Character Frontier

The Washington

Father Kiyoshi ran to the back of the saloon. He quickly looked about, searching for an exit. Failing to see one, he took his spectral katana and thrust it into the wall. He quickly swept the blade in a circular motion, carving a makeshift doorway. He placed his foot against it, and thrust forward. The new doorway collapsed, leaving a way outside.

Father Kiyoshi turned to his companions. "Everyone — Saya, Lia — outside!" He quickly ran back to the stairwell. "Francis — hurry up! We're running out of time!" The priest quickly ran back to the doorway — and stopped short.

Standing before the newly-hewn exit was a dark figure. It rose to its full height — fully four metres ( about thirteen feet), forcing even the gigantic priest to crane his neck to look it in the eye. The monster had dark grey skin, bulging muscles, four spiny arms with nightmarishly long (and clawed) fingers, and two heads. Each of its heads looked exactly alike: they had catlike faces, slitlike eyes that glowed yellow, and lacked visible pupils, a grinning visage filled with razor teeth, and a long cone extending nearly a metre out the back. The two heads moved in perfect unison, to the point that their voices overlapped into a hideous song of death.

"Greetings, sukiizhni*," said Noshakruuptchè.

• Sukiizhni: the demonic word for "priest." It essentially means "dung-filth."

edited 7th Sep '15 8:30:58 PM by TempestKnight

[main street]

"Don't need anything," he said. "Not human, I'll explain enroute if you'd like."

Tsadro heard something bizarre- no sooner after hearing it did he feel it, the presence of something very big. He strained a bit to feel- some kind of demon? Not moving. Trying to start a conversation, if that could qualify as a voice.

"There's something large nearby... rather not stay and see what it'll do when it stops talking." He felt along the several drawstring pouches tied to his belt- precious metal coins, minitablet, eyeliner, gloves, pocketknife. Everything was in order for him, at least...

edited 8th Sep '15 5:54:07 AM by CrystalGlacia

[The Washington] -> [Outside the Washington]

Lia barely had the time to react to the untimely arrival of the demon; its presence sent a chill down her spine. in a slight daze she followed Father Kiyoshi's instruction through the newly-cut exit, hoping that Saya also made it out safely.

"Just what is that?" Lia said, still trying to catch her own breath.

Just when she was about to think about what to do, a voice rang out in her head, "Lia! Can you hear me?" a slightly raspy, old voice; unmistakably Alba. "Something unexpectedly bad has arrived at town. Is Krul amongst your company?" he asked. His tone was obviously worried, but there was no sign of panic.

"Krul, he left with an expedition party." Lia said. By then, she thought it was irresponsible of her to allow Krul to go, "Professor, I thought I didn't have enough power to initiate telepathy. What did you do?"

"My blood has a bit of Luma within, and using it falls within the area of my research." Alba said, then his voice took on an angry tone, "That aside, what in Aur's name was Krul thinking? His duty was to protect you from cases like this!" he paused slightly, "It was very unlike him... hold, *you* are the one who sent him away, aren't you, Astell?" When even Alba called her by her middle name, she knew how angry he was, but she had nothing to reply with. Alba let out an irritated sigh, "Fine. Come, I am at the livery. Our first aim is to restore your power as soon as possible." he said.

Lia made a slight, barely noticeable nod. She shot the Washington another look. "Be safe, Father Kiyoshi." Lia said, before quickly making her way though the street.

Main Street - Near Tipsy Toad - Outside of town in forest

Chloe could feel a strange sensation as well, something scary was nearby and though she felt confident enough to fight it should it start attacking, she had to agree with her new companion. "Alright, shall we leave then?" she asked with a grin and holding onto her sword sheath (should they come across the beast that was making her nervous), she walked on towards the outskirts of town and the forest where she found the temple where her sword came from.

"Ah, this is going to be exciting! I mean, I was fine working alone but it gets kind of boring with no one to talk to, you know? Having a partner makes it more fun. I would go with my family but uh, they're all looking for treasure in other places." she babbled to her new companion as she walked along.

edited 8th Sep '15 9:55:52 AM by Sphinxyness

The Washington -> Main Street

When the others opted to follow after Kiyoshi, Saya found herself glued to her seat. If the situation hadn't grown out of her league before, it certainly had now.

One part of her figured Kiyoshi knew what he was doing and that she should probably follow his lead. The rest of her mind had come to the conclusion that he was vastly overestimating her and the song's capabilities. His plan, after all, involved charging the demon head on when a better idea would be to give the thing a wide berth and stay out of its way.

Not helping matters was the song's tone. She could hear it now, and it sounded downright panicked. She quickly figured out that it was trying to tell her about something very big and very nasty standing just outside the building. It was fully possible that it was the demon Kiyoshi was trying to warn everyone about.

Kiyoshi did have the right idea about one thing: it was time to get out of here. Just sitting here was probably just as bad as running to meet the beast. She glanced towards the front door, listening closely to the song to see if it knew where the demon was in relation to herself. After a couple of moments, she determined that the thing was at the back of the building.

At that, she hopped off her seat. She sighed and glanced briefly in the direction the others headed off in. As much as she did want to help, there was little she could do now. The best she could hope for was that the others could handle themselves.

With that last thought, she bolted out the door and ran as fast as she could down the street and as far away from the bar as she could manage.

Outside the Washington

Father Kiyoshi stared at the enemy. The very sight of Noshakruuptchè was enough to fill him with fear. The priest quickly realized that, though he was in a horrible position himself, the citizens of the town would likely fare far worse, since they would be unable to defend himself. Father Kiyoshi quickly formulated a plan.

It began with him running for his life.

The priest led the demon through the streets, toward the emptiness of the desert. He strove to avoid large crowds, so as to minimize the harm done to the people. Thankfully, Noshakruuptchè did not deviate from his target (this time), though naturally the very sight of such a monster would be enough to cause people to flee.

Within minutes, the priest was in the middle of the desert, with his foe on his heels. Father Kiyoshi turned, and swung at Noshakruuptchè with his katana. But the demon summoned an ethereal sword of his own — a black, irregularly-shaped sword which glowed with an inner fire. The two blades collided — holy good against satanic evil — producing an array of sparks that could be seen from the town.

Father Kiyoshi gritted his teeth and looked up into the demon's eyes — all four of them. "Why here?" asked the priest. "Why attack a town like this, which has nothing you could ever want?"

Noshakruuptchè grinned, revealing his teeth. "Because," he replied, "I wanted to draw you out. My mission was to draw out my most powerful opponent, and eliminate him — and here you are! Kiyoshi, the citizenry of this town were never what I wanted...you were."

Three more swords materialized in Noshakruuptchè's hands. Father Kiyoshi tried his best to parry them, but two of them stabbed him, landing deep in his gut. He let out a gurgle as the infernal blades pierced his flesh.

Noshakruuptchè lifted the priest high into the air. "And now, sukiizhni, I send you to the abyss where so many of your brothers await."

"I — I'm not dead yet!" gasped Father Kiyoshi. He dropped his katana, causing it to stab deep into the demon's foot. Noshakruuptchè let out a wail, and dropped the priest. With the last of his strength, Father Kiyoshi took his blade, and stabbed upward, impaling Noshakruuptchè upon it. With a cry, the demon fell to the ground. He writhed violently about for several moments, but was quickly reduced to a withered husk, which disintegrated into a pile of ash.

Father Kiyoshi collapsed to the ground, breathing hard. His blood soaked into the sand, and he was nearing death. "I...I complete my mission, Deoth," he whispered. "I don't...know...if anyone will come to help...me....But...I accept your judgment."

I will not be posting again, unless someone comes to heal Father Kiyoshi.

[The Washington]

The priest was gone, run out into the streets and into the wild desert. The teen and the young woman were gone as well. All that was left was the overturned, seemingly war torn remains of the saloon. Some weird fire, some chairs overturned, some walls torn up. A reeling residue of icky black darkness.

It was that last thing that stirred Cynthia, still wrapped over Francis's shoulder, back into awareness. The frantic shacking and shivering wasn't exactly new, but the shattering scream of pure fear was unfamiliar.

He shook himself back into reality, tossing Cynthia back down the ground, her previously unnaturally light form becoming suddenly like a heavy weight over his shoulder.

"It's here it's here it's here it's here it's here it's here," she changed, over and over and over again. Her chanting was rhythmic, paced, hurried but without slip or error.

"It's gone, Cynthia. Whatever 'it' was, it's gone." Francis's voice was slow, monotone, exhausted almost.

"It's here it's here it's here it's here it's- getoutgetoutgetoutgetoutet- There are dark things here Francis, we need to leave now."

"Money?"

"Getoutgetoutgetoutoutoutou They won't stop, they'll keep coming. There are dark works afoot. I felt them, they were inside my hea getoutgetoutgetou"

She tore at her scalp, scratching and growling out inhuman noises.

"Cynthia we need to go. I think there might be a hotel not to far from here," Francis responded, a growing uncertainty in his voice.

"I can feel them."

"You need rest, we all do."

She struck up like a viper, grabbing him at the sides and shacking him like a money pot, going back to incoherence, then silence. And then Francis was silent.

[The Plains]

"It's—it's just—don't worry about it, Crowe." Cyrus rummaged through the satchel on Kito's back to find his canteen. "Mages tend to be more sensitive to energy shifts, so I didn't think any non-magic users among us would know what we're talking about. Anyway, at least three of us were simultaneously nauseous and that pretty much rules out physical ailments. Is there any need to risk our safety by investigating? Though we might run into the source if we're going through the forest anyway. Kito says we should avoid it, but if we don't really know where it's coming from, that might not be possible."

Cyrus held up a thumb and a forefinger. If the energy wave didn't disrupt his ability to use magic, a tiny amount of electricity would arc between his fingers.

[The Plains]

The pulse had been a passing wave of unpleasantness, its energies now gone. Whatever effect it may have theoretically had was no longer relevant, and Cyrus' cantrip worked precisely as expected.

Gonna say no more, let everyone catch up.

edited 8th Sep '15 6:23:00 PM by KillerClowns

[outside town, to forest]

"Potentially safer, too. Nice to have a fresh mind in case of problems." Tsadro understood she was excited, but why did chattering seem to be everyone's manifestation of excitement? The Clines weren't even Mialian, and they still picked up the habit sometimes. Doctor Acquati even talked to himself. He almost asked himself how hard it was for these people to savor the moment, but that's when he recalled that Chloe decided to meet with him specifically to have someone to talk to.

Well. He could treat this like a day off with Verena. Listen, and let her know he's doing so. At least with Chloe, if he did get a quiet moment, he'd be able to see her face.

"Partaking in the family trade alone. Something tells me that's not the most common thing to do."

Main Street

Karl and Peggy both pricked up their ears at the mention of Todd's name and waited expectantly to hear if the news was good.

Evidently it wasn't good as the call was ended abruptly and Samuel looked distinctly agitated.

Samuel turned to the group. "Someone's after me and Todd. Don't know who, don't know where he is... This is bad."

To Wolfe's consternation, Samuel started to walk away from the group. Thankfully he stopped and muttered "shit", which gave Wolfe time to marshal his shocked thoughts. "Hey, hold up, Samuel. You can't just wander off alone."

"You'd be safer with a group to help you," said James.

Karl nodded. "We can go with you."

"I'm in," said Kris, slapping the stock of the ASh-78 slung over her shoulder.

"Me too," said Teri, stepping up.

Peggy nodded. Unlike the others, she had never seen combat but she could shoot and had faced numerous dangers.

Teri gave a grin. "So, what're we up against?"

edited 8th Sep '15 8:57:37 PM by Wolf1066

[Desert — Father Kiyoshi's location]

A voice, condescending, and with an accent that was mostly some kind of English, but couldn't possibly be mapped to any particular part of the island or any region of its lost empire. "Your god can wait. Someone more important doesn't want you bleeding to death today." A dark, handsome man of mixed British and Indian descent, with military posture, an official-looking flattop cut, a wide and well-trimmed mustache, and a Mosin-Nagant rifle with a holographic sight in addition to its iron sights and various subtler modifications. He was dressed in khaki trousers and a olive-and-brown windbreaker. The man first collected a blood sample, roughly handcuffed Kiyoshi, then applied first aid. He had a certain level of experience, though it was rough and the agent didn't seem to care if he caused pain as he worked. It wasn't much, but it would stabilize Kiyoshi until he got back into town.

"That cunt," the agent jerked his head towards the ash pile that had been Noshakruuptchè, "got any friends coming?"

edited 9th Sep '15 9:27:58 PM by KillerClowns

[Desert]

"Of course I do." John said, pointing at where he was, "Why do you a-"

He stopped and looked down at the other tracks, blinking. "Oh! If this a road...then that means that a town isn't too far from here."

What a relief. he thought, Here I thought we would die in this blazing heat.

He smiled brightly, "Wanna take our chances and follow that road? Or do you want to stick with our original plan?"

Main Street - Outside General Store

Saya had wanted to keep running until she was well out of the town, but she only got most of the way down the central street before she realized that nothing seemed to be happening to the town. At that point, she stopped and leaned against the side of a building to catch her breath and to try and figure out what just happened.

There was no sign of the big nasty thing, and nor could she hear anything that sounded like destruction or at least a big fight. She could still hear the song, but it had since dropped its panicked tone in favor of a calmer one much closer to its usual self. A couple moments of listening was all she needed to figure out that it was trying to say that all was clear.

As far as she could tell she was safe for now. However, her plans had been thoroughly dashed by the whole affair. She highly doubted anyone was going to be interested in that bar now, at least if word traveled as fast here as it did back home, and that was assuming the place was in any condition to hold customers. So much for earning any money out there.

While there was no sign of the big nasty thing, there was also no sign of any of the others. She could only hope that they were safe as well, or at least holding their own. Once again she felt a slight twinge of guilt for chickening out the way she did, but once again she had to remind herself that there wasn't much else she could do.

She also felt a massive round of disappointment. She was hoping that there'd be time between Kiyoshi's warning and the demon's arrival for her to ask about the places the others came from, at least beyond the demon problem Kiyoshi's homeland apparently had. Unfortunately, it all came to a head so fast, and now she wasn't even sure if she'd ever see any of the others again.

So ultimately, she was back to where she started. She was back to being on her own without any money. She didn't even get the food and drink she ordered from the bar. Now what was she going to do?

Then another thought came to her. She quickly looked around for her flute, desperately hoping she hadn't lost it in all the ruckus. Thankfully, it was still where she always kept it when she wasn't using it, a fact that made her let out a sigh of relief.

Since she didn't have any other options, maybe playing some music would be a good idea. This wasn't as good a spot as before, but at this point she was more interested in calming herself than she was trying to get some tips. Besides, it was still on the central street anyway; surely, she'd catch someone's attention?

At that, she put the flute to her lips and started playing. The song joined in soon afterwards, and after adjusting itself to match the tune Saya was playing immediately started searching for more rhythms to work into it. At the moment, the music sounded mostly calming, but Saya couldn't help but make it sound somewhat mournful.

Forest - Heading towards temple

Chloe blushed sheepishly, realizing she was blabbering to the man, and answered, "Y-yeah. I come from a whole family of thie- treasure hunters. We explore the land, looking for rare valuables to take and either sell or keep for neat decorations. But...but one of us strayed from that path."

She clutched the handles of her large sack which she carried on her back next to the sheath and looked away a moment before turning back to the man with a smile. "But um, I'm sure he's fine. He's a lot older than me, and stronger too." she added to try and not sound too dreary. Her green eyes kept a sharp lookout for the entrance of the temple where she found her sword, looking for the marking she made so that she could find it again if she wanted to come back. Something taught to her by her family.

edited 9th Sep '15 10:07:26 AM by Sphinxyness

[The Plains]

Crowe was silent for a few awkward moments, then mumbled, half to himself, "Right. I forgot how weird this place can be." Louder, he spoke to Cyrus, "Can you give me a direction? It might help to know where that- whatever it was- came from. I guess it could be nothing, but given how unpredictable this place is, it's best not to take that chance."

Crowe idly scanned the horizon to the east.

[MAIN STREET]

Tana glanced at Christopher, who himself was still trying to make sense of the situation. Coming to a decision, the old woman climbed back into the driver seat of the large vehicle and honked the horn. Afterwards, she looked over to Wolfe.

"No offense, but we're the ones with transportation. We can maybe spare one or two." Then she looked over to Samuel and shrugged.

"Need a ride or what?"

Christopher only glanced between Samuel, Wolfe and Tana, wondering if she was serious.

[Main Street]

Samuel looked to the group. He was grateful and wanted to thank them all. But this was a dire situation, and he could save it for later. He gave them all a nod. "You're right. I don't know how many of them there are. Strength in numbers."

He turned to Tana, who he gave a grin. "Considering my leg, I think a ride will do."

He went for the vehicle before turning around, facing the group. He looked to them, and unknowingly gave a military-like briefing. "These people are dangerous. I'm not sure who again, but they could be magic users, and probably armed. Which means they can manifest and control er... Light or darkness. It can kill. I think they will. They're most likely in the southern desert, where we crashed.

"If I think it's the magic users, they are known as Nosferatu, an occult group. They believe in the god of darkness. That should tell you enough about them. Why they are after us? That, I can't tell. Just take my word for it."

Samuel paused. He licked his lips during thought. "I don't want to endanger anyone, y'know. Strictly voluntary." It seemed to him everyone wanted to go, but if anyone did, he didn't think less of them. He asked the same of his soldiers every time before a especially dangerous sortie. Only a few times did someone skip out. It didn't matter to him, because it meant the soldier could fight another day. "Otherwise, we should get going."

[Southern Desert]

Maj. Todd Kimball (known to his captors as Commander Corbin Krieser) started to bleed from his head again. He was bound and gagged in the backseat of an open-air hovercraft. He already got a good look at his two captors— a woman and a man.

He was glad to have called Samuel in when he did. It seemed he could have gotten into a town, or found some help.

The woman was behind the wheel and was bickering with the man in another language. He could pick out a couple of words. He decided they found out they were lost in some desert. And the fact that they were after Samuel as well. He also figured out the two were known as Evin and Vargas, the woman and man respectively.

Full description of Todd will come when he actually shows up, along with the two villains.

[The Washington >>> Main Street]

Of course Hana, Rin and Maya had noticed the catastrophic events unfolding before them. The girls were prepared for a fight, prepared to protect their Commander at all costs, but they'd barely stood up and drawn their weapons before it was all over. And so suddenly, the bar was empty, now with a large hole in the back courtesy of the lizardman who'd been in there a few moment ago.

"Huh." Said Hana, largely unfazed by the strange events that had rapidly unfolded before them. "Well," She stood and finished off the last of her drink. "I suppose we shouldn't stay here any longer. I'm sure there's something else worthwhile in this town." She shrugged. "Come along, girls." And she casually made for the front door. Rin and Maya marched at her flanks, weapons sheathed, the latter retrieving a parasol from under their table and holding it for Hana as they stepped outside. Their masks vanished a few moments later.

[Town (A Shop Near the Plains) >>> The Plains]

Miyuki made her way back to the convoy. Her conversation with Rin and Maya had been interrupted, but she'd still conveyed everything relevant. She took her place next to Hoshi, who greeted her with "You haven't missed much."

Miyuki said nothing, and adjusted her cowboy hat.

Main Street

James was impressed. Tana's volunteering of the use of the vehicle was a pleasant surprise. "If there's not much room inside, do you think that some of us could ride up on top? Or should we get horses and accompany you?"

Peggy pointed down the main street. "I saw a Livery Stable down there, they might have horses for hire if we need 'em." She had heard what Samuel said about the possible opposition, but it wasn't in her nature to back down.

Teri ejected the single magazine from her ASh-78 Tip-1 and replaced it with two magazines that had been coupled together, giving her a way to quickly change magazines once she emptied one. Kris nodded and did the same.

Karl watched the switch to combat loading and absentmindedly brushed the cartridge pouch on his belt, wishing he had thought to bring the second pouch. He only had thirty rounds in the pouch and five in the magazine of the Mauser.

Wolfe looked at Teri and Kris and briefly wished he'd brought his own ASh-78 instead of the five-shot bolt-action hunting rifle. It didn't even have the ability to be loaded from clips like Karl's Mauser, James' Mosin-Nagant or Peggy's SMLE. Still, it was a good, accurate rifle and better than nothing.

edited 9th Sep '15 8:37:24 PM by Wolf1066

[forest, to temple]

Someone had to get a little better at not accidentally calling their trade thievery.

Tsadro blinked as she went on about the things they do with their spoils, looking ahead as the faintest motion of lips that could be called a fleeting smile crossed his face in amusement. Why bring up the one who strayed at all, if the topic only saddened her? That was some people's way of trying to get the other to ask, but he wasn't sure what she expected people to do after she dismissed it so quickly.

"Ah," a single nod. "I see." The next moment would tell if he was right...

edited 9th Sep '15 8:33:03 PM by CrystalGlacia

Forest to Temple

Instead of going on about her brother, Chloe shrugged it off. "Anyway, we're getting close, I can see my marking up ahead. Let's see if this temple has more than just this sword." she said, rubbing her hands together in anticipation. As they reached the entrance which was a staircase that went underground she looked to her new found companion. "Oh, beware that there are traps in this place. I almost got squashed by a boulder when I nabbed this sword." she commented with a grin and ran off down the stairs.

[The Plains]

Satisfied that his magic ability hadn't been affected, Cyrus put his hand down. Kito?

He used his snout to point. I believe it was this general direction, but I offer no guarantees.

"So uhm... thereabouts! We think. Sorry we can't be more exact, I was too busy feeling sick and Kito was startled. If we decide to send people to check it out, I think it'd be best if we only send non-mages. Mages might be completely incapacitated if they get too close to... whatever it was."

[MAIN STREET]

Christopher and Tana exchanged glances during Samuel's briefing. They both knew this was no game. This was made abundantly apparent when Teri and Kris began to reload their rifles with a more combat-oriented setup.

Once James asked a question about riding on top of the transport, he looked up at the vehicle in question. "If you can get a good grip, you can try it. Or..." He nodded at Peggy, "if that's a bit hairy, just get a horse. I'll take a spot in the back, since we're doing this for Samuel. It's only fair he gets a front seat."

He turned to both APO, saying "Go back in and recharge." Which they did. They walked back into the transport, positioned themselves so that the machines they were plugged into were directly behind them, plugged into said machines and went to sleep.

Christopher himself began to climb into the cargo hold, taking one of the few seats bolted to the wall. Underneath the seats were small doors, like the opening to medium-sized cabinets.

"I guess today's tests are gonna be a little more realistic than I imagined." He said to himself, too quiet for anyone to hear.

[Main Street]

The ex-Colonel said in disbelief, "Horses?" He would be oppsed to the idea, of course. The last time Serenica used horses in war was before modern toilets. He shrugged. "They could get hurt, but if you guys prefer, go ahead."

Samuel himself set up his pistol, and felt severely under-armed compared to everyone else. He knew he was more of a commander than fighter, but compared to what the Terra Novans had, it was as if he was armed with a pea shooter.

Still, its ammo was magic— infinite.

He managed to climb up into the military vehicle. He set the crutches and backpack behind his seat. Samuel strapped in, and commented to Tana, "Now, this is a nice transport. I'm used to ones that fly, but hey, I can get used to this." He chuckled a bit at it. "I hope you guys don't mind me ordering you around. A lot of people don't like me doin' it."

Samuel took off his sunglasses. His helmet had a visor, which he pulled down. Once he was sure the Terra Novans were ready, he said, "Let's head out."

I can RP the occult people when needed when they get close, so.

[Southern Desert]

Todd heard the sound of more hovercraft arriving. He heard the shouts of men, and his two captors speaking. From the sounds of it, there were 6 to 8 in total. It was a dangerous amount of them.

Though, they sounded agitated. He heard "lost" the most among their strange words.

A gruff masculine voice said in English, "Great God. We're lost in another desert?"

As far as Todd was concerned, they were in a desert. He felt sweat accumulate in uncomfortable places. He hoped Samuel was coming.