It's what's inside that counts

Pushed Too Far

Rita had two, perhaps three minutes to collect her thoughts. Very few could keep up with her for long, but this tail was dogged in their persistence. There were three, perhaps four of them and they had a plan, it was clear. By the way they has separated to intercept her she knew she was being hunted, in that slow methodical way packs chase a deer to exhaustion. They seemed to be using the river as a wedge so she was now coming to the docks in Rivertown on a peninsula with no bridges, it was late so even the ferrymen would not be working, hard times. This chase had to stop somewhere and Rita was determined it would be on her terms.

It was supposed to be a quick smash and grab.... she shook here head remembering. Her scholarship paid the school fees and her parents gave her what little they could to support accommodation, food and essentials, but she knew too they were staving a little day by day to keep her here. When the Dr Earnstone had mentioned the theft of some books and artefacts, he too had mentioned a reward, a sizable sum of money to anyone on campus that could give the police information resulting in their recovery. She had thought very little of it until on the track just 3 days ago. She heard snippets of conversation in the changing room, voices she knew only as ones to avoid, they carried with them judgemental eyes and privileged ignorance that spelt out danger to anyone like her. 'Have you seen them?' the voices continued, muffled slightly by someone showering elsewhere. 'We move them soon'... 'the order will be pleased'.... 'Harlan has no idea the fool'...

All the rage she had thought was her own personal daemons crystallized at that point, it was not just her education was being slowly poisoned by these knuckleheads but the whole university was being abused by their arrogant ways.

She had followed them that night. Quick and silent, like a cat burglar in the comics. It felt good that her body was a willing extension of her purpose; the athleticism of youth and her daily training made her feel almost superhuman... Rita grimaced in her reverie - back to reality she wiped the sweat that beaded into her brow; it had been a long night.

What she discovered made her skin feel loose and uncomfortable. Torture of animals, rituals of sacrifice, overt toxic racism, clandestine meetings in dark secret corners of the city. The web was so deep. Soon she realised there were few she could trust. In the mix of associates with these 'students' she also noticed one or two of the faculty, some police and even some of the church. She was used to not trusting others but now she felt more alone and threatened than ever... Her nerves rattled she came back to her dorm, holding tight to Mr Pawterson.

The next morning she'd tried to discuss with Peter, a friend of sorts and model student, but one of those night-hooded brats was talking to him, and while Peter seemed disinterested and smiled as he saw her, Rita changed her mind and moved on. She was truly on her own now.

Over the next two days her spare time was spent gathering intel; by the first night she discovered where the artefacts might be, on the second confirmed it and by the third had convinced herself of how to recover them. She didn't know why she was risking all this, but in her soul she knew this was bigger than her. Nothing had ever beat her before, it was not going to happen now!

Back in the present, shuffling and indistinct voices could be heard prowling outside the warehouse, they really did sound like wolves, sniffing, searching with claw-like clacking of boots on cobbles outside... She'd taken shelter here slipping in a loose panel. She looked around for anything that could give her the edge, something to get her out of this mess and gripped her fathers knuckleduster tight in her left hand. The cool reassuring metal dug into her palm...

Her father had told her two things when she'd left 'don't worry about us Rette' and 'give a good as ya git'. He squeezed her tight. As he held her he pressed something cold into her hand, 'jus' caus am not thar doesnt mean am not by yar side'. At the time she was horrified. Papa never did say much. He wasn't a big man but he was all wire and all strength. His 'landlord' was white and demanding but gave him a wide berth. She wondered what his history was to command respect and yet carry an illegal weapon and to feel confident giving it to his only daughter. That all melted away now, she knew he was sending a clear message not just to her, but anyone that messed with his Rette. At the time she didn't know what else to do but hide it in Mr Pawterson. That was then, now Mr P was needing some more insides and some suturing. Once she knew what to do she moved fast. Her Pa had already helped her break glass back in the mansion at French Hill, the weight of the pack on her back testament to the successful raid and recovery of the artefacts.

The panel she'd used to enter clattered on the street outside. As she slid the pack off her back and gripped the brass knuckle tightly, the lid of a crate at her feet moved slightly. A label innocuously branded as Tennessee Sweet Potatoes, Bring lightness to your table. Moving the lid further beheld rows of sour mash, with two missing. She hefted one by the neck hearing the clacking come closer, from at least two directions, if not three.

Time to knock the stuffing out of something else.

I have the right to bear arms

Rita is a fantastic investigator, her stat line is strong, especially in the survivor pool, and her agility leverages a lot more interesting plays than at first blush. The trick keyword adds a bit of spice too! It's been a while since I've went full theme on a deck, but it was great fun building this and creating a little extra back story.

Despite being built for theme, this build should give as good as it 'gits'. The versatility and recursion of the improvised events should allow a lot more flexibility to key tests, while On Your Own should save a ton of resources to be able to plug into Plucky and Scrapper. There are some cool combos with "I'm done runnin'!" and evade events too.

As always let me know your thoughts in the comments below.