Dreams of the Past (inactive)

[SquirrelWizard]

Cinna really wanted a staff. There was just so much one could do with it that these loud gun things just couldn't accomplish. Sure she could probably punch or kick one of these men, or she could shoot the gun at them, but it just wasn't the same.

With a quick glance back to get a fix on the lead rider, she mentally pushed him to the back of her mind as she started to siphon luck off of him. Without missing a step, she pointed ahead at a nearby building, "we need to get inside," and broke out into a full on sprint towards it.

[Inumo]

Sifa gawked for a moment, then followed the girl into the building, glancing back occasionally to check on the riders. Once inside, she ducked around the corner and asked, "Okay, what are we doing in here?"

[SquirrelWizard]

"I dunno, it just seemed like a good idea at the time," Cinna sifted through the interior of the house for anything suitably club or stafflike.

[AmberCross]

'Well that's just peachy,' thought Chris as the riders continued to charge forward. If he knew they were going to be fighting this many people he would have brought another gun. He was out of bullets, but not out of enemies. Then again, there really hadn't been anticipating anything that had happened today and even if there had, he wasn't sure how he'd have gotten himself another gun anyway. Not to mention he felt a connection with this gun that he probably wouldn't with a different one. Almost as if part of his soul were in it, though Chris was not really sure how to feel about that.

On a general hunch, he swung around and pulled the trigger of his gun Leo on one of the riders that had swung around behind their lines even though he had been counting and knew he should be out of bullets. If this didn't work he would have to try something completely different which he still wasn't certain of the ramifications of, but as the saying goes, "If it's crazy, but it works... then it's not crazy."

[Lisky]

As the double-tap was stopped, the feline looked rather irked at the rifle for a fraction of a second before rolling into cover between building.  He ducked down an alley between 2 stores, letting his rifle drop, dangling by the harness.  He leaped, then kicked off the opposite wall of his target, launching himself to a high ledge which he quickly vaulted over.  He drew his pistol out of instinct as he scanned the rooftop for targets.  If he found none, he'd start targeting soldiers in the melee below, aiming for open faces, or the neck-line between helmet and breastplate.

[Shachza]

Tommaso muttered a curse as a rider rode out of the developing haze toward him.  He flung himself to the side as the rider expertly lept the horse over the hood of the car while swinging his sword.  It wasn't pain so much as the change of direction of momentum that made him realize he had been hit; instead of landing on his side he was on his front.  He had no time to worry whether the hit to his shoulder was serious.

With adrenaline kicking in he tried mentally activating the nanites that should be in his blood stream to repair the damage while rolling over and firing the last few shots from his PARA at the rider who was now turning his horse around.  Without waiting to see how effective his rounds were he scrabbled to his feet and bolted for Kandela, dropping the spent clip on the way.

"We need to move out of the open!" he yelled to her over the din.

The arm with his rifle was having trouble holding the grip as the pain started to kick in.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Sifa's shots by luck or chance ((or a natural 20 on my dice dammit )) Hit the only weak points of the leading horse's armor, the eyes, pulping the unfortunate animal brain and causing it to plow into the ground and somersault on its back flattening its rider. Yet others were behind and coming up fast.

Chris's shot clicked on an already expended chamber.

Wraith nearly made it to the roof unscathed, yet a rider had followed on his heals and cut him deep across the calf of his leg as he cleared the edge. The rider sheathed his sword and pulled out a modern crossbow as he saw Salem was out of reach.

The girls made it only a few more steps into the building before three of the riders dismounted and entered the house, the first kicking the door nearly off its hinges.

Tommaso's wound was bad the sword only just missed his collar bone, and blood coated his top. Yet the Bullpup Steyr Aug Para was easily fired from one hand and the last few rounds hammered into the lightly armored back and head of the rider that had slashed him, he slumped and the horse carried him off the battlefield.

Kandela's burst finally clicked home on an empty chamber, yet the Tauren had no time to attempt to reload, as a rider was almost upon her and Chris. However unlike anyone else in the group she was the same height as many of the horses. Letting her HK21 hang on its sling and setting her hooves the Paladin shoulder blocked the first horse to reach her and using her bullish strength rolled the poor animal on top of its rider. As the horse rolled back upright and ran off Kandela retrieved the riders sword and shield. Yet she had no reprieve or chance to assist anyone other than Chris as other riders closed on her.

[AmberCross]

Of the original forty riders, perhaps half that remained, but that was hardly helpful considering that everyone was now scattered and/or out of ammo. This was where the superior numbers of the enemy was going to kick in and start being a real problem. Kandela could handle herself in all probability, as could Wraith who last Chris had seen was in an alleyway. He could only hope the panther hadn't just left them to their own devices. Chris had lost track of Sifa and Cinna who had apparently run away. They might be okay if they could dodge pursuit long enough.

That just left Tommaso, who was heavily injured and Chris himself, who was heavily old. This meant of course that Tomasso had to fend for himself because Chris was in no real position to help anyone. Unlike Kandela who was now fighting hand to hand, Chris couldn't lift a sword well enough to fight here. Furthermore, while he was proficient in various martial arts, that would be little help in the current situation when the foe had horses to ride down on you. Without his magic, Chris felt crippled in the current situation.

Which meant it was time to roll the dice. With fingers wrinkled but steady, Chris quickly pulled his pack off his back and undid the cover. With a twist the covering from the brain crystal earlier fell away and he grasped the crystal with both hands, wings tensed in anticipation. If this didn't work, then he would have to take his chances with the enemy and make a break for it to find cover. The very least he could do was not drag Kandela down with him. She had enough to worry about without having to protect him as well.

[Lisky]

As he just about cleared the building, Wraith felt the tip of the blade carve a bloody swath through his calf.  "Mother-fucker" was the first words out of his mouth before adrenaline took over.  It didn't heal the injury completely, nor make his now degraded performance any less noticeable.  It did, however, speed up his already hightened reaction time.  The pistol swung around as the man reached for a crossbow.  Wraith's first shot was placed at the hand on the foregrip.  The recoil raised his sight picture a bit, he took the fraction of a second to drop the sights in place, and fire on the hand on the trigger of the ranged weapon.  Recoil again, raising his sights. 

The world around him was glacial, and he liked it that way.  His movements seemed sluggish though, as he raised the pistol's sight to the Knight's face.  He was perhaps 10 feet away, and a mostly stationary target, at least, in the feline's perception.  He squeezed off a pair of rounds, aimed for the man's lower lip, and the bridge of the nose, respectively.

[Inumo]

Sifa jumped as the door flew inwards. Checking to make sure Cinna was out of major danger, she put her hands up while backing away, saying, "Seriously, people! What do you have against us? We don't even know where we are!" They get close enough to use their swords, she thought, they get one shot each.

[Shachza]

Crouching down behind the oblivious Kandela beside Chris, Tommaso dug around his pack for more ammo for his Aug PARA.  His good arm was starting to shake a bit and he cursed his current complete lack of Enlightened Science, otherwise the riders would have been dealt with much more quickly.

"Kandela!  We need to move!" he yelled at her again while rummaging.

Chris, however, quickly drew Tommaso's attention when he pulled out one of those pink crystal brains right next to Tommaso.  A mix of fear and wonder overcame Tommaso and distracted him from his search; he was terrified of what might happen, but his curiosity wanted to know for sure.  Chris' hands were on the brain before Tommaso could have lifted a hand far enough to try and stop what was about to happen.

[SquirrelWizard]

Hearing Sifa yell something at the men, Cinna reached down for something hefty. Any average being, or human for that matter, would have had to struggle to pick up the chunk of debris in one hand like Cinna did, much less throwing it like a shot. But Saedra are naturally more rugged than beings, and Cinna's life had little in it to soften her up. With considerable force, she heaved it at the nearest man, aiming for the center of his breastplate. All the while, a steady trickle of luck flowed from him and into her.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Ignoring Sifa's questions with a sneer on his face the first Rider though the door was halted in his tracks by the water filled vase that Cinna had thrown. The liquid which had once kept a bunch of flowers alive now held the slime they had since become. Rocked back on his heels by the impact, the Rider took a step backward to steady himself, and his foot found the new puddle under him. Completely losing his balance he slammed backwards into his companions dropping them to the pavement outside.


Salem's first shot at the horseman facing him was a on target, if only a fraction of a second too late as the Rider had fired a moment before him. Bullet and bolt passed each other in flight, but with different results, The bullet mangled the modern steel and synthetic Crossbow, while the steel tipped bolt lodged itself in the Panther's un-injured calf. Yet The Rider was in no shape to fire off another shot as most of his head was flattening itself against the back of his helmet. ((Sorry Basi Dice are being unfair to you I know))


Kandela blocked a vicious blow from a Rider on her acquired shield and promptly rand the offender through leaving him to slither off his horse and onto the pavement. Turning to Tommaso who had managed to make it to over to the Tauren and Chris, she slammed her shield into the face of another of their assailants causing him to be violently removed from his horse. "I know but if we run they will cut us down as we move!" She stopped as she saw the older human take one of the pink brains from his pack and grab it with both hands. "Oh Light protect us...." She whispered as the crystal lit up.

Chris would be able to feel time slow as the tendrils of power leaked out of the crystal brain in his hands. The feeling of power was enormous and he could feel it transferring itself into him, all his spells and all his control of magic forced its way into him in an instant. And with a thunderclap of noise it was all over and all he held in his hand was a clear crystal brain, with no life or power to it.

[AmberCross]

Rising to meet his Capacitors

Chris swayed in spot, dizzy for a moment after that inrush of power. It hadn't been much as even in his younger years he had never been all THAT powerful a wizard, but that life before waking up without the magic hadn't felt as real as this one now and in a way it felt like getting magic for the first time. With this both familiar and unfamiliar feel running through him, he felt young for the first time ((ack, can't think of a better way to say that so it's twice in the post. Curse you grammar!!!)) since they had all started this trip. There were no wandering wits, overall weakness, joint pains, general irritability... which wasn't to say it wouldn't come back later, but for the moment at least he was ready to fight.

And as the riders all around were wearing metal armor.... well this battle just got a little bit easier. The dry air around him began to charge and anyone nearby and paying attention would notice static, a funny smell, and their hairs raising on end as Chris opened his eyes with a spark or two and crouched down, laying his pack on the ground. Then, with a snap, he leaped into the air unfurling his wings and flew into the sky with the aid of a little updraft. With his new view he started targeting riders to hit with bursts of electricity that should at the least shock them, and at the most could kill. Really, who brings metal armor to a weather fight?

[Lisky]

With his other leg crippled, wraith slumped down after finishing off his assailant.  The feline was annoyed to say the least.  The pain wasn't an issue, it was the fact that his legs were slow, sluggish and weak.  He grunted, then holstered his pistol.  Shimmying himself to the edge of the roof, he watched the riders through his rifle scope.  Checking to make sure he had the rifle on semi-auto, he started hunting for open face-plates, and started putting rounds downrange.  He'd get revenge now, he'd get himself patched up in a few minutes when he didn't have a fuckin' 12th century army breathing down his neck.

[Shachza]

The crystal in Chris' hands lit up, then so did the rest of him.  A long moment later brought a "small" clap of thunder and that was it.  There was no explosion, no flying bodies, no doomsday...  Just Chris standing there looking like he was feeling better than he had in years.  Tommaso was relieved that that was it, and a small part of his mind logged every detail of what had just happened; he would record it later for analysis if he could.  Chris rising in to the air and launching lightning at the riders was a bit of a surprise.  The lack of proper equipment to levitate or discharge large quantities of electricity bothered Tommaso, but Chris' actions brought his attention back to the fight at hand.

Seeing the riders tumble backward out of a nearby doorway made him curse his luck for having already tossed his one clip for the Aug, the plan that hatched in his head might be more difficult without it.  He let his Aug drop to rest against his hip as he pulled out his Glock and he ran for the riders struggling on the ground.  Skidding to a halt near the doorway he put his foot on the nearest sword to stop anyone from gabbing it and put the business end of the pistol inches from the face of the nearest rider.

"Surrender!"  he yelled at the other two trying to get up.  In his desperation he was ready to pull the trigger on the hapless man and then turn the pistol on the other two if they didn't obey.

[SquirrelWizard]

Seeing that the situation had just become more dire, and there was the very read possibility that they'd need to leave the house they were in. Pulling out her pistol, she aimed it at the men in the doorway, this seemed eerily familiar to her, but she didn't question it. "Don't come any closer, or I'll..." she hesitated for a moment. She couldn't say she was gonna hit them with it, because that wasn't true, she wasn't sure what the proper term was for this device, but she did know they made loud explosive noises, so she went with that. "or, I'll Bang you!"

[Inumo]

Sifa pressed her lips tightly together to hold back an out-of-place bark of laughter at Cinna's threat. "Here, let me try," she said as she sprinted out the door. Drawing on her slight knowledge of martial arts from her friends, she jumped and kicked the man atop the pile in the head before kneeling on the helmet, forcing the man's head sideways. Finally, she placed the muzzle of her pistol in the gap of the sallet of the last soldier, where the shot would kill. "I would rather not use this, but if I so must, I will," she warned. She was careful to keep some attention on the man under her knee, in case he tried to get her off.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Energy returned to him, Chris' wings were somewhat of a surprise to the Riders and the lighting more so, but despite the power in the bolts they didn't seem to effect their armor clad foes as much as they should have. This is not to say there was no effect, but only slightly staggering the groups enemies was what occurred when the Mage's spells hit home.

A knot of riders who had been in the back of the column pulled out more of the modern looking crossbows and took aim, although only one managed to get a rushed shot off as Wraith picked them off, his 7.62mm NATO rounds puncturing the lighter metal of their helmets with enough energy to explode messily out the other side.

Kandela cleared most of the enemies around her as Chris' spell debilitated them, her captured sword shone with light as it cut through the air, yet dimmed slightly as she hit armor.
The Tauren finished off the last of the standing riders from range, the large bore pistol that had been holstered on her thigh booming as it sent its rounds at its targets.


One of the Horseman that Tomaso and the girls had covered snared though his faceplate, hand reaching for something on his belt that looked suspiciously like a grenade. "I'd rather die Freaks!"

[Inumo]

Sifa pulled the trigger quickly, before the pin could be pulled, and sighed as she aimed through the face plate of the soldier under her knee. Looking back at the dead soldier, she muttered, "Wish granted," before focusing entirely on the trapped man of war. "So, how about you? Would you like to die as well?" She tried not to look at the blood beginning to pool under the head of the soldier she'd killed. No fear, no disgust, she thought, recalling her lectures and video lessons on soldiers in and out of war. The "I just killed a man" feeling can come later.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Using the distraction of Sifa's shot, the other two Riders acted. The one under Tommaso went grabbed at Sifa's CZ75, while the other  while mostly pinned grabbed at the fallen grenade...Yanking the pin out.

There was a ping as the safety flipped off.

[Lisky]

After safely emptying half a magazine into the riders, wraith shimmied himself to the edge of the roof and shouted down to the others, "Everyone alright down there? Anyone else need a corpsman?"

So saying he hoped one of them had more extensive medical knowledge... otherwise the next few days would be rather painful as his body started it's own natural healing process.  though faster than a normal humans, it'd still take a little while until he'd be moving at a march, let alone be back into top fighting condition.

[Shachza]

Five seconds to die!  FIVE!

Tommaso pulled the trigger of his pistol as it hovered near the head of the guard who was now trying to grasp at Sifa.

Four...

He pushed off with his feet toward the doorway, aiming his shoulder at Sifa and trying to bull rush her back through the doorway.

Three.  SodeadsodeadSoDeadSODEAD...!!!

The door, though nearly off its hinges, was their only hope.  He reached for it as he moved, hoping to rotate and prop it in a way that would shield the three of them from the blast.

Two!

[Inumo]

"Oof!" Sifa exclaimed as she was tackled by the ally soldier. Falling back inside the house, she sat up in time to see Tommaso hurriedly propping the door shut before the blast went off.

[AmberCross]

Landing near the minotaur, Chris observed the bodies that littered the ground around her. He then began to examine his refound magic a bit more closely. It had not reacted the way it was supposed to and one should never rely on an unreliable tool. So he first did a few exercises with wind weaving, arcing electricity from finger to finger, and forming an ice crystal while trying to notice anything that didn't feel familiar about it. Then, just for the sake of completeness, he removed a piece of armor from one of the dead soldiers and tried the same things on the metal. He tried floating it on the air, running a current through it, and frosting it over.

[SquirrelWizard]

With the sudden reports of two firearms, and the sight of Tommaso charging at her sent Cinna into a panic. Dropping her firearm to the ground, she ran back into the house, diving over a nearby table.

[Paladin Sheppard]

TWO...Tommaso was off on the fuse's count by a second, and the detonation caught him just before he managed to brace the door, slamming him back into the room. He and the girls were lucky however that the shrapnel that penetrated the door, but he did rip open his wounded shoulder further on impact.

The Riders outside however were reduced to effectively leaking tin cans full of mush...


Kandela had seen the groups actions and without knowing quite what threat had them diving for cover raised her shield and grabbed Chris, pushing him down behind her. Thankfuly she was outside most of the blast radius and only a fraction of the shrapnel pinged of her purloined shield.


Salem's response to his question was the unmistakeable report of a grenade going off, then silence in the street broken up by the pained whinnying from a few of the horses still alive but badly wounded. 

[Lisky]

Looking for options as the grenade went off, wraith looked for a softer way down than jumping.  Perhaps a window into the building, or a fire escape, or a ladder.  Some way he could get down without jumping.  Fuck, small explosives... grenade, or possibly a mortar... in either case, play it safe, take cover, and evaluate before going out there... God damn fuckin' eh... who still wears plate-mail armor these days?  That shit was obsolete over a millennium ago... so why bother?

[Inumo]

Sifa tried to breath deeply despite Tommaso falling on top of her, coughing as she inhaled some dust. "Thanks," she murmured, gently trying to roll him off. "You okay?" There was blood on her shoulder, though she knew it wasn't hurt. "You bleeding?" Sitting up, she stood and said to both Cinna and Tommaso, "Anything I can get either of you?" Finally, she walked out side, announcing, "We're alive, though one of us is bleeding. I'm not sure which. Is anyone trained in first aid or something like that?"

[Shachza]

"OwwwoOWWwww...!"  Tommaso practically howled as Sifa pushed him.

"No!  I'm not all right!"  He looked down at his now limp arm without turning his head because he knew that that larger motion would bring far too much pain.  The blood was flowing steadily down his arm now, and that was never a good sign.  He again tried to activate the nanites that should be in his blood, sending a signal from the tiny CPU that had been installed in the back of his head years ago.  They hadn't worked before, and he was dismally sure that they would continue to be unresponsive; he hadn't been able to access the CPU itself since they arrived here.

"Hand me my pack."  He said through gritted teeth and pointing to the side where it had been flung by the blast.  "I'm a doctor and there are some archaic mundane items in there that should help."

He finally risked more pain to get a slightly better view of the wound, half hoping that something visible about it would let him know he wasn't crazy and was in fact a partially cybernetic human.