# Session S19 > [!overview] > [campaign:: [[2025-02 Blades 68|Blades 68]]] > [session:: S19] > [prev:: [[2025-07-07_S18]]] > [next:: [[2025-07-21_S20]]] > [session date:: 2025-07-14] > [campaign date:: ] > [my pc:: [[Vespbot 'Sage' Rowan-Ellis]]] > [dm:: varies] > [player:: [[Nick Dumas|deezy]], [[SlRvb]], [[Leah Ferguson|Leah]]] > [pcs:: [[Shaw 'Moth' Malvern]], [[Una 'Spectre' Vass]]] > [active npc:: ] > [discussed npc:: ] > [active locations:: ] > [discussed locations:: ] > > --- > > (tldr:: Summary.) %% ### Starting notes: - %% ## Notes - A score for [[Carousel]], heisting from [[New Dawn]] - [[Krumb]] from [[Carousel]] comes for a reading from [[Vesper "Sage" Rowan-Ellis]] » but [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] leads - Needs a device retrieved from [[New Dawn]] - It's going to cost him… » 8 stacks - [[Arden 68|Arden]] asks for 10 stacks for the Ten of Swords - She had looked into [[Krumb]] through her network » [[Consort]] risky/standard 2, 2, 1, 1, 5, 1 - [[Carousel]] is in hot water, had lost something, and are scrambling to find it - [[Shaw 'Moth' Malvern|Moth]]'s friend [[Jarris]] (escaped test subject) had been held by [[Carousel]] as a test subject in the past - [[Shaw 'Moth' Malvern|Moth]] tried to get him to open up while working on an autopod » [[Wrench]] 2, 6, 6 - [[Carousel]] has a lot of test subjects who, if they survive, try to run away - Maybe this particular runner is more important than the others - This device may help hunt and track down these runner - [[Seresh]] is a researcher, and a name we got to pressure [[Krumb]] - Info gathering on [[New Dawn]] - [[New Dawn]] has been getting into more research-oriented things at [[Charterhall University]] - [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] stakes out [[Charterhall University]] » [[60 Games/61 Tabletop/Candela Obscura/Details/Actions/Survey|Survey]] risky/standard 2, 6, 2 - Guards have battons and stun guns at most - Once a week, there are more guards than usual for groups who are more hippy-dippy than the usual researchers - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] poses as a university student interested in this organization to get more information » [[60 Games/61 Tabletop/Candela Obscura/Details/Actions/Sway|Sway]] risky/standard 5, 1, 1, 3 - Some members of the [[Ministry of Discovery]] are also members of [[New Dawn]] - Meets a researcher ([[Aldo Brogan]]. [[Ministry of Discovery]]) who is willing to bring a young interested person to a gathering - Opening gambit: Social - Loads - [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] » 3 - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] » 3 - Engagement role » 6, 3 - +1 luck - +1 bold, split party, just walking in - -1 no contingencies - +1 Target vulnerability… secret identities of [[Ministry of Discovery]] - -1 Target advantage - +1 for Scurlock help - -1 [[New Dawn]] is Tier 4, and it's a high class area… - The engagement - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] is introduced as a potential new recruit by [[Aldo Brogan]] - She will go by the name [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Davia Morell]] - [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] rolls up with tools to work on the facility's HVAC… - Technobable » [[Study]] risky/standard 6, 6, 6, 3 - Seven gathered, including [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Davia Morell]] and [[Aldo Brogan]] - Aldo is excitedly talking about someone coming after them to this meeting they're attending » [[Coldwell|Coldwell]] - We go down a floor (not the research labs, but something more underground and secretive) » keypad - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Davia Morell]] keypad » [[Hunt]] 6, 6, 3 - Into a large room, desks and tables pushed to the side, with a chalk circle in the middle of the floor - A [[New Dawn]] initiation for [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Davia Morell]] - [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] looks for a way to hack into the electrical system - This room has a keypad » [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] picks the lock [[Wrench]] risky/standard 1, 5, 6, 2 - The cultists are chanting. One pulls out a small container, takes a pill… around the circle, all do the same. More chanting. - The room shifts - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden "Vixen" Rowan]] lets [[Vesper "Sage" Rowan-Ellis|Vesper]] come to the surface » [[Medium (Blades)|Medium]] [[Attune]] risky/great » 3, 5, 3, 5 - Feels like the room is underwater, but coming from [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] - Flashback, [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden's]] mic will always be live; all she has to do is say something… - [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] goes to short out the electrical system » [[Wrench]] 2, 1, 4 - Some of the lights go off in certain areas - Arden's area is fully in darkness - Hix's area is fully in the light - After the pills, their eyes were closed so darkness doesn't have much effect - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Davia Morell]] starts trying to move within the circle ([[Prowl]] risky/great 1) - A man walks in with a flashlight on… it's [[Coldwell|Coldwell]] - [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] starts looking around for a labratory - [[60 Games/61 Tabletop/Candela Obscura/Details/Actions/Survey|Survey]] risky/standard 6, 4, 6 - Makes his way back to the front, and finds the stairwell going down to follow [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] - Flashback, [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden]] ([[Foresight (Blades)|Foresight]]) - Wiring [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Arden]] up with a microphone in her necklace - [[Arden 'Vixen' Rowan|Davia Morell]] taps her necklace nervously, tapping the keypad combination into it for [[Hix 'Wicker' Maroden|Hix]] ## Reading ### Past: The Moon (Reversed) Keywords: Illusion collapsing, madness, secrets revealed, disorientation The reversed Moon signals a recent uncovering—perhaps a long-standing deception has unraveled, leaving confusion in its place. Someone (maybe even you) pierced a veil meant to remain closed. This was not a gentle revelation—it may have frayed the edges of trust, reality, or even sanity. Hidden motives slithered into the light, and what was once mysterious is now grotesquely clear. "You looked behind the curtain. You weren’t supposed to." ### Present: The Devil Keywords: Obsession, temptation, captivity, self-destruction At present, you're bound—whether by desire, a toxic relationship, or a choice that no longer feels like one. The Devil represents the mask of pleasure concealing a leash. It is seductive, even comforting, to stay here. But make no mistake: this card is a prison. And the key is one you may be too afraid to use. The sinister element here is consent to corruption. You're not being held—you’re staying. "You lit the candle. Now sit with its smoke." ### Future: Ten of Swords Keywords: Betrayal, finality, ruin, cathartic end Something will be lost—completely and without mercy. The Ten of Swords doesn’t wound; it obliterates. A betrayal will finalize what has already been decaying. But in its darkness is a terrible clarity: nothing can hurt you like this again. After this, there will be silence. The corpse of this phase will not rise. A warning, or a promise. "This is how it ends—not with a whimper, but with a knife in the back."