For those in need of a recap of the previous entry, just follow the link. The post about the game session that occurred on the 12th of June is quite lengthy, as all I'm doing is pasting the actual game report that I wrote for myself.
At the Caverna Informatika in Fogwarren, Alonzo Frestin is able to get access into the place with the aid of Little Genny's (Ellie) begging for a spot of milk, and so Cyndra Jesspian (Kathy), Little Genny, Frestin, and Hedry work their way into the dark, smoky, and somewhat noisy place. There are various types of monitor screens and dingins at various places around the main cavern area, and food and drink are in plentiful supply. The setting is almost like an indoor marketplace combined with an information brokerage house, but with a Victorian feel and style to it. With the aid of a tough-minded Frestin, the four make their way to a table near the back of the cavern area. After ordering some drinks and food, Frestin says that he will find them a flowghost, but Cyndra says that she can take care of that. She deftly manipulates the dingin near the wall, and does a data search for a flowghost. After a bit, several flowghosts approach the table, but are sent packing by a female flowghost, Shandra the Golden. She sits down at the table to talk with them.
When Thomas Thackery returns to his flop on Messiah Lane, there is someone there waiting for him. Well, two someones. Kiney Taylor, one of the gangers who frequents canalside in Folly Hills, says that he heard that Thom was looking for some information on a Davinia Hartelburk. He introduces Thom to Sandor Granel, a small-time flowghost, who tells him that he stumbled on something on the Dataflow about the girl about two days ago. The information was in a data trap set by Sideband Media, and seemed to be a story that a stringer named Haversham had written and had published about a girl named Davinia Hartelburk, who was adopted by the Folly Hills banking family under mysterious circumstances. Thom comments on the fact that it all comes back to the Emma Wolfield's School for Young Girls. And he now knows that Haversham lied to him. As the three talk, the doors to Thackery's home burst inward as a group of attackers enters, firing weapons as they go!
At Jason's home (must stop calling it a flop, as it's a bit classier than that), the antiques hunter is awoken in the middle of the night by sounds of movement. Rising, he spots Jayke Trine trying to sneak out of his place. Grabbing the stringer, Jason ushers him out into the hallway and the two chat. Trine is getting cold feet about the whole business, and wants to back out of his deal with Jason. Jason says that if he does, it's just an invitation for Media Break to hunt him down and deal with him once and for all. Trine finally agrees with this, especially when Jason points out that getting out of Folly Hills for a bit might be good for Trine, and there's the story on Black Jake that could give his reputation a boost. They go back inside, but Hedriana Locke is wide awake, and she tells them that she's overheard part of their conversation. She's not happy about Trine's wishy washy attitude about the whole situation.
After renewing her acquaintance with the flowghost, Cyndra introduces Shandra to Frestin, and the flowghost also immediately recognises Hedry, as Arclight has put out a "wanted poster" on the official channels about the girl. Cyndra is shocked to hear this, but is told by Shandra that Arclight isn't likely to send the Brigade of Light after the little girl; they'll take a more soft-tech approach to the situation, so she'll have to be more cautious and keep a close eye on the girl. Frestin says that he'll look after his daughter, have no worries on be that score. Cyndra and Little Genny tell Shandra everything they know to this point, and the flowghost promises them that she'll do what she can and look into these matters and get back to them in the morning. Frestin wants to know what they'll owe for the flowghost's services, but Shandra says that she's doing this as a partial favour to Cyndra, but she'll get back to him on what else she wants. Frestin says that he'll go make arrangements for a boat to take them back to Folly Hills, and that Cyndra and two little girls can wait in the Caverna; it's safer for them there.
The attackers at Thom Thackery's home are somewhat at odds with their look. They're garbed in homespun clothing that looks like it's been patched and re-patched, but two of them sport leather armour of some sort, and while some of them are wielding knives and spiked clubs, two of them have automatic weapons. The battle against the attackers does not go well, and Thom Thackery's last conscious memory is of the flowghost going down under a pile of bodies. In the aftermath of the attack on his flop, Thom Thackery wakes to find Sandor Granel missing, presumably taken by whoever attacked his place, and the ganger, Kiney Taylor, badly wounded if not dying in a pool of his own blood. Several of his neighbours are looking around his place at his things, and he tells one of them to go get some medical help for the dying man. The man scoffs that it's just one of the gangers from the neighbourhood, but one look from Thom has him running out to do his bidding. A more immediate problem arises as five Provosts arrive on the scene, led by Sergeant Heller. Thackery knows Heller somewhat, and tells her something of what happened here when she asks, but he denies any culpability, and is guarded about the identity of his two companions. Thom tells Heller that he doesn't know who did this, but that he's gonna find out. The man who ran out of the room, Barber, returns with a streethealer of sorts, Demnoc Kane, but it's too late for Taylor, as the streethealer pronounces him dead.
Frestin returns to the Caverna, and tells Cyndra that they should leave for the canal. He's made arrangements to take them safely back to Folly Hills, where he'll take custody of Hedry. The trip back to Folly Hills takes them along the Grand Circular out to the Second Ring, past the Cathedral and Shore Ditch Warrens around to the Green, and then back northeast up to Folly Hills. The bargeman, Sam Downwit, is a good conversationalist, and the trip passes uneventfully. Cyndra and Frestin part company, Little Genny accompanying the former home while Hedry goes off with her father, Frestin. He promises to be in touch with her tomorrow morning about the business at hand. On the way back to their tenement, Cyndra stops at Hedry's mother's small home, and tells her that Hedry is fine, and that she's with her father. Cyndra ignores the tirade about this, and departs home with Little Genny.
The next morning, Cyndra is awoken by the sound of knocking at her door. Shandra is standing there, looking slightly tired, and carrying with her a small packet and several Folly Hills Tribunes that contain breakfast for the three of them. The flowghost says that she'll tell them what she's learned, but after they've eaten breakfast and had some of that Light of Heaven tea that she knows Cyndra has on hand. While the three are eating, there is another knock on the door, and Frestin is there with Hedry. He says that they have eaten already, but that he wouldn't mind a "good" cup of tea. Shandra tells them that the little doll may have belonged to a young girl named Avanda Kortese, the ten-years-dead daughter of Mikal Kortese, one of Arclight's top personnel. Given Arclight's rise to power the last few years, Kortese would have been part of the operation before the macrocorps rose to power. It is believed that Kortese's wife, Annelia, disapproved of the means by which the company was rising through the ranks, and made recordings and the like of some of the meetings that had gone on. Guess where they were hidden? Avanda Kortese's doll! From the feelers and info dumps that she was able to access, Shandra says that one of the other macrocorps, most likely Sideband Media, got wind of the happenstance, and is now searching for the doll. Rather gloomily, Cyndra comments that Arclight's also probably after the material in the doll, too. When she asked where the doll is, Hedry tells her that she left it at Frestin's home... The characters rush out of Cyndra's place, in a mad dash to get to Frestin's place before it's too late.
Exhausted after his night's ordeal, Thom Thackery goes down to the Green Canal and eats breakfast at Sloppy Joe's. Sloppy tells him that he's heard through the "grapevine" about the attack the night before. Word on the street is that it was a razorgang called the Spikes, but that they'd been hired by someone with money, someone associated with the macrocorps. He gives Sloppy a shilling for his info, and asks him to keep his ear to the canal for other news. Thomas heads back to Emma Wolfield's School for Young Girls, but receives some news there. Hartelburk has asked that he not pursue the matter any further. He receives some opposition when he asks to see the records on Davinia Hartelburk, but convinces one of the teachers, Miss Prufrock, into letting him access the Hall of Records. He realizes it will take some time to go through the piles of paper files, but Miss Prufrock tells him that she wants him to find Davinia, as she remembers the girl quite fondly, and then shows him where the information on the period of time that he is searching for can be found. It takes him several hours of digging and searching (and wishing that he had a flowghost handy) before he finds the information he's looking for.
Awakened by the noise of business as usual, the somewhat refreshed Jason Demonoris, Hedriana Locke, and Edward Fleckright wake to the cold light of day. They discover that Jayke Trine has disappeared, having snuck out in the early morning hours. Hedriana says that she needs to go out to take care of something, but that she'll be back with some breakfast for them in about an hour. While Hedriana is gone, the other two talk about Trine, and realize that the man is obviously scared out of his wits. They decide to go out and get some breakfast for themselves, as they're not sure Hedriana will be back in time, and figure they'll also stock up on a few "essentials".
Meanwhile, Hedriana pays a visit to Derek Frakes, a former Ekranoplan racer who runs a mechanics shoppe, and was the one to construct her powerbike for her. She asks him to take care of her powerbike for her, as she won't be needing it for a few days. He agrees to do so, but asks how she'll get along. "I'm a runner," she says, "so I guess if I find trouble, I'll run!" Derek laughs and tries to kiss her, but she rebuffs him, and with his reassurances about the powerbike, she heads off to find breakfast for herself and the two boys. She returns with breakfast, and finds the two boys gone. Settling down to eat, Hedriana patiently awaits the return of Jason and Edward. They eventually come back, eat a little bit (having grabbed something while out dealing and wheeling), and the three make their plans for the trip to the Rookery.
Jason, Edward, and Hedriana make their way to the Green Canal and the docks, and look for a large skiff that might be willing to take them to the Rookery. They fail to find a barge that will take them that distance, especially near Konkret, and eventually decide that the best way to go will be to take the railway. A quick trip north along the Folly Hills Spur to where it meets the Grand Circular, and then take the Grand Circular to where it stops between the Fifth and Sixth Rings, and then some half-a-mile to the Rookery on foot. They are quite daunted by the trip, but realize it's best to make the journey that way. Arriving at the Folly Hills station, the player characters pay their fares for the trip (having had a previous experience with trying to "dodge the fare", and that didn't come out well, no not at all), and mount to the platform. The stifling conditions, the smell of detritus, human sweat, and sewage, the odours of people who eat a variety of things, and the dingy cars with their grime-stained windows, and the almost sensation of being battered as the train lurches along the ancient tracks does not pass swiftly. Once the characters transfer to the Grand Circular line, they almost antagonize a pair of Transit Militia, but are able to talk their way out of it, with Hedriana smiling and "making nice" with one of them. When the characters descend from the station back to ground level in the burgh of Millfalls, Hedriana tells the two men that she almost feels she needs to bathe; "almost," because the smell of the people around her on the train at the time stifled the feelings of sickness she felt at playing up to the two railway men.
The three set off for the Rookery, checking that they have their weapons as they go.
The players told me that they had a pretty good time of it, even though we went a bit later than I had planned. Joanne told me that she finally feels that she's getting to grips with her character, Hedriana Locke, and that she really likes the feel of some of the places that the characters have visited. Kathy mentioned that she'd forgotten about the Caverna Informatika, and that Fogwarren always gives her the creeps. Nick told me that he really liked the fight at his flat, but that he was tired of having the place trashed and all, even if he did know that it's a hazard of the Lostfinder trade.
After the game, the group decided that they didn't want to watch any movies, as it was getting late, but Kathy insisted that SteveB have a cup of hot tea before they gathered up Ellie and left for home. Overall, a good night of gaming, and I'm looking forward to the next session of the game.