RPGWW

by **ChristianC** » Sat Apr 17, 2010 4:26 pm

Magpie had listened to the description of the remorhaz with a detached look on her face. It was odd, the construct was usually quite alert and present, but she seemed to be thinking something over, and once discussions were done she looked to the others.

"We have travelled for a relatively long period of time. I assume you need rest, and even if not, restocking, making sure the constructions will not return over the night, and general recovery makes such an option preferable."

by **Kelne** » Sun Apr 18, 2010 8:28 am

"Aw, c'mon, it's nowhere near nightfall yet," Asp said, "I bet we can get up into the caves, thwart the clockcrabs and be back in time for dinner." People more familiar with kender might recognise the utter futility of keeping Asp cooped up in the hall for the rest of the day. His pesent companions? Perhaps not.

by **Besyanteo** » Sun Apr 18, 2010 9:49 am

Whether or not the idea was futile, Phelan straightened up at Asp's suggestion. He didn't actually say anything, but those who were looking wouldn't have a hard time spotting his enthusiasm.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun Apr 18, 2010 3:23 pm

"We could remain here and hope they attack again. Thin out their numbers and track the survivors back to their lair. Perhaps even interrogate one if the gods are with us. Will they come again though, or are they done with this village?" He directed his question at Thirteen. If the child had come to observe them then she might have some insight into their behaviour. "If so then we stand a better chance of finding them while it's light."

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon Apr 19, 2010 1:48 am

Thirteen cups her chin, looking towards the floor for a moment. "The last attack was some time ago. I haven't seen them at all since."

Shawn shuffles around, before crouching to clear some of the remaining ice from Rocket's pelt. "I think it really is probably best if a lot of us get some rest. We've been traveling a while, and we'd be better off starting in the morning."

Thirteen glances back towards the door. "If needed, I shall go collect supplies and food for those who need it. I, myself, am in no need of rest or food personally, so I can continue to work."

Someone might catch Shawn mumbling something about Thirteen being a bitch under her breath.

by **Idran1701** » Mon Apr 19, 2010 5:40 pm

Plane of Ice - Village

At Shawn's muttering, Florence gives her a brief look, one Shawn recognizes from experience as her "try to get along" expression. To the rest of the party, she says, "Staying sounds like the best choice to me. I agree, we could use the rest."

With the majority having decided to rest for the night, the other villagers make what room for them they can. Supplies are starting to run low, and they're unable to offer their guests more than water; they seem eager to take Thirteen up on her offer as well, grateful for any food she can collect for them from outside. Luckily, the party was well-prepared for this trip, and for them food is not an issue. They could even share a bit, but of course that could end up poorly for them later on. It's fairly cramped in this building, even as large as it is, but if nothing else, it's warm and it's safe.

If Thirteen, Asp, and Phelan are heading out anyway, go ahead and post to that respect; otherwise, people are free to do a little CIing here. Stuff'll move along again shortly, this is just an excuse to let people do what they'd like.

by **Jak Snide** » Mon Apr 19, 2010 7:22 pm

Kongunvir refrained from sharing his rations with the villagers. Hopefully that Thirteen child would be able to find them something to eat and hand-outs would only provide for one meal. As well as leaving him hungry down the line. He didn't shy from conversation, asking a few questions of his fellow Planewalkers that he didn't feel were too intrusive, mainly about their previous travels across the planes. To those he listened intently, interrupting with an occasional request for an explanation of some aspect of the story.

by **ChristianC** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 1:22 am

Magpie would go with whatever the group chose to do, but if Phelan and the others decided to head out, she would join them, perhaps feeling a little guilty over her unintended callousness over Phelan's friend's fate.

As far as rations went, the construct hadn't packed much; she didn't need to eat after all, and if there were any rations set aside for her, she would gladly share them with the villagers.

"Thirteen," the light-green dots turned to the other construct, and a basic smile, just about all she could muster with her limited facial movement, grew, "If you desire help in obtaining more food resources, I would gladly help."

by **Besyanteo** » Tue Apr 20, 2010 11:37 pm

After a quick bite to eat and some water, Phelan stood up and padded over to the door... his tail fell as he looked at it with a short growl of irritation.

"Could someone help me with the door? I want to do some sniffing around before thinking about sleep. If I can figure out which direction the clockwork things came from, we won't have to spend extra time tomorrow morning figuring it out."

by **Kelne** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 3:42 am

"Sure thing," Asp said, "I'll come with you. I'm sure we'll come across something useful." Just hanging around the hall for the rest of the day wasn't on the agenda, and fetching supplies didn't seem all that interesting.

by **Idran1701** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 4:00 am

Plane of Ice - Village

While Kongunvir, Florence, and Shawn rest in the town hall, Magpie leaves with Thirteen to search for supplies. Asp begins searching for clues as to the nature of this threat in the village, while Phelan does his own investigation, hoping to pinpoint their source.

Magpie and Thirteen stay with Asp at first, gathering some of what was left behind in the mad rush to hole up in the hall. Firewood stores still look to be fairly full, though there's signs that the creatures might have been collecting from here; natural iceboxes of meat look to have been picked over entirely, with nicks and marks in the ice from either hungry animals, or the clockwork creatures. Dried goods are more plentiful should they actually enter the abandoned buildings, but without any sign of meat left in the village, the two constructs soon leave Asp to continue his investigation alone.

Magpie and Thirteen

Staying watchful for any sign of the threat of the clockwork beings, Magpie and Thirteen head outside the village to hunt. It doesn't take long for them to track down an arctic bear, small but adult, prowling about the icy plains outside the village near to a mile away, looking for any prey of its own. It's slow going, moving from hill to hill without spooking it, but constructs are anything if not patient, and within but an hour they've closed the distance to but a few hundred feet. While one bear isn't a lot of food, it's at least a start.

Asp

Asp continues his checking about the village, jumping from building to building in search of any sign of what the clockwork beings might want. Many of the collapsed buildings look to have been struck by the beings, with most of the damage from weakening of the walls, apparently areas where doorways were carved wider heedless of long-term consequences, to better allow the removal of their contents. There's obvious drag marks in the ice at half of the collapsed structures, but he can't figure out just what it was that was dragged. Still, it's something, at least.

Phelan

Phelan sniffs about the edge of the village in the midst of all this, not having a lot of luck; of course, the beings are mostly made of ice, so there's not a lot of them in particular to pick up. Soon enough, though, he picks up the scent of meat and salt left all about the ice. A large amount was dragged away, and fairly recently at that. It seems to be in the general direction the guard pointed out; perhaps it's just the sort of trail he was hoping to find?

Kongunvir and Shawn

Inside the hall, the atmosphere is still somewhat tense, yet many of the villagers seem relieved just at the idea of being rescued from this threat by this group of outsiders. While the guards remain on watch at the windows, an older woman approaches the three Planewalkers, sitting near to them, speaking with a strong Aquan accent. "I don't know if anyone's said this yet, but thank you. Do you think you can end this menace? I wasn't sure how much longer we could last here."

Jak, you've got Zant and I don't want to wait for you to wake up to post this; you go ahead and describe an Aquan accent.

by **Jak Snide** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 5:28 am

Kongunvir had a moment of difficulty understanding what the woman was saying, the lack of hard vowels or consonants being entirely at odds with his native language and caused her words to flow together. Thankfully she seemed to draw her words out as well, giving him enough time to grasp the meaning of them. He smiled reassuringly in response.

"They're raiders, no different than the goblins back home. They find an isolated target, attack in numbers and retreat before they run into any serious opposition. You track them back to their lair so they can't run and put them to the blade. I've taken part in dozens of such strikes and my friends are just as able as I. Those mechanical bastards will regret the day they took your kin once we're done with them."

He didn't bother to mention how such retributive attacks had always been a few dozen strong, nor the casualties occasionally involved. He quickly banished any doubts he had, reminding himself that he kept the company of exceptional sorts. That they barely numbered over half a dozen wasn't a concern when they were all veteran warriors or sorcerous types.

by **Kelne** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 6:13 am

Humming thoughtfully to himself, Asp set about figuring out what should be in those buildings, and what was missing out of that stuff. He also had a look in a couple of the non-ransacked buildings. Purely for comparative purposes, of course.

by **ChristianC** » Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:56 pm

Magpie was freezing.

This was, in many ways, a completely new feeling for her, and she decided she didn't much like it. Still, what for her was chilly was easily enough to kill a careless human, and she wrapped herself in her fur cloak as she watched the bear... She turned to Thirteen, speaking in a remarkably low tone while one eye still remained transfixed on the arctic bear.

"Thirteen, I presume you have some means of bringing down a creature from a distance? It is unfortunately a talent I am not gifted with."

by **Shinigori V2** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:53 am

Thirteen nods, making her way closer. "Yes." She replies quietly. "I can, from a distance."

As if to demonstrate, the floating swords at her back deploy and twirl quickly around her, before returning to place.

by **ChristianC** » Thu Apr 22, 2010 6:00 am

Magpie nodded as well, looking at the girl-looking construct and then added...

"I have been thinking, Thirteen. Your creators must be quite skilled, you do not look much like me." she smiles awkwardly and slightly lopsided, "I had myself altered slightly, do you think my creators would have minded that?"

by **Shinigori V2** » Fri Apr 23, 2010 3:25 am

"I cannot say." Thirteen says. "I do not know your creators."

As soon as she's in range, Thirteen holds up a finger, and gestures towards the bear, prompting one of her blades to split off and hover quietly towards the bear, intending to come down on it's neck for a quick, painless kill.

----

"I don't trust her." Shawn says quietly, digging through her pack. "And I don't trust her with Magpie. It's too conveniant. We're here looking for odd clockwork, she admitted to being odd clockwork."

She takes out one of her potions,a nd looks at it seriously. "I could turn to air and watch them. I dunno, though."

by **Idran1701** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:48 am

Plane of Ice - Village
Meeting Hall

The villagers nod to Kongunvir's confident statement of pending victory, as the aura of tension about the room eases some. Meanwhile, across the room, Florence sits with Shawn in a semi-private corner. "You think she might be involved, then? I don't think I could stop you from going out even if I tried, but do you think Magpie would really be in any danger from just her?"

Asp looks more carefully through the collapsed buildings, comparing them to the ones still standing. As far as he can tell, there's just about nothing at all left in the collapsed ones. There's no sign of any sort of furniture, even damaged or destroyed, while the other buildings still standing look to at least have a sleeping pad, and some more than that. It would appear that's what's been removed from the buildings. In the middle of this further investigation, Asp catches sight of Phelan on the edge of the city, sniffing about for any sign of a trail.

Open Fields

Thirteen slips slowly up towards the bear, until she draws closely enough to strike. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't spot the small bump in the ice in her path. A soft screech echoes forth as the tip of her boot scrapes against its surface, and the bear's head perks up. Reacting as quickly as she can, she sends a blade shooting towards it, hoping to take it down before this can go any further. The bear's too quick for her, unfortunately; the bear darts, and the sword just sends a slash down its back. But perhaps unexpectedly, the bear isn't running towards Thirteen; it's instead running away, in the general direction of the village. She can, luckily, keep up with it with a bit of effort, as could Magpie if she so wished.

by **Shinigori V2** » Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:51 am

Thirteen frowns, saying something in a language Magpie can't understand. She begins hovering again, and tilts forward, her blades splaying out behind her and forming 'wings' of sorts.

-----

"Did you see those swords? She's got like, eight of them floating around, and Magpie can't watch them all at once."

by **ChristianC** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 1:50 am

Reacting with surprising swiftness, the construct gives chase to the bear in silence, drawing her sword and having the kind of internal struggle you usually get when the adrenaline recedes. As a construct doesn't really have a gland for that, she was enjoying the full luxury of considering whether this was a good or bad act, and also she felt kind of sorry for the bear. Well, at least they weren't killing it for sport. Which was an odd thing to consider, since she'd never killed anything for sport before, and frankly couldn't tell what was and wasn't for sport, as most of her killing had been done at the whims of others.

Still, this felt a bit bad, which, she realized, was probably a good thing.

by **Kelne** » Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:48 am

Well, the buildings weren't going to turn up much more. Time to see whether Phelan had discovered anything, Asp decided, making his way over.

"Any luck?" he asked as he made it to within earshot.

by **Idran1701** » Sat May 01, 2010 1:44 pm

Plane of Ice - Village
Open Fields

The two constructs pursue the arctic bear towards the edge of the village; something's obviously got it severely spooked, more than just the two of them could account for. Near to the outskirts, it trips, stumbling into the ground. Panting, it tries to pull itself up, but this gives Thirteen and Magpie ample time to reach it. It doesn't last long under their weapons, and the bear soon lies dead on the tundra, ready to be butchered for the villagers.

Meeting Hall

"Well, if you want to go after her, go ahead." Florence smiles. "I'm sure she'd appreciate your concern, Shawn. And I think we're-"

Just then, the shout of a guard breaks the conversation. "Everyone, quiet!" Getting his crossbow ready, he keeps a close eye outside. "A half-dozen of them...something different about their arms too." Another guard rushes over to a nearby window on that side of the building, readying her own crossbow, eager for the creatures to get near enough to strike.

These are on the other side of the building from Asp/Phelan and Thirteen/Magpie, so they don't see the creatures just yet.

by **Besyanteo** » Sat May 01, 2010 9:16 pm

Phelan sort of grunts, in what sense that canines do such things.

"Not much. I... There's something weird about these white gears, but I can't figure out what it could be."

His heard jerks up as a hallow thump sounds nearby.

"... I smell bear. And something else. Come on."

He darted off, towards Thirteen, Magpie and the bear they'd been following.

by **Kelne** » Sun May 02, 2010 8:28 am

"A bear? Huh," Asp said, scurrying along in Phelan's wake, "I had a friend who was eaten by a passing bear once. Well, an acquaintance. Well, this guy who probably shouldn't've been trying to capture live bear cubs. And I suppose the bear wasn't so much passing as it was mum. Not much of a coincidence at all, as I think on it." Just where Asp found the breath to chatter while running was likely to remain one of those unsolved mysteries.

by **ChristianC** » Sun May 02, 2010 10:56 am

Magpie finishes off the bear with Thirteen with a sharp thrust of her blade into the head of the creature. Compassion-less, perhaps, but she has no cruelty in her, a swift dead is simply better for all involved. Once dead, Magpie spent little time lifting the dead bear, letting the blood drain out of the wounds.

"I admit I am not entirely familiar with butchery, my former master did not prefer me to catch food..." "He only ate vegetables." she added helpfully. "Do you think we should carry the body to the villagers for them to handle it?"

Seeing Phelan and Asp approach she gives the two a wave, smiling.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun May 02, 2010 7:32 pm

Had they been lying in wait all this time, he wondered, or was their timing simply a case of bad luck? He moved over to a window to steal a look at the enemy, shield and axe in hand. He'd already picked out his position by the door for if the creatures tried to break inside but reasoned that the creatures were far out enough for him to observe them first. The villagers weren't panicking and firing their crossbows after all.

by **Idran1701** » Sun May 02, 2010 8:17 pm

Plane of Ice - Village
Open Fields

Asp and Phelan reach Thirteen and Magpie, just as Magpie begins draining the carcass. The liquid flows from the slain bear, pooling and coagulating on the ice, but it's no blood they've seen. A deep, bruised purple, it's much thicker, oozing rather than dripping from the wounds. While it has the same metallic scent, it's much stronger, almost overwhelming in its odor, especially so to Phelan's sensitive nose. To the wolf, it smells as an entire charnel house emerged from the remains of a single creature.

Soon, far too soon for a creature of the bear's size, the flow stops, the body free of the unnatural substance. Steam emerges from the still-warm surface of the puddle, a heat that quickly fades into the chill of the plane.

Meeting House

Kongunvir peers out to observe the approaching creatures. Indeed, there is something vaguely crab-like of their form, with wide, flat bodies at least two feet across surrounded by thin, segmented legs ending in what look to be small claws, the limbs rising and falling as a wave as the creatures move forward. From the front of the creatures rises a thin, spindly torso. Though it possesses no head to be seen, what may be a single eye sparkles at the fore of the creature - not at the tip of the torso, but rather in the center of what should be its chest. Instead, the torso holds three similarly segmented arms, two on each side and a third from the top. While one of the arms indeed ends in a bladed surface as the guard described, of the other two one appears to be some sort of manipulating arm ending in three digits vaguely reminiscent of finger bones, while the third ends in nothing more but a massive spike, like a single prehensile ice pick.

The...things, whatever origin they have, move in unison towards the meeting house almost as a platoon, two wide and three deep. They move with surprising grace, navigating the ice with nary a slip, not wavering in a moment in their advance. Still some distance hence, there is still perhaps 5 minutes before they reach the building. Perhaps less should something urge them to quicken their pace.

by **Shinigori V2** » Sun May 02, 2010 8:34 pm

Thirteen's eyes narrow as she makes a gesture, prompting one of her blades to hover down, dip briefly into the ooze, and return to her line of sight. She begins to analyze it as best she can in these conditions.

----

Shawn looks out the window, more than a little spooked about what's coming their way. She turns to Florence, darkening. "I'm going out there. Alone."

She made sure to put stress on the last part of that, to make it absolutely clear.

by **Jak Snide** » Sun May 02, 2010 8:46 pm

Kongunvir forced himself to watch the creatures. He'd expected something like a golem or Magpie, not like...this. He'd seen monsters spawned from the deep that were more natural than them. That they marched in rank was simultaneously disconcerting and reassuring. He expected such things to scuttle erratically. That they didn't spoke of discipline, something that'd make his task even harder, but it was also something he could relate to. Despite their strange form these things were soldiers, or so he chose to see them. Then the child started spouting foolishness. What he feared was foolishness at least.

"I hope you plan to sneak away and bring the others back here." he said, moving to the doorway and readying himself to defend it. "Unless you've got some powerful sorcery about you those things will cut you to pieces."

by **Kelne** » Sun May 02, 2010 8:53 pm

"Do you think it's safe to eat?" Asp asked, regarding the bear with what seemed almost like suspicion, "I don't think bear blood is meant to be purple like that. Or smell like that."

by **Idran1701** » Sun May 02, 2010 9:34 pm

Plane of Ice - Village
Meeting Hall

"You aren't planning to fight them, are you?" Florence scowls, looking between Shawn and the window. "Because Kongunvir's right. And if you are, then I'm heading out with you."

Open Fields
Thirteen looks over the substance, trying to see whatever she can figure out about it.

Thirteen:

Spoiler:

by **Shinigori V2** » Sun May 02, 2010 9:37 pm

"It won't be much of a fight." Shawn smiles, reaching into her bag for a potion.

If Florence has nothing else to say, she'll concentrate on transforming into air, and slipping out the window.

----

Thirteen, perhaps for the first time, shows some emotion, as she thrusts her hand up into the air, causing all eight of her blades to shoot up, before gesturing downwards at the bear, as the blades streak down from the sky, slicing the bear as well as they're able.

"It's a machine." She says.

by **ChristianC** » Mon May 03, 2010 5:08 am

Magpie was a tad bit perplexed at the sight of the 'blood' coming out of the bear.. and even more by Thirteen's statement.

"A machine? Interesting construction..." she prodded at the dead bear, watching Thirteen set about her messy work, "We will have to try it. I offer to. After all, I assume I am made of sturdier stuff than the others..." the construct had a slight smile on her face. Clearly she thought she'd been clever.

by **Jak Snide** » Mon May 03, 2010 6:22 am

Kongunvir wanted to see just what Shawn was up to. She did seem supremely confident. That meant she either knew what she was doing or she mistakenly believed she knew what she was doing. Florence wasn't helping matters, and when she declared her intentions he spoke up.

"So, do I let you two go off to throw yourselves on the blades of those things or go with you and leave everyone here exposed?" He was beginning to resent the lack of command within the group. Even if it wasn't him who was issuing orders it'd prevent them from bickering over who was doing what.

by **Kelne** » Mon May 03, 2010 9:12 am

"Is it?" Asp leaned in close to take a good look, heedless of flashing blades, "It's certainly pretty convincing on the outside. Do you think it was a regular bear once? It'd be sort of like taxidermy, only the subjects get to walk around when you're done. Classic bad guy behaviour, too. Kidnap the local wildlife, turn it into your loyal minions, conquer the world. They never quite seem to manage step three though," he said, shaking his head sadly, "I think they're missing a few intermediate stages in there somewhere."

by **Idran1701** » Mon May 03, 2010 7:32 pm

Plane of Ice - Village
Open Fields

Thirteen's blades slash the bear carcass, opening its innards to the air. However, it seems her conclusion isn't quite right. The interior at first looks just as one would expect, organs and viscera spilling out onto the ground. Asp is the first to see it, but the rest soon follow suit - a regular motion from the depths of the creature, at its center. In place of its heart is a translucent cloth sac, with veins and arteries stitched into its edge. The device still twitches, its movements revealing a small collection of thin metallic tendrils stretching from it throughout the bear's mass, from head to tail, still shining with "blood".

Meeting Hall

"Sh-" Florence sighs, climbing quickly to her feet as Shawn vanishes out the window. The other villagers stare on, while Florence heads for the door, looking to Kongunvir before heading out. "No one's throwing themselves on blades. I'm going to get Shawn out of there before she gets hurt. So are you coming, or not?" The other villagers understandably look reticent to follow after her; it's wholly on the dwarven noble to make this decision.

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon May 03, 2010 8:30 pm

Shawn drifted down into the robot's path, and reformed herself as...Well, herself, except with a body made of air, and a cyclone replacing her lower body. Oddly, her hair was a bit shorter too, kind of boyish, despite the otherwise more female form. She stretched her arms over her head, and made the motion of cracking her neck, despite not being physical at the moment. "Okay." She said to the machines, "Which one of you is in charge here?"

----

"I've never seen anything like this before." Thirteen said with some hint of amazement. "There's absolutely nothing on it in my data."

by **Idran1701** » Mon May 03, 2010 9:12 pm

Plane of Ice - Village
Clockwork Platoon

Shawn hovers before the six creatures, as they briefly pause. Shawn gets the feeling that they're all gazing over her, before they resume their trek, moving forward without even breaking rank to go around her, instead simply passing through her form harmlessly.

by **Shinigori V2** » Mon May 03, 2010 10:10 pm

"I was hoping you'd say that." Shawn says. She briefly looks towards the refuge, checking to make sure she has an audiance, before she starts inhaling.

To some, it might seem like a silly thing, a girl made out of air taking a deep breath. But, she closes her eyes and clenches them, as her body begins to grow. She continues inhaling, deeper than any human could, as her body expands to almost three times her normal height, just over ten feet all said. She relaxes, again checking the status of her audiance, before she sucks her stomach in, making it a bit more slender, as she flexes her arms, they themselves bulking up a bit...Before the mass slides down her arms, back into her gut.

With a look of annoyance, her cyclone becomes more intense, as she causually hovers over one of the attackers in the back, attempting to suck it up, whip it around and slam it back down into the ice.

by **Jak Snide** » Tue May 04, 2010 6:33 am

"Wait here." His words were directed at the villagers and they weren't a suggestion. The child was going to drag Florence and himself into a bad situation but he'd be damned if the people they'd come to save were going to abandon their defences. There was no way he could stay behind though. Not when a little girl and some human had marched off outside to confront the threat. How would that make him look?

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