Stuff happening somewhere
"Ah, how gracious of you."
You open the doors and find a small chamber, similar to the one you came in, the only difference being that there are two sets of boot imprints on the ground. When both of you are in, the doors slam shut and you begin going up again. This one is a bit slower than the last one...
"So. What's with the kittens?" Jack asks, probably trying to make small talk.
"I don't know, I didn't choose it. What's with the quotes?
"No idea either. It's not like I'm a quote guy."
He stays silent for a second, then laughs.
"Heh. Dear God, they're all over the place. Ancient Chinese, the Bible, Criminals, Stand-up Comedians... There was even one from Justin Bieber! Oh, there was this one, I laughed so hard I nearly fell off the platform."
He doesn't elaborate. The walls finally give way to the black void, revealing your next destination. From below it looks like a large modern building, a wide block of concrete with rebar, pipes and wiring coming out of it, disappearing into the void.
"Hm. Next level looks pretty big. I guess it's because there's two of us now."
There is a great metal box attached to the bottom of the building, surrounded by rebar and wiring. Jack points at it.
"Looks hard to get into. Ten bucks says our goal is in there."
The platform keeps moving for a while but from this angle you can't get much more info.
"Looks modern too. I guess I can blend in better if that's true. Don't know 'bout you though."
Your entry point is layer of dirt and stone on the edge of the concrete block. The platform slides through a hole and deposits you in a small room similar to the one you entered. As expected, there is a quote on the door.
Burglars know there's more than one way to skin a vault.
Underneath it is an image of two cats. One is wearing a stethoscope. The other's wearing a balaclava and holding a cartoonish stick of TNT in its paws.
"Huh. So I suppose this makes us cat burglars?" Jack says half-joking.
You open the door and inspect the area beyond. You've exited a small structure on the edge of a parking lot. There's a lot of expensive cars in front of you. Beyond them there's an impossibly high wall, illuminated by distant multicolored lights. You guess you're not supposed to go that way then.
"Hah! Jackpot!"
You turn around to see what has Jack so excited. It's a casino, one of those Las Vegas monstrosities full of neon and spotlights. There's a giant rotating antenna-like structure on its top with the words "Queen's Tower Casino" glowing near its top. A path takes you from the parking to its front garden which is dominated by a gigantic water fountain, the few shrubs and palm trees planted around it looking sad and tiny in comparison. Beyond that there's a red carpet that leads you to the front door. There's a big queue in the front door. The bouncers aren't letting people in, which you find a bit strange. Casinos are supposed to let everyone in so they can take their money, right?
"I bet I could restock on cards there. And get me some Benjamins while I'm at it."
He turns to look at you.
"If that is OK with you, of course."
((If Alan ever joins a Magical Girl game, it'll end up becoming The Jackass Movie: Madoka Magica Edition. Insanity will do everyone in before their grief seeds or the witches do.))
♚The Doll Prince: What Happens in the Queen's Tower Casino...♚
Napoleon smiled inwardly. Though Jack is quite a talkative fellow, he certainly shows that he is capable of looking up to his betters, mainly the Doll Prince himself, for permission. Though Napoleon always have a desire for more wealth, he was more intrigued by two things: the quote by James Chiles and its accompanying images and the casino itself. If his previous suspicions still holds true then not only is he still being tested but this one requires him and Jack to break open a safe that could be inside the casino itself and retrieve the items inside. Though Napoleon had already straddled that fine line between being a nobleman and a thief just to stay afloat during his 200+ years long lifespan, he'd never attempted the bigger stuff before since he still has standards after all. However, he doesn't know what sort of morality if any is applicable in this eldritch realm so he decided to cross that bridge when he gets to it.
The next intriguing thing is the casino itself. Much like its Earth-like counterparts in various places, particular the so-named 'Sin City', its flashing lines and sign seem to warmly beckon the foolhardy and wasteful with dreams of quick riches, only to turn them into obsessive addicts with broken dreams and empty pockets. The House truly wins each time and even a jackpot may encourage more fools to try their hand at a 'heightened' advantage, continually filling its coffers with the pocket change of the gullible proles and the wealth of the naive bourgeoisie. Napoleon personally hates that kind of gambling, not because of any moral objection he may have but because any odds he thought he have complete control of will ultimately serve the system in the end. Only a fool plays along guidelines their opponents give them.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary save for the long line and the bouncers not permitting entry. Either the establishment isn't open yet or the bouncers are expecting someone to arrive soon...
"I suppose that a bit of entertainment can't harm us, maybe even be enlightening," Napoleon said with a shrug. "First, let cut the line. We at the very least look the part of obnoxious snobs."
Walking with Jack, Napoleon made it to the line and begin pushing their way to the front of the line, ignoring the people's protests.
"Excusez nous, coming through! Move aside, your betters are approaching! Make way plebs, make way! Careful with the outfit! It costs more than your children's college funds combined, which you are no doubt planning on blowing tonight anyway like a totally responsible adult!"
Making it to the front of the line, Napoleon met the bouncers' icy glares with a steadfast, almost regal pose. Hoping that he was leaving a strong enough impression on them, he spoke, "As you are no doubt aware, we are honored guests here at the Queen's Tower Casino. If you don't mind, please allow us entry as well as these..." Napoleon motioned dismissively to the masses behind him and Jack. "...people. No doubt that the Casino has need of our patronage."
Attempt to bullshit our way into the casino... like a BOSS!
You approach the entrance acting like a rich bastard (or perhaps an angry primadonna, given how you're dressed).
"Unfortunately monsieur tonight is a special night, as monsieur is no doubt aware. Only people with the appropriate invitation may enter." the bouncer responds with a thick American accent.
"If monsieur does not show their invitation to me, I cannot let monsieur in. I am certain monsieur understands. We wouldn't want to let any... 'people' in." he continues with that air of petty superiority of someone who has found himself in a position of power over others.
"If you ask me, the guy's just fishing for bribes, trying to find some suckers to pay him." Jack whispers from behind you.
Stephano Falcone
Help Iris move the table out the way. If there is a lockable door separating the Kitchen from the rest of the building, then lock it and block the door with the table, while Iris opens up the trap door. If not, then help Iris open the trap door instead. Follow her through it.
You help Iris move the table out of the way, lift the carpet and open the trapdoor. It's dark down there. Something breaks through the kitchen window and explodes next to you. In pain, your sense of balance destroyed, you fall into the darkness.
...
You wake up. You don't know how much time has passed. Your face is in pain, you feel dizzy, your ears are still ringing. That thing must have exploded right next to your head. Everything is dark. You feel dirt beneath you. A small relief. That must mean they haven't caught you yet.
Maximus: Starboard Hangar Section, small hangars
Brian Hoss, Maximus Starboard Hangar
Go through decontamination now.
With power in this section restored, you can open the doors leading to the decontamination area. You get in and run the decontamination cycle. After a few seconds of being sprayed and zapped by light alarms start blaring and red lights start flashing.
: Warning. Class 2 hazards detected. Security has been notified. Please remain calm and await their arrival. :: Warning. Unable to confirm identification. Security has been notified. Please remain calm and await their arrival. :Well, this room certainly doesn't like you.
You wait for a few seconds. Nothing happens. You fiddle with the door's control but all it does is emit a displeased beep and a red X.
"Uh, Interface, a bit of help here?": Override available. Connect to control system to proceed. :You plug your Interface to the doors' control panel and after a few seconds it lights up a pleasant green. The alarms stop and the doors unlock.
: Warning. Override accepted. Decontamination unsealed. :: Warning. Unable to receive secondary authorization. Security has been notified. Please remain calm and await their arrival. :: Warning. Security cannot be contacted at this time. Report yourself to security for immediate detention. This is for your safety and the safety of all of us. :Guess the room still doesn't like you.
You keep moving, reaching the small security station. It's a simple thing, just a line of scanners. It reminds you of a small airport's security check area. There's a desk with a couple of computer terminals on one corner, presumably where the people responsible for security would sit. There are a couple of large screen above the scanners, probably meant to display information about the vehicles docked here, however right now it's displaying a single message.
No flights allowed as per the Captain's orders.
All docks ID-sealed.
Access to authorized personnel only.
|
Maximus: Starboard Hangar Section, cargo transfer system
John, Inside the Maximus
John sighed. If only his power wasn't so hindered... "Yes, you're right. Let's go."
Walk on. Try to slowly- slowly!- summon some targeting goggles like I always do. See if focusing on doing summoning slowly will avoid most of the pain/drain. Abort if it becomes too bad.
((FYI, you can still modify existing equipment just fine, it's just your summoning that is quite weak.))
You
already have some sensors installed from before you started the mission. They haven't been damaged yet, so you should be able to use them. They weren't much use out there with that liquid blocking most signals but in here they should work OK.
<Svajoklis, Maximus, destroyed Way Station>
((Ah, thanks))
"Well, with all the debri, we may as well try walking. We have what to watch out for without also adding metal chunks trying to tear our limbs off. And as much as I wish to know what happened, I want to keep the rest of my blood in me more."
Start walking forward.
You keep walking forward, making your way towards the Starboard Hangar Section. This cargo transfer corridor hasn't been too damaged by whatever happened in the Way Station, you only have to avoid two sections where the ground appears to have exploded.
: Emergency beacon signal pulse has not arrived for the past 5 intervals. Assuming ship's emergency beacon has been deactivated. : your interface states as you walk. Guess someone deactivated the emergency beacon on the Primary Bridge. Or something happened to it.
It takes a while but you eventually make it to a gate leading into a temporary cargo storage area of the Hangar. Unfortunately, the door is welded shut. You can see the perpetrator, the remains of a spider-shaped drone that has been partially crushed beneath the door's locking mechanism.
: Black Box in range. Downloading data... : your interface states as it downloads the data from the drone's remains.
Your visor projects an image of the still intact drone, floating through the corridor at high speed, coming towards the door. It lands on the door and prepares to work on it.
: Laser in operation. Stand clear. : it states in an emotionless yet disturbingly child-like voice.
It produces a tube from its mouth, some sort of high-power low-focus chemical laser you'd wager. It quickly uses it to form a seal, fusing the two doors together.
: Order complete. : it states.
: Order accepted. : it adds a moment later.
The projection walks over to where its corporeal body is and allows itself to be crushed between the closing gate locks. The holographic projection disappears as it is crushed, leaving you staring into its destroyed body.
Campaign: The Hills of Midnight, on road
Lets abstract out the rest of the self-introduction conversation please, and Irine will be remaining open to further questions from whatever source. She's trying to be accessible after all.
Okay then, we'll say you do that with everyone that survives then.
"I... guess I really should be the one to tell everyone. Okay. I'll do it."
A signal is a good idea. And I'll do my best to tell everyone whats going on and what I'm planning to do to stop it.
and then, once preparations are complete, I'm going to try it.
You gather everyone and announce your plan to them, trying to make them understand what's going on and why it's necessary for you to cast that spell. The Sword helps amplify your voice and the water mages help with the explanation and answering questions. There are some people who aren't very comfortable with having magic cast on them and ask several questions but nobody gives you any trouble. Everyone agrees that this is necessary and that they should support you in your efforts.
You find an open space in the center of the camp, sit down and close your eyes. You need to focus your entire being on this, to make sure you don't make any mistake and accidentally hurt someone.
The sun has set for a while and you're bracing for the Dark wave when you hear something running towards you. It's River. He runs up to you and nearly throws you to the ground with his momentum.
He sends you images and smells. Theri. Alone. The stench of those monster birds. This is distracting. You're supposed to be focusing on the spell, the Dark waves will arrive any moment now. But Theri... River is really worried.
His message delivered, River runs away, heading back towards where he came from. Some seconds later you hear a distant scream. A monstrous scream of a monstrous bird. And then more screams. Every minute there are more and more. You realize that one of the screaming voices is yours. You are on the ground screaming. The pain. It's tearing your body apart. Trying to sandblast it away.
Determined, you redouble your efforts. You are a glass sphere holding back the ocean's waves, cracking under the pressure. The Sword joins your effort. You are an ember surrounded by dark icy-cold waters, sizzling with an inner flame.
<Just hold on! We can protect them!>The waves keep coming, crashing and breaking against your extended self. You feel the fear, the urge to retreat back into your body, to focus on defending yourself.
You persevere. Soon the worst of the waves has faded. But something is different today. Not only is the Dark spell far more potent, it also has a different... flavor you could call it. It also lingers much longer. Resisting it is causing you and the Sword quite a strain but slowly the area is turning back to normal, the effect receding under your influence. At least you can focus on your surroundings again.
"Irine?! Are you okay?"<Ugh. I'm just peachy. Just the worst hangover ever. And I didn't even get to get proper drunk.> you say without thinking, your attention and self-control too strained to think about this as well.
"You had us scared there for a moment. What happened? Do you need anything?"<The Darkness was too strong. Something is different today.>"Yeah, I felt it too. It was like it was trying to rip me apart.""There might be an attack coming. I'll get the troops organized." the other mage says as he moves away, content that you are not dead.
"Guards! To me!"
Campaign: The Hills of Midnight, forward scout
Theri; Campaign.
On the edge of getting Murder'd...
As she carried River with her, Theri surmised that it would be a bad idea to use any kind of magic; River, however, was someone innately...magical, as she wondered--but so was Irine, and the birds back then did not detect them or attack. She could fend them off herself, as they usually were the sort that acted like buzzers, aiming for vital areas and working in tandem with each other, but what mattered more were the other recruits who volunteered with her. They knew the presumable danger, but she was glad that they were also trained in non-verbal messaging.
So she decided to give River a pat, while sending him off back to them, to give the message of certain danger (specifying birds) that she had described back on the trip when they had met Ike and the rest. Either way, it was much easier for one person to scout and not be detected than a group, and it was a lot better to create a distraction by oneself and divert the danger away; she only hoped her signalling training was up to par, because requesting for 'ranged troops' with close melee support could be easily mixed up in gestures.
Send River back to warn the other recruits; order them all to head back (River's choice though on what he does), while Theri goes ahead, and away from the direction of her people, to scout out the birds--she moves away and to a different location (like, tracing a perimeter but moving away from the location of where you came from to disorient the ambushers) while trying her best to gain better intelligence on the situation.
"Hey buddy. I need you to do something for me."River looks at you eagerly.
"I need you to go back to the camp. Find Irine and warn her of the danger. Let her know we need help."River looks at you in the eyes and whines. He doesn't get up.
"I'll be fine. I promise." you say with a confident smile.
"I can hide here without problem. But if they stay here there's more chances they'll find us. They can't fight against the monsterbirds. It's irresponsible to keep them here. Please."You don't tell him how you believe you can fend the birds off if they attack you. You don't tell him how you can act as a distraction and delay them if necessary. He'd never leave if you did. You watch him run away as fast as he can. Did you make the right choice? Time will tell.
"Are you sure about this?" the recruit with you asks as he prepares to move out.
"I said I'll be fine. I've faced those things before. I know how to hide from them.""I guess if I stayed here, I'd just get in the way."
"No. Don't say that. It is not about that. It's about where you'd be the most useful.""OK. I guess I'll have to trust you." he relents with a sigh.
"I'll make sure you get the support you requested." he adds before he joins the other recruits in retreating, careful to remain hidden.
...
It's been a while. The sun has moved closer to the horizon, it has almost completely set. They should had gotten far enough away by now. There's been no movement up ahead. It's time to move. You head higher up the hills, using your strength to climb the steep and narrow places, where few would be able to go. Hopefully they won't be watching such a difficult path and the higher ground will give you a good view of your surroundings.
...
The sun has set for a while now. The stars are few and the moon has yet to rise. It's getting harder to see and your eyesight wasn't that great to begin with. But there's still just enough light for you to examine the ambushers lying in wait below you. A number of monsterbirds, their great misshapen bodies resting close to the top of the hill, sleeping where nobody can see them from below.
Some distance below them are 5 beastmen. A lizardman, a roosterman and two vulturemen are eating a man's corpse. An antelopewoman is watching the road. Near them is a magical machine hidden underneath cloth and dry shrubs. It looks like a collection of tubes and wires with a great bulbous thing on one end, pointing towards the path below. It kinda reminds you of a cannon. There's a collection of transparent tubes near its back, lightning arcing around inside them, some sort of power stone. Those things are quite unstable. If you hit the power stone with something you could break it, cause it to explode, probably taking everyone around it with it. But there might be more groups around here. That would definitely put everyone on alert, at least until they've-
One of the monsterbirds screams. You hide as best you can. More monsterbirds scream, their calls being answered by somewhere on the other side of the road. Their horrible screams make your chest hurt, the fear and adrenaline making you feel like your heart will stop. A few moments later you realize that they haven't seen you. Something has agitated them. You can feel it too. There's something wrong in the air. It's making your heart hurt.
They might start flying around soon. You don't know how good their nightvision is, you don't know if they could spot you. If you're going to do something, you need to act now.
Campaign: The Hills of Midnight, off road
Campaign, Ike!
"Prolly wanna cast it as soon as possible, and if you have any idea as to where we'd be able to find a powerful Order mage that'd be nifty too. I don't like the idea of Alan permeating the entire world, I've seen what he does to his own body."
I'd love to take Grim along! Especially if he can help me cast dark magic!
... do we happen to have a suitably powerful order mage in the party? I kind of forget at this point.
That said, we travel together even if it takes a bit. Don't want anyone going missing.
You keep walking for a while, the sun moving closer and closer to the horizon until you can barely see it anymore. Suddenly the swordsman accompanying Grim stops (you think he called him Kaya). Grim stops a second later and looks at him questioningly. You turn to look as well. Kaya is smiling his crazy smile again. He emits a quiet laugh.
"Kaya? What's wrong?"
You hear something, something behind you, becoming louder. You turn around but nothing is there. The noise is still behind you and getting louder. A moment later you realize it's coming from the things on your back. It's becoming too loud. With no time to check the cause, you throw everything off your back. Your Chaos Sword is shifting states faster than usual.
"Kaya!" Grim shouts.
A moment later you hear Kaya's body fall to the ground. But your eyes are focused on your things. On your sword that is going crazy and the two points of light inside your backpack.
"What is this?" you demand from Grim as you retreat to a safer distance, turning your head to see him lying next to Kaya.
"I don't know." he responds without looking at you, his attention still focused on Kaya's spasming body.
"What did he do?""I have no idea! It's never done anything like this before!"
"Well, think of something!""Maybe the Eyes activated somehow?"
"How!?""I don't know!"
The Eyes emit a pulse of crackling chaos energy, tearing everything around them apart, reforming them into a collage of poorly-cut and colored images of flowers and food. The only thing left around it still corporeal is your sword, transformed now into a flickering storm of blades cutting away at the expanding and unfolding pieces of paper. Dhiesmas, the water mage, throws a waterskin towards the advancing wave. With a spell it explodes into a layer of water, the thin, short-lived shield redirecting the pulse away from you.
You keep retreating but Grim lags behind, trying to drag Kaya with him. A recruit tries to help him but retreats as one of Kaya's swords suddenly flies out of its sheath with a burst of chaos energy.
"What's wrong with him?""The Chaos energy is tearing him apart."
Kaya's skin is breaking apart, flying away like ash in the wind. You remember something you read about vengeful spirits, similar to the Ashwraith that tried to possess you in the City, about their sensitivity to Chaos, Fire and Dark magic, that appearance of that useless tidbit of knowledge seeming absurd in this situation. Maybe the Chaos Energy is starting to get to you.
Grim has the WMD on him. You don't know what will happen to him if he gets hit with a Chaos Wave, but it probably won't be good.
Campaign: Balloons
Alan, Helpful Swarm of Balloons
"Heck yeah, we'll be like that guy and his house in Up, only less depressing and our ages are vastly different compared to him. It'd probably be helpful for me to get tied together anyhow, this high up the wind might blow part of me away."
Gather myself together in front of Magical Milkshake Girl as best I can.
((I have not, but that is a hilarious image that I want to try to make a reality in this game at some point.))
You swarm yourselves closer together, as close to each other and to her as you can. It's not easy. The wind keeps trying to carry you with it. And the branches of the dead trees keep moving around, knocking you away. She does her best, jumping up and down, doing all she can to grab as much of you as she can from her little perch.
"Yes! Yes! Haha!" she laughs with every you she catches. And with every you she catches, you feel a bit better, a bit more like you. It's easier to concentrate, easier to focus on gathering yourself. It's like her energy becomes yours.
"More! Come to me! Let me leave this place!"Why does she need you to leave? Can't she get off the tower? No, wait, this isn't a tower at all. It's actually a cave. A deep dark cave at the top of a tall mountain. Ah, so that explains the need to float up.
"Yes, join me. I will make you whole. Together I will be free." she remarks now that she has tied so many of you to her.
She doesn't sound quite herself. Sounds a lot more serious than before. And a lot more voices too. Are there many of her too? And she looks so vicious, with all the energy she's putting into tying your threads together.
"Pieces missing. Make new strands. Replace. Improve."The countless eyes are watching every move, each looking at something different. The many mouths are eating itself up and spitting you back out, pliable, new. The needles are swishing about, poking at you, weaving your flesh and bones into something else, better. With a corporeal form the spell breaks and you can finally see the truth.
Campaign: Nether Pass, the Final Fortress of the Necromancer-EmperorThe massive creature takes up a good portion of the cavern. Its carapace reflects a faint purple light. The light is coming from massive roots impaling its body, keeping it in place. The roots are coming out of the walls. The walls used to have engravings on them. Now they are all broken. The walls have been slashed and stabbed by the needles, the tips of its many legs. The roots too. And the skeletal things around it, shambling uselessly.
Your eyes can see it all as its needles carefully lift you up. Your body is different but similar. She made you in her image. You can feel her inside you, forcing you to move, forcing you to break these final shackles. You can feel yourself inside her, yearning to be imprisoned.
((Well done Alan, you've found the target. ... Wait, why is that a good thing again?))
OOCHave some music for this turn:
Evangelion 3.33 - Return to Ash((As an aside, it seems semi-likely that I'm currently talking to Anime Milkshake Girl in the ruins of that volcano mountain city we entered the world in - I don't think any other place we've been in has had that sort of building in it.))
Heh. You didn't take the metaphor far enough. The graves are quite literally a representation of Death magic. I think your character doesn't know anything about the Necromancer-Emperor, that was mentioned only in passing to Ike so I don't think even he would remember unless I reminded him.
By the way, I expected you to try to break through the confusion spell and confirm its exact location, maybe losing something or dying if you rolled badly enough. Sometimes I forget to keep in mind that Alan is Alan.
Oh, and if you want the last time you met it, it was
here. It was using the same confusion spell to keep its exact location hidden.
Poll
15 (42.9%)
Author
Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1147147 times)