The Desert
Father Kiyoshi slowly returned to consciousness. He looked up to see a man — taking his blood samples. He asked something about Noshakruuptchè having friends.
The priest struggled to talk through his injuries. "Wh...what? No...as...far as I can tell...he came...alone...."
Crazy Kiwi
Main Street
Peggy looked up at the side of the vehicle with its cargo rails around the top, handed her rifle to Karl then scaled the side of the truck like a monkey. Once she was on top she reached down to take first her rifle then Karl's to allow him to climb up unhindered.James nodded at Samuel's comment about horses. "I'd rather not use them and since we can ride on top there's no need." He passed his rifle to Wolfe and scrambled up the side to join Peggy and Karl up top. There were no comfortable seats, just the metal hull of the vehicle, but he was used to sitting on fallen logs or rocks so he saw no problem with that.
Wolfe passed up James' rifle then did the same for Kris and Teri before passing his own rifle up and clambouring up after them. He gave a tiny grunt as he climbed over the rail onto the vehicle's roof.
"Old fart," said Teri as Wolfe settled on the roof beside her.
James grinned at the exchange then looked around to ensure everyone had found themselves a place to sit and a rail to hold. Satisfied they were all set, he gave a short whistle and hollered, "all set."
ready to roll out when everyone else is. Wondering about Ammolite and what's happening with them.
Laugh and grow dank!
[The Plains]
Crowe gazed off into the distance in the direction Cyrus indicated, then turned to him and nodded. "Right, thanks. And that's probably a good idea. Seeing as I didn't feel anything, I volunteer. Anyone else looking to join a scouting party?" He turned to look around the group, eyes moving from figure to figure. "Anybody?"
yey
[Desert ~ Near Railroad](Joe, John)
Joe tipped his head to the side confusedly, looking at John. Then he looked at the road. Then at John.
"Yeah, well... I mean... I guess." he said turning his head back towards the road. "But, uh... couldn't this road lead to anywhere? I mean, like, theoretically it could, right. Plus it goes two ways and" he raised his head a bit and gave the horizon a brief scan, "...nope. I still don't see a town."
He stuck his hands out in front of him, gesturing at the road as though he were selling someone a house. "I mean, if you want to just follow it wherever, we could do that, but we might end up even more lost and start getting just a- just... you know," he held his forefinger and his thumb claw slightly apart, like he was pinching a pea, "just a little bit dead. Personally, if we can figure out the way to your car, I'd prefer to do that, especially if it's got AC." He raised his head up to look at John. "Has it got AC?"
this place needs me here
[into temple]
So she tells him about how she was almost crushed by a boulder in this temple, and runs back in like it's some stupid game? What the hell...
Tsadro sprinted after her, despite his comparatively short legs implying otherwise, until he was one step ahead. She agreed to have him as her bodyguard, he was going to be her bodyguard, whether she found it annoying or not.
Eventually, they slowed down, enough that he thought she could hear.
"Why would you joke about that?" He resisted the urge to add that one of Doctor Acquati's sons did that with regards to his poor health, and that he hated that even more. That he was one of those few Rivari who placed human life on a similar level to his own, that for reasons of length alone, humans should be treasuring their short lives and not shrugging off deaths because they can make more of themselves, that being crushed by a bounder wasn't fun for anyone.
edited 11th Sep '15 7:16:14 PM by CrystalGlacia
"Jack, you have debauched my sloth."
[Desert]
John blinked.
"My god." he said, "You are just that unwilling to take chances, are you?" He shrugged, "Fine. We'll keep looking for my car, but we are seriously on a time limit, son."
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and kept following his footsteps. "Also, I wouldn't be here now if my car didn't have AC. Don't worry; I'll make sure you're nice and cool once we get inside."
Sorry for the shortness.
[Main Street]
Kyle Norton stumbled out of the Tipsy Toad, a beer bottle in his hand and hiccuping. "Conf'nded ripoff," he muttered, slurring his words a little. "Shoulda known better'n to go to 'n 'lliter'tive bar. Frickin' frackin'..." His voice degenerated into mumbles as he staggered down the street.
He was a tourist. Anyone with half a brain could see that a mile away, with his tacky Hawaiian shirt and cargo pants. No camera, though, and his boots, at least, looked decent for the environment. He was of average build, and had a forgettable face and a sandy-haired crew cut. A drawstring backpack was slung over his back, from which came a glassy clink every now and then.
He blinked blearily, looking around the street, before his eyes eventually settled on Hana's group. "Hey, baby," he said to one of them (it was hard to tell which), waving his bottle and grinning broadly. It wasn't leery, merely overly friendly due to intoxication. "Didja know I'm the god of order? 'Cause I am!" He was still some distance away, so he was shouting a little.
[Desert ~ Near Railroad](Joe, John)
The confused look returned immediately to Joe's lizardy mug. His eyes flicked between John and the dirt at his feet, as if Joe were sizing the man up. Finally, he said, "Yeah, I know we're on a time limit here. I'm not getting any less hot, less hungry, or less inj- ...less hurt out here, and that's why I don't really wanna gamble on the chance that we might strike it lucky and stumble across the invisible lost city of Sandlantis by walking down that road. Your car is something that I know exists, and it can't be too far away, can it? You managed to walk all the way here from it, so uh..." he shrugged, "I don't see why the return trip should be any less possible. Right?"
Again he looked at John, searching the man's face for any sign of confirmation. "We're not... wasting our time looking for your car... are we? If there's something I should know about that, you can just go ahead and tell me y'know. I don't want to waste any time out here either."
edited 12th Sep '15 12:09:00 AM by Ryuhza
this place needs me here
[MAIN STREET > DESERT]
"Hang onto your hats!" Tana called out as she pressed the switch to raise the door-ramp. Once it was closed, they began pulling out of town through the western side.
"Any idea where your friend is?" Tana asked Samuel as they drove.
PAINKILLER
[Main Street -> Southern Desert]
Samuel was thrust back. He admired how and older woman can still be very much alive and kicking. They teared away from the main town.
He replied, "Head south of town. There's this big rock near where we crashed. Can't miss it." He pulled from his pack a pair of binoculars— Todd's own pair. He flipped up his visor and scanned the horizon. There was flat desert, along with some rocks and lone cacti. Bit nothing yet. He said, almost reassuring himself, "It took me around 20 minutes to walk here."
[Southern Desert]
The occultists moved Todd onto the desert floor. He was kneeling, in the center of a circle of them. They were all wearing brown cloaks with hoods over their eyes. He counted seven of them, four men and three women. Their hovercraft were nearby.
The leader of them, Vargas, said, "Do you know where we are, Mr. Krieser?"
Todd tugged his wrists around. They were uncomfortable in the tight cloth binding. He glanced around, and said, "Not a fucking lick."
A couple of them voice their displease of his disrespect, but Vargas held up a fist. "Where is the amputee?"
Todd held his tongue. Sam, for the love of God, hurry.
The leader grunted and turned away. "Well, once we leave, it'll be quite nice to hear Nosferatu has captured the Royal Commander himself."
"You don't even know where you are," Todd spat. "You're all talk, and no bite. Sam's gonna come here and..."
Vargas created a disc of golden light upon his fingertips, and hurled it at Todd. The edge grazed his cheek, leaving behind a thin red sliver. A dribble of blood curved down his cheek.
The drop fell to his pants. Todd said in disbelief, "You— son of a bitch. When we get back, you'll get tried for assaulting—"
Vargas made another spell. He chanted something in an ancient language, and pointed to the blond man. He felt a wave of fatigue. He tried to finish his threat, but couldn't keep his eyes open. He collapsed.
Vargas chuckled. "We'll see your friend's cavalry. If he gets here."
After Wolf and Tro posts again, they'll arrive, I think.
Current Time: 3:00 PM
Current Weather: The clouds gathered and thickened above and hid away large sections of the blue sky. As a result, the heat wavered off a bit, but it meant nothing in the desert. The hot wind gusted at times, but calmed down.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
Crazy Kiwi
Main Street —> Desert (APC)
The rear door of the APC closed and it took off with a jolt, causing those on top to slip slightly on the smooth upper hull. They tightened their grips on the cargo rail until the acceleration stopped.James looked out across the desert in wonder. He had seen nothing like it in any of his travels. "We're away from town, we might as well ready our weapons." He cycled the bolt of his rifle, feeding a round from the magazine into the breech and locking the action.
A volley of mechanical sounds indicated that the others followed suit.
Wolfe pulled himself closer to where Samuel would be seated in the vehicle's passenger seat and yelled, "what sort of range are the opposition's weapons likely to have and are we going to initiate hostilities or wait for them to make the first move?" If this were a paintball or airsoft game in an open area like this with little cover, he would open fire on the opposition the moment he was within accurate range of his weapon - in the case of his CZ, that was considerably more than that of his paintball marker or airsoft gun.
Karl looked at Peggy to see how she was bearing up and saw nothing but determination in her features. He forced himself to suppress the worry he felt, silently chiding himself for still feeling protective when he knew full well she was capable and brave and a good shot - maybe not as good as Teri, Kris or Wolfe, but certainly his own equal. He knew the worry and fear was a relic of his upbringing; the false notion that women could not look after themselves and that the man should protect the woman he loved.
That said, if he could spare her the horror of having to kill another human, he would. He remembered how he felt after his first kill. The fact that it had been fully justified, defending not only his own life but the life of Peggy's foster father, didn't help at all afterwards. The enormity of what he had done troubled him for a considerable time afterwards.
For his own part, although reluctant to kill again, he was at peace with this mission. This was no war, this was the rescue of a captured innocent from bad men.
Peggy saw the brief look of worry in Karl's eyes and smiled at him to hide her own nervousness. Although there were many dangers on Terra Nova, she had never willingly gone into combat. There was, she was learning, a lot of difference between "you may have to defend yourself by force of arms" and "you are going out with the express purpose of engaging with armed people."
Could she kill a person? She thought so - if they were bad enough to warrant it - but she didn't really know. And, she realised, wouldn't know until they were already in the thick of the fight. What if she froze or panicked? What if she let the others down by her actions or inaction? She had killed any number of deer and other game, but could she pull the trigger on a human?
She forced herself to abandon this train of thought and focus on keeping an eye out for hostile forces.
James was no stranger to death and war, having killed many - mostly French and their Mi'kmaq allies - in the service of King George the Second. He didn't relish killing, but he could see the necessity and at least the modern rifle offered a cleaner death than the crude gunpowder grenades with which he had rent people limb from limb at Île-Royale.
He looked around at "his" troop, all but one of them veterans of a bloody skirmish on Terra Nova against a well-armed opposition force. They had not balked at the task and had prevailed and lived to tell of it. He was confident that they would prevail again.
He then considered their allies. He had no idea of the combat capabilities of Christopher and Tana, but their robots looked quite capable and were well armed, and Samuel had obviously seen and survived more than one combat. Unless the opposition forces were insurmountably large and well-armed, they all stood a good chance.
Teri looked over at Wolfe and worried: he only had five rounds at his disposal and no way to quickly reload. If they encountered a large group, he would be at a distinct disadvantage, so the best plan would be to stick close to him and provide cover if he had to stop to reload.
Kris noted the open area and lack of cover with dissatisfaction. As good as she was with a rifle, her strong suit was using pistols in a confined environment, such as on the IPSC courses and during the fight at the farm house.
She looked at James, armed only with an antiquated five-shot Russian rifle. Admittedly, it was an improvement over the single-shot flintlock with which he was familiar but she couldn't help thinking he would have been better off choosing to keep the ASh-82 or even one of the July 10 rifles.
She was concerned that they were going up against an unknown number of combatants with unknown capabilities and all but her and Teri were armed with slow, outdated weapons.
[Desert]
John looked back and forth. "No! It's not a waste of time! It's just...uh..."
He gave a heavy sigh.
"...I don't know where it is. For all I know it's covered in sand and buried somewhere. I walked miles away from the car for some stupid reason and got myself lost and I don't know how to get back."
He looked down.
"I-I'm sorry. I was hoping to catch a train or something...but I don't think we're near any town or train station."
The future of warfare in UC.
[Train Station - Main Street]
Three people stumbled out of the train station. Or rather one stumbled, one caught the stumbler, and the other bumped into them in the process. All three wore the same khaki uniform with a red collar, though the smallest, a woman about 5'8", had her shirt tied around her waist and a tank top on. No weapons in evidence, no helmets; one soft red beret-like cover on the tallest, a 6' man. It was the middle-sized one, male and 5'10", who had stumbled and shielded his eyes against the light, and the woman who'd caught him. "Why is it so bright out here?" he demanded.
"There's this thing called the sun, it produces this condition called daylight. I know that we're normally asleep during the day, but try to remember the rest of the world doesn't worry about being bombed like we do," the woman said. "Hell, you were a civvie most recently of us Mikey, you should remember this stuff."
"Cap," the taller man said as he squinted hard, "why do you even have sunglasses? You secretly an Airedale?"
The woman sighed. "Because I'm smarter than Mikey, Rich. At least for now."
edited 12th Sep '15 7:00:40 PM by Night
Nous restons ici.
They/Them
[Plains]
Azuhl's mind has temporarily drifted off, leaving him a bit behind the rest of the group. Shaking himself back into reality after realizing this, he ran back to the group, just in time to hear Crowe ask about a scouting party.
"I'll join you," He said, catching his breath "Seeing what's ahead of us would be a good idea, lest we run into trouble utterly unprepared."
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
[The Desert]
The agent collected the ashes into another vial, then said, "well, that's convenient. Now, if you'll excuse me..." he moved as if to dip his hands into Kiyoshi's pockets and rob him blind, but then changed his mind for some reason. "Better idea," he said. "You owe me your life, but lucky you, I'll make my price cheap. You just gotta help me send a weedkiller company a message." He searched an inner pocket of his jacket and pushed a folded up poster consisting entirely of a QR code into Kiyoshi's hands. "I'm gonna ask you to hang this somewhere real prominent. Then we'll call it even."
He then gave Kiyoshi another once-over. "You aren't gonna make it to town on your own, are you?" He sighed. "Can't offer you my portal. It would probably kill you." He caught sight of two sets of vehicles, off in the distance. Far, but still too close. "Fuck's sake," he muttered, then knelt beside Kiyoshi. "Here's what we're gonna do. I won't be carrying you, but I can give you some support, and between us, we might be able to lope back into town. I get you to the doc and get out before there's trouble. Unless the weedkillers have goons there. Then... sorry, mate, you're on your own. Can you do this?"
[The Plains]
Neither Brin nor (obviously) Suela volunteered for Crowe's mission. For most of it, they'd been quietly watching, letting the logistics sort themselves out.
Meanwhile, something was moving very quietly in the forest, not stepping out into the scrubland that separated it from the plains but able to see — and possibly, though they moved stealthily, be seen by — the group seeking the Dead God. Humanoid silhouettes, the soft creaking of bone lashed together with leather. Fragile and mindless scouts, serving as a necromancer's eyes.
edited 12th Sep '15 7:08:23 PM by KillerClowns
Attitude is prohibited
[Main Street]
Rin stepped forward and put herself between Hana and the drunk man, but then reluctantly took a half-step to the side so they could see each other. Maya stayed where she was, holding the parasol and shielding the Commander from the glaring sun.
"That's funny." Replied Hana. "You don't seem very orderly to me." She shrugged. "And also, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but gods aren't real, so that couldn't possibly be true."
Not entirely dead.
[SOUTHERN DESERT]
Tana heard Wolfe asking about the capabilities of this group that had abducted Samuel's friend, as well as possible tactics to approach them with.
"While you're at it," She added, "what do you think are the chances of us being outgunned? Those clunkers in the back can only do so much, and that's saying quite a bit."
[Main Street]
Kyle hiccuped. "Well, 'course I don't. Ain't in the- the role I chose. Drunks don' look ord'ly, d'they? Nnnnnnnope. 'D be outta place."
He wobbled closer to the group, taking another drink from his bottle. "An', an', an', don't be silly. 'Course gods exist. Y're talkin' t'me, right?" He grinned lopsidedly. "'Sides, hunnerd years ago, quan'um 'tanglem'nt dinn't exist. "Y', y', y'know Einstein? 'Ated it. Called it..." He scratched his head. "...scary action a' a dis'nce or sumthin'. An' th'sun once went 'round 'n 'round 'n 'round th'earth." He made big motions with his free hand to demonstrate. "But it don't. So wha' makes you so sure'a y'rself?"
Drummer Boy
[The Plains]
Kito turned his body to face the forest, all his senses going into overdrive. I heard some creaking noises. Not sure what could be causing that. And that smell is possibly traces of rotting flesh.
That doesn't sound good... Cyrus flipped up the lenses of his tinted goggles in the hopes of seeing any shadowy figures moving around, but forgot that he would have to adjust to the increase in light. His gold-flecked brown eyes blinked several times before he gave up and placed the goggles back on his face. "Uhm, everyone, Kito just said he heard creaking noises and might smell something that's been dead for a really long time. I don't... really know what that entails, but... just thought... you guys... might want to know?" His voice gradually died off until the last few words were almost whispers.
If they don't think that information could be useful, let me deal with them.
O-okay.
The last battle's curtains will open on stage!
They/Them
[Plains]
Azuhl could hear the soft creaking noise the bones that the unquiet dead would make. He couldn't see them at first, no, but he could hear them and faintly smell them. His lifted his right arm, casting a spell which emitted a purple light within in his hand, outlining the skeletons in a red glow to him and him alone. He considered his next move, "I'm going to go on ahead for just a second."
"Wuld Nah Kest!"
Azuhl let out a mighty shout and was rushed forward towards the edge of the forest with great speed. He found himself face to face with a skeleton, and quickly pulled out his scimitar, slashing the skeleton, but finding great resistance as he struck the abominations. He pulled his sword and tried to bash his shield into another skeleton, but the unliving didn't scatter as expected. He realized that now he would have to put up a fight, and hopefully help would arrive soon.
edited 13th Sep '15 12:51:31 PM by DarkbloodCarnagefang
Note to self: Pick less edgy username next time.
Laugh and grow dank!
[The Plains]
Crowe swiveled to look where Kito's muzzle was pointing, raising a hand to shade his eyes and scanning the treeline. "Shit," he muttered. Then, louder, "Contacts at 500 meters. Nature is unknown, but they're people-shaped. I recommend we-"
Wuld Nah Kest! *WHAM*
Crowe spun around, but Ahzul was already gone. A powerful gust of air slammed into him, causing him to stumble forward and setting his cloak violently aflutter, generated by the vacuum the warrior had left in the wake of his massively powerful half-kilometer whirlwind sprint.
Crowe stared after him, mouth agape, for several seconds. Then he took a quick look around at the rest of the group to see if they believed what they had just seen. Stammering, he said, "Holy shit, did you just-"
He clamped his mouth shut hard, cutting himself off. It took him a moment to regain his wits, but when he did he said to the rest of the caravan, "He's gonna need help real soon. That was a picket line. That idiot just ran straight into the overwatch footprint of the enemy's main force."
Without waiting for a response, Crowe set off for the forest's edge at a dead sprint.
yey
Just flowing with it.
[The Plains]
Living skeletons. Not exactly something pleasant to look at. Although the distance was still somewhat significant, Krul unsheathed his sword. A straight, single-edged steel sword, with a somewhat decorated with a golden-red symbol of a small bird. Krul looked at the forest's direction. Their numbers are manageable, and each should be fragile on their own. Krul was quickly reminded of the ranged armaments Kito had shown him at the Washington. He quickly turned to the wolf's direction, "Do you suppose we can-"
His words was cut short by a rapid displacement of Azuhl right into the enemy's formation. Shortly after processing what just happened, Krul quickly located the man, now amidst the party of skeletons. Upon the sight the warrior found himself gritting his teeth, "Such reckless impatience," he said.
Crowe was the first to act, running to the group, Krul then broke off as well, trailing slightly behind.
[Plains]
"This," Brin said, "really isn't good. Suela, stay back."
Suela nodded in agreement as Brin joined the charge. "This is insane," she said, "but I guess we're committed now."
[Edge of the Forest]
Charging into unknown enemies is a dangerous proposition. Some days, you'll surprise unaware and under-armed skeletons. And sometimes, you get a krogan battlemaster.
This was exactly the second kind of day.
Battlemaster Urdnot Moreg was an ugly, dinosaur-esque brute, seven feet tall counting his hump, covered entirely in futuristic black and teal armor. His shields were non-functioning, and he had no firearm, but neither had proven very necessary in this world. Forged by the nightmarish hellscape of Tuchanka, even a baseline krogan is more than able to tear apart all but the most powerful of cybernetically enhanced humans with their bare hands. Moreg, in turn, was far beyond that: he had a numer of enhancements in addition to biotic capabilities and the sheer power of his kind.
He'd been well behind the skeletal forces, but the reports of battle from the crew's necromancer had piqued his interest. To the annoyance of the rest of his crew, he'd decided that whatever was knocking off the skeletons so efficiently had to be a worthy foe. Before any of them could stop him, he'd barreled through the forest, wreathed in blue, with a biotic charge that shredded the flora in his way and shattered his own side's skeletal warriors. He hadn't known exactly where Azhul was, sparing Azhul the devastation of being struck by approximately a half-ton of krogan traveling at obscene speeds.
"Another human? Disappointing." Moreg stretched is fingers. "But it sounds like you've got friends." Then he charged Azhul, with frightening speed for his sheer size, aiming to pick him up and hurl him against the nearest tree.
edited 13th Sep '15 7:42:13 PM by KillerClowns
PAINKILLER
[Southern Desert -> Jet Crash Site]
Samuel felt his leg. The irritation had stopped hurting. He moved his backpack and pulled out his prosthetic. As he did so, he said, "Their only weapons are their magic capabilities. Some might have guns on them— just standard pistols."
When he was done putting his leg on, he pulled out his own pistol. He held it out for Wolf to see. "Here, I have my own." He put his finger on the trigger, and a rune appeared over his hand. The rune was a flat ring of light, and the size of his hand. An intricate design of a star, smaller circles, and other lines and shapes filled the inside. It was to show he was tapping into his innate power. "The ammo is magic. Back where I come from, humans can use magic, though it's outlawed. These occultists are against the government, which is probably why they're holding Todd. Only these guns are allowed by select personnel." He put it back inside.
He considered Tana's question. "They usually don't come in terribly large groups. I'd say 5 at minimum, 12 at max."
Samuel was forming some sort of plan. He considered all factors, but first thought of the worst-case scenario: there would be 12 of them, high magical users. They would all be armed, and have five hovercraft with them. It would be best to engage at a distance, or go full-on offensive right off. Full-on has too many risks. Nosferatu's got track record for brutality.
If he remembered correctly, the weapons the Terra Novans had were large, though probably slow and outdated. He figured they were not the best for the environment, but they were armed, no less.
He knew the two robots were capable, but shouldn't be a crutch, as Tana reminded him.
Soon enough, a large rock came into view. It stood around three stories tall, and it as wide as a bus. Samuel used his binoculars again. There was no sign of them, or Todd. Nearby, around 50 meters from the base was an ash-covered jet. It appeared to have been on fire. So that's how they found Todd. Jet was on fire, they could've seen the smoke.
But there was one problem. They moved. He scanned the horizon, and saw they were fairly nearby. He could see several figures. "They're off a bit to the west. More than five, but less than ten. I think we got... Three hovercraft," He put away the binoculars. "We can handle it."
"Loop around and stop behind the rock," he told Tana. "They're nearby, we can't get sighted yet."
Samuel knew they all had some doubts about it, perhaps fear. Considering how Wolf didn't take to killing, they might not act like any of his soldiers would. Still, he trusted them they would make a stand. So in return, he thought of a fairly safe plan. He also showed no fear or doubt. If he seemed confident, they would be too.
The ex-Colonel leaned out the window and began giving orders. His voice was loud and resounding, and had a military-like projection to it. "We're gonna use the rock as cover. We need cover for the robots, which should be set up at each side. They're mid-range fighters, so keep a distance.
"The leader I want alive. They usually wear a purple or black cloak, sometimes their eyes glow. Maim or kill everyone else, no preference. I need to find Todd, but I need some cover.
"Also, keep them away from the vehicle and at all costs. Guard this thing, stay near it, all right?" he finished and got settled back in.
Samuel felt a rush of excitement. It was a thrill only given by the battlefield. Most thought otherwise, but losing a leg never deterred him from returning.
Life is hard, that's why no one survives.
(Plains)
Anne nodded as she moved up to the main group. "I agree. There's little, if anything, I can do about anti-magic. In any case, we should investigate. I think Lucky should go with the investigation team. He's small and can get in and out quick, so he makes a good infiltrator. He won't be able to talk if there's anti-magic afoot, but he will still have all his smarts and be able to obey commands."
Lucky's response was to bury his head in his paws. "Joy. I'll do it, but Anne, you can expect a couple of hairballs in your robes tomorrow morning."
"I'll deal."
Forward, boys! For God's sake, forward!