Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

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Browncoat
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Browncoat »

Angrist frowned. He was not fond of the idea of killing and Drusia talking about war experience put him on edge.

{If she fought in the Errant War...} He didn't want to finish that thought.

Still, Aleron needed to be defeated. Ideally, they would only have to fight him, but failing that, it would be best to divert others. Angrist sketched a figure in the dirt and many smaller ones near it.

"Yeah, we'll have to go through quite a few o' his guys"

Angrist put put his hands in front of Udo's face then spread them apart. Udo couldn't follow both at the same time.

"Divide and conquer," Drusia mused. "Not a bad tactic. Assuming one has the manpower to pull it off."

Angrist held up a finger. Then he pulled out the stones they'd collected from Gabriel. They were still covered with most of Angrist's inhibitors. He mimed pulling the inhibitors off and scattering the stones. Angrist raised an eyebrow and waited to hear what the others thought of this suggestion.

[OOC: Angrist has been thinking about using those rocks for this sort of thing ever since he offered the inhibitors.]
Last edited by Browncoat on February 10th, 2013, 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

Udo shook his head again and said, "Be careful of that one, Sensei. He used those rocks for communications. He projected his power through them - that's how Gabe was throwing around archmage-level magic even though he wasn't a wizard." (Udo may have been exaggerating a little here, but the magic had been strong enough to take him down pretty fast, though to be fair he hadn't been in top form just then.) "By now he knows we've captured at least one, since Gabe's dead. So if one of them pops up on goatblowing-scumbag-net all-a-sudden, he'll suspect a trap, and maybe have ways to meet it. These guys don't bluff easy, so don't assume they'll fall for simple tricks." Udo had learned that one in the southern jungle the hard way.

"No, the best way to divide them is not to let 'em know we're in town, and use help from the Eisenfaust. Those guys have eyes all around to know who's where, and the manpower to divide 'em up, and get us past the meat shields, so we can get in there and 'divide' Aleron like this" -- he made a knife-hand gesture, as if splitting a man in two -- "and then conquer both halves of him!"
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Graybeard
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Graybeard »

"Uh, that 'not to let 'em know we're in town' part might be a little hard to bring off," Khoo interjected. "This girl who's coming to see me -- rescue me, tag along for fun, seduce me, seduce one of you, I really don't know what's on her mind -- anyway, she's kind of ... demonstrative. In much the same sense as a Re-Emergence Day fireworks show in Tsuirakushiti is demonstrative. Which is to say, you can probably see it from Farrel."

Far out on the horizon, a commotion on the ocean suggested that there might be truth to his words, and got him to swearing softly under his breath.
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Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

"Woo-hoo!" said Udo. "Think she's got a staff...?"

[OOC: I've been assuming this conversation was taking place around midnight, with the Eisenfaust meet set up for sunrise the next day, but I am glad to modify the timing as needed for the next encounter.]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Jack Rothwell »

"Is she nice?" Added Tamina. "Can she kick some cabra*?"

*-kobold curse word
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Graybeard
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Graybeard »

[OOC: I don't think this conversation would work at midnight, since Khoo is seeing something out in the ocean, on the distant horizon. Either sundown or sunrise would work. Take your pick.]

Khoo had no idea what a "cabra" was, but he was still pretty sure of his answer. "Probably. Let me tell you a little more about Anna-Lisa...

"She came to Sashi Mu on the same program as I did, sort of an outreach thing, but she's three or four years younger than I am. She worked summers for Mesuinu Enterprises --" he shuddered involuntarily -- "which is where she got this incredible, personal-sized, ultra-midget submarine. It was some pilot project of theirs that didn't work, which is probably just as well, but she picked it up off their salvage yard and got it working." He didn't say anything about the role Kureji Mesuinu had played in that part of things. Some things were just better left unsaid, and the story was scary enough without her. "Never used it for anything except running around the shore of Tsuiraku, terrifying fishermen and sailors. If you ever heard of any reports of sea monsters on the Farrel Sea, there's a pretty good chance that they were really Anna-Lisa. Anyway, that was all scary, but basically harmless and even a little entertaining ... until she started working on her senior thesis with the Hiratsuka Foundation. And discovered that she had a natural aptitude for fire magic." He shuddered again. "So now, she's taking a year off before starting a permanent job with the Mesuinus, and using it to 'see the world,' as the euphemism goes. A personal submarine, formerly harmless, now equipped with a skipper who has battlemage-level proficiency with fireballs and such things. Think about that."

Left unsaid were two rather important things. First, all that time palling around with Kureji Mesuinu had had certain ... effects ... on her world view. That was scary enough. But what caused Khoo to tremble for a third time was the other thing.

And she has what's left over of an old-fashioned, teenage crush on me.
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Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: Too late for sundown so sunrise it must be. So, absent objections, I'll move us to the seashore and the meet with the Eisenfaust in my next post, which'll be pretty soon.]
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Jack Rothwell
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Jack Rothwell »

OOC Jump til dawn I say./OOC
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Graybeard
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Graybeard »

OOC: Fine with me, although Khoo really isn't much of a morning person...
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Alberich
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Re: Port Lorrel- Puppet Masters

Post by Alberich »

[OOC: A powerful, dangerous sorceress with an old crush, eh? Someone should put that to music.]

"Sun's coming up," said Udo. "Let's get to the rendezvous!" He was able to lead them through the hills, over the rocks, and down a cliffside path to the place. Tamina's scouting ensured there were no traps or ambushes; and if there had been, somewhere between Drusia's durus, Khoo's wind-wizardry, Angrist's blinding fists, Tamina's cat-claws, and Udo's guns - it would've gone very badly for whoever tried it.

Soon enough the adventurers had reached the top of a steep, rocky beach, where the lower rocks were slimy with seaweed. A treacherous place to run to the waves. Udo led them along the cliff 'til they came to an ancient, crude carving, vaguely man-like. Generations of chalky polyglot graffiti showed this spot had sometimes served as an out-of-town landing site for pirates and smugglers and trysting-place for lovers. Udo grinned to see that on the edge, some of his countrymen had started a game of Ten Words, but from the fading of the chalk, the last entry was many months old. Sitting or standing, chewing cold rations or watching, they awaited their contacts.

These were not long in coming, a set of six shabby-looking beachcombers in boat cloaks, only their scars suggested they'd spent their lifetimes getting injured by something sharper than slips on the rocks. Some walked with staves. Their leader was fiftyish, shorter, heavy-lidded, blocky-nosed, thinning on top, and hoarse, but with an erect carriage and an air of authority the others respected. As they drew near, Udo got to his feet, no weapons in hand, and motioned his friends to do the same. The Eisenfaust leader raised his right hand in peace and gave the agreed upon sign:

"All the power on earth can't change destiny."

Udo replied, "But it can make the Ralkin choke on those donkey balls they suck."

The other laughed wheezily. "Why do I let you write your own countersigns? My nephew's wife's got a brother Antonio could help you with your lyrics. So, anyway, we're out of town far enough not to be seen. I'm keen to see these elves and this kobold you say's so powerful."

Udo gestured with both hands to his mightiest companions. The Eisenfaust boss looked them over slowly, appreciating their beauty and lean, agile builds. "So," he said to them, "What can you do to take off those shnooks' heads?"
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