(IC) New Bedford by Night: WtF II

[Daishain]

Bear is about to put up a hand to stop Blaze, but then its too late. He sighs "I guess we'll see. I doubt we'll get the chance for that examination. The only reason he has to come back now is revenge if he still wants it."

"Still, what's done is done. Honestly I would have disliked breaking that promise."

[Thundercracker]

Bear is about to put up a hand to stop Blaze, but then its too late. He sighs "I guess we'll see. I doubt we'll get the chance for that examination. The only reason he has to come back now is revenge if he still wants it."

Blaze

"Nah, we let him out man," Blaze said, "I don't think he'd be back for revenge, just a gut feeling."

[Bennosuke]

(OOC: Please give me a wits + composure perception check)

[Thundercracker]

(OOC: Please give me a wits + composure perception check)

Wits + composure: (4d10)[7][9][1][9](26)
10 again: (4d10)[8][7][8][4](27)

[Daishain]

Bear peers off after the spirit, then looks around the warehouse in the hisil

Spoiler: OOC

Show

wits+composure (5d10)[2][6][4][5][9](26)
ten again (5d10)[8][2][8][1][10](29)

[Bennosuke]

Both Bear and Blaze catch sight of it at the same time. The waters in the ship yard froth and churn in the wakes created by Pequod's departure, but floating in the waters of the dock appear to be small chunks of floating debris. At first they look like small plastic bags, or maybe jellyfish, but on closer inspection they appear to be chunks of Essence drained corpus and ichor. Some pallid pieces of spirit flesh take the shape of severed tentacles, others the half cleaned skeletons of tiny spiny fish. There is only a handful of the debris, but on closer inspection, you notice that the chunks of corpus have spindles and tiny coral-like growths protruding through irritated skin. The tumors are reminiscent of the growths on both Pequod and on Juno. And none of the pieces of flesh could rightly belong to any of the small number of lesser spirits buzzing around the ship yard.

[Thundercracker]

Both Bear and Blaze catch sight of it at the same time. The waters in the ship yard froth and churn in the wakes created by Pequod's departure, but floating in the waters of the dock appear to be small chunks of floating debris. At first they look like small plastic bags, or maybe jellyfish, but on closer inspection they appear to be chunks of Essence drained corpus and ichor. Some pallid pieces of spirit flesh take the shape of severed tentacles, others the half cleaned skeletons of tiny spiny fish. There is only a handful of the debris, but on closer inspection, you notice that the chunks of corpus have spindles and tiny coral-like growths protruding through irritated skin. The tumors are reminiscent of the growths on both Pequod and on Juno. And none of the pieces of flesh could rightly belong to any of the small number of lesser spirits buzzing around the ship yard.

“Hey man, you see that stuff?” Blaze asked, wrinkling his nose at the sight of the odd growths, “think we should grab some to study, or burn it?”

[Bennosuke]

Finishing their investigation in the Hisil, the Uratha returned through the Gauntlet and helped their pack mates finish packing up and preparing for their gig. The band performed at the vineyard under a blood red sky as the sun went down. The audience was a little smaller this time around, but those in attendance were in an incredibly jovial mood; celebrating the new vaccination and the hopeful end of Captain Drips.

From Twilight, Reveler had basked in the collecting Essence. The spirit's hundreds of vine-like tentacles slithered around the audience, lapping up Essence that dripped off of those in attendance. Wine was free for the band and their groupies, and it seemed to pour extra freely under the influence of the Pack's totem. The wolf-blooded were in the crowd, dancing and screaming and singing along. Even Pine got on her feet to do the old-mama boogie.

The band hung back after their set, staying as the crowd began to die down and as the near full moon rose into the sky. A table had been set out for them behind the stage, littered with food and plenty of bottles of wine. Even Juno seemed to be enjoying herself a little, though she was mostly pecking at her plate. Reveler hung over the table, sated, bloated with Essence, whispering from Twilight how the pack had done good.

[Daishain]

Oh it was good to let loose...

These past few weeks had been tense, and it didn't look like the next few would be incredibly peaceful either, but tonight... Tonight they could simply celebrate their victory and each other.

Bear gets rather thoroughly drunk at the after party, and needs some assistance getting home after a laughable attempt to imitate a river dance on one of the tables.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze ate his fill, smoked, and drank without concern for the first time in weeks. Everything else could wait until the next day, preferably until the next afternoon or later, depending on how much the wine ended up affecting him. For now though, it was time to enjoy the moment, especially with how hard won it was. He mingled freely with whoever was around, whoever wanted to talk or smoke or drink. Who knew when they would get a chance to cut loose like this again...

[Bennosuke]

As the Anchor Wolves are celebrating and generally making merry, Juno rises from her seat. Pale faced, her "skin condition appearing even worse", Juno's legs are clumsy as she stumbles several steps away from the crowd, disappearing out of view behind the large wooden stage, which still houses the band's gear.

For just a moment before she disappears, something appears to ripple under the surface of her flesh.

[Thundercracker]

As the Anchor Wolves are celebrating and generally making merry, Juno rises from her seat. Pale faced, her "skin condition appearing even worse", Juno's legs are clumsy as she stumbles several steps away from the crowd, disappearing out of view behind the large wooden stage, which still houses the band's gear.

For just a moment before she disappears, something appears to ripple under the surface of her flesh.

Blaze decided to get up and follow Juno, figuring if she needed help, someone should be there to actually call for it.

[Bennosuke]

For whatever reason, Blaze is the only pack member who notices Juno slink off. Slipping behind the stage Blaze witnesses Juno doubled over on all fours. From behind, Blaze cannot see his pack mate's face, but from the low moaning and growling coming from Juno it sounds like she is in great distress. Juno's body begins shifting in an uncontrolled manner, one arm becoming that of a Gauru's, while another that of a Urshul. Bones audibly snap, and shift and reshape. Patches of fur rip through bleeding flesh. The scent of blood and fresh meat and fear fills the air. To Blaze, it is like watching an Uratha go through their first change, only this should not be happening to Juno! Worse, something seems to be shifting and pushing out from underneath Juno's skin. Spiny protrusions ripple across her spine and the patches of barnacle overgrowth spread and grow in size. As Juno changes further and further, her body becoming a jigsaw monstrosity of Uratha forms, she lets loose a terrible sky shattering howl that no other pack member could ignore.

(OOC: Sorry, things have been a little busier than expected. As Blaze is the only one witnessing, and his trigger is Packmate, Blaze is going to need to roll for Kuruth. Unfortunately, I am away from book, so I can't confirm the roll or dice pool. Good luck!)

[Daishain]

Bear pauses mid drink, eyes turning towards the howl. Damn it all, this was supposed to be the one night he didn't have to worry about crap like this!

He gets up and slaps his face a few times as he hurries towards the noise.

[Bennosuke]

As Blaze watches in terror, Bear finds his Uratha metabolism kicking in and clearing out the haze of all the wine he drank.

Spoiler: OOC: All

Show

So here is my understanding of the rules after several read throughs. First things first, I have to apologize as Blaze (and Bear for that matter) are Harmony 6. Because of their harmony (see page 105 table) they can only be triggered by a specific trigger; in their case this means they have to be the ones doing the damage to Juno. That said, Michael's harmony is 8, which means he would only react if he see's Juno being attacked. Now, these triggers may still occur, depending on what you guys do . But, if your trigger happens, you drop into Wasu Im. In Wasu Im you have to attack something, or roll Resolve + Composure. Each success offers a single turn in which he/she would not have to attack, allowing the Uratha to run away and throw their rage on another target. An exceptional success on Resolve + Composure stops the Rage all together.

All of that said, before I move things further and now that I've clarified everything, I'm going to let Anna and Bear, and anyone else who wants to get involved reply to see if anyone wants to do anything active here.

[Thundercracker]

Spoiler

Show

doesn't one of our pack go crazy when they hear a howl?

Blaze

It was like something out of a bad trip.

"Juno, what the hell is-?" Blaze started but then he realized something was terribly, terribly wrong.
"Bear! Everyone! Help!" Blaze shouted.

Spoiler

Show

has blaze ever seen or heard of anything like this before?
int + occult (8d10)[1][1][4][8][7][6][5][8](40)
9 again: (8d10)[2][2][2][1][2][3][2][3](17)

[Bennosuke]

Spoiler: OOC REPLY

Show

doesn't one of our pack go crazy when they hear a howl?

Not really. The closest would be the specific trigger for "Moon" which includes being triggered when you hear another Uratha howl while your moon is in the sky. Kara's I believe is Moon, but her auspice moon is not in the sky.

Juno whimpers, then howls again as her legs bend backwards at the wrong angle. "Help me Blaze," she shrieks as she turns so that her eyes can lock onto his. She takes loaping steps forward as her chest seems to bloat as if filled with gallons of sea water. Her belly ripples as if something snake-like wriggled itself along the distended flesh.

Blaze watches in horror, his mind racing as he tried to find some logic in what he was seeing, wracking his brain to see if there was some old myth that he could recount that would explain what was happening. But to his frustration, he could not explain what was happening. A spirit could "ride" a mortal host, warping their flesh in an Exorcist like possession; but Uratha could not be ridden in such a manner, as far as Blaze was aware. Similarly, Uratha should be immune to the taint from of Hosts such as the Beshilu. Blaze didn't know why, but the same word kept playing over and over in the back of his mind, despite there being any good justification; Idigam

(OOC: Going to let others reply since it sounds like everyone is being called over)

[Daishain]

Bear turns his trot into a dead run as he yells, "Pack! Party's over! clear everyone out!" His stride lengthens a bit as he shifts up into Dalu form, rapidly closing the distance to where Blaze had yelled from.

[Llyarden]

"Get everyone out," Michael hissed to E - which was admittedly more to have an excuse to keep her away from whoever...or whatever...had howled than anyone else.

He was a bit behind the others in finding Juno. If it was indeed still Juno at all.

"Is it...inside her?"

He pushed his sense of vision briefly into the Hisil, just in case that revealed anything more.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I hope I'm remembering correctly that we all have the equivalent of Two-World Eyes in 2e; I don't think there's any roll needed?

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

“Idigam?” Blaze muttered, then realized what an idiotic thing he’d just done.

“Juno, lie down, on your back,” he said, helping her down.

“Guys I have no idea what this is,” he said, his eyes locked on Juno, “is it like a parasite or something, and it needs seawater?”

He looked around for a salt shaker and water, but none were immediately available where they were.

“Reveler, do you know what’s going on??” Blaze asked, knowing the spirit was nearby and watching.

[Daishain]

Bear comes running around the corner, stopping slightly in between Juno and the rest. He looks on with horror, unsure of what to do or say.

[Bennosuke]

Spoiler: OOC@Daishain

Show

Do you would Bear can keep it together to wait to shift till he is out of sight? It would mean not shifting till he was already behind the stage basically.

Most of the Wolf Blooded rise and fall in line the moment Bear calls out. Fortunately there are not many humans left at this point, but Bear's shout causes the remaining crowd to fall into a confused commotion.

Nearby, E rose from her seat next to Michael, headstrong defiance playing out on her face momentarily. But her glance flitted between Michael and Bear who was running off. "But I can help," she hisses at Michael, "before turning to help the other Wolf Blooded usher the crowd away."

He was a bit behind the others in finding Juno. If it was indeed still Juno at all.

"Is it...inside her?"

He pushed his sense of vision briefly into the Hisil, just in case that revealed anything more.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Uratha can send any, some or all of their sense's across the Gauntlet. But if an Uratha sends a sense across the Gauntlet, they lose that sense where they are currently. Furthermore, if an Uratha splits their senses across the Gauntlet, they get a -2 to perception rolls

On the other side of the barrier, Michael can see that the vineyard as a lush primordial forest. Verdant growths climb up canopied trees where spirits of revelry and spirits of plant life flit between man sized bushes and clumps of vines. However, the area around where Juno is huddled is cleared of the skittering spirit life, as if the spirits can feel the sickness coming from her.

In the Flesh, Juno does as Blaze instructs, moaning as she struggles to roll onto her back. Her tail whips back and forth across the ground, sprouting and shrinking as her back arches and her jaw elongates, ripping through the skin of her face. Her abdomen continues to swell and ripple with snake-like protrusions. "Help," she shrieks, "help me!"

The Reveler appears from twilight, materializing in the real world and hisses, "Idigam!" it's normally placid face turning cold with hatred, it's tentacle like appendages reaching out, threatening to tangle and strangle the squirming Juno.

[Thundercracker]

“Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing??” Blaze asked, trying to bat the tentacles away, “and what the hell is idigam?”

[Bennosuke]

Bear manages to hold it together, stumbling out of sight before giving into his growing anger, into the urge that pushes him to shift into Dalu as he arrives on the scene.

The Reveler finishes fully materializing, the totem spirit's otherworldly form becoming fully realized in the world of flesh. It replies to Blaze with a mix of confusion and still growing hatred, practically growling, "It is inside her. It is an abomination that must be purged!"

But there is no time to reply further and no need to intercede. Juno's body arches backwards, all four limbs flailing in a rigid series of jerks as she attempts to let go of one last scream. But the Uratha's howl is never fully realized. It is not so much that the flesh over Juno's expanding belly tears or bursts, as it simply seems to recede away, creating a split seem down the middle of her chest. But instead of blood or gore blood, a series of twisted bones rocket out of Juno's thorax. Some of the bones are more human, others more lupine, other still seem to be a fusion of multiple bones, or to belong to animals that no longer exist on earth. Strips of muscle and tendons still cling to the bones. The jigsaw skeleton pieces shoot up several feet into the air. But before their descent, a geyser of seawater shoots forth from Juno's chest. Despite her bloated appearance, it is an impossible amount of frothy salty water; wave after wave erupts out of Juno. After a second the geyser begins to carry with it a myriad of glowing, Essence stained creatures. The things that follow the waves are twisted asymmetric abominations; all cephalopod skin twisted in crustacean shells. Their bodies ripple with tentacles and fins and digited legs that bend and twitch at unnatural angles that hurt the eyes to study.

The bones, water, and dying abhorrent things all rain down upon the gathered pack, as the husk of fur that once was Juno shivers its last pathetic death throws.

[Daishain]

Bear lets off a massive howl of anguish and rage as his sister dies in front of him in a truly horrific manner. His eyes go wild, and he starts stomping on the little things that had come out of Juno. Clearly this does not satisfy him, and the big werewolf starts looking around for something else to attack. Those of the pack recognize the signs, the Rahu was in Wasu'Im.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I think this would hit a little too close to home for Bear to handle this rationally. I'll try the resolve+composure roll in a bit. Just pausing for others to react if they have something to help.

[Bennosuke]

Solomon's dark Urhan muzzle dips from the shadows. He lets out a string of colorful First Tongue curses that start as a growl but quickly descend into maddened gibberish. Without control, the Irraka shifts up into Urshul, Dire Wolf, before turning tail and bounding into the forest. His massive black form almost makes no sound as it darts out of sight.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze stands around in confusion. Whatever had just happened wasn’t ‘supposed’ to happen, and Juno wasn’t ‘supposed’ to rip herself to shreds. Would she be able to regenerate even from this?

He glanced down at the twitching limbs. Probably not. He picked up one of the critters and took a long look at it, against the instinct to look away...

[Bennosuke]

Blaze bends down and picks up one of the things that had poured out of Juno's gut. To Blaze's relief, the thing is already dead. A gelatinous slimy body and appendages hang limply from an onyx colored asymmetrically spiraling conch shell that shimmers with rainbow of colors like a raven's feather or an oil spill. The shell is about the size of a tennis ball, hard and slick. It's bulbous thorax has two mouth like slits that hang at odd angles. One of the apperatures is open and Blaze can see tiny, chiclet-like humanoid teeth. Sucker covered scaly tentacles dangle in Blaze's grip, some ribbed with a long row of webbed spiny fins. Several of the tentacles end in what appear to be segmented chitinous digits, while others appear to be tipped by suckers or round red veined eyeballs.

[Llyarden]

Vision still peering across the Gauntlet, Michael just...froze, for a few seconds - long enough for Solomon to whisk away into the darkness, long enough for the echoes of Bear's howl to die down. He barely even reacted to the horrific gout of...things...that had erupted from Juno, just staring at her body, numbly.

It was Bear's movement, pacing back and forth, that caught his attention, and his eyes widened when he saw the wildness in the hulking Rahu's. If he fell to Kuruth, right now, with everyone still so close...

They couldn't lose anyone else. Bear had to control himself, had to push away that rage, and for a couple of moments Michael just...assumed that he would, assumed that the elder Uratha would resist the urge.

And he didn't, and Michael felt the same rage beginning to roil deep in him in sympathy with his packmate and he clenched his fists, trying to stop it, trying to stop Bear's growing rage from pulling him in too.

"Bear, please!" he...more pleaded than anything else, desparate. "Just stop!" And for a moment it almost seemed like his spirit brands were visible even in the world of flesh and his voice became an impossible bark in the First Tongue, far deeper and more resonant than the young Elodoth's ever normally was even were he in a form that could speak it, a single word of power that reverberated across the secluded area behind the stage.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Michael uses Darkness Into Light to negate Bear's rage.

[Bennosuke]

Bear can feel the anger in him threatening to take over. His body defies him, growing and pushing itself in preparation for violence. The Rahu's vision begins to tunnel, as he struggles to maintain control, his mind racing desperately to find an escape, or an outlet for the wave of carnage that he would not be able to hold back for long. The Death Rage was coming, the Killing Form was coming, and there was nothing Bear would be able to do to stop it. Mother Luna's yellow light was seemed to be filling the sky, filling Bear's vision. Somewhere, perhaps from The Hisil, Bear could hear mad maniacal laughter.

"Bear, please!" he...more pleaded than anything else, desparate. "Just stop!" And for a moment it almost seemed like his spirit brands were visible even in the world of flesh and his voice became an impossible bark in the First Tongue, far deeper and more resonant than the young Elodoth's ever normally was even were he in a form that could speak it, a single word of power that reverberated across the secluded area behind the stage.

Michael's words cut through everything! The command was like a slap in the face, and the blow actually caused Bear to stumble backwards. It was like getting kicked in the balls, and Bear found himself almost collapsing to his knees. The pup had done it. The youngest weakest Uratha in the pack had done it; had stopped Bear's Kuruth. The carnage that had been Juno's demise came back into focus, but Bear found himself sapped of the sudden maddening rage that had only a second ago consumed him.