Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

As we play, occasionally we'll close a thread and open a new one to keep the size of threads (and relative complexity) down to a dull roar. Here's where we store the closed posts from the history of Errant Road.
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Alessa
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Alessa »

Hikari sensed magic being used and paled. Was it a magical technology malfunction or an intruder? Not knowing whether it would do her any good, she took a few steps back to the kitchen and picked up a large frying pan and brandished it like a baseball bat. Clinging to it for dear life, she continued her silent tip toeing toward the nursery.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Jack Rothwell »

Eve let out a yell as she saw the tools flying towards her and sidestepped as quickly as her body would allow. Strangely, it was a small mercy that her legs were still not-quite-with-it as a stray scalpel embedded itself in the young merc's thigh. Eve gritted her teeth against pain that was thankfully distant and levelled her revolver squarely at the man's face.

"Right, you fucking sneak! I've got one question and one question only, fail to answer and the hammer comes down! Who do you work for?" The last sentence came out in a roar, the horror-struck nurses shrank in fear at the woman trembling with rage in front of them.
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Graybeard »

"Who do you work for?"

The man's face changed from a mixture of pain and rage, to sheer, unadulterated horror, as Eve's question sank in on him, along with the realization that he wasn't going to be able to avoid answering it.

"Noooo ... I can't ... please ..." he whimpered. A detached observer, if one had been present, would have detected a certain sour effluvium starting to spread from his pants.

The click of the hammer being drawn back focused his attention again, and he looked even more horrified than before, if that was possible ... and he finally managed to choke out an answer. Almost.

"TsuirakuanAAAARRGGH!"

That was as far as he got. A glowing, green cloud of magic had formed around the man's face like a mask. As Eve and the nurses watched, it tightened, constricted, sank into his skull, leaving an expression in its wake that looked like he'd just seen the grim reaper coming to carry him off. As indeed he had; his back arched convulsively, he emitted a low crackling sound from deep in his throat, then he slumped and lay still.

------------

There was a thump in the nursery at the laboratory, as of a window being closed. Then, apart from the improbably loud beating of Hikari's heart, there was silence.

------------

"So what did you learn?" Layla asked Jade, as she and Leo entered the house at Bad Ass Wines.
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Alessa
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Alessa »

Hearing the window close, Hikari rushed to peek as silently as possible around the edge of the door frame.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"So what did you learn?"

Jade grinned a little lopsidedly when she saw Layla, she turned and pointed in the direction of the brothel with a hand still clutching the empty bottle.

"He's there all right. When we left he was settling in for a long night."

"...with no-one to keep him company except his 'lady'" Leo added. "If you wanted to pick him up now would be a good time to do it."

......................

Eve cursed loudly and at length at the loss of her quarry, she slammed her fist into the door behind her hard enough to make it rattle in it's frame. Bert arrived a moment later, out of breath and at a loss for words at the scene in front of him.

"What the hell happened?"

Eve stiffled a cry as the mage's spell chose that moment to wear off. The pain from the surgical tool still lodged in her leg was immediately sharp, she slumped against the door and stared at the object with a snarl and watering eyes.

"Take it out."

"What-?"

"TAKE IT OUT!"

Bert nodded numbly and knelt by Eve's side. Despite the stress of the situation he couldn't stop a blush as the young woman's hand seized his and squeezed it in anticipation. He moved as quickly as he able but even Eve, tough as she was, couldn't stop a low scream from erupting as the blade came free.
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Graybeard »

"If you wanted to pick him up now would be a good time to do it."

Layla was unimpressed. "Thanks, but I don't give a damn who he's sleeping with, other than that it's useful to get a confirmation that he needs the money. The real question is: did you get anything that says he's working for someone other than -- us? Because if you did, then yeah, we need to pick him up." And drop him in Rinkaiel harbor wearing cement boots.

----------

The two Sisters of Divine Mercy looked like they'd seen the apocalypse. They looked at each other, at the dead man, at Eve, back at the dead man, back at Eve.

"I think you'd better go now," the older of the two managed to get out.

----------

Silence prevailed in the nursery ... but there was a faint glow of magic coming from Oxana's crib.
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"The real question is: did you get anything that says he's working for someone other than -- us? Because if you did, then yeah, we need to pick him up."

Jade nodded. "He definately has a new boss. The cocky bastard was clinking a glass of something expensive and calling it a 'severance package from his old employer', the tone he said it in made it obvious he was on someone else's agenda. I couldn't have found out more than that unless I kicked the door in and started cutting him, but that would've probably made him suspicious."

"You could've always tried seducing him." Leo shrugged.

"I'm not that sort of girl, sweetheart."

..........

Eve and Bert were heading hurredly back to the guild in a two person collective limp. Eve's breathing was broken and ragged from her recent exertions and injuries. She leaned on Bert and hobbled beside him with a hand clamped on the bleeding wound in her thigh.

"This is all Jade's fault." She muttered.

"How d'you figure that?"

"The last- ahhh- time I worked with that red-headed bint I finished the job unconscious, strapped to Rufus on the back of a horse and bleeding from two bullet wounds, burns and shrapnel. Now, not- ow- one day after meeting with her again I'm limping back to our hideout after two attempts on my life and a surgical tool tried to dissect my leg. It's all Jade's fault."

"If you say so."

Mercifully, they were close to home now.
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Graybeard
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Graybeard »

Layla nodded, and she, her mother and Ace exchanged glances as sentence was passed. "No hurry," Layla said, grateful that Galina was out of earshot for the moment. "Let him get out of the Seeadler zone of control, and then ..." She shrugged her shoulders, which said all that needed saying. She turned to Jade and Leo. "We owe you for this." A financial transaction was made, and the Sorensens started to batten the vineyard down for the night.

[OOC: As soon as Hikari does whatever she's going to do at the laboratory, I think we can fast forward to morning -- which however needn't keep conversations from occurring among the crew at, or on the way to, Barker Lane.]
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: Alessa may be MIA for a little while owing to illness in her family. Errant Roadies may or may not know that she is starting her own webcomic, "The King of Irendrelle," and has posted an explanation there. Good thoughts, vibes, prayers, etc., in her (and his) direction, and we'll drag Hikari along as needed for a week or two. (BTW, I will be following that webcomic to see where it goes when she gets back; it's off to an interesting start.)
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Re: Rinkaiel: Temple of the Divine Dwarf

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: I'm going to take the liberty of putting a few words and actions in Hikari's mouth to get things moving again. Glad to hear your father's surgery went well, Alessa; hope you're back with us soon...]

The nursery was empty, and Hikari suddenly felt a bit foolish holding the frying pan like a weapon. She set it down and cast some detection magic to find out what magical effect had been left in the room ... and gasped.

Killing field. It was high-level magic, certainly nothing taught in high school, normally used to protect granaries and other food repositories from vermin. But in those cases, it was simply up and overt, working all the time, and there were wards all over the place to let people know it was there so they wouldn't wander into it, although it usually wouldn't be intense enough to kill a full-grown adult anyway. Here it was concealed, with no signs it was there unless you happened to detect it being cast. Another thing: it was latent, not active. It wouldn't have its lethal effect on what lay within (not that there could be much doubt about exactly what that would be) until something, or someone, triggered it.

Galina has to know about this, she decided, extracting a crystal ball from her purse.
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