Highwaymen RPG Opening Act: My Way or the Highway

[Corenat Rovarnus]

Ronaldo brings Jensine to try and trample the officer before she can regain her footing.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe continues to run towards the officer. He starts swinging his arm like a helicopter while holding on to the sword.

Pepe screams: While you were studying the law, I was studying the blade!

[Xenoe]

Rolling 1d6: 5

Rolling 1d6: 6

---

Ronaldo's horse practically drifts in a physics defying arc around the guard coming to intercept him, and tramples the officer underfoot. Everyone hears the palpable crack of bones.

---

Rolling 1d6: 2

---

From the officer's scrunched up body erupts a soft but noticeable flash of light, she manages to shakily roll into a standing position after the light subsides.

"Drat! She won a divine favor!" grimaced Harry.

---

Rolling 1d6: 5

---

Pepe starts spinning like a helicopter, even though he doesn't quite know what a helicopter is, but hes sure if he keeps at it he will know soon enough.

Eventually he achieves enough momentum to maintain a delicate balance and not fall down, but the speed of his advancement towards the officer can only be described as disappointing.

---

Ruru takes all the powder from the carriage, before sending the horse off in the direction of the reinforcements. After a wobbly hundred or so feet, the horse pulling the carriage collapses from its injuries and the weight of the carriage, causing the carriage to tip over sideways and form a roadblock.

The reinforcements arrive shortly after, but are stopped by the barricade. They start guiding their horses around the barricade on the lightly forested terrain off the main road.

---

Brue's "little buddy" (wink wink nudge nudge) peeks out from his fanny pack, and looks around frantically before climbing into Brue's tunic.

---

From the end of the road opposite of where the enemy reinforcements are coming from, a lone female rider gallops in looking quite disheveled, her red hair as frazzled as a chicken coop.

You recognize it as an ally, Noire O'Brien. She should be with one of the other groups, staking out a separate pathway. Why is she here?

"Boss, boss! Big trouble! We..!"

After she sees the imperial soldiers that you all are fighting with, she goes wide eyed.

[dinasemrys]

Seeing the officer down, Pepe starts running faster in her direction hoping to take her hostage.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

"Two blows, as if from the High Roller himself. Ru must be with me!" Ronaldo sounds the brown note to stall the dragoons while he disarms the officer and takes her hostage.

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru observes the situation around her. In particular she takes a measure of her presence in the situation and attempts to slink away and hide if she feels it is possible to do so.
If it is not possible, she moves to regroup with Harry and the others.

[Kaede]

Taking stock of the situation at hand she draws her pistol and urges her horse to charge the officer restraining Brue, intending to shoot at the man's chest when she gets within range.

[Xenoe]

Rolling 1d6: 4

Rolling 1d6: 2

---

Pepe breaks out of his ULTIMATE TECHNIQUE, and runs normally at the officer who has barely regained her footing, his blubber quivering every step of the way. When he gets close, he attempts to pull off the FLYING BODYPRESS, the signature move of his favorite wrestler, Hork Hulgan.

Instead of flying like his idol, he kinda just falls down, but he manages to down the officer anyways, taking a inert blow to the gut in the process.

"Get off me you cur!" The officer screams, but she is unable to push off Pepe's significant bulk. Harry and Ronaldo quickly comes over to help, and you guys get the officer at gunpoint.

"You've used your chance today, so I'd advise you not move. There's going to be nothing saving you once I put a bloody crater into your head," says Harry.

The officer goes silent.

"Nobody move! Or else I'll send her to meet the maker!"

---

Ronaldo whistles at a particular frequency that causes the nearby guard, and the incoming dragoons' horses to rear up in panic. The soldiers are fine riders, and manage to keep on their saddles, but regaining control of their steeds takes a good bit of time. Ronaldo's own steed shakes her head in annoyance, but has grown accustomed enough to the noise that it doesn't affect her as much.

After blowing his brown note, Ronaldo finds that Pepe has already tackled the officer to the ground, and so he and the incoming Harry help Pepe up, and hold the officer at gunpoint.

---

Ruru takes advantage of the chaos and runs off road. She manages to lower herself behind a tall bush and observe the situation.

---

Noire decides that the news of her group getting attacked should come after the safety of the people here, and rides to save Brue.

Unfortunately, Ronaldo sounds his brown note at this moment, and Noire loses control of her horse. She manages to stay seated, but is struggling to regain control.

[Kaede]

She tries to use her training with horses to calm her horse down, creating a scrunch with the reins and pulling it to prevent the animal from bucking.

[Xenoe]

---

In the meantime, Sherry has managed to knock out the musketeer she was wrestling with a choke hold. She regroups with the rest of the gang with the musketeer's limp body in tow.

The party manages to form a defensive circle around the two members that were knocked out earlier, and when the many horsemen regain control of their steeds, a natural divide is formed between the imperial soldiers and your band of highwaymen, with them having one hostage, Brue, and you guys having three, two musketeers and the female officer.

You're outnumbered and outgunned, but you have confidence that the soldiers won't attack due to the numerous hostages that you are holding.

The first to speak is Harry.

"Return our friend, let us go, and we will let your comrades keep their lives."

The soldiers look at one another, and then at the female officer. It seems that their highest decision maker is in your hands at the current moment.

"Ha, you're a tenacious lot, I'll give you that," finally says the officer, "I didn't expect you to put up the fight that you did, but I guess it makes my job here all the more worthwhile."

Harry presses the barrel of his pistol harder against the officer's head.

"Don't give me mere pleasantries, command your men to do as I say or else."

"Or else what? Even if I let YOU go right now, your band of thieves are practically finished," the officer sneers, "just ask that little Missy over there."

Harry gives Noire a questioning look, and she tells him about how the squad that she was with was captured by imperial soldiers. She was the only one able to escape to deliver the message. Harry goes silent for a moment to collect his thoughts.

"...Looks like I'll need to hold you hostage a little longer madam, to random my friends back" says Harry, "tell your men to back off, or I'll start by killing one of your juniors over here."

"No need to be so complicated, there is presently an opportunity for you to get your little friends back, and your crimes pardoned," says the officer.

Harry is dumbfound at the officer's words.

"What?"

"In fact that is probably the main reason I am here, to recruit you and your band for the empire's use. Attempting to apprehend you was just in an effort to get more leverage."

"...Be more clear."

"I am Captain Jorna of the Empire's Hand, and by the orders of our leader we require a group of men to perform some relatively unsavory tasks that ordinary mercenaries cannot. If you submit to the empire's rule now, every member of your band will be pardoned of their crimes, and you will be contracted to the service of the Empire's Hand for five years, after which you will be free men."

Harry wears a conflicted expression on his face.

"I need to ask my men what they think."

Harry motions for everyone(except Brue, since hes still a hostage) to get closer, and tells you what had just transpired.

[Kaede]

"I know I'm new but I gotta ask, why do you think we should trust them? Where I'm from there is a saying: 'Don't tell customers more than they need to know.'"

[dinasemrys]

Pepe: "I ruv dis country. Gotta keep out dem immigrants. Let's work for govirrrnent"

[SilkScarf]

Brue listens in to what the soliders are saying on his side of the divide, hoping to glean some information.

[The Lord Kelvin]

From her hiding spot behind the guards (ooc: I've confirmed this to be the case with our GM and savior)
Ruru observes the guard's actions and looks for any openings to potentially rescue Brue.
She also attempts to listen in on the guards' conversation if she can hear them clearly enough.

[Corenat Rovarnus]

"So that's it huh? We're some kinda...suicide squad?" Ronaldo shakes his head in a homage to the Fresh Prince. "If'n we turn it down though, we gotta deal with all these rubes in front of us right now. I'm all for this deal."

"Oi, lady captain. Who's your leader?" Ronny calls out. "Or, let me guess- that's classified."

[Xenoe]

"Look, the very fact that I'm using a blunt weapon, and didn't aim for your buddies' heads should hint that I did not intend to outright kill any of you."

---

"Well, if you want to put it that way I suppose you can, but the empire isn't at war right now, so it can't be THAT dangerous, right?" says the officer.

"And yes, that information is classified. If you manage to successfully complete missions, maybe eventually you'll have a chance to become official members of the Hand. At that point, you'll know who our leader is."

---

The soldiers are standing alert, staring the other side down. Brue and Ruru both perk up their ears for juicy gossip, only to be disappointed with silence. The only people talking right now are the people in the highwaymen gang.

[Kaede]

"Yet you don't deny there are things about this you aren't telling us... I personally think this is a terrible idea, But something tells me that we don't actually have a choice on this matter, so let's do this."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru emerges from her hiding spot, making lots of noise and walks straight towards the guards.

[Xenoe]

Ruru steps out from behind her comfy bush, and audaciously walks towards the soldiers.

The soldiers notice her footsteps, and three turn around, pointing their muskets at her.

"Halt, any closer and your life will be forfeit!"

---

(ooc: well you do have a choice, but it becomes revolution rpg instead of highwaymen rpg)

Joe: Man, I don't trust the government. Even if you guys wanna go take the deal leave me out.

Jorna: Anyone who doesn't accept, or breaks away from the group will have their arrest warrant upgraded to kill on sight.

Joe: Well, shit.

Harry: If most of us are in agreement, I tentatively say that we have a deal Captain Jorna. I'll release your subordinates, but I still don't completely trust you, however, so you're coming with us until our friends are released.

Jorna: That's fine by me.

Captain Jorna motions towards her men.

Jorna: Sergeant, release the boy and let the girl through.

Sergeant: But madam!

Jorna: Don't mind me. Treat Gorg's wounds, and tell command that we have reached an accord. We will have an exchange of hostages at the predetermined location, this is an order.

Sergeant: Yes, madam.

The soldiers hitch two of their horses up to the carriage, and put the wounded guardsman in it. They leave.

You guys blindfold the Captain and bring her back to your secret base in the mountains. It is as Noire said, the ten men staking the other road are missing.

The Captain tells you that the location of the official deal signing and hostage exchange is at the ruined chapel on the Cair riverside the day after tomorrow.

After imprisoning the Captain in one of your more secure rooms, Harry holds a meeting with the whole gang on your next course of action.

Harry: I agreed to proceed with the deal, but that was to get us out of the bind we were in. Now that we have everyone here, I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts on the matter.

[dinasemrys]

Pepe - "Do we get dem welfare checks from deal? No worth otherwise."

[The Lord Kelvin]

"I say we do the hostages exchange as they'd like and start a revolution against this backwards society after we've regained our friends. Then we will be the ones who hand out the welfare checks."

[Kaede]

She slumps in a chair trying to straighten her hair out from the excitement from earlier. "She's not telling the whole truth to us that's for sure, but anything worth doing is worth doing for money. I say we take the deal, but get whatever your country's version of a letter of marque as well that way you can continue doing what you do legally and we can make a profit as well. Mabe in a year we can see if we can hitch a ride from one of my families trading ships and go free."

[The Lord Kelvin]

What we do shouldn't be illegal in the first place.
They're just abusing the system!

[Kaede]

"Thieving is illegal no matter where you go. With the letter we can rob all we want as long as we don't go after targets of our own country."

[The Lord Kelvin]

Ruru sighs.
"It's illegal everywhere... but it shouldn't be. It's honest hard work! unlike the activities that actually get you money in society."

[SilkScarf]

"Hey now, just one second. Don't tell me you guys are going to start robbing the common folk of Fukyutu as well? I'd be fine with stealing from the oppressors, but your average man is just trying to feed his family."

****

Continued in the new thread, due to forum display issues. These threads will be merged together when the issue is resolved.

[Kaede]

She gives a look to ruru that says you cant be serious, before turning her attention to Brue "I'm only offering my suggestion on what to do, got any ideas?"

---

(for some reason I can't see my post, so I'll post again just in case)

She gives a look to ruru that says you cant be serious, before turning her attention to Brue "I'm only offering my suggestion on what to do, got any ideas?"

[The Lord Kelvin]

"In this nation, your average man is just throwing everything they have at a delusion. Sooner or later they'll forget their original motivation. They'll lose everything eventually. What difference does it make if it's taken by those at the top or by us?"

---

"In this nation, your average man is just throwing what he's got at a delusion. Eventually they'll lose sight of their original motivation. What difference does it make whether everything they have is taken by the system or by us?"

[SilkScarf]

Testing Testing

[SilkScarf]

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