Fantasy Hunter's Moon [IC] [CLOSED]

[Breadman]

"Oh, au nom de la bite et chatte du bon dieu." Theodore yelled as he stood between Erwin and Jakob "Quit the stupidity, constable! She attacked lady Camille first! The mask she wore was torn off the moment she drew her own blade. You will put down that gun or be branded the punishment of striking an inquisitor, bringing a harsh sentence to not only you, but your entire bloodline. Throw your own life away if you wish, but don't damn the rest." His gaze turned to Aleister "And you can take your holier than thou merde and shove it. Unless you have some secret you wish to tell, then I'd be all ears to hear how to extract information from her without risking bringing another pureblood back into the world."

 

[Emperor Sagan]

Aleister was silently thankful that the constable had come to his aid. He gave the man a lingering glance, feeling some guilt within him for having snapped at Jakob the other night. The man seemed to be wholly genuine. It was a rarity in this world. If the man was still faking it after all this time, then he was truly a master of mirages.

However, seeing Erwin raise his gun and retain the head rocked him from his quiet revelry of the good constable. To see the adventurer level his gun on the constable so fast was another astonishing outcome of today.

And then hearing Theodore try to defend it all made him sick.

"You insolent buffoons. Lower your gun before I snap that hand off," Aleister warned Erwin, then turning his fiery eyes to Theodore. "And you. You're nothing but an insufferable, stuffed up madman who parades himself about like a respected academic. You shame the entire field of scholarly pursuit with your trite."

"Mariette already told me what she knows. She tried to persuade me to follow but I declined," he said hotly, looking back at her headless corpse. Would he have ended up in a similar position? He wouldn't have gone so far with the ruse to attempt to fight Camille, but given how quick these wolves were to bite, perhaps so.

"Cassandra's employer is Duke Ashwood himself, and he turns vampires into purebloods with his ring and a handshake. He is planning some sort of revolution, and he is presumably a pureblood, or worse, as well. She said the ring had an emerald on it and looked ancient. The Church has records on artifacts and relics."

He paused, taking a breath even though it was unneeded.

"Don't forget that you are an honorary inquisitor and that I am, and have been, an ordained priest for several decades. I have far more authority here than you ever will. So if you have any semblance of rationale in that addled mind of yours, back off." He then turned to Erwin. "And hand over the head and lower the gun. If there is anything the inquisitor wants from this corpse, I will provide it. Not from your unsanctified hands."

 

[joshuadim]

As Ethraeil stumbled through the forest in his hysteria and delirium, he clutched at his head as his mind screamed at him for what he did. He collapsed in the darkness of the forest but continued to scramble on his hands and knees in an aimless direction, the terrors returning in full force. They all spitefully tore at him with vicious words, showing no remorse as Ethraeil struggled to even maintain a semblance of composure.

MONSTER.
CORRUPTER.
SERVANT OF EVIL.
DESTROYER.

"SHUT UP!" Ethraeil yelled out in desperation as he flailed his arms around, sending bolts of ice flying through nearby trees. He sought to attack his imaginary enemy, but as expected none met their mark. The voices continued to pile on as Ethraeil curled up under a rock and receded his form all the way into his skull, fleeing to the deepest, safest recesses of his mind.

...Ethraeil found himself in the middle of blackness. It was quiet, and provided peace. He sat down and put his skull onto his knees as he rocked back and forth to try to comfort himself in some pathetic way. However, he quickly realized that he was not alone. A shadow figure stood across from him several feet away and stared at Ethraeil in an almost mocking manner. It chuckled with a cruel tone as it walked closer to Ethraeil. Welcome back, Ethraeil. I've missed torturing you. At that moment, he realized he had traded one torment for a worse one. It's been... several centuries, yes? We have a LOT to catch up on. Don't you agree?

Ethraeil stayed mute and attempted to ignore it, lowering his gaze to his own feet. Once more, the Shadow laughed with spite and mockery. I still haven't forgotten how you locked me up in this dark pit of your head. Nasty, NASTY business you did doing that.
"Shut up." Ethraeil snarled back.

Oh? Is that a flicker of defiance I hear? What happened, did you managed to grow a pair finally? the Shadow taunted as it circled Ethraeil. At least it'll be fun breaking you apart again.
Ethraeil then stood up and glared directly at the manifestation of his psyche. "You are NOT me. NOT ANYMORE." Ethraeil spat. "I will never be that thing again."

But you ARE... you led poor little Mariette to her demise by edging her along towards the route of power with your vitriol. You doomed her, like HE doomed you.
Ethraeil gripped his fists tightly, intensifying his gaze at the entity: "IF that is true, then it is MY mistake to bear, not YOURS to flaunt and torture me with." he retorted, intensifying his defiance.

I DO AS I PLEASE WITH YOU, ETHRAEIL. YOU DO NOT DENY ME. THE SCARS OF YOUR SINS ARE MINE TO INFLICT UPON YOU. the Shadow replied with a noticeable anger.
"I AM MY SCARS!" Ethraeil yelled back as he walked towards the Shadow with a renewed will and defiance.

YOU ARE DESTINED FOR ETERNAL TORMENT. YOU ARE UNREDEEMABLE.
"MY DESTINY IS MY OWN!!!" Ethraeil roared as he grabbed the Shadow and tore it apart much to its shock and wails of agony.

...

...

...

Ethraeil opened his eyes and found himself curled up next to the same rock he had collapsed next to. He took the time of peace and quiet to sit himself upright and lean against the rock and stare at the sky above. It felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted from his mind and body, and he felt himself relax in a rare tranquility.

Finally.

 

[Breadman]

Theodore was gobsmacked from what Aleister said. If everything he said was true, then he had seen a new level of poor excuses. He looked back at Erwin then to Jakob and finally back to Aleister.

"With all due respect. How out of touch with humans have the two of you become? What is this baffling theater? Did none of you consider the consequences of your ego plays? Threaten me with your position and authority all you want, priest. Yours and her's staggering incompetence have fractured the unity of this inquiry and jeopardized everything far greater than any momentary lapse of judgement I've had. Did it never cross either of your minds that scheming and plotting behind our backs to achieve goals that no one was aware of, would lead to something like this to happen? You are vampires in the mids of a group of humans trained to be suspicious of you regardless for the gods sake!"

"Erwin." Theodore looked over his shoulder to the only person who hasn't shown a level of incompetence in this room so far maybe besides Camille. "Do what you want with the head, be it what he said true or not, doesn't matter. We have to refocus on clearing out this mansion and helping the rest."

 

[Radley]

Erwin slowly lowered his gun back into his holster as Aleister berated him. "You are a dented, bloodsoaked copper piece, Preacher." He said in a low tone. "Adorned with a man of the cloth on one side and a self-absorbed snob on the other."

He then took Mariettes head and tied it to his belt using the hair. "But you aren't getting this back until this witch is in the ground."
He met Aleisters eyes and matched his ire, "Looks like the Marquess was right about you bloodsuckers; give you an inch and you take a mile."
As he finished he turned to Theodore, "Let's go." he said gruffly as he took out his revolver again, casting a finale glare at Aleister before making his way up the stairs and out of the mansion. There was no reason trying to get in this way, as the floor had fallen into the basement, cutting them off.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

"I've done no such plotting and scheming," Aleister spat at Theodore. "She was alive and speaking to me not ten gods damn minutes ago! Is that a plot to you? I had no knowledge that she was planning some kind of ruse of this nature until it was already happening. You, scar-face, and the Marquess are the only ones with an ego around here. Your ridiculous, blind hatred drove her into this corner. Can you not think, think for one fucking moment, what treating a person like a predator, like a monster, like some cobra waiting to strike does to them? This is a tragedy because she was forced into a corner to prove herself. I do not claim she was not foolish. She was incredibly foolish and reckless. But you are not innocent of this matter, but that doesn't surprise me. You are innocent of nothing. How many graves have you defiled and robbed, tell me that professor? Or how about our grizzled highway man friend here? How many carriages have you robbed?"

He paused again as his words got ahead of him. He wanted to so dearly adhere by what Undite told him. To act otherwise was nearly unthinkable. But these... these people, he hesitated to even call them, were so awful that he couldn't imagine a justification for letting them continue like this. They disrespected not only the Church and the gods, but the decency expected of professionals. They were quick to point out incompetence when they so quickly sank into the mud to fumble with a corpse for some vague 'benefits.'

When Erwin kept the head and spoke, Aleister leveled a bloody, sharpened claw at the man. "You are damned. The Church will know of this. Both of you fiends. You will not step foot in a civilized town again if I have anything to say about it. You aren't inquisitors. You aren't professionals. You are butchers and grave robbers pretending that you have some higher purpose. Do you delude yourself into thinking that, or are you just whores for whatever money the Church will pay you?"

Aleister stood, slowly, still pointing at Eriwn as the man turned and made his way out.

"You set that head down. Now. Defilers of corpses receive no quarter," he shouted as the man was making his way out of the basement.

 

[Infab]

Valeria finally spoke up, having been quiet throughout most of the ordeal. "ERWIN." she shouted, storming after him. Once she reached the top of the stairs behind him, "Give me Mariette's head. Now." she said, almost barking it at him. She was the Senior Inquisitor over the group, so she wasn't afraid to pull rank even in a mess of a situation like this. "I'm putting her head back on her body. We need allies, and a pureblood would certainly make a good one. She is our only lead into what they're actually doing." Then she brought up another point. "And what's to stop Cassandra from resurrecting her? She'll just kill you, take Mariette's head, and revive her herself. Then there will be TWO hostile purebloods running about, because you know she'll want revenge. Would you like that? I imagine you wouldn't."

She then held out her hand. "We need to hurry before Cassandra and her men come looking for us."

-------

Cassandra strolled over, examining the body of Rosanna whom was attempting to put itself back together. "Ahh! I know that feeling. It hurts. Quite a lot." she said, a twisted grin appearing on her face. She then heard gunshots. Galina eliminating the group on the gatling gun. "Capture all those you can! I think they earned something far worse than a quick death!" she said, looking to the nearest guard. Once she finished, she cut a look in Galina's direction before looking towards the mansion. "Ooooohhh Weeeeesley!~" she called out in a jovial tone, happily strolling towards the now burning mansion.

 

[Dmaster]

When Ethraeil had dealt the killing blow, Camille relaxed her stance and moved to the countess' corpse, simply extracting the blades from her body as she did with the guards earlier. In those moments before Erwin and Theodore moved down the steps she was considering how to fully kill the creature before her, knowing that a simple decapitation was not enough. Upstairs she could hear what seemed to be a fire taking hold of the manor, and she was contemplating how difficult it would be to move the body and cast it into the fires above. The expression on her face was not one of shock, awe, or sadness, but one of deliberation with herself.

As the others poured in and began to argue, the Marquess was surprisingly silent, standing with her weapons drawn and still on guard. Aleister continued to grow more and more angry as they tried to make off with her body, as they should have when they killed a dangerous vampire. Camille could only roll her eyes as the vampire mentioned her perceived ego, starting to point her blade to him and Jakob as the tensions rose. It was clear what side she was on, but the vampire's words on just what Mariette had been doing gave her pause, finally speaking up after Valeria demanded Erwin hand her the head.

"She is no ally, Valeria!" Camille shouted, soon looking to Aleister. "I would not be so trusting of Aleister's information, either. This was not a fight I started, or one I had any intention or possibility of winning. You seem to be an expert on the countess' character, but I seem to know her far better than you do." she continues on, looking through Aleister. "I know tensions continue to rise, but there is more to the story. Why would she come and face me with the intent to kill after becoming a pureblood? Why would she move to Cassandra's side so quickly?"

As much as she wanted to argue, she couldn't with Cassandra on the horizon and Ethraeil gone. Apparently he was the only one among them that could kill a pureblood with both his magic and weaponry. Frustrating, but they were running out of options.

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob was about to shoot the brigand, his hands shaking at the idea as it crossed his mind. He couldn't understand how this man could further defile this poor woman. Vampire or not, traitor or not, she deserved better than this. She risked her own life saving us, and Jakob felt he owed her that much. But when the Inquisitor shouted at Erwin, he let out a sigh of relief while lowering his gun. He gave a smile to Aleister and patted his shoulder with his gun. "This ain't over yet, Al." he said, but the distant jovial tone calling for Wesley made him realize one thing. They needed to get out NOW. "Ma'am! Grab the head and lets get out of here! She's coming!"

 

[Radley]

Erwin gave Valeria a cold stare but he did as he was told. Well, almost as he was told. Holstering his revolver for a third time, he took out a knife and grabbed Mariettes hair. With a quick stroke he severed the strands and gave the head back to the senior inquisitor.

"Help the lady put her hat back on so we can get the fuck out of here." he retorted with a voice draped in loathing.
As soon as he finished, he noticed the machinegun had stopped firing and he could hear Cassandra shouting from the front yard.

 

[Infab]

Valeria promptly took Mariette's head, carrying it in a more dignified way back down the stairs into the basement. "Camille." she finally said, as she stepped over and rolled Mariette's head onto its back. "She was saying quite a lot of things before the basement caved in. And she hadn't attacked you. Its likely, from the sounds of things, that she wasn't going to attack you anyway. So please, for the love of the divine, be quiet and keep an eye out for Cassandra. We can go into the details of what Mariette was thinking when she's awake." she stated. She gently set Mariette's head down where it was supposed to go, making sure that the head was as close to the neck as possible. Now it was time for the supernatural to take its course.

Rosanna grumbled from where she was in Jacob's arm. She was still angry over Mariette appearing to screw the group over, especially after trying to help her fit in with the group better. And her body getting shot to shit above wasn't helping. "They gunned my body down with a gat. It'll take a bit, but it'll put itself back together. Not in time to help out here, though." she said, her eyes still their pure black and her voice still rather unnerving.

 

[Viper Actual]

Galina ducked behind the gatling gun, made sure that the ammo belt was properly secured and narrowed her eyes. One of the pale faces appeared next to her. It was almost smiling. "Wesssssleeeyyy..."
With a grunt Galina grabbed hold of the weapon and hunkered down. "Hey Cassandra! We're not done!"

Then the shooting started. Galina aimed at both Cassandra and the men closest to her. Torsos and legs were the main targets. Galina gritted her teeth and cranked the lever on the side as if her life depended on it.

 

[K0mori]

When the flesh of Mariette's neck dangling from the bottom of her head made contact with the stump on her shoulders, an eerie mending began. The two halves began to stitch themselves together, slithering in a disgusting manner - bone, muscle, skin, and other connective tissues - all seeking their rightful places. The head sank down into the mushy gash, wobbling, turning, and eventually jerking violently several times as it settled into its proper position, and Mariette's eyes, already frozen wide open in pained shock, began to swivel and blink. Baring her teeth in intense pain, a loud hiss became her voice as the vocal cords healed themselves. She growled in pain for over a minute before the agony began to settle. Finally, the woman appeared to relax as she looked blankly up at the Senior Inquisitor.

"...It's warm," she rasped, calmly. "...Is the sun out, mademoiselle? It was very dark on the other side, and I'm not sure how long I was gone." She reached for her bag and gently lifted the only remaining vial up, and upon seeing it was the Romanov blood she gave an annoyed sigh and shoved it back in. "I'm parched, but that won't do."

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Jakob let out a sigh of relief, offering his free hand to the vampiress to help her get up. "I'm glad you're alive, m'lady...but I'm afraid we have a LOT to talk about with you once we escape this ordeal." He then heard shouts from Galina outside, and the gatling gun firing again. It was time to go.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille narrowed her eyes, gritting her teeth all over again as anger welled up in her. Ridiculous, still so trusting and naive when she knew better. If the countess was intended to be their savior here, she would have preferred to have died moments ago. And the Senior Inquisitor ordered her to be quiet? That's what she had been doing this whole time up until now!

"You do not have to deal with the lasting consequences of this decision, Senior Inquisitor. But my people and I will." she says, disobeying her orders for precious silence. In that moment the huntress was leaving the basement the same way Erwin and Theodore had moments earlier. Her back was turned to Mariette just as her revitalization had finished and she had no reason to stick around. Valeria was often fond of vampires for a vampire hunter, and had she actually been killed in the 'duel' Camille was not sure if they would seek vengeance on Mariette or congratulate her at this point. The more they coddle her the more she'll be able to get away with, and now Camille wasn't able to kill her alone anymore.

She stood at the top of the stairwell, staring down the imminent danger of Cassandra as Galina shot her down. They needed to find the lich.

 

[Infab]

"You can feed on one of the guards once we're out of this basement. Its still night, the mansion is burning down above us, and Cassandra and her men are hunting us. They shot Rosanna's body to pieces with a gatling gun. We need to go, now. We'll talk about a few things later." she said, explaining things as quickly as possible as she reloaded her break-open revolver with bullets she had tucked into her garter belt under her dress. Rosanna grumbled again. "Yeah, we're gonna talk alright." she muttered.

------

Cassandra looked about just in time for the men around her to be ripped to pieces and two high caliber shots from the gatling gun to collide with her torso. "SHIT." she spat, groaning in pain before giving Galina a glare of hatred. "Annoying little PEST!" she said, grabbing the rifle from one of the fallen guards near her and firing off a shot at Galina. The shot ripped through Galina's left shoulder, knocking her from the gatling gun and off the back of the wagon. "Secure her!" she barked, ordering some incoming guards to grab Galina. They complied, rushing over and holding Galina at gunpoint.

Cassandra then returned her focus towards the mansion, where the rest of the guards were heading. Maybe they'd catch a few before they managed to escape. Hopefully they did. It'd be more fun that way.

 

[Viper Actual]

Galina cursed as she well off the wagon. She lost her breath and bearings momentarily as she tumbled down onto the dirt. "Cursed vampires!" She clutched to her shoulder and as the mercenaries approached she spat at them. "It won't be that easy!"
Suddenly she kicked and started to sweep her leg, hoping to get at least one or two of the men to fall so that she'd have some cover.

 

[K0mori]

Mariette rolled her head around, cracking her neck as she had done several times before, then took Jakob's waiting hand. Valeria gave a brief explanation of the happenings above, including the fire which threatened to collapse the building on top of them. Mariette seemed rather indifferent to it all, lost in contemplation, until Valeria mentioned the damage done to Rosanna's body. A change came over her, and she looked positively grief-stricken. "Yes, let's go," she said simply, picking Cassandra's sword off the ground in the process of walking up the steps to exit the crumbling basement. She quickly mapped out the battle in her mind by reading the auras involved. She sense Galina and Cassandra in rather close proximity, and positively exploded into a sprint in their direction. Her pureblood rival would be undoubtedly faster and stronger under the influence of Romanov blood, but she didn't yet know of Mariette's intentions and maybe, just maybe, she could be caught off guard.

En route, Mariette cast a spell with her grimoire, seeking to become invisble to her foe for just the smallest moment. Regardless of whether or not it would work, She leaped into the air and drove the point of the rapier forward as she fell at the evil woman.

 

[Infab]

Galina's flurry of kicks managed to knock a few guards on the ground, struggling to restrain her. But then came the rifle butts, fists, and kicks. The mercenaries mercelessly clobbered Galina, till she stopped resisting. Then, a guard stepped over, tieing up her arms and legs to make sure she didn't find a way to get free. Then, she was tossed limply onto the back of a waiting horse to be taken away.

------

As Cassandra looked back to watch Galina struggle a bit, she didn't see Mariette coming till she turned back around and looked up. The rapier pierced through her chest just below the neck, forcing its way straight down till the blade ripped out her back. The only thing that stopped the weapon from simply going all the way through was the crossguard slamming into her collarbone. Cassandra gurgled a bit, spitting up some blood, before grinning. "...Sneaky one, aren't you?" she said, her teeth stained red as she looked upon the woman whom she had helped turn into a pureblood. "And with my own blade! If I were still normal, this would hurt quite a lot...well, it actually does hurt, but not like it would've."

She reached up and tugged on the rapier, attempting to pull it out of her chest. "I hope you know...the Duke can take away your powers just as easily as he gave them. I'd run if I were you, because I'll be bringing you to him in two pieces. Not just one." she said, coughing up more blood as the rapier started to give and slide out.

------

As the others emerged from the basement, there was the sound of horses incoming from the road. The cavalry was coming. They wouldn't get far with horses on their backs, unless they ran into the forest where Ethraeil had ran off to.

 

[K0mori]

As Cassandra pulled the sword out of her chest and taunted her novice opponent, she noticed a distinct change in Mariette's demeanor. She had been such a nervous, jittery figure before her transformation into a pureblood, and even afterwards, overlooking the party, there was an underlying trepidation in everything the Escarian said and did. Now, however, her promise to drag Mariette back to the Duke in pieces - a comment which would have brought the vintner to a quivering, trembling breakdown earlier that very evening - made no impact on her. The reason became clear soon enough. Just as Cassandra noticed the bullet holes and tears in Mariette's dress, the way the feathered collar was cut flat, the dirt and grime on the previously-impeccable Countess and the hair that was missing from her head, Mariette answered.

"I was in two pieces a moment ago. It's not so bad. You may have your blade back, madame." And with that, while Cassandra was still struggling to work the blade out of her body, Mariette grabbed onto the crossguard and simultaneously pushed and twisted the rapier into her enemy. "I don't know how to use these things, anyway." Knowing that Galina was in trouble and that she was now faster on foot than a horse in full gallop, Mariette changed priorities and sprinted after the mercenaries, taking advantage of the precious time her attack on Cassandra would buy her. The thugs were attempting to ride away with the Duchess tied up on one of their horses like a classic damsel. She pulled out her revolver and began discharging bullets into the horse which was carrying the Tsavanian.

 

[Emperor Sagan]

It was fortunate the inquisitor had stepped in when she did, because Aleister wasn't certain that he would be able to stop himself from going after Erwin. Regardless, he wasn't sure how much longer that the brigands and psychopaths of the group would listen to her orders. It was only a matter of time before they began to disregard the inquisitor at this rate.

He had no words for Camille. Everything she said was so disgustingly haughty and incorrect that he wasn't sure if the woman even comprehended any scenario other than the one she crafted in her head. She lived and spoke like a suspicious, mongrel wretch. So blinded by her obstinate hatred. He couldn't even begin to speak to her now as he was already incensed enough that he couldn't maintain even a veneer of civility, and they had other more pressing matters to attend to.

Aleister watched quietly as Valeria set Mariette's head near her body so that the woman could be revived. He wasn't even sure how to feel about this. While he was happy that the woman was not truly dead, he still couldn't help but think that it was, in some ways, deserved. The woman had acted in such a single-minded manner, with essentially no communication with the others in the group, that this kind of situation was nearly inevitable. He would have to speak to her later as well.

Incredulous at events so far, Aleister followed the group out of the basement and outside. There were still scattered gunshots around the estate, but that wasn't a problem for them right now. Cassandra was still active, and by the sound of it, there were cavalry troops coming in fast.

He brought one hand up as it glowed with white-blue sorcerous energy. Power granted to him by the divine, and through them he was able to cast with little more than a thought and focusing his will.

His fingers curled around the growing orb as the others debated on their next move. The energy continued to intensify, even crackle, as Aleister stood with the group as cavalrymen approached. His hand started to tremble from the accumulated energy until he finally released it.. A small ray like a miniature lightning bolt exploded from his hand towards one of the galloping troopers. He aimed center mass, hoping to take down the horse.

 

[Dmaster]

Camille could in essence do nothing as cavalry men approached them in the open field outside of the manor, at least in the form of actually combating the threats coming at them. Cutting the rest of the group a look she started to turn away from the group, sheathing her rapier and pulling up her dress to get two hands filled with quills. "I'm going to find the lich, perhaps he's crafting some kind of grand trap for us to retreat with in the forest." she said with as little emotion as possible.

After that she broke off into a sprint, running to the treeline as quick as she could manage. The cover of night could only do so much to aid her, yet it was not able to make her invisible to the gunmen. Getting trees between her and all of the gunfire was her first priority, and if their enemies could disperse in search of them in the canopy, their chances of beating them back would look far better.

 

[KRIY]

Emerging from the basement. Wesley immediately ducked when he heard the gatling gun being used again. however, he peeked out of cover once he realized that the bullets weren't hitting him.

There. he saw the familiar blonde hair of the Tsavanian firing at Cassandra and guards near her. only to be shot by the vampire in the left shoulder and restrained by her guards.

"NOOOO! GALINA!"

He shot his crossbow at a nearby guard and pulled out his revolver to shoot at another guard. he didn't notice Mariette's sneak attack. he was only focused on taking his rage out on the guards

 

[EdwardDewey98]

Seeing the men of Colonel Wallace appear made Jakob's blood boil. Not only had the man betrayed the inquiry, but he was betraying mankind by aiding such a despicable being like Cassandra. He looked to Valeria, and handed over Rosanna's head. Picking up a revolver from one of the dead mercenaries outside of the mansion, he spoke. "You folks go ahead, I'll try and cover you. I mean it. RUN!" he then smiled. "I'll catch up!"

 

[Breadman]

Theodore hesitate when he heard the coming stampede. Grabbing an array of bombs, he lid them one by one and threw them for cover as they retreated. First came the smokes meant to blind and confuse, then the thunder as the dirt was sent flying into the air from the explosions.

Theodore himself ran towards the forest as soon as the gas volley was done, the longer fused explosive shells detonating behind him as he ran.