unforth | SMART in Prague (Reply)

The second SMART mission was called soon after the duel. The mission: negotiate with the gypsys of Prague. The goal was to: obtain gypsy status for all SMART members, and to gain a single favor from the gypsy king. The tent of Raider Valentine, collected on the first mission, was the negotiation tool - it could be assumed, we figured, that a movable freehold would be highly desirable to the gypsys.

SMART's cover was as groupies for a popular singer in Europe. Kathryn and the others (for this mission, Petra, Petros, Amelie, Chet's ferret, Tam, Shay, Grendel - I think that's all) all geared up in suitably outlandish attire - Kathryn dubiously eyed a costume similar to what she had worn on Samhain - and took a trod to Prague.

The city was rather frightening. Very old, worn buildings abutted newer structures, most of which were bleak and dead seeming. Cloudy and ugly, the city reeked of banality.

The concert started off well enough, with all of us maintaining our cover fairly well and doing a generally good job of fitting in. However, as the singer finished her set, her microphone exploded! Terribly concerned, Kathryn used Heather Balm to heal her while the others carried her to safety. Once she was healed, Petra and Kathryn worked on trying to figure out what had happened, and discovered a radio transmitter. Meanwhile, our contact person started to act suspiciously, and called us all over to talk with him...and while we were doing so, the singer disappeared!! This was problematic, because the singer was supposed to be our way of contacting the gypsys, using her connections.

After a bit of work, we managed to determine that she'd been taken out by car in the alley way, but Willow 'o Wisp proved incapable of finding her, which was most distressing. Further investigation was warranted, when out of no where a swarthy, obviously gypsy, fellow started talking to us (and flirting mercilessly with Petra!). He was looking for his sister - who had disappeared while going to meet the singer - and couldn't find her. Realizing that the sister was the contact person that we needed, we started working on both problems.

Work and investigation revealed that the local gypsies had a rival gang here, one composed of Red Caps, who had likely taken the sister. Meanwhile, we managed to track the singer down (though I can't remember why she got taken!). Hoping that rescuing sister would help us to gain the King's favor, we decided to join forces and take on the Redcaps.

The fight was a vicious one. Amelie and Kathryn worked in conjunction to rescue the sister and remove her from the scene (despite her protestations otherwise) by flying in on the dream boat and lowering Kathryn down, and then lifting the sister up. Meanwhile, the singer used her abilities to daze the assembled red caps, while Grendel took point and the ferret caused a distraction. Petra rigged up a truly intimidating sound system, and Petros used his various abilities to portal people to keep them distracted. The end result was that Kathryn was alone behind enemy lines, though, and was soon surrounded!

She didn't see much of the ensuing battle. Readying Troy, she asked the red caps to back down because she didn't want to hurt them, but they just ignored her - some of them even laughed! - and so she launched into the melee training she'd been working on so hard for so many months. Making a distinct effort not to anyone any serious harm, her first few swings went astray - this was her first experience in combat, not counting the battle with the lions - and at first the red caps clearly underestimated her. However, she made it clear that she was a force to be reckoned with. Meanwhile, Tam had fought his way into the back ranks and was helping her, while Grendel engaged in a vicious fight with the red cap leader.

The highlights of Kathryn's fight were:
-at one point near the beginning, a guy got a hold of her, stopping her from using Troy, at which point she reached into her hulster, drew the revolver she carried, and shot him in the side. Needless to say, he hadn't anticipated that.
-she healed with Heather Balm everyone who she feared was badly injured. At one point, she cut someone much worse than she intended too. Apologizing profusely, she healed him. "I'm sorry," she said.
A moment later, after she'd turned back into the battle, Tam landed on him and sliced cleanly through his throat. "I'm not."
In general, she made a good showing, though she took some minor wounds, including a nick to her cheek and a deep scrap on her arm. Her clothes were also largely made disgusting.

The gypsys soon arrived in force, and the rescue attempt was successful! In order to celebrate, the Smart members and the gypsys retired to the gypsy camp, and managed to get a meeting with the gypsy king - along with a bunch of fun new gypsy clothes. The first swarthy fellow - still flirting like crazy - handled our introductions and was generally helpful. After a bit of negotiation, we managed to secure our membership in the gypsy tribe, and one favor!

But it came with a cost - it turned out that our helpful gypsy friend was in fact the king! And he asked Petra to marry him! And she accepted! Kathryn couldn't believe how happy they both seemed, and the marraige took place immediately - it was the sweetest thing! Yet all she could feel was sadness - she was so happy for her friends, but it was so depressing too, to see two people so in love so quickly, while she quietly pursued her affection. She still didn't know if Dino even cared at all, and all in all it hurt so much. She spent the night dancing. She and Shay both danced, danced and cried.

She returned to Willowgrove the next day, her arm injury covered by a gypsy scarf, wearing the gypsy clothes she gained. Though she tried to seem alright - and played off her depression as exhaustion - she knew that she wasn't really all that convincing.

March interlude: the birthday date, bes din membership, Chet's trial, the Monkey quest, suicide of the dauntain, the craftsmen unite
BGA: open call: I want to help out and make stuff for people
April interlude: phoenix egg hunt, the mind palace, the kite date, the wire man
April game: the court of the white fomori, getting lost, Harbinger Frost, protecting Pinnochio, talking to Petra
A Night Out: Dino and the Countess, "You're getting paid HOW MUCH??", explaining the mask
May interlude: (who is the armor for? are you going to make the mask?) I love you..., Kaye: What did you say to him??, advising Diezel, checking on Amelie and Careg, scolding Pinnochio

Next time: March Interlude! Monkey's and birthdays, oh my!