Mhm. We sleep it off, go into town the next morning with our wanted posters up (perfect time for
@AnimeTail the bounty hunter and
@IDKWhatUserNameToDo the Blood Knight to jump in by the way), instantly get attacked, Neta has nowhere to go and her only option is to join Parker and steal with him (he gets to live out his fantasy of stealing with a cute girl). I don't know if Sky, Easen, Arisa, Mallory, and Marybelle have a place to go but if they don't we become a band of thieves to survive, though someone really needs to slap Neta and bring her back to her senses because there's no way she's prostituting herself, maybe
@Sky5372 or Marybelle can do it, or Parker if he's still conscious (from his last post he fell to the ground with a shuddering breath but never made clear if he lost consciousness.) If we're outlaws now, this allows Magnus to jump back in anytime he wants if
@Semper Iuvenis comes back because the Raven goes after rogue Aberrants, and if that's what we are, he'll have more than enough reason to see us again. It really is a shame that he left because I like his character a lot. Ass-kissing aside, life as thieves will go on without any problems for about a week, because our characters are super close and all but really they only met each other a couple days ago, so there needs to be a timeskip so that we've known each other longer and our closeness is more realistic.
Now if this is the route we'll go, there are Neta, Parker, Mallory, Harmonia, Zaryu, Sky, and Marybelle which makes seven people. Quite a large group for a band of thieves, enough to wreak some serious havoc and get the attention of the Resistance
@Mystic Zander . Now I know you said you'd introduce Victor later and haven't put up his bio yet, but this may have to come sooner than later. I was actually hoping Magnus could take us all to his mansion following the burning of the inn, we could stay there without any problems for a week (there's the timeskip in this alternate storyline), before Claro discovers their location by enlisting the help of the government's tracking Aberrants and a showdown at Everard Keep ensues. Or Lady Genova could have seen Magnus with a beautiful girl and misunderstood his relationship with Neta, becoming jealous and ratting her out to the government. They would flee the keep as it would no longer be safe and encounter the Resistance, but unfortunately Magnus has disappeared so I'm scrapping this plotline.
But those two plots aren't mutually exclusive. Maybe the next arc will be the first encounter with the Resistance and the organization sets us up with a place to stay for now (maybe they have secret benefactors or nobles who fund them, who knows? I wouldn't think it's the Everard family, as they mostly take care of themselves.) Claro doesn't know their location but finds them with the help of tracking Aberrants. This part is crucial. There needs to be a second encounter with Claro where he's stronger and has developed new abilities (Everyone's characters can develop their skills during the timeskip or gradually discover them throughout each of their posts). After all, he needs a second chance before Osiris can conclude that he has failed and step in to assist in the capture of the Seed. The Resistance is an underground organization with many meeting places, but their headquarters will be currently unknown and I want this encounter with Claro to happen before we reach it eventually. That's all I say for now. The rest is secret and I'm still keeping you guessing despite everything I've revealed here.
If anyone has ideas, or thinks that those above are balls and wants to smooth them out or scrap them entirely, let me know and we'll work it out.