For you, it has always been about the bits. Money is the only form of currency you really care about.
And Copper knows this. Of course she does. She knows what everypony wants.
So, you don't care how she goes about everypony else. You don't care what she promises them, who she fucks, or who she promises to fuck if they just do one more thing for her. What matters to you is that she knows that, as long as she keeps the bits coming, you will do what she wants.
oh, look!
Our next victim!
But the ponies she sent with you tonight? The preparations… no, the ritual she insisted you did, to help with your task?
You barely understood half of the things you were doing. And for all that you can feel the results, this still feels inky to you.
she sent thugs buffed by an Edge Influence 
I'm so happy we BOTH summoned Biedde AND called the RESOLUTION for Velvet!
THIS WILL BE A MASSACRE!
[Edge Realization: Velvet Covers is immune to ambushes]
[All guarding characters have been alerted]
That's Velvet, BIEDDE, and MAREINETTE.
they're so fucked it's not even funny!
shame we are wounded. though hey, we can use this attack as a justification for the lost health!
Not being able to take a train here, at Copper's insistence, was a drag. Having to hide the cart they hauled here was even worse. But still, finally, you have arrived.
oh, it probably has a Windigo or three...
"Alright everypony. Let's make this quick and clean," you say in a hushed tone, as the four of you and the cart hide behind the tall crops. "Get in, kill the bitch, get out. No stealing, no breaking shit, and no fooling around. And only sik a witness if you have to."
I can at least respect she's not going after our daughters and husband.
You should be worrying about the stallion who is right in front of you.
He has a pipe on his mouth, a calm expression on his face, and the chilling confidence of a stallion who cannot be denied.
"I can see from your faces that you went through a lot, to arrive here. However, I must inform you that if any of you go through this entrance, you will all die."
He says that.
And you immediately believe him.
You all do.
"Fuck… fuck, fuck FUCK!" one of your companions immediately loses his composure, and runs back towards the cart before you can do anything else.
and the smart one leaves first.
That said... Biedde never said that if they leave they'll stay alive.
and there's a Velvet and a MAREINETTE there too...
More than just that, you wish you had brought five carts with you. Because maybe then you would have a chance.
yep, there's Windigoes in there.
Probably only the one.
[Attackers have unleashed their sealed Windigo]
[Mareinette has initiated combat]
[Windigo has initiated combat]
I actually feel a bit sorry for them.
Imagine being told you have to kill a crippled noble lady.
and then you find yourself facing
THE EDGE NAME, THE LAST OF THE LIGEIAN, and THE STRONGEST MORTAL IN THE WORLD (because with her influence right now Velvet probably IS the most dangerous combatant. The ONLY thing holding her back is that she's at health 1)
ALSO I FUCKING CALLED IT! I KNEW WE'D BE ATTACKED THIS TURN! I CALLED IT, YOU KNOW I DID!
it was either now or never, really.
You think you just saw your two other companions being dragged by… something, into the forbidding crops.
I think Mareinette found a new playmate!
or meal.
or both!
"Ah, quaint. Well then, I will deal with you later," the old stallion says.
it's just so
amusing to see how Biedde react to a WINDIGO.
"oh, how quaint. let me deal with that a sec".
[Mareinette has invoked "NEVER ASK A LADY HER AGE"]
[Details of combat have been redacted]
...disappointing, but not totally unexpected.
Because you don't care about the money anymore. You don't care about your companions, or whatever problems might arise if you return without them.
The only thing you care about is getting this job done with, so you can get away from here.
what an idiot.
He should care only about leaving, while everyone else is busy and he's
beneath their concern.
"Did you really come all the way here just to try to kill me?"
an EXTREMELY poor decision.
and not leaving when he had a chance was the last bad decision he'll ever make.
I think you mean bat?
[Velvet: 85 88 + 89 (total combat bonus) = 177]
...Bird, did we really HAVE to reroll an
85?
[Velvet: 85 88 + 89 (total combat bonus) = 177]
[Invader: 9 + 37 (total combat bonus) = 46]
[Overflow: Velvet – 131, Invader – 0]
[Invader suffers two wounds (-100 to Velvet's overflow)]
and in HALF a clash, they're now equal health
Velvet is
terrifying.
"Come to my house-"
-the world turns upside down. And somehow, the mare is staring down at you with the moon behind her-
"-where my husband lives-"
-your legs hurt. You think you heard something break, but your brain did not yet have the time to feel what happened yet-
"-and where my daughters sleep?"
-she has a knife on her mouth. A knife that is tied around her neck, and that she took from somewhere under her clothes-
-you think you let out a muted gasp as she sinks that knife into your chest-
"Very. Poor. Decision."
if I have any regret about this fight right now
It's that Comet is not here to be properly terrified of Velvet as well.
[Velvet Covers suffers one wound (-50 to Invader's overflow)]
[Velvet Covers has reached zero health]
[Velvet Covers has activated "Dancing With Death"]
[Velvet Covers is being attacked in her home, she will refuse to "Escape" or "Play dead"]
[Velvet Covers has chosen to continue combat]
FUCK
...but hey, we lose access to our lores... but the Influence should still work!
This is even MORE terrifying. Imagine dealing a mortal wound,
and this crippled mare that should be dead is STILL FIGHTING.
[Velvet: 64 + 48 (total combat bonus) = 112]
[Invader: 18 + 37 (total combat bonus) = 55]
[Overflow: Velvet – 92, Invader – 4]
[Invader suffers one wound (-50 to Velvet Covers's overflow)]
[Invader has been defeated]
oh, that's
cute.
and again, nice justification for the wounds we had. And maybe an excuse to take it easier next turn from work, or to delay the assault against the changelings...
That is, until your hoof finally connects with her skull, and you hear something crack.
...
he fucking fractured our skull.
but still, we got the last laugh.
Biedde looks down at the figure of his employer. She is alive, but only barely. Her mouth mumbling the song that is keeping her heart going, and her legs fidgeting under her as she shakes her blood into motion.
He breathes in a short sniff. Heart does have its uses, but her method definitely needs to be refined.
"[WINTER]."
"Yes, almost. But not quite. I wonder if she will learn from this," he says, answering the thing that is standing next to him.
Velvet knows the secret song that endures and never dies...
It's nice to see Biedde acknowledging us, even with his dismissal of Heart.
Meanwhile, the thing next to him finishes swallowing the dead body of the last attacker. The one that was next to his employer.
He wonders if the four bodies she had tonight were to her liking. Probably not, he supposed. None of them were mares, and all of them were adults.
creepy.
Expected, but creepy.
kind of a shame we couldn't keep the bodies for Risens though.
The thing gives him a dismissive nod, her bony head still preoccupied with gulping down the foreleg that is still sticking out of her gullet. But a few crunching sounds later, her large silhouette is back to its elegant self.
The Grail-monster then looks up towards the shocked audience, and then she-
[Combating suspicion, breakpoints 60/80/100/120/150]
[Mareinette's roll: 90 13 + 50 (Social action) + 30 (Grail, level 6) = 170]
[Final breakpoint reached]
"[GRAIL]!"
-and then she convinces everypony this is just a bad dream, and that they should go back to sleep.
And they all, without exception, believe her.
[This enemy's attack will create absolutely no suspicion. It's occurrence will be completely ignored both narratively and mechanically, unless Velvet Covers decides otherwise]
Impressive. REALLY Impressive.
This gives us a clearer idea of what a DC 150 means. It's quite literally something impossible for mortals to achieve.
120 DC is already close to the limit of what Mortals can do, with their limit of 20 to a stat and maybe +10 from traits at the very best, and we're talking of basically the best mortal in their field then. We're talking Sherlock Holmes tier of near impossible.
Mareinette can do even more absurd stuff than that kind of character...
-ALL Fleeting Opportunities that might happen will be ignored or discarded, without coming to your attention (because you are in no condition to meet them by happenstance); and
NO!
-ALL actions that might take place outside of your home will have narrative and/or mechanical maluses associated with them.
more no! super annoying!
[Due to Mareinette's efforts, you are able to completely control the narrative of what happened]
So, what happened?
[] Nothing happened. You are just ill.
-Your family will be worried about your health. But you will tell the, and they will believe you, that you are only sick.
-The events of tonight will be completely accepted as… a series of disconnected events. A group of stallion colts got hold of some storm clouds, for a prank. The side-gate was left unlocked by a servant. The Lady suddenly got ill. Several small things, with no ties to each other whatsoever.
[] There has been an attempt against the Commissioner's life.
-Your family will be extremely worried about your (and their) safety.
-Information that you were attacked will, eventually, reach the public (although without any reliable details to it).
-Selene will insist on "Guarding" you this turn (although you are not forced to have her do it).
-Your Investigators will gain the option to "Investigate the Commissioner's attackers", which is a specially tailored investigation aimed at Copper Secateur.
-Your Constable's "Guard" action will be permanently upgraded.
-Your Constables will request to "Guard" you this turn (and the Bureau's morale/trust will decrease if you refuse this request)
well, if we get "constable" guards, that gives us a reason to reject Selene's request. And this gives us an excuse to send the Bureau against Copper.
We should probably ALSO send Names to deal with the Manuscripts though. It will likely take the investigators at least a full turn to find Copper, if not more, so we could still try and deal with this.
I'm not 100% sure I want to go for this, but it offers some interesting possibilities.
[As three months have passed, Mareinette requests an audience]
After the dust settled, she came to you. She expressed her condolences for your situation, she reminds you that she hopes your relationship continues to flourishes… and then, she asks you for a small boon.
[The winning option will be used to renew Mareinette's summoning bindings. With the exception of the LAST option, all other options will increase in price with every passing re-binding.]
What do you give her?
ok, so options that rise in cost, except the last one...
let's see what they look like.
[] Time
-"Are you not valuable partners? Is it not fair that you spend some time together?"
-Current cost: ONE Velvet action.
seems reasonable? The implication is that she'll try to influence us, and that's objectively dangerous... but it's a cost we CAN pay right now.
then again, maybe being in her presence while at our weakest (so without Winter, Lantern and Grail of our own) is not the best idea...
still, it's acceptable.
[] Resources
-"What will she buy with it? Oh, this and that… Toys, materials, clothes… never mind none of those would fit a grown pony. Never mind that the word she used to describe them was bait."
-Current cost: 50 bits
...
fuck.
the BITS are fine.
what she wants to use them for is not.
The implication is that we're basically giving her the candies and the van to go and steal children!
[] Freedom
-"So many sights to see, so many places to visit. So many ponies to meat. She has been away from the Wake for so long, of course she yearns to explore it."
-Does not cost any character's action points. You will just give Mareinette some "time off" for herself.
-Current interest: A small village, that barely appears in any map.
...
@OurLadyOfWires please tell me the "to meat" is a typo. PLEASE.
also, again, fairly concerning
[] Offering
-"She was a mare of means, long ago. Would you not help her recreate her collection?"
-Current cost: A STUDIED artifact of level 2 or higher
-WRITE IN which artifact you will give her
kind of annoying. NEXT TIME we could give her the Knock one. Right now is there one we don't need?
not sure WHY she needs it to be "Studied" though.
she's a Name. I refuse to believe she can't tell what an artifact does at a glance.
[-] Access
-"But a hoofstep, into the place you call home?"
-VETOED by Velvet Covers and Selene.
Yeah, Axe would have
something to say about this.
[-] Accept her "Invitation to Dinner"
-"Tie the knot. Make a friend."
-This option will always be available, and will never increase in price.
-This is Mareinette's Grail Sacrament.
-WRITE IN who will be consumed (must be a minion or a prisoner)
-INSUFFICIENT GRAIL SCRAPS
... you know, If we had captured one of those thugs alive and were at Grail 4 I MIGHT have considered it, actually.
Author's Note: Damn, the drafts I have ready for Soft!Quest will have to wait.
...
I'll ignore that!
, so no.
