[Day: Thursday, Oct. 19th. Time: 7:00 p.m.] [You all gather at the office! A bit earlier than usual, but that's 'cause Francine returned with Auberon's answer. His answer to what? Good question. Oh, and Khalil isn't there for some reason. Maybe he's off eating.] [Session Start!] * Herman is there, in all his punkness! Shock! The world still turns and Herman still wears leather. And carries a pipe. * Ashley is dressed in a light Victorian outfit, ruffles, styled hair, and all. He's sitting on a chair sipping a small cup of tea and looking impassive. * Togo is sitting behind the desk. Man, he must have a ton of dark green shirts and brown pants. * Herman looks around and has a seat on a chair, backwards. "Ruffles again?" I've felt like getting back to my roots, is all. * Khalil is there as well. He must have ate fast. He hangs up his coat before sitting down, his tail sprawled across the length of the couch as much as it can be. * Togo looks around. "Good. Everyone's here. I have presents." * Alys is wearing a blue sleeveless turtleneck and has her hair in a French ponytail. She looks much, much calmer and more organized than she did the day before. * Lukas looks lousy. Leather and all, sure, complete with boots, but he also looks tired. Pulled back hair doesn't tell you much, though. (Is this Mystery Club or Fashion Club?) * Ten is wearing a green dress, the cut and pattern and texture of the fabric all suggest leafiness without anything actually being leaf shaped. The effect is rather spoiled by being matched to a pair of orangish red maple leaf wings. (FASHION CLUB!) (Yes.) (You don't count, Ashley.) ( You're all sexy, sexy people? ) (It's Ashley and Ten's fault. They've been redescing every session, basically.) (Fashion world, look out! Supernatural kick-ass is the new look!) ( Togo's worn the same style/color clothes every single session. ) ( ECKS DEE!) (Let's open his wardrobe one of these days.) (Don't. It's endless black.) * Lukas replys dryly, "What, you celebrate Halloween early?" Yay! Presents! What'dja get me? * Khalil just looks at Togo. He looks impassive, but the tail does not look pleased. Presents, really? Is it caffeinated? Nope. *pulls out a small box* Wireless earpiece comm units. One for everyone. *looks over to Ten* Not sure if you can broadcast on the frequency, so I got one for you too. * Ten grins. "Betcha I can!" * Alys takes one. "Nifty. Just stick it in my ear?" Presents, if I recall, are usually something the user would like, not the giver. * Lukas eyes Togo for a moment, then shakes his head slightly. "Whatever works for you." * Togo smirks at Khalil. "If you ever got separated from the group, and found yourself surrounded by a half-dozen angry vampires, wouldn't you like to be able to call for help?" And yeah, Alys. It's pretty sensitive, so you can whisper into it and it'll come through loud and clear. And if you yell, it'll modulate the noise so you don't bust anyone's eardrum. Good lord. Does it have a celebrity endorsement? Couldn't we have done Cthulhu Mobile or something? Super nifty! * Khalil takes one. "If not for the fact that by the time the group got to me, I would have already possibly been beaten senseless, I would agree." Then you run towards us! Duh. What if they are already blocking the path towards you? * Ten grins. "Then you sneeze and fly over them!" * Khalil talks as he's installing the headphone, then stops midway, looking at Togo. "Yes. Have you considered if these would fit in both forms?" * Lukas rolls his eyes and just takes his, stuffing it in a pocket. What if it is inside a building? * Herman takes his and looks it over. "Doesn't hurt to have one, I guess." * Togo takes the remaining few, and hands them out to Ten, Ashley and Herman. "It's not a cure-all, and it ain't got unlimited weekend minutes, but it could save our asses. Or at least make splitting up a bit more coordinated." Plus, these are vampires. They can fly as well. * Ashley looks at it, shakes it, pokes it, then finally sighs and slips it on. As he does so, it becomes a small twist of vine. Works inside buildings, unless the walls are made of lead or there's a signal jammer or something. And it might not be a perfect fit in your other form, Khalil, but the material adheres lightly to skin, so it won't fall out. Or in. * Khalil stares at Togo. "Have you ever tried to get something sticky out of feathers before?" * Herman puts his on. "How's it with electricity?" Insulated. And not sticky, Khalil. Don't ask me how it works. It just sticks to skin. * Ten cups her chin with a hand. Like, are they faster than you are? * Khalil looks it over. "How does it work?" [There's a knock on the door, then it opens as Francine lets herself in. "Hello, one and all." She's wearing black jeans and a dark grey jacket, as well as a red shirt. She's also kind of shiny from all her jewelry: a silver choker, a gold necklace, two emerald earrings, a bracelet on each wrist, and around six rings of varying shapes and sizes. "I just know you've been waiting for me."] * Lukas had just started tapping his right foot idly when Francine came in. He must have been waiting for her. Put it in your ear. Press lightly to send. You receive whatever anyone else sends. Hi Francine! We're getting spy stuff. * Ashley looks up as Francine walks in. Don't got to wear it all the time, obviously. Just when we're out on missions. 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8-3) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 6. * Togo waves to Francine. "News?" * Khalil looks up and shifts uncomfortably on the couch. His tail curls up a little more behind him. * Ten waves. * Herman is looking Francine over fairly closely, though with a more analytic than appraising eye. ( OMG Francine turned him! ) [She bows with a flourish, producing an envelope between her fingers. "From Lord Auberon himself." She waves it at Ashley.] (Yes. That must be it.) * Ashley stands up and reaches out, pausing for a second. Then he takes the envelope. "Gracious of him to send an actual letter." ( Well, all that jewelry *is* fabulous. And doesn't every guy want a knight in shining armor to sweep him off his feet? ^_~ ) (No armor here.) ( ... work with me, Hermsuke. ) [She grins. "Lord Auberon was rather receptive, I think."] That is...a good sign, yes? ( He's only going to kill half of you!) * Ashley looks at the envelope. "It might be." Given he's more powerful than us, I think so. [She takes a seat, crossing one leg over the other and not bothering to ask if she can sit down in the first place. "Take a look."] * Lukas just sits there, tapping his foot slowly. What'sitsaaaaaay? * Ashley takes a breath, then opens the envelope and reaches inside for the letter. We have to read it first. * Ten flails. "So reaaad it!" He will once certain people stop talking. * Ten covers her mouth with both hands. * Khalil glances at Ashley. * Alys taps her feet on the floor. ( And once a certain GM tells him what it says, but we just repaired that fourth wall, didn't we?) * Ashley is reading! It takes time. TV is faster. (THAT TAKES TIME! TIME WE DON"T HAVE! THIS IS A JOB... FOR A TWENTY! *A TWENTY*!) ( Time to whore out Togo for the greater good. ) (Yes. Because you know EVERYONE goes for blind eye-scarred lovin' these days.) (*slaps hand over mouth*) ( There's a Full Metal Jacket ref in there. Too easy. ) (Yeah.) * Ashley looks up. He looks relieved. "That worked better than I expected." * Ten lowers her hands. "What's say? What'sit saaaaaa~aaaaaay?" [Francine grins. "His Highness was more than pleased at your offer."] Yeah, fucking Christ, get on with it. * Ashley folds it up and tucks the letter away. "Well, in short, we're quite free to stop a war between the Fair Folk by rescuing Hot Cheeks' sister-ish and replacing her with gifts of our choice we provide, and he'll take all the credit for it." * Ashley smiles. "But we won't get in trouble, so." * Khalil lets out a deep breath and looks to the side. "Now we just need to be able to actually be able to accomplish our end of the bargain." * Herman snerks. "Hot Cheeks?" He sobers. "Sounds like a plan. No war and we get the girl." [Francine raises a hand. "I can help with that."] Awesome! What do we choose to give them? We have planning and rescuing! We're just like professionals! * Lukas snorts and says to Herman, "There's no evidence for that one, I'll have ya know." His ass is plenty of evidence. I would like it entered into the record, in fact. Do you have a digital camera? 'fraid not, but if you get a picture, I want one. [Francine uncrosses her legs. "Auberon didn't mention this in his letter, but he knows exactly what Mab would want."] I believe that we were going to try and obtain something from Covena--" He turns over to Francine and eyes her. "Did he?" * Ashley looks back to Francine. "Aside from a new Knight we kidnap off the street?" * Lukas thumbs towards Ten, playing along while listening. "Ask her. CCDs for eyes make great cameras." I'm guessing it ain't a new toaster oven. * Ten nods! "I do!" [Francine nods to Ashley. "Yep. I overheard him talking about it."] * Khalil gestures to Francine. "It would be nice to know what it is soon as well." ["It's.... well.... I'm not sure what it is. It's this pyramid thing Covanent got recently." She gestures with her hands. "About this high, red colored..."] ( Session 15, yo! ) (Oh, for fuck's sake.) ["I assume it's an object of power. His Highness was complaining that Covenant wouldn't trade for it, so it must be pretty desireable for the fey. Therefore, if you could get your hands on it and give it to Mab, you'd be giving her something Auberon couldn't get."] Bloody hell. * Lukas groans slightly. ( Yes, Mecha, this is still the same game it was back then >.> ) ... Rachel had that thing when we got sucked into that other dimension. * Khalil stares at the rest of them. I don't remember it at all. I have blocked off all memories of Rachel. Seriously. * Herman groans in stereo with Lukas. That was what I was thinking. [Francine shrugs. "I didn't say it'd be easy to get."] * Ten tilts her head. "The magic enhancer thingy?" Well, not really. But when I can block off all memories of something, I figure I'm set to reshape them and make myself think I'm someone else. It'll be cool. Yeah. Made by that guy... Blackstone or something? [Francine shrugs. "Is that what it does? Well, all the same, Mab would want it just because Auberon doesn't have it."] * Khalil looks at Alys, unblinkingly. "Really. What else have you blocked off?" * Ashley sits back down and seems to be pondering. * Lukas says bitterly, "Christ, what are we, the 'give magical items from one sucky group to another sucky group' coalition?" Fairly much. [Francine glares at Lukas. "Hey! My side isn't sucky!"] I am certain that is what the other side would say. * Lukas glances to Francine. "You're not Mab or the Coalition, are ya?" Better the fey who don't usually interfere in human affairs have it than the Covenant who keeps trying to kill us having it. (s/Coalition/Covenant.) So we need a third opinion to determine who's suckier? I dunno! * Herman rubs at his forehead and mutters something under his breath in Anglo- Saxon. ["Well, I AM the Summer Knight. Which is why I can't help you if you're going to attack Covenant. They're technically 'my side', even though I don't like them."] It's politics as usual. You should have been there for the feud between the Templars and the sub-Tibetan Buddhists. But they suck! ["Before my time. But I won't get in your way, either, or tell Auberon what you're up to."] * Lukas rubs his temples. "Well, then, not much of an insult to ya." * Khalil closes his eyes and thinks. "So, if you are the Knight, there is a Queen and a King. We must be the Pawns, yes?" (Nah, we're the 1-Page of Summer.) * Lukas smirks. "Buck up. You can probably make rook if you try." I think diagonally, so can I be a bishop? Do you have religion? [Francine waves her hands. "Hey, don't look at me like that. Do you want the two courts to go to war? Do you know what'll happen if they do?"] * Togo sing songs. o/~ Ours is not to reason why, ours is just to do and die o/~ Gods forbid. Like, very bad things, right? * Khalil sighs and stands up. "I have heard enough. Are we ready to go?" ["Imagine what'd happen if the earth stopped rotating."] Ooooooh, that's real real real real bad. Volt, wanna fill us in on that castle Covenant's using? (o/~Faeries make the world go round..~/p) We'd have problems with gravity and one side being really cold and one side being really hot, right? (NO) (SPINNING DOES NOT CAUSE GRAVITY) (I know that. Alys wouldn't.) [Francine tilts her head. "I dunno about the gravity thing, but yeah, you'd have your pick of desert wasteland or frozen glacier."] (Tangential velocity!) It kinda depends on how quickly they stopped it. (Alas, she's never read about astronomy or earth science.) In the meantime... Francine, there won't be any fey at the Covenant's HQ, will there? I don't wanna accidentally blow someone away, then find out it was Auberon's favorite third cousin's kid. ( Wait. The EARTH revolves around the SUN? GTFO.) The Courts have been feuding for so long they've lost perspective. (I am the center of the universe. Therefore, everything is moving away from me! ...Wait.) [Francine nods to Togo. "I'll keep them out of it."] * Lukas looks up at Togo for a moment before saying in a more noticeable voice, "Not much to know. Blackworth's got an isolated computer system. I've got the pre-Covenant layouts, but they've definitely given it the old 21st century makeover." * Ten nods. "And we couldn't find the contractors who did it!!" Yeah. Maybe they hired fey. No records or anything? Any access tunnels, ancient secret passages? (You can get over the wall by catapult.) [Francine nods. "Or maybe killed them off once the work was done, or something. And no, Mr. Togo, not every castle is like Castle Frankenstein."] [She scratches her cheek. "At least, if there's any tunnels, I don't know about them."] * Lukas glances to her. "Go clubbing on Wight Island much?" Well, we can always sneak in, grab someone, make them tell us where the pyramid is. Ain't much of a plan, but it'll hafta do. [She giggles. "Well, you know, if anyone knows how to throw a party, it's the fey."] Like, do you know where Fey woulda put a vault if they built the place? (And keep the double vowels in the edit, that was intentional) * Lukas rolls his eyes and stands slowly, not putting as much weight on his left foot. "That plan offends my sense of professionalism." ["The fey aren't Covenant. I don't know where a vault would be."] If you have any better ideas, Volt, now's the time to share. But, like, if they built the place then you'd know the sorta places they'd put one right? 'Cause you know them! Sorry, no. I don't have the month of time to prep and recon and bribe and shit that this'd take on my own. Go and smash. It'll be fun. ["If they built it, they didn't tell me. Just because I'm the Knight doesn't mean I know everything that goes on in the fey realms."] Awwwwww. * Khalil grabs his coat. "And the pawns march forward." ["Maybe you could hack into their computer once you're there? That might work."] Right. Any recommendations on where we might wanna sneak in? Or do you wanna get a look at the place first? * Lukas glances to Francine and says in a biting tone, "And when I feel like telling you how to cut people up, I'll extend you the same insulting courtesy of telling you how to fucking work." He looks to Togo, residual annoyance still in his voice. "How about we start with 'getting there'?" [Francine crosses her arms. "Jeez, I was just trying to help. Hmph, do it your way, then."] ... right, let's get going before we start gnawing on each other's throats. Thanks for the info, Francine. * Herman gets to his feet, hefting the pipe. "Okay, Lukas, I know you're sister's gone and it's tearing you way the hell up, but she's just trying to help." * Ashley is lost in thought. ( So be quiet to the nice lady who's making me reconsider my sexuality or I'll bop you with this large phallic symbol! ) So, like, you gotta door that goes there or are we gonna get plane tickets or what? * Lukas says nocomitally, "Yeah, yeah. Already said what I needed to say." * Togo stands up, and turns to Francine. "So yeah. For being one of the first people we've met since we started doing this that's not completely batshit insane, you get a thank you and a Badass Bar." *hands Francine a Badass Bar* "Let's go, folks." [Francine blinks at it. "Uh.... Thanks?"] * Ashley blinks. "Are we going?" I think so! * Khalil nods. "I am ready." It's chocolate. s'good for the soul. * Herman nods. He looks to Francine. "Good luck with the Knight stuff." * Togo heads out! * Lukas reaches over to grab Ten up and then starts walking. [She nods. "Thanks."] * Alys heads out. "Nice jewelry, see you around!" * Ashley walks out, nodding and giving Francine a silent "Thank you." [Time: 9:30 p.m. You arrive outside of castle Blackworth, a stout fortification built on rather flat, grassy plains. It's got a genuine moat! Made of grey stone, it looks like something right out of Medieval times. Except for a few things like the road leading up to it, the lights visible through the windows, and other modernish stuff.] Ooh. I wonder if the moat has a monster. Do you think it's a friendly monster, or the kind with the sharp teeth and bone gnawing habits? Are you going to go in to check? ( Suddenly a gooey-looking dragon hops out of the moat and offers Alys a pop-tart. ) (Moat flavored?) ( Goofy? Actually, gooey is better. :o ) * Lukas looks at it for a moment, still generally looking lousy. It's also pretty clear he's favoring his left foot at least a little. "Chances of you having night goggles, Togo?" * Ten speaks over the radios! ~ Let's not find out. ~ * Alys eyes the moat. "Possibly. Later." Sorry. Don't have need for 'em. Figured. * Ashley wiggles fingers. "Standard invisibility applied." * Khalil blinks at Alys. "Interesting." He takes in a deep breath and looks about. * Togo pulls out some binoculars. "These help?" What's interesting? ~ Do you smell something? ~ That you are willing to swim on a night like this. * Herman stretches. * Lukas grabs them and peers out, giving at least a nod to hoping there's something to see. * Alys shrugs. ~ Oh. ~ Ashley, what's the maximum range you can keep someone invisible at? * Khalil looks at Ten incredulously. "Was that to me? That is only when I have a beak." He takes in a deep breath. "It feels good to be normal for once." ~ Oh! I didn't know that. ~ * Alys gives him an odd look. "You're always normal. The other thing is normal too." ~ I'll remember for next time! ~ [There is something to see! Such as the windows are kind of small. Only a small person could fit through one.] * Khalil chuckles at Alys's response and gives a faintly bright smile. "You are the only one I have heard say so." About three hundred feet. Obviously you have been keeping inferior company until now, then. (How small of a person?) * Khalil smiles more and then turns to look at Alys. "Possibly." ( Well, Ten could fit :P ) (Awesome! Arrow loops!) ( I'm gonna say, if you're more than 120 lbs, you're not getting in through a window. ) Hmm... okay, let's get a big closer, see if we can find a back door or something... those windows at all workable, Volt? (Alys is 110!) Not in my lifetime. (Alys also has to get across the moat.) * Lukas hands Togo the binocs. "We're doing it your way. We'll flounce straight through the front door with Ashley." At least, inside the walls. I resent that. I do not flounce. (And the moat monster.) Strut, perhaps. Even maybe sashay. ~ I've always wanted to sashay! ~ What does sashaying look like, exactly? * Khalil rubs his chin. "Is that such a good idea?" Right. Let's get closer. Worst case scenario, Khalil, would it be a problem changing form and flying us over the wall one atta time? This is a company used to dealing with fae, if you recall. It would-- * Khalil just outright stares at Togo for a while. Then, remembering he can't really see the expression, he sighs. "I--suppose. But I must protest. I really do not like it." We have no damn ideas as to their capabilities. They could be watching the sky. They could have anti-fey alarms. Like I said. Worst case. Let's see if we can find a workable entrance first. * Togo starts walking towards the castle. * Herman rubs at his wrists and judges just how long the moat is. * Herman heads after Togo. * Khalil nods slightly. "Did you bring sneezing powder?" * Lukas follows. * Ashley follows! * Ten rides Lukas! * Khalil follows as well. * Alys skips along. ( The moat is about ten feet wide, surrounding the entire castle wall. There is a bridge (modern, with asphalt and all) at the front gate. ) [There's a guard station at the front gate, with, sure enough, a female guard. She's not wearing the Covenant uniform, though. She's wearing more of, well, a gate guard uniform.] ( Gimme hearing checks! ) 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ten (2d8) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Alys (2d8) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 9. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ashley (2d8) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 10. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Lukas (2d8-2) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 9. 2d8-6 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8-6) and gets a natural 8 for a result of 2. 2d8-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Khalil (2d8-2) and gets a natural 3 for a result of 1. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8) and gets a natural 15 for a result of 15. [Everyone who made it hears a helicopter overhead!] * Alys looks up. * Khalil looks up overhead as well. * Togo whispers. "Chopper." *points up* * Ten looks up. [Sure enough, a helicopter passes over head. A familiar one, at that (session 2!). The militaristic machine flies towards the castle and touches down on the roof of the larger of the castle's two towers.] ~ That's not going to be fun. ~ * Lukas glances up and then back forward. "Welcome to this week, Togo. Glad to see you caught the flavor of it." * Herman looks up and frowns. Yes. Flying may be a problem as well. [The people who made the hearing roll also hear a large truck coming down the road, headed for the castle.] And truck. *points back* There's our way in. Good. I hate waiting. * Lukas smirks. "At least, I hate it today." * Khalil looks at Togo as if he were crazy. Well, he's obviously crazy. But crazier than Alys. * Togo heads over to the bridge and waits for the truck to come and the gate to open. ( *glares at Togo* No stealing my crazy!) [The truck stops at the gate, and the guard comes out to check with the driver.] * Lukas does too, being sure to stay out of the way of most everything. * Herman is careful not to get run over! * Ten is out of the way because Lukas is! [Satisfied, the guard opens the gate and the truck heads on in.] * Lukas tails it invisibly! If he had roller skates, it would be even cooler. Oh well. * Togo runs through the opened gate behind the truck, motioning for the others to follow. ( Gimme stealth rolls! ) * Khalil goes quickly through the opened gate. ( Silent movement ) * Alys hurries as well! 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Alys (2d8) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. ( Hidden bonuses :o ) (Uh, silent movement to protect us from our inaudible movements being heard? ._.) (Ashley's not making us silent? Ah well.) ( Ah. Voops ) 2d8-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Khalil (2d8-4) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 0. ( K, nevermind that :P ) (/me rolls anyway because he can!) (But... I made a roll! It's shiny and there!) * Herman runs through! Whoo! * Ashley follows. (Fine. You're even silent to us!) (Yay!) ( Khalil is Dan Hibiki? ) (...) (<.< >.>) ( OYAJIIII!) (/me buraikens the hell out of Sonny.) [You get in through the gate. Alys and Khalil are quiet enough so that the guard wouldn't hear them if their footsteps weren't masked already. Inside is what was probably once a courtyard, and still is sort of, but now it's got paved roads. The main entrance is in front of you: a gate into the keep. But another road leads around the right side, which the truck drives down.] * Lukas idly says, "It's almost disturbing to see cameras that can't see me back when I haven't done anything to them." ~Hey! Sometimes I do things to them too! ~ One of the benefits of hanging with a court envoy. Okay, or Ten hasn't done anything to them. ( Is the chopper tower in the keep, or to the right? ) A benefit I am not certain is always beneficial. (GET 2 DA CHUPPAR) [There's lights out here, too, by the way. Street lights. As for the towers, there's a large one at the far left side (which the chopper landed on) and a smaller one on the right.] Should we follow the truck or the chopper? We've got to get into the keep, one way or the other, so. * Khalil takes out a coin and sets it on his thumb. Then flips it. ( Wait. Are the towers inside the keep, or outside? ) d2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Khalil (d2) and gets a natural 2 for a result of 2. * Lukas rolls his eyes and elucidates, "That means that the chopper has nothing to do with a damn thing to us." * Khalil checks out the results. Tails. "Coin says the truck." Don't care about the coin. ~Following the truck gets us a door in! ~ * Lukas goes to the right anyway. "Yeah. We'll go for the back door if the truck entrance isn't easy." * Togo shrugs, and goes along. * Alys follows everyone else, as she tends to do. * Khalil goes too. * Herman heads after Lukas. "'s as good a way as any." Nah. Going straight through the wall, probably impossible. [You head around the side of the castle, where you see a loading dock. A man on the back of the truck is unloading some crates, which two women wearing Covenant uniforms wheel into the castle.] ~ BOXES! ~ * Lukas eyes them. "Heel, Ten. Look like we can follow through easy enough?" ~ They've got boxes! There could be clues or the pyramid or weapons or clothes or or or or! We've gotta find out! ~ * Herman looks around. "Looks like." If we do not hesitate. Or ugly gold statues? * Lukas starts walking, making sure to keep Ten gripped. "Then lets. And no, let's not, Ten. We'll box another time." ~ Them too! But we don't know! ~ * Khalil looks at Ten oddly. "You enjoy boxes?" ~ We have to find out! ~ * Togo follows. (CONGRATULATIONS, KHALIL HAS JOINED THE GAME.) * Alys smiles at Ten. "I know what to get -you- for your birthday. Creation day. Whatever." (How did he miss the box thing before?) (It's rarely really come up? :P) (... So, like, 4-5 times inside of 3 weeks?) * Ten sings into the radio. ~ o/~ Boxes boxes box box box Open them up up up o/~ [It shouldn't be hard to get in. The open door leaves plenty of room to get around the sentries.] * Khalil points to the castle. "Think of that as one big box. We have to find out what is inside first." * Lukas will go in, then, trying not to bump into things just in case. * Togo heads in. * Herman dodges the sentries by... walking around them. ~ The little boxes are in the big box! ~ * Khalil goes in quick. ~ You arn't gonna stop are you? ~ * Alys goes inside and giggles at Ten's enthusiasm. (And actually I think it's only come up once, maybe twice with Khalil around.) ["So, what is it you girls do here, anyway?" the guy asks. "Confidential," is the only reply.] (No, the proper response is 'Constant orgies. And you can't join in. Fuck off.') ~ We have to find out what's in the boxes! They won't notice one or two! ~ No. * Ashley hums lightly and follows peopleses. [Anyway, you sneak inside into a big room! It's filled with crates and boxes and things, most about the size of a person. There's a corridor leading out.] * Khalil can't help but snicker slightly to himself. ~ They've got lots and lots and lots! Please? Just one? ~ No. * Togo heads for the corridor! ~ Pleaaaaaaaaaase? With extra sugar on top! ~ * Khalil heads for the corridor as well. * Herman goes along. "Gotta wonder what they *need* all those for." ~ ONWARD! ~ * Lukas sighs. "Ten, no boxes on the job. We've got other things to worry about." * Alys corridors. Equipment, certainly. Though what kind. I am tempted to destroy it but we are here to be--what is the word?" [You head into the keep. There's two guards there, conversing about some soap opera, or something. The keep is basically one long hallway with several adjoining rooms. It's made of stone, with a red carpet running the length and tapestries, but light brightly by electric lights. You can see the main door to your left, the rear door to your right, and a stairway that leads downward across from the corridor you're in.] Stealthy super ninjas? ...not quite what I had in mind, but it works. * Lukas points off to the right and walks that way. * Togo follows. * Herman looks around, then nods and heads after Lukas. * Khalil looks at where the guards are in relation to them, then heads for the door after everyone else. Towers are back this way. * Lukas chuckles. "I'd go on my own, but it's easier to convince people I belong in an office building than the castle of the Amazons." [Lukas leads you not actually to the rear door, but to a path to the right of it, which leads to the smaller tower. A staircase spirals up the tower.] I could be Amazon-like, except for the part where I'm not really threatening looking. * Khalil stares at Alys, a little lost. ~ You are when you've got your chains! ~ * Lukas heads up. "I'm sure you could do it if you try, niece." Pause. "Some uncle-ly encouragement." ( Most of the women here don't look particularly threatening. But hey, they got guns. ) Herman, don't suppose you have a nifty 'detect pyramid-shaped magical batteries' spell? I'd probably know when it's nearby, but other than that, no. Thanks! Is it nearby? * Togo nods. "Hadta ask." (I'm now imagining Khalil doing the 'Are we there yet?' routine on Herman.) (o/~) * Herman says, deadpan, "No." [You pass another guard as you head up, as well as a few doors. Seems there's a room on every level of the tower.] * Lukas heads up to the third floor straight away, hrming to himself from time to time. * Khalil nods and keeps heading up until Herman says stop. He's like a built-in mana detector. ( If I were a pyramid-shaped magical battery, where would *I* hide? ) * Alys waves at any guards they pass. [You arrive at the room on the third floor! The door is heavy and wooden, and looks no different than the two you passed on the way up.] * Lukas turns to the door and mutters, "Damn wooden doors." ~ It's cheating! ~ Is there a problem with wood? Yes. I can't see through it. * Herman blinks at Lukas. "What can you see through?" That is why they are "doors" and not "windows." * Lukas smirks. "Air and water?" A beat, then, "We should probably go in here. Probably guards. Try not to wake up the world, I think." 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8-3) and gets a natural 10 for a result of 7. * Ashley hms. Don't really like the room, but eh. ~ It's probably magic! ~ Everything's probably magic. The *door's* magic, that's for sure. * Herman walks over and tries to put his hand to it, carefully. [Herman's hand does not burn to a crisp or fall off.] (There's a knob? Or something?) Even the doors have magic. Where did I go wrong? I want magic powers. [There's a handle.] I could try to teach you sometime, if you really want. Dunno if you have the knack or not. I'm going to try to open this thing. Sure, sounds great! * Herman hesitates. "Well. Actually, should probably dispell whatever it is." ~ Kaay! ~ Would a ward do it? * Lukas smirks. "Wizardry for everyone. G'luck." * Togo keeps an eye on the hallway/stairs while the others work on the door. * Khalil just watches Herman at work stoically. (He would if he had one!) (Ha ha ha ha ha ha!) * Herman reaches into his coat and pulls out a thin, glass rod. "Don't think so." ( I was about to say, I should prolly use !eye. ) * Alys backs up a little. "Kay." (One day, Herman's accidentally going to pull out a sex toy instead of a glass or amber rod. Oops. Wrong cylindrical object.) * Herman touches the tip of the rod to the door and says a word in Latin. This is followed by moving it down and to the right with another word, then up and left, and so on until each point of a pentagram is glowing a faint green. He pulls his hand back as he watches the point connect and flash into white. 2d8-3 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8-3) and gets a natural 4 for a result of 1. I still think it'd be easier to just give up a few years. Easy pie! [There's the sound of shattering glass, suddenly. Gimme hearing rolls! +2] 2d8+2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Alys (2d8+2) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 13. 2d8+2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Ten (2d8+2) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 9. 2d8+2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Herman (2d8+2) and gets a natural 14 for a result of 16. 2d8-4 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8-4) and gets a natural 5 for a result of 1. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Khalil (2d8) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 7. 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Lukas (2d8) and gets a natural 7 for a result of 7. [Khalil, Lukas and Togo hear noises behind the door: A TV newscast, the hum of machinery, and some talking which ends abruptly, followed by someone approaching the door.] Someone's coming... * Khalil starts to whisper, but ends up just nodding at Togo's response. * Lukas gets out of the way of the door, withdrawing his pistol as he does. [The door opens! A brown haired woman peeks out, glancing up and down the stairs. Inside are two other women. All of them wear Covenant uniforms.] * Khalil gets to the side of the door, whip held between his hands. (Preferably before it opened. >.>) ["Well?" one of them asks. The brown haired one looks over her shoulder. "I don't see anything, but I could've sworn I heard someone drop something.... I'm going to go look around." She steps out.] * Herman steps to one side, a little after of the fact, but oh well. * Alys unclips her chains and watches the woman. * Togo gets the heck outta the woman's way. [She starts down the stairs!] ( Door still open? ) * Khalil sneaks quietly inside the area of the doorframe while he has a chance. Not that he needs to be that quiet, but habits are hard to break. [The other two go back to talking. Inside this room are a set of computers, security monitors and a small TV, currently playing a news broadcast.] * Alys peeks into the room and looks to see what's on tv. News, ew. Nobody actually -watches- the news. [The reporter on the TV reports: "Tensions in the Middle East were high today as the United States accused Saudi Arabia of secretly developing weapons of mass destruction."] [One of the women shrugs at the other and goes back to watching the news. The first one monitors security cameras.] You, uh, got the door masked and stuff, Ashley? Failing stupidity, yes. * Lukas goes in, then! Ha ha! Ashley's got illuzion powurz! * Ten goes along for the ride, in all her leafy goodness. * Alys walks in and watches the news. But if you ask her what she's doing, she'll deny it! * Herman walks right on in. He could get used to this illusion stuff. * Ashley follows. * Khalil half listens to the news as well. A slight frown purses his lips. * Togo heads. * Lukas looks over the monitors invisibly and silently. Come to me, great knowledge monkey. (FAPPO) [The newscast goes on, showing a photo of what amounts to a crater. "Earlier today, an extremely large explosion decimated a small village near the Hijaz mountains. Several of the populace are dead. More, missing and presumed dead. As the village was small and fairly far from the hub of society, United States claims that the Saudi Arabian government was conducting research of weapons of mass destruction in this location."] [" According to the U.S., there is probable cause to believe that one of these weapons malfunctioned, and went off unintentionally."] * Khalil 's eyes widen suddenly and he looks on at the monitor. No way he can hide that he's paying attention now. * Herman looks around the room for anything else of interest. [The Saudi Arabian government denies these accusations, saying it "has never and will never pursue the creation of these terrible weapons," but tension continues to arise as the U.S. calls for an emergency summit of the world's powers..." The news cast then reports about some dog that can do a back flip. Woo.] ~ That's a baaaad thing. They should be more careful with them. ~ (Uh, quick mental review?) (What were we SUPPOSED to do here?) * Alys murmurs, "God, that's awful." (Besides get the pyramid?) (Blow something up?) (It's never wrong to blow things up.) (We were hired to do something here, I know it.) ( Nope. We WANT to, but that'd piss off the fey. ) * Khalil 's kind of frozen in place. He mutters to himself in Arabic, <"Allah, help me...."> ... that near your village, Khalil? * Alys moves over towards Khalil, concerned. "Hey, are you okay?" * Khalil doesn't seem to hear Togo. He's staring at the cute little puppy doing back flips. * Lukas moves closer to the computer. [The newscast reporter interrupts. "This just in! A survivor was found among the wreckage of the village destroyed in Saudia Arabia. We take you to him now, live."] (How convenient!) * Alys continues to look worriedly at Khalil and glances back and forth at him and the tv. * Herman looks at the television now. * Ten watches the TV from on Lukas's shoulder. Yay multitasking. [The camera shows a man with a large head wound. Several microphones push at him, and a caption reads Akhmed Al-Jabi, survivor.] * Togo can't really watch either the computer screen or the TV, so he just keeps an eye on the door. * Lukas points at a specific screen which shows a giant steel door. "Looks like a bingo." * Khalil grits his teeth and turns to punch the wall, but ends up stopping himself. Fortunately, he has enough sense to realize he's still in the room with two Covenant members. * Khalil walks up to Lukas, irritation barely contained in his voice. "We find your family, yes? Then we look after mine." * Lukas replies to Khalil, still seeming focused on the monitors, "Huh? Wha... trying to look at lots of things at once." 2d8-5 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Lukas (2d8-5) and gets a natural 9 for a result of 4. * Khalil doesn't reply, just goes storming back out to the other room, glaring contemptuously at the Covenant girls in the room. * Alys follows after Khalil. "It'll be okay. We'll take care of your family too. Do you know what's going on there?" * Atom has joined #BESM [The man speaks in painful tones. It's in Arabic, but conveniently translated. "I was on my way home from work. I came across a man I had never seen before. He was tall, wearing black, and had a hooked nose and sunken cheekbones. But his eyes... his eyes were the eyes of a monster. He asked me what I knew about Balthazar. I didn't know what he was talking about. Then he asked me about the mines."] ["I told him he should speak to the foreman."] * Khalil spits in the Covenant girls directions (though not AT them) and lets out a long string in Arabic. Even if you can't understand it, you can probably tell from tone that 95% of it is unpleasant. He swivels back towards Alys. "Him. If he has laid a hand on Naila or mother..." ["He left without saying anything more... it felt like cold, dead air followed him. He was the devil incarnate! He's responsible for this!"] 2d8+1 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8+1) and gets a natural 11 for a result of 12. [He starts to rave, and paramedics get to him quickly to sedate him. The TV cuts back to the announcer. "As you can see the poor fellow appears gravely affected by the shock..." it goes on to another topic: "13 year old boy drives a car from London to Sussex in reverse...."] 2d8 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Togo (2d8) and gets a natural 6 for a result of 6. He doesn't look like he's in any condition to lay a hand on anyone. * Khalil scowls. "Not *him*! The one looking for this Balthazar! You met him too!" I think he's talking about the... yeah. ... description sounds familiar. We encountered him when we tried to face down Darcy. * Alys blinks. "Right! I owe him for hurting Liadan." * Togo rubs his temples. "Dammit, I know that description. Why can't I put a name to it?" * Khalil hisses. "And now my village. They were just some old mines..." (I also find it interesting that Togo, for being a blind man, can identify LOTS of descriptions. o/~) * Herman puts a hand on Khalil's arm. "One thing at a time, okay?" ( Good memory. He's also only been blind for a coupla years. ) (If only you'd started this conversation before we started hacking) Volt, you have a read on where we need to go? * Khalil takes in a deep breath. "I know... I am usually calmer than this." Allah will forgive me, though. * Lukas points off at the camera again, but still seems distracted. ... pointing at a video screen doesn't help me much. * Alys straightens her posture. "I'll be calm for you, okay? You go ahead and be angry." (The video screen is of a big metal door) Like when I was worried about Alex. ( I know, but Togo's blind, and thus can't see what's on the screen. =P ) (Whups.) * Lukas remains distracted. (I keep forgetting that you cheat differently than Keika did.) * Khalil takes in a deep breath and looks at Alys, steadier than before. "I had forgotten." It'll be alright. We'll take care of it, and I'm sure your family's okay. Is there a way you can get in contact with them? * Togo scowls, but lets Lukas do his work and goes back to watching the door. * Lukas gets the faint curl of a mean smile. * Herman looks at whatever this monitor is. (Um, 'this monitor' that he's pointing at shows a giant metal door guaraded by two people.) (Togo can't see it!) ( NO EYES. ) (Lukas is staring at the other monitors, but not at any one in specific. Sorta a defocused view.) Not...much of one. Any lines going into the village most likely were destroyed in the explosion. How about somewhere nearby, wherever they were likely to go afterwards? I am not sure. They did not say there would be any relief shelters or anything of the sort. Um, okay. Well, maybe we can ask Ten to check it out after we finish up tonight. * Khalil just nods silently. He looks suddenly weary. * Herman looks at Khalil with sympathy, but he doesn't seem to know what to say. So he doesn't. Just hang on until we can finish. You can stay at the store tonight, if you want. I can sleep on the couch. * Khalil doesn't respond to that. * Lukas refocuses his eyes on the screens for a moment, then nods slightly. "Right. To the other tower." * Khalil snaps suddenly towards Lukas. "We have a lead?" Yeah. The camera. It's a place in the big tower. * Lukas points at the big door camera AGAIN. "If it's anywhere, it'll be there." Gotcha. Do you know where more specifically? * Alys sighs. "More walking? When do we get to hit things?" * Herman looks at it and then nods. No more specifically than 'that place in the big tower'. We'll get there. We probably can't hope for those doors to open themselves, so I suspect we shall have to knock out the guards. * Ten nods! * Lukas turns away from the computers. "Sounds like normal. C'mon..." * Khalil nods. "Let's go then." He heads out quickly. Perhaps a little too quickly. But staying within illusion range. * Alys walks out after people. [As you head out, the brown-haired woman returns! "I couldn't find anything."] * Togo moves next to Khalil as they head out. "I've got a few military connections that might be able to figure out where the survivors went. When we're finished, I'll make some calls." * Togo moves outta the way of said woman! * Khalil speaks sharply. "No. I have to find out for myself." [And actually, it's not. Thus the session Ended.]