The Spinner’s Connection.
It started with a meeting, Jessie Wildflower had been following some mysterious murders that were very similar to the way the Spinner’s Shears had killed people in the past. Then flat out copies began. However, she was no fool she knew she could not handle the Assassin group that had entirely killed her old free company. Now, she was part of the Astral Advent and sought their help.
At first was a meeting where she introduced herself and introduced a good number of the newer members to the threat that was the Spinner’s Shears. While discussing the matter, Ciel mentioned that the spirits that the Yuki Clan had been having the Astral Advent hunt down could possibly be responsible for the murders as well, as the last one was the “Spirit of Murder.” Jessie was unsure about the suggestion, not being involved with the previous jobs. In the end, the present Agents agreed to help Jessie investigate the three locations that Spinner’s Shears’ activity had occurred.
Berrod, Ciel, and Reks join Jessie in going to Aleport to investigate the two murders there. They met on the dock and quickly made their way to the building that both occurred in. Berrod took watch just in case the assassins returned while Ciel and Jessie examined the scene. Reks took it upon himself to aethericly examine the scene. Just as Reks had come to the conclusion that the assassins were no strangers to this place and Ciel and Jessie determined the second murder did not take place in the room, but rather the body was brought there, Berrod was attacked.
A Spinner’s Shear posing as a Yellow Jacket shivved his side and was about to finish him off when Ciel interceded. Jessie and Reks quickly worked to bring Berrod into the room and tend to his wounds while Ciel faced off with the assassin. Quick as he was, he was unable to take out the elezen as easily. He shot her through the shoulder, but her aim was far more precise, his heart. However, before he could perish, the assassin, called out “For Mother” and slit his own throat. Instead of bleeding out, red aether flowed out and disappeared into the sky. The Agents elected to teleport away before any more could arrive and to tend to their wounds.
A few suns later Jessie met up with Akhutai, Aoki, and Louma’li at The Gold Saucer. This time a murder had just occurred a bell before their arrive, the third at the Gold Saucer. Jessie was held up answering questions by the local security while the other three traveled to investigate the fresh murder scene. Akhutai took up the role of bruiser and look out after the first group was attacked on their mission. Louma’li and Aoki examined the body, but it was not very long until they had an unexpected visitor.
The entire room froze in place as a veiled visitor joined them at the body. She called it and offering and art. Naturally, that caused immediate questions about who she was. She introduced herself as Mother Nymeia or as they would more likely know her Satsujin no Seishin, Spirit of Murder. The three were immediately put on edge, but the woman was quite calm and forthcoming. The Spinner’s Shears were really a cult created hundreds of years ago worshiping her and now that she has returned they began to start offering murders once again. Aoki pressed her for a way for her to return to slumber and end all the pointless killing, but the spirit laughed and expressed that she had no desire to slumber until hundreds had been offered to her. However, the Agents could avoid being victims of the random killing if they promised to leave her children alone. Aoki express it was not her place to make that decision, and the spirit left. Jessie believe it was something higher ups would need to decide and told the group to return home.
Finally, in Ishgard, Autgar, Gideon, and Geofri found Jessie in the Forgotten Knight. She was quick to fill them in on what occured in the Gold Saucer. Jessie made it very clear if they continued the investigation likely it would be considered saying no to the deal. All the parties agreed to continue even if it meant risking the company. The death of hundreds was not a weight any of them wanted to have to bear.
Their investigation led them down into the Brume, but unlike the other two groups, thanks to the sharp eyes of Geofri they caught two Spinner’s in the act of attempting to create another offering to their “mother.” It was a short brawl between a child assassin with knives and a monk. Jessie worked with Gideon in stabilizing the victim and Geofri and Autgar engaged the assassins. After a few injuries on both side the Elezen Assassin called to the child that they failed and slit his throat just like the one Berrod, Reks, and Ciel encountered. The child was about to do the same when Autgar and Geofri subdued her and took her captive. An odd tomestone was dropped that later was discovered to be map to the Spinner’s Shears base.
With the three investigations completed Jessie Wildflower decided she would speak to the Yuki Clan when they came by for a update meeting on the job. The Spinner’s Shears and the Satsujin no Seishin were connected so it was time she joined in the investigation. A large number of Agents showed up, but their guests were quite late. She took the time to update the entire group on each groups findings, but still the Yuki Clan was missing.
Berrod received an SOS from Yukino, Norowareta Yuki’s retainer, about how the Yuki Airship was shot down, and they were under attack in Southern Thanalan. The Astral Advent jumped into action assuming it was the Spinner’s Shears. Jessie remained at the company house to serve as guard as Berrod, Aoki, Autgar, Reks, Martin, Suwan, T’dras, Tiergan, Geofri, and Crooked made their way to the dunes of southern Thanalan.
The Yuki airship had crashed, taken down by a Dragoon: Everret Black. The very same Spinner’s Shear who had been hired by Iron Jaw during the fall of Astral Agents. He and several other Spinner’s had already killed a large number of the crew by the time the Astral Advent arrived to provide assistance.
Geofri and Suwan quickly engaged the mages of the Spinner’s, Autgar and T’dras went after two knife wielding assassins, and Tiergan engaged a rather large man with a great sword. Berrod, Reks, Crooked remained as support while Martin tried to shoot the dragoon before he vanished into the sky.
The battle was push and pull as the knife assassins vanished and Everret kept launching into the air and out of sight. Reks suffered the most as assassin after assassin stabbed him and even Everret took a chance on impaling the Miqo’te. Tiergan kept the hulk occupied even as it came back to life. Martin and Crooked helped as they could while T’dras, Suwan, and Geofri took down the Black Mage.
The second mage worked on retrieving some object the Spinner’s Shears were after, and even as he was railed on by spell, fist, and round succeeded before killing himself. One by one each of the Spinner’s Shears were taken down by the Agents until the second mage retrieved a knife. Once the knife was retrieved Everret Black retreated, leaving the wrecked airship, bodies, and survivors being tended to by Aoki.
Lord Norowareta stepped out of the wreckage and tended to the dead men and women of his crew, eventually asking Suwan to teleport the bodies somewhere where he could get things arranged to take them back to Hingashi. Berrod, Autgar, and Aoki filled the Hingan lord as to why they were attacked and who the Spinner’s Shears were.
In the end, Norowareta charged the Astral Advent to kill Satsujin no Seishin by retrieving the knife, her vessel, from the Spinner’s Shear and stabbing her with it. Rather than sending the Spirit of Murder to slumber…. The Agents would need to murder her.
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