair disheveled, but instantly lets you in.  She peers into the street, shakes her head, and pulls her head back inside, closing the door.  "Tristand, hunh?" she asks, accepting the bottle without further comment.  "Yeah, he's a better one."
[8:04 PM] Lucian: "Need anything to eat?  Got some dried ham here somewhere.
[8:06 PM] Lucian: She scratches her head and thinks about your timing.  "Got a back window without too big a drop he wouldn't see.  Or you could try to time it out the front.  Unless you think he's still making moon eyes at my door, now."
[8:07 PM] adri: What would jumping out a window entail, roll wise? ??
[8:07 PM] Lucian: Climbing/Finesse would be the most straightforward.
[8:07 PM] Lucian: (I forget if you have Climbing)
[8:08 PM] adri: Nope
[8:09 PM] Lucian: You could just take the 'flesh wound' from a fall and roll resolve to try to shake it off.  A fall from a failed climb would be a 3k2; a straight jump would be a 2k1.
[8:09 PM] Lucian: No, Brawn, not Resolve.
[8:10 PM] adri: That is not a thing I am good at
[8:10 PM] Lucian: You could also try to make the climb easier somehow.  With no mods, it's a TN 15.
[8:14 PM] adri: Hm, thinking, sorry.
[8:14 PM] Lucian: No problem!
[8:14 PM] Lucian: I'm still enjoying myself ;-)
[8:15 PM] adri: Is there like a window I can peep out of in the front? maybe he's no longer paying attention.
[8:16 PM] adri: Because I am not thrilled about the possiblity of falling from the second story
[8:16 PM] Lucian: There does happen to be a side window as well where you can see him from.  He is distracted and agitated, and constantly looking up at the apartment.
[8:16 PM] adri: Damnit, Tristand.
[8:17 PM] adri: Out the window it is. I presume  it's just a straight drop down a building, no trellis or anything.
[8:18 PM] Lucian: You do have some 1k0's you could add to a finesse roll.  And you still have a Plan thing.
[8:18 PM] adri: Yeah, I was about to ask about the plan die... hm.
[8:19 PM] Lucian: No one thing, but everything is ornate in Castille, so there's bits of decoration all over the place that combined with window sills and ledges give a reasonable path to climb down.
[8:19 PM] Lucian: (TN 15 is a standard difficulty.)
[8:19 PM] adri: Ok, so. finesse is 4. How many of the raises did I use with the kiss scene?
[8:19 PM] Lucian: Two!
[8:19 PM] adri: I'd just assumed "all"
[8:20 PM] adri: So one left?
[8:20 PM] Lucian: Sure!
[8:20 PM] adri: Ok, I'll see what happens, and if need be, I'll figure out how I planned for this
[8:20 PM] Lucian: We can say you're all hyped up on sexual tension which makes you more keen ;-)
[8:20 PM] adri: Haha
[8:21 PM] Lucian: (four dice are a lot; you're likely to make the roll.)
[8:21 PM] adri: I hope so!
[8:21 PM] adri: pffft. 35
[8:21 PM] Lucian: Yeah, see? ;-)
[8:22 PM] Lucian: So hey; I originally had one other idea for a smallish Thing To Happen on your way to the rendezvous, but it's pretty late.  Good place to stop?  I know it's super late there.
[8:22 PM] adri: Yeah, I need to sleep!
[8:22 PM] adri: Thanks a ton
[8:23 PM] Lucian: Absolutely!
[8:25 PM] Lucian: With that, you make your way across town with relative ease, particularly when Ricco shows up again and starts Stealthing everywhere.  In no time at all, you make it to the tailor shop.  Seeing nobody inside, you pilfer the hidden key, and unlock the door just in time to hear a tremendous SCREEEEEECH of metal on metal.  Holy...
[8:26 PM] Lucian: And we'll meet as an entire group again next time!
[8:26 PM] adri: Yay