Of Steam and Steel: IC (Mature) {Currently Open}

[rammenstein]

Wotcher guv'nor!

Rowen took note of their garb, and the layout of their mech. It was nice to see some more mercs willing to help out their country when called upon. Rowen, for his part, was dressed in a simple green sleeveless shirt, baggy khaki pants and a pair of tan combat boots. Nothing too notable, save for the pistol and chainsword, both holstered on his hip. He ran a hand over his cornrowed hair, heaving out a big sigh before speaking again.

"'At's unfortunate. We 'ave been losin' a bit lately. I just seen an entire platoon of Clippers eat it 'bout a week ago. But I'm actually 'eaded ter the bloomin' border, got a contract ter investigate sum bug activity. Seems the regular Aelisian Military is 'avin' sum Barney Rubble takin' care of it themselves. They've been 'irin' all the bloody mercenaries 'ey can find lately."

[Kafzeil]

River Boat Fantasy

Lucy reached out for Arroyo's arm, grabbing it, the lion pulling her up as she climbed aboard. She laughed at his statement.

"I figured. I'm getting used to it, anyways. It's been a long day, Buddy."She shrugged." Eh, I don't know how I can be of use. teaching magic in Aelisium's likely to get your ass in prison cell, provided guards are feeling charitable, and I have no experience with whatsoever with boats."

Lucy followed him into the bridge, leaning against the wall as he went off about his boat. She might as well learn about this thing from Arroyo. As far as she knew, this thing was her home from the time being.

Hell, maybe he could teach her about driving this thing and magic? She was an Undead now.

Lucy frowned,  looking out of the windshield onto the river at large.

"Hey...you're okay with me, right?" She asked shamefully."You know, you're okay with travelling with a zombie, right?"

[Paladin Sheppard]

Breaking and Entering, With a Side of Looting and Home Invasion

As the sister healed the bodily wounds, Baseel tapped her lightly on the shoulder when it seemed the wounds had at least been sealed and stabilized.  "It's okay... That's all I need... for it to live a little longer, and so it can talk.  No point wasting your energies on a dead bug, walking."  

Turning towards Paige, he thought Read him for me, if you'd be so kind... this is going to be painful and messy, but It needs to be quick.  He'll probably lie... but he'll be focusing on the truth he's hiding most likely.
Waiting just long enough for a subtle acknowledgement from the succubus, Baseel suddenly slipped a claw along one the bug's antennae, and sliced oh so lightly.   The demon canine winced at the metal on chalkboard like squeal of a scream the thing gave off.  "Good... I've got your attention."
The demon's  voice was deep, sinister and dripping with ill intent as he continued.  "You are going to tell me where you're keeping the new production models of your war walkers, and you're going to do it now.  If you lie to me, I'll make sure your fate is unusually drawn out and painful."
Slicing a little deeper, while holding it's mandibles shut to stifle it's scream.  "I think we've reached an understanding... so where's it at?"

The bug chattered, it's undamaged antennae wiggled slightly as he pointed down the left tunnel.  "It's... it's down that way... take your 2nd right, and follow to the factory district. "  His voice filled with fear and worry.

To Paige, the first thing she saw was that the factory was down the center tunnel.  The new mechs were being stored in a warehouse on the 7th tunnel, on the left.  She could feel him counting the tunnels, and it seemed he was doing everything in his power to say one thing, and think another.

"Boss..." Paige said ruffling her head and back wings making sure the Bug could see her, also grinned with a rather large and sharp toothy smile.  "He's not being entirely truthful with us...Can I play with him for a while? I'm sure he won't mind being a snack...And you know I like to 'play' with my food" The Succubus licked her lips with relish.

[AmberCross]

Round and Round the Mulberry Bush...

Chris perked his ears, trying to catch whatever Seth had sensed. Hearing nothing out of place over the machinery, he turned to the cubi and said, "I'll scout ahead then. Here, take this..." He detached a small silver charm that looked a bit like a lantern from a chain running off his pocket. "It will help me find you if you have to take off. If you find anything or need me, just hold it firmly and speak into it. It will also work in reverse letting me tell you anything important and letting you find me if I activate it."

He waited a moment to make sure they had the charm and understood what he said before shifting to ferret, clambering up Renard quickly and launching off his head back to the pipes he'd been using earlier. Re-secured in his hiding place, he set off in the direction Seth had indicated the Insectis was. Personnel meant important things, and probably pipework did too though Chris wasn't all that firm on how giant robots worked. Still, pipes had to go somewhere... right?

[Arroyo Milori]

Fire solves everything

"The Auliseum's way of life and low-tech arsenal may lead to their downfall unless they figure out a way to press their technology to rival the neighboring countries', which I highly doubt will happen." The lion took off his coat and wrings it out over a funnel, feeding the engine. He turned to Lucy and gave her a small smile. "I don't know much about the undead, other than how to kill them. I am not sure how they live their eternal lives, but just promise me that you won't turn me into one." He shivered a bit, the thought of his complexion being ruined by such a horrible curse. "Anyways, I thought I should warn you about being undead, you are exposed to fatal weaknesses, so don't be too reckless with the idea that your limbs can come off and back on with ease."

[techmaster-glitch]

Side of the road

   Both beavers listen to the the badger mercenary with increasingly concerned looks on their faces. The one in front turns around in his seat and looks to the one in back. The beaver in the back looks down at something in his lap, but from Rowen's angle beneath the Scorp, he can't see what it is. The beaver in the back looks up and meets the eyes of the beaver in front, and they seem to come to an understanding. The one up front turned to look back down at the badger.
   "We only just arrived in this area, we didn't realize there was this much trouble along this part of the border...and an entire squad of Clippers, gone? That's...extremely disturbing. Still, we need to report our findings to Redhill, drop off some hot cargo, and...we need to take care of a very important errand further on. Still, we've told you what's up ahead, so unless you want to see the scene of tragedy for yourself, you might want to take another road and go to one of the other towns. But it's good to see a comrade out here, and we know to come back to this area as soon as we've taken care of what we need to."

[SquirrelWizard]

"Well, that would be nice," Stephan said nice in the same manner that one would say, "pull my teeth." Inwardly he dreaded the thought of having to meet another, "him." Knowing his luck, and the attitude of cubi in general (and the one before him was climbing on his creep o' meter.) He'd get the creepiest, most malaligned basketcase in the school, just for kicks or the hell of it.

Even if he was lucky, and got someone who wasn't homicidally inclined, he might get stuck with someone else who swings to another unbearable extreme.

[Kafzeil]

Steamboat Chronicles

"It's not that they're low tech, far from it." Lucy corrected Arroyo."Most of the advanced stuff is reserved for the military. Which is exactly the biggest problem Aelisium faces. They're so focused on the "greater Good" concept, the clergy says how they;re Holy and destined to banished the shadowy forces of Magic...they don't realize they're just another pack of tyrants. They've pretty much declared war on everybody who uses magic. They take land, force the creatures out or kill them, drive the ones who can hide into hiding, and ban magic. They roll over people, Being and Creature alike because "They Know what's best". Yeah...tell that to the 50 year old Being shaman who's livelihood is now illegal. If they're not careful, they'll find that there's enough people inside there borders willing to tear them apart, not to mention pretty much everyone outside hates them. They're making too many enemies." She sighed. "I'm sorry, this becoming a speech."

She raised her eyebrow at his mentioning of "Weaknesses". "Just so we're on the same page, what weaknesses? I did do some research, and the only way to die like this involves destroying my head. I don't exactly view that as a weakness, since shoving a spike throw nearly anyone's skull is gonna be fatal." She looked at her arm. "I suppose i should take up sewing..."

[Meany]

Cleanup and Pursuit

This was growing tiresome.

In short order, police were gathered to the refinery, even if they had to be bribed into doing it.  It seemed that Kali's efforts while he was gone were not enough.  It would not do to have forces running around when it came time for the wedding.  And since the previous attempts had failed, they were going after his holdings, those that he didn't sell, anyway.

Sending his store orders to check in at the bathhouse Haien owned, and to find a replacement crew for his refinery, Haien left the police to their work.

Over the trip, and while at his parent's house, Haien had only marginally improved physically.  His old skill was well buried under years of inactivity.  As he traveled, he sent out missives to his so-called friends in the business.  Asking them politely if any of them had taken grievance with him recently.

He had liked that refinery.  It was where he went to avoid char-broiling people.  And now it was a crime scene.  Someone was going to be a smoking hole in the ground over this.  The matter to solve was going to be whom.

For now, he would go to his bathhouse.  Enjoy some good food, perhaps hire a criminal taking shelter with some of his smile-girls and smile-boys.

And plan vengeance.

[rammenstein]

You should have known
The price of evil
Oooh, it's your fucking Nightmare

"I'm bloody well no stranger ter such sights. Once yer've been in the business for as long as I 'ave, right, yer cop to spot just about evryfink under the sun. Still, the loss of so many blokes weighs 'eavily. If I come across this creature on me way ter the border, I'll see the little tosser gets woss comin' ter him."

The Honey Badger positively glowers at the thought of what the brothers told him. To destroy an entire town of innocent civilians took a special kind of evil. He closes his eyes and takes a deep, calming breath. No use getting angry over it now. Better to tuck that away for now, save it until he crossed paths with the perpetrator of the atrocity. He settles his gaze upon the beavers once again, an eyebrow arching upwards.

"Hot cargo, isit? Mind sharin' the details wiv me, then? I just might be able ter help yer take care of it, right 'ere an' now."

[techmaster-glitch]

Side of the Road

   The beaver brother in the front cockpit glances back to the one in the rear cockpit. They meet eyes, and the one in the rear nods his head again. The one up front looks back down at the badger being.
   "It's some kind of magic wand, and it seems more dangerous than most. It can actually talk to our heads. We need to get it to the garrison as soon as possible for incineration."

[rammenstein]

I break things
...
With my FACE!

Rowen's eyes seem to light up with excitement. How fortunate! There was no way he was going to pass up this golden opportunity to test out his latest piece of hardware! He puts on his best smile, hoping the beaver brothers agree to his proposal.

"Excellent. Would yer mind assistin' me wiv a wee...test of sorts, guv? I 'ave just recently finished puttin' togeffer sumfink for just such a purpose, and I would be delighted if yer would 'elp me test it."

[techmaster-glitch]

Side of the road

   The beaver in the front cockpit furrows his eyebrows. "What kind of thing, exactly? Standard disposal for magic-tainted objects is incineration in a standard reinforced magic disposal incinerator for safety. Do you have some sort of minature-incinerator or something?"

[rammenstein]

Trust in me~!

Rowen looks off to the side, the smile becoming more of a smirk than anything. He was being a little mysterious, yes. What can he say? The Honey Badger likes dramatic reveals. "Or sumfink. Come on, just 'elp a lad out, will yer? I promise, if yor as into engineerin' as that Mech implies, yer will enjoy it."

[techmaster-glitch]

Side of the road

   The beaver in front his rubes his forehead and looks back to the one in the rear. This time, the one in the rear speaks up.
   "The way you say it doesn't make it sound like whatever you have is entirely safe. Look, the garrison is right in the path of where we're going, we can just drop it off for proper disposal protocols with hardly any inconvenience. Unless you can convince us that you doing it here and now is indeed safe enough..." The being lets that trail off.

[rammenstein]

Don't make me use the face.

Rowen sighs in exasperation. Why are these two being so bloody difficult. Can't they see they are impeding the progress of SCIENCE?!

"One, we are the chuffin' only blokes in the bleedin' area, right? Two, we are in the middle of nowhere. Free, there is wee ter no risk at all ter the bloomin' boff of yer, wot wiv that fancy Mech yer two 'ave. Plus, right, if this test 'ere goes well, it could benefit us nation greatly. I would be more than willin' ter sell me designs ter the chuffin' Aelisian Military fer right cheap."

[techmaster-glitch]

Side of the road

  The one in the rear fully covers his face with a hand in exasperation.
  "Fellow mercenary, we use sealed and reinforced incinerators because magic objects usually react violently when destroyed. But I suppose you have a point, there's no one else around here but us. We still have to visit Redhill anyway and give our report, but if you really think you can handle it, we'll let you take care of it right now. You're the one who's going to grow an extra head, or loose the ability to speak, or have all your skin melt off if it goes wrong."
  The one in back nods to the one in front, and the one in front ducks down into his cockpit and resurfaces a moment later and chucks a small wooden stick adorned with ribbons and other effects down to the badger.

[rammenstein]

Stand back, I am going to attempt Science!

The Honey Badger snatches the wand out of the air and shoots the two a smile as he twirls it in his fingers. "Thanks, fellas. Just sit tight a mument wile I get kitted out."

Rowen walks back to his van, fiddling with the lock keeping the bay doors closed for a moment before sliding it up and disappearing inside. The beavers hear quite a bit of noise coming from within, and it's a good few minutes until they stop. There's a moment of silence, before they hear loud, echoing footsteps, preceeding Rowen's reemergence.

If the Honey Badger was big before, he looks positively huge in his heavy clockwork armor. The metal is clean and polished, obviously well maintained, which makes it even easier to see the scratches, scuffs and scoring covering its deep red surface, portrayed akin to badges of honor. They tell stories of long, vicious battles. Of glorious, hard earned victories and crushing defeats. They stand out proudly, the marks of a veteran mercenary.

In one hand, he holds the wand. In the other, a massive hammer, settled upon the armor's shoulder. Tucked beneath one arm is the helmet, yet to be donned as the badger smiles up to the brothers.

"Awright, muckers. 'ere we go!"

Rowen drops the wand on the ground and fits his helmet atop his head, before grabbing the hammer with both hands. He twists a part of the shaft, and the hammerhead is suddenly covered in crackling electricity! He rolls his neck and braces himself, before swinging the Thunderhammer in a downward arc at the wand!

As the hammer approaches its target, electricity starts to jump from the hammerhead to the wand. As it gets closer and closer, more and more jumps to the wand, the theory of operations being that it will disrupt and weaken the magical energy of its target, before the hammerhead strikes in a massive, if incredibly brief, burst of electrical energy.

[VAE]

A whole world for us to see, tome of demonography...

"Thank you, Captain... captain.  Well..." The demon engineer began, somewhat less stressed about the whole ordeal.
"The use of souls was.. something of a tradition where I come from. There were countless prescriptions on how to make specific items - anything from lightning warhammers to firepaws, but it was more alchemy than real science."
He began to gesticulate rather wildly. "See... while the good ones soon got separated from the bad, and the general stuff was understood, like.. even a kid knew that a stronger being has a stronger soul, and what sort you need for this or that, but there was a lot of ... sauce about it. Like... people thought that runes written in blood from the soul's owner helps to 'force the soul to settle in the craft' while really, what you needed were much , much simpler circuits drawn with salty water..  there's a lot more of it."  He went to the kitchen table, and took a glass of water.  
"Sorry, just.. my throat's a bit dry. Either way. Me... I always found something fascinating about souls... how someone's essence can power an artifact like that. I.. there was a few of us, but I managed to get a few .. well, by now, they are hopelessly outdated ,but in such a land, it was quite a find. Books on the theory of soulcraft, I think it was a joint work, of Ladriel Zezzuva and Arvid Ja'Krath , some merchant or other was selling them along with other foreign literature. Well, I read through, began to look at what we did in all that time through different eyes, see.  Like.. the books couldn't explain everything , and some of our rituals worked so well.. we began looking at why it is so. We were not theorists, but we managed to isolate the key things that made some of the stuff from our lands unique.. soon enough after that, we figured how to make a simple rotary engine by draining the soul's potential with a phase shift.. and a few more neat things."  The feline outstretched his paw.
"Then the war came... most of us died when Ankh'Athor occupied our lands. I.. it's an odd story, I somehow managed to make one of their mechs go, back then they were much simpler,  drive it just well enough I crossed the borders. Since then, I have been working as a soul engineer, either crafting myself, or some bigger projects even. Last thing.. remember Kavuz the Tall, that angel...  Well, I was the engineer working on the automated clank-driven assembly line.. I still have the blueprints for the stuff that did get finished before..well , you know what happened."

Edit: added a single word , to avoid confusion

[Lisky]

(OOC Note, still more post to come this weekend... but I've been writing and re-writing for too long not to give some of you something to work with.)

To Be Free, Out To Sea (arroyo/Kafziel)

The day wore on, and traffic was non-existent on the river.  The duo traveled for several hours until they found another fork in the river.  One headed almost due East, into Nhylamar and the patrols that would surely cover the river border. The other headed further south, towards the city of White-Spear.   It's name was never changed, and is the former capitol of a small holding that belonged to a self-proclaimed angelic count, before his overthrow some 200 years prior. 

the sounds of civilization can be heard from both, as small fishing boats and light transports can be start to be seen.  Neither path is truly safe, but only one takes them further away from the Aeliesian capitol.


Behind the Walls, Where Men and Angel's Fall (Tapewolf/AmberCross)

Nadia gave a nod as she bolted ahead.  The door opened, and a bug holdinger what appeared to be an attaché case took a tentative and confused step right into her grasp, before his head splattered against the wall to Seth's right, while the rest of the bug collapsed limply against the opposite bulkhead.  Splashed with a dark almost violet spray, the wolfess smirked and waved Seth on.  "Leave it for Ranard, he's better with analysis.  If we're going to stop this thing, we should find the armory, and magazines."

Waving Seth on, the number of minds and thoughts started growing more and more difficult to avoid.  Especially as the tubes and hallways started leading into larger, more open-aired compartments.  The first such area was clearly a holding tank for water or perhaps fuel.  It was difficult to say, as the entire room reeked of oil and pollutants.  The walls swelled into huge tanks, pumps and pipes, and the nose was nigh-deafening as Nadia moved seth through.  It was easy to see why no one stayed here for long.  The next room, however, was a huge, cavernous space, with twisting gears, and belts.  It appeared to be some kind of massive power-transfer and conversation station.  Arms swung back and forth, harsh and mechanical.  The unforgiving gears could easily grab anything.  Furthermore, it was large enough that Seth couldn't feel all the way across the room. 
The grinding and whirring were loud, but not enough of a disruption to truly deafen like in the previous room.  All the movement made it difficult to tell if anyone was in here with them.  The wolfess poked the incubus,  half-shouting into his ear so he could hear, "Think we should follow the machines to a boiler? Or go for the armory?  Perhaps both are closer, since the design seems to need a lot of power, and both would need to be extremely well defended!"

Meanwhile, back in the hallway where the bug had been slain, Chris and Renard were left to sort through the case, it was clear that traffic this way was pretty limited.  There wasn't anything to be heard beyond the usual clanking and murmurs of machinery.  The case contained a number of letters, some of which had markings matching various station labels the were had spotted earlier.


Tongue of Fire Tracing Lips Outline, Where Her Frozen Breath Originates (Paladin)

Paige would note the sheer chatter of the bug officer.  He was clearly terrified, almost to the point of his mind going blank.  It's body twitched and writhed in agony as Baseel took all the gentleness of a sledgehammer to toss the bug to the ground before her feet.  "Break him, but do it fast.  We're on the clock."
  Any chance you could give directions to a scouting element?   The demon was careful to keep his movements rough, and domineering. "Just be sure not to make too much of a mess... they're innards possess a foul odor."


It's Better to be Broken than to Break (Squirrel)

The golden eyed wolf just gave a knowing smirk, "Oh, I'm sure you'll get along smashingly.  She's one of our up and coming stars.  I expect her to be an instructor in less than a decade.  She's quite good with the neophytes like yourself.  Perhaps it's her ability to empathize, to some degree.  She was born in Aeliseium after all."

Standing up, the professor took Stephan's shoulder and started walking him down the hallways.  Again, noting the huge path everyone made around him and the professor, Stephan walked for what felt like close to a half-hour, passing several cafes, pubs, and little outlets where students seemed to be entertaining themselves.  He'd note they stopped to watch him pass, all the eyes locked to him, watching him and this professor. 

Eventually he stopped in front of a rather non-descript, metal-framed door, it looked to be very plain, but very sturdy, and the darker tone hinted of a possible oak construction.  Without even bothering to knock, the wolf opened the door, to the darkened room.  A single, relatively large bed was setup in the corner.  The main space of the average sized room was taken up by a pair of small couches arranged in an L shape.  It seemed more of a design for dealing with guests, than for studying, or sleeping. Sprawled out and mostly hidden by the back of the couch, the gentle, mid-pitched and distinctly feminine voice called out, "Ah, professor... I'd heard rumors that you were giving me a new roommate.  I don't know why you and Fa bother when you –know- I prefer to live alone."
"Oh hush Satia, he's a good boy, and deserves a chance.  Don't break him just because you can... Fa was most displeased about your... previous incident."

"it's not my fault he couldn't take a joke"

"Best hope this one doesn't find out what a blacklight is, and use one in here."

"Now you're just giving him ideas."

"Hopefully you cleaned the walls properly this time."

A purple headwing twitched out from behind the back, and a feline paw slid out from the other side, a soft white, with what appeared to be a cyan blue spot.  "Well, If this spell didn't work, it'd color me surprised."

With a shove, Stephan was left in the room, the door creaking shut behind him as the professor left.

  In the Only Place I Want To Be (James)

Giving a soft giggle the angel punched Johan's shoulder.  "Maybe I was wreckless, maybe I went easy on you.  Besides, your idea of out of practice is a few months... maybe a year or 2... try brushing off close to a century of rust whilst blue-blooding before you get too snarky." 

With the flick of his wrist, the angel dispelled the massive blade, letting it return to it's normal place of rest.  Extending his hand again in a friendly gesture, he added,   "By the way, the name's Syl, Syl De Mon'mekar"


All the Hateful Things I've Done Just Won't Go Away (Inumo)

Kath would note the sudden surge of adrenaline, followed by the sudden cool wash of endorphins flow through his system.  The Jackal had driven a claw deep into the other demon's thigh.  Half snarling, the Jackal added, "Put me down this instant you whelp! I don't work on your time! You're on mine"


Light and Darkness Both Intertwined, All the Elements In Their Place (meany)

The city was quiet in this part of town.  Most of the activity was officers coming and going, scrying, analyzing, pickup up auras, trails.  They were collecting any and everything useful to track down and kill.  It was clear that a death-warrant had been issued when he saw a pair of black-clad rangers soaring overhead.  Their direction was rather clearly from where Haien had just left.

The walk to the parlor was short and uneventful.  Nothing much was going on at all, really. Out here, you'd never have guessed there'd been a brutal multi-murder not but a half-mile away.


So Far Away From Anything That Feels Like Home (Tech/RAM)

Electricity pulsed though the wand, as Rowen's hammer slammed down.  A loud crunch echoed as the hammer made impact, and smashed the wooden rod into the ground.  Hairs of both Rowen and the brothers stood on end, as they felt the reaction, the crackle of the arcane.  Magic coursed through the wand, as the electricity seemed to fuel the incantation held within.

A blinding light appeared from the point or the wand, and Rowen would feel his hammer suddenly thrown back.  The brothers would hear an all too familiar, oily slick voice "Heh, and here I was thinking you didn't want to see me again.  I guess you really did miss me."

Sel Kar, the metallic furred, regal violet striped tigress angel, step out of the woods with an evil smirk.  Her chest, tummy, and legs were stained with bright crimson splashes, some parts still dripping.  She wore a simple sleeveless top,  and form-fitting cloth-pants.   She moved slowly, drinking in the shock of her reappearance as her claws left little spatters on the ground with her graceful movements.

With a flick of her wrist, the blackened armor the brothers had first encountered her in.  In the same instant, there was suddenly a long, blackened scythe that cackled with arcane energies around the blade, while the spear-point counter-weight gave off an unnaturally soft, purple-blue flame.  "Oh look, and you brought me a canned snack too."   

She leered, her eerie white teeth gleaming through her armor as she seemed to flicker in and out of existence through the trees all around them.  She moved faster than anything either of them had ever encountered, and from the sounds of her movements,  she was just toying with them.

[Arroyo Milori]

Pathfinder

" I'm more worried about you getting caught on fire than being hacked into pieces. Fire is nothing to mess with in your current state, just remember that."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Upon reaching the fork in the road, the once lone captain has yet again have to make a decision with ether one being very risky: one path leading their path out but possibly heavily watched by the patrols; the other leading to a city but not to a quick way out of this country. "Should we the risk and go for the short path, or stop by the city for supplies first and take a longer yet less guarded route?" He adjusts his cufflings pressure to 100%, just to be safe so that he doesn't set off any alarms regardless of what path they took. " Ether way I have to hide you Lucy, don't want the partol men to spot anything unusual about this boat." The fork was drawing near while this conversation went on. " Make your call, quickly."

[techmaster-glitch]

Side of the roa--oh hell

  After the beaver in the front cockpit tossed the wand down to the ground, he hit some levers and the Storm Scorp backed up a bit and moved more back into the road, in the direction it intends to travel. The badger mercenary went back into his van...and came out a minute later, suited up in a fine suit of clockwork armor, wielding a particularly impressive hammer inlaid with gadgetry. The badger fiddled with it, and arcs of electricity played around the hammerhead.
  The Storm Scorp took a few more steps away.
  The hammer was dropped, and there was a blinding flash of light, leaving both beings blinking--but befroe their vision had even cleared, they heard the absolute last voice they wanted to hear right then.
  With the light gone, and the blood-soaked Creature standing there, the Vaponci brothers did not hesitate, and immediately fell back on their combat training. Though not without some words.
  Gezzemocht in the rear cockpit hisses "Get down!" and used a free hand to push the little girl somewhat harshly further into the footspace recess in the cockpit as he immediately hits the controls of the tail-turret rotary gun, and lights up the Creature's general area with a hail of bullets.
  Over the rat-tat-tat-tat-tat of the rotary gun, Gaakronacht in the front cockpit likewise srpung into action, hitting the Scorp's controls left and right. The engines of the support mech roared as the great machine sprung to life and very nearly even reared back as the two "claw" mounted weapons were brought to bear. As the Creature flitted between the trees like a ghost, Gaakronacht loosed one or two shots with the sonic cannon into the trees when he thought he had a bearing on her. Over the din, however, he couldn't help but shout down at the armor mercenary.
  "THIS IS WHY WE HAVE CONTAINMENT PROTOCOLS AND SEALED INCINERATION FURNACES, YOU TOOL."

[Tapewolf]

Machine Room

Seth studied the machinery and the tanks.  He no longer looked like a bug - if the enemy spotted Nadia it was useless anyway, and he could switch back fairly easily if necessary.

"I still favour taking out the boilers if we can," he said, "And I'd like to know what's in those tanks.  If it's the water feed for the boilers, the boilers should be nearby.  Either way, making them start to empty themselves would be fun, and setting it on fire if it will burn.  Though... particularly if it's combustible, doing that is likely to block off our exit if we need to come back and go the other way.  Obviously we'd have to inform the other two before taking such a step."

He strolled over the the closest tank, and stretched out a wing-tentacle to try and dip into it, but it was too high, so he began looking for leaks, all the time glancing at Nadia and the rest of the room in case someone entered.

[Inumo]

Be Calm

The pleasurable feeling of claws digging into his thigh provided Kathostral a moment of luxury against all this nuisance, but he hardened his skin all the same just in case. "In case you haven't noticed, your attempts to make me let go 'on your time,' as you put it, are failing," he said, still continuing onwards. "I'm sorry, but you must make a small sacrifice for the betterment of your beat. I'll try not to kill him before the mark is confirmed, just for you."

And so he pressed onwards, unwilling companion in hand, to find the 'Cubi he'd set off to hunt in the first place.

[rammenstein]

Not as planned! NOT AS PLANNED!

The badger knew something went wrong the second his hammer made contact. He'd been a mercenary for ten years, and had fought more than his fair share of creatures. He knew the feeling of arcane energies, and he definitely recognized the feel of his hairs standing on end. The fact that the hammer was so violently thrown back only served to confirm his suspicions. Clearly, there was still some fine-tuning to be done before the Thunderhammer was ready to move out of the experimental stage.

The fact that it somehow summoned an apparently very powerful creature was just the icing on top of the massive shit-cake they'd been presented with.

Rowen snarls, the sound oddly tinny from behind the helmet. He deactivates the hammer and holsteres it on his back - it would do him no good against such a fast enemy anyway - and instead draws the two weapons stowed at his hips, a handcannon in the left and a chainsword in the right. He takes a couple shots at the creature, though he doubts he will manage a hit. Freakin creatures and their superior...well, damn near everything, really.

"OH BITE ME! IT WAS FOR SCIENCE!" He yells back as he backs towards his van. Thankfully, he'd modified the cab to fit his armor, just in case he needed to make a hasty retreat. He feels no fear, that is literally impossible for him. However, he does understand the need for a tactical retreat, when the situation calls for it. And the current situation just happens to be one.

[JamesCray]

Just Remember That It's A Grand Illusion

"Pleasure to meet you Syl, call me Mak. If you want to be formal about it it's Johan Marek Ledwinka, but I get well enough of formality when I'm being paid for it," the fennec said with a lopsided grin. "De Mon'mekar... Sounds oddly familiar, but I can't quite place it. You mentioned blueblooding it, I'm with the envoy from Nhyalamar, perhaps I've crossed paths with you or a relative before? I have been known to be bad with faces, much to my embarrassment at times."

It probably would have been best if he stopped there, but his curiosity was piqued, so he continued, sotto voce. "Pardon me if I overstep, but I took it as given that you were going easy on me. I have no doubt you could have put me down before I could get close enough to land a touch. I try not to generalize based on race, but that wasn't rusty, it was flashy in every way possible from the way you fought to the size of your sword to the size of your mouth, no offense. When just about every other Angel I've met has been all about subtlety and control, that makes you either an outlier of dramatic scale or an excellent actor."

[Kafzeil]

The Humbling River

For most of the journey Lucy had bee sitting on the bridge. Mostly looking out at the world through the windows. A few minutes into the trip she had begun singing to herself.

She was emotionally drained. Her companion finally broke the silence. She hadn't really spoken to him since he said he was concerned about her. Finally, genuine concern about her well being. Well, without telling her she was better off dead, anyways.

She rose for her spot slowly, shrugging a bit.

"It'd much rather take the more discreet route, to be honest." She approached the lion from behind. "But it's your call. You're the captain. Just one Thing; You'll get in a lot of shit if we're bot caught. Magic using beings aren't looked fondly upon. "

[Meany]

Yang Energy

Gethering Bath House was a small palace in decor and scale.  While it was neither the largest or most luxurious of bath houses in the region -that old witch Yubaba held claim to that title- Gethering was much more affordable and the staff much happier than many others.  The place had an air of cheer, and was clandestinely used by many unsavory groups to plan unsavory things for unsavory reasons.  But a bit extra in their bill at the end of the day, and a bit extra in the protection money given to the police, and things went smoothly; Haien hadn't seen it raided once in his ownership of it.

His office in the main building was deeply ensconced in the first-class section, where customers got the best everything for the most money.  A fireplace, long wall of books, and a stately desk with stationary and pens.  Lighting the candles in their holders, and throwing a log to be lit in the fireplace with a gesture, Haien sent out insignificant minions to bring out any of the clients in look for a reduction in their tab, or outright employ, then went to his desk with a tome of ancient and unpleasant uses for smoke magic.

The cold anger is one that does not forget, does not forgive, and burns in hidden crevices until ready to surge.

[SquirrelWizard]

Sofalls the Ottoman Empire.

Stephan had listened to the the banter between professor and roommate. He did his best to ignore it, the comments about black lights and pranks seemed normal for cubi. Well, he wasn't completely sure about the black light bit.

As the door latched behind him ominously, he regarded the back of the couch. Where he was raised when you greeted someone you met with them face to face. He could leap over the couch, but that would probably end poorly. Instead he opted for another method, "So, Satia, do I get to see you, or did they stick me in a room with a highly animated couch?"