Teocawki Thread One: Hope Academy

[Zelphas]

The classroom erupts into controlled chaos and practiced motion. Elita lobs a bomb of poisonous gas with deadly accuracy, Wyn maneuvers sand with dextrous skill, Marius and Calvin transform and bring their own weapons to bear, and Doireann lashes out with Air and Water. Renatus, breaking free from his bunny-induced trance, doges away from most of the strikes, weaving and morphing his body at will. However, Erica and Roy choose the perfect moment to strike in tandem with Elita's gas; there is nowhere for Renatus to dodge.

Clang. Crack. Thud. Hiss.

The ground beneath your feet is rough and sandy, threatening to slide away from your feet. behind you is the Mist, hungrily lapping at your heels, seeming to encourage the already-treacherous ground to drop away and give you to its embrace. Before you... a wall, taller than tall, wider than wide, a vast, blank stretch of unbroken tan stone that utterly dwarfs you. At the very edge of your vision, you realize that the wall curves inwards... and looking up, you see that it is not a wall at all. The blinding beacon of the Tower falls upon you, and you are very, very small.

The vision disappears all at once. Everyone is back in the classroom. Erica, Roy, and Elita find their weapons rebounding off the body of Renatus, a body which stands straighter, wider, and taller than it was a moment before. The entire body is... blockier, straining against his antiquated teacher's robes in inorganic cylindrical shape. the head remains a perfect circle, but the face has changed. The eyes are spaced wider apart, are larger, and are now a pure, brilliant white, looking like searchlights upon the unblemished skin of the teacher. Any impression of a nose is truly gone, as is Renatus' trademark grin; in its place is a flat line, more like a seam in stone than a human mouth.

The seam opens slightly. "I was called to act upon the first successful strike. Commendable." The voice is Renatus in all but emotion; a blank void where the teacher always held amusement, or warmth, or even anger.

[Llyarden]

"Interesting..." Patroclus murmured, as he snapped back out of the vision.

Farhan was a little more direct. "Well, that ain't good." Nonetheless, a vine began to spiral around his sleeve, a large, sharp-toothed flytrap at its end. He started running towards Renatus - or whatever Renatus had become - and suddenly found himself grabbed by the arm (the one that didn't have a carnivorous plant attached) and tugged towards Watchtower at a much greater speed than he'd intended. "Next time, you might wanna give a little warning," he complained, as the blur of motion let him go and resolved itself into a grinning Donald, "else my beauties might take a chomp at you." As if it had heard its nickname, the plant on his arm lunged forwards and tried to snap at Renatus, while Donald blurred around him, jabbing at the joins of the strange, boxy creature.

Patroclus vaulted over a desk as his hand glowed with a purplish energy, thrusting it at Watchtower with an open palm, where it would detonate with concussive force. He wasn't expecting much in the way of an effect, but it would at least cover Donald and Farhan as they made their escape out of the window - the former putting a goodly distance between himself and the melee, the latter jumping into the grass and amongst the frolicking rabbits as grass wove itself around his legs and lifted him off the ground.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

So I have no idea what the fluff of the attacks for these folks is so I'm mostly making things up. I'm also kinda wondering if Watchtower's gimmick is having infinite Interposes, but let's find out...

Donald:
Move: Over to Farhan.
Free: Grab Farhan with Powerlifting.
Move continued: Into O1, depositing Farhan in N1.
Standard: Attack with pressure points, all-out attacking for 5, +5 for Inspire: (1d20+18)[38]. DC18 Fort vs Impaired & Vulnerable / Disabled & Defenceless and Weaken All Defences. Crit!
Move-by Action: Into T24.

Patroclus:
Free: Try to increase speed with Athletics: (1d20)[2] Lolnope.
Move: Into K3, or M1 if the Athletics check managed a natural 20.
Standard: Charge into M1 if necessary and attack with evocation, all-out attacking for 5, accurate attacking for 2, +5 for Inspire, almost certainly -2 for Charge, and Team Attacking with Patroclus: (1d20+18)[27]. DC21+Multiattack Toughness vs damage or Team Attack and DC16+Multiattack Fort vs Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled. Probably a miss.

Farhan:
Standard: Attack with vines (?), all-out attacking for 5, +5 for Inspire, Team Attacking with Patroclus: (1d20+16)[18]. DC25 Toughness vs damage or Team Attack and DC20 Fort vs Weaken Toughness if Toughness save fails. Definitely a miss.
Move: Into S2. Hiding among the bunnies: best defensive tactic ever.

[Zelphas]

Classmates' Turn

Patroclus and Farhan's combined attack misses by a hair, as the odd appearance of their teacher melts back to normalcy and he sidesteps their strikes with lightning speed.

Unfortunately for Renatus, 'lightning speed' still isn't quite as fast as a Paragon Speedster. Donald blurs into motion all around the teacher, each of his strikes aimed for a joint on Renatus' body. Whether by design or simply blind luck, his strikes coincide perfectly with Renatus' change back into his 'normal' form; at the end of the barrage, Renatus' movements are noticeably stiffer than before, and there is a large dent on one side of his head.

...Given that Donald's attacks were almost all targeted at Renatus' limbs, that dent might just be for show.

The remaining students jump forwards in an attempt to capitalize on Renatus' state. In a screech and a flare of fire, Bernhard becomes his Phoenix form and spits several balls of flame at the teacher, but the bulky, white-eyed form appears again, ignoring the blaze entirely. Tsubaki melts into the thin shadow underneath her desk, and the room suddenly seems to shift a few inches to the right as an illusion springs up from where she was. Manus skates forward on precarious disks of earth closer to the fray, and then kneels, one hand pressed to the ground; those nearest the teacher feel a slight tremble in the floor, but notice nothing else. A moment later, a small, pale form appears for just a moment, bumping into a desk as it runs towards the fight. Nancy, standing up from her seat, looks over at the teacher, gulping. "Th-There's no need for you to fight us... right?" Even with her hesitant delivery, the words throb with her power... but Renatus responds with a cheeky grin.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Map.

Bernhard

Move Action: Transform.

Standard Action: Use Phoenix Blast to attack Renatus, All-Out Attacking 5. (1d20+18)[37] On a hit, Damage DC 23, Fort DC 18 vs. Dazed & Impaired/Stunned & Disabled. Watchtower Interposes. Immune.

Tsubaki

Move Action: Shadow Teleport to N1, Hide: (1d20+18)[38] vs. Renatus Perception: (1d20+24)[26] Renatus does not see Tsubaki.

Standard Action: Glamour to create an illusion of the room slightly to the right, to try and give everyone Concealment. Renatus Will (DC 17): (1d20+14)[24] Illusion Disbelieved.

Manus

Move Action: Fly to L5.

Standard Action: Use Blades of the Earth. Area Attack vs. Renatus for DC 23 Incurable Damage.
Watchman: Impervious.
Watchtower: Immune.
Watchdog: (1d20+12)[29] Resists.

Jane Doe

Free Action: Athletics to move faster: (1d20)[5] Nope

Move Action: Shift to J11, or J5 if Athletics worked.

Standard Action: Shift to J5, or L4 if Athletics worked.

Nancy

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Commanding Voice On Renatus. Watchman Dodge (DC 18): (1d20+6)[12] if that fails, Watchman Will (DC 18): (1d20+14)[34] Resists.

[Zelphas]

Teacher's Turn(s)

After weathering all of the attacks, Renatus shifts back into the form of the Watchtower, the white searchlight eyes raking over all of you. "Struck and Damaged. Your efforts are exemplary. But meaningless." he intones, and suddenly you are on the crumbling ground again, before the Tower, its lights upon you. The tower speaks. TREMBLE.

Those that can shake off this vision see another change come over the teacher. He slumps forward, the cylindrical shape withering away like a balloon losing air. His arms, held rigidly at his sides a moment before, now raise up in a scarecrow pose; they have too many joints, they are too thin, the fingers too long, too pointed. the legs, hidden underneath the robes, buckle suddenly, but the teacher does not fall; he is suspended as though by a string attached to his too long, thin, jointed arms. The seam of a mouth opens, distends, as though forced outwards from within, the skin rippling and stretching until the mouth has become a maw, a parody of a dog's jaws, with too many teeth, all spilling out over what little remains of lips. The eyes have sunken in and spread apart until they are mere pinpoints, utterly black and dead.

"Talk, talk, talk," the thing that was Renatus growls, the words slurred and mangled by its distended maw. "Fight!" It suddenly jerks forwards, bounding around the room in great, unnatural movements, the claws sweeping and tearing wherever it lands.

Then it is back to Renatus, still with the dent, still with the grin. "This is pro-level, Mr. Stonesmith, everyone. I told you I would fight back with all that I had." A moment later, Roy hears a whisper in his mind: You did ask... and then--

Looking back, even much later, Roy could not remember what was shown to him in the next few seconds. His mind simply refused to acknowledge that those small moments of time existed, jumping over them as cleanly as a pair of clippers cutting a wire, though unfortunately not without some mental strain.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Map.

Watchtower

Move Action: Nah.

Free Action: Perception to see Tsubaki: (1d20+24)[26] Nope

Standard Action: The Dreaded Tower. Everyone except for Donald and Doireann needs to make a Dodge DC 24 save for half, Will DC 24/17 vs. Entranced & Impaired/Stunned & Disabled.

Watchdog

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Hamstring. Everyone inside of the building needs to make a Dodge DC 24 save for half, Toughness DC 29/22 save vs. Damage, Will DC 24/17 save vs. Dazed & Hindered/Stunned & Prone.

Watchman

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: What I've Seen on Roy. Roy, DC 29 Will Save vs. Damage.

End of Turn: recovers 1 to Defenses. Fortitude to overcome Affliction (DC 23): (1d20+6)[8] Nope

Spoiler: Rolls

Show

vs. Watchtower

Bernhard
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+8)[23] Full Effect
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[27] Resists

Tsubaki
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+16)[21]
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+15)[17]

Manus
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+11)[26] Half Effect
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+11)[22] Resists

Jane Doe
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+13)[24] Half Effect
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[30] Resists

Nancy
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+15)[24] Half Effect
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[24] Resists

Ediz
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+13)[26] Half Effect
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[18] Resists


vs. Watchdog

Bernhard
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+8)[14] Full Effect
Toughness (DC 29/22): (1d20+13)[20] Bruised and Dazed
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[17] Stunned & Prone

Tsubaki
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+16)[36]
Toughness (DC 29/22): (1d20+10)[20]
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+15)[23]

Manus
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+11)[25] Half Effect
Toughness (DC 29/22): (1d20+15)[22] Resists
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+11)[29] Resists

Jane Doe
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+13)[21] Full Effect
Toughness (DC 29/22): (1d20+13)[26] Bruised
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[28] Resists

Nancy
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+15)[32] Half Effect
Toughness (DC 29/22): (1d20+11)[31] Resists
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[18] Resists

Ediz
Dodge (DC 24): (1d20+13)[21] Full Effect
Toughness (DC 29/22): (1d20+13)[20] Bruised and Dazed
Will (DC 24/17): (1d20+13)[20] Dazed & Hindered

[Quellian-dyrae]

For a moment, Erica...well, it might not be quite correct to say she despaired. But she certainly felt bitterly disappointed.

She knew Renatus would be powerful, sure. She did not expect him to have an entirely different powerset up his sleeve! Pretty much the moment the Watchtower came out, Erica channeled power to her visor to scan him.

He was invulnerable to pretty much all forms of physical harm. And, unless she missed her guess, would prove highly resistant to all others. And Renatus could reactively(!) shift to that powerset to negate damage, even if an attack managed to pierce his already near-insurmountable personal defenses.

That meant combining efforts to get a few strong attacks through wouldn't work, which was pretty much the lynchpin of the strategy. Whatever momentum they had gained was lost. This battle wasn't winnable at this stage.

She supposed it made sense. They were barely a quarter of the way into the school year. Presumably their combat final would require them to, you know, learn some stuff first. Still, she was disappointed. She really thought that figuring out the "whole class has to work together" lesson would let them do it early. In retrospect, it wasn't really that hard of a puzzle. Surely, they hadn't been the first class to come to the conclusion so quickly.

The Watchtower congratulated them on drawing him out so early. To Erica's ears, it came off as condescending.

End of the day, this was her and Roy's plan. There wasn't...really any purpose to the entire class having to get beaten up. Erica was about to call a halt.

And then Donald. Flipping. MORGAN! somehow managed to land enough pressure point hits to actually slow their teacher down, despite how little sense that made on a person whose body was basically just a physical illusion conjured by his own mind (but Donald was a speedster and they really didn't care about stuff like that). And Erica immediately realized two things.

1) There would be no living with him after this. She honestly pitied poor Jane and Elita. (Dawnlight would be fine.)

2) They still had a chance.

It wasn't a certainty. It wasn't even a great chance. Renatus could easily still have any number of tricks up his sleeve. But it was a chance!

The call that Erica had not yet made was in the process of morphing from an abort to a strategic assault plan, when the Tower unleashed its Will.

All of the confidence that had been rallying in Erica's heart dropped out into her stomach and sat there like an iron ball, practically dragging her to the ground. What was she thinking? What was she even thinking!? How could they fight this?

The teacher morphed again. A third completely different powerset came out, and unleashed savage fury on the group. Erica's armor held, but the force of the blow knocked the wind out of her - or would have, if she had currently been in a proper mental state to remember to breathe.

And faster than she - but not a psychic of Watchman's level - could think, he was back in his normal form, turning the full force of his will upon her brother. She kinda reached one hand out slightly, but it was all the effort she could muster the will to exert. The vision of the tower in her head seemed to block her from acting as surely as its walls would have obstructed a physical action, filling her with complete certainty that there was nothing she could do to protect him.

And Roy. Tanked. It. All.

Spare a dent in his breastplate, Roy weathered the full force of Renatus unscathed. In fact, most of the class had handled it to varying degrees of okay, and a fair few were entirely unharmed. Not a single one was down, although Elita was bleeding badly, her corrosive blood sizzling on her skin.

No. She wouldn't just lie here uselessly. She was hurt, and scared, and filled with doubt. But that didn't matter. None of it mattered. She drew on the inspiration provided by her brother...her class...her people! The entire human race! No matter how hurt, or how scared, or how filled with doubt the people of Teocawki had been, they had always pressed on! They had always endured in the face of enemies that seemed completely insurmountable!

By force of arms and weight of numbers, by the powers that were their birthright and their blessing, by the Sea and the Sky, the people of Teocawki fought on! And so would she!

The Tower's Will had left her too weak to fight. So she would lead.

It had left her too weak to absorb. So she would elude.

It had left her too weak to stand.

So she would fly!

The Flux Gemstones in Prism Edge shone brightly, as she channeled her power through them. Not to augment her strikes, but to channel her magic.

To Renatus' mental and visual perceptions, she would (hopefully) vanish. Or...well, sort of. It wasn't that her mind was gone, it was just that it was no longer contained entirely within her body, which itself was now invisible as the Light crystals in her sword caused light to pass straight through her. Her mental presence could be felt instead throughout the minds of all of her classmates.

~The tower state is invulnerable to all forms of direct injury. Period. Not even a Titan could injure it through main force. It is highly resistant to all other forms of attack. It has extreme teleportation mobility and visual detection range, even through walls and darkness. Tsubaki, it can see through illusions without difficulty. Its direct offense is limited, but as we've seen, it can weaken and hamper through pure will. It can intervene to absorb attacks reactively, but the defense is not unbeatable - it seems like it takes a non-trivial amount of focus to maintain a given state's full presence, until which is exerted the initial state of focus will have de facto primacy. In other words, just because he looks like the tower doesn't mean he is the tower, and I don't imagine even he can reactively change infinitely.~

~The canine state is an aggressive attacker, but I don't have an exact bead on its defenses. Its body and mind are disjoined from each other to some degree, but I'm not 100% sure what weaknesses and resistances that entails. It's immune to most of the mundane hardships of a physical existence, though, and extremely fast. It has devastating area attacks, and a brutal targeted attack. Its physical blows can also damage the mind, though I don't get the sense that it has much in the way of tactical competence on its own.~

~Donald got us an opening. If we waste it, we lose. His default form will still require significant power to harm, but while he's slowed down we can hit him. His physical resilience is nothing that isn't within our power to overwhelm. The tower will absorb some of our attacks, but it can't get them all. Forget combination assaults unless it's your only play. Just straight spam him, and we'll wear him down! Everybody who can initiate one attack now, I'll spread us out thereafter so he can't focus on all of us at once, and move us back in for the next barrage in a moment once we've reassessed. Who's willing to remain in the room?~

Lucy flew in silently, only to suddenly appear as she reached out with an icy hand, striking at Renatus' spirit.

Wyn came flying back in on his platform of sand and unleashed a blast right at the teacher's face.

Elita was hurt...but her injuries boded just as ill for her enemies as for her. She gathered her corroded blood into her hands and lunged in to try to smear it all over the teacher.

Erica...waited.

Spoiler

Show

Lucy:
Move: I'm placing her in M4 for convenience since she doesn't really "take up" a space. But into Close range of Renatus.
Standard: Attack Watchman with Chill of the Wraith, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at (1d20+10)[13]. On a hit, Fortitude DC 26 vs. Damage. Miss

Wyn:
Move: Into N11.
Standard: Attack Watchman with "Sandblast", All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 3, at (1d20+10)[24]. On a hit, Toughness DC 26 vs. Damage, Fortitude DC 21 vs. Dazed+Fatigued/Stunned+Exhausted. Hit

Elita:
Move: Staggered.
Standard: Attack Watchman with "Tear Gas" by touch, All Out Attack for 5, Power Attack for 5, at (1d20+10)[21]. On a hit, Toughness DC 26+Multiattack vs. Secondary Effect Damage, Fortitude DC 21 vs. Cumulative, Secondary Effect Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled Affliction. In addition, if this hits, it means she is now touching Watchman, and he is thus subject to her Energy Aura; Toughness DC 26 (after PL limits since the attack was made at +10) vs. Damage. If he resists, she rolls Toughness at (1d20+5)[8] vs. the Side Effect. If possible, she will hold contact for a prolonged period, so that even if Watchtower Interposes, when his Interpose action ends, she'll still be in contact with Watchman, forcing Toughness DC 26 vs. Damage anyway; if he resists, she rolls Toughness at (1d20+5)[15] vs. the Side Effect. Hit, but she's out if he resists the Energy Aura

Erica:
Hero Point to negate Stunned and the Dazes it's overlapping with.
Extra Effort: Power Stunt off of Prism Edge.

Flux General: Concealment 6 (All Visual, All Mental), Magic Projection gets Enhanced Flight 3 (Platform), Mental Communication 2 (Rapid, Subtle 2, Feature [Functions as auditory where advantageous]), Buy off the Reduced Persuasion of Armor Mode.

Delaying actions until the end of the ally turn. At that time:
Free: Swap to Magic Projection.
Standard: Use Natural Leader to Aid Roy's next attack (due to delay this'll be for next round, not this round) at (1d20+19)[27] after +5 for Teamwork and -2 for Impaired. +5
Move: Using Magic Projection's free pick up feature and effective Flight 11 (may be 10 if Prone still lowers it despite that making no sense whatsoever ), whisk everyone willing to scattered positions except for one person who chooses to stay in the room (since her Extra Limbs are Projection they can touch Elita without problem and she'll use the Affects Insubstantial from Lucy's stunt to let them touch Lucy). Characters will all be at least 300' away from all other characters; I'm literally scattering us like all over the grounds. Erica herself will end up 2,000 feet away but at ground level. Characters who are Entranced will be delivered 10' in the air, resulting in a DC 15 fall but breaking their Entranced status.
End of Turn: Will to recover from Prone (DC 24, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+6)[11]. Will to recover from Impaired (DC 24, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+6)[10].
Not even close

Erica Status: 1 Bruise, Prone (W24), Impaired (W24), Total Concealment from Visual and Mental senses.

[Llyarden]

"WHOO-HOO!" Donald crowed. "Now that's how you do it!" He managed to refrain from tossing in any disparaging comments as far as the rest of his classmates were concerned, but it was probably a close thing...and somehow as he zoomed back in to attack Renatus, he ended up kicking a cloud of dust and dirt right into the face of the hypnotised Farhan.

Still, his attention was primarily on Renatus, and he continued to attack, moving in a whirlwind of quick jabs at...well, Renatus didn't exactly have pressure points, but at where his pressure points would be if his body wasn't just a construct of mental power. And since their teacher seemed to be giving them a hint, he focused most of his attention on Renatus's head.

"Oh yeah!" As Erica whisked him away, he somehow ended up on top of the magical projection, riding the nebulous wave of force like a surfer.

Patroclus, meanwhile, had taken a nasty swipe from the mad, slavering creature that their teacher had most recently become, and even having deflected the worst of the attack with a blast of magic it had still left him staggering a little. It was a frightening testament to Renatus's power. He didn't say anything; merely unloading another blast of magical energy directly at Renatus.

Farhan, meanwhile... "Huh? Waargh-oof!" He picked himself up, brushing dirt out of his eyes and wondering if maybe Renatus would allow him to just stay with the bunnies.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Donald:
Move: Back into melee with Renatus.
Extra Effort: Power Stunt: Affliction 8 (Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenceless/Incapacitated, Fort), Extra Condition, Cumulative, Linked Weaken Speed 8 (Fort)
Free: Switch to the Enhanced Secondary Effect slot of his superspeed array.
Standard: Attack Renatus with the modified pressure point attack, all-out/power attacking for 5 apiece and wondering if my hunch about the Watchtower is correct: (1d20+8)[24]. On a hit, DC23 Fort vs Secondary Effect Cumulative Impaired+Vulnerable/Disabled+Defenceless/Incapacitated and (non-Secondary Effect) Weaken Speed. I think this is where all my luck has gone...

Patroclus:
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Attack Renatus with evocation, all-out attacking for 5: (1d20+13)[25]. On a hit, DC23+Multiattack Toughness vs Damage and DC18+Multiattack Fort vs Dazed+Impaired/Stunned+Disabled Affliction. I think that should be +2 multiattack.

Farhan:
Entranced.
Will to recover (DC24, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+6)[21] Nope.
If that fails, Toughness vs fall (DC15, -2 for Impaired): (1d20+6)[10] Bruised.

[Hyperbolic sine]

The thorny monster that was Calvin shrugged off the dread induced by the Watchtower...only to suddenly be violently knocked down by the Watchdog's vicious claws, and rendered unable to tell up from down. Marius, as befitting to an emperor, endured all of Renatus's attacks, coming off with only minor scratches and swiftly regaining his balance. [color=""]~I will stay.~[/color] he replied to Erica, before resuming his assault on the teacher.

Doireann, who was outside the attacks' area, simply gathered more water in her hand and shot off another pressurised spray.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Calvin
Move: Dazed.
Standard: Stunned.

Recover Will DC 24 (1d20+7)[18]. Nnnnnnope.

Marius
Move: Dazed.
Standard: All-out Accurate (2) attack Watchman at (1d20+15)[19], Toughness DC 23+Multiattack vs Damage and Fortitude DC 18 vs Weaken Will.

Doireann
Move: Sodium Hydride.
Standard: All out Attack Watchman at (1d20+17)[27], Toughness DC 21 vs Damage and if not resisted Fortitude DC 16 vs Dazed/Stunned (Cumulative, Secondary Effect).

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy blinks in surprise at the drastic change in their professor's appearance and demeanor. Then some things start to fall into place in his mind, and he cannot help but grin.

In part, he grins as defiance against the enemy who is so superior to him in every way. He grins to spite the icy cold feeling of powerlessness radiating off of their teacher in a tangible cloud. He grins because, otherwise, the terror in his soul might be plain for all to see.

Yet, in a small, quiet part of his mind, he grins for an altogether different reason: at sheer, profound curiosity at what he is seeing. That small part is positively atwitter with the desire to uncover more about this man.

With Erica's power thrumming through his veins he is able to power through the vision of the Tower looming before him. He takes the full force of the Dog's feral assault on his breastplate: his armor being practically more ornamental than protective (providing more tactical benefits than enduring ones), he is relieved to get by with a large dent that is sure to leave a painful bruise once the adrenaline fades. The Man's mental assault...is a very close thing. Erica's power bolsters his mind to push past the backlash of having apparently seen something beyond his comprehension.

If Renatus is still able to 'hear' it, he thinks in a vicious tone, "I've seen some sh*t too, prof."

~"I'm sticking here, too, 'my liege',"~ he thinks to Marius as he readies his attack. ~"If I can keep him in the room by making him stay in sight of my camera, maybe we can pare his assault down to just us. Dawnlight, wait for my go, then give him all you've got!"~

With a roar he strikes out at the teacher with his whip, the silvery-chrome weapon flashing and seeming to emit a song of its own. With that, he passes his hand over his visor before putting himself back to the other corner of the room. "Gotta get a good angle of you, prof," he says with a grin, tapping his visor that has an obvious, blinking red circle just above his right eye. "Wide shots are best for battles, right?"

Dawnlight then comes in, shooting blasts of pure light that burn the eyes of even those who are not her target. She continues up until Erica begins her shuttling of everyone, and in the middle of the chaos of movement Roy keeps his eyes trained on Renatus.

"It's hardly equitable to say you're merely a 'Pro', professor," he says, his 'mad scientist' voice lilting over the sound of movement. "One can probably count on a single hand how many Pros can stalemate a Giant-level Trib long enough to evacuate an entire ship's worth of refugees. They'd still have some fingers left over, too. That makes me curious professor, and perhaps you'd be so kind as to indulge a bemused student:

"Why are you here?" There is a hint of iron in his voice at that. "With all the abilities Erica's divined from you, you'd be a godsend to any beleaguered Magellan in need of help. Get yourself a sensor partner to complement your own sensory abilities, and who knows how wide an area you could monitor. Who knows how many islands could sleep easier if you weren't here. How many families would not be torn asunder."

His faux-maniacal tone, through this, has slowly changed to one of frustration and sincerity. "So, Pro Hero Watchman: Why. Are. You. Here?"

Spoiler

Show

Roy

Standard action: Attack with the Variable'd Chromite Chorus, AoA/PA for 5, (1d20+8)[9] vs DC 28 Damage, DC 23 Fort vs Impaired+Vulnerable+Dazed/Disabled+Defenseless+Stunned (Affliction crits on a 16+)

Free action: Power Stunt off of Support Crystals: Impervious Dodge 24, Speed 3, Enhanced Advantage (Eidetic Memory), Senses 4 (Vision gains Radius, Rapid, Analytical, Extended).

Move: Into F18

Status: Bruised, Fatigued next turn, Deflected at 1d10+19 (his own Deflect, not Ediz'), -5 Active Defenses
HP: 2
Luck: 4/4

Dawnlight
Move: Into somewhere with line of sight to Renatus.

Standard: First Array Slot Whose Name Is Unknown, AoA/PA for 2, (1d20+8)[13] vs DC 25 HAD-resisted Damage, DC 20 Fort-resisted Weaken Toughness

Move-by Action: Into her current position because I am a lazy person.

Status: Fine, Deflected at 1d10+18 (Ediz), -2 Active Defenses
Luck: 2/3

[Zelphas]

Classmates' Turn

Renatus does not weather the second attack as well as the first. The teacher sidesteps Lucy's ghostly hand without even glancing at it, and Wyn's blast of concentrated sand curls suddenly out and away from him, but Elita manages to spill her noxious gas all over the teacher, causing him to cough and gag. Even as Donald appears again to hammer at him, Renatus is replaced by the Watchtower, who endures the speedster's blows in stoic silence. Patroclus' sudden fireball sends the teacher reeling slightly, but he doesn't seem to have suffered any actual physical damage. Marius' punches similarly do no obvious harm to Renatus, but he shakes his head woozily after the strike, seemingly not even noticing Doireann's blast of water or the beam of pure energy from Dawnlight which suddenly stops mere inches from his head.

Manus, seeing a chance, charges in, his fists growing blades of dark stone as he rams them at Renatus' face; his blades break inches from the teacher's still-grinning mouth. Globes of strange bluish foxfire wink into existence around the teacher and pass around him in a hypnotic pattern; Tsubaki flickers into view in one of the shadows before diving back into hiding again, just as small burns appear on Renatus' face. I will gladly take a chance to leave..erm, to establish better range, Ediz sends over the mental link, his face pale as another burst of glutinous purple energy washes out of him and over anyone nearby. Um... I... I can stay... A face flickers near Renatus, a grey girl trying to find a place near the teacher and reaching out her hands...

Nancy's chair is empty.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Map.

Manus

Move Action: Shift to N3.

Standard Action: Attack with Obsidian Blades, All-Out for 5, Power for 3. (1d20+10)[20] On a hit, Damage DC 25+ Multiattack, Fortitude DC 20+Multiattack vs. Weaken Toughness. Watchman Deflect: (1d10+17)[23] If this hits, Watchtower will Interpose. Deflected.

Tsubaki

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Attack with Foxfire, All-Out Power Attacking for 5. (1d20+8)[20] On a hit, Will DC 28/23 vs. Damage/ Entranced/Compelled. Watchman Deflect: (1d10+17)[18] If that fails, Will (DC 28/23): (1d20+13)[21] Luck Reroll 3; 26 means 1 Bruise.

Ediz

Move Action: Nah.

Standard Action: Reject Damage. Everyone within 60 feet is Deflected at 1d10+18.

Jane Doe

Move Action: Shift to 04.

Standard Action: Charge to O1 and attack with Steal Essence, All-Out Attacking for 5. (1d20+9)[24] on a hit, Will DC 20 vs. Weaken All Abilities. Watchman Deflect: (1d10+17)[24] If that fails, Will (DC 20); (1d20+13)[29] Hits; Resisted.

Free Action, if Steal Essence hits: switch to Become Essence.

Nancy Keroack

Move Action: Speed 8 out the window and in a straight line off the map.

Standard Action: Speed 8 even farther.

Bernhard Siladi

Move Action: Stunned.

Standard Action: Stunned.

End of Turn: Fort to remove Stunned (DC 24): (1d20+8)[11] Nope.

Renatus' Turn Coming Soon!

[Quellian-dyrae]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Talking is a free action, especially when you have Rapid 2.

Erica...kinda couldn't believe it when Nancy ran off.

Granted, she only kinda couldn't believe it, because Nancy, but still.

She was literally as she ran moving to whisk everyone to more scattered positions. Roy was trying to keep Watchman pinned in the room by putting him on camera. Nancy had solid odds of not getting attacked here. She didn't even try to contribute further. Just made her first attack to be part of it and then ran off. And yeah, Erica was playing keep away herself here, but with a purpose - if she could provide mobility for the entire group, it maximized their defense. They weren't even in any real danger, not of permanent harm.

Erica wasn't exactly confident in their chances here, but she honestly hoped that if they somehow did manage to win, that Nancy would lose credit for fleeing. Tactical positioning was one thing. Abandoning your team...that wasn't what a Hero did.

...But then again, considering what she had sensed about the Watchdog's nature, maybe Nancy Keroack could still be useful to them.

She whisked the majority of the group to scattered positions. They were still close enough to be in his mindsense range, so to a Hero as experienced as Renatus, the strategy would almost certainly be clear - Erica moved further afield, hopefully out of his range of perception, but there would be little doubt she'd be back - she'd have to, to carry her less mobile allies back in and out to attack. There was a potential weakness to the strategy, of course - if he prepared to strike back when she came into range, if he could somehow detect her, he might be able to disrupt her flight and prevent her from moving the rest of them. It was a risk she had to take, but one she could at least minimize by hopefully keeping him from attacking her immediately.

But Nancy, racing away outright without even taking another swing...it was obvious to anyone that she wouldn't be returning to rejoin the battle.

~Is it really that easy for a coward to escape you?~ she sent in a brief flicker of telepathy. Straight to the Watchdog.

Spoiler

Show

Erica doesn't particularly like Nancy as it is, but if she's gonna just abandon the class like that...yeah, I'm totally willing to use her for defense fodder if I can manage it. And if I can discover whether or not the Watchdog has some predator- or loyalty-style Complication that can be exploited in the future, all the better.

[Zelphas]

One Interloper ran, as you all should. Run, or fight and fall before master! Watchdog's voice snarls back to Erica over the link, all rage and furious pride.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

You learned one of Watchdog's Complications: My Territory! Watchdog sets its territory by the natural or man-made boundaries of the space it finds itself in when it is awakened; it will not attack outside of this boundary. Watchman can expand Watchdog's boundary to the next natural or man-made boundary outside of the first on his turn, but it requires Extra Effort; there is no way for Watchman to recover the Fatigue gathered this way aside from natural rest.

Watchman turns to face Roy fully, his small bumps and bruises already beginning to heal. "Mr. Stonesmith, do you trust your Knight-Commander?" he answers softly, his tone deadly serious despite his omnipresent grin. "Do you believe that he does what he can to ensure the future of humanity? As of today, I have given you all of the pieces that you need to find your own answer; it falls to you to put them together."

A moment later, Watchman is gone again, replaced by the cylindrical form of Watchtower. The Tower looms up--

--And a sound pierces the early autumn air. A noise that provides the backdrop to Roy and Erica's worst nightmares, and those of many others in Teocawki. A sound that every human under the rule of the World Council, from those born on the shores of the Savior Sea to the farthest reaches of the Magellans, has known and understood since they could first remember; the first line of defense for every new settlement, and the last thing to fall in any human defeat.

Far out in the Mists, spaced two miles apart from the edge of the Wall to a hundred miles away, are a series of small buoys, held aloft by Flux crystals and each holding two strong enchantment runes. The first rune is the same on all the buoys, generating the sound now heard by the class. The second rune is set to trigger the first; it is a linked rune to all the others on every buoy except one, the farthest one out. That rune is a simple proximity alarm, writ with enough eldritch power to scan for miles in every direction and even pierce a few feet into the Mists below. That rune had just been triggered.

For the first time since term began, Tribs were approaching the Wall of Hope.

Moments after the sound first shakes the air. Renatus returns to his regular form, his face serious and stern. His voice rings in the minds of all the class: This battle is suspended; you all know what this alarm means. As was outlined to you on the first day of official classes, we will now proceed to our designated viewing platform along the wall. The Heroes know their work; we will be there to watch, not to interfere.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Renatus Fort to remove Impaired & Vulnerable/Dazed (DC 23/20): (1d20+8)[26] Recovered.

Rupert and Ethan

You both had been on your way to what was supposed to be your new dormitory, to meet your new Cell-mates, when the Proximity Alarm had rung. Having barely met each other, you now find yourselves standing on the broad, thick wall separating the Inner Ring from the Mists, the smooth un-seamed granite warm from the sun's heat beneath your feet. Your guide at Hope Academy, a tall man with salt-and-pepper hair calling himself Mach, had told you that the rest of your classmates should be along soon before flying off towards a group of adults who you assume are teachers; you can see the golden hair of Glory, the man standing head-and-shoulders above most others around him. Beside them, standing Cell by Cell, are the Heroes of Hope; with a quick count, you can see that six of the twelve Hope Cells are present. Despite the presence of nearly forty people on the top of the wall, the scene is eerily silent. Everyone is staring out over the Mists, waiting for the first Trib to be sighted; even the air seems to have gone still, clouds rolling in over the sun and plunging the world into sudden twilight.

Spoiler: Ethan

Show

You have been living with the conflicting whispers of Aether and Void all your life. The Aether murmurs of life, of growing, of conquest, of devouring; the Void mutters words of death, of dwindling, of stillness, of peace. normally, the two powers that battle inside of you are at an uneasy balance, muted by the special suit you wear specifically for that purpose; and indeed, inside you the balance has not changed. Outside of you, however, you swear you can hear the Void in the wind around you, smell it in the hint of rain in the air.

Either this portion of the Wall has a particularly strong Void presence for some reason, or a strong Void Elementalist is nearby.

Spoiler: Perception DC 39 (Roy and Erica can attempt this roll when they come to the wall, Ethan automatically gives a +5 to anyone who he helps with the check)

Show

Farther down the Wall, so far away that details are fuzzy, stand two other human shapes. One shape seems to have a long, curved beak instead of a face and may as well be made of shadow; the other is so wrapped in something like ropes or vines that its form is only vaguely human.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy's gaze doesn't waver at Renatus' answer. "My Knight-Commander has my obedience. Trust is another thing entirely," he whispers softly.

The klaxon sound of the warning alarm threatens to bring a wave of nightmares to the forefront. He sighs and powers his visor down, reallocating the flow of energy to its normal output. He is strangely quiet, going around to help up those who have fallen and using his Beryl Blade to heal those he can. Even if they won't be fighting, being in the general vicinity of Tribs while at anything but peak health is just asinine.

---

At the Wall, Roy's senses are on high alert. This is the Stonesmiths' first real exposure to Tribs since the fall of their home. All previous Trib excursions were experienced from far from the Wall, forced to listen to the klaxons until they fall silent to signify the Heroes' victory. Half of the Cells of Hope are in the area, and that does give him a strong reassurance. Dozens of the strongest beings in the city, perhaps the continent, in the same place.

Yet there is...something. Something is in the air, a tension, that he can't describe even to himself. Probably just the approaching Tribs, he tells himself, and he determines to see the Tribs before they see him. His visor's crystals gleam in the sudden twilight as he casts his gaze across the vast expanse beyond the Wall. His head sweeps a bit far to the side, and before he corrects its gaze something catches his eyes.

With his blood pounding in his head he moves his head to gaze at the Mists to one side of the Wall. He doesn't give any obvious indication of having found something, instead seeming to scan the entire area thoroughly.

~"Erica. Don't make a big deal of it, but we have company. The Crow and a figure I can't identify are about a hundred meters away on the Wall. I'm going to tell Renatus; keep your eyes peeled."~

As natural as ever, Roy nonchalantly makes his way to where the professor is. "Professor," he says softly, his lips barely seeming to move. "About a hundred meters down the wall, I see the Crow and a strange figure. I know you said not to interfere with the Pros, but I figured that's important to tell someone of authority. I'm curious if you could ask your Silho--er, your shadow to keep an eye on them, at the least?" His voice takes on a grinning tone, even as his lips remain neutral.

[Hyperbolic sine]

Rupert could almost hear the voices.

Fiend.

Demon.

Changer's pawn.

After all, the airship he traveled on was attacked not long after he boarded, and not a day after he arrived at Hope Tribs were approaching the Wall. Pointing fingers is easy.

And yet, not only the scene was eerily silent; no one was looking at him reproachfully or with scorn, and indeed he barely registered on anyone's radar. Part of him couldn't help but wonder if it was only because no one knew about his powers, but even then it was a refreshing and supremely liberating feeling - so much that, despite if being completely inappropriate to the situation, he was fighting to suppress a beaming smile.

Thank the Helper he had a good poker face.

Spoiler: Quellian

Show

If Erica's detect emotion is on, feel free to have her witness any of this.

Trying to focus his attention elsewhere, he looked the the assembled Heroes. Six cells meant...half a dozen Cyclops? Or perhaps a Giant. Either way, the memories of his first close eno****er with the monstrosities were still quite fresh, so perhaps it wasn't that bad a thing that elation was, at least temporarily, overriding fear.

Then, as he mused about the incoming threat, he realised that he was slipping into his loner habits, having barely spoken to anyone since his arrival, so he leaned over to the guy beside him - Ethan, who apparently was one of his Cell-mates - to try to strike up a conversation. Or, at least, to not make an impression of being asocial, since it wasn't really the time for leisurely talk.

"So. Definitely not how I imagined my first day."

[Llyarden]

Ethan's first reaction, when he had heard the warning alarm, had been a slightly unusual one. Certainly there was a part of him, the sensible, logical part, that was slightly concerned; a Trib attack was not, after all, something to be taken lightly. On the other hand, this would be the first time he'd ever been able to see Tribs - and the heroes confronting them - in person, and so he was...if not outright excited, then at least interested. And his poker face wasn't quite as good.

As they arrived on the wall, though, he seemed somewhat more distracted. At first he seemed to zero in on one of the six Cells, but then he turned his attention elsewhere, as if straining to see the first sign of the Tribs that would inevitably be emerging from the Mist...or perhaps, for something else entirely.

Rupert's remark caused a small smile to twitch at the corner of his lips. "I think unexpected events happening to you is almost mandatory for a Hero," he commented, still somewhat distractedly. "Perhaps that goes for Heroes-in-training too."

[Quellian-dyrae]

Erica's heart started pounding when she heard the alarm, as it always did. If you thought Nancy triggered a stress response in her, well, you ain't seen nothing. Erica may have lived in Hope for half her life now, but she was still a Magellan at heart, and for a Magellan, those alarms held an urgency that the people of the Inner Ring, however seriously they took them, would simply never understand.

And they took on a different character entirely when they provided the backdrop to your home being overrun, your people slaughtered or fleeing in panic.

Your mother crippled. Your father killed.

In a trice, Erica whisked the students she had scattered back to the classroom, reappearing beside Roy. She kept her armor sensibly in place. That it concealed her stricken expression from her classmates was a side benefit. Inside, she recoiled at the thought of going up to the wall. It wasn't out of fear of the Tribs, quite. Erica feared Tribs, sure, with the entirely sensible fear that a rational person should have of something vastly more powerful than themselves, and hostile to their existence. But that wasn't the issue.

When their home had fallen, Erica had been the first of the family to reach (be brought to, really) the airship. There were several minutes in there where she, an eight-year-old girl whose best power was making her dolly dance, had not known where her family was, or if they were okay. She had been completely alone.

(Except for Nancy, that was. "I bet they don't make it," was what the budding social paragon had told her.)

Her father didn't. Her mother almost didn't. And Roy...well, it was one of the few things the two never talked about, but close as they were, Erica occasionally got a vague flash of a hint that her brother might not have entirely made it, either.

All of which is to say, that with that alarm blaring in the background, the idea of not racing off immediately to check on her Mom was almost unthinkable.

But she was a Hero now, even if only in training, and there were Heroes who were going to endure far greater trials, today. So she kept her visor down, her fears inside, and moved about parallel to her brother, further assisting with the rapid healing of their classmates.

--

Adrenaline spike from the alarms notwithstanding, Erica had been exhausted after the battle. By the time they reached the wall, she was merely tired, but the adrenaline had largely faded too. It was still buzzing within her, a crawling sensation under her skin and a churning in her gut. She knew, logically, that her mother was perfectly safe and perfectly fine, but an hour without seeing her with those alarms blaring had some part of her brain terrified that she would never see her again.

When Roy alerted her to the presence of the Crow, she responded with a telepathic feeling of understanding. As was her norm when she had no need of the other gems, her armor's visor was resonating with her glasses. She swept the area herself, although they were likely too far away for her to pick up on their feelings. Still, worth a shot.

...She could admit, though, that the rather out-of-place feeling of what Erica could best describe as "liberated joy" among one young man she didn't recognize kinda drew her curious attention. Because, like, seriously, what?

Although conveniently, ~Might be worth noting, but we do seem to have a decently-powerful Void Elementalist nearby. Uh...Void/Aether, actually.~ Erica wasn't super-knowledgeable about Elementalist powers, but that combination did strike her as vaguely...off. Although she supposed maybe it wasn't any weirder than Wyn's Earth/Air combo...? Seemed like it might be weirder, though.

Spoiler

Show

Insight subbing for Perception to try to spot Crow's emotions: (1d20+18)[32].

[Zelphas]

By the time the Stonesmiths and the rest of the class arrive on the rooftop, small specks of darkness can be seen out over the Mists, four oblong shapes that slowly resolve themselves into long serpentine forms, covered with assymetrical eyes and mouths and flapping ragged-looking batlike wings. They are barely discernible to the untrained eye when the stench washes over those on the Wall; a scent of unnatural rot, strong enough to make most wrinkle their nose in distaste. The scent only intensifies as they draw closer.

Sudden circles of red-gold light, small due to the distance, appear under the Mists near the flying serpent shapes. The two lights swell in intensity, then fade to nothingness in moments; a few seconds later, the lights appear again, larger and closer than before. At their third appearance, one of the lights breaks out of the Mist covering for just a moment. The thing emitting the light does not seem like it can be alive; it is a smooth, semicircular mound of translucent reddish-orange gel, trailing innumerable strands of the same gel-like fiber that glow with a brighter gold-orange light. seen in the moment at the apex of its leap, with its golden tendrils whipping around it and shining against the dull grey Mists, the thing gives off the absurd dual impression of water on fire, a burning tidal wave approaching quickly.

Even as the strange thing drops into the mist, a tiny tremor shakes the stones of the Wall ever so slightly. Directly beneath the Wall, nearly out of sight from where the Heroes, teachers, and students are standing, uncoils a lurid purple tentacle, its hide oddly wooden yet pulsing strangely. It scrapes against the Wall for a long moment and then, unable to find purchase, slowly begins coiling back in on itself, fading into the Mist as coil after coil of its length bunches up like a gigantic spring.

"Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, take a Wyrmling each," The Prestige's voice shatters the eerie stillness of the Wall-top, his voice calm and commanding. "Draw them off and finish them quickly, then report back here. Beta, take the left Napalm; Alpha will take the right. Instructors, I trust you can hold the Creeper until we can assist?"

"We'll try to leave some clean-up for you," Glory replies cheerfully, causing the other teachers around him to grin tightly. The Presitge only nods in response and then takes off, his team close behind him. As the Heroes all prepare to engage their foes, one voice from the now-milling crowd says "Six Furies and a Cyclops. Decent-sized crowd this time."

Spoiler: Erica, Rupert, and Roy

Show

Six Fury-level Tribs and Cyclops-level wouldn't even count as an opening wave in the Outer Ring, and in the Magellans seeing that many Tribs near town would almost be a peaceful day.

Spoiler: Expertise: Tribs DC 15 (Nested)

Show

The serpentine forms are Wyrmlings, known for their stench, their ability to breathe out glue, and poisoned air, and their laser-beam eyes.

The odd, gel creature is a Napalm; it is able to squeeze through tiny cracks despite its bulk and is unbelievably hot, scorching, suffocating, and liquefying anything organic it comes across.

The purple tentacle is a Mist Creeper, a long, powerful tendril that seems to attack by touch. It climbs as high as it can out of the Mists and then tears down everything it can, sending walls, towers, and even whole cliff-sides tumbling into the Mists below. It is by far the most common threat to the Flux aqueducts, when they are attacked by Tribs at all

Spoiler: DC 25

Show

For its death throes, a Wyrmling rots at prodigious speeds, creating a horrific stench that lingers and can immobilize humans with disgust.

Napalms are so named due to their death throes' similarity to a BTD weapon; when killed, they melt, clinging to every surface in a wide area and burning it horribly.

As each hundred-foot section of the Mist Creeper is damaged beyond repair, that section explodes into tiny wooden shrapnel, tearing through everything around it.

Spoiler: DC 30

Show

From extensive research, Trib experts have discovered that every Fury-level Wyrmling is technically male. This may not be important, but many theories have abounded on what a Wyrmling female--or the Wyrmling female--might look like.

One Water Elementalist long ago claimed to be able to control a Napalm through whatever fluid it is composed of; said Water Elementalist was also insane and believed that the moon was actually a Typhon-level Trib getting slowly closer to Teocawki, so her assertion was met with a large amount of skepticism. It didn't help that said Elementalist also claimed to use Fire and Void simultaneously in said control.

After three hundred or so feet of the Mist Creeper are destroyed, the vine, or root, or branch suddenly retracts into the Mists at speeds only the most powerful Speedsters can match. This has led to a worrying supposition; what if every Mist Creeper seen is actually the same Mist Creeper, having regrown itself and attacking again? What if they are all separate tendrils of a larger, central body, hidden beneath the Mists? How can Teocawki deal with that?

Renatus listens carefully to Roy's statement, seemingly immune to everything going on around him. "Do you know the old, old BTD myth of the Ageless Child, Mister Stonesmith?" he replies a bit whimsically, his smile lifting up slightly. "It and I have a similar problem; our shadows have minds of their own. Mine only has eyes for me, I'm afraid; one little Crow and its imprisoned friend is not in the same threat level, I'm afraid. Do not worry; if they come any closer or show any hostile action, we will take care of them." He looks slightly in the direction of the Crow and the other figure, his smile growing sly. "If you can't keep a closer eye on them, maybe a closer ear would suffice? Or perhaps another sense..."

At this point, the other teachers have banded together and are approaching the edge of the Wall, where the long purple tendril is slipping back into the Mist. Renatus has not moved to join them.

[Hyperbolic sine]

"That's true." Rupert agreed with Ethan, nodding.

Well, I was almost there. Six Cyclops and a Cycl- wait, what?

Six Furies and a single Cyclop? A decent sized crowd?

He blinked. Then blinked again.

...Inner Ringers sure have it easy.

"Well, with six Cells this is going to be over quickly." he said, then, trying to inhale as little as possible, he approached the edge of the Wall to take a better look at the unfolding battle.

[Llyarden]

When the wall shook slightly, there was a faint shimmer at Ethan's back momentarily, spirals of light and smoke coiling around him as if about to lift him off the ground. When it became obvious that the small tremor was all the disruption they were likely to get, he paused for a moment and kinda closed his eyes in concentration, pulling his stray Elemental powers back. Beyond that, though, his only reaction was to put his fingers over his nose. "They don't all smell this bad, do they?" he asked plaintively.

[Quellian-dyrae]

~Six Furies and a Cyclops is a decent-sized crowd?~ Erica telepathically sent to her brother in disbelief. Remember, this was their first time on the wall in Hope during a Trib attack. Oh, sure, Erica was well aware of how much safer the Inner Ring was just because of how much time there was between Trib attacks. But...she had still kinda assumed that when there was an attack, it was of similar scale to what they were used to.

Don't get me wrong. Back home, six Furies and a Cyclops was definitely justification to send the kids inside. But, like, only assuming they were done with their chores.

But at least her stress levels were going down. To be honest, she had been a little surprised about the protocols that they would observe attacks from the wall when she had first learned about them. That had seemed...kinda ludicrously dangerous to her. But now seeing the magnitude of the attack, she understood a bit better. The Heroes of Hope would take these things apart. She kinda wished they had brought snacks.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy barely holds back a snort at the crowd's reaction. ~"These flippin' Inners, I swear,"~ he thinks back to Erica with a mental roll of the eyes. If his mental voice is a little tight, well, that's to be expected from seeing Tribs in person for the first time in almost a decade. It's definitely not mostly due to the violent memories the sight is bringing back to him that are threatening nausea with each heartbeat.

Ahem.

He assesses the situation with a critical eye. Four Pro Heroes to a Fury, and the faculty of Hope Academy to the Cyclops. In the Magellans, those would be laughable odds. Mists below, in any other situation, this could be considered a slaughter and would warrant some measure of pity for the targets. In the few seconds it took for the Prestige to allocate the Heroic brigades, his fear of the Tribs has dropped to practically zero.

It does bring to mind several other thoughts, however. First: reinforcement of his derision for the Inner Ring's dangers and reactions of its citizens. Their home island had been wiped out and its Heroes had fought one-on-twelve at the least to ensure as many survived as possibly could. And Hope has enough manpower to give four-on-one odds in favor of the Heroes. Such a large discrepancy is practically nauseating in and of itself.

That brings him to Thought the Second: With all Heroes save their teacher engaged with the Tribs, how much leeway would that give the Crow to wreak its mischief? While the Heroes are focused on overkill of the highest extreme (in his mind), and Renatus proven to not engage unless it moves or provokes him, what could happen?

Perhaps he's jumping to conclusions that aren't there. Perhaps he should trust Renatus and the Pro Heroes to be able to handle whatever happens. Perhaps he needs to learn to restrain himself from leaping into situations he can't handle you'd think he'd have learned already, the nightmares as constant reminders, don't be stupiddon'tberecklessrememberwhathappened. Perhaps he should leave well enough alone.

...

Mists take that.

"There's plenty it can do without provoking a reaction from you, professor," he says too softly for anyone but Renatus to hear. He slips away with all the nonchalance of a student trying to get a better vantage point and mulls over the teacher's words. "He's a bigger danger than a boogeyman Villain? Then why the hell is he teaching children?"

To Erica, he thinks, ~"Huh, that's an interesting combo. I think we would've heard about a student like that before, so maybe he's one of our new Cellmates? Point him out for me?"~

After Erica obliges his curiosity, Roy makes his way to the two new students. One of them he can see Transformative powers on, so the guy in the nifty-looking suit is probably the Void/Aether Elementalist. "Greetings, fellow students!" he says, in his typical boisterous tone. "I believe you two are our new Cellmates? Roy Stonesmith, pleasure to meet you."

He offers a hand to shake to each of them, then focuses more strongly on Ethan. "You deal in Void and Aether, yeah?" he asks in a more normal-volume tone, his expression intense. "I don't suppose you're able to sense Void, are you? Either in general or specifically right now, although I really hope it isn't the latter."

[Quellian-dyrae]

~Oh hey yeah they're supposed to be here today! I didn't even think of that!~ Erica replied with...well, somewhat muted cheer. It was like, on the one hand, yay new Cellmates! On the other hand...getting new Cellmates kinda meant that Serhe and Connor's departures were really real.

Still, Erica followed Roy as he walked over, greeting the two with a friendly smile and a little wave. "Hiya! I'm Erica," she introduced herself.

If you thought the moments before an imminent Trib attack that they were in direct line of sight of seemed like an odd time for greetings, well you really just didn't get how minor a threat six Furies and a Cyclops against a city's worth of Heroes seemed to a pair who spent the first half of their lives in the Magellans.

[Llyarden]

"I'm Ethan," Ethan introduced himself in turn - deliberately missing out his surname - and shook Roy's hand, still kinda absently - at least until Roy brought up the possibility of sensing Void. "And...actually, yes. I'm not good at sensing elements like that, but there is Void power here. And it doesn't belong to the only Void Elementalist Hero I know of." He nodded vaguely to one of the departing cells. "I take it that this is a bad thing for some reason?"

[Hyperbolic sine]

"Not all of them, no." Rupert replied to Ethan. He didn't remember how the Tribs that attackd his airship smelled - he was too occupied to survive to care about that - but he was at least sure Grass Maws didn't stink. They wouldn't be such dangerous ambushers if you could smell them from hundreds of yards away. And then...

"Greetings, fellow students!"

Rupert jumped a little in surprise. Well, rationally speaking it shouldn't have been something particularly unexpected, but he wasn't really used to being social yet. Or to people being social with him.

With a bit of reclutance - it was probably going to be over by the time they would have finished exchanging greetings - he turned his eyes away from the battle to look at the boy who just introduced himself and shook his hand. "Rupert Reid."

"It's, uh, it's a pleasure to meet you." he added after a barely noticeable, but somewhat awkward pause more or less when Erica entered his field of view.

Spoiler: Detect Emotions

Show

She's got Attractive 2!

"So, uhm, what's this about a Void Elementalist?"

[Thokk_Smash]

Guessing the source of Erica's muted (for her) reaction, Roy gives her a mental shoulder-hug. ~"I miss them, too,"~ he thinks sadly.

Roy gestures to the impending battles as he himself turns so he can watch them a little better. "Well, it's nothing as dangerous as a half-dozen Tribs," he says, although his voice doesn't hold any fear. "'Specially not with a half-dozen Cells to fight 'em. Oh, by the way, I beg your pardon."

After that strange request, Roy suddenly reaches out and plucks a hair from each of the other boys' heads. He gives an apologetic smile even as the Flux crystals around the crown of his head glow slightly brighter. Within their minds, the new students hear Roy 'say', ~"Don't make a scene of it, just watch the entertainment. Long story short, though, there's a boogeyman Villain that specializes in Void called the Crow that kidnaps people that catch its interest. Said Villain is currently in the immediate vicinity, though hidden very well, and apparently flaring its power."

"I told Renatus our homeroom teacher, and he said he won't engage it until and unless it takes hostile action or gets closer. I just think it's probably not a good idea to just let it hang around here. Especially during a Trib attack. That's why I was kinda hoping you'd be able to get a feel for if it's doing anything. And it looks like it is. I'm going to send projections from my armor to get a closer look; keep an eye out for anything strange, and Ethan, lemme know if there's like a spike in Void in the area. Mental link down."~

The glow on his crown dims, and invisible, ethereal arms snake out of the back of his clothes. They make their way closer to the Villain, and Roy keeps a close eye as his projections get closer.

Spoiler

Show

Some sort of action: grab a hair from his new Cellmates.

Free action: Swap to Enhanced Connectivity, Mental Communication that is Rapid 2 and Subtle 2, so our planning session can finish before the battle's over

Free action next round: Swap to Enhanced Spatial Influence, sending a Subtle 2 Projected Extra Limb toward the Crow. The limb can reach up to 500', and I believe the Crow is less than that distance.

[Zelphas]

Near the Wall, blasts of ice, lightning, spectral energy, and thundering noise strike the approaching Wyrmlings from several different directions, causing the dragon-like Tribs to break off and begin pursuing the separate Hero Cells. One of the glowing Napalms splits to avoid a sudden rain of sharp objects, twisting away towards the Cell that struck at it; the other Trib turns abruptly and begins lashing out all around it, attacking something that it seems only it can see.

On top of the Wall, the instructors from Hope Academy have formed a loose half-circle facing the Mists. The area nearby is strangely quiet for a moment; then, with a whoosh of displaced air, the shocking violet tentacle of the Mist Creeper appears over the top of the wall. It continues to climb, twenty feet up, forty, sixty feet--

Without an obvious word or instruction, the teachers from Hope Academy let loose with a dizzying array of beams, rays, blasts, claws, and other instruments of mayhem. The tentacle is obscured from view by the violent patterns of light and shadow. Moments later, the blasts are shredded by a multitude of thin, twisted purple spikes, blurring through the air at speeds only a Magellan Speedster could even hope to match. The titanic BOOM reaches the ears of the students less than a second later, and the spikes fall in a neat circle around the group. The Wall shudders slightly once from the explosion, and then again as the remaining length of the Creeper falls against its outer face.

Spoiler: Roy

Show

Seen up close, the Crow looks very much like the sculpture Roy made of it at the beginning of the school year; whether due to the power it is using or some other means, however, small patches of what seem to be pure Void skitter over the Crow's body, obscuring parts of it even from his enhanced sight. The Void occasionally takes on an odd sheen, like feathers.

The person standing next to the Crow is covered in chains. Thick iron chains crisscross its torso, woven through by thinner copper chains and small, delicate chains of tin and silver. Its arms are obscured by stainless steel chainmail woven from individual thin chains, its legs hidden entirely by a mat of multicolored, many-metal chains. Several of the chains in the mat seem to have sunk into the ground of the Wall, merging with the stone beneath. Its head seems to be wrapped up by a single chain of old, old iron, showing patches of rust-red on its deep black surface. Occasionally, there is a glint of gold chain within the folds of the old iron chain where there would be eyes on a human head; otherwise the person is entirely obscured.

The Crow and the chained person are both looking towards the Heroes battling the Tribs, though their posture indicates that they may be talking to one another. The chained person has its arms crossed, and several of the chains on its body move as though caught in a wind only they can feel. The Crow stands with its hands at its sides, eerily still aside from the erratic stirrings of Void across its form.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy rocks with the explosions as they come, almost second nature, and his eyes narrow. Oh, he's taking note of the monster melee not a tenth of a klick away. It is bloody incredible. Even his residual shakes from being so close to Tribs have subsided, for the most part. But most of his focus is elsewhere.

"The guy next to it is a low-time Villain from Ashpah, calls himself 'Lockdown'," he mutters just loud enough for the others to hear. "He's wrapped entirely in chains. The Heroes Guild doesn't care enough to go after him because he's just that ineffective. So what's he doing here? A patsy? The professor mentioned offhand the Crow had an 'imprisoned' friend--just the fact he's covered in chains, or is he being actually controlled?"

He continues to mutter to himself and focuses on his projected limbs. The invisible eyes that had graced their palms vanish, to be replaced by two-dimensional facsimiles of ears. "And it looks like some of his chains are digging into the Wall itself," he mutters coherently before lapsing back into pondering mutters.

Spoiler

Show

Free action: Swap to Auditory as the sense for Roy's Extra Limbs.

[Quellian-dyrae]

"Digging into the wall?" Erica repeated, her attention kinda going back and forth between the battle and her brother. This was honestly an odd feeling. Even if she rationally recognized that the Heroes had this more than handled, her instincts were still kinda screaming at her to either flee at top speed, or draw her sword and fight. "That...seems like something that the Professor should hear about. If they're doing something to the wall then someone needs to stop them!" She was not exactly specific about who that someone should be.

Spoiler

Show

Well Informed on Lockdown: (1d20+16)[31].

[Hyperbolic sine]

So, one moment Rupert was shaking hands and introducing himself to his Cellmates...the next, Roy yanked out one of his hairs and a stream of words started flooding his mind at incredible speed. He was somehow able to keep up with them as far as comprehension went, but it still came out of the blue. He...just blinked at Roy, flabbergasted, while he tried to make sense of everything that was happening.

"...ouch."

[Zelphas]

The Wyrmlings are quickly moving out of sight to either side along the wall, peppered intermittently by bolts of one damaging material or another in order to keep them after the Cells assigned to them. One of the stinking Tribs (literally; even as they retreat, the smell is overpowering) fires a beam of red-white energy from one of its mismatched, oddly-placed eyes towards the Wall, the blast scattering into a dazzling light show as it strikes a hastily-erected shield of glittering crystal. Another opens one misshapen maw, spewing dirty green lightning down upon a Cell nearby; the creature's breath is intercepted by a man in an electric-blue suit, who suddenly blurs into incredible speed as the lightning plays over his form. The third Wyrmling spits out some sort of disgusting greenish-brown slime; the Cell facing the beast barely dodge to one side in time, and the glob coats the top of the Wall like glutinous tar, forming strangely unsettling shapes. The final Wyrmling opens all of its odd mouths at once, and the horrific stench redoubles from its direction; the Cell it breathed upon is too far away to see clearly, but the faint sound of vomiting drifts over the wall from where they stand.

One of the Napalms, still splitting and dodging streams of what seem to be knives, loops out a tentacle almost casually towards the sky; one Hero is slightly too slow, and the jelly-like Trib begins inexorably reeling in a tiny, struggling form. One Hero, so small as to be only seen as a dot, zooms towards the Napalm; it seems to be carrying another Hero. The flying Hero stops above the Napalm and drops the form in its arms. The falling form twists and suddenly expands, uncoiling into a massive brown lizard bedecked with bronze spikes all over its form, wicked claws, and an enormous maw filled with teeth. Galgameth roars, the sound carrying over to the Wall behind him easily, and falls straight into the Napalm, claws and teeth tearing. The Napalm shudders; releasing the Hero it had captured earlier, all of its tentacles snap towards the giant lizard inside of it, pulling Galgameth out and seeking to bind the Transformer in place. Nearly at the same time, a deep, echoing thrum erupts over the battlefield, and the second Napalm is knocked several dozen feet farther away from the wall, the sonic blast creating a large divot in the Mist for a split second. The Mists flows back into place almost instantly, far faster than normal mist would do so; such is the Mist that covers what once were Teocawki's seas whenever effected by superpowers.

Upon the Wall, the instructors all reel back slightly as a spray of giant, orange spheres burst over the top of the battlements, the three-foot spheres floating almost daintily down to earth. A cloying sweet scent wafts from the spheres, mixing horribly with the stench of the Wyrmlings, and the orange balls slowly begin expanding in size as they fall. Quickly and efficiently, the instructors with access to fire begin burning the spheres, while the Air Elementalists seem to be holding the excess spheres up to prevent them from touching the Wall.

Spoiler: Roy

Show

The sonic attack makes it slightly difficult to hear for a moment, but soon enough your extended hearing stabilizes. The first thing you notice is a low, constant rustling and clinking, like a chain being dragged across itself over and over again.

"--May not be quite enough, given this showing," the first voice you hear sounds dark and dead, muffled by a mask of some sort. It has no discernible gender, tone, or inflection. "Despite the lack of truly exceptional subjects, this zone should be able to easily--"

"That's not important." The voice that speaks now is male, low and confident. The constant rusting chain noise picks up slightly as it speaks, underlying the words. "Look at this. In the Outer Ring, this would be a hard day's work for maybe two Cells. In the Magellans, they'd laugh at whatever idiot set off the general alarms in the town for something as puny as this. And this is a decent crowd? Feh." The texture of the voice changes slightly, as though whoever was speaking had turned their back to you. "I've seen enough. Let's go, before one of the students gets bored of this little show and tries to do something clever." Footsteps begin moving away, and the sound of rustling chains grows quieter.

"Clever... yes, that would be unfortunate." The first voice displays the slightest bit of emotion at last; a disturbing eagerness entirely at odds with its statement. A moment later, it sighs. "Still, it wouldn't be conducive to worry her for very much longer." A second set of footsteps joins the first.

"Don't pretend to be compassionate," the second voice snaps back, though his tone is subdued. The voice is distinctly farther away than before. The footsteps move away and begin to fade.

[Thokk_Smash]

Roy keeps watching the various battles and feels a sense of satisfaction. He would probably never get bored of watching Tribs get put down. Someday, he thinks to himself, he'll be the one that's able to handle them.

"Er, sorry, man," he says with an apologetic smile to Rupert.

~"Erica, they're starting to leave. Just so you know, I'm gonna do something probably irresponsible,"~ he thinks to his sister. There's a hint of a smirk on his face, and a definite smirk in his mental voice.

He sends one of his limbs to snake out to Renatus, ready to tell the professor if and when the Villains made a hostile move. Not that he would need it, realistically, but meh.

His other limb moves closer to the retreating noises. Mentally, he directs the ethereal material to replicate the sound of his voice. "Aw, leaving so soon?" he says loud enough for the two Villains to hear clearly. "I mean, yeah, it's kinda like someone beating up a dog, but aren't Villains supposed to like cruel stuff like that?"

The invisible limb/voicebox maneuvers around the Villains so that the voice moves with it. "And hey, your boss is totally compassionate! He healed my friend when he was hurt by his other minions. Granted, he's probably planning to kidnap my friend at some point, so that does muddy the waters a bit. By the way, Mr Crow, does this count as a second sighting of you?"