An Altogether More Sinister Note

[Bayen]

My last attempts at roleplaying devolved into political discussion. Boo.

Let's give this one more go, eh? And this time, I'll make things a bit clearer.

(Also, Nicholas, sorry to be picking on you, but you're in charge of the nation and the obvious target. Remember,this is how I play Evil--cloaked in a guise of reason, and with motivations other than simply to destroy. It's nothing personal. )

"What is it?" asked Nicholas, slightly annoyed. Editing a new Constitution was hard work, and the page's entrance had caused him to lose concentration for the tenth time.

"Another list of demands, your Boldness," said the attendant nervously, fingering an envelope. "This one came more conventionally, though. Postal mail, no return address, no traces of DNA. And the message itself is a bit more... sinister..."

"How so?" asked the Emperor, raising an eyebrow. "The last little note I received was asking for a fundamental change in our system of government, threatening social upheaval if I failed to comply. What more could the people of Gralus have to ask of me?"

"Well, you'd best read this for yourself," answered the page, hesitantly handing over the piece of paper.

Nicholas unfolded it, and, true to classic style, the letters were cut and pasted from various magazines to spell out the following message:

YoUR ImPErIAl MaJEStY,

I aM WrITIng As A COnCErNeD CONStITuENt aBOuT ThE StATE oF ThIS GReAT EmPIrE. IT SeEMS ThAT ThE TRiUMViRaTE No loNGER HoLDS tHe pOwER iT OnCE DId. YoU HaVE bEEN fOrCED TO YouR KnEES bY A PeTITiON FrOM MayBE THrEE HuNDrED CiTIZeNs, DrIVEn TO ReDeFINe tHE VerY FuNDAMeNTALs OF OuR sTATE. IN SHoRT, ThIS IS UnAcCEPTAbLE. IN TiMES LIkE TheSe, We REqUIrE A stronG RUlER; YOu HAvE pROVEn YOUrSElF OTHeRWIsE. rEsIGN YoUR PoST AS EmPERoR ANd LeT A MORE qUALIfIED CaNDIDAtE TAkE OFfIcE.

To BE QuITE cLEAR, tHIS IS NoT A SuGgESTION; IT IS a DeMAnD. sOMeTiMES OnE MUsT TAkE MATTeRS INtO onE'S OwN HAnDS. eVERY DaY THaT yOU RemAIN EmPERoR, PEoPlE wILL DiE. YoUNG aND Old, GuiLTy Or InnOCeNT--I WiLL ChoOsE RanDoMLy AnD ThEiR LiVES WILl EnD. ThIS IS NOT Up FoR nEgOTIAtION. tHE GReATER gOOD OF AlL GRaLAn CItIZeNS Is WOrTH THE sAcRIFICe OF a FeW.

MaKe THE rIGHT cHOICe, YOuR bOlDNeSS.

-R.

As the Emperor read the note, his heart began to beat faster and faster. When he finished the last line, the paper slipped from his numb fingers, and he collapsed backwards into his chair. Two impossible alternatives--was there even really a choice?

Summary: Apparently, not everyone supports the Democracy amendment. There are those who wish for a strong ruler as well, and believe that the current Emperor is too weak to deal with the problems of the nation. Nicholas receives a letter demanding his resignation, and promising to kill innocent civilians if he does not comply. There is little if any evidence usable to trace the note back to its sender. The Emperor is left with an unthinkable choice--stand strong and let the blameless suffer, or protect his people by caving to the threats of a terrorist.

OOC: As I've said, this is me playing the "Evil" side as was suggested to make SCOWL more interesting, not trying to make any personal attacks on anyone. Please no one get mad.

[Bayen]

OOC: Er, Fides--does this mean you're launching an assault on the palace? Remember, this is SCOWL, not an expedition; each player controls only his own characters/units. If you post it, we assume it's your units doing it. (Not to mention the fact that I don't have a single gun in my OrBat...)

[Demon of Fides]

OOC: Really? Well, in that case One of those Mercenaries must've been in the employ of whoever the antagonist was.

[Andreas the Wise]

OOC: Fides, you're Chief of Police. It's your job to *find* this person.

[Bayen]

OOC: The antagonist isn't killing people yet; he's only threatened to if the Emperor holds onto his power...

(Oh wait, I lied, I did find a few handguns in my OrBat, but still, I control those units and they're not attacking... )

[Nicholas the Mad]

OOC: Ok, for clarification, no attack has been launched, and no one has died, because this isn't an expedition. Therefore, Fides, you have no reason to have appeared in my office, so I'll summon you instead.
@ Bayen: It's alright, gives me a reason to develop my character.

Nicholas mused over the note. Whoever had wrote it obviously had never ruled an Empire before; if he was as weak as the sender had said, he would not have survived thus far. And if weakness was understanding the citizens pleas, then weakness of a kind is required in a leader. Even one with absolute domestic power such as himself must do his best to please his subjects, because there are more of them than of him, and loyalties can waver. Yet whoever had sent this, and threatened thousands of random deaths, was not someone whom he would attempt to please, nor someone he would listen to suggestions from. He would not step down; that would prove his weakness, and who was to say they would not do this to the next Emperor, and the next? Besides, he had no heir. He would not play into their hands. The only option was to track and fight this mysterious person. For the sake of Gralus.

He called the two Fides up to his office and showed them the letter.
"Baal, as head of the Imperial Police, I want you to do everything within your power to find this person. Discover which magazines the letters come from, trace it with magic if possible, I dont care what, just find something. When you find something, come straight to me, and don't kill/maim/blow up anyone or anything unless it is absolutely necessary. Understand? I want subtletly. Lilith, if any of that does happen, the blame will be placed on you. Make sure your..." he cast around for the right word for the relationship between the Fides's "... make sure Baal doesn't do anything that he might regret later. Now go."

They left the room, and Nicholas called in Titus.
"Have my followers stay near me at all times from now on, preferably invisible and unable to be detected. Whatever the person said, they may target me too. Some mages nearby would not go amiss, but only to help if necessary. I may be bold, but that does not mean i run headlong into danger.
"Yes sir," said Titus, and left.
"R..." he mused. "All i think of is Relaram... or ronToketi... or Roman. Roman is dead, though, and neither Relaram nor ronToketi would do this...

OOC: Bayen, if Fides finds something, you post what it is, not him. That way you can give me the right information for me to find whoever your person is this time.

[Bayen]

After cross-referencing the various fonts used in the letter, the investigation team was able to come up with a list of likely magazine titles. They were mostly generic subscriptions, but by counting up the number of various local papers, the team decided with relative certainty that whoever composed this letter did so in Dekinai City, Toketi. The note itself was immaculate, though; no prints, DNA, or magical signature.

As the Emperor read the police report, another page walked in to hand him a newspaper. Across the front page was a photograph of a building exploding; the caption read, "Several bombs were detonated in the garage beneath a large department building in Dekinai City. Twelve were killed, and many more are in the hospital due to serious burns and blunt force trauma."

"Any trace of the one who set the bombs?" asked Nicholas.

"The preliminary report says no," answered the page. "In my lowly opinion, it looks like you're going to have to catch them in the act."

Summary: Tracks well covered. However, Dekinai City has come up a few times now, and might be a good place to start looking.

(I didn't go any further, since I don't want to tell you how to do your investigation, as there are various ways you could go about it. The spectrum ranges from sending in undercover detectives to locking down all of Dekinai City and conducting a person-by-person search.)

[Gerk]

Gerk sighed. Not even a week after becoming prince, trouble was once again brewing in Toketi. It was time to take action, no waiting around. Unfortunately, he didn't have the resources at the moment to do so. But he did have authority, and that counted for something. He took a horse to the northwest corner of Anebati, the only place on the island where he could access a radio. He picked it up and dialed in a frequency. "Get me Rielrar," he said. When he was connected, he said, I want a whole unit of police and a full company of the national guard dispatched to Dekinai City, and a squadron of helicopters to Greatfire Island. Oh, and keep a unit of tanks warmed up, just in case. On who's authority? On mine, the goddamn Prince's thank you very much! And you'd better hope those soldiers get there before I do!" He switched the channel. "Get me Shelsa," he said this time. When he was connected this time, he spoke less forcefully. "As the Prince of Toketi, I would like to request the aid of His Boldness, the Emperor, and the Imperial Police Force in maintaining order and putting an end to the terrorist attacks in Dekinai City. No, I don't care if he's in the bathtub, you tell him NOW!" He switched the channel again. "Major Sanders," he said, "I've got a squadron of helis coming to your location. Begin monitoring all available communications for buzz words, and give me an hourly report. When those helis get there, load up whatever you can and take it to Dekinai. A more centered monitoring facility will be most helpful, I think." He put the radio down. Now that that was complete, there was only one thing left to do. As if on cue, Rafel walked in the door. Gerk took the thin gold ring that his friend handed him, placed it on his finger, and disappeared, headed for Dekinai himself.

Summary: a little backstory for the establishment of my dynamic army, followed by a request for military/police aid from the emperor, followed by a standing order for when my dynamic army takes effect - the guardsmen and police will be dispatched to Dekinai, the tanks on standby, and the helis to pick up communications equipment from one of my COM bases in order to transport it and establish a closer facility to the action. maybe about 1000 points of equipment can be transported in this way. in the meantime, COM stations begin to monitor whatever they can, hoping for any information at all.

and for those of you who don't remember, Anebati is the smallest island in the chain, and Greatfire Island is the largest - named for the destruction caused by the montag outbreak.

[Nicholas the Mad]

OOC: If i want to refer to troops etc, do i need to have bought them in SCOWL?
just before I post again.
And Gerk, thank you for joining in. With four people this should go more intersetingly...

[Demon of Fides]

Not if they're ImpCop, then I have to Orbat them. And you can refer to them, but if you want them to do something they have to be orbatted...

[Bayen]

Miss Teri Winfeld was famous for her parties. Invitations were sought-after prizes, and she only invited the best of guests. Tonight, she was hosting the annual Yaskhonä "Fire" Ball, a high-society event where socialites from across Furfein Tosha conMakain gathered for a masked celebration. The party was going fabulously, dinner had went far better than she had expected, and Miss Teri Winfeld had mentally marked this ball as one of her best achievements to date. She shouldn't have, though; within twenty minutes, eight guests had gone into cardiac arrest, and another seventeen were retching their guts out. The police arrived soon after, and the verdict was poison, and not just bad meat; there were deadly chemicals involved. This was deliberate.

The news climbed quickly up the ranks to the ears of the Emperor. Whoever had written the note hadn't been bluffing; more people were dead.

Summary: A second day; a second slaughter. This one is in Yaskhonä, a lesser city in Fufein Tosha conMakain, and is due to poison.

[Nicholas the Mad]

OOC: so were these attacks close? All your tokish names just succeed in utterly confusing me as to which thing is where.

[Bayen]

OOC: I'm just working off the MCS claims map. Dekinai City is in the center of Toketi (Grot Kesh) and Yaskhona is slightly to the east (Furfein Tosha conMakain).

[Gerk]

"WHAT!? Yaskhona, now, too? DAMNIT!" Gerk was furious. He thought that the attacks would be more centralized. This was going to be more difficult. "Get me more men! I want troops within minutes of every city, and police patrolling every street!" He didn't want to completely lock down the country, but if the attacks continued, he wasn't sure if he had much of a choice. And the inaction of the emperor was certainly not helping. Not to mention anybody else in the whole of Toketi. There was no way he could do this alone.

summary: more backstory, really, this time for the new static orbat. also calling out for the emperor's aid, and any OTHER Tokians that want to step in and help at this point, i'm being stretched a little thin...

also, communications stations are still working, wondering if i'm ever going to get any info from that...

[Demon of Fides]

An ID card clattered on the Emperors Table. Nicholas looked up and saw Baal standing in the open doorway, his gaze moved slowly downwards until his saw the reason for the disturbance.

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"He was killed, shot through the head, 15 minutes prior to the latest bombing. About an hour ago, his mutilated corpse landed on my office roof from a great height, along with an empty camera and this note;"

	YOu wERE VerY CLoSE thIs TiME. NoT QUIte FasT ENOugH. IF onLy ThE MEn had COmE WheN hE caLLED, bUt i DiGREsS. ThERE wiLl Be ANoThER BoMBIng anD AnotHeR PoliCEMan WilL DiE.

"They killed one of my men, Nick, it was a set up job. Five of them were on patrol in the area, and then some dark figure made 'em run after it, down lotsa alleys and then they looked back an' Harry was gone. They looked for him right up until the explosion. Look, Nick, do you have any way of stalling this guy until we have a way to track him? I cant loose more men! You saw the note; another one, soon, and we dont know where!"

OOC: Advancing the plot without acatually contradicting and established (or TBE) fact, I dont think anyone can complain?

[Nargoth]

However by the time imperial forces reached Yashkona. The area had already been locked down.

Troops bearing insignia of the CAA were swarming the area. The troops refused admitance of the personel there saying they had been ordered to look into the matter by Nargoth, regional ruler of Furfein conMakain and Lord general of Gralus.

After much debate however they did release a copy of the evidence they had turned up. (allowing bayen to elaborate)

However they continued to refuse admittance to the premises, on this one any information would go through the CAA.

[Demon of Fides]

The heads of ImpCop were gathered in the Throne room (except Baal, who had shattered his hand punching the wall when he found out what was happening and was rushed to hospital). Uvurith spoke first;
"This is blatant treason! We demand that you order the guild to leave the city and surrender all information to ImpCop!"
The rest of the table was in full agreement.

[Nargoth]

It was then that a man named Thomas (Furfein representative) rose and spoke.

"Do you know anything of Furfein? The guild acts as our security forces, this incident is under furfein jurisdiction unless you can prove a link to anything else and as things stand no evidence has come forth to suggest this is of some greater plot. Between the Montags, and that terrorist Extreme, Furfein has never fully recovered. There exists some high levels of resentment especially towards families such as the Winfeld's managed to escape such disasters." The man sighed and took a drink of water.

"So if your department has evidence that this incident is part of a plot against the nation we shall surrender the scene. Until that point we would like to keep this as an internal investigation." he then sat back down.

Summary: Furfein reps defend CAA action saying that they will not willing surrender jurisdiction without proof this is part of a larger plot.

[Gerk]

Fides, I and a few of my friends over here in the US would like to request for the last time that you STOP SPEAKING FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN A SCOWL SETTING.

That being said, though I appreciate the Doctor Who reference (again), no soldiers have died yet. And as far as I can tell, you haven't even entered any troops in this conflict, so stop posting as if you have. Yaskhona is not refusing to admit imperial troops yet, seeing as there are no imperial troops there (yet). They are refusing my troops, and that is not your jurisdiction.

Gerk came to Yaskhona as soon as he heard that his police were not being admitted. He was not one to lead a forceful military, but he still wanted a word with those in charge of the city. He got a loudspeaker and began to speak. "I won't force you to open your borders to my troops, not yet. If you think you can handle this situation alone, that's up to you. But realize these things: as of now, I am only requesting that you allow police forces in. These are not military troops. And, hopefully, I will not have to ask much more than that. But if these attacks continue, especially if they continue in this city, I will have no choice but to demand entrance for the safety of the people by my duties bestowed by the throne of Toketi."

[Nargoth]

After a long talk between gerk and the man representing furfein interests copies of all the information gathered at the scene were handed over to sir gerk. however at the time being permission was not granted for non-regional departments to begin an investigation within furfein boarders.

SUMMARY: a copy of information including evidence gathered from the scene and witness accounts is transferred to gerk. however at this time police forces are still being denied access. (The reasoning for this is complex also they have said they will only negotiate eventual permissions if a link can be made to the other attacks and then only with Gerk or Prodigy.)