|
Post by Benjamin Murphy on Jan 29, 2021 23:08:57 GMT -8
The whispers crackle and keen as they are drawn out into white noise, and Benjamin's troubled scowl deepens as he looks Rowan up and down.
"Fuck- Is it about the rose b̶̡̡̙̅u̷̮͚͊̚r̶̜̩̘͂͗ṣ̴͕͌̉͝t̴̢̨̺̒̾̃̋ḭ̵̎̓̋̅ň̴̥g̸̨̀͑ ̴͓̳̀̀͗o̷̳̲͊ų̸̡͔́ͅť̶͇͖̞̠ ̶̫̹̈́̀o̸̘̠̯͎̔̈́̌̊f̴̢̮̩͋̅͘̚ ̷͓̲̔̒͝͠ÿ̶͇̹̣ͅȍ̴͔͔̈́u̴̧̯̬̬̾ȓ̴̝̮͠ ̵̡̩͕͛̃t̶͎̖͂̂h̵̭͓̽̔ṛ̵̢̋͑͐o̸̳̪͍͑͑̊͝at, or the p̵̖̘͎̤̈́̿̆ị̶͒ṱ̷͙̗͌̏͜ ̶̬̹͉̩͂̓y̶̯̖͋͊̒o̸̙̒̚ų̸̹̳̐́̍'̴̫̙̘͖̋r̵̜̗̹͂́̈͝e̸̡̫̹̽̆͋͠ ̵̬̓̎̆̉ͅs̵̥̰̠͆̓͌ĩ̶̡̙̼͘͝d̵̙̺͓́ͅè̵̼͜ș̸̛̚t̵̡͌͊̂ḛ̷̒͠p̶̨͓̝̚p̵̣͚̈́͗̓ḯ̴͖̣̭͠n̷͓̲͍͑ͅģ̴̤͍̤́̒ ̶̤̬̬̉̓̈̃w̴̐̔̅͜i̷̱̯̓͊̕͜t̷̖͂͌̄h̴̤͚́̌o̸̢͉͈̘͆͆͂u̶̲͌̚t̷̨̜̅͂ͅ ̸̖̝͓͆̄͋͌s̸̤̏é̶͓͎̂̓̕e̸̺̊̅̋͊ḭ̴̮̩́̄͌͛͜ṋ̴̥͇͖̐͌g̶̛̬͚̗̫ ̸͉̭͉̆͘ the edge?" There was a loud sniff, before a sardonic grin split his face,
"Kidding."
|
|
|
Post by Rowan on Jan 30, 2021 13:37:22 GMT -8
Rowan instinctively brought his hands to cover his mouth to prevent anything bursting out of his throat. Then at the sight of the grin he felt kind of stupid. He blew into his hands before shoving them into his pockets and kicked a wayward rock.
"You're funny," he answered in a flat tone. Then he lowered his voice, trying to keep the others from hearing. "No, I just need to know what Chasseur likes. I need to give him a gift, for, um, Wyrd purposes." He sulked a little - he didn't like showing his hand like this, but since Glamour was going to be scarce, he didn't want to burn through it so soon.
|
|
|
Post by Benjamin Murphy on Jan 30, 2021 14:08:24 GMT -8
The Wizened sighed as if running the thought was this large inconvenience.
"It's not the gift that's the issue. It's that he cannot return anything in exchange, right? You didn't take any of his offers, so why not just give him something you have right now? Or, fuck, provide a service. I hate the assholes that bullshit altruism and pull something like fetch a drink at a party. That's just asking the Wyrd to take its own shortcut later. You're taking their Kith as payment. Don't be a greedy little bitch about it," he ranted, though Rowan didn't feel it was directed at him specifically. In fact, the Darkling seemed to be earnest about wanting to do it properly.
"Carry his stuff for an hour. You're naïve if you don't think he'll know what you're doing, so who cares?"
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Feb 1, 2021 16:13:24 GMT -8
Okay. "Fair enough. Thanks, ma'am. I'll gear up." If they were dealing with a dinosaur, it was probably best to have some layers between her skin and its teeth. She stripped off the thin kevlar vest and put it in her backpack, allowing herself to be fitted with chainmail in her size. It wasn't comfortable, and it certainly was heavy, but the links would go a long way to ablate fangs or a tail swipe. Lamp oil was the bane? Cool. It sounded like Buck really knew his stuff. "Cool. That should go a long way to making this hunt a win!"
The pledge made sense to her, and she swore it with a toast and a pulse of Will. No man left behind... what a Summer ideal. No doubt, it would go a long way to keeping the epic Runnerswift by their sides. She flashed a salute to the sentry as they went down, down, down into the mysteries of the Hedge.
Keeping her head on a swivel, Kai swept the horizon for any threats approaching...
|
|
Finn
.
Played by Swift
Posts: 139
|
Post by Finn on Feb 1, 2021 18:03:51 GMT -8
Finn shows a bit of surprise when he's handed a chain shirt that actually fits. He dons it quickly and packs his gear and weapons, ready to head out. He nods when the pledge is offered and returns the toast. It was a practical and straightforward enough promise. No one left behind. He hadn't been a ranger, but army was close enough. The lamp oil was an interesting touch. Was it the oil itself that would help? Or, more likely he supposed, an intent to light the weapons aflame. It would definitely be worth seeing if these particular blades would stand up to being heated up like that. He didn't really have much to say, so quietly lumbered along, shedding his mask as he entered the hedge.
His hair and beard immediately began to smolder, live embers causing wisps of smoke to wreath his head. His skin looked ashen grey, but was otherwise uncharred, and his eyes hardened, blazing with the drive to see the hunt through to the end.
|
|
Firebringer
.
Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
|
Post by Firebringer on Feb 2, 2021 15:36:48 GMT -8
Firebringer takes another moment to consider whether or not to take the chainmail. She's so petite, she wondered if they'd even have any small enough for her. Watching Kai go for it, she just shrugs and decides 'why not'? The added protection on that end will likely help more than it would in the mundane world. As luck would have it, there happened to be some small enough for her, though, this kind of armor would always be big no matter what she did. She felt slower, sluggish with it. She'd need time to adjust.
Lamp oil, huh? Interesting. She kept thinking on those weapons, wondering if she'd accidentally light one aflame... or was that the point? Maybe that's what is meant to happen. Too much thought, not enough keeping eyes peeled. With the pledge, she feels a deeper sense of purpose now. They had a duty and the Wyrd was invested in that journey. Even if it was just to punish them for screwing up if need be.
She lets out a sigh and walks along with the group, her orange eyes marveling at the sights of the Hedge. Even in the Winter, she feels that distinctive pull like she always has. Run away. Dance in the wilds. Exist as the flame again. Her whole body seems to glow with flames ready to erupt from beneath her false flesh. Her hair, singed as it always is, is lit aflame as it was meant to be. Shed the skin and just live again. No... no, we have duties and goals. We have to be a person now. She puts those thoughts in the deep recesses of her mind. No running, no frolicking. Focus.
She lets out a deep breath, but she seems a little unnerved, despite her pushing the temptations to the back of her mind.
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Feb 6, 2021 16:57:02 GMT -8
As the motley passed the Sentry, the She-Wolf's ear twitched, mouth splitting as she gasped a bubbling memory, "Ah! Ben, the talismans." The Wizened turned from his conversation with Rowan, rummaging through the pack to produce beaded necklaces to hand out to the group as he reminded them that the Freehold Oath affected their use of magic outside its borders. The jewelry was a protective token that anchored them to Vegas' soil, and each represented a reagent for channeling the Wyrd in a safe manner that doesn't violate their Bargain. A glorified abacus that allowed them to loophole their own allegiance with the Seasons, though the Knight of Lores piped in that she preferred the allegory of prayer beads. They had fifteen casts each. The former LA Changelings Buck and Lancelot appeared a little perturbed at the revelation, but kept things polite for the Freehold's strange arrangement.Very little spinning was required along the established Trod, though Lancelot seemed to be taking the time to try and alleviate the stamp of their Mantles. He wasn't very talented with it, however; his namesake a little ironic as his subtle nature was lost when trying to influence a fragmented world of ideas. The Iron Spear lapsed into a martial drill to meet the loophole for Vigilance of Ares. Kai and Firebringer took point with guarding the backs of the scouts. Rowan went ahead with post-Apocalyptic Benjamin, the Darkling making good on his promise to cloak as necessary once they took to the towering shadows to save his Glamour. As the Autumn whispers of a drowning subject cloaked the scout in muffled, dark water and invisible ice to seal off prying senses, Rowan noted with some alarm as his hand started to turn black with crackling veins. The abnormal reaction travelled fast, like a speeding infection, before it found its way to the beads wrapped around his wrist. One of the carved bones cracked with a loud pop, smoking with cold blackened tendrils. And then the Contract went off as normal. Linden and Finn stayed between the main party and right behind the scouting group, following a similar pattern of Iron Speak protections. The Autumn Knight made a not-so quiet comment that it was charming to be among the Wrathful that had not been jaded to local expectations, given the lack of Summer support for such a cliché venture. As Ben and Rowan kept communication, Kai and Firebringer noted one of the cracks that was nestled in the connecting corner of an overpass had a blurred edge to it. Ben and Rowan regarded it with supernatural stealth, finding it to be a massive clump of... hair?
|
|
|
Post by Rowan on Feb 6, 2021 22:34:52 GMT -8
What were those hairs? From a careful distance, Rowan raked his mind to try and find relevant information. ' Is she watching?' The thought was on the forefront of the Darkling's mind as he looked closer at the hair. Being in the same party as the She-Wolf was the opportunity he had been waiting for ever since Mabon. That, and scouting with her Squire. "Harvestmen. Aspects of hunger," he answered to Ben in a whisper. His voice as further muffled by the black ski mask he had pulled on to trigger the loophole. "They're relatively small, but there's record of bigger ones. Let's stay on guard." He gestured to Kai and Firebringer to stay alert while his own hands started trailing frozen mist.
"Get into position."
|
|
Finn
.
Played by Swift
Posts: 139
|
Post by Finn on Feb 7, 2021 19:35:00 GMT -8
Harvestmen was they called Daddy Long Legs in the south. Great. Spiders. "Kill it with fire?" Finn asks only half joking.
|
|
|
Post by Kai Rose on Feb 8, 2021 17:25:57 GMT -8
"Firebringer? Got a light?"
She held up three lamp-oiled coated arrows between her fingers, letting the Elemental's fire light the oil. One of the flaming arrows was nocked and launched into the spiders...
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Feb 8, 2021 19:58:01 GMT -8
Benjamin simply readies his longarm, setting up a sniper position from a safe enough distance. "Lighting them up should get rid of the bulk of the swarm. We don't have long before they sense us."
|
|
Firebringer
.
Elemental Ifrit, Presence 3 (Intimidating)
Posts: 634
|
Post by Firebringer on Feb 8, 2021 21:47:20 GMT -8
"Go for it, Kai." Firebringer is more than happy to lend her flames where needed. She quickly lights her hands aflame, ready to bust up anything that came near. As she does so, the flames from her hands spiral up her arms, merging with the rest of her flamed form. If this were a cartoon, she might look like Calcifer if they had legs.
|
|
Linden
.
Presence (3) Steady
Posts: 325
|
Post by Linden on Feb 9, 2021 22:45:40 GMT -8
Hefting the spear in one hand, Linden looked to Finn and jerked their chin forward; not a lot of warning before they were off toward Rowan and Ben, but something. If the light startled them away, great; if not, they'd need another pair of hands.
|
|
Finn
.
Played by Swift
Posts: 139
|
Post by Finn on Feb 10, 2021 14:51:33 GMT -8
Finn nods to Linden and heads out to help his fellow Summer cover their vanguard. He pulls his lighter and gets ready to light up himself, but ever mindful of the beaded charm, holds off until he can see where his flame is most needed.
|
|
|
Post by Krakenbox on Feb 10, 2021 21:59:02 GMT -8
The Lost quickly get into position, and Kai's arrow looses in a streak of Danica's fire.
The crack of spindly hairs immediately catches with a loud pop, the screeching echoing through the valley of the labyrinth as several plate-sized spiders drizzle from the cluster in black smoking husks.
Concrete heaves, and the group watches with tense uncertainty as Rowan's theory holds true. The arch almost vibrates with activity as large chunks of the stone loosen, legs kicking out and pouring from the nest. Spiders and falling debris rain from the sky.
|
|