CR Arcadum S2E5: A Hell of a Deal

A Hell of a Deal
Episode Statistics
Season	2
Episode	5/29
Playlist(s)
Episode Cast
DM(s)	Arcadum, SciFri, Qyr, Gigabits
Actors	Callous Row Season 2 Characters
Episode guide
Previous	S2E4
Next	S2E6

Episode 5: A Hell of a Deal

Corporations in the Shadows

WOTO-corp under-cover at Rooks bar, the older man and the younger man.

Rook met two strangers at the bar asking about assistance to clean up some hazardous material which fit the description of the infection left over from the necromancer. Some raising suspicion in specific was the older mans eyepiece who looked more advanced than any slummer tech. In truth the two were from WOTO, named Leonard Kiani and Simon Kuzumo, both dressed down and under cover but this is not known to Rook. After consulting Rook decided to hook them up with the magically inclined in the undercity and tasked Warren and Loch to fetch Ciara and Kythus to meet with them.

An important looking woman wearing a Quixote badge visits Rook at his bar and asked him for assistance to recover some stolen data from Sonitii. Not promising anything except hypotheticals she strangely asks Rook to look after Duncyn for her. Rook tells her that he knows of her and that he has already been doing so, ever since the death of Jack. She seems satisfied with this and departs but the audience does not learn anything more.

Dagu and William of the Greasepalms family worries for him and his daughter Angelina's safety

The Greasepalms family consisting of William and Angelina ask Rook for help to make them both disappear and get new identities as they believe themselves to be wanted by Sonitii. True enough not just one but two hired assassins (portrayed by Arcadum) try to hunt them down one after another. Their attempts fail however and with the help of Mika, Duncyn and A2, both Angelina and William survive. Killing one of the assassins, his remains show him to be well equipped and an expensive Astral Company merc using Mars weaponry, but issued by Quixote.

DM: Praised be the light

Who is this mysterious priestess? And what of her church? Maia Seren wonders

A priestess wearing an unfamiliar triangular symbol covering her eyes and face walks through the streets of The Row, asking around if there have been any gatherings that she may attend. Many walk by her feel a strange urge to follow her, and some do. She enters The Dirty Diamond brothel and as she does, those magically inclined feel a sudden alarm start akin to a bomb that is about to go off in the room - specifically for the proprietor Kee'ra and the CEO of Talaris, Damien Masaru who is present in the brothel. Damien calls out for an evacuation that is supported by Kee'ra and moments later the brothel is emptied out quickly and she stands face to face alone against this new priestess. Staring at each-other Kee'ra can feel the priestess challenging the magic inside her akin to a beast that starts to awaken. The two women start to argue about their difference in magic, one primal - the other faith-based.

Tensions rise between Kee'ra and the priestess

As the priestess leaves the brothel Kee'ra can feel her self control slipping and dismisses her dear friends to leave her alone. Feeling an urge to drain the very life out of those she call her dear family scared her immensely, especially that it took all of her willpower to resist those urges. Who is this strange priestess and what were those alien beastly instincts surfacing within her?

Kee'ra having planned a night together with Rook, cancels it grudgingly and decides to help her friend Gloop instead.

DM: WOTO plays the game well

Gloop places his trust in Rikky, and makes a deal with the WOTO Corporation

Kee'ra assisting the lost Gloop who is searching for his origin helps him get in contact with the Upper City people. Together with her and A.L.Ex. who used to be a respected scientist in her former life they get an audience with Rikky Raclette of the WOTO Corporation. Rikky using his cybernetic eyes inspect him closely, learns of his "goo" having healing properties and the potential to increase the production of WOTO manufacturing by whole 7.8% - huge profits to be made! He also reveals the true origin of poor Gloop, he is the result of a failed experiment of discarded jelly woto cubes, having been reanimated thanks to an implanted WOTO-cube - the property of WOTO - that was discarded in the corporations garbage dump. Rikky recognizes A.L.Ex. too, and strikes an unlikely deal to research Gloop with the "good intentions" of feeding the poor and famined of course. WOTO is after all the most good corporation... or so Rikky claims.

Unknown to Gloop, Keera and A.L.Ex, meanwhile the WOTO officials are plotting behind their backs.

Leonard debriefs his report after having scouted the row and the undercity under cover together with Simon

In another room Leonard Kiani gives a very detailed debriefing of his undercover mission together with Simon Kuzumo. They tell all they gathered from their expedition to the undercity and a potential deal they agreed to with Kythus Tolem - a man with a devils tail, horns and glowing skin - as living proof of his magical affinity. WOTO knows of the contaminated spaceships having crashed in the wastes and the source of their infection The Necromancer, and in exchange for putting in money towards their magic project they would agree to recover things for them under the radar. Sending any major expedition team down themselves would only alert the other corporations to sniff opportunity. Seeing a potential deal WOTO's only current enemies appear to be the rivaling corps Talaris and Sonitii, who they suspect are responsible for placing that bug in their offices. To gain a foothold they would have to eliminate the competitions presence in the undercity and the row - namely Norman Flint of Talaris. Capturing him would serve 3 purposes - shut him up - interrogate him for information - and earn the trust of the people living in the slums.

Ellek learns of WOTO's plans though divination magic

Ellek Myth dabbling in the magics of rune-crafting using recovered crystals scavenged from the wasteland makes his own discovery. Unlocking the divination magic in the stones - WOTO's plot is revealed to him and Sonitii in turn.

Having recovered a WOTO-cube injected with black nanites Rikky and Goldman inspect it closely and somehow triggers the nanites self destruct sequence - but before they do so - they reveal that they were manufactured by someone named "Thaddeus", and similar to Gloop, also had achieved some form of sentience.

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