Round 53: Grazing BlowsLocation: Denmark, WisconsinWeather Conditions: Sunny (8.2 Inches of Snow)Time: Afternoon The newest reinforcements of Aztecs draw their arms, bows, spears and all while preparing to confront this oddly armored soldier slicing through their ranks, hoping that they can stop his progress as well as the progression of whatever other forces lurk in the dark corners of this strange new world.
And then they feel the rumbling of the Earth as if a volcano nearby had just erupted, followed by a roar that must have come from a beast lurking far below the surface of the ground, now awakened from its slumber. The Aztecs turn to the source of this calamity and spot something charging directly at them, larger than any animal they had seen previously, a gray abomination the size of a large house with horns protruding from its face rather than its head. Atop this demon was a rider, calling down to the Aztecs as he mount came upon them,
"AHAHAHA! FLEE, FLEE I SAY!" [Morale: 9-2(Elephant)] A handful of Aztecs break from the group but most of them stay and remain disciplined enough to split into a looser formation, a tactic they had developed to deal with Spanish cavalry charges. The archers aim for the head of the beast while the spearman prepare to launch their weapons when it comes close. [Discipline vs. Elephant Speed: 4 vs. 3] The Aztecs assume battle position just as soon as the grey creature draws into close enough range. [8 vs. 5-1(Large Target] The Aztecs scatter as the elephant charges through, avoiding casualties and simultaneously shooting a few arrows into the side of the Elephant, which does little to stop it, as arrows are hardly enough to penetrate a layer of armor and the thick elephant skin beneath it. After the charge is finished, MidnightJaguar pulls up his rifle and scans the vicinity for a good target, and among the mass of Aztecs he spots one determined Samurai. [6 vs. 7-1] Midnight fires a single bullet at Dolosus which ricochets off of his helmet.
Beirus, having spent the last turn fleeing from Twinwolf and his patriot forces, circles around to the net strike and goes back into stealth mode, now attempting to strike them from the rear. [Stealth: 5 vs. 2] Beirus takes the back road and creeps up towards Twinwolf's position, where his men are focused on looking down the street in the direction that they had last spotted Beirus, taking cover behind ruined vehicles. Beirus takes this opportunity to strike, [8+2+1 vs. 4] And throws two thorns right into the back of a couple Patriots who immediately fall over. The remaining Patriots stand up looking around confused, when Beirus leaps over a pile of rubble and charges them knife-first. One man tries to aim his gun at the warrior woman and gets a slashed arm and a kick to the torso for it, knocking him on the ground.
High tyrol drives down to the Green Bay copyright office to claim the writes of her poem. The woman working the desk there informs her that the poem can be copyrighted, although it costs a $35 fee to do so. High Tyrol, lacking those kinds of funds at the moment, leaves. She then drives back to the airport and parks her pickup truck in the lot and switches it out for her racecar which has been loyally waiting for her this whole time.
Twinwolf intervenes in Beirus's surprise attacking, diving for one of the pistols of a fallen Patriot and opening fire on Beirus. [9 vs. 7+2] Beirus is more agile than the militia leader expects, and scampers on top of a car, avoiding two spare bullets from Twinwolf's gun. The last standing Patriot climbs on the hood of the car and pulls out his knife, [5 vs. 2+2] and slashes into Beirus's right leg, giving her a bleeding but not serious wound.
Person looks around the immediate area and puts his military knowledge to use by determining what are the most strategical positions that could be utilized by himself or his enemies. [3+2-2] Person takes note of the corridors around him, the alleys created between the various buildings that are alternate and more subtle, covered paths to sneak in and out of the main battlefield. After making this observation, he falls on one knee and coughs; it turns out that it is hard to develop a strategical plan when you have two bullest buried in your ribcage. Dad slowly rises to his feet and shoots at some of the nearby Aztec, [1-2 vs. 6] and fumbles his pistol in the process, [3] which results in him shooting himself in the left hand. Person wheezes as he bends up to pick his gun back up and attempts a one-handed reload, [2-2-1] and ends up dropping his last clip of ammunition on the ground, spare bullets rolling away in all directions. As the dejected soldier shambles towards Dolosus, a trio of spearmen come close to him; Person weakly draws out his blade and stands with the intimidation factor of wilting tulip. The Aztecs shake their heads in a pitying manner and hustle away from Person towards other avenues of battle.
Execute and his squad run down the road on the sidelines of the battle and are greeted by two young Aztec soldiers, wielding modern weapons and giving their God a salute. "Amihiyotzinuatmotlapal sir! We recovered these weapons off of some of the bodies like you said. We found two strange weapons, an oddly shaped knife and a fire-stick like the Spanish had." They hand over a partially loaded Springfield Rifle and a Trench Knife to Execute. The junior soldiers attach to Execute's bodyguard troop towards where the barricaded stores have been set up. As they get closer, the group pauses to watch a sickly, almost dead looking woman being encircled by a flying ball of fire. The Aztecs are clearly spooked:
"A spirit of a demon!"
"It has come to live in this bizarre world!"
Execute is less afraid, being accustomed to the weirdness of the Wiki-Wars especially since he was a dimension hopper himself; it was not fear, but anger that drove him to oppose the fireball, anger that he should be the only one allowed to fly around! The leader runs up to the barricade and bangs on the front of it, "Open up and let this woman in! Treat her but if she makes any sort of dangerous move, get rid of her immediately!" The barricades open as the Aztecs behind the wall, remove some of the material, just enough for Fallacy to climb through. NAV, upon seeing this, zooms after her, but Execute leaps in between the orb and its target and fires two shots at it! (6 vs. 7) The swift fireball evades the bullets and zooms right past Execute. The Warleader reloads as quickly as he can, but it isn't fast enough as NAV tries to reattach to Fallacy before she can get into the store. [5 vs. 8-1-2] Fallacy is just able to crawl, or more accurately, stumble through the opening before it closed off, and NAV simply slams into a steel barrier.
Execute takes note that he is on his final clip for the police pistol.
The Aztecs are also freaking out over another entity, and Execute spots an African Elephant stomping around in front of the portal. This was going to be a long invasion.
[Between moving, giving out orders, reloading and shooting at NAV, Execute lacked time to heal himself.]
As Fallacy enters the barricaded store, what looks like was once a normal grocery, she is quickly surrounded by Aztecs ordered to care for her for some reason, but it was best not to question Amihiyotzinuatmotlapal's orders. This is when another one of her brilliant ideas strikes her as she wickedly grins and barks,
"You have seen my power... you have seen my endurance! NOW THEN. I require treatment of my wounds! Attend to me, minions!" [Stamina: 10-1-2+2] In this moment, Fallacy's stance does not sway or falter despite her anemic condition. One of the puzzled Aztecs speaks to her, "We were going to treat you anyways? Since you're well enough, why don't you tell us what is wrong with you?" Several of the Aztecs chatter, and Fallacy can overhear it is mostly musing about why Aztec wants them to take care of this random woman, or how she is so fluent in Aztec tongue despite looking more like a Spaniard with her fair hair and skin, if there even such a thing as Spanish woman, as the Conquistadors had been all men.
In contrast to the contrast fighting, injury, and dying, Elephant Parade sits atop his horse in the middle of an idyllic forest. As he rights his songs of animals and nature, he comes to realize that the most musical and noble of creatures is not one hidden in nature but the one that has been by his side since the beginning, the horse. [Musical Composition: 6+2] His short piece, "Horse, Of Course" would no doubt be a smash pop hit if it were produced, one that would be emulated by amateur bar musicians and Youtube cover artists throughout the world.
Dolosus, after spending the previous turn laying waste to the Aztec, returns to his horse who has by now recovered from the shock of being shot, but is still bleeding. As he hops on his mount, it bucks and whines as if it is bothered again. This is when the Samurai finds the source of his horse's panic, an elephant charging down the field, who's rider even takes the time to shoot at Dolosus ineffectively but he can still feel the bullet bounce off of his helmet. After calming his mount, Dolosus trots towards Execute, who looks like he's in terrible shape. A group of Aztec almost begin to converge on Person, but they seem to leave him alone, whether they do not want to fight Person out of fear or pity is up to interpretation. At the same time, Dolosus spots Execute moving with a group of soldiers down the street, and takes the opportunity to pull out his six-shooter, and lay down a couple of shots. [8 vs. 7-1] Dolosus's second shot whiffs and hits the front of the barricade, but his following shot hits Execute in the forearm and causes him to stumble over for a few seconds, almost losing his balance. It fails to do permanent damage but it exasperates his blood loss.
While the barrier stops NAV at first, the Aztecs underestimate the force that they are dealing with as NAV simply slips through a hole in the barricade so small that a fly would get stuck, yet the sucouyant appears before Fallacy and the rest of the Aztecs. Half of the Aztecs scream and run while the others pick their weapons back up and get into fighting mode. NAV flies towards Fallacy past the various food items in his path: doughnuts, apples, pies, hamburgers buns, rice, chicken-wait, rice? NAV stops mid-flight as if compelled like a great power back towards the rice. The fireball floats up to a small packet of "100% Natural White Rice" and opens the bag. The Aztecs rush forward, attempting to slay the demon until they see that it is merely opening up a bag of rice and individually organizing each grain. Confused, they elect to neglect the fireball for now and get back to focusing on helping Fallacy, although a few of them stay close to the fireball in case it becomes violent once again.
[NAV's next turn will consist entirely of Counting Rice Grains.]
16 Aztec Eagle Soldiers appear from the Portal. They are elite military units with a bonus to combat and wield obsidian blades as well as slings.
The Sunset Invasion:
Leaders: Execute, Yuri
Active: 154,
16 Eagle Soldiers [+1 Aztec Warfare, Macuahuitl Obsidian Swords, Slings]
Casualties: 109
Name: Execute/Dumbo.exe "Amihiyotzinuatmotlapal"
Gender: Male
Nationality: Iranian/Russian
Karaindash: +2 Administration, +2 Diplomacy
Rufa Mae Quinto: +2 Acting, +2 Singing
The Other Face of Janus: +Ability: Trans-dimensional Painting Transportation
Arman Sedghi: +2 Engineering
Sviatopolk I of Kiev: +2 Military Strategy, +2 Assassination, +Loyal Boyar Subject
Jacques Bernard Hombron: +2 Medical, +2 Botany, +1 Sailing
Status: Right Wing Shot [-3 Flying, Pain: -1 All, Moderate Bleeding], Left Arm Shot [Moderate Bleeding]
Points: 1
Assets: Conquistador's Pistol [1/1] [Moderate Reload], Shortsword , Police Pistol [9/9], M1903 Springfield Rifle [2/5] [Moderate Reload], Trench Knife
Abilities:
Trans-dimensional Painting Transportation - Can open up portals in paintings to travel in and out of them. A strange and enigmatic power, use it carefully.
Wings of Quetzalcoatl - Can fly.
Vassals: The Aztec Empire, The Texcocan Empire
Army:
Yuri - Aztec High Priest (Dagger, High Priest Robes, AR15 Assault Rifle [18/30] [Moderate Reload]) [In High Cover] [Right Foot Shot, Light Bleeding, -1 Agility]
87 Generals
309,000 Aztec Soldiers
Standard War Party Equipment - Bows, Obsidian Spears, Cloth Armor, Hardwood Helmets
Looted European Equipment: Muskets, Crossbows, Rapiers, Steel Armor, Steel Helmets
Name: Twinwolf
Gender: Male
Nationality: English/Yugoslavian
Johnny Strange: +2 Juggling, +2 Marksmanship, +Abilities: Black Hole Swallow Technique + Fire-breath Manipulator
Sluggish schizophrenia: +2 Psychological Torture
Dimitrije Ljotić: +2 Nationalistic Leadership, +2 Law, +Judge's Suit
Black Thunder: +Black Thunder Chocolate Bar (When a bite of the bar is taken, lightning will randomly strike in the nearby area)
Kartouwe: +Kartouwe Cannon
Status: Normal
Assets: Judge's Suit, Black Thunder Chocolate Bar (When a bite of the bar is taken, lightning will randomly strike in the nearby area), Kartouwe Cannon, Lighter, Pistol [6/8]
Allies: 4 Patriots [Handguns, Knives] [2 Poisoned/Incapacitated, 1 Arm Slashed/Bleeding)]
Abilities:
Black Hole Swallow Technique - Swallows any dangerous weapon or object that can fit inside his stomach with no negative effects.
Fire-breath Manipulator - Inhales a nearby source of fire and then can breathe it out of his mouth.
Name: High tyrol
Gender: Female
Nationality: American
Dorothy Parker: +2 Poetry, +2 Short Story Writing, +2 Wit, +Flapper's Dress
2001 Australian Grand Prix: +2 Racecar Driving, + Racecar
Michael Goodwin: +2 Architecture, +1 Political Persuasion
Vulsellum: +Hooked Forceps
Armstrong Whitworth Siskin: +Armstrong Whitworth Siskin WWI Biplane
Tres dólares de plomo: +2 Wild West Guns, +2 Horseback Riding, +Wild West Revolver, +Cowboy Hat
Status: Fine
Points: 1
Assets: Racecar, Hooked Forceps, Standard Quality WWII Dogfighting Poem, Wild West Revolver [6/6] [Moderate Reload], Cowboy Hat [Gasoline Soaked], Pickup Truck [Superficial Frontal Damage], High Quality Poem: "The Sky God Came Down to Texas"
Name: Elephant Parade
Gender: Male
Nationality: Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani Art: +2 Art
Sean Buckley: +2 Entrepreneurship, +Thoroughbred Racehorse, +Business Suit
Thomas Wentworth: +2 Muskets, +1 Swords, +Musket, +British Empire Officer's Saber
LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course: +2 Agility & Speed in Natural Environments
Jake Deitchler: +2 Wrestling
Dmitri Tymoczko: +2 Music Composition, +2 Music Theory
Status: Normal
Assets: Musket [1/1] [Moderate Reload], British Empire Officer's Saber, Untitled Song with Musket Fire, Thoroughbred Racehorse, Untitled Song Inspired by Animal Noises, Song Inspired by Horse: "Horse, Of Course"
Name: "Dad" Person
Gender: Male
Nationality: American
Borscht Film Festival: +2 Directing, +2 Film Knowledge
William H. Hay: +2 Large Scale Infantry Tactics, +2 Trench Warfare, +2 WWI-Era Firearms, +1 Swords, +2 Horseback Riding, +M1911 Pistol, +WWI Officer's Sword, +WWI General's Uniform, +Ally: Buffalo Soldier, +Nickname: "Dad"
Blackfoot Idaho: +Gargantuan Mobile Potato
Sérvulo Gutiérrez: +2 Painting
Laki Pingvini: +2 New Wave/Synthpop/Pop Rock Music
Fred Carr: +2 Tackling, +1 Throwing, +Metal Disk, +Metal Sphere, +Football Helmet
Status: Face Grazed Shot, Right Ankle Shot [-1 Agility], 2 Ribs Broken [Severe Pain: -2 All], Left Hand Shot [-1 Two-Handed, Light Bleeding]
Points: 1
Assets: M1911 Pistol [1/7], WWI Officer's Sword, WWI General's Uniform [1 Unsightly Hole], Gargantuan Mobile Potato (Giant Saddle, Steering Wheel, 6 Wheels, Motor), Metal Disk, Metal Sphere, Football Helmet, Professional Medical Kit [25%], Potato Vehicle Keys
Allies:
Name: NAV
Gender: Male
Nationality: British/Polish
The Last Seven: +2 Scavenging, +2 Demon Hunting, +Bullpup Assault Rifle, +Post-Apocalyptic Rags
Bill Spence: +2 Driving, +Sports Car
Jaws Unleashed: +Ability: We Need A Bigger Boat
Ludomir Benedyktowicz: +2 Landscape Painting, +1 Guerrilla Warfare, +1 War Poetry, +1 Chess
Cardenas Medal: Cardenas Medal
Soucouyant: +Ability: The Bloodsucking Fireball
Status: Chest Shot [Light Bleeding], Counting Rice [1 Turn Remaining]
Points: 1
Assets:
Abilities:
We Need A Bigger Boat! - While in water, NAV can turn into a Giant Great White Shark. While in this form, he gains +4 Swimming, +3 Biting, and eating large living organisms, such as dolphins or humans, will cure wounds.
The Bloodsucking Fireball - While in human form, NAV can shed all of his skin into a pile and turn into a sentient Fireball that can fly and fit through holes as small as a keyhole. The Fireball can not ignite people with fire, but it can attach to them and drain them of their blood like a vampire. If a person is killed in this way, they will become an NPC Soucouyant. If the Soucouyant encounters any rice, it is forced to gather the rice one grain at a time unless it is caught by a person in this act, in which case it must return back to where its skin lies before it can set out again. The Soucoyant can be hurt in its fireball form, but not killed, by water. If someone destroys the Soucoyant's human skin, it will die.
Name: DolosusDoleus
Gender:
Nationality:
Okita Rintarō: +2 Swords, +Katana, +Yari, +Samurai Armor, +Samurai Helmet
Bill Nichols: +2 Documentary Filming, +Filming Camera
2003 Cheltenham Gold Cup: +2 Horseback Riding, +Racehorse
John F. Bickford: +2 Sailing, +2 Naval Combat, +Civil War Revolver, +Naval Captain's Uniform
Borovo Treasure: +Pouch containing the Borovo Treasure
Status: Right Ankle Shot [-1 Agility, Light Bleeding]
Assets: Katana, Yari, Samurai Armor, Samurai Helmet, Filming Camera, Racehorse [Flank Shot: -2 Stamina, Moderate Bleeding], Civil War Revolver [6/6] [Moderate Reload]
Pouch [The Borovo Treasure]
Name: Beirus
Gender: Female
Nationality: Sevateem
Columbus Avenue Line: +2 Driving, +Public Transit Bus
Ferguson Monoplane: +Ferguson Monoplane
The Sentimentalists: +2 Jazz Singing
Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer: +Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer Aircraft
Leela (Doctor Who): +2 Primitive Combat, +2 Reflexes, +Primitive Knife, +Poisonous Janis Throwing Thorns, +Animal Skin Clothing
Status: Left Leg Slashed [Light Bleeding]
Assets: Public Transit Bus, Ferguson Monoplane, Beechcraft CT-134 Musketeer Aircraft, Primitive Knife, Poisonous Janis Throwing Thorns, Animal Skin Clothing, Bus Key, 2 Aircraft Keys
Name: MidnightJaguar
Gender: Male
Nationality: Indian/American
Joe Nixon: +2 Law, +2 Politics
Karikala Chola: +2 Mounted Warfare, +2 Fire Resistance, +Royal
Chola Robes, +Royal Chola Turban, +War Elephant
Dave Ramsey: +Ability: "Free Yourself From Debt Today!"
G. Clifton Thompson: +2 Curling, +Curling Stone, +Curling Broom
Arthur Vidrine: +1 Medical, +WWI Rifle
Status: Fine
Assets: Royal Chola Robes, Royal Chola Turban, War Elephant [Armor, Saddle] [Light Bleeding], Curling Stone, Curling Broom, WWI Rifle [5/5] [Moderate Reload]
Abilities:
"Free Yourself From Debt Today!" - If MidnightJaguar points to someone in-person and declares "You are debt free!", all of their personal financial debt is instantly eliminated. He can only do this once, but for every Point he earns he can perform this action an additional time.
Goodnight Sweet Prince
The skies over Minnesota remain purple, it seems that Prince isn't willing to go just yet. He left behind a cryptic note asking for "One last performance in the purifying waters."
Conditions:
*Locate the "purifying waters".
*Perform a cover of Purple Rain at this location, uninterrupted for a full turn. At the very least it should be a great performance so getting an [8] on the performance roll is required to fulfill the Quest. Music/Performance related abilities count toward this roll.
Reward: 2 Points
Despite the majority of players being involved in serious fighting, no one was killed or even seriously wounded during this round.