Author Topic: CDDA: Adventures in Cataclysm (Read 33630 times)

Noctifer-De-Mortem · « **Reply #4770 on:** April 19, 2018, 10:19:14 am »

The battle had already started without her; Hector and Mica were doing short work of the makeshift camp inside the mall after they were taken by surprise by her little stunt. The APC had no doubt taken damage from both the wall waker and plowing through various obstacles. Still, Roxanne wasn’t upset at that; the APC had been designed to do that and it did it’s job while still holding. However, it had reached its limit, the battery had died; the laser targeting system would’ve have single out and killed everyone of GA here. Too bad it was down.

Roxanne composed herself after the crash. She didn’t feel any different but somehow felt obligated to act staggered; she felt as if it was the reality itself told her to do so. After stumbling around for a bit she heard the sounds of fighting; Hector’s steel and Mica’s primal feriosity both doing their work. Roxanne’s unknown feelings were back but this time they manifested into something she recognized; something she could feed and feed from it. They manifested as some long hidden bloodlust.

The red cloak that allowed her to stay corporeal was dropped to the floor of the APC and she then went through one of the walls to witness the battle. The enemy tried in vain to defend themselves but they were being overwhelmed by a greater purpose; greater in the eyes of the attackers anyways. Roxanne looked on and something inside her urge her to join in. She placed her hand on the handle of the very sword that bounded her ready to retrieve it but she hesitated; something inside of her told her not to, something else needed to awaken. A soft voice spoke, it gave instructions. It told Roxanne it would lend her its power for now; it told her to aid it in finding someone worthy of wielding it. The sword had spoken; Roxanne and it now had a common goal.

“A fight? Not today. That would just take too long wouldn’t it? That is not my style anyways… How about we cheat a little? Bio-link established, Harvester Mode active…”

It was then Roxanne began to change. Her appearance darken; had mica look at her with her “good” eye right now she would witness the colors drain to be replaced by impossible darkness only matched by the sword itself. An aura of harvest enveloped her entirely as it began to feast; the air around her its first victim. Her sword was still sheathed but it didn’t matter, Roxanne was now the blade of sodom personified. One thing lingered, she and the sword needed an objective; they needed something to use this power for. It was soon revealed as a cage with a prisoner still inside. Where amongst it were only the dead this one cage still held life and Roxanne sought to free it.

Then the gunfire started. Automatic fire hit her torso; she had gotten careless. However, it didn’t matter anymore; especially now, she felt invincible. Roxanne started to walk towards the cage with deliberate steps. The gunfire aimed at her disintegrated as soon as it met the aura that now cloaked her. Soon enough, those who fired met the same fate as Roxanne phased through them only for them to be disintegrated to fuel her current state. She reached the cage and looked inside; someone was badly wounded and would need care. As a final act, Roxanne passed her hand through the outer edges of the cage and the bars melted into nothingness. Once that side of cage fell, the aura was stripped away from Roxanne leaving a lingering energy that allowed her to be corporeal for some time without divine essence. With the utmost care, Roxanne lifted the wounded prisoner and took him out of the cage with the APC as her destination.

“Cover me! I got wounded!”, Roxanne cried out. She didn’t bother to wait before advancing to her destination for she knew Mica and Hector would do their job even if they didn’t hear her. Roxanne walked with the prisoner in hand. Feathers. So they had gotten this one for the “sin” of mutation. She smirked, they once sought to bring her down for the same thing; now she wondered what they would charge he with.

Once in the APC, Roxanne set the mutant on a reclining seat and went to look for something of use. What she found made her smile; emergency RX-12. She kept it in the APC in case of emergencies back when she had flesh to worry about. If only she had brought it with her when on the cave instead of leaving it in the APC… No, it wasn’t the time for that. She had wounded. The two doses of RX-12 were applied and Roxanne took a seat nearby as she let the chemicals take effect. It would take a few hours for the actual wounds to be healed or the pain to go away but for now the mutant wouldn’t die from them.

She sat there and breathed heavily; it was due to instinct she did so rather than any need to do so. A smile was plastered in her face; she had not felt such a rush for some time now. Excitement, joy, pleasure and many other emotions had manifested during that little encounter. She wanted more; she needed more. It seems she had finally found something to stimulate her.

Victor listened intently as Helen gave the rundown of what he had asked. To find out he was part of an arcane order did take him but surprise at first but given what had seen so far that soon passed. He wouldn’t pretend to fully understand but he was getting the general idea. For now, he would stow away what he had learned and compare it to what others had to say once this storm passed.

“Recent development huh?”, Victor said on the matter of his bionic and laser weapon. “So I never showed it to you? That new…” Something inside was bothering him, as if something disapproved of him having revealed what he had done. He looked at the device again and then at his hand. “At least it proved useful according to Melody. We should probably see how she is holding up in the morning don’t you think? For now, I am suddenly feeling rather tired all of the sudden… I think I will call it a night. Good night...uhhh...Helen? Is that what I called you? I am not sure what would be polite for me to call you by…” He rested his head in the cot and then closed his eyes after setting the device on the floor next to him. “Regardless, thank you for putting up with this. Must not be easy for you either… Until morning.”

*Brrrrrrrrrt* *clank* *groan* *roooar*

“God damn it! To your left! He has a machine gun?!

“This is where it all ends! Your transgressions will not go unpunished!”

“We are down to half our forces...shit...regroup on me!”

“Bad move. Behold the power bestowed unto me!”

“Shit, everyone get down! That thing is about to blo-”

*KABOOM*

Chaosvolt · « **Reply #4771 on:** April 19, 2018, 12:58:20 pm »

Hector sighed under the helm as he made contact with the enemy, surveying his surroundings as he went. Nothing left but to plan on the fly and work with what he had, and he could handle that, despite his worrying about Mica. Who be now was making a mess of several crusaders, and he was soon lost in his work, hacking apart others as the opportunity arose.

Two priorities came to mind, and what he saw in the surrounding areas was enough to give him a rough idea for what to focus on. There was a clear direction as he charged, finding out for the first time the capabilities of Catnip's gift. He'd make his way to try and secure the cages, he thought. Keep them from potentially harming whoever they had captive currently, along with a chance of Dee being among them, though what he could see wasn't promising.

The other priority was to deal with whatever unusual threats might present themselves, and the unfamiliar stinking corpses from earlier stood out as a potential threat. He wasn't sure what to expect, and that meant dealing with them at a distance would likely be safest.

Soon however, Roxanne had taken care of that matter herself, which great ease given she acted solely on that objective. Seeing her with another person in her arms, he raised his shield and pressed the advance, trying to keep the remaining crusaders at bay and focused on the two of them, rather than attempting to attack Roxanne. He was humming a little at this point, keeping an eye out for any other threats that presented themselves.

Solomon had been handing out plates along with cups of tea for now, soon heading over to where Melody had chosen to rest for now, giving a nod. "Hey...Melody, right? You doing okay?" he asked, setting a plate aside. They'd made good use of the crops they harvested prematurely due to the storm, along with smoked fish, wild game, and some simple bread.

Helen gave a little sigh as Victor said this, and her expression looked rather pained at that. She looked away, uncertain what to say initially. "Victor...can you promise me something? If anything else happens, always...remember that you can talk to me about it. To trust me." she said, looking like she was going to tear up a bit, before regaining her composure.

"Helen's fine. Thank you...and good night." she said, setting cloak and boots aside. "And it's fine, Victor. I know it'll take time, I'll do whatever I must for you." she said softly.

saltmummy626 · « **Reply #4772 on:** April 20, 2018, 01:30:28 am »

The remaining crusaders scattered from the fight, broken by the ferocity of the assault just like the Hell's Raiders before them. Those that fled deeper into the mall were hunted by Mica. In the meantime, while she went after stragglers and Roxanne tended to the captive, Hector went about the post battle ritual of divesting the dead of their belongings and going through the camp site. There was a lot of stuff, too much gear for just the small contingent of God's Army. Most of the evidence suggested they'd taken what looked like a settlement inside the mall. He felt a bit bad for the survivors who'd escaped. They would be weathering the storm out in the elements. Apart from the one captive, the cages were empty and Hector guessed those crucified out front had been kept here until they had met their ends.

Hector was looking over something interesting when Mica returned with a hand full of blue patches.

"What you got? Eh? Lizard? Eh? Lizard?" She said, catching a whiff of it and becoming more interested. Hector held it out to her, a rubber sleeve from the handle of a bike. Or an ATV. Mica snatched it from him, hording the scent. Roxanne emerged from her APC, now wearing her cloak.

"Any sign of the lizard?" She asked.

"Just an ATV grip. He was here, I'm sure. I'd hazard a guess and say he either escaped or was allowed to leave before God's Army got here. Mica, stay close." Hector responded, directing the last to Mica who was moving off into the mall. "Who's the bird?"

"No idea, he's beat pretty bad. My guess is they were probably getting ready to nail him up."

"Hell's Raider?"

"I don't think so... He's pretty bad off sweety."

Outside, the storm worsened and the light failed. Mica returned, disheartened. Every path she took led her to an exit, and at the exits, the trails ended. Dee was out there somewhere, but not here. She huddled by the fire with her arms wrapped around her legs, cold despite the gentle crackle of the fire. The window above gave a small rattle every now and then and rain dripped from a broken pane. Hector tried to retrieve the siege tower, but by the time he got around to it, the storm had progressed beyond his ability to traverse it. It was too dark, too wild. To go outside the safety of the mall would only get him lost in the murk. The night was long, the night was dark, and to Mica, it was the loneliest night she'd ever been through.

Catnip was somewhere between Roxanne's house, and a memory. She'd been through a lot in her life, and learned a lot. In a very short period of time she'd learned a lot in fact. She'd even gotten used to many things. Something she had never thought she would ever get used to, or even get over, was the sound of the screaming tower. This far east, Catnip had never expected to hear the sound ever again. Three. There were three towers used to combat the Mycus. The howling tower repelled the Mycus. Catnip had repaired one, or helped repair one. The singing tower's attracted the Mycus. Catnip was told that it was these that filled the gap between the rockies and the gulf of mexico and served as part of a one-two punch that kept the infectious fungus from passing through that gap.

The third, the screaming tower, was the voice of the storm. The screaming tower had guarded the portal that sent the caravan to the other side of the Rockies from Mycus incursion. The screaming tower, killed things. Not just Mycus, but everything. Catnip had gone ahead to turn it off so the caravan could approach, and stayed behind to turn it back on once everyone was safely through. She came through the portal after them nearly deaf and had lay senseless for a month as she recovered, and she dreamed the dreams of those afflicted by the screaming tower.

The storm outside was the voice of the screaming tower. The others couldn't hear it, hadn't been close enough to the tower to hear it, but she could hear it now.

"Kathrine... Make it stop..."

Kathrine hugged her close and threw another blanket over her. "Shush Catnip, shush. It's ok. I'm scared too..."

Floyd went looking for earplugs, and for a wonder they helped a little. For Catnip, the night seemed to last forever.

Atomos set to work cutting through the locks on the cage. She wasn't afraid of being overheard, the sound was perfectly covered by the storm, but she was worried about being caught. She learned that even with the storm, crusaders would be sent out every few hours to check on the prisoners. Fortunately, one such check had just occurred. The real worry was that they wouldn't have time to get out before the Mislings were missed. It wouldn't take longer than an hour or so before they were out of New Bangor, but what Atomos wanted was to be out of New Bangor, out of Abaddon, and out of the main area of God's Army's influence well before anyone noticed.

The Mislings stirred in the cage, uneasy of the stranger breaking into their cage. Atomos took off her scarf to show them her ears.

"These guys hate mutants, they wouldn't let someone like me into their ranks knowingly. I'm a uh, a spy. I guess." She explained.

"Says you, those could be fake ears."

Atomos smirked, no one had ever accused her of wearing false ears before. She pulled her tail from her pants, then cursed herself for doing it. The luxurious fur soaked in enough rainwater in an instant to drown a fully grown man. Still, they didn't believe her.

"That could be one of those fancy tail plugs."

"A... What?"

"A sex toy with a tail on it."

"Oh jeez, are you fucking serious? Why the hell would I- you know what? Fuck it. You wanna just sit in this cage?"

"No! No, please, I'm-"

"Are you sure? Because I'm giving you the only shot you are going to get and yet your sitting there in this cage under the belief that these fucks who've captured you would send a chick with a fox tail butt plug and a pair of fake ears to... What? Taunt you? Let you out so they can chase you and lock you up again? Please think realistically. I've got clothes in the van.

They stared at her, a mix of fear and hope plainly stirring in them. They didn't see Atomos as she was known at the center or with the Hell's raiders. What they looked upon was Jenny, daughter of Chester, the girl who wanted to be a marine like her father. Something else too. When the hammer she carried struck the weakened lock off the cages door, the spark reflected off her eyes, revealing the green in them. An inner spark deep back in those eyes speaking of a hidden level of cunning.

"O-okay, just don't leave us, alright?"

"I wouldn't dream of it."

Noctifer-De-Mortem · « **Reply #4773 on:** April 20, 2018, 10:47:47 pm »

The cleanup of the battle had taken less time than anticipated. After hauling some of the loot and regrouping with Mica and Hector to ask what was up Roxanne finally relaxed knowing their mission was finally over. They might’ve lost track of Dee but they found Mica which was what they were after in the first place. The captive was stable in the APC and the other two were getting ready to do who knows what. While they did their thing, Roxanne decided to try out something she hadn’t done in a while out of boredom. With a smile on her face, she headed for the APC.

Once there, she carefully got into the APC making sure not to disturb their “guest. He was looking better already but far from recovered. With that out if the way Roxanne took a small PDA out of one of the cloak’s pockets and connected it to the radio system of the APC. Although not as skilled as many of the other farm residents, both Roxanne and Victor had discovered and joined SoA via the “darknet” and then consequently having to go through the motions of installing a custom OS on their laptops to access and use a private network system; the private darknet of SoA if you will. With the knowledge of how to do that still in her head Roxanne decided to test if she could go ahead and program the PDA in her hand to access that network and just snoop around. The antenna system of the APC would provide the necessary hardware to access it once the PDA was programmed.

It had been 8 years since the collapse of civilization and with it most of its infrastructure. Many connections to the internet had gone down with it; Wifi was no longer a thing and many LAN connections reached dead ends when specific nodes failed to relay the message. But, for those in the know how, the use of old radio towers and satellites in geostationary orbit proved to be a reliable way to do so. However, it was really slow and lots of the net had gone down. Any small site such as personal forums and blogs had went down. The social media giants and video hosting sites seemed to work but large chunks of content were missing. Still, the net lived on and with it a piece of SoA did as well.

By the time Roxanne manage to program the PDA she saw Hector preparing food of in the distance. Mica seemed to be nearby at the moment but she knew the girl could wander off at any moment. She smiled at the seemingly mundane scene after what had just happened today.

“Connection established”

“Attempting to bypass fault”

“Codex failed. Do you wish to manually alter the connection settings?”

Frustration set in at not being able to connect this damn thing to the SoA network. What were the settings again? Damn it, she wasn’t a programing expert! While this was going on, Roxanne heard the sound of wood being worked on. Hammering and other sounds joined in as she looked through the camera system to find Hector having tried to weather the storm only to fail. The wooden crosses he stumbled on now being molded into something else. Time was going rather quickly for Roxanne. Just how much longer would this take?

“Connection established”

“Connection successful. Please input credentials”

“Agent Luna online, welcome! You have 23 unread messages.”

23 messages? Huh, that was rather odd… Only one of them was directed at her; the other seemed to be general announcements. Roxanne disconnected the PDA from the APC and made her way to the fire; mostly to leave the bird alone but subconsciously she wanted company. She exited the vehicle with PDA in hand and read along while walking only to continue once she found a spot and sat down.

The messages seemed to be from on single individual. He had masked his signature; typical behaviour when sending messages on the field. This person seemed to be updating some sort of log; a log from the beginning of the cataclysm to now. Long periods of time from message to message with each containing updates from the last, an announcement of hotspots, safehouses and a puzzle that when solved would give the coordinates for a meeting. Each messages meeting time was always two weeks. The last one had been more than two weeks ago so this person must of have move on making it useless to purse. Only one more message remained, one sent directly to her.

This message was not from the same person leaving the logs; she could tell by the way the message was formated. This one was a formal invite but written with a casual tone; oxymoron aside, it was very well written making Roxanne assume whoever wrote this meant business. After being done with reading it, Roxanne gave the biggest smile she had given in a while. She noted the person who sent the message was online. After giving them a quick reply Roxanne opened her map; she erased the previous four locations marked and replaced it with this one. The PDA was then put away and Roxanne laid back with a certain satisfaction in her mind.

“Maybe things aren’t so bad after all…”

Melody was sitting quick the ways from everyone else. When solomon approached he would notice a couple thing. First, she was smoking a cigarette and the other is that she appeared to be talking to herself. Despite her aura spell easily being able to see him coming she didn’t notice from both being distracted and being a bit tired.

“Ugh...how can people smoke this?”

“Well, I heard the help with the nerves. But now, never smoked one before.”

“What?! That is just...no…”

“Well, I don’t know, maybe finding an arcane talking sword would do it?!”

It was then he heard Solomon talk to her. This took Melody by surprise as he came into view in her spell. She frantically rushed to hide the cigarette and lighter while coughing. Once that was done, she looked at him from instinct.

“I wasn’t doing anything! Noooo! Uhhh...Hi…” The words Solomon said took a bit to process but she did eventually got them. “Y-yeah, apart from the storm I am doing fine. Wait, you know my name?”

In her mind, she was already chastising herself for being so awkward. “Got damn it Mar- Melody, what is wrong with you?!” It was then she smelled the food he had brought along for her and then her stomach grumbled making her face go bright red and turning away.

“S-sorry! Just haven’t eaten in a while...I made this awkward didn’t I? I am not talking to you! Sorry! Not you, you are fine mr. uhhhh, what is your name?”

Victor noted the way Helen was speaking to him. He could tell something was bothering her but the sudden pull of sleep was getting stronger. Something foreign was at work and try as he must he failed to fight it off. He did manage to mumble something before being rendered unconscious.

“Don’t worry...I’ll be there...for you too…”

After what could’ve been 2 seconds or 30 years Victor opened his eyes. He was in a place surrounded by impossible darkness with only a light bubble to guide him. Despite his memory loss; this place seemed rather familiar; even more so, a familiar feeling overtook him as well; a sense of bliss and joy could be felt all over. In the distance far away a dim light could be seen. With nothing else to do Victor decide to follow it.

Each step, and the journey to the light itself, seemed to take both no time at all and an eternity. It was as if time itself had no meaning here and in truth it didn’t. The only way Victor knew he was making progress was due to the light getting bigger and brighter. He could now make out it’s color; it was a bright and soothing green. Once he reached the source of the light he found it came for a lamp post with a bright green flame illuminating it. This was the type used to light the streets back before electricity was common place; A relic of the past, just like this place.

“Very pretty isn’t it?”

Victor was startled by a sudden voice behind him. He turned around instinctively to reach for a sword that was no longer there and that he had no recollection of event exiting. This act confused him which only brought amusement to the voice.

“I see you are still the same despite your accident. It's good to see that.”

Now Victor paid his full attention at the source of the voice and was surprised with what he saw. A well kept man in a suit and formal hat looked back at him. It was as if he was ripped straight from a western movie; the image he gave off was more “traveling snake oil salesman” than of “important business man”. Still the man took his hat of and place it on his chest while his other hand extended to offer a handshake.

“Name is Blackjack, nice to both see you again and to meet you my old friend.”

Victor was now more confused than ever. Where was he? Who was this person? Did he know him at some point? Many questions lingered but all were said into a single one.

“What?”

After some brief introductions and assurance he wasn’t going to hurt him Victor accepted the offer from the man to be guided around. The two were now walking around seemingly endlessly in the dark.

“So let me get this straight. In my past, I contacted a myriad of spirits and entities to solve some sort of curse; you being one of those spirits. We became friends over similar ambitions and interests. Then we simply went our separate paths for a while until recently. Is that right?”

“More or less. A more detailed explanation would take quite some time but I wouldn’t mind sharing it with you some other time.”

“Uh-huh...so what are you doing here? Did you drag me here?”

“Oh no, I wouldn't be so rude as to do that. You would’ve ended here regardless of my presence. There is small disturbance going on and you were caught up in it. Nothing serious, just made you fall asleep involuntarily and dragged you here. I caught wind of this and decided to meet up with you and offer to be your guide spirit like Randael did before me. Oh, sorry, shouldn't have said that name…”

“Ok...so I am here, what exactly is ‘here’ then? Where am I?”

“This place is known to humans as ‘The spirit realm’. Cliche and unoriginal I know but so are most humans if you ask me. This place is situated between life and death and is the home to many spirits. You have been here before believe it or not; did so via an arance poison that when consumed in small doses gave hallucinogenic effects. It was dubbed the ‘spirit pill’.”

“Wait wait! Life and death? Am I in danger or something?”

“Relax, you are in no danger. That is why I am here for. That fire from earlier is my aura protecting a swath of this place for safe travels. Stick with me and everything will be alright.”

“...Guess I have no choice but to trust you for now… Anyways, where are we going?”

“We are going to a rest area. My favorite in fact. You cannot leave this place until you awake so why not have some fun in the meantime?”

“Rest area? What do you mean?”

“Ok, the correct term would be casino but not many people like to call it that. The word has been tainted by mortal too much.”

“A casino? What? Here?”

“Of course! What is a spirit supposed to do in their spare time? We don’t all just haunt the living or seek to amass power you know? Some of us just wanna have fun. I for example am a spirit of gambling so of course I like this place.”

“Uhhm, I am not sure...seems fishy…”

“Come on, drinks and game are on me. Lots of entertainment to be offered; and lost of pretty women to play around with...or men if you are into that…”

“Oh no no, I am good in that department. I am married and have a child.”

“Ah, so you do know that part then. Alright, your loss. Anyways, what do you say? Wanna play some card games at least?”

“...Fine...let’s just not get overboard...”

Famous last word. The two did indeed take it slowly at first playing some simple card games. Blackjack being what he is easily manage to score big and invited Victor to try some other things. This went from slots and roulette tables to bets on fights and other such activities. This casino was run like many others and with Blackjack spending so much money that Victor didn’t know was a thing for spirits the drinks were now on the house. With the casino pushing them to drink so much they both eventually gave in and soon enough ended up drunk beyond reasonable level. Right now they were sitting on a bar ordering more specialized drinks.

“A-and then I told her it was fine. *hic* I told her not to worry about it you know? But I could tell something was wrong… If only I had stayed awake a bit more…”

“No no no. Listen… I wasn’t yo- your fault. You were pulled here by force. She’ll understand, I am sure of it.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I am sure of it.”

Another man was sitting next to them. He was wearing a red hooded cloak, the same type Roxanne wore, and for arms swords took their place. The hood was down to reveal a young blonde man with a distress look on his face. It appeared he was using telekinesis to drink from the mug in front of him.

“Can you two over there keep it down? Many of us came her because of women, don't remind us of it…”

Victor and Blackjack turned around to see the man. He took downed the rest of his drink and demanded another.

“Oh really? T-Tell me my man? What is that plagues you?”

The spirit shrugged. “What the hell, maybe telling someone might help or whatever… Thing is, there is this mortal I kinda have feelings for. There is just a couple problems. First, my kind was not meant to have such emotions. Second, She is not the type to be wooed and third… Well, she is currently my master… I am two days away from retirement though. So at least I got that going for me.”

“Ouch buddy. That is rather rough… Care for some advice?”

“ *Sigh* Lay it on me, what you got?”

“Well, we don’t all choose the card we get to play with in life. What is important is what you do with the hand you are dealt. Why not give it a go?” As he said this Blackjack had summoned a deck of cards from one of his sleeves; he took out five cards and showed them to the troubled man. With a flick of his wrist the card turned into a bouquet of flowers and he handed them to the man. “Maybe this hand might do the trick?”

The and took the bouquet and shrugged again. “What the hell, what is the worst that could happen. Thanks I suppose. Magician?”

“Gambling spirit. Why keep an ace under your sleeve when you can keep the whole deck?”

The man smirked. “Nicely put, I like your style. I am just a red cloak divine spirit; and on that note. It’s soon my turn to work...oh joy…”

“Well, we too have to go soon. Good luck.”

With that exchange of words, the divine spirit stood up, placed some unusual coins on the counter and vanished in a small puff of smoke.

“Wait, we have to go soon?”, interjected Victor.

“Yes we do. Well, you have to at least. It’s almost time to wake up… just close your eyes when you’re ready.”

“B-but I am not in great shape...I will wake up drunk.”

“Don’t worry. Time means nothing here. You’ll be fine when you wake up. Maybe a headache but that’s it. Well, until we meet again my friend.”

“About that. How do I come back here?”

“Just read your journal. All the answers you need are there. You copied lots of the Trinity Codex there.”

“The what?”

“I’ll explain later. For now, close your eyes.”

Victor nodded and did as he was told. He closed his eyes and soon enough he opened them to find himself back in the cot he had slept the previous night. He stood up in place to find a still sleeping Helen. That’s when the headache came; Blackjack wasn’t kidding, he was no light weight being able to outdrink Roxanne every time but this hurt on a whole different level. It was hard for him not to groan in discomfort but he held back to let Helen sleep. On the side of his laser gauntlet was a box with a note attached to it. Victor picked up the box and read the note.

“For you and the women in your life…”

Inside the box were three items; each with a note. The first one was a simple looking black blindfold; no decorations or anything but while thin it was very dense and it was rather opaque. The note on it said: “A new blindfold for Melody. This should help filter out some of the feedback when using the spell by the farm to not be overwhelmed by information. Tell me what she thinks when she tries it out.”

The next item was a pair of bracelets. Both golden and with three red gemstone on top. The note read: “Some new blind for Roxanne. I know she is vain girl so this should be to her liking. These should help her stay corporeal without her cloak. One is imbued with divine essence for her to be corporeal and the other is an inhibitor so she can pass through walls without taking them off. Though customer to please but I feel I did a fine job.”

Finally, the last item was a little box. Inside of it were two rings; one was white with an orange gemstone and the other was black with a purple stone. Small engraving were on the side of each ring; none which Victor would recognize right now but that he did at one point. The note read: “A sun stone and a moon stone. Seems fitting don’t you think? A human life span is short, don’t waste it…”

Victor smiled at the little gift his new and old friend had decided to leave. He had to admit he was a little creeped out but at least it wasn’t looking to harm him. The items were put back in the box and he laid back on the after grabbing his notebook. He would give it a read while Helen woke up.

Chaosvolt · « **Reply #4774 on:** April 21, 2018, 05:11:59 am »

(( Melody stuff written with Noct. ))

Hector gave a sigh as they'd soon mopped up. It was now little more than dragging corpses somewhere they won't stink up the place they were making camp in, securing supplies to load into the APC, and in the meantime checking on the avian. He gave a little wince, shield set aside and helm removed as he did a cursory examination. There were signs of healing already, RX-12 doing its work, and he decided that further care could wait for after it had taken full effect, and after he was conscious.

Soon, all that remained was sheltering from the storm, a night he feared would be a long one. He'd gathered the available supplies and did his best to cook something simple, something making rather heavy use of meat for Mica. Among the things he decided to go with, he ended up opening a couple of the cans scavenged during their trip from the moth's domain. Somewhat mild chili, chicken without beans. That left one can that was simply beef, and a couple other items he'd neglected to drop off in the Siege Tower. The rest were instead stowed in the Armored Scouter with what they found in the mall's camp, setting aside a bowl to offer Mica, and leaving the pot along with a few other items warming by the fire.

There was that brief attempt to brave the storm, managing to accomplish little. What he did manage was to knock down about half of the crosses that were immediately outside the entrance, those that hadn't already snapped in the wind and toppled over. He'd drag what he could inside, not wanting to attract people after the storm who might think they were the ones responsible. Afterward he decided to spend some of that free time to make use of the wood, pieces split and lashed together into a set of rudimentary chevaux de frise, left in the gaping hole the APC's entrance left. Two hour's work just in reach of the wind and rain, an act done more to give himself something constructive to do.

It was later on that he rested with the others, sighing as he sat by Mica. "Don't lose hope. This will pass, just as the storm will." he said softly, regarding Roxanne. The knight would need his rest eventually, knowing that Roxanne was best-suited to keep watch. But he was torn. Not wanting to sleep, wanting to be there for Mica. And for Roxanne. There was a vague sense of unease, and time with nothing to do but sit by the fire meant he was left with thoughts to dwell on.

Thoughts of recent effects, and implications that were only now starting to hit him. And he didn't want to lose his composure when others here had other things to worry about. For now he did his best to rest, trusting Roxanne to keep watch.

Solomon regarded her a bit nervously, uncertain why she had a blindfold on, but afraid the ask. He offered her the food, curious now as she scrambled to hide the cigarette. "H-hi. I know, I never thought it'd get this bad. Oh, I recall seeing you at the party, and Helen has mentioned you before. Learning faster than I am, honestly. I've kinda...wanted to join in the lessons with Victor too, just never had the chance to ask."

At her remarks, unaware of what happened with the sword, he looked away, afraid he'd offend her. "Oh, sorry! I'm Solomon. And it's fine. I'm guessing it's been a long day?" he asked.

Later on, after they both ate, Solomon decided to speak up. "So are you...sure everything's alright?" Melody just nodded at that, not even looking in his direction, though the blindfold made that obvious. “Yeah...just, had a bad trip and a friend of mine suffered the consequences...”

"Were either of you wound? I don't really have much besides first aid training and some understanding of alchemy, but...though I'm guessing you had an eye injury." he asked, concerned. “All I know is that I woke up blind and my friend lost his memories. Victor to be specific, that’s who...doubt you could help but thanks...” At this answer, Solomon lowered his head. "I see. I'm sorry...oh. That's...going to be awkward for Helen, isn't it?"

Melody’s tone changes to something more apologetic. “Oh, wait, it’s not your fault or anything. No need to be sorry! As for Helen, I would imagine so...he still has his skills but he didn’t even know who I or he was...” Solomon looked away at that, before nodding. "Hopefully they can handle that. Still, if there's anything I can do to help, just tell me."

“I will keep that in mind. Thank you and like wise. I learned quite some things in the arcane, if you need some help learning something I am glad to help!” Melody answered, and Solomon smiled some. "Thank you. Most of what I've learned until being here was thanks to my brother. Alchemical textbooks found rather early into all this, he got the hang of it and helped me try and understand it."

“I had practice before hand from a mentor. Well, did some things Helen would not approve of and that mentor did stab me in the back but hey, all in the world of the arcane huh? Then Victor teaches me one specific thing at a time, I practice it religiously and then come back to show him and find something else.”

Solomon smiled a bit. "I'm glad to have them as teachers. A mentor...no one in your, er...f-family helped?" he asked, though there was a certain discomfort in his voice, and that smile faded just as quickly.

Melody sulked back a bit. ”My parents never cared for me, I ran away at the age of 12 and ran with a gang until the cataclysm when I was 15...they became part of the Hell’s raiders so technically I was once part of them...so no, didn’t have anyone to help me before hand...”

Solomon looked away. "Mine either skipped town, disappeared, something a couple years before this all started. My brother...Joseph, was just over six years older than me. Just enough to end up taking care of things without them. I'm...sorry. You have, er. People here though, who'll do anything they can...I..." he stammered, head lowered again. "I should let you get some rest. I'm sorry for keeping you up like this." he said, standing to tend to the dishes before heading to bed.

Helen managed a smile as Victor drifted off to sleep, looking back and shaking her head. The rain and wind outside had now grown louder, enough to wake Thomas. Unaware of the compulsion that forcibly drew Victor into the realm of sleep, she was careful and calm about tending to him, later in the hour softly singing a verse from something she recalled from her childhood. Softly enough that it would be lost in the storm outside, heard only by her son and ensuring it wouldn't wake Victor.

"Þat kann ek it níunda:
Ef mik nauðr of stendr at bjarga fari mínu á floti,
vind ek kyrri vági á
ok svæfik allan sæ."

A ninth I know:
When need befalls me to save my vessel afloat,
I hush the wind on the stormy wave,
and soothe all the sea to rest.

Around an hour after Victor had been pulled from the waking would, Thomas was sound asleep again, and Helen soon afterward. When she awoke she could still hear the rain outside. The wind still seemed to pick up on occasion, and by no means was it calm just yet, but she hoped the worst of it was over.

RedVulnus · « **Reply #4775 on:** April 21, 2018, 05:03:34 pm »

Liam had drifted off to sleep late in the night. Now his pleasant dreams swirled around him until it he was in the foyer of a large mansion. The sound of a metal capped cane tapping the ground caught his attention as a man in a black suit walked over. “Ah it’s our guest of the hour! I suppose I should go get the champagne but it appears the kitchen was misplaced..again.”

Shrugging to Liam as he received a quizzical look the man smiled meekly and said “What can I say, the house doesn’t exactly design itself in logical manners.”

Liam blinked as he started to follow the man in the suit. The man, whose hair was currently a bright shade of pink and cut in a fo-hawk with the sides trimmed close to the head, led him towards a set of large double doors. As they approached the large doors they opened by themselves and the two walked through.

The room they entered was some form of game room with tables for various different card games setup and a roulette wheel in one corner. The only table that had anyone at it was playing blackjack at the moment. Walking over and sitting down Liam nodded to the dealer as the cards were dealt.

Over the span of the night players came and went as Liam held his own. Finally though it was just him and one other player with the dealer. The other player had just lost a hand and was leaning back when he spoke in a voice familiar to Liam “You know it is a shame. What happened, what’s happening, all of it. Just a few more years and I’m sure you’d have been a proper and fully trained shaman after we returned.”

Liam raised his bet as he replied “Oh? Do I know you?”

The man looked himself over for a few moments as the hands were played and the game was finished. Finally he realized something as he said “Oh! I’ve not appeared in this form to you, just the uh..raven form.”

Turning his head to face Liam as it changed shape into that of a raven’s head. “It’s a shame about your friend Anton though, admirable man when he’s not being hot headed.” The raven said to Liam, who upon seeing this, fell backwards out of his chair and- woke up screaming in the hall. Aaron, who’d been sleeping next to him, put a hand over Liam’s mouth and harshly told him to be quiet as many of the people in the room stared at him. “Liam you’re awake now, so shut up.” Aaron hissed in Norwegian.

Liam nodded and Aaron stood up, removing his hand as he asked quietly “Another nightmare?”

Liam sat up as he told Aaron “Yeah. But..this felt too real. And the Raven he was there..”

Aaron shook his head as he grabbed Liam by the shoulder and pulled him to his feet. “It’ll be okay. Been a while since you had one of those..what was it the shaman said they were? Out of body experiences? Something like that.”

Liam agreed as he adjusted his clothes. Aaron had at this point walked out, calling Gunnar to come hunt with him while things had quieted down. Feeling something in his pocket Liam retrieved a brightly glowing stone that he didn’t recall having before noticing the note. ‘Sorry you couldnt pick yer own prize on the way out, hope this makes up for it!’ Shaking his head again he wondered just how much of a dream that had been.

saltmummy626 · « **Reply #4776 on:** April 22, 2018, 06:33:06 am »

Bishop Malcolm stepped lightly but quickly up the hall towards the Archbishop's suite while the storm outside raged. The building had been nice once, but a few years of tantrums and experiments by the archbishop and his magically minded underlings had reduced it to something like a rather opulant drug den. There were no drugs here of course. Just a mishmash of temperamental arcanists, mages, sorcerers, warlocks, sanguinists, and assorted other magic users all competing for the favor of the archbishop.

Malcolm wasn't competing. He was on the edge of what the others referred to as "faithless." A man teetering on the balance beam between his list for power, and his disgust at the knowledge of the Archbishop's true nature. Bishop Brynna had fallen off the edge of the faithless and defected to the Canadian front while Bishop Hanson covered for her. He had not been faithless, but he had suffered punishment as one. It was the punishment that kept Malcolm on the side of the faithful. Fear alone. It was with that fear that he opened the elegant oak double doors at the end of the final hall. The room beyond smelled of the sweet-sour tang of burnt sugar, ozone, and rotting citrus that was the Hallmark of what the master of God's Army did. The mage hunters destroyed dangerous relics. Astor, consumed them.

Astor raised the golden rod, and released it. It floated there in the air for a moment before suddenly dropping to the table. Where the rod had been a seemingly vibrant thing before, it now looked dull and ugly. It looked wasted, used up. Astor swept it aside and the rod simply crumbled at his touch, turning to dust when it's peices hit the floor.

"Archbishop sir."

"What do you want Malcolm? Can't you see I'm busy? As busy as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest I am, so spit it out already and stop wasting my time."

"A suspicious van stopped at the bridge checkpoint Archbishop. They tried to contact the mechanic to see if anyone checked out a green van, but no one's picking up and they want to know-"

"So? Fool is probably asleep on the job. Or dead. Yes, I'd say dead is very likely."

Malcolm was taken aback, as he usually was, by Astor's knowledge of what was what and his seeming indifference to it.

"If he's dead then-"

"The driver of the van is a mutant. If you head on down to the courtyard, you'll find that she's performed her own little magic trick, making some mice disappear. An oldie but a goodie. Tell them to let her through Malcolm."

"Archbishop, are you... Sure?"

"Are you questioning me Malcolm? I hope to God that's not what you are doing. I already know you are balanced on the edge of trying what that Brynna whore did, leaving like that, but don't tell me you are so stupid as to question me when I tell you to do something while being in such a delicate... State."

Malcolm went cold. He suddenly felt clammy all over, aware that he was now closer to death than he'd ever been before. Not just death, but outright nonexistence. Astor would kill him only if he was lucky.

"Y-yes arch- I mean, no! No archbishop. I just-"

"Don't worry about them Bishop, the trap will close around them. The scout has something I want anyway. I intend to collect."

Astor reclined a little in his throne, a piece fashioned for him by one of his adoring subjects. "Bishop, do you know what happens when an object containing a prisoner allows it's ward to escape? It calls it back. Two vessels, calling to one another. I promise you Malcolm, they won't make it out of Abaddon. Not carrying what's mine. Now do as I say, and let them through."

Malcolm paused and speculated, and Astor let him. Then, quietly, Bishop Malcolm turned and left. When he was gone, Astor pulled a small hand mirror from his sleeve, fashioned from a fragment of the one he'd broken, and made a pass over it. Through the mirror he watched a certain woman behind the wheel of a green van as she spoke with a watchman at the gate. He watched as another watchman came and told her she could pass. He even watched for a time as she drove on through the rain and wind and flying debris into Abaddon. To himself he seemed to be muttering.

"I see you Mikko, I see you very well."

Atomos stopped the van but let it idle before getting out and sliding open the side door. The Mislings inside shrank away, expecting some trick.

"Can any of you drive?" Atomos asked. She looked up into the sky knowing full well what she would see. Clear sky, stars, the moon, and the swirling funnel of the storm. Atomos had never seen the eye of a hurricane before. The spectacle of it was awe inspiring. The immediate area was calm, unusually so, but in the distance she could still hear it. The ripping sound of a tree with shallow roots being torn up and toppled, the scree of a breaking window, and the howl of wind in empty places. Again, she asked the question.

"I can, but I don't think I can in the storm. Why?" The woman Misling asked, staring up into the eye of the storm.

"I don't know." Atomos shot back, perhaps a bit too aggressively. Her hair felt like it was standing on end, it felt as if something electric was passing through the air around them and it had her aggitated. "You drive. Keep driving until you reach a place where the people aren't wearing blue crosses. Here, take these red sashes. They'll let you get close to people who won't harm you unless you screw around. Ask their clan. If they say red skulls, tell them Atomos sent you, if it's the big smokes, tell them Jenny sent you, and if it's the Triggers, just make an excuse and keep moving."

"What about you miss?" Asked another of the Mislings.

"I don't know. Get to the refugee center if you can, red skulls or big smokes might even lead you there. Either way, you have to get there. Tell Captain Anquiano that Barrowfield stayed in Abaddon. Tell her what went down. Tell her not to send anyone after me, those jarheads couldn't manuever a mineless minefield without blowing themselves up let alone navigate Abaddon without getting caught in a man trap. Just keep going south until you get there, alright?"

"Y-yeah, we'll try."

"Don't try. Do."

Atomos didn't have to wait long. Like the box truck earlier, the van was just out of veiw when whatever she was waiting for chose to arrive. A rectangular space opened up, bright like a star filled sky, and from it strode a trio of ugly creatures held back by a trio of strong chain. Then, the chains holder strode through, a warwalker carrying a weapon her brain effortlessly identified as a box fed fifty cal M2 Browning. Last came a man she recognized. The blue of his robe was a stark contrast to the white of his face, and the malevolent, humorous light in his eyes.

"Hey there Jenny, what's your story?" He said, closing the gate behind him. Above, the moon looked down like the iris of a great eye through the storm and for a moment, Atomos imagined that it had blinked at the newcomers appearance.

guest48 · « **Reply #4777 on:** April 22, 2018, 09:57:31 am »

As it turns out, the RX-12 might've been doing it's job a little too well. The first signs of something that could be taken as the bird stirring come when one of his wings twitches, although it more seems to be from it popping back into the socket than willful movement. The next movement, however, was definitely conscious. The gentle crack of his fractured arm re-healing is paired with a sudden jerk up, and a somewhat loud squawking noise. The avian mutant takes a couple seconds to look around before noticing the lady stood practically in front of him, facing the other direction. His talons scrabble over the APC's floor as he tries to stand up but fails to get any purchase, ending up leaning against the back of a chair, wings semi-splayed out. Although his face doesn't quite show it, he's very clearly panicked.

Although, the new position he's in does make it easier to make out his overall appearance. He's currently shirtless, although it doesn't seem to matter in terms of being considered indecent, given the white feathers around his stomach and chest, blending into a lighter shade of brown as they go towards his back or shoulders. The feathers around his head, though, are a somewhat dark red, with black around his beak, which starts off with yellow and terminates in a black tip. His wings are completely black, save for a single stripe of gold going across the flight feathers on both wings. His arms and legs are also somewhat interesting, with the feathers transitioning to pale orange scales from his elbows/knees down, along with pale yellow talons tipping his fingers and toes. Speaking of, he seems to be... Lacking, in that regard, having three fingers and a thumb on his hands, and three toes plus a heel talon on his feet.

saltmummy626 · « **Reply #4778 on:** April 22, 2018, 11:39:36 pm »

"Where are we headed little miss atmosphere, queen of the stratosphere?" He said, striding around the warwalker and giving one of the devil hunters a stroke as he went. For a wonder, the vile creatures actually flinched away from his touch. At being called by that old title, Atomos anger grew a little. That little sing song question was one asked by her father on an almost weekly basis, poking a little fun at her back in the days when she was still young and spent more time daydreaming than studying. "Shy? C'mon now, hows Chester's littlest marine been?"

"Shut up!" She shouted, her anger flashing out. The rifle was in her hand and ready. Aimed from the hip, she wouldn't have the accuracy but from this distance she couldn't miss. The archbishops knowledge of her took her off guard and disturbed her. His willingness to bring it up for so little was what made her angry. How dare this evil man bring her father into this?

"I see. You know, there are a few people back the way you came that might wish to have a little chat, what with how you released their 'sacrifices' and killed their mechanic, a fairly well liked and reputable member of the community. Oh, and of course..." Astor flipped his hand, and the scarf was whipped away into the storm as if the eye was not in fact above them. She clutched at her ears, struggling to hide them before giving up and letting them stand free. The time of hiding was over anyway. She hadn't stuffed her tail back anyway so hiding her ears was rather redundant. "Nothing to say about that? Not even about poor Collin? Chester didn't raise a murderer di-"

Atomos raised her rifle, socking the butt in her shoulder and bracing for the shot. The Devil hunters jerked forward, held only by the chain and the warwalkers considerable strength. Astor didn't even flinch. Instead, his grin widened obscenely.

"You can try," He said, "but I'm afraid it's only misfires against me, little miss atmos-"

The dry snap of her rifle cut him off and confirmed his statement. Atomos drew the bolt and tried again, but again all the gun did was drop it's firing pin on another dud.

"Told yeh!" he cried jovially. He clapped the warwalker on the back, and even it looked uncomfortable.

"WE SHOULD GO AFTER THE MUTANTS." The warwalker boomed, "ARCHBISHOP, LET THE DEVIL HUNTERS DEAL WITH THIS ONE. WE CAN STILL CATCH THEM IF WE HURRY."

Astor scratched his chin, then said, "Nah. We'll just tell the people that they escaped and the storm took them. Their deaths mean little in the long run anyway, and they will not survive the storm. We have bigger fish to filet and fry right here." Then, to Atomos, "You have something I want girl. What if I told you that if you gave it to me, your little... Mutations, would go away?"

Atomos paused and looked to him with wonder. He was a dangerous man, and dealing with him would be like dealing with the devil. She had no doubt he could do it, but why? She felt herself shaking her head. She would like to be rid of them. Her tail that always got in the way, the ears that made her stand out in a crowd, the teeth that made talking to people hard because she knew they would stare. Still, she wasn't going to deal with this man. It then occured to her, that if she really didn't want them then why didn't she approach Dervish about having them removed? reversing her mutation? It was possible, she'd heard about the diffuser device after all.

"Too bad. I didn't let the fools keep that medallion for nothing you know. A prison always calls to it's prisoner, and the prisoner to it's prison. Isn't that right Cid?"

"I SUPPOSE ARCHBISHOP. IT IS BEYOND ME. MAGIC IS A FALLACY."

Atomos took a step back. If she couldn't fight, then she would run. She was sure she could outrun the warwalker, and perhaps even Astor himself. The devil hunters was what she worried about. They looked fast despite the sickness pulsing through them, and she'd learned enough during her time in New Bangor to know that whatever it was was virulent and deadly.

"Don't run miss atmosphere, you'll only die tired. Trust me, these little guys carry something that makes ebola look like a runny nose. Just give it over."

There was a moment of silence between them in which the sounds of the hurricane could be heard, then Atomos lifted the medallion from inside her shirt.

"No no no no, not that my sweet. You know what I want, somewhere deep down, and it isn't that empty jail cell. I want the guardian." Astor admonished. Now Atomos was really confused. Guardian? The archbishop was talking nonsense now but she felt closer to the answer of some big question than she ever had before. Again she began to step back and Astors smile widened even more. Then, it faltered. His eyes flew wide and rage filled his face. "What? Now? Bastards..." He said to himself, to Atomos though he said, "We will have to tie this little thread up later. In the meantime though, this gentleman and his pets will keep you company. Oh, and just to sweeten the deal when we next meet..."

Atomos blinked. Astor waved his hands enigmatically. Before her eyes, he seemed to grow. The warwalker too, and the devil hunters looked more like huge beasts than they had before. Likewise, the buildings and trees had grown. If things had in fact grown though, why was the ground now so close?

"Ah, now isn't that more suitable? What good is a fox if all it has is the tail and ears? Not much of a fox I think. When we next meet, maybe you'll be a bit less attached to that... what was the word the mice used? Ah yes, that 'plug.' Good luck, little vixen. Cid, catch her but do not kill her. If you kill her, the guardian will escape. Bring her back to New Bangor, alive. For now, I have some knucks to deal with."

"AS YOU WISH ARCHBISHOP."

Atomos hardly heard any of it. She had tried to speak, to demand to know what he'd done to her, but all that came out was a startled sounding shrieky little bark. There was something unfamiliar in the center of her vision, and she had the strangest feeling of being covered in something soft and warm. Atomos looked back, it seemed to be the only direction she could manage to move her head to look at herself, and saw her tail sprouting from a body of luxurious red fur. She looked up in time to see the Warwalker release it's hunters, and to see the Archbishop vanishing into his blanket of stars.

"He's coming general, massive spike on the aetheric monitor. Class five lifeform approaching fast."

"Excellent, permission to use-"

"No!, for gods sakes, no!"

The field of stars opened before the column of men and machinery, blocking the progress of the Canadian invaders entering Abaddon. The man who came through didn't come alone, undead and warwalkers marched from the portal under the watchful eye of the storm. Very soon, the eye would close and leave the newly joined battle in swirling gale and pounding rain.

"Big mans here, not going to be able to-"

The distant figure pointed, and a length of the column simply exploded, lighting up the night in a holocaust of sound, light, and heat. He shifted his focus, pointing to a line of tanks and they too detonated. Their magazine's instantly combusting and sending their ordinance raining down upon the field.

"Brynna, we need to-"

"Fine! Fuck! Do it!"

"Great, activated the Nidhogg protocol."

The Midgard flashed, drawing Astors ire. He pointed to it, and the wonder of science and magic buckled. It flashed again, and then everything stopped. Somewhere beyond what is known, He from beyond the veil focused all it's attention on a central point and went into an ecstasy of rage at the rent opened in the veil. The weave of magic screamed, and so too did a certain Deus ex seated upon a certain hall near a certain farm. The midgard widened the rift, shredding the veil as it stole power from the world next door. Astor fell back, struck by the overwhelming potential energy flowing into the world through the newly opened wound in the fabric of reality. Light filled the world, and things died. The river flowing through Bangor simultaneously froze and boiled away. The air ignited around the battlefield while in the mobile command center owned by the militia, an ex Bishop focused all her will on protecting the militias men and women from the greatest perversion of magic she had helped to complete.

Astors body withered and died, the soul of it's previous owner finally allowed to flee the beast who had taken it, and the true Astor was momentarily revealed. Not Astor, but Ahz't'ur. For only a moment did they see him for what he was. A beast of otherworldly angles and mottled blue flesh. Arms reached out to try and stop the Midgard, but were pushed back. In the end, the monstrous Ahz't'ur fled, fearing that he would be sucked through the rent and lost in a world he could not feed from.

"TURN IT OFF, FOR GODS SAKE GENERAL, TURN IT OFF OR WE'LL BE LOST! HE'S GONE! HE'S FUCKING GONE! TURN! IT! OFF!"

With an anticlimactic "pop" the Midgard shut down.

"Is he dead?"

"No general, he fled. He'll probably find another body to puppet and try to rebuild his strength, but I think it will be some time. God's general, we need to clear out. That rip isn't going to just sit there and seal itself back up quickly. This area is going to become hell real quick, a second tiny cataclysm all our making."

"Agreed, we need to push through before the archbishop comes back, the Midgard is out of commission for fighting and frankly I'd rather not do that again."

Daniel brought her in, a nude brown skinned woman with brightly colored hair who had suddenly fallen from the roof of the hall screaming bloody murder. Sylvia covered her up as the others, residents and those borrowing shelter for the storm, looked on.

"The weave! The veil! the magic is screaming! I am torn apart! I am wounded! I am-"

Sylvia covered her mouth with her finger, shushing her, and looked into her eyes. They were distant, blank.

"I just wanted to help the fox, help Atomos, moved them forward a little, Deus ex Machina, but they... they tore it apart... Why didn't I know? How didn't I know? Why..." she babbled. When she woke later, she would know. She would investigate. The pain would last her a week while the rent healed, but later she would know that it would close back up again. For now, Illiana writhed in the experience of agony.

Mica felt an odd push against her being, and shrugged it off. Instead of paying attention to whatever it had been, she instead finished her bowl of meat stuff Hector placed in front of her. Mica didn't often eat food cooked in such a way, not to mention food with flavors above basic. Kathrine was good, sure, but Kathrine hadn't cooked for the farm in quiet some time. Despite herself, Mica sort of enjoyed the strange flavor of the spiced sauce with which the meat had been mixed. It was nice, but it didn't stop her from weeping to herself into the bowl.

"No lizard... Just chi-kun man..." She mumbled to herself while watching Hector work. When she finished her bowl, licking it clean of course, she clutched at the ATV grip and lay over on her side, taking in the faint smell and feel of it while silently watching the fire. At some point, Hector placed a spare blanket over her. It was a simple act of kindness, but it made her sadder. Dee had done that too when he was up late and she curled up on the couch, falling asleep while waiting for him. Then he would take her in, carefully lifting her and putting her on the bed, tucking her in and showing so much love and... And...

She sobbed quietly to herself, trying not to let the others see, but helpless to prevent it. The knight took her bowl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"He'll be back." He said, not adding, "he better."

RedVulnus · « **Reply #4779 on:** April 23, 2018, 12:13:51 am »

Alexei and the stranger with the screen for a face had found themselves awake before anyone else. In fact Alexei somehow doubted the stranger ever slept. Sliding a bottle of water in front of the stranger Alexei then leaned back and rubbed his eyes as he tried to get the morning grogginess out of his brain.

An appreciative (well Alexei thought it was appreciative at least) beep came from the stranger as he picked up the bottle and slid a straw into it. Drinking the surprisingly cool water he rested his head on the stump of his arm for a moment. Alexei leaned forward in his chair and grabbed a bottle from his jacket before popping it open.

The stranger set his bottle of water down as the pair sat there and grabbed his satchel. Rummaging through it he pulled a data chip that resembled the size and shape of a cassette tape. Looking at the smudged label he pondered what exactly this one contained before sliding it into the slot in his head and selecting a data section to overwrite.

Grabbing a nearby guitar the stranger strummed it a few times. Alexei leaned back in his chair as he drank from the bottle and soon found himself tapping his foot along to the stranger’s guitar playing. Soon the vodka bottle was set on the table and he started singing in english that was only marginally better than what he normally used.

Meanwhile Schultz observed the new recruits as they did PT. Surprisingly the Mislings were doing the best out of the new recruits. In fact he spotted one from his section that had ran back through half the obstacle course and was still hauling recruits over one of the walls. Schultz inspected his clipboard for a moment and made a mark next to that misling’s name. ‘McKenzie’, someone who on their first day looked to be shaping up to officer material but they’d see how long that would last.

Soon though morning PT was done and the men filtered into the cafeteria. The usual mess hall food was served as both trained soldiers and the recruits filtered down the line to get their breakfast. Schultz himself sat with a group that was comprised of regular infantry and the new Rangers special team.

The conversation was a mixture of the men talking about loved ones and the Rangers wanting to get back into combat gear and out on patrol. Schultz himself shrugged at the sentiment as he finished eating and retrieved a block of wood he’d been wittling down. The vague shape of a toy soldier had been achieved and he was now filling in the details.

He wasn’t particularly paying attention when one of the men asked him what he’d rather be doing. He knew without thinking that they were trying to get him to break the tie between the infantry that were happy to be at base and the rangers wanting to go out. He also without thinking said “I’d rather be in my carpenters apron making toys.”

The men with him were somewhat taken aback. They’d not known his history before the cataclysm, or the event as the 3rd came to call it, nor had he ever talked about what his profession had been. Instead he had led and trained most of them with military precision learned from a decade in his homeland’s military. He was mildly surprised when one of the Rangers smoothly transitioned the discussion to something else.

Noctifer-De-Mortem · « **Reply #4780 on:** April 23, 2018, 06:10:51 am »

The opening of the rift and tapping of the veil could be felt by certain “players”. The pieces knew something greater was now at play and now their wielders and spirits needed to adjust accordingly. Not all of them knew what to do but certain plan and contingencies would now be put in motion.

“Did you send the message?”, asked a seemingly frustrated Plague.

“Done and done. I design the damn thing after all.”, Clara responded.

“Very well, that should give is assurance…”

“Why the long face? There is only five of them left.”

The battle with the nephilim was still ongoing. 25 of them were killed and 4/5ths of Plagues undead army had been wiped out as well. The rest were still outside holding the other 5 off while Plague and company seeked cover in the ruined office tower. The reinforcements were what kept it from collapsing but it looked as if it had been in the middle of a war torn nation. Rey and Clara cover Plague and Christina as they plotted something.

“That’s not it. Something else is now at play. I am being forced to play my hand rather early…”

“What do you mean? What’s going on.”

“The newly formed sword here is reacting to something. It is reacting rather poorly to it… it’s afraid… two pieces of a once mighty god are afraid of something out there… that is not a good sign… the veil, something has pierced it…”

“Wait, the viel? That ain’t good… You have a plan?”

“Of course I do. I just need you to cover me for a few more minutes. Think you can do that.”

“Are you kidding? I can do more than just cover. Just leave it to me boss.”

Clara on the other hand was a bit concerned. She noted the power of these spirits and how the undead forces had gone down. Some of them had been raised 20 times now and most of them were rendered incapable of being raised again. The explosion from earlier damaged the tower and took down a good chunk of the undead. She would defend as best she could given there was no other choice. The storm had calmed down as had the battle but the toll was raising.

“Hey, Plague, I think we could use some undead reinforcements right here…”, Clara stated nervously.

“Don’t worry, I am on that too…” The sword of coalescence started to shift into various colors until it settled into a bright blue. Plague smiled under his mask for he had found what he was looking for. “Clara, I am activating the sleeper protocol.”

Clara stopped what she was doing and shifted her attention to Plague. “What?! Now?! We just got here a few days ago! Come on, give it some time…”

“A few days and yet we have been hunted, our base almost destroyed and a power beyond our own has accessed the veil… No, this will be done. Once this is done, you are to help secure the connection.”

Clara reluctantly focused her attention back to keeping the nephilim out of the tower. “As you wish. Hope you know what you are doing…”

Victor was reading his journal when he reached a rather interesting bit. It was titled, “The convergence and you.” He was about done with the chapter but he felt there was some context he was missing; something his memories now lost would’ve answered.

He spoke softly as he read. “...And if left unchecked the convergence will take hold. There is nothing us humans can do but to take cover and weather the storm. Here is some tips in case it happens to you…”

Suddenly there were screams. Helen jolted awake and seemingly wasted no time in getting up and rushing towards it. Victor dropped the journal and quickly put on his laser gauntlet. He was about to ask Helen was the hell was that but she was already out of the room. Something was odd. An odd feeling lingered. Then something catched his eyes; it seemed Helen had dropped a strange medallion on her way out; he didn’t pay attention when that happened as he was making sure the gauntlet would activate.

Melody too had heard the screams but she had already been wake by then. She didn’t pay any attention to them for she was seemingly arguing with herself for an outsider's perspective.

“You are scared? Weren’t you the one boating great power? What? How was I supposed to know?! And what could I possibly do? I am blind! Huh, is he know… Yeah, I can feel it too… You sure? Yeah, Roxanne is out and the storm is making things a mess. Victor? I can see if he is not busy… Alright...I will trust you on this one, like I have a choice…”

She made her way to where Victor and Helen were taking residence for the night. Oddly, she sence Helen rushing towards something. She sensed danger in that direction so she opted to continue the course. When she got there she felt Victor quite uneasy as well. The silhouette that revealed in her spell was the same when the awoke from the attack in the sanctum; he was aiming his laser gauntlet at her. He lowered it as soon as he saw who it was.

“Thank god it’s just you Melody...something weird is going on… Helen rushed out to who knows were I guess I am holding out here for know.”

“Yeah, something weird is going on...Hey, can I ask you for something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“I know you have lost your memories but you were the resident expert when it came to these things… Uhhm, it has been talking to me; it says its scared. It wants the sword of the void…”

“Huh, that’s very… strange… Maybe we can find something in my journal.”

“Victor...the sword of the void is what hosts Roxanne...the sword I have says you are no longer it’s wielder...worse...the sword of the void has gone ‘rogue’...”

Those words, Victor did not know what they meant but it shook him to his core. Something really bad was going on and if he could find a solution then might as well give it a shot. “Sit down and explain it thoroughly. Don’t skim anything, not matter how trivial… Let’s see what I can find…”

Roxanne was checking some random readings in the APC to see if anything had change in SoA’s intranet. Nothing yet it seemed; same messages as before and no response. Suddenly she felt weird. A sudden urge overcame her to hold her sword. Touching it brought along a sense of emptiness; something was missing. The it spoke to her; what is said did not matter, it was why it spoke that did.

A sinister smile overcame Roxanne, she let go of the sword still in its scabbard and looked around; she looked at herself, specially her hands. For the first time since becoming a spirit she felt different; she felt alive.

There wasn’t much time to take in the feeling; something else catched Roxanne’s eye. Their avian rescue target moved for a bit. Roxanne found this particularly odd but dismissed it as the meds kicking in. Then he moved again, this time deliberately. Roxanne turned around to find him struggling to stand up only for him to end up back up on the back of a chair. She gave him a sympathetic smile before speaking up.

“Now now, don’t go moving around so harshly. Why don’t we take a look and see if anything needs patching up hmm? Don’t worry, I am not going to hurt you; I have had practice with bandages.”

She went and grabbed some bandages that had been looted from the dust covered town. Roxanne then went ahead and slowly approached the bird mutant. However, something was off; Roxanne suddenly felt rather sleepy...

guest48 · « **Reply #4781 on:** April 23, 2018, 07:34:08 am »

His chest hurt. As did his ribs, his arms, his legs, and his head, but his chest hurt the most. Like a vice. There was an incredibly loud thumping sound. Was that his heart? His breathing got faster. The person was walking towards him, saying something he couldn't hear over his own heartbeat. How could they hear anything over it? The clicking of his talons on the APC's floor stopped suddenly as the somewhat unnaturally sharp tips catch on a lip in the metal, leading to him propping himself up on the back of a chair instead of sitting against it. The mutant grips the back of the leather seat, claws digging into the material and poking small holes in it. The person was blocking the exit. He swallows heavily, wings closing up against his back, as he stares right past Roxanne. Outside.

There was a gentle click as he grouped all of his fingers together, making his talons into a sort of cinquedae-style 'knife'. The leather seat's back was a good springboard. He brought his hand up, stabbing towards the spirit's side, as he quickly passed her. He didn't check to make sure he hit, or even moved her at all, before he scrambled out of the APC's door, gasping for air. Against any better judgement he had, he just laid there, curled up into a ball, clutching his chest. Everything hurt more than it did before.

Chaosvolt · « **Reply #4782 on:** April 23, 2018, 10:57:33 am »

Hector had an uneasy rest despite how readily he slept in normally. Between his recent worries and having yet to actually spend a night in his plate armor, the end result was him being up earlier than he would usually. He did a quick check of the area and to ensure Mica was still before making his way over to the APC, bringing some still-warm food in. He wasn't even sure what the avian could or preferred to eat, but he stuck with some cooked greens taken from the camp's supplies, simple flatbread, and cured wild game. Deer, if he recalled. The chili had already been mostly eaten by Mica overnight, and given it was chicken he wasn't sure if such a thing would seem distasteful to the mutant.

On seeing the avian all awkwardly sprawled out, he gave a wave to both Roxanne and the now-conscious mutant. "Glad to see you're awake. Go easy though, you looked in rough shape an-" He stopped, giving a blank stare under the great helm. "Though from the looks of things, I'm guessing she went with less conventional treatment. In that case, still. Take it easy, you'll likely still be sore for a while afterward." he said calmly, removing his helm.

However, he soon noticed two things were off. First, he thought he saw something faintly glow from inside the driver's compartment. Second, Roxanne seemed at first to be acting a bit off momentary. "Roxanne? Are you alr-"

And then the avian lunged at Roxanne, practically right through her and out the door of the APC. He was glad he had only been at the doorway as the avian rushed right past him, but a moment later he knelt by the avian, grabbing at him. "What the hell are you doing? You could killed her." he said, glowering down at the mutant. There was a certain restrained anger in his voice, and his other hand had that shield off to the side. He found himself struggling to calm himself, and that grip went from a careful yet firm hold to a hand simply set on the avian's shoulder.

Soon he grumbled, laying the shield down and retrieving some bandages from his drop leg pouch to tend to the avian, looking back to Roxanne with a worried look hidden under the helm.

Helen was shocked to her senses by two things. First, the shouting of someone familiar, of Liam screaming bloody murder. That alone was enough to have her rushing out of the cabin, symbol of judgement in hand. Then, just as abruptly, two things happened. The first was a sudden searing pain in the hand holding her symbol of judgement, forcing her to drop it. The second was another figure screaming, a feminine voice only vaguely familiar to her.

By the time she was in the Hall, Solomon had already been jolted awake and was now trying to help tend to Illiana, utterly unaware of who she was or what she was rambling about. The sight however made Helen's blood run cold, donning and activating her mask. Something else drew her attention instead. Far north, a light pierced the darkness that marked the limits of her mask's sight range. It was brilliant and terrifying in ways that made her go still immediately. During zero day, horrid flashes of this light from beyond pierced the limits of their masks, from all around. And for the first time in over 7 years, another such great wound in The Veil had been torn open.

"I'll explain who she is in a moment. Daniel, Solomon, your masks. Put them on and tell me what you see." Solomon hastily complied, stumbling back a bit. "Wha...I can see something, but it's that...aren't you supposed to be unable to see past..." he stammered, trailing off into stunned silence.

"The woman here is a spirit of sorts, a mediator. A celestial bureaucrat if you will. And a meddler, it seems..." she said softly, kneeling as she clasped Illiana's hand. "By Odin and The God in Three Persons both, what have you done..." she said softly.

It was then that the Deus Ex's ramblings sparked murmurs among a few of the others there. Sergei was the one that spoke up. "Atomos is...lady from the center, right? What..." he said softly, and Helen picked up her radio. "Quinn? Quinn, if you're alright and reading me, I need you to pick up a mask of insight and use it, if you have one. Confirm what we're seeing from here..." she said, while Sergei stood up, walking towards where Illiana was. "You. Explain. What happened with fox."

Helen meanwhile sighed a bit at this, shaking her head as she went back out to where Victor and Melody were. "I'm sorry if I scared the two of you. Something's going on. There's another wound in The Veil. A fresh one, far to the north."

Elsewhere, a figure watched from its little staging point, a little nest where it surveyed a world far from its own domain. Now something had drawn its ire in full. Another massive gash in The Veil. For but a moment, there were multiple beings watching the scene unfurl.

The beast was on the winds, drifting as it fled one of the few things that actually threatened it. No body to bind it, and for a moment the watcher wished he could afford to project more of his power, but to force more of himself through and combat a vulnerable foe directly would endanger his own realm, and worsen the fabric of The Veil. Worse, the radiance of this wound was nearly as bright as zero day. He could barely gaze beyond it for the moment, let alone risk taking any drastic actions

Instead it watched, knowing that the wound in The Veil would mend to a degree, given time and careful ministrations. As he observed, it brought a certain morbid amusement to him. Mortal hands struck a blow against the enemy. Not only that, but a bishop, the "archbishop" having engineered the very threat it faced. He also remembered a similar mistake he made. Just over three thousand years ago, in his own domain, mortal hands had been gifted with a fragment of his power, manipulated to serve his plans in that era. The thing known in this realm as The Archon was the consequence of this misstep.

He knew that one was watching too, though it lacked the presence in this realm that he had, a foothold gained over the past few decades. His current plans pertained to things he suspected would cause dire consequences for all realms affected by these wounds in The Veil. He feared this would only make the consequences of that plan's failure more severe, but that could be dealt with.

For now, He From Beyond The Veil watched, content to only take whatever actions would prevent the absolute worst outcomes from happening. In time, laughter would follow the cry of rage.

Wheel-Son · « **Reply #4783 on:** April 23, 2018, 11:41:35 am »

Quinn picked up, "I don't have one, sor-" Something began to wirr from inside one of Quinn's cabinet. He got up and grabbed a small black and white box with a speaker, an LED, and an antenna. The green LED flashed rapidly, the small device wirred and clicked. It reminded him of when it all started, the device was sitting in a desk drawer. He was working on something, couldn't remember what it was. But he remembered the noises. Quinn picked the radio back up, "...interesting, assuming whatever you're seeing is what caused this to go off...?"

In the morning, Nell, Alberto, and the various survivors they'd hunkered down with had started to wake up, preparing breakfast while Alberto and Rodriguez kept watch. Nell meanwhile had been inspecting the vehicles to ensure they'd be in working order. The jeep first, being the most familiar with it, then with Rodriguez's permission a quick once-over of his old TPD squad car, and the van. When she got to the point of checking up on the truck, she stopped as realization hit her. "Hey Rodriguez. A lot of the God's Army vehicles we've ran into and managed to capture have had a tracking setup on them. Did you guys find anything like that on this one?"

Rodriguez looked back to her as she asked, giving a concerned look. "One of the others mentioned that it might be a concern, but they weren't sure where to look for it. Storm at least buys us time, but getting rid of it before then would be good." he remarked. At this Nell nodded some. "I can tell you what they tend to look like and where they usually put them, and if you know anyone that'd be good help with that it should be a lot easier to remove."

"Alright. I'd suggest Reyes and Johnny then. Reyes has been the one fixin' up the vehicles the most, and Johnny's good with electronics." he suggested, Nell nodding at that as she went over to ask the two. "Hey Johnny, Reyes. Rodriguez said you'd be the best to help with removing any trackers on the truck. They usually hide them in the same couple of places, so knowing that it should be easy between the three of us." she offered.

Reyes nodded at that. "Aight. You know where to look, y' said?" he asked, and Nell nodded. "Usually wound up assisting the main person at the center in charge of disabling the trackers when we've captured their vehicles." she answered. "Alright. I gave it a basic peek under the hood and the undercarriage when Brian told me about the trackers, but didn't really have time to take the old bitch apart. Guess the storm's made time for us."

"Lot easier than that actually." she answered, soon leading the way over to the truck. The obvious place, where the center had found a lot of the trackers, was in the door compartments. That it wasn't in there was readily apparent. The next place was the center console's storage, found to be empty, and Reyes additionally helped undo a few screws to check that it wasn't more carefully hidden under the storage itself.

It was when they checked the glovebox that they found what they were after. The glove compartment itself had only the usual items stashed in it, but Nell poked around a bit to peer into the space behind it, and right in front of the cabin filter she saw a dim red LED light, only easily seen when she had the glovebox light off to see behind it more clearly.

Reyes rather easily managed to remove the glovebox to expose it, a small black box with a couple switches, and an LED display besides the power indicator light that confirmed it was set to tracking mode, along with a number displaying mileage traveled on the current trip, and a battery charge meter.

"Alright, main thing for now is to be careful not to hit the switches here. Batteries in them usually last a good while, so if it flicks off they'll likely guess we found it." she explained. This time it was Johnny who assisted, calmly helping to unscrew the brackets holding the device in place and removing it, double-checking for any wires attaching it to the vehicle. As Nell was expecting, there were none. Nell simply laid the device down on the concrete directly underneath the truck itself. "Just make sure the driver doesn't back over it when we're heading out." she added.

By now, however, the storm had at least wound down a little bit, rain and wind still strong well into the morning, yet at least the debris was no longer flying freely as it once had. Rodriguez hmmed a bit as he stepped out, looking around. "Could probably make a break for it. They might not come out in this unless the tracker's out, so we either should do so before they catch up, or buy ourselves a head start, depending on if they can get the tracker out without it cutting out."

They took time to finish breakfast before packing things up, Nell directing the driver who backed the truck out to ensure they'd leave the active tracker behind. The other vehicles soon pulled out into the rain and carefully made their way out into the street, to continue on their way. As Alberto drove, Nell picked up the radio to report to the center. "Sargeant Nell Branham here. Making ready to leave, progress may be slow due to the weather. Seems like the worst is over though." she said, pointedly not specifying that they were already outbound, careful about what she said over the radio despite using what was supposed to be a secure channel.

RedVulnus · « **Reply #4784 on:** April 23, 2018, 01:47:25 pm »

Liam had at this point gathered himself and was speaking with Eino about things of little import. He hadn’t felt or realized there was a wound in the veil. More of the energy that he usually expelled while breathing gathered and swirled around his head. As he talked he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his neck and reached a hand up as Eino took a step back.

Looking over his shoulder he found that he was out in the woods in the pouring rain. Looking around he wasn’t quite sure where he was and reached for his axe to find it wasn’t on his belt. It dawned on him what had just happened as he opened his bag and rummaged through it. Failing to find the potion he thought he’d left in his bag he sighed and started walking.

It wasn’t long before he heard a somewhat familiar voice say “Hey kid, need a place to weather the rest of this shit?” Turning Liam spotted a man wearing a grey leather coat and jeans carrying a small handful of laminated paper. “I uh..I was supposed to hand out invitations but even the boss thinks it wouldn’t be good to do that in this weather.”

Liam, after a few moments thought, agreed and followed the man. “I’m Liam, and thanks for this.” The man shrugged as he said “I’m Gregory and its no problem. The house always likes to have guests. After the storm I’ll take you back home to, you live in the Hall right?”

Liam nodded as they approached an old and rather antiquated building. “Sorry about that, he’s not expecting guests.” Gregory said as they walked towards it. Liam almost panicked when he saw the house shift and change into a much more elegant form. This would be an interesting night he figured as he stepped through the doorway.

Meanwhile Eino looked around before sighing. Liam was his responsibility and now the kid had teleported himself to Odin knows where. Grabbing his gear Eino wondered if he should wait out the rest of the storm or go. Looking around he could see Charles entertaining the kids that were in the building with Steinar and Salazar and decided not to bother him. For now he would wait it out he thought, better to wait until the worst blew over.

Elsewhere Blitz and the misling had climbed out of the purifier hideout and returned to their fellows during a lull in the storm. They welcomed him back and explained the presence of a group of mercenaries. They needed to weather out the storm and everyone had agreed not to fight. Now they were all gathered speaking of their homes and families while several of the men cooked a meal.

Blitz himself sat down with one of the mercenaries and inquired what they did. He found out they were transporters, pay them enough and they’ll move whatever you want. These guys were moving a shipment of weapons to a depot for further transportation to its destination. Handing the man a beer Blitz and him fell into talking of their old homeland of Germany. Neither of them knew what had happened there but they shared stories of their childhoods.

_____________________________________
Amelia brushed her teeth inside the house as it grumbled about the weather. Spitting into the sink she grabbed a glass of water and rinsed her mouth before telling the house “Ya know if’n you don’t like hosting for spirits maybe don’t do it again. I get they’re the only one’s who’d come in the storm but if you hate it that much.”

She rolled her eyes as it grumbled about how bored it had been over the past few months, how it needed that little night of fun despite the annoyances. Grabbing a pair of jeans she wondered when Gregory was going to be back. The answer came a bit suddenly as she found herself dressed in a blue leather jacket and black jeans with a happy humming in her head from the house. Looking out the window she spotted Liam and Gregory approaching.

Smiling as the house jittered about having a guest, a repeat one at that, Amelia walked down the steps as Gregory led Liam inside and set the laminated invites aside. She was somewhat surprised the house wasn’t changing them into some silly costume or such..especially considering it had developed a bit of a fascination with the Friday the 13th movies as of late. Waving as Gregory led Liam into a large living room Amelia went to find the kitchen, that was if it wasn’t somewhere inaccessible again, and get something for their guest.

With a few short directions from the house she quickly found and grabbed a premade meal for Liam and a bottle of wine. Retracing her steps to the foyer and then into the living room she handed Liam the warm meal with a smile before grabbing a chair. “‘Ello I’m Amelia! Happy to meet you.”

Liam swallowed his mouthful of eggs before saying “I’m Liam, pleasure to meet you.” with a cheery voice. He set the plate of eggs to the side to shake her hand.

She shook her head as she looked over at Gregory adjusting wires as he tried to get a tv hooked up to the dvd player. “We got a gentleman here Gregory.” she said as she picked up a couple of wine glasses and set them out. He looked over his shoulder as he shot back “Oooh, is he a smooth talker to?”

Amelia cocked an eyebrow at Liam as she said “I don’t know, is he?”

Liam blinked for a moment before deciding to try. “Ma’am I cannot believe the gods would grant a single woman such beauty. Were I an artist I would spend eternity trying to emulate it and never match it for how could one match perfection?”

Amelia had poured the glasses of wine and now looked at Gregory and said “I’ve never heard that one I’ll give him that.” Gregory rolled his eyes as he said “Women, they just can’t handle the truth.”

Utterly Mad

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Author Topic: CDDA: Adventures in Cataclysm (Read 33630 times)

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