COMPLETED: Something's rotten in Scotland...

Elliott · Post by **Elliott** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 10:45 am

Tyros comes back to himself, body shuddering as he reinhabits his corporeal form. The trolls eyes take in the scene, lingering for a moment on Dragesh's bloody arm and dagger lying at his feet.

Tyros stalks forward towards the quivering Rehnquist and raises his hand (centering) before rampaging through the fool's mind (mind probe, f4; verifying everything we've learned and looking for any other important details of Darius' murder/Zhiago's summoning).

"Your guilt is two fold: murdering Darius, the master of our order and conspiring to bring forth Zhiago, the spirit of murder, into the material plane to wreak untold havok. The penalty for this is death and justice will be served."

Tyros raises his claymore, executioner style, above his head, and remove Rehnquist's head from his shoulders in one, clean chop.

The deed done, Tyros turns to Dragesh, "It seems that Rehnquist was not the only one practicing blood magic within the brotherhood. Did Darius know of your maleasance, Dragesh?"

Post by **GM Nick** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:01 pm

Dragesh drops to his knees, the color drained from his face. He looks with grim satisfaction at the headless corpse and the rapidly expanding pool of blood.

"Aye, he did. He taught me that ritual and that ritual alone--said that some day I would need it. I had no idea that it was blood magic... I thought it simply one of the old arts."

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:17 pm

Sauntering up to Tyros and Dragesh, Val takes a glance at Rehnquist's headless corpse and quickly looks away, revulsed. He claps Tyros on the shoulder, unaware of how ridiculous he must look having to reach so high to do so.

"Nice work, 'mano. The Brotherhood was wise to put its trust in you. I'm sure Darius would be proud... Now that you've taken your vengeance and banished some nutty murder spirit, mayhaps we can get out of here now? This place gives me the creeps."

John · Post by **John** » Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:20 pm

Max chimes in by saying,

"Let's not forget that we had a chopper inbound after we breached the complex. We're probably not out of the woods yet, boys."

Max looks away from the corpse back toward the door and reloads the few empty chambers in his shotgun.

Elliott · Post by **Elliott** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:52 am

Tyros nods appreciatively to Val.

"We should burn this place to the ground. Can we set some incidiery charges throughout the building? This place reeks of Zhiago and needs to be cleansed. Make your way out and I'll join you shortly. I have to search Rehnquist's sanctum and make sure no one can continue his work."

Turning from the group, Tyros makes his way back through the chamber, searching the bodies of Rehnquist and his cohorts before moving on towards where Rehnquist's hermetic library must lie.

(Tyros is looking for occult texts and items, particularly those concerning blood magic.)

Drew Buddy · Post by **Drew Buddy** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 12:32 pm

Adams glances around.

"Yeah, much of what happened here is out of my league, but I'm in favor of burning this place to the ground. I don't have any incendiary charges, but an old place like this might still have oil or gas fired heating. Let me take a look around."

Adams starts pacing along the wall, looking for telltale signs of a heating system and fuel store.

Conway · Post by **Conway** » Wed Jun 13, 2012 8:06 pm

"Hold up, Doc..Im coming, too. These might be of some use." says Sinjin, handing over a canvas satchel containing 5kg of commercial explosives.

"After all this drama, a nice teeth-shattering explosion might be just what the good doctor ordered."

Trying to regain a sense of normalcy, Sinjin isn't about to admit how frayed his composure had become throughout last few hours. Gunmen and street toughs were a dime a dozen, and most he could dispatch without breaking a sweat. He'd grown up under the painful weight of neighborhood bullies, and spent his youth running from gangers until he grew tall and hard enough to make them think twice about the price of their entertainment. He'd long ago lost track of how many times he'd found himself on the drek end of a win-or-die situation. They were familiar to him. But summoned Gods and blood magic? Even the word malfeasance ran a jitter down his spine, like the fitful sprint of a spider thats made its way down the back of your collar. Careful not to betray his edgy discomfort to his teammates, he plasters his face with his best smile and ambles off after Doc.

Post by **GM Nick** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 12:01 pm

Tyros' fingertips meander over tattered tomes and arcane baubles as he searches Rehnquist's study. Little is of interest to the troll as he sifts through hand-written letters and documents of no real importance. But, at the corner of the large mahogany desk, he finds a book bound in obsidian, rough to the touch and even more disturbing to look directly at.

(( Where do you guys plan to put the explosives? ))

Elliott · Post by **Elliott** » Thu Jun 14, 2012 1:47 pm

Tyros checks to make sure he is alone and then pockets the obsidian tomb carefully in his greatcoat. Stepping back, he does one last physical and astral examination of the room to ensure he hasn't missed anything, particularly secret compartments. Finally, raising his hands, he calls forth his magic yet again as lightening streaks from his fingertips, striking the desk, scrolls, books and paraphenalia repeatedly around the room. The bolts send the desk exploding into wooden fragments as the paper objects crispen before bursting into flame. Walking slowly back out of the library and up towards the rest of the team, Tyros continues his electrical assault on anything flamable - drapes and tapestries go up in flame, tables and chairs burst like balloons before catching fire, stone walls are scorched and mared where stray lightening strikes.

Tyros feels a grim satisfaction with the justice done here today. But there is still an emptiness in his heart where Darius used to reside. The big troll's great love for his master cannot be replaced entirely by his revenge. It is a lesson often read about in books, but rarely understood until experienced.

The Brotherhood feels truly lost to Tyros now, his last real, meaningful connection to it was severed with his master's death. But even in that, Darius has tought Tyros continuing lessons in magical theory, planning, betrayal and the dangers of the spirit world. In the end, however, there is a nagging at the back of the troll's mind. The blood magic Darius was so against proved his downfall, and in the end, despite all of Tyros' efforts, it was Dragesh' blood magic that finished Zhiago.

There is a lesson there too.

The strange and forbidden tomb in his pocket seems to give up dark whispers, faintly heard in Tyros' ears - or perhaps it's just his imagination. For now, it's time to turn his attention back to business and the continued success of the team's newly started security service, but maybe in the down time, he will have a chance to examine the book in his pocket and judge for himself whether the secrets it holds are evil or merely misused by poor, misguided fools. Tyros is many things, he thinks, but undoubtably not to be counted among that lot.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 9:13 am

Doc leans his head a few centimeters over the front door's threshold. The gardens beyond seem quiet, but the thundering of rotor blades is noticeably absent. No doubt touched down at the edge of the woods and spread out to surround the manor. His calloused thumb brushes gingerly over the safety cap to the radio detonator, a device which--at the present moment--has the exact frequency to trigger the detonation of commercial plastic explosive placed at seven key structural strike points. The corner of his mouth twitches as his brain performs complex calculations, attempting to pinpoint the approximate distance required from the manor to prevent bodily harm. Pretty fraggin' far, he thinks grimly.

Standing at his opposite, the apostle of shadows, Sinjin, rolls his head until his neck pops. Though anxious for combat, the ork's rigid frame remains motionless. Feline-esque eyes dart from dark place to dark place among the statues, searching out foes to pulverize. He too, cannot avoid thinking about the gooey hexagene stuffed into the flagstone pillars of this house and their ability to vaporize his friends.

The tension in the air is palpable.

Val scratches absently at the faux flesh patch over his datajack and checks the operation of his rifle for the twelfth time. Gone are the pre-fight jitters that once afflicted the hacker. Gone are the considerations of mortality and unspoken prayer to whatever gods will listen. Firestarter is a single, cohesive entity now. It's a well-oiled, multi-man war engine that rolls through the night inspiring terror. He sweeps his gaze over the two lads on either side of the door's precipice, smiling inwardly at the Smartlink's application of green squares to show that they're friendlies. That they are.

Tyros twists his massive paws along the hilt of his mighty blade. His conscious thought is focused determinedly on the inevitable melee, but his subconscious swims with the evening's events. Despite his reserved nature, emotions claw at his sternum, threatening to overtake rationality. He grits his teeth, shaking away an image of his former master. This anger will be directed to the enemy, harnessed directly through the six foot steel implement resting on his shoulder.

Last, but most certainly not least, a lone cigarette ember glows in the dark. Shivers of jubilation (or is that the move-by-wire induced perpetual seizure?) trill up and down the elf's spine. Combat has become one of his great loves. It's a moment where he can lose himself to the purity of survival. Concerns fall away. Morality blurs. When the bullets are flying and everything is on the line, Max becomes a hornet, single-minded and deadly. An armor-piercing slug slips into the loading chamber in Marlowe; the sexual innuendo is not lost on him, as the act has become one of love and the battered shotgun, like a lover.

He lets the smoke fall from his parched lips. The embers dash on the tile floor, scattering like a mini explosion.

In complete sequence, the team nods at each other.

Go time.

John · Post by **John** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:13 am

Max grinds the cigarette beneath his heavy boot and fans out to the right of the entrance, keeping low and hugging the wall. His lowlight eyes function perfectly in this setting, and the attenuation of his sense could split hairs. His weapon moves in a perpetual sweep. Sweat beads on his brow as he presses out into the courtyard, as certain as he's been of anything in his life that there will be more blood tonight, and that the barrier between it and the team is as fragile as a sigh.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:22 am

Masonry dust rains down on Max as small arms fire opens up on him from a wide arc around the garden.

[ Security Enforcer 1 = 46 ]
[ Max = 45 ]
[ Val = 44 ]
[ Security Enforcer 2 = 43 ] < 8P
[ Doc = 39 ]
[ Security Enforcer 4 = 37 ] < deceased
[ Security Enforcer 5 = 35 ]
[ Tyros = 33 ]
[ Security Enforcer 3 = 33 ]
[ Sinjin = 31 ]

Ranged Combat (SE1)

The elf flattens against a low wall as chattering automatic fire erupts around him.

Ranged Combat (SE1)

A stray slug slaps against his shoulderpad, but fails to penetrate the carbon-kevlar pack underneath.

John · Post by **John** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:30 am

The elf doesn't have time to register the near-wound that mars his new armor, as he swings his weapon to the first hostile he sees poking around the corner of an ornate statue. Not being able to see the whites of his eyes, Max settles for the expectation that he will soon see the red of his insides. (( Enforcer 2, single shot ))

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:35 am

Ranged Combat (Max)

Max's first slug grazes the security enforcer as he moves across Max's field of vision.

John · Post by **John** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:37 am

Max cocks his head to the right in the universal gesture of 'you've gotta be fraggin' kidding me,' and fires again.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:47 am

Ranged Combat (Max)

Damage Resistance (SE2)

<< 4P DAMAGE! >>

The enforcer does an awkward pirouette before stumbling forward as Max's second slug strikes underneath the breastplate.

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:25 am

Among the various twitches of movement which indicate the presence of possible targets, Val's eye is drawn to the puff of red mist which issues from the wounded enforcer. The corner his mouth twitches, his nostrils flare, and his mind goes cold. Like a wolf, he smells weakness, and like a wolf he'll exploit it. He unleashes a burst of lead at the staggering soldier.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:36 am

Ranged Combat (Val)

Damage Resistance (SE2)

<< 4P DAMAGE >>

Val's finger wraps around the trigger. The Smartlink reticule hovers over his target as the barrel swings into place. There's a series of sharp reports that echo around the garden as he fires.

The enforcer jerks in the opposite direction, being once again pelted with a slug.

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:43 am

Content that the first victim of the engagement has been rendered a minor threat, Val swings his barrel to the next target and applies the same treatment. ((Enforcer 4))

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:52 am

Ranged Combat (Val)

Val's second round of burst-fire beheads a statue, but doesn't claim injury on the armored man hiding behind it.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:55 am

The wounded enforcer drops to a kneel and takes a second to sight in on the last person to shoot him, before releasing a burst.

Ranged Combat (SE2)

Damage Resistance (Val)

<< 3P DAMAGE >>

Val swears as a bullet bites into his flesh, having penetrated between two armor packs.

(( Doc's turn. ))

Drew Buddy · Post by **Drew Buddy** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 11:59 am

Adams swears under his breath as he sees Val take a take a round.

He sights in on the fourth enforcer and fires.

Stephen · Post by **Stephen** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:03 pm

A sudden stinging pressure in his side jars the cool calm Val has been so intent on maintaining for so long. Bitter curses ring throughout the courtyard as Val palms his ribs reflexively. His visage pales beneath his visor when his fingers come away red.

"I swear by everything holy and everything otherwise you'll rue your luck today, 'mano!" The promise is marred only by the slightly quavering quality of the voice which issues it.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:06 pm

So loud is the discharge of the battle rifle, that it only registers as a muffled snapping, the team's eardrums desperately attempting to protect themselves.

Ranged Combat (Doc)

Damage Resistance (SE4)

<< 11P DAMAGE >>

The security enforcer gurgles and keels over, bleeding out from three massive gunshot wounds.

Drew Buddy · Post by **Drew Buddy** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:31 pm

As Adams pulls the front of the rifle back down, he swings it over to the fifth enforcer, letting loose another burst almost immediately after the first.

(( I'm about to hit the road for a few hours. Post for me if necessary! ))

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:14 pm

Ranged Combat (Doc)

The second deafening burst destroys a fountain, and sends the assailant behind it running to the next cover.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:17 pm

An enforcer leans out from behind a statue and fires a burst at Doc.

Ranged Combat (SE5)

Doc flattens his back against the low wall as a volley of fire explodes above him, filling the night air with smoke and dust.

Ranged Combat (SE5)

He ducks as a second wave of fire continues to degrade his cover.

(( Up next: Tyros. ))

Elliott · Post by **Elliott** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:41 pm

Staying invisible and behind cover, Tyros thrusts out an arm (centering) and adds, appropriately he thinks, some magic to the battle (manabolt, f6 at SE3).

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:46 pm

Manabolt (6) (Tyros)

<< 10P DAMAGE >>

The enforcer screams and swats in vain at the ethereal purple flames consuming his body. After a moment, he drops, critically wounded.

Resist Drain (9)

<< 6S DAMAGE >>

Tyros blinks as his vision swims, and darkness begins creeping around its corners.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 4:50 pm

SE3 raises his rifle feebly and fires at Max.

Ranged Combat (SE3)

Max stays low, trying to ignore the deluge of battle debris raining against his shoulders.

(( Sinjin! ))

Conway · Post by **Conway** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:48 pm

The unlit cigar rolls lazily from one corner of his mouth to the other as Enforcer 5 drops an empty clip from his weapon, one practiced hand on autopilot finding a replacement from the various pockets of his battle kit. Smug and certain, his target lies pinned and injured with nowhere to run. Tree'd and pissin hisself I bet.

A sudden brief flicker distracts him, like a bird passing overhead that temporarily blocks out the sunlight. Above him, a dark shape descends, dropping from the fountain top with the speed and malice of a rabid jaguar. The cigar falls to the ground, and someone is screaming.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:00 pm

(( Write a book, Tom. That's an order. ))

Melee Combat (Sinjin)

The enforcer brings his free forearm up to block Sinjin's strike, but is a moment too late. An orkish arm, straight as a spear, crashes downwards on to his collarbone.

Damage Resistance

<< 5P DAMAGE >>

Ork and man tumble together for a brief moment, before one of them is back on his feet.

It's not the enforcer.

Post by **GM Nick** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:11 pm

[ Security Enforcer 1 = 46 ]
[ Max = 45 ]
[ Val = 44 ]
[ Security Enforcer 2 = 43 ] < deceased
[ Doc = 39 ]
[ Security Enforcer 5 = 35 ] < 5P
[ Tyros = 33 ]
[ Security Enforcer 3 = 33 ] < 10P
[ Sinjin = 22 ]

The enforcer steps around the side of the column and fires a burst at the uncoiling Sinjin.

Ranged Combat (SE1)

The ork stays low, narrowly avoiding the fire.

Deprived of an injury, the security enforcer stays plastered to the statue and awaits an opportune time to strike.

(( Delay action. ))

John · Post by **John** » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:20 pm

Max raises Marlowe and fires a narrow burst of slugs at Enforcer 2 in the hope of finishing what his last round started.

Post by **GM Nick** » Mon Jun 18, 2012 7:42 am

Ranged Combat (Max)

Damage Resistance (SE2)

<< 5P DAMAGE >>

A whiff of blood fills the air as Max drops the enforcer.

COMPLETED: Something's rotten in Scotland...

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