RPGWW

by **Capntastic** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 5:25 pm

Mik began furiously swiveling the mechanism that would close the window. He was forcibly making that one act the only thing he was paying attention to. His teeth gritted and his brow furrowed, he reminded himself "They're not as bad as ribcleaners. They're tiny. They ain't even got teeth. They're not so bad."

by **Jak Snide** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 6:10 pm

With so many targets swarming around him Mithras could not miss. Even as one of the birds blew apart, feather remains aflame, he was aware that there were far too many of them for his laspistol to deal with. The flew past, talons dragging uselessly across his armour. But some were starting to land on him, latched on and pecking him with vicious beaks. One grazed his cheek before he swatted it off his shoulder. Crisis, separated from his fellow acolytes by the driver's cab, discovered another benefit of solid projectiles. The fire his autocarbine scythed through the birds around him, tearing as many as a dozen apart. For a moment he had room to breathe as the corpses hit the flatbed he stood upon, then they were upon him again, scratching and biting and trying to squirm their way under his flak cloak. He fought desperately to prevent them from doing so, knowing full well what would happen if even one got beneath his armour.

Cryvus swung his staff around him, his hymn barely carrying over the wind. He could tell that the laughter was directed at him now, taking amusement at his attempts to inspire his comrades and invoke the Emperor's protection. The crows were kept at bay, though, the few that penetrated his defences unable to penetrate his armour and yet to find purchase near the soft, unprotected flesh of his head. Mikolas would have seen the predicament his allies were in if he weren't focused entirely on shutting the window. He cranked the handle that would close the thick glass barrier between him and the flock outside as fast as he could, but there were already half a dozen of the birds inside with him. One found a gap in the plating and thick clothing that covered his arms and tore at his flesh. He bellowed, batting the thing away and gritting his teeth as he completed his task, his blood flowing freely once again.

(Mikolas has taken 4 damage and is now on 5/20 wounds. Mithras and Crisis, while having suffered no more than superficial injuries, are being swarmed (grappled) by the crows. Unless they do something the avians will find a way to bypass their armour. Cryvus fought defensively and, while he failed to inflict any damage to the birds, prevented them from harming him. How Raine, Kos'ke and his men are faring is obscured by the dust storm and the murder of crows swarming around them.)

by **NamagomiMk0** » Fri Jun 19, 2009 8:36 pm

Crisis seethed. That idiot. That IMBECILE. If he had any say about it, that Feral would not be driving vehicles at all once they got back from this mission. He would not be allowed to even TOUCH the instrumentation without orders, under pain of shooting, if he had his way. He observed the birds getting in through the window.

He alone was to blame for the current lack of haven from these damnable creatures. He alone was to blame for his current condition. Crisis hoped that he would suffer for this damnable act of utter idiocy.

...and then there were those damned birds. Those trying to get under his cloak. Those swarming around. Dropping his guns, he pulled a grenade out, priming it prior to throwing it into the air--into the thick of the swarm--before dropping to the bed of the vehicle and rolling, attempting to crush every damned avian trying to get through. They would not kill him. He would not die on the count of someone else's idiocy...

by **Kelne** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 8:25 am

Cryvus felt a twinge of anger. Who was this bloated parasite upon creation to mock him? To mock the Emperor's works and glory? The crows swarmed all about, beyond counting, but there must be a weakness somewhere. Some nexus by which the daemon worked its vile will upon the world, as there had been with the beasts before. If he could but find it, he could end the fight in a single decisive blow. Let the daemon gloat. In so doing, it only let down its guard.

As he sought that weak point, Cryvus continued his song.

"There was a crusade
There was a mighty crusade led by a rising Light.
And His weapons were honed
And His primarchs were strong
And His armies were fresh for the fight."

by **Capntastic** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 5:07 pm

Mik did not have a weapon ready, a rarity- and even more rare was that he was in a situation where he considered using one to be too dangerous. Thuswise, he relentlessly tried to punch any offending avians off of him, while reminding himself they were nowhere near as bad as ribcleaners.

by **Christian** » Sun Jun 21, 2009 7:00 pm

Mithras shielded his face with his arm as he considered his options. Going for his shotgun in the cabin of the machine spirit seemed a logical decision, but with the birds...

No, he'd take his chances, he'd left it just at the door.

As he dashed back towards the car he holstered his laspistol, it wouldn't do much good anyway, and found his hand brushing against the frag grenade Mikolas had given him... perhaps... Unbeknownst to him, Crisis had already gotten that idea, but he chose to pass on it for now... he just didn't trust himself to keep in mind the few seconds he'd have to spare before he'd chuck the grenade far enough not to blow his Emperor blessed face off.

Once he approached the cabin door, he'd try to open it quickly, grab the shotgun and then fire into the fray of birds. With any luck there wouldn't be any complications. He was certain Mikolas could handle any stragglers making their way into the truck.

by **Jak Snide** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:14 am

Thrashing at the swarm around him, Mithras ran and mounted the step leading to the cab of the cargo hauler. He tried to be quick, but several birds flocked into the compartment in the time it took for him to open it and retrieve his weapon, much to the dismay of Mikolas. Shotgun in hand, the ex-guardsman dropped from the step, yanking a crow from his shoulder and away from his neck as two more found perch in less vulnerable spots. The distinct sound of a frag grenade detonating carried over the howling of the wind. Mikolas heard the sound of several pieces of shrapnel embedding themselves in the roof of the driver's cab. Crisis, meanwhile, found himself spattered with giblets and bloody feathers as he flung himself along the flatbed, rolling across it like a piece of dislodged piping. The crows attached to him that didn't take flight had their cawing abruptly silenced as their bones were shattered by the assassin rolling over them.

Mikolas was not faring well. He was keeping the birds at bay with his two flailing, meaty arms, one of his assailants lying broken on the dashboard now, but Mithras had doubled his worries and he now found himself assaulted from both sides. One of the creatures scratched at his chest with talons and beak, adding a few new tears to his clothing before the man smashed it away.

Cryvus' singing faltered for a moment as he fell to one knee, grasping his staff for support. The crows swarmed in on him before he could recover, one of them slashing at his face with its feet.

(Mithras has his shotgun, both barrels loaded, and is standing outside. He still has birds all over him, and they will now bypass his armour unless he takes action. Crisis is prone but has crushed or driven off those trying to find a way beneath his flak coat. He's also given himself a little breathing room, his autocarbine burst and subsequent frag having thinned out their numbers significantly. Mikolas has remained uninjured thanks to his armour and has ensured that none have taken perch on him. Cryvus has taken 2 damage to the head from numerous small injuries and should check his PMs.)

by **Capntastic** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:20 am

"They ain't fethin' ribcleaners! They ain't gonna bring me down like one!"

His bellowing and thrashing continued, though he shifted his weight to accomodate the new swarm on his other side.

by **Christian** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 5:23 am

"Cryvus!" Mithras shouted, cocking the shotgun with a sweeping motion to aim it at wherever the cluster of birds was the thickest, "Get on your feet damn you!" he fired his weapon into the thick, black cloud of wings and beaks, beady black eyes and sharp talons. The chaos around him, especially the very recent frag explosion, was beginning to get to him somewhat, but he was still in complete control of the situation. Crisis would hardly have blown himself up, but the blast may have given the group quite some breathing space, he wasn't going to disappoint.

His eyes flickered to where the woman and her warriors had greeted them. If she had any powers, why didn't she do anything? Was she the cause of this? Psykers... he hated psykers, witches and mutants, freaks. What evil existed that twisted men and women into this?

After firing the shotgun he pulled the grenade from his belt, letting the spring go but keeping the lock down so as to not start the timer...

by **NamagomiMk0** » Mon Jun 22, 2009 6:31 pm

Crisis looked at and felt the carnage he had wrought, and he had found it satisfactory for now. Regrettably, he was on the floor and lacking in guns, but...both problems were rectifiable, as he pushed himself to a standing position, and drew and cocked his autopistol, likewise silenced...

by **Kelne** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:09 am

With little choice in the matter, Cryvus forced himself upright and began an ungainly run towards the rapidly solidifying sigil, a run further disrupted by the need to guard himself from the birds. The longer he gave the sigil to take shape, the harder this would be.

"They fought a crusade
They fought a mighty crusade against a smothering night
And their conquests were vast
And their shadows were long
And their works were much larger than life."

by **Jak Snide** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 6:03 pm

Mithras' shotgun shook in his hands as it filled the air with buchshot. Where his laspistol had proven itself ill suited this weapon showed its worth, tearing through the flock above Cryvus' head and giving the old man some respite. He took this as his chance to run forward, one bird finding its way beneath his armoured longcoat and finding flesh with its beak before the man could hurl it aside. Mithras, having neglected his own safety by aiding Cryvus, could feel the weight of a dozen crows upon him, hopping from perch to perch and seeking joints in his armour. The grenade was now in hand.

Cryvus:

Spoiler:

As Crisis stood he noticed that he was no longer in a target rich environment. Those few birds that he hadn't slain were flying away, beyond the vehicle and towards the other acolytes. The lack of any immediate threats gave him a chance to take in his surroundings; Mikolas was flailing about inside the driver's cab. The windows were shut but a dozen or so birds had managed to find a way inside and were swarming him. For every one he knocked away with a meaty fist two more got close and began to scratch at his armour, tearing cloth in an attempt to reach the battered body that hid beneath them.

(Mithras has one shot left in his shotgun and, thankfully, suffered no damage real damage this turn though he is still covered in birds. Cryvus, meanwhile, suffered 2 more wounds to the chest from a lucky attack but is not covered in crows. Crisis is on his feet and is not threatened. Mikolas has horrible avians hopping all over him as they peck and scratch.)

by **Christian** » Tue Jun 23, 2009 8:10 pm

The guardsman grinned without humour as the buckshot tore into the swarm. These creatures may very well be simply controlled by whatever evil it was that haunted this planet, but a tool of chaos, even an unwitting one, deserved no less than death. To the heretics, it would lead to their judging, to the strayers, it would free them from the oppression. "The sacrifice of a million..." he mumbled for himself, barely noticing the critters clawing at his armor. "My faith is my shield!"

He held the grenade in his hand, feeling its weight as he slowly let go of the trigger that would initiate the five second countdown. He counted them quietly in his mind, reaching three before he lobbed it high into the thickest gathering of fowls he could see, crouching and shielding his face as he yelled "Grenade!", hoping the others would take the cue.

by **Kelne** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:06 am

Against the building pressure in his skull, the song at last fell silent, every shred of concentration now required to close those last few steps and bing his staff to bear on the cursed symbol.

by **NamagomiMk0** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 9:12 am

Crisis glared. Half of him wanted to leave that idiot to his apparently well-deserved fate. Deserved for opening a window and LEAVING the damned thing open, compromising the one and only safe zone there was in this damnable torrent of dust and crows. And now he was thrashing around in there like someone afflicted with madness. He deserved it. He was ready to allow it...

...Until two realizations hit. First, there was something ELSE there...hidden. It wanted the same damn thing...

Second, more importantly...the idiot could end up damaging their only transport left. Or worse, drive off with his guns.

Under these circumstances, and the noted clearing of the crows, Crisis saw and took what he felt was the most beneficial option at the time, as he dashed over to the door on Mikolas' side and opened it. Gunfire into the vehicle would've been less than beneficial, after all...

by **Jak Snide** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 3:11 pm

Crisis scrambled onto the side of the vehicle and pulled the door open. Mikolas was in a bad state. The panic was wearing off, buy he was bleeding from dozens of small cuts. It was taking everything in his power to keep the things from savaging his face. Thanks to his gas masked friend, though, he had a way outside and the immediate vicinity seemed to be clear of horrible airborne creatures trying to rend his flesh apart.

Mithras flung the grenade high, too high, but it was good enough. The explosion took another chunk out of the flock and the crows began to disperse. A mass which had been heading for Cryvus squawked and wheeled off in random directions. The ones clinging to the soldier were less inclined to flee, instead surging upwards towards his head. He could feel them tearing at his face and neck, his free hand doing what it could to protect his eyes.

Cryvus leapt forward and drove his staff into the ground. The earth trembled from the impact and the mocking laughter ceased abruptly. The storm did not, however, nor did the birds flocking around the entrance of Raine's stead disperse.

(Mikolas has taken 3 damage, Mithras has taken 5. They are on 2 and 3 wounds respectively, the latter having received several minor wounds to the face and head. Cryvus should check his PMs. It is also worth noting that Mithras has depleted his supply of frag grenades.)

by **Capntastic** » Sat Jun 27, 2009 7:55 pm

Mikolas, bloodied and ferocious, did what came natural to him in this state: Put all of his force into rolling out of the cab.

by **Christian** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:12 am

"The Emperor protects!" Mithras yelled in frustration as blood flowed down his face. He'd be damned if he would let these winged demons do what nothing else had ever done. With a roar he threw himself forward tucking his chin in and rolling, blinking as droplets of his life came into his eyes. He rolled, twisted and turned to rid himself of the menaces, the weight and cumbersome armor on his body barely hindering him, boot-camp memories serving him well.

by **NamagomiMk0** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 6:41 pm

Crisis, not wanting to be in close proximity to the Feral for more than necessary, moved the hell out of the way as soon as Mik got out. Realizing he couldn't do much with the machine pistol at this point in time, he holstered it, and moved toward where he had placed his guns.

by **Kelne** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:57 pm

To the outside world, Cryvus was still as a statue, arms still poised in the pose that had driven his staff into the soil. If anything, he seemed to be trying to drive it still deeper, face locked in a mask of concentration.

by **Jak Snide** » Wed Jul 01, 2009 6:10 am

Crisis scrambled onto the back of the vehicle to retrieve his weapons. Mikolas barrelled out of the driver's cab, leaving a trail of feathered foes in his wake. Mithras threw himself into a diving roll, crows being torn from their perches by the momentum or crushed beneath his armoured bulk.

Cryvus flew backwards as the staff in his hands exploded into a thousand pieces. A deafening howl of no natural origin tore through the air, the glass windscreen and windows of their transport shattering. The impact of a psychic shockwave hit them a split-second later.

Mikolas was the first to rise from the ground and take stock of what had happened. Cryvus lay several meters from where he once stood, silent and unmoving. Mithras lay on the ground groaning, still suffering from the mental assault. Crisis had toppled from the back of the vehicle, the glass eyepieces of his gas mask shattered. The last, but by far the most prominent detail that he noticed was how the area was covered by the bodies of countless birds. The dust storm, strange lights and mocking laughter had gone, the only sound now being the gentle whistle of a natural wind.

(Cryvus has suffered 2 wounds from his staff exploding, has been flung 6 meters backwards and is unconscious. He, along with Crisis and Mithras, have also been temporarily deafened, and the latter two were also stunned for a round, only just recovering now. Mikolas proved far more hardy and avoided all of these effects. Crisis has also had the glass eyepieces of his gas mask shattered, though thankfully they exploded outwards and only dealt 1 wound of damage to him. Cryvus will find that his magnoculars have suffered a similar fate, though thankfully his Red Dot Laser Sight and the Telescopic Sight on Crisis' rifle are made of something other than glass and are unharmed. Lastly, everyone has gained 1 Insanity Point (or "at least" for poor Cryvus) and has the feeling that something terrible has just occurred somewhere else.)

by **Christian** » Thu Jul 02, 2009 6:06 am

Mithras slowly opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly as he unhooked the chinstrap of his helmet, taking the whole thing off and clutching his head. Another groan erupted from his lips as he tried to orientate himself, blood dripping from his chin and his salt and pepper hair plastered to his face by blood and sweat.

"By the Emperor... what is this?" he asked to no one in particular, grabbing for his shotgun which lay next to him.

by **Jak Snide** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 6:55 am

Mithras was slightly alarmed at his inability to hear his own words, but he collected his shotgun all the same. Cryvus began to stir, consciousness returning to him along with the pain of a dozen splinters in his hands and face and a dreadful ringing in his ears. Those who looked North towards the stead saw the fate of those they had come to meet.

Kos'ke's men lay dead, ribbons of flesh hanging from their corpses and covered in blood. The warlord himself lived, having positioned himself in the doorway of the hut from which Raine had emerged, though he leaned on sabre for support and breathed heavily. The crone herself was nowhere to be seen.

by **Christian** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 7:57 am

Mithras stumbled to his feet, dropping his helmet (but keeping a tight grip on his shotgun), nearly falling over again before he managed to gather enough momentum to half crawl, half run towards the hut, the sight of the dead men bringing him back to reality in a snap. If Kos'ke remained standing...

"What's!?" he began, his voice, no, the sound of his voice barely audible, "Where is she!?" he yelled, loud perhaps, but he was beyond the point of caring. Two possibilities ran in his mind... either their enemy wanted to finish off the woman badly, gladly taking the acolytes with her, or the Crone herself was the cause of all this...

by **Capntastic** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:45 pm

"That was almost as bad as a coupl'a rib-cleaners..."

Mik gradually got himself to his feet, and stumbled towards Kos'ke, in an attempt to help him do the same.

by **NamagomiMk0** » Fri Jul 03, 2009 5:45 pm

Crisis laid down on the ground for a few seconds, regaining his composure.

What the hell was that?

That...it was hard to place quite what it was. All he knew was that a massive howl ripped through the area, knocking him down and...

...those shards. Lining his vision. These damnable warp entities.

They insist on defiling what is his, even with their last breaths. When not stealing, destroying. One would think that the Brazen Sky was a good enough example of what would happen to those who attempted to steal or destroy his property. The gas mask was no different.

Standing, he holstered the autopistol, before retrieving and reloading the autocarbine, and taking the rifle as well. He tired of these damnable things taking such audacity.

...it was unsettling. He could not hear the familiar clicks of the autocarbine as the clips were changed. Something was wrong. Could he not hear at all?

Damn this entity. Damn it.

...and yet it likely was not over. The idiocy and the audacity combined. He would make sure it ended, one way or another...

He made a note to himself as he started forward; once this was over, he'd look into getting proper augmentations to restore his hearing.

by **Kelne** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 5:26 am

Cryvus lay still for a few moments, gathering his senses. He had won the confrontation, he was certain of that. But there would be another. These things came in threes, and he did not know if he had the strength to survive the third. He had barely escaped from this one with his soul intact, and he had lost his staff. A staff which he had carried with him across half the galaxy, carved with the names of the fallen. Who would remember those names if not him? Who would remember their sacrifice?

Duty, that eternal constant woven through his very soul like steel, pulled him unsteadily upright. His eyes took in the multitude of tiny bodies and sought out, in turn, each of his companions. They must carry on. To do otherwise would be to grant the darkness victory without battle and damn so many innocent souls.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:44 am

Kos'ke turned his head towards Mithras. He had lost his left eye at some point during the fight, but it seemed he could see well enough with his remaining one. He scowled at the ex-guardsmen then toppled over, yielding pain and exhaustion.

Raine emerged from the hut a moment later. The old woman had something clutched in her arms, swaddled in cloth and pressed close to her chest. She was also unharmed, as far as they could tell, though she looked deeply unsettled by what had just transpired. She called out to the acolytes, though Mikolas was the only one who could hear her words.

Mikolas:

Spoiler:

by **Kelne** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:08 am

Muttering words inaudible even to himself, Cryvus shook his head in an effort to quiet the ringing in his ears. When that failed, he hobbled in Raine's direction, hoping that perhaps less distance would make a difference.

by **Christian** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:42 am

Mithras returned the frown to Kos'ke, seeing how the birds had unleashed their foul wrath upon the warrior. As he stumbled and fell, Mithras increased his speed, walking unsteadily towards the hut when Raine showed herself.

"Help him!" Mithras shouted, unable to control the tone of his voice for the ringing in his ears, "lest they return!"

by **Capntastic** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 6:44 pm

Mik began to help the warlord into the hut. He checked the skies fearful that avian menaces may return.

by **Jak Snide** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 7:19 pm

Esha Raine ushered them into her hut. It was a primitive affair, built from unworked stone and decorated with crude wooden furniture and scores of charms and trinkets. The next few minutes passed quickly as she moved from acolyte to acolyte tending their wounds as best as she could. Those deafened by the howl found their hearing returning to them and, while her methods were primitive, the old woman did manage to ease the pain of each of them. She bore a number of small injuries herself, but they were seemingly not of concern to her. Kos'ke lay unconscious on a wooden mat, having only received the barest of treatment from Raine. The welfare of the acolytes was a more pressing concern.

(Thanks to a mostly solid set of First Aid rolls on Raine's part you've had some wounds restored to you. Crisis, Mikolas and Mithras each regain 1, putting them on 6, 3 and 4 wounds respectively. Cryvus, who suffered numerous small injuries, benefits far more from the treatments and regains 4 wounds, putting him on 8.)

"A dark spirit has returned." she announced as she began to treat Cryvus, her voice trembling. "I dared not truly believe at first, but after what I have seen here there can be no doubt. The Ashleen name it the Dancer on the Threshold. Others call it the Crow Father...and we have seen why. It has many names and to say some of them is perilous. It is ancient, wicked and delights in slaughter and leading men to their deaths with lies of their heart's desire. My people record their past through spoken tales, but some things are too dangerous to say aloud."

She plucked the final splinter out of the old man's hands and bandaged them. She then turned to the cloth-swaddled object she had clutched before, unwrapped it and lifted it with a mixture of reverence and dread. She the presented it to them as a whole. "Take this book, for it may help you."

Cryvus:

Spoiler:

Crisis:

Spoiler:

by **Jak Snide** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:36 am

Before any of them could respond their voxes crackled into life, spitting forth the distorted and broken voice of Xerxes.

"Team! *fzzzkt* here, we have a crit-*fzzakt*-ion! The *fzzztzzzkt* come to town! Rep-*zzzkfzzkt*-p threat has manifested!"

by **NamagomiMk0** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 12:44 am

Crisis nodded with acknowledgement as the book was presented, before beginning to write. As the voxes started acting up, though, he stopped, furiously scribbling down on a pad of paper before he tore off the sheet, showing it to Cryvus.

'You take the book. It seems like your issue. We need everyone to return to base now, however. And someone kill Mikolas if he even so much as thinks about lowering the window. We do not need a safe zone compromised again.''

With that, Crisis got to his feet, stowing the writing tools, arming both his rifle and autocarbine, and then headed out to the vehicle, less than happy with the fact that the damned warp entity had to BREAK the lenses on his gas mask. He was in no mood to even tolerate any bastards trying to screw with him now.

[If the flatbed has sufficient cover, he's headed there. Otherwise, he's getting inside the cab.]

by **Kelne** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 2:56 am

Cryvus took the book with some apprehension. It was necessary, he knew. Yet it was still something he would treat with caution.

"We must go," he said quietly, "Keep yourself safe as best you are able." With that, he turned and headed for the truck. He would study the book in the cab. Hopefully, there would be time enough during the trip to glean any knowledge which might be useful.

by **Christian** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 5:17 am

Mithras eyed the book handed to Cryvus with suspicion, despite her appearance as trying to help (and he had been thankful for the aide she had offered), the whole thing stank... Of what, he wasn't entirely sure, but he'd be damned if...

The noice of the vox-transmission abruptly ended his line of thought and he looked at the others quickly before getting on his feet, reaching for his weapon. He saw how Crisis was already on his way and turned to the woman. "He and his men were willing to die to protect you. I hope whatever it is you gave us is worth their sacrifice." Then he turned and ran towards the truck, throwing himself into the vehicle and grimacing badly as his many cuts and bruises reminded him of themselves.

"We need to get in contact with Xerxes again ASAP." he muttered as he reached for the vox. He'd never really been one for vox-duty back in the Guard, despite the extra meal-ticket sometimes offered, walking around with what was basically a large target put squarely on your back was not something he'd appreciate doing...

Of course, once he'd turned sergeant, he'd gotten to avoid that completely...

"Xerxes, come in! Can you hear me?" he spoke into the ancient vox machine, trying to improve reception.

by **Capntastic** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 3:40 pm

Mik mumbled to himself at the turn of events.

"How's a book gonna help us take 'em out? Unless it's got a map to their hideout..."

Regardless, he readied the machine spirit and prepared to move out.

by **Jak Snide** » Thu Jul 09, 2009 7:54 pm

As the acolytes hauled themselves into their vehicle another message was carried to them via the mysteries of vox technology.

"*Ffzt*-nk the emperor! *Fzzzaakrtkzzzz*-te backup, the threat has manifested. Repeat wa-*frrzzzztkt*-ifested. Warp threat is befouling the *fzzzktzzzzkrzt*-e on the North face of the building. Repeat: meet me at the *fffzkt*" The message cut off abruptly, the channel now filled with static. Cryvus, caught half-way up the steps to the driver's cab, turned his head and noted that Raine had followed them part of the way, just close enough to yell a final warning.

"The old widows' tales from before the saint came said that the only thing the Crow Father feared was the agony he most loved to inflict...but hat that is I cannot say."

Crisis found that flatbed provided enough cover providing nothing attacked him from above. The high sides would allow to almost stand at his full height and still be mostly concealed. It would also provide him some degree of protection from any dust storms, something the driver's cab, now missing its glass windscreen and windows, would not. The old woman watched them as Mikolas goaded the machine spirit into action and they began their journey back to Stern Hope.

Cryvus:

Spoiler:

(The drive back to Stern Hope will take a few hours, dusk approaching steadily as they journey South. Now might be a good time to make preparations and confer amongst one another. Events occurring back at the settlement involving Xerxes need to conclude themselves before the rest of you arrive.)

by **NamagomiMk0** » Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:40 pm

Crisis stayed in the flatbed, making to ensure that all of his weapons' clips were fully loaded. Emperor knows he'll need it at this point...

One grenade left...one grenade left...

by **Kelne** » Sat Jul 11, 2009 7:35 am

Cryvus took the time following his studies of the book to impress upon his companions what he had learned, speaking to each in turn as need be.

"The enemy has set the stage to his liking, recreating the old rituals of his warped faith through the folly of the Voicers. He awaits only the onset of dusk to spread forth his black wings once more and plunge Stern Hope into darkness. Yet there is still hope. Drusus defeated him on this very site, and the dark shall have no victory while we yet draw breath. When the time comes, aim for the eyes. And remember: Faith is the greatest weapon in your arsenal now."

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