Outside 50: Meeting nature halfway

[bc56]

Jade and Gwen
Jade looks at the place Gwen points. "I doubt the servants' stuff is cursed. I'm going to snag something, be right back." She pads over there and shifts back to humanoid form before attempting to slip into a simple linen dress and some sandals. Hopefully they aren't cursed.

Marsh
The cage is out hanging at the end of the vine?
Kothar dodges away from the lashing vines and takes the quick and easy solution. He chops at the vine with his axe. If he can sever it, the cage should fall.

[Recaiden]

Quaint historical architecture to some part of them, then.

"Understood." The monsters will be a concern eventually, and probably so will Braeg. But hopefully for the moment they can focus on the rebuilding of the village and information gathering. There wasn't supposed to be much of a religious aspect to this anyway. At least not yet...

They watch the impressive-looking portal frame appear, but the actual construct eludes them. Five dimensions is plenty for almost all purposes, so they haven't made the effort to be able to see exactly what's going on here. Just the lower order effects of the connection.

"Permanent, you say?" Sounds risky. Sounds like it's going to complicate the use of this outpost, having that portal here all the time. Maybe better to think of it as optimistic about the other world. A few people have to dodge out of the way of suddenly sprouting plants, but everyone here was healthy enough already.

And then, with the power gone, and light coming through the frame, one Sec minion steps through.
If it all works, as I'm sure it will after all the effort that messenger put into it, everyone and everything else will soon follow.

[Fenric]

The fox looks to the minion

As in, it is a real object. Move it, set it on fire, do whatever you like with it: except for the entanglement, it is mundane wood and aluminum oxide.

And everything works quite well.

[Ironsmith]

[Mountain Outpost]

This is about when Braeg will arrive through the portal, dusting himself off. Dho Chladach could be a little dirty at times, in this village especially, given its state of disrepair.

As he emerges, his attendants will rush up to him, anxiously badgering him with questions.

"Lord Braeg! Are you all right?"
"What were you doing there?"
"Why is lady Inari getting involved?"
"Sorry to say, we lost the contest. You're not mad, are you?"

"Gentlemen, please." Braeg smiles and pulls his twin attendants in by their shoulders, a wide grin on his face. "Today is a historic moment. Let's not ruin it with petty concerns about poetry."

"Historic?"
"What do you mean?"

"Today marks the beginning of Inari's attempts to restore our home." Braeg smirks.

"That's... that's wonderful!"
"So, are you still going to-"

"In good time, my friends. In good time."

[Fenric]

The fox goes out of turn

Atorre, this is Lord Braeg. Not to put too fine a point on it, an avatar of her Holiness was on a date with him when the destination was discovered to not be in a suitable condition for such things. He is a fiendling lord from that world, it seems of a similar measure as Lord Merant was.

Lord Braeg, this is Atorre: a very capable, competant, and trusted friend who has helped us on many occasions.

What is it with Inari getting involved with chaotic demon lords? This keeps happening...

[Rebonack]

[Blighted Battleground]

Looking astonished at equestrians is a pretty normal thing when humanoids aren't use to dealing with them. Tiny magical talking horses is a pretty unusual discovery for one not expecting it.

"I'm Polaris. We're members of Team Nightmære's peacekeeping force here in Apocalypse Junction," the unicorn replies. As he speaks the visor on his helmet splits in half then sides up, revealing his face to provide the interaction with a little more personableness. The unicorn's fur is a dusky shade of blue and a few wisps of his black mane are visible. Large, bright magenta eyes study the former captives carefully. When he speaks his teeth are briefly visible. Certainly not the flat teeth of an herbivore. "Can you provide me with any information on the enemies here? Numbers or movements?"

There's the sound of a voice from inside Polaris' helmet, though the words are hard to make out. The unicorn flicks one of his ears and nods.

Likely one of his fire-team mates speaking to him through their suits' radios.

"Are you all in good condition to move? My team and I can escort you back to your outpost."

Five heavily armed equestrians AND an Epona would be quite the escort.

Though it doesn't look like the ornithopter is going to stick around. The earth pony is busy closing up the teleportation platform while the aircraft hovers nearby. Likely going to collect the hardware for re-use later.


[Marsh]

One two one two and through and through the flaming axes goes snicker snack!

The cage thumps to the crown of the tree and rolls a few paces, thankfully stopping before it reaches the edge. It's plain to see now that there's no amulet inside. It was merely a glowing lure to convince someone to climb up to the top of the tree where the carnivorous flower can eat them. Carnivorous flowers do rude things like that.

And speaking of rude things!

The flower is doing its best to seize Kothar with its vines so it can eat him.

What a terrible flower.

[Earl of Purple]

Blighted Battleground

"Mostly good condition, yeah. I might need a bit of help here 'n there, this place ain't great for the disabled." He'll accept a bit of help climbing out of the cage and standing up. Usually he has a walking-stick to help, but the Martians dumped it when they disarmed the three of them. "The walking machines and their pilots have a base in a crater that way somewhere. All this red plant comes from there. They don't send too many patrols out in this area; there's not much here that's a big threat. Occasionally there's a survivor from the war the tripod-riders interrupted, they shoot at each other mostly- or the walkers. Those aeroplanes came from one side, I don't know where though. Steveni found an airfield, but it was wrecked; those heat-guns, she thought." Steveni nods at that, before upending a small bottle from inside her coat and chugging the contents down. "Most of what we need to keep an eye out for is unexploded ordinance. Lots of shells have been dropped on this place, lots and lots. Not all of them have gone off. Step on one, you could trigger it. At best, you die without knowing what happened, but your family won't have a proper funeral. At worst it's filled with toxic gas and you choke slowly. Sometimes something else wanders in from another part of Apocalypse Junction, mostly dinosaury things with big claws or zombies or something."
"They're called deathclaws. We shouldn't see any; they attack the aliens, too, so it's unlikely there's any nearby." Abraxo has encountered them before. "Big and scaly and dangerous, but they can't do much against the alien energy projectors. They lose, unless they can get close. Those claws of theirs can cut through most anything, including the hulls of the tripods."
Steveni tosses the glass aside, pulling out a brass bullet-casing and dropping it to her feet before starting to levitate. She's not actually levitating; she's pushing herself way from the metal at her feet, to get a better view of what's around. "Can't see anything else that's immediately dangerous. I can keep us away from any possible bombs, too. I can... kinda see the metal." She sees blue lines that point at nearby metallic objects (not aluminium, nor some aluminium alloys), thicker lines leading to heavier objects. An unexploded shell is probably going to be one of the larger pieces of metal embedded in the ground, so they're usually easy to avoid. There's also no lines to metals that are inside flesh, or pierce flesh either.

[Murkus]

The Green

"Ah, my mistake." says Artie, bobbing her head.
She self-consciously starts curling herself up to mitigate the amount of space she's taking up.
She also reaches out and takes one of the offered cups. "I'd love some." she adds, tasting it.

The tea is, perhaps unsurprisingly, delicious. Old ladies usually make the best tea. Although it isn't moments after her sip before Savarins presents her with an auspicious feathered dress.

"Tell me, what do you feel when you see this?" He asks, as though that were a perfectly ordinary question.

[Rebonack]

[Blighted Battleground]

Once the teleport platform has been folded back up again the Epona snags it in a levitation field and draws it back up into the belly of the aircraft.

"Hey Garnet Shine? Can you do anything about the un-detonated ordnance?" Plaris asks.

To this the kirin nods. "I believe so," she replies in a deep, rumbly voice that still manages to sound feminine. "If simple pressure can set them off I should be able to shake them up from a distance, but it'll be slow going."

"We can manage slow," says the earth pony as steps up along side the crippled human, offering himself to lean on. Unfortunately he's not quite big enough to offer a ride to an adult. Or maybe he could, but the back-mounted equipment he has leaves little room for sitting.

The two fliers, meanwhile, make a waving motion to the ornithopter before it takes off.

Once more voices can be heard inside Polaris' helmet and the unicorn nods. "Understood. Our close air support will be in the neighborhood patrolling. If we run into trouble we can expect backup within five minutes. Let's go."

Garnet moves along side Steveni. She has a horn as well, but it's a curved, branching thing almost like a single antler rather than the spiraling horn on on the unicorn. She's big and heavily built, with a long. thick tail totally contained in her armor. "Can you point me to the shells? It'll be safer to blow them as we go, or at least toss them out of our way."


[Bridges and Brigands]

The pilgrims knew.

John hadn't explained the specifics to them, but they knew. Anyone who had to slink away from camp every night clearly had a problem they were dealing with. A very specific, nocturnal sort of problem. They pilgrims heard the beast prowling around in the dark, but they hadn't ever seen it. The Other... it wasn't John. Not exactly. He could never recall exactly what it did; it was like trying to remember the details of a dream. The creature was simple, but not necessarily malicious. He had found that he could sort of... point it in the right direction. It was like a particularly vicious guard dog in that respect. Dangerous, but useful. Spending time in prayer to Those Above helped, John has found.

Away from the camp, as the sun began setting and the sky grew dusky, John could feel the hound pacing. A beast waiting for its cage to be opened so it could roam free. There was something... different about it this time. Something John couldn't quite put his finger on. When he acquired the Name Hospitaller had that changed the beast as well? Hopefully changed for the better. He reached a small grove of trees and began disrobing. It wouldn't do to have any of his clothing ruined. Once everything was set aside he knelt down in the pine needles and began to pray.

It didn't take long before the dusk grew to dark and the beast was freed. Normally it was a chaotic and distinctly unpleasant ordeal. This time, though, John almost didn't even notice as he slipped off to sleep.

****

Something was different. Two somethings.

Three? Three somethings.

He felt stronger. He had always been strong, but it was like a cast stone compared to an avalanche. Like the flicker of a campfire compared to a raging wildfire. The strength was an exhilarating thing and he lashed out experimentally, reducing the side of a tree to splinters and pulp. Effortless. Like ripping into soft prey. What else could he do with this strength?

The second thing. He was counting things, he realized. Before his mind was filled with sensations and emotions. Hunger, anger, pain, pleasure. He was a creature driven to act with little thinking. But there were words in his mind now. His thoughts were larger. Was that... a frightening thing? He wasn't sure. He could still feel the words of the Man on his tongue, speaking to another. Anothers? But there was no one else here. They were alone. The Man was always careful to make sure that they were alone when he woke up. Some things were for guarding. Some things were for biting. And the Man wanted to be sure he wouldn't bite one meant to be guarded. The soft cattle feared him; and rightly so. He was fearsome and strong.

And... the third thing.

The third thing.

Words.

Words for him.

"Church Grim," Grim growls through his teeth, the words like gnashing knives. Words for him. Him-words. His Name. Grim hadn't ever had one of those before, and he can feel the strength flowing from it.

What would he use that strength for?

What he had always used it for.

Some of the sheep were for protecting. But some of the sheep weren't sheep at all. Some of them had teeth. They had bit his flock and the Man had driven them off.

But he hadn't killed them.

The Man didn't like to kill.

Grim, however, has no such compunction.

Sniffing the air to catch their scent, Grim stalks off into the dark, following the smell of a distant campfire and blood.

He will find the toothsome cattle.

And he will maul them until they die.

[Earl of Purple]

Blighted Battleground

"Not all are triggered by being stepped on. Might be it's a chemical shell, with a timed fuse that's stopped. Stepping on it might restart the fuse, and depending on how much is left on the timer it probably won't explode immediately. Which might be bad." Yadeeta leans against the armoured pony, walking along quite slowly- though he's trying, the thick red weed, sticky mud and pockmarked ground just slow everyone down, those with less legs most affected.

Steveni hovers and moves around far easier, since she's able to push herself into the air and avoid all the rough terrain. She'll point out the things she thinks are shells, but she's not always correct- sometimes it's a large piece of shrapnel, or debris from a crashed aeroplane, or a large chunk of rusty metal that once served as an anvil, plough or other purpose in more peaceful times.

Abraxo will lead the way, as she's got the best sense of where they're going. It'll take a few hours, though. The difficult terrain and the fact they're about ten miles from where their base ensures it, but Earl doesn't really have anything planned.

Though the aerial support will probably spot it first. The trenches go on for miles, gradually petering out as the craters move further apart, interspersed with other, more permanent structures and actual trees that have survived. The farm itself is just past the last layer of trenches, surrounded by a crumbling drystone wall that has been haphazardly repaired with sandbags, mostly where a hole has appeared due to ordnance. The farm consists of a sturdy house, the ground floor stone but the upper level being 'newer' brick and topped with mouldering thatch. Somebody should have replaced it, and quite a while ago too- but nobody's made it a priority. There's also a stone barn, partially demolished by shellfire, and a brick stable-block which is still intact. There's a dirt road allowing access, and a roll of barbed wire has been set up across the gateway. An old Mack AC lorry sits in the farmyard, next to a much more modern motorhome.

[Rebonack]

[Castlemania]
[Shadwick]

And that just isn't fair, is it?

Clearly something is motivating undead. That energy must be coming from somewhere. So what is it? How come they get an unlimited supply of power but the living don't?

There's definitely some cheating in there somewhere.

Regardless!

Shadwick will come upon an interesting sight up ahead. A flight of stairs with all manner of gears and cogs sticking out of the walls, slowly ticking away. It sounds like the inside of some giant clock, the air heavy with the scent of metal. Maybe someone in there knows how to fix watches? Of course, his is digital so...

The second spiraling staircase has little motes of soot and glowing embers drifting down from on high, along with the rhythmic pounding of steel against steel. A foundry, maybe?

The third is ladder leading up into... absolute darkness. Darkness so thick it can be felt. Tendrils of blackness reach down from on high like ink spreading in water.

What path does he take?

[Khannie and Koshal]

Koshal slices the monster!

So.

How easily would you guess a sword can cut through wax?

If you guessed 'really easily' you would be correct. But the problem with cutting through goopy wax is that it's goopy wax and it just kind of oozes back together again. So! It was cut it just didn't do a great deal. Or at least it doesn't look like it did. There's probably a weak point on the monster somewhere! Just a matter of getting it exposed.

Speaking of exposed!

The waxskeleton amalgam raises a bunch of limbs to smash the heck out of Koshal!

Before it can bring the limbs down on him a swirling purple portal that looks suspiciously like a bunch of scarfs nearly as tall as the monster appears nearby moments before an equally huge metal gauntlet blindsides the beast like a speeding truck. The impact caves in one side of the monster and sends it tumbling across the floor where it lands in a heap, its gross rib-cage opening up to reveal a great big glowing red beating wax heart inside it.

Hey!

That looks WAY more stabbable!

Khannie, meanwhile, pulls her arm back out of a little rift, causing the giant fist to mimic the motion.

[Jade and Gwen]

The linen dress and sandals do not appear to be cursed. Or if they are, the curse doesn't do anything right away.

Also?

The giant sarcophagus is examined!

Hmm...

Weird.

The golden face on the outside doesn't look like a normal human face. It's a skull. That's unusual, right? A skull with empty sockets. Nearby, sitting on a pedestal, are a pair of enormous pieces of perfectly polished amber that look just the right size to fit into the sockets. They've even got beetles trapped in them positioned to look like pupils.


[Blighted Battleground]

Well!

That wasn't too bad at all.

The equestrians were expecting to get shot at once at the very least on the trip to the outpost.

Once the farmhouse has been cleared of any potential danger one of the ponies will offer a hand-sized piece of ulexite bound in delicate silver and gold filigree to the survivors.

"We'll leave you to your patrols," Polaris says. "You can contact us with that waystone if you find yourselves in over your heads. Are there any supplies you're in need of? I can place a requisition request for you, if you like."

What helpful ponies.

[Earl of Purple]

Blighted Battleground

"Fresh water's always handy. There's a well here, but with the trenches so close, we boil our water to be safe." There could be anything contaminating the ground water this close to the battlefield; corpses, sewage, or chemical weaponry.

Well, they still might get shot at. Marching out of the farmhouse is a girl, she looks to be about thirteen. She's got short brown hair under a black shako and a bright red jacket-like dress ending in a flared skirt, with white tights and black boots underneath. The two rows of buttons and the badge on the shako are polished brass, and she strides forward bearing an antique musket fitted with a bayonet. Earl isn't sure if the gloom ponies can tell, but she's not quite alive- though also not really undead. The whole uniform is immaculately clean, even as she strides through muddy puddles. "What happened? Where'd you go? I woke up and I was alone, nobody else was here! Did I miss a fight? I'm older than I look, you know that, Yadeeta! What are these beasts with whom you travel? I don't like them."
The one-legged man winces when he sees her marching towards him. "Calm down, Bess! It's fine. Those walking machines caught us by surprise, is all. These people rescued us. We're here now, you can calm down. There's... no need for any of this, I promise." Steveni flies up and away, just trying to get away since she's unarmed right now, and Abraxo's more interested in finding her laser musket than taking part in this confrontation. Bess creeps her out.

Castlemania Shadwick

His watch might be digital, but he's looking for a horologist. He's not sure what to expect, but he's hopeful. He'll head up the stairs with the cogs and gears, because if there's anyone down here that can help him fix his watch he trusts they'll be up there.

Foundries are hot and dirty, and his suit is soaked through but might still be salvageable. The dark is not always his friend, with the people he works with, so really the clockwork is the best bet anyway.

[Ionbound]

[Jade and Gwen]

Gwen glares at the sarcophagus and the amber eyes, and picks one up, grumbling to Jade, "So, what fresh hell do you think this thing is going to unleash in exchange for letting us move forwards? Maybe it'll try to get me to pick my brain out through my nose," as she deposits one amber eye in the proper socket, then the other in the other.

[bc56]

Jade and Gwen
"Nah, I bet there's a giant mummy inside. Maybe a skeleton." Of course the mummy or skeleton could then try to pull Gwen's brain out. Jade prepares to incinerate any monster that emerges, just in case.

Marsh
Okay, so where is the cage?
Kothar just runs away from the angry plant, there's no need to kill it if it's just a trap. He needs to get to safety, then look around to see where the cage might be. There's always some kind of big special guardian there.

[Deathkeeper]

The Green

Artie gives a small gasp. She wonders if feathers are a cultural thing here. Not that she's going to complain much.
"You are truly an amazement, sir. You made this in the span of minutes?" she asks him incredulously. The quality seems much too high for such a brief span of time. Perhaps he too has magics at work like Vivi?

Khannie and Koshal

A big glowing weak point?
Koshal hits it, obviously.
But he doesn't JUST hit it. He jumps an absolutely improbably height and distance (Khannie might already know how he accomplishes that), performs a deft forward flip, and brings his sword down hard on the creature's beating heart.
Wenomir isn't around to see it, but Koshal thinks he would be proud regardless.

[Rebonack]

[Marsh]

Well, see, that's the odd thing isn't it?

There was a cage.

Attached to the plant.

The amulet was just missing.

And the plant's mouth DOES seem to be glowing a whole lot.

The carnivorous plant seems to be really annoyed that Kothar decided to move out of its reach and decides to remedy this by hurling thorns at him.

Why is it able to hurl thorns?

Honestly it doesn't make much sense, but completely immobile monsters with no projectile weapons of any kind aren't very threatening.


[Blighted Battleground]

The gloom ponies can sort of tell. Nightshades can sniff out both the living and the undead. Things that are neither are typically of little interest to them. Of course, Team Nightmære in general is a bit odd.

They look cautious when the girl appears, doing their best to look non-aggressive. Garnet steps forward while the others back off a little. This is absolutely because she's equipped with the team's shield projector while also being armored enough to weather a hit from the weapon unless it's deceptively powerful.

"We're Sunside Fireteam Three," Garnet says, her rumbly voice as reassuring as the kirin can manage. "We patrol out here at Apocalypse Junction. Found your friends in trouble and lent a hoof."

There, see?

They're friendly ponies.

No reason to be shooting at them.


[Castlemania]
[Shadwick]

The gentleman climbs the stairs and soon finds himself standing in what appears to be the guts of a huge clock. Gears, springs, levers, flywheels, and innumerable mechanical components surround him, all whirring away at their tasks. It smells of oil here. Oil and brass and wood. There's no sign of clock hands, however. No hands, no face, no clock, no clue as to what the massive contraption's purpose is. As he continues he'll eventually come upon a strange sight. At the heart of the contraption, built into a wall surrounded by pistons and levers, is what superficially appears to be the face of a clock. Like a clock it has three hands. And like a clock it is rimmed with sixty numbers, each with a light built under them.

But the hands do not move on their own.

Instead?

Three lights, seemingly at random, illuminate.

Then the machine man chained to the podium moves the hands to point at the lights.

A single tick passes and the lights change again.

Over and over and over again. A machine slaved to a machine.


[Jade and Gwen]

Don't worry about skeletons attacking you, ladies.

The true skeleton was inside you all along.

One amber eye is put in place, followed by the second, followed in turn by the sound of stone grinding against stone as the lid of the-

Oh wait, no.

That isn't the lid of the sarcophogas coming off.

That's the sound of the wall on the opposite side of the chamber sliding down into the floor, revealing a way out of the treasure chamber.

That's..

Huh.

This definitely SEEMS like a boss room.

Why aren't they being attacked by a boss?

Something suspicious is going on here.

[Khannie and Koshal]

Speaking of boss fights, that's totally what's going on here!

Does he accomplish it by being really cool?

Khannie would assume that's how he's doing it since that's how her super punching powers work. That and being a sparkle lich.

The sword attack IS pretty cool but the windup on the attack is a little much for her liking. Thankfully their foe seems like one of the big ponderous lunk sorts and so the flashy swishy sorts of attacks should work on it just fine.

Anymoo!

Koshal wooshes through the air and stabs the heck out of the glowing wax heart! And possibly gets sprayed with flaming wax for his trouble! Ouch!

The amalgam shudders at the attack as its body heaves itself upright again before leaping back up into the thick smoke coating the ceiling! Huh. Retreating already?

Oh.

Wait.

Those weird wax lumps that dot the room just animated. Apparently they were more bone heaps sealed in wax. Because of course they were.

The minions lurch toward our heroes, swinging bony wax-covered limbs alight with flickering flames!

[bc56]

Marsh
Okay, that's frustrating. Kothar charges back at the plant, using his shield to deflect thorns as he goes. He gets close enough, then leaps, raising his axe above his head and screaming defiantly at the creature. Holy flame coalesces around the axe head in a blinding flash of searing light, as he smites the plant with all his considerable might.

[Ionbound]

[Jade and Gwen]

Gwen opts to not look a gift progress in the mouth and grins as she says to Jade, "Nice, the way opened up just like that. Let's keep going!" and heads towards the passage out of the treasure room.

[bc56]

Jade and Gwen
"It could be a trap. Be careful."
Jade follows slowly and carefully behind. She's not liking this. Everything here has had a guardian. And she still hasn't found a purpose for the music box.

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie and Khoshal

Luckily for their eardrums, Koshal sees no reason to use another weapon for this scenario. He also doesn't think chucking more fire will help against wax monsters.
But he does think that slicing their limbs off! He needs payback for having hot wax splattered all over his armor. Koshal dances (metaphorically of course) between the flailing limbs of the wax monsters, sword slicing arms as they go, and legs too if he can reach them. He doesn't think he can kill them with a sword, but slicing off their hurty parts should make them helpless enough for Khannie to solve the problem.

[Earl of Purple]

Blighted Battleground

Bess narrows her eyes at Garnet, before looking to Yadeeta who nods his agreement. "Fine, but I'll be keeping my eyes on you! And don't think just because they aren't always there I'm not watching every move you make. Got it?" The hostile young girl slams the butt of her musket into the ground, disappearing as brightly coloured ribbons peel away from her and wrap around the antique firearm where they fade into the polished brass and stained wood, rather rapidly disappearing into the weapon. The musket is left propped up against the wall, bayonet missing.

"You're soldiers, right? You ever get told that if you look after your gear, it'll look after you? You also ever hear that if an object survives long enough, it develops its own soul and personality? Brown Bess was created by a gunsmith for the British crown in 1798. She passed through several hands, getting banged, nicked, patched, cleaned, repaired, polished, issued, banged and so on for quite a while. Many soldiers held her, cared for her, named her, looked after her, fired her and fought with her, before she was withdrawn in 1843. She was kept in an armoury for a bit, where she continued to be maintained, and then she was nearly destroyed in a fire, was rescued and sold- possibly illegally- as surplus. Her new owner had been a soldier, and he kept looking after her as she was used to, handing her down to his son, and his son's son. In 1941, she was taken back to war by a reserve force desperate for weaponry, in order to fight back a potential invasion. I picked her up after her last owner died, his estate sold everything. She awoke- I suspect for the first time; she denies it- shortly after I found my way here." Brown Bess is over two hundred years old, and she's been cared for and treated nicely for at least most of that time- even if she did spent over seventy years hanging on somebody's wall as a display piece.

Castlemania Shadwick

"Excuse me, sir. Do you know where I could find a horologist? I found myself most distressed earlier upon being deposited within a large pool, a consequence of which is my watch no longer works." He'll pull the digital pocketwatch from his pocket to show the mechanical man, just in case the enslaved individual knows how to fix it.

[Morty]

Wasteland Camp

"Aye, I be truly grateful f' this. Been a while since I be needin' more'n a polish 'round th' edges." Also a bit of a careening, though the word isn't entirely accurate here- it didn't take place on a beach, he sat on a wooden stump. Bit more than a polish was required; he was covered in barnacles and sea weed.

As the four goblins help Frigate, more of their number come. Twenty in total, carrying heavy guns, including what looks like two light portable cannons. They also have long spears ending with serrated blades, seemingly designed for opening up heavy armor like cans of soup. Of course, having a rabble of goblins with heavy weapons makes stealth much harder - but then, with Frigate there, that wasn't really an option anyway.

[Rebonack]

[Marsh]

Holy freakin' smite!

The plant definitely doesn't seem to like that, not one bit.

And speaking of bit, did those vines just split open into thorny mouths?

Why yes!

It looks like they did!

In spite of the main body leaking sap everywhere the lesser limbs lash out at Kothar, trying to clamp onto him with their wooden teeth. Should they manage to grab hold they'll do their best to stuff him into the flower's gullet.

Now...

That's probably not a great plan on the plant's part.

Being swallowed really wouldn't stop the paladin from just smiting the inside of the monster open.


[Blighted Battlefield]

The equestrians exchange a look with each other. That was, after all, quite a story.

"She's a tsukumogami," the bat pony says after a few moments of silence. That gets a curious look from the others, so she continues. "A, ah, a tool spirit I guess is a close enough translation? If an object is loved and cared for for at least one hundred years to gains a spirit of it own and becomes a living thing. They're a category of yokai."

"Huh," Garnet grunts. "You really DO meet all sorts in the Nexus, don't you?"

That's the Nexus for you, isn't it?

"I think we can help you with the water problem," Polaris says with a flick of his tail. "Slipstream? It's pretty overcast here, do you think you can manage?"

The pegasus gives a nod. "One pony isn't much of a weather team but I can make do. Do you folk have any rain barrels? I can whip up a VERY localized downpour for you."


[Castlemania]
[Jade and Gwen]

Our heroes keep going, ready to fight off anything that might stand in their-

Oh.

There's another Anubis statue blocking the way.

Great.

That probably means there are more problems in the near future for our heroes. Case in point? There comes a grinding sound from the giant sarcophagus as the lid begins sliding off. Because obvious fighting one mummy wasn't bad enough. Instead they'll probably have to fight a GIANT mummy! And possibly smaller servant mummies, too. Our heroes have several options. They might be able to scramble past the statue, but it would be a tight squeeze and probably displease the Jackal-headed god even more. Or they could try to find somewhere to hide. Or they could try a pre-emptive attack against the mummy!

What'll it be?

[Khannie and Koshal]

That's the problem with undead, isn't it? Exactly what does it take to kill them? Aside from vampires that usually isn't defined very well.

Khannie, for her part, looks vaguely irritated. She's better suited for fighting single, big, powerful foes than lost of swarmy ones, but her experience with Witches has given her plenty of opportunity to adapt. These baddies seem pretty awkward and slow, so she decides to go for quick and decisive attacks. Dart in, punch, dart out. Just punching hard enough to launch the monsters and make them splat against the walls. Hopefully if they're gooshed they'll get stuck and won't be able to keep attacking.

Now, to be honest, there isn't a great deal of difference between arms and legs on these things. They're flailing with legs and crawling with arms in some situations. This makes a bit of sense considering that they're chaotic jumbles of bones covered in hot wax. The sword bites into them, hewing off limbs but still they heave and lurch. In like manner, Khannie manages to clobber several and splat them against the walls with enough force to prevent them from making a comeback.

There are still more of the monsters, however.

The three that remain begin belching big blobs of molten wax at our heroes!

[Shadwick]

The clockwork man turns briefly toward Shadwick, though it seems it can only spare a moment to look before new lights illuminate and it must quickly move the hands to the new positions. Between friendzied movements, the machine speaks. "You need a clock-man, hmm? I could fix it. But not while I'm keeping time. Things'll break down if I stop. You move the hands for me, and I'll fix your watch."

That seems like a reasonable offer.

And the clockwork man is still chained to the platform so it isn't as if he could run away when Shadwick fills in like Atlas of old.

[Deathkeeper]

Khannie and Koshal

The sound of Faye's barking echoes throughout the huge chamber, and again she drags Koshal out of harm's way before disappearing again into his shadow. This jump is only about 10 feet, though. Blinking with a passenger tires out Faye very quickly. Koshal owes her some treats and hugs later.
Now in the thick of the swam of minions, Koshal lets out a cry and brings up his arms. The minions nearest him might find them pulled into the air with his will. He brings them back down, likely throwing back the raised victims hard onto the ground. If they could feel pain, it would likely cause painfully crunched bones and cracked armor (or cracked wax in this case).

[Earl of Purple]

Wasteland Camp

If the goblins did visit Frigate's room, he'll take the swivel-gun and double-check it to ensure it's loaded. Frigate doesn't usually keep his guns loaded for long periods, except his pistols which are enchanted, because blackpowder is slightly corrosive.

If they didn't, he'll instead ensure his volleygun is loaded. "Does anyone need powder? Me horn's got plenty." He'll offer the powder horn to any that might need it, as unlikely as that seems, but it does in fact have plenty. It's larger on the inside, so Frigate doesn't need to worry about running out.

Blighted Battleground

"Right, yes. Steveni, get the plastic barrels out of the caravan. Abraxo, there's a rain barrel on the farmhouse wall, and a couple kegs in the basement. Could you get those?" The two women nod and head off. Abraxo slings her newly recovered laser musket over her shoulder before she does. Yadeeta takes Brown Bess from the wall and leans against it.
"I'm not a tool. But... it's good to know I'm not alone. There's stuff here that's old enough, I can tell, but none of it talks. Not even French." Though Brown Bess' own skills at French are abysmally poor, since she learnt it from English soldiers who themselves usually only learnt enough to ask where to find alcohol. Also possibly interesting to know that even though her humanoid body isn't present, she can still hear and talk- and probably see, too.

Castlemania Shadwick

"I only have one hand free. I cannot put down this briefcase." As he demonstrated with the dolphins, he's not joking about that. If that's doable, he'll hand over the digital pocketwatch and take over moving the hands to the lights. Inside, as one might expect, there's circuitry and batteries.

[bc56]

Marsh
Kothar is swallowed, with predictable consequences.
He smites the inside of the plant with just as much power as the last attack.
But it's not going to have any armor on the inside.

Believe it or not, this isn't the first time he's fought his way out a monster that swallowed him whole.

[Recaiden]

[Mountain Outpost]

This is about when Braeg will arrive through the portal, dusting himself off. Dho Chladach could be a little dirty at times, in this village especially, given its state of disrepair.

As he emerges, his attendants will rush up to him, anxiously badgering him with questions.

"Lord Braeg! Are you all right?"
"What were you doing there?"
"Why is lady Inari getting involved?"
"Sorry to say, we lost the contest. You're not mad, are you?"

"Gentlemen, please." Braeg smiles and pulls his twin attendants in by their shoulders, a wide grin on his face. "Today is a historic moment. Let's not ruin it with petty concerns about poetry."

"Historic?"
"What do you mean?"

"Today marks the beginning of Inari's attempts to restore our home." Braeg smirks.

"That's... that's wonderful!"
"So, are you still going to-"

"In good time, my friends. In good time."

The fox goes out of turn

Atorre, this is Lord Braeg. Not to put too fine a point on it, an avatar of her Holiness was on a date with him when the destination was discovered to not be in a suitable condition for such things. He is a fiendling lord from that world, it seems of a similar measure as Lord Merant was.

Lord Braeg, this is Atorre: a very capable, competant, and trusted friend who has helped us on many occasions.

What is it with Inari getting involved with chaotic demon lords? This keeps happening...

The elf who was watching over the portal observes Lord Braeg with no particular feeling. Mostly he's wondering how his attendants got here. Are they always around a corner from their master, as a part of his Lordship? Braeg himself, perhaps he dodged a bullet here by finding Dho Chladach to be in such a sorry state. Similar to Lord Merant, is he? That's interesting.
"Interesting circumstances we meet you in, Lord Braeg. Will you be involving yourself in the restoration at all?"

[Ironsmith]

The fox goes out of turn

Atorre, this is Lord Braeg. Not to put too fine a point on it, an avatar of her Holiness was on a date with him when the destination was discovered to not be in a suitable condition for such things. He is a fiendling lord from that world, it seems of a similar measure as Lord Merant was.

Lord Braeg, this is Atorre: a very capable, competant, and trusted friend who has helped us on many occasions.

What is it with Inari getting involved with chaotic demon lords? This keeps happening...

[Mountain Outpost]

The elf who was watching over the portal observes Lord Braeg with no particular feeling. Mostly he's wondering how his attendants got here. Are they always around a corner from their master, as a part of his Lordship? Braeg himself, perhaps he dodged a bullet here by finding Dho Chladach to be in such a sorry state. Similar to Lord Merant, is he? That's interesting.
"Interesting circumstances we meet you in, Lord Braeg. Will you be involving yourself in the restoration at all?"

[Mountain Outpost]

What? Demon Lords are sexy. It's a well-known fact.

Braeg gives the elf a little smile. "Let's go with a tenative maybe on that one." He says. "I'm not popular with the locals; any work I do will necessarily be away from them, and even then, will be limited to whatever I can do without my magic. That's not an especially long list."

Braeg's attendants share a skeptical look, before one of them taps him on the shoulder. "Um... sir, did you fo- ribbit"

Braeg scoops up the frog that was his attendant and sighs. "Sorry about that. Difficult to find help these days that know when to stay silent." He glares at his remaining attendant, who pales and steps back, hands up defensively... but thankfully for him, doesn't say anything.

[5a Violista]

[Castlemania]
Seraphina/Siana

Unlike Siana, Seraphina regenerates at a much slower pace. (Still faster than the average thing! She can regenerate from a cut in one or two weeks, whereas a cloth or paper or thing normally never recovers from being cut! In fact, her cloak still has made no progress in healing from its gunshot wound, but Seraphina is already 1/10th of the way to having her own gunshot wound healed!)

So.
As a result, she's much more careful when it comes to barnacles and climbing.


Still, in spite if that, she gets assaulted and battered by that skelefish. Right in the face. She closes her eyes and turns her head to keep them safe from the fish bones.

Seraphina was careful to not grip any barnacles, but after getting hit by the fish, her right hand slips and so do her feet.

While dangling by one hand, her left forearm runs against barnacles. And as she swings down, so does her hip.

She bites her lip hard enough to keep herself focused on not falling, and then pulls herself back onto the ladder.

She starts ascending again, figuring might as well continue this path if it makes things easier for Siana.

[Gullara]

[A Hunter must Hunt]

Anika is practically fuming at that accusation. If her foot didn't still hurt she'd kick that stupid tree again!

"I would have handled it just fine if you hadn't distracted me!" Anika insists. "I'll have you know that my dad breeds those kitties and that I've helped him out plenty of times! In fact, I'm pretty sure there isn't an animal that I can't handle. Just point me at one and I'll show you!"

[A Hunter must Hunt]

"Oh yeah?" Mimi flies up in front of Anika's face. "You know how we can know for sure? We just gotta find a kow. If you can take one of those on then I'll say you're right."

The Hegemony Flagship

"If I ever see you try, I'm going to open fire with the entire fleet's arsenal," Admiraltok answers without so much as a moment's hesitation or a tinge of anger, stating this simple fact as if it were as obvious as the ugly nose on Magtork's misshapen green face. He silently counts down from a hundred in his head, trying to distract himself and keep his thoughts away from this cowardly trap long enough for the greenskin filth to fly off and die horribly. It might be a little difficult to explain what MagShuttle debris is doing in a massive crater in the center of Inside, or whatever other politically inconvenient location Magtork decides to obliterate with his stupid face, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. The important part is getting the xenos out; the consequences are a future Magtok's problem.

[The Hegemony Flagship]

Magtork laughs uproariously. It's any wonder he managed to stay hidden for so long with a voice like that. "I'll keep it then." He chuckles some more and watches the last of the grots load into the shuttle. "'S been a riot. You're a lotta fun for a scrawny git." The ork lumbers toward the shuttle. "Let me know if ya got any more scrap just laying around. I'll come by for a visit." More laughter as he steps inside. He turns around to give Admiraltok one last toothy grin before closing up the doors. Time for liftoff.