Actual Play: FATE High Road to China Session 4

High Road to China Session Four Write-Up

Played Friday, February 10th, 2017

Dramatis Personae

• Fiona, a rich heiress (played by J)
• Faye, a reporter (played by R)
• Angelo, a gambler (played by T)
• Two Stampe SV.4 airplanes
• François Lejeune, a rich playboy attempting to make Fiona his bride
• Johnny S, one of François' crew
• Billy Lane, yet another of François' crew
• Jane Dupont, of the Delaware Duponts, François' Girl Friday, most deadly of them all, expert in explosives
• Sammy King, still another of François' crew
• Michael McAlister, British Master Mechanic
• Heinrich "Monkeywrench", an explosive expert friend of Faye's
• Pierre Gaumont, Fiona's missing father, owner of Gaumont Industrie de Paris
• Louis Gaumont, Fiona's uncle, seeking to take over Gaumont Industrie de Paris
• Pursuing thugs from Uncle Louis
• Pursuing thugs from François Lejeune

Baghdad, a day later.

Angelo and Fiona watch as McAlister and his crew repair Angelo's plane at the Aerodrome. 

Meanwhile, Faye is returning to the Aerodrome after delivering her latest story. While riding in a taxi, she spots François Lejeune in Baghdad with his crew.

Hanging out of the window, Faye memorizes their faces (Aspect: Familiar with François Lejeune's entourage 1 free invoke). It turns out he's got Johnny S, Billy Lane, and the most deadly of them all, Jane Dupont (of the Delaware Duponts, expert in explosives) with him. She sees that they're heading toward the Hôtel Elysée.

As her taxi turns a sharp corner (and nearly tosses her out), she's spotted by Sammy King, another of François' men, but she doesn't see him.

Faye pulls up to the others, telling them that Lejeune is in town! Realizing that they need help, she jumps back into the cab to go to one of her contacts. 

Meanwhile, British Master Mechanic Michael McAlister and his crew are about an hour away from fixing Angelo's plane. Fiona bribes McAlister to rush the job at half the time.

Faye finds her contact, explosive expert Heinrich "Monkeywrench" (no last name given). Heinrich is leaving town, looks like he's making a run for it. Something bad is going down.

Heinrich, in a rush, gives Faye a box with two Hales Cooper Pattern Bombs, bundle of dynamite with timer, a couple German "Potato Masher" grenades, 2-3 Russian Mosin-Nagan 91 rifle grenades, some sweating dynamite, knowing that when they meet again, Faye will pay him back.

Angelo has scrounged up some old British pistols, Webley Mk IV (considered Weapon: 1), originally issued in 1899, along with a Sam Browne Belt each. When Faye arrives back with the crate of explosives, they stow it in Angelo's plane.

That's when Faye notices Sammy King, who tips his hat at her and picks up a nearby payphone, to (presumably) call Lejeune!

Faye draws her Webley and tries to shoot the phone but is tackled by Fiona, who says "If you shoot him, we'll just have a gunfight!"

Angelo runs to his ready plane and jumps in, taking off down the runway. Faye runs to her and Fiona's plane, with her Webley still out.

Fiona, filled with rage, stalks up to Sammy and he calmly hands her the phone, saying "François would like to say hello!"

She shouts "I told you I need Daddy's permission first, creep!" and then hangs up. She removes her glove and slaps Sammy with it, saying "You were nearly shot just now. Tell François next time I'll let her do it! And stop following us, or I'll do it myself!"

Sammy gives Fiona a shit-eating grin.

She waves him off and gets into her plane, telling Faye "You can shoot him now." But it's too late as the backwash from the plane would spoil her pistol aim. Faye opens up with a burst from the Lewis Gun instead, and the bullets shoot between Sammy's legs.

They take off, trundling down the runway and are soon in the air, on their way to Arak.

Nearly to Arak, Fiona and Angelo spot a giant dust storm ahead. They decide to try to outrun the dust storm, and head south for Bandar Mahshahr on the Persian Gulf coast.

From there, there is a montage of the heroes flying straight through to China, making stops at Bandar Abbas, Karachi, New Delhi, Nagqu, Tibet, and finally ending up in Chongqing, China.

Over the course of the montage, Fiona drives the heroes on (Compel: Craves Control), Angelo gambles with Fiona each day to see who will win a race (Compel: Gambling Addiction) but Faye resists filing her stories with the newspapers (Rejects Compel: No one thinks I can win the Pulitzer).

Along the way, Faye makes connections (Aspect: Trail of Tears, Flight of Connections 1 free invoke), Angelo sniffs out where Fiona's father went (Aspect: Hot on the Trial 1 free aspect) and Fiona's drive puts them ahead of their enemies (Aspect: Leave them eating my Dust 1 free invoke). 

All told, together, they form a friendship (Aspect: Bond of Friendship 2 free invokes), with Fiona finally admitting to Faye "I've remembered you since before we left Athens, but I have a reputation. And I read all your articles, I always have. I remember the first one you did when we were in college, you always had it on the board above your bed."

Fiona also professes that her rivalry with Angelo has turned into a little more of a caring friendship, and while his charm wasn't quite attractive before, it has grown on her.

When they reach Chongqing, Fiona quickly finds out where her father went, using all her abilities (and several Fate points and Aspects). He's up north, fighting against a powerful warlord.

They quickly fly north to an old Castle on the Great Wall of China. Pierre Gaumont is surprised to see his daughter, especially flying a plane into a war zone. After hugging him, she slaps him with her glove, saying "Why are YOU here, out in a forsaken castle, doing god knows what, letting your company run into the ground!"

When she tells him what's going on, that Uncle Louis is trying to take over the company, and so is François Lejeune (he forbids her to marry that snake), he expresses astonishment, stating that Lambert has the papers that put Fiona in charge of the company.

Fiona says "I was never aware of any papers...I've been chased half-way across the globe by your brother's men and François and I'm gonna collapse, right after I kill Lambert!"

Then Fiona remembers Lambert chastising her for wasting her time partying and that he'd do something about it if she didn't. So he sent her on this harrowing journey, which, in the process, improved her character and made her ready to run her father's company! Lambert pushed Fiona to become a better person!

Meanwhile, Faye, collecting this information, finished her latest batch of dispatches to the newspapers and sent them off. Unbeknownst to her, they would become the hit of the publishing world and she would be nominated to win the Pulitzer!

Overlooking the castle grounds, Angelo set up a series of clever explosive traps to turn the tables on the attacking warlord's soldiers (Aspect: Angelo sets up minefield Extraordinaire around the Castle 2 free Invokes).

And then all hell broke loose when Uncle Louis arrived with his men, and François arrived with his!

Next time: The Grand Finale! Dogfights Extraordinaire above a Climactic Battle of Four Armies!