1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

A game of (in no particular order) politics, intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure - set to a backdrop of an industrialized Amber.
The Stage is obsolete, leftover from a previous revision of reality. RP runs in Discord these days.

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Joshua
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

Post by Joshua »

Theodore is mostly doing the Iron Dragon.

He will address Shadow. "Well, if you plan on exterminating anything, I'm going with you. Getting home will take a bit longer, but it won't be that bad." He thinks... "Yeah, I could summon something, but... it'd likely make a bigger mess than we have."

He will nod to the rangers. "My skills with engineering are... fairly good, but construction is a bit beyond my ability to do nicely."
Last edited by Joshua on Tue May 16, 2017 12:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

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The man gives the captain a blank stare. "I can likewise do little to repair the tracks. My previous suggestion meant to imply perhaps having the Dragon's iron between yourselves and a potential surprise attack from below might be prudent. At least until I...we...identify and remove any potential danger." With that he turns to the magician and nods. "Can you track whatever it is from above ground? I can follow its scent through the passages it's making but it would be nice to not have to."

Meanwhile out in the darkness red eyes continue to search for signs of the creature while keeping an eye on the train and its passengers.
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Joshua
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

Post by Joshua »

(Were people waiting for me?)

Theodore shrugs. "Not directly. I could summon a tracker. If I knew what energy it had..." He will check the openings. Attempting to get a sense of it's type of energy. Maybe he could make that visible, if it's supernatural.
Last edited by Joshua on Tue May 16, 2017 12:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

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The captain confers briefly with the engineers before turning back to Shadow and Theodore. "Right then. We'll have this bridged in about half an hour - barring any further disruptions - and that's probably not enough time to track this down, deal with it, and get back here. So here's what we'll do: Shadow, I'd like you to leave most of your pack here to help guard the train while the three of us take care of the problem..." She turns to Theodore, "Assuming you can actually track it... Theodore, wasn't it?"

Theodore:
Examination of the hole turns up traceries of some very familiar powers; this feels like Lastfell style sorcery, and you can even find the outer arc of what might have been a summoning circle. Worse, though, is that there's a definite sense of instability in the local shadow; the tunnel's origin path leads to somewhere quite outside Tyrell, and it'd probably be wise to block it off before anything else bleeds through.

Shadow:
You've never met her in human form, but if you get in close enough to pick out her scent from the rest of her people, it's possible for you to recognize the ranger captain as Juno.

In the meantime, those other eyes can pick out more wolf-like shapes flickering further out in the twisted woods to either side of the train; they're not part of your pack, and for the moment they're keeping a healthy distance from you.

And on the second-to-last train car, that stealthy figure has bent her attention downwards to the train's roof - though what exactly she's doing is a bit hard to tell. Drawing something, perhaps?
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Joshua
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

Post by Joshua »

"This may take a moment... And," Theodore will add to the rangers, "I can get back on my own. It'll take longer, but... once this is fixed, you should head out. This thing might have walked shadow."

He holds out his watch and throws it to the side. As it hits the ground, it shatters into dozens of gears and clockwork pieces. These multiply and float around into a relatively large clockwork summoning circle.

With a number of arcane gestures*, Theodore will start drawing forth the residual energy into himself, sponging it up. The remnants of the original circle flares and is drawn inward. This likely will take a few minutes as Theodore's energy darkens into a deep purple-green**.
_____________________
*: Tagging Dark Calls to Dark, and definitely using crazy (flair) to absorb and channel dark energy.
**: Purple-green being an intentional impossible color.
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

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For a moment Shadow stared at the woman suspiciously until her scent made her identity known to him, immediately answering all of the questions that had developed while she spoke. Nodding to her, he responds; “I’ll keep watch.” Moments later, several wolf-like shadowy forms emerge from the darkness at a slow pace and form a perimeter around the assembled engineers. One remains behind and move onto the train itself, close enough to the figure at the rear both to get a better look and to be present should action be required.

Keeping part of his attention on the unusual magic Theodore is crafting, Shadow continues. “There’s more creatures out in the darkness watching us. They’re aware of me and keeping their distance but that may not continue to be the case so everyone stay together and near the train.” With a glance down the length of the train, he continues; “Is there something special about the second-to-last train car?”
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

Post by Wyvern »

"Second from the back?" Juno's already loping away from the engine and down the line of cars even as she responds to Shadow. "That's one of the cargo cars - why do you ask?"

And, almost as if on cue, the wolf-like creatures hiding in the woods flow silently towards the train. The creatures are gaunt, almost skeletal - and they move wrong, limbs bending jerkily in directions their joints shouldn't allow; more like poorly-made marionettes than any sort of normal living thing. The thick darkness comes with them, flowing off of matted fur and boiling out of dead black eyes.

Shadow, with his pack patrolling further out, is the first to be attacked; the creatures are clumsy*, but numerous**.

_____
* They can, at the moment, only mount a "fair" (+1) attack, which Shadow can easily defend against using almost any of his approaches.
** ...But there are more of them coming, and sooner or later sheer numbers will add up; future attacks from them are liable to be increasingly effective - or spread out to possibly-less-durable targets - unless their numbers are kept pruned back.
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Joshua
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

Post by Joshua »

"Seriously?" Theodore laughs, cackling. "You waited until AFTER I set this up?"

Instead of his original plan, Theodore will switch to a series of arcane gestures, targeted at the skeletal wolves and darkness. "Shrivel and Syphon!"

The magic, set to absorb, lashes out with glowing black-green tendrils from his circle. Where they touch, they leave psychically scorched blackness, not corrupted, but devoid of potential. They flail out and attempt to drink the shadows*.
___________________
*: This is a Crazy attack, tagging both the 'warded' aspect to prevent the train (and the rangers) from getting caught in the crossfire, and the draining aspect to absorb the energy for later use. As well as a fate point to tag "Magi isn't an exact science" to get either a +2 or to make the bizarre mix of things work out (if needed). The spell drains fluids, blood, life-energy, corruption, anything that might be considered vital-force. (Oh yeah, and Magic is a Rush.)
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

Post by ShadowOfPreservation »

“Because someone is on top of it drawing something.” he replies to Juno before turning his attention to the approaching creatures.

The defending wolves had already moved to intercept the wolf-like abominations. Thankfully the wolf pack are extraordinarily quick and leap away from the magical onslaught as it lashes out at the enemy, darting back in when necessary to finish off any that still show movement. The man remaining near the Engine turns to Theodore with an expression of mixed admiration and wariness. "That was just the first wave. Do you know what those things are?" *
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
*Shadow likely has some theories already, possibly having even encountered them at the borders of the Hinterlands.
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Re: 1397-04-21-B: Sinkholes by Starlight

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Juno frowns at Shadow's explanation, but the attack draws her attention before she can comment further.

Or perhaps more accurately, Theodore's response to the attack draws her attention as black-green tendrils lash out in all directions, scorching the train's cars (though his prior warding - fortunately* - makes this attack exclude the engine itself and the rangers or engineers emplaced around it) - as well as some of Shadow's pack**. Where it hits the attacking "wolves", however, they puff into logs, like some ninja trick - if the ninja in question had a penchant for spore-packed mushrooms seated in decaying wood.

"Hey! Watch where you're aiming that!"

_____
* This is fortunate not because Theodore might have seriously damaged the Iron Dragon... but because the Iron Dragon might have retaliated, and they are not known for subtlety or proportionate response.
** I'll let Theodore & Shadow's players work out whether this is purely cosmetic damage or what other effects it might lead to.
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