Was I doing anything?
You're back in the staging area. I suppose we could give you levelups and start preparing for the next mission while those three finish up with that mission.
You could.
I did. Check your PMs.
Anyone else from that mission who wants to level up, say so.Kosak Durar, Staging Area:
Kosak's face muscles contort. They show... revulsion, mixed in with a bit of anger.
"No. No, no no no. NO."
Kosak calms after a few moments of "no, no, no", further repeated.
"I once received a similar offer to yours. A weremouse offered to turn me during his next full moon. I sent him through the nearest wall in refusal. I'm a dwarf, and my strength will come from my body alone, not any arcane enhancement."
"But... I'm sure you are aware of my greatest weakness. If you could remove its effects on me while keeping it itself in place, that I would accept, provided no side effects were caused."
The two entities appear amused by your display.
"Oh, should we? Should we just remove weaknesses? Nah, what fun would that be? Weaknesses make you who you are. Make you interesting. Give you an inner struggle on top of the challenges you have to face.""And besides, if we just turned you into copies of ourselves, it would just be boring. I mean, why watch myself ace something when I can just do it?""You're implying you are perfect?""Nah, you're the one inferring that. I'm implying that I really like myself and there's not a thing I would change about me."He then turns to face you again.
"Anyway, like I said, the point is for there to be a challenge. If there's no challenge and no growth, then I wouldn't make the games. I would make some sort of inter-universal cafeteria where we could all meet and chat. And come on, let's be honest, you'd hate that as much as I would, right?"John, After the End
Hm. Might be time to split focus a bit, because I don't want that thing going off in my direction.
Another split effort:
Bots split between restraining Saevus and clamping on to his weapon to throw off his aim; looks like he's having enough trouble wielding it already.
I summon/launch stun bombs at him. I think the indirect assault is still the way to go here since his armor is so serious.
If nothing is working, fire the cannon again at him, but I'd rather stay in cover if possible.
Saevus, After the End
Fire at John! Then desummon the ballista and the shield I lost and step behind the machine I was using as cover. Blast it at John and charge. Summon a mirror-like shield to try and deflect any lasers coming at me as I run. Blast anything on the way that might do damage towards John or the minitanks. Once I reach John, polehammer away.
Should I get grappled at any point and am unable to power through it, summon a razor-sharp dagger and cut it off.
If John levels his cannon at me, Stasis. Then immediately blast the sharpnel back. (guessing that doing it this way is much less efficient that Repulsing it.)
The bots once more use their grapples on Saevus. This time they manage to pull him down, but not before he manages to fire his bolt. The thing smashes through John's cover as he jumps away. Even though the bolt doesn't manage to hit him before it disappears, the shrapnel and debris it launches hit him pretty badly. He can feel the impacts through his armour. He coughs, feeling the blood on his mouth. Even though he doesn't feel like it, he is still pretty badly injured and his body can't take much abuse. Saevus meanwhile tries to get up but the bots have him pretty well tied up. He manages to get up on one knee but that's it.
WMD, After the End
Try to figure out a way to turn off the propellers without damaging the sub. If I can't, deploy Anchors to suspend myself over the sub and to see if I can turn off the propellers from there. If I still can't, try to lower myself onto the sub, then transform back and enter it to see if I can find controls to turn off the propellers.
There's no way to close them that you can see from here. You'd have to go through them or detach them to reach their wiring and that would probably result in damage you couldn't repair very quickly. So instead you try to carefully position yourself on top of the sub. You instead manage to cut the cables holding it in place. You quickly dive down and catch the sub before it hits the ground. You then rip off its pressure door. Oops. Oh well, good thing it has a little airlock thing there and the inner door is still intact.
After a few seconds of holding it there, the propellers stop. Hopefully it hasn't run out of power. You carefully lower it into the water and then enter through the hatch. The sub suddenly starts descending but you manage to close the hatch before water makes it inside.
The sub is not terribly large. Beyond the small airlock room is cramped corridor with three other doors: Crew Quarters, Cargo & Engineering and Control Room.
When you enter the control room you find that it's an euphemism for a tiny cockpit surrounded by tiny screens. You try to move the sub around but anything you try just causes the screens to say "Engineering Override". But you can hear the quiet hum of the propellers, their changing pitch. Something's controlling this thing. But at least whatever it is, it's taking you away from this place and not crashinh, so it's not all bad news.
You make your way to engineering and carefully open the door. Beyond it is a... thing. It looks like a fetus the size of a shipping container with an oversized brain that has yet to form properly. It's connected to the nearby electrical panels by two semi-transparent tendrils. You can see electricity moving through them in visible arcs. The creature is making warbling noises.
Alan, Certified Medical Professional
"Oopsie daisy! Looks like you might need some stomach relief, little kidlet."
Summon a bottle of Pepto Bismol (regular-sized) to help out with the kid's stomach pains. If it looks like his condition is reaching critical mass, take a few steps back out of the potential splash zone.
Before the healer can react, you summon a bottle of purplish liquid and force feed it to the kid. The healer pushes you away before you can finish the bottle and tells you to back off, or else.
The kid gradually feels more and more pain, spreading across his body. Black hair-like strands start growing all across his body, forming spirals and lightning-shaped patterns. They keep spreading until the kid has turned into a fuzzy black ball, like metal fragments stuck on a giant magnet. The black blob dissolves until only its shadow is left and then it too fades away.
The healer does not look happy.
Please auto Theri in the meantime, either in talking with San, or hanging out with Irine. Stuff is happening on the player's part that is causing her to be unavailable to play at the moment. 
OK. Hope all goes well.
Look around. Stretch.
"Hello Irene. Feels good to be alive again! What did Nikolai miss?"
((I probably won't be very active because of college eating all my time.))
You feel surprisingly well, far better than you thought a man waking up from the dead would feel. Then again, you've only died once before, so it's not like you have a great sample to compare with. And you're in no hurry to collect more data.
You get a good look around what's left of the town before Alan probably gets you all kicked out or worse.
((Eh, it's not like I'm the fastest in writing turns either. No hurry.))
Campaign, Ike!
"The sovereignty of what now? Are they maybe ruled by a shadow emperor? Yes? No?"
I have no idea what you yobs are talking about, but do go on.
None of your meat shields are great scholars, but their combination of rumors and general knowledge allow you to get a good idea about the subject. They inform you that the Sovereignty is the name of the nation to the east. They are led by a man who goes with the pretty unimaginative title of Sovereign. They control the plains east of the mountain range and south of the Desert. While quite larger than this kingdom, its centre is mostly devoid of useful resources, forcing most people to live on the shores of its few major rivers or close to its perimeter, close to the mountains and the sea. The less inhabited lands are home to all sorts of bandits and slavers, usually riding around in horseback with the more successful ones leading attacks with gliders into other nations.
Their realm is home to powerful wind magics, which to them mostly means that those who can afford their most expensive trade vessels can enjoy unparalleled speed and safety in their travels. Beyond their swift vessels, they are also known for their performers and thinkers (actors, musicians, writers, etc.) as well as their great adventurers, diplomats, traders and explorers. They are infamous for their thieves, bandits, slavers and mercenaries who are often hard to tell apart.
There had recently been some tension between the two kingdoms, so this war didn't come completely out of the blue. The tunnel at Kodromota had been closed for a while, leaving no safe way in or out of the Kingdom for eastern traders. On top of that, a few days before the tower exploded soldiers from the capital passed through this village headed that way. Rumors said the two kingdoms had some sort of dispute about taxation, but the King's heralds hadn't informed the people of why exactly the pass had closed beyond some generalities and the usual spiel about protecting the kingdom from their corrupting influence.
From what little they know, they've led a major attack on Kodromota and launched raids to nearby villages, employing both soldiers, magical vessels and some kind of monsters. While some of the villagers say that this invasion might not be so bad, since it could mean once more having someone strong help restore order and protect them, the men accompanying you think that if they went as far as to attack unarmed refugees trying to leave the area, then their intentions are definitely not good and that they should be stopped at any cost. That is why they want to go to the east, to protect their homes and loved ones by joining the army in its defense of the Kingdom.
((Don't forget you have a
map.))
OOCAlan's approach to alchemy.
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1141790 times)