Chapter 18: Death and Taxes[]
From bad to worse[]
Waking up with a headache as usual Rook ponders how to solve the current situation of the heat brought on the row. The Mayor is going to have to pay off WOTO somehow to satisfy their bloodthirst before the deadline of turning in the one responsible of their scientists murder - else the food and water supplies are gonna get cut.
Duncyn visits the bar and introduces the new repaired Guidebot, very unlike his usual jolly self the small synthetic appears strangely, "robotic". As if those news weren't bad enough the worse are that the synthetics of the Row are seemingly stirring an uprising of sorts and according to Duncyn, even showing defiance against Rook with supposedly even Static being in on it. Rook asks AIM-3 if the Synths no longer trust in him but she denied it. Rask reports of the Akeenas forest being burned down and Leilani feels that the grove is in danger and describes the situation as dire, having no resolution, only bandaids for the time being.
Rook confronts Feelix about his deal to marry Faye
Marriage bet[]
Dining at the noodle shop Argen tells Rook that his daughter apparently put a bet on him fighting Rook, and it being nothing less than an agreement to marry a suitor; Felix Dolore, if Rook loses. Hearing this the half-orc enters a rage unspoken of and storms off to confront him and his daughter.
Meeting Faye Rook confirms the truth and grounds her to her room and continues searching for Felix. Finding the young man he threatens that unless he ceases this farce bet - the only thing he would ever be sexually intimate with would be the ground.
Kaiphus the collectors's ploy[]
Out-of-character Arcadum changes into a fellow wearing Talaris armor and carrying a package that needs delivering to the Mayor.
Meeting Becky she escorted him to the Mayors office where she left him alone unsupervised. Seizing the opportunity he started hacking the database in the office, learning that Felix was an accomplice in the infiltration of the Nirvana labs, days prior. When Mayor Eric arrived he told him that they needed to speak alone, this was when he proceeded to blackmail him. Claiming to have incriminating evidence in a package of the Mayors involvement and his guilt of the infiltration, he offered him a deal in return for the names of his compatriots. Also claiming that the encryption keys for the evidence showed it to be unique and the only copy, in return for all their names he would leave without reporting the mayor. Eric took the bait and handed over the names. Happy with the transaction, "Kaiphus the Collector" left with a happy spring in his steps.
Assassination of Felix[]
Before leaving the row with the information he gathered, Kaiphus managed to spot one of his targets, namely Felix of all people. He told a local how much he admired the young mans figure and managed to get himself introduced and alone with him. Asking Felix for help to get a terminal working, as Bethany approached, Felix turned his back, Kaiphus grabbed his hidden gun, yells out, and just as Felix turned around he shot him multiple times in the chest. The shocked Bethany witnessed everything and fled the scene.
As Felix blood escapes him he is brought to the clinic but unfortunately his life could not be saved.
The evidence package... was empty. Fake.
Double tricked[]
From a spectators point-of-view we overhear Mayor Eric telling Becky that they should try and frame Felix murder on Lange of all people. Intriguing. Inspecting his office computer, Eric learns that someone tampered with his system. Seeking computer assistance the Mayor asks Faye for help, and we learn that she thinks Rook is the one responsible for Felix's murder. She asks Mayor Eric for a job to, in her writings, help her escape the cage of living. Faye working on what was lost learns that the package, turns out to be empty, devoid of any evidence. The mayor was tricked twice.
As the PA system blares out a warning of Corporate presence in the row, Lange it turns out, is not a good candidate for being framed. He happened to have gotten beat down by slummers and is getting retrieved by a Quixote evacuation team.
Bo hears visions of death and a foreshadowing
A foreshadowing of death[]
Bo walks alone in the darkness of the grove, following a strange inner voice that whispers out to her. Walking, searching, her head is filled with visions of what is, what will be and what has already come to pass.
Hearing whispers of the dead walking Bo follows them deeper into the grove until visions fill her head. She sees Callous Row broken, people in the streets dying and the dead walking. The dead Jack, the dead Felix. They both walk with pallid skin and with their teeth dripping with blood, the blood of Conk. Spotting a shadow just beyond her vision, she sees - the necromancer.
Sadness[]
Rook returning home meets Faye who is very distraught. Using her tablet she types that she saw Felix getting shot. Wishing that she could have helped him somehow but were unable to. She accused Rook of being responsible because of his outburst previously but he denied it, to which she apologized. Tired and sad she dropped the matter, heading for sleep, noting down that she would recount all that happened later.[1]
Twitch Clips[]
Gallery[]
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