Wild West Science versus Magic RP Main Thread

"Sheriff - he didn't mean nothing by it! He's just a little delirious from the blood loss." Dart called, petting Cocoa as best he could with his hands tied.

"Now, if y'all don't mind, could you untie my hands so I can ride? I wouldn't run away or nothing - after all, there's nowhere to run to."

Anabella, who had been scared to speak up after the lizard woman had called them out, cleared her throat. "I wish only to help," she murmured. She wasn't sure how good she would feel about doing people harm in the future... after she had just stated that she didn't mean anybody any harm. Not to mention her flame draught potions that she had conjured....

"If I had a coin for every son of a gun that said the same thing, I'd have enough money to buy a new rifle" the sheriff responded to Dart, turning to look at him, "you don't need yer' hands to ride a horse that's following another horse." Leaving Dart tied, the sheriff and deputies (One of whom had retrieved Frederick's gun.) started off at a slow trot, each of their horses having a lead tied to one of the Exlans' horses. Only Refran was allowed to ride on his own, after his hands had been untied.

With that bunch finally leaving, the lizardfolk woman gave a small sigh of relief and turned towards the common house. "I've got work to do" she stated plainly as she walked over there and started helping the other miners.

The ride back to town had been slow and hot, but finally the group came to the town. It was not a small town by any means, but most of the buildings were simple wood constructions so it had a bit of a quaint feel to it. The sheriff and deputies led the way to the hospital, ignoring the stares of curious townfolk. There the Exlans and Refran were treated, though at the sheriff's instruction the Exlans had only been treated, in his own words, "enough to not be dyin' on us, but no more." After their treatment, in possibly comforting Exlan style medicine, the Exlans were taken to the sheriff's office and put in a cell, then left there alone. Their hands had finally been untied, but they'd also been left unarmed.

That had been a couple hours ago, and now the three could finally hear voices through the open doorway down the hall. Though one of the voices was unfamiliar, the other was clearly the sheriff; the Exlans couldn't yet make out what they were saying, but the voices were getting closer.

Meanwhile, Refran had been kept at the hospital after one of the nurses stuck him with a needle and he fell unconscious again. Now that he was waking up, he found himself lying in a bed; his wounds had been treated and bandaged, but were still there, and the familiar feeling of recent healing magic was conspicuously absent. There was also some sort of needle jammed in his arm with a plastic tube attached to it that went up to a bag of fluid held on a tall stand. Though he might not recognize it as a Dorothan, Refran had been treated with Exlan style medicine.

(Dart, Frederick, and Mart are all at 1 HP now; Mart no longer has an arrow impaled through his chest. Refran is at full HP.)

When the miners seemed satisfied that they could recover nothing further from the burnt area of the common house, they dispersed. Some went to their own rooms while others congregated in groups inside the house or outside it. The lizardfolk woman and a few others kept looking over the burnt area, now assessing the cost and time investment necessary to repair the damage.

Though none of the miners shot the Dorothans angry looks, they did send plenty of apprehensive and uncertain expressions. They were not unwelcome, but they were foreigners, and it was clear that here they would not be fitting in. Hours passed quietly; since the group had successfully taken the mine their orders from the countess had been to therefore hold it and wait. Wait for what was not clear, until they saw a group approaching in the distance. Sir Orson, along with a group of Raleena's guards, were coming towards the mine on horseback at a casual gallop.

edited 4th Sep '15 12:03:01 AM by FirockFinion

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try that when I have my old flints on me!" Dart yelled at the man who put them in the cell, his normally jovial demeanor having been somewhat stifled due to the rough day he and the other Exlans had been having.

"But that being said, anybody got a plan for getting us out of here?"

Teleporting Nid... It wouldn't be right to walk around with a giant hole in the chest.

Hospital

Nid woke up in the hospital bed - to no surprise. But her face lit up with alarm when she saw a needle stuck in her arm. A plastic tube was connected to it and led to a suspended bag. There were fluids and bubbles in the tube, moving rapidly towards her arm. She was feeling much better now if not for the needle. I guess I'll have to work with this. <- :D

She looked around the room, spotting one or two nurses busying themselves with other patients. Nid's hand went to her arm and held the needle. Slowly, she tried to pull it out.

edited 6th Sep '15 8:21:28 PM by DemKimochis

Refran woke up groggily, finding himself laying down and facing the roof. The best course of action was to not move until his head cleared up, and that's what he did. A minute or so passed before he got himself to sit straight, looking around the place and then down to the guy's own body. The shirt he was wearing seemed to be gone, probably having been thrown in the garbage with the state he was in. The warf's pants were still atattched to his legs, though, so that gave some relief. Bandages covered the fairly muscled chest, the wounds underneath still stinging even after all that occurred. It'll probably have to heal naturally on it's own for a while.

Then Refran noticed that damn needle. The warf's eyes went wide and a small panic racked around inside their brain. Ref was completely oblivious with how Exlans handled their medicine, and something stabbed into his arm pumping some kind of fluid straight into it. Refran wanted to pull it out, but he didn't know if it was safe or not... He glanced around the room, spotting a nurse not so far away. "Uh, Hello?" He tried calling out, attempting to grab their attention. "Can I take this... Err... Thing out of my arm?" The warf swung his legs over the side of the bed, sitting on it's edge.

Refran and Nid were in fact in adjacent beds, so when Refran called out to the nurse she looked over and saw Nid starting to pull the needle from her arm. "Oh no no! You should leave those in!" the human woman said hastily, moving over towards the two. Nid still had time to finish pulling the needle out before the nurse reached her if she so chose, though the nurse was clearly moving her way. "You also shouldn't get out of bed just yet; honestly it's amazing that either of you are awake already" the nurse added as she approached.

edited 8th Sep '15 9:01:30 PM by FirockFinion

Hospital

Tsk.

Refran had called for the nurse's attention and to no surprise, Nid got a good share in it. She risked a glance at the nurse, trying to find out how far she was. Keeping her in the corner of her eye, she pulled the needle out. The nurse had been telling her to stop but she paid no heed and as soon as the nurse stood beside her bed, Nid tried her best to look surprised at the newcomer, feigning ignorance of the nurse's warnings.

Before Dart or his comrades could do much more thinking on how they would get out, the two people talking finally entered the room; actually more than just two entered, though only two of them had been talking. There was the sheriff and his two deputies, and the deputies were each hauling a box that the Exlans would quickly realize contained their confiscated weaponry. There was also a tall and large built man in regal clothing, large enough to suggest that maybe he was partially descendant of a larger race such as an ogre or giant. Accompanying the large man was a relatively short figure wearing a sort of leather armor with some steel plating; their head was covered with a hood and their face covered with a mask, so it was impossible to determine the figure's race or gender.

None of the men looked particularly happy, though the sheriff and deputies had expressions more indifferent than the large man's. "This is them" the sheriff said to the large man, pointing his thumb at the Exlans.

The large man regarded the Exlans with a sour expression for a few moments before he spoke. "... You're the men Escom sent to take my mine?" he asked them, despite the fact that that's probably what the sheriff had just answered a moment before.

"Don't don't!- Aw shoot" the nurse said in a frustrated tone, stamping one foot on the floor after reaching Nid. "That's going to be a pain to put back in. Miss can you please just sit back and hold still?" she asked the elf, grabbing a pin to put on the tube so the fluid would stop flowing. Speaking of flowing, there was a small trickle of blood on Nid's arm from where she'd removed the needle; it didn't look that bad, but... Nid was feeling oddly woozy regardless.

Hospital

Despite not being badly injured and in need of medical care, Nathan was by his comrades' sides at the hospital, waiting for them.

"Well, at least we managed to get you all medical treatment in time, yes? Imagine if that had gone on for a bit longer."

He smiled warmly at Nid and Ref. He didn't seem bothered by the fact that Nid had taken out the needle.

"The answer is yes. In the ensuing fight, the house caught on fire."

"More like we were hired to protect your lovely little mine from those awful magicians." Dart said, trying to win this man over.

Hospital

No doubt, the ensuing feeling had come from this Exlan magic but Nid did not try the nurse's patience a second time.

There came another voice besides the nurse's and Ref's. Nathan. Nid almost forgot he was there. Nonetheless, the company was welcome. "Yes, quite lucky," she said as she shot a look at the nurse behind her back even as she resigned to her fate.

edited 13th Sep '15 7:34:53 PM by DemKimochis

With Nid cooperating, the nurse went about the painful process of getting the needle back into Nid's arm. "I don't know if I'd call getting a hole shot through you 'lucky', but at least the sheriff brought you here before it was too late" the nurse commented on Nathan and Nids' conversation. "And the sheriff said to make sure you got treated; far be it from me to say no to the sheriff. None of my business then why you folk are suffering from so many gunshot wounds" she added, casting a glance with a raised eyebrow at Refran and Nid.

"Don't try to patronize me with your tricks" the large man said in nearly a growl at Dart. "I'm already aware of Escoms' and Raleenas' plots, and what happened at the mine. I have little patience for those who come into my district and start trouble" he continued, turning away from the cell and motioning at the two deputies. They set down the boxes containing the Exlans' gear and went to open the cell. Both drew their pistols but kept them lowered, while the sheriff did the same with his rifle.

"Make no mistake; if I didn't owe a favor to Escom, I'd have you hanged for even thinking of taking my mine. But luckily for you the complexities of the Seliinan court have fallen in your favor, this time" the large man told the Exlans as he turned back to the cell. "I want you to go back to Escom and tell him that I, Count Rakosh, will give him no support for the throne. And then I want you to never return to my district, because if you come and start so much as a barroom brawl, Escom's protection will not save you from my wrath" Count Rakosh finished. The deputies made motions to the boxes with their guns, eyeing the Exlans carefully for any suspicious movements.

Hospital

Try as she might, Nid winced at the pain, unable to suppress the feeling.

Even Exlan medicine hurts. she thought as she - and later, the nurse - reminded herself of the hole through her. It was quite numb now, thank the gods, but it was still bothering her.

The nurse spoke to them as she put the needle in, interjecting herself into their conversation. Nid looked at the nurse steadily. "Well, that was a blunder on my part," she said. Nid didn't add anything else to it as if she hadn't hear the latter part.

edited 18th Sep '15 4:16:04 PM by DemKimochis

"Ahaha... Right, es..." Okay but really the needle was freaking Refran out. what the hell is IN that bag?! Though, considering his condition... It might just be best to not question it. The nurse had told him not to get out of bed and thus he wouldn't, probably he was too weak to stand right now. Well, Ref FELT fine but that could just be his pride talking. The warf's tail snuck out from underneath the sheets and started moving side-to-side, Ref being unaware. He glanced over at Nathan who had come to visit the both of them... Goddamn that guy's a lifesaver. He and Nid gave Ref the strength to get out of the building relatively unharmed, and drag out the Exlans too... Wait, Exlans?

"Oh... Nathan, es... What happened to Anabella and the other three?" Refran asked, looking over at them. That needle was still bugging Ref, but this... Issue just a little more. Everyone was in such horrible condition... Refran felt a sting and visibly winced, reaching out to clasp his chest. This... Was going to scar. Badly. But what was a roaming spellblade without a few scars? ...What was a soldier without a few scars...? The thought shot through Refran, a frown coming on his face. He was just a soldier, wasn't he...?

edited 19th Sep '15 3:37:53 AM by Nickpws

"Other three? Those folk who the sheriff brought in with you?" the nurse asked rhetorically, since she was still standing right there. "He had us fix them up enough to keep them from dying, then hauled hem off to jail. Why, were you with them? If so, why are you here and not also in jail then?" she asked, not rhetorically.

While she asked, a Male nurse approached with a couple of plates; one seemed to have a steak covered in some kind of sauce, (a sweet brown sugar based sauce) while the other had a small loaf of bread and cookies on it. (peanut butter cookies) "If you two are going to be awake, even though you probably shouldn't, you better at least eat something" the man said, cutting in on the conversation. "You both lost a lot of blood so the sooner the better; got to get your blood sugar back up" he added, placing the steak with a fork and knife on Refran's bedside table, and the plate with the bread and cookies on Nid's bedside table. The nurse who'd already been present shot him a slight glare for interrupting.

Dart silently and gracefully took his gear back and saddled up Cocoa

Refran laughed nervously at the comment from the female nurse. Suddenly everyone's thinking he was with those three... "N-No, es. I'm not." Before he could get another word out the other nurse entered, a male one. They brought some food, seemingly... Wait, a steak?! Awesome! The warf's tail was wagging wildly now. The nurse had said something about sugar intake but that flew over the guy's head as the plate was set on the table.

Refran dug in pretty much immediately, positively shouting out "Thanks for the food, es!" to the nurse. His eating wasn't very... Refined. The warf cut through the meat at record speed and tore through the flesh in seconds, swallowing it down in no time. Didn't take more than a minute for them to finish. Ref covered his mouth for a short bit to let out a burp. It got drowned out due to the covering of his mouth, luckily, and Ref wiped it off soon after. He turned his focus to the female nurse, feeling much better after having eaten something. "O-Oh, yeah, es. You were asking about me being with those other three, right? I'm not, I was just a little worried for their safety, es. Two of them... Woulda died if I hadn't pulled them out of the fire, es. Glad to hear they're okay..." The previous, upbeat attitude had already vanished as quick as it came. Ref knew full well the fire was his fault... And that he'd be seeing those three a lot more.

edited 23rd Sep '15 10:40:41 AM by Nickpws

Hospital

A male nurse came along with food for the both of them. Nid sat up in her bed as he came closer and she gratefully accepted the plate given to her muttering a small "Thank you," as she did.

She was famished and when she looked at Refran 'wolfing' down his steak, she had a sudden craving for it as well. She shrugged it off and started with her cookies as she looked around the hospital. The cookies were above average and it made her surprised to taste such food in a place like this. The hospital in itself wasn't too grand and though the efforts of tidying the place could be seen, she can't help but see it as a little bit dirty because of the sand on the floor.

Nid finished the cookies just before Refran finished his steak. She turned towards the loaf and took a slice. The bread was warm and evidently just got out of the oven. It was heavenly. She ate the loaf slowly, savoring it. "Want some?" she asked Nathan, offering a slice.

Hosptial

Nathan slowly shook his head at the offer of food.

"No, really. There's no need. I shall eat later, once we have left this place."

He watched with some amusement as Refran ate so rapidly and hungrily.

"One would swear you were part wolf, Refran."

Outside Count Escom's Estate

A mysterious man wearing a longcoat is seen wandering around the estate. Maximus was lost, he never traveled far from home before and he was bad at directions to boot.

"Those fuckers just had to send me to a desert." He swore as he walked closer to an estate the looked more like a factory than a mansion. "At least there's some civilization here..."

"So you were in the fire? That's interesting" the woman commented to Refran, her eyebrows lowering with slight suspicion. If it hadn't occurred to the Dorothans already, it likely would now that the smoke from the fire at the mine was visible from here at the town.

"I think it's time to let them get some more rest" the man commented, getting a second quick glare from his colleague. After she got up and started to walk away, the man took Refran's empty plate and prepared to follow. "I'll bring you three something to pass the time with, how about?" he offered as he left. True to his word, a few minutes later he brought them a deck of playing cards and a set of five dice in a cup, for the Dorothans to entertain themselves with as they saw fit.

Some time passed. It was hard to be sure how long, with nothing to do besides play with cards and/or dice, or sit and try to ignore the dull pain of their injuries; they weren't next to any windows to see the sun directly, but the light from one down the hall was turning orange, suggesting it was nearing sunset. That meant they'd been at the hospital at least an hour or two by now.

"You've got a visitor" the voice of a different nurse informed them. A... Lady? With the head of a bird and body covered with feathers under her clothing led a familiar figure in platemail armor to the Dorothans.

"Glad to see you're all still alive" Sir Orson said as the nurse left, taking off his helmet. "But I see you ran into some trouble after all" he added, then gave a hearty chuckle.

A pair of guards were waiting for Maximus as he approached the entrance to the estate. If one were to judge solely by their weapons, it would be easy to think the guards were in the Exlan military, but their uniforms were distinctly Seliinan through and through. "Another Exlan?" one of the guards asked, seeing Maximus' rifle, "here to see the Count, I'd imagine. Come on, we'll get you some water while you wait for him." The guard motioned Maximus into the estate grounds, and he was led over to the guardhouse and allowed to rest in the bunk room with some water to drink and bread to eat. It was a mostly utilitarian place, again very reminiscent of the way the Exlan military had their barracks, but with distinctly Seliinan touches here and there.

Maximus was told a little while later, by one of the Count's servants rather than the Count himself, that there was already an Exlan team that had arrived to lend their assistance; in fact they were out on a mission currently. If Maximus was interested in joining the effort as well, it would be best for him to wait here at the estate until the team came back.

And come back they did, but not until several hours later, already a while after sundown. The ride back had been as hot as the ride out, and this time there was injuries to bear through as well. When the sun had just gone down, for a while the temperature was perfect; now that it had been a while though, it was starting to get cold. As soon as the guards saw the state the Exlans were in, they rushed them over to the guardhouse as well to see what they could do to help. Only moments after they entered the room, the drow butler Roger entered, looking as indifferent towards everything as ever. "It appears that the mission did not go as planned" Roger said; it wasn't a question, but a statement. "Would any of you gentlemen care to inform of what happened?" he asked, his gaze turning lazily over each of the injured men.

Maximus sized up his new team, "A pumpkin and two nerds, huh..." He turned to the drow servant and said, "Are you kidding me?! I bet these boys can get beaten up by a teenage gang in the City of Dis in less than 30 SECONDS!"

The enraged man walked straight to the injured men gave them a fierce, intimidating scowl. His eyes turned to the massive pumpkin-head and he shouted straight in his face, "What the fuck can you do, Halloween boy?"

(If you're going to ask, Max is trying to turn them into soldiers. And people can only become soldiers if they experience a truckload of pain.)

edited 27th Sep '15 6:19:06 PM by Victor_Skye

Refran seemed to lose EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. At least, when it came to cards. Somehow Nid always manages to outsmart him and it got on his nerves. Ref seemed to have a little more luck when it came to dice games, though, scoring a few victories over Nid. They were back to playing cards just as the nurse announced Orson coming in, Ref almost yelling "SON OF A-" at the top of his lungs before the man came in. Good thing the knight was there...

"Oh, sir Orson. Glad to see you here, es." Ref actually meant that comment. With the infuriating Needleworker to play against, anyone would go insane. "Yeah. We got beat up pretty bad..." ...Ref really didn't want to comment on the fire. He decided to just leave his commentary at that, looking at Nid to see if she had a way of explaining this.

edited 28th Sep '15 12:45:08 AM by Nickpws