Burn While Reading: The Confession (Scene 1.3)

This is the third scene in a text-based actual play of the Veil, by Fraser Simons (@frasersimons), brought to you by our MC, River (@pixelatedcoyote), and players Will and Yoshi (@yoshicreelman) playing as Zinc and Cio, respectively. Prior scenes are linked at the end of this post.

Most of the revelers have started to stir, and Lisbet takes her leave. The capacious warehouse begins to fill with the smells of breakfast, savory and sweet breads, rices, bacon, tofu scramble, all with an undertone of Old Bay.
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• MC: Zinc, this is the scene your character wakes up into. Describe how you are, how you react to the the surf sounds and breakfast commotion.

Zinc wakes to complete silence, holding his eyes shut against the morning light. The smells roil his stomach. The Breath assaults his mind.

“The quiet helps me forget.” With his aural implants disabled, he can’t even hear his own voice. But he can feel the rhythmic vibrations pulsing through his body.

He stands, wobbles, and opens his eyes, searching for his host. He finds them, and issues a short series of reinitialization commands before walking over. “Morning Cio.”

“What have I told you don’t swim against the tide, swim to the side, get out of the current or… or you’ll end up looking like you do now.” Cio holds a new cup of steaming coffee, offers it to Zinc, and gestures at the sugar and cream, “It’s above average at best, but given how you look, how tastes is probably the least of your concerns.”

As Zinc manages the coffee, Cio continues, “I know you might just be recovering, but when it rains it pours. I’ve got a friend who’s in a spot of trouble. I want to toss her a life preserver, but I’m afraid that the current is too strong for just one person. I don’t want to get sucked into the storm.” Cio takes a moment, sips from their coffee, and runs their eyes over Zinc really assessing his state, “I don’t know the bearing the siren is whispering in your ears, but it’s clear to me, if it guides you into another storm, you won’t survive it. For me, there’s choppy waters ahead, but with two sets of hands on the oars we should be able to keep the ship true.”

• LEAN ON: When you ask someone to do something you want and use Obligation you have on them to make things square between yourselves while doing so, if they do it, you erase 1 Obligation you marked with them for each thing you ask of them.
• Yoshi: Cio has one Obligation on Zinc from knowing about the AI and how it’s merging with Zinc (the siren whispering). Leaning on that to clear the obligation, to get Zinc to help with whatever trouble Lisbet is in.

Zinc stares down into his mug of coffee, trying to parse his companion’s words. After a long sip, he makes eye contact. “Of course I’ll help you. Owe you that much at least. But … “

Zinc shifts his weight uncomfortably. “Last night you offered to take my confession. I’m ready now, if you’re still willing. I’ve done a terrible thing Cio.”

Zinc’s AI remains quiet. No words come across the interface, only the slightest indication of withholding.

Cio nods, “If you are ready, then let’s talk. There’s a room, originally an office, that should work for a quiet conversation.” Coffee still in hand Cio leads Zinc through a door and up a staircase to an office overlooking the warehouse floor. The office is disheveled, some mostly empty industrial shelves, a plastic and metal desk pushed against the far wall, and half a dozen chair like objects circled around an a cable spool “coffee table” with some empty bottles of hard liquor strewn about. “It’s not pretty, but this should do.” Cio takes a seat on one of the upside down dark green plastic grated boxes acting like a stool. They turn to Zinc, and wait quietly. 

Zinc sits down and spends a long moment inspecting every corner of the room before speaking. “I killed someone yesterday. I mean, I thought he deserved it. He tried to steal my delivery. I had to … “

His voice trails off. “He was just a kid, Cio. Just a dumb kid. I didn’t know.” Zinc transfers a video file to Cio‘s interface. It is a POV of the incident from the moment the guard was dropped. He waits in sullen quiet, and continues speaking once Cio has finished.

“No future, no future, no future … Have you ever heard that before?”
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• Yoshi: Will, to me, Zinc feels like he is acting Scared. Pg 42 of the Veil, "Whenever a player is describing an emotion, they may remove an emotional Spike of the opposing State." [I’m checking with Fraser, to see if a move needs to be triggered, or just describing the character being in an emotional state is sufficient for the emotional spike removal. Response is: yeah, you could remove an emotional spike, even if it doesn’t trigger a roll of dice]. Do you want to remove an emotional spike from Powerful? 
• Will: Absolutely!

Cio sits still, eyes on Zinc as the confession trickles out. A small nod of acknowledgement, as the words, video, and information wash over them. 

• LIFT THE VEIL: When you try to pierce the constant illusion of The Veil, search for information, or recall something you may already be privy to, roll.
  • On a hit, the MC will tell you something new and interesting about the current situation. On any roll the MC will ask you a question or two; answer them.
  • On a 10+, the MC will give you good detail. On a 7–9, the MC will give you an impression.
• Peaceful (+2): 2d6 + 2 = (1+2)+2 = 5

A voice rang out through the warehouse, “My brother! I thought you might still be here!” 

The words have a musical quality to them, almost as if sung. The light in the large, empty venue space becomes more yellow and brighter, reminiscent of how sunlight once looked. The voice, and the alterations to The Veil, emanated from one young man, Sunny.

He was a corporate ladder-climber, a Kool-Aid drinker, a boot-licker. Worst of all, he was a supervisor. He shouldn’t have known Zinc’s whereabouts, but here he was all the same.

He strode through the room effortlessly, making a bee-line for Zinc. His feet landed deftly between the discarded cups and empty sleeping bags.

“I am so very sorry to tear you away from your merrimaking, brother,” again with the false endearment, “but administration absolutely requires your presence.”

His smile beams. In his vision, his star is always ascending. All is right with his world.

• MC: What should be a simple search through The Veil is interrupted by Zinc’s real-world obligations. We will pick up later with Cio running solo, or trying to sync back up with Zinc (which is no small feat in his profession).Whichever, Cio has to follow his leads alone for the moment. If Will has a solo scene cooking for Zinc, we can pick that up. Oh, and everyone marks Mad.
• Will: I’d like to meet this administration. If they are anything like this Sunny I’m sure we’ll have a good time.

The first scene can be found here.
The second scene can be found here.