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| A Calculated Response; [Alert] [P] | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Sun Oct 19, 2014 11:52 pm (404 Views) | |
| Kazimira Baines | Sun Oct 19, 2014 11:52 pm Post #1 |
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There was something remarkably charming about people working together. The scene of the quarantine that had been built around the town of Vanimle, however, was not exactly one that would make someone think of progress. Kazimira had joined the gathering of people in one of the waves of people who are far too curious, and for the most part she could tell they weren't remarkably interested in actively helping. She didn't care much, though. Everyone wanted to have stories, it's not like they could change much even if they wanted to. You could certainly tell from first glance, however, that the camp outside the barricade was separated in it's own ways. There were different camps, and a few hours in the region definitely helped one keep informed on what each of them were. Different standings on what to do. Get four people into a dangerous situation and you'll get four solutions, she supposed, but you had to figure that when you were dealing with constant attack that you'd be inclined to start agreeing. People were being people, and there was little else to expect of them. Kazimira made sure to keep herself away from the extremists, those that wanted to just purge whatever was within. That was the sort of thing you saw often in authoritarian plague policies. She was more fond of the patient care aspect of it, but when one has talent there is always bias. Fear makes people do dumb things, and she couldn't think of something more dumb then just clearing this thing away. If it happened once, it could happen again, and wiping it away without learning about it would just be inane. She shook her head whenever she overheard a few of them talking, not wanting to press in her opinion. She had already angered a horse and made at least three people confused since coming into the camp, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to the escape if she got targeted during this whole thing. If she was seen as an issue during this kind of thing, she didn't like the prospect of what people could do. She found her way to a campfire, a bunch of refugees gathering around it for comfort and company. There were people sharing tales of what had happened, others looking distantly away, and a few others trying to talk about the mundane to ease themselves out of what was happening. It was standard for the victims of disasters. Some people needed to talk about it, some just needed to forget about it. Neither side of things often understood the other. It was a shame. She spent a decent amount of her time by the fires, hearing the preaching of some of them about what they think should be done, and others just talking about the issue at hand. She kept a smile on her face, her goggles placed over her eyes to keep out the biting of the wind and most of the heat of the fire. She shook her head, having a feeling for the climate enough. It was best to see what she could do, not rest and nap like a refugee. She was here to be helpful, not impose upon hospitality. She made her way towards the barricade, a big smile on her face. Her hands absently made sure that her equipment was properly rigged to her, checking on the belts which kept different concoctions attached to her torso. She could hear a few tinks of glass every time she walked, her backpack being full of all sorts of things that would probably confuse or scare the average person here. As she approached the barricade, there was a man who bore the insignia of the guard here talking to a bunch of those that had gathered. He was shouting a few of them down. The official order here was apparently trying to keep the would-be heroes from killing themselves on whatever was happening inside. “We don't need more trouble then what we've got now! There's already a swarm of things we don't know how to deal with, and now we've got you lot waving arms and pretending you can fix it! Get from the barricade before I have you all carried off!” Kazimira smiled, adjusting her eye-wear for a moment before stepping forward, “If I could be so bold, I would say that none of you know how to fix it as well. I'm not going to say that I can give a guarantee, but I know that I have some expertise in medicine, and definitely the technology this whole thing is effecting. I would wager that a few others here may as well. Wouldn't it be better to utilize those resources instead of telling us all to go away?” The guard got angrier then he was before, only now it was focused on Kazimira. His eyes bore into her, and she could see a desire for violence as a pig-headed response to the rebuke. He wasn't used to being talked back to, and he didn't know what the next step was. He was relaying orders, as one would expect of a soldier, and there wasn't much he could actually do beyond that. They were easy to spot. It was the violence that bothered her. She could feel a ripple across the surface of her skin, going down her arm. He was awake, and was aware of the man's desires. She took a deep breath, stifling the violence and keeping her congenial smile on as long as she could. If it came to it, then she would let him out. But not a minute sooner then she had to. |
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| Gala | Mon Oct 20, 2014 1:34 am Post #2 |
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Gala hadn't been in Vanimle long - just long enough to figure what was going on and double check the stars. She'd even triangulated, just to be sure, even though that meant going up, and down, three different trees. So she elbowed her way through the crowd and up to the guard, who was clearly considering thrashing a thin, emaciated woman standing in front of him. The woman was dressed in a mish-mash of styles - multiple jackets, multiple belts, and multiple tattoos. She was wearing goggles and had a pack slung over her shoulder. Gala had never seen anyone quite like her travels. She stepped neatly in between her and the guard, flashing her a friendly smile."I really wish you would have waited," she said to her. "I told you I wasn't going to be that long." She turned to the guard. "You didn't need to harass this poor guard - the man's only doing his job." She held up a rolled scrap of paper secured with a blob of red ribbon. "Here you go - clearance for entrance from the captain himself." The guard gave her a suspicious look and unfurled the paper. He looked at it for a moment, then shrugged and rolled it up again, tucking it in his belt. "What the hell do I care," he muttered. "Which ones are with you?" "These six," Gala said, pointing to the woman with the goggles and five others, all who looked equally as competent and willing to go in. The guard shrugged again. "MOVE BACK!" he bellowed at the crowd. They did, but grudgingly. He checked for movement through a gap between the boards of the gate then opened it just wide enough to for Gala to squeeze through. "Move quick." Gala did, motioning for the other six to follow. She slipped through the gap and into the darkness of Vanimle. |
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| Kazimira Baines | Mon Oct 20, 2014 12:12 pm Post #3 |
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One could easily describe Kazimira's smile as vindictive when the guard was forced to back off. Almost childish, really. She raised her brows a few times to stick the point in, using the childish action to fully suppress the intent to jump the man and put him in his place. Ever since that experiment she had been often overcome with the desire to put people in their place. It was a bit too prideful for her tastes, but when she gave in it felt good. That was always nice. She let out a huff, however, “Waiting is just not an option. Especially when these people could get themselves tossed off in the process.” She shrugged, looking around at the people. She was only vaguely aware of an okay coming down the ladder to let them into the town. She was never, as some would say, a patient person. There was a strange plague inside of the town that she had a serious desire to get to the bottom of. She went towards the hole that the guard opened, and smiled, holding a hand out to let some of the others pass first. Near the back of the group one of the others gave her a look, and nodded his head. After a few moments of the two having a polite competition, Kazimira bowed her head and made her way through the hole. The town was quaint, honestly. There was a certain feeling of creepy, dead things creeping around. But beyond that it almost felt homey. In fact, that feeling almost made it more interesting. She had always had a distaste for quiet, countryside towns. There was little to do, the people were close minded most the time, and most of the 'beautiful sights' were mostly just agriculture. She did admit she was fond of the horses in Kellen, however, but that would probably be described as a medium city rather than a country town. At least in her eyes. When everyone was through the hole, Kazimira pulled the bag off of her back and pulled out two bottles. One was clear glass with what looked like water in it. The other was a smaller container, made of clay with a very deep black lid. She set the first bottle aside for a moment, opening up the second and pouring a small amount of multicolored liquid into her hand. She splashed it against the wood of the barricade, making sure to pat her palm into it gently. The liquid shimmered in all the colors of the rainbow, being very apparent in the dim light of the town. She held her hand out, shaking off the last of the liquid and giggling, “So now we have a very clear means of finding our way out should things get hairy. So let's handle getting further in..” She lifted the first bottle, shaking it softly for a moment. The 'water' inside began to glow with a decently bright light, Kazimira holding it at arm's length to extend the range of the light. She didn't think of the fact that it may draw things to her as a bad thing, but she could definitely see some worry in the eyes of those around her. The man who had let her come in before him was especially distressed from the looks of it. She looked him over, the cloak he wore covering most of him. He could tell he wore at least the sparsest of armor, carrying himself as if he was ready to either run, or hit and scurry. She could feel a certain... animosity coming from the town. She gently shook the water some more, making sure that the light was still coming from the bottle. “Does anyone know how long it is between attacks? I heard rumors that they were constant. Right now I'm feeling... hunted.” She could feel the uneasiness in the back of her head. He could feel something was there was well. |
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| Gala | Wed Oct 22, 2014 12:33 am Post #4 |
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Gala was torn between wanting to ask about the substance the woman had splashed on the wood and wanting to focus more on this uncomfortable prickle on the back of her neck. She'd never felt anything quite like it. It felt...important. Not good, but important. She wasn't sure the feeling was that of being hunted. She'd been hunted and it had been a lot less tense than this. A great deal more intense, but less tense. "I don't know if there's a pattern," Gala said, looking up at the dark trees in the shadow of the barricade wall. "But I, too, am getting a..." she search for the right words, "...a curious feeling from this place." She held out an open palm and spoke a word that sounded like the color gold, if the color could have white hot edges. A small ball of light blossomed from her fingers, spitting and sparking like a sparkler. "My name is Gala," she said to the woman with the goggles. "Who are you?" "It is not wise to be so free with one's name," someone else interrupted, rather ominously. It was the man in the sparse armor with the cloak. "You never know when it could be misused." "What can I call you then?" Gala asked, all innocence. The man looked a bit chagrined, but did not reply. Someone else choked back a snicker. "Movement toward the barricade!" one of the guards atop the wall shouted. |
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| Kazimira Baines | Wed Oct 22, 2014 6:42 am Post #5 |
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Kazimira played around in her backpack for another few moments, a smile plastered on her face. There were some things she had to take special care to sort out. She picked a small orb off of one of her belts, a glass ball that had a rough, oily liquid. The color was a dark brown, glittering red in some places where light was passing through it. The look on her face was rather playful as she traced a finger across it's surface. “You may call me Kazimira Baines. It is lovely to meet you, Gala! What brings you here?” She gave the girl a smile, wide enough to cover most of her face. Kazimira wasn't beautiful by most any standards, but she sure knew how to smile. Her mother had always praised that quality about her. She hadn't noticed it much, she had to admit, but people always pointed it out to her. Ardael had, but then again he had pointed out a lot of things she barely noticed. She wiggled her nose, shaking her head towards the cloaked man, “And as a note, you always know what it can be used for. Whether you do it or someone else does is heavily irrelevant. The only reason to not give your name is if it is a bad one.” Her father had told her that, and the remark made sense in her head when she said it. If it made sense to anyone else was another matter that was gone from her mind the second she said it. She tapped the lid of the little orb in her hand for a moment, rocking the liquid back and forth for a moment before pausing to set down the glass bottle of glowing liquid. It's light was diminishing without a constantly act stirring it up, but she was pretty content with the light they had. It was about to get brighter, anyway. She pulled herself back into a throwing position, watching for whatever motion the guards had seen on the wall. The combination of technology and man was something that sent shivers down her spine, the kind of way a decent night out may have in the years past. The latter had lost it's charm years ago, but the thought of figuring out how this thing worked was something that made her feel that girlish joy again. With a grin the size of a chasm she pulled her hand back fully, tossing the orb as hard as her little body could allow it. The glass orb flew, drifting towards the ground a little more then she had intended. It landed, slamming into the lower half of the creature that had appeared from deeper inside the town. For a moment, it didn't know what had happened. It all happened in a split second. The glass shattered, causing an annoyed reaction. The liquid spread out, and as it expanded, the first touches of it to hit air began to ignite. The liquid spread out, showering itself all over the ground and the creature currently bounding over it. Before it could even reach the group, the inferno had found itself covering the beast. Some sort of human intelligence still offered itself to it's forethought, a howl coming from it's twisted form and the thing rolling around in an attempt to stop the flame's touch. All it did was spread the concoction that had caused it across it's whole surface. Kazimira whistled, “Ten points!” |
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| Gala | Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:32 am Post #6 |
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Kazimira had a lovely smile. Gala noticed that right away. It was a smile that also seemed a little insane, but Gala hadn't noticed that yet. In all likelihood, she would not. "How do you determine point value?" she asked, watching the shadows the blazing creature cast. Above them, arrows rained down from the barricade. Nearby, one of their companions let off a fireball. Gala pulled a metal wand out from her sleeve. There was a five pointed star on top. It had been painted once, with a red and blue spiral on the shaft and gold paint on the star, but most of it had flaked off before the wand had even come into her possession. Rust was starting for collect on the ends. It didn't look like a spell caster's tool. It looked like a child's toy. From a hidden pocket in her robe, a tiny trumpet sounded a charge. Gala reached in and pulled out a pink star patch in a little gold tabbard. It had a curving horn in its hand. Again it sounded a charge. Absently, Gala set it on her shoulder. The flames from the fallen creature danced against the walls, finally illuminating the thing she had been waiting for. She raised her wand and spoke a word that made the air hum and set people's teeth on edge. Light exploded from the tip, streaming rainbow colored sparks. It streaked through the air and hit the shadows by a wall, briefly illuminating a humaniod form like a flash of lightning did. In the darkness that followed, the creature crystallized and shattered. |
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| Kazimira Baines | Mon Oct 27, 2014 6:58 pm Post #7 |
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It had went from complete silence to a sort of chaos, one that was admittedly comfortable. Kazimira had been used to such things, and it felt a lot more comfortable now that everything was in motion. They were going to take forever if they had to sneak around the entire time. Now they could get in and get out as many people as they could. She kept the smile on her face, approaching the one she had wiped out and getting a glance at it. She was hoping to get a look at one of them, but from the looks of it that wasn't the safest path. Those that went down in a way that wasn't absolutely destructive didn't stay down for long. That would explain the weird amalgamations in some of them. Once they go down, they just become parts of others. A very intelligent system, assuming that this was a design and not an accident. Something like this would almost have to be, by her reckoning. Her eyes narrowed slightly at the possibilities. The other girl, Gala, had asked about the point system. The question was almost alien, Kazimira not being quite used to explaining her self-perpetuating insanities. She turned her head slightly to give it a moment's thought, and was kind of glad she did. Whatever the girl had done lanced forward, and put down one of the things with very little fuss. She clapped her hands and turned towards her, “We'll call that fifteen for being impressive!” She could feel a few of the people with them showing some contempt. She had a difficult time trying to wrap her head around people are so serious in situations like this. She could understand the somber attitudes, but being annoyed at others not being as uptight was just silly. But to each their own, she would pretend that she didn't notice for now. She drew out her scimitar, running a nail across it's surface for a moment. She felt the other side dancing with glee beneath the surface. She knew that he was waiting for his turn at things, but for now this was just a precaution. She could defend herself if she had to. She went back to her bottle and picked it up, fussing over her lack of insight. With a huff, she sheathed her weapon and went about using a spool of rope to tie the bottle to her hip, shaking it up again in the process to produce more light. She mumbled to herself, a few of the highlights approaching 'would lose your head if it wasn't attached' territory. She fixed the rope with a bit of a fuss and drew back out her weapon. Turning and looking through the scene. While this made things simpler, it would also make things complicated. One of her desires was to save whoever was trapped inside, there had to be people inside. The things appeared too much to just be reconstruction. She shook her head. Far too many variables to deal with in a vacuum. She made a slow pace towards the latest building, keeping her hands wrapped around a small bottle with a head built to eject it's contents at whatever would come at her. It was a matching set with one of the grenades strapped to her chest. They both would do quite a bit but the maintenance after this whole thing would be a bother. She'd have to live with it. There was some hunting to be done. |
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| Gala | Wed Oct 29, 2014 12:41 am Post #8 |
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Kazimira clearly had a job here. "That's the problem with following stars," Gala thought as she followed the other woman on silent feet. "They're so cursed unspecific." Gala did not have a job here. She didn't even know what she was really doing there. The stars had directed her here and it seemed to be the right place to be, but that didn't give her a reason to be in this, quite frankly, dangerous situation. She really hoped the shadow genasi wasn't behind this. That would complicate matters terribly. It didn't look like her work, but one never knew. The star patch on her shoulder began to sing in a tinny voice. She grabbed it and shoved it in her pocket, muffling it's sound. She neared Kazimira, doing her best to be quiet. "Question: what are you doing? I mean, what's your goal?" Her voice was barely a whisper. |
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| Kazimira Baines | Thu Oct 30, 2014 9:32 pm Post #9 |
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Kazimira gave the girl a curious look, not quite sure how to take the question. She opened her mouth for a second, but stopped herself. Goal? In a way, she had a few. But she hadn't thought of it. She had thought of a great many things, such as her need to save these people, or her desire to examine one of the bodies. But she wouldn't call those goals. More like desires, or maybe just inclinations. Did everyone think that way or was she just losing it a bit more every day? She shrugged, “To do what I can, I guess. I'm good at figuring stuff out, and I don't like seeing innocent people hurt. People like me, we get killed all the time. And it's our fault. But this village.. these villagers... They didn't choose this. And I can't sit by while it's chosen for them. I guess I just think that if no one else is going to do this.. I have to.” She felt uncomfortable, not being used to explaining herself very much. She fidgeted, shaking her hip for extra emphasis- and to shake up the water to keep her light going. She could hear the shuffling of feet, and the tell tale sound of more of the creatures coming. She sighed, pulling one of the grenades from her chest and pulling the pin. She tossed it as the noise got closer. As the creature came at the pair of them, nearing their sphere of light, it found itself facing a cloud of acid, burning away at it's flesh every moment it stood in it. The human aspect in it reacted, crying out at the sudden rush of pain from all sides. Every breath it took of the blast was sucking the pain into it's lungs, burning it from the inside out. She looked at it with an almost clinical detachment, seeing how it would respond. The disease in it wanted to press on, to infect another person. The human that was infected wanted nothing more than to stop the pain. Neither goal was gonna get reached. As it neared the edge of the cloud, she stepped forward. When it was fully clear, she plunged her blade into it, severing it from it's head in an attempt to destroy the ability to move. She doubted it would work for very long, she had seen some of them pieced together like jigsaw puzzles. But it would stop the howling, if nothing else. They didn't need more on them. She looked over her shoulder at the girl, “Avoid the cloud, it'll hurt you as much as it hurt that thing. I'm going to head for the nearest large building, see if any survivors holed up inside of it.” She didn't wait for a response, putting her hand on the hanging lamp on her hip and letting it rest for a moment. The light dimmed down quite a bit, and she used that to press forward. She wasn't the stealthiest person, and she definitely wasn't the quietest person. But the infected things seemed to have a disconnection from human intellect in a way that made her curious. The nearest building that was decent in sized was an inn, part of it's roof having collapsed. It was likely one of many places that was attacked when this all started. There was evidence that there had been a small fire in that area of the building as well, but it had been put out somehow. She wasn't sure what had done that, but she hoped it was a group of survivors. She smiled bitterly at the sign hanging limply from a pole, 'Your second home'. She sighed, muttering to herself, “Welcome home, Kazim.” |
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| Gala | Tue Nov 4, 2014 12:28 am Post #10 |
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That was a rather philosophic answer and not what Gala had wanted, though it did give a brief and interesting glimpse into the mind of her companion. She would have pressed the issue, but it clearly made the woman uncomfortable. Besides, they had other problems. “Avoid the cloud, it'll hurt you as much as it hurt that thing. I'm going to head for the nearest large building, see if any survivors holed up inside of it.” Kazimira said. Survivors. That was a good goal. "Right behind you," Gala said, picking her way around the burning cloud of death. The inn wasn't in much better shape on the inside. The common room of the inn had been completely destroyed. It looked like a rabid bear had been trapped inside it. Parts of the walls had been shredded and broken arrows littered the room. There wasn't a stick of furniture left, just massive amounts splinters. The bar had been crushed and the barrels behind it sported axe marks. Light from Kazimira's bottle illuminated patches of red on the walls and floor. A corner of the room where the fireplace had sat was charred black. Whoever had been here for the first attack, they'd fought back. There were stairs on one wall, headed up. There was a light coming down from above them. Gala caught Kazimira's eye and made her way across the floor. |
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| Kazimira Baines | Wed Nov 5, 2014 2:25 pm Post #11 |
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What used to be an inn looked like a disaster had hit the main room. It was a cross between a bad night at poker and a good night with a fresh lover, all mashed together to create a destruction that churned her stomach. She could feel a gnawing in the back of her head, a voice demanding retribution for every being that died in this tussle. She had to fight it down. He couldn't take control when they were about to find survivors. They wouldn't make it far. Gala led her eyes to the light from upstairs and Kazimira closed her eyes, wishing that they didn't see that. Why was the light on? She wasn't sure how these things worked, but it seemed quite possible that light would be a drawing factor for them instead of a deterrent. She sighed and nodded towards the girl, moving her hand to one of the globes on her chest and moving slowly towards the stairs. It could be a remainder of a group of survivors that didn't quite make it. She didn't wanna think that way, but she honestly would rather be happily surprised instead of ambushed. A much better option in her book. She looked towards the girl, then the stairs, then back at her again. She wasn't sure how comfortable she felt letting someone else lead. She whistled and held up her hand holding her sword. She would at least be more comfortable with the one holding real steel to be standing between them if one of those things was up those stairs. Some part of her was telling her she was being too protective of someone she had just met. But you had to live with your morals. He told her that, and she'd live with it. She held her sword forward, fiddling between two or three different globes. She couldn't quite decide which one she'd rather use if another one decided to show it's face. She had nine of each kind, and then a few more toys at her disposal before she would have to even purely rely on him. She could live with that, honestly. She reached the top of the stairs, the beating of her heart being in her ears. The sudden flood of elation was like flying when she was greeted at the top of the stairs by human faces, and not those of the creatures they had been faced with to this point. She was stumbled over her words for a few seconds before she finally stammered out, “We... we're here to help!” She turned towards Gala with a great big smile on her face, nodding her head, “We're awesome. I'm sure of it.” |
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| Gala | Sun Nov 9, 2014 7:52 pm Post #12 |
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Gala barely acknowledged Kazimira's comment. She was a few steps behind the alchemist, crouched down so she could see the inn's common room. She was watching the door, a slight frown on her face. "Your positive attitude," she said blandly, "is appreciated, but possibly a little preemptive." One of the creatures lurched its way through the door, two or three others crowding in behind it, heading straight to the stairs. They'd not gone but a foot when there was an explosion of fire and a shockwave of heat that had a palpable whump. Splinters scattered everywhere. There was the smell of burned meat. Gala and Kazimira had missed the spot only through blind luck. Gala said nothing, but looked up the stairs at the scared and pinched faces at the top. Her expression spoke volumes. "We had a mage," someone said. "She laid the Blasting Runes. They're all over the floor down there." There was an embarrassed cough. "Um, we're a bit surprised you missed them, truthfully." Gala stood up and brushed off her robe. There was a shrieking from her pocket. She pulled out the star patch and it went on in a high, tinny, offended noise at great length. "I agree," she said. "There have been a great deal of explosions recently, but I don't expect there to be any less. If you don't like it keep your head down." Downstairs, another creature triggered another Blasting Rune. Gala turned and headed up the stairs, pushing through the crowd there. "Is there another way out?" "If there was, we would have left long ago," the survivor's spokesman said. "That's fair." Room above the common room was a large one with two rows of bunk beds along both wall. There were windows, but they couldn't be climbed out of. "We have wounded," the spokesman said, "and children." Gala looked over to Kazimira, "Thoughts?" |
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8:21 AM Jul 11

