Interlude 1: First Steps

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Feb 20, 2016 8:58 pm
Your return to Mantiz was uneventful. You learned from the skaa woman you rescued that her name is Cierra, and she had lived on the plantation her entire life. A fortnight before the guards had dragged her from her home, bound her in the basement and Lady Letorneau herself had overseen as she was forced to drink water with metal flakes floating in it and instructed to 'burn' the metal. A man was there as well, he stood back, arms crossed, and just stared at her. She never understood what they wanted from her, she wasn't a Misting, she couldn't be, her parents were both skaa!

Farrel, the boy Lynch agreed to take with them when they left, had bright spirits when you arrived in Mantiz. Young, strong of body and determined to prove his worth, you expect he'll make a good ally for the work that is to come.

Tracking down Sastren wasn't difficult, one of her agents intercepted you upon your return and arranged a meeting. When you delivered the book, she upheld her end of the bargain. She'd secured a hideout for the crew, a small cafe on the east side of the city, far from where nobles frequented. A family of three operated the little cafe, which was hardly more than two seating tables and a small kitchen. The cafe had a small backroom, outfitted with a few chairs and cots, that you could use to plan and lay low. Sastren assured you that, while on the premises, you'd be safely secured under her coppercloud. Your allomancy masked from the prying senses of Seekers.

It was a week before Mateo was able to contact any of your directly, Dezire, of course, had arrived at the cafe within a day of her arrival in Mantiz. But, finally, the crew was assembled. You sat in the quiet back room and prepared to set your plan in motion. The question was, which noble was first, and how would you take them down...
Feb 22, 2016 8:41 am
"Listen, you know that I'd like nothing better than to make my...to make de Chappotin pay. But I think we can take out some of his cronies first. He's got far-reaching influence, and alliances with many lesser noble houses. I don't like it, but some people say I look a good deal like Alexandre. We could be able to capitalize on that, if we take him down first. But if we wait on de Chappotin, I could impersonate him, maybe, and that might help us get inside some of the other plantations to take them down.

Take Frakes Burton, for instance. He's perfect - he's a big plantation owner, he's had dealings with de Chappotin, but he's far enough away that they almost certainly have never spent much time together. All their interactions have probably been through correspondence or agents, so I could pass all the more easily!"
Last edited February 22, 2016 8:41 am
Feb 22, 2016 2:02 pm
"Right I'm of a mind ta think o' them water barrel blokes, they got in and out on their own accord wit no trouble t'all. These skaa wit powers in da book need protecting, hiding, and possibly rescuing also.

As for Chappotin we need to know which blokes in 'is employ really know da man best and take them out. I think that'll make it easier if you're going to impersonate em we'll need to know a bit more before we kidnap 'em and use 'is 'good name' to do things in the open so we can do things on the side... worse comes to worse people think he was off his rocker for a bit and you put 'em back on his plantation and we make it look like he killed himself if what we've done in 'is name will get us nicked... maybe leave his worldly goods to some noble we know... that is sympathetic to our cause..."
he stated.

Lynch didn't really have something in particular he wanted to do so he figured listening to the rest of his mates would get them the best idea of what to do right now.
Feb 22, 2016 7:15 pm
Dezire produces a sheet of paper with an ink drawing on it. You have seen her with it many times before. It has the face of a noble on it. Many small cuts in the paper tell the tale of hatred Dezire has for this man. Each is a place were a knife has pierced the paper. Some are outside the line drawing, but most are gathered within.

"You all know this is my mark. I can bide my time a while, but I'm here first and foremost to take this man down. Problem here is he is local and we used to work together. He might recognize me despite the years so getting close could be difficult. I do know his operations though. We could cripple his network, distract him so he doesn't see us coming."
Feb 22, 2016 7:39 pm
Sastren quietly enters the room as you discuss your plans, and places pot of tea and a a few cups on the middle table. She glances at the picture and adds, "Renaut Prelau. You've got some big aspirations if you're itching to take him down. An uncanny bloodline, they say, the whole family are either rioters, seekers or mistborn. The specialization has made them experts at what they do. Rioting emotions and tracking down allomancers. Rumours say the Steel Ministry even hires the Prelau's to do work that doesn't quite demand the ruthlessness of a Steel Inquisitor." She starts to leave then adds, "If you really want to start chaos in the noble ranks here, I'd consider the Belen family. They own the iron mines to the west, and the ironworks as well. Not a very high ranking family, but well connected. Many nobles in the city have ties to the Belen family, as many families have a Lurcher or two."
Feb 22, 2016 9:55 pm
"Yes, Belen would be a good place to start. I also like Lynch's comment about helping the skaa listed in the notebook. Are there any listed in there 'owned' by the Belen operations?"
Feb 22, 2016 10:22 pm
Desire nods in agreement. "Belen's a good target. Everybody needs iron, disrupting their operations will put everyone off their game. What kind of connections do we have?"
OOC:
Would a roll of some kind be appropriate? Like Resources or Influence? I'm not huge in either...but connections aren't this character's strong point.
Feb 23, 2016 3:12 am
Hiram leaned back in his chair, tracing the scar on his face. He mused aloud, "The Belens.....didn't they build up that new factory over by Wayward Canal? I seem to recall there being some rumors floating around about its foundation when it was being laid. Eh, I could be wrong though." He shrugged, "But in the end, what do I care? Burton, de Chappotin, Prelau, Belen, they're all nobles, and to Rust and Ruin with all of them! But whichever scum we target, I want to crack some skulls."
Feb 23, 2016 12:47 pm
Lynch's face sours with the mention of the factory, "That place aspires to be a dreghole someday... Part of it was literally built on the backs of skaa, the weak, the old, the sick, the dying but still alive... Well I'm in." Lunch stated spitting as if trying to get the foul memories out of his him.

"Belen seems like da play, maybe we can look fo' 'n angle on puttin' de Chappotin against Prelau each other for later, if a drop in iron production puts them off their game if they're looking at each otha they won't see us mates. Maybe some fake letters of them requesting more iron on the low by skimming everyone elses orders and paying for it at below cost..."
Feb 23, 2016 12:51 pm
OOC:
I'll allow standings checks to establish useful details about the factory or mine (Difficulty 1). Influence to have a connection, know someone or otherwise establish facts about people. Resources to establish details about or acquire tools, or other physical 'in's. And Spirit for everything else, that is anything you can't categorize as people or things (such as events, chances, or happenstances).

Also, everyone's resources and resiliences are back up to full. We had a long breather I didn't mention between the two threads.
Feb 24, 2016 1:59 am
"I've got to know somebody at the ironworks. It's to big a place for me to not know someone. But who...?" Dezire thinks for a while about who might owe her a favor.

Rolls

Influence to know people - (3d6)

(153) = 9

Profession: Con Artist & Theif (if it counts) - (1d6)

(3) = 3

Feb 24, 2016 5:13 am
Mateo looks up in thought. "I'm sure that fake letters could be arranged. If we can get handwriting samples, personal and financial details, and the appropriate recipient, we could do some serious damage."
Feb 24, 2016 1:26 pm
Looking over the book recovered from the plantation, and after a quick conversation with Sastren, he arrives at an answer for Daclish: Most of the skaa in the book identified with the unknown mark that indicates they are Mistings, but of an unidentified metal (at least, that's what Mateo has come to believe it means) also have worked at, or are currently at, the Belen family iron mines.

Dezire remembers a young skaa who aspired to join a thieving crew, and had decided to 'start out' by conning an obligator. A risky move for even an experience thief, Dez bore witness to the event and swooped in just in time to talk the obligator out of a beheading. She gave the boy a few tips, and hooked him up with a thieving crew she knew needed a few more, relatively unskilled, hands. It's been about three years since then, but last she heard the boy - Reyland - was still with that crew. She knew they had long plans to infiltrate the ironworks and steadily siphon metal to supply skaa mistings. Probably Reyland is their hands in the ironworks.
OOC:
Dez, spend 1 Influence as well (you should be at 2/3)
Sastren takes a seat in an empty chair, "This is all well and good, but what's your plan for putting the nobles off balance? Cause a shortage? If so, how? Destroying the ironworks, or damaging the mine would be effective.. but might not leave you with options to further sow disarray within their ranks. No noble would destroy such a valuable asset. Is your target the ironworks, the mine, or both?"
Feb 24, 2016 8:11 pm
"I'd go with the fancy of da group really slow the production anywhere 'ill cause a backup and gathering information if we can for the fake letters if possible. We'd need ta figure out where to plant them also so they're found by authorities. Its going to be rough though I'd prefer to not get Skaa hurt or pushed into a more dangerous environment so in a way that'll limit what we can do..." Lynch mutters scratching the bit of stubble he's grown out the last few days.
Feb 26, 2016 3:27 am
I like the idea of slowing the production somehow. I might know someone who could tell us which canals they ship the metals. If we could find that out, we could start robbing them, which would both hurt the Belens and give us something to help the rebels.

Rolls

Influence Roll (4) - (4d6)

(5515) = 16

Feb 26, 2016 10:17 pm
Daclish muses. "How do we interrupt production or shipping while still helping those skaa identified in the notebook? Let's see...who do I know at Belen?"

Rolls

Influence - (3d6)

(332) = 8

Feb 26, 2016 10:25 pm
Hirm easily recalls a few contacts that keep a close eye on the canals. Once your planning session is over, Hiram catches up with one and gets a detailed report on the shipping activities of the Belen family. They tend to send a large shipment of processed ore from the mine to the factory early in the week, and a shipment from the factory to their warehouses in the city late in the week.

Daclish, thinking about helping the skaa in the notebook, reviews who he might know that is connected to the mines. After all, most of the Belen skaa in the notebook are there. He recalls an old friend, well 'friend', acquaintance perhaps, who used to be a miner at the Belen facility. She escaped during an ill planned skaa uprising, and has made a life for herself amongst the dregs of the city. Not glamorous living, but not mining. She probably knows a think or two about the mines, especially as she was involved in the planning of the uprising.
OOC:
Both Hiram and Daclish spend 1 Influence. Also looks like you've got three possible jobs forming here: Robbing the shipments, Direct attack on the factory or Direct attack on the mines (although what an 'attack' consists in, is not yet determined). For those keen on helping the skaa tracked in the notebook, the mines should be the focal point of your plans. Those skaa are all miners (or otherwise placed at the mining facility). One option could be orchestrating a cave in, that would slow the mining operations and put pressure on the supply of iron. If you found a way to waylay some shipments as well, then planted some evidence to suggest another noble family is responsible for the cave in and robberies; that might sow the seeds of chaos you're looking to sow (and give you opportunities to help some skaa).

Just floating ideas though. This is your heist ; )
Feb 29, 2016 12:44 am
"Spit-balling here...We want to help some of the people in that journal get out from under the scrutinizing eye of the Emporer. That's fine, I can get behind it. The question is how and how do we hurt the nobility in the process? I have a plan...well the beginnings of a plan.

I know a guy on the inside at the iron works. He probably can tell us which families are not getting the fair treatment from officials at the works or mine. That will be who we frame for the disaster and theft. We go into the mine, free as many of the skaa from the lists in the journal. We cover up the escape with an explosion, everyone will think the skaa died in the cave-in. On our way out we grab whatever we can that is valuable or useful, leaving well placed clues that point to our target noble family."
Last edited February 29, 2016 12:44 am
Feb 29, 2016 4:00 pm
Sastren nods, "The plan brings together all of your goals. Get intel on a good target for suspicion, gather the means to make it look like they did it - most noble houses in Mantiz have family crests and tend to dress in clothing weaved from fabric colours that occur in their crest, wearing the attire of the target family would be a good way to seed the suspicion. Then, hit the mines, spring the skaa from slavery and cover it all up with a cave in. Slows iron production, slamming the noble economy, and plants suspicion on target family. If you manage to also rob a shipment of iron in the same stroke it would strongly suggest an intentional disruption of production in an effort to gain an edge in iron supplies.

What do you plan to do with the skaa once you get them free of their service to the mines?"
Feb 29, 2016 10:23 pm
Hiram smiled at Dezire, "I like it. It's daring, frees the skaa from slavery, and we get to blow stuff up." He turned to Sastren, "Some of it will depend on what they want to do. For some, mining will have been the only life they've known, and yet for others, they may have family and friends they'd like to return to. I don't like the idea of abandoning them though, for I fear too many would return to their life of slavery. I'm sure my contact could arrange to have them smuggled into the city with an ore shipment where they could live a better life, and if they so choose, help in our fight against tyranny. And who knows? Perhaps there will be those who wish to stay at the mine and could help funnel us resources."
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