Active [Clockhaven] Investigate Around And Find Out

TheTimePiece · Oct 17, 2024

Kane Blackburne

Interactions:

Elvario

Kane now knew what types he'd wouldn't be bringing on capture and execute missions. Definitely not just any old thugs if this was what they thought stealth was like. Yelling about an entrance they found, subtlety not strength there, granted Kane himself wasn't always terribly subtle, but he certainly had picked up some skills along the way.

He gave Morana a nod of his head "I'll get e'm nice and under control." as brandished his axe, he rushed over with Fast F + Stealth F + Special Movement Quiet + Special Movement Zen Direction F , out of the sightline of the guy rushing, before Kane got within the 5 ft and gave a nice swing, should it land, however instead of the axe causing bleeding and limb removal as one might expect, strange dark symbols which sort of looked like they were in an 'older' script of Terran rippled forth from where he slashed and from the rift came a dark miasma of dark boney hands with what looked like pitch black chain cuffs with little links coming off of their wrists latched onto the man's limbs to stop him from moving.

Lesser Restreynte - Fighting Style: [Black Scripture Style: Royal Rotian Executioner] E, Non-Lethal E, Tangle E (1), Energized E, Selective E -Grade E Cooldown 0 (Energized)
Kane appeals to his patron in his fighting style and conjures hands from a dark miasma beyond which tangle target for two rounds. While ensnared by tangle, target cannot move from spot and takes -1 effectiveness on all actions, even after physical binds are destroyed and ability is still active, impacted area creates a zone of slowness doubling movement action costs for the afflicted.

Kane had ended the axe gesture so that the blade was just under the guy's neck, blade side up, grazing it as he spoke with Interrogation D + Intimidation D + Energized D "Listen here you, If you don't keep your voice down and tell me everything you know exactly about what the hell is going on here in this house..I'm gonna give your neck a little trim..and you'll be lucky if I start there, there are so many places I can cut..before you bleed out.and don't think I don't know how criminal titles work, so you better choose your words carefully." Kane spoke in such a tone that he meant business and he'd have no problem removing this guy's head if he didn't listen and do what he said. Hopefully at this point presuming his action worked, Morana would get an idea about why Kane said it'd be pretty clear when someone was vulnerable.

Actions:
1. Move into range if need be with Fast F + Stealth F + Special Movement Quiet + Special Movement Zen Direction F.
2. Use Lesser Restreynte - Fighting Style: [Black Scripture Style: Royal Rotian Executioner] E, Non-Lethal E, Tangle E (1), Energized E, Selective E -Grade E Cooldown 0 (Energized)
3. Use Interrogation D + Intimidation D + Energized D To try to force guy to cooperate, speak quietly and tell Kane what's going on.

Cooldowns:
F: Ready Next Round (Energized)
E: Ready Next Round (Energized)
D: Ready after next round (Energized)
C: Ready

Lucius Cypher · Oct 19, 2024

Tags: Victorique (

Elvario )

It would seem like Orchid has just developed a habit of being the unseen, mysterious guardian. Though this also usually meant trouble tends to find Orchid and get in between her, and her actual job. Still, this time Orchid vowed to actually stay on task and protect Victorique, though she was running late due to having been distracted by an incident that happened near her. Thus, Orchid was unable to join the initial group, but did manage to catch up in time to see Victorique and her crew arrive to a large house. Frankly with a group this big, Orchid was going to have a harder time making sure she didn't accidentally hit one of her allies, but then again these jobs were never as simple as they appeared. Regardless, Orchid kept her distance, watching from afar and ready to act once she saw trouble. No doubt Victorique was going to head inside of that house, so Orchid scoped out the place from afar, trying to gauge what part of the walls were thinnest so she could smash through it at a moment's notice.

Clockwork_Magic · Oct 20, 2024

Phoebe Penrose

Interactions: Victorique ( Elvario ), Dayle ( Shatter Shard ), Kane ( TheTimePiece ), Simi ( Spoiled Bread )
Languages: Common | [Terran]

She just can't get anything past Victorique, can she? Well, suppose she isn't a detective for no good reason. Phoebe took a deep breath after Victorique's bit of reassurance. “Right... Yea, you're right..." Yea, these guys didn’t look too tough, and the other guys around the house definitely something in their favor at least, but it wasn’t those meat heads that she was worried about.

"I sure hope so... as long as their boss doesn't want to fight, then these guys probably won't..." Phoebe whispered back to Victorique. "If they let me inside with you, I'll keep an eye out for any signs of magic or magic rituals. They can take my wand if that's what it takes to get in." If these goons were as dumb as their speech indicated so far, maybe they didn't even realize she was a mage, the guy at the front only calling her the "pink one" when the guy at the front told the others to report to the boss, though that was probably just wishful thinking. The best she could hope for was that these guys don't know that not all mages need a wand or other catalysts to cast spells so that Victorique and Simi wouldn't be outgunned should they not let Dayle inside with them.

Shatter Shard · Oct 20, 2024

Dayle Keller
"Red Star's Bastard Dog"

Strength
Precision
Intelligence
Vitality
Speed

{ A }
{ F }
{ D }
{ A }
{ B }

C

-Widersia-
Clockhaven, Central Police Station

Code by: Shatter Shard

Dayle's eyes squinted for a bit as he heard one of his men from the other side of the house. "Tell them to standby. Kane and Morana should be there in a moment, so just act after they've decided what to do." He ordered one of his men in a hushed tone. He was still unaware of them being spotted. The man nodded, and sped off to the other side.

Dayle simply stood as he listened to the others conspire. "That's the plan then." He shrugged. He's not sure if they would fall for this trick, but if it can draw fire from Victorique initially, then he would gladly let Simi play detective. Besides, being near to Victorique would be an advantage for everyone involved, the only downside being that enemies are included in that "everyone" too. He straightened his back, fixed his clothes and confidently stepped on the porch. "No point in askin your boss, we getting in." He looked at the mercenary. "And I'm not taking a no for an answer. I'm their bodyguard. Deal with it." He huffed. He looked back at his men. "You lot! Standby until something happens." He barked, before looking at Simi, Victorique, and Phoebe. "I would say ladies first, but none of that for now. Let's get going." He nodded his head towards the entrance.

SCROLLABLE

Mentions:

Elvario · Oct 20, 2024

Tags and character goals:

Elvario Victorique Sopheana – Gather as much evidence as she can to prove Klyios' is involved in some shady dealings.

Clockwork_Magic Phoebe Penrose - Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Shatter Shard Dayle Keller –Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Spoiled Bread Simi – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation. | Ensure she herself doesn't die to those after her own life either.

TheTimePiece Kane Blackburne – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Lucius Cypher Ntaj “Orchid” Yaj – Arrive | Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Victorique Sopheana

Alternate art generated from:
Victorique de Blois

Honestly, Simi's idea was surprisingly solid. “Good plan.” She'd nod. “Dayle, pretend to be guarding Simi. Let's see if they'll fall for it.” She'd add, as otherwise it'd be very clear who the real person of interest was.

“Thank you, detective!” She'd reply to Simi. Her deception was nearly non-existent, but so was these thugs' insight, so hopefully it'd balance out. It'd probably not work when trying it with their leader, however, but they'd get there when they'd get there.

Victorique would also nod at Phoebe. “Good.” She'd respond, as an extra pair of eyes on anything suspicious wouldn't hurt.

To everyone's possible surprise, the door swung open. “Alright, you four, boss says to come in. It's upstairs. Don't go elsewhere.” they were instructed.

As they went up the stairs directly across the hallway, they'd see the second floor. Another thug pointed them to their left, where an office door was opened.

They'd find themselves in a relatively spacious office-looking room. Seated at a desk was an older looking man, who'd greet them upon entree.

Mercenary Leader

“So... which one of you is the detective?” He'd ask, looking at each of them. None of them seemed to stand out as one to him.

“Let me put it simple. This job's becoming less and less worthwhile. I'm not even going to be cordial. Shit in here and around here is seriously fucked. So, offer me a deal and we'll consider leaving.” He stated, not explaining further. Instead, he'd just have his eyes scan each of the four in the room.

Notably, they hadn't taken their weapons or gear. It seemed they were rather confident in their ability to take them down, should something occur... Or in their ability to strike a deal and get this resolved without a fight.

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

Meanwhile, outside, Dayle's men and the See Gels had stood by, whilst Orchid had arrived at the scene. She'd notice the walls weren't thin enough to break through from any angle, nor were the windows on the ground floor big enough to break through. Her best option would be to try breaking through a window on the first floor after jumping onto the roof or finding another entrance. That said, being new, the presence of Dayle's thugs and the See Gels outside might be a tad confusing.

Meanwhile, Kana had successfully captured the thug before he'd made it inside. The only reason the guy didn't piss his pants was that he'd just emptied his bladder, as he was quick to start talking. “Alright, alright. There's a lot of us. Captain and Vice-Captain included. We were paid to stay here and get rid of anyone trying to investigate, but this place is seriously fucked and we already lost some men to it. Boss was debating to just pull out and leave, but said we need a deal or something. Ehh... Lot's of rooms shouldn't be entered, there's like... really fucked up shit. I'm not sure, I swear, it's just that some folk entered and didn't return alive. Like, there's shit like howling, and creaking and creeping at night. This place is seriously cursed and stuff...”

They thug seemed to ramble about just about anything he could come up with.

Morana

From:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/92JWv

“That's... Huh.” Morana stated, looking at Kane. This was not going as expected. “I'm no detective, but if the folk hired to guard this places criminal activities are eager to spill it, it should be easy.” She scoffed.

That said, they could hear one of the thugs call form inside, on the first floor. “Oi, ya bastard, let our mate go! Your folk and the boss are talking already!”

Spoiled Bread · Oct 21, 2024

Simi

Simi followed the thug to the second floor, into the leader's office. As the decoy detective, Simi took position across the desk and climbed onto the seat in front of the mercenary leader. The significant size difference between her and Dayle now become very apparent as they're next to each other.

"It's me, I am the shorty detective!" Simi exclaimed. Simi was far from a manipulative person who can subtly nudge people to do what she wants, but what she lacks in subtlety and nuance she compensates with sheer confidence and energy. Her small brain was already working hard trying to prepare words to convince the captain to leave the building, though she gave up thinking somewhere along the way and was planning to redirect any difficult questions to Victorique.

She definitely didn't expect the captain to offer their retreat for a deal.

"H-huh...? I see..." She wasn't sure why the captain was so quick to offer this kind of deal, but now the thugs apathetic behavior makes more sense. The job might turns out to be harder than they initially thought it would be and now they're looking for a way to not come home empty handed. As a fellow leader who oftenly leads a bunch of goofballs to do blue-collar jobs she could somewhat emphatize with that, damn Widersia and their rampant capitalism!

"You're in luck, captain. Fucked is like my middle name, I bash undeads for my morning exercise and play with curses everyday. Whatever wicked things in this house will be like an extra motivation for me and my crew. Shihihihihi!" Despite her seemingly outrageous claims, it was actually somewhat true. It seemed she would keep accumulating various curses the longer she play this hide and seek with the Wailing Rhodon.

"My dear assistant, check our treasury and see if we can compensate these people." Simi flicked her fingers as she called Victorique. For stuffs involving money, she would let Victorique handle it. Simi was really bad at handling money and her ability to count values was questionable at best.

Action:
1) Performance - Acting F to roleplay being the detective

Clockwork_Magic · Oct 23, 2024

Phoebe Penrose

Interactions: Victorique ( Elvario ), Dayle ( Shatter Shard ), Simi ( Spoiled Bread )
Languages: Common | [Terran]

Phoebe's resolve to hand over her wand, despite not needing it to cast anyways, over to the mercenaries was proven to be unneeded as they just let in all 4 of them into the house with no problems. Looks like they might just be able to put off fighting these guys after all if their leader was willing to negotiate. And open negotiations the guy did not long after they stepped into the room the guy seemed to be using as his field office of sorts.

Simi was the first to take up the mercenary leader on his offer, playing the role of the lead detective as they planned outside. Phoebe would follow her lead shortly after. "So, when you say everything here is fucked, what kind of problem are you talking about here? As our Madam Detective says, curses and the supernatural happen to be our speciality, if that is what you’re dealing with here.” That was technically not a lie if one ignored the usage of the word 'our' in her statement. While she hadn't encountered any sort of curse herself firsthand, in theory she shouldn't be too ill-equipped to handle such things. They did find their basis in the field of magic after all, so hopefully they wouldn't be too hard for the pinkette to deal with. "You get to leave the hard stuff in our capable hands and you get some cash while you all head home. Not a bad deal, no?"

TheTimePiece · Oct 23, 2024

Kane Blackburne

Interactions:

Elvario

"Is that right?" Kane spoke aloud to no one in particular it seemed after the guy told him all that information right away. Good thing he still had his edge so to speak, figuratively between the intimidating and interrogating, and literally with the axe which that dog had crafted for him.

He then continued to speak with a cold indifferent tone like he could decide to seriously hurt the guy at any moment if he felt like it, with some Interrogation E and Intimidation E.

"So, you're saying there's monsters in the place?"

"And, you got a name for whoever's providing the dough on this here operation you got going?" Kane asked. Kane felt like this information probably wasn't as readily available as him simply asking for it but he figured he'd ask anyway. Given how this individual operated he wouldn't be surprised if this group of guys didn't even know who was directly hiring them. If whoever had hired them to try to impede any investigation attempts was smart, they probably used a third party to give the details and distribute the payment.

Even so it might give them some more information to work with.

If this guy was telling the truth then whatever was in the building must have been pretty bad if they were losing people and their boss was willing to try to strike a deal for them to leave.

"Got anything more specific to say about what's inside like anything to look out for in particular?"

Kane then looked back to Morana, "If criminals like these who are willing to take coin for..less than lawful jobs are having their own reservations, means there's something seriously wrong here."

Upon hearing the guy up on the first floor Kane looked back and said, "Oh Shut up you lily-livered swineherd! Don't think you should be the one talking tough based on what your friend just told me here!"

With that said Kane would release the guy after getting at least some sort of acknowledgement to the follow up questions he asked, the arms retracting, "Just remember who decided to spare your life." He'd add for good effect encase this guy tried anything stupid.

"Well then Morana guess we better be on the ready for whatever comes next."

Assuming she'd understood what that meant, that they should position themselves to fight if this whole deal making thing didn't work out. Kane would then move toward the nearest entrance to the building, to be more at the ready.

Actions:
1. Ask more questions using Intimidation E and Interrogation F.
2. Use remaining actions to move to nearest entrance to building to get ready in case the "deal' making doesn't work out.

Shatter Shard · Oct 23, 2024

Dayle Keller
"Red Star's Bastard Dog"

Strength
Precision
Intelligence
Vitality
Speed

{ A }
{ F }
{ D }
{ A }
{ B }

C

-Widersia-
Clockhaven, Central Police Station

Code by: Shatter Shard

Dayle stood silently beside the three, arms crossed and eyeing the mercenaries. Right now he saw no need to run his mouth, as it was better for those with brains to handle the negotiation. The situation was questionable at best, and there is a nagging feeling behind his head that this operation was going to soon become complicated.

Though his expression would harden at the mention of curses, remembering the time when one his own was damned to become one of the undead. He hoped that whatever the mercenaries were dealing with, it's anything but curses. However, his confidence regarding matter was shrinking by each revelation. "Tsk." He was dissatisfied at how the situation was unfolding. He simply waited his group would deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, his men idled to where they were before. One group kept watch at the front, while the other refused to enter the basement without their boss. If Kane and Morana would meet with them, one of the men would approach them and tell them that 10 of Dayle's men will follow their command for the time being.

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Mentions:

Elvario · Oct 23, 2024

Tags and character goals:

Elvario Victorique Sopheana – Gather as much evidence as she can to prove Klyios' is involved in some shady dealings.

Clockwork_Magic Phoebe Penrose - Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Shatter Shard Dayle Keller –Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Spoiled Bread Simi – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation. | Ensure she herself doesn't die to those after her own life either.

TheTimePiece Kane Blackburne – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Lucius Cypher Ntaj “Orchid” Yaj – Arrive | Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Mercenary Leader

The mercenary looked at Simi, squinted his eyes, then sighed. “I'm not here to play games.” Either he'd seen through her (lack of) deception or he just wasn't happy with the way she phrased it. “Right...” He stated, clearly a tad taken aback by the shorty talking about being 'fucked' by curses and undead so openly. Her performance actually making him pay more attention than he felt like he should've.

He then turned to Phoebe. “A werewolf in one bedroom, a corpse in the others, zombies moaning at night, some sort of demon in the basement, some of my men committing suicide after eating some of the food here... That's only the beginning. We'd be here all week if I started mentioning the lesser things. I'd just say, don't open any of the doors willy-nilly.” As for her offer, he scoffed. “We're paid to protect these secrets, not solve them. There's only one reason I'm debating a deal with you guys.” He'd reply, without adding said reason.

Victorique Sopheana

Alternate art generated from:
Victorique de Blois

Victorique sighed. They had no funds allocated to this mission and she had very little money to spare of her own, so she'd have to quickly come up with something to convince this man. “I'm afraid we don't exactly have any funds left, however...” She looked at the paperwork on the man's desk. It was a bit of a gamble, but the context clues, his willingness to abandon this mission... “You've got the feeling you're being set-up, don't you?”

She grimaced. “I'll prove you are. If I do, you leave without putting up a fight. Sound fair enough?” She asked, to which the captain nodded.

“You were quick to catch onto that, so I'll give you a shot.”

Taking the papers, Victorique would drop the act. “I'm going to be using a few tricks that will leave me totally unresponsive for a fair while.” She'd look around, looking Dayle, Phoebe and Simi in the eyes. “... I hate this, but ehm, should the worst happen, you've got permission to pick me up and carry me off. The last time I tried this, I wasn't able to snap out of it...” At the end of the day, this was the riskiest thing to do, as it meant all her quickness and dodge talents were going to be of no use at all.

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Outside, Kane was easily getting his answers. “Inside, yeah. We got a werewolf and some weird ghost in the bloody basement and we heard zombies at night and the food's making folk off themselves and gods knows what else might be in there, place is cursed so bloody badly it's a shithole...” He rattled on. “We don't know names, we never do, only the captain and vice-captain get told names.” He shook his head.

Morana

From:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/92JWv

“I know.” Her voice sounded slightly excited when Kane mentioned something seriously wrong. “Sounds like it'll be fun, no?”

Meanwhile, from the first floor, the guard shouted back. “You shut up you bread-stick wielding buffoon! Boss is making a deal with the shorties, pinky and that other gangster as we speak, so let 'im go dude!”

The moment the guy was released, he'd run inside. With Kane and Morana following, they would find the house open and surprisingly empty. It seemed the thugs and the 'monsters' had retreated elsewhere for now. “Left, right or onwards and down into the basement...” She mumbled, looking at their options. Though they'd soon hear the commotion from outside.

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Victorique Sopheana

Alternate art generated from:
Victorique de Blois

Grabbing a hold of the paperwork, she'd quickly commit their contents to memory. Afterwards, she'd peer on to the past that these materials have gone through. The moment she started doing that, it was as if she froze up, her hands tightly grasping onto the paperwork.

I'm going to take some narrative freedom to ignore CD's, but instead make the character unable to perform other actions whilst this is active. Protect the second-shortiest-mode engaged.

Information Overload – Appraisal B, Darkvision F, Eidetic Memory, Heightened Sense [Hearing/Sight/Smell/Taste/Balance] B, Perception B, Investigation B, Insight B, Energised B – Character takes in any information their senses pick up on and analyses them instantly. - Grade Be - 3 Post Cooldown

Recap Episode – Postcognition B, Mind Shield B, Energised B – Character looks into the past, whilst guarding their mind against tampering. - Grade Be - 3 Post Cooldown

Mercenary Leader

The guard captain looked at tad surprised. “I'm guessing she's the real deal?” He asked, yet as he did so, something on the paperwork started glowing an ominous purpler glow. “Oh... well. Fuck.” He stood up, then shouted really loud. “ANOTHER SEAL WAS ACTIVATED, EVERYONE ON HIGH ALERT!!!”

He was quick to explain. “Last time one of my men stepped on the wrong stone, a seal started glowing like that and we lost five to some monster in the basement.” He was quick to look out the window... Not that long after, one of Dayle's men was heard screaming in terror. Followed by some others.

Around the house, five giant forms of rotting meat started to climb out of the ground. Their stench, size and the brute force with which they made their way up from the ground was enough to make even Dayle's thugs shout out in terror and shock.

Meanwhile, the 'pumpkins' started to move as well, revealing equally disturbing undead monstrosities. A whole lot smaller, yet definitely more plentiful.

It looked like giants and pumpkins alike would only need a little bit to be fully out of the ground and ready to attack (1 rounds worth of actions), which would be very precious time for the group to use in order to prepare to attack, defend or flee.

Clockwork_Magic · Oct 25, 2024

Phoebe Penrose

Interactions: Victorique ( Elvario ), Dayle ( Shatter Shard ), Simi ( Spoiled Bread )
Languages: Common | [Terran]

The mercenary leader's response to her offer was a reminder to her on why she wasn't about to enter the world of professional, high-stakes negotiations any time soon, but at least it was worth a shot. It was a good thing that Victorique was there to save the negotiations. As expected of the best ~~and only~~ detective she knew, it wasn't hard to imagine this not being her first rodeo. Her failed offer aside, the last 3 items the guy listed when he elaborated on what kind of shit they were facing here is what really got her attention. A werewolf and a corpse could be reasonably explainable of having just being left in those rooms, but zombies, demons, and sudden and drastic change in behavior after eating food has magic written all over it alright. Now the real question left to be answered was how were these curses being cast? Was the caster still nearby and doing the cursing themselves or was it something else?

It turns out Phoebe didn't have to wait very long to get her answer. When the paper Victorique held started glowing, an acute feeling of panic shot through the mage. Without thinking, Phoebe snatched the glowing paper out of Victorique's hands, letting it go to let it fall to the floor once it was well out of the halfling's grasp. For a few seconds, she held out her hand palm facing towards the piece of paper, little sparks of electricity appearing around her hand, looking about ready to fight the page itself. After a few more moments and nothing immediately happened within the room, Phoebe lowered her arm. It was better to be safe than sorry with these things, at least it wasn't an explosion trap spell or something of the like.

But, as the screams coming from outside would indicate, they weren't out of the woods yet. Following the captain's gaze out the window, it looked like the entire pumpkin patch was coming to life. She shot a look at the mercenary captain. “Do tell me everything you know about these ‘seals' after we deal with this.” And without waiting for him to respond, she dashed out of the office, down the stairs, and out the front door. The way those 4 giant lumps of rotten flesh were crawling their way out of the ground brought back memories of those zombie goblins doing the same back in that nest. This time, she was going to take the initiative instead of running.

Once again, sparks of electricity gathered around the vicinity of the mage as a magic circle appeared in front of her facing the closest giant to the front door. And with a quick, although not necessary, snap of her finger, a bolt of lightning shot from the circle to the cadence of the unmistakable sound of a thunder clap towards the lump of flesh. From that giant, she would focus the spell to target the other 3 outside the front of the house, as well as many of the "pumpkins" in the field over as the spell could reach, though they weren't the main targets. Just based off of looks alone, the giants look like they're going to do a lot of damage so she thought it best to put them down first, any pumpkins hit would just be bonus points right now.

Actions:

Move to just outside the front door
Cast [Chain Strike] at the 4 giants near the front of the house
- Magic C, Componentless Magic C, Lightning Affinity F, Magic Range D, Magic Targets D, Selective Magic D, Focus D, Energized C
- Phoebe focuses her magic and causing a magic circle to appear in front of her. Shortly after the magic circle has formed, lightning shoots out from it towards a target within 1000 feet of Phoebe. Upon striking the target, the lightning then spreads and strikes up to an additional 24 enemies around the vicinity of the target so long as the additional targets also were within 1000 feet of Phoebe at time of casting.

Cooldowns:

Grade C Abilities: 0/2

Spoiled Bread · Oct 25, 2024

Simi

"Shihihihi, my Watson is indeed a real genius. You'll struggle to find someone who can beat her at math!" Simi said proudly, seemed like whether the captain believed or not, she didn't intent to drop the detective play. She wasn't really sure what's happening when the document glow though, but it seemed the mercenary captain linked the glowing paper with the appearance of the monsters outside. Simi pushed the chair next to the captain so she could peek out of the window.

"Halloween?" She wasn't really sure what to think about the pumpkin heads, but if the mercenaries lost 5 men to them then they should be pretty dangerous, right? Also she could her the sea gels' squeal downstairs, time for her to move.

"Let's go, captain. Our men need us. Regardless of our deal, we all should survive another day first!" Simi said to the mercenary leader with a determined look on her face before she rushed to the ground floor, using the stair's handrail to quickly slide downstairs like a kid.

Once she's outside, she put her fingers inside her mouth and let out a high-pitched whistling. Like trained soldiers, the sea gels immediately responded to the whistling by forming a line in front of her. The middle one put the small fae on top of its body.

"Phoebe, I will see the pumpkins. You handle the ones here and protect Victorique." She said to the pin haired mage before she ordered the sea gels to carry her to the west side of the house.

Action:
1) Command her Minions to gather
2) Go to the west side of the house

TheTimePiece · Oct 26, 2024

Kane Blackburne

Interactions:

Elvario

"Sounds like there might be summoning magic at work if there are that many different monsters coming around...maybe illusions or even forms of mind control.." Kane spoke aloud, probably more so to share his thoughts with Morana rather than the thug. He just had a hunch after the guy finished telling him what he wanted to know. Of course there was a chance the place was just straight up cursed, but it sounded too orchestrated given the frequency and all of the different things like people killing themselves and seeing/feeling strange things, and the fact that there was a criminal investigation thrown into the mix, it just sounded like someone REALLY didn't want people getting anything on them so they were fine resorting to using dark forces to get their way. Whether or not the employer had anything to do with the 'cursed' nature directly didn't really matter because Kane was sure even if they weren't controlling it there was probably a strategic reason they had picked this place.

"Might be fun to cut down some monsters." Kane Gave Morana a bit of a dark grin.

" Course long as our friends don't end up getting wasted in the process, kinda the whole reason I'm here after all."

Kane scoffed, but didn't shout back at the guy for the time being, knowing full well that it was going to end up in a back and forth, and given the potentially dangerous environment they were in, Kane didn't feel like expending too much more mental capacity in throwing insults back and forth with him as cathartic and fun as it could be to get some of his frustrations out.

When Kane let the guy go, he let him go back inside uncontested. By the time Kane and Morana had adventured inside themselves, now looking like a good time to snoop particularly with how relatively peaceful the inside of the building seemed for the time being..it wouldn't be all that much longer until much more pressing sounds could be heard outside not long after Morana had verbalized the directions they could head.

"Guess we shouldn't ignore that huh?" Kane stated rhetorically, spinning around and looking outside the way they just came and it was at that point he'd probably see the two large undead sort rising, looked like there was credence to what the thug had been speaking about..unfortunately.

"Well Morana, let's take care of business together then, wouldn't want our undead friends here getting too comfortable."

Kane promptly rushed forward at the nearest giant and swung his croissant blade shaped executioner axe weapon, and if the attack attempt was successful, more of the dark hands began to erupt and the same dark miasma started up in the area where he swung, only this time the version of his attack was significantly more lethal than the last, as it looked like he was not only honing in on the spot he thought would do the most damage but there was a most unpleasant after effect where strange dark marks spread over the body where his blade connected, also looking like some of them contained words from a very old dialect of Terran, said marks would damage the afflicted's body overtime, causing pain, and would prove more difficult to heal.

Kane Actions:

1 & 2:
Tenebrae Scriptura Imprectatio - Fast E + Fighting Style [Black Scripture Style: Royal Rotian Executioner] C + Incurable C + Continuing C + Penetrating C + Hot Shot C + Penetrating C+ Tangle C + Selective C - C Grade Ability 3 Post cooldown

Kane moves up to 40 FT and uses his Royal Rotian Executioner Black Scripture FIghting Style to attempt to strike a target in a critical location to deal double damage. Attack ignores up to 4 grades of target's defensively used item, and inflicts target with tangle status for up to four rounds. Target is also afflicted with dark stigmatas from wound site, wounds caused by attack require C grade or higher healing, Stigmatas deal continuing damage for up to 4 rounds, until either cured or cancelled early.

Shatter Shard · Oct 27, 2024

Dayle Keller
"Red Star's Bastard Dog"

Strength
Precision
Intelligence
Vitality
Speed

{ A }
{ F }
{ D }
{ A }
{ B }

C

-Widersia-
Clockhaven, Central Police Station

Code by: Shatter Shard

The longer they talked, the more his expression contorted. "Ah fucking hell... I had hoped the rumors weren't true..." He held his head as he shook it in dismay. Curses, necromancy, and what not, they were bringing in too much bad memories for him, souring his mood even further. He then watched as Victorique clutched one of the papers, and the purple seal appeared. The moment it happened, everyone else's reactions caused him to inhale deeply. "Ah shit." It was all he could mutter as he watched Phoebe take the paper and burn it.

Hearing one of his mean scream in terror, he immediately went to the window and peered down. The sight of these hideous monsters made him shudder, but he was quick to gather his wits. He opened the window to bellow out. "Enemies! Half of you lot get to the pumpkinheads! Make a blockade and don't let them past the fences!" He saw the monsters at the front already being bombarded by Phoebe's magic. "The rest of you! Keep the front intact!" He then looked out of the back, where two of those giants were already coming in. "Kane! Morana! Deal with the two on the back!" He shouted, hoping they would hear him from where he is.

As for him, he scooped Victorique up under his arm like a bag. "Deal with it for now Victorique." He murmured, knowing she can't register his words for now. He then quickly ran down the stairs and stood at the entrance, with Phoebe nearby casting her magics. "Gods damn it. I would have preferred the beastkin over this..." He lamented as he kept the halfling tucked under his arm. He positioned himself just behind the entrance just in case someone decides to snipe them from afar. He prepared himself to attack just in case an enemy gets too close.

The Red Star Cronies immediately went to action and drew out their sabers. The 10 nearest to the pumpkinheads immediately began retreating to the front yard and behind the fences, creating a double line of blockade from the fence to the (lower left corner of the house in the map) corner to prevent the monsters from gaining purchase into the front. Another 10 of his men delegated his orders to each other and formed another blockade around the front entrance to face off against the giants, as they tried to dodge to get past the giants and back to the group. Finally, 3 of his men stayed near him and Phoebe, while the remaining 2 was ordered by Dayle to follow after Simi. As soon as the pumpkinheads would get near them, the pumpkin blockade would begin attacking them.

Actions

Dayle

1. Command from window
2. Rush downstairs to the entrance
3. Ready to attack with [Catch 'em Lackin]

Red Star Cronies

1. Draw weapons and move to position
2. (Pumpkin Group) Attack once the pumpkinheads are close
3. (Frontyard Group) Dodge and Block to get into position.

Readied Actions

Grade E

[CD | 3 Post] Catch 'em Lackin: Fighting Style [Bonebreaker] C, Chainz [Flexible] F, Thwack [Accurate] D| Dayle flourishes his chains, making it unclear when or where the next attack would come next, before striking wildly but accurately. If an opponent is caught off-guard, Dayle can potentially disarm or trip them.

SCROLLABLE

Mentions:

Elvario · Oct 27, 2024

Tags and character goals:

Elvario Victorique Sopheana – Gather as much evidence as she can to prove Klyios' is involved in some shady dealings.

Clockwork_Magic Phoebe Penrose - Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Shatter Shard Dayle Keller –Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Spoiled Bread Simi – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation. | Ensure she herself doesn't die to those after her own life either.

TheTimePiece Kane Blackburne – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Lucius Cypher Ntaj “Orchid” Yaj – Arrive | Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

(Please ignore the blacked out bit on the map, something bugged out.)

Mercenary Leader

The mercenary looked outside, seeing what was happening. “All we know is that bad things happen after these seals are shown, but it's too late to say more...” He stood up and grabbed his sword, ready to head out.

Victorique Sopheana

Alternate art generated from:
Victorique de Blois

Using her [Recap Episode] she'd been going through the past month of those papers, trying to find out who signed them, what the circumstances were, what had been said... Her mind reliving a month's worth of history and her [Information Overload] trying to make sense of it. Yet when those papers were pulled out of her hand, the Postcognition ability suddenly stopped. Her mind snapping out of it mid-process made her snap out of it in a rather horrible state, as she could feel a horrible headache rise and was dizzy enough to no longer separate up from down, forcing her to fall down on the ground. There was just one thing... “Set-up... East Empire... Saboteur... Iztok... ” She desperately tried to relay that information, though she had to pause to prevent herself from throwing up after being snapped out of her Postcognition so suddenly.

Luckily enough, the name seemed to ring a bell... it was enough. “EVERYONE, RETREAT FROM THE HOUSE!!! VICE CAPTAIN TO THE NORTH, WE SHALL TAKE SOUTH!!!” His voice boomed through the entire house. “We'll not get in your way, but we won't help either. I'm pulling out with as many men surviving as fate allows.” He stated to them, as he made his way out and went downstairs. Throughout the floor, his men gathered and rushed to the lower floor as well, in order to escape this house that'd been haunting them for the last few days.

Victorique felt herself lifted up by Dayle, but didn't complain. Having been snapped out of the post-cognition she'd trusted his ability to drag her along more than her own legs right now. That said, he'd soon get stuck behind Phoebe and the Guard Captain on the stairs. To make matters worse, he'd hear something from upstairs. Cracking, breaking and... howling and growling. That werewolf? It sounded like it was about to escape and would try make its way down as well... (Next round.)

As Phoebe managed to go downstairs, she'd almost immediately get stuck. The mercenaries that'd occupied this house had all rushed towards the door, trying to get out, whilst Simi had called her Sea Gels inside and Dayle ordered his men to form a blockade in front of the door, including ordering five of them to try get in to stay near Phoebe and Simi. The various groups were effectively clogging the doorway, with the mercenaries trying to get out, the Sea Gels trying to get in and the Redstar members trying to form a blockade or getting in as well. Firing her Chain Magic now would mean that she'd ~~kill everyone around due to lack of sight for selective to work like what happened in our World's RP~~ be forced to severely limit herself. (She'll be assumed to not have cast it instead, no CD's taken this round.)

Mercenary Leader

“Stop clogging up the door, this house is soon going to be a death trap!!!” He called out, hoping to get folk to move, as he got stuck on the stairs along with the others. As if to add to his words, they could soon hear a loud noise of rumbling, tumbling and crashing from upstairs. Those near the windows or outside might've noticed one of the undead giants having thrown a boulder the size of a car through the roof. It was a real good thing they'd left the first floor.

The only one to not get stuck as much was Simi. Her small form allowing her to weave under and through the mercenaries legs, easily getting past them. Finding herself in the west side, she could see the pumpkin zombies... and a bit more. A bunch of them would notice her in turn, as this was the one part of the house with larger windows. Before long, a group of them spat some weird seed-like things from their pumpkin mouths at the windows. Most of them missed, clattering against the walls, furniture or window frame. Yet three seeds made their way in the direction of Simi herself, which would force her to try dodge or defend (first action next round) or risk getting stuck by them.

To the north, Kane and Morana were having more luck. Having been on the right side of the incoming mercenaries fleeing the scene, they were able to get out of the house and thereby out of their way before they'd get clogged or caught up. Kane's attack did a lot of damage against the Giant trying to climb out of the ground, especially as it went uncontested. The foul beast became even more foul when the stigmatas started affecting it and the tangling kept it from being able to get itself out of the ground further. It was a miracle that the create hadn't' died instantly, although it seemed like it might die from it even if left alone. That said, its body started to pulsate in a rather unnatural manner...

Vice Leader

From: https://mad1984.artstation.com/projects/5BdVrJ?album_id=1030806

As Kane attacked one of the rising giants, a distinctively short figure appeared from the house, fully armoured. “Retreat to the north gate!” Their voice barked. “Go, go!” They gestured for the other mercenaries to run on, past Kane, who was keeping the undead giant occupied. The vice leader themselves looking at the next Undead. “Tssk.” They clicked their tongue, as if wondering if they could take it on as well.

Morana

From:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/92JWv

Morana was just enjoying Kane's impressive handiwork. “Huh... Neat.” She'd comment, seeing how the man had effectively crippled one of the toughest possible opponents in a single swing. Yet seeing the undead giant pulsating... “Oh fuck, I've seen stuff like that before. I think it might blow.” She warned him, starting to make some distance by heading to the second rising undead. That said, by the time she'd arrive, the second undead was already out of the ground and ready to attack. Both her and the (presumably) vice captain of these mercenaries halted, clearly unsure on how to engage. The fact that some pumpkins had started to approach didn't really help either.

Meanwhile, Dayle's men had started to try form a line between the fence and the house. A few of them got caught off guard by the Pumpkin monsters spitting an array of seeds at them. Some men managed to defend, whilst three of them got overwhelmed by the amounts and ended up severely injured. Luckily enough, someone inside (Simi) formed a bigger distraction, perhaps due to to having been closer to the seal that'd activated these undead, as the remaining seeds were spat at Simi. That said, the undead Pumkins used the remainder of their time to rush forwards, ending up in a melee with Dayle's minions. It seemed they would be able to hold them off, but only for a bit, as the undead pumpkin's greater numbers would soon to overwhelm them, especially if they could potentially start spitting seeds again whenever that ability had recharged.

The other group of minions (perhaps not exactly the wanted number of them, as the fray of the battle didn't really allow them for an easy head-count amongst one another) had gathered in front of the door to attempt to form a blockade and get in.

The four undead giants to the south managed to climb up, with three of them starting to pelt rocks at the floor above, whist the fourth headed to the clogged up entrance. It was ready to bring a massive club down upon the panicking mixture of Sea Gels, mercenaries and Redstar Gang members.

Meanwhile.. Another party just arrived at the scenes, silently observing what was happening.

TheTimePiece · Oct 30, 2024

Kane Blackburne

Interactions:

Elvario

Kane was pleased that his strike appeared to do considerable damage, feeling like he was finally getting some sort of hang of the fighting style which had been passed down from his family line. It also didn't hurt to hear that Morana sounded impressed. At the very least if Kane was going to put up with being socially disadvantaged at home then he'd take what he could get while on the 'job' so to speak out and about. He grinned some.

However that expression shifted to a more serious one not long after. It was disconcerting when the thing started to pulsate, causing Kane to raise a brow and when he heard Morana say she'd seen stuff like it before, and that it might explode, he was quick to take her up on her warning. "The giant's probably bout to go boom, watch out!" He'd call out to those who were near him.

He knew pretty quickly what his next target was going to be on the good ol' chopping block as he saw the next giant, unfortunately that one was a deal more out of the ground and looked ready to throw down, but Kane was still able to bring a great deal of force to the table as he rushed over toward the other giant near Morana, taking note of the Vice Leader who had made their way out, while he was on his way.

Kane brought the bread inspired executioner axe blade up, and with a bit of a grunt and a determined look on his face, Kane tried his best to bring down the executioner axe violently with both his hands on that giant as well, and while he was in the process of bringing the attack down he spoke up referring to the armored Vice Leader when Kane spoke up.

"Well metal guy, you gonna just stand there and watch or you gonna help us put these monsters down?!" He called out.

Should the first strike go off successfully a very similiar scene from the other giant would unfold as far as effects, dark old terran script running over them causing stigmata wounds, and continuous damage, as well as the dark hands which were attempting to tangle the giant.

Kane then brought the Axe up again and went in for another follow up strike, viciously trying to hit where he thought it'd do the most damage possible based on his thought that removing the head was probably a good idea if he hadn't already done it, otherwise he'd strike right down into the neck.

Despite the chaos unfolding around them, Kane really only saw one path forward to keep Victorique and his allies safe and that path was to keep fighting, as much as it took.

1&2:
First try to strike other giant with Tenebrae Scriptura Imprectatio D - Fast E + Fighting Style [Black Scripture Style: Royal Rotian Executioner] D + Incurable D + Continuing D + Penetrating D + Hot Shot D + Penetrating D+ Tangle D + Selective D + Energized D - D Grade Ability 1 Post cooldown (Energized)

Kane moves up to 40 FT and uses his Royal Rotian Executioner Black Scripture FIghting Style to attempt to strike a target in a critical location to deal double damage. Attack ignores up to 3 grades of target's defensively used item, and inflicts target with tangle status for up to 3 rounds. Target is also afflicted with dark stigmatas from wound site, wounds caused by attack require D grade or higher healing, Stigmatas deal continuing damage for up to 3 rounds, until either cured or cancelled early.

3: Follow up strike with Tenebrae Scriptura Percutiens - Fighting Style [Black Scripture Style: Royal Rotian Executioner] E + Incurable E + Penetrating E + Hot Shot E + Selective E + Energized E - E grade Ability 0 post cooldown (Energized)

Kane uses his Royal Rotian Executioner BLack Scripture fighting style to attempt to strike a target in a critical location to deal double damage. Attack ignores up to 2 grades of target's defensively used item. Wounds caused by attack require E grade healing or higher.

Clockwork_Magic · Oct 30, 2024

Phoebe Penrose

Interactions: Victorique ( Elvario ), Dayle ( Shatter Shard ), Simi ( Spoiled Bread )
Languages: Common | [Terran]

Phoebe had barely made it down the stairs before she very nearly crashed into one of the mercenaries when she got to the bottom few steps. The scene in front of her was probably a heath and safety inspector's worse nightmare if they were in a fire, just too many people and not enough exits to go through. Unfortunately, it wasn't just a house fire they were all trying to get outside for, as the crashing sounds from the floor above them.

She placed a hand on the guy in front of her's shoulder. "Excuse me, mind moving over a bit?" She said before more or less pushing him to the side so she could reach the doorway on her right (to the dining room). Should she make it past the guy and was a little closer to the dining room, she'd project her voice to the guys standing in her way. "Back up! I need to get to the windows, unless you guys are fans of getting struck with 300 million volts of electricity along with the freaks outside!"

Actions:

Attempt to make her way into the dining hall on the left

Shatter Shard · Oct 30, 2024

Dayle Keller
"Red Star's Bastard Dog"

Strength
Precision
Intelligence
Vitality
Speed

{ A }
{ F }
{ D }
{ A }
{ B }

C

-Widersia-
Clockhaven, Central Police Station

Code by: Shatter Shard

Dayle felt like he was suffocating from the amount of things happening. Undead, upper floor chaos, the house being sieged, it was a clusterfuck. "Fuck!" His curse was drowned out from the chaos of the situation. It was turning more claustrophobic as everyone began moving out and in. It didn't help that the house was going to collapse on all of them eventually. "SCATTER YOU FUCKS!" Dayle bellowed out in agitation. "SPREAD, DISPERSE, WHATEVER! JUST GET OUT OF THE DAMN WAY!". The cronies at the front of the entrance heard his angered yell, and immediately scattered away from the entrance.

The frontyard group cronies knew that it was death waiting for them if they went near the giants, but they understood what they had to do. Some immediately booked towards the sides, some went to back up the fence group, while the others went to go and distract the giants.

"Fucking hell! MOVE!" Dayle roughly bump against everyone else as he struggled to go past the crowd. Once he was out, he unfurled the chains from his remaining hand, flourished it, and struck the giant readying its attack (Catch 'em Lackin) in the hopes that it would interrupt it long enough for everybody else to get out of the way. He then immediately moved towards the pumpkin group, hiding Victorique's body and facing the side of the house wall. "Phoebe! Just do it!" He yelled, knowing full well his men would get caught in the lightning.

Actions

Dayle

1. Get out of the crowd
2. Attack the attacking giant on them [Catch 'em Lackin]
3. Move towards Pumpkin group

Red Star Cronies

1. (Frontyard) Move and Scatter
2. (Pumpkin Group) Hold ground and attack back
3. (Frontyard Group) Reinforce pumpkin group and distract giants.

Readied Actions

Grade D

[CD | 3 Post] Catch 'em Lackin: Fighting Style [Bonebreaker] D, Chainz [Flexible] F, Thwack [Accurate] D| Dayle flourishes his chains, making it unclear when or where the next attack would come next, before striking wildly but accurately. If an opponent is caught off-guard, Dayle can potentially disarm or trip them.

SCROLLABLE

Mentions:

Elvario · Oct 30, 2024

Tags and character goals:

Elvario Victorique Sopheana – Gather as much evidence as she can to prove Klyios' is involved in some shady dealings.

Clockwork_Magic Phoebe Penrose - Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Shatter Shard Dayle Keller –Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Spoiled Bread Simi – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation. | Ensure she herself doesn't die to those after her own life either.

TheTimePiece Kane Blackburne – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Lucius Cypher Ntaj “Orchid” Yaj – Arrive | Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

(Please ignore the blacked out bit on the map, something bugged out.)

As they all feared (and possibly expected), the giant undead blew up. Five of the mercenaries in its immediate vicinity didn't manage to get way in time and got knocked down by the blast. The blast itself might've broken or bruised them, but it was what the blast sent at them that really made things brutally gruesome. An extremely foul smelling acidic substance covered all the mercenaries that'd gotten caught in the blast as it started eating through their armour, clothing and skin. Screaming out in pain and terror, five of them didn't even last long, as the acidic substance managed to eat through their vitals. Three more were severely injured, crying out in pain and despair. Some of the mercenaries running out of the house saw the brutal faith and only sprinted past their allies at a faster pace. A few others had a tad more compassion, trying to drag their fallen, yet still alive, allies with them and away from danger.

Kane would only feel some acidic splatters eating away at his armour as he turned to run towards the next Undead Giant. Having gotten away from the worst of it, though his armour might need fixing soon if the drops of acid would keep eating away at it.

His attack against the Undead was met with an equally strong counter by the Undead's club. That said, it seemed the damage it was dealing to the Undead's Club was significant, as the weapon start breaking under the various status effects... Until it broken altogether by the follow-up attack.

Morana

From:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/92JWv

“Don't mind me~” Morana stated, seeing her chance. She'd jump up at the Giant, slashing her clawed arm through its neck and causing it to make a gurgling noise as it instinctively reached for his bleeding neck, as its head was seemingly held on by only the bone in his neck at this point. Its undead state probably the only thing that kept it going.

Vice Leader

From: https://mad1984.artstation.com/projects/5BdVrJ?album_id=1030806

The vice leader gritted their teeth at seeing the loss of men. Then turned towards Kane. “Fine, keep your distance.” He stated, as he'd follow up after giving Kane and Morana a short second to move back. His axe seemed to increase to almost ten times its size, as the halfling swung it down at now unarmed and unready-to-defend giant. It was an easy hit, though it looked like, despite being cleanly split in two, this one was about to explode into an acid-bomb as well. Whilst the vice-leader was quick to put up a barrier for himself, Morana and Kane would have to improvise.

Meanwhile, the pumpkin undead were in range as well, with two of them going after Morana, three of them after the vice-leader and three more getting ready to spit something at them (next round).

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

The sight at the front of the house was absolute chaos. The Giants club came down and instantly squashed two gang members, a Sea Gel and two thugs. Their blood and 'gel' splashing onto those around them. That terror, combined with them hearing Dayle yelling for them to scatter, was enough to send everyone (except for the Sea Gels) running.

Three of Dayle's men managed to make it to the pumpkin group in time to avoid the Undead Giant there from being able to attack them from behind. Yet, as it was bringing up its heavy club to bring down upon the men, it was clear they wouldn't be enough to finish the giant. If anything, they might be squashed like their allies next turn if they didn't get aid from someone or somewhere.

Three of the gang ended up able to get behind the giant that'd just squashed their allies, poking and prodding their weapons at its legs, though it was clear they did little damage. A bigger group had formed around the other one, as they were slightly more successful in hacking away at its legs. It seemed they might eventually topple it, though its counterattack seemed to be inbound and it'd likely not be a mild one.

With the gang members out of the way, the thugs finally started to clear out. Pushing the See Gels aside, some managed to get out and started fleeing northwards, whilst others tried fleeing southwards between the two undead giants whilst Dayle's men kept them occupied.

Phoebe managed to slip into the dining hall now that the thugs were clearing up. It was just in time to see Simi get hit with three weird seeds spat through the windows by the pumpkin undead. They slammed her into the table behind her and immediately wrapped her up in vines (D-grade Tangle) that slowly started to strangle her (character may take damage to armour and later health if not freed and will need an action/ability to try escape and/or pull loose. Movement is severely limited whilst entangled).

It forced Phoebe to either go try help Simi or to start zapping the undead pumpkins, as there was no way to aim/move to cover both from her current position. Potty, meanwhile, hopped off Simi's shoulder to get away from all that troublesome business.

Mercenary Leader

Meanwhile, Dayle managed to get outside in time, as behind him, a wolf-like figure crashed down the stairs and right into the Mercenary Leader. The latter holding off the creature with a struggle, as he nearly got his throat bitten out. “I'll try hold it off, keep retreating!” He ordered.

Victorique Sopheana

Alternate art generated from:
Victorique de Blois

Once outside, Victorique found herself thrown into the shrubs to 'hide her body' by Dayle as if she'd already passed. “Ugh...” She groaned, as she started getting back up on her feet. “Great...” She had to get back inside, as she'd seen where she could get her evidence, yet the current scenario would make that tough.

Meanwhile, Dayle managed to back-up his cronies that were attacking the undead directly in front of the house. Yet his chains weren't doing a lot against it. Even so, the flexible material wrapped around the club, forcing it off course and preventing the giant from immediately squashing more of the cronies. Slowly, yet steadily, they might be able to chip away at it until it'd no longer be able to fight them.

Finally, a third group had now arrived in full. They looked at the scene unfold and grimaced, as they started to head towards the house. They ignored the mercenaries and undead, heading in the direction of the basement.

Lucius Cypher · Oct 31, 2024

Tags: Victorique (

Elvario )

This would be the best time for Orchid to step in. Moving from her hidden position, Orchid scrambled towards the enemies. She saw the giants zombies, likely their primary offensive tactic outside of smashing things, so they weren't a complex enemy. That being said she did hear an explosion on the otherside of the house, so on the off-chance that these giants are more than meets the eye, she takes the time to scan them with her METAGAMING skill. If anything, the horde of pumpkin monsters were going to be more of a threat due to their shear numbers: If they get thinned out, than the rest of the group would have much more space to maneuver. And thus, leaping a hundred feet into the air, Orchid drew her halberd, the Axecalibur, and called forth her strongest ability GOD SHATTERING STAR. She wasn't quite sure who was an enemy at the moment, but the enemy of her enemy was a friend, so she would ensure that her allies and those fighting against the giants and the pumpkins were safe from her technique as her blade glowed red, and Orchid came crashing down to the earth.

500ft around the point of impact, blood-red flames would explode out, burning the enemy as the ground beneath them cracked and sank, causing those without sure footing to fall as the force of the attack rips into their bodies like blades. Orchid makes sure to land in the middle of the pumpkin patch, trying to reach as many enemies as she can with her technique and more importantly, be in a position to clear up any foes who happen to survive her attack. Those who are unaffected by her attack would find themselves momentarily surrounded by a red aura, harmless to them, though they may also still find themselves in the crater that Orchid just made, an unavoidable consequence of her attack. Standing to her feet, she flourishes her poleaxe and looks to the north and south, to see who survived and who she needs to kill next.

Actions:
1. Scan the Giant Zombies with METAGAMING.

2. Jump into position in the middle of the pumpkin patch.

3. Activate GOD SHATTERING STAR, landing in the middle of the pumpkin patch to take out as many pumpkin monsters as possible, and potentially giants if they are within range.

Cooldown B 0/4
God Shattering Star - Fighting Style Polearm Master A, Blood-Flame Blade (Blight) E, Cleave (Area) C, Earth-Splitter (Quake) F, Precision (Selective) F, Leading (Accurate) A, Death God Eyes (Multidimensional), Knockdown (Tangle) D, Jumping B - Orchid's strongest technique. Rocketing forward with the power to challenge the stars, she swings her weapon with furious might, crushing anyone caught within the blast radius and scorching them alive with blood flame. However she is perfectly capable of ensuring that her own allies are safe from the effects of her own attack, killing enemies and protecting allies alike. - Grade B - 4 Post Cooldown - 1 Actions

Cooldown D 0/2
Metagaming - Appraisal D - Orchid knows she's in some strange sort of Isekai with quasi RPG mechanics, so she is going to take advantage of the fact she can examine objects and creatures in a gamified manner to try and figure out information that would otherwise be unavailable to her. Typically she'd use this ability to gauge someone's strength and abilities, though she may also just use it to read up on equipment and other objects. - Grade D - 2 Post Cooldown

Spoiled Bread · Nov 1, 2024

Simi

"Huhh.... Didn't expect to get tied again here." Simi remembered the last time something like this happened she was trying to steal some treasure from another group of pirates. Unfortunately for them the Wailing Rhodon decided to appear there and split their ship in two in search of her. She wonders what would happen if the damn fish suddenly appears here, in the middle of this chaotic events. The thought almost made her chuckle but she really should be going, her crew needs her.

"Potty, stay away. I will do something dangerous." She said to her parrot. Immediately, the fae started to let out an exaggerated muffled scream as if she's trying to exert the hidden energy from her inner chi and transformed into a super version of herself with blazing golden hair. No such thing happen though and instead several blades of water came out of her body repeatedly, slashing through the vines.

Action:
1-3) Use Simi Blade to cut through the vines - Magic F, Componentless Magic F, Water Affinity F, Energized F - Simi conjures a blade of water to hit a target 5 ft ahead - Grade F - 0 Post Cooldown

TheTimePiece · Nov 2, 2024

Kane Blackburne

Interactions:

Elvario

"Damn, I'm gonna have to get this patched up." He'd grimace a bit with the acid burning his armor apparently, thankfully he didn't get much on it but the scene which he saw unfold suggested he was lucky he didnt' get more on him.

Kane might have almost felt worse about that most unfortunate timing about the undead if this wasn't a group of people who had been hired for nefarious purposes, at least when Kane was going to be tasked to take out people who were up to things it was to stop no good criminals from trying to kill Nobles and or conspire against the Kingdom no doubt, or just in general enemies of it, not these mercenary types who would do whatever for whoever for some coin. He tried to warn them and they just hadn't been cut out to respond appropriately. Plus it wasn't like these were a group of trust worthy people, at any moment they could become enemies themselves, part of the only reason they hadn't Kane felt was because of just how many monsters had appeared, even if they claimed deals were being made.

"Nice hit!" He'd call out to Morana with her stabbing, that was decidedly cool. He wish the undead thing would just die then and there but alas being undead and [large] could give you a good deal of durability it seemed. Then of course the Vice Leader after being encouraged by Kane did a move which was actually pretty neat, Kane might have expressed such on that too if it didn't result in splitting the giant in half after he and Morana had done most of the work getting into a weak state, and of course the damn thing was going to explode now.

"Morana Move!" Kane called out seeing they had only a bit of time to clear the area without getting MORE acid on them.

Kane used the ability MOVE!- Fast E + Acrobatics E + Special Movement Zen Direction + Energized E - E Grade Ability (Energized 0 Post cooldown)

Kane attempts to move up to 40 ft away leveraging his acrobatic ability to dodge and or get out of the way of a hazard, using his special movement ZEn Direction to guide him generally in the right direction (Kane was hoping to get to near the tree.)

With that he'd wait for the explosion before getting ready for his next action, surveying the area around for hostiles with his blade brandished. "Thanks!" He reluctantly called out to the vice leader.

"Hah this is looking more and more like a Rotian Winter."

Clockwork_Magic · Nov 3, 2024

Phoebe Penrose

Interactions: Victorique ( Elvario ), Dayle ( Shatter Shard ), Simi ( Spoiled Bread ), Orchid ( Lucius Cypher )
Languages: Common | [Terran]

Getting to the window at the far end of the dining room, Phoebe was faced with 2 pretty dire situations. Her immediate instinct was to go help Simi, but those pumpkins that shot the small Fae were still out there, in droves at that from what she could see from the window. It'd be better to deal with the active threat first and then go help Simi, the mage had decided. Worst case scenario, Phoebe had her healing magic, so long as Simi still had life in her, that was enough. Phoebe readied herself to unleash a torrent of lightning on the pumpkins, however, after a few short moments, it looked like the situation outside was being handed by... wait who was that? She neither recognized who it was nor have seen them before this moment. At least they seemed to be on their side, launching themselves into the middle of the pumpkin ranks like that.

Great! Now she could turn her attention to how Simi was doing and it looked like she was in the process of making an escape attempt of her own, blades of water looking like they were coming out of her skin at the vines that entangled her. Seeing that, Phoebe held off on casting Magic Bullets on the vines out of fear that they'd end up being cut by Simi's water magic and her bullets would end up hitting Simi herself. "I'll be over there in a bit Simi! Just hold out for a little longer!" She ran over to the window on her left and opened it, her gaze falling on the giant in the front yard.

"HEADS UP! INCOMING!" She shouted out the window to Dayle's men fighting the giants as sparks of electricity gathered in the air around her. A few seconds would pass after her warning to the men outside to give them time to possibly move away from the giant to avoid any possible stray electric shocks as the sparks of electricity around the mage gradually grew in intensity, stopping for a quick second before a more powerful bolt of lightning shot forth from the mage’s position to the giant just outside of the front entrance. Should it strike true, she would focus the spell to hit the other 2 giants within her sight at the window (the giants to the left and right of the targeted one).

Actions:

Cast [Chain Strike] - Magic C, Componentless Magic C, Lightning Affinity F, Magic Range D, Magic Targets D, Selective Magic D, Focus D, Energized C
- Phoebe focuses her magic and causing a magic circle to appear in front of her. Shortly after the magic circle has formed, lightning shoots out from it towards a target within 1000 feet of Phoebe. Upon striking the target, the lightning then spreads and strikes up to an additional 24 enemies around the vicinity of the target so long as the additional targets also were within 1000 feet of Phoebe at time of casting.
- Grade C + Energized C: 2 post cooldown

Cooldowns:

Grade C: 0/2

Shatter Shard · Nov 3, 2024

Dayle Keller
"Red Star's Bastard Dog"

Strength
Precision
Intelligence
Vitality
Speed

{ A }
{ F }
{ D }
{ A }
{ B }

C

-Widersia-
Clockhaven, Central Police Station

Code by: Shatter Shard

"I fucking HATE these rotting fucks!" He bellowed, as if he felt the need to express his current emotion. His cronies tried their best to attack and fend off against the undead using their sabers (Basic Swordsmanship) He scrutinized the field, the chaos of the situation causing numerous thoughts racing through his mind. Though suddenly he caught something in his eye.

Dayle's eyes widened and took a step back as a familiar figure jumped into the fray. "Holy shit! Orchid?" Though, the astonishment would change to apprehension to fear when Orchid started crashing down with ominous red aura. "Oh shit!" Orchid disappeared into the western part of the house, and after a moment a loud crash caused Dayle to stumble a bit. "Geez, suddenly so powerful." He muttered, but he had priorities first before meeting up with Orchid. He looked at Victorique, who was already stirring awake. "Victorique! You can't get up the house right now, shit's ruined!" He yelled to her. "Something's- fuck!" He had to stop himself as the giant near them prepared another attack. Seeing that the chains weren't do much, he instead flailed and wrapped the chains around the giant's leg to try and trip it unto its back (Catch 'em Lackin). Though with its size, he doubt it'd be enough to actually knock it prone. He immediately flared his aura to try and deflect a stray attack from the giant (Can't Touch This)

Hearing Phoebe's shout, he yelled in turn. "Back off from the giants!". The cronies that would hear him immediately scampered off, some ( from the pumpkin group) even diving down the ground to avoid the lightning. Dayle too retreated immediately, into the side of Victorique as he crouched down. "Get up!" He urged her. "Hide if you need to!"

Actions

Dayle

1. Attack with nearest giant with (Catch 'em Lackin)
2. Defend against the nearest giant with (Can't Touch This)
3. Move away from the giant

Red Star Cronies

1. Attack the undead (Basic Swordsmanship)
2. Keep Attacking
3. Avoid Phoebe's lightning

Abilities

Grade F (Cronies)

[CD | 0 Post] Basic Swordsmanship: Fighting Style [Windrider] F, Swiftness [Accurate] F| Their skill in swordsmanship allows them to hit foes faster than themselves, and thus have an advantage over similarly skilled opponents.

Grade D

[CD | 2 Post] Can't Touch This: Fighting Style [Bonebreaker] C, Nope [Deflect] E, Hellhound [Aura] F| Dayle uses his aura to clad his body in palpable heat. This aura physically manifests as a protective film around his body, allowing him to deflect non-magical attacks.

Grade C

[CD | 3 Post] Catch 'em Lackin: Fighting Style [Bonebreaker] C, Chainz [Flexible] F, Thwack [Accurate] D| Dayle flourishes his chains, making it unclear when or where the next attack would come next, before striking wildly but accurately. If an opponent is caught off-guard, Dayle can potentially disarm or trip them.

SCROLLABLE

Mentions:

Elvario · Nov 3, 2024

Tags and character goals:

Elvario Victorique Sopheana – Gather as much evidence as she can to prove Klyios' is involved in some shady dealings.

Clockwork_Magic Phoebe Penrose - Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Shatter Shard Dayle Keller –Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Spoiled Bread Simi – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation. | Ensure she herself doesn't die to those after her own life either.

TheTimePiece Kane Blackburne – Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

Lucius Cypher Ntaj “Orchid” Yaj – Arrive | Ensure Victorique doesn't die during her investigation.

(Please ignore the blacked out bit on the map, something bugged out.)

Simi got lucky, as even though her attack might've fallen short on breaking the vines normally, the vines seemed to not do to well against the continued water-based slashing. The fact that she could use them without needing components coming clutch, as she'd not have been able to pull off the right movements otherwise. After the third hit, she was free. That said, she would hear something familiar...

Undead Pirate Captain

From: https://www.deviantart.com/dissunder/art/Ghostly-Pirate-Captain-Skeleton-Character-Art-6-1014681975

Language: #Abyssal#

The undead captain and his crew had managed to go through the basement and now entered the lower floor from it. #“Search the house! The little bastard's in here somewhere! If we bring her to the Wailing Rhodon, we'll be rewarded handsomely and be let on board with honours!”# Whilst none could speak the abyssal language used, the voice of an undead ghost pirate using it might at least sound seem what familiar. Potty would recognise it, at the least, as the parrot would be loudly squawking.

Meanwhile, the doorway had unclogged enough for the Sea Gels to finally manage to get through and make their way towards Simi, following the latest orders they'd gotten to gather up near her.

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Kane was able to get behind the tree with relative ease, this time around, he was 'on time' enough to avoid getting splashed by anything the undead would have to 'offer' upon its death.

Morana

From:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/92JWv

Morana heeded Kane's call, using Jump C to quickly dash away with a mighty jump, yet she didn't get off scoff free. Some acid splashing onto her legs and lower half, starting to bite through metal and skill alike. “Fuck!” She called out, though it seemed she'd dodged the worst of it. Her jump had also allowed her to get away from the incoming pumpkin undead.

Vice Leader

From: https://mad1984.artstation.com/projects/5BdVrJ?album_id=1030806

The latter did not apply to the Vice Leader. Not only did he not have an ability to quickly withdraw, he also saw his barrier shattered by the combined force of three pumpkin undead and the explosion from the undead giant. He immediately put up a new one, though not before some claws and acid caught his armour and damaged it, as well as hurting him...

Just as it looked like he was doomed, however, he unleashed a slash-attack with his axe going around him in a perfect circle. Cleaving all undead surrounding them at once neatly in half and stopping them from moving. “Get the fuck out of here! I can't keep holding them off for long!” He called out to his men.

Those of the mercenaries that had abandoned the wounded and ran from it were already far gone. Only the ones that tried to drag out their fallen comrades remained behind. It didn't look like they'd make it in time though. Three more undead pumpkins looked like they were about to hit the Vice Leader in melee, whilst the latter was currently not looking like he had anything left to defend himself with. Behind those, another group of seven undead pumpkins were spitting their seeds at the Vice Captain, who got hit in full force as vines started to tangle around him and strangle him.

Morana

From:
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/92JWv

“Wanna try save him?” Morana asked Kane. “If you get rid of the ones in melee and git the vines off of him, I'll get rid of those seed-spitting ones.” She proposes, as she seemed to be trying to ready her acid-covered legs for a jump, likely taking a risk on whether they'd hold or not, but seemingly rather eager regardless.

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Mercenary Leader

As the mercenary leader was desperately trying to hold back the werewolf, the last of his men were continuing doing their best at escaping. The first group going through the east route had already fled, but the second group making it out and heading east got interrupted by one of the undead giants. It clubbed three of them dead right on the spot. Two of them ended up staring at the gruesome scene unfolding with trembling legs whilst three more continued running for their life. The group slipping between Dayle's men holding off the undead giants were a lot more lucky, successfully running off to the west.

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

With Phoebe warning the cronies to back up and Dayle ordering them after, the group successfully scattered. The only ones unfortunate enough to be unable to keep up were those that'd been already wounded and those that'd already been in melee with the pumpkins. Turning around to try flee just meant their backs were hit with claws, teeth and spat-out seeds. Though they had brought down some pumpkins with them, at least.

Dayle's attempt to defend against the giant, whilst not the most powerful, was clever enough to at least destabilise the giant monster and make it miss him. The club smashing right besides Dayle on the corpse of an already fallen crony, causing gore to splatter around, but without new causalities.

Victorique Sopheana

Alternate art generated from:
Victorique de Blois

She grit her teeth. Hearing Dayle say she couldn't enter the house, she shook her head. “I gotta. I saw where the evidence I need is with my post-cognition. I gotta go get it.” She'd state, not wanting to risk failure of this mission. She'd rush off with her (Fast) speed, making her way past the Sea Gels to where Simi was at. The moment she'd got into the room, she went to a closet near the back, where she quickly threw away some books to uncover a hidden safe. “Can you cover me for a bit? It's wall-mounted so I can't just throw the whole thing in my Pocket Dimension, but I should figure it out soon enough.” She'd ask Simi, as she'd use [Post-cognition] on the safe to check the past for when its combination was lasts used on it.

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

Meanwhile, Phoebe managed to be lucky enough to find a window that was open-able, after which she could finally let loose in full and sent her chain strike out of it and in order to hit the giants. The Undead Giant at the front entrance that got hit directly got absolutely annihilated with the electricity coursing through it as it suddenly started to tremble and shake violently when falling to its knees.

The one that'd been surrounded by most of Dayle's men got hit as well, as it tried to chase after some of Dayle's men whilst they were backing up. It forced them dangerously close to the dying and trembling/shaking undead giant, whilst the now wounded giant itself was still swinging its club at them and anyone else that got near.

The third undead giant was also trying to give chase after Dayle's men as they tried to scatter, though when the lighting came at it, instinctively managed to raise its club and somehow deflect it. It looked ready to try swing at Dayle's men again soon.

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

Finally, Orchid's metagaming ability didn't have the range needed to scan the giants, so her first action was to [move] close enough to them to use her second action to [Appraise] them. She learned they were [Monster], [Undead], [Large], [Explosive], [Foul] and [Club Swingers]. Their overall strengths seemed to rely on sheer strength and sturdiness. For her third and final action, she'd use the jump attack on the pumpkin field. (Normally it'd take both another [move] action and the [ability] action, as well as causing harm on allies due to [selective] needing to be the same grade of the [Area of Effect] or [Range] used). Luck was on her side, as the landing was somehow perfect enough to only hit only the pumpkins and soil, rather than allies. Whilst most pumpkins died then and there, three of the undead pumpkins got lucky, as the quake wasn't close enough to them and their allies' bodies blocked the area effects from hitting them. They'd immediately rush at Orchid to try [Claw E] at them from each side.

Active [Clockhaven] Investigate Around And Find Out

Roleplay Artist

Delicious Friend

*Gears turning*

The Foolish Hypocrite of Irony

.

The Lord of the Uneaten

*Gears turning*

Roleplay Artist

The Foolish Hypocrite of Irony

.

*Gears turning*

The Lord of the Uneaten

Roleplay Artist

The Foolish Hypocrite of Irony

Actions​

Dayle​

Red Star Cronies​

Readied Actions​

Grade E​

.

Roleplay Artist

*Gears turning*

The Foolish Hypocrite of Irony

Actions​

Dayle​

Red Star Cronies​

Readied Actions​

Grade D​

.

Delicious Friend

The Lord of the Uneaten

Roleplay Artist

*Gears turning*

The Foolish Hypocrite of Irony

Actions​

Dayle​

Red Star Cronies​

Abilities​

Grade F (Cronies)​

Grade D​

Grade C​

.

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