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Cairns on the Wine River [FIN]; [ST05][Signups Closed]
Topic Started: Sat Sep 17, 2016 1:22 pm (8,257 Views)
Mobster Man
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Yurim smiled when the rest of the crew finally made it aboard the train, it was time to get to work. He made his way into the train only to see Zuraw, in her hybrid form. Yurim laughed, "Now this, is a nice change of pace. Us. Winning." The Scorchliner shuddered as it fazed into the next plane, he could feel the Senka outside the scorchliner, if they somehow made it in here... well, then Yurim and a few others would be in for a very bad time.

The next few moments didn't even faze Yurim, if anything, he just thought the slack jawed idiocy of trying to shove his way past them, a group of people armed with silver weapons. He moved at the same time as Keter, drawing his silver knives to strike low, more going for a hamstring, followed by a spinning slash at his chest. Yurim sheathed his knives and drew three shuriken from his sleeves, magical shuriken that had been recovered along with his trusty armor, one for fire, another for ice, and the last one was lightning.

Three quick snaps of his wrists sent the shuriken into any nearby foes that had tried to close in on him or Keter during their attacks. Yurim grinned, "Yeah, sorry but the Pariahs aren't backing down so easily, nor are we just going to let you do what you want."

OOC
Edited by Mobster Man, Fri Dec 23, 2016 9:54 pm.
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Anci
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She pointed at the dire dogs and looked back at the golem.

Stay on them! Just the dogs, not the horses!

It hissed through a number of vents lining its skull, metal flaps working in a pattern to communicate visually and with the change in pitches to the exhalation it was making.

Anci had no idea what it meant, but it leapt off and went after the dire animals along with her other summon. She was thankful the thing had seemingly listened for whatever reason, but there wasn’t time to pat herself on the back for something going right.

Bacek’s countdown started, now she immediately regretted sending the golem off and started sprinting down the length of the scorchline car to get between them and brace. Her feet slipped out from under her from a slick patch of frost on the roof, Anci arrested the fall with her hands and stopped from suffering a hard fall but it was enough of a delay to leave her hanging when the scorchline hit Lore’s trap. For the second time that day she felt weightless, lifting just off of the scorchliner as they both soared through the air.

Rasaki flew from her hand, this time the blade managed to redirect itself around a railing between the cars she had been going towards and wrapped around them. As she was slipping past her place in reality was removed and forcefully transplanted into the Ethereal. It coincided at the same moment she slammed into the roof of the following car, her clothing just barely mitigating the impact that racked her side. A wave of nausea hit her at the same time heat bloomed inside of her stomach. Anci barely had time to pull down her mask before the day’s lunch spewed out of her and froze where it touched the cold metal.

It felt like an eternity up there until her body stopped heaving and she could will herself to get up and move. Where she landed didn’t hurt that bad but if there was a tomorrow, Anci knew she would have some pretty major bruising at the least.

With a bit of care she pulled herself into the space between the cars and landed feet first. This place was wrong. She had seen quite a few things, but everything here felt off. Like this was some kind of vision of a terrible afterlife than an actual place they were in. All the while the curling pain inside of her started intensifying.

Bacek crackled on looking for an update. "[How's everyone doing? Wounds? Casualties? Report if you can.]"

I am fine/” Anci choked out over the line, keeping her voice from shuddering while on the metamana line.

The main source of action seemed to be going down further back in the train. Lore and the bounty hunter had been that way, so had a fair number of the pariahs.

Anci looked the other way. Ansgar was there, somewhere, intending to throw himself into the jaws of the wolf. She wasn’t able to save him from Starek, but this was a second chance to try to save him from himself.

She went looking for the raging draconid, hoping to find him before he and Karstoff found each other and try to stop him from suicide one last time.

OOC
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Alexandra
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Alex leaned against the wall as the rest of the Pariahs piled in. The group was disorganized, but Alex fixated entirely on Kir Lantos. Then he shouted that he needed to find Aufdein Korso. Alex froze.

<Aufdein, location. Kir wants you, not going to let him have you, even if I have to get across this train myself.> Alex's fingers wove into another spell, and she indicated Kir. Flames burst from her arm, spiraling and concentrating around her outstreched fingertip until a single, brilliant beam sought to pass between her allies without striking them. Burns remained on her arm where the flames had come. Alex looked back through the scorchliner, trying to see Karstoff with her misty gray-blue eye through the innards of the train. "Mira, stall Karstoff when she bursts in here, try not to hurt her, it'll just make her angry." Alex waited to either hear from Aufdein or for Karstoff's sudden arrival. She thumbed at the letter stashed in one of her coat's interior pockets. Alex twisted to look at Lantos's group. "Our insider says Lantos was declared a zakona by Karstoff. Open season, no murder charges for anyone who smashes him into the earth."

[OOC: Overheat, Enervate fire-sub used on Kir +Luck manipulation so she doesn't hit allies.

5 hellfire soul charges available. Enemy proximity from last post(and this post) brings her up to 7 charges.]
Edited by Alexandra, Sat Dec 24, 2016 1:24 am.
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Tanya
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Tanya allowed herself a few seconds to recover after the rip sent them into the ethereal. She tapped into her metamana and replied to Bacek. "[I'm near the rear. No serious injuries. Nevenka is nearby, though I don't have eyes on her right now. Lorica's nearby, too. She's injured. And not at her most sane.]"

She continued to pass on information as she progressed towards the center of the train. She reached it in time to catch Lantos shoving his way past the gathered Pariahs. She lashed at his legs with her clawed hand, then at her own arm to let a spray of her acidic blood jet out at his back.

The wolves prevented her from following any further. Instead, she reported the situation by metamana. "[Lantos is heading for the back, looking for you, Korso. Stay out of his way. Hatiri is on his side. He might have betrayed Karstoff. If someone can talk Ansgar down, we might be able to get her to work with us to deal with Hatiri and Lantos.]"

As the brawl broke out, she shoved her way past the wolves and bounty hunters towards the Sheriff. She wasn't so confident in her abilities as to believe she could take him on alone, but she hoped she'd be able to muscle her way past to reach Karstoff. If Tanya could reach the werewolf and offer an alliance on behalf of the Pariahs, their chances both of defeating Kir Lantos and of surviving Hatiri's retribution would increase dramatically.

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Storyteller[ST]
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Front -
Anci
(Must-Read for Everyone)


Your search for Ansgar is simple: look for the source of the earthquake-like tremors radiating through the entire sequence of connected carriages. The culprit has, as far as you can tell, kept up with the vehicle by charging at full speed, slamming his bulk with metal-denting strength into the side, and then slowing down to rest for another push. The single massive antler on his head has gored the armor on the side of the Kir Lantos open, revealing that pulsating sinew you discovered earlier. But he's not okay. Ansgar's ears, hands and legs are black from frostbite. It's amazing that he can still use that deadened tissue, even as an undead monstrosity.

With a grunt of exertion, the draconid Twice-Wise launches himself into a death-defying leap right in front of you. He lands messy, all his tremendous weight coming down at once while he scrabbles to pull his tail and one leg onto the top with the rest. The hovering section of the vehicle yields, scraping the scorchline itself. Metal and sinew carve against the mana spikes inlaid into the track, spilling waves of sparks that even the people near the center can see.

The trauma to the scorchline forces the Kir Lantos to fade back into Chaon.

Going from the Ethereal to the material is much less traumatic for you, a native lowplanar, than vice-versa. The thundersnow is a full-blown ice-and-snow deluge in the choking darkness of the far-rural backswamps. You're long gone from Marble County right now, and even the trees seem less dense.

You hear victorious roars in the background of Bacek's metamana radiance. "[The exterior is finally clear! And with minimal casualties in the Quiet Road because of that golem.]"

"[Not also for Paladins and Friends,]" Neriah says in heavily accented Common. "[We are pulling out. The few still not dead. We wish you much luck to finish.]"

"[The Quiet Road will stay with me, unless you need them. To make sure the outside actually stays clear. We're down on horses with endurance adaptations, though.]"

Anci, these transmissions are interrupted by Ansgar. The fade threw him off the Kir Lantos, but he's already caught up again. "You might be quiet, wolf, but your blasphemy shouts in my ears!" Karstoff doesn't seem like she's nearby, so this would be the best chance to talk to Ansgar -- in the middle of a wild storm while riding a wounded vehicle that is roaring along as fast as a galloping horse. What do you do?



Center -
Glug, Keter, Yurim, Inferna, Twist, Alexandra, Tanya


As Kir makes a run for it, several of you attack him: acidic and silverborne arrows from Glug, a spike toward his side from Keter, a hamstring attempt from Yurim, pursuit from Inferna, a beam from Alex, claws from Tanya with a spray of acidic blood. Everything happens so quickly, so overwhelmingly, that you're... not actually sure what pierced his defenses and what didn't. Part of the problem was what he did in the middle of this chaos: he shapeshifted. That means your instinctive estimates of his size, positioning, and speed all became very wrong in an instant. Kir proves incredibly agile for the first split-seconds, then bowls into the ongoing brawl like a bull in a china shop. This also slows him down, revealing him to be wounded by silver, acid, and fire.

He's also not as large as you might have expected. If you pried into Zuraw's memories, he even came across there as imposingly large. Kir Lantos' beast form is only a bit larger than a mundane wolf -- which in itself is much larger than most people would expect -- but fast, blindingly fast, and nimble enough to weave around the brawl once he's recovered from the initial shock of all his injuries.

Speaking of the brawl, what a mess. Yurim, your shuriken provide great openings for Twist to attack. She's a whirlwind of violence at this point, spilling blood and crippling wolves left and right in her attempts to reach Maksym and Nevenka. The Shadow-Lover, bastard as always, was unharmed by her jawed vines. Nevenka took, well... all of it. Head-on.

Sorry, did I say Nevenka? That's actually Marcus. Who cares about Maksym? Is he even here anymore? (He is, Twist, but you can't see him anymore. It's wintertime in Norwood.) Good Twist? Really? Do you think you deserve that kind of praise? You have to earn your spot as his favorite. Marcus sneers at you. "Eenie meenie miney moe..." he says, only to you. You're so small, Twist. Just a little girl running with a band of bandits. Lucius -- Maksym -- is here, but he's looking at you with judgmental eyes. Your attacks hit Marcus like nothing. He's the one with all the power. You're defenseless. You could die and no one would notice. You died once already, and what good has that done? Marcus is going to kill you again, and Lucius is just watching, agreeing with what's happening. You can only count on yourself to fight back.

For those of you not experiencing Twist's point of view, you witness her brutally murdering Nevenka Valeriev followed by a staunch refusal to attack anything but the bounty hunter's dead body. Until Maksym is dead, Twist is going to be useless in helping you all. Maybe she's lost in everything she's given to the Ethereal, some hodgepodge of traumas cobbled together into a whirlwind of negative emotions.

"Time for more sparring," Maksym -- Lucius, to Twist -- says to the insane Keeper, gesturing toward the Pariahs. "Plenty of targets around here. I think you could take them all on at once."

Meanwhile, there's also the issue of Hatiri. The ethereal vampire doesn't acknowledge the Shade's question. Tanya, you try to muscle your way past the Principal Sheriff who's standing at the door. Before you know it, you're slammed into the wall. You feel a sharp pain in your neck. Wisps of smoke trail from a pair of puncture wounds in your jugular, but you're not bleeding. Roman Hatiri spits off to the side, scrunching his nose and smacking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "What the hell are you?" Nevertheless, one hand morphs into a twisted form of your own claws. He pulls back the limb, aiming an attack that will either impale you clean through the ribcage or break the wall you have your back against.

In the brawl, Ithuen and Zuraw are doing a number on the crippled Wolves. The former's words turn more confused as time goes on. Eventually, all the "Whoah! What the hell?" type of comments congeal into a clearer idea: "They're dying randomly!"

Alex, since you instructed Mira to delay Karstoff, that's exactly what she does. This undying husk housing an extraplanar being seems like just the thing to stymie the ancient werewolf that will no doubt barge into this cramped, violent space, in a completely solidified and comprehensible form. Right?

Everyone, you spot a flash of metal in your peripheral vision. It was so fast it might have been your imagination. Two more wolves die right in front of Ithuen and Zuraw, to their surprise. Cut apart by a blade that wasn't theirs. One by one, the tempo quickening.

"Holy--" Hatiri mumbles, putting his non-deformed hand on his hat.

Just when this couldn't get more chaotic and inexplicable, that's the exact moment one wall of your current scorchliner peels away. Based on the mottled texturing of the wall as it happened, it looks like it was Hatiri's doing; you're not sure why. Snow and wind and ice surge into the cramped space, restricting visibility and removing all the interior heating that was once here. To make matters even worse, the Kir Lantos fades back into the Ethereal a heartbeat after that.

"[What the hell is going on?!]" Bacek shouts through the metamana, her voice cracking and scraping and sounding distant. "[There's something-- it's-- dead gods what is th--]" It cuts out. You don't see Bacek or the Quiet Road outside: just blowing snow and darkness with the occasional piercing impact through some ice formation in the Ethereal. Aufdein never answered your hailing over the metamana either, Alex. He might have deserted all of you when you needed him most.

Hatiri is tense, looking in every direction, his longcoat billowing in the blizzard. The thundersnow has bled into the Ethereal now, flashing with occasional white light. The Kir Lantos pierces an even bigger formation this time, spending several seconds grinding through solid, jagged ice. When it emerges on the other side, you can see that the scorchline is skirting against the side of some mountain or other colossal formation. On the side of the vehicle with the hole in it, you can see a drop into a gaping, snowy abyss just past the track. Senka are gathering; you can hear their metallic cries in the distance.

Yurim, Hatiri appears next to you in a swirl of wispy energy and you find yourself shooting out of the liner, shadows cracking and breaking in a trail behind your trajectory. You've been hurled into a void, and now you're falling. Something broke your Shadowdancing abilities for a few seconds, but you can feel them coming back quickly.

"I'm right here, Tatiana," Hatiri says. "What's wrong? Distracted? Spread too thin? The Wine River Pariahs are here, too."

Zuraw seems to have the right idea: she darts over all the corpses, sniffing after Kir. You can follow her, but you'll have to contend with relentless attacks from Hatiri. Whatever he said about leaving you guys for Karstoff doesn't seem to be the plan anymore now that she didn't seem to take the bait, at least at the moment. Your environment is being twisted against you. How do you fight something that's everywhere, and that can't be counterattacked? Spikes are bursting from every angle, partial walls are raising up, and random holes are being torn open in the walls to expose you to the elements or attempt to drop you onto the track.

"I can hold him off!" Ithuen offers during the chase. "You might find Kir quicker that way! Besides--" the elf grins, "--he's my boss, so it's kind of personal."

From what you know about Ithuen she's proven to be shockingly powerful, maybe even your strongest fighter. She might actually be able to delay him a few seconds or even a full minute. She also doesn't have a death wish or a sense of honor, so she'd probably pull back if she got too badly injured.

What do you do?


OOC
 
Due to the holidays, this round will be 4 days long. The next ST post cutoff is 4:00pm on Tuesday, December 27.

50 gold has been added to the final payout because the event has gone 1 week overtime. An additional 50 gold will be added for each week the event goes overtime. Thank you for playing for so long.

Since this situation is only getting more and more chaotic, here's a summary of important things:

  • Ancients Unleashed: Karstoff appears to be killing enemies at random and, at least at the moment, is easiest treated as part of the environment. How do you deal with her presence? Furthermore, how do you deal with Hatiri's presence? How do you deal with the harsh environment Hatiri is creating as he pursues you?

  • The Hunt for Lantos: Zuraw is following Kir toward the back of the liner. Who knows what he's planning or trying to do. Any way you can help her close the distance quickly, maybe slow or stop Kir somehow?

  • Ithuen's Offer: Ithuen is offering to hold back Hatiri to remove all those environmental hazards for a minute or so, also giving you time to get Kir. This is actually something she's powerful enough to pull off, but her survival isn't guaranteed. On the bright side, she's not a death seeker like Ansgar; this isn't a Bulwark thing. That means that if she's badly losing and has a chance to retreat, she'll do it.

Anci, if you complete your interaction with Ansgar mid-round in the Discussion, you're free to rejoin the chase from a different angle if you'd like. Or if you're fine with being separate doing diplomacy like Carmen was before, that's fine too. I just don't want you to feel like you're missing out.

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Glug Photall
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It was bound to happen sooner or later: Ansgar’s brutal assault upon the scorchliner had apparently torn it open and violently forced it out of the Ethereal Plane. They were back on Chaon. There was shouting on the metamana, cheers of victory, but Glug wasn’t listening. The leader of the pack himself might have shifted mid-attack, but he was wounded: acid, silver, and fire had done their job well. And then all Abyss broke loose. Glug could barely tell who was friend and who was foe, and despite the silver arrow nocked to his string, he had yet to draw-and-fire. He honestly didn’t know who to fire at, and he gritted his teeth in frustration. But something odd was going on…the wolves seemed to be dying at seemingly random intervals, and yet there was that flash of metal he had just seen…or had he seen it?

Was there some invisible ally here, striking the wolves down so fast that even the wolves’ enemies couldn’t see it happening until it was already over? It hardly mattered, however, as the wall of the scorchliner chose that moment to be torn asunder. Snow, ice, and wind flew into the scorchliner with all the fury of nature, sending Glug’s conical cap flying; after a moment of being strangled, the string snapped and the cap flew away somewhere behind him. His cloak was thrown back as well, and he had to throw his weight into maintaining his footing. And then the scorchliner was thrust right back into the Ethereal Plane. Bacek was stunned by something, relaying her astonishment over the metamana in part before it cut off entirely, only static filling Glug’s ear - Glug’s now-fully-visible ear, covered in the prosthetic mask though it still was. Although he still had the outward skin of a seasoned hunter, his lone ear was now visible without the protection of his cap.

It wasn’t as though it mattered, anyway. The battle was in full swing now, and he was fairly certain that Lantos was just going to slaughter everyone that got in his way. He seriously doubted whether the alfha even cared who was who anymore, considering the madness that had now enveloped the still-mostly-disguised goblin. Gazing out of the hole in the side of the scorchliner, Glug saw that things were about to get worse very quickly: senka were gathering…a lot of senka. Trying to force their way through the ice alongside this mountain - or whatever it was - probably didn’t help matters much.

But Zuraw was on the bastard’s trail…that’s where Glug was going. He followed her quickly, thankful that the mask - which was starting to develop tears now, though they had yet to rip through completely - was actually protecting him somewhat from the wind. He shot arrows at any wolves that got too close to Zuraw, seeking to either down them with a single shot or at least drive them away long enough for he and Zuraw to reach the man who had started this entire affair. He cast Globes of Darkness behind him as he went, trying to block any educated pursuit, though he was likely just creating more chaos; either was fine by the goblin. In the end, one thing was certain: Lantos would die today, one way or another. And as for Ithuen…

<”Do it!”> he told her.

The longer she could hold off this whole mess, the more quickly Zuraw and Glug could get to Lantos and end this.


OOC
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Keter
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"You--" For Keter the shifting back to Chaon was considerably more comfortable than to the Ethereal plane, for as homey as he found the darkness even among the grim cairns, his body was still of Chaon. For the Shade, however, it was a shocking experience oppositely set of the euphoric sensation that coursed through his Keter to connection, but to be so forcibly returned to a neutral plane sent a shock of feedback to its true place in the Abyss. Perhaps had it been a stranger to pain it would have screamed out, but for the time being it was merely interrupted, the buzzing of the shadows returning with them to Gloomwood, "Did you betray the Marquise? Incomparable fool!"

Well, that was happening now. After so long keeping the Ethereal out of his mind, of keeping the Shade's identity secret as best as he could, this is what it had come down to. The Abyssal was merely going to do its thing, and Keter had to focus on his. The problem was what was happening in the material world, wolves dying at seeming random and to no clear person's fault. What shadows were born of the madness seemed confused, at least by the Black Monkey's understanding of them.

Then there was a tempo of death. The removal of an entire wall of the vehicle. Things were not simply falling apart, the plan was not merely going awry, this was like running down a barren mountain and suddenly being stricken by some truly god-like being. There may have been sense in the madness, but at the heart of it was not the place to inspect it for meanings.

"What horror brought to light. . .?" Keter muttered to himself, words unlikely to have been picked up by many. Even he was not sure if he was feeling fear in that moment, but the instinct to survive whatever onslaught was occurring was definitely itching at his heart.

The Marquise. You can't handle her, hunt Kir, see his end. The Shade explained within his mind, regaining some sense of composure and momentarily drowning out the noise of chaos that was surrounding them.

Perhaps if he laid all of his cards on the table and pulled every trick he could, then maybe Keter could have fought Hatiri, maybe even beaten him without making a single deal with the Ethereal, but whatever force that was chasing after the Sheriff was nothing that the Shadowboxer could fully comprehend, let alone begin to understand how to fight or defend against. Seeing no reason to disregard his Shadow's suggestion, Keter turned to chase after Kir Lantos. No stopping to fight, no pushing through enemies or corpses, merely using his acrobatic mastery to go above their heads, attacking and countering as the opportunities presented themselves, but ultimately focusing on following the cowardly, traitorous wolf's tail.

Eh, good enough. Merry Midwinter!
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Mobster Man
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Yes, everything went so well! Kir was hurt, Hatiri was on edge, now Yurim just needed to kill Maksym and go after Kir. He was about to taunt his foes, but the next word that came out of his mouth was simple and incomplete, "Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-!" He was sent flying out a hole in the wall that Hatiri ripped open. Yurim twisted in mid-air, looking down at the ground, sure his scarf made him fall slower, but it didn't slow down his speed from dropping off a damn scorchliner. Chunks of ice littered the ground, the flashes of light from the spikes and train made short lived shadows, he couldn't time his fall to land in one, that would be a damn near impossible feat unless you were touched by a god or something. Instead he hit the ground and rolled as best as he could, scrapes and cuts would have peppered his arms and legs if he didn't have his armor, but with the damage it had already sustained he was just happy it hadn't been torn apart.

He didn't have time to check his wounds to much, he needed to move before the Scorchliner got away. He wrapped his uncovered head in his scarf and rushed back to the scorchliner, jumping through the temporary shadows when he could, he had rolled a fair distance, he wasn't near the front anymore, the best he could do was jump and grab hold of, well, anything his fingers could grab onto, rails, doors, hanging metal bits, anything. He scrabbled back onto the top of the solid scorchliner. He breathed heavily, he could hear the screams of Senka, coming for him and his allies. He sighed, "Shit."

He activated his Metamana, "I'm fine if anyone cares. I'm gonna re-enter the scorchliner, I'm closer to the midsection than I like, I'll get in and try to see if I got lucky and cut Kir off." With that he jumped down between two cabins, opening the door leading towards the front. He took out his silver blades as he ran through, ignoring any gasps or shouts, he focused solely on either running into Zuraw and helping her find Kir, or catching Kir first and planting both of his knives into the werewolf asshole's chest, hell, he'd even twist and rip the blades to hopefully break them off deep into his flesh.

OOC
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Anci
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The transition back wasn’t nearly as bad as the shift over, but being hit by the intense storm in the now-open scorchline car made the shift less welcome to Anci than it could have been. Bacek and Neriah were talking over the metamana, but Ansgar’s reappearance and shouting drowned them out for her. The madman was still running alongside the Kir Lantos like the weather didn’t bother him. She’d seen the frostbitten flesh, she knew it was destroying his body even if he couldn’t feel it or worse, didn’t care.

Ansgar!” She braced herself near the side where he had torn it open doing her best to stop the wind that was whipping her cloak wildly from carrying her off with it. “ Ansgar get inside this God damned scorchliner right now!” She didn’t know if he could even hear over the sound of the wind and his own fury. To try and get his attention she used her free hand to wave him down. It was dark, but she was almost certain he could see in the dark.

Ansgar
 

Hearing Anci's voice, the Twice-Wise draconid slowed just enough to let himself fall back next to her. He pursued the moving liner in long, loping strides, his cloudy eyes squinting against the torrent of snow. After a short time, Ansgar leaped and clung to the side of the liner with all four frostbitten limbs, pressing his eye to the window.

"You wish to stop me, I take it? Hmph. I thought you and Carmen were the only ones with functional minds."


A working mind does not try to kill itself! You have given away your first life to your cause, hold onto your second. Your devotion to your homeland is beyond doubt, but what about their concern for you? You were cast out, thrown away, and even still you try to help them. They are not going to take you back if you win here, you are just helping the ones who sent you from the utopia.

Anci’s voice was wavering as she got more visibly upset, she and Ansgar weren’t as close as she was to Lore but seeing someone else in a similar situation as herself on the precipice of killing themselves rattled her.

And you are still selflessly trying to give your lives to them. This place needs people like you, trying to do something for the good of everyone with such a high cost.” She slammed her palm against the window out of frustration, her tone shifting to a pleading one.

Just stop this assassination, Nine Angels was an awful place before and it is still bad but we made a difference and it took time. If we had just gone after Lantos the moment we got off that barge, we would be dead in the streets and Nine Angels would be no better for it.

OOC
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Lorica
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He was always smiling, Marcus, even when things went wrong, even when he was angry. It was like his cheeks had been pulled up with fishhooks, flesh wrinkling and creased at the corners of his mouth. She hated that smile, but nothing she did would get rid of it. She tore his body to scraps, but he was still grinning, so she grabbed his face. Lorica squeezed, the armor around her fingers sharpening into knives. His head shattered like a rotten egg, but she could still hear his voice, still feel his touch.

Lucius was there, strong Lucius, the one she hoped could defy the corruption. He must of, because here he was. He's proud of her, that she can tell. He failed at killing Marcus once, after all. She's always been picking up his slack, ever since she was a little girl. Now he needs her again. There are others here, others who deserve the same fate as the shredded corpse in her hands. The Grandmaster points them out with a small, kind smile.

Lorica turned to them, panting, streams of mana vapor gushing out of the cracks in her armor. She can't recognize the faces, not even a little. Her subconscious superimposes others over their features, miens that live on in her nightmares. Biter. His hooting laugh echoed in her ears with every new beating. Joan. A woman as cold as Balefire winters, watching the world with dead eyes. Tatts. He tried to be kind, but he could never save her. There were more, dozens of others, bandits that served with Marcus and made up his band of cutthroats. They were thugs and murderers and arsonists, the scum of humanity.

They deserved this.

She tore a knife off of her bandoleer, hurling the throwing blade at Joan/Alex. It was a nasty weapon, designed to spread painful tendrils through flesh. Tatts/Glug and Biter/Keter were running from her, afraid of her now. The reversal was sweet and she howled with laughter. She pointed one hand towards Tatts/Glug, a surge of the Wellspring's power manifesting as a jet of acid that splashed towards the man.

Last was Biter/Keter. He was always the worst. She howled as she scampered after the disfigured highwayman, bounding off the walls and floor. She lunged for him, her armor covered in spikes and blades, the faceplate of her helmet splintering to form needle-like teeth.

OOC
 
  • Sorrysorryimsorrysorry
  • Threw a Fleshcrawler Knife at Alex
  • Cast Corrosive Bolt at Glug
  • Just attacked Keter with tooth and claw (and Corrupted Wellplate)
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Carmen
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She's turned on us. This is the price for dealing with the Ethereal!

"I can see that," Inferna hissed. "We must beware Alexandra as well. The colors she flies might quickly change."

Her molten eyes flicked around the scorchliner, drinking in all the chaos of the battle scene. There was almost too much to comprehend - too many pieces on too many boards, every player working with a different goal in mind. They were, however, all variations on a theme; kill all opposition.

Heat poured off her instinctively as soon as the wintry chill cut into the liner. All around her the air went temperate, and the flames atop her head danced angrily, lashing and coiling in fury at the unseen assailant.

"Stop him," she said to Ithuen. "As long as you can."

That still leaves Maksym, and Lantos, and Karstoff, and Lorica, and -"

I know!

Lorica finished butchering Nevenka and spun, assaulting her former allies, her eyes swallowed by madness. Inferna, finding herself not among the targets, bolted past and into the next compartment, still pursuing Lantos, her thoughts fixated on vengeance.

"Something to keep them busy," she said, waving her hand, a fiery elemental belching forth from the very floor of the chamber. It filled the room she'd entered, blocking the entrance, ready to combat anyone who might try and follow.

From the spout strapped to her forearm, gouts of fire erupted, and she spun her arm in a wide circle. Oily flame spilled over the chamber, setting the interior ablaze. Those who made it past the elemental would have to traverse the conflagration as well.

She kept running, but Lantos was fast, moving with incredible speed despite the injuries he'd sustained. Inferna would have to strike swiftly when the time came. She hefted Soulfire and as she ran, infused it with the power of lightning, arcs of blue-white electricity discharging from her palm into the shaft of the weapon.

"You won't outrun this, when the time comes, dog," she growled.

OOC


Edited by Carmen, Wed Dec 28, 2016 1:19 am.
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Alexandra
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<Aufdein. I get it. I never wanted to be here either, but we need your help.> A knife plunged into Alex's side. Her wary gaze caught Lorica's back as the woman went tearing off up the scorchliner. Her concentration held steady. <I need your help. Kir is going up the 'liner. I'm going to hold off Hatiri so stronger fighters can worry about Kir and his goons. Aufdein. Please help. You can unravel the design of this awful machine and help stop it.> Alex looked over to Ithuen. "My spells are indiscriminate, be careful, please."

Alex looked down for a moment at her bleeding wound. The pain was enough that full fledged spells would be difficult, but she had other means. The world exploded into a shower of flame that quickly expanded to swallow the rest of the car as she moved to approach Hatiri. In a moment she shifted away from him, to the edge of where her flames had just consumed. A series of small bolts escaped her halo, three more and were interspersed with three larger bolts. She stayed light on her feet, ready to teleport through the flames to avoid Karstoff's rampage or Hatiri getting too close.

OOC
Edited by Alexandra, Tue Dec 27, 2016 9:58 pm.
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Tanya
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Tanya took the replicated claws right to her ribs. They sank deep into her body, knocking her back a step, but though a spray of acidic blood spurted out where they hit, the mass of vegetation that comprised her torso felt no pain. She smiled at the Sheriff's incredulous question, watching acid burn at the replica of her hand. "What am I? Oh, too many things to count." She grabbed the Sheriff's arm, trying to keep him from moving away the hand she was skewered on. "They do say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But I already gave away a hand recently, and I can't have everyone using Life Eternal's product without paying." She held on as long as she could, hoping the acid pouring from her veins would damage his hand beyond usability.

When Ithuen entered, Tanya took advantage of her intervention to escape from Roman Hatiri. When she pushed herself off of his arm, she stumbled back, lightheaded. Perhaps she'd herself bleed acid on him a little longer than was really wise, and splintered off from the group to track down Korso. She hadn't seen him since he left her on the scorchliner's roof, so she retraced her steps to see if she could pick up his trail. Every few seconds, she called into the metamana, entreating him to respond: "[Aufdein? Mr. Aufdein Korso? If you can hear me, please let us know where you are. Kir Lantos is trying to track you down personally. Please, Mr. Korso, let me help you.]"

After some searching, the doktor-inventor's familiar voice came over the metamana. Based on all the crackling and popping and metallic scraping in the sound of it, he was a long distance away.

"[If he's tracking me down personally, then leaving was the best idea I ever came up with! I don't know how you people convinced me to go do all that, but it was horrible! I'm a doktor, not a soldier! P-people were dying so horribly, and you people didn't even bat an eyelash! Why would I ever want to be nearby?!]"

Tanya stopped moving upon hearing his response. "[Because you're a doktor. People die horribly around doktors all the time. But that's because we try to stop it, not ignore it like Kir Lantos and his pack. Come back, Korso. Roman Hatiri has jturned on Karstoff and joined Lantos. If we don't end this here, you'll have no hope of avoiding the two of them forever.]" She paused, then switched to a different tactic. "[And if that's not enough to convince you, then consider this: I give people the bodies they want. It's my job, or it was. If you help us and we survive this, come back to Cascadia with me. I have the tools there to make you human.]"

She paused. "[I'm at a hatch about halfway down the scorchliner. Meet me here, Korso. You won't regret it.]"

Edited by Tanya, Tue Dec 27, 2016 11:28 pm.
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Storyteller[ST]
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Pursuing Kir Lantos -
Glug, Keter, Yurim, Lorica, Inferna, Tanya


Tanya, your acid hisses as it burns through Hatiri's copied arm. You escape and join the pursuit after Ithuen volunteers to hold him off with Alex.

His work done and with no one focusing on him, Maksym cuts his palm with one of his scraggly fangs and presses it to the nearest wall. His form shatters like glass as he disappears.

And so the pursuit begins. Glug, you plunge arrows into any living opposition, and there are a few -- although in one case, the wolf dies before you or Zuraw can touch them. In the chaos before they fell, you had spotted a flash of eye-covered metal that sent a shiver down your spine. You also leave globes of magical darkness in a trail behind you. While this could possibly be billed as an attempt to prevent further pursuit, there aren't many -- it's mostly your allies. So you come across as trying to slow down your allies so you can get all the glory killing Lantos. Kind of a dick move, but if that really were the case it's not doing much. You, your allies and everyone else have just one direction to run.

Keter, you follow Kir as well. Yurim, turns out that three-hundred-foot drop you fell off actually had a slight incline to it. What "ground" you did land on was a rocky outcropping jutting with iron rods and tattered banners. You make it back up to the scorchliner using well-timed jumps through the shadows. And finally, to the benefit of the Pariahs, you actually manage to intercept Kir. He doesn't expect you to be right in front of him as he comes barreling through a doorway in his beast form. Your blades plunge hilt-deep into his chest as he bodily knocks both of you down. As you're rolling, you operate on sheer blood-slick determination and muscle memory to give those knives a solid twisting yank. Metal cracks. The alfha roars in pain. As both of you come to a stop, he hurries to struggle to his legs and continue fleeing, but now there are silver weapons lodged in his body.

Twist, after attacking Joan/Alex you make haste to join the pursuit. In your case, you're not going after Kir -- you're going to take on Tatts and Biter, who are running away from you. [Resolve PvP yourselves. Unfair play will be violently corrected by ST, so justify your stuff. For fastest results, optionally post small attacks back and forth in Discussion mid-round.] Regardless of how your attack on them is going, your actions seriously cripple the pursuit effort by taking the full attention of two of the people involved in the chase.

Inferna, you try to rectify this chaos by at least covering the Pariahs' backs. Does your elemental attempt to intercept Lorica? It's certainly close enough at the moment. If so, Lorica, you'll have to deal with that as well. Plus the mess of fire after that.

Tanya, you communicate with Aufdein Korso during the chase. Alex contributes her own words, but none of what you say seems to be getting through to him... until you mention making him human. "[No. That's not possible. Is it? Can you really--?!]" His sputtering is barely audible in all the crackling metamana radiance. He doesn't say anything after that, but you have hope.

The warping environment has subsided as Alex and Ithuen have taken up Hatiri's attention. With Kir sustaining several injuries now, he's slowing down. The monster shoots through another gap between carriages -- and an instant later Maksym, his only living thug, shuts and bars the door before you can go through.

"That won't stop them for long," you hear Kir say. "Cover me."

"This is it, then." It's Maksym's hoarse, smoky voice. "Just like the beginning, it's just you and me. A fitting end, and a good time to return my debt. It was a pleasure, Kir."

"Sure, whatever. Let me focus here."

Yeah, that door's coming off, isn't it? Or in the case of you Shadowdancers, you likely just step through the shadows on the other side, since you're a bit boring.

Lorica, once you enter this room, your hallucinations subside and you come back to your senses.

However you get into that room, it's not like any of the sections of this scorchliner you've been in so far. Kir is in his hybrid form and is pulling back layers of armor on one side of the wall, despite arrow shafts and chunks of silver metal jutting out of his bloodsoaked clothes.

"Just hold for a moment," Kir says. "You don't know a damn thing about this liner, and I do. If you kill me now, you're all gonna die, plain and simple." Maksym is backing up, sticking near his alfha. He's a dirty, snaggletoothed, mangy-looking creature covered in burn scars and Ethereal scratches. The kind of horror you'd expect to see picking through a mass grave. His beast form is large enough to cover up most of your view of Kir and what he's doing.

"You've won. I admit it," Kir goes on. "I may still be able to move, but I'm badly injured as it is. I've seen the error of my ways and my ambition and all that crap. Are you satisfied? Do you even remember why you decided to go on this little quest for revenge in the first place? All this work because I put you in a spot you easily got yourself out of." Growling, he's cutting and ripping into the wall. You hear the sound of clattering chains mixed with disgusting fleshy noises. "You got the wrong guy this entire time. I know I'm not a saint, but you never stopped to think about why you're in this mess in the first place. Who's to blame for that, huh? Who's really to blame? It's not me. I just made good use of the situation. Who orchestrated the Taming of Balefire, Pariahs?"

The metal around you, the walls making up the scorchliner, begins to crawl as if something is moving beneath it, struggling to free itself. You can hear a heartbeat that isn't your own, pounding in an echo in the distance. Beyond the windows, senka are blotting out the anti-sky.

"It wasn't Hatiri. He's a beta through and through. I don't know how he ended up in such a high position. He's as loyal as a dog, and just as stupid. He did the logistics, and enforced the laws, but he didn't create them. So who did? The biggest sapient rights atrocity in Balefire's recent history. The widespread, systematic murder of a country's own citizens... who came up with that?"

The answer should be obvious at this point. The Marquise of Balefire, Tatiana Karstoff, is and was the ringleader of the mass proscriptions.

"You know, we actually both have the same goal: stopping tyranny. You Pariahs were just so self-obsessed you didn't look at the big picture. You had no idea who your enemy was all along." Some more loud clanging noises radiate across the scorchliner's walls. "This voyage is our only good chance to get that bloody dictator in a position to kill her, but you're turning this into a complete mess. Found Korso yet, Maksym?"

"The price to bring him here is very h--"
"Do it."
"Sir..."
"You still have four legs and two eyes, dammit! Do it now!"
"Are you sure? The cost is my life."
"Fine by me."
"But what will happen to my soul? What if it's worse than death?"

Loud impacts further back on the scorchliner interrupt their train of thought.

Then screeches. Air leaves the smoke-vents on the vehicle, moaning like warhorns to add to the cacophony. The Kir Lantos judders as the brakes engage, beginning the long process of slowing the monster vehicle to a stop. Kir goes alert, ears twitching and standing up straight. He double-checks something on the scorchliner and then bursts into laughter. "Nevermind, Maks! The idiot did what I wanted anyway. Didn't even have to steal the piece from him." He looks at all of you Pariahs in the room. "You don't look like the type who'd be interested in an explanation. You just want to kill me and be done with all this. Well, once this thing stops, you'll just be food for the Wolf-in-the-Black. Unless you fight her, of course."

One of his ears flicks, and his lips pull back into a confident smile. "Killing Karstoff is the only way to rid you of zakona status. If you help him here, Hatiri will pardon you once he makes himself the Marquis. Buuuut... he probably won't pardon you if you kill his honored friend: me. Honestly, even just looking at it pragmatically, the only rational choice here is to help him kill Karstoff. Otherwise, we'll all die fighting each other. That thing will unmake each and every one of us, even in her weakened state right now."

Zuraw pushes you all aside and steps up to Kir, her Etherealbane weapon humming.

"Oh! I didn't notice you. Were you trying to be polite, waiting for me to finish? You can start now. Good job." She doesn't respond in any perceptible way. "Are you deaf, pup? Usually you perk right up when I praise you." You notice that Sir Zuraw is trembling all over, now. Kir glances between her and the lot of you. Realization dawns on his face. "I get it. They pretended to be nice to you. They used you, kid. They don't give a shit about anyone but themselves. Hey, Pariahs! Your friend Zuraw was a great informant, by the way. Feeding me information ever since you broke out of the barge and entered Nine Angels."

Her back straightens. She looks shocked. Her helmet turns back to all of you, and she turns her whole body around, shaking her head.

"Oh, don't deny it, dear. Guess you're a double agent now. I thought you were loyal to only me, seeing as you kept feeding me intel, but I guess you don't have the heart to kill them either. Not that I'm surprised. I never expected you to be anything but useless."

Zuraw keeps shaking her head at you, denying his claims.

"Anyway! Enough talking. You Pariahs gonna go kill Karstoff or what?"

While this is happening, you hear Aufdein murmuring over the metamana. "[Don't worry. I figured something out with the liner. Just focus on killing Kir. On my way to meet with Tanya.]"


Anci and Ansgar

You issue your desperate plea to Ansgar, begging him to hold onto his life instead of pursuing his great fanaticism. You remind him that all his wanton violence is doing is helping the people who sent him away from utopia and into this hellhole. You affirm his importance, how much good he could do if he didn't throw himself at Karstoff.

The Twice-Wise considers it. After some time, he pushes himself off and lands in his usual loping gait. Ansgar rips open the hatch closest to you and climbs back on, grabbing you and plopping you on his back with your arms around his neck. "Hold on."

The senka out here are as dense as locusts. He's doing his best to protect you, but you'll need to fend for yourself as well.


Last Stand -
Alexandra and Ithuen
(Anci and Ansgar)


Ithuen gives you a rough slap on the back, Alex. "You got brass balls, my woman! I oughta take you out drinking once all this is over!"

Hatiri turns to face the two of you, melted fat still dripping from his serious chemical burns. "Tatiana. I am here," is all he says.

In a blur, the two superpowers charge at each other. The floor rises up like a carpet of metal beneath Ithuen, who leaps off, careening past spiraling spikes of metal bursting from the walls. You fill the compartment with heat, setting the dark air into a roiling fog of water vapor. Two jumps through the flames protect you from a latticework of holes, bumps, and spikes forming all around you in the environment. Ithuen's presence forces Hatiri to pull a short, broad blade, and the two exchange blows long enough for you to introduce some more fire into the mix.

The layers of metal around Hatiri twist in waves and corkscrews, flowing with the rhythm of the two-on-one fight. He on many occasions attempts to redirect your bolts of fire toward Ithuen, but her quick and borderline-insane footwork leaves her with nothing but scorched ends on her longcoat. He beats Ithuen back as your final bolt is consumed by the environment itself. The metal and wood bubbles and writhes before spewing your spell back at you -- in the form of raw mana.

Ithuen skids backward, flat on her feet, hurling axes and producing new ones from her coat on the fly. She's sporting some bad gashes and puncture wounds, but seems okay. He has a few burns and cuts of his own. "You ain't so tough!"

"I'm busy," he says. You finally notice he's been squinting into the distance, barely paying attention to either of you. His manipulations of the surrounding scorchliner slowly retract, and he tenses again. That's when the brakes catch. "The contract with the Wine River company had one important stipulation--"

"God dammit, I didn't ask for exposition!" Ithuen charges Hatiri again, and they continue their battle as he maintains his calm words.

"They needed to build a failsafe in case the senka-flesh became sentient and rebelled against the conductors. It's a runic override that can cause the vehicle to come to a stop, deactivate its regeneration, all kinds of things."

"Who cares?"

Hatiri just snorts, his attention always pulled in so many different directions. Then, seemingly at random: "She's here."

Ithuen either doesn't hear or doesn't care, because she goes in for another round of melee. Alexandra, you watch her get caught up in the middle of some horrific clash. For split-seconds, colors break and your thoughts are in an incomprehensible language. In the confusion, you see a golden eye staring at you.

Bearkiller goes flying, her back unceremoniously hitting the wall. She slides to the floor and crumples. Her typical wounds are plenty, but she's also missing one of her legs and a section of one hand. Gaudy, metallic colors are shimmering in tracts across her body: wounds in and of themselves. Bright liquid brass is flowing from her missing leg instead of blood. The elf's eyes are as wide as they go and her lips keep moving, but you can barely hear her insane gibbering.

Before you know it, Hatiri has disappeared.

But nearby is Ansgar, with Anci clinging to him. The monster punches a hole in the window and uses that leverage to rip a larger hole through the metal, sinew and chain that makes up the structure of this abominable liner. "Is everyone alright in there?!" he roars, peeking through.


Everyone

Though the brakes have been engaged, it takes quite some time for this thing to come to a complete stop. Regardless of what you decide -- killing Kir or killing Karstoff, as he seems to think you're choosing -- there's a pressing issue coming up.

"[Ice! Brace for impact!]" Aufdein Korso shouts over the mana.

The snowpiercing rostrum at the front of the Kir Lantos carves halfway into the ice formation in front of it before losing velocity and crumpling against itself. The vehicle throws itself off the track as it folds like an accordion, metal ripping and sinew snapping near the front. Depending on where you are, you might hear the dying screams of surviving innocent passengers who you made no earlier attempt to save or help. You might also get thrown around or be struck by airborne objects yourself.

The dust settles, the Kir Lantos moves no more, and its internal structure does not heal. You hear senka outside shrieking as they disperse, frightened by something greater than themselves. Now that you have time to actually look at the senka, they are different from those you've seen in the material, at least in one respect. Many of the larger, more powerful-looking ones have eyes embossed into their bodies like precious gems.

It is now safe to leave the wreckage, as far as you can tell.

Outside, the thundersnow storm has cleared. You can see far distant mountains -- teeth of rock too sharp for Chaon -- that are buried under miles of ice. Just outside the Kir Lantos cairns are everywhere, built in neat rows between all the icy towers and cliffs. These cairns are not just piles of rock; they are covered in things material. Possessions sacrificed, banners taken, rubble restored.

You spot the Marquise standing amid cast-off fragments of scorchliner armor and rune-covered mechanisms. She's underdressed for the cold, wearing nothing but her formal attire of a dress and cloak. Her hood is up and her back is to you.

What do you do?


OOC
 
The next ST post cutoff is Friday, December 30 at 7:00pm.

These next 1-2 rounds, make the most of your posts. You might not get another one depending on how things pan out. For example, if you think it would be best to attempt to kill Kir Lantos rather than take a chance with Hatiri, then you can go ahead and aim attacks on him now instead of just saying you're going to. Same for attacking Karstoff.

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Inferna
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The door swung shut and iron bolts could be heard sliding into place. Inferna's face contorted.

"Coward. Face me," she growled through gritted teeth.

Her Mine Clearer vomited forth blue-hot flames, which she directed in blistering waves over the hinges of the doorway until they glowed red. The metal popped and hissed, the intense heat driving it loose from the frame, making the joints brittle, the doorway groaning audibly.

Together, the Pariahs forced open the weakened barricade. Kir was there, working on controls, and his pet was with him. Lantos offered up some excuse to have his life spared. Inferna seethed; there was nothing he could say that would change her mind.

The monkey and the goblin both spoke to the werewolf, but did nothing. All that served was to give him more time to enact his plan, whatever that was. It was unacceptable.

The fire on Inferna's heat blazed white.

Enough talk.

Inferna lifted Soulfire, and with a thunderous roar of sound, her readied lightning bolt burst forth, streaking straight for Maksym. That, however, was only meant to distract the deal-maker from her true intent. With her free hand Inferna spun an incantation, a huge orb of fire forming around her palm. As the spell finished she threw the massive globe not at Kir, but at the mechanisms he was fiddling with. The sphere was imbued with terrible destructive power; enough to level a small building. It was a mad gambit, but Inferna was not known for thinking before she acted. She meant to blow the wall to smithereens, and, with any luck, Lantos along with it.

"Get down!" She yelled to her companions, diving for cover.

OOC

Edited by Inferna, Fri Dec 30, 2016 12:06 am.
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