What cards and mana do we have, again?

>CURRENT LIFE TOTAL: 5
>MANA POOL: UUR (3/6
>ARTIFACTS IN YOUR POSSESSION:
>DIMIR SIGNET: TAPPED
>WORN POWERSTONE: TAPPED

>CARDS IN HAND:
>HEX
>LAST GASP

Make our escape.

>>17647040
>Escape
Clutching the powerstone to yourself, you wriggle away from the open portal.
A soft breeze has begun to blow in the chamber, as though the portal was a great black mouth drawing in a lungful of air. Master Beleren's robes billow as he steps to the edge of the portal.
"Fascinating..." he says to himself. "A civilization of treasures lost for eons..."
"It workssss, then?" the viashino asks, scaly head cocked to one side. "Assss intended?"
"Yes, I believe you'll be paid handsomely," Beleren says with a small smile. "The riches and power we can glean from here would be incalculable."
>Riches and power? That catches your ear. You're on the edge of the chamber; in front of you is the exit to this chamber, while behind you, Master Beleren seems to be preparing to step through the portal.

>Take what you have learned back to the necrosages?
>Or risk following Jace for more secrets or artifacts?

>>17647201
Go to the necrosages.

>>17647201
Always go back to the necrosages. We deal in Secrets.

>>17647201
Normally, I'd say go big or go home. But this is Dimir we're talking about. I doubt they'd condone gung-ho behavior.
I say we head back with what we've seen.

Consult sages, acquire mana.

Slinking up the stairs, you leave the sounds of congratulations being issues and the humming of the portal. The Necrosages will want to be made aware of this...
It is a simple task to extricate yourself from the Izzet labs, and within the hour you are winding your way back through the sewer tunnels of Ravnica, snaking past wall after wall of featureless brick. But you know where you're going. Stopping at what appears to be merely another filth-slicked brick wall, you bend low to make out the small spider etched into one of the bricks. Forming a fist of rags, you press the brick, and step back as the wall slowly evaporates brick by brick, allowing you passage onwards towards Duskmantle

>Mana regenerated: +B (UUBR)
>Card Drawn: DOUSE IN GLOOM

The passageways are winding and narrow, and you're pretty sure they never follow the same route twice. All the same, you come upon Duskhome in the deepest reaches of the tunnels, almost underneath the Undercity. Dating to the founding of the great city, House Dimir has found it advantageous to retain their original geographic footing while the rest of the city grows upwards around them, shrouding them ever deeper in the past and away from the light.

A specter, its face a hissing mask of blue light, perches atop the arched opening into this side of the hivelike guildhouse. At your approach it springs to life, winging down upon you like a grinning demon.
"Ah, the rag-dealer returns!" it hisses. "What scraps have you come to sell?"

>>17647452
>Duskhome
>Duskmantle
>mfw

>>17647452
Ask about the price of your Izzet signet.

selling rocks of course

From within the tangled heart of your rags, you produce the Izzet guild signet you stole earlier.
"What do you think I could fetch for this?" you ask, waggling your non-existent eyebrows.
The vampire seizes upon the Signet, tugging slightly when you hold onto the chain. Peering at the gem, he smiles broadly, his great empty eyes reflecting nothing.
"Well, well, quite the treasure," he says. "The necrosages could make some good use of this, provided you didn't just stab a man for it. Go on in, one of them should be about..."
He clutches a second more on the signet before releasing it to you, hissing softly as you leave him behind and work your way into the guildhall.
The halls of Duskmantle appear surprisingly empty to the naked eye, but your trained gaze can pick out the myriad secret passageways and doors hidden along the walls. Twisting the hidden lever that opens one such door, you step into a small meeting chamber most frequently used for clandestine debriefings or assignments within the guild (every assignment within the guild is clandestine).
Two of the withered necrosages are conversing in low tones. They mark you with their eyes as you enter, but otherwise pay you no mind. After a few seconds, one of them nods to the other one, murmurs one last something, and departs through another secret entrance on the far wall. The remaining necrosage raises his hand calmly, and you can hear the echoing -click-click-click- of all the doorways to this chamber locking around you, secluding the two of you.
"There," the aged wizard says, stretching the dried flesh of his face with a thin smile. "Now what have you brought for the secret-keepers?"

>>17647624
Tell him about Jace and the Viashino, of course.

>>17647624
Tell him what we know. The portal in particular.

"I have been in an Izzet laboratory," you begin.
"We have assets within the Izzet," the necrosage says, almost contemptuously. "What of it?"
"Are you aware of a Master Beleren?" you ask, your spectral breath hissing through the loosely-hanging strands of your rags. You have formed yourself into a roughly humanoid shape, to more easily converse with the sage.
"We are...aware of Beleren's presence here," the necrosage replied guardedly.
"He is not Izzet," you say. "He seems to have contracted them. He was trying to get them to make a portal device work. And it did, but only after he gave it energy supplied by this," you produce the Powerstone, which now sits coldly in your hand, though you can feel the mana connection faintly within it.
"Most interesting," the sage says, his face remaining impassive. "You have assisted us, with this. Well learned."
You bow your semblance of a head.
"May we see the stone?" the sage asks, holding out a hand. Obediently, you hand it over. The sage looks at it through blackened, raisin-like eyes, feeling the heft of it in his spindly hand.
"If you like, we could consider this your quota for the month," the necrosage says, holding up the powerstone. "Unless you have something else you'd like to trade. Notwithstanding the secret you brought, of course."

>Give up the POWERSTONE?
>or offer him your IZZET SIGNET?
>or ???

>>17647817
Give up the stone.

keep signet

>>17647817
Give 'em the Stone. Colored mana, especially in different colors, is more valuable.
Unless this quest works differently and we can only play Blue or Black spells, in which case, offer the Signet.

>>17647817
give the powerstone, also mention the fact he talked about the nine spheres is where it led and hopefully the necrosage can figure more of what it is about.

"It is a tribute to you, wise ones," you say.
"Excellent," the necrosage smiles toothlessly.
"Another thing..." you start. "Beleren mentioned something called the Nine Spheres. He said that's where the portal led. Do you know anything about that?"
"It is possible," the necrosage replies. "We will consult with others. It may have been a construct of Old Rav, somewhere in the Undercity. You are dismissed; we will call for you when we have need of you again. May your name be ever unuttered."
"Thank you, wise ones," you say.

>You have some FREE TIME. Feel free to go to any part of Ravnica you would like. If majorities don't seem possible, I'll go by whatever sounds the most interesting.

Hmm...
How about we pay a friendly visit to the Cult of Rakdos? They seem like a fun bunch.

Go peruse the Golgari sector, they should have some interesting things to learn/steal.

go back, learn more of belerens shenanigans.

>>17648076
I'm good with this.

perhaps find those jeks from earlier

Lets go fight Jace McAsshole, he a wizard. Wizards are weak at fisticuffs.

>>17648162
even weaker to stabby mcstab stab from what i've heard.
also we have more health then his base at all times.

>>17648095
>>17648076
>Shenanigans
Off the hook with your masters, you make your way back towards the steamworks of the Izzet, easily locating their great tower of a laboratory. It takes you a few moments to find the level you entered on last time, and even longer to find your way back through the maze of corridors to the chamber you were in before.
The portal is still stretched out across the floor, still humming dully. Through the velvety-looking darkness you think you can see pinpricks of light now, like torches. The Izzet mages that were here are nowhere to be seen, and neither is Beleren. It's probably been at least three hours since you were here...have they been through the Portal this whole time? Or did they merely leave it on? Have they discovered your theft of the powerstone?

>What do?

>>17648196
turn off the portal, laugh at izzet retards locked on the other side of the gate.

>>17648204
Jace can still bring them back

>>17648225
we don't know that and that requires jace being able to figure out how to planeswalk from phyrexia to anywhere relevant.

steal research. make dimir portals

>>17648231
I'm sure Jace can figure it out, the guy's not exactly an idiot.
I vote we leave the portal on for now and look around for research notes and such that will give us more information on the portal.

Yes, loot the room.

>>17648340
>>17648288
ok fine, since we are a thief rag doll, we may as well steal everything not nailed down.

>Lootin'
You search the tables and desks surrounding the portal, looking for anything of note.You tuck away several accurate-looking diagrams and sketches of the portal itself, and several pages of research notes on the reactions of the device to various magical and chemical stimuli.
There is a noise on the other side of the portal. Moving to the edge, you look down into the dark landscape of the Nine Spheres. You think you might be able to see distant movement against the far-off point of light, but you're not certain. The air near the portal seems warmer, wetter, and smells of oil.
>Mana Regenerated: +B (UUBBR)
>Items gained: PORTAL DESIGNS
Turning away from the portal and the surrounding tables, you see a short, white-haired man standing at the foot of the stairs. You're not sure if he's seen you, but the eyes behind his thick goggles are narrowed, staring into the mostly-empty room curiously.
"Who's there? Who is that? Skeltas, where are you?"

>What do?

>>17648425
are the lights dim?
if so steal his shit and leave.

>>17648425
We haven't come this far to get caught. Hide our ass.

>>17648443
agreed, hide like hell, decide from there.

avoid him. possibly run.

Your lifespan is powered by people not knowing yoe exist right?

>Hide
You dart back further into the room. The guildmage steps forward, the room's dim lights reflected in his goggles.
"I know you're in here, I saw movement. Simic spies, is it? Or some Rakdos thrill-killer?"
You hear a crackling as bluish light illuminates the room. The Izzet guildmage has formed a sizzling arc of electricity between his two hands. Long shadows flicker against the walls as his face levels on you.
"There! What form of spirit are you?"
>SECRET'S OUT! -1 Life from someone realizing you exist.
>Nigga, you are in a fight right now.

>What do?

>>17648708
Last Gasp.

Give him the gas....p

>>17648708
None must know.
Hit him with Last Gasp.

>Last Gasp
You raise your rag-arm aggressively.
"You shall have no breath to speak of what you've seen," you intone, as cracks of white light begin to crawl over the guild-mage's skin. He raises his hands to his face, trying to scratch off the markings. His chest pulses as he tries to breath, but the cracks glow with light, as if they're forcing his lungs to stay closed. A look of panic envelops his face as he keels over, crawling towards you with one hand outstretched. Finally, he falls, one hand clutching at one of your cloth tendrils.
>-UB (UBR remaining)
You search his body, but find nothing exciting beyond some alchemical tinctures. With some difficulty, you drag his body over to the portal and dump it in, so as not to leave a surprise for anyone on this side.

>What do?

>>17648880
Return to the sewers.

>>17648880
We got what we came for and at least one person has seen us. It's time to leave.

>>17648880
Is it possible to see inside the portal? if so, take a look before returning to the necrosages.

>>17648895
Actually, never mind me.
>>17648907
Do this, then leave.

I know this is meta-gaming-y, but wouldn't the izzet fools who went through the portal be dead by now? And since we breathed phyrexian air shouldn't we be too?

>>17649059
While I can't say anything for the izzet, it's kinda hard to kill a spirit.

>>17649059
To be fair, we don't know for sure that the Izzet scientists actually went through the portal. Granted, it's a reasonable assumption, but it's still an assumption.

>>17649059
We're cloth. We don't breathe.

Stepping to the portal, you try to take a closer look through.
The ground on the other side of the portal looks spongy and wet, a black buttery sludge into which the dead guildmage has depressed several inches. The horizon of this place looks to be dominated by a set of metal pipings and smokestacks, the majority of which seem to be dormant or broken. Several sets of tracks lead away from the portal.
(Note: All of this is upside-down relative to the room you are in. The portal on the floor connects to the ground of this place, and gravity seems to be reversed on the other side)

>What do?

>>17649240
Considering there's nowhere on ravnica that looks like that, you should probably return to the necrosages asap with as much information as you can get. If that guildmage is still alive, you should take him with you as he might know something.

>>17646909

>nobody ever reads this part

Not true, OP, I always do.

Anyway, return as quickly as possible. Do we have some of the sludge on us? Can we clean it off?

(metagame-wise, we should probably bring Oil samples to the necrosages but I don't know if we'll end up fucking over Ravnica entirely because of this)

>>17649301
It would be simple for you to collect some of the strange wet ground in any of the beakers here in the lab.

>Collect a sample of OILY GROUND? After that it seems like you're heading back to the Necrosages with this interesting news.

>>17649335
Do the dimir have any connections with the simic? Because if it comes to it, they might be able to find something out about it. If not them then the golgari may have sort of use for it, but you obviously won't be giving it away for free if it has any value.

>>17649335
Grab some of the oil. The more information we can bring the sages, the better.

>>17649335
>>giving Dimir phyrexian oil
>>Oh shit son what are you doing.

Grabbing a stoppered beaker from the nearby tabletop, you reach around through the portal, scooping some of the sludgy ground into the beaker, checking to make sure the guildmage is dead before you skulk out of the laboratory once more.
This time there is no trouble finding someone to meet with. You suspect that the necrosages have placed you under some sort of scrying or surveillance, because as you approach Duskmantle you can see a human guildmage perk up at your approach.
"Uh, we've been told to escort you to one of the inner chambers immediately," the mage says. Obviously a newer recruit, he seems to balk somewhat at your empty humanoid shape covered in burial rags. He nervously leads you inside, towards the heart of the structure. Stepping into the chamber, you hear the door slide shut behind you, the guildmage remaining out in the hall.
"Step forward," you here a thin voice say, muffled by the thick silent air. Walking forward, you step into the illuminated center of the room.
"What have you brought us?" says a deeper voice.
"What did you see?" Asks a third, feminine, from the other side of the chamber. If you had a throat you would gulp; you've never been in the same room with more than two necrosages, EVER, and from the sounds of it, there are at least three in this room, and probably more judging from the foosteps and whispering out in the shadows.

>>17649460
Give them the PORTAL DESIGNS and OILY GROUND.

>>17649460
This could either be very good or very bad. On one hand you have information pertaining to a portal to phyrexia, but on the other getting said information wasn't done in the most subtle way. It probably would have been smarter to make a copy of the blueprints instead of taking them and hiding the body in a better place.

"This is the portal they have," you say, holding up the designs with some difficulty. One of the necrosages walks into the light, taking them gingerly from your clutches and poring over them eagerly.
"Master Beleren said that the portal lead 'home,' and if that's the case, I don't think the portal is from anywhere on Ravnica."
You produce the bottle of oily ground, which the sage takes with his other hand.
"Not from Ravnica? What do you mean?" one of the sages asks.
"Is it Agyrem? Have you found a gateway to the Ghost Quarter?"

>>17649585
Tell them you have no idea but it probably isn't agyrem. Describe what you saw and request some supplies/assistance for scouting it out. If the necrosages have any connection with beleren, they might be able to ask him about it personally.

Also kind of a tangent, but is agyrem a separate plane kinda like how kamigawa was 2 planes linked together or is it more of a space between planes or something? Also does this take place before the events of the block?

>>17649648
Agyrem is like a pocket city where the dead collect

>>17649712
So it's still part of the actual plane itself?

>>17649725
I don't quite remember. But I believe it was like a twist in the fabric of the plane when it was sealed off from planeswalking and the dead just kinda collected there. It stuck around after the guildpack was broken I think.

>>17649817
I thought it disappeared after the mending?
Either way, this is getting too off topic so I'll just leave it at that and just look it up myself or something.

>>17649648
>This takes place before the Ravnica novels, but after the events of Dominaria that cause the space of Ravnica to fold and create Agyrem

"I do not believe it was Agyrem, as I saw no living or unliving things there. Only a great expanse of that slimy earth and many metal protrusions. If you wish, I will take a team and whatever resources you provide, to scout the location and catalog its contents."
"Perhaps," comes the reply. "We need time, to gather more information. You will deliver a message for us, to the Azorius libraries. There is someone there you must tell this to. He is a minister in the libraries, a man named Hargun. Describe what you saw to him, and see if perhaps he knows anything further."

>The Azorius Libraries are far enough away to be in a different country. How are you going to get there?
>Travel via the Undercity, perhaps on a Golgari caravan?
>Charter passage on a simic Zeppelid?
>Take an overland trading route through Gruul territories?

>>17649891
Travel through the undercity.

>>17649891
Ahh... what would be the least conspicuous way to travel?
I say through Gruul lands.

Undercity seems smart
Zeppelid would be effective only if we could get an agent to hide us
Overland can be safe if we avoid detection but when there's one Gruul there are many.

I vote Golgari

>>17649891
Golgari are cool, go with them.
Wait, isn't this the sort of thing transguild couriers do? Or are they too slow? Would it be possible to disguise as one of them to avoid any suspicion?

>>17650004
It is the official stance of guilds that House Dimir has disbanded.

>>17650024
Flavor text still implies that the dimir can still use them. And even if they can't, a disguise or illusion of some type would still work.

>Golgari Undercity

"Very well then. Stolsk, come back in here!" one of the necrosages shouts. The secret entrance to this room slides open, and the guildmage who escorted you here steps into the room, looking slightly nervous, slightly excited.
"Stolsk, you will accompany the Unuttered on his mission. You will act as his disguise."
"I...don't understand," the mage says.
"You will wear him, boy," one of the sages says from further back in the room. Stolsk controls the shock of his reaction, only his eyes widening.
"Wear this," another says, holding up a glittering signet in the shape of the Orzhov eclipsed sun. "Now wait outside." Stolsk nods his head dumbly and departs.
"Now, then," one sage says, over the mutterings of the others. "Remember, this message is for Hargun's ears only. I assume you understand?" His eyes flick to the doorway, behind which the young taskmage waits nervously. You do understand; your are to kill the taskmage once this mission is complete, to preserve the secrets. If he is fortunate, his spirit will be bound as your is, in service to the guild, allowing him to live on.

>What do?

>>17650193
i'm perfectly ok with this, and following up with the necrosages request.

>>17650193
Well that sucks for him but the necrosages would know if you tried to let him live. At the very least, make it quick and painless for him.
Also what does his spirit being bound imply? Level up?

>>17650193
Understood.

>>17650254
hes gonna being a job very similar to us.

>>17650280
So it's a sort of promotion for him. No hard feelings then.

>>17650297
exactly.

"Understood," you say, turning and stepping out of the chamber.
"It's, uh, good to meet you officially," the taskmage says as the two of you leave the building. "I had only heard about you. You're-"
"My name is an unutterable secret," you say. "Were you to learn it, I would cut the tongue from your head, if I left you alive at all."
"Right, of course," he says, laughing nervously. He takes a sharp breath as you constrict your wrappings around his body, winding yourself into the shape of a tattered shroud, so that Stolsk has the look of a young priest about him.

>Mana recovered: +U (UUBR)
>Card Drawn: CONSULT THE NECROSAGES

>What do? You have a NEW PAL

>>17650388
Give him a quick briefing on the situation before we head out, then get moving toward the undercity.

>Sorry guys, have to cut this one short this evening. I'll archive the thread on suptg if it hasn't been already.

>Hope everyone's enjoying themselves. I'm always interested to hear what I'm doing right/what I can improve on, so feel free to speak up.

>Sidenote: I'm REALLY impressed with how well everyone seems to be unanimously playing a Blue/Black persona.

Well, I look forward to the next session, OP. Well-written tonight.

Thanks OP