[Desolation] Chapter 2: Hard-held
- Thread starter WlfSamurai
- Start date
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
...
That's a tough one. Hooper doesn't really wish anyone to do anything. She's selfish like that so all her goals and wishes are about herself.
Right now? Hooper is enjoying the arm contact and doesn't want that to stop. She wants Ryoma to not be so talkative and complex. Hooper's face though...
Her face wants Ryoma to leave now. Her face is not happy with the contact. Her face doesn't want Ryoma coming in to it's territory. Ryoma is trying to get personal and close. If that happens, Hooper and her face are going to be hurt. Hooper doesn't get hurt anymore.
That's a tough one. Hooper doesn't really wish anyone to do anything. She's selfish like that so all her goals and wishes are about herself.
Right now? Hooper is enjoying the arm contact and doesn't want that to stop. She wants Ryoma to not be so talkative and complex. Hooper's face though...
Her face wants Ryoma to leave now. Her face is not happy with the contact. Her face doesn't want Ryoma coming in to it's territory. Ryoma is trying to get personal and close. If that happens, Hooper and her face are going to be hurt. Hooper doesn't get hurt anymore.
WlfSamurai
Maelstrom Engineer
Koch
So, you have one grenade in your hand that is now missing a pin since you didn't know about the spot-welding and it got pulled out.
The other one you're handing off to Skags still has its pin.
On the one that Skags has, you can cut the pin short so there isn't a way to pull it out.
Does that answer your question?
So, you have one grenade in your hand that is now missing a pin since you didn't know about the spot-welding and it got pulled out.
The other one you're handing off to Skags still has its pin.
On the one that Skags has, you can cut the pin short so there isn't a way to pull it out.
Does that answer your question?
DeusExAlice
I sell body horror and body horror accessories
Yup! Thanks!
With this knowledge in mind, I take the wire cutters I loaned to Skags back and snip the pin. The other pin that had been pulled free I do the same to so I can reinsert it and disarm the hand grenade.
If uh, that's all kosher?
With this knowledge in mind, I take the wire cutters I loaned to Skags back and snip the pin. The other pin that had been pulled free I do the same to so I can reinsert it and disarm the hand grenade.
If uh, that's all kosher?
WlfSamurai
Maelstrom Engineer
Koch
No problem.
You clip both pins and slide the missing one back into place.
Skags looks at you.
"Okay, so now what?"
No problem.
You clip both pins and slide the missing one back into place.
Skags looks at you.
"Okay, so now what?"
DeusExAlice
I sell body horror and body horror accessories
Underneath the gorget I can feel my scarred cheeks shifting from a smile.
"I'll rig up a better pin for these things later on so they're actually useable, you earned yours. Now, now we get to find out what was so precious in the box."
The box has been welded onto the truck, right? I'm also willing to bet it's locked too.
"I'll rig up a better pin for these things later on so they're actually useable, you earned yours. Now, now we get to find out what was so precious in the box."
The box has been welded onto the truck, right? I'm also willing to bet it's locked too.
Ryoma gently removes her hand. Not be complicated? Buddha forfend. "I see. In any case, how long before your ire tires?" Balls can't live for much longer with that kind of bloodloss. One does wonder how she eats if this is her 'face'... perhaps some questions are best left unanswered.
solyrflair
Have Towel - Will travel
My followers are set up that they will have surplus, so I get 2 barter, and the followers will grow in number. However, they have two wants. Judgement and Disease. I think that the new followers that come to me bring disease with them. It is slowly spreading, so I will have to try to fix that.WlfSamurai said:
The Harrowing is something I am not familiar with. In this case, I think you are implying possession, but not really sure. Maybe you can explain what I would recognize as The Harrowing before I answer my next action.
As for her secret pains, there are too many. Red Bean is not driven by angst, but by her ability to overcome the pain she lives in. That said, she has the physical pains of her skin that was nearly burned away and has come back as bright red instead of normal. At times, it seems to feel as though it is on fire again, often when she is dreaming. She also has the pains for killing those who tried to burn her, including her family, when she drowned them all. She knows that they were going to kill her, but killing her friends and family still troubles her. She wonders if her life was worth all those that she killed that day. And last is the fact that she devoured one of her own to stay alive, and more than one of her enemies. Times were tough for her in the mountains. There is a sense of isolation that is much deeper in the ravines and valleys, than what one finds on the open desert that she has come to.
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
Hooper
"It will take as long as it takes."
Reaching solitary, Hooper gives a long look at Ryoma before entering her room and slamming the thick door shut behind her.
Perhaps it was the positioning of the room combined with the decaying concrete but somehow, the screams coming from her room echoed in the halls for far too long.
"It will take as long as it takes."
Reaching solitary, Hooper gives a long look at Ryoma before entering her room and slamming the thick door shut behind her.
Perhaps it was the positioning of the room combined with the decaying concrete but somehow, the screams coming from her room echoed in the halls for far too long.
WlfSamurai
Maelstrom Engineer
Red Bean
As the woman looks down on you from the slab she is laying on, you notice her eyes are bloodshot and half closed.
She's drugged.
Heavily.
She hasn't noticed her leg is cut off.
Hooper
You step into your room and slam the door shut.
As you turn with the half-dead Balls in your hands, you find a gruesome scene.
A woman, young, has been nailed to your white wall and eviscerated.
Her bowels lay on your floor.
Her face has been untouched and you recognize her right away.
Ollie.
Red Bean's assistant.
She's beyond dead.
Ryoma
Hooper steps into her room and slams the door.
You're in the hall by yourself.
It isn't until the quiet settles that you hear two voices.
They're coming from further down the hallway.
Whoops. I wrote the 'Harrowing' instead of the Howling. I edited my post. Sorry. And yes, possession.solyrflair said:
Is this the drowning of the town you mentioned before? What happened? Tell me more.solyrflair said:
As the woman looks down on you from the slab she is laying on, you notice her eyes are bloodshot and half closed.
She's drugged.
Heavily.
She hasn't noticed her leg is cut off.
Hooper
You step into your room and slam the door shut.
As you turn with the half-dead Balls in your hands, you find a gruesome scene.
A woman, young, has been nailed to your white wall and eviscerated.
Her bowels lay on your floor.
Her face has been untouched and you recognize her right away.
Ollie.
Red Bean's assistant.
She's beyond dead.
Ryoma
Hooper steps into her room and slams the door.
You're in the hall by yourself.
It isn't until the quiet settles that you hear two voices.
They're coming from further down the hallway.
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
Hooper
Well that was just rude. Slinging balls back over her shoulder, Hooper steps back out into the hall, seriously concerned over the foot traffic her room was recieving. She felt the quick wet patter of tears on her back, he had to be dealt with soon.
Without wasting any more time, Hooper calls down to Ryoma.
"Bean child, dead. Someone was in my room"
Well that was just rude. Slinging balls back over her shoulder, Hooper steps back out into the hall, seriously concerned over the foot traffic her room was recieving. She felt the quick wet patter of tears on her back, he had to be dealt with soon.
Without wasting any more time, Hooper calls down to Ryoma.
"Bean child, dead. Someone was in my room"
solyrflair
Have Towel - Will travel
Red Bean looks at the woman. She has always seen people who are agents of the Howling. People who got so lost in their own existence that they gave into the maelstrom, and had their soul ripped apart. They were agents for the Howling, able to use its force to act in the physical world. If she hadn't been strong enough, even in her damaged state when she took the hit for Hooper, the howling might have been able to reach into her.
"I am at peace. It has been a long path to get here, but I am at peace now. You..." she paused to think about what had happened. She hadn't actually met anyone that was a gateway for the Howling. Servants she had seen, but this woman was something different from what she could tell. "You at not at peace. I am not sure whether you are in danger or are the danger itself. Why don't you tell me how you got here?"
Half-conscious and drugged. It would be a good enough for the woman not speak and not hide her words. Red Bean could read her pretty easily in this condition. She only hoped that this woman wasn't a powerful brainer. She had been hit once today, she didn't want to face the maelstrom at someone else's whim.
Read person = Sharp+1 = 6 +1 = 7
Her house had gotten quiet, as quiet as the old mine shaft ever got. Sheets hung to make rooms, and she huddled in one of them. She was only 11. Memories like this were so real, they felt like a dream that when you awoke you were certain the events took place. Manda Bean knew dreams better than anyone in her town. But those dreams had gotten her in trouble, and the arguing between her family was ending. Her father had told her not to say anything to Argent their holdmaster, but the longer she remained quiet the louder the voices became. Finally she had warned him that Red-beard Rossiki was coming for him. She had waited too long because Red-beard did come and Argent died, but not before admitting he had been warned. Now Rossiki was coming for her.
Her father came in while her mother watched, her two older sisters behind her. "I am sorry. But your mother is right, you can't do this to us anymore." He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the mine entrance to meet Rossiki. She sobbed as she fell at his feet. "You can have her, just leave the rest of my family alone."
Time drifted as they tied her to the old tree. They wanted to throw her from the ridge, but she had seen the storms in the distance. She warned that she couldn't be killed, that she could call the maelstrom to lift her up. It worked, but in the worst way. They decided to burn her. She had hoped they would hang her from the River-Tree, but cries of 'witch' had sparked an old memory of burning, and so they bound her to the tree. One rope around her ankles, one rope about her waist. They stacked timber and brush against the tree.
She had called them all by name, scolding each one for their part in this. They let one man kill another for the right to control their lives. She cursed each one by name, so when the torch was placed in the kindling the whole town stood along the muddy river to watch her burn. She looked into the eyes of her father, sad; her mother, determined; her sisters, vindictive; all the town, frightened.
As the flames burned away her hair, burned her clothing, she heard them calling out to 'burn the witch'. They never heard the river rushing at them. The storms had filled the upper hills with water and now it was rushing toward them. It was 10 feet of mud and water rushing down already filled banks. It swept past the tree as people turned to flee, but they only saw it in the last instant.
It dragged them away, along with the burning timber. She had been covered in mud and water for two days until the river pulled back. The ropes had been soaked and stretched. She wriggled free, burnt skin pulling away from muscle as she slid from the bonds. She had seen the river rise, been told that the waters would come, by the voices only she could hear. She knew if she was near the river she would be safe from the town, but she had thought the river would take her away, and not take the town away. Sometimes the voices wouldn't tell her the whole story.
"I am at peace. It has been a long path to get here, but I am at peace now. You..." she paused to think about what had happened. She hadn't actually met anyone that was a gateway for the Howling. Servants she had seen, but this woman was something different from what she could tell. "You at not at peace. I am not sure whether you are in danger or are the danger itself. Why don't you tell me how you got here?"
Half-conscious and drugged. It would be a good enough for the woman not speak and not hide her words. Red Bean could read her pretty easily in this condition. She only hoped that this woman wasn't a powerful brainer. She had been hit once today, she didn't want to face the maelstrom at someone else's whim.
Read person = Sharp+1 = 6 +1 = 7
Her house had gotten quiet, as quiet as the old mine shaft ever got. Sheets hung to make rooms, and she huddled in one of them. She was only 11. Memories like this were so real, they felt like a dream that when you awoke you were certain the events took place. Manda Bean knew dreams better than anyone in her town. But those dreams had gotten her in trouble, and the arguing between her family was ending. Her father had told her not to say anything to Argent their holdmaster, but the longer she remained quiet the louder the voices became. Finally she had warned him that Red-beard Rossiki was coming for him. She had waited too long because Red-beard did come and Argent died, but not before admitting he had been warned. Now Rossiki was coming for her.
Her father came in while her mother watched, her two older sisters behind her. "I am sorry. But your mother is right, you can't do this to us anymore." He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her out of the mine entrance to meet Rossiki. She sobbed as she fell at his feet. "You can have her, just leave the rest of my family alone."
Time drifted as they tied her to the old tree. They wanted to throw her from the ridge, but she had seen the storms in the distance. She warned that she couldn't be killed, that she could call the maelstrom to lift her up. It worked, but in the worst way. They decided to burn her. She had hoped they would hang her from the River-Tree, but cries of 'witch' had sparked an old memory of burning, and so they bound her to the tree. One rope around her ankles, one rope about her waist. They stacked timber and brush against the tree.
She had called them all by name, scolding each one for their part in this. They let one man kill another for the right to control their lives. She cursed each one by name, so when the torch was placed in the kindling the whole town stood along the muddy river to watch her burn. She looked into the eyes of her father, sad; her mother, determined; her sisters, vindictive; all the town, frightened.
As the flames burned away her hair, burned her clothing, she heard them calling out to 'burn the witch'. They never heard the river rushing at them. The storms had filled the upper hills with water and now it was rushing toward them. It was 10 feet of mud and water rushing down already filled banks. It swept past the tree as people turned to flee, but they only saw it in the last instant.
It dragged them away, along with the burning timber. She had been covered in mud and water for two days until the river pulled back. The ropes had been soaked and stretched. She wriggled free, burnt skin pulling away from muscle as she slid from the bonds. She had seen the river rise, been told that the waters would come, by the voices only she could hear. She knew if she was near the river she would be safe from the town, but she had thought the river would take her away, and not take the town away. Sometimes the voices wouldn't tell her the whole story.
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Graves
Hooper and her prize interrupt affairs, and Graves stares in mild disbelief as the two oh-so-dangerous women wander off in conversation.
"Order stands, Clayton. Too much weird shit going on today."
He sits heavily, stares at his plate, and spears a fried egg and wolfs it down, glaring out into the desert.
Hooper and her prize interrupt affairs, and Graves stares in mild disbelief as the two oh-so-dangerous women wander off in conversation.
"Order stands, Clayton. Too much weird shit going on today."
He sits heavily, stares at his plate, and spears a fried egg and wolfs it down, glaring out into the desert.
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
Hooper
She steps aside, Holding the door open. Balls moans on her back as she shakes him a little. Pain wracking his body, he immediately passes back out.
Hooper's mind starts drifting back to what she was planning with him. Her machete was too good. Too clean. She needed something rusty and lots and lots of tourniquets.
She steps aside, Holding the door open. Balls moans on her back as she shakes him a little. Pain wracking his body, he immediately passes back out.
Hooper's mind starts drifting back to what she was planning with him. Her machete was too good. Too clean. She needed something rusty and lots and lots of tourniquets.
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
Hooper
Tossing balls over towards her bed, Hooper slams the door shut and flips a switch. A harsh scavenged light flips on, bathing the room in a pale glow.
"No."
Looking over the eviscerated child, Hooper shrugs and tears a tile off one of wires in her bed frame. Kneeling over Balls, she whispers into his ear before the wire starts working its way down his windpipe.
Tossing balls over towards her bed, Hooper slams the door shut and flips a switch. A harsh scavenged light flips on, bathing the room in a pale glow.
"No."
Looking over the eviscerated child, Hooper shrugs and tears a tile off one of wires in her bed frame. Kneeling over Balls, she whispers into his ear before the wire starts working its way down his windpipe.
WlfSamurai
Maelstrom Engineer
Red Bean
Well thank you for setting the record straight.
Love it.
The woman looks at you, her eyes half-open.
She wobbles as she tries to puzzle your words.
"I ... I don't know. Where am I?"
She puts a hand through her hair and looks around.
Ryoma, Hooper
Ryoma, you look at the dead girl.
She's been mutilated in every way you can conceive.
Especially around her cranium.
It seems someone opened her head and removed her brain.
Meanwhile, Hooper, you work the wire down Balls' throat.
He chokes and you feel his body working to get free.
But, you've already broken him.
His efforts are futile.
He's making a noise like a dying whale.
Well thank you for setting the record straight.
Love it.
The woman looks at you, her eyes half-open.
She wobbles as she tries to puzzle your words.
"I ... I don't know. Where am I?"
She puts a hand through her hair and looks around.
Ryoma, Hooper
Ryoma, you look at the dead girl.
She's been mutilated in every way you can conceive.
Especially around her cranium.
It seems someone opened her head and removed her brain.
Meanwhile, Hooper, you work the wire down Balls' throat.
He chokes and you feel his body working to get free.
But, you've already broken him.
His efforts are futile.
He's making a noise like a dying whale.
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
Hooper
She twists, feeling the flesh of his wind pipe split. No major arteries but all the soft weak flesh breaks down. Hooper grabs another wire, pushing it through one side of his cheek and out the other. She straddles his broken chest, leaning in. "Not the worst thing you've had down your throat. Remember that?"
A flash of rage passes through her as she yanks out the metal, tearing his cheeks so they hang loosely. She pushes the one down his throat further in. She breathes hard, putting her face against his. Their eyes are nearly touching. Her voice is a harsh whisper. "You ruined me...ruined my old face...remember when you were the one with the wires?"
Her entire body convulses, her hate even radiating into the maelstrom. A dark swirling storm of pain, torment, and anguish. Tearing back, she jams nearly her entire hand into an eye socket, tearing out the sensory organ.
She twists, feeling the flesh of his wind pipe split. No major arteries but all the soft weak flesh breaks down. Hooper grabs another wire, pushing it through one side of his cheek and out the other. She straddles his broken chest, leaning in. "Not the worst thing you've had down your throat. Remember that?"
A flash of rage passes through her as she yanks out the metal, tearing his cheeks so they hang loosely. She pushes the one down his throat further in. She breathes hard, putting her face against his. Their eyes are nearly touching. Her voice is a harsh whisper. "You ruined me...ruined my old face...remember when you were the one with the wires?"
Her entire body convulses, her hate even radiating into the maelstrom. A dark swirling storm of pain, torment, and anguish. Tearing back, she jams nearly her entire hand into an eye socket, tearing out the sensory organ.
Here we find a perfectly useful example of the notion of karma -- the furrows your actions leave in your soul, marking the path of your fate. Balls is only reaping what he sewed in his own heart; had he known enlightenment, he would have been able to uproot the poisoned trees. But he lived a life of dissolution and inner chaos, and ending his life at the ends of a deranged, masked torturer is fitting and just.
Of course, this will fix nothing for Hooper. She may vanquish the flesh-and-blood Balls, but the one she truly need fear is a shadow of the mind.
Back to the disenbrained girl, shall we? Ryoma checks for any evidence that might lead her back to the killers. It's hard to inflict this much harm without leaving any evidence.
Of course, this will fix nothing for Hooper. She may vanquish the flesh-and-blood Balls, but the one she truly need fear is a shadow of the mind.
Back to the disenbrained girl, shall we? Ryoma checks for any evidence that might lead her back to the killers. It's hard to inflict this much harm without leaving any evidence.
Teh Frixz
That lady robot
Hooper
The nose came next, followed by each of the teeth and then the ears. Tearing apart her sheets and the padding in the walls, Hooper made sure that the beautiful red fluid wasn't wasted on the floor. He had to live as long as possible. She wasn't quite sure if Balls was still able to feel the things she was doing anymore but it wasn't about him now. Her vision tints as she starts on the limbs, rendering him a torso.
With each wound she inflicted, one of hers scabbed over. It wasn't her face in command right now, her face had let Hooper take a moment for herself.
A few more brutal minutes and it had to have been over. Hooper puts a knee to his neck and leans until the crack happens, the entire time looking into the remaining eye. Some little bit of her hellish past had been put to rest as the bones give way and the cord snaps.
Balls now joins the child in being a corpse laying about Hooper's sanctuary. Stepping up, Hooper sucks in some air through the nose under her face, mucus sucked up. She actually sniffles before her face steps back in. There is no more pain, no more hurt.
"Find anything?" Her voice returns to the emotionless state it had been before. "We can throw them in the hall"
The nose came next, followed by each of the teeth and then the ears. Tearing apart her sheets and the padding in the walls, Hooper made sure that the beautiful red fluid wasn't wasted on the floor. He had to live as long as possible. She wasn't quite sure if Balls was still able to feel the things she was doing anymore but it wasn't about him now. Her vision tints as she starts on the limbs, rendering him a torso.
With each wound she inflicted, one of hers scabbed over. It wasn't her face in command right now, her face had let Hooper take a moment for herself.
A few more brutal minutes and it had to have been over. Hooper puts a knee to his neck and leans until the crack happens, the entire time looking into the remaining eye. Some little bit of her hellish past had been put to rest as the bones give way and the cord snaps.
Balls now joins the child in being a corpse laying about Hooper's sanctuary. Stepping up, Hooper sucks in some air through the nose under her face, mucus sucked up. She actually sniffles before her face steps back in. There is no more pain, no more hurt.
"Find anything?" Her voice returns to the emotionless state it had been before. "We can throw them in the hall"
WlfSamurai
Maelstrom Engineer
Hooper & Ryoma
The screams from your room, Hooper, die against the sound-proof insulation.
He doesn't stop screaming until you break him down into nothing but a torso.
About that time, the shock takes over and he dies.
While Hooper is busy at work, Ryoma, you inspect the dead girl's body further.
It is a gruesome sight, but looking at her isn't giving you any other further details.
You can touch her, move the body around a bit and search deeper.
What would you like to do?
The screams from your room, Hooper, die against the sound-proof insulation.
He doesn't stop screaming until you break him down into nothing but a torso.
About that time, the shock takes over and he dies.
While Hooper is busy at work, Ryoma, you inspect the dead girl's body further.
It is a gruesome sight, but looking at her isn't giving you any other further details.
You can touch her, move the body around a bit and search deeper.
What would you like to do?
Grey
Dialectical Hermeticist
Graves
The Hardholder finishes his breakfast, and regards the desert with briefly weary eyes.
"Callum. C'mere, boy. You can read, can't you? Know your numbers?"
Graves eyes the young man, but his thoughts are miles away.
"I think its time we had a... school, or something. So you find me the other folks what know their letters and numbers, and maybe some savvy people, and... Yeah. That'll do. Get to it. I'm going to be busy awhile."
This place is growing all the time, he thinks, as he walks to his office. Too big for just me, now. I got obligations to these people... Can't just cling to the rock and hope not to get eaten. Make people want to live here, not kill here...
So musing, he returns to his office and consults with an assistant or two. Get affairs in order, get one of his coveted packs of cigarettes, and go talk to that sack of shit in the cells...
The Hardholder finishes his breakfast, and regards the desert with briefly weary eyes.
"Callum. C'mere, boy. You can read, can't you? Know your numbers?"
Graves eyes the young man, but his thoughts are miles away.
"I think its time we had a... school, or something. So you find me the other folks what know their letters and numbers, and maybe some savvy people, and... Yeah. That'll do. Get to it. I'm going to be busy awhile."
This place is growing all the time, he thinks, as he walks to his office. Too big for just me, now. I got obligations to these people... Can't just cling to the rock and hope not to get eaten. Make people want to live here, not kill here...
So musing, he returns to his office and consults with an assistant or two. Get affairs in order, get one of his coveted packs of cigarettes, and go talk to that sack of shit in the cells...
Hurr, sorry, forgot to roll this. Can't access the Playbooks from college, so I'll add the roll to this post in about two hours. Lecture nao
solyrflair
Have Towel - Will travel
"You are on the outskirts of a small town. A few farms, and a some workers. Not sure how you got here, but you did. Now someone is working to keep you alive. She's not too good at making them better, but she does a good job of keeping them alive. "Red Bean doesn't know the woman named Lip. She has heard of her, probably, but her focus is on her followers. They depend on her for most things in life.
That is why she started her little school, to make some scratch to keep them eating, and clothed, and healthy. Healthy is the hardest part. It doesn't take much for one sick person to infect the rest of the group.
"Focus. What is the last thing you remember when you were out in the barren lands." I still hold 1 against her, I think.
That is why she started her little school, to make some scratch to keep them eating, and clothed, and healthy. Healthy is the hardest part. It doesn't take much for one sick person to infect the rest of the group.
"Focus. What is the last thing you remember when you were out in the barren lands." I still hold 1 against her, I think.