(IC) New Bedford by Night: WtF II

[GKnightBC]

His own hackles rising at the proffered threat to his leader and the obvious disdain of the narrow-minded Pure, Jeremy shifts his own form into Dalu and crouches in anticipation of battle. His position off to one side putting him ready to flank, he turns curiously and disappointedly as Bear moves back across the Veil.
(If nothing violent starts: )Following but not turning his back on the enemy, he'll return to the Locus and wait for the rest to pass through before crossing himself.
(If battle ensues, something else will have to be done.)

[Erulasto]

Kara scowled petulantly. The Pure tribes were so rigid and ignorant.

”Fine, bitch. We’re leaving. Don’t come crawling to us when you’re eaten in your sleep, yeah?”

Flipping the woman the bird, Kara turned and shifted to her own Urshul form and followed the rest of the pack.

[Daishain]

Bear waits only for Blaze to retreat a bit before he shakes his head, speaking loudly enough to be heard by the other pack, "We went to the trouble of giving you the benefit of the doubt, of hoping that you Lost Ones would overcome your usual poisonous insanity to look at the bigger picture. I suppose that was our mistake. This territory is not yours, and never will be. Expect us to return when the larger threat to us all has been dealt with." Assuming they do not attack, he will cross over the locus after the others.

[Bennosuke]

"Wow, I thought you guys were supposed to, like, try to convert us or something. Fine, whatever, let me get into a faster form and then I'll be on my way, ok?" Blaze said as he made a transformation to Urshul (dire wolf).

Blaze's response triggers another powerful burst of mirthful laughter. "Convert you," the woman Uratha sneers, "you're just lucky we haven't wiped you out on first sigh!" The statement causes the woman in Dalu to howl, throwing her head back and bearing a mouth full of pointed teeth. The man just watches, his gaze nervously jumping from pack to pack.

The woman only laughs harder at Kara's words, but doesn't offer any more then a wave to go away. But Bear's calls as the pack depart trigger the woman in Dalu to charge forward. As she moves, bones begin to snap and grow longer, muscles begin to double in size. Wild fury takes hold and the Uratha begins barking and growling uncontrollably, and the burning wolf spirit charges as well. But then the woman with the wild greying hair shouts, "NO! HOLD!" and the entire pack of Pure Uratha halt in their tracks. But the alpha says nothing more, simply keeping her hands raises as she waits for the Anchor Wolves to depart.

[Daishain]

Bear keeps an eye on the other pack as the others withdraw, stepping through last. Once on the other side he sighs, "We're probably going to have to kill them to end this threat. The Idigam has to be our top priority, the question now is whether we can focus on that without that bunch taking advantage of the distraction. Thoughts?"

[Thundercracker]

Bear keeps an eye on the other pack as the others withdraw, stepping through last. Once on the other side he sighs, "We're probably going to have to kill them to end this threat. The Idigam has to be our top priority, the question now is whether we can focus on that without that bunch taking advantage of the distraction. Thoughts?"

Blaze

Blaze shifted back to human form once they crossed over but left his sight in the Hisil in case the Pure wolves tried to listen in.

“They’re just gonna attack us as soon as we come back, if we come back, or wipe out the wolf blooded while we’re gone,” Blaze said, “we gotta handle them first. They need to hunt down a spirit once a month, and that bigass wolf gets messed up by mercury, so I say we go back, collect a few spirits to help us, some mercury vials, and take care of our flanks first before taking on Idigam.”

[Haval]

Joanna will emerge from the shadows as most of the pack have already passed through the locus. Mindful that there was a college library on the other side she'll shift back down to her human form before passing through after a brief wave to the angry woman.

On the other side, 'I'd heard the stories about those guys but I'd didn't think they'd be that bad. They're like Nazis.' To Bear, 'No giant wolf spirit over here to help them, but if we stuck around would they come over here to try and drive us off the campus?'

Joanna had plenty of thoughts, if not all of them were useful. 'We know what they look like now. If I talk to enough students maybe I can find out where they sleep. Or there's always the chance the younger ones go drinking again in town without their boss to control them. Whatever else we do should we spread the word that they're here? If there was a pack of psychos the next town over I would want to hear about it.'

Spoiler: ooc

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Might be worth telling Knowlton about the Pure just to be polite. Maybe Joanna has heard about him in passing by this point.

[Erulasto]

Following suit with Joanna, Kara shifted back to a purely human form before planting her hands on her hips and heaving a ragged sigh.

"I'm not anything close to...like....an expert, but I agree with Blaze. They think we're scared, or...weak? We've been putting out fires way too much instead of fireproofing.. y'know?" The Cahalith gave her braided blonde hair a frustrated tug. "We need to put them down before we worry about the bigger picture or this fire will burn our asses when our backs are turned."

"I'd say we need to save our strength for the Idigam, though. Wonder if there's a way we can distract them? I dunno. Just spit-balling here, y'know? What if we framed them for something? Called out a bomb threat or planted some drugs on them and called the cops? Like....that'll occupy them for at least a couple hours?"

[GKnightBC]

Blaze

Blaze shifted back to human form once they crossed over but left his sight in the Hisil in case the Pure wolves tried to listen in.

“They’re just gonna attack us as soon as we come back, if we come back, or wipe out the wolf blooded while we’re gone,” Blaze said, “we gotta handle them first. They need to hunt down a spirit once a month, and that bigass wolf gets messed up by mercury, so I say we go back, collect a few spirits to help us, some mercury vials, and take care of our flanks first before taking on Idigam.”

Trying to be the nearly the last back, Jeremy stays silent but visibly upset by the retreat. Later on and hearing Blaze's plan, he gathers his emotions tighter. Agreeing with the sound tactics on the plan, Jeremy adds "It galled me to leave them insult and challenge us, even throwing in our face that they just showed up and claimed our grounds. I'll be more than happy to break a few thermometers to wreck them and drive them away, or under the earth!"

[Haval]

To Kara, 'If we go to the cops openly I might have some pull there. It'll depend on who we talk to.' Joanna will frown at Jeremy's comment, 'I don't really want to do that to anyone. Not that I feel like they'll give us much of a choice.'

[Erulasto]

"I met a cute cop a while back. Might be able to like...lean on him too, if needed."

[Haval]

"I met a cute cop a while back. Might be able to like...lean on him too, if needed."

'Heh, small world.' Assuming they weren't hanging around Joanna is waiting to see if she can smell the Pure on this side of the Locus. Did they intend to try chasing them off the campus?

[Daishain]

Bear looks around and shakes his head, "Lets get going back to the warehouse, when we meet them again I want it to be on our terms, not theirs. So lets tell the wolfblooded and do what we need to."

To Jeremy he states, "I know, I hated it as well. But as much as I wanted to respond with violence, I had to balance that instinct against the well being of this pack. We were not ready for a confrontation with a pack and spirit that strong. Whether we would have prevailed or not, we would have lost some of our own."

[Bennosuke]

The Uratha retreat quickly, returning to the safety of the their warehouse. It does not take long to gather up the Wolf Blooded, by now it is already early evening, to break the news. Unsurprisingly, the non-Uratha pack members are equally upset, many of them exhibiting true anger, especially the younger ones. But none dare defy Bear and the other Werewolves, whose word is law. They listen intently, nodding their heads as their anger stokes their focus.

The pack discuss their options, and make plans for how they will handle the new situation.

************************************************** ****

That night, fog seems to creep out from the bay, spreading long hungry tendrils of grey onto the land. Then the winds begin to pick up, and by the time most of the pack members are beginning to go to sleep, the stars and Mother Luna's gaze are completely lost in black fog and an onslaught of rain. Gusts of wind batter the shutters against the warehouse's old and dirt crusted windows, and the patter of rain become so intense that it becomes a near constant chorus of angry patters against the walls and roof.

This close to the water, sudden storms are not uncommon and most of the Uratha and Wolf-Blooded are quite used to such weather. But sometime around midnight something shifts in the intensity in the storm, something shifts in the very fabric of the night. At first it's nothing more than an uneasy feeling, a small electric current that makes the ears prick and the fur stand up on end. Those who prefer their more lupine senses may find themselves unconsciously sniffing at the air.

Then several noises begin to build within the cacophony of the storm. Knitted into the whipping wind grows these low gurgling grunts. At first the strange noises are infrequent enough that one might think they are imagining things, but they grow louder and more regular till it sounds like there are scores of something barking and burping outside of the warehouse. Those who turn over to their wolf hearing begin to pick up the sound of scrapping slapping footfalls, like the entire property is surrounded by shambling clawed creatures. The smell of rotten seaweed and burned fish flesh then begins to seep in through the windows, mixed with the coppery scent of sizzling Essence. A mob of something appears to be outside, and based on the charred Essence smells, they are likely coming up against the Spirit Wards placed by the pack.

Now some pack members likely make their bedrooms upstairs (in fact we've established that Bear/Celeste and Kara's bedrooms are both upstairs... and I think Blaze's is as well), and most pack members are likely in bed, or at least in their rooms when it all begins...

[Haval]

On the way back to New Bedford Joanna will see if she can find images of members of the science facualty on their website. She didn't think the Pure were necessarily academics or students looking like that but she had to start somewhere before resorting to trawling through Facebook.

Spoiler: ooc

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If I recognise anyone will try to get some names for the Pure if it's that easy

Wits 3 + Computers 1
(4d10)[4][3][10][2](19)
Any 10s
(4d10)[9][1][5][4](19)

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Joanna has probably not been with the Anchor Wolves for long enough to get an actual bed. When she has time she'll have to do something about that, but for the moment she's claimed an old sofa and a blanket for herself on the ground floor. She is not yet used to the sea weather and it's maybe getting a little cold, but she's still sleeping in her human form in an old Pixies t-shirt with her jeans hung over the back of a nearby chair.

Whether she's managed to get to sleep or not by this point it was difficult not to be woken up by whatever was going on outside, particularly with that smell. Calling an alarm was probably pointless. The other Uratha would be as aware of whatever that was as she would but she couldn't say the same about the Wolf Blooded. Moving as quietly as possible, Joanna will move to the nearest window to try and get a look at whatever was outside.

Spoiler: ooc

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Will put Joanna downstairs. I have Lone Wolf if any of this is worth Wp

Probably irrelevant but
Dex 2 + Stealth 2
(4d10)[1][2][4][5](12)

Any 9 or 10s for Moon Kissed
(4d10)[3][5][5][10](23)

[Bennosuke]

It wasn't too hard to navigate the U-Mass Dartmouth website, and after about ten minutes or so come across the profile page of a Professor Gwendolyn Oak, whose photo matched the alpha of the Pure tribe. She smiled sagely in her profile picture, but there was that same regal fury in her eyes. It must have been a relatively new profile though, because pretty much everything else was missing other than her name and picture; no background education, areas of research, or published papers. And strangely, though perhaps not surprisingly, a google search for Gwendolyn Oak brings up nothing!

************************************************** **

The cannery's architecture was old school. The first floor windows were high enough that all you could see out of them was the sky, and at this time looking up through them, all Joanna could see was blackness. She had the option of either climbing up the wall to be able to see the ground level outside, or Jo could take one of the ladders or spiral stairs that ran along the walls and led up to the catwalks that spidered across the roof of the first floor. Alternatively, Joanna could head to the second floor, which was where the pack elders were sleeping anyways.

[GKnightBC]

Also new to the pack, Jeremy spends the night comfortably shifted into Dalu. On the sounds of the frying fish-things waking him, he first makes sure all the Blooded are awake and armed, then goes to check out the windows, peering at the forms outside. "Looks like we've got some nasty company!" He says as he prepares for combat, eager to prove himself to his packmates.

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

When Blaze returned, the first thing he did was fire up his laptop and chat up DataByte.

"Hey there buddy, how do you feel about teaming up and hacking into Dartmouth?" he asked, "I'm thinkin' we can get started tonight."

In the evening, when the wards start pinging and wiping out whatever is out there, Blaze goes to check on them and make sure they're holding up okay.

[Haval]

'Gwendolyn Oak. There's no way she was born with that name.' Joanna will show the others the woman's picture on her phone. 'Does someone like us have a way of talking their way into calling themselves a professor? Or does that mean she actually knows enough to teach classes.'

That evening, Joanna will shift to a wolf so she can move a bit quicker and will climb up to one of the catwalks in the hope of getting a better look at whatever was going on outside.

[Daishain]

Bear decides to take the direct approach and walk outside to see up close. "Stay alert, and be ready for an assault, they may be trying to overwhelm the barrier, in which case we'll need to counterattack first."

[Bennosuke]

Earlier in the afternoon, Blaze boots up his now ?possessed?, ?haunted? laptop. After a moment, the screen shifts to it's now familiar but still unsettling background of shifting First Tongue sigils and the forest of strange simian creatures. In response to Blaze's query, a message types itself in neon green letters across the top of the screen. "Uh, you know you and your pack keep making requests with promises of repayment, but never keep up your end of the bargain." This is followed by a second, just as the letters from the first message begin to fade, "... The upgrades you made at first are appreciated, but I think I want some proof I'll get mine. I'm one of the smartest spirits in this part of the Hisil you know!!!"

************************************************** *************

Blaze goes to check the wards, the sigils made of bone and stick and twine. The wards had been placed at strategic points throughout the warehouse, pinned over windows, placed in corners and tied over walls. The wards are all glowing now, emitting a soft pulsing blue light, and even a heat that can be felt if one draws close enough. Small wisps of black fragrant smoke float into the air off of some of the brighter sigils. The wards appear to be holding up, but they are definitely hard at work.

Bear rushes down the hall, and down the stairs, having made up his mind. Undoing the bolt locks, and numerous chains meant to provide a modicum of safety, he swings the large factory door open with a loud shriek of rusted metal. Bear's face is immediately bit by an onslaught of cold wind and pouring rain, which at first makes it hard to see anything outside.

But after less than a second, his eyes adjust, and he can see the gathering of hunched figures that are now turning in his direction. The concrete yard is filled with a small mob of creatures, just slightly shorter than a human man. Their round yellow lamp eyes stare at Bear, opening toothless slit mouths. The things are stooped, almost simian, with long spindly arms that hand almost all the way to the ground. Their bodies are covered in shiny silvery scales, and fin-like webbing protrudes from their forearms and between their long clawed fingers. Recognizing a way in, the abominations begin hissing and barking, lumbering towards the doorway and the Uratha standing within.

[Daishain]

Bear yells out to whomever is nearby, his voice making it clear he wouldn't take an argument. "Seal the door behind me, and be ready to open a window on the second floor if I need it!" He growls at the mob and defends himself in front of the door, his form ripples into that of the great dire wolf as they reach him, but he only stays there for as long as it takes for the others to follow his first order, then he dashes off to the side, raking as many of the foe as he can along the way. He has no intention of letting them bog him down.

Spoiler: OOC

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Tactical shifting applies for that opening change to Urshul, anyone in close proximity at the start takes 1 bashing damage and need to make a dex+athletics roll to avoid getting knocked down.
Using a willpower with a brawl/claw roll to inflict as much damage as he can in a short period of time. Also giving you a strength/athletics roll for whatever shoving around he might have to do to break free of the mob and get moving.
str+brawl+will+claw special. (13d10)[9][8][1][1][5][6][9][5][2][10][5][8][6](75) add +1 free lethal damage from Urshul claw bonus.
nine again roll (13d10)[3][1][1][4][3][2][4][8][4][9][2][8][10](59)
Str+athletics (8d10)[8][9][5][10][9][4][8][9](62)
ten again roll (8d10)[5][3][4][3][7][6][3][2](33)
initiative (1d10+7)[10]
Bear's speed in this form is 18 if it comes up

[Haval]

Joanna has quietly moved onto the catwalks when Bear decides to take the initiative. What the hell Bear. It's her opinion that there might be more of those things outside then just the ones Bear was going after. It was how she would do it in their place.

She'll try to make sure there weren't more of them that might try getting in from another direction before she'll try to help Bear. She'll look for a fire escape or a window large enough for Bear to climb through in a hurry.

Spoiler

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Roll to check for more creatures if it helps
Wits 3 + Composure 3 + Urhan 4
(10d10)[9][9][8][3][8][6][3][6][5][6](63)
Any 10s
(10d10)[7][4][3][9][10][3][6][7][1][3](53)

[GKnightBC]

'Gwendolyn Oak. There's no way she was born with that name.' Joanna will show the others the woman's picture on her phone. 'Does someone like us have a way of talking their way into calling themselves a professor? Or does that mean she actually knows enough to teach classes.'

That evening, Joanna will shift to a wolf so she can move a bit quicker and will climb up to one of the catwalks in the hope of getting a better look at whatever was going on outside.

Jeremy nods at that "Yes, We can be very persuasive if needed. Teaching something to a room full of Humans wouldn't be too hard, if you have at least a passing knowledge of the subject you're faking through. I remember some teachers I'd swear had no clue about computers, trying to teach classes."

[GKnightBC]

[QUOTE=Daishain;25234567]Bear yells out to whomever is nearby, his voice making it clear he wouldn't take an argument. "Seal the door behind me, and be ready to open a window on the second floor if I need it!" He growls at the mob and defends himself in front of the door, his form ripples into that of the great dire wolf as they reach him, but he only stays there for as long as it takes for the others to follow his first order, then he dashes off to the side, raking as many of the foe as he can along the way. He has no intention of letting them bog him down.

About to follow the leader out into the fray, Jeremy growls, still in Dalu, then closes the door and rushes up to the nearest overlooking window. Finding a large one, he opens it wide and crouches on the edge, looking down into the battle and trying to find Bear. Ready to scramble down, he looks for an opportunity to rend.

OOC - Time to do all this probably precludes an attack this round.

[Bennosuke]

Fear and anxiety has no place in Bear's body or mind as waits for the monsters to charge. He feels no pain as he becomes the Dire Wolf, only the distinct relief and anxiety that comes with finally being able to lay one's claws on their enemy. In an instant he is bounding towards his first victim, unhindered by the wind and rain and fog soaking into his pelt.

Bear simply charges down the first creature, leaping in the air to land with both claws extended and ripping into it's chest as he knocks it off its feet and landing on top of it as he crushes its crumpled body under his massive weight. Surrounded by another four or so of the scaly figures, Bear raises his head to let out a triumphant howl. Then he is a blur of dark fur, claws and fangs. He slays another of the creature, tasting its hot metallic briny blood as it sprays from an arterial laceration, then knocks over a third.

Before the mob can close ranks on Bear, he darts out along the side of the building, leading the fish men away from the door. As Bear rounds the corner of the warehouse front, he finds more of the intruders, maybe another seven to ten. Some of them have burn marks on their arms and hands from trying to scale the walls of the factory, stung by the spirit wards that the pack had spent so much time putting up. This second group quickly sites Bear, and the swarm begins hissing and barking, and closing in with their awkward lumbering gait.

Spoiler: OOC@Daishain

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Bear's WP stays at 5/5 as he fulfills his Blood Archetype and regains the WP. Bear is welcome to take another round of fighting with the same rolls, but will be facing larger numbers and worse odds. He also won't regain a second WP for doing so... though it's likely worth a point of Glory Renown at 1XP as opposed to 3 if he keeps this up. I am also giving Bear the Steadfast Condition

On the catwalk, Joanna watches through storm windows as Bear explodes out into the night, gloriously taking down three of the intruders, one after the next. She races along the gangway, following Bear around the side of the building. She watches as he round the corner only to find himself facing down another mob of the fish people, as the stragglers from the prior mob are chasing up behind him.

But Joanna quickly finds a window lower than the rest along the walkway. There were about two of these per side of the warehouse, each one narrower and longer, a single pan as opposed to a pair. Joanna could push this one open and Bear would probably be able to leap inside before she slammed it shut again. Alternatively, she could likely jump down to aid him.

Jeremy finds himself with plenty of time to fumble with the locks to the warehouse door. He begins scrambling up one of the iron ladders, catching sight of Joanna who has just stopped in front of one of the lower windows, racing to her side.

[Daishain]

Bear keeps moving, tearing along the side of the group before him as he makes a turn away from the warehouse, headed for the nearby gate on the courtyard wall. So far it didn't seem like these things could keep up, so he was focusing on avoiding getting pinned down. He howls again, more than a hint of joy and battle lust creeping into it. He'd been aching for a problem he could just tear apart with his claws for a while now.

Spoiler: OOC

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Using a willpower again
str+brawl+will+claw special. (13d10)[9][10][4][10][5][2][7][8][2][3][5][7][8](80) add +1 free lethal damage from Urshul claw bonus.
nine again roll (13d10)[6][10][4][7][6][7][10][2][8][8][3][10][10](91)
Str+athletics (8d10)[9][1][8][9][9][6][8][3](53)
ten again roll (8d10)[5][3][4][2][10][5][4][5](38)

[Haval]

Joanna will reach out to push open the window with a paw. There were a lot of those things, but Bear seemed to be doing ok so far. What the hell does any human in earshot think hearing that howl?

If Bear looked to be slowing down or otherwise in trouble she's prepared to go down and join him, but for the moment she'll watch to see if any part of the horde was still trying to get in or were they all focused on Bear. If she can tell from this angle, she'd also like to see if there were more of them emerging from the sea. How many of those things were there anyway?

[Thundercracker]

Blaze

To databyte: “oh, who was asking you fir stuff, and what do they owe you? I’ll help you out. If you don’t wanna come with me that’s fine, you can watch I guess. Might be interesting is all.,” Blaze replied.

Evening:
“Hey guys, looks like the wards are holding, so we should be fine so long as we keep the doors shut,” Blaze said as he descended the stairs.

“Wait, what’s going on?” he asked.

[Haval]

“Wait, what’s going on?” he asked.

'Bear went outside.' Joanna replies from the catwalk overhead.