FFD6: a Fountain of life or death?

[BlackestOfMages]

OOC thread (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=12727397#post12727397)

“So, ladies and gentlemen, here we are; the remains of our once proud establishment” said the driver of the small personnel buggy that was used to bring you to the ruins. Your driver ran a hand through his spiked raid hair, shaking out a clump of dust, before wiping off his suit “sector one, probably the one hit worst since the city was abandoned.”
“Now, I'm sure you're all wondering exactly why you have been contracted; you should have heard rumours of a lifestream fountain sprouting up around here, but we haven't said much more than that. I'm here to tell you it's true. There have indeed been numerous sightings of fonts of green light rising into the sky, just like during meteorfall, from both scavengers in the sector, and people in the towns that have sprung up around. There has also been a steadily increasing reports of monster activity in this area, and our pacification forces have reported some of these monsters show signs of Mako contamination.” Your guide pauses for a second, letting the news sink in. Above you, you can now clearly make out the damaged remains of the upper disk, and the gates of sector one. In the distance, you can make out the silhouette of buildings, some lit, others in the darkness, as well as what appears to be a colossal silhouette moving around “I'm sure you understand that means you might be encountering SOLDIER monsters... or monster SOLDIERS or something like that.”
“What you're hired for is a two-fold task. We want you to determine the source and nature of the reported lifestream well, and we want an analysis on the source, number and strength of the monsters. We have suspicions that their temperance together is somehow connected. On the lifestream fountain, best case scenario is that it's just an underground supply of Mako Energy from the reactor bubbling to the surface, which should be easy to halt. Worst case is that the lifestream is out of whack enough to burst out of the ground again, or there's one of those weapon things waking up under our fair city. If it's any of the latter, or if you encounter a monster big enough to flatten you, get out of there. Pointless heroics never saved anyone, and we're not paying you enough to throw your life away over.”
The buggy comes to an abrupt halt, a short walks distance away from the city gate. “This is as far as I go. Each of you should have been issued a map of the area and a phone to keep in touch, and you'll be entering into the market district. Make sure to report anything you find out of the ordinary to us, we're on there as speed dial 8. Oh, one last thing, besides the monsters, you won't be alone in there. There's a society of scavengers and the dispossessed holed up around the train station and the museum; they shouldn't give you any grief, but relations between them and us has been tense since they blamed us for the Geostigma, so it might be in your best interest not to mention why you're there. Good luck.”

you're guide gone, the six of you enter the gate into the marketplace. Around you you can see clear signs that the place has been without maintenance for a while; rubble and dirt in the streets, piles of collapsed metal and mortar from broken houses. You can make out a few of the stalls and shops still have produce in them, and a handful of the shops look like they where used fairly recently; most probably by the squatters. From above you, you can see sunlight streaming through holes in the upper plate, created when Diamond WEAPON attacked the city. The sign post system seems to have survived in tack, as do many of the lights.
Besides the number of back alleyways, and one road unfortunatly obstructed by a collasped building – sign posted as the ShinRa museum – there are two main roads leading further into the market. One marked for the train station, which looks the most well travelled, and one marked for the residential area, the walls around it heavily covered in graffiti. You can see what look to be clawed footprints in the ground.

there's no sign of the silhouette you saw before, it seems to have been just a trick of the light.

[sournote103]

"Oh good, they're abandoning us here. Fantastic." Ash was clearly not particularly enthusiastic about completing the task that ShinRa had assigned, but money was money, and a job was a job. "Let's just get this done so I can get paid."
As he walked on ahead, Ash was perfectly aware that the others might be unnerved by his... unusual appearance, though he was hoping that by simply not acknowledging the fact, the others might follow suit. As if.
Getting ready for whatever monsters might appear, Ash pulled on his metal knuckles, and readjusted his clothing to allow for maximum mobility and flexibility.

[Mono Vertigo]

Not too far on the physical weirdness scale stood Ibsaia, which was short for a much-too-long code name. The android did not seem to mind Ash's - or anyone's - appearance, already focusing instead on her mission objective.
She examined the two obvious paths. "I am confident we will do just fine without extra help" she said, with some robotic inflection.
Her laser gun in her mechanic hand, a light but favorite weapon of hers, she was ready to follow orders.

[Coiled Asp]

Looking like any other teenage human does, Erika looks around. Taking in as much as she can. "Hey Foxy, how about we don't just charge in headfirst and get killed?" She calls to Ash playfully. "I'd like my paycheck too, but we gotta survive to pick it up right?"


Awareness-[roll]2d6+5

[Coiled Asp]

Sorry for double post, messed up roll.
Awareness-[roll0]

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

The man in a SOLDIER uniform is riding on the back of Cenereo, a huge centaur/spider/WEAPON ....thing, and as such doesn't have the luxury of simply pretending that there's no weirdness about them. Especially given that it is eyeing Lyle intently.

"Ok, I'll be the one to say it. Yes, I'm riding a WEAPON, yes Materia is like catnip to it, and yes it's presence most likely means that at some point the townies will try to kill you. There is very little can do about any of these things, if you have any grievances you wish to bring up I suggest that you keep them to yourselves.

With that out of the way he points to the holes made by Diamond Weapon, Cenereo falling still and examining the area for a moment, almost solemn. Tarrian too falls calm for a moment, his father had died during Meteorfall, there as a good chance somewhere on that plate was his grave.

But the moment passes and the monstrosity-riding fellow perks up again, leading the way, Cenereo kicking debris out of the group's path.

[Dramesh]

Lyle, Hume Black Mage

As Tarrian spoke about his WEAPON, Lyle look at it and was overwhelmed by the feeling, a human tamed a wondrous WEAPON created by the planet itself. This guy must have an enormous power, he must keep it at eye.

Looking at the 5 others with him: "We better move forward, with all the people here, we attract a lot more attention that we should. We shall head directly to the fountain to investigate it, the sooner the better. If the fontain is really some Lifestream pouring out of the earth, we'll be into real trouble."
He then adjust his gloves and walk forward.

[Fearan]

- Agreed - nodded tall man in blue garments with a no-dachi on his shoulder. Perhaps, your WEAPON companion could lead us to the fountain, mr Tarrian?. Ray really didn't understand, why he should have any grievances about the beast - after all, it was tame and probably, useful. Instead, he tried to figure out an immidiate use for the thing...and it's controller

[sournote103]

"Yeah, OK, OK, less talking, more finding killer bits of lifestream. I don't want to be here any longer than I have to." Ash was clearly not in the mood to be delayed, and certainly not for conversation. He was impatient to get started, but not stupid; he went ahead of the group somewhat, but made sure he was never so far away as to get killed in an ambush. Assuming, of course that anything COULD actually kill him, ambush or not. Still, it was better to be careful, even if your teammates were spending too much time talking.

[Mono Vertigo]

Ibsaia followed Tarrian and his mount.
"So, that's what a WEAPON looks like. Interesting."
The concept of small talk however evaded her. So she shut up, followed the lead, and cautiously looked around as well. Monsters could pop up at any moment.
Awareness roll: [roll0]

[BlackestOfMages]

From your position, you can see the animal tracks end abruptly, most of them at almost the same spot. Hidden in the rubble either side, you can just make out small glimpses of metal, and a slight shower of sparks – some sort of electic fence, perhaps? At the end of the rood you can make out one notable piece of graffiti; a lagrescale copy of the warning sign used in Mako Reactors.

Far down the path To your left, you can just about make out a number of humanoid figures moving around, dragging something behind them. You can also make out what looks to be a thin plume of smoke over the remains of the ShinRa museum far to the east.

You can almost swear someone is watching you from above, but you can't see anyone.

[sournote103]

"I'm going to go check out that group of people over there," said Ash. "Be quiet, and I'll be back as soon as I see something."

Stealth - [roll0]

[Coiled Asp]

Erika rolls her eyes. Great, the fox kid is going to get us all killed. She thinks as she moves toward him. "Hold on, I'll go with you." She whispers before attempting to evade notice herself.


Stealth-[roll0]

And just in case we can see more once we get a little closer, Awareness-[roll1]

[Mono Vertigo]

The sniper pressed her back against a half-crumbled wall, hiding in its shadow. She kept an eye on the figures. Aim for their head, and shoot if necessary. Nothing she wasn't used to do.

Stealth roll: [roll0]

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Not wanting to leave Cenereo alone, lest he try to investigate the unusual aura that Lyle supposedly gave off, Tarrian keeps back while the scouts go scouting.

[Fearan]

Ray keeps himself on standby, without any attempts to hide or cover. He poses as an obvious target, and he doesn't seem bothered about it

awareness roll [roll0]. Also trying to usesences from bionic vision graft

[BlackestOfMages]

As you approach the other group, Ash knocks loose a stone from a pile of scrap, causing the whole thing to collapse. The group of people's eyes snap towards him instantly, and you can hear the faint but unmistakable sound of a rifle chambering a round.
"Who's there? Come out, I'm warning you." one of the men shouts, as they begin advancing towards you slowly. From where you are, you can now make out the group is a bunch of humans, ranging from some barely out of their teens to a coule with a collection of grey hairs and wrinkes. all of them are dressed in an odd collection of body armour and regular clothes, armed with a veriety of guns. Most of them look injured, and - since you got closer - you can see a couple of thrown together stretchers. "If you're not a monster, then come out. This place is bad enough without civilized folk sneaking up on one another. and if you are a monster, well, I'd advise you get before we add another pelt to our collection!"
The thing they where dragging behind them was some sort of monster corpse. it looks like a Fang, but bigger and bulkier. In the area around the gunshot wounds, you can see what looks to be a thin layer of partially rotten flesh that looks to be trying to close the wound. From it's position, one mad, dead eye stares at you.
they don't seem to have noticed anyone but Ash, and as such seem sure in their numbers.

Ray, from his maintained position, can't make out anything more than he did last time.

[sournote103]

As murmured to his nearby allies, "Stay hidden. They don't seem to know that you're here." He then turned to the other humans and said, "Yeah, I'm going to tell you that I'm not a monster, but chances are that you won't believe me. In any case..." And with that, he stepped out into the open, cursing his luck in knocking over the pile of scrap. He held his hands up in a gesture of peace, though in reality, his hands themselves were weapons (a fact he did not feel these unknown people needed to be told).

[Dramesh]

Lyle, Black Mage

With his companions hidden, Lyle begin to prepare a Blizzard spell, only positionning his hands and beginning to sense the chill out of his hands, ready to strike if someone tries anything funny. He look at his allies and murmur "Anything funny against us and they will be frozen to the bones."

OCC
Preparing a Blizzard spell against anyone who tries to attack his companion

[Mono Vertigo]

Civilized humans were not her immediate target, not as long as they weren't directly attacking.
They seemed aggressive, maybe even threatening, but after spending a week with civilians whose attitudes and intents were hard to read, she didn't want to shoot them just yet. If she just started shooting down anyone who might, not just will, but might, at some point in the future, menace her safety, her finger would never leave the trigger. And she did not desire this.
Fortunately, she was direct given orders, reducing her dilemma. Ibsaia stood still, and watched more closely the group and their prey. She whispered to her allies, "They know something we don't. Let's avoid killing them unless it is absolutely necessary."

[BlackestOfMages]

The hunters regard ash for a moment, before their leader lowers his rifle. The others follow suit wairily. "You can talk, and that's good enough for me. So, what brings you to our neck of the woods? Not a normal place to be wandering around in?"

[sournote103]

"Eh, you know... Making a living." Ash was not yet willing to disclose the full extent of his activities here, for several reasons. First, he did not know how these people felt about ShinRa; some might take exception to the company's past actions, and might not be inclined to tolerate those working for them. Second, he did not know these people's intentions; they might be here in order to work to the opposite effect as him. Finally, anyone with common sense could figure out that no one would complete such a task alone, and he did not wish to let on that he had allies; if things took a turn for the worse, he wanted the element of surprise on his side. "My question is, what are you doing here? Doesn't seem like much of a place to live."

[BlackestOfMages]

"It's not, your right. A few of us are here because it's where we lived before, and some parts of the city are still inhabitable - we've got a small holding set up around the gate between this place and Sector 8, well defended and sec 8's pretty much still in one piece. The rest of us though, are here for this" the man says, gesturing to the dead monster "Skins from these things can fetch a tidy sum, not to mention all the stuff people left in their homes when they fled. A good prospector can eaisly make their fortune so long as their not affraid of the so called curses round this place. Heck, sometimes you'll find a wallet or something in one of these beasts gut; they'll eat anything."
Behind the leader, you can see a number of his men start to move on. turning round and begining to walk away, the hunter adds a last comment over his shoulder "Good luck to ya, and try and stay alive. Hopefully the monsters' will get confused by your looks and leave you alone, with whatever your buisness is. Be careful if you plan to head into the slums though, ever since that freaky green light shew up things have been hectic there; so bad we had to trap the place to hell. see ya""

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Tarrian responds to Ibsaia.

"I'd say not killing people unless necessary is a good idea in general, not just when someone knows something we don't. But maybe that's just me."

He makes his comment with a smile & a wink, despite it's disapproving undertone. He then proceeds to lean back on Cenereo, arms behind his head & legs stretched out, waiting for a sign that he was actually needed.

[Fearan]

Slums, eh? - Ray nodded, while moving closer to talking peolple. Weird-looking violet sparks flashed in his eyes, as his bionic vision worked to maintain scanning of the nearby space for non-friendly lifeforms.Well, how bad is it? Are those monsters spawning in there, or what?

[sournote103]

Ash nodded to the inhabitants of the city, and walked back over to where his allies were waiting. After relaying the details of the conversation to any who might not have heard, he proposed moving on in another direction.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"That's one option. Or we could keep going on ahead. They seemed cool with you because you could speak, so hopefully the same will hold true for the big guy here."

He looks up at Cenereo, but the it makes no sound.

"Ok he's being shy right now, but he can totally talk. And as long as we don't start interfering in their weird as hell, monster-corpse economy we should be fine. Besides, our brief includes assessing how strong the monster presence is, and I'd say heading towards them would accomplish that.

But you know, I'm riding an indestructible tank-beast that can shoot Mako energy from it's horn, so my opinion may differ to yours."

[Mono Vertigo]

Tarrian's comment made the android blush, after a few seconds of pondering what was wrong with her statement. She stopped talking after leaving her hiding place, but nodded at the suggestion of heading towards the monster hunters.

[Dramesh]

Lyle, Black Mage

Lyle approach the rest of the group. "Then if everything is settle maybe we should head to our destination on the double, I'm eager to see that Fountain in the slums."

[Coiled Asp]

Erika comes out from the rubble she was crouched behind, brushing a few bits of dust off her clothes. "Following them may not be a bad idea. They probably know more about the area than we do, and if they do start shooting they'll probably point their guns at monster-boy over there." She says nodding her head toward Tarrian. "Seems like we don't have a whole lot to lose."

[BlackestOfMages]

sorry, thought I'd already posted this :smallredface:

Following the street signs towards the residential area, you soon come upon one of the first of the traps mentioned; a makeshift electric fence blocks your path – a small number of burnt up monsters corpses on the other side. The stink of burnt fur and rotting meat fills the air. Both Ash and Cenereo can also smell something else, almost like petrol, in the air.

The fence is about 8 ft high, surrounded by three functional buildings, the ones on either side being much larger than the others nearby, most likely warehouses or storerooms. There is an access panel on the front of the fence that looks like it has been lifted from a car that seems to be the control system.

From the makeshift nature of the fence, you can conclude the power-supply is somewhere nearby, if you simply desire to shut the gate off. Probably in one of the surrounding buildings.

you can see a large number of pawprints on the other side of the fence, where the pavement has been torn up and the soil beneath is visible, along with a small number on this side of the fence.

[Mono Vertigo]

Joyfully, Ibsaia trotted in direction of the access panel. She examined it, and with repressed glee, plugged one of her hair-cable into it.
"I'm sure I can hack it. Pretty basic, few risks of incompatibility issues."
Opening the fence without sabotaging the whole system should be easy. Her eyes flicker for a few seconds...

Systems roll: [roll0]

[BlackestOfMages]

Ibsaia felt a minor feedback shock from the console, giving her a headache. The console remains functional, however.

[Mono Vertigo]

Somewhat painfully, the android closed her eyes, and unplugged her cable.
"Incompatibility issues.", she grumbled.
If she wasn't aware the panel was too basic to include an AI, she would have sworn the dang thing had told her "nice try, sucker". It was humiliating enough being ignored by such a lowly machine.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"I'm not up on robot physiology, are you ok? You're going to short circuit or something are you?"

He looks up, and around, checking for auto-guns, or anything more "lively" that might attack them.

------
Awareness: [roll0] (if I notice something the next part of my post may change).
------

"Now, unless someone has a better idea I'm thinking that a few of us investigate, the rest staying here until they've scouted in case we get attacked from behind."

[Dramesh]

Lyle, Black Mage

OCC

Awareness:[roll0]
To see if any cable or circuit get out of a building. Looking for the main cable of energy.

[BlackestOfMages]

Tarren: You notice nothing of the sort from your current position. You can, however, make out a number of very fine threads stretching up the two taller buildings.

Lyle: After a moment, you notice a thin blue cable burried in rubble near the console, and a simmilar leading into the building to the right of the gate.

The two of you nptice something about the footprint on this side of the fence. They're rather fresh, the mud still wet, and can't be more than 1/2 an hour old at most.

[Coiled Asp]

"I can't fly, but I can get over the fence without a problem. If we're not too worried about making noise I can just make us a hole. Erika says, eyeing the android as it unplugs from the console. She turns to the fence itself, "It doesn't look all that sturdy."

[Dramesh]

Lyle, Black Mage

Pointing the cable to the others: "If this blue cable is the main power, we should be able to cut it or destroy it. I'll try something.."

Then Lyle cast blizzard on the cable surrounding and freezing it with ice. Then strike a punch with his gloves to break the chunk.

OCC
If there are roll to do just say it.
Also 6 mp off my total.

[Mono Vertigo]

Ibsaia massages the temple that isn't covered in metal with one hand, and waves the other. "I am fine. The feedback it gave me will stop in an instant. The panel is an old model, I don't know which programming language it uses..."
She raised her head. Her artificial knees and ankles could surely stand a jump above the fence, too, but no need to hurry too much; there could be monsters ready to ambush them right behind it.

[Fearan]

Ray approached the group. - Well, I'm clearly not able to deal with this problem, though i could suggest to look for the door - he stated emotionlessly. - So I'll keep my watch and will cower the rest in case, something hostile appears

[BlackestOfMages]

cable twas on the floor so i replace punch with stomp for reasons of the human spine :smalltongue:

Lyle's boot slams down hard onto the frozen cable, the low temperature robbing the wires of their flexibility enough so they snap, the power to the gate cut off. Unfortunatly for Lyle, since there was still power flowing through the cable as it snapped, he recieved a vicious bolt running up his leg. (looses 7 hps)

As the noisy humming of the gate cuts out, Ray can begin to hear heavy breathing coming from the darkned doorways of the surrounding buildings, like there was something in there.

[Fearan]

- Possible hostiles inbound - Ray warned his camrades, getting his sword ready and moving towards doorways. The weird sparks in his eyes flickered - the implant tryed to adapt and track the target. Still, the sword was in the defensive position - it wasn't wise to attack before confirmrng the intent of the lurking creature
awareness roll to track the creature in the dark using bionic vision [roll0]

[BlackestOfMages]

Switching to low-light vision, you can make out six humanoid-shapes clinging to the walls and ceelings inside the building. They creatures look a fair bit like large primates, save they have multiple arms. You can make out plastic tags on a number of them

The Creatures don't seem inclinded to leave the darkness themselves.

[Dramesh]

Lyle, Black Mage

"Maybe we should dispose of these creatures, if they attack the survivor they could kill them. Or we leave them there and continue to the fountain?"

[Mono Vertigo]

The female android walked in front of the doorway and raises her ray gun in direction of the darkness. With robotic intonations, she spoke: "We were tasked to determine the strength of the monsters present here. We cannot do that if we do not witness the demonstration of their strength against a target. We are their only potential targets. In conclusion, it is our duty to fight them."
However, beside her obvious intention, Ibsaia did not shoot yet. The sniper waited for the input of her teammates before proceeding.

[sournote103]

Ash shifted into a combat stance, ready for any aggression the creatures might display. "Let's get on with this, then. I could use a good brawl."

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"If they're tagged they could be a Shin-Ra experiment, probably overclocked by all the Mako the city's seen in recent years; meaning they'll be tougher than your average beasty. Don't get complacent."

With that he unhooks his SOLDIER sword,and Cenereo croushes down, aiming it's horn at where Ray indicated the hostiles where.

[BlackestOfMages]

There are 8 enemies, and all of them are within medium range of you. You lot may act first

[sournote103]

I will post my stuff eventually, but I have a big project I have to get done first...

[Mono Vertigo]

In a split second, Ibsaia calculated her options. Crippling one of the monsters? Out of the question yet, not until their strength is correctly measured first. Changing the property of her laser? No, not unless they show hints of a specific weakness; the default property will be sufficient.
Her optimal choice for the time being was the simplest one: point the (harmless) laser sight at the closest monster, and shoot a (more harmful) laser ray.


Standard attack:
[roll0]
ACC: 7
Damage: 38 + 2d6

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Lyle quickly begin to concentrate his magical power into his hands, waiting to have enough power before striking

OOC

Slow action`Blizzara (with All Materia)
ACC: [roll0]
Damage: 96 + [roll1] +50% (51) = 153 ice damage to all targets
(-30 MP)

[sournote103]

Working best when right next to a foe, Ash had no choice but to approach the targets of the group's investigation.
Going to move to close range so I can attack the creatures on my next turn.

[BlackestOfMages]

Working best when right next to a foe, Ash had no choice but to approach the targets of the group's investigation.
Going to move to close range so I can attack the creatures on my next turn.

you can both move and attack in one turn if you want. moving once is a free action :smallsmile:

[sournote103]

you can both move and attack in one turn if you want. moving once is a free action :smallsmile:
Oh right. I've been kind of busy (and therefore tired) this past week. Gonig to make an attack then.

Accuracy - [roll0]
Damage - [roll1]

[Fearan]

Ray followed Ash to engage the same target. Of corse, assuming, it was still alive. The strike of his no-dachi looked like a single curve of flashing steel.
Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[BlackestOfMages]

Ibisia's bullet punches a hole into one of the monsters, prompting it to howl in pain. The beasts seem to respond, noticing the precence of the six of you, rather than preparing their ambush

Lyle's ice spell chills the simmian monsters, causing them to cry out in pain as ice crystals form all over their skin. Numbed fingers no longer able to support them, the creatures fall from where they hang. The one that Ibsaia shot drops dead on impact.

Seizing the initiative, Ray and Ash sweep in amongst the creatures, lade and fist claiming the lives of two more

Monkey's remaining (5)
Ash+Ray are within short range of the critters
All critters are within short range of one another
Everyone else is still at medium.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Bathing those closest to it in green & blue light, energy gathers at the tip of Cenereo's horn, firing a beam of mako energy at one of the still living enemies.

-------
[roll0] :smallmad:

Attack: +7 = [10]
Damage: +48 = [51]

As a heads-up, Cenereo has the Search ability, so I should come across a level appropriate item at some point this session.

[Mono Vertigo]

So, the monkeys were not especially resistant to attacks.
But they were quite strong. Well, not as much as she'd feared a few seconds ago...
She glanced quickly at her assailant, noting their peculiar limbs, and fired another laser at the most threatening-looking one. The sniper could stand the damage for now...

Not moving yet.
Standard attack again! Rolling...
[roll0]
HP: 76
ACC: 7
Damage: 38 + 2d6

[BlackestOfMages]

skipping coiled for now. hopefully he'll come back to us soon :smallfrown:

@ Musashi: I was waiting for coiled to act before posting what le monsters did. hence the no retaliation so far. your turn will go after this, if that's ok (you can re-take it if you want instead) :smallsmile:

Cenaro's mako beam manages to catch one of the monkeys ust as it pulled away, cutting into it's arm. the creature seems to fall down from shock.

Reacting with shock to the death of their pack, the primates begin to howl and screech viciously, baring fangs with an odd metalic sheen as they react to their attackers.

Three of the survivours remain in place, surrounding Ash and Ray and beating at the two of them with their fists. Ash recieves a pummeling from the first two, suffering 55 physical damage from the two of them. Ray manages to parry and deflec the attack aimed at him, coming out uninjured.

The last primate heads straight for the one that first attacked it's pack; Ibsaia. It leaps at the android, teeth beared and four limbs raised, and lands a flurry of frenzied punches, causing 30 damage. From close up, you can see that the second set of limbs seems to have been grafted onto the beast after birth, rather than being a natural feature.

you 6 are up one more :smallsmile:

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Seeing the monster fall one after another, Lyle advance to a closer place and hit another one with his gloves.


OOC

Free-Move to close-range
Standard-Attack with gloves: ACC:[roll0] and damage [roll1]

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Cenereo lunging forward to the beast attacking Ibsaia, Tarrian slashing with his sword, causing the monster to duck right into the path of Cenereo's armoured claw.

------
Close range attack, using Chocobo Knight -
[roll0]
Attack: +7 = [16]
Damage: +64 = [73]

[BlackestOfMages]

Ibisai's bullet smashes the skull of another of the monkies, droping another of the monsters. To her side, she saw Tarian and his crystal pet-thing gut the monkey that had attacked her.

Lyle advances slowly upon another of the monsters, punching another of the creatures, the magic imbued into the gloves causing the ceature to scream as the area aound it chilled further, small ice crystals forming in it's fur.

OOC: as a note, dramesh, since your weapons arcane it only deals 50% damage, so 24 + 1/2 of 2d6 rather than 48 + 2d6 :smallsmile:

[Dramesh]

OOC: as a note, dramesh, since your weapons arcane it only deals 50% damage, so 24 + 1/2 of 2d6 rather than 48 + 2d6 :smallsmile:

I took the Abilities to do 100% with INT it'S called Into the Fray...

[BlackestOfMages]

I took the Abilities to do 100% with INT it'S called Into the Fray...


missd that, never mind... :smallredface: for som reason I thought into the fray increased close range damage spells

[Fearan]

Ray made another simple, almost mechanical strike against the monkeys. Nothing flashy as hacking such simple predatory creatures didn't require more - the work of a butcher, not a warrior.
[roll0]
To-hit = 5+7 = 12
Damage = 5+51 = 56

[BlackestOfMages]

The last of the multi-limbed primates falls, it's skull crushed by Ash's fist. A closer inspection of the creatures corpses reveals that the second set of arms appears to have been grafted on - There is clear needlework, and even some simple mechanical motors at the base of the limbs. This is barely the only mechanical augmentation to the creatures - most of the bear many more mechanical parts.

The tags each creature was wearing bears the ShinRa logo, yet it appears to have been scratched out and replaced with the word "Murderers"

From the creatures corpses, you manage to gather enough scraps and plts to be worth around 300 gill each, as well as recieving 1 EXP per person. You also find what look to be reflective black shards embedded into the monsters heads, which you think you can get out undamaged, if you so desire.

[Mono Vertigo]

Ibsaia walked quietly toward one of the still-warm corpses. Before everything else, she noticed the mechanical nature of the extra limbs, something she hadn't noticed during the fight.
The android took the tag to read it, and immediately remembered the week passed with civilians. The veiled insults and hateful words she'd gotten once they knew where she was from.
She turned her face in direction of the rest of the team, her cold face and monotone voice concealing her sadness. Only she was still bearing an intact ShinRa logo on her chest. "... we are not murderers. We... are here to fix past mistakes. We are not..."
Why was she even arguing? It was part of her job description to shoot monsters and humans, as long as they were the designed targets.

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Lyle approach the creature and try to remove the black shard, trying to know what this is. Looking really interested into the shard and none about the mecha-ape that he kill.

OOC
What skill do I have to roll to know what the shard is?

[BlackestOfMages]

Any Lore other than general can reveal some information about th crystal shard, as can synth (alchemy)

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Looking at the strange shard, Lyle begin to study it intensely, focusing only on it.

OOC
[roll0]

[BlackestOfMages]

The crystal is warm to touch, and pulses occassionally. Handiling it, you notice it bears a number of simmilarities to both materia, and to Cenario, the tamed weapon accompnying you.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Tarrian jumps off Cenereo's back letting out a loud whoop of triumph as he does so, swinging his sword around & stabbing the air; slaying imaginary enemies. Cenereo too lets out a warcry, a high pitched screech, like nails on a blackboard, but louder.

Well that wasn't so hard. I was worried I'd be a bit rusty, but I've still got it."

Claiming one of the shards Tarrian rotates it between his fingers, holding it up to the light, and then to Cenereo, to see if it reacts like it did to Lyle.

-----
Lore (Mako/Materia): [roll0]
Lore (Monster): [roll1]
Lore (SOLDIER): [roll2]

[Fearan]

With one move Ray cleared the blood of ape-things from his sword and turned to Ibsaia.
- No, we're not. - he said with all warmth, he could squeeze out of his battle-hardened, half mechanical throat - Murder is an act of killing defenceless non-combatants. I don't know nothing about your project, but I assume, Shin-Ra doesn't need to spend millions of gil for state-of-the-art augmented battle units such as ourself just to dispose of non-combatats. That's a total wase of resourses
He didn't even look at weird amulets - analisys wasn't his profile

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Lyle, focused on the shard, went to Cenereo and by instinct tried to put the shard and the Weapon into contact, afterward, he extract a Materia off his gloves and try the same thing with the shard and materia. While he's doing it, the others can hear him whisper words from time to time, "Nice..." "Maybe that..." "Maybe.." "Try it on..." "should do it"

[BlackestOfMages]

Tarrian's examinations of the monsters corpses makes him notice something ususal; The faint glow in the staring, dead eyes of the beasts is glowing a tint of sickly green, simmilar to those of SOLDIER, yet the colour was off. He can also remember running into simmilar creatures back when he worked for ShinRa, though those had been docile, not savage like these.

Picking up one of the shards and placing it nearer to Cenereo, he sees the WEAPON at first draw near the black shard, then pull away in what seems to be disgust when it comes closer. As it did, Tarrian could feel the shards pulsing growing stronger.

Curiosity aboud, Lylse slotted the black shard into his glove. A few moments passed before the shard began to glow - a noxious green that slowly started to overcome the other materia stroed in his gloves. The shard seems to be reacting to his materia, though it did not appear to be doing anything else at the moment.

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Seeing as the shard glowed in contact with materia, he take all the remaining shard and put it in a separate pocket from a ny other equipment. "So shall we continue?"

[BlackestOfMages]

the monsters dealth with, the six of you continue on through the now-deacticated electric fence. Following the sign posts, you continue on your journey towards the slums. The path ahead quickly begins to become more and more trecherous, with obvious signs of both poor repair and monster habitation. A number of times, you could swear you saw something watching you from just around a corner.

after thirty minutes of negotiating your way through the ruined streets, you eventually come across a dead end in the main street - the plate above having collapsed. A quick glance reveals that it would be possible to climb the blockage, if trecherous. Near-by, there is a wide sidestreet, the entrace spraypainted with the words "detour to housing", though the paint look old and faded, and you can swear there are claw-makrs on the wall. Lastly, to your left there is a survivng branch in the main street, sinposte to the Sector 1 power plant.

above all of this you can see the cracked remains of midgard highway, a number of ruined or abandoned cars, vans and bikes left on the unused tarmac.

you could also always backtrack and look for another route.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"I'd say the power plant makes more sense than trampling through peoples homes. How about you?"

[Dramesh]

Lyle

''It's probably best to head to the reactor.''

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"Then off we go."

Pointing his sword in the right direction he gees up Cenereo, and receives a spray of mako particles out of one of the vents where it's armour plates meet and an angry glare from the monster, before it starts walking.

[BlackestOfMages]

deciding to try and find a path through the power plant, you turn down the signposted street. keeping your eyes open for any more monsters, you find this path to be surprisingly clear. As you dawn near the powerplant, however, you begin to notice bullet holes in the surrounding walls - and eventually crucified corpses dressed like the scavenegrs you met before. One of them is still moving a little.

Up ahead, you can see the power plant - the lights are still on, and the place looks to be inhabited.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

If the crucified fellow can be saved:

Tarrian gets someone with some restorative Materia to heal the scavenger as he has Cenereo release him. When he's up to talking he asks who/what did this and why.

If he's too far gone:

Passing by the crucified scavengers, Tarrian asks for a volunteer to join him on Cenereo for an aerial assessment of the power plant before going in, preferably someone with decent who'll actually be able to see what's going on (Tarrian's Awareness is terrible).

[Fearan]

Ray will volunteer for an asessment run, relying on his augmentations and Faith materia buff

[BlackestOfMages]

A quick medical exainations reveals that the man can be saved, though his hands are ruined by the heavy bolts used to keep him in place. Pulling him down, you can hear him gasp the words "new avalance... crazy idiots trying to kill the world" before falling uncocnious, aparantly from thirst and pain. you should be able to revive him, but it would take time

If you still desire to do so, a fla over is still avaliable to you.

[Dramesh]

Lyle

seeing as the man can be saved, Lyle get to him and heal him

Cure Materia: 32+[roll0] cost: 10 Mp
Total MP used: 40

[Mono Vertigo]

While the rest of her group is taking care of the unfortunate man, Ibsaia comes to Tarrian to suggest her help.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Leaving the man in Lyle's care, Tarrian welcomes Ibsaia and Ray on board Cenereo.

Wings of pure mako energy rise from the WEAPON's back and with the three on it's back it will take to the air, circling high up enough to try and avoid detection, but close enough for the two passengers to examine the area.

---
OOC: My Awareness is crap, but just in case: [roll0]

[BlackestOfMages]

Flying over the factory, you notice a number of makeshift encampment within the all-encompasing walls, and the lights within are on. You can see from your arial vantige point that you can see that the exits from the power plant seem to be open, though more cruficixes line the road.

You can also see a number of guards armed with guns, though they don't seem to have noticed you yet.

[Fearan]

Flying on a WEAPON was a bit different then helicopter, but it should not affect the perfomance. Ray have adjusted his implants for another perspective. Heat signatures, energy readings, anything, he could pick up would be useful.

OOC: Getting +2 buff from Faith materia
Rolling [roll0]

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Landing, Tarrian reports what he saw.

"So...we aren't getting past unseen. There's scavenger camps all through that way. Anyone have any preference on the diplomacy/intimidation axis?"

[Dramesh]

Lyle

"We go for diplomacy and if this fail we switch to intiidatiob, if this fail too, then we'll have no choice to use brute forc3e, or magic in my case"

[BlackestOfMages]

OOC: sorry, thought I had posted :smallredface:

You approach the front of the factory, past lines of empty crucifixes* as you near the fencing around the power plant. When you draw near, you are met by two men advancing forwards from their guard posiions, both of them with rifles trained on you. They are dressed in what appear to be an attempt to combines robes with body armor. "Hail, what brings you to this derilect corner of the foul beasts lair. Do you see the light and wish to join the church of avalance and defend the planet from the despoilers?"

* I ust noticed this could seem rather religously intolerant. it's not intended to be (why did a relgious have to take an impliment of torture and execution as it's holy symbol...)

[Dramesh]

Lyle

"We are not here to join the church. Only to be sure that anyone here is not in a immediate danger. There are strange activities in the ancient reactor. We came as a team of scientist and their escort to check it out. We are not your enemies, we want that everyone is safe from an explosion or the spread of another disease like we had."


OOC: No offense taken whatsoever.

[BlackestOfMages]

"Worry not, weary pilgrims, for we faithful are in no danger. The fountain of life is a portent of the Mother, a sign that we are truly loved. That you sek the fountain is but proof that the Mother watches over us, for she summons her children to her resting place." The guard seems a little ferverent, passing over your insistance that you do not wish to join the church, but otherwise seems freindly enough "Please enter, Father Anders has instructed us to give pilgrims saftey, and to guide them to mothers gifts. Come, come, please follow me."
The guard motions to inside the reactor, and from where you stand you can see the entrance to the building has been covered with handmade tapestries, the ShinRa logo smashed off.

OOC: everyone, make an awareness roll.

[BlackestOfMages]

well, no more waiting for everyone else

Lyle
You can hear the faintest sound in the background. it sounds like the scrape of metal and metal, and the wet thud of flesh on metal. You swear you can hear muffled screaming. Your ears can detect it coming from behind the nearest wall. y focusing, you think you can spot what looks to a leather coat, just like what the scavenger you met before where wearing.

Ray/Ibisia
You can hear the faintest sound in the background. it sounds like the scrape of metal and metal, and the wet thud of flesh on metal. You swear you can hear muffled screaming

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Hearing and seeing strange things, Lyle ask innocently to the man: "You talked about despoilers, what are they? did they came often and what do you do with them? As I see your Mother is wonderful, are there enemies of her? I really want to know more about your church"

OOC
Lyle has no intention of joining but seems interested only to know more about these people.

[Mono Vertigo]

Ibsaia groans as she notices the smashed off ShinRa logos. She's trying to put up with them for the sake of the team, but she's obviously angry, and very tempted to just tell the guards to mind their own business and stop badmouthing her organization. She's only putting up with it because her teammates are making the effort to have a somewhat open mind.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Tarrian orders Cenereo to stay close, but out of sight if at all possible, before following.

[BlackestOfMages]

OOC: sorry it's taken so long to reply. life has been pilling up far to much recently.

"The despoilers are, or they appear to be, humans. But inside, they are hollow, their souls swollowed by the black shards they carry. They want nothing more than too kill and destroy, to see our world reduced to a barrn wasteland; they are monsters lower even than the greed of ShinRa. When we find them - if we find them, for they hide amongst real people - we try to cure them, to seperate them from the black shards. oten they fight back, and we are forced to kill them. You should have seen the remains of those monsters outside. the corruption on them is most palpable, is it not?"
The robed man brings you to the entrance of the powerplant, the guards there slowly opening the door for you. "And it lifts my heart to hear that outsiders are intrested in the curch of the mother. The mother is the spirit of our planet, she took corporeal form to fight against the demon Jenova - aiding the great heroes of avalance - and her hand is the one that stoppedMetor, and that cleansed the geostigma. And now, her blessing spills from the earth around us, showing us all we are truly blessed."
Inside the power plant, you can see the unmistakable green glow of mako enrgy, and peering inside you can see much of the factory floor has been pulled up, and pools of the stuff cover the lowest surface of the floor. "Please enter, enter. If you are pilgrims to the mothers gift, then you should meet Father Anders. He will guide your steps."
The fanatic gestures to a man atop a scrap pulpit surrounded by plucked flowers. he is dressed in a much more ornate version of the robes the other are.

Around the room, you can see the door in the power plant have all been left open, with sunlight streaming in through a large missing section of the roof, all dors but one, howevr. The door leading to the warehouses storage for the powerplant is locked and barred, with armed guards stantioned outside of it.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"Meaning no offence, I am curious. You surely know that another individual has spoken very dearly of his "Mother". His devotion was misguided and we all paid the price for it. What makes you so sure you're not also on a wayward path?"

[Dramesh]

Lyke

I would be honored to talk to the Father, can you call him here ?

[BlackestOfMages]

The cultists simply smiles at Tarian's comment, a look of gentle resignation on his face, though the ex-soldier can see something beneath his eyes "we seek not to destroy the planet, but to save it. We follow the mother, the spirit of the planet that opposed the calimity, the false mother you mentioned, and if she where as much a monster, would she have risen against the monster, would she have cured the stigma? you of all people, blessed by one of the mothers gifts, should surely see the truth, no?" the cultist finishes, gesturing towards Cenario. "but this discusion is for another time, as you wish to see the father as he wishes to see you."

The Cultist moves away from you, climbing up the makeshift podium to the "father". the two of them whisper to one another for a moment or two, before Father Anders steps down towards you. "Greetings, messengers of ShinRa. What can this humble servant of the planet do for you? or perhaps, what can we do for one another?"

Looking at Anders, you can see he is old, but it does not burden his shoulders as it might. He is still stood tall and proud, the touches of grey in his otherwise black hair lending him a refined apperance. his face is worn and weahered, yet he wears an easy, experianced smile. finnaly, his eyes have a pale, near ethereal blu glow to them.

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

"If you say so friend."

As Father Anders appears Tarrian notices the glow in his eyes.

"Please tell me you had those eyes from the old days like me, and you haven't been showering in the stuff coming out of the ground.

Regardless of the man's answer, Tarrian settles down on a nearby stool/bucket/wall/etc., rests his hands behind his head and continues with a small smile.

"Either way, if you know who we are then you know why we're here, so so how's about you skip straight to telling us what you want in exchange for us getting the data we need on the fountain?"

[Dramesh]

Lyle

For once Lyle step back and let his companions lead the talking, he went against a wall and wait and listen.

[BlackestOfMages]

"Worry not, my freind. These eyes of mine are old - I'm grateful for the mothers gift of life, but I'm not yet crazy enough to go for a swim in it." the ex-soldier turned priest smiles ruefully at you "though as for toying with the creations of the planet, you're one to talk Tarian - we may not have been in the same company, but enough stories got around of the young soldier with his pet WEAPON.
As for what I want, well... I want to make it easy for anyone to journy to the mother's spring - which currently, it is not. The tainted have made the journey dangerous to those who wish to bask in the mother's gift, or even stay within this city we once called home. I also with to try and smothen out relationships beween the people of the ruins and ShinRa; there may be some extremists within the flock who hold shinra responsible, but most of us know it was the white heared demon who brought ruin to the world and our lives, not those that first gave him his wings.
"so, do we have a deal?"

[Dramesh]

Lyle

Before we agree on a deal, can you explain it ? You want the clearing of the tainted but what do we gain from that?

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Tarrian sits up & coughs when the priest mentions Cenereo.

"You're lucky I told him to keep his distance. If he heard you calling him a pet, there'd be a Mako spear through your chest by now."

Once the moment of panic passes he listens to the man's words some more.

"Well, I admit, you're a lot more reasonable than I expected you crater-dwelling folks to be. Yeah, I think I could work on that premise."

At Lyle's question:

"Well he wants everyone to be able to access the Mako well, so I imagine we'd be welcome to do some research there too."

Turning back to Anders.

"I don't speak for the team, but I'm personally happy to work with you in this. Obviously though I'll need to confirm it with ShinRa, so if you have any estimates on the monster quantities & power levels, I'd appreciate them so I have some news to pass on."

He'll then get out the phone he was issued & do just that.

[BlackestOfMages]

"you get help getting to the well, a roof over your head if you want it, and you get to help keep our home safe." Father Anders says to Lyle "You also get a guide who can show you through streets and hopefully past the tainted."

Turning to Tarian, the ex-soldier continues "from what we know, there's a large gathering of third class and lower monsters, along with a small hand full of second class. For reasosns we don't know, but we suspect the influence of the tainted, they make their nest around the fountain. There's also been wild rumours of a behamoth prowling the ruins, but I highly believe such a beast could have found its way into the ruins.
The main problem, and what we need help with, would be a large cult of well armed tainted have occupied the well, and were last seen dumping something into it.
And, as you correctly assumed, we want everyon to be able to bask in the Mothers gift, and as such we would be happy to let you investigate the well so long as you do not seal it off yourself."

[Kobold-Bard]

Tarrian

Snapping his phone closed, the ex-SOLDIER returns to the scene.

"Well they're happy for us to work with you in exchange for scientific access without hostilities. They were also pleased to hear about your desire to try and build bridges. When we succeed I expect you might have a "diplomatic party" (aka. PR team) as your next guests.

Assuming nobody objects, I say we head out ASAP, I'd like a decent efficiency rating on our evaluation."

Placing his thumb & finger at his lips, Tarrian will then whistle a single, short blast, signalling Cenereo to descend. Once the critter has landed it's glowing Mako wing will retract and vanish, and Tarrian will climb aboard.