conversations: human
conversations:  A new day dawns upon Greycove City. It's Monday once more, and the everyday citizens drag themselves out of bed, to begin another working week, while wondering how did the weekend fly past so quickly.
  
  Like most other days, the bright rays of the sun are obscured by a acrid fog of smoke, from traffic and industry. The pallor cast over Greycove matches the city's mood, as crime continues to climb to all new highs.
  
  
   OOC: Describe Annihila's typical morning routine. 
  
   OOC Thread 
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  As the streaks of light crept into her room Annihila stirred and slithered her way out of the apartment bedroom and into the cramped bathroom. After a nice long and hot shower she dried herself off; a long and towel consuming process due to the size of her serpentine half and wings. After cleaning up and slipping into some clothing, the dragon moves her way into the kitchen and grabs a pan and a couple of eggs. She cracks the eggs open on the pan, starts the stove and begins cooking. Taking her phone out of her pocket, Annihila makes the usual call to the police station to see if she's needed today.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  The phone rings for far too long before someone eventually picks up.   "Hello, this is Captain Clifford, please have some good news for me."  
  
  In the background you hear the ringing of countless other phones, and plenty of shouting. While this police station had never been a paragon of orderliness, things seem especially bad today.
  
    "Oh Annihila, it's you."   Captain Clifford lets out a long sigh.   "I take it you haven't heard the news? The mayor and some councillors embezzled the entire city budget and disappeared. There's no money for anything. The Police are getting furloughed."  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  Upon hearing this, Annihila lowers the phone from her ear and looks at it in disbelief. She turns her head towards the calendar, running a claw down the dates to make sure it isn't April Fools. The mercenary scowls as she realizes this isn't just a joke. She pulls the phone back up to her ear, her mood quickly worsening.
   
  "Captain, I'll be there ASAP so we can talk about this in person." 
  
  She hangs up the phone and quickly finishes up her breakfast before leaving her apartment and into the skies, all while she thinks about how she's going to remind the mayor and council that payment  wasn't optional .
  
  When she arrives, she makes her way inside, flashing her identification as necessary to get inside and search out the captain.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  You fly over the city through the choking haze of pollution, past disorderly streets and the occasional burning rubble. Greycove seems to be getting worse and worse with each passing day.
  
  As you land in front of the police station, you see a stream of officers leaving, each carrying a box of their personal belongings. Casualties of the furlough.
  
  You walk past security, but the usual duty officer isn't there, and you easily find Clifford in his corner office, packing his items into a box.   "Oh hey Annihila, how's your day been? Would you like a drink?"  
  
  He opens his drawer and takes out a shot glass and whiskey bottle. He pours a shot, and pushes it towards you, before chugging directly from the bottle.
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  Annihila catches the shot glass and downs the whisky in one smooth motion. Her face flushes a bit from the alcohol and then she set the shot glass back down.
   
  "I'd say having the city cut off my source of income is bad way for my day to start."  tells Clifford.  "I'm going to find the council and mayor and present my case on 'how the theft of payment is not productive towards fostering positive relationships.'"  She the smile smugly, imagining for a moment how good that sounds in her mind.  She then returns to reality and looks back at the captain.
   
  "So disappearance aside, what do we have to work with?"  the dragon asks as she takes a seat and slides the shot glass across the desk back to the officer.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Very little. I only received an email from Councillor Briggs, who has currently assumed the role of acting mayor."   Clifford shakes his head.   "All I know is, the Mayor - the original one, not Briggs - embezzled most of the city budget and as a result, Greycove has had to furlough almost every government employee."  
  
  He pauses and takes another swig of whiskey.   "Which unfortunately includes me. Damn that Mayor, I reckon he's enjoying the sun in some tropical paradise right about now."  
    "If you want more details, go find Councillor Briggs. He should be holed up in city hall."  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Hopefully by the end of this we'll be the ones on a nice beach."  Annihila comments.  "Well, if we both don't end up with a surplus of work after this. I'll be in contact if something comes up captain."
   
  With that said Annihila gets out of her seat and takes her leave of the building. Once outside, she takes to the skies once again this time towards city hall. Once arriving at city hall, Annihila enters, hoping to get some quick and easy directions to Briggs.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  Annihila arrives at city hall to find that it has been placed under lock down. Outside, a horde of government employees - teachers, police, firefighters - loudly protest the furlough. They are currently peaceful, but that could change very quickly.
  
  The front entrance was barricaded from the inside, and jammed with protesters on the outside. It looks like Annihila couldn't go in that way. She would have to think of something else.
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  Annihila watches the crowd from the sky. Judging that they're peaceful for the moment, she circles the building looking for another way inside or at least a good place to cut her way into that the protestors couldn't easily reach.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  OOC: Make an Investigate Check
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  Spoiler: OOC 
  Investigate check:  (1d20+1)[ 14 ] 
   
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  Spoiler: OOC 
  
  That falls slightly short.
  
  You can choose to use Succeed with Cost to retry a more thorough search, at the cost of gaining 1 Fatigue. If you pick this option, you will automatically find an unlocked window without needing to roll.
  
  Or you could try something else. E.g. pick any window and just smashing it open.
   
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  Flying down near a window, Annihla carefully focuses her Vorpal Blade from a tip of a claw. With the most care she can manage, she tries to cut open the lock without too much damage.
  
   
   Spoiler: OOC 
  Dexterity roll:  (1d20-2)[ 12 ] 
   
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  Annihila tries to selectively destroy one of the window locks, but she doesn't know her own strength and winds up shattering it completely. Down below, the noise attracts the attention of some protesters, who point and stare at the dragon lady. Fortunately, the broken glass falls into the building rather than showering the onlookers outside.
  
  With nothing left to stop her, Annihila makes her way into city hall. Following the signs, she soon finds Councilor Brigg sitting in his office, shouting at the phone.   "I'm telling you, we don't have the money! If you detonate that bomb... Hello? Hello?"  
  
  Briggs slams down the phone and buries his face in his hands.   "Damn you Mayor Waycroft!"  
  
  After a while, he looks up and spots you.   "What the? Who are you and how did you get in here?"  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Annihila- I worked with the GCPD and I'm here with a bone to pick with the runaway mayor over my paycheck. Clifford said that I should talk to you about tracking him down."  the dragon says, introducing herself.  "Though, did I hear correctly that there's a bomb somewhere?" 
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  Briggs groaned.   "If it's your paycheck you want, then get in the queue, along with all those people."   He gestures out his window, at the protesting crowds outside.
  
    "As for the bomb, some nut job says they have a bunch hidden somewhere in the city, and they'll detonate it unless we pay an enormous ransom."   He shakes his head.   "Of course, we don't have any money to pay them. But I'm also not sure if they're serious or just bluffing. There hasn't been any 'demonstration' if you get my drift."  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Alright, not much go off there then. That can stay on the backburner. Anyway, I'm not interested from getting payment from you. I'm interested in tracking down the Mayor and dragging him back along with the rest of council to get it out of  them . Do you have any leads I can work with?" 
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  Briggs rubs his chin.   "Well, I won't be able to PAY you for your efforts. But if you want to track him down, all the better for me... I mean us. All the better for us."   He gives you a pained smile.
  
    "I'm unsure of all the details. I've been forced to barricade myself in city hall since this whole mess started. What I can tell you is that Greycove ran out of money just this morning. I contacted the bank, and they said that the accursed Mayor Waycroft had withdrawn most of the money last Monday. That certainly explains why he's been on sudden leave this past week."   Briggs shakes his head.
  
    "Unfortunately, due to the disappearance of the budget, we've been forced to furlough virtually every government employee. This has consequently made it extremely difficult to investigate what's happened. However, we still have a few personnel on our payroll... sort of. Specifically, we have a bunch of unpaid interns, which I've been forced to rely upon. I've already tasked one of them to look into this case. If you really want to chase down the Mayor pro bono, perhaps you should try to work with Eileen."   He scribbles a phone number on a scrap of paper, and holds it up.
  
    "Speaking of which, how DID you get in? I'm pretty sure I had the place locked down tight."  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  After listening, Annihila takes out her phone and adds Eileen's number into her contacts list and puts it away.  "Oh, I came in through a locked window that was out of reach of the crowd out there."  she casually comments.
   
  "Is there anything else I should know before I leave?" 
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Nothing comes to mind."   Briggs shrugs.   "Like I said, I'm unsure of all the details myself."  
    "You came in through a locked window? How does that work?"  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  "I cut a way in."  Annihila casually comments as she grabs a pen from the desk. Grabbing a spare piece of paper from the desk she scrawls down her own phone number onto it and puts the pen back.
   
  "There's my phone number in case something else comes up." 
  
  With that said, Annihila leaves out the way she came in and to a quieter place. Once found, the dragon makes a call to Eileen.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Wait what?You cut your way in? What do you mean..."  
  
  You run before Briggs can press for details.
  
  *****
  
  After a few rings, a female voice answers the phone.   "Hello?"  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Hello, Eileen? I'm Annihila, I worked with the city's police department. I got word from Briggs that you're the one to talk to about tracking down the mayor. I've got my own bone to pick with him, so why don't we work together to track him down and drag him back to the city?" 
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Oh! Are you another unpaid intern as well?"   Eileen asks.   "To be honest I could use the help. I'm headed down to the Greycove Central Bank to ask some questions. You can meet me there in about half an hour."  
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  "Well, you could say that I am one now thanks to the Mayor. I don't have any other leads, so I'll be waiting for you at the bank. You can't miss me, I stick out."  With that said, she says her good byes and flies off to the bank to kill time for Eileen's arrival while keeping an eye out around the bank. Last thing she needs right now are people trying to steal what savings she has.
conversations: QuadraticGish:
conversations: human
conversations:  Since the beginning of the crime wave, Greycove Central Bank has greatly tightened security. Rather than simply walking in, customers must now pass through a security check at the front entrance, complete with metal detectors and x-rays. Heavily armed guards flank the checkpoint, brandishing SMGs and keeping a watchful eye out for trouble. It seems all but impossible to rob the bank without first breaching this checkpoint.
  
  OOC: While waiting for Eileen, do you want to wait outside, or join the security check queue to get into the bank, or try something else?
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  You wait outside, away from the queuing crowds. The wall of people blocks off any sight the bank guards might have of you, and none of them notice the Dragon loitering in the back.
  
  Unfortunately, it also means that you can't see what's going on in front either.
  
  Suddenly you hear someone shout   "Get 'em now!"  
  
  Instantly, bursts of gunfire echo from somewhere at the front of the queue. Panicking crowds begin a stampede to get out, and you see a couple of elderly folk get trampled in the process.
  
  
   You get 5 AP for a minor Setback. Describe your actions and make a Reaction Speed Check. 
conversations: JeminiZero:
conversations: human
conversations:  Annihila shoots an agitated glance towards the origin of the voice, her glare looking as though it could melt metal. Wasting no time, she tries to slip into the building, flying as necessary to avoid running into others.
  
   "Make way, coming in to solve the problem!" 
   
   Spoiler: OOC 
  
  Reaction Speed:  (1d20+2)[ 18 ] 
  Persuasion Check hopefully to convince those that hear her to make it easier for her to get by:  (1d20+2)[ 5 ] ; Potentially an additional +4 from those attracted to her and a +2 from appropriate etiquette.
   
conversations: QuadraticGish: