Prologue: Just another day

Mihai shrugs - "We might care how Reeves feels. Anyway, do as you see fit."

The game of tag between Steve and Breeze along the route that leads to the warehouse reveals no one suspicious, except for these two. Stefan initially ignores them until he learns from Konrad and the sailors that they're members of the 113th adjunct. This bewilders Stefan, but he refrains from commenting on this fact and lets the sailors carry on.

Half an hour later, the crates are safely put away in the warehouse and the carriage is now ready to make its way back to the docks. One of the sailors turns to face the party and tells them, "Well, we're done here. I'm not sure what we'll be doing now, but go see the captain if you need a ride home. We might be able to drop you off in the Free Feathers."

Stefan has just entered the warehouse, leaving the large door behind him ajar.

"Thank you! I hope we meet again." Steve tips his hat to the sailors.

Konrad nods to the sailor. "Thank you, we'll do that."

Mihai nods at the sailor, then can't help but stare sidelong at the ajar doorway.

"............"

"Yeah, see you." Him and the rest of the sailors wave goodbye to the party as the carriage slowly moves away towards the end of the alleyway.

"Bye everyone!" Breeze shouts. "I hope we work together again!"

Fedler glances at the warehouse's entrance.

"So, this was an easy job." - Mihai remarks, not trusting his words. He then walks into the warehouse.

"All seems to be in order?" - he asks Stefan.

Stefan has a crowbar in his hand, and he's using it to open one of the small crates. He stops when Mihai calls upon him.

"Not sure yet," he answers.

Fedler and Breeze follow Mihai into the building.

Steve follows everyone in as well. He's curious to see what's in the crate. "Oh, you are opening it. Can we see what's in there now?"

Konrad walks in. "What is all this, anyway?"

Breeze and Fedler are also curious about the content of these crates and they approach Stefan to get a good look at what they've been protecting for the last three days.

"Come take a look then," the Coins agent says.

He puts the tip of the crowbar in a chink of the crate and puts pressure on it. The box makes a loud crack. Stefan removes the lid out of the way and shows everyone what's in the crate; longswords, and many of them.

OOC:

Steve notices that his shoes need to be waxed. Fedler rearranges her green cloak, which momentarily reveals her lovely silhouette and distracts Mihai for a moment. As for Konrad, he notices that Fedler has most likely spotted something. She's right now looking at the wooden floor, about a 10 feet towards the center of the warehouse.

"Swords?" Breeze says. "Who are they for?"

"Everyone," Stefan replies.

"Hey, what's that?" Fedler asks as she points at the center of the building.

Already looking at Fedler, Mihai reroutes his eyes towards the center of the building.

"Hmm? What is what?" Steve strains his eyes trying to see what Fedler is talking about.

Stefan turns to Konrad. "Wait a second." He then asks Fedler, "What is it?"

"The planks there have been moved recently," she says. "See? The nails are jutting out."

"Oh, you're right," Breeze replies.

"Uh...?" The Coins agent is perplexed by this. He leaves the swords alone and approaches the center of the warehouse. "It's surely nothing. A lot of cargo is-" He stops dead in his tracks. "Oh, fuck."

Stefan sounds annoyed.

OOC:

A small round disc of metal pierces the wooden floor and springs up in the air. When it reaches eye level, it freezes in place and magic shoots out of it, directed at everyone in the warehouse. Stefan falls to the ground head first. And so do everyone else except Steve. The young black mage can only watch his colleagues and friends lay immobile on the ground.

He then hears the sound of footsteps; people will soon rush into the warehouse.

Mihai and Konrad only:

Steve is momentarily shocked as he sees all his friends disabled by the flying disc but manages to get it together enough to try slapping Mihai awake.

The disc falls the ground with a clank.

Slapping Mihai awake does work, but the rogue turned barbarian is not completely alert yet. Furthermore, he is now prone.

The doors to the warehouse open and five people step through it; at the center of them is a man in leather armor with a longsword at his side. Judging by the quality of his clothes, armor and weapon, he appears to be a very dangerous person. His auburn hair is short, and he is cleanly shaved. He must be in his mid-forties, maybe even pushing fifty. He is not pleased to see that someone is still conscious, but he was prepared for it. The man raises his hands and prepares to cast not one, but two spells at the same time.

"Neutralize the vessels," he orders.

His subordinates, two women and two men of various ages, spread out into the warehouse.

Steve and Mihai:

The spells hit both Mihai and Steve, but only the black mage manages to stay awake. Again. The leader of the group frowns.

"Disable him, now."

The four followers rush towards Steve, batons glowing with magic in their hands. Steve has one turn to do something.

Steve pulls out his lantern oil and dumps it over his head and all over everyone around him. He uses all three pints of it. While that is going on he yells, "Stand back motherfuckers, or I'll burn us all to the ground! I'm not joking! This is now a hostage situation!"

Deception 30

The four attackers stop.

They glance at each other, uncertain of what they should be doing now. They keep their glowing batons ready to strike, but they dare not approach Steve now.

"Sir?" the oldest of the followers inquires.

Their leader is irked by this turn of events.

"Oh no, you crazy bastard," he mutters under his breath.

He dualcasts two more spells.

Steve:

The spells slam into Steve and he laughs. "Your magic won't work on me, asshats! I am cake baker, shoe destroyer, joke teller, panty stealer! The whisper in the darkness, the laughter in the night! Mine is Cleverness and Reckless Moxie and a complete lack of Shame! I am the Devil of the Citadel! Ah, ha, ha-"

And cue face plant. He snores loudly.

You dream of unknown acquaintances and landscapes.

These flashes are hazy, disjointed images of a life that is not your own. It feels overwhelming, as if dozens of people were reading pages from an enormous book all at the same time. But these fragments begin to coalesce into a coherent scene, and suddenly, you find yourselves on a large field surrounded by walls of stone.

There are multiple buildings standing on your left, and you know you won’t be allowed to go back inside until your training is over. You’ve all formed a line and took a position of attention. With you stands another recruit, a young woman named Anne Wood. You don’t know much about her, or each other for that matter. Today is the first time the four of you have met.

A fifth person comes into view.

He’s a middle-aged man with gray hair and the stripes of a colonel on his armband. He seems almost relaxed as he approaches your group. He stops in front of you, briefly looks at his feet, as if he was judging whether or not this was a good place to stand, and then decides to move a little to the left.

"Hi," he says with an almost nonchalant tone. His eyes gauge the four of you and he becomes noticeably more serious. There's a brief pause before he speaks again. "We'll be together for a long time, so let me be as succinct as possible; I am Colonel Marcus Riddle and I have been transferred here to lead this squad."

There's another pause. Your superior clears his throat before he speaks again.

"Welcome to the Imperial Surveillance Agency."

You close your right hand into a fist and place it over your heart while placing the other behind your back; the standard imperial salute.

Other memories are rushing into your mind, but they're stopped by a familiar presence. It's a woman with short raven hair, one that has fought to your side before.

"You must take out the orb!" Jasmine shouts. "I can hold them off, but not forever!"

You now remember the name of that other you. You remember where they were born, and when. Over two hundred years ago, before the First War. But above all else, you remember one word in particular: the Enemy.

And they want everyone dead.

OOC:

____________

Steve, Konrad and Mihai wake up to hear two people arguing.

"Anne, what's happening?" Steve recognizes this voice as the man who put him to sleep. "What's wrong?"

"Dammit Edward!" This voice belongs to a woman. She sounds very familiar. "They already have an orb in their head!"

There's a short pause.

"That can't be true," Edward retorts. "Their fairy is too young! And even if it they did, Marcus would have-"

He stops himself, having realized something.

The three party members finally open their eyes.

Sitting on the ground with their arms shackled behind their back and their feet tied together, Steve, Konrad and Mihai find themselves in the same warehouse as before. Edward's followers are standing right behind the party to make sure they don't try to escape. Among them is Stefan, holding a cage usually reserved for small birds, except Breeze is the one in it. She's still asleep.

Standing in front of the party are Edward, and right by his side, Fedler. She isn't shackled like the rest of the party, but she's holding her head like if she was in pain.

"If they have an orb, how were you able to take over her mind?" the leader asks.

"I've taken over the body of people who weren't mad before," Fedler explains. "The other three haven't." She groans. "She's still fighting me."