Round 55: Of Rice & Men Location: Denmark, WisconsinWeather Conditions: Sunny (5.8 Inches of Snow)Time: Afternoon Dolosus rides as far away as he can from the battlefield until the sounds of fighting and war are off in the distance, which happens to be at about the same time that his injured, bleeding horse begins to slow down out of fatigue anyways. With no chaos around him, Dolosus can calmly reload his new gun, Person's pistol, though when he equips it he finds that Person didn't have any additional ammunition and the only rounds that the Samurai is carrying are those for his older-model revolver, which effectively leaves him stuck with a one-shot gun for now. He puts the pistol away and takes out the looted Professional Medical Kit, distributing its remaining resources between himself and his horse. [7+2(Extensive Resources)] Using up the last bits of antiseptic, gauze and tape, Dolosus clears out his foot wound and patches up his horse's flank. Dolosus sets his sights on a gun store far away from the Aztecs are rides around the whole eastern part of the city without seeing any such place. With a small town like Denmark, it might have never had a gun store, and chances are it could have been destroyed in the destruction that befell the town before he arrived. On the other hand, Wisconsin is a hunting state so even if there is no gun store here, there is bound to be a few in the towns surrounding the ruined Denmark.
After receiving a very warm reception to her Cowboy-Aztec Poetry, High tyrol sticks around at the Open Mic night to interact with the audience, chatting it up with them, especially those that were wearing more classy, formal attire. [2+2(Wit)] Despite the quality of her story, tyrol doesn't get the chance to talk with many people who leave shortly after she is finished, too busy to stop and see the rest of the performances. She does get acquainted with a Green Bay-based lawyer named David Irvin, while he isn't involved in the field of writing or publishing, he say he enjoys it as an after-work hobby and perhaps can get Tyrol to know some people who could help her out. Before he leaves, he gives her a business card with his name, number, and address to his office.
Twinwolf, wounded and simply overpowered at this hand-to-hand fighting scenario, flees from the scene towards the direction where his great cannon still stands. He yells at the wounded Patriot, the only one still able to stand, to follow him and run away from their bloodthirsty primitive attacker. Twinwolf looks over his shoulder and Beirus is sprinting towards them at full speed, vaulting over debris and cars, threatening to catch up to their position. [3+2 vs. 5+2] Twinwolf fires off the rest of his pistol clip behind him in an attempt to possibly hit Beirus or at the very least force her to slow down and take cover, but the Sevateem hunter simply ducks under the shots without letting up much speed. Chasing them down the streets of Denmark, Beirus pulls another handful of thorns out of her pack and chucks them at Twinwolf, [4+2 vs. 3] and fails to pierce him with the deadly poison, but a single thorn, as sharp as dagger, slashes across the back of Twin's right Achilles tendon before passing by. Twin cries out in pain and shock as he tumbles onto the asphalt. The lone Patriot realizes his leader has been taken down and looks at him on the floor, and then at Beirus charging for both of them. He hesitates for a moment before cursing and running at Beirus, trying to intercept her. [6 vs. 10+2] When he gets close, the Patriot lunges at her with his knife, which the huntress easily sidesteps, [3+2 vs. 9] and then swipes her own knife at him, which the Patriot jumps away, the blade whizzing through the space in front of him.
Beirus is ready to finish Twin off but the damn Patriot is not getting out of her way. [1+2 vs. 3] She slashes at him again and this time he blocks her strike and shoves her away. Beirus shakes her head, that was simply a sloppy strike on her part. Meanwhile, at this time Twinwolf carefully returns back to standing on his feet. He wipes the steady flow of blood still falling from his face away from his left eye.
Elephant Parade humors the teenager and lets him play it on his phone. [9] The sound is grimy and clearly produced at the amateur level, but the kid has a solid flow, delivery and even a few clever lyrics. Still, he is not the type of artist that was going to sing about the wonders of the equestrian. Elephant returns the mixtape and confirms that it is "fire" but that it is not the type of music he is searching, he encourages the kid to continue practicing and striving towards his dreams. The teenager replies stating that he is grateful for the advice before he skateboards away.
With the Soucouyant out of the picture and a lull in the fighting, Execute pulls Fallacy aside to speak to her one-on-one. "Look, I'm going to be honest, so far, I have been running into no end of trouble, and I would appreciate it if we could band together, if only for a time until we can sort... ", he makes a general gesture to his surroundings, "All of this out, then we can kill each other, there are a lot of things I need to do, and I do need another helping hand that...Knows the terrain as well as I do." Fallacy thinks for a second, looking as if she is considering accepting the deal or maybe just biting Execute in the face, (to be fair, that is her default expression) before she declares,
"Very well. I accept! KAHAHAHA! By the way, how did you get all of these Aztecs here anyway?" Fallacy takes the Springfield off of Execute's hands before settling into a meditative pose, focused on restoring her own vitality.
"Well,
obviously," Execute keeps his hands down close to his chest where the other Aztecs can't see them as he performs small finger quotes, "I'm a spirit, Y'know, the wings and such, my
true," again with the finger quotes, "name is Amihiyotzinuatmotlapal, or The Spirit Of Force, I lead these people now, and I used my natural ability of opening portals to get back here." Execute then leaves Fallacy to rest and attaches her with a 20-soldier strong accompaniment of Aztec soldiers, who are ordered to both protect her and kill her if she acts stupid. With the opportunity to both rest and the time do so, Fallacy restores some of her energy.
"Damn, he would have been handy to have around." MidnightJaguar muses this over Person's body for a moment and respectfully bows. Then he hears the gunshots coming from far down the street and itching for an opportunity to fight, Midnight spurs his elephant into action and sets it into a charge, bustling down the road. While Beirus squares off with Twinwolf's last Patriot, the two fighters circling each other looking for the best opportunity to strike, both are interrupted as the ground shakes and a terribly loud bellow comes from down the street. Looking up, they both spot the war elephant and its rider charging right at them, [Morale: 2-2(Elephant Intimidation)] resulting in the Patriot dropping his knife and instantly assuming the fetal position, screaming like a starfish in the lead role of a midnight opera. [6+2 vs. 2+2] Not being familiar with Elephants, Beirus tries to leap out of the way but doesn't account for just how long tusks are, and as she evades one of the ivory lengths slams into her lower torso and she goes flying through the air into a wire mesh fence and sustaining several broken ribs in the process. The Elephant continues running down the street and doesn't even notice when it tramples over the Patriot who pretty much gave up any hope of living. [9+2 vs. 8-1] Twinwolf runs as quickly as he can with an injured leg and it isn't long before the war elephant is behind him, thrusting its tusks at him and piercing his left leg like a giant spear. The impact of the attack flips Twinwolf into the air before he lands flat on his face.
Ukrainian Ranger does not move deeper into Denmark just yet, instead they look for any working transportation vehicles in the immediate area. [5] Every car or truck, really, anything with a motor is just a useless heap of metal at this point, beyond any sort of repair. Among some rubble, Ranger does find a somewhat damaged but still functioning Push Scooter if they were willing to ride such a thing.
You know how you can tell when a storm is coming? Ukrainian experiences something similar as their senses tell them there is not only a single wormhole open in Denmark, there are multiple! If they could make it in and look around, they could come across some astonishing finds, who knows what wormholes to other worlds were lying dormant here?
The floating fireball descends into the pile of skin which wraps around it, enclosing it and finishing NAV's transition from Soucouyant back to his original human form, naked and cold once again. NAV looks for the food that would fulfill the latest quest, [N/A] but he quickly realizes that pizzas and chicken wings were probably not going to naturally appear in the wilderness of a forest, and this place didn't look like an attraction either so there wasn't even any picnic grounds to scour. Instead, he turns his attention to looking for something like clothes or a vehicle. [6+2(Scavenging)] Looking around in the thawing snow, NAV spots an Old Poncho and Boxers that had been discarded. It was an awkward mix of clothing, and both articles were dirty but it was better than contracting hypothermia. Ready to move on, NAV goes to his hidden item stockpile and takes the Katana and two Javelins in one hand; it would be awkward to throw two javelins with one hand but for carrying purposes it worked fine.
Execute, seeing the reaction the bloodsucking fireball had to rice, orders some of his men to take rice bags from the store and spread it all around and in the floor, and to additionally spread rice all around the portal. This way, if the Soucouyant were to return, it wouldn't be able to come after anyone in the area with all the rice it would have to collect. This uses up all of the grocery's rice supplies and results in rice being everywhere, but it was a necessary precaution. After overseeing this operation and making sure some of his forces stayed with Fallacy, Execute left through the front doors and took to the skies again, flying up and soaring, searching for his newest foe, the man on the elephant. Down the street, he spots the rampaging elephant chasing after some people and knocking them around like bowling pins. Execute targets the elephant like a missile, arching downwards and slowing down just enough so that he can land on its back. Midnight, busy with commanding his elephant to trample over his competition, is taken by surprise when a winged man lands on the back of his mount. "I am Amihiyotzinuatmotlapal, God of the Aztecs! You have killed my people! Prepare to die!" [3 vs. 2] Execute shoots Midnight in the arm which barely even grazes him and then fires a shot which puts a hole in his saddle.
Yuri follows Execute's position, rifle in tow, but Execute flies far enough where he couldn't get a decent shot, and at this point would be wasting bullets or potentially risking shooting his old friend. Yuri curses and abandoning Execute's original plan, kicks down the door at the top of the building and quickly descends the stairs, trying to get down to the street as quickly as possible...
A single Aztec steps through the portal. "Oh God! Rice! Rice everywhere!"
The Sunset Invasion:
Leaders: Execute, Yuri
Active: 159 (+1)
16 Eagle Soldiers [+1 Aztec Warfare, Macuahuitl Obsidian Swords, Slings]
Casualties: 116
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: Left Arm Shot [Moderate Bleeding]
Points: 1
Assets: Conquistador's Pistol [1/1] [Moderate Reload], Shortsword , Police Pistol [7/9], 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: Left Side of Face Slashed [Serious Bleeding], Right Achilles Tendon Slashed [-1 Agility], Left Leg Pierced Deeply [-1 Agility, Serious Bleeding]
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 [0/8]
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: 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]
Points: 1
Assets: Old Poncho [Dirty], Boxers [Dirty], Katana, 2 Javelins
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
RV Belgica (1884): +RV Belgica Steamship
Status: Normal
Points: 1
Assets: Katana, Yari, Samurai Armor, Samurai Helmet, Filming Camera, Racehorse, Civil War Revolver [6/6] [Moderate Reload], M1911 Pistol [1/7], Potato Vehicle Keys, RV Belgica Steamship
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], Broken Ribs [Heavy Pain: -2]
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.
Name: Ukrainian Ranger
Gender: Hermaphroditic
Nationality: Snailtopia
Jack O' Neill (Stargate): +2 Military Firearms, +2 Aircraft Piloting, +FN P90 Assault Rifle, +M1911 Pistol, +Air Force Colonel's Uniform, +Ability: A Rip in Time & Space
Utah Roundmouth Snail: -1 Agility, +Ability: Snail-Person
USS Earle (DD-635): +USS Earle Destroyer
Neural Tissue Engineering: +2 Medical (+3 Neurological Medicine)
USS SC-501: +USS SC-501 Submarine Chaser
Status: Fine
Assets: FN P90 Assault Rifle [50/50] [Moderate Reload], M1911 Pistol [7/7], Air Force Colonel's Uniform, USS Earle Destroyer, USS SC-501 Submarine Chaser
Abilities:
A Rip in Time & Space [Passive] - There are hidden sites all over the universe that house latent Wormholes to other planets, universes, even dimensions. Ukrainian Ranger will be notified when they get close to one of these Wormholes, which they are able to open and travel through. These Wormholes will remain open and able to be transversed by anyone as long as Ukrainian keeps them open, and is alive.
Snail-Person - Ukrainian Ranger is a humanoid snail creature. They have a human figure, meaning they are bipedal, stand upright, have limbs and hands are overall shaped like a person. Their snail features include slimy skin, two beady eyes sticking out of their head, a toothless mouth and a constantly wavy, bubbling, high-pitched androgynous voice. Most prominently is the large shell upon their backs that due to its weight makes them slower than your average Wiki-Warrior, however, they can retract their entire flexible body into the hardened shell for protection.
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
The Connoisseur
Some dude wants food delivered to his house. Seriously, that's it.
Conditions:
*Be the first one with 5 Large Pizzas, 80 Chicken Wings and 8 two-liter Soda Bottles to Richard Brooks in Buchad Beach Drive near Lake Winnebago in Fond Du Lac.
Reward: 1 Point