Strolen's Citadel

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The Gathering

Started by valadaar Aug 5, 2013 176 posts Locked

  1. Re: The Gathering

    #81


    The corpse was held together mostly by its blue overalls, with the number 532 on both the front, and back.  One pocket held a short magazine for a pistol, and by its weight there were still rounds left. Another held a small medipack, though almost completely out of stores.  Two thin plastic cards with unfamiliar text on them.  A folding knife, rusted closed.

    Turning it over caused several pieces to scatter loose, the head rolling out of sight.  There was a backpack underneath, squashed flat over time.  Inside was a plastic bag filled with some substance turned black with mould. Two cans, minus their labels, seemed reasonably intact, and a rectangle of some strange plastic stuff, along with a couple of unidentified electronic devices.

    As for Luc, the metal box indeed had a lock - a tough little padlock securing two loops of steel.  Marcus's axe could likely sweep it off with a stroke, but the lock looked like it would be fairly easy to open...
    He took out his picks, and as he thought, the lock proved fairly easy, even with the terrible lighting in the basement.

    Removing the lock, Luc noticed that as he carefully pulled the door open a dim red flashing light coming from within...







  2. Re: The Gathering

    #82
    Luc noticed the flashing red light and froze. Amongst other things, he had learned from the stories of the travelers in the pub that red lights were usually a warning; Flashing lights were usually a bad sign; Red, flashing lights? Well, that usually meant it was time to run. Without opening the door any further than the crack he already had, Luc peered inside to see if his fears were realized or if he was jumping at fantastical tales. "Mark - I don't like the looks of this!"

    Luc is fearing a red flashing countdown timer, perhaps started by opening the door :p If he recognises one, or something similarly identifiable, he will be piss-bolting for the stairs, pushing Mark with him.
    I'm supposing it's a knowledge (Engineering) check... perhaps Knowledge (History) if whatever's in there can be recognised from what Luc's learned?
    Roll 1d20 = 12

  3. Re: The Gathering

    #83
    Glimpsing inside he saw, lit by its own warning light, a 6" diameter menacing disk-shaped object..  A sudden 'be-beep' coincided with his decision to run...

    He hurled himself away from the device like a man possessed, barrelling into Marcus and nearly toppling him.

    Panic brought him, and shortly thereafter Marcus, outside and somewhat clear of the basement.

    A minute passed, then another.  No explosion.

    ...


  4. Re: The Gathering

    #84
    Luc flopped down on the grass and sighed heavily, catching his breath - his heart felt like it was in his throat. To Marcus he grinned, "Well. That was exciting! I could've sworn that was some kind of bomb...!" Luc peered back over to the building with narrowed eyes, half expecting it to suddenly erupt in flame and debris to mark his words. "Better safe than sorry, huh? I don't think we should stay here tonight, anyway. Should we find the others?"

    Luc adjusted the hat on his head - he felt a bit foolish, now, but he did not feel comfortable  going back into that building. "Now... where's Elvis got to?"

  5. Re: The Gathering

    #85
    Marcus gave Luc an exasperated look, and said "You're supposed to be the smart one, Luc, not me. If it was a bomb, or going to kill us somehow, it wouldn't even be here. Some scavenger would've opened the box, saw the flashing light, and stuck around long enough to be blown up! Besides, why would the person whomloved in this house before the apocalypse have a bomb?"

    Marcus sighed heavily, and shook his head. "Here, we still need to find Elvis. If ya don't want to go in there, thats fine, so ill go in and look for the d*** thing. You look for it out here. Yell if something tries to eat you."

    He then returned into the house, and walked the way to the basement. Though he knew that chances are that he wouldn't be blown up into pieces, it never hurt to doublecheck. As such, he walked down the stairs, opened the box, and examined the flashing red light.

    if the light comes from a portable, not-attached-to-the-box kind of device, Marcus also takes it from the box and examines it in his hand. Oh, and if i need to roll for this examination, i got a 17

  6. Re: The Gathering

    #86
    Marcus reentered the basement and opened the door.  The light inside was most certainly attached to the disk, and it flashed when he opened the door. It began flashing faster and a bebeep sound issued out.

    Reflex save please.

  7. Re: The Gathering

    #87
    Marcus Anthony Sauvage, seeing the flashing light emitted from the disk, slammed the door shut and dove to the side immeadiately

    reflex save: 20. And a +2 from my dex.

  8. Re: The Gathering

    #88
    Carnegie was within sight of the building, and saw Elvis nearby Luc, who seemed to be looking with concern at the house. Elvis caught sight of Carnegie, Anya and Kreadle and began to run towards towards her.

    The next moment, all of the lower windows of the house suddenly light up, and all of the boards were blown outward by a cloud of dust.

    The sound of the blast reached Carnegie a moment later, nearly deafening in its loudness.

    Elvis ran full out to Carnegie now, who took the panicked dog into arms for a moment before moving up to the house.

    Luc thought the worst for his friend, and walked back to the doorway.  He was greeted by loud cursing intermixed with sounds of pain.

    The house itself was making unfriendly creaking noises..


    Luc:  Stunned,  no hp damage.
    Elvis:  Shaken, no damage.

    Marcus: Stirred,  10 hp damage, after save. Currently has significant debris on top, and various small cuts and bruises. Great save roll changed the outcome :)


  9. Re: The Gathering

    #89
    *Vweeeeeeeeeeeee*


    Luc stumbled to the door of the house, nearly tripping over himself more than once - Oh god; why did he let Mark go back down there!? He knew that damned light meant trouble!
    He hadn't noticed that the others had returned, and in the confusion of the moment and from the ringing in his ears, he didn't realize that Elvis had run from his side.
    "Shit..." He murmered, before screaming, "FUCK!" Luc paused at the door of the building, resting a hand on the door jamb and wincing as the building creaked dangerously.
    He had let his friend get killed - he was sure of it! What was he... wait! A loud curse echoed from inside - Marcus!
    "MARK! You okay!? The house is fucked up bad! Can you get out!?"

    Relief flooded through Luc, and he finally slumped to the ground. The blast hadn't injured him, but he was too disoriented to help, just now.

  10. Re: The Gathering

    #90
    Carnegie's smile at seeing Elvis coming to greet her, quickly changed to one of shock as the sound and rumble of the blast wave hit her. Elvis nearly flew into her arms, and she held the poor shuddering animal tight as she struggled to comprehend the scene before her. Carrying the big dog as if he were a babe, a feat in itself, she stumbled towards a dark form in the dust cloud. Coughing, she could make out the familiar form of Luc, a streak of blood running from his ear. "What in tarnation happened?!" She shouted at the dazed Luc who was yelling at the rubble, she grabbed his arm. "Is Marcus under there?!"She tightened her grip around Elvis.

  11. Re: The Gathering

    #91
    Boom!

    The shockwave washed over her and the deafening roar instantly rooted Anya to the spot. Knowing she should move, help, yet struggling with the thought that someone she knew could be lying underneath a pile of rubble; dead. Or worse.. Damnit! Don't go there!..

    After what seemed ages, but in reality only took a couple of seconds her drills took over. Rushing toward the house she saw Luc stagger out and slump against the wall. "Are you ok? Luc!"

    "Carnie!, come here and take a look at Luc, make sure he's ok! I'm going to see if I can help Marcus get out."

    Without another word, and a grim look spread across her face she carefully made to enter the house. Checking all the while that she wouldn't disturb anything that could cause further damage.

  12. Re: The Gathering

    #92
    "Alright..." Carnegie replied. "Come on, sit down here. Sit down here!" She gestured at the dazed Luc. She proceded to wipe the blood off his cheek. "Hmm, I'm no medic but I think you'll be okay... You're gonna be okay!" She yelled. "Uhm. Kreadle, can you please take a look? I'mma go help out Anya, okay."

    I dunno if I need to do any checks for this one, maybe a stealth check to move carefully? I dunno.

    She followed Anya into the dusty house, covering her mouth with her arm. Soon enough they found Marcus lodged under a beam, he was still conscious judging by the constant cussing. Together with Anya and a close to raging Marcus, they soon had the beam cleared. Anya was the first to offer him support, Carnegie also held out her arm in offer, but she wasn't sure whether or not the proud Marcus would accept their help. Either way, it was high time to get out of there.

  13. Re: The Gathering

    #93
    Luc complied, nodding mutely at Carnegie's directions and remaining seated. He was feeling a bit more in control of himself, bit decided against going in the building: more people meant more chance that one of them would bigger things up and have the house crash down! One hand patting Elvis stop him following Carnegie, the man waited.

  14. Re: The Gathering

    #94
    "F***ing godd*** bombs..." groaned Marcus as the two discovered him under the rubble. "God f***ing d*** the d*** things to f***ing h***..."

    As Carnegie and Anya strained to shift a beam, Marcus added his strength to them, all the while describing just what he thought of bombs, collapsing buildings, fate, lucks, explosions, flashing red lights, etc.

    Almost woozily, Marcus muttered a quick thank you to his rescuers, as he accepted their offer of support. With Carnegie and Anya's aid, he managed to exit the building and collapse on the soft green (albeit slightly scorched) grass.

  15. Re: The Gathering

    #95
    Major Richards sat up when he heard the distant boom.  "Seems they're taking those coyote's seriously," his jest masking the concern he suddenly felt. 

    He had heard the small storm of a while earlier, and though perhaps the group had been a little trigger happy.  The explosion, occurring as it did some after the gunfire hinted at a grimmer scenario.

    Coming to a decision, he stood up and went looking for Louis.




  16. Re: The Gathering

    #96
    Some time later, Carnegie sat stirring her pot of molerat meat as she watched Luc and Kreadle patching up Marcus. She gently shoved Elvis's head aside from the pot and gazed reflectively down on the simmering stew. When first she had returned and the house had almost exploded, she had gotten so very scared. The thought that something could have happened to Luc, she didn't think she could bear to lose him.

    She felt a bit ashamed at that thought, something had happened, but not to Luc, well, only a small portion of it had happened to Luc. She was glad Marcus had made it out, but he was still Marcus. Knowing him, he had probably triggered whatever had exploded in the first place. She snorted at the thought and met Luc's inquiring gaze, she smiled at him and continued stirring.

    She paid extra care to this batch, there weren't that many people she had cooked for before, and it was always exciting, yet nerve racking to cook for new people.

    11 +7 mod to Craft(cooking), I figured I could make that roll since I'm tasting it, using my chunk of molerat meat.

  17. Re: The Gathering

    #97
    "That stings! Watch where you put that... Ow! Hell, this hurts more than the f***in bomb that put them cuts on me in the first place!" Marcus complained, and then, smelling Carnegie's creation, said "Mebbe if I was fortified with some o' that. And some beer if ya have it."

    I would like to take a survival skill check to survive Kreadle and Luc's ministrations :D

  18. Re: The Gathering

    #98

    The danger over, and Marcus saved, Luc it was time for retaliation. "You're supposed to be the smart one, Luc!" he mocked as he helped path the man up, "someone woulda stuck around long enough to blow themselves up, Luc!" Luc rolled his eyes, "Looks like someone did now, huh?!" He gave Marcus a pat on the shoulder and stood, walking over to eye the pot Carnegie was stirring hungrily, not in a dissimilar manner to Elvis, "Smelling good, Carny! So, what did you, Anya and Kreadle find out there? Manage to pick off any more 'yotes?"

  19. Re: The Gathering

    #99
    "Nope, didn't see none, nothing but tracks. Though the ones we sent running were joined by another bunch of em. We went as far as an old building with a playground, we think that's where they're holed up now. I figured we'll go in full force tomarrawh." Carnegie paused and sipped the stew, it tasted pretty good, despite the low quality meat. "We need to finish the job after all, I'm just hoping 'yotes is all we find in those ruins."

    "Stew's done, I hope someone remembered to pack spoons and bowls." Seeing Anya return from her short patrol, Carnegie stood up and dusted off her knees. "Alright. Let's eat!" Carnegie sat out a bowl for Elvis and said a short prayer before digging in with the others.

    Edit: +1 hp for this excellent repas, only if injured of course... -V

  20. Re: The Gathering

    #100
    Luc ate greedily, slurping down a good helping of the stew noisily until Carnegie gave him a warning glare, after which he slowed down. "Hey, this is actually pretty good!" he remarked, before looking the Carnegie guiltily, "That is to say, er... Not that I am surprised!"

    After his food was eaten, Luc fetched the stim pack that had been given to them by Richards and moved to Marcus. "Look, Marc, can we skip the part where you complain that you're fine and dont need anything, so we can patch you up proper? You'll feel much more like Ing 'yotes in the morning! And after this we should set up a proper camp with a perimeter and get some rest!"

  21. Re: The Gathering

    #101
    After eating the stew and complimenting Carnegie on its completion after Luc did, he eyed Luc as he got the stimpack. He was about to preemptively shut down the use of it when Luc spoke.

    "That depends, Luc," Marcus answered. "Is there a chance that ya'll not waste the stimpack on me?"

  22. Re: The Gathering

    #102
    Carnegie eyed Luc, she felt torn between compliment and insult. In the end, she shrugged it off. Even Marcus had expressed his like. She smiled to herself. She looked up at the exchange between the two men. She wanted to add that Marcus would probably be the most likely candidate to get hurt again anyways and so would need it the most, but she didn't dare.

    Instead, she turned to Luc. "Ehrm. What was that thing that gone exploded anyways? Did anyone bother to check what it was?" Anya nodded her agreement at the question.

  23. Re: The Gathering

    #103
    Luc sighed at the stubbornness of his friend and left the stimpack with Marcus; whether he used it or not was up to the big man: he could nit force him (Marcus would snap him like a twig if he tried!)

    To Carnegie he shrugged, "D'no Carny; all I know is I'm not going back in there to find out! That Fu... Er, that house could drop any second!" Luc dropped his bowl down to Elvis to let him lick it, "alright, I'm gonna grab some shut-eye. Ah, but first...!" The man pulled a satchel out of his bag - inside it were caltrops. He didnt have enough to circle the whole area but he placed them in what he thought would be likely spots of entry to the small camp they had made.
    "Now," he said as he finished, "I think we should all try and catch some sleep" he looked pointedly at Marcus.

  24. Re: The Gathering

    #104
    Kreadle looked at Luc, "We're not inside the fort here - we'll need to take watches, unless you want to wake up with those coyotes munching our throats. I'll take first watch if you want."

    A loud creak, followed by the sound of wood tearing, and a small wall of noise announced the nearby house's final demise. A large cloud of dust came billowing up.  Then everything was still, save for small sounds of debris settling.

  25. Re: The Gathering

    #105
    Carnegie shared a look with Anya. So much for checking the house. She gathered the dishes and cutlery and went to the nearest stream to clean them out. When she came back, she did some basic gun maintenance, loaded it anew in case she would need it and then settled in her sleeping bag. Elvis came and curled up next to her as the rest of the camp prepared themselves for the night.

  26. Re: The Gathering

    #106
    Marcus flinched as the house collapsed for its final time. He strolled over to the crater filled with debris and burnt planks. He looked at it for a moment, melancholy, and then began to set up his tent. Afterward, be contemplated using the stimpack. If he did use it, he'd be able to kill things for longer. If he didn't, then they'd have the stimpack in case one of them got seriously injured beyond the petty scratches he all ready had.

    He sighed heavily. As the incident with the house proved, Luc was probably smarter than he was. And as they'd still have another stimpack for possible injuries. It was time to swallow his stubborness. He examined the directions for the moment, and then began applying the stimpack

  27. Re: The Gathering

    #107
    The instructions were very simple. A protective plastic cover on the tip of the device was to be removed, and the tip was to be pushed in near the point of injury.

    He noticed there were numbers and letters on it that may signify a date or something - EXP DEC 11 2034 as he pushed on the device. A sudden snap of a spring shot the stimpacks payload into his bloodstream, and along with it sudden burning agony.  His heartrate spiked hard and his vision was distorted slightly with each heartbeat.

    He felt the substance circulate in his blood and quickly settle at the point of his injuries, where if anything the pain grew more intense.  However, to his amazement, pale skin began to form over the wounds, as though invisible spiders were spinning a web.

    7 hp restored. A feeling of tiredness and residual pain

    Shortly thereafter his heart-rate returned to normal and his vision no longer was messed up.

  28. Re: The Gathering

    #108
    Luc shuddered at the sound of the house collapsing but resisted making any further jibes Marcus's way - the man had walked away from an explosion! He didnt need any more 'told you so's'. "You're right, Kreadle. I'll take second."

    With that, Luc unrolled his bedroll and climbed inside.

    Luc is a bit wary of Kreadle. Because of this, he plans to feign sleeping through Kreadle's watch and watch him. After that, he will do his watch and them have solid sleep through the final 3 watches (hopefully!)

  29. Re: The Gathering

    #109
    Shuddering from the aftereffects of the stimpack, and promising himself that he would never, ever, do that again, Marcus strolled over to the medipack and gently dropped the used stimpack in. He then claimed third watch for himself, before settling in his tent. He pondered his journal for a moment, and then decided he'd do it during his watch.

    Marcus quickly fell asleep that night, with dreams of explosions echoing across his eyelids.

  30. Re: The Gathering

    #110
    While the others were getting settled in their beds, Kreadle moved over to the fallen house and pulled a number of boards out of the wreckage to keep feeding the fire.

    Once they settled in, Kreadle sat quietly, and then fished some type of cigarette from inside his jacket. He lit it from an ember, the light on his face looking odd from the underlighting.
    He then took out his weapons and began to clean them.

    Luc had nearly drifted off before Kreadle got up and nudged him 'awake'.  "A whole lotta nothin'. Figured the coyote's might of howled tonight. Might be too early though. I suspect somethin' might come sniffing after all the blood here tonight."

    With that, Kreadle got his bedrollout and went to sleep.  "Nighty night."



  31. Re: The Gathering

    #111
    "Sleep tight." Luc nodded at Kreadle's report and pushed himself up for his turn at watch. He sat where Kreadle had been and listened intently into the night for unfamiliar sounds. Luc fed the fire from time to time with some spare planks of wood that kreadle had collected, and he nirsed his crossbow on his lap.

  32. Re: The Gathering

    #112
    Some time later, Carnegie roused. At first, she lay looking up into the endless night sky, then her gaze fell on Luc sitting alone by the fire. She took her rifle and got up. She went to sit down by the fire with him. "Hey." She whispered. "Seen anything?" She looked around, trying to pierce the darkness with her eagle-eyes.

    Perception check, trying to spot or hear anything untoward.

  33. Re: The Gathering

    #113
    "Whole lotta nuthin'. Been real quiet too." Luc smiled at Carnegie. "Couldn't sleep huh? I'm dog-tired! Nearly time for me to give Mark the boot for his watch though.

    Idly prodding at the fire, Luc drifted into silence. It had been a pretty exciting day, from coyotes to beetles to explosions. He was silently wishing for a calm night, but things were almost too calm for him - he was on edge, waiting for something to go wrong!

  34. Re: The Gathering

    #114
    "Don't bother, I'm already up so I might as well take the next watch." She looked at the sky again. "Sure is pretty out tonite, huh?" She gave Luc a warm smile. "It's almost like today never happened. More excitement than I've seen in a while though. Not that I'm complainin...I mean I...it's fun havin some company fer a change, usually it's juss me huntin on my own, well juss me an Elvis...and..." She trailed off.

    Carnegie almost groaned, he already knew all this. She wasn't good at these sort of things. Then a thought hit her.

    "Hey, uh. Didn't yer crossbow break? Did you fix it, or? I'm better with guns, but I could prolly take a look at it, if'n you want..."
    She glanced at him shyly then looked promptly at the fire, trying to seem disinterested of his answer.

  35. Re: The Gathering

    #115
    Out of the corner of his eye, Luc caught movement.  Turning, he saw an odd sight.  A small pinpoint of red light high in the sky.  Not a star - he had never seen a star that shade of red, and he knew most of them. 

    And this one was moving. Not fast - it was drifting slowly across the sky in the direction of Stonehammer.

  36. Re: The Gathering

    #116
    "Yeah, sure Carny, it would be great if you could check it out for me!" Luc handed his crossbow over eagerly, and peered up to the skies as directed, "Yeah, real pretty night; can see the stars really... Hrm." Luc paused, confused as he spotted the red, moving light.

    "That's odd - you see that one up there?" Luc directed Carnegie's eyes to the moving light, "That doesn't look like a star. What do you suppose..." leaping to his feet, Luc gasped dramatically and nudged Carnegie, "I know what it is, Carnie!" Luc paused for effect, then burst out,
    "Aliens! They've finally come to take you home!"
    Luc burst out in a stifled laughter at his own joke, trying not to rouse the others.

  37. Re: The Gathering

    #117
    Carnegie took the crossbow with a smile, then looked up with confusion. True, that was no star...what could it- Carnegie froze when she heard the "joke". Was that what he thought of her? Was she so akward that she was like an alien to him? She looked down, biting back bitter tears of anger. She threw the crossbow onto the fire! "That's good fer nothin' but kindlin!" She exclaimed and stormed off, striding straight into the woods.

  38. Re: The Gathering

    #118
    Luc actually yelped as Carnegie threw his broken crossbow in the fire and stormed off. He jumped forth to grab the crossbow, them hesitated, taking a step in the direction that Carnegie went. Then he stopped and rubbed his head, "What the sweet fuck just happened!?" should he stay and give her space, or go after her? Why were women so god-damned temperamental?
    Huffing, luc sat back down at the fire and grumbled to himself. If he explored the world for a thousand years and unlocked the secrets all the lands had to offer, he would still not know why women acted in the manner they did. She was like a little sister to him; hopefully she still thought of him as a brother...

    Luc cursed then stood, giving Marcus a boot - perhaps a little harder than necessary. "You're up for watch, Mark. Carnie's gone off in the woods but. Im sure she hasn't gone far: she'll no doubt be bac k soon."

  39. Re: The Gathering

    #119
    Marcus gave his friend a look.

    "Girl trouble?" He grunted, still half-asleep.

    He leaned up, and moved in front of the fire with his journal and pen in hand.

    Love, it seemed, was tearing his team apart. S***.

  40. Re: The Gathering

    #120
    Through her tears and darkness, Carnegie could barely see a thing. Branches and twigs made her travel painful, and noisy.
    Very quickly her foot stepped on something much softer then she expected. She nearly tripped over a carcass of something - her nose told her that much.





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