Episode 11: Martyrs & Mayhem

**Episode 11: Martyrs & Mayhem** (C1E11) is the eleventh episode of the first campaign of The Table is Yours: A Role-playing Adventure Show. The Faded Fates rush out of the Tenth Precinct to avoid Serafima's people and continue their search for more information on Vorano's plan...

## Synopsis

### Terrance Makes a Fortunate Mistake

Before everyone turns in for the night, Codex stops by Wash’s room. She knocks on the door and a tired-looking Wash opens it. Codex seems a bit nervous as she asks if they can start her reading lessons. He invites her in and the two start to go through the alphabet. They don’t get very far, given how tired they are, but Codex leaves feeling satisfied that Wash is following through with his promise.

The next morning, Maude reports to The Faded Fates that Shae still isn’t well enough to join them on their trip to the Third. On the carriage ride to the Third, they discuss what their actual plan is and decide that low-level reconnaissance is where they will start, maybe just sniffing around the Aurel Envoy office to see if anything seems unusual. Once they arrive, Codex leads the party towards her old office. As they get closer, Terrance realizes that this path seems familiar; it is at this moment he realizes why Phoebe was giving him a strange look … It is because they had met before in the Aurel Envoy office. He pauses for a moment in the street and confesses his mistake to the group. Terrance explains that he was acting weird the last time he saw her, and she probably just remembered him from that interaction, but because he forgot about it he thought it was suspicious. Codex reassures him and says that even if that is the case, Phoebe is still giving off “bad vibes” and they may as well look into it. Plus, she was at the gala, so there may be some information to garner from that. The rest of the group agrees, and this is their only lead after all. So they continue on their path, and Codex tells them that she can get them into the office from the employee side because she still has her badge.

They enter the Aurel Envoy office through a side door that leads into a mailroom. Codex walks in with confidence and tells the rest of the party to wait in the mailroom while she speaks with the person behind the desk. As she opens the door, she sees Phoebe standing on the other side. Codex quickly shuts the door behind her leaving the rest of the group clueless. Phoebe asks what Codex is doing there, especially after everything that happened at the gala. Codex starts to ramble into a lie about how The Faded Fates were framed and didn’t cause a stir at the gala, but Phoebe cuts her off and says she doesn’t need to lie. The attendees of the gala were held for questioning, so she has an idea of what is going on. Phoebe explains she just doesn’t understand why Codex is there now. Codex rambles again about how the group is unsure of Phoebe and wants to make sure she isn’t involved with anything that they are looking into. A slightly insulted Phoebe responds that she isn’t involved in any of that, but she does know that they met with someone named Suum in The Wilds. Codex is caught off guard, but Phoebe confesses she is originally from The Wilds and knows Suum through a group she is involved with, but she stops there.

Meanwhile, in the other room, One decides to rummage through some packages while Terrance and Wash step outside to let things play out. Isa has the brilliant idea to go to a shop to buy something to mail to her family as an excuse to go into the office as a patron. One has a similar idea once she realizes that looking at people’s mail is offering no intel. All of these hijinks reconvene around the same time as the party trickles into the front of the office, one by one. After Terrance and Wash step in to avoid the eyes of some guards, the party is united once more. Phoebe looks at all of them with frustration and asks Codex to explain if they are there to kill her or not. Codex tells the rest of the group that Phoebe knows Suum, so she is probably alright, and Terrance chimes in to ask everyone to focus their intentions on one thing.

Eventually, once everything calms down, they ask if she had seen anyone that looked like Vorano or Balthazar in this area. Phoebe says she saw two people matching those descriptions, along with the man who was arrested at the gala, walking down an alley towards a shady dive bar (The June Box). She also mentions that she works at offices in the First, Third, Tenth, and Eleventh precincts, and for some reason, she had seen Balthazar more often than she liked. She shivers as she tells them that whenever he is around, she feels like she is being watched from all sides, and he makes her very nervous. Isa asks her why she travels so much, and Phoebe explains that it is for the same reason she knows Suum. She reveals to them she was born in The Wilds and that she is a part of a group called The Martyrs of Ponteugh. They aren’t the biggest fans of The Burg because of something that happened a long time ago that ruined the thriving life that existed in the Wilds. The Martyrs believe corruption runs deep in the city and want to find a way to either fix it or destroy it, whichever comes first. Codex hops over the front desk, thanks Phoebe for her trust, and apologizes for telling her she had “bad vibes”. Terrance chimes in and says if they find anything to help her cause, they will let her know. She nods in acknowledgement and politely, but sternly, asks them to please leave her place of business. Before they head out, One turns back and asks if Phoebe had ever interacted with a Lady Brysee. Phoebe says no but she will make a note of that name. Feeling accomplished and embarrassed, the group finally leaves the Aurel Envoy office.

### The Saori Family

With everyone at a loss of where to go next, Codex suggests visiting her father. He had been in prison about ten years ago, and Vorano had been around a while… Not having any other ideas, the group agrees. They make their way into a fairly residential district, with shops every couple of blocks, until they reach her father’s store Kirik’s K’nick K’nacks. It is basically a warehouse for construction materials, but Codex explains that she and her brother, Dogma, were allowed to help name it, and their dad couldn’t say “no” to them. Wash asks Codex why her father was imprisoned: Kirik owns a business, he is a father… Wash doesn’t get it. Codex tells him her dad was caught selling and detonating illegal explosives, which in her opinion, and everyone else’s, is a pretty cool reason to go to jail.

Codex leads the way as they walk through the hustle and bustle of her father’s construction shop and eventually calls out to a bald, gnomish man conducting the chaos around him. He catches her eye with surprise, not expecting to see his daughter. She runs up and gives him a quick hug, asking if he can speak with her and her new adventuring party. He agrees and takes them up some stairs to an office that overlooks the work floor. As soon as the door closes, Codex explains more of the situation than Kirik needed to know, to the (somewhat) shock of the group, and he tells her to slow down and asks why they came to him. She asks if he recognizes the name “Vorano”. He doesn’t, but when One offers a description, he tells them that Dogma had been seeing someone that meets that description, waiting outside of his classrooms with some beefy-looking thugs. Kirik isn’t sure if they are looking for Dogma specifically, but seeing as his sister is investigating the guy, it may be connected. Suddenly, Dogma comes crashing through the shop’s doors, screaming that he is being followed by a bunch of scary thugs. The Faded Fates decide they need to fight these guys. Codex looks to her brother for help, but as she does, he is already ushering her out the door, reassuring her that she can do it! Kirik also chimes in from inside his office to say they should take it outside so as to not damage his shop. Codex sighs and mutters something about her brother being a coward, and the squad makes their way to the front of Kirik’s K’nick K’nacks to prepare for the inevitable fight.

Eventually a gaggle of Vorano’s goons saunter up to the shop. Their leader, Scar, is someone Terrance knows from his time working for Vorano. He is tough; Terrance had experimented on him multiple times, and he always survived and destroyed the person he was put up against. All of the men in front of the party are hulked out by some bastardization of Terrance’s serum, but Scar is able to speak clearly and leads the other men to do his bidding. It doesn’t take long for the fight to start as everyone immediately charges Scar, as he is the biggest threat. Wash tries to grapple him, Terrance chugs a serum to get on his level, One and Codex take a step back to fire at the lackeys, and Isa swings with her greataxe. One takes down one of the lackeys, and another lackey bites his lip and disappears. The Fates thought they were retreating, but then Scar calls out to his men, and they all bite down on their lips. The party watches as a blue ooze comes from their mouth, and they all disappear.

One and Codex notice that the men didn’t disappear, but rather turned into a pile of blood and viscera akin to the substance they found in The Gray Grove. The viscera inches towards Scar and, as one reaches him, they notice it revitalizes his body. At the same time, as Scar heals himself, the rest of the party are slashing, punching, kicking at him. Wash has him by the head, but Scar picks him up and throws him across the yard. v2 manages to do some significant damage, but Scar picks him up, too, and chucks him right at One. She holds up her shield to protect herself, but as v2 hits the shield, he breaks in half with a metallic clang. With a few swift blows, Scar knocks out Terry, who reverts back to his original, small form (Terrance). Isa continues swinging her axe at Scar as he cracks her in the face and knocks her backwards.  Codex tries to get in there to help her friends, but she gets picked up and thrown, too. As a response, she casts a spell, causing that pink glimmer to appear around her again. Suddenly, she speaks with a voice that isn’t her own. She tries to use Scar’s voice to redirect the blood and guts that were once the rest of his men, but they are still hard to see, so she isn’t sure if it is working. At this point, everyone who is a threat to Scar is either unconscious or out of range. He stands over Terrance’s unconscious body, with a foot on his chest, and presses down, cracking a few ribs. He leans over, grabs some of Terrance’s serums from the belt, and pours two down his throat.