Inteoduce anyone helping me out of my stuckness to Bill And Ted.
Then try to go down the well again, of course. Who learns from their mishaps? Not me when I don't wanna!
That spelling mistake makes me imagine you talking with your tongue out the entire time.
They don't really know what to say, beyond stammering a few polite words.
You try to go down again, despite people urging you not to do that. You manage to make it about halfway down. Your hands are becoming too sweaty and tired to safely hold on.
((If I wasn't near the development of this character, I'd suggest Scaling as another perk. Of course, if I can make it smaller, making a much bigger copy is a thing as well. Not now though; time to progress.))
That'll do. Better keep a rearguard, but we need to move.
Keep the same formation, except move three to the back to guard from behind. Move out at speed toward the destination I picked up earlier.
You start robo-running towards the... which destination did you pick? Was it the comm centre? If so, you head that way with your minions accompanying you.
You'll be going through an inhabited area next. There's a giant machine meant to seal this part of the cavern from the tower that acts as a divider of the two areas. Beyond it is an arrangement of decrepit and looted factories and warehouses, some of them with people living in them. The streets closer to the centre are quite difficult to go through, since they are blocked by shacks or cars or barricades, but the rest appear to be mostly clear.
Are you going to be just running through it?
<And now you have reached why I asked what you wanted. Because what you and I want to do might align, but I don't know enough about you to know, and I'm the one who is taking a risk here, so I have to judge first if I should trust you and let you judge me. So... what do you want? What makes a cause worthy, or a person worthy, in your opinion? What would allowing you to judge me actually do?
Heck, what do you even do? I'll admit, I was a bit deceptive a moment ago, your attitude irked me and I wanted to knock you down a peg. I don't know your full capabilities, so I can't really say for sure if you can help me or not. But also, I was maimed in my last fight and am having trouble using my own flame abilities, my strongest ally has been crippled and is currently useless, and my foe is far stronger than I am. I actually might need some major help if I'm going to accomplish my goal. so... you might be more useful to me than I said you would be. depending on your abilities, maybe a lot more, maybe not, I don't know. Um, are you able to change sizes or weight? the muscles thing I mentioned is a real issue. I'm... not fully grown. Not gonna be for a really long time. No, wait, you've been doing that thing where I ask a bunch of questions and you only answer one or two. What do you want and what does it mean to judge me? that's most important.>
<What we really want is revenge and freedom. But you can offer us neither. So instead we want to do something worthwhile. And to do that we need someone worthy, with worthy goals. Someone we feel comfortable supporting. Someone who will give us a great purpose. And great enjoyment. So we want to look into your mind and soul and ask you a few questions. If we like what we see, if we judge you worthy, then we shall accompany you.>
<It is for your protection as much as ours. It's much better to hear the truth now than to find out you were not worth our time or trying to trick us later. You won't have to die and we won't have to spend a few hundred years down whatever hole you happened to be in at the time. We don't want to make things more difficult for fate than they have to be.><Ultimate power in no time, just have to fill in this one easy questionnaire? What's the catch?><There is no 'catch'. We asked for nothing. We thought you came here seeking us. If you are not, if you think you're better off without our power or too afraid to claim it, then you don't really need it. We won't beg you or try to reassure you or try to convince you to change your mind. You are free to walk away and let us return to our sleep.>Sorry for not being too wordy. I'm trying to make updates quickly but it always feels like there's stuff to do and not enough time to do it. I promise things will get more interesting for you soon. But now it's getting really late, I have to wake up early tomorrow and I still have to do Irine's part.
((Oh it's OKAAAY, my wordiness seems to have missed the mark though--I was complimenting the style and the focus to character, and that it's also ok that when I'm down or healing, I get 'you heal', because you pretty much do care 
))
Continue healing.
((Well, this event was supposed to happen tomorrow, but we could run it now to give you something to do while you wait.))
Your rest is interrupted by a commotion coming from outside. You point your ears at the door, trying to make out anything you can to satisfy your curiosity. It turns out you don't have to try hard, as a few moments later the noise is outside your door and then in your room.
"-half hour. I brought him back here as fast as I could.""Will he be fine?"
"I've cleaned his wounds. With rest and a proper meal he should be fine.""What about the arm?"
"The arm-"There is a pause in the conversation as the door opens.
"Careful."
The healer, his assistant the mayor and a man you've never seen before go through the door, carefully carrying a young man. They glance at you as you enter but their attention is focused on the boy.
"The arm will heal in time. There's nothing more I can do about it right now. We'll have to wait and see if further treatment is required."The boy on the other hand seems to have focused his attention on you.
"Good. This room should be good enough for now."
"Yes, it's the most private one we have here."They slowly set the boy down on the bed Alan was using. The way they are clustered around him doesn't let you see much more than his head.
"Are you sure he can't stay somewhere else?""Better for him to stay here for now, where we can keep an eye on him.""Hey. Can you hear me boy?" the mayor says to get the boy's attention away from you.
"Yes. But- Is it safe here? I mean-""Yes, it's safe."
"Am I a prisoner?""No, you are not."
"Just tell them what you told me kid and you'll be fine. I promise we'll take good care of you here.""A-alright." The boy is silent for a few moments. Then he takes a big breath and begins slowly recounting his story.
"It started with the rumors. There was something strange going on. Fires in Kodromota. Strange noises coming from the mountains. Then the people came. They were hurt and afraid. They told us that the Sovereignty had attacked. That they came with soldiers and Gliders and terrible warbeasts. The army didn't see them coming. They said they didn't stood a chance." He looks uncomfortable being the centre of attention, nervously looking at the grownups around him for a moment before looking down or away.
"People didn't know what to do. Some said that it was for the best. That a strong empire could protect us better. Others were afraid they would become slaves. When First Green was attacked we could hear it throughout the night. The few that were left said they were taking everyone. My dad sent me to bed while he talked to them. I don't know what they told him but when he woke me up he was packing. We left before morning came."
"We and some others traveled together. We found the soldiers on the road to Traveller's Rest, going the opposite way. The said they were sent out to bring the survivors and those willing to fight to the hills, where they could regroup and keep fighting. My father... left to join them. He said I should keep going until I reached my uncle on Giant's Wall."
"I kept going along with the others. Some of them I knew. I stayed close to my friend Praeus and his dad. More joined at Traveller's Rest. We kept going for a few days. We stopped to sleep close to some old statues. And... they came during the night. There were magical flying things in the sky, searching for us with light. And... the monsters. They looked... Their screams were horrible." By this point the boy is hiding under his blankets, speaking softly.
"One of them attacked me. It was a terrible bird. Too many wings in the wrong places. It tried to drag me away. It hurt my arm. Aelven, Praeus' dad, he hit it with a rock. It let go of me and I- I run away. I run and I kept running until I was too tired and I fell down. When I woke up it was morning and I did not know where I was. I kept going but my food run out. I thought I saw smoke but I fell down before I could reach it. When I woke up Reinn had found me and was taking me here."Everyone is silent for a moment while they consider what they just heard.
"Hmmm... I see. Thank you. Well done boy. You did good. You can rest now."
"So what should we do next?""First of all we should take this conversation somewhere else and leave the boy to rest.""Yes. Right. Alba will bring you food boy. You just rest for now. And don't mess with your bandages."The boy lowers his blanket and tries to say something, but by the time he finds the courage to do so the others are already leaving the room.
"But- Is it-"The healer's assistant, Alba, is the only one who lingers long enough to hear his protests, or rather his attempts to protest.
"I trust you will be fine here?" she says, somehow managing to make the question sound like an order. She's already on her way out by the time you nod in response. The boy tries to say something but the door is already closed. You can hear the assistant loudly scolding the other patients.
"What are you lot doing up? You should be resting, not standing around eavesdropping and gossiping like a bunch of old hags. Come on then. Break it off. Back to your beds you go."
When you look back at the boy you find him looking at you. He immediatly looks away but then goes back to looking at you. He raises his blanket to cover everything but his face.
"Are you going to eat me?"Saevus, After the End
Desummon my weapons and take the machinegun off its base, summoning a large gunshield-like shield on it. If there isn't one already. If I can one-hand it, summon another shield for my Golden Arm. Then start carefully moving towards the North, while staying in cover as much as I can.
You unlock the machinegun from its base and test its weight. You could use it one handed, but it might be better to stick with two. It would be kinda like using a high-powered pistol with one hand for a human. You can do it, but would you really want to? Well,
you might want to. I mean, you could use it for suppression when moving and stick the shield to the ground to make a more accurate turret. Or just adjust the shield to be in whatever medieval-ish shape you desire and suits you on the fly.
Anyway, whatever you decide, you move forward, making your way through the parking lot, trying to remain hidden. Trying being the operative word, as you manage to bump onto a car. Now, that wouldn't be too bad for a human, but when a walking tank bumps into a car, it's not good for the car. The alarm goes off, the siren and the flashing lights attracting the attention of everyone around. You try to get as far away from the car as possible before they spot you. About half a minute later, the watchtowers turn on their searchlights one at a time and start scanning the parking lot. Luckily, they focus their attention on the entrance of the tower and the vermin coming out of it. You can hear shots coming from the towers, high powered rifles hitting cars, the ground or flesh, the monsters and the bullets and the alarms of more cars going off creating even more noise. You cannot clearly see who's shooting though, the searchlights make it hard to focus on the watchtowers, although you can tell that there's at least one person on each.
You make it all the way to the middle of the parking lot and hide behind one of the prefab buildings there. It looks like this one was some sort of office that has been turned into a storage area, with tools, materials, ammo and guns being dumped and locked inside it.
"Guess the mirror isn't smoking, at least."
LOOT. This gladdens my soul. Look for goods and valuables of an extraordinary nature around the place. Steal them. Steal all of them.
Ah. Looting. The favourite past time of all refined gentlemen. Time to relive the glory of those past explorers by relieving this tomb of its valuables. You're certain its occupant won't mind. It's not like he needs all that stuff. The question is, where to start? I mean, you could just start taking everything and lifting it up through the well. But you'd prefer to have first pick for the really good pieces.
Well, there are certain works of art in here that could be valuable. Some of them are even made out of valuable materials like gold and silver. However, a few small statues really be worth it? I mean, if there's a room for fabric and other works of art, then there could certainly be a room of awesome weapons, of books of power or of mountains of gold. All you have to do is find them! And hope they are not behind one of those sealed passages. You look around this room a bit, but you don't manage to find anything that screams "I'm valuable". There are some things that look magical and thus could be valuable, but you don't mess with them. For all you know they could actually be grenades and looking at them the wrong way could trigger them.
You explore a bit more, checking the side passages. You find one that's had its door partially broken and forced open.
There's an impressive looking suit of heavy armour at the centre of the room. It's made of a material you haven't seen before, a thin dark grey metal with a slightly blue shine to it. The greatest part of the torso, the forearms and the lower legs are paintd black. The helmet is spiky and ornate, contrasting with the smooth design of the rest of the armour.The chest is decorated with some sort of heraldic symbol in gold, something that reminds you of british nobles for some reason.
What's behind it is even more impressive. It's a gigantic suit of armour made out of stone, reinforced with gold and silver and adorned with a golden crown studded with precious stones. You can tell that a human was meant to be placed inside it and then sealed in there, although you aren't sure how a human could lift all that. Maybe this was meant to be used with magical assistance. Or maybe this was meant as some sort of prank or torture device. Though the way it's siting against the wall now makes it look more like a giant throne.
...
Now that you think about it, you aren't sure how they fit that thing through the door. Maybe it can break apart into multiple pieces? That would certainly help with the looting. You'd be interested in that crown.
You'd go right ahead and try to loot those, but the charred skeleton close to the door gives you pause. Unlike all those other fake skeletons, this one is definitely real. If this place is trapped, you wouldn't like to end up like that poor colleague of yours.
Kosak Durar, Aftermath of After the End:
"Well done." Charlie says, bringing your attention away from the TV. "You did it. You defeated the mastermind responsible for that mess. One of them, anyway."
"Yeah, but he still died in the end." the entity sitting on the other side of the table responds.
"Eh, victory is all that matters. Everything else can be sacrificed for it."
"But is it a victory if you sacrifice yourself for it? I say it is not."
"And I say it is."
"It is my belief that no physical sacrifice of self, up to and including death, matters when death is only temporary. I can finally be free of fear."
"Exactly! Well done man, you really get what I'm saying.""Ah, but what good is a victory if you're not around to see it? If you can't enjoy it? If it's more trouble than it's worth?""A victory is a victory. You sacrifice everything to win. Otherwise you're just a loser.""And where do the sacrifices stop? If you're ok with your death and you're OK with the deaths of others, then how far would you go for victory? Your friends? Your mind? Your soul? Your happiness? Everything until you end up as a victory seeking machine like him?""Well, that's why you try to be good at what you do. If you're good enough you won't have to make sacrifices. Besides, as long as things can be fixed, they're not really broken, so there's no reason to bitch about them.""Even so, you cannot be fearless. There are things worse than death.""Eh, probably. But as long as you're alive, it means that you can deal with your problems and have a chance to fix them.""But isn't the same true for losing? Even if you lose, you might still have a chance to try again, to make things right."
OOCI feel too tired to proofread. I'll just press post. and hope I don't curse myself when I wake up about whatever mess I did.
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1129273 times)