Colt - On the Path
“Don’t talk about my parents, prick.”
The delinquent didn’t turn as he spoke, but there was an undeniable sore spot located right near the ‘parental problems’ part of his brain. Despite his attempts at seeming nonchalant, he couldn’t help but react violently. A quick glance up to the sky out the kebash on any combative actions, however. The sun wasn’t out.
Instead he merely picked up the place, eager to place as much distance between himself and Carl as possible. Colt’s head was still churning, a myriad thoughts pounding against his skull alongside a killer migraine. He’d mostly come back to himself, but lingering disassociation was a bitch, and his head was a little fuzzy.
WITH A HAIL OF HARPOONS! WITH EVERY LAST DROP OF MY BEING!Jayden
Jayden's brow furrowed. It would certainly make things easier, using the shortcuts to get around...but the only thing he had to go on was Elwood's word. And Jayden could be forgiven for being unable to take Elwood at his word.
"One condition," he said, holding up a hand. "Swear to me this isn't a trick, and you will not use these shortcuts to lead me to my death, or force me into the Umbral Horde, or reveal me to the rest of Green Wall, or anything I would not be keen on doing. Swear on your life."
As he spoke, the shadows in the room seemed to shift. What looked like writhing patches of pitch black ink started to climb up his body, wrapping around his skin, giving him a look like he was a shadowy monster in his own right. Here, in his home, with the darkness at his command, he had all the power...so best for Elwood to do what he said.
(In reality, Jayden was completely bluffing and didn't even realize he was doing this magic in the first place. He was just hoping Elwood would fall for the bluff and not take the opportunity to get him killed.)
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."Ross Chase - Perpetual Forge.
"It's... it's fine," Ross answered, sweat already dripping from his forehead. He wasn't used to the heat exactly, but he needed all the confidence from his car he could get right now. Maybe it'll have a side effect of impressing the Forge guys with his ability to withstand heat, but it wasn't the thing on his mind. "I think we can talk here?"
After a pause, Ross continued, "What I want is, uhm, to get outside. To gather supplies from b-behind the Green Wall, to f-fight behind the enemy's rank." He paused again, to gather his courage. "We want to open a Hazard Gate... Well, not here!" He quickly added, sensing this might be a touchy subject. "I know some people tried this in your turf and that whoever they were, it didn't go well for them." He picked his words carefully, making sure it was clear he wasn't affiliated with the May 23rd interlopers. "What I need to know is why it didn't go well for them, and I feel the Perpetual Forge might have the leads we need...?" He finished in a hesitant tone, with a slight hint of question.
Here in my car, I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live in cars."I'm not sure we should go the diplomatic route" said James "Scythirax doesn't sound like he puts much stock in decorum, I'm worried he'd just laugh and then order his men to brutally murder us. That goes double since we don't have much to offer to begin with" He would pause for a moment so that the others could speak, then continue "I don't think we can just walk in through the main entrance either. With the only camera pointed away, and the door thoughtlessly left ajar, it all seems too convenient, it's probably a trap. The best idea I can offer is that we scope out the interior using magic, then burrow under to wherever the captives are being held. If the only way to free them is a fight, well at least we'll be aware in advance.
Veda - Perpetual Forge
"We saw a video." Veda added, because there was no reason to hide it. If the Forge knew anything about what had happened, it was better to get to the point and see if they were willing to divulge. "Some manner of mechanical creature killed some group who were attempting to open a Hazard Gate. As constructs are your specialty, and given the Gate was opened nearby, we wondered if you had any idea of what it may have been."
One of the benefits of his Oculus was that Veda could keep an eye on their surroundings while also carefully reading Jackson's face for a reaction.
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?"Worst case, either he tries to kill us or tries to take at least one of us as a servant, not ideal" Pablo commented. He really didn't like the prospects. There were definitely people inside, but numbers, weapons, anything else... "I'd rather sneak in and get the people out, too bad we can't create a distraction of some kind. No explosives at hand?" He said, trying to make a joke.
"The exit is gonna be fun" He worried. Always the scenic route, it seems.
Wake me up at your own risk.And So We Come To The Door Of A New Dungeon
Heather had kind of fallen silent after the answer from the soldiers, some of her theories being silently reinforced and her distaste at the "Jock Army" growing a little more in the back of her mouth. But she remained quiet, let it just wash through her until the party arrived at the warehouses and started discussing how to go about infiltrating them.
"Man, hopefully there's no microphones in the security system given how openly we're chatting about this. If you want a distraction, I could easily provide..."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing....And the teens waiting outside would hear a fresh, loud scream coming from inside the warehouse. Not very far from their position. The kind of wail that comes from someone who has been gagged for a long time - but who has had plenty worth that kind of intensity.
Not the voice of Cici, but certainly someone else - someone readily fallen into the clutches of the Blazing Tygers.
And then Mina, James, and Pablo in particular would hear a distinctly familiar voice from inside the warehouse. The sneering, resentful tones of one Carter Bristolm. "Ohhhoho, shut up - shut up you stupid, stupid bitch! You chose—-you chose to come here - and now you're paying the toll!" Several strikes with something, and then the screaming voice fell more quiet. And then Carter spoke again, "...Never did like you self righteous, holy roller types. Well, since Scythirax is done with you, its my fucking turn. So let's see what I can do given you still have all that left in you!"
Jackson himself was entirely unbothered by the heat - indeed, it seemed whatever had changed in him that had led to the inception of this furnace, he acclimated to its temperature. In fact, as he listened he outright put his hand into a jet of flame, and seemed to evaluate its heat as he pondered what the visitors were saying...
Then he smirked broadly and stated, "Oh, I know exactly who you're talking about. And exactly what you're talking about. Since you went ahead and talked to me, instead of trying to sneak around like a puss, I can tell you what's going on." He took out a disc - which shortly lit up with red lights, and expanded into a floating sphere.
The sphere broadcasted an image of a monstrous, pale white thing - comprised of what looked like eviscerated, crammed together pieces of police cars, along with pieces of the Militia's Mechs. Two exhaust pipes and armor pieces worked together affected horns, and headlamps from the police car glimmered red and functioned like eyes. This creature wielded a mighty, enormous axe, fitted for a thing of its size as it ripped through the survivors from the video in a flurry of strikes.
"The creature who took out the interlopers is a Demon of the Umbral Horde. His name's Dhakar the Everliving. Usually he's a pretty hapless, luckless sort." Jackson elaborated, "Therefore, we at the Forge think he's not acting alone. If Dhakar's actually doing stuff like this, he's at the behest of another Demon - let alone how interfering with Hazard Gates is way outside Dhakar's wheelhouse."
And Elwood immediately genuflected, tilting forward a bit and clasping both sets of hands in front of him in a pose of supplication.
"Ohh Jayden, I would not dare to use such a basic amenity against you. I swear upon my power..." Elwood stated as he maintained the posture, "There are no tricks, no distortions, nothing to force you to do what you do not desire to do. All I would dare request at some point is the return of the Sword."
Carl for his part paused, looking at the refugees walking with him and then at Colt. Preemptively moving away from the refugees such that if Colt did act up, then they would not be caught in any potential crossfire. But then when Colt seemed to decline any confrontation, Carl gestured to the refugees to keep moving.
An elderly woman doted a bit and whispered something to Kesper, along the lines of "Ohh do be careful dear..."
But from now on, Carl maintained a ready stance. Able to act in case anything endangered the people he was helping along - but keeping a little more distance from them in case Colt went for him specifically.
Carl remarked, "Sure thing, Edgy. I'll keep that in mind. Anything I should keep off of for Instabraindead over there?"
Luke for his part grit his teeth hard enough you could almost hear it. Luke turned to look at Colt. "I cannot believe how—-how smug that stupid little hick is. Who does he think we are...?" He then looked back and forth, and whispered, "We should teach him a lesson."
Edited by NickTheSwing on Jul 9th 2024 at 7:56:53 AM
Mina Parker
"…That's n-not Cici," Mina stammered in the space between the threats audible from beyond the open door. "But that is C-Carter and s-someone else." It looked like James' approach would work better here, and the quicker they could pull it off, the quicker they would be able to leave. Maybe they could rescue whoever was being tortured from a terrible fate too, though it looked like at this point they would also have to piece them back together afterwards.
SCANNING CHARGE
A bluish-neon progress bar popped up, which Mina plucked from the air and held in her hand, miniaturizing it, as her bird drones performed a scan of the building, circling it like real hawks would. She did do her best to cloak the scan, but given that it was a rush job, she didn't know if it would hold. The scan itself was made easier because she could anchor the scan around Cici's phone, the location of which she had already locked onto before inside the warehouse.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 10th 2024 at 1:13:14 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.Ross Chase - Perpetual Forge.
Ross sighed in relief, a weird thing to do when seeing a large demon, but it was that he could see it in the first place. "Well, at least we know it's not a cognitohazard.", he muttered, hope apparent in his voice.
You can do it, Ross.
"I say we can take on it, easy! No obvious teleportation, no ranged weaponry in sight, it won't ever catch up to me, or Lil' Katie," he exclaimed excitedly and with enthusiasm, and then turned towards his car, "am I right, or am I right, Katie?"
...
Of course, the bit where the Dhakar was mentioned to probably be doing someone else's bidding was a bit of a problem. Ross frowned for a moment, and said, "Of course, we'll have to figure out if the gates are safe to travel through even after we defeat it... but... this was really helpful, Forgemaster. I'll make sure to include something for the Forge in the first supply run from the outside. What would you need the most? Fuel, industrial equipment, building resources?"
Here in my car, I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live in cars.Jayden
"...laying it on a bit thick," Jayden muttered, reaching up to adjust his glasses—and briefly freezing when he saw the shadows on his hand. It only lasted a moment before he shook it off, coming the rest of the way down the stairs. "Alright. Lead the way."
As he walked, he concentrated on trying to make the shadows recede...which was a very slow process, as they inched their way off his skin and back to the dark. There couldn't have been some, like, actual magical vow to go along with that? No, just a scary display with nothing behind it. Oh, whatever. Figuring this out as I go.
"Look inside yourself and to the stars; there, you will find your answers."James shuddered at the sound of the screams. There were people trapped in that warehouse, suffering through God knows what, and had been for God knows how long. It felt wrong to just be standing on the outskirts planning things out so calmly. But, he reminded himself, rushing in wouldn't do any good either, least of all for his teammates. Slipping back into rationality, he considered the situation at hand. The cries confirmed his suspicion that Cici's kidnapping hadn't been an isolated incident. The Tygers had been taking more captives, and from the way Carter had spoke it sounded like they were being used as a resource of some kind. Using their life force to fuel spells perhaps? Whatever it was, it seemed like they were being held for extended periods, which made it somewhat more likely that Cici might still be there. What kind of state the poor girl would be in if they found her alive was another question.
"I don't think a distraction is a very good idea" he spoke, in response to Heather's offer. "It would be you up against the whole warband, and there's no guarantee they wouldn't catch you, in which case we're back to square one. Plus seeing you will make them wary about other intruders." He looked at Mina, who seemed to be as shaken by the whole affair as he was. He should have offered some words of commiseration but instead he just carried on with constructing the plan. "The question now is, do we wait until Carter is gone, or do we burrow in immediately. We can probably take Carter in a fight, but obviously we don't want to draw anyone else in. Mina, do you think you would be able to project a zone of silence when we break into where they're keeping the prisoners?"
Veda - Perpetual Forge
"It's mechanical nature makes it hard to determine if he's holding back or not, since there's no outward signs of exertion. He could be faster than he lets on." Veda thought out loud as he analyzed the video, putting a hand to his chin. "And given he's a demon, we can't dismiss the possibility of ranged magical attacks. We'd be taking a risk trying to outmanuever him, and that assumes he would follow us in the first place. If he's tasked with guarding the Gates, he might just ignore us if we run."
He turned from the video back to Jason. "Beyond size and strength, do you know anything else of his combat capabilities? And do you have an idea of what other demon Dhakar may be working for? Any information would be useful."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?Mina Parker
"A zone of silence…I should be able to do it by reversing how I usually project sound," Mina said as the numbers beside the loading bar ticked upwards. "My scan's just about done. Get ready, everyone."
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 14th 2024 at 1:18:20 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.Ross Chase - Perpetual Forge.
"Of course it would follow us!", Ross exclaimed, "If we had ranged attacks on our own and just kept circling it and pelting it with them, it would have to give chase or die. And even if that didn't work, we could just torque it out with that creature. Take a towing cable, lasso this thing, and show off my car's towing prowess!" That would actually be pretty awesome. Pretty badass. Very memorable.
Truth be told, however, he wasn't exactly sure if there was a towing cable strong enough to draw a demon behind a car. An, as Veda pointed out, it could be hiding its true speed and its ranged abilities, but... "Why would it hold back? It probably didn't see the cameras, so it's not like it was done to mislead us or anyone else watching?" There was a grim possibility it liked playing with its kills, but... something was off about this idea. Something didn't sit right here.
Edited by JackCossack on Jul 11th 2024 at 9:58:58 PM
Here in my car, I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live in cars.Pablo froze when hearing the screams and what seemed like whipping. His fists clenched and it took a lot of control to not run in there and beat that creep's face to the other side of his skull.
"Then better hurry up" He said, with a growl "I dunno how much I can stand in this place without going in and break their everything"
Looking at the projection, he simply asked, still visibly trembling "What do you think?
Edited by Blueace on Jul 11th 2024 at 9:13:19 AM
Wake me up at your own risk.Rebecca Weathers - Perpetual Forge
Becca's eye twitched when Ross declined Jackson's offer to have their talk someplace cooler, but she remained calm otherwise. Her weather magic was doing the job of keeping her cool enough. And by the time Jackson started telling them about Dhakar, she grinned beneath her scarf. Between his taking the heat of the fire and direct approach, she could tell; Becca liked this guy.
As Ross and Veda expressed their thoughts on Dhakar, Becca looked over the machines making up the demon's body. The pieces of militia mech parts she spotted started to get some gears turning in her head.
"I can think of one weakness this thing's showing signs of," Becca remarked to her companions. "He couldn't have gotten those mech parts until the militia showed up, he's obviously been active before then. If he's adding parts to his body, that clearly makes him stronger somehow, so the opposite must be true as well." Becca clenched her fist and lowered her head menacingly. "Plus, if that's just plain old metal on his body, it won't be able to take the cold I can dish out. Scrapping all his armor aught to bring him back down to being hapless."
Heroism Calls To You
The screaming was clear, a sharpness that cut through these plans of subterfuge and subtlety. Heather's blood was starting to boil until she put on the hat and her stance gained a stoicism her emotions lacked.
"I'm going in there. Cast the silence before I breach."
The sound of metal that accompanied her energy claws coming into existence was so very telling.
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.Mina Parker
Just before the loading bar ticked over to 100% and Heather went tearing in, Mina was already trying to set up the zone of silence, having her bird drones take up positions surrounding the warehouse and in the air. Then she connected her phone to the birds and turned on the DO NOT DISTURB switch, causing her magic to broadcast nothing but pure radio silence from the birds.
This also had the uncanny effect of cutting the scream off from inside the warehouse, which would probably give undue notice to the defenders about what was going to happen. However, with Heather being as battle ready as she was, the first strike would probably be a successful ambush. With one bird drone sitting on her shoulder, she raised a cone of hollow earth around herself, waited for whoever wanted to come with her to board the makeshift drill, and also launched off from beneath the ground.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 16th 2024 at 10:46:58 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.As Heather tore into the base aiming to rescue the poor woman - whose screams were cut as Mina's silence spell took effect - the teens outside would be able to see as she tore through the walls that the inside of Scythirax's base was a drastically different atmosphere to the polished if horrific aesthetic of Kellon Nyczus' Orcath base.
Where Orcath was deliberately constructed, the warehouse so hastily repurposed into a base for the Tygers was dingy. A light swung around on the ceiling at every odd doorway leading to further chambers. The ground was barely paved, and smeared with traces of blood and other matter.
And shortly after Heather's entry, the place was awash in red light. While the noise was cut due to Mina's spell, the flashing lights would provide anyone at home in the base with an indication something had gone awry.
It would not take long though for Heather to find where the screaming was coming from. As she tore down the nearest doorway, she would be able to see him standing there - no longer so readily torturing her. Carter...was different.
He lacked the glasses now, and was dressed in a suit of black and blue powered magitek armor similar but different to what the 317th possessed. Though lacking any helmet, perhaps owing to rank. His hair remained in its buzz cut look, and his light brown eyes were on the intruder rather than his victim. He carried a long, glimmering trident - a few glowing lines along the blade and the haft informing its nature as a magical weapon.
Behind Carter was a scene of abject horror.
The room had evidently been in use before. This was not the first person tortured here. The woman that Carter had been hurting was bound by shackles to the ceiling and the floor. She wore a tattered get up that looked like it had once been a rather conservative long sleeved shirt and pants combo, though the remains of it kept a slogan somewhat visible - "MODESTY ROCKS". Numerous wounds and lacerations lined her body, and one of her eyes looked to be pummeled perpetually shut - oozing with pus.
This was not the girl they came here for, yet it was clear enough by her condition what could be expected going further in.
Carter seemed to take a moment to double take at the sight of Heather barging in, and then laughed at the sight, "...You know, I never liked you at school, either. Just a nerd trying way too hard to fit in. Now I'll use you as practice for that squat dwarf bitch."
Powering up the trident, sections of which seemed to slide open further, Carter grinned as he started firing beam blasts of charged Mana directly at Heather.
"If you guys don't know," Jackson paced back and forth a bit as he surveyed both his guests and his workers in succession, "Dhakar's whole thing is that he is a Formless spirit. Where some Demons have forms, others don't. Dhakar pieces together a body from whatever he can possess and smash together. Looks like he's added some of the militia's mech pieces to his usual."
"If you need something added to your car, I'll have it brought out and added on," Jackson then considered what he might like, and grinned, "As for anything going on outside of the town, there's one thing I'd like."
Taking on a more serious air, he said, "My father's outside of the town. He's all the way out in DC or something. If you get the Hazard Gates to work, maybe make a brief stop there. I want you to give my dad a gift from me. Something that marks my growth into this new Forge I've built here. I'll give it over along with the upgrades for the car."
Elwood flourished his four hands again and said, "What can I say...? I have a flair for the dramatic~!"
He then led the way out and through a quick climb down a ladder into what looked like a freshly refurbished area in the Sandfield Sewers - that or something newly constructed altogether. As he approached what looked like a black wall with a red branching series of lines at the middle, Elwood moved forward.
He spoke in a sweet whisper, "Oh, Ardoss, it's little old me again. With Jayden. If he comes through here or any of the other shortcuts..."
"He's to be allowed through. As you command, My Scion." The wall seemed to slide open at the middle, and standing by the side was a similarly garish Umbral Horde soldier. Dressed in a head to toe covering armor, the man was awash in neon yellow, pink and blue colors, loud and as "extra" as possible. Everything was ornate and beautifully carved, but again - in those loud colors.
Ardoss seemed to scan Jayden with a device held in one hand - keying him in as someone to be automatically allowed passage.
And with that, Elwood led the way down the opened pathway - leading back toward the foot of the Wall.
Mina Parker
Inside the hollow compartment of the drill, Mina pulled up the scan of the base, zeroing in on the underground cells where metal bars had pinged the most, which had probably been the basement of the warehouse before it had been converted into a dungeon. Then she piloted the drill straight into it, using the bird on her shoulder to scan for any life signs huddled up in the cells, as she did not want to hurt any of the prisoners further. Then she clambered out, coughing, along with any others that had followed her, and beheld what was there in that place of horrors.
She would focus on getting people out first, however, Mina would point to the place where Cici's phone pinged, if it was present. For the purpose of evacuation, she reinforced the tunnel the party had come in through and streamlined the drill, giving it multiple compartments people could be placed into. She could then slide this conveyance through the tunnel by partially liquefying its earthen shell. It would just be up to the others to free the prisoners and load them into the evacuation vehicle.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 19th 2024 at 2:25:17 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.Thoughts raced in James' head, they had had a plan. Not one without serious flaws, but probably about as good as they could hope for given the constraints they were under. And then just after he had explained to Heather why rushing in directly was a bad idea, she had done it anyway. He opened his mouth but he found that no words could exit it. It would, in retrospect, have been a good idea to figure out some way for them to communicate whilst in the field. After a few moments of futile mouthing and waving at his quickly vanishing teammate he relented; clearly Heather would do as she would regardless of his warnings, they simply have to take the situation at hand as it stood. He sighed quite literally inaudibly as he followed behind Mina into the earth. Their best bet now was to get an ambush in, and hopefully Heather would encounter Carter and Carter alone.
Ross Chase - Perpetual Forge.
Well, shit.
"There goes the towing plan.", Ross muttered. If it was a spirit that possessed debris, then dragging it would only create more debris for it to incorporate into its body.
"The upgrades... I was thinking something subtle. Or something that can be easily installed and uninstalled. Something that would still allow me to do courier runs, that wouldn't scream 'This is a rebel's car!', yeah? A concealed weapon of some sort perhaps... What do y'all think?" He asked the rest of the group. He didn't give that much thought about it, as the problem of 'how to deal with an enemy that is a formless spirit' occupied his mind.
What now... what now... Ross wasn't the type to back down from a challenge. He opened the door, and sat down on the side of Katie's driver seat, deep in thought, his hand resting on his head. There was a plan that would allow them to defeat it. It was risky, and it put his companion at risk, but there was a plan. But, it needed Lil' Katie's approval.
"Katie," he said quietly. "Is your spirit, your soul strong enough to defeat anyone trying to possess you?"
Edited by JackCossack on Jul 17th 2024 at 5:35:05 PM
Here in my car, I feel safest of all. I can lock all my doors, it's the only way to live in cars.Veda - Perpetual Forge
"Formless, I see. That does complicate things, somewhat." Veda's mind whirled through possibilities. Theoretically it might be possible to capture the demon's spirit, perhaps force it into an immobile vessel from which it could not escape, depending on how the possession worked.
No way to know that from video alone, however, so they'd have to make do and improvise.
"I can assist in vehicle upgrades. My style of artifice lends itself well to subtlety. Initial thought is a weapon incorporated into the head and tail lights, possibly extendable protrusions to fend of melee attacks. And of course, I can enchant it for durability, fuel consumption, speed, and so forth."
Noting Ross's concern, he put a hand on the other man's shoulder. "She's connected to you." He murmured. "As long as you can resist, which you can, I'm sure she can as well. And we'll be right there with you. Once I understand how the possession works, I can figure out how to counteract it."
What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?

Mina Parker
"No, just the one we looked through earlier," Mina answered, setting her birds to standby. "I don't suggest trying to disable it. If we approach honestly and openly, I think it'll help with the notion that it's a diplomatic visit. Does anyone have a suitable gift on hand or in mind? Warlords tend to like that kind of thing. It's a very old kind of tradition for guests to bring one."
And as she said this, she dug through her pockets. Nothing came to hand for her, but she did think of the badge given to James, though it seemed unthinkable to give it up given that it had been lifesaving for the group. Perhaps if they went looking through the ruins of the town, or if she sent her birds out further, or…or…Mina was really drawing a blank here. If worst came to worst, she was reluctantly willing to give up a few of her bird drones.
Edited by JumpingFruit on Jul 6th 2024 at 1:48:42 AM
I wear the skin of the Elder Things, having come unto my own.