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High Risk Quest #1: The Ghost Signal

Note: Here we go, gamers! The first High Risk Quest for Magisteria. These quests will serve as tiered mini-events which reveal crucial world lore, goings-on, and also tie into the metaplot and the large events. High Risk Quests will trade off in emphasis, meaning tech --> magic --> tech --> magic.

While this quest has seeds for the Tech Path Conflict, it should be noted that it's OTA and also that quite a bit of magic-specific locations/mini-events will open soon. The Magic Path Conflict is brewing in the background and will become more apparent soon, too, so keep one's eyes peeled.

Context & Recap

This quest takes place after The Coffee Shop Mingle, which features NPCs discoursing on the goings-on of High Rise Village. Players are encouraged to look at that.

In the first event, Training in High Rise Village, we learned about a mysterious intruder who infiltrated the Digital Flora Dome and the Neon Nest, two properties belonging to an android named Rosalind Vireo. PCs who restored the properties deciphered a mysterious phrase, "Symphony of Disruption..." Seems portentious! In the above coffee shop mingle, Rosalind speculates as to the possible culprit(s?).

Bling

See the plotting post: PCs can go all out with the cyber weapons on this one, in addition to whatever tech or magic they've learned, whatever canon abilities have returned, and Selena and Titan-7 can also be used as weapons (so to speak) or defenses/back-up. Feel free to write interactions with them or them stepping in however. Of course, the main route to success will be PCs supporting other PCs!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Musashi is preparing for another strike, not sure just how much more punishment this thing can take, when with a final shudder, what is left of the thing slumps to the ground, still.

That's when she hears Lucy take a ragged, choking breath, and instantly the sword woman is by her side, kneeling down. She almost puts a hand to her, but Lucy's skin is so flushed, so completely red, Musashi thinks it's a small miracle she isn't steaming.

"Yeah, yeah, will do." She says hurriedly, pulling out her Xaccess device and firing off a quick message alerting the two that one of the targets had been neutralized, before turning her attention back to Lucy. Her earlier bravado is gone; only concern radiates from her now.

"How bad is it? Can you sit up?" If she's even half as overheated as she looks, her muscles will be cramping up something fierce.

So this is the risk of being a netrunner...

"Yeah," Lucy grinds out, though it takes her a long second to actually be able to sit up. Once she manages it, her shoulders are slumped, but she rakes her hair back from her face -- the touch of it against her overheated skin suddenly feels unbearable.

She'd been running an internal clock, so she knows she hasn't done any permanent damage. It had been a risk, but it had paid off. Still, she won't be able to do this again for at least a week, not unless she uses the proper tools.

She blinks, blurred vision focusing on Musashi. As best she can, she looks her over for any injuries, and thankfully finds nothing. Musashi had been in her element out there, every inch the swordswoman she'd claimed to be. Maybe everything she's said about herself really is true.

"Got any water on you?" Lucy hadn't thought to bring any herself, which was a stupid mistake in hindsight.

"Water? Ah..." Huh. That probably would have been a good idea. Lucy-chan looks like she's dying for a drink, and that might be more literal than Musashi likes. She looks out to the end of the alley to the busy street outside. "Wait here a second." And like that, she's just gone, there one second, and then simply not, save for a small breeze that signifies how fast she must have taken off.

Distantly Lucy might hear someone cry "Hey, what the f—" and Musashi offering a quick thank you before the samurai Servant is back at her side, with a water bottle in her hand.

"Good thing it's a hot day, ne?" She asks, unscrewing the cap. "Lots of people were smarter than we were. Here, easy does it." She holds it up to Lucy's lips, tipping it forward so she can drink a little. Probably the less she moves the better right now.

The first drink of water she takes is the best drink she's ever had. Better than a shot of vodka after a car chase across the city. Better than a chilled drink at 3am after waking up parched. The first sip galvanizes her, giving her enough strength to raise her hand to join Musashi's on the bottle, tipping it upward so she can gulp the water down.

Lucy makes it through half the bottle before she has to stop for breath. "Hopefully that guy you stole it from doesn't like his water laced with anything," she chuckles, hoarse. "Although some verve wouldn't be too bad right now."

She didn't bring her vape. Damn.

More slowly, she finishes off the rest of the bottle, and is feeling a lot steadier by the time she does.

"You really are an amazing fighter," she murmurs. Their hands still clasped around the bottle, she thinks the touch of her fingers against Musashi's must be unbearably hot. "And we make a pretty good team, right?"

One drink of water and Lucy-chan is already coming back to herself. It was a little embarrassing having to kind of mug someone for their water bottle, but it was worth it. But, she does make a mental note to remember this in the future.

Some victory verve to celebrate does sound appealing. Musashi smirks at her. "Oh yeah? Drinks are on me, then. What club you wanna hit first?" She won't insult Lucy-chan by suggesting they restrict their party to a single club.

Her fingers are hot, but Servants are tough, and Musashi wouldn't pull away for anything. Besides, there's something about the way Lucy is looking at her that makes it hard to focus on the heat. That and how close they currently are to each other.

"Well, I did promise you a show." She replies, giving Lucy a playful wink, and then nods. "We do. Those were some super-good openings you made for me. You really gave that robot some real hell, huh?" She's had capable comrades in the past; Iori and Saber, Samson, Ritsuka-chan and the rest of the Chaldea group during the periods she worked with them, and she's proud to add Lucy to that group as well. Especially since the others, most of them, are long gone now.

"Now, do you think you can stand up, or am I carrying you out of here?" She doesn't look like she'd be very put out by the latter option if it came to that. "There are better places for you to cool down than this alley."

"I can stand. Wouldn't mind a hand up, though."

Lucy has to lean heavily on said hand as she makes her best attempt at standing. She's familiar with this part: overexertion on deepdives means her legs feel like they can't take her weight, but with enough stubbornness, they can. She wouldn't be this bad off if she'd had a cooling suit and a physical line to port in through, but hey, emergencies are emergencies.

She's pretty sure Musashi gave the Fractured far worse hell than Lucy managed, but she did manage to snag some of its code. She'll be able to look over that later.

"I think ABYSS is my favorite so far," she muses, thinking back to the various clubs they've gone to. She's done her best to tour most of the clubs in the Entertainment District, from the tamer ones to the wilder ones. ABYSS is somewhere in the middle; freeflowing verve, the occasional throuple having sex against the wall, but in a classy way, you know. "Might have to recover for a few hours before we head there, though."

High Risk Quest #1: The Ghost Signal

Context & Recap

Bling

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