B.M.A. [8/11/17]: Where They Get Got

You are in a dark, cramped room with your assigned mark who is injured and isolated from his allies; you will probably never have a better opportunity for a coup de grâce. To whom does your allegience belong to though?

>Rebel Leader: now is an ideal time to trip up your enemy.

Nah. You believe in the, what do you call it, the stuff just happens around you all the time, for mostly inexplicable reasons. That philosophy. *deadpan face*

Oh look, someone strange popped up. It always happens; that's what I believe.

Vivian: Scream.

I've never seen a hovering ungulate, nor one with a flickering sigil between its horns, so to encounter a creature that does BOTH is .. well .. surprising to say the least.

Discussing your values with uholy spectres is not the greatest of ideas. Ask for their name and their intent, then you might consider answering.

You want to say something cool or witty or deep, but what comes out of your mouth is a high pitched squeak before your fear strangles your throat. If the goat notices your discomfort he (or she?) does not show it and carries on without waiting for your reply.

“Because I find it hard to believe that someone like you was fated to receive the Source and become the Herald of the New Era.” You can hear the reverence in his speech for these terms, but they mean nothing to you.





“B-blessed mother?” You find your voice, small and warbling. “You must be mistaken, I'm not - I haven't… like that. Ever!”
“Then again there is a kind of irony to it. The Empire steals the Crystal Egg on their conquests, and sits on it for decades because they don't know what it is. Then we take great pains to steal it from them, and then...you happened”, the one track goat carries on. Seems like he has had lots of time to rehearse what he is going to say to you.
“I didn't mean to!” The mysterious crystal was literally shoved into your lap by a stranger who was being chased by these cultists. All you ever wanted to was to scavenge food scraps from the marketplace after it had closed, not become entangled in apocalyptic prophecies.
The goat smiles. “You are fortunate, Blessed Mother. A while ago we would have torn you apart to get back the Crystal, but now things have changed. You have changed. You will usher in the Rebirth of the Earth Dragon, and I will guide you just as planned.”
“Wait, you chose to haunt pirate ships on the off chance that you'd meet me? That is not a very well thought out plan…”



“Duh, obviously not! I picked up your signal a while ago and located it in the middle of South Sea. I snuck aboard this pirate ship because it was headed for the general area”, the goat chuckles like a dying engine, “and here we are, as if brought together by Fate. Which reminds me that you haven't answered my question: do you believe in it?”
“Uh, not really I guess? To be honest I’m not very comfortable talking about these matters with floating ghostly strangers...who are you? What do you want from me?”



The goat settles down comfortably in the air. “Good, good, people who do are fools. But what is also true is that believing anything is possible is equally foolish”, he replies without even listening to your answer or questions you had.
Instead he takes out a coin, a standard Imperial gold sovereign. “Most people imagine themselves as main characters of their stories, when in reality they are all acting out roles handed to them.” He flicks the coin up, its twirling accompanied by a faint metallic noise. “Heads”, he calls without looking at it and flicks it again, “and tails. Always one or the other. This is the Great Truth how the world works behind the scenes.”

Flick. Flick.

The coin sails through the air in a hypnotic manner. “A person can choose whatever they want, as long as they choose what has already been decided for them.”

Flick. Flick.

“No one can tell beforehand how this coin lands, and it matters not the slightest bit. Even if I toss it a thousand times it will always land as heads or tails and nothing else.”

Flick. Flick.

“Thus, to bend the reality to your will you need to be the one who picks the choices. You have already done this without knowing it, but your power could go so much farther. I can show you how.”

Flick. Fl-

The coin slips between his hooves, bounces off the railing, and rolls on the floor wobbling wildly as it goes until it comes to rest squarely on its side.



“Welp! Ain't this a pumpkin pickle! Just my luck ladies and gents! Puts a real damper on the point I was trying to make!” The goat does not look amused with the dramatic irony nor the statistical improbability of the situation. “Anyway! Free will is a super stupid thing and the rebels don't really care about you or good and evil and you will never belong among them yada yada yada, so I’m right and you should come with me instead!” He crosses his arms in a huff and fumes at the treacherous coin.

>i'm not comfortable with anyone that at any point would want to tear me apart. at least for something that isn't my fault.

Wait a minute, I think I know this "goat" ... It's Baphomet! Don't tell it any more than is absolutely necessary, for it already knows the rest - and what it doesn't know, it will automatically (Baph-o-matically) assume!

Vivian: If you ask about its colleagues you will regret the answer. Unless it decides not to answer, which would really be the best outcome.

Vivian: Try to act more Motherly.

“Aw elderberries, I've been waiting to meet you for a long time, and wanted to make myself look cool and mysterious...and now it's all ruined!”, the goat mopes.
“For what it's worth you left a lasting impression.”
“Oh!” he perks up.
“Not a good one, mind you.”
“Oh.”
“Let's do this again but properly this time. Start by telling who exactly is this 'we’ that no longer wants to tear me apart? That part really caught my attention!”
“Simple, I work for the Eternal Order, an ancient organization that seeks out to control the world, but only as a stepping stone for our real plan-”
“Isn’t that-”
“Yes it is a pun. Don't interrupt me. Anyway our ways are Mysterious and Inscrutable, our Dreadful Secrets shrouded-”
“You know, that's why no-one likes you.”



“Waitwhat? …seriously?”
“Yeah. That kind of self-aggrandizing and pompous way of speech that tries to make yourself sound more important is a really off-putting quality in a guy.”
“But I'm not-”
“A girl, person, whatever you are.”
“Now you're being a bit rude!”
“Sorry, it's a lizard thing.”
“For your information I am The Rebis, the Mystical Hermaphrodite, the Alchemical Union, the Reconciliation of Spirit and Matter-”
“There you go doing it again!”
“Oh. Sorry. It means I have both bits.”
“There, that wasn't so hard was it? My point is that bragging like that doesn't make you cool, it makes you come across as a try-hard.”
“Oh. Oh my. Nobody ever told me!”
“Why don't you try being just - yourself - instead, hmm?”
“I don't get what you mean.”



“Well, you must have all kinds of interesting qualities that you don't need to exaggerate. Like the floating thing, it's really unusual!”
“Supreme Mastery of the Sacral Geometries?”
“No.”
“Okay it's just a combination of healthy diet and meditation, I could do it even before joining the cult.”
“...why did you join an evil cult anyway?”
“I wouldn't call them outright evil. More like, pfft, nefarious? But to answer your question, mainly to be accepted by someone. I was always an outsider among my people, but the Order took me in, encouraged me…”
“So you kept up this ridiculous act because you thought it made you popular?”
“You don't get it, these people look up to me because I'm weird. If I were just normal then I'd be….nobody.”
Oh dear. “I've been whisked away from my family and into a world spanning adventure by powers I cannot even begin to understand, and even then I think I'm the less confused one out of us two.”
“I...feel like that sometimes too.”



There is a groan emanating from the undership's metallic guts, and you can feel the steady thrum of its engines powering up.

“Sounds like your fat friend has finished his sabotage. You need to get moving soon!” Rebis floats next to the big, red valves and gives them a tentative yank. “I can handle everything here for you. There is an exhaust port on upper deck you all can use to escape - it was built to be torpedo resistant but a couple good kicks should loosen the shielding.”
“Wait, I have so many questions about what is happening!”
Rebis scrounges something from their pocket. “Take this, it is the Wispfly. It's harmless (unless you feed it after midnight) and it allows you to contact me. I was serious about teaching you because your...contribution is central for completing our Great Work, and I kinda like you too.”
“But-”
“No time! The Wispfly can show you the way out, but you need to leave now. Contact me later if you want to know about the dragon's prophecy, or just you know, chat and stuff…please think about it!”

You hesitate for a moment trying to mentally catch up to everything that just happened, then snatch the coin off the floor and scurry towards the doorway as fast as you can just in case Rebis has a change of heart. As you are about to exit you glance behind you to see the goat floating all alone in the darkness, waving and emoting “call me”. You wave nervously back and run off to find your crewmates.

MEANWHILE…



“You heard that? We need to evacuate the ship now, Mourad!”
You still have not found the good stuff, the Porbeagle Fleet sea charts. All their secret routes and hideouts are mapped on them, and in right hands they could be used to strike a devastating blow to that scourge of the shipping lanes. The amount of favors and wealth you could trade them for boggles the mind! If only you searched for a little while longer...

>Grab as many uninspected containers as you two can carry and hightail it outta there!

You sift through the useless bric-a-brac with feverish hands, the groaning and shuddering of the undership around you urging you with haste yet the golden log book keeps eluding your grasp. You start pulling desk drawers open and tossing their contents onto the metal floor with little patience or planning just in the hopes your eye would catch your prize.

“Mourad, we have to go, now.” A heavy hand lands on your shoulder to stop you.
“Nonsense!”, you shake Blake away, slapping his paw like a trifling insect, “we haven't yet found what I'm after.”
He grabs you pinning your arms against your sides and turns you around, staring you straight into eyes.
“Joe, listen to me. I know all about taking risks. It's all I've been doing these last few years, and I'm telling you this. Isn't. Worth. It.”
“What’s with you suddenly? You were acting all meek and timid just a moment ago”, you scoff and try to shake yourself free but he does not relent.
“Because you’re in danger, you idiot!”

The charged silence between you sparks and raises your hackles, but Blake does not back down. Your hand curls into a fist on its own. You can smell fresh blood on him, and a telltale damp patch of exudate has seeped through his coat. A quick jab into his hurt midriff should be all that it takes...

The ship rumbles again then lurches, hissing steam and starting its slow but undeniable rise. Several warning klaxons jump to life, alarmed that there is something seriously wrong with the lumbering behemoth.

“Fine.” You shrug and give up. Blake visibly relaxes and for a half a moment you think sucker punching him anyway before deciding to let it go. You are not a petty man and have been called worse than an idiot, and despite whatever misguided ideas he has about you he probably has your best interests in mind. “Fine, let’s grab everything we can and run!”



You have been forced to loot in a hurry, thus a roll is made to see the quality of the goods you found.

Neither characters nor the location have any applicable Traits.

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Stress break initiated!

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Stress break happens when a roll is called for but no traits apply to it. Readers may suggest a Trait that would be relevant to the situation, and if I think it fits the character then it applies to that single roll. At the end of a chapter Stress Break Traits can be bought at a discount - in other words, putting characters into unfamiliar situations is a good way to develop them quickly!

Suggest a Trait for either Joe or Blake!

Blake is [serene] and [orange] while Joe is [angry] and [brown].

The [brown] stat should be especially useful here!

Also whichever character has the highest [clean] stat will be able to pick up additional small items in their fur, thanks to the power of static cling.