TIME June 18th, dawn LOCATION Derelict church, Paraisopolis (the Abandonment), Chuza
BACKGROUND:
The derelict church fell quiet as the fight wound down. Cornered and desperate, Priest had smashed the skull of a bound prisoner to draw on her dying breath, but it wasn’t enough – Crowe finished off Seth while Hawke battered Priest into submission. Valka’s part in quietly reviving Hawke mid-melee went unnoticed by his companions. Bruised, deafened and drained, the Agents gathered around Raven to tend their wounds.
WHAT HAPPENED
As the Agents began healing, Raven heard rubble shift near the entrance. Three humanoid figures – ghouls – emerged from the shadows, drawn to the corpses. Hawke was bitten and clawed, but the Agents quickly dispatched the creatures.
Searching the bodies, they found no sign of the stolen book but did recover an amber stone hidden in Seth’s boot and a strange metal tool with a bloody tooth still attached.
They moved up to the second floor but found no clues. Raven led the descent into the crypt, where she began inspecting coffins. One ghoul was discovered beneath a coffin, skewering a rat. Raven dodged its scything claw and smashed the coffin, allowing Hawke to finish it off.
A chalk line was found cutting across the room. In a high recess, blocked by bones and a semi-circle of dead rats, Raven spotted a backpack. She retrieved it and handed it to Crowe. Inside: the stolen book, and a pouch of money.
Before leaving the church, Raven returned to the thieves’ camp and donned Priest’s masterwork studded leather armour, adorned with the symbols and scripture of Hextor.
As dawn broke, the Agents retraced their steps back towards the barbican.
In the alley where they’d clashed with the Four Corners crew, they passed another gang member interrogating a local. The witness identified them, but Crowe “suggested” they be allowed to pass. The gang member backed off.
They continued through the Abandonment towards the barbican. The sound of a scuffle in an alleyway was the only warning before a woman burst out, nearly colliding with them. Over a dozen gang members spilled into the street behind her, scraping their machetes against the stone buildings.
In return for a bit of protection, the quarry offered to guide the Agents to the gate of Paraisopolis. They agreed and followed her lead, up a stack of crates to the rooftops.
As the gang closed the gap in the rooftop pursuit, a guard popped up to shoot them, but Hawke knocked him off the roof.
Raven destroyed some bird housings to create an obstacle and buy time, but the gang kept closing, using their knowledge of the terrain. Another lookout guard popped up and was killed by Hawke. The crew were nearly on top of Raven as they reached the end of their territory – one final leap and the Agents reached the safety of the last roof.
The Barbican, and the exit from Paraisopolis, was only a few streets away.
EXTRAS.
AMBER STONE
A small polished stone, warm to the touch, found tucked into the lining of Seth’s boot. Its purpose wasn’t apparent, but it clearly mattered enough to hide.