Startling Secrets and Ominous Voices
about 3 years ago – Mon, Apr 05, 2021 at 01:16:27 AM

Everyone had heard the rumors, but nothing had been confirmed. Death rays and rocket packs, lightning throwers and buzzsaw blades. An entire arsenal of confiscated weirdness was said to be held by a secret agency. I didn't know who or where, but I knew the what - danger, with a capital D.

I was on the trail, but my only lead had come from an ominous voice on the other end of a midnight call. I didn't know if I'd just been pointed in the right direction or spun off on a wild goose chase. Only one way to find out.

OK, we've bumped up our Stretch Goal companions with another section each. Let's keep at it! And, maybe sneak in some digital delights as well. Let's get some Adventure artwork on our screens, for one thing.

And then, if you're like me, you've likely played online more over the past year than in any year previous. Every little bit of help I can get is appreciated, so let's look at some VTT tokens to help bring the 1930s alive in the digital age.

At $83,000 in funding – Digital Wallpaper – Dress up your monitor with a pulp action scene from Trinity Continuum: Adventure!, which will be added to the rewards list for all backers.

At $85,000 in funding – The Adventure! Addendum – Startling Secrets of The Ninth Circle! – A directory for Branch 9's collection of the most dangerous and strange telluric energy weapons will be added to the Trinity Continuum: Adventure! Companion PDF.

At $87,000 in funding – VTT Token Pack – Digital assets will be created to support online play for Trinity Continuum: Adventure!, including key character and antagonist tokens from the book. This online asset pack will be added to the rewards list of all backers.

At $90,000 in funding – Thrilling Tales! – An Ominous Voice! – Another scenario will be developed for the Thrilling Tales supplemental PDF, allowing you to play through a chapter from the Tales of the Æon Society audio adventure!

Keep up the great work! And let's see if we can break open Branch 9's secret vault!

#TrinityContinuumAdventure

Story Paths!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Apr 03, 2021 at 09:46:22 PM

Hello Continuum Community,

Another sneak peek at our next manuscript preview section. A good portion of the upcoming preview is all about allegiances and organizations that your character can belong to, but we also get the basics of character creation.

Today, we'll get a quick look at a key element in the Storypath system - Paths! It's right there in the name!

Paths

In addition to the Paths included in the Trinity Continuum Core (p. 41), there are several new options for players to choose.

Origin Paths

The following are new Origin Paths appropriate for games set in the 1930s.

Field Researcher

One or likely both of your parents were traveling academics who spent a lot of time out in the field, performing hands-on research of one kind or another. As a result, you grew up in a curious mix of field camps in distant lands and chalk dusted classrooms of prestigious institutions, and are equally at home lighting a fire in the wilderness as you are debating the finer points of obscure theory in a lecture hall. Even if you didn’t choose to follow in their footsteps, being around so many cultures and being exposed to so many ideas has given you a cosmopolitan view of the world, not to mention a set of skills well suited for exploration and discovery.

•  Example Connections: Academics, Foreign Friends, Grad Students, Librarians, Travel Guides 
•  Skills: Culture, Enigmas, Humanities or Science, Survival 
•  Edges: Direction Sense, Fame, Hardy, Library, Patron, Polyglot, Speed Reading 
•  Daredevil Gift Keywords: Attribute (Intellect), Skill (Enigmas, Humanities) 

Occultist

You were raised in an active cult or secret society, likely learning its mysteries from an early age. You should decide what the cult was called and what they believed in — a peaceful society dedicated to utopian meditation is very different than a blood cult that makes sacrifices every new moon! Perhaps your family pretended to be like everyone else while serving the order in secret, or maybe you grew up openly following the society’s ways in an insular community of like-minded believers. Regardless, you grew up learning very different “truths” about the world, the universe, and the true order of things than most people did, and even if you’ve left the cult behind it has left its mark on you.

•  Example Connections: Cult Members, Fringe Theorists, Strange Hermits 
•  Skills: Enigmas, Humanities, Integrity, Science 
•  Edges: Alternate Identity, Covert, Danger Sense, Iron Will, Library, Polyglot, Safe House, Useful Esoterica 
•  Daredevil Gift Keywords: Attribute (Composure), Skill (Enigmas, Integrity) 

Role Paths

The following are new Role Paths appropriate for games set in the 1930s.

Fixer

Your passport has more stamps than a post office, and that’s just the way you like it. You’re a true citizen of the world, equally at home on the dusty streets of Cairo as the salons of Paris or the back alleys of Shanghai. More importantly, all that travel means you have a knack for knowing just where to go and who to talk to get most anything you need, from a sea plane to a seasoned guide to a sommelier with the perfect bottle at the ready. If it wasn’t for you, instead of going on wild adventures your group would probably still be standing around with their luggage on the tarmac somewhere, accumulating mosquito bites and wondering where they’ll spend the night. Fortunately, you’ll never let that happen — you have a reputation to maintain, after all.

•  Example Connections: Bent Cops, Black Marketeers, Crooked Customs Agents, Local Guides 
•  Skills: Culture, Larceny, Persuasion, Survival 
•  Edges: Alternate Identity, Danger Sense, Direction Sense, Ms. Fix It, Polyglot, Safe House, Skilled Liar, Wealth 
•  Daredevil Gift Keywords: Attribute (Stamina), Skill (Larceny, Survival) 

Mastermind

For some people, plans are a necessary evil, a boring chore they must complete before they get down to business. For you, though, plans are a joy in their own right; you love working through elaborate scenarios in your head, and you’ve got a knack for coming up with effective solutions. Whether you prefer building solutions or building social networks to achieve your goals is a matter of taste, but you always find a way to make things happen. You don’t have to be the big boss, exactly, though chances are you’ve prepared for just such a contingency if it happens. You just need to be in a position where people will listen up when you tell them how it’s going to go down. Nothing pains you more than “winging it” when you could take a minute to do things right, just as nothing feels better than when a plan is executed to perfection.

•  Example Connections: Favorite Consultants, Minions, Researchers, Unwitting Pawns 
•  Skills: Command, Empathy, Enigmas, Technology 
•  Edges: Alternate Identity, Always Prepared, Library, Lightning Calculator, Outsized Personality, Photographic Memory, Small Unit Tactics, Weak Spots 
•  Daredevil Gift Keywords: Attribute (Intellect), Skill (Command, Enigmas) 

Society Paths

The following are the Society Paths for Adventure!.while some of these Allegiances are present in the Trinity Continuum Core, use these Path write-ups for creating Adventure! characters.

Æon Society

Although there are plenty of private clubs for explorers, inventors, and scientifically-minded individuals, for sheer spirit and ingenuity none quite compare to the Æon Society. Dedicated to pushing the boundaries of human knowledge in pursuit of a better future for all, the society prides itself on bringing hope to the world — even if the population at large doesn’t always know who its benefactors are. You are a member in good standing, which gives you access to chapter houses in London, New York, and Chicago, as well as an extensive social network of fellow members most anywhere you go. Many are famous figures in their own right and luminaries in their fields, but all are treated equally in the ranks of the society.

•  Example Connections: Academics, Inventors, Wealthy Patrons 
•  Skills: Culture, Humanities, Science, Technology 
•  Edges: Adrenaline Spike, Big Hearted, Library, Patron, Safe House, Wealth 
•  Daredevil Gift Keywords: Skill (Culture, Humanities, Technology) 

This is just a quick selection of the new paths offered in Trinity Continuum: Adventure! Backers will see the full preview on Tuesday, when we post the preview manuscript. Join in if you haven't already - backers will be able to read the entirety of the current draft before the campaign ends!

#TrinityContinuumAdventure

#Storypath

King of the World III - The Mysterious Max Mercer!
about 3 years ago – Sat, Apr 03, 2021 at 08:08:06 AM

King of the World, an Æon Society Adventure

Transcribed by Eddy Webb from the journals of Cian Hayden, published posthumously.

III: The Mysterious Max Mercer!

THE CHRYSLER BUILDING was the world’s tallest building. Until 1931, that was, when the Empire State Building took the crown. But that’s New York for you — as soon as someone in town broke a record, someone else had to break it better. Despite its new standing as second-best, the building still looked impressive, a monolith of Art Deco design stabbing the morning sky.

I slid out of the cab and held the door while Lucy tossed a couple of bills at the driver. Her dress was torn and stained from the night’s exertions, but she managed to reclaim her shoes and covered the ruined dress with a long, dark coat. It wasn’t fancy — Lucy wasn’t the kind of person who went for mink — but it was waterproof and durable, which she often found far more useful. As I slammed the cab door, the cabbie stuck his head out of his window.

“Hey, your woman short-changed me here!”

“The meter said a buck ninety, and you got two bucks,” I yelled back. “Take it or leave it.”

“I’ll leave you both on the sidewalk next time you bums need a ride!” The cab suddenly sped off, leaving me with nothing but exhaust fumes to deal with my frustration.

Lucy chuckled. “Leave him be, Cian. We have more important business to attend to.” With that she pulled out a key from her pocket and unlocked the glass doors. I heard the steady tick tick tick of her heels on the marble floor as we crossed to the elevator in the back.

The doors opened with a soft ping and I saw Charlie the elevator operator carefully stand up from his folding chair inside. “Morning, Miss Hebron,” he said, giving a small bow. His curly snow-white hair contrasted with his umber-black skin and the rich blue and golds of his uniform. He looked like a decrepit old man, but I knew better. His infirmity wasn’t from age, but due to an injury he sustained several years ago while on a mission. “All the way to the top today?”

Lucy gave Charlie a smile. “Good morning, Charles. Yes, please. I have something Mr. Mercer will want to hear.” He gave a quick nod to her and pulled the lever. Charlie never said “hi” to me, but that’s okay. I knew once Lucy walked into a room, all eyes were on her, for good or for ill.

We waited in silence as the arrow slowly slid to the right, pointing at the top floor. Then Charlie twisted the handle on the lever, and the elevator shuttered, going up one more floor before finally stopping. The door slid open to what looked like a gentlemen’s study. Thick velvet curtains were closed over the windows, so that the only light in the room was a couple of small lamps with stain-glass shades sitting on rosewood tables. Near the tables were several padded leather chairs, worn shiny from years of sitting. The walls were in shadow, but I could just about see the long bookshelves built into them covered in a wide variety of books, journals, and reams of paper tied together with ribbon. Above the shelves I knew there were paintings of the founding members of the group that operated out of this room, but I couldn’t see them in the early morning murkiness.

“Top floor, the Æon Society,” Charlie said. But he didn’t need to. We all knew. Even though Charlie was permanently injured working for them, he still had the same pride we all did working for Maxwell Anderson Mercer.

Lucy put a couple of coins in Charlie’s hand and strode into the room. She sat down heavily in one of the padded chairs and opened the nickel-plated cigarette box sitting on the table next to it. She pulled one out and put it to her lips, and I took one of my matches and lit it for her. She smiled a little in thanks before inhaling deeply and blowing a lungful of smoke into the air.

“Please don’t smoke in the study,” said a voice from the darkness. “Besides, they’ll make all this smoke-free before you know it, so better to get into the habit now. I thought the protégé of Sherlock Holmes would know better.”

Lucy inhaled again, letting the smoke escape from her lips. “And yet I’m still doing it.”

“Presumably just to annoy me,” the voice said.

She smiled at that. “Presumably.”

Max Mercer chuckled and stepped into the room. He was of average height, maybe a couple of inches taller than me, but he was one of those people that you remember being tall after you talk with them. He wore a dark blue suit with pinstripes, and his matching tie was carefully done in a Windsor knot. His thin black hair was slicked back, leaving only a widow’s peak in the center of his forehead. He stroked his thin moustache and reached out to take Lucy’s hand — not to kiss it, but in a firm handshake. Her dark skin contrasted with Max’s, making me think of Charlie again.

“Glad you made it through okay,” he said before taking a seat next to her.

“You sound surprised,” she said, letting go of his hand. “I thought you knew everything?”

“You’re still sore about the radio show contract.”

She waved the hand with the cigarette dismissively. “Not really. I’m still not happy they decided to call me ‘Lucky Lucy,’ but it is what it is. You said the contracts were fine, but I should have known that even the great Maxwell Mercer can’t see the future.”

He chuckled and waved me over to a chair. “Stop hovering, Cian. You might only be a junior member of the society, but you are a member just the same.”

I moved a chair closer so I could see the two of them and pulled out my notebook. Lucy launched right into the matter. “I lost the carbuncle,” she said plainly.

Max frowned. “Disappointing, but not unforeseen.” he said. “The Black Carbuncle is vital to upcoming events and can’t fall into the wrong hands.”

“So you keep saying. And yet, I still don’t know why it’s so important.”

“Can’t you deduce it?” Max said. His tone was light, as if joking, but he wasn’t smiling.

Lucy sighed. “Aside from the fact that the jewel was cut three different times, each time reducing its size slightly as new cuts became fashionable, and the fact that it’s not a garnet as we typically understand them, I know very little.” She took another drag on her cigarette. “And please, don’t give me any of that occult nonsense about it having a significant connection to spiritualism.”

“Then I won’t,” he said. “Who has the gem now?”

“Someone called the King of the World,” I said. “Whoever that is.”

“The kingpin of kingpins,” Max said automatically. “One of the most powerful criminals in the West. One might consider him to be…”

“Don’t,” Lucy warned.

“… the Napoleon of crime,” Max finished, ignoring her warning with a grin.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “The King of the World is not James Moriarty, nor any of his kin, nor that of his two brothers. We’ve gone over this, Max. My investigation into the King of the World has turned up little, but I know at least that much.”

“Then let me give you something new to work with,” he said, and pulled a thin envelope from his jacket, handing it to Lucy. “It’s not much, but I do have attendance list for the theater last night. There are a couple of names on there you might find interesting.”

To be continued...

Preview: The Æon Society
about 3 years ago – Fri, Apr 02, 2021 at 08:59:47 AM

Hello Continuum Community!

We've just completed our first week of this 4-week campaign, and we're currently sitting at 219% of our funding target, with 1,220 backers and 7 Stretch Goal achievements.

That's right - yesterday, we unlocked our latest goal, expanding our Companion PDF with a section containing rules and advice for creating non-human characters.

Let's pause for a moment to enjoy our success, perhaps while we sneak a peek at our next manuscript preview...

Allegiances

Allegiances in Trinity Continuum: Adventure! are organizations that gather the Inspired and their allies to achieve common goals. Some of these organizations are founded on heroic or philanthropic principles as they seek to use Inspired Gifts to make the world a better place. Others focus their attention on gathering knowledge through research, exploration, or archaeological study. And others lean more toward thrill–seeking for its own sake, seeing any benefit to society as a pleasant side effect rather than a raison d'être. Naturally, as Inspiration does not imbue the recipient with any sort of moral compass or social conscience, some of these groups exist to execute nefarious agendas driven by the greed or megalomania of their leadership. It is also important to note that few of these organizations predate the Hammersmith experiment. Most of the groups described in this chapter are newly formed and still determining their collective identity. As such, it is quite possible that the player characters are among the founding members of their chosen organization.

The Æon Society

Motto: Hope, Sacrifice, Unity

History

Founded in Chicago in June 1923 by Maxwell Anderson Mercer, Michael Damien Donighal, and Whitley Styles, the Æon Society for Gentlemen formed to pursue the strange and seek out answers to the question, “Why?” Its members strive to explain the inexplicable and explore uncharted territories, all in the name of doing good and sharing the knowledge they gain from their adventures with the world. While Max and Whitley remain with the organization, Michael has restyled himself Doctor Primoris, and has stepped away, though he does lend his aid to them from time to time.

Helen Perkins — a black journalist covering Calvin Hammersmith’s ill-fated demonstration — reached out to Mercer in the early days of the Society’s founding, and was instrumental in shaping how the organization reaches out to potential members, including whoit reaches out to. Other founding members include pilot Jake “Danger Ace” Stefokowski; renowned explorer “Safari” Jack Tallon; sharpshooter Annabelle Lee Newfield, aka “Crackshot”; and former assistant to Dr. Hammersmith, Benjamin Franklin Dixon. Sara Kaur, Hammersmith’s secretary, hasn’t officially affiliated herself with the Æon Society, though she is often in touch with its members and is always welcome at its chapter houses.

Though the Æon Society was originally a “Gentleman’s Club,” that part of its name was dropped before the decade was out. Mercer had seen the future — not only of his own organization, but of the very world — and wanted the group to be welcoming to any and all who shared the Society’s values.

During their adventures, Æon Society members have encountered strange beings: from aliens and the undead to creatures from prehistory. They’ve made enemies of evil-doers, and fought in battles that grab both headlines and the public’s imagination. Their inventors’ wondrous gadgets are the talk of cocktail parties, salons, and university lectures. All this attention has caused some members to question the Society’s policy of staying uninvolved and monitoring global situations from afar.

Mercer seems to have heard these concerns. He’s begun steering the Æon Society away from the loosely-structured social club of its origins towards more of an official organization — one with stated goals and sanctioned missions. Becoming a multinational organization requires funding, time, and connections, which Mercer has in abundance. However, some of the Society’s leadership disagrees with his methodology, causing some friction in the ranks.

Recruitment

The Æon Society seeks out the best and brightest, those who’ve laughed at the idea of having limits and blown right on past them. It’s this drive for excellence and recognition of one’s own potential that attracts the Society’s attention. It gathers up geniuses, adventurers, inventors and innovators, and often those who make a splash in the newsreels. However, many others are artists and thinkers — people whose accomplishments don’t get much front-page coverage, but whose new ideas and breakthroughs will influence music, philosophy, and science for decades to come.

Recruitment comes via personal invitation: a visit from a member and an offer to stop by a chapter house to meet other achievers. Members extoll the benefits of joining the Society to their recruits — access, funding, mentorship — but often they don’t even have to start that speech. Spending an evening hobnobbing with some of the era’s greatest minds is often sales pitch enough.

Though being Inspired isn’t a requirement for joining the Æon Society, a high proportion of its members are. This is partly due to Æon Society daredevils’ feats capturing the public’s admiration. Mercer also sends Inspired members to meet those who are just discovering their own abilities, and to offer them the guidance and resources the Æon Society can provide.

Organization and Structure

The Æon Society began with two chapterhouses: its original home in Chicago and a branch in New York. In the decade since its founding, it has expanded to dozens of locations, including several overseas, with more on the way. Members can now gather in London, Paris, Manila, and Cairo as well as many different areas in the United States.

Max Mercer remains the head of the Society, sending teams on missions and keeping up to date on their briefings. While no other official hierarchy exists, members tend to defer to the founders on decisions that would affect the Æon Society as a whole. If the Ponatowski Foundation is up to no good (which they always are), Whitley Styles expects a report on his desk first thing.

Most day-to-day decisions and plans are made socially, over discussion at a chapterhouse or when a member of the Society puts out a call for help. Members share research and discuss theories, and that collaboration may spark a trip to the lab or a trip into the field to observe unexplained phenomena. Every member, no matter how new or inexperienced, has the power to reach out to others.

Chapters host official meetings, though their frequency depends on the number of local members. Many meet monthly, but more remote locations elect to hold their meetings whenever enough members are in town, or if someone hasn’t checked in for a while. Æon Society chapterhouses are always open to members. The potential for intriguing discussions and exciting plans virtually guarantees that people drop in when they’re in town.

Members also mingle outside of the chapterhouse, whether at charity events, academic talks, or various fundraisers. These gatherings are also where they make introductions and members keep an eye out for potential new recruits.

The Society functions by using strategic teams to enact missions. Most teams are put together on the fly, but certain actions have gained team designations. The Triton team is always comprised of researchers and specialists, while the Neptune team is always comprised of first responders.

Goals and Methods

The Æon Society seeks to help all of humanity reach its fullest potential. They aim to get rid of anything or anyone standing in the way of that lofty goal, whether that’s defeating evil-doers or dismantling the barriers that prevent people from achieving their ambitions. The Æon Society isn’t likely to solve systemic racism in the next few decades — many of its members benefit from it whether they realize it or not, while others encounter it in their daily lives. However, the kernel of awareness is there, for those willing to examine their own privilege, to listen to members’ lived experiences, and to work with them on a path forward.

In the field, the members’ mandate is to conduct their research and exploration in a neutral manner: don’t cause a disturbance; observe but don’t get involved; learn but don’t judge. It’s easy to hold to these in the abstract, but when confronted with an angry dinosaur, sometimes you have to fight for your life. Likewise, when members come across an entity — human or not — doing harm, that mandate goes right out the window.

Teams form based on the skills needed for a particular mission, despite any normal designation. Anyone can put out a call for aid, and whoever is qualified (or up for an adventure) may respond. Max Mercer occasionally handpicks a team and sends them after a specific goal, often with the intention to introduce new members into the fold.

Recently, Mercer has grown more hands-on, deploying teams where he believes they can make a difference. Whatever ugliness his forays into the future showed him, he’s not talking about. Publicly, the Æon Society holds to its standoffish policy, though several members have suggested that now is the time to use the members’ collective power and influence to speak out against the rise of fascism in Europe.

Advantages

Æon Society members become part of an elite group of adventurers with a well-connected network. Even its most junior associates find themselves rubbing elbows with influential people in their own fields and beyond. This allows them to get their projects in front of decision-makers and grant committees and seek mentorship from distinguished colleagues.

If someone needs a contact within a particular company, government, or academic institution, chances are another member can make the necessary introductions, and if not, they know someone who can. Members can find aid virtually anywhere the Æon Society has established its presence. This may take the form of another member calling in a local favor, or offering transportation and housing while a colleague is in town.

Money flows into the Æon Society from charitable donations, grants, patents, and private investors. Members’ research and travel are easily funded, though the Society expects that money to be used wisely. Most members who have day jobs keep them, as the Society pays for meals while traveling, but not to keep one’s home pantry stocked or mortgage current.

Additionally, members gain access to gadgets and tech well beyond what the public deems possible. Sometimes, they’re asked to field-test an invention, or use a prototype before it’s made available (cheaply) to the masses.

Why the Æon Society?

Games focused on Æon Society characters work well with mixed groups. Not every character has to be Inspired to excel, and the Æon Society embodies that belief. With members set up in strategic locations and the resources to travel, characters can go nearly anywhere in the world. If their Paths don’t grant them access, someone else in the Society will open doors for them.

The Æon Society exists throughout the Trinity Continuum’s history, so games involving its members can span the game’s eras. Adventure! characters may plant seeds for the future, or games that started in the Aberrant or Æon eras may discover plots set in motion in their past.

Congratulations on a great first week, everyone! Let's keep it up and see if we can't land another Stretch Goal or two before we start Week 3! And backers will be able to read the entirety of Chapters 3 and 4, including Allegiances and the basics of Character Creation on Tuesday, when we have the next Backers-only manuscript preview. So, join in and you too will be able to read the entire book before the campaign concludes!

#TrinityContinuum

#HopeSacrificeUnity

King of the World II - A Theatrical Tumble!
about 3 years ago – Wed, Mar 31, 2021 at 11:18:59 PM

King of the World, an Æon Society Adventure

Transcribed by Eddy Webb from the journals of Cian Hayden, published posthumously.

II: A Theatrical Tumble!

LUCY WAS HIRED to find the Black Carbuncle a few days ago. It was stolen from Gloria Browne, a rich widow from the West Coast who was living in New York and searching for the next rich man to sink her claws into. Lucy explained to me at the time that the name is a misnomer — carbuncles were usually red garnets. The Black Carbuncle, however, was a very dark shade of red that looked black and had a more sordid past. Stories range back to the 12th century of carbuncles used for illumination of sacred spaces, because they glowed with an inner light, but this one had been privy to more sinister events.

Of course, the only thing I knew about carbuncles was when they supposedly look like eyes, as was mentioned in Hamlet and Paradise Lost. I wouldn’t be half surprised if she took the case specifically because she didn’t get many jewel theft cases and wanted to emulate her mentor.

All this flashed through my mind as we ran into the theater. The place was pure chaos: The aisles were full of broken chairs, unconscious guests, and even an abandoned wheelchair. Well-groomed patrons in top hats and tiaras stood on cushioned seats and screamed in horror, while the healthier audience members attempted to climb onto the stage out of some mistaken idea of safety. And yet, in the pit, the orchestra played on.

In the middle of that crowd, stepping on the head of a small child, was the masked man.

I jumped onto the row of seats in front of me and started to jump from pew to pew. At one point, while attempting to avoid a particularly violent conflict between two old men with monocles, I noticed that Lucy wasn’t near me. I quickly scanned the room and saw she had taken the wheelchair and was rapidly rolling down one of the aisles to the stage. I hurried past the two antiquarian gladiators and climbed over the last few rows of seats. By the time I reached the orchestra pit, the thief had clambered onto the stage, with Lucy in close pursuit.

“Stage left!” Lucy shouted as she ran after the thief. I picked up on her cue and changed direction to head to the backstage area. Unfortunately, two women were standing in front of the door and screaming at each other about who should go through it first. Seeing me, a rough-looking lad with a knife, they both screamed and passed out, allowing me the opportunity to step over them and make my way backstage.

Everything was dark, and it took me a moment to dig out a box of matches and strike one so I could see. The sound of heavy boots rang in front of me, and I headed off in that direction, using stray beams of moonlight and the occasional bare bulb to find my way. Soon I passed the stage area, and Lucy joined me, still running in only her stockinged feet.

“Seems like he’s getting away from you,” I muttered.

“Not the time, Cian,” she said through gritted teeth.

I shut my mouth and keep running into the darkness. After a minute or two, I felt Lucy’s strong grip on my arm, and she put a finger to my lips. I stumbled to a halt, trying not to pant too heavily. In the blackness ahead of me, I heard the heavy boots start to clang on metal.

“The ladder!” Lucy whispered in my ear. “Wait five seconds, then make as much noise as you can running after me.” Before I could ask her what she meant, she was gone. I counted to myself (one Mississippi two Mississippi) and then I ran after her, making the tread of my shoes as loud as possible on the hardwood floors. In the murky gloom I found the rusty metal rungs of a ladder leading up to a platform high above the stage, and I clanged up it just as Lucy’s foot disappeared over the top. I raced up the ladder as I heard Lucy call for the thief to stop.

There was a gunshot.

With my heart in my throat, I sped over the last few rungs, and pulled myself onto the thin wooden platform. Across from me was a thick, taut rope stretched along the length of the platform, the only handhold on this precarious perch. Ahead of me I saw the man in the elaborate mask holding a smoking pistol, and in front of him….

In front of him lay Lucy.

For a moment I thought she was dead. Our quarry must have thought the same, as he stepped up to her. It seemed he didn’t see me in the murk and gloom of the stage, so I held my breath as he stepped closer. Closer. Suddenly, Lucy’s hand flashed out and grabbed his ankle. She rolled backwards onto her feet, not letting her grip go and causing the thief to fall to the ground. The entire platform shuddered and swayed with the impact. The gun slipped out of his hand and clattered on the stage below, causing some of the glitterati to flee the stage they previously believed unassailable.

By the time I strode over to Lucy to help, she had the thief in one of her impossible baritsu elbow holds, which looked simple but was extremely painful for the person on the other end. I searched his pockets while the thief whimpered and whined. Nothing.

I yanked his mask off and tossed it over the edge. He looked like an average person with a pinched face. “Where’s the carbuncle?” I asked.

He laughed. It was thin and weedy, like he was running out of air. “Wh… what’s a carbuncle?” he asked between chuckles.

Lucy put some pressure on his elbow, and he screamed again. “I encourage you to be obsequious, not obstreperous,” she said.

“What the what?” the man said.

“She means don’t be a four-flusher and talk straight,” I translated. “You were here to sell a gem. You don’t have it now. Did you ditch it somewhere?”

“Already… already sold it,” he said. He wasn’t laughing anymore. Now he was gasping between the bolts of pain Lucy was sending through his body with a single touch.

She leaned over him, carefully adjusting her grip. “Who did you sell it to?”

The thief’s eyes blazed in the thin darkness. “The King of the World!”

To be continued...