Finished [Clockhaven - Widersia] A Rowdy Construct

[Gwen_Temi]

Demeter
​

It seemed like the group was coming to a general consensus. Stay together. Watch each other's backs. Come down upon any threat that presented itself like a small, bloodthirsty militia. The only thing that still seemed up in the air was the preferred entrance for this operation. They even had a big gun join the group mid-meeting.

"Hey Ceylan!"

That guy could literally blind a whole room full of badguys and teleport people around en masse!

The only persistent issue was this conflict between Kuro and Keircey. Kinda funny how the two potential liabilities took issue with each other for practically the same reason. First Kuro. Then Kiercey. Rowan joined in. The thought of adding more bickering to the discussion wasn't a pleasant one for the young dryad, so she decided to take a different approach.

First, she turned to Kiercey.

"Kuro doesn't speak for us all. The Burke brothers said that the manager probably can't do anything to Keircey. They'd know better than any of us, so I'll take it."

Then, she turned to the group at large.

"If Kuro can't control her magic, can't we just.. put her at the front of the group? Can't get caught in the blast if we're behind her when she fires. And, the place has already been evacuated, right? If she's as strong as she says she is, then whatever's in front of her will be dead after she casts her spell and we're good to go, right?"

Of course, that would put her in a bit of an unfortunate situation if it doesn't, but at least she'd have people behind her to back her up without running the risk of accidentally blowing someone up. But then, that shouldn't have been a problem for someone as skilled and powerful as The Great Kuro...

...right?

"We can put the tough, armored guys up front and the people with range in the back. That worked out pretty well last time," she was, of course, referring to events that only two other individuals in the room knew about. Didn't stop her from speaking with confidence at all, though, "I just want to know whether we're going in through the front or the back. Not too eager to fight the giant golem guy, but..."

A brief, contemplative pause.

"if we end up having to deal with him, it would probably be best to do that first, right? You know, Before the other constructs have a chance to tire us out?"

Maxxob slifer37 TheTimePiece DarkKitsune Lolory Elvario Elias Wren Elijay

 

[Elijay]

John

Maxxob slifer37 TheTimePiece DarkKitsune Lolory Elvario Elias Wren Gwen_Temi​

A newcomer would enter the room, greeting Shael and Demeter before introducing himself formally. He looked like a someone important, being a bishop and all. Maybe it was a good idea to befriend this Ceylan later on. John waved a hand. “Welcome.”

That was when a fight broke out, starting with Kiercey and Kuro - the K duo. John stepped between the two, raising his hands in a calming gesture. “Now now ladies… surely theres no need to fight amongst ourselves? At least neko has warned us of her abilities beforehand.” Hopefully that ought to quieten the bickering kids down.

Meanwhile the rest of the party had come to a consensus on sticking together. John was perfectly happy with that, considering how scary those constructs sounded. Ideally, he could just hold off the small fries while someone else takes on the bigger threats. No way was he gonna put himself in major danger! Worst comes to worst, he’d just ditch the party and run for his life! “I’m more of a melee fighter, but not really a heavy hitter myself.” John elaborated on his capabilities.

That was when Demeter mentioned putting the tough, armored guys at the front. Surely she didn’t mean him, right? John only had plain villager clothes on him - no armor or anything! He’d be lucky if he could hold off 1 or 2 of the constructs and get out in 1 piece! "S... sounds like a great plan..." He stuttered on his words, thinking of the impending doom he might have to face.

 

[Lolory]

KURO NEKOMATA | Beastkin-Cat | Eccentric
​

Great going Kuro, now everyone hates you. She scowled to herself and her ears lay flat bashfully on her head. For some reason, these kinds of "lectures" were hauntingly familiar to her. Years of living in that stuffy orphanage with mean, cruel adults and kids who had done nothing but ridicule her for being a "jinx" came rushing back in that moment. I try and be a little nice by warning them, and this is the thanks I get?! What a joke!

She hadn't even known what she'd said wrong to begin with, besides the whole "staying out of her way" part. But underneath it all, it sounded like they also didn't believe she was as good at magic as she claimed, and that pissed her off more than the lecture. If there was one thing she was good at, great at even, it was Magic. The only problem was how people reacted to her magic. It was a huge inconvenience to everyone but herself whenever she used it.

But it was also something not many could replicate, and she was doing it easily! Without any lame "Schooling" or training (not that her uncle would even have the funds to let her go to some stuffy magic academy in the first place.) She perked her ears up at Demeter's suggestion, and smirked.
"You know what, Miss Demeter? That's a wonderful idea. I can lead you all in to battle, use my Magic to hinder those rowdy bucket of bolts, and when we reach the big drill guy, we'll be ready to take it down!" She confidently laid her arms across her chest, giving an unkind glare to Keircey and Rowan."And since you two seem so keen on lecturing me about how to use my Magic, that's helping you all by the way, I'll be sure to give you both a gracious distance between us so you won't hurt yourself! Truly, I am a kind Lord, warning you ahead of time and everything. And when I destroy that stupid robot, you'll see that I was right to give a warning in the first place! And see just how strong my Magic really is." Hmph. I'm going to prove these two SO wrong. They're going to be so grateful when I swoop in and save the day with my great effort! She didn't understand why they acted like she was being selfish here, or something. Kuro was just making sure the rest of them stood far enough away to be safe (and witness how cool and awesome she was at the same time.) In her mind, a "bad" Kuro would've just let loose regardless of people there instead of giving out a warning ahead of time.

"And for the record, I have fought other monsters before in the past. but my teammates were a lot hardier than you bunch, if you're already complaining about how I use my abilities to help out." In actuality, she'd only cleared a few bug hives with Winrey in the past and since he had a very unique disposition, getting hit with her curse Magic didn't affect him all that much. Too bad not every adventurer was an ace healer like her friend, though. "You can stick close if you're foolish enough, just don't be surprised if you find your lucks suddenly run out when we part ways."

---

Mentions: DarkKitsune | Gwen_Temi | slifer37​

 

[Elvario]

Ceylan

Spoiler: Full Image & Source

From:
Granblue Fantasy Wiki

Languages: Common | <Beastial>
Mentions: Maxxob | Shael TheTimePiece | Keircey DarkKitsune | Kuro Lolory | Demeter Gwen_Temi

He'd nod at Shael. “A happy reoccurrence.” He'd state, his words backed up by a wag of the tail. He did like having some people that seemed like decent enough sorts to work with, Shael being one such person. He also agreed with her suggestion. “Of course, isolation in the correct environment would be another part to get sorted first.”

Upon the suggestion of a formation, he figured he'd give his input. “The very back would be my appropriate place, I believe. Other than healing, summoning and some lesser light magic, one should not expect much for me. Especially not when it comes to self-defence, I fear.” He did not mind admitting he was a weakling when it came to such things.

He smiled at Keircey when he greeted him, but was a bit surprised when he didn't learn a name in turn. “I'm sorry, but I don't think I'd heard your name prior.” He stated, hoping to that learn Keircey was Keircey. It was a bit awkward this Keircey was apparently also a construct, but he decided it was for the greater good to withhold any judgement and treat him as normal.

As Keircey and Kuro got heated, however, his ears drooped and his tail stopped wagging. Rowan's lecture was justified, but perhaps not the most useful to calm things down. Kuro didn't seem the most reflect-full either though. “Please, let us calm down.” He'd state, attempting to use his [Soothing Aura] to calm those in the room. “I'm sure that none of us wishes to hurt one another and that operating from a perspective of trust, rather than distrust, is a much better basis for us to proceed upon. So surely, miss...” another person who he'd miss the introduction of, he realised as he didn't even know Kuro's name “will mind to to harm us, just as we will try not to get too close. Right?” He stated, hopeful that'd help smoothen things out a bit.

[Soothing Aura] – Magic B, Healing B, Magic Range C, Magic Targets C, Magic Duration C, Magic Area of Effect C, Selective C, Religion B, Empathy B, Insight B, Energised B, Persuasion F – Character has a soothing aura that calms and heals those around them. - Grade Be – 3 Post Cooldown.

He'd turn to Demeter next, smiling when she seemed happy to see him. Tail starting to wag again. After all, he wasn't happy when they seemed welcomed? “I hope you've been doing well?” He asked her. “The environment here surely seems rough for someone I take it is rather close to nature.” He added, wondering if this place was like a hell-scape to a dryad like her. Even he didn't like the amount of smoke, stone and metal.

 

[Maxxob]

Time: Afternoon
Location: Clockhaven, Burke's Estate
Elias Wren | Kite
Lolory | Kuro
DarkKitsune | Keircey
slifer37 | Rowan
TheTimePiece | Shael
Elijay | John
Gwen_Temi | Demeter
Elvario | Ceylan

Sillanus and Octavius

Sillanus joined Octavius behind the office desk, and both brothers began to ponder the further questions being asked. When the discussion turned to tactics, such as which entrance was better for the group to use or similar topics, the brothers remained silent, as that was outside their area of expertise.

When Demeter posed a question about the specifics of the constructs, Octavius opened a drawer and produced a few sketches to give a better idea of the appearance of each construct in the factory. “Ah, the Manager! Yes, it can move around. It is a bipedal construct, similar in form to Cosworth, our mechanical butler. The same is true for the worker construct, the boiler room construct, and the mechanical golem,” Sillanus said, pointing at each of the sketches.

Spoiler: Worker Construct

Spoiler: Boiler Construct

Spoiler: Iron Golem

Spoiler: Manager

“It is hard to quantify how difficult it is to destroy them. They haven’t been battle-tested, as that wasn’t the reason we created them. But the average worker construct can still function fully after an occasional metal beam falls on top of it,” Octavius added, not exactly pleased with his inability to provide more precise information about their endurance.

John then asked about the boiler room. “Not necessarily. However, the boiler room powers most of the internal electrics of the factory. Shutting it off will disable the machinery and release all the internal doors that might be closed. Fortunately, the internal lights run on a separate power grid, so you won’t be literally in the dark after dealing with it.” It seemed that dealing with the boiler room construct might be necessary.

Ceylan asked about the constructs the group would need to deal with. “The initial design of the Manager had a controlling range of about 400 square feet, enough to cover the entire factory from any corner. Periodically, all the constructs inside the factory ask for new orders, and the Manager provides them,” Octavius explained further.

“Bishop Ceylan is quite right! Baron Fromm was given as an example of how the Manager construct’s ‘mind’ works, granting it more freedom to act and possibly even some degree of creativity,” Sillanus said, looking pensive before continuing. “However, this construct is already operating way off its initial parameters or rules. These latent ‘capabilities’ were not expected at all.” He emphasized that the information they were providing was based on the initial state of the construct and might not reflect its current state.

“Our constructs don’t handle electricity well, as it interferes with their internal machinery. Every movement and command originates from their processing core, which is located in their ‘heads’. With the right skills [Hot Shot], one could capitalize on this weakness,” Octavius mentioned, crossing his arms. He was unable to comment on how magic might interfere with the technology of the Manager or the constructs in general. “Given the intelligence shown thus far by the Manager construct, it’s possible more constructs have been manufactured. It likely calculated that with the golem being assembled on site, we would not remain passive to the current state of the factory. This factory also manufactures other constructs, be they workers or boiler room constructs. The golem was an exception, and there isn’t enough material on site to produce a second one.” Uncrossing his arms, Octavius finished his explanation, covering possibilities and certainties.

Both men then looked at Shael and nodded in tandem. Sillanus kept his shrewd smile, while Octavius remained serious. “This is the least we can do! We’re willing to provide every bit of information we have to ensure this operation goes as smoothly as possible,” Sillanus said, maintaining his upbeat attitude despite the gravity of the situation.

As for Keircey’s concerns, there wasn’t any good news. “Unfortunately, the Manager was designed with full knowledge of how to manage the assembly line. It was supposed to make changes and optimize the production line at every opportunity,” Octavius answered first, not sugar-coating the situation. “On the bright side, the assembly line likely focused on making more constructs or finishing the mechanical golem. Personally, I’d say the latter is more likely than the former,” Sillanus continued, though whether this was good or bad news was anyone’s guess.

The brewing argument between Keircey and Kuro raised both brothers' eyebrows. They were aware that the group had likely met each other only on that fateful day, with a few exceptions. Expecting group cohesion from the start was unrealistic. They just hoped they wouldn’t have to demolish the factory. Sillanus sheepishly scratched his cheek, while Octavius’ eyes narrowed. “I think it’s highly unlikely for the Manager to successfully control ‘errant’ or more sophisticated constructs,” Octavius reinforced on Keircey’s situation, looking at Sillanus, who nodded in agreement.

 

[Gwen_Temi]

Demeter
​

A wave of soothing magic emanated out from Ceylan and washed over everyone in the room. Demeter definitely felt it, but she wasn't particularly excited nor agitated to begin with. It did que her in on just how large the dogman's menagerie of spells really was, though. As for how she was handling the industrial environment?

"Well... I don't like the feeling of asphalt beneath my feet, the air stinks, and it's a way too loud everywhere you go," Demeter replied, bluntly, "But I'm an adventurer! What good would I be if I couldn't handle little things like that?"

Widersia certainly wouldn't be the weirdest place she got to see in her travels if she had anything to say about it.

The Burke brothers would then continue their explanation of the facility, its innerworkings and its inhabitants. And, after hearing all of their explanations, Demeter felt much more confident in how she wanted to approach the situation. She slid off of her seat, leaned forward and put a finger on Position #1.

"I think we should come in through the front door," she proclaimed, gently dragging her finger from Position #1, over Position #2, and stopping at Position #3, "Because it gives us the most direct path to the boiler room."

She lifted her finger away from the map and looked up at the others.

"I think John had the right idea. Breaking the boiler may not weaken the constructs, but it can shut down the assembly lines and force every door open. Taking away the Manager's ability to make more constructs or even finish the golem is a good idea. But I think it's that last part that we should really be going for," Demeter explained, "They way I see it? The quicker we get every door open, the harder it'll be for the Manager to hide, the easier it'll be to navigate the factory, and the easier we can kill him."

Might've also allowed them to avoid more fights and, thusly, minimize damage to the facility. Plus, if the Manager was that intelligent, it would probably have taken the time to secure itself behind some sturdy factory doors, anyways.

"What do you guys think?"

Maxxob slifer37 TheTimePiece DarkKitsune Lolory Elvario Elias Wren Elijay

 

[slifer37]

Rowan Thorn
​

Rowan felt the soothing aura calm her, but the impact of Kuro's words still left something inside Rowan that made her argue more, without some of the fire, as Kuro went against essentially everything she did and had worked for her entire life.

"Kuro, you missed the point entirely. No one is arguing how powerful your magic is. You have powerful magic, but you most certainly haven't mastered it. If you have no control, it will hurt someone. IT's extremely concerning to be worried about being killed by an ally when multiple constructs are the true threat. This is not a game! Every time you fight, someone can get hurt? Do you want the guilt of knowing that you, not your enemies, hurt an ally? What if you don't warn them in time?"

Ceylan's magic worked on Rowan again, letting her breath in and out, allowing her to let go of the anger, returning to the side of her focused on work. Kuro seemed to act like the nobility, and she would treat this like a job- she didn't need to get close to Kuro after this, she just had to keep everyone alive. She wasn't specifically under Kuro's payroll, which meant she didn't have to have to be subservient and treat her like a boss.

"Fine. I won't argue any more with you. You don't seem to understand, and know nothing of what you speak. I wash my hands of this, of you." She made a hand-washing motion at Kuro before turning back to the map, listening to what Demeter and the Burke brothers were saying.

"If possible, if needed, I can separate parts of the room. Maybe we can make a few sections and deal with the constructs separately, so we aren't overwhelmed by all of them at once. Maybe cut the room in three or four pieces, leaving a straight shot for the boiler room without too much interference." Rowan would point to the blueprints, drawing imaginary lines with her finger to cut the factory into more manageable chunks. "Everyone will have a layer of protection even before going in, so I can start putting up barriers immediately when we see where the constructs are in the room. They could also get distracted with freeing themselves rather than attacking us, which could give us the drop on them." Rowan added, knowing she could give everyone a starting barrier before going in and working more complex barriers on the place if needed.

 

[DarkKitsune]

𝙺𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚢[𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚌𝚝], [𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛] , [𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢: 𝙳𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚢],[𝚁𝚎𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌’𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐]
𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚝
Maxxob Elias Wren Lolory slifer37 TheTimePiece Gwen_Temi Elijay

Keircey had an expression of unamusement on his face seeing Kuro’s behavior. It hadn’t been about how strong her magic was, no matter how much the beast seemed to think it was. Keircey was just glad he had backing and that Demeter came in with a solution. After all, she’s right. If Kuro is in front ahead, then everyone else isn’t really ‘in her way’. Meanwhile, noticing John’s stutter, Keircey put his hand on John’s shoulder. Keircey was a little bit of a empath [Empathy [F] and dread was something that often lingered during his own travels. In a way, he felt like he understood John to an extent.

“It’s going to be okay…hopefully…you aren’t alone. We’ll be helping each other through this. Of course, you can probably still back out if you want. But if you do stick around for the job, just know you aren’t doing it alone. We’ll have your back.”

No promises on Kuro. But the others seemed like they would, and he would as well. Feeling weak was never a nice feeling. Hearing Ceylan speak, he answers.

“I most definitely have no intentions of harming an organic. Just enough loss of that red oil seems to be enough to power you organics off completely. And…’healer..’ isn’t that the term for a organic mechanic that fixes another organic?”

When Rowan gave up on lecturing Kuro, he told her.

“Seems like she is the sort to have to learn from experience. Which I hope this provides that at least. I also hope that she doesn’t turn into another ‘Jura’ because that would be unpleasant for everyone.”

Keircey would then listen to The Burke's brothers as they explained everything. There was at least one piece of information about relief that could help: electricity. They were weak at electricity, which was ironic considering electricity was what powered Keircey’s body. And a soul though Keircey wasn’t as aware of that as he should have been. He sighs and says.

“Of course The Manager can make more..”

Sounded like when they were first constructing the manager the brothers perhaps got a bit to eager. The result would be a construct that had gone rouge, or for all he knew became sentient. He wasn’t a professional though, but he did know when he first gained sentience he didn’t think about ‘go rouge’ he was confused back then more than anything. When Octavious added more emphasis on Keircey’s programming, it was less likely to be altered.

“That’s still good to know, but I don’t consider myself to really be a ‘sophisticated’ construct. But I take it as I am not doing what my programmed directive actually, so it’d be more difficult to achieve…which is a good thing.”

Keircey was a construct made to sing and act. To be a [performer], of course, not the kind that took on odd jobs like that. Keircey heard Demeter as she explained the plan of attack and Rowan’s addition to it.

“Seems like a steady plan. Although I wouldn’t recommend doing it completely separately, we only have one organic mechanic after all. Unless you know how to dismantle an organic without them powering off forever, we should at least make teams or split the people who we have here in half if someone else has a similar skillset to Ceylan.”

—
Language Keys:
“common” %analog%
—

 

[Elijay]

John

Maxxob slifer37 TheTimePiece DarkKitsune Lolory Elvario Elias Wren Gwen_Temi​

Hearing what Kiercey had to say, John took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He looked back at Keircey, appreciating the empathy in his eyes. The reassuring hand on his shoulder helped to ground John, even if just a little. "Thanks, Mr Robot," He said, his voice still trembling slightly but with a hint of gratitude. "I may be weak, but I'll try my best. Hopefully I won't hold anyone back." He still wasn't sure how he would hold up against the constructs, but thankfully he wasn't alone. So long as he could hold them off for a while, these guys ought to be able to handle it with their ranged spells.

Demeter would then share her thoughts on taking out the boiler room first. “Yeah, that sounds about right.” John agreed with her regarding the path.

Ceylan would unleash his soothing magic, which John appreciated as it helped calm some of his nerves too. Hearing the others finishing up their speech about Kuro, he’d add, ”well we can’t keep blaming her all day for not being in total control of her magic. What’s important right now is how we can adapt our strategy to use her magic fully, just like what Demeter has suggested.” He then put a hand to his chin. “Although that plan of sending her to the front… I’m still a little dubious on it. She could be in a tough spot if her magic fails to take the constructs out. In which case, perhaps you could step in and give her some extra protection.” Saying this, he turned to Rowan. The two may hate each other's guts, but maybe it was better to pair them up this time round. He’d then listen in to Kiercey speaking of splitting up.

“Hmmm, if we were to split into two groups, then the first group could have neko lady taking the front with barrier lady as support, while I handle the front for the second group with Ceylan as support. Both groups will start by entering from the front entrance.” John pointed a finger at the #1 position on the map. ”Group 1 will take on the first group of enemies blocking the path to the boiler room, while group 2 will continue heading to the boiler room first, probably taking on the other enemies along the path. Once group 1 reaches assembly line 1, barrier lady could set up a barrier to cut off any backup constructs from assembly line 2.” Saying this, he used a finger drawing a line between the pathway connecting position 4 and 5. “We can split the rest evenly into the groups. How does that sound?”

 

[Elvario]

Ceylan

Spoiler: Full Image & Source

From:
Granblue Fantasy Wiki

Languages: Common | <Beastial>
Mentions: Maxxob | Demeter Gwen_Temi | Keircey DarkKitsune | John Elijay

He'd walk up to check out the sketches presented by the brothers. A shiver ran down his spine. They all looked so unnatural and slightly off. The manager in particular had something terrifyingly unnatural about it. It made him feel highly uncomfortable with the idea that'd be facing those. Yet he'd signed up for it, so he'd see it through. “This one, the boiler room construct, the thing on its back. Does it explode if hit?” he asked, pointing at whatever devise it had on this back.

Another let-down was to learn how sturdy they were. “That sounds troublesome...” Surviving a metal beam dropping atop of them? These things were highly durable, it sounded, which would not be the best for their current situation.

“So getting to the boiler room first to disable the grid might be the best course of action?” He'd ask, hoping to confirm if everyone was on the same level regarding that.

He wasn't sure what to do with the information granted. “How long is the period between asking for new orders? It might grant us some extra time before they can all adjust when they spot us.” He'd follow-up his question.

He sighed, as it was confirmed the manager would be aware and taking counter-measures. “If it's as intelligent as you suggest it to be, whatever plan seems to the best to us would be the worst, as that'd also be what it prepared against. Would that be accurate?” He asked, wondering if they should start off with a back-up plan just to throw off the manager.

He was glad not to be alone in disliking this place, when he heard Demeter's reply. “Don't forget the noise of machines whether you go and the lack of the sounds of birds and other animals. Or the sight of rusting metal in just about every alley.” He added to her list of complaints. “Although I agree, being a bishop, it would be wrong of me not to go to places like these simply for disliking them.” It was good to have some common ground with someone in a place like this.

“Although I agree with breaking the boiler, I do worry it'll be exactly what the manager anticipates us to do.” He'd express his doubts.

Although seeing the blonde woman stopping the argument was good, he still worried for the manner at which the argument had ended. This was no fertile soil for a good group dynamic. Sadly enough, he didn't know what to do. He wished Cayde were here. Cayde was the type of person to bring this group together in no-time.

Upon Keircey's and John's suggesting to split up, he shook his head. “Truthfully, I'd rather bet on the idea that the manager is paranoid enough to expect us to split up. If it's going to keep its forces spread thin to ensure we're not having a second team sneak up on him, we can all go in at once and overwhelm it. At best, I'd suggest to have just one or two of our strongest split off to catch it off guard the moment it thinks we haven't gotten into the building in teams.”

 

[Elias Wren]

Kite Vanzanth


With everyone going back and forth Kite let out a gentle sigh and just listened. Everyone has good points, but not being able to come to a consensus bears it's own issues. Kuro was probably going to be the biggest issue, their lack of control and personality made her difficult to work with. "We just need to make sure we give each other enough room to work. I would hate for anyone to get injured by their team mates because we were too close to one another. Regardless I believe we should head out as soon as possible. The longer we wait the higher chance we face greater resistance."

Kite had already made his choice in his mind, he was going to enter through the back regardless of everyone else's choice. Excitement grew within as he thought about what lay ahead, first it was horrifying abominations and now he's fighting mechanical constructs. Becoming an adventurer was the best decision he ever made.

Maxxob

 

[TheTimePiece]

Shael Xyven

Languages: "Common", "Sylvan"​

Unfortunately while the group wasn't getting along the best, clearly an issue of races, something which Shael hoped she could help solve one day [Naive] or not on the matter with her optimism. Thankfully it looked like others were trying to handle that and she felt a calm come over the area which she could only assume was the work of Ceylan from what she understood. She did hear Demeter and would nod in agreement.

" As Demeter indicated from her prior shared experience, Our formation should include those of us who are more suited toward ranged combat and support toward the back and those who are more suited for close encounters toward the front. I don't know if we have any midrange people but they should probably be toward the middle, unless there are those of us who have unique skills which would benefit them going somewhere less traditional."

She would give Ceylan a smile and nod once more at his care for those around him. It was an endearing quality of the beastman which was not lost on her.
====

She would then hone in on the additional information they could get their hands on. She saw what their would be enemies were to look like, and the golem certainly looked formidable, she would not want to get in close on that one herself. Unfortunately her poison likely wasn't going to do a ton here on metal foes, nor did she have the aforementioned Hot Shot skill which was name dropped which she had been intending on adding to her arsenal sooner rather than later, as it was a popular choice among Lune Elf Archers. However the manager themselves looked..uncanny valley humanoid like, that should be who they should be trying to take out as soon as possible with a 400 ft range..that only complicated things, even if they couldn't kill it immediately, perhaps there was a way to debilitate it.

She'd give a nod of acknowledgement to the brothers at them indicating they were more than happy to provide information.

She would listen to what the others had to say, before speaking. "Kite is correct, time is of the essence, so we should get in any more essential questions before we depart."

"...Given what has been shared so far, we should strike the boiler room decisively if it will in fact make our fight with the manager go more smoothly. If we are truly going to split up the aforementioned structure I mentioned should be taken into consideration for the groups, however it is of my belief that striking together is a safer endeavor..and regardless of what happens we should all try to take a unified stand against the manager and overwhelm it as Ceylan says." She did not feel a need to get into the various points of conflict in the group as others had been right along, so she would just share her mind.

 

[Maxxob]

Time: Afternoon
Location: Clockhaven, Burke's Estate
Elias Wren | Kite
Lolory | Kuro
DarkKitsune | Keircey
slifer37 | Rowan
TheTimePiece | Shael
Elijay | John
Gwen_Temi | Demeter
Elvario | Ceylan

Sillanus and Octavius

With a few more lingering questions that they could answer, both brothers began addressing them. First, there was the question about the boiler construct. “If it hit with enough force, in just the right manner [Hot Shot], I gather it could make it explode.” Octavius answered Ceylan, appearing to be pensive as he spoke, his eyes focused on the sketch of the construct.

Following that, the man would pull from his memory about the interval in which the constructs refreshed their orders. “The window of time in which the orders are refreshed is about one minute. But that is not to say the constructs couldn’t be running more than one order simultaneously.” The more serious brother would answer the bishop once more, this time his tone being slightly more cautionary. The silver lining was that, as soon as the Manager was destroyed, in the very next minute all the constructs which worked at the factory would resume their usual behavior.

As for the capabilities of the construct to have counter-measures and ability to plan, Sillanus would be the one answering it. “That could be very possible, the Manager isn’t acting out of instinct, but it is probably calculating the odds at every opportunity. In fact, it waited for just the right moment before getting the constructs in the factory to attack us. We just escaped by sheer luck…” For the first time, his expression which had been relaxed and calm morphed, showing real and raw fear, while Octavius expression hardened even further. It was clear that the near-death experience was still pretty much vivid in their minds, each brother dealing with it in their own manner.

=//=​

Time: Evening
Location: Clockhaven

Time passed, ever so slowly, in an almost agonizing crawl. Eventually, the sun would set, giving way to a full moon. The group could see it in all its splendor, almost ominously and eerily, bathing the capital of Widersia with its faint greenish glow.

Outside the Burke’s estate, a vehicle was waiting for them. It would resemble something akin to a carriage which was, curiously enough, manned by a construct. And, with the group getting into it, both brothers following suit, the mechanical carriage would begin to be driven through the streets of Clockhaven.

The streets, by then, were being illuminated by artificial lights, the amount of organic humanoids going about their business already having reduced significantly. But there was a presence that remained just as strongly as before: constructs. The arduous mechanical laborers worked, non-stop, in a never ending shift towards their single-minded purposes.

Before the carriage made into the industrial district, the sound echoing from the many factories was already quite high. The acrid smell from the smoke that billowed reached the noses of those who could feel scent, Clockhaven being true to its fame as an industrial powerhouse.

Eventually, the mechanical carriage came to a stop, right in front of a factory, which sported a huge sign which read ‘Burke Mechanical Solutions’. With the opening of the carriage’s door, by the construct which had been driving it, no less, the brothers stepped out of it and waited for the adventurers to follow-suit.

Sillanus and Octavius began guiding them towards the expansive brick and metal building which, from the outside, looked just like any other factory that could be found in the same district. One curious thing was that there was a distinct lack of windows, the natural sunlight appeared to be discarded as an afterthought.

They would come to a stop in front of a massive metallic door and, at its very side, there was some sort of keypad and a small slit under it. Octavius would approach it, sliding some sort of rectangular object into the slit and typing a combination on the keypad. In the next moment, the metallic door would slide open, whatever sound it would make drowned by the infernal mechanical symphony which permeated the whole district.

“Good luck to all of you.” Sillanus said, the anticipation being evident in this face. “We will be waiting your return.” Octavius chimed in, giving the group a nod before watching them enter the factory and closing the entrance behind them.

=//=​

Time: Evening
Location: Clockhaven, Burke's Factory



Inside the factory, the sound of machinery working permeated the ambience. In front of the group, they could see two conveyor belts at the distance, moving several types of metallic parts onto a machine which was placed right against the wall. For now, the group to be undetected, as several construct workers at the distance (melee ones are represented by the wrench, while the ranged ones are represented by the pistol) are dutifully working on the metallic parts.

[All characters will have the opportunity to perform preparation before entering the factory itself, be it buffs or something else. Whatever is done, will be deducted from the 3 actions which each character has per round. Usage of hostile abilities, without the proper concealing skills, will alert the constructs (if your character has concealment skills, and will use a hostile ability with it, roll a 1d10). Getting too close to a construct (2 squares of distance) will alert them. Each square represents 5ft of distance. Characters can move according to their movement abilities. If your character moves in a more mundane manner (walking, running, jumping, etc), roll a 1d10 using the RPN dice roller.]

 

[DarkKitsune]

𝙺𝚎𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚢[𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚌𝚝], [𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚖𝚎𝚛] , [𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢: 𝙳𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚘 𝙻𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚢],[𝚁𝚎𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌’𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐]
𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚑𝚎𝚎𝚝
Maxxob Elias Wren Lolory slifer37 TheTimePiece Gwen_Temi Elijay

Now being inside the factory, Keircey looked around. There were plenty of constructs. Unfortunately, he knew he couldn’t see them all, which made this all the more daunting. He could just let out an ability that he knew would affect a good number of them. However, a fact that still stood was that there were many unknowns in this situation. He considered talking to them. Playing Diplomat could be a terrible idea. Horrifically easy to be foiled, but at the least he knew how to fight back. He turned to the others.

“Stay here. And prepare. This might go wrong but…I am going to try to talk to them. If things go wrong, then that’s when you attack. I imagine them attacking is more likely than a conversation being successful….and it might be a good way to see if there aren’t any traps.”

He then would proceed to walk 30ft forward. He would attempt to talk with [Deception [F]

%Hello! I am one of the newer constructs made, and I have just finished a job given to me by our manager. I have some of those red leaky things he wanted me to bring in, but I can’t find him. Do you know where he is?%
—
Language Keys:
“common” %analog%
—
Actions:
Action 1: walk 30ft
Action 2: The to deceive the construct workers with [Deception F]

 

[Gwen_Temi]

Demeter
​

The mission was off to a very strange start.

As soon as they stepped through the front door, Kiercey decided to walk over and introduce himself to the homicidal machines. There were many thoughts that crossed Demeter's mind in that moment. The most prominent being the fact that the manager was probably aware of every machine actively under its command given the fact that it was tasked with... managing them. Still, it was probably best to follow his advice and prepare for the likely event that the machines didn't buy it.

"I'll be honest, there's not a whole lot I can do until it's time to start blasting," she admitted, "But we've got a few people here with big attacks that can hit multiple badguys, people with range, and we've got Ceylan with us."

She turned to Ceylan.

"If things go south, can you flashbang the area like you did last time?" she was, of course, referring to the time when the bishop had blinded a dozen lizards and a dragonman in one go, "You do that, and the rest of us can probably clear the room before the constructs have a chance to figure out what's going on and hurt Kiercey. Or at least take most of them."

She turned her sights forward once more to watch the interaction between their construct and the enemy horde.

"Sound like a plan?"

Maxxob Elias Wren Lolory slifer37 TheTimePiece DarkKitsune Elijay ​

 

[TheTimePiece]

Shael Xyvern

Languages: "Common", "Sylvan"​

Interactions: Gwen_Temi Elvario Maxxob

Indeed the mission was off to a most unusual start. A large industrial building lacking many windows probably on account of the workers being constructs who wouldn't care about pleasantries like sunlight, and getting into a strange automized like carriage too on the way there to boot. Unlike many others From the Fae See Shael actually had a good deal of experience being in a more utban environment with how long she had been operating in Ryken, so while this all arguably went a step further, she didn't feel too out of place.

Then there was Keircey who was going to give diplomacy a try from the sounds of things which was a surpise, thankfully worst case scenario SHael was ranged and could hopefully deal some damage from affair if need be. Nevertheless she nodded and let out a soft, "Be careful." To Keircey

She would then listen to what Demeter had to say to Ceylan "That would be..a most effective use of magic, I can't imagine these constructs have too many other ways to sense things,taking away their sight even momentarily would give us a distinct advantage." She nodded in agreement.

"I'll support where I can, hopefully my arrows will be able to pierce some more problematic areas for them should we need to engage them, so at the very least our party won't have to fight them at full strength if I can land some hits just right."

She would also watch onward, she couldn't help but send a bit of an internal prayer to the Spirit King that he would see it fit that Keircey would remain unharmed and best case scenario would get what he wanted. Shael wasn't one to judge whether one was organic or not, and even if a machine Keircey was clearly capable of thinking and feeling too..so she could only wish for his well being at this critical juncture.

prep actions: (Depends when narrator gets back to me/if seems worth)

 

[Elvario]

Ceylan

Spoiler: Full Image & Source

From:
Granblue Fantasy Wiki

Languages: Common | <Beastial>
Mentions: Maxxob | Shael TheTimePiece | Kericey DarkKitsune | Demeter Gwen_Temi

He silently nodded along with some of what Shael was saying. Her smile was returned by a nod and a wag of the tail. The last bits of information were taken in by him in silence. He did not know what [Hot Shot] was in the slightest. “Let us hope Delilah shall continue to favour these endeavours,” He stated, upon the mention of luck having played its fair share.

The mechanical carriage was giving him a strange sensation. Moving so unnaturally also made his stomach churn a little, but he managed to keep things calm and kept the inside... inside. That said, he was glad to get out again. For half a second. Then the smoke hit his nostrils. He still didn't like this place in the slightest.

“No windows. It seems summoning the manager from outside is not an option.” He was quick to conclude, as that 'cheap' yet easy solution was going to be a no-go. A bit of a shame, but not the most unexpected. “Thank you.” He'd reply to the brothers wishing them luck.

The moment he looked into the factory, he felt more lost than ever before. Whatever their plan was, Keircey walking up to have a chat with the constructs seemed to throw that out of the window. The rest could hardly move in as well and ruin the attempt, could they? That ensured they'd effectively have to wait to see if Keircey would succeed or not.

As for further preparation, he honestly wasn't sure what to do. He could attempt to summon some more allies, but he didn't believe they immediately needed more numbers. He had yet to learn other useful supportive magic. It's why he ended up doing the least productive thing of all, in the end. Nothing. Well, at the very least he could reply to Demeter by whispering back to her.

“You're giving me too much credit.” He'd say to Demeter, as she gave him a category of his own when mentioning the boons of their group. His tail did notably wag at the compliment. “I can, but I must admit, I have no clue if it will be effective, as these constructs might be resilient to it or have ways of locating people through means other than sight.” It seemed like Shael believed otherwise, so perhaps he should give it a go regardless.

(No clue if we're doing prepared actions, but please ignore if we don't. If we do...) He'd be ready to cast [Divine Light D] on any construct that would turn hostile (doubling up targets), should Keircey's plan fail or should someone else trigger them into attacking.

Divine Light D – Light Affinity D, Magic D, Magic Duration E, Magic Range E, Magic Area of Effect E, Selective C, Magic Targets E, [Homing] Affinity F, Flare [Sight] Affinity F (1 action), Religion D, Energised D – Character casts divine light upon the shadows, blinding them temporarily. - Grade De – 1 Post Cooldown – 1 Action

 

[Lolory]

KURO NEKOMATA | Beastkin-Cat | Eccentric
​

"You all can stand around and twiddle your thumbs while he chats away with the enemy if you want, I'm going inside." Kuro said. She stepped inside of the warehouse, and spotted something mysterious to her left. Hmph...what good could talking even do, we're here to do a job aren't we? She said with an eyeroll as as she decided to make her way there.

There were a lot of constructs on the assembly line, enough to make Kuro nervous just by looking at them. Despite her worries, she soldiered on anyways and walked to the left until she made it one step away from entering it.

She supposed if anything did go wrong, she could always hurry back and just try to support the others with her magic from a safe distance. Or get close enough to touch the constructs with guns and immobilize them. If anything, her magic would help weaken the precision of the shooters.

---

Mentions: Elvario | DarkKitsune | Maxxob | TheTimePiece | Gwen_Temi | slifer37 | Elias Wren | Elijay

Actions:
1. Walk 45 ft to mystery place on the left.
​

 

[Elias Wren]

Kite Vanzanth
The Factory - Kuro



Kite grew bored as time passed at the manor and wandered around aimlessly until it was time to leave, grabbing his sword by the door before making his way into the car. He was restless and glad it was finally time to get started. As they drove through the street he admitted this place he had never been before, the automatic street lamps passing by caused another flash in his mind.

He saw a blip of a memory of his past life, riding in a car to go to some unknown destination with peoples who's faces only appeared as a blur. It was gone as quickly as it came, but he still rubbed his head as a slight headache came upon him. He really needed to see someone about these memories.

As they arrived he got out of the vehicle and made his way through the doors with the rest of the group, watching as Keircey made his approach toward the constructs to attempt diplomacy with them. And then there was Kuro, that pompous ass, heading out on her own like her ass can't be stabbed at a moments notice.

"Get back here you little shit, you're going to get us all caught."

Kite reached out in an attempt to grab Kuro by the collar but wasn't quick enough, following after them as they tried to sneak around the corner and sate her curiosity. His voiced was as hushed as he could make it as he spoke, but still be heard by Kuro.

"Stop moving, you're going to fudge the plan before it even starts."

Kite prepared himself for the worst and drew his sword as quietly as possible, holding it down at his side just in case there was trouble as he followed behind Kuro bitching about her actions.

 

[Elijay]

John

Maxxob slifer37 TheTimePiece DarkKitsune Lolory Elvario Elias Wren Gwen_Temi​

Looking at the constructs, they didn’t seem too scary. The only one that he had to keep an eye out for was the giant drill man. As for the others, they were just small fries to be smashed up. They could resist a metal beam falling on them though, so they were probably gonna be a tough nut to crack.

Before anything else, Kiercey instructed them to stay still so that he could talk to them… Wait, wasn’t the plan to go in and start their assault immediately? Since when was it to have a nice friendly tea session with them? John stared at Kiercey, an eyebrow raised. He was pretty dubious of this plan, but everyone else seemed to be following through with it so he too chose to put his trust in the robot boy. Everyone except Kuro of course, the notorious troublemaker of the gang. John facepalmed himself as she walked off and Kite drew his weapon. Didn’t that make them seem even less trustworthy now?

Hearing the talk of flashbanging the robots, John reassured Ceylan who was worried about its effectiveness. “Well, we never know till we try. Ooooor till we appraise them.”

John walked forward as well, 15ft northwards. That puts one of the robots well within his punching range, but he could also throw himself in front of Kiercey to protect him when needed.

 

[slifer37]

View attachment 1172782
Rowan Thorn
​

Right as they rolled up to the factory, Rowan cast barrier magic on the eight of them in the party, including herself. She reached out, casting one of her powerful barriers that would give everyone a personal bubble of their own. "You can cast through the barriers." Rowan reminded everyone before they went inside. This did include Kuro, as she was a professional, and even if Kuro wasn't her cup of tea, she would still protect her.

She would stay by Ceylan, as the fighters would need to take the brunt of the attacks, while she stayed with the Bishop so they could do future damage control. Peeking into the factory, but not entering inside, she would cast outwards, wrapping ten of the enemy constructs in barriers, hoping it would knock them out. She would aim for the ranged ones, so they couldn't do any damage to those who had to hang back.

_____________
Prep Action- Personal Wall Barrier/Dome- B Magic, B Barrier, C Selective, Range D, Energize D, Duration D, Targets D, AOE E, Control Environment F - F to B Grade (Cast at C Grade)

Incapacitate Barrier- Magic D, Incapacitate C, Barrier D, Magic Range E, Energize D, AOE F, Duration E, Targets D- Grade D, 1 Post Cooldown- In an AOE range of 10 ft, at 10 different 5ftx5ft barriers, intending to knock beings out.
C Grade- 0/3
D Grade- 0/1

 

[Maxxob]

Time: Evening
Location: Clockhaven, Burke's Factory
Elias Wren | Kite
Lolory | Kuro
DarkKitsune | Keircey
slifer37 | Rowan
TheTimePiece | Shael
Elijay | John
Gwen_Temi | Demeter
Elvario | Ceylan

Inside the factory, the conveyor belts kept rolling, the worker constructs working dutifully in the assembly line. Keircey attempted to approach one of the constructs and took his shot in trying to convince it. The worker construct, which had a hammer attached to its arm, and had been banging against the metal pieces which passed through it with careful and yet precise motions, would suddenly stop.

Worker Construct

Slowly, it began turning its body towards Keircey, eyeing him down with its amber colored photoreceptors. There was a moment of silence, quietness, that seemed to stretch for a long time. The construct itself appeared to lack any form of communication, no speaker or mouth of sorts. Eventually, it would nod and begin to guide Keircey through the assembly line.

The other constructs appeared to fully ignore Keircey’s presence, for now, continuing their work as the clanking of metal against the factory’s floor could be heard. Keircey would be guided up to the very exit of the room and almost at the corridor, which connected the Assembly Line #1 to the stairs which lead to the office, Assembly Line #2 and the Boiler Room. The new positioning of Keircey, revealed a previously unseen construct, at J5.

As that was happening, both Kuro and Kite began moving as well, walking towards N8 and N9 respectively, as well as John advancing towards L14. John managed to approach the construct without making enough noise to alert them. Kuro and Kite, on the other hand, as they took the very last step, they would end up stepping on some metallic refuse from the assembly line, generating a surprisingly audible CLANK.

All the constructs, who were still working on the assembly line, suddenly stopped. They would begin to turn around, in unison, towards the source of the sound. The only one which couldn’t see anything, thanks to its positioning, was the one at J5. The stance of the others would begin to shift, significantly, taking a more aggressive stance. Circular saws began to spin even faster, hammers and wrenches being brought up above their heads, rivet guns began being aimed like firearms.

The construct, which was leading Keircey, would put a metallic hand against his chest and push him into the corridor. The act was done, curiously enough, not aggressively, but rather in a protective one, turning around to face the entrance of the factory afterward.

However, before any of them could act, Ceylan would use his [Divine Light D]. A flash of blinding light would suddenly brighten the room, with the intensity of looking directly at the sun. Some of the constructs had the foresight of closing the shutters of their photoreceptors (F5, F9 and J5) not being affected by it. The others began having difficulties of getting any readings from their optics. The light was accompanied by an almost deafening metallic clank, which resounded inside the room, with all the constructs also being damaged by Ceylan’s spell.

Next, Rowan used her [Incapacitate Barrier] on the constructs. The barrier would begin enveloping the constructs, closing down around them, before bursting in a sharp, piercing sound. The constructs, standing at A14, F9, H4, H13, H18, J5, J9 and J14 would fall back and slump over, not being able to keep standing up the force of the burst (these targets, if attacked before they can recover, will be counted as Surprised). The ones at F5, F14, F18 and H8, however, would manage to hold their footing and still remain ready for combat.

All the constructs, however, were still damaged, further compounding on the spell cast by Ceylan. By now, some of their plating has already been destroyed, the small gaps on their form gave view for their internal machinery, twisting and clinking.

The assault had begun successfully, more than half of the worker constructs were now incapacitated. The ones who weren’t would begin shifting positions to deal with the intruders. The construct at F5 would make its way to somewhere into the dark area [K1 to M5]. The construct at F14 would make their way to J12. The construct at F18 would make their way to J17. The ranged construct, at H8, would bring up its rivet gun and begin to fire, in rapid sequence in a 20ft x 15ft area, showering the area with hot, flaming bolts. Shael, who had tried to remain undetected by the constructs, was still noticed by the attacking construct. It would be noticeable that its accuracy wasn’t the best, for its photoreceptors still hadn’t fully recovered.

Keircey, which was at the corridor, had some new information. The path, which led towards the office on the second floor (1), was closed shut by a durable-looking blast door. Towards the path which led to Assembly Line #2 (2), the construct could already hear noises: it was a steady and slow clanking, which he could recognize as metallic feet hitting against the ground, approaching his position. Towards the other end of the corridor, which led to the Boiler Room (3), the crackling of fire was unmistakable. It was now his choice on how to proceed or go back.





Current situation:
All characters under Rowan's Barrier (13 additional HP for 9 turns)
Demeter, Ceylan, Rowan and Shael are under a ranged AoE attack.

Constructs at A14, F9, H4, H13, H18, J5, J9, J14 are currently incapacitated and unable to act.
All constructs have been damaged to a certain extent.

CDs
Ceylan: D 0/1 (currently locked out for 6 turns or until dispelled)
Rowan: D 0/1 (currently locked out for 6 turns or until dispelled), C 0/3 (currently locked out for 9 turns or until dispelled)

 

[Elias Wren]

Kite Vanzanth


Factory
Kite stopped in his tracks when he heard the noise and saw all the constructs turn their attention toward him and Kura. He sighed softly as flames enveloped the blade of his sword and he brought it up at the ready. "Time to deal with this the old fashioned way." Kite walked forward and approached the construct at J12, stopping on K12.

With half the room incapacitated and damaged he wasn't worried as much about the combat. He felt a swelling of confidence as he lunged forth toward the construct and attempted to slash his blade horizontally across its chest, flames dancing through the air as he did. He would follow up with a single basic attack aimed at the constructs weapon wielding arm in an attempt to possible disarm it.

Action 1: Movement to K12.

Action 2: Attack - Inferno Blade - Blight - Focus [F] - Elemental Affinity Fire [F] - Magic [F] - Fighting Style [E] Flame Blade - Fire Elemental Affinity [F] - The blade of Kite's sword is engulfed flames and strikes a single target for instant damage. - F grade - 0 cooldown

Action 3: Basic Attack.

Strength D (+3) + Sword E (+2) + Ability Grade F (+1) = 6 Base Effectiveness

 

[Gwen_Temi]

Demeter
​

With bated breath, Demeter watched as Keircey donned a ruse to try and fool the automatons.

She would've been lying if she'd said that she had absolutely any faith in him. She had a strong feeling that everyone else in the party felt the exact same. After all, as the group began to prepare for battle, not a single person to offense to the seemingly unanimous, overt lack of faith displayed by the construct's companions. Kuro and Kite ran off. Ceylan prepared a spell to smite the machines with the wrath of god. Rowan cast a spell that encased everyone there in a robust, pinkish barrier which-

"Cooooooooool."

-the green bean immediately took a liking to that one.

And yet, despite their less than stellar expectations... Kiercey couldn't have been more successful. Even though she had no idea what they'd been saying, Demeter couldn't sense an ounce of suspicion coming from the machines as they led Kiercey away. And, without any resistance, he made his way deeper into the facility and well out of their view.

...

"Okay, but how did they actually fall for that?"

There wouldn't be much time for speculation amongst the group. One- perhaps two- misplaced steps from the two wandering members of the group would send a loud clank reverberating through the area that immediately. The machines stopped production with an unnerving abruptness. A dozen optical sensors zeroed in upon Kuro and Kite. In many situations, this would've been an absolute disaster, but the team had an irrefutable advantage here.

Everyone had already been prepared for Kiercey to fuck it up from the get-go.

The fact that Kuro and Kite were the ones to incite the wrath of the machines changed nothing.

The two big guns of the squad came down upon the constructs with such vicious fury that Demeter began to wonder if God, himself, had put the two of them on this planet for the sole purpose of demoralizing machines. A solar flare erupted from Ceylan as he let loose the devastating cone of divine light that not only blinded many of them, but straight up ripped chunks of steel from their chassis with the raw force of his canine righteousness.

Rowan came down upon them like a somnific tsunami right afterwards. The very same barriers that he'd used to protect his allies became debilitating fields of magic that washed over many of the machines- some of which who were already blind, mind you- and put them to sleep en masse. Demeter didn't know enough about machines to understand just how extraordinary putting one to sleep was, but she certainly wasn't complaining.

Even so, a few of the constructs were still up and active. Two of them began to rush the group with power tools. Despite their malicious intent, Demeter wasn't particularly concerned with either of them. Why? Well, power tools were plenty scary in the wrong hands, sure. But that other guy over there?

That guy had a gun.

As soon as Demeter registered the fact that the barrel was swiveling over in her general direction, her eyes widened and the words exploded uncontrollably from her lips.

​

"LOOK OUT!"
​

Rowan may have granted everyone in the group a personal forcefield to drastically increase their chances of survival, but Demeter had absolutely no interest in actually putting it to use tonight. In a blur of adrenaline-fueled motion, she dropped to the floor, making herself as small a target as possible, and slammed both hands into the floor and cast [Root Eruption] with every intent of countering the machine's fully automatic assault and putting it in a grave as quickly as physically possible.

The spell itself took root 30ft away at J9, right at the edge of her range, then exploded into a widespread attack that would catch not only the machine at J9, but also the unit on J12 and, most importantly, the gunman on H8. A verdant carpet of sward would cover the lifeless floor of brick and steel within the area of her spell before jagged pillars of hardened root would rocket outwards from the grass at various angles with every intent of impaling the machines, shattering their internal components, and driving both them, the gun and the gunfire up towards the ceiling where it could not find purchase in her comrades.

But she wasn't done yet.

A moment later, she'd focus her mana on the floor just ahead and cast [Root Burst] twice to summon two large, jagged pikes of root side-by-side in front of her in an attempt to intercept and counter any bullets that might've made it past the field of spikes up ahead.

Actions (3/3):
1). Cast [Root Eruption] +2 to counter the attack from the construct at H8 and attack it.
2 & 3). Cast [Root Burst] twice to intercept and counter any bullets that might've made it past the first strike.

​

Root Eruption- Magic E, Energized E, Magic School F, Deflect (1) F, Indirect F, Blight [Bludgeoning] F, Continuous F, Incurable F, Magic AOE F, Selective Magic F, Magic Range [Metamagic] F- Demeter summons roots spikes from a solid surface to impale foes. These spikes can be summoned from the earth, walls, ceilings or even her own body. Each root is coated in a poison that simultaneously acts as a blood thinner and anti-coagulant; effectively causing a target to hemorrhage an unnatural amount of blood from any wounds taken from this move if not properly treated.- 1 action- 30ft Range- 15ft A.O.E.- 1 post duration- Grade E- 0 post cooldown

Root Burst- Magic F, Energized F, Magic School F, Deflect (1) F, Indirect F, Blight [Bludgeoning] F, Continuous F, Incurable F, Magic Range [Metamagic] F- A weaker variant of Root Eruption lacking area of effect that Demeter can cast up to thrice in rapid succession. Often used in combination with Root Eruption.- 1 action- 30ft Range- 1 post duration- Grade F- 0 post cooldown

Elvario DarkKitsune Maxxob TheTimePiece Lolory slifer37 Elias Wren Elijay

 

[Lolory]

KURO NEKOMATA | Beastkin-Cat | Eccentric ​

Just as her luck would have it, Kuro had alerted the constructs to her presence. Seeing as Kite decided to go off on his own and fight, Kuro thought it'd be a great idea to finally use her magic for once. Since Kite was going to attack a Construct, backing him up would prove to be quite useful. And she had the perfect skill available for such an occasion!
She followed behind Kite and immediately let loose the skill. This one should make the constructs think twice about trying to retaliate against her, and even take the one in front of them out!

---

Mentions: Elias Wren | Maxxob
Actions:
1. Follow Kite
2. Lord Nekomata's Curse"-Magic E, Intimidation F, Magic Aoe F, Selective Magic F| Causes multiple enemies near the user to become incredibly wary and afraid of them. Grade E-1 Post Cooldown​