Turn 13The Pioneer – Taricus
the pioneer patches up Barta the best he can, then gets the hell out of the hold.
[Stealth (Medium/40):15] You keep to the wall the best you can and begin edging towards Barta. Only a few steps in, however, you hear a shout from above and a guard bullet pings off the floor right next to you. You press yourself against the wall, making yourself as flat as you can. Thankfully, it seems that your position below the walkway leaves you out of their field of fire.
[2+1=3] Another shot rings out, but even with Barta prone on the floor the guard can't score a direct hit. It slams into your only henchman's thigh, causing him to wail even more. It's a bit pathetic, really.
Daring the gunfire and hoping your augmented bulk will withstand any hits from the guards' guns, you rush over to Barta and, [Perception (Medium/40):105] giving his wounds a quick look, hoist him over your other shoulder and head for the exit.
[2/1][3+1+1=5][1+1+1=3] Slowing down to pick up Barta unfortunately also serves to give the guards a solid target. You hear two gunshots and something hard smashes into your back. A flicker of pain erupts before your augments automatically dull it away and boost your systems with extra stimulants and adrenaline. You keep running despite the incredible weight of both Barta and Ayers on your back.
Reaching the doors, you throw yourself in and swing right to get out of the open doorway, and safely out, placing Barta on the ground...
...only to realize he's rapidly bleeding out from his wounds, including the second guard's shot while you were running.
[Scientific Knowledge (Hard/60):22] You never did bother to learn medicine, but you doubt even a trained doctor could save him now, in these conditions. You can't do anything but watch as Barta gurgles and mumbles feverishly for a few moments before passing away.
Oh well. This just means you'll have two new henchmen to rebuild.
[Perception (Medium/40):34] You abruptly remember you were hit too, and begin checking your wounds. The cowards on the second level hit you in the back, and while it doesn't feel that serious, you oughta attend to it sooner rather than later.
You are in a long fence-link box that leads out of the Hold. You can just make out a group of rapidly-disappearing figures at the far end. You could most likely bend and break the walls of the box and step into the exercise yard and through there back into the Hold, too.
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]
Very Weighed Down [-60 to Acrobatics, -30 to Stealth, -1 to combat rolls]
Inventory:
Damaged Pioneer Armoured Suit
Gas Mask [Enables Immune to Gas, -5 to Perception]
Ayers' Body [Enables Weighed Down]
Barta's Body [Enables Very Weighed Down]
Light Metal Plates
Assets:
None
Location: Hold Entrance Corridor [The Hold]
– Terenos
Tombstone strode forward purposefully towards the raised portcullis. His spirits were somewhat raised by the acquisition of yet more servants. Now he would need to acquire but a handful more and then repurpose Fountain Hall. He supposed he would also have to teach his minions the basic rudiments of the Occult so that they could perform the necessary rituals to strengthen him.
When he reached the raised portcullis, Tombstone raised his arm to halt the henchmen behind him, then spoke.
"Who among you knows much about this castle festooned with towers? Who is imprisoned here, be they super or simply regular inmates such as yourselves? Knowledge is power, and we proceed cautiously forwards without it.
Tombstone motioned two of his henchmen ahead to check out the gatehouse and report back. "Run back here if you discover any problems. I do not spend the lives in service to me recklessly."
Tombstone gathers intelligence from his fresh henchmen, and sends a few ahead as scouts.
There's a silence after Tombstone's words, broken only by the patter of the scouts' feet on the gravel path. They set out towards the portcullis without question, seeming relieved to have someone in charge who knows what he wants.
'Err...' a nasal voice finally breaks the silence. 'I believe this is, indeed, the Castle of Towers – the ancestral stronghold of the Bloodworth family. Its foundations were laid in the early thirteenth century, if I recall correctly, but it only assumed its current form after several subsequent additions over the years. It was a tradition for every generation of the family to add another tower into the structure, as it were. See there, for example, the Tower of Augustus – a fascinating construction for sure, as you can see, mimicking the styles of the early Gothic era, but...'
The man – a bone-thin inmate with refined, bird-like features and small round spectacles – pauses, looking faintly embarassed.
'After the Crown ordered the arrest of the family and the forced possession of its lands and assets, the Tower fell into disuse until it was bought by the state four years ago, as I'm sure you know. I am not aware if the Castle has seen any use as a holding facility, but I would still advise caution. The family had a bit of an 'eccentric' reputation, I believe, though no doubt whatever lays inside has fallen into disrepair and ruin long ago, as all things in life do.'
He scratches his nose and scrubs his glasses with his sleeve for a moments before adding hurriedly; 'My lord.'
The other inmates make faint mocking comments and sounds to eachother, but the speaker doesn't seem to notice. He places the glasses back on his nose.
You wonder briefly what his crimes were to be placed in this place – he seems more like someone who's committed fraud, or some other low-level crime, but those don't get you into the Black Castle.
After a few minutes, the scouts return unharmed and tell you the way into the castle looks clear.
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:
6 Henchman Brawlers [¤¤¤][¤] – With Tombstone
Location: near the Main Gatehouse [The Castle of Towers]
– Yoink
Feeling rather weak and vulnerable at the moment, Cynneal shall hide herself in the doorway and recuperate a bit, using the syringe of stimulant on her battered self. Then it's time to take a look and try to work out just what's going on around her, just what kindof beings are beating on each other and why, and, most importantly, keeping an eye out for any discarded weapons that might be scattered about from the ongoing conflict.
[Stealth (Hard/60):94] With her veins surging with experimental chemicals and her mind sharper than every before, Cynneal begins to move through the lines of cryotanks, keeping to the shadows and staying low behind the machines, ears perked for any approaching sounds. Several times, she lays herself flat against the cool surface of a cryotank while a moving shape passes by. She follows sounds of conflict but doesn't stray too close, keeping her eyes open for any discarded or lost gear. More cryotanks are opening with every passing second, and the chamber is about to turn into a full-fledged battleground.
[Perception (Medium/40):79] Eventually, Cynneal comes to the site of what seems to have been a particularly brutal battle. Several cryotanks lay shattered open and crushed inwards, their inhabitants moaning in pain or mangled and dead. On the floor is a woman in a form-fitting leather catsuit, unconscious. Making sure the area is clear, Cynneal steps into the path and kneels to study her closer. She turns her head around, jogging for memory for any idea of who she is. The woman's distinctive looks – bald, except for an upwards burst of wild hair, striking, aquiline features and black eyes – would mark her as memorable with normal people, but amongst supers she could be just about anyone. Cynneal plays with half a dozen half-remembered candidates and eventually decides on one of the new wave of telekinetics. Further testing would be required to confirm this, though. It's a pity she doesn't have any insignia – shameful, really.
[Perception (Medium/40):65][Scientific Knowledge (Medium/40):70] You place a hand on her chest and with a start, realize you can feel a faint pulse. You run a quick examination and check her wounds – mostly internal, or rather, you suspect, mostly mental. You suspect the battle fought here was partly a battle of wills.
It occurs to you could easily revive her with a stimulant... or fill up your empty syringes from her before she fades away completely for further studying. Finding out what makes whatever powers she possesses work could be very useful.
While you don't see a gun anywhere around you, the inhabitants of the cryotanks are helpless, though sticking around here for too long isn't exactly safe. Some of them might even get out on their own or atleast fight back.
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:
Stimulant Effects [+10 to all skills, +1 to attacks, -1 to enemy attacks – 1 turn remaining]
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]
- MonkeyHead
Gain access to the castle via the nearby door. Scout around immediate interior area looking for some kind of workshop...
You look over the structure standing over you for a few moments. An outlying building juts out from the side of the intimidating castle, and you don't see any other doors, so you head in.
The door lacks a lock and opens well enough, ancient wood creaking. You step into a dusty, dark space that your systems hurry to adjust to. Once you can once again see perfectly, you perform a good long scan of the rooms.
From the ancient remnants of cots and simple beds on the floor, the plain, rotten furniture, the lack of anything more advanced than a long-dead fireplace and lanterns, you figure this room has not been used in a long, long while, and most likely belonged to servants or workers of some kind. From what you have gathered, the people who built this castle would not have accepted living conditions such as these. There are a few other rooms, containing a collapsed table and simple wooden cutlery, and in the other what seem to have been chamber pots. A further door leads into the main castle building. There's nothing you could use to repair yourself, unfortunately.
[Perception (Hard/60):93] Something bothers you about the room and after a second scan you realize what; there's a clear path in the dust, and even better, the wooden floor is bent inwards at several points on that path. Someone's been through here recently, perhaps even your elusive sniper.
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: Servants' Hall [The Castle of Towers]
Author
Topic: Supervillainry! - Started! Turn 14! (Read 14807 times)