AmberShadowOfADoubt:Session1

The Capture of Leviathan

Events began amidst our operations within Nazi-occupied London. Collectively, members of the resistance hear that the neighborhoods on either end of London Bridge are being forcibly evacuated. As quartermaster, Manfred went to supply the troops who were overseeing the evacuation. He made minor errors in his supply to set up an excuse to come back later. Meanwhile, Alexandra gets a phone call from her former piano teacher about troop buildup around Brixton in the South of London. The same day, Federico hears from his contacts with the rumor that there will be a clandestine meeting with the tentacled creatures that wiped out the fleet at Dunkirk.

Informed of this via trump, Hector concludes it is a secret weapon or robot submarine being brought to shore and that we will capture the sub. Manfred isn't sure what it is, but ambitiously thinks about how they can not only disable it -- but capture a specimen and bring it somewhere for study. He investigates stealing a police boat to tow something away -- but it seems difficult. At least Janica and Federico think that these really are squid-like beings.

The group does not have an official leader. Instead, we each run our own teams, answering to President Roosevelt. However, this means some difficulty in planning joint operations like this. As discussions progressed, Manfred took over role as secretary and asked each member where they were going -- marking their location on a map of London with a colored pin.

• Manfred holds back, planning to visit the site with the supplies he "forgot" at an opportune time to see what is happening. His truck will include a pile of dynamite (which he overstocked on).
• Janica at first probed the neighborhood being evacuated. However, the buildings were being demolished with dynamite to give clear fire from machine-gun nests being set up. Instead, she sets herself up in the girders under the bridge with a sniper rifle and dynamite that Manfred trumps to her.
• Hector prepares to engage in hit-and-run strikes on the troops in Brixton as a distraction.
• Federico is set up in a safehouse miles away with a team of resistance fighters. He is prepared to be gated in by either Janica or Manfred.
• Alexandra is standing by in a further safehouse as the exit point. She will be the one to pull people out via trump when needed.

The action begins in the evening in Brixton as the Nazi troops go house to house, demand information on the restistance -- and shooting people who refuse to cooperate. While Manfred and others are on the edge of the usefulness of general hit-and-run fighting, Hector sees it as a necessity. His people begin ambushing troops, blowing stuff up, and retreating. A few foolish teenagers run out to help the resistance fighters and get shot.

Manfred then went with his extra supplies to the troops on the end of the bridge. He chats with them and gives them cigarettes to make up for his error, while keeping an eye out.

Finally, late at night, Janica spots a big shiny car showing up at the bridge. She informs Manfred as SS and Nazi officials come out of it to the edge of the river. The lights in the surrounding area are all off. Then a creature rises out of the water -- a creature roughly man-sized but shaped like a nautilus, with many tentacles in the water behind it. It speaks in broken German to the Nazi official.

Suddenly seeing that it is man-sized and thus trump-able, Manfred switches plans. He contacts Alexandra, wanting her help to wrestle it and carrying it through trump to the safehouse where Federico is set up. Meanwhile, Federico tries to look through Janica's eyes through trump, which she shuts off to keep her concentration. However, he realizes the situation ("That's no submarrine, that's an armored suit!").

Out on the dock, the two begin a conversation. The creature says "I have brought you ... this." -- holding out a small seven-legged glass table. It explains that the device reveals the heart of secrets, and begins tapping on it. Janica suspects that she will be revealed. She calls Hector to pull her out in a minute, tosses in some dynamite, and begins shooting.

Meanwhile, Manfred had slipped over the side of the bridge while contacting Alexandra, while the wire spooled out behind him to the explosives in his truck. He then pulled her through, and sent her to grab the tentacled creature while he gave covering fire at the Nazis on the dock. Alexandra is a bit confused and annoyed at the screaming chaos around her, but manages to grab hold of the wounded creature. Meanwhile, Federico is now informed to contact her and pull her through to him.

Janica is shocked that the "insane English fools" would try to take a screaming, burned, tentacled thing in their arms and take it with them. With both Federico and Alexandra busy, she has to use Hector to trump out of there -- and his position is not exactly safe. As she leaves, Manfred takes cover by the car and sets the charge into the wires he had strung back to the explosives in his truck -- making a huge explosion at the base of the bridge. Below, Alexandra wrestled the squid thing to a standstill and then opened up for Federico's trump. She was pulled through to Federico, who had talked his boys into deal with man in an armored suit.

In the safehouse, the squid thing babbles and lashes about in pain, oozing an ichor that looks like motor oil and smells like seaweed. It ignores demands for surrender, and eventually dies -- though it killed at least one of the men. Alexandra then headed off to clean up, disgusted with the gross duty she was suddenly inducted into doing. "You wouldn't believe I'd made my curtsey to the queen." She takes a shower and puts on a mechanic's jumpsuit.

Meanwhile, Hector and Janica slipped out of the network of troops in Brixton. Back by the bridge, Manfred simply laid down among the dead bodies there -- being in uniform and in the dark, he figured he was safe for a while until he could establish a trump. After the squid was dealt with, he trumps over to Federico.

Analyzing it's body, we can't tell much. It had spoken at first in German, and then as it's pain grew worse in Shelta Thari -- the language of the Irish Travellers. Federico takes pictures of the the thing, then we put samples from its body in barrels and jars.

As we are splitting up to head home, Sophia Havisham calls Federico to enquire after Lady Alexandra. Federico is suspicious of how she knew him -- and pretends not to know what she's talking about, claims it must be a wrong number. Apparently a handsome man named Blaise had talked to her. As we closing, the man Blaise talks to Lady Alexandra with offer of info about the squid demons.