This morning, I started out getting ready as usual, letting Rex out to fly around as he wanted to do, while I got my clothes and everything ready. I loaded up all of the salt that I could carry and store away, and left early to walk my bike to work. I moved a fair amount of salt there, so that I can work on my own projects when I have completed the projects for work. I got there and made my way into my workshop, got an Unseen Crafter working on cleaning firearms that were set up on the bench, and immediately got to work finishing up on the cloaks. The struggles that I had dealt with on the previous day had all been ironed out, and the progress was going along smoothly.
It was after five hours of enchanting, as I was just finishing up with the work on the cloaks, that I decided that I was going to take a look at the lobby, to see if there were other options for the firearms that I could “trade up” from the twenty-two calibers that I was using. When I happened to look in from a one way window , I noticed that there were two of the members of the Warlocks milling about the room while there were other customers about. I quickly went to the cameras outside, and saw that there were another three, just waiting on their bikes. I wondered how smart they actually were, trying to hold up a gun store, but then I realized that they probably weren’t all that smart if they were in a gang anyway. I knew this had the potential to go sideways, so I ducked back from the window to the lobby, and quickly ran to Bob, to let him know that I would be dealing with this promptly, in the safest way I could.
Bob didn’t like it, but he recognized that there was not a lot that we could do in the time it would take for the cops to get here, as it looked like they were gearing up for a robbery at the very least. I told him that I had seen other members of the gang performing robberies in other stores in the area, and stopped them there, so I have a general idea of what I can expect. I asked him to get everyone who wasn’t already in the front office to get to cover. Bob agreed and started sending texts as I went back to my workshop, on camera, and cast Vanish to go invisible, and then used my boots to Dimensional Hop outside the building to rush out to the front of the building. I had eighteen seconds left before I would become visible again, so I knew that I would need to recast Vanish to get into position and be ready.
I quietly cast Prestidigitation to prepare for the rubber bullets and brass collection from only my shots, and then went to my regular preparation. I invoked my Disguise, Verdigris, and cast my Mirror Image, getting only five images. I recast Vanish while I was still invisible, and invoked my Augury ability to ask if it would be better to try to take them out outside the store. The Augury came back “Woe”, for taking the fight outside, which I figured that it was that someone was hit in the crossfire. With twenty-four seconds left of being invisible, I quickly cast Cat’s Grace, Displacement, and Haste.
With just six seconds left of my invisibility, I had seen that there were more normal people leaving and the three more Warlocks going in, so I chose then to pounce. I used a second Dimensional Hop from my boots to get in, and took up a stance to prepare to engage as I took in the scene. The Warlocks, being tweaked from whatever drugs they were hopped up on, were the first to notice the slightly audible pop from me appearing inside the store. I used my Prestidigitation to recreate a second, slightly louder pop ten feet away from me, and away from the last few customers in the storefront. I was in the Stance of Piercing Rays already, and starting my calculated firing plan to take out those who already had, or were pulling firearms.
Using my rifle, ostensibly to have better control of the area, I activated my Searing Break, and dropped the second one from the right, the second farthest away from anyone in the shop, and closest to the door. I continued to the middle one, using the Iron Fang maneuver with my shot, hitting them with a fairly precise attack, before continuing to the one closest to the register. With my last shot fired in this barrage, I swept over to the one closest to the register, and used my Solar Reflection maneuver, managing to hit them, but not drop them. That round bounced and managed to do a fair amount of damage to the one second closest to the register.
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These Warlocks, being more advised of me, than the ones that I had caught at the break-ins, or being more hopped up on drugs, managed to all draw a bead and fire at me. Two of them, the one that was closest to the register, and the one that got hit with the reflected bullet, completely missed me as they panicked, looking around for cover. The one that I had not hit, and the middle one, both managed to get close enough to me that they took out one of my mirror Images each, with those copies of me disintegrating into a fine mist of golden particles before dissolving entirely. Taking my focus to the middle one, one of the two that had destroyed images, I fired off an almost reflexive shot towards the one second closest to the register, dropping him. That left my focus on the middle one, who I managed to drop with a good solid hit. I swiveled back towards the one closest to the register, and activated my last focused maneuver, Horizon Wind Lancet, for my last shot, dropping him tool.
This put the remaining Warlock in a precarious place. Sure, I had not wounded them at all, but I had managed to drop four of his buddies in quick succession, and the only thing that they got out of it was bursting two of the five images around me. I guess that his common sense won out over his drugged bravado, as he took off towards the door and booked it. I quickly worked to tie up all of the knocked out criminals and recover my rubber bullets, before I used Vanish again, Dimensional Hopped out of the room, and quickly changed back to my original form. I quickly attacked my own images, dissipating them before I came out of my workshop, on camera, exclaiming that I was confused about the sounds of gunfire, as that is normally from the firing range.
Jessica, catching on quick, let me know how the hero known as Verdigris had stopped an attempted robbery. I nodded and looked over the thugs on the floor. I asked her if anyone had called the cops, and Bob, who had been standing on the other side of the room, informed me that they were on their way. I asked Bob if he had this under control, and Bob nodded, saying that I could get back to work, and that if I was needed, he would get me. I did as ordered, for the cameras, and went back to my workshop.
I continued with working on the new belt that I had intended on making. With the assistance from my Unseen Crafter, I had the form and function of the belt designed and ready to be constructed by the time that I had a knock at the workshop door. I left the Unseen Crafter working away as I answered the door. It was Bob, and he indicated that the police were interested in talking to me about what I might know about the business with the Warlocks earlier. I left the workshop with the crafter putting the belt together.
I went with Bob to the breakroom where the police officer was waiting for us. Bob left me with the officer, and I sat down for the interview. We started off with a bit of background and pleasantries. After about ten minutes, the police officer tried to subtly shift the conversation, but I picked up on it and was careful for the next ten minutes of conversation. I put my knowledge of the local laws to keep me out of further trouble while I talked about the state of the area and what I expected to have happened, since I wasn’t in the room.
I kept myself safe from some tripping up during the review of the events of the day, keeping them as “safe” and “boring” rather than including unneeded information about enchanting items or other things. I finished up the first hour of this pseudo-interrogation with a bit more pleasantries while the officer made some calls to confirm my information. That was where I made some mistakes, as the officer made some comments that seemed to lead me down a bad road. I tried to pull it back with some more pleasantries, but the officer wasn’t having it. The next ten minutes were spent with the officer trying to get me swept up with different local rules and regulations, and I managed to sidestep or show how I wasn’t responsible for them.
Then I tried to bluff my way into finishing the meeting early, but the cop saw right through it. Finally, when the information about me came back good, the officer seemed a bit let down, and let me know that he was going to keep an eye on me. I accepted that and noted that I would be here whenever he needed to contact me. The officer was surly but left without any other word. I met up with Bob and he asked me how it went.
I gave him a brief rundown and at the end of it, he told me to go ahead and cut out for the day. I gathered up my belt and headed back to the storage unit after picking up a meal for both Rex and I. I had not gotten any messages or word from Clint, so I went to studying while having a bunch of extra castings of Unseen Crafter to all work on the belt, and one specific one to work on reworking the metal from my living metal revolver into a mesh that I can use to work to make something more impressive. I had an idea that tomorrow was going to be a different day.
- Rolled a downtime event of an encounter at work, which landed on attempt at a Protection Racket, rolled for the bad guys, ended up being 5 of the Warlocks for the thieves.
- Ended up with a skill contest check after, modified for the situation, but with the same DC’s and if the event was a failure, he’d have been brought in under suspicion.