A Bone to Pick (M) (IC)

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib glanced over at the ambulance with mild annoyance. Entirely too convenient, and entirely too obstructive to his personnel pursuits. Oh well. Plenty of other opportunities before the night came.

She would have to be several different kinds of foolish to stay around after that stunt. However, as the authorities will have questions, so do we. Who was that, and why is she so adamant on ruining our pursuits? I did not know her. Did you?

While he waited, he decided to help with the people dealing with a rather hot vermin problem. With a telekinetic grab, he nabbed the hoses, and promptly cut the workers trip in half as he also gave the pumps a quick start.  At least it was something.

[Tipod]

A creature with the innards of his kin, but not their voice or resilient constitution, talking as though he wasn't even there and asking for devices he didn't even know about.

This thing was no kin. It was some sort of hideous imitation with no will of its own, that reptilian part of its mind instinctively scrabbling and swiping and anything within reach. A grave insult, that anyone thought they could replicate an elemental so crudely.

Throwing caution to the wind, Oyugun slipped forward, both hands tearing through the thing's remains for anything salvageable. Something animated this beast, whether mechanical or mystical. Maybe a heart or brain suspended in the thick, soiled gel.

[Meany]

Gorod Kur
It wasn't long until the trees started to look damaged.  An ever widening path of dead animals, the odd upturned boat, and shattered plant life.  They were getting close.  The squad members seemed antsy, going into the same territory as a gestalt.  In short order, a great roar filled the air, and a towering figure of mud and debris was faintly visible over the treeline.  The howitzer transports started to break off from the fan boat, to take flanking positions.

It became more visible as a line of trees vanished with a tumult, the gestalt.  Corpses of people, animals, and trees roiled in the mass of bubbling mud.  It was the size of an apartment complex; five stories tall, and twice as wide.  At times it would have a vaguely humanoid shape, the two 'arms' possessing only mitten-like hands, and no features to it's face; and at other times it would be just a mass of mud oozing over the next obstacle.

Sudden movement from the gestalt, throwing some boulders it had carried within itself at the boat fan, indicated it had sighted the combat team.
***
The corpse leaves only shattered gemstones for Oyugun to retrieve.  Wisps of magic still clinging to them in places.  A few shattered pieces of ceramic indicate the presence of a water-container having existed in the creature while it functioned.

Kallisburg
The medics went to work on Aliera, while the pantheress went into deep thought.

I don't know.  She'd have to be powerful to bring down the entire front of the cinema after sneaking in, letting you see her (for if the firemen didn't see her, she could have easily avoided you), and sneaking out without anyone noticing...  Aliera's thoughts stopped as she suddenly jerked.  Gah, what was that?  Felt like someone walking on my grave.

The medics turned their attention to Aliera's back, fearing spinal damage indicated by the jerk, while sudden high-pitched screams and towering stacks of gray smoke rose out of the cinema ruins along with the roar of fire hoses.

In a few short minutes, a officer of the local police appeared.  A thin chestnut horse, in the brown overcoat with red lapels, and black cap of the police force.  He produced his shield-form badge to the medics, instructing them to back off for a few minutes.  Without missing a beat, the horse spoke: "Alexander Ustinov, Sergeant of the Kallisburg police.  Please recount the events that transpired after you entered the cinema as accurately as you can."

Derevensk

The customers didn't linger long; the adults shooing their children away from the smoke, and the injured worker gryphon.

Then it appeared.

It crawled over the chair-o-wheels, all black with shining orange eyes.  Humanoid shape, with great wings and curved appendages emerging from it's head.  Horns, most likely.  The shade crawled over the ride, toward Fergus, and as if time had slowed, gradually lifting a clawed hand to reach for him...

Something drew it's attention, for it looked to the side, and scurried off, never making a sound.  In a few seconds, thundering footsteps shook the earth, while a great bear in a clown suit appeared between the stilled arms of the ride.

"And what is it now?"  Kazimir growled, approaching Fergus, apparently having not seen the shade.
***
The master was with Zarus.  He wore the shape not dissimilar to a drowning victim for this excursion.  The shape had a lanky body, sunken flesh and eyes, straight and scraggly hair, dressed in threadbare robes of watery gray.  The two overlooked the carnival, standing unnoticed high in the air, upon a disk of solid wind.  The dust from the charred remains of the Wendigo's poppet passed along on a passing breeze.  The master's expression was apathetic, as was usual for this shape.

"Good.  He might survive if we can herd him into the company of one of the stronger ones.  Zanfib is the closest, but Chris is more likely to help a soul like him."  The master's voice was, no matter the shape he wore, as oil.  A flicker of black energy, and the shade the master had sent after Fergus appeared at his side.  The master dismissed the summon, and placed a hand on Zarus' shoulder.

In a swirl of color indicating teleportation, they were at the opera house in Kallisburg.  The master had access to a wing of the building that was not listed on the official blueprints.  The master had taken himself and Zarus to the 'throne room'.  Where the master had set up a massive chair quite similar to a throne, where he would address visitors and Zarus for the younger cubi's lessons.  Rich red carpeting, great paintings, crystal chandeliers, electric lights, and smaller and less ornate chairs for Zarus and his tutors to occupy filled the room.

Two of the three tutors were present.  The Weird sisters, as all three were known collectively, were all white felines with black hair.  Their fashion and eye colors were how they were told apart from one another.  The puppeteering and magic tutor, called Selene, was seated in her chair.  Dressed in a gothic dress of fur and belts with her hair in an elaborate headdress, her eyes purple and cold, she was sewing a poppet together and not giving Zarus a glance.

The second was much more attentive.  Phoebe was her name, and she wore her hair in rich waves.  Her simple black dress was seemingly tight on her, but would never hamper movement, around her neck was a scarf of white and orange; a gift from the master.  She wore opera cloves of black leather, and her eyes were malicious and red.  She stood, gave Zarus a kind smile, and thrust forward a bound, gagged, and bleeding blond haired dog in khakis.

"What is this thing doing here, bleeding on my floor?"  The master paid no gesture to acknowledge his two servants and guest, but strode forth to sit on his throne.

"Master, this one accidentally found a way into our secret tunnels," Phoebe purred as she spoke.  She always did that.  "He put up a surprisingly good fight, and I thought you should decide what to do with him, given he is a TiBaltic."

The master pointed to a wall, and it opened to reveal a room, the master's parlor.  Phoebe dragged the man there, ignoring his muffled screams and thrashing, then returned.

"Zarus," the master spoke again.  "Explain to Selene how the Wendigo poppet fared, and your assessment of the unit in combat."

[littlekreen]

Fergus padded over to his sledge, left hip obliging though with moments of stiff obstinacy, and responded to Kazimir trying not to talk too loudly, "I'd say I'm seeing things but I just introduced that ash pile of creature over there to my hammer! It made the world look weird. Another one that just reached for me when you got here but I think you might be getting a little good at your job if you scare that thing away! Did you see it? Why the hell isn't anyone as weirded out as I am! It's over here!"

Fergus's beak clenched with the dull throb at his hips forcing a limp over to the pile of ash and skull. He muttered wide-eyed as he went, "I'm so hungry now. I can still smell him. What the hell was this thing!"

[VAE]

Vlcia Polhora

The ram turned towards Chris and spat on the ice-covered floor.
"Did they pull you out from under a rock or what? The snow hag's been an old thing back when I came here, and that's got to be two decades by now. Hell, count yourself lucky I had space and will to keep you in, or someone'd have found a cat icicle tomorrow. Or worse, she could have chosen you a lover."

[rammenstein]

Through the gates of Hell
As we make our way to Heaven

Jaes was silent as they proceeded onward, just taking in the devastation the gestalt had wrought. He was not nervous, no. He was far too seasoned to let nervousness overtake him. He noticed this did not apply to the rest of his squad, however, and as they started to get antsy he decided to speak up, to reassure them in the face of their pending battle, as was his duty as their commander.

"Easy, men. Remember your training and you'll get through this, I promise."

It wasn't much longer until he could see their target, a massive conglomeration of mud, corpses and debris. Behind mirrored glasses, Jaes observed, one eyebrow rising up. He'd read the reports, but to see one of these creatures first-hand was something else.

"Big boy," the fox commented, off-hand. As the creature began to send projectiles at them, he knew they had been spotted. "Evasive maneuvers," he called back to their pilot. Jaes himself moved to the front of the boat, keeping an eye out for any boulders they would be unable to avoid, one hand open and ready.

"The howitzers should keep it occupied, as well as hurt the beast. We need to get in close so we can finish it off. Remember men, your first priority is each other. I have no intentions of losing any of you to this thing."

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib had been quietly grumbling, wiping dust off his clothes with a disdainful scowl, up until the sergeant showed up. "Good morning, Mr. Ustinov. I hope you haven't had any architecture dropped on you yet today?" He said as he adjusted his hat. "Well, we were inspecting the damage, when we were attacked by a white furred feline, black hair, a black dress, long evening gloves, and blood red eyes. Mm, I'd say she was a 34C at about 34, 22, 32. Seven out of ten. She went after the supports, which brought the wall down on us. After which, she apparently vanished, but left some manner of flaming vermin to come after us. by the way, could I get a copy of this report at my residence? Thank you." He says.

Zanfib then glanced the succubi's way, quirking an eyebrow. Everything all right, dear? He inquired.

[Tipod]

Snatching a handful of shattered gems and ceramic, Oyugun gave the remains one last, heavy glare before slithering away. This stupid thing had occupied way too much of his time already. Perhaps an elder or other learned individual could look these over sometime later.

For now, he had to reach the capital. Or whatever political figure resided at the end of this road. It seemed as though something changed every time he tried to navigate these meatbags' roadways.

[AmberCross]

Chris shrugged, ignoring the insults. "What can I say? I'm new to the area. Just passing through really. Part of the reason I stopped here, aside from having a last day or two in civilization, was to pick up supplies and information about the area. Speaking of which, what's the deal with the snow hag and what makes having her for a lover be worse than freezing to death?"

[Techcubi]

How did the unit fare? As Zarus stood there, his hands together behind his back, he pondered the situation. But, in the end, he had tell the truth. "Well, master, it was only one trial run, but, frankly, I'm not sure. It seems like it would be perfect for combat against those who are slow, with it's great movements, or, those who aren't trained to properly counter attack. But, in the end, it only took a single hit. I think I would prefer to use more sapient beings or creatures in combat, myself." As he stated his opinion, he looked toward Selene. He hoped he wasn't angering her in some way.

[Meany]

Kallisburg

The officer wrote down all that was said upon a notepad, then gave Zanfib a long, piercing look. "Mr. Black... those other ten individuals, were they present in the cinema, or have you met them elsewhere?" Not waiting for a reply, he added in a quiet voice "As for the report.. it's classified ...  damaging the property of prominent citizens such as Lady Aliera who's about to .."  He gestured sideways where Lady Aliera stood, a strained expression on her face. "Anyways, such crime fulfills the definition of insurgency against the gubernia, so it's classified."
The sergeant's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, an expectant look on his face.: "If you really want to see though, we could... sort it out, you know."
***
The master turned and regarded Selene, who spoke without needing prompting.  "The Wendigo poppet was developed to make use of it's time and space teleportation abilities as an assassin.  If it cannot even survive a fight with a commoner, then it is not worth further investigation."  The witch had apparently finished with her poppet.  A pantheress in black garb.  "Here, use this new poppet to replace the Wendigo.  It isn't very powerful, but you can reasonably plant suggestions and doubt into her mind with this."  The poppet floated over to Zarus, to hover in front of him.  "You know her as Zanfib's confidant, Aliera Nact'larn."

The master spoke.  "You are to stay in Kallisburg, and observe Zanfib.  The boy is great in mind-powers, so practice your mental shields and learn his servant's thought patterns as well if you intend to kill and replace one."  Without further instruction, the master stood, and entered his parlor, closing the hidden door behind him.

Gorod Kur

The Capital appeared in an hour of travel.  A poor attempt to bring civilization to the swamp, many buildings looked to be slanted as their foundations have been partially planted into muck, which gave under the weight of the structures.  Crews looked to be working on them.  The gate of the Capital shone blue with a thin skin of magic, which turned even the flies that tried to pass it into a fine powder.  A winged Ironshirt, or armored warrior, stood outside the gate and barrier, as still as the grave.  As Oyugun approached, it spoke in a grinding voice, "Name and business?"

Derevensk

"Kid, listen to me."  The mad clown looked almost kind, but was probably just thinly veiling irritation.  "You're going into shock, which means we need to get you to a medic to calm you down, give you a look-see, and find out exactly what went on here, alright?  That ash pile ain't going anywhere.

"Now quiet down, you're scaring some of the guests.  Come on, let's go see the doctor."

Vlcia Polhora

The ram just stared at Chris for a moment before speaking, "You're a virgin, ain't ya boy?  The Snow Hag's a spirit or Mythos, or something.  She's a walking blizzard and command the winds and ice any way she wants.  She walks around the mountains and passes, and can't pass any door or window laden with fucking rock salt! The ram turned and shouted the last part at the stairs, and a muffled curse followed from the upper floor.  "She freezes fuckers for some reasons, and sends others to safety.  We don't fuckin' know, or fuckin' care.  We just throw salt on everything, leave an offering of some food and silver, and wait until she's gone.  Then we try to forget she exists."

[AmberCross]

Chris frowned. "Oh please, I'm a cu-.... uu....rious person," mentally berating himself for almost slipping up. Most beings were not very tolerant of that. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, I've had sex. But rock salt you say? I wonder why that would be... would a ring of rock salt keep someone safe without something solid to back it up? What about magic without the salt?"

[Tipod]

Oyugun gave an imperceptible scowl beneath his skull. The earth itself rejected these creatures and their attempts to civilize the region, and yet they persisted. The obviousness of their futility escaped them.

"My name is Oyugun, a diplomatic envoy speaking on behalf of the earthkin." Both eyes stared straight into the winged sentry, unblinking and stern. "I must speak with your governor regarding the current... settlement efforts that your people has been taking as of late." And to tell them to quit dumping bodies of dissidents in the swamps, and to stop drying up the Bogs' outskirts, halt further placement of military personnel, and so on and so forth. But simple introductions came first.

[littlekreen]

The gryphon Looked up at Kazimir as Fergus's eyes dilated for a moment leaving a blank expression in their wake. In replying his voice lost its warm timbre, "Yes, the work comes first. You're right I just need the skull to identify later it before we go. Though this pile laying around doesn't sound like a good idea."

Fergus pulls a charred elk skull out of the ash pile then looked at Kazimir as his pupils dilated once more. While again staring at the skull Fergus's face lit up artificially from its blank expression. He resumed cheerfully, "You know I can never tell how bad it is I guess. I hit the ground pretty hard after I whacked it! How far is the doctor?"

Fergus added the skull to the top of his pack with a strap. It wasn't likely to be as heavy as the governor but the oblong load was kind of distracting. Fergus's tail wrapped around as he absently shook side to side on four legs to see how the skull sat.

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib blinked a few times at the guard in apparent confusion. "Other ten indiv-.." He started in a confused tone, but then promptly sighed and gripped the bridge of his muzzle, shaking his head. "No, no, she is a seven out of ten. Just ask some of the boys in uniform back at the office what it means, okay?" He says, and then glances towards Lady Aliera with a hint of concern on his features. "She's about to what?" He asks, before catching the officer's next statement. He looks back to the sergeant, eyebrows raising both eyebrows slightly. "And, what would it entail to.. sort it out?" He asks. 

[VAE]

Gorod Kur

Throwing was a strong word to describe the action of the gestalt. It flexed a part of its enormous bulk, and the boulder erupted from its surface, followed by a hail of bricks. The brunt of the attack missed the soldiers by a good fifty feet, though half a dozen bricks turned a large section of the overturned boat into kindling, showering those closest with mud and splinters.
The soldiers themselves weren't sitting on their arses either. One of the gryphons ,accompanied by a pine marten in an uniform composed mostly of stitches, set up a firing position behind a massive tree log to the south of the boat, while the rest of the team took cover.
"Fire!"
Aiming the cannon wasn't particularly difficult due to the short range and sheer size of the target.The pine marten set fire to the fuse, and moments later, the gun bounced back, and a bluish flash from the muzzle left the air smelling of a mixture of sulphur and cinnamon.
The projectile delved into the bulk of the gestalt near one of its corners, sending ripples through its surface. The gestalt left the remains of a silo it's been absorbing to its fate and began to slowly crawl in the direction of its assailants.  
"Fucking dud! Fuck! They fuck up the job, but we get fucked over, the fucks. I wonder what fuck has fuckin' stuffed his pockets on the fuckin' ammo deal."  The pine marten wasn't exactly keeping his thoughts to himself, while the gryphon was chirping angrily, presumably picking his own language as the favoured medium for curses.
The gestalt began flexing to deliver another dose of debris, a boil forming on its surface.
*BOOM*
A bluish flash later, a mass of mud the size of a small garage fissured from the corner of the gestalt where the shell has landed, and dropped into the mud below with an audible splash.
The gestalt almost seemed to recoil in surprise.
"And now, fucking hope it doesn't rise up."

[rammenstein]

There is no problem that cannot be solved with the proper application of sufficient high explosives.

Jaes didn't even flinch when the boulder impacted a ways away from their boat, his attention remaining focused on the massive gestalt that was their target. He looked over to the side, watching as the first of the Howitzers took up position, lined up the shot and fired. His practiced gaze caught the telltale sign of magic from the flash, and the cinnamon smell served to further tip the Warrant Officer off to the fact that the shells they were firing were far from ordinary.

"Mmm, I do love cinnamon..." he muttered, more to himself than anything, as his eyes tracked the shell through the air and into their target, burying itself deep within. He was unable to hold back a smirk as the operator and the gryphon started cursing.

"Wait for it..."

*BOOM*

His smirk turned into a full-blown grin as the round exploded, tearing off a large mass from the gestalt. Delayed fuzing, an excellent idea. Let the round sink in a ways first before exploding, causing far more trauma as the blast wave propagates through the entire mass, instead of just over the surface.

"Well, what are you waiting for?!" He yelled, "Reposition! Howitzer two, brace and fire! That's not going to be enough to stop it, and we can't let it recover! Keep pounding away at the beast until it's nothing more than a pile of muck and shattered dreams!"

[Techcubi]

Zarus took a look at the doll-like Poppet, before finally taking it. He smirked. This was going to be one of those fun missions. Of course, he should definitely treat this somewhat seriously, but, it would be interesting for him to figure out what he was going to do to hinder the Psychic being's goals. However, he figured he should get in alittle more training, probably in shapeshifting and fighting skills, first, before taking on this assignment. He looked at Phoebe and chuckled. "Mind giving me another shapeshifting lesson before I head out?"

[VAE]

Kallisburg
The confused expression on the horse's face betrayed that he apparently wasn't any cleverer from Zanfib's explanation. This time 'round, he let it go, in favour of a far more compelling topic.
"What would it take?" The equine sergeant's face contorted into a tortured smile: "Er, you know, the wheels turn easier when one greases them a bit.."
He made a gesture, rubbing together his finger and thumb.
"Fifty."

[Ghostwish]

Zanfib looks at the guard incredulously for a moment, with a nigh unreadable expression on his face. It was hard to tell whether it was amusement.. or fury. But, before the poor sergeant could ponder it any further, the ringtail reaches inside of his coat, and drew out a small booklet. From within that booklet he tore a single, paper page out, and handed it to the sergeant.

It was a monthly pass to Nact'Larn's.. establishments.

"There you go. Use it, sell it, whatever you like, but two bits of advice for you, good sir. Firstly, make sure you get that information to me post haste, and secondly, make sure not to bruise a well to do fellow's ego with such a petty pittance of a bribe!" He says, and then promptly turns around and heads over to Lady Aliera.

"I'd say that is all we can do here, mi'lady. Perhaps we should take this information to your sisters?"

[Meany]

Derevensk
The medic was actually the operator of the fortune telling booth, who wasn't more than fifty paces away.  She gathered ingredients to mix them in a bowl.  Plants ground to powder, a mushroom similarly ground, three drops of a clear liquid she kept in a vial on her person, and a silver coin which exploded into dust the second it touched the mixture.  Afterward, the woman dressed all in layers of blue-colored cloth took handfulls of the mix, and splashed it upon Fergus, leaving the gryphon quite sparkly.

"Sit ten minute, not move much," She said to the gryphon and the clown, then returned to her tent, and to customers.

Kazimir loomed, standing between Fergus and his pack, examining the Wendigo skull.  "What did you say this was, again?"

Vlcia Polhora

The ram huffed.  "You need a barrier between you and the snow.  So if you have fire hot enough to melt the snow, and put salt around the area you've melted, and stay inside until she's gone.  Keep the snow from building up in where you've set the circle, or the salt won't keep her wind out."  The ram stood, and started to stamp around the room, shattering the ice under cloven hooves.  "Fire magic is the best to use, but it's hard to keep going in this climate, so use water and wind magic to keep the snow from gathering where you don't want it too.  If you can hide underground, do it.
"Curious, are you?"  The ram delivered a swift kick to sections of the bar, dislodging ice with ease.  "The witch takes your soul when she's done with you.  Uses it for her children, and puts your voice into her winds to lure other people to her."

Kallisburg
Phoebe's maliciousness spread to her smile, but a cough from Selene killed the expression quickly.  "No," the fell woman answered.  I have my own  mission to pursue.  An issue near your home town, I think, and will be gone for a while.  Your present skills need to be sufficient."  With that, Phoebe turned and walked into a shadow cast by a tall bookcase, vanishing quietly.

Selene stood and went to a similar bookcase, where jars of faintly glowing black rat-like creatures sat.  She took a small one from the shelf, and tossed it carelessly to Zarus.  "Your warp-aci for this mission," she said by way of explanation; her tone cold and her gaze directed elsewhere.  "Go."

Gorod Kur

The second howitzer fired much to the same results of the first, excepting that the debris was much more hazardous to the boat.  One such mass of mud and corpses was due to strike water near the boat, which would surely capsize them.  However, the lieutenant swung out with his small tree of a weapon, and propelled the mass away horizontally, where it exploded into a fireball after five seconds.

"It's moving," a grunt shouted.  And indeed it was, the gestalt's damaged bulk seemed to be filling the wounds, making it imperceptibly smaller.  But there was a third depression, closer to the base, which had no explanation until another grunt raised the alarm.

"It's under us!"  The water around the boat had become tan from the mud and clay of the gestalt, and the mass suddenly contracted as if aware it had been spotted.  The boat's motion stopped, and suddenly it was jerked around atop the water, before throwing the boat up into the air.

The occupants flew every which way, the grunts reaching out to soften the impact with the water, the lieutenant falling slowly somehow, was going down swinging at the mud limbs that held the boat, but Jaes...

Jaes was about to land right on top of the gestalt.

[Techcubi]

Zarus frowned, and sighed. Honestly, what was it with Selene? He may have been born into the shadow clan, but, even he wasn't overly stoic. And, neither were most of his clan mates, for that matter. They just had some degree of Professionalism. But, Selene? She might as well be an expressionless stone statue. And, the way Warp-aci were put into jars around the place. Really? They may have been mischievious, but, that didn't necessarily mean they had to be put in jar-like prisons. Heck, in their own home areas, Cubi who didn't mind the little devils as much let them roam free as pets. He sighed. Oh, well. He shifted into a black, male-wolf form, with a green shirt, shifting his head wings, and, adding them to the hair length, and, shortened his wing span to add to the shirt. He then opened the jar, setting the Warp Aci free. "Alright." He touches his hand to the Warp-aci's back. "Let's head straight to the perimeter around the Black estate, shall we-? Ummmmmmmmm...What was your name again? Gi? Gu? Giz?" He could never remember his master's Warp Aci's names well, most of the time because he didn't exactly spend a whole lot of time with them.

[AmberCross]

Getting to know you.... Getting to know all about you...

Ah, Chris knew it couldn't be just the sex that was the danger, it was the soul theft after the fact that made her deadly. Nothing he hadn't seen before among some of his family or allies of them, but he certainly wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of it. However from the sound of it, it was the snow that was the real threat. Keep that out of your circle and she couldn't harm you. Chris was not very proficient in fire magic, but wind was his second best element right after ice itself. Keeping snow outside with his wards should be a simple enough task. Which brought him to a very serious question... "If I find myself in need of shelter, I typically build one out of ice if it's cold enough. Will that work here with a line of salt along the inner edge or would she be able to use that against me? Is there a reason not to reuse salt? And are there any other significant dangers here besides her?"

[VAE]

 Gorod Kur
The iron-clad warrior stood silent and motionless - if it wasn't for his twitching tail, one'd be lead to think he broke down. After several awkward seconds, he spoke again, his voice raspy and slow.
"You need to enter city.. .to speak with Governor? In then..." Before the armoured giant could finish, another figure, shorter, stouter, and clad in the usual militia uniform appeared from behind the gate.
"Swap time! And remember,  Broken Compass at eight toni- *cough*" The militionary, a heavyset otter, seemed to notice Oygun, and almost choked on the piece of greased bread he's been dutifully chewing on.  He drew his pistol, a standard issue muzzle-loader.
"Fucking mudflap! Back up, Ilja! Those buggers are dangerous! Remember what Oskar said they done to his uncle's farm?"
The armoured militionary stepped back, then faced the other one.
"Is not hurting anyone. Is saying wants to speak to Governor. I think."
The otter turned towards Oygun.
"Speaking to the Governor, huh? Do you have an appointment? Thought not... now, gimme the real reason you want to sneak into the city."

[Tipod]

"I didn't come all this way to listen to some faceless grunt waste my time." Clearly unfazed by the otter's weapon, Oyugun stares deeply into the excitable militiaman's eyes. "This would be the first time a member of the earthkin has taken the first steps towards negotiation. If you wish to spurn this opportunity on your entire race's behalf, then I'm sure you would have no trouble sleeping at night should things escalate into an open conflict."

Staring closely at Oyugun's skull, one couldn't help but notice a single silver incisor in the upper jaw. "Or would you? When that day comes, and your brothers are crushed beneath an amber wave of jagged earth while mine are burned to cinders, would you stay up past the witching hour, asking yourself if it was so wise to stand in the way of peace?"

That decaying, musty odor filled the otter's nostrils. What one saw as a slimy, hideous creature spoke so uninhibitedly, the notion of such intellect in a savage creature almost terrifying. "Think very carefully about your answer. The rewards for facilitating armistice are great, as are the consequences for not allowing it."

[littlekreen]

Fergus sits down as he's told and rubs one hip.

He tries to explain but contorts his face in a sneeze first, "*aChoo!* Well it looked like an elk but smelled like blood and cooked meat while everything faded around me. Maybe that's why nobody saw it. It looked kind of bloated? The thing barely squeezed in its fancy suit except for the pants. I asked it what it wanted then the thing leapt at me!"

Fergus makes a swinging motion, "After I smacked the thing it bled red writing then exploded. I'm not sure where I even should look to find out what it is. I remember thinking it reminded me of something. When'd I go? no... wendigo?"

[rammenstein]

I've had enough
I'm taking you down

Jaes was pleased with how things were progressing. They had managed to land two shells on the gestalt already and, while the debris was coming closer to the boats, the Lieutenant was doing an admirable job of deflecting it. Barring an unforseen catastrophe, they had the engagement in the bag.

Unfortunately, no plan survives contact with the enemy.

The Warrant Officer continued to issue orders, directing his troops. However, the exclamation of one brought pause to his words.

"Under?"

Jaes thoughts were cut short by the sudden turmoil as the ship was flung into the air, and the occupants were scattered. It took him a moment to gain his bearings as he flew through the air; he could see where his soldiers were, as well as his commander. He noted with relief that they seemed to be fine. In the next instant, he took note of the fact that he seemed to be bearing down on the main mass of the gestalt. He did not worry, though. Rather, he saw this as fortuitous. A grim smile spread across his muzzle as he kicked his legs out, twisting his body around so that he was coming at the gestalt head-on. Briefly, he turned his attention to his troops and yelled, "Clear out," though he was unsure if they heard or not. Just before impact, he brought his arms up to shield his head and took a deep breath as he plowed into the mass of mud.

At this point, several things happened in very quick succession. First, the fox took a reading of the vibrations his impact had caused, from which he derived the gestalt's resonance frequency.

Second, Boom.

Finally, Jaes focused his magic and released a powerful blast wave, attuned to the resonance frequency of the gestalt itself, and directionally shaped to propagate through the mass, in order to cause as much damage as possible.

[Meany]

Gorod Kur
The blast propelled Jaes out of the monster, and as he flew, he could faintly see the wave of explosive force clearing away something in the debris that looked distinctly like an oil drum.  The drum burst from the explosion, and the friction from the detonation caused it to ignite.  The gestalt seemed to noticeably slow with a portion of itself on fire, but didn't have time to react, as a howitzer round impacted the side opposite of Jaes' exit.

Jaes himself was blown clear of the now burning monster, and into a tree with great force.  He would become idly aware that he had bits of flaming oil stuck in his fur and clothes at odd places, but the mud was helping retard the fire.

***

The aggressive little man answered by pulling back the primer for his weapon, and looked about to fire when something light brown and distinctly biscuit-shaped struck him in the back of the head.  Up upon the wall there was a white-furred feline all in black, with short black gloves.  Though she was skinny as could be, the base shook with her footsteps as she turned from the scene, calling down: "Let him pass."

The otter looked about to argue the point when another biscuit sailed through the air and lodged itself into his open mouth, and suddenly he was much more interested in not choking to death.  Without fanfare, the gates had opened during this development.
Kallisburg
The woman looked up at Zanfib blearily.  "Yes.  Yes, let us do that."  She stood up, pushing the doctors aside with a frail echo of her former fierce expression.  The warp aci began to circle them, leaving trails of distorted space.

Zanfib would suddenly feel the police officer's mind not being present anymore. Or his body, if he cared to look.  The horse had just vanished off the face of the earth the second Zanfib stopped looking directly at him.  The world blurred, and suddenly they were in a lobby of a building seemingly modeled after a Gothic Church, laden with black-upholstered furniture, black trappings on the windows, and red bulbs in the light sockets.  A ferret sat at the reception desk, in similarly Gothic attire, peered over his glasses for a moment, then casually started making a call, placing a hand over the receiver long enough to tell Aliera "Your mother wanted to talk to you when you arrived, Ma'am," before returning to it.

***

"Ch'yah!   I'm Gigi!"  The little glowrat was modeled after a snake in it's form, and had a white glow to it, but no clan symbol.  The Master liked that no one could use them to identify him.   "One swanky mansion, coming up!"  The world blurred, and Zarus came back to it atop the roof of the tallest building in the area around the Black manor.  The structure seemed to be empty, only a few faint emotions coming from the grounds, not the buildings proper.

Vlcia Polhora
The ram continued to move and kick ice while he talked.  "Don't use ice structures.  You can't ward the roof with the salt without wrecking the structure, and she can just drop the roof on you if you go without.  Find somewhere with a stone roof, if you can."   Having finished with the counter, he started stomping along the floor to the stairs, leaving sizable dents in the floor ice.  "The salt melts into the snow once it's done its work, kid.  Would be a fuckin' godsend if we could reuse the stuff, it ain't cheap.    Aside from her, there's always snow hazards.  Crevices, avalanches, thin ice.  Not a whole lot of monsters can survive the same territory as the hag."

Derevensk
As Fergus sits, he feels the pain in his hip to slowly melt away, not quite gone yet, but lessening.  Kazimir tenses up, and slowly looks at Fergus.  "This is a Wendigo skull.  You killed a Wendigo."  Kazimir drops the skull, and promptly puts his face into his hands.  "Do you have any idea how hard it is to kill a Wendigo?  The damned things can travel through space and time to be where their victims are, and you killed one?!"  Kazimir suddenly looks up.  "How did a Wendigo appear in here, and none of our sensors pick it up?  I told her to replace the damned things, but no!  Too expensive she said!  Gods damnit!"  Kazimir kicked a tire for one of the mobile carts that was in his reach, and promptly yelped as he applied too much force, and injured his toe.

[Tipod]

With a slow, heavy glance, Oyugun looked up at the walls before slithering forward. He directed one last glare towards the stocky otter.

"The fairer sex always were the more reasonable of your kind."

That would do for now. Let the guards have their fun standing in place for hours on end; he had important things to discuss with important people.

[littlekreen]

Fergus blinked as he leaned forward a bit to be more comfortable, "I guess the hammer's more useful than I thought. Though now that you describe it I don't think I want to try my luck again on whacking dead something like that!"

His tail twitched in thought as he considered Kazimir, "Though even if the sensors were new they might not pick it up? It must have got here from somewhere without tripping anything in between. Maybe are they like zombies or something! Can you reassemble them on-site? There was a jackboot here that I saw earlier I hollered for someone to track them down but I don't think anyone heard.  Black boots and a heavy coat that looked really out of place."

Fergus twitched as remembering something hurt, "Is Em safe, Kazimir? I mean we don't know there's not more of the things around and it doesn't sound like she could outrun it."

Fergus's tried to hold onto the thought but it kept pulling away to leave his brow intermittently contorted in contemplation.