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Author Topic: The Forgotten Art: Approaching the Nexus  (Read 271024 times)

Pancaek

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1320 on: April 17, 2014, 09:32:41 am »

"I...don't think I've got anything to help with this one. So, yeah...Trey? Do you have any ideas on this?"
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Harry Baldman

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1321 on: April 17, 2014, 09:49:06 am »

"I...don't think I've got anything to help with this one. So, yeah...Trey? Do you have any ideas on this?"

"I don't really think I should be casting spells here. Might have been able to pick the lock, though, had I not been rudely interrupted back at the pad and had the time to pack them."

I buy some suit pants and hammer pants, put on the suit pants and go cheak out the school.

You're not going to take advantage of the 3-for-2 sale? Madness!
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The Froggy Ninja

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1322 on: April 17, 2014, 09:57:12 am »

I also buy some renaissance period pantaloons before putting on the suit pants and checking out the gory school.

Pancaek

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1323 on: April 17, 2014, 10:28:07 am »

"Oh, quit your bitchin'. I only had your best interests in mind. I mean, I think we can agree that this little venture was, in fact, not a great idea. Oh well, Luz, any other way to get to the roof?"

Ask Luz! Take a look at the door to see if there's any way I could get it open! If opening this doors is not possible, see if I can't phone home to mister Lee, assuming I brought my cell phone.
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Harry Baldman

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1324 on: April 18, 2014, 05:10:56 am »

After taking the time to appreciate the majestic sight before him, Halesey decides to comment approvingly on the size of Larry's vortex.

"Er. Wow. Nice vortex, Larry. Let me try again."

"Get the potato out of your ass and get casting!" Larry replies, and the two proceed to try and finalize their vortex shenanigans.

[Halesey's affinity roll: 1-->4]
[Larry's affinity roll: 3+1]

It seems, however, that Halesey can't quite concentrate without being mesmerized by so many vortexes in the vicinity - it is as if the champignon-potato combo is staring him in the very soul, beckoning him to approach and swim in their otherworldly currents. It's all he can do not to start slowly waltzing into the swirling mess of reality that's been made here. Larry, for his part, does quite a bit better, and after he steps back and makes a few noteworthy gestures, some of which are directed at Halesey, yet another champignon vortex appears on the church's facade, resulting in about a 2:1 vortex-to-exposed-church ratio in total.

Luckily, it appears that Halesey's effort was entirely unnecessary, as Larry becomes keenly aware of something - the vortexes begin to move rapidly, converging on one another, champignons and potatoes mixing in a chaotic fashion. And then, with a low, resounding rumble, darkness begins to billow from the vortexes, and unearthly music begins to boom from it, sounding something like a slow mix of doom metal and northern European dance music punctuated by the screams and growls of the sinful and unworthy. Shapes slowly begin to emerge from the darkness, prowling the area for a few moments. This entrance, while undoubtedly quite dramatic, is cut off by one of the shapes speaking up.

"Ey, where's the bloody gen-lit? There was supposed to be some dirty god mags here!" it says, sounding rather unsatisfied, and a chorus of similarly disappointed murmurs erupts, echoing similar sentiments. "Can't you mortal bastards do anything right? I paid good souls for your smut!" it says to Larry, Halesey and the mafiosi, its eyes two glowing red points nestled within solid shadow, and begins to approach, a whole bunch of hellspawn following behind, some already calling for blood (and some hardly having stopped the entire time). Larry and Halesey hardly need any more hints to start backing away, and the mafiosi quickly begin to regroup in a protective barrier when suddenly the darkness is cut off, and instead bright light bathes the entire area.

"Aw, shite, it's some kind of sting operation!" the shade exclaims as altogether more tangible, fleshy figures with extreme numbers of limbs and teeth, their irregular bodies wielding spears of holy light and fire and their wings taking on the character of mighty claws, descend upon the demons present, rending flesh and screaming praises to the powers above as they dice, cage and bind the deceived appreciators of truly heavenly pornography. The battle is violent, but very quick, with what Larry and Halesey presume to be angels quickly encircling and ensuring domination over their quarry, capturing them in strange cages of knives and water when they invariably cry uncle after differing degrees of punishment are doled out to them by the merciless defenders of the heavens.

When the snaring and subdual is complete, all the heavenly figures momentarily turn their many and terrible heads toward their mortal collaborators. Their eyes of unspeakable brightness pierce into their mind for but a short moment, and the angels collectively nod in what the two perceive to be a gesture of approval before disappearing back into the portal, which closes right after them, leaving nothing, not even the vortexes that spawned them, in their wake. The church as well as the street both look to be completely unharmed, and aside from slight ripples through the air and a few splashes of demonic ichor on the ground one did not really have grounds to suspect a mythical struggle may have taken place here at all.

It's all quite a bit to take in, and when the two men and their mafiosi have taken a moment to process it all, they notice that the fellow in the van seems to have pulled up next to them, and seems to be waving cheerily.

"Great job, guys! I knew I could count on you," he says, leaning out of the window. "Got those demons good, we did. All thanks to your efforts. How do you guys feel?"

* * * * *

Eta, awash with responsibility, guides Lois on her first restaurant experience.

"Well, let's sit down and order I suppose. Then we can find out what you like! It'll be fun!"

"If you say so," Lois shrugs, following Eta as they take a seat at one of the booths not too far from a lively contingent of older gentlemen debating some issue of the day or another. Soon a hideously elderly, lanky waitress slinks over to the table, her general features and looks reminding one more of a mummified Mongolian warrior than somebody who might conceivably have any business purveying tea and cakes.

"May I... take your order?" she asks in a dusty yet authoritative voice.

"Hello there, dear madam. I was just informing my friend here that this establishment sells the most exquisite tea and cakes. Would you be so kind as to bring us two cups of tea and a selection of your finest cupcakes for us to try? My friend just got here from out of town you see, and I'm giving her a small tour of the city and I told her we must absolutely stop by here to try your fine desserts."

"The pilgrim's platter, yes," the waitress murmurs and bows a little. "You have chosen well," she says, slowly walking away afterwards.

"Wonder what she's going to bring us," Lois says. She does not have to wonder long, as the waitress returns within half a minute, a large platter covered in cupcakes of every sort in one hand and a plate with two cups of tea on it in the other. Placing both on the table, she bows again, then leaves without a word.

"So... what are we supposed to do with these?" Lois asks, picking up one of the darker, more chocolatey muffins on the platter. "Eat them, right?"

* * * * *

Dave, after a little browsing, decides to get himself a practically new pair of suit pants (they seem very carefully tailored, too, and come with a very nice belt, not to mention the fact that they seem to fit very well), a ratty pair of hammer pants that definitely seem to have been around back in the eighties and used extensively for all sorts of unorthodox moves, judging from the locations and shapes of the patches, and a very nice-looking pair of Renaissance-style pantaloons that probably came from somebody stabbed to death at a renfaire, as such items often do. Replete with pants in stark contrast to his earlier state, Dave puts on the suit pants immediately, paying a grand total of four dollars for all these treasures he has obtained, and heads out of the store to take a closer look at Mills High.

From an external inspection, Dave concludes several things - for one, there seems to be a giant hole in the roof. Furthermore, the entire front of the school is covered in what look like the exploded remains of living people. The front door as well as the metal shutter covering it seem to have been hit repeatedly with washing machines that Dave is pretty sure would fetch a highly impressive price at any respectable appliance outlet. And he thinks he hears things happening inside the school right now.

Question is, with all of these telltale signs of danger before him, would that be a very good idea? For all he knows, all this gore out front could be brave adventurers that made the horrible mistake of venturing inside.

* * * * *

John deflects any responsibility for the predicament he happens to be in, probably with some justification.

"Oh, quit your bitchin'. I only had your best interests in mind. I mean, I think we can agree that this little venture was, in fact, not a great idea. Oh well, Luz, any other way to get to the roof?" he says, and Luz shrugs.

"I don't think so. There should be another door on the other side of this wing, but I don't think it's likely to be any less locked."

John takes a look at the door again. Its handle seems to have been removed a long time ago. There's just a somewhat old lock on it. From the looks of it, the door opens outward, so kicking it in is probably not a very good idea.

"Plus that watchman fucker's over there," Trey adds.

Among the alternatives John can think of is calling Mr. Lee - he still has his phone, and... huh. He seems to have one missed call from eleven minutes ago, from an unknown number. Must have been distracted at the time.

"That too. Eh, fuck it, let's try it the regular way," Luz says, facing the door again. John gets out of the way immediately, mostly out of reflex.

[Luz's affinity roll: 1-->4]

She points her hand at the door, but nothing happens. She clenches her teeth and tries again with more feeling and flourish in the gesture, but this only seems to cause something in her ribcage to poke unpleasantly against something else, and she groans before slumping up against the wall.

"Hrm... how about you guys check if you can get new spells? I'm feeling kind of down on magic right now," she says after a moment of trying to breathe as calmly and gently as possible.
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The Froggy Ninja

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1325 on: April 18, 2014, 08:09:20 am »

I walk in and shout: "Hey are these washing machines yours? If so can I have them I need them for stuff!"

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1326 on: April 18, 2014, 08:17:14 am »

Larry stares silently for a few minutes.


"...well, I guess we took the right side here?  Demons are bad, right?  Shit, son, if I hadn't done half of this myself, I'd think someone had spiked me with acid.  Maybe they did anyway."
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HMR stands for Hazardous Materials Requisition, not Horrible Massive Ruination, though I can understand how one could get confused.
God help us if we have to agree on pizza toppings at some point. There will be no survivors.

Pancaek

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1327 on: April 18, 2014, 09:33:05 am »

"Yeah, I'll try to get something useful. Just take it easy, Luz. By the way, I never asked, what withgoing on a mad adventure for a leyline and such, but what do you kids even do? I mean, do you still go to school or what?"

Read magazine, acquire awesome and helpful spells! Then look who called me and call them back!
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Parisbre56

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1328 on: April 18, 2014, 12:29:04 pm »

"Yes. Like this!"

Demonstrate cupcake-eating to Lois. Pick a chocolate one.

"I like the chocolate ones myself. You know what chocolate is, right?"

Harry Baldman

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1329 on: April 18, 2014, 12:47:57 pm »

Larry stares silently for a few minutes.


"...well, I guess we took the right side here?  Demons are bad, right?  Shit, son, if I hadn't done half of this myself, I'd think someone had spiked me with acid.  Maybe they did anyway."

"Yeah, some of this extradimensional stuff must seem pretty fucked up to you, huh? You'll get used to it pretty soon, let me tell you. Want a blessing? It'll keep the demons away."

"I like the chocolate ones myself. You know what chocolate is, right?"

"No idea, actually. What is chocolate?"
« Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 12:50:13 pm by Harry Baldman »
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Toaster

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1330 on: April 18, 2014, 01:02:22 pm »

"Uhhh... sure?  Know how we can get the cash to buy that factory?  Or find more leylines?"

Get blessed.  Ask questions.
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HMR stands for Hazardous Materials Requisition, not Horrible Massive Ruination, though I can understand how one could get confused.
God help us if we have to agree on pizza toppings at some point. There will be no survivors.

Parisbre56

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1331 on: April 18, 2014, 01:03:09 pm »

"No idea, actually. What is chocolate?"
"Oh, it's those brown ones over there." said Eta, pointing at the chocolate ones. "If you mean what chocolate itself is though, it's a kind of food you make from cocoa (a plant) and some sugar to make it sweet. I love it. I've got kind of a sweet tooth myself. There's this place where they take chocolate muffins, heat them up so that the chocolate inside melts and then put some cold ice-cream on top and... and you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"
Oh, I'm such an idiot. Need to learn to shut my mouth. I should take things slow. No need to remind her how little she knows about the world. Let's start with what she knows.
"So when you said you went to law school to fly into things do you literally mean that you were taught how to fly into things in a legal manner?"

Harry Baldman

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1332 on: April 18, 2014, 01:34:28 pm »

"Uhhh... sure?  Know how we can get the cash to buy that factory?  Or find more leylines?"

"Well, first of all, don't sell any of that dang gentlemen's literature. Seriously, guys. It's not cool. And pretty dangerous for the guys and gals up top. As for leylines... can't really help on that, sadly. Probably won't be too hard to find, just look for the place where the craziest shit happens, and you'll be set. Or maybe ask a wizard friend. That works too, y'know."

"Oh, it's those brown ones over there." said Eta, pointing at the chocolate ones. "If you mean what chocolate itself is though, it's a kind of food you make from cocoa (a plant) and some sugar to make it sweet. I love it. I've got kind of a sweet tooth myself. There's this place where they take chocolate muffins, heat them up so that the chocolate inside melts and then put some cold ice-cream on top and... and you probably have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"I sort of remember something about this kind of thing. Chocolate is made of cocoa butter and/or powdered cocoa products, with no more than 40% of its weight composed of additional ingredients. You can't have non-milk-derived animal fats in it, and... you know, I'm thinking this isn't actually a chocolate muffin. Do you think it has any chocolate actually in it?"

"So when you said you went to law school to fly into things do you literally mean that you were taught how to fly into things in a legal manner?"

"Well, flying and smashing into things is kind of uncomplicated, you know. As well as illegal if you deliberately do it to another person. Other than that, as long as I don't vandalize the property with myself or any bits I happen to lose in the process, or cause property damage, I suppose they can't prosecute me too badly. Or you, since you'd be the one firing me. It'll probably be you who's blamed if you use me as a blunt object to smash things with. But it's all up for interpretation in the end, I guess. Depends on the judge and the legal system and all that crap. I'm pretty sure there are jurisdictions where people can stone me for simply flying down the street if they feel like it. And I'm fairly certain I didn't actually go to law school. It's just that... I feel like I'm supposed to say that. The knowledge is there, but there's no experience of learning it, you know?"
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lawastooshort

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1333 on: April 18, 2014, 02:04:36 pm »

"Wow. I feel... kind of sweet. Tired, but sweet. I like the idea of busting out potato vortexes for heaven. I would like to be blessed, yeah, because I think we owe it to those nuns to go and tell them to burn that porn, man, before demons attack them. Larry, come with me dude. You don't have to come in, just stand watch. Oh, van dude - any chance you could give me a hundred euros so I can take this girl out tonight? She's really nice, the kind of girl you might take home to meet your parents, totally, and I seem to have lost all my cash. I think. Speaks in a really nice pink voice too, and isn't interested in gentleman's literature at all, which is even more relieving now I know the truth about it..."

Also get blessed.
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Harry Baldman

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Re: The Forgotten Art: 101 Uses For Potatoes and Vortexes Thereof
« Reply #1334 on: April 18, 2014, 02:17:04 pm »

"Wow. I feel... kind of sweet. Tired, but sweet. I like the idea of busting out potato vortexes for heaven. I would like to be blessed, yeah, because I think we owe it to those nuns to go and tell them to burn that porn, man, before demons attack them. Larry, come with me dude. You don't have to come in, just stand watch. Oh, van dude - any chance you could give me a hundred euros so I can take this girl out tonight? She's really nice, the kind of girl you might take home to meet your parents, totally, and I seem to have lost all my cash. I think. Speaks in a really nice pink voice too, and isn't interested in gentleman's literature at all, which is even more relieving now I know the truth about it..."

"Don't have any money, sorry. But good luck with that anyway, man."
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