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 Krishga smiles when the heretofore rather thorny Olan accepts her offer of help, in her own way. “If I had to guess, I’d say some ancient pointy-eared tinkerer decided that if they were going to mass-produce the rank and file of their autonomous army, you either choose stupid obedience or adaptability and independent thinking, not both, it’d cost too much! Besides, the powerful always get warm, fuzzy feelings when those under them don’t even think about why so few are on top and so many under their boot, huh?” There is no response, neither from Olan nor Konas. Krishga clears her throat. “Alright! Let’s get you out of here, because they might be stupid, but there’s a lot. We can join up with Aldebaran and the other and - what in the depths is that?!” With eyes wide, for a few moments, Krishga cannot do anything other than stare at the glowing, consuming fiery sphere growing at the side of where not so long ago Aldebaran, Maia and the others were preparing alongside the fellowship - preparing to defend their home. The goblin’s mind is afire, trying to fathom what it is she is seeing, and though she knows she cannot discard magic, to her the giant conflagration looks like the molten steel flowing through a factory, all condensed into a gargantuan bubble. Then, it suddenly seems to her more like what she and other goblin tinkerers have imagined certain as-of-yet theoretical reactors would look like, if all containment failed, and in an instance, the thought of a giant ball of molten steel does not seem as frightening anymore. Krishga swallows hard, and pulls herself back into the here and now. “Konas, Olan, first things first! Hold on!” The Maximus once again leaps into the air, towards where Branwen, Anastasia and the people from the tower have gathered. Time stretches as the Mk III sails through the air and Krishga is transfixed by the phenomenon, her eyes transfixed. “It doesn’t look any smaller from up high… alright, you two, if any one of you has any idea what we’re looking at, I have my ears…” The Maximus lands, only a few meters away from where Branwen, Anastasia and Aldebaran are, precise and graceful for its size. “...perked even more than usual!” She turns her battle suit towards the tower, hands flying over the Maximus’ controls in a whirlwind of activity, flipping switches and routing what sensors the Mk III has to her monitors. “Konas, Olan! I’m putting the feed onto the screen in the passenger compartment, which is… now unlocked, if you know anything, now’s your chance to dazzle me. I know you want to.” She flips the screen in front of her through multiple readouts, trying to find something, anything that might tell her what is now consuming the home of the people they came here to protect. “Aldebaran!” The Maximus’ finger points at him without her pilot even having to look at the controls. “Is there anyone still inside? Whatever that is, we may not be able to stop it in time, so we need to get everyone to safety!” quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [6, 3, 1] Result: 11 Reason: Look Closely with Konas' help
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Dec 31, 2021 20:30
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 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ |  : Cruel Beast [] || Carpe Jugulum []---------------------------------------------------------------------------  SUNN O))) - Big Church [[megszentségteleníthetetlenségeskedéseitekért]]I let out a huff of wordless relief and sag into Aldebaran's grip. They're listening to me. I've done all I can. The biggest threats are secure. Now I can...wait. Why did he freeze up? Oh no. I follow Aldebaran's gaze up to the growing disaster, and spare a moment of grief for Sulhafah's kitchen, and for Sulhafah himself, if he even still lives. All those charmed dishes -- all those recipes. For a panicked moment I contemplate calling for Krishga and running for it: just abandon all this, leave An'Ehan, climb aboard and run like hell for the seafloor. But would this, this thing stop growing, even if we can break through the Talosi and escape? What would happen to Meshaia? I give my sister a look-over again. She's still standing atop the prone Nine, boot upon his face, but she's...off somewhere. Boring a hole with her gaze into the pulsating blister of fire. Not a hint of movement on her changed face but for the wind that stirs her hair. I think I see the ghost of a glow flicker across her cheeks; an auroral light, faint and gone, like golden fingers brushing. I look up. What the gently caress. Why not? It's not like we're really that different anymore, is it? We've both got more than one somebody living in our heads now. We've both been touched by something, someOne, larger than ourselves. Even when we were young, mom would bring us to Nashira's temple in Blutfeuch for the lay festivals and lesser conjunctions. Now, Branwen's found her Bombarda, the true sun far away and small, and I've got... you.  Only you. And only me. 𒊩𒀭𒁇𒅴, of no star but my own. Alhena, are you there? Are you here? Can either of you even hear me!? Hey! Faint acknowledgement. The sound of a bowl shattering, forests creaking. A wash of blue dizziness, a faint ponytail trail of dust curling around my ankles - Thank goodness. We-all thought I was wrapping up down here, but apparently something...much worse than that is here now. Do any of you/(we/(I/(us/))) know what the hell that thing is that just ate the kitchen? We need to put it out before it eats the rest of your house too! Xom posted:Roll: [5, 2] Result: 7 Alumnus Post fucked around with this message at 17:36 on Jan 5, 2022 |
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Dec 31, 2021 20:57
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On a 9-, one of their answers is not helpful. Either they refuse to answer or they reveal a terrible truth you didn't want to hear, their choice.
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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BLOOD: 2 || COURAGE: 1 || GRACE: 2 || SENSE: -1 || WISDOM: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I guess that’s enough to get these machines to get cold feet. Something must’ve changed out there. I hear word from Olan, the machine commander’s down. Great! All that’s left is cleaning up the remaining machines. With where they’re fleeing, it’d be a cinch to chase ‘em down, and salvage what they’d be holding. At least, I thought that before I feel a tremor in the waves. I peek out of the reef, and see a vent going off in the tower. What the hell? There shouldn’t be any problems here, not unless… Oh… gently caress! ”ping to all” posted:I think this might be that... Undead goo’s doing. The 'guest' that was visiting. Heading in to see if I can destroy it. I race to the Tower, right to the oven where I put the goo, and hope to the Moons i didn’t just doom their home. pre:Konas shall be assisting Krishga in Looking Closely to the flaming sphere by getting as close as possible to it.
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Jan 1, 2022 00:14
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Konas With Krishga and the Maximus, crossing the distance is simple. the Talosi did not try to stop you, and a glance back at them shows they are moving much more swiftly now that neither you or Olan are near them. As the Maximus lands and kicks up shards of coral you are already halfway through your dismount and sprinting into the tower. You see a small group of Shivans just inside with the shark-headed orc man Zagubal and the small seahorse-faced girl Gienah in front, spears at the ready to defend the gate. Your muscles are starting to burn from your exertions, battling and evading the Talosi, and these granite stairs aren't helping. It isn't anything you can't shake off, of course. You and your fellows sometimes spent days awake in the war against Aqualantis - this is nothing. You feel the heat before you reach the landing with the stone archway into Sulhafah's domain. Sulhafah himself is still there, meat cleaver in hand as he stares inside. The old triton-snail Gogolia is also there, trident and shield held casually before him. He seems indifferent to the baking heat, despite that he must be suffering terribly from it. "Konas." He inclines his head. "We know not what this devilry may be. It erupted from the ovens and consumed all." "...Jag kan inte laga eld." Sulhafah adds. Looking out to where the café once was, it has been half consumed by this sphere of flame. It hurts to look directly at it, so intense is the flame but you think you see something within. A large, vaguely humanoid figure seems to be slowly coming into being. Maybe a teleporter of some kind? A summoning spell perhaps. Krishga The Maximus' sensors make it clear: do not approach. The heat being generated by that fiery sphere is enough to liquify stone and it is only the peculiar fact that this...magic(?) is consuming its surroundings that prevents molten slag from raining below. The sphere itself is roughly five meters in diameter, and is very slowly drifting closer to the tower proper. The stone floor of the café is being consumed in its wake, crumbling upwards into the flame globe. You cannot tell if it is consuming the surroundings as fuel or simply incinerating it and the sole upside you can see is that the sphere is no great hurry. Your scans and Konas' own input suggests this is neither a summoning spell nor is it a teleport. Nothing is coming in from elsewhere - the thing inside that sphere is being built somehow. As for what would happen if you asked Meshaia to intervene? You have absolutely no idea. Considering that Meshaia had gone from a calm azure to a stark and unpleasant white may render the question moot. Anastasia A loud crack like thunder erupts, and a small circle of coral cracks and is blown away as Alhena appears, hovering a few feet above the ground. Her eyes glow bright blue, and her voice calls out in a calm measured fashion. "No. No. I am not fighting you but we have to work together. You are not allowed to seize unilateral control. We agreed on this." The glow dims slowly and Alhena descends to the ground. "Sorry about that. We're uh, still working things out. Meshaia is...extremely eager." She cocks her head. "Hold on...poo poo." As she says this the ambient light shifts instantaneously. The alien yet comforting blue tones are replaced by stark white lighting, and a look up shows Meshaia has shifted into a roiling white sphere that seems somehow cold in spite of the uncomfortable hot itching the light is causing on your exposed skin.  Its coronal arcs dance in an elaborate tandava, and you are Alhena looking at yourself, your mind awash in senses you lack the organs to experience. Taste the she-orc's Fear and Exhilaration. Focus on your core, feel the Morning Glory's divine engine thrum in the Astral - a nexus of explosive power and explosive thought. Little wonder at Maia's outburst or the Shivan's willingness to risk their lives on a hope and a prayer. You are looking at the Flesh-That-Hates and the MORNING GLORY, the Pattern-Mind and the Sea-That-Marched from on high and the possibility that these creatures might set you free is terrifying. It's been so long and it's so hard to make sense of things. Now the poison called Unyielding-Tongue has wormed its way into every part of you and given rise to the worst feeling in the world. Hope that you can be whole again, and the fear of failure that must accompany it. <<even a ninth dimensional mind is not completely unrelatable, I guess you still suck>> You are back in your/her body, Anastasia before you, her eyes blazing white. "We have agreed, and thus: If you are determined to cast caution aside and tie your fate to mine/(hers/((yours)) then take up your sword. My/(Our/(Your/(The))) enemy is Here. Alhena/Meshaia/You raise your hand and with a flick of your wrist, cut a hole in space. quote:Take up your sword, swear yourself as Meshaia's knight, and slay its foe. (You'll reach in, grab hold of Duchess' collar, and pull her through. Remember to apologize to Staff Sergeant Lobel later) Branwen There is explosive energy radiating out of the sphere. The sphere itself is just that - a round shell. While terrifyingly hot, there's nothing more to it and is curious only for the fact that it has no apparent source. But within, furious industry! Millions of microscopic explosions building upwards in the silhouette of a great man-shaped creature with the head of a bull. It is as though the explosions were assembling it somehow. The explosions soon stop and the sphere of flame begins to dim. The power you sense now is unmistakable. You fought against something similar in Aqualantis, what was perhaps your most vicious and relentless foe. Scrimshaw. Formavit. And you even know which one: Estoladion Hawkbinder. The first formavit to fall to the power of Storm. "We honor Günnar on this day, and to him we offer up this parade. The sacrificial auroch is washed and adorned as an honored noble and led through the streets before it is taken outside the city to the place where Estoladion fell, and it is ritually shot in the head by an anti-tank rifle in remembrance of the hallowed might of the 13.2mm cartridge." Everyone The flame sphere vanishes entirely and a large man-bull figure hefting an enormous axe stands where the flames once were. He is easily three and half meters tall and rippling with muscle. He appears as though molded from half-cooled magma, but does not seem to drip smoldering droplets as he moves. Though he does radiate heat, it is nowhere close to the intolerable conflagration he used to be surrounded by. His head is thrown back and he is howling in a deep, guttural voice. Almost in response, Meshaia abruptly shifts from its normal azure to a stark white color, with all the warmth of a prison floodlight.  Those of you familiar with elven are able to translate easily enough: in between screams of agony, "NO! drat YOU! I GAVE MY LIFE ONCE ALREADY, I DESERVE TO REST!" Further protests are cut off as his inarticulate bellows begin again, his free hand clutching his skull as he staggers and wings wildly with his axe. He's not dangerous just yet, but it is clear that whatever mental battle he is having, he is also losing. quote:Estoladion Hawkbinder, Formavit of He Whose Blood Is As Fire
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Jan 3, 2022 06:50
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Even though by now she should be used to the Triton’s voice in her head, Krishga is once again briefly disoriented by Konas’ words. “Wait, Konas, what do you mean by - and he’s run off.” Unnecessarily, the Maximus reaches out to the Triton making his way towards the tower, though it makes Krishga notice that the fiery sphere that only a few moments ago had threatened to expand ever further and consume the tower and perhaps the entire giant underwater cave has collapsed, leaving behind something that at a distance looks like some sort of sizable humanoid figure to Krishga. She turns the Maximus around to take counsel with her companions and the people of the tower, only to see Anastasia lost in some sort of trance, Alhena closeby. Krishga wordlessly watches them for a few moments, and soon she notices that the words they share, even though she cannot understand all of them, Anastasia’s sudden movements, all align with something the Goblin only now realizes is happening - the light of Meshaia shifting, changing hue. Krishga looks at Branwen, having stopped pummeling 1001, at Aldebaran and the others, but those that do stare at the sudden change in their star seem to look at others, hoping that in them they would see certainty, understanding and decisiveness. The Goblin throws up her hands. What is it with all this constant stream of magic nonsense?! We somehow survive fighting an army of robots out in the open, which was still stupid, and there’s still enough robots left that I should say ‘survived for now’, and now suddenly there’s ‘undead goo’, only sounds like for Konas it was not sudden, because he knew something about it, but I don’t even know if I can blame him, because who can keep all this poo poo straight? And 1001? Just collapsed for… some reason! Nothing any of us did had any effect, and then he just... stops and lets himself get beat up? And what does Anastasia do, after her brilliant ‘let’s fight them head on’ plan and getting herself really hurt -poor Ana- what does she do? At least to me it looks like she goes right back to having her brain scrambled by the all-powerful intelligence! Again! Krishga takes a big breath in and slowly lets it out. “Alright.” She once again activates the Maximus’ loudspeakers and addresses the people around her. “Branwen. I hope Anastasia knows what she’s… doing there, you’d know if she’ll need your help. 1001… looks like he’s out, for now, and we have some new mess to take care of.” There is a pause. “And remember… he’s been forced to do this. I tried to help him, and maybe I still can. I know he hurt Ana, but… he’s not fighting back right now. Leave him be, huh?” She clears her throat. “Still! Aldebaran! Try to tie that war machine up as best you can, but as soon as it starts moving, you all get away as quickly as you can. I don’t want anyone fighting that thing - just keep watch. Alright.” Krishga rolls her shoulders and turns the Maximus towards the tower, with its burned-out flank. For a moment Krishga has the inappropriate thought of comparing the sight to having taken an ice cream scoop to a tub of delicious ice cream. “I’m jumping over there to see what in the abyss is going on now. Konas is already there. He is quick. Any of you coming? Then hop on!” Krishga waits to see if any of the others wish to join her, then, with a few by now well-practiced leaps, clears the distance to the tower’s platform where she can see Konas, some other residents and the large, humanoid figure that emerged from the flaming sphere. The Maximus lands in the remains of Sulhafah’s kitchen, unrecognizable except for a few remaining pieces of silverware and dishes scattered across the floor, half-melted. Only now is Krishga able to see the scene from up close, and the sight of the giant raging half-bull man seemingly made out of magma beneath brittle gray skin takes her aback. “Great gears!” First Krishga is too shocked to do anything, then she is unsure, and then she simply watches the half-bull, screaming, clutching his head, clearly more in pain itself than wishing harm on anyone else, for the moment. She considers asking the others - Konas, Sulhafah, some other mutated snail-denizen of the tower - if any of them understand the bull’s words, but then she decides that for now she understands enough. The Maximus takes a few steps to the side to fetch one of Sulhafah’s few remaining gigantic cooking pots, sprints over to the great water column in the center of the tower to fill the pot to the brim with water, and then just as quickly, the Goblin’s battle suit makes her way back. This is a stupid idea. A really stupid idea. Just let me live to regret it, at least, huh? Far slower than before, carefully, as if a zookeeper approaching a dangerous animal to be fed, Krishga pilots the Maximus closer to the giant bull-man, until eventually the Mk III is within striking distance of its great, savage-looking ax. With the Maximus’ hand further away from that weapon, Krishga offers the big pot filled with water - all while nervously reading herself for parrying an ax strike with the Mk III’s other arm, but keeping the anxiety, even fear, out of her own voice as she addresses her counterpart. “Would you like a drink? To… cool down? You seem to be in pain, or confused, is there anything I can do to help?” The Maximus’ hand is steady as it holds out the pot. Krishga’s hand on the controls trembles, almost imperceptibly, but it trembles.
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Jan 4, 2022 20:47
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Krishga The giant's eyes roll over white and spittle froths and drips from his maw as he rages. As you approach the bull-man with your offering he swings around on you and seems to freeze in place, his axe hanging loosely from one hand, his head still clutched in the other. He stares at you blindly until he is suddenly seized with a violent spasm, his body and limbs contorting painfully. You see blood begin to seep from his nostrils and the corners of his eyes and just as you consider pressing your offer of help, the seizure ends. The great minotaur stares at you, his rolled-over eyes finally returning to proper focus. Yet the absolute burning anger in those eyes almost makes you wish he'd go back to...whatever was just happening. "The Choir demands an end to all discord." His voice booms out like rolling thunder. "We will once more be blessed by the Inmost Light! Your interference is intoleraaaaaaaaaaaable!" He drags the final syllables out as he rears up with his axe, preparing to bring it down directly onto the Maximus! She might be tough but this big pissed-off side of beef has divine strength flowing through those already prodigious muscles. This isn't a fight you're going to win on your own! Lucky for you that's hardly a concern - alongside your comrades, you have the Shivans backing you up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVP48x4U7QE [Meshuggah - Aztec Two Step] Shardix fucked around with this message at 03:56 on Jan 5, 2022 |
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Jan 5, 2022 03:40
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Battle of An'Ehon Aldebaran [Leadership, Strong Arm]: Securing 1001 Sheliak, Rastaban [Guard]: Securing the deactivated Argus Gienah [Dirty Fighting]: Standing guard at the tower base (knives in places knives ought not be) Zagubal-wu-Azar [Iron Discipline]: Standing guard at the tower base (he'll hold his ground and do his job even if the world is ending) Zibal [Swift as a Fish]: One floor above the café, overseeing the crossbowmen (while of limited use in out-of-water combat, she can be where you need her when you need her) Sulhafah [Eat the Weak, Feed the Strong]: Near the café entrance (Sulhafah is skilled at exploiting his foe's openings, and providing those openings to his allies. In a fight he is surprisingly nimble considering his bulk, and hack through meat and bone or julienne fries with equal aplomb.) “Tear-’em-to-Pieces” Gogolia [Hold The Line]: Near the café entrance (In spite of his age and frailty, Gogolia is tough and not easy to move or bypass) Alhena [Minor Reality Revision, Punk Snot Dead]: Wherever you need her to be (she can assist or attack in just about any fashion you care to describe, without much concern for physics. she is very difficult to stop or dissuade when opposing what would generally be referred to as, "The Man" and its systems.) Maia [Arcane Art, Inspiring Presence]: Whereabouts unknown These NPCs will be descriptively part of the battle, but it is up to you to have them contribute mechanically via your bonds
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Jan 5, 2022 04:20
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ | : Cruel Beast [] || Carpe Jugulum []---------------------------------------------------------------------------  One Sky Above Us - If These Trees Could TalkMy hand shoots out and seizes my/her/its/our collar, drawing her/me/we/it into an iron embrace. Heat and terror and jagged joy surge through me, and a grin fit to cut the world apart. My/her/their other hand gropes in nothingness, prickling with phantom inputs from the space between space. You two listen, then, if that's how important I am to you. 'Cuz this is how it goes. I always already had tied myself to you! Not as your knight, Meshaia; but don't ever think that means I'm not/hadn't/won't fight/fought/fighting for you. But as an equal, you understand? Or not at all! Honestly! Do you think I came here to bind you when I looked in your eyes that/time/first/then? Do you think I, of all people, came here to swear fealty to somebody? Save it for your dead master. Alhena didn't get a choice, but from here on out, we both get one. We all do. From our coronas' dancing glories I coax out a strand of shining chain. Oh, yes. Did you think I was getting cold feet about this? Never. Did I ever say I didn't love how eager you are? Never, because I do/did/will have loved it. I need you too, you know? Both of you, for what's to come. For what's waiting for your people beyond this cavern, this safe place, the walls of An'Ehan. Oh, you've been safe for so long, but it's going to get so much worse from here-- So if you feel what you feel about me, then hear y'all this: if we're gonna wear these chains for one another, this is something we can all take off, any time we want. No other way this works. Here by our own free choices, or never at all. That's how it is. Now let's get to work. And with a toss of my arms I weld that tie about us, limb to limb, sense to sense, mind to mind; binding us together as gentle as fog, as tight as a promise. * * * As I pull the bonds snug, my/her/our hand brushes against something. A clump of....sparse wiry hair?! I grip hard, yank, feel something shift itself under my fingers. A spot of wetness touches the back of my hand and the whatever-it-is I've got hold of tenses like a coiled spring. Then I'm knocked flat on my back, staring up into Meshaia like an interrogation-room floodlight, while my very own Duchess Camellia Dechiréur de Gorge strips all the skin off my face with her tongue, chirping and screeching and carrying on. To anyone else it probably sounds like panic or pain, but I hear the utter joy in her voice as clear as day. "Down, girl, down, down!" I throw an arm around her shoulder and pull her off balance, scratching along her neck and behind her ears, as amazed to see her here as she is to see me. "Oh, I missed you I missed you I missed you so much--" She throws her head back in delight - and she and I spy the surviving Talosi approaching, more rapidly every moment. We freeze. "We gotta go now, babe," I whisper in her ear. "Up." I hoist myself onto her back, and spare a glance for my sister. Branwen remains as quiet as a bomb in the act of falling, but now there's a coiled tension to her stance that wasn't there before. Something's got to give soon, but I can't stick around to watch it happen. I slap Duchess' rump and gig her over towards the grand gateway, and gesture to Alhena. "Inside, c'mon. Hup-hup." * * * The tower's ground-floor is all but deserted, but for its defenders and a scattering of incautious water-dwellers in the central column, rattled by the fighting but with nowhere to flee. I see Gienah and Zagubal, heads together, conferring in some kind of rapid sign language; Aldebaran's caste-mates lugging the deactivated Argus down an inconspicuous set of side-stairs; and a runner for Zibal's boys at the foot of the great stair, looking about ready to break and run for his life. A livid red heat glares from the wreckage of Sulhafah's café, and an echoing scream that sends raw terror bolting down my spine. That was elvish. Whatever it is, I should be up there - but the Talosi are coming now. "Alhena," I say softly. "Give us a barricade on the doors - something to slow them down so we can kill 'em. Then get up to the kitchen. Help the others however you can. Don't hold back. We'll hold them here. If you need me, call. Be careful." Then I turn to the rest. "They're coming! Make ready!" I bark hoarsely, waving Aldebaran over to us. Duchess balks at his unfamiliar scent, but accepts him readily (if warily) when I scold her. "Tell Zibal's boys to fire when ready, then get 'em down here. There's no one left outside." "Gienah, Zagubal, with me. We'll hold this side. Aldebaran, you take your two and hold the other side. We've got them now. Hold them here and it's over..." new Bonds posted:I cast caution to the wind at An'Ehan, and joined Meshaia's fate with mine. Alumnus Post fucked around with this message at 03:22 on Jan 13, 2022 |
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Jan 12, 2022 23:17
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 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLD +2 || COU +2 || GRA -1 || SEN +0 || WIS +2 Blessings: Strength[ ] || Speed[X] || Glory[ ] || Power[X][X] Gear: Armor[X] || Fuel[ ][ ][ ] Hilda: Crack Shot[ ] || Quick As A Bullet [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Branwen stumbles a bit when landing post-slamming into 1001, caught completely off guard by the lack of response and entirely limp motion. She stares at the seemingly deactivated warbot until finally she hears Ana shouts "Stop!" She looks up and sees the desperation, the fear in her half sister's face. And Branwen feels herself breathing heavily, despite how unnecessary it has become to her. She tries to run her hand over her head and through her hair, only to glimpse the strange stump and incomprehensible mechanisms of her own body. And then Ana doubles over and Bran is already moving to her side. "Are you okay?" Ana waves her off, clearly trying to catch her breath. Branwen awkwardly gestures back across the gap. "I'll... Uh. Just gotta go uh, rearm, I guess." Branwen manages awkwardly. It is as she's returning that the strange, fire-like Growth bursts forth from the tower, a cyst of malcontent heat. Staring at it some part of her feels the explosive potential it radiates. But no, more accurately, the explosive potential of what lies within. And it bursts out of its confines, roaring in both pain and fury, lamenting it once more walking the world in elvish. Estoladion Hawkbinder, The Bane of Cadses, The Bull of the Dominion. His question is also Branwen's. How, why? But it seems someone is already moving to act. "I'm with you, Krishga." is Bran's reply as she grabs onto the Maximus as it shifts to leap up the tower. And as the suit grabs a pot of water, Branwen can only mutter a "Th' hell is she thinking...?" as the goblin attempts diplomacy. It ends as Bran feared, but hoped it wouldn't, with the massive fiery ax coming down to cleave through the Maximus. "Get back!" Branwen shouts as she kicks off the Maximus, sending the machine back a few steps as she tries to catch the weapon and halt its descent. Branwen being slammed into the floor cracks the tile and sends up clouds of dust as Estoladion roars in unabated fury, placing his second hand on the haft of his weapon and moves to shove it deeper. However, he hits resistance, and snarls as a second blast of tile cracking and dust scatter force erupts from the floor, Branwen rising uninjured from the massive strike. "If you would accept the respite of death, I shall give it to you with grace and mercy Estoladion Hawkbinder. You have died and are deserving of rest. If you cannot..." and with a heft Bran shoves the axehead up with enough force to drive Estoladion back a few paces to steady the weapon. "My Matron's might will make Storm seem a meager bee sting." Hopefully, the bullelf would be coherent enough to understand his native tongue. quote:Xom — 01/06/2022 ArkInBlack fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Jan 28, 2022 |
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Jan 13, 2022 17:32
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The Maximus stumbles back as Branwen disembarks with a jump with an almost explosive force, and while Krishga fights to keep her battle suit in balance, part of her goes through the equations to determine the physics of what just happened. The Goblin’s train of thought is cut short when the bullman’s gigantic axe falls where a moment ago Krishga and the Maximus just stood - and under the axe, Branwen. Behind Krishga, the giant pot she tried to offer the bullman rolls across the floor, spilling the last of its water. “Branwen!” Krishga cries out, ready to charge in, but after a moment, the cloud of dust from the axe’s impact settles and there stands her companion amidst cracked floor tiles, unbowed, muscles gleaming. The tinkerer fights back the impulse to make it clear that the Maximus could have taken the hit as just well, less from actual certainty than the fact that someone did it while on foot, albeit a woman as far as possible from someone ordinary such as Branwen. Get it together, Tazz! Branwen just risked her life for me, so how about I don’t just tell her about how great the Maximus is - which should be self-evident, really - but show her and return the favor, huh? The bullman and Branwen fight on and Krishga charges forth, circling around to the back of their fiery opponent, reyling not on stealth but her hope that, similar to a normal bull, his rage will keep him focused on the obvious threat right in front of him. The great axe swings wildly, but for the moment, none of the strikes seek Krishga as she approaches the bullman from behind in the Maximus. There is a brief lull, the bullman blowing what might well be scalding hot steam from giant nostrils, and Branwen uses the chance to address him in a tongue that to Krishga’s ear sounds like the same as the interloper used, at least when not howling in pain and rage. The Goblin is not sure if Branwen’s words have any impact, but she uses the quiet moment to quickly close in on the bullman from behind while he is not swinging his oversized weapon around. Krishga wraps the Mk III’s arms under her opponent’s armpits and grabs one of the bullman’s horns each, catching him in a standing full nelson, only adapted to someone with horns. “Branwen! You understand what he’s saying?!” The bullman roars and twists his head around, but the Maximus holds fast, and both of them stumble back a few feet. “My oversized friend, if I know Branwen, she just told you she’ll beat you up if you don’t calm down, so…” He tries to shake off Krishga, throw her forward, but the Maximus wraps metal legs around the massive torso and digs in like a tick. “So calm down, huh? You didn’t like the pot of water, that’s alright, a little plain, I understand, maybe some tea instead? Shhhh, shhhhh…” The bullman twists and turns, even trying to strike the metal thing clinging to his back with his axe, but to no avail. “What’s the…. You have a plan, Branwen? Who is this bull?” quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [6, 2] Result: 11 Reason: Keep Estoladion Busy nil. fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Aug 13, 2022 |
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Jan 15, 2022 22:02
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Branwen The massive bull-man recovers his footing after you hurl him back, a look of astounded rage on his face. He bellows at you, chest thrust forward and arms held up. "Heretic Sun! The only peace is in your destruction!" Flame jets from his nostrils, and the tips of his horns burn redder. Yet you can tell in spite of his taunts and posturing he has enough sense to be wary of you now. Your strength is not to be scoffed at - it is backed by the very powers that felled him the first time. As he narrows his eyes and considers how to probe your defenses, the Maximus leaps from behind and seizes hold of his horns and hauls back like she's gonna make a wish! He responds as you'd expect, thrashing and raging, battering the sides of the Maximus brutally in spite of his disadvantaged his position is. The pain seems only to spur him further in his attempts to destroy her. Your strength proved the better and Estoladion's attack was thwarted! Krishga has him in a nasty hold but the Maximus will not withstand a focused beating for long, even considering the relative positions they are in. He is exposed, giving you Advantage but it will not last long. What do you do? Krishga Estoladion recovers from Branwen's blow and postures, bellowing something in a guttural elvish. You seize the opportunity to dart around and wrap the Maximus' massive mitts around his horns pull him into a painful lock! His response is immediate and expected, and he begins thrashing wildly and bellowing in fury at this absolute dishonor. It's all you can do to hold on as your erstwhile ride rages against you until you finally manage to get a leg around him. As your struggle continues stress warnings begin going off, in addition to sensor malfunctions in the hands. The heat pumping out of this minotaur and into his horns risks is starting to melt your armor and could effectively result in you welding your wrists to his head. A klaxon you don't even remember installing starts blaring a particularly irritating wail as the head of the colossal axe impacts part of your jump assembly. His free hand grasps blindly for a a leg or arm of yours to seize, and it is clear he means to crush the life from you if he gets the opportunity. You must act decisively. If you escape before Estoladion can retaliate, the advantage will be lost. If you remain, then we must see how sturdy this suit really is. What do you do? Konas The great fiery bullman brings his axe down onto the Maximus and by proximity you, when Branwen leaps to the fore and catches the blow! Hurling her foe back, Krishga and her armor suit take the opportunity to leap upon and ride him like she's breaking a seahorse to saddle. Gogolia and Olan are at your side, ready to support you, whatever you choose to do. Sulhafah has been lost in the smoke and chaos, and the rampagaing minotaur is staggering closer and closer to you. He might not be targeting you specifically, but that doesn't mean you can't get stomped into the pavement on accident! Choose your approach and swiftly before the tide turns against you. What do you do? Anastasia Your mind feels like someone just strapped a half ton of rocket boosted fireworks to your brain and set them off. You are drunk on sensation, every cell feeling vitally alive. Your braids have a weight to them now that they did not before, a weight you lacked the means to discern. The oaths and deeds and purpose you carry in them are not mere words - they are real in a way you could never appreciate before! It's no wonder your mother was so terribly solemn about promises, even minor ones. The person is not sperate from their words or actions, or the history that shaped them. You stop yourself there, sensing the trap. You could lose yourself to this, to Meshaia's expanded consciousness. Pursuing the far mysteries of reality and losing touch with everything you once knew. Guileless, Meshaia could destroy you utterly by simply not knowing to protect you from itself until you are properly equipped to swim that vast ocean. Best of intentions can ever fail against foolhardiness. *** Focusing on the here and now you start issuing orders and Alhena's jaw works up and down in what you recognize as a best approximation of a smirk. "Done." She spins lazily and faces the great double doors, one arm raised casually as she begins focusing. You start barking out other orders, and the Shivans are quick to follow. As you call out to Aldebaran your heart sinks - he's still out in the open hauling 1001's dead weight, and the Talosi are no longer acting skittish. Perhaps seeing that the majority of the opposing forces have moved inside, they are accelerating rapidly towards the Shivan's erstwhile commander! He doesn't have his spear or shield on him, either. For such simplistic seeming machines, these bastards are annoying hard to predict. Alhena is in position to seal the doors at your word, but Aldebaran is in a very bad spot. What do you do?
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Jan 18, 2022 04:01
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The cockpit of the Maximus is filled with increasingly insistent flashing warning lights, the blaring of klaxons, and several of the multitude of meter readouts being pushed dangerously close to their safety limits, or, in some cases, past them. The goblin tinkerer works furiously at keeping her prized creation in one piece while also holding onto the raging source of all this stress and heat, the bull-man Estoladion. Krishga adjusts valves to regulate the emergency flow of water through parts of the Maximus, while using the other hand to steer her battle suit, eyes darting back and forth between the fires to be put out, some more literal than others. She is falling back to secondary sensors for the Mk III’s left hand after the primary ones have gone dark, hoping that they have simply overheated instead of melted down, when somewhere behind the immediate metal wall of the cockpit, something bursts, and a jet of hot steam shoots into the small compartment the Goblin is in. “drat!” She avoids the jet itself, having to contort herself to one side, but the cockpit quickly fills with an uncomfortable heat as well as a fog. Krishga quickly works to determine which flow she needs to shut off before she is boiled alive, and someone not as familiar with the Maximus’ controls as her creator might not have found all the valve controls in the cramped cockpit, turned into a searing sauna with a visibility of a few centimeters. Just in time, the tinkerer shuts off the right flow, and the jet of steam abates, restoring visibility, but leaving everything covered in moisture. Krishga knows that the reprieve is only temporary and that it is only a matter of time before another system fails, or until her greatest creation is simply turned into a half-melted slag of metal, a sad coffin for one Krishga Tazz, Goblin inventor extraordinaire. “Branwen! Konas!” The Mk III’s loudspeakers come alive, and it is with some relief that Krishga hears them still working. “If you’re going to do something, do it now! This bull is a little too hot to handle!”
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Jan 21, 2022 18:04
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ | : Cruel Beast [] || Carpe Jugulum []--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xom posted:Roll: [ My heart does more than sink; it practically drops out through my groin. My own orders sneak up behind me with a big stick and smash me into the ground. You idiot, Ana. You forgot he was out there, and now he's going to pay with his life. Too busy stargazing to see what's in front of you -- I can't let this happen. I see him turn as I shout a warning. Maybe I've bought him enough time for me to get to him. I seize the gear he left at the door before coming to bring me inside, spear and shield, and force my body into a run, Duchess trotting at my heels. If anyone else follows me I don't stop to see if they're coming. She's a brave, brave girl to come here so far, and to come with me now into the teeth of it. I still don't understand how Alhena and Meshaia brought her to me, but I'll not question it now. "Hi," I pant as I reach his side, breath too ragged for more. My body's on the naked edge of collapse but - somehow - I feel a great shouting joy rise up from my gut. Something about the light, the sheer impossibility in this moment, the undreamt-of beauty and deadly-danger of it all; I stare into the ranks of oncoming Talosi, into a glaring white sun like a prison guard's headlights, and it's like a blue rose blooms inside my mind. They won't hold back. Nine didn't hold back, and Alhena won't either; and I know what Meshaia was (/is(/will) once be capable of, when its mind was(/is(/will yet be)) whole. If they could bring my Duchess here to me safe and whole, what else is it possible for the War Fractal to enact? I don't know; I only know that I don't yet know, and the possibilities are...intoxicating. If they're not gonna hold back, why should I? Alumnus Post fucked around with this message at 17:13 on Jan 29, 2022 |
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Jan 25, 2022 05:46
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BLOOD: 2 || COURAGE: 1 || GRACE: 2 || SENSE: -1 || WISDOM: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I rush into the smoke. The bullman is somewhere in the haze. So is Sullafah, Branwen, and Krishga in her machine. I tell Gogolia to watch the passage in case that creature gets out. I’m not sure I want him anywhere near the water spout. Something about the magic in that, along with what it’s capable of doing left me uneasy. The sooner I kill this thing and send it back to the abyss, the better. The heat is near unbearable, but I can make out some shapes, one big one with spots of fire here and there. I leap right at him, screaming, striking at him again and again. It bellows some hellish noise before turning its massive weapon at me. Dodging it is difficult, and I don’t know if the room’s gonna hold, but I know I can hit him faster than he can. Still… it’s gonna take forever. Maybe I should’ve asked Gogolia to come in here instead. pre:Konas will be Assisting Branwen for a Finish them. AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 08:15 on Jan 26, 2022 |
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Jan 26, 2022 05:23
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLD +2 [ ]|| COU +2 [ ]|| GRA -1 [X]|| SEN +0 [ ]|| WIS +2 [ ] Blessings: Strength[ ] || Speed[X] || Glory[ ] || Power[X][X] Gear: Armor[X] || Fuel[ ][ ][ ] Hilda: Crack Shot[X] || Quick As A Bullet [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bran rushes forward as Krishga and the Maximus grab the bull by the horns, but Konas is there even faster nimbly darting past the wild flailing, his harpoon striking just as quickly as its wielder's movements into the rocky hide of Estoladion. Between Konas and Krishga the massive minotaur's attention is thoroughly occupied, and Branwen exploits this opening, darting in behind Konas as he once more gracefully leaping over it's sweeping ax and grabs the mountainous weapon once again, her metal body being practically dragged along with the force of the swing as her boots skid across the baked and cracked tiles of the devastated kitchen. And through it all, Branwen's gaze is locked onto Estoladion until the precise moment she rode the ax for arrives as the bull's weight shifts, his torso twisting and stops being the one moving the axe and is instead being moved by it. Exploding into action Bran slams her heel down, past the tile and into the stone beneath and with a groan of metal on metal she grips the axe head tighter and turns with it, pulling it's momentum towards her own ends of dragging Estoladion along for a ride. Twisting, turning, and hefting the ax Bran begins her own spinning swing, the enraged bull's instincts foiling him directly as he stubbornly refuses to release his weapon, where as the Maximus surprisingly gracefully lets itself get flung off before the first rotation, though it's not too long after that Estoladion's mighty strength finally is defeated by the centrifugal force and he is flung bodily into one of the walls that remains standing, indenting the stone with his own craggy hide. "Dunno if you're even coherent at this point but," Branwen starts as she pulls the axe up from the spin, leaping into the air and hurling it like the comically oversized hatchet it is in her mighty grip as she finishes with "Sun and Moons guide you to your rest!", embedding the molten ax directly into it's owner's chest with a calamitous crash of noise and sundered rock. Xom posted:Roll: [5, 4, ArkInBlack fucked around with this message at 17:17 on Jan 28, 2022 |
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Jan 28, 2022 17:09
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Krishga From your vantage, you see Konas through the smoke and debris, skillfully dodging his opponents blows and lancing with his trident in retaliation. The two of you have Estoladion fairly well locked down, when Branwen arrives to seal the deal! She seizes hold of the axe and two of them begin fighting back and forth over control, the bull-man thrashing around and sending your companion on the wildest bull ride imaginable until Bran puts her foot down and turns the tables. She slowly begins to spin her enemy around, and with a quick glance at a side camera to judge the angle you nimbly leap from Estoladion's back and land on your feet ready to defend yourself. Konas You deftly dodge a wild swing from the minotaur and lash out a series of brutal counterstabs with your trident, gouts of brightly burning blood spurting from the wounds. Olan dashes beneath the great bulk of your foe, slashing at his calves before quickly sprinting out of range once more. Estoladion advances on you and you step back, and Gogolia is there at your side! He hauls up his shield and puts his shoulder and bulk into it, deflecting a final furious blow. As the beast recoils Branwen leaps in and challenges the giant's might with her own! Branwen Estoladion is powerful, yes, but he has lost all conviction. There is nothing but blind hate in those eyes, and hatred on its own can accomplish nothing. You easily overpower him, wresting control of his axe and hauling him around like a marlin. Krishga leaps away as you speed up, eventually sending the bull smashing into one of the fat baroque pillars edging the outer wall of what remains of the café. As you haul the axe up and stalk towards him, a low rumbles reverberates through you. A large chunk of the ceiling caved in on his head knocking him silly and leaving you to wonder just low long it will be safe to be out here. Before he can recover you deliver a vicious coup de grace, Estoladion reaching up to grasp the hilt of the axe as a look of dull shock washes over his face. You suppose this must be novel for him - his first death was by sniper rifle, half a mile away. He didn't get to appreciate the artistry of it. He looks up at you, and speaks in a rough League Hume*, "There is nothing beyond the Gate! It's all...!" He gasps, chokes, and dies clutching blindly towards you. Off to the side you see the chef, Sulhafah, meat cleaver in hand and an unreadable cat-smile on his face. He raises a hand towards you, as if in warning. "Du åt mitt kök och du är fortfarande hungrig. En sådan oförskämd gäst." Krishga, Konas, Branwen Almost as if in response to Sulhafah's words the form of Estoladion Hawkbinder and the axe that killed him begin to...melt? His horns seem to dissolve into a black ichor which runs slowly down the prone body. Every place it touches likewise begins to disintegrate into this substance and starts to pool at the base of the pillar. Before long he has entirely dissolved and all that remains a large puddle of some sort of inky black substance. It ripples lightly and begins to move slowly towards you, flowing up and around the busted chunks of stone. What do you all do? quote:
Anastasia You see Aldebaran with Nine in a fireman's carry, whipping his head about to see the absolute shitstorm about to fall on his head. He made good distance considering how much he is struggling under a clearly enormous weight, but the Talosi have the advantage of simply hovering over rugged terrain. "Being forged in thine likewise was an amusing jest. Dying on thine behalf is naught but a farce." As you skid to a halt next to Aldebaran, he shrugs the bulk of 1001 from his shoulders and nods gratefully as he takes his gear from you. "Foolish to leave them behind, I know. I did not expect such tremendous weight given how nimbly he moves." He continues. "My wife art an unreasonable woman. I thank thee for for thine restraint earlier. So that thou dost not have thine ears sullied further by her blasphemies should we perish, perhaps we grant yon man-threshers their true prey?" He has taken a defensive stance with himself between you and Duchess, and the oncoming band of Talosi. He seems intent on retreating with you and leaving 1001 behind. Duchess herself has been surprisingly calm about all of these strange sensations, all things considered. Yes, there's nervous energy in her muscles and tell-tale signs of stress from too many new sensations at once, but she is not in a state where's she's a risk - not yet. But if you let her off the chain, so to speak? It might be tough to bring her to heel. The Talosi begin to arrive, not swarming you, but taking up orderly positions facing you some ten meters away. You sense they aren't really after you - they're after 1001. You can't be sure what they will do if they retrieve him, but you can be certain that if you get in their way you had better be ready to deal with it. What do you do? quote:
*League Hume: The common dialect used in Interior League city-states. It is technically classed as form of slang, being a combination of Zamite and Imperial Shar (the two most commonly spoken languages of Hume origin), with liberal use of foreign loanwords. Its complexity and the fact that it does adhere to certain grammatical rules has led to lots of people with tenure and nothing better to do to argue with themselves about something most sane people don't care about. In the wake of Imperial Shar's collapse and the League coming to the fore as a serious economic power, League Hume has become not only the lingua franca of the League, but effectively the lingua franca of all former Imperial and Imperial-adjacent lands, to one degree or another. Basic concepts can be conveyed across large swathes of land, and it is rarely difficult to find someone who can communicate with you.
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Jan 29, 2022 10:07
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ | : Cruel Beast [] || Carpe Jugulum []--------------------------------------------------------------------------- I watch them spread out to flank us, my one free hand on Duchess' collar as I feel the restrained quiver in her neck muscles. "Not yet, girl," I murmur to her, even though I can feel the same tremor starting in my neck. "Easy. Not yet. Not 'til they come for me." If her control slips here, mine will too, and then there's no telling what comes next. Not with Meshaia in my head. Xom posted:Roll: [ They're not going to let us win free. They're too calm. I know that calm. Machines these might be, but I know a pack of wolves about to pounce when I see them. We're separated and outnumbered, and one of us is wounded. Even if we abandon Nine and run, they'd be on us before we're even halfway back. No, there's got to be another way-- And right then, it comes to me: the way out. All in a flash. I can't tell if it's some lunatic caprice of Meshaia's, or an idea just inspired enough to work - but I don't think we'll have time for anything else before the Talosi get tired of waiting. I twist my wrist and hit the dismount lever, and my clawfist drops to the gritty coral ground. "Aldebaran," I say quietly, already preparing the breathwork for what's coming next. "Keep 'em off my back just a (pant) just a (huff) few moments more. They want him so bad, I'll just have to give 'im what they asked for." Duchess cocks her head and looks at me with her what-is-my-person-doing-now look. I unwind the cloth wrapping from Konas' broken spear and let the toggle head swing free on its pin, then I jam it up into the arm hole of the clawfist and lock the head in across the hand cavity. With my tongue between my teeth I reach in to manipulate the finger controls...snick, the jaws lock open. Now I've got a bear trap on a stick. I start to hyperventilate. The Talosi've been quiet so far, but when they see what I'm about to do, it might set them off. I'll have to move fast. Here's another trick my Meemaw taught me: the breathwork that snapped me out of his elf-shot can be turned to other ends too. Like this - when I suck in as big a breath as I can hold and tense my entire body into one whip-crack squat and twist. My spine crackles, my joints all pop, and something soft and giving at the base of my skull goes ptt. Every muscle in my body floods with instant fever heat, an uncontrollable surge of raw red strength - I lunge out of my crouch like a spring-steel tiger and slam the jaws of my trap closed against Nine's spiny torso. The breath in my lungs howls for release, but I can hold it just a moment longer...just long enough for this. Now. I unlimber my junk cannon and shove the shaft of my trap-onna-stick into the barrel's breech, surge with every atom of strength left in me, and wrestle the firing angle up and over the Talosi's heads. My muscles shake like dying horses as I struggle to hold his unbelievable weight off the ground. As my control fails me and my breath and my strength come loose, I slap the firing stud - Nine and his makeshift sabot go rocketing off into the distance... ...and thunk inertly to the ground, not even fifty feet away. 
Alumnus Post fucked around with this message at 07:28 on Jan 31, 2022 |
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Jan 31, 2022 06:03
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When she sees Konas and Branwen jump into action, Krishga has the Maximus’ grip tighten around the bullman’s horn and waist even harder to give her companions the chance to strike, even though the Mk III’s warning lights and alarm klaxons cry out in response, the creak of metal strained running through the battle suit’s metal limbs. When something seems to buckle, Krishga almost fears that something has finally failed catastrophically - one of the Maximus’ arm ripped off, a hand entirely melted - but when she realizes that she, the Mk III and the bullman are moving, her eyes go wide. Hungry maws below, is that Branwen?! Throwing around him, his axe, the Maximus, and me?! Well, throwing around me isn’t the impressive parts, but… Out of some instinct, be it her vague idea of what is going on as Krishga looks around her, taking in what her monitors and the view out of the cockpit is showing for half a second before jumping to the next thing, or some subconscious goblin-machine awareness as if the giant moving mountain of metal was an extension of the small Goblin body inside, or perhaps of an unspoken understanding with Branwen, Krishga knows suddenly that now is the moment to let go and jump off the bullman’s back. The Maximus dismounts from Estoladion with little trouble, with Krishga only needing a second to regain her battle suit’s balance, waving her great metal arms in a circle for a moment. The Goblin is about to inspect the external damage to the suit, especially the much-mistreated hands, but her eyes are inexorably drawn to the spectacle of Branwen’s defeat of the raging bullman. When her companion hefts him into the air by his own axe, oversized as much as he, and hurls him against one of the nearby columns, Krishga yells, with the Mk III’s speakers still on. “Amazing!” Without much thinking about it, she gives Branwen a big metal thumbs up, though her companion does not see it - and, when, Krishga sees what she is about to do, a vague discomfort creeps upon her face and the Maximus’ thumb is retracted. When Branwen’s fatal blow falls upon Estoladion, she winces in sympathy. When a few awkward moments later the great bullman’s corpse is transformed into something else, a pool of black, viscous, moving liquid, Krishga actually feels a wave of relief in addition to the usual mixture of confusion and amazement at yet another unexplained, seemingly-magic event in a string of many this day. “Huh! He wasn’t really… a bullman? Konas! Is that the intruder you ‘took care of’?” The Goblin eyes the pool of dark liquid suspiciously, but whatever fight was in it earlier seems to have gone out of it for the moment, as it quite slowly, lazily moves towards where the fellowship stands. “Looks like… he? It? Really sluggish right now, which I don’t mind at all. Branwen? What was that about a Gate? You were able to talk with him, was that… Elvish? Hm.” Krishga looks around the Maxiumus’ cockpit, finally graced with a moment of respite, and makes sure that all meters have once again fallen back below danger levels, while her mind starts wondering about the nature of their latest opponent who may once again be some sort of elvish creation meant for war. “Hmmmm.” The tinkerer flips some switches, turns some dials, all while keeping an eye on the black sludge, ready to defend herself should it start to move with more enthusiasm than currently. “Hmm.” Several of the Maximus’ monitors start displaying the readouts of the battle suit’s sensors, though Krishga muses on the fact that she built the Mk III to be a fighting suit first, a deep-sea worthy vessel second and an exploration and science platform third only, so her sensors may well not be up to the task presented by a mysterious, shapeshifting sapient pool of black sludge. “Hmmm!” The goblin opens up a nearby hatch, sticks her head in, and rummages through the assortment of odds and ends inside, finally reemerging with a device looking like a cross between a small vacuum cleaner and an art piece, with several antennas as well what looks like the end of a stereotypical wizard’s staff jutting out at many angles. “Hmm-mm!” Krishga nods to herself. The cockpit of the Maximus pops open and krishga leans out, the odd device strapped to her back, pulsing with a low light as the tinkerer waves what might be the thing’s sensor in the direction of the black pool. “Hm.” She furrows her brow, apparently not satisfied with what she is reading from the device’s display. “Oh! Konas, Branwen.” She looks up. “Well done there - Olan and... Gogolia too - but, I have been thinking, well, obviously, but… I think we should see how Anastasia is doing. This thing here seems to have calmed down a little, and we did leave her with those claw robots and 1001, so we should make sure she doesn’t need any help, huh? I’d go, but…” Her gaze is once again drawn to the device’s readouts, and she briefly leans back into the Maximus’ cockpit to confer and cross-reference to what her sensors have been able to pick up there. “This doesn’t make any sense, yet. Hm.” quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [3, 1] Result: 6 Reason: Look Closely nil. fucked around with this message at 20:00 on Aug 13, 2022 |
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Feb 1, 2022 16:43
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Anastasia You watch as Nine goes sailing, a thrill running up your spine. Even as you feel your stomach drop when your plan falls short, she/you can't help bit smile. It doesn't matter that it went wrong. It only matters that something interesting is happening. Meshaia giggles through you as you/we watch the Talosi charge. Nine arcs almost serenely into the ground and skids to a halt, soon enveloped by the onrushing swarm. The swarm does not stop and by the time you realize it, you only just manage to haul your cannon around to deflect a lethal strike from the foremost Talos. A quick glance about shows you that only a few Talosi are remaining with 1001 - the rest are engaging you, Aldebaran, and Duchess. They are maintaining rank, harrying you but not exposing themselves to counterattack. A containment action while they evacuate their commander. A growl from your flank pulls your attention to Duchess. A Talos has its claw arm held firmly in her jaws as she shakes it to and fro like she was mauling a chew toy! But with her attention occupied, another Talos takes the opportunity to crash right into you, claw scraping against the barrel of your trash cannon with a metallic shriek as its bulk drives you to the ground. You see Aldebaran still holding his own, his spear lashing out smartly but accomplishing little other than keeping himself alive. And past him, Duchess, and the swarm, you see three Talosi with 1001 anchored firmly between them. The rubble strewn lips of the crevasse the earlier battle created lays directly ahead. The last you see of Nine and his honor guard is their distant forms, plummeting out of sight. What do you do? Feel free to be creative with your bonds, you did make quite the impression at the concert after all. Shardix fucked around with this message at 05:25 on Feb 3, 2022 |
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Feb 2, 2022 11:46
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Krishga You aren't certain what this thing actually is. It most closely resembles slimes and oozes which means it is likely to be extremely caustic. However, no slime or ooze you are familiar with possesses shapeshifting abilities like that. They definitely don't shapeshift and have an existential crisis about it! Now, the best thing for caustic substances is a neutralizing agent of some sort...right? In your time learning the various sciences and applying theory to practice, you've done a great many experiments. Most of them replicating previous ones by your goblin forebears but one of the cornerstones of science is replicability. Leave building on a foundation of hopes and dreams to the wizards and god-botherers! To that end, you cannot help but compare the way this ooze interrupts your thoughts and lashes out to strike you, to the way you created fulgurite in those experiments. The way the sand leapt up into the air to meet the incoming bolt of electricity and fused that way - especially how seemingly instantaneous it was. One moment you are peering curiously at the puddle, the next moment it has attached itself to the Maximus' arm, an arc of blackness sloughing off a chunk of armor. You jerk reflexively on the controls and pull the arm free, only to glance down and see a second tendril has shot forward and is rapidly dissolving the torso armor! The shoggoth retreats after lashing you and reverts to a large, still pool, the remnants of most of your frontal armor melting in its center. Yet you sense it is not content to digest the meal - it's waiting for an opening. You must Pay a Price. As discussed in discord go ahead and mark off your Armored Core until you have a chance to refresh your gear. If you remain here you will be attacked before you can take any other action. If you opt to fall back, I don't blame you. Just watch your footing. What do you do? Branwen, Konas The Shoggoth begins to slowly pool past the rubble, a little closer towards you.
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Feb 4, 2022 16:51
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ |  : Cruel Beast [] || Carpe Jugulum []--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xom posted:Roll: [ I stifle a grunt of pain as I topple over. This is getting worse by the second...we tussle messily until I can shove the machine clear and drive it back, then I plunge into melee with the Talos that Duchess captured. After that, it's just flashbulb moments of clarity in a continuous onslaught of laser-light and claws and shouting and blood. I see Sheliak and Rastaban wading into combat, skewering Talosi and pulling them off Aldebaran as he lays into the enemy with shield rim and spear-butt. For a second I think I see a flash of a shift at his side, a curl of scales: Gienah? Have we given up on retreating? Are we losing? I can't tell. I don't think we're winning yet, anyway. I start laughing. Duchess bares her teeth in full battle rage, fending off four Talosi at once while I drive the tip of my spear into a fifth that was about to disembowel her. Froth drips from her lips and her hair stands on end. She screams and I scream too, plunging ahead to interpose myself between her foes. I'm sounding the Shivans' war-horn as a half-dozen Talosi pin me against a coral outcropping, when there's a fusillade of gunshots and they all go reeling back, oculi put out. I look up - Hilda?! Ain't you a sight for sore eyes! I make the sign of Kaliber in gratitude, and whistle for Duchess to come finish them off. Then I take up the horn again and I blow and blow and blow. Hey, SOS out here! We're in deep and we need backup, so now'd be a great time to open fire! I sure hope Zibal's boys can aim.
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Feb 9, 2022 02:33
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BLOOD: 2 || COURAGE: 1 || GRACE: 2 || SENSE: -1 || WISDOM: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Moons not again! “That’s the goo I mentioned. How the hell can it change forms!?” No time to mull on that, the foul magic is stirring and I have to find something else to trap it again. This time though, it’s going out! ”I’ve got a plan, but it needs to be held here until I can find something to contain it.” I rattle off what I know of it to Krishga and Branwen. “It’ll devour anything it touches, it’s easily lured by food and magic, and it fucks with your head if you look at it for too long. It’s all I can spare right now, but keep all this in mind, and you’ll be fine. I’ll get help for you, but for Moons’ sakes, don’t touch it!” No time to lose, I run out, though not before letting Gogolia and Sullafah know of the creature coming out, I give ‘em what I told the others, and let them know they’re gonna need help, to make sure they don’t get eaten or have their heads hosed with by that goo. Gogolia seems to revel at the chance of combat, while Sulahfah seems to brandish his knife. Alright… now, where did they put the basins again? pre:Konas shall be using his Bond with Gogolia and Sulahfah to help keep the Shoggoth contained where it is.
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Feb 10, 2022 06:19
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“Oh sh-” When the black pool suddenly moves, or rather, stacks on itself to attack the Maximus, Krishga scrambles back into the Mk III’s cockpit. Even when she hastily closes the Maximus back up and warning lights inform her of the damage the thing has done to her invention’s armor, her face lights up at the multitude of readings she suddenly got. That smile vanishes when she realizes just how much of the frontal plating seems to just have… dissolved. “Oh, that is… that is just… hmmmnn! No appreciation of art or marvels of engineering, because really, the Maximus is bo-” The shoggoth lashes out again, and Krishga’s eyes go wide, her hands steering the Mk III to hop back out of the things reach without her even thinking about it. Despite the sudden rush of fright and annoyance of having to repair her creation’s armor, the Goblin tinkerer cannot help but be impressed by the capabilities of her current foe - the apparent control over its own structure, the ability to rapidly expand, not unlike fulgurite in some chemical experiment, which is to say nothing of being able to turn into giant flaming intelligent bullmen. Krishga casts her eye around towards Branwen, Konas, and their companion to make sure all of them are focused on the black pool, because she can feel her mind working, coming up with theories, ideas on how to put a stop to this threat, and what exactly she’d need to put it into practice. She takes her trust large wrench into her hands, fiddling and adjusting it as her thoughts race through the many tunnels of her mind, to see which one should lead to a dead end and which to a possible way forward, all while she is aware of Konas finally relaying that the ‘problem’ he mentioned having taken care of is the very inky menace their are battling now, along with all that he knows of it. Krishga does not speak up and simply listens, and integrates the new information into the weave of her thoughts as if half asleep. Suddenly, she jerks forward. “Yes! I got it!” Only then does she realize that Konas is already gone, even though she fully remembers him leaving - and that she has been hearing a noise for a second or more, a noise that makes her break out in panic when she realizes what it is. The sound of a war-horn from down below… where the companion should be that Krishga had left behind to chase after the bullman. “Ana!” Her plans for counteracting the black pool are gone for the moment as Krishge looks around, agitated, trying to find her companions. “Ana! She and the others must be in trouble, we have to help her! I shouldn’t have…” Her eyes find Branwen’s, and somehow, Krishga can tell that the woman is about to rush to Anastasia’s side, that she would no matter what awaited her and what anyone said. Her companions determination and Konas earlier decisiveness gives her a moment to force back her sudden bout of panic and guilt, and gather herself again. “Alright, alright, think, Krishga, that’s what you’re good at.” She breathes in, and out. “Branwen! You help out Anastasia, me and Konas are going to join you as soon as possible! Blow that horn again if you need more help, and we’ll come earlier, I’ll figure something out for… that thing.” She points one of the Maximus’ large metal fingers at Sullafah and Gogolia. “I need you to watch my back for a moment or two, it’s time for me to whip up a little surprise. I got it! I’ve figured it out! Yes! Just need to…” Krishga’s voice recedes, to soon be replaced by the sound of her rummaging through a pile of half-broken salvage as the Goblin inventor sticks her head into the metal guts of the Maximus through one of the cockpit’s many hatches, trying to find just the thing she needs from her collection of what other, non-Goblin, people might call a pile of junk. “Hmmm, mmm, Tyrin-Stonewall batteries, no, acid-based, ooooh, coral from earlier, could cook up base when combining with residue from expired wiring of this… street food vendor electric deep fryer, suffused with runoff from Bluemane Tuna, and then we take this, and that and…yes!” The Maximus’ cockpit opens, and a beaming Krishga steps forward, holding aloft what at first glance looks like a very confused or drunken engineer’s idea of a gun, and at second glance seems to be a large stainless steel garnish syringe strapped into the yellow plastic frame of a jumbo-sized childrens’ water gun, the Goblin’s finger hovering over the brightly.coloured trigger, the whole construction fed by a large tank fashioned from a repurposed leather wineskin filled to burst with some sort of liquid. “It’s acidic! So of course we need a base!” She smiles at Sullafah and Gogolia, as if it is the most logical thing in the world and in fact, she is somewhat embarrassed to not have thought of it earlier. Then, as she once again becomes aware of the sounds of battle from below where no doubt Anastasia is right now fighting for her life, she shakes it off and gives the two a more serious nod. “Alright. Be prepared. This will work.” quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [4, 1] Result: 8 Reason: Jury Rig a base-based solution for the shoggoth (Base cannon (Water gun that instead shoots base))
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Feb 10, 2022 21:00
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Anastasia Your allies have rallied, a volley of crossbow bolts heralding the arrival of Sheliak and Rastaban who immediately throw themselves into a shield wall with Aldebaran and pushing back the onslaught. Geinah and Zagubal support their flanks, and with their forces divided the Talosi begin to lose ground. No time to spare for your allies any longer, however. You and Duchess have drawn the ire of the other half of the Talosi forces and are paying dearly for it. You work well as a team, but even still some blows slip through. A slash here, a cut there. Little more than nuisances for now, but blood loss will sap you of your stamina if this continues much longer. A warning call brings you reeling around, smashing through a Talos who had slipped into Duchess' blind spot. You both loose a bestial howl as you charge back into the fray, your war-horn sounding off. You are backed up by overwatch from Hilda, her rifle barking out from her perch nearby Zibal. As you continue to sound the horn, another volley crossbow bolts flies out, piercing a few of the now-blinded Talosi and sending the rest zig-zagging wildly to evade. As you take a moment to consider how to follow up, a vicious impact hits you from behind! As you fall forward, you catch yourself and whip around in time to see a Talosi fleeing at high speed, your junk cannon clenched firmly in its oversized claw. That fucker. In the back of your mind you feel Meshaia's presence reassuring you that you are otherwise uninjured, along with a desire to pursue your foe and take back your property. Maybe bat the Talosi around a bit like a toy while you're at it. Distantly you feel the Flesh-That-Hates scoffing at your childishness and the link severing - not angrily, but this gestalt mind is clearly one of choice for her. It's one of choice for You/Us/Her as well but you don't really feel like stopping, closing off that contact. Not now that We have what I want. Do You/We? Your friends have arrived and you're feeling much more confident - make your next roll with Hope. The group of Talosi is still mostly intact, however, and one of them has just stolen your brand new toy! What do you do? Konas Gogolia's Hold The Line stat is now damaged, and will prevent the Shoggoth from engaging Branwen, Krishga, or Sulhafah for the time being. As you sprint out into the main stairway, you glance about, thinking of where you might find something to contain the shoggoth in. While it worked temporarily before, when it was still just a little thing...there is more of it now. Quite a bit more. Simply stuffing it into something isn't going to work - if you could even find someting suitable in the scant amount of time you have. This a very large tower and you haven't had the chance to explore most of it.  The shoggoth is approximately the size of this completely innocuous lake detritus next to The Raft, roughly a 1m/3ft diameter. Olan is still with you, and she has a dark look on her face. "That thing is evil. Impure." Her hands reflexively rest on the hilt of the blades slung low on her thighs. What do you do? Krishga Gogolia slithers forward at your request, his aged face showing a determined focus under the wrinkles. "I will not fall to an upjumped barnacle." His voice is frail but an echo of the fire he must have had in his youth still remains. "Take your time and do it right, young lady." With that he jabs at the large inky puddle with a rumbling war cry! It immediately eats his spear and only ingrained reflex allows Gogolia to bring his shield up in time to deflect the counter attack. You quickly get to work, making the most of the time you've been given. Thankfully you aren't trying to make anything very complicated - I mean, it's a fancy watergun. You don't need a PHD to make a water gun - but it sure helps if you want to make one right now. You swiftly rummage through years of accumulated junk and slap together something that ought to do the trick. You're pretty positive it won't even fall apart in your hands! Unfortunately, the fluid tanks have to go on your back and wound up making the whole thing a real pain in the gob to use. Add Fluid Gun [ranged, area, clumsy] to your character sheet. This equipment does not Recover. As you finish up you hear Ana's war horn sounding off again! It's great that she's still alive, but the fact that she's still going ham on it suggests she's in a tricky spot. Plus neither of them really reacted to your conclusion that a base was needed. Pfft. Brilliance is never recognized in its own time. What do you do? Branwen You hear Anastasia's war horn calling and the sounds of combat below. Gogolia has engaged the shoggoth and you have no impediment, whatever your decision should be. What do you do?
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Feb 11, 2022 22:48
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Still flush with pride over her newest creation, Krishga waves around her fluid gun, only to repeatedly bump the tank on her back into something in the constrained space of the Maximus’ cockpit, eliciting a frown on her face as it becomes clear that maneuvering while inside would be a difficult proposition. “Hmm.” The Goblin then seems to remember something and turns towards Gogolia and Sulahfah, her erstwhile protectors while she was working, and gives them a thumbs up with her free hand. That is when the deep call of Anastasia’s war horn calls out for the second time, and in an instant, all of Krishga’s pride is replaced by the anxious nervousness from before as her companion’s fate forces itself to the front of her mind once again. Still, the heft, the feel of something of her own creation in her hands, the knowledge that she created it, is calming and gives her a focus that a minute earlier seemed to be in danger of slipping from her grasp. “Branwen!” Krishga calls out. “Ana needs our help! Your help! Don’t worry, me and the boys got this. Go!” I hope we got this. I got this. That thing ate Gogolia’s entire spear, and I’m not betting anything on it being any less hungry for something organic. …where did Konas run off to? Alright. I can do this. Konas is going to show up again soon, probably appearing from the shadows with Olan like a badass Triton shadow. Ana needs Branwen’s help, maybe everyone’s help, so I do not want to hold up Branwen. Just because I’m a little scared. Being scared is normal. Bit stupid, I got these big two boys with me that are about more than a dozen times my body weight, and besides, I offered to help them out. So what if I… have to get out of the Maximus? People need my help. Before she can think further, before another thought can argue the merits of staying inside the comforting metal safety of the Mk III, Krishga leaps, landing on one of the Maximus’ held out hands on her way down - only to flounder, waving her arms around, not having taken into account the as of yet unfamiliar weight of the fluid gun and the attached sloshing tank on her back. Sulahfah peers into her direction, whether to jump into action to catch the little Goblin or to simply observe where this is going is unclear. Krishga catches herself in time, however, then leaps onto the ground with a more careful, less extravagant jump. She walks forward to join Gogolia and Sulahfah with a well-practiced air of confidence, perhaps even more pronounced after her recent display of clumsiness and the fearful voices in her head. “Gogolia? Sulahfah?” Krishga looks up at the two far more fierce-looking men now beside her. “We haven’t had much time to talk, so how about we make sure we have a good story to share around the table, huh?” She glances at Sulahfah and remembers she still cannot understand a word of what the catfish-man is saying, So she turns to Gogolia instead, who, even though they have only shared a few words during the last minute, seems to be easier to figure out right now. “Gogolia. Sorry about the spear. I’ll make you an offer, I’ll build you a nice replacement after this is done. And not just a stick with a sharp end. I’m open to suggestions.” There is a pause. “Things are a lot easier to replace than people, after all. So let’s all get through this safe and sound, huh?” I don’t know… it’s just a feeling I get. The way he jumped in to watch my back, right away. Like he has done it before. Many times. Enough times to have been able to keep people safe, some times. And enough times to fail, and to see people get hurt, people he was trying to protect quote:Trying to Forge a Bond with Gogolia. She rapidly shakes her head and breathes in and out rapidly a few times in succession, like a boxer about to step back into the ring. “Alright! Gentlemen! That right there in front of us…” She looks ahead at the malevolent black, inky, viscous puddle in front of them that somehow, despite everything, Krishga is sure is watching them with non-existent eyes. “...is some sort of weaponized, or at least very angry, black goo, that was a giant bullman a few minutes ago. In my hands is a weapon that I am reasonably certain is going to be able to hurt it. All things being equal, I’d rather hear what it has to say for itself first - it’s not an animal - but…” The distant sounds of battle from below fill the silence as Krishga trails off. She sighs. The Goblin slowly moves closer to the black puddle, as if in front of a wild, dangerous animal watching her every move. She takes aim. “If we’re lucky, the base reaction will produce a severe shock to its system and disrupt whatever its equivalent to motorics or neurological processes are.” She looks to the side at the two Shivans next to her, moving with her to keep rank. “Knock it out. If we’re not lucky… back to the Maximus. I can carry us all to a safe distance. Understood.” A nod at her side. She pulls the trigger, and a widening jet of liquids spews forth from the fluid gun’s nozzle, hitting the black pool like a particularly aggressive garden hose. quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [6, 5] Result: 12 Reason: Finish The Shoggoth with Sense (-1 for Clumsy) nil. fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Aug 13, 2022 |
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Feb 14, 2022 21:07
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Krishga In spite of the awkward confines, you bring the nozzle of your new toy to bear and let loose a torrent of what amounts to industrial drain cleaner all over the puddle of goo. It squirms grotesquely at the contact...but only begins moving more quickly! The three of you must step aside as the blob slithers past, consuming any detritus or rubble it flows over, as the reeking chemicals pour off of it into the stone floor. It snaps idly at Gogolia's shield to no avail as it goes. While the shoggoth didn't seem to enjoy being doused with a strong base, it doesn't appear at all injured. Maybe indignant, if an ooze is capable of such a thing. "Ska jag få lite tvål?" Sulhafah quips as he steps backwards. A glint of annoyance is in his eyes - no doubt wishing he could use his cleaver on this thing. He deflty clambers up the side of the Maximus, watching your enemy warily. The shoggoth will move past you soon, and you may be at risk of it deciding to cut you off. Not a major threat for you since you can always take your allies and leap away, but it would mean its between you and the nearest entrance into the tower...and where Konas and Olan just went. This is a good plan, but whatever this thing is vulnerable to, it seems a chemical base wasn't it. But if not that, then what? What to do, what to do... What to do?
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Feb 15, 2022 02:37
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The black goo oozes past Krishga as she is still spraying it with her high-pressure improvised base solution, but to actual little effect, except perhaps her opponent not charging straight for the source of what looks like mostly an annoyance to it. Krishga, Gogolia and Sulhafah move out of the way, and somehow the thing’s attack on Gogolia’s shield seems half-distracted, like a lazy arm trying to swat away the hundredth fly. The trio cimb onto the Maximus, Gogolia silently helping Krishga up as she is still wearing her newly constructed, and now tested, fluid cannon. Sulhafah makes some remark Krishga cannot understand, but can guess his general meaning. “Took the words right out of my mouth, Sulhafah, only shined them up a bit and folded them into funny shapes.” She shrugs and smiles, good-naturedly. “You’re a cook. I bet when you try a new recipe, it needs a few tries before it turns out well, huh? Test out different spice mixtures, how much heat, cook it for how long, that sort of thing? Not that different from inventing and tinkering in that regard, I wager.” The Goblin grins. “What to a cook are spices, ingredients and ways to prepare, that’s what ideas are to a tinker. And I am not out yet, oh no!” quote:Trying to form a bond with Sulhafah. Krishga turns to Gogolia. “Keep an eye on it for a moment, would you?” She slips out of the straps for the fluid tank on her back and puts down the fluid cannon for the moment, quickly dashing to the back of the Maximus’ cockpit to fetch yet another set of odds and ends from her collection. Flanked by the two tall men outside the cockpit, she studies what the Maximus’ sensors have recorded during her excursion, again and again throwing and catching the shining bit of metal she has fetched. Think, Krishga, think. What is this thing? Questions. Why did it attack now, in parallel to the assault of 1001 / Warwick’s robotic forces? Coincidence or not? Is it really attacking? It seems unfocused, does not seem to pursue a clear objective. Might suggest not being part of Warwick’s box of toys, on the other hand, might be because it is too unreliable to be deployed together with 1001. Or maybe some other reason. Krishga catches the bit of metal she had been tossing and holds it up to her face - a glinting metallic shaving left over from the Talos defeated earlier, its armor repurposed to outfit the tower’s militia with numerous simple weapons. The Goblin looks at it for a moment longer, and then, with an underhand throw, hurls the small piece of metal directly into the black pool only a few meters away. “Let’s see how those two get along, huh? Depending on how it goes, maybe we can introduce them to each other!” Is it a naturally occurring creature? Shapeshifting ability is not outside realm of possibility, but turning into an angry, confused giant bullman with a specific personality does not seem like a natural response to danger. May suggest being engineered for some purpose. If engineered, might lack obvious weaknesses like base to counter acidic properties, and may instead have intentional weak spot based on the creator's whims instead. The bullman talked. Suggests base organism may also be able of verbal communication. Certainly should be intelligent enough. What language did the bullman and Branwen talk in, before that thing about 'The Gate'? Sounded… elvish? Krishga pulls out the other item she produced earlier from a pocket, a small, much-read book with the title ‘Elvish Phrases for Beginners’ embossed on its front in shining golden letters. She leans out of the Mk III’s cockpit, holding the book in one hand, thumbing through its pages with a look of concentration. “Ah!” She clears her throat. “Greetings. My name is… Krishga Tazz.” She quickly goes through the books pages, searching for some phrase to continue her mangling of elvish pronunciation, then gives up. “Goblin inventor extraordinaire.” More thumbing through the book. “Hmmm, lavatories, no, ah, here we are. Would you… like to be my… friend?” There is a rather extensive note at the bottom of the page outlining the exact connotations and social and hierarchical dynamics communicated via the specific chosen word for ‘friend’, but Krishga decides to ignore it for now. There is no reaction, at least not yet. “Hmmm.” She looks first at Gogolia, then Sulhafah, though the two have their focus on the black pool before them. “Hm. Hmmm! Now here’s an idea!” Without elaborating further, she pulls the Maximus’ headset from its cradle and, with a few quick hand motions adjust the battle suits radio frequency to the very one she intercepted a second encrypted communication on while fighting 1001 and his robot army not so long ago, just before the steel general fell for as of yet unexplained reason… and shortly before the bullman made its fiery appearance within the tower. “Hello? Can you hear me now?” She taps the microphone, unnecessarily, then continues in elvish, confident that if any actual elves are listening in, they may rip their headsets of from the sheer pain of her inept pronunciation. “I am… happy to meet you. Do you... have… time to talk?” Krishga glances over the top of the book before her, at the black creature, at the Maximus’ sensor readout, looking for any sort of reaction, any hint at the nature of the thing. quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [6, 2] Result: 10 Reason: Look Closely nil. fucked around with this message at 09:52 on Feb 19, 2022 |
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Feb 18, 2022 20:31
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Krishga At your query, Sulhafah smiles his cheshire cat smile and nods agreeably. "Erfarenheten visar att gublom helst kokas till sextio grader och peppras väl." Gogolia dares to shoot him a dark look before swiftly returning his focus to the enemy at hand. At your call, he rolls his shoulders and hunkers down, maintaining his defensive wall. His snail body is proving well suited for this - the shoggoth's speed only slightly outpaces his own. And that shield of his...what is that thing made of? The shoggoth devoured the wood-and-coral spear like you'd toss back a handful of peanuts. What keeps it from doing the same to that shield?  The other questions you raise are all good: something isn't quite adding up here. Or rather, the numbers they're adding up to don't match the equation you thought you were doing. And yeah, the shoggoth doesn't act as though it has a purpose. It reacts to stimuli, but erratically. Otherwise it seems content to simply ooze forward and eat the upper strata of the annex floor like it was at a buffet. Which is quickly becoming a problem - already the shoggoth has grown noticeably larger! But hey, at least it probably doesn't hate you specifically! Silver linings. The storm cloud inside that silver lining, is, of course, that it doesn't have to hate you to just...eat you as a matter of course. Best not to get in its way unless you have a plan. As you move on to attempting to communicate, you do your best not to butcher the elven too badly. I wouldn't worry about it though; even if your pronunciation was flawless they'd always find something else to criticize. It's reductionist but nevertheless true that the greatest offense you can commit against a (stereotypical) elf is not being one yourself. You wait for a moment, but get no response. You think, and in a flash of insight dial in the frequency you caught earlier. The result is immediate: the inky blob stops, utterly still. And over your transceiver you hear a rapid fire burst of the horrible noise you've heard from the Talosi and 1001. It is clearly some sort of language though you imagine any attempt to speak it would result in needing a throat lozenge. While you haven't the slightest idea what was just said, you do notice that this rapid fire series of noises is much more complex then the form used by 1001 and his subordinates. The reply over your radio just now crammed a lot of extremely complicated syntax and nuance into a very brief message. What exactly that means, though...hmm. At least you can pretty well confirm that there is definitely a link between this thing and the elven war machines! The shoggoth remains utterly still. Is it...waiting for you to reply? It's probably a bad idea to leave it hanging. In the far distance of the Maximus' radio speakers, lost in the background static and so faint that you aren't sure it was even there at all, you hear a bell. What do you do? Shardix fucked around with this message at 05:37 on Feb 19, 2022 |
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Feb 19, 2022 04:20
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLD +2 [ ]|| COU +2 [ ]|| GRA -1 [X]|| SEN +0 [ ]|| WIS +2 [ ] Blessings: Strength[ ] || Speed[X] || Glory[ ] || Power[X][X] Gear: Armor[X] || Fuel[ ][ ][ ] Hilda: Crack Shot[X] || Quick As A Bullet [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fear and panic whirl across Branwen's face when she hears the horn and recognizes the sound, before resolute determination settles on her metallic features. By the time Krishga is shouting Branwen's name, Bran's already moving, leaping over the path of destruction caused by her and Estoladion fracas and into the central spiral staircase of the tower. Without hesitation Bran leaps into the ensorcelled pillar of water and letting her dense metal body drag her down at a controlled but quick pace. Bran's hustling to Ana as quickly as she safely can.
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Feb 20, 2022 16:37
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Branwen You slice through the water like a blade and land casually, the ground absorbing the force easily. Whatever else you want to say about the abyss wyrms, they clearly know how to build things to survive an impact. You see Alhena by the great doors, one arm against it for balance as she's doubled over, catching her breath. She sees you approach and raises her other arm in greeting. "Anastasia needs you. I warped everyone else out to take some of the heat but..." She runs out of breath and simply waves you on urgently. Outside you see Aldebaran and his comrades in a defensive line, fending off the main thrust of the Talos swarm. Several Talosi are buzzing around apart from the group, harrying Ana and that enormous hyena of hers. They are holding their own, but small cuts and grazes will add up, and even your sisters formidable stamina will not hold out forever. One of the war machines executes a deft aerial maneuver to come in behind Ana and smashes into her, seizing hold of the junk cannon and zipping away at top speed! Ana is clearly intent on following, knocking away a couple intercepting Talos to clear her path. What do you do?
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Feb 20, 2022 19:11
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Krishga gives Sulhafah an awkward half-laugh. “Haha, yes.” She briefly considers asking Gogolia to translate what the cook just said before their one-sided conversation carries on any longer, but decides against it, as the matter of the black sapient pool still slowly coming closer seems more pressing. Something about Goblins and pepper? The results from her tests fully capture the Goblin inventor’s attention a second later - the metal shaving from a Talos’ armor thrown at the thing is dissolved just as easily as all other matter until now. When a black pseudo-limp lashes out and hits Gogolia’s shield, Krishga’s head jerks around, about to call out a warning, only to see the mass withdraw, leaving the shield none the worse. “Huh! Gogolia, quick! What is that shield of yours made of?” If there is a response, she does not hear it as suddenly, the radio headset she is wearing over one ear is filled with a series of deep, reverberating noises - half distortion, half something akin to Goblin deepcave throat singers. Krishga’s eyes go wide, and she grabs the small book of Elvish phrases, its contents meant for hapless visitors seeming less and less up to the task of communicating with this creature by the second. “Hold on, hold on…” She feverishly searches through the book, holding up the other hand, whether to tell her companions to wait of the shoggoth, she does not know. “Ah! I am sorry. I have trouble understanding. I am still learning Elvish. Can you speak more slowly?” Krishga briefly tries to find a more relevant Elvish phrase in the book, then gives up for the moment with a shrug. Not sure speaking more slowly will be doing any good. But it understood! Yes! That voice, what it said… language, yes, but, artificial or natural? The robot we encountered in the bunker, up there, which is still extremely deep under the ocean - best not to think about that - it sounded like that as well. But slower. Less complex? Simplified? May suggest either this black thing is derived from 1001’s elven war machines, or the other way around. One thing’s for certain, though, if it is listening to the same frequency as I am pretty sure Warwick is using to command 1001, that does mean this is one of Warwick’s creatures! Maybe. Well, now all I have to do is find a way to actually communicate with it and hope it’s not as stubborn as 1001. Alright, so, which part of this book has phrases for establishing first contact with an unknown intelligence instead of asking where the nearest inn is? “Hey. Hey, Gogolia.” Krishga whispers. “You don’t happen to speak Elvish by chance? Sulhafah?” She clears her throat and focuses again on the black thing lingering in front of the Maximus, a few meters away, seemingly passive or perhaps waiting for now. She leans out of the cockpit so that her voice can both be heard in person and through the radio waves. “Hello. If you can understand this, please, hm… expand upwards one time.” She waits, and hopes for a response. nil. fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2022 19:34
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BLOOD: 2 || COURAGE: 1 || GRACE: 2 || SENSE: -1 || WISDOM: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Impure, but it’s gonna take more to take it down. Give me a minute, if I find nothing, we purge it with what we have.” I plunge into the water column, let whatever ambient power run through me as I find the black goo at the end of the hall. Something is making it move, some magic beyond my ken. quote:Freely tapping Sense Magic for any magical insights on the shoggoth, for what’s making it tick, and how that can be disrupted. AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 14:42 on Mar 5, 2022 |
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Feb 20, 2022 22:59
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ | : Cruel Beast [x] || Carpe Jugulum []--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Xom posted:Roll: [3, 3] +2, Result: 8  )I give Duchess the kill signal: a low, atonal whistle with my open vocal cords sounding a hum on a lower harmonic. She breaks away from her harriers and runs the thief down like it's a wounded goat, slipping from skirmish to skirmish like smoke and ripping the guts out of its engine assembly with a savage rush in from the flank. Afterwards I don't quite remember how I reached her side. A blittering rush of speed, blue exhilaration, a meshing of vectors - I plunge my O:H𒁍*)fu𒑆CxA into the no-good sneak thief's primary sensor cluster, and the metal curdles, warping and flaking away in soft plates like rose petals. Or, wait, no, that didn't happen? I severed its neck and shoulder with a ripping bite from my clawfist -- no, I lost that to the Nine launch. What...? I rise from my killing crouch and stumble away, hugging Duchess as tight as I can to my chest, feeling her/our/their breath rasping harshly as we contemplate what just happened. There's blood on my hands, and I'm pretty sure most of it's mine. The Talosi are coming. I look down/up/out at myselves, tasting the delirious gestalt blur of the link between me and Irontongue. So fascinating. She/we/I pry my junk cannon out of the Talosi's unresisting arms and sound the war-horn again, a last raw-lunged cry for aid. Alumnus Post fucked around with this message at 16:26 on Feb 22, 2022 |
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Feb 22, 2022 07:13
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Konas You open your senses, trying to grasp some insight into your foe. You stare the shoggoth down from a distance and read the emanations that surround it - and you are left confused. There is no elemental aspect to it whatsoever. Everything, from rocks to people, are composed of varying amounts of the basic elements. A rock is mostly earth. A tree is a lot of earth, very little fire, and equal parts water and wind. This blob doesn't appear to be made of anything except Hunger. Your gaze sweeps over to Gogolia and you do a double take. That shield of his is radiating intense water-aspected magic the likes of which you have never seen! That thing is intensely magic. Sure, magic is an everyday thing for most people but a charm that keeps the contents of a box cold is vastly different from the triton-woven wards imbued into this bulwark. It appears to be lapis lazuli and brass, the brass forming an ornate filigree over the blue stone body of the shield. Clearly the magics must lighten the load - such a thing would be terrifically heavy otherwise. This shield is a named, triton-crafted artifact. Name it and tell us a bit about its legend in the elder days. Krishga Though his ancient voice carries a hint of uncertainty, Gogolia responds immediately. "I know not. It was a gift given me in my youth. That was...many lifetimes ago." Though his voice carries a hint of sadness, you see in his movements a vigor he did not have even a little while ago. It seems he's rather starting to enjoy this. As you return to your attempts to communicate, you get a shake of the head from Gogolia. "No elfen folk...survived long enough to teach any of us their tongue." He does not elaborate. Well, that's not very helpful. Guess you'll just have to keep trying yourself. As you attempt to work out a means of basic yes/no, you hear a beep from the Maximus. Another burst transmission! Konas, Krishga The blob suddenly seems to convulse, shrinking and expanding spasmodically. What seems to be an arm and an upper torso make of the inkly blackness reaches up. The finger tips grasp blindly upwards and begin turning a pale flesh color. The head only has vague features - a suggestion of a nose and eyes, implied hair that looks more like black paint pouring off of a balloon. The pale flesh color starts creeping down the arm, and another arm appears to be struggling to pull itself out of the gooey mass. The shallow concavity of the mouth appears to be screaming. Konas The magical aura of the shoggoth starts rapidly shifting from a sense of endless hunger to an aura strongly tinged with water. The salty tang of the cold northern ocean water and the sound of waves crashing against grey crags rise unbidden in your mind. What do you both do? Anastasia You heft up the cannon, the burning white light from above pressing on you like a baking heat. Duchess giggles next to you, her head slung low and lips peeled back in what you know to be a self-satisfied smirk. She's not in pain, no. She clearly wants to hunt. You let loose with the war horn again and luxuriate in the echoing sound. Meshaia seizes hold of you, basking in the sensations you're experiencing. The feeling of existing within a body with nerve endings to openly exposed to the world and sensation was a result of electrical impulses bruises and lacerations and organs and meat and teeth and realness The weight and heft of your braids; copper wire and beads and the white cloth what does it mean tell me Meshaia asks. why does it ask you can just look it's your/our/my mind too now I want to ask You offhandedly note that your Eye Balls are telling you that two of the STEEL CLAWS are zeroing in on you. What do you do? You are momentarily lost in fascination with the minutiae of your own biology; having a nervous system like this is fascinating. Your next roll will be made in Despair. Branwen You watch as the enormous hyena launches forward at Ana's call and tackles the fleeing Talosi, bringing it to the ground and shaking it furiously. Ana herself takes a step forward and seems to...blur. Like a series of still three dimensional images being generated one microsecond at a time and overlapped over one another in sequence to imply forward motion. When she reaches the Talos, the still images shatter like glass and melt into the air and delivers a vicious coup de grace upon the pinned foe with a brutal finger strike that tears right through the armor plating and disintegrates the things internal systems. She stands and turns, staring up at the brilliant white sphere hovering above you all. Motor oil drips like heartsblood from her mouth as she giggles alongside Duchess. She is not currently in danger, but she is acting very strangely The not currently will end very soon however: Two Talos that had initially been harrying Anastasia are swiftly pursuing her after being briefly confused at her unorthodox interception of the cannon thief. What do you do? Shardix fucked around with this message at 04:14 on Feb 24, 2022 |
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Feb 24, 2022 03:49
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- STR •⚬ | FOOD ••⚬ | : Cruel Beast [x] || Carpe Jugulum []--------------------------------------------------------------------------- when it doesn't need to ask for what it wants why not? because when you ask for it and to say yes to it to be shown/seen/let into me what you want to remember how it works like this, see this is how you do it you say yes So this is what it's like to be a part of Meshaia, now, this, -- I'm -- it's all so different from these angles, this wild bloody cauldron of a body that I have, buoyed and drifting on the white star-heat, dancing with her/my/our faithful companion in a shifting, whirling blur of irreal sensation and surging nerve impulses. I see a Talos' claw coming at my neck and panic rises up to choke me. Suddenly I can't move an inch. Time stutters and slips like a bad film projection. My heartbeat spirals out of control into an infinite jackhammer of solid noise, and then stops cold. I throw myself blindly out of the way and suddenly I'm twenty feet behind him. I feel my heart rate start up again, pounding steady and hard like a drumbeat against the skin of the world. I'm not sure what's wrong with my hands but I don't think there are that many colors in the world, even if I could make a killing selling some of these as nail pigment. Imagining Talosi with painted nails, I wipe my mouth and spit. Motor oil comes out, and somehow this isn't weird. Duchess lets out a howl of laughter and jumps onto one of the Talosi while it's still trying to figure out where I went, bounding off its shoulders and leading it off on a chase. An impossibly prolonged stride takes me between/beside/before her, just in time to intercept her pursuer and bewilder him with a leap into the air that turns my perception into an indiscernible ribbony smear. When I can see clearly again I'm two feet behind our other pursuer, shouting "BOO!" There's nothing they can do to me. They can't even touch me, let alone see me. It might as well be a game. I wonder how long I can play with them for? Xom posted:Roll: [
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Feb 26, 2022 05:36
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Krishga glances over at Gogolia’s unmarred shield, wanting desperately to take it into her hands and put it to every test she can think of, to determine just how it can stand up to the all-consuming black force that is still before her, when nothing else can. But even despite her intense curiosity, another part of her hears the strange tone in Gogolia’s voice, of sadness, or wistfulness, or something else, and she cannot help but wonder what it means, what old scars the words the old warrior speak make itch, under the skin. She shakes her head, and returns to the moment, just in time to see the black pool expand, shudder, trying to turn itself into something - something with a mouth, a head, and hair. Krishga shudders. “Might be a bit too late to call the midwife, huh?” She mutters, loud enough for Sulhafah and Gogolia to hear, then chuckles. “Gentlemen! I try to be optimistic, so maybe our oozing friend over there is just turning itself into something that speaks our language, or speaks at all, but if not…” She pats Gogolia’s great shoulder. “...keep that shield ready…” A small Goblin fist lightly bumps into Sulhafah’s side. “...and those blades sharp and ready, huh?” For a moment, the three of them wait for what will emerge, for what new monster they will have to face, and then a sudden thoughtful look comes across Krishga’s face. “Unless…” The Goblin once more jumps back into the Maximus’ cockpit, disappears through a hatch and noisily searches through the Mk III’s great store of what to anyone else might look like a great, unorganized pile of garbage. “It’s in here somewhere…” The tinker’s voice is quieter, echoing in the metal fighting suit. “Some friends send it to me, over the radio, you see, wouldn’t have been even possible in my parents’ time. Not because they were poor, I mean. No, no, exchanging music with people on the other side of the world, now that’s technology, that’s progress.” “Ah!” There is a bump from inside the Maximus. “Ouch… my head.” Krishga re-emerges, holding in both her hands multiple reel-to-reel tapes, threatening to tumble onto the floor, spill their reels and become hopelessly entangled. “Amazing technology, I tell you. Now if only I liked the music a little better. Don’t get me wrong, I can see the appeal, but maybe I just haven’t been in the mood for something… experimental. Apparently the band is called Emperor Ebony, my friend Koprishi was telling me they’ve just started doing the rounds, apparently the story goes they were…” She scratches her head. “...four wayfarers captured by a mad wizard, imprisoned in his tower, meant to be part of his experiment in capturing ‘void spirits’ with some sort of electrothauma-mathemagical machine, only it went wrong and the wizard blew up inside-out, but the for wayfarers caught a glimpse of the sights from beyond, and when some sort of Unnamable Thing threatened to push through the tear the wizard had ripped open, they played on the electric machine, and their guitar, and pushed the Thing back.” Krishga raises an eyebrow at Sulhafah and Gogolia. “That’s how the story goes. Personally, I think my friend just took one of his new favorite band’s lyrics for the truth and in actuality, Emperor Ebony is just a few clever, hungry lads or ladies getting together and trying something new. But! That story gave me an idea, and besides, you too have been listening to me ramble on, which I bet was distracting, so I thought… why don’t we try the same thing on…” She leans forward, the reel-to-reel tapes now under just one arm, the other pointing to the convulsing black mass. “...that?” The Goblin browses through her stack of tapes, inspecting the titles written in black on white stickers. “Hmmm, ‘Star-Children of Isher’. That sounds good. Appropriate.” She unlocks a panel somewhere in the back of the Maximus’ cockpit, mounts the reel-to-reel tape and presses the ‘Play’ button, transmitting on the same frequency she had contacted the ooze on earlier. Only a quiet static can be heard until, after several seconds, the static modulates, distorts, until it becomes clear that it must be intentional. “Give it a bit. It can take a bit until it really starts. Oh! Konas!” Despite the grim situation, Krishga beams when she sees her companion return, waving enthusiastically from the Maximus at him. “I’m trying something! Did you find anything that can help? Anyhow, don’t worry about me, I think Ana needs more help! I heard her blow the horn three times, so that can’t be good. If things get too messy here, I’ll… well, these loudspeakers can go pretty loud. What do you say?” “Oh, hold on, it is beginning properly now.” She raises a finger into the air. From inside the cockpit, the music picks up, the static first changing into a drawn-out, oscillating electronic sound, which then, in a sudden moment, is joined by a powerful guitar and madcap drums, at first sounding like chaos, but then transforming into a driving melody. Krishga nods to herself. “I think they start singing about 4 minutes in!” She shouts over the music, unnecessarily loud, as all of it is being transmitted to the shoggoth via radio. Krishga jumps onto the lid of the cockpit, takes a seat and lets her legs dangle, giving Konas a big thumbs-up while behind her, an elaborate musical performance of electronica, guitars and drums, as intricate as a spiral defined by a mathematical equation blasts from the Maximus’ speakers and across the radio waves, directly at the black sludge in front of them. quote:Krishga Tazz (nil) Roll: [5, 3] Result: 11 Reason: Keep Them Busy
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Feb 28, 2022 20:58
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BLOOD: 2 || COURAGE: 1 || GRACE: 2 || SENSE: -1 || WISDOM: 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I could swear Alohilohi sung about that shield. When the Ocean Eater threatened the Deep waters surrounding Alohilohi, it was the Kahuna Ariinuis who fought that fell beast, and slew it in the heart of a fissure. No matter how much water the Beast churned, nor how hot the vent burned, Ariinuis’ shield protected him through it all. Amber earthshapers forged so many copies for the strongmer who wanted a shield at their side. Many thought it fell in an Abyss, or that the Lonely Brother took it for his own. And here’s Gogolia with that shield. When we finally kill this thing, I gotta ask Gogolia about that shield of his. First things first, ping this off to the others. Anything that’s so hungry that could be read as magic is either some sick creation of the Wyrm… or it’s some forbidden magic. Course… I got nothing beyond poking at it with my Trident. It wouldn’t like that, much like it wouldn’t like the Shield of Ariinuis, but it wouldn’t harm it. I don’t like it, but it’s looking like Krishga, Gogolia, and Sullahfah have this, and I just need to find something that can counter it. Much as I wanna pile in, we’re still lost. Now… Aldebaran and the others mentioned having a storeroom where those machines came from. Maybe they have something else we can use there? I bolt right out of the tower to where the Shivans said it was. Time is of the essence. quote:Konas will freely travel down the water column to where the machines were stored for anything to help against the Shoggoth, freely tapping Sense Magic AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Mar 9, 2022 |
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Mar 6, 2022 11:07
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--------------------------------------------------------------------------- BLD +2 [ ]|| COU +2 [ ]|| GRA -1 [X]|| SEN +0 [ ]|| WIS +2 [ ] Blessings: Strength[ ] || Speed[X] || Glory[ ] || Power[X][X] Gear: Armor[X] || Fuel[ ][ ][ ] Hilda: Crack Shot[X] || Quick As A Bullet [ ] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Branwen rushes in a tries to shoulder tackle the nearest Talos but the robot gracelessly jerks away through the air, having somehow sensed its attacker's approach. It bobs back and forth before lurching forward, slashing out with its claw. Branwen's hand simply shoots up, grabbing the robotic appendage and stopping it dead. The Talos pulls and jerks around futility before rearing up to attack with its other arms when Bran yanks it back, spinning it and herself around and hammer throwing the robot into its fellow! Satisfied with the opening made from the throw, Bran turns to Ana. "Ana, are you okay?" Xom posted:Branwen McAlister(ArkInBlack) Roll: [5, 2] Result: 9 Reason: Toss-A-Telosi Gambit (Finish Them w/Blood)
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Mar 7, 2022 04:02
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Krishga As you pump the music through the selected frequency, the response is immediate. The arm, head, and torso immediately deliquesce back into the pool which starts to ripple violently. A violent convulsion, like a sneeze, and the shoggoth has changed shape entirely! Innumerable meters-long spikes jut out from a central core that is impossible to see precisely. It...fuzzes...in the middle. The lower half of the shoggoth appears firmly lodged into the floor by all of its spines. The whole thing now resembles nothing so much as a massive glossy black sea urchin. As Emperor Ebony launch into the second track, describing the Void Engine and the fate that will befall our heroes, the shoggoth surges into violent revolution, spinning in place with an abrupt speed and ease as it effortlessly carves through the surrounding stone floor. The only sound is a low whine as the rock is carved away which pitch shifts upward - a low roar most commonly associated with turbine engines. What a curious response! What would it do if you played some halfling polka? You quickly maneuver the Maximus back to ensure you are not within range and continue your observations. As you do so, the wickedly spinning vortex moves with you. Uh oh. You move to the side, and it again reorients to keep relative position with you. Okay, maybe if you just stand still it will do the same. It hovers, devouring the ground, growing just a little larger. Not as quickly now. Less overall volume in contact with stuff it can eat. quote:
What do you do? The shoggoth is currently stunned as it tries to deal with the sonic assault it is experiencing, but that won't last long. Konas As you figure out a plan of action, you glance aside and see the grinning face of Zibal, the eel-woman. She's swam down from the upper level and poked her head out of the large central water column. "Konas! Battle goes well!" She gives you a puzzled look at your seemingly distracted countenance. As you quickly explain your thinking, a light seems to click on in her head. "Maybe have instructions there! Zibal can show, know currents. Sneak out all the time to explore. Wyrms think they so clever. 'Little Zibal has no legs, she can't do anything'." What do you do? You can take Zibal up on the offer but it is possible you won't get back in time if things go south real fast. I can promise that it won't be a waste of time. Anastasia You lead the Talos on a merry chase, a rainbow leaping across the sky while these pathetic things of metal and circuits uselessly try to grasp you. You can't hold light, dummies, and you certainly can't hold the fire within it. It will burn you. It burns everything. It's why they locked you/us/me up in the first place. Nothing wants to burn. ...but maybe everything should. What do you do? Branwen For how predictable and unsophisticated the AI of these machines is, there is something buried in all that code that offers them a remarkably annoying spark of randomness. Like how that Talosi seemed to know you were coming and managed an - ultimately futile - preemptive attack. You have to wonder if that's on purpose or if untold millennia has finally managed to etch it's fingerprints into something of elvish design at last, however lightly. Just a little tinge of machine senility to make things interesting. Well, whatever. Leave that poo poo for the philosophers. With Ana's distraction, (did she seriously jump out and yell BOO! like you were kids on League Saints Day?) it's easy enough to follow up by seizing hold of your victim and bodily hurling it into its partner. They tumble end over end, mindlessly swiping at one another as their I.F.F. tries to make sense of things and their gyros find Up once more. Turning to your sister, she seems...not so much dazed as star-struck. She isn't warping space anymore which is good, but what the hell even was that? She tore the machine apart with her bare hands and poured what you're pretty sure is either coolant or fuel or maybe both across her face. It's gotta be something to do with the Greymist genetics. The remnants that the Shivans were fighting are being mopped up now, another salvo of crossbow bolts finally managing to get some purchase against the metal plating. That leaves just the two you hammer threw into a pile. Nothing too scary, but those wicked claws only require you to screw up once to end your life. Ok, not yours, but definitely someone who was still made of meat. What do you do?
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Mar 9, 2022 13:24
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In addition to the normal effects of Keep Them Busy, so long as you continue feeding this music through that frequency the Shoggoth cannot use its Remnant Echo move. It still exists as a stat that can be damaged, but it cannot be utilized. The downside to this is the shoggoth is now paying attention to you.
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Krishga throws up her hands in triumph, balancing on the edge of the Maximus’ cockpit. “Yes! It worked!” A moment passes, and she glances at Gogolia and Sulhafah, somewhat sheepishly. “I… was reasonably confident it would work.” She jumps back behind the Maximus’ controls to maneuver her away from the black sludge, but the thing keeps following the trio and the great metal fighting suit they are riding, though not closing in on them either. “Hm.” The Goblin leans forward and studies the ink-black pool’s strange behavior, its rhythmic, violent motions, both frozen in place and violently moving at the same time. “Is it working? It’s not turning into anything anymore, for now, but, and I know this is a little odd to say about a pool of black liquid, I’m not sure it is entirely happy with what is happening.” Krishga cocks her head. “Or… do you think it is dancing?” A bright smile spreads across her face. “Now that would be things really going according to plan, ohoho! If Emperor Ebony helps me make first dance contact with a sapient war machine, I’m going to find those boys and girls and I’m going to shake their hands! And probably give them some ideas for new song lyrics!” Behind her, the MK III is still blasting the second track of the album, now singing about the mighty sails catching the winds between the stars. Krishga watches the shoggoth for a little longer, its jerking movements, its almost imperceptible consumption of the ground and its subsequent growth, and the Goblin tinker frowns. “Although it pays to be prepared, just in case. Alright!” She grabs one of her notepads, lays the even phrasebook next to it and starts writing. “Gogolia.” She addresses her compatriot without looking up or stopping to write. “I need to know all there is about that shield of yours. What it has done that a normal shield wouldn’t be able to do, anything odd that happened while you had it, anything that could help us find out what that thing…” She points at the shield with a pen. “...is the only thing not being eaten by that thing.” The pen swerves around and indicates the shoggoth. “I will try my hand at putting together a few more useful elvish phrases - and hope elvish grammar is flexible - and a nice sequence of prime numbers. Maybe it likes math?” She looks at both Sulhafah and Gogolia, to see if they seem to think Krishga has any idea what she is doing. “If you have any ideas, Sulhafah, I am all ears.” Without looking up, she taps one of her large ears. “Goblin humor.” She peers over the rim of the cockpit at the black thing, and she does not know whether there has been a change in how it is moving or if she is just imagining it, but nevertheless, Krishga writes faster, more frantically. “Still, if all else fails, we just need to stall that thing until Branwen has helped out Anastasia…” Abyss, I hope Ana is alright. No more blows of the horn since Branwen left. I just… I just hope that’s a good thing. “...and besides, Konas is no doubt doing… something. I am sure he’ll swim to the rescue, though I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t at the very last moment. You’ll see.” Krishga scratches behind her ear with her pen as she contemplates a particular phrase and whether she has just constructed a sensible question, a grave insult, or utter nonsense. “So, gentlemen, how do you like the music? Emperor Ebony? I think it’s actually pretty good. Takes a while to get going, but that seems to be intentional, and not exactly music to jump around and smash into other people to, but I like it.” nil. fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Aug 13, 2022 |
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Mar 13, 2022 17:15
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