Session 2.3: Rise or Fall
Rian and Carver get paid. Aldo makes a wager.
Last episode, the Jesseks pulled off their second score — on behalf of Detective Inspector Laroze, the brothers ran a confidence game on Jaimes Reyf, a local Bluecoat and the rookie member of a ring of corrupt constables who operate a protection racket in northern Crow’s Foot.
The job went off without a hitch — Rian played the face games, Aldo slipped the constable a dose of an entrancing drug while he was distracted, and after Rian managed to glean the location of the Bluecoat’s stash, he led the mark to a dark alley where Carver took him in hand. Next, they hand the captured Bluecoat and the information he provided, over to Laroze, and work on getting paid. They may receive some small payment from the detective, but there’s a potentially larger prize as well: The territory that the fallen Bluecoat protection ring will leave unclaimed — turf that will likely fall to the Jessek’s unpleasant criminal overlord, Chael. At the end of the last episode, his brothers were pressing him for a decision: Should they let the territory fall to Chael? Or should they make a play to Boss Roric to take over the territory themselves, beginning their ascent up the criminal hierarchy? Let’s see what you all picked:
Aldo doesn’t love the idea of running protection games — it’s not what his crew is best at, and he’s reluctant to ask Carver to do violence to citizens on their behalf. But, as Rian said last episode — Gangs are either rising or falling in Crow’s Foot1. Aldo knows if they don’t take this opportunity to rise, another may not come.
So, for this episode, we’ll cover the payoff for the Laroze Job and some downtime activity. To envision the payoff, we’ll set two scenes — first, with Laroze, to close out the job and collect whatever Coin they can get from her, and second with Roric, to make a play for the Turf that the Bluecoats held and the criminal Rep that comes along with taking down the corrupt Bluecoats.
Scene 5: A canal near Rigney’s Tavern
The gondola bobs and sways in the gentle current of the canal, carrying Rian, Carver, and their bruised and bound prisoner south, towards their rendezvous with Laroze. The boatman, a grey, wizened Akorosi named Hewel, is a stalwart of the Gondolier’s Union: Neutral, efficient, and discreet, he does not flinch when, halfway through their journey, the large, bound canvas bundle that Carver threw aboard begins to stir and groan.
Around them, crammed rowhouses and flat blocks of Crow’s Foot drift by. It’s early evening, and the ward’s gangs are out in force in the twilight, with gangs of penny-ante bravos like the Ten Crowns and the Rye Street Boys shouting challenges to one another from the rooftops. Below, Red Sash2 hawkers ply their wares on the avenue corners guarded by bored-looking students from their sword school, while Lampblacks in black overcoats and bowler hats glare daggers at them from across the canal.
“Seems like everyone is spoiling for a fight,” Carver mutters.
“S’been this way for months now,” Hewel says, letting fly a gob of Weeper3-blackened spit into the canal as poles along with the current. “The Red Sashes are cutting into the Lampblack’s workaday trade — all those dockworkers and haulers can’t throw the bones in Baszo Bas’ gambling pits while they’re dancing with ghosts in the Red Sash drug dens. Roric won’t let them settle it in the streets, so they just sharpen their knives and wait for their chance.”
“Roric’s a clever old dog,” Rian says cheerily. “I’m sure he has the matter well in hand.”
Hewel grunts. “He did, once.”
“None of our concern,” Carver grunts shortly. “Here’s our dock. Heave to, Hewel — the sooner we’re rid of this burden, the better.”
Laroze is waiting for them at the gondola dock — here at the western edge of Crow’s Foot, among the abandoned dockyards, there are fewer passersby. The detective is out of uniform, wearing a long, grey greatcoat with the collar turned up against prying eyes. With her are a pair of plainclothes constables — their posture and bearing betraying to Rian them as surely as any badges would. As Hewel brings them in, Rian pulls up his scarf to hide his face, and gestures for Carver to do the same.
“Ma’am,” Rian tips his cap. “I trust our information proved reliable?”
Laroze nods tightly. “It did. Sergeant Lewit and his conspirators are in custody and awaiting a magistrate’s attention. All save one. Is Jaimes Reyf still breathing?”
“Do I look like a throat-cutter, madam?”
“You don’t,” Laroze says, her gaze flicking towards Carver, who is quietly hauling their bound prisoner off the gondola and onto the rickety wooden dock.
“Him? He’s a kitten. Wouldn’t kill a fly if it bit him. If it bit me or my brother, though…” Rian trails off with a glance toward Laroze’s muscle. “In any case, yes. We have your man here. As for our business: My brother expects you’ll look into our family matter.”
“I’ve already made inquiries. As soon as I know something, you’ll know it.”
“Good. And what about our cut of the stash?”
Laroze’s eyes narrow. “What cut? It’s been taken into evidence.”
Rian grins. “Of course it has been. Every bent scale of it, I’m sure. But we incurred expenses, Laroze.”
“Your payment was the information.”
“And your payment was a few dirty Bluecoat hides to bring to your master, Lord Strangford. But I’m sure you took a little something for yourself. Maybe you’re new to all this villainy, but when coin is taken, coin is shared.”
She draws herself up and looks down on Rian imperiously. “And if I refuse?”
“In this game, reputation is everything. You wouldn’t want well-connected folk like us thinking you’re a skinflint, would you?”
This represents the final action roll of the score — Rian’s angling for a bit more payment than just the Turf they hope to capture and the information Laroze is promising (but not yet delivering). Carver assists with his intimidating presence.
Rian rolls Sway: Controlled Position, Standard Effect:
3d = 2d (Action Rating) + 1d (Carver assists)
Stress: Carver +1 (Total 4)Result: 3, 6, 1, Success
Laroze’s eyes dart back and forth, calculating. Finally, she wordlessly reaches into her coat and offers a small but full leather sachet. Rian tips his cap and takes it from her hand, pocketing it without counting it. “You’ll fit right in, down here among the scoundrels and the filth, Laroze. My brother’ll be in touch for your other end of this little bargain.”
“How do I get in touch with him?”
“You don’t!” Rian calls merrily as Hewel poles the gondola back out into the canal. Laroze and her henchmen watch them go for a few moments, before she kneels beside Reyf and pulls the canvas hood off of his face.
“Hello, constable,” she says with a grin. “The magistrate has a few questions about your Sergeant Lewitt.”
And with that, the Jesseks are free and clear of the Laroze Job. For their payoff, I opted for the minimum: 2 Coin, which Rian will hold onto, as the crew’s vaults are currently full. The crew also receives 5 Rep: 2 plus 3 more for hitting a higher-tier opponent, though they only receive that Rep after they reveal their involvement to Roric (and the criminal community generally), which we will envision in the next scene.
Now that the score is concluded, we also have to roll for an Entanglement. This time, I opted to roll on an Entanglements table (I used this player-made expanded entanglements table). The result I got was Show of Force: A faction with whom you have a negative status makes a play against your holdings. Give them 1 claim or go to war (drop to -3 status). If you have no claims, lose 1 hold instead.
The only faction our crew has negative status with is Chael and the Crows’ Teeth, so once again our entanglement involves our crew’s unpleasant overboss. Obviously, the crew isn’t going to give him a claim, so I record the new -3 status on the faction sheet. This dovetails nicely with the next scene: Aldo is about to make a play for the corrupt Bluecoats’ territory. Now, we can further envision that when that happens, Chael will take it as an act of war. Roric won’t like it if Chael openly moves against our heroes, but he can certainly make life difficult for them as long as he doesn’t get caught. Mechnically, when the crew is ‘at war’ they need to lay low and take care not to be caught out by one of Chael’s bravos, so they only get one Downtime action instead of the usual 2.
We’ll set the next scene to cover a two things: Aldo speaking with Roric about taking over Candle Street and Hulliver Lane, and Aldo spending his single downtime action to indulge his vice. Both Aldo and Rian are at high stress — 6 and 8 respectively — so before the next job, they need to blow off some steam.
Aldo’s vice is gambling — in his life as a criminal, he prefers to play safely and conservatively, but when he sits down at a card table, he becomes a much bolder man. One could argue his true self comes out, and perhaps that had something to do with why Aldo chose to make a play for the corrupt Bluecoats’ territory.
Scene 6: The Blackened Fleece
It’s taken Aldo well into the night to play his way to the backroom of the Blackened Fleece — a small, cramped storehouse, thick with the smell of sweat and Weeper smoke, centered by a circular, red-felted table. Overhead hangs a single electroplasm lamp, casting its pale silver light over the players.
Smiling Jack, the Fleece’s proprietor, hovers at the light’s edge, anxiously watching his dealer as he shuffles and throws cards to the players. The company tonight is rarified, as far as Crow’s Foot goes. Across from the dealer is Boss Roric himself, smiling a king’s grin over his piles of markers, stacked like a castle’s turrets. On his left and right are hangers-on: Lyssa, his second-in-command, a dark-haired brava with a near-permanent look of scorn on her pale face, and Jos, one of Roric’s oldest enforcers.
Aldo sits on the left-hand side of the dealer with a few other rising scoundrels — Theo Vas, a small-time alley baron for a gang of bravos called the Hellhounds, Bear, the second-in-command of a smuggling outfit known as the Fog Hounds.
Bazso Bas, the toad-faced baron of the Lampblacks, occupies two chairs on the right side of the table with his tremendous bulk. His Tycherosi blood has made him into a giant of a man, nearly eight feet tall and as wide as church doors. He is dressed in his union’s uniform—a coal-black suit and tie and an ashcan brim, looming over the table with his cards held between his massive thumb and index finger as he ponders his action.
“Twenty,” he rumbles, shoving a stack of markers into the pot with a thick, sausage finger.
“Raise,” Aldo replies without hesitation. “Fifty more.” Roric’s thick, black eyebrows raise in appraisal of the young thief.
“You trying to bully me, my son?” Bas glowers down at Aldo.
“The dealer dealt the cards, and I’m playing them,” Aldo replies carefully.
Bas glances at his markers. Fewer than he had when he first sat down, mostly lost to Roric.
“I think he’s bluffing, Bas. Raise him up,” Lyssa says with a sour smile. “Teach the pup a lesson.”
Stung, the union boss shoves in another stack. “Let’s see it, then. Fifty more”
Aldo calls, to Bas’ irritation, and the dealer gracefully turns up the final card in the cross — the seven of serpents, at the nadir position. He sees an almost imperceptible narrowing of Bazso’s pinched eyes, anticipating the victory he thinks is coming.
“Bet,” Aldo says after a moment of feigned hesitation, shoving in another stack of markers.
“Well, Lyssa? Still think he’s bluffing?” Bas’s narrow, yellow eyes fall back onto Aldo’s face. “Who are you again? What’s your trade, in this business of ours?”
“Aldo Jessek, Master Bas. I’m a second-story man by trade.”
“Quick fingers, eh? You wouldn’t happen to be working tonight, would you?”
“No cheats in my card room, Bas,” Smiling Jack says sharply, from the edge of the light. “My partner is always watching.” Aldo feels a prickle at the back of his neck and his fingertips feel cold for a moment — brought on by the presence of Jack’s silent, ghostly pit boss, still bound to the table where he died, no doubt.
Here seems like a dramatically appropriate moment to make Aldo’s vice roll — if he overindulges, he might play too aggressively with Bazso Bas, making (another) dangerous enemy. Or he might lose badly, hurting his standing with Roric.
Aldo rolls Resolve (Indulge Vice)
Dice Pool: 1d (Attribute Rating)Result: 2
Stress: Aldo -2 (4 Total)A very middling result for Aldo. We’ll mirror that in the card game.
Bas eyes the cards on the board — the seven of serpents joined two others in its suit, and the pair of Princes that were first revealed don’t seem as undefeatable as they once did. “I don’t like the look of all these damn snakes. I’m done.” With a contemptuous flick of his massive hand, he throws his cards to the dealer, who collects them without complaint. As he watches Aldo rake in his markers, his eyes narrow. “Did you have them?”
Aldo inclines his head respectfully. “My apologies, governor. I don’t recall.”4
Lyssa laughs aloud while Roric chuckles under his breath. “I’ll keep my eye on you, boy,” Bas says as he rises, his bulk casting a shadow over the table.
“As for the rest of you, I think four hours is enough time spent staring at your ugly beaks.” He nods respectfully to the ward boss. “Roric. I hope you’ll think long and hard about what I said. She’s a problem.”
“Always a pleasure, Bas,” Roric replies noncommittally.
Smiling Jack fetches the Lampblack chief his fur-trimmed overcoat and leads him to the double doors at the rear of the room.
Lyssa stretches prettily. Her arms are bare, and the corded muscles on them are covered with knife scars and rough tattoos in black and red. “Man’s got a point. We’ve been playing a while, and I could use a drink and a stroll.” The other players make agreeable noises — most of them have lost money to Roric, as is right and proper, and are looking to make their escapes.
“Back to the nest, then,” Roric agrees, rising. “Jack, if you would be so kind as to cash us out?” The Fleece’s proprietor nods to the dealer, who
“Before you go, governor, I had matter of business to discuss,” Aldo says, not yet stirring from his seat.
Roric smiles. “Is that right? You been waiting all night for an audience?”
Aldo gestures to his stacks of markers — not quite as rich as Roric’s, but respectable. “Not just waiting, governor.”
“Theo, Bear, Jos. Give us the room.” The scoundrels filter out, with curious glances backwards at Aldo. Lyssa leans back in her chair, cleaning beneath her fingers with a stiletto from her belt, and exercising the privilege due Roric’s right-hand woman. Smiling Jack and his dealer leave them as well, closing the door behind him, though Aldo still remembers the prickling chill of Jack’s bound specter.
“Well?” asks Roric.
“You know Sergeant Lewit of the North Foot Patrol?”
Roric’s casual manner vanishes, and he leans forward, fingering the carved ebony crow on the top of his walking stick. “I do.”
“You know he’s been arrested by the Inspectorate and brought up on charges? Extortion, assault, derelict of duty, violation of the Emperor’s trust?”
“I heard the news. Brought a smile to my face.”
“Seems the proper thing to tell you that my brothers and I had a hand in it.”
The metallic tick, tick, ticking sound of Lyssa cleaning her nails suddenly ceases.
“Chael ask you to do it?” Roric asks mildly.
“‘Course he didn’t,” Lyssa sneers. “Chael’s never had a thought that clever.”
“I know,” Roric growls. “That’s why I like him. Out with it, Aldo.”
“Lyssa’s right. It wasn’t Chael — we had a private client contact us.”
“Who?”
“Couldn’t say for sure, governor. She kept us at arm’s length, and we did the same. Seemed like the smart play. If I had to guess, one of the shopkeeps on their route.” Aldo puts a deflated leather purse on the table between them. “Your cut, governor. It’s not much, but it’s the share you’re due.”
Roric looks at the paltry offering. “Keep it. You’ve done me a good turn.”
“I know, Governor. Before we took the job, Rian asked around and made sure those Bluecoats weren’t paying their proper dues. We’d never make a move against one of yours.”
Roric puts a heavy hand on Aldo’s shoulder. “You’ve got your sights fixed on greater things, don’t you my son? Are you not satisfied with the Strand Bridge Trade? Not happy with Chael as your boss?”
Aldo clears his throat. “They say gangs can only rise or fall in Crow’s Foot.”
“And you don’t plan on falling, eh second-story man?”
“We want to take over the Bluecoat’s protection game. Candle Street and Hulliver Lane. We’ll collect their dues and bring you your cut, governor, not a whisper of trouble.”
“Chael’s been angling for those streets for a year.”
“But he didn’t deliver them to you. We did.”
Lyssa barks a laugh. “Can’t argue with that, boss.”
“I don’t have to argue with it. Crow’s Foot is mine, and so this decision is mine.”
“Just so, governor,” Aldo says calmly. “It’s your decision. My brothers and I tried to do right by you, and we’ll keep doing it whether you give the patch to us or Chael.”
“If I give you this, it’ll be yours to lose. Chael’s got a half-dozen bravos to chase off anyone who thinks to take it from him. Who do you have?”
“I’ve got Carver Jessek, the hardest man to walk out of the House of Diligence.”
Roric chuckles. “I heard about his fight against Bjornsen last month. Surprised everyone—especially Chael. You’ll need more muscle than that, though.” He pauses meditatively. Aldo sits in silence, waiting for the ward boss to read whatever he sees in the young thief’s manner.
I hemmed and hawed a bit about whether or not to roll for this — I think under the rules as written, the turf is part of the payoff of the score, so you shouldn’t mess with it or make it contingent on a roll. But I still think this is a moment where the outcome is uncertain, so I decided that regardless of the result, the Jesseks will take the turf — but if the roll fails, we’ll accelerate the conflict with Chael or even envision that Roric has some heretofore unknown bad blood with the crew.
Aldo rolls Command: Risky Position, Standard Effect
Dice Pool: 2d = 2d (Action Rating)
Result: 6, 4: SuccessRoric is onboard. We’ll envision that he’s eager to get some new blood among his underbosses — Chael is kind of a knucklehead, after all — and he wants to see if Aldo has potential.
“Did you have the serpents?”
“With Bazso? The hand is in the muck now.”
“Don’t play that game with me, Jessek. Did you or didn’t you?”
“I did, governor.”
Roric nods sagely, as though this has told him what he needs to know, and he and Lyssa exchange a quick but significant glance. “I’ll let Chael know you’re taking the patch. And I’ll expect a nice, fat purse from you next week, savvy?” He rises to leave, and Aldo respectfully follows suit. Lyssa lingers for a moment after Roric has left them alone.
“Chael’s not going to be happy,” Lyssa says with a smirk.
“Even he’s not stupid enough to violate Roric’s peace.”
“He’ll still come at you, one way or another. I’d tell your brothers to lay low.”
“We can’t hide forever.”
“Then you’d best find a way to deal with Chael. Or make yourself useful enough to Roric that he puts him in his place for you.”
Aldo sees mischief in her eyes as she probes him for opportunity. This is about Roric’s job for us. He put her up to this. “And how should I do that?”
“I’ll think of something. Keep your wits about you, Aldo. It’d be a shame if you turned up floating face down in a canal.” She winks at him, sheathes her stiletto with a flourish, and decamps to follow her boss.
Carver is waiting outside the Blackened Fleece for Aldo, along with a few other bravos — he stands on his own, apart from the Crows who were awaiting Lyssa and Roric. “How’d you play?” he asks, putting a meaty hand on Aldo’s shoulder.
“Well enough to get to the boss’s table.”
“And?” Carver asks eagerly.
“Roric’s giving us the patch. We’ll want to be scarce once Chael finds out.”
“Right.”
“Tomorrow, we’ll go down to Candle Street and have a word with the shopkeeps there. Let them know the new way of things — if they treat us right, we’ll treat them right. No more smashed windows or broken noses. If they don’t want to pay us, they can always deal with Chael instead.”
“We’ll need more muscle, before too long.”
“Right, you are. I was thinking we could go back to Jessek House. We know the way of things there, and maybe we could find a few lads of like minds who want out.”
“Say no more. I’ll handle it,” Carver replies.
“Where’s Rian?”
“He’s making time with Nyryx this week. Boy’s got silver burning a hole in his pocket.”
Aldo swears under his breath. “I’d best find him, then. Let him know the good news, and warn him about Chael.”
And with that, they go their separate ways — Aldo towards Silkshore and his twin’s more luxurious haunts and Carver back into depths of Crow’s Foot, heading back to their hideout at Rigney’s to lay low.
Carver and Rian — Downtime Breakdown
We’ll close out this episode here — the final few bits of fiction here set up Rian and Carver’s downtime actions — Rian will be indulging his vice (he has nine stress, so he more-or-less has to or risk being taken out of the next score) and Carver will begin laying the groundwork to recruit more muscle out of the House of Diligence. Resolving those actions quickly: Carver marks two progress on the long-term project of recruiting a gang of thugs from Jessek House, and Rian clears four stress, bringing him down five.
Next episode, we’ll follow through on the decision made by the episode 2.1 reader poll — the Jesseks will undertake some unsavory job for Roric, aiming to secure his protection against Chael and putting an end to the bad blood between their gangs before it has a chance to do any real damage.
Thanks as always for reading, and I’ll see you in your inbox next week!
If this phrase sounds familiar, you may recall it from The Departed, an homage-worthy mainstay of the crime drama genre.
Last session, we had a brief brush with Mylera Klev, the leader of the Red Sashes. They are an Iruvian ethnic gang, who deal various illicit drugs out of an Iruvian martial arts school in central Crow’s Foot.
The Weeper fungus, or serpula lacrymans, is a common Duskwall replacement for tobacco, able to be chewed or smoked to a mildly stimulating effect. We first mentioned it way back in Episode 1.1, as Aldo’s smoke of choice.
Another bit of homage here — this time to the GOATed poker film Rounders.
Another great episode! You inspired me to start playing solo again. I'm trying to follow the general set up and flow of your scene structure.