Turn 11The Pioneer Taricus
"Right, I guess we have two options here, three if getting in the elevator and heading higher is a plan.
First is that we charge out, destroy that lot of inmates and hope the guards aren't trained marksmen. The second is that we climb up there, eliminate the guards and take their weapons.
Any suggestions Barta?"
[Stealth (Medium/40):35] You whisper your plans to Barta. He studies the situation for a moment and then, apparently feeling whispering too undignifiying for someone of his stature, says in a level voice; 'It would make sense to deal with guards first.'
The men up on the second floor aren't deaf, unfortunately. Head jerking back, the first lets out a cry of alarm and slams his arm down on the other's shoulder. Already nervous, the second guard squeezes the trigger and a gunshot echoes in the hall.
Barta is already on the move, moving quickly across the floor and to undernearth the metal balcony, away from the line of fire of the guards. You follow suit, [Acrobatics (Easy/20):89] before you can get shot at.
You're underneath the second floor balcony and hear the guards speaking in rapid, panicked tones. Glancing at the doorway, you catch sight of the four men you saw earlier, running away.
Health Points: [€€€€€]
Energy Points: [€€€€] (Recharge rate: 1p/turn)
Abilities:
Superstrong Brawl [Free, 3 physical melee damage]
Neural Uplink [3 EP, +40 to active Electronics test]
Augmented Eyesight [Passive, +20 to Perception]
Engineering Genius [Passive, +30 to Construction]
Current Effects:
Immune to Gas [Protected from gas and airborne toxins]
Weighed Down [-30 to Acrobatics]
Inventory:
Damaged Pioneer Armoured Suit
Gas Mask [Enables Immune to Gas, -5 to Perception]
Ayers' Body [Enables Weighed Down]
Light Metal Plates
Assets:
1 Henchman Brute (Barta) [€€€€] [€€] With the Pioneer
Location: Arrival Processing 1st Floor [The Hold]
Tombstone Terenos
Tombstone surveyed the group. A dozen inmates. They would be a prize if he could gain their loyalty, but if not the best outcome was not dying.
Tombstone inclines his head slightly, an archaic gesture of respect.
"I am Tombstone, and I have no quarrel with any of you. I seek to escape. To do so, I will need the assistance of others, such as yourselves. You may join me, or not. But I would prefer if you do not bar my path."
Converse with the inmates ahead. Try to get them to join me, or stand aside.
[Charisma (Hard/60):23] You speak clearly and eloquently, but the leader of the inmates only seems to get more angry. His eyes narrow and he takes a step forwards.
'Remember what I said, boys,' he says, not turning his eyes from you. 'We don't need the freaks. He's going to go on his way, isn't he?'
Despite his words, some in his group seem uneasy, casting downwards glances and muttering to eachother. None challenge the man, but you know the signs. They only require a slight, delicate push.
The leader looks at the unconscious inmate on your minion's shoulder and frowns.
'Hey... isn't that Bloom's buddy? What have you done with him?'
Health Points: [€€€€€€]
Energy Points: [€€€] (Recharge rate: 1p/turn)
Abilities:
Brawl [Free, 1 physical melee damage]
Arcane Blade [3 EP, 4 magical melee damage]
Draining Ritual [3 EP, transfer 3 Health Points from the enemy to yourself. Must remain untouched to the end of the turn.]
Master of the Arcane [Passive, +30 to Occult Knowledge]
Hold Knowledge [Passive, +30 to Castle Knowledge in the Hold]
Current Effects:
None
Inventory:
Wayne's Clothes
Hangman's Noose
Hold Blueprints [Enables Hold Knowledge]
Black-and-Red Stone Fragment
Assets:
1 Henchman Brawler [€€€][€] With Tombstone
1 Henchman Brawler [€€€] [€] With Tombstone, Stunned (1 turn remaining)
Location: Castle Lands [The Black Castle]
Cynneal Svennic Yoink
The world returns to you in sudden, painful flashes. A droplet of water strikes you in the head, prompting a shockwave of pain that shoots out through your mind. It's dark, and the only thing you can hear is the dripping of melting ice and the hiss of dying pneumatics. You can't move. Panic grips you and your heartbeat goes wide. Is this how you're going to die, suffocating inside a malfunctioning cryo-tank?
There's a reverberating knock on the lid that jolts you out of your stupor. It's followed shortly by another, lower on the tank.
Then something breaks through the metal on both sides of the tank and rips the lid off its hinges in one quick movement. Before your vision can adjust to the sudden light and your mind to precious freedom, two muscled arms close around you and hoist you out of the tank, letting you loose in mid-air. The world spins, and you crash into the wall and go sprawling over. Letting out a pitiful moan, you try to focus your gaze on your foe, but are interrupted by a high-pitched voice from your right.
'Face me like a man, you miserable creature! Leave the young lady be!' it shouts, and your head lolls around to see your savior and your assaulter.
The latter is so close you can smell him, a muscled brute in a loose sleeveless shirt and torn shorts, heavily tattooed, with a hard, scarred face and military buzzcut. He snarls at the other man, body tensing, bringing the metal pipe in his hand up.
'Have at you!' comes another shriek, and you feel an immense wave of heat wash over you. Seemingly in slow motion, you follow a shimmering spear of energy cross the distance between the two men and strike the tattooed one in the chest. He goes flying with a roar of pure wrath, landing heavily and sliding a dozen metres down the metal floor.
His opponent arrives by your side. He looks unreal, like a caricature, dressed in an archaic suit, wearing a tophat and a monocle, with a thin moustache and refined features. His eyes are blazing with blue fire and the staff in his hand hums audibly, smoke arising from the knob. He offers a hand to help you up.
'You must leave immediately, miss. I simply cannot allow you to witness the thrashing I am about to give to this brute.'
He gestures forwards, where his opponent is pushing himself up from the floor, seemingly unaffected by the strange attack.
You take the hand and stand up with wavering feet, looking around. To your right, you can see an opening in the wall, with stairs leading down. There must be other exits, but they're hidden somewhere beyond the rows and rows of cryo-tanks. You can hear strange noises and sounds of combat from all over the chamber.
You still have the syringes you managed to smuggle in strictly experimental chemicals, side projects really, ones that you didn't get a chance to test and the formula to your modified Miracle Fertilizer, though it's hardly necessary. You don't think you'll ever forget it.
Health Points: [€€€€]
Energy Points: [€€€€€]
Abilities:
Brawl [Free, 1 physical melee damage]
Poison Injection [2EP, 1 lingering poison melee damage]
Stimulant Shot [2EP, +10 to all skills, +1 to attacks, -1 to enemy attacks for 2 turns]
Brilliant Chemist [Passive, +30 to Scientific Knowledge]
Skilled Manipulator [Passive, +20 to Charisma]
Decent Shot [Passive, +1 to ranged attacks]
Current Effects:
None
Inventory:
Modified SCMF Protective Suit
Chemical Syringes [Enables Poison Injection, Stimulant Shot]
Miracle Fertilizer v2 Formula
Assets:
None
Location: Cryo-Tank Chamber B [The Hold]
KB-1981 - MonkeyHead
Head up to the top of the tower, looking to gain access to the roof - once there survey the lay of the land towards the castle.
You follow the stairs up, to the upper level. A doorway leads to the sun dial above the portcullis on your right and past it to the other tower, but you're more interested in the ladder to the top of the tower, which you climb with only minor difficulty.
[Perception (Medium/40):46] Before you rises the Castle of Birds, a square block of stone that seems to have been stuck full of towers of different kinds by a mad artisan. They resemble a forest, or perhaps a jungle with vine-like connecting pathways crisscrossing a majority of the things.
The main entrance to the Castle is a wide cobblestone road coming in from the west, in contrast to your twisting southern path. The castle yard seems relatively empty, overgrown grass and few scattered trees. You spot a half-collapsed ruin you'd guess used to be a chapel and a small lake by it.
Health Points: [€€€€€€]
Energy Points: [€€€€]
Abilities:
Brawl [Free, 1 physical melee damage]
Integrate Weapon [2 EP, removes energy cost for using a weapon]
Combat Droid [Passive, +1 to both melee and ranged attacks -1 to enemy attacks]
Robotic Mind [Passive, +30 to Perception, +30 to Electronics.
Heavy Frame [Passive, -10 to Acrobatics]
Gunshot [1 EP, 2 physical ranged damage]
Current Effects:
None
Inventory:
Guard Pistol [Enables Gunshot]
Guard Radio
Assets:
None
Location: Left Gatehouse Tower [The Castle of Towers]